Tag: immunity

MasterChef – Tues – immunity challenge

The winner of the mystery box challenge and the three best-performing cooks from the invention test will compete for immunity, with Shannon Bennett back in the kitchen to guide and mentor the contestants.

Well, that’s new. Although in the past they’ve had a one in three shot, and now it’s a one in four.

Sashi, the girl with confidence issues, groovy top knot butcher’s assistant and Chloe have to use eggs to create a dish. They get six each. I love that MC is doing these “simple” challenges that could be interpreted so many ways.
Sashi is making a scotch egg – these must be in fashion right now as we saw some on MKR.
Chloe is doing soba noodles with broth and a six-minute egg. I guess we’ll find out what that is. Soba noodles don’t usually have eggs in them so I wonder if they will see her dish as “eggy” enough.
Kristen is making a lemon curd and a mousse and will use most of the eggs. I hope she does not stuff up as they don’t get replacement eggs.
Topknot Tim is making a sponge with a fish sauce caramel. Weird but if he pulls it off the judges will love it.

Oh no – rookie error from the affable Sashi (sidenote: go South Straya!). He has forgotten to boil his eggs. Will his scotch eggs instead be mince patties with a fried egg on top?
It seems Chloe’s six-minute egg is, in fact, a plain boiled egg. Matt and Shannon tell Chloe to tweak her broth, and she does. This could be a winner’s edit.
Poor Sashi is trying to peel his boiled eggs watched by 50 people. It can be a hard task at the best of times, he gives up and just fries an egg instead.
Tim has done the modern dessert splat on his plate. Chloe’s egg is runny inside so the judges will love that.

THE JUDGES TASTE
Kristen’s raspberry mousse with lemon curd and tuile: It looks pretty. They say the flavours are well balanced and it’s a lot of work for the time. But I don’t think it has the “twist” or “flashy” factor they look for.
Sashi’s fried egg with mayo: The poor bugger did not even get to fry his patty but at least it was not an elimination challenge.
Chloe’s soba with egg: Has she got the flavour right in the broth? Shannon likes the presentation. They all love it.
Tim’s sponge with fish sauce caramel: His sponge is good but there is not enough fish sauce. They like the creativity but the dish does not work.

The judges say the top two are Kristen and Chloe, so it has to be Chloe, right? And it is. Is it too early to say Chloe is Gaz’s pick of the season?
She’s won round one but now she needs to beat a chef. He’s the current Young Chef if the Year and is Peter Gilmore’s right hand man. So, no pressure.


And now I’m off to google his name. It’s Shui Ishizaka. You can read more about him here.

Chloe gets 75 mins to cook; Shui 60 and he is locked in the dungeon until it’s his turn to cook, with no idea of the ingredients.
Chloe gets to pick 10 main ingredients from 50, plus she gets the usual pantry staples like oil, flour, etc.
She will make a prawn mousse tortellini in broth. It’s the kind of dish the judges like. She seems good at these noodley/brothy dishes. Someone on the gantry yells “Go, Chloe” and they pronounce it without the extra “ee” sound at the end that Shannon uses, so I guess they are still working out everyone’s names still.
Shui is freed from the dungeon and gets the same 10 ingredients. He’s doing confit prawns with a prawn custard.
Chloe is actually tasting her food as she goes along – hallelujah! Please watch this, future would be MKR contestants! She needs to adjust the flavour of her prawn mousse but did not pick anything acidic as one of her 10 ingredients. Don’t they get vinegar as a staple, though? Did Maggie Beer not leave a trail of verjuice behind her yesterday?
Aha – picked it. With help from Shannon she remembers vinegar could help, and she does have it in her staples.
In the end both dishes look good but Shui’s has that cheffy look. He was super calm throughout and speaks highly of the look of Chloe’s tortellini. Ok, it’s official: we like Shui.


THE JUDGES TASTE
Chloe’s tortellini: Gaz “can’t fault much in that dish at all”. They all like it and it shows good technique. (It’s pretty obvious after this that Chloe cooked it, as while delish and beautiful, it is “simple” in its uncheffy presentation.)
Shui’s prawn with prawn head custard and milk skin: They are all dying to tuck in because it looks interesting. They rave about it. Could be some 10s here.

THE SCORES
We get the usual talk up of how close it was. Who cooked the pasta? Oooh, what a mystery that is.

Chloe: Gaz 8, George 8, Matt 8
Shui: Matt 8, George 9, Gaz 9.
Shui for the win! He is gracious in victory. Hopefully there will be work experience at Benelong in her future.
Chloe has shown she has some good techniques – we have a contender.

