MasterChef Australia (2009–…): Season 14, Episode 27 - Episode #14.27 - full transcript
The mystery box has been set by the queen of the kitchen, the legendary Maggie Beer. The four least impressive dishes created from the mystery box will send their makers into a pressure test.
Maggie Beer!
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
MAN: Yes, Maggie!
A national treasure
brought a mystery box.
WOMAN: I mean, who doesn't love
Maggie Beer?
And everyone was scrambling
to impress.
MELANIE: I felt really flustered
talking to Maggie.
I'm starstruck.
There were plenty of standouts.
JOCK: Perfectly cooked guinea fowl
from Daniel.
Oh. Thank you.
And with a fresh take on
an Italian classic from Aldo.
But Harry, Matt, Melanie and Billie
found themselves in the bottom four.
Tonight, will they be thrown
in the deep end...
MELANIE: I'll just try my absolute
best to stay in the competition.
..when another massive guest
delivers his pressure test?
# '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. #
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
MATT: Did you do many pressure tests
in your season?
BILLIE: Yeah, I think I did five.
Did you?
Yeah, but it was, like,
seven years ago.
(LAUGHS)
I did enjoy the pressure tests
in my season.
I can say that because I made it
through them.
I'm going into this challenge
hoping that my experience
in pressure tests might help me.
But I don't think today's
going to be easy.
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
ANDY: Morning, guys.
Morning all. As you know,
today is a pressure test.
You will need to pull out all
of the stops if you want to avoid
going home today.
Because today's dish,
it's been set by someone
that has truly mastered their craft.
This chef has completely transformed
the way that we all cook.
He started a fin to gill movement...
(CONTESTANTS EXCLAIM)
Stop it.
Oh, my God.
..that has turned into
a full-on fish revolution.
Please welcome the butcher,
the chef, the master.
We have Josh Niland!
DANIEL: I love Josh Niland.
He has changed the way
a lot of people think about fish.
If there wasn't a chance
for elimination today,
I'd have my hand up just to
nominate, just to jump down there
and give it a crack myself,
because I think he has got something
up his sleeve
that's going to be pretty epic.
Yes.
How are ya?
How are ya, mate?
Very good to see you.
Good to see you.
Hi!
How are you?
G'day, mate.
Josh, welcome back.
Thanks for having me.
It's always a pleasure
to have you in the kitchen,
but this is your first time
setting a pressure test dish.
Yeah. I mean, it's...
It's challenging to get most
of our work under one cloche,
but I wanted to pick something
that really summarises
the work that we do.
So this dish is 5.5 years
of brain power
exerted onto one plate.
And it's extraordinarily difficult.
(LAUGHTER)
Great.
Well, I think that you should
show them
what it is they're cooking today.
Today you'll be making my...
..tuna Wellington with mashed potato
and tuna gravy.
(GASPS)
Oh, wow.
So cool.
Come on up. Let's have a look.
Oh, wow.
Wowser.
Oh, wow.
It's, like, completely perfect.
Josh, mate, it's pretty as a picture,
obviously. Do you wanna taste it?
Yeah, please.
Please.
Pretty please.
Course you do.
What a luxury.
JOSH: So the Wellington
basically comprised of
a beautiful
centre-cut piece of tuna,
then mushroom duxelles.
And then around that is a very thin
beer and buckwheat crepe.
And then around that, then,
the sour cream pastry.
A sauce which is made using
all of the bones from the tuna.
It shouldn't really taste
like a fish-based sauce.
It should taste quite meaty.
And then mashed potato.
Because, you know, what's
a Wellington without mash?
Harry. Thoughts?
It's so good.
I knew that today was going
to be a challenge.
And this is like probably
the most challenging thing
I've seen come in so far.
But I really hope today
that I can do it justice
and give it a red-hot go.
Melanie, obviously, you've got
another set of challenges.
You're unable to taste that
because you're gluten intolerant.
It's been a really long time since
I dabbled with wheat pastry, so...
Right, OK.
So even making it, you wouldn't...
Haven't done plenty.
For others, I mean. You know.
I don't make people food that I
can't eat. What's the point of that?
Be thorough when you're reading
the recipe.
Yeah, I will.
I'm going to have to rely on
my instincts,
and I'll just try my absolute best
to stay in the competition.
I mean, it's all attainable.
And I'm so excited to see our food
of Saint Peter and Fish Butchery
get translated here in this kitchen.
Get the goose bumps again
and it all gets a bit exciting.
You will have four hours
to recreate Josh's tuna Wellington
with mashed potato and tuna gravy.
The recipe and everything you need
is at your bench.
And of course, if you cook the dish
that least resembles Josh's,
today will be your last day
in this kitchen.
Alright, guys, good luck.
Your time starts now.
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
ALDO: Come on, Harry!
Go Billie!
BILLIE: Even though
there's only three elements -
the potato, the sauce
and the Wellington...
..this recipe is huge.
Come on, Billie.
Let's go, Billie.
I think having done
a few pressure tests before,
I'm confident with my instincts,
but it's quite a difficult task
to keep calm in a pressure test.
MELANIE: Not having done
a pressure test before
and not being able to taste
most of the components,
I'm definitely nervous.
But I just have to get stuck in
and follow this recipe
to an absolute T.
The first thing
I need to get working on
is the base of the tuna gravy,
so I need to weigh out
those tuna frames
and get them in the oven ASAP.
Ow!
Getting the right level
of caramelisation on these bones
is really, really important,
because if they are
under-caramelised,
then they won't develop
the really rich, sweet flavours
that is really important
for the sauce.
There we go.
The tuna gravy is going to have to
simmer away for the full four hours
to really develop the flavours.
And that means it's going to need
a lot of love.
Skimming it constantly just to make
sure that it's perfect.
Because the sauce on any dish,
it can really be a make or break
situation.
WOMAN: You're doing well, Mel!
HARRY: My tuna frames are in the oven
and they're roasting away
for the sauce.
And now I need to work on
my mushroom duxelles.
It's the part that sits closest
to the fish in the Wellington.
It creates another level of flavour
throughout it
with roasted portobello mushrooms,
some ghee, some thyme leaves,
onions, garlic.
And then that's wrapped
in the pastry.
I thought the fish was going
to be the hardest thing to do,
but apparently picking these
thyme leaves is.
10 grams.
ALI: Hate picking thyme leaves.
Nice work, Billie.
Josh, another very fitting dish
for you to walk through this kitchen.
And this time it's a pressure test.
Mate, what's the first
pressure point of this dish?
Well, I think they've got it
in front of them.
It's getting that sauce done.
It's about taking a dark fish stock
and then roasting off the sundries
of the tuna
in the form of those bones that
still carry a bit of meat on them.
Yep.
And like any good sauce,
there's that caramelisation period
that just...the bones need to take
good colour without burning it.
If you stumble on that one, then
the wheels come off pretty early.
Yeah, definitely.
It's a dish of variables,
and you make a meal of one of them,
there's no turning back.
HARRY: I've done my mushroom duxelles
for the tuna Wellington
and I feel like
I'm in a pretty good position.
The next thing I need to do
is the base for my tuna gravy.
I've got all my aromatics now
in the pan, they're cooking down.
So my pepper, my juniper berries
and my bay leaf.
And then it's finished off
with some brown Murray cod stock.
You know, there's a lot of stuff
that needs to get done.
And I think it would be very,
very easy to fall behind today.
And I don't want to do that.
So I need to hustle.
MELISSA: I hope everything's
going Wellington.
You have three hours to go!
ALDO: Come on, guys!
Come on!
MATT: I've done my duxelles.
I'm happy.
Tastes like his, looks like his.
Now I need to work on the gravy.
Josh's gravy,
it had a nice roasted colour to it,
and you could definitely
taste the roasted bones.
DANIEL: Oh, good colour, Matt.
I like that.
No, look, they look good.
Yes, that's it, mate. Look at that.
The tuna bones have a really nice
caramelised colour
which I'm really happy with
because that's going to result
in a delicious gravy.
Flavourtown.
(LAUGHS)
HARRY: Uhh, what am I doing?
Harry.
Hi.
How are you going?
