Fishers woman elevates food with presentation, flavors
Kelsey Murphy is competing in season 11 of the TV competitive cooking reality show, MasterChef. She talks about the show and her love of cooking.
Kelly Wilkinson, Indianapolis Star
America didn’t get to see much of the Fishers contestant competing for $250,000 on “MasterChef” in Wednesday’s episode.
Kelsey Murphy, the physical therapist we saw turn in the best dish on the season’s first cooking competition last week, wasn’t one of the top three performers shown inweek two.
But Murphy also didn’t rank in the bottom contingent — numbering four this episode — meaning we’ll get to watch what she whips up for the celeb chef panel and guest chef/judge Michael Mina next Wednesday.
The season, recorded last year, started with 15 home cooks and has eliminations weekly.
Contestants in this week’s episode had 90 minutes to turn in restaurant-quality desserts. Murphy made a Mexican chocolate cake that she cooks for her kids, adding salted caramel and caramelized sugar decorations.
Confident in her baking skills, Murphy expected to do better in the challenge, she told IndyStar.
“Baking is definitely a strong suit of mine,” she said. “It’s something I love to do and am passionate about.”
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Chef Gordon Ramsay is seen complimenting her on the sheen of the glaze.
What wasn’t shown though were the tears Murphy’s shed after making some mistakes in preparation, including initially leaving eggs out of her batter.
“I was actually in tears after that competition, especially before the judging,” she said. “Under pressure, I made quite a few execution errors. By the end, I was worried that I would be in the bottom three and going home.”
“MasterChef” airs on Fox at 8 p.m Eastern time Wednesdays.
Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cher[email protected] or 317-444-6264. Follow her on Twitter: @cherylvjackson.