Month: June 2019

Posted in MasterChef Aus Recaps, Season 11, TV Show Recaps

MasterChef Aus S11E45 – Recap

Posted on by felicityfeiner

It’s the first day of week ten, and it’s time for a mystery box and invention test.

But first, here’s today’s Hot Tip.

Congrats to MasterChef for winning a Logie tonight!

Thanks for the Hot Tip, Johnson Leung!

When the contestants come in, Gaz tells them that George isn’t here today, but doesn’t elaborate as to why…

Standard outfits

Matt tells them that the mystery boxes are all surprises. Each box is different, but they’re all ones they’ve cooked with before. They get the same rules and ingredients that applied to their box.

Tessa gets the Sweet Week box of lollies and dessert items from week 8.
Tim gets the dumpling box from week 5.
Simon has the Brisbane ‘cracking’ mystery box from week 6.
Christina has Rick Stein’s box from week 4.
Larissa has the black box from week 2 pressure test.
Nicole has the judges’ favourites mystery box from week 2.
Tati has Nigella’s mystery box from week 3.
Anushka has the best box from week 9.
Derek has the everything box from week 7.

Gaz gives them the overall rules – the top three are tested. The best into immunity, and everyone else into the invention test. As usual, they’ll have 60 minutes.

Time starts and everyone starts cooking. Eventually, it all ends, and the duo of judges choose three dishes to eat.

Simon is first to be tasted with his Brisbane box.

Poached Crab with Peanut Cream and Pickled Longan

Matt and Gaz say it was better than last time, which he won, and the crab worked really well with the flavours.

Next is Larissa with her black box dish.

Poached Marron with Eggplant Puree and Marron Bisque

The judges say it’s beautifully cooked. Gaz calls the puree, “absolutely smashing,” and calls the whole dish, “really beautiful cooking.” Matt says the sauce was delicious and the best dish she’s ever done.

Last but not least is Derek.

Lamb with Leek and Parsnip Puree and Brussels Sprouts

Derek did almost the same dish last time, but added a couple of different things.

From the get go, the judges are excited to eat this one. After tasting it a first time, Matt wants to go back and have some more. Matt says Derek has taken it from simple ingredients to restaurant level.

It’s time for the decision, and Matt says that while all of them were delicious, there was one that just really stood out to them.

Derek’s the winner, and heads upstairs.

Now, to find out about the invention test. Matt tells them to make a dish inspired by a moment in time. They want a story from the flavours on the plate.

They’ll have 60 minutes, the garden and the pantry are open. Top three will join Derek, and bottom three will be with in the pressure test tomorrow, where someone will go home.

Time starts and everyone heads to the pantry.

After grabbing her eggs, Larissa has a quick snack.

ANUSHKA WATCH: Optical distributor, Anushka, seems to have an endless supply of glasses. Today, she’s wearing brown/caramel frames.

Time ends, and it’s ready to eat.

As usual when everyone’s tasted, I’ll take a photo of the ones that have the little logos. We’re getting to the pointy end of the stick, so at this stage, probably everyone will have one. We’ll see.

First up is Simon.

Grilled Asparagus with Smoked Mussels and Mussel Emulsion

His memory is when he first moved with his partner and the ate cheap mussels and salad on the four crossed legs just chatting and hanging out.

Following on from George and Matt’s date last week, Gaz and Matt have a moment.

Gaz says he likes that the personal memory has translated well to MasterChef standards.
Matt does say that the only thing uncomfortable with the dish was watching Gaz eat.

Next is Nicole.

Five Spice Duck with Spring Onion Pancake and Plum and Hoisin Sauce

Her memory is when she stopped loving junk food and started loving real food. She ate a ton of peking duck pancakes with her brother in China.

Gaz talks about the best way to eat peking duck, and says she’s missing layers and elements. Matt says she didn’t think about how it would be eaten, and it’s a bit of a missed opportunity.

Tim’s up next.

Paella

Gaz says it’s hard to get excited and calls it a bit pedestrian.

Next is Tessa.

Miang Kham

Her memory is when she was in Thailand and a woman made this and it was delicious, so she wanted to recreate it.

Gaz says he’s not salavating and he should to want to eat more.

Tati.

Chicken and Mushroom Noodles

Gaz says it needs more effort and lateral thinking. He says he understands that it’s an emotional dish, but he doesn’t feel the emotions.

Up is Larissa.

Her memory was her childhood, raised on a peach farm and her earliest memories are of eating peaches.

Gaz says he likes it.
Matt likes that she brings a story of peach and the dish is very peach-y.

It’s Anushka’s turn.

Winter Cottage

Her memory is Christmas parties with her uncles with all her cousins. She’s got an Australian twist – the coconut.

Gaz says it doesn’t look very good. He says there are so many things she could do to make this go from looking average to a totally different arena.
He calls the sauce the hero of the dish and then says he doesn’t like the dessert.

Finally, Christina.

Pork Larb

Her memory is her first date with her partner. He arranged a special cooking class and they chose this dish.

The judges cram it down their throats and call it a great dish.

It’s time for the results.

Those joining Derek in the immunity challenge are Simon, Larissa, and Christina.

The bottom three, headed to the pressure cook tomorrow is Tim, Tati and Anushka. One of them will be heading home.

Do I agree with this decision? No.
Do I know who will be going home? Yes.
I would pretty much bet everything that Tim will end up being safe, and either Tati or Anushka will be eliminated.
How do I know this? The favouritism that MasterChef continues to show towards Tim.
Check out my rant post for further analysis and details (link below, opens in a new tab).

As usual, this recap was written as I watched the episode, so there will be spelling and grammar mistakes.

I posted a MasterChef rant about Sandeep, and you can read it here. I also did a bigger rant about the rest of the season, and you can read that here.

If you have a Hot Tip, tweet me, leave a comment, or head over to my contact page, and let me know what’s good.

To catch up on this episode, or other MasterChef eps you’ve missed, head over to southhemitv.com. If you want to watch The Super Switch, southhemitv.com also has you covered, and I’ve got the recaps here.

Enjoy my recaps? Consider buying me a coffee.

Posted in Writing

MasterChef Aus S11 – Rant

Posted on by felicityfeiner

While I’ve enjoyed a lot of MasterChef Australia this season, there are a few things that have really irked me. This is going to be long.

These are all things that have stood out to me. I’m open to discussion on this, and welcome comments.

Here are some of the things.

Obvious favouritism and subsequent exclusions

Tim

In the first episode, Tim was the first contestant to be tasted by the trio of judges and was first to receive an apron.

When Tim first walked in, George said he looked familiar, and then realised it’s because he “looks like Prince Harry”. Gaz didn’t see it, Matt just gave George a small nod.

Since then, NO-ONE has let it go! There have been so many ads with the one photoshop they did of Tim as Prince Harry.

The only thing Tim and Prince Harry have in common is they’re both ginger men.

The image they continue to use, and a video from the first episode.

There are a few contestants who continuously have long monologues, and Tim is one of them.

On the episode where Walleed was eliminated (addressed later), Tim was quite prominent and received the most airtime.

