MasterChef Australia (2009–…): Season 14, Episode 23 - Episode #14.23 - full transcript

ANNOUNCER: Previously
on MasterChef Australia...

MINOLI: They make it look so simple.

..had to be recreated
entirely from memory.

JENN: Details are what
pressure tests come down to.

Harry played her immunity pin...

I don't want to go home,

but I don't want to go home
with a pin even more than that.

..leaving only three
to give it their all.

If this is going to be my last cook,
going down with a bang,

I'm giving it everything.

And despite her incredible effort...



Come on, Minoli!
Come on, Minoli! Come on!

..Minoli's MasterChef journey
came to an end.

Give it up for Minoli, everybody!
ANDY: Yeah!

Tonight, it's time to snuggle up...

I'm pretty excited about it.
It's very romantic.

..because it's date night
in the MasterChef kitchen.

# '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. #

Let's do it.
It's gonna be fun, man.

There it is.

(ALL EXCLAIM)

It's very different
in the kitchen today.

I'm seeing the benches
opposite the kitchen.

I'm thinking this could potentially
be a service challenge.

Oh, here we go.

JOCK: Morning, everybody.
ALL: Morning.

Today is a team challenge.

(LAUGHS)

You're going to be cooking

in a delivery service
in the MasterChef kitchen.

Real members of the public
are going to be ordering your food

through Deliveroo in real time.

That is crazy.

We're going to split you
into four teams of four.

Each team will need to create
the perfect date night meal.

Ohh!

We want food that gets us
in the mood for...love.

(LAUGHTER)
Love, he says.
Love!

So, that's entree, main and dessert,
shared for two.

Each team will cook 25
date night meals,

plus one for the three of us
to share.

Now, Tommy,
being it's your first day back,

you must cook
in the next elimination,

which means you won't be
participating in today's service.

So you, my friend,
can head up to the gantry.

Everyone else,
it's time to pick your teams.

Fans. There's nine of you.

So one of you is going to join
the Favourites.

You ready?

No looking.

ALDO: The luck of the draw.
The luck of the draw.

Orange. That's very bright.

ANDY: Purple.

Ooh, pretty.

'Poiple'.

Ali!
Oh!

Mixing it up!

Today I'm on the purple team
and I'm working with the Favourites.

Excuse me. Hello, team.
Hi!

Be really fun to cook with
somebody different for a change.

So I'm really excited.
I'm really pumped.

JOCK: Good teams.
Interesting teams, huh?

OK, now, Ali, earlier in the week,
you won an advantage for your team.

And your team today is Favourites!

(CONTESTANTS LAUGH)

And let me tell you, this advantage
is an absolute game changer.

For 15 minutes of today's cook,
you will have an extra set of hands.

Oh!

Not just any hands.

Joining your team for 15 minutes
today is...

..Andy Allen!
Heeeey!

Oh!

Let him do all the labour job.

Now, that's an advantage.

Chop, chop, chop, chop, chop. Huh?

Ali, are you happy
with that advantage?

Who wouldn't be happy with winning
Andy in a challenge, eh?

Oooohh!

Cooking love food and all!

Love is definitely in the air, eh?
Yeah.

Well, you can call on Andy
at any point during the cook.

And believe me, you're going to want
every advantage

because the outcome of today's cook
carries more weight than you know.

The two losing teams today
will be cooking

in a shock elimination tomorrow.

Oh.

Holy hell.

ANDY: Righto. I'll keep it brief.

You got two and a half hours
to complete your three-course meal.

It's got to be hot.

It's got to be designed to share.

And it's got to travel well
to the diners.

So think about that.

We'll taste all your menus
and we'll decide

on the least impressive two teams,

and they'll go into
tomorrow's elimination.

So you're going to want to make sure

that us three fall in love
with your food.

Good luck. Time starts now.

Let's go, guys.

Go, go, go!

Alright. So... Romantic.
OK.

I'll put my hand up.
Captain?

Yeah.
Yeah.

Aldo for captain.
That's good.

So mains...

I'm happy to be captain. I'm good.

So, any ideas, guys?

Things that travel well.

Vegies. Vegies travel well,
especially for an entree.

Yeah. OK. Mains.

Lady and the Tramp, guys?

Meatball? That's really romantic.
Meatballs, Lady and the Tramp.

I think something saucy,

because, you know,
when things are travelling,

you want it to be nice and juicy.

MINDY: What do you think romantic
for entree?

I...like, it's so tacky
and it's so old-school,

but I think fondue
is, like, really romantic.

Oh, God.

Fondue is a pretty retro dish.

It's...I mean,
it's very '70s and '80s.

But this is my pimped-up,
more interesting version.

Ginger syrup sponge?
Yeah.

Oh, my God. That sounds great.
With custard?

Let's bring on this spicy,
romantic love. Why not?

This is what it's all about, right?
Spicing Up Your Love Life.

OK, so now that we're onto this,

we need to just work out who's going
to, like, obviously, oversee it

and put it together.
Yep.

Jules, are you happy
for that to be you?

Yeah. Why not?
Amazing. Good on you. Thank you.

