Chefs Marcus Wareing and Monica Galetti, plus TV presenter Gregg Wallace – watching over a new batch of chefs showing off their skills in the kitchen…
How do you feel at the start of a new series? MARCUS, 50: When the contestants first come through the door, I always think of the mountain we’re about to climb. The journey is massive; it’s long, it’s hard and it can be quite daunting. But this year it felt really good because it was the only work we had. We embraced it with 100 per cent focus and enjoyment.
Do you think lockdown had an impact on this year’s chefs? MARCUS: Their energy at the beginning may have suffered… They were hitting the ground running very quickly with the skills test. It’s always a shock anyway, but this time they weren’t coming into the studio from their professional kitchens. It took some of them a while to get up to speed, but they came through it.
What was it like filming with the new COVID rules?
GREGG, 56: The biggest change for me was not being able to shake someone’s hand or put my arm around the people
I’ve been working with for 17 years. Filming-wise, it’s been OK – but we now taste the food individually rather than standing around the plate together, and the floor manager walks around with a stick making sure we’re always two metres apart!
What can we look forward to? MARCUS: I think this series is going to be better than ever because the restrictions have pushed us down new avenues to be creative and to get the best out of our chefs.
You look like you all get on really well?
MONICA, 45: Gregg has a million jokes! He loves an audience… He can remember the punchline to a tee. What he forgets is how many times he’s told us the same one, but it’s always a lot of fun. By Mel Fallowfield