Good.
So you're onto the sauce now?
Yes, yes, yep.
Hey, what do you think of this?
It's not as much caramelisation
as I'd like to see.
You know, see, even the bones are...
They're a bit blond.
Mm-hm. Yeah.
Yeah.
The sauce is the thing that, like,
connects all of the elements.
It's the concrete between
the bricks. You know what I mean?
Yeah.
If you slip up with one element,
it's a bit of a snowball effect.
Yep.
I've really, really messed this up,
and I don't know if I can fix it.
ALDO: Come on, you got this.
One mistake could mean
me going home today.
Alright.
HARRY: It's scary to know that
I've already done something wrong
with my sauce.
(EXHALES SHARPLY)
I don't have time to go back
and start again.
But in this competition,
it's about pivoting.
And now's the time where
I need to rectify what's happened
with my sauce.
I have an idea.
ANDY: You have what?
I have an idea.
I'm going to take some out and
put them back in to the oven
and then I'll put them back
in the stock
and hopefully I can get
a little bit more colour.
Keep pushing. Attention to detail.
Thanks very much.
WOMAN: Come on, Harry.
Alright.
I'm really hoping
that this will work.
But I just don't know if it's
going to be enough to save it.
I've got my gravy on and I'm just
starting on the...the crepes.
Looks good, Billie.
Great, Billie.
I may be biased, but I think Billie
is the one that's most suited
for this pressure test.
Nothing rattles her.
She's got laser focus
and she's got killer instincts
when it comes to cooking.
Yes, Billie.
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
Yes, Billie!
You made it!
Yeah. She's the one to watch.
(WHISPERS) OK.
Oh, Matt.
That looks good, man.
Beautiful. Beautiful.
Yeah, it's perfect.
Looking good, Mel.
Thanks, Michael.
Keep it up. You're doing well.
Um, I think I'm going OK.
I'm just kind of following
the recipe, plodding along.
I make crepes.
Albeit gluten-free ones.
Nice work, Mel.
Um, looks right.
Now I'm just portioning things,
getting it ready
to start onto the pastry.
ALDO: Nice, roasting the potatoes
on salt. Take the moisture out.
BILLIE: I feel like
I'm on a bit of a roll.
My crepes are done and I've got
my potatoes roasting for the mash.
And now I need to get on
to this sour cream pastry.
JULIE: It's almost like
you do it for a living, Billie.
It's pretty hot in here.
So with the pastry, I got to work
fast so that butter doesn't melt.
JOCK: Might not feel like it,
but you're already halfway through.
Two hours down, two hours to go.
(CHEERING FROM THE GANTRY)
ALDO: Go Harry! Go Billie!
Go Mel! Go Matt!
(LAUGHS)
Harry!
I think Harry is in trouble.
She's stressed,
and she needs to catch up.
Come on, Harry. Make an extra one.
HARRY: Yeah.
Don't throw them out!
Keep them just in case.
Good point.
I feel like a mum.
Like, up on the gantry.
I almost can't watch.
I've got my fingers crossed for her
because it's not looking good.
Am I behind?
Just keep going.
At this point in the cook,
I know I'm super behind.
My stock and the fishbones
was a little bit of a setback,
but time is ticking away
really, really quickly
and I need to keep pushing.
ALI: Nice one, Matty.
Keep going, brother.
Yeah. Good, Matt.
My sauce is on the go.
I'm working on the pastry now.
MINDY: Beautiful, Billie.
TOMMY: Freaking amazing, Billie.
Classic Billie's motored ahead,
hasn't she?
So, you know, there's no
competing with that girl. (CHUCKLES)
MICHAEL: She's just super, like,
super focused, right?
Mm. Absolutely.
Rolling this pastry out
is the first step
in the construction
of the Wellington.
A lot of pastry calls for three mil.
So two mil is very thin.
If it's too thick,
it won't cook all the way through.
It's a major component
to get right on this dish,
so I need to get
that pastry perfect.
OK.
(MELANIE SIGHS ANXIOUSLY)
Breathe, Mel. It's all good.
I'm definitely trying to remember
what Josh's pastry was like.
It wasn't thick.
The recipe says it should be
two mils thick,
which seems insanely thin.
Still not two mils.
It's been more than five years
since I cooked with gluten flour,
so I wouldn't have a clue
what's wrong.
I feel very out of my depth
right now.
Keep going, Mel.
DANIEL: Does it say how thick
it's supposed to be or no?
Yeah. Two mil.
Oh, yeah.
ALDO: Keep rolling.
Almost there, Mel.
MEL: I can see that the pastry
is too thick.
And if I can't roll it thinner,
it won't cook through.
What is going on?
And I'm starting to panic.
MONTANA: Keep pushing.
We're past the halfway mark, and
I have so much I need to get done,
and I have a sinking feeling
I'm not going to be finished in time.
(SNIFFLES)
(SIGHS)
My pastry is not quite where I want
it, but I have to keep going
to get this Wellington on the plate.
It's a really intense cook.
Quite natural to just kind of have
a bit of a meltdown,
but I feel like I did,
and now hopefully I'm over it.
It's just a recipe and I'm just
trying to think about it like that.
I need to move on to prepping my
tuna loin so that I can assemble
this Wellington and get
it into the oven ASAP.
Melanie. You OK?
Yeah. I'm all good. (LAUGHS)
Still got that good old smile
on that face, which I like.
I'm just trusting the recipe.
So I really hope
you checked it to a T.
So it's your fault.
(LAUGHS)
Guys, the jobs
are starting to pile up.
You've only got an hour to go.
Come on, guys!
JOCK: Let's go!
(CHEERING)
Come on, Harry! Stay focused, Harry!
Come on!
My potatoes are in the oven.
My mushroom duxelles is finished.
My gravy is reducing.
I've got my crepes completed.
Now I need to get my tuna loin
portioned out correctly,
which is going to go
in the centre of the Wellington.
I like the look of this one.
I need a piece of loin
from the centre of this filet
that's 9.5 by 7 by 5 centimetres
and weighs 300 grams.
MONTANA: There you go.
I weighed it. It's supposed
to be approximately 300.
Mine was about 320, which means
it's pretty close to what Josh's was.
I'm just measuring out
my duxelles now.
I'm going to start laying
out my crepe and mushroom
so I can wrap the tuna loin
and make up this Wellington.
DANIEL: Let's go, mate.
Wrap them up.
BILLIE: "Approximately
9.5 by 7...by 5."
I'm having a bit of a moment.
I can't really work out
what the dimensions are
for this piece of tuna,
but I know I have to get it right.
"9.5 by 7 by 5."
It doesn't really make sense.
It takes a lot of laser focus
to compete in a pressure test.
And having flown the frequent
pressure test miles myself,
I know that you need to
follow the recipe to a T.
But with this particular
pressure test, making a Wellington,
the weight and the size of the tuna
is quite important
because if you have a tuna that's
too big, it might be undercooked.
And if it's too small,
then you run into the risk
of overcooking the tuna.
What!?
Nine and a half long.
So it's actually not that long.
The devil here is in the details.
So if you don't pay attention,
then you'll run into trouble.
(GROANS)
I think it's fine. (LAUGHS)
HARRY: I feel like I've caught up
a little bit,
but I need to keep pushing forward.
"Then trim tuna to 300 grams
rectangle portion
"approximately that size
by 5cm high."
There's an approximation
of the dimensions of it,
but in the recipe it says that
it needs to be 300 grams
because that will ensure
that I have the right cook
and the right amount of duxelles,
crepe and pastries for my Wellington.
That's pretty good.
So now that I've got my perfect
300 gram piece of tuna
to go into the middle
of my Wellington,
the next thing I need to move on to
is the construction of the Wellington
itself so I can get it in the oven.
Once it's perfectly wrapped
in the duxelles mix,
I'm placing it into the centre
of my crepe
before I go to wrap it in my pastry.
Whoo-hoo. Finally.
ALDO: Come on, Harry. Come on.
MELISSA: Come on, Billie.
BILLIE: I'm starting to construct
this Wellington.
I'm trying to get that small round
shape that Josh's Wellington had.
