HUMBLE PIE

So I've mentioned a few things here and there about being on a TV show, but now I can finally tell you that Humble Pie is out TONIGHT! And the episode I'm appearing in is going to be on the Watch channel (Sky 109, Virgin Media 124) on Friday 4th December at 8pm! YIKES!

It's a brand new show so it was really exciting to take part. Each episode is self-contained so don't worry, you won't be seeing my mug on TV for the next 12 weeks! The concept of the show is a little complicated to explain, but I'll try;

There are 3 rounds, in which 4 contestants each cook a dish that fits a pre-provided brief, with one person getting kicked out in each round. But there's a twist! Marco Pierre White (!!) tastes each dish and picks the one that he thinks is the weakest. Meanwhile, the cooks don't know which dish he's picked. They take it in turns to try each other's dishes and give their feedback. Then, the chef gives a clue as to who he wants to send home. At this point, the contestants have the chance to eliminate themselves (if they think their dish might be the one the chef is alluding to) and they get a consolation cash prize. But if no one wants to 'eat humble pie' and admit defeat, then the chef will send home his choice, and they won't get anything. This continues until the final round, where two contestants go head to head. The idea is that everyone has the chance to win some money, if they're humble enough to accept that their dish is the worst...but you can also ruffle some feathers by trying to knock someone else's confidence and make them think they should send themselves home. Anyway, if that doesn't make sense, you'll have to watch and see!

The whole thing was a bit of an adventure. We actually filmed my episode back in May so it's been hard to keep schtum! I still can't quite believe that I've done it and while the whole thing was exhilarating and such a cool experience, I'm actually mortified about being on television! Aside from the fact that I have no idea how I looked on camera and that I'm pretty sure my makeup was smudged everywhere and I probably looked really worried the whole time, I can't remember what I said and I'm sure there will be an unsavoury moment or two!

There were so many ups and downs - hours of waiting around (the first day, we filmed from 9am to 11pm!), followed by cooking for an hour and a half which whizzed by in seconds and then the super tense judging rounds - and so many emotions flying around. You would be totally exhilarated after cooking and have this huge adrenaline rush and then have to wait an hour to film a little clip about how you think you did in that round (one of the interviews even happened the morning after we'd cooked the night before!), by which time you'd have crashed and not really remember anything! In the rounds where we were tasting each other's food, the producers really tried to get us to be honest and to say what we really thought about everyone's dishes; luckily we were quite a nice group though. No one really seemed to be playing a game and no one was unnecessarily mean - if someone had been I think I would have cried! It's been such a long time since it all happened, whatever I said, it's going to be a surprise for sure!

I have a few posts lined up about the show: there's a ratatouille recipe that I made during the audition round, where I'm going to share a bit more about how I ended up doing Humble Pie and a bit more about the audition process. I also have both my recipes from the show (we cooked 3 in total, but one was a blind test), which I'll share on the day it airs! If you have any questions, pop a comment below!