Maggie Beer eliminates another favorite

Maggie Beer eliminates another favorite

Jenny Lam has been sent packing from MasterChef Australia after a battling in a three round chicken challenge at Maggie Beer’s Eatery in the Barossa Valley.

Arriving alongside Aldo, Jess, Ben, Khanh, Lisa and Hoda following their loss last night at Jacob’s Creek, the group were met by the judges and Maggie, with Gary telling them this would be their last challenge in South Australia. Having just secured an immunity pin on Tuesday, Khanh opted to use the pin and told the judges he would not cook.

 

Matt explained each contestant would be given their own chicken – if they cooked one of two great dishes in round one they would be safe. The best dish from round two would also be safe, while in round three the last three contestants would cook, with the least impressive dish to send its maker home. In each round the contestants only had whatever parts of their chicken they had left to cook with.

 

In round one Ben used half his chicken straight up, determined not to be forced to cook again. He whipped up a chicken sausage with an onion puree with chicken jus, turning the breast meat into a mousse with herbs before wrapping it in chicken skin. Lisa used the breasts to make drunken chicken, marinating them Shaoxing wine, soy sauce and sesame oil before rolling it in its skin and poaching it. Both nailed their dishes and following the tastings were deemed safe.

 

Aldo, Jenny, Jess and Hoda continued to battle it out in round two, where Aldo made chicken breast with mascarpone cream. Jenny used chicken wings to make a Thai chicken salad with mango. In the final minutes she pulled her chicken skin from the oven and it was only partly cooked, so she could only use a portion of it. Aldo’s dish was perfect and Gary proclaimed it one of the best dishes of the competition. Maggie said it was perfection and Aldo jumped for joy as he escaped the final round.

With only 20 minutes on the clock for the final round, Hoda, Jenny and Jess returned to their benches to see what part of their chickens they had remaining. With wings left, Hoda decided to fry them with a Szechuan sauce. She mixed soy, honey and Szechuan peppercorns, adding fresh cucumber to her plate at the end. Inspired by her dad, Jess opted to replicate his lemon chicken. She started with the batter before mixing honey, lemon juice, and lemon peel for her sauce. She sliced chicken breast thinly before dropping it into her batter and then into her hot oil. Jenny only had chicken breast left, and wanted to make a grilled chicken salad. She marinated the chicken for a few minutes in soy, honey and orange zest before searing them off, whipping up a corn and avocado salad to pair alongside.

When they tasted Hoda’s wings the judges said they were a big hit, but Jenny’s salad and chicken combination was odd. Jess’ batter consistency wasn’t great, but with an overall dish which didn’t work, Jenny was announced as the 11th contestant eliminated from MasterChef Australia.

Jenny is now working at Wildflower in Perth. Her Vietnamese cookbook will be available next year, and plans are underway for her Swan Valley cooking school in 2020.

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