MasterChef – Mon semi

It is the semifinal of 2018. Our top three contestants are told that they will be cooking for some very special guests.

Before Khanh, Sashi and Ben cook tonight make sure you look at last night’s post and read Amanda’s recap.



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117 Comments

  1. A service challenge?
    Why can’t they cook whatever they like and judge themselves?
    Fish
    Curry
    Um ?

    But seriously, cooking for 60 people is ridiculous in a semi final.
    It’s not a measure of good cooking, but organisation and rushing. Real chefs don’t do everything by themselves.
    There’ll be a lot of freakin’ out.

    • I’ll bet that the “special guests”/sixty stool pigeons don’t get to vote on the food.

      It’ll be a semi fraudo.

    • But, but, they have gone through the most rigorous training of anyone in the country according to Shannon.

      We have a feeling that real chef apprentices don’t get to cook whatever they want for four years.

  2. Looks like they already know what they are cooking, so no surprises there. What a farce this is. Ive come this far so may as well watch until the end. Ben has had a hairdo.

    • The wind messed it up too much last night. I admired him for not touching it but it looked terrible. Is that the sort of thing brill cream is used for?

  3. Masterchef is ALL ABOUT a supportive environment. 🤣🤣🤣

    So we have decided you get to poison former contestants.

  4. I wonder how many of them have ice cream machines at home. Probably all of them will make ice cream or mousse – again!

    • Sara the contestants were told what to practice before filming and ice cream was included. Probably because one of the few things you can prepare as a dessert in one hour

  5. He he, my pineapple tarts. But already saw Sashi adding pandan leaves to pineapple, never done that way in Singapore.

    PS can’t load the photo

  6. This is so MKR finale. Just cooking traditional food. Isn’t Khanh mains cooked by the Vietnamese team on MKR?

  7. Sheesh aloud – we get it, the winners go through to the finale.

    Khahn is a little annoying.

    If Ben gets through the social justice warriors will flip their lids like they did yesterday :how dare he succeed being a white straight male!
    Weep for the culture.

    • He won’t be allowed to win. Wouldn’t matter if he is the best cook of the night or not.

      Afterall, MC isn’t actually about cooking but how many identity boxes you can tick.
      1) Nonna
      2)Mother
      3) Refugee
      4)19
      5) Bullied

    • What the hand wringing SJWs don’t seem to understand is that some of the very strongest contestants have been knocked out at the pointy end of the competition not because they non-Anglo but because they are not battled harden by repeated eliminations. More often than not, immunity pins in the long run are a curse.

      • Twitter seems full of virtue signallers, whinging Khanh didn’t get through because he’s not only non-Anglo, but that MC is homophobic. What you produce on the day doesn’t seem to matter

        • That is so funny. This year MC has the most numbers of gays.

          Reece
          Aldo
          Metta
          Khanh

          Did I miss anyone?

        • It’s dumb and stupid and means you cannot have a conversation about anything anymore.
          It’s starting to make me miss the professional reviewers or critics whose voice used to be the only ones you read. Now the more ignorant the comments the more they get picked up.

          • Ah yes, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I am also entitled not to take any notice of it, especially if it is uneducated reactionary bulltish

  8. Did Kahn really need to shimmy shimmy his whole body just to seive his sauce.
    Why is Shannon being so stern to Ben but helpful and friendly to Kahn? Is it because of their twinning hairstyles?

    • I have noticed in the past episodes Shannon is quite fond of Khanh and he once mentioned he’s very proud of him in one of the immunity challenge.

      • Wasn’t it Khahn who had the winning dish a few weeks ago & got to serve it in Shannon’s restaurant?

  9. Had a few nights away from MC, and honestly I can’t bear it tonight! The gantry gives me the shits, Khanh’s rising inflection at the end of each sentence gives me the shits, Sashi’s overacting gives me the shits …..I think you probably get the idea.