Captain Good-win for the win.

I think Julie is the best person
for this job.

She is such a calm personality.

She's going to work on the dessert,
but also just touch base with us,

but also trust all of us
in the kitchen.

I'm the team captain
of the purple team.

Today, we're going to have fun,
cooking good food.

I'm on the team with
Ali, Billie and Alvin.

Today we're starting as an entree
with polenta chips

and a blue cheese dipping sauce.

As a main, we're going to have
beef cheek with cauliflower puree.

And then we finish with a decadent
whiskey sticky date pudding

with cardamom anglaise.

Ali, you got free hands?

In this challenge you want
to have a strong team captain

because you must follow
somebody's lead.

OK, Aldo, what else goes in here?

I'm doing the brunoise.
OK.

Just keep stirring that.
Will do.

As you may know, I'm Italian,
which means that I'm loud.

But, you know, I'm very good
at giving direction.

I'm going straightaway
to the point, I need to get done,

and you must do it.

Not for the sake because I'm asking.

Because we need to save ourself
from elimination for tomorrow.

Come on, guys. We got this.

Leading the teal team.

I'm the romantic one here,
so I've taken control.

So today, for the entrees,

Keyma's going to be looking after
the croquettes with a romesco sauce.

Montana is going to be taking
the main driver's seat here

with the mains - the pork belly
with a charred cabbage.

And Steph's going to go straight
into the sticky date pudding

with an anglaise sauce.

So, the Spanish croquetas are a bit
different than potato croquetas.

They're made with a roux,
then that goes into an egg wash

and a crumb, and then we fry them.

So, for entrees, Keyma's confident,

and that makes my job
as team leader easy,

that I can pretty much
set that task for her

and she's just going to hum along
and knock that out of the park.

So, five pressure cookers,
I think, and five bellies.

Yeah, cool.

Today in particular, we haven't
been in a situation

where we've had to do three courses
with only four people

in two and a half hours.

So the workload is ramped right up.

Where'd you put the chillies?
Where did you put them? Here.

I've never worked in a kitchen
before,

and nor have I've taken leadership
roles in any sort of thing

like this before either.

So this is for our romesco?
Yes.

So I think decision making quickly
and effective communication

is probably going to be the key
that gets us through.

So that's probably what
I'm going to try and focus on.

And, hopefully, any pivots
that we might need to make,

we can do quite easily.

Let's go, guys! Fire up.

How are we going, team? We good?

Yeah.

I'm team captain today.

I like to think I'm quite organised.

Our menu is, for entree,

we've got our honey roasted carrots
and bean dip.

Our main is pork and fennel
meatballs,

cauliflower and fennel purees
and a rich tomato kind of sauce.

And for dessert, we've got
a chocolate brownie and a berry...

..what we're calling a berry hottie,
as opposed to a berry coulis.

It's a sexy menu.
A sexy menu.

It's not romantic. It's sexy.

On the meatballs today, I'm aiming
for 200 grams per person,

so I'm doing about
five kilos of pork.

I really like my meatballs
to be an interesting flavour.

So, not just your standard,
you know, beef and pork.

Today we're thinking
of pork and fennel.

Do you reckon speck's good?
Yeah.

In order to keep my meatballs
nice and moist,

I'm going to add some speck in
that I've minced,

as well as some olive oil.

JOCK: 15 minutes down,
two hours 15 minutes to go!

ANDY: Come on, guys.

ALDO: Can we have our advantage
to be played now?

We want Andy Allen!

Oh, straight up.

Mr Andy Allen!

Come on down, Andy!

Already?
You're on.

Get ready, Andy.

It's going to be saucy.

Today we'd like to use Andy's skill.

He's been running restaurants
now for some time.

We can give him something
really hard.

Righto, purple team.

Talk to our captain.

OK.
Aldo, you're the captain?

I am.
Rightio.

I just got one task for you, sir.

Just one task.
Beef cheek.

OK.

Find a spot to prep.
Over there.

Oh, this is my whole bench?
Yeah.

Wow. No, like, "Hey, how you going?
Lovely to see you.

"Welcome to our team."

Just, "Here's your beef cheeks."
I'm so sorry.

So the beef cheek is going
to be braised in a pressure cooker.
OK.

Then it's gonna be served
with a cauliflower puree.
Yeah.

And then salsa verde on top.
So you're talking whole beef cheeks?

Whole beef cheeks. Correct.
I want to keep it...
Trim the sinew.

Trim the sin...
So basically I'm manual labour.

That's it.
OK.

It's actually very handy to have
Andy to our advantage today.

I hope this is going to get through
at least half of them

so I can finish the rest

when it's come down
that the time will be up.

But I hope it's going to push
a little bit more than half.

I'd like to see him get 20 kilos
of beef cheeks done in 15 minutes.

They just can't sit back and go,
"Oh, that was Andy's fault,"

if the beef cheeks don't cook.

Don't worry, I won't blame you.
It will happen.

Daniel.
G'day.

What's happening?

We're flat out.
We're making some pork belly.

Are you happy
being team leader today?

