Regular readers will know that I have a particular interest – ok, obsession – withย how fast foods differ between countries and cultures. I don’t know why I find it so fascinating, andย unfortunately this obsession extends to competitive cooking “reality” TV. Yes, this is my secret shame – I’m currently following three editions of MasterChef, and the Australian one hasn’t even started yet…
You will have seen some of these shows on Australian free-to-air and Foxtel, although often well after their original screenings. In this series of articles I’m going to talk about some of the key differences andย what I consider to be good (and not so good) about internationalย versions of shows like MasterChef, The Taste, My Kitchen Rules, Come Dine with Me, Top Chef and so on.
MasterChef is the obvious place to start as it exists in so many versions around the world – 42, according to the blurb at the start of the latest iteration, MasterChef Canada. As well as a variety of different formats, it exists in “normal”, professional, celebrity, junior, all-stars and the brand new “duos” editions.
The original – and for many, what will always be the best – is MasterChef UK, with judges Gregg Wallace and Australia’s own John Torode. Now part way through itsย tenth series, MasterChef UK adopted someย of the Australian look and format asย it was getting a little tired (about 40 episodes of entry-level heats before it got interesting), although it really didn’t work to start with and the first year was terrible. This year there areย threeย episodes a week in the early rounds, and it’s looking good four weeks in.
Where MasterChef Professionals Australia (sorry, the Marco Pierre White show) failed ratherย miserably, the UK version goes from strength to strength, having completed it sixth series late last year – it’s one of my favourite editions. Gregg Wallace returns (in the role of “the diner”) but the main drawcard isย Michel Roux Junior, with the assistance of his brutal and entertaining senior sous-chef Monica Galetti. Unfortunately, Michel recently left the BBC after a dispute over his endorsement ofย a brand of potato, and it’s yet to be announced who will be at the helm this year.
There’s always a head chef who isn’t as good as he / she thinks they are, and one of the best rounds is where Monica challenges all the contestantsย to complete a relatively simpleย challenge in a short amount of time. You wonder how some of the chefs who screw up badlyย ever work again.
Junior MasterChef UK was last seen in 2012, and Celebrity MasterChef runs every yearย although it’s a bit gimmicky and I usually get bored after a few episodes.
MasterChef USA is lucky to have Gordon Ramsay as a judge, but he’s not as mean as he is in Hell’s Kitchen (which gets no further mention as I find it tedious, despite it featuring an Englishman yelling at stupid Americans – much like the Equalizer in a kitchen). Joining Gordon we have Joe (son of Italian food guru Lidia) Bastianich – he’s the meanie of the three – and two-Michelin-starred chef Graham Elliot. They make a good trio, and I always enjoy watching this version. Amusingly, the contestants always seem to hate each other – there’s no helping each other out or making friends like in Australia.ย The winner of MasterChef USA in 2012 was a blind woman.
There are very few guests in the USA version, whereas in the UK they have manyย ย Michelin starred chefs, and in Australia we get the likes of Heston Blumenthal. The format rarely changes from week to week – individualย challenge, group challenge, “pressure test”, elimination and let’s go around again.
MasterChef USA had a junior edition in 2013, and the skill level was simply amazing. It was also heart breaking to see the reaction of some of the kids when they were sent home. I’m looking forward to this year’s season.
MasterChef Australia needs no introduction to most readers here, and itย could be considered the king of them allย – it has manyย more episodes and better guest stars, as well as setting the look for pretty much every version that has come after it.ย I actually think they make too many episodes here and as we all know its popularity has wained over the years. Last year’s casting was particularly terrible, let’s hope they do a better job this year – not long now!
MasterChef Canada is in its first series, and the contestants areย a little nicer than on the American version – there are some curious names like Bubba and Sparkle. The “devil judge” (yes, they use that term) is a chef of indeterminate gender with blue hair. The format is much the same as MasterChefย USA and I found it entertaining at theย start but my interest has wained as it nears the end.
You’d think they could have paid for some better fonts.
My favourite version of all isย MasterChef New Zealand – the contestants are always nice, and the attitude of the show is nurturing but brutal at the same time. When things are bad, the judges are very blunt – “you might as well bugger off and go home”, yells a guest chef on the intro to this year’s show. The masterclass episodes are really great, too.
It’s all so honest, and some of the contestants really aren’t pretty enough for the coverย of a cookbook – i.e. they are “normal” people. They swear. They win Skodas. Woolworths is called Countdown. It’s come a long way – I remember watching an early season and the MasterChef logo looked like it was pinned to a noticeboard.
This year’s NZ show featruesย a new “duos” competition. There’s (creepy) siblings, (creepy) mother & son, two “friends” that met on FaceBook, a former Miss New Zealand whose ten-years older heavily bearded partnerย mustย be holdingย her hostage etc. Great stuff.ย The first challenge for the duos was to replicate a Donna Hay black forest cake, and poor Donna looked like she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. One contestant set fire to the recipe; one cake was described by the judges as “chocolate hell”; one of the contestants described their own creation as looking like “a fatal car accident”. You get the idea.
There’s no New Zealand My Kitchen Rulesย – yet – however a new show called The Great Food Race has recently started, and it’s basically aย cross between The Amazing Race and MKR. It’s well produced – dodgy moustache aside –ย although the episodes are long and it’s a bit slow.
Verdict:ย Surprisingly, New Zealand wins…but of course there are many other versions that I haven’t seen (and some so bad that I don’t want to see again…I’m looking at you, South Africa).
Next time: The Taste USA vs UK
I have to say I’ve given up on MasterChef AU. The over dramatization has gotten to a point where I find it unwatchable, and it appears the only entry criteria is having a dead/overseas/sick parent/sibling/relative so you can tell your sob story every time you’re up for elimination. They barely show any of the cooking anymore. I am keen to read your reviews of the other shows – I watched both Taste US and UK and it’s always interesting how much they differ (though I loved that both Great British Bake Off and Great American Baking Competition were very similar in style, which is unusual for an American program). I am a big MKR fan and have enjoyed the UK version and can’t wait to see if the rumoured US version comes to fruition soon!!