Masterchef Oz.

[shane]

New season just started and I remember there being a few fans on here.

I've not had a chance to watch any yet but going to make a start tonight. Eager to see what I can knock off the checklist:

1. Older female contestant who is stuck in her ways and consistently refuses to take advice.
2. Wacky Asian contestant, usually a small woman with big glasses who constantly smiles and claps.
3. Burly Aussie man who ALWAYS wants to do some form of steak and chips.
4. Young hipster contestant who mainly produces "deconstructed" dishes.
5. The female contestant who goes into meltdown when ever being confronted with a decision.
6. The contestant "from a big family". Usually a woman of mediterranean descent who never stops talking about sitting down to dinner with her family
7. Male contestant whose family don't approve.
8. Lesbian contestant.

Have I missed any?

 

[Saddlerrad]

Yeah you have pretty much all of them, definetely 3-4 anyway.

I've watched up to last night's episode (5 I think) and this will become the highest standard series ever IMO. Some of the stuff that has been cooked so far has been as good as the final stages in most other seasons. This is miles better than the UK standard. We are a country of underachievers in virtually every department.

Spoiler

How fit are Sara and Billie? Can't believe Billie is only 23. I've accidentally spoiled myself results wise too so I know we get to see a bit of both of them - well, quite a bit anyway

.

 

[Saddlerrad]

The standard of this series so far has been better than it ever has before. Some of the dishes that are being put up are what you would normally see leading into finals week.

 

[RavenBish]

Agreed, in some ways I find it worse when people are so good early on though, half the point of having such a lengthy season is seeing the progression of people.

 

[shane]

The "jaffle" (toasted cheese) episode was a delight simply for the number of times the word "jaffle" was said.

 

[Saddlerrad]

Aside from Reynold and Matthew, the quality difference between the males and the females is staggering.

On a sidenote - did anybody else notice how many times Marco-Pierre White waved his right hand/finger as he talked. It distracted me.

 

[QPR_Matt]

Aside from Reynold and Matthew, the quality difference between the males and the females is staggering.

On a sidenote - did anybody else notice how many times Marco-Pierre White waved his right hand/finger as he talked. It distracted me.

Dont forget his bloody spoon. I find him quite annoying on this.

It is amazing how much better this is to the English one. I never realised until last season. The UK one is pretty boring in comparison and our format is no where near as good. Masterchef Canada has the same set up as Aus as well, so I wonder why the UK is the only different one.

 

[QPR_Matt]

New season just started and I remember there being a few fans on here.

I've not had a chance to watch any yet but going to make a start tonight. Eager to see what I can knock off the checklist:

1. Older female contestant who is stuck in her ways and consistently refuses to take advice.
2. Wacky Asian contestant, usually a small woman with big glasses who constantly smiles and claps.
3. Burly Aussie man who ALWAYS wants to do some form of steak and chips.
4. Young hipster contestant who mainly produces "deconstructed" dishes.
5. The female contestant who goes into meltdown when ever being confronted with a decision.
6. The contestant "from a big family". Usually a woman of mediterranean descent who never stops talking about sitting down to dinner with her family
7. Male contestant whose family don't approve.
8. Lesbian contestant.

Have I missed any?

I love how many of these you actually got right, fair play to you. Number 7 was the best one that you got right.

 

[shane]

Why thank you. 1, 3 and 5 are absolute bankers. They'll always be there.

I haven't got to the end of Marco week but I've forgotten just how much he irritates me. Theres no doubt that he was a trailblazer and remains one of the biggest people in the industry. However, his constant need to repeat instructions 4 or 5 times in a number of seconds, his refusal to put down that fucking spoon he keeps waving about and his "intensity" really get on my nerves.

As saddlerrad pointed out, there does seem to be chasm of skill between the men and the women with the exception of one or two.

 

[shane]

John gets on my nerves. We get it, you're Filipino. You really don't have to remind us in every sentence.

Sara is still my tip to win though the big blond looks pretty good as well. Reynold has some skills but he seems to specialise solely in deserts, which I'm not sure takes you to the top.

 

[Saddlerrad]

So, are we all keeping up to date with this?

 

[shane]

I'm about three episodes behind....

Spoiler: Spoiler

I had Sara and Billie down as my horses from early on. Sara has fallen away over the last 10 or so episodes and I can't see her in the top 3.

Georgia should be top 3. Though her breakdowns in the team challenges are highly amusing, shes clearly a really good chef.

I have absolutely no doubt Billie is going to win this year. Only time shes in an eliminator is when her team dicks everything up. Most solid of the lot and shes got better in the later stages. They're always the ones who win.

The Australian bloke referring to his daughter Emily and Rose "relying on her heritage" in almost every episode is starting to grate.

How the English guy got as far as he did is an absolute mystery. He fucked up in about his last 6 challenges and only once (from memory) produced a dish of note.

Its been a good year so far. Quality is really good.

 

[QPR_Matt]

Has anyone finished watching it? I started to watch the UK one again, and it is so terrible in comparison.

 

[Saddlerrad]

I've been side tracked over Christmas so haven't quite finished the ending of it yet. It's been obivous for a while who the final 4 or 5 would be.

Good standard this year. Will be watching it to the end in the next week or so.

