BBC Celebrity MasterChef fans slam ‘ridiculous’ challenge during finals week: ‘How does this help?’

Celebrity MasterChef fans were left annoyed and confused during tonight’s second challenge, as they claimed they couldn’t see how it helped the celebrities with their cooking skills.

During tonight’s episode, the final five celebrities were within touching distance of the trophy but were once again set challenging tasks to push them to their limits.

For their first task of the week, Craig Doyle, Vito Coppola, Ian ‘H’ Watkins, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and Rochenda Sandall asked to cook a dish inspired by a well-known chef.

Judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace were in for a treat, as amongst the chefs chosen to spark the celebrities’ culinary flair were Yotam Ottolenghi, James Martin and Heston Blumenthal.

Unfortunately for Watkins, his chocolate pudding wasn’t up to scratch and left Torode and Wallace to claim it was “too messy”, meaning he was the first celebrity to be eliminated this week.

Not letting them rest, the BBC judges chucked the four celebrities on board the iconic British Pullman train to take charge of the lunch service to its loyal guests.

Head chef John Freeman designed the menu for the 20 passengers on board, with each celebrity overseeing one course, striving to stay on track, as well as impress the passengers, Torode and Wallace with their skills under immense pressure.

Taking to X to express their confusion over the challenge, one viewer noted: “This cooking on a first-class train ‘task’ is ridiculous – producers need to think again.”

“Yes, it’s a moving train, not a roller coaster. #celebritymasterchef,” someone else said before another added: “How is cooking in a train going to help their skills? Not sure I get it.”

A fourth user expressed: “I get that it’s a stressful environment but when in their life are they going to cook on a train? Or when do they ever get on a train let’s be real?”

“Cooking on a train? Sure, makes so much sense,” another expressed before a sixth simply asked: “How does this help them?”

Speaking about the end of his journey, Watkins noted: “I am absolutely amazed that I even made it this far. There’s a little bit of me that would have loved to carry on, but I’m so proud of myself. I’ve learnt so much.

“You know, I can fillet a fish, I can make pasta, I can cook a lobster, but I will tell you I am going to be eating out every night this month.”

During Thursday’s upcoming episode the final three brace themselves, as they head to the five-star Cowarth Park Hotel in Berkshire, home to the Michelin-starred restaurant Woven, where they work under the guidance of one of the country’s most innovative chefs, Adam Smith.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

John Torode storms out of BBC Celebrity MasterChef kitchen over star’s timing bombshellCelebrity MasterChef star throws head in hands after missing out crucial ingredient in dishAll Creatures star makes surprise James return confession as he admits ‘it’s more challenging’

Extra pressure is piled on as the guest list of diners pile in: including six gastronomic trailblazers including Aktar Islam (Opheem), Anna Haugh (Myrtle) and Frederick Forster (190 Queen’s Gate).

The service of the final three will be remember for years to come and a winner of the 2024 series will finally be crowned.