MasterChef Australia (2009–…): Season 14, Episode 29 - Episode #14.29 - full transcript

ANNOUNCER: Previously
on MasterChef Australia...

..a grand old dame was a lavish
setting for a service challenge.

Bring us something bougie.

They took budget ingredients...

BILLIE: Whitebait is known
to be pretty plain.

..and turned them into brilliance.

ANDY: I thought it was a cracker.

MEL: This is the perfect dish.

It was really elegant.

But in the end...

It was beautiful to look at
and it was beautiful eat.



..the orange team came out on top.

MINDY: Good on you, mate!

Tonight, they've won
an immunity cook.

MINDY: My plan of attack is
to create a show-stopping dish.

Who will wow the judges
and win their way to safety?

# '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. #

MINDY: Great day to be
in the MasterChef kitchen today.

We've all got a chance at getting
immunity from an elimination.

There's no teams now, it's just
individuals against individuals.

ALI: Morning.

Morning.
Morning.

Any chance that you get to be safe
is really important right now.

Let's do this.

Here we go!

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

C'mon, guys! Let's go! Immunity day!

JULIE: So, we walk in
and on all of the benches

there's this shape
concealed with a black cloth.

So, you know, here comes a twist.
How unusual. (LAUGHS)

Morning, everyone.
ALL: Morning.

Hey, it's everyone's favourite day -

immunity day!

One of you guys will be heading
out of this kitchen worry-free

and safe from Sunday's elimination.

Julie.

Hey, you've cooked, like,
on immunity day before

and you've won immunity before...

You call that the gantry,
I call that heaven.

Julie Goodwin's heaven.

I've tasted immunity.

I've stood on the gantry.
(LAUGHS) And I've loved it.

I really would like that again.

Today's challenge will take place
over two rounds.

In round one, you've gotta use
whatever is under that cloth

to produce a cracking dish.

You wanna lift it?
Yeah.

Course you do. Let's go.

MICHAEL: Air fryer!

Hooo!

(LAUGHTER)

Air fryer.
It's an air fryer!

My kids have been on at me to get
an air fryer and I keep going, "No."

"I just don't need another bit
of kitchen kit.

"What we gonna use it for?"

And, um, here it is.

Now I'm wishing
I'd bought an air fryer.

You gotta be kidding me.

Mindy's face!
Never used one.

MEL: Never used one?

Yeah, I think there's a few
that haven't used one.

Wow!

This is a countertop version
of a conventional oven

that fries food using air
instead of oil.

It broke the internet
with its popularity

over the last couple of years.

You can use an air fryer
to cook pretty much anything.

And in round one, you just
have to use it in your cook.

Alright, you'll have 45 minutes
to bring us your air fryer dish.

The pantry and the garden are open.

So, think creatively
and bring us something

that's gonna knock our socks off.

The top three dishes in round one
will head into round two...

..and you'll get one step
closer to immunity.

Are you ready?

ALL: Yes!
We are.

Good. 'Cause your time starts now.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Come on, guys.

MICHAEL: Push!

ALI: Garam Masala.

JULIE: Excusez-moi.

MINDY: Now, what do I need?

Looks good.

Yeah.

Lemons, lemons, lemons.

MICHAEL: Are you doing fried
chicken, brother?

MATT: Yeah. Fried chicken wings.

No, do a whole chicken.
No, I'm not doing a whole chicken.

(CHUCKLES)
You want these wings, that's why.

I've never used an air fryer before

so my strategy is to go with a
familiar dish packed full of flavour

rather than try and work out a new
dish and a new piece of equipment.

I'm gonna make some...

..air-fried Nashville hot wings.

It's a buttermilk-fried wing

and then...coated in a spicy oil
and a spicy seasoning to finish,

and I'm gonna do some
little pickles for the side

and maybe a little buttermilk
ranch dressing as well.

Well, if we're talking
fastest-growing new home appliance

thanks to COVID,

I think a lot of people
have an air fryer at home,

they're pretty excited
about this challenge

to see what they will cook.

I'm excited to find out what these
guys are gonna cook as well.

What would you cook in an air fryer?

Yeah, I'd be going veg.

Air fryers are great 'cause they get
gnarly, quick caramelisation.

Yep.

I'd be doing a whole cauliflower.
Yep.

Roasting it, like,
roasting the hell out of it,

and then I'd do a smoked anchovy
and mustard butter.

Ooh, that sounds pretty good.
Just two things.

We saw, um, Mindy pull out
a cauliflower

so I wonder what she's
going to be doing.

I think, for me,
I'd be doing a fish dish.

That drawer would fit one
really nice fillet.

I would do grilled chicken.

I would pick chicken thighs
because they're high in fat,

nice caramelisation and
a really, really delicious sauce.

It's challenging.
We've got two rounds today.

We're only looking
for the top three dishes

and then, obviously,
they go into round two.

If they want a chance to stand
in the gantry, safe and sound,

peering down on everyone else,

they're gonna have to cook
a good dish in this round first.

Yep.

BILLIE: Michael and Matt
are doing the same dish.

Got the same ingredients.

MICHAEL: This Sunday elimination's
gonna be the first time

that it's everyone combined -

there's not Fans and Favourites
anymore, it's just all of us in.

So, winning immunity today
is more important than ever.

Alright.

I'm not at all an air-fry person
but what a day to become one.

(LAUGHS)

The judges, you know, they talked
about how air fry is a bit fun

and I wanna make something
very fun for them.

So we're gonna do a play on a chicken
wing, which is a pretty classic thing

but, I'm gonna bone the wings out
and then fill it with a blue cheese,

which, who knows, could get me
to the second round of this cook.

I've made chicken wings

with blue cheese sauce
and Frank's RedHot sauce many times,

but I've never stuffed them.

So that's an interesting spin on it.

So, hiding the blue cheese sauce
stuffed into the chicken wing,

little skewer through it
to hold it all in

and then air fry it
just to get the wings crispy.

Getting the bones out of these
chicken wings,

it's a pretty fiddly process.

I've gotta get them stuffed pretty
quick. I mean, this time's gonna fly.

The whole dish is a pressure point,
'cause I've never done it before.

If it comes off on the plate
as it is in my head,

I think it could be a dish
that gets me to second round,

but you just never know.

And the problem with cooking
against a winning team

is everyone's on a bit of a roll
and everyone's cooking great food.

So, hey, let's have some fun.

Go, Ali!

Go, Ali.

Ali.
Hi.

I saw you very frantically
grabbing a lot of things

in the pantry before.

Yes.
Tell me, what are you cooking?

I'm gonna cook, um,
an Indian street food dish...

Yep.
..called papdi chaat.

Fantastic.
And it's kind of like Indian nachos.

I had it in Udaipur.
OK.

I went on holiday to India
for my 50th birthday.

Yep.

And we absolutely loved it,
I went with some girlfriends.

And we just kind of
became addicted to it

so they'll just be so excited
I'm making it on MasterChef.

So how are you using the air fryer?

The central part of this dish
is actually the papdi,

which are the little kind of...
effectively, little Indian tortillas.

Yep.
So I'm gonna make a little spice do.

I am an ambitious cook
in these challenges

and I do think it's 'cause I want
to bring complexity and layers

in the food that I make.

I know this dish tastes really yummy.

If I can just get the flavours
right, then, yeah,

I think the judges are really
gonna love it.

You're lucky these fry quick, 'cause
you've only got 30 minutes to go.

(SPECTATORS SHOUT ENCOURAGEMENT)

ALDO: Hey, Mindy, what you doing?

I'm gonna do a cauliflower steak.

Today's a lot of fun.

I've never cooked
with an air fryer before.

Apparently, it's like
a turbo-charged commercial oven.

Which, you know, I have
a turbo-charged oven at work

so I'm gonna treat it in
the same way, albeit a lot smaller.

So, today, my plan of attack
is to create a showstopping dish

just with some vegies.

I'm gonna do a cauliflower steak.

I'm gonna top it up
with some beautiful mushrooms

and I'm gonna create like a kombu
dashi beurre blanc to go with it.

I'm onto my cauliflower because
that is the hero of my dish today.

I'm cutting out a huge big chunk
right through the centre

to create my cauliflower steak.

I've decided to sear it in the pan

to get as much caramelisation on
there before I get into my air fryer.

Whilst my cauliflower is getting that
beautiful caramelisation in my pan,

I need to get on to
my kombu dashi stock

because that's gonna be the base
of my beurre blanc.

Kombu dashi is all about that umami

and umami is one of those big things
that the judges go crazy for.

And I'm hoping
that's gonna just bring

that level of richness to my dish
that the cauliflower needs.

(HARRY LAUGHS)

The look on your face was gold.

Did he give you the old, um,
tip/not a tip?

Oh, I'm puffed out because
I just ran and, you know,

I'm built for comfort,
not for speed, so...

I'm gonna make a spanakopita, which
is a Greek cheese pie, essentially.

So I'm gonna make a roasted capsicum
sauce to go alongside it.

And I just think that I can bring so
many flavours to this kind of food.

It's...it's, you know...
it's in my wheelhouse.

It's got a lot of butter.

Sweet! (LAUGHS)

45 minutes to cook a dish in a piece
of equipment I've never used before -

that's not much time.

So the key for me today
is to just get on with it.

The reason I wanna do spanakopita
is because I wanna bake something

that's just got crispy pastry,
it's really cheesy, really yummy.

I mean, it's...it's cheese pie.

I've thrown some capsicums
and some garlic in there

and I want those to blister
as quickly as possible.

I'm hoping that by the time

I have my spanakopita
ready to go into the air fryer

that the capsicums will be done.

Julie's got a good idea
with the filo pastry rolling out.

Julie, are you making spanakopita?

Mm.

For the spanakopita, I'm going
a little off tradition today.

I'm using parmesan cheese,
ricotta and tasty cheese.

I want it to be creamy
with some ooziness

and just really yummy, hearty food.

MATT: My pickles are done
and in the fridge

and my chicken has been
marinating in the buttermilk.

Now I need to start breading it
so I can get it in the air fryer.

Matt.
Hello, Mel, how are you.

Fantastic.
First immunity - are you excited?

I am excited.

Are you as excited as cooking with
an air fryer for the first time?

Not as excited as cooking with
an air fryer for the first time.

OK, well, what's the dish?
And let's talk strategy here.

I'm doing air-fried chicken wings.
Yep.

I've got a pickle ready to...

Look, chicken wings
are always a fantastic idea,

especially when they're really nice
and gnarly and crunchy.

I would advise that if you have time,
I would test, you know,

just a little bit,
just to sort of see.

There is...

There is no chance
I'm gonna have a chance to...

