My Kitchen Rules SA Comes Home

Dynamite Dessert Gets Shaeem & Mas-ud out of Snail Fail Jail

Shaeem and Mas-ud racked up the highest score so far on this season of My Kitchen Rules SA this Sunday (16 October, 18:00 on M-Net Channel 101), with top marks from judges David Higgs and J’Something for their Boeber dessert, sending them to the top of the Group 2 leaderboard.

The ‘lifelong tjommies’ set up their menu and Instant Restaurant, ‘Ma se Kinners se Kos’, to showcase what they called their ‘mixed masala heritage’.

The ‘lifelong tjommies’ set up their menu and Instant Restaurant, ‘Ma se Kinners se Kos’, to showcase what they called their ‘mixed masala heritage’.

Their menu comprised:

  • Starter: Samoosa Trio with dhania chutney & sweet chilli sauce,
  • Main Course: Steak Escargot, and
  • Dessert: Boeber with Paaper.

Once the judges settled in and Mas-ud asked J’Something to change his traditional ‘Bon appétit’ greeting to ‘Bismillah’, it was time to dive into the feel-good family menu. In the kitchen, the duo discovered at the last minute that they’d used orange marmalade instead of apricot jam in their sweet chilli sauce and set about saving it with lemon and sugar.

David questioned their choice of cooking three different samoosas and two sauces since that gave them five elements to get critiqued on – but said they’d pulled it off. J’Something said that, despite the huge number of samoosas he’d eaten in his life, he’d never had one that made him stop and think about the work that went into creating it – but Shaeem and Mas-ud’s had done just that. Tšepang said they’d been promised flavour, which had certainly arrived, while Tim was impressed with the folding of the samosas but not the dish itself. Abraham, on the other hand, declared the dish ‘perfectly executed’ and said he could easily eat another 10 or 20 samoosas.

Taking David’s feedback about the chance that, the more elements on the plate, the more things there were to trip them up, Shaeem and Mas-ud decided to ditch the salad for their main course and serve just the Steak Escargot and roast potatoes – a decision which would come back to haunt them. David praised the cooking and quality of the meat but was desperate for some vegetables. J’Something said he’d enjoyed his first bite, but after a few mouthfuls the dish turned out to be quite rich, which could have been helped by a fresh, punch salad. Refilwe ate the snails but wasn’t looking at them too closely, while Michelle dodged them altogether. Detlev thought his steak was overcooked – and saw that everyone else’s had been cooked to varying temperatures.

Shaeem & Mas-ud’s dessert was a smash hit that took everyone back to their childhood. Michelle compared it to melkkos and Tšepang to pap & milk – which was exactly the kind of comforting memory that the duo had hoped to inspire. David loved the texture and thought the salted pistachio crunch worked well with the dish. J’Something said he’d been searching for an experience of home cooking that made it feel like someone’s mother or grandmother had prepared a dish – which was exactly what this dessert had delivered.

The contestants scored the meal 28/40, with Tim & Shereez scoring them a 6, Tšepang & Refilwe and Abraham & Michelle 7 each and Kirsten & Detlev, an 8. David and J’Something’s score – including a 9 from the former and 10 from the latter for dessert – was 46/60, giving Shaeem & Mas-ud a combined score of 74/100 to secure them a spot in the Challenge Round, beating Tim & Shereez’s 68.

Next to present their three-course menu to the judges and the other Group 2 contestants next week, are sisters Tšepang & Refilwe.

Come 11 December, one of the 10 pairs of this season’s home cooks will walk away with R1 million!

My Kitchen Rules SA is produced by PictureTree and proudly sponsored by Nederburg. The series is available on DStv Premium on M-Net (Channel 101) every Sunday at 6pm from 4 September 2022, as well as live streamed on the DStv App, and is also available on DStv Catch Up after broadcast. Visit the M-Net website for exclusive show content and join the conversation on Twitter (@MNet), Instagram (@mnettv), and Facebook (@MNet) using #MKRSA and #mnet101.