'MasterChef' big hit in India

Melbourne: 'MasterChef Australia', whose ratings have taken a hit Down Under, has blazed a trail into the hearts of the Indian television audience.

Matt Preston , one half of the judging duo on Network Ten's current spin-off 'MasterChef: The Professionals,' attributed the success of the TV cooking game show in India to the fabled Australian lifestyle, the Age reported.

He said that in markets where English is not the primary language, the TV series shows that Australians have a beautiful lifestyle.

For the past three years, the show has been shown in India on the Star World channel and so far seasons two to four of ' MasterChef Australia' plus two seasons of ' Junior MasterChef' and one of ' MasterChef All Stars,' have been aired.

Rasika Tyagi, senior vice president, English programming of Star India, said that since season three of the show was aired, it has broken all the records in the 9pm slot and has become the No.1 show in the category.

Besides that, the show also led Star World to No.1 (in the English news and infotainment and lifestyle genre) during the time it was on air.

Following the success of the Australian version, the network decided to dish up an Indian version, and has already aired two seasons of 'MasterChef India.'