MasterChef Ireland (2011 - 2014)

This programme follows the second set of auditions as Dylan and Nick search for the amateur cooks who will go forward to the Final 16. In the first programme competition was fierce but just seven cooks made it through to the next round. Now with nine places left in the competition the pressure is on the remaining contestants to produce exceptional food that will impress Nick and Dylan.

In this episode the competition begins in earnest as the remaining 16 MasterChef Ireland contestants are set a challenge to cook a dish which sums them up – ‘You On A Plate’.

Just 12 amateur cooks remain in the competition for the coveted title of MasterChef Ireland. Tonight the competition hots up as the remaining MasterChef Ireland contestants are set a challenge to work in a restaurant set-up for the first time as they cook in the MasterChef kitchen for Nick and thirteen of the most discerning palettes in Ireland. At the end of the task two more competitors will be going home.

This episode saw the 10 remaining MasterChef Ireland contestants on their first visit to a professional kitchen. Judges Nick Munier and Dylan McGrath set them the task of preparing French canapés for 40 invited guests at the prestigious Ballyfin House in Co Laois under the watchful eye and instruction of Ballyfin House Executive Chef Fred Cordonnier.

Tonight sees the nine remaining MasterChef Ireland contestants take on their first large-scale catering challenge, where the emphasis is on wild, Irish, organic and in-season food.

In this programme, the eight remaining MasterChef Ireland contestants take on the intricacies of pastry as they are given a masterclass by renowned Chef Roger Pizey and have to recreate one of his signature desserts.

In this programme, the seven remaining MasterChef Ireland contestants take on the complexities of Indian cooking when they have to prepare food for paying guests in Ananda, an award-winning Indian restaurant in Dundrum, Dublin, where they will have to master the art of preparing Indian dishes to a fine dining standard. Ananda at Dundrum is often described as one of the best Indian dining experiences in Ireland and is a partnership between serial restaurateur Asheesh Dewan and the inimitable Atul Kochhar, the first Indian chef to receive a Michelin star for his renowned London restaurant Benares. Ananda’s Executive Chef, Sunil Ghai has won many awards and fans for his bold contemporary cooking style, including the Chef of the Year in 2009 at the Food and Wine Awards. Sunil gives the contestants a Masterclass in Indian cookery in which he talks about three main things – spices, a basic curry base and rice. The seven contestants are then divided into two groups.

In this programme, the five remaining MasterChef Ireland contestants take on a fishing challenge in Howth, Co. Dublin. They will be given three hours to catch fish, which must then be cooked in the kitchens of Aqua Restaurant, Howth. They are each given a hessian sack containing a different set of ingredients from which they must invent a dish using their catch. They are given 30 minutes to prep and another 30 minutes to cook the fish before serving to Dylan and Nick for judging. In day two of the task the contestants are given a Masterclass in fish cookery by the legendary John Burton Race, who Dylan credits with having taught him to cook fish. In a ninety minute Masterclass he will show the would-be Masterchefs how to cook Sole Bonne Femme with new potatoes and spinach. The contestants are then given ninety minutes to replicate this dish, before one of them is eliminated from the competition.

The heat is on as the remaining four contestants battle it out to make it to the final three and with the Final just around the corner the pressure is mounting on these exceptional amateur cooks. In this programme, Mike, Mary, Christine and Bridin are given the chance to cook at the highly prestigious Restaurant Forty One restaurant at the famous private members club Residence.

It’s Final week on MasterChef Ireland and the search for Ireland’s first ever MasterChef is nearly over. Now Mary, Bridin and Mike will battle it out in this and the final programme for the coveted title. Tonight it’s the first part of the Final and the final three amateur cooks take on a Michelin-starred challenge, cooking at the highest level of fine dining in Michelin star kitchens in Dublin. These three exceptional cooks will each cook an evening service at a Michelin star restaurant in Dublin. Mike will be in Bon Appetit in Malahide, Co Dublin, Bridin will be in L’Ecrivain in Dublin and Mary will be in Ross Lewis’s restaurant Chapter One also in Dublin. In the second part of the challenge the stakes get even higher as they do service in the renowned two Michelin star Restaurant Patrick Guilband. Each contestant will be on either starter, main course or dessert and they will be cooking for their MasterChef lives.

It’s Final week on MasterChef Ireland and the search for Ireland’s first ever MasterChef ends tonight. Now Mary, Bridin and Mike will battle it out for the coveted title.