MasterChef Australia (2009–…): Season 14, Episode 36 - Episode #14.36 - full transcript

ANNOUNCER: Previously
on MasterChef Australia...

..Marco Pierre White's
pantry challenge...

When I'm at home, I open my cupboard
and this is what's there.

..had them desperate to impress.

SARAH: He's all about perfection

and we all know what kind
of expectations he will have.

ALVIN: I'm a nervous wreck!
I'm petrified.

They created magic
with basic ingredients...

Of all the things over the years

I've eaten
in the MasterChef kitchen,

that is one of the most delicious.



..and proved that greatness can come
from humble beginnings.

This is food I could eat
for the rest of my life.

Your nonna would be very proud
of you.

But it was Harry's MasterChef dream
that came to an end.

Give it up for Harry, everybody!

(CHEERING)

Tonight - they're shocked
by their mystery box...

DANIEL: It's really put me
into a spiral.

I actually can't figure out
what to do.

..but every single dish
will be smoking hot.

# '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. #

Morning.

ALDO: Everybody looks so happy,
isn't it? (CHUCKLES)

Mystery box time.

Let's do it.
MINDY: Mystery box day.

Let's solve this mystery.

(SIZZLING)

Oh! (CHUCKLES)
Oh!

No way.

Oh, my God.

Walking into the kitchen,
it just smells like smoke.

DANIEL: It's on fire!

It's burnt.

Ooh. (CHUCKLES) Wow.

Something's gone horribly wrong
with the mystery boxes.

(MINDY LAUGHS)

Not your usual mystery boxes
this morning.

Although what is a usual mystery box
in this place, right?

(LAUGHS)

We'll get to those in just a second.

We're just a little over halfway
in the competition

and there are just 12 of you left.

That means that you guys are...

..the top 12.

Yeah, you are.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Alvin, you weren't 100% sure about
doing all of this all over again.

How do you feel about making it
to top 12?

Oh, I'm still shocked.

I-I speak to my partner every day
and every day is the same line,

"I'm still here!"
(CHUCKLES)

"Can you believe it?"

And, Daniel.
Yes, Mel.

Probably...one of the most unlikely
to have made the top 12,

maybe in your estimation
at the beginning of the competition,

but do you really feel like you've
earned your place here right now?

For those first few days,

I felt as useless as a flyscreen
on a submarine, like...

I just...didn't know
what I was doing.

Like, up against another league
here, but...

Um, yeah, no, I've put in a lot
of work and it's definitely paid off

and I'm really proud of what
I've, like, achieved so far.

And that's sort of made me hungrier.
Absolutely.

We're actually glad
that you're here today

because you might need to help us
put out some of these boxes.

(LAUGHTER)

All this learning I've done
for cooking,

I've forgotten all
the firefighter stuff.

ANDY: Oh, don't say that!
Oh, wow.

(LAUGHTER)

Now, speaking of the mystery boxes,

you'll notice
that they're slightly well done

and with very good reason.

Because today's guest
is a fiery genius.

Originally from Perth,

this chef travelled overseas
to open his very first restaurant.

He specialises in dishes
cooked with fire and smoke.

Since opening its doors in 2013,

the restaurant has integrated itself
into Singapore's new food order.

And it remains among the top 50
best restaurants in the world.

He is one of Australia's
highest-ranking chefs

with a Michelin star, to boot.

Please welcome, from Burnt Ends
in Singapore, Dave Pynt!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

SARAH: I have actually been to Burnt
Ends and sat at the kitchen counter,

admiring what they do.

Hiya.
JOCK: Pyzza.

Good to see ya.
You too.

The food is next-level.
It's so incredible.

Tell us about what Burnt Ends
actually is.

So, we're a little barbecue
restaurant in Singapore.

We've got these four-tonne
wood-burning ovens,

four elevation grills and basically
everything's cooked on wood.

95% of it either comes
out of the ovens or the grills

or the smoke boxes and we just cook
everything with fire.

Well, obviously, there's no need
to lift your lids today, guys,

because there's no ingredients
under there.

Instead...we want you to celebrate
what Dave does professionally

and bring us a dish that
incorporates a burnt element.

I'm talking bitterness,
chariness, smokiness,

anything that screams flame,
we want it.

We wanna see you drill down into
burnt flavours and aromas.

But...

..there's a fine line
between beautifully burnt

and incinerated food, so be careful.

You are gonna need to stay
on the right side of that line

if you wanna succeed.

(EXHALES)

Now, Dave has filled a pantry...

..with a selection of woodchips,
dried herbs,

anything to elevate your dishes
to the max flame.

Dave, can you tell us a little bit
about what you've got in there.

We've got these beautiful little
bits of twigs from the apple trees.

