Inside The Biggest Scandals That Rocked MasterChef

Although MasterChef is known for its high-intensity cooking and the commitment of its judges to perfection, on its surface, it's still a light entertainment show. Week after week, year after year, contestants in its formats around the world battle to be crowned the winner, and the vibe is generally pretty good-natured, with the professionals wanting people to succeed and the amateur cooks supporting each other. Behind the scenes, though, things aren't quite as jovial as they appear. What you see on screen doesn't necessarily reflect the prep that goes into the show itself, from the casting process to the rigorous cooking classes that take place before filming — and nor does it reflect the true goings-on of the production, and the murky issues that have plagued it.

Over the years, MasterChef has been plagued by a host of scandals, which have changed how viewers have perceived the show. Some of these, like an incident in which the show faked crowd shots, have left egg on the faces of the television executives who produce it. Others have been a lot more serious, with allegations of sexual harassment, cases of mass food poisoning, and accusations of favoritism. Let's take a look at the biggest controversies that this television staple has dealt with.

MasterChef U.K. first aired in 1990, but its modern version premiered in 2005, and ever since then, hosts John Torode and Gregg Wallace have been the faces of the show. In 2025, however, that changed for good, after a string of allegations against both personalities ultimately resulted in their removal and a huge media storm in the United Kingdom. The year before, BBC News reported that there had been multiple allegations against Wallace by former production staff, who had claimed that he had used inappropriate sexual language, as well as exhibited inappropriate behavior, with some complaints dating all the way back to 2011.

MasterChef's U.K. producers, Banijay, launched an official investigation into Wallace and the claims against him. Simultaneously, Torode faced a host of complaints about his own behavior, which also included accusations of sexual, abusive, and racist language. In 2025, a large proportion of the allegations against Wallace, and one of those against Torode, were upheld, and both hosts were fired. The last season to contain both of them as presenters still aired in the summer of 2025, with the BBC stating that it would continue to do so out of respect for the contestants.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

MasterChef is a show that, unlike other cooking shows, has absolutely not flopped. However, it's occasionally had trouble finding the people it needs. Back in 2011, this was the basis of a particularly embarrassing moment for the show, when a keen-eyed viewer noticed that a season 2 episode of MasterChef appeared to have been doctored, with its crowd shots faked to make them look bigger. They pointed out in a Reddit post that the crowd shot contained duplicates of multiple groups of people, with their thread garnering almost 900 comments. What was even more mortifying was that this crowd shot was meant to show how many people were auditioning for MasterChef. With the removal of the doubled-up people, it looked like no one had bothered to turn up. Hey, we guess a small crowd means more cooking show leftovers for everyone.

Somewhat predictably, news outlets jumped on this moment, and the shot-faking incident received national coverage from organizations like Entertainment Weekly. MasterChef's producers, Reveille Productions, said in a statement, "We have reviewed the footage and it's clear that the scene was enhanced in post-production. We sincerely apologize to our viewers and hope that they still enjoyed the show." The producers also committed to removing the shot from future reruns of the episode. 

MasterChef's all about showcasing appetizing food that you can't wait to try at home (even if some of the dishes made on the show are a little beyond our skill level). However, things get a lot less appetizing when the food the chefs make is actively harmful. Unfortunately, that very thing happened in 2023 on MasterChef Spain, when dozens of people who were invited to a recording became ill after eating food cooked during the competition. The challenge, which was filmed at the Oceanogràfic aquarium in Valencia, involved seafood, and while it was unclear exactly which dish caused the illness, it was pretty clear that things had gone wrong in the food's preparation.

In total, 44 people became sick with some intense food poisoning, with the affected parties experiencing vomiting and diarrhea. In response, Shine Ibera (the producers of the Spanish version) put out a statement voicing its regret over the incident. The production company also noted that this was a first in the show's 11-year history, which was perhaps small comfort to the people who had gotten sick.

Have you ever wondered what happens during the casting process for MasterChef? Well, in 2018, all was revealed — and it raised some serious questions about the intensity of the whole thing. Writer and auditionee Jessie Glenn wrote a tell-all essay for Salon about her experience applying and being vetted for the show, during which she revealed some surprisingly invasive protocols. Glenn explained that, after several rounds of online casting sessions, contestants are then assessed by a psychiatrist who scrutinizes their mental health. But it gets stranger from there.

Glenn alleged that she was also subjected to analysis by a private investigator, was instructed to give blood and urine samples, and was told that she'd have to pay a management fee for any activities related to the show. Glenn's article caused a huge stir at the time, and at the end of the year, it was voted one of the best essays of 2018 by Salon, giving it further publicity. It also cast the show in a completely new light: MasterChef was no longer the largely friendly, easygoing cooking program, but a format that seriously interrogated its contestants. It was never viewed the same way again.

The whole point of MasterChef is that it's judged by the food that's set in front of the judges. In theory, nothing else should matter, but the quality of each dish, and contestants should excel by cooking consistently brilliant food. In 2020, though, viewers began to question whether that was actually the case. That year, MasterChef Australia was rocked by accusations of favoritism, with criticism of the judges' decisions lasting pretty much the entire season.

