MasterChef judges were worth the money

The MasterChef judges have been widely condemned for their supposed greed — but the reality of reality TV is that on-air chemistry is pretty rare, hard to replicate and generally worth every cent paid, writes David Mills.

The schadenfreude is so fresh and delicious that it should be sold as a salad dressing.

A week after George Calombaris got fined for underpaying staff at his restaurants, Channel 10 has dumped him, along with his fellow MasterChef judges Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan, after they had the temerity to ask for a big payrise.

Already on an estimated million each per year, the trio reportedly asked for a pay jump of some 40 per cent — but after 11 years they’ve been thrown out like last night’s leftovers.

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Determined to milk the story until it turns to cheese, one news website on Wednesday ran images of a supposedly “downcast” looking Calombaris with the crowing headline “Can’t handle the heat”. Never mind the fact Calombaris actually looked fine — the images had to fit a narrative of a massive fall from grace: a man brought undone by his own grasping overreach.

Less than one million Australians tuned in to see Larissa Takchi named as the 2019 MasterChef winner this week. Picture: Supplied/Channel 10

Talkbackers and Twitterers have been in full flight since the news broke, slamming the trio for wanting a bigger slice of the pie they helped bake in the first place.

“Greedy pompous dickheads,” is how one Twitter user described them.

“Free-to-air ain’t the gravy train it used to be,” The Australian quoted one TV executive as saying.

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The leaks to the media about the contract negotiations appear to be no accident, but rather calculated to embarrass the now former judges.

But really, why shouldn’t the public faces of such a successful franchise get a decent part of the program’s profits? Why is it OK for producers and network executives to quietly rake in the megabucks, but not the stars of the show, who must contend with their every move and utterance being analysed and judged by the public?

The MasterChef judges were a large part of why the show was so loved. Picture: Tina Smigielski

As Calombaris has found on repeated occasions, his TV fame has come hand-in-hand with an intense, almost forensic level of scrutiny over his behaviour and business dealings.

Over 11 years, the three judges have built MasterChef up into a national, and then international success story — and the reality of the reality TV industry is that on-air chemistry is pretty rare, and its value to the show’s overall brand shouldn't be disregarded.

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Look at Big Brother: once a ratings behemoth, it lasted only one season after host Gretel Killeen was replaced by Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O.

Calombaris, Mehigan and Preston may have misjudged the depth of Network Ten’s pockets, but one wonders if the network has made a misjudgment here too.

In saving themselves a packet of money now, the network could be cooking the goose that laid the golden egg. Oddly fitting for a show like MasterChef.

David Mills is a journalist for News Corp.

Originally published as MasterChef judges were worth the money