MasterChef 2019

[nimnarb]

Its that time of year again...6 episodes so far and just about to see tonight's performance. Is it just me, but this year, the majority of contestants are far from proficient and quite boring in inventiveness plus their cooking expertise so far is well below the level we have come to expect? One gal stands out from all the rest, a couple of episodes ago, reasonably pretty and slender. young and works in a 5 star hotel but can't recall her name and think she isn't infested with tattoos, well those that show(could be wrong though). Believe she could go all the way, but its early days...Oh and Marcus just looks like he is going through the motions(total boredom) and although I didn't much care for Monika's bleached spiky hair look last time, the new burnt dirty brown sludge just washes her out completely. Greg is Greg.

Moderator Message:
RS: Moved to TV board. Shadow left in snug

[Rhyd6]

I couldn't believe that these so called chefs didn't know how to spatchcock a quail! I agree that so far the chefs have been very unimpressive, lets hope things improve. Mind you it does explain why there are so many dull and unexciting restaurants around these days.

R6

[cavebat]

I couldn't believe that these so called chefs didn't know how to spatchcock a quail! I agree that so far the chefs have been very unimpressive, lets hope things improve. Mind you it does explain why there are so many dull and unexciting restaurants around these days.

R6

Yes, I was really surprised that they couldn't spatchcock the quail. This year there seem to be quite a few really young chefs, barely out of catering college, and with just a few years experience in a professional kitchen.

And I agree Marcus does seem a bit bored by it all.

cavebat

[johnstevens77]

It is the only cooking program I watch and I am often itrigued about where Monica and Marcus source their ingredients? I mean things like calves brains, sweetbreads, sea urchins, razor clams and even calves liver. We cannot even get mutton in Devon! The last time I had calves brains was a couple of years ago in France, available in any butcher and even Carrefour supermarket. I did ask my local butcher for calves brains and sweetbreads but he said that they could not get them from the abbatoir. The last time I had sea urchins was when I was cooking for a Chaine des Rotisseurs diner in Bahrain, (imported from France). Calves liver is sometimes available from the butcher but he is 8 miles away and it is best to phone him first.

PS. I plucked and drew my first chicken 68 years ago.

john

[6Tricia]

I love cooking and, as others have said, I was very surprised at the lack of knowledge shown in the skills tests.
John your PS.
I plucked dozens of chickens just after the war at the age of twelve (74 years ago!). Shortly before Christmas 1946, when food for the holiday season was hard to come by, and rationed, an aunt took me to north Wales to visit her family's chicken farm. Being still short of labour we both had to pluck and draw chickens to take back to London for the wider family in the south. I've never forgotten the train journey back to London - the train was packed with soldiers going home for Christmas all singing and joking with my aunt who often had to take a swig from her little bottle of 'cough mixture '!. It was so crowded we chose to sit in the corridor on the two wicker crates of chickens, which today I'm sure we were transporting illegally, rather than entrust them to the goods van.

Tricia

[todthedog]

I think in a lot of kitchens the food comes in pre prepped, fish filleted, birds jointed etc. So no experience.
While living in France a few years back there was a minor scandal when a TV programme revealed the extent that pre prepared dishes had infiltrated Paris bistros. Zoot alors hands thrust aloft in horror. Hidden cameras revealed a world of microwaves and packaging in dustbins huge profit margins and fervent denials

[dionaeamuscipula]

It is the only cooking program I watch and I am often itrigued about where Monica and Marcus source their ingredients? I mean things like calves brains, sweetbreads, sea urchins, razor clams and even calves liver. We cannot even get mutton in Devon! The last time I had calves brains was a couple of years ago in France, available in any butcher and even Carrefour supermarket. I did ask my local butcher for calves brains and sweetbreads but he said that they could not get them from the abbatoir. The last time I had sea urchins was when I was cooking for a Chaine des Rotisseurs diner in Bahrain, (imported from France). Calves liver is sometimes available from the butcher but he is 8 miles away and it is best to phone him first.

PS. I plucked and drew my first chicken 68 years ago.

john

I imagine the brains are a Specified Risk Material for BSE purposes.

DM

[johnstevens77]

I imagine the brains are a Specified Risk Material for BSE purposes.

In that case, they would not have been availabe for the program and unavailabe in France either. We cannot even get veal for blanquet de veau! Someone I spoke to about it recently said that she did not eat veal because they have to kill the calves, but she was drinking milk in her tea!

[Rhyd6]

We are so lucky to have a farm shop/butchers within walking distance. We can get liver, lambs and calves, sweetbreads etc. We supply him with game when we can, though I should say grandsons do, these days the odd pigeon is my contribution. He has some customers who travel from Manchester once a month to collect their meat, they phone in advance and their orders are getting larger and larger as their friends and family want supplies too.
I also learn't to pluck and draw chickens from an early age, along with skinning rabbits though I have never eaten rabbit since the outbreak of myxie in the 1950s. It put me off for life. I have a picture of myself and my auntie plucking a goose circa 1950, I had to use a pair of pliers to get the wing feathers out.
One of my fathers tales from his days in the Home Guard concerned the butchering of an illicit pig in an unlit barn whilst a German air raid was taking place on Liverpool. The sound of the planes apparently drowned out the squeals of the pig.

