MasterChef Australia

Network Ten is pleased to announce that MasterChef judge George Calombaris and partner of three and half years Natalie Tricarico, are expecting their first child in July.

George’s natural affinity with children was obvious during the recent Junior MasterChef series, with many speculating that a child of his own was not too far away.

George said of his exciting news, “Natalie and I are absolutely thrilled. I love being an uncle, and now I’m going to be a dad! It’s a true blessing. Family has always been a big part of my life, I love the idea of loads of kids running around – I am Greek after all!”

Natalie said, “We are over the moon. It’s amazing. George is going to be a fantastic father. He is a big kid at heart and children just adore him.”

New MasterChef recruit Matt Moran has joined the same club as that of Gary Mehigan in injuring himself during the reality show’s filming schedule.

Moran will now limp about the set on crutches in much the same fashion as Mehigan did last season after injuring his leg in a skiing accident in Aspen this week.

The ARIA head chef and newest hosting recruit for MasterChef is thought to have torn his anterior cruciate ligament and suffered a minor fracture which will leave him crutch-bound for the next few weeks while filming.

TEN says the injury will not keep Moran from the show and that he will be able to complete his tasks on the show with the help of a few minor adjustments.

Mehigan was in the same position during last year’s season, after injuring his leg while walking to his car.

Source: News.com.au

MasterChef judge Matt Preston has landed himself a radio gig alongside another outspoken personality, Kyle Sandilands.

The food critic-turned TV personality will join Sandilands and his fellow presenter Jackie O on the popular 2DayFM show.

Preston will act as a side-kick to the pair, pitching throughout the show with interviews and his thoughts on the food world.

The deal is believed to be worth six-figures, with Preston beginning his radio job at the end of February.

Preston was quick to quash any suggestion that him and Sandilands will clash on air.

“I kind of like Kyle’,’ he told Confidential. “When I first started doing radio it was like: ‘Ooh, someone has to do Kyle and Jackie O. [But] I’ve always found him to be a pussy cat.

“He’s like a cuddly fur seal,” he said. “But not if he calls me a walrus again.”

Source: News.com.au

When MasterChef returns for its third season next year, a couple of familiar faces are rumoured to be taking centre stage.

Word is celebrity chef Matt Moran has been promoted to a beefier role on the hit TEN series, which will help take some of the strain off current judges Gary Mehigan, Geaorge Calombaris and Matt Preston.

With a gruelling six-month filming schedule underway for the next season of MasterChef, Moran and Donna Hay will be helping shoulder the weight of mentoring the aspiring chefs through the competition.

Hay will move into a mentoring role, which is a step-up from her recurring guest judge spot last season.

FremantleMedia Australia is yet to confirm the changes to the show despite the word from insiders.

Source: News.com.au

The MasterChef series has been urged to boycott the use of a chicken brand accused of exploiting its workers.

Lilydale Free Range Chicken has been singled out by the National Union of Workers, who have written o the production company behind MasterChef asking them to end its “promotion” and “endorsement” of the brand.

NUW organiser Dave Garland says that the MasterChef brand is built around having fun and family values.

“Lilydale chicken workers don’t have fun and they work in sometimes unsafe and dangerous conditions. The chickens may be free but the workers are definitely caged,” he said of Lilydale.

The letter says that the show’s endorsement of the brand “threatens the trust that exists between you and your viewers”.

A MasterChef spokesperson has said that while they are yet to receive the letter, when they do they will liaise with them.

Source: Herald Sun

TEN is confident that ratings juggernaut MasterChef will stay theirs for many years to come.

Chief Executive of television Grant Blackley has said that talks are underway currently with production house Shine for the rights to extend beyond next year.

Blackley says that although Seven And Nine may be tempted to push the bidding up, he is confident that Ten will retain the rights.

“We are confident that . . . we will come up with an arrangement on MasterChef,” he told The Australian.

“I think we have to be careful not to concentrate on price too much. At the end of the day we have an excellent relationship with Shine. We do a lot of business with Shine. We’ve developed a relationship with Shine that is based around mutual respect and mutual success.”

Blackley was quick to point out that some shows failed once they shifted network.

“Thank God You’re Here is a classic recent example where it left Ten (for Seven) and its audience dropped by about 40 per cent,” he said.

“In a world of convergence, I think there is a lot more to do with MasterChef to make it a big part of everybody’s daily life all year round. All we’ve done, really, is make it a broadcast vehicle for a number of weeks.”

TEN’s current deal expires at the end of 2011 which coincides with the end of Shine’s license deal with FremantleMedia.

From then on, Shine will take over production.

Source: The Australian

Three of this year’s MasterChef favourites have signed on to appear in the upcoming MasterChef Live event this December.

Courtney Roulston, Alvin Quah and Jimmy Seerval will join fellow finalists Adam Liaw and Marion Grasby as well as a host of celebrity chefs at the Sydney event which takes place from the 10th – 12th of December at the Hordern Pavilion and Royal Hall of Industries Park.

The trio will feature alongside Neil Perry, Donna Hay, Peter Gilmore, Maggie Beer, Christine Mansfield, Adrian Zumbo, Justin North, Kylie Kwong, Mark Best as well as George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston.

Source: TV Tonight

Here’s an alternate take on the recent finale of BBC series MasterChef – The Professionals in the UK featuring food that most of us may be a little more familiar with.

Avoid if you don’t want to find out who wins.

Former MasterChef contestant Chris Badenoch will return to Aussie screen this year on the all-new Seven show Iron Chef.

Badenoch will be a contestant on the show alongside fellow MasterChef cook Julia Jenkins.

The appearance begins the start of a busy few months for the 42-year-old who also has the opening of his eatery Josie Bones in Collingwood and the release of his cook book, The Entire Beast.

“People think I went quiet after MasterChef but that wasn’t the case at all,” Badenoch says.

“I (just) wasn’t putting my head on every ad offer I got.”

Banedoch says he was excited at the opportunity to return to television.

“It (Iron Chef) was the opportunity to push myself,” Badenoch says.

“It’s one thing cooking against other amateurs (on MasterChef). Going up against guys of this calibre (Perry/Grossi/Brahimi) is a rare opportunity.”

Other challengers on Iron Chef include Sacha Meier (Ba Ba Lu Restaurant and Bar), Dan Hong (Lotus Bar and Bistro), Judyta Slupnick (Phore Seasons), Matt Stone (Greenhouse Restaurant) and Herb Faust (Scotch College).

Iron Chef begins on Seven this month.

Source: AdelaideNow

On the back of successful Australian cooking shows like MasterChef, the popularity of celebrity chefs is on the rise.

Food-mad Aussies are paying big bucks at charity events to have their culinary heroes prepare personal meals for them and their friends.

While most celebrity chefs own their own restaurants which anyone can visit to get a taste for their style, many are choosing to pay upwards of $50,000 to have a well-known chef cook in their own kitchen.

At a recent auction in aid of The Starlight Foundation the services of Marty Boetz, of Longrain, sold for $25,000. The prize was Boetz cooking a meal for 12 in the winning bidder’s private living room.

Matt Moran, of ARIA, has pulled a bid of around $50,000 to have him prepare a meal while MasterChef judge and food critic Matt Preston drew $15,000 for charity to have him dine with the winner.

“It’s gone crazy in the last couple of years,” Moran said.

Aussie food lovers will have plenty more to salivate over with a slate of new and returning cooking shows soon to hit screens including My Kitchen Rules, Australian Iron Chef and Conviction Kitchen.

Source: News.com.au