MasterChef Australia (2009–…): Season 14, Episode 12 - Episode #14.12 - full transcript
MasterChef alumni and dessert king Reynold Poernomo returns to set this pressure test dish: his new intricate signature dessert, noi. The chef who fails to cope with the dish will be sent home.
VOICEOVER: Previously,
on MasterChef Australia...
What's that?
..Shannon Bennett's mystery box...
There's a couple of doozies
in there.
..had some tricky ingredients...
ALI: I've never cooked
a sweetbread before.
JOHN: I'm putting everything
that I have on that plate.
..and an emotional outcome...
..leaving Jenn, Alvin, Max and John
in the bottom four.
Tonight, they face
an epic pressure test.
ALVIN: I just hope that
I live to cook another day.
Who will stick it out...
I CAN do this.
..and who will be sent home?
# 'Cause you're hot,
then you're cold
# You're yes, then you're no
# You're in, then you're out
# You're up, then you're down
# You're wrong when it's right
# It's black and it's white
# We fight, we break up
# We kiss, we make up
# You're hot, then you're cold
# You're yes, then you're no
# You're in, then you're out
# You're up, then you're down
# You're wrong when it's right
# It's black and it's white
# We fight, we break up
# We kiss, we make up
# You
# You don't really wanna stay, no
# You
# But you don't really wanna go-o
# You're hot, then you're cold
# You're yes, then you're no
# You're in, then you're out
# You're up, then you're down. #
(APPLAUSE)
JOCK: In you come!
Come on down the front.
Grab a box, any box.
Morning, everybody. Did you miss me?
Morning.
ALL: (HESITANTLY) Yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
Bit of a warm reception there,
isn't it?
(LAUGHTER)
Well, even if you didn't,
it's great to be back.
(LAUGHTER)
And what a day to be here.
Because, of course,
today is a pressure test.
So you've got a one-in-four chance
today of going home.
John. Mel tells me you
had a tough day yesterday.
Yeah, but I think I've put
that behind me now.
I just need to bring what I know
what to do and that's...
..cook good food.
Great attitude.
Yeah.
Especially coming into a pressure
test on a day like this.
Lose your cool today,
could be your last day here.
MEL: Today's pressure test
has been set by a man
who is no stranger to this kitchen.
Over the past seven years, he's set
a number of pressure tests here.
But...
..he's also cooked in them.
In fact, he's stood opposite us
more times than any of you.
He is responsible for some
of the most memorable dishes
ever presented in this competition.
Hot damn.
From the Forbidden Fruit...
Oh.
..to Moss.
No way.
..to White Noise.
And of course, Down The Rabbit Hole.
(ALL GASP)
From KOI in Sydney,
please welcome Reynold Poernomo!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Yeah, Rey.
MAX: You can't be a fan
of MasterChef
and not know who Reynold is
and know how good he is
and how amazing his dishes are.
So seeing him walk into the kitchen
to set this pressure test,
as a fan, it's a dream,
but hopefully not a nightmare.
Reynold. Welcome back, mate.
Gosh, it's good to have you
in the kitchen.
Thank you. (LAUGHS)
I kind of miss it. On this side.
I mean, it was fun on that side but
today is something pretty exciting.
I'm pretty excited to show this dish
as well.
And before we get
to that scary little thing...
(LAUGHTER)
..what's been happening
in your world? KOI's going well?
KOI is doing well.
We've got a new Flagship store in
Sydney and so it's a bigger space.
We've got Monkey's Corner and KOI
all in one big area.
Nice one.
John. You were on Reynold's season,
back in season 7.
How would you describe his food?
I couldn't even touch dessert
in that season
because he was just so good.
He's intimidating, isn't he?
He is.
We cooked together as well.
But I learnt...
Yeah, we did cook a lot together.
Yeah.
Alvin, mate.
You've conquered Zumbo.
That's in the past. You smashed it.
Can you conquer this man?
I-I don't know.
He-he scares me, a little, actually.
You were scared of Zumbo as well.
I'm just scared.
I'm just always scared!
(LAUGHTER)
Well, Reynold, mate, how would you
describe what's going on under there?
Uh. It's pretty hard,
even for myself.
Over the years that I've
kind of learned all these skills
and honed it all together,
I've put it all into this dessert.
Ouch.
Well, Reynold, I reckon we put them
out of their misery.
Why don't you lift the lid
and let's see what they're cooking?
Ooh.
What is that?
Today, you'll be making
my new signature dessert -
Noi.
CHRISTINA: So happy that
I'm up on the gantry today. (LAUGHS)
I do not want to be anywhere near
Reynold's desserts
unless I'm eating them.
Looks amazing.
Talk us through it.
There's a lot of components that's
from a lot of signature desserts
that I've done.
Apples from Moss.
The twigs from the Rabbit Hole.
And also, er, the Muscovado tuiles.
That's from Martin Benn's.
And also, I use the same recipe
for the coating and everything,
the technique of it all
for the Snitch.
ANDY: You just gonna look at it?
Get in there.
So this dessert, the main
components - got two cubes.
The bottom cube and the top cube
both have different fillings
with the same base -
a jasmine mousse.
The mousse is a whipped ganache.
The top cube has a caramel apple.
And the bottom is a compressed
orange blossom
and elderflower apple with gel.
JENN: I'm taking my time to really
taste each element individually
to memorise the flavours.
The cubes have fennel, elderflower
and orange blossom.
All these floral notes
that accentuate
the crispness of green apple.
And I love it.
Reynold,
there are so many components here -
I guess that's a pressure point
itself -
but what else are the main pressure
points to look out for in this dish?
The twigs. These ones are probably
the hardest ones to do.
A bit more natural, almost.
If it's too thick,
it'll be too heavy to even stand up.
Leaves? Pressure?
The leaves are actually pretty hard.
(LAUGHTER)
This was in my pressure test
that I got booted out on.
So I had to use it in this dish
because it's really delicious,
so you wanna make sure
it's heated up nicely
and gotta make sure you work fast.
And shape it as organic as possible.
MAX: There are a lot of different
elements going into this dish
and how they play together
is gonna be key.
I wanna make sure I can do this dish
aesthetic justice as well.
MEL: OK, cooks, here are the rules.
You will have four hours
to re-create Reynold's Noi.
The recipe and all of the ingredients
are at your benches,
and of course the dish
that least resembles Reynold's
will send its maker home.
Reynold, would you like to do
the honours?
Sure. Guys, good luck, stay focused,
wish you all the best
and your time...
..starts now.
Let's go, team.
MAX: How many pages? Seven, eight...
The recipe today is full-on
so I'm nervous about everything.
Go, Alvin.
JOHN: I'm actually feeling good.
Yesterday was a bit
of a rough day for me.
I just need to push through.
I know I can cook and that's what
I'm gonna show you today.
Reynold and I are different cooks
so I cooked with instinct
and he's all about precision.
So looking at his recipe, so far,
it's all, you know, to the gram,
to the millimetre.
This is the second pressure test,
so if there's anything I learned
is to sort of keep calm
and not break down.
And just hope that I can do this.
Come on, man.
Come on, Alvin.
Any sort of complex recipe,
you just need to tackle
one component at a time.
The first thing up is
the jasmine whipped ganache,
and that is almost the bulk
of the dessert
because it is the filling
of the two cubes.
So it's all about bringing the milk
and cream to temperature
and then steeping the jasmine leaves
in there
for the right amount of time.
It needs to be there.
I t can't be muted.
MAX: I'm really trying to take a lot
from the previous pressure test
and work at the pace that
I did at the start.
"In the fridge for approximately
one hour."
HARRY: Max, you taste it?
I'm gonna taste it now.
It's all about working methodically
during this cook.
You don't have much time
to dwell on things,
so if you taste something,
if you're happy with it...
Yeah?
I think you need to tick that box
and then move on to the next one.