Cooking chicken wings
in a new piece of equipment,

obviously, if they're over, they're
not gonna be as super appealing.
Yep.

If they're under,
we can't taste them, so...

Yep.

I have no idea how long
this is gonna take to cook.

I'm in the dark.

28 minutes.

How long you reckon?

25?
TOMMY: In the air fryer?!

Yeah.
25 minutes, yeah.

I can't do a tester, you know?

There's no time to spare,

I really need to get these wings
into the air fryer straightaway.

I need to motor.

MATT: 28 minutes.

There's no time to spare.

I really need to get these wings
into the air fryer straightaway.

I need to motor.

Hey, Matt, I can't help
but look at...

My oil.
..the hot oil.

Is that like a little safety net?

No, no, no, no.
That's going to go in there.

Oh, OK, I was like...
To make my... I'm going to...

Are you going to sneak them out
then drop them in at some stage?

(LAUGHTER)

OK.

I think it's all going to come down
to how those chicken wings
are cooked.

Crispy on the outside.

We want them just as good
as if they were dunked in oil.
For sure.

Yeah, the stress
of serving Jock fried chicken

weighs on me a little bit,

but I want to be one of the three
that are going to go into round two.

So I really need to make sure
that these chicken wings

get really nice and crispy.

Just got to get the stuffing right.

TOMMY: I reckon just get
a whole bunch in

because you're running short
on time.

I'm going to pipe them all now.

My chicken is finally prepped,

and now it's time
for the blue cheese stuffing.

I need to get these wings
stuffed quickly.

So, a little toothpick technique
just to seal in that stuffing.

Yeah, it should...it should work.

Again, never done this before, so...

TOMMY: How are we going?

How's it look?
Good, I think.

I dust my chicken wings
in some flour just lightly

to coat and help caramelise them,

and then put the air fryer in

and hope it's going to come out
beautiful and golden.

I spent a lot of time
getting my wings ready

and getting this dish tasting right,

and now I've only got 20 minutes
to cook my chicken wings.

I'm pretty sure
they'll cook through in that time.

Whether or not
they'll be crispy, um...

That's up to the air fryer.

Now it's just hope, man.
Yeah.

JOCK: You're about halfway there,

which means you've only got
20 minutes to go.

(APPLAUSE)

Whoo!
MAN: Whoo-hoo-hoo!

WOMAN: That is looking good, Ali.

Today, I'm making an Indian street
food dish called papdi chaat.

It's basically like Indian nachos.

So the chickpeas for my papdi chaat,
they're looking good.

But there's only about
20 minutes to go

and I really need to get some
of these chips into the air fryer.

I'm kind of trusting this machine
to make this work for me.

I quickly roll out the dough.

I grab a cookie cutter,
chop out a few pieces,

get as many as I can.

I think I can only get five into
this air fryer at any one time.

The papdi are the hero of this dish.

They're the vehicle
that carry all the flavour,

so they need to be crispy and solid.

They are also the thing
that demonstrates the brief today,

which is using the air fryer.

My cauliflower steaks
are looking great,

so I'm going to pull them out.

Nice and tender,
which is how I want it.

Look at that.
It's got an amazing char on it.

Got my sauce done.
My mushrooms are done.

Far out. So tasty!

I've decided to add an extra crunchy
textural element into my dish.

So I grab my enokis -
I'm going to give them a go.

See if I can crisp those up

and create a little
enoki crunch on my plate.

JOCK: Mindy.
Hi.

Smelling good over here.
What are you making?

Yeah, well, I've just grabbed
my cauliflower steaks out.

My cauliflower cutlets.
Yep.

They've come up a treat, actually.

It cooks so fast in this thing.
I can't believe it.

So I've basically pan-seared those.

Now I've got some enoki in here
that I'm hoping are crisping up.

Did you not trust the air fryer
to get caramelisation?

Is that why you put it in the pan?

I just wasn't 100% sure.

I reckon you could have gone
the whole thing in the air fryer.

How was I to know?
I've never used this machine before.

Hopefully that doesn't affect me
getting through to round two.

MEL: 10 minutes to go!

(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)

HARRY: # Just a little bit

BOTH: # Just a little bit more. #

MICHAEL: How'd you go, Jules?

He's coming along.

Roasted capsicum sauce
is really yummy.

So I'm happy with that.

The flavour's beautiful.

The capsicum have really got
that roasty flavour

from being in the air fryer.

This is exactly what I wanted as
a side for this crispy, cheesy pie.

Oh!

Jeez.

TOMMY: How high do you have it on?

200.
200?

I take my spanakopita out of
the fryer and it's golden brown,

but there's a little tiny tear
under the side,

a little bit of cheese oozing out.

So that's less than ideal.

JOCK: Julie!

Hello.
Oh! Spanakopita.

Oh, you've got one out already.

I have.
Are you happy?

Pretty crispy. Just a bit busted
on the edges.

Oh, so you're not happy
with how it's split?

No, I'm not happy
with the way it's split.

On a day like today,
with immunity up for grabs,

I just want to give myself
the best chance possible

to make it through
to the second round.

I've still got filo that's been
buttered and sitting there ready.

I've still got filling.

So, 10 minutes to go, I pop
a second one back in the air fryer.

Praying to the gods
that they'll be cooked in time.

So, it's time to get the papdis out.

WOMAN: Oh, Ali. Very nice.

Just trying to get them
to cool down.

