MasterChef NZ

2022 - 7 - 17

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Image courtesy of "Stuff.co.nz"

MasterChef NZ finale: Winner edges out rival with 'weirdly wonderful ... (Stuff.co.nz)

The finale of the TV cooking competition saw a nail-biting showdown between Sam and Elliot.

He shot to notoriety in 2020 by making over meals he received while staying in a managed isolation facility. Low and McClymont had emerged as the obvious frontrunners in the competition over the weeks, with the pair playing up their rivalry onscreen. “For Sam who was too scared and got bullied in school, who hadn’t had the courage to come out, and had to learn and own their heritage and culture and use it as strength,” he said. The competition had helped him understand he was worthy and “enough”, he added. Lim described the dessert – which also incorporated nori, cocoa nib and matcha – as “weirdly wonderful”, and one of the best dishes she’d had in the whole competition. McClymont described a restaurant called Home that would be “himself on a plate”, with each dish inspired by his time spent living in the UK, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. He made a chicken liver parfait, Sri Lankan prawn curry and a dessert inspired by lemon, lime and bitters.

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Image courtesy of "Newshub"

MasterChef NZ: Sam Low on what's next, his favourite dish and the ... (Newshub)

"All three of us finalists were like, 'Wow, we actually can cook'."

Sam Low Wins Masterchef New Zealand 2022! | Scoop News (Scoop.co.nz)

Sunday 17 July, 2022 - After an intense battle in the MasterChef NZ kitchen tonight between Sam Low and Elliot McClymont , Sam was crowned MasterChef NZ ...

Vicki Keogh, Senior Director of Production, ANZ extended her congratulations to both Sam and Elliot: “What a nail biting emotional final, with two very deserving candidates. You are so deserving of being MasterChef NZ 2022, I can’t wait to see what you do next!” We have such different cooking styles and have learnt so much from one another on our Masterchef NZ Journey. It has been an incredible experience, Sam mate, huge congratulations!”

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Image courtesy of "New Zealand Herald"

Epic dessert battle crowns New Zealand's newest MasterChef (New Zealand Herald)

Elliot McClymont and Sam Low battle it out for the title of MasterChef New Zealand 2022.

He scores 9/10 from each of the judges, giving him a total 79 points out of 90. His lemon, lime and bitters dessert hits the mark with the judges. They then have to cook these menus for the judges in three rounds, with a possible 10 points from each judge up for grabs per round. So before the chefs begin, they each get some sweet video messages from family and friends via a Covid-friendly iPad to spur them on. - MasterChef: The Kiwi in the middle of TVNZ-Three ratings ... McClymont calls his "Home" - drawing on his upbringing in the UK, time living in Sri Lanka, and his life in Aotearoa.

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Image courtesy of "FBC News"

Fiji-born Low wins MasterChef 2022 (FBC News)

Fiji-born chef, Sam Low has won MasterChef New Zealand 2022. The 30-year-old wowed the judges with his three-course menu of Paua congee, steamed blue cod ...

Fiji-born chef, Sam Low [left] reacts after winning the MasterChef New Zealand 2022 [Source: Facebook] Fiji-born chef, Sam Low has won MasterChef New Zealand 2022. Sam Low has been crowned the MasterChef NZ winner.

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Image courtesy of "Stuff.co.nz"

'My whole life has been a compromise': Sam Low's first interview as ... (Stuff.co.nz)

MasterChef NZ winner Sam Low shows Stuff food editor Emily Brookes how to cook classic prawn toast while also chatting about MasterChef and what he plans to do ...

As you read this, Low is on his first day of being able to talk openly about the competition, and you can expect to hear him talk a lot. Part of that was “accepting that potentially I won’t win with this concept however... “I cook food that I think represents me, and tells a story, and celebrates different cultures. For Low, at every stage in the competition that meant food that gave traditional Chinese dishes and flavours a surprising, modern twist, right up to and including his final dessert. At the moment I’m just so happy that I won staying true to myself and cooking my food.” There’s me, Stuff video journalist Abigail Dougherty, and a public relations person who’s here to make sure neither of us reveal the identity of the fourth person: Sam Low, MasterChef New Zealand’s 2022 champion.

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Image courtesy of "Fijivillage"

Fijian born Sam Low is New Zealand 2022 MasterChef (Fijivillage)

He adds without the support of his community, he could not achieve winning the cooking competition. The New Zealand Master-chef's winner says he does not know ...

Low says through all the good and the hardest of times, his challenges constantly remind him of his self-worth and makes him believe he is enough. The New Zealand Master-chef's winner says he does not know what is next for him but he feels blessed and joy after winning. Low says he never thought to dig into his truth and use it as fuel to give him purpose and pride in winning this competition.

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Image courtesy of "The Spinoff"

The secret to Sam Low's Masterchef success (The Spinoff)

Tara Ward speaks to the Masterchef NZ champion about his coming-of-age on the show and the power of food as a love language.

I don’t want it to be a cookbook where it’s like “this is how good I am”. You know, it’s more just like, “this is how good you can be”, and just start from there. I’ve adapted that from a very young age and how I express it with my friends and the community that have helped me be proud of who I am, whether it be my cultural heritage or my sexuality. Two years ago, I wouldn’t be this proud, I wouldn’t be this confident, I wouldn’t be able to talk to so many people. I don’t speak very fluent Chinese or Cantonese with my parents, so a lot of the times we talk to each other is through the expression of food and using food as a love language. I’ve always used food to kind of bring them into my world and my life and my history. I’ve done that through helping people understand food and ingredients and culture, but also through TikTok and Instagram, inspiring people to cook accessible, easy, interesting, and good food. In a way, I’ve always kind of neglected that side of my life. And that just so happened to win the competition. I think I did that with all three of my courses. It was definitely weird in the beginning, but I think you get used to it. It was funny, because Elliot did the same thing as well, and at one point, we probably would have been in the same competition. I think it was a dream challenge for both of us.

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Image courtesy of "Stuff.co.nz"

MasterChef NZ: With contestants like Sam and Elliot is it still a ... (Stuff.co.nz)

OPINION: MasterChef's DNA is as a competition between amateur home cooks. That's not exactly what we have here.

Another thing that’s changed shows like MasterChef is the rise of the reality TV star. MasterChef was developed for the BBC in 1990 as a competition of home cooks. As readers and viewers had more exposure to the likes of Oliver and Lawson, they learned more, and got more bold and ambitious. It’s interesting to note that this season, the cooks we’d describe as more simple and rustic, the likes of Rachael or Vicky or even Rudi, went out fairly early. It was TV cooks like Oliver and Lawson in particular who would start to set a new standard for television cookery. Low was a popular food personality before MasterChef even went to air.

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