Once again, this week of MasterChef began at a high note where a lot of people got selected in the top 50’s as well. Most of them were great but I actually looked forward to the Boot Camp & as expected that was a treat to watch too.

I am liking the fact that real & genuine people who really have passion for cooking are coming to the show. People know what the title of MasterChef means & no one is mocking the opportunity. For me the best thing about the show is that we’re getting to see people from all walks of life, all sorts of backgrounds who have a dream related to this industry & have confidence in themselves. I like this as well that the judges are staying true to their seats & have remained honest & upfront about everything they come across in anyone’s cooking. They are not holding back when it comes to the appreciation nor they are sugarcoating if they come across something questionable.

A lot that was selected in this episode was:

Iqra Yasir from Karachi who made ‘Papparadelle in Arrabiata Sauce & Tiramisu’.
Amna a passionate cook who traveled from Kuwait & she presented ‘Lemon & Parsley Chicken w/ 3 Dipping Sauces’.
Maryam who made ‘Fusilli Pasta w/ White Cheesy Sauce’.
Siddique Wali a video editor who made ‘Chicken Ala King’.
Azam from Karachi who presented ‘Grilled Stuffed Chicken’.
Mohammad Muzzail from Islamabad who runs a roadside cafe, he made ‘Chicken Karachi & Tikka’.
Rayyan Durrani, he came up with ‘Fillet Mingon & Churros for dessert’.
A few others who got selected were Asma Khan, Zainab Ahsan & Madiha Asad.

Now when the top 50 were selected, the judges had to select top 20 in a challenge that they had set in a Boot Camp. A challenge that may look comparatively simple wasn’t that easy. In this round all the 50 contestants had to slice & dice the onions which is the most beginning stage of a Pakistani cooking. The judges clearly said that it doesn’t matter if all the contestants we have are home cooks but now they are competing for the MasterChef title & for that they need to show their knife skills.

Chef Zakir showcased how it was supposed to be done & what was the precision that they wanted to see from the contestants. After the top 20 were selected the judges felt that they should probably give a second chance to those who remaining 30 who were out of the race. So, in the next episode the judges will pick 10 more contestants & then the remaining 20 would have to leave.

I am finding this show a lot more interesting.  In this episode the stand out contestants were Iqra Yasir, Mohammad Muzzamil & Rayyan Durrani. I am glad all three of them got selected in the top 20 & can’t wait to see them cooking. I’d conclude by saying that the judges are definitely paying attention to the tiniest details & I can’t wait to see the challenges the judges will keep coming up with to test the contestants & train them as well. Share your thoughts about the show. :)

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Ohkay so, the episode was good but once again a savoury challenge!?!?! Ever since it has been pointed out by one of the readers that the dessert challenges have been completely ignored, it does seem right & makes me want to see a dessert challenge more. We’re almost at the end of the season here where we’ll get a winner in a few weeks’ time but still we haven’t seen who’s diverse in the cooking except a few contestants.

So, this challenge was based on ‘duck’ as a core ingredient. Contestants had to make it shine in their dishes & they got a pretty decent time limit of 2 hours in this challenge. I was impressed by quite a few dishes but I must say it’s clearly visible that the contestants have stepped up a couple of notches in the presentation because almost all the dishes looked visually appeasing. The dishes that were created & the comments they got were:

Rayyan came up with ‘ Duck w/ Plum Sauce, Potato Dauphinoise & Duck Crackling’. Chef Mehboob liked the dish for the fact that the main ingredient was cooked perfectly. He felt that the duck was succulent, tender & also medium-rare; exactly how Chef Mehboob preferred it to be. He liked the sauces as well as the potatoes Chef Zakir liked the dish on the whole but he felt that the taco had no flavour & it lacked seasoning but the sauce was good too.

Gulnaz came up with ‘Duck Steak & Legs w/ 4 Sauces & Semolina Cake’. Chef Mehboob commented that just because she tried to go for a lot of sauces, she couldn’t do justice to each one of them. He didn’t like the honey sauce much because he felt it had no other flavour, apple sauce was more like a purée & it also lacked flavour. He felt that even though the duck leg was cooked well but it had no flavour as well. He liked the semolina cake but he felt that Gulnaz should have used her immunity pin today.

Khurram came up with ‘Sweet & Sour Duck w/ Fried Rice’. Chef Khurram commented that the presentation was great, sauces were good, duck was tender, succulent & flavoursome however the rice were a tad bit salty & they weren’t exactly the way fried rice are served. Chef Zakir liked the duck but he felt that the fat wasn’t rendered which was making the meat a bit chewy to eat.

Amna created ‘Stir Fried Noodles w/ Honey Soy Glazed Duck’. Chef Mehboob liked the plating but he felt that the flavour was missing, duck had no flavour whatsoever, noodles weren’t Asian enough & the egg served for the purpose of garnishing was overcooked. Chef Khurram liked the presentation too but he felt that the duck was hard & lacked flavour; veggies were crunchy but had no flavour too.

Zain presented ‘Duck Breast w/ Mash Potatoes, Pea Purée, Orange Sauce & Salad’. Chef Mehboob felt that just because the peas weren’t cook through, it made the purée a lot grainier & it lacked flavour as well. He felt that the potato mash missed the mark too & the duck was overcooked. Chef Khurram liked the presentation but he felt that this much effort should’ve been put in the flavours too. He found the duck breast a lot more chewy & undercooked. Sauce had an overpowering flavour of orange zest which made it too strong. Chef Zakir found the salad bland & felt that it lacked seasoning. He also complained about the usage of excessive orange zest which made every bite quite hard to eat.

Madiha came up with ‘Oven Roasted Duck w/ Plum Sauce & Pomegranate Orange Salad’. Chef Mehboob liked the salad but felt she used the pomegranate more than required. He liked the duck meat too. Chef Zakir forgot to comment on the dish but he voiced up his opinion about the inconsistency in the knifing skills because he found that the meat pieces weren’t cut consistently.

Ammarah created ‘Duck Breast w/ Orange & Cherry Sauce’. Chef Mehboob liked the duck because it was cooked nicely however he felt that the sauce got concentrated a bit too much, he overall liked the effort but he felt she had missed a mark a bit too this time. Chef Khurram liked the presentation but felt that the duck skin wasn’t cooked too well. Even though he felt that the duck was cooked through but he complained about the portion size as that made the duck a bit chewy. Chef Zakir passed on his signature comment which was ‘maza a gaya’.

Ohkay so it was pretty evident that a quite a few contestants made remarkable dishes that’s why Khurram & Rayyan qualified for the next round followed by Ammarah & Madiha. I am glad that Khurram & Rayyan redeemed themselves & have been consistent with their performances with the finale approaching.

Gulnaz, Amna & Zain fell in the bottom three & one of them had to go. I think all the three dishes were weak & had nothing good in it but just because Zain made a few more mistakes, he was eliminated. The elimination was a bit emotional because Chef Zakir even got overwhelmed. Ever since the beginning of the show, Zain has emerged as a very friendly person & he was someone who believed in helping his co-contestants, no wonder why everyone was so sad at his elimination. The judges had some great things to say about him & Chef Mehboob was generous enough to offer him his consultancy services free of cost for the sake of Zain’s future restaurant. That was really kind of him.

So, coming onto the overall episode, it was good enough but before I say anything I want to thank Amna for using that pasta machine because otherwise it would’ve defied the purpose of this show being a MasterPasta Pakistan (as pointed out by Haseeb brother in his article), so yeah back to the episode I don’t know why I feel they need more diversity in the challenges. I am not too sure if it was a coincidence or people copied the ideas from each other but every single dish had the acidic content in it like Plum & Orange & a bit of similar sweet content of Honey & Pomegranate & also Semolina Cake was made by two contestants . Amna & Khurram tried different dishes with Asian inclination but all of the others had somewhat similar ideas & components in their dishes & it looked like we were seeing similar dishes presented differently. One thing that does make me wonder about the elimination is that if we stick to the judges’ comments, Amna’s dish had no flavour at all & seems like every component of her dish was tasteless. Both of them presented their dishes well yet both of them were unable to instill any flavour in their complimentary components & where Zain undercooked the duck, Amna overcooked it, so I am not too sure why Zain wasn’t safe & why Amna was.

Anyways, the idea of elimination by the end of every episode now makes the show a lot more interesting but I wish we get to see some difficult challenges from now on as we’re heading to the finale. Share your thoughts on this episode & I excuse for keeping you waiting, I know how many times a few readers must’ve refreshed the page, heheheh!

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Finally, it was a dessert challenge. After a million savory challenges it was good to see them having a dessert challenge wholly & solely.

The challenge was interesting but it could’ve been a bit more complex, given the stage at which the show has reached. At first I thought they spoke about 3 tier cake but they wanted 3 different layers rolled into 1 cake. The time limit was pretty generous where the contestants got 4 hours. I feel in the last challenge they got 2 hours & this time the time limit was doubled, I hope in the grand finale, the contestants aren’t gifted with 6 hours to cook.

I must say I was impressed by the presentation once again; everyone put in a great effort in the cakes they baked & made sure they made their cakes look beautiful. I think everyone remained on a pretty typical side of the flavours but only Madiha & Rayyan experimented with the flavours & tried to go for something different to make their cakes stand out the most. I think Gulnaz made the right choice by using the immunity pin as she didn’t want to risk her spot at this point in the competition but I think where she has given some amazing savoury dishes, she should’ve shown us how well she performs in the sweet challenge too.

The cakes that the contestants presented & the comments they got, are:

Rayyan named his cake ‘Berry Bomb’. Chef Mehboob really liked the overall effort that was put into this cake. He appreciated the fact that Rayyan tried to put in different textures in this cake & tried to make them work. He felt that Rayyan stood out in this challenge too & he showed that he can bake good cakes as well. Chef Zakir felt that the top layer wasn’t moist enough but other than that he liked the cake. Chef Khurram commended him for keeping the crunch of the pastry intact, he felt that the usage of cream however did make top 2 layers taste a bit similar but other than that there wasn’t any heaviness to it which made the cake amazing.

Amna created ‘Triple Layered Mousse Cake’. Chef Mehboob felt that the second take she did on the brownie left it undercooked. He felt that the filling wasn’t right & he didn’t appreciate the fact that the cake collapsed however he did like the cream cheese filling & felt that the addition of raspberries added a very nice & unique touch to it. Chef Khurram felt that the top layer of cherry mousse was quite thin in consistency which got mixed with the bottom layer making it look like a two layered cake instead of three. Chef Zakir felt that she couldn’t master the usage of gelatine therefore it affected her overall performance.

Ammarah created ‘Chocolate, Strawberry & Mango Mousse Vanilla Sponge Cake’. Chef Mehboob liked the chocolate mousse because of the light bitterness to it. He appreciated the usage of dark chocolate because he felt that if the mousse would’ve been made with a regular chocolate, it wouldn’t have such a nice & unusual flavour. He also liked the mango & strawberry mousses & appreciated the fact that the layering of cake had a balance & consistency. Chef Khurram felt that the layering was done to perfection. He also liked the different textures this cake offered.

Khurram made ‘Mango Layered Cake’. Chef Mehboob felt that the base layer of the cake was hard & lacked moist. He also didn’t appreciate the fact that there were no significantly different layers in the cake & it was all sponge layers with some different flavours that too induced by the usage of essences. Chef Zakir felt that the cake was too dense with no prominent & different flavours. Chef Khurram felt that the cake wasn’t up to the mark & at this stage, the quality wasn’t good enough. He also felt that the cake had no layers as only one component was used.

Madiha came up with ‘Mango Mousse Cheese Cake’. Chef Mehboob felt that even though the cake collapsed & the mousse wasn’t set properly, it was the best mango mousse he tasted so far. He also liked the cheese layer of the cake. Chef Khurram felt that the base was hard & there weren’t many colours in the cake but the cheese filling was smooth & the flavours of the overall cake were balanced. Chef Zakir didn’t like the garnishing as he felt that kiwis & strawberries weren’t the right choice for such a cake.

So, this was it from the challenge & I am glad it was second time this week that Rayyan was the first person to be saved from the elimination. Ammarah got some great comments too because no doubt her cake looked perfect therefore she was safe as well. Even though Madiha’s mousse started dripping because it wasn’t set but the flavours she induced in that cake made her safe.

It came down to Amna & Khurram. In the beginning of the episode I heard Amna saying that she focused more on the savoury books as she felt they had attempted a lot of sweet challenges for which she now thought that they’re only going to get savoury challenges. I was kind of taken aback by that statement of hers because I feel Amna wasn’t mentally present in there because she felt that they were done with the dessert challenges!?!?! She mustn’t be paying attention as she must be busy focusing on what the other contestants were saying or doing. Obviously Khurram couldn’t dodge the bullet because it was his first attempt at the baking as it wasn’t his forte & therefore he was eliminated. I actually feel sad at his elimination & probably this is the first such elimination which I didn’t want to see. I wanted to see Khurram in the top 3 may be but didn’t want to see him go. He brought in such high & positive energy in this show & that is really going to be missed.