I'm not sure how crispy
they're going to be,

but quite often with these things,

they really crisp up
once they cool down.

My tamarind chutney is almost there.
It's just on the stove in a pot.

Chickpeas are done, and they're
on one side ready to go.

I'm going to get on to making
my coriander chutney, my yoghurt,

and then put everything together
on a tray.

Whew!

Well, a little to the wire,
but we're almost there.

MATT: It's the moment of truth.

They're going out.

They're looking sick.
MAN: They look good.

The chicken wings
look nice and crispy.

And I'm giving them
this coat of this oil.

And suddenly that bright red colour
is all over the chicken.

It looks so inviting.

So, seeing it all together...

Mmm.

It's delicious.

It's fried chicken.

Hotter than a Habanero's armpit, eh?

Alright, let's do this.

I need to make sure that this looks
more than just a cauliflower steak.

Loading it up with all those

amazing, beautiful,
mixed Asian mushrooms,

putting all these
delicate little herbs.

I've got shiso on there,
fennel fronds, society garlic.

I've got lemon zest
going on there too,

and my dish is looking
pretty as a picture.

MICHAEL: Is this plate
too ridiculous?

TOMMY: What is that?
It's an air fryer-friendly plate.

(LAUGHS)

Looking at my chicken
in the air fryer,

it's a tad bit blonde.

WOMAN: Oh, Michael's look all pale.

MAN: Why does it look so pale?

I'm really happy the flavour.

But this challenge is not
just about flavour.

It's also about the air fryer.

And I probably need about
five more minutes in there

to get them really caramelised.

And that's not going to happen.

One minute to go!

Let's go. Get it on the plate.
Come on.

JULIE: Time's nearly up

and I'm hoping that my second
spanakopita is going to be cooked.

It's looking good.
It's looking really golden brown.

And, thankfully, it hasn't split.

ALDO: Oh, Julie,
that looks beautiful.

ANDY: Here we go! 10!

ALL: 9! 8! 7!

6! 5! 4!

3! 2! 1!

JOCK: That's it.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

MATT: These chicken wings are

almost exactly like
I would usually make them,

and I've done them in 45 minutes.

I'm very proud. I think
they're going to taste very good.

I think the judges
are going to be super happy.

Look, I'm pretty happy
with how the air fryer went.

Obviously, it's an oven
that goes fast.

So I think that's what I'll call it
from now on. (LAUGHS)

Instead of an air fryer,
it's a little oven that goes fast.

If I'm lucky enough
to get through to round two,

then, yes, I will bring it.

ANDY: Well, congratulations,
you five.

You just took part
in a MasterChef first -

the old air fryer challenge.

We're looking for the top three
dishes to go through to round two,

and the first one
we would like to taste...

..belongs to Matt.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

MEL: Matt, what's the dish, please?

MATT: Nashville hot chicken,

some dill pickle,
in a buttermilk ranch.

How did you go
with the air fryer today?

New...new piece of kit
in your kitchen.

I was actually
quite impressed with it.

Fried pretty bloody well, actually.

Came out nice and crispy.

It looks the part.
So I'm going to crack in now.

Matt, super crispy, great layering
of flavour and the texture,

the amount of heat,
and your little side sauces, spot-on.

Dusting it with that spice mix
makes it look like

the real deal
Nashville fried chicken.

I can absolutely relate to
a love of Nashville hot chicken

because it is
a really special thing.

That amount of sort of
gnarly, crunchy skin

that's beautifully spice laden,

that tender chicken within,

a contrast of a sharp pickle

and something fun to dip it in.

Very well conceived,
perfectly executed.

Could see you in the mix
for round two.

Great.
JOCK: Well done, Matt.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

The next dish we'd like to taste
belongs to Michael.

(APPLAUSE)

MICHAEL: Matt's just had
great feedback from the judges,

so it's a bit of a wing-off,

so I'm feeling a lot of pressure.

I'm really happy with
the flavours in this dish,

but the colour and
the caramelisation on these wings

are definitely a concern.

But I just have to
cross my fingers and hope.

I did some buffalo wings, but I...

..I took the bones out of the wings

and stuffed them with
blue cheese sauce,

and a bit of Frank's on the side,

some pickles and...

Yeah.

Are you happy?
Yeah.

Yeah. Maybe a little bit crispier.
Yeah.

But I'm happy with the stuffing.

I'm happy with the blue cheese
and the pickles.

They're delicious. The filling's
delicious. Seasoning's great.

Your pickles on the top scattered
around just the right amount.

Fantastic.

Your zhuzhed up Frank's hot sauce -
brilliant.

I just wish they had a little bit
more cook round the skin.

I'll summarise it in two words.
Bit blonde. That's all.

The flavours, the concept,
the execution

apart from the cook on the wing
was fantastic.

I'd love to see you do it again

because it's a great
flavour profile.

Flavour is right there.
Caramelisation, not so much.

And I think that's where
the air fryer really sings.

Yep.
So we'll wait and see what happens.

Thank you, guys.
Thanks, Michael.
Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

Next up, it's Julie.

(CHEERING FROM THE GANTRY)

Julie, what have you cooked us?

JULIE: It's a spanakopita
with a roasted capsicum sauce.

Awesome.

Talk to us about what's inside.

So, inside there, hopefully
it's nice and gooey in there.

There's cheese - ricotta,
parmesan, tasty cheese.

There's dill and spring onions.
Awesome.

Julie!

