Poh Ling Yeow Spills Tea On Masterchef Judging Conspiracies

Poh Ling Yeow has lifted the lid on the judging process at Masterchef.

The MasterChef alumni joined the show as a judge 15 years after participating as a contestant. She’s now gracing the screens as a judge, with the new panel of faces joining in the wake of the tragic death of former judge Jock Zonfrillo.

This week, she joined Antoinette Lattouf for The Weekend Briefing.

Poh said she felt good about returning to a show as she completely understands how the contestants feel.

“I think what comforts me is that I am completely myself, and what I thought I had to offer is what I am offering the show, which is empathy. Because I’ve been there, you know, so many times.”

She also addressed rumours that the judges play favorites or have already decided who will win the show from the beginning.
“That was something that I was quite shocked and incredibly happy about being on this side of the fence as a judge,” she said.

“I completely fell prey to that as well, thinking that there was some kind of agenda or, you know, lots of conspiracy theories as you’re going through the competition, your head’s melting, you’re you’re quite vulnerable to that kind of thing. And what it boils down to is we judge only on the dish that day. We don’t judge on potential. We don’t judge on past dishes. It’s literally that day. So even if you are clearly the most talented cook in the competition. It does not mean that you’re going to get all the way through, cause you can make a really bad decision on one day. And that’s what gets you kicked out.”

Poh also shared the challenges of being a woman in the public eye and her hidden phobia of eating in front of others.