A former Masterchef contestant has satisfied the cravings of curious viewers all across the world by finally revealing what becomes of each episode’s leftovers.
The cooking competition regularly sees contestants create extravagant dishes to offer the show’s trio of judges – Melissa Leong, Jock Zonfrillo, and Andy Allen. And as any member of the audience can attest, the three rarely polish off an entire plate of food, leading many to wonder – since the show’s inception in 2009 – what happens to the rest of the meals.
As Now To Love have reported, ‘doggie bags’ are Masterchef’s most encouraged waste prevention manoeuvre. While the judges reportedly eat “most” of what’s on offer, and the contestants will have a small sample of each others’ creations, the take-home bags are the final step towards dealing with any leftovers hanging about when filming wraps.
Melissa Leong was the one to spill the beans on the leftover situation while speaking to New Zealand’s Stuff, telling them that while filming she only ever tries enough to trust her own judgement, and that “sometimes when something is especially tasty it is very difficult not to go back for a second, third or fourth bite, but part of the job is exercising restraint.”
”I’m not going to lie, there are definitely days where I do not need to have dinner or lunch because I do most of my eating on camera.”
And when it comes to the dishes themselves? Clean up is a one man job, with Masterchef’s executive producer Margaret Bashfield revealing that Leigh Dowling, their dishwasher, “washes everything you see.
“He’s the happiest bloke on the team, even when he gets pots that are horribly burnt on the bottom.”
With the show gearing up for its 15th season, and a focus on ‘Secrets & Surprises’, the crew are bound to have their work cut out for them, as well as a few changes to navigate along the way.
The high-pressure series will have a shorter runtime than in its previous 14 seasons, taking a step away from its two month marathon as the showrunners aim to keep audiences engaged over the course of the competition.
The pressure will be on for the new batch of contestants from the moment they step into the kitchen, as Melissa declares in the series’ promotional material, “we’ve loaded up the biggest surprise ever on day one of the competition”, before revealing that celebrity chef Jamie Oliver will be joining the cast. Additionally, competitors are set to face some of the biggest challenges ever seen on Masterchef, life-changing dishes, and guest judges some could only dream of ever cooking for – or, as the case may be, preparing a scrumptious bag of leftovers for.
Images: Twitter
This article first appeared on Over60.