Super tasty.

You know what makes it for me?

Tasty cheese in the filling.

It's, like, somewhat childish.
And I love it.

Beautiful and crispy on the outside.

Nice, cheesy, delicious filling
on the inside.

Roasted capsicum sauce is delicious.

The flavour is peaking.

That was super delicious.

And it is such a satisfying thing
when you have a really good spana

and you get that beautiful, flaky
exterior and that tender pastry

on the inside.

The sauce itself, the flavour
that it carries through,

I think that's the greatest success
of this particular cook

for you today, is blistering
those capsicums in there

and really making the appliance
work for you.

JOCK: Well done, Julie.
Nice one, Julie.

Thank you. Thank you.

Go, Julie!

The next issue we'd like to taste
in the air fryer battle royale

belongs to Mindy.

Mindy, what'd you make?

MINDY: So, I've made a cauliflower
steak with mixed Asian mushrooms

and a kombu dashi sauce.

Mindy, first of all, presentation -
absolutely beautiful.

Sort of a modern
and a little bit rustic.

I liked the look of it.

The caramelisation could have gone
a little bit further,

but I like that it's still got
a little bit of give in the centre

so you do have a graduation
of texture.

It's just lacking a little bit
of balance.

But I think for someone who hasn't
cooked in an air fryer before,

I thought it was a great effort.

I just think you could have gone
a lot harder

on the caramelisation, too,
by just doing it in the air fryer.

Solid cooking on the cauliflower.

But I just think it could have gone
further and further and further.

Thanks, guys.
Thanks, Mindy.
Thanks, Mindy.

(APPLAUSE)

What do you do?

Next up, Ali.

ALI: I'm actually just really stoked

that I've been able to make
this dish on MasterChef.

I'm feeling like it was quite
inspired by my amazing memories

of that trip to India.

And, hopefully, that's really
going to work for me today.

Why don't you tell me
what you cooked?

I have made papdi chaat.

It's Indian nachos
with tamarind chutney,

coriander and mint yoghurt,

and spicy chickpea.

Ali.

ALDO: Well done!
Great dish.

And you're going to make all the
people from North India super happy.

You know, classic street food.

But you've done it so well.

Such a cracking dish.

It'll be hard to see how you
wouldn't be in round two with that.

MELISSA: Ali, spectacular effort.
Thank you.

I think as much as this was
an air fryer challenge,

in any challenge, this dish
would come up to the top

because it is beautifully conceived,
very, very well balanced.

It's vibrant, it's textural,
it's fun to eat.

And...yeah, I'm going in again.

ANDY: That's a banger.

I reckon you've absolutely
nailed that.

And I think it's probably
the only dish that we've seen so far

that I wouldn't have used
the air fryer any other way.

Yeah.

The tamarind chutney is...
like you say, it's the glue,

but it's probably the flavour

that your mouth is just fully
on fire with the whole way through.

Ooh, yeah, I reckon it'd be hard
to see you not in round two
with that one.

Well done.
Nice one, Ali.

My kids will be laughing so much
when they watch this episode.

"Ah, well, see, I told you
we should have had an air fryer.

"I told you I wanted one."

You never know, kids.
Mummy might be bringing one home.

Well, none of you had actually
used the air fryer before.

But you didn't let that stop you from
bringing us some very tasty dishes

absolutely loaded with flavour.

So the three going into
round two today...

Ali.

Matt.

And Julie!
Oh! (LAUGHS)

Go, Julie!

Good on ya, Jules. Good on ya.

Michael, Mindy, great work today,

but you guys can head up
to the gantry with the others.

Good luck, guys. Have fun.
Well done, guys.

MATT: Hallelujah. The chicken...
The chicken pulled me through.

Hey, well done, Al.

I love fried chicken.
What a good day.

Alright.

This round we're subbing out air

for oil.

(ALL GASP)

We want you to cook us something
using a deep fryer.

Whoo-hoo!

(LAUGHTER)

You will have 60 minutes
to create a dish

that incorporates
a deep-fried element.

You can cook anything you like.
It's up to you.

Whoever cooks the best dish,
of course, takes out immunity

and is safe from Sunday's
elimination.

As always, keep an eye on the clock,

because in this kitchen,

time...fries.

(GROANING)

I'm so sorry. (LAUGHS)

And that time...

..starts now.

MATT: Heave it, mate! Get it!
JULIE: Heave, Ali!

From the air fryer
to the deep fryer.

Now we're talking, baby.

I know this one.

You don't get a body like this
from salad.

Need butter.

I love fish and chips, and my head
does go there for today's challenge.

But I actually think I'm going to go
in a bit of a different direction.

I'm going to take us to Spain today
and make some Spanish croquettes.

(SINGS UNDER BREATH)

ALI: What a really great challenge.

Who doesn't love deep-fried food?

Let's be right about it,

everything tastes better
when it's fried, right?

I'm going to actually
push the boat out today.

I think I'd really like
to have a crack at doing
something super bougie.

ALVIN: Ali's got a lobster.

Go, Ali.

Oh, fancy.

Ali.
Hello, Ali.

What are you doing?

Lobster tempura with textures
of sweet corn.

Wow.
Yeah. What does that mean?

Well, I'm going to make,
like, a sweet corn porridge.

I'm making, like, a little dashi
broth with the sweet corn husks,

some kombu, some bacon.
Smart.

And then I'm going to cook
the sweet corn in that.

