There have been whispers for weeks that former MasterChef judges matt Preston and Gary Mehigan were set to join a rival cooking program – and now the rumours have been confirmed!
WATCH: This is what Matt Preston had to say about his firing from MasterChef
The TV chefs have announced they are jumping from the Ten frying pan and into the Seven fire.
Announced in Seven’s full 2020 line-up today the two former MasterChef judges will head a new program alongside My Kitchen Rules judge Manu Feildel called Plate of Origin, launching around the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The new show – dubbed “the Olympics of cooking” is set to whet foodies appetites as several teams compete to showcase various cuisines.
The news follows Preston’s recent denial that he was set to defect to Seven’s My Kitchen Rules.
A report in The Australian claimed that former MasterChef judges Gary Mehigan and Preston would be joining the Channel 7 cooking show in 2020, minus George Calombaris.
“I can confirm that I am talking to other networks and producers about new projects for 2020 and beyond,” he told news.com.au.
“Taking over MKR as host/judge is not on the agenda! I have too much love for Manu, Colin and Pete to do that!”
There had been rumours for months that Seven was pushing to sign both Preston and Mehigan without Calombaris, who earlier this year was fined $200,000 for underpaying staff from his restaurant empire more than $7.8 million in wages.
Earlier this month MasterChef’s three new judges were revealed to be Scottish chef Jock Zonfrillo, food writer Melissa Leong and season four MasterChef winner Andy Allen.
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