[Submitted via press release]
The first hoop the contenders had to jump through in last night's MasterChef (22 May) was cooking within a budget of R150. It was a meal for four, no less - and a meal "worthy of royalty," according to Pete. In just 60-minutes. Joining the Judges was Food Editor of 'Taste' magazine, Abigail Donnelly.
Despite the fact that the items in the pantry were all priced, only one contestant, Lungi, managed to shop within budget. The other nine contestants all had to return items to Benny as Pete calculated their totals (with a totally over-sized calculator). Khaya was R115 over budget.
At the Judges' table, Lungi's "rustic" platter (though maybe not big enough) was well received, as was Deena's chicken schnitzel (he "hit the brief" again). But it was Manisha's family-style platter that really pleased the Judges and she ended up winning the challenge. Abigail Donnelly raved about her sauce in particular.
Khaya's chicken portions were measly (she certainly paid the price for not staying within budget, and her quip about creating a sense of "ubuntu" between the chefs wasn't taken too seriously), while her flavouring wasn't as good as in previous challenges.
Also not faring well were Jade, who ended up in a battle for her MasterChef life again on the strength (or weakness) of her pork pasta; Thys, whose cheese gruyere was the best thing on his plate; and Sam, whose roasting of trout was "too robust" and whose asparagus was undercooked and grainy.
Thys dodged the Elimination Challenge bullet, but Jade, Samantha and Khaya didn't. And the head-to-head didn't disappoint: the challenge was to take a purposely "ruined" minestrone soup and fix it in just six steps.
All except Jade seemed to make some elementary mistakes: Khaya used two different kinds of tomato and mistook coriander for parsley. She joked that from now on she'll be known as "Coriander Girl..."
But ultimately Sam - who added pancetta to the dish rather than just using it to flavour it, and who added her garlic and tomato very late in the cooking process - was eliminated.
Nine cheftestants remain.