Masterchef California Week 1

source: twitter

Tonight on Masterchef the contestants and judges arrive in San Fransisco California. Tonight the contestants get to compete in a mystery box challenge and an invention test. It’s no ordinary mystery box challenge as the contestants get to choose the ingredients of the mystery box. Each contestant gets to go to the shops and buy one ingredient to add to the mystery box. Harry and Brett head towards the seafood shops. Trent and Elise head to the farmer’s market for their ingredients. Trent picks a citrus fruit and Elise chooses a vegetable. Mimi and Matt head towards a chocolate shop. Matt chooses some chocolate. Elena heads towards a deli.

The contestants all head down to the Fisherman’s Wharf where all of the Masterchef cooking stations are set up for the contestants. The judges reveal the mystery box ingredients. It has crab, beef short ribs, fennel pollen, goats milk cheese, 100% chocolate, tangelos and golden beets.

The contestants have 60 minutes to cook a dish and they will be tasting all of the dishes. The winner gets a huge advantage in the next round. Time begins.

Matt is cooking some Korean ribs with fennel pollen salt and some flat breads with a shaving of the chocolate. Trent is making a chocolate mousse and a tangelo granita. Trent is a little worried as the 100% chocolate is not melting down properly. He decides to add a little milk and whipped cream to the chocolate and it works out perfectly. Elise is making a chocolate brownie with a tangelo and golden beets sorbet. Harry is making a twist on eggs benedict, he is making a crab benedict. Elena is making a crab and beetroot salad. Brett is making a fennel pollen ravioli stuffed with a goats cheese and lemon zest. Elise is also having trouble melting down the 100% chocolate. She persists with her recipe and puts the brownies into the oven. Elise opens the oven and her brownies have not worked. They looked like chocolate but did not taste like chocolate, she was so disappointed that she was almost in tears. She needs to think of something else to make. Elise ends up in tears and George gives her a pep talk and a hug. She is still happy with her sorbet so she needs to think of what else she can add to the dish. She is going to make a crumb and some candied beets to go with the sorbet. Elena starts plating up her dish. Trent is happy with his dish but wants another element for his dish, he decides to make a sponge. Matt has plated up his “street food”, he hopes the judges will be happy with what he has produced even if it is not pretty. Time is up!

The judges get to taste the dishes. The first dish they taste belongs to Elena, she has made a crab and beet salad. They taste her dish. Gary says the dish is very clean and fresh. George says he loves it, he has no criticism. Next up is Elise. She has made a golden beet and tangelo sorbet with a citrus crumb. Gary likes the idea of the sorbet and says it delivers in its flavours. Trent is up next. He has made a smoky chocolate mousse, tangelo granita and a sponge. The judges taste it. George loves the smoked mousse. Matt says the problem is that the sponge is not great. Next up is Mimi. She has made gilled beef, fennel pollen crackers and beets. George really likes it. Brett is next with his goats cheese ravioli and crab meet. George says it is delicious but dominates the crab. Harry is next with his crab benedict. Gary says it’s clever, fun and the crab is perfectly cooked. Matt is up next. He has made grilled ribs, a beetroot and tangelo relish, goats cheese and a flat bread. The judges taste the dish and absolutely love it. Matt Preston said it is a smash, well done!

Now it’s time to find out who has won the advantage. It is Matt. Suddenly a group of farmers walk in carrying loads of their produce. They display the beautiful produce on a large table. There is beef, citrus fruits, fish and seafood, eggs, cheeses, mushrooms, vegetables, walnuts, olive oil, apples and more.

Matt gets to choose any of these ingredients to be the core ingredient in the invention test. He chooses the beef. They have 60 minutes to cook their dish and can choose to use any of the other ingredients but beef has to be the hero. The winner will win the advantage of being fast tracked into finals week.

Elena is going to make a borscht style sauce for her dish using the beetroot. Matt is going to make a beef carpaccio. Trent is making a spliced walnut butter sirloin. Elise is making steak with smoked leeks with a sauce. The judges go up to Elena’s bench and are not happy with her idea for a borscht style sauce, they say they don’t get it and that her sauce looks mucky and like a witches brew at the moment. She decides to strain the sediment off the sauce and keeps cooking it. Harry is cooking a sous vide steak with thyme and butter and he is making some charred vegetables and puree. Brett is cooking a steak with a mushroom sauce and a puree. Mimi is making a walnut crusted rib eye, a walnut puree and a pesto. Matt decides to make some parsnip chips to add to his dish. Mimi takes her beef out of the oven and she is worried it is overcooked. She cuts into the meat. The meat is cooked medium when she really would have liked it to be medium-rare. She hopes to make all of her other elements outstanding. Elena is still working on her borscht inspired sauce. Matt decides the final element of his dish will be a smoked egg yolk. The contestants begin plating up their dishes. Time is up.

source: twitter

The judges are ready to taste the dishes. Elise is up first. She has made steak with smoked leeks, pickled onions, roasted beets and a jus. The judges taste the dish. Matt says the beef looks like it is cooked perfectly good. Gary loves the sauce and thinks the garnishes are clever. Trent is up next. He has made a spiced walnut butter sirloin with creamed kale and roasted beets. The judges taste the dish. Gary loves the dish and gets very excited. He says the dish is juicy. Matt says it is great cooking. George says he has cooked from the heart today. Next up is Elena. She has made steak and vegetables with a borscht inspired sauce. The judges taste the dish. Gary says he loves the sauce but is not sure if goes with the other elements on the plate. Matt agrees. Harry is next with his sous vide beef and mushrooms with grilled leek. The judges enjoy the dish. Brett is up next. He has made a grilled rib eye with a smoky parsnip puree. The judges like his dish too. Mimi is up next. She has made a walnut crusted rib eye with some mushrooms and some walnuts. The judges taste the dish. Gary says he doesn’t mind that the beef is cooked medium as it is still quite tender. George says it is great cooking. The final dish belongs to Matt. He has made steak carpaccio with mushrooms and a smoked egg yolk. Gary says it is one the best looking dishes he has seen today. The judges taste the dish. Gary loves the dish, he says its a lovely interpretation of a carpaccio. George says he has respected the ingredients well. Matt Preston was not too sure about the smoked egg yolk on the plate.

The two best dishes today belong to Elise and Trent. The winner of today’s invention test is Trent. He is now the first contestant through to the fast track to the finals challenge.