Welsh presenter Jason Mohammad is among the line up for the latest series of the BBC show
Celebrity MasterChef hopeful Jason Mohammad suffered a blow as his efforts in one challenge were called a “disaster”.
The Welsh TV and radio presenter is one of the stars taking part in the 21st series of the show, and in the first episode he faced off against actor and author Joe Pasquale, Jay McGuinness from The Wanted, weightlifter and Olympic medallist Emily Campbell and Love Island star Shakira Khan.
After they had whipped up their signature dishes, the contestants were tasked with preparing a gnocchi dish alongside judge Giorgio Locatelli in the Cookalong Challenge.
They were told the one that most resembled the chef’s would win the MasterChef pin – and a time advantage.
Jason got to work fast, but his meal failed to win over Giorgio and his fellow judge, food critic Grace Dent.
As he carried it up to the judges, Giorgio laughed: “When I look at the shape of those carrots, I wonder what have you learned from me?”
While the chef conceded that Jason’s gnocchi was “tasty”, Grace said: “These are the biggest gnocchi I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“The sauce, you really put a lot of pepper in it, but I really like that,” said Giorgio. “Obviously, the vegetable inside needs to be a little bit more refinely cut. But the disaster in this one is the gnocchi.”
Grace suggested they were “weighty”, adding: “In fact, after two or three, you need to have a lie down with your ankles raised.”
“Too much flour went in there,” said Giorgio, while Grace added: “This is not a perfect plate of gnocchi, but it’s definitely dinner.”
Speaking afterwards, Jason admitted it was a “kick up the backside” for him.
“Probably what I needed,” he confessed. “You know, this isn’t like food that’s being chucked on a kitchen table and you’re tucking into it. This is MasterChef.”
The next instalment of the competition will see Gladiators star Emily Steel – also known as Dynamite – up against actress Donna Preston, former Royal Ballet Dancer Eric Underwood, EastEnders ‘ Nitin Ganatra and YouTuber Tom Simons, aka TommyInnit. In the third heat, Saturdays star Una Healy, Loose Women’s Sue Cleaver and former I’m a Celebrity camper Melvin Odoom will be cooking alongside comedian Max Fosh and paralympic athlete Lauren Steadman.
Celebrity MasterChef is airing on BBC One.
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