Masterchef Australia is back on TVNZ 2, we caught up with judges Andy and Jock to spill the beans on their kitchen secrets, favourite foods and what should be in every Kiwi’s pantry.
Andy Allen
What’s your favourite utensil that you use even when it’s not needed?
I actually use my hands more than I should when making food.
What’s your go-to cheat meal?
A simple pasta dish. Can’t go wrong.
What does your family think is your culinary specialty?
Seafood – a whole roasted fish is my specialty in their eyes.
If you wanted to impress someone, what would you cook?
The only person I want to impress is my fiancée and she loves anything with anchovies in it.
What’s your go-to meal to cook yourself when you’re feeling melancholy?
Definitely a lasagne!
What’s your favourite food concoction that most people hate?
Cheese and tomato sauce sandwiches.
If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I could never answer that question because I eat so many different types of epic food every day in my job! Could not pick one…
If you had to choose between sweet and savoury foods, what would you pick?
Savoury every day of the week!
What would your final meal be?
Anchovies on toast.
What ingredient do you think every Kiwi should have in their pantries?
Salt and pepper, obviously. Imagine food without those two ingredients!
Worst thing you’ve ever eaten?
A lamb’s testicle. Cooked rare.
What food trend is next?
Cheese and tomato sauce sandwiches!
What food trend needs to die?
Micro herbs.
Jock Zonfrillo
What’s your go-to cheat meal?
A quadruple-decker mortadella sandwich.
What’s your specialty dish?
Any kind of pasta. From simple to complex, they are always the best.
What’s your go-to meal to cook yourself when you’re feeling melancholy?
Square sausage on a Glasgow roll. Check my Instagram for the recipe!
What’s your favourite childhood snack that you still eat?
Tunnock’s biscuits, still made in Glasgow and still as delicious as they’ve always been.
If you had to choose between sweet and savoury foods, what would you pick?
I’ve a shocking sweet tooth, but definitely savoury!
What ingredient do you think every Kiwi should have in their pantries?
Tunnock’s biscuits.
What’s the worst thing you’ve ever eaten?
Raw stomach innards from a freshly killed cow in an Ethiopian field on Christmas Day!
Melissa Leong: Keen to move on from nightmare 2020!
After what she called a “dumpster fire” of a year in 2020, fellow MasterChef judge Melissa Leong is ready to launch into the new season with a new perspective.
The 39-year-old says she’s tackling 2021 with the mantra “gratitude, connection, power and change”.
“Those words I definitely consider are at the heart of what’s going on in my life,” she added, speaking at an event earlier this year. Her comments come after a turbulent year for the star, particularly within her personal life, after she separated from her husband of three years Joe Jones last December.
And while the Melbourne bar owner perhaps hinted that their split was down to her extensive filming schedule on the hit reality show, Melissa won’t apologise for working hard. “As the child of migrant parents, career – and doing well in that – is incredibly important to me,” she said recently.
