I agree. Surely it would be better to just give them a classic challenge which would demonstrate that they have sound grounding from which to progress. And if they want to see some potential, ask them to then make a sauce of their choosing or something.

It's almost like they are picking really obscure things just to humiliate them. I thought the steak Diane yesterday was ok (and the tart at a push), but tonight's were both stupid. Comes across pretty patronising to sneer at them for knowing what a T bone plaice is or exactly how to make a random green soup....

They're better (imo) when they have to demonstrate a knowledge of basic butchery or filleting - things that you would expect a decent chef to know....

But they should have known how to make the viege and the veloute. Also to cook the fish correctly, the cut in f from she was almost secondary, Monica said as much herself. The dishes are versions of modern classics in the fine dining world and the competition is about fine dining professionals. Always has been. MRJ used to give them some dishes that are rather obscure these days, old French classics which are not seen much outside of French restaurants, the dishes do far have been of the "Modern British" or "Modern French" genre that a compeitor could reasonably expect to have knowledge of, especially f they have been properly trained as chefs.

Yeah, completely agree - a sauce vierge and a veloute are two fairly basic skills for the type of chef looking to win the competition, and last night's six got nowhere near.

A lot of these tests are set almost knowing it will expose gaps in their knowledge or stuff they have forgotten about but they are also looking to see how they perform when they are put on the spot and how good their general skills are.

For instance the T-Boning of the Plaice, OK they may not have done it before but they will be looking at the care they handle and prepare the fish, how well is the piece they end with cooked and seasoned etc. The french guy(?) - how was that whole plaice going to cook properly in the pan like that?! They could have sent him home then to be honest.

There have been quite a number of times when people on Masterchef (or Bake Off) have been given a test like these and said they had never seen the dish but produced something that was praised over people who claimed to know and even have made before.

Isn't this pork scratchings?

Evening everyone

Present qf already

Hello all

Most of these were pants, just less pants than the others.

Evening all

Evenin' foodies. Wow Fay Maschler has really aged. Well she must be about 102 now. She's been around forever.

Evening all!

Evening foodies

Lovely roast chicken dinner.

Pretty glasses Monica I lurves her anyway

Monica looks like Eric Morecambe tonight. "You've cooked with the right ingredients but not necessarily in the right order".

Chicken dinner ... needs roasties if nothing else

Monica's touched up her hair, it looks bleached to the death...

Evening all

It looks yellow. She reminds me of one of the Rugrats with the hair and specs.

I've always hated an English roast.

Fatty Cabbage ... yum

Sous vide with hay and fricaseed yeast and sea vegetables.

The chicken is totally confied and then smashed, reconstituted and then arranged as confectionary.

The veg is raw and sparse, with lots of sea weed on top.

Here we go: William 'balloNtine' Sitwell. There's no such word in either English or French. I was horrified to see it used in the Waitrose Christmas catalogue. Rather than admit he's wrong, he persuaded somebody in the company to adopt it.

Anyway, I hope there won't be any 'ballontines' today as it does get on my nerves considering how much he must be paid.

Yea ... we need more foams

They've already given some of the contestants a roasting!

I don't hate it as such but, apart from the roast potatoes, it is nothing special or, at least, nothing to rave about.