The Best Australian Cooking Shows To Sink Your Teeth Into

For a country that has a deep pride in foods that seem to baffle the rest of the world (cough, Vegemite), our love for cooking shows is an inspiring, if not intriguing part of our culture. But put on any channel or streaming service and you’re sure to find an absolute ripper cooking or reality show that features a steady stream of some of the world’s top chefs. 

It’s been tricky, but we’ve managed to sort through the many, many food shows we have to offer and find the best Australian cooking shows to suit your palate.

Island Echoes with Nornie Bero

For the perfect mix of culture, community and food, it doesn’t get better than Island Echoes. Hosted by acclaimed Torres Strait Islander chef and cultural ambassador Nornie Bero, you’ll get taken directly into her world while she cooks some absolutely delicious looking food with locally sourced ingredients from her home in the Torres Strait. Maybe don’t watch this one hungry, because you will want to eat absolutely everything. 

You can stream Island Echoes on SBS.

MasterChef Australia

The Cook Up With Adam Liaw

If you haven’t come across the cooking show from celebrity chef Adam Liaw (and former MasterChef winner), the good news is you have eight seasons ready for you to catch up on. This fun series sees Adam invite guests into his home to cook up a feast. This is a cooking show at its best – a great host, a fun rotation of guests and easy tips that you can actually use at home. Guests have included Emma Watkins from The Wiggles, Kitty Flanagan, Ariarne Titmus and Becky Lucas. 

You can watch The Cook Up on SBS.

Memory Bites With Matt Moran

This is a food series with a bit of a twist. Australian cooking show mainstay and celebrity chef Matt Moran hosts this six-part series that explores food memories with a lineup of special guests. Think This Is Your Life but with tasty dishes. The guests are great – think Pia Miranda and Courtney Act – and there are a few poignant moments in there to get you in the feels. 

You can watch Memory Bites on SBS.

Everyday Gourmet with Justine Schofield

If you’re looking for a tried and tested cooking show, look no further than Everyday Gourmet. This series has been running for 14 years and takes you through cooking recipes step by step with a bunch of fun guests thrown in. If you want to pick up some excellent cooking tips or just want to feel a bit less hopeless in the kitchen (maybe that’s just me?!) Everyday Gourmet is the show for you.

You can watch Everyday Gourmet on TenPlay or SBS.

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My Market Kitchen

What’s better than popping down to your local market and soaking up the sweet smells of fresh ingredients? That’s the basis of My Market Kitchen, where top-notch chefs head down to local Aussie markets, and unlike me do not purchase their weight in fresh pastries, but instead load up on local ingredients. We then watch as they whip up a culinary storm with their purchases. The show is packed with helpful tips, surprise guests and inspiring but achievable recipes. What more could you want?

You can watch My Market Kitchen on TenPlay.

A Taste Of Australia With Hayden Quinn

MasterChef alumni Hayden Quin brings you this absolute gem of a show which is kind of like a combination travel and cooking show. In the show, the relentlessly likeable and curious Hayden explores the hidden pockets of Australia to showcase our diverse landscape, produce and the people behind it all. What’s not to like about that? Expect stunning Aussie landscapes, tasty food and to learn a little something in each episode.

You can watch A Taste of Australia on 7Plus and SBS.

Poh's Kitchen

The ray of sunshine and Australian cooking icon Poh Ling Yeow offers this refreshing and approachable cooking show that invites you to learn and experiment with her in the kitchen. Her approach is about experimenting with food, but knowing the rules so you can bend them. To do this, she invites the best of the best into her kitchen to cook with her. The result is a very welcoming and fun show that brings you along for the ride without making you feel like an amateur. At the same time, you get to see the best of the best in culinary skills and cuisines. 

You can watch Poh’s Kitchen on ABC iView.

My Kitchen Rules

Another mainstay in Australian food reality TV shows is My Kitchen Rules, a home cooking counterpart to MasterChef. This show sees contestants representing their home states create an instant restaurant and compete to be crowned the best home cooks. The real beauty of this show is the comments from their fellow competitors/diners who they cook for each episode, and the dialled up drama that we have all come to expect and love. You’ll see some truly unhinged moments, romances (yep!) and some surprisingly good food.

You can watch MKR on 7Plus.

Main image credit: SBS