 

[QPR_Matt]

Out of the final 5, one of the final 3 surprised me. If I knew how to put spoilers on here, then I would put it

 

[shane]

Spoiler: Spoiler

Billy was the deserving winner. The big blond one was very good but broke down in virtually EVERY team challenge.
It was brilliant when Heston offered her a job at the fat duck. Shes been given 250k, massive promotion/coverage and a monthly magazine column which will further increase her profile. More than enough to kick off her own business idea. However, you can't turn down that offer surely...

 

[QPR_Matt]

Spoiler: Spoiler

Billy was the deserving winner. The big blond one was very good but broke down in virtually EVERY team challenge.
It was brilliant when Heston offered her a job at the fat duck. Shes been given 250k, massive promotion/coverage and a monthly magazine column which will further increase her profile. More than enough to kick off her own business idea. However, you can't turn down that offer surely...

Totally agree with that. I saw that Gordon Ramsay is on the USA version. I do not think I could cope with the American accent, Aus is just about okay

 

[shane]

Totally agree with that. I saw that Gordon Ramsay is on the USA version. I do not think I could cope with the American accent, Aus is just about okay

Agreed. Anything with Ramsey has to centre around him putting people down/slagging them off and it just gets really tiresome. It would clearly lack the feel good factor that only George, Gary and Matt could provide.

 

[shane]

Anyone watching the new series?

 

[Saddlerrad]

Yep 2 episodes in, still seeing the round that involves people cooking again for a space in competition.

The standard looks brillant.

 

[Saddlerrad]

PS - How annoying are Teresa and her brother going to be? He in particular is going to get on everyone's nerves.

 

[QPR_Matt]

PS - How annoying are Teresa and her brother going to be? He in particular is going to get on everyone's nerves.

Yet I am looking forward to them both being in a cook off and knocking each other out. I really do not understand why the BBC does not follow this format. It is so much better than the UK one, you actually see them improving. In the UK one, they get past the first round then they are in the quarter finals; thats just wrong.

 

[shane]

Great to see you both in here again!

PS - How annoying are Teresa and her brother going to be? He in particular is going to get on everyone's nerves.

Great shout. They (Masterchef) will really milk this as the show is becoming more and more "XFactor" each year. Lots of dead grandmothers etc.... "Shes looking down on me right now and I just know she'd love how I cooked this quiche". That kind of shite.

While we're on the pulling of heart strings, there is an incident in episode 5 (or possibly 6) which really is the most disgraceful attempt I've ever seen on the show. I really can't wait for you both to see it.

I'll wait for you to catch up before commenting on the contestants.

 

[QPR_Matt]

Great to see you both in here again!


Great shout. They (Masterchef) will really milk this as the show is becoming more and more "XFactor" each year. Lots of dead grandmothers etc.... "Shes looking down on me right now and I just know she'd love how I cooked this quiche". That kind of shite.

While we're on the pulling of heart strings, there is an incident in episode 5 (or possibly 6) which really is the most disgraceful attempt I've ever seen on the show. I really can't wait for you both to see it.

I'll wait for you to catch up before commenting on the contestants.

I am watching Jamie T tonight so I will try my best to catch up over the weekend! I have just seen the first hour of the Marco Pierre White episode. So we know the top and bottom 3 of that challenge.

 

[QPR_Matt]

Great to see you both in here again!


Great shout. They (Masterchef) will really milk this as the show is becoming more and more "XFactor" each year. Lots of dead grandmothers etc.... "Shes looking down on me right now and I just know she'd love how I cooked this quiche". That kind of shite.

While we're on the pulling of heart strings, there is an incident in episode 5 (or possibly 6) which really is the most disgraceful attempt I've ever seen on the show. I really can't wait for you both to see it.

I'll wait for you to catch up before commenting on the contestants.

I have a feeling I missed it. Purely because I skip the shit when they chat before the meal. I dont care about how it made them feel, or what it would mean to win MasterChef. Just taste the damn food.

Just got to their first team challenge in the restaurant.

 

[Saddlerrad]

I'm on the episode where Cecillia has written in tomato sauce, for Nathan on it. Some people are just stupid, sentiment aside. Think that is about Episode 7, the standard seems very high.

 

[shane]

I'm on the episode where Cecillia has written in tomato sauce, for Nathan on it. Some people are just stupid, sentiment aside. Think that is about Episode 7, the standard seems very high.

That was what I was talking about. Cringeworthy in the extreme. She NEVER stops talking about her kids.

 

[QPR_Matt]

I forgot about that, yet laughed out loud when I saw it. Tragic. The rest of the dish was not any better. A stuffed parsnip ffs.

 

[shane]

Spoiler: Spoiler

The Nigella cooking challenge was laughable. She isn't a proper chef so trying to "recreate" her dishes (crab salad, lamb chops and a panna cota) is a waste of time for chefs of this quality.

 

[QPR_Matt]

Spoiler: Spoiler

The Nigella cooking challenge was laughable. She isn't a proper chef so trying to "recreate" her dishes (crab salad, lamb chops and a panna cota) is a waste of time for chefs of this quality.

Yet they properly struggled with it. The hour to cook it I thought made it a proper challenge.

I am still about 5 episodes behind. I went on holiday, then had a training course so I was away. I will get there though, I need a hangover Sunday to blitz it!