So, it now comes down to Amna, Ammarah, Rayyan, Madiha & Gulnaz. I hope to see Rayyan & Ammarah in the top 2 & whoever wins among those two would be a well-deserving winner because they both have been consistent & good in their performances. I hope the challenges get more exciting & difficult from now on as we’re heading towards the finale. Share your thoughts on this episode.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Finally, it was a good episode just because we got to see the contestants performing in teams & cooking somewhere else apart from the MasterChef Kitchen.

The challenge itself was great where the contestants had to feed the guests in the À la carte Restaurant. Even though the judges asked the contestants to push themselves harder & to bring themselves out of their comfort zones but I must say some of the dishes didn’t spell 5-star fine dining quality to me. We have seen the contestants making those dishes in previous challenges so I was concerned why the judges didn’t stop the contestants for playing it too safe that too at this point in the competition?

The contestants were divided into two teams; Red & Blue. Red Team had Rayyan as a captain & Ammrah, Madiha, Gulnaz as the remaining team members. Blue Team‘s captain was Saad & the other team members were Khurram, Zain & Amna. The challenge was simple, they had 3 hours to design their menu & prepare themselves for the service. I was actually excited to see how the teams would perform in the service time because that’s a crucial part of any restaurant challenge.

The dishes that the Red team made & the comments that they got were:

Entrée:
‘Pan Asian Prawns w/ Mango Salsa’. Chef Mehboob liked the balance of flavours that the dish had. He felt that the dish was very Mexican with well-cooked prawns & all that jazz of spice, sour & sweetness to it. Chef Zakir liked the prawns for the fact that they were cooked perfectly & he felt that the combination of salsa with the prawns was perfect.

Main:
‘Beef Tenderloin w/ Mushroom Sauce’. Chef Khurram liked the steak & the flavours. Chef Zakir felt that the timing with which the steak was cooked was just right because it was succulent & tender. According to him the marination was great & he was glad that it was cooked perfectly. Chef Mehboob was like it was hard to believe that the steak was cooked by a home-cook because it was that good.

Dessert:
‘Cheese Mousse w/ Cherry Coulis & Chocolate Truffle’. Chef Khurram liked the presentation a lot. Chef Mehboob was glad that Rayyan plated the dessert in his style. Chef Zakir liked the balance of flavours & the fact that the dessert wasn’t too sweet.

The dishes that the Blue team made & the comments they got were:

Entrée:
‘Ceaser Salad w/ Grilled Prawns’. Chef Mehboob liked the dressing of the salad & also the prawns. Chef Khurram felt that the dish lacked the colours & the prawns weren’t coming out as a main component of the dish like it should have.

Main:
‘Tagliatelle w/ White Sauce & Grilled Chicken’. Chef Mehboob felt that the pasta was overcooked. Chef Khurram felt that the presentation could’ve been better but it was just right. Chef Zakir didn’t like the knife skills & felt that the portion size was too big.

Dessert:
‘Red Velvet Cheese Cake’. Chef Mehboob had an issue with the sponge as according to him it was too dry, however he liked the cheese cake & the usage of berries to bring in that acidic tinge to the dish. Chef Khurram liked the presentation & felt that the red colour made it visually appealing.

It was now time for the verdict. It was good that the judges read the remarks of the guests too. I am glad the guests got to have a say in this & it was pretty clear that Red team had an upper hand in both; the menu & the performance, therefore they won the challenge, sending the Blue team into the elimination round.

I must say I was expecting something more from the Blue team because the menu they selected was something that their team members have cooked before. We’ve seen Zain cooking pasta many times & Amna has made red velvet cheese cake in one of the elimination rounds that earned her a spot in the safe zone before. I think it was the responsibility of the judges to remind the contestants of not cooking something they’ve cooked before. White sauce & ceaser salad are also a couple of those components that have already been cooked in the MasterChef Kitchen. Red team in this regard stood out because they were creative & opted for a different menu however Cherry Coulis & Chocolate Truffle has been cooked previously too but other than that their menu was good.

Rayyan proved to be a good team captain because he was helping his team members around when they asked for it. All the decisions he took for his team paved a way for their success. I am glad Ammarah, Madiha & Gulnaz worked in harmony too & made sure they did their tasks well. Blue team started off great but started having hiccups in the middle of the prep-time & not only their service was choppy but their captain fell short on his responsibilities. It seemed that the blue team was quite complacent & were too confident but I am glad the team I was rooting for won the challenge & yes, it was the Red team.

Addition: I wish someone had given a teaspoon to Chef Mehboob for the tasting because to see him dipping his finger in the batter for the tasting purposes was quite unflattering. I am amazed that he being a chef himself didn’t know how he was contaminating the food & how unhygienic it was. It’s quite sad that the show is about to end in a few weeks time but still we can’t sense any connection between the judges & the contestants. Seems like the judges never really tried bonding with the contestants.

Overall the entire episode was good but I wish they had opted for some more creative dishes. Share your thoughts on this episode.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Ohkay so, it was a good episode which began with an interesting challenge, not too sure about the final challenge but yeah the first one was good. I am sure a lot of viewers would be rejoicing at the elimination but I am still amazed at the things the eliminated contestant had to say about himself.

The day began with a small challenge where the contestants had to taste the spice mixes of Shaan & had to identify them correctly. I thought they would let one contestant taste & name one spice but it was like everyone had to try the same spice. I think it could’ve been unfair in a sense that a contestant who had no idea about what the spice was could’ve easily changed their answer by listening to what the majority of the contestants had guessed. But all in all, it was a difficult challenge because to guess the spice mix is actually quite difficult. Amna emerged as a winner of that round & she was saved from going into the actual round where the rest of the contestants had to cook.

Second challenge wasn’t as difficult as it should’ve been because when the judges were introducing the dish by saying every single country has it’s version of the dish in question, I thought it would be something exciting but when they announced it was a Kofta Challenge, I was actually amazed at the level of difficulty because I feel they are now dealing with the top 7-8 contestants & to expect them to make kofta at this point is a bit underwhelming.

The dishes that Zain, Khurram, Saad made & the comments they got were:

Zain created ‘Chicken Meatballs w/ Fettuccine & Balsamic Sauce’. Chef Mehboob liked the usage of parsley in the pasta because he felt it gave a very unique flavour to the dish. He also appreciated Zain’s effort at the pasta this time because he felt he improved heaps as compared to the previous challenge & he finally nailed the pasta & cooked it to perfection. Chef Mehboob also enjoyed the combination of meat balls & the pasta. Chef Khurram liked the meat ball especially because he felt that the flavor had pierced through the meat ball & made it flavorsome. He also liked the color of the meat balls because it was deep fried & felt that the addition of parsley didn’t really overpower the whole dish. Chef Zakir picked a few points that the usage of mashed potatoes & Parmesan in the meat balls changed the taste & because of that he felt that the meat balls were a bit dry but over all he liked the colors of the dish & the presentation.

Khurram came up with ‘Spaghetti w/ Meat Balls’. Chef Mehboob loved the dish completely. He commented that he has never eaten such a tasty spaghetti & meat ball dish with a perfect sauce to compliment it. Chef Zakir appreciated his efforts because he made pasta on his own. He liked the dish for the fact that the portion size of the meat balls was perfect & so was the flavor. Chef Zakir commented that this was a complete dish with not much at fault to it.

Saad presented ‘Kofta & Roti’. Chef Mehboob felt that the koftas were overcooked & quite dry. He didn’t like the fact that the onion chunks were visible in the curry & because of that the curry wasn’t smooth like it should’ve been. Chef Khurram felt that the curry was almost raw where the flavours of spices didn’t really blend well together. He felt that the over usage of different spices made the curry a bit bitter. Chef Zakir felt that the mix that he used for the kofta wasn’t right in both; the flavours & the ratio. He couldn’t really taste anything in the koftas.

It was now time for the verdict & going by the judges remarks it was pretty evident that Saad was about to get eliminated. I kind of, for a moment felt that Zain might get eliminated because the remarks of the judges were totally different now as compared to how they rated his dish back at the tasting table. I did feel they were trying to save Saad but finally, it wasn’t his day & he was eliminated.

Even though I am happy for both Khurram & Zain but then I want to ask where’s the versatility of these contestants? Zain just cooked pasta in the previous challenge & Khurram had cooked the same spaghetti before & grabbed a lot of compliments from all the judges especially Chef Zakir, so what was the point of going for the same thing over & over again? I feel this should be a rule in the show that the component that has been cooked before won’t be accepted again because it then feels like Zain can keep on making his pasta thin, thinner & thinnest so as to keep himself in the competition till the end. I thought these contestants were versatile & diverse but sadly that’s not the case anymore. I can only see that Rayyan, Gulnaz, Ammarah & to some extent Madiha are versatile & they never hold back in experimenting which is necessary in a show of this caliber because they want to upgrade themselves from being home-cooks to chefs.

Even though Saad knew he didn’t perform well but to hear him say he deserved to be in the top 3 was funny. He got too complacent & I think this resulted in his elimination. I must say Amna needs to tone down herself a couple of notches because she wasn’t really helping the contestants & was confusing them a lot. I think she needs to understand that she must speak when spoken to. She was unable to make up her mind when she was downstairs fighting to win the advantage but the moment she got safe, she became Miss. I-Know-It-All. I think Amna is a good contestant but if only she could control her verbal prowess, that would be awesome. & yes, last but not the least I would like to say that even though Madiha has invited a bit of criticism to herself but one thing I like about her is that she never speaks ill about anyone. She only has good things to say about her contestants & I like her for being humble & positive. Share your views on this episode.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Pretty average episode with a very typical format. Some instructions, some shopping, some chopping, some plating & some judgments & yeah not to be forgotten some bickering too. I wish to see more on-site challenges where the contestants get to compete against each other because it makes the episode a lot more interesting as compared to the in-kitchen challenges, which are always pretty much the same in the execution.

Today’s challenge was interesting but the dishes that surfaced were quite mediocre, in a sense that they didn’t spell MasterChef quality to me. 2 contestants opted for totally different ideas & turned them into the dishes but others made it a Paaye/Karahi Challenge. This time the contestants had to work with the offal or as they say organ meats. I thought we’ll get to see some exciting dishes but the food that was served was more on the home-cooking side & not unique.

Khurram won the last challenge so he got an advantage of extra 10 minutes but he also had to pick one contestant who’d have 10 minutes deducted from his cooking duration. Khurram picked Saad for it because he wanted to see what Saad will create. Judges also announced that those contestants who’ll make it to the top 3 will not only be safe from the elimination round but will taste & judge the dishes served by their co-contestants.

Maryam came up with ‘Beef Paaye & Naan’. Chef Mehboob liked the fact that the main ingredient was tender which was a plus point but over all her dish didn’t have the typical Paaya flavour which didn’t make it impressive. Chef Khurram liked the texture of the meat & the tenderness but just like Chef Mehboob, he commented on the lack of actual flavour too. Chef Zakir thought she had a lot of options but she didn’t plan well.

Rayyan created ‘Maghaz Karahi’. Chef Khurram like the taste of the gravy but couldn’t find the taste of the main ingredient at all. Chef Zakir spoke about the right ratios that should be used in Pakistani dishes because Rayyan clearly missed the detail.

Khurram came up with something different like ‘Liver Sandwich & Pâté’. Chef Mehboob felt that the sandwich had a very less filling which wasn’t that good either. Chef Khurram felt that the Pâté wasn’t smooth like it should’ve been. Chef Zakir also questioned the filling of the sandwich.

Gulnaz created ‘Oojhri Karahi & Oojhri Salad. Chef Mehboob liked the bread she served with her dish but other than that her dish didn’t have balance too. Chef Khurram liked the taste of the gravy but other than that he felt that the main ingredient had no flavour of its own. Chef Zakir didn’t find Salad impressive either.

Amna presented ‘Mutton Paaye & Garlic Naan’. Chef Mehboob felt that there was a dominant flavour of mixed spices in her dish & it wasn’t spicy at all. Chef Zakir liked the flavour but also commented that the mixed spices weren’t used in the right proportion.

Zain came up with ‘Brain Masala Cheese Balls’. Chef Mehboob liked the filling & the color of the coating. Chef Khurram commented on the presentation but other than that he liked the flavours & the crispness of the cheese balls. Chef Zakir felt that the rice needed a bit more of a seasoning.

Madiha came up with ‘Mutton Paaye’. Chef Mehboob liked the dish a lot of the balanced flavours but he also liked the spice blend that she presented with the dish. Chef Khurram liked the dish a lot as well because of the flavours, the texture & the perfect spice level. Chef Zakir liked the gravy & the tenderness of the dish.

Ammarah presented ‘Muttom Paaye & Naan’. Chef Mehboob felt that the dish had a unique flavour to it which was really good. Chef Khurram appreciated the taste, the level of spices & the texture of the meat. Chef Zakir felt that he could eat this dish as a breakfast because it was that good.

