The former judges on the cooking reality show, which hit big popularity across the shores in India, reunited for an India tour recently
MasterChef Australia judges - Gary Mehigan (left), George Calombaris (centre) and Matt Preston (right)
Image: Mexy Xavier
We’re waiting for the trio to finish up another meeting when they erupt in cheers, indulging in some good-natured ribbing over Australia’s cricket World Cup victory over India. Even off camera, you can tell that like the cast of Friends, Masterchef Australia’s star judges—Matt Preston, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan—really are friends.
They don’t let go of a chance to poke fun at each other, to praise each other and tell anecdotes peppered with stories of each other’s families. After 11 seasons, however, the judges exited Masterchef Australia together in 2019, and the past four years have been eventful for them in different ways.
While Matt Preston has been working on a memoir, and has starred on reality food and dance shows and on radio— “talking about something other than food for the first time in years”, Gary Mehigan has written a book and also been in India a fair bit, working on a travel-based food show with the National Geographic, centered on the festivals of India. George Calombaris has had a tough few years, having lost his restaurant business in the aftermath of Covid-19. He faced some criticism for not paying his staff through the crisis, but has cleared his dues and gathered some important perspective.
“It was probably the best gift Covid gave me, because it made me bunked down with my family and made me really, really allow myself to purge all that anger and frustration that I had,” he tells Forbes India. “And then suddenly, I came out of that dark place into a bit of light, and went, hey, you know what, this could be a really exciting time for me if I embrace this new opportunity.”
The three chefs were in India recently for a partnership with food experience platform Conosh, through which they hosted sit-down dinners and masterclasses across Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Edited excerpts from an interview: