Eliott Brookes Leaves Masterchef New Zealand

Eliott Brookes Leaves Masterchef New Zealand

Eliott Brookes became the tenth contestant from the Top 16 to leave MasterChef New Zealand on Sunday 28th April (7.30 pm – 8.30 pm) on TV ONE.

In tonight’s show the Top Seven were given two and a half hours to create a Turduckenqua, using an obscure, ancient cooking technique called engastration.

Turduckenqua looks like a simple roast but is in fact quail stuffed inside chicken, inside duck, inside turkey.

The contestants also had to cook vegetables of their choice and a sauce to accompany the dish.

Ella Krauts and Kelly Kaihea won the challenge and a trip to Wellington to dine at guest judge Martin Bosley’s Yacht Club restaurant.

Eliott Brookes was initially up for the task.

“I’ve been waiting for a big challenge, and we’ve got one today!” he said.

“But it’s going to be a huge amount of pressure.”

De-boning the tiny, fiddly quail and getting in a knot tying up the Turduckenqua for roasting, he brushed off suggestions he was starting to panic.

“Eliott, you’ve only got an hour and half to go and you haven’t even got your roast in the oven,” observed MasterChef judge Ray McVinnie.

“Are you getting a bit worried?” he asked.

“Nah, I’m not going to get stressed out too much,” Eliott answered. “I’ll just see how it goes.”

Rushing to get his roast in the oven, Eliott cranked up the heat to make up for lost time.

With just fifteen minutes to go, he was still waiting for the meat to cook.

“This is probably the most nervous I’ve ever been,” he confessed.

Plating the Turduckenqua with potatoes, asparagus, water chestnuts, watercress and a port sauce for tasting, he realised the meat was actually over-cooked.

“It was probably a mistake to turn the oven up,” he admitted.

He braced himself for the judges’ reactions.

“The asparagus are limp, the potato’s overcooked and your meat has quite a few burnt bits on it,” said Simon Gault.

“It looks a little bit like a roasted guinea pig,” offered Ray.

“It’s not good,” said Martin Bosley.

“The turkey is bone dry, the quail is terribly overcooked to the point of being almost chalky. The stuffing is really lacking in seasoning. The sauce feels slightly alcoholic and the roast potato …I’ve had better staff dinners!” he said.

“This is just a disaster,” concluded Ray.

In the Bottom Two alongside Sushil Ravikumar, Eliott was contemplative.

“Cooking 101: don’t turn the oven up when you don’t need to, which is what I did and ruined the food,” he said.

“If I stay, then someone’s stuffed up worse than me, but I can’t see it.”

Simon broke the news.

“Eliott, you made it to the Top Seven and had an epic journey, but now it’s time to leave the MasterChef kitchen,” he said.

“I wouldn’t feel right, cooking what I did and staying in the competition,” said Eliott.

“It’s just that I’m going home on the back of a completely atrocious dish!

“But I’ve made some really good friends here and I’ve loved cooking in different places, and the different challenges.

“I’ve got absolutely no regrets and I’m definitely going to do a Turduckenqua for Christmas dinner!”

ENDS

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