Saad made ‘Kaleji & Gurda Masala’. Chef Mehboob didn’t like the dish as he had to spit it out because of the reek of the meat. He felt that the smell destroyed the dish & the liver was overcooked. Chef Khurram found it salty & overcooked to an extent where it got hard to chew. Chef Zakir felt that it was a pretty easy meat to work with but the main task was to make it reek-free which he failed to do.

It was pretty clear that Madiha, Zain & Ammarah will be in the top 3 because they got some amazing feedback. All of them created perfect dishes & grabbed some great comments from the judges so yes; they made it to the top 3. Madiha in particular got appreciated because of the spice mix that she created because Chef Mehboob was all praises for it to a point where he himself asked for the recipe & was ready to pay for it. After Khurram, Zain created a totally unique dish & luckily it worked for him because he put in a lot of effort into it. Ammarah as usual cooked her dish with a twist but got amazing remarks. I am glad Madiha, Zain & Ammarah got the advantage of being safe from the elimination round & will judge & taste the dishes alongside the judges. I felt bad for Khurram because I think he was planning too much without having a clear direction in his mind, even though he decided to opt for an unusual dish, he couldn’t make it shine. Madiha should now understand that just because she sticked to a simple dish & worked on making it flavoursome, she excelled this time.

The spat of Amna & Gulnaz was obviously bizarre & what’s more bizarre was the coverage that it got. I was excited to see the technique of Khurram’s dish because I have seen it in some other cooking show but sadly they didn’t show how he made it. I think instead of covering other dishes like Karahis & Paayes & those verbal spats, they should’ve covered Khurram & Zain’s dishes properly as they were doing something different. It was good to see the contestants being happy for the top 3 because seems like all of them have a great relation to the rest of them. The remaining contestants might be expecting a bit of favouritism from their friends but I hope none of it happens & those who made it to the top 3 stay true to their seats. It was kind of funny that the judges had to remind the top 3 that they were more experienced than them, which was once again an unnecessary reminder as none of the contestants at first asked to be selected as the judges & now when they were selected, there was no need for the judges to be so insecure.

One thing that I find kind of annoying is the Pakistani version of background music they’ve opted for. Some of the sound clips are obviously the signature tracks of MasterChef franchise which completes the experience of the show but just because they’ve added some other sound effects, it’s making the show seem a bit too dramatic. Anyways, share your thoughts on the episode.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

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.

Ohkay, so as much as I was looking forward to this episode I feel that the layout of every single episode is becoming very monotonous with the factor of excitement subsiding especially. It’s getting pretty obvious that the beginning 10 minutes of the episode will be dedicated to the judges, next 30 will be allotted to the haphazard cooking followed by the judges’ patrol asking the MasterChef Pakistan’s signature question ‘kya bana rahay/rahi hain’ & the remaining minutes will showcase the tastings & the final result. I think if they’d focus more on showing the techniques, they’d be able to make the episodes a lot more engaging. Like in this episode, everyone put up some great dishes which involved the hardcore desi techniques that have been the essence of our local cuisine since ages but sadly, the execution team couldn’t do justice to anything in particular. As much as the task was interesting, I feel the episode lacked the wow factor.

The task that was assigned to the contestants was to prepare food that represented Pakistan’s provinces. Everyone got the cuisine randomly & with the immunity pin up for grabs for the first time in the competition, everyone worked really hard. Zain had won himself an advantage in the last round so he had to use it this time by picking any cuisine that he liked & exchange it with someone he thought of as a threat. Zain got Balochistan & he replaced it with Punjab & exchanged it with Maryam. The dishes were great & I feel that all the contestants performed brilliantly by showing some amazing techniques. Madiha, Khurram & Zain got Punjab. Maryam & Ammarah got Balochistan. Amna & Gulnaz had to represent Khyber Pukhtunkhwa through their cooking & Rayyan, Iqra, Saad got Sindh.

Khurram served ‘Palak Gosht w/ Naan & Lassi’. Chef Mehboob liked his dish a lot & felt that the meat had a very good flavour. He felt that Lassi had a ratio of milk more but other than that his main dish was perfect. Chef Khurram liked the presentation along with the flavours but also wanted him to add more colors while plating the dish. Chef Zakir felt that the meat was tender, succulent & flavoursome so for that he appreciated Khurram a lot.

Rayyan made ‘Katakat & Daal’. Chef Mehboob felt that the whole dish was sour & the daal had a lot of soya sauce in it. Chef Khurram didn’t quite get the taste of daal. Chef Zakir didn’t like the roti that Rayyan cooked either.

Gulnaz presented ‘Ghata Roojee, Chapli Kabab & Rumali Roti’. Chef Zakir liked the kababs a lot. Chef Mehboob thoroughly enjoyed her whole dish specifically for the balanced flavours. Chef Khurram enjoyed both the components of her dish too.

Amna came up with ‘Channa Mewa, Chapli Kabab & Qehwa’. Chef Mehboob liked the taste of qehwa & he also enjoyed the flavours of channa mewa but he did feel that cabab didn’t have a balanced flavor. Chef Khurram commented that he could feel the essence of Pukhtun flavours in Amna’s dish. Chef Zakir liked the main dish but felt that raita had no salt in it (!?!?!?!).

Maryam served ‘Namkeen Gosht, Channa Daal, Bhindi w/ Roti. Chef Mehboob liked the dish a lot but he felt that the daal was over cooked but other than that her main dish which was namkeen gosht was cooked to perfection. Chef Zakir praised her for improving herself over the weeks & he liked namkeen gosht but felt that daal has no flavour to it. Chef Khurram commented that his mother used to make similar bhindi & liked her dish over all.

Iqra presented ‘Sindhi Biryani & Thadli’. Chef Mehboob found that the chicken was raw so he didn’t taste it but felt that the rice had a great flavour. Chef Khurram told her off for not taking care of the protein that too at this stage of the competition. Chef Zakir felt that she put in a lot of effort on her side drink but if she had paid more attention to her biryani then she could’ve come up with a dish of the day.

Zain presented ‘Murgh Channa, Daal w/ Roti. Chef Mehboob felt that he made a mistake by switching the province as he didn’t perform well because the daal had no flavour & rice had no salt in them. Chef Khurram liked the presentation but he felt that he was eating karahi masala. Chef Zakir felt that he came up with channa chat because murgh channa is supposedly made with the chicken stock so for this his main dish was weak.

Ammarah came up with ‘Balochi Gosht & Roti’. Chef Mehboob felt that the meat didn’t have a right balochi flavour because of the usage of ginger in particular; he was kind of disappointed & commented that he didn’t find what he was looking for. Chef Khurram felt that it was more like a whole different dish & wasn’t what she claimed she presented.

Madiha made ‘Saagh, Makai Roti & Lassi’. Chef Mehboob found the roti was too dense & dry plus saagh was more on a sweeter side. Chef Khurram liked the lassi & the technique of it, he also liked the texture of saagh but the flavour was too sweet for his taste too. Chef Zakir wasn’t satisfied with the roti specifically as well.

Saad came up with ‘Sindhi Biryani & Suji Ka Halwa’. Chef Mehboob didn’t find the biryani spicy enough but liked the halwa. Chef Khurram liked the plating but felt that the chicken was undercooked & the rice overcooked. Chef Zakir felt that he tried to do the things right but the result wasn’t upto his expectations.

The judges for the first time selected top 4 dishes instead of top 3 as they were impressed by 4 dishes that they tasted. Judges appreciated the efforts of the contestants a lot & felt that everyone tried to instil the essence of the local food to the best of their ability. Maryam, Gulnaz, Amna & Khurram were in the top 4 & surprise surprise, Gulnaz won the immunity pin which she can use anytime she wants to back out of any specific challenge.

I feel that the contestants tried to use a lot of different techniques but none of them were covered properly. I was more interested to see how Ammarah sealed the wok & how Madiha churned the lassi but seems like the main focus was on spoon stirring & veggie chopping throughout the episode. Even though the contestants have started to speak to the cameramen while they are cooking but none of them actually talk about the dish. All I hear them speak is about how hopeful or confident they are about their dishes. I feel that the contestants should speak more about the food & the techniques rather than being vocal about the results beforehand. Khurram, Ammarah tried to talk us through their dishes but the rest didn’t.

In my opinion, I feel that Khurram should’ve won the immunity pin but as Gulnaz is no doubt performing well I feel the judges have a soft corner for her therefore she was chosen. It’s good to see that the contestants are now getting along well with each other where they were being cordial & are being supportive of each other as well. Gulnaz got a great response & everyone was happy for her. Good to see her emerging as a strong contender. I don’t know why, I may be wrong but I felt that the way Chef Zakir changed the name of Gulnaz’s dish & made it sound similar to Rayyan’s dish, he was kind of personally attacking Rayyan for not being able to perform well. I know I may be wrong because it’s my assumption but the way Rayyan is being treated, it won’t be a surprise. Anyways, let’s see who goes this week so yes, please remember ‘no spoiler alerts here’. Share your say on this episode.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

ps: I wish Ramadan Kareem to all my dear readers. I hope everyone gets to make the most of this blessed month & may Allah bless every single believer, Ameen. :)

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. :) 

Ohkay so, it was a pretty good episode but I must say the judges are getting a lot of talk time in each & every episode. It’s ohkay, it’s their job to do the briefing but the literal spoon feeding tends to get a bit tiresome to listen to. I think like the professionals, they should treat the contestants as grown ups & after giving out the details related to the challenge, they can let them carry on with the cooking but literally every 60 minute episode to say the least involves 20 minutes of the judges instructions (remarks excluded) which makes the episode seem a bit boring.

Anyways, this was an immunity challenge & the contestants got Quail as a core ingredient that they had to work with. It was once again a 60 minute challenge with an access to the pantry twice. I really didn’t get the ‘tuk’ of pantry pass? They could’ve easily told the contestants that after first 5 minutes in the pantry they can access it once for the last time but to see the contestants scurrying to the judges to hand them the pass seemed unreasonable & kind of unprofessional.

Amna came up with ‘Moroccan Quail w/ Couscous, Rocket Salad’ & as appetizers she presented ‘Zatir & Haloumi Fatayer’. Chef Mehboob liked the dish because it had balanced flavors, he appreciated the flavors of quail, salad & tahini. Chef Zakir felt that her dish had a perfect balance & the quail was tender, succulent & flavorsome. Chef Khurram liked the fatayer as well as the quail & also commended Amna for the presentation.

Maryam came up with ‘Crispy Fried Quail w/ Mashed Potatoes & Asparagus’. Chef Mehboob liked the quail as according to him she pulled it off really well. Chef Khurram felt that the sauce could’ve had a little more spiciness to make it complimenting to the dish.

Rayyan presented ‘Pan Seared Quail w/ Herbs’. Chef Mehboob felt that the core ingredients of the dish was weak & the side components weren’t helping the taste of the quail much. Chef Khurram liked the presentation. Chef Zakir (as usual) wasn’t satisfied with the flavors.

Gulnaz made ‘Smoked Quail w/ Zeera Rice’. Chef Zakir liked the quail but felt that when tasted with the rice & sauce, nothing was working together. Chef Mehboob found that the quail was the best he had tasted so far as it had a local flavor. Chef Khurram commented that the presentation should be improved but he also liked the flavors of the quail.

Khurram presented ‘Quail Tempura w/ Wasabi Sauce’. Chef Zakir bluntly told that he shouldn’t have worried about his choice & rather should’ve worked on what the judges would like. According to him the sauce was so overpowering that it dominated the flavor of the quail.

Sidrah presented ‘Shahi Quail Curry w/ Garlic Naan’. Chef Mehboob felt that the usage of cardamom changed the whole dish & the gravy wasn’t rich enough to be labeled as mughlai/shahi. Chef Zakir got a bit too carried away because Sidrah chose to change the name of the dish!?!?!?!. He was like ‘serious kab honge app log’? *sigh*

Zain presented ‘Smoked Quail w/ Stuffed Rolls’. Chef Mehboob felt that the rolls were too thick but the quail had some very nice flavors but it was a little overcooked. Chef Zakir felt that the quail was overcooked & lost its flavors.

Iqra presented ‘Stuffed Quail w/ Hummus & Quail Jus’. Chef Khurram found the hummus flat & Chef Mehboob felt that this wasn’t a good performance by her.

Madiha came up with ‘Fried Quail w/ Creamy Salsa’. Chef Mehboob felt that the selection of ingredients was limited & the quail was overcooked. Chef Khurram found her performance quite average.

Ammarah created ‘Quail Ravioli & Grilled Quail’. Chef Khurram didn’t appreciate the presentation much. Chef Mehboob felt that she presented 2 dishes within a dish & needed to concentrate more. Chef Zakir felt that the quail was flavorsome but the ravioli was thick.

Saad presented ‘Oven Braised Quail w/ Veggies’. Chef Mehboob felt that the quail lost it’s flavors because of the cooking technique. Chef Khurram didn’t like the presentation & also felt that only the meat had it’s own flavors & Saad failed to induce some self-created flavors in the quail.

So, the top two dishes that the judges selected were of Amna & Maryam. Amna won the immunity for the weak & was appreciated for her dish a lot. Maryam won herself an untold advantage. The next round would be an elimination round but I don’t really get why don’t the contestants wear black apron in every elimination because supposedly every elimination round is a black apron round.

