This episode is all about a fusion of two of my favourite cuisines as contestants will be asked to combine the culinary traditions of Italy and South Africa. The MasterChef contestants welcomed none other than celebrity chef Alessandro Khojane, also known as “The Sotho Italian” and owner of Gemelli in Bryanston. In a surprise twist, two contestants leave the MasterChef kitchen in this episode.

With episode 9 we have reached the halfway mark of the competition. The top 10 walked in in white aprons for a non-elimination challenge, but one that came with quite a twist in the form of a cash reward of 50,000 rand to the best dish.

The eight episode of MasterChef South Africa saw me riding in on a Pick ‘n Pay asap scooter! I’m sure it looked like a smooth ride to you but let me tell you, it was not easy at all! These electric motorbikes really have some oomph and I struggled to stay upright on the slippery studio floors.

The sixth episode of MasterChef South Africa was the first team challenge of this season. Whilst a team challenge was my worst type of challenge when a contestant on MasterChef South Africa season 4, it is a great way to find out who’s cut out for the kitchen. A team challenge teaches you to work together with others, and cook at scale.. The episode took place outside of the studio, at Durbanville Hills wine estate. Contestants were welcomed to the award-winning Tangram restaurant by cellar master Pieter-Niel Rossouw.

The fifth episode of MasterChef South Africa episode 5 showed the judges Justine Drake, Zola Nene and Katlego Mlambo dressed in all-black. The contestants are surprised, when the lights dim and the MasterChef kitchen turns into a catwalk, with fashion models wearing incredible outfits strutting in. Up next, Zola welcomes the guest judge - Jackie Burger.

The contestants were asked to pay tribute to and draw inspiration from the judges’ star signs when creating their dishes in this challenge. They couldn’t choose which judge’s star sign they were going to base their dish on, but it was an elimination based on chance as they had to choose a card in order to determine which protein they would be cooking.

The third episode of MasterChef South Africa episode 5 started off with work stations filled with air mail boxes. Each contestant had their own box with ingredients, as well as an envelope that contained the recipe. They also had a takeaway box that included -as it later appeared- a sample pepper steak pie to see and taste.