This May Be Why MasterChef UK Contestants Have Been More Emotional This Season
"Masterchef" is a legendary franchise that has found a fan following all around the world. It's so popular that it has editions in many different countries — 58 different territories. For instance, there's the BBC's version. According to its official website, "Masterchef UK" is a quest that focuses on looking for the best, most promising amateur chef in the country. The brand promises that this is a journey that can be life-changing for the aspiring chefs who are chosen to be a part of it.
"Masterchef" returned for its 2021 edition despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. It definitely had a lot of expectations to live up to. One of the judges from the show, Gregg Wallace (above), said that he and fellow judge John Torode thought that the quality of the contestants was rather high. Wallace told the Radio Times, "What we realized, me and John, was that the standard was incredible even at the early stages ... we normally get a mixed bag. This time we were getting good cook off after good cook after good cook."
There were several factors involved
According to a piece by Heart, this time around, "Masterchef UK" was uniquely difficult for the participants on the show. Things were definitely more intense than usual, and emotions were running at an all-time high. Wallace believed that many of the participants were working extra hard during the pandemic to perfect their skills before participating on the show. The extra investment in building skills also meant an extra emotional investment.
This, in turn, made them feel a lot more strongly about the contest. As Wallace told The Sun, "If they had, as John and I suspected, put more practice time in, then of course, they've invested more in it than they would have done normally." He also pointed out that many of the participants were living in isolation for a long time because of the pandemic. He explained, "Perhaps it was that, for many of us, this is the first time we've seen anybody else other than our relations for the last three months."