Why Poh Will Win MasterChef Australia And Why I No Longer Care.
I am pleased to offer Defamer Australia readers this very special guest post penned by Lee Sandwith. MasterChef viewers, are you also outraged about Poh making it into the final?
Poh had the opportunity to audition twice which was a gift not bestowed upon any other contestant. Her first audition meal was nothing short of a disaster but the instinctual powers of the judges saw the inner-chef glowing within Poh’s spirit and allowed her the chance to release her magic on their palates once more with a second chance audition. Poh was clearly from the outset one of the judge’s favourites and sped through to the Top 20.
Poh was bought back after being eliminated. Again, the judges knew that there was magic inside Poh and that it would be remiss of them; a crime even to let her slip away from the MasterChef grasp. Fair? Probably not. But who cares when someone has magic inside them?
Poh has vision. Well, she didn’t always have vision but when she was able to return back into the MasterChef fold, she knew that she was expected to have a vision and managed to miraculously find one. Poh now knows for certain that her future is a life of weekends and holidays spent cooking other people’s food.
Poh no longer has any opposition. Her strongest opponent Chris, a chap who always had unfaltering vision and talent, was eliminated last night. This leaves Poh’s only adversary a sweaty, terrified roast cook who looks like she is going to break every time she presents her food to someone. Tough competition? Hardly.
Poh is good looking and marketable. She doesn’t butcher the English language and will be able to present the Masterchef brand with glossy hair and eloquent diction. Masterchef is a brand and of the final two, Poh will be the one that can sell it.
I am not bothered if Poh wins or not now.
The saddest part for me is that the best show of the year, as well as the fabulous Matt Preston has now been stripped of all credibility in my view. The rules have been inconsistent and whim based which was entirely evident in last night’s episode and the death of the reputation of the judges’ authority on what makes a great cook.
Because it is now apparent that being a MasterChef is not about having the best skill, creative or commercial vision, or ability to handle the pressure of working in busy kitchens or even base marketability. It is simply about being in favour with the judges and not what the brief claims to be.
I’ll watch the ending but it will be with little enthusiasm and mostly to close a viewing chapter in my life.
Comments
I completely agree.
One of the best chefs on the show, the best focus and the most consistent, is gone.
Not only did Poh audition twice and was brought back, but has also been showed more leniency from the judges than any other contestant.
I still cant believe that they bring back Lucas and Julia, just to eliminate them in successive weeks.
I am not even sure if I will watch the finale, I certainly won’t care who wins, just that this show is over.
Such a shame. :(
Hi Guy
We were ardent fans of this show – I say were. The first disappointment was when they bought Poh back into the comp after elimination. The second is that the “book idea” was I thought, to be judged on presentation on the meal. Julie did not even finish hers and yet is still a competitor. I have no doubt that it was planned for Poh to win (and this has been my opinion from near day 1). Who needs another asian restaurant!!!! I personally think it is boring food and was gunning for Chris.
Anyway sufice to say I will not be watching any further shows as it is like everything in this age – political in its bias.
Zita
I thing that Poh will win even though i want Sam ,Julia,Josh,Kate,Justine,Julie and tom.
Im watching the final now and Poh and Julie r there so i want julie to win. Poh doesnt deserve it
Look, as convincing as your argument is in your article, as a viewer, you have to realize one thing – you are not tasting the food that is being put out to the judges…so in that matter, what makes you feel like you have more insight to this matter than them? Maybe consider there are other forces being at work here than you are assuming.
Here Here. Well written, well said, Yahoo to you! Only thing I don’t agree with you – I WONT be watching the ending as I really don’t care now – they lost me as soon as they cast their votes. What a joke
What can I say other than “well said”. As much as I like Poh & Julie from our relationship through a tv screen, it should be Justine & Chris in the final! They are the 2 most deserving because of their consistency, ability & talent.
What I don’t understand is, on a cooking show, how can you serve up a piece of fish that isn’t cooked and still pass?
Hello, isn’t that job #1? Y’know, actually cooking the food?
Frankly as brand Justine would have been a much more effective flag.Obviously your agument falls short.
You can not argue that Poh did cook quite well the last few weeks 9beside the wedding). yesterday she was the best again.
it s the game, deal with it.
Yes – it does seem ridiculous that Po is still in – she has had so many chances it is not funny. But I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that the show is rigged – everything today on tv is either to make money or for marketing purposes one way or the other. Sad as it is, that is just the way it is. Best of luck to Chris and Julie in future endeavours.
Julie only presented half her meal,the rest was unmade or raw.
She should have departed.
