[Submitted via press release]
Fortune and Charles unravel in koeksister Pressure Test!
The Top 18 contestants of MasterChef SA were left reeling at the end of tonight’s episode as not one but two of the country’s top amateur chefs were eliminated by the judges in the show’s very first Pressure Test.
Capetonian panel beater Charles Canning and Namibian advertising executive Fortune Kangueehi failed to produce adequate koeksisters and koesisters in a Pressure test with a uniquely South African theme.
At the start of the episode, the Top 18 amateur chefs in the country arrived at the impressive MasterChef Kitchen based at the breathtaking Nederburg wine estate in Paarl. This is to be the venue where the conestants cook their hearts out for the next few months in a bid to win the title of South Africa’s first ever MasterChef.
After a warm welcome from judges Andrew, Benny and Pete, the Top 18 took up their positions at their cooking stations to face their first Kitchen Challenge – a Mystery Box!
But this was no ordinary Mystery Box – as contestants soon discovered – each box contained a picture of each of them from their childhood! The challenge was to create a dish that would demonstrate to the judges where the contestants’ culinary dream began. “Anybody can master a technique, but not everybody can give food expression”, Judge Andrew Atkinson noted.
And the stakes in this challenge were high: the contestants who presented the two best dishes of the day would become the team captains for the first team challenge, but the five worst dishes would land their cooks in the Pressure Test!
The contestants had 60 minutes and unlimited access to the widely stocked pantry to cook a meal that was to tell the judges a story about their childhood and their food inspiration.
Within minutes, the contestants were cooking up a storm. But for some contestants, not everything was going according to plan. As the judges counted down the last minute of the challenge, it was a mad dash to finish plating and complete the first ever challenge in the MasterChef Kitchen, with some barely completing their dishes.
After tasting, the judges had a tough time determining which contestants were to to fight it out in the Pressure Test. But first they announced the Top 2 dishes for the day: Samantha’s croquettes and Manisha’s 3-way chicken gave these two ladies the edge over the rest and they were named team captains for the first team challenge! The judges picked Fortune, Charles, Mmutsi, Lwazi and Berdina as the Bottom 5.
The next morning these five contestants lined up in their black aprons for the Pressure Test, as the rest of the Top 18 watched from the gallery above. Judge Pete introduced the challenge – to recreate two iconic South African confectionaries, the traditional Afrikaans koeksister and the Cape Malay koesiester.
The Bottom 5 had 75 minutes to complete this technically difficult challenge. They faced two daunting recipes, accurate measurements, different cooking methods and a ticking clock.
With only 30 minutes to go, there were still many processes to get through as the contestants plated their dough for the koeksisters, heating up oil for deep-frying, making dessicated coconut for the koesiesters and preparing syrups for both. Would they have enough time to finish their dishes?
As the judges counted them down to the end of the challenge, the Bottom 5 frantically scrambled to get everything on a plate. The atmosphere in the kitchen remained on a knife’s edge as the judges deliberated.
While Berdina and Mmutsi received high praise from the judges, the others received a less positive verdict, and Lwazi, Fortune and Charles found their heads on the chopping block.
Judge Andrew delivered the bad news: The first person to be leaving the MasterChef Kitchen was Fortune. As she handed her apron over to the judges, Charles and Lwazi breathed a collective, and teary, sigh of relief.
But nothing could prepare anyone in the kitchen for what followed! “Today we’ve doubled the challenge with two dishes, so we are also doubling the stakes. One more of you is leaving…” announced Judge Pete. Lwazi stood stunned: “This is a blindside of epic proportions! I did not see that coming at all!” he raved. Charles remained hopful that he had done enough to be given another chance. But it was not to be… the judges ask Charles to hand over his apron and leave the MasterChef Kitchen.
As the remaining 16 contestants gathered in front of the judges, still reeling from the surprise result, Benny issued a warning: “You can never ever take anything for granted in MasterChef South Africa. Be the best or go home.”
Next week on MasterChef South Africa: In the first team challenge, some esteemed guests decide whose team’s food is best. The losing team is forced to make a difficult choice and guest chef, Coco Reinharz, reveals a dish that will stretch them to their limits.