Dried vine leaves, so anything
that you think about with wine,

you can cook over.

You've got paperbark
to wrap in with.

So you can enclose complete dishes
with it.

And then finally,
you've got some dried herbs.

So you can really infuse
some really distinct flavours

into the dishes that you're gonna be
cooking with these herbs.

You'll have 75 minutes to cook us
whatever you like

but the dish MUST include a burnt
element, or the flavour of fire.

The best dish cooked today
will win a massive advantage

in the next team challenge.

But of course, the downside to this -
the bottom four dishes

will find themselves
in tomorrow's pressure test

where someone, of course,
will go home.

Good luck, guys.
Your time starts now.

(JUDGES CLAP)

ALVIN: Oh, this is so hectic!
All the time!

TOMMY: Fish sauce...

I do love to cook
on a hibachi-style grill.

That flavour that you get
when you get that coal up,

you get that fire through the meat,

nothing else can replace it.

What shall we play with today?

JULIE: (POSH ACCENT)
I've got no idea.

I really enjoy using fire and
charring things and smoking things.

It's got a lot to do with,
I suppose, my lifestyle at home.

I love to find the excuse
to cook over an open flame,

over camp fire.

I do like to use the hibachi,
add smoke to my salsas

and stuff like that.

Daniel.
G'day, guys.

ANDY AND DAVE: How are you, mate?
Nice to meet you, man.
You too.

Are you happy that this is
the challenge today?

I am. It's really exciting.

I'm gonna do a grilled
lamb backstrap,

and then when I've got the hibachi,

I'm gonna throw some, like,
dried rosemary leaves on it, I think.

Mate, that would be delicious.
It will smoke up,

it will give it that really distinct
flavour that you want.

And then I wanna do a sauce. I'm
still trying to think of the sauce.

I'm a bit stumped, so I'm trying to
figure that out as I go.

Think classic meat condiment.
OK, cool.

So I'm thinking of fruit
or a red sauce,

like Davidson plum or something...
or a cherry.

(WHISTLES)
We're not gonna give it to you.

You've gotta figure it out yourself.
Fair enough. I will.

Sorry, one other thing
with the lamb...
We gotta go, we gotta go.

Oh! Argh!
(CHUCKLES)

Thank you.

I feel pretty comfortable here.

So this challenge could be
an opportunity for me to show...

..I do smoke but I can make it fancy.

So...I need to think of a sauce
that just elevates it.

Like a classic fruit
that goes with a lamb.

Sweet, Billie?

Yeah.
Nice.

I'm going sweet today.
I'm gonna go peaches and cream.

So, a frozen ricotta mousse
with charred peaches

and some rosemary syrup.

I'm a bit nervous about doing
a dessert, actually,

in this sort of a challenge, but...
risk it for the biscuit, absolutely.

What are we thinking of
when we hope to see char, smoke,

the influence of fire
on the food today?

We wanna see a lot of the big
flavours coming through,

nothing overpowering with the smoke.

Where it gets infused,

whether it's in the protein
or the sauce or the dairy,

whether it's a dessert
or a vegetable,

I think that charred flavour
and that smoky flavour

really needs to be there.

What would make you
very unhappy today?

Look, if you can't taste it...
don't bother showing up.

And then can you go too far?

If you go too far and it just tastes
like smoke, the whole dish,

you won't get any of the product and
then you're in big trouble as well.

There you go. Easily overpowered.

My, uh, heart's
beating really fast today.

This is a cool challenge.

Cooking with fire is always
the ultimate in terms of flavour

and creating really delicious,
juicy meats.

I have a tandoori in my restaurant

so I have had quite
a bit of experience with fire.

I am going to make kathi rolls.

This is the ultimate street snack.

It is like the burger of India.

There's just
so many different ingredients,

so there's a lot for me to pull
together and get done in the time.

Sarah.
Hi.

You've eaten in Burnt Ends,
haven't you?

I have! Oh, my God, it's so amazing.

You feel like you're part of the
theatre of dining in the place.

Yeah, totally.

That brings us
to what you're cooking.

I want to do a frankie.

So basically, they are parathas
finished on the flame,

stuffed with tandoori chicken,

a whole bunch of different chutneys
and salad and then wrapped up.

Cool. I'm assuming you're gonna be
using a tandoori oven, then?

Yes, I am.
Amazing.

It's interesting because the flavour
that you get off of that

is both smoke and char.

So it's a very clever thing to do
today, I think.

Yep.
If I pull it off in this tandoor.

Good luck, Sarah.

Good luck. Use your time well.
Thanks.

Come on, bright sparks,
you have one hour to go!

(JUDGES CLAP)
Let's go!

I'm going to make
a camp-fire dessert.

So it's going to be a smoked
vanilla gelato and crumble.