I was told by one of the readers that she felt these reviews were being followed by the team of MasterChef as she felt that the changes were being made in the episodes every time something regarding it was mentioned in the review & this time I felt the same thing & if so, I would commend the team for being considerate & open to audience’s feedback. I did mention that the cameramen should speak to the contestants while they are cooking & this time around we got to see the contestants talking about their dishes. I hope that the contestants do not only speak about how good their dish is & how confident they are about the dish but also mention which techniques they were using & some more stuff like that.

Chef Zakir was as always a bit too stern but then I feel the little disclaimer that he gave was again in order to clarify the image that he is being stern in order to bring out the best of the contestants. I think there’re a lot of ways of bringing out the best in people & that certainly doesn’t happen by belittling them. It was pretty evident that the judges didn’t appreciate the contestants & their approach with the quails because by the end of the round they were speaking about the Pakistani dishes that they would’ve liked to see in this round. I think it should be highly appreciated that the contestants are not being one-dimensional & are being too brave to try different dishes & are opting for different techniques, I am glad the contestants are definitely not sticking to the ‘kormas’ & ‘karahis’. Share your views about this episode.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Ohkay, so it was a pretty good episode because of Chef Saadat. I am glad he came as a guest judge & showed that successful chefs can be soft spoken too. I liked the Q&A session he had with the contestants & he actually led everyone accordingly. Where he suggested Madiha to go abroad for the initial courses, he told Gulnaz to actually stick to her roots & open up a restaurant in Chitral. He brought in some positive energy & it was great to see.

The contestants had to replicate his signature dish in 90 minutes. Even though Amna had immunity, she still attempted the dish. Maryam got an advantage of seeking Chef’s help for 20 & then 10 minutes during the challenge & the pantry was accessible throughout as well. The signature dish of Chef Saadat was ‘Chicken Roulade w/ Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Carrot & Pumpkin Purée, Blue Cheese Flan & Falsa Confit’. The dish had a lot of components & everyone did a great job in recreating the dish.

Amna got some average feedback & luckily for her she had the immunity because her dish wasn’t impressive. Chef Saadat felt that the ratio of salt was wrong in a lot of components & the purée was a lot creamy. Chef Mehboob felt that the purée had no taste whatsoever & lacked seasoning too.

Maryam benefited herself from the advantage that she got & received great remarks. Chef Saadat liked her dish on the whole but felt that the purée had a lot of white pepper in it. Chef Mehboob liked the chicken roulade because of its colour & juiciness. He liked the flan too.

Khurram recreated a great dish & shined in this round. Chef Saadat liked the presentation as well as felt that the mash was good & he commended him for making a falsa sauce better than him. He appreciated Khurram & admitted that even he feels he couldn’t make such a tasty sauce which was good to see. Chef Khurram liked the chicken & felt that the inner portion was succulent. However, he told him to improve the presentation. Chef Zakir liked the dish a lot & told him to keep up the good work.

Gulnaz couldn’t do too well in this challenge & stuffed up a few components of her dish. Chef Saadat felt that the flan was good & creamy but the potato mash had a lot of garlic in it as well as the pumpkin purée was bland. Chef Khurram liked the presentation a lot. Chef Zakir felt that the chicken was good & the stuffing was perfect but it lacked seasoning. He liked the mash potato for its flavour but found the pumpkin purée quite flat.

Sidrah didn’t perform well in this challenge as well. Chef Saadat felt that it looked more like a dessert plate & the chicken was under-cooked. Chef Khurram felt that the flan had a strong & dominant flavour of the blue cheese, falsa sauce was too sour, chicken was under-cooked & the purée was bland. Chef Mehboob found the chicken raw & the purée tasteless.

Iqra presented a great dish. Chef Saadat liked the presentation a lot but felt that the purée had a totally different flavour. Chef Zakir also appreciated her effort with the chicken & found it tender & soft.

Madiha came up with a weak dish this time. Chef Saadat felt it had no balance. Chef Khurram thought that the presentation could’ve been better. Chef Zakir thought she has lost her charm.

Zain managed to impress the judges as well. Chef Saadat thought that he cooked the best chicken so far & it was spot on. Chef Mehboob liked the chicken but wasn’t too impressed by the purée. Chef Khurram liked the presentation a lot.

Ammarah came up with a great dish too. Chef Saadat felt that the plating was good. Mash had a strong flavour of garlic but other than that the chicken was cooked to perfection & it was the best so far. Chef Mehboob felt that the mashed potato was more like a garlic purée but other than that her dish was good on the whole.

Saad was weak this time around as well. Chef Saadat found his flan flat & overcooked. Chef Mehboob thought that falsa sauce had a very strong flavour of ginger. Chef Zakir thought that just because the chicken was overcooked it was dry & the purée wasn’t smooth.

It was now time to announce the top & the bottom 3 contestants. Zain, Khurram & Ammarah came up with the best dishes therefore they were selected as the top 3. The judges justified their dishes with their honest remarks & made Zain the winner of the round. It was good to see Zain & Khurram redeeming themselves after a long long time. Saad, Gulnaz & Sidrah presented the weakest dishes however were in the bottom 3. Gulnaz was safe because she at least managed to do one thing or the other right in her whole dish but going by the judges’ remarks, Sidrah‘s dish was the weakest as nothing worked on the plate, leaving her eliminated.

I feel the judges this time around did justice with their remarks & gave us convincing reasons as to why Sidrah was eliminated. However she did put up a good dish once but didn’t stand out like other contestants. Saad got told off by Chef Zakir for the relieved gesture that he did which I found way too funny. Not the gesture but the way he was told off as if he was in a school.

It was a good episode over all & special thanks to Chef Saadat because he kept the things lighthearted. However, I do feel that they didn’t focus on showing the techniques of creating the roulade & once again the cooking was shown haphazardly. I was excited to see that the contestants had to make chicken roulade because this is something that I myself have learnt only by watching MasterChef Australia, so I was actually quite eager to see how they create it in MasterChef Pakistan but sadly nothing was shown in detail so that people could understand how’s it made. I feel that they have managed to ignore the techniques & have not at all helped the viewers in learning a thing or two about different cooking techniques. By watching other shows, I found out about the temperatures at which the contestants prepare the steaks & how they set the limits like medium-rare, rare, well-done etc, I understood how the pasta dough is kneaded & similarly a lot of other details which we may or may not use in our cooking but that’s what cooking shows are for that they also stir some sort of learning process by showing how the contestants are working in order to achieve the desired dish. I hope next time they do focus a lot on showing the techniques so that those who are interested can learn & get hold of new ideas to incorporate in their cooking. Share what you felt about this episode.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

ps: I request all the readers that if you happen to grab some spoiler alerts about the show from Facebook pages or the contestants’ official pages then please keep them to yourself. I’d much appreciate if the show is not spoiled for those who are watching with great interest. Lately people are finding it hard to keep the details to themselves & are spoiling the suspense for others. Please, be a bit more considerate. Thanks!

Ohkay so, over all it was a very enjoyable episode to watch. I liked the challenge & I think these team challenge episodes are becoming my favorite because you get to see the high energy of all the contestants & the judges as well.

This time the off-site challenge was set in a school where the contestants had to serve 50 students. The captains were picked randomly but then it came down to the captains to pick their team members. Azam was the Red captain & he chose Saad, Rayyan, Amna, Iqra & Zain as his team members. Maryam being the Blue captain chose Khurram, Ammarah, Sidrah, Gulnaz & Madiha as her team.

This time around the judges left it on the contestants to decide the menu themselves but did give them a bit of a briefing as to how the food should be healthy & how they should make it attractive to appeal to the kids. Maryam left it out on her team members to give out the suggestions & by the end she will make a decision of which dish to work on. Madiha suggested Pizza Sandwich & the blue team decided to go for it. Even tough Madiha’s idea was great & I liked it for being different, I feel the rest of the menu of both the teams was pretty basic. There are a lot of things that can be served to the kids so I kind of missed out on the variety because none of it spelled ‘MasterChef’ food to me though in terms of idea & then selection.

The challenge began & both the teams had only 2 hours to prepare & plate up their dishes to serve the kids. It was interesting to see the whole set-up that was done in the school to indulge the kids into some activities & it shaped up more like a party for the students but I must say I was really happy to see the confidence of all the kids that the judges spoke to because they knew their food & gave out the details pretty well. No doubt when it came to critique, the kids were too keen & didn’t miss out the details. I loved how the students explained what they liked & what they preferred.

It was good to see the preps as well but like always the preps were no doubt shown in detail but a bit too haphazardly. Like they showed everything in general & most of the times the captains were explaining who was assigned with what duty but the actual contestants weren’t speaking much for themselves. Maryam came out as a great captain where she took things in her hands & helped her contestants whereas Azam was a bit too firm & supervised his team & their errands mostly without cooking much for his team. I feel this time around all the teams worked really well together without any hiccups as they listened to their captains.

Khurram brings in a great energy, Rayyan works like a machine (Masha Allah), Madiha is always brilliant in her ideas, Iqra obviously has an upper-hand when it comes to desserts, Ammarah is focused, Saad is definitely good at marketing, Amna knows what she’s doing & for this, these contestants are definitely standing out the most. I am glad all the contestants got to convey their feelings & they were covered properly.

Red team came up with ‘Mini Beef Burgers w/ French Fries & Chicken Pops’ along with ‘Chocolate Cup Cakes’. Chef Khurram liked the chicken pops saying they were succulent & tender. He also liked the muffins saying they were rich in flavor. Chef Mehboob felt that this team paid attention to the briefing & actually understood what was required & just because they kept their target eaters in mind, they had an edge at winning the competition.

Blue team presented ‘Pizza Sandwich w/ Chicken Crispies & French Fries’ along with ‘Chocolate Trifle’. Chef Khurram found the taste quite flat but he liked the dessert. Chef Zakir felt that in comparison to red team’s cupcakes, blue’s chocolate trifle was better because it had a balance of flavors & sweetness.

It came down to the voting & I loved how the students got to vote for their favorite team. They had to pick either red or blue balloon to cast their vote & clearly the blue team won, sending the red team off to the elimination round. The judges themselves voted for the red team but unfortunately their votes didn’t matter much because blue team won with a huge margin.

I enjoyed watching the judges communicating with the students this time but when the episode began; I couldn’t help forwarding some of their screen-time because their spoon-feeding & repetition was a bit too long. It’s like when they were dealing with the contestants, they took them as kindergarten kids where they had to make sure each & every command was conveyed to them thrice so that they can understand. ‘Aik aik kar k aprons nikalain’, ‘khana banatay waqt dehan rakhna hai’, ‘bachay zalim hote hain’, ‘kaisay banana hai dehan rakhain’, ‘appki planning matter karegi’, ‘aj app bachon k liye bana rahay hain’, ‘soch samajh k banana’ & then how can we forget the ~*Ultimate MasterChef Question*~ ‘aj kya bana rahay hain app’. I think the intro of every episode should be cut down & the judges should wrap up their briefing as quickly as possible but other than that I liked their spirit & their attitude a lot, looks like they themselves have started to enjoy this MasterChef experience & therefore we can see them getting candid enough. Once again I’d say that it would be better to see the contestants talking through while cooking a bit more. This episode certainly had some & I hope they do more of it in the upcoming episodes.

It’s coming across pretty evidently that the contestants are showing zero tolerance towards each other. Rayyan’s general comment on the cupcakes was made to keep the atmosphere lighthearted & the spirits high regarding the competition but Sidrah didn’t take it too well & later Maryam & Saad’s spat was covered once again, where Gulnaz, out of nowhere, actually passed a derogatory comment regarding the whole scenario. I am not too sure but even in the last episode when Gulnaz was on a tear-spree, Amna did comment in order to clarify her position but Saad didn’t utter a single word on the camera, similarly, this time around too he didn’t say much so I think he is keeping things from being sensationalized but the ladies (being themselves) are finding it hard to keep it to themselves. Whatever happens shouldn’t be shared in the first place & if the contestants do speak about it, the editing team should edit it to keep the competition fair & healthy. I hope this unhealthy politics & those taunts are kept out of the way because I have never ever seen it happening in any other MasterChef show. People do get involved in politics & it’s a human nature but to actually give words to some harsh feelings isn’t appeasing to see & they should be shown as one team with no such politics working in their own orbits to win the title.

Share what you felt about this episode & how much did you enjoy it?

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

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.

Ohkay, I must say, this episode was a complete MasterChef package for me because it was perfect in terms of cooking, perfect in terms of execution & most importantly it was perfect in regards to the judges too. I am glad we got to see a lighter side of the judges this time around & as the episodes are progressing I feel that the judges are getting candid & comfortable in their seats & are actually making an effort in understanding the contestants & their mental pressures more. This episode had absolutely no drawbacks whatsoever & I thoroughly enjoyed it this time around.

The challenge itself was really interesting where the contestants randomly got the cuisines they had to work upon. They were told to check the drawers & their reactions were honest, where some were excited & the others were lost.

