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| Photo from MasterChef Asia FB Page |
- In this MasterChef Asia episode, the contestants had to cook dishes that would raise money for World Food Day to help feed disadvantaged children around the world.
- World Food Day is celebrated every 16th of October and is a day where people around the world come together with the goal of eradicating hunger in our lifetime.
- I love this challenge and it's great that MasterChef Asia dedicated an episode to promote World Food Day and help raise money for charity.
- This was an individual challenge, the contestants had to prepare 1 food item in just 2 and a half hours to feed around 150 guests. They had full access to the MasterChef pantry. The contestants had 60 minutes to serve their food and raise donations. The home cook who raises the most money wins the challenge while the cook that gets the least amount of donations gets eliminated.
- There was a good mix of sweet and savory dishes in this episode, with 3 contestants making desserts. The ones doing desserts were Marcus, Priya, and Sandrian.
- The name of the game in this challenge was to make dishes that would really impress the guests. Marcus said that he was doing desserts to attract both the older and younger crowd, but how much money can the younger crowd really donate?
- Leong really had tough day, he burned the raisins for the couscous twice. Bruno had to step in and give Leong advice in the middle of the challenge because he also couldn't get the couscous right.
- I think most of the contestants struggled with the amount of food they needed to prepare so that they can feed around 150 guests. Lennard and Blanche, in particular, had me worried right from the get-go.
- Blanche was making fresh pasta by hand, a huge mistake because she doesn't have enough time to make a big batch. Lennard also looked like he didn't have enough shrimp to serve 150 guests, but he decided to wing it.
- I am really impressed by Leong as a contestant because it seems like he's one of the best cooks in the competition. Sadly, he is also really hard-headed. He does not listen to the feedback the judges give him right away and will only listed after being told a number of times. He needs to be a bit more humble and receive the advice given to him.
- Priya was making some cupcakes - a bit too simple and underwhelming at this stage of the competition. No doubt she was playing it safe.
- Blanche really struggled making enough pasta. I wouldn't be surprised if she is part of the bottom 3 with Priya.
- Ha played it really smart in this challenge. It looks like she is in control, making a really impressive dish and at the same time making sure that her station smells great so that she could attract the guests.
- Priya was happy with how her chocolate cupcakes taste, but I'm not sure being a guests in the MasterChef kitchen that I would choose to donate for a piece of cupcake.
- Leong was putting the falafels on the plate and he knocks the bowl to the floor. He lost around half of it and I'm not sure if he can get enough dishes in to avoid the bottom 3.
- Blanche ran out of pasta 15 minutes into the challenge, so she had to improvise and served tomato soup instead. I thought it was a smart decision but will it be enough to save her from elimination?
- Susur mentioned how Marcus likes using a lot of crumble and he's quite tired of it. Did Marcus already peak with his desserts?
- The judges really loved Lennard's flavorful prawn dish and people are coming back for more. He did a really good job in this challenge.
- Lica, according to the judges, didn't do a good job with her dish - flavor leaked out of the chicken and she also burnt her spices. They seemed surprised that a lot of people love the dish and keep coming back for seconds.
- The top three MasterChef Asia contestants tonight were:
- Lica raised money to help 1470 children
- Lennard raised money to help 1518 children
- Ha raised money to help 2021 children
- The bottom three were:
- Blanche
- Priya
- Jasbir
- It's really surprising to see Jasbir in the bottom three because she has consistently been a top performer. It's also a bit of a surprise that Leong wasn't in the bottom three, I guess the dishes that he was able to serve made all the difference.
- No one was eliminated today, which was a bit anti-climactic quite frankly. A lot of contestants made mental mistakes on this challenge and I thought Priya or Blanche should have been eliminated.
Here's a list of what each MasterChef Asia contestant cooked today.
- Philippines
- Lica Ibarra - Shredded Chicken Rendang with Laced Pancake
- Singapore
- Lennard Yeong - Poached Shrimps, Go Chu Jang Sauce with Vegetable Puree
- Woo Wai Leong - Falafel, Couscous Salad, and Roasted Vegetables
- Sandrian Tan
- Malaysia
- Marcus Low - Brownie with Grapefruit Curd and Chocolate Sand
- Jasbir Kaur - Roti Rolls with Bacon, Charred Capsicum, Mixed Cabbage, and Tamarind Sauce.
- Taiwan
- Blanche Chu - Linguine with a Tomato and Basil Sauce
- Vietnam
- Doan Phuong Ha - Caramelized Pork Balls, Grilled Belly with Vermicelli and Nuoc Cham
- India
- Priya Barve - Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache
I would love to hear your thoughts on the episode, so please do leave a comment. Who do you think has what it takes to win MasterChef Asia?
Further reading you might like:
- A Primer on MasterChef Asia
- MasterChef Asia Season 1 Episode 5: Recap and Thoughts on Episode 5
- MasterChef Asia Season 1 Episode 6: Recap and Thoughts on Episode 6
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Cheers,
Chef Jay
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