'Rigged': MasterChef fans outraged at Laura's 'unfair advantage'

MasterChef fans have taken to social media to accuse Laura Sharrad of having an unfair advantage during Tuesday night's pressure test.

The challenge saw contestants recreate a range of dishes from judge Jock Zonfrillo's three-hatted restaurant Orana – where Laura had previously worked as a chef.

Fans were suspicious when Laura was able to perfectly execute Jock's signature dish of scarlet prawns, bunya nut chawanmushi and riberry crumpets.

Unsurprisingly, social media began to question whether Laura would already know how to make the dishes after working at Orana.

One user tweeted, "Laura in an elimination challenge that just so happens to be an Orana challenge. Where she worked??? No surprises that she nailed in. Where’s the equality?"

Someone else added, "Umm how can Laura compete in a Orana challenge on #MasterChefAU when she used to work there... unfair advantage I would think!"

Another fan added, "Laura seems to have excelled with the #crumpet & prawn challenge. Is that because she’s made it before at #orana As I’ve said before perception is important."

Others said, "Are we all just going to ignore the fact that Laura, who worked at Orana for 2.5 years, is doing a pressure test consisting of Orana dishes, against people who have not worked at Orana? #MasterChefAU #rigged."

And, "So are we just ignoring that Laura used to work at Orana? Cool cool #MasterChefAU."

However, fans in the MasterChef Australia 2020 Facebook group defended Laura, with one user saying it's very unlikely that she'd ever cooked the dish before.

"I don't think she had. She hasn't worked there recently and all the dishes are on the current menu. She may have cooked some of the elements but not the whole dishes," they said.

Another fan added that Laura had given advice to the others at the beginning "which implied she had done it before".

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Jock has previously said that there is no preferential treatment given to Laura.

"If anything, Laura will be at a disadvantage carrying the weight of cooking for her mentor," he said.

Laura also told the publication that her having worked for Jock in the past wouldn't help her in the competition, "Jock has always been very honest when critiquing my food, and I expect nothing less from him on MasterChef this year."

Got a story tip or just want to get in touch? Email us at lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com.