Former MasterChef star Hayden Quinn tells Yahoo Lifestyle why a certain fan demand will never happen.

Hayden Quinn weighs in on a major demand from MasterChef fans, who have a bone to pick with Back to Win seasons. Photo: Ten

When Channel Ten decided to make this year’s season of MasterChef a Back to Win season with former contestants returning to the show for a second or third chance at the title, it’s unlikely that they thought they’d receive so much backlash. Viewers have made it clear that there is a lot that they don’t like.

They have hated the product placement, the guests, the contestants, and the judges. And now, they’re airing another frustration.

Taking to Reddit, one viewer wrote that they didn’t think it was fair that contestants who competed on the show and then returned to their regular jobs are forced to compete against people who have opened restaurants or work in the food world since they last competed on the show. The viewer went so far as to say, “There should be a back to win called ‘Back to Win: The Professionals’ and a Back to Win called ‘Back to Win: Newcomers’.”

They added, “Seeing newer people in the industry such as Declan, Theo, Rue and Darrsh compete against professionals like Laura, Callum, Andre and Sarah I don’t agree with. It’s just so unfair and not fun to see people with way more experience compete against the newer people.”

Many others agreed, saying a ‘Professionals’ version would “be such an amazing show to watch”.

However, former MasterChef star Hayden Quinn, who has previously competed in a Back to Win season, tells Yahoo Lifestyle that this is “not gonna happen”. And for good reason.

MasterChef’s Hayden Quinn weighs in on major viewer demand

Speaking about his own experience returning to the show in 2020, Hayden tells us, “When I went into that, I knew there were going to be people in that scenario that have spent a lot of time in kitchens, had done their own thing, have their own restaurants, have their own catering thing. But at the end of the day, that’s just sort of how it is.

“You gotta just go with the flow,” he adds. “And I think the most important thing to remember is that you can have all the skills in the world in your own kitchen, whether it be your restaurant, your home, your whatever, and then you step into the MasterChef kitchen, and everything changes. It’s a completely different battlefield. It comes with its own quirks. It comes with its own pressure. It comes with all these different little things that when you’re so comfortable and used to cooking in one location or one spot with all your normal tools to then step into the MasterChef kitchen, it really does level things out.”

Hayden has revealed why fans wanting two versions of Back to Win will be disappointed. Photo: Ten
Hayden continues, saying that because everyone has the same tools, the same amount of time and pressure, it’s more about how you navigate that pressure and perform in those circumstances.

“And I also think that MasterChef originated because it was about home cooks,” he says. “It was about people that cooked at home, love cooking, and wanted to showcase their passion for food. And I think if you can hang on to that feeling that they were looking for when they first started MasterChef, that’s always going to shine just as much as someone that might be creating some crazy dessert, or some crazy this, or crazy that. If you create food that has meaning, it has story, it has passion, and it tastes good, then it’s going to stand up against some of these crazy techniques that people pull out every now and again on the show.”

It does make sense, because let’s be honest, you can get an amazing meal from a street vendor somewhere, and have a meal that equally excites your tastebuds at an expensive restaurant, but high-end doesn’t always equal better.

Hayden agrees, saying, “I don’t know about you, but I prefer to go to someone’s house and eat food that they’ve cooked in their home kitchen than I do necessarily going to a restaurant. I don’t know, it’s just – there’s just more feeling, there’s more love, there’s more passion.”

He explains that he feels that the passion for food is what “evens” out the playing field between those who have worked in restaurants and those who went back to their regular careers after their first time on the show.

“And when people say it should be split [into two shows], they’re probably not the ones that are funding the TV show,” Hayden says with a laugh. “That’s not going to happen. We all know how much it costs to make television, and no, they’re not going to be doing that anytime soon, that’s for sure.”