MEL: Well, Reynold,
a four-hour pressure test.
They have quite the task ahead.
In this first instance, what do
they need to get done properly?
The inserts. They need to have time
for it to set.
And the caramel apple -
that takes time to get that colour.
If you burn it, you've gotta do it
again, and that's just gonna
set you back...
Wow, so we could see someone -
or a few of them -
fall well behind
within the first step.
If they mess up. Yep.
If they mess up.
Yep.
It's my first-ever pressure test.
So my game plan today is
tackle one thing at a time,
do it well and just focus on that.
I'm working on
the jasmine-whipped ganache.
MATT: How's it taste, Jenn?
Not very strong.
Oh.
Was it strong in the mousse?
You could taste it.
Yeah?
I'm not tasting any jasmine tea
at all.
All I get is white chocolate
so I'm a little bit worried.
How's your jasmine mousse?
Mine has no flavour.
MAX: Your what?
Jasmine mousse.
I pressed the leaves
really, really hard.
Yeah.
It added a bit of flavour.
Although my strategy today
is to follow this recipe exactly,
it's still important to trust
our instincts,
especially when it comes down
to flavour.
So instead of redoing
the whole batch...
..I quickly take a small portion
back out and add more tea leaves,
reinfuse it,
you know, we really have
to extract flavour here.
STEPH: Stir it, Jenn.
HARRY: Get a spoon in there.
Good job, girl.
I don't really want to make mistakes
in the cook
but, you know, it's still early days.
There's still lots of time.
And it's more important
that I do it right,
rather than leave it to the end
and regret my decision
about not redoing it.
MELANIE: Better?
But if I'm putting it through
the whole thing, it needs more.
Yep.
Hey, John.
Hey, Jock. How are you?
I'm very well, pal. How are you?
Welcome back.
Got a couple of things on the go.
How are you feeling? Are you...?
No, it's actually under control
so...
I've got basically the ganache
inside the fridge.
I've got my apple caramel.
Apple caramel.
And then I've got
the blossom apple inserts.
That's ready to go
once this is done.
And I think that's the key with
this - just follow the recipe.
Well, it looks as if you're working
ahead a little bit
plus paying plenty of attention
here.
Yeah. So far so good.
Good luck, mate.
Thank you.
The caramelised apple is
basically your toffee apple flavour.
And that's actually gonna go inside
the whipped jasmine ganache
used in the cube.
And you have to be careful
with the temperature
because if you take it too far,
it can be quite bitter
and you don't want that
in a caramel at all.
JENN: I finished my jasmine
cream ganache
and I've popped it away
to keep chilling in the freezer.
I'm so happy that I made
that decision to go back
and push more jasmine tea flavour
into the cream.
Good job, Jenn.
Go, Jenn.
I'm only halfway with the apple.
I need to get moving.
I'm just going to try and multi-task
a bit more.
Keep one eye on the caramel and
the other eye on my chopping apples.
Something burning?
Jenn, how's your caramel?
Um...
..still has 13 degrees to go.
Jenn, move your caramel
onto the smaller burner.
Jenn, how's things?
Hey, Jenn.
Um...
..it's going OK.
I'm trying to dice these apples
but I'm not keeping up with
the grade of caramelisations.
What temperature do you need
to get that to?
160.
And it's only at 115?
Oh, no.
Pretty dark.
Yeah, it's pretty dark.
It's pretty dark.
Oh, stressing out.
I'm a little bit worried
about how dark it looks.
What's it smell like?
Potentially over.
(SIGHS)
One hour down, three hours to go!
(APPLAUSE)
Come on, guys.
Let's go. Come on!
Who's in front?
I think John's in front.
Three hours to go and John is just
powering through this recipe.
Max and Alvin look like
they're about the same place.
And Jenn is starting to slip behind
slightly
as she's had to do a couple
of elements again.
MAX: At this stage, I'm really happy
with how methodically I'm working
through this recipe.
Go.
I'm up to my green apple sorbet.
The apple sorbet was actually
my favourite element to the dish
when I tasted it.
It was nice and fresh and crisp,
and I think it really helped unify
the rest of the dish.
It's the element
that I really want to come across
as really special on my plate
as well.
Beautiful, Max.
Thanks, mate.
How you going, Jenn?
Good, I think. I think I'm slowly
catching up, so...
Yeah, you are. It's good.
Yeah.
I've redone my caramelised apples.
And now I just have to finish off
the blossom apple inserts
for my cubes.
Hopefully, it's gonna be OK
and I won't make any more mistakes.
(MIXER WHIRRS)
JOHN: I'm powering on.
Now I'm going to move on to
building my cubes.
Food is an art form for Reynold,
and the cubes, of course,
the main focus,
so I want to get this right.
I'm making sure that these ganache
cubes are perfect
so I slowly work my ganache
with a palate knife.
If you don't get the ganache
into the moulds properly,
you'll end up having air pockets
and it won't be a perfect cube.
ALVIN: Reynold's been circling me
today.
You're making me nervous,
standing...
REYNOLD: Oh. Sorry.
(BOTH LAUGH)
It's good and it's bad because
I know that if I'm in trouble,
he's there and I can ask.
But at the same time,
I can't help but feel
he's just looking
at this bumbling idiot
trying to sort of cook his dessert.
Push out. 'Cause I can see
there's air pockets in there.
Just give it a good push.
Really?
Yep.
If not, when you unmould it,
you'll get little gaps.
Ah.
So try to push out as much air
as possible, OK?
Yep.
Dessert isn't one of my strengths
so, techniques aside,
I just hope that I can at least bank
on my flavours
resembling Reynold's dessert.
JULIE: That looks beautiful, Alvin.
Great work.
JENN: I blitz through my sorbet.
I'm finally ticking more stuff
off that checklist.
I think everything is slowly
starting to come together.
But, yeah,
I just have to really motor.
Pick up the pace.
JOHN: So two hours have gone
and I'm actually halfway through.
And I've done the sorbet
and I've also got my cubes
pretty much in the blast chiller
with the different apple inserts.
I'm moving on to making
my chocolate twigs
and I'm actually feeling confident
because I'm familiar
with chocolate work.
Basically, you just blitz
the chocolate in a food processor
until you get a nice putty
consistency
and you just roll it out.
When you're rolling the twigs,
you're actually crystallising
the chocolate
so you're basically tempering
the chocolate.
How you going?
Yeah, good.
You're way ahead.
Yeah?
Yeah.
Is that a good thing? (CHUCKLES)
Very good.
Just make sure that everything is,
like, done well.
Yeah, yeah.
How many you need, John?
I'm just gonna do a few,
just in case they break.
That's very cool, John.
Working with chocolate
is all about confidence.
Chocolate can definitely smell fear.
If you're scared of it,
chocolate won't work with you.
Apparently, I need to get
this into... What is...?
Hey, Christina?
Yes?
What's putty?
Putty, it's like Play-Doh.
Thank you.
Like clay.
Yep.
Is that like Play-Doh?
MAX: Yes. Yep.
This is taking me back to creche.
Like, when I last sort of played
with Play-Doh.
Ooh, wow.
But this is whole different stakes.
This competition is really important
for me.
Especially after last season,
getting so close to getting an apron
and I actually realise
how badly I wanted to be here
and I don't want to let that go yet.
The twig that Reynold had
on his plate was really, really fine,
really thin.
Really delicate.
Um, at the moment, I've got a log.
I think I'm actually overworking
the chocolate.
Oh, this is hard.
This is really difficult.
If I can just get some sort of
twig-looking shapes out,
they'll have to work.
Ah, no!
BILLIE: These chocolate twigs -
I think they've stumped
most of the contestants.
MAX: Oh, this is hard.
(SIGHS)
JENN: Are your twigs snapping, Max?
Yep.
OK.
Watching them try to do it
and not quite get there,
it's just heart-wrenching.
This is ridiculous.
Wow. This one's tough.