But it's not sort of
coming together as it should.
Hmm.
Little bit big.
I realise my tuna's too big,
and that means that it's going
to take a bit longer to cook.
TOMMY: That's gonna be problematic.
And it also could potentially
throw out the balance of
the duxelles and the pastry.
Right. Bugger.
That Wellington has to be perfect.
And I can't believe I missed
a very important step on the recipe
with the weight for the tuna.
But there's nothing I can do now.
It's already assembled and I don't
have enough time to do it again
because it needs
to go in the oven ASAP.
I'm just hoping now that I've left
myself enough time
to get this tuna cooked
and on the plates.
If there's ever a time to keep
a cool head, it's right now.
30 minutes to go!
(CHEERING)
ALDO: Go Mel! Go Matt! Go Billie!
Go Harry!
Come on, guys!
(MELANIE SIGHS) OK.
I've managed to get the duxelles
in a nice even layer
all around the tuna.
But now I have to get this chunk
wrapped in the crepe.
Supposed to be excess overhang.
If anything, there's not enough.
It's not enough bloody crepe.
But there's not enough crepe to wrap
it and it's just kind of not right.
I don't know why.
This doesn't make sense.
I've got my second crepe.
The recipe doesn't talk about
using scraps from another crepe,
but obviously that's what
I'm gonna have to do.
Dunno. Flying a little bit blind.
Hoping that what I've...
..the way I've followed the recipe
is the right way.
DANIEL: Nice work, brother.
That looks good, man.
Yeah, it's perfect.
MATT: I mean, I'm happy
I've got that together.
Alright, keep going, brother.
There we go.
ALDO: Come on, Harry. How long
it has to be in the oven?
HARRY: So, 18 to 20.
Beautiful.
Harry, how are you doing?
Hey. Good.
You got four minutes
to get it in the oven.
I can do it.
How heavy was yours?
300 on the dot.
Beautiful.
ALDO: Come on, Harry. Come on.
(CLAPS)
Now it's time for me to motor
through this mashed potato.
Done this before.
I know what I need to do.
I just need to get it done.
DANIEL: Nice, Mel. Great work.
MEL: My tuna Wellington is looking
quite nicely assembled.
I can feel that the pastry on the end
is quite thick,
but I just need to get this
in the oven ASAP.
18 minutes.
You're alright, Mel.
Keep going, Mel. Keep going.
(BREATHES DEEPLY)
Home stretch.
She might have to pick up her pace.
40 minutes, Bill.
BILLIE: 40 minutes left. OK.
I've got to get that in, then.
That's in the oven.
I put my tuna Wellington
into the oven,
but because my tuna's too big, I
don't know if I've got enough time
to cook it and then carve it
and then plate it.
So it's going to be
down to the wire.
Oh, God, this is awful.
ANDY: Come on! Go!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
MAN: Come on, everybody!
MAN: Go, Mel! Go, Billie!
Whoo! Whoo!
Go, guys!
MATT: Ooh, that's hot.
MICHAEL: Push, Matty.
You going OK?
Ah...
I'm motoring.
Yeah.
I'm motoring.
I'll be finishing. Don't you worry.
Good. That's the fighting spirit.
My Wellington's cooking in the oven.
I'm pleased with my mashed potato.
Now I need to finish my sauce.
Give it another skim
to remove some of the scum.
Looks quite similar to Josh's.
I need to strain out all the bones
to make sure I've got no impurities
in the final sauce.
The one thing that I'm not worried
about is the mashed potato.
It tastes awesome.
But I need to go back to my sauce
because that's the thing
that brings the dish together.
I just need to reduce it down
a little bit further.
Looking at my sauce
as it bubbles away,
it kind of doesn't look
how I would think it should look.
Phew.
Holy mackerel.
What is going on in there?
It's like there's a lot of sludge.
(EXHALES HEAVILY)
Do you know what I mean?
Yeah.
Something's going wrong here
in the process,
as in, in the skimming.
It hasn't been skimmed.
At least you're honest, yeah.
Try to be.
But, yeah, the more it goes down,
the more challenging it becomes
to find clarity.
Yeah.
Yeah.
If you don't take action on that,
you could see yourself in trouble.
Yeah. OK.
(SIGHS)
I need to get this sauce
as clear as I possibly can
until I end up with some semblance
of clarity that's near Josh's.
It needs love,
'cause otherwise I'm going home.
How's my Wellington looking?
My Wellington has had about
17, 18 minutes in the oven.
Not cooking as fast as it should be.
Your weight of the tuna -
how heavy was it?
The weight of the tuna?
Uh, I'm not sure.
In the recipe it was 300 grams.
The actual raw tuna.
Shit, did it?
I don't remember
having to weigh the tuna.
Oh, no.
Sure enough, there's a line
says it should be 300 grams.
(SIGHS)
And now it's making sense
why I'm taking longer to cook
because it's too big!
The time and temperature
is consistent with
the size piece that I did,
whereas this one
is just slightly bigger.
Is everything else ready?
Um, just about.
I just need to finish my sauce.
Thank you.
All good. Job's done.
OK.
Alright.
Thanks, Josh.
You're right. Hang in.
DANIEL: It's alright, mate.
Dust it off. Keep going, eh?
I just have to carry on.
I don't know what this will do
for my final dish, though.
Now is the moment of truth.
Time to carve your Wellingtons.
Five minutes to go!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
MAN: Come on, guys!
Come on, guys.
Go, guys!
Come on, Billie.
Come on.
Where's my tea towels?
(OVEN BEEPS)
MICHAEL: Nice Wellington.
Nice, Matty.
She's looking brown.
Looks pretty good.
She's a little blonde on top, but...
..she'll have to do.
So my sauce is looking good.
It's reduced down nicely
and it tastes good.
Um...
But I'm still waiting on this tuna
Wellington to come out of the oven.
That's gonna, yeah,
be down to the wire, isn't it?
(OVEN BEEPS)
Oh, that's me!
The Wellington is fine looking.
Like, it's cooked quite nicely,
at least on the outside.
So I at the very least have time
to get everything on the plate.
MICHAEL: Oh-ho, Mel!
Nice.
But so much rests on
what is inside that Wellington.
Three minutes to go. Come on!
Come on, guys. Let's go.
Great work, guys. Go, Matty!
Go, Mel!
Go, Billie! Go, Harry!
Come on, let's go!
Well done, Mel!
Oh, shit.
ALDO: Come on, Bill. You got this.
Oh, my God. I'm so stressed.
BILLIE: OK.
Down to the wire.
Oh, come on, Billie.
(OVEN BEEPS)
OK, there we go.
Yes, Billie.
Come on!
I'm happy with the pastry.
It seems nice and thin.
But carving into this Wellington,
I'm just really worried
about the tuna.
Come on, Billie.
Yes, Billie!
I'm guessing it's pink.
And here we go. 10...
ALL: Nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
That's it!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Well done, Bill!
Just.
Just made it.
I am so disappointed right now.
I know that my sauce isn't perfect.
It's, like, definitely not
as beautiful and clear as Josh's.
I really don't want to
go home today.
BILLIE: Good luck, Matt.
Good luck.
Good luck, mate.
Thank you.
Good job, mate.
I'm just proud to be presenting
my tuna Wellington to Josh Niland.
Alright, mate?
Hello. How are you?
I think that the flavours are good.
So I just hope
that it's close to Josh's.
You know, I want him
to be impressed by me.
Matt, second pressure test.
Second pressure test.
As good as the first?
If anything,
each time I'm in the kitchen,
I'm more passionate
and more excited about it.
So good.
Yeah, pressure test aside,
and the threat of going home aside,
if anything, like, my favourite
cook of the competition so far.
Wow.
Yeah.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
Alright, mate, we'll test that.
Perfect. Thank you very much.
ALL: Thank you.
JOSH: The cutting's a bit rough,
huh?
ANDY: Yeah. But other than that,
it looks pretty good.
MEL: OK.
It's fantastic.
Just speaking to the pastry alone
and how crunchy it is,
almost glassy.
It's wonderful to see that
he's paid attention to that.
He should be very proud.
Epic cook for Matt.
Yeah.
