BEST OF THE REST
MASTERCHEF BBC1, 9pm
IT’S that time of the year again, when Gregg Wallace smacks his lips over endless puddings and we wait for John Torode to dish out a compliment.
Back for a 15th series, this mega cookery competition is always a welcome return to our TV sets even though it does tend to take over for a few weeks.
In the first round, seven hopefuls will become three as they enter the notorious MC kitchen. Among them are Tim, 26, who says he’s never eaten a ready meal; Annabel, 22, who taught herself to cook by watching food shows as a child; and Devina, 51, who baked her own wedding cake for 700 guests.
The challenges will be as familiar and as tense as ever. They must invent one dish to dazzle the judges, then the four best will cook two courses for last year’s finalists, before one more gets the boot.
The heat is on.
JAMES MARTIN’S GREAT BRITISH ADVENTURE ITV, 2pm
BUDGETS are tight, Brexit is looming and travel presenters are touring the UK.
“This is a place that has it all,” exclaims chef James Martin as this daily foodie series kicks off.
It’s a gentle, jolly sort of affair as James tours around various beauty spots in Great Britain, sources food, whips up the odd dish on his mobile kitchen and chats to locals. He begins in the Orkney Islands, shopping for hand-dived scallops and meeting up with Scottish chef Nick Nairn.
Nick checks out 18th century Barony Mill and the Beremeal flour it produces, discovering the best vinegar he’s tasted.
Later, James takes to the skies to visit North Ronald sea, one of the most remote of the Orkneys and home to Billy Muir, who rears a unique herd of sheep. They outnumber the human inhabitants of the island and feed on seaweed.
It all ends with a hunt for a famous brown crab.