Niall fails to wow judges in MasterChef

Niall fails to wow judges in MasterChef

6 April 2022

A FORMER local head teacher says more challenges lie ahead after he was eliminated from MasterChef last week.

Niall McLean’s culinary journey ended when he failed to salivate the judges’ tastebuds and was put out of the BBC competition last Tuesday night.

The 57 year-old former principal of Castlewellan Primary School, admitted afterwards that he had made too many errors and that “the writing was on the wall”.

For his audition course Niall tried to woo judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace with his signature dish of pan-fried loin of cod with mussels, girolle mushrooms, pomme purée, seaweed and garden vegetables with a cream sauce and chive oil.

He promised the judges a “taste of the sea”, but when he brought his dish to the table he had forgotten two key ingredients — the mussels and seaweed.

While John praised his potatoes, he described his offering overall as a “dish of panic”. Gregg said the sauce was too thin and “swamped” the dish.

After failing to be one of the first three cooks to be given a MasterChef apron, Niall was among the other six contestants asked to cook again.

This time he created a dessert comprising baked pineapple served in a spiced rum caramel with ginger ice cream and a brandy snap basket.

While the judges liked the juicy pineapple and the warmth of the rum, they also found faults.

Gregg said “we could do with more caramel” and described the ice cream as “too loose”, while John said the brandy snap basket was “bitter”.

“It’s a shame because the content was great,” commented John, who also said that Niall’s MasterChef days “were over”.

Niall also got the following thumbs down from Gregg: “I really admired his ambition, but his errors have really mounted up.”

Niall, who admitted that he had panicked with his signature dish, said the judges’ comments were fair.

When it was announced that he was one of the two contestants not going forward in the competition,  he said: “I think the writing was on the wall. Too many errors, but that’s the bucket list gone. Now it’s on to fighting alligators, wrestling sumos and sky diving.”

Niall said his interest in cooking came from his mother.

“My mother was my main guru when it came to food growing up and how she influenced me with food,” he remarked.

“She put her own spin on classics and her recipes are still secrets to this day. My passion for hearty Irish cuisine and the belief that flavour is the most essential part of cooking are all thanks to my mum.

Undeterred by his experience of MasterChef, Niall added: “My food dream would be a little seafood restaurant on the coast, cooking fish off the boat. That would be amazing.”