Ohkay, this episode was good because the contestants made sure they made it that way. This elimination round was based on Iftaar challenge, which was pretty simple yet it was complexed because the contestants were given a choice of creating a variety of dishes they themselves go for; in Ramadan. I must say I thought we’d get to see pretty much the same & typical dishes but the variety that all the contestants presented was not only interesting but showed their creativity.
The judges were accompanied by 3 special judges & they were Zain, Ammarah & Madiha. I feel it was fair for the other contenders that the co-contestant judges had a blind tasting session. I think this helped all three of them in staying true to their seats & because of that they gave honest opinions as they had no feelings to cloud their judgments to begin with. The comments however were random from all the judges on the platters they tried so once again even though I was not rooting for the eliminated contestant, I felt that the judges once again failed in giving us enough reasons regarding those dishes that made the remaining two contestants safe.
Maryam presented a platter of ‘Dahi Phulki, Pakora, Patties & Chicken Sandwich’. Zain liked the dahi phulki & also the filling of the patties; however he wasn’t impressed by the sandwich at all. Ammarah felt that the pakora batter was thick therefore it made the pakora dry after they were fried. Chef Mehboob found the sandwiches quite tasteless & felt that the chicken had no reasonable flavour in it. Chef Khurram felt that the patty filling was good but the dough was almost raw. Chef Zakir felt that the dahi phulki was undercooked as well.
Rayyan’s platter consisted of ‘Qeema Dahi Barey, Samosa, Mango Muffins & Batata’. Chef Mehboob liked the muffins a lot & also he liked the filling of samosas. Over all he was impressed by Rayyan’s efforts & his platter as he liked batata, muffins & especially the mango flavour that was instilled in the sauce. Zain found this platter very appetising & liked the muffins but he felt that the samosas were salty. Madiha enjoyed the whole platter & especially the sauces & muffins but felt that the drink wasn’t good. Chef Zakir gave him zero points for calling his dish dahi barey because he felt it had no component that is used in dahi barey.
Gulnaz presented a platter of ‘Mantuqh, Cream Chaat, Onion & Potato Pakora’. Ammarah liked the pakora & the drink but she felt that the dumpling wasn’t great. Zain liked the drink a lot. Chef Mehboob thought she should’ve used the immunity pin considering the weak performance this time. Chef Khurram liked the filling in the muntuqh but felt that the dough was chewy & undercooked. He also felt that the channa chat wasn’t up to the mark as it lacked seasoning & the cream was a bad twist to the simple dish. Chef Zakir felt that the pakora batter was dry & lacked seasoning as well.
Khurram’s platter had ‘Fried Fish, Prawns, Chicken Fingers, BBQ Wings & Potato Skins’. Chef Zakir didn’t like the chicken at all. He labelled his platter as a mystery box because he felt everything needed a little more preparation. Chef Zakir also felt that the portion size was too small to be eaten by 6 judges. Chef Mehboob felt that the platter was monotone & had no colours to make it look visually appealing. He liked the fish & also the prawns but felt they got a little overcooked. Potato skin which was served with a mash had no seasoning at all. Ammarah liked the fish & prawns but felt that the chicken was too dry. Zain thought that the platter looked quite boring because of the similar colors.
Amna came up with a platter of ‘Honey Wings, Buffalo Wings, Chicken Cheese Patties & Shawarma’. Chef Mehboob felt that the buffalo wings weren’t exactly like how they should be as the sauce is tangy & it has a strong flavour which wasn’t the case in Amna’s dish however he did like the honey wings & the flavours. Chef Khurram liked the overall idea of this platter but felt that the excess of parsley overpowered the rest of the flavours of shawarma. He liked the presentation & the patties too. Chef Zakir felt that the drink was too heavy & wasn’t Iftaar appropriate at all. Ammarah liked the honey wings but she also felt that the shawarma had a dominant flavour of parsley. Madiha also felt the same as Ammarah. Zain liked the drink.
Saad’s platter had ‘Chaat, Pakora, Dahi Barey, Berry Tart & Date Biscuits’. Chef Mehboob liked the chat but found dahi barey too grainy & undercooked. He also felt that the date biscuits had a burnt flavour to it & he shouldn’t have put them on a plate. Madiha liked the puff pastry of tart & the flavour as well as the idea of the platter. She also liked the date biscuit. Zain felt that the biscuits were burnt however he liked the chaat & puff pastry. Chef Zakir felt that the batter of dahi barey wasn’t smooth as it should’ve been.
It was now time for the results. Rayyan got some amazing comments as he managed to impress the judges so he was safe followed by Amna & Saad. They both managed to save themselves from getting eliminated because their platter had a few misses but some hits too. Khurram, Gulnaz & Maryam fell into the danger zone & Maryam was eliminated. She definitely had some limitations & couldn’t stand out like a few other contestants but once again I felt that the judges didn’t give us some actual facts & details as to why Gulnaz & Khurram got safe & why Maryam was eliminated. The judges pointed out the negatives in the main components of all the dishes so once again not sure why they couldn’t actually tell what were those winning points that made Khurram & Gulnaz while sending Maryam home.
Pretty decent episode but the promo had me excited. I just can’t wait to see how the contestants run an actual restaurant & perform under such a high pressure zone. Team & off-site challenges are always interesting so can’t wait for the next episode. Share your thoughts on the elimination & the episode.
Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.