We were watching Masterchef The Professionals and this is one of the items they had on tonight's table for the 12 chefs to pick from.

I have never heard of it before:

a John Dory fish.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dory

That is one ugly fish.

Out of that whole ugly fish,

you get a tiny filet on the plate.

Maybe 8 oz?

Where's the rest of it?

Look at the miserable look on the face of that fish. He's ugly....and he's being eaten. And you think YOU have problems?

I am not much of a fish fan.

I also don't want to see a fish with the eyes staring back at me.

They may be ugly, at least they'll never be fat shamed.

Give me a nice NY Strip or T-Bone any day!

Fish is healthier for you.

Nothing beats a well marbled rib-eye. Well, a 1 1/2 inch thick perfectly seasoned and cooked pork chop would run a close race.

A properly done salmon steak is right up there IMO, as long as we're talking fresh, non farmed salmon.

We have a store here that sells pork chops from pigs raised in the UK.

Center Porterhouse cut chops are $10 a lb.

Each chop is about 16-20 oz cause of the bone.

But they are soooo good and moist and juicy even after you grill them.

I think their name is Berkshire if I am remembering right.

That looks like a Verlasso Salmon steak, Crane Hunter

https://www.verlasso.com/#from-patagonia-to-you

Only salmon steaks I eat.

Ugly? I think the idea is you eat it, not marry it

British fishermen, much constrained by EU fishing quotas feel fortunate when they land John Dorys. Much valued, particularly in France I believe.

Though not popular now, English Fish 'n' Chip shops used to sell 'Rock Salmon', as nobody would want to eat Dog fish which is was it's true title.

At least it's not a blobfish.

It's my understanding that "real" English fish & chips is usually either Plaice or Cod?

Cod is more traditional I would say Panzer. At least in the fish and chip shops I've frequented,if I wanted Plaice I would have to ask for it,because if you ask for fish and chips you are getting Cod for sure.

Nothing against a salmon steak, but I think salmon is better in fillet.

Now HALIBUT steaks, oh yeah...

Snails and squids don't whet the average appetite, but escargot and Calamari are delicious (IMO). In fact, most seafood "on the hoof (fin?)" look at least a little disgusting. Cows aren't exactly going to win any aesthetics competitions, either. Fortunately, not only do we not have to marry it, most of the time we don't have to prepare it, either.

Salmon steaks are more forgiving to cook than filets as they don't dry out as easily.

A moderate sear on both sides does the job, while the skin holds in all the juices and oil that you'd probably otherwise lose in a filet.

Plus, you don't have to worry about the skin sticking or burning.

I never had true authentic English Fish and Chips.

I need to take a trip to the UK.

Especially when I saw this episode a few years ago.

Move forward by about 9 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W8fg7anWuw

Depends on how you're cooking it. For the BBQ yeah steaks are definitely easier to manage. Myself, I mostly do fish either in the oven or on a cast iron skillet. But I'll cook any meat via any means and make it good!

From the preview of tomorrow's night episode:

WOW!

That thing is bigger than she!!

I usually go skillet, I've found that you need a great BBQ setup to beat cast iron, and then only because your typical household stovetop heating elements are a limiting factor.

If you're able to use a stove that's topped with a 1 inch slab of iron as its heating surface, then the pan wins bigly.

Fish 'n' chips was a Jewish concoction originally, and today this 'English traditional dish' seem to be in the safe hands of Cypriots in the majority. We are blessed in having two award winning Chippys in our nearest town of Pershore, well worth the round trip of 12 miles for cod, chips and mushy peas!

Duly noted

Served on newspaper?

I'm lucky that there is one good example of a British fish & chip shop in Prague, actually a lot better than some of the ones back in the UK it's a nice treat every now & then. It even does haggis & chips, which as a Scot I hugely appreciate

Britain isn't really known for its fine cuisine, but there are a few dishes I regard very highly:
Fish & chips
Roast dinner
Full English breakfast

It's been unlawful to serve fish & chips directly into newspaper for many years now, however the more thoughtful establishments will cover a clean wrapped meal in newspaper as a sort of nostalgia thing

No longer served on newspaper KK,health and safety.