There was a lot of complaints from fans on Twitter about Tim getting back in. Here are some of the examples.

https://twitter.com/WTAInsideher/status/1138175412675235840
https://twitter.com/IHateLentilSoup/status/1138038038708146176

Of course, not everyone was mad, there were a few excited fans.

Since coming back, Tim hasn’t done anything remarkable or of note.

Abbey

Another MasterChef favourite was Abbey. I was interested in her from the beginning as I thought her history in cooking could be interesting. She provided nonstop monologuing, and it got to the point where I was no longer interested in hearing from her at all. I wasn’t the only one who felt like that.

https://twitter.com/ksquare77/status/1139150717111812098
https://twitter.com/FelicityFeiner/status/1139116925294800896
13 likes, 4 replies – each saying a variant of ‘Yes!!’

Someone said to me they wouldn’t be surprised if MasterChef managed to get her back in the contest, just like they did with Tim…

Exclusions

By giving Tim and Abbey a lot of air time and large monologues, the other contestants continue to have less air time. Twitter widely notices Ben’s lack of airtime, while I have noticed those of diverse backgrounds receive significantly less air time.

For me, Walleed is one of the contestants who received very little air time. Contestants have said that Walleed is a wonderful person, yet we rarely got the chance to learn more about him.

Tati is another contestant who is often without airtime. She continues to have a smile on her face and cooks well enough to be in the top ten, and yet, she’s also rarely gets to monologue.

Another person is Anushka. If she, Tati, Walleed, Ben, and several other contestants were characters on a non-reality TV show, they’d be the minor/supporting characters. It’s for this reason, among others, that I tend to focus more on them in my recaps. The specific section on Anushka’s glasses isn’t just because it’s fun to focus on something that isn’t food.

Walleed’s elimination

The way Walleed’s elimination was handled made me really upset.

Here’s the standard elimination format for this season:

  1. Judges reveal who is safe.
  2. Loser is told why they’re leaving.
  3. Judges thank them for being in the contest, and talk about their highlights
  4. Montage of their food journey.
  5. Loser shakes the judges hands and hugs the other contestants
  6. Loser leaves the kitchen and gives a final wave to everyone before they go.
  7. Loser gets their Where Are They Now?
  8. Judges leave the contestants with one last thing.
  9. End.

Here’s Walleed’s elimination:

  1. Judges reveal who is safe.
  2. Walleed is told why he’s leaving.
  3. Judges tell him that he can win his spot back.
  4. Other losers come into the kitchen.
  5. Redemption challenge commences.
  6. Tim is told he’s back in.
  7. Walleed is told he’s permanently out.
  8. Judges say they’ll see everyone tomorrow.
  9. Current contestants hug the former contestants and hug Tim.
  10. Walleed gets hugs.
  11. Walleed is one of the first contestants to walk out the door, gives a wave back as he does.
  12. Walleed’s Where Are They Now?
  13. Judges leave the contestants with one last thing.
  14. End.

The main distinction between the two is the lack of Walleed time. He didn’t get the chance (on camera, at least) to have a moment with the judges. Walleed didn’t get a montage of his time, and the judges didn’t say anything about his food while he’s been there. Walleed didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to the contestants as the only one walking out of the kitchen that day.

Regardless of the contestant who would have been eliminated that night, I would have been annoyed that they didn’t get their chance. I’m especially salty about Walleed, as he had such limited air time, and it was an excuse to push him out without acknowledging his achievements, and get back their favourite.

The picnic at Hanging Rock challenge

Simon

During this challenge, Anushka was appointed captain. This is the first time that Anushka had a leadership position in the contest.

For a lot of these contestants, if not all, they’ve all done what is expected. Many of the contestants have put off following their passion of cooking, whether by having a career in a path that isn’t creative and/or has nothing to do with cooking, or by raising children.
Without this to sound like shade, they’re generally not very assertive people or show a lot of leadership qualities. When the contestants are put in the leadership position, they’ll often have some difficulties.
Walleed struggled in the Queensland team challenge, and Matt Sinclair gave him a lot of advice and assistance. By the end, he was going really well, and the trio of judges commended him for the result.

Anushka wasn’t given any assistance, as far as we saw, in being a leader. At one point, Simon decided it was his job to take over as the leader.
At the time, I hadn’t really seen what was going on, I often fade out a bit during the montages, but Gaz threw some shade at Anushka, saying something along the lines of, “Finally – a leader.”
The judges started to treat him as though he as the captain, and didn’t offer Anushka any assistance whatsoever in running a team.

At one stage, Tati asks where the bread is.

“The bread is there, in the open your eyes section,” Simon said, pointing at the shelves of pots and pans.

Right at the top, higher than Tati, was the bread. There was no way she would have been able to reach that, and at that height, it’s hard to expect her to have seen it.

Gaz was in the vicinity and laughed and praised the comment.

Something I love about MasterChef is how friendly the contestants are with one another. They form friendships and there’s not drama or backstabbing. They’re just here to pursue their passion.

Hearing this from Simon is disappointing, and hearing Gaz almost encourage it makes it worse. It’s not in the spirit of the other contestants, and doesn’t fit in the feel of the series.

It’s almost as though he as trying to challenge a form of Gordon Ramsey – the one dealing with incompetent “professionals”. But none of these contestants are professionals. Anushka and Tati are 49 year old women who are finally taking a risk and following their food passion.
Simon’s not a professional, and he’s often middle of the pack, so…

The Judges

Picnic at Hanging Rock Challenge

When the judges were walking around and giving advice, they advise the red team to make sure their frittata’s aren’t bland and is flavourful.

Tati was cooking this one, and she really took this on board, making sure it had a lot of flavours.
The criticism the judges had on the frittata was the amount of flavour. They said there was too much. It would be interesting to hear what they would have said about the frittata if they hadn’t given Tati and Anushka this advice.

Misogyny?

During the Sweet Week elimination challenge, in which almost every contestant bar 3 competed, Derek was one of the first to be tasted.

He was asked if he was nervous about the challenge, and he confirmed that he is. Gaz went on to tell him that he doesn’t need to be worried, that he’s a great cook and he deserves the spot he has.

The editing of the pre-tastings conversation between the judges and Anushka and Tati made Gaz out to seem a bit misogynistic. They were asked if they were nervous and they responded similar to Derek. Instead of encouraging them or giving them words of advice, Gaz basically said, “Well, we’ll see how you do.”

Whether or not further discussion took place, the audience was only given this small sample in which they can be seen as incompetent and less deserving of their place in the contest than other contestants.

Coupled with what happened in the Picnic at Hanging Rock challenge, it’s easy to view some of Gaz’ comments as misogynistic.

Of course, I am not calling Gaz misogynistic. I believe it’s a matter of who the favourites are coupled with editing that makes the producer/judge favourites the most palatable for viewers.

Regardless, the show has a certain lack of inequality going on that’s not immediately obvious in most cases.

Indigenous ingredient challenge

This challenge sparked controversy on Twitter, and was something I discussed with family who watch the show.

In a wild choice, MasterChef featured a challenge where Indigenous ingredients were the hero of the dish. The guest chef for this challenge was an expert in the ingredients, however no Indigenous people were involved in the challenge, as far as the viewer is aware. I say this in that the chef was Scottish, and was the only person talking to the contestants about the flavours.

