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Zaleha Nadir Olin was eliminated from MasterChef after Gregg and John said her chicken rendang was lacking “crispy” skin.

Gregg said: ”I like the rendang flavour, there's a coconut sweetness. However, the chicken skin isn't crispy. It can't be eaten and all the sauce is on the skin so I can't eat it.”

The dish has disputed origins, as both Indonesia and Malaysia have laid claim to being the country where it came from, however, it is agreed the chicken should never be crispy.

The BBC judges’ criticism has enraged people from Indonesia and Malaysia who have taken to social media to address the “disrespectful” comments.

“A white guy from MasterChef just disrespect our (mostly malaysian and indonesian) specialty, Rendang chicken saying it should be crispy when it shouldn’t,” one wrote.

Another complained: “The Masterchef Rendang discourse isn't JUST about the rendang. It's about white people disrespecting Asian culture, as shown by @JohnTorode1's extremely distasteful and

ignorant responses to the criticism. #namastayinyourlane.”

“#MasterChefUK, I can't even deal with your innanity right now. White people from a colonialist country thinks they can tell a Malaysian cook what Malaysian food should taste like? B***h

pls,” a third added.

When John addressed the issue on Twitter, he was accused of being insensitive.

In a now-deleted tweet, he wrote: “Maybe Rendang is Indonesian !! Love this !! Brilliant how excited you are all getting .. Namaste.”

Many were quick to criticise the host as they pointed out “namaste” is a greeting used in India.

Malaysian PM Najib Razak also mocked the pair yesterday, asking: “Who eats chicken rendang that is crispy?”

In an appearance on Good Morning Britain today, Gregg and John addressed the outcry and defended their decision.

“I didn’t mean it wasn’t fried like fried chicken. What I meant was that it wasn’t cooked. It simply wasn’t cooked.”

The judge continued continued: “She didn’t go out because her skin wasn’t crispy.

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However, the contestant at the centre of the drama, Zaleha, revealed she would not be changing her cooking methods.

She declared on Instagram: “Gutted to be eliminated on #masterchefuk but I stand by my traditional way of cooking Nasi Lemak. Will not change it for the world. The memories of my amazing

time at Masterchef kitchen will forever stays with me.

“Thank you so much for all your support and good wishes. As my friend said, what doesn't kill me makes me stronger! Thank you again xxx.”

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