Yeah. No, I'm... They're making
my job easy for me, to be honest.

When we came to the idea,

everyone sort of jumped
to what they sort of felt like,

and it was good because the romance
was coming out of everyone.

Tell me the full menu. Entree?

So we are making croquetas
with a romesco sauce,

a braised pork belly with,
like, a sweet raisin jus

and a charred cabbage on the side.

Yep.
And a sticky date pudding
in, I think, brandy sauce.

Croquetas. Is it like jamon, potato,
that kind of vibe, or...?

Yeah. So what we got in there,
we got...

KEYMA: It's roux-based croquetas.

Thick bechamel.
Yeah.

Do we not think it's a bit
more bar snack than date night?

So the idea behind it
is the tapas style,

when you go to a Spanish restaurant
and then...

Yeah, no, I get it. I get it.

I just don't know
if it's super romantic.

So is there potato in it, or not?

No, no potato. Bechamel.
No potatoes. Just bechamel.

Yeah.

If it's heavy, it's not...

It's not an enjoyable experience
on a date night.

Yeah.
Something's too, like, you have...

..you know, three mouthfuls and
you're like,

"Oh, it's too rich,
I can't eat any more."

Yeah.

You're leading it, you're directing
it, you're making the decisions.

Yep.

All this sort of stuff
is what you should be doing

as a team captain, yeah?

I'm panicking.

I'm team captain.
It's my responsibility.

So I make a wrong step here, I'm
pretty much going to be in trouble.

I don't know.

DANIEL: What do you wanna do, Keyma?

Romesco and something lighter,
maybe something like on top of...

Now you're thinking, yeah. Yeah.
Something lighter...

And I have all the romesco elements
in there.

So I'm thinking about doing,
like, wedges, so...

..half an eggplant per couple.

MONTANA: You don't think broccolini?

So what are we actually doing
with the eggplant?

I just don't think we'll get
enough flavour into it.

Uh, we need to be all
on the same page.

Yeah, I understand that
but this is my...

..thoughts on it.

Being captain today,
it's really gonna have to rely on me

to bring everyone back in again,

figure out which direction
we're going, and execute it.

Broccolini would work
but you have to peel the...

Stem.
The stem.

Yeah, I like that. We'll do that.
OK, so blanch and then...

Blanch and then, yep.

Pretty well based on prep time alone,
I made the call

that I think broccolini is gonna be
the decision that we go with today

because we'll char it on the grill,
it won't take much time at all

and that decision's made.

You don't have to take too much off.
Yeah, I'm just...

Some of them are quite thick, eh?
Yeah, yeah.

JOCK: You've had 30 minutes,
you've only got two hours to go.

You know what that means, Andy?

I'm out.
(ALDO GROANS)

Good luck, purple team.

Purple team, you're on your own.
Good luck.

What are you doing?

Put the knife down, son.
Knife down, son!

Sorry, Chef.

(CHUCKLES)
Thanks, Andy!

ALL: Thanks, Andy.

That felt like five minutes,
not 15 minutes. What?!

But bless his heart, he's, like,
smashed through the beef cheeks

and got them prepped
and they're ready in the pan,
getting browned off.

So, yeah, what a legend.

MEL: Aldo, how's it all going?

Uh, good so far.
What's the menu?

So, today, we're going
classic northern Italian.

We're gonna have
beautiful polenta chips

with a creamy, saucy, blue cheese
dipping sauce on the side.

And mains?
Mains.

Beef cheek and serving with
a nice cauliflower puree.

And then we're gonna have a
beautiful sticky date pudding

with butterscotch and Anglaise.

OK, do you think the whole menu
sounds maybe a little...heavy?

Where is the freshness and light?

'Cause it's date night, you know?
Yeah.

You want to be able to not have
a food coma straight after dessert.

It's something that you would never
cook and you would never eat at home

so that's why we're going...

You're correct, probably things
that people don't cook

every single night of the week,

but at the end of a date night meal,
I still wanna be awake

and wanting to spend time
and chatting with my partner,

not feeling like
I'm in a bit of food coma

'cause the food was too rich.

The judges, they don't seem
to like the idea of our menu,

because it's gonna be too rich,
too heavy.

It makes me slightly worried, but it
doesn't let me second-guess myself

because I know, if this dish,
they're gonna be perfectly executed,

they're a winner.

ALI: I Think we should maybe
consider doing a different sauce.
No.

This is set. I'm confident.

You know,
I'm doing what I told to do.

I brought it up, I was brave,
I poked my head above the parapet!

No, but at least
he knows what he wants.

At least he's very clear
and gives very clear instruction.

And, you know, that's why
we wanted him to be captain.

Guys, we got this, it's fine.

JULIE: Smells good, Sar.
Yeah.

I'm focusing
on the madras fish curry.

I know this dish inside out.

I've made it
for so many different people

and I've always had
a really good response.

It's really light,
it's more fragrant, coconut-based.

So a really light,
beautiful, tasty curry.

I'm tempering my spices.

I'm gonna add some of this
into that coconut milk

for the base of the dish.

