Overview
- The cooking contest, which premiered Tuesday at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer, introduced chef Anna Haugh and critic Grace Dent as the new judging duo.
- Across seven weeks, 48 amateur cooks will compete for white aprons through a signature dish round, a classic recipe test, and quarter-final cookoffs with input from last year’s finalists.
- Early reaction split viewers on social media, while reviewers at the i, the Independent and Radio Times praised the calmer tone, Haugh’s kitchen authority and Dent’s vivid critiques.
- The first heat featured six home cooks from around the UK, including Rosdip of North Shields, Matt of West Yorkshire, Brendan, Jhané, Sabina and Samantha, competing for four aprons.
- The change at the top follows complaints upheld against Gregg Wallace and the non-renewal of John Torode’s contract after a separate allegation he denies, and the new series frames itself as a return to contestants and core cookery.