MasterChef Australia (2009–…): Season 14, Episode 48 - Episode #14.48 - full transcript
Chef Khanh Nguyen reveals his seafood plate for the Pressure Test, and there are 99 ingredients, 143 steps and 13 pages in the recipe. The chef whose dish least resembles Khanh's will go home.
ANNOUNCER: Previously
on MasterChef Australia...
..it was a pressure test
that was sink or swim.
(GASPS)
JOCK: 99 ingredients.
ALDO: Oh, my God.
143 steps.
(INHALES)
13 pages.
Oh, my God!
All three cooks
made a massive effort...
This is like multi-tasking
to the next level, this dish.
..and everyone was shellshocked
when Montana had to say goodbye.
MONTANA: The cook that I was
at the start of this competition
is a completely different person
from who I am now.
Tonight -
a very special service challenge...
DANIEL: It's probably
the most nervous I've been
in this kitchen so far.
..delivers the biggest surprise yet.
# '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. #
ALDO: Let's go.
No jumping, no skipping,
no doing anything silly.
(DANIEL LAUGHS)
JOCK: There they are.
(LAUGHS)
MINDY: Maybe... Ooh.
What's that?
SARAH: I don't know.
Yesterday, Montana left,
which means Keyma and I
are the last remaining Fans.
Definitely feeling the pressure
a little bit more
and it's gonna only get tougher
but we've worked hard to get here
and we're gonna keep fighting
and try and make it
to that finish line.
Hello, everybody!
ALL: Hello!
Welcome to the marvellous
MasterChef kitchen garden.
You might be wondering why we're out
here and not in there,
well, it's not just
to enjoy the scenery.
Tonight will be a service challenge.
ALL: Ooh.
And you're gonna be highlighting some
of the incredibly special produce
grown right in this very garden.
JULIE: I'm really excited by this.
I love service challenges
and I love cooking from the produce
in the garden
'cause anything that's freshly
harvested is at its peak.
First things first,
let's get into teams.
MINDY: Here we go.
MEL: Alright.
Take an apron out of the magic bag.
Don't look.
ALVIN: I pull out an apron
and I've got aqua
and I'm cooking alongside
Sarah, Keyma and Julie.
It's a good team.
Sarah's got a lot of restaurant
experience,
I know my flavours,
Keyma is the dark dessert horse...
(LAUGHS)
..and Julie is the classic home cook
that knows how to mass-feed.
I can see you all eyeing off
the goodies
that this garden has to offer
but before you decide on anything,
you should know that today's service
is all about herbs.
Ooh.
(CHUCKLES) In a moment,
a member of both teams
will peruse the MasterChef garden
and select one herb each.
WE will then pick a third.
You'll use one herb in the entree,
one in the main
and one in the dessert.
Both teams will have to cook
with the same three herbs
across their entire menu.
But they can choose which course
they go in.
So decide who's going to
be your team's herb picker.
ANDY: Chief herb picker!
SARAH: Yes. (LAUGHS)
Keyma and Daniel.
Alright, off you go.
Peruse the garden, choose a herb.
ALDO: Have a good sniff around.
I'm picking the first herb
for the green team
and I'm having a quick look around...
MINDY: Something that's really
aromatic.
Pick something that's lots of...
Yeah.
Something that's aromatic.
Don't know what to pick.
ALVIN: Good choice, Keyma.
I see that Keym's gone straight
for a herb.
ALDO: Come on, pick a good herb.
Herbs are good anyway,
they're delicious.
Do not sabotage us!
Loads of flavour.
And then I see the Thai basil.
I love Thai basil.
It grows like a weed in Darwin.
And I know Mindy loves it.
It's aniseedy so Billie could use
it in a dessert, perhaps.
So I go for the Thai basil.
I think it's a good choice.
MEL: OK, so chief herb pickers
have done their job.
Keyma, what have you chosen?
I've chosen coriander.
Fantastic. And Daniel?
Thai basil.
Thai basil.
Alright, Jock, would you like
to go an pick a third?
Why not. I think I might...
rumble it up a little bit.
(ALL EXCLAIM AND LAUGH)
JULIE: Course you will!
Shake it up!
BILLIE: Of course.
ANDY: Don't be nice.
Curveball! Top eight.
ALDO: What are you picking?
