Former MasterChef judges team up after fans lost it over leaked call

The iconic trio are getting back together.

Four years after leaving MasterChef, former judges Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston are reuniting for an exciting new project.

The culinary trio, who were at the helm of the popular reality show for 11 years, are set to team up for a series of food events in India later this year.

Former MasterChef judges Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston.
Former MasterChef judges Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston are reuniting for a new project. Photo: Channel 10

The Herald Sun reports that the TV personalities will host dinners in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore in November, in addition to several other events that will be officially announced soon.

The Conosh culinary company has begun promoting the event on their website with an image of the three alongside a ‘coming soon’ banner.

Gary, George and Matt each gained a huge following in India during their time on MasterChef, with billboards being installed across the country to farewell them when season 11 aired.

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George first teased a reunion with his former co-stars last month, taking to Instagram to post a video of them on a Zoom call together.

“Some serious food talk for a very special project but majority a lot of shots and giggles with @garymehigan @mattscravat,” he wrote in the caption.

Former MasterChef judges Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston on a Zoom call.
George teased a reunion on social media last month. Photo: Instagram/gcalombaris

Why did the trio leave MasterChef?

Fans were shocked when Gary, George and Matt announced in 2019 that they would not be returning for MasterChef’s 12th season.

While Channel 10 claimed it “couldn't meet their demands for a pay rise”, Gary took to social media at the time to assert that his decision to leave was “never about the money and never will be about the money”.

"To explain: It was time to move on, have more free time to explore our own creativity,” he wrote. “We couldn’t agree on the term of the new contract for 2020. Something we felt very strongly about.”

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Gary and Matt went on to host the short-lived cooking series Plate of Origin on Channel Seven in 2020 and recently appeared as guest judges on My Kitchen Rules.

Meanwhile, George was a contestant on The Masked Singer in 2021 and filmed a new Channel 10 cooking show Hungry with former MasterChef star Sarah Todd last year.

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