Azam & Saad got Pakistani Cuisine.
Iqra, Rayyan & Madiha got Chinese Cuisine.
Gulnaz, Ammarah & Sidrah got Thai Cuisine.
Khurram & Amna got Italian Cuisine.
Maryam, Zain & Mudassir got Arabic Cuisine.

It was once again a 60 minute challenge with a semi-open pantry. The dishes that the contestants came up were amazing & the judges were a bit more elaborate in explaining which dishes they liked & what they didn’t in certain dishes.

Amna presented Fettuccine Alfredo w/ Bruschetta. Chef Khurram liked the dish & felt that the chicken was tender, sauce was flavoursome but it was a little too creamy. According to him the dish wasn’t what he expected from Amna at this stage. Chef Zakir felt that the pasta was too thin to fit the mark of fettuccine & also told her that fettuccine is not supposed to be cooked with the sauce & just because she did it, the pasta was over-cooked. Chef Mehboob also commented that the pasta was thin & the sauce was too creamy with no accurate ratios.

Khurram made Beef Lasagne w/ Garlic Cheese Bread. Chef Mehboob felt that too much was going on in the dish & a lot of ingredients were used unnecessarily. Chef Khurram also felt that he could taste a lot of flavours & told him to stick to the basics. Chef Zakir felt that the sauce was too rich & the marination of the beef wasn’t great too.

Gulnaz came up with Thai Green Curry. Chef Mehboob loved the dish because as per him the flavours were in perfect harmony. He felt that the curry had a very mild but a great flavour. Chef Khurram also liked the dish & said that the flavours were balanced & the chicken was great too. Chef Zakir commented that this was so far the best dish that she has cooked in the competition. He also liked the fact that she kept things simple & pointed out that especially.

Sidrah made Thai Red Curry w/ Sautéed Rice. Chef Mehboob appreciated her especially because this was the first time she attempted a Thai dish. He said it was a little bit on the spicier side but perfect for him. Chef Khurram liked the presentation & also the dish because it was flavoursome.

Azam came up with Zaffrani Qorma. Chef Zakir felt that the onions were giving a little sweeter quotient to the dish & said that if the flavours aren’t balanced, the dish doesn’t taste good. Chef Khurram said that the chicken was a little undercooked but he liked the curry & said that he could still taste the saffron which was a good sign.

Maryam presented Mandi as an Arabic dish. Chef Mehboob felt the whole dish was too dry. Chef Khurram thought that the dish tasted like Pakistani Pulao & not at all like Arabic Mandi. Chef Zakir questioned her choice knowing that she was attempting this dish for the first time.

Rayyan made Charred Beef w/ Veggies. Chef Zakir didn’t like his cutting techniques. Chef Khurram liked the flavours but found it too dry.

Irqa made Dry Beef Chilli w/ Garlic Rice & Beef Mince Filled Cabbage Rolls. Chef Mehboob commented that the rice tasted good but the beef was a letdown of the dish.

Madiha presented Cashew Chicken w/ Raisin Fried Rice. Chef Khurram felt that too much flavours made her dish into something else & it wasn’t a proper Chinese dish. Chef Mehboob said that the dishes should be simple. Chef Zakir asked her again if she didn’t get what was asked of her.

Zain presented an Arabic platter of Parsley Chicken with Hummus, Tabouli & Peta Bread. Chef Khurram felt that the Hummus was a bit too thick & he thought his dish wasn’t Arabic enough in terms of the flavours. Chef Mehboob told him the right way of making Tabouli & commented on his cutting skills too.

Mudassir made a Deconstructed Chicken Shawarma. Chef Zakir felt that the chicken had no flavour & also the cutting wasn’t right. Chef Khurram felt that the chicken lacked the shawarma-like taste. Chef Mehboob commented that the chicken should’ve been sliced thinly & also the sauce had no right flavours.

Ammarah made Thai Red Curry w/ Prawn Soup. Chef Mehboob commented that the balance wasn’t right & just because she tried to balance it out, the flavours were lost completely. Chef Khurram liked the presentation but he said that the overall taste of the dish wasn’t that impressive.

Saad made Shahi Badaami Qourma. Chef Khurram loved his dish too & felt that there was no need of changing the name because the flavors were spot on & this dish was the best one in Pakistani category. Chef Zakir shook hands with him & appreciated his effort. Chef Mehboob said that he has picked up a pace & has started to perform ever since the last team challenge & this dish was amazing too.

So, these were the dishes & I am glad they covered everyone’s cooking, dishes & then the tastings in this episode. Zain broke down because he couldn’t perform & we got to see a friendlier side of Chef Mehboob because he made Zain understand how he shouldn’t take these comments to his head & rather take them as a guideline for improvement. Chef Mehboob also told him & the other contestants about a story of his struggles & he said that the contestants will be put up with physical & mental pressures & whoever will survive till the end by putting the act together will become a MasterChef.

The judges had to select the top 5 & said that the one who will win the challenge will get the immunity. The winner will perform in the next elimination round but will be safe. The top 5 were Azam, Amna, Saad, Sidrah & Gulnaz. I feel for the very first time the judges did a justice to the winning dish with their remarks because they didn’t hold back & didn’t fish for unnecessary flaws in the dish. Going by their remarks it was pretty evident that Gulnaz will be the winner & she actually was. She was ecstatic, happy, humbled & overwhelmed & the judges praised her wholeheartedly to boost up her morale & encourage her to perform similarly in the upcoming challenges. I feel this is the exact vibe that we; the viewers were expecting from the judges & I am glad it wasn’t too late & they have redeemed themselves.

On a personal note I really like how Madiha always adorns her scarves with matching girly accessories, it looks really really cute. :) I enjoyed seeing the personal VT’s of Mudassir & Ammarah. It’s good to know that the ladies do get support from their families to work on their passion. Gulnaz is a sweetheart & her innocence is a treat to watch. I am actually really happy that Gulnaz proved herself & Saad is also working towards a winning streak.

So, for the first time in MasterChef we’re expecting a guest chef in the elimination round. I don’t know why but I have a strong feeling that the guest chef would be none other than Chef Rahat, I may be wrong but I think it might be her. Any guesses who the guest chef might be? :) Share what you felt about tonight’s episode.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Elimination round was good & so was Chef Shai’s appearance in the show. She really lit up the kitchen with her presence & more importantly her positive attitude & the encouragement she extended to the contestants BUT, the best moment of this episode for me was when Saad said as far as Zubaida Apa ain’t the guest judge, he’ll be fine. LOL! I couldn’t stop laughing at that.

Once again we got to see some great dishes but I have an issue like they do tell generally as to how a contestant is chopping the veggies or how are they using the machines but I am kind of missing out on the ‘techniques’. I want to see what techniques they use & how do they plan the execution of the dish. I am missing the while-cooking conversations of the contestants where they talk us through to their thinking process & how are they planning to work on a dish, what problems are they facing & stuff like that. It seems that the contestants only speak when the judges question them but other than that I kind of miss knowing the techniques they are using in their dishes & the talk-throughs.

First challenge was to create a salad in 20 minutes which only Chef Shai would taste so that she could pick a winner. Those salads looked delicious & I am sure any salad-lover like me would’ve drooled over the sight of them. The list of the salads is as follows:

Bean Sprout Fish Salad – Maryam
Ceasar Salad w/ Prawns – Amna
Rocket Leaves Salad – Rayyan
Prawn Salad w/ Honey Glazed Veggies – Khurram
Greek Salad – Gulnaz
Ceasar Salad – Azam
Lettuce Salad w/ Bell Pepper Dressing – Sidrah
My Fresh Salad – Zain
Deconstructed Ceaser Salad – Iqra
No Fat Salad – Mudassir
Italian Dressed Salad in a Nest – Madiha
Walnut Bacon Salad – Ammarah
Mango & Avacado Salsa – Saad.

The winner was Saad because Chef Shai felt that the portion size was just perfect for the entrée as well as the presentation & the grilled prawns. Saad won the advantage of getting a help from Chef Shai that too for 10 minutes in the upcoming challenge.

The last & the elimination challenge was set by Chef Shai where she brought a dish created by her & it was more like a recreation challenge where she provided the contestants with the recipe & they had to come up with a dish exactly like hers but it could vary in the presentation. The dish was Tenderloin Medallion w/ Lemon Chilli Prawns & Curried Quinoa. The contestants got 90 minutes for it with an open pantry & the resulting dishes were good to see. Chef Shai did make it clear that in the culinary world people follow a KIS rule which refers to ‘Keeping It Simple’, so she advised everyone to follow it throughout.

Maryam was the first one to get the feedback from the judges. Chef Shai felt that the Quinoa was under-cooked, the curry was a bit spicy, cheese bowl was a bit thick that’s why it turned soggy but the prawns were good. Chef Mehboob commented that the prawns were good but the sauce was overpowering. Chef Khurram didn’t like the presentation & Chef Zakir felt that the steak had a burnt flavor to it.

Amna got her feedback were Chef Mehboob said he couldn’t eat the under-cooked prawn. Chef Shai also commented that the cheese bowl was too thick & soggy but she liked the steak & felt that the sauce was well seasoned. Chef Zakir commented that raw food is a big no no & it a massive problem.

Rayyan was the next in line for the judges’ remarks. Chef Mehboob liked the prawns, the beef but felt that the sauce was a bit too strong but when combined with the whole dish, it worked really well. Chef Khurram told him that he could do well with the presentation.

Sidrah got the comments where Chef Shai felt that the steak was dry but prawns were good. Chef Mehboob commented that she tried to do well on her part & she succeeded, he told her to keep up the good work. Chef Khurram felt that the sauce was a bit more sour & spicy but if she had improved she was the only one who would’ve gotten closer to the actual dish.

Khurram came in to get a feedback on his dish. Chef Mehboob said that the quinoa was raw, prawns weren’t good as they were overcooked but the sauce & the cheese bowl were right. Chef Khurram didn’t like the presentation. Chef Zakir was as usual stern & said that this sort of food won’t earn him respect (!?!?!?!).

Azam got some great remarks as Chef Shai liked the sauce & Chef Mehboob commented that the beef was well cooked & well-seasoned.

Gulnaz got appreciated as well. Chef Mehboob liked the plating & felt that the dish was ideal because the prawns, the steak, the sauce were cooked perfectly. Chef Shai liked the seasoning of the prawns & commented that if she seeks knowledge of this art, she can become a great chef herself. Chef Khurram felt she gave a good response to her competitors. Chef Zakir named the cheese basket as Chitrali Basket.

Zain was next in line. Chef Shai felt that the steak was dry. Chef Khurram didn’t like the sauce. Chef Mehboob said that the sauce was over-reduced that’s why it lost the flavour & the beef as well as the prawns were over-cooked. Chef Zakir commented that the beef was so over-done that it had no flavour.

Mudassir came to get in his remarks. Chef Mehboob said his beef was a disaster as it was over-cooked. Chef Zakir said because the steak was so thinly sliced it easily got over-cooked & was giving a burnt flavour too & the sauce had a totally different flavour.

Saad was the last one but he got some great comments. Chef Mehboob felt that he chose a wrong plate for the presentation but other than that the steak, the prawns & the quinoa were good perfectly. He felt that by far this was the best dish he had tasted. Chef Khurram commented on the choice of plate to but liked the flavours of his dish. Chef Zakir said he enjoyed eating the dish a lot & also said he has high expectations of him.

So, these were the comments & now it was time for the bottom 5 & someone’s journey to end. Zain, Maryam, Mudassir, Amna & Khurram were in the bottom & Mudassir was eliminated from the competition. Every contestant had some great things to say about him & we wish him good luck too. & once again I feel the judges remarks didn’t do justice to how weak Mudassir’s dish actually was that he was eliminated because going by the remarks that were shown, Khurram had the weakest dish where the 3 main ingredients were bad but Mudassir had only stuffed up the beef component. Not too sure what were they thinking.

On a personal note, I liked how Chef Shai was pointing out the positives in all the dishes even after the contestants had made some massive mistakes. She was being positive about everyone’s attempt & was impressed too. I feel she contributed greatly as a guest judge.

& yes, the thing we all dreaded was covered in this episode & that was the politics & the rift between the contestants. I so wish they had settled it off the camera & had kept the dignity of all the contestants intact. No doubt Gulnaz got some great comments & she won the challenge but that doesn’t mean she comes up with her personal behind-the-scene issues in front of the judges. I think the editors should have edited the whole thing ‘because’ we’re more interested in seeing the cooking & not the drama. I really like Gulnaz & also I like Saad, not too sure about Amna though but then to see Gulnaz taking names of the people involved & later getting the remarks by the judges on them wasn’t something good to see. The judges based Gulnaz’s dish remarks on the rift too where Chef Khurram said ‘this dish was an answer to her competitors who had questioned her’. I feel it’s a cooking competition & it should remain that way. The judges tried really hard to fetch something by stirring Rayyan-Madiha controversy but when they saw that Rayyan & Madiha tackled it brilliantly & didn’t give away much, they picked just the rightly naive person for it. I hope we don’t get to see more such issues that the contestants may be experiencing off the camera because this is MasterChef we’re interested in.

