Celebrity MasterChef spoilers follow.
Celebrity MasterChef has said goodbye to another contestant in the episode aired tonight (August 31).
The magnificent seven who’d made it to the semi final — Marcus Brigstocke, Luca Bish, Shazia Mirza, Jamelia, Amy Walsh, Wynne Evans and Max George — had to try their hand at recreating the most prized recipes of rapper and self-taught chef Big Zuu, of Lebanese and Sierra Leonean heritage.
Whoever cooked the best dish would go straight to the next round. Jamelia wowed Big Zuu and judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace with her chocolate peanut butter ice cream with akara, a type of West African dumpling, and earned her spot on the next culinary challenge.
Related: Celebrity MasterChef eliminates another contestant in latest quarter final
The remaining six had to tap into their own food stories to fight for a chance to stay on the show. It was Shazia who had to leave her MasterChef apron behind, but let’s take a look at how we got there.
Each of the six celebrity chefs was asked to come up with a dish tied to a personal memory and craft it to perfection for John and Gregg.
Marcus was inspired by his first date with his wife and recreated several Spanish small plates from their tapas night, earning praise from the judges.
Amy’s “very good” scallop and lobster tortellini was an homage to cooking with her aunt and uncle, while Luca’s “delightful and divine” dish of cacio e pepe fagottelli with meatballs was dedicated to his Italian nonna.
Max didn’t quite nail the presentation of his dessert platter, which included a passion fruit crème brûlée, but his technique and the amount of work he’d put in were deemed impressive.
Related: Strictly star calls show a “pussycat” compared to Celebrity MasterChef
Shazia and Wynne both chose to honour their grandparents with their recipes, recreating a Pakistani paneer masala and a Belgian boudin blanc, respectively.
Sadly, theirs ended up being the weakest dishes of the night. John and Gregg pointed out that the opera singer’s boudin blanc didn’t have the right texture and that the comedian had gone a little overboard with ghee in her masala sauce.
At the end of the episode, the judges announced Shazia would be leaving the competition, giving Wynne another chance to prove his cooking skills.
Celebrity MasterChef continues Thursday night at 8pm on BBC One.
Reporter, Digital Spy
Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
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