Superstar Week kicks off with one of the biggest names in food.
It’s Superstar Week in the MasterChef kitchen, which means some of the biggest names in food will be dialling in via Zoom.
As we speculate who that might be for day one, a ten foot tall Nigella Lawson appears beside the judges as if by magic. What kind of trickery is this? It’s almost as if she is there with them in real life.
“It’s Nigella Lawson, on the screen!” exclaims Brent. Wait until he hears that you can see her on the screen any time.
Nigella announces that the very first challenge will be a taste test. The contestants must sample 18 biscuits and record what the flavours are.
In solidarity for this challenge, I also devour a tin of biscuits.
It sounds like a fun challenge, but, as it turns out, it’s no Assorted Creams tray. In fact, even a Shortbread Cream would be welcome right about now.
The cursed biscuit tin includes all kinds of traumatic flavours from anchovy to garlic and chilli. It doesn’t look as if anyone will ever enjoy a biscuit again.
Linda and Tommy nail the challenge with 15 out of 18, while Conor impresses with a score of just 4/18, which is remarkable really, considering chocolate was one of the flavours.
Joining Conor in the bottom five are Brent, Yo Yo and Maja who scored 10/18. Tom and Dan both score 11/18 so they must go through the ominous-sounding but still probably delicious Biscuit Sudden Death Tiebreaker. Dan correctly guesses sesame, which puts Tom through to the next round.
Tom is the first contestant who is genuinely ignoring the gallery which I absolutely respect #MasterChefAU
— Maya (@tweetmayatweet) April 25, 2021
For round two, contestants have 90 minutes to recreate Nigella’s favourite dish based on a weird, flowery description, with no ingredient list, recipe or visual reference to work from. The contestant whose dish least resembles Nigella’s description in look and taste will be going home.
The domestic goddess has tasked them with recreating a fabulous flamboyant two-layer sponge cake filled with beguiling rhubarb and topped with ludicrously illuminating marshmallow meringue.
By half way through the cook, everyone seems to have it under control, and we can’t have that. Nigella reappears and rudely demands a custard – not too sweet, and cold – to go with her cake. And that’s the last time we’re inviting Nigella over for tea.
Can Nigella just read this recipe to me every night before I go to sleep? #MasterChefAU
— Dean Nye (@Dean_Nye) April 25, 2021
As it turns out, Brent nails the cake, as does Maja and Tom. Conor’s aptly named ‘cake mullet’, has only one redeeming feature, the perfectly cooked rhubarb, while Yo Yo’s cake has none.
“The meringue needs another five minutes in the mixer, the rhubarb was crunchy, it was very under,” says Andy. Don’t listen to them Yo Yo, we would still eat it.
Yo Yo says her goodbyes. “It’s been a short but very sweet time. I’m not sad about leaving the kitchen, I’m sad about leaving you guys. And I hope I get to see every one of your smiling faces in the future.” And even though we have only known Yo Yo for 10 minutes, we’re crying uncontrollably and eating even more biscuits. “I love you Yo Yo!” someone calls out and it’s us. Please, not Yo Yo! Don’t take away our Yo Yo! And as quickly as she came, she departs the MasterChef kitchen.
Join MasterChef Australia tomorrow night, when the legend himself, Yotam Ottolenghi dials in.
Related recipes: The best rhubarb recipes for the glut in your garden
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