Little Master

Last night was, according to me one of the most epic battles in Masterchef history – on the one hand you had the cocky, sharp, uber confident David Miller…a stark contrast to the simple, Southern pastry princess Whitney Miller, often shaky, sometimes all over the place, but mostly with a firm head on her petite shoulders.  The Miller Vs Miller was a battle of true grit, one of dogged determination, of styles and presentations that were diametrically opposite from each other, truly  paisa vasool!

It was a classic battle of good versus evil here. And I’m chalking that up to the creative editing that the producers have been using all season on this show. Sweet Whitney versus pasty full-of-himself David. Everyone was pulling for her by the end of the challenge. I must admit, I thought she was dead in the water when she dropped her chicken. But as in all classic stories, she pulled it out and emerged triumphant. It was rather like a Disney movie. With cooking and stuff.

For the final challenge, Whitney won the judges over with a delicious and technically savvy gourmet three-course meal: an appetizer of Sweet Shrimp on a Crispy Corncake with Turnip Green Pesto, a main course of Buttermilk Chicken with Creamed Collard Greens and a dessert of Bread Pudding with Raspberry Coulis with White Chocolate Sauce.

During the final cook-off, Whitney remained focused, keeping her eye on the prize, while her opponent David Miller showboated and played to the crowd of onlookers, which included the previous MasterChef contestants and the finalists’ families. With a warning from Ramsay about turning his attention where it mattered–his food–David tuned in to the kitchen, but it was too little, too late.

I’m not sure what it is about these competitive reality shows, but there’s always a master ego in the finale. Much like Top Chef finalist Ed Cotton, David Miller was sure he had the winnings in the bag, and that over-confidence interfered with his ability to pull off the winning maneuvers.

Becoming the first U.S. Masterchef was a huge accomplishment for young Whitney. Not only will she get her very own cookbook, but that sweet check for $250,000 will definitely send her on her way into the culinary world. And as David Miller rightfully said, young Whitney is quite ready to ‘Bring It.’

Masterchef Mania

I’m addicted to TV. I can spend hours on end obsessed with the ‘IDIOT’ box, watching one mindless show after the other (read Splitsvilla and the like), but never really get bored. Reruns of Friends, repeats of My Wife and Kids, Nigella Lawson’s heaving bosom and paltry kitchen skills and Charlie Sheen up to no good every day – bring it on baby! If this is the curse of technology and hence television, then I revel and relish every single moment of it.

By now I think you have a fair idea about what I do in my free time (this is apart from the aged grape juice induced inebriation) and how I like spending it. So this brings me to one of my most favourite shows on TV at present – Masterchef. The American Idol of the cooking world if you will, Masterchef has taken the culinary world by storm, whipping up quite an appetite for foodies like me.

So, why is Masterchef such a success? Apart from being able to connect and see your dream being lived out on the teletube, there are other, subtler undercurrents in the Masterchef phenomenon, that need to be teased out if we are to understand its success.

 I think that the nature of the show is similar to most reality game shows. It's still about groups, people getting on together, liking each other, and yet competing. The fact that the audience isn't involved in ‘voting’ them out, takes some of the negativity out of it. The food thing is important as well. It taps into the whole desire for ‘authenticity’ trend, which in fact is something that fills the gap of class, religion, etc.

I guess you could even say the show invokes a romantic ideal of food, so we can escape from our everyday reality – which is counted in seconds, and we live each one of them. Moreover, I am not sure if it is a Gen Y and X thing (I hate those labels), but I think it taps into a deeper need for connection with people.

Simply put, shows like Masterchef make you feel good. It makes you want to go into the kitchen, imagine your own cookery contest and whip up a meal, only to be adjudged No 1 by the people you love. It makes you believe in the every day, the ordinary and the ability to convert that into something special. This is where it delivers – because it’s like a warm bowl of comforting goodness on a chilly winter night…and you know what? It doesn’t matter if the person making it was gastronomical guru Gordon Ramsay or a chunky, clunky and clumsy looking construction worker Jake. Ultimately, it warms the cockles of your heart!

Mistress of spices?

When Penelope Cruz served up the spaghetti with juicy tomatoes and stringy cheese, men world over heaved a collective sigh. She was clearly the Woman on Top as the sexy, saucy and seductive chef Isabella, who had the men lusting and drooling. In today’s world women chefs may be few and far in number, with male chefs like Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and Anthony Bourdain dominating the kitchen, but TRPs soar when the women preen, pose and stir up a storm.

What is it exactly that has women chefs scoring over men when it comes to TV? Ask any guy and he will simply say, “When Nigella Lawson gets on TV and teaches me a thing or two about how to chop onions, believe me I have my eyes glued. She is easily one of the hottest chefs I have seen and is it any wonder then that I’d rather watch her than a constipated Gordon Ramsay?”

We live in the golden age of chefs. Between your Batalis and Bouluds, your Vongerichtens and Riperts, your Masas and Morimotos, the arena is brimming over with cooking legends who not only practise world-class gastronomy, but also manage to turn themselves into million-dollar mega brands and names to reckon with. But sparing the occasional mention of a Martha Stewart or a Betty Crocker, the new range of celebrity women chefs seem to rely more on their glamour quotient to sell food. It is no wonder then that famed English chef Nigella Lawson has constantly been under the scanner for her flirtatious manner of presenting, and has been titled the ‘queen of food porn’ by critics. Also named as one of the world’s most beautiful women, Nigella has been accused of relying heavily upon her attractiveness and sexuality as a device to engage viewers.

When ex Lady Rushdie, Padma Lakshmi exploded on to the cooking scene; the viewers just couldn’t make sense of what they were seeing. Here was the ultra glam, highly sexy supermodel, who one would believe couldn’t make a proper cup of tea, telling us how to splutter mustard seeds in order to make the perfect sambhar! I’m sorry but when I think of Padma Lakshmi telling me how to cook the perfect meal, I just can’t take her seriously because these women only seem to sell their food through their fab looks and perfect 10 bodies. Hell, give me a Sanjeev Kapoor any day!

Also joining the bandwagon are chefs Anjum Anand and Rachel Ray. While yummy mummy Anjum’s well spoken Indo-Brit accent and flirtatious manner have led to her being dubbed the Nigella Lawson of Indian cuisine in Britain, Rachel Ray's foxy manner of presentation with her oohing, aahing and lip-smacking, has the men cheering loudly.

Lets face it - the women seem to be able to sell themselves mainly due to the glamour quotient; it helps when we have a scantily clad Padma Lakshmi talking to us about the merits of peanut oil, or when a voluptuous Nigella Lawson tells us how to make the perfect molten chocolate cake. It would be fair to say then that these women are primarily TV personalities and chefs later. That being said, I don’t see the men complaining; they may whimper, but it’s certainly not out of remorse!