A brand new set of celebrity contestants took to the kitchen in Celebrity MasterChef this week. With TV personality Katie Price, TV presenter and football legend Dion Dublin, actor and presenter Joe Swash, The Repair Shop furniture restorer Will Kirk and actress Melissa Johns all competing to be crowned Celebrity MasterChef champion.
Fans particularly took a shine to expert furniture restorer Will Kirk, who is best known for his work on The Repair Shop. Although his cooking skills were not up to par, viewers loved his kind and sweet personality.
The first challenge was Under the Cloche, where the contestants had one hour to create a dish showcasing the mysterious ingredient hidden under the cloche.
Will got chickpeas, which is an ingredient he was familiar with as he makes hummus at home for his vegan wife. However, Will decided to not go down the hummus route and instead roast the chickpeas and serve them with chicken wrapped in bacon, chilli roasted butternut squash, olives, onions, garlic, and a tomato sauce.
After Will kept constantly opening the oven door and letting the heat escape, John was worried that the chicken wouldn’t be cooked properly.
Gregg Wallace was hesitant to try the dish, saying “I’m very nervous of your chicken.” After cutting it open, he discovered the chicken was in fact raw and after tasting the chickpeas John Torode told him that he had dried them out.
Gregg finished off his feedback with “It’s not great, but there are lessons to draw from it.” A disappointed Will said, “I’m really upset with myself. I shouldn’t have opened up the door so many times and let all that heat out. And, you know, here we are.”
Next, was The Street Food Challenge, where they had to list every ingredient they could taste, see or smell in a street food dish from a different country, and then recreate it with the ingredients given to them under a cloth. However, there were a few rogue ingredients added to the mix to throw the celebrities off.
The dish they tried this week was a popular dish from Jamaica called Escovitch fish and festival dumplings. John deemed Will’s dumplings as “not bad” and Gregg enjoyed his dish, telling him that, “And you fish is cooked well. You can do it.” After his chicken blunder, Will was ecstatic to hear the good news and even said that he almost cried!
The final challenge was The Dinner Party Challenge, where the celebrities must cook a dish that they would serve up to friends or family if they came over for dinner. Will cooked duck breast and sweet potato mash with tender stem broccoli and a red wine jus, made from cranberries, orange, and honey.
Although it was visually pleasing, unlucky Will’s duck was raw yet again, which frustrated the judges.
Unfortunately, his raw poultry dishes were enough to send him home, leaving the viewers and Will gutted that he was the first one out. But, even if he wasn't this year's Celebrity MasterChef champion, he was still a winner in the eyes of the fans...
Aw, Will! Such a sweet person. You tried your best. #CelebrityMasterChefAugust 23, 2021
#CelebrityMasterChef nooooooo Will noooooo he is my fav where is the remote. DisgustedAugust 23, 2021
Gutted Will’s gone. I could watch him cook all day 😍 #CelebrityMasterChefAugust 23, 2021
Will, no! 3 #CelebrityMasterChef #MasterChefUKAugust 23, 2021
Do not say anything bad to lovely Will please ☺️#celebritymasterchefAugust 23, 2021
Was really looking forward to a week with Wonderful Will. He did not deserve to be sent home. He was learning fast and showed real aptitude. No way was he the worst cook. #CelebrityMasterChefAugust 23, 2021
Celebrity MasterChef continues tonight at 9pm on BBC1.
