MasterChef Australia Bids Adieu to Judges Matt Preston, George Calombaris, and Gary Mehigan After 11 Seasons

MasterChef Australia is, arguably, one of the most popular reality cooking shows in the subcontinent. Scores (sorry, I meant crores) of Indian hearts were broken when MasterChef Australia tweeted from their official account that George, Gary, and Matt had judged their last dish on the show at the end of season 11.

After 11 sensational seasons, we bid a fond farewell to our judges – Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris. Thank you for being a part of this remarkable #MasterChefAU legacy and helping make the culinary dreams of everyday home cooks come true! pic.twitter.com/uG0A3ec8jI

— #MasterChefAU (@masterchefau) July 23, 2019

However, the announcement didn’t come without its own share of drama. Earlier on, George Calombaris admitted to underpaying his staff to the tune of $7.8 million AUD. The MasterChef judge was slapped with a $200,000 fine, along with repayment of dues to staff, and had a Tourism WA contract cancelled. Although calls for the chef to be axed rang across social media platforms, Network 10 didn’t comment on the scandal.

It looks as though the other shoe has finally dropped, with MasterChef Australia making the announcement that the ‘three musketeers’ wouldn’t be returning to our screens in season 12, yesterday. Ironically enough, reports have been floating around that the trio quit over a pay raise, however, the judges have rubbished those rumours with Gary vehemently denying that it was about the money, and that certain terms ‘which they felt strongly about’ hadn’t been met. Matt’s tweet seemed to back up what Gary said, while George posted on Instagram that the dates didn’t align.

Whatever the case may be, the trio will not be returning to MasterChef Australia for season 12, and the reality cooking show is sure to wear a new-look in the upcoming seasons.