MasterChef Australia

Did You Know?

• The Official MasterChef Cookbook Volume 1 was published by Random House Australia in December 2009, containing recipes from the series 1 Top 20 contestants and top chefs.
• MasterChef Magazine, a monthly spin-off publication, went on sale in May 2010 and sold 90,000 copies in three days, but closed in October 2012 after losing a third of its readers.

Format

MasterChef Australia sets itself apart from the original British version and MasterChef Goes Large. The early rounds begin with a large pool of hopefuls from across the country who audition individually by cooking a dish for the three judges, competing for one of 50 spots in the semi-finals. To be eligible, contestants must be at least 18 years old and cannot earn their primary income from professionally preparing or cooking fresh food. Once selected, the semi-finalists face a series of challenges designed to test their culinary knowledge and skills.

In the first season, the initial 50 were narrowed down to 20, who then moved to the main competition. Starting with the second season, 24 contestants advance instead. The field is gradually reduced through a mix of individual and team cooking tasks, along with weekly elimination rounds, until a single winner is named. The grand prize includes professional chef training, a published cookbook, and 250,000 Australian dollars.

The show broadcasts five nights a week, from Sunday through Thursday, with each night having its own typical format, though some episodes vary slightly. Sunday is Challenge night. From the third season onward, this can feature a Mystery Box, where all contestants get the same ingredients and must create a dish, an Invention Test requiring a dish based on a theme and a core ingredient, or Off-Site and Team Challenges, often involving cooking for large groups.

The judges pick the top three dishes, select a winner who earns a spot in the Immunity Challenge, and then reveal the bottom three, who face elimination the following night. In the first two seasons, Sunday always included a Mystery Box, and the winner got to choose the core ingredient for the Invention Test.

Series synopsis

MasterChef Australia began its first season on 27 April 2009 and concluded on 19 July 2009. Contestant applications closed on 8 January 2009, and auditions took place in Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Sydney, drawing over 7,000 hopefuls. The Top 50 round was shot at the Australian Technology Park in Sydney, while the Top 20 onward moved to a studio on Doody Street in Alexandria, Sydney. The finale was recorded on 2 July 2009, more than two weeks before it aired.

IT office manager Julie Goodwin won, beating Poh Ling Yeow. The second season premiered on 19 April 2010, with contestant calls starting in mid-2009. This season skipped auditions, began with the Top 50 filmed at a Redfern Train Works building, and featured a Top 24 instead of a Top 20. The finale’s last 45 minutes were broadcast live.

Lawyer Adam Liaw, 31, won against Callum Hann. On 4 July 2010, Network Ten announced Matt Moran would join the original judges for season three. That season premiered on 1 May 2011, attracting 1.511 million viewers, and saw 36-year-old mother Kate Bracks defeat Michael Weldon. Season four started on 6 May on Network Ten, with judges George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan, and Matt Preston returning.

Andy Allen won, Julia Taylor placed second, and Audra Morrice came third. In August 2012, Network Ten confirmed a fifth season for 2013, filmed at the Melbourne Showgrounds in Ascot Vale, Victoria. Emma Dean won, with Lynton Tapp as runner-up.

Reception

The one-hour series premiere of MasterChef Australia attracted an average of 1.42 million viewers, making it the most watched show in its timeslot. Ratings grew steadily through the first series, dominating Australian ratings during finals week with averages around or above 2 million viewers per episode, placing ahead of shows like Packed to the Rafters and Rugby League State of Origin. This success came despite initial critical belief that the series would be a dud, based on the performance of previous prime time cooking shows and general cynicism toward new reality formats.

The first series finale averaged 3,745,000 viewers, peaking at 4.11 million for the last half-hour titled MasterChef Australia: The Winner Announced; the first 90 minutes averaged 3,313,000 viewers. This figure eclipsed the previous high of 2.36 million for the last elimination episode and surpassed the previous non-sporting event record (Australian Idol's 2004 finale at 3.35 million) since OzTAM ratings began in 2001. It is the 4th highest rating television program in Australia since 2001, behind the 2005 Australian Open final and the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final.

Ten's share for the night was 41.3%, nearly 20% ahead of its nearest rival, and the first series finale was the most watched television program of 2009. The second series premiere attracted 1.69 million viewers, peaking at 2.11 million nationwide, with weekday episodes seeing a 35% increase in viewers by the midpoint. The last half-hour of the second series final attracted 3,962,000 viewers and 3,542,000 during the rest of the final, outrating the series 1 final to become the 3rd highest rating show of all time.

Controversy

The first season of MasterChef Australia ended with a major controversy when Julie Goodwin was declared the winner over Poh Ling Yeow. A large number of viewers believed the voting was fixed. After the finale aired, talkback radio was flooded with calls both supporting and opposing the result, and the show became a top trend on Twitter, where many users expressed feelings of being "deflated" and "ripped off." Similar accusations of rigging had come up throughout the series whenever contestants were eliminated. Judge Matt Preston denied any manipulation, stating that eliminations were not rigged or based on popularity, and insisted Goodwin won because she was the better cook that night. Goodwin also defended her win, arguing that if the result were fixed, it would damage the professional integrity of the three judges.

Contestants on the show receive a weekly retainer of $500, which is below the national minimum wage of $589.30 and less than half the average wage of $1,291.34. However, they live rent-free in provided accommodation. These details came to light in 2011, along with the fact that most contestants quit their jobs before entering and had to look for new work after being eliminated.

A separate controversy involved judge Matt Preston and chef Marco Pierre White. After Preston commented on White's son, Marco Jr., who had admitted to spending $500,000 of his father's money on drugs and prostitution, White stopped appearing as a guest on MasterChef Australia after the eighth season and joined the rival show Hell's Kitchen Australia. In 2016, during an appearance on The Kyle and Jackie O Show, Preston was asked about Marco Jr.'s time on Big Brother UK, which included alleged on-air sex and the admission about drugs and sex workers.

Preston said, "I think it is that terrible thing when you have kids that go off the rails... the drugs might be a little bit of a worry." This led to a series of profanity-filled social media attacks from Marco Jr., who later apologized. The elder White responded by saying, "I will never forgive that man... with my hand on my mother's grave I will get that man." White eventually returned to MasterChef Australia in its fourteenth season, after Preston had left the show.