Entertainment
Tracy falls at the third to join the Cooke who can’t cook
So, Celebrity Masterchef Ireland on RTE 1 has reached the halfway mark and on Sunday they entertained us with the most technical task yet – recreating a very complicated dessert.
For those of us who like our cookery programme, what better combination than putting celebs through their paces in the kitchen.
It’s hard to say why certain programmes are popular with audiences but one thing for sure is that the novelty of any idea wears thin after a while, which is probably why the odd Celebrity version is made to pique our interest.
Unlike the other reality show on TV3 involving celebs in a jungle, it is not the public who decide who goes but the two judges, in this case Nick Munier and Dylan McGrath.
That meant of course that the two brimming with personality with little or no cooking skills got booted out first, comedian Gary Cooke and a model and broadcaster, Kamal Ibrahim.
Though I appreciate that contestants have to be booted out to find a winner, it is funnier watching people making a mess and Cooke definitely didn’t live up to his surname and gave us a few laughs. And poor Kamal, I would say, never had to cook for himself in his life. The expressions on his face as he heard culinary descriptions for the first time proved this, God love him. He was very likeable though and, I suspect, he may have caught the cooking bug after his short time on this show.
That left the more serious contestants, ones who really want to win the title.
On Sunday, the third in the series, it was desserts, not my own strong point, and as well as recreating a dessert made by the guest pastry chef, Claire Clarke from the French Laundry restaurant, they also had to make a dessert that was a nod to their childhood.
Most of them admitted they rarely had desserts when they were children but they were inventive enough and gave us viewers some new ideas.
It’s probably not surprising that the 400m sprinter, Dave Gillick, is so competitive but I believe he could be our winner.
His biggest competition is Maia Dunphy, another broadcaster who recently gave us a documentary about how much wine women consume.
Married to comedian Johnny Vegas, she has obviously been practising a lot in the kitchen in preparation for the Masterchef challenge.
Yvonne Keating, ex-wife of Ronan and apparently a woman of leisure, admitted from the start that she doesn’t really cook but she seems to be thriving.
Newsreader Aengus Mac Grianna is a nifty little cook and seems to be enjoying every minute of it.
Galway native, Conor Pope, a consumer journalist with The Irish Times, comes across as very earnest and despite his loud protestations, he is still in the competition.
Sports journalist Tracy Piggot handed in her apron on Sunday night, not surprisingly. Though she appeared to have some cooking skills, her presentation let her down every time but so too, I suspect, did her attitude. I got the feeling she gelled least with the rest of the group and that the judges didn’t like her, but I could be wrong. That’s part of the enjoyment of watching Masterchef — watching how the contestants perform under pressure and time constraints. And there’s the added pressure of being filmed and closely watched while cooking.
Claire Clark was very kind and appeared to like everything they made. The contestants showed their humanity by being genuinely thrilled when Claire praised them. Yeah, even celebs are human!
This group are not bad cooks at all. And Maia could almost work in a professional kitchen. Claire suggested she could work in hers.
Unlike previous Celebrity Masterchef from the UK, our own celebs are not throwing tantrums or playing to the gallery and they appear to appreciate the opportunity of picking up a few new skills.
The programme makers have just finished looking for contestants drawn from the general public for an Autumn series. I wasn’t tempted because though I love cooking, I don’t have the patience for precision and presentation. My style is more rustic, which wouldn’t go down well on Masterchef.
It continues for another three Sundays on RTE 1 at 9.30pm.
Folk duo Niall Teague and Pádraic Joyce are launching their new album What Will We Be, a blend of folk, Americana and acoustic music, this Friday, May 19, at 8pm in An Taibhdhearc.
The success of their well-received 2020 release Taobh le Taobh, as well as recent successes at the Pan Celtic and Oireachtas Song Contests, spurred the duo on to record this new album which represents many years of collaboration and musical development.
