Like ordering steak and chips in a fancy restaurant, at least you know what you’re getting with MasterChef: the Professionals – not exactly the most adventurous choice on the menu, but dependable and tasty – if cooked correctly. And the production of this pro chef contest is so tight and well drilled that there’s no reason to worry on that score. Thirty-two ambitious chefs will be whittled down to a final three between now and Christmas, starting with the “heats” and the infamous “skills tests”.
The skills test is the most vicariously nerve-racking aspect of MasterChef: the Professionals. Judge Monica Galetti set the first test, demonstrating how to prepare carrot schnitzel, white bean hummus and zhoug. Zhoug? Try not to look too blank – it’s a sort of Middle Eastern green sauce.
Marcus Wareing (now celebrating his 10th anniversary on the series, he proudly announced) retired to a back room to covertly observe the contestants’ efforts. And then the roles were duly reversed, Galetti retiring to eavesdrop as Wareing set his two newbies a choux pastry beignet accompanied by an orange cream and lavender sugar. I’m not sure I’d be able to boil an egg under such pressure, but 42-year-old Toby from Bishop Auckland and 26-year-old Chloe from London knocked their carrot schnitzels out of the park.
Wareing said that Chloe’s effort was “one of the best skills tests I’ve seen in 10 years” and this junior sous-chef has a glint in her eye that makes you fe.