Former MasterChef winner Sashi Cheliah insists son was not given any special treatment in auditions for the junior version of the hit cooking show
Former MasterChef Australia winner Sashi Cheliah has revealed his son was not given special treatment when applying for the junior series of the hit cooking show.
Sashi is adamant Ryan was not even recognised by producers, despite appearing alongside him on MasterChef Australia in 2018 at the family reunion.
The 11-year-old applied like everybody else, the 41-year-old said, and was not approached for the show due to his family connection.
Former MasterChef Australia winner Sashi Cheliah has revealed his son Ryan (pictured) was not given special treatment when applying for the junior series of the hit cooking show
It was not until the first stage of the casting process that the young cook was recognised as a familiar face on the tenth season of Channel 10’s show.
‘I put in an application and then they called for an audition. So it’s only after the audition that they realised Ryan is my son,’ Sashi said, HuffPost Australia reported.
Discovering he would follow in his father’s footsteps this month, Ryan has made plans to make a name for himself, instead of being known as ‘Sashi’s son’.
He added his father’s advice to him being on the show included being creative in the kitchen, never giving up and always having a smile while cooking.
‘People are going to know me for me, Ryan, instead of, “Oh that’s Sashi’s son”,’ the young cook told HuffPost Australia.
‘My favourite thing to cook is a fish curry. Even though it may be a bit complicated, it’s full of flavour and I really like eating it.’
Celebration: Former MasterChef Australia winner Sashi Cheliah is actually adamant Ryan was not even recognised by producers, despite appearing alongside him on MasterChef Australia in 2018 at the family reunion. Pictured: The 11-year-old hugging Sashi at the family reunion
Sashi confirmed his excitement in seeing Ryan cook up a storm on national TV in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
‘Look who’s on Junior MasterChef Australia season 3!!! So excited to watch mini me cooking with love,’ the cooking sensation captioned it.
It caught the attention of former MasterChef Australia contestants Brendan Pang, Reece Hignell, Jess Liemantara – aka Jess Lemon – Rose Adam, Jenny Lam and Anushka Zargaryan.
Young cook: Discovering he would follow in his fathers footsteps this month, Ryan (pictured) has made plans to make a name for himself, instead of being known as ‘Sashi’s son’
While Channel 10 are yet to announce when the junior series will premiere, it did confirm Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo would judge the show.
‘We are so thrilled to be bringing Junior MasterChef Australia to life very soon,’ Melissa said in July.
‘To be showcasing a generation of kids who have grown up with the show and who have literally been cooking for most of their lives, you know this is going to be spectacular.
Delicious: Sashi (right) confirmed his excitement in seeing Ryan (left) cook up a storm on national TV in an Instagram post on Wednesday. The post followed a number of others showing the father-son team cook together
‘Jock, Andy and I are very excited to meet our incredible little cooks.’
This will be the first time Junior MasterChef Australia will hit screens nationwide in a decade.
It ran for two seasons in 2010 before being axed – only for Channel 10 to announce it would return in a revamped format for a third season in 2020.
Winner: Former MasterChef Australia winner Sashi Cheliah (pictured), who appeared in the tenth season of the Channel 10 show in 2018, is ‘so excited to watch mini me cooking with love’