MasterChef is famous.. and so is that clock. It has made many Chef cry/throw fits, and it is not about to stop doing so any time soon. MasterChef is of course a well-known popular reality TV series where amateur chefs get the opportunity to show off their culinary skills and battle to be crowned the MasterChef.
This year we’ve had the privilege to collaborate with Astro Ria to start something more exciting and fun. Over the first three weeks of October, Nuffnang was proudly involved in the search for the country’s first ever blogger MasterChef and it is finally over. From quirky curries to delicious desserts, dozens of people entered their mouth-watering recipes and now 10 finalists made it to the grand finale to battle it out for the title.
Astro Blogger MasterChef Malaysia was the first-ever blogging competition where all aspiring chefs amongst bloggers competed in several challenges that tested both their culinary and blogging skills. In the end, the bloggers who impressed the judges with their flair and style in the kitchen walked away with:-
GRAND PRIZE (Best MasterChef Blogger) : RM3,000.00 in cash + Panasonic IH Cooker (Model: KY-C227B) worth RM2, 799 + BHPetrol Cash Voucher worth RM 500.00 + Ipad1 (16GB) with WIFI + Masterchef Pendrive (4GB) + Mitten + Nestle Hamper worth RM 300.00
Runner up Prize – (2nd Best MasterChef Blogger) : RM2,000.00 in cash + Panasonic Microwave (Model: NN-GS597) worth RM999 + BHPetrol Cash Voucher worth RM 400 + Ipad1 (16GB) with WIFI + Masterchef Pendrive (4GB) + Mitten + Nestle Hamper worth RM 200.00
8 x Consolation Prize Winners : a BHPPetrol Cash Voucher worth RM 100 + Nestle Hamper worth RM 150.00
Quite a mouthful isn’t it?
If you didn’t run out of breath trying to read the list of prizes offered, you certainly struggled to finish it in one breath.=p
The finale cook-off was conducted exclusively for all the 10 finalists on the 15th of October (Saturday) 2011 at SACC Mall Shah Alam where they competed in a whole 2 ½ hour cook-off while their friends and family cheered them on!
A panel of three judges, including famed food blogger KYspeaks (http://kyspeaks.com), Raqim Ahmad from Astro Ria, and Chef Kerlley ranked the following favourites from two major challenges – the invention test, and the skills test.
For the first challenge, bloggers were tasked to create a dish with an unexpected and challenging ingredient – the avocado! It definitely caught everyone off guard; who would have expected that from the Mystery Box?

10 final contestants working very hard at their very own stations.
Tada! End product! Bet it was easy peasy for the finalists as they still managed to come up with something so spectacular! *applauses*
The top 10 finalists with their final avocado-infused dishes. :)
For the second challenge, contestants needed to show off their skills where they need to slice and dice a basketful of onions in 10 minutes with a certain method demonstrated by Chef Kerlley! If you think this is easy, think again. No one even managed to dice more than 4 onions!
After a thorough deliberation, Yip Wan Yee from http://wendyinkk.blogspot.com was crowned as the First Ever Blogger MasterChef who walked away with loads of amazing prizes! Wawa from http://eencyweency.blogspot.com was the first runner up with her bold attempt of using avocado and turning it into pastry treats.
Congratulations to all of this year’s winners, and special thanks to Astro Ria and all those that made this year’s contest a major success! It was a tight competition and most importantly, you can now use this contest as a resource and start viewing and bookmarking some great blogs that might have slipped through your culinary radar. =p