And maybe toast some fruit
over fire as well.

I'm doing a braised
and, like, charred octopus

with a miso cream, some pickled
carrot and some puffed black rice.

MINDY: This is really cool.

Like, this is the kind of challenge
that we all love to do.

Seafood, for me, lends itself
to fire and smoke.

So beautiful ocean trout.

ALVIN: Alright, hibachi,
give it to me.

I'm making grilled eggplant
with miso satay sauce.

This is based on a Japanese dish
which is like a miso grilled eggplant

but I'm sort of incorporating
some Malaysian into that

which is the satay sauce.

The first thing I do is
the base of the miso satay sauce,

and that is to char some chilli,
some onion

and some belacan, which
is shrimp paste, over the hibachi.

Not gonna lie,
fire and grill is not my thing.

You know, with my heritage
and culture,

cooking with smoke and fire
is not really what we do.

This hibachi is such
a foreign equipment to me.

Oh.

So I'm a little bit hesitant
in using a higher heat,

if you can even adjust it.

I prefer my fire in the fireplace,
you know?

Preferably away, keeping me warm.
Not cooking food.

I'm just nervous.

With 12 of us left and them
looking for bottom four,

that's a third of us.

I have this horrible sense...

..this is gonna be my downfall.

I actually love cooking over
open fire, coals, smoking meat.

And I'm cooking my lamb backstrap
slowly and smoking my mashed potato.

But I'm struggling to think
of a sauce.

MICHAEL: Keep pushing, brother.
You're doing well.

I need to check out the sauce.

I really wanna impress the judges
and come up with something fancy.

What would be a good sort of sauce
to lighten everything back up?

I'm just thinking.

I'm just like brrr.

I just have no clarity in my head
right now.

There's so many sauces you can make
with lamb.

Do a gastrique,
I could do a red wine jus.

I could do something with some fruit.

And it's...

..really put me into a spiral. I
actually can't figure out what to do.

So I really need to hustle
'cause I have to figure out a sauce.

Otherwise, I'm in trouble.

I just don't wanna go
into tomorrow's pressure test.

KEYMA: Ah, be careful, Julie.

I'm alright, honey.
Don't worry about me.

You alright?
Yep, I'm good.

Tommy!
Yo. What up.

Nice to meet you, mate. Tommy.
How are you, mate?

Whoa! What's going on here, mate.
I've got com suon today.

Classic Vietnamese street food dish.

So grilled pork chop, rice,
some pickles.

This is a little funky, spicy
charred sauce.

Charred garlic.

Just a little bit of flavour.

Yeah, look, I think with the salsa,

it's just like those charred
flavours really round it out

and add a big point
of difference to it.

Which is delicious.
Yep.

And all I'd say with this is make
sure you get enough colour on it.

'Cause those charred bits
is what really makes it magic.

Yeah, I'm hunting that down
right there.

They're the money bits.
Exactly.

But don't go TOO far.

I'll try my best.
Yeah. There's that balance.

Sounds awesome.

Can you make it two mystery boxes
from two mystery boxes?

Oh, who knows, man, who knows? Oop.
Oh, we lost one.

Unless you drop one in.
Yeah. I'll come back for that later.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thanks, guys.

The hibachi is pretty hot right now.

And I personally like to flip
quite often because if I don't,

my marinade starts to burn and get
a really acrid, smoky taste to it.

So I'm gonna take my time
and make sure that it's perfect.

30 minutes down, 45 minutes to go!

45!

Keyma.
(BREATHLESSLY) How are you?

I'm very good.
I'm doing parrilla!

Big Venezuelan barbecue?
Yes.

What do you think?
Sick.

I wanna hear everything.
Tell me all about it.

OK, it includes different
types of meat, chorizo,

morcilla, which is black pudding.

I am so pumped for this.
Really amazing.

(ALL LAUGH)

Yeah. Well, I hope
I can make it right!

Good luck, Keyma.
Yep.
Thank you.

Right on time, Julie Goodwin.
Oh, no!

Oh, what's going on?

The char element will be some corn

and hopefully some crispy
little bits of meat there.

I've got a corn pudding in the oven,

so that's sort of
the base of the dish,

and I've smoked some sour cream.

I think this is gonna be super
interesting and could be the nail.

Yeah. Same.

The nail in the coffin
or the nail on the head?!

The nail on the head.
(LAUGHS)

It could go either way, couldn't it?

Good luck, Jules.
Thank you.

BILLIE: I wanted to go sweet today.

'Cause in a sort of sea
of savoury dishes,

I think sweet MIGHT stand out
a little bit?

I'm making frozen ricotta mousse.

Using ricotta is just a quick way
to impart smoke.

The ricotta's taking on the smoke
quite well

and I'm treating this frozen ricotta
a little like I would a parfait

because I haven't made the frozen
ricotta element before so...

