Masterchef South Africa: Magical mushrooms create mayhem

It ended in blood, sweat and tears on the latest episode of ‘Masterchef South Africa’ season five. Take a look…

Magical mushrooms create mayhem on 'Masterchef South Africa'. Image: supplied

The latest episode of Masterchef South Africa literally saw blood, sweat and tears as the contestants compete for the R1 million prize pot.

MAGICAL MUSHROOMS CREATE MAYHEM ON ‘MASTERCHEF SOUTH AFRICA’

In the sprint to the MasterChef South Africa finale in November, the challenges have become much more intense for the remaining contestants, cooking off to win the prize pot of R1 million. However, the latest episode literally resulted in blood, sweat and tears.

MasterChef South Africa’s youngest contestant, 20-year-old Bridget Mangwandi was medically evacuated after slashing her thumb with a super sharp knife. Besides Bridget’s severe injury and the blood spatter on the floor, some of the home cooks struggled with the kitchen equipment and huffed and puffed to get the job done in the race against the clock.

A fan favourite, charismatic Nash Zwambila, broke MasterChef’s golden rule by not plating a complete meal. His lousy time management resulted in a sad elimination.

WHO WAS THE GUEST JUDGE THIS WEEK?

This week’s guest judge was Chef Moses Moloi. He was named the best chef in the country at the 2024 South African Restaurant Awards, set the culinary bar exceptionally high. The “mushroom whisperer” instructed the home cooks to replicate his complex “Enchanted Forest Elegance” dish—mushroom ragu with king oyster, shiitake, and butter mushrooms.

The food guru’s masterpiece comprised eleven elements that required immaculate execution and advanced technical skills to bring about the intended flavour mix. Luckily, the contestants had access to his recipe. However, it spanned an overwhelming eight pages.

While Durban-based home cook Chanel Brink was on the gantry, immune from elimination after winning the previous round, the seven contestants on the kitchen floor realised that pulling off this recipe within a two-and-a-half hour time limit would be a mammoth task.

After the judges had sampled the dishes Nabila was chosen as the challenge winner. But Lona, Nash and Naledi received terrible news. They were this week’s bottom three.

Ultimately, Nash was eliminated. The three elements he served the judges were delicious, but not serving all the food he prepared with so much effort was inexcusable.

A disappointed Justine started crying when saying their goodbyes, and Zola and some contestants had to wipe away the tears, too.

MasterChef South Africa Season season five airs on S3 (formerly SABC3) on Saturdays at 19:00. The rebroadcasts are on SABC 2 on Sundays at 18:30 and S3 on Wednesdays at 18:00.