Celebrity MasterChef viewers were in stitches last night after Joey Essex confused his herbs while cooking sausage and mash — putting thyme in his sausages instead of chives — yet still managed to secure a place in the next round.
The 29-year-old former TOWIE star from Essex was tasked with preparing the classic comfort dish alongside his fellow contestants, but his attempt took an unexpectedly funny turn when he mixed up the ingredients.
Earlier in the episode, Joey had admitted he was far from confident in the kitchen, and that lack of experience showed when he accidentally added thyme to his sausages and dill to his mashed potato.
When the judges pointed out the error, Joey appeared genuinely baffled, confessing that he did not even know what thyme was.
The moment quickly became a talking point on Twitter, where amused fans piled in with jokes. One viewer wrote: ‘The fact Joey Essex didn’t know what Thyme was killed me.’
Joey, 29, a former TOWIE cast member, was preparing a simple sausage and mash dish with the other contestants on last night’s show when he got his herbs mixed up
The reality star, who had already admitted he had limited cooking experience, mistakenly added thyme to his sausages and dill to his mash
Viewers poked fun at Joey’s kitchen blunder, with some joking that the contestant who was eliminated must have felt embarrassed
Joey looked happy with his meal when he first presented it to the judges, with the pork sausage and mash looking presentable.
However the judges did question the gravy, which looked lumpy and not very pleasing to the eye.
However judge Greg Wallace said to Joey as he tasted it: ‘You haven’t put chives in your sausages you’ve put thyme in it.’
But Joey didn’t understand and said: ‘Thyme? What do you mean?’
Greg Wallace informed Joey last night that he had put thyme in his pork sausages and not chives
The other celebrities, including Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock, Andy Grant and Dame Zandra Rhodes found his mix up hilarious
Greg tried to explain by saying: ‘Thyme – its another herb,’ while you can see the other celebrities chuckling behind him and Joey naively asks – ‘Is that good?’
Surprisingly Greg says: ‘Pork and thyme is a lovely flavour combination.’
Looking pleased with himself Joey says: ‘Is that chive in the mash?’
But Greg has to inform him again: ‘That’s dill – they are all green Joey.’
However the judges said that the meal was lovely – considering his lack of knowledge on herbs.
The judges said that Joey’s meal was lovely – considering his lack of knowledge on herbs. Pictured: Joey making hi sausages
Joey, who said he didn’t have much experience in the kitchen, cooked up his sausage with the wrong herb
Viewers watching the show thought it was hilarious and took to Twitter to mock him: ‘Joey Essex having a great time!!! Thyme?.. Dill?…’ one said as they shared a gif.
One joked: ‘Imagine going out of a cooking competition before the guy who couldn’t tell the difference between chives and thyme.’
Another said: ‘Joey Essex thinking that thyme and dill were variants of chives and yet it tasted okay.’
While a fourth commented: ‘Is Joey Essex for real, Thyme Joey Thyme. It’s a herb.’
Many took to Twitter to say how hilarious the mix up was but other thought it was unfair that he was still in the show
With such a big muck up, and his lack of experience in the kitchen, many thought that Joey would be the first celebrity to leave, but it was fellow contestant Andy Grant, who went.
Andy, who is known as a long distance runner and former Marine, was disappointed by his departure, and so were many viewers – mainly as Joey was still in.
One even took to Twitter to say: ‘Joey Essex has survived? Excuse me?’
