Who would be the ideal judging team for MasterChef Australia? It’s the question on the lips of fans of the reality TV show this week in the wake of news that Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris are leaving the show.
The announcement, made just before the finale of the 11th season on Tuesday, came just days after Calombaris was found guilty of underpaying workers in his restaurant chains by nearly $8m. Network representatives, however, said that MasterChef’s original judges were leaving because parties had not been able to come to a mutually agreeable commercial arrangement.
This is excellent news. I vote for Poh Ling Yeow, Kylie Kwong and Maggie Beer. #masterchefau https://t.co/iEFtIkfWzE
— Maeve Marsden (@maevemarsden) July 23, 2019
Channel Ten’s long-running cooking competition has turbocharged the careers of a number of now high-profile chefs, including Adam Liaw and Poh Ling Yeow. Celebrity guests have included chefs Nigella Lawson, Gordon Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal, Yotam Ottolenghi and Kylie Kwong.
Some fans have praised the show for its diverse and representative casting, while others have argued that diversity was not reflected in the long-standing judging panel.
The only part not representative of Australia is the judges - 3 white, privileged blokes. Get rid of them and it'll be awesome. I vote @adamliaw, Poh and Margaret Fulton - cracking! 😊
— Jessica (@_jessticulate) July 23, 2019
I mean it, people. Elizabeth Chong is a member of the Order of Australia, @kwongkylie has had her own postage stamp and I have a personal candlelit pandan-scented shrine to Poh Ling Yeow in my basement – MAKE THIS HAPPEN @Channel10AU.
— Benjamin Law (@mrbenjaminlaw) July 23, 2019
Reports suggest that the new judging panel will be announced imminently. In the meantime, Guardian Australia wants to know: who would you like to see take over?
Tell us in the comments: who is your dream MasterChef judging team?
