Hot contenders to vie for culinary title
THE Kitchen Maestro 2013 champion is about to be crowned! Will it be creative kitchen dynamo Dallas Land of Jeffreys Bay or cool, calm and quietly confident Martinette Magnee of Walmer Heights in Port Elizabeth?
The two emerged as the top two out of five semifinalists determined by a series of weekly cook-offs in the Walmer Park Shopping Centre promotions arena in Port Elizabeth.
Dallas proved his determination by winning his cook-off round after two previous misses while Martinette won hers first time around.
The two came up against previous weekly winners Berita Chigome, Heidi Reid and Chenel Robey last Saturday.
The five had to make chef Dewald Hurter's Asian-style chicken noodle soup as a starter, followed by a main course of ginger-glazed salmon with garlic and coriander alioli.
Last weekend's judging panel was made up of myself (since Kitchen Maestro is hosted in collaboration with Weekend Post), along with Suzette Slater of ingredients sponsor Pick n Pay and Bradley Castle, head chef at St Francis Links.
The semifinal challenge saw the contestants getting highly creative when it came to making the starters and mains their own. Dallas presented his soup with a roti which he'd made by hand and cut into slices after stuffing it with crunchy greens, while Martinette gave her soup a slightly sweeter edge by adding strips of parsnip.
They also excelled at the main course, Dallas by adding deep- fried vermicelli noodles to his and Martinette coming up with a fragrant basmati rice as her side dish.
"To use a J-Bay phrase, I'm stoked I'm through to the finals," said Dallas, an academic manager at a language school in the town. "I've been practising ever since the weekend and am ready for whatever is thrown at us."
Martinette, a locum optometrist, said she had been quietly confident of reaching the finals, and would pull out all the stops today to secure a win.
In today's final round at Walmer Park the two will have to create a three-course meal from ingredients they will shop for during a trolley dash.
The twist is that they will draw from a hat a vegetable for their starter, a protein for their main and a fruit for their dessert right before their frantic shop. This means they will have to think on their feet and manage a budget when buying their ingredients.
Don't miss the final cook-off at 11am today at the Walmer Park promotions arena, where the overall winner will earn a prize package to the value of more than R60000 – including a kitchen makeover from Adel Kitchens and Cabinets, appliances from Rafi's Appliances and Mattresses, as well as shopping vouchers from Walmer Park and Pick n Pay. There's also a R5000 gold medallion from the Scoin Shop, among other prizes.
See Weekend Post next Saturday for news and recipes from the finals.
RECIPE:
Ginger-glazed salmon with garlic and coriander aioli
Garlic and coriander aioli
INGREDIENTS
1 garlic clove
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
chopped coriander to taste
60ml canola oil
2 tablespoons peanut or sesame oil
METHOD
Mince and mash garlic to a paste with a pinch of salt using a large heavy knife. Whisk together yolk and rice-wine vinegar. Whisk eggs till thick and creamy. Combine oil and add a few drops at a time to yolk mixture, whisking constantly, until all oil is incorporated and mixture is emulsified.
Whisk in garlic paste and coriander seasoning with salt and white pepper (remember white pepper is a lot sharper than black pepper). Adjust acidity if necessary. If aioli is too thick, whisk in 1 or 2 drops of water.
Ginger-glazed salmon
INGREDIENTS
salmon fillet
salt
fresh cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons peanut or sesame oil
toasted sesame seeds
coriander
GLAZE INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup dry sherry
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar
dash rice vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
Pinch chopped chilli
dash lemon juice
METHOD
1. Combine glaze ingredients in a bowl and stir until brown sugar is completely dissolved.
2. Rinse and pat dry salmon fillets. Place salmon fillets in glaze and marinate for a few minutes, and then flip over and marinate for a couple more minutes.
3. Heat oil in a large saute-pan over high heat. Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper (remember glaze will have a bit of saltiness from soy sauce as well). Sear salmon in hot pan. Salmon should be golden and crispy, and the centre should be just underdone.
4. While the salmon cooks, place glaze in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Vigorously simmer until coating consistency.
5. Plate salmon and brush glaze over salmon.
6. Garnish with sesame seeds toasted in a pan till golden and fresh coriander.