BBC Celebrity MasterChef judge Gregg Wallace admitted that he was wrong when it came to giving critiques to contestant Tamer Hassan who was battling it out for a place in the semi-final.
During tonight’s episode, the remaining three celebrities had one hour and 15 minutes to each prepare a two-course menu for 2021 semi-finalist Su Pollard, 2019 finalist Vicky Pattison and 2017 champion Angellica Bell.
After being told to push his limits further, Hassan took on the challenge of creating grilled octopus in a lemon, parsley and olive oil drizzle with parsnip puree for starters, alongside his main of Frutti di Mare (Stew of clams, muscles, scallops and lobster) with toasted sourdough and razor clams.
Discussing Hassan’s previous plates and what he could bring to the table, Wallace said: “Tamer knows good food, he was brought up with a Cypriot family, he knows the flavours and he knows the spices.”
Torode agreed: “Whatever he cooks has great flavour, what I would like from Tamer in this round is just a little bit more process.”
Speaking to the judges about what he was cooking, Hassan revealed: “I was told by you guys to push the boat out a little bit more, do a bit more cooking.
“So today I am going to make a grilled octopus with a parsnip puree for starters and then for main a Frutti di Mare broth, shellfish in tomato sauce, and then I am going to cook some razor clams.
“I’ve got some fresh lobsters that I have to boil, cook and get them into the stew as well. I am really into it, I am passionate about it and I want it. I am enjoying the process and I want to take it with me for the rest of my life.”
Away from Hassan, the TV chefs discussed what they thought of the ambitious two courses, with Torode noting: “Our first course, grilled octopus, you have to make sure there is a really nice char on the outside.
“It’s warm all the way through but it shouldn’t be rubbery in any way, it should be lovely and soft.”
Noticing that Hassan added cream to the boiling parsnips, Wallace exclaimed: “Where did that come from? That is just crazy! A parsnip is thick and sweet, what you want with that octopus is something sharp, a parsnip! I hope he can pull it off, but mate that is a lot of work.”
However, Wallace was taken aback and forced to retract his statement about the parsnip puree when trying the dish and praised: “I was absolutely wrong about the parsnip, I actually find that delightful.
“The sharpness of that green herby sauce actually blends quite nicely with the sweetness of the parsnip, and then the octopus is well cooked, that’s really nice.”
Torode and Wallace weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the dish, as Pollard praised: “This is very well presented, when I bit into this tentacle, I think it has been cooked extremely well. I love the texture of this parsnip, just the sweetness of it.”
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Bell added: “Look, I would order octopus in a restaurant, I think the parsnip puree is really sweet, but not too overly done, I really like it.”
“The puree is lovely, and that little dressing. Really well flavoured, I think he has put those different ingredients really nicely there,” Pattison expressed.
