What MasterChef judges Melissa Leong, Jock Zonfrillo and Andy Allen eat after cameras are off

From toasties with processed cheese to ice-cream, Melissa, Jock and Andy reveal what they eat when the cameras are turned off.

As judges on MasterChef, we are used to seeing Jock Zonfillo, Melissa Leong and Andy Allen sample the most sumptuous of dishes from perfect pastry to parfait and everything in between.

But what do they eat when the cameras are switched off? What’s their guilty secrets?

“Jock’s whole diet is a guilty pleasure,” Allen jokes. Leong chimes in: “Jock just eats everything in no moderation whatsoever and it’s wonderful. There’s just some sick pleasure that Andy and I derive from just watching Jock constantly eating.”

Jock laughs, adding “Everyone’s been saying since I’ve been 20 that it would all catch up with me. And it didn’t. And then they’d say when you hit 25, 30, 35, 40 … and still nothing has happened.”

So it appears the 44-year-old is most definitely a glitch in the matrix. “Jock Zonfrillo is an anomaly – we all just need to understand that we will never have his metabolism. One should never try and compete with Jock,” Leong confirms.

Jock’s appetite aside, the trio has quite a penchant for toasted sandwiches on set. A jaffle maker is another permanent resident of the popular cooking show’s green room.

“Quite often, we make a round of breakfast jaffles for ourselves and immediate team, and if we’re shooting long hours, they usually make a return somewhere later in the day,” Leong shares.

MasterChef Australia judges Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo have a penchant for toasties. Picture: Supplied

But there are some strict MasterChef rules:

■ You must butter bread on the outside

■ At least two cheeses – but they’re not picky, it’s usually a combination of something fancy from the MC pantry that needs a new home, and some form of highly processed cheese

■ HP sauce is life

■ Always season generously

■ Hot sauce is your friend

Usually these on-set toasties are relatively basic fare, in plain old supermarket white bread, accompanied by a super-caffeinated coffee by Zonfrillo.

Scroll below to see Melissa and Andy’s recipes.

The 46-year-old Scotsman recalls the most decadent creation when he “stole” the leftovers from guest chef Khanh Nguyen challenge. The pressure test, which aired this week, saw contestants recreate the Sunda chef’s pork wellington with lattice crackling, layers of pate and flavours of banh mi.

“You think about the amount of work that went into that wellington and then I rammed it in between two pieces of bread,” Zonfrillo laughs. “It does not get any more decadent than that.”

Quite apart from toasties, the trio have a myriad guilty pleasures. Leong confesses she’s a sucker for “plastic” cheese. And there’s always some of it in her fridge so at any time – day or night – she can throw together a “dirty American quesadilla”.

“The only authentic thing is proper white corn tortillas,” she says. “And you can throw in whatever – whether it’s leftover shredded chicken or even ragu. It’s not at all authentic. It’s just dirty.”

MasterChef judges Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo.

While Zonfrillo loves Heinz tomato ketchup on all things from fish and chips to bacon rolls. He’ll swirl it with HP sauce to make “tartan sauce” as it known in his homeland. But perhaps, his strangest indulgence is smoky barbecue sauce on a cheese kransky, he microwaves the sausage and can eat half-a-dozen in a sitting.

“Is that bad?,” Zonfrillo laughs. “Now, I’ve said it out loud it is so bad.”

Allen – well he’s not all embarrassed to admit he can eat a litre of ice-cream in a sitting. He’s not really fussed about the flavour.

“I feel like it is a talent,” he says. “My fiancee (Alex Davey) says to me on the reg, ‘you’ve got to stop’ but I just eat myself into a stupor.”

With a keenly developed palate and discerning tastebuds, it’s hard to imagine the gang turning their noses up at anything nowadays.

Zonfrillo shares though he’s been permanently scarred by tinned fruit and brussels sprouts and still will not eat them.

“It used to make me vomit,” he says. “And the tinned fruit cocktail. Just horrible. It had those dirty cherries. It’s just terrible.

“Brussels sprouts – I will eat once a year to remind me how much I don’t like them.”

Ironically, Allen, who now famously puts anchovies in everything from his mac’n’cheese to potato bake, couldn't stand the salty fish as a child. Or olives and artichokes.

“I didn’t have the most food-driven family so it was probably the cheaper versions and it was all a bit hectic for me.”

Leong ate everything and anything until she was about eight, and then her dad told her what tripe was and it ruined some of her most favourite dishes such as pork bones soup.

“Fortunately, my palate adjusted around 18, and I’m back to being an indiscriminate eater,” she says. “It would be an occupational hazard otherwise, no? I’m probably not a fan of a steak taken to the point of incineration.”

Leong’s deep love of food stems from her multicultural background. So it’s no surprise her favourite meal growing up was from her rich Asian heritage.

