Restaurants and Chefs on MasterChef Australia 2010

1

 

Acclaimed chef Matt Moran is set to make plenty of appearances in this season, and after seeing his first-week challenges for the top 50, the current contestants have got a fight on their hands. Moran's Aria Brisbane is quickly gaining just as much buzz as his continually adored flagship Sydney restaurant.

2

 

The first celebrity cook-off saw contestant Alvin take on Luke Nguyen and just marginally miss out on an elimination immunity reward. Nguyen's Vietnamese banquets are ever popular at Red Lantern, while his Chinese and Vietnamese noodle dishes take centre stage at the new Star City restaurant Fat Noodle.

3

 

He's designed a cruise ship menu on the Pacific Jewel and recently opened his new gastro-pub, The Palace by Luke Mangan, so there's clearly no stopping this celebrated chef. The red team won a meal at Mangan's delicious French brasserie.

4

 

In the first group challenge, the red team manned the kitchens at Cafe Moretti, a well-known bastion of classic Italian cuisine in Little Italy itself, Leichhardt.

5

 

In the same challenge, the blue team took over the tables at Carpaccio, a must for anyone whose palate goes mad over modern Italian creations such as zucchini flowers and gnocchi gorgonzola.

6

 

Recently voted Australia's best restaurant by the UK's Restaurant Magazine and a consistent recipient of three Sydney Morning Herald hats, Quay is an undoubted winner. With chef Peter Gilmore dropping by, the MasterChef contestants are certainly learning from the best.

7

 

Neil Perry, one of Australia's most acclaimed chefs, put the contestants to a fishy challenge that saw some sink and some swim. Perry's robust seafood and steak dishes are key features of his acclaimed Rockpool Bar & Grill restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne (Perry also runs the original Rockpool in The Rocks and Spice Temple in the Sydney CBD).

8

 

Pastry chef Philippa Sibley, the dessert genius of Melbourne's much-loved French diner Bistro Guillaume, made millions of mouths water at the sight of her decadent caramel parfait glace with salted peanut caramel and milk chocolate mousse. Contestant Callum did a great job of replicating it.

9

 

The Harbour Bridge looms high and mighty in the breathtaking backdrop of this acclaimed Modern Australian fine diner. Chef Steven Skelly cooked up a mouth-watering feast for the winners of the kid's party challenge.

10

 

Sushi master Shaun Presland taught a couple of lucky MasterChef team members, and home viewers, about the basics of Japanese cuisine. Open since late 2009, Sake is quickly gaining a reputation with its modern take on Japanese tapas.

11

 

Without a doubt, Justin North has made an indelible mark on the Sydney fine dining scene. In his repertoire are French fine diners Etch and Becasse and cafes Plan B and Le Grande Cafe by Becasse.

12

 

Who better than Tony Bilson, often dubbed the 'Godfather of Australian Cuisine', to show the MasterChef amateurs how it's done? Both Bilson's and Number One Wine Bar show off the finest side of French cuisine.

13

 

The man needs no introduction, but just in case you didn't know, Tetsuya Wakuda is Australia's most celebrated chef. Judging the French cooking challenge along with another industry heavyweight, Guillaume Brahimi, Wakuda's presence alone made most of the MasterChef contestants weak at the knees.

14

 

One of Sydney's kings of curry, Kumar Mahadevan, showed the MasterChef contestants how to create the perfect spice sensation in their Friday night master class. His restaurant, Aki's on the Wharf at Woolloomooloo, delivers fine regional Indian flavours in a quintessentially Sydney waterfront locale.

15

 

Giovanni Pilu draws his fair share of gastronomes up to Sydney's Northern Beaches with his Sardinian-leaning Italian cuisine. The lucky winners of the French cooking challenge, the blue team, enjoyed a delicious reward lunch at this fine restaurant.

16

 

In a nail-biting immunity challenge, the winning Mexico team (Joanne, Matthew and Aaron) took on three of Restaurant Arras' top chefs, each in a bid to reproduce one of the British-European restaurant's signature dishes.

17

 

Ty Bellingham - head chef of Sydney's darling of Thai restaurants, Sailors Thai - threw a scrumptious reward lunch for everyone but the four contestants who faced the bouillabaisse taste test elimination (Phil went home). You can enjoy Sailors Thai at The Rocks, Potts Point and now Ivy in the city.

18

 

Flying Fish head chef Peter Kuruvita wowed everyone with his masterclass on cooking fresh crustaceans. At Jones Bay Wharf, Flying Fish remains one of Sydney's most innovative seafood diners.

19

 

A man credited with cooking up some of the best Spanish food in Australia, Barcelona-born Frank Camorra pays homage to his homeland at MoVida and its sister venues MoVida Next Door, MoVida Terraza and MoVida Aqui.