Last night’s Masterchef Elmination was spectacular.
The losing team from Wednesday’s Asian restaurant challenge – Georgia, Rose, Matthew, Sara, John and Stephen – arrived at the MasterChef Australia kitchen to face five cloches and a two round elimination challenge.
With Ashleigh wearing the Power Apron and possessing the power to save someone, she quickly chose fellow self-doubter Stephen.
For the remaining five contestants, round one was a blind taste test to name the ingredients in Gary’s modern version of the Korean staple, bibimbap. In round two, they would cook with 60 minutes on the clock and only the ingredients they identified correctly.
John quickly realised he was tasting one of his favourite dishes, but when it came time to write them down he went blank, identifying just 10 key ingredients. Sara named the most, collecting 16 ingredients for round two, while Georgia identified 15, Matthew 13 and Rose 11.
In round two, after almost setting the kitchen on fire, Georgia served up a delicious beef tataki with gochujang aioli and pickled vegetables that the judges loved. Sara was in control, turning her vegetarian ingredients into a kimchi soup, and Rose produced a delicious beef and mushroom broth with vegetables. Matthew, who was not familiar with Korean food, felt the pressure and struggled to bring his sesame tataki beef dish together. John, with so few ingredients, was forced to abandon his risotto for a Korean rice ball, mayonnaise, mushroom and cucumber stir fry.
During the tasting, the judges were pleased with Georgia, Sara and Rose’s dishes, leaving the boys to face elimination. While they liked the beef and dressing in Matthew’s dish, it had too much crunchy rice and the omelette was unnecessary. The judges loved John’s Korean rice balls and the spicy cucumber salad, but his dish was let down by the irrelevant egg custard and heavy, flat mayonnaise. In the end, it was John’s tendency to have too many elements on the plate that sent him home.
Since leaving the MasterChef Australia kitchen, John is developing a range of Filipino-inspired ice creams and desserts and plans to launch them later this year.
Masterchef airs 7:30PM Sunday to Thursday on Ten
