AS part of the 10 who cracked the nod for Celebrity MasterChef SA, Patricia Lewis, singer, actress and the drama queen on the show and comedian Chris Forrest, didn’t hold out much hope of surviving the chopping block.
Unless Lewis’s hubby was in the kitchen or Forrest was resorting to his mother’s tried-and-tested formula (popping into Woolies, that is), cooking was a novel, um, more like foreign, concept to both of them.
But that didn’t deter either from going on national TV.
Kudos to them, though, because this plucky undertaking has been a real blessing in disguise – they managed to outcook and, certainly outlast, their rivals to crack the coveted Top 2 list. This is what they have to say about the journey and the brewing showdown.
PATRICIA LEWIS
THIS blonde bombshell revealed her ambitious roots right from the get-go. Everything you thought you knew about this pop star, was revisited – in a good way.
A lover of all things bling, those big Barbie doll tresses also come with a genuinely warm personality who, when she isn’t moved to tears, can dish out those self-deprecating jokes like they were going out of fashion.
She recalls when she was first approached for the show: “I have never cooked a day in my life. My husband has been doing the cooking for 12 years. I used to do the salad and set the table. When they called me to audition, I thought it was a prank call – I nearly fell of my chair.”
But her omelette impressed the judges. Perhaps it was the smiley face she put on top of it and her asking them: “That’s the one where you beat the eggs?”
Of course, when she found out she was going to be on the show, she crammed in as many food channel shows as she could, in between googling recipes and using her friends as guinea pigs for her “experiments”.
Lewis explains: “When you jump into the deep end, you can but only swim or drown. And I would rather fight to the death. I’m glad I didn’t turn it down. Besides all the crying (I never knew I could be such a cry baby), I never dreamt I would meet someone with a bigger make-up bag than mine. Terence (Bridgett) and I got along like a house on fire. We were always the last to arrive because of the hair and make-up checks.”
Shows like this, even though you are playing for charity, have their stressful and gratifying moments. Lewis overcame and revelled when she conquered.
And she has been doing a lot of that. Not only does she plate her dishes beautifully, she displays a remarkable flair in the kitchen.
In fact, that guaranteed her a spot in the finals. Well, that and passing the whole brunch test with foodies of The WKND Social. She wowed them and the judges with her Vanilla Maple Pancake Stack.
“Baking is now one of my favourite things,” she admits. And her husband is as impressed.
As for this Sunday’s finale, Lewis admits: “My only strategy was to not get voted out first. To have made it this far, I really couldn’t have asked for more. I will say a stove blew up. But I’m not going to tell you whose.”
As the only contestant to never wear a finger condom, especially with those sharp knives, Lewis proves that she is not just a pretty face and can definitely turn up the heat in this competition.
CHRIS FORREST
THIS was no laughing matter for Forrest – he meant business with his amateur hat on. Any extended comicalness in the kitchen was largely unintended. Those beads of sweat were indicative of this.
And the food gods clearly favoured this underdog, who managed to beat Bridgett to the finals.
He recalls: “In terms of food, Terence was, in my opinion, probably the best in the competition. And he just had a bit of bad luck, which turned out to be quite fortuitous for me. He kept his prawns in the oven to stay warm, and they actually got burnt.”
However, if the challenge was to make a “biltong prawn”, then our dramatic thespian would have scored high with the judges.
Forrest shone in the wine-pairing challenge by serving a pan-fried quail dish with roasted butternut and sweet potato, paired with the Nederburg Motorcycle Marvel.
The comedian adds: “All those pressure tests were nerve-wracking. We (Terence and he) became quite good friends. I was hoping to go into the finals with him – Patricia got there first. I crammed in as much as possible during my time in the kitchen. My biggest ambition was to not go out first and embarrass myself too much.
“To make the final two, though, has been absolutely amazing because I love the show and have been a big fan and, secondly, because I wanted to raise a bit of money for my charity and in that way ‘give back’.”
No stranger to stress (after all, tickling the funny bone of fans is hard work), Forrest would still take that over being in the same room with the judges.
He laughs: “I know it isn’t life and death, but it was insanely stressful… and the judges help make it as insanely stressful as possible.”
But he has a coping mechanism – he has a chat with himself, to calm himself down in such instances.
He adds: “You can’t hear it in the programme. I kind of spoke to myself a lot. It is something I learnt to do as a dad. It helps.”
On going up against Lewis, he shares: “Patricia has been on fire throughout the competition. She has taken to cooking like a duck to water. She’s smarter than she lets on (and I mean that as a huge compliment) and is ambitious and driven. All I can do is give my 100 percent and hope for the best.”
And, on that note, I’m sure fans will continue to stew in anticipation of the finale.
• The season finale of Celebrity MasterChef SA is on Sunday on M-Net at 6pm.
UPDATE ON PREVIOUS MASTERCHEF WINNERS
Season 1: IT specialist Deena Naidoo got to fulfill his dream by running Arya at Montecasino’s outdoor piazza. However, he was still based in Durban at the time. He has since moved to Jozi with his family and is still at the restaurant to greet fans and live his dream.
Season 2: Food blogger Kamini Pather has been hankering to do something on the social media landscape. And Food Network has given her the platform to do so with her upcoming show, Girl Eat World, which combines travel and food. It airs on our screens from May 15.
Season 3: This was one of the most newsy seasons with domestic worker Siphokazi Mdlankomo stealing the heart of the nation (and making international news, too) and the firm favourite. But she lost to former train assistant driver, Roxi Wardman. Her plan, by the way, was to open her own establishment, like a bistro. But nothing has been heard of her since, while rumour has it that Mdlankomo has something brewing…