- The Valencian hopeful conquered the palate of the jury and chef Virgilio Martínez with dishes inspired by her origins and the aromas that have accompanied her life
- María, second duelist, cooked a menu dedicated to her grandmother’s country house and her animals
Ángela became the winner of ‘MasterChef 12’ last night in a thrilling final duel against María, in front of the talent’s jury and chef Virgilio Martínez. The final led its time slot with a 15.1% audience share, a season high, and an average of 1,033,000 people. Up to 3,194,000 viewers followed the culinary talent at some point. It also achieved La 1’s most watched minute at 23:47, with 1,388,000 viewers, 14.1% of the screen share. The Valencian hopeful, known as malasañera (from the Madrid neighbourhood) has dreamt of wearing a chef’s jacket since she was a teenager and now only thinks about putting her heart and soul into her passion for cooking. Although she has worked in advertising and has been a talent scout, she inherited her love of cooking from her mother, Verónica, a professional cook. “I have achieved my biggest goal in life, which was to sign up for ‘MasterChef’, have the courage to come here, dedicate myself to cooking and win. Now I know that I am capable of anything. It has been the best experience of my life. I’ve had an incredible time,” she said. Ángela and María were the favourites of their peers throughout the competition, for always striving for excellence.
Ángela offers a journey through the smells and tastes of her life
Ángela has a real passion for perfumes and cooking. That’s why, before presenting each dish on her menu, she offered the jury and the guest chef a scent to transport them to a specific time and place in her life. She started the menu with petricor (the smell of wet grass and fresh vegetables), because as a child she used to accompany her grandmother to the market and collect the leftovers she found on the stalls to make a broth. The starter, named ‘Perfumadita de brea’ after her favourite Joan Manuel Serrat song (‘Mediterráneo’), was dedicated to her mother and she cooked it with squid roe with seaweed pickle, smoked butter beurre blanc, squid dashi and crispy and air of placton. “It’s a deep dish, with deep intentions, that speaks a lot about you, that is perfectly executed and unique. I don’t know if it’s for everyone, but I think it has a lot of merit,” said Jordi Cruz.
The main one was ‘Albufera in sequence’ and was dedicated to his father, who has passed on to him his love for his origins, his land and the importance of family unity. It also consisted of two shows. The first reinterpreted the traditional All i pebre with black garlic bread and eel with paprika butter; while the second pass combined the typical local poultry with eel: roast barberian duck with creamy swede, beetroot demi-glace and a foie, eel and cherry bonbon. “I love it. It’s simplicity at its best. I see the duck cooked to perfection, I love the butter and this crunch with the black garlic just felt right. The touch of eel and duck is very good. I like it a lot,” admitted Virgilio Martínez.
The main one was ‘Albufera in sequence’ and was dedicated to his father, who has passed on to him his love for his origins, his land and the importance of family unity. It also consisted of two shows. The first reinterpreted the traditional All i pebre with black garlic bread and eel with paprika butter; while the second pass combined the typical local poultry with eel: roast barberian duck with creamy swede, beetroot demi-glace and a foie, eel and cherry bonbon. “I love it. It’s simplicity at its best. I see the duck cooked to perfection, I love the butter and this crunch with the black garlic just felt right. The touch of eel and duck is very good. I like it a lot,” admitted Virgilio Martínez.
María returns with her menu to her grandparents’ country house
María considers herself a “citizen of the world”, but she has always found “peace and calm” in her grandparents’ country house in Seville. Each dish on her menu paid homage to this house and its animals. As a starter, ‘El corral’, dedicated to his hens, was made with fried egg yolks, chicken salad, hedgehog yolks, saffron hollandaise and physalis air. In this dish he used eggs from Mapuche hens, a Chilean breed of hen, brought by his grandmother. The main course, ‘Ibérico y bellota’, was dedicated to the “guarritos” and had three courses: a mushroom dashi soup, ham and enoki mushroom noodles; a petit gâteau with Iberian pork liver pâté with fig coulis and acorn sablé; and a roast beef of Iberian prey with chestnut and fennel emulsion and an Iberian, vanilla and rooibos juice. To close, he served a milk and poppy ice cream, matured cow fat butter, cherry liqueur jelly and barley air, a dessert called ‘Clavellina’, just like the dairy cow he learned to milk.
“You can be happy. I believe that you have evolved and that you have shown us a Maria who, although she has not had an easy life, has put it aside and is only interested in adding, growing and being proud of herself. The people you have chosen to love can be very happy. Congratulations on your dish, on your dessert and on your time in these kitchens”, said Jordi Cruz.