Episode 14 on MasterChef SA last night was action-packed, with the seven Finalists having to make and cook their own Boerewors. A Pressure Test, which turned into a Perseverance Test, saw the elimination of beautiful Ilse Fourie.
Returning at Nederburg from Zanzibar, Deena Naidoo said that it was ‘back to business’, while Sarel Loots said he had a ‘stomach turning’ feeling. The three judges introduced an Invention Test, the task being to make Boerewors, a true South African sausage. Not only did they have to prepare the dish, but they also had to make their own Boerewors. Lungi Nhlanhla said that she had never made sausage before. They were told to make a dish, ‘thinking out of the box’ , with the ‘right fat content, coarseness, texture, seasoning, being of 5-star restaurant quality’. Sarel commented that small mistakes could cost them the competition.
Lungi made ostrich boerewors with a North African touch, including couscous, adding cumin and coriander as spices. Chef Pete Goffe-Wood praised her dish for having a ‘lovely perfume, and North African vibe‘. Sue-Ann Allen decided on a Thai-inspired boerewors dish using rump, spicing her dish with chilli, garlic and ginger. When she started off, the judges talked about her dishes in the past, commenting that she would cook her meat too early, let it stand, and that it would then dry out. ‘She has a habit of cooking her meat to death’, Chef Pete said. Her sausage was slammed, Chef Pete saying she had made ‘droë wors’ 
and not boerewors. She was also told that they do not prepare sausage in Asia. Sue-Ann seemed down, saying that she was ‘not feeling like a champ‘, and that she needed to maintain her confidence. Sarel made a traditional boerewors, spicing it with cloves, cumin, pepper, nutmeg, and interestingly adding a mango chutney. Chef Pete said that he is a ‘chutney man’, and said that he looked forward to how Sarel would balance it out. His dish was described by Chef Pete as ‘very presentable‘, the chutney addition to the sausage being ‘a risk which had paid off, its sweetness giving life, bringing out the spices’. Sarel was visibly proud of himself after this super praise.
Ilse made mini rump boerewors, flavoured with rosemary, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper, but they started popping when she cooked them, as she had stuffed them too tight. She made polenta squares on which she placed an onion and tomato relish, serving a beetroot salad with a twist too. When her mini boerewors did not turn out as she had envisaged, she put them onto skewers. Chef Benny said that her sausage was dried out and over worked, being more like ‘pork bangers’. Chef Pete added that ‘the beetroot did not work at all’. Khaya Silingile added lots of spice to her sausage. As she tends to do, she said that she was worried about the casing, which needs enough air, and must be evenly stuffed. In her rush to finish, a sauce she has prepared fell over, but the judges did not seem to miss it in their feedback. Her dish was described as having a ‘neat looking sausage’, but there was too much turmeric in the pap, being very yellow, but not with much taste, Chef Pete told her. But her attractive plate was praised. She had used coriander, cumin, thyme, cardamom, and pistachio, but the cardamom was found to overpower the dish. Her sausage was said to need more fat. Deena made his sausage from a mix of pork, lamb and beef, served with sauteed onions, and a chakalaka sauce. Chef Andrew said that his boerewors had ‘safe and sound flavours’. Manisha Naidu made her sausage from pork and beef, adding cumin, coriander, and some fresh herbs. Her presentation was described
as symmetrical, and as a ‘celebration of colour, flavour, texture, and different cooking methods’ , Chef Benny Masekwameng told her. Chef Andrew Atkinson added that her dish ‘blows the taste buds away’. Manisha was happy with the feedback, saying that she has grown in confidence.
Manisha glowed when her dish was declared the best of the day, making her one of the two team leaders, with Sarel Loots, in the next episode, to be based in Paternoster. The Finalists were praised by the judges for their presentation in particular, saying that it was good enough to be served in many restaurants. They were told to be proud of their work.
MasterChef SA is a ‘complete package’, Chef Pete told the Finalists, and is a combination of perseverance and raw talent. Instead of doing the Pressure Test the following day, as had been the norm, Ilse, Khaya and Sue-Ann were told that their perseverance would be ‘stretched to the absolute’, in that they had to work through the night, being given 12 hours to prepare their dish of a slow roasted deboned lamb, a pressed lamb shank terrine, Maxim potatoes, and a jus. Khaya laughed hysterically in reaction to the task, saying that if she did not laugh she would cry. The judges went home, as did the other Finalists, the judges popping in while the three Finalists cooked through the night. Ilse struggled to debone her lamb neatly. Khaya was so tired,
being pregnant, that she lay down on a couch for two hours, the other two Finalists looking after her food. The three Finalists gave each other advice. Ilse tried to make the potato crisps three times, encouraged by her ‘colleagues’, but did not get the hang of it. None of the three had deboned meat before, and Ilse was seen by the judges to be using the wrong knife for it. She was advised by Chef Andrew to take out the bone in one piece. Sue-Ann said that the biggest obstacle would be time. She added that she had never felt so ‘unconfident‘ ever, and was scared of having to go home. She was delighted that her terrine worked. She said that MasterChef SA is not a competition against others, ‘but against yourself’. Ilse did not have enough time to cook her meat for long enough.
Khaya felt that her meat was a bit underdone, being ‘a bit more pink than I like it’. The lamb was judged by Chef Andrew to be a little fatty, not enough of the fat having been trimmed off. Her terrine was praised, and the ‘sauce was like velvet on the tongue’. Chef Benny also praised the sauce, saying it brought it all together. Chef Pete said the lamb was too pink and therefore a bit chewy, but he praised the terrine, saying it was a ‘good plate‘. Ilse’s rolled shoulder did not hold when she cut it. Chef Pete loved her terrine, saying it was ‘soft and sticky‘. 
Chef Benny said she had had a problem with the deboning, had overcooked her meat, and that the sauce was too sharp. Chef Andrew said that she did not get the potato crisp correct, but that her terrine was superb. Sue-Ann was delighted when Chef Pete said that her lamb was ‘beautifully cooked’, and her terrine excellent. Her jus was a bit bitter. Chef Andrew liked her perfect Maxim potato, and Chef Benny said that her lamb ‘was nice and glossy‘. The best praise of all was when she was told that it was the best dish she has cooked on MasterChef SA to date. She had ‘dug deep’, and the judges shook hands with the ‘real Sue-Ann’! She shared that a positive change in mind had led to a positive result.
Chef Benny praised all three dishes, saying that they had been good enough to serve in his restaurant (then MondoVino at Montecasino). Ilse was sent home with praise from the judges, saying that she ‘is a talented cook’ and that she was leaving MasterChef SA with her head held high. She responded that she was looking at food differently since she had started at MasterChef SA, and that it was her best experience by far. Her dream is to do a cooking show, she said.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage
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