BBC Celebrity MasterChef judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode were unable to finish a dish rustled up by Craig Doyle during Thursday’s episode following an almighty blunder in the kitchen.
Doyle was vying for a spot in this year’s final three as he, Vito Coppola, Rochenda Sandall, and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey were tasked with producing a dish close to their hearts for the judges.
This Morning star Doyle decided to cook up a brûléed lemon curd tart with meringues and lemon curd-filled raspberries, basil and candied mint.
Doyle dedicated the dish to his wife and children but moments before he was due to serve the creation to Wallace and Torode, he realised he’d committed a major error after confusing salt for sugar.
The presenter sprinkled salt over the top of his tarts but when he took the blowtorch to the dish to caramelise the sugar, he realised something was amiss.
When it was time to present the dish to Wallace and Torode, Doyle came clean: “Before you tuck in, I had an issue at the end.
“I couldn’t understand why the sugar wasn’t brûléeing… I put salt on it.”
Both Wallace and Torode were taken aback by the mishap, especially as it happened at the last hurdle before Friday’s final.
As such, Torode had to cut the tart in half and move the salted section to the side of his plate, unable to eat it.
“One side here which is the salt, the other side doesn’t have any salt on it. I’ve never had a salted lemon tart,” he quipped.
After tasting the half of the tart unaffected by the salt mix-up, Torode critiqued: “I can’t ignore the fact you’ve got salt over the top of your lemon tart – but the salt is on one side.
“The other side of your tart is really good. Your pastry is beautifully soft and it’s got lovely butter to it. The lemon curd is sharp but sweet at the same time and has set beautifully.
“Those meringues representing your children, nice and soft but still got a little bit of crunch to them.”
Extending his sympathies, Torode added: “I’m sad for you because you’ve ‘assaulted’ your tart, but you’ve done a huge amount of work and it is probably the best-looking plate you’ve made in the competition so far.”
Wallace also tried to focus on the positive: “Those sharp raspberries with the little sharpness of the lemon curd with a bit of basil is beautiful. Well thought-out, well-designed, elegant, incredibly yummy sweet dish…
“With a sprinkle of salt,” he caveated as Doyle threw his head in his hands before Wallace concluded: “Oh, Craig!”
Coppola planted a supportive hug on Doyle as he returned to the line-up where he angrily said: “It’s just annoying, just annoying.”
Speaking to the camera, Doyle said the mishap “mirrored my life so much” as he’s the “clumsiest, most forgetful person you’ll ever meet”.
During the judges’ deliberations, Sandall and Coppola sailed through but Doyle found himself in line for the chop alongside Aikines-Aryeetey.
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“Craig’s issue is the use of salt instead of sugar. However, really fine pastry, well-made lemon curd, the little raspberries I thought were really good,” Wallace said.
Torode deliberated: “For me, (it was) the best dish Craig’s done throughout the competition, but can we forgive the mistake?”
When it came to Aikines-Aryeetey, Wallace and Torode praised the improvement they’ve seen in him throughout the competition, but were unimpressed with the mismatch of desserts he served up to them.
The decision clearly took its toll on Torode who became tearful when he delivered the verdict on who’d missed out on a spot in the final three.
He said to the famous faces: “You are truly a fabulous four. I’m getting slightly emotional because we know how far you’ve all come.
“Whatever happens today, please continue to believe in yourselves because what you’ve achieved in this competition so far has been absolutely incredible and way beyond expectation. So from me… thank you.”
Sandall similarly became tearful at Torode’s honest words before he regained his composure to say: “The person leaving us… is Harry.”
Doyle looked stunned at the verdict before Aikines-Aryeetey planted a hug on his co-star and bid farewell to Wallace and Torode.
A shell-shocked Doyle told the BBC cameras: “I’d made peace with going home. I’d booked golf, in fact. I’m really proud to be here. It gets in on your soul, man. It’s unbelievable.”
Fans will have to tune into Friday’s final to see if Doyle has what it takes to emerge victorious.