It was hard to speculate on valid reasons why an Indigenous person wasn’t involved, not even to stand with the guest chef and discuss the ingredients with the contestants.

Really, they wouldn’t need to be a chef, even an elder of the local people, or just a local Indigenous person. With the cooking shows on NITV, it’s not as though it would be hard to find an Indigenous Australian chef. A quick google search shows several Indigenous chefs right off the bat.

It was a poor choice to not have an Indigenous voice on a cooking show using Indigenous ingredients. MasterChef is one of the biggest cooking competitions in Australia, and it feels impossible that they were unable to find a single Indigenous person who could have talked about the ingredients.

Sandeep

The major thing regarding Sandeep that irked me was the way he was treated when he had his back injury, and the subsequent treatment before he was eliminated.

Missed the Sandeep rant? Read it here.

Kyle

The backstory for Kyle was that his partner was at home looking after their toddler son while being pregnant with twins.

This really gave me the shits.

Majority of the women, including those who were at the first episode, had put their passion of cooking on hold so as to raise their kids and look after their families.

For the most part, Kyle is already working in hospitality, working as a “brewery sales manager”. He wants to open a microbrewery where people can get food with their beer.
This just feels like one of those career ventures that doesn’t necessarily require MasterChef, more that requires him going to cooking classes or doing some work experience, or opening his own microbrewery and just doing it anyway, maybe hiring a chef.

What really shit me was leaving his heavily pregnant partner. He decided NOW was the time to apply to MasterChef. He continuously said that he was risking not being there for his twins being born, and acknowledged he could be missing a lot.

If that was my partner, I would be so mad. This is a goal that could be put off a year or two, once the kids are born, and there’s a support network set up in a way that it’s feasible to go away for however long to pursue this passion.

Let’s cast our mind back to the first episode. Gina, a 61 year old woman, said being a mother and grandmother is her greatest achievement. She had put off cooking because her husband wasn’t supportive at all. She’d filled in the paperwork to be a chef, but never submitted it because he didn’t want her to.

It’s funny to see such a stark difference in contestant morals. Gina did what was best for her family. Kyle did whatever he wanted, and left his pregnant partner at home with he chance he wouldn’t be back in time for the birth.

But don’t worry. When he was eliminated, his Where Are They Now? revealed he managed to get home in time for his twin daughter’s birth.

To catch up on any MasterChef eps you’ve missed, head over to southhemitv.com. If you want to watch The Super Switch, southhemitv.com also has you covered, and I’ve got the recaps here.

Posted in MasterChef Aus Recaps, Season 11, TV Show Recaps

MasterChef Aus S11E44 – Recap

Posted on by felicityfeiner

Ok, so first of all, I somehow got very confused by the interchangeability of pressure test/elimination and what Gaz meant at the beginning of this week when he said, “No pressure test. Instead there will be a little challenge and the winner will be in the immunity.”

In my mind, this meant no elimination challenge this week, everyone’s safe. So I was very confused when at the end of last episode, the promo for this one at everyone on black, because I’m thinking everyone’s safe for the rest of the week.

Unbeknownst to me, pressure test and elimination are not interchangeable, and while I was thinking this episode was the little challenge, it was actually the Indigenous ingredients challenge of Monday, ep 41.

TL;DR: Tonight is indeed an elimination, what a fool I am.

The losers of yesterday’s team challenge, Tati, Anushka, Larissa, Ben and Simon, are up for elimination. It’s the last night of Best of the Best Week, and Massimo Bottura is coming in as the guest chef.

The contestants come in and straight away, it’s time to introduce Massimo.

Hot Tip: Thank you Johnson Leung for this great info!

He tells them about his current project – stopping food waste and feeding the hungry.

Matt tells the contestants that eight billion dollars a year in Australia is thrown away.

Wheeling out a table, George tells them what they’re cooking. This is the most thrown out foods in Australia. They’ve got milk right on the edge of use by, bananas in all stages, bread that’s getting to stale, and lettuce that’s wilting.

Gaz gives them the rules – 75 minutes to cook, hero-ing one of the ingredients. The garden is in play, and the pantry is open. Gaz advises them not to go for a lobster, and to keep it theme appropriate.

Time starts, and everyone runs off to start getting some stuff happening.

Ben grabs a duck and starts cutting it up. Upstairs, Tim says he’s already worried, because duck is a bit of a luxury item and he doesn’t think it fits the theme.

Tati starts to cry about how beautiful the project is and he comes around and hugs her.

ANUSHKA WATCH: Fan (me) favourite, Anushka, the 49 year old optical distributor, has chosen to wear her traditional elimination glasses.

A blessing

Massimo comes around and advises Anushka to cook with the bananas but she tells him she doesn’t like bananas and never cooks them so she has no idea how to, and it’s not something she wastes because she doesn’t buy them.

The judges come around and talk to Ben to find out what he’s up to. The see he’s chosen duck and they’re pretty upset. It’s a ‘waste not want not’ challenge, and they’re mad that he’s recklessly using an expensive protein
“I’ve used the neck, the wings, the breast,” Ben tries to defend himself.
“Where’s the rest of it?” Gaz asks.
“In the fridge,” Ben says.

George and Massimo open the fridge to see what’s left.

Needless to say, they were not impressed at ALL.
Ben decides to try and use as much of it as possible to try and redeem himself. Seeing how everyone else is currently going, something big will have to happen for him to not go home.

Oof, it’s the final few minutes, and Anushka realises she’s created a lot of waste, and now she’s worried that might send her home.

When time ends, Anushka starts to cry.

It’s time for the tasting, and I’m worried for Ben and Anushka at the moment.

First to be tasted is Tati.

They list all the things she used, and they seem pretty happy with that.

The first thing said is Massimo, “I love it.”

Each chef says things they like, and Gaz says this is how leftovers should be treated.

Next up is Anushka.

All round, the judges don’t really like it.
George says she’s so worried about the concept that she’s lost the flavour.
“I think she’s in trouble,” Matt says.

Simon is next.

Caesar Salad

Gaz likes that he’s taken very few from the pantry, just the egg, really.

They call it delicious, and George says he’s met the brief in every way.

It’s Larissa next.

Massimo says this is the most complex dish so far.
Each judge loves the flavours.

Last is Ben.

The judges asked how he thought he did. Ben said food wise, well, concept wise, he struggled.

To add insult to injury, the duck is undercooked and rubbery.

It’s result time. Matt tells Tati, Simon and Larissa they had the best food, and they’re safe.

Anushka and Ben are left. Unfortunately, Ben just didn’t get the concept and the flavours weren’t there, so he’s out.

Where are they now? Ben is planning on running a taco stand. He’s also doing pop up stalls of seasonal produce.

As usual, this recap was written as I watched the episode, so there will be spelling and grammar mistakes.

I posted a MasterChef rant about Sandeep, and you can read it here.

If you have a Hot Tip, tweet me, leave a comment, or head over to my contact page, and let me know what’s good.

To catch up on this episode, or other MasterChef eps you’ve missed, head over to southhemitv.com. If you want to watch The Super Switch, southhemitv.com also has you covered, and I’ve got the recaps here.

Enjoy my recaps? Consider buying me a coffee.

