If anything was missing from the final – indeed the series in its entirety – it was the thrills, spills and oven-side meltdowns that are part of the fun of regular MasterChef (and its Celebrity cousin). And foraging enthusiast Martin pushed the skiff out all the way out with a main that included glazed duck hearts and a desert featuring bilberry jam. Determined to create a splash, each had pulled out all the stops with their three-course meals, to be prepared within a strict three-hour time limit.īanks caused eye-brows to arch with the “bold” watercress he paired with a monkfish main course. The likeable Henry was pushed to the limits by Dean Banks from Arbroath and Oli Martin from the Yorkshire Dales. How many goes did it require to reel all that off without stumbling? Henry’s starter was identified in the voiceover as “hand-dived scallop, marinated cherry tomatoes, roast tomato dashi, strawberries and coriander oil seasoned with sansho pepper”. Even describing the dishes felt a challenge. Where the series typically encourages the audience to imagine how they might fare unleashed in the BBC kitchen, the Professionals spin-off had an air of “don’t try this at home”.Īll three finalists carried off bravura feats of gastronomic gymnastics. Wallace, in particular, appeared to undergo a metaphysical experience as he tucked in.īut the daunting level of cooking arguably deprived the episode of the traditional MasterChef charm. Superlatives flowed like cranberry sauce on Christmas Day: his fermented hispi cabbage was “on another level” and his pork was described as a once-in-a-life-time dish the panel would “never forget”. Judges Gregg Wallace, Monica Galetti and Marcus Wareing responded to the Nottingham-born chef’s cooking by smacking their lips and reaching for the office thesaurus. But Henry, at 26 the youngest of the three finalists, kept his nerve and floored the experts with a loin and belly of suckling pig main course. Pitting working chefs against one another, this full-flavour twist on the MasterChef recipe is typically highly competitive and so it proved in the latest decider. The knives were out – along with the pots, chopping boards and blenders – as fresh-faced kitchen whizz Laurence Henry was crowned winner of MasterChef: The Professionals (BBC Two).