MAX: These chocolate twigs are
a real sticking point for Reynold.
If they don't come out perfect,
I could be going home.
Ooh.
But finally, somehow,
I'm working this.
Happy.
The chocolate's actually obeying
my hands.
And they look OK.
How have I...? How is that...that...?
HARRY: Yeah, Max,
that looks really good.
JENN: How do they look?
Very, uh...
I'll comment later.
(BOTH LAUGH)
Are they too thick?
Oh, my gosh.
I don't have time to redo
these twigs.
I need to just work
on my other elements
otherwise I won't have anything
to plate up.
Hey, Max.
Max.
Hey, Jock.
Why do you shake the egg
before you crack it?
Um, I just...like having a boogie.
No, I've heard it's supposed to let
you separate the eggwhites
and the yolks easier.
Throw some salt over your shoulder,
shake your eggs
and hope for the best.
Where are you at now?
That's madness.
(LAUGHS) It is madness.
I've never heard that before.
Yeah, so you're making the, uh,
the tuile, I'm guessing?
Correct. Yes.
The leaves are such
an important part of this dish.
It's the only element that gives you
a bit of crunch,
so you've gotta watch out for that
as well.
Yeah.
Come on, Max, you got this, mate.
Cheers. Thanks, guys.
REYNOLD: How are you going, John?
Good. I'm doing the tuile now.
Killing it?
Yep.
The tuile is basically a batter.
And once you've got this
consistency...
..you use a stencil and a silpat
and basically spread a really thin
layer with the stencil
to create the shape of the leaves.
Only got one hour to go.
(APPLAUSE AND CALLS OF
ENCOURAGEMENT)
JOCK: One hour to go!
JENN: I'm really feeling the time
pressure now.
I need to bring out
multi-tasking Jenn.
So while my tuiles are baking,
I need to coat my little cubes now.
My fingers are trembling.
(EXHALES SHARPLY)
Don't overthink it.
These cubes need to be set.
My cubes have set properly.
Opa.
Opa.
I'm so happy
that I've gotten to this point
and everything is coming together.
Those look really good.
Alvin's still doing his chocolate.
Alvin.
Hi.
How are you going?
I'm really pushing this.
Aren't you supposed to make them
look like twigs, mate?
Stop.
Just stop.
(LAUGHS).
You've made them now. It's alright.
Next step, mate,
you've gotta make the tuiles. Yeah?
Yeah, I've gotta make the tuiles.
It's so important to get the dish
finished in a pressure test
because, the other contestants,
they're all so skilled.
And you cannot afford any slip-ups.
I just have to keep motoring on.
MAX: It's now time to use these
stencil leaf moulds
to create leaves out of tuiles.
(EXHALES)
Go, John. Come on, mate.
Oh, it's cracked.
So fiddly.
MAX: (CHUCKLES)
This is not an easy process.
Tuiles will snap
at the lightest pressure.
Ah, no!
OK.
This is not working.
I have a read of the recipe again
and there's a heat gun that's used
to keep the leaves pliable
before pressing on the stencil.
No wonder it's bloody hard.
Mate, these are bloody tough.
You gotta sandwich the... Yep, OK.
Yep.
The leaves have taken me longer
than I would have liked.
Every single minute I can have at the
end of the cook to plate this all up
is an extra minute that's just worth
its weight in gold.
Now for the next challenge...
I'm aware that I am already
a few steps behind.
I still have to create the tuile
leaves and have to dip my cubes.
There's still a lot to go.
I have to hustle.
So important to get the cubes done.
Because I know I've done a good job
with the jasmine-whipped ganache
in terms of flavour.
But if I don't get them
on the plate, it's nothing.
This is the main part of the dish.
So they need to be perfection.
Come on, Alvin.
What the hell?
That's not pretty at all.
Oh, my God.
These are nothing like Reynold's.
Just...
It's OK, just de-mould them all.
I'm in a world of hurt.
My cubes don't even look like cubes.
Argh.
Argh.
It's not pretty at all.
My cubes don't even look like cubes.
I'm very determined to stay.
I'm not ready to go home.
I haven't really shown what I can do
and what I'm capable of.
Come on!
(APPLAUSE)
Come on, Alvin, come on!
But I realise that I'm really quickly
running out of time.
Now I have the pleasure -
or the pain -
to create the tuile leaves.
I just hope that
I can get everything done.
Yes.
Go, Alvin.
Well done! Come on.
John, what you got left?
JOHN: That's it.
All done?
Yep.
Beautiful.
Well done, mate. Come on.
All my elements are ready to go.
I'm ready to plate.
Ladies and gentlemen,
you have 15 minutes to go.
ANDY: Let's go. Come on!
(APPLAUSE)
Come on.
Go, John!
(ECHOING STEAM SOUNDS)
MAX: In these final moments,
I can't hear words,
it's literally just noise.
(ECHOING VIBRATING SOUNDS)
JENN: The atmosphere
is really tense.
There's so many machine sounds
but quiet at the same time.
JOHN: I'm proud of myself for doing
a complete 360
from what happened yesterday.
(MUTED HEARTBEAT)
I think in this competition,
you really have to be resilient.
I can do this.
I want to realise my own dream
and this is the reason why
I came back to this competition.
MAX: As the clock winds down,
my hands are getting shakier.
And I haven't been able to taste
the dish as a whole
but I'm so pleased
with how my dish looks.
JENN: I can't believe
I've made it this far.
I've got all my elements...
(EXHALES)
..and they are elements
I'm happy with.
But I'm a little bit worried...
(EXHALES)
..my twigs are too fat.
And I'm just not ready to go home
today.
ALVIN: My dish looks nothing like
Reynold's
but I've tasted the elements
every step of the way...
..and I'm almost certain that
I have replicated the flavours.
I might not be as technical a cook
as someone like Reynold,
even someone like Billie,
but I think we all have a different
sort of part we play
and strength that we bring.
More than anything,
I want to learn more.
I just hope that
I live to cook another day.
Here it is, you got 10!
ALL: 9, 8, 7,
6, 5, 4,
3, 2, 1.
JOCK: That's it!
(APPLAUSE)
Beautiful.
Good job, guys!
JOHN: Seeing Reynold walk in,
I knew exactly what I was in for.
I just want to have fun.
But, um, it all turned out well
so I'm very happy.
ALVIN: I've just seen
what the others have created
and, yeah, mine's very Alvin.
Um, so, you know,
we'll see what they say in there.
JOHN: I'm actually excited
to serve this dish
because I know that I've put
everything into this creation.
All the elements tasted really good.
Being back here today in this kitchen
and not giving up,
it's made me realise why I'm here -
to really show everyone
what I'm capable of.
I'm so proud of myself
and I'm here to stay.
Big smile from John there,
love that.
John, one thing to do, do you want
to spoon some sorbet on it?
Actually, Reynold taught me
how to quenelle
so I hope I still remember it.
JOCK: No pressure, then.
No. (CHUCKLES)
Oh, he's still got it.
Good stuff.
Beauty, John. Thanks, mate.
Thanks. Enjoy.
What do you think of that, Reynold?
Looks pretty good.
Twigs are nice. Got natural shape.
REYNOLD: Twigs are nice.
Do the honours, Reynold.
Get into it.
Nailed it.
MEL: I mean, from here,
you can see the shell is...
Is very thin.
Yes. It's good.
It's really good.
The chocolate twigs
were really well done.
Yep.
Especially watching him make them.
It was pretty easy for him,
to be honest,
and you said it was one of the
hardest elements to get right.
Beautiful, fine work with
the chocolate round the outside.
The tuiles were beautiful
and crunchy and crisp.
The inside of the caramel apple
is actually quite nice.
The apple's like, fully compressed.
Sorbet's really nice and bright.
Really refreshing.
I'm really heartened by how John
took on this challenge today
as being a really positive thing.
