Masterchef: Brits vs French

[mint]

Watched the final of Masterchef UK and now Mastaychef France is on!

Sorry, French folk, for my money the Brits are MUCH better cooks than the French.

There, gauntlet laid down.  Now, let the French make a come-back?

[5-element]

Ah lucky you Sweet, you can watch both - I can only do French Masterchef, would love to watch the British one. In "real life", I have also come to the conclusion that the best cooks I know are British rather than French. It is true that I don't know any confirmed chefs, though.

What did you think of Marine? One thing I liked about her is that she prepared more vegetables than anyone else.

You can also go on the TF1 Masterchef forum for kicks - that is very entertaining, as forums can be.[:P]

 

[Catalpa]

Sweets, I agree. It was more difficult to judge the comparison earlier in the competition but watching it last night, the standard of the cooks in the British finals looks to be so far ahead of the French version it is remarkable. I know we can't taste the food and I know that the final tasks are different in the two versions but the imagination and presentation of the British cooks seems much higher.

5-E, I'd really like to see the Australian version too, to further compare.

I'm not sure Gregg Wallace would get away with the sexual comments that his counterpart / lookalike on French MasterChef did. [blink] I found the interaction between the two finalists interesting as well. And there was none of the hugging and physical supportiveness between the two finalists when the result was (finally!) announced. I wonder if that behaviour would have been different if one had been male and the other female... or if they had both been male.

Two countries separated by a small amount of water and a lot of culture. [:P]

[partout]

Hey, how about the members from the forum organising a MasterMembers Forum Chef, don't know how would it could be organized?

[Pierre ZFP]

[quote user="Catalpa"]

5-E, I'd really like to see the Australian version too, to further compare.

[/quote]

It would be a rather short series wouldn't it?

'Fire up the barbie, throw on some prawns, open another tinny'  [+o(]

[5-element]

[quote user="Pierre ZFP"].


It would be a rather short series wouldn't it?
'Fire up the barbie, throw on some prawns, open another tinny'  [+o(]

[/quote]

 

Tuutttt, tuuuuttt....stereotypes, stereotypes![blink] Just like one would automatically think that only a French person can make vinaigrette....[:D]

 

Catalpa: "I wonder if that behaviour would have been different if one had been male and the other female... or if they had both been male".....  Spot on!

Although, it must be said that Anne was never very popular with the other contestants, whether she was a team leader or not. But Marine certainly had much more time for the guys than for the women.

[woolybanana]

Anne represents a new type of PC, entrepreneur chef, I thought, and goes with the current fad for terroir; she runs a goat farm, has a second marriage, to an African and has six children, and is converting an old building to become a restaurant. And she is single-minded, besides being a good cook (oops, sorry, chef!)

[Catalpa]

[quote user="Pierre ZFP"][quote user="Catalpa"]

5-E, I'd really like to see the Australian version too, to further compare.

[/quote]

It would be a rather short series wouldn't it?

'Fire up the barbie, throw on some prawns, open another tinny'  [+o(]

[/quote]

Silly Pierre. Australian women would enter too. [6]

Another thing that differentiates MasterChefs France and UK is the UK's

"star prize" is a years (unpaid or poorly paid) apprenticeship in a good

quality (not necessarily Michelin starred, iirc) kitchen. Anne walked

away with 100,000 euros and a book deal. So she'll be able to renovate

her ferme auberge.

But Marine must be happy too as she's already switched careers - she has left teaching and is working in a professional kitchen.

For those that missed it, more clips and info than you can feasibly absorb in one hit available here...

http://www.tf1.fr/masterchef/

[Catalpa]

And this short, edited version of the British MasterChef final from earlier this week brilliantly showcases why I think the British MC cooks excelled in imagination and presentation...

http://joannecasey.blogspot.com/2010/11/master-chef-edited.html

[Frederick]

It would appear that more British people cook at home than the French and take longer to prepare and cook a meal . The French eat out on average three times a month..The British twice . From my experience the quality of meals in most British restaurants is equal to or much better than many French ones I have been in . The choice of restaurants in UK is far better than in France . The French  seem reluctant to try exotic flavours ...outside of Paris.  

