MasterChef Australia: Melissa Leong hasn’t experienced her new-found fame yet

Melissa Leong is the breakout star of MasterChef 2020, but the popular judge says she hasn’t yet experienced her new celeb status.

Australia has fallen in love with MasterChef judge Melissa Leong, but the food and travel writer has revealed she’s yet to experience her new-found fame.

“I guess with COVID being what it is, I haven’t actually been out that much,” Leong told TV Tonight.

“With filming, every single one of us – cast and crew – have been very careful to only be doing the responsible thing and minimising the amount that we go out. So for a number of months, all I was doing was going from home to work and occasionally dropping into the shops and that’s about it.

“I haven’t actually had much interaction with our wonderful audience in a public setting in that regard yet.”

Can you believe there was once a version of #MasterChefAU that DIDN’T have Melissa in it? Wild.

— Michael Lucas (@MrMichaelLucas) June 9, 2020

Why did channel 10 keep Melissa from us for so long? She’s the biggest breath of fresh air for this show. #MasterChefAU

— Ben Shute (@Ben_Shute) May 12, 2020

Melissa Leong is a national treasure. #masterchefau

— Cam Tyeson (@camtyeson) May 4, 2020

Leong told TV Tonight that she did make a fleeting visit to Sydney recently to see family and she got a small taste of what she can expect now that she’s a household name.

“It was lovely to run into people and have them say how much they love the show and that we do bring something new and different to this much-loved juggernaut,” she said. “So it’s deeply flattering and it really does make us so happy.”

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Leong, along with fellow new judges Jock Zonfrillo and Andy Allen, have been a hit with viewers and have been credited with breathing new life into MasterChef.

Jock, Melissa and Andy. Picture: MasterChef/Channel 10

RELATED: Melissa Leong opens up about clinical depression

Speaking to news.com.au earlier this month, Leong admitted that she has been, to some extent, surprised by the immense success of the show.

“It is a bit overwhelming, I will be honest with you,” she said.

“The success of the show is in part our responsibility to do the best job that we can, and all three of us have worked so hard in our respective careers to know what we know and to be able to bring what we bring to the production.

“But you don’t have any control over how it is going to be received. You can never predict which way that will go.”

MasterChef continues on Sunday night at 7.30pm on Channel 10