MasterChef Australia offers a preview of how reality shows will proceed in the coronavirus era

Deadline

In the Australian version of the cooking reality show, which premiered last night, "additional hand sanitizing stations were put in across the set, while the cooking benches were spaced out further to keep contestants further away from each other and gloves were provided for team challenges where equipment was shared as well as when contestants went to get food from the store cupboards," reports Deadline's Peter White. "Extra sinks were also added as well as dedicated hand washing stations. In terms of the judges – this season featuring Andy Allen, Melissa Leong, and Jock Zonfrillo – they stepped up to taste the individually portioned meals and didn’t share cutlery or plates. Contestants were kept separated, and there were obviously no high-fives and hugs when things went well or badly. The first episode back helped as it was a relay challenge, where the contestants work one after each other, waiting for one cook to finish before stepping in."