Melissa Leong will be departing MasterChef Australia.
The popular judge’s exit is set to be officially announced at Channel Ten’s upfronts on Tuesday, The Australian Financial Review reported on Monday.
Stepping into the judging chairs will be MasterChef winner Poh Ling Yeow and Michelin star chef Jean-Christophe Novelli.
Food critic Sofia Levin will be joining as a fourth judge, alongside returning star Andy Allen.
Melissa will continue to appear on Dessert Masters, another Channel Ten cooking competition which kicks off in November.
Melissa Leong will be departing MasterChef Australia . The popular judge’s exit is set to be announced on Tuesday, The Australian Financial Review reported on Monday. Pictured with Andy Allen and Jock Zonfrillo
A Channel Ten spokesperson told the publication that Melissa’s exit largely comes down to scheduling.
‘Melissa Leong remains a key member of the MasterChef Australia family’ the spokesperson said.
‘Melissa is set to return for a second season of Dessert Masters in 2024, alongside fellow judge and pastry prodigy Amaury Guichon.
‘Next year, MasterChef Australia and Dessert Masters will air back-to-back, therefore each show needs its own distinct style and personality and its own unique hosting team.’
Leong told The Daily Telegraph on Monday that her time on MasterChef Australia was ‘truly magical’.
Stepping into the judging chair will be MasterChef winner Poh Ling Yeow (pictured)
Michelin star chef Jean-Christophe Novelli (pictured) is also joining the cast
Food critic Sofia Levin (pictured) will be joining as a fourth judge, alongside returning star Andy Allen
‘It has provided me with life-changing experiences that have given me the courage to continue to put myself outside of my comfort zone’ she said.
‘The great honour of growing the MasterChef Australia family with the introduction of Dessert Masters is not lost on me. I relish the sweet opportunity to nurture this special series alongside Amaury.’
Melissa added that she welcomes the show’s new faces, ‘with great enthusiasm and warmth’.
‘I know they will make it theirs in their own special way, as we did’ she said.
Melissa will continue to appear on Dessert Masters (pictured), another Channel Ten cooking competition which kicks off in November
Leong said on Monday that her time on MasterChef Australia was ‘truly magical’
Andy Allen revealed on Monday that the decision to return following the death of his co-star Jock Zonfrillo was not an easy one.
‘After an extremely difficult year in 2023, and upon reflection, the decision to return to the series is not one I took lightly,’ he told The Daily Telegraph.
‘But there is something special in the MasterChef Australia Kitchen, and it feels right to come back to work with the amazing production team, and to play my role in seeing the contestants do as I have done.
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‘2024 will be the start of a new chapter, and it will be surreal – yet brilliant – to share this moment with my fellow judges, Poh, Sofia and Jean-Christophe.’
Andy Allen said on Monday that the decision to return following the death of his co-star Jock Zonfrillo was not an easy one
Poh Ling Yeow called her return to the show that made her a household name as a judge, ‘a thrilling, full circle moment’.
‘MasterChef Australia is where my food story began, so this feels like coming home’ she said.
‘A big part of me will always be standing on the other side with the contestants and I hope when they look to me, they see proof you don’t have to win to win.’
Poh is well known as a fan favourite in the MasterChef family.
Poh is a fan favourite in the MasterChef family. She was the runner-up on the first season of the cooking competition in 2009 and returned in 2020 on the Back to Win edition
Melbourne-based food critic Sofia Levin is also a famous face, and recently did a stint on The Cook Up with Adam Liaw (left)
She was the runner-up on the first season of the cooking competition in 2009 and returned in 2020 on the Back to Win edition, where she placed 6th.
The chef has also made guest appearances on the program which have always gone down a treat with fans.
Melissa and Andy joined MasterChef Australia in 2019, after former judges Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris left the show amid a pay dispute.
Leong, in particular, has emerged as a bonafide network star and a brand in her own right with lucrative partnerships with Visit Victoria, QT Hotels and Perrier-Jouet Champagne.
Jean-Christophe Novelli, 62, is no stranger to cooking shows. The French celebrity chef has appeared on Chef Academy, Culinary Genius and Hell’s Kitchen alongside Gordon Ramsay
Casting conversations started after beloved judge Zonfrillo’s tragic death in the early hours of May 1.
The source described it as a ‘sombre process’ with everyone involved still grieving the enigmatic Scottish chef who joined the cast in 2019.
Zonfrillo died in his hotel room at Zagame’s House on Lygon Street in Carlton and was found by police at about 2am on Monday, May 1 – the same day Channel Ten was meant to premiere the fifteenth season of MasterChef Australia.
Police were responding to a welfare check following concerns from his wife Lauren Fried who was in Italy at the time with their son and daughter.
Casting conversations started after beloved judge Zonfrillo’s tragic death in the early hours of May 1. Zonfrillo pictured on MasterChef with Leong, Allen and Gordon Ramsay
Zonfrillo is survived by his third wife, Lauren, and his four children: grown-up daughters Ava and Sophia, from his first two marriages, and six-year-old Alfie and two-year-old Isla, with Fried.
Newcomer Jean-Christophe Novelli, 62, is no stranger to television cooking shows.
The French celebrity chef has appeared on Chef Academy, Culinary Genius and Hell’s Kitchen alongside Gordon Ramsay.
Melbourne-based food critic Sofia Levin is also a famous face, and recently did a stint on The Cook Up with Adam Liaw.
Melissa and Andy joined MasterChef Australia in 2019, after former judges Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris left the show amid a pay dispute
