Knives out for 'MasterChef' mousse

It may have garnered some of the best TV ratings in New Zealand, but the Australian version of MasterChef is in hot water after revelations it has misled viewers over contestants' dishes.

The Sunday Telegraph in Sydney yesterday reported that the show was allowing contestants to "re-plate" their dishes after the cameras stop rolling and the time clock stops.

They then present the new plate to the judges as the cameras start recording again.

The Telegraph said the producers' admissions over the practice question "the integrity of the TV ratings phenomenon".

MasterChef is based on home cooks taking on one another and against the clock. The Australian version currently features the cooks taking on celebrity chefs.

Two weeks ago, Christchurch man Brett McGregor won New Zealand's first season of MasterChef, but there has been no suggestion contestants here were allowed to "re-plate" their dishes.

In Australia last week, Callum Hann, 20, was lauded by judge Matt Preston for the presentation of a caramel parfait glace dessert, his attempt at the signature dish of pastry chef Philippa Sibley.

"Hann was given one and three-quarter hours to complete the dish before the same plate was supposedly presented to the MasterChef judges for a blind tasting against Sibley's version. But viewers were not told Hann was allowed to re-plate and perfect a key component - the spoon-shaped quenelles of chocolate mousse - off screen," reported the newspaper.

The new dish, presented to the three judges, "clearly looked different" from the original. "It was suddenly flawless, no longer cracked and broken on the edges."

Australian MasterChef executive producer Margaret Bashfield said TV tricks were occasionally employed in the series.

"Due to the duration of the filming process, on rare occasions both the contestant and the celebrity chef are offered the opportunity to re-plate dishes. This occurs with elements such as icecream, sorbet and sauces, which can deteriorate under studio lighting before the tasting can take place."

MasterChef judge Gary Mehigan said Hann's re-plating had not altered the outcome of the cook-off, won by Sibley.