Portuguese chef Pedro served up duck that was raw in the middle and shedding blood after failing to turn over his chopping board - as BBC viewers reached for the sick bag
MASTERCHEF viewers were left feeling a bit peaky during last night's episode when a professional chef served "raw" duck to the judges.
A bleeding duck breast was seen being sliced by one unfortunate contestant, who had forgotten not to mix his raw meat chopping board with his fruit prep area.
Judges Gregg Wallace, Marcus Wareing and Monica Galletti grimaced throughout 35-year-old Pedro's cooking.
Viewers couldn't believe the bird was completely raw inside when it came out of the oven - yet the wannabe restaurateur still served it.
This happened during the Skills Test, where contestants had to make duck dish in the first round to prove they could present something edible - but Portuguese chef Pedro did not do as well as most.
He was even told by a stern Monica to flip over his chopping board so his orange and cherries wouldn't come into contact with the raw duck he'd been preparing.
A worried Monica said: "Have you finished prepping your meat? Flip the board over.
"You've got raw meat on the board, you've got to get rid of it, you can't then prepare vegetables on the same board."
And before that, Michelin star winner Marcus had been tasked with reminding Pedro he had forgotten to turn on his hob.
Gregg was the only one giving compliments when the dish arrived, though he was yet to see just how undercooked the duck was.
Poor Pedro got a telling-off afterwards, with Monica saying: "We know you're nervous but you can't work like this."
Meanwhile everybody and his mother was reaching for the sick bag, or at least venting their disgust on Twitter, with one joking: "That duck is still quacking!".
Lucky for Pedro, not many of the professional chefs passed this test with flying colours - though the ducks themselves were pretty close to flying off.
And, hardly adverse to a bit of rare duck, Gregg did admit he enjoyed the finished dish served by Pedro.
But TV viewers and those who like traditional duck dishes may be relieved to know that Pedro was one of the two chefs who left the contest at the end of the show.
Better duck next time, pal.
Masterchef: The Professionals continues tonight at 8pm on BBC2.
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