If you've been watching MasterChef: The Professionals, you may have seen a small appearance from a couple of siblings who happen to run this very website. We were part of the pop-up episode where the chefs through to the quarter-final were cooking for "the UK's top food entrepreneurs".
If you've ever wondered just what happens on a day's filming for the show - here's our account of how it all went down.
First of all, as the sunny weather may have indicated, it was shot quite some time ago - all the way back in June. We arrived at the Truman Social Club in Walthamstow to see some familiar faces like Karan Gokani from Hoppers, John Chantarasak from Anglo Thai, Tatale's Akwasi Brenya-Mensa and Zoe Adjonyoh of Zoe's Ghana Kitchen to name just a few - an interesting crowd of food folk, all excited for the day's activities.
Into the garden first, for drinks and interviews
To begin with we were ushered past the main kitchen space to the back garden (around the 15:30 mark if you're watching it on catch-up). That's where they do the face-to-face interviews and you try to say something at least coherent when it comes to your turn in front of the cameras.
Then, it's time for the main event, where everyone is moved into the actual "pop-up restaurant" (about 19:30 in). We're told you can take photos (but not post them until the show airs), but that quickly turns out to be very hard when there are cameras all over the place. So we end up only taking a few when the cameras are focusing on somewhere else - here's an example:
Filming the guests
Frankly - it's something of a relief on our part not to have to photograph our food for once.
Then it's onto the actual eating. We don't know who the chefs are taking part, but we are given the pop-ups' menus in advance, so there is a chance to get our thoughts in order. Here's what we had:
During the meal, the camera crew swings by several times during each service. We're asked about each course before it arrives, then again as it arrives on the table and once more when we're done. Once again, you're trying to say something that makes it look like you have a smidgen of sense. So there's an awful lot of footage they must have left over, but happily a few of our comments made the final edit.
The kitchen and the prep space are kept fairly far away from where we were actually eating. So, while it's possible to see the chefs behind the pass, most of the kitchen drama that you may see on the telly isn't really noticeable by any of us actually eating the food - apart from any delays, of course. That rush you see on getting the last dish out there - we could spot that happening, but all was forgotten when the food arrived. Plus, when you think about it, four chefs working through completely different courses in one kitchen is never going to be completely smooth.
The chefs at the end of it all chatting to Zoe Adjonyoh from Zoe's Ghana Kitchen.
As for the food itself - there was a lot of great talent on show but we'd say some of the dishes we tried were probably a little too ambitious for a real-life pop-up. Some scaling back and a little more focus on what's possible in that kind of setting was definitely needed in a few places. But still - it's all generally very good, as you'd expect from professional chefs.
As for our final thoughts on what we ate at the popup, you'll have to watch the show for that, which you can see here.
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