The medallion of the tuna,
mine was cooked really nicely.
The duxelles, that was another
really big tick there.
And the mash,
it's very reminiscent of yours.
It's beautifully seasoned
and lovely and smooth.
Yeah.
It's a brilliant cook for him.
I am absolutely stoked for him.
I'm proud of him.
Yeah, really good.
And just to hear him saying how much
he enjoyed the cook, you can tell.
I think it's going to be
very surprising
if he's anywhere near going home
today with that plate of food.
It's a nine out of ten.
Yeah.
BILLIE: Good luck, Mel.
HARRY: Good luck, mate.
Thanks, guys.
All the best.
(SIGHS HEAVILY)
I mean, I know that
what's on the plate isn't perfect.
MEL: Hey, Melanie.
Hey.
I have no idea
how this is going to eat.
And that makes me so nervous.
(SIGHS)
(SIGHS)
How are you feeling now that's over?
Relieved. (CHUCKLES)
Um, that was a...pretty hectic slog.
Yep.
Be proud of what you've achieved
and the effort you've put in.
Yeah, like, I did my absolute best.
Well, thank you, Melanie,
we'll taste.
Thanks, guys.
JOSH: Thanks, Mel.
(EXHALES)
Looks-wise, I have to say
the pastry is...
..definitely thicker than yours.
Yeah.
By quite a bit.
It looks a bit raw on the inside.
I think we need to commend Melanie
for really pushing
as hard as she could today
because there are so many challenges
ahead of her.
But she has presented
every single element on the plate,
that's really great to see.
ANDY: The interesting thing for me,
the sauce -
it's easily the best element
on this plate of food.
JOCK: There's a really nice acidity,
colour, depth of flavour,
um, it's nice and glossy, there's
a clarity to it similar to yours.
Yep.
Kind of goes downhill from there,
I'm afraid.
The Wellington itself, if we talk
about it, it is super sized.
The weight, she didn't notice it,
obviously, in the recipe
and that's led to this domino effect.
I've got a lot of uncooked pastry,
beyond the crepe.
Overall, it's just not as neat
and trim and tasty as yours.
I am disappointed for her
in terms of how it's played out
and I'm worried for her also.
Yeah, disappointing. Yeah.
Yeah.
MELANIE: Good luck, mate.
BILLIE: Thank you.
MATT: Good luck, Billie,
they look awesome.
They look beautiful, Billie.
That was a really,
really hard challenge
and I almost thought I was not going
to have the tuna Wellington
on the plate.
Billie.
Hello.
Hello.
Looking at the dish, I don't really
know if I've done it justice.
Billie.
Yeah.
Pretty interesting cook, wasn't it?
Yeah.
Yeah, that was really hard.
I just don't wanna go home.
Not yet.
There's been no pressure test
that's been able to send you home
yet, has there?
Well, no. (CHUCKLES)
You'd like to keep it that way.
I'd like to keep it that way, Andy.
For sure.
Thanks, Billie.
Thanks, Billie.
Thank you. Thanks.
Oh, it looks pretty good, huh?
MEL: Looks very nice.
Impressive.
Very good.
That is incredible...
Mm.
..how thin that is.
I'm so impressed
with the pastry work.
Beautiful.
And tuna's cooked beautifully.
The duxelles is super impressive.
Yep.
MEL: It's very pleasing to look at.
She's done a very good job.
The flavour of the gravy
is fantastic.
Yep. I think...really great outcome.
Mm.
Good luck, Harry.
Good luck, Harry.
HARRY: Thank you.
They look great, mate.
Thinking about the possibility
that I could be leaving
the MasterChef competition today,
I just feel incredibly overwhelmed.
(EXHALES DEEPLY)
Knowing that my sauce isn't perfect,
it's really, really scary
and I'm quite literally
shaking in my boots.
(EXHALES)
Harry.
Hi.
Talk to me. Why nervous?
I'm terrified of walking out,
feeling like I failed.
Do you feel like this is a failure
in any way today?
I know you had difficulty
with the sauce
but I think you worked really hard
to try and rectify that.
Thanks, Harry. We'll taste now.
Thank you.
My piece of tuna is gorgeous.
It does remind me a lot of yours
in terms of having
just that sort of seamless ombre
into the blush of the centre.
Absolutely.
And it is meltingly beautiful.
The attention to detail
on making sure
that tuna was the exact size
and weight
that, you know, that 300-gram piece
with the perfect dimensions,
I think that's made it a really
beautiful piece of tuna to eat.
Great caramelisation on the pastry,
duxelles, there's a good whack
of thyme in there,
which I really liked.
The mashed potato,
beautifully seasoned.
The pastry, the work was fantastic.
There was a lot
of superficial things to like.
I think the thing that I just can't
get out of my head is the sauce.
Needs to be meaty and robust,
NOT fishy.
Mm.
This is everything that
I don't want the sauce to be.
You can taste the impurities.
It doesn't have that really clean,
luxury flavour
that, Josh,
yours was just singing with.
It's a bit muddy.
Mm.
When you put up,
probably the least impressive sauce
out of the lot of them,
you're pretty vulnerable,
in my books.
Mm.
She's just been let down
by some key points here,
um, and that is gonna see her
in the firing line.
This was an absolute mountain
of a pressure test,
I'm sure you can all agree.
Josh, you set
a very complex challenge.
Thank you. (LAUGHS)
It's been a pleasure to come back
and it was a thrill
to watch all of you cook.
I mean, to execute that kind of dish
at this stage in the competition
is remarkable, so well done to you.
Mate, there is no question
that we feel the love
every time
you're in the MasterChef kitchen.
Ladies and gentlemen, give it up
for Josh Niland, everybody!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Harry, Matt, Billie and Melanie,
you were tasked with re-creating
Josh's tuna Wellington.
Two of you
really rose to the occasion today
and produced a pair
of commendable dishes.
Matt.
You had perfectly crisp pastry,
rich, glossy gravy
with great depth of flavour.
Combine that with
melt-in-your-mouth mash
and your dish was an admirable
re-creation of Josh's.
Thank you.
It was dish of the day,
so well done, you're not going home.
(APPLAUSE)
Well done, Matt.
Billie,
you were cool, calm and collected
through most of the cook
and that translated onto the plate.
Your pastry was flaky
and your duxelles was stellar.
Overall, it was a lovely dish.
You are also safe.
Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
Well done.
Melanie,
your gravy was tasty and,
for the most part, emulated Josh's...
(SIGHS)
..but because you didn't weigh
the tuna,
the rest of the dish was affected.
The pastry surrounding it
was thicker and it was uncooked.
Harry.
Your gravy was muddy
and the flavour was completely off.
However...
..your tuna wasn't overcooked
and your duxelles and mash were both
flavourful and well seasoned.
It was a really close call today
and it came down
to the smallest of things.
Yep.
But at the end of the day, the dish
that least resembled Josh's...
..was yours...
..Melanie.
Yep.
ANDY: Melanie,
you've produced some of the best
dishes and desserts
that we've seen so far.
I've had a great time.
Even though we were, like,
Fans vs Favourites,
everybody was so generous with
their time and advice and recipes
and, um, it was really cool.
(CHUCKLES WRYLY)
You were a great cook before you
came into this competition
and we cannot wait to see
what happens next in your journey.
So, thank you so much
for cooking for us
but now, it's time to say goodbye.
Thank you.
Thanks so much, Melanie.
Congratulations, you did so well.
I'm really sad to say goodbye
to everybody.
This experience has been
absolutely amazing.
Hey, two in one day.
(LAUGHS)
MasterChef has represented something
that I never thought
I was capable of.
I never thought
I'd walk through the kitchen doors,
let alone stay until top 16.
(LAUGHS)
I came into MasterChef
to really push myself
and it's forced me to go
so far outside of my comfort zone.
So I'm really proud of myself.
(APPLAUSE)
Give it up for Melanie, everybody!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
ANNOUNCER: Tomorrow night
on MasterChef Australia...
Wow.
..at a location
this magnificent,
the brief is clear.
Bring us
something bougie.
But with only basic
ingredients to work with...