When you're presented with a dish
that looks like that
after four hours,
in this crazy place...
..I think John has to be commended.
For sure.
JENN: I'm really happy
with my decision to go back
and push more jasmine tea flavour
into the whipped ganache.
And that I did my caramelised apple
again.
However, I'm worried about
whether my twigs are too fat.
Potentially, I could be the one
going home today.
enjoy another serving
or savour past seasons at:
Look at the concentration.
ANDY: Yeah, there's a lot going on
there.
Jenn.
MEL: OK, Jenn.
Softly does it.
There it is.
First pressure test out the way.
Yeah, I can't believe it.
(LAUGHS) I've done it.
And made it through.
Despite remaking everything that
you did,
you still got
a finished complete dish up.
I'm really proud.
I would have never thought
something this beautiful
could be given birth to by my hand.
Alright, why don't you stick the
sorbet on it and then we'll taste?
Yes.
There you go, Jenn.
Thanks, Jenn.
We'll taste it now.
Thank you so much.
Nice one, Jenn.
Thank you. (GIGGLES)
The chocolate twigs are...
pretty heavy.
Yeah, they're logs.
Chocolate branches.
Yeah.
Branches.
Lucky to be holding up, actually.
Couple of trees. Um...
Oh. There you go.
The inside's quite nice.
Yeah.
I think she's done
an absolutely amazing job.
Beautiful jasmine flavour
through it.
I love that sorbet.
I mean, that in and of itself,
had a great amount of acidity
to give it that lift
and that refreshment.
I actually really like the way
she treated the apples.
Even though they're slightly
a bit too big,
they're actually not overcooked,
the caramel apple.
The flavour's there,
you can taste the caramelisation.
The apple blossom insert
is delicious.
Super fragrant and light and bright.
The little tuile,
the flavour is really nice.
The obvious -
the twigs are quite big.
Things, though, like the twigs
being a little bit too thick,
yes, it's a cosmetic thing but
it's also about balance of flavour.
The chocolate's quite bitter and so
when you get a little bit of that,
you really only need
a small amount of it.
I think all in all, um,
a really, really great effort.
And a pressure test when you've got
a one-in-four chance,
nobody's safe,
at the end of the day,
but if I look at it
from a flavour perspective,
I'm super happy with it, so...
..it's not perfect but I still think
she's in a strong position.
MAX: I'm not sure if I've replicated
all the elements
enough to keep me safe today
but I've replicated them
to the point that I'm happy with.
The thing that I'm most proud with
on the plate
is that green apple sorbet.
I've done my absolute best, which is
the only thing you can do here.
Hi, mate.
Hello.
Max.
Max.
Yay.
Take a seat.
And breathe. (LAUGHS)
So at the end of back-to-back
pressure tests,
are you feeling more confident
or less confident?
Um...
Yeah, it's a good question.
So it looks...
I'm really happy with how I did.
There's obviously a bit of polish
that comes with being a professional
and doing it countless times.
Flavour-wise,
I was trying to reference
back to what I tried before the cook
and I'm really happy
with the flavours.
Great.
Thanks, Max.
Thank you.
REYNOLD: I quite like the plating
on this one actually.
Mm.
It's nice and compact.
Everything's there.
Yep.
Shall we break into it?
Should we try it?
I think we should. Yeah.
OK.
Um, the jasmine...
I don't really get that punchy
kind of fragrance throughout.
It just tastes like...
Mm, cream.
..cream.
Other than that -
the chocolate's nice and thin.
The sorbet is good.
I think some pluses
and some minuses for me.
Yeah.
The caramelisation on the apple,
it's just really not there.
I thought from the visual,
you could already sort of tell
it wasn't quite as dark
as it needed to be.
I like the flavour of the tuile
but the texture is a little soft.
Yeah.
The impression was nice but, yeah,
the texture was sort of missing.
And I think, Jock, as you mentioned
when we went to go and visit,
you know,
it's the only element
of crunch on the dish
and it is quite crucial that
that texture is correct.
Sorbet was the highlight
and it shouldn't be that way.
This ate like a dish that is -
you know when you have those dishes
that is more style over content.
When you look and you go,
"Oh, it's super fancy."
You eat it and it kind of doesn't
taste of much.
It's one of those ones
and I'm really left wanting more
throughout each element
bar the sorbet.
Are we worried?
I think we are.
I think we should be.
I mean, as far as the dishes go
that we've tasted today,
that's the one that least resembles
yours so far.
Yeah.
In terms of flavour, definitely.
I agree.
JENN: You've got this, Alvin.
I'm not happy.
It's such a visual dish.
You know, people have been sent home
for less.
The only thing I can just bank on
are my flavours
but I don't know whether it's enough
to keep me in.
Alvin.
Alvin.
JOCK: Alvin.
ANDY: Alvin.
Do you wanna put the sorbet on?
And then we'll taste.
There you go, guys.
Thank you, Alvin.
MEL: Thank you.
REYNOLD: Thank you.
Thanks, mate.
OK. Let's call a spade a spade -
she does not look like yours.
(CHUCKLES) I guess we should just...
..crack into it and taste it.
Yep.
I'm genuinely surprised.
It's delicious, it really is.
It's not meant to be a subtle
dessert, it's meant to be...
You're not subtle.
The flavour's meant to be, like,
floral, fragrant,
taste the jasmine,
taste the blossom, the caramel,
and then get that hit of refreshing
apple, that's what he did.
The texture of the apple
within each disc
had that really nice, sort of,
you know, crunch to it.
Beautiful caramelisation,
the caramelised apple,
beautiful freshness
in the other cube.
And also, the texture of the jasmine
mousse, it was light, it was airy.
The sorbet, the texture and the
flavour was the closest to yours.
Flavours are...are amazing.
It just looked shocking.
It didn't look anything like yours.
Today, we tasked the four of you
with re-creating a dish
by Reynold Poernomo.
Look, I didn't make today's
pressure test easy, did I?
But I hope you all had fun and some
of you actually really surprised me,
and of course, I really hope that
you've learnt a thing or two.
Righto, gang, the good news is,
two of you excelled today.
And are in no danger of going home.
John.
And...Jenn.
You're safe. Well done.
You can join the others.
(APPLAUSE)
JOCK: Well done, Jenn.
Alvin, Max, obviously,
it comes down to you two.
Alvin, your dish looked nothing
like Reynold's. (CHUCKLES)
But today, you proved that looks
can be deceiving
because it tasted delicious.
Max...
Although it looked very much
like Reynold's dish...
..there wasn't enough finesse
involved.
Both dishes left us wanting
in different ways
but when it came to this,
we all agreed that taste
trumps appearance.
And that's why, I'm sorry, Max,
you're going home.
(EXHALES)
It's, um...
..been a long dream and...
..uh, thank you everyone
for making me realise that dream
and thank you for having me.
It's been...
Yeah, it's been incredible.
Mate, you've persevered to get here,
you know?
We've seen you last year,
you came back again this year,
you got through,
you've shown incredible perseverance
and resilience
and that's gonna set you up in
whatever you choose to do next, mate.
It's been a pleasure
having you in the kitchen.
But for now,
it's time to say goodbye, buddy.
Thank you very much.
I'm devastated to be leaving
this early.
Being part of the MasterChef
competition
has been a pipedream of mine
for years.
The growth that I've had in my food
over the last three, four years,
auditioning for the show,
only gets greater and greater.
Hugs and kisses.
(APPLAUSE)
Give it up for Max, everybody!
It's been a long road for me to get
to my position in this competition,
and it hasn't been easy
but I couldn't be more pleased
with where I am standing.
VOICEOVER: Tomorrow night
on MasterChef Australia...
All the way from LA,
it's Curtis Stone!
..a very special guest...
I have to admit, I had a bit of a
crush on him last time. (CHUCKLES)
..rocks the
MasterChef kitchen...
Let's go, guys.
..with a huge
service challenge.
