NB: this post was written a few days before Melissa Leong got "axed from the series" and announced her departure. Unfortunately, it seems the woke... sorry, the joke is getting even bigger. To be continued!!
I've always believed criticism is a marvellous thing. It's the key to improvement. It's designed to help the world get better. But indeed, it can only work if the world is clever enough to accept it. And unfortunately, not everyone is smart enough to admit they're wrong or they just don't fit in.
I love cooking shows for many reasons. I like cooking and I'm always curious about food. I like to see how people react when they have to make dishes and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It's a great lesson in life and it's what experience and aging well are about.
For many years, MasterChef Australia was one of my favorite cooking shows. I appreciated the team of judges, especially George Calombaris, except during the last season (obviously and clumsily biased). All their comments would help me to understand not only how the dishes could taste, but also their making and the vibes on the set.
From the 8th season, it was clear that the show needed a bit of renewal, though it was still running ok-ish. 2019, as mentioned previously, was not correct in many ways.
And then came 2020 and a brand new set of judges. Out with "old-school" and "classic", the new judges are there with a clear mission: wake-up the viewers.
I recently watched that "season of change" again. After having seen the latest season (15th), I felt like I had to do that... Just to see if it was becoming worse and worse (it's not, the 2020 judging was probably the worst ever).
To be straight, I've never liked this new set of judges at all. I think they killed the show.
According to me, this new version lacks spontaneity, focus and a sense of moderation. Of course, the contestants tend more and more towards professionalism. They've been practising, studying. In the "Back to Win" 2020 season, quite a few were actually professionals, running their restaurants or specialized businesses.
But then... shouldn't the judges have become more and more professional too?
In my opinion, that's not the case at all, even if two of them were/are actual chefs and restaurant owners.
One of my my main problems is that I can't get information from their comments. I mean, about the food...
It's ok to describe a dish as "like, epic", but if you're a diner, not a judge on a TV show!
It's ok to have recourse to jargon and a universal "one-fits-all' comment (i.e. not based on the ingredients but on a few repetitive abstract words) dish after dish, but it sounds like your taste buds are deficient.
It's ok to hold the plate one centimeter from your nose, but it shows that your sense of smell is not particularly acurate (wouldn't this be a prerequisite?).
It's ok to try and distract the attention from the real subject with fancy dresse, as aprons don't fit everyone.
It's ok to talk more about the "heritage" of contestants than what they actually cooked or can cook. Also ok to try and play shrink to the cooks when they are in the middle of their prep time and add so much fake drama it starts smelling like a soap opera.
Actually...NO!!! Nothing of this is ok! It just ruins the show!
There's certainly a phenomenon of "wearing out" when it comes to cooking shows. The "déjà-vu" effect has to be kept at bay carefully. The contestants are now making intricate dishes with a plethora of appliances, which means quite a few viewers won't be able to do that at home. After so many years, it's becoming a hard game.
If you add to these difficulties judges that don't really fit in, with no real technical or human added value, then it's game over...
On top of that, I must underline one more negative aspect. It's my very own feeling, but after a few Internet checks I see many share it. I think a certain dose of political correctness has been injected into MasterChef Australia and those new judges are there to make sure this is implemented. Mind gender, mind ethnicity, mind this and mind that... Everything must be "balanced" and "cohesive", dishes and the rest, above all the rest.
In such instances, the result is always the same: less talent, less overall quality. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, every time, whatever the subject.
Besides, this political correctness always comes with the refusal of criticism. If you dare to say something negative, you're a "hater" or you're "having a bad day" according to (at least one of) those judges... No, Melissa, I'm not having a bad day, I just don't like your bland comments and your showing off. I don't like the fact that you never cook on the show either. And whoever says you don't belong has the right to do so, whatever they do in life. I'm sure you are smart enough to take it the right way. One can not be a critic without accepting criticism, obviously. It would be a joke. Or they would be a fraud...
In France, they say "qui aime bien, châtie bien" (usual translation: "spare the rod and spoil the child"). I used to love MasterChef Australia. I still like it. So I had to be a bit tough here. I hope the show goes on and that it will get the judges it deserves again. Fair, credible, good. Obsessed with nothing else than food.
For the viewers, the contestants, and the beautiful freedom of criticism.