I AM fuming! Recently it was pointed out to me that only one of this year’s MasterChef top 10 was from Melbourne. That’s not what has got me so incensed – it was the subsequent conclusion that this is proof that Melbourne’s culinary crown is slipping. Ouch!
As someone who lives, films and works in Melbourne, and has spent more than 15 years writing about the gems that give that crown its lustre, the accusation stings. The question is: why does it smart so much? Surely it’s not because it’s true? But it has to be more than the fact that many Melburnians take it for granted that we live in the culinary capital.
Having lived and worked in Sydney for four of the past seven years, as well as eating there through the year, I’m well placed to answer that question. Here goes!
While MasterChef is an interesting barometer of culinary success – sort of like The Economist’s Big Mac Index – and it’s true Matthew Hopcraft was the only Melburnian left in the MasterChef final 10 – the bigger picture argues exactly the reverse: that Victoria’s light has never burned brighter with the show. Not only did the show garner more viewers in Victoria than any other state this year, but the last two MasterChefs crowned were from Melbourne. Thus the MasterChef Meter proves Melbourne is, more than ever, the culinary capital of Australia – although this may all change with MasterChef’s finale, starting tonight (Network Ten, 7.30pm).