Top 5 reasons Masterchef’s overcooked

Alexandra Carlton never thought she’d tire of Masterchef. But then she once thought the same thing about Big Brother. And Australian Idol. (And Barbie and the Rockers.) Despite Masterchef still pulling record viewers, are the following five signs suggesting Masterchef is poised to jump the shark?

The Dalai Lama

The arrival of his holiness The 14th Dalai Lama in The Masterchef Kitchen earlier this week was awkward, to say the least. It was hard to see exactly why the saffron-robed one was there, especially as his take-home message seemed to be “Don’t judge things” – a tricky mantra to uphold when you’re being asked to judge things.

Everyone’s cooking is … inconsistent, to put it politely

In previous seasons there was always a Julie or a Poh or a Marion or an Andre upon which one could reasonably pin one’s hopes. This year, any good dish feels more like a freak accident than grand design. When the previously unremarkable Ellie won an immunity pin last week by beating NY chef Cesare Casella she could barely contain her hysterical disbelief. Thing is, we’re a small country, and we may well have churned our way through every talented amateur chef on our books in the first two series. We may have run out of steam. The goose could be cooked. The cookie may have crumbled. We’re definitely running dangerously low on food clichés.

I’m still sulky over Jay’s elimination

I adored Jay. What a gentle touch for such a big man. He had thick little fingers like overstuffed baguettes and a face like a bowl of custard but when he twiddled an edible violet or finessed a sprig of chervil he transformed into a culinary ballerina. He was one of the few with any glaring talent this season and his demise was a real low point.

Sun aroused our dormant dark sides

Public opinion was not kind to the recently-eliminated Sun. Something about the serious redhead irked everyone – viewers and fellow contestants alike. “Lockdown with Sun,” lamented Billy mournfully when he thought he was going to be stuck inside with her in New York, “…not fun.” There was worse: “Next time Sun is having fun she should tell her face,” tweeted The Circle’s Chrissie Swan waspishly. Look, I disliked her intensely too. But it really felt like Sun enraged the whole of Australia – especially Twitter – sending it into one of those spasms of cumulative cruelty it enjoys every so often. By the time Sun was eliminated at the end of last week things had gone truly feral. I don’t know how long I can endorse any show that so easily tempts our baser natures.

There’s a Masterchef iPad app

I realise there’s a certain irony in a blog complaining about excessive multimedia-ing, but Masterchef is a TV show (three if you count the Junior and Celebrity versions), magazine, website, Facebook page, Twitter page, iPhone app, range of merchandise not to mention all the contestants’ spin-off blogs, cookbooks, sauce ranges etc etc. For some reason the just-launched iPad app feels like one suck of the saucebottle too many. Remember when it was just about who was best at julienning a carrot?

What do you think? Has Masterchef lost its mojo?

PHOTO: Channel 10 via HeraldSun