MasterChef 2019 – Week Two Heats

Week one of MasterChef over, and 56 amateur cooks from around the country with a range of backgrounds have started to battle it out to be named the MasterChef 2019 Champion.

In the first opening heat, each chef will have an hour and 10 minutes to win over John Torode and Gregg Wallace. The cooks will have to prove themselves to be worthy in this round because after the judges have tasted all 7 dishes, John and Gregg  will decide which 4 cooks are good enough to stay and which 3 cooks will be sent straight home.

The 4 remaining cooks will face one more challenge before heading to the quarter-finals. They must cook 2 courses that will excite both John and Gregg, but also some of MasterChef’s most-inspiring winners, finalists and contestants who have all gone to work in the food industry.

In this heat, the contestants must attempt to impress the Masterchef champions Saliha Mahmood-Ahmed (2017), Steven Wallis (2007) and 2016 semi-finalist Liz Cottam.

After all 4 contestants have cooked, the judges will decide which 3 cooks deserve to take the next step in the competition and go through to the quarter-finals.

Lets meet and see how the chefs got on, in episode three…

Paula, aged 32. Her passion for cooking has been inspired by both her Italian husband and greek heritage.

Signature Dish: Roasted butternut squash ravioli coated in a sage butter sauce, with roasted hazelnuts and crispy sage.

John was very happy with the making of Paula’s pasta and the flavours coming from the dish, but he would off liked ‘a lot more filling inside his pasta‘.

Gregg loved the ‘flavour of sage‘ and agreed with the ‘smidge‘ of filling inside the ravioli, however he liked ‘flavours‘, they way she made her pasta and finished by saying ‘its very good indeed‘.

Harry, aged 24. Recently studied infectious diseases as a masters degree.

Signature Dish: Pan fried halibut has been served with a chorizo and butterbean casserole, sautéed samphire, buttered leeks, red wine vinegar dressing and nasturtium leaves.

Gregg started by explaining how Harry will ‘never be able to crisp up the skin of a halibut’, however he loved the cooking of the fish. Although commented off the over saltiness coming from each element on the dish.

John listed the ingredients in Harry’s dish, but found the dish very ‘confused‘ and said he was ‘chucking in too many flavours‘.

Jim, aged 54. Spends his spare time making meals for a local homeless charity.

Signature Dish: Lamb minced curry served with cardamon rice and a pineapple chutney.

John loved the freshness of Jim’s curry, how he has elevated lamb mince and was overall ‘very impressed‘.

Gregg loved the flavours coming from the curry and chutney and said the dish tasted ‘fantastic‘.

Nuha, aged  57. Born in Lebanon she has been cooking for over 40 years.

Signature Dish: Baba Ganoush aubergine salad with mint, spring onion, tomatoes, pomegranate and walnuts served with pumpkin seed flatbreads.

John loved Nuha’s bread, but feel he needed more ‘sweetness than sharpness‘ coming from her baba ganoush.

Gregg suggested it would off been a nice ‘condiment‘ but not on its own as it was overpowering with ‘lemon juice‘. The judge would off liked to off seen Nuha ‘do other things as well‘, considering she had 20 minutes to spare.

Stephen, aged 49. Has started to push his dream of becoming a food writer.

Signature Dish: Pam fried halibut on green beans topped with samphire, served with rosemary fondant potato, carrots and a rosemary and chicken veloute.

Gregg was very impressed with the cooking of Stephen’s dish and said ‘for a first attempt at Masterchef, it’s a pretty decent job‘.

John suggested that the sauce needed to be ‘thicker‘, but said ‘besides that sauce there is not a mistake on the plate, I’m really impressed‘.

Gordon, aged 50. Started cooking at 16 years old.

Signature Dish: Butterbean and chorizo tomato stew, served with black pudding and charcoaled squid.

Gregg liked the flavours of the ‘big earthy stew‘, but found it ‘too powerful for the squid‘.