MINDY: Ooh, that looks amazing.
Yeah, it's a good colour. Vibrant.

Good?
My God, that is heaven.

There's a good amount
of tamarind coming through?

Oh, my God. That's amazing!
I'm happy with it. I'm happy.

Tasting these spices, I think it's
so balanced and it tastes amazing.

So I'm simply gonna just gonna
let this simmer

and focus on my side of coconut rice.

Coconut...

Hello, Julie.

Hello.
How are you going?

Yeah, good, thank you.

OK, we are dying to know, what does
date night look like to you?

Well, I mean, date night at home

is not the right rating
for this television program.

Ooh! Alright.
Oh!

To much info, Jules.

Dip me in chocolate! (CACKLES)

No, actually, our menu is
Spice Up Your Love Life.

I love that.
So we're starting...

How are we spicing up
people's love lives?

Well, um...

..a 1970s-inspired spiced fondue

and then a beautiful
coconut and tomato fish curry.
Yep.

And then a spiced,
um, ginger syrup pudding.

So retro South Asian vibes.
Yeah.

I think it is kind of fun.
What do you think?

I kind of like it.
Yep.

Cautious about the fondue texture,
making it there

and still being in a nice condition
when it arrives,

but he's tested a million things
in his career so...

He has.
..I'm hoping this one's a good one.

It's a risk.

We're gonna back ourselves today
and cross everything.

Good luck.
Sounds great. Good luck.
Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen,
your deliveries start in 60 minutes.

Ooh!
(APPLAUSE)

TOMMY: Go, go, go, go, go.

MINDY: We've been going
for an hour, yeah?

DANIEL: You're all good, Steph?
Yep.

(CLANG!)
BILLIE: Sorry!

You can take them right up to,
like, here, yeah?

Montana's flat out going
with the mains,

the pork belly
with the charred cabbage.

I know that the pork belly is gonna
sort of shrink and change its shape

so we wanna have more than enough

so we can give them nice,
uniform cuts for the diners.

So we go with five pork bellies
in five different pressure cookers.

And we halve the pork belly,
stack it on top of one another

and fill it with braising liquid.

Yeah, we'll just top them up a bit.
Yep.

45 minutes will enough to get it
just before it gets too tender.

So then we'll be able to pull it out,
cut it and portion it

and that's what we're after,
to finish on the hotplate.

We're on a date. (CHUCKLES)

We are.

Chopping dates.
Chopping dates.

We gotta hustle a little bit more,
especially when we made a change.

Obviously, we've changed our entree
practically entirely

so that's obviously requiring
more work, so we're just...

I'm sort of bouncing around
and filling any gaps I can.

Once I finish this, I'll be
straight on the entrees as well.

HARRY: You right?
MELANIE: Yep.

The brownie's going good.

Got my brownies cooking in the oven

and we decided as a team
to make it gluten-free,

just so that I can taste it.

But, cakes, cookies, brownies,
they're really not something I like

and therefore, I don't cook them.

My comfort zone is more, you know,
ice-creams and parfaits

and so I just have
to follow the recipe

and, hopefully, make it taste good.

Doing really well, guys.

ALDO: Alvin,
is the last pressure cooker on?

Yep.
Perfect!

Now, can you please, for me,
grab mint, parsley, basil, anchovy,

olive oil, white Italian vinegar,
Dijon mustard...

(LAUGHS)

Anything else?

I'm on the dessert section
in our team, um,

so I've just done the sticky dates,
they're all in the oven,

so now I'll move on to the sauce.

I've had a pretty...
crappy record in team challenges.

Been on the dessert team in...
ALL of the team challenges so far

and we've, sadly, lost.

Just gotta get the butter
to dissolve into the sauce.

I hope I can make a good dish
that the judges like.

Just taste this.

I haven't tasted it yet.

The butterscotch sauce
is where it's at for me.

That's gotta be
sort of dark and rich,

a little bit salty,

and then adding the cardamom custard
should sort of lift everything

and make it less sweet.

OK, I'm happy with cardamom in that.

I think I wanna get
more whiskey into that.

OK.
TOMMY: Let's go!

MICHAEL: We'll get these potatoes
on to steam.

JULIE: Got about an hour to go

and Michael's dealing with
a thousand tonnes of potatoes.

Mindy's working on that as well.

Sarah's making
this beautiful curry sauce

and I've got a batch of pudding
in the oven.

(TIMER BEEPS)
Jules, is that your timer?

Yeah.

Look, I'm feeling pretty good
about my dessert today.

But my cake's cooked, feels right,
it looks right, it smells right.

How are they, Jules?

Just finding out.

I go to get my little ginger puddings
out of their moulds and...

Oh, shit.

..they're sticking.

I should have greased and floured
them, not just greased them.

And so the batter has stuck to the
bottom of these tall, narrow moulds.

Doesn't wanna come out.

And there is no time to start again.

Maybe, yeah.

They're gonna be taller than the
mould anyway, so we can trim them.

Julie!
Hey, Julie.

What's happening?

I'm just having a moment.

The cakes are sticking.
So they're coming out like that.

Ooh, yeah.

