Masterchef Oz.

[Saddlerrad]

Enjoyed Nigella week, I much prefer having her there over Marco-Pierre White who makes everything so awkward and has that annoying hand gesture every time he talks which distracts me.

 

[QPR_Matt]

He is bloody annoying with his spoon! It has to be Matt or Chloe (I think it is Chloe, the one with the stupid heart on her finger, the one who worked with Matt in the team challenge) to win. They are both really good.

 

[shane]

He is bloody annoying with his spoon! It has to be Matt or Chloe (I think it is Chloe, the one with the stupid heart on her finger, the one who worked with Matt in the team challenge) to win. They are both really good.

Agree. They're definitely the stand outs with Anastasia in third.

 

[Saddlerrad]

At this stage, Matt is the absolute standout contender, but you always get someone that looks a sure top 2 candidate, that suddenly has a shock cook and gets eliminated, so not sure it's that great he is as good as he is currently, if previous years are anything to go by anyway.

 

[QPR_Matt]

Just saw the Chinese New Year episode. The high pitch screaming was getting a bit much! Looking forward to todays.

Spoiler

I wonder if Chloe uses her pin. Being captain, she should fight her way out of it.

 

[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?

I'm jumping into this years version tomorrow afternoon. Good times.

 

[QPR_Matt]

I'm glad it is back! Early predictions? I say early, it is 2 or 3 weeks in now.

 

[shane]

I'm glad it is back! Early predictions? I say early, it is 2 or 3 weeks in now.

YES MATT!

You got to be thinking Eloise and Sarah are front runners but its too early to tell. So far the only thing I know is that Pete and Ray are a couple of pretenders. No idea how they've got this far.

 

[QPR_Matt]

I like Pete, as a person. Ray; God knows how he is still in it. I can't believe how bad that girl struggled in that relay test. Literally messed up everything in 15 minutes.

Is Eloise the one with the hair shaved on one side of her head? If so then yeah she is good and one of my tips to win. My misses likes Arum (fucking odd name) and Sam (those ears ...) is coming into form too.

 

[shane]

I like Pete, as a person. Ray; God knows how he is still in it. I can't believe how bad that girl struggled in that relay test. Literally messed up everything in 15 minutes.

Is Eloise the one with the hair shaved on one side of her head? If so then yeah she is good and one of my tips to win. My misses likes Arum (fucking odd name) and Sam (those ears ...) is coming into form too.

Ray, once again, dodges the bullet. I'm starting to think hes invincible.

I'm not a desert person so the last week has been a bit boring. Glad its over and they'll get back to cooking real food.

 

[shane]

Ottolenhgi week. QUALITY.

Respect to Pete for making it this far. Hes survived 4 eliminations! Ray's ability to remain in the comp is a mystery though it makes for a good side story. He can't possibly last much longer. Surely?

 

[QPR_Matt]

Ottolenhgi week. QUALITY.

Respect to Pete for making it this far. Hes survived 4 eliminations! Ray's ability to remain in the comp is a mystery though it makes for a good side story. He can't possibly last much longer. Surely?

Are you up to date? I am up to the top 10.

 

[shane]

Are you up to date? I am up to the top 10.

Just finished Heston week. Dianne and that tall blond one look to be the runaway favourites at the moment.

 

[QPR_Matt]

Horsey? Yeah she is on form atm. I backed Elouise from an early time and my misses is backing Arrom as she backed him from the auditions. I was so glad when Ray finally left. Him and that woman who had the really annoying voice who only done deserts.

 

[shane]

Horsey? Yeah she is on form atm. I backed Elouise from an early time and my misses is backing Arrom as she backed him from the auditions. I was so glad when Ray finally left. Him and that woman who had the really annoying voice who only done deserts.

Not convinced about Arrom. He has produced some good stuff but don't think hes at the level of the others. Hes been in most of the recent eliminations and much like Ray, his ability to follow a recipe means he can survive them.

Elouise is good. She was very good at the start but fell away but shes definitely having a resurgence. I'm not much of a desert person but I always want to eat what she cooks.

Tamara is this years judge's favourite.

The fat lad makes me laugh. He constantly goes on about being "inventive" but seems to fuck it up whenever he tries something new. Also, using dry ice under a plate isn't inventive! To be fair to him (and Michelle), to cook to this standard when you're 18 is remarkable.

Horsey just doesn't flap. At all. Has she even been in an elimination?

 

[QPR_Matt]

Horsey hasn't been in one yet, but that can be a disadvantage as she hasn't felt the pressure like the others would have.

I like Tamara but she flaps too much when in trouble which will be her undoing.

Yeah Callum has been pretty shit. He has an obsession with using chocolate in a savoury dish, the prick.