I am kind of curious as to why the clip of Chef Zakir was removed from the previous episode where he was being rude to Madiha when she asked a question. In the preview last week they did show something but when the actual episode went on-air I think that clip was deleted purposely. If they didn’t intend to show it then they shouldn’t have shown Chef Zakir’s remark in the preview too. I hope they don’t do such things for the ratings as they are getting enough already.

Can’t wait to see the upcoming episodes. Share what you felt about the elimination round & then the elimination.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

I know I might be a bit late in noticing but the opening title track of the show is really nice. It’s shot in the typical MasterChef way but the tune is catchy & it’s a great way to help us remember the names of the contestants. This show is something that I look forward to every single week because it goes without saying that the calibre is really top-notch. I thoroughly like the whole lot that has come to compete & the ideas they instil every single time they cook are praise worthy.

This was the very first team challenge of the season where Madiha once again had an upper hand because she won the last challenge so she was not only a captain but got to choose the menu she wanted her team to work with. I do feel that the judges should’ve left it on the contestants to come up with their own menu for the road-side food because the pre-decided menu didn’t help much in letting us know how creatively capable the team leaders were.

It was a typical street food that you get to eat everywhere in Pakistan available at all the times. It was again like a beautiful walk down the memory lane but apart from it, to see how the contestants competed was great too. The lot was divided into Red & Blue teams where Madiha was a captain of Blue team & Saad was appointed by the judges to lead the Red team. The contestants randomly picked the respective aprons. That’s how apart from Madiha, the Blue Team got Rayyan, Sidrah, Aneela, Maryam, Gulnaz & Amna. Along with Saad the Red Team members were Zain, Azam, Khurram, Ammarah, Iqra & Mudassir.

Madiha chose Bun Kababs & Jalebis for her team to create & Saad’s team got Roll Parathas & Gulab Jaman. Saad’s team had a very smooth start because it was Saad whose planning did the trick. He allotted the tasks to all the contestants & didn’t pressurize them much nor did he interfere. He believed in his team & allowed them to do whatever & however they wanted to do the work & later he focused on attracting the people towards his stalls. Madiha being too young to be a captain definitely had to deal with a lot things because her team mates weren’t properly following her instructions. Looking at how Maryam & Aneela were having difficulties in preparing the Kababs, showed they definitely might be having issues in taking orders from a 22 year old girl. Madiha herself was in a state of panic where instead of relying on others completely, she gave her input in everything, so for this right from the start till the end her team was suffering in communicating with each other.

The service began & the people flocked towards the stalls. I must say I was once again impressed by the choice of location & even the sitting arrangement done for the public. The food prep area was prefect as well where the special attention was given to the quality related to everything involved in the task.

It was great to see all the contestants work so hard to win the challenge. Iqra, Ammarah, Rayyan, Amna, Khurram & Saad stood out the most in this episode. To see how mechanically Rayyan worked was amazing. Amna definitely came up with some brilliantly tasty sauces to compliment the Bun Kababs chosen for her team. Iqra definitely had a rocky start but the way she grabbed all the compliments for Gulab Jamans showed how good she was. Ammarah was focused. Khurram’s a treat to watch, he brings in this positive energy & I like to see what & how’s he doing things. Saad was the one who stood out the most in the auditions but ever since he hasn’t been able to make a mark but I am glad the judges thought of him eligible of being a team leader & he certainly proved himself.

Red team won the challenge which by the end of the episode I was rooting for too. Their planning, co-ordination & eventually the taste of food paved the way for their success. Seeing frowning faces of the Blue team was a bit bad too but never mind I am sure the deserving contestants will come out strong after fighting hard.

It was good to see Chef Mehboob & Chef Khurram actually enjoy the challenge, mingling with the contestants, speaking to the people to get ideas of what they liked & in the end being open & comfortable in praising everything. However, I do feel that they are trying to sensationalize the non-existent rift between Madiha & Rayyan. I saw them both working just fine in the same team & even Madiha was happy to see Rayyan in her team but the judges were like ‘the enemies will work together’, I find it kind of unnecessary the way the judges are trying to bring in some sort of politics or are trying to fish for some kind of a reaction by either Rayyan or Madiha. Anyways, as expected, the only Chef who was in his typical mood was Chef Zakir. Seems like he was just there to nit-pick as to where things were going wrong & where the contestants were lacking so that he could comment on it. I actually laughed seeing him quiet especially when the other two judges were praising the contestants because it showed Chef Zakir had nothing good to say that’s why he wasn’t saying anything at all.

Anyways, it was a brilliant episode with a great energy. Can’t wait to see the black apron round to find out who goes this time. Share your thoughts on this episode.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Once again a very interesting episode. The black apron round was a treat to watch. I feel as we’re going along the season, the editing issues are subsiding & this episode was perfect in that regard. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the show & liked the energy of the judges this time around too.

In this round Maryam, Aneela, Rayyan, Madiha, Amna, Sidrah & Gulnaz were competing. The challenge was set by Chef Zakir himself that the contestants had to replicate his signature dish; Chicken Reshmi Karahi. What normally happens is that when the contestants are told to recreate a signature dish of any of the chef, they are provided with all the ingredients & more importantly, the recipe as well but in this round the contestants had to judge a dish based on their own capability & understanding of food, which definitely meant that everyone will be having a respective version of the dish. I feel that if they had at least given them some sort of pointers, than it really would’ve meant that the contestants were recreating Chef Zakir’s dish but nevertheless, what they all created was good to see too. The contestants had a free choice of making any sort of bread to compliment the dish & they did come up with some succulent bread for the judges to try.

While judging Madiha’s dish, Chef Zakir firstly pointed out that the cutting wasn’t the same how it was in the original dish. He also felt that the whole dish was dry. Chef Mehboob felt that she didn’t marinate the chicken long enough for the flavours to get in there. Chef Khurram felt that the sourness was overpowering the whole dish.

For Amna’s dish, Chef Khurram felt that the gravy was nice & had a great texture. Chef Mehboob liked the balance of flavours but Chef Zakir felt that the whole dish was missing a binding factor because of the lack of salt.

Regarding Rayyan’s dish, Chef Mehboob felt that salt was missing but he still liked the gravy. Chef Khurram felt that the gravy had the ratio of tomatoes more than it was required. Chef Zakir said that just because he put in a lot of spices, he had to balance the taste, that’s why he poured in some more tomatoes in the sauce.

In Aneela’s dish, Chef Zakir felt that it had no sourness, no shine in the sauce & just because she didn’t cook the dish properly, the tastes weren’t well combined. Chef Khurram liked the bread she served but Chef Mehboob felt that the dish was incomplete.

Gulnaz’s dish got a lot of compliments. Chef Mehboob felt that she recreated the dish closest to that of Chef Zakir’s. Chef Zakir felt that the balance of flavours was spot on, his only critique was that if she had brought out some more texture of the sauce then this dish would’ve been a perfect replica. Chef Khurram’s only concern was the usage of ginger but otherwise he liked the dish a lot too.

Sidrah’s dish got mixed remarks as well. Chef Khurram liked the bread & also felt that the sauce was nice. According to him, the tomatoes weren’t overpowering & because of that the spices could be tasted well. Chef Zakir felt that the chicken pieces were overcooked which made the main component of the dish a lot dry.

Maryam’s dish was average too. Chef Mehboob pointed out that the cutting wasn’t right. Chef Zakir felt that the sauce was way too thick but the taste was fine. Chef Khurram said that it wasn’t an exceptional dish.

It was now time for the results. Amna, Sidrah & Gulnaz were told that they were safe. Rest of them once again got criticized on the missing factors in their dishes. Chef Khurram said he was disappointed by the bread that Madiha made. Chef Zakir felt that Rayyan was working haphazardly & he seemed lost. Chef Khurram said that Maryam needs to work on her presentation & Chef Mehboob said that the chicken she made was dry. Aneela got the remarks by Chef Mehboob that her dish was incomplete, garnishing wasn’t upto the mark. Chef Khurram said only listening was not an option in this case, she had to practically create a dish of that standard too & just because she couldn’t deliver, she was eliminated leaving Maryam, Rayyan & Madiha safe for yet another week. Aneela’s elimination wasn’t a shocker, she wasn’t performing well ever since she stepped into the MasterChef kitchen but never mind, I wish her good luck.

One thing that I did feel once again was that the judges’ comments were confusing & misleading. While tasting & going by their remarks it felt that all the dishes were weak & the judges didn’t shed a light on any single dish that left them impressed, even Gulnaz’s dish was criticised for some factors despite it being the closest to the original one. Every single time, the judges picked one thing or the other that was lacking so it left me confused as to who deserved to stay in the competition & who didn’t. Sidrah was safe whereas Chef Zakir emphasized on the fact that the chicken was dry. Madiha’s dish was pretty disappointing but Aneela was eliminated. Chef Mehboob mentioned that she hasn’t been performing since the beginning but I think they shouldn’t have judged her cooking based on the past experiences because the clear reason they gave to her was that she remained in the bottom 3 every single week. I think the elimination was supposed to be based on this particular recreation of Chef Zakir’s signature dish & going by the judges remarks I feel Madiha’s dish was the weakest because judges didn’t like anything on that plate that she served. Chef Khurram did like the bread that Aneela served but he clearly mentioned that the bread served by Madiha disappointed him big time.

I feel that if the judges while tasting make up their minds that this dish can put the contestant through to the next round then they need to talk about the positives of that dish as well because I don’t see a reason for why Madiha was safe & why Aneela wasn’t because both of them got harsh remarks on their dish in this round especially. Even though I support Madiha & feel she is a strong contender but she definitely under-performed in this round & I didn’t hear a single positive comment about her dish that’s why I have my doubts. I feel that at least the judges should justify as to why a certain contestant is getting a chance once again like what was that ‘one’ particular factor that gave them an upper hand & a saving edge to continue being in the show.

Overall it was a pretty good episode & even the editing was great this time around too. Share your thoughts on this episode.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

So, this episode began with the elimination. Ali Shah, Aneela & Adnan were in the bottom 3 & one of them had to go. Going by the judges’ remarks, I am not too sure who deserved to go because all three of them were criticized for how bad their dishes were. I think it was important on the judges part to actually elaborate a bit more about the positives of Adnan & Aneela’s dishes which gave them an upper-hand & made them safe because the way the judges gave them the feedback, it went to show that all three of them were eligible of elimination. Like I said, I feel the judges focus more on criticizing rather than appreciating & that’s a downer.

This episode was once again based on a signature dish where the contestants had to come up with their own version of ‘Biryani’. Madiha who won the last challenge got an advantage where she could exclusively pick the meat she wanted to cook with & she also had to make a choice for the one contestant she found was a tough competitor. So, going by the rule she picked Chicken as a protein for herself & gave Rayyan a fish to work with, because according to her she knew he’s a strong contender & she felt he’d have a hard time working with it.

The challenge began & I am glad a little more cooking was shown this time which made the episode a lot more interesting. The judges went to everyone & asked about their techniques & the flavours they were infusing in their Biryani. A few dishes stood out both for good & the bad reasons & those who got their verdict were:

Adnan who presented ‘Beef Biryani’. Chef Mehboob felt that the spices dominated his biryani & the rice was over-cooked. Chef Khurram also felt that the spices over-powered the rest of the dish & also commented on the lack of presentation skills.

Aneela who made ‘Mutton Biryani. Chef Khurram felt that her presentation was weak again & said she needed to pay more attention on it but other than that he liked the food. Chef Mehboob also said that she did well & he was happy for her.

Rayyan made ‘Hyderabadi Fish Biryani’. Chef Zakir said that the taste of fish wasn’t infused much in the rice, which is why the rice was bland. Chef Mehboob commended him for not letting the fish break & felt that he presented his plate well but felt that the taste of sesame was dominant. Chef Khurram said that this dish was ordinary.

Gulnaz made ‘Mutton Nuts Biryani’. Chef Khurram liked her presentation but didn’t say much about the dish.

Zain presented ‘Mince & Prawn Biryani’. Chef Zakir liked it but said that the combination of fruit wasn’t balanced. Chef Mehboob gave him an insight as to how a fusion cooking should be handled. He liked his dish but said that he needs to pay more attention to the flavors which he is trying to work with especially when it comes to the fusion cooking.

Iqra made ‘Prawn Biryani’. Chef Mehboob felt that she pushed herself a little too hard that’s why she committed some mistakes. He felt that the smoky flavour was a bit too overpowering. Chef Zakir felt that the rice was cooked well but when they were combined with the other components, the rice became soggy.

Madiha made ‘Authentic Mughlai Biryani’. Chef Mehboob said her choice was right & she did justice to it a 100%. Chef Khurram loved her dish & said he enjoyed it a lot. Chef Zakir said this is a battle & the one who knows how to play will succeed.

Ammarah made ‘Pakistani Biryani Platter’. Chef Khurram liked the rich flavours. Chef Zakir commented on the uniqueness of the flavours that she induced in her dish.

