Latest news with #MasterChefAustralia2025
Refinery29
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Refinery29
MasterChef Australia's Poh Ling Yeow Defends Laura Sharrad: 'People Struggle Watching Confident Females'
MasterChef Australia 2025 has been a huge success, seeing 24 experienced contestants come back to compete for the title. Now, we're at the very end — with Laura Sharrad going head-to-head with Callum Hann in the grand finale. However, some murmurs online have put a bit of a dampener on the whole celebration, mainly aimed at Laura. The MasterChef Australia 2025 contestant has been accused of receiving "favouritism" from judges Poh Ling Yeow, Sofia Levin, Andy Allen and Jean-Christophe Novelli, with some labelling her as a "judges' pet". The chef has been playing to her strengths — she runs a popular pasta bar called Nido in Adelaide — but viewers have also blasted her for cooking similar dishes for each challenge. Poh Ling Yeow tells Refinery29 Australia she's "baffled" by the hate Laura has been receiving, and says any idea the judges favour the contestant is "ludicrous". On a technical level, the contestant has proven her skill in the kitchen time and time again. "The thing that shocked me the most [when I became a judge was] how stringent and fair the whole judging process is," Poh says. "I think some [part] of me was a little bit clenched going into the job, wondering if I was going to find out all these dark secrets... I arrived to find that everything is so fair and so thorough." The biggest disconnect comes from the audience not being able to taste the food, so while Laura often serves up pasta that looks similar, the taste is never the same. "I even admit that when I was a contestant competing against [Laura] in Back to Win, I used to feel this same sentiment, because the way Laura cooks, she cooks within a wheelhouse but she's very creative within it," Poh explains. "It's a very solid and clever strategy, as opposed to someone like me who was a little bit too wild. I would be experimenting on the spot, right? And when you play that game, you have to be willing to fall from high places and understand that it's a different kind of game." Poh carefully broaches another reason Laura has been targeted by the public this season, and it comes down to the way she has been portrayed on screen. "I think people really struggle with watching highly confident females state what they want unapologetically. And Laura has always been that, right from the beginning," the host says. ' I think people really struggle with watching highly confident females state what they want unapologetically. And Laura has always been that, right from the beginning. Poh Ling Yeow on Laura Sharrad ' "Laura has shown vulnerability, but I think it's interesting that people only attach to the parts where she's having success, or she's having confidence, and when she's able to achieve what she sets out to achieve. There's something about that, that doesn't resonate with people, because they want to see people struggle all the time," she adds. MasterChef Australia is often looked as an "aspirational" and wholesome reality TV show, where amateur cooks can jump into the kitchen and triumph over adversity. With most of the returning MasterChef Australia 2025 cast being professional chefs, many with their own restaurants, the game this year has changed. Poh believes there's two different strategies you can take when you enter the MasterChef Australia competition, and from both this and previous seasons, the "high risk, high reward" style of game tends to provide audiences with characters they can root for. Sarah Todd was sent home earlier this season after providing outrageous dishes, such as her savoury vanilla slice with chicken dill, cucumber gel and garlic cream, and fans lamented the loss of the cook. "Sarah Todd, right? She cooked very conceptually through the whole thing. But the thing with that I really identified was that [she was] choosing to leave legacy before competition," Poh explains. "I feel like you're playing a different game. It's like, I want to leave a mark as to what kind of cook I am, and that's more important to me than winning... Laura has always been brilliant at [being] very highly strategic, so it's no surprise that [she's] gotten to the [finale]." ' I think it's interesting that people only attach to the parts where she's having success, or she's having confidence, and when she's able to achieve what she sets out to achieve. There's something about that, that doesn't resonate with people, because they want to see people struggle all the time. Poh Ling Yeow on Laura Sharrad ' Both Laura and Callum have been front-runners throughout the entire competition this year, and Poh thinks viewers won't be surprised by the MasterChef Australia 2025 winner. "They have absolutely been through a marathon to get here, and it is not at all sort of a surprise, so I feel like they really earned their spots," she teases. "The margins are so tiny, that it's very random in a way, it's down to micro decisions. And at this point, you've already proven your worth. Especially this season, we have made them cook their buns off." Laura has missed out on the MasterChef Australia title twice before, so it seems like this year, she's playing hard to win. If she beats Callum in the MasterChef Australia 2025 final, her strategy of securing the title over creating a lasting legacy would have paid off. If not? She'll have to come back for a fourth time. The MasterChef Australia 2025 grand finale airs on Channel 10, Tuesday 12 August at 7.30pm.
