The winner of the first Christmas special of Celebrity MasterChef has been crowned, with Judi Love proving her culinary prowess in the kitchen.
On tonight’s episode, the Strictly Come Dancing star went up against professional dancer Oti Mabuse, reality star Joey Essex, former professional footballer Neil Ruddock and actor Su Pollard for a chance to win the first of two Golden Whisk trophies.
With judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace overseeing the proceedings, Judi made her winning Christmas-themed menu in two hours and 15 minutes, taking inspiration from Caribbean cuisine.
The Loose Women panelist began with rolled turkey breast, stuffed with jerk seasoning, parsnip purée, carrots, stuffing, roast potatoes, crispy turkey skin and a cranberry and scotch bonnet chilli jam, which Gregg dubbed ‘nothing short of fantastic’.
She then came out with her Jamaican Christmas Black Cake with a sorrel sauce and a stout and rum punch ice-cream, which delighted John’s taste buds.
Before the final challenge, the celebrities also faced the invention test, where they were tasked with creating a dish using ingredients provided to them from a seasonal advent calendar.
Following the announcement of her win, Judi promised that she had big celebrations on the horizon.
‘Bring on the prosecco and let’s start this party,’ the comedian said.
‘I am so excited my kids and family are going to be so happy. I am overwhelmed, it is a beautiful feeling and has made my Christmas.’
Gregg explained why Judi deserved her win, saying that she ‘put a whole lot of love into her two dishes’.
‘She is a fun joyous cook who took familiar Christmas ingredients and added Caribbean sunshine to it. It was a real winning formula, it was outstanding,’ he said.
John Torode added: ‘Judi kept the heart and the soul of the world she has grown up with in her dishes and she made them fantastic. Good on her.’
Judi’s Celebrity MasterChef win came shortly after her stint on Strictly, on which Rose Ayling-Ellis was crowned the winner on Saturday night with her partner Giovanni Pernice.
The comedian was the fifth star eliminated from the competition, having had to miss the fifth week’s show after testing positive for Covid-19.
Last week, Dan Lee won the latest series of MasterChef: The Professionals, telling of his desire to open an ‘affordable and accessible’ street food truck and his ‘heartbreak’ over restaurants struggling due to the pandemic.
The second Celebrity MasterChef Christmas special is due to air on Thursday December 23 at 9pm on BBC One.
Credit: Original article published here.You can read this post on My Celebrity Life.