Tag Archives: Ozzy Osman

MasterChef SA Season 2 episode 10: Spicy Test, Blatant Branding, Beulah Bashing, SASSI Slating, fishy end to Neil Lowe!

MasterChef 2 10 Pressure Test team Whale Cottage PortfolioWhat a diverse and controversial episode 10 was last night, generating many emotions at different levels, as well as criticism of M-Net and MasterChef SA on Twitter for the first time since the commencement of Season 2.  There was little that was judged to be favourable in the episode:

‘Spice’ Test

The losing Red Team (Joani Mitchell, Karen Els, Khumo Twala, Jason Steel, Leandri van der Wat, and Neil Lowe) from Tuesday evening had to go into the ‘Spice’ Test when they lost the Pizza Challenge by two points.  Robertsons ‘Spices’ were the focus point of the Test, annoying viewers for such strong blatant branding of the sponsors’ products, in addition to being subjected to so many TV commercials, especially relative to Season 1.  MasterChef 2 10 Robertsons Whale Cottage PortfolioThe criticism was two-fold:

*   Herbs and spices are two different things, yet the contestants had to guess which combination of Robertsons ‘spices’ had been used in a number of dishes they could smell and taste (the company advertises spice and herb combinations), according to the judges’ brief, yet they had both herbs and spices to evaluate, including in a tomato dish, and in caramelised butternut.  Chef Andrew Atkinson said that one’s tastebuds must be attuned to seasoning, so thatMasterChef 2 10 Tomato Whale Cottage Portfolio one can change or enhance a dish’s flavour profile.

*   No serious chefs would use Robertsons spices in their kitchens (except Chef Reuben Riffel of course, who endorses the brand and appears in its advertisements!), as ‘fresh is best’, the trend in restaurant and home cooking! Continue reading →

MasterChef SA Season 2 episode 7: Mystery Box 7 ingredients unlucky for some, Herman Cloete wins Mosaic MasterClass!

MasterChef 2 7 Mystery Boxes Kitchen Whale Cottage PortfolioThe first Mystery Box of Season 2 provided a surprising challenge in episode 7 last night, particularly as it contained chicken as one of the seven ingredients for a dish to be prepared within 45 minutes. The Finalist making the best dish would go to Pretoria, for a MasterClass on plating at Chef Chantel Dartnall of Eat Out Top 10 Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient.  Surprisingly some of the previous stars chickened out, while others shone.

The judges said that they were testing the ability of the Finalists to think on their feet. They were not given a recipe to prepare a dish within 45 minutes from all seven the ingredients: chicken, capers, verjuice, toasted bread crumbs, bone marrow, ricotta cheese, and asparagus spears.  Chef Benny MasekwamengMasterChef SA 2 7 Ingredients Whale Cottage Portfolio said that the number of ingredients related to the MasterChef SA prize of a VW Golf 7, and that  7 is a lucky number.  Chef Pete Goffe-Wood challenged the Finalists to ‘delight and surprise‘ the judges, and to serve them ‘fabulous food‘. Speaking amongst themselves, the judges feared that some of the chicken might be undercooked, but they did praise the variety of chicken dishes which they had seen prepared. Continue reading →

MasterChef SA Season 2 episode 5: 16 Finalists get baked at MasterChef kitchen, Kamini Pather the Sandwich Queen!

The action on the MasterChef SA Season 2 set was immediate, the sixteen Finalists flown in to Cape Town from Johannesburg arriving late in the afternoon at the MasterChef SA kitchen at Nederburg in Paarl.  The first Invention Test challenge appeared to be an easy one, but making a sandwich that represented the Finalist was not, six Finalists going into the Pressure Test, which will be seen today in episode 6. Continue reading →

MasterChef Season 2: Predict the winner of MasterChef SA and win a whale of a weekend!

In 10 weeks we will know who our own MasterChef SA Season 2 winner is.  We are curious to hear who our readers think will become MasterChef SA Season 2, and why.

We ask you to send your nominations with a motivation via Comment to this Blog (please add your name and surname and e-mail address).  To thank you for your input, we will award one lucky reader a complimentary weekend of your choice location at one of our Whale Cottages in Camps Bay, Hermanus, or Franschhoek, subject to availability and inclusive of breakfast, but exclusive of other meals and transport, out of all of those entries correctly predicting the winner of MasterChef SA. Continue reading →