MALAYSIA
New Straits Times-Apr 4
Gregg Wallace, the Masterchef UK judge who drew international condemnation for his now-infamous ‘crispy’ rendang remark, has come out into the open to explain himself.
During an interview with British talk show Good Morning Britain today, Wallace said his remark was widely misconstrued.
“I didn’t mean it should be fried, like fried chicken. What I meant was it wasn’t cooked. It simply wasn’t cooked. It was white and flabby,” he said during the interview.
Also present during the interview was MasterchefUK co-judge John Torode. They, however, defended their decision to eliminate Malaysian contestant Zaleha Kadir Olpin, who prepared the nasi lemak chicken rendang dish.
“Rest assured, the best cooks will always go through,” said Wallace. He added: “She didn’t go out because her skin wasn’t crispy. She went out because the other cooks were better.”
This came after netizens created a petition on Change.org demanding an apology from Torode and Gregg Wallace.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday weighed in over the rendang ayam “crispy” controversy and took to Facebook to poke fun at the situation which unfolded on the reality show.
“Mana ada orang makan rendang ayam crispy (who eats crispy rendang ayam),” Najib wrote.
