Curtis Stone hits back after MasterChef Australia fans called him 'nasty'

MasterChef viewers were left divided earlier this year when Curtis Stone appeared on the show, with some fans of the show taking to social media to say they thought the celebrity chef was a little "nasty".

One user wrote at the time, "Curtis is a lot more harsh than Jamie [Oliver] was...", while another said, "Somehow I don’t like this 'tough love' Curtis Stone. At least Jamie Oliver helps and answers questions."

A third even questioned, "Do we get nasty Curtis or nice Curtis tonight," when the Coles ambassador returned to the show.

Curtis Stone defends himself against MasterChef fans' 'nasty' claim

Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle in Sydney this week, Curtis revealed that his demeanour towards the contestants depends on what point of the season he appears in.

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"Do you know, it depends on when I'm on the season because if I'm on right at the start of the season, they're all pretty green. They're all finding their feet," he tells us. "As you get closer to the finals, it starts really meaning a lot to them.

"So I always think as the chef, you have to be a good mentor, and you have to feel out your team, you have to understand where they're at and know how much pressure, how much to push."

He continues, "And last season, I had a group of guys that were really wanting it, really wanting it a lot. So I gave it to them. And I pushed them, and I made them extend themselves. And I think that, you know, they were really grateful for it at the end of it, and it was really, really fun."

So, it seems the contestants loved the way Curtis treated them!

Curtis Stone reveals what MasterChef fans don't see: 'We fight it out'

Speaking about behind-the-scenes moments that fans don't see, Curtis revealed that sometimes the judges get into quite heated debates about the dishes.

"It's really difficult when we judge them," the celebrity chef says. "You know, sometimes there's really nothing in it, and sometimes we go to this little back room and the judges have different opinions, and we fight it out, we argue our cases, and we're like, 'No, that wasn't as good as this.' And, you know, and it's pretty cool to watch. I wish that viewers could get to see that, because that is really fun."

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Curtis also shared that he never knew the show would become the "juggernaut" that it is now when it first started in 2009.

"Season one was so fun and so special, and none of us knew what we were doing," he shares. "None of us really knew what we got ourselves into. The show turned into an absolute juggernaut and then I go all the way to last season where, you know, we had such great contestants again.

"I love watching these contestants come back, I get to work with Michael [Weldon], I get to work with Courtney [Roulston] at Coles. So it's really cool."

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