 

[shane]

Sam has just gone out. Callum and Arrom are comfortably the worst left in the competition.

Diana just bossed the elimination with that fish disk. Callum yet again tried to be "inventive" and got it all wrong. The judges more or less said it tasted like shit yet threw Sam out because his looked like shit.

Order to go:

Callum
Arrom
Tamara
Elouise
The self titled "Desert Queen" - she irritates the piss out of me
Sarah
Tall Man
Horsey
Dianna

I know I've forgotten someone but thats surely not a good sign...

 

[QPR_Matt]

Well, you got that quite wrong

 

[shane]

As much as it pains me to say it, Callum was unlucky to go. That sushi style desert was properly out there but he managed to pull it off. Sarah, despite clearly being a better cook, was lucky to stay in.

Just saw Elouise go out and Tall Man escape by the skin of his teeth. To be fair to him, he very rarely puts a foot wrong.

It was good to see Horsey flap as she was looking indestructible for a while. Still think its her or Dianne.

 

[QPR_Matt]

Yeah Horsey has to be the favourite, even though her voice is annoying. Dianne needs to stop doing broths and Ben (I think) needs to show more than just being a good ice cream maker.

 

[shane]

Yeah Horsey has to be the favourite, even though her voice is annoying. Dianne needs to stop doing broths and Ben (I think) needs to show more than just being a good ice cream maker.

You’ve nailed it with Dianne and Ben. The ice cream in particular (not just Ben) this season has been ridiculous. It’s every episode.

Horsey was unstoppable until the final 10 but she’s looking increasingly rattled of late. She’s clearly a fantastic cook though and I still think her and Dianne are a level above the rest. Ben has scraped a few rounds recently as well.

Very surprised Arrom has got this far. He’s not bad or anything not I rarely think his dishes look that good. I’d happily eat anything Sarah puts down.

They tend to pick a favourite for the camera each year and it’s undoubtedly Tamara in 2017. She virtually commentates on each round.

 

[QPR_Matt]

You’ve nailed it with Dianne and Ben. The ice cream in particular (not just Ben) this season has been ridiculous. It’s every episode.

Horsey was unstoppable until the final 10 but she’s looking increasingly rattled of late. She’s clearly a fantastic cook though and I still think her and Dianne are a level above the rest. Ben has scraped a few rounds recently as well.

Very surprised Arrom has got this far. He’s not bad or anything not I rarely think his dishes look that good. I’d happily eat anything Sarah puts down.

They tend to pick a favourite for the camera each year and it’s undoubtedly Tamara in 2017. She virtually commentates on each round.

Yeah I have noticed the ice cream thing as well. Bit annoying as it seems like a get out of jail card. The challenge at Hestons place was pretty good though, looked tough as fuck.

With Tamara; has anyone got eliminated, come back and then won? I don't think she will but she keeps getting through.

 

[shane]

Yeah I have noticed the ice cream thing as well. Bit annoying as it seems like a get out of jail card. The challenge at Hestons place was pretty good though, looked tough as fuck.

With Tamara; has anyone got eliminated, come back and then won? I don't think she will but she keeps getting through.

Ben did it again in the episode before the Heston restaurant. He spouted the usual Masterchef spiel: "Its finals week and I really need to impress the judges so I need to get out of my comfort zone" etc. And then, without a hint of irony: "My dish will consist of a lavender ice cream.....". Its ridiculous.

They need to do a bit of a reboot next year I think. Shut down on contestants who cook the same things repeatedly, try and ease off the constant pushing for emotion from the contestants and just try a bit harder to ensure they don't all say the same thing over and over again through each episode. Its incredibly repetitive.

"I just need to push".
"I'm going to use my kids as my inspiration".
"I'm looking at the other's dishes and........ I could be going home today"
"Its an old recipe my grandmother uses to cook"

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but did the judges always do that think where they taste the dish, give their comments and then turn their backs on the contestant and walk away?

At this point, I still think Dianne is the winner. Everyone left is very good but she isn't losing her shit half as much as the rest of them.

 

[QPR_Matt]

Ben did it again in the episode before the Heston restaurant. He spouted the usual Masterchef spiel: "Its finals week and I really need to impress the judges so I need to get out of my comfort zone" etc. And then, without a hint of irony: "My dish will consist of a lavender ice cream.....". Its ridiculous.

They need to do a bit of a reboot next year I think. Shut down on contestants who cook the same things repeatedly, try and ease off the constant pushing for emotion from the contestants and just try a bit harder to ensure they don't all say the same thing over and over again through each episode. Its incredibly repetitive.

"I just need to push".
"I'm going to use my kids as my inspiration".
"I'm looking at the other's dishes and........ I could be going home today"
"Its an old recipe my grandmother uses to cook"

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but did the judges always do that think where they taste the dish, give their comments and then turn their backs on the contestant and walk away?

