MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA SEASON FOUR

Masterchef Australia is back on UK screens and I couldn't be happier. Although I am not  big reality TV fan I do enjoy cookery programs, and the Masterchef franchise is my personal favorite. Of the four that I watch I would rank them in this order: Masterchef Australia, then USA, followed by New Zealand then the UK. I always think that the UK version is a bit flat and lacking in dynamism. The US version is loosely based on the Australian model and is good entertainment because it is full of over-competitive, back stabbing contestants who would nobble their rivals food, if they could get away with it! For those of you not familiar with the Aussie program I will give a quick outline of the content.

Masterchef NZ is very close to the Aussie model which is a cross between a cooking contest and a reality show. The contestants live together in the Masterchef house. This allows bonds to be built which is important because the show has lots of team challenges. How people work as a team is very important for efficiently running a busy kitchen. In complete contrast to the American contestants the Australians are super friendly and helpful towards each other. There is normally a happy atmosphere between contestants and a very relaxed relationship between the judges and the contestants.

Speaking of the judges, the usual subjects are all back! The three cheery, chubby Aussies Gary Mehigan, George Carulambos and Matt Preston all return for another season: and thank goodness that they do because I couldn't imagine the show without the three of them. Also featuring on a regular basis will be Matt Moran. They are all great presenters and see their role(s) as more than being judges: in MC Australia there is just as much emphasis put on mentoring and advising the contestants. The aim is to create a cookery fairy tale where a good amateur cook is developed by learning on the way through advice from the judges, masterclasses and from their fellow competitors and turned into a chef that could walk straight in to any top restaurant for a job.

The challenges are varied: the mystery box, the team challenges, the pressure test and of course, the dreaded elimination rounds. There are also opportunities for chefs that win challenges to go head to head with a top chef and if they win they are awarded an immunity pin to be used whenever they may be in danger. The pin can be used only once.

Season four is just beginning in the UK. At the beginning of the first week we see the top 50 being selected. From there the number of contestants is whittled down to 24. Then the series starts in earnest. It is already possible to work out some of the top twenty four from the snippets of commentary of the contestants between rounds. There isn't too much coverage given to those that won't make the final cut.

The show should run for about three months during which time there will be not only excellent cooking on show but great entertainment if the last three seasons are anything to go on. I streamed the whole series but I'm going to watch it again, and give readers an account of this years competition.

As George would say " Boom boom shake the room - we have three months to go!"