{"id":48237,"date":"2013-09-10T00:11:45","date_gmt":"2013-09-09T22:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=48237"},"modified":"2013-09-14T23:29:39","modified_gmt":"2013-09-14T21:29:39","slug":"masterchef-sa-season-2-controversial-final-week-what-lies-ahead-in-episode-27-and-28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/restaurant-news\/masterchef-sa-season-2-controversial-final-week-what-lies-ahead-in-episode-27-and-28\/","title":{"rendered":"MasterChef SA Season 2 controversial final week: what lies ahead in episodes 27 and 28?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"masterchef-sa-2-billboard-pete-goffe-wood\"<\/a>No matter what happens in the MasterChef SA Season Finale tomorrow evening, the choice of the Season 2 Masterchef SA winner will be controversial, if the outcry on Social Media about Kamini Pather being allowed through to Top 4 and Top 3 is anything to go by, even forcing M-Net to issue a media release about it!<\/p>\n

Food blogger Kamini Pather<\/span>\u00a0was the clear leader until episode 24, rarely putting a foot wrong, \u00a0and only landing up in two Pressure Tests. \u00a0It is clear that her strength is creatively meeting cooking challenges, and that she is less good in having to replicate dishes of visiting chefs, which was her downfall in two episodes last week. \u00a0She is seen to be aloof, some seeing this as arrogance. \u00a0She was a winner of the bell, and Food and Wine Pairing Master Class at Nederburg, for the best Signature Sandwich in episode 5. \u00a0She was the joint winner with Tiron Eloff of the Coffee Invention Test in Ethiopia \"MasterChef<\/a>and received a MasterClass in the Jemma Valley. Went into her first (Vegetarian) Pressure Test due to the injera challenge in Ethiopia in episode 21. Into the Pressure Test in episode 24 for her poor month-end dish. \u00a0Poor performance in G\u00e2teau Pressure Test, yet was (controversially) saved by the judges in episode 25. \u00a0 Poor performance in Richard Carstens’ Chocolate Handkerchief dish in episode 26<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, yet was saved again. In a video interview after episode 26\u00a0a very tearful Kamini admits that her early morning yoga is ‘working less and less’<\/em>, and that ‘the volume of tasks’<\/em> required when replicating dishes ‘is freaking me out’<\/em>. \u00a0She has the highest number of votes from readers of our blog.<\/p>\n

Sisters Landri and Seline van der Wat have won increasing viewer support, for their wonderful supportive relationship, for being smart, for their cooking skills (Seline for baking in particular), for how well-spoken they are, in often making commentary to the viewers in summing up special happenings, for being pretty, and for their warmth and support of the other contestants.<\/p>\n

\"MasterChef<\/a>Leandri’s<\/span> performance in the past 26 episodes has been as follows:\u00a0 Had to go into Bouillabaisse Pressure Test in episode 8, and did very well. Was in the Spice Test in episode 10, but was allowed to join the other Finalists. Survived the Pressure Test against Amanda Beck at Castelli’s in Addis Ababa in episode 20. Did very well\u00a0in Chef Prue Leith challenge to create a dish with iconic South African ingredients of a Michelin star quality in episode 23. \u00a0She has been in three Pressure Tests. \u00a0She has the second highest number of votes in our competition predicting who will win.<\/p>\n

Seline<\/span> has been in three Pressure Tests, but has had an amazing ability to bounce back when she has appeared to be at rock bottom!\u00a0Into Pressure Test in episode 6.\"MasterChef<\/a> Made a perfect hollandaise sauce, and was allowed to join the other Finalists in episode 6. Into Pressure Test in episode 8. Touch and go, but survived Bouillabaisse Test in episode 8. \u00a0Into Pressure Test in episode 25 for her poor month-end dish.<\/p>\n

Leandri did so well in episode 26<\/strong><\/span> <\/a>in replicating Chef Richard Carstens’ Chocolate Handkerchief that she shot into the Finale for episode 28 on Wednesday evening.\u00a0Seline will face Kamini in the cook out tonight, having to replicate a dish of The Test Kitchen Chef Luke Dale-Roberts, which Kamini may be weaker at again, disliking following recipes.<\/p>\n

Going back to the MasterChef SA Facebook page, it is unbelievable to see how many negative comments are still being posted about Kamini having been allowed to progress into episodes 26 and 27, when she performed so poorly. Kamini is berated for not showing her passion for cooking (she has expressed that she wants to go into food media), that the program has ‘match fixing<\/em>‘ and should now be called ‘MasterFix<\/em>‘, a commentator even suggesting that the judges should read all the negative Facebook comments, not understanding that the filming was completed in March already! \u00a0Highly respected food blogger and radio presenter Nina Timm expressed herself strongly on the Facebook page in response to the media release which M-Net<\/strong> published in reaction to all the negative comments, 95 since the media release was posted on the Facebook page three days ago: ‘difficult to swallow this bull! For me it is not a personal issue, but rather a fail series! But while we are all debating and arguing the series gets publicity good or bad, it still is publicity’! \u00a0<\/em>On Twitter the MasterChef SA stream is equally negative, the word ‘rigged<\/em>‘ being mentioned regularly. It appears that many of the viewers would love to see a duel between the two sisters in the Finale. \u00a0One must commend M-Net<\/strong> for keeping the Facebook page open and for allowing all the negative comments, unlike Woolworths which closed its Facebook page for a couple of days last year when it was accused of racism in an employment advertisement. This is what M-Net issued as its media release:<\/p>\n

