Sashi Cheliah, 39, has revealed the pressure of cooking on MasterChef is harder than working in a prison.
He told Woman’s Day on Monday, ‘The MasterChef kitchen is much harder, because when I’m going to work I know what I’m expected to do!’
Before moving to Australia from Singapore, he worked for the island nation’s Police Force as part of the elite Star Unit (Special Tactics and Rescue).
‘When I’m going to work, I know what to expect’: Sashi Cheliah claims cooking on MasterChef is harder than working at a prison…after he was ‘bullied’ by Bondi Icebergs’ head chef
In 2012 he, his wife and their two sons relocated to Adelaide and worked as a case manager for a women’s prison, according to Adelaide Now.
Sashi told Woman’s Day his colleagues tune in for every episode.
‘When I got the apron, the whole prison cheered for me – not just the women’s prison but the men’s prison cheered me on, too!’
Support: Sashi told Woman’s Day his colleagues tune in for every episode. ‘When I got the apron, the whole prison cheered for me – not just the women’s prison but the men’s prison cheered me on, too!’
Drama: In a previous episode Sashi buckled under pressure as Bondi Iceberg’s head chef Monty Koludrovic constantly hovered over him as he cooked pumpkin, pine nut raviolo with mushroom and red wine sauce
‘I think they see it as someone from their family trying their hardest to achieve something and that makes them proud,’ he added.
On Sunday Sashi’s Singaporean chicken rice dish won over the judges and guaranteed him a place in the top three.
Last week viewers of the show took to Twitter to unleash their fury at Bondi Icebergs head chef Monty Koludrovic, accusing him of being ‘too tough’ on the amateur chef.
Sashi planned to deliver a pumpkin, pine nut raviolo with mushroom and red wine sauce, but buckled under pressure when chef Monty constantly hovered over him.
The contestant’s supporters took to social media to take a swipe at the chef, including one who wrote: ‘To see him being treated like that makes me really angry. He made the hardest dish with the most elements. I wanna deck Monty.’
One tweeted: ‘As a Bondi local, I will never EVER walk into Monty x @Icebergskitchen again! The way to succeed in business, a kitchen or life is to lead your people, not beat them. @masterchefau #boycottbullies #MasterChefAU.’
Viewer reaction: Viewers of the show took to Twitter to unleash their fury at Bondi Icebergs head chef Monty Koludrovic, accusing him of being ‘too tough’ on the amateur chef