Masterchef: the Professionals judges Gregg Wallace, Monica Galetti and Marcus Wareing on home cooking, lockdown and filming during a pandemic

Entering its 13th series, the professional instalment of the hit BBC cooking show sees 32 chefs battle it out over the course of six weeks to be crowned MasterChef champion.

Finding a new home on BBC One, MasterChef: The Professionals will see longstanding judge and presenter Gregg Wallace return to our screens, alongside the discerning taste buds of chefs Monica Galetti and Marcus Wareing.

And with a second national lockdown triggering swathes of the population to return to their kitchens en masse, the forthcoming series is just the culinary inspiration we needed.

The initial lockdown period saw the judging trio swap paying customers for family members as they cooked up a storm in their respective kitchens.

Now, in news that is bound to come as a relief for many, it appears that months of home cooking can become tiresome for even the most enthusiastic of professional chefs.

“Cooking lunch and dinner seven days a week – I mean, they’ve just finished breakfast and they’re asking what’s for lunch. They’re just finishing lunch and they’re asking what’s for bloody dinner,” exclaims Galetti, 45, of her family’s insatiable appetite.

“I had my neighbours requesting what freaking sourdough they wanted! It was getting a bit much.”

However, it is Wallace’s lockdown transformation that has truly stolen the limelight of late.

As the television personality turned internet fitness sensation took over the nation’s Instagram feeds with his workout regime, the presenter is keen to highlight the upsides of lockdown, most notably, his newly-toned physique.

“That was honestly being able to have complete control over my diet,” says Wallace, 56, of his full body makeover.

“It seemed to me, after lockdown, that the nation seemed to have fallen into two camps: those that had got fitter and those that had got fatter.

“Lockdown was the first time in nearly 20 years that I had complete and utter control over everything that I ate. It was amazing.”

As shooting for the hit show swung into action shortly after the heaviest lockdown restrictions were eased, it was all-change for the production crew, judges and professional chefs alike.

The knock-on effects of the pandemic saw tight new safety measures brought in on-set, however, the implementation of new social distancing measures did not prove too much of a challenge for the team.

“When you think about it, cooking is quite a singular activity anyway,” says Wallace. “What was different was that there was no social mixing of the crew who have known each other for over 15 years. That was what was odd.”

“Normally in between filming we’re sloping off to have a bit of a nap and catch up on some rest or trying to catch up on some emails,” continues fellow judge Galetti. “But there was none of that happening. You gave it everything and people were excited to be back working and it was a really fabulous feeling to have on set.”

Social distancing measures created an interesting new dynamic for the judges, who found themselves excluded to a separate room and forced to watch proceedings on a monitor.

“I think the running commentary from either one of us in the back gives the viewer an insight into what the cook is doing, which you wouldn’t normally hear,” says Wareing, 50. “I think this gives it a complete new angle.”

The new series of MasterChef: The Professionals launches on BBC One at 9pm on November 10.

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