''Celebrity MasterChef Australia'' is an Australian competitive

cooking Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to Outline of food preparation, prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric ...

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

. It is spin-off of '' MasterChef Australia'', itself an adaptation of the British show ''

MasterChef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking show television format created by Franc Roddam, which originated with the UK version in July 1990. The format was revived and updated for the BBC in February 2005 by executive producers Roddam and John ...

'', and features

celebrity Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

contestants. The first series began production in early September 2009, and premiered on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

on 30 September 2009.Celebrity Masterchef will begin production in September
/ref> Judges

Matt Preston Matt Preston (born 21 July 1961) is an English-Australian food critic, writer and television presenter. He is best known for his role as a judge on Network Ten's ''MasterChef Australia'' between 2009 and 2019, and for his weekly national food ...

George Calombaris George Dimitrios Calombaris (born 4 October 1978) is an Australian chef and restaurateur. Calombaris was one of the judges of the Network 10 series '' MasterChef Australia'' from 2009 to 2019. Prior to his role on ''MasterChef Australia'', Calo ...

and

Gary Mehigan Gary Mehigan (born 12 February 1967) is an English-Australian chef and restaurateur. Mehigan was one of the original judges of the Network 10 series '' MasterChef Australia''. Career Chef Mehigan trained at The Connaught and Le Souffle in ...

returned from ''MasterChef Australia'' for the first series of the show, with Calombaris and Mehigan also taking over as hosts from Sarah Wilson. Former world-record holder and Olympic medallist swimmer

Eamon Sullivan Eamon Wade Sullivan (born 30 August 1985) is an Australian former sprint swimmer, three-time Olympic medallist, and former world record-holder in two events. He was also the winner of the first season of '' Celebrity MasterChef Australia'', a ...

won the first series, taking home $50,000 for charity Swim Survive Stay Alive. On 25 May 2021, it was announced that a second season of ''Celebrity MasterChef Australia'' had been commissioned, 12 years after the first edition had aired, it premiered on 10 October 2021 . Andy Allen,

Melissa Leong Melissa Leong (born 1982) is an Australian television host, freelance food writer, radio broadcaster, critic, cookbook editor and marketer. Life and career Leong was born in 1982 in Sydney. Her parents emigrated to Australia from Singapore. ...

and

Jock Zonfrillo Barry "Jock" Zonfrillo (4 August 1976 – 30 April 2023) was a Scottish chef, television presenter and restaurateur. He was the founder of the Orana Foundation and a judge on '' MasterChef Australia''. Early life Zonfrillo was born in Glasgo ...

undertook the role of judges in the new season.

Format (2009 show)

In contrast to its parent show, the 2009 celebrity version was based around a heats and semi-finals format similar to '' MasterChef Goes Large'', and was aired only once a week in an hourly format. Celebrities were split into groups of three as they competed in a heat round featuring two challenges, with one celebrity making their way from each heat into the semi-finals. The heats consisted of an Invention Test, in which they prepared a dish of their own concoction, and a Pressure Test, in which they had to complete a dish from a professional chef. Due to the difficulty of these dishes, contestants were given a single "lifeline" in which the chef was able to aid them for 90 seconds. The six remaining celebrities then faced further challenges in order to secure their place in the final.MasterChef: Negus, Pengilly, Thomas, Westaway.
/ref>

Hosts and judges

Winners

Series synopsis

Series 1 (2009)

''Celebrity MasterChef Australia'', a spin-off featuring celebrities as contestants began production in early September 2009, and aired for ten weeks starting from 30 September 2009. The celebrity version, which features a heats and semi-finals format similar to ''MasterChef Goes Large'', is based around weekly episodes. The host of the first season of ''MasterChef Australia'', Sarah Wilson, did not return to host the show. Ten states that she was dropped because "the appropriate role for Sarah was not achievable without dramatically changing the format", but Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston returned as judges, Calombaris and Mehigan took Wilson's presenting role. It was won by Olympic swimmer

, who took home $50,000 for charity Swim Survive Stay Alive. In February 2010, executive producer Mark Fennessy stated that he doubted the spin-off would return for a second series.

Series 2 (2021)

On 25 May 2021, it was announced that a second edition of ''Celebrity MasterChef Australia'' had been commissioned, 12 years after the first edition had aired. It aired in late 2021. Andy Allen,

and

undertook the role of judges in the new season. On 17 June 2021,

announced the 10 celebrity contestants competing on the second series of the show. Former AFL player

Nick Riewoldt Nicholas Fredrick Riewoldt ( ; born 17 October 1982) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was the first draft selection in the 2000 AFL draft. He was the ...

won the series, winning $100,000 for charity Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision.

Reception

Ratings

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Celebrity Masterchef Australia 2009 Australian television series debuts 2009 Australian television series endings MasterChef Australia 2009 Australian television seasons English-language television shows Television shows set in Sydney Australian television spin-offs

Masterchef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking show television format created by Franc Roddam, which originated with the UK version in July 1990. The format was revived and updated for the BBC in February 2005 by executive producers Roddam and John ...

Australian television series based on British television series