MasterChef Australia: A Story of Cultural Diversity Told Through Food

As a recent export to Australia, I have to admit, the cultural landscape here baffled me, that is until I watched MasterChef Australia: Secrets and Surprises. I'd never seen any MasterChef show ever but having recently moved to Australia with a lot of time on my hands, sitting down to watch reality television every night at 7:30pm wasn't difficult to do. However, as I watched the show, I realised, not only how special this series and this season was, but how unique Australia is, if only you know where to look.

MasterChef Australia has been criticised in the past for not being diverse enough, and other times for being too diverse (who knew there was such a thing) but as I sat almost every night for the last 10 weeks to watch this unique group of amateur cooks create magic in the kitchen under the guidance of three masterful judges, Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo, I could see the light of what Australia truly is shining through the cracks.

This isn't the story of what the news tells us Australia is, or the story that media outlets are trying to force onto us of Australia's multiculturalism.

This is the story of what I saw unfold day after day in the MasterChef Kitchen as these home cooks, some who were born in Australia, and some who have only been here a few years, came together to create food that you can only make here. This is my personal reflection of what I saw and what it told me about Australia's food and cultural landscape.

Diversity in origin

MasterChef Australia: Secrets and Surprises follows the story of 18 amateur cooks, Adi Nevgi, Alice Han, Amy Tanner, Andrea Puglisi, Antonio Cruz Vaamonde, Brent Draper, Cath Collins, Declan Cleary, Grace Jupp, Jessica Perri, Larissa Sewell, Malissa Fedele, Phil Conway, Ralph Kahango, Rhiannon Anderson, Robbie Cooper, Rue Mupedzi and Theo Loizou.

If the names of this year's contestants didn't give it away, this season featured a unique set of home cooks with roots from many different places across the globe, including China, Croatia, Greece, Italy, India, Ireland, Russia, Ukraine, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. The cultural diversity really came across in the plates we saw them serve the judging panels and celebrity chefs throughout the show.

Adi Nevgi, a doctor with ancestral roots in India who has already started writing her own cookbook, brought a dish from her native Indian state of Maharashtra to the Masterchef Kitchen. Adi, who was born in India but moved to Australia when she was just a year old, took it upon herself to go to India to learn how to cook Indian food with her grandma. Taking what she learned during that time, she made Maharashtrian Squid Curry for Chef Rick Stein that, as MasterChef Judge Melissa Leong, said, would make her aunties "proud."

Theo Loizou, a Greek electrician by trade who found his passion in baking, had the MasterChef kitchen singing when he made his Greek Lamb with Pita bread and Tzatziki. In an attempt to make his dad proud by bringing a piece of his heritage into the kitchen, he got the highly-coveted clap from Jock Zonfrillo.

Two of the contestants this year, Ralph Kahango and Rue Mupedzi hail from Zimbabwe. Ralph Kahango, while an avid fan of Italian cooking and Chef Marco Pierre White, brought a slice of home into the MasterChef kitchen in one episode, creating Chakalaka, a dish steeped in his culture and memories of his childhood in South Africa.

Antonio Cruz Vaamonde served up a little piece of Venezuela with his Cachapas, a fresh corn pancake that is usually filled with layers of cheese. His version had three different types of cheese. The dish was so unique it had Jamie Oliver asking Antonio to educate him on its origins. This plate of cheesy goodness won Antonio a spot in the very first immunity challenge and gave him a chance to cook alongside 4 other contestants in a MasterClass led by Chef Jamie Oliver.

Larissa Sewell, who is both Russian and Ukrainian, won the very first Masterchef Advantage with her borscht and Ukranian pampushky dish. The gratitude she felt in being able to present a dish that represents her culture shone through the screen as she talked about the dish and her Babushka with tears in her eyes. It's this representation that makes this show so unique, and it's also in the knowing that a dish rooted in a culture that seems so far removed from where we are can still have such an incredible impact. The judging panel were so moved by the dish and the flavours on the plate, they awarded Larissa the very first advantage of the season.

And then there was Robbie Cooper. Robbie was deemed the uncle of the group with many contestants, including Declan Cleary – his MasterChef son as he called him on social media – turning to him for moral support and guidance throughout the experience. Robbie is a proud Iwaidja man whose ancestry incorporates Asian heritage, including Malaysian, Indonesian and Filipino, along with Torres Strait Islander.

The 65-year-old labelled his food as "Aboriginal Asian fusion" and brought incredible dishes showcasing his unique heritage, including a bush-inspired Seafood and Tomato Soup, that he made for Julie Goodwin, the MasterChef winner of Australia's inaugural season. When faced with an overnight challenge, he served an Asian-infused slow-cooked succulent duck that won him the infamous clap and a well-deserved hug from judge Jock Zonfrillo, reaffirming his belief in himself in the competition.