Domestic vs train driver
Tonight's MasterChef SA finale pits the instinctive Siphokazi Mdlankomo against the resourceful Roxi Wardman.
Nobody could have predicted the finalists when they first appeared on our screens on August 21, during boot camp, when they were tasked with preparing angelfish in 75 minutes.
But Mdlankomo, a Cape Town domestic worker, and Wardman, a train driver, withstood the pressure better than the rest.
At the top-four stage, when they were told by Lorraine Meany, the head pastry chef at the Cape Grace Hotel, to make cardamom lemon chocolate gateau, fellow contestant Ian Young failed to rise to the occasion. As did Philippa Robinson, during chef Margot Janse's raw food challenge, when she ran out of time while preparing yellowtail three ways.
The Times spoke to judges Pete Goffe-Wood, Benny Masekwameng and Reuben Riffel, and last season's winner, Kamini Pather, about their impressions.
The Times: What set these two apart from all the other amateur cooks who auditioned?
Goffe-Wood: They held their nerve at the right time. They both continually shone throughout the difficult challenges, and from the final-six stage were the most determined to win. I think they both saw themselves in the final.
The Times: What was your favourite recipe from each?
Riffel: Roxi's butternut and peanut butter tart was sublime. Siphokazi really did well cooking the complicated dessert of liquorice and litchi - that was my favourite moment.
Masekwameng: The chicken biryani that Siphokazi cooked in Mauritius, and Roxi's wild mushroom mille-feuille with hazelnut sauce."
The Times: Aside from the prizes, what else awaits the winner?
Pather: It's an incredible opportunity for the person that knows what he wants.
I have cooked at our local food shows, written recipes and articles, as well as styled food images for magazines. I host a food and lifestyle segment at Heart1049FM and I've just shot my TV series, Girl Eat World. I am living my dream because I knew what I wanted and I wasn't afraid to hustle."
- The season 3 winner will be announced live after 7.30 on M-Net tonight.