Amna made ‘Laham Majboos’ an Arabic version of Biryani. Chef Khurram didn’t like her presentation nor the dish. Chef Mehboob said that she needs to come out of the Arab taste & work with Pakistani flavors.

Saad made ‘Sea Food Biryani’. Chef Mehboob liked the sauce that he presented but said that the biryani itself was a disaster. Chef Khurram said it wasn’t his lucky day.

Azam also made ‘Sea Food Biryani’ & Chef Khurram said that his sauce & biryani were poles apart.

I must say I am totally impressed by the ideas these contestants are coming up with every single time. Being the home-cooks mostly, their ideas are just brilliant & the execution is top-notch, which makes this show a must watch. Coming back to the competition, it was now a time for the verdict of the day so for that Amna, Ammarah, Madiha, Rayyan, Adnan, Aneela, Saad & Azam were told to come forward for the final judgement. Aneela, Ammarah & Madiha were safe where Madiha once again won the challenge. This left Rayyan, Amna, Adnan, Saad & Azam in the danger zone where they’ll appear in the black-apron round to compete against each other, which I can’t wait to see because it’s going to be the first ever black-apron round & this will give a chance to the contestants to prove themselves & compete justifiably.

I must say the challenge & the episode itself was great but I am disappointed by the judges & their remarks. It looks like Chef Zakir himself is competing with the contestants & he doesn’t leave a single opportunity that he gets to let others know that he is a successful chef himself. I feel no matter how bad a dish must be, it should never be called a disaster that too on the national TV in such a big platform. I think there are a million ways to give a feedback both positive & negative but being a judge, it doesn’t mean that they have to be so cold-hearted & blunt. Once again I felt that the judges nit-picked & discussed every single ‘negative’ detail while criticizing but didn’t speak about the positive factors of those dishes they felt were great. The only thing they could say was good, excellent & ‘maza a gaya’ but didn’t tell ke kiss wajah se maza aya.

I think Rayyan himself admitted that it was his mistake for which he couldn’t perform & he generally made a comment that rest depends on the judges but the judges got a bit defensive unnecessarily & reminded him of what his position was by saying ‘ke app wahan pe aur hum yahan pe kharay hain’. I think the unnecessary stern attitude of the judges is ticking me off. ‘Hamari nazar app sab logon pe hai’, ‘2 advantages zaya ho chuke hain’, ‘hamain sab nazar a raha hai’. I think the judges don’t know the art of ‘moving on’ that’s why they are stuck in the past about the 2 ‘once in a lifetime’ advantages that weren’t utilized properly, lol!

Relax judges, it’s just a cooking competition matey. :) Share what you felt about this episode.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Finally, finally, finally we got an episode which was perfect in every aspect. The challenges, the coverage of the cooking, the technical judgments & some positive comments from the judges. I thoroughly enjoyed this episode & felt that they lived upto the benchmark of the ‘black apron’ round & made it really interesting for us to watch.

This episode had 2 challenges where in the first one all the contestants had to made desserts, perk was an open pantry & the time limit was 30 minutes. All the contestants came up with brilliant dishes that too in such a short time span, which was great to see.

Adnan tried his hands on a fusion again & came up with ‘Fried Fruit Pakora’. Chef Khurram felt that the taste of desiccated coconut was pretty dominant. Chef Zakir taught him the actual way of working with semolina as he said just because Adnan didn’t opt for the right way of using it, the base that he provided for the dessert wasn’t cooked through completely.

Rayyan came up with the most technique prone dish which was ‘Caramalized Banana & Ricotta Crepe’. Chef Mehboob commended him for the idea but felt that just because the consistency of the crepe batter wasn’t thin, it made the crepes a lot more chewy, but he also felt that the filling was delicious. Chef Khurram liked the presentation but advised him on using a bigger plate to make the dish look better.

Saad made the desi dessert of ‘Qiwammi Sewiyan w/ Khoya Sauce’. Chef Mehboob said that even though these desi desserts may look easy but they’re actually difficult to make. He liked Saad’s dish a lot & felt that it reflected the taste of his mother’s cooking.

Azam made a ‘Bread Pudding w/ Raspberry Sauce & Lemon Curd’. Chef Mehboob felt that he should’ve opted for a different plate but other than that the taste was great.

Amna presented ‘Red Velvet Cheese Cake w/ Raspberry Cream’. She was appreciated by all the judges for her energy & even for coming up with such a complex dish in such a limited time that too under pressure. Chef Khurram felt that the colors she put up were brilliant & the flavors were balanced. Chef Mehboob also stated that people often end up making the cheese cake a lot more sweet but Amna didn’t do it, that’s why the taste was balanced. Chef Zakir praised her for using the oven & liked the way the cake made by her maintained it’s shape & just because the flavors were good, she won the challenge & as an advantage she was safe for the day.

In the next & the final challenge of the day, the contestants had to come up with their versions of Vegetarian Thaali, where they had to pay attention to different texture, color & the taste of the 3 main dishes complimented with the side dishes. The contestants had only 1 hour to prepare the food with an access to the pantry through out the challenge.

Azam was appreciated by Chef Mehboob for the effort, he felt that the curry was good & flavorsome plus the idea was great too. Chef Khurram felt that the texture was great but in some of the dishes, the taste was flat. Chef Zakir said for his effort he deserved an appreciation & he personally liked the curry & the beans better.

Rayyan got a good feedback by the judges as well. Chef Mehboob liked the platter but felt that Rayyan missed out the colors but the taste of okra was great, the lentil hat he cooked has that perfect balance of tamarind. Chef Khurram also said that despite missing out on the colors, he outdid himself in the taste. Chef Zakir appreciated a lot saying that he came up with the perfect Indian thaali that they were looking for.

Saad got an average feedback because the judges felt that his dishes were a bit salty but despite that Chef Khurram liked the spinach & liked it’s color & texture too.

Adnan once again tried to do fusion in one of the dishes & because of that Chef Mehboob didn’t like his dish much. He felt that the tastes didn’t go well together. Chef Zakir also felt that the fusion wasn’t working but commented on the lentil he cooked saying it was perfect. Chef Khurram said that he could feel a burnt taste in one of the dishes & so for coming up with the weakest dish in comparison to the others, Adnan was eliminated.

He was a good contender & took his elimination really well. He talked through his journey & confessed that he has learned so much & now will strive to do better. The judges parted with some good remarks & we wish him good luck too.

So, this was it from tonight’s episode. It was no doubt better in comparison to all the previous episodes & now we can say that the black apron rounds would be worth a wait. I felt that the judges didn’t appreciate the contestants if they took some extra seconds in the pantry planning their dishes & said that open pantry doesn’t mean that the contestants keep on going to the pantry again & again. I think the judges need to understand the literal meaning of an ‘open’ pantry because it does mean that the contestants have an access to it through out the challenge & it depends on them how much time they want to spend in there.

Also I felt that even though Chef Khurram told Amna that her dessert could’ve been better, she still won the challenge whereas Rayyan’s dish stood out the most in terms of presentation, taste & most importantly technique but still he wasn’t selected because of a minor crepe detail, which I feel wasn’t a fair decision but never mind, he along with other good contestants is safe, so that sums it up perfectly.

Next week of MasterChef Pakistan is going to be a lot more interesting because the contestants will be put through a big challenge where they’d have to run a stall on their own in a public place. I can’t wait to see what the contestants come up with. Share what you felt about the black apron episode.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Ohkay so this week ended with a mystery box challenge which also was an elimination round. I feel they have merged two separate rounds because normally in mystery box challenge, top 3 & the bottom 3 are selected. Later in the final cook-off challenge the bottom 3 tend to fight for the last time to keep their spot secured in the competition. In MasterChef Pakistan, they have rolled two things into one & mystery box challenge has been also used for the direct elimination. I feel a little change in the format is definitely required because I think those who don’t perform well in the mystery box challenge deserve another round to show their skills. Usually a celebrity chef is invited with their signature dish & the bottom 3 contestants are told to recreate the dish as close to the original one made by the guest judge. I feel this way whoever falls in the bottom 3 gets to prove oneself & the one who gets eliminated goes justifiably, but the way they have excluded this part from MasterChef Pakistan goes to show that randomly any contestant might end up leaving the competition no matter how promising they might be.

Coming onto the show, I must say the time to time short challenges that the contestants are being put up with are amazing. Initially the contestants had to make meringue by separating egg yolks & egg whites. Constant whisking was the key & Chef Mehboob demonstrated it to the contestants. The old-fashioned way to check whether the meringue is ready or not is to turn the bowl upside down, if it’s ready it won’t come off the bowl & if not, it would fall down. The contestant who won the challenge was Zain & he earned himself an advantage in the actual mystery box round.

The mystery box challenge began with some rules where the contestants had to at least use 6 of the ingredients given in the box & they had to make a savory & a sweet dish that too within the time span of 1 hour. The main component of the mystery box that had all the contestants shocked was the crab that too alive & kicking. A few contestants were scared & a few were excited but to make things easier, they also had chicken as another protein which the contestants could work with. I must say the cooking that surfaced was obviously amazing but a few dishes stood out the most.

Adnan came up with ‘Pineapple Steaks’ as a savory dish & he made ‘Pineapple Kheer’ as a sweet dish. Chef Zakir felt that he didn’t get the right combination in the savory dish plus the sweet dish had a burnt taste to it. Chef Khurram also commented on the burnt dessert, he said that the chicken was flat & the colors of the dish weren’t balanced right. Chef Mehboob said that it wasn’t a good effort. He said that the contestants must focus on making what is asked of them so that they can get the things right rather than trying to make more than what’s been demanded.

Anila made ‘Salty Creamy Chicken’ as a savory item & ‘Sweet Potato Kheer’ as a sweet dish. Chef Mehboob said that he expected something better from her. Chef Khurram commented that her dishes didn’t look appetizing & attractive enough. Chef Zakir asked her if she was satisfied with what she created & she honestly replied that she wasn’t.

Maryam created ‘Stuffed Chicken w/ Rice & Crab’ & a ‘Chocolate Tart’ as both the dishes. Chef Mehboob felt that the carrot puree didn’t compliment the dish. Chef Khurram said that he is upset at himself for selecting her & at her for creating such a dish. Chef Zakir felt that he had nothing to say about the dish.

Rayyan came up with ‘Capt. Saleem’s Crab’ & ‘Pineapple Upside Down Cake’ as both of his dishes. Chef Mehboob liked the food said he did a great effort. Chef Khurram appreciated the presentation but felt that the cake was a bit too sweet. Chef Zakir liked the cake but felt that the crab should’ve been presented differently because it was hard to eat despite having a good taste.

Zain created ‘Chicken w/ Egg Fried Rice’ & ‘Chocolate Brownies w/ Fruits’. Chef Khurram liked the savory dish but felt that the sponge of the dessert wasn’t cooked well. According to him Zain didn’t utilize his advantage properly. Chef Zakir felt that he isn’t taking the challenge seriously.

Madiha made ‘Chicken Rainbow Kabab’ & ‘Crab Dessert’. Chef Khurram liked the taste but commented on the lack of presentation skills. Chef Mehboob said that she took a calculative risk but she succeeded & got commended for it. Chef Zakir said he’d thank her for such a food.

Ali Shah came up with ‘Garlic Chicken Pasta’ & ‘Sweet Eggs w/ Nutty Chocolate Sauce’. Chef Mehboob said it wasn’t even a well-made dessert. Chef Khurram straight away said it was a disaster. Chef Zakir said it was an accident that happened.

Ammarah created ‘Crab Soup w/ Grillied Chicken’ & ‘Pineapple Pumpkin Cakes’. Chef Mehboob didn’t like her dessert. Chef Khurram liked her savory dish & Chef Zakir said he enjoyed the food.

Saad made ‘Crab Cakes’ & ‘Chocolate Tart’. Chef Mehboob appreciated him a lot. Chef Khurram said he liked his ideas & the presentation was good too.

A few contestants who got bad remarks were Iqra for only making Pasta. While explaining herself she got told off by Chef Zakir & he said after putting up a dish like this, she didn’t deserve to be in the competition. Khurram also got criticized for serving a raw crab. Gulnaz was told that if she had opted for some other technique, her dish would’ve been better.

So, those who stood out the most & made it to the top 3 were Rayyan, Madiha & Ammarah but the winner of Mystery Box Challenge was Madiha. She impressed the judges the most with her technique & the risk she took. The bottom 3 were Anila, Ali Shah & Adnan but seems like the announcement will be made in the next episode.

Once again, I felt that the judges were pressurizing the contestants a bit unpleasantly. They held back a lot when they had to appreciate the contestants but when it came to dissecting the dishes & giving a negative feedback, they were a lot more vocal & comfortable about it. Another thing that I noticed was that if the judges felt someone was behind the others during the task, they would call out their name in front of the whole crowd which I feel gets a little demeaning. I think there are other ways of bucking up a contestant & encouraging them but this hasn’t been happening in MasterChef Pakistan. I’d restate that the judges need to act a bit more relaxed & friendly with the contestants especially Chef Zakir. Being such a successful & renowned celebrity chef, I feel he should be a lot more candid & act like a secure senior who is helping the newbies that are stepping in this industry, rather than snubbing them. Take it easy judges. :) Rest’s all good.