  10. Khanh break the fish into flakes!!!
    Disclaimer: I can’t cook and if I do, I set the kitchen on fire

  11. Again Matt is saying the chicken should be roasted. Sashi is just serving a chicken curry not a roast chicken.

  12. On a running theme here, the mousse looks like a pile of s**t.
    But the pav was a hit with everyone. Looks like Ben’s on a winner.

  13. Security!
    I think Reece needs to be escorted out, for crazy fan girl behavior.
    Seriously I think he might be the same guy that shot John lennon

    • Security for Reece?

      Aldo is a #metoo meme waiting to happen. Guess Nonna didn’t teach him about personal space.

  14. So, Sashi will win. They had no winner yet with Indian background, or did they? Plus the snowflakes on social media would collapse if a white guy wins over a man of colour…

    FB was hell yesterday, so much hate for Ben, who – as long as I watched MC – never appeared to be a judges’ favourite. And after reading your comments, he still wasn’t until the end. So, it all comes down to being a white male now? Would it have been different if he would be a white woman? That’s why people dislike him, as he does not fit into our politically correct world?

    • Zhee, you are so right. The winner has to be female or non binary gender( I just learned this new phrase) or non white ( but can’t say black).

      What BS

    • I was amazed to see the comments stating that Ben is a favorite. He was never the judges’ favorite. He was berated and ridiculed many times by the judges. They were overly harsh with him (especially Gary) until the @ the last 2 weeks.

      • I like Ben. I like that he copped crap from the judges and threw shade back. I like that he doesn’t parrot the lines fed to him (looking at you Sashi). But I don’t think he is a worthy Masterchef winner like Adam Liaw or Glowing Elena. He’s more like Andy- perfectly adequate within a narrow range.
        I think Sashi has been bullied recently after getting a dream run with his pins and praise. I think he’s pretty good at HIS stuff. But I can’t STAND the way he woodenly recites well worn phrases ‘packed full of flavour’ and ‘cooled To perfection’ etc. so I guess I’m team Andy but really? Don’t gush with the ‘best of the best’ crap because I’m not buying it, SimpleChef!

      • Yes exactly. Were they not paying attention in the beginning? The judges were horrendous to Ben till a couple of weeks ago.

  15. I’m really surprised at the Ben hate – he’s always been one of my faves. Not the most exciting but I really like that he just got on with it. I think if Sashi wins it will be more about him playing the game the producers wanted rather than either cooking or race. Glad to see the back of Khanh, I actually didn’t mind him …. until we started seeing so much of him and I got over him very quickly.

    • Funny in the SM world. Ben has never been the judges favorite. Been into the most number of pressure tests and elimination challenges.

      I guess the viewers are sick of seeing him cooking the same dishes.

      Same with Sashi, he is also starting to get too monotonous.

    • JB -I just wrote something similar and then read yours! Oops- should read all comments before commenting. I’m in exactly the same space as you.

  16. Wow, the best cook has gone.
    I must be the only one who liked Khanh, and he was he best of a mediocre bunch by far.

    Ben made fish and carrots – same as the last ep.
    Sashi made chicken and rice – same as the last ep.
    What does that say?

    Can’t believe that the limited Sashi made it through to the final. I guess they wanted his ‘spirited’ boys on TV.
    They may even let him win to appease all the SJWs and shills on twitter etc.
    Because straight white men are evil, you see. What a joke.
    I hope Ben woops him – because he’s a better cook.

    But then remember Emma Dean, the MC winner who burnt simple toast three times.
    Blah.

    • I wouldn’t be blaming the contestants for the repetition of the dishes cooked. If the judges always say to cook whatever you want to, with little restrictions, of course the contestants will cook what they know they can do well. albeit it boring for the viewers.

  17. It wasn’t an exciting semi-final, but I am glad that Ben got through, and I hope he wins. He isn’t a spectacular cook, but I love the calm, steady fuck-you stare he gives the judges or Shannon when they say something particularly stupid.

