MasterChef viewers don't agree with contestants' 'basic' ingredients

What did you miss?

MasterChef viewers were left questioning the definition of "basic" ingredients by some of the show's contestants after they served up a series of fancy dishes.

The BBC One cooking contest's heats this year have each launched with amateur cooks asked to elevate a humble ingredient into something special.

But while some of the contestants stuck to the brief by choosing eggs and lentils, others were accused of not playing by the rules.

What, how, and why?

MasterChef's latest contestants seemed a little too keen to show off their foodie credentials during the first challenge to elevate a basic ingredient.

The same task has been used at the beginning of each heat so far this series but fans thought this week's contestants were stretching the definition a little to fit the dishes they wanted to cook.

While some contestants stuck to the brief by featuring eggs or lentils, two others stood out for claiming ingredients viewers saw as luxury were actually "humble".

Rawdon served up scallops and claimed that they were humble because they did not cost too much in his local market, while Tom went for pork fillet.

One viewer commented on X: "In whose world is scallop a basic ingredient?", while someone else asked: "Is pork fillet really a humble ingredient?"

Another viewer wrote: "People on this program are like: "Ok guys, my humble ingredient is truffle covered in edible gold.""

Someone else commented: ""What's your humble ingredient?" "A pork fillet". I think my definition of humble is somewhat different to some of these #MasterChef contestants."

What else has been happening on MasterChef?

Earlier in the week, one contestant came under fire for criticising his mother's cooking on the show.

LED screen installer Ben, 30, said he was inspired to get into cooking from watching TV and wondering why his mum was feeding him "brown freezer food" at home. Later in the episode he said his inspiration for his menu was "British mum style of food", but not his own mother's as she wouldn't cook it.

Ben was sent home after he served up a piece of raw fish to the judges and struggled to finish his complicated menu in time.

MasterChef next airs on BBC One at 7.30pm on Friday.

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