MasterChef Australia’s Sashi Cheliah favourite to win after snagging second immunity pin

SASHI Cheliah has cemented his claim as the early favourite to win this year’s season of MasterChef Australia after becoming the first contestant in the show’s history to win two immunity pins.

SASHI Cheliah has cemented his claim as the early favourite to win this year’s season of MasterChef Australia after becoming the first contestant in the show’s history to win two immunity pins.

The 39-year-old prison officer, from South Australia, beat professional chef Andy Harmer in a head-to-head cook-off on tonight’s episode of the Channel 10 cooking show.

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MasterChef — Sashi with wife Rabicca and sons Marcus and Ryan.

Sashi dedicated his win to his two young sons, Marcus and Ryan.

Sashi scored 27 out of 30 from judges Matt Preston, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan for his Lamb and Pea Puree.

Harmer, the former executive chef at Melbourne’s famed Vue de Monde, was given 24 out of 30 for his Lamb and Minted Peas.

Having a pair immunity pins gives Sashi, who has already stamped himself as one of the strongest cooks in the competition, a huge advantage over his rivals.

MasterChef Australia professional chef Andy Harmer

Sashi, who won his first immunity pin in Gordon Ramsay week, now has the ability to sit out two tricky challenges before the show gets into finals week.

“Getting two immunity pins is a very nice feeling — no-one has ever done it before,” Sashi said. “So far in this competition I’ve been travelling pretty well.

“Lamb and peas is my kids’ favourite dish when I cook at home. When I saw that I was making something very close to my heart I felt that I should dedicate this to them. This second pin is for them.”

Matt Preston, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan with Sashi Cheliah.

Sashi was thrust into the cook-off against Harmer after a challenge against Gina Ottaway, Khanh Ong and Reece Hignell.

The four contestants were tasked by Shannon Bennett with cubing vegetables, making a classic hollandaise sauce and a salted caramel sauce.

Sashi had a 15 minute head start in the round against Harmer and the choice of main ingredients, choosing lamb and peas.

Professional chef Andy Harmer takes on Sashi.

Sashi, who was born in Singapore, decided to put his spin on the dish by rubbing the lamb using cumin, coriander and chilli. He also added brussels sprouts and broccoli mixed with turmeric, chilli and chickpea flour and made a light dressing of mint and yoghurt.

In the blind tasting, Calombaris described Harmer’s dish as modern and elegant but he and Preston agreed that the lamb was slightly undercooked.

Sashi’s dish was given an A+ by Preston with Calombaris thrilled by the complexity of the sauce and the creaminess of the yoghurt.

MasterChef — Gary Mehigan, Kristen, Matt Preston, Sashi, George Calombaris

“When the ingredients are shown to me I always look at the protein first,” Sashi said. “Once I had decided on the lamb I thought about what would complement it. That was my strategy.

“There is a flavour profile. What goes best with red meat is a rich heavy sauce or something with strong flavours. White meat is best with something with subtle flavours.

“I take things day by day. I don’t overthink what will happen next. Whatever comes to mind first is what I cook. That has been my formula since day one.”

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