My 2 local fish and chip shops are only average. I boycotted the one over poor quality at one point but it's a 2 minute walk from where I live so I relented for convenience.

I would gladly travel the 15 miles to Pershore once in a while though to get a really good meal. Can you name the chippies BD-123?

Thanks guys. Didn't think it still was for reasons you mentioned.

This is on my bucket list of dishes to try and it's mostly for the Yorkshire pudding.

Newlands at 21a Newlands, Pershore WR10 1BW
Was my primary choice but often very busy but:
Riverside at 53 High St, Pershore WR10 1EU
since refurb is coming up to a similar high standard.

Do you recall Honky Fletcher's in Lowesmoor Chucky? I was installing signage for the new owners who took it over when Honky retired and watched in horror as they slid out the old fryers which came out unexpectedly easily due to the six inch layer of grease underneath.

I did frequent Honky Fletchers. This must have been in the late 60's early 70's. I used to eat in with mates of mine.

It was probably one of the last times I drank Dandelion and Burdock,you don't seem to see it nowadays.

I am writing down the names of those fish and chips places. Thank you.

Traditional British cuisine is underrated IMO, most of it suffers from not looking all that appealing, but it tastes fine.

Speaking of British cuisine. My brother and co-workers went to UK one time years ago on business and one of his colleague ordered the Yorkshire pudding thinking it was a dessert after they just finish off a big supper.

The waitress double checked and asked him is that really what you want and he said yes.

Everyone at the table knew what it was except his colleague and no one told the guy and they kept telling the waitress, he is a big eater, go ahead and bring it

Stupid Yanks in the UK:

Over sexed, Over paid, Over there.

There is a TV program here called Royal Recipes on the TVO channel (PBS). Not all the food is 'fancy'.

this is what she made out of that and a couple of other big crabs:

a crumpet with crab meat and crab meat butter on it

For me that seems to be a waste.

It's Masterchef The Professionals finals week.

I don't eat anything that stares back at me.

Oh I don't know,I'm quite fond of Whitebait.

That does look quite gross though.

To each their own of course but I just can't grasp the entertainment value of cooking shows. I know those are both very popular in both the UK and the US.

Then again I also don't grasp the entertainment value of reality shows, talent shows, home improvement shows, etc.

Rich people eat the strangest food.

Duck liver, oyster emulsion, celeriac (whatever that is).

Just give me a nice 85/15 burger or a ribeye/NY strip/T-bone steak and a loaded baked potato.

I don't want fancy.

I want food that fills me up.

That's the problem with this rich people fancy food:

they spent $200, $300, $500 on a 7-10 course meal featuring dishes with a one ounce peace of meat/seafood decorated with flowers and sauces and still come away hungry.

I was just at the store.

People eat this?

Considered a delicacy by the Chinese I believe.
Not heard chicken feet called 'paws' before though!

A classic case of "lost in translation".

Yeah the "paws" threw me too.

I am not that hungry to eat chicken paws.

I've never eaten chickens feet, but my grandparents love them. They'd cook them up in soup. Many of the other Eastern European immigrants I grew up with liked them as well.
I don't know if it's considered a delicacy, or if it's just that they're frugal and don't let anything go to waste.

Masterchef is back. Look at those Godzilla size shrimps! I want to eat them!

That may well be a six inch skillet - it's sitting on a small rectangular "accessory range" to the right of the full size stovetop, and those usually have small burners, especially if there's two of them (you can see two dials at the back).

And since that's a "chef style" skillet with curved walls you'd probably have 4 inches of flat cooking surface - heck even my cast iron 6 inchers (skillets are always measured by outside diameter) with nearly vertical walls probably only have 5...

So doubtful those shrimp are all THAT big, but still bigger than average...

Lol! Are you engineer by trade, Zamzow?

Talk about skillets.
Anybody watching "Cooking with the Blues"?

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cooking+with+the+blues

Speaking of Skillets...

Gennaro ROCKS!



I watched that guy linked above (the cooking with the blues guy) more than a few times, he makes a lot of colorless blobs of meals imo. The may taste good, but to me a meal that looks good and smells good, then it's a safe bet it's gonna taste good.

