Starters

“On the battleground, in the kitchen”

The battle of the beef in Tuesday night’s episode set the scene for the pressure test last night. It was Tiron’s debut in the pressure test play-off to see who would leave the MasterChef kitchen, and the video store clerk from Johannesburg, albeit nervous, vowed: “One of us has to go home today. I’m going to fight for my place in this competition.” And so the stage was set.

Main course

“Under Pressure”

Sanet, Tiron and Jason had to face each other in a cook off that saw them recreate – to the finest detail and taste – a dish by guest chef and judge Henry Vigar of the renowned La Mouette restaurant in Sea Point, Cape Town. It sounded easy enough, but even though they tasted the various elements of the salt-and-pepper prawns with popcorn, chorizo and sweetcorn purée and shaved radish in a tamarind dressing, the dish proved to be the undoing of the three contestants fighting for survival. Kamini would’ve done well as she seemed very au fait with La Mouette and its menu!

Meanwhile, feeling decidedly un-pressured, Karen from Howick in the KZN Midlands made her way to The Creamery in Cape Town. She had won the beef invention challenge on Tuesday night and was rewarded with a Masterclass in ice cream making at the talented hands of Kate Schrire. Read more about Karen and Kate’s ice cream capers here.

Back at the ranch, with only 60 minutes to complete the pressure test, the contestants had to make four identical portions of Chef Henry’s dish. Sanet spent too much time reading through the recipe and ingredients and put herself under pressure towards the end, barely getting the four plates ready as the judges counted down. How right Judge Pete Goffe-Wood was with his prediction of the last 10 to 15 minutes being the ultimate test of the contestants’ capabilities. Judge Benny Masekwameng ominously warned about getting all the elements on the plate.

Dessert

“The colour purple”

Each of the three contestants knew they were cooking “for all or nothing”. First up for the all-important tasting was Tiron. Chef Henry said it looked one-dimensional, but it impressed the judges and got good feedback on the taste, presentation and preparation of the dish. Next in was Jason. He’d forgotten to cut the prawns in half and got a business-101 mini-lecture from Pete Goffe-Wood.

However, the proof of his cooking was in the eating and he got an emphatic thumbs-up. Sanet was already an emotional wreck from the beef challenge and probably knew in her heart of hearts that she’d be the one to go home. Her kitchen mojo was definitely off last night and with lots of “snot en trane” from start to finish, too few prawns prepared and popcorn all over the floor, Sanet had to hang up her apron.

The heat has definitely cranked up – and the 12 remaining contestants will know all about it in next week’s episode.

After-dinner cheese

“Tiron is backwards and forwards … like a hyperactive squirrel!” remarked judge Pete Goffe-Wood during the pressure test.

“The inner cook in me has died and the chef wants to come out!” declared Tiron.

By Priscilla Urquhart

Tune in next Wednesday morning for a run-down of Tuesday night's episode, and check out our MasterChef SA page, sponsored by Nederburg, for weekly updates.