3rd MasterChef SA contestant chopped

Cape Town - Lamb, bam, thank you, M'am.

Berdina Schurink is the third contestant to be voted off of M-Net's latest reality show, MasterChef SA.

The 34-year-old former financial manager from Pretoria failed to manage her time during the pressure test, leaving her with raw lamb, a meat she is normally quite comfortable preparing.

In the fifth episode of the series, the remaining contestants were divided into two teams, namely red and blue. In the first challenge, the teams were asked to prepare food for 40 of the staff members at the Nederburg wine estate.

Unlike previous episodes, the guests would pick the winning team, not the three judges.

The red team, lead by Samantha Nolan, narrowly escaped the pressure test as Thys's desserts won over the guests. Manisha, the leader of the losing blue team, had to pick her team's three weakest links to face off in the pressure test. She nominated herself along with Berdina and Mmutsi.

Under pressure

The challenge was to re-create a lamb dish by chef Coco Reinharz, owner and executive chef of Sel et Poivre and Le Petit Sel restaurants in Morningside, Johannesburg.

Although Berdina impressed the judges with lamb during her hot auditions, she ran out of time during the pressure test and ended up serving raw meat, despite a "picture perfect" presentation, according to Reinharz.

Team leader Manisha didn't impress the judges with her mediocre plate while Mmutsi received rave reviews for her dish, despite her initial nerves.

Berdina's raw meat landed her on the chopping block, and she is out of the running for the title of SA's first MasterChef.

MasterChef SA airs on M-Net and M-Net HD on Tuesdays at 19:30.