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A new batch of amateur cooks take on pros at their own game as challenge show Beat The Chef returns with a new format...
Our 52-page guide includesjacistephen’s Soap Watch, your essential Movie Planner plus a special preview of the return of cookery challenge show Beat The Chef
This is the cookery challenge, presented by Andi Oliver, that proved a dish too far for most of those taking part. None of the contestants in series one of Beat The Chef, in which amateurs take on professionals in culinary contests, came close to winning the £10,000 jackpot.
The cooks accumulated money as they competed in five knockout rounds, but in the 25 episodes, the biggest haul was £1,500, with many either eliminated potless or choosing to bow out before the end and keep some winnings.
In series two it’s all change – now there are just two rounds, which is good news for at least one talented winner who goes home with the top prize. As executive producer Rachel Innes-lumsden says, ‘The revamped format ups the chances of the amateur beating some of the UK’S finest chefs.’
There are some new pros too, and they’re determined not to be upstaged by home cooks. Chefs Frederick Forster and Mark Sargeant survive from series one, while Sophie Michell and Hrishikesh Desai replace Clodagh Mckenna and James Tanner.
The rebooted 30-part series sees them and the amateurs first whip up the amateur’s favourite dish and then, in round two, the pro’s favourite dish. Blind tasting both and awarding their votes are a food jury of five experts – a food blogger, a recipe developer, a food writer, a home cook and a trained chef.
In round one, each vote from the jury for the contestant is worth £250, allowing them to build up a prize pot ahead of round two. Then it’s on to round two, the chef’s choice of meal, and a chance for the challenger to scoop the £10,000 jackpot. Scallops, salmon
Around £250,000 was up for grabs in series one, but only £8,800 was won. Six contestants walked away with £1,000 or more, but on 17 of the 25 shows not a penny was won. and squid ink linguine all feature in the mouthwatering meals prepared in this week’s shows, and for those with a sweeter tooth there’s banana cake in a rich caramel sauce and a fruity tarte Tatin with ginger biscuits.
Pilot Chris Topham is the first to try his luck, pitting his skills against Mark Sargeant. Chris is quietly confident (‘I’m cool,
calm and collected in the cockpit – and in the kitchen’) and he chooses beef stroganoff for the first round, which was the dish he made that persuaded his wife to marry him. Then Mark challenges Chris to beat his plaice with bourguignon sauce.
There’s plenty of light-hearted banter as the two men go head to head over their spitting frying pans and boiling saucepans, but
Mark – like all the other chefs in the series – is keen to win. ‘Beat The Chef is fun with lots of laughs, but the professionals really don’t want to lose to the amateurs,’ says Andi. ‘They’re putting their reputations on the line and want them to remain firmly intact.’