While Meghan Markle’s MasterChef Australia 2026 appearance was better received by the Australian public than expected, one critic wasn’t impressed — celebrity Chef Jameson Stocks, who slammed her cameo as “utterly disgraceful and embarrassing.”
Jameson, who’s Michelin-starred, boasts over 550,000 Instagram followers and has cooked for some of the most famous celebrities in the world, including Samuel L. Jackson, Jeff Bezos, Tom Hanks and members of the Kardashian family, told Chattr in an exclusive interview that he thought Meghan dragged down the otherwise impressive Australian edition of MasterChef.
“Frankly, I found [her appearance] utterly disgraceful and embarrassing. MasterChef Australia is one of the franchise’s strongest editions worldwide, and featuring her felt like an insult to both the contestants and the Australian public. It seemed clear that her appearance was solely for PR purposes,” he said.
The accomplished chef didn’t hold back, arguing Meghan had no business judging a cooking competition.
“If I were a contestant, I would have walked out; if I were a judge, I would question the decision. Cooking shows are meant to inspire people and motivate the next generation, so I can’t understand why they would feature someone with the personality of a potato and about as much food knowledge as a rock,” he said.
“She shouldn’t be anywhere near a stove, let alone judging a cooking competition. Her involvement is a complete insult to chefs; the focus seemed to be more on her than on the food and the contestants’ talent. She added nothing to the show.”
Jameson made it clear he has a lot of respect for both Australians and MasterChef Australia, suggesting Meghan may have agreed to appear on our local version because she’s already faced heavy criticism in the UK and US.
“She seems to believe she can fool the Australian public, but both American and British audiences can see through her; she’s probably never even watched the show,” he speculated.
“She appeared like a rabbit caught in headlights [in the episode], with no idea what she was doing. I suspect she views the Australian public as mugs to sway and woo and hopes to sell a few jars of jam here and there. It shows a complete lack of respect for Australians.”
Jameson Stocks received death threats after insulting Meghan Markle’s Netflix show
Jameson has a colourful history with Meghan Markle and TV shows. Back in March 2025, he revealed that he received death threats after criticising her Netflix show With Love, Meghan. At the time, the chef told GB News that he thought the first eight episodes were “terrible”.
“Everything — the music is quite slow, it’s quite lethargic, it’s quite painful to watch,” he said. “I think she should go back to acting. She’s quite a good actress. In real life or on screen. People should stick to what they do best.”
Shortly after the interview was broadcast, Jameson told the New York Post that he’d received “hundreds and hundreds” of hateful messages.
“I started getting death threats and all sorts of nasty messages,” he told the publication. “It wouldn’t matter if it was Gordon Ramsay, Wolfgang Puck or Donald Duck. I just didn’t like the program.”
Stream Meghan Markle’s MasterChef Australia 2026 episode on 10Play.
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