BILLIE: Our main dish
is essentially
lamb and vegetables.
..can they turn
the ordinary
into extraordinary?
Whoa!
What?
Captions by Red Bee Media
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
MAN: Yes, Maggie!
A national treasure
brought a mystery box.
WOMAN: I mean, who doesn't love
Maggie Beer?
And everyone was scrambling
to impress.
MELANIE: I felt really flustered
talking to Maggie.
I'm starstruck.
There were plenty of standouts.
JOCK: Perfectly cooked guinea fowl
from Daniel.
Oh. Thank you.
And with a fresh take on
an Italian classic from Aldo.
But Harry, Matt, Melanie and Billie
found themselves in the bottom four.
Tonight, will they be thrown
in the deep end...
MELANIE: I'll just try my absolute
best to stay in the competition.
..when another massive guest
delivers his pressure test?
# '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. #
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
MATT: Did you do many pressure tests
in your season?
BILLIE: Yeah, I think I did five.
Did you?
Yeah, but it was, like,
seven years ago.
(LAUGHS)
I did enjoy the pressure tests
in my season.
I can say that because I made it
through them.
I'm going into this challenge
hoping that my experience
in pressure tests might help me.
But I don't think today's
going to be easy.
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
ANDY: Morning, guys.
Morning all. As you know,
today is a pressure test.
You will need to pull out all
of the stops if you want to avoid
going home today.
Because today's dish,
it's been set by someone
that has truly mastered their craft.
This chef has completely transformed
the way that we all cook.
He started a fin to gill movement...
(CONTESTANTS EXCLAIM)
Stop it.
Oh, my God.
..that has turned into
a full-on fish revolution.
Please welcome the butcher,
the chef, the master.
We have Josh Niland!
DANIEL: I love Josh Niland.
He has changed the way
a lot of people think about fish.
If there wasn't a chance
for elimination today,
I'd have my hand up just to
nominate, just to jump down there
and give it a crack myself,
because I think he has got something
up his sleeve
that's going to be pretty epic.
Yes.
How are ya?
How are ya, mate?
Very good to see you.
Good to see you.
Hi!
How are you?
G'day, mate.
Josh, welcome back.
Thanks for having me.
It's always a pleasure
to have you in the kitchen,
but this is your first time
setting a pressure test dish.
Yeah. I mean, it's...
It's challenging to get most
of our work under one cloche,
but I wanted to pick something
that really summarises
the work that we do.
So this dish is 5.5 years
of brain power
exerted onto one plate.
And it's extraordinarily difficult.
(LAUGHTER)
Great.
Well, I think that you should
show them
what it is they're cooking today.
Today you'll be making my...
..tuna Wellington with mashed potato
and tuna gravy.
(GASPS)
Oh, wow.
So cool.
Come on up. Let's have a look.
Oh, wow.
Wowser.
Oh, wow.
It's, like, completely perfect.
Josh, mate, it's pretty as a picture,
obviously. Do you wanna taste it?
Yeah, please.
Please.
Pretty please.
Course you do.
What a luxury.
JOSH: So the Wellington
basically comprised of
a beautiful
centre-cut piece of tuna,
then mushroom duxelles.
And then around that is a very thin
beer and buckwheat crepe.
And then around that, then,
the sour cream pastry.
A sauce which is made using
all of the bones from the tuna.
It shouldn't really taste
like a fish-based sauce.
It should taste quite meaty.
And then mashed potato.
Because, you know, what's
a Wellington without mash?
Harry. Thoughts?
It's so good.
I knew that today was going
to be a challenge.
And this is like probably
the most challenging thing
I've seen come in so far.
But I really hope today
that I can do it justice
and give it a red-hot go.
Melanie, obviously, you've got
another set of challenges.
You're unable to taste that
because you're gluten intolerant.
It's been a really long time since
I dabbled with wheat pastry, so...
Right, OK.
So even making it, you wouldn't...
Haven't done plenty.
For others, I mean. You know.
I don't make people food that I
can't eat. What's the point of that?
Be thorough when you're reading
the recipe.
Yeah, I will.
I'm going to have to rely on
my instincts,
and I'll just try my absolute best
to stay in the competition.
I mean, it's all attainable.
And I'm so excited to see our food
of Saint Peter and Fish Butchery
get translated here in this kitchen.
Get the goose bumps again
and it all gets a bit exciting.
You will have four hours
to recreate Josh's tuna Wellington
with mashed potato and tuna gravy.
The recipe and everything you need
is at your bench.
And of course, if you cook the dish
that least resembles Josh's,
today will be your last day
in this kitchen.
Alright, guys, good luck.
Your time starts now.
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
ALDO: Come on, Harry!
Go Billie!
BILLIE: Even though
there's only three elements -
the potato, the sauce
and the Wellington...
..this recipe is huge.
Come on, Billie.
Let's go, Billie.
I think having done
a few pressure tests before,
I'm confident with my instincts,
but it's quite a difficult task
to keep calm in a pressure test.
MELANIE: Not having done
a pressure test before
and not being able to taste
most of the components,
I'm definitely nervous.
But I just have to get stuck in
and follow this recipe
to an absolute T.
The first thing
I need to get working on
is the base of the tuna gravy,
so I need to weigh out
those tuna frames
and get them in the oven ASAP.
Ow!
Getting the right level
of caramelisation on these bones
is really, really important,
because if they are
under-caramelised,
then they won't develop
the really rich, sweet flavours
that is really important
for the sauce.
There we go.
The tuna gravy is going to have to
simmer away for the full four hours
to really develop the flavours.
And that means it's going to need
a lot of love.
Skimming it constantly just to make
sure that it's perfect.
Because the sauce on any dish,
it can really be a make or break
situation.
WOMAN: You're doing well, Mel!
HARRY: My tuna frames are in the oven
and they're roasting away
for the sauce.
And now I need to work on
my mushroom duxelles.
It's the part that sits closest
to the fish in the Wellington.
It creates another level of flavour
throughout it
with roasted portobello mushrooms,
some ghee, some thyme leaves,
onions, garlic.
And then that's wrapped
in the pastry.
I thought the fish was going
to be the hardest thing to do,
but apparently picking these
thyme leaves is.
10 grams.
ALI: Hate picking thyme leaves.
Nice work, Billie.
Josh, another very fitting dish
for you to walk through this kitchen.
And this time it's a pressure test.
Mate, what's the first
pressure point of this dish?
Well, I think they've got it
in front of them.
It's getting that sauce done.
It's about taking a dark fish stock
and then roasting off the sundries
of the tuna
in the form of those bones that
still carry a bit of meat on them.
Yep.
And like any good sauce,
there's that caramelisation period
that just...the bones need to take
good colour without burning it.
If you stumble on that one, then
the wheels come off pretty early.
Yeah, definitely.
It's a dish of variables,
and you make a meal of one of them,
there's no turning back.
HARRY: I've done my mushroom duxelles
for the tuna Wellington
and I feel like
I'm in a pretty good position.
The next thing I need to do
is the base for my tuna gravy.
I've got all my aromatics now
in the pan, they're cooking down.
So my pepper, my juniper berries
and my bay leaf.
And then it's finished off
with some brown Murray cod stock.
You know, there's a lot of stuff
that needs to get done.
And I think it would be very,
very easy to fall behind today.
And I don't want to do that.
So I need to hustle.
MELISSA: I hope everything's
going Wellington.
You have three hours to go!
ALDO: Come on, guys!
Come on!
MATT: I've done my duxelles.
I'm happy.
Tastes like his, looks like his.
Now I need to work on the gravy.
Josh's gravy,
it had a nice roasted colour to it,
and you could definitely
taste the roasted bones.
DANIEL: Oh, good colour, Matt.
I like that.
No, look, they look good.
Yes, that's it, mate. Look at that.
The tuna bones have a really nice
caramelised colour
which I'm really happy with
because that's going to result
in a delicious gravy.
Flavourtown.
(LAUGHS)
HARRY: Uhh, what am I doing?
Harry.
Hi.
How are you going?
Good.
So you're onto the sauce now?
Yes, yes, yep.
Hey, what do you think of this?
It's not as much caramelisation
as I'd like to see.
