Michel Roux Jr: "French Bake Off is fancier" says MasterChef star
The Michelin-starred chef says The Great British Bake Off and MasterChef: The Professionals are no match for the culinary contests across the channel
According to Michel Roux Jr, The Great British Bake Off lacks the finesse of the French spin-off, Le Meilleur Patissier.
“It’s the same format but the tests are a little bit more fancy – put it that way,” the Michelin-starred chef tells RadioTimes.com.
Roux also admires Top Chef, which is the French version of his own cookery contest, MasterChef: The Professionals. In particular, he’s impressed by the skill tests the French chefs are subjected to – including a taste test in which they eat raw animal innards in order to identify them.
So why doesn’t he have his MasterChef contestants do the same? “To be brutally honest, I do hope one day we get to that stage,” says Roux, adding that he and fellow judge Monica Galetti have been trying to persuade their producer – to no avail.
But he warns: “We will get there. Personally, I don’t find that shocking and I strongly believe that the British viewer is ready – that the British viewer would be quite happy to watch that and would be fascinated.”
Michel Roux Jr’s favourite television programme at the moment is La Meilleure Boulangerie de France, which translates as France’s Best Bakery.
“You do want to lick the screen, I tell you. It’s just beautiful. Obviously in England we don’t have any – or as many – artisan bakers or proper boulangeries but one day when there are it’s going to be a programme that’s great to make.”
MasterChef: the Professionals starts on Monday 4 November at 8.30pm on BBC2
