5 reasons Masterchef Australia is 'heaps' better than Masterchef US

In the days when rosie was a newborn and we were still working on hitting our stride with nursing, i needed a tv show to watch that could take my mind off of my pain/discomfort and get me through long feedings when I could not move an inch lest totally ruin our nursing session. Those were the days before The Nanny was on netflix, so somehow, on one unremarkable day, Masterchef Australia became this show.
Our tedious breastfeeding times are over and we kick ass at it now but i still love to watch it! and I watch the US one too! But for anybody who cares, which I assume is nobody, this is a list of five reasons why Masterchef Australia beats Masterchef US in the contest of my opinion.

1- it airs 5 days a week.
simple logic means that even if masterchef AU didn't offer better than it's US counterpart in quality (which it does), it would still most likely win just because there is more of it.

2- the contestants actually like each other.
Like actually! they help each other! they don't talk bad about one another! They hug each other often! Masterchef AU is like a beautiful cooking utopia where everybody is nice and avocados grow on trees. If I had to decide which was a better country all round based only on these two tv shows, Australia would win hands down. (no offense, americans, but masterchef US kind of just makes everybody look like a huge dick)

3- the judges actually care about the contestants
They help them out! They offer them tips and tricks and i'll be darned if I can remember any one time where they berated, shamed or otherwise belittled any of the contestants. Even when they do have negative things to say about somebodies food, they do it in a nice almost apologetic way. I love them.

4- I've actually learned something!
At the end of each week, they have this thing called the masterchef masterclass where the judges and some guest chefs teach the contestants how to make some of their signature dishes and offer up tricks of the trade. Combine this masterclass with the little tidbits of culinary expertise that are thrown in each of the other episodes and you have a show that actually kind of enriches this viewer's life. Thanks Masterchef AU!

5- The drama doesn't seem as contrived.
This is kind of related to number 2, but different. It also is kind of related to 'reality' tv in general. Basically, when watching Masterchef US, you kind of get the impression after awhile that the contestants are encouraged to shit talk each other and the editors are encouraged to make every mundane detail into the hugest drama ever. subsequently, everything seems dishonest and eventually my desire to beat my head against a wall strts to win out over my desire to actually finish the episode. Masterchef AU does have it's drama and uses the typical cliffhanger-before-commercial-break trick, but all in all i find it much less desperate for ratings than Fox' US version, which isn't much of a surprise in itself.

BONUS REASON!
It's a novelty!
let's face it, it's just kind of got this adorable quality about it just because as a canandian i am exposed to the odd (usually pretty bad) bit of Canadian programming, but most of the shows i watch are produced in the US about people in the US. Masterchef AU is a beautiful gust of fresh air. (and yes, they have accents.)

Masterchef Australia
this isn't a sponsored post, i actually just really love the show.