5 MINUTES WITH...

Masterchef: The Professionals gang – top chefs Marcus Wareing and Monica Galetti, plus celebrated MC judge Gregg Wallace – are back to taste-test lots more dishes as the established chefs go head to head…

Can you recall your most memorable dishes on the show? MONICA, 43: I think last year’s cod cheek omelette is still the winner. This year, we have a dessert based on spaghetti Bolognese, and we see a classic old technique making an appearance – cooking in a pig’s bladder. MARCUS, 48: Someone in one of my Skills Tests made a raw pork ravioli, which Gregg was very disappointed about because he was so hungry. Do you have to step up the exercise regime when you’re eating so much? MONICA: Exercise for me is a way of life, not just during filming – I love to box. And we do pace ourselves while tasting. Gregg, maybe not quite so much, but Marcus and I do! We’re not there to have a feast every day. MARCUS: I run and go to Equinox (fitness club), and it will all help later on in life. GREGG: I’m in the gym five days a week, if not six, and I swim and walk thirty minutes a day as well. What do you enjoy most about Masterchef? MONICA: We’re like a little family. It’s my ten-year anniversary of filming the series this year, and it’s still always so lovely when you see everyone again on the first day. MARCUS: Discovering new talent, and Gregg’s jokes. GREGG: It’s simply the quality of the food. You would have to pay a lot of money to eat as well as I do in the closing stages of the competition. It’s an absolute privilege to get your spoon and fork stuck in. Would you ever rustle up a quick beans on toast at home? MONICA: No! Not unless it was the end of the world and there was a zombie apocalypse outside. I would much rather have scrambled egg. MARCUS: Yes! GREGG: Beans on toast, no, but maybe a butterscotch angel delight.