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Mindy wins Immunity Pin with (more than) a little help from her friends

Huh? MasterChef's Mindy Woods has won the first Immunity Pin for 2012 -by serving up the weakest dish of the nght.

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Is this how it was supposed to work?

30 year old Mindy Woods has won the first Immunity Pin in MasterChef 2012.

Woods, a Physiotherapist from Queensland, chose Amina and Audra to help her cook-off against a trio of professional chefs.

The judges awarded Woods and her team the top honours, landing her an Immunity Pin.

But the irony was it was Amina and Audra who made the best dishes, whilst Woods’ dish was deemed to be the weakest. Yet it was she won who the Immunity Pin.

Have the producers efforts to make Immunity challenges fairer this year just backfired?

Corrected.

20 Responses

  1. The idea of an immunity device in general takes this Show from skills to strategy and then the first to be sacrificed is ability. People then start to act badly and tactically. What happened to the food?

    The best strategist wins and potentially the best cook never shines because their being out manoeurvre’d and psychologically stalked.

    That’s where Masterchef loses my interest as it debases itself. I watched it for the ideas about food and watching people improve; not go to any lenghts to outwit each other.

  3. I agree that there should be some incentive for the assistants to win, but I don’t think it’s right to deny credit to Mindy.

    Anyone can make an inferior dish at any time, but part of the challenge is picking a team that will take two out of three dishes.

    Mindy got to compete for the pin because she was the person who won the challenge. She won the pin because she picked teammates who were willing and able to secure the victory for her.

  4. @nrc02, I agree. This immunity challenge format is very open to sabotage. I also cannot imagine Julia (uber competitive) or the older woman with short gray hair (can’t think of her name) putting themselves out for anybody to help them win immunity. If they were chosen they would possibly be passive-aggressive and sabotage the attempt in some way. As the comp progresses, I’m sure we’ll see incidents of sabotage happen as there is too much at stake for the sunshine and lollipops, happy helper schtick to continue. Maybe that is what the producers want, heightened drama with these challenges.

  5. I think you will find that head chef’s take all the credit for the kitchen they run. Kitchens run as a team effort with the head chef at the top running the show, many of which barely cook, instead manning the pass or designating orders.

    The new format prepares contestants to work as a team, under the control of someone above them.

    Mindy commanded her to team to victory, why shouldn’t she take the credit.

  6. This immunity challenge format is basically unfair to the “helpers”. As others have said here the helpers should also be rewarded in some way. I am also thinking that as the competition progresses why would a helper do a good job for someone else which may be detrimental to their own aspirations. For example I don’t imagine someone like Julia, who is very competitive, would be happy about helping someone else win immunity. This format is perfect for sabotage.

  7. So would you all be saying the same thing if it was reversed? Say Mindy did cook the best dish of the day but her ‘helpers’ both served the terrible dishes…causing Mindy to loose the immunity. I bet you all would be ok with that.

    I think this year is a massive improvement on last year. It’s a game of strategy as well as talent for cooking. Mindy chose a strong team and won because of it. Good for her I say.

  8. I like the format better of coming up with a 3 course meal – but yes the plan backfired a little.

    Maybe if they were to show more of Mindy (or the winner) delegating the tasks out and coming up with the menu – do they do that or is each team member left to their own will to create something?

    It should be Mindy who has to develop the ideas for the recepie and delegate how she wants it run – just like a head chef would be in a restaurant.

    To be fair – a restaurant that receive a chefs hat for outstanding food – is not necessarily all because of the head chef – but the collaboration of all chefs in that kitchen – same applies here – but it is the head chef that gets the recognition – sometimes life is a bitch….

  9. @Carly2383: Or, if the contestant’s dish doesn’t win but the team wins overall, the team-mates get to share an immunity pin for the remainder of the competition. If one chooses to use it later then so be it; if they decline then it passes to the one remaining team-mate.

    That’d also stop the contestant up for elimination choosing either (a) their friends or (b) the same few contestants over and over – because they won’t want them collecting too many immunity pins.

  10. Total and utter backfire. She should not have been awarded the pin as her dish was the worst, it was absolutely pathetic in comparison to the two done by her teammates. Come on, producers, fix this damn immunity challenge. It has never worked properly and you have had four seasons to get it right and it is still a Z-grade stuff-up.

  11. I agree. Mindy didn’t earn the immunity pin on her own cooking. I think like the others said it should be one chef up against one contestant.

  12. Carly2383 – that is a great idea! The assisting cooks deserve some sort of reward!

    Couldn’t believe Mindy got immunity after serving up such a pathetic, uninspired dish!

  13. That was a definite backfire.

    My only consolation is that Amina and Audra are much better cooks and hopefully that will carry them through the competition without having to rely on an immunity pin.

    It would be fairer if the two assisting cooks were given immunity for the next elimination only. That way they still benefit in some way.

    Even fairer still would be one on one competition between 1 masterchef contestant and 1 chef.

  15. David it was Audra not TK and it was Audra and/or Amina who deserved the immunity pin not Mindy. For the second time in an immunity cook off Amina’s dish was successful and MIndy’s dish failed…if this gets you immunity then ok I guess, but to me it’s very unfair ! Starting to get very annoyed with Masterchef, yet again.

  16. Yes, looks like MC has done it again, after the last two seasons immunity wins against non chefs, now the contestant wins immunity with the weakest dish, but her selected teammate has the best, but she doesn’t get the immunity, huh!!! MC, don’t stuff it up again this season

  17. Hi David

    Long-time fan of your site.

    Mindy’s dish also lost last week, with Amina winning both weeks.

    Minor fix that it was Audra not TK that helped with the best dish of the night.

    Keep up the great work!

  19. Hi,
    A really important correction is needed as Mindi’s helpers were incorrect in the article. It was not TK who cooked this week.

    Mindi won her immunity pin with the help go Amina and Audra last night. Audra cooked the dish of the day…a salmon sashimi that the judges said best blended the flavour of the key ingredient- kiwi fruit.

    TK did not cook with Mindi this week, but I think she might have last week in Mindis first immunity challenge.

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