Former MasterChef judges Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris are reuniting for the first time in 18 months, to appear on-screen together once more.
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The trio were co-hosts of MasterChef Australia for 11 seasons, before their exit from the show in 2019.
“After 11 sensational seasons, we bid a fond farewell to our judges – Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris,” Ten wrote at the time.
Now, Matt, Gary and George have come together for a marathon cooking special to raise funds for Covid-19 relief efforts in India.
The event will run live on June 19 to 20, and will include cooking demos, conversations with the three hosts in the kitchen together, as well as guest appearances by renowned local chefs and personalities.
Matt, Gary and George will spend 12 hours together for the one-off live charity event, with the former MasterChef judges to put on a cookathon called ‘Cooking4India’.
Joining them for the 12-hour cooking special will be fellow celebrity chefs including Heston Blumenthal, Shannon Bennett, Manu Feildel, Adrian Richardson, Justine Schofield, Darren Purchese, Khanh Ong and Diana Chan.
Taking to Instagram, Gary explained the important of “pulling together” during the “life-changing and traumatic” experiences for many people battling the effects of COVID in India.
“COVID has been life changing and traumatic for many. But in India it is devastating. There are more than 400,000 cases a day and thousands dying everyday,” he wrote.
He added that the “one of a kind” live stream, which will run on YouTube, will see 12 hours of “delicious cooking, food and fun”, and aims to raise money for the charity Cooking4India.
Matt and George also uploaded posts to their own Instagram accounts, spreading the same message.
“The Indian people need vital medication, oxygen and aid so we’re getting the band back together for a 12-hour marathon virtual event of food, cooking and conversation to raise funds,” Matt said.
The news comes after Channel Ten announced the return of Celebrity MasterChef after a 12-year hiatus, in a move to boost the show’s ratings.
In April this year, New Idea revealed that Ten gave the go-ahead for the return of Celebrity MasterChef.
The surprise new season was said to have replaced MasterChef Junior, which returned in 2020 after a nine-year hiatus to less than impressive ratings.
