Meghan Markle’s guest appearance on MasterChef Australia on Sunday night proved to be a standout moment, with the show’s judges taking to social media to sing her praises.
The Duchess of Sussex, 44, entered the iconic MasterChef kitchen as a special guest judge, leaving regulars Poh Ling Yeow, Sofia Levin and Jean-Christophe Novelli impressed by her warmth, ease and notably down-to-earth manner.
Poh Ling, 52, posted a clip from the Channel Ten reality series showing her chatting with Meghan on set, pairing the video with an affectionate caption.
‘Poh and Meghan becoming instant besties. Finding your bestie in the MC kitchen,’ Poh wrote alongside the clip.
Fellow MasterChef Australia judge Sofia Levin, 36, also shared her excitement, uploading photos of herself and Meghan smiling together in the studio.
‘Possibly my favourite moment of this season was seeing the jaws of our contestants hit the floor as Meghan walked through our doors,’ Sofia began.
Meghan Markle’s appearance on MasterChef Australia on Sunday night delighted the show’s judges, who praised the Duchess of Sussex on social media
Levin later shared the sweet reason she found it difficult to remain completely starstruck around Meghan.
‘Tell you what, it’s pretty hard to stay starstruck when a person is so lovely,’ she wrote.
Meanwhile, fellow series judge Jean-Christophe Novelli, 65, expressed his delight about working with the former actress.
‘What an unexpected last-minute surprise. Meghan popping in the MasterChef kitchen with some tremendous seasonal ingredients,’ the French-born star wrote.
It follows reports that Meghan won over an unexpected wave of admirers with her long-awaited appearance on the series.
Meghan wowed as she stepped into the famous kitchen – and viewers who admitted knowing little about her said they were pleasantly surprised by her warm manner.
While Meghan has long been one of the world’s most polarising public figures, fans said the cooking competition allowed them to see a markedly different side of her.
Social media users described the former Suits actress as ‘graceful’, ‘down to earth’ and ‘genuinely nice’, with some declaring she was one of the program’s most impressive celebrity guests.
The Duchess of Sussex stepped into the famous kitchen as a special guest judge, and series regulars Poh Ling Yeow, Sofia Levin and Jean-Christophe Novelli were overwhelmed by her down-to-earth nature – and quick to gush over her
Poh Ling shared a clip of her and Meghan chatting on the set of the Channel Ten reality TV series, which was captioned with some heartfelt words
The episode was filmed in Melbourne during Meghan and Prince Harry’s Australian visit in April and challenged contestants to prepare a dish ‘fit for a Duchess’.
Poh teased the arrival of ‘MasterChef royalty’ before introducing Meghan to the stunned cooks as ‘the Duchess of Sussex’.
Meghan appeared relaxed as she entered the kitchen and warmly greeted the judges and contestants before settling in to taste their creations.
The aspiring chefs were asked to draw inspiration from ingredients said to be among the Duchess’ favourites, including strawberries, lemons, artichokes, carrots and Brussels sprouts.
They were also given access to edible flowers, which have become closely associated with Meghan’s Netflix series, With Love, Meghan.
Meghan’s friendly rapport with Poh was a talking point after the broadcast.
The two women appeared to hit it off immediately, laughing and chatting comfortably throughout the episode despite rumours before it aired suggesting there had been tension between them.
Their easy chemistry seemingly put an end to the speculation, with no indication on screen of the alleged behind–the–scenes feud.
Network 10 first announced Meghan’s guest judging role in April, describing her as a ‘passionate foodie’ and revealing that the appearance had been kept secret from the contestants.
Her unexplained absence from part of the Sussexes’ Australian itinerary was subsequently revealed to have been caused by the top-secret filming commitment.
