MasterChef viewers shocked at contestant's controversial theme for a dish

MasterChef viewers have expressed their outrage after a contestant created a dish inspired by serial killer Jack the Ripper.

During the semi-final of the BBC cooking competition, the remaining contestants were tasked with cooking a “theatrical” dish for the show's judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode.

Some of the ideas the aspiring chefs came up with included a duck to look like a heart and lungs within a ribcage, as well as a bone marrow panna cotta.

But one dish that gained attention from viewers for the wrong reasons was by Circus performer Chris with his "murder mystery" meal inspired by Jack the Ripper.

To serve his food, Chris ensured his presentation fit the theatrical brief as the MasterChef kitchen turned dark at first and then he addressed the judges in a hooded cloak.

"You are now detectives and you have to work out who I am by the clues inside the box," the 44-year-old said and then began a fire-breathing performance.

There was a trunk on the table with the numbers 1 and 8 written across it in various ways and seemingly under a black light the number "1888" glowed red to reveal the combination.

Contestant Chris left clues for his Jack the Ripper themed dishBBC

Inside the box was a glow-in-the-dark bone marrow beef tartare with with roasted bone marrow, smoked beetroot puree, gin and tonic gel as well as pomme soufflé.

From the different clues, such as the words "Whitechapel, London, 1888" and a tally of five, Wallace correctly guessed it was Jack the Ripper themed.

The notorious serial killer murdered at least five women in or near Whitechapel between August and November 1888: Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine “Kate” Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly.

Viewers took to social media to express their anger, accusing the show of "celebrating the murder and dismemberment of women," calling the stunt "pretty tasteless".

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