MEL: It's fast food
versus fancy food.
WOMAN: I'm scared
to think
of what they're gonna
throw at us today.
Captions by Red Bee Media
on MasterChef Australia...
What's that?
..Shannon Bennett's mystery box...
There's a couple of doozies
in there.
..had some tricky ingredients...
ALI: I've never cooked
a sweetbread before.
JOHN: I'm putting everything
that I have on that plate.
..and an emotional outcome...
..leaving Jenn, Alvin, Max and John
in the bottom four.
Tonight, they face
an epic pressure test.
ALVIN: I just hope that
I live to cook another day.
Who will stick it out...
I CAN do this.
..and who will be sent home?
# 'Cause you're hot,
then you're cold
# You're yes, then you're no
# You're in, then you're out
# You're up, then you're down
# You're wrong when it's right
# It's black and it's white
# We fight, we break up
# We kiss, we make up
# You're hot, then you're cold
# You're yes, then you're no
# You're in, then you're out
# You're up, then you're down
# You're wrong when it's right
# It's black and it's white
# We fight, we break up
# We kiss, we make up
# You
# You don't really wanna stay, no
# You
# But you don't really wanna go-o
# You're hot, then you're cold
# You're yes, then you're no
# You're in, then you're out
# You're up, then you're down. #
(APPLAUSE)
JOCK: In you come!
Come on down the front.
Grab a box, any box.
Morning, everybody. Did you miss me?
Morning.
ALL: (HESITANTLY) Yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
Bit of a warm reception there,
isn't it?
(LAUGHTER)
Well, even if you didn't,
it's great to be back.
(LAUGHTER)
And what a day to be here.
Because, of course,
today is a pressure test.
So you've got a one-in-four chance
today of going home.
John. Mel tells me you
had a tough day yesterday.
Yeah, but I think I've put
that behind me now.
I just need to bring what I know
what to do and that's...
..cook good food.
Great attitude.
Yeah.
Especially coming into a pressure
test on a day like this.
Lose your cool today,
could be your last day here.
MEL: Today's pressure test
has been set by a man
who is no stranger to this kitchen.
Over the past seven years, he's set
a number of pressure tests here.
But...
..he's also cooked in them.
In fact, he's stood opposite us
more times than any of you.
He is responsible for some
of the most memorable dishes
ever presented in this competition.
Hot damn.
From the Forbidden Fruit...
Oh.
..to Moss.
No way.
..to White Noise.
And of course, Down The Rabbit Hole.
(ALL GASP)
From KOI in Sydney,
please welcome Reynold Poernomo!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Yeah, Rey.
MAX: You can't be a fan
of MasterChef
and not know who Reynold is
and know how good he is
and how amazing his dishes are.
So seeing him walk into the kitchen
to set this pressure test,
as a fan, it's a dream,
but hopefully not a nightmare.
Reynold. Welcome back, mate.
Gosh, it's good to have you
in the kitchen.
Thank you. (LAUGHS)
I kind of miss it. On this side.
I mean, it was fun on that side but
today is something pretty exciting.
I'm pretty excited to show this dish
as well.
And before we get
to that scary little thing...
(LAUGHTER)
..what's been happening
in your world? KOI's going well?
KOI is doing well.
We've got a new Flagship store in
Sydney and so it's a bigger space.
We've got Monkey's Corner and KOI
all in one big area.
Nice one.
John. You were on Reynold's season,
back in season 7.
How would you describe his food?
I couldn't even touch dessert
in that season
because he was just so good.
He's intimidating, isn't he?
He is.
We cooked together as well.
But I learnt...
Yeah, we did cook a lot together.
Yeah.
Alvin, mate.
You've conquered Zumbo.
That's in the past. You smashed it.
Can you conquer this man?
I-I don't know.
He-he scares me, a little, actually.
You were scared of Zumbo as well.
I'm just scared.
I'm just always scared!
(LAUGHTER)
Well, Reynold, mate, how would you
describe what's going on under there?
Uh. It's pretty hard,
even for myself.
Over the years that I've
kind of learned all these skills
and honed it all together,
I've put it all into this dessert.
Ouch.
Well, Reynold, I reckon we put them
out of their misery.
Why don't you lift the lid
and let's see what they're cooking?
Ooh.
What is that?
Today, you'll be making
my new signature dessert -
Noi.
CHRISTINA: So happy that
I'm up on the gantry today. (LAUGHS)
I do not want to be anywhere near
Reynold's desserts
unless I'm eating them.
Looks amazing.
Talk us through it.
There's a lot of components that's
from a lot of signature desserts
that I've done.
Apples from Moss.
The twigs from the Rabbit Hole.
And also, er, the Muscovado tuiles.
That's from Martin Benn's.
And also, I use the same recipe
for the coating and everything,
the technique of it all
for the Snitch.
ANDY: You just gonna look at it?
Get in there.
So this dessert, the main
components - got two cubes.
The bottom cube and the top cube
both have different fillings
with the same base -
a jasmine mousse.
The mousse is a whipped ganache.
The top cube has a caramel apple.
And the bottom is a compressed
orange blossom
and elderflower apple with gel.
JENN: I'm taking my time to really
taste each element individually
to memorise the flavours.
The cubes have fennel, elderflower
and orange blossom.
All these floral notes
that accentuate
the crispness of green apple.
And I love it.
Reynold,
there are so many components here -
I guess that's a pressure point
itself -
but what else are the main pressure
points to look out for in this dish?
The twigs. These ones are probably
the hardest ones to do.
A bit more natural, almost.
If it's too thick,
it'll be too heavy to even stand up.
Leaves? Pressure?
The leaves are actually pretty hard.
(LAUGHTER)
This was in my pressure test
that I got booted out on.
So I had to use it in this dish
because it's really delicious,
so you wanna make sure
it's heated up nicely
and gotta make sure you work fast.
And shape it as organic as possible.
MAX: There are a lot of different
elements going into this dish
and how they play together
is gonna be key.
I wanna make sure I can do this dish
aesthetic justice as well.
MEL: OK, cooks, here are the rules.
You will have four hours
to re-create Reynold's Noi.
The recipe and all of the ingredients
are at your benches,
and of course the dish
that least resembles Reynold's
will send its maker home.
Reynold, would you like to do
the honours?
Sure. Guys, good luck, stay focused,
wish you all the best
and your time...
..starts now.
Let's go, team.
MAX: How many pages? Seven, eight...
The recipe today is full-on
so I'm nervous about everything.
Go, Alvin.
JOHN: I'm actually feeling good.
Yesterday was a bit
of a rough day for me.
I just need to push through.
I know I can cook and that's what
I'm gonna show you today.
Reynold and I are different cooks
so I cooked with instinct
and he's all about precision.
So looking at his recipe, so far,
it's all, you know, to the gram,
to the millimetre.
This is the second pressure test,
so if there's anything I learned
is to sort of keep calm
and not break down.
And just hope that I can do this.
Come on, man.
Come on, Alvin.
Any sort of complex recipe,
you just need to tackle
one component at a time.
The first thing up is
the jasmine whipped ganache,
and that is almost the bulk
of the dessert
because it is the filling
of the two cubes.
So it's all about bringing the milk
and cream to temperature
and then steeping the jasmine leaves
in there
for the right amount of time.
It needs to be there.
I t can't be muted.
MAX: I'm really trying to take a lot
from the previous pressure test
and work at the pace that
I did at the start.
"In the fridge for approximately
one hour."
HARRY: Max, you taste it?
I'm gonna taste it now.
It's all about working methodically
during this cook.
You don't have much time
to dwell on things,
so if you taste something,
if you're happy with it...
Yeah?
I think you need to tick that box
and then move on to the next one.
MEL: Well, Reynold,
a four-hour pressure test.
They have quite the task ahead.
In this first instance, what do
they need to get done properly?
The inserts. They need to have time
for it to set.
