S16.W01 (E01-E04)

[katisha]

Aaaand we're back with all-new hamsters and apart from Andy, a fresh new panel of judges!

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this first episode as much as I did.  The new judges...I love them so far! Sofia Levin is delightful (and comes across as a lot nicer than Melissa) and while Jean-Christophe is a little difficult to understand, he's very genuine and obviously extremely qualified. I can see how Poh would rub some people the wrong way but I have always liked her (and her dress tonight was gorgeous). 

As for the cheftestants, I do not know anyone's names but it was pretty obvious who the top two were tonight because the edit gibbons have developed a habit of showcasing winners either first or last. I wish they'd stop! And while I think it's a touching story, I hope we don't have to hear the Jamie Oliver fan boy tale too many more times!

Edit - that is not really a spoiler below, but I can't get it to go away!

Spoiler

 

Edited April 22 by katisha

[Mellowyellow]

Have they got the official contestants yet Katisha or are they still auditioning?

Auditioning rounds are the bane of my existence.

[katisha]

Then you'll be happy to hear that there are no auditions and we have a full bunch of cheftestants. :)

[Snazzy Daisy]

S16•E01 - New Beginning Challenge

Am so glad they skip the audition part and no sight of hibachi today. Yay! 😆

I still think 4 judges is a bit too many. Then they go and add Jamie Oliver for 2 weeks. He doesn’t come cheap. 🙄

I truly appreciate the lack of pompous word salad from the judges on day one. Keep it this way!

Unlike Andy who likes to tease and taunt the contestants, Jean Christophe is more of a mentoring type. Good vibe.

Out of the 22 contestants, Mimi and Darrsh are the only two making desserts.

Geez Khristian, enough with the “mom has to work she can’t cook” story. This is a cooking competition. Shh! 🤫

Sav soft-launching her new boyfriend on TV is a bit cringey. 😬

I don’t know what to make of Poh’s advice to Lily. Don’t have the right word for it either.

Quote

“When you’re having a rough time in the kitchen, just take a look at me because I am the testament that you don’t have to win to win. Okay?”

There are 4 standout dishes - Sri Lankan Breakfast (Sav), Humitas & Chipa (Juan), Quail Provence (Steven) and Kangaroo Larb (Nat). But the poor editing has spoiled it for us. Anyway, congratulations Nat for winning the immunity pin and 1-week vacation at Jamie Oliver’s kitchen. Here’s Nat’s winning dish. 

 

Edited April 22 by Snazzy Daisy

[katisha]

Is it just me or was it rather a waste bringing back 40 former hamsters to be the diners at the service challenge, and then hardly use any of them (except for those who currently star in, or used to star in, Channel 10 cooking shows, and that number unfortunately includes the dreaded Emma Dean 😵‍💫). Anyway, I'm going to have to do a re-watch with a lot of freeze-framing because some of the faces were really familiar but I could not recall their specific season or name!

Andy made a valiant attempt to suggest that after Team Burgundy clearly won the first two rounds that Team Purple could still win the challenge they served up a truly spectacular dessert.  Nah, it's never worked in the past so why should it now?  

I have a feeling Sav will be quite a polarising character but I like her and she's hilarious.  "Everything clenched"... 🤣 And she certainly did a much better job of leading her team than Mimi did.

Like @Snazzy Daisy, I continue to be pleased that nobody has brought out a &^%$* hibachi (yet) and that nobody's making endless frozen desserts (yet).  

So far the editing is really zeroing in on some of the contestants while others are right in the background and I don't even know their names, but I suspect some of them did a great job in that challenge.  Off the top of my head, whoever the guy is who cooked the lamb for Team Purple obviously did a good job but so far I have no clue about him.

Finally, and randomly, I realised that Darrsh, from certain angles, reminds me of Peter Andre (although whether he looks like this shirtless, I'm only guessing!)
 