    The gantry crowd was annoying the crap out of me tonight. Have any of them ever had an original thought? Push, push. You can do it. Come on. It’s more sleep-inducing than inspiring.

  18. They should have removed the ice cream machine for the semi-finals. They will probably be back again for the finals.

    Khanh was very far behind so how did he almost catch up to Sashi and Ben? He has come up with a few more interesting dishes compared to Sashi and Ben. However none of their semi-final dishes were amazing or spectacular.

    I like Ben although he is generally robotic and I don’t think he is one of the best amatas eva. When they told him that he was in the finals he finally had a huge smile on his face and showed more emotion than I have seen him show throughout the season.

    • Shannon to Khanh: ” You have burnt ALL your fish!!”
      Screen shot of Khanh’s trays: Shows one tray with burnt but still edible fish skins, other trays quite alright.
      Mystery solved: Khanh only needed to redo one tray’s worth, therefore less time needed to catch up than it appears.

      I don’t have an issue with Khanh, just the editing, and a bit disappointed that the lovely Shannon has been corrupted into overreacting to minor problems.

      Team Ben for me: I rate calm and consistency highly, and people who refuse to buy into the drama.

      • Agree with you about Ben and that’s why I like him. He didn’t play the game like so many of the other contestants. No drama and no histrionics.

      • Yeah, I liked Shannon the first few seasons he was on, but he’s been a real dick in the last couple.

  19. Non-white winners of Masterchef – there are two. Adam Liaw in S.2 and Diana Chan in S.9. How memorable is the last winner as are names such as Elena Duggan, Billie McKay, Brent Owens?

    • On the MC Facebook, they showed what some of the previous contestants are doing. For Brent Owens – author of a cookbook (part of the winner prize) and nothing else. Such calibre cook

  20. I wonder if this has been edited from the beginning knowing that Ben makes it into the finale?
    I always wondered why someone so robotic had so many speaking parts.
    And the criticism by the judges were just red-herrings?
    Conspiracy theory much?

  21. I really, really, really, really, really hope Ben wins.

    He’s been my favourite since Brendan left. And was always one of my favourites. I love the way he digs down and gets on with it, the look of intense concentration on his face as he performs in a pressure test. He wasn’t that good on desserts, and last night he showed how much he had studied and practiced and what his original flair and natural gift for flavours could do in the dessert realm.

    He has a speciality he wants to continue with that he loves, and that is seafood. But he has shown he can go far outside his comfort zone and produce delicate and thoughtful dishes in other areas.

    Sashi has a gift for flavour and a gorgeous personality and a great dream for if and when he wins, but is floundering somewhat now. He would still be a good winner, too.

    I feel sorry for Khanh, but I think his lack of experience in pressure tests let him down in this high pressure situation.

  22. Well done Ben, has nailed the last few weeks and although we keep getting seafood and broths that’s his dream so well done.

    Astounded how Sashi is favourite to win, listening to SEN this morning and Sportsbet guy was bagging Ben saying how lucky he was to get into the final and Sashi is odds on favourite. Sashi has ridden a huge wave of luck the whole series… from winning an immunity pin when he had a dumb arse chef, to even now the final needing 19 and Ganghis Khan to completely fluster to pieces and f-up! Sashi does not have the finesse to win the thing, and fortunate enough that he was told about his servings last night being too small.

    Sashi won’t survive the Heston challenge, we’ve seen him falter on those challenges all too much, following a recipe.

    And race… sorry I’m not even sure Sashi lives in Australia… he talks way too much about Singapore being his home.. Ben loves his Qld and talks about it.. so to me it’s Masterchef Australia and Sashi hasn’t embraced Australia enough I feel to be best Australian Amata.

