Grace Dent and Anna Haugh are the new faces of MasterChef, taking over after a turbulent period for the show. Dent, a restaurant critic for The Guardian, and Haugh, an Irish chef, have been guest judges for years and now co-host the series. Dent recalled watching the show with her father in Carlisle, laughing at the critics, and later thinking, 'That looks like an amazing job.'
The pair, who knew each other from London's tight-knit restaurant world, say their relationship deepened while working together. 'We were finishing each other's sentences,' Haugh said. Dent joked that she would need a wig and glasses to review Haugh's restaurant Myrtle now. After filming, they WhatsApp each other about dinner plans, though Dent admitted she often ends up eating 'seven olives, a tablespoon of peanut butter and some Weetabix' while standing like a Tyrannosaurus rex.
MasterChef faced scandal after allegations against former hosts Gregg Wallace and John Torode. Wallace left in 2024 following 45 substantiated complaints, and Torode was dismissed after a racist language allegation. Dent replaced Wallace for Celebrity MasterChef, and both new judges are focused on the future. 'All I can think about is the future. I can't look back,' Dent said. Haugh added that the production team supported them to be authentic, saying, 'It didn't feel that we were being thrown into the wilderness.'
Despite the show's past, the new judges are committed to the contestants. Haugh said people expect her to be soft and Dent strict, but the first episode shows otherwise. When a contestant added flour to his hollandaise, Haugh remarked witheringly, 'I am not looking forward to tasting that.' Dent emphasised the intensity of the role: 'It's full-on and difficult, and I'm working with an enormous team.'
