“You girls are in the final of Australia’s first Masterchef,” exclaimed Judge George. Hooray! It was an unexpected result as Julie’s unfinished offerings didn’t look a chance against the polished presentation of Chris and Poh.
Of course, the problem with a Chris / Poh playoff was that their cooking joie de vivre appeals to a niche market – a fabulous, colourful, creative and sometimes crazy place – but still a niche market.
Two million viewers probably won’t cook stinky century eggs or glutinous pigs trotters. It’s a bit like chicken feet, which while delicious, are usually left on the yum cha trolley, at least by most non-Asian diners.
My post yesterday was attacked for stereotyping. But that is how these shows work. What has been wonderful about Masterchef is that these roles have been positive. They’ve been celebrated and nurtured. As one blogger said you can be Poh, the mad genius of the Masterchef kitchen and still be seen as a serious contender for the title.
Without great recognisable characters, the show wouldn’t work. Chris, was the beer and beast man. And Julie is the Susan Boyle / Paul Potts of Masterchef Australia. She is the archetypical home cook.
We can all relate to her cooking disasters – the baked cheese cake that slips from your hands onto the floor while unwitting dinner party guest wait expectantly in the next room. What choice do you have but to brush it off and plate it up!
Time after time she has survived her stuff-ups because what she cooks almost always tastes delicious. Sadly without the aid of delicivision we, poor folk in ‘viewer world’ just have to take the judges’ word for it. But, wait, there is an answer to this problem – we can buy her Masterchef cook book and cook her recipes for ourselves. Julie works the Masterchef formula, perfectly.
She also fits perfectly the demographic that is most addicted to the show – Gen X with kids. We may have given up on taking our karaoke Khe Sanh and Echo Beach to the Idol stage, but we can all aspire to be Julie. The dream is still alive.
I’m excited by the final. Not just because girls rule OK but because it’s hard to believe that these two terrific combatants made it through. It’s been a titanic battle for both of them and that’s what you want. I bet you would have got fabulous odds for picking this quinella.
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Greece makes the final and Ireland gets in on a golden ticket. How awkward and embarrassing. Love it. #sbseurovision
The weird thing about #eurovision is you've got this massive collection of dorks in a room and no one is wearing Spock ears #sbseurovision
Europe has the large hadron collider which is light years ahead of its time and #eurovision, where the eighties never die
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