Viewers of the reality show have noticed an annoying trend in the contestants’ confessionals this year.

MasterChef fans have slammed the show after changing one of the parts of the show they loved the most in place of

MasterChef fans have slammed the show after changing one of the parts of the show they loved the most in place of “needless drama”. Photo: Ten

MasterChef fans have had a lot to say about how the show has changed over the years, and not for the better, sadly. One thing that viewers seem to agree on is that the show has taken away some of the more culinary-heavy parts of the show in favour of “needless drama”.

It’s a complaint that is becoming more common amongst viewers of reality TV, as networks continue to up the ante in order to keep people engaged. Fans of shows like Farmer Wants A Wife have shared similar grievances, saying the series is now less focused on wholesome love stories and more on creating scandals.

Until recently, MasterChef was largely excluded from these conversations as it seemed the cooking show had been fairly immune to this style of storytelling, however its audience is now speaking up in a similar vein.

Taking to Reddit, one viewer aired their annoyances, saying, “I kind of wish they’d focus a little bit on the culinary concepts during the contestants’ interviews. My favourite moments from S17 have been Darrsh explaining the science behind his beef fat cake, Samira talking about the construction of her salmon kibbeh, and Callum talking about his flavour profiles in the Ixta mystery box.

“In the same episode, Laura made a pasta using masa harina instead of the usual 00 wheat flour,” they added. “Masa is gluten-free and made from corn, so it’s quite tricky to get the chewy/springy texture of pasta out of it. Feels like such a lost opportunity because people are dismissing it as ‘yet another pasta dish’ when it’s actually a stuffed pasta made with masa, which is quite technically complex to execute (first the masa and then the stuffing)!

Many fans are sick of the show choosing to prioritise drama over the actual cooking. Photo: Ten

Many fans are sick of the show choosing to prioritise drama over the actual cooking. Photo: Ten
“Would like if they focused less on people freaking out about the time crunch during their interviews. We know they don’t have a lot of time! Let them be frazzled for two sentences an episode and give us 10 sentences of cooking knowledge! The balance is way more towards creating needless drama at the moment.”

Many others thought the same, with one saying, “I agree with you! I want to know more about the cooking and less about the time panic.”

Another MasterChef fan complained about the fact that not everyone gets the same screen time and that the show only cares about the drama, rather than the cooking.

They wrote, “I do not remember even a single [episode] where all of [the contestants] had at least a few seconds of screen time. I get that some contestants would have a lot going on, which would make things exciting to watch, but all of them deserve a little of the screen time.

The confessionals are less likely to focus on the cooking component, but are more likely to be about how stressed the chef is. Photo: Ten

The confessionals are less likely to focus on the cooking component, but are more likely to be about how stressed the chef is. Photo: Ten
“In some of the episodes, a few people are not even shown presenting their dishes to the judges, let alone cooking the dish. It just makes me a little sad to not even know what the person has cooked for the day.”

Someone else agreed, “It’s funny that Samira only got one confessional and minimum screen time when she was in the bottom three. And then no confessional (I am not 100 per cent sure. I forgot and I might be wrong) and almost zero screentime when she did a top 5 dish. Either she’s boring as hell, or the producers really didn’t like her.”

“Contestants who get suspiciously low screen time at the start of the competition are usually the ones that surge and excel in the second half,” another viewer suggested.

Another summed it up by saying, “At its core, MasterChef Australia is a reality TV show. The producers’ top priority is to attract as many viewers as possible, which increases their advertising revenue and product placement opportunities.

“They often create or instigate drama and conflicts, focusing on the contestants’ reactions and how effectively they can manipulate them to engage viewers. As a result, the cooking aspect of MasterChef takes a back seat to these entertainment elements. Contestants who do not perform well on screen are often disregarded, while those who are more entertaining to watch are featured more frequently. Ultimately, the cooking aspect of MasterChef is secondary to the show’s entertainment value.”