Why I love Junior Masterchef

For those who know me, it is not difficult to guess why I am hooked to this show. I love food and everything to do with it. The joy of creating a new dish gives me a sense of achievement and satisfaction that I hardly get from anything else I do. The kitchen is where I relax and the toughest days are when I produce the best dinners. But, it is not just the brilliance of these young cooks that make it one of the best TV shows that I have watched, it is something much bigger. This show has changed my idea of a kid's reality show. I always abhorred the idea of such shows and this was of course on the basis of the Indian and few American reality shows that I had watched. How, you would ask, is this competition any different? To answer this, I would first like to talk about what my perception of a kid's reality show was. 

Every show that I had watched had the same premise. Kids with aspirations and dreams and goals that make me feel like a loser, parents harping on their kid's talents and when not selected how unfair/partial the judges are, extraordinary talent (in many cases), kids speaking beyond their years and of course, the tears and the drama. The format invariably involved elimination based on one performance, in some cases, even the audience votes and the crushing of some huge dreams and parent's pride. So, here was my idea of a reality show for kids. And, frankly, I hated it. Much more than a Big Boss or a Dance India Dance or any other clone. They always made me feel glad that I was born in the 80s and were perhaps the last generation where our childhood was ours.

And, then comes Junior Masterchef. For the very first time, I believed that you could do a show with kids where you showcase the talents, hone their skills, teach them to dream without taking away their innocence and childhood. What stood out for me is the format of this show which was very different from Masterchef. And, understandably so. Unlike the adult version, this does not have eliminations based on one bad performance. Yes, there are the invention tests, mystery box challenges and the pressure test. But a child's talent or future in the Masterchef kitchen is not decided by one performance alone. Each test has three winners and they get points. This, for me, is the gem of this show. It gives the child hope and at the same the desire to be better. One bad day in the kitchen does not mean the end of the road. I was amazed when yesterday a few kids were awarded one point as they were the most improved and I realized that it was done so that no one has a zero in the points tally. Imagine, how excited a child would be when Donna Hay awards him his first point because he is the most improved cook or his joy when he realizes that he too has a point.

What can I say about the judges? That everyone who has kids or who work with kids should learn a trick or two from them? We have seen them in the adult version of the show and now here and they seem to be two different personalities. They do not behave like judges but mentors, guides, inspiration and rightly so. The metamorphosis from hard to please task masters to extremely kind and gentle teachers is a treat for the eyes. 

So, why cannot we have a show like this? It is not the dearth of talent but the twisted idea that talent alone cannot get TRPs. My request to the reality show makers is to watch this show and LEARN (pardon the use of caps).

Finally, of course, this show is loved by all not because of the stories of how a child has braved hardships  to reach here or how he is making his parent's proud but the sheer talent that we get to see. Kids are and remain kids here.

And, yes, I do get teary eyed at the end of each episode. When I see such a brilliant display of talent, I cry.