MasterChef South Africa’s soft-spoken sweetie-pie, “Barbie girl”, and the tidiest cook judge Justine has ever seen, 24-year-old Lesego Motshane from Limpopo, sadly exited the MasterChef kitchen this week – all because of a kota and an elevated street-food dish gone south.
Besides Lesego’s sad departure, the episode, built around local and global street food, was packed with surprises, tough tasks, teary eyes and a historic MasterChef South Africa moment. A brand-new trophy, the “MasterChef South Africa Street Food Classic”, was introduced to the show. This is a travelling piece of MasterChef art that will be passed on from season to season.
The coveted trophy was awarded in the first of two gruelling challenges, with the top three dishes securing their creators a place on the gantry and allowing them to skip the dreaded elimination cook-off.
To claim the “MasterChef South Africa Street Food Classic” trophy, the contestants had to put a Michelin-star-style spin on a kota – Mzansi’s unapologetically indulgent, hollowed-out quarter loaf of bread stuffed with all things greasy, like Russians, polony, fried eggs, cheese and sauces. Adding to the pressure, the time limit for this next-level kota was just half an hour.
Home cook Nkululeko, who has had a somewhat bumpy ride on the show so far, left no crumbs. The season’s “Kota king” impressed by capturing the essence of a kota, making his own mayonnaise, and adding a touch of jalapeño on top. Dr Phil, who produced an Anthony Bourdain-style Italian kota, and Keith, with his ushantini and bockwurst kota, joined winner Nkululeko on the gantry.
Lesego’s breakfast kota was appetising too, but unfortunately still landed her among the contestants cooking off to stay in the game.
In this elimination challenge, the task was to impress the judges with a gutsy global or local street-food dish.
Although most of the contestants travelled to street markets abroad to interpret these culinary delights, Lesego decided to roam the streets of Mzansi.
Her dish was inspired by amagwinya — the delicious South African bun that’s crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside — and by slap chips. However, she turned the amagwinya into corn fritters and added chakalaka, onion marmalade, and a blue cheese and mint sauce.
Everything sounded innovative and utterly delicious, and Lesego gave her street cuisine an 8 out of 10.
The judges, however, disagreed. While Chef Katlego, Zola Nene and Justine Drake appreciated the creativity of the individual elements, they found the overall dish confusing. The flavours just didn’t gel.
So, Lesego landed in the bottom two, shockingly facing Jeshen, the previous week’s challenge winner. As usual, Jeshen panicked about his dish, and this time he was right.
Ultimately, Lesego had to say her goodbyes, while Jeshen was in tears. In a moment true to her kind nature, she consoled the sobbing Jeshen, despite being the one leaving the competition.
Throughout her stint in the MasterChef kitchen — a rollercoaster ride that began with a top-three dish in the very first episode — Lesego remained calm, collected and composed.
But, as the judges often remind contestants, “you’re just as good as your last cook.” Candice’s case, this line landed on the other side of the spectrum this week. She nailed her second victory of the season with standout Mexican fish tacos.
Looking ahead, the next episode of this hugely popular e.tv cooking show will be a milestone for some of the contestants as they will cook off for a spot in the MasterChef South Africa Season 6 Top 10.
MasterChef South Africa airs 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.
You can follow all the MasterChef South Africa Season 6 action on social media:
Instagram – sa_masterchef
Facebook –MasterChef South Africa
The series is produced by the multiple-award-winning production company Homebrew Films for Primedia Studios.