..here's hoping it works.

MINDY: Look at those!
They're amazing.

I am on fire today, so let's do it!

ALDO: She's smoking hot!

SARAH: I am making frankies,

which are these really beautiful
tandoori chicken rolls.

I've chosen this dish because it
really highlights that char

and stunning smoky fire element
in the best way.

I'm making smoked yoghurt right now.

So just really wanna play around
with the layers of smoke

throughout the dish.

My main element is going to be
my tandoori chicken.

My marinade's a yoghurt-based
marinade.

Spices are cumin, coriander, chilli,
some paprika as well.

It's really important to get
that beautiful red colour

in tandoori chicken.

The tandoor oven, it's such a fun
piece of equipment

because it's been heated
for quite a while

so the sides of the tandoor
are already piping hot

and the chicken,
it's gonna cook reasonably quickly.

(EXHALES)

JOCK: Hey, is this the only place
you're allowed to smoke indoors?

Doesn't matter. 30 minutes to go!

Oh, yeah.

Good?
That's better. Mm-hm.

Keep going?
No.

Daniel.
G'day, guys.

How are we?
How are you doing?

Uh...good, I think.

You think?
Oh, that's very cautious.

What's happening?
I'm just...

Sometimes I go with my gut and it
works, sometimes it doesn't. So...

Yep.
..I'm trying to find that sweet spot.

Yep.
I'm doing a lamb backstrap...
Yep.

..and then I'm trying to
figure out a sauce.

Um... I'm thinking...

..red wine?

I'm thinking you have
30 minutes to go

and you haven't decided on
a crucial factor

that ties your whole dish together,
which is a sauce.

Yeah.
That worries me a little bit.

Oh, believe me, it worries me too.

In half an hour, you will not make
a red wine jus

that any of us are gonna be
happy with, I guarantee you.

Yep.
Alright?

and you haven't decided on
a crucial factor

that ties your whole dish together,
which is the sauce.

That worries me a little bit.

Oh, believe me, it worries me too.

In half an hour, you will not make
a red wine jus

that any of us
are gonna be happy with.

Yeah.
I guarantee you.

Yep.
Alright?

I have to figure out a sauce,
quick smart.

I'm thinking salsa verde.
Get some green things.

MICHAEL: Quick, you've got 30
minutes. Commit to it, do it.
Yep.

So I'm gonna be making,
like, a charred salsa verde

which will work perfectly with lamb.

You good, man? You feeling better?
Yep.

It's going to add smokiness,
a bit of bitterness from the char

and it's gonna have acidity
and spice, which lamb needs

because it is
such a fatty, gamy meat.

Charring up my vegetables now.

I know how to make salsas,
I've done it before, but...

Potatoes might not work today
if I'm doing this.

..it will combat with the potato.

I'm gonna pivot massively,
changing this whole concept.

It's gonna be salsa verde
and grilled lamb, and that's it.

I just really need to work
my butt off right now.

Alright, what am I doing?

Anyone can burn things
unintentionally, that's great,

but to do it intentionally

and incorporate that smokiness
or that charness

into your overall dish,
that is actually an art.

So I'm grilling some eggplant
on the hibachi

and I'm going to incorporate some
apple woods in the hibachi as well.

So it's gonna have that
lovely sort of scent

permeating through the eggplant.

But cooking with fire
isn't my strongest suit.

This doesn't barbecue.
I'm all about the wok.

To put it quite bluntly. (CHUCKLES)

Alvin. What's going on?
Hi. Hi.

How are you doing?
Hello. Good.

I am grilling some eggplant
with a miso satay sauce.

I smoked all the bits for the curry
paste, for the satay sauce...

You happy with how
that's come through?

Really happy with how
that's come through.

And I just need to make sure
this is cooked right, that's all.

Needs to be hotter? Yeah.
Don't be afraid of a bit of colour.

Yeah.
OK.

Good luck.
(CHUCKLES)

Thank you.

Andy and Dave want me
to dance closer to the flame

but I feel like the judges
are literally, you know,

honking the horn to the car
and I'm like that deer

that just looks at them, like,
"What? What do you want me to do?"

So - ooh - too close to fire!
I'm scared.

Next to me, Tommy is cooking
pork chop on top of his hibachi

and I can feel the roaring heat.

Thinking about it, you know,
I could use a blowtorch.

I could literally torch
my eggplant directly.

That's still taking too long.

Closer to the fire.
Closer to the fire.

So...I remove the rack, I stick
the whole eggplant into the coal.

Time's ticking away
and I hope this works.

Fire up, guys! 15 minutes to go!
Here we go!

Yeah!
Home stretch.

How are you doing, mate?
STEPH: I'm liking it.

