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MasterChef Australia

It's early days on MasterChef 4.0, but how does it taste so far?

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Admittedly it’s early to be ‘reviewing’ MasterChef 4.0 -after all we’ve only seen one episode with contestants champing (or is that chomping?) at the bit to become one of the top 50.

The show doesn’t really get underway until we arrive at the Top 24.

But in the hands of Shine Australia, the early signs are good. MasterChef has found reason to smile once again, celebrating individuals with culinary ambitions.

The people were lively, the food looked yummy and the mood was positively buoyant.

Opening the series in Melbourne at the Exhibition Centre, Gary, George and Matt (we don’t even need their surnames anymore) strode out before a room of aspirants and their loved ones, telling stories about why they wanted to become the next MasterChef.

One girl was barely out of school, another woman had to live up to the expectations of her father. There were even kids there supporting their parents. The three judges laughed with the room, like friendly teachers welcoming a new class on day one. Awww, are these the same three that sent people into Lockdown last year? You’d hardly know it.

Contestants had an hour to cook and five minutes to plate up.

Most of the dishes we saw looked delicious. One woman seemed to be bursting with dinky-di energy, there was another whose Muslim faith will forbid her to eat pork, a tearfully joyous Asian man and a social worker who plays roller derby. You can’t write this stuff.

MasterChef has always led the way with its diverse casting and shows no sign of slowing down.

Families waited outside like for the good news, American Idol style. It served the dual purpose of backstories and adding real heart.

Not everybody made it. One 18 year old with boyish charms was told to become an apprentice. Others failed as part of a collective montage.

TEN made use of the premiere with promos for Bikie Wars and Being Lara Bingle (it looks boring), and oddly included a “back soon MasterChef” promo in an ad break -wouldn’t we have just gotten back to the show quicker without it?

There’s a lot riding on this series to prop up TEN’s ailing schedule, and given last year’s problems it may turn out to be a repeat of its very first season, when the show started modestly before gathering through word of mouth.

If I had any criticism of the first episode it’s that I still feel the “auditions” are superfluous. Why don’t we just open with the Top 50? After all they have to audition all over again for the 24.

But if these ovens are just warming up, MasterChef is a course I am happy to sit down and taste.

MasterChef airs 7pm weeknights on TEN.

12 Responses

  1. same old judges all over again=snore.I know Digital TV channels have all of 10’s old sitcoms but what was wrong with the old system of Seinfeld,Everybody Loves Raymond and Friends amongst whatever else that used to exist in the era before we had the short lived Taken Out and 7pm Project coming a staple in the last few years.

  2. It has been ok so far, judges still annoying. But like the format so far.

    As for the adds, of coarse there are a lot. They will pump in as many as they can. Ch 10 need the money so are not going to reduce them.

    I don’t do adds any more. They absolutely infuriate me to the point where I would rather not watch a show if I have to put up with the stupid adds. All those coles/ curtis stone / masterchef adds really really really annoy me. I record everything, give it about 15 – 20 mins then start watching.

    I love it when people talk about annoying adds and i don’t have a clue what they are talking about!

  3. Pile of Crap.Was Watching a Double Everybody Loves Raymond Episode on my sole night off from work.Ten did alright with things like that and Seinfeld in the old days so Why bother with the cooking show.

  5. I know BLB is being produced by one of the companies Lara endorses, but has there ever been a more boring person to base a show around?

  7. I know it was just sifting the wheat from the chaff but we were a bit underwhelmed by the chosen ones highlighted except for the woman who served up the chilli crab. Be interesting to see how many viewers they’ll get from H&A and Block. My wife watches H&A and has said she will tape to watch over the weekend sometime, just so she can keep up to date with MC..

    Have to agree with other posts on the adds; there seemed an inordinate amount last night and like MKR, they utilised the trick of showing snippets of the show towards the end of the ad break so you rush in thinking it’s back on only to endure another 2-3 ads.

  9. So good to have it back to the original format!
    I actually like this audition process because you get to see the families reactions and it’s more personal.
    Being lara bingle looks like a pile of crap but bikie wars looks awesome

  11. hmm.. it all seemed just a bit slow.. and tentative.. and what was with all the ads?

    if i hadn’t watched masterchef before, i probably wouldn’t keep watching..

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