{"id":410886,"date":"2026-04-22T00:26:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T00:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/410886\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T00:26:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T00:26:11","slug":"dublin-chef-anna-haugh-helps-to-banish-sour-taste-left-by-torode-and-wallace-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/410886\/","title":{"rendered":"Dublin chef Anna Haugh helps to banish sour taste left by Torode and Wallace \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

MasterChef (BBC One<\/a>, 9pm) had cooked itself up a world of trouble following the controversial departures of long-serving host-judges John Torode<\/a> and Gregg Wallace<\/a>. But it has redeemed itself and found the perfect sweet spot with the new presenting duo of Dublin<\/a> chef Anna Haugh<\/a> and food critic Grace Dent, who go together like Tayto<\/a> and red lemonade.<\/p>\n

MasterChef needed to swap up its menu following complaints about Wallace\u2019s behaviour. Torode\u2019s subsequent departure was more of a surprise \u2013 he was let go after an allegation against him<\/a> of using an \u201cextremely offensive racist term\u201d was upheld.<\/p>\n

But after that storm in a soup can, the new duo are a joy. Smartly, the BBC hasn\u2019t overthought things by trying to pair opposites. If anything, Haugh and Dent are two presenting peas in a pod, united in their instinct to look to the positives in a dish rather than focus on the negatives.<\/p>\n

What hasn\u2019t changed is the MasterChef formula itself, and fans of the show will enjoy watching foodies rustle up pretentious variants of household favourites. There is also a competitive edge as sharp as those Japanese knives you received as a gift but which you will never, ever use.<\/p>\n

The contestants, a likable hodgepodge from all walks of life, approach MasterChef as if it\u2019s X Factor bulked up on protein bars. When two early hopefuls are eliminated and walk away without a coveted MasterChef apron, they look as if they\u2019re about to combust with devastation. Later, three top-ranking contestants from last year are brought in as judges and swagger about as if they\u2019ve come straight from sweeping the boards at the Oscars.<\/p>\n

Haugh and Dent make it worth watching, however. They are chipper and supportive, but they don\u2019t over-egg their enthusiasm and are (very mildly) critical as required. \u201cYour miso caramel\u2026 a little heavy handed with the miso,\u201d Haugh says of one punter\u2019s dessert (he is shown the kitchen door not long afterwards). \u201cThe egg is beautifully cooked \u2013 however the Hollandaise sauce is vicious,\u201d says Dent later on. She has the expression of someone who worries she\u2019s gone too far.<\/p>\n

The biggest relief is that viewers are spared Wallace\u2019s fake mateyness \u2013 a backslapping routine we now know was contradicted by his off-camera behaviour. Not only do you not miss the artery-clogging banter, but MasterChef is actively improved by its absence.<\/p>\n

Haugh is from Tallaght and is the founder of Myrtle restaurant in London, which specialises in fine dining with an Irish twist (the menu features a beetroot starter with the brilliantly bonkers name Siobh\u00e1n\u2019s Quest). <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Irish MasterChef finalist Mark O\u2019Brien: \u2018The biggest challenge is the feeling of exposure\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

On MasterChef, she does that very Irish thing of widening her eyes and nodding when someone is talking to her. I think we\u2019re all guilty of it when encountering strangers and trying to get their measure without coming across as nosy \u2013 but it is just a bit jarring to see it on screen. Otherwise, this is a dish finished to perfection and which banishes the sour taste that has lingered since the previous hosts got the chop. Chef\u2019s kisses all round.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MasterChef (BBC One, 9pm) had cooked itself up a world of trouble following the controversial departures of long-serving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410887,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[180487,1578,93,57178,61,60,126176],"class_list":{"0":"post-410886","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-anna-haugh","9":"tag-bbc","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-gregg-wallace","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-john-torode"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410886\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}