I think you might get away with it,
to be honest.

Yeah, I think so too.

I think if you just trim them up.
Get them all out as best you can.

Yep.

And I think...I think
one of those each is enough,

especially when you've got syrup,
anglaise.

I think it's plenty.

So I think you're very,
very lucky, to be honest.

The portions are a bit smaller.

It's actually going to fit better
into the container.

I'll get it neat and tidy.

TOMMY: Are you just
cutting off the bottom part

'cause it's not
coming off properly?

Yeah, 'cause they're stuck.

So they're soaked in syrup,
so that'll help it soak up anyway.

Do you mind chucking a butt up here?
Hang on.

Really high and I'll just catch it.

Yes!
(LAUGHS)

Hot dates want hot food.
30 minutes to go!

MATT: How are those meatballs?
They're looking pretty good.

Do you want to start to
cut the polenta?

Just doing that. On it, Chef.

Can you please give me a hand
on getting the porks out?

We need to get this reducing.
Yeah, cool.

So, 30 minutes to go. Time for
the pressure cookers to come off.

Just test the meat.

It's got the jiggle.

They've got a bit of a wobble.
We're happy.

So it means that they're cooking
the way we want them to.

She's pretty good.
She's pretty soft.

So all of the pork gets taken out
of the braising liquid

and the braising liquid
gets put in a pan to reduce.

That's going to be
the body of our glaze and our jus.

Just putting some liquid in here.

Because the braising liquid's now
been poured out

and put in the saucepan to reduce,

we have to grab some stock

so the pork can sit in there
and reabsorb some moisture

so that it just doesn't go dry.

Otherwise, it's going to ruin
the whole thing.

BILLIE: I think more whiskey.

And more salt.

More whiskey, more salt.
Yep.

Although I can taste the whiskey.

You can?
Mmm.

I can't because
I've been slamming it.

I think more. More.
Not drinking it, just tasting it.

Aldo.
Gents.

How are you, mate?
Good.

Any updates?
Everything you've seen.

Everything looking great. Happy.

No changes?
No.

OK.

"No!"
Sticking to the guns.

The entrees, they're going good.
Ali, she's cutting the polenta.

And then we're finishing off
the sauce on the side.

That's the only thing
that worries me, though.

With your menu,
it's, like, cheese and heavy,

and then you go into
rich beef cheeks.

We're just throwing it out there,
buddy. I know you're all over it.

I know, "I no change a thing."

I get it. Ciao. Ciao.

Thank you. Ciao. Grazie.

BILLIE: Do we need to do a different
sauce? Is that what they're saying?

They have said
it's quite rich with the cheese.

Well, they've been asking us,
and in team challenge situations

whenever we haven't listened
to them, we've lost.

I think alarm bells
start going off for me

when the judges
keep visiting us and asking,

"Have you changed the menu?
Have you improved the menu?"

So is there any other sauce
that we can do

that is going to travel well, A,

and B, be less rich?

Ali and I think we need to
change the sauce for the entree.

So, but what sauce
do you want to do, then?

You need something contrasting...
Red sauce?

..like a salsa verde or a red sauce
or something like that?

But I think now that Ali and I
are sort of pleading our case,

he might be coming around
a little bit.

If you're going to do a red sauce,
what we're going to do,

it's anchovy and garlic.

With team challenge,
it's a team effort.

So if they're not gonna be happy
with that sauce,

we need to change the sauce.

Just cook that and that's it.
Any parsley or anything?

Just basil at the end.

Want to make sure that everybody
is on the same page

and we must be all happy
with what we're doing.

How are you going with that?

Just put in...just start to blitz
those one.

Hustle! 10 minutes till service.
Let's go!

JULIE: There she goes.

How many bags do we need? We need 33
bags. The drivers are here, guys.

I'm very conscious of the fact
that the time is ticking down.

Service is looming
really, really close.

So we just have to keep motoring.

Jenn has moved on from the carrots

and is working on
the white bean puree.

Matt is still finishing
the meatballs.

They look great.

And Harry is multitasking,
pulling the other elements together,

working on the tomato sauce
and the cauliflower fennel puree.

Just to keep everyone in the loop,

I need to still
check the seasoning on the sauce,

and the puree
needs to be seasoned after.

It is really stressful being captain
in a situation like this,

but I think we're travelling
at a good pace.

I'm very happy with how things
are coming along

and I think we're on track to finish
at the 2.5-hour mark.

TOMMY: Hey, champers!

It's a romantic dinner, Tommy.
You need the champers.

DANIEL: Have you added
any sugar to that yet? No.

Not yet. Nothing.

I want it thick,
like...like a glaze, yeah.

I taste the jus for the pork,

and it just tastes like
reduced braising liquid.

That needs more sweetness, Mon.

It's pork stock forward,

like a gelatin mouthfeel,
and it's not good.

OK, need to get those done.
Yeah.

How big do we want it?

So I go to check on the pork...

What do you think?

My gut sinks.

The pork looks greyer and
plainer-looking than we expected.

Alright, don't worry, don't worry.
It's OK.

This is really bad.

