Culture

‘MasterChef’ Is Back And Everyone’s Already Crying Over How Beautiful The Real Representation Is

I will die for Tommy and his congee, and Kishwar and her cookbook.

by Michelle Rennex  20 April 2021
masterchef premiere tommy kishwar representation emotional

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The 13th season of MasterChef finally premiered last night, and naturally, Australia was already left in tears after just one episode.

Following having to suffer through the terrible and toxic energy radiating off our other reality shows (I’m looking at you Married At First Sight), MasterChef has been a very welcome relief.

As the only truly positive and not drama-driven reality program left, it’s safe to say that Australians were ready to be sucked back into the world of white aprons and home cooks that make us feel terrible about ourselves. And sucked in we were.

Once the obligatory dramatic opening montage was over, Melissa Leong, Jock Zonfrillo and Andy Allen announced that no dreams would be crushed during the first episode. Instead, if one competing contestant didn’t impress all the judges on Day One to earn a Top 24 spot, they would get a second chance the following day which was a very sweet concept in itself.

As the home cooks began to show off their skills one-by-one, we met a few gems like Brent the bearded boilermaker who learned most of his kitchen skills by cooking for the boys on the worksite, cancer survivor Minoli who is getting back into cooking after finally regaining her sense of taste, and performance analyst Therese who casually pops out Reynold-level desserts that instantly place her as a frontrunner.

In a strange turn of events, however, the premiere also revealed a potential villain in the MasterChef universe with Ben, who was once a flight attendant and was now on national television fighting with Australia’s sweetheart, Melissa Leong.

Despite desserts not being Ben’s strong point, the out-of-work flight attendant decided to create, you guessed it, a complex Japanese dessert as his signature dish. Strangely, even though Ben quite literally admitted that he was out of his comfort zone with desserts, he chose to bicker with Melissa when he was told the dish wasn’t actually good.

“I think you’ve given us a dish that you think we wanted to see,” Melissa kindly explained to Ben.

“I disagree. I think I brought a dish that speaks about a side of me that I’m just kind of meeting now,” Ben interjected. “I could have easily cooked something that I’ve been cooking for years, you know, a slow-braised dish or anything like that, but that’s…’ he waffled on before Melissa cut him off.

“I would invite you to… to listen to us and to hear… to take that on,” Melissa politely, but savagely, noted. “I would like you to cook again.”

But even with that spicy moment with Ben, most people were just focused on one thing: The beautiful display of authentic representation and diversity that MasterChef has perfected over the last year.

Take Tommy for example, the 31-year-old primary school teacher who made it into the Top 24 with a beautiful, but simple, chicken congee that he learned from his single mother.

The Vietnamese-Australian contestant emotionally spoke about how his passion for food came from his mum, who still found the time to make amazing food despite being so busy as a single mother to three young children.

“Food is how I show love, and I learned that from my mum,” Tommy explained, which is something that so many children in Asian households can relate to with food being a big part of how Asian parents say “I love you”.

With his congee obviously being a smash-hit, Melissa gladly handed over a white apron as Tommy bowed in respect while tears welled in both their eyes. Then to celebrate making it into the Top 24, Tommy called his mother and the pair had the entire conversation in Vietnamese on primetime Aussie TV.

Then there was Kishwar, a 38-year-old mum of two who has put her food dreams aside to raise her children and now feels guilty for leaving her babies to compete in the competition.

“I feel guilty. It’s this mum guilt that I have that the whole world would fall apart if I left,” Kishwar explained. “I feel very selfish pursuing this dream but they’re so supportive and I know this means a lot to them. I am doing this for my children.”

But with the support of her family, and armed with big dreams of putting Bangladeshi food on the map through a cookbook to pass down her culture, Kishwar managed to cook up a delicious dish of sardines in a green mango broth in the hopes of making it into the Top 24.

After tasting the dish and calling it one of the best things they’ve eaten all year, the judges asked Kishwar one simple question before handing over a coveted apron: “Where have you been?”

Her response? A tearful “just at home”, which is a reality many stay-at-home mums with big dreams and ambitions struggle with when deciding to put their family first.

If last night was anything to go by, it looks like we’re in for a very emotional season filled with diverse cultures on display, real representation on screen, a whole lot of tears, and perhaps more angry Aeroplane Ben, and I couldn’t be more excited.

‘MasterChef Australia’ continues at 7:30pm tonight on Channel 10.