“We’re not just referring to scallops.” It’s full! Grace Dent and Anna Hoff take over Masterchef | Master Chef

gMark Dent grew up with MasterChef. She and her father were watching the movie together at home in Carlisle. “We used to laugh at the critics,” she says. “Just completely ridiculous people, with their inflated egos, thinking about their opinions on food items. Who are these people? And then there she is, smiling. Dent, who is also the Guardian’s restaurant critic, is the show’s new co-host with Irish chef Anna Ho; both have been guest judges across various MasterChef series for several years. Watching the show as a child changed the course of Dent’s life. “There was also a little thing in my head, which was thinking, ‘This looks like a great job.’ Should you go to restaurants and talk about it?

The two hosts knew each other, “because the world of restaurants and hospitality, especially in London, is so small,” says Dent, sitting next to Hoff. But by working side by side, “our relationship definitely took a much closer turn because we were together,” Hof chimes in, “all the time. We finish each other’s sentences.” Dent has not reviewed Haugh’s London restaurant Myrtle. “And I won’t review it now. At first, it will be very difficult to sneak in. I might arrive with a wig and glasses.” He laughs. “I’d like that. If you come, you’ll have to wear a wig and glasses.”

After a day of photographing and tasting food dishes, prepared with varying skill levels, they send each other via WhatsApp to their own apartment to find out what they will have for dinner. “We always plan that we’re going to eat something convenient,” Dent says. “But what’s actually happening is Anna is sitting in her pajamas eating a giant burrata. I was going to cook something, but what I actually had was seven olives, a tablespoon of peanut butter and some Weetabix. I’m standing like a Tyrannosaurus rex with my false eyelashes at different angles, and I’m eating out of the fridge.”

They make a great pair – Dent, funny and warm, and charming as trivia; Hugh, immaculate in chef’s whites and demanding excellence. “I think people expect Grace to be strict and intimidating, while they expect me to be soft and cuddly,” Huff says. The first episode, in which a contestant adds flour to hollandaise sauce, shows that to be a mistake. “I’m not looking forward to tasting that,” Huff says wryly.

MasterChef is a television institution, first broadcast in 1990. More recently, it has been bogged down amid allegations involving its long-time presenters. First, Gregg left Wallace in 2024, and a subsequent independent report substantiated 45 allegations against him, including inappropriate sexual language and an incident of unwelcome physical contact. Dent replaced Wallace on a series of Celebrity MasterChef opposite John Torode, but Torode was then let go after the same investigation substantiated a claim that he had used racist language.

Did Dent and Huff feel pressured to save the show? “No,” Hoff says immediately. “The team behind the show is absolutely amazing. It’s me and Grace in front of the camera, but there’s a whole group of people who lift us up, take care of us, and encourage us to be the best versions of ourselves. No one wanted us to be authentic and focus on different…I want to say clients. What do we call them?” “The runners,” says Dent. It felt like “a real team effort,” Hof adds. “We didn’t feel like we were being thrown out into the wilderness.”

Both are reluctant to address the reasons behind MasterChef’s chaos, but it has been an extraordinary and difficult time for the show. Last year’s amateur series, which had already been filmed with Wallace and Turode, was still being shown with minimal hosts fired. Some contestants requested the series be taken down, not wanting to be associated with the series, and many people, including those who had made allegations against Wallace, questioned why it was shown at all. Even Culture Minister Lisa Nandy chimed in, saying she wouldn’t be watching.

“All I can think about is the future,” Dent says. “I can’t look back. I don’t have the time. It might seem like I’m just pointing at the scallops.” [but] It’s challenging, and I work with a tremendous team. So no, I’m not thinking about the past.

