MasterChef's Sarah Todd says she'd 'absolutely love' to return as a judge

Sarah Todd has come a long way since she finished in ninth place on the sixth season of MasterChef Australia.

In addition to returning to the competition last year and coming second, the international chef has opened two restaurants, filmed multiple TV shows and even served as a judge on a cooking series in India.

Speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle about her career goals, Sarah shares that she would “absolutely love” to become a judge on MasterChef in the future.

“To become a judge on any sort of show, there's a lot of experience that's required,” she says.

“And I think that through all the ups and downs and things I've gone through in my career, I think I've got the knowledge now to be able to help people to handle not only the competition side of cooking but also the emotional side and understanding how to navigate your career.”

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Sarah adds that one of her favourite parts of returning for MasterChef Fans & Favourites last year was being able to share her advice with the new contestants about navigating life after the show.

“I definitely feel like I've gone in many different directions and I guess a lot of people see the things that worked out, but there's a lot of things that haven't worked out along the way as well and a lot of lessons and learnings,” she reflects.

“So I'd absolutely want to be able to share that knowledge with everyone and whoever I can because for me, giving back is something that I really love and want to do more of and help to guide people in their careers.”

'The beauty of MasterChef Australia'

Since her first appearance on MasterChef almost a decade ago, Sarah has built an enormous fanbase in India and even met the country’s prime minister during his Australian visit last month to speak about her impressive career.

She also recently finished filming another Indian cooking competition where she served as the judge, which is set to air later this year.

“It was amazing to do it and you build such a strong connection with the contestants,” she details. “It's a really amazing experience because you've been in their shoes as well. You understand the pressure and the stress of it and that a lot rides on people's shoulders when they're going through that experience. It's something I really love doing for sure.”

She admits she found it challenging being on the other side of the bench and judging the dishes instead of offering help, especially because MasterChef taught her to be a team player.

“I think that's the beauty of MasterChef Australia, the camaraderie throughout the competition,” she says. “You're in this very high-pressure competition but you build such strong bonds that you do end up helping each other to get through the competition.

“From my first season, Sam Gant is still one of my best friends, I just spent the weekend with her. And then Mindy [Woods] and Aldo [Ortado] from my last season, we’re this trio of the closest buddies and we see each other and talk all the time and are so supportive. The bonds that you build out of this show are just so incredible, they’re lifelong.”

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