Celebrity MasterChef star Craig Doyle thought he had ruined his chances at the BBC series final after admitting to missing out on one crucial ingredient during his first dish of finals week.
Making it to the final and hoping to take home the trophy are Doyle, Vito Coppola, Ian ‘H’ Watkins, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and Rochenda Sandall.
For their first task tonight, the celebrities were challenged to cook a dish inspired by a well-known chef and put their own stamp on their creations which represent their chosen culinary genius.
Judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace were in for a treat, as amongst the chefs chosen to spark the celebrities’ culinary flair were Yotam Ottolenghi, James Martin and Heston Blumenthal.
Doyle decided to take inspiration from Ottolenghi and whipped up a butterflied leg of lamb in a shawarma spice marinade with labneh cheese, hummus and toasted pine nuts, cumin-seeded flatbread za’atar roasted potatoes and root slaw.
Kicking off cooking the dish, Doyle explained: “Ottolenghi. The guy, right? He’s so creative and it’s brilliant sharing food, you just lay it out. Everyone has a good time.
“So I have a butterflied leg of lamb here, I’m going to do like a shawarma kind of marinade on it and I’m going to do some really nice, smooth hummus, I hope.”
Wallace noted: “You’ve been cooking in that eclectic style all the way through. Has there been the hand of Ottolenghi on your shoulder throughout this competition?” leaving Doyle to tease: “He’s in my ear. Those little, soft whispers.”
After a brutal one hour and 45 minutes, Doyle finally presented the dish to the judges and joked: “You sometimes forget what you’ve cooked!”
Taking the first taste, Torode complimented: “There’s nothing shy about that, is there, Craig? I mean, you’re bouncing around the Silk Road and the Spice Trail. I love that lamb.
“That lamb’s cooked absolutely beautifully, and across the top of that, a lovely mixture of smoky spice and your hummus, creamy and smooth. Lovely texture, the crunchy slaw itself, I like, but right now I feel like I want a bit of freshness, just to give it a bit of brightness.
“Because I’ve got bread, I’ve got potatoes,” leaving Doyle to throw his hands to his head, interrupt and admit: “Oh! Do you know what? I forgot to put the chopped herbs in the slaw!”
Wallace was next to critique his dish and added: “I love the seeds across the bread, giving it smokiness. The spices you’ve put across the potatoes are going slightly bitter. Your labneh is salty. It’s an extraordinary amount of work and I think you’ve got some amazing flavours in here.”
Walking away from the table, Doyle joked: “Anyone for herbs? I have some herbs for sale, unused, untouched. Look, I am happy. I really enjoyed the cooking.
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“I do so many stupid things though, every time I come out and I go ‘Oh’. I feel like I am quite close to getting it right. I just need to fix the little bits at the end.”
Unfortunately for Watkins, his journey on MasterChef came to an end when Wallace and Torode revealed he would be leaving the competition, leaving the steps star to express: “I am absolutely amazed that I even made it this far.
“There’s a little bit of me that would have loved to carry on, but I’m so proud of myself. I’ve learnt so much. You know, I can fillet a fish, I can make pasta, I can cook a lobster, but I will tell you I am going to be eating out every night this month.”
