London - He has made no secret of how much he hates Masterchef’s revamped – and hugely successful – format.
But former host Loyd Grossman has evidently decided words alone won’t do.
The 61-year-old has signed up to star as a judge on a rival cookery programme being launched by Simon Cowell on ITV.
The show, Food Glorious Food, starts filming next month. It will involve a team of culinary experts touring the country in search of the best family recipe.
The winning dish will be sold nationwide in Marks & Spencer.
Mr Grossman, who presented Masterchef in his infamous transatlantic drawl for ten years, quit the show in 2000 after discovering it was being moved from its cosy Sunday afternoon spot on BBC1 to a Tuesday night slot on BBC2.
At the time he branded the decision “moronic” and declared: “The programme is a dumb thing now and I don’t want to be involved.”
A reworked format lasted just one series with celebrity chef Gary Rhodes at the helm. But in 2005 the show was completely revamped, with former grocer Gregg Wallace and chef and restaurateur John Torode, both 47, as presenters.
The show, which moved back to BBC1 in 2009, is now a huge hit. During a talk to Oxford University students the same year, Mr Grossman hit out at the new presenters, claiming they would be more at home in Guy Ritchie’s British gangster film, Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels.
He criticised their “aggressive” presenting style and mocked Mr Wallace’s weekly catchphrase, “cooking doesn’t get tougher than this”, laughing: “Whatever’s going on, at some stage the line’s ‘cooking doesn’t get any harder than this’.
“It’s like Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels.”
Speaking about his new project, Cowell, 52, insisted it was “not a show for snobs”.
The X Factor boss said he wanted to celebrate simple, everyday cooking, adding: “I like home food, I love it. My mum’s roast potatoes. Shepherd’s pie. Cornish pasties. I want stuff like that on the show.”
And he added that he “loathes” the “yum yum noises” made by Mr Torode and Mr Wallace as they try the contestants’ food.
The presenter of Food, Glorious Food – and the other judges – have yet to be announced.
Filming will begin at the The Kingsbridge Show in Devon, which takes place on September 1. - Daily Mail