The ongoing season of MasterChef India received backlash on the Internet after the recent episode showcased the judges favouring one of the contestants. MasterChef India season 7, which airs on weekdays at 9 pm on SonyTV and SonyLIV, has celebrity chefs Vikas Khanna, Ranveer Brar and Garima Arora as judges. In one of the recent episodes, five contestants - Priyanka, Nayanjyoti, Suvarna, Kamaldeep, and Aruna Vijay - locked horns in the last battle or the lucky dip challenge to get their hands on the immunity pin.
The episode opened with five rows of cloche set up in the MasterChef kitchen. The first row had dairy products, followed by a protein row and a curved cloche row, which had cooking techniques. The fourth row had fruits and vegetables, while the last one featured herbs and spices. All five contestants were allotted a row and they had to pick one cloche each. When home cook Suvarna lifted the first cloche from the protein row, it had minced meat. However, she was not satisfied and decided to take another chance.
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The next and final cloche had Indian salmon fillet, therefore all the contestants were supposed to include fish in their dishes. The final ingredients picked were: Amul Ghee, Indian Salmon Fillet, Baking, Chayote Squash, and Basil. After the lucky dip challenge, the judges Garima Arora, Ranveer Brar, and Vikas Khanna briefed the contestants about it. Ranveer Brar said, “Aaj aapka protein hai Indian salmon or ravas and Aruna [Vijay] ji aap cook karengi Amul paneer ke sath (Today, your protein is Indian salmon or ravas, and Aruna Vijay ji you'll cook with Amul cottage cheese).”
However, the Internet was not impressed with the liberty the judges gave to contestant Aruna, who belongs to the Jain community. Does anyone feel like this season's Masterchef India is kind of fixed? Feels like Aruna & Gurkirat are being favoured too much. Just a thought,” a user tweeted.
Another said, “I agree, season 5 winner Kirti was also vegetarian but in the counter swap challenge she had to cook Lamb which she did! Even Baa being a Gujarati was working with eggs during one of the challenges "Let this one show stay real without partiality.”
A person added, “Pov - Aruna roasts a papad. Judges - this looks easy, but roasting a papad is so tricky. Excellent job done. You are safe today so that we can make others cook chicken and fish from tomorrow onwards.”
In the end, it was Kamaldeep who took home the immunity pin as well as its benefits.