For nearly two decades, MasterChef Australia has been the ultimate television comfort food: a wholesome, heartwarming antidote to the toxic drama of rival reality networks. But as Season 18 whittles the competition down to the Top 10, a bitter taste is lingering in viewers’ mouths.
What was once a high-stakes culinary masterclass has, according to die-hard fans, devolved into a glorified, heavily sponsored simulation of its former self.
MasterChef or ‘MasterColes’?
The rumblings began on Reddit, where long-time viewers have been dissecting a noticeable shift in the show’s production value. Despite a massive, star-studded trip to Qatar just last year, Season 18 has felt strangely claustrophobic, largely confined to the Melbourne studio.
Fans are mourning the loss of high-octane off-site catering gigs and gruelling, classic Pressure Tests. Instead, they argue, creativity has been sidelined in favour of aggressive product placement.
“I do miss the old MC Australia, back when MC stood for MasterChef and not for MasterColes,” one fan quipped. “It’s all just advertising now.”
Many agreed that the constant Coles placement has led to the show feeling more like a supermarket advertisement than a high-stakes cooking competition, with others pointing out the lack of genuine culinary stakes has made the challenges feel “hollow” and repetitive.
Someone else wished for more creative cooks, saying, “I’ve loved MasterChef for many years, but it just feels really boring this year. I understand budget cuts, but I wish some of the older challenges would at least come back. The Pressure Tests and Invention Tests were my favourite, or the ones where they’re limited to a set of ingredients, no pantry, no garden. I miss the cooks actually being forced to be creative.”
Channel 10 defends MasterChef shakeup as show reaches ‘biggest national audience’ in years
When asked by Woman’s Day about the fan commentary, Channel 10 said the show has welcomed world-class judges and the format varies across seasons.
The network pointed to a star-studded lineup featuring major international names like Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, alongside local icons like Curtis Stone and Robert Irwin.
“MasterChef Australia has served up success again this year, with Season 18 reaching its biggest total national audience since 2022,” a spokesperson for the show told Woman’s Day.
“In addition to welcoming worldclass guest judges like Robert Irwin, Jimmy and Jane Barnes, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, this season of MasterChef brings back some fan favourite formats, including a return to Top 40 on-camera auditions, Invention Tests, and Beat The Chef,” they added.
The network confirmed that MasterChef has trimmed its weekly output down to four episodes per week, fundamentally altering the pacing, with previous seasons airing up to five episodes a week.
“There are fewer team challenges this season, with four episodes per week. The format is mostly as follows, but does vary across the season: Sunday nights are Mystery Box; Monday nights, elimination; Tuesday nights Invention Test or Team Challenge; Wednesday nights Pressure Test or Immunity. As a result there is less room for off site challenges. We couldn’t be more pleased with the sustained appetite for MasterChef Australia and its continually reinvigorated format.”
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