Tommy appeared in series 11 of Celebrity Masterchef, shown June and July 2016.
Episode 1
Tommys fellow contestants were Alexis Conran, Marcus Butler, Donna Air and Sinitta.
“I’m just glad to be here, enjoying life. I’ve got nothing to lose, life’s for living. “
The initial part of the show was the mystery box. Each contestant received a box containing a whole squid, lamb mince, feta cheese, pomegranate, pistachios, red pepper, aubergine and puff pastry. They had one hour to cook a dish using whichever of these ingredients they wanted.
“I just think to myself, job it all together, hopefully it’ll come out good… Mince meat, I’ve got peppers, I’m going to put ginger in it, then I’m going to put a bit of garlic in it, and I’m just going to let it simmer nicely… It might become hot pepper mince.”
Tommy’s final dish was called scallop vegetables. The judges commented that it was almost an upside-down Lancashire hotpot, and was slightly burnt and quite spicy.
The second section of the show saw the celebrities working in a professional kitchen. Tommy was in Indian Restaurant Darbaar in the City, with chef Abdul Yaseen. He was responsible for producing leg of rabbit, baked in a wood fired oven.
The final segment of the show saw the celebrities given one hour to cook their own choice of food.
“I feel a lot more at ease cooking my own food… I’m making salmon with chilli peppers, runny honey. For starters I’m making chorizo and scallop with chilli and a little bit of ginger.”
The judges loved both courses. They commented that the appearance wasn’t great, but the taste was fantastic.
At the end of the episode Sinitta did not progress to the next round.
Episode 2
The second episode saw the celebrities in pairs – Tommy was working with Donna.
In the first task they had to work together to create a meal – the first had 25 minutes to start, then the second took over for 25 minutes. However they couldn’t speak about what they were planning. Finally they finished off for 15 minutes together.
Donna started. The ingredients given were guinea fowl, coconut, passion fruit and mango. She decided to start cooking a roast
Tommy was slightly unsure what Donna has planned, but carried on roughly on her lines.
Their final meal was roasted guinea fowl with roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots, rainbow chard and gravy, and a mango, passion fruit and mascarpone dessert.
In the second task the pairs were working at Arsenal FC, cooking under the stadium chef Derek Tingey. They had two and a half hours to cook meat and vegetarian mains and a dessert for 60 people per pair.
They cooked a roast chicken breast with baked potato and cauliflower cheese; aubergine, goats cheese and tomato bake with rice; and a fruit tart dessert.
The final task saw them working individually to cook for three previous finalists and winners of Celebrity Masterchef – Emma Kennedy, Sophie Thompson and Wayne Sleep.
Tommy cooked chicken breast in a port and cream sauce with mange tout. For dessert it was a lemon posset.
His food was well received by the judges.
At the end of the episode two of the celebrities progressed to the semi-final: Tommy and Alexis.
Semi Final
Alongside Tommy in the semi final were Rev. Richard Coles, Cherry Healy, Sid Owen, Alexis Conran, Audley Harrison, Jimmy Osmond, Neil Back and Louise Minchin.
The first part of the show saw them in Haworth, divided into two teams cooking for 70 guests at the Bronte society, using a temporary outdoors kitchen.
The red team, with Tommy on it, cooked Roast Lamb and vegetables, roast hake, vegetarian quiche and a fruit pudding for dessert.
In the second segment of the show each contestant was given their favourite ingredient and had 90 minutes to produce a meal using it.
In Tommy’s case this was chicken, which he spiced up with bacon, paprika and honey and served with vegetables and a cheese sauce. While the judges liked the taste, they felt there was too much cheese, and it needed work on the presentation.
At the end of the episode three contestants left – Tommy, Cherry and Neil.
