The late switch from Mandarin to English was the right move for the upcoming MasterChef Singapore show, say the judges of the reality-TV cooking competition due to air this weekend.

Audra Morrice, one of the three judges, told The Straits Times in an interview ahead of the broadcast that the multicultural nature of Singaporean cuisine would be better represented when the programme is in English.

"If the show was in Mandarin and on a Mandarin channel, you might not get as much of the diversity in food," she said.

"You wouldn't get the sort of food that the Peranakans, the Indians and the Malays have brought to this show and made it so colourful. The show as it is now is really a good representation of Singapore."

MasterChef Singapore, which debuts on Sunday on Channel 5, has 18 Singaporean and Singapore permanent resident amateur cook contestants of different races and backgrounds competing for the title.

Morrice added that since Mandarin is not spoken by everyone in Singapore, the show may potentially leave out those who do not understand the language.

If the show was in Mandarin and on a Mandarin channel... You wouldn't get the sort of food that the Peranakans, the Indians and the Malays have brought to this show and made it so colourful. '' AUDRA MORRICE, one of the three judges of MasterChef Singapore

The other two judges, home-grown chefs Bjorn Shen and Damian D'Silva, who were also at the interview, nodded in agreement.

When it was announced in February that Singapore would get its own edition of MasterChef, the news caused a stir as the show was to air in Mandarin on Channel 8.

Many Singaporeans felt this would turn away participants and viewers who do not speakMandarin, an outcome that was not right for multi-ethnic Singapore.

Following the kerfuffle, Motion Content Group, which acquired the rights to produce MasterChef Singapore, said the show would air in English on Channel 5 instead.

In explaining the change, the company said in a statement in April that "as English rights were originally not available, the show was set to air on Channel 8''.

But following further negotiations, the programme "will now air for Singapore viewers on Channel 5 in English and reach a more diverse audience", it added.

The MasterChef cooking competition format, which originated in the United Kingdom in 1990 and has seen local spin-offs produced in more than 40 countries, pits amateur cooks against one another in various challenges.