Reflecting on filming the series, Locatelli told the Table Manners podcast: “I think I was a bad cop. I’m strict. Strict about cleanliness and organisation. Those little skills that you teach them slowly.”
The contestants on the new series have not yet been revealed, but Locatelli said one star in particular stood out to him with the quality of some of their dishes.
He told the podcast’s presenters Jessie and Lennie Ware: “There was somebody who really surprised me a few times in the positive. It was good fun to do, it was really good fun to be with them.
“The people who worked in entertainment found it so difficult to cook to the time,” he reflected. “The sportspeople always hit the time. Their life is run by time, while the other people are all about creativity.”
The spin-off series sees a number of celebrities face cooking challenges, with judges overseeing their culinary skills until one star makes it to the end to claim the Celebrity MasterChef trophy.
Locatelli is a Michelin-star chef who worked at the Savoy early in his career, before going on to launch restaurants including Olivo, Zafferano, Locanda Locatelli and Locatelli at the National Gallery.