  23. There was a lot of hate for Ben & bullying by the judges for most of the season then they suddenly did an about face a couple of weeks ago & suddenly he’s the flavour of the month. There was a lot of animosity for him on twitter last night & claims of favouritism. But he was never favoured to the same extent as Chloe.
    Poor Khahn burnt some of his fish & stupid Shannon starts screaming at him you burnt your fish you can’t serve that. Duh Shannon, I think he realised that.
    I thought all the food cooked last night was pretty mediocre for a semi final compared to previous seasons.
    And I didn’t recognise half of the returning contestants. They needed to write their name & what season they were from on the screen when they spoke. I recognised Julie Goodwin, Callum, Elena, Reynold & a few others whose names I couldn’t remember..

  24. I think the producers knew this year finalists are not that great. Only 2 rounds for finale.

    They will make an entree and main course for each judge, in 90 minutes, using a hero ingredient from a display the judges have selected. Round two is Blumenthal’s ultimate pressure test, where the finalists must recreate one of the dishes from The Fat Duck.

    Former finalists must felt so cheated because they have to cook they guts out.

  25. Between Ben and Sashi, I think if Ben wins, he will definitely have a career in food. Can see him starting a seafood cafe and making that his career. So far we don’t have a winner that actually open his or her own cafe/restaurant.

    With Sashi I am not too sure he will actually open a restaurant.

    • I read recently a story about the influence of Australia in New York cafes. An ex mchef contestant has opened a successful cafe and has a tv show. My mind has now gone blank on his name – lovely guy into healthy food. Think it was Dan, two or three years ago.

    • I don’t really mind if they take the money and run – I don’t think every food “dream” has to involve chancing it on opening a restaurant or cafe. e.g. My food dream would be to apply the $250k to travel the world and eat out in fancy pants restaurants! Possibly buy better ingredients than I currently afford and pursue the dream of cooking what I enjoy rather than throwing things around like a demented maid when I rush in from work. But that would take some cash injection. So I don’t mind if they are doing it just for the money. My beef is that for the chance to win a serious chunk of tax free money I thought they might have studied a bit harder and learned a few more skills other than ice creams and tuile.

      However, at the end of the day it is a highly contrived ‘reality’ show that you sell your soul to be on, so good luck to whoever gets to the end.

      A hundred years ago when I was on a quiz show I played the role of new mother/struggling battler to get Eddie to like me, lol and I won $64k. It was all part of the game of being a contestant.

      • I do agree that the contestants need to hone their skills by working in the restaurants if they want to do better in the food industry,

        What I hate is the judges and producers prompting them to say they want to open a restaurant. You need more than $250K to open a restaurant. You also need other skills to run a business, not just cooking.

        Also the show keep emphasizing about them opening their own restaurants.

      • If these amatas were as single mindedly determined at making ice as ice cream, they’d soon have the money….

  26. Surely it does not matter if Sashi wins or not. He will be a hero in India, where they are MC mad, and can make a killing in sponsorship, spruiking food brands

  27. I am not at all excited for tonight. As much as I know Ben isn’t great, I hope he wins. My fav after Brendan.
    I am sad for Khanh because he has been fairly consistent in the competition hence didn’t have to go into elimination which end up being a disadvantage for him.
    The better contestants got eliminated at the expenses of judges fav eg Vintage, Chloe and Only 19

  28. I wanted to strangle Shannon with his ponytail last night – exactly when did he become a dramatic twatwaffle???

    Amongst the diners o recognised Julie, Hayden, dan, Kumar, billieand Georgia, the other guy whose name I can’t remember but was in billie’s season. Also Jessica and a couple of others

    (Ok I have a weird memory:p)

  29. If anybody else has been as disappointed as me with the standard of reality TV cooking this year (MC and, shudder, MKR), may I suggest the second series of The Chefs’ Line starting on SBS next week. It was excellent last year and hopefully it repeats the success. Also, it ticks every box for all those whinging SJW’s out there (but don’t let that put you off). https://www.sbs.com.au/food/programs/the-chefs-line

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