Ah yes, Masterchef. Gone are the days of Lloyd Grossman mulling over the red, blue and yellow kitchens, and instead two chefs-cum-critics – Greg Wallace and John Torode – over see the whole concept…and then there’s Masterchef: The Professionals, which sees mega chef Michel Roux Jr. casting his eye over proceedings.
Made by Shine Productions, it’s a knock out competition that pits chefs from across the country against one another. In this review; the “Professionals” version, we expect to see the highest quality of food, in some of the most testing of conditions.
To begin with, a few chefs go up against each other in a seemingly basic skills test. Well, I say basic – I certainly have no idea how to spin sugar, and wouldn’t know where to begin! The wheat is separated from the chaff so to speak, and then they cook for Wallace and Roux Jr. This will be a two-course operation, where two people are taken forward on to the next round.
From then on, the show takes the chefs to various Michelin star restaurants to test them under the severe pressure of the high-class kitchen. They are required to cook a set dish from the lunchtime menu, which often results in the inevitable panic-stricken moments until they pull through to an extent. They then take the ‘skills they’ve learnt’ back to the Masterchef kitchen to cook again, this time for three food critics from the UK’s papers. Naturally, these guys give their food a good ear-bashing, but occasionally come up with sparks of encouragement.
As the final rounds draw near, as the contestants are whittled down – this year sees the finalists cooking for a hospitality box at Chelsea FC, each cooking a course each before going to the final…the most staggering fact out of all this was that a box at Stamford Bridge is over £1 million per season!! Ridiculous!
As with these kind of cooking programmes, there’s the generic ‘tension building’ moments – ooo, will their food be ready in time? Will it impress the judges? Some people naturally couldn’t care less, but seeing as these guys are chefs in their career choice rather than just ex-sportsmen or poor celebrities attempting to be crowned “Celebrity Masterchef”, I find this series far more compelling, as the quality of the food produced is better and they have a generally better concept of what to do.
One day people will see re-runs of Lloyd Grossman’s version of Masterchef back-to-back with episodes of this modern take on it. With all respect to Grossman and his studio kitchen…this one oozes 21st-century entertainment. Lovely stuff.
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