Our final 16 MasterChef contestants have been revealed. Photo / Warner Brothers Discovery
Our final 16 MasterChef contestants have been revealed. Photo / Warner Brothers Discovery
OPINION:
There are two very clear themes emerging on this season of MasterChef New Zealand.
First, family. Whānau is important to each and every one of our aspiring cooks and nearly everyone has an emotional story about their mum, sister, or kid who's cheering them on back home.
Second, foraging.It seems like every foodie fighting for an apron has grown, gathered or simply happened upon the ingredients themselves while on a peaceful walk in the bush.
My question is, what are these foragers going to do when they get to the MasterChef kitchen and find out that they're limited to a herb garden, a fridge and a pantry?
Maybe there's a foraging challenge on the horizon. But first, they've got to get there. Tonight, the remaining 17 hopefuls are battling it out for the final 10 aprons.
And judge Vaughan Mabee has already dubbed one of the contestants the "Forage Queen of the North".
Disability support facilitator Alex Stockley, 27, earned Mabee's title and an apron after impressing the judges with her lamb, feta and horopito-stuffed kawakawa leaves, which had judge Michael Dearth "weak at the knees".
Alex Stockley's lamb, feta and horopito stuffed kawakawa leaves. Photo / Warner Brothers Discovery
Naomi Grace (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Whānau ā Apanui, Te Arawa), a 29-year-old videographer, shares how at one point in her life she didn't have enough food. Now she's cooking to make her beloved foster mum proud. Her eye fillet with golden kumara, pickled radish and pikopiko won over the judges and secured her an apron.
If you're a ginaholic like me, you might just recognise Elliot McClymont as the co-founder of Blush gin. But it turns out the 27-year-old can do more than mix a cocktail. His scallops with cauliflower puree, charred sweetcorn and crispy black pudding were perfectly cooked. McClymont kept his eyes on the prize - the apron - with Dearth declaring, "You deserve it."
As a 20-year-old teaching student, Farzana Rahimi is the youngest cook in the competition. She gave the judges a taste of Afghanistan with her dumplings filled with beef and coriander on a garlic yoghurt sauce, earning herself an apron. Judge Nadia Lim wanted to "dive straight in" to her dish, and, let's be honest, so do we.
Farzana Rahimi is the youngest contestant on the show. Photo / Warner Brothers Discovery
It would be amiss of me to not mention contestant Felina Kee's social media scathing rant about the hit show's latest season, but before all the drama went down and Nadia Lim went "What?!" Kee, a 44-year-old Otago teacher, brought the judges Canterbury on a plate with her wild venison dish. Her homemade whipped feta and foraged walnuts impressed Mabee, dubbed "Mr Wild Meat Man" by Lim.
Eve Thomas, 23, may just be another Dessert Queen contender, bringing the judges a coconut cake with tropical flavours, fresh mint buttercream, and cucumber salsa. At first, the salsa had us just as confused as Dearth, who confessed he was pleasantly surprised that it worked. Eve, I need this recipe in my life.
Lance Meynell, a 39-year-old sales rep, had the judges sold with his tandoori-spiced venison loin. Lim said his dish looked like it could be on the menu at Dearth's restaurant, The Grove.
And 23-year-old Amberley Kennish came in hot, declaring that she'd already won. When she initially got a Maybe from the judges for her hāpuku with fennel, we weren't so sure but she proved herself when she earned the very last apron of the day.
Jason Wade landed the very last apron. Photo / Warner Brothers Discovery
It was one of just three aprons left at the end of the audition process, giving contestants who'd previously gotten a "Maybe" a chance for redemption. With 14 people left to fight over them, there were bound to be tears.
Rudi Hefer, 43, told us earlier in the episode that the support of his kids drives his passion for cooking. After initially getting a Maybe for his crispy-skinned blue cod on pickled daikon, he earned himself the second-to-last apron, no doubt making his youngsters proud.
And Jason Wade, 43, whose venison with beetroot gel and mushroom "dirt" landed him a Maybe yesterday, finally earned his apron.
Tomorrow night, the newly minted contestants will make it to the MasterChef kitchen to lift the lid on the first challenge - a mystery box. And with an elimination looming that will see two people sent home, the stakes have never been higher.
• MasterChef screens on Sunday nights at 7pm and on Monday and Tuesday nights at 7.30pm on Three and ThreeNow.
