On tonight’s (Aug 31) episode of Plate of Origin, it was a battle of the superpowers as Team Greece and Team France went head-to-head in the arena with cousins Dezi and Penny making good on their mantra – don’t underestimate Greek mums – as they secured the win scoring 49 out of 60.
Competitors Austine and Leo came in extremely confident, hoping to showcase an array of techniques to establish France as the best cuisine in the world. While they nailed the duck component of their main with a beautifully crispy skin, they stumbled on the accompanying blueberry sauce.
Team Greece took the judges to their home island by cooking octopus, a symbol of Greek summer. It was a near perfect main grilled to perfection, aside from Manu’s tasting plate which was slightly undercooked.
The dessert round was the all-important decider. After a slip up with their Loukoumades dough exploding in the fridge, forcing them to start from scratch, Team Greece rescued their dessert and came up trumps after Team France misjudged the proportions of their Framboisier tower.
With Team France headed into the elimination challenge, Manu gave Austine and Leo some advice: French food doesn’t have to be fine dining, encouraging the pair to do simple foods, but full of flavour.
“We are going to fight in this competition, this is not the end for Team France, ”
– said Leo of his team’s future after their defeat.
TEAM GREECE 49/60
Dezi, 42 and Penny, 33 VIC
MAIN
Octopus with Skordalia and Greek Elixir
Matt: “Beautifully, simply emotive Greek. The smoky char of the octopus, absolutely spectacular well done.”
Manu: “The capsicum and cheese dip – I loved it.” “But the octopus for me, was just a little undercooked.”
Main: Matt 9 // Manu 8 // Gary 9
DESSERT
Loukoumades
Manu: “The ice-cream itself was absolutely delicious. I loved the flavour balance between salt and sweet in ice-cream.”
Gary: “The touch of salt and balance in the ice-cream was genius and very sophisticated.”
Dessert: Matt 8 // Manu 7// Gary 8
TEAM FRANCE 40/60
Austine, 28 and Leo, 32 NSW
MAIN
Magret de Canard aux Mûres
(Duck with Blackberry Sauce)
Matt: “You cooked the duck, rendered the fat, crisped the skin – all perfectly.”
Gary: “For me, the duck potatoes were soft and delicious. It looked beautiful.”
Matt: “Duck. Blackberry. Brilliant.”
Main: Matt 7 // Manu 8 // Gary 7
DESSERT
Framboisier (Raspberry Cake)
Matt: “Too much sponge and a custard that was too heavy.”
Manu: “I think your problem is you value technique over flavour. Flavour trumps presentation every time.”
Gary: “It was a great sponge but there was too much of it. It was a great
Dessert: Matt 6 // Manu 6 // Gary 6
Tomorrow (Sept 1, 7.30pm) on Plate of Origin:
Team Cameroon (sisters Kelly and Ashley) v Team Vietnam (friends Thanh and Duncan).
Can Team Cameroon surprise everyone with the spices of Africa or will emotions get the better of them as they battle it out to see who has the best food on the planet?
