Masterchef 2010

So how has it been for you

Mastershout 2010 (thanks @fannyingabout for the name), sorry Masterchef 2010, has come a long way from the days of Loyd Grossman and his deliberations and cogitations on the sofa with celebrity guests.

However like so many of these formula (or reality type) shows I think it is about to reach its sell by date. My view is that in an attempt to offer a new angle the show seems to be drifting towards what I would describe as an unhealthy emphasis on presentation first, flavour and ingredients second unless the dish has BIG FLAVOUR (sorry for shouting again), no subtlety here.

Then last night when I thought I had the formula worked out they turned it on its head, the contestant with the best presentation skills and a good grasp of flavours and cooking beats the cook with the same attributes but with no presentation skills. If I'm right and this was a blip in the formula, this person, who does great food, will not get much further.

In an earlier round they did not put any body through from one contest for a quarter final place, a good move as none were good enough, but then in another show 2 excellent cooks went home whilst a couple of mediocre cooks were able to compete for a quarter final.

I know it's a tough job that John and Greg have but I think sometimes they are some what wide of the mark when judging what is in front of them, unless there is something else that we are not seeing.

Then there are the contestants themselves, most, though not all, want to win Masterchef so that they can open their own restaurant, well WHY, oops sorry shouting again, do you have to win Masterchef before you do it, if you are any good and you want your restaurant half as much as winning Masterchef then you won't need the competition to achieve your aim.

So why go on Masterchef, that's a tough one, and I would like to do it, given the time to practice, for me it would be to push myself in all the different areas that you get to experience going through the rounds, you must also learn a lot from the top chefs and just to be in all those different cooking environments working with people at the top of their game, now that would be fun and challenging.

Talking of fun, and this is my point in all this, FOOD SHOULD BE FUN, sorry shouting again, food is something that brings people together, the biggest moments of our lives almost all involve food somewhere along the line and luckily most occasions are happy ones, with the food and drink helping people feel even better about that special event.

Yes food has to look good, but people don't really remember food by saying wow didn't that plate of food look good, no above all it has to taste good, then it stays in the memory, a bad tasting meal also has the same effect on the memory, good looking or not. So far this series there has only been one dish that has stuck in my mind that I want to try and that was John's lobster and crab omelette, and I have been ill every time I have eaten lobster so far in my life!

I have enjoyed, no loved, watching Masterchef over the years but I think the time is approaching where it is time to hang up the aprons, let John and Greg's vocal chords recover from all that shouting, and move on.

Good luck to all the semi finalists in 2010, you have done a great job getting where you have, you are way better than me at the moment, and deserve to be there. My wife and I love cooking, we cook for our guests in our B&B, and we have fun doing it, we hope the guests have fun eating it too because that is what it is all about, there is no better sound than the buzz of people talking and laughing and enjoying, good company, good food and good wine. We come from the Mitra (8th Semi finalist on masterchef 2010) school of presentation, put it onto the plate and let the food do the talking.

We are getting better with our presentation, however we care more about our ingredients, where they come from and how they taste, presentation is second to having a good time cooking with good local ingredients and enjoying eating with happy contented people around the table, THAT'S tops for us, THAT'S what we call Masterchef.

I could go on for ages but I'll stop now and sorry about the shouting

Cheers


Darren