Opening night and eviction. The talent culinary MasterChef celebrity The show opened its doors for its ninth edition to test the skills of a new group of contestants. Cristina Cifuentes, Pitingo, Marina Rivers, Juan Luis Cano, Topacio Fresh, Raúl Gómez, Hiba Abouk, Pocholo Martínez-Bordiú, Itziar Miranda, Pelayo Díaz, Rubén Ochandiano, Nerea Garmendia, Jose Lamuño, Inés Hernand, Francis Lorenzo and María León put on their aprons to get into the “flour”, although one of them did not pass the tests in this first installment. It was Jose Lamuño who said goodbye to this adventure, brief in his case, with the feeling that he would have liked to do much more.
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In the first test, the contestants had to replicate several dishes by chef Francis Paniego, recipes for which they had the help of Ona Carbonell and Raquel Meroño, winners of the third and fifth editions of the programme. The standouts in this first competition were Inés Hernand, who said that she has been dreaming of the kitchens of this space for a long time, with some squid; Pocholo, who cooked a very good fish; Pitingo who made a rice that “you can eat”; Raú, Juan Luis, Hiba Abouk, Francis, Pelayo and Cristina Cifuentes. The weakest candidates according to the jury, which is again made up of Jordi Cruz, Samantha Vallejo-Nágera and Pepe Rodríguez, were Jose, Nerea, Itziar and Rubén.
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In the first outdoor test they travelled to the Empordà, Girona, specifically to the Peralada castle. There they cooked a menu inspired by traditional cuisine by Paco Pérez for 150 guests. The judges chose Jose as captains, who teamed up with Cifuentes, Juan Luis, Nerea, Inés, Francis, Marina, Itziar and Topacio; and Raúl, who formed the blue team with Hiba, Pelayo, Itziar, Marina María, Pocholo and Pitingo. During the test it was possible to see how well Cristina Cifuentes and Inés Hernand get along, to the point that the former politician offered herself as “his adoptive mother”.
As in every team competition, there were ups and downs, although the team that had the worst result was the one led by Jose, who was criticised for giving senseless orders and without taking his teammates into account. It was his team that faced elimination, in which they had to guess some 38 types of fruit and vegetables. With the ones they got right, they made a sweet, savoury or vegetarian dish. The best were Cristina Cifuentes, with a Galician aubergine, Juan Luis, with some elegant asparagus, and Nerea, with a very tasty omelette. They were saved from the tightrope that left Inés hanging for not giving value to vegetables, Francis for a bland stir-fry, Itziar, for a bland egg with artichokes, and Jose for some artichokes that were difficult to eat.
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The latter, who has participated in series such as Boarding school, Physics and Chemistry (the return), The one that is coming y Hospital Centralwas chosen to leave the kitchens and he left very upset. He said that he was leaving with a clear conscience “for having given his all on the programme” even though his stay was short. His colleagues said goodbye to him, surprised that his name was chosen to leave the programme.
The premiere of MasterChef celebrity It was preceded by another highly anticipated one, that of David Broncano’s program, The revoltwhich jumps to TVE in the pre-prime time slot. The presenter sat down at the start of this new stage with Aitor Francesena, the five-time world champion in adapted surfing. His closest competitor, The Anthillon this occasion he brought Victoria de Marichalar, daughter of the Infanta Elena.
