- The Catalan presenter began the service with a Thai suquet with Palamós red prawns and green curry air; then she prepared creamy faba beans with clams and a touch of turmeric and cumin and, for dessert, a lychee dome with popcorn and rose ice cream. The Catalan presenter donated the 75,000 euros to the Juegaterapia Foundation.
- Her partner, Manu Baqueiro, opted for a risky menu with Galician flavours, designed from the heart and dedicated to his family.
- The sum of the accumulated audience of the two days of broadcasting of the final brought together 10 million viewers (5,000,000 viewers accumulated on Monday plus a total of 4,597,000 viewers on Tuesday).
30 November 2022.- Until she stepped into the ‘MasterChef Celebrity 7’ kitchens, Lorena Castell was the “queen of microwaves, tins and salads”. With the little she learned from her yaya and her mother, Juaqui, and how much “she has worked hard here”, as the jury acknowledged, Lorena managed to get to the top. After 84 days immersed in the kitchen, the Catalan presenter and vedette 2.0, nicknamed the “lioness”, has become the winner of the culinary talent after a thrilling final duel against the actor Manu Baqueiro.
“We are very proud of what you have achieved and the road you have travelled in your quest for excellence. You have been a fun, complicit, good companions and involved one hundred percent in this adventure,” the judges congratulated the duelists before proclaiming the winner. Lorena had already won the jury’s recognition for “her commitment and her desire to fight until the end”. On this hard road to success, she had to combine caring for her three-year-old son Río with three jobs: presenting the programme ‘Zapeando’, working on the radio and taking part in ‘MasterChef Celebrity’.
Last night, Lorena Castell conquered the palate of the jury and the guests, chefs Joan Roca and Massimo Bottura, with a brave and very technical menu, which paid tribute to her brother and the trips they have enjoyed together, without forgetting the rest of her family or her roots. She began the service with a Thai suquet with Palamós red prawns and green curry air; then she prepared creamy fabes, made with vegetable jelly and a touch of turmeric and cumin, accompanied by clams; and, for dessert, a lychee dome with jellies, frozen popcorn and crystallised roses. For this special moment, she was accompanied by her partner, her mother and her brother. Not even her little boy missed this coronation.
His partner in the great final duel, Manu Baqueiro, opted for a risky menu with Galician flavours, designed from the heart and dedicated to his family. A “very interesting proposal, with a great balance of flavours”, highlighted the jury, which began with the starter “Grandma Amalia’s langoustines and albariño lees”. The main course was a grouper in banana leaf, a tribute to his mother and his Galician relatives who emigrated, called “El mero de ida y vuelta”. To finish he served “Malpica”, a creamy cheese with a veil of coffee, chocolate roots, a drunken sponge cake with orujo and an almond ice cream, dedicated to his brother. “Thank you, Manu, for making a tour of Galicia with so much taste, with so much affection. Thank you for coming, in front of chefs, to show yourself with all your heart and all the honesty that characterises you”, Pepe Rodríguez Rey congratulated him after the tasting.
Lorena won the title of ‘MasterChef Celebrity Spain’, the trophy of the programme and 75,000 euros that she donated to the Juegaterapia Foundation. In addition, both she and Manu Baqueiro will enjoy a weekend creative cooking course at the Basque Culinary Center, the prestigious Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences in San Sebastian, together with a companion.
“Vivir viajando”: an impeccable, highly technical menu with top-quality produce
Lorena Castell took a risk in the great final duel with a technical menu, with top quality produce, many elaborations and an impeccable finish. She named it “Vivir viajando” (“Living while travelling”), her great hobby, as it was inspired by the trips she has made with her brother. A way of paying tribute to what she values most in her life: her family and friends.
The starter, “Suquet de peix thai”, transported the jury and guests to Thailand, but also to Catalonia, where her roots and family are. “It’s very good. It really is a trip to Thailand from Catalonia,” said Joan Roca. For the jury, it was an “elegant and sophisticated” dish with technique and product, although some diners felt it lacked a touch of salt. For Massimo Bottura, the most important thing was that Lorena was not afraid to express emotions and transmit them in the dish. Furthermore, surprised by her technical skill, Pepe Rodríguez joked: “if you want to set up a restaurant here you have five partners”.
With the next proposal, the main dish, “Fabes con almejas hindi style”, took them to India. “It is a very technical dish and very well resolved technically”, said Joan Roca of this dish dedicated to Lorena’s friends, who have become part of his family. Pepe Rodríguez and Massimo Bottura missed the flavour of the traditional dish, something that should also be expected in haute cuisine.
The last destination on this menu was Bali. Their dessert, “Lunar Eclipse”, included some of their son’s favourite ingredients, such as jellies and popcorn. For Lorena, her moon is her son Rio, “who gives birth to me every day”, and she is her little boy’s favourite planet. “He is the person I have missed the most during the filming of this programme, it has been very hard for me”, the presenter recalled emotionally. This dessert was not only dedicated to Rio; it was also dedicated to her boyfriend, Rubén, because “being with him is a bed of roses” and “he has taken the trouble to break that dome and discover the Lorena that my family and friends know”, she acknowledged. “It’s a wonderful dessert. I have fallen in love with the aesthetics. In every spoonful there is a new flavour. I can only congratulate you,” said Massimo Bottura.
