OK, so none of the contestants made that on last night’s episode, but they could have, considering the ingredients for the appetizer round consisted of clams, Greek yogurt, rosewater and milkweed pods. Once again, the chefs came from different parts of Canada, including one from BC and two from the Greater Toronto Area. The fourth was a very young chef, about 22, from Kingston (people familiar with Kingston might recognize his name – he’s Luke Hayes-Alexander of Luke’s restaurant on Princess).
Durian, a fruit from East Asia with a very strong scent, was one of the mystery ingredients in the dessert round
Compared to ingredients used in other shows this season, the round was not that difficult – in concept. The only thing chefs had to watch out for was the overuse of rosewater, as it can be very strong (besides their creativity or lack there of). Dishes created included steamed clams with rosewater slaw (one of the judges thought the dish was juicy, but another said the rosewater was not strong enough and that he had difficulty identifying the ingredients), milkweed and clam salad on toast (portion size criticized as being too big and heavy and therefore, not “appetizer-like.” This chef was chopped after the first round) as well as clams with charred tomatoes and dumplings.
Round two ingredients were lamb, kimchi, beer nuts and pancake mix. While I would have made a savoury pancake topped with beer nut crusted lamb and kimchi and watercress salad, the dishes that the three competitors created were: spiced beer nut crusted lamb with pancake fritters and potatoes (a judge thought the lamb was well-cooked, but another thought the fritter was too greasy. In addition, there was some difficulty distinguishing the beer nuts and kimchi); while another made kimchi and lamb ragout with a beer nut fritter (judges’ reactions: Not enough colour/too monochromatic and that he was trying too hard. However, one of the judges did like the lamb). The third contestant, Luke, did not make fritters, but opted for more traditional pancakes instead. However, his lamb was too over-cooked and was, thus, chopped.
Ahhh, durian fruit, the stinky fruit of Asia. That, along with ricotta, ice wine and wild rice were all mystery ingredients for the dessert round. William wanted to make something “lighter,” and thus, made steamed wild rice ricotta cake with durian mango pudding. Brianne made coconut durian curd with wild rice cream and a lolly. One of the judges loved the creaminess of her dessert, but another thought that the durian was a bit too subdued – the fruit has a very unique flavour, after all. William on the other hand, was criticized by one of the judges for not using any form of leavening for his cake and was also told that the pudding was not that great. However, a third judge told William that he liked how the flavour of the durian showed through in the cake. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough, and when the judges took into account the other two courses, it was determined that William should be the one chopped.
Image credit: By Ivan karya pinem (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons
