Anna Haugh and Grace Dent made their joint MasterChef debut on Tuesday
MasterChef has returned for series 22(Image: BBC)
A fresh series of MasterChef has landed on the BBC with a new hosting duo.
Series 22 sees celebrated chef Anna Haugh and restaurant critic Grace Dent take over from Gregg Wallace and John Torode as judges. The pair will test 48 of the country’s best amateur cooks with an array of spectacular challenges.
The first heat of this year’s competition aired on Tuesday (April 21), with six talented cooks from all walks of life heading into the kitchen to battle it out for a coveted MasterChef apron.
They include digital portfolio manager Rosdip, 33, construction project company director Brendan, 57, tech programme manager Jhané, 29, environmental consultant Sabina, 49, accounts assistant Samantha, 39, and IT manager Matt, 41.
Just moments into the episode, viewers were left divided as Anna and Grace made their joint debut. Some fans were frustrated with the pair’s facial expressions, with one person writing on X (formerly Twitter): “I’m assuming it must be in the contract that judges/presenters on MasterChef must express shocked/surprised faces at every opportunity possible! Gregg and John did it for years and it looks like it’s continuing!”
Another added: “Someone tell Anna that she doesn’t have to replicate Gregg’s surprised face every time a contestant tells her what they are going to be cooking,” while a third said: “I can’t watch #MasterChef any longer. [Anna] and her daft facial expressions.”
A fourth fan echoed the sentiment: “Why do those two presenters keep making such stupid faces?”
Meanwhile, other viewers were delighted with Anna and Grace’s debut, with one person writing: “Loving the two ladies, Grace and Anna running the MasterChef kitchen.”
Another added: “Love Anna and Grace in this series,” while a third said: “Absolutely love Anna.” A fourth fan commented: “Loving Grace and Anna on #MasterChef.”
During the episode, Anna and Grace put their trust in the amateur’s taste buds as they introduced the Signature Dish round, which saw the contestants make their favourite dish from home.
The cooks who made the best two dishes, Rosdip and Jhané, were immediately rewarded with a MasterChef apron, while the other four fought it out for the last two aprons in the Classic Recipe Test.
The amateurs were each given the same recipe for one of Anna’s favourite brunch dishes, which put core cookery skills to the test.
The successful group of cooks, along with their newly-earned aprons, had one more hurdle to jump to secure their quarter-final place.
Anna and Grace invited last year’s final three – champion Harry Maguire and finalists Claire Syrenne and Sophie Sugrue – to sample the food on offer.
They tasted two courses from each of the cooks, before Anna and Grace revealed the three contestants who would be going through to the quarter-finals.
MasterChef season 22 is available to stream on BBC iPlayer