[Snazzy Daisy]

S16•E02 - Jamie’s Service Challenge

Another day without hibachi, yay!

That avocado-colored cloches are fugly.

This bunch of contestants are too hyper and talkative. They get excited about mushroom, cashew nuts, chilli and grapefruits. Weirdos. 😂

You can see a stark contrast of how MarcoPW and GordonR running their kitchen vs JamieO. 🤦🏻‍♀️

At least Andy is helpful in the kitchen by questioning the contestants about their menus, portions etc. while Poh and Sofia just wandering around, distracting them.

I saw some comments online about how Jean Christophe resembles Ray Romano. And now I cannot unsee it! 😫

Harry is too laid back for service challenge. He moves like a sloth. One scallop per person is just ridiculous. Thankfully the Burgundy’s entrée is served on time.

Lily saying she doesn’t do dessert is mind-boggling. Then why are you in Masterchef?

Mimi is a lousy leader. Her indecisiveness has wasted everyone’s time. Jamie has to spell it out for her on team leader’s roles. Haven’t you watched Masterchef before?

Team Burgundy has better plating style. The plating of Purple’s main dish is really basic and clumsy.

Burgundy’s cashew curry looks yummy. Sumeet did a good job with the curry and Stephen/Lachlan with the fish.

FFS Andy, just use the spoon to eat rice. How hard it’s gonna be? 🤦🏻‍♀️

Cucumber on dessert - NOPE!

I love seeing Reece and Jess - the besties commenting on the desserts.

 

7 hours ago, katisha said:

Is it just me or was it rather a waste bringing back 40 former hamsters to be the diners at the service challenge, and then hardly use any of them

 

Some are well dressed and some are way underdressed, sloppy. 

These are not Masterchef royalties, not without Queen Billie! 😆

[katisha]

Just when you thought it was safe to keep watching Masterchef AU...IT'S BAAAAAACK!  I knew it was too good to last!

The only saving grace was that aside from nearly setting the kitchen on fire, Alex didn't cook her prawns properly so maybe that will put some of the others off.  Mind you, I don't even blame her for using it because, let's face it, that bloody grill pretty much won the competition for Brent Draper (and Coles) last season.

And we saw the reappearance of another old MC AU cliche tonight - the magical nonna is back!  I wonder how often Jonathan is going to play that card? (Although, if you're going to talk about your nonna, it tends to be confusing if your last name is Hooper and the "nonna" in question is called Sandra!)

Because I'm nearly as old as he is, I naturally would love to see Steve do OK this year.  We've had a large variety of winners over the years but regrettably the old chook/old dude box hasn't been ticked yet.  Julie is still the oldest ever winner of the show in S1 and even then she was "only" 38!

I'm still really shocked how few of these contestants this year seem interested in making desserts.  I wonder why there's so many cooks who favour making savoury dishes this year?

[Snazzy Daisy]

S16•E03 - 'Wrap Your Hands Around This' Challenge

Here come the overused hibachi and nonna story. UGH. 😣

“I think this hibachi might have been a mistake.” 

You think? 🙄

Sofia apparently has a very strong reaction to pani puri. Poh calls it “orgasmic” and Jamie thinks it’s 60 shades of flavor. Hmm… 🙄

Geez Sav and Lourdes. You serve 3 seeni sambal buns and 3 choux buns to 5 judges. It doesn’t take a genius to know that’s unhygienic. Look at how Snezana serves her Krofne.

Or maybe Lourdes is subconsciously telling the producers that 5 judges are ridiculously too many. 🤔

Instead of clapping enthusiastically, the new judges prefer the “slamming the napkin on the table” shtick. This is gonna be so annoying in the long run. Why can’t they just clap like Jock or hug the contestant like Mel did?

My evil thought - Andy purposely wears white for this “eating with your fingers” challenge. For dramatization purposes, of course. 😆

After 3 episodes, we still haven’t heard from Sue, Steph, Josh P, Josh C, James and Gillian. There are 3 contestants who make it to my “most annoying” list - Alex, Lily and Mimi. Sav and Sumeet are slowly becoming Kishwar 2.0.

