MasterChef Ireland

Episode 8 (1x8)

Air date: Sep 28, 2011

In this programme, the seven remaining MasterChef Ireland contestants take on the complexities of Indian cooking when they have to prepare food for paying guests in Ananda, an award-winning Indian restaurant in Dundrum, Dublin, where they will have to master the art of preparing Indian dishes to a fine dining standard. Ananda at Dundrum is often described as one of the best Indian dining experiences in Ireland and is a partnership between serial restaurateur Asheesh Dewan and the inimitable Atul Kochhar, the first Indian chef to receive a Michelin star for his renowned London restaurant Benares. Ananda’s Executive Chef, Sunil Ghai has won many awards and fans for his bold contemporary cooking style, including the Chef of the Year in 2009 at the Food and Wine Awards. Sunil gives the contestants a Masterclass in Indian cookery in which he talks about three main things – spices, a basic curry base and rice. The seven contestants are then divided into two groups. Clare Anne, Christine and Mary will cook a lunch service and Shane, Mike, Bridin and Pierce will cook a dinner service. The second task of the programme is an Indian-themed invention test, in which all seven have 15 minutes in Eurasia, Ireland’s largest ethnic ingredients store, to choose ingredients for an Indian dish which will then have to be cooked back in the MasterChef kitchen for Nick and Dylan. Things are hotting up in more ways than one for the remaining seven as there’s a twist in the tail at eliminations. All seven know they will have to produce impeccable food to have any chance of staying in the competition and winning the coveted title of MasterChef Ireland.