Did you know Rachel comes from W.A.?

Masterchef Recap – 30 May 2011

The Blue Team are relaxed as we join them in Margaret River lingering in bathrobes over breakfast pastries and discussing the singing kookaburra’s. 

Rachel is excited to be wearing chef’s whites for the first time.  Especially because they are still in W.A. and she’s from W.A….

Matt Preston announces the move “from the mine to the vines” as the Blue Team gathers in the vineyard to learn the rules for the “Double Shot at Immunity” challenge, where the winner will have a chance at an Immunity Pin as well as being safe from elimination for a whole week.  It will be an Invention Test.  But instead of one ingredient for all, everyone will get their own core ingredient.

The ingredients are unveiled.  Nine are pretty much what you would expect – beautiful local proteins, but as ever a twist – ostrich eggs.

Time to draw for ingredients.  Today’s novelty mechanism is numbers under wine bottle lids.

Jay starts and gets what he’d hoped for – marron. Billy gets veal, Dani scallops, Adam lobster and Ellie pork.  Five down and still no ostrich egg.  Kumar would be happy with anything but the ostrich egg – so of course that’s what he draws.  This could be a big problem.  When he first saw it, he was expecting a dinosaur to come out!

Rachel has lamb.  Credit Analyst (and former vegetarian) Sun gets venison.  George helps out with some advice “I’d focus on cooking it beautifully.”  Thanks George.  Michael gets the goat which leaves Peter with crab.

We meet the local executive chef who likes “his food to sing to him.”  He generously allows the contestants 5 minutes to pick some veggies from his organic kitchen garden before the 60 minutes to cook commences.

Kumar opens his egg with a machete.  Rachel is amazed at how much white is in the egg.  Kumar (presumably relieved that no dinosaur jumped out) now thinks it was like watching a child being born.  We just thought it looked like a big egg.  After discussion with the judges Kumar ditches his frittata idea and opts to make egg nets.

Jay breaks down his marrons, tying the tails to spoons.  To make completely sure they don’t escape he also locks these in an esky. Michael is poaching his goat fillet in olive oil and Rachel thinks she’d “have to pour arsenic on the lamb to make it taste disgusting.”  StKildaFlaneur can think of something else he wishes she would do with that arsenic.

George enlightens everyone by advising “today is all about winning.”  The scriptwriters are having another bad day as he continues…”30 minutes to go – boom, boom, shake those vines.”

Meanwhile Sun is worried about stuffing up her Venison – “there are a thousand ways it could go wrong.” But she knows to get double immunity, “cooking well isn’t good enough – you have to be the best.”  Sound’s like she’s been listening to George.

Kumar is having trouble with his egg nets, which appear to be omelettes with holes in them, and Rachel reminds us again we are in W.A. and she’s from W.A. Time is running out and Gary tells everyone “it’s time to plate up the fruits of your labour.”

Onto tasting.

Rachel’s up first.  Her overcooked lamb and unpeeled roasted beetroot disappoints. Next is Jay’s “Garden of Marron” – poached with baby vegetables.  He has “remained true to the marron.”  Peter is having doubts about whether he is good enough, but his mountain of crab has been cooked spectacularly.  We wait to see how Sun as a recent ex vegetarian has done with the venison – “the most meaty of all meats.” The verdict is “good job.” Simple and precise, only lacking a killer sauce.

Kumar approaches with the much anticipated ostrich egg net with roasted garden vegetables.  George “likes it, but doesn’t love it.” Gary says he loves it, but sounds half hearted. Adam, Ellie, Billy and Dani are in and out in 60 seconds. Adams lobster bisque lacked flavour, Ellie’s pork would have been better with more crackling, Billy distracted from and didn’t add to his veal, and Dani is in trouble with George for slicing a scallop.

Only Michael’s goat in white wine sauce remains.  We suspect it will be good.  It is.  George pronounces the olive oil poached goat as spectacular and feels Michael could win the competition.  The judges concur that two dishes are in the frame but one stands out.  The two mates Jay and Michael are summonsed forward. Each of them respects but fears the other.  They would each love a crack at immunity.  Tomorrow night Jay will get another chance.