What Happens To The Leftover Food?
The MasterChef Australia contestants are constantly pumping out some delicious-looking dishes on the show, but there’s one question on a bunch of our minds: where does the leftover food go?
Since Mimi Wong told PEDESTRIAN.TV back in 2024 there’s a rule that contestants aren’t allowed to taste each other’s food on set, does it all get chucked in the bin?
Don’t worry! I know it looks like the judges take teeny-tiny bites and then the food *magically disappears*, but MasterChef Australia has partnerships with charities to help eliminate food waste. In a time when the world is on fire and an environmentalist’s worst nightmare, this is a relief.
One of the main charities, SecondBite, recently posted about the impact MasterChef Australia has had on the community.
“Did you know MasterChef supports Second Bite by donating unused produce and ingredients at the end of filming days? Since the beginning of our partnership, they’ve contributed the equivalent of 1.3 million meals to those in need,” they wrote on Instagram.
There’s no food wastage in this kitchen! (Credit: Channel 10)
MasterChef 2024 contestant Sumeet Saigal also echoed this, telling Refinery29 that producers “try to keep waste to the minimum possible”, and when leftovers aren’t donated to charity, they’re shared with the cast and crew.
“They do try and use up all the produce, whether it’s raw or fresh vegetables and fruit, or whether it’s cooked food that the crew gets to share around,” she said.
“Even things like practising a lot after hours — if there were leftovers in the kitchen, we’d be able to get the raw produce. So they’d have things they’d be able to give [contestants] to practice with — say someone needs to just cut a fillet off a fish. It’s not wasted, it’s shared around with the crew.”
With the competition cooks, the crew is also allowed to eat the finished dishes, so “there’s no real wastage”.
Over on Reddit, one user claimed the show has a special deal with the crew on the show, putting a halt to any pesky food waste.
“The crew also has a ‘crew pantry’ where they can take leftover ingredients in exchange for a donation to a chosen charity,” the user wrote.
“Any food that cannot be used is composted. The show uses a composting machine to convert food waste into compostable material, which is then used in the MasterChef garden. This practice helps reduce the environmental impact of the show and supports sustainable gardening practices.”
The crew actually get a chance to chow down on these dishes after filming is over. (Credit: Channel 10)
Three-time contestant Laura Sharrad, who won last year’s season of the cooking show, previously praised the composting systems in use.
“Some of the unwanted produce ends up in the garden’s compost. It’s so amazing to see all the split bin systems also in place to make sure everything is getting disposed of properly,” she told news.com.au.
Well, we now know what happens when the chefs don’t quite use all of the food that they’ve been given, and it’s nice to know there’s a wholesome reason. Perfect for such a wholesome reality show, don’t you think?
Feature Image: Network 10