Happy?
I am.

The apple, I just cooked that
over the fire.

Um, I was actually a bit worried
I'd burnt it but it's fine.

MONTANA: My octopus is on
the hibachi, pickles is on the go

and my miso and XO sauce,
I've got the main bones of it there

but it just needs some balance.

No parfaits today. I've definitely
got something to prove -

just that I can do savoury
in this competition.

Mindy.
Hey!

Trout's on.

I've got some lemongrass
and coconut husks there.
Lovely.

So just wanna get those
South-East Asian flavours through.

Love it!

SARAH: There's nothing quite
like that, uh, you know...

..smokiness from the coals.

Almost done. Ooh, it's hot. (LAUGHS)

There is such a fine line between
delicious charred tandoori chicken

and completely incinerated chicken.

It's looking beautiful.

I mean, those little charred black
bits is exactly what I'm after.

Next, I'm moving on to my parathas.

I'm cooking my paratha on the pan.

And then just finish it on the hob

to bring that little bit of charred
elements to the breads as well.

Sarah. Oh!
Hi.

Ooh, sugar.
I'm good, thank you.

Money edges.
So I'm doing frankies.

It's, like, an Indian street food.

So tandoori chicken,
parathas with an egg wash on top

and then a chilli yoghurt chutney,
and then a bit of a salad as well.

I'm in. Like...
Sold.

..literally, where do I sign up?

These would have come up incredible
in the tandoor.

You want me to add some smoke,
don't you?

It's not necessarily smoke but you
get some of that magic from fire

and...

Like, they'll cook differently
than what they do in a pan.

It's a good suggestion.

Why did I not think of that?

Good luck, Sarah.
Good luck.
Thank you. Good luck.

I really do not have time for this,

but...how could I not?

I mean, it's a fire challenge

and I should be making the most of
such a beautiful piece of equipment.

So, I'm starting again.

I'm making all of my egg parathas
from scratch again

and cook them in the tandoor.

That is really hot.

Quite simply,
make sure your dish is on fire!

10 minutes to go!

10 minutes!
Come on!

ALVIN: This could actually work.

DANIEL: Today, I think I've made
the right decision.

Just gone salsa verde now. That'll
work really well with the lamb.

I can see it in my head -
lamb backstrap, medium rare, charred,

nice salsa verde on top.

Just hopefully gotta pull it off

'cause I made that decision
pretty bloody late.

It's just a bloody...mind game,
this place, innit?

Yeah. (CHUCKLES)

Billie.
Hi.

Stone fruit!
Yeah.

Love it.
Bit of a play on peaches and cream.

OK.
So I've got my frozen ricotta mousse,

which is smoked,
in the blast chiller.

And, like, a herb syrup as well.

What's the texture -
you called it a mousse?

Yeah. It's kind of like a parfait
but it's frozen, so...

Airy, creamy...?
Yeah.

OK, gotcha. Three elements,
pretty... Like, very simple.

You just need to make sure
every component

is just absolutely perfect.

I'm interested to see
how this all comes together.

So am I. (CHUCKLES)
Looks beautiful.

Thank you.

I am taking a risk today
by doing the frozen ricotta

because I haven't made this before.

So I don't know
how it's gonna turn out.

SARAH: Oh, God.

I thought I was doing OK

but now I'm in a massive rush
with this dish.

I haven't even finished
all my other elements

and now I'm madly trying to finish
my parathas over the tandoor.

Going in! (LAUGHS)

But I'm running out of time.

Are you a bit rushed?
I am!

Because I've just changed my bread!

You've got five minutes to go.
I know, I know, I know.

What do you mean you changed it?

I just wanted to finish it
on the heat, charcoal.

Oh, my goodness.

MEL: Mate.
Yes.

Grilled pork.
How can you go wrong, right?

It's your birthright
to cook pork properly.

Yeah, yeah.

Had to take my time, making sure
I did that pork justice

and I got that char all over the pork

and it's all about the smoke
and fire.

This dish is me on a plate, you know?

It's Vietnamese traditional flavours

but just spiced up a little bit
with some extra oomph.

Got my rice, my spring onion oil
on top of that,

all my pickles on the side,

it makes me so happy when I can put
a dish like this up to the judges.

But everyone's fighting to not be
the bottom four today.

(SPEAKS ITALIAN)
M-m-m-m-move.

What I forgot?
SARAH: Oh, my God.

Argh!

It is absolute mayhem in here.

Oh, my God.

I'm running back and forth
from the tandoor.

Come on, Sarah!

Lemon...

I'm chopping salad.

Running back
and getting another paratha.

Argh! Hot!

Like, what? Run!

(SQUEALS)

Heads up, gang! Two minutes to go!

(JUDGES CLAP)
Whoo!

