BBC Celebrity MasterChef’s John Torode ‘sad’ as star makes major error during final: ‘Feeling overwhelmed’

Celebrity MasterChef judge John Torode was left disappointed with star Rochenda Sandall after her pistachio ice cream failed to set in time during their final challenge on the show.

Tonight, Sandall, Vito Coppola and Craig Doyle were asked to create two dishes for judges Torode and Gregg Wallace, giving them the chance to show off their culinary skills one last time.

Sandall decided to cook a rump of lamb with mint sauce, fondant potato, a kale, anchovy and hazelnut bonbon, onion cream, charred spring onion and a lamb and red wine sauce for her main.

The dessert of choice was an orange polenta cake, soaked in orange syrup, topped with a pistachio crumb, and fresh blackberries and served with pistachio ice cream.

When discussing with Wallace if winning the show was a big deal to her, she explained: “Yeah it is a big deal. I mean I couldn’t cook at all 10 years ago, it has been a long long journey and it has ended up here so! What more could a girl ask for?

“I am not going to go rogue with anything today, I am stripping it back, it is going to go classic. I have travelled around the world with my food and I want to bring it back home.

“Dessert is dedicated to my lovely friend Sam’s son, who is called Sydney, who is also known as Peanut, he is a little 14-year-old aspiring chef and when he mentioned to me what his favourite dessert was, it was just a no-brainer I had to go with it.”

With just minutes left on their clock, Torode was concerned as to how Sandall’s ice cream was coming along and popped his head over to the churner, noting to the star: “That ice cream going to be churned, you reckon?”

“Yeah, easy!” Sandall expressed, leaving Torode to roll his eyes with worry.

Presenting the dishes to the judges, they tucked into her main, with Wallace beginning: “That lamb is perfect, it’s pink and it’s juicy. Fondant is perfectly well done.

“I think it could have done with a sprinkle of salt. That bonbon is particularly great. There’s a slight nuttiness to it, you’ve cooked the kale inside, a lot of really good cookery here.”

Agreeing, Torode added: “That sweet rich onion sauce goes beautifully with the lamb, spring onions are a lovely idea and I like the way in which you twist them. The mint sauce is tasty. Could probably do with a bit more of a zing, but it’s really well made.”

Moving onto her cake and ice cream, Torode critiqued: “I think it is a really pretty thing, really pretty. Your cake is made beautifully. The flavours are fantastic, you get sweetness coming from the orange.

“The sharpness of lemon and across the top of that you have more sweetness and bitterness at the same time with those pistachio nuts. I am sad that the pistachio ice cream hasn’t set. It’s really beautiful, it’s mellow but at the same time really, really rich. It tastes great.”

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Discussing her time on the show Sandall expressed: “I am feeling overwhelmed with emotion. It’s like getting to the end of a massive race. Oh! Get across the finish line and you feel so proud of yourself because it is all done and dusted. it is such an amazing feeling.”

After Coppola was announced as the winner, she added: “It is what it is, only one person can go to the moon, I’m really looking forward to getting back and comitting my full attention to my partner, Mark. I’m sure he’s really looking forward to me not constantly talking about food. Love you, Mark.”