It features Niall and Pádraic on vocals, harmonies, and acoustic guitars, Maidhc Ó hÉanaigh on double bass and Neil Fitzgibbon on fiddle. The catchy title track, What Will We Be, features contributions from percussionist Jim Higgins (The Stunning, Christy Moore, Paul Brady) and haunting, driving melodies on vocals, guitar, and fiddle.
Themes of love and hope are woven through Come Away with Me which features interplay between piano and fiddle as well as rich vocal harmonies.
People, places, and broken dreams are celebrated and lamented on Martin and Tom, Guitar Gold, Memories of You and Achill Island. The influence of David Henry Thoreau’s novel Walden features on the tracks Simple and Wise and Walden, with the beauty of nature, escape and simple pleasures at their core.
The album moves from minimalistic folk ballads such as Galway Ghost to swirling, string-laden arrangements on the song Neptune, both of which are influenced by maritime tales from Galway. Much of the work on this album was supported by the Arts Council, including work with musical arranger Eoin Corcoran and the string ensemble Treo.
The album will be launched this Friday, May 19, at 8pm in an Taibhdhearc. Tickets €22, plus booking fee at Eventbrite.ie.
Dunmore is the place to be this weekend for lovers of traditional music, as the Galway County Fleadh will take place there from this Friday, May 19, to Sunday, May 23.
It is 10 years since Dunmore last hosted a fleadh and the local Comhaltas branch, which has re-formed since Covid, is looking forward to facilitating this gathering of music, song, dance and craic.
The official Opening Concert will take place in Dunmore Town Hall this Friday at 8pm with the acclaimed Mulcahy family from Limerick. Mick, Louise and Michelle are well known throughout the country, thanks to their live performances, television appearances and numerous CDs. They were the winners of the TG4 Gradam Ceoil Grúpa Ceoil Award for 2023. Tickets for their concert can be purchased on the door and a great night of music is promised.
Two days of competitions will kick off this Saturday at the town’s Community School, with more than 1,500 competitors taking part. Participants will be hoping to qualify for the Connacht Fleadh 2023, which will be held in Ballina, County Mayo, from June 23 to July 2.
Competitions for those aged Under 10, Under 12 and Under 15 will be held in a large variety of instruments on Saturday, as well as in singing and Comhrá Gaeilge. Sunday’s competitions will be for the Under 18 and Over 18 ages groups, as well as in dancing.
On both days a large entry is expected for Grúpaí Cheoil and Céilí Band competitions across all age groups.
Seventeen Comhaltas branches from across Galway will have participants in this weekend’s competitions, which will result in a large number of visitors to the Dunmore area.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the competitions, which offer a great opportunity to hear and see the talent on display. There will be sessions in local pubs over the weekend as well and everybody is welcome to attend these.
For more information on the County Fleadh, go to www.galwaycomhaltas.ie.
Music for Galway’s concert with renowned Swiss pianist Cédric Pescia which had been due to take place on April 27 but which had to be deferred, will now take place next Tuesday, May 23, at 8pm, in the Emily Anderson Concert Hall at the University of Galway.
This concert of German classics with Bach at its core, will brings the Bach element of Music for Galway’s 41st season to an end.
This world-class pianist who won the famous Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition, has a repertoire that spans many eras from baroque to contemporary and he is widely known for his elaborate programmes. Cédric Pescia describes music as ‘language and movement at the same time’.
Audiences will have a chance to experience his soft, clear touch as he performs a programme for solo piano that will include classics such as Schumann’s popular Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), a suite of nine short pieces, and the penultimate of Beethoven’s piano sonatas, No. 31. These pieces will be interspersed with French Suites by Bach.
■ Ticket for Cédric Pescia’s concert are available at www.musicforgalway.ie, or by phone 091 705962 and on the door on the night. They cost €20/€18. The price for fulltime students of all ages is €6 while MfG Friends can avail of the friends’ rate of €16.
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