RPM Reporter: MasterChef Live and The Wine Show

Admittedly, I like to watch MasterChef, but I wasn't aware of its huge following until I found myself barging through thousands of people who were filling MasterChef Live by the minute. Women in particular seemed rather giddy with excitement to catch a glimpse of John Torode and Gregg Wallace, whose dipping of spoons and 'ever so comedy' squeals of delight were sure to cause a few heart palpitations.

In the middle of The Exhibition Centre was a MasterChef branded kitchen area, in which Andi Peters (or perhaps I should now say a rather 'buffed-up' Andi P) hosted The Invention Test, which we all know so well from the show. The area was sponsored by Plenty kitchen roll, and they brought their adverts to life by using the same actor seen on the screen to come and interact with the crowds.

At various intervals, the 'Spanish' actor recreated Plenty's rather cringeworthy tagline, 'You Only Need One Sheet' by running to the aid of one of the chefs who had spilt sauce all over the counter. It was in among these over-exaggerated gestures and dodgy Spanish accent that I began to wonder if all his time at drama school had really paid off. Despite all this, Plenty did a good job of ensuring that practically everyone on stage managed to 'accidentally' spill a glass of water, causing them to take "just one sheet", which they all loudly announced as they continued to mop up the spillage. This was glaringly obvious product placement, but it did work and caused a lot of laughter among the spectators.

I went to MasterChef Live specifically to see our M&S Wine Lounge in The Wine Show, which really stood out. We'd branded the stand well, and it looked smart and engaging. During my time there, I chatted to a wine expert about the copious number of wine samples he poured for me, and I was greeted by friendly and informative BCs. Alongside the M&S Lounge, there must have been over 100 other stands full of samples and a whole host of food products ranging from spicy curry sauces, to homemade banana cake, to sesame seed ice-cream (apparently very popular in Asia, though to me it tasted slightly like watery....water).

So, all in all I left MasterChef Live feeling slightly sick from combining a whole host of rich foods within a short amount of time, but also very proud that RPM's stand stood out from the crowd. If you'd like to see more images of the M&S Wine Lounge, please check out our Flickr page here.