Um...
You alright?

Yep. Just feeling it a bit, mate.

MONTANA: What do you think?

I can tell straightaway
looking at this pork

that there's no flavour
through the middle of it.

We've put too much
in the pressure cooker,

and because of that, there's
just no seasoning through it

and it's just bland, tasteless meat.

We can just shred it.

I don't know if it's gonna shred,
though.

It will shred. But we can just
use...we'll just use the good bits.

Just pull all this apart.

So we go for a shred
on top of our slaw, essentially,

with the glaze through it.
Yeah.

There's no way we can serve it
the way we initially intended.

So the only option now is just
seasoning it a little bit,

and going for a pulled pork
sort of style.

We need to get this reducing.
Get it in one pot.

No, no, because it'll take
longer to reduce.

Yeah, I know, but I don't want
to balance them separately.

The fact that we need to shred
this pork, then reduce that liquid

into some form of consistency
to put on top, we're... (LAUGHS)

..we're so far behind right now.

But it's just about motoring on.

We have to still finish it
and finish strong and not give up.

OK, guys, we've got
a couple of minutes.

The Deliveroo drivers are waiting.

Your food should be hot and ready.

You've only got one minute to go.

Come on, guys!
Let's go!

Let's move!

ALDO: Thanks, Ali.
Have you got anchovy in there?

Yeah.

You all good now?
We in a good space?

Now it's time that we start
serving as well.

So we are getting ready
on everything.

All the sweets will be done.

And then we got to finish it off,
the polenta chip,

which they're getting already
in the fryer.

And I've got to glaze,
now, these beef cheeks.

Ali, you gonna help us to plate, OK?
Yep.

TOMMY: Oh! Very nice!

Righto, pink team.
Yes.

Melanie, how are we travelling?
We are travelling pretty well.

I'm about to start
glad-wrapping the coulis.

What I'm worried about is you
need to start now talking about

how this is all going to play out
for service,

because you're approaching it
and there's, like,

I would say that's going to be
one of your passes,

that's going to be one
of your passes,

and there's stuff all over them.

Yeah.
You've got a lot done.

Yeah.
But it means nothing
if you're not set.

Our kitchen is a bombsite.

There is stuff everywhere.

We need to start preparing
for a very unconventional service,

and the pressure
is really starting to mount.

Are we going to get flatbreads
on this side as well, Matt?

I don't really want to do this,
but here it is.

10...

JUDGES: Nine, eight, seven, six,

five, four, three, two, one.

That's it!
Service has started!

Whoo!

TOMMY: Menu's great, guys. Amazing.

Alright, there's one.

Service starts
and we are organised.

Four. Four.

Hey, there's my first four
potatoes there, guys.

I'm so pleased with how my team
did today.

In terms of the fondue sauce
being made of potato

as well as the potato
being to dip in it,

is actually really clever.

It makes the fondue sauce
lighter than it would be

if it was just
a bechamel cheese sauce.

It smells good, Sar.

The fish in Sarah's curry
looks great.

We try it.
It has held beautifully.

Great, once we've got dessert,
we can go with our next four.
This is great.

I've got my cakes cooked.

They're drenched
in this beautiful syrup

and I'm just calmly
serving these meals

to people
who are going to enjoy them.

I'm pretty happy.

I've got to go. I've got to go.

We're going, team!
We're going with our first bags!

Go, Jules!
Go, Julie!

MEL: The orange team
is sending their first bags out.

Hustle, hustle, hustle!

I'm so happy to run out
with the first four bags.

The food is done, it's packaged,
it's great.

And there's my little
Deliveroo driver

ready to whisk it off
to where it needs to be.

Thank you.

Safe travels.

Behind, behind, behind.

Keep an eye on the beef cheek!

Orange and purple have got
some of their bags out already,

and that's terrifying.

I need to chop flatbreads.

How many have we got cooked, Matt?
Four.

Nearing eight.
Four, is that all?

Yeah, they take a little while.

Alright, guys, we're going to need
a half a flatbread per serve.

Two of the bottom teams
are going into elimination,

and we don't want that to be us.

Alright, are we going to do eight at
a time, like I said?

Four lots of eight. Yes, we are.

Of course the two teams of the
Favourites get their bags out.

I'm not surprised,
but it just makes you realise

we need to work harder, faster.

I've got the first eight bags.
Let's go. Come on.

You want eight ready or four?

I'm feeling so good about service.

SARAH: Alright, so we need one more.

As far as I'm concerned,
this is the dream team.

I'm pretty happy.
Good.

It's coming.
Good, good, good, good.

Given my team
and the experience that they have

and the thought
that we've put into it...

Hello, Julie.
It's Julie!
Julie!

..we all pulled together.

We all brought our best effort.

And we are all hoping that
that's enough.

What have we got?

So, you've got a potato fondue,

you got a beautiful
spiced fish curry

and a ginger syrup cake.

Happy with how everything
turned out?

Yeah, I really am.
I think it's all really tasty.

We are going to start our date night
right now.

So thank you very much, Julie.

JOCK: Thanks, Julie.
No worries. Enjoy.

