MasterChef Australia: Series 12 Review

MasterChef Australia isn’t just a cultural institution for those native to its shores, it’s a global phenomenon.  The cultural touchstone started in 2009 with Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris, and Matt Preston.  What set this food completion and it’s judges apart from other food completions that both preceded it and followed in its footsteps is without a doubt the passion of the cooks and the ever increasing difficulty of the challenges presented to them.  In 2014 the series evolved to a point where the cooks were attempting to consistently not only put themselves on the plate but also demonstrate the ability to show where they’ve come from and where they wanted to go next.  The show hit its peak the following year when there were so many talented cooks in the competition I didn’t care who won.  I would however like to single out a few like: Georgia Barnes, Reynold Poernomo, Ashleigh Bareham, Sara Oteri, Jessica Arnott, and Rose Adam.  All of these contestants from this season were exceptional and raised the game for the seasons following it.  Having said that, by the time the 2020 competition rolled around audiences knew what the three judges liked.  In the case of the judges it was texture, spice, surprises, and comfort food.  Because of some poor practices by George Calombaris, the contract for the original judges was not renewed and while most people (myself included were originally deeply upset by this decision the overall consensus was that change would be a good thing to happen to the show..

The three judges chosen to motivate the contestants throughout their culinary journey were Jock Zonfrillo, Melissa Leong, and Andy Allen.  I didn’t know what to make of Jock since I had only seen the food he was capable of creating via his time in setting pressure tests for the contestants.  Melissa Leong is someone I had a positive impression of because she hosted the Australian show The Chef’s Line.  Andy Allen won Series 4 of Masterchef Australia and is the only contestant from this particular version of the show to get culinary acclaim after winning.

This brings me to what I thought of the first half of Series 12 which this year features returning contestants from every season who are all back for the chance at Masterchef glory they missed out on the first time around.  Why is this important?  The show has fundamentally changed for the better and I want to explore how and why and I hope it stays.

Masterchef at its core is supposed to be all about the food and what food can do for people who have a passion for creating it.  The whole premise reversed this year in that the focus has been the people who created the food and how the artistry they created not only fundamentally changed their lives but also allowed them to grow even more as humans in the process.  The judges were emphasizing about putting yourself on the plate and representing where they came from.  Now, this batch of former contestants are less focused on their own personal history with food and more focused on what having food as a part of their lives means to them currently.  Nowhere is this more evident than in the dishes created by Poh Ling Yow and Reynold Poernomo.  Both of these people were continually categorized and defined as dessert cooks with inventive ways of allowing you to enjoy sweet food and it seems from the moment both stepped into the kitchen this time their ethos was and continues to be as of this writing: “I will not be defined.”  I will say their cooking has defied description in how well it has turned out.  Two key examples are Poh’s beef stout pie and Reynolds quail dish.  Amina Elshafei was the contestant so far this season that pulled at my heartstrings.  She made food for a community not just food to win the competition.

Another change of Series 12 that I have found is that in many ways it’s a much more emotional experience than previous seasons both from a contestant’s perspective and the perspective of the judges.  There are specific eliminations that have occurred where both judges and contestants alike have been on the verge of or in the middle of tears because the personality and food produced by a contestant before being given their walking papers was nothing short of exceptional.  Moments such that I have described seemed to only occur as the contestants got much closer to the finale but this group is so outstanding they cause that high level of sorrow almost every elimination that occurs but especially if its food they put up themselves and not some dish that had to be recreated from a restaurants professional menu.  The original judges certainly cared about and had fun with all the contestants but the only person I saw consistently connecting with them on a personal level was George Calombaris.  He was always supporting them especially during their most frantic and broken moments.  When Brendan cut his arm during the team challenge.  The many times Jess freaked out over a failed dessert in her season or Ashleigh broke down in the same ways during series 7.  George was always there to show people fighting through the competition the way forward.  In this season, that seems to be the personality of all the judges and it makes for more dynamic and human interactions than just pushing them to cook.  This is a significant reason why series 12 succeeds more so than the ones that came before

At the end of the day does this reinvention of the show work as a whole?  In more ways than I can write in two pages it does.  This is a show that has always allowed its contestants to grow and change.  I am now overjoyed that the show itself can evolve too.  I have confidence that this reinvention will only allow people to reach for their dreams and love food in fascinatingly surprising ways and long may that continue.