John suggested ‘more paprika and garlic to make it more Spanish‘ and agreed with Gregg in terms of his ‘proportions‘.

Carise, aged 24. Takes great pride in her Caribbean roots.

Signature Dish: Jerk chicken with festival dumplings, pepper and onion salad and a jerk mayonnaise.

John loved the different flavours from the dish and ‘quite‘ liked the dumplings.

Gregg loved the taste, but was disappointed in the lack ‘refinement‘ of the presentation

 

Gregg, and John both agreed that the 3 chefs going through to the next stage would be; Carise, Jim & Stephen
Unfortunately saying bye and good luck for the future to Nuha, Harry, Paula & Gordon.

 

In this heat, the contestants must attempt to impress Masterchef champions. Thomasina Miers (2005) and Ping Coombes (2014) and finalist Alex Jorge (2018).

Lets meet and see how the chefs got on, in episode four…

Mark, aged 50. Is a retired engineer that took him all over the world.

Signature Dish: Chicken breast, stuffed mushroom and mascarpone wrapped in puma ham and sage, with a cauliflower puree, roasted broccoli and almonds and a madeira and mascarpone sauce.

Gregg liked the ‘salty flavour‘ coming from the ham and said the chicken was cooked ‘rather well‘. However he didn’t like the sharpness coming from the sauce.

John wasn’t impressed by the broccoli and the sauce, but said his cauliflower puree and chicken was ‘fab‘.

Delia, aged 27. Loves to cook for colleagues on the force.

Signature Dish: Prawn ravioli topped with chorizo and pan fried prawns, with a chorizo oil and a prawn bisque.

John loved the smell coming from the plate and said he had ‘little shivers going down his spine‘ from the ‘fantastic‘ prawn bisque. Calling the overall dish ‘ace‘.

Gregg was ‘very impressed‘ with Delia’s dish and listed all the reasons why it was so fantastic.

Panisha, aged 28. Loves fusing classic British cuisine with her Indian heritage.

Signature Dish: Spiced vegetable tart, topped with raw onion and coriander served with a tomato and coriander relish.

Gregg was very happy to say that Panisha’s dish ‘was nothing sort of fabulous’.

John was loved all the flavours within the cook’s dish and said it was ‘really, really good‘.

Sarah, aged 55. Has once cooked for 50 guests at a family christening.

Signature Dish: Pork chop served it with mustard and tarragon creme fraiche sauce, a pork stuffing ball with apricot and sage, roasted carrots, potatoes and an apple sauce.

Gregg was very happy with the flavour from the traditional dish, but he wasn’t impressed by the sauce as it had ‘too much tarragon and was a little sharp‘.

John suggested the sauce would off gone ‘better with chicken rather than pork‘ and said the Sarah had a ‘decent palate‘ and advised her ‘not to chuck so much at the plate‘.

Zaq, aged 30. Lived all over the US, but has now settled in Birmingham as a circus director.

Unfortunately had to leave the competition.

Mike, aged 38. Discovered his passion for cooking after moving out of his parents house.

Signature Dish: Tagliatelle with pine nuts, chilli, parsley and chives, crispy parma ham and a parmesan tuille.

John loved the pasta, but suggested more heat within the dish. ‘for the first round of Masterchef, I can’t complain about it, but I’m not rejoicing’.

Unfortunately from a ‘judging point of view all Gregg knows is that Mike can make pasta‘ and wished to see some ‘more process‘.

Raff, aged 36. Loves to spend time cooking in the kitchen with his 2 sons.

Signature Dish: Mushroom ragu with pine nuts and parmesan polenta.

Gregg loved the flavour coming from the dish saying it tasted ‘really good‘, but was disappointed in the presentation.

John enjoyed the flavours and texture of the dish, but argued if the dish was really that ‘challenging‘ for Masterchef.

 

Gregg, and John both agreed that the 3 chefs going through to the next stage would be; Panisha, Delia & Sarah
Unfortunately saying bye and good luck for the future to Mark, Raff, Mike & Zaq.