Sarah Rankin, from Kinross, has retained her position in BBC1’s MasterChef and will return to our screens on Friday.
The mum-of-two, who was born and raised in Inverness, was joined by six other contestants from the first Heats round, and all of the cooks were put through their paces, to say the least.
Sarah had to prove to judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace, for the third time in the competition, that she has the potential to be MasterChef Champion 2022.
Market Challenge
Kicking things off in tonight’s episode was the Market Challenge.
This involved the seven contestants inventing a dish on the spot for John and Gregg from a market full of ingredients, which included mackerel, squid, pork tenderloin, and much more.
Sarah led the pack and was the first to walk into the market.
The pressure was on to impress as, at the end of the test, one contestant was being sent home.
But Sarah wowed both Gregg and John with her dish, pan-fried lemon sole in a mussel broth flavoured with prosecco and cream, served with olive bread and a walnut and chervil pesto, even before they tucked in.
John said: “Sarah’s dish sounds fantastic. If she gets that absolutely right in the time she’s got, then I am going to be really impressed.”
He instantly complimented the plate when it was placed in front of him and his fellow judge, saying “that’s a very, very pretty plate of food.”
Gregg said: “That fish is cooked perfectly, it’s just melting on my tongue like it’s a piece of butter.
“This is early stages of MasterChef and that is a quality bit of cookery in a short space of time.”
And the praise didn’t end there, with John adoring the ingredients just as much, if not more. He added: “I don’t have a fault, I think it’s great.”
Following the feedback, Sarah said: “I’m absolutely delighted, that’s the best feedback I could have hoped for.”
The talented home cook secured herself a spot in the next round. If this task wasn’t daunting enough, the second was to trump it.
Grace Dent
With the number of competitors in the episode now down to six, they each had to take on their most demanding assignment so far – cooking a dish to a brief set by one of the country’s toughest food critics, Grace Dent.
Grace asked them to put their finest plates forward, cooking a dish centred around one of her favourite ingredients, the humble potato.
Feeling anxious about the task ahead, Sarah got straight to work and maintained focus.
The marketing consultant pulled together a bubble and squeak potato cake flavoured with smoked pancetta and kale with hollandaise sauce, a panko breadcrumb poached egg, prosciutto chard and crispy matchstick potatoes.
Once again, her dish was commended. But this time around, it wasn’t from Gregg and John alone.
Grace said: “The bubble and squeak is delicious. I can’t believe you made kale taste so decadent.
“I love the hollandaise, I would eat a vat of that.
“You wouldn’t see a picture of this in a cookbook and yet, do I want to finish it? Yes, I do. It’s delicious.”
Gregg also used the word “delicious” to describe the plate, leaving Sarah more than satisfied.
Sarah secured a place as one of the four quarter-finalists going head-to-head at the next level, and will next appear on the show on Friday at 9pm. It airs on BBC1.
