Out of all of the Next Iron Chef judges, Simon Majumdar probably has it the easiest. Granted, like his fellow judges Donatella Arpaia and Geoffrey Zakarian, he still faces the difficulty of having to critique chefs whom he respects — and in many cases, personally likes — but in a behind-the-scenes look at filming the reality series, there’s one thing that he really, really enjoys: being bald.
Besides the obvious benefits (not having to go to a barber or figure out what kind of shampoo to buy), it also means that Majumdar has the latest “call time” — his scheduled arrival on the set — out of any of the judges, who, alas, need more time to be beautified:
By the time I arrive, poor Donatella has already been in the chair for a couple of hours as our lovely makeup artists, Jackie and Jill, decide what to do with her hair. Iron Chef Zakarian is usually in the next chair telling everybody about the fabulous meal he enjoyed the night before and where he is going for dinner that night. As for me, I just need to choose the loudest tie I can find and have enough make up applied to my bonce to stop it from shining on camera.
But apart from looking pretty for the camera, Majumdar’s biggest job and biggest difficulty is to pass judgement on a talented group of competitors. “The debates between the three passionate judges are often very heated, particularly when we are discussing which chef should be eliminated. We do, however, make sure to leave our arguments on set and no grudges are ever held once we make our decision.” Aww. Judge grudges are never fun (though admittedly, it’s fun to say “judge grudge” over and over again. Try it. Judge grudge judge grudge judge grudge.)
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