Gary Mehigan admits he didn’t watch the new season of MasterChef… after leaving the series for Channel Seven rival Plate of Origin
He walked away from MasterChef Australia after spending 11 years as a judge on the show.
And since his exit, Gary Mehigan hasn’t looked back.
Speaking to the Herald Sun, the 53-year-old admitted that he hasn’t watched the most recent season of MasterChef.
‘I got asked recently have I watched any of the new series and I genuinely haven’t’: Gary Mehigan admits that he hasn’t watched the new season of MasterChef
‘I got asked recently have I watched any of the new series and I genuinely haven’t,’ he said.
‘I’ve seen little chunks of it. I don’t know Melissa (Leong) but I know Andy (Allen) and Jock (Zonfrillo) really well. Jock rang me well before when I think he started talking to MasterChef.
‘I said you know what, it’s been the most incredible experience of my life so far, a fabulous introduction to television.’
‘I’ve seen little chunks of it,’ he continued. ‘I don’t know Melissa (Leong) but I know Andy (Allen) and Jock (Zonfrillo) really well’
Gary has since defected to Channel Seven, where he will host the network’s new cooking competition, Plate of Origin.
He will be joined by fellow former MasterChef judge Matt Preston and My Kitchen Rules star Manu Feidel.
In a trailer for the show, the three judges can be seen complimenting teams on their impressive dishes.
Fresh meat! Gary has since defected to Channel Seven, where he will host the network’s new cooking competition, Plate of Origin
Network Seven was previously forced to edit the show’s judges out amid ‘contractual issues’ with Ten.
Seven had been prevented from using former MasterChef judges Matt and Gary in Plate Of Origin advertising materials as they were still contractually bound to their former employers at Ten.
‘For contractual reasons, Seven is now unable to publicly associate Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan with the new show,’ industry website TV Tonight alleged in January.
Complicated: Seven had been prevented from using former MasterChef judges Matt and Gary (pictured) in Plate Of Origin advertising materials as they were still contractually bound to their former employers at Ten
Matt and Gary were not named or pictured in Seven’s online casting call for Plate of Origin, and were instead referred to as ‘two of the worlds biggest food superstars’.
The only host mentioned by name and pictured in the casting call was Manu.
Plate Of Origin will see 10 teams from different countries compete in a ‘world cup’ style cooking battle.
Casting call: The only host mentioned by name and pictured in the casting call was Manu Feildel (pictured)
The countries represented in the competition include Australia, Cameroon, China, France, Greece, Italy, India, Lebanon, Venezuela and Vietnam.
It comes after it was revealed the show’s season will be shorter than expected, with TV Blackbox reporting the run was cut by 10 to 12 shows.
The initial order was for 32 episodes, the website alleges, but it will be slashed to around 20 episodes.
Competition: Plate Of Origin will see 10 teams from different countries compete in a ‘world cup’ style cooking battle. Pictured Matt Preston