He’s a world-renowned chef with four Michelin stars to his name, a self-titled culinary school and all the fame and adoration that comes with that.
But when MasterChef Australia came calling three years ago to invite Jean-Christophe Novelli to become one of its new judges, he knew he’d do whatever it took to make it happen.
“I mean — it’s MasterChef!” Novelli tells The West Australian from his temporary home in Melbourne, where the reality cooking competition films for several months every year.
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“It’s a privilege to get that call — you don’t wait for them to call you back.”
Novelli was invited to join the show in 2024, for season 16. It was a time of great change for the long-running series: the year before, the show’s well-loved judge Jock Zonfrillo passed away just hours before the 15th season of MasterChef Australia was due to hit screens.
Then, in October that same year, the show announced fellow judge Melissa Leong would also be stepping away from the series. All this came just four years after the show’s original judges, Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris, called it quits in July 2019, at the conclusion of the show’s 11th season.
MasterChef Australia’s season 18 judges Andy Allen, Poh Ling Yeow, Sofia Levin and Jean-Christophe Novelli. Credit: Kelly Gardner
The MasterChef team knew they needed a hard reset.
Such is the show’s calibre and international standing, they could have approached any number of world-renowned food identities to fill the void. After all, the likes of Nigella Lawson, Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver have already regularly appeared on the show, and were vocal and avid fans.
In the end they decided on the current judging line up: season four winner Andy Allen (the last of the previous judging line-up, which included Zonfrillo and Leong), previous runner-up Poh Ling Yeow (Aussie foodie royalty, and runner-up in season one), and food critic Sophia Levin. Novelli signed on as the new fourth judge.
“I don’t think I’m the only one (who would have jumped at the chance),” Novelli explains.
“The show has such a legacy, and it’s such a massive privilege to be asked.
“It’s the most exciting, the longest-running and the most entertaining food show out there.”
He’s right — the show is massively successful.
Novelli is the newest judge to have joined the long-running Australian reality competition. Credit: Supplied
Beginning in 2009 (Julie Goodwin famously won that series, with Yeow as runner-up) it has now run for 18 seasons, with viewers tuning in en masse to see one home cook contestant crowned “MasterChef”, walking away with $250,000 prize money.
Though a British version existed back in the nineties, it was the Australian format that was adapted for other TV markets. It has now aired in more than 60 countries worldwide, with more than 500 different seasons to its name.
Novelli, who has a young family back in the UK, says he cherishes the time he spends filming the show in Australia each year.
He is as at home in the MasterChef kitchens as he is in his own. “I love it,” he says of filming. “They have to physically take me out to get into the taxi to take me home from the studio, because otherwise I would just spend 24 hours a day there.”
One of the things he enjoys most is how he continues to learn, both from the competitors that pass through those famous wooden doors, to the revolving special guests, which this year include Curtis Stone, Rick Stein, Justine Schofield, plus social media powerhouse Victoria Minell and a host of other big names.
Aussie legend Jimmy Barnes and his wife Jane plus Robert Irwin will also be dropping by to sample the contestants’ food.
“The contestants this year, they have just come with different knowledge; different expectations — the results are superior,” Novelli says.
“The food, from day one, is unbelievable.”
Though it’s a difficult to be on the other side of the world for months at a time — this year Novelli’s wife was en route to the airport to join her husband for stint in Australia when the war in Iran broke out, forcing her flight to be cancelled, putting a stop to her planned trip — Novelli says it’s worth the juggle.
He’s been asked to do other TV. “But they know I don’t want to do it — I won’t ever substitute MasterChef for anything else on the planet,” he explains.
“I was asked to do another very good TV opportunity in February/March — a big one — but I said no thank you very much. I don’t care how much you pay me — I only want to be doing this.
“I am here for five months every year, and hopefully I (get to do it) every year, forever.
“My brain, my commitment, my loyalty — everything is with MasterChef.”
