A Comprehensive Guide on Marco Pierre White and His Beef With MasterChef Australia

The latest season of MasterChef Australia: Fans and Favourites has been nothing short of extraordinary, but are we really surprised? Each year, the cooking competition pulls out all the stops, and the contestants seem to be more skilled than the ones before.

Of course, this year things are slightly different, with previous favourites entering the kitchen for the second time. Cooking alongside a group of “Fans”, the Favourites definitely have their work cut out for them, and things are sure to reach new heights when celebrity chef Marco Pierre White walks through those famed doors to judge their creations.

Who Is Marco Pierre White?

If you’ve been tuning into MasterChef Australia since its inception, you’ll most likely be familiar with Marco Pierre White. The British chef and restauranteur is often credited as being the first celebrity chef. 

One Google search will tell you that he’s best known for being the enfant terrible of modern gastronomy, because of his short temper and controversial reputation. By the age of 28, White was considered a trailblazer and had already received two Michelin stars — making him the youngest chef to do so at the time.

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He kept climbing up the ladder of success, having been awarded three Michelin stars at the age of 33 in January 1995. He was the first, and youngest, British chef to be given the honour. 

Since then, White has mentored many notable celebrity chefs, such as Mario Batali, Heston Blumenthal, Shannon Bennett, Gordon Ramsay and Curtis Stone. He also admitted to making Ramsay cry once while he was training under him. 

“I don’t recall what he’d done wrong but I yelled at him and he lost it,” White told The Independent. “Gordon crouched down in the corner of the kitchen, buried his head in his hands and started sobbing.”

In 1999, White retired from the kitchen and returned all his Michelin stars. He now works as a restauranteur and has several successful businesses.

Marco Pierre White’s Beef With MasterChef Australia Explained

Despite appearing on the show numerous times before, White’s appearance on MasterChef Australia this year is particularly special. For a time, the chef decided to boycott the cooking show after then-judge Matt Preston made comments about White’s son.

Preston commented on White’s son spending $500,000 of his father’s money on sex workers and drugs, calling him a “trust fund babe”.

Speaking to the Adelaide Advertiser, White said: “No one should ever say that about someone else’s children. I will never forgive that man,” adding: “With my hand on my mother’s grave I will get that man.”

Now that Preston is no longer a judge on the show, White has decided to return to the kitchen. While we’re not sure what will ensue, we do know that every time White is in the kitchen, things get heated.

MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites airs at 7.30pm on Channel 10 and 10 Play On Demand.

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