The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Sarah fails to crumble after tart disaster
Kinross chef Sarah Rankin survived two kitchen disasters to go through to the next round of the 2022 Masterchef final.
Sarah, who is originally from Inverness, almost blew her chances of taking the 2022 Masterchef crown when the consomme sauce for her seafood dish failed to clarify.
The 48-year-old motherof-two came up against the BBC One competition’s tight time limits and was forced to serve the dish unfinished.
Despite the mishap on last night’s show, judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode gave Sarah a pass and instead ejected rival Ioan Jones from North Wales, whose Japanese beef in a miso sauce was deemed too flavourless.
Meanwhile, in the second round of the competition, which took the four remaining contestants to southern Ireland, Sarah undercooked the pastry for her Jerusalem artichoke tart and was forced to improvise as the clock ticked by.
Helped by her competitors, Sarah was able to get the tart finished but it fell apart on the plate.
Luckily for the amateur chef, the Irish judges were wowed by the taste and were able to overlook the messy serve.
The verdict on the dish will come in tonight’s episode, when the final four return to the Masterchef studio, fighting to make it to the final three in tomorrow night’s climax.
Sarah was confident going in to the final week, but the pressure of the competition showed as she waited for the verdict on her failed seafood consomme.
A tearful Sarah found it difficult to finish her interview, saying to the camera: “You just want to be the best.”
Sarah has lived in Kinross with her family since 2006.
Her route to the final has taken many twists, not least in the quarter-finals, when she was asked to cook two courses in just 75 minutes for judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode as well as 2021 finalists
Alexina Anatole and Mike Tomkins and champion Tom Rhodes.
The marketing consultant failed to crumble under the pressure and went on to prevail in both the quarter-finals and the semis.
Speaking after her semifinal win, Sarah said: “When I got through to the finals, I was completely overwhelmed.
“The quality of the cooking was exceptional.
“I was genuinely amazed that John and Gregg felt I was worthy of a place in the final five.
“It remains one of the best experiences of my life.
“The contestants forged very strong bonds in the later stages and feel honoured to have been in the company of cooks with such incredible skills.”
Sarah’s three rivals include 23-year-old Radha from Bradford, who draws on her dual Indian-british heritage for her cooking, and Eddie, who also takes inspiration from his Punjabi ancestry.
Pookie is a former beauty salon owner from Solihull who grew up in Bangkok.