Oh, my goodness.

I was so lost in this cook

but I'm really happy with
the decisions that I've made.

Grilled lamb with a smoky salsa,
like, that's delicious.

I would love a crust on the outside
and a bit of the fat to be rendered

but I've run out of time.

Hopefully I've done enough
to keep me out of the bottom four.

I'm happy with how the peaches look,
they're really quite charred.

I've never made the frozen ricotta
before but this looks OK.

So, hopefully, the judges like it.

Heads up!
You've only got one minute to go!

(JUDGES CLAP)

ALVIN: The eggplant looks, you know,
charred, I slap on the sauce.

What worries me is I don't think the
edges of the eggplant are cooked.

30 seconds!

SARAH: Ooh! That's such a small bowl.

Oh, it's all happening!
You've only got 10...

JUDGES: 9, 8, 7...
Argh!

6, 5, 4,

3, 2, 1!

That's it!
(JUDGES CLAP)

Oh, my God.

(LAUGHS)
What the hell just happened?

Oh, my God.

(LAUGHS)

Well done, brother. Proud of ya.

Well, they say where there's smoke,
there's fire

and when Dave Pynt's around,
that is certainly true.

We're looking for a bottom four
to go into tomorrow's pressure test,

but a top dish to win
a strategic advantage.

And the first dish we'd like
to taste belongs to ...

..Tommy!

(APPLAUSE)

Go, Tommy!
Good job, Tommy.

Go, Tommy.

Hello, hello, hello.

This is me.

This is you?

Ooh. Here we go.

Enjoy.

Tommy, what's the dish, please?

Today, I've made com suon,

which is a really classic Vietnamese
kind of street food dish.

As soon as you land in Vietnam

and you're in the taxi, you put down
your window, you will see the smoke

and you will smell the smoke
and you want to eat it.

You sit down on those plastic stools
and you eat this and it's so simple

but it's so delicious

and it's all about that smoke that
you see first before you eat it.

Yep.

You have just brought...
biblical amounts of flavour

to this bowl of food today.

Oh, thank you.

But not only did you do that,
you brought the smoke, the char

and you did it to great success.

And what I love is that beautiful
caramelisation on the outside

and then you have this sweet fat cap

and it just sort of renders as you
eat it, and it's so delicious.

I absolutely love it.
Thank you so much.

You absolutely nailed
this challenge.

Because the char on the pork,
the time that you spent in it

was the best time that you invested
for the session.

Getting that caramelisation
takes a lot of time.

Too fast, too hot, burns.
Yep.

But the time that you took looking
after it, really worked wonders.

Thank you.

Damn, I was eyeing that off.
(CHUCKLES)

Tommy.
Yep.
I dug it hard, man.

I dug it hard.

Mate, you could sell that for
so much money in a restaurant.

I know it's street food
but it also belongs in restaurants.

Yep.
Well done, mate.

Nice one, Tommy.
Well done.
Thanks, guys.

ALDO: Well done, Tommy.

Next up, it's Steph.

Go, Steph!

STEPH: I'm calling it
a camp-fire crumble.

It's a smoked vanilla gelato
with charred apples,

an apple whiskey caramel
and a maple crumble.

DAVE: The crunchy crumble and the
Scotch caramel was a good idea,

but...the ice-cream,
vanilla's a very strong flavour

and when you pair it with smoke,
it clashed and sort of made it

not smoky, not vanilla

and I don't think it tied
it all together.

JOCK: Montana, what have you made us?

It's a gochujang and maple glazed
octopus with a miso and XO cream

and some puffed black rice.

Montana, the octopus is nice

but the gochujang and the maple
with the cream,

I think there was not enough smoke
in them for this challenge.

Better luck next time.
Thanks, Montana.

All good. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)

(SIGHS)

Oh.

Next up...Billie!

(APPLAUSE)

BILLIE: The peaches
are really delicious.

They have a nice char. They've got
a good smoky character to them.

And hopefully,
I've nailed the texture

of the frozen ricotta element.

Billie, what have you made us?

Like, a peaches and cream
sort of dessert.

So it's a frozen ricotta mousse

that has a bit of a smoky flavour
through it,

grilled peaches, macadamia praline.

There's a rosemary peach syrup
and a bit of whey caramel as well.

Awesome.
Yes.

You weren't tempted to do
a savoury dish today?

Um...mind went straight to peaches,
to be honest.

Yeah, right. Nice.

(ANDY GASPS)
(SPOON SLAMS ON PLATE)

Frozen ricotta mousse.
Yeah.

So it's like a whipped cream

and sort of, like, blitzed ricotta
as well.

(SPOON SLAMS ON PLATE)
Far out!

Man.
Problem? (CHUCKLES)

Did you know it was this hard?

