MasterChef Singapore Season 4 Introduces New Team Battle Format With Judges Going Head-To-Head: “It’s Like The Voice”
The MasterChef Singapore producers are spicing things up a bit for its upcoming fourth season, says Mediacorp in a statement on Monday (July 3).
When the cooking competition show returns on Aug 9, expect proceedings to be a little different from previous editions.
Yes, Audra Morrice, Bjorn Shen and Damian D’Silva are back as judges. Yes, it’ll kick off with 18 home cooks vying to be in the Top 12. Except this time, the contestants will be grouped into three teams of six, each led by a judge. Not only will the candidates duke it out, but so will the judges, albeit indirectly.
“As the season progresses you need new formats to keep viewers interested,” Chef Damian tells 8days.sg.
The Rempapa chef adds, “[The new format] allows me to see the contestants from a new and hopefully exciting perspective.”
Elsewhere, Chef Bjorn likens the new format to the singing contest reality show The Voice, “where judges pit their team members against each other, and then against the teams of other judges.”
The chef-owner of Artichoke and Small's says, “I guess whichever judge has the trophy winner in their team also gets unlimited bragging rights.”
But he doesn’t want to take too much credit for whoever gets crowned.
“From a mentorship point of view, judges don’t get a lot of time coaching their teams, so I’m also not certain that we can attribute the success or failure of an individual to the guidance of their team’s judge either,” he continues. “But it’s an interesting dynamic nonetheless.”
The 18 challengers vying for the MasterChef Singapore trophy this season include a spice mixer, a shipbroker, an aerospace engineer, and a legal trainee.
“Super bubbly and keen to impress,” Chef Audra observes. “They were a fabulous bunch with a lot of heart and soul in their cooking drawing from family and memories. There was a huge desire to show us their best from the get-go. I’m excited for Singapore to see them cook!”
The last chef standing will walk away with S$10,000 cash and a buffet spread of prizes, including internship opportunities, staycation packages, and assorted kitchenware and appliances.
As a prelude to the competition, MasterChef Singapore fans will get to taste nine special ice-cream flavours concocted by the Top 18 contestants themselves at a special public event. Fans will also get to meet them in person.
The flavours were decided by a series of interactive polls on Mediacorp’s Instagram page where viewers were invited to vote for their preferred local ingredients, from durian to attap chee to masala. Visit the MasterChef Singapore website for updates and details.
Nice, nice baby: MasterChef Singapore fans will get to taste nine ice-cream flavours (based on ingredients of their choosing) whipped up by the Top 18 contestants — and meet the creators in an upcoming event.
MasterChef Singapore Season 4 premieres on Aug 9 aka National Day on meWATCH and Channel 5 in two parts; one starting from 8.30pm to 9pm, the second from 9.30pm to 10pm. Subsequent eps will air every Sunday (from Aug 13), 9.30pm. All episodes will be available on-demand, on the same night via meWATCH and the Mediacorp Entertainment YouTube Channel. Relive the excitement of Season 3 on meWATCH.
