MAYBE because it was Valentine's Day but last night's Masterchef Goes Large seemed a bit, well, saucy.

Charisma and stamina were the qualities our contestants needed. An interview with digger driver Dean, 28, was verging on a Carry On movie.

"Is it a big digger?" the judges asked with a Kenneth Williams smirk. "No it's only small," he replied.

Maybe it was because it was the most commercially romantic night of the year but was there a double entendre going on?

There was also a lot of talk about passion. "My heart is pounding," Dean said cooking up a dish.

"He's cooked lamb chops, he's cooked bubble and squeak, he really wants to change his life," a judge pronounced.

Wow. Who knew grilling a chop was a secret plea for a better life. Pass me the sausages.

Working in the kitchens of an Italian restaurant, a few of the contestants couldn't take the heat. They all got a bit hot under the collar.

As the final dishes were prepared, the voiceover spoke as if it were a matter of life and death.

"Bubble and squeak and a red wine sauce," she said dramatically. "But will it be good enough?"

The meals had to be well executed'. Forget cooking, think SAS.

Emotions bubbled, nerves were fried but it all came across a little overcooked. After the drama, digger boy Dean won.

The way to a man's heart is his stomach, that or indigestion.