So it kind of has a kind of
porridgey, kind of polenta
type of thing.

And so the fried element
is the lobster.

The fried part is going
to be the tail.

Right.
I'm going to tempura that.

I'm going to use your batter.
OK.

Your tempura batter.
Cool.

Hey? Hey?
I'm going to try that.

You know who to blame
if the batter doesn't work.

Well, exactly.

Your measurements.

I like the idea.

I think you got to make sure the
fried lobster component is peaking.

It's actually a really
ambitious dish for 60 minutes,

but if I can pull it off,
it would be magnificent.

MATT: High stakes for this one.
I want to win that immunity.

So a little bit more nervous,
but it's anyone's to win, isn't it?

Round two. I am doing a bit of
a New Zealand staple.

It's very close to my heart, I think.

Every Friday in a Kiwi household
when I was growing up

was fish and chips night.

You know, you call up the local
fish and chip shop,

you ask for four fish,
two scoops of chips,

and it was the one responsibility

that Mum and Dad would give me.

Eight years old, take the cash down
and go up to them and say,

"Order for Landmark."

I'm going to use snapper today,
which is a big fish,

so it stays nice and thick,

so when you deep-fry it,
it doesn't dry out.

MAN: Beautiful fish, mate.

Now just look elsewhere
while I do this.

MAN: Yeah, that's it, Matt.
Just confident, mate. Perfect.

ANDY: Big day. Big prize.

45 minutes to go!
(CHEERING)

Come on, you three!

Let's go, guys!
Whoo-whoo!

(FRYER SIZZLES)

(SINGS) # Come on. #

So, you can get two kinds
of croquettes.

One's a bechamel base, which is the
white sauce that you put in lasagne.

The other way you can go
is by binding things together

with mashed potato.

As a child who grew up
with mashed potato,

you know, salmon patties,
I'm emotionally scarred by those.

So my idea today is to
put as little bechamel in there

as I need to bind everything
together, so that, essentially,

these are deep-fried balls
of corn, bacon and cheese

with very little in there
that doesn't taste amazing.

Normally when I make these, I make
the mixture, like, the night before,

so that when I go to cook them,
it's just a matter of rolling them

and, you know, getting them
all crumbed up and deep-fried.

So no, I've never made them
in an hour before.

Mind? Mindy? How much of that
should I put in for the dashi?

Just that piece?
That's enough.

So, the sweet corn dashi
are simmering away.

It's time to get on to the lobster,

which is the hero element
of this dish.

I just want to lightly blanch them

because I don't want it to be
overcooked before I fry it.

So the lobsters are in there.

So, while that's happening,

I decided to grab the ingredients
for the tempura batter,

so I'm just kind of running
through Andy's recipe in my head

to make sure I get that right.

Just trying
to look through the pantry

to make sure I get everything
I need for this cook.

The less times I have to run
back there, the better.

ALDO: How long has she had
the lobster in there?

I only put mine in
for like two minutes. Less.

It just needs no longer
than two minutes.

Not even. Yeah.

HARRY: Ali's lobster's been
on the stove for a long time

and all of us up on the gantry
watching her are really worried.

I feel like it's been
in there for a while.

MONTANA: Yeah, it has.

The fact that that's going to come
out of that boiling water

and then go back into a deep fryer,

I feel like it's not looking good.

ALDO: Oh, my God.

Four or five minutes ago.

ALDO: Come on, Ali.
You need the lobster out.

Oh, my God.

ALI: It's time to get my lobster out
and into the ice bath.

That's going to halt
the cooking on them.

Whew!

So, I'm getting the shells
off the lobster tails,

and what I want to do is kind of
tempura them in long sections.

I just want to cut
the whole body in half.

But when I cut it open, I can see
that it's perfectly cooked already.

Ugh.

I've left them in for too long.

I can literally feel
Jock and Andy looking at me,

their stare kind of boring into me.

Jesus.

MICHAEL: I think she
fully cooked the lobster.

TOMMY: Yeah. It's...
Ooh.

Oh, my goodness.
This is a big, big mistake.

Because if I now deep-fry this

it's got a lot of risk
it's going to be overcooked.

But I'm so far into this dish

I don't know what else to do
but to do that.

I'm thinking, maybe if I can
get the tempura batter on them

and the batter cooked super quickly,

it might be OK,
they might not go too far.

That's what I'm hoping.

Well, you're deep in round two now.

30 minutes down, 30 minutes to go!

JOCK: Let's go, guys!

(SPECTATORS SHOUT ENCOURAGEMENT)

MATT: Should I cut it in two?

Nice big piece?

How you get it at the shop, yeah?

Beautiful.

I've portioned out
my snapper fillets,

my chips are parboiling

I'm going to move on to my batter.

How you going, Matt?
I'm going well, guys.

Snapper! Love that.
Fish and...chips.

Fish and chips.

Talk to me about your batter.
Yeah, I was gonna say.

You were gonna say, batter?
What's your secret?

Yeah.
What's your secret? Come on.

I'm going a beer batter

with self-raising flour,
rice flour and vodka in it.

Josh Niland-esque. Might be the one.
Very Josh Niland. There you go.

I think there's probably only
one other dish in the world,

other than pasta, that Jock's
probably eaten more of...

Fish and chips.
..in his lifetime,

and it's fish and chips.

There is an extremely high bar
on fish and chips.

(CHUCKLES) I'm sure there is.