And the caramel apple -
that takes time to get that colour.
If you burn it, you've gotta do it
again, and that's just gonna
set you back...
Wow, so we could see someone -
or a few of them -
fall well behind
within the first step.
If they mess up. Yep.
If they mess up.
Yep.
It's my first-ever pressure test.
So my game plan today is
tackle one thing at a time,
do it well and just focus on that.
I'm working on
the jasmine-whipped ganache.
MATT: How's it taste, Jenn?
Not very strong.
Oh.
Was it strong in the mousse?
You could taste it.
Yeah?
I'm not tasting any jasmine tea
at all.
All I get is white chocolate
so I'm a little bit worried.
How's your jasmine mousse?
Mine has no flavour.
MAX: Your what?
Jasmine mousse.
I pressed the leaves
really, really hard.
Yeah.
It added a bit of flavour.
Although my strategy today
is to follow this recipe exactly,
it's still important to trust
our instincts,
especially when it comes down
to flavour.
So instead of redoing
the whole batch...
..I quickly take a small portion
back out and add more tea leaves,
reinfuse it,
you know, we really have
to extract flavour here.
STEPH: Stir it, Jenn.
HARRY: Get a spoon in there.
Good job, girl.
I don't really want to make mistakes
in the cook
but, you know, it's still early days.
There's still lots of time.
And it's more important
that I do it right,
rather than leave it to the end
and regret my decision
about not redoing it.
MELANIE: Better?
But if I'm putting it through
the whole thing, it needs more.
Yep.
Hey, John.
Hey, Jock. How are you?
I'm very well, pal. How are you?
Welcome back.
Got a couple of things on the go.
How are you feeling? Are you...?
No, it's actually under control
so...
I've got basically the ganache
inside the fridge.
I've got my apple caramel.
Apple caramel.
And then I've got
the blossom apple inserts.
That's ready to go
once this is done.
And I think that's the key with
this - just follow the recipe.
Well, it looks as if you're working
ahead a little bit
plus paying plenty of attention
here.
Yeah. So far so good.
Good luck, mate.
Thank you.
The caramelised apple is
basically your toffee apple flavour.
And that's actually gonna go inside
the whipped jasmine ganache
used in the cube.
And you have to be careful
with the temperature
because if you take it too far,
it can be quite bitter
and you don't want that
in a caramel at all.
JENN: I finished my jasmine
cream ganache
and I've popped it away
to keep chilling in the freezer.
I'm so happy that I made
that decision to go back
and push more jasmine tea flavour
into the cream.
Good job, Jenn.
Go, Jenn.
I'm only halfway with the apple.
I need to get moving.
I'm just going to try and multi-task
a bit more.
Keep one eye on the caramel and
the other eye on my chopping apples.
Something burning?
Jenn, how's your caramel?
Um...
..still has 13 degrees to go.
Jenn, move your caramel
onto the smaller burner.
Jenn, how's things?
Hey, Jenn.
Um...
..it's going OK.
I'm trying to dice these apples
but I'm not keeping up with
the grade of caramelisations.
What temperature do you need
to get that to?
160.
And it's only at 115?
Oh, no.
Pretty dark.
Yeah, it's pretty dark.
It's pretty dark.
Oh, stressing out.
I'm a little bit worried
about how dark it looks.
What's it smell like?
Potentially over.
(SIGHS)
One hour down, three hours to go!
(APPLAUSE)
Come on, guys.
Let's go. Come on!
Who's in front?
I think John's in front.
Three hours to go and John is just
powering through this recipe.
Max and Alvin look like
they're about the same place.
And Jenn is starting to slip behind
slightly
as she's had to do a couple
of elements again.
MAX: At this stage, I'm really happy
with how methodically I'm working
through this recipe.
Go.
I'm up to my green apple sorbet.
The apple sorbet was actually
my favourite element to the dish
when I tasted it.
It was nice and fresh and crisp,
and I think it really helped unify
the rest of the dish.
It's the element
that I really want to come across
as really special on my plate
as well.
Beautiful, Max.
Thanks, mate.
How you going, Jenn?
Good, I think. I think I'm slowly
catching up, so...
Yeah, you are. It's good.
Yeah.
I've redone my caramelised apples.
And now I just have to finish off
the blossom apple inserts
for my cubes.
Hopefully, it's gonna be OK
and I won't make any more mistakes.
(MIXER WHIRRS)
JOHN: I'm powering on.
Now I'm going to move on to
building my cubes.
Food is an art form for Reynold,
and the cubes, of course,
the main focus,
so I want to get this right.
I'm making sure that these ganache
cubes are perfect
so I slowly work my ganache
with a palate knife.
If you don't get the ganache
into the moulds properly,
you'll end up having air pockets
and it won't be a perfect cube.
ALVIN: Reynold's been circling me
today.
You're making me nervous,
standing...
REYNOLD: Oh. Sorry.
(BOTH LAUGH)
It's good and it's bad because
I know that if I'm in trouble,
he's there and I can ask.
But at the same time,
I can't help but feel
he's just looking
at this bumbling idiot
trying to sort of cook his dessert.
Push out. 'Cause I can see
there's air pockets in there.
Just give it a good push.
Really?
Yep.
If not, when you unmould it,
you'll get little gaps.
Ah.
So try to push out as much air
as possible, OK?
Yep.
Dessert isn't one of my strengths
so, techniques aside,
I just hope that I can at least bank
on my flavours
resembling Reynold's dessert.
JULIE: That looks beautiful, Alvin.
Great work.
JENN: I blitz through my sorbet.
I'm finally ticking more stuff
off that checklist.
I think everything is slowly
starting to come together.
But, yeah,
I just have to really motor.
Pick up the pace.
JOHN: So two hours have gone
and I'm actually halfway through.
And I've done the sorbet
and I've also got my cubes
pretty much in the blast chiller
with the different apple inserts.
I'm moving on to making
my chocolate twigs
and I'm actually feeling confident
because I'm familiar
with chocolate work.
Basically, you just blitz
the chocolate in a food processor
until you get a nice putty
consistency
and you just roll it out.
When you're rolling the twigs,
you're actually crystallising
the chocolate
so you're basically tempering
the chocolate.
How you going?
Yeah, good.
You're way ahead.
Yeah?
Yeah.
Is that a good thing? (CHUCKLES)
Very good.
Just make sure that everything is,
like, done well.
Yeah, yeah.
How many you need, John?
I'm just gonna do a few,
just in case they break.
That's very cool, John.
Working with chocolate
is all about confidence.
Chocolate can definitely smell fear.
If you're scared of it,
chocolate won't work with you.
Apparently, I need to get
this into... What is...?
Hey, Christina?
Yes?
What's putty?
Putty, it's like Play-Doh.
Thank you.
Like clay.
Yep.
Is that like Play-Doh?
MAX: Yes. Yep.
This is taking me back to creche.
Like, when I last sort of played
with Play-Doh.
Ooh, wow.
But this is whole different stakes.
This competition is really important
for me.
Especially after last season,
getting so close to getting an apron
and I actually realise
how badly I wanted to be here
and I don't want to let that go yet.
The twig that Reynold had
on his plate was really, really fine,
really thin.
Really delicate.
Um, at the moment, I've got a log.
I think I'm actually overworking
the chocolate.
Oh, this is hard.
This is really difficult.
If I can just get some sort of
twig-looking shapes out,
they'll have to work.
Ah, no!
BILLIE: These chocolate twigs -
I think they've stumped
most of the contestants.
MAX: Oh, this is hard.
(SIGHS)
JENN: Are your twigs snapping, Max?
Yep.
OK.
Watching them try to do it
and not quite get there,
it's just heart-wrenching.
This is ridiculous.
Wow. This one's tough.
MAX: These chocolate twigs are
a real sticking point for Reynold.
If they don't come out perfect,
I could be going home.
Ooh.