TOMORROW
It’s an MCG challenge, cooking for the Demons in the traditional red versus blue challenge (such appropriate colours).



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MasterChef – Tues, May 16

The three best performers from Sunday’s invention test are now vying for a chance to challenge a chef and win an immunity pin.
Summary: They had to make waffles. Eloise won for her Japanese fried chook and chilli caramel version, beating Young Sam, who did a kind of banana, caramel, choc version that a kid would love and Sarah, who used mango and curry leaves but who put her waffle on too late.
Eloise’s waffle:

Sam’s waffle:

Sarah’s waffle:


Eloise AKA Johnnie Walker then went up against Atlas chef Charlie Carrington. He’s only 23 and owns his own restaurant – what the …Eloise chose to use the “indulgent” pantry over the “healthy” pantry. Apparently Atlas doesn’t use a lot of chocolate so Charlie was thrown for a loop by the ingredients.
Eloise won for this:


Chef Charlie dished up this:

Atlas sounds pretty interesting, as its menu changes three times a year, and not just the dishes – the entire cuisine!
From the website: “Every four months I will explore the cuisine of a different country that I have visited, adding my own special twist on what I have learnt during my travels.”
At the moment he’s doing Korea. More here.



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MasterChef – Tues – Immunity Challenge

The top three contestants – all women – from the haloumi invention test now compete in creating a family meal for four in half an hour. The winner will then take on a professional chef for a chance at immunity.


They have 32 minutes to cook dinner for four, apparently a reflection of the average time spent making a family dinner these days.
The hard part is that once they’ve been to the pantry they can’t revisit it.
Sarah (after some embarrassing fangirling over mentor Shannon Bennett) is smart and picks barra and Asian veg for a quick cook.
Eliza (pastie girl) picks a lamb rack and spends yonks frenching the bones.
Karlie is doing an Asian dish but forgot to get sugar and rice. Oops.

And Sarah wins. I am going to have to look up that bok choy recipe.


(Oops – Mr Juz is making me watch Grey’s Anatomy, so I’m out!)



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MasterChef – Tues, July 5 – immunity challenge

The three contestants who did well with their apricot chicken reinventions – Elise, Brett and Harry – are competing for a chance to go up against a chef. We’ve had some weak offerings in immunity pin challenges this season, so hopefully this will be better than usual.

This is Elise’s first crack at an immunity pin and she reckons she can grab it, but Brett is firing on all cylinders at the moment.


The mystery box ingredients are cauliflower, venison, bay leaves and elderflower cordial. And they get 20 minutes. Or if they decide to use the second, smaller box, they get 40 minutes and but have to use what’s under there (it turns out to be quandongs), plus an ingredient from the main box. And there’s a third box (with mastic) which gives them a total of 60 minutes. Brett sticks at the first box while the younger and less wise contestants go the whole hog. Harry doesn’t recognise the mastic. Elise has used it before – she must be a superfan.
Why does MasterChef keep trying to make mastic “happen”? Does George have a mastic plantation at an ancestral farm in Greece? Next to his giant tweezers factory.

Elise is using the mastic, quandongs and elderflower cordial to make a tart and mastic ice cream.
Harry is making quandong and elderflower pavlova but has yet to work out how to use the mastic. He’s got a thing for pavs – he made one that was not well received in the Christmas-themed Nigella Week immunity pin challenge.
Elise is masticating over how much mastic to add to her anglaise for the ice cream when George actually gives some helpful advice for once. He tells her the flavour will intensify once the mixture cools.
Both of them are making quandong jam. Brett has enjoyed 40 minutes of thinking time while Elise and Harry cook and has exactingly planned his dish. He’s doing cauliflower several ways, including roasting the leaves in the oven. It will go with pepper-crusted venison with a bay leaf butter sauce. Yum!
Harry takes his “pavs” out of the oven and his little meringues are browned while his bread-and-butter-plate sized ones aren’t cooked. Couldn’t he have done a meringue-topped brookie?
Harry things his use of elderflower syrup stuffed up the pav texture. He decides to use his mastic in a custard.
With five minutes to go Brett has cooked his venison and cauli puree. He looks cool as a cucumber.
Elise’s ice cream has worked (hooray – not ABP) but the mastic is very strong. Harry decides to do the bleeding obvious and turn his flopped meringue into a Mess.

The judges taste


Brett’s venison with cauli (20 minutes): Matt says the venison is beautifully cooked. It’s delicious. “Bloody good understanding of food. You’ve come a long way,” says Shannon.


Harry’s Mess with quandong jam and mastic custard: Harry pretends he’s in with a chance but knows deep down he’s got Buckley’s. George loves the jam but the meringue is sticky and gluey. Shannon says he’s done his best to save the dish with his plating up.


