Masterchef South Africa contestants. Picture: Twitter @masterchefs
The MasterChef South Africa kitchen has been sizzling from the word go, and season four has so far been filled with surprising eliminations.
In episode five which aired on Monday evening, the contestants were tasked to create a dish from classic South African ingredients such as dried peaches and cheese.
The contestant’s dishes had to showcase tastes of sweet, salty and savoury.
The remaining 16 home cooks had 75 minutes to complete their dishes.
Judge Gregory Czarnecki dropped a spanner in the works when he informed them, with only 30 minutes left in the cook, to add another ingredient to incorporate in their dish, mebos.
Mebos is a preserve made from pureed apricot, salt and sugar.
It has a tangy and sour taste.
The other two judges, Zola Nene and Justine Drake, were aware the ingredient is rarely used and has an unfamiliar flavour.
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The top dishes were from contestants Tembisa, who cooked a quinoa risotto and mebos sauce.
She originally wanted to make samp risotto but had trouble with the pressure cooker, however, the judges were impressed with the balance of flavours and cheesiness of the quinoa risotto.
James’s peach ice cream and biscuit cheese tuile and Shawn’s deconstructed bobotie also hit the mark.
The bottom three were Onti, Charmaine and Onezwa.
Onti was criticised for her biscuit base being raw, Charmaine’s curry dish was a disappointment, while Onezwa’s savoury chantilly cream rough puff and champagne sorbet was underwhelming for the judges.
Justine said the flavours were timid and flavourless as the star ingredients were overpowered by the coconut in her dish.
Despite Onezwa’s plating being applauded, she was sent home.
The 26-year-old was one of the favourites to win among viewers and her elimination took them by surprise.
She was heartbroken by her exit but said she is excited to see her child again.