Service Challenges usually pop up multiple times over a season of MasterChef Australia, and involve the remaining contestants cooking a for a big group of guests, for members of the general public. In the past they’ve taken place at Queen Victoria Market and HWKR Food Centre in Melbourne, and the home cooks have dished up street foods for queues of hungry patrons.
While the contestants must handle the mass production element of the task, as well as the time pressure and serve customers the dishes from their menus, the final result is ultimately determined by MasterChef Australia judges Poh Ling Yeow, Andy Allen, Sofia Levin and Jean-Christophe Novelli who decide the best and worst dishes.
So, how does it all work? And how can keen fans throw their names in the hat to score a spot at one of these public Service Challenges? Read on to find out.
The Service Challenge events are often posted to social media — but there’s a catch
Back in 2024, some lucky Service Challenge attendees took to Reddit to share their experience with attending the filming event, revealing that an ad had been placed on social media. However, MasterChef Australia is pre-filmed, so these notices are actually published during the off-season, not while the show is airing.
“I went to the barbecue service challenge at the beginning of S12 [in 2020]. They posted on the social media that morning advertising it. I got to try all the teams dishes, the food was delicious (and free),” one person wrote.
Another person said that they attended the 2024 Service Challenge where the contestants were tasked with creating a street food dish that focussed on a specific ingredient that the judges picked. However, the food offering wasn’t as generous as the 2020 event.
“We really could only choose one stall to try (maybe some were lucky to try more than one) given that there were so many people. Tried the Pink team (with the pork and mushroom skewers). They were both nice but there were no carbs at all, so still felt really hungry. Not really worth it for $10 and $7 respectively (especially comparing to the other teams),” they said.
The episode featured Jamie Oliver as a guest judge.
“Jamie and JC [Jean-Christophe Novelli] were waving to the crowds a fair bit (as if JC isn’t likeable enough already lol) while the other judges were focussing with the competition,” the same TV extra said.
Do you have to sign an NDA if you take part in a service challenge?
According to the patrons that attended the Queen Victoria event and the Barbecue Service Challenge on St Kilda beach, they only had to sign an NDA if they were interviewed by a producer for the episode.
“Didn’t have to sign anything to enter, I did after I got interviewed there but they didn’t show any interviews of the public,” The person from the St Kilda event wrote.
“Been to the latest Service Challenge at Queen Vic Market, didn’t need to sign an NDA or anything like that. They didn’t mind us taking photos or videos either. Soooo many cameras and BTS crew,” the other chimed in.
Is every MasterChef Service Challenge advertised on social media for the public to attend?
No, it doesn’t appear so. While some of the bigger challenges in public spaces welcome fans, sometimes Service Challenges are set in more intimate, private places.
One Reddit user claimed that the taste testers at events held in the MasterChef kitchen — such as the Service Challenges that typically appear around the semi-finals — are often friends or acquaintances of people who work on the show.
“The ones in the MasterChef kitchen are crew family and friends. The huge crowd ones are normally popped up on socials just prior, and are low risk for leaks as they do they quite early on.”
MasterChef Australia airs Sunday 7pm and Monday — Wednesday at 7.30pm on Channel 10 and 10Play.
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