Last night’s episode 24 seemed far too basic a challenge for the Top 5 Finalists of Season 2, and gave a new perspective on the cooking contestants, the unusualness of the challenge rattling them, and it was a surprise to see how some of the strong ones lost their focus, made mistakes, and will pay the price in a Pressure Test in episode 25 next week.

The challenge was unusual in that the Pantry was the Mystery Box, the Finalists having 60 minutes in which to prepare a dish from what was available to them, 8 minutes being deducted for the briefing.  Each of the Finalists had a SMEG fridge with an odd collection of ingredients resembling left-overs, there being very few things in each, as well as some dry ingredients, including eggs, sugar, bacon, olives, gherkins, cake flour, Cornflakes, pasta, sardines, pilchards, tuna, cheese, tomatoes, maple syrup, and more.  The Finalists were to replicate a typical month-end scenario, prior to pay day, and one having friends arrive unannounced for whom one prepared a dish with what is available.  The judges wanted texture, flavour, and taste in each dish.  The bottom three would go into a Pressure Test, and the winning Finalist would be rewarded with a prize.

The judges talked amongst themselves about the challenge, and what they would have prepared, Chef Pete Goffe-Wood saying that he would make spicy fish cakes with a marinated cabbage salad. Laughing, Chef Andrew Atkinson said that he would scratch his coins together and  get a take-away!  Chef Benny Masekwameng said the ingredients provided were a realistic month-end pantry!  The five Finalists were the same team in episode 15 that made up the Blue Team for the team challenge in the Company’s Garden in Cape Town, which Kamini Pather had selected at that time.

From the outset Seline van der Wat had a mental block, and could not come up with a creative idea, and felt ‘uninspired‘, as she would make two-minute noodles or eat raw pasta at month-end, but did not dare serve this to the judges!  She felt that she was in the ‘Twilight zone’, not very challenged, and there was ‘nowhere to hide’.  She settled on an ‘inside out sandwich’, wrapped in bacon,  served with a roast tomato vinaigrette.   She had a feeling of dread when she served the judges her sandwich filled with a cannellini bean paste with lime, a poached egg, and peas.  As she placed it on the table, she spontaneously said that it is ‘not Top 5′, and that it is ‘a mess up’!  She said that she had a ‘feeling of dread‘, that she was caught off guard, and that her brain had not been ‘unscrambled’.  Chef Pete was harsh, but in a nice way, saying that the dish was ‘completely nonsensical’, a mix of sharp tomato dressing combined with vanilla bacon, ingredients which just do not go together.  Chef Andrew added that she was not in touch with the challenge, and that the dish did not work. Chef Benny said that there was taste confusion, the vanilla bacon and syrup not working together. While she presented her dish, a number of ideas came up, but it was far too late.  She burst into tears, and sobbed her heart out, saying that what she had served ‘is not me’. Chef Andrew said that she must get in touch with what happened to her, and not throw it away, and that she should put everything into the challenge ahead. Seline explained afterwards that her tears were 50% embarrassment, 25% frustration, and 25%  release from the stress of the competition.

Jason Steel made a bacon and tomato ciabatta with mushy peas and a Cornflake crumble, a ‘Giant Dagwood’ Chef Pete suggested as a description, to which Jason replied that it was ‘4h00 clubbing food‘.  The cheese sauce could have been cooked more but the mushy peas were good, Chef Pete said. Chef Benny said that Jason’s ‘high-end friends’  would enjoy the tasty dish.  The bacon could have been more crispy, and the dish could have taken more heat, as he could not taste the paprika. He questioned the use of Cornflakes in the dish. Jason knew this was not his best dish in the cooking show.

Ozzy Osman reminisced about boarding school, and how he and his friends would ‘rustle up‘ innovative meals from what they had, boiling eggs in a kettle for example. Chef Andrew warned him to not make hostel food for the challenge! He used ciabatta to make Indian spiced French Toast, cabbage, tuna fish cake, peas, and Portuguese grilled sardines.  He was questioned about his plating for a month-end dish, but explained that he wanted to do his best.  Chef Andrew liked his crumbed fish cake with Cornflakes and the resultant crunch, and the spicy French Toast, being a good execution. Chef Benny agreed, liking the spiciness of the  moist French Toast, and his inventive sauce, all the elements coming together. He was praised for making good use of his ingredients, and for having done a good job.

Kamini also seemed uncertain about what to make, and had two elements for her dish, bruschetta with spicy tuna, as well as a spicy ‘mac and cheese‘.  She seemed shocked that she was preparing the latter dish on MasterChef, a thought many viewers must have shared with her!  She was in two minds about dropping the bruschetta from her plate.  Chef Pete shared this with the other judges, saying there was no problem in having two elements without a thread on the same plate.  What was good enough for her friends would not be good enough for the judges, and on this basis she removed the bruschetta from her plate.  Chef Andrew said it was a good ‘mac and cheese’, and with the ingredients available to her it could have been superb, the sauce being too heavy, and it could have had more flavour. Chef Benny praised her crispy bacon, and the sweetness of the peas. Kamini has only been in one Pressure Test to date in 24 episodes, and she looked worried about what was lying ahead.

After the Prue Leith cooking challenge in episode 23 on Tuesday, Leandri van der Wat still seemed on a high.  She knew exactly what she wanted to prepare, making fish pie with a mix of tuna, pilchards and gherkins, topped with cheese, and served with  pea mash, crispy bacon, olive, and egg. Chef Andrew said that the textures and flavours were there. Chef Pete said that she had passed the test of thinking on her feet, her dish being well thought through and had balance. Chef Benny added that she had done well in transforming the basic ingredients into a flavoursome dish.

It was a challenge to force the Finalists to think on their feet, and the dishes seemed very basic in output.  One could easily predict that Kamini, Seline, and Jason would go into the Pressure Test, and from the preview it would appear to be a pastry challenge, with Kamini in tears, something we have not seen to date.   Seline said that she would ‘go out fighting‘ and that she is at MasterChef SA to ‘be the best’.  Ozzy won the ‘dish of the day’, and he will be enjoying a trip with Dyer Island Conservation Trust, seeing sharks and enjoying a MasterClass in cooking with sustainable seafood.

For an overview of what is lying ahead for the rest of Season 2 read here. For behind the scenes information on the filming of Season 2 in January read here.  For an overview of episode 1 of Season 2 read here. For an overview of episode 2 of Season 2 read here, for episode 3 read here, for episode 4 here, episode 5 here,  episode 6 here,  episode 7,  episode 8, episode 9, and episode 10,  episode 11,  episode 12,  episode 13,  episode 14, episode 15, episode 16, episode 17, episode 18,  episode 19, episode 20,episode 21,  episode 22, and episode 23 read here.  Enter our competition to predict which Finalist will win MasterChef SA Season 2.

MasterChef SA, Season 2. Tuesdays and Wednesdays 19h30 – 20h30.  www.masterchefsa.dstv.co  Twitter: @MasterChef_SA.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage