Tall poppy syndrome seems to have struck the judges of MasterChef Australia, that breakout “master chef” spin-off of the British original, which for years now has seemed insipid by comparison. Australia’s Ten network took it on 11 years ago and, instead of retaining the staid British mood and format, upped it all. Big time. In doing so they created what often feels like the original format, so thorough is the formula and all its entertaining bells and whistles. If MasterChef (UK) is a cooking class, MasterChef Australia is exhilarating theatre. Not least, the three winning judges, who simply got better and better at it as every new season arrived.

Not to mention the contestants, who seemed at some point collectively to decide that it should not merely be about finding good cooks, but three-Michelin-star chefs. The standard of cooking, and plating up, and the zeal with which contestants hestonblumenthalled everything, ultimately became so extreme that no reasonably good home cook would want to risk putting themselves up against the audaciousness of it all. For some of us, the level of pretentiousness plated up became just silly. But never mind what I might think.

In achieving this winning and often thrilling standard, judges Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris became more and more famous, with the ultimate result – this week – that when one of the trio was found to have feet of clay, it seemed they’d all resigned from the show as a result of the Calombaris affair. This has however been denied, and their sudden fleeing from the kitchen put down to failed contractual obligations.

Many in the MasterChefAustraliaverse cheered when they learnt this, in the wake of Calombaris having admitted in 2019 to underpaying the staff of his Press Club, Gazi and Hellenic Republic restaurants in a 7.83-million Australian dollar underpayment scandal. For which read: he creamed off millions of dollars that should have gone to his 515 staff. Australia’s Fair Work Umbud ordered him to pay a Aus$200,000 fine as well as reimburse staff their due wages. But it’s likely that most of the show’s fans will miss the boys, so brilliant have they been for more than a decade at entertaining us. They were more than mere judges; they were showmen, ringleaders, emcees. They were a collective triumph, and that can’t be taken away from them.

Calombaris had previously landed legs-up in the vichyssoise after making physical contact with a teenager who had heckled him over his underpaying of staff. He was charged with common assault.

George Calombaris at the Swisse Marquee on Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington Racecourse on November 4, 2014 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

Underpaying young staff is a supremely foolish thing to do, as these are generally people at the start of their adult lives who will, soon enough, be young professionals with spare cash to spend at what you hope will be your restaurant. And people in the waiting industry look out for one another. An injury to one and all that….

But the soufflé collapsed suddenly this week, deflating fans of the show from Sydney and Melbourne to New York and most of South Africa along the way. Not because Calombaris was sacked. That side of the story is as unclear as a bad consommé, in a scandal of multiple layers which is reminiscent of a mille-feuille that hides whatever’s between its layers.

Nope. The red velvet cake flopped because all three judges, Matt, Gary and George, announced that they were not renewing contracts for the 12^th season, citing problems in reaching agreement on unstated matters. The mind leaps to “money”, inevitably, and it was reported, speculatively, that the three had asked for a 40% hike on their cool Aus$1-million income per season. Each, in case that was not clear.

Next up came speculation that three of the show’s regular guest judges, Maggie Beer, Curtis Stone and the runner-up contestant from the first season, Poh Ling Yeow, were to replace the three. This was stated as fact by msn.com while news.com.au was a touch more circumspect.

Could it work? A great deal of the success of MasterChef Australia can be placed at the feet of the departing judges. Each one has a keen sense of humour, each is a bit of a showman. More than that, they rib each other, spark off each other, and exude charm both individually and as a collective.

Beer has been a favourite for years and is almost always the first guest judge to come onto a new season. She’s motherly, charming, sweet, kind. But does she have the wit to match Preston, Mehigan and Calombaris? Not remotely.

Maggie Beer attends the Australian Book Industry Awards 2018 at ICC Sydney on May 3, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

And does she even want to? This tweet suggests not:

“Utter shock” — @Maggie_Beer tells @patskarvelas about her reaction to the news that the 3 MasterChef judges won’t return next season.
“For me, MasterChef is Matt, Gary & George …”

— RN Drive (@RNDrive) July 23, 2019

Curtis Stone is as famed for his handsome visage as he is as a top-notch chef and restaurateur (Maude and Gwen in LA, and Share on Princess cruise liners).

Curtis Stone attended the 17th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball in Los Angeles, CA on June 2, 2018. (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Chrysalis Butterfly Ball)

Compared with the departing judges however, his television persona is somewhat lumpen. He doesn’t seem nearly as comfortable in front of the camera, which is not to say he does not acquit himself professionally. But there’s no particular spark reminiscent of a Matt, Gary or George.

Poh Ling Yeow is assertive, not without charm, and highly professional. She can judge, but can she entertain the way all three of the old judges can? But there’s no easy humour there.

The only former guest judge who is a total match for all three is little Shannon Bennett, but there’s scant speculation that he might be picked, or would want to be. Matt Moran is a strong presence, and I imagine he could pull off a permanent judge role with aplomb. He’s witty to boot. Kylie Kwong? Too earnest by half.

Former Masterchef runner-up Poh Ling Yeow (L) and Masterchef guest judge Matt Moran attend the Masterchef Australia Network Ten launch party, launching the new series of Masterchef, at the Luminare, South Melbourne on April 23, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

The MCA gallery was not slow to offer their view on their national tall poppies, and on the Calombaris fiasco:

On a scale of one to 10 how inadequate is George Calombaris’s punishment? pic.twitter.com/4uKVvYqFSJ

— The AMWU (@theamwu) July 18, 2019

This Twitter commentator was quite pithy in noting the irony of the Calombaris affair:

Oh, the IRONY of greedy Lib cheerleader George Calombaris quitting #MasterChefAU over not being paid enough, whilst significantly underpaying his own staff. #MasterTheft #AusPol pic.twitter.com/O3Qvpl70ne

— ???? Kiera (@KieraGorden) July 23, 2019

For this armchair observer, it presented an opportunity for women:

I hope #MasterChefAU announces an all woman team of expert hosts. It’d be nice if they could confirm none of them were expert at #WageTheft too.

— Emily Mayo (@iamemilymayo) July 23, 2019

Whatever the Twitter commentariat might have to say, one thing is clear: MasterChef Australia’s viewing numbers have been slipping for the past few seasons. It seemed to have lost a little of its shine already, and the departure of Preston, Mehigan and the disgraced Calombaris can only have two possible consequences: the show continues its dive, or even collapses and dies in short order, or new judges somehow miraculously manage not only to save the split Hollandaise, but serve it up to a rapturous audience. I wouldn’t put money on it. DM