R6

[bionichamster]

I imagine the brains are a Specified Risk Material for BSE purposes.

In that case, they would not have been availabe for the program and unavailabe in France either. We cannot even get veal for blanquet de veau! Someone I spoke to about it recently said that she did not eat veal because they have to kill the calves, but she was drinking milk in her tea!

I believe that for quite a while you couldn't get brains, certainly not from UK animals, because there was a ban on sale. But I think that may only have applied in the UK. I'm not sure it applies any longer.
It very much looks like you can get brains in the UK now, although the ones I've seen are sourced from France, which might indicate there is still a UK restriction of some sort or might just be because the French produce these things for sale and it's easier to get them from there than for someone to bother exracting and packaging them here...mind you it's debatable if they are worth approx £50/Kg (when postage is included)*

*https://www.finefoodspecialist.co.uk/veal-brain/#producttabs4 (same site also has sea urchins, sweetbreads & razor clams for next day delivery)

No calves liver, but sometimes they have that in Tesco

BH

[dionaeamuscipula]

I imagine the brains are a Specified Risk Material for BSE purposes.

In that case, they would not have been availabe for the program and unavailabe in France either. We cannot even get veal for blanquet de veau! Someone I spoke to about it recently said that she did not eat veal because they have to kill the calves, but she was drinking milk in her tea!

I believe that for quite a while you couldn't get brains, certainly not from UK animals, because there was a ban on sale. But I think that may only have applied in the UK. I'm not sure it applies any longer.
It very much looks like you can get brains in the UK now, although the ones I've seen are sourced from France, which might indicate there is still a UK restriction of some sort or might just be because the French produce these things for sale and it's easier to get them from there than for someone to bother exracting and packaging them here...mind you it's debatable if they are worth approx £50/Kg (when postage is included)*

*https://www.finefoodspecialist.co.uk/veal-brain/#producttabs4 (same site also has sea urchins, sweetbreads & razor clams for next day delivery)

No calves liver, but sometimes they have that in Tesco

BH

Some information here that looks accurate to me, but I am no longer required to have an interest in SRMs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specified_risk_material

DM

[nimnarb]

Finally we got some decent looking food as generally, very poor this season imo.

Down to the last 12 and unfortunately I wont be able to watch until after the 17th Dec but making some early predictions now.

Top 5. In no particular order although certainly Exose and Andrew do seem to be a cut above the rest.

1. Exose
2. Olivia
3. Andrew
4. Ardinal
5. Monty

[bionichamster]

The two who stick in my mind are Exose and the navy chef (Andrew?), there are others who are good but those two have impressed the most. I was however in the last couple of progs starting to get the feeling that Marcus might not like Andrew, as he often gives the impression of disliking particular contestants whose days can then be numbered, we'll see.

BH

[PrincessB]

I found the last couple of episodes with the challenges set in the pop up restaurant very refreshing, it's nice to see them doing something a bit different for a change.

I also had navy chef Andrew marked as a possible winner, I'm not so sure now, I have a feeling he might go out when the judges decide that he's not been imaginative (pushed the envelope hard enough) etc.

Roll on next week, it's about the only live TV program I'm bothering to watch at present.

B.

[nimnarb]

Surprised no further comments? Just caught up by watching 9 episodes in three days to the conclusion. Being a foodie, I am constantly hungry seeing these chefs and the food they have been preparing and pleased to say that after a very slow start with mediocre chefs, boy did we have a fantastic finish, as out of the three finalists(ahem, drum role please, managed to early on pick two of my choices into the final three)they were so close. But what I didn't see happening in the early rounds was Stu. Over the last 4 or 5 episodes this Brummie lad started to produce some sensational and extraordinary dishes made more so by the fact that he doesn't work in a Michelin star Mayfair Restaurant or indeed had that experience but gained his knowledge without apparently going overseas to work in Asia or France for that matter but at an early age going to sample all the local Indian restaurants and taking it from there. He absolutely deserved to win and sure the Restaurant that he works in(The Wilderness) will be more than popular now. Never heard of it before, but gets 5 stars from Trip Advisor. Anyone from or near that area eaten there? Stu just got better and bolder and so inventive with each production. Exose and Olivia have just fantastic futures ahead of them also. Great final and truly a well deserved winner.

As an aside, when they went to Portugal, that egg dish looked incredible but I still don't understand how one can cook an egg for 45 minutes and it comes out runny. Very, very, low heat possibly? And as for blowing up a balloon and stuffing the damn thing, well that did blow my mind.

https://www.wearethewilderness.co.uk/about