MasterChef: The Professionals

What on earth have I just watched?! I started watching this show after it came to Netflix UK, and only gave it a 4 for the effort of the contestants.

If I were a professional chef, I'd never take part in this programme. All the "chef" judges do nothing but mocking, needling, and putting the contestants down. These people you judge are professionals already, and it must have taken a big heart and courage to be there for them. You cannot tell them off just because they didn't drizzle lemon to a sauce as you'd have done.

Besides, what is the deal with these replication part of the contest? It is only and only a "self-satisfaction" to the chef judge. Even if a classic, you can still make a dish via different ways. They don't have to make it in the exact same way as you do. It should be fine as long as the dish looks and tastes fine.

What's with these peculiar looks, judgemental staring, and implied questions on top of everything else? I especially disliked that part. A pastry chef tries to unskin a fish before you for the first time, and all you do is weirdest mimics and disgusted looks in your face. Then after this person wasn't successful enough in your eyes, you ask what went wrong. Well, let me tell you, you went wrong. And these people have nothing to learn from you. Go, human up guys, seriously.

I love the focus on techniques and ingredients. But I find the breathless, melodramatic voiceover to be out of place and distracting.

I understand that these shows tend to manufacture tension and dramatics to keep people entertained, but sometimes it's a bit too much.

Why do you call Gregg Wallace a Masterchef? He is a greengrocer, not even an apprentice chef. Michel Roux might well be a Masterchef, although already for 16 years he fails to get his third star. Gregg may have watched a lot of cooking being done, but no cook learns anything without practice. A Masterchef has many thousands of hours of practice and is able to take on every part of the kitchen: meat, fish, pastry, desserts. Final comment: the level of knowledge of your contestant chefs is very low. Masterchef is an entertaining program but with too much screaming in the style of "We expect the best.Only the very best chefs will go through. And: Masterchef Gregg will judge you."

I love the show but it lacks Umph.

If you watch it in other countries its so much fun.

I understand the idea of checking their skills. However maybe this could be addressed by removing it. Maybe set the skills test without any of the faffing., pomp and ceremony, sitting on chairs and moving over slowly, like a big entrance. Very annoying. More excitement and speed in the first section would stop me fast forwarding. To the contestants cooking. Unnecessary judgements could be made at this time.

The effect of this on the contestants could be very negative especially the way they are criticised. A teacher would not treat them like that.. Perhaps give them a chance to show off their technical skills from a choice of food stuffs.. I have no more ideas, suffice to say that I feel its a poor beginning to the show.

I have watched every episode of this intensely entertaining show and was so excited when they brought Marcus Wareing in, Both Marco and Gordon Ramsey have mentored this chef's career- and he inherited none of their silly nonsense and very few could follow in the footsteps of Michel Roux Jr., but Chef Marcus definitely can!

All of it is fun but the particular brilliance in this production has always been the music direction- it is quite shocking at times and brings drama to the cooking that only a considered score can do. It is worth it just for the music, but they offer so much more.