New series starts tonight BBC 2 8pm .
Good to see Monica and Marcus are back ,
Unfortunately they keep hiring that **** greggs wallis .

Last nights lot seemed better , especially the young lass .

I can’t get my head round the fact they praise a professional chef on a cooking competition for making smooth mashed potato and seasoning his food properly.

I can do that and I’m a cookery ****-wit

OP agree entirely on Monica, Marcus amd Greg – tbh I can’t bear to watch it much these days, preferred Great British Menu

I thought the husband of the woman Greg W was having an affair summed him up well … I am sure is a decent guy but I can’t imagine she would have been with him if he was still a grocer from Carlisle.

Weren’t that great tonight were they… 🙂

Oddly I think the GW role adds something to the format. He’s not a chef, but likes food – that is more in line with the (typical) viewer. It stops the show becoming self congratulatory chef poncing. It doesn’t need to be GW himself, and if they want to mix it up I am willing to offer myself – being opinionated, a bit gobby, and liking food (with a figure to prove it)!

I can’t get my head round the fact they praise a professional chef on a cooking competition for making smooth mashed potato and seasoning his food properly.

I can do that and I’m a cookery ****-wit
Well having been expected to pay for it on several occasions when they got one or both wrong it doesn’t seem to be as prevalent a skill as you might expect! Of course it may be that you think you can do it right and don’t meet their standards either? I doubt many people presenting mash to the judges either plan it to be lumpy or under-seasoned, nor put mash on the menu expecting it to be the challenging part of the dish.

It stops the show becoming self congratulatory chef poncing.

No it doesn’t! That’s why I watch it.

I agree with Poly: i have nothing against GW and I think the programme needs that non-chefy element.

I don’t mind GW. I actively dislike the dead-eyed arsehole MW.

Monica is fab, though. No-one could hate her.

Can’t see why so many chefs want to be on the show unless they are really self-deluded about how technically proficient they are. Bit of a career killer if a nation of future employers sees how you can’t make custard creme anglaise properly etc.

Oh, and Great British Menu is bloody terrible. Hate the presenters, hate the judges, the dishes are just samphire and froth served in a jam jar on a slate…

Conversely, my wife and 11 year old son watch this and can’t stand Monica.

Can’t see why so many chefs want to be on the show unless they are really self-deluded about how technically proficient they are. Bit of a career killer if a nation of future employers sees how you can’t make custard creme anglaise properly etc.

It can be a massive career boost for the winners / finalists though so worth the risk. At least one winner is now a michlein star holder and most go on to work in MS kitchens or become head chefs at better restaurants
Even the best chefs look like numpties in those 15 minute skills tests

MW usually chills out a bit after the first round as they’ve filtered out the chancers. MRJ was the same, stoney faced and critical for the first round

Well having been expected to pay for it on several occasions when they got one or both wrong it doesn’t seem to be as prevalent a skill as you might expect! Of course it may be that you think you can do it right and don’t meet their standards either? I doubt many people presenting mash to the judges either plan it to be lumpy or under-seasoned, nor put mash on the menu expecting it to be the challenging part of the dish.

Of course they need to be criticised when they mess it up, but when it’s actually picked up as worthy of comment and praise, that’s when i wonder. Maybe I’m just a sullen bugger.

Have you phoned the water board today to thank them because the drains are working? Or do you only phone them when they block?

I think the GW character not being a chef would be good if he didn’t pretend and really believe he knows what he’s talking about. If he just played the punter seeing if he likes it or not it’d be fine but trying to hard makes him come across as a >insert expletive of choice<.

That was a hard skills test.

I can’t stand Marcus Wareing, but he is less irritating than Holby.

I can’t stand Marcus Wareing

I find it a pleasure to watch him because he really knows his stuff and always gives constructive feedback.

Blimey Gregg got a bit pissy.

I find it a pleasure to watch him because he really knows his stuff and always gives constructive feedback.

Yes, but he likes sous vide, which is some sort of aberration.

“I want to dip this pork into something moist”

😯

Blimey Gregg got a bit pissy.

The guy just didn’t seem to get it. Bit odd.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from masterchef it’s that fish + fruit is a one way ticket off the show.

Dear Masterchef the Professionals’ contestants,

At some point Monica will ask you to shell a scallop. It might be worthwhile buying a few and having a practise or at least watching a Youtube video before you turn up.

Wow, a few broken dreams there. Good for Marcus and Monica* for saying it as it is. We need more of that. Thats how you learn. There was some very average cooking there tonight.

*They’re operate at an aspirational level. They should push the professionals hard and have very high standards.

I was lucky enough to be treated to dinner at one of the guest chefs (later programmes) recently and the step up was almost beyond belief.

There’s some weird continuity issue with monica’s hair/roots. Dark to blonde to dark roots.

The glasses didn’t match the rest of the “dish” either

The new look is akin to putting strawberries in a risotto and then serving them both with fish

there is a famous fish dish called Truite Veronique made with trout and grapes .

very nice it is too .

There are some obvious pitfalls in Masterchef. Kooky fruit in savoury dishes, vanilla in savoury, chocolate in savoury sauces, chilli in pudding, anything not pudding in pudding. When will they get it? Have they never watched it before?

Monica can’t make Carbonara properly, so it’s not surprising that 2 out of the 3 contestants that tried it couldn’t either…

^^^^ we’ll let you tell her ….

CheesybeanZ – Member
^^^^ we’ll let you tell her ….

Not sure I’m that brave, but I do think her recipe was flawed.

All chefs are dead eyed arseholes…..what did you expect?

Watched 2 episodes now, most of the ‘chefs’ have been poor in the skills test, it’s high pressure obviously, but an awful lot don’t know how to do simple stuff you’d expect from all chefs. When they say “I’m not clasically tranied” that normally means “I only know how to cook what’s on our menu”.

The lad last night who said he loved seafood, then couldn’t open a scallop……

Greg I can tolerate, he serves as a decent antidote to the poncey chefiness most of the time, Marcus is quite positive when they’re somewhere near, and generally reasonably pleasant, helpful. Monica I cannot stand, the faces she pulls and way she reacts to contestants, her general tone and demeanour, superior attitude is just repulsive to me.

Monica can’t make Carbonara properly, so it’s not surprising that 2 out of the 3 contestants that tried it couldn’t either…

I don’t put onions in mine but other than that, it was fine.

Wow, some cooking tonight

Marcus is loving it!

Tough choices coming up!

Final 4 , place your bets – Elly for the win .

Scottish bloke.

Ellie

‘Mon the Gary!

This series has been great. Routing for Ellie but think there are all doing well.