Refinery29
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Refinery29
How Depinder Chhibber Is Using MasterChef Australia To Shift Stereotypes Around Indian Foods
Depinder Chhibber is having a dream run on MasterChef Australia 2025, with a bunch of wins under her belt and one of the most talked about dishes so far: her traditional Indian street food dish, Raj Kachori. In the West, there can be a stigma rooted in racism surrounding South Asian food, where the cuisine is associated with words like 'cheap' and 'simple'. Compare that to French or Italian cuisine, often considered 'elevated' and 'expensive'. This type of thinking is a 'sore spot' for Chhibber, because not only is her identity tied directly to Indian food, but she also tells Refinery29 Australia that people often don't understand how 'technical' traditional Indian recipes are. 'When I make Indian food, I know how much technicality is involved in the recipes that I'm using, which is probably the same, if not more than a French recipe, I would say,' she explains. '[I've] always said that we need to respect the local artisans, the local street food vendors, because they've been doing this for generations… when I go to Delhi, I go to the ones that have been there for like, over 100 years. These local artisans have had recipes passed down for generations and have spent years perfecting their skills. "The way they do it, they just make it look so easy. But you try and do that at home, and it's impossible to get right,' she adds. With Chhibber's Raj Kachori dish, she specifically created the street food version rather than a fancy deconstructed version, because she wanted it to be authentic. Part of her mission on MasterChef Australia is to educate Aussies about Indian food, because she believes these racist stereotypes can sometimes come down to 'lack of awareness'. 'I feel like it's my job to make everyone aware of the dishes that I know and do the best in the best possible way, if that makes sense. Because I want to go out there, and I want to create these dishes, and I want to show these dishes to the judges, to the world,' she says. ' 'It's not about the price that you pay. It's about what you get, and it's about flavour, and it's about the experience.' ' When Chhibber moved to Newcastle as an 11-year-old, she was impacted by the absence of Indian street food. There was one takeout restaurant that everybody would go to… and that was it. 'That kind of got me really interested in food, especially learning techniques and recipes that normally you wouldn't need to when you were living in India, because you could just go down the street [and buy it],' she recalls. 'I think that [food] became like an identity, kind of like a mission for me to master those and showcase those, which is what I'm aiming to do this season.' The first time Chhibber competed on MasterChef Australia, she didn't expect to have such a reaction from other Indian Australians watching the show. This time around, she's all too aware. 'When I came onto MasterChef [the first time], I was cooking Indian food without realising how much it meant to other people in the community. I honestly didn't realise the importance of that emotion, because I had never felt that before,' she says. ' 'This time around, when I'm making dishes… if I'm tearing up, I know people will be tearing up with me, because they can all feel the same emotion.' ' Her mission to bring Indian food to Australia won't stop at MasterChef Australia, whether she wins or not, because she has big plans for after the show. She's already opened her own supper club called Ghar in Newcastle, and her next step is to publish a cookbook. 'I would love to put all my recipes together, all of the things that I've learned over the last how many years I've been cooking, and I'd love to put them into a cookbook for local people that are intimidated by Indian food,' she says. 'Indian food can be quite intimidating with its flavours, with its spices, the number of ingredients. But you know what? There is an easy way to do everything. 'I think everyone can learn a little bit of spice work. And I think living in Australia, how multicultural we are, I think it's really important to kind of be across a lot of different cuisines if you're a foodie, especially if you like to call yourself a foodie.'
