source: twitter
Tonight on Masterchef Matt, Mimi, Trent and Elena compete in a challenge that will see the winner get a fast track pass into finals week. The contestants arrive at the Inglewood Estate in the Napa Valley. Inglewood Estate is a winery. A table of lovely produce is presented to the contestants. Pork, lamb, chicken, grapes, olive oil, sultanas, wine, vegetables and more. The focus of the challenge is all about the grapes today. The winner of today’s challenge will go straight through to finals week. They need to cook one dish celebrating grapes with only 90 minutes to cook it in.
The contestants get started. They are very impressed with the freshness and the quality of the ingredients they are able to use today. Elena is going to cook a grapes and quail dish with a jus. She is making a grape chutney. Trent is making grilled quail with a cauliflower skordalia with a grape flavoured sauce. Mimi is making a dessert today. She is making a red wine and grape sorbet with a cake and some blue cheese cream. Matt Preston approaches Mimi and tells her that red wine sorbet might be difficult. Matt is making a roasted lamb rack with a chicken and mushroom jus. The judges are concerned that Matt’s dish does not have enough grapes in it. Matt changes his jus from a mushroom one to one filled with red wine and some of the dried fruits. Trent is making his skordalia but he is having trouble with the texture of it. Mimi is really happy with how her sorbet has set. She now has to make her cake and the blue cheese cream. Elena has dehydrated her grape vine leaves and is going to put some lavender in her goats cheese. Gary and George aren’t sure about the use of the lavender but Elena decides to stick with her idea anyways. Trent finally gets his skordalia consistency right. Matt finally finishes frenching his lamb rack and puts it into a hot pan. Matt is hoping that his lamb will cook in time, he takes it out of the oven and checks it but it’s still not ready. Mimi takes her sorbet out of the moulds but discovers it’s not set. The contestants start plating up their dishes. Matt takes his lamb out of the oven and it’s underdone. He puts it into a hot pan to try and get it done on time. Mimi successfully gets her sorbet out of the mould and she is very happy with herself. Time is up!
It’s time for the judges to taste the dishes. Trent is up first. He has made grilled quail with cauliflower skordalia and sauce. The judges are impressed with how Trent’s dish looks. The judges taste the dish. Gary says the quail was beautifully cooked. George loves the sauce. Matt says the flavours are well balanced. He says it is a sophisticated plate of food. Next up is Matt. He has made roasted lamb rack with witlof, celeriac puree and a jus. The judges are also impressed with how his dish looks. They cut open Matt’s lamb and comment that it is cooked perfectly. They taste the dish. Matt loves the lamb and gravy. Gary agrees with Matt and comments that the witlof was cooked perfectly as well. George says the sauce was all about the grapes. Next up is Mimi. She has made a red wine sorbet with a red wine soaked cake and a blue cheese cream. The judges taste her dish. Matt says the dessert celebrates the wine from this winery. Gary says she has smashed this dish and it’s a clever dish. Finally it’s Elena’s turn. She has made quail, grapes and goats cheese. The judges love the way the dish looks especially the frenching of the quail bones. They taste the dish. The judges love it. Gary comments how bloody good is that. George says it is food heaven. Gary says it is a double thumbs up dish for him. Matt says its as good as any other dish he has eaten in California professional or amateur.
It’s time to find out who will win the spot into the Masterchef finals. The judges enjoyed all of the dishes but one dish stood out above the rest. The winner today who will go through to the finals is Elena.
source: twitter