It was a very interesting episode that showcased some MasterChef quality food. I personally enjoyed watching the episode because everyone was pushed to attempt something new & even the elimination was justified.
The contestants had to cook pasta & they had to randomly pick second core ingredient that they had to gel in their dish to compliment the pasta of their choice. I must say I am amazed to see the performances of some of the contestants & even the presentations this time were great. Everyone came up with some brilliant ideas & I am glad that the contestants are showing their talent to the best of their ability.
Maryam got Pear as a second core ingredient so she created ‘Chocolate Pasta w/ Poached Pear & Pineapple Sauce’. Chef Khurram liked the presentation but felt that the pasta was too hard & wasn’t good at all. Chef Zakir pointed out that the pear was raw in the middle & was overcooked on the surface.
Rayyan got to work with Lobster so he came up with ‘Lobster Tortellini’. Chef Mehboob dreaded that the lobster tail tends to remain undercooked & the same thing happened with Rayyan’s dish but other than that the filling that he prepared & the pasta was perfect according to Chef Mehboob. Chef Khurram remarked his dish as excellent but felt that the portion wasn’t the right size. Chef Zakir also liked the pasta.
Khurram got Mango as a complimenting ingredient so he created ‘Stir Fried Mango & Vegetable Noodles’. Chef Mehboob loved the dish & commented him for giving out the best dish once again because it was perfect in flavor. Chef Khurram felt that he justified the rules because the balance of flavours was amazing with some sweetness to something zesty & spicy, the dish worked really well. Chef Zakir was amazed that Khurram made such pasta which was as good as a packeted one. He was totally impressed.
Gulnaz had to work with Blue Cheese so she came up with ‘Fettuccine Pasta w/ Chicken & Blue Cheese Sauce’. Chef Mehboob liked the pasta but felt that the whole dish needed a bit more creamier sauce. Chef Khurram found the presentation weak & the sauce too thick plus he also commented that the blue cheese wasn’t as evident in her dish as it should’ve been.
Amna got Broccoli so she came up with ‘Broccoli & Lobster Cannelloni w/ White Sauce’. Chef Mehboob didn’t like the presentation. He found the pasta overcooked because it was too thin & felt that the lobster was too dominant in the dish. Chef Khurram felt that the broccoli was flat & so was the sauce. He felt that the taste of lobster was overpowering. Chef Zakir was disappointed seeing such a dish by one of a top 10 contestant.
Zain selected Egg Plant so he created ‘Egg Plant Stuffed Cannelloni w/ Marinara Sauce’. Chef Mehboob commented that the presentation was best so far & also the pasta was cooked perfectly. Chef Khurram commended him for such a plating & felt that he did an amazing job.
Iqra got Pom-fret so she presented ‘Seafood Lasagne’. Chef Mehboob didn’t like the presentation & found the pasta too thin & overcooked. He felt that the pom-fret was lost because other seafood flavours overpowered the whole dish. Chef Khurram didn’t appreciate the way she plated up the dish & he was disappointed to see someone so good at pasta presenting such a weak dish where the sauce & the fish had no great flavours. Chef Zakir commented that too many things cannot bring out the best taste.
Madiha got Tofu so she came up with ‘Tofu Alfredo Roulade’. Chef Mehboob found the pasta as overcooked & felt that the sauce had no salt in it. He also suggested that Madiha should’ve cooked the tofu a little to bring out some texture in it. Chef Khurram felt that the main ingredient & the second ingredient both were flat. Chef Zakir renamed her dish as less salty pasta served with cherry tomatoes.
Ammarah got Minced Mutton to work with so she made ‘Tex Mex Mutton Pappardelle’. Chef Mehboob loved the presentation & the rest of the dish. He felt that the size of the pasta was perfect & so was the thickness. Chef Khurram liked the presentation as well & liked the flavours of the sauce & the pasta. Chef Zakir commented that the dish had perfect Mexican flavours & he ate such a perfect pasta after a long long time.
It was now time for the announcement of top 3 & bottom 3 dishes. Ammarah, Khurram & Zain were selected in the top 3 & Khurram well-deservingly won the challenge. Maryam, Madiha & Iqra fell in the bottom 3 & Iqra was eliminated.
I must say I was wowed by the presentation of Zain & Ammarah’s dishes. They looked picture perfect & as rightly pointed out by Chef Khurram, they looked appetizing. I am actually really glad that Khurram won this time because he deserved it based on his consistent performance. Chefs commented themselves that he has been in the top 3 for 3 times so it was his day. Ammarah is proving to be a very very strong contender as the variety of her food is amazing. Zain is redeeming himself as well. Saad’s dish was ignored so not sure if his performance was good or bad in this round. I was excited to see how Maryam’s dish would turn out because Chocolate Pasta sounded amazing but sadly she missed the mark but no doubt she presented the dish well & the idea was great too.
Madiha obviously presented a weak dish but I think she is spaced out. Even though she didn’t mention it too openly but it was pretty evident that the other contestants are giving her a hard time which I don’t really get why because I have never seen her comment negatively against anyone or regarding any situation, she is just as much of a contestant as others are so the contestants shouldn’t indulge themselves into petty politics & shouldn’t corner her. Iqra commented too casually that Madiha should pack her bags & leave whereas she herself was leaving, lol.
I feel that the judges took the right decision because Iqra wasn’t performing well at all & going by how she was labeled as a pasta master, the performance was quite disappointing. I feel that Iqra had some sort of an attitude problem or something because what Maryam did was just a genuine gesture but the way she reacted was OTT. Amna’s comment on the situation was once again uncalled for because if Maryam had walked away, she as well as others might’ve judged Maryam for being too inconsiderate (as they said about Saad’s gesture last week) but just because she showed some concern, it doesn’t mean it was in a bad sense & she was ghussofying in anything. Amna needs to relax & work on her dishes rather than commenting too casually on what others are doing because she is coming across as negative as well. Share what you felt about this episode & yes needless to say but still ‘no spoiler alerts please’. :)
Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.
ps: To all those in Pakistan who’re fasting on Monday; Ramadan Kareem. :)