Ooh, yes!
(CHORTLES)
Tarragon?
JULIE: Uh-huh.
So the three herbs that you're
cooking with today are
coriander,
tarragon
and Thai basil.
Tarragon. It is so different
to coriander and Thai basil.
But it wouldn't be MasterChef if
we didn't spice it up a little bit.
Wouldn't be.
Right. You know WHAT you'll be
cooking with...
..but, not who you'll be feeding.
These diners, they're some
of the harshest critics
that you guys will ever meet.
They're ruthless.
They're thorough.
And they will be watching everything
that you do today.
Right from the very first second...
(SIGHS)
..right to the minute
that they receive their food.
Good thing for you guys...
..is that...
..they're also your number-one fans.
ALVIN: No.
JULIE: Can't be.
Oh, my God!
My God.
(CRIES)
(TEARFULLY) Running towards me...
..are my boys.
My husband and my three sons.
And I can't even tell you
how happy I am to see them.
I miss those people so much.
They're the guys that are making
a sacrifice for me to be here.
So their support is
so incredibly special to me.
(CRIES)
ALDO: Oh, Mindy!
MINDY: Oh, my God. (LAUGHS)
Oh, Mindy.
(CRIES)
My mum, my dad and my Aunty Ros have
just walked around the corner.
I haven't seen my family
since Christmas.
Hello.
It is just everything
that we've needed right now
to keep pushing us and keep
spurring us on in this competition.
Oh, stop.
(LAUGHTER)
(TEARFULLY) No, I can't.
I can't.
Oh. It's so overwhelming,
seeing Mark.
Hello. (LAUGHS)
Guys!
Been so long
and without his support,
I wouldn't even be able
to last the first week.
Yeah, I'm surviving. Surviving.
For him to actually experience
this - physically be here -
it's truly, truly special.
Oh, my leg shake's come back, man.
Oh, you can see that we ALL
won't be here
if it's not for the love
and support of our family.
(SQUEALS)
My baby!
Oh, my God.
How are ya?
Dan!
DANIEL: I see the... My missus,
Kassie, running round the corner...
Oh, God, I haven't seen her
for so long.
This is so cool. Like...
I can't help it, I'm, like, tearing
up and getting all bloody emotional.
Oh, no way!
Then I see Mum and Dad
and my two brothers
and I just can't bloody believe it.
(CHUCKLES) It's just incredible.
How are you, mate?
Oh, my old man's like
the typical old Aussie bloke -
no emotions, no feelings, you know,
"How you going, mate?" and handshake.
So I've even gone in for the awkward
handshake and there's a cuddle
and, you know? (LAUGHS)
Hello, beautiful. Love you.
G'day, mate, how are ya?
How are you?
You know, like, I wanna really
show them what I can do.
Oh, God, I'm shaking.
Oh, my love.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God! Phoenix!
Phoenix!
Oh, my God.
Oh, shit.
ALDO: (LAUGHS)
Everybody's family is coming in.
It is very exciting.
Oh, my God.
(LAUGHTER)
But at the other end,
I'm start to think
my family is on the other side
of the world
and I got just my husband here.
Aldo...you ready for this?
(SNIFFS)
Oh, Aldo.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
Oh, that's my mum!
(LAUGHTER)
That's my mum and sister!
Mum!
I can't believe it.
Is just so...overwhelming, actually.
And it's been nearly three years
that I haven't seen my mum
thanks to COVID
and it's been so hard.
And they're gonna see me cook
in this crazy environment.
It's just so good.
Hello.
Hi, guys. How you going?
Aldo, introduce us
to your family, mate.
Well, I got my niece, Ginevra.
Hi.
Hi.
Nice to meet you.
And I got my younger sister.
Hi, everybody.
Hello.
Then, my mum.
Hi, mum.
(LAUGHTER)
How long has it been
since you've seen your mum?
November 2019.
(ALL EXCLAIM)
Wow.
My family's on the other side
of the world. And it's...
That Facetime phone call,
it's never gonna be enough.
A hug from my mum today
that I haven't seen in ages...
Hey, I think you missed somebody.
(LAUGHTER)
My husband as well!
My husband, sorry!
Sarah.
So it's my mum, Lorraine.
Hi, mum.
My two brothers, Matthew and Steven.
