IT WAS third time lucky for Dallas Land of Jeffreys Bay, the fifth and final semi-finalist in the annual Kitchen Maestro Competition.
Dallas won his cook-off on Saturday after two previous narrow misses and so completes the lineup of five who will contest a “mystery box”-style semifinal challenge in Walmer Park Shopping Centre’s promotions arena at 11am today.
Dallas and fellow contestants Michelle Foo, Ross Patterson, Chantel Cuthber and Jaco Vermaak had to recreate a dish by Jon Hodder, of Bay restaurant Ginger, who challenged them with his roast fillet of beef in parma ham, sauteed garlic mushrooms, crispy polenta and béarnaise sauce.
The judging panel also included head judge Dewald Hurter of Chez Patrick Restaurant in Port St Francis and Justin Walton of Kauai.
Today, the five semifinalists will have to complete two courses from a recipe handed to them at the start. They will have only 20 minutes for the starter and 30 minutes for a main meal – and will be expected to include several “mystery” ingredients.
The top two will then contest next Saturday’s finals, also at 11am, where they will create a three-course meal from ingredients they will need to shop for during a trolley dash.
The semifinalists and top two stand to win prizes to the combined value of more than R60000 – and there will be prizes for the audience.
The winner of Kitchen Maestro 2013, which is held in collaboration with Weekend Post, will receive a kitchen makeover from Adel Kitchens and Cabinets, appliances from Rafi’s Appliances and Matresses, R5000 in shopping vouchers from Walmer Park, a R2000 voucher from Pick n Pay and a R5000 gold medallion from the Scoin Shop, among other prizes.
Roast fillet of beef in parma ham with sauteed garlic mushrooms, crispy polenta and bearnaise sauce
FOR THE POLENTA:
Ingredients
250g milk 62g polenta 28g butter 25g whole egg 8g egg yolk 8g salt pinch thyme 50g parmesan for coating polenta, flour, eggs for dipping
Method
Bring milk to boil and add polenta; cook out until thick. Once stiff and smooth add parmesan and butter, beat in until smooth. After adding egg and egg yolks – finish with thyme. Cool before rolling into balls. Cover in flour then egg and then polenta crumb. Deep-fry on 160c until golden brown.
FOR THE BEARNAISE SAUCE
Ingredients
1/2 onion 5g thyme 2 cloves garlic 6 peppercorns 1 bayleaf 200g white wine vinegar 250g white wine 250g butter 3 egg yolks 5g tarragon (fresh)
Method
Melt butter in a pan, set aside. Slice onions and garlic, add to a separate sauce pan along with peppercorn, bayleaf, thyme, white wine and vinegar. Bring to the boil and simmer down for 5 minutes until slightly reduced. Add 3 yolks to a bowl (metal if possible) and add 4 tbsp of the reduced liquid, whisk over a gentle heat until shiny, remove from heat and slowly add the butter. Chop tarragon and add to sauce.
FOR THE BEEF:
Ingredients
200g fillet of beef (centre cut) 2-3 slices parma ham Seasoning 4-5 knobs butter 3-4 sprigs thyme 2 cloves garlic 1-2 tbsp cooking oil cling film string
Method
Lay out two pieces of cling film, one on top of the other, smoothing out any bubbles with a kitchen towel. Lay two or three pieces of parma ham vertically, tail to tail, on top of the clingfilm, ensuring they are straight and even. Place fillet at the bottom and roll over with the cling film until fillet is covered around the sides. Wrap the cling film over and roll into a sausage shape. When there is an even, round shape, take string and tie the fillet twice around the side. Tie off. Remove cling film and in a hot, non-stick frying pan, add oil and pan fry the steak top and bottom until dark golden brown. Turn heat down by half and add butter, thyme and garlic, basting in the pan for one minute. Place into a pre-heated oven of 200 to 220 degrees and roast for three minutes. Remove from oven and rest for 10 minutes in a warm place. One minute before serving return to the oven.
FOR THE MUSHROOMS:
Ingredients
100g mushrooms 1/2 clove garlic
2-3 knobs butter 1 tsp parsley 1 tsp onion 1-2 tbsp oil for frying pinch salt
Method
Slice mushrooms and pan fry until golden. Add butter, garlic, onion and parsley. Sauté until butter is melted; remove from heat.
The Global Table 