Image: Charlie Sperring
by Jan-Hendrik Botha
If you weren’t tuned in for the fifth episode of South Africa’s favourite cook-off on M-Net last night, you missed out on a master class in unusual flavour combinations. The kitchen was simmering with mouth-puckering twists. Luckily, in case you missed it, here’s a reminder from our digital audience of the intensity in the MasterChef SA kitchen.
In the latest episode, the contestants were tasked to come up with the perfect combination of salty, sweet, and savoury flavours.
The levels of anxiety amongst our contestants were palpable as the clock was ticking away.
Onti had us panicking when she realised she was running out of time. This devoted wife and mother of two from Mahikeng had to face her dessert fears with her invention of caraway ice cream, mebos gel, and parmesan crisps.
The kitchen was filled with proudly South African flavours: from samp to braaibroodjies to bobotie and ultimately, the infamous surprise ingredient, mebos, introduced at the last minute.
Who would have thought that a simple ingredient such as mebos would take centre stage on social media?
Yes, this traditional South African ingredient had everyone on the edge of their digital seats.
Dr Harri gave us all a laugh when he compared the reaction his tastebuds had to mebos as being the same as his reaction to tequila.
Andriette paid homage to her online dating life...
...and if there’s one takeaway from the latest episode, it’s the realisation that the way to a South African man’s heart is clearly through a braaibroodjie.
The pressure was on at Tembisa's station when she had a bit of trouble with the pressure cooker. She tried making samp, but when she lifted the lid she had “a Mohammad” when she realised her water was still ice cold.
Sims taught us that when “your mind draws a blank”...
...do what you know best: when in a pickle, trust in your pasta addiction.
Onezwa was ready right from the start, red lips and all, and Twitterati loved her flaming spirit.
But her peach, mebos, coconut puree with savoury chantilly cream and champagne sorbet left our judges gutted with an overwhelming champagne flavour, and unfortunately, she was sent packing.
Find out what Onezwa had to say after leaving the MasterChef SA kitchen below:
Want to join the conversation? Follow Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and use #MasterChefSA. In case you missed the episode, catch up with DStv using your connected device. Watch MasterChef SA every Monday to Thursday at 18:00 on M-Net channel 101.