MasterChef Australia’s Lachlan Whittle has heartbreakingly revealed that his mother Jan died just days before he had to participate in the ‘Mum Cook’ challenge.
The May 5 episode saw Andy Allen’s mum Maree join the kitchen, and the contestants were tasked were reimagining the meals cooked for Andy as a child. The segment includes a lot of jokes between Andy and his mum, and sweet memories.
While the contestants seemed amused by the task, it understandably hit home for Lachlan, who had just lost his mother to cancer, at the time of filming.
“This was an extremely tough cook for me with the whole ‘mum cook’ as my mum only passed away a few days prior to this,” Lachlan wrote on Instagram.
Jan suffered from Huntington’s Disease, and Lachlan has since discovered that he inherited the degenerative brain condition.
Lachlan on how he felt about the task
The MasterChef contestant, who cooked Moroccan Style Meat and Three, took to the social media platform to reveal how hard the task was for him.
“Watching @andyallencooks beautiful mum Maree walk through those doors was a little heartbreaking but I will also admit that it was lovely to see Andy and his mother being able to share these special moments together” he wrote.
However, Lachlan said that gathered all of his strength to try and make his mum proud.
“I feel like it was difficult to get going into this cook but once I was able to gather myself and realise the moment I was in made everything easier and that the sole reason why I was here in the first place was to make damn good food and that exactly what I did.”
Lachy’s dish received rave reviews from the judges, with Poh Ling Yeow telling him the lamb was “beautifully cooked”.
Harry shared his condolences
Lachlan’s cast mate Harry Butterfield took to Instagram to share his sympathies about Jan’s passing.
“On a personal note, @lochycooks , I know tonight was a tough one for you and you should be immensely proud of how you carried yourself. Your strength is something I look up to ❤️,” he wrote.
Watch MasterChef Australia from Sunday – Thursday on Channel 10 and 10 Play.
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