I obviously need to make
perfect fish and chips today

to have a shot
at winning this immunity.

So that means that the fish has to be
cooked through but still moist

and the batter has to be
super crispy.

Fish and chips.

MAN: Great work, Matty. Keep it up.

I would so love to be safe on
that gantry on Sunday. I'd love it.

My bechamel is made.

Now it's time
to get this mixture done

so that I can turn these
into croquettes.

So the corn comes off the cob,

the bacon goes into
the bechamel mixture,

the cheese goes in -

tasty cheese and mozzarella,
so it's stretchy.

(GRAVELLY VOICE)
# I need to get a move on! #

So, once I've mixed that all
really, really thoroughly,

I pop that into the blast chiller.

It needs to be cold so it will form
into balls and not just fall apart.

Come on, Ali. You got this.

Come on.

There's a lot of things
going on in my mind right now.

Time is literally flying.

I've got a lot to do, and it's
not really quite gone to plan.

I'm frying off some of the
lobster shells to make a lobster oil

that's going to add this
real colourful, nice orange glaze,

effectively,
around the sweetcorn puree.

Thankfully, my sweetcorn puree
cooked perfectly,

so that's one thing done.

Now I need to get on to
the tempura batter.

So I get some tapioca starch,

some rice flour, some water,
some xanthan gum, some salt,

and give that a really good whiz...

(BLENDER WHIRRS)

..and then get that into
one of these iSi guns.

WOMAN: Shake it!

This batter's really funky.

It's almost like putting
shaving foam onto the lobster.

I don't know how much to leave on it,
how much to put on it.

I've never done it
on a lobster before,

and I don't want to overcook it,

so I'm trying to take some off, but
leave enough on so it can go crispy.

I'm starting to feel super stressed.

I'm thinking, why did I not
just make salt and pepper squid?

Come on, guys,
fry us something tasty.

You've only got 15 minutes to go!

ANDY: Come on!

Come on, mate.

Julie seems like...
you know, in a good space.

Just doing her thing.
MINDY: Yep.

Go, Julie!

JULIE: My salsa brava
is kind of halfway there,

and I'm actually really happy
with how it tastes.

It's there to lift up
these croquettes,

to cut through the fact
that they're deep-fried,

that they're fatty,
that they're crispy.

This is to make them
zingy and bright

and just a joyful mouthful.

Got a little kick, yeah.

I get my filling
out of the blast chiller.

It's...it's just right.

It's cold enough to work with.

The good thing about this recipe

is that I've done
the trial and error.

I've...I've made the croquettes
too big, I've made them too small.

So I know what size they need to be,
I know how compact they need to be

and I just need
to get on with the job.

ALDO: Julie's croqueta
looks beautiful.

SARAH: They do.

They're looking beautiful, Jules!

Two, four, six, eight, ten.

That's going to do me for the minute.

I am amping this recipe up today.

I'm upping the filling flavours,

you know, pushing it,
really, to the very edge

of what's going to
hold together in a fryer.

OK. I need...to fry.

So, I am concerned
that when they hit the hot oil

they might go, "Pfff!"

and I'll just have a deep fryer
full of corn kernels and bacon bits.

(EXHALES NERVOUSLY)

Applications for next season
are now open.

Go on, get on it!

I need...to fry.

I am concerned that when
my croquettes hit the hot oil,

they might go "Pfff!"

(EXHALES NERVOUSLY)

It's the moment of truth

and they're sizzling away
and they're sizzling away

and nothing's happening, and it
looks like they're going to hold.

Hallelujah.

The croquettes, the first lot,
are in, having a little fry.

(STICK BLENDER WHIRRS)

Oh! I'm getting there!
I'm getting there!

MEL: Five minutes to go!

Interesting.

# Squeezy thing! Squeezy thing! #

Oops.
MINDY: Oh, Matt!

Honestly.

I'm in an OK position. My chips
are in. They're going for it.

So, it's going to be down to the
wire, but I think I can get it done.

It's now time to cook
my snapper fillets.

So, I take my floured fillets,

dip them in the batter quickly,

and then put them
straight into the deep fryer.

Beautiful batter, mate.

ALI: I'm...I'm getting there.
I'm getting there.

I'm just frying my lobster now.

It's pretty close.

I'm not going to have every element
that I wanted done,

but I'll be better
once I've finished.

I just need to go
and grab some plates.

ALDO: Go, guys. Come on.

I can't believe where time's gone.

That's insane.

We're tasting some fried food
in one minute!

(APPLAUSE)

Pretty good.

The croquettes are looking amazing.

I'm so pleased that they're
just the right colour.

Go, guys!

Let's go, Julie.
They look beautiful.

I'm feeling so happy
with what I've cooked.

I can't see inside the croquettes

but what I hope is that the corn
is still juicy,

that the cheese is going to
hold everything together,

and that they're just delicious.

So, I'm taking my lobster out

and, look, the batter's crispy
in some places

and it's still pretty soft
in others.

It's a fine line now between
overcooking the lobster

and trying to get the batter crispy.

Yeah, I'm not feeling great.

Oh...

Pile it up. Yeah, pile it up.

Ten...

ALL: Nine, eight, seven, six,

five, four, three, two, one.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Yee-hoo!

Happy?
Nuh.

No?

I have never done this in an hour,
you know, 'cause I'm not insane.

I may get immunity. I may not.

It all comes down to
a bowl of balls.

JOCK: Alright. Fried food.