But finally, somehow,
I'm working this.
Happy.
The chocolate's actually obeying
my hands.
And they look OK.
How have I...? How is that...that...?
HARRY: Yeah, Max,
that looks really good.
JENN: How do they look?
Very, uh...
I'll comment later.
(BOTH LAUGH)
Are they too thick?
Oh, my gosh.
I don't have time to redo
these twigs.
I need to just work
on my other elements
otherwise I won't have anything
to plate up.
Hey, Max.
Max.
Hey, Jock.
Why do you shake the egg
before you crack it?
Um, I just...like having a boogie.
No, I've heard it's supposed to let
you separate the eggwhites
and the yolks easier.
Throw some salt over your shoulder,
shake your eggs
and hope for the best.
Where are you at now?
That's madness.
(LAUGHS) It is madness.
I've never heard that before.
Yeah, so you're making the, uh,
the tuile, I'm guessing?
Correct. Yes.
The leaves are such
an important part of this dish.
It's the only element that gives you
a bit of crunch,
so you've gotta watch out for that
as well.
Yeah.
Come on, Max, you got this, mate.
Cheers. Thanks, guys.
REYNOLD: How are you going, John?
Good. I'm doing the tuile now.
Killing it?
Yep.
The tuile is basically a batter.
And once you've got this
consistency...
..you use a stencil and a silpat
and basically spread a really thin
layer with the stencil
to create the shape of the leaves.
Only got one hour to go.
(APPLAUSE AND CALLS OF
ENCOURAGEMENT)
JOCK: One hour to go!
JENN: I'm really feeling the time
pressure now.
I need to bring out
multi-tasking Jenn.
So while my tuiles are baking,
I need to coat my little cubes now.
My fingers are trembling.
(EXHALES SHARPLY)
Don't overthink it.
These cubes need to be set.
My cubes have set properly.
Opa.
Opa.
I'm so happy
that I've gotten to this point
and everything is coming together.
Those look really good.
Alvin's still doing his chocolate.
Alvin.
Hi.
How are you going?
I'm really pushing this.
Aren't you supposed to make them
look like twigs, mate?
Stop.
Just stop.
(LAUGHS).
You've made them now. It's alright.
Next step, mate,
you've gotta make the tuiles. Yeah?
Yeah, I've gotta make the tuiles.
It's so important to get the dish
finished in a pressure test
because, the other contestants,
they're all so skilled.
And you cannot afford any slip-ups.
I just have to keep motoring on.
MAX: It's now time to use these
stencil leaf moulds
to create leaves out of tuiles.
(EXHALES)
Go, John. Come on, mate.
Oh, it's cracked.
So fiddly.
MAX: (CHUCKLES)
This is not an easy process.
Tuiles will snap
at the lightest pressure.
Ah, no!
OK.
This is not working.
I have a read of the recipe again
and there's a heat gun that's used
to keep the leaves pliable
before pressing on the stencil.
No wonder it's bloody hard.
Mate, these are bloody tough.
You gotta sandwich the... Yep, OK.
Yep.
The leaves have taken me longer
than I would have liked.
Every single minute I can have at the
end of the cook to plate this all up
is an extra minute that's just worth
its weight in gold.
Now for the next challenge...
I'm aware that I am already
a few steps behind.
I still have to create the tuile
leaves and have to dip my cubes.
There's still a lot to go.
I have to hustle.
So important to get the cubes done.
Because I know I've done a good job
with the jasmine-whipped ganache
in terms of flavour.
But if I don't get them
on the plate, it's nothing.
This is the main part of the dish.
So they need to be perfection.
Come on, Alvin.
What the hell?
That's not pretty at all.
Oh, my God.
These are nothing like Reynold's.
Just...
It's OK, just de-mould them all.
I'm in a world of hurt.
My cubes don't even look like cubes.
Argh.
Argh.
It's not pretty at all.
My cubes don't even look like cubes.
I'm very determined to stay.
I'm not ready to go home.
I haven't really shown what I can do
and what I'm capable of.
Come on!
(APPLAUSE)
Come on, Alvin, come on!
But I realise that I'm really quickly
running out of time.
Now I have the pleasure -
or the pain -
to create the tuile leaves.
I just hope that
I can get everything done.
Yes.
Go, Alvin.
Well done! Come on.
John, what you got left?
JOHN: That's it.
All done?
Yep.
Beautiful.
Well done, mate. Come on.
All my elements are ready to go.
I'm ready to plate.
Ladies and gentlemen,
you have 15 minutes to go.
ANDY: Let's go. Come on!
(APPLAUSE)
Come on.
Go, John!
(ECHOING STEAM SOUNDS)
MAX: In these final moments,
I can't hear words,
it's literally just noise.
(ECHOING VIBRATING SOUNDS)
JENN: The atmosphere
is really tense.
There's so many machine sounds
but quiet at the same time.
JOHN: I'm proud of myself for doing
a complete 360
from what happened yesterday.
(MUTED HEARTBEAT)
I think in this competition,
you really have to be resilient.
I can do this.
I want to realise my own dream
and this is the reason why
I came back to this competition.
MAX: As the clock winds down,
my hands are getting shakier.
And I haven't been able to taste
the dish as a whole
but I'm so pleased
with how my dish looks.
JENN: I can't believe
I've made it this far.
I've got all my elements...
(EXHALES)
..and they are elements
I'm happy with.
But I'm a little bit worried...
(EXHALES)
..my twigs are too fat.
And I'm just not ready to go home
today.
ALVIN: My dish looks nothing like
Reynold's
but I've tasted the elements
every step of the way...
..and I'm almost certain that
I have replicated the flavours.
I might not be as technical a cook
as someone like Reynold,
even someone like Billie,
but I think we all have a different
sort of part we play
and strength that we bring.
More than anything,
I want to learn more.
I just hope that
I live to cook another day.
Here it is, you got 10!
ALL: 9, 8, 7,
6, 5, 4,
3, 2, 1.
JOCK: That's it!
(APPLAUSE)
Beautiful.
Good job, guys!
JOHN: Seeing Reynold walk in,
I knew exactly what I was in for.
I just want to have fun.
But, um, it all turned out well
so I'm very happy.
ALVIN: I've just seen
what the others have created
and, yeah, mine's very Alvin.
Um, so, you know,
we'll see what they say in there.
JOHN: I'm actually excited
to serve this dish
because I know that I've put
everything into this creation.
All the elements tasted really good.
Being back here today in this kitchen
and not giving up,
it's made me realise why I'm here -
to really show everyone
what I'm capable of.
I'm so proud of myself
and I'm here to stay.
Big smile from John there,
love that.
John, one thing to do, do you want
to spoon some sorbet on it?
Actually, Reynold taught me
how to quenelle
so I hope I still remember it.
JOCK: No pressure, then.
No. (CHUCKLES)
Oh, he's still got it.
Good stuff.
Beauty, John. Thanks, mate.
Thanks. Enjoy.
What do you think of that, Reynold?
Looks pretty good.
Twigs are nice. Got natural shape.
REYNOLD: Twigs are nice.
Do the honours, Reynold.
Get into it.
Nailed it.
MEL: I mean, from here,
you can see the shell is...
Is very thin.
Yes. It's good.
It's really good.
The chocolate twigs
were really well done.
Yep.
Especially watching him make them.
It was pretty easy for him,
to be honest,
and you said it was one of the
hardest elements to get right.
Beautiful, fine work with
the chocolate round the outside.
The tuiles were beautiful
and crunchy and crisp.
The inside of the caramel apple
is actually quite nice.
The apple's like, fully compressed.
Sorbet's really nice and bright.
Really refreshing.
I'm really heartened by how John
took on this challenge today
as being a really positive thing.
When you're presented with a dish
that looks like that
after four hours,
in this crazy place...
..I think John has to be commended.
For sure.
JENN: I'm really happy
with my decision to go back
and push more jasmine tea flavour
into the whipped ganache.