You know, see, even the bones are...
They're a bit blond.
Mm-hm. Yeah.
Yeah.
The sauce is the thing that, like,
connects all of the elements.
It's the concrete between
the bricks. You know what I mean?
Yeah.
If you slip up with one element,
it's a bit of a snowball effect.
Yep.
I've really, really messed this up,
and I don't know if I can fix it.
ALDO: Come on, you got this.
One mistake could mean
me going home today.
Alright.
HARRY: It's scary to know that
I've already done something wrong
with my sauce.
(EXHALES SHARPLY)
I don't have time to go back
and start again.
But in this competition,
it's about pivoting.
And now's the time where
I need to rectify what's happened
with my sauce.
I have an idea.
ANDY: You have what?
I have an idea.
I'm going to take some out and
put them back in to the oven
and then I'll put them back
in the stock
and hopefully I can get
a little bit more colour.
Keep pushing. Attention to detail.
Thanks very much.
WOMAN: Come on, Harry.
Alright.
I'm really hoping
that this will work.
But I just don't know if it's
going to be enough to save it.
I've got my gravy on and I'm just
starting on the...the crepes.
Looks good, Billie.
Great, Billie.
I may be biased, but I think Billie
is the one that's most suited
for this pressure test.
Nothing rattles her.
She's got laser focus
and she's got killer instincts
when it comes to cooking.
Yes, Billie.
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
Yes, Billie!
You made it!
Yeah. She's the one to watch.
(WHISPERS) OK.
Oh, Matt.
That looks good, man.
Beautiful. Beautiful.
Yeah, it's perfect.
Looking good, Mel.
Thanks, Michael.
Keep it up. You're doing well.
Um, I think I'm going OK.
I'm just kind of following
the recipe, plodding along.
I make crepes.
Albeit gluten-free ones.
Nice work, Mel.
Um, looks right.
Now I'm just portioning things,
getting it ready
to start onto the pastry.
ALDO: Nice, roasting the potatoes
on salt. Take the moisture out.
BILLIE: I feel like
I'm on a bit of a roll.
My crepes are done and I've got
my potatoes roasting for the mash.
And now I need to get on
to this sour cream pastry.
JULIE: It's almost like
you do it for a living, Billie.
It's pretty hot in here.
So with the pastry, I got to work
fast so that butter doesn't melt.
JOCK: Might not feel like it,
but you're already halfway through.
Two hours down, two hours to go.
(CHEERING FROM THE GANTRY)
ALDO: Go Harry! Go Billie!
Go Mel! Go Matt!
(LAUGHS)
Harry!
I think Harry is in trouble.
She's stressed,
and she needs to catch up.
Come on, Harry. Make an extra one.
HARRY: Yeah.
Don't throw them out!
Keep them just in case.
Good point.
I feel like a mum.
Like, up on the gantry.
I almost can't watch.
I've got my fingers crossed for her
because it's not looking good.
Am I behind?
Just keep going.
At this point in the cook,
I know I'm super behind.
My stock and the fishbones
was a little bit of a setback,
but time is ticking away
really, really quickly
and I need to keep pushing.
ALI: Nice one, Matty.
Keep going, brother.
Yeah. Good, Matt.
My sauce is on the go.
I'm working on the pastry now.
MINDY: Beautiful, Billie.
TOMMY: Freaking amazing, Billie.
Classic Billie's motored ahead,
hasn't she?
So, you know, there's no
competing with that girl. (CHUCKLES)
MICHAEL: She's just super, like,
super focused, right?
Mm. Absolutely.
Rolling this pastry out
is the first step
in the construction
of the Wellington.
A lot of pastry calls for three mil.
So two mil is very thin.
If it's too thick,
it won't cook all the way through.
It's a major component
to get right on this dish,
so I need to get
that pastry perfect.
OK.
(MELANIE SIGHS ANXIOUSLY)
Breathe, Mel. It's all good.
I'm definitely trying to remember
what Josh's pastry was like.
It wasn't thick.
The recipe says it should be
two mils thick,
which seems insanely thin.
Still not two mils.
It's been more than five years
since I cooked with gluten flour,
so I wouldn't have a clue
what's wrong.
I feel very out of my depth
right now.
Keep going, Mel.
DANIEL: Does it say how thick
it's supposed to be or no?
Yeah. Two mil.
Oh, yeah.
ALDO: Keep rolling.
Almost there, Mel.
MEL: I can see that the pastry
is too thick.
And if I can't roll it thinner,
it won't cook through.
What is going on?
And I'm starting to panic.
MONTANA: Keep pushing.
We're past the halfway mark, and
I have so much I need to get done,
and I have a sinking feeling
I'm not going to be finished in time.
(SNIFFLES)
(SIGHS)
My pastry is not quite where I want
it, but I have to keep going
to get this Wellington on the plate.
It's a really intense cook.
Quite natural to just kind of have
a bit of a meltdown,
but I feel like I did,
and now hopefully I'm over it.
It's just a recipe and I'm just
trying to think about it like that.
I need to move on to prepping my
tuna loin so that I can assemble
this Wellington and get
it into the oven ASAP.
Melanie. You OK?
Yeah. I'm all good. (LAUGHS)
Still got that good old smile
on that face, which I like.
I'm just trusting the recipe.
So I really hope
you checked it to a T.
So it's your fault.
(LAUGHS)
Guys, the jobs
are starting to pile up.
You've only got an hour to go.
Come on, guys!
JOCK: Let's go!
(CHEERING)
Come on, Harry! Stay focused, Harry!
Come on!
My potatoes are in the oven.
My mushroom duxelles is finished.
My gravy is reducing.
I've got my crepes completed.
Now I need to get my tuna loin
portioned out correctly,
which is going to go
in the centre of the Wellington.
I like the look of this one.
I need a piece of loin
from the centre of this filet
that's 9.5 by 7 by 5 centimetres
and weighs 300 grams.
MONTANA: There you go.
I weighed it. It's supposed
to be approximately 300.
Mine was about 320, which means
it's pretty close to what Josh's was.
I'm just measuring out
my duxelles now.
I'm going to start laying
out my crepe and mushroom
so I can wrap the tuna loin
and make up this Wellington.
DANIEL: Let's go, mate.
Wrap them up.
BILLIE: "Approximately
9.5 by 7...by 5."
I'm having a bit of a moment.
I can't really work out
what the dimensions are
for this piece of tuna,
but I know I have to get it right.
"9.5 by 7 by 5."
It doesn't really make sense.
It takes a lot of laser focus
to compete in a pressure test.
And having flown the frequent
pressure test miles myself,
I know that you need to
follow the recipe to a T.
But with this particular
pressure test, making a Wellington,
the weight and the size of the tuna
is quite important
because if you have a tuna that's
too big, it might be undercooked.
And if it's too small,
then you run into the risk
of overcooking the tuna.
What!?
Nine and a half long.
So it's actually not that long.
The devil here is in the details.
So if you don't pay attention,
then you'll run into trouble.
(GROANS)
I think it's fine. (LAUGHS)
HARRY: I feel like I've caught up
a little bit,
but I need to keep pushing forward.
"Then trim tuna to 300 grams
rectangle portion
"approximately that size
by 5cm high."
There's an approximation
of the dimensions of it,
but in the recipe it says that
it needs to be 300 grams
because that will ensure
that I have the right cook
and the right amount of duxelles,
crepe and pastries for my Wellington.
That's pretty good.
So now that I've got my perfect
300 gram piece of tuna
to go into the middle
of my Wellington,
the next thing I need to move on to
is the construction of the Wellington
itself so I can get it in the oven.
Once it's perfectly wrapped
in the duxelles mix,
I'm placing it into the centre
of my crepe
before I go to wrap it in my pastry.
Whoo-hoo. Finally.
ALDO: Come on, Harry. Come on.
MELISSA: Come on, Billie.
BILLIE: I'm starting to construct
this Wellington.
I'm trying to get that small round
shape that Josh's Wellington had.
But it's not sort of
coming together as it should.
Hmm.
Little bit big.
I realise my tuna's too big,
and that means that it's going
to take a bit longer to cook.
