Starters

“The almost-Famous Five”

In Tuesday night’s episode we bade farewell to one of the season’s favourite contestants in Jhb video store clerk Tiron. It was a bittersweet moment when the judges announced that he would be hanging up his apron because of an “under-reduced sauce”. It had been a tough challenge set by Michelin-star chef Prue Leith to make a superior dish that surpassed anything the contestants had done before. The top five were ready to do battle and it was a case of going out all out to impress the judges. I couldn’t wait for last night night’s episode!

Judge Pete Goffe-Wood reminded the five contestants that for one of them only a few challenges stood between them and the coveted title of MasterChef South Africa. Leandri was pretty frank about her triumphant effort in the Prue Leith challenge and believed it had put her under pressure to put out good food. Kamini said her mindset was “49% complete fear and 51% excitement”. She wasn’t surprised by the top five mix and said these were the strongest competitors in the competition.

Main course

“The end-of-the-month Salticrax challenge”

The contestants were given an opportunity for their creativity to take flight, according to judge Andrew Atkinson, with an “unusual” mystery box challenge. The pantry itself was the mystery box!

The clock was already ticking from the time the contestants walked into the Nederburg kitchen and they had 52 minutes remaining to prepare their dishes. They found the pantry as bare as Old Mother Hubbard’s cupboard; instead they found five beautiful SMEG fridges. Leandri ran to the black fridge and they were gasps of surprise and disappointment with the contents. It was a fridge of leftovers, plus tinned pilchards, sardines, olives, gherkins, eggs, cheese, cornflakes, sugar and pasta. Poor Ozzy was expecting prawns, venison and maybe even a rack of lamb! Instead, they were the kind of ingredients used to conjure up a meal for when unexpected visitors drop in – but the contestants had to capture texture, flavour and taste.

“It does not necessarily have to be fine dining material, but it has to be super tasty,” advised judge Benny Masekwameng. Only two would make it through the next round, leaving three contestants in yet another pressure test. There was everything to play for!

The contestants showed how incredibly resourceful they were with the few ingredients on offer. Kamini whipped up a mac and cheese with peas and crispy bacon with bruschetta and spicy tuna topping on the side; but she wasn’t convinced the two went together and decided to serve only the pasta. The judges huddled in the corner of the kitchen and felt she should have plated both. Oz, on the other hand, impressed the judges with his preparation and creativity. With five minutes to go for the “month-end / make it up as you go along” challenge, judge Pete heightened tensions when he asked the five if this was the month of the 13th cheque or the end of their 30-day notice period.

Dessert

“Standing the taste of time”

Leandri was in first and felt her creation was a reflection of what her food life was really like. She made a fish pie with crispy bacon, mushy peas and olive tapenade toast and was hopeful her dish would save her from the pressure test. “You are clearly still inspired by Prue Leith because you hit it spot on!” declared judge Andrew and that was more than enough for Leandri.

Up next was Jason and his bacon and tomato sandwich with mushy peas, spicy fried corn flakes and cheese sauce. Pete felt that while the dish was tasty the cheese sauce was a bit on the floury side and a bit more thought could have gone into the preparation. Benny said the bacon could’ve been more crispy.

And then it was Kamini’s turn. Asked by the judges about the challenge, she felt it was difficult and explained her thinking about splitting up the dish. “Bacon and tuna don’t go together; they give me the heebie-jeebies,” she said. Pete wholeheartedly disagreed, saying he’d have that combination any day. It was clearly a battle of wills! Benny felt that while the pasta was cooked to perfection with the bacon and peas, the sauce was too heavy and a let-down and judge Andrew agreed that she could have done far better.

Seline brought her open sandwich with poached egg wrapped in bacon, peas and tomato sauce to the judges. She told the judges that her dish was not “top five stuff” and was genuinely upset and tearful by her lack-lustre effort. Pete declared the dish “complete nonsense” and Benny said he tasted the “confusion” on the plate. Leandri felt her sister’s angst as she watched the judges crucify Seline’s dish.

Ozzy was up last and presented his plate of tuna fishcakes with Portuguese grilled sardine, French toast and cabbage. His dish was inspired by his days at boarding school and Andrew couldn’t wait to get stuck in. His verdict of “delightful” was music to Ozzy’s ears and Benny agreed.

So it was no surprise that the three contestants going into the pressure test next week were Seline, Kamini and Jason. The winner of the mystery box challenge was Ozzy and he will spend the day with the Dyer Island Conservation trust.

After-dinner cheese

“What kind of people don’t have onion and garlic?” asked Kamini after examining the contents of the fridge and the available ingredients for the mystery box challenge.

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.

Read our A-Z of leftovers for more end-of-the-month cooking inspiration.