This article was originally published in print in the Swan Hill Guardian on August 3, 2018.
THE mouthwatering and appetising dishes of reality cooking show MasterChef Australia have now had audiences around the world licking their screens for the past 10 years.
This year’s winner, declared in the show’s finale on Tuesday night, was Sashi Cheliah, a Singaporean prison officer who lives in South Australia.
A lot of his dishes focussed on south-east Asian flavours including Singaporean and Malaysian cuisines.
He was a worthy winner, except for when he felt the pressure and buckled making silly mistakes, his dishes were hard to fault and, I’m sure, packed with flavour.
It seems that as the popularity of the show has grown, the ‘foodie’ culture appears to have become increasingly more evident in Australia.
The cooking show doesn’t just keep going from strength-to- strength in Australia, but is gaining popularity overseas as well.
According to Perth-based newspaper The Sunday Times, the Australian version of MasterChef is now broadcast in more than 35 countries.
During my time studying in London, I was surprised to hear that some of my Italian classmates had watched and were fans of our show.
Each time I watch an episode, I always regret eating dinner well before the show kicks off at 7.30pm because the food constantly makes me hungry and craving more (food).
I will admit that coming from Melbourne, where the show is filmed, I have been influenced to visit a certain cafe or restaurant after it has appeared on an episode of the show.
This year the show seemed a little bit different, which the show would need to do to keep it well and truly alive in its 10th season.
The contestants appeared to come from a more diverse background than previous years, and new buzzwords like “heroing” an ingredient in the dish and “cloche” (the metal dome covering a dish until its revealed to the contestants).
And, the guest appearances from international celebrity chefs were brought to a new level with visits from Gordon Ramsay, Nigella Lawson, and serial series judge chef Heston Blumenthal.
Heston’s finals dish “counting sheep“, which got Sashi over the line to beat Ben by 16 points, was nothing but epic.
It had elements floating on a pillow, was all white on the outside and filled with tantalising flavours within.
The contestants even got to cook for Prince Charles during the Royal’s visit to Darwin.
And, it’s not just the contestants’ careers catapulting following their appearance on the show.
The judges, food journalist and critic Matt Preston and chefs Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris, have become stars in their own right.
Lillian Altman 