Matt Preston has revealed his favourite restaurants in Sydney, the dining institution he hopes to tick off next and his “fangirl” moment at the 2026 Logies. 

The former MasterChef Australia judge attended the 66th TV WEEK Logie Awards on Sunday night, where he was asked by News24.com.au which Sydney spots were his go-tos when looking for a feed.

“King Clarence, maybe,” he exclusively told this publication, referring to the Asian-inspired food haunt in the CBD.

“But it’s always the one I’m going to go to next,” he said, before adding: “I mean, Totti’s is another amazing one for what it does for the price.”

Italian Merivale institution Totti’s has two locations in Sydney, with its flagship in Bondi and a second restaurant, dubbed Bar Totti’s, on George Street in the city.

However, Preston has his eye on a smaller establishment in the Inner West for his next feed.

“I really want to go to South End. So if someone wants to take me to South End, I want to go to South End,” he said of the Erskineville bistro. 

Elsewhere in the red carpet interview, the food connoisseur revealed his “death row meal” – the selection of food he would eat if he knew it would be his last feast.

“A degustation menu with way too many courses that lasts maybe three or four days,” the foodie chuckled.

“It will end with a Snickers Bar and a cheese board.”

Preston featured on MasterChef Australia for ten years as a judge alongside George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan, who Preston is about to go on tour with to Europe and Vietnam.

At the time, it was reported that the trio failed to reach a commercial agreement during contract negotiations, thus calling it quits in 2019. 

The beloved cooking program is now helmed by Andy Allen, Poh Ling Yeow, Sofia Levin and Jean-Christophe Novelli, who were all in attendance at TV’s night of nights. 

Preston dubbed his MasterChef co-stars – past and present – as “part of the family”, adding that he “can’t escape [them]”. 

“I just saw Poh just now, I had dinner with [2025 winner] Laura Sharrad in Adelaide last week. I see a lot of them,” he said.

And while he was surrounded by his MasterChef family at the glitzy do, with season one fan-favourite Justine Schofield and season two’s winner Adam Liaw also making appearances, he was additionally left starstruck by some of the night’s attendees. 

“I’m very excited to see Todd Woodbridge here. I love what he does on Tipping Point. He’s been amazing,” he said, dubbing himself a “tennis fangirl”.

He also praised Ray Meagher, who played Alf Stewart on soap opera Home and Away and was also in attendance at the annual awards ceremony. 

Preston then reflected on his move from London to Australia in 1993 with UK magazine publisher IPC, who sent him Down Under to cover Australian soapies. 

“I moved to Australia to write about Neighbours and Home and Away so to see some of those iconic actors from those shows…”

“That for me, that’s the cherry on top of tonight.”