If you’ve ever wondered what happens to all the leftover food and produce on MasterChef Australia, we’ve got you covered.
In an interview with news.com.au, judge Jock Zonfrillo broke down exactly how a show with so much abundance like MasterChef Australia can also end up with very little waste.
In fact, through a partnership with the not-for-profit food rescue organisation SecondBite, the show has provided over 173,000 free meals for people who need them. And that’s just in 2021! The show has been donating to SecondBite since 2013.
So here’s how it works.
“We do what’s called the crew pantry where the crew nominate a charity to give to and put a donation into the jar then they take whatever they want from the crew pantry,” Zonfrillo explained.
“What’s left after that goes to SecondBite. Then there’s the waste. We’ve got a very fine composting machine which turns food waste into compostable material that goes into the MasterChef garden.”
The SecondBite warehouse receives pallet deliveries of food that’s been deemed damaged or not good enough by MasterChef or supermarkets like Coles, and Zonfrillo said it was “crazy” to see “how little is wrong with it”.
From there, Zonfrillo explained that “the volunteers sift through the pallet deliveries” and then send it out to the SecondBite centres for meal preparation.
“There is quality fruit and vegetables getting sent out to various centres to make meals,” he said, calling it “a great system”.
“Everyone is there voluntarily, doing something that’s good for the community and for people they don’t know who are in much less fortunate situation than they are,” Zonfrillo shared.
SecondBite co-founder and director Simone Carson told news.com.au that the partnership with MasterChef Australia has been “a very significant relationship” for them.
“The quality of their food is always phenomenal and they lend to the very important work we’re doing in ending waste and ending hunger,” she said.
