MasterChef Singapore Contestant “Crestfallen” When Chef Bjorn Shen Called Her Dish “Something That Someone Else Ate And Spat Out”

The worst thing that can happen to a contestant in a cooking competition is to have their dish spat out by the judge.

The second worst thing? To have the judge dismissing the dish as spat-out food — and that was exactly what happened to MasterChef Singapore hopeful Saza Faradilla, the first of the Top 12 finalists to crash out on Sunday’s show (Aug 13).

After failing to dazzle the judges — resident appraisals Audra Morrice, Damian D’Silva and Bjorn Shen, and guest and MasterChef Australia Season 10 champ, Sashi Cheliah — with her Sambal Tumis Galette with Grilled Tomatoes in the egg-themed first round, the 27-year-old student life manager from Red Team and five other contestants were off to the elimination round.

In the zero-waste ‘Everything Including The Box’ challenge, they had to whip up a meal using ingredients inside the box, which is actually a banana leaf, including a quail, baby carrots with tops, whole turmeric with leaves with roots, lime, honeycomb, Swiss mushrooms, apple, and various herbs. The leaf has to be incorporated into the cooking process as well.

Saza wanted to make Mushroom Bakar with Roasted Quail which her mentor Chef Bjorn thought was a “brilliant idea”. "And she has put a lot of garlic in there,” he added. “If you roast it long enough, the garlic goes aromatic.”

Alas, her execution missed the mark, and ultimately send her home packing.     

“The puree is grainy,” said a disappointed Chef Bjorn. “And the bits of carrot and apple are still hard. It makes me feel as if I’ve eaten something that someone else ate and spat out.” Ouch.

Appetite for elimination: Saza Faradilla's MasterChef Singapore dreams were cut short by her Mushroom Bakar with Roasted Quail 

Considering how MasterChef Singapore is one of the kindest and gentlest of the spin-offs, tough take-downs rarely come our way, so imagine our excitement when Chef Bjorn dropped one. 

The last time he was this brutal was last season when he spat out a contestant’s dessert and referred to a dish “as a wad of wet toilet paper”.

Here, Saza looks back at her brief stint in the competition. 

8 DAYS: The second Chef Bjorn said the carrot and apple in your dish make him “feel like I’ve eaten something that someone else ate and spat out”, we knew he handed you a red card. What was running in your head when you heard that comment?

SAZA FARADILLA:  I was crestfallen! I did not expect it to be that bad! I really wished I made the puree into something else. 

Last season, Chef Bjorn spat out a contestant’s dish. He also referred to another dish as “a wad of wet toilet paper”. Do you spot a pattern in his critique? Care to weigh in? 

Chef Bjorn has the ability to evoke a powerful, descriptive image with his words.  

You’re the first among the Top 12 to be eliminated. How far did you think you would have gone? 

Honestly, I thought Top 18 was already out of my league! I only started cooking last year so to even make it to the MasterChef auditions was shocking for me! But after getting the white apron, I started fantasising about making it to Top 10.

Chef Bjorn said your Mushroom Bakar with Roasted Quail was a “brilliant” idea. In hindsight, how would you have approached the challenge?

I think I would have made it a vegetarian dish and forgone the quail as I wasn't sure how to cook it. I might've also replaced the puree with something else. Honestly, I've never successfully prepared a puree, but I thought to just go forth and take the risk! I might've played it a little safer! 

Will you try making the dish again?

I might! Especially the Mushroom Bakar might be a good idea to repeat and use up my supply of rescued mushrooms!

Did you watch the show with your family and friends? What were their reactions to your elimination and Chef Bjorn’s comments?

I watched the show with my housemates and friends virtually. They were all disappointed that I got eliminated but are proud of me for even signing up in the first place. They were glad that Chef Bjorn loved the idea! 

Before the first cook-off, Chef Bjorn did this magic trick with an egg (cue to the 5-minute mark). You were there on the set. Was it real? Or was that something recreated in post-production? 

All real! We were all really surprised when he sprung the trick on us.

What’s next for you, food-wise?

At the moment, I will continue my food rescue endeavours and raise more awareness about it! I really believe the food wastage problem in Singapore is a massive one. Every day in Singapore, we throw away more than 2,000 tonnes — that's 2 million kilograms — of food! And there are so many people in Singapore who are food insecure. Let's do something about it!   

Watch Episode 2 of MasterChef Singapore here:

MasterChef Singapore is on meWATCH & Channel 5, Sun, 9.30pm; all episodes available on-demand, on the same night via meWATCH and the Mediacorp Entertainment YouTube Channel.