There was a point where I looked forward to MasterChef, although for the life of me I couldn’t tell you why. There was nothing particularly interesting to learn on the show; while the judges and contestants would talk about interesting techniques or how to handle certain ingredients they never did so at any kind of depth where you could learn anything from it. The judges ranged from harmless comic relief (Graham Elliot) to mildly douchy but talented (Gordon Ramsay) to over the top douchy with no apparent talent (Joe Bastianich) and the contestants were the usual mixed bag of reality show people.
But the show was at least a little more interesting and varied than Hell’s Kitchen, a show that seems to pride itself in following the exact same format and script every season with no deviation. If you’ve seen one season of Hell’s Kitchen, you’ve seen them all. If (god help you) you have seen them all, then you can follow along karaoke style with the shows by this point. The most amazing part of Hell’s Kitchen is the over the top way Ramsay and FOX screams away they are doing something “never before seen in Hell’s Kitchen” which not only has been seen before, but has always been seen at this particular point in the series. Really Ramsay? You’ve never before had an elimination challenge where you cut two people instead of one? Why is it then that this never before seen event always happens on episode seven, every season? It’s fun on one level to watch Ramsay scream and curse at idiots, but at some point the magic wears off.
At any rate, MasterChef was less antagonistic and bitchy (except for Judge Joe, who seriously is one of the most unlikeable people on all of TV, and it’s not an interesting unlikeable, it’s a ‘when he talks I change the channel’ unlikeable) and generally was an easier to digest reality show…
…until they became hard shills for Walmart.
You know, Walmart… the place that has the very best produce in the world, the highest quality beef and every high-end restaurant chef shops there?
Look, Walmart is Walmart. Nothing against it, it does what it does. But who’s shitting who in claiming this chain sells the highest quality ingredients in the country? There is zero fucking way that Ramsay’s “Steak” restaurant in Las Vegas gets all of their meat at the local Walmart. Yet if you’re watching MasterChef this season this is what you’re lead to believe.
Yes, I get that Walmart is a sponsor of the show and thus is buying this promotion. Fine. But if part of your show is to claim that three judges are at the top of the culinary profession, have impeccable taste and cooking skills… and all three are madly shilling Walmart as the best place in the world for ingredients… come on. You’re just destroying whatever credibility Ramsay and tubby knickers/Elliot has left. In fairness, you’re not hurting Joe’s reputation any other than confirming he’s a complete moron.
Nearly every show has product placement. Most do it quietly (were you aware that Ford bought heavy into House? Or that Google was heavily into Fringe?) but others have all the subtlety of Anthony Wiener’s judgment in sex scandals. Sprint notoriously would show up to ruin Smallville with hamfisted “SUPERMAN USES OUR PHONES SO BUY IT STUPID” scripting and how much money is Apple dumping into House of Cards anyway? But Holy Christ, there is no shortage of hammer-over-the-head bullshit on MasterChef via Walmart.
So the next time you’re dropping $100+ on a steak in Vegas, maybe it’s worth asking where the meat comes from. Odds are, it’s not America’s Superstore. Then again, perhaps that’s how Ramsay has obtained all of his wealth… amazingly severe markup.