I was looking for a specific Gennaro Contaldo vid where he is cooking outside of some farms barn/equipment area, stops to taste what he is making, rolls his eyes, looks up to the sky and asks, "God, why you a make me cook so good?"

I love pasta, all pasta.

Watching tonight's episode. This is new to me. Sabayon with fruit: strawberries, blackberries, peach, cherries, raspberries, kirsch and peach snahpps. Sabayon is beaten egg yolk and sugar and mix with whipped cream.

One of my grandmothers (decades deceased) grew up in pretty hardcore poverty in Kansas during the Great Depression. As in working the land and living in a cardboard house...

Even when she was much, much better off in the late 1970's she'd still not let anything go to waste from a chicken, and when I was a kid we'd eat it all - hearts, livers, gizzards, necks, backs, and probably more that I can't remember...

But I don't recall chicken feet - but thinking back about her it wouldn't surprise me if SHE'D been eating those, maybe not "forcing that on the grandkids", or maybe just enjoying them as her personal treat, who knows lol!

It's funny - I only recently (well, as in about 6 years ago) discovered chicken leg quarters in grocery stores. That's just thigh and leg but still attached to a portion of the back. You barely get any meat from the back (WAY less than even a wing), but it sure has a taste and texture of it's own, and that backbone imparts flavor to the thigh and leg that simply doesn't happen if you cook a whole chicken...

Chicken leg 1/4 are best on the bbq. Better than wings or drumsticks cause those will dry up being boney. I eaten chicken livers and gizzards before. It was in fried chicken I order.

I don't do organ meats of ANY type but then again, I didn't grow up during the Great Depression.

Can't beat some liver and onions,mashed potato and thick onion gravy

Not so keen on kidney but that's it for 'offal' as far as I'm concerned.

Don't forget the tripe n onions

or haggis ...

They were cooking pancreas on the show last night. Hard Pass!

Tonight's episode. One of the 4 competing chefs made this dessert.

Fig leaf, hay custard and ants. He made it to the next round.

another big ugly fish tonight



Small piece out of that big ugly fish.

Plaice? It's lovely ... nom, nom, nom

you guys are CRAY CRAY eating all this weird stuff..

I like fried catfish and fried shrimp. I like my seafood simple. Had halibut one time and will not eat it again.

Why not/how was it cooked? Halibut (at least Atlantic Halibut) has a fairly mild flavour & grows up to 500lb so you shouldn't be able to complain about just getting a small portion from it ... : P
Apparently in some parts of the world some fish are passed off as halibut that really aren't ...
It's an expensive fish here as due to demand it is rare/largely fished out here but there is at least 1 place that farms them.

The Halibut was baked.

Tonight's episode. I want that!

Ma crepe suzette ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MbZjzIg5w8

Tonight episode second skill test. HARD PASS

Another food I haven't eat

They cooked the same ugly fish tonight. This time they got more meat out of it.

I never had fig. That look appetizing!

In nearly every of the 3 episodes every week, someone is using celeriac in a sauce or a puree or a fondant (???).

Anyone eaten celeriac? What does it taste like? Why is celeriac such a big thing? It's a root.

That's a dessert. Black forest Gateu. WOW I want that!!

Not enough chocolate sponge for a typical British Black Forest Gateau (I have no idea about for a real German schwarzwälder kirschtorte).

Tonight was the final episode of this year's competition. 32 professional chefs entered the competition 5 weeks ago, 3 remain for tonight's final, only 1 was the 2020 winner and I did expect him to win. Looking on the program Facebook page, many shared my same reaction.

u crazee lol

Do you like lamb kidneys? Tonight's final episode one of the finalist made lamb brain. He didn't win.

Masterchef is back. One of the contestants wrecked a precious lobster. He didn't advance.

Roasting greengages tonight. Greengages? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greengage Never heard it before.

Normal unugly fish today

I see mix berries on plate. What's on the little cake?

redcurrants & some icing sugar. plus a sprig of mint?

Thank you BUFF. I have not heard of redcurrants before.

Ugly fish again

I don't care how it looks before it hits the plate, I do care how it tastes.

