Celebrity Masterchef Australia: Everything to know about the show
Surprise dish stuns Celebrity MasterChef judges
A contestant who used a technique the Celebrity MasterChef judges had never seen before has ended up winning over their tastebuds.
“I can’t believe my first question was ‘how do I boil water’.”
From the start, comedian Dilruk Jayasinha joked his way around the kitchen in the season premier of Celebrity MasterChef on Sunday night, but in the end he ended up winning the judge’s tastebuds over with a surprise dish.
Jayasinha appeared as one of the 10 new contestants on the Channel 10 show, along with swimming sensation Ian Thorpe, Gold Logie winner Rebecca Gibney, singer Dami Im, presenter Chrissie Swan, professional football player Archie Thompson, AFL champion Nick Riewoldt, actor Matthew Le Neves, fashion designer Collette Dinnigan and Tilly Ramsay, daughter of famous chef Gordon Ramsay.
Judges Jock Zonfrillo, Melissa Leong, Andy Allen were back at the helm to discover which celebrity has the most talent in the kitchen outside of their usual day job.
They selected the top four meals from Dami, Collette, Dilruk, Crissy. Ultimately, it was Jayasinha who won the immunity pin, which is only offered once the entire season.
He had wowed with his unique flavour combination.
“The challenge is about cooking a dish that you’re famous for,” he said. “I only started learning how to cook last year when the pandemic kicked off, so … really, all I can think about is a Sri Lankan dish called kiribath, which is a coconut milk rice, and it’s a traditional dish.
“That’ll do there.
“I have also decided to make a onion sambal, called lunu miris. Also, I need to make something else.
“So you’d think go with a Sri Lankan curry. Unfortunately, I don’t know any Sri Lankan curries. I only know a beef rendang curry from Indonesia or Malaysia.
“And so I’m gonna go for it.”
Celebrity Masterchef Australia: Everything to know about the show
You’ve seen the teasers, you know some of the celebrities and you are super excited for the launch of Celebrity Masterchef this Sunday. But do you have all the inside goss on just how the show will work this year?
Fear not, as we have all the knowledge you need to impress family and friends with as you sit down to watch the show together.
The cast
There are ten contestants competing this year to be crowned the best celebrity chef in Australia and they come from a wide range of backgrounds including TV, sports, music and fashion.
The ten are: soccer player Archie Thompson, 42; TV and radio host Chrissie Swan, 47; fashion designer Collette Dinnigan, 55; Singer Dami Im, 32, Singer; Comedian Dilruk Jayasinha, 36; former Olympian Ian Thorpe, 38; Offspring actor Matt Le Nevez, 42; AFL player Nick Riewoldt, 38; Packed To The Rafters actress Rebecca Gibney, 56 and cooking progeny Tilly Ramsay, 19.
Who are the judges?
Last year saw a change of judges for MasterChef Australia with original hosts and judges Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston being replaced by series four MasterChef Australia winner Andy Allen, food critic Melissa Leong, and chef Jock Zonfrillo who continue to host the show across all the formats.
also read :
Behind the scenes of Celebrity MasterChef Australia’s return to Network 10
“As always, with MasterChef the mission statement is authenticity, and their commitment is incredible.”
Returning to Australian TV for the first time in over a decade, Celebrity MasterChef Australia will premiere on Sunday, 10 October at 7.30pm on 10 and 10 Play.
Mediaweek spoke to Marty Benson, director of content, Endemol Shine Australia and Rick Maier, head of drama and executive production, 10 ViacomCBS about what fans can expect from the return of the celebrity format.
How does a celebrity format affect the show?
MB: “Celebrity MasterChef Australia is a short run, so it is very different to the main series. It is on air two nights a week (Sunday, Monday), as opposed to the main series which is five nights a week. As a result, every Sunday night is an Elimination and every Monday the celebrities compete for Immunity.
“Whilst the focus is on the competition and the food, it is also a great opportunity to get to know the celebrities, and it is more light-hearted than the main series.”
Is this a format that you think we will see regularly? Do two seasons of MasterChef a year work?
RM: “MasterChef is such a flexible format that it lends itself to these shorter running event series. It adds a real spike to the schedule. We saw it with Junior MasterChef Australia, and I’m really hopeful the audience feels the same with Celebrity MasterChef.”
“Marty Benson and his team at ESA have done a sensational job again, and the celebrities themselves are just phenomenal. There’s a lot of professional pride and reputation at stake, but they are so committed to the experience it’s a joy to watch.”
How will this differ from the last time we saw a celebrity version?
MB: “The last time we did celebrity was in 2009. Back then there were 18 celebrities who competed in a series of heats, and it aired once a week. Celebrities were split into groups of three as they competed in their heat and one celebrity made their way from each heat into the semi-finals. In 2021, the 10 celebrities compete as a group until they are eliminated. As a result, they spend much more time together, which means they really get to know each other, bond with each other, and learn from each other.
The judges have done amateur, all-star, junior, and celebrity formats since joining the show in 2020. How does this affect how they approach the program?
MB: “The Judges are aware that the celebrities are doing MasterChef to learn more about cooking, for the challenge, for the experience, and to try and earn money for their charity. They are not doing it to change their lives like the contestants in the main series. As a result, the Judges have a bit more fun with the celebrities, and do not expect the quality of dishes that they get on the main series.”
What are some of the highlights of this season? Anything new that hasn’t been done before?
RM: “The real highlight for me is just how clearly this identifies itself outside other celebrity-based formats. The key here was identifying and delivering such high achievers in their chosen fields that were just as passionate about food. As always, with MasterChef the mission statement is authenticity, and their commitment is incredible. We hope the audience will love it as much as we do.”
The Project’s Lisa Wilkinson is left blushing and suffering ‘hot flushes’ after Celebrity MasterChef star Matthew Le Nevez accidentally makes a racy comment
Lisa Wilkinson was all aflutter on Sunday night after actor Matthew Le Nevez made a racy comment.
The Celebrity MasterChef star was discussing his love of cooking on The Sunday Project when he said he likes to make things that are ‘low and slow’.
‘Probably low and slow,’ he said of his specialty dishes.
‘I enjoy cacciatore like a lot of Aussie men, I learnt how to cook a spaghetti bolognaise and a few things,’ he added.
The show’s host burst out laughing, before Jan Fran quipped: ‘You’re giving Lisa the hot flushes over here!’
Lisa giggled before blushing and rolling her eyes.
Celebrity MasterChef Australia
Celebrity MasterChef Australia is an Australian competitive cooking game show.
It is spin-off of MasterChef Australia, itself an adaptation of the British show MasterChef, and features celebrity contestants.
The first series began production in early September 2009, and premiered on Network Ten on 30 September 2009.
Judges Matt Preston, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan returned from MasterChef Australia for the first series of the show, with Calombaris and Mehigan also taking over as hosts from Sarah Wilson. Former world-record holder and Olympic medallist swimmer Eamon Sullivan won the first series, taking home $50,000 for charity Swim Survive Stay Alive.
On 25 May 2021, it was announced that a second season of Celebrity MasterChef Australia had been commissioned, 12 years after the first edition had aired, it is set to air in late 2021.
Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo will undertake the role of judges in the new season.