‘MasterChef Australia: Back To Win’ featured a very cheeky moment on Sunday when judge Jock Zonfrillo joked about contestant Ben Ungermann’s perhaps phallic-shaped dessert.
“Is that why you’re called Big Ben?” he asked, before later joking that the dish was a “little bit stiff”.
There are apparently more of these fun moments with all three new judges – Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo – that don’t make it to air according to the show’s most recently eliminated contestant Ben Milbourne.
“All three of them are really funny people,” he told HuffPost Australia on Monday.
“Once the cameras aren’t rolling, [it’s] the nice thing about the three judges to hang out with all the contestants and we get to know them really well and they get to know us really well.
“But I think having fun on set is one of the things that is not seen by the camera and not aired as much as it probably could be,” he added.
“There’s always stuffing around on set. Apart from the actual cook time where everyone is really serious, the only way you can actually fill in the day is by joking around and having fun.”
Ben noted that Jock is particularly proactive in bringing some light-hearted humour and banter to the set.
“I think he’s worked in such intense kitchens for so long, he knows that he needs to break the intensity and break the pressure any opportunity he gets, and definitely does that.”
His comments come after fellow contestant Courtney Roulston said she noticed the editing of the show was more liberal, showing more “realness” amongst the contestants and judges compared to a decade ago.
This season of the show is called ‘MasterChef: Back To Win’, with 24 previous contestants including Poh Ling Yeow, Hayden Quinn, Reynold Poernomo and Callum Hann returning to the series for another shot at victory.
Previous judges Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston have been replaced by Andy, Melissa and Jock.
‘MasterChef Australia: Back To Win’ continues at 7:30pm on Channel 10.