Who’s the best?
THIS very civilised cook-off reaches its finale tonight, with one hopeful winning the accolade from the cooking queen herself, Mary Berry. The prize may only be a china plate, but it’s so much more than that. Aside from obvious glory and bragging rights, we can probably expect to see the winner launch a new cook book by Christmas.
It’s an all-female final, with Georgia, Sarah and Suzie going head-to-head to impress Mary,
Chris Bavin and Angela Hartnett. Claudia Winkleman skips around as usual, providing moral support and her witty repartee that elevates any show she’s in.
Meanwhile, a special mention for Mary’s gorgeous wardrobe, featuring among other things, a pair of hot pink trousers that many viewers will covet.
Back to the cooking, and there’s a change to proceedings, with Chris’s Rustle Up round going first. He wants them to serve salmon tail in two different ways.
Then Angela steps in with her Eliminator round, tasking them with cooking a spinach and ricotta tortellini pronto.
After that, one finalist will go, leaving the remaining two to come back and do battle the following day for Mary’s Ultimate test. And it’s a good one. She wants them to cook a very special three-course dinner party for four. “It’s got to be out of this world,” she says.
And after eight weeks, the judges will base their decision on this last meal alone.
It’s far too friendly for the knives to be out, but the heat is certainly on…