Donna-Marie Sullivan & Jonathan Odering leave MasterChef NZ

Donna-Marie Sullivan and Jonathan Odering leaveMasterChef New Zealand.
EMBARGOED 8.30 PM, SUNDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2014

Mother and son Donna-Marie Sullivan and Jonathan Odering became the fifth duo from the Top 15 to leave MasterChef New Zealand on Monday, February 23 (7.30 pm – 8.30 pm) on TV ONE.

In tonight’s show the Top 11 duos had 90 minutes to cook a Kiwi spin on a classic French fish stew for guest chef Daniel Wilson.

Donna-Marie admitted at the start of the challenge that she and Jonathan didn’t have a game plan for tackling the multi-faceted stew.

“I am concerned because we haven’t cooked scampi before, and I know there are a lot of elements involved in getting the dish perfect,” she said.

But, sticking to Daniel Wilson’s advice to be organised and read the recipe, she thought they would be OK.

Struggling to beat the clock, they plated up just in time for tasting.

“The salmon’s a little bit ragged,” ventured Daniel Wilson , surveying the plate of seafood in front of him.

MasterChef NZ judge RayMcVinnie was blunter. “It looks like it’s been thrown in a pot and had the living bejeezus boiled out of it,” he sniffed.

“Oh dear,” said fellow judge Simon Gault, as he pulled a piece of beard from a mussel.

“That’s pretty bad news,” he said.

“I think this is really disappointing from Jonathan and Donna-Marie,” said third judge Josh Emett. “I think they’re better cooks than this. The salmon looks like it’s been beaten up, and the croutons aren’t toasted at all.”

“Still, they’ve made a good rouille,” offered Ray.

“For me, a mussel with a beard in it, that’s a no-no,” said Simon.

Josh had the final word.

“Without the shellfish this dish doesn’t exist,” he said. “And the shellfish in this dish is buggared!”

In the Bottom Two alongside duo Elizabeth Marshall and Jenn Clark, mother and son braced for what they knew was coming.

“You’ve managed to fly under the radar so far, and we’re not used to seeing you here,” Simon told them. “You’re great cooks, but today you had a shocker!”

“Your rouille was fantastic, but it was a seafood bouillabaisse and you crucified the seafood,” said Ray.

“At the end of the day we had to decide what was more important to the dish, the rouille or the seafood, and without a doubt it was the seafood,” explained Simon.

“You murdered that beautiful seafood – it was like mush, and the croutons were like floppy sliced bread.

“I’m sorry, but it wasn’t enough.”

There were no hard feelings from the duo as they exited the MasterChef kitchen.

“At the end of the day it came down to the seafood,” said Donna-Marie, “and it was a fair call from the judges.

“It’s just a wee bit sad for Jonathan, because this is his dream. But I know this is just a stepping stone for him.”

ENDS

The remaining MasterChef NZ 2014 duos are: Shelley Robinson and Trudie Robinson –sisters, Tauranga; Mel Sim and Cerry Sim - sisters, Auckland; Glynn Rudolph and James Culleton – flatmates, Wellington; Catherine Chen and Jack Tan – flatmates, Whakatane; Kasey Bird and Karena Bird – sisters, Maketu; Nicola Shearer and Jordan Shearer – mother and daughter, Lower Hutt; Jaimie Stodler and Bec Stanley – friends, Queenstown; Verena Doolabh and Tanisha Kemp – sisters, Melbourne and Mt Maunganui; Elizabeth Marshall and Jennifer Clark – ex-partners, Wellington; Paul Harrison and Brigitte Kriehn – friends, Auckland.

MasterChef New Zealand continues Sundays and Mondays at 7.30pm on TV ONE. At stake is theMasterChef New Zealand title and over $100,000 worth of prizes, including two Skoda Rapid Spaceback cars, $15,000 worth of designer kitchen appliances from Fisher and Paykel, $5000 in kitchenware courtesy of Stevens, $15,000 worth of groceries from Countdown and an exclusiveMasterChef cookbook deal.

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