I thought Julie should have gone after her ‘pie’ debacle the other night. How she stayed is beyond me.
hey jayne, it was the water works and I noticed the judges quickly changed their minds when donna haye came on, you could tell she didn’t like chris!
It all comes down to who had the best dish on the day, and Julie’s dish may have been unfinished, but it was apparently delightful to eat, while Chris’s was not.
If Chris had not been eliminated, after they disliked every one of his dishes, then that would have been the true outrage.
Remember, it’s just a game. Chris has been the only one carefully playing the game, and in this final instance, his ultimate vision of his cookbook was incomplete, and of questionable popularity, so that also counted against him. He’ll be the first to admit that, if he didn’t fulfil the rules of the day, then he must be eliminated.
Also remember that every one of the final six will undoubtedly go on to success purely due to their exposure on the show. Who wins or loses on Sunday isn’t really relevant anymore.
i totally agree with GuanoLad.
at the end of the day, if the judges don’t like the taste of the dish, then why keep that person in the comp?
chris is so up himself, he didn’t DESERVE to win, i mean yeah he may have mad some really good dishes, and i know that the show isn’t exactly about what type of person you are and stuff, but when he got voted out, Julie was crying and he didn’t even say “congratulations” or “thankyou” to the judges, he just sat there being all pompus. and also, as for julie going through to the final, when you’re food is being photographed for a cookbook, you wouldn’t be under a “time limit” such as 1 or 2 hours, you’d have as long as you need (within reason) so the fact that she didn’t have ALL her food on her plate, shouldn’t come across as such as bad thing. and the fact that julie had thought out her cookbook idea so well, proved she REALLY wants this. oh and also i LOVE poh too. i don’t care who wins out of the two.
anyways, thats it from me, oh and i didn’t mean to offend anybody from what i wrote, thats just my opinion.
♥
And to top it off what is the point of having a timed cookoff when, in Julies case she left out quite a bit of stuff from her plates of food and no penalty was given.
Very dissapointed and it leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
I was a believer in fair game – the judges destroyed my beliefs and the show through favouring certain participants – I could not sit down to a Julie meal knowing that the cook (I couldn’t use the word chef) had sweated over every part of the food during the entire cooking process nor would I be prepared to get part of the meal many hours after I had placed the order.
She is totally out of control in a kitchen.
Other participants showed flair competence and imagination in honing their skills to present edible well presented dishes.
I wont be watching the final as the real competitors were axed by the beaurocracy hiding behind pretend judges
Tony
i agree with Tony, would not eat Julie’s food after seeing how she was sweating over all the dishes. i could not warm up to the woman, had the tears turn on at the right time, that is every episode, as she made so many mistakes, she is not a chef, she is a wife and mother who loves to cook, so many of us are the same, but we know where our limits are. agree that we were not there to taste the food. but how often did she not finish her plates, but when she brought to the judges, it looked OK……
I disagree. Poh is by far the most creative performer. Her food usually looks exquisite. She overwhelmingly crushed Chris and Julie last night with food that looked like a work of art. She takes more risks than the others which does leave her more vulnerable in a competition like this. She wasn’t the only one brought back for a second chance. Poh’s the go!
Pete, everything Julie served was cooked. Nothing raw there.
I’m not sure what people were expecting – MC is just a variety show with saucepans. Poh is telegenic; Julie is a relatable earth mama with reliably leaky tear ducts. As long as they can tell a carrot from a stick, then it’s best story wins. Reality TV contests are all about the ‘journey’ -I’m surprised anyone thinks it’s a genuine cooking competition.
It’s “brought back”, not “bought back”
Can you prove money wasn’t involved, young man? CAN YOU?
Ad ignorantium much?
If you watch the collection of the series most telling moments, you can see who the obvious winner is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1BDM1oBRJ8
Poh will win definitely win (not being biased here) Julie’s cooking is inconsistent and you can see she sweats…all over the food (one point a judge asked her to wipe herself clean)
the only reason why Julie is still in the competition is because she attracts viewers. All the moms just like Julie are rooting for Julie. Think how many families, just like Julie, are watching. They cannot get rid of her because all the moms follow their favourite chef. That is why judges favors Julie.
In the semi-finals (where Chris was eliminated), Julie BEAT chris with one poor excuse of a flourless chocolate cake that looked absolutely horrid. Her lamb was just a cooked piece of lamb without any sauce (and the judges said it was PERFECTLY cooked and didn’t comment further).
They need someone to be able to market. Chris wouldn’t win because he is only in masterchef for the learning of how to mix food with beer. Everything to do with beer. He has no plans of further improving his cooking skills. They cannot market that.
