Ludhiana-based homemaker Kamaldeep Kaur has become the first finalist of the cooking reality show MasterChef India 2023, judged by celebrity chefs Vikas Khanna, Ranveer Brar and Garima Arora.

The show, which airs weeknights at 9pm on Sony Entertainment Television and SonyLIV, is now heading to Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, for its semi-final.

This week, the home cooks had to compete in several tasks to win the ‘ticket to finale’. In the first challenge of the week, the contestants were asked to prepare an Indian progressive, healthy dish. Kamaldeep impressed the judges with an Indianised version of mille feuille and won an advantage for the next challenge.

In the next task, chef Garima challenged the home cooks to prepare an international dish with Indian spices. Kamaldeep used her advantage and skipped this task. In the Holi-special challenge, Kamaldeep was paired up with guest ‘super chef’ Shivesh. She managed to draw praises from the judges with her dessert but eventually lost to Santa Sarmah because of her weak main course.

The final challenge of the week was a pressure test. Chef Garima prepared a millet-based dessert in front of the contestants and asked them to replicate it. Kamaldeep and Nayanjyoti Saikia were neck and neck in preparing a dish that came the closest to Garima’s dessert. However, it was Kamaldeep who walked away with the ‘ticket to finale’.

Seven contestants —Aruna Vijay, Priyanka Kundu Biswas, Sachin Khatwani, Gurkirat Singh, Suvarna Bagul, Santa and Nayajyoti— will now be competing against each other in the semi-final next week to earn a place in the MasterChef India 2023 finale.