The hardest thing about being on MasterChef

After months filming away from family – and already missing warm cuddles from their kids – Mother’s Day struck a raw nerve for Jess Hodge, Kishwar Chowdhury and Linda Dalrymple.

Hodge, mother of twin three-year-old boys, Arlo and Luca, said she hoped her boys would be good for their mum, her wife Emily Harris today.

“I’ve been away from the boys for months now,” she said.

“The process started at the end of last year so it’s been quite a long time. It really has been quite difficult, knowing my partner has been home looking after them by herself.

“I won’t be able to spend Mother’s Day with them so I’m hoping the family puts something nice on for Em, to make her feel really special.”

Of the MasterChef competition and filming schedule Hodge said “it’s all hard”.

“The competition itself is very stressful and a lot of pressure but knowing you have this whole other part of your life you have to put on hold and are missing out on, important moments in the boys’ lives, that’s really hard,” she said.

“I know I’m doing this for them. When we look back at this moment in time, I know it will have been worth it.”

Chowdhury and Dalrymple both echoed this sentiment.

“This is the toughest part of MasterChef for me,” Chowdhury said. “I won’t think about it when we are so busy with shoots, preparing for challenges, among a big team … but once in a while I will remember my daughter’s face or a joke my son told me and just become terribly homesick. Especially when I cook a home-cooked meal for the judges.”

Dalrymple said: “It is very hard being away from my family, especially as this is the first time ever that I have been separated from them. However, I am able to contact my family whenever I want to and am able to do home visits from time to time.”

MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo said with kids of his own, he personally understood the difficulty of being away from family, especially with ongoing COVID-19.

“Hats off to our incredibly talented contestants who have sacrificed so much to be part of Australia’s favourite cooking show,” he said.

“Their dedication and devotion to cooking and food is truly inspiring and I genuinely hope they have now caught the bug and keep pushing hard on their obsession with food.”

MasterChef airs Sunday to Thursday, 7.30pm on Ten