Nigella Lawson puts MasterChef Australia contestants through a gruelling pressure test

MasterChef judge Melissa Leong has revealed how superstar Nigella Lawson will take the show’s food challenges to a new level.

The magic of television reaches new heights when MasterChef Superstars Week kicks off tonight on Ten.

Despite travel restrictions keeping them from entering the country, superstar chefs Nigella Lawson, Yotam Ottolenghi, Massimo Bottura and Clare Smyth will still be live in the kitchen as contestants battle through a series of incredible pressure tests and elimination challenges.

MasterChef judge Melissa Leong said the show’s production team had pulled off an incredible feat to make it appear each superstar chef was actually in the room with them, despite being in a different time zone.

MasterChef guest chef Nigella Lawson is appearing on Sunday night. Picture: Network Ten

“It’s been a challenging year for us all and TV has had to adapt to continue to produce engaging and entertaining work,” Leong said.

“We can’t fly them and have them in the kitchen this year. I think what’s incredible is, thanks to technology, we have these incredible screens that look like they are in the room with us.”

Leong quickly became a fan favourite for her ability to connect with contestants and their stories after debuting as a MasterChef judge last year.

Masterchef Australia judges Andy Allen, Jock Zonfrillo and Melissa Leong. Picture: Network Ten

“Food is emotional, food carries memories and it carries stories from where people come from,” she said.

“What excites me most about this series is being able to hear all the stories from people. “Everyone has something different to offer and they all have different reasons for being here.

“Like Minoli who lost her sense of taste because she went through chemotherapy for breast cancer. Hearing her rediscover her joy as her taste came back, to be part of that story is huge to me.

“And then meeting people like Kishwar and Linda who are incredible mums and put their own lives on hold. They couldn’t tell their kids to reach for the stars and follow their dreams if they didn’t do that for themselves. To me, that is tremendously inspiring.”

Tonight’s pressure test will cover two rounds.

First, contestants will have 15 minutes to identify 18 flavours from a box of Nigella’s favourite biscuits.

The five lowest scoring contestants will then have 90 minutes to recreate Nigella’s favourite dish based on her detailed description.

They will have no ingredient list, no recipe and no visual reference.

MasterChef airs Sunday to Thursday, 7.30pm on Ten, with Nigella Lawson heading up Superstars Week tonight (Sunday).