Foodies in mix for reality TV recipe

Madeleine Foley, 19, auditioned with her macadamia and pear frangipani tart. Photo / Janna Dixon

Take one character, whisk in some culinary skills and a compelling back story, stuff with media training, then present before judges for grilling.

The tried-and-trusted recipe for reality TV is creating another batch of contestants for the third season of top-rating show MasterChef.

Just three months after Nadia Lim was crowned season two winner, hundreds of contestants have been baking and frying their way through nationwide auditions over recent weeks.

This week, the top 50 are gathering in Auckland's Ellerslie Racecourse to cook for the judges. Among them is Madeleine Foley, a 19-year-old Massey University food technology student who is making a macadamia and pear frangipane tart with a honey wafer.

It's only the third time she has made the dish, which includes passionfruit from her grandfather's vine, and she has been testing it on her student flatmates in Palmerston North.

A list of instructions is at hand to inform contestants on their camera manner.

"Look at the interviewer and not the camera. Ignore the camera completely," it says.

"Please try to include the question in your answer and give us a complete sentence. If we ask 'what are you cooking?', don't just say 'steak', say, 'I'm cooking steak'."

Foley has an hour to prepare her dish in the racecourse kitchen. She then plates her dessert and is led out for the long walk to the judges as their six severe eyes are fixed on her.

Ray McVinnie is first for a taste. How did Foley come up with inspiration for the idea, he asks? "My mother used to let me into the kitchen to make desserts because she didn't trust me to make dinner," she replies. "If I mucked up dessert there was still food for the family."

Next is Josh Emett, asking technical questions about the dish. Is the macadamia a straight substitute for almond, which is the normal ingredient in a frangipane tart?

No, she has added more macadamia and tweaked the vanilla content to compensate.

Simon Gault approaches finally. "High praise from the boys," he says, maintaining a poker face.

Foley is delivered the verdict on her food - which is under strict embargo until the episode airs next year.

MasterChef makers are determined to weed out from the show anyone seeking celebrity status - only foodies need apply.

"We are not interested in having people who want to raise their media profile," says executive producer Bettina Hollings.