Walter Purkis and Sons have been delighted to have had several customers who have been Masterchef contestants, including Emma Spitzer who was a finalist in 2015. (We were delighted to be mentioned in her latest book Fress and excited to be sharing some recipes from it on our blog)

MasterChef 2017

This year we have a slightly different connection with Walter Purkis appearing in the programme itself!  Walter is one of the leading fish experts who are served a three-course fish lunch at Fishmongers Hall. The hall is home to The Fishmongers’ Company which is one of the twelve great livery companies of the City of London, with a history that goes back over 700 years it is among the most ancient of the City Guilds.

This don’t miss episode for fish lovers will be airing on the 4th May 2017 at 8pm on BBC one.

Episode 20 MasterChef 2017 Synopsis

The MasterChef Semi-Finals continue. Sixty-four amateur cooks have been whittled down and now only the most promising seven remain in the competition, all fighting for a place in Finals Week.

Tonight, they will have to pull out all the stops as they are tasked with the daunting challenge of cooking a three-course fish lunch for some of the country’s biggest fish experts. Starting at 4am at Billingsgate Fish Market the contestants must first source their ingredients before moving on to Fishmongers’ Hall which is the prestigious headquarters of one of London’s oldest livery companies, the Fishmongers’ Company. Here they take full control of its kitchens.

John Torode will oversee the kitchen as the amateurs face a high pressured lunchtime service. The diners include senior fish inspectors from Billingsgate Market, the president of the National Federation of Fishmongers, the Prime Warden of The Fishmongers’ Company as well as leading chefs and restaurateurs, who are at the forefront of dining trends and have paved the way for culinary excellence, so their expectations are sky high.

The contestants must each serve one dish of their own creation on the specially designed menu. Under the watchful eye of John Torode, the amateurs will be challenged like never before to deliver dishes of an exceptional level, because the two chefs who cook the most popular dishes will be exempt from the next cook-off.

Back at the MasterChef kitchen, the MasterChef market re-opens as the remaining five chefs have to cook against each other in a bid to stay in the competition. As ever the market is fully stocked with the best produce available but with one difference – there is no meat or fish. It’s high drama as the amateurs have an hour and 15 minutes to create one dish to keep themselves in the competition. They will have to push themselves to the limit to impress judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace. Who can impress enough to make it through to the final four and keep their dream alive of winning MasterChef 2017?

You can find the MasterChef episode 20 page on the BBC site here