Matt Preston reveals he CRIED after having his first post-lockdown restaurant meal

Matt Preston has revealed he was very excited when restaurants across Australia opened their doors for service in May, after almost eight weeks of lockdown.

The 59-year-old food critic and Plate of Origin judge told New Idea that he actually cried while having his first restaurant meal in two months.

‘My first meal back in a restaurant after lockdown [made me cry],’ he said.

‘I hadn’t realised how much I’d missed out eating with friends,’ he added.

In May, businesses across Australia opened their doors for the first time after being closed for dining service for nearly eight weeks.

Cafés, restaurants and bars had only been allowed to offer takeaway service under the restrictions which were introduced on March 23 to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

However, Melbourne was placed back under lockdown last month after a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Matt recently returned to TV on Channel Seven’s Plate of Origin, alongside his former MasterChef co-star Gary Mehigan and MKR’s Manu Feildel.

Despite a huge promotional push from the network, the cooking program premiered to just 667,000 metro viewers on August 31.

The numbers have continued to drop each night, with 510,000 viewers tuning in for last Monday’s episode, while just 419,000 people watched on Tuesday.

Not only was Plate of Origin defeated in the ratings by Channel 10’s The Masked Singer and Nine’s The Block, even Anh’s Brush with Fame on the ABC pulled in more viewers.

Despite Plate of Origin bombing, Seven has had a strong year with the success of both Big Brother and Farmer Wants a Wife.