Masterchef revisited

We love you John and Gregg!

Despite my previous comments, I successfully became hooked with this year’s Masterchef and am pretty disappointed that in just a few hours it’s all going to be over. 11-weeks in and I’ve developed a bit of a soft spot for our final three and held my breath along with them during this Easter weekend Masterchef-athon as an array of judges have dug into their lovingly dished-up delicacies.

A couple of my particular highlights from this series; the sneak peak into John’s homelife in Sydney on Easter Monday and Gregg’s chilli hiccups thanks to Jackie’s heavy-handed spice!

The series, despite its cringeworthy beginnings, has been thoroughly enjoyable and my fingers and toes are crossed for the first woman Masterchef winner since Thomasina Miers in 2005. Sara has been consistantly strong throughout the competition, hasn’t crumbled under pressure and produced food which has inspired me to hit the kitchen (I myself have not had quite the same success just yet!) Congratulations to Tom on his new found kitchen cleanliness! And good luck to Tim and his brave, experimental flavours – but my money’s on Sara. Roll on 9pm.

Dinner Date

I know I’ve had a moan about a cooking-related TV show once before, but I really do love them, even the rubbish ones. My latest addiction is ITV’s Dinner Date which is on Sunday lunchtimes – perfect hangover TV. It’s an obvious rip-off of the fabulous Come Dine with Me, with one lucky singleton visiting three dates in one week who cook a three-course meal for them in their own home. The bachelor/bachelorette then rates the dates and chooses their favourite to go out with again at the end of the week.

The legendary Come Dine with Me narrator is portrayed by a female version who isn’t at all funny and quite rude about the diners but this made up for by the fact that Dinner Date gives the one thing that Come Dine with Me doesn’t….you get to find out what happens after they’ve all gone home!

I cast my mind back to a rather old episode of Come Dine with Me (and by far my favourite) which featured the wonderful ‘Singleton Jan’ (that was her name for the week.) She had her own business and a hot tub and at the end of the week she almost hooked up with the “butler” that one of the other contestants had hired for the evening. That’s where the show ended and I was left hanging! However, with Dinner Date, as the credits role you get an update as to how the couple got on and if they hit it off!

Yes, it says an awful lot about the cooking on this show when it’s the gossip that is most memorable!