MasterChef back.

They love to cook fruit. One episode last year someone grilled watermelon.

I like my fruit the way it was from the mother nature. Not everything should be cooked.

NFB: "I like my fruit the way it was from the mother nature. Not everything should be cooked."

I Suppose you don't like fruit pies or compotes...

I love fruit pies. Never had compotes.

A contestant poached spiced plums. What's the spice? Never eaten plums, fresh or cooked. How they taste?

MasterChef is back.

One of the contestants made this to get a semifinal spot. I have not heard of it before today but I want to eat it.

definitely a different/upscale take on bubble & squeak https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_and_squeak

Thank you for this. I had heard of "Bubble & Squeak" before and I knew it was some sort of dish in the UK but I had no idea what the ingredients were.

From the Wiki article: "garnish'd with Eddowes Cow Bumbo"

I have no clue what that is. LOL

It's more of an English dish, certainly not generally a Scottish things (but the Scots & Irish do have our own dishes for using cheap/leftover ingredients - not sure about the Welsh).
I have no idea what Eddowes Cow Bumbo is either - consigned to history, I guess.

I love to use up my left-over veggies to make B&S. Just needs a couple of fried eggs on the top to finish it off.

When I make my B&S I finely chop the veggies and just fry them up whilst my sister-in-law mashes them all up to make a kind of patty. I'm ok with either but my way is less prep time.

Bubble and Squeak from Christmas leftovers earlier this year:

That's the sort of consistency I go for Red although I don't put any meat in it. I might have some cold turkey on the side at Christmas though. That looks delicious.

The same contestant who made the bubble and squeek made this tonight to move to the finals.



The judges HEART IT



Is beetroot a radish cos I don't like radish. Mom makes salad with little red spicy uncooked radishes. I want to throw up in my mouth.

They may look similar but are different families of plant & imo have quite different texture & flavour.

I do not eat seafood very much but I would try this fish pie not the green stuff.

My first time hearing about fish pie, a popular British dish. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_pie

One of this week's new contestants made this to secure a semifinal spot for this Friday.

I cannot eat fish that still has head, eyes. tail, bones.



Serving size = one fish, number of servings per plate: one

Greens are good for you & properly cooked samphire has nice texture & flavour.
Personally, I reckon that lobster & salmon are overrated & the best bit of that pie would be the smoked haddock.

We used to catch perch and fry the tails. Just like potato chips.

the only fish i like is salmon because it doesnt taste like fish...i hate fish that taste like fish. the fishness stay in the back of my mouth, yuck. small fish are the worst, specially the river kind.

Nothing like a kipper sandwich for lunch.

Contestant who made that six kilo fish Wednesday move to the next round yesterday with this salmon, sea bass, mackerel potpourri.

I did not know melon seeds can be made into a soup.

Boil it enough and anything can become soup.

Wow. SimHQ now has its very own Food Network thread.

Looks delicious! I would taste and eat it if it tasted lovely!

I would very much love to try this. I never had food come out in a tiffin tin which I have never seen before.

we do like a nice curry in the UK. Years of Empire & all that.

Both Indian and Thai curries are awesome. I can eat that stuff quite frequently!

Japanese curry is the superior curry.

I haven't tried curry. What is the difference among Indian, Thai and Japanese curry?

A lot. & there are massive regional styles/variations in Indian curry alone (not qualified to comment on Thai/Japanese) - lots of flavours & heatwise they run all the way from mild to oh, my god I am eating fire :P. https://curryculture.co.uk/types-of-curry/
Then there is Chinese (again many regional variants), Malaysian, Singapore, Sri Lankan ...

The British introduced the Japanese to curry in the 19th century.

I've never had Japanese curry. About the only spicy Japanese thing I've tried is the wasabi that is often served with sushi.

Japanese curry is kind of the same with different regions having different spices and ingredients. Never found a curry that could match what they served at Coco Ichibanya when I was in Okinawa.

Ah, USMC or USN?

USMC

They like to show images of London and England.

This place always shown: a soccer stadium?

Every time I see it I think of a cake with birthday candles on it. Is that what that is?

