MasterChef SA: Olympic challenge

2 teams compete to showcase their talent to the SA culinary Olympic team.

Set in the Company’s Garden – The judges explained that The Company’s Garden was originally established in Cape Town in 1652, when the Dutch colonised the Cape, to grow fresh vegetables for the fleets of the Dutch East India Company sailing around the Southern tip of Africa.

“It’s one of the cornerstones of our culinary heritage,” said Andrew, and that was also the theme of this Team Challenge – Benny explained that they wanted the Top 10 to create dishes that would reflect South Africa’s culinary heritage, and pair their dish perfectly with one of the Nederburg “Heritage Heroes” range of wines.

Challenge: Make 10 plates of food with 5 elements for Olympic team
Time: 2 hours

Red Team’s dish and pairing:
Karen announced that the Red Team would go “traditionally South African” with ostrich Carpaccio rolled up with aubergine and goat’s cheese and dipped in sesame seed, as well as ostrich rissoles, which they wanted to pair with a “South African sushi”, using pap instead of rice!

The Red Team selected the Nederburg “Brew Master” Bordeaux blend to accompany their dish, which Karen said should pair well with the ostrich and the accompanying root vegetables.

Blue Team dish and pairing:
Kamini informed Benny that the Blue Team had chosen the Nederburg “Anchorman” Chenin Blanc because they were planning a meal that would be quite Malay-oriented. “So you’ve got kinda spicy, and then you’ve got the sweet aftertaste of the wine,” explained Kamini, who was the beneficiary some weeks earlier of a private MasterClass with Nederburg wine master Razvan Macici.

She explained that the Blue Team was preparing a lamb shank, lamb loin and rack of lamb trio, with a sweet potato purée and aubergine and spicy tamarind yoghurt.

It was an extremely close competition and both plates looked very professional.

Blue Team won with 73% and their reward – a visit to famed Cape Town cake institution, Charly’s Bakery.

The Red Team were very dissapointed and Karen was in floods of tears. Í hate this, I just ant to go home’, she said sadly.

MasterChef South Africa Season 2 is broadcast on
Tuesday and Wednesday nights at 19:30 on M-Net Channel 101