‘As MasterChef South Africa starts to draw to a close, the competition is fiercer than ever. How do the Judges make the difficult decisions about who goes home, such as in this week\u2019s back-to-back Pressure Tests?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The Pressure Test dish in\u00a0Episode 26 (Wednesday, 4 September)<\/span><\/a>\u00a0was the most difficult and technically complex dish to date in the MasterChef competition.\u00a0Chef Richard Carstens<\/span><\/a>\u00a0presented a dessert dish that had a number of elements on the same plate, and the Contestants had to replicate this dish as closely as possible, working from the same recipe.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

According to MasterChef Judge\u00a0Pete Goffe-Wood<\/span><\/a>, tasting a dish of this nature requires specific judging procedures: \u201cJudging plates with multiple elements, we have to assign a relative value to each of those elements i.e. their importance to the overall effect of the dish. It\u2019s not simply a question of which contestant had the most elements correct, as some of those elements may just be garnish and not integral to the dish. It’s a question of having the core elements completed, and completed skillfully.\u201d It was based on these criteria that the Judges unanimously decided that it was Ozzy\u2019s turn to hang up his apron on Wednesday.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The MasterChef South Africa Judges are assigned their role in the series due to their professional expertise in the culinary field. For Pressure Tests, they are joined by special Guest Chefs \u2013 neutral figures and culinary experts – whose decisions are weighted evenly in the process of deciding who to eliminate.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Says Goffe-Wood, \u201cWe all believed, Richard Carstens included, that\u00a0Kamini’s<\/span><\/a>\u00a0plate was a better replication of the most important elements on Richard’s challenging dish. In order for the competition to be fair we only ever judge the plate in front of us \u2013 no consideration is ever given to past performances. What makes MasterChef such a nail biting series is that Contestants live and die by their food on the day. We\u2019ve emphasised this point throughout both Seasons. It was the toughest decision we\u2019ve had to make so far, but with so few Contestants left, the margins for error become smaller and smaller.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

M-Net is in for a viewer outcry if Kamini is selected as the winner, which is the majority view, even if Leandri is quickly catching up as a winner favourite. \u00a0 Having had a controversial Season 1 with the Restaurant prize being deemed to have been misleading, a controversial Season 2 winner outcome will not win M-Net any viewers for Season 3, which has been confirmed to be filmed later this year.<\/p>\n

For an overview of what is lying ahead for the rest of Season 2\u00a0read here.<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0For behind the scenes information on the filming of Season 2 in January\u00a0read here<\/a><\/strong>. \u00a0For an overview of episode\u00a01 of Season 2\u00a0read here.<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0For an overview of episode 2 of Season 2\u00a0read here<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0for episode 3\u00a0read here<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>for\u00a0episode 4\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>here, episode 5\u00a0here,<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0 episode\u00a06 here<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0episode 7<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0episode 8<\/a>,\u00a0episode 9<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0episode 10<\/strong><\/a>, \u00a0episode 11<\/strong><\/a>, \u00a0episode 12<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0episode 13,<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0episode 14<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0episode 15<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0episode 16<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>episode 17<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0episode 18<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0episode 19<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0episode 20<\/strong><\/a>,episode 21<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0episode 22<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0episode 23<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>episode 24<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0episode 25<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>and episode 26<\/span> <\/strong><\/a>read here. \u00a0Enter our competition to predict which\u00a0Finalist will win MasterChef SA Season 2<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

POSTSCRIPT 10\/9<\/strong>: \u00a0Gordon Ramsay was rumoured to be part of Season 2. \u00a0That would leave tomorrow’s last episode for his appearance!<\/p>\n

POSTSCRIPT 12\/9<\/strong>: \u00a0This MasterChef SA blogpost has attracted the most unbelievable readership, with close to 1000 unique readers today, the most read of all our MasterChef SA Season 2 stories.<\/p>\n

POSTSCRIPT 14\/9<\/strong>: \u00a0In an\u00a0interview with Beeld<\/strong><\/a>, Kamini has admitted to knowing Chef Pete before MasterChef SA Season 2. \u00a0On her previous blog Deelishus she writes that she attended at least two courses at\u00a0Chef Liam Tomlin’s<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Chef’s Warehouse and Cookery School, one in Cape Town and one in Franschhoek.<\/p>\n

MasterChef SA, Season 2. Tuesdays and Wednesdays 19h30 \u2013 20h30. \u00a0www.masterchefsa.dstv.co<\/a>\u00a0 Twitter: @MasterChef_SA.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio:\u00a0www.whalecottage.com<\/a>\u00a0Twitter: @WhaleCottage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No matter what happens in the MasterChef SA Season Finale tomorrow evening, the choice of the Season 2 Masterchef SA winner will be controversial, if the outcry on Social Media about Kamini Pather being allowed through to Top 4 and Top 3 is anything to go by, even forcing M-Net to issue a media release […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[4795,124,14539,20,21],"tags":[20319,19486,3149,20468,3770,20755,32378,20318,2381,997,20328,19367,19470,3769,555,1406,32404,20840,9083,651,399,7075,1458,15933,20465,62,18083,19374,7518,19333,1587,32373,171],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t