“We welcome the publication of the findings by Lewis Silkin, following the investigation into the conduct of Gregg Wallace. In light of these findings, Banijay UK and the BBC have agreed Mr Wallace’s return to MasterChef is untenable. The BBC has informed Mr Wallace we have no plans to work with him in future.
“The investigation details a substantial number of allegations of inappropriate conduct spanning 19 years. This behaviour falls below the values of the BBC and the expectations we have for anyone who works with or for us.
“Although the full extent of these issues were not known at the relevant time, opportunities were missed to address this behaviour – both by the production companies running MasterChef and the BBC. We accept more could and should have been done sooner.
“We want to thank all those who took part in the investigation, including those who first raised concerns directly with the BBC in November last year. We apologise to everyone who has been impacted by Mr Wallace’s behaviour.
“Lewis Silkin’s findings include two further allegations which were upheld, relating to other individuals. The BBC takes these findings very seriously and we have asked Banijay UK to take action to address these issues, which is underway. This will be completed as a priority.
“The BBC will not be commenting further at this stage, but we are clear we expect the highest standards of respect at work to be upheld on the production.
““At this stage we are not going to make a final decision on the broadcast of the series that was filmed last year. We know this is disappointing for fans of the show and those who took part and at the appropriate time Banijay UK will consult further with the amateur contestants.
“In April the BBC published a detailed response to an independent review of workplace culture, which reinforces expectations around behaviour and that we will act more decisively when standards are not met. This also requires all TV production partners to align with the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) standards.
“We want to reaffirm, there is no place for the abuse of power, unacceptable behaviour or language at the BBC, or shows made for the BBC.”
As far as Wallace is concerned, though, everyone else is to blame …
Are you looking for some recipe and meal inspiration to impress the family and want to test your culinary skills to make restaurant quality dishes at home without breaking the bank?
Then you’re in luck because Aldi has partnered with award winning Scottish Chef and professional MasterChef contestant, David Hetherington, to help customers re-create a range of vibrant and delicious meals that will feed four people for less than £1.50 per person using fresh local Scottish produce.
David Hetherington, Head Chef at Glasgow’s Locker Hyndland, Provenance Chef of the Year 2018 and winner of Inspiring Chef of the Year 2020 has developed a variety of recipes using local Scottish produce from Aldi to help inspire customers to create high-quality and affordable meals from their own home.
Starting with a Mother’s Day Spring Pea, Thyme & Lemon Ricotta Tart and Berry Pavlova, over the next four weeks David will release a series of healthy meal ideas for four, with suggestions on how to spice up your lunch whilst working from home, as well as offering a step-by-step guide on how to create the ultimate Aldi Easter Sunday roast.
Weekly recipe suggestions and step-by-step cooking guides will feature across David’s (@chef_hetherington) and Aldi Scotland’s (@aldiscotland) Instagram and Facebook pages starting from 8th March.
David Hetherington, Head Chef at Glasgow’s Locker Hyndland said:“It has been brilliant to see everyone get more involved in cooking at home and by partnering with Aldi, who lead the way on Scottish provenance, I aim to build on this culinary excitement and share both affordable and nutritious recipe ideas for everyone to enjoy.
“By taking advantage of the selection of fresh Scottish produce available at Aldi, my weekly recipes will help guide both experienced cooks and kitchen novices to produce an array of tasty meals. Along the way, I will also provide some top cooking tips on how to find the best produce in your local Aldi store and how to be more adventurous in your own kitchen.”
Graham Nicolson, Aldi Scotland, Group Buying Director said:“We are thrilled to be able to help our customers test their culinary skills and experiment with cooking by using Aldi’s extensive range of quality fresh local produce and ingredients.
“As well as access to great quality Scottish ingredients we know that what matters to our customers is getting great value for money, and that’s why keeping our prices the lowest in Scotland is our number one mission.
“Over the past year, David has done an excellent job in engaging with people to encourage cooking at home but recognising at the moment that keeping dishes affordable is also of key importance, and for the next four weeks I hope our customer are excited to try out the new recipes that David has created.”
Full Recipe Calendar:
· W/c 8 March: Creating a restaurant-quality Mother’s Day feast for under £6
· W/c 15 March: How to spice up your lunches when working from home
· W/c 22 March: How to create a healthy meal for four for under £6
· W/c 29 March: The ultimate Aldi Easter Sunday Roast for £6
Mother’s Day Recipe:
Spring pea, thyme & lemon ricotta tart, mixed leaf and cherry tomato salad
Serves 4
Prep time 10 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Difficulty
Total £3.30
1 bag frozen garden peas – 59p
1 lemon – 14p
2 sprigs of thyme/pinch of dried thyme – Store cupboard
Line a rectangular baking tray, or a round one, with baking parchment, then line with pastry.
Next up, line the puff pastry with baking parchment, and fill with baking beans (this could be lentils, raw chickpeas, or you can buy real baking beans online, I choose to use lentils), this stops the middle of the tart rising while you bake the pastry. Leave a little pastry lip hanging out the top for a wee bit of crunch. Pop the tart in the oven and bake for around 20 minutes or until the pastry is looking golden.
While the pastry is cooking, chuck the ricotta into a bowl, add some chopped thyme (or a pinch of dried thyme), squeeze of lemon juice, some lemon zest and some salt and pepper.
Put a pot of water on to boil. Once boiling add in the frozen peas and allow it to come back to the boil and immediately strain off the water and chill, this is important to keep the colour, nutrients and flavour in the peas.
Once the pastry is cooked, and cooled, fire in the ricotta mix, smooth it out to the
edges and fill the pastry, toss the peas with some olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme and a squeeze of lemon, and pile them on top.
For the salad, wash the salad leaves gently under cold water, toss in olive oil, salt, pepper, halved cherry tomatoes and serve up everything with love and a big smile.
Berry Pavlova
Serves 4
Prep time 10 mins
Cook Time approx 2 Hrs
Difficulty
Total £2.60
4 egg whites – 48p
250g caster sugar – 27p
250ml double cream – 71p
½ punnet of Wonky strawberries – 69p
½ punnet of Wonky blueberries – 45p
This recipe will always work better if you have an electric whisk.
In a clean dry bowl place the egg whites, and whisk on a high speed until they become stiff. Place the sugar onto a baking sheet, and place in a hot oven at around 180°C, you’ll want the sugar to heat until it becomes too hot to touch with the palm of your hand. This is a culinary trick so please be careful.
Carefully pour the sugar into the egg whites, mixing at a fairly high speed, again we are working with hot sugar here, so be careful and take your time.
Continue to whisk the eggs on a high speed once all the sugar is in and keep whisking until the mix is cold. It should be shiny and hold itself together.
We need to make a small meringue bowl for our pavlova, so divide the mix into four onto a parchment lined tray. Now the best way to do this would be to pipe a little nest, but you can plop a dollop on a tray and make a wee well in the centre with a hot spoon.
Now switch off the oven, it should still be hot from the sugar warming. Pop in the tray of meringues and wait for about 10 minutes before you close the door and leave overnight. It is really important we dry out the shells of our meringues without colouring them.
When you are ready to serve, whip up the double cream, and spoon into your meringue nests, chop up your berries and arrange on top.