No. (CHUCKLES)

What sent you down the ricotta route?

'Cause I wanted to get
the smoke into it.

Yeah.
And I thought

if I got it in with the ricotta,
I would be able to adjust.

And are you happy with it?

Um, I don't know about now,
after Andy cutting it then.

ANNOUNCER: Hungry for inspiration?

(SPOON SLAMS ON PLATE)
(ANDY GASPS)

Are you happy with it?

Um, I don't know about now,
after Andy cutting it then.

(SPOON HITS PLATE)
(ALL CHUCKLE)

Sorry.
It got me.

I think that's probably the best use
of the fire that we've seen today,

in those peaches.

You do get that rosemary hit.

They're caramelised, they're charred,
they're smoky, they're glistening.

Like, you can't do it
any better than that,

and that shows a real skill.

The parfait, yeah...
It's shit.

It's not great.
(LAUGHS)

It being hard didn't bother me, it
was the chalky texture that got me.

Yeah, look, those peaches
were stunning.

The char on them, you could actually
taste the rosemary smoke on it.

The parfait, not the best.
Yep.

But the peaches, for me,
and the rosemary syrup, nailed it.

Thank you.

Frozen ricotta.
Yep.

You really need to cook the curds
very, very lightly...

OK.

If your temperature of your milk
goes too high...
Mm-hm?

..your curds are therefore
more cooked,

you get that sort of chalky texture.

OK, yep. Rightio.

Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)

Blugh.

Next up, we'd like to taste
the dish from Daniel.

ALDO: Go, Dan!

DANIEL: No matter how rocky
the cook process was,

I'm just glad I've pivoted
and done something

that I would actually love to eat.

So...hopefully, the judges are happy
with what I've done in the end.

Daniel, what did you land on?

I've made grilled lamb
with charred salsa verde.

That was a journey, man,
wasn't it, that cook?

It was a massive journey.

But that's an actual sort
of me dish, I suppose.

Gotcha.

Look, the salsa is...money.

Really good.

Smoky flavours,
the temperature is right,

it's got a fiery amount of heat
in it, which I love.

The lamb needs a little bit
more rendering.

Yep.

The attention to getting the herbs
on there and smoking it,

you're thinking about it
exactly right.

Mm.

The best thing that you did
was not to put the potato mash on.

That's a big tick.

Yep.
For today.

I feel like you're starting to cook
with pressure on yourself now.

Oh, yeah.

Because you know the heights
that you can get to.

'Cause you cook so well
when you are fearless,

and we didn't see that today.

Yep. No worries.
Thanks, guys. Cheers.

Thanks, Daniel.
(APPLAUSE)

Let's go, Mindy.

Mindy, what did you cook?

I cooked a chargrilled ocean trout
with roast chilli sauce

and Asian salad.

I got a nice charred piece of skin
which was super crispy and delicious.

I love that chilli sauce. Like, it's
got a good amount of kick to it.

It's on the sweeter side,

you can definitely get the fish sauce
in there.

Well done, Mindy.
Thanks, guys.

(APPLAUSE)

Julie Goodwin.

JULIE: I'm gonna call it
corn and fire.

Corn and fire?

(LAUGHS) It's corn pudding
on the bottom with charred corn,

a smoke and charred salsa and a
fresh salsa and smoked sour cream.

DAVE: The technique that you've put
in there with the smoked sour cream,

the charred salsa, the little bit
of heat to balance it through,

really drove the whole dish.

Really ballsy coming out
with just a corn-based dish.

Pretty much nailed it. Thank you.

Thank YOU.

Aldo.

ALDO: I got...capsicum and octopus.

Aldo, I really enjoyed it.

Octopus was tender

but the capsicum is where it sung
for me.

That sort of smoky goodness,
it was beautiful.

Next up, Michael!

MICHAEL: Barbecue Murray cod, burnt
leek and a buttermilk dressing.

Love the look of the dish, Michael,
I thought it was great.

You really nailed the presentation.

Cuisson on the fish was delicious,
like, it was perfect.

Well done. Ready, Keyma?

(APPLAUSE)
I'm not there yet.

What have we got?

Smoky Parrilla Venezolana.

It is a barbecue,
but the Venezuelans,

they just eat lots of meat

and have it with sides,
and it's very traditional.

MEL: Lovely char on the outside
of the chorizo and the morcilla.

The steak was beautifully tender
and perfectly cooked

and the chicken was absolutely
beautiful.

It was fun, so thank you.

Thank you, guys.
Next up, it's Alvin.

(APPLAUSE)

ALVIN: Oh, I'm so embarrassed
taking this up to the judges.

In fact, every step of the way
I keep thinking,

"Just turn around and walk back."

Because this does not reflect me
as a cook!

Alvin, what's the dish, please?

