Series look at the past masters of culinary arts

To accompany the new series, the Masterchef Cookbook includes some of the top recipes from contestants from the series over the years, including the celebrity and professional versions of the BBC programme.

The book features 250 of the best recipes, along with comments and tips from the show's presenters, Greg Wallace and John Torode. So if you fancy yourself as a bit of a masterchef, why not give these recipes a go.

Carpaccio of venison with watercress salad and a raspberry vinaigrette

Angela Kenny administrator turned chef and 2009 semi-finalist.

1 tbsp dried thyme, finely chopped

salt and freshly-ground black pepper

30g (1oz) raspberries

200g (7oz) loin of venison

1tbs olive oil

4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

90ml (3fl oz) olive oil

85g (3oz) watercress

Preheat a frying pan until hot. Season the thyme with salt and pepper and spread on a plate.

Rub the venison with some of the olive oil and roll it in the herb mixture. Place the venison in the hot drying pan and sear all the edges. Remove from the pan and leave to rest for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette by pureing the raspberries with a hand blender and pass through a sieve to remove any pips. Mix the raspberry pure with the balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Thinly slice the venison, arrange on a serving plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange the watercress in the centre and drizzle the dressing over the top.

Roast cod with clams and bacon mash, creamy shallot sauce and spinach

Sarah Whittle detective sergeant and 2008 semi-finalist.

Serves 4

4 thick cod fillets

sea salt and white pepper

75g unsalted butter

2 tbsp rapeseed oil7

50g (1lb 10oz) baby spinach

Bacon Mash

6 rashers smoked dry-cure streaky bacon, rind removed

1.5kg (3lb 3oz) Maris Piper potatoes cut into 3in pieces

50g unsalted butter

Shallot sauce

1kg venus or palourde clams

large glass of dry white wine

2 shallots or 1 small onion, very finely chopped

300ml (10fl oz) double cream

1 heaped tbsp thyme leaves

juice of lemon

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F/Gas 4). Put the bacon on a non-stick baking tray in the oven for about 10 minutes until crisp. Cool and crumble, reserving a few rashers for garnish. Boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes until tender. Drain, return to the pan, add the butter and mash well. Season with pepper and stir in the bacon.

To make the sauce, put the clams in a large pan with the wine and half the shallots. Cook, covered, over a high heat, shaking from time to time, for about 4 to 5 minutes until the clams have opened –

discard any that haven't. Drain into a colander over a bowl to catch the juice. Reserve 12 of the clams in their shells for garnish and shell the rest.

Pour the clam juice into a pan and add the remaining shallot. Simmer for 10 minutes until reduced slightly, then add the cream. Simmer for a further 5 minutes then, if you wish to, blend until smooth using a hand blender.

Add the thyme and clam meat and check the seasoning, adding a little lemon juice. Keep the sauce warm.

To cook the cod, coat the skin side with seasoned flour. Put 50g butter and the oil in a non-stick ovenproof frying pan over medium heat until frothing. Put the fish in, skin-side down, and cook until the fish turns white halfway up its sides.

Baste with the oil and butter once, then put it in the oven for 7 to 8 minutes or until opaque. In the meantime, heat the remaining butter and add the washed spinach. Cook until wilted, then season and drain it.

To serve, spoon mash on each plate. Top with 3 clams in their shells, spinach, a piece of cod, and bacon. Pour the sauce around and on top.

Sticky toffee pudding

Wendi Peters actress and 2009 celebrity finalist.

Serves 4

85g sugared, stoned chopped dates

85g light soft brown sugar

45g unsalted butter

1 egg

115g plain flour

1tsp bicarbonate soda

1tbsp vanilla extract

For the toffee sauce

150g Demerara sugar

85g (3oz) unsalted butter,

4 tbsp double cream

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F/Gas 4). Butter a 16x12cm ovenproof dish. Put the dates into a bowl and pour over just enough boiling water to cover them.

In a separate bowl, cream together the soft brown sugar and the butter. Beat the egg into the creamed mixture with some of the flour

before adding the rest of

the flour.

Add the bicarbonate of soda and vanilla extract to the dates and then stir into the creamed mixture until well mixed.

Pour into the ovenproof dish and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until well risen and a cake skewer, when inserted, comes out clean.

Just before the pudding is cooked, make the toffee sauce.

Preheat the grill to hot. Put the demerara sugar, butter, and cream into a saucepan and heat gently.

Let simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the pudding from the oven, pour over half the sauce and place under the grill until it bubbles.

Serve the pudding while hot with the remaining sauce poured over the top or alongside as an accompaniment.

n The Masterchef Cookbook is pub-lished by DK (20). To order a copy from the Yorkshire Post Bookshop, call free on 0800 0153232

or go online at www.yorkshirepostbook

shop.co.uk P&P is 2.75.