I am a mother of 3 and part of the viewing demographic of this show. I am not a contributor to blogs usually but I had high expectations of this show because it appeared to be a higher integrity reality show than the usual fare. That belief was destroyed last night and I have lost all interest. I am not watching the masterclass that is on at the moment and I won’t watch the finale nor the next series. Channel Ten you have destroyed my faith in this show. I don’t have a ratings book so I won’t figure in your ratings figures, but be assured there are many like me who won’t be watching the ads that accompany this show and therefore the people who have paid to advertise will be getting less advertising bang for their buck!!
I generally am a nobody and never blog on websites until now!!…Well written, fair points and of course Donna Hays opinion I believe swayed the vote. I just wanted to say with all the hype didn’t you all thoroughly enoy watching it.
All those lucky contestants were also nobody’s and that is what I enjoyed about this show.. It was just good & fun television.
Boycote, say it is a conspiracy, unfair, cook book sales.does it really matter in the grand scheme. It made good tv, it educated people, we had a diverse group of contestants of all ages and gender, the two hosts were brilliant and wow Matts cowboy fresian cow boots.woo hoo!
Maybe Chris needs to smile more?
Maybe Julie forte is cakes?…
My favourite was Justin…
Hello, how did Julie get chosen and who would want to buy a book that teaches you how to make roast potatoes and mash potatoes – her meals last night were a failure!!! And her pie that was a puddle, at least Lucas could call his a pie!! I thought it was a great show but it is rigged. what a dissapointment.
wow… get over it!
they cook great food and give the recipies for free on the site. it helps australian’s learn how to better cook for themselves and save some $$’s staying in and cooking great food for them and theirs. who loses here? oh yeah, julie.
Really,it is a shame that Chris, Justine and Julia were eliminated.
I dont understand why Julie is in the finale. Her last performence was a disaster, her food was incomplete and the presentation of the dishes very poor. In generall her cooking never impresse me. She should had gone long before others with more potential. I do a much better job for my family and friends.
However regarding POH is another history. She dares to be different, she takes risks, she is innovative and criative. Nothing wrong in giving her a second chance (others have it too). Most amazing histories of success in this world come from people that had a second and third chance.
So, I have to disagree with you.
POH deserves to win. She is a MUST.
well you all look a bit silly now don’t you… NO POH in first place now.
Question, did anyone commenting about this show taste one single dish made by any contestant?
Thought provoking isn’t it.. that you all have an opinion without ever eating a bite of the food. Lets face it a mud pie can still look like a pie but taste like poop!
I think there are enough food critics out there already who do a fine job of TASTING and critiquing, whereas you’all seem to think a critique can be made without a mere morsel of food
Get off your opinionated high horse and congratulate the winner.
Great article! But…
At the audition stage, Poh wasn’t the only one given another chance. There was definitely another bloke who was allowed to serve up another dish but blew it so never heard of him again.
Justine was also given a second chance alongside Poh but i don’t hear people harping on about this. Besides, is it contestants’ fault that they’ve been given another chance? Should this be held against them? Every sane person would take it.
And what about Julie’s multiple chances? Julie being allowed through the final stages may not be as explicit a second chance as contestants being brought back after elimination but essentially Julie’s the one favoured with the infinite cats’ 9 lives. How she’s still there ahead of Justine, Chris, even Julia, is anyone’s guess. IMHO, Julie’s dishes were always inferior to theirs.
You can hardly say that Poh was getting through the finals week on favouritism. She’s held her own, kept her cool, hardened her focus, used her advantages well all the while maintaining her courage to present new things to the judges as well as execute these dishes with flair and creativity. Her comments from even the guest judges were always positive. She is technically the better cook and she’s proven her worth. I never personally liked Poh all that much up until now but her whackiness and personality have grown on me as has her cooking style, funnily enough. At the very least her MasterChef journey is a respectable one. I’m still gutted that it’s not Chris up there in the finale. He and Poh i thought, augured in the very first MC promo, were destined to culinary headtohead battle.
Julie is a complete joke.
I have watched masterchef from the beginning and have fallen in love with the judges and the contestants alike. How can we criticise when we have seen the judges themselves ache over contestants going home. And yes like a lot of other people I feel Poh has had more chances than other contestants. I’m 70 and hate cooking but I want Julie as my mother and when Sam said he was going home to cook the best meal for his wife I thought I’d have him as my husband.(sorry Sam I’m married and really too old for you). What a great show it has been and I don’t serve up any more but I now plate up the terrible meals that I cook. Good on you channel 10. I have watched other similar shows from America and how much nicer ane our judges and contestants.