Masterchef 2020 executive producer David Ambler has shut down any concerns over fellow competitor The Great British Bake Off. The show boss said in a recent interview how the baking show “doesn’t do anything better” than his BBC cooking competition.
They don’t do anything better than us
David Ambler
David highlighted that whilst he “loves” GBBO, Masterchef was “there first” and likely had elements pulled from it in order to create the Channel 4 show.
When quizzed on the show, he told the Radio Times: “It’s a great show. However, they don’t do anything better than us. And we were there first. I’d say they took a lot of elements from us. Probably. Who cares if their viewing figures are higher?”
He went on to highlight that Masterchef aims to excel home cooks with their dream of becoming a professional chef and follows an “odd” format.
“We have a slightly odd format, where we start with 60 people,” David explained.
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“We have heats stripped over eight weeks, with three a week. It’s a different style. We have two judges who are keen to mentor and passionate about food. It’s a warm show. We’re there to support people and their dream of being a professional chef.”
The producer revealed the stakes are even higher now to secure a spot in the prestigious contest, which is fronted by John Torode and Greg Wallace, with almost triple the number of applicants than when it first aired.
The show started in 1990 and was hosted by Loyd Grossman for 10 series and then the late Gary Rhodes took the reins for the 11th rendition until 2001. It was later revived in 2005 in the format it is now seen in today.
David said: “When it started, there were 500 applicants a year. Now there are 3,000 and the bar is a lot higher. We’re looking for passion. Our contestants want to make the leap from an amateur cook to something in the food world. They have to show some technical knowledge.
“One of the questions is, ‘Do you make your own sauces?’ We wouldn’t discount a candidate if they didn’t but… well, the bottom line is to make it through the competition, you need to be able to cook bloody well.”
John’s wife Lisa Faulkner, who won the show back in 2010, previously highlighted the difficulty of the “stressful” show.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Express.co.uk last year, Lisa said: “I had no idea, but as it was the celebrity version, I didn’t think we’d start cooking straight away. I thought they put make-up on you but there was no make-up. I thought they’d say this is what you do. John and Gregg tell you what your task is and then they’d give you some advice to help you.
“I had no idea, it was like you’ve got an hour and it starts now. That means choosing your ingredients and no-one helping. You just do it.”
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She added: “I had no idea it was like that. I thought they stopped filming and gave you advice. You’ve got an hour and a half and you just get on with it. It’s really stressful.”
The Holby City actress took home the Masterchef title 10 years ago and just two years later found herself in a romantic relationship with the celebrity chef.
The pair began dating in 2012 and tied the knot in October after Lisa announced John had proposed on Christmas Day the year before.
Taking to Instagram to announce the news of her engagement, Lisa wrote: “My gorgeous John completely surprised me on Christmas Day and asked me to marry him!
“After waiting to tell our family when we got home we then had a few days just grinning at each other!! I’m so very happy to share our lovely news with you.
Radio Times out now [Radio Times]
“Happy 2019 it’s going to be quite a year and I’m going to embrace every minute of it. All you need is love. Love is all you need.”
The couple has since shared a string of stunning snaps from their big day with Lisa hailing it the “best day” of her life.
Lisa and John showcased simplistic elegance as they posed for wedding photographs.
One snap shared on Lisa’s Instagram page showed John looking adoringly at her as she beamed in her capped-sleeve wedding gown.
Read the full interview out in this week’s Radio Times magazine.
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