Chatter 54 MasterChef 2016

I'm not sure why I enjoy MasterChef. Matt Preston's outfits, which possibly warrant psychological assessment, George Colambarous's patent kindness and concern for contestants and Gary Meaghan,s almost orgiastic pleasure at the pleasure of some of the dishes, especially the sweet ones, the he gets to taste all amuse me.
Watching people under stress might appeal to some but not me. As a child quiz contestant I've been there and I certainly don't like it. One does see an incredible development over a few months. By the end of it the last few contestants really deserve to be there. Either of the last two, Elena and Matt, would be worthy winners. 
The final consisted of three stages. In the first two the contestants created their own dishes. The last stage was the reproduction of an extremely complex dessert involving a range of techniques and the use of some equipment that the contestants may never have seen before. Even with the recipe there was serious time pressure and little room to correct any error or mishap that might have intervened along the way.
By the time they reached this stage it was still a close contest with Matt three points in front. Unfortunately things unraveled right at the end. He had had to repeat a part of the recipe and was extremely pressed for time. Elena showed great character actually telling him how to use one piece of equipment. Finally though his egg split open on the judges table.
Emotions ran high, as always. 
Elena was a very worth winner.  Throughout the previous weeks Elena had been consistently sound and rarely put a foot wrong. Matt had a rockier course with occasional poor performances and many flashes of brilliance.
Even if there had been no final disaster for Matt you could still have legitimately chosen Elena BUT was this final a fair way of picking the winner?
I don't think so. 
It was finally the place where creativity went out the window. Speed, organization and technique were the keys to success but in the end it was copying the work of another person. 
Is this the way, ultimately, to choose the winner?
I'll say it again I don't think so.