After seven weeks of watching – and a seven-year hiatus – a new MasterChef New Zealand winner has been crowned.
Aucklander Sam Low, 30, claimed the title in Sunday night’s grand final at Three, beating Elliot McClymont, 27, also from Auckland.
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Sam Low has been crowned MasterChef winner.
The budding chefs were tasked with pitching their dream restaurant and creating three signature dishes that they would have on their menu, with each round being scored by judges Nadia Lim, Vaughan Mabee and Michael P Dearth.
Low came up with a modern Chinese restaurant concept of the same name, making pāua congee for the starter, steamed blue cod and rice for the main course, and kombu ice cream inspired by the flavors of the sea for dessert.
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McClymont described a restaurant called Home that would be “itself on a plate”, with each dish inspired by his time spent in the UK, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. He made a chicken liver parfait, Sri Lankan shrimp curry and a dessert inspired by lemon, lime and bitters.
The first round, McClymont was in the lead, earning 25 points for his entrance – one point ahead of Low.
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It was a nail-biter of a final, with McClymont leading by one point for most of the night.
The contestants were tied for their main course, with 27 points each.
But it was the dessert that gave Low a perfect score of 30, overtaking McClymont for the win.
Lim described the dessert — which also had nori, cacao nib, and matcha — as “oddly delicious,” and one of the best dishes she’d had in all of the competition.
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The “strangely beautiful” dessert that won Low over.
It was a particularly impressive effort for Low, as he had gone into the game under the assumption that desserts were his weak point.
When he was named the winner, a tearful Low dedicated the triumph to his younger self.
“For Sam who was too scared and bullied at school, who didn’t have the courage to come out, and who had to learn and own their heritage and culture and use it as a strength,” he said.
The match had helped him understand that he was worth it and “enough,” he added.
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Judges Michael Dearth, Nadia Lim and Vaughan Mabee were impressed by the efforts of both contestants.
He had previously said that winning the contest would mean he would have the chance to become the role model he had wanted when he was younger.
Low and McClymont had become the obvious frontrunners in the league in recent weeks, with the pair playing out their on-screen rivalry.
Low acknowledged McClymont by saying that he had “let him go so hard” in the competition.
Low joined MasterChef as a relatively recognizable face, with over 20,000 Instagram followers. He rose to fame in 2020 for preparing meals he received while staying in a managed isolation facility. He is also a barista and latte art champion.
The prize package Low took home included six months’ worth of groceries from New World, $6,000 worth of Neff appliances, a Kenwood food processor, and a cookbook deal with publisher Allen and Unwin.
It remains to be seen what opportunities the number two McClymont has in store, but number three Alice Taylor was offered a job at Baduzzi, Dearth’s Auckland restaurant.