Tag Archives: Karen Els

MasterChef SA Season 2 episode 21: Kamini Pather in first Pressure Test, Karen Els won’t forget Ethiopia in the long run!

MasterChef 2 21 Yaya Village Whale Cottage PortfolioAfter 20 episodes, MasterChef SA Finalist Kamini Pather, believed by many to win Season 2 of the reality TV show, landed in a Pressure Test for the first time, and experienced what each of her fellow Finalists have sweated through more than once .already

The Finalists were still in Ethiopia, and last night’s episode was filmed at the Yaya Village long distance athletics training centre, especially built at high altitude (2700 meters above sea level) for long distance runners to practice for world events, located 11 km outside of Addis Ababa.

The episode (unusual for Season 2, but the norm for Season 1) had a challenge as well as the Pressure Test in the same episode.  The challenge was making Ethiopian injera flatbread, which is made from teff flour, and the challenge was to make it perfectly round, and to get it out of the pan and onto a grass mat, and then to roll it.  Contestants were Continue reading →

MasterChef SA Season 2 episode 19: Finalists roasted in Coffee Challenge in Addis Ababa!

MasterChef 2 19 Ethiopia sign Whale Cottage PortfolioDespite a long tedious recap of last weeks’s episode 18, last night’s episode 19 of MasterChef SA was exciting and something different, being filmed in Ethiopia, a country in which coffee was first discovered, and it was fitting that the cooking in the episode focused on coffee.

The eight Finalists were very excited to see suitcases, and visas and passports to Ethiopia in their house, generating big hugs and lots of excitement.  Sharing some of the tourist attractions of Addis Ababa, the Finalists went inside the Ethiopian Orthodox Church with beautiful interiors.   Continue reading →

MasterChef SA Season 2 episode 18: Chef Jackie Cameron wins cook-off against Tiron Eloff, Joani Mitchell spiced out by Bobotie!

MasterChef 2 18 Tiron and Jackie Whale Cottage PortfolioThe dishes prepared in last night’s episode 18 of MasterChef SA were extreme opposites, from international fine dining cuisine to a hearty local family dish.  No Immunity Pin was won, and likable Joani Mitchell was sent home.

The show started with the cooking duel between Tiron Eloff and Chef Jackie Cameron from Hartford House in the Natal Midlands, which Tiron had won in making the best Coconut dish in Tuesday’s episode 17.    The restaurant is an Eat Out Top 10 Restaurant regular, and Chef Jackie is beautiful, warm, and friendly, and it was a pleasure to meet her at the Eat Out gala dinner in November, sitting at the table with her and her Hartford House colleagues.  Chef Jackie was filmed at the hotel, and she showed off MasterChef 2 18 Jackie Cameron Whale Cottage Portfolioher vegetable garden, supporting locally sourced produce, and her policy is to not overcomplicate dishes.  For the cook-off she had made a Guineafowl dish with coq au vin gnocchi, roasted garlic, garden pea purée, seared mushrooms, oven-crisped Parma ham, and pecerino shavings. For the honour of participating in the cook-off, Tiron was allowed to wear a MasterChef SA jacket with his name on it, and he said that he could get used to wearing it.  He looked very Continue reading →

MasterChef SA Season 2 episode 17: Judges nuts about most coconut dishes, Tiron Eloff Coconut King!

MasterChef 2 17 Fruit Whale Cottage PortfolioAn unusual Taste Test, which sounded easier than it was, was the start to episode 17 of MasterChef SA last night, when the nine Finalists were each given a bowl of fruit and some juices to taste and identify.  This led to a Challenge using a fruit, with a winner of the Challenge potentially winning an Immunity Pin, and three Finalists going into the Elimination Test tonight.

We have seen Taste Tests on MasterChef SA before, but never with the Finalists blindfolded.  Once they had identified the fruits on the basis of taste, smell, and touch, they had to hold up the whole fruit from the bowl for the judges to see. An avocado, plum, strawberry juice, grape juice, and red currant were the correct fruits tasted. Ozzie Osman won the taste test, being the last remaining Finalist, having correctly MasterChef 2 17 Ozzy blindfold Whale Cottage Porfolioidentified all five fruits.  The prize was that he was allowed to choose one of three fruits as the core ingredient for the Invention Test, going into the Pantry with Chef Benny Masekwameng to choose between coconuts (whole, desiccated, milk, cream), peaches (fresh, dried, preserved), and figs (dried, fresh, preserved).  He chose coconuts, saying they are part of his culture.  The winner of the Invention Test would go into a cook-off against one of South Africa’s top chefs and should he/she win, an Immunity Pin would be won which would offer immunity Continue reading →