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Written by Florence Oxley
Ready, steady…
And it’s back to the chopping board for the latest series of MasterChef: The Professionals! Greg Wallace is back in the kitchen with Monica Galetti, sous-chef to the double Michelin-starred Michel Roux Jr. for a game of good cook, mean cook.
A discerning and sombre woman with a whole array of variations on an unimpressed face, disappointment abounds for Monica - I lost count of the mealtime minutiae that constituted a "shame". Who knew a burned leek could bring about such ruination? Mind you, if this is the face of mild displeasure, an outright offence to her refined palate could brew more than a storm in a teacup. Prison-based catering tutor Dan is well advised to fear her more than the crowd at work. But good old Wallace is always at hand and ever-smiley, stirring in the odd pinch of understated encouragement with his bouncy tones and amenable demeanour. He is, and I quote, a "happy boy". And why shouldn’t he be, with ten professional standard duck dinners to finish off behind the scenes?
Classic Wallace quote of the episode: “Monica, forgive me, what is a gastric sauce?“ I’m glad he asked that question; despite my culinary enthusiasm, it’s not something I’d come across before. Apparently it does in fact belong on a plate - it’s a caramelised sugar thing, deglazed with vinegar - but essentially it’s a questionable, thin, pink ooze.
We’re introduced to the contestants - a motley crew of varying degrees of zealotry: from the "sooo indecisive" and slightly chaotic Joanne to the modest, unassuming Perry (“I won‘t blow my own trumpet, I give myself a 9/10 as a chef“). Using the same classic recipe - 10 gung-ho gastronomes, 6 ingredients and 50 minutes cooking time - let the tea-time tournament begin! Bit of a cop out on the ingredients front tonight - call me a philistine but I’ve always thought of garlic, cinnamon and thyme as seasonings rather than actual foods. But hey ho, with a duck breast, a handful of blackberries, a solitary leek and more than a pinch or two of ingenuity, the contestants came out rather well done - if a little frazzled at the edges.
This is not just a cooking; this is professional, masterful chef-ing.
MasterChef: The Professionals airs Mondays - Thursdays on BBC2 at 8pm.
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