The Show That Shifted a Debate and Ended Up in Canberra

If Masterchef were a politician, it would have already won the federal election.

We all know what the show has done for farmers' markets (can we still get anything decent after 10am?!), kitchenware sales, restaurant dining, cookbooks and cooking schools (what is the waiting time to take a class in the Agrarian Kitchen?)  No political party could take credit for such a directly attributable positive economic influence.


Then it was announced that the first major political party leader electoral debate would be held this Sunday evening.  Channel 7 and Channel 9 scrambled to ensure that they could televise the debate live.  Channel Ten did not move a single muscle.  Then the debate was "scheduled" to be at 630pm, a full hour earlier than the time its predecessors had been broadcast across Australia.

The reason (as we are all speculating)?  730pm Sunday is the time that Channel Ten has scheduled to screen the final episode of this year's Masterchef.  All the political pundits agreed that the earlier screening time was a smart move to avoid the black-out that Masterchef was likely to cause for all other channels, but still felt it was a risky move to have the debate on the same night as the season finale.  For the debate, that is, not for Masterchef.

To add salt to injury, Channel Ten decided that it will not broadcast the debate at all.  No, it will be the night for light entertainment and the most popular culinary reality show in Australian TV history instead. 

Then tonight we saw the three last surviving contestants cooking for the Governor General of Australia and thirty-two guests at her Canberra residence.  They took on responsibility for ensuring that the three-course meal turned out impeccably for Her Excellency, the veteran hostess of dinner functions, under the eagle eye of her head chef.   Finally, an episode that is reminiscent of the Great British Menu challenges BBC sets for their professional chefs.

One can only wonder what would have happened in Canberra if Jimmy had not plunged onto his own sword in last night's episode and got kicked out for not sticking to his specialty cuisine (I do not think that anybody was convinced for a second that the soapy-flavoured prawn bisque would fit into his envisaged cookbook about the food that his family cooked, and puh-lease the excuse that you cannot make curry look good on a book cover...)

After 33 serves of smoked trout, roast lamb and chocolate fondant, they sat and were judged.  Then... the two South Australians were (are?) left to "grab each other and scream like school girls", as Adam would have put it.

Adieu, Claire.  Adieu, Claire's Tears.  Alvin tried so hard, but no, Claire, you still take out the Crying Queen title for this season .

Will a South Australian-born Malaysian Chinese finally take it after Poh took the runner-up position last year, or will the very young ex-dishwasher Barossa dessert chap stand up to the challenge?

Let the house dinner party organising for Sunday's grand final begin! :)

*This blog is dedicated to SL who is out of the country and thus missing the entire final week of Masterchef...*