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 feel she’ll still be in the competition come December.
French-born Gaston and Zimbabwe-born Nkosi just about coped with their beignets, however, before going on to impress in the next “signature dish” round, in which they had to knock up two courses that they’ve no doubt practised to perfection.
Or not quite perfection because Toby dropped into last place with the sort of pan-fried chicken and sticky toffee pudding combo often described as “pub grub” (“I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel,” he had confided earlier). That left the judges with the tough decision of which of the other three remaining chefs should join Toby in hanging up their MasterChef apron, only two supposedly progressing to Friday’s first quarter final. Though in the end, they unsurprisingly sent all three through to the next round.
Gregg Wallace was also there in his usual role as interpreter to those who don’t speak foodie. A choux pastry beignet? “Like a lighter fluffier donut,” he mused. And just in case we still didn’t get it: “What’s those Spanish things… churros?” And how about a carrot schnitzel, white bean hummus and zhoug? “Sounds like a plant-based recipe.” Thanks, Gregg.
And while he gets to share his admiration for any artistry on show, it’s expressed in a more down-to-earth manner than his co-presenters. “It’s divine,” Wareing enthused about one dish. “That’s banging!” concurred Wallace.
There’s more real-world jeopardy involved in MasterChef: the Professionals than in the civilian contest. The amateurs can just return to their day jobs if they fall short. For the professionals, cooking is their day (and evening) job, and they have their reputations to consider. And apart from bygone victorious amateurs such as Thomasina Miers, Mat Follas and Ping Coombes, how many former professional winners can you name?
Anyway, the show is as snappily edited as ever, with narrator Sean Pertwee’s velvety descriptions of the dishes (he could make beans on toast sound mouth-wateringly gourmet) adding the familiar gloss. The trouble is that, like always choosing steak and chips, it quickly becomes repetitive and not particularly memorable. So welcome back for now, but unlike Chloe (probably) I’m not sure I’m in it for the long haul.
‘MasterChef: The Professionals’ continues on Thursday at 8pm on BBC One
Maurice Saatchi: I used to adore capitalism – then I had lunch with Margaret Thatcher