MasterChef Australia

I've watched Masterchef US, UK, NZ and Canada and the Australian version is by far the best. If you're a Masterchef fan I strongly recommend giving it a watch.

What makes it better? It's more of a full blown journey through the competition with five episodes a week taking you step-by-step through the process.

The challenges are also more exciting and original with my favorite set of judges providing the guidance and entertainment along the way.

In addition, the master classes, usually done at the end of the week, are very educational and certainly spotlight the expertise of the judges and guest judges. There's also "Heston Week", usually, where Heston Blumenthal joins the cast for the week and comes up with all sorts of cool insights and challenges.

I came by Masterchef just recently, after watching all of the Masterchef US and Canada seasons, and now it's ruined me. I can hardly watch US and Canada now because they pale in comparison. They are just one episode a week and that episode is so plastic and pretty much the same week after week. Gordon Ramsay is a hero of mine but he needs to take some lessons from Australia and perhaps add some episodes and some spontaneity.

I'm currently watching season 8 and it's finals week, which is an exciting week for fans, but also an indicator that it's almost over and that I'll have to wait a long time for season 9 to start. It's been a long and very entertaining season and I'll surely miss the daily fix.

MasterChef Australia is definitely the best cooking show among all the ones out there. I have been watching this show since the 2nd season and I am always amazed at the quality of the contestants and dishes produced. Since it is a reality show, it does suffer from some over- dramatized moments and excessive crying in parts but the judges are great, especially George Calombaris, who is adorable. I also love how supportive the contestants are towards each other. To top it all, the recipes are actually posted on the Tenplay website and I for one love attempting such creative dishes.

Absolute top cooking contest show. Unlike it's American counterpart, no drama, politics, and bickering. Great challenges and concepts. The judges Matt, Gary, George are very decent and gracious in their evaluation and comments in general. Show does away with any kind of nastiness unlike some other reality shows, Great cooking by all contestants. The level of competition is always high. Cannot fault this show.

I don't really know exactly what it is about this show, but it speaks to me. The best things humans do are a result of cooperative effort and the contestants and judges on this show seem to understand this innately. It's all about the food and making it what should be.

Unlike the American version which tries to be "edgy" and confrontational, you can sense a genuine love of food as well as camaraderie in this version. There's not a mean spirit in sight. It's also a joy to watch the cooks mature as the weeks and challenges go by.

In short, it has heart, love and soul. If you want combat, watch UFC, if you want a show about the love of food, watch this.

Masterchef is a reality TV show. It is named after a British TV cookery competition.

The cast is made up of cooking enthusiasts who take part in a series of cooking challenges and face eliminations.

At the end of the season, one person is awarded the main prize.

The bulk of the show is devoted to the cast talking to camera about how they felt during the challenges and also to the hosts talking about what they thought of the performances in the challenges. In many of the episodes the hosts taste the food and give feedback or a score. Many parts of the cooking processes are also shown.

This show became a huge "watercooler" hit within Australia because of a universal interest in food and because, with the minimal swearing and absence of violence or nudity, this was perfect family viewing. Another appealing aspect was the decision to portray the contestants as co-operative rather than cut-throat as in previous reality TV.

The watchability of this show lies in the casting of appealing people; the fact that they seem to be decent makes you care what happens to them and want to return to them. The continual recaps and repetitions of footage in this show mean that it is highly watchable at the busy time of evening that it is shown.