TV cooking show MasterChef India held auditions in Dubai for the first time this Eid, with 135 people attending trials on Friday for its forthcoming fifth season on Star Plus, but it looks like the city’s chefs weren’t exactly on fire, with only half the contestants producing food that was up to the show’s standard, a judge told tabloid!.
The show’s makers came to Dubai because they wanted to “get a representation of Indians from across the globe,” Trevellyn Fynn, senior creative director of Endemol and judge at the auditions, told tabloid!.
“We have gone to London, San Francisco and obviously the Middle East was a region we wanted to tap into.”
On Friday, the participants went through three rounds of judging on dishes they had brought to the venue, the School of Culinary And Finishing Arts (Scafa). Dubai-based chef Francisco Araya of Scafa quizzed them on techniques and flavours. Contestants were also asked what difference they could bring to the show.
“I look for technique, presentation and flavour, [while judging contestants],” Araya told tabloid!. “Contestants do not need a lot of prior knowledge of different cuisines, but they need to have little knowledge about international cuisine since MasterChef India is an international programme.”
Despite the turnout, Fynn said, “We [only] had a 50 per cent hit rate with the quality of really good food, compared to the others.” He added that Dubai was a good place for anyone who is interested in pushing his or her culinary skills, since people really passionate about food can get the right exposure.
Contestant Sumeet Banerjee, who prepared a simple daal makhani with a twist (she added milk) said that if auditions were not taking place in Dubai, she would have gone to India to participate.
Kajal Sharma, another contestant, and a student at Scafa, said she was “very nervous” to meet the judges.
“Since I have a technical background, the judges asked me a lot of [specific] questions and I was a little stumped. But it was an experience.” Sharma presented the judges with a prawn and wasabi dish because of her love for seafood.
On Saturday, 16 contestants were short-listed for a live cook-off. Each contestant was given a mystery box of ingredients and had to prepare a dish in 60 minutes.
“I was surprised [I got selected] but I was really, really happy,” said Shreya Maheshwari, one of those shortlisted. “I was nervous [in the cook-off] because I wasn’t expecting to have to cook in a professional kitchen.”
Ritwik Sen, who was also part of the cook-off, said: “I was actually looking forward to [the mystery box challenge]. I was very excited and people around could [sense that].” Sen sketched out his dish on a piece of paper and mapped out everything he needed before time.
Fynn said that the most important thing he looks for is the food. He said, “This is not a Balaji soap, we don’t want people with back stories. If the food is good, has the right flavours, textures and is plated well, in terms of presentation, we can have a quick idea [of the person and if they have] been exposed to food internationally.”
The winner will represent the UAE on MasterChef India and is due to be selected soon, organizers said. The show airs on Star Plus on October 16.
— Shreya Bhatia is an intern with tabloid!.
