A Christian Address Of Dalai Lama

A Christian contestant of a popular Australian cooking show, Kate Bracks refused to acknowledge Dalai Lama by his formal title when he was the guest star of the show last Sunday.

That was the religious test facing MasterChef mum Kate Bracks, who refused to acknowledge the religious leader by his formal title when he was the guest star of Sunday's episode.

The 36-year-old Christian from Orange was the only contestant who felt "uncomfortable" with the protocol, addressing him only as "Dalai".

His appearance created an emotion-charged challenge for the other five competitors, who all spoke of his "energy", "aura" and "amazing spirit".

But Bracks said she did not "see the Dalai as a holy man".

"My belief is that God is the only one that is perfectly holy," she said.

"So in terms of everybody calling him Your Holiness, that was probably the only aspect of the challenge I was uncomfortable with. I just called him Dalai Lama."

Interestingly, Baptist minister Tim Costello and Uniting Church minister Bill Crews, who joined the Dalai Lama for the lunch service, happily called him "Your Holiness".

While "privileged" to be part of the challenge, Bracks said, "To get down to the nuts and bolts, I don't see any difference if I'd cooked for (rival) Alana."

She questioned whether a Christian leader would have been "received so well" on TV, adding " ... probably not."