masterchef australia laura sharrad jock

‘MasterChef’ Viewers Call BS On Laura Competing In Jock’s Challenge Last Night

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One of MasterChef’s most beloved contestants, Laura Sharrad, has found herself in hot water after viewers have accused her of having an unfair advantage in the competition.

During last night’s pressure test, Laura along with six other contestants had to recreate three dishes — scarlet prawns, bunya nut chawanmushi and berry crumpets — from judge Jock Zonfrillo’s restaurant Orana in South Australia. The only problem? Jock previously employed Laura as a chef at that very restaurant.

Many viewers were suss over whether Laura would have had experience cooking the above dishes while working at Orana, or at the very least be familiar enough with Jock’s style of food to know how to impress her former mentor.

By the end of the cook, Laura avoided going into the second pressure test round as her three dishes impressed the judges. Coincidence? Fans think TF not.

Viewers called BS over Laura’s potential unfair advantage:

This isn’t the first time Laura has been accused of receiving preferential treatment. When the season began, both she and Ben Milbourne were accused of favouritism because of their close relationships with Jock and Andy Allen respectively.

However, Jock maintains that he won’t treat Laura any differently to the rest of the contestants. “I said it in the first tasting, there is no favouritism,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “If anything, Laura will be at a disadvantage carrying the weight of cooking for her mentor.”

It is worth noting that Laura worked at Orana straight after she finished MasterChef as runner-up way back in 2014, so it’s unlikely that she would have cooked professionally with Jock’s current menu.

We’ve reached out to Network Ten for comment.