Matt Preston is a dynamic personality. He is an English Australian food journalist, author, television host, and restaurant critic. The renowned judge of MasterChef Australia has been on the judging panel from the first season of the show.
Preston has written for newspapers like Herald Sun, The Courier Mail, and The Daily Telegraph and has written and published a number of cookbooks, too. He has been part of a number of television programs and a food columnist and Senior Editor for Taste magazine. He is also the Senior Editor for Delicious Magazine.
Matt Preston’s MasterChef Australia Season 9 Update
Very first time the judges met the contestants, Matt Preston to encourage the contestants announced the winning amount of the show besides a cookbook of their own. Matt Preston couldn’t imagine the level of competition this year going through the audition process.
A feud with Matt Preston has led to Marco Pierre White quitting MasterChef Australia and joining the rival Hell’s Kitchen.
5 Facts about Matt Preston
- Matt Preston was the creative director of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival from 2005 to 2009.
- For five years, he served as the chief judge for the Restaurant & Catering Industry Association’s National Awards for Excellence.
- He has also appeared on several popular breakfast shows across Australia and has co-hosted Triple M Sydney’s breakfast show, The Grill Team.
- Preston made his acting debut on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation comedy series, Lowdown, as a police officer.
- He has also been a guest panelist on Australian Network Ten’s Before the Game, The Project, Good News Week, and The Circle.
Other Facts about Matt Preston
- In 2011, he had a regular bi-weekly slot on Kyle & Jackie O on 2Day FM.
- Preston co-hosted with Lindy Burns, Myf Warhust, and with Jon Faine on ABC774
- Preston has appeared in seven series of MasterChef Australia as well as Celebrity MasterChef, the first series of Junior MasterChef, and MasterChef Allstars.
- He also co-hosted the MasterChef Professionals series with Marco Pierre White.
Matt Preston’s ‘MasterChef’ Journey
Matt Preston joined Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris on the judging panel on the first season of MasterChef Australia to find Australia’s best chef. He has said the best part of being in MasterChef is “the joy that comes from the contestants delivering us a delicious dish that’s a pleasure to eat.”
Awards
Matt Preston received a number of awards as listed below.
2003 – Received the Best New Writer Award from the Food Media Club of Australia Grand Marnier for articles published in Epicure’s food section of The Age.
2004 – Received a Food Media Club of Australia Australian Mushroom Growers’ Award for Best Food Article for “The Temple Kitchen” in Epicure’s food section of The Age.
2006 – Received a Food Media Club of Australia Calypso Mango Award for Best Recipe Feature in a Newspaper or Newspaper Magazine for “Preserving Kno5 Interesting Facts about The “MasterChef Australia” Judge and His Favorite Recipeswledge” in Epicure’s food section of The Age.
2008 – Received a Le Cordon Bleu World Food Media Award for Food Journalist of the Year for articles in Delicious Magazine and Epicure’s food section of The Age.
2010 – The Graham Kennedy Award for Most Outstanding New Talent (Male)
2011 – Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards Winner – Awesome Oldie.
Books Written by Matt Preston
Preston has written a number of books:
- Cravat-A-Licious
- Matt Preston’s 100 Best Recipes
- Fast, Fresh and Unbelievably Delicious
- Cook Book: 187 Recipes That Will Make You Incredibly Popular
Matt Preston is also a contributor to the Food & Wine Magazine.
Matt Preston’s Favorite Recipes
Here are Matt Preston’s favorite recipes.
1. Prawn, Prosciutto and Charred Cabbage Skewers Recipe
Ingredients:
- 24 green prawns, peeled (tails intact), deveined
- Potato salad and rocket leaves, to serve
- 12 slices of prosciutto, halved widthways
- 8 large cabbage leaves, cut into 4 cm x 10 cm strips, blanched for 1 minute, refreshed
Directions
Preheat the barbecue grill to medium-low. Soak eight bamboo skewers in boiling water for 10 minutes. Wrap each prawn in prosciutto and thread them on the skewers with alternating strips of cabbage folded into thirds.
Grill until the prawns are cooked, about two to three minutes. Serve the charred cabbage skewers with potato salad and rocket leaves.
2. Butterscotch Sauce with Burnt-Butter Bananas and Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients:
- ½ firmly packed cup (110g) brown sugar
- 4 firm, ripe bananas
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 8 small scoops vanilla ice cream
- 150 g unsalted butter, chopped
- ½ cup (125 ml) pure (thin) cream
- ½ cup (75 g) salted peanuts, roughly chopped
Directions
Chill four dessert bowls by putting them in the freezer. In a saucepan, heat the sugar and butter and whisk until the sugar dissolves. Slowly add cream while whisking continuously and cook until smooth and combined, about a minute. Remove from heat, add one teaspoon of salt and stir. Set aside and keep warm.
In another pan, heat the butter and add lengthwise sliced bananas and lemon juice. Cook on both sides until they turn golden. Set aside and keep warm.
Remove the bowls from the freezer and place two scoops of ice cream in each. To each bowl, add two banana slices, then top with warm butterscotch sauce and chopped peanuts to serve.
Related:
- Gary Mehigan Wiki: Know All About Him
- George Calombaris Wiki: Interesting Facts About This MasterChef Australia Judge
Sources:
“Matt Preston,” Wikipedia web site; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Preston#Accolades, last accessed February 1, 2017.
