MasterChef Ireland should come with a “will lead to extreme hunger pangs” warning. Last night’s first episode of the series started with outstanding aplomb, as chef after chef served up some scrumptious looking culinary delights, which either got the thumbs up or down from the presumably very full judges. As our bellies continued to rumble as swanky dishes made their way to the top table, we couldn’t help but wish we were able to taste them for ourselves. Food tasting may just have secured the top spot on our job wish list after last night.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t scoff the food through the television, so we had to rely on the judges to relay it’s every flavour to us in detail. First judge Nick Munier is probably most widely known for his appearance in Hell’s Kitchen, alongside top judge Marco Pierre White. Mostly appearing as a clumsy, highly entertaining restaurateur, he has since gone on to front an impressive amount of Michelin star restaurants in Dublin and certainly knows what he’s talking about when it comes to food.
Aside from having a nasty looking eye infection on last night’s show which seemed to get worse as the show went on, Dylan McGrath is an award-winning Irish chef, who is not afraid to controversially speak his mind and let rip on the contestants.
Thankfully, the two work very well together. With Dylan’s obvious knowledge of food and good sense of humour and Nick’s impressive observation of presentation and taste combined, nobody less than excellent was going to make their way through these two.
The format of the show is similar to previous MasterChefs. Whittled down from over 1000 applicants, last night it was the judges turn to pick their top 16. Each contestant had 45 minutes to cook their food, with 10 minutes to prepare and serve.
May sound simple to some, but when you have two of the country’s most honoured culinary geniuses breathing over you, the hands start shaking and the sweat starts bucketing. The only fault we saw in the whole organisation of things was the contestants’ failure to wear any type of hats. Some of the girls didn’t even have their haired tied back. The same can be said for the contestants in the Australian and English version, maybe it’s just MasterChef’s thing?
First up to try and bag the €25,000 prize was 45-year-old Mandy. Not only was the task daunting enough, but she also had the pressure of being Ireland’s first ever Masterchef contestant. Thankfully, her Italian summer dish was fantastic and she set the bar high for the rest.
Next it was the turn of Miana, who nearly cut off her finger in the process and had the judges uneasy in their seats. While they thought her soup had potential, they invited her back the next day for the cook-off, hopefully with her finger still intact.
Although the judges know what they’re talking about and can come across as harsh, you can see some real sympathy for the contestants they didn’t put through. To be honest, I would have eaten everything the chefs put on the top table last night, but the judges seem eager to find someone spectacular.
First man through to the final 16 was 44-year-old Richard. After slaving away for the 45 minutes over a very complicated looking dish of pan-fried venison, Richard was reduced to tears when Dylan and Nick lavished him with praise. He’s definitely one to watch and the tears showed how much he really wants it.
While we’ve seen some very questionable meat on top restaurant menus, we’ve never come across Skippy the kangaroo. South African Grant decided it was time our country was introduced to the delicatessen. Besides from looking like something you would see on I’m A Celebrity, Grant managed to show real potential and was asked to come back for the cook-off. We really hope he leaves Thumper and Bambi alone.
Probably the most impressive chef of them all last night 28-year-old Mary (we weren’t given last names for some reason). She blew the judges taste buds with her pan-fried scallops presented on a slate she presumably got from the roof at home. Nick thought it was the dish of the day and proceeded to high five Dylan as she made her way out. We can see a bromance developing between these two already.
Next day there were five chefs in the cook-off. After forgetting to turn her oven on, we could tell poor Ann-Marie was already out of the running. And so it came down to kangaroo cooking Grant and Pearce, who’s seasoning had let him down the first time. In the first shock of the series, Grant stole the Masterchef apron from Pearce after Dylan thought he captured the sea with his dish. Now that’s an impressive feat for a chef.
With only nine Masterchef aprons left, Thursday night’s episode will be a fight to death to secure their place on the Masterchef panel, and we can’t wait to see how it’s going to pan out.
Sarah Carty
