Six of the show’s Top 12 home cooks battle it out to stay in the competition
This week, only six of MasterChef South Africa Season 5’s Top 12 contestants will be wearing the show’s dreaded black aprons, meaning they will be up for elimination. The other six will be on the gantry, watching and commenting on the frantic action and drama unfolding in the MasterChef Kitchen.
These two groups were determined by the previous episode’s gruelling first Season 5 team challenge, where they had to reinvent a traditional buffet and pair their seven harvest feast dishes with wines from the world-famous Durbanville Hills Winery collection. Although both teams served some sterling dishes alongside disappointing food fare, team leader Tebogo’s blue team received the thumbs-up – and their guaranteed spots in the Top 11 – from the show’s three judges and Durbanville Hills Winery guests evaluating their food feast.
While the blue team members Amo, Chanel, Nabila, Naledi, Shreya, and Tebogo are off the hook for this round, the losing red team, led by team captain Nash, will have an hour to showcase their creativity by whipping up a gourmet meal from those random kind of items that are the only ones left in our pantry’s, food cupboards and fridges at the end of the month, just before pay-day.
“We are all sadly all very familiar with month-end and that salty crack with the mussel or sardine,” MasterChef South Africa judge Justine Drake explains, “But if we use just a little bit of innovation, those frugal ingredients can become quite spectacular meals in and of themselves.”
For this “leftover” challenge, the six contestants up for elimination– Bridget, Ketsia, Lona, Nash, Penny, and Refe – are tasked to create a scrumptious gourmet meal from the judges’ own typical month-end leftovers, placed behind the home cooks’ working stations in the show’s beautiful Beko fridges, Luckily, they are also provided with a selection of twenty South African food staples, including those salty crackers!
But it’s a daunting task, and knowing that they have a one-in-six chance of leaving the show, the home cooks up for elimination and feel the heat in the kitchen like never before. As they all want to continue their MasterChef journey, brace yourself for a leftover war!
Who will armour themselves with the best flavours and most imaginative meals to impress the judges? So far, it’s been a choppy ride of food feats and disastrous dishes.
- Bridget
The youngest contestant on the show, Bridget Mangwandi (20), has become known for her eye-catching dishes and beautiful plating. However, her pretty cheesecake in the show’s first challenge, cooking for the “apple of your eye”, still landed her in the episode’s bottom three as she overworked the pastry.
In the following challenge, recreating London-based Chef Nokx Majozi’s signature pie, Bridget redeemed herself and moved up the ranks to the top three. Judge Justine raved about her presentation, calling it “a seascape of loveliness with great pastry work.” Thereafter, in the star sign challenge, Bridget produced the winning dish. Will she be able to do the same with limited ingredients?
- Ketsia
Ketsia Malela (31) wowed the judges and style icon Jackie Burger with her interpretation of the “difficult-to-recreate” monochromatic garment she was allocated at the food and fashion challenge. One of the comments was that she “took black and grey and turned it into a masterpiece”.
The judges and guest judge Jackie also loved how Ketsia represented the leathery aspects of this outfit by browning chicken pieces. So, Ketsia’s imaginative dish earned her a top-three spot. While Ketsia has displayed the cooking skills to conjure up the tastiest dishes, her potato salad lacked seasoning at last week’s team challenge. Will she use this feedback to ensure the judges enjoy her meal this week?
- Lona
Eastern Cape’s Lona Rode from Tsolo must bring his A-game to ensure he doesn’t leave the MasterChef kitchen. Lona has already been lined up for possible elimination twice. His downfall at the season’s first Top 15 challenge was that his Rosé poached apple with vanilla and citrus cream was too acidic. Thereafter, he presented a collapsed pie with the pastry too thick in some areas. Fortunately, the jus, which the judges loved, saved the day. Who knows what might happen to Lona in the leftover challenge?
- Nash
Besides having a choppy culinary ride on MasterChef South Africa so far, Nash Zambila’s self-confidence got a knock at the team challenge. The Jo’burger, who left his job in advertising after fifteen years to follow his food dream, holds himself accountable for his team’s loss at the Durbanville Hills Winery.
However, Nash has already proved that he can rise from the ashes. After his disastrous deconstructed pie challenge, he cooked his way from the bottom to the top three in the star sign challenge. Nash knows how to cook a hearty meal, which might stand him in good stead with the leftovers. But first, he will have to take control of his emotions, focus on the task at hand and remind himself why he entered MasterChef South Africa.
- Penny
Although the judges commended the dessert Penny Rider (65) created for the red team at the previous challenge, Penny has tasted what it means to be on the chopping block. At the food at fashion challenge, Penny found herself in the bottom three after making another dessert.
The meringue was over-baked despite a creative interpretation and presenting a flavourful ice cream. However, Penny, the oldest contestant on the show with more than 40 years of experience behind the stove, is no stranger to leftovers. Perhaps this is Penny’s time to shine.
- Refe
Refe Dimbaza has escaped the elimination line during all the challenges but also hasn’t managed to create that one special top-three-worthy meal. Perhaps she’s just a slow starter, and to be fair, Refe has faced some challenging moments in the MasterChef South Africa kitchen.
Remember how her pickles disappeared from the fridge during the pie challenge? In the team challenge, the bread she baked was one of the few ingredients that blew the judges away. Can she keep up the food work?
MasterChef South Africa Season 5 is proudly sponsored by Pick n Pay, where fresh ingredients get centre stage. The show premieres on S3 on Saturdays at 19:30, and the rebroadcasts are on Sundays at 18:30 on SABC2 and again on S3 on Wednesdays at 18:00.