[Clair]

[quote user="sweet 17"]Watched the final of Masterchef UK and now Mastaychef France is on![/quote]

The recent UK MasterChef was the "professionals" version of the program (and it was excellent. I picked the winner from her first heat)

Was the French version also for professionals?

[5-element]

Catalpa, you very naughty person. It took me far more seconds than I could decently acknowledge, before I realised what was going on. [:D]

[5-element]

Clair, no, French candidates were all amateurs. One of the salient features was that most of them wanted to win the 100,000 euros to change their lives and become professional cooks. Some had resigned from their job in order to go through the Masterchef programme (3 months, I think it was). From French teacher, to manager of an air conditioning company, etc... Many of the candidates were able to make the break and start work in restaurants, or to get into proper training.

This was one of my favourites, although I knew he was never going to make it to the top (wrong profile).

http://www.tf1.fr/masterchef/candidats/philippe-c-6061876.html

I also liked Agathe

http://www.tf1.fr/masterchef/candidats/agathe-6062146.html

 

[debbie]

I did not watch the show but you've certainly perked my interest to do so. I can go back to watch all episodes from the internet which I now intend to do. But curious if we have any responses to these results from a French member of the forum.

[Clair]

[quote user="debbie"]I did not watch the show but you've certainly perked my interest to do so. I can go back to watch all episodes from the internet which I now intend to do. But curious if we have any responses to these results from a French member of the forum.[/quote]

I did not watch the French program, but if the candidates are not professionals, it seems unfair to compare them to those who took part in the recent UK MasterChef: The Professionals.

It would be fairer to compare them to the keen amateurs who take part in the regular MasterChef program.

[5-element]

You are very right about French reluctance to try exotic flavours - although that is changing, exotic flavours have become very trendy (in daring combinations that are not always well thought out).

I am not so sure about British restaurants being better than French ones, though. That certainly has not been my experience recently. There again, it would very much depend on whether you compare like for like - i.e. London with Paris, rural with rural, and also same price bracket. There are also some really bad ones everywhere.

[Catalpa]

[quote user="Clair"]I did not watch the French program, but if the candidates are not professionals, it seems unfair to compare them to those who took part in the recent UK MasterChef: The Professionals.

[/quote]

I wasn't. My original comments were made with the amateurs in mind - particularly the amateurs from 2 years ago when the remarkable 19-year-old Emily was runner-up.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-522671/Teenage-Emily-pipped-MasterChef-crown-daring-recipes-steal-show.html

I muddied the waters somewhat by posting the link to the edited version of the MC Professional finals from earlier this week but I think you should watch it, Clair, to understand why I did so. [:D]

[Clair]

[quote user="Catalpa"][quote user="Clair"]I did not watch the French program, but if the candidates are not professionals, it seems unfair to compare them to those who took part in the recent UK MasterChef: The Professionals.

[/quote]

I wasn't. My original comments were made with the amateurs in mind - particularly the amateurs from 2 years ago when the remarkable 19-year-old Emily was runner-up.[/quote]

My mistake for not quoting the post I was referring to.

It was this comment from Sweet17 which prompted my question about amateurs vs professionals:

"Watched the final of Masterchef UK and now Mastaychef France is on!

Sorry, French folk, for my money the Brits are MUCH better cooks than the French."

[mint]

Clair, you are right, of course.  I WAS conscious of comparing apples and pears or professionals and gifted amateurs.

I was trying to provoke some comment and a bit of an argument (er, I mean discussion).  The French finalists are better-looking than the stodgey Brits, that can't be argued about.

And Catalpa is right about the delightful Emily.  And does anyone remember Thomasina Miers from a few years back who is now a successful restaurateur (se) and newspaper food writer?

[Catalpa]

Yes, I do. She's had a couple of tv programs too - one on Spain I really enjoyed.

http://www.thomasinamiers.com/

And though it may not be totally up-to-date...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8609232.stm

[NormanH]

[quote user="Catalpa"]And this short, edited version of the British MasterChef final from earlier this week brilliantly showcases why I think the British MC cooks excelled in imagination and presentation...

http://joannecasey.blogspot.com/2010/11/master-chef-edited.html

[/quote]

Hilarious [:D]

[mint]

Just watched this again with OH and we laughed till we nearly cried.  Mind you, we both have a glass of our preferred coloured wine but, really, really funny!