“Mum’s char kway teow and curry puffs,” she says. “Curry puffs were such a treat and a full production I was allowed to partake in. The best was taking them to school for lunch in the week.”

While Allen now lists his dad’s epic minestrone as his most memorable childhood dinner, at the time, he’d roll his eyes knowing they’d be eating it - and leftovers - forever.

“I think it was because he made it so frequently, he only had about five dishes in his repertoire,” he explains. “And he make a batch and then freeze it and we’d eat it for a month.

“But I’ve since found myself making it.”

Zonfrillo says every time he walks past a coffee shop and smells a brew, it evokes memories of his nonno and he is instantly transported back home. But his favourite is fish and chips – or haddock supper as it’s known in Scotland.

“I know fried fish is not super healthy,” he laughs. “But if you look at my body I’ve got the body of a champion whippet. I can’t stop. When I go back home, it’s straight to a fish and chip shop even before I see mum and dad.

“When we arrive in Glasgow, I pick up the hire car and then we’ll go to a shop and buy some sea salt, malt vinegar and Heinz tomato ketchup and they stay in the glove box so whenever we get fish and chips, I can absolutely saturate them in salt and vinegar and sauce.”

Asking these consummate food lovers what they would choose for their last meal, elicits a round of groans. Zonfrillo and Allen saying they dread this question.

“Come on … I love so much different food,” Zonfrillo exclaims. “Oh man, OK, if it’s the last of the last, it’s either cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper pasta dish) or a haddock supper. Might even be both. And then ice cream for dessert.”

Surprisingly ice cream king Allen wouldn’t have a tub as part of his last meal, settling instead on the best grazing platter you could make, with some anchovies, and cheese, charred sourdough and a glass of really “skinsy orange” wine.

Leong’s much more decisive.

“Hainanese chicken rice, every time,” she says. “Preferably from Ah Tai (not Tian Tian, though it’s still good) hawker stall at Maxwell Food Centre in Singapore. You can take the girl out of Singapore …”

Melissa Leong completely inauthentic, but super tasty, chicken and chilli breakfast quesadilla. Picture: Supplied

MELISSA’S BREAKFAST QUESADILLA

INGREDIENTS

2 small white corn tortillas (I like Melbourne based brand La Tortilleria)

100g leftover roast chicken, shredded (you could also use any leftover roast meat or veggies)

1 spring onion (scallion), finely chopped

A handful grated cheese for melting (Perfect Italiano 4 cheese melt is ideal – we’re not going for authenticity here)

1 teaspoon sambal olek (or your favourite chilli sauce – I also like Beppi’s Italian chilli sauce)

I egg

Salt and pepper, to season

Extra finely sliced spring onions and some coriander leaves, to garnish (optional)

METHOD

Heat a frying pan to medium-high heat. Place a tortilla on your chopping board and begin layering your fillings. Start with the cheese so it starts to melt faster when it hits the pan, then shredded chicken. Evenly scatter spring onion on top, then stud the lot with evenly spaced dollops of chilli sauce. Season with salt and pepper, then transfer to the hot pan.

Place the second tortilla on top and give everything a really good squish so that the ingredients become good mates. Once the cheese starts to melt, carefully flip the quesadilla over and continue to fry on the other side. You’re done when the outside is golden, the cheese is fully melted and the ingredients are heated through. Be patient!

Meanwhile, fry an egg. Break the yolk slightly, so that it starts to set a little, but is still most definitely gooey.

Transfer everything to a serving plate and top the quesadilla with the fried egg. Serve with your favourite hot sauce, spring onions and coriander to garnish, if you wish. If you want to make it more on-the-go, lift the tortilla lid and slip in the egg, then chop into quarters, roll up your sleeves and get in there!

The trio loves firing up the jaffle maker on set and creating variations of cheese toasties like this one from Andy Allen. Picture: Supplied

ANDY’S KIMCHI AND GRUYERE TOASTIE

INGREDIENTS

1 Rye Vienna loaf, thickly sliced diagonally into 8 pieces

4 tbs Dijon mustard

2 cups kimchi

Cracked black pepper, to season

75g unsalted butter, melted

200g gruyere, coarsely grated

200g mozzarella, coarsely grated

Cornichons to serve

METHOD

Look, we’re making a toasted sandwich here. Spread the mustard on the inside sides of each slice of bread.

Add a layer of each cheese and kimchi to four slices of bread. Don’t forget to season with pepper. Place the remaining slices of bread on top, mustard side down.

The only tip I’ll give you is to paint the outsides of the sandwich with melted butter before the sandwich goes into a hot grill pan or frying pan.

Cook over low-medium heat for 3-4 minutes each side or until golden on the outside and the cheese has melted on the inside.

Cut in half to serve. Thread a few cornichons onto skewers, stack the two halves and thread the skewer through to secure the stack.

MasterChef, Sunday-Thursday, 7.30pm, Ten