You are right NFB. It is a massive cake that was made to celebrate the Queen's recent 96th birthday. She had to get Prince William to use his helicopter to blow the candles out.

It's nice that they got it built in time for it!

Not surprising given that it is filmed here.


That is the O2 - it suffered major damage recently to some of the skin in storms. It is an events venue/arena.
https://www.theo2.co.uk

London is pretty



2 contestants made this dessert last night




and couple judges and guests complained there was no soldier and needed brown sauce



s soldier something that is paired with everything like french fries here in USA?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldiers_(food)

WIKI: Brown sauce it's the same as A-1 steak sauce here in USA. Who puts A-1 and Soldier (toast) on a dessert? I don't understand.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_sauce

is that boiled egg on its own shell ? i have no idea what it is called, but i would never pay for this plate, i see fruit so i hope its dessert.

They were joking about the egg(shell) presentation. Soldiers (thin slices of toast) are a common (dipping) accompaniment to soft-boiled eggs here in the UK. They are not paired with everything.
Not aware myself of brown sauce being one for soft-boiled eggs though (fried eggs, yes) but apparently the combo is for some - http://www.gbsauce.com/great-recipes/36-brown-sauce-soldiers.

I will say that I have a strong curiosity to try out the famous "Yorkshire Pudding". I will do just that when I finally get around to visiting the UK.

Final week. The final 3 contestants cook at London's best restaurant. That's what the program said. 21 contiguous years it has earned 3 Michelin stars. Gordon Ramsey actually show the contestants how to cook. I didn't know he cook or own restaurants. I know him from his show where he goes to other folks restaurants and #%&*$# about the food.

https://www.gordonramsayrestaurants.com/restaurant-gordon-ramsay/



ONE ravioli? Is this a pre-appetizer appetizer?



Hard Pass!!

I want her to win.




48 contestants began 6 weeks ago and now there are only 3. 23 years old: the youngest of the 48.

College student that just earn a law degree who said she ate out a lot and if she did cook, she only knew to make beans and toast and eggs. Then Covid came and she had to lock down at home with Mom for 12 months: she spent that time learning to cook.

These are some of what she cook in the 6 weeks to get to Final 3.

NFB should apply to be a host on the Food Network.

Are their hosts allowed to show favoritism for pretty, young, female contestants?

BBC, not Food Network.



Each of the final 3 had 1 hour and 30 minutes to cook a 3 course meal of appetizer, main course, and dessert for Judges Gregg and John : total 6 plates of food per contestant.

EDDIE: https://imgbox.com/g/VFOV6Pyy3z

POOKIE: https://imgbox.com/g/UKqqmyOPh3

and RADHA, the 23 years old college student/future lawyer.



She didn't win. EDDIE won.

I am very sad BUT I still wish her luck and success. She has a law degree and wants to become a lawyer. But many of the past Master Chef contestants, after appearing on the show, have left their previous lives and careers to become successful restaurant owners, writing cook books, doing catering for the wealthy. Maybe cooking is her true calling, not being a lawyer.

MasterChef is back.

I don't eat oysters but that looks nice.



That's a bizarre dessert.

Fish on toast. I spewed in my mouth.



After seeing this, I feel foul and will hard pass on dinner tonight.

Not a big fan of kidneys myself but fish (in various forms but sardines is a common one) on toast is a fairly normal thing in Europe.

Fish on toast looks like a great snack.

Enjoy it. I won't.

Do you like toast?
Do you like fish?
Do you like tomatoes?
Do you like tapenade?

If so what is wrong with putting them all together? ... It isn't a million miles from a seafood pizza.

I don't like fish except for fried catfish. I never had tapenade, I can't say I like it or don't like it. Seeing it in the episode yesterday was first time I heard of such thing.

As a kid, would have heated frozen fish sticks with yellow relish sandwiches.

One contestant tonight using dry fish to make a brunch dish. He did not advance.



Another contestant served half the cow.

Nice piece of salmon with 2 nice fried duck eggs is my fave snack...

I like it best in the morning when i wake up

Fish and eggs make a man feel strong.

Aint nothing like it...

They HEART to cook fish on this show

One would starve to death with that plate of food.