Posted in Season 1, The Super Switch Aus

The Super Switch Aus S01E04 – Recap

Posted on by felicityfeiner

So at the end of last week’s episode, Marcus was upset because the rest of his house was like, “Dude, you’re always joking around and taking it too far. We want to have a serious conversation and not deal with your dumb jokes,” and he did NOT like that one bit, and decided to dramatically leave.

Marcus packed his bags and was on the phone to triple zero when he walked out, while everyone is like, “We literally just told you your jokes are shit, and this is probably the worst yet. Pls stop.”

So he went outside and was calling an uber. Lachlan, the guys who’s “over protective” but is more ‘early signs of domestic violence’, decided to go out and talk with him.

The whole thing ended rather anti-climatically.

Meanwhile in the house, everyone’s talking about how bad his jokes are, and Ro is like, “Well he said he’ll pack a suitcase and leave his girl’s place when she’s mad, so maybe this is just what he does.”

When she says that, the whole vibe goes from, “Ooh dramatic boy, dumb boy” to, “Actually this is really sad, and maybe this is a whole bigger thing that needs to be discussed in therapy.”

He decides to continue the experiment and stay with Ro.

So that was the whole drama of that.

Here’s the deets of who’s were, because it’s been a week.

Ben and Christie (swapped with Tyler and Olga).

Justin and Neesha (swapped with Lachlan and Miranda).

Kendrick and Romina (swapped with Aimee and Marcus).

The beach mansion: Ben, Olga, Justin, Miranda, Kendrick and Aimee.
The city mansion: Neesha, Lachlan, Christie, Tyler, Romina and Marcus.

This episode focuses on two on one therapy sessions – so the fake couple and the house therapist – and a date. The fake couples are doing something their real partners wouldn’t really want to do, and just doing something different.

The city mansion are doing dates, and the beach mansion are doing therapy.

The dates are REALLY weird. To be fair, none of them have been like normal so far.

Olga takes Ben to do a funny photo shoot.

During the date, Ben talks about wanting to leave because he’s having a hard time not being with his girl.

Nonetheless, they have a great time. It’s funny to watch, but on the same hand, I could probably have lived the rest of my life having not seen his bum?

Meanwhile, Tyler and Christie are in therapy, and they’re talking about how he’s guarded because he’s been cheated on a lot. It really puts the, “there are other fish in the sea” comment into better context. That was… two episodes ago?

Miranda and Justin are also on a date today. They’re going to a hot tub/spring kinda thing.

Miranda is having a hard time because she’s thinking about Lachlan. Last time in therapy, everyone agreed that Lachlan has huge issues, and everyone agrees that this is not healthy. She keeps going, “No he’s caring,” and everyone’s like, “Uh, no… this is severe jealousy, and maybe some trust issues, but regardless, this isn’t healthy.

Their real partners, Neesh and Lachlan, are in therapy.

Lachlan agrees the issue is with him. The therapist gets them to do some tapping to calm down. Neesh suggests they should do some tapping to indicate who they’re irritated with in the house. Riiiiight…

Miranda and Justin head to therapy as well. It’s not very interesting at all, except that Miranda is upset that everyone doesn’t like her relationship with Lachlan.
It’s kinda hard to see her being defensive and supporting him when it’s like he’s a dick. The therapist says that his behaviour could get dangerous.

Anyway, Marcus and Ro do body paint because Marcus has intimacy issues and he thinks this will help.

Marcus is getting painted like a gladiator and Ro is going like the aliens from Avatar.

Here are the results:

Aimee and Kendrick are in therapy together, and Aimee’s like, “I don’t feel close to Marcus.” It’s pretty sad, but what’s sadder is that she and Ken are wearing double denim. Like, it’s 2019. I know denim jackets are great, but not with jeans. Not now.

Ken decides to make Aimee dance, but it’s not for the date. She doesn’t seem to really enjoy it, because she’s not a dancer and forgot like every step.

When it’s time for Ben to go to therapy, he’s having a super hard time, and he’s not sure he can do it.

So, Tyler and Christie go on a date, and I’m not sure about it. It sounds kinda fun, but also like oof.

This is the third date of the day where the couples are stripping to their swim wear.

Ok, so Tyler chose the date, but then also says he hates the cold and moved from Canada to get away from it. ???

Ben isn’t coping like at all with being away from Christie, and the rest of the house can see it as well. He thinks he’s made a mistake in taking this experiment on when he could have chosen a different way to do so.
He doesn’t see this going well, and he’s worried his relationship will end. Ben’s afraid that she won’t want to be with him at the end. Oof, the anxiety is high here.

The cliffhanger of the night is this: Will Ben stay on for the rest of the experiment?

As usual, I write my recaps as I watch the episode, so there will be spelling and grammar mistakes.

The Super Switch will be back next Wednesday. In the meantime, why don’t you check out some MasterChef?

You can watch all The Super Switch episodes over at southhemitv.com, as well as catch up on this seasons MasterChef.

Enjoy my recaps? Consider buying me a coffee.

Posted in MasterChef Aus Recaps, Season 11, TV Show Recaps

MasterChef Aus S11E43 – Recap

Posted on by felicityfeiner

After Tessa failed to snag her third immunity pin last night, the contestants are excited for another challenge. Today is a team challenge.

Oh praise be, the bottom bar is gone from the episode!

When the contestants arrive in the garden, they notice lights have been set up, and wonder what’s going on.

They walk in to see the kitchen set up differently to usual.

Waiting at the front is the judges, standing in front of a table with four ingredients.

Gaz dressed in chef whites, and George and Matt looking pretty usual.

Matt introduces the day, telling them they’ll be cooking for the 40 best diners they could get. Everyone’s a bit confused as to what that means and who will be turning up.

“Today, you’ll be cooking with some of the best you’ll ever cook with. These are four of the best ingredients anywhere in the world,” Matt says, before introducing the dishes.

So the first ingredient is a cheese from Victoria. it’s 50/50 goats milk and cows milk cheese.
Second is coral trout from Northern Territory.
Third is Wagu beef from South Australia
Finally from New South Wales, golden delicious apples.

Each ingredient must be the hero of their own dishes, so it’s a four course menu.

George walks around with a sack getting everyone in their teams of five.

Green team: Christina (captain), Nicole, Tessa, Derek and Tim.

Yellow team: Larissa (captain), Simon, Ben, Anushka and Tati.

George gives them the rules. They’ll make four courses and each team will serve 20 people, so a total of 40 diners. They’ll have two and a half hours to prep before the first dish goes out for service. Gaz will be working in the kitchen with them and work at the pass. This leaves George and Matt to be the judges today.

Everyone starts to run to their benches at the beginning of time, and the start of montage.

ANUSHKA WATCH: One of my favourites, Anushka, the 49 year old optical distributor, wears a different pair of glasses each episode. Today, she’s wearing a brown/cream frames.

Gaz comes around to look at the dishes. He’s found that Tim has just chopped ingredients and thrown them to make a jus, but it’s not good enough. He says to take the skin off the onions and to cut the size down. They’re serving 20, not 100.
Then, Gaz cuts down a few bits and pieces and goes, “This, good.” He points at what Tim made. “That, rubbish.”

