With friends like these ...

Apparently, when cash and careers are at stake, friendship is just another tool

1 of 2This photo shows a young Danielle Cardozo at Loon Lake, a favourite vacation spot of her family, near Grasmere, B.C. — Photo courtesy Danielle Cardozo

2 of 2Danielle Cardozo (second from left), is being cheered on in the MasterChef Canada competition by her dad and stepmom, Rick and Cindy Cardozo, and Heidi Romich of the Heid Out Restaurant and Brewhouse. — Marie Milner photo

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In last night’s episode of MasterChef Canada, it was evident from the moment they lifted their mystery boxes, revealing photos of themselves as children, that emotions were running high among the competing home cooks. The mystery box challenge is all about gaining advantage—a difficult focus for a cook who is swamped with memories while trying to create a dish that authentically represents a time of security and love.

Danielle Cardozo fought back tears while she assembled her ingredients.

“The photo was a very emotional reminder of why I was there, and who I was there for,” she said. “I  knew it was worth it, but it doesn't change how hard it was.”

Cardozo made a lentil and pancetta salad with a spiced prawn, an elevated play on the pork and beans and crayfish that her family often ate during carefree camping stays at Loon Lake, in Grasmere, B.C.

Though her dish didn’t particularly impress the judges, it went over very well on Monday evening with customers at The Heid Out Restaurant and Brewhouse.

The advantage won by Eric Chong in the mystery box challenge was a huge one, and he certainly capitalized on it. He and Cardozo had become friends, but when he was out of earshot in the pantry, Chong made it clear that he wanted to eliminate her from the competition. He targeted Cardozo and Kaila Klassen specifically, assigning them beef tongue and beef brain respectively as their star ingredients in the elimination challenge.

“I had no clue why my close friend would do that, except that he obviously saw me as competition,” Cardozo said with a shrug. “I have serious respect for Eric—he played the game well in both a culinary sense and a social sense. How can you get mad at good game play?”

Chong’s attempt to eliminate one of them was foiled. Though they struggled with the unfamiliar protein, Cardozo and Klassen both created dishes that pleased the judges—in fact, Klassen’s dish was judged “runaway winner” of the day’s competition, with that of Pino Di Cerbo coming in second. These two will be team leaders in next week’s team challenge. Cardozo’s roasted beet salad with beef tongue was a hit at The Heid out on March 3, and she said she is very, very grateful for the support of the community.

When presented with Dora Cote’s dish, a stew made from beef cheeks, judge Claudio Aprile said, “I want to like it—it just looks like barf.” If the dish had been delicious, it might have survived its unfortunate appearance, but it was not. Cote was eliminated from the competition, and MasterChef Canada now has its top 10 competitors.