» Shannon Smuts

Seline van der Wat scrapes through the Hollandaise Sauce Challenge

Baz (Staff) — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 19:30:34 +0000

It was a close run affair for Seline van der Wat as she just managed to make it through the Hollandaise Sauce Challenge ahead of Tumi who had to redo his.

Tumi had raised his hand just before Seline and she had to sweat it out while the judges tasted his Hollandaise.

With his not being up to scratch the judges headed over to her.

Nice consistency and good colour were the comments from the judges with Andrew Atkinson saying;

It works, well done.

A relived Seline said;

Everything in me just fell to the ground
I couldn’t believe it actually.

Tumi was left disappointed, Shannon took too long and along with Mary went on to face the pressure test.

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Shannon Smuts is the first to leave the MasterChef SA kitchen.

Baz (Staff) — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 19:01:42 +0000

Shannon Smuts had to face the ignominy of being the first person to leave the MasterChef SA kitchen.

It was a surprising result but such is the nature of the competition you have to bring your best game each time you turn the oven on and for Shannon that was not the case.

The first phase of the elimination challenge was to make a Hollandaise Sauce, for which there were three safe spots available to the first three contestants to make a perfect 200ml of Hollandaise Sauce without a recipe.

It was Neil Lowe, Khumo Twala and Seline van der Wat who grabbed those spots leaving Shannon to face the Pressure Test against Tumi Moche and Mary Martin.

All three had performed poorly in the #MCSA Episode 5 Invention Test and in all fairness deserved to be there.

Foolproof Hollandaise Sauce Recipe | Marco Pierre White
Easy Hollandaise Sauce Recipe | Dhruv Baker MasterChef UK Winner

Shannon was very emotional going in to the pressure test as has been the norm for most of her time on the show.

The task they were given was to replicate a dish that Andrew Atkinson prepared for them, Warthog Loin with Smoked Egg Yolk, Baby Vegetables and Herbed Sioli.

Chef Andrew was very clear as to how he expected the warthog to be cooked, medium rare due to the fact that it is a lean cut of meat.

The egg yolk had to be poached at 63°C, any higher and it would solidify rendering it useless to the dish.

When it came to tasting the dishes it was both Shannon and Tumi who had made the fatal error of over cooking their warthog, despite Chef Andrew’s warning.

The judges decided that it was Shannon who would leave the MasterChef kitchen leaving Tumi time to reflect and prepare for the next challenge to head his way.

Shannon’s parting words were;

Being the first to be eliminated is the hardest, but I firmly believe things fall into place the way they’re supposed to.
I’ve already learnt so much. It has been an incredible journey.
Just to have made it to the Top 16 is an amazing feat in itself. I am proud of that.
I think I’ve learnt to believe in myself more.
I am going to keep cooking and keep doing what I love

#MCSA Episode 7 airs on Tuesday 2nd July

Stay up to date with all the MasterChef SA news via our #MCSA Newsletter and follow Gourmet Guys on Facebook and Twitter… a little to the right… and down a bit.

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Shannon Smuts fails to set the MasterChef kitchen on fire, lands in the bottom six

Murray (Staff) — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 22:25:45 +0000

Shannon Smuts along with five other MasterChef hopefuls discovered just how tough life will be in the MasterChef kitchen as her Thai inspired Sticky Pancetta and Pineapple on Coconut Milk Bread Sandwich failed to impress the judges.

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Pete questioned Shannon choice while she was busy making it, placing doubt in her mind

The day started with great joy for Shannon Smuts, she was eagerly awaiting the moment the MasterChef kitchen doors would open for the first time and the competition would start.

She could not believe that they were all finally there.

Everything you want to do to put a great plate together is at out fingertips.

What Shannon overlooked with that statement was while everything you need is in the pantry it always comes with strings attached and in this, the first MasterChef Invention Test the catch was to bake your own bread for a signature sandwich.

The well travelled Cape Townion decided very quickly, perhaps to quickly, that she was going for a Thai style sandwich.

I straight away knew that I needed to go straight to my Thai roots.
I’ve lived there, it’s my favourite country in the whole world.

When it came to preparing the bread she had to take a few long breaths and go through in her mind what the steps would be.