It began in June 2020, when viewers were left fuming after contestant Laura Sharrad gained immunity over fellow cook Poh Ling Yeow. Fans of the show stated that Sharrad had only achieved immunity because she hadn't done so before, and that Yeow's dish had outdone Sharrad's in its creativity. Later that month, people were again angered when contestant Tessa Boersma was sent home, saying that other cooks had been favored over her and that the competition was rigged. It was the finale, though, that really made people furious, after Emilia Jackson won over favorite Reynold Poernomo, who had been eliminated in the previous episode. Once again, viewers said that the show had been rigged, and it was clear that they weren't happy with the result.

Few things can be as damaging for a reality television show as a former contestant speaking out about their experience. In 2014, MasterChef suffered that very fate when cook Ben Starr went public with the truth about the show. In a now-deleted blog post, Starr blasted MasterChef for its fakery, claiming that there was very little that was truthful about what actually ended up on TV screens, compared to his experience. Starr also highlighted the specific language in his contract, which stated that the producers could adapt his footage to fit their narrative, and that he understood that his portrayal could ultimately end up being defamatory or expose him to criticism or ridicule. Pretty wild, huh?

It should be said, of course, that most people know by now that reality TV isn't actually real. We're all aware that shows build narratives around their contestants and bend things to their own will. However, the extent to which Starr had to sign this away was pretty shocking. The moment caused a big stir for MasterChef, and years later, it still gets coverage (including by us), which speaks to how sticky it was for the show.

Ingredient substitutions can be a contentious topic when it comes to MasterChef, and in some cases, they've bubbled over into full-scale social media storms. This happened in 2023, when a decision made on MasterChef India left a lot of people questioning its fairness. The show's judges came under fire when contestant Aruna Vijay was allowed to cook with paneer, a type of firm cheese, during a fish round, while the other cooks worked with salmon. Vijay, who is from the Jain community and is therefore vegetarian, came second in the round.

Although the reasons that Vijay wasn't cooking with fish were clearly sound, the incident nonetheless raised questions of impartiality and fairness. Commentators on social media and messaging boards voiced their opinions that people on the show should all be working with the same ingredients to ensure that they all had the same chance of success. Vijay ultimately made it to the top four of the show.

It's kinda wild to think about what shows got away with, even just 15 years ago. Back in 2010, MasterChef was embroiled in controversy after a round that instructed its chefs to make a dish with live Dungeness crab, which had to be killed before it was cooked. Participating in the show was chef Sheetal Bhagat, whose Hindu faith prohibited her from killing a living thing. Faced with the decision, an emotional Bhagat was clearly under a great deal of stress, and despite Gordon Ramsay offering to kill the crab for her, she ultimately decided to do so. This was all despite the fact that the challenge took place during a non-elimination round, and therefore Bhagat would have still been in the competition had she decided against it.

The moment sparked two questions: How much should cooks put aside their beliefs to take part in the show, and was this acceptable to air? People online, ever since then, have questioned the ethics of putting it on television — and even if Bhagat's religious beliefs hadn't been in play, the killing of a live animal on TV for a cooking show raised a few eyebrows. It's hard to imagine this taking place in today's television landscape.

When reality television shows like MasterChef are casting the contestants and judges that go on them, it's pretty hard for them to account for what happens in their other business affairs, and when things go wrong, it can have a huge impact on the show itself. This was seen in 2019, when MasterChef Australia was embroiled in a scandal concerning judge George Calombaris. It was revealed that Calombaris' companies had been underpaying staff for up to six years, with employees left out of pocket for overtime. In total, his businesses owed almost $8 million in Australian dollars to their staff.

The revelation led to unions calling for Calombaris to be fired, with union heads unleashing blistering criticisms of the judge and his ability to remain on prime television while exploiting his workers. A petition asking for his removal from the show also garnered over 27,000 signatures. MasterChef ultimately listened to its viewers, and his contract wasn't renewed after the 2019 season ended.

MasterChef's reputation as an easy watch where everyone's treated with respect was changed forever back in 2013. Marie Porter, a first-round contestant on MasterChef, wrote a highly critical blog post in which she detailed a number of allegations about the experiences of several unnamed contestants on the show. In the post, she alleged that one of her friends on MasterChef had been sexually harassed by a judge, and ultimately asked to be edited out of the show entirely. Other contestants, she said, had been spoken to with sexist language, and two had been physically assaulted, both by a judge and by production staff. Furthermore, she said that two friends had been experiencing suicidal thoughts following their participation on the show.

Porter's blog post caused a huge furore, with commentary questioning MasterChef's attitude towards female contestants in particular. In response, Shine America asserted in a statement to Jezebel that Porter's comments were "completely without merit," and that the show takes great pains to ensure that its contestants are treated well. Nonetheless, it was a serious controversy for the show.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.