Ohkay, I am speechless. As much as I enjoyed the episode, the elimination came as a shock to me. Not that I was rooting for Azam but while listening to the judges feedback, I was kind of happy that they were giving out their judgment as clearly about those who were safe but there was a dish that came across as the least favourite due to the flaws but still the contestant who served that dish was safe & someone who stuffed up only a single component of the dish was eliminated.
This episode was mystery box challenge & black apron round all rolled into one. The judges picked the components of the mystery box & had a strategy at their hands to test the contestants. At first the contestants had to pick only 6 of the ingredients from the box & later they were told to exchange the components selected by them with the other contestants. Everyone was baffled but the dishes that surfaced were brilliant.
Amna made ‘English Tea Lemon Cake w/ Raspberry Jam & Creme’. Chef Mehboob liked the combination of the flavours but as Amna pointed out herself, he also felt that the jam was a bit too sour for his liking. Other than that he felt that the sponge of the cake wasn’t too moist because when combined with the sauce, it was getting soggy. Chef Khurram loved the presentation as well as the flavours too. Chef Zakir liked the vanilla sauce & felt when mixed with jam; it gave away another unique flavour that complimented the cake.
Rayyan came up with ‘Ricotta & Berry Tart w/ Chery Coulis’. Before tasting the judges commented on the perfect presentation & also felt bad seeing him in the elimination rounds again & again as they themselves know that he is a strong contender from this lot. Chef Mehboob felt that Rayyan understood the challenge & gave his best shot so for that his food tasted amazing. Chef Mehboob couldn’t stop praising him. Chef Khurram liked the presentation & also said that the dish was flavoursome. The sauce went well with the pastry & pastry was cooked beautifully. Chef Zakir (obviously) felt that the pastry was dry & it needed more sauce to make it moist.
Zain presented ‘Salmon Roulade’. Chef Mehboob felt that the most important factor while making roulade is the calculation of timing because if not cooked long enough, the core remains raw but fortunately for Zain, this wasn’t the case & his dish was great. Chef Khurram loved the overall dish & also commented that the tomato sauce was going perfectly with the roulade. Chef Zakir felt that the fish was a bit more salty.
Iqra made ‘Quiche Lorraine & Baby Spinach Salad’. Chef Khurram liked the flavours & felt that everything worked apart from the crust because it was too doughy but he loved the salad & said it had a perfect freshness & the flavour. Chef Mehboob also commented that the base had more crunch than required. Chef Zakir liked the filling because of the balanced flavours.
Azam came up with ‘Snow Cheese Cake’. Chef Mehboob liked the sponge but felt that the icing had no such flavour as Azam didn’t play much with the ricotta cheese as it has no flavour of its own so the taste has to be induced in it. Chef Khurram felt that the icing had more ratio of lemon zest which made it bitter. Chef Zakir also felt that Azam should’ve played more with ricotta cheese to bring in some sweetness to his dish.
Saad created ‘Pan Fried Salmon w/ Spinach Sauce’. Chef Mehboob thought that the pasta was too thin & for its volume it was over cooked. Chef Khurram didn’t like the sauce & said that it was too rich & buttery. He found the fish bland & also felt that the sauce & the fish didn’t go together. Chef Zakir also felt that the fish lacked seasoning as well.
It was now time for the results & obviously Amna & Rayyan got the well-deserved critique where the judges praised them for their efforts, for the flavours & for the presentation. It was good to see that Rayyan redeemed himself & I hope that he keeps up the good work. After them, Iqra & Zain got the feedback where they got appreciated but also got some criticism on the lacking components of their dish but still they were safe. It now came down to Azam & Saad & going by the judges remarks it was pretty evident that Saad was about to get eliminated but when they announced Azam was the one who was being eliminated, I wasn’t too sure why?
While listening to the detailed & elaborate comments from the judges I was kind of happy that they were giving enough reasoning about the dishes that helped the contestants in getting through to the next round & as honest as they were about Saad’s dish, I was sure that he would be eliminated because Azam only stuffed up the icing & Chef Mehboob while tasting did comment that the cake was good. & when it came to Saad’s dish, the pasta was over-cooked, fish was bland, the sauces didn’t compliment the fish & the dish on the whole lacked seasoning & yes, the presentation wasn’t great too, so I guess the judges gave enough reasons to clearly show that nothing on that plate worked & also it was mentioned on the tasting table that this dish could put Saad in danger which by the way wasn’t said about Azam’s dish so for this I feel Saad was given an unfair advantage & Azam became a scapegoat just to keep Saad in the competition because to send someone home on the basis of a stuffed up icing doesn’t really make sense. I wasn’t rooting for Azam & have always preferred Saad over the other contestants but I feel what’s unfair is unfair & Saad should’ve been eliminated.
Thankfully there wasn’t much drama in this round & whatever happened between Iqra & Azam wasn’t taken to another level by both of them because whatever Iqra said was more on a humorous side but I still don’t think telling someone that you suck that too to someone who is older to you is a reasonable joke. Share what you felt about the episode & the unfair decision of the judges?
Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.
