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MasterChef viewers slam show over controversial theme that inspired contestant's dish

MasterChef viewers slam show over controversial theme that inspired contestant's dish

Circus performer Chris managed to anger the public with his inspiration for the 'theatrical' dish

We all love a good theme night for a dinner party with pals - whether it be stars of the slow cooker, the pièce de résistance of pasta, or a good old Mexican night where you all don sombreros and shot tequila.

But it seems that murder-inspired meals really don't go down as well with Brits, as this MasterChef contestant has just found out.

Viewers were left with a bad taste in their mouths after watching a plucky contestant named Chris serve up a controversial dish for which he had used an infamous serial killer as his muse.

Circus performer Chris managed to outrage viewers with his murder-inspired dish (BBC)
Circus performer Chris managed to outrage viewers with his murder-inspired dish (BBC)

On Thursday's episode of MasterChef, the amateur cooks were tasked with producing a 'theatrical' dish that would tantalise the tastebuds of judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode.

There were some interesting offerings whipped up in the kitchen, including a duck dish which was presented to look like organs encased in a ribcage and a bone marrow panna cotta.

Chris, however, managed to blow these recipes out of the water - but viewers of the BBC show say it was for all the wrong reasons.

Take a look at this:

The circus performer seemed to have really understood the 'theatrical' assignment when it was his turn to present his creation to the hosts, as the MasterChef kitchen was plunged into darkness when his segment began.

Donning a hooded cloak, he told the judges: "You are now detectives and you have to work out who I am by the clues inside the box."

Incorporating his experience as a performer into his exhibition, Chris took a mouthful of what appeared to be fuel before he began breathing fire, which left Wallace and Torode, as well as his fellow competitors, stunned.

But it was the contents of his box which really surprised viewers.

MasterChef judges Wallace and Torode had to try and decipher clues (BBC)
MasterChef judges Wallace and Torode had to try and decipher clues (BBC)

After watching him blow flames across the studio, the judges then took a closer look at the trunk he had presented to them which had the numbers 1 and 8 scrawled across it in various formations.

Under what seemed to be a black light, the digits '1888' glowed red, which was the combination to the lock on the box.

The pair then opened it to find a beef tartare, with roasted bone marrow, smoked beetroot puree, gin and tonic gel as well as pomme soufflé - but it wasn't the ingredients that left people outraged.

Instead, it was the fact that Chris had used Jack The Ripper, who committed five brutal murders in the Whitechapel area of London in 1888, as inspiration for his deadly dish.

The dish had a range of hints about Jack the Ripper (BBC)
The dish had a range of hints about Jack the Ripper (BBC)

Other 'clues' the 44-year-old had incorporated for the amateur detectives to pick up on included the words 'Whitechapel' and 'London 1888', as well as a tally of the killings - allowing Wallace to correctly guess the theme, while Torode described it as 'pretty cool'.

But viewers weren't as enthralled by the immersive experience and took to social media to slam MasterChef for 'glamourising' the notorious serial killer who managed to evade detection.

One fumed: "How delightful to see @MasterChefUK celebrating the murder and dismemberment of women. #BadTaste in so many different forms".

Chris had created a beef tartare with roasted bone marrow (BBC)
Chris had created a beef tartare with roasted bone marrow (BBC)

Another added: "Can't beat a lovely bit of nosh themed on a man who committed some of the most heinous acts of assault and murder of women in British history #MasterChef."

A third added: "Apparently it's 'really tasty food' but there's a guy on #MasterChef who has just done some kind of cabaret/meal event on the theme of Jack the Ripper (steak tartare), which is frankly pretty tasteless."

A fourth baffled viewer said: "Did that just happen? A man on #MasterChef just served beef tartare on a bone as part of a celebration of Jack the Ripper dish? Murdered women's innards, so creative. What?"

Featured Image Credit: BBC

Topics: BBC, Food And Drink, TV, True Crime