MasterChef fans are divided over Meghan Markle’s much-hyped appearance on the show, during which she took a “surprise” call from husband Harry in the middle of the judging process.
The Duchess of Sussex, who filmed the segment at Channel 10’s Melbourne studio during her visit to Australia with Prince Harry in April, joined the episode as a celebrity guest at the beginning of finals week as four contestants vie for the 2026 MasterChef title.
She began by revealing a table full of ingredients for them to cook with, and made frequent references throughout the show to Harry, whom she referred to as “H” – including revealing that he “loves a lot of meat, potatoes, cream sauce”.
However, the most awkward moment occurred when a crew member walked onto the set carrying a phone as the judges were tasting a dish cooked by Aaron Kerr.
“Sorry to interrupt. We’ve had a call into the studio,” he said, handing the phone to the Duchess.
“Hi, my love! My husband’s here,” she gushed, showing the Facetime video to those in the studio as the Duke of Sussex cheekily asked if he had interrupted “something important”.
After explaining that Harry was calling from Canberra, Megan told him: “I wish you could try this.
“These dishes are fantastic It’s really delicious, and there’s a hot sauce… I think it might be too much for you. It’s spicy.”
Many of the show’s fans seemed to lap it up, taking to social media to applaud Megan’s appearance and describing her as charming, elegant and fun. But plenty also panned both the duchess and the show’s producers for inviting her as a guest judge.
“Ohh god how cringe,” posted one Instagram user on a clip of the Facetime call.
“Meghan isn’t a chef and clearly doesn’t know how to cook based on her show. Who is she to judge? It’s just cringeworthy,” said a YouTuber, making reference to the duchess’s Netflix lifestyle show With Love, Meghan.
“Ch 10…big mistake…BIG mistake,” complained another comment on YouTube.
The show’s contestants certainly appeared starstruck, with those previously eliminated from the competition returning for the episode and watching from the gantry.
Megan herself – who described Harry as “a charmer” after his phone call and said during the episode that her own children love brussels sprouts – seemed equally enamoured of them, going up to each one in turn to comment on their dishes.
In a teaser clip released by Ten ahead of the episode airing, she said she loved her time on the show, but that cooking under such intense pressure was not her style.
“I like to cook in really relaxed fashion, so all I could say to the competitors was just remember to have fun, to keep a sense of humour about it and to cook from the heart.”
MasterChef contestant Casper Kenworthy, whose octopus dish was judged best of the episode, seemed especially flustered by their interaction on set.
“It is a bit of a surreal moment,” he admitted.
“When I found myself on this season of MasterChef, I think the last thing I expected was Meghan Markle, the duchess, eating my food and enjoying it too.”
While there has been speculation over whether Meghan received a fee for her MasterChef appearance, the Press Association reported that it understood she was not paid.
Harry and Meghan’s Australian visit included meetings with mental health charities, Invictus veterans and survivors and emergency service personnel from the Bondi Beach terror attack.
“We love Australia. We had the most sentimental, amazing time. We were here almost eight years ago,” the duchess said of her visit.
“We announced we were pregnant with Archie at the time. It’s full circle.”
–with AAP
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