Poh Ling Yeow has dished on what Meghan Markle was really like following her controversial appearance as a guest judge on MasterChef Australia 2026.
Meghan was announced as a guest judge while she was in Sydney during her four-day visit to Australia with husband Prince Harry. The decision drew criticism from fans who questioned her lack of food-critiquing experience. However, cooking accolades aside, Poh said Meghan was “delightful” to deal with while filming the show.
“There is so much public conjecture about this. She’s so delightful, [I have] nothing but praise for the time that we spent with her. [She’s] very easy going, good sense of humour, and, like, a consummate professional. I mean, she’s an actor, right? So she just slid right into that judging role, like seamlessly,” Poh told KISS 1065.
Poh went on to acknowledge the relentless trolling the Duchess of Sussex has received ever since marrying into the royal family.
“I think it’s very interesting, because when you drill down, you can’t really, no one can actually, really say why. It’s one of those situations. And at the end of the day, like, I really feel for her, because she’s still a human, there’s an emotional human at the end of that, with all this hatred that people like spitting out. She was honestly so lovely.”
Poh reveals that MasterChef Australia is going back to its roots
MasterChef Australia 2026 is a season full of new contestants, and Poh believes that’s exactly what makes this instalment so relatable, compared to seasons with returnee contestants, where the standard is extremely elevated.
“Last year was obviously Back to Win again, and the standard was outrageous, because half the contestants now own restaurants and have been in the industry for a long time. So this year, it’s back to the freshies, who are amateur cooks, who are just a bit of a whiz in the kitchen at home and having their moment in the Master Chef kitchen.
“So the food’s just really returned to back in the day when I first started. It’s just really good home cooking, and obviously, as they go through the comp, you know, it becomes more and more refined, but it stays very true to sort of the standards that I think that people can relate to, which really excites me.
Poh added that by lowering the skill level compared to the pros, viewers will feel more inspired to get into the kitchen themselves.
“It’s food that people can try and replicate at home and see that they can relate to. It’s more relatable.”
Poh reveals the challenges of transitioning from a MasterChef contestant to a judge
Poh was a fan favourite contestant who competed on the first ever season of Masterchef Australia, where she came runner up to Julie Goodwin, and returned for Back to Win in 2020, where she came sixth.
She told Chattr that having experience being in the contestant’s position can sometimes be a double-edged sword.
“[It] makes it really difficult, because I know what they’re thinking, and they don’t understand how hard it is to judge because so many unexpected variables come into play on the day, sometimes, and we always have to come back to our basic tenet, which is that we only judge the dish, not the person, not the potential, and not past cooks. It’s always about dish against dish,” she shared.
Poh explained that, as a judge, she believes it’s important to focus on the dish’s taste and techniques, rather than presentation.
“If you start going on [the contestant’s] potential [it’s not ideal], because that’s the thing that’s so amazing about this show, is that nearly every pressure test that I go into almost it’s almost guaranteed that the dish tht looks the best is the one that doesn’t win it, and it’s because they focus more on executing the presentation and less on the flavor, whereas someone might, who might be tasting the dish more is falling short of the presentation because they’ve run out of time, because they’re engaging with the recipe more.”
MasterChef Australia 2026 airs Sunday – Tuesday on Channel 10 and 10Play.
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