The diners start to arrive and find their seats on one of the two tables.

It’s only when George and Matt go out to talk to them, that I realise he’s got glasses hanging on his jacket???

Maybe he’s jealous of Gaz wearing glasses this season

George and Matt welcome the diners, and tell them their loved ones are cooking for them right now. Matt says he’s sure they’ll see a huge jump from the food they were serving at home, to what they’re serving now.

Meanwhile inside, Gaz tells the contestants that the diners are all seated, and they have 30 minutes until service begins.

Oh, actually, the glasses might be a real thing. Johnson Leung sent through a Hot Tip about George.

Thanks for the tip!

It’s almost time to serve, and Gaz tells Larissa and Christina to get ready to start service. Christina and Larissa need to get the pass set up properly.

Ben and Anushka serve the first four plates.

They walk outside and see their family and friends.

Anushka sees her son, daughter, and husband. She’s very emotional seeing them.
“I just want to sit down with them and share a meal with them. I don’t know how I’ll be able to get back in the kitchen,” she says.

She comes back into the kitchen and hugs Gary before crying on the bench. Everyone’s very emotional, and Tati begins to cry a bit. Everyone serves the last of the food, leaving Gaz alone in the kitchen.

It’s quite heartwarming to see.

While everyone’s excited to see their family and friends, Matt and George enjoy a romantic dinner.

First to be tasted is the green team.

They really enjoy it. Not a bad thing to say.

Yellow serve their entree.

“Interesting dish,” Matt starts, before saying it was delicious.
George calls it all a great combination of flavour.

Anushka is having a very hard time keeping it together and keeps crying, so Larissa gives her a few moments to get herself together before resuming the cook.

It’s time for the next course.

Green serves first.

Straight away, Matt calls it restaurant quality and George says it’s what they’re eating finale week.

“You know what? If you and I were on a date and you picked the restaurant, right now, I’d give you a big hug,” George says, and Matt laughs.

Up next is Green.

They love the look and the crunch of the skin.

Both Matt and George enjoy it and say Tati has stepped up her game, and this is what they were waiting for from her

They’re getting ready for their third dish. Derek isn’t caramalising the apples for the fourth dish, but poached them in the apple cider. Gaz kinda calls him out for it and Derek’s worried. He went with his intuition, and so he’s a bit worried now.

Green serve dish three first.

Again, they super love it, and love the dish.

Yellow serve their dish.

The first thing Matt says is, “Oh dear.”
“Yeah, I’m not a fan of this,” George says.
Matt says that with a fatty meat like this, you want it crispy, so they’ll see how it goes.

Once they eat, Matt says the califlower is great, but says it’s not great. The way it’s sliced cools it down, which means the fat leaves a taste and it’s there. I don’t know what they’re overly talking about, I’m not a chef.
But the take away is this is the worst dish so far, so it’s put yellow behind a little bit.

It’s time for the last dish. Derek’s getting everything ready, and doing a fab job.

Muscles.

It’s time for the dessert, and again, green serve first.

Matt says George has more fresh apple, and it looks better than his.

After tasting, Matt says the cinnamon is too strong and you wouldn’t pick this as an apple hero-ing dish.

It’s time to try yellow teams.

Matt loves the look of this one, just as much as the trout.

George then initiates this:

He’s starting to take this idea of them on a date a bit too far… let’s check AO3 for some fan fic of them.

They love this one, much more than the green dessert. They say the yellow team has come back strong.

Anushka’s husband said she’s stepped up her desserts a lot and he’s very proud.

Service ends, and it’s time for the results.

Matt says one team had hit after hit, and one had three hits and a miss. The hit after hit?

The green team.

George tells them that tomorrow is a day they’ll remember forever, and tells them it’ll be huge.

Tomorrow’s an elimination. Ummm at the beginning of the week they said there wouldn’t be an elimination? Well, the yellow team are dressed in black, so we’ll see what happens…

As usual, this recap was written as I watched the episode, so there will be spelling and grammar mistakes.

I posted a MasterChef rant about Sandeep, and you can read it here.

If you have a Hot Tip, tweet me, leave a comment, or head over to my contact page, and let me know what’s good.

To catch up on this episode, or other MasterChef eps you’ve missed, head over to southhemitv.com. If you want to watch The Super Switch, southhemitv.com also has you covered, and I’ve got the recaps here.

Enjoy my recaps? Consider buying me a coffee.

Posted in MasterChef Aus Recaps, Season 11, TV Show Recaps

MasterChef Aus S11E42 – Recap

Posted on by felicityfeiner

It’s the immunity challenge for the Best of the Best Week, and Simon, Nicole and Tessa are hoping to face the guest chef.

Trio of judges, Gaz, George and Matt, with today’s mentor, Billie

I feel like we’ve seen this Matt Preston look before…

Matt introduces today’s special ingredient.

“Nothing – nothing – says extravagance quite like what’s under this cloche,” Matt says, before revealing the dish.

Beluga caviar

Matt lets the three contestants taste the caviar and how to eat it.

“A kilo of this caviar, $9,000 per kilo,” he tells them.

George reminds them of the stakes. He tells them they have 60 minutes, with an open pantry and the garden in play. George reminds them not to just feature the caviar – hero it.

Both time and montage starts, and the contestants head to the pantry.

ANUSHKA WATCH: Anushka, the 49 year old optical distributor who seems to have an endless supply of frames, is wearing black glasses today. Unusually for her, Anushka has put her hair down. She’s wearing a nice green blouse.

Ah look! Ben and Derek!

The montage isn’t the most interesting. No-one has any dramas, and it’s all well and good.

Time ends, and Tessa starts to cry because it’s good? I don’t know.

First to taste is Nicole.

‘and Caviar’

They boys love it. Billie doesn’t look as impressed, but she never does, so this could go either way with her.
Matt says he’s almost at the point of pure pleasure, as he’s close to crying. He bangs his cutlery on the table.
They love that the buns are still a bit warm while everything else is cold.

Next is Tessa.

‘and Caviar Blah Blanc’

Tessa says she just really wants to do well which is why she was emotional.
Gaz bangs spoons on the table as well, but four, so as to one up Matt.
George says she’s treated the caviar with respect.
“Unbelievable,” Billie says.
Matt says it’s sophisticated enough to be in a french restaurant.

Finally, Simon.

Gaz initially called him stingy at the caviar, before they bit it in half and found more.
To one up both Gaz and Matt, George pulls out a really big spoon and bangs it on the table. This is funny, but also like why?

Overall, the judges call the best dishes yet, and possibly in the top 20 of the series, not just season.

They go through and say what they loved about each. The trio of judges all choose someone else, leaving Billie to make the choice.
She’s feelin’ a lot less awkward today, which is fab.
Billie chooses Tessa to compete for the pin, and helps her put on her jacket.

Matt introduces the chef of the day.
It’s Phil Wood.

It’s the usual immunity rules – 60 mins for the guest, 75 for the contestant. Blind tasting, the guest doesn’t know what the key ingredient is until it’s time to cook. Open pantry, garden in play.

The judges reveal the options for Tessa to choose.

I’m really not feeling the constant bar at the bottom, but I digress.

She decides on beef and onion.

