Here’s a sure-fire recipe for success that even an amateur chef can master:
Take one hugely successful UK show and add one famously arrogant and colorful TV chef (a real handful). Stir in a generous amount of reality-show archetypes, such as the egomaniacal annoying guy, two or more tear-jerkers and a dash of the greenest, freshest wannabes available in the market. Add spices and heat until boiling over.
Welcome to Gordon Ramsay’s newest show, “MasterChef” — a TV stew of several already-successful shows such as “Top Chef,” Ramsay’s own “Hell’s Kitchen,” and “American Idol.”
For those of you for whom too much Ramsay is never enough, “MasterChef” is a dream come true.
But for those for whom too much Ramsay is too much, the dream might seem like a recurring one — especially if you watch “Hell’s Kitchen.” It’s got eerily similar music, set and, yes, hysteria.
Anyway, the show is about finding the best home cook in the US with Ramsay and two other celeb chefs acting as a tasting triumvirate. At stake is a $250,000 prize and a cookbook contract for the winner.
As we all know, some of life’s best meals are concocted by people who’ve never stepped inside a restaurant kitchen. You don’t have to be a master chef to cook like one.
Joining Ramsay are chefs Graham Elliot and Joe Bastianich. Elliot is the country’s youngest-ever four-star chef. He’s a hefty, pleasant, tattooed guy. Bastianich, on the other hand, is a hugely successful, seemingly unpleasant restaurateur and vineyard owner who used to be a hefty guy. They all work well together, although Bastianich needs to lighten up and start looking like he’s enjoying the gig.
First, of course, come the “auditions,” where wannabes show off their signature dishes. Some of the food is gorgeous and delicious, some totally disgusting and disastrous. While some contestants are arrogant, some are humble, some sad, some nervous, some are happy just to show off their best recipes.
At bottom, these shows only work because of Ramsay’s personality and how he works with the archetypes. It’s never really about the food.
The cooks come from every walk of life — and I’d say they all love cooking as much as Ramsay loves cooking shows.