I remembered flour first, get the yeast in some warm water so it can start growing, get your scales out and start measuring out your ratios.

Quantities and ratios are critical, baking is a science not just an art.

It was not just the bread that was to be Shannon’s downfall, it was more about being too hasty with her decision to go Thai.

There would be plenty of better opportunities to explore that avenue as she defines who she is as a chef, the sandwich invention challenge was not the best time.

Judge Pete Goffe-Wood was worried about two contestants, Khumo and Shannon;

Shannon is doing a Thai sandwich, you don’t ever see bread in Thailand.
She’s got a Thai kind of filling with some grilled pineapple and some bacon and a nice pesto.
I’m just not sure it’s going to equate to a proper Thai dish.

Shannon has her feet firmly on the ground and is very much aware as to the nature of the competition, it’s not about your best it’s about whether your best is better than the person at the station next to you.

No matter how confident you’re feeling everyone else around you is also feeling confident and it’s not just about whether you’ve pulled off a great sandwich, it’s about whether your sandwich is better than someone else’s best sandwich.

On this occasion there were at least 10 sandwiches better than hers.

Pete did most of the talking and was very critical;

There’s no seasoning in the bread, there’s no salt in the bread so for me it tastes like a fruit salad sandwich.
There’s too much garlic in your pesto.
Not getting that nice fragrant coriander, that Thai zing you were after.
It really, really doesn’t work.

Shannon was bitterly disappointed and reflected that maybe she should have played it safe.

The bottom six is not where she wanted to be at this stage of the competition and it left her tearful… what would an episode of MasterChef SA be without tear?

Judge Pete was harsh and the bottom six is not where Shannon wanted to be.

The moral of the story, always season your bread and when creating a signature sandwich make sure that the components complement each other and make sense.

It shouldn’t be a scene out of The Hangover II, waking up in Bangkok with a moer of a hangover not quite sure who you are, where you are and a mouthful of garlic breath.

The #MCSA Episode 6 Elimination Round is up next for Shannon where she’ll be cooking off against Neil Lowe, Mary Martin, Khumo Twala, Tumi Moche and Seline van der Wat.

One of them will be leaving the MasterChef kitchen!

Will it be Shannon?

Stay up to date with all the MasterChef SA news via our #MCSA Newsletter and follow Gourmet Guys on Facebook and Twitter… a little to the right.

Images courtesy MasterChef SA

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Spicy Fruit Skewers with Coconut Pancakes Recipe | Shannon Smuts

Baz (Staff) — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 07:30:50 +0000

Shannon Smuts plated up with a Spicy Fruit Skewers with Coconut Pancakes Recipe for the Big Breakfast Challenge in episode 4 of MasterChef SA.

Benny Masekwameng said it was certainly a colourful dish but left some doubt in Shannon’s mind by saying;

I wonder if the spiciness of the chilli will make or break this dish.

At the time she said;

My mind is going back and forth. Did I use too much chilli? Did I not use enough chilli?

Shannon had to wait a while to find out as she was in the last group with Khumo Twala and Alistair, vying for one of two spots left in the competition.

Shannnon, Alistair and Khumo await their fate

Shannon and Khumo go through to the MasterChef SA kitchen

It was goodbye to Alistair and a “welcome to the MasterChef kitchen” for Shannon and Khumo.

More: MasterChef SA Recipes | Shannon Smuts Recipes

Spicy Fruit Skewers with Coconut Pancakes Recipe | Shannon Smuts

Serving: 4 | Prep: 15 min | Cooking: 20 min

Ingredients:

Pineapple	1
Nectarines	4
Punnet Raspberries	1
Chilli	1
Sugar	40	g
Egg yolks	2
Flour	40	g
Milk	350	ml
Coconut cream	250	ml
Vanilla essence	1	teaspoon
Lemon	1
Egg	1
Flour	250	g
Milk	250	g
Coriander
Sugar	2	tablespoons

Method:

Find the full cooking instructions on MasterChef SA | Shannon: Spicy Fruit Skewers with Coconut Pancakes Recipe

Servings and cooking times are estimates

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Corn Fritter Recipe with Bacon, Mushrooms and Chilli Tomato Syrup | Shannon Smuts

Baz (Staff) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:30:22 +0000

Shannon Smuts prepared a Corn Fritter recipe with Bacon, Mushrooms and a Chilli Tomato Syrup for her episode 3 boot camp mielie challenge on MasterChef SA.