TOMMY: That's gonna be problematic.
And it also could potentially
throw out the balance of
the duxelles and the pastry.
Right. Bugger.
That Wellington has to be perfect.
And I can't believe I missed
a very important step on the recipe
with the weight for the tuna.
But there's nothing I can do now.
It's already assembled and I don't
have enough time to do it again
because it needs
to go in the oven ASAP.
I'm just hoping now that I've left
myself enough time
to get this tuna cooked
and on the plates.
If there's ever a time to keep
a cool head, it's right now.
30 minutes to go!
(CHEERING)
ALDO: Go Mel! Go Matt! Go Billie!
Go Harry!
Come on, guys!
(MELANIE SIGHS) OK.
I've managed to get the duxelles
in a nice even layer
all around the tuna.
But now I have to get this chunk
wrapped in the crepe.
Supposed to be excess overhang.
If anything, there's not enough.
It's not enough bloody crepe.
But there's not enough crepe to wrap
it and it's just kind of not right.
I don't know why.
This doesn't make sense.
I've got my second crepe.
The recipe doesn't talk about
using scraps from another crepe,
but obviously that's what
I'm gonna have to do.
Dunno. Flying a little bit blind.
Hoping that what I've...
..the way I've followed the recipe
is the right way.
DANIEL: Nice work, brother.
That looks good, man.
Yeah, it's perfect.
MATT: I mean, I'm happy
I've got that together.
Alright, keep going, brother.
There we go.
ALDO: Come on, Harry. How long
it has to be in the oven?
HARRY: So, 18 to 20.
Beautiful.
Harry, how are you doing?
Hey. Good.
You got four minutes
to get it in the oven.
I can do it.
How heavy was yours?
300 on the dot.
Beautiful.
ALDO: Come on, Harry. Come on.
(CLAPS)
Now it's time for me to motor
through this mashed potato.
Done this before.
I know what I need to do.
I just need to get it done.
DANIEL: Nice, Mel. Great work.
MEL: My tuna Wellington is looking
quite nicely assembled.
I can feel that the pastry on the end
is quite thick,
but I just need to get this
in the oven ASAP.
18 minutes.
You're alright, Mel.
Keep going, Mel. Keep going.
(BREATHES DEEPLY)
Home stretch.
She might have to pick up her pace.
40 minutes, Bill.
BILLIE: 40 minutes left. OK.
I've got to get that in, then.
That's in the oven.
I put my tuna Wellington
into the oven,
but because my tuna's too big, I
don't know if I've got enough time
to cook it and then carve it
and then plate it.
So it's going to be
down to the wire.
Oh, God, this is awful.
ANDY: Come on! Go!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
MAN: Come on, everybody!
MAN: Go, Mel! Go, Billie!
Whoo! Whoo!
Go, guys!
MATT: Ooh, that's hot.
MICHAEL: Push, Matty.
You going OK?
Ah...
I'm motoring.
Yeah.
I'm motoring.
I'll be finishing. Don't you worry.
Good. That's the fighting spirit.
My Wellington's cooking in the oven.
I'm pleased with my mashed potato.
Now I need to finish my sauce.
Give it another skim
to remove some of the scum.
Looks quite similar to Josh's.
I need to strain out all the bones
to make sure I've got no impurities
in the final sauce.
The one thing that I'm not worried
about is the mashed potato.
It tastes awesome.
But I need to go back to my sauce
because that's the thing
that brings the dish together.
I just need to reduce it down
a little bit further.
Looking at my sauce
as it bubbles away,
it kind of doesn't look
how I would think it should look.
Phew.
Holy mackerel.
What is going on in there?
It's like there's a lot of sludge.
(EXHALES HEAVILY)
Do you know what I mean?
Yeah.
Something's going wrong here
in the process,
as in, in the skimming.
It hasn't been skimmed.
At least you're honest, yeah.
Try to be.
But, yeah, the more it goes down,
the more challenging it becomes
to find clarity.
Yeah.
Yeah.
If you don't take action on that,
you could see yourself in trouble.
Yeah. OK.
(SIGHS)
I need to get this sauce
as clear as I possibly can
until I end up with some semblance
of clarity that's near Josh's.
It needs love,
'cause otherwise I'm going home.
How's my Wellington looking?
My Wellington has had about
17, 18 minutes in the oven.
Not cooking as fast as it should be.
Your weight of the tuna -
how heavy was it?
The weight of the tuna?
Uh, I'm not sure.
In the recipe it was 300 grams.
The actual raw tuna.
Shit, did it?
I don't remember
having to weigh the tuna.
Oh, no.
Sure enough, there's a line
says it should be 300 grams.
(SIGHS)
And now it's making sense
why I'm taking longer to cook
because it's too big!
The time and temperature
is consistent with
the size piece that I did,
whereas this one
is just slightly bigger.
Is everything else ready?
Um, just about.
I just need to finish my sauce.
Thank you.
All good. Job's done.
OK.
Alright.
Thanks, Josh.
You're right. Hang in.
DANIEL: It's alright, mate.
Dust it off. Keep going, eh?
I just have to carry on.
I don't know what this will do
for my final dish, though.
Now is the moment of truth.
Time to carve your Wellingtons.
Five minutes to go!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
MAN: Come on, guys!
Come on, guys.
Go, guys!
Come on, Billie.
Come on.
Where's my tea towels?
(OVEN BEEPS)
MICHAEL: Nice Wellington.
Nice, Matty.
She's looking brown.
Looks pretty good.
She's a little blonde on top, but...
..she'll have to do.
So my sauce is looking good.
It's reduced down nicely
and it tastes good.
Um...
But I'm still waiting on this tuna
Wellington to come out of the oven.
That's gonna, yeah,
be down to the wire, isn't it?
(OVEN BEEPS)
Oh, that's me!
The Wellington is fine looking.
Like, it's cooked quite nicely,
at least on the outside.
So I at the very least have time
to get everything on the plate.
MICHAEL: Oh-ho, Mel!
Nice.
But so much rests on
what is inside that Wellington.
Three minutes to go. Come on!
Come on, guys. Let's go.
Great work, guys. Go, Matty!
Go, Mel!
Go, Billie! Go, Harry!
Come on, let's go!
Well done, Mel!
Oh, shit.
ALDO: Come on, Bill. You got this.
Oh, my God. I'm so stressed.
BILLIE: OK.
Down to the wire.
Oh, come on, Billie.
(OVEN BEEPS)
OK, there we go.
Yes, Billie.
Come on!
I'm happy with the pastry.
It seems nice and thin.
But carving into this Wellington,
I'm just really worried
about the tuna.
Come on, Billie.
Yes, Billie!
I'm guessing it's pink.
And here we go. 10...
ALL: Nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
That's it!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Well done, Bill!
Just.
Just made it.
I am so disappointed right now.
I know that my sauce isn't perfect.
It's, like, definitely not
as beautiful and clear as Josh's.
I really don't want to
go home today.
BILLIE: Good luck, Matt.
Good luck.
Good luck, mate.
Thank you.
Good job, mate.
I'm just proud to be presenting
my tuna Wellington to Josh Niland.
Alright, mate?
Hello. How are you?
I think that the flavours are good.
So I just hope
that it's close to Josh's.
You know, I want him
to be impressed by me.
Matt, second pressure test.
Second pressure test.
As good as the first?
If anything,
each time I'm in the kitchen,
I'm more passionate
and more excited about it.
So good.
Yeah, pressure test aside,
and the threat of going home aside,
if anything, like, my favourite
cook of the competition so far.
Wow.
Yeah.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
Alright, mate, we'll test that.
Perfect. Thank you very much.
ALL: Thank you.
JOSH: The cutting's a bit rough,
huh?
ANDY: Yeah. But other than that,
it looks pretty good.
MEL: OK.
It's fantastic.
Just speaking to the pastry alone
and how crunchy it is,
almost glassy.
It's wonderful to see that
he's paid attention to that.
He should be very proud.
Epic cook for Matt.
Yeah.
The medallion of the tuna,
mine was cooked really nicely.
The duxelles, that was another
really big tick there.
And the mash,
it's very reminiscent of yours.
