Masterchef viewers have shared their upset after a contestant appeared to dismember a crab before cooking it.
On Wednesday’s instalment, the final three contestants took on the Chef’s Table challenge, where they were asked to recreate some of Clare Smyth’s dishes at her three-Michelin-starred restaurant Core.
It was there that show hopeful Anurag left viewers ‘shocked’ as he attempted to recreate Smyth’s fresh crab salad with sabayon.
While prepping the dish, he appeared to remove the claws and legs off the crab while it seemed to still be moving – a claim Masterchef has denied – before cooking it.
Explaining how he had never prepared crab before, Anurag told the cameras: “I am touching crab for the first time in my life today, other than eating it in restaurants.”
The contestant also remarked on how “hard” it was to dismember the crustacean before he cooked it.
After showing the scenes, viewers at home took to Twitter to share their shock over what they had watched and asked the show to clarify whether the crab was alive or not.
A fan of the show claimed: “Was watching UK MasterChef until someone pulled a live crab apart” while another commented: “That was genuinely shocking.”
A third wrote: “BBC did I really just see one of the chefs rip the claws and legs off a live crab? Please tell me I’m wrong.”
“I rewound it a couple of times and I’m certain they ripped the legs off a live crab,” another penned.
Another viewer asked: “D-did they just rip a crab alive?? Disgusting.”
Was watching UK Masterchef until someone pulled a live crab apart......
— Pamela Angus (@PamelaAngus) May 31, 2023
#MasterChef @BBC did I really just see one of the chefs rip the claws and legs off a live crab? Please tell me I’m wrong..
— Amanda bell (@amandabell1964) May 31, 2023
In the wake of the discourse online, a MasterChef spokesperson has countered viewers’ claims and insisted that any movement seen on TV was “a residual muscular reaction”.
They told the Standard: “MasterChef has strict policies published on our website around sourcing and sustainability.
“We never cook with live animals, including shellfish. The restaurant has confirmed the crab was humanely despatched before it was given to Anurag to cook.
“Any movement is a residual muscular reaction that occurs routinely after fish and shellfish are despatched.”
