It’s episode 4 of Dessert Masters 2023 and the contestants are confused when they walk into a suspiciously rearranged kitchen.
Of course, it’s because it’s the Team Relay challenge!
Some of the contestants look excited while others look, well, terrified – as they should be because the MasterChef variation of the Team Relay challenge is normally an absolute fustercluck.
The teams are picked via a lucky dip and the teams are Kay-Lene Tan, Gareth Whitton and Morgan Hipworth on the blue team, Andy Bowdy, Reynold Poernomo and Anna Polyviou on the green team and Jess Liemantara, Kirsten Tibballs and Adriano Zumbo on the orange team.
In a Team Relay, each team member will pick up where the last chef left off, and one final dish per team will be produced.
The Challenge
Judge Amaury Guichon told the contestants that maple syrup is the star ingredient of the day and that it must be evident in their dishes.
Anna, Adriano and Gareth were the first representatives from each team.
Gareth decided on a maple cake with pumpkin cremo, brown butter mousse and candied pecans.
Anna started on a Passionfruit curd and passionfruit maple caramel. Meanwhile, Adriano was “freestyling” and made a grapefruit strawberry yoghurt pecan and maple with a sponge. His goal was to create elements that the rest of the team could use to make a dish.
Next up were Kaylene, Jess and Andy, who were quickly explained the concept of the dish by their first teammate.
Jess was confused about the start that Adriano had made, while Kaylene was nervous about Gareth’s choice of entremet, which is a complex mousse cake. Andy was happy with what Anna left him, aside from the fact that she forgot the tasting spoons.
Kaylene put maple on top of the cake slivers, which seemed to really annoy Gareth. “She’s drowning it in maple syrup,” he exclaimed. “It’s going to go soggy.”
Kristen, Morgan and Reynold were up for the final leg.
The orange team appeared to still not have completely defined their dish, so Kirsten decided to make a maple syrup brownie.
Morgan was also confused, and said that he needed more instructions at the handover.
Reynold was excited about what’s been made so far and said that he thinks he can work with it. However, he forgot to take Andy’s chocolate crumb out of the oven.
The dishes and judging
The orange team presented their dish Turning Autumn, which was a Chocolate Brownie with Grapefruit and Strawberry.
Melissa Leong called it a “maximalist dessert” and said every single element was “beautifully crafted”. However, she’s concerned that there are too many elements. Amaury agreed, saying that it was not “cohesive” enough and called it a “beautiful mess”.
The blue team made a PMP, which was a Pumpkin and Pecan Entremet with Smoked Vanilla Icecream.
Amaury said he “really liked” the dish and that it was “very cohesive. Melissa seconded his opinion and raved about the dish.
The green team dished up a dessert called Textures of Maple and Passionfruit which was a Maple Cake with Passionfruit Curd.
“As a professional, knowing the intricacy of the task, it’s unbelievable,” Amaury told Anna, Andy and Reynold. “It’s really unified, it’s really cohesive,” Melissa added.
The Verdict
Unsurprisingly, given the results, the green team won and Anna, Andy and Reynold will be up on the gantry, safe from the next elimination challenge.
Want more Dessert Masters 2023 recaps? Click below!
Episode 1 / Episode 2 / Episode 3 /
Dessert Masters 2023 continues at 7.30 pm, Sunday – Tuesday on 10 and 10Play.
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