Refinery29
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Refinery29
Poh & Sofia's Best Outfits On MasterChef Australia 2025 (So Far) & Where To Buy Them
The food sure looks stunning on MasterChef Australia 2025, with some of the top returning contestants from previous seasons battling it out for the highest honour. But alongside Depinder Chhibber's delicious creations and Sarah Todd's weird but wonderful oyster ice cream, there's something else that has caught our eye. When we're not busy drooling over the food, our attention is solely on Sofia Levin and Poh Ling Yeow's incredible style. The judges became known for their effortlessly chic looks during MasterChef Australia last year, and they've upped the ante in 2025. Say goodbye to boring fashion in the kitchen, because these leading ladies have been busy making bold statements with unique silhouettes, striking colours and patterns. Yeow has always loved to make a splash — whether that's as a frantic contestant or a calm and encouraging judge — so if you're wondering how to take a leaf out of her book, we've got you covered. We've rounded up all of Poh and Sofia's fashion moments from MasterChef Australia 2025, along with where you can buy the coveted pieces as well.
Daily Mail
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
MasterChef Australia fans are convinced a promo poster for the 2025 season SPOILS the winner
MasterChef Australia 2025 is set to premiere on Monday. This season sees 24 past contestants come back to win the MasterChef trophy and $250,000 in prize money. Among the cast are MasterChef fan favourites, including season one's Andre Ursini, Sarah Todd from season 14 and Tim Bone from season 11. And already fans of the cooking competition have emerged with a theory about who will be crowned the winner. Viewers have gone online to speculate that the producers have spoiled the show after dropping a promo poster showing just six of the 24 contestants who will battle it out in the kitchen. The featured contestants are lined up in the image and appear in various sizes, including Laura Sharrad who starred in seasons 6 and 12. Also appearing in the promo are season 16's Savindri Perera and Darrsh Clarke as well as Tim Bone from season 11. There's also Declan Cleary from season 15, while the image of fan favourite Steph De Sousa from season 11 looms largest in the poster. Many fans felt Laura Sharrad was a shoe-in based on her appearance on the poster. A fan Reddit started the discussion by asking, 'Do you think the winner is pictured?' 'Considering that Laura is the only pictured contestant from before season 11, do you think she wins, or do you think that the winner is not pictured?' 'I do think majority of them probably went far or did pretty well, while maybe at least one maybe goes out relatively early?' said one fan. Observed another: 'It's interesting that those are the ones chosen for it. I do think just based on the trailers, it seems like Laura and Darrsh are the main characters so far.' 'The only one out of these that could realistically win is Laura, I think.' It comes after controversial celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, 58, was announced as a guest judge on the new season's Back to Win competition which is set to premiere on April 28. The notoriously hot-tempered Ramsay will be joined in the kitchen by regular judges Andy Allen, Sofia Levin, Poh Ling Yeow and Jean-Christophe Novelli. Ramsay last appeared on the hit cooking competition in 2018. Andre Ursini, who made his TV debut in 2009 as a contestant on MasterChef Australia, recently announced his return to the show. The 44-year-old chef and restaurateur posted the news on his Instagram, along with a fresh trailer for the Back To Win season. The preview features the dramatic moment he was booted off the show in season one. 'I got eliminated on a Sri Lankan curry taste test,' the Adelaide-based chef says in the voice over. Also included is new footage of a now bearded Andre working on a recipe. 'I haven't been in the MasterChef kitchen for about 16 long time,' he continues. He also teased his hopes for the new season. 'I've ticked all my food creative goals, my work goals, my life goals,' he said. 'But I've never held that [MasterChef] trophy.' The former reality star has opened several notable eateries in South Australia, including the award-winning Andre's Cucina & Polenta Bar in Adelaide, ORSO, Villetta Porcini, Lost Phoenix Farm and Willmott's Gastronomia.