It's beautifully seasoned
and lovely and smooth.
Yeah.
It's a brilliant cook for him.
I am absolutely stoked for him.
I'm proud of him.
Yeah, really good.
And just to hear him saying how much
he enjoyed the cook, you can tell.
I think it's going to be
very surprising
if he's anywhere near going home
today with that plate of food.
It's a nine out of ten.
Yeah.
BILLIE: Good luck, Mel.
HARRY: Good luck, mate.
Thanks, guys.
All the best.
(SIGHS HEAVILY)
I mean, I know that
what's on the plate isn't perfect.
MEL: Hey, Melanie.
Hey.
I have no idea
how this is going to eat.
And that makes me so nervous.
(SIGHS)
(SIGHS)
How are you feeling now that's over?
Relieved. (CHUCKLES)
Um, that was a...pretty hectic slog.
Yep.
Be proud of what you've achieved
and the effort you've put in.
Yeah, like, I did my absolute best.
Well, thank you, Melanie,
we'll taste.
Thanks, guys.
JOSH: Thanks, Mel.
(EXHALES)
Looks-wise, I have to say
the pastry is...
..definitely thicker than yours.
Yeah.
By quite a bit.
It looks a bit raw on the inside.
I think we need to commend Melanie
for really pushing
as hard as she could today
because there are so many challenges
ahead of her.
But she has presented
every single element on the plate,
that's really great to see.
ANDY: The interesting thing for me,
the sauce -
it's easily the best element
on this plate of food.
JOCK: There's a really nice acidity,
colour, depth of flavour,
um, it's nice and glossy, there's
a clarity to it similar to yours.
Yep.
Kind of goes downhill from there,
I'm afraid.
The Wellington itself, if we talk
about it, it is super sized.
The weight, she didn't notice it,
obviously, in the recipe
and that's led to this domino effect.
I've got a lot of uncooked pastry,
beyond the crepe.
Overall, it's just not as neat
and trim and tasty as yours.
I am disappointed for her
in terms of how it's played out
and I'm worried for her also.
Yeah, disappointing. Yeah.
Yeah.
MELANIE: Good luck, mate.
BILLIE: Thank you.
MATT: Good luck, Billie,
they look awesome.
They look beautiful, Billie.
That was a really,
really hard challenge
and I almost thought I was not going
to have the tuna Wellington
on the plate.
Billie.
Hello.
Hello.
Looking at the dish, I don't really
know if I've done it justice.
Billie.
Yeah.
Pretty interesting cook, wasn't it?
Yeah.
Yeah, that was really hard.
I just don't wanna go home.
Not yet.
There's been no pressure test
that's been able to send you home
yet, has there?
Well, no. (CHUCKLES)
You'd like to keep it that way.
I'd like to keep it that way, Andy.
For sure.
Thanks, Billie.
Thanks, Billie.
Thank you. Thanks.
Oh, it looks pretty good, huh?
MEL: Looks very nice.
Impressive.
Very good.
That is incredible...
Mm.
..how thin that is.
I'm so impressed
with the pastry work.
Beautiful.
And tuna's cooked beautifully.
The duxelles is super impressive.
Yep.
MEL: It's very pleasing to look at.
She's done a very good job.
The flavour of the gravy
is fantastic.
Yep. I think...really great outcome.
Mm.
Good luck, Harry.
Good luck, Harry.
HARRY: Thank you.
They look great, mate.
Thinking about the possibility
that I could be leaving
the MasterChef competition today,
I just feel incredibly overwhelmed.
(EXHALES DEEPLY)
Knowing that my sauce isn't perfect,
it's really, really scary
and I'm quite literally
shaking in my boots.
(EXHALES)
Harry.
Hi.
Talk to me. Why nervous?
I'm terrified of walking out,
feeling like I failed.
Do you feel like this is a failure
in any way today?
I know you had difficulty
with the sauce
but I think you worked really hard
to try and rectify that.
Thanks, Harry. We'll taste now.
Thank you.
My piece of tuna is gorgeous.
It does remind me a lot of yours
in terms of having
just that sort of seamless ombre
into the blush of the centre.
Absolutely.
And it is meltingly beautiful.
The attention to detail
on making sure
that tuna was the exact size
and weight
that, you know, that 300-gram piece
with the perfect dimensions,
I think that's made it a really
beautiful piece of tuna to eat.
Great caramelisation on the pastry,
duxelles, there's a good whack
of thyme in there,
which I really liked.
The mashed potato,
beautifully seasoned.
The pastry, the work was fantastic.
There was a lot
of superficial things to like.
I think the thing that I just can't
get out of my head is the sauce.
Needs to be meaty and robust,
NOT fishy.
Mm.
This is everything that
I don't want the sauce to be.
You can taste the impurities.
It doesn't have that really clean,
luxury flavour
that, Josh,
yours was just singing with.
It's a bit muddy.
Mm.
When you put up,
probably the least impressive sauce
out of the lot of them,
you're pretty vulnerable,
in my books.
Mm.
She's just been let down
by some key points here,
um, and that is gonna see her
in the firing line.
This was an absolute mountain
of a pressure test,
I'm sure you can all agree.
Josh, you set
a very complex challenge.
Thank you. (LAUGHS)
It's been a pleasure to come back
and it was a thrill
to watch all of you cook.
I mean, to execute that kind of dish
at this stage in the competition
is remarkable, so well done to you.
Mate, there is no question
that we feel the love
every time
you're in the MasterChef kitchen.
Ladies and gentlemen, give it up
for Josh Niland, everybody!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Harry, Matt, Billie and Melanie,
you were tasked with re-creating
Josh's tuna Wellington.
Two of you
really rose to the occasion today
and produced a pair
of commendable dishes.
Matt.
You had perfectly crisp pastry,
rich, glossy gravy
with great depth of flavour.
Combine that with
melt-in-your-mouth mash
and your dish was an admirable
re-creation of Josh's.
Thank you.
It was dish of the day,
so well done, you're not going home.
(APPLAUSE)
Well done, Matt.
Billie,
you were cool, calm and collected
through most of the cook
and that translated onto the plate.
Your pastry was flaky
and your duxelles was stellar.
Overall, it was a lovely dish.
You are also safe.
Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
Well done.
Melanie,
your gravy was tasty and,
for the most part, emulated Josh's...
(SIGHS)
..but because you didn't weigh
the tuna,
the rest of the dish was affected.
The pastry surrounding it
was thicker and it was uncooked.
Harry.
Your gravy was muddy
and the flavour was completely off.
However...
..your tuna wasn't overcooked
and your duxelles and mash were both
flavourful and well seasoned.
It was a really close call today
and it came down
to the smallest of things.
Yep.
But at the end of the day, the dish
that least resembled Josh's...
..was yours...
..Melanie.
Yep.
ANDY: Melanie,
you've produced some of the best
dishes and desserts
that we've seen so far.
I've had a great time.
Even though we were, like,
Fans vs Favourites,
everybody was so generous with
their time and advice and recipes
and, um, it was really cool.
(CHUCKLES WRYLY)
You were a great cook before you
came into this competition
and we cannot wait to see
what happens next in your journey.
So, thank you so much
for cooking for us
but now, it's time to say goodbye.
Thank you.
Thanks so much, Melanie.
Congratulations, you did so well.
I'm really sad to say goodbye
to everybody.
This experience has been
absolutely amazing.
Hey, two in one day.
(LAUGHS)
MasterChef has represented something
that I never thought
I was capable of.
I never thought
I'd walk through the kitchen doors,
let alone stay until top 16.
(LAUGHS)
I came into MasterChef
to really push myself
and it's forced me to go
so far outside of my comfort zone.
So I'm really proud of myself.
(APPLAUSE)
Give it up for Melanie, everybody!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
ANNOUNCER: Tomorrow night
on MasterChef Australia...
Wow.
..at a location
this magnificent,
the brief is clear.
Bring us
something bougie.
But with only basic
ingredients to work with...
BILLIE: Our main dish
is essentially
lamb and vegetables.
..can they turn
the ordinary
into extraordinary?
Whoa!
What?
Captions by Red Bee Media