MasterChef viewers are completely shocked as contestant Anurag rips a crab’s claws and legs in ‘disgusting’ moment
MasterChef viewers were horrified during Wednesday’s semifinal when a contestant appeared to chop up a crab before cooking it.
The thrilling semi-final pitted the final four contestants against each other in the iconic Chef’s Table challenge, cooking at the three-Michelin-starred Core restaurant.
They had to recreate a series of owner Clare Smyth’s iconic dishes in the busy challenge to secure their place in the highly anticipated final.
Contestant Anurag was tasked with creating an array of dishes made from crab, including a fresh crab salad with sabayon.
However, he left viewers “disgusted” preparing the dish, as he appeared to be ripping off the crab’s claws and legs while it was still alive.
Shocked: MasterChef viewers were horrified during Wednesday’s semifinal when a contestant appeared to chop up a crab before cooking it
Shocked: Anurag left viewers ‘disgusted’ preparing a crab dish when he appeared to tear the crustacean’s claws and legs
In the “disgusting” scenes, Anurag picked up a crab and placed it on a cutting board, with the legs appearing to move.
He then went straight to work, yanking the claws and legs off the crustaceans before cooking them.
Anurag claimed he had never prepared crab before, saying, “I’m touching crab today for the first time in my life, except I eat it in restaurants.”
He also noted how “difficult” it was to chop up the crab while preparing it for cooking.
Viewers were quick to take to Twitter to share their shock at the “disgusting” scenes and how unimpressed they were at the “horrific” moment.
One person wrote: ‘BBC did I really just watch one of the chefs tear the claws and legs off a live crab? Please tell me I’m wrong.’
Another said, “I rewinded it a few times and I’m sure they tore the legs off a live crab,” while a third added, “D-did they just rip a live crab?” Awful.’
A fourth furious: “I was watching UK Masterchef until someone pulled apart a live crab,” and another wrote: “That was really shocking.”
Vile: In the scenes, Anurag went to work pulling the crustacean’s claws and legs before cooking it, while the crab still appeared to be moving
Disgusted: Viewers quickly took to Twitter to share their shock at the scenes, expressing how unimpressed they were at the ‘horrific’ moment
A spokesperson for MasterChef told MailOnline: ‘MasterChef has a strict policy published on our website regarding sourcing and sustainability.
‘We never cook with live animals, not even with shellfish. The restaurant has confirmed that the crab was humanely shipped before being given to Anurag for cooking.
“Every movement is a residual muscle response that routinely occurs after fish and shellfish are shipped.”
Later in the episode, Anurag was one of three chefs selected to advance to the MasterChef Grand Finals.
He was joined by Chariya and Omar in the final three, as it was Terri who failed to impress judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace with her dish of steak and chips.
Anurag admitted he was ‘baffled’ after being selected for the final three, while Omar said the decision left him ‘stunned’.
After narrowly missing out on Thursday’s final, Terri said she was still very ‘proud’ of herself for coming this far in the competition.
She said, “Without this competition, I would not have reached the level of cook I am today in the next few years. It pushes you to be the best.’
Final: Anurag, Chariya and Omar all made it to the final three as it was Terri (right) who failed to impress judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace with her steak and chips dish