I’ve just finished watching the final episode of MasterChef: The Professionals. Although it’s presented here in quite a different format (my preference), the formula is still the same and once again, totally addictive A famous chef (Michel Roux Jnr) and a food professional (the unctuous Gregg Wallace -‘Yes Michel, no Michel, three nose bags full Michel’) judge some truly awful cooks who claim to be chefs from professional kitchens. Apparently, it has been the lifelong dream of all 30 to cook for Chef Michel. What luck! Over the weeks the numbers are whittled down until the final 3 chefs battle it out in a series of Michelin restaurants.
Finally, the trio prepare a dinner for 30 chefs with 40 Michelin Stars between them. Will the Steak Tartare be chopped finely enough? (yes), will the Rum Jelly set? (no), will the Brioche be light and airy? (sort of). As each dish is savoured, the guests pass judgement and provide a report card back to the chefs. After the main, the wine is served for the dessert. I gasped to see Sparkling Burgundy being poured into the Champagne flutes. What would my fellow Barossa Vintage Festival goers make of that?
After one last cook off, we finally have a winner…..Steve, Professional MaterChef Champion 2009. So let’s raise a glass of Spurgle to good old Steve. If it’s good enough for those toffee nosed, food Nazis, it’s good enough for me!
There are lots of great things about the UK, not the least of which is the variety of shows on offer to feed the dedicated foodie’s soul. Here’s the food related viewing for just one week on the freeview channels in the UK.
Saturday
BBC1 – Saturday Kitchen
C4 – Come Dine With Me
Sunday
C4 – Come Dine With Me
More4 – River Cottage Autumn, Come Dine With Me
Virgin1 – Restaurant In Our Living Room
Monday
BBC2 – The Hairy Biker’s Food Tour of Britain
ITV1 – Britain’s Best Dish
ITV2 – Hell’s Kitchen
C4 – Glamour Puds
More4 – Come Dine With Me
Tuesday
ITV1 – Britain’s Best Dish
C4 – Glamour Puds
BBC2 – MasterChef: The Professionals
C4 – Jamie’s American Road Trip, The Big Food Fight
More4 – Come Dine With Me
Wednesday
ITV1 – Britain’s Best Dish
Five – The Family Recipe
BBC1 – Nigel Slater’s Simple Suppers
BBC2 – MasterChef: The Professionals
More4 – Come Dine With Me
Thursday
ITV1 – Britain’s Best Dish
C4 – Glamour Puds
BBC2 – MasterChef: The Professionals
More4 – Come Dine With Me
Virgin1 – Restaurant In Our Living Room
Friday
ITV1 – Britain’s Best Dish
Five – Breaking Into Tesco
C4 – Glamour Puds, Jamie at Home, The Big Food Fight
More4 – Come Dine With Me
So, plenty to watch then and this doesn’t include the 3am re-runs either. Jamie’s American Road Trip, Nigel Slater and River Cottage are all worth watch and for a laugh, The Big Food Fight is a great ‘Spicks and Specks’ style food based quiz show.
