Masterchef is back!

Masterchef is one of my favourite programmes, and hurrah! It is back on TV. The format is simple, a number of chefs cook against each other in rounds over a number of weeks. Eventually finalist emerge who then cook against each other… sounds simple, but the things they have to cook and the way the rounds are structured tests their abilities in lots of different ways, their abilities as cooks, as well as their ability to stay calm, be creative and original, think on their feet, cope with disaster, learn from their mistakes…

The programme has been running for many years with different formats, the present one comes in three forms, amateur, professional and celebrity… and I enjoy all of them. Each series they seem to tweak the format a little to make it different and I guess keep the audience engaged. I’ve just watched the first round of the new series, and in round one there were five contestants. They started off by cooking a dish of their own choice; the two judges taste each and then each choose a favourite dish which sends the cook through to the next round. Meanwhile the three remaining cooks then re given the main ingredients they chose for their dish and have to invent another dish there and then. From that round one person is eliminated. The remaining four cooks have to prepare a two course meal for three past winners and the judges… and that I think must be so hard… well, it is all tricky, but for an amateur to cook something in a set time to a high standard, no errors through nerves, and then present their food… Gosh! I admire them and I know I couldn’t do it!