In a world where bizarre 45-second TikTok recipes get a lot of attention, MasterChef celebrates culinary ambition. “It’s about taking good ingredients and turning them into something amazing,” says Hof. “Some of the things you see on social media break my heart as a chef, where I’m like, ‘This isn’t right, this can’t be done.’ Dent says her feelings about social media recipes “have become more nuanced lately. On one level, I’m very aware that a lot of these recipes don’t work, because I was foolish enough to try them. A cake like this one only takes two and a half minutes, and all you need is baking soda, a pan, and an egg.” She laughs. “But I also know that we have millions of children [who] You won’t pick up the recipe book. What they learn from TikTok is, what is beef bourguignon, what is potato confit, and that gave them the impetus to go, I’m going to try it.

It may be a reality show, but the contestants are a far cry from your typical reality TV stars. “Nobody wanted to just be on TV,” Dent says. “We focus on the character, but we also focus a lot on their food.” Often times, the dream is to open a restaurant – as many of the winners have done. “MasterChef opens that door,” says Huff. “A lot of people, whether they win the show or not, get into hospitality because they’ve been on MasterChef. Our industry really needs that. It’s not just about the chefs. It’s about front-of-house writing, it’s about food writers. There’s a whole wealth of opportunities.”

This wasn’t always the case for either of them in their careers. They both come from working-class families who have succeeded in male-dominated (and, in the case of journalism, middle-class) fields. “There were definitely points where my accent probably didn’t help me,” Dent says. “I think there were points where I thought if I was better and more stylish and elegant, everything might be a little easier, but no, I’m glad I’m still very rough around the edges. In the best way.” For Hof, “When you work in a high-stress environment, you have to play by the rules. I’ve worked in some kitchens where I couldn’t really be myself, because [I can be] Honestly, I’m creepy sometimes, and weird, and that would confuse people. But the truth is, I was there to learn, and I was there to work.

One of Dent’s first jobs was as a TV writer on the much-loved Guardian guide before she moved into food writing and radio. Early in Hof’s career, she worked in Paris for influential chef Gualtiero Marchesi, and was head chef at Gordon Ramsay’s London home before opening her own restaurant. What did they learn about success? “Perseverance and hard work,” Dent says. “Talent is one thing, and sometimes it’s just continuing to stand up and every time something goes wrong, something bad happens.” She smiles. “You can’t really put a price on never leaving.” Hoff’s motivation comes from being passionate about her work and a desire to continually improve. “We talk about success the wrong way. We see success as someone else telling us we’re good. But I think Grace and I, the same thing we have is that we know what we want. Success is authenticity. It’s the ability to pay your bills, [but] It’s not about someone else telling you that you’re great. You have to be able to admit that to yourself.”

In her own restaurant, Hoff says, “I run a kitchen that celebrates people in all shapes and forms. I believe in savoring differences, and I think that’s where the magic lies. It’s very different from some of the kitchens I’ve trained in.” In the past, he has spoken of being yelled at, burned on purpose, and witnessing abuse in kitchens. “It’s unacceptable,” she says. Kitchens can be stressful, but there are surgeons performing life-saving operations every day. “namely, this Stress – Not making dinner for someone. “Oh, the tension!” I don’t have time for that. The worst that could happen in my restaurant is that the food might come out five minutes later than I wanted it to. “That’s it.”

Stress is something MasterChef contestants have to deal with. In the first few episodes, the various iterations of mashed potatoes seem to be the source of many problems. Why is it so difficult? “In theory, it should be easy,” Huff says. “But it’s the details that turn a good thing into something delicious – controlling the temperature, the salt, the fat, the liquids. When you’ve got a ton of stress and a film crew and a couple of lunatics running around, suddenly simplicity becomes very stressful, and there’s nowhere to hide once you’ve made the mash. The silly things we do when we’re stressed, that’s just a human condition, right?”

Dent smiles. “I’m not belittling what we’re doing, but I’m telling them: ‘Look, it’s going to be okay. Have you ever cooked this before?” And they say, “Yes, 17 times.” “Okay, you can do that.” I don’t want anyone to have a bad time at the show.

MasterChef starts on Tuesday 21 April on BBC One at 9pm.