Rendangate: MasterChef claims ‘crispy’ judge was misunderstood

PETALING JAYA: In light of the “crispy skin” chicken rendang furore, a MasterChef UK spokesperson has come out to defend the judge, Gregg Wallace, who made that remark.

 

“MasterChef has always celebrated international cuisine and on this occasion our judges’ comments were relevant to the dish that had been cooked on the show.

 

“Gregg wasn’t suggesting that the dish should traditionally have crispy skin – he was saying that he couldn’t experience the flavours of the dish as it was presented,” the spokesperson said in a response to British newspaper The Telegraph.

 

On Monday (April 2), in a MasterChef UK episode, Malaysian contestant Zaleha Kadir Olpin, 48, had prepared a traditional rendition of nasi lemak with chicken rendang.

 

However, Wallace and fellow judge John Torode had criticised the rendang that came with Zaleha's nasi lemak, and Zaleha was eliminated from the reality TV show.

 

In a video of the episode, Wallace can be seen criticising the chicken skin for not being crispy enough.

 

“The chicken skin isn't crispy. It can't be eaten and all the sauce is on the skin, I can't eat it,” he said.

 

Torode said that the chicken rendang had not had enough time to cook to become “lovely and soft and falling apart”.

 

Malaysians took to social media to criticise the pair, pointing out that chicken rendang, where the chicken is stewed in coconut milk and rich spices until it is tender, is not meant to be crispy.