Masterchef Australia bids adieu to its famous trio of judges – Matt, Gary and George

• The celebrity judges of Masterchef Australia Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris are leaving the show.
• The judges are leaving after being on the show for 11 seasons.
• The move comes in after Calombaris was accused and fined for underpaying his staff by $8 million.

Arguably, the world’s most popular cooking reality show Masterchef Australia has bid adieu to its celebrity judges Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris. The show has gained immense popularity in India, that an Indian version was created called Masterchef India.

The judges who are celebrity chefs themselves, had become synonymous with the show, which had a dream run for 11 seasons. They not only assess the contestants and the quality of their food, but also entertain the audience with quirky comments.

More importantly, they introduce the audience to the finer points of gourmet food, an aspect which found a sweet spot with its Indian fanbase.

On an instagram post, Masterchef Australia wrote, “After 11 sensational seasons, we bid a fond farewell to our judges - Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris. For more than a decade, #MasterChefAU has celebrated Australian food and made the culinary dreams of everyday home cooks come true. We thank Matt, George and Gary for being a part of this remarkable MasterChef legacy!”

This move comes after a scandal hit one of the judges, George Calombaris. He was fined for allegedly underpaying his employees by almost $8 million.

The judges have also often travelled to India for collaboration, given their popularity with the Indian audience. Many Indian origin chefs have made their way to the Australian show as well.

Gary Mehigan, yet another judge from the show, has travelled to India, and also did shows with Pooja Dhingra, the owner of Le15 cafe. Mehigan also has a partnership with Indian e-commerce startup Nicobar for their cookware line.