Winning a six-course degustation menu challenge has earned Raglan man Aaron Brunet a place in the MasterChef grand final.
The top three were given the challenge of cooking two dishes each from the acclaimed degustation menu of Auckland restaurant the French Cafe. Under the watchful eye of chef Simon Wright, Aaron made the roasted quail, pancetta and mushrooms, and vanilla cream with pear, elderflower, sauternes and lychee. Served to the guest chefs from previous episodes, the quail dish impressed the judges, but it was the dessert that had chef judge Simon Gault declare was “sex on a plate” and inspired Ray McVinnie to describe it as “sublime sublime sublime”.
Aaron was declared winner of the challenge, which sees him face Paula Saengthian-ngam in the grand final next Sunday.