I’ve been wanting to write this blog for some time, but I thought I’d wait to the finale to share my thoughts. Over the past couple of months so many people have asked me about Channel Ten’s Masterchef and what I thought of the show and who my favourite contestant was. To be honest I didn’t really watch that many episodes, but on average I watched maybe 1 episode each week.

I never liked the UK version of Masterchef (which Masterchef Australia was modelled on) which has been on Lifestyle Food for sometime. I just didn’t like the pompy british judges. But Masterchef Australia was different. The Australian judges George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston are not only are highly skilled professionals with tonnes of experience, but they each are great characters which ooze their own personality on the screen. Loved the comments and advice from all of them. 

In terms of the guest chefs that appeared for the battles with contestants, Masterchef Australia attracted some of the best chefs in the country. Which is a feat on its own to get them in the same room, let alone have them share their recipes.

As the owner of Gourmet Ads, one of the most interesting things for me, is on the media side of things. I don’t think many people know this, but the Masterchef website was during the show’s duration the most popular food websites in Australia. I think this was probably due to the clever fact that they never really showed recipes on the show like other foods shows. Instead they attracted users to the website where they freely shared recipes.

On TV the ratings side apparently it was the most show this year, beating Underbelly. So its no surprise that there is a celebrity Masterchef in development which will hit the screens in September, and Fremantle Media is already looking for the next round of contestants for the Masterchef 2010.

The best thing about Masterchef Australia is that people around the watercooler are talking about good food, chefs, restaurants and cooking.

Finally, well done to Julie who won Masterchef Australia. Hope this is the start of a new career in the wonderful world of cooking.