Masterchef

First there was Big Brother, where we just watched people. Then we got bored with that and made them do one or more of the following:

• sing for their money (Australian Idol);
• travel for their money (Amazing race);
• hunt for their money (Survivor)
• pout for their money (Australia’s next top model); and
• dance for their money (So you think you can dance).

And finally we are now making them cook for their money in the new series ‘Masterchef’ (which is a much catchier title than what they were originally thinking – ‘So you think you can survive being Australia’s next amazing top cook’).

In case you haven’t seen it, Masterchef is a new reality television show where people make dishes that are sampled and judged by three high priests of the culinary world who quite amazingly can turn up their nose in approximately 22 different ways.

Notwithstanding their nasal flexibility and how patronising some of their comments can be, you may be wondering why I am writing this post? Well, simply put, it is to express my disbelief at how popular the show is, (and secretly how enjoyable it can be at times).

But my real question is why. In an age where we all want to be the judge of everything, not limited to, but including who is the best singer, dancer, hunter, and pouter, why have we given over our capacity to judge to three men simply because they have the unique ability to contort their face based on their sense of taste? But more significantly considering this loss of power to judge and decide, why is this show still so popular?

Any thoughts?