Well, I think as far as presentation
goes, it looks pretty good.

Lots of nice vibrant colours
and textures.

Shall we?

I reckon they've really nailed this.

The fondue, I mean, it doesn't get
more retro than that.

And I think that Michael
did a good job.

The sauce itself was...was really
sort of rich in texture

and smooth and flowing.

And it has a lovely gloss to it
as well.

Michael's probably got to be
commended on that.

It's something that's probably
outside the box in terms of concept,

and I think he's done a good job
to bring it all together

and it be that creative, fun sort of
stuff that you want on a date night.

The curry - absolute cracker.

I think Sarah's got to be commended.

It is silky. It is smooth.

It is luxury
when it hits your palate.

My piece of fish was beautifully
cooked, very, very glossy, just set,

nice tender flakes of the fish.

Overall,
I'm super impressed by the menu,

but I'm also super impressed
by how they worked as a team,

how they got ready for service,

and how service, like,
actually played out for them.

Very smart, very well executed.

Beep, beep! Let's do it.

ALDO: Go, go, go, go, people.

My idea is to
just get four bags at a time,

because if we're keeping the number
of bags going out very steady,

it's going to set up
to succeed ourselves,

so we can keep an eye on everything.

Get me one more
and then that'll be it.

Done. Yeah.

Oh, um...

Jesus.

One of my worst nightmare
is just came to light.

Billie, I'm concerned about
the puree.

Not enough?
No.

We don't have enough
cauliflower purees.

What do you think?

Oh, what you've done to yourself?
Seriously?

That's it.
That much?

I don't think
it's going to be enough.

Um...

ALI: I've got four. I've got four.
BILLIE: So we're doing four, right?

ALDO: Yep.
Have we got more?

We need somebody just doing these.
Yeah, I know but I'm also wrapping.

I reckon we need to be generous
with it

'cause they're already questioning
us on the romanticism of it.

So...about halfway through service,

it looks like we don't have enough
cauliflower puree

for the rest of the dishes
we have to send out.

We're gonna have to do something here
to bulk it up

otherwise, we'll just be sending out
beef cheek.

I think if we got cans of
white beans, blitzed them into that,

get the nice flavour,
just bulk it up.
Yep.

I suggest cannellini beans.

They're nice as a puree,
so mixing them both together,

we should hopefully get
a nice-tasting puree.

I just need one now and that's it.
One now? One now? Take one now.

Needs more salt.

JENN: So that's 16. That's two...
Yep.

I'm really happy with our team.

Killing it, guys! Good job!

I think everything tastes great, but
the brownie and raspberry dessert,

they're looking a bit flat.

But I hope they taste good.

Hi, guys.
Hello.

OK.

OK, Melanie, please take us
through your menu.

So, to start tonight,
we have roasted spiced carrots

with a white bean dip and flatbread.

Then our main is a
pork and fennel meatball

with a cauliflower and fennel puree.

And then our dessert,
we have a chocolate brownie

with a raspberry and champagne
coulis.

Thank you very much.
Thanks, guys.

Look, date night,

if I'm being served carrots and dip,

I'm probably not calling them back.

If I'm honest.

It's not a sexy dish to me at all.

And then, with the flatbread,
it's not a crispbread

and it's not a fluffy cloud-like
dippy-type thing either.
JOCK: No.

It's somewhere in between

and because it is neither here
nor there,

I feel neither here nor there
about it.

I like the spice on the carrots.

There's a nice sort of heat
going on in the spice.

They're beautifully cooked, there's
still a bit of a crunch to them.

The white bean dip on the side,
I also quite enjoyed.

The meatball itself
was really lovely.

You know, it had a lovely,
chunky texture to it.

I thought the puree was really
smooth and nicely done as well

and the tomato sauce did have some
lightness as well as the richness.

But this brownie
is highly problematic

for a lot of different reasons.

It's just not a pleasure to eat.

I don't know if this is
a coeliac-friendly brownie.

It still held together
but it tastes split.

That could very well
put them in trouble today.

Awesome, guys. Let's go!

Finish this off. (CHUCKLES)

We've only got five bags left
and everything's going on.

I'm like an octopus - I've got arms
going flat out everywhere.

So many changes to today's menu,

tyres are definitely
a little deflated

but it's just about motoring on,

getting the last of it out
and just...just finishing strong.

Done.
Well done, guys.

Good work.
Good work.

That was mammoth.
Oh, my god.

(CHUCKLES)

ANDY: Here he comes.

Daniel!
G'day, guys.
How are you, mate?

Daniel, do you wanna run us through
what we've got first?

For entrees, we have charred
broccolini in a romesco sauce.

For mains, we have pulled pork
with some charred cabbage slaw

and some pickled daikon radish.

And for dessert,
we have a sticky date pudding

with an orange Anglaise sauce.

Cheers, thank you.
Thanks, Daniel.

On a whole, pretty disappointing,
I gotta say.

There's a lot of things
that went wrong

throughout that 2.5-hour prep time

and it very much shows here.

I think the biggest one for me
is the pork.

