Bubbly Adelaide mum Mandy Hall has bid farewell to the MasterChef Australia kitchen, battling to stay afloat in a condiment challenge that capped off Nigella Week.
Following their team loss at the State Library of Victoria Mandy arrived at the MasterChef kitchen alongside losing teammates Blake, Steph, Tati, Nicole, Christina, Derek, Abbey, Jess and Walleed. Mandy went into the elimination cook with a fierce determination to prove she is here for the long haul.
After failing to correctly identify corn relish in round one, Mandy found herself in round two alongside Steph, Jess and Abbey. Gary Mehigan explained that they will have to make a condiment and cook a dish that makes their condiment sing in the next round.
Mandy opted to make a smoky peri peri chicken with cabbage and beurre blanc sauce. It was a dish she had made before for friends to rave reviews and had high hopes.
While George did the rounds to see how everyone was faring, he did express confusion as to Mandy’s combination of flavours and use of cabbage. Mandy did not let this rock her and stuck to her guns with a staunch confidence that her dish will plate up a beauty.
When it came time to taste, Mandy hoped she had nailed her dish but sadly George said her peri peri sauce was just okay and he was not happy with her wedge of roasted cabbage and the oily fried cabbage leaves. Nigella said the beurre blanc didn’t speak to the peri peri, and Matt confirmed that Mandy’s dish was a missed opportunity, which established her as the fifth contestant to exit the MasterChef Australia kitchen.
Since leaving the MasterChef kitchen, Mandy has continued to develop her blog, Love Ferments and Food. She is also working with The Fermentary and volunteering in the kitchen at the Hutt Street Homeless Shelter.
