MasterChef contestant uses show to criticise his mother's cooking

What did you miss?

A MasterChef 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. The MasterChef star was asked by hosts John Torode and Gregg Wallace what got him into cooking.

What, how and why?

He said: "I grew up eating a lot of brown freezer food from my mum. And then got inspired by watching TV chefs – seeing all these exciting flavours and wondering why I'm sitting down every night to chips and breaded chicken."

The contestant then cooked for previous MasterChef finalists a starter of seared tuna with miso sauce and a sesame crust. This was followed by fillet of venison wrapped in cured ham. He said: "My main represents that British mum style of food where its nice hearty portions but I don't think my mum would ever make any of this, maybe kale at a push."

Viewers were not impressed with him showing disrespect to his mother on national television. One wrote on social media platform X: "Ben digging at his mum constantly, who like most mums, was probably just doing her best, deserves to leave. #MasterChef."

Another said: "Bad luck Ben, go home & cook for your mum - if she’s still speaking to you #masterchef." One joked: "Good Man Ben, go on national television & rubbish your Mum. What a Guy. #MasterChef."

While another posted: "Hope Ben’s mum isn’t watching him s**g off her cooking at every opportunity! #masterchef."

He wanted to serve his tuna pink in the middle but he plated it up raw. MasterChef series 17 winner Saliha Mahmood Ahmed said: "Seared tuna is a little bit raw normally, but this is far too raw, and it's not been sliced up either..."

And viewers agreed. One tweeted: "Tuna so raw it was having a conversation with the judges. #MasterChef" While another said: "Raw fish #MasterChef."

The judges did not comment on how rare Ben's venison was, but one viewer posted: "That venison still looks raw. #masterchef."

What else happened on MasterChef?

Throughout the latest series, viewers have continued to complain about the standard of contestants after a number of kitchen disasters. And in a previous episode one contestant accidentally sprinkled salt instead of sugar over his dessert, leaving viewers questioning the show's standards. Another round saw a disaster involving vinegar.

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