Melissa Leong reveals she was mortified by Have You Been Paying Attention? gaffe

She may seem like one of the most confident presenters on TV, but Melissa Leong struggled to shake off her embarrassment over a recent live slip-up.

Melissa Leong would like the record to show that chicken noodle is not her favourite soup.

When she speaks to news.com.au, the Australian TV presenter is enduring day three of a minor anxiety spiral following her Sunday night appearance on Channel 10’s Have You Been Paying Attention?.

She was caught off-guard after resident comic Ed Kavalee blindsided her with an improvised question in front of the live studio audience: What’s her favourite soup?

It’s not quite up there with the interrogations Aussie politicians cop over on ABC’s 7.30 but, for Leong, who has built a career as one of Australia’s most formidable and sophisticated foodies, it was a head-spinner.

Melissa Leong on Have You Been Paying Attention? Sunday night.

A flustered Leong offered “chicken noodle soup” as her pick. Upon reflection, it barely makes her top 10.

“It’s not my favourite soup. Why would I say that? That happened on Sunday and I’m still sitting on it,” a giggling Leong, 42, tells news.com.au.

“[I’ve since been] thinking back on all the memories of amazing soups I’ve had in my life, in Hong Kong, the most beautiful bowl of Wonton noodle soup, with red vinegar, and you dip the beautiful plump parcels of dumpling into red vinegar as you’re slurping the soup,” she recalls.

“Tiny little threads of black fungus through the pork and prawn filling, giving it a wonderful density and a crunch, and the beautiful egg noodles that have a wonderful bounce to them, and depth of flavour in the really clear broth.”

Soup gaffes are, of course, a more lighthearted example of the anxiety that being a public figure can conjure.

The prospect of putting herself on a platter to be picked apart by the public was one of the reasons Leong almost turned down the golden gig as a MasterChef Australia judge back in 2020, having since been open about her struggles with anxiety and depression.

Leong offered, “Chicken noodle soup.”

“I have a very loud internal monologue, so whenever I say something I could have articulated a little bit more delicately, I’m rehashing what I did and said in front of people because that’s just how my mind works. I’m hypercritical. It’s just how I’m built,” she says.

“Anxiety and neuroticism is something we all share as human beings. We all have moments where we know we nailed it, and moments where we go, ‘Wow, that was a bit special, wasn’t it?’

“I think the more time I spend in entertainment, the more I realise that’s just what makes us human. What connects us to other humans. I’ve learned to embrace the mess just a little bit more.

“I don’t think that I’ll ever be fully comfortable with [being high profile]. I mean, I watch peers and colleagues handle it with much more grace than I do. But I have found a way to traverse it in a way that I can live with.”

Perhaps one of the loudest media storms Leong has weathered was when her role as MasterChef judge came to an end last year.

Months after the death of her co-judge Jock Zonfrillo, it was announced Leong would not be returning to the show, with only Andy Allen remaining with a new line-up of presenters.

Leong has been open about her struggle with anxiety.

Speculation had been rife Leong was “axed”, with various rumours circling as to why, though Leong has several times insisted she left on her own terms.

“I find it interesting that people are still confused about, ‘Why would you want to give up the golden ticket?’ Because, you know, MasterChef is a long-running show. And people love to guess how much money we get paid to do it, all of that stuff, and I suppose people wonder why you’d want to give up that security,” she says.

“I liken it to that quote from Devil Wears Prada – ‘the job a million girls would kill for’ – but I guess, just like Andy (Anne Hathaway) learns, there’s more to life. When you realise that, then every single opportunity is a gift.

“When I was doing MasterChef, I loved being present there. I was so grateful to be there, but when the opportunity came for the transition, it was a no-brainer for me because I will always say yes to expansion. I’ll always say yes to the slightly more risky thing that promises growth.”

Melissa Leong was a judge on MasterChef alongside Andy Allen and the late Jock Zonfrillo for three years. Picture: Supplied/Channel 10

Supporters of Leong, however, still get their sweet dose on Ten’s Dessert Masters, which is returning to screens on Monday with its second season.

Viewers can “expect the unexpected in the most magical way”, Leong says, which seems like a fitting parallel to her own career steps over the past year.

She’s added several strings to her bow, fronting SBS’ medical show The Hospital: In The Deep End and even dabbling in sport hosting UFC Fight Week on Kayo earlier this year.

It’s not a bad resume for someone who was told “not to bother” trying to get into TV presenting by a male producer several years ago.

“He didn’t say it to be mean, he said it just matter of fact,” Leong reveals of the encounter, which happened while she was working as a researcher in TV production. “He knew it wasn’t going to happen for me.”

Leong continues, “It was at the height of MasterChef with the former judges [Matt Preston, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan], and those were the seats. Those were the thrones people wanted, and they were already occupied. So I was told to ‘dream on’.

“I never sought to do TV, but I found myself pushed into the spotlight, and I’m glad I accepted the invitation because I’m not sorry for being here.”

Season two of Dessert Masters premieres October 14.

She also never sought to be a beacon of representation onscreen, though was thrust into the narrative when former Immigration Minister Alan Tudge mentioned her as the “hugely popular Chinese judge on MasterChef” while attempting to squash the idea Australia was a racist country back in 2020.

Leong is of Chinese ancestry but was born in Sydney. Her parents emigrated from Singapore before she was born.

It may have transpired in somewhat tone-deaf fashion, but Leong is not sorry for her voice in diversity conversations, either.

“Racism solved,” she laughs of Mr Tudge’s comments. “It was just the most ridiculous thing, and I involuntarily entered the chat in that regard.

“Of course, we have so much further to go with representation across the board, and not just cultural representation. I’m talking about the way we identify, who we love and who we want to be.

“I’m happy to be apart of that discussion, and I’m happy to contribute what I can to representation in entertainment, but I’m one of many. I stand on the shoulders of giants. Had it not been for people like Elizabeth Chong or Lee Lin Chin, I would probably not be here.”

While fronting another season of Dessert Masters is her current focus, Leong teases plenty more surprises to come in her evolving career.

“I hope my last 12 months since leaving [MasterChef] serves as just a taste for why I left,” she says.

“I will always be in the food world, but I think we don’t give each other as human beings the opportunity to be as multifaceted as we can be, and I think we should encourage that.”

Dessert Masters premieres Monday at 7.30pm on Channel 10