Nice to meet you.
And then this is my son, Phoenix.
And my nephew Jackson,
who also comes everywhere with me.
So he's like, yeah, my second child.
(LAUGHS)
Phoenix, what about Mum's cooking?
I love it.
You love it?
(LAUGHTER)
Course you do.
Keyma?
This is my son, Osvaldo.
Hi.
Bella is my daughter.
Bella, nice to meet you.
And Eugene, my husband.
Hi.
Hi.
You guys must be pretty proud of Mum.
Yep.
Absolutely.
We've been encouraging her
to go into the show for years
and seeing her now, here,
it's unreal.
(CHUCKLES)
Billie, why don't you introduce us
to your family?
Sure. This is my husband, Haydn.
This is my nan, Sheila.
Hi, Nan.
(CHUCKLES)
My mum, Alison, and my dad, Dave.
Hi, Alison. Hi, Dad.
(SIGHS) Oh!
(CHUCKLES)
Dave, the last time you were
in a MasterChef kitchen,
Billie was holding the trophy
above her head, right?
Proud moment for you?
Very, mate, yeah.
I didn't think I'd get emotional
this time, but, uh...
(LAUGHTER)
It's, uh...
When she started, I started, so...
Daniel, we've got the whole
of the Northern Territory here,
by the look of it.
(LAUGHTER)
Who have we got?
So this is my lovely mother, Trina.
Hi, Mum.
Old boy, Steve.
Hi, Dad.
Um, my older brother, Cameron,
younger brother, Hayden,
and my beautiful girlfriend, Kassie.
Hi.
Alvin?
This is my partner, Mark, and
these are my friends Mel and Dan.
Mindy, introduce us to your family.
This is my mum, Brenda, my dad,
Gary, and my Aunty Rosie Sten.
Julie Goodwin!
Mick, 14 years later,
Julie decides she's coming back
to the MasterChef kitchen.
Do you think it was a good idea?
Yeah. I did, actually.
Just changed our life in such
a positive, amazing way.
It's given us so many experiences
as a family
and so, it was really a no-brainer.
Julie, what do these boys
mean to you?
I mean, you guys look super tight.
They're my babies. (CHUCKLES)
My little babies.
And this one's given me
another little baby girl, so, um...
Yeah, they're the reason
for everything.
They're the reason...I cook.
They're my favourite people
in the world
and the nights where we get to sit
around the table together
and eat together are
my favourite times in my life.
Um, I wouldn't trade them
for anything.
Do you reckon Mum can do it,
14 years later?
150%.
There we go.
150%! I like it.
MEL: OK, well, we know this is
a service challenge
for the most-loved people
in your lives.
Your three courses today
must feature
the three herbs in front of us.
Coriander,
Thai basil
and tarragon.
You will have 2.5 hours
before your entrees need to start
leaving the pass.
And of course,
you don't only need to feed us,
but also, you need to feed
your family and friends.
The winning team today goes
into tomorrow's immunity cook
to vie for safety
from Sunday's elimination.
And we all know herbs
are a family of plants
used to take food to another level.
With your families here,
let's hope they can do the same.
We'll give you a few minutes
to catch up
and then as soon as you step
into the MasterChef kitchen,
your time will start.
Good luck.
Lovely to meet you all!
Hey!
(APPLAUSE)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Having my family here
is so incredibly special
and the idea that they're
not just here to watch...
I'm gonna say,
"Mum, what you cooking?"
"What you cooking?" (LAUGHS)
..they are here to dine
in the MasterChef restaurant today
and they're here for us
to cook for them.
I cried all my make-up off
and I had to put it back on.
Now I've cried it all off again.
It's just a gift that I am
so grateful for.
Good luck, guys.
Bye!
Oh, my God.
Well, green team and aqua team,
that was a bit of fun,
but now we're down to business.
Your 2.5 hours starts now.
JOCK: Let's go, guys.
BILLIE: OK. What's...?
MINDY: So, our three herbs.
Does anyone have a preference in
terms of what they would like to use?
What an incredible
team challenge today.
We have to feature herbs
throughout three courses in our menu.
How about we do a really nice
eggplant Thai basil curry?
Our family and friends are here
and we're just about
to cook for them.
We've somehow got to, like, pull
all that energy back and refocus
because