UK chef Clare Smyth’s career is impressive and intimidating in equal measures. In 2002, she began working for Gordon Ramsay, eventually taking up the reigns of his London flagship restaurant and running it for eight years. It was there she became the first female chef in the UK to earn three Michelin stars, maintaining the coveted rating until her departure in 2015.

Needless to say, Clare Smyth is no delicate flower. In her first MasterChef Australia appearance, she’ll be running the contestants through their paces in the Service Challenge to end all Service Challenges. And if the photos are anything to go by, Clare would appear to have no qualms about throwing contestants in the deep end.

Considering their decade-and-a-half long association, we’re wondering just how much of straight-talker Ramsay’s take-no-prisoners approach has rubbed off on Clare.

The 2013 Good Food Guide’s National Chef of the Year, just two years later they awarded her a perfect ten score.

We suspect she’ll be demanding a high – if not the highest – quality from the contestants.

And if Diana and Eliza’s expressions are anything to go by, the contestants are in for a gruelling challenge. Here’s hoping their dream cook doesn’t turn into a nightmare.