MasterChef viewers weren’t too keen on a dish plated up on the latest episode (Picture: BBC)
MasterChef viewers have been left gobsmacked after a contestant revealed he was using reindeer blood in a dish.
On the latest episode of the long-running BBC cooking series, the five remaining amateur chefs were challenged to undertake live fire cooking.
Taken deep into the ancient forests near Amersham for a challenge ‘like no other’, they arrived at Nomadic, a wilderness dining experience based in Chalfont St Giles.
Cooking under the guidance of Swedish chef Niklas Ekstedt, they were asked to present dishes without electricity and instead simply use an open flame.
But when it came time for each to explain the dishes they were preparing, those watching at home were shocked by what Chris, 44, shared.
As the camera cut to him carving up a slab of meat, he exclaimed: ‘What a great piece of meat to be cutting.’
Judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace tasted food cooked on an open fire (Picture: BBC /Shine TV)
It was then explained he was ‘butchering down a whole saddle of Highland red deer’.
Given one of Niklas’ dishes, Chris had to make a lion juniper smoked venison with a reindeer blood pudding, fire roasted beetroot and beetroot sauce.
‘I’m really keen on Scandinavian cooking with my boyfriend being from Denmark and we do have an obsession with Nordic food,’ Chris said.
Niklas then explained the inspiration behind the pudding.
Chris was tasked with preparing a venison dish that included a reindeer blood pudding (Picture: BBC)
‘The reindeer blood pudding is a dish I learnt from my son in France, and they make on the mountains when they take a reindeer down. They take the reindeer and immediately make a blood pudding over the fire,’ he said.
However, viewers weren’t as convinced.
‘Reindeer blood? Gross. Not doing it for me this week,’ Maisy posted on X.
‘Reindeer blood?? That was an awful episode imo,’ user melkay shared.
‘Utterly disgusting, reindeer blood ffs,’ bobbleyone added.
Viewers weren’t quite convinced despite the judges’ praise (Picture: BBC)
Under the watchful eye of Niklas’ head chef Baxter, Chris had to blend the blood with flour, Port of Madeira and melted butter and then cook it at exactly 58 degrees over hot coals seasoned with juniper to set properly.
Chris said he was ‘looking forward’ to tasting the final product, and when it came time to plate up, things looked promising.
Judge John Torode said Chris had done a ‘good job’, while Gregg Wallace said the final dish ‘looks and tastes fabulous’.
Praising all of the contestants, who were cooking in below freezing temperatures, he added: ‘What they carried out and achieved today was nothing short of miraculous.’
MasterChef continues tomorrow at 7.30pm on BBC One.
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