MasterChef UK judge: I meant the rendang chicken meat was not cooked
MasterChef UK judge clarifies crispy skin comment
PETALING JAYA: A MasterChef UK judge slammed for his "crispy skin" rendang remark now claims that the meat was "not cooked".
Mr Gregg Wallace explained: "I said the skin wasn't crispy. I didn't mean it wasn't fried like fried chicken. What I meant was that it wasn't cooked. It simply wasn't cooked."
He said this in an appearance on TV programme Good Morning Britain (GMB) alongside fellow judge John Torode on Wednesday.
On Monday, in a MasterChef UK episode, Malaysian contestant Zaleha Kadir Olpin had prepared a traditional rendition of nasi lemak with chicken rendang.
According to reports online, GMB's Kate Garraway asked Mr Wallace to explain what happened, and the judge said that Ms Zaleha was sent home because the others were better.
I said the skin wasn’t crispy. I didn’t mean it wasn’t fried like fried chicken.Mr Gregg Wallace
Madam Garraway reminded him, saying "but you said crispy". And Mr Wallace hit back, saying "rest assured, the best cooks will always go through".
Mr Torode defended their decision and said he "did a whole series on Malaysia", calling the nation's food "fantastic".
Upon hearing Madam Garraway's comment that he "should know then", Mr Torode replied in the affirmative: "Well, I do. I said to her, it wasn't cooked enough".
Mr Wallace clarified that Ms Zaleha didn't go out because her rendang skin wasn't crispy.
"She went out because the other cooks were better," he added.
Earlier, he had noted Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's comment on the elimination decision , saying: "Oh, for crying out loud... the Malaysian Prime Minister has got involved as well." - THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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