Durbanite Suhael Raghunath (28) was stunned when the MasterChef South Africa judges deemed his food the least satisfactory in the latest episode of the piping-hot cooking competition on e.tv.
Despite displaying superb technical prowess, exceptional knife skills and a determined drive to push beyond his comfort zone, Suhael became the fourth home cook whose journey was cut short in the MasterChef South Africa kitchen.
At the start of yet another dramatic episode, the judges – Chef Zola Nene, Chef Katlego Mlambo, and Justine Drake – dropped a bombshell: instead of one challenge, there would be two. Then, when the contents of the Mystery Boxes at the contestants’ workstations were revealed, it became clear that this week’s cooking tasks might pack a tearful punch. Usually the sidekick to flavourful dishes, the humble onion was about to shine as the celebrated hero.
The star of the first challenge was the workhorse brown onion, which had to rise to glory in just 45 minutes and ultimately landed five home cooks in the hot zone.
Suhael embarked on an ambitious mission within this timeframe, creating a “steak” from a large onion alongside a deconstructed onion soup. While preparing his dish, judge Zola Nene was mighty impressed – and a little scared – when she saw how Suhael wielded his secret weapon in the kitchen. His ability to chop ingredients with precision at breakneck speed served him well in the race against the MasterChef clock. In Suhael’s opinion, the dish he served to the judges was also well-executed, tasty and possibly one of the best dishes of the challenge.
Hence, Suhael was deflated when the judges called out his name as part of the bottom five who had to cook off in the second round, which would send someone home. While the home cooks with more appetising dishes moved to the safe gantry, from where they could watch all the action, Suhael, Nkululeko, Simele, Candice and Lesego had to redeem themselves.
Suhael, still convinced that he deserved a spot on the gantry, later learnt that his adventurous interpretation of the brown onion was a little underseasoned and therefore lacking in flavour.
To remain in the competition, the bottom five had to create a taste sensation using at least three members of the onion family.
Again, Suhael, always keen to raise the bar in his cooking, attempted a complicated dish within the allotted 60 minutes – a goat cheese soufflé with bacon, green onion and baby pearl onions. This was particularly risqué, as he had never made a soufflé before. “I either give it my all, or I’m going to go back home regretting stuff,” Suhael explained.
Unfortunately, despite his bold moves and brave decisions, the judges’ final verdict was that Suhael’s soufflé fell flat, marking the end of his MasterChef South Africa journey.
While it was a sad farewell to Suhael, it was all smiles for Jeshen, whose “Onion Garden”, as he named his Middle East–inspired onion masterpiece, was announced as the dish of the day.
Next week, the remaining 16 contestants will find out what the nose-to-tail cooking trend really entails with guest judge Giles Edwards in the kitchen.
MasterChef South Africa airs in its new home on e.tv on Sundays at 18:00, with simultaneous streaming on eVOD Live TV. Episodes are rebroadcast on Saturdays at 17:00, with additional rebroadcasts on eExtra on Saturdays at 20:30 and eReality on Sundays at 17:00.
The series is produced by the multiple-award-winning production company Homebrew Films for Primedia Studios.