They've decided to braise
pork belly whole, skin on,

in some sort of liquid.

Take it out and let it sit there

while they reduce the sauce
into some sort of glaze.

I think this is
where their inexperience

has really just shown here.

MEL: In the haste of tearing up
that pork belly, um,

it hasn't even been trimmed properly

so you can see bits of sinew
and skin,

which are not pleasurable at all
to eat.

There's no discernible flavour.

They just haven't been able
to get the wheels back on,

not just their dish, but the entree
and, somewhat, the dessert as well.

The texture was fine of the cake
itself, it's quite light and fluffy.

And then the entree, a nice little
bit of char in there

and a nice flavour of broccolini

but not enough broccolini
to really taste it.

Nup.

I credit Daniel for taking
the responsibility

but he needed to step up earlier
and really pull the guys together,

make solid decisions
and then move forward.

You know, I think
he learned something today.

He learnt what it takes
to be a leader

and he's got a way to go
to get there.

And that's OK.
Do you know what I mean?

But what we're seeing here

is a guaranteed place
down the bottom today.

There is no question in that.

The question for us
is who's gonna join them?

DANIEL: Thanks, guys.

BILLIE: How you going? Enough?

It's plenty.

We got the new puree on the run

and I'm very impressed with the way
we come up with a backup plan.

Just gotta pray
that it's gonna be just enough

until the last variables.

Can you run, those full,
when they're ready?

Yep.

I'm very happy with the dishes.

The only thing I'm concerned of
is the puree for the main.

Hi.

ANDY: Here he is.
Look at this delivery boy.
Express delivery.

I'm thinking that we're gonna
be in the bottom.

Hello.
Hello.

Because...the cauliflower puree
and also the bean puree,

it wasn't the right way
to finish the beef cheek

but it was just something
to finish that dish.

We really do hope that it's gonna be
enough to push us through

and to not find ourself
in the bottom.

So, we've got polenta chips
with beautiful salsa la pizzaiola.

Then we got beef cheek
with cauliflower and bean puree.

To finish it off,
a beautiful whiskey sticky date

with a cardamon custard.

Enjoy.
Thanks, mate.

Thank you.
MEL: Thank you.

Purple team.

Overall, I thought
this was gonna be so, so heavy

and it was, to a point.

The polenta chips to start -

I wasn't rushing back for a second
bite, do you know what I mean?

The pizzaiola sauce, it was fine.

It tasted a bit rushed.

Main course, um, beautifully trim...

Andy.
Sorry, what?

Amazing. Beautifully trimmed.
Ah!

It was cooked so beautifully.

It just melted,
which I thought was fantastic.

I think there was a bit of
argy bargy around the cauliflower

and did they have enough
and what they've ended up with

is a pretty saggy, heavy, white bean
puree, which was underwhelming.

The puree on the bottom
didn't taste like cauliflower.

It tasted just like
a cannellini bean puree.

I think, you know,
if they go into the bottom two,

that could have something
to do with it.

Moving on to the dessert.

I think the dessert
was probably the strongest

in terms of achieving
that date night delivery brief

that we set for them.

Not only was it a very generous
portion of it

but having had the time for the cake
to sit in that syrup

while it's been delivered out there,

it was a really good use of its time

because it was really
rich and decadent,

perfectly soaked in that syrup.

Classic Billie.
Classic Billie.

She's really showing that she
is such a solid, dependable cook

and it looks like it might
save the team today.

We'll start with the team whose food
was the ideal backdrop to a hot date.

One team brought us a menu
that was delicious,

well cooked and well executed.

One date night diner,
Kel from Kensington,

described it as, "All really solid
dishes, each unique and tasty."

We couldn't agree more.

So we wanna say,
"Well done, you're safe,"

to the orange team.

Yes! Yes!
(ALL CHEER)

Well done, guys.

Ohhhhh, my God.

Happy with that one, Julie, or what?

Yes.

Now, for some not-so-good news.

One team, the leadership was lacking

and your menu, it was poorly designed
and executed.

And that's why the teal team,

sorry, but you're
in tomorrow's elimination.

Knew it.
No worries. Cheers.

JOCK: So, pink team, purple team...

..one of you is safe

and one of you is gonna join
the teal team in elimination.

One team brought us
the best dessert of the day.

The team that is safe
from tomorrow's elimination is...

..the purple team.

(ALL CHEER)
ALDO: Yes! Yes! Yes!

I'm sorry, pink,

but you will be in tomorrow's
elimination alongside teal.

MEL: You need to go home
and shake off this service.

Come back clear-headed and focused

for whatever tomorrow's elimination
holds for you.

See ya.
See you, guys.

Thanks, guys.

(MOUTHS)
Well done today.

Unlucky, hey?

Shame.

ANNOUNCER: Tomorrow night
on MasterChef Australia...

MEL: You can
never predict

what's around the corner
in this competition.

..times are changing...

MELANIE: Today's
supposed to be

a immunity
challenge

and instead, we all
have black aprons on.

..and time
is ticking.

(CLOCK TICKS
OMINOUSLY)

Captions by Red Bee Media

Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.