Pete Goffe-Wood asked Shannon if it had come out as she had planned and she replied with a smile and a “yes”.

Pete simply said, “I like it”.

What do you think of it?

More: MasterChef SA Recipes | Shannon Smuts Recipes

Corn Fritter Recipe with Bacon, Mushrooms and Chilli Tomato Syrup | Shannon Smuts

Serving: 4 | Prep: 15 min | Cooking: 20 min

Ingredients:

Yellow Corn	2
White Corn	1
Eggs	2
Corn Flour	120	g
Onion	1/2
Chives	a	handful
Bacon	3	rashers
Button mushrooms	150	g
Thyme	a	handful
Butter	2	tablespoons
Feta	1	ring
Vine Tomatoes
Corn Syrup	250	g
Sugar	150	g
Chilli	1
Garlic	1	clove

Find the full cooking instructions on MasterChef SA

Servings and cooking times are estimates

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Shannon Smuts sets the MasterChef SA kitchen on fire…. literally.

Baz (Staff) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 09:11:13 +0000

In a rather dramatic end to the days proceedings Shannon Smuts, a 28 year old graphic artist from Cape Town, managed to set her dishcloth alight while telling the judges where she hopes to go with her MasterChef experience.

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Shannon’s dishcloth catches alight and Andrew questions whether her MasterChef dream has gone up in smoke

Andrew Atkinson had asked her the question, “where do you want to go with this MasterChef experience” and while she was graphically giving a response with her hands flailing around in grand gestures Benny Masekwameng had to interrupt and and point out that the “thing” was alight.

While we were all on the edge of our seats waiting for, or should I say hoping for a big flare up, after a little more flailing about she plopped it into the sink and that was the end of that.

In true Gourmet Guys style, Andrew quipped,

I hope that’s not your Masterchef dream going up in flames there.

Quick to respond Shannon said, “It was just something to add a little spice.”.

The flare up did detract a little from what it was that Shannon was saying however which is worth repeating,

Everywhere I can, I want a cookbook, I want a TV show, I want to educate people on great food and to just, I don’t know, share with the world that it’s not that difficult to cook amazingly great, delicious food.

You could here the crunch as each judge tasted Shannons samoosas.

When they finally got round to the food, she prepared a Thai masseman spice parcel with a peanut dipping sauce (more commonly known as samoosas), Shannon got mixed reviews from the judges.

Benny was first up followed by Andrew and Pete and on each occasion you could here the crunch as they bit into each parcel.

A delighted Shannon gives Andrew a nice big hug. He looks a little taken aback.

While Benny liked the crunchy pastry, Pete was not sold on it feeling that there was too much of it.

It was left to Andrew to decide her fate saying,

Shannon, you need two yesses to get through
The pastry was very very crisp all the way round and your paste was spot on for me. It was perfect and I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was heightened with that satay sauce, it’s absolutely brilliant get up her and get that apron, well done.

Shannon was delighted and it was hugs all round, even for Pete despite him saying no.

There are two morals to this story, the first is don’t distract people while they are in the kitchen cooking in front of an open flame and the second is always keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen.

Tweets by @shananigems

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Have you ever set something on fire in the kitchen?

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Shannon Smuts | MasterChef SA Profile

Andrew Lieber (Ed) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 18:30:26 +0000

SHANNON SMUTS
AGE: 28
CITY: Cape Town
OCCUPATION: Graphic Artist

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Shannon’s parents owned a restaurant in Newcastle when she was growing up, so this bubbly designer grew up in a working kitchen.

She loves baking and has a huge passion for Thai cuisine, after having lived there a few years ago.

Shannon believes that passion for cooking is something you’re born with.

She wants to educate people about the versatility of food and how healthy food can change your life.

When Shannon is not whipping up delicious, healthy meals, she can be found training for the Iron Man competition or a triathlon!

More to follow…

Tweets by @shananigems

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