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Cape Town - In the most shocking elimination of MKRSA to date, the top performing team in the series - husband and wife Bruce and Claudia - were the first pair of cooks to be eliminated from the Kitchen HQ rounds.
Bruce, a martial arts world champion, and his master baker wife, impressed their fellow competitors and guest judges David Higgs and J’Something from the start of the series, but found themselves in a Sudden Death cook-off challenge against the weakest competitors in the show so far, Capetonian brothers-in-law OG and G, making their loss all the more unbelievable.
The cook-off had no boundaries and the brief from the judges was clear: for both teams to simply cook to their strengths. While most people may have expected Bruce and Claudia to do their usual Asian-fusion style of cooking, they instead opted for paprika chicken with diced potatoes, red wine jus and purees of broccoli and beetroot.
Unfortunately for perfectionist Bruce, he did not reduce the red wine jus sufficiently, giving it a bitter aftertaste. On the whole, Bruce and Claudia’s dish couldn’t stand up against OG and G’s perfectly cooked, flavour-packed lamb knuckle stew with onion and butter pap, pea and mint puree and glazed carrots.
We had a chat with the couple about their experience on the show.
When you heard the brief for the cook-off, what inspired you to cook paprika chicken?
It’s a family favourite in our house, healthy and delicious. Given that the rapid cook off between the rest of the teams was with beef, we wanted to do something different for our cook.
At what moment did things start going wrong?
I burnt the silplat mat but that was just for the tuile so it was thankfully not a major issue. We did battle with the hand blenders though. As always, the time absolutely flies when you’re cooking in any challenge.
If you could have cooked anything else, what would it be?
I would have made one of my famous desserts, perhaps a chocolate dome filled with white chocolate and caramel mousse, and then made a beautiful dessert garden.
Have you learnt anything new about one another during the competition?
The competition has brought us even closer together! We’ve really enjoyed all the time spent together in the kitchen!
What has been the highlight of the show?
It was a wonderful experience cooking in the MKR headquarters. What an incredible kitchen to be in.
Have things changed in your daily life since appearing on the show, and do you get recognised in public?
We definitely spend more time in the kitchen now, and we love it. It has been surreal being recognised by people when we’re out and about, but we’ve really enjoyed it and appreciated all the support!
Who do you think will win the competition?
We would love it if our friends Liz and Leanne win the million!
Tune in for all the cooking drama Sundays at 18:00 on M-Net (DStv 101).
(Photos supplied)