Elise’s quandong tart with mastic ice cream: “That’s beautiful,” says Gaz of the tart, with its vibrant red topping. Shannon praises the textures of the pastry and ice cream and says she was brave to go for the final mystery box.
Yeah, telling someone they are “brave” is code for “it’s not the winner”.
The winner is …
Brett gets it for great food in only 20 minutes. He’s thrilled. Good one, Brett. At the start of this comp I would have said you’d have been eliminated by now but you’ve proved me wrong.
He learns he’s up against mentor Shannon – who cracks up as Matt Preston talks him up in the intro.
Tonight, there’s no time advantage for the contestant. Both have 60 minutes and an open pantry. Seems a but unfair that Brett doesn’t get a little leg up.
Gaz tells Brett to focus on his strengths, saying he makes great sauces and purees and likes to hero a protein. Brett is doing lamb rack with parsnip puree.
Shannon decides to braise something in the pressure cooking and initially seems a tad nonplussed by not having a theme. He’ll do lamb two ways with pickled veg.
Poor Brett is chopping bones for his jews when he cuts his thumb, which will put him behind. Shannon is doing some fancy kind of mustard cream to put in a siphon. He talks about all the things that could go wrong with it, but then it works perfectly.
Brett is a little flustered after having to call for the nurse, knocking stuff over, including throwing his crispy shallots on the floor. He’s leaking blood out of his blue glove, poor bugger. “The first day I’ve ever cut myself in the MasterChef kitchen has to be today,” he notes.
Now he has to trim his lamb rack without full use of one hand.
Shannon has his shoulder braising in the pressure cooker while he panfries the loin then pops it in the oven. He tells Gaz he’s worried about the timing of the braise but no doubt it will be fine. He heads to the garden looking for a bitter herb to go with his dish but doesn’t head back the minute his timer goes off. By the time he gets the loin out, he says it’s cooked more than he wanted. The herb he grabbed was chickweed. I’d never heard of it so thank goodness for Wikipedia\
Shannon checks his lamb and Gaz gives it the seal of approval – he was worried about nothing. Shannon pops over to peel some asparagus for Brett, good lad that he is.
Shannon takes the lid off his pressure cooker but his lamb isn’t tender enough. “It’s a disaster,” he says. But then he finds some little pieces swimming in the stock that are fine. So that’s twice you’ve predcited a lamb disaster tonight, Shannon, and both times it was much ado about nothing. Now he gets cracking with his soz.
Brett is plating up and Gary seems to be giving helpful advice.
Shannon, super chef that he is, has laid out all his garnishes on a baking tray in orderly fashion. He finishes his dish and runs round to Brett’s station for the last few seconds.

George and Matt taste


Brett’s lamb with smoked parsnip puree and enoki mushrooms: George says it looks beautiful and thought has gone into it. Matt loves the flavours. He’s frenched well. Neither ones mentions that the blood from the lamb has stained the parsnip mash from not being rested enough.
Lamb with mustard, onions and fresh herbs: It looks very modern but Shannon’s mustard cream is now a puddle. Perhaps that’s what he meant it to look like. Matt says it’s classic French flavours. Hmm, could it possibly have been cooked by someone whose restaurant is called Vue de Monde. Matt thinks the braised lamb doesn’t really add anything to the dish.

The scores
Brett: George 8 (even though we didn’t hear any criticism), Matt 9. So, Shannon’s won, then. And, yep:
Shannon: Matt 9, George 9
Poor Brett – that dish looked so much better than some of the dog’s breakfasts we’ve seen in past immunity challenges.


Tomorrow night
It’s a service challenge at MasterChef HQ and there are four teams of two, using ingredients from north, east, south and west. The bottom two teams will be up for elimination. The preview shows the teams are:
Green: Glowing Elena and Chloe
Yellow: Trent and Elise
Blue: Brett and Harry
Red: Mimi and Matt



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MasterChef – Tues, June 21 – immunity challenge – what’s a rocher?

The four contestants who impressed in the relay invention test cook for immunity. Does the winner of the first round have what it takes to out-cook guest chef Victor Liong from Lee Ho Fook?
This will be an interesting one, as Karmen, Intense Matt, Trent and Elena are all decent cooks. And, look at the tweet below – Karmen has a sense of humour, too. I just hope she doesn’t try to plate up anything fragile that she will smash with shaking hands. Stay away from tuiles tonight, Karmen.

