Category — Masterchef Australia

Masterchef Australia will kick off on Sunday June 2 at 7.30pm going and then will continue Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

On week two the Masterclass episode will be on the Thursday night.

There is no top 50 this year and the season will kick off with a top 22 with the Herald Sun reporting the first challenge will be at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Expect to see Curtis Stone, Stephanie Alexander, Shannon Bennett, Maggie Beer and Antonio Carluccio all make appearances.

The theme this year appears to be boy versus girls and as discussed in a previous blog post Masterchef might be going down My Kitchen Rules path and trying to bring out the bitchy.

The Herald Sun also speculates that Masterchef will be going head to head against the popular shows like The Voice and The Block, however I think there it will do just fine.

Masterchef Australia premieres on Sunday 2 June on TEN at 7.30pm.

When My Kitchen Rules started four years ago it was accused of copying the then ratings juggernaut Masterchef Australia. However this year Masterchef could be accused of copying My Kitchen Rules.

First there is the promo where they are setting up an adversarial theme for the show with the males versus female, also they have given contestants monikers just has MKR did. This includes labels like The Tiger Mum, Daddy’s Little Princess and The Dude.

And now it appears they might be trying to bring on the nasty which was a staple of this year My Kitchen Rules.

Word is the Masterchef contestant’s are being encouraged to be harsh about the other contestants. The classic trick being used when they are not being bitchy enough they are told “Did you know that this person is saying about you”.

Considering Gary Mehigan took a swipe at the latest series of My Kitchen Rules this year he might want to get his own house in order first.

He told SMH:

“Masterchef: The Professionals really appealed to a foodie set, dedicated foodie people and they loved it,” Mehigan said.

“Then you look at MKR and it’s kind of glamorous, it’s kind of different and it appeals to bogan Australia and there’s bitchiness and all that drama.

“Soap drama is easy. It’s chewing gum fo the eyes and Masterchef is never going to be that.”

It will be interesting to see how far Masterchef Australia is pushing the villains considering it appears they are setting the viewer up to be negative about some of the contestants particularly the ones with the titles of The Tiger Mum and Daddy’s Little Princess.

Do you think Masterchef will be trying to emulate MKR in style for ratings?

Masterchef Australia is rumoured to start on TEN on June 3.

File this under awesome news and in what is near perfect casting former Masterchef Australia contestant Alice Zaslavsky has been announced as the new host of Kitchen Whiz, a kids cooking show on GO Channel.

It shows at 7.30am weekday mornings and have now series linked it for Miss 8 who also wants to make her own cooking show, however her idea appears to have a similar format as Junior Masterchef!

The press release says:

Alice is joined by audience favourite “Kitchen Ninja” (Andy Minh Trieu, Rescue Special Ops, Rake, Tomorrow When the War Began). He works silently and stealth-like to undertake any dangerous task on behalf of the young contestants, like chopping food, dealing with naked flames and a hot stove, as well as being the final word with the judging.

 “I’m thrilled to be hosting Kitchen Whiz. It’s a perfect blend of two of my favourite things in life – food and learning. I’ve loved engaging with the kids, working with Andy and our guest chefs, and have learnt so much from the fantastic support and encouragement of the production team at Ambience and Channel Nine,” says Alice.

Each weekday (7.30am-8.00am) two teams of junior chefs compete in fun, messy tasks as they race around the kitchen to complete a four-course menu and win points and prizes from the Kitchen Ninja – a silent but hilarious master in the art of Ninja quick cooking.

Kitchen Whiz is also launching its first digital app, allowing kids and families to play along with the show as it goes to air, just by entering the unique code word displayed at the start of each episode. Food fans can download recipes, follow celebrity chef cooking demonstrations, answer quiz questions and compete with other viewers for a position on the leader board. The Kitchen Whiz App is available from the iTunes store or the Kitchen Whiz website: www.kitchenwhiz.com.au.

Now hopefully Alice will put out a children’s cookbook as well.

Kitchen Whiz on weekday mornings at 7.30am on GO Channel.

Recently Kumar from Masterchef Australia Season three launched his cookbook called Kumar’s Family Cookbook. 

It was  a lovely evening at the Rozelle Writers Centre with other Masterchef alumni in attendance including Aaron Harvie who I always call Adam, Billy Law, Audra Morrice, and Hayden Quinn.

The book  is based on recipes from his heritage so there are quite a few Sri Lankan recipes which are not seen in a lot of other cookbooks.

They include recipes like String Hoppers some really interesting looking curries like Gamma’s Mango Curry and Cheeni Curry (Sugar Curry, along with some more anglo food like Bread and Butter Pudding and Beef Stroganoff.

The added bonus and why  the book is so beautiful is that Kumar has done all the illustrations on the book himself.

I bought a recipe book at the launch but have decided due to my lack of culinary skills and time I probably won’t use it and it is a book that should be.

It is signed to Reality Ravings if that doesn’t bother you and you would like to win it  please answer the question below in the comments section.

For those who want to buy it is available for purchase online and in all good book stores and in Big W and KMart it should be no more than $29.95.

In the photo below which contestant was the sex symbol of Masterchef Australia Season 3?

Please note even if you get the answer wrong you are still eligble for the prize.