General News
9 July, 2023
MasterChef at the Stick Shed
A PRIME-TIME audience of almost 700,000 viewers a week dined vicariously in Murtoa last night thanks to MasterChef. In an episode filmed locally at the start of March, the final five contestants in this series of MasterChef Australia visited the...
A PRIME-TIME audience of almost 700,000 viewers a week dined vicariously in Murtoa last night thanks to MasterChef.
In an episode filmed locally at the start of March, the final five contestants in this series of MasterChef Australia visited the Wimmera to embrace a grain cooking challenge.
At The Stick Shed, Murtoa, the production team put three would-be MasterChef champs – electrician Theo Loizou, carpenter Declan Cleary and digital content creator Brent Draper – through their paces as they vied for an all-important "immunity pin" while colleagues Cath Collins and Rhiannon Anderson cheered from the sidelines.
With The Stick Shed transformed into an incredible kitchen and dining space, the passionate amateur cooks embarked on a service challenge with Wimmera grains as the hero ingredient.
Set the task of serving up a spectacular three-course extravaganza, each was asked to feature a grain as the star of their chosen appetiser, main or dessert.
After three hours of cooking, the trio presented their gastronomic wonders to 25 hungry diners and the three host judges.
Those sitting down to enjoy the meal included representatives of the Murtoa Progress Association and Murtoa Events and The Stick Shed's committee and staff.
At 7.30pm last night, the result of the intense day in front of the cameras was broadcast nationwide on Network 10.
Among the Wimmera diners sampling the inventive menu was longtime Stick Shed committee member David Grigg.
“It was exciting to see what the contestants did with the grains that are the lifeblood of the Wimmera – it all tasted delicious,” Mr Grigg said.
"We were delighted to welcome MasterChef Australia to The Stick Shed and excited for the chance to show off 'the cathedral of the Wimmera' to the show’s massive national audience.
“There were about 60 production staff there who were brilliant.
“MasterChef respected and observed all restrictions in place, such as there were no open fires – they used induction cooktops."
To celebrate the episode's airing, participants reunited around the big screen at the Railway Hotel in Murtoa last night for a communal viewing.
Constructed from September 1941 to January 1942 as Murtoa No.1 Grain Store, The Stick Shed is the only surviving example of the emergency storage sites that were established to hold surplus grain when export shipping was disrupted by World War II.
In the midst of a steel shortage, the shed was erected largely from some 560 unmilled mountain ash poles believed to have been salvaged from forests burned in Victoria's 1939 bushfires.
In its heyday it held 3.5 million bushels or about 92,500 tonnes of wheat.
Today it's a major tourist attraction open to visitors seven days a week, a multipurpose performance and function venue, and a cultural space.
In 2014 The Stick Shed was added to the Australian National Heritage List.
Now in its 15th season, MasterChef is Australia's favourite cooking program, regularly number one in entertainment in the under-50 age-group on a Thursday night, averaging 694,000 viewers, and one of the top 10 shows nationwide.