They’re looking for a MasterChef, not a master chef.
MasterChef has already eliminated its first contestant, but not for a sunken souffle or a bland jus.
Mario Montecullo had made it to the top 24 when it was discovered he’s worked as a professional cook.
Quelle horreur!
A rule of the reality juggernaut is that contestants can’t have been paid to cook any time in the previous 15 years.
“Both Shine Australia and Network Ten take the rules of the competition very seriously with regard to cooks being of an amateur status,” a spokeswoman said in a statement.
Montecuollo had worked for five months in a professional kitchen. Producers researching him found an article in a hospitality magazine that listed him as “head chef” at Bar Racuda (see what he did there?), a venue he owns in Enmore in Sydney’s inner west.
“Our job is to find Australia’s best amateur cook so sadly Mario will not be joining us,” judge Gary Mehigan told the remaining 23 contestants.
Jessie Spiby from South Australia will now be added to the line-up.
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“I am so passionate about food, I got carried away without realising what I had done in the past would be considered too much,” Montecuollo told the Herald Sun.
“I never meant to mislead anyone.”
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Top Comments
Funny, at least one previous contestant (Audra, I think?) was a caterer prior to being on the show. Seems like this rule is fairly open to interpretation!
um yes you did,,, cheaters never prosper