Share your thoughts about the episode.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

This was one good episode of MasterChef. Right from the beginning till the end it was a treat to watch because the execution has been perfect. I liked the introductory part of the episode a lot where all the contestants got to share their excitement of stepping into the MasterChef Kitchen for the very first time. They all seemed really excited & were totally in the mood to face the challenge which was great to see.

Coming onto the MasterChef Kitchen, I must say I am totally impressed. The quality of the Kitchen & the Pantry was brilliant & the finesse was evident. The project managers of MasterChef have really outdone themselves & have done justice to the name of the franchise by living up to the standards.

The episode consisted of 2 challenges where in first challenge the contestants got the core ingredient set by the judges themselves, which was an ‘egg’. The contestants had to use it & make it shine through their dish in just half an hour. The access to pantry also had a time limit but I feel in such a pressure, the time limit shouldn’t be there.. The contestants are already under so much pressure & to test it more is equal to making them a lot more confused. Like I have seen usually in the MasterChef shows, the pantry stays open through out the challenge & the contestants get enough time to think about the dish they want to create, later it depends on how much time they take because it affects the challenge time which in other case is again a time-management test for them so I feel that way it’s still another good option to check how the contestant performs.

I was impressed to see the quality of cooking in the first round too but the judges had to pick 5 dishes that appealed to them the most in the presentation. Without tasting the dishes the judges chose Maryam, Rayyan, Zain, Saad & Amna & Maryam was declared a winner. She got an extra minute in the pantry for the next round as an advantage of winning the first challenge.

The real cooking began when the contestants had to present their signature dishes. Some were outstanding & some looked like it but weren’t impressive in the tasting. Those contestants who made it to the bottom 3 were Ali Shah, Anila Kamar & Iqra Yasin because Ali Shah’s dish wasn’t presentable, Anila Kamar’s was too simple & wasn’t up to the mark & Iqra Yasin’s main ingredient of the dish was tasteless as remarked by the judges. There was a planned elimination which had to happen in this episode but it was dropped by the judges because they felt it was too early to let any contestant go as they didn’t get a decent chance to prove themselves. The top three were Rayyan Durrani, Mudassir Ilyas & Ammarah Noman. The winner of this signature dish challenge not only won a chance of getting the signature dish’s recipe published in the MasterChef Cook Book but also the immunity for the week & it was Ammarah Noman who won the challenge.

I enjoyed watching the episode a lot but I feel the editing once again had a few hit & a miss moments because the dishes of those contestants who were selected in the top 3 in the signature dish round weren’t covered except of Rayyan’s, but we have no idea what made Muddasir & Ammarah the winner because they didn’t show anything related to them.

I am definitely rooting for Khurram, Rayyan, Saad, Zain & Madiha Javed. All the other contestants are great too. Rayyan got the chance to stand out in the couple of first challenges. Let’s see how he performs ahead. Ammarah Noman seems like a strong contender too & so does Maryam.

Coming onto the judges, even though they are being extra cautious in the food judging, which is obviously required but other than that I feel they are being a bit too stern. It’s like they haven’t really made an effort of bonding with the contestants & are being too reserved & serious. Most of the time it felt like they were the teachers dictating the students of 5th standard like telling them to raise hands after the cooking time ended. I feel the judges should ease a little & make an effort of having a healthy & casual chemistry with the contestants so that the contestants can learn more from them & the judges can share their experiences with the contestants as well. Other than that, I totally enjoyed the episode & can’t wait to see the next episode which will feature an elimination of a contestant in the typical MasterChef style Mystery Box Challenge.

Share your views about tonight’s episode.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

So, with this episode, the 2nd week of MasterChef comes to an end & also the boot camp has ended where the final selection has been done & we got the first lot of top 16 in our very first season of MasterChef.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the episode & also the challenges that were set for the contestants to make it through to the next level. The first challenge also seemed comparatively simple yet again but it wasn’t because the judges knew what they were looking for. Another 10 contestants were selected in the potato peeling round accumulating the number of selected contestants to 30.

The main & the last challenge of Boot Camp was held in Moin Khan Academy where 30 contestants had to fight for securing the spot in top 16 that too by showing their BBQ techniques & skills. The contestants got sea food, red meat & white meat randomly & they had to decide what they were presenting the chefs spontaneously.

I am glad that we got to see some brilliant performances because one really can’t experiment with the looks of the barbecued meat but the way the contestants presented the food was brilliant. The judges set the criteria of ingredients, taste, presentation & creativity on which they’d be making the judgments & they themselves were glad to see the contenders coming up with absolutely brilliant dishes that too in the time frame of 60 minutes.

A lot of great contestants made it to the top 16 & a few were left behind. It may be wasn’t their day but I am glad that they showed a sportsman spirit & accepted the decision of the judges pretty well. I was glad to see Adnan Qureshi, Iqra Yasin, Madiha Khalid, Maryam Nida, Amna, Gulnaz, Ali Shah, Saad Ali, Azam Hafiz, Rayyan Durrani, Khurram Haroon, Ammarah Numan, Anila Qamar along with few others making it to the next round.

I was hoping that they’d unveil the MasterChef Kitchen this week but it didn’t happen. The preview did show a few glimpses & I must say I am totally impressed. Everything looks top-notch & the finesse is praise worthy. The project managers have done an amazing job in providing the quality that was required of this kitchen. I thought by the end of the selection process they’d show a ticker of the top 16 with their names & their respective cities but it didn’t happen. By this time around they should make a move & help us in memorizing the names of the contestants because it gets harder to remember & keep a track of them. But never-mind, 2 weeks down & still totally impressed. The team has done their job really well.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

So, with this episode the introductory week of Masterchef Pakistan comes to an end. Once again no other complaints but I felt that the episode started way too suddenly as if the editor was in a rush but other than that the auditions couldn’t get any better because we got to see some amazing cooking skills by some very genuine people. I enjoyed this episode a lot because of a certain contestants & I can’t wait to see more.

This episode showed a lot more contestants who came & won the apron to get through to the next round. Next time there will be a boot camp where top 50 will strive to earn a place in the top 16 & then the real competition will begin. I must say once again that I am totally impressed by the level of cookery we’re seeing on this show, that too people from normal backgrounds & all walks of life are coming up with something unique is striking a chord hard.

The contestants who won the apron in tonight’s episode were:

Almira a young lady from Bhawalpur who presented ‘Meaty Muffins w/ Garlic Mashed Potatoes’.
Anila Kamar a mother from Faisalabad who came up with her own technique of ‘BBQ Biryani’.
Maryam a housewife & a mum from Lahore & she made ‘Chicken Permesan’.
Khurram Haroon a businessman & a Rugby player from Lahore who presented Japanese dishes ‘Sushi & Calamari’.
Zaid Rasheed a fashion designer from Peshawar who presented ‘Jin Min Rolls w/ Self-cooked Sauce’.
Zainab Majeeb a fashion designer who learnt the cooking from her bro-in-law & she made ‘Pecan Crushed Chicken w/ Tomatoe & Spinach Pasta’.
Dr. Maryam Soomro of Karachi & she made ‘Japanese Cuisine’.
Gulnaz from Chitral who came with a support of her husband & she made the traditional ‘Ghulmandi & Randeru’.
Denis Fernandis of Karachi who left a job to participate in Masterchef, he made ‘Stove-cooked Chocolate Cupcakes & Chicken Breast w/ Cheese’.
Misbah Imran from Lahore & she came up with ‘Sajji’.
Faiza Siddique from Egypt & she made the Arabic dish ‘Chicken Dunni’.
Ali Shah a student & the most interesting contestant who came up with ‘Accidental Dish’ but later the judges named it as ‘Mun Mun Chicken’.

So, these were the contestants & I must say a few were really interesting. I liked Mrs. Gulnaz because of the determination she had & the funniest comment she came up with was that her area had no cable & because of that her family won’t be able to see that she came up for the auditions. The best thing to see was that her husband was supportive of her & was encouraging her to participate in this show. Ali Shah, he himself had no idea & no hope of getting selected came up with interesting conversation & engaged the judges as well. I had a good laugh seeing his excitement & he was like even the Australian Masterchefs won’t reckon that he got selected that too in Pakistan, lol. Other than Gulnaz & Ali Shah, I am also rooting for Khurram Haroon, Zaid Rasheed, Zainab Majeed, Dr. Maryam Soomro & Faiza Siddique. I hope all these people make it to the top 16 & shine in there.

I am totally loving this show because of the fact that they have kept it very simple & haven’t turned it into a melodrama where every single contestant is coming & shedding tears sharing their miseries to earn the apron. Yes, the narration can get a little filmy as pointed out by a reader earlier & the editing issues must subside so other than that, I am enjoying it a lot. Can’t wait for the next week because of the Boot Camp. The contestant there will be facing a lot of challenges set by the judges, so let’s see what do they come up with!

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Ohkay so firstly I must say WOW! The very first seaon of the most awaited Masterchef Pakistan has begun & I am totally impressed. The very first episode was enough to let us know the scale at which this show is going to be conducted. I liked the simple approach where they didn’t try to dig deeper into the backgrounds of the contestants but in stead sticked to their cooking skills which they came to show in this competition. First episode down & can’t wait to see what’s more to come already. :)

The judges of the show are Chef Mehboob, Chef Khurram & Chef Zakir. I must say the judges kept their grace & were to the point. They were lenient & friendly with the contestants but were strict when it came to the judgement, just exactly how the judges should be like. At the beginning of the episode they announced that the title winner will be awarded with PKR 50 Lacs & a chance to publish their own cook book, which I must say is a huge pay off in any reality show ever seen.

Now coming onto the auditions, I liked the fact that they didn’t go all over Pakistan to show where & how they picked which contestant. The show has commenced at a point where top 100 have been selected & now the battle for the top 50 spots has begun. The judges didn’t give much of a critera of their judgement but by looking at the auditions they certainly selected those who came up with their own mind in the cooking. The judges are definitely looking for some creativity & mostly those contestants who attempted fusion cooking got through to the next round.

I must say to be honest I never expected to see such advanced & diverse cooking in Masterchef Pakistan, not underestimating our talent by any means but I didn’t know people all across Pakistan would marvel at different techniques of cooking that well. All those contestants who came forward for the auditions presented something unique & fascinating which proves that this competition is going to be a lot more interesting & there’s no chance left to miss this show.

A few contestants who got selected in tonight’s episode were:

Mudassir Ilyas the GM of Medical store from Karachi & he presented ‘Fish w/ Garlic Rice & Vegetable Sauce’
Madiha Khalid a housewife from Islamabad & she came up with ‘Grilled Salmon w/ Smoked Salad & Orange Sauce’
Kaneez Zehra a housewife from Karachi who made ‘Hindustani Platter’
Adnan Qureshi a student from Islamabad who did a fusion of ‘Rice Macaroni & Steaks’
Bushra Fatima who came up with ‘Chicken Biryani & Cake Rusk Sweet Dish’
Ainne a yoga instructor who made ‘Steam Roast & Chicken Kastoori’
Madiha a student from Islamabad & she came up with ‘Chicken Mushroom w/ Bashindo Sauce’
Saad Mustafa a CEO who presented ‘Mutton Chops w/ Brown Gravy, Mesh & Fig Chutney’
Ammarah Numan a housewife from Karachi & she made ‘Mexican Enchiladas w/ Salsa Sauce’
Ammar Afridi a student & a fan of Gordon Ramsay who made ‘Indo Chinese Chicken Chilli Dry’
Ambreen Tariq a Government employee & she made ‘Chatni Fish w/ Spicy Veggies’
Some others who got the aprons were Sobia, Sidra Tariq, Raheel Fatima & Ali Baloch.

So this was the list of the contestants who got the white aprons in these auditions & they qualified for the next round. One thing that’s worth mentioning is that these contestants went through live cooking challenge where they got a time limit of 1 hour in which they had to present the food to the judges & to cook such amazing dishes in an ultimatum with such a pressure on your head is amazing.

I am glad that they kept the spirit of the show light-hearted & the contestants kept their calm as well. They did show their excitement which was obviously justified but none of them actually went on a sympathy spree in front of the judges. This was the only thing that I was dreading in Masterchef but I must say I am glad our weekends are now going to be filled with something worthy & we’d have something to look forward to & discuss every week.

One thing that did bug me a little was the choppy editing because some contestants weren’t introduced properly & some didn’t tell which city they belonged to. I think it would’ve been better that along with the dish ticker, they had shown the ticker having the details of the contestants so as to remember them easily but never-mind.

Of all the contestants in this episode I found Madiha Khalid, Ammarah Numan, Madiha, Ammar Afridi & Ambreen Tariq really interesting & I am definitely rooting for them all. Really happy with the curtain raiser of Masterchef Pakistan & can’t wait to see the rest of the season, bring it on!!! :)

Share your views about the very first episode.

Keep supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.