At this point, I still think Dianne is the winner. Everyone left is very good but she isn't losing her shit half as much as the rest of them.

Yeah they always done the weird turn around and walk away stuff. Not sure why.

"I need to motor"
"Game changer"
"left of field"
"I cant give up, i'm not ready to go home yet"

Yeah ... same stuff everytime but then there are 100 episodes so I guess it would repeat itself. The format is still 10000x better than UK version which is shit, dull and doesn't put all contestants against each other meaning good ones go home and shit ones get through.

When they do the elimination for after Hestons, you'll love their dishes.

 

[shane]

Yeah they always done the weird turn around and walk away stuff. Not sure why

"I need to motor"
"Game changer"
"left of field"
"I cant give up, i'm not ready to go home yet"

Yeah ... same stuff everytime but then there are 100 episodes so I guess it would repeat itself. The format is still 10000x better than UK version which is shit, dull and doesn't put all contestants against each other meaning good ones go home and shit ones get through.

When they do the elimination for after Hestons, you'll love their dishes.

Theres no question Australian is infinitely better than the UK version. The UK seemed to have just given up adding any sort of innovation and just pump out the same thing every year. Its really tired. Greg Wallace being a major contingent of any show will always work against it.

Their elimination dishes did make me smile. They did all look banging though. Tamara must have been a bit embarrassed putting that dish up against the other two though.

The remaining three all deserve to be there though you could argue Ben hasn't produced nearly as many showstoppers as the other two. He was very consistent in the lead up the final ten but has been on the ropes a couple of times since. He got absolutely mugged off on that Heston challenge

Next question: what use is Shannon in the gold pin challenges really? I know he has a big reputation and everyone claps when hes in a room but other than nod agreement at the use of roasted beetroot, it seems like they've just crowbarred him in for no reason.

 

[shane]

Exceptional quotes by the way.

 

[QPR_Matt]

Theres no question Australian is infinitely better than the UK version. The UK seemed to have just given up adding any sort of innovation and just pump out the same thing every year. Its really tired. Greg Wallace being a major contingent of any show will always work against it.

Their elimination dishes did make me smile. They did all look banging though. Tamara must have been a bit embarrassed putting that dish up against the other two though.

The remaining three all deserve to be there though you could argue Ben hasn't produced nearly as many showstoppers as the other two. He was very consistent in the lead up the final ten but has been on the ropes a couple of times since. He got absolutely mugged off on that Heston challenge

Next question: what use is Shannon in the gold pin challenges really? I know he has a big reputation and everyone claps when hes in a room but other than nod agreement at the use of roasted beetroot, it seems like they've just crowbarred him in for no reason.

Ha yeah I always wondered if he actually helps much; I guess he must do. The next episode was good. I like this one; its like the water challenge at the end of the I'm a celeb where it just looks like great fun.

I am guessing this end on Friday? Don't want to google it or ill see the winner.

Greg is terrible. I have no idea how he has managed to last so long doing what he does. The UK one is easy. Calling card > something that inspires you> cook for the judges> semi final> proper kitchen> show us what you learnt> final.Series done.

 

[QPR_Matt]

I was happy with the winner!

 

[shane]

I was happy with the winner!

Yep. Same here.

She deserved to be the Champion though I thought the judges gave her the final 9 in order for her to win as Ben clearly made a considerably better desert in the final challenge and would have tied.

All in all, an enjoyable season though I'm not sure the standard was high as in the past. Billie would have wiped the floor with most of them this year though to be fair, she wiped the floor with everyone in it the year she won as well.

Gutted its over. My GF and I rarely agree on what to watch but enjoyed this through out. Have you tried any other versions? (Not English obviously).

 

[QPR_Matt]

Yep. Same here.

She deserved to be the Champion though I thought the judges gave her the final 9 in order for her to win as Ben clearly made a considerably better desert in the final challenge and would have tied.

All in all, an enjoyable season though I'm not sure the standard was high as in the past. Billie would have wiped the floor with most of them this year though to be fair, she wiped the floor with everyone in it the year she won as well.

Gutted its over. My GF and I rarely agree on what to watch but enjoyed this through out. Have you tried any other versions? (Not English obviously).

I thought the top 10 was pretty high but then I thought no one really stood out like in previous years. I thought there was a lot of good cooks and the feedback was better than normal.

I watched a bit of the USA one, but fuck me it is terrible. It has Gordon Ramsay in it as well as others and it just consists of them shouting at people, slamming food into the bins. Then the contestants are complete pricks to each other and want them to fail etc.

Not seen any others but happy to leave it with just the Aus one. Lets face it, 80 odd episodes of it is enough yet alone doing another one as well! I havent bothered with the UK Professional one.