Billie starts the time and the montage.

It’s generally a chill montage. Phil is very nice.

With a few minutes left, Tessa’s reduction split. She manages to save it just in time. As the last few seconds count down, Phil comes over to look at Tessa’s dish.

Time ends, and it’s time to taste.

First is Tessa.

‘and Red Wine Reduction’

They love it overall. Gaz says he doubts it’s Tessa’s.

Finally, Phil.

‘with Crab and Onion Curry’

Gaz says he knows exactly which dish is which.
None of the judges have anything bad to say about it, and absolutely love it. Phil stacked the elements so they get a bit of each coming through all the time.
“It’s just delicious cooking,” George says.

Gaz says both those dishes could come out of Phil’s kitchen.

It’s time for the decision.

Tessa’s scores: Gaz 9. George 9. Matt 9. Total 27.

Phil’s scores: Gaz 10. George 10. Matt 10. Total 30.

That means Tessa doesn’t get the pin tonight.

“When I saw it, I thought it was restaurant quality,” Phil says. “And if you need a job once this is over…”

Aw that’s nice.

As usual, this recap was written as I watched the episode, so there will be spelling and grammar mistakes.

I posted a MasterChef rant about Sandeep, and you can read it here.

If you have a Hot Tip, tweet me, leave a comment, or head over to my contact page, and let me know what’s good.

To catch up on this episode, or other MasterChef eps you’ve missed, head over to southhemitv.com. If you want to watch The Super Switch, southhemitv.com also has you covered, and I’ve got the recaps here.

Enjoy my recaps? Consider buying me a coffee.

Posted in MasterChef Aus Recaps, Season 11, TV Show Recaps

MasterChef S11E41 – Recap

Posted on by felicityfeiner

It’s day two of Best of the Best Week. Yesterday, Nicole and Simon went straight to immunity, and Gaz told us there was no elimination challenge this week.

Trio of judges, Gaz, George and Matt

When the contestants arrive today, Gaz tells them that the trio of judges are only looking for the to dish, which will join the two upstairs.

Matt gets straight in and tells them about who the guest chef is.

It’s Australian chef, Jock Zonfrillo, who uses Indigenous ingredients.

Each contestant chooses a hidden ingredient and that’s what they’ve got. They stand in a line in front of the hidden ingredients, and Jock reveals each ingredient to each contestant. He gives them a bit of an idea as to what kind of dish this could be, as well as the type of flavour.

First is Christina who has a pepper.
Next is Ben with white currants.
Anushka is up (Anushka Watch soon), and has lilly pillys.
Up is Tati with aniseed myrtle.
Tessa has native lemon grass.
Next is Derek with long yams.
Larissa has lemon scented tea tree.
Finally, Tim has native basil.

Gaz gives them a run down. They’ll have 75 minutes to make a dish featuring their Indigenous ingredients. Both the pantry and the garden are open. All dishes will be tasted, but only one will go to immunity.

Jock starts the time, and montage begins.

ANUSHKA WATCH: Anushka, the 49 year old optical distributor, always matches her glasses to her outfit. How many frames does she have? Who knows. But today she’s wearing her yellow glasses with her yellow shirt.

We’ve seen these bad boys before, but they’re always a winner

Meanwhile on Twitter, some people seem to be upset that despite using Indigenous ingredients, as far as the viewer is aware, there is no Indigenous people talking about it, teaching the contestants about it, etc.

https://twitter.com/ProofRabbit/status/1143113320179748867

Bar that last tweet, it doesn’t look like anyone has come to the defence of the lack of Indigenous people in this episode. If you have any info, like an article, or want to voice your opinion whether it’s from an Indigenous perspective or otherwise, leave a comment or tweet me.

Have I been talking about the twitter drama to fill the montage void? Maybe a bit.

Oh, also, Sandeep told me he’s working on a website at the moment and should be up mid July, so get pumped for that!

Anyway, time has ended and so has the montage.

I’m not sure how the tasting will go today, but each dish that gets the little logo and what the dish is will be put up.

First to taste is Ben.

White currants was his ingredient
‘and Macadamia Butter’

Jock tells him there’s a lot of texture, which is nice. The scallops are cooked perfectly. But he feels like the currants are a bit lost.
Gaz says he loves that Ben has stretched himself, but also says the flavours are a little bit out of balance.

Next is Anushka.

Her ingredient was Lilly Pilly

“Are we gonna love it?” George asks her.
“I’m not sure, I’m here to find out.”
She’s such a cutie!
George calls it very sweet – too much so. Jock says it’s a bit unbalanced.

Next is Tati.

Her ingredient was the aniseed myrtle

Jock says the balance is a bit off, and her meat is a bit blue.

Up is Tim.

His ingredient was native basi

Matt says it’s super salty.

Not as salty as me after Sandeep and Walleed’s elimination 😉

Christina’s next

Dorrigo pepper is Christina’s ingredient.

Matt and Jock call it delicious.

Next is Tessa.

Tessa had lemongrass.

Jock said he loves it, and loves the lemongrass flavour.
George says she’s cooked it so well.
Calling it clever, Matt says the flavours were very well done.
“Ditto,” Gaz says. “Bloody good job, Tessa.”

My boi Derek is up.

Derek had long yams.
Bottom says, ‘and Red Wine Sauce’

Matt tells him he’s lucky they’re not looking for the worst. He does say that Derek used the yams well, but the rest of the dish was a problem.
George says he missed the mark, but should be proud.

Derek walks away, tears welling in his eyes.
Standing in front of everyone, George drops what he’s got and says to the other judges, “I’ve got to talk to him.”

Finally, Larissa.

Her ingredient was the lemon scented tea tree

Jock really wanted savoury, and even advise she didn’t do a dessert. Here we are.
He calls them really good, nonetheless.
George says he likes it, and likes the idea. It’s not too sweet and has a good acidity. “Well done.”

It’s time for the verdict. Only one of them will be sent to immunity with Nicole and Simon.

Matt debriefs them about how great they were, but one dish stood out.

“There was a lot to love in all your dishes,” Jock says. “But the winner today is you, Tess.”

They tell her what’s good about it.

See ya tomorrow for the immunity challenge.

As usual, this recap was written as I watched the episode, so there will be spelling and grammar mistakes.

I posted a MasterChef rant about Sandeep, and you can read it here.

If you have a Hot Tip, tweet me, leave a comment, or head over to my contact page, and let me know what’s good.

To catch up on this episode, or other MasterChef eps you’ve missed, head over to southhemitv.com. If you want to watch The Super Switch, southhemitv.com also has you covered, and I’ve got the recaps here.

Enjoy my recaps? Consider buying me a coffee.

Posted in MasterChef Aus Recaps, Season 11, TV Show Recaps

MasterChef Aus S11E40 – Recap

Posted on by felicityfeiner

Tonight is a first day of Best of the Best Week, and we’re kicking it off with a mystery box.

Our top ten comes in, and heads to the front of the kitchen. The trio of judges, George, Gaz and Matt are waiting for them at the front.