And that I did my caramelised apple
again.
However, I'm worried about
whether my twigs are too fat.
Potentially, I could be the one
going home today.
enjoy another serving
or savour past seasons at:
Look at the concentration.
ANDY: Yeah, there's a lot going on
there.
Jenn.
MEL: OK, Jenn.
Softly does it.
There it is.
First pressure test out the way.
Yeah, I can't believe it.
(LAUGHS) I've done it.
And made it through.
Despite remaking everything that
you did,
you still got
a finished complete dish up.
I'm really proud.
I would have never thought
something this beautiful
could be given birth to by my hand.
Alright, why don't you stick the
sorbet on it and then we'll taste?
Yes.
There you go, Jenn.
Thanks, Jenn.
We'll taste it now.
Thank you so much.
Nice one, Jenn.
Thank you. (GIGGLES)
The chocolate twigs are...
pretty heavy.
Yeah, they're logs.
Chocolate branches.
Yeah.
Branches.
Lucky to be holding up, actually.
Couple of trees. Um...
Oh. There you go.
The inside's quite nice.
Yeah.
I think she's done
an absolutely amazing job.
Beautiful jasmine flavour
through it.
I love that sorbet.
I mean, that in and of itself,
had a great amount of acidity
to give it that lift
and that refreshment.
I actually really like the way
she treated the apples.
Even though they're slightly
a bit too big,
they're actually not overcooked,
the caramel apple.
The flavour's there,
you can taste the caramelisation.
The apple blossom insert
is delicious.
Super fragrant and light and bright.
The little tuile,
the flavour is really nice.
The obvious -
the twigs are quite big.
Things, though, like the twigs
being a little bit too thick,
yes, it's a cosmetic thing but
it's also about balance of flavour.
The chocolate's quite bitter and so
when you get a little bit of that,
you really only need
a small amount of it.
I think all in all, um,
a really, really great effort.
And a pressure test when you've got
a one-in-four chance,
nobody's safe,
at the end of the day,
but if I look at it
from a flavour perspective,
I'm super happy with it, so...
..it's not perfect but I still think
she's in a strong position.
MAX: I'm not sure if I've replicated
all the elements
enough to keep me safe today
but I've replicated them
to the point that I'm happy with.
The thing that I'm most proud with
on the plate
is that green apple sorbet.
I've done my absolute best, which is
the only thing you can do here.
Hi, mate.
Hello.
Max.
Max.
Yay.
Take a seat.
And breathe. (LAUGHS)
So at the end of back-to-back
pressure tests,
are you feeling more confident
or less confident?
Um...
Yeah, it's a good question.
So it looks...
I'm really happy with how I did.
There's obviously a bit of polish
that comes with being a professional
and doing it countless times.
Flavour-wise,
I was trying to reference
back to what I tried before the cook
and I'm really happy
with the flavours.
Great.
Thanks, Max.
Thank you.
REYNOLD: I quite like the plating
on this one actually.
Mm.
It's nice and compact.
Everything's there.
Yep.
Shall we break into it?
Should we try it?
I think we should. Yeah.
OK.
Um, the jasmine...
I don't really get that punchy
kind of fragrance throughout.
It just tastes like...
Mm, cream.
..cream.
Other than that -
the chocolate's nice and thin.
The sorbet is good.
I think some pluses
and some minuses for me.
Yeah.
The caramelisation on the apple,
it's just really not there.
I thought from the visual,
you could already sort of tell
it wasn't quite as dark
as it needed to be.
I like the flavour of the tuile
but the texture is a little soft.
Yeah.
The impression was nice but, yeah,
the texture was sort of missing.
And I think, Jock, as you mentioned
when we went to go and visit,
you know,
it's the only element
of crunch on the dish
and it is quite crucial that
that texture is correct.
Sorbet was the highlight
and it shouldn't be that way.
This ate like a dish that is -
you know when you have those dishes
that is more style over content.
When you look and you go,
"Oh, it's super fancy."
You eat it and it kind of doesn't
taste of much.
It's one of those ones
and I'm really left wanting more
throughout each element
bar the sorbet.
Are we worried?
I think we are.
I think we should be.
I mean, as far as the dishes go
that we've tasted today,
that's the one that least resembles
yours so far.
Yeah.
In terms of flavour, definitely.
I agree.
JENN: You've got this, Alvin.
I'm not happy.
It's such a visual dish.
You know, people have been sent home
for less.
The only thing I can just bank on
are my flavours
but I don't know whether it's enough
to keep me in.
Alvin.
Alvin.
JOCK: Alvin.
ANDY: Alvin.
Do you wanna put the sorbet on?
And then we'll taste.
There you go, guys.
Thank you, Alvin.
MEL: Thank you.
REYNOLD: Thank you.
Thanks, mate.
OK. Let's call a spade a spade -
she does not look like yours.
(CHUCKLES) I guess we should just...
..crack into it and taste it.
Yep.
I'm genuinely surprised.
It's delicious, it really is.
It's not meant to be a subtle
dessert, it's meant to be...
You're not subtle.
The flavour's meant to be, like,
floral, fragrant,
taste the jasmine,
taste the blossom, the caramel,
and then get that hit of refreshing
apple, that's what he did.
The texture of the apple
within each disc
had that really nice, sort of,
you know, crunch to it.
Beautiful caramelisation,
the caramelised apple,
beautiful freshness
in the other cube.
And also, the texture of the jasmine
mousse, it was light, it was airy.
The sorbet, the texture and the
flavour was the closest to yours.
Flavours are...are amazing.
It just looked shocking.
It didn't look anything like yours.
Today, we tasked the four of you
with re-creating a dish
by Reynold Poernomo.
Look, I didn't make today's
pressure test easy, did I?
But I hope you all had fun and some
of you actually really surprised me,
and of course, I really hope that
you've learnt a thing or two.
Righto, gang, the good news is,
two of you excelled today.
And are in no danger of going home.
John.
And...Jenn.
You're safe. Well done.
You can join the others.
(APPLAUSE)
JOCK: Well done, Jenn.
Alvin, Max, obviously,
it comes down to you two.
Alvin, your dish looked nothing
like Reynold's. (CHUCKLES)
But today, you proved that looks
can be deceiving
because it tasted delicious.
Max...
Although it looked very much
like Reynold's dish...
..there wasn't enough finesse
involved.
Both dishes left us wanting
in different ways
but when it came to this,
we all agreed that taste
trumps appearance.
And that's why, I'm sorry, Max,
you're going home.
(EXHALES)
It's, um...
..been a long dream and...
..uh, thank you everyone
for making me realise that dream
and thank you for having me.
It's been...
Yeah, it's been incredible.
Mate, you've persevered to get here,
you know?
We've seen you last year,
you came back again this year,
you got through,
you've shown incredible perseverance
and resilience
and that's gonna set you up in
whatever you choose to do next, mate.
It's been a pleasure
having you in the kitchen.
But for now,
it's time to say goodbye, buddy.
Thank you very much.
I'm devastated to be leaving
this early.
Being part of the MasterChef
competition
has been a pipedream of mine
for years.
The growth that I've had in my food
over the last three, four years,
auditioning for the show,
only gets greater and greater.
Hugs and kisses.
(APPLAUSE)
Give it up for Max, everybody!
It's been a long road for me to get
to my position in this competition,
and it hasn't been easy
but I couldn't be more pleased
with where I am standing.
VOICEOVER: Tomorrow night
on MasterChef Australia...
All the way from LA,
it's Curtis Stone!
..a very special guest...
I have to admit, I had a bit of a
crush on him last time. (CHUCKLES)
..rocks the
MasterChef kitchen...
Let's go, guys.
..with a huge
service challenge.
MEL: It's fast food
versus fancy food.
WOMAN: I'm scared
to think
of what they're gonna
throw at us today.
Captions by Red Bee Media