MasterChef Australia boss reveals his secret to booking pop star Katy Perry for cooking show

The MasterChef: Back To Win kitchen erupted into chaos when American pop star Katy Perry arrived as a surprise guest judge last year.

And now, the show’s executive producer, Marty Benson, has revealed how he was able to book one of the world’s biggest entertainers on the long-running series.

‘One night I was reading that Katy was coming to Melbourne to appear at the Women’s World Cup Cricket final last year in March,’ he told news.com.au.

Marty explained that he emailed his former boss, who happens to be the showrunner for American Idol, on which the singer is a judge.

‘As soon as I saw Katy Perry was coming to Melbourne, I sent her (the showrunner) an email and I said, “we have been using Katy’s song (Hot ‘n’ Cold) as our title track for 12 years. Please, Trish, can you ask Katy if she wouldn’t mind coming to MasterChef while she’s in Melbourne?”‘

‘I got an email five minutes later saying, “she’s up for it”, and that was it!’ he said.

During her appearance on the Channel 10 show, Katy left judge Jock Zonfrillo speechless after she called him ‘daddy’ and asked him to put food in her mouth. 

Speaking on KIIS FM’s The Kyle and Jackie O Show in June, Jock said he was  embarrassed by the on air encounter.

‘I didn’t even want to look at her. I didn’t know where to look, you know what I mean?’ Jock said of the exchange with the singer.

‘For a start it’s Katy Perry… but who calls someone ‘Daddy’?’ Jock added. 

‘Daddy’ is often a slang term used for a handsome older gentleman, often used in a very raunchy way. 

Katy left Jock and fans of the show speechless during her appearance on MasterChef Australia in May, where she served the comments.      

The singer begged Jock to cut up her food because she had sprained her thumb – before cracking the racy joke.   

‘Will you cut my meat for me?’ Katy asked, after being presented with Shanghainese red-braised pork during a taste testing.