Possibly the most normal outfit I’ve seen from Matt ever

Gaz starts to talk to them about this week

There’s been a drama at my place with the microwave. Ever since I burnt noodles in the microwave while doing a recap, it hasn’t been the same and the kitchen continues to reek of burnt. Just before this episode, my partner realised there’s a bigger issue than we thought with it and the bench, so we were talking about what to do about it all.
This means I missed most of what Gaz was saying.

I did hear him say that there’s no pressure cook this week. Today’s challenge is a mystery box, and inside are all great Australian ingredients.

Gaz tells them to go to the bench. When they lift the box, he tells them they ingredients are all the top selling Coles ingredients.

Inside is: Salmon, corriendar, onion spice, coconut cream, soda water, tomatoes, and strawberries.

As usual, they have the staples under their benches.

Time starts, and so does the montage.

Nothing of major interests happens, and I’m busy looking at microwaves.

ANUSHKA WATCH: 49 year old optical distributor, Anushka, is wearing her opaque white/cream frames today. She’s lookin’ super cute, and pairs it with a blue/green shirt.

First to taste is Anushka.

The judges really enjoy it. Her salmon is cooked perfectly.

Next is Derek.

His salmon is also perfectly cooked.

They have nothing bad to say and rave about it.

“You’ve done so much in 60 minutes,” Matt says. “Dishes like this show us that you deserve to be in the top ten.

Finally is Nicole.

George says the salmon is cooked to perfection, and the broth is amazing.

Gaz calls it absolutely good cooking.

Matt says she’s beat Derek’s broth. But there’s one thing that holds her back – Derek’s got some fried salmon, and he loves that. So he’s torn between to two.

It’s time for the decision. Matt tells everyone that they enjoyed all the food, even if they weren’t tried, they sampled throughout the cook. Each dish had something they loved.

They’re all forced back down to the front while the trio go and discuss their favourite dish. It’s down to Nicole and Derek at this stage.

Finally, they decide. It’s Nicole.

So everyone’s onto the invention test.

This time, the boys have three hidden ingredients in front of them. They are classic Australian things.

First ingredient is Vegemite.

“Who doesn’t love Vegemite?” Gaz asks.

Tati raises her hand. “I still don’t understand it, ten years later,” she says.

After disbelief, it’s time for the next ingredient – Milo.

“Who doesn’t love Milo?” one of the boys asks.

Tati starts to laugh, and no-one can believe it either.

Finally, it’s tomato sauce.

Here are the rules: 75 minutes to feature one of the iconic Australian ingredients. The pantry is open. Gaz tells them that only one will be joining Nicole.

Time starts, and everyone goes. A few acknowledge that despite the lack of elimination this week, they really want to get to that top spot.

The judges talk about what they’d do.

At one stage, Larissa trips and falls over. Derek and Tessa come over to see if she’s ok.

Derek’s making donuts, and even though it should take about 30 minutes to do a good one, he seems to be doing a really good job with it, and gets them in the deep fryer.

Oh no! Anushka’s panna cotta didn’t set!

Time ends, and there are hugs all round.

“How the hell did you manage to do brioche donuts in 75 minutes?” Larissa asks Derek.

It’s tasting time. Like usual, the ones with the logo and what the dish is will have a photo and a bit of what the judges said.

First is Tati.

I missed the photo, I’ll try and get one later.

It’s a crab and black pepper dish.

They love it and say why go to Singapore when they can have this.

Next up is Tessa.

“That’s a ripping ice-cream,” George says.

Gaz said he would love a litre of it.

Matt says it needed a little longer in the oven. It could have been the best.

After a short montage, Simon.

Oops, cut of ‘caramel’

They love it and say it’s delicious.

“That is smashing, I’m not faulting any of it,” George tells him.

Up is Ben.

He’s put a silver leaf over it so it’s like when you up a tin of Milo.

The judges love it, and call it delicious.

Up is Larissa

George calls it sensational, and Matt says it’s one of the best they’ve had.

Finally, Derek.

Matt calls it beautiful, but says it’s disappointing because there’s not enough filling.

Gaz says the ice-cream and straight milo was great.

They say overall he’s great at making it in such a short time, but says it’s not quite the best and a little let down.

It’s time for the decision.

The winner for doing the dish in an inventive way is Simon. He and Nicole are up for immunity next time.

Tomorrow, someone will be joining the two in immunity.

As usual, this recap was written as I watched the episode, so there will be spelling and grammar mistakes.

I posted a MasterChef rant about Sandeep, and you can read it here.

If you have a Hot Tip, tweet me, leave a comment, or head over to my contact page, and let me know what’s good.

To catch up on this episode, or other MasterChef eps you’ve missed, head over to southhemitv.com. If you want to watch The Super Switch, southhemitv.com also has you covered, and I’ve got the recaps here.

Enjoy my recaps? Consider buying me a coffee.

Posted in MasterChef Aus Recaps, Season 11, Writing

MasterChef Aus S11 Sandeep – Rant

Posted on by felicityfeiner

I was saving this for tomorrow, included in a larger post, however given the circumstances of yesterday’s elimination challenge, I feel it’s important to talk about this as fast as possible.

As this is opinion based, I welcome comments and discussion as long as they are respectful and have substance to back it up.

Back issues

Sandeep had to sit out of the picnic challenge because he had a back injury and was unable to compete. This meant he was automatically in the elimination.

At the beginning of the elimination challenge, Sandeep had to make the choice of cooking or using his only immunity pin to sit out. He decided to use his pin so as not to risk anymore injury.
It’s then revealed he has injured his lower back and has an issue with a disc.
We didn’t see Sandeep for the rest of the episode.

When I wrote the recap, I didn’t know how much of my own information to include. I didn’t want to derail the recap and focus heavily on this.

My partner had an accident recently and has a herniated disc in her lower back. For several weeks after the injury, she was in crippling pain. She couldn’t drive, she was on heavy pain relief, was seeing a physiotherapist twice a week, and her doctor weekly. The only relief she had was when a heat pack was on her back and she was drugged up.
She was unable to be comfortable sitting, standing, or laying for extended periods of time. For a long time, she was continuously cycling through these just to stay comfortable.
There was many times where she would cry at night from how much pain she’s in.
Even now, several months on, she’s still in pain and taking medication, and can’t work like before the accident.

Knowing this, it’s completely unfair that Sandeep was forced to sacrifice his pin for an injury. Back injuries especially need to be taken care of, lest it gets worse. Considering he wasn’t even able to stand with the other contestants and watch the elimination challenge, it’s absurd that he was forced to use his pin to avoid the challenge.

Immunity Pin

Context

It wasn’t until Sandeep’s montage that I remembered he won his pin in the Secrets Week immunity challenge, episode 22. He achieving a perfect score of 30/30, beating the guest chef, who scored 24.

The judges even said that this was possibly the best dish they’ve had over the 11 seasons.

Using it with Maggie Beer

Michaela Morgan, a 10 daily reporter, wrote, “He had to make the difficult decision of using his hard-earnt immunity pin for a challenge that he would have blitzed — Maggie Beer’s herb garden challenge.” (10play.com, 20/7/19)

This wasn’t even something I had initially thought about, but upon reflection, she’s absolutely right. Even if Sandeep hadn’t wow’ed the trio of judges and Maggie Beer in the first round, the herb cook, he would have nailed it in the second cook, the spice.

