Australian Masterchef breaks the TV mould

The quickest way to realise how single-visioned your own TV habits are (if you have Sky+) is to look at the list of shows recorded for you on returning from a trip abroad.

When I looked on Sunday my box was filled with cooking related shows. And it seems like it’ll take an eternity to wade through them.

Masterchef, Australian Masterchef, Hell’s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares USA, Great British Menu? they are all on there. Three of them have ended and one ends next week so I’ll probably be moaning about how there’s no good food shows on TV come a week’s time, but I’m fickle like that!

What I noticed though, when I began a food TV marathon, was that the Great British Menu seems a little dull this time around. Maybe it’s the Scottish contestants (I haven’t moved onto this week’s yet), but I think it’s more to do with Australian Masterchef. Though in fairness I am looking forward to the North’s heats of GBM.

Aussie Masterchef is a show I didn’t watch from the beginning but got hooked after our accounts manager Daniel O’Donnell told me about it. It’s more like X Factor mixed with the British Masterchef because it started off with thousands of people and even a month ago still had more than a dozen contestants (pictured ? the final six).

I’ve been trying to figure out why it was such a refreshing show and it seems that it’s for a number of reasons. Firstly the show aired six nights a week with most of the shows an hour long you got to know the contestants a lot more. They provided much needed humanness to the show in amongst the cooking and the big name Australian chefs who took part in the challenges (cooking off against one contestant each week) did so with humility and pride? even when some of the contestants scored better on the chef’s dish.

Restaurant reviewer Matt Preston, who originally irritated the life out of me on the show became one of the big plusses ? his range of cravats was hilarious and a look at his website reveals that he actually has a name for each of them.

He’s quoted as saying that they will make the second series (which starts in Australia in a week or so) the best food show in the world. I don’t doubt it, it’s by far the best food-related show I’ve watched in a long time (fair play to UKTV who bought the rights and showed it on Watch) and if the second series is as good I cannot wait. In Oz the final show of series one became the highest rating non-sports show to air in the country, beating Australian Idol.

For anyone who didn’t see it, the 72-episode (yeah, I know it sounds like a lot) show will air on the Good Food channel starting in May some time, I would really recommend giving it a go if, like me, you’re starting to get bored with the normal humdrum shows that are on TV at the minute.

However, I look forward to seeing the North’s heats on GBM ? Richard Corrigan is the host chef and Niall McKenna of James Street South competes with Brian McCann of Shu and Derek Creagh (formerly of Deane’s). Corrigan should bring some laughs to the show. Anyone heard any rumors about our lot yet?