MasterChef Australia

“What’s the Dream?” asks Matt Preston.

It’s a question for which every contender hoping for a place in the MasterChef kitchen has an answer.

Food trucks, cafes, restaurants. Nobody arrives here without having a story: where they have come from, where they want to go. There is no shortage of ambition, but climbing the mountain is where the conflict lays.

Say what you like about the importance of the food, MasterChef would be nothing without its inherent Drama.

Yet here as 50 are whittled down to 24, there is an embracing, joyous nature amongst direct competitors. They clap one another for plating up (in stark contrast to other shows). They even applaud when one of the 24 places is snatched by their competition.

Yes, unfettered optimism is back. There’s the stirring music, the multiculturalism, there’s Matt’s cravats, the big clock, cliffhanger commercial breaks, the cheering from the wings, and the moments when everything seems lost and it’s time to dig deep. There’s even the annoying recaps and the moments where George adds “yeah” to the end of his sentences. Like a pair of old slippers, I know that my MasterChef is back.

And damn if the food isn’t mouth-watering.

This year begins with a two day whittling down of 50 to 24 white apron trophies. They bring their families to support them as they serve up their signature dish, reflecting a communal spirit.

A Scottish woman daringly serves up Haggis. Another tests the friendship with an inordinate amount of spice (even Matt is thrown into a coughing fit). One young cook serves up a dish the judges call “the best audition dessert” in 6 years. Another bloke is so inventive he could the show’s first local Heston.

“This is the greatest moment of my life,” says more than one contender. Ok, it’s probably a bit of an exaggeration, but in the Reality TV bubble everything is magnified. Either that or they have expertly studied the show and know what is expected of them.

A hefty bunch of aprons are handed out on Day 1. Remaining contenders will compete in a ‘second chance’ test on Day 2 that tests them to the max.

By Season 7 George, Gary and Matt are also quite expert -and relaxed- at running the MasterChef ship now. They milk the drama, pepper it with warmth, link the storytelling with ease and cunningly take you to the brink of tears.

In the middle of all of this narrative I may have undersold the quality of cooking. The show does not. It’s clear that “MasterChef Phenomenon” that swept through 2009 has ricocheted around the country and raised the bar.

MasterChef has become one of those rare shows in which the audience claims ownership and in which the feelgood factor is its strongest asset.

Yes, my MasterChef is back.

MasterChef Australia begins 7:30pm Tuesday on TEN.