In this week’s episode, the remaining contestants of Masterchef UK were challenged to make their dishes entirely with plant-based ingredients.
The episode’s special guest was Michelin-starred vegan chef Alexis Gauthier, owner of Gauthier Soho, a completely plant-based restaurant in London.
Gauthier, who became vegan after pressure from PETA in 2015, said ‘plant-based is the future of food’. In his restaurant, Gauthier Soho, he now recreates French classics, such as, foie gras and meringue, using only plant-based ingredients.
The contestants’ vegan dishes included Greek stew with fava puree, Italian antipasti including arancini and breadsticks, Indian-themed chana dhaal, pakora with sweet potato, parsnip, and carrot, and chutneys, and dessert platter which included panna cotta made from agar agar, coconut milk, and tofu, cashew mousse, and mango and passionfruit sorbet.
The dishes were acclaimed by the judges, and Gauthier said eating the panna cotta was “like being a child and eating it for the first time.”
