Image: Charlie Sperring

by Jan-Hendrik Botha

As usual, Twitterati was cooking up a storm online, awaiting the eighteenth episode of MasterChef SA.

…boasting their homemade masterpieces.


And our mouths were absolutely watering. 


But meanwhile, back in the Masterchef SA kitchen, the noble grape gave our four remaining contestants a run for their money.

We welcomed the executive chef from Camphors Restaurant at Vergelegen Wine Estate in Somerset West, guest judge Michael Cooke, to the kitchen.



For the brief, our contestants had to utilise ingredients from the wine cellar and cook a marvellous dessert inspired by the winemaking process. The objective was to take part in the war on food waste. The approach seemed simple: try and stretch out a single ingredient in its entirety, from the skin to the core, and from the root to the flower.


Utilising the byproducts from the wine cellar, Chef Michael presented a gastronomic dessert consisting of a biscuit made from grape skin flour, sorbet made from red wine vinegar, crystalised chocolate, Verjuice jellies, and grape seed oil ganache. The dish was finished off with grape leaves made with grape juice concentrate, glass made with the pulp from grapes, caramelised white chocolate, and some fresh fennel – a gorgeous dish to replicate. And easy enough for the top 4, right?

Unfortunately, yet another twist awaited our contestants. Drumroll... Our contestants were unable to taste the dish but were allowed to ask one question each while our judges were tasting and discussing the dish with Chef Michael. And what’s more: their questions were only allowed to be answered with a simple "yes" or "no". 

According to Chef Michael, the biggest challenge was time and temperature – and the heat was clearly switched on, turned up, and left on right to the end of this intricate brief. 
 

What started out as calm, cautious energy, transpired into a frantic three-hour race to the top 3. And at each station, we were met with a sort of panic that has never been seen in the kitchen before. 


Tarryn’s response heading into the challenge was indicative of what was to follow, saying that the recipe was a minefield. “It’s for a spot in the semi-final …it’s going to be balls to the wall from start to finish.” And of course, it was. When her chocolate ganache started seizing, she was almost in tears but kept her head up and continued. Luckily, after adding grapeseed oil, she was well on her way.


We’ve never seen Shawn this nervous before. Though he usually takes quite a technical approach, during this challenge, he had a proper food meltdown. 


He seemed very calculated approaching the brief, but mid-way into the challenge Chef Greg was met with a home chef having a full-on panic attack. Not only because the dehydration process took too long, but also because, with only ten minutes remaining, he realised he forgot his custard in the freezer and therefore it had turned into a solid brick of custard.


While Andriette was frantically running around in the background, Shawn’s anxiety got the better of him. Greg, however, encouraged him to take a deep breath, assuring him that he’s been super meticulous right from the start and that he had to remain so for plating.


Elizabeth Taylor once said: “Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together.” And it seems Justine took notes. While there was panic all over the kitchen, Justine emphasised her gratitude for grapes. “Well, I’m just grateful to God for making [grapes] because otherwise we wouldn’t have wine and life would just be a disaster.”
 

Andriette was frazzled right from the start, but Justine constantly encouraged her to breathe. 


Andriette was noticeably overwhelmed when she realised that her chocolate was seizing, her tuiles were “not working”, and she was running out of time. 
 

But what broke the camel’s back was when she realised her crape biscuit seemed like it was flopping. 

And while a sweaty Sims was frantically trying to tick all the boxes on the supplied recipe, he and a teary Andriette had a heartfelt moment in the kitchen. 


While Andriette was ready to give up, Sims encouraged her to keep calm. “Keep pushing, my love,” he said nervously from behind his station. Though Andriette felt there was no point, he assured her: “There’s no such thing as giving up – fight till the very end!”


Unfortunately, Sims’ encouragement didn’t quite do the trick, and Justine stepped in. “Compose yourself …this is not what we do …there is always a point," said Justine. "Pull yourself together …look at me and focus.” 



Poor Andriette was devastated after plating her dish but felt thankful that Justine came to her station and "said suck it up in a beautiful way”.

Though Tarryn’s dish looked nothing like the original, the judges were glad to see that she got all of the elements onto her plate before time ran out. Though she had a nervous tremor throughout the challenge, she tried to fight it by staying calm, trying to focus on what needed to happen. According to Chef Michael, her calm approach was a fresh breath of air. 


Justine felt that Tarryn got some of the components right and others a bit wrong. “I think this was an incredibly stressful challenge, as it was meant to be, and you got it on the plate for the most part, so let’s just give you a pat on the back for that.”



To her surprise, the judges felt that everything on Andriette’s plate was in harmony, even though it didn’t look good. 


Watching Shawn, Chef Michael felt that he had an engineer’s approach to the way that he cooked. But he added that Shawn’s mentality to get it perfect can be a blessing and a curse. 


Though they felt that Shawn’s dish was slightly sweeter than what it had to be, it was still well-balanced with good flavour. 

Although the judges felt that nome of the dishes presented was executed perfectly, it came down to a simple case of how many elements had made it onto their plates. 

Sims had many components ready, but unfortunately, they didn’t all make it onto his plate and therefore influenced the balance of flavour. Therefore it was decided that this was his last cook in the MasterChef SA kitchen...  


...and though Twitter was devastated to say goodbye, it was time for him to leave. 




Never a dull moment with Sims in the kitchen: find out what he had to say after leaving, and who he thinks will win this season, below:


Which one of the remaining contestants do you think will walk away as South Africa’s next master chef? Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with the hashtag #MasterChefSA. Remember to watch MasterChef SA every Monday to Thursday at 18:00 on M-Net channel 101. In case you missed the latest episode, catch up with DStv using your connected device.