MasterChef Australia is back on our TV screens, meaning three things: winter is coming, we’re about to be blessed with wonderful humans on our tellies and we’re going to get hungry.
WATCH: A look inside MasterChef Australia 2021
The budding chefs whip up delicious treats and mouthwatering dishes each week in the MasterChef Kitchen, but what happens after the scenes have been shot and the judges have handed out their scores?
What happens to the leftover food on MasterChef Australia?
After the judges finish eating, the contestants often make a small plate for themselves and are encouraged to take home leftovers.
And, the remaining leftovers – both food and produce – is donated to people in need.
According to 10Daily, MasterChef has a partnership with Second Bite, a not-for-profit that aims to squash food waste and food insecurity in Australia.
“The MasterChef pantry is replenished on an almost daily basis while the program is shooting and we collect daily from the MasterChef studios,” Second Bite CEO Jim Mullan told the outlet in 2019.
“Everything you see in the pantry that’s applied through the program, everything that we can possibly salvage, we collect and divert it to people in need, generally in the Melbourne area,” Mullan revealed at the time.
This includes Salvation Army and Vinnies, small soup kitchens, and mission services.
“At every angle and with every respect you look at, MasterChef as an operation, there’s that concern to make sure that, as a food program, they do the right thing and work to the highest environmental and moral standards.”
In an interview with news.com, judge Jock Zonfrillo further elaborated on the way the show deals with food wastage in 2021.
“It’s crazy when you look at the amount of food that comes into the warehouse and how little is wrong with it,” he told the publication.
“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 said.
“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.”
Who would’ve thought that one of the most wholesome shows on television has a sustainable and socio-economically proactive response to food waste?
Well, anyone who watched a mere minute of the program, to be honest, but we simply love to see it.
Get to know the contestants of the new season of MasterChef Australia: Fans vs Faves here.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
