Express & Star

Johnny from Wolverhampton takes on the MasterChef challenge

TV foodies saw Wolverhampton amateur chef Johnny out to impress judges John Torode and Greg Wallace.

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Johnny competed on MasterChef on Tuesday night, and sadly lost out on an apron. Photo: Shine TV/BBC

Johnny told viewers on Tuesday night that he's sociable and loves to host dinner parties, getting 'loads of positive feedback' from his friends and family, but usually after they've had a 'few glasses of wine'.

He said he was looking forward to what the 'completely sober' judges thought.

The customer service manager plated up roast chicken breast wrapped in parma ham, served with pan-fried potatoes, charred asparagu, and a white wine and mushroom sauce. John Torode thought the dish sounded old fashioned, saying it took him back to the 80s eating his Dad's cooking.

Johnny, 40, said his parents came over from India in the 60s, adding that he ate 'a lot of Indian food growing up'. He said people would 'probably expect him to do a curry' and pay homage to his Indian heritage, but he opted for 'classic cooking' instead.

Johnny in the MasterChef studio. Photo: Shine TV/BBC

As John and Greg discussed Johnny's upcoming dish, John dropped hints about the mushroom sauce – it needed to be seasoned well, with cream added at the last minute.

Johnny narrowly avoided serving the judges raw chicken, which would have seen the apron snatched from him before Greg could say 'cook!'.

Plating up his food, Johnny was happy with how it turned out, and let out a nervous chuckle wondering what the judges would think.

Walking through the double doors, he received well wishes from his fellow contestant, Jan-Paul, and greeted John and Greg with a smile.

John thought the asparagus was cooked well, and enjoyed the 'lovely, moist' chicken breast – which, thankfully, was fully cooked.

However, criticising the sauce, Torode noticed that Johnny hadn't cooked out the wine, resulting in the sauce being 'very, very sharp', like 'someone spilled a glass of white wine' on his plate.

Greg agreed that the sauce was 'unusual' but credited Johnny's creative take on chicken and potatoes.

After revealing to the judges that his job involves dealing with complaints, Greg made a brutally honest quip about not liking Johnny sauce.

Moving on to his dessert, Johnny served up a panna cotta – but the judges were disappointed. They both though it was lacking in flavour, particularly vanilla, but it had a good wobble. Johnny blamed himself for playing it 'too safe'.

The judges liked his smile and enthusiasm, but sadly it wasn't enough to get him through to the next round and he was the first person to be sent home.