Romanian “MasterChef” vegan contestant Alex Lenghel recently made headlines for leaving the competition series after judges instructed him to cook meat during an elimination round.
Lenghel is considered the first vegan chef to appear on the show, whose central premise is to transform amateur cooks into culinary masters. During the Feb. 24 episode, Lenghel was paired with another contestant named Andrei Klabacs for a challenge.
The two men were first assigned to cook an unidentified meal that Klabacs led. After Lenghel, Klabacs, and several other contestants were sent to the elimination rounds following the judges’ final taste test, things began to take a turn.
During the challenge, the contestants were ordered by guest chef David Contant to recreate a dish involving beef. As the elimination round commenced with contestants tying a string around the meat, Lenghel stood firm to his morals and decided not to participate.
When one of the judges noticed Lenghel’s reluctance to take part in the challenge, they tried to convince him by saying, “come on Alex.” Lenghel continues to double down on his ethical values and explains to the chef that he didn’t join the competition to cook any form of meat.
The scene ends with Lenghel being given an ultimatum to cook the meat or go home. Lenghel immediately decided it was best to end his journey with the reality series upon that request.
Following his exit, Lenghel took to his Instagram account to give his followers a formal explanation of his departure. He wrote on the Feb. 25 post, “The MasterChef competition is ending now for me, based on life principles. The vegan lifestyle I follow now made cooking part of my life, and there was no chance to make any compromise and go back [to] cooking meat.”
Lenghel added although he was honored to work with other “passionate” chefs, he doesn’t regret leaving the show. “MasterChef, it was a big challenge for me, competing with people passionate about cooking. I regret Nothing.”
As fans began to view his upload, many praised the star for standing up for what he felt was right.
“You already win! Fighting for what you believe it’s never a lost battle!”
“I can’t understand anything you say but I understand that you love animals too much to cook their body parts!! Thank you for representing veganism so powerfully!”
“So much respect for you. Thank you so much for being an advocate and spokesperson for what is right and just.”
“Amazing to see people sticking to their ethics on TV.”
