Former MasterChef Australia stars Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston have seen their international careers takeoff as they make a television comeback.
The popular trio, who rose to fame as the original judges on Channel 10’s hit cooking show, have ‘developed a huge fan base in India’ the Herald Sun reports.
The judges have hosted dinners and masterclasses in three cities in the region which were a huge success, as well as filming two episodes of TV series Ultimate Homechef of India.
Billboards picturing the Mehigan, Calomaris and Preston were even erected around India after their final MasterChef season.
Mehigan’s manager Justine May told the publication that the three will return to India in August.
Former MasterChef Australia stars Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston have seen their international careers takeoff as they make a television comeback. All pictured
‘The love for them remains as strong as ever in the international market’ she said.
‘They treasure the opportunity to get back together and do projects with each other.’
Calombaris told the Herald Sun, ‘It is nice to have the gang back together.’
The men have additionally joined forces for the Friends of George event at Hotel Sorrento.
‘The three of us still do a lot of stuff overseas, we have a big following in India, but this is the first time we’ve been back together in Australia,’ Calombaris told the Herald Sun earlier this year.
The judges have hosted dinners and masterclasses in three cities in India which were a huge success, as well as filming episodes of TV series Ultimate Homechef of India
Billboards picturing the Mehigan, Calomaris and Preston were even erected around India after their final MasterChef season
‘A portion of each ticket will be donated to Bowel Cancer Australia which is close to my heart.’
The guest chefs will create dishes for guests at Hotel Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula on November 12.
Tickets are $169 per person and $10 from every ticket will be donated to Bowel Cancer Australia.
It comes after the trio hosted a series of live events in India last year.
The Herald Sun reported that the kitchen gurus were presenting a series of dinners in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi from November.
Calombaris told the Herald Sun, ‘It is nice to have the gang back together’
Other, unnamed events are also planned in association with the Conish company, a culinary business, based in India.
Conish promoted the famed three on their website, as part of the company’s ongoing series of public dinners.
According to the report, Mehigan, Preston and Calombaris enjoyed a high profile in India during their heyday on MasterChef.
Billboards could be seen in some major cities farewelling the famous foodies, after all three they exited the show back in 2019.
Last year, there was talk that the original MasterChef judges were producing something brand new together.
‘The three of us still do a lot of stuff overseas, we have a big following in India, but this is the first time we’ve been back together in Australia,’ Calombaris said
A leaked Zoom between Mehigan, Preston and Calombaris had fans suggesting that the three would be headed back to TV for a new show.
Calombaris, who shared the post, captioned the story: ‘Some serious food talk for a very special project. But majority a lot of shots and giggles.’
The trio hosted the hit cooking show for a decade, from 2009 to 2019.
However, in July 2019 Channel 10 announced that the three judges would not be returning for season 12 of the series.
It has been widely reported that the hosts left the show because they couldn’t agree on money.
But Mehigan said at the time that it had nothing to do with financial matters.
In a statement posted to Instagram he wrote: ‘It was time to move on [and] have more free time to explore our own creativity. It was never about the money and never will be about the money.’
