I’d travelled 7,619 km to be back in front of my big screen TV for “Finals Week” so my expectations were high.
During my eight weeks of peregrination the number of contestants had been reduced from eighteen to a final four.
We join Kate, Dani, Alana and Michael in the Masterchef House copying recipes into notebooks. Surely after all this time they still don’t need recipes? After all, the winner will be rewarded with their very own cook book deal.
Arriving at the Masterchef Kitchen its hugs all round as we note that nothing is set up for cooking. Instead we meet the first of the promised special guests from the Masterchef Family who will be participating in Finals Week.
It is Curtis Stone. Dani can’t believe her eyes. He is indeed “famous”, but for what exactly? He has no restaurant, nor a TV show. Instead he is the TV spruiker for Coles supermarket where you can “shop where the Masterchef’s shop” – at least when the TV camera’s are rolling.
Today’s challenge appears simple enough. Design a recipe that can be cooked by a home chef within 90 minutes. Helpful advice follows from Curtis. The recipe has to be specific, clear, concise and to the point. It has to be accurate and it has to work. Helpful advice indeed. No wonder he gets to design $10 recipes for families of four which appear in the weekly specials catalogue.
The contestants are sent home to test and write up their recipes. Tomorrow their food will be photographed and the recipes put to the test by home chefs.
All too soon we are back in the Masterchef Kitchen. The home chefs are introduced and instructed to follow the recipes exactly. There will be no elimination today, but we are told the winner will get a big advantage for tomorrow night.
It quickly becomes apparent there are some serious problems with some of these recipes. Particularly Dani’s. Her dish is an Asian Noodle Soup With Pork Belly. After prepping the pork the recipe instructs cooking for 70 minutes, resting for 10-20 minutes and then cooking for a further 20 minutes. Let’s see …that adds up to 100 – 110 minutes plus prep time. Doesn’t look like there will be much pork in the dish at the end of 90 minutes. There will however be plenty of soup. Her recipe calls for four litres of water. Oops…. It should have been only two litres. As Dani laughingly explains she isn’t very good at maths!
At this point we consider turning off and instead joining the Facebook page set up by one of Dani’s numerous followers:
We tend to agree. Should the unthinkable happen and “Legohead” win, we don’t think too many of her cookbooks will be found under the Christmas tree this year.
The other contestants have difficulties of varying degrees and Michael wins. It’s all a bit of a yawn, intended to pad the series out for another episode. At least Michael got to meet Maggi in the pantry and be given the recipe for tomorrow’s challenge, where thankfully it will be back to serious business.
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