Press Release
Phila packs his bags
Episode 5
MasterChef South Africa lost its first Top 12 contestant last night, as Phila Vilakazi (33) – an IT specialist from Johannesburg - could not stand the heat in the kitchen in the season’s first Pressure Test. Phila, who entered last season but fell out in Boot Camp, was thrilled to finally make it into the kitchen last week, but Reuben’s duck dish sent him into a tail spin and, ultimately sealed his fate.
There was a somber atmosphere as the Top 11 (without Roxi (26), the Durban train driver who had won a trip to Ireland) arrived at the MasterChef kitchen for the Pressure Test challenge between Ndumiso, Phila and Mel. “We brought our black aprons and it seems like there’s going to be death in the kitchen,” Ndumiso observed bleakly.
As the bottom 3 entered the kitchen hand-in-hand Chef Reuben Riffel reminded them that they would be cooking for something much more valuable than Roxi’s reward of a trip to Ireland – they were playing for survival.
And to survive today, Benny Masekwameng pointed out, they had to perfectly replicate a dish prepared by a real master chef: Chef Reuben’s signature Pan Roasted Duck Breast with roasted beets, grilled spring onions and toasted garlic and a cashew nut crème.
“And I’ve also made a sauce which is a spiced citrus sauce with honey and ginger,” Reuben added as they came closer for a taste. “I’m very glad that I’m not in that challenge today, because I think if I was presented with that plate I’d start to panic!” Durban teacher Penny (31) commented from up in the gallery.
“They say that variety is the spice of life. You got the spice ... But what we don’t want is variety,” Pete Goffe-Wood pointed out to the contestants. “What we want to see is how closely you follow a recipe and recreate a very complex dish,” Benny clarified. “If we can’t tell the difference between Reuben’s dish and yours, that’s mission accomplished!”
All three contestants immediately rushed to get the beets in the oven because that’s what would take the longest to cook. “Chef Reuben called it ‘steam-roasting’, so I put it in the pan with butter, water, cumin and thyme and put foil over and put it in the oven to cook,” Mel explained, but Ndumiso couldn’t even make a start on that simple first step. “I’m struggling to get that foil open!” he wailed. “That’s the pressure challenge and that’s the pressure that’s on me!”
Meanwhile Phila confided to Reuben that he doesn’t usually follow recipes when he cooks, “but this is the challenge, and I will tackle it head-on and try to follow your recipe as best as I can!” he told the celebrity chef. But Mel was thrilled to cook one of her idol’s dishes. “I have every single cookbook!” she confessed to Reuben. “Maybe you can sign them for me ...”
As all that drama was unfolding in the MasterChef kitchen, Roxi had arrived in Dublin, Ireland, for her exclusive lunch with world famous Irish chef Kevin Thornton – her reward for winning the first Mystery Box challenge! “It’s my first time ever traveling overseas,” she admitted excitedly. “I don’t even have words to explain how humbled I feel at this point of time, just being here ...”
“Thornton’s” restaurant at the Fitzwilliam Hotel in Dublin is one of the Top 25 Restaurants in the world and one of the Top 10 restaurants in the world for special occasions. “For me food is about life,” Chef Kevin told Roxi. “There are so many people starving in the world and then we have all this stuff to play with, so it’s very important that you have a huge amount of respect for it.”
He put on a display for his guest with a dish of a whole pigeon in a nest, presented with some pigeon eggs, before he served it to her in three parts. “It was amazing,” said Roxi. “Also the way he presented it first, you know, the whole ‘circle of life’ – the story was unbelievable, and then actually having it ... It was amazing. A beautiful experience.”
Back in the winelands of South Africa it was time for Ndumiso to serve his interpretation of Reuben Riffel’s duck dish to the judges. “Chef Reuben’s dish was such a well put-together dish that one element from my dish that didn’t work out could send me home,” he worried.
Reuben said that Ndumiso had cooked the duck really well but that it was under-seasoned, and Benny was happy that the plate looked a lot like Reuben’s plate, but Ndumiso got the sauce completely wrong, he said. “If that sauce had been better, this dish would have been top notch,” Pete agreed.
When it was her turn to serve Mel tried to explain why it means so much to her to be in MasterChef. “I’ve always had a huge food dream and when I did want to become a chef, unfortunately at that time financially it wasn’t available to me,” she told the judges. “And I’m so proud because my younger brother did have that opportunity, so he
is a chef, and I’m so proud of him, but it’s always been
my dream,” she explained, choking back tears.
As Mel had expected, the judges thought her duck was a bit rare. “It didn’t need to be cooked more – it just needed to rest more,” Benny explained. “Definitely the duck is going to haunt me,” Mel admitted. “I’m probably going to go home and make duck every day until I do get it perfectly!”
Phila confessed to the judges that he had a crisis of confidence just before the challenge and he was close to hanging up his apron and quitting. “I had to find the last ounce of courage and do the best that I can, and not give up,” he admitted.
Unfortunately Chef Reuben thought Phila’s duck was undercooked and Benny said the sauce was over-reduced. “You’re a good cook, this we know already,” Pete told him, “but you can’t work under pressure. And that’s something that you need to practice.”
“I really, really gave it my all,” said a disappointed Phila, but in the end he became the first Top 12 contestant to have to hang up his apron.
But his food dream lives on. “I want to inspire people,” he said. “Ultimately I’d like to create a township fine-dining experience – just bring it closer to the people and show them that in the township we can do great things.”
Next week the journey continues for the remaining 11 contestants when they have to cook a MasterChef-worthy dessert featuring a rather perplexing star ingredient.