[katisha]

5 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

After 3 episodes, we still haven’t heard from Sue, Steph, Josh P, Josh C, James and Gillian. There are 3 contestants who make it to my “most annoying” list - Alex, Lily and Mimi. Sav and Sumeet are slowly becoming Kishwar 2.0.

It would be hard to replicate the awesomeness that was Kishwar, but I have to say I like both Sav (for her sense of humour) and Sumeet (who seems really kind and gentle).  Lily is irritating me as well and Alex automatically put me off side when she used that bloody hibachi!  Agree re Mimi.  In that challenge the other day she sort of acted like her decisions re the main course on Team Purple saved the day, but they clearly didn't!  

[Snazzy Daisy]

1 hour ago, katisha said:

Lily is irritating me as well and Alex automatically put me off side when she used that bloody hibachi!

I find Alex irritating since the service challenge. The way she kept saying to Lily that their pavlova plating is sexy… UGH. 🙄

[katisha]

Tonight's challenge was quite fun because at least it was a straight out choice between time or ingredients without the usual auction thing they do (although no doubt that will be back later in the season).  A few thoughts...

• Is it just me or has Andy actually become a proper judge this year now that he's the only one left out of the original "new" three (albeit for a really sad reason in Jock's case)?  He's making sense, his critiques are more coherent and he's being helpful.  I much prefer the 2024 Andy.
• I'm hoping the contestants see that the hibachi use is a bad omen.  It wrecked Alex's chances last night and this time Sumeet lost 100 Kishwar cool points by using the bloody thing - and, see, she didn't win immunity!  Now, an unknown person is using it on Sunday night and maybe if they get kicked off, nobody else will use one this season? 
• Sav sure knows how to make a plate of food look good, doesn't she?  Hell, I HATE seafood with a passion but what she plated up looked so yummy that it would almost tempt me into having a taste.  Well-deserved immunity because, yes, she strategised it out well. Clever as well as artistic.
• Poh's performance improved tonight too.  It was cool when she showed Steve the pan-lining trick.  I think she just has to stop mentioning her own time on Masterchef as much as she does because it was so long ago and it gives the impression that she thinks it's all about her rather than the new hamsters, even if that's not truly how she feels.  Andy actually won but he hardly ever mentions his season.

My hope for Sunday is that we get to meet the 10 or so contestants who haven't had a second of air time yet, poor buggers!

 

[Snazzy Daisy]

S16•E04 - Time vs Ingredients Immunity Challenge

As a MC judge, Poh seems to be doing a lot of cooking, compared to JC and Andy. And it’s only episode 4.

Why does Snezana decorate her dish with that burnt onion? It’s not even a nice color. Anyway, I like her bubbly personality.

Lourdes on the other hand is quite dull. Same goes to her pork drama, I fast forward most of it.

Stephen’s dish is not a gateau. It’s a pavlova stack. Why the judges aren’t saying anything? 

Stephen: “I wanna show I can extend myself.”

This line feels so scripted. Very Masterchef-y.

JC to Sumeet: “Can we move in together?”

ME: “Where’s HR?” 😬

Is it the editing or is Jono talking too much from the gantry? He keeps interrupting those who are cooking down there.

Congratulations Sav for winning an immunity from Sunday’s elimination.

 

8 hours ago, katisha said:

this time Sumeet lost 100 Kishwar cool points by using the bloody thing - and, see, she didn't win immunity! 

Sumeet didn’t use the hibachi. See… 😉

[katisha]

You're right, @Snazzy Daisy! Massive apologies to Sumeet and the Kishwar cool points are restored! 😂

[Snazzy Daisy]

Sav's Squid Ceviche with Mango, Chilli, Coconut and Curry Leaf.