No sour grapes over my ‘MasterChef’ KO

PANNED . . . Sukhi Singh

 A WANNABE chef, knocked out of the latest episode of BBC2’s “MasterChef” series, revealed he had a backstage fall-out after the show.

Dobcross postmaster Sukhi Singh (25) competed against five other contestants for a place in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

Despite his best efforts, Sukhi, who is chairman of Dobcross Community Association, was eliminated by judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace.

He said: “I’m not bitter. After all, I got down to the last 50 contestants — and that’s an achievement in itself. I was really pleased with my work.

“There are absolutely no sour grapes on my part but I told the production team I felt they were trying to mould contestants into the kind of chefs they wanted — rather than allowing them to be themselves.

“To be honest, the show was not what I perceived.

“But the programme has certainly given me more confidence to go out and achieve my ambition of starting my own restaurant.”

Each night, six hopefuls attempt to make it through their heat where they face three tough tests.

Sukhi passed the television test and produced a special one-off dish he called “Naughty Pudding”.

He cleared the Mystery Box test with a roast butternut squash risotto and goats cheese.

And, after working in The Bank, a top flight London restaurant, he completed the final test producing his own two-course meal.

His starter was pan-seared chilli and garlic scallops, minted pea puree with sweet potato crisps followed by chicken breast stuffed with smoked mozzarella with parmesan crushed potatoes and a marsala thyme jus.

The show’s producers say this year’s competition is hotter than ever with contestants being put through a series of tests designed to see if they have the skills and character to make it a professional chef.

A spokesman for the show said: “Each year the standard of cooking gets higher and Sukhi went out to one of the most talented cooks we saw in the whole competition.”

Meanwhile, customers at Suhki’s business on Woods Lane have heaped praise on his efforts.

“I’ve had some great feedback,” he added.

“MasterChef” goes out on BBC2 at 8.30pm Monday to Wednesday, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays, from 8pm.