In previous seasons, if someone was sick, they were automatically in the elimination. That’s absolutely fair enough, but should it also apply to new injuries?

If Sandeep had been sick and couldn’t cook on the day of the team challenge, that would be one thing, because he could hypothetically be better by the elimination, or take some medication and keep going. He could use his pin and easily justify it, knowing that next time he’ll be back to his A game.

But with a back injury, and from Michaela’s article, it’s clear that this isn’t a quick fix, and he won’t just be ok for the next cook. This is something that could plague him for the rest of his life.

While the details of the injury haven’t been discussed, it was eluded to that he had the injury at the MasterChef house, and wasn’t a preexisting injury.

Michaela also wrote about Sandeep regularly attending physio, and the MasterChef crew looking after him, making sure he was taking the appropriate medication, etc.

But what if Sandeep didn’t have the immunity pin?
Would he have been able to sit it out this time?
Would the rules of this cook have been twisted to accommodate him and look after his injury?
Or would they have been happy to let him risk further damage to his back?

Regardless of whether or not it was fair to force him to use his pin on this elimination, the above questions need to be considered.

Sweet Week elimination

During this episode, Sandeep said he doesn’t cook desserts.

“Desserts and I are best friends when someone else cooks and I eat,” Sandeep said.

I have no doubt that if Sandeep was allowed to keep his immunity pin in the Maggie Beer elimination, he would have played it here, knowing desserts aren’t a strong suit, and he’d still be in the contest. While it would have been sad to see Tati go, as she was the other contestant veering on the edge of elimination, I wouldn’t be angry about her leaving.

That’s my rant for today. While I’m aiming to get a general rant up tomorrow, I’m also working, so it may have to be saved for next week.

You can read all the recaps of this season here, or catch up on episodes here.

Posted in MasterChef Aus Recaps, Season 11, TV Show Recaps

MasterChef Aus S11E39 – Recap

Posted on by felicityfeiner

Ok, so, first of all, the site I use to watch the ep when I’ve missed it on TV has changed its format, so when I take a screenshot, it’ll have the timestamp in the bottom. I don’t really know what to do about it, and if I don’t include it, I don’t get the full picture. Frankly, it’s homophobic lmao.

Also, I’m coming down from a caffeinated high, so if I get incoherent at the end, I’ll edit this tomorrow.

It’s the last cook of Sweet Week, and this will determine the top ten. After losing the team challenge yesterday, Derek, Anushka, Tati, Tessa, Simon, and Sandeep are up for elimination.

Everyone preps for the elimination, knowing this will all be based on desserts.

The trio of judges wait for the losers

Without hesitation, Gaz asks Tessa if she’ll be using her pin to go straight to the top ten, or keep it and work for a spot. She decides to play it and heads upstairs with the five others.

ANUSHKA WATCH: Anushka, one of my favourites, and 49 year old optical distributor, is wearing her elimination glasses.

One day, I’ll get a non-terrible photo of Anushka. I keep getting unflattering ones.

Matt starts talking about sugar.

The average Australian’s sugar intake – day (60g), week, month, year.

Today’s challenge requires no refined or processed sugar. They have the open pantry and the garden is in play. Least impressive dish sends their maker home. They’ll have 60 minutes to cook.

Time and montage starts.

Everyone stands around the pantry with George, asking him if there’s sugar in it. He shoots down a couple of ingredients, and points them at the honey and fruit.

“Desserts and I are best friends when someone else cooks and I eat,” Sandeep says.

He’s confident enough, though, as a lot of traditional Indian desserts have no refined or processed sugar. It’s a classical and traditional dish.

Oooh, I’m worried for Sandeep, he’s chosen a dish that traditionally takes hours and hours, but he’s cranking the heat, hoping it’ll work.

Haha Derek grabbed corn flakes and George yelled at him to put it back.

Sandeep continues to have problems. His rice dish isn’t pickling, and he’s got 30 minutes to go.

We’re getting down to the nitty gritty. George is so excited that they’re at the last 30 seconds, and how close he is to getting to eat the desserts, that he’s already got a spoon in his hand.

Time is up, and the top ten hopefuls reflect on their dishes.

First to be tasted is Derek.

That bit cut off says ‘and orange syrup’

“That’s why we started with you, because it’s breakfast,” Matt says.

When it’s time to eat, Gaz says, “Delicious.”

They all agree that it’s delicious, and George says that not having the white refined sugar doesn’t matter – it’s not missed. “That’s really fantastic.”

Next is Sandeep.

‘and Puri’

I’m actually really disappointed with how the judges talked about him and the dish. They literally just told Derek that he’s an awesome cook and not to be worried about where he stands against the other chefs.

“Were you not interested in pushing yourself a bit further?” Matt asks.

Sandeep tells him that it’s because he’s scared of failing.

Gaz tells him he needs to extend himself more.

“I apologise if this is average. I hope the flavours are redeeming,” Sandeep says, before being dismissed.

“It’s not sweet enough,” Gaz says.

“Very safron heavy,” Matt says.

They talk about a few more bad things, before getting the next dish.

Tati’s up.

‘and coconut ice cream’

“I’m looking at that dish. I’m worried for you,” Gaz says. “We’ll keep our fingers crossed for you.”

Y’know, I don’t think I really like Gaz anymore. Further expansion in upcoming rant.

Matt starts talking about things he liked about the dish. What derailed him was the yogurt and the syrup.

George calls it really sweet. Gaz says it needs to be MasterChef’ed up.

Next is Anushka.

‘with orange and grapefruit cream’

Matt asks if she’s scared to go home. She says yes. They tell her to leave so they can taste.

“Lovely,” Gaz says. “Crisp, delicious.”

Matt says the sauce is sweet but has a great backbone. George loves that she made everything.

Simon’s up.

‘and beetroot molasses’

Gaz says this isn’t very him, and Simon calls it meh.

He’s like 90% sure he’s heading home.

Gaz calls it beautiful, flavours outstanding, but something missing – a crunch.

Matt says the molasses will save him.

It’s time for he verdict. Anushka and Derek are safe, and into the top ten.

Simon is also safe, leaving Sandeep and Tati to hope for the best.

George says they had a split decision. Gaz thought it should be Tati, Matt thought Sandeep. It’s all in George’s little hands now.

He decides the person leaving is Sandeep. Tati starts to cry, and honestly that’s me right now. I shed a few tears.

“You came in as a student, but we feel you leave as a teacher,” Matt says.

Sandeep bows and touches their feet before giving them a hug.

Where are they now? Sandeep is launching his Indian restaurant BBQ and Biryani. He’s also working on his own garam masala spice bland.

As usual, this recap was written as I watched the episode, so there will be spelling and grammar mistakes.

Keep an eye out – Friday will be my Sandeep rant, Saturday my general rant.

If you have a Hot Tip, tweet me, leave a comment, or head over to my contact page, and let me know what’s good.
Know Sandeep’s blog/YouTube? Let me know!

To catch up on this episode, or other MasterChef eps you’ve missed, head over to southhemitv.com. If you want to watch The Super Switch, southhemitv.com also has you covered, and I’ve got the recaps here.

Enjoy my recaps? Consider buying me a coffee.