Last week, four MasterChef contestants made their way to Singapore for the ultimate food challenge. Three have since taken their place in the semi-final, while one, Brenton, packed his bags and headed home to his dream job. The Weekly caught up with them in Singapore to ask how they are handling the intense pressure of the competition.
**Ana Schwarz
How does it feel to be in the top three?
**It’s still so surreal, but I’m so glad to be here – even though I’m exhausted! The jet lag got to me and I felt shattered the whole time, but I was determined to do well.
You seem very competitive…
The dynamic between the competitors is interesting – sometimes it feels more like a popularity test than a cooking challenge, but I’m here to win. It sounds a bit cut-throat, but I was never here to make friends.
If you win, will your life change?
It’s changed already. When I entered MasterChef, it was a complete leap of faith, but I believed in myself so much I knew it would be worth it. This has been a personal journey as well as a test of endurance.
**What will you do after MasterChef?
**Whatever happens, I’ll go on to be a rock-star chef. There’s no doubt for me that I’ve found what I want to do in life. My partner and I are building a house on Waiheke and we’re talking about the changes we can make. Waiheke is a culinary destination. It’s hugely popular for weddings and events.
**Chelsea Winter
Simon reckons you’re the surprise in the final three. Did you think you’d get this far?
**When I applied, I was just hoping I’d get through, but I never envisaged I’d get this far.
**What made you apply?
**I nearly applied for the second series, but life got in the way. This year, my fiancé Mike said, “Come on, Chels, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
**You come across as the calm one on the show. Are you?
**I rarely freak out and stress – although we’ve seen me do it a couple of times on the show so far. I really struggled with the market challenge in Singapore. This whole thing has been a sense of huge highs and lows – it is very intense.
**Will you change your career as a result of the show?
**It comes down to what happens from here. I’m not delusional enough to think that even if I win, I’m going to get an amazing job as a chef in a restaurant. You have to put in the hard yards.
Tony Price
**Has being a poker player helped you in the competition?
**Poker’s an unfair game. One bad call and it’s all over. It’s just like that in MasterChef, so it’s helped me cope with that pressure!
**Who’s your favourite judge?
**Ray has an amazing historical knowledge, but it is in Simon’s footsteps I’d like to follow. He is creative and an amazing cook.
Brenton Thornton
**Are you devastated to be eliminated?
**I’m gutted. This whole time my flavours have been right and my presentation not good enough. This time, I got the presentation right and just lost the flavour.
**Do you feel like you have been cheated from winning?
**Winning was my life for two months and to go out with questionable conflict sucks. But I‘m stoked
I got a job working under Simon’s tutorship.
**Was MasterChef what you expected?
**I never expected it to be such a big journey for me. Initially, I was a bit iffy about going for the audition, but I’m really glad I did.
Learning from the best
The contestants were shown how to make three of Singapore’s most famous street dishes – black pepper crab, deep-fried hokkien shrimp noodles, and fish head curry – by Singapore’s “King of food”, KF Seetoh. “KFSee”, as he is known, is the world’s authority on Singaporean street food, and the unique blend of Chinese, Indian and Malay flavours.
In MasterChef, there’s no such thing as an easy challenge. Rather than teach the contestants how to make the dishes, KFC gave them the end product and the ingredients to use. “It’s all here – curry powder, corn starch, sugar, salt, tamarind, white pepper, black pepper and stock. They had to work out how much of each to use. I’m teaching them nothing – it’s up to them!” says the colourful chef. “This is iconic street food, but with Asian cooking, technique is really important. You get one step wrong, and it’s all over.”
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