We certainly noticed his absence!

Michael Edelberg was mysteriously absent from Monday night’s episode of My Kitchen Rules after rumours he could be axed from the show.

The self-proclaimed “Meat Master” has certainly caused a stir with his outspoken comments and rows with his rivals on the Channel Seven show.

And in an unexpected twist, fans were left baffled when they noticed he was nowhere to be seen during the first Kitchen Headquarters cook-off on October 13.

While only Lol and Lil, and Anne and Maree faced the dreaded cook-off, all the other teams watched on and were involved in the judging for the first time ever.

However, Rielli was forced to taste the dishes by herself as Michael was unexpectedly not included in the episode.
My Kitchen Rules star Michael was mysteriously absent from Monday’s episode. (Credit: Channel Seven)
His absence was not explained, but New Idea understands that he wasn’t able to film due to “personal reasons” and will return as normal next episode.

The only time his absence was mentioned in the episode was when the judges asked Rielli what Michael would have thought of Anne and Maree’s lamb main course.

“If a certain Meat Master was here, what would he say?” Colin Fassnidge asked her.
To which she replied with a flawless impression of Michael, saying: “My fork went in hopeful, it came out disappointed, and I know Rielli said these flavours weren’t marrying together, I agree, they were probably filing for divorce.”

Ultimately, Lol and Lil managed to save themselves in the competition, and it was Anne and Maree who went home.

Michael’s absence comes after speculation that he could be axed from the cooking show over his feud with Manu Feildel.

“Michael has been pushing boundaries and it’s not going down well,” a source told New Idea.

The tension kicked off during Mark and Tan’s Instant Restaurant, when Michael interrupted Man mid-critique to accuse Tan of hiding professional cooking experience.
It comes after it was claimed Michael was at risk of being axed over his outspoken antics. (Credit: Channel Seven)
Manu, visibly annoyed with Michael, cut in: “Listen, you either accept the rules and you play with everyone, or you don’t accept the rules and goodbye.”

When Michael kept going, Manu fired back.

“I’m not going back to this again. You’re either a professional and you don’t belong here, or you are an amateur and you belong here. That’s it,” he said.

Fellow judge Colin backed Manu behind the scenes, admitting that while big personalities make for good TV, he and Manu want to keep the focus on the food.

Our source said the judges “have the authority to send a contestant packing if they repeatedly step over the line” – the ultimate power play.

Whispers suggested that Manu made it clear to producers he won’t tolerate being undermined again.