MasterChef NZ finale: Winner edges out rival with 'weirdly wonderful' seafood dessert

Sunday, 17 July 2022

Sam Low has been crowned the winner of MasterChef NZ.

After seven weeks of viewing – and a seven-year hiatus before that – a new winner of MasterChef New Zealand has been crowned.

Aucklander Sam Low, 30, claimed the title during Sunday night’s grand finale on Three, beating out Elliot McClymont, 27, also of Auckland.

Sam Low has been crowned the MasterChef NZ winner.

The budding chefs were tasked with pitching their dream restaurant and creating three signature dishes they would have on their menu, with each round scored by judges Nadia Lim, Vaughan Mabee and Michael P Dearth.

Low came up with an eponymous modern Chinese restaurant concept, making pāua congee for the entree, steamed blue cod and rice for the main, and kombu ice cream inspired by the flavours of the sea for dessert.

It was a nail-biter of a finale, with McClymont ahead by one point for most of the night.

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The “weirdly wonderful” dessert that got Low over the line.

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.

The first round had McClymont in the lead, earning 25 points for his entree – one point ahead of Low.

Judges Michael Dearth, Nadia Lim and Vaughan Mabee were impressed by both contestants’ efforts.

The contestants tied for their main course, with 27 points each.

But it was the dessert that earned Low a perfect score of 30, overtaking McClymont for the win.

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.

For Low, it was a particularly impressive effort, as he had gone into the competition thinking desserts were his weak point.

Upon being named the winner, a tearful Low dedicated the triumph to his younger self.

“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.

Earlier, he’d said winning the competition would mean he would have the opportunity to become the role model wished he’d had when he was younger.

Low and McClymont had emerged as the obvious frontrunners in the competition over the weeks, with the pair playing up their rivalry onscreen.

Low acknowledged McClymont by saying he had made him “go so hard” in the competition.

Low joined MasterChef as a relatively recognisable face, with more than 20,000 Instagram followers. He shot to notoriety in 2020 by making over 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, $6000 worth of Neff appliances, a Kenwood stand mixer, and a cookbook deal with publisher Allen and Unwin.

It remains to be seen what opportunities will be in store for runner-up McClymont, but third-place getter Alice Taylor was offered a job at Dearth’s Auckland restaurant Baduzzi.