MasterChef star Reynold Poernomo defends Andy Allen against ‘mean’ rumours about his future as a judge
MasterChef favourite Reynold Poernomo has defended judge Andy Allen after a fellow contestant said his feedback on the show was ‘nonsensical’.
In an interview with News.com.au on Thursday, Reynold, 26, described Chris Badenoch’s comments about Andy as ‘quite mean’.
Chris, 52, had told the same publication in July that Andy didn’t sound intelligent or professional when he was evaluating dishes.
Speaking out: Reynold Poernomo (pictured) has come out defending Andy Allen after a fellow MasterChef contestant slammed the 32-year-old cooking show judge
‘It’s not feedback, it’s just a collection of words that make no sense,’ Chris said at the time, adding that Andy’s remarks were ‘not constructive’.
‘He’s commented on things that I’ve cooked and when he’s walked away it’s like, “I have no idea what he said or what he meant.” You almost need subtitles. I don’t get it!’
Describing Andy’s comments as ‘incredibly frustrating’, he compared his feedback to a ‘Trump speech’.
Coming to his defence: In an interview with News.com.au on Thursday, Reynold, 26, labelled Chris Badenoch’s comments about Andy Allen (pictured) as ‘quite mean’
Not a fan: Speaking to News.com.au back in July, Chris Badenoch (pictured) claimed Andy’s feedback on MasterChef was often nonsensical
Chris said he thought fellow judges Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo did a much better job articulating their feelings about the dishes.
But Reynold defended Andy this week, saying that hadn’t been his experience with the former MasterChef contestant-turned-judge.
‘I really respect Andy and what he does. His feedback was quite good,’ he clarified.
Making comparisons: Chris said he thought fellow judges Melissa Leong (far left) and Jock Zonfrillo (centre) did a much better job articulating their comments when assessing the dishes
He also said he’d had lots of helpful behind-the-scenes conversations with Andy about his food, which never actually made it to air.
‘Off camera, when you have a chat with Andy, he talks to you about what went wrong and what his opinion was,’ he added.
Describing Andy as a ‘joyous personality’, Reynold said he was planning on catching up with the MasterChef judge for drinks in Sydney.
Just fine: Reynold (far right) defended Andy (far left), and said that hadn’t been his experience with the former MasterChef contestant-turned-judge
Both Chris and Reynold appeared on this year’s season on MasterChef: Back to Win, with Chris being the seventh person eliminated, while Reynold placed third.
After winning MasterChef back in 2012, Andy became a judge on the hit Channel 10 cooking show in 2020.
He received mixed reviews, with many viewers claiming his critiques of the dishes were too basic.
On good terms: Describing Andy as a ‘joyous personality’, Reynold said he was planning on catching up with the MasterChef judge for drinks in Sydney