MasterChef. The title in itself is telling: a competition where would-be culinary artists pit their homegrown skills against one another, hoping to walk away as the ultimate crackerjack of the kitchen.
In a world where chefs have become the new celebrities, it’s not only a love of cooking that spurs the contestants onto slicing and dicing heights each week, but the allure of a ready-made career to boot. (With a healthy dash of instant fame thrown in for good measure.)
And hey, if your path to foodie royalty should be paved with a trip to a popular tropical island paradise, what better way to ensure you’re able to cook across cuisines, right?
With the remaining seven contestants now ensconced amid the swaying palm trees of Ile de Maurice, the heat is on in more ways than one.
Tonight was invited to sit in on a rare behind-the-scenes look at the location shoot for last night’s episode, set against the backdrop of the luxurious five-star Long Beach Resort. But while the view may have been postcard-perfect, the pressure cooker-like challenge playing out before us left little time for the candidates to take in the scenery.
Yes – the stress you see on screen is real; there’s no stop-start once the countdown (in this instance, 60 minutes) begins.
No – they don’t restock the pantry. Bottom line, if you snooze (or in the case of Penny, slow walk), you lose and it really is out with the prawns and in with the octopus.
Yes, emotions really do run high. If, like yours truly, you often find yourself thinking ‘why are they getting so soppy over a cooking contest?’ while watching from the relaxed environs of your lounge, seeing the game plan in live action undoubtedly affords you that “aaah” moment.
Remember your student days, when you could casually reel off the contents of your work file while comfortably sprawled out on your sofa, only to walk into the exam hall and suddenly experience a severe case of panic-inducing mushy brain? Yup, that.
No – hanging around on location is no where near as glamorous as you might imagine. Between the blazing sun, the boom operators and the crane arm cameras swinging overhead and very nearly affording you a Sinead O’ Connor hairstyle, the floor managers, the scene setters, the lighting and sound technicians and the whole “hurry up and wait” process that goes into filming a single episode, a sense of ennui sets in.
Not to mention, the torturous experience of the delectable aromas from the scrumptious food being prepared right in front of you – which you’ll never get to savour! – while you hang around for hours on end with a grumbling belly.
But finally, it’s a wrap (of the non-consumable kind) and it’s left to the gofers to clean up shop. Meanwhile, for Benny and the boys, it’s off to play a round of golf!
• Catch MasterChef SA, Thursdays on M-Net at 7.30pm.
• Be sure to pick up a copy of Tonight next Thursday, in which we’ll give you a full taste of island life – Mauritian style!