Tag Archives: pressure test

MasterChef SA Season 3 episode 4: Roxi Wardman stars in Dublin, Phila Vilakazi ducks out in Pressure Test, changes to MasterRobertsons! (updated)

MatserChef 3 4 Roxi and Chef Kevin ThorntonFor the first time in the history of MasterChef SA a contestant was flown to another country alone, for winning best dish.  Roxi Wardman made the best Proudly South African Mystery Box dish in episode 3, her butternut and peanut butter tart winning her the trip of a lifetime to eat at 2 Michelin star restaurant Thornton’s in Dublin.  Phila Vilakazi was the first MasterChef SA Season 3 contestant to be sent home. For the first time a MasterChef SA episode contained an off-putting hard-sell punt for its main sponsor Robertsons!

Roxi arrived in a chilly Dublin, at the Fitzwilliam Hotel, where Chef Kevin Thornton spoilt her with an exclusive lunch at Thornton’s, one of the Top 25 restaurants in the world, and one of the top 10 for special occasions.  Chef Kevin’MasterChef SA 3 4 Kevin THronton Whale Cottages philosophy is that ‘food is about life.  There are so many people starving in the world and then we have all this stuff to play with, so it’s very important that you have a huge amount of respect for it’, he told Roxi.  He added: ‘If I was to describe our food, I would say it’s a natural energy based food so it’s all about natural energy’.   Roxi was impressed with Chef Kevin’s introduction to his dish, a ‘circle of life‘ story and bringing a pigeon in a nest with pigeon eggs, before he served it in three parts. He explained that they use Eireyu beef, reared on mother’s milk for the first six months, and then on grass and two pints of Guinness, for a month, with massages too. Thornton’s website reflects the food journey of Chef Kevin: ‘His cooking, while Continue reading →

MasterChef SA Season 3 episode 3: Proudly South African Masterpiece, Roxi Wardman’s tart jets her off to Dublin!

MasterChef SA 3 3 Roxi Mystery Box Whale CottageIt was the first episode in the MasterChef SA kitchen at Nederburg in episode 3 last night, and it was much easier to follow the action of the twelve finalists, who had to deal with a Proudly South African Mystery Box.  Roxi Wardman was the creator of the winning dish, and jetted off to Ireland, while Phila Vilakazi, Ndumiso Mncwabe, and Melissa Sutherland were in the bottom three, their dishes putting them into the Pressure Test next week in episode 4.

The brief to the twelve finalists was to use any of the ingredients in the Mystery Box, which were only revealed after the first commercial break, keeping the tension high.  The Mystery Box included South African favourites such as Masterchef SA 3 3 SA products 2 Ouma rusks, Pecks Anchovette paste, Oros, spinach, butternut, Colman’s mustard, Lucky Star pilchards, ostrich, Cremora, Illovo golden syrup, Black Cat peanut butter, flour, chocolate, Maltabella, Mrs Balls chutney, Melrose cheese, and more, collectively described as creating ‘nostalgic foods and memories’. The use of Nederburg Winemakers Reserve Pinotage was mandatory.  Chef Pete Goffe-Wood told the finalists that Pinotage is a cultivar unique to South Africa. The time limit to create a ‘South African Masterpiece’ was set at 45 minutes.

As each finalist spoke to the camera, to share what dish would be prepared, we got to know a little more Continue reading →

MasterChef SA Season 2 episode 28: Finale sees Kamini Pather controversially crowned winner by a ‘fraction’!

MasterChef 2 28 Kamini and LeandriThere should have been no winner of MasterChef SA Season 2 episode 28 and the Finale of this reality TV cooking show last night, with both contestants making unforgivable mistakes in what was meant to be the pinnacle of the cooking competition!  As a winner had to be chosen, the judges announced Kamini Pather as the winner, beating Leandri van der Wat  by a ‘fraction’ of 6 out of 100 points.

The episode commenced with a very quick overview of the previous 27 episodes, highlighting Kamini’s near perfect past in being ‘top of the class’ (was this a predictor already?), and Leandri’s growth and top praise she received from Chef Prue Leith in particular.  The two Finalists arrived at the MasterChef SA kitchen at Nederburg on a very rainy day, and were surprised to find all fourteen the other MasterChef SA Finalists there, as well as their families.  Kamini’s mother Anthea and brother Neelan were present, as well as Leandri’s (and Seline’s) father Neil, aunt (her ‘second mother‘ Leandri said) and sister Nadine.  Chef Pete Goffe-Wood said that it was the biggest Continue reading →

MasterChef SA Season 2 episode 26: Leandri van der Wat scientifically shot into Finale! Ozzy Osman out on ‘flying carpet’! Kamini Pather hangs in there!

MasterChef 2 26 Top 4 Whale Cottage PortfolioThe viewers’ blood is boiling, in that Finalist Kamini Pather was given a second chance two nights running  in episodes 25 and 26, to hang in at MasterChef SA, given that she clearly was the weakest performer in both the episodes.  The episode was an exciting one, however, showing the diversity of the Finalists in being able to recreate something as difficult as Chef Richard Carstens’ Chocolate Handkerchief dish, consisting of eleven elements.

The Final Four were given black aprons on arriving at the MasterChef SA kitchen, being in a Pressure Test, without deserving it as such.  They noticed technical equipment they had never seen before on their workstations, including gloves, goggles, palette knives, and nitrogen guns.  They also noticed an unnamed white jacket hanging in the kitchen. They were told that the judges were turning up the heat, and that they would face the toughest challenge.  The winner would go directly into Wednesday’s Finale, while the person preparing the weakest dish would be eliminated.

Seline van der Watt reacted by saying that she would ‘put all on the line today and go for it’.  Ozzy Osman said cleverly that he would rather have the jacket than have to fight over it later in the series. Leandri van der Wat said practically ‘Let’s cook’, looking forward to the challenge! Kamini said that she felt calmer, after losing her nerves in episode 25, when her Lemon Meringue Gâteau was less than perfect, and she cried Continue reading →