Laura Londoño wins 'MasterChef Celebrity 8' with a menu that pays homage to the colors and flavors of Colombia.

Laura Londoño wins ‘MasterChef Celebrity 8’ with a menu that pays homage to the colors and flavors of Colombia.

Laura drew inspiration from the land where she grew up, Colombia, to create a complex, daring, and colorful menu, while Álvaro Escassi embraced his family through flavors that reminded him of them.

The judges of ‘MasterChef Celebrity’ were accompanied by Brazilian chef Alex Atala during the tasting and evaluation of the duelists’ creations.

Laura opened her menu with an evocation of the flowers and colors of Colombia through ‘Eternal Spring,’ a starter consisting of a soup with a base of pine pollen, flower honey, and pickled flowers. Next, she presented ‘Adventure of Crawfish in the River,’ a dish featuring crawfish as the protagonist. The dessert ‘Inner Magic’ is a representation of a gold coin from the Quimbaya ethnic group made with coffee.

Laura has donated the €75,000 prize to the nutrition program of the Spanish Rotary Humanitarian Foundation. In addition to receiving the trophy that accredits her as the eighth ‘MasterChef Celebrity Spain,’ both Laura and the runner-up Álvaro Escassi will enjoy a weekend cooking course at the Basque Culinary Center, which they can attend with a companion.

On December 1, 2023, Laura Londoño did not hesitate to leave Colombia and move with her entire family to Spain to live this adventure. She arrived at ‘MasterChef Celebrity 8’ admitting that she had entered the kitchen at home very little, but she came to the talent show with great enthusiasm to learn to navigate successfully. Over the days, she demonstrated that she lacked determination and a desire to improve. She won the golden apron, won the immunity pin, and now, Laura Londoño has also been crowned the winner of ‘MasterChef Celebrity 8’ after facing Álvaro Escassi in an exciting final duel. “I came in search of gold, and I found it,” said Laura after learning of her victory. The contestant achieved the title of the eighth ‘MasterChef Celebrity’ Spain before 1,268,000 viewers and a 16.7% audience share. The eighth season of ‘MasterChef Celebrity’ had an average linear audience of 1,176,000 viewers and a 15.9% share. ‘MasterChef Celebrity’ was La 1’s most-watched program in deferred viewing in September and October. “I’m with those rich nerves,” Laura said before starting the cooking. In the grand final of ‘MasterChef Celebrity 8,’ Laura and Álvaro offered the judges and guest chef Alex Atala (2 Michelin stars) a duel in which sportsmanship and companionship prevailed. They were accompanied by their families and, of course, their fellow contestants from the eighth edition of ‘MasterChef Celebrity.’ Upon being proclaimed the winner, Laura can donate €75,000 to the NGO of her choice, which, in this case, will go to the nutrition program of the Spanish Rotary Humanitarian Foundation. In addition, she will take home the trophy accrediting her as the eighth ‘MasterChef Celebrity,’ and both she and Álvaro will enjoy a Cooking Course for a weekend at the Basque Culinary Center, the prestigious gastronomic science faculty in San Sebastian, which they can attend with a companion. A tribute to her beloved Colombia through its colors and flavors Although she is far from home, Laura carries Colombia in her heart, and she has demonstrated this with her menu. ‘Eternal Spring’ was the chosen name for the starter. It is a soup with a base of pine pollen and flower honey, dried apricot, cardamom, violet essence, pine vinegar, fennel salad, mango, and green papaya, calendula in tempura, and pickled flowers. This starter is inspired by Medellín, a city that, as Laura narrated, is known as ‘the city of eternal spring,’ as it always has flowers. One of Laura’s first memories is of the countryside, flowers, and the nature that surrounded her growth as a person and in which she was educated by her parents. “Flowers mean that obligation we all have to take care of ourselves to be able to blossom with the freedom to be what we want to be, and that’s what I want to convey to my daughters,” highlighted Laura. The judges were completely perplexed by the perfection of the starter. “It perfectly reflects your personality and your culture. You have a lot of talent,” said chef Alex Atala. Pepe Rodríguez added that it is possibly “the most complex dish” they have ever tasted on ‘MasterChef.’ Next, Laura combined the place she comes from and the place she is to prepare her main course ‘Adventure of Crawfish in the River.’ It is a crawfish on a beurre blanc base (a French sauce made with butter, reduced wine, and shallots) that she seasoned with beets, turmeric, yellow chili, and achiote. The dish is finished with a pumpkin puree, a beet cake, and a brown butter air. From the environment she comes from, Colombia, she was inspired by the Caño Cristales River in Colombia, a river that is also known as the ‘Rainbow River.’ She takes its colors and adds the flavors that represent her country. Spain is represented through the crawfish located in the center of the plate, and the adventure referred to in the name of her creation is ‘MasterChef Celebrity 8,’ a journey in which she has also been accompanied by her family. In this case, while the judges positively assessed the dish, they also emphasized that, had she added more product, the flavor would have been more enhanced. However, they praised the good cooking, rich flavors, and the great advantage that, indeed, the dish transports the diner to Colombia. The contestant concluded her menu with ‘Inner Magic,’ a dessert that aimed to highlight that beauty is found within humans. In the presentation of the dish, we discover a pyramid that hides the dessert. The transformative power of fire burns the pyramid and reveals a representation of a gold coin from the Quimbaya, a native Colombian people known for producing copper and gold pieces