I made grilled eggplant
with a miso satay sauce.

You seem rather deflated.

Oh, yes, I am. (CHUCKLES)
Talk to me.

So, cooking with fire and smoke
and all that is not my forte.

I'm just not used
to camp-fire-style cooking.

I know the sauce is gonna be good,

like, I made sure I charred
every ingredient.

It's the eggplant
that's really letting me down.

I think Andy just had
an undercooked corner.

It's raw.
Yeah, I know.

Like, the edges are bad, so...

Yeah, it's crunchy, unfortunately.

Sorry, guys.

I'm eating raw eggplant,

which is probably one of the worst
things to eat raw out there.

So sorry I'm serving you this.
(CHUCKLES WRYLY)

The satay itself
has some nice depth of flavour,

some great latent heat to it
and some wonderful texture as well

but you know what you did
with the eggplant

and you're just going to have
to move on

with whatever happens after this.

I wouldn't even think about getting
ready for the bottom four,

I would say
welcome to the bottom four.

Thank you.

Next up, it's Sarah.

(APPLAUSE)

SARAH: I just don't even know what
happened in that last 20 minutes.

I mean, I know I did a lot
of running, I was down to the wire.

I'm just hoping I got everything
onto the plate

and it all comes together

because the bottom four
go into the pressure test

and that's not where I want to be.

JOCK: Sarah, what have you made us?

I have made frankies.

The old Mumbai burritos, hey?
(CHUCKLES) Yeah.

I just felt like this was the best
way to use the fire for me.

Absolutely.

I mean, there's no better person to
crack out the tandoor oven than you.

How did you find the paratha on
the tandoor as opposed to the pan?

It makes so much sense to do it
that way, so...

..I don't know why my brain
didn't go straight to that.

You used every last second.
Every last second.

I feel like I've only just
started to cool down

after all the sprinting
I was doing. (LAUGHS)

Very, very, very, very good, Sarah.

You promised us black, blistered
goodness and you've delivered on it.

Yeah, there's some char.

The cook on the chicken
is so impressive.

It's charred beautifully
round the outside

but yet it's just pink in the middle.

Which is perfect.

Today, you made a great decision,
using the tandoor oven,

executing it perfectly.

Your breads are fantastic.

You know, there is not a crack
in sight when you're rolling that up,

as it should be.

You will be hanging around the top,

looking for that special
advantage today.

Well done.
Thank you. Thank you.

This is exactly what you want
with barbecue.

It's like that highlight of
something that holds the smoke

really well, the charred edges
are, like, visual, tasty, textural.

And then wrapping it in the paratha,

it's just got that little bit
of smoke through it,

it's absolutely superb.

ANDY: Well done, Sarah.
Thank you. Thanks.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

(LAUGHS) Thank you.

I was hoping it was gonna be
that good. And it was.

I'm relieved.

Well, today, we gave you
a burnt-out mystery box.

Dave, how do you reckon they went?

They went pretty bloody well.

It was good to see the control of
the fire, the different techniques,

really saw some amazing stuff, guys.
Well done.

Pretty good props, yeah?

Everyone, Dave Pynt in the house.
(APPLAUSE)

Cooking with fire is never easy.

And the cook of the best dish
today...

..was Sarah!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Well done!
Oh!

That's amazing!
Thank you. Thank you.

Oh, my gosh.

Sarah, that was an absolute banger
of a dish.

How you feeling?
I feel so happy.

It's insane.

Well, your frankies have won you
a very special advantage

in the next team challenge.
So well done.

Thank you. Thanks.

Now you know what comes next.

While some of your dishes
burned bright, others burned out.

So if I say your name,
you're in tomorrow's pressure test.

Alvin.

Montana.

Steph.

And the last person going
into tomorrow's pressure test is...

..Billie.

Look, you guys have been in this
competition long enough to know

that going into a pressure test
is not a fatal blow.

You can come back from it stronger

and more resilient
than you were before.

So, Montana, Billie, Steph, Alvin,
pick yourselves up

and start swinging.

We'll see you tomorrow.
Well done, guys.

TOMMY: Thanks, guys. Thanks, Dave.

Thanks very much, cheers.

ALDO: I'm shocked.

ALVIN: I think we all are.

I'm not looking forward to
tomorrow's pressure test,

but I need to get over today.
(CHUCKLES)

Tomorrow is a new day
and I need to be ready to slay.

ANNOUNCER: Tomorrow night
on MasterChef Australia,

they're in
brand-new territory.

No tasting,
no worries!

Can they re-create
a dish...

MONTANA: If this isn't
cooked perfectly,

I'm basically
done for.

..without seeing it
or tasting it first?

# Ba-ba-bum! #

(GROANS)

Captions by Red Bee Media