Scrum-ptious! Ex-Northampton star Christian gets five stars from MasterChef judges

John and Gregg send Saints favourite through to tonight's telly quarter-final
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Former Northampton Saints star Christian Day swapped his green, black and gold jersey for an apron and is wowing the judges in the MasterChef kitchen.

The 6ft 5in forward, who retired in 2018, steamed through the first two rounds into tonight's quarter-final on the BBC's cult cooking show.

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Judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace voted Day their favourite cook in last night's episode after he tickled their tastebuds.

And Day admitted: "Those guys have been there and done it and for them to vote for me is amazing.

"And it's awesome to get the hallowed apron."

Rather than the 'traditional' rugby diet of pie and a pint, Day tackled cooked duck with cherries, parsnip purée, oven roasted cauliflower and a cherry fluid gel for his opening-round dish.

He followed that up by serving up a pan-fried cod with chorizo and pea fricassee, with a spiced run and mango fool served with lime shortbread.

Former Saints star Christian Day has turned his hand to cooking with great successFormer Saints star Christian Day has turned his hand to cooking with great success
Former Saints star Christian Day has turned his hand to cooking with great success
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The second-row, who became a fans favourite after joining Saints from Sale in 2008, added: "The shortbread is my nan's recipe, she's passed away now bless her soul, but hopefully the lime makes it a bit different

"But it's something I love, I cook it a lot and I eat far too much for my waistline."

Judge Gregg said: "Christian's cod was perfect and his mango fool was lovely."

John added: "I like Christian a lot. I think he's a very clever cook."

Judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace gave Christian's dishes five starsJudges John Torode and Gregg Wallace gave Christian's dishes five stars
Judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace gave Christian's dishes five stars
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Day, 36, who now works for the Rugby Players' Association as a liaison officer tweeted: "First day in the MasterChef kitchen was all a bit of a blur.

"It really is a lot different to cooking at home and I've got to say that the standard was a lot higher than I expected for round one."

Day made 226 appearances in a ten-year career at Franklin's Gardens, helping the club to two Premiership titles.

On the show he added: "Something I've missed from professional sport is that judgment every weekend and coaches telling you you did something well or did something bad.

Christian starred in the Northampton pack for ten yearsChristian starred in the Northampton pack for ten years
Christian starred in the Northampton pack for ten years
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"To put my food in front of judges who do know good food is a challenge and it's exciting.

"I like simple things. I like to learn different things from different cultures but it's primarily meat and two veg, you can't go wrong."

BBC's MasterChef is on BBC One tonight (Thursday March 12 ) at 8pm. Last night's episode is available on iPlayer.