Jason Mohammad became the latest celebrity to leave the Celebrity MasterChef kitchen on Friday night, but received an unexpected invitation from new judge Giorgio Locatelli before his exit.
The BBC cooking competition continued with Emily Campbell, Jason Mohammad, Joe Pasquale and Shakira Khan battling for a place in the semi-final. The judging panel features food critic Grace Dent alongside Italian Michelin-starred chef Giorgio Locatelli, who are tasked with finding which celebrities have the skill to lift the Celebrity MasterChef trophy.
Service Is Up Challenge
The contestants first faced a new challenge titled Service Is Up. For the first time in the competition, the celebrities worked in teams to provide a three-course meal in just 90 minutes. Joe and Shakira formed one team, while Jason and Emily made up the other.
The menu included a mackerel scotch egg, roast chicken with fondant potatoes, leeks and a chicken jus, followed by a classic sticky toffee pudding. After that, chef, author and content creator Seema Pankhania set the contestants a challenge to recreate one of her technically demanding recipes.
Elimination and Invitation
At the end of the episode, Grace and Giorgio revealed that Jason was eliminated. “The person leaving us today is Jason. I'm sorry. Your time on MasterChef has come to an end,” Grace announced.
Jason responded: “Thank you so much. It's been incredible. Thank you for having me... It's been the best thing I've ever done.” Giorgio then made an offer, saying: “Jason, you are a very instinctive cook. It won't be enough for this competition. I'm really sorry... I invite you back to come to my kitchen, if you want, one day.” Jason replied: “As long as you don't have a go at me, that'd be great!”
After leaving the kitchen, Jason reflected: “It's been an absolute privilege to have been in that same studio with Grace and Giorgio especially. He's invited me into his kitchen.” He joked: “[If it's] free, I'm there. If I've got to pay, you're okay, I'll keep watching you on the telly instead.”
Celebrity MasterChef is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
