'MasterChef' contestant praised by judges

A contestant on MasterChef has been praised by the judges for failing to produce a dish.

South Australian John Hughes, who has cerebral palsy, refused to present his plate to judges George Calombaris, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan in last night's episode because he felt that it was not up to scratch.

After the cake pressure test designed by guest judge Maggie Beer, the winemaker said: "My food's not at a standard to present to my friends [or] my family. I'm not going to present to you guys today. Today you gave me a recipe, but time wise I was out of my depth."

Preston told Hughes that he had "guts" to make the decision not to present and admitted that it had never happened on the reality cooking show before.

All the judges agreed that, as professional chefs, they often throw food away rather than serving it to customers because it does not reach the standard they desire. Beer then gave him a hug.

Fans of the show have since taken to the MasterChef website, calling Hughes an "inspiration" and "awesome".

The third series of MasterChef premiered last Sunday. Calombaris has promised that it will be a "big" season, while Preston said that it will be more "natural" without the "dramatics" of last year.

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