One of my favourite things.

Three dishes.

One of them's gonna win immunity,

and the first dish
we want to taste belongs to...

..Julie.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Julie, what have you made us?

Bacon and corn croquettes

with salsa brava

and a mojo verde.

Bechamel base - it's got corn
and bacon and two kinds of cheese.

JOCK: Cool.

Mm-hm. Mm-hm.

This is fun, pleasing,
generous food, made for sharing.

I love the panko crumb.

It gives a really crunchy, crisp,
satisfying exterior

to what is
a really beautifully seasoned,

all killer, no filler centre.

And then the sauces are really there
for seasoning and for freshness.

So, you have contrasting flavours,
lots of dynamics going on.

It's fun and it's delicious,
it's generous.

It's kind of like a bit nostalgic.

I think the best thing
about your croquettes

is how much filling of corn
and bacon there actually was.

It's got loads of flavour going on

and the two cheeses, I think,
was cheddar and mozzarella.

The best thing about it
was when they were hot,
they were just, like, oozing out.

So, you nailed the croquette.

And then I think you jazzed it up
with your two sauces.

Julie, another cracker. So good!

And I think your choice of dish here
is very clever, right?

Deep-fried, bacon, cheese.

It's like, come on,
top three things!

You know, they go together.

You've got a one-in-three chance.

It's a pretty good chance, too.

Well done.
Thank you so much.
ANDY: Nice one, Julie!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Onya, Jules.

Next up, Ali.

Go, Ali!

Ali, what'd you make?

A tempura lobster with sweet corn.

You look a little deflated.

I am.

It's just...I think it was...the
idea of the dish was really great,

but it was a bit big of a dish
to put together an hour.

Ali, you were on a roll.

I know.

And then gone off the road.

Yeah, you've gone into the gravel
a bit on this one.

The lobster, it's overcooked.

Andy and I were looking at it
when you were blanching it,

and I was like, "That's easily
been four, maybe five, minutes now.

And then, when it was
sitting open on your bench,

at that point,
it was perfectly cooked.

I know.

Look, we all have bad days
in the kitchen. Today was yours.

You just tried to squeeze too much
into 60 minutes.

What you've got is just soggy batter

'cause you haven't had enough time
for the batter to crisp up.

But I reckon with a...
you know, a 75-minute cook,

there's redemption
in this bowl somewhere.
Yep.

Thanks, Ali.
MEL: Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

Next up, it's fish and chips
by Matt.

(APPLAUSE)

MATT: Overall,
I'm happy with the cook.

I reckon the chips are
going to be nice and crispy,

but the fish is the thing
that's going to make this dish.

So, you know, I'm hoping that
it's cooked properly in the middle

and it's still crispy
on the outside.

I'm really looking for Jock
to say that he loves my fish.

(NEW ZEALAND ACCENT) It's fish
and chips with a tartare sauce.

(MEL LAUGHS)

Just one more time for fun?
Fish and chips.

(LAUGHS)

And it's a Josh Niland-esque batter.

Yes.
Am I right?

I've used his method
to make the batter, yeah.

(BATTER CRUNCHES)

Matt, great news.

Fish is brilliant.
Great.

The batter is fantastic.
The fish is beautifully cooked.

Snapper's a great choice - it's
a really clean, delicate white fish,

in terms of the flesh.

Super crispy on the outside.

It's light, it's puffy, it's lovely.

'Cause that's where the flavour
comes into it.

And you did that
without overcooking the fish.

Well done, mate.
Thank you.

You have done such a beautiful job

in terms of bringing nostalgia
into the room,

but executing everything
technically really nicely.

The fish is just
so beautifully tender

and it's just a real...
a real service to good fish

when you can cook it like that.

The skill in that fish, like, that
puts you in with a chance today.

OK?
Thank you. Thanks, guys.
Well done, Matt.

(APPLAUSE)

It's been a long day of cooking
for you three.

Over two rounds, cooking with both
an air fryer and a deep fryer.

Unfortunately, Ali,
although there were

some interesting elements
on the plate,

it just didn't come together
in the end.

So, you won't be winning
immunity today,

which means we're down to two.

Matt, your fish
was absolutely spot-on.

It was beautifully crisp,
crunchy batter,

and the fish
was perfectly cooked, too.

Julie...

..your dish didn't scream
Michelin star,

but it didn't have to.

It'd be an absolute winner
on any bar menu.

It was a triple threat - salty bacon,

super cheesy
and crispy fried coating.

It was a cracker of a dish.

And in the end, we thought
that the best deep-fried dish...

..was cooked by you...

..Julie.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

ALI: Well done, Julie.

JULIE: I'm so thrilled.

I have gone from the top
to the bottom

and everywhere in between
in this competition.

And I can tell you,
I prefer the view from the top.

(APPLAUSE)
Agh! Dammit.

Congratulations, Julie.

You are not going home
at the next elimination.

Now you can rest easy.

JOCK: You're going to heaven.
I'm going to heaven!

(LAUGHTER)

Everyone else, have a nice sleep

and we'll see you soon.

See you, guys. Well done, Jules.

Thank you.
Well done, mate.

Thanks.

ANNOUNCER: Sunday night
on MasterChef Australia,

they know it's an elimination...

I'll have to cook my butt off today

because I really want to stay here.

..but they
have no idea
what is waiting...

Holy hell.

..behind
the curtain.

Captions by Red Bee Media