People keep trying to tell me burgundy is back, but Matt’s suit is doing nothing to convince me this is true.
He tells the contestants tonight is a skills test with a dessert theme, so Karmen gets a hige grin on her face. They must separate 12 egg yolks; create five perfect ice cream rochers (that’s a quenelle done with only one spoon, apparently); and spin sugar to a 30cm-high conical shape. Intense Matt has never even spun sugar before.
They’re pretty even in the egg-cracking leg, and all smash a few in the rush. Karmen finishes that round first, then IM, then Trent and Elena.
Karmen plans to take the rocher round slowly and get them right but IM and Trent are racing through, with Trent using his fingers to plop them off the spoon. They must have told the contestants the correct technique before the challenge. IM smashes out five rochers that he knows are dodgy but Gaz only lets one through. Trent’s are also wonky.


Meanwhile, Karmen is already on to her spun sugar. Elena has taken her time and it pays off – she catches up and is the second person to start spinning sugar.
IM and Trent slow down with their ice cream and finally Gaz lets IM through, then Trent. It’s still pretty close, though, as Karmen is waiting for her sugar to caramelise and hasn’t started spinning. Shannon urges her to take it easy.
Her caramel is ready first and out comes the head massage tool to flick back and forth. Trent has a go but his caramel looks too light, while Elena’s seems dark. IM waits til the right time and goes nuts with his flicking. He’s catching up quickly – height and longer arms are probably an advantage here. He takes his pile over to be measured and he’s done it! Good one, Intense Matt!
Skills tests are always fun to watch, although not as exciting as name the cake or ingredient, as there’s no play along at home element.
Matt is definitely top three material and, interestingly, he’s not active on social media – unlike some other contestants. Does this mean he goes all the way? Or he’s just not a Twitter kind of guy.

Guest chef Victor enters and how lovely to see a chef who looks like an engineering nerd rather than a tattoo artist – although he does have a Harry-style teeny topknot.
IM gets to pick from overflowing benches of ingredients A to N and M to Z. IM wants the kingfish, so chooses the former, to cook it crispy-skinned with blue swimmer crab broth. He’s definitely had hours of practice filleting fish and is a real chance here.
It’s Victor’s time to cook and his face drops when he realises what’s on the table for A to N. I like him even more when he tells confessional: “Ah, bugger – there’s no soy sauce, there’s no sesame oil.” He decides to do a crayfish in order to show “oriental decadence”.
IM is trying to make a crab broth to better the prawn head version with which he won an immunity pin last time.
Victor is having trouble balancing his sauce without any M to Z ingredients – IM has the advantage of having cooked in the MC kitchen many times. Victor grabs a can of coconut cream to add to his sauce and is happier.
IM starts straining his broth through muslin and manages to add some unintentional smoke when he sits it too close to the burner. Cue yelps of concern from the gantry and cool-headed Shannon tells him to pop the flaming saucepan saucepan in the sink. Victor even pops over to check on him and offer assistance. Luckily IM has plenty of soz left over.
Victor is only serving crayfish and coconut soz because he thinks less is more, but Shannon urges him to do something else to impress the judges. He doesn’t seem too fussed until Harry leans over the gantry to tell him to listen. Eventually Victor decides to add some mushies and cauli.
On the other side, IM is going hell for leather with a million techniques and is working hard to balance his broth. He’s doing George-style plating.
Victor’s plate looks pretty, too, but neither of them used tweezers.
Victor pops over for a lick of IM’s soz and says he’s impressed.

The judges taste


Victor’s roasted crayfish with coconut and armagnac soz: Gaz is salivating just looking at it. Matt Preston says the soz is well balanced and they agree the cray is perfectly cooked. Sounds like a high score.


IM’s crispy skin kingfish with crab broth: Gaz says it looks pretty but Matt thinks the bits of crab on the side seem superfluous. They love the taste of the broth and it’s all well cooked. “Sublime,” says Gaz.
They do the “oh, it’s so close” thing, which is usually so fake as there have been some shockers in the immunity pin round this season. But this time they both seem great dishes.

The scores
Scores for IM’s fish: Gaz 9 George 9, Matt 9 = 27/30 Fab scores but now I’m worried Victor will get 10s.
Scores for Victor’s cray: Yep, 10s all round.
Well done, Victor, but poor IM – any other week he would have slayed the competition.

Victor says some really nice things about IM being intelligent but ambitious and jokingly offers him a job.
Fun fact: Victor’s LInked In profile says he has a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Hospitality Administration/Management.

Tomorrow night
The contestants must cook three courses of finger food at an outdoor cinema team challenge. It looks like Brett and Harry’s blue team stuff up their quantities, but it could be a storm in a tea cup. And then on Sunday, Heston Week begins. Crack out your goggles and nitrogen canisters.



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