Sky+ has a lot to answer for. I wouldn't class myself as somebody who watches a lot of TV but every time I start up a conversation with a friend or colleague about a show I'm watching, I seem to be the only one who is watching it. I tend to catch part of a programme and then record the series on Sky+ (which is the UK equivalent of TiVo) - my unconscious rationale is that there's never anything on TV so if I squirrel away mildly interesting programmes, when I feel like watching TV there'll be something to see.

One such programme recently has been The Restaurant. A reality / challenge show where pairs of contestants vie each week to win a Restaurant business with Raymond Blanc and his two chalk n' cheese hench-people. Each week, the couples are challenged with a culinary mountain to climb. One acts as chef, the other performs front of house duties demonstrating perfect harmony or catastrophic calamity.

The opening show had the contestants pitch their restaurant concept - with the front of house half of the pairing given 30 seconds to sell their concept to the judges without the aid of le grande fromage from the kitchen.

Week 1 - A country bumpkin front of house teenager is kicked out for not being able to sell the concept of his mum's equally country kitchen fayre - stuttering his way through 30 seconds of TV hell.

In the same episode, an immaculately dressed mother and daughter are kicked out before the 'restaurant concept pitch' for being a danger in the kitchen as they try to open a coconut with a lethal kitchen-knife-cum-machete.

Obviously, I was hooked.

I watched on and off for the series before being hugely disappointed and entirely re-assured by the final.

The finale involved 2 pairs of couples.

Chris and Nathan - a pair of early 20s London based pals - one a health club cook, the other a hairdresser. They were consistent each week producing nice looking, quality food with a bistro / contemporary / locally sourced theme. They improved steadily and put in a faultless performance when they served a table of aristocrats at a stately home.

JJ and James - a pair of over confident and annoying cocktail shakers from London. JJ couldn't cook. James was just smarmy. They bumbled through each task causing the judges and TV audience to cringe at their inexperience and ineptitude. Each week, they tried to tenuously (and literally) squeeze their cocktails into their menu - making the show feel more like The Nightclub than The Restaurant. The judges tagged them as 'chancers' in every single episode.

In the final JJ cooked Risotto that looked like pig food. He managed to serve what looked like a decent roast beef dish. Then he tried to make Blackberry Souffle (for the first time without a practice run) which just looked like Beetroot Soup. He admitted defeat as they failed to serve their dessert and Chris's culinary skill delivered fantastic looking Chocolate souffles.

JJ and James were dead and buried.

Then, in a miracle of inspiration, they pulled out of the bag a Martini with a souffle-like froth on the top. The guests were wowed, the judges impressed and the result was in the bag. JJ and James won their Restaurant to an annoying chorus of backslapping and high fives.

I was livid - these guys couldn't cook, they were excruciatingly annoying and seemed to revert back to cocktails in every cooking challenge because it was all they knew. Chris and Nathan were honest, down to earth, hard working guys who produced good food consistently.

But being good at what you do and working hard just aren't enough any more. 10-15 years ago, maybe. Today, no chance.

JJ and James won because they had a 'concept' that differentiated them from all of the other contestants. And, they stuck to their concept despite their inexperience and knock-backs. They were also labeled as 'chancers' because they were - they took chances.

That's what it will take in the second decade of 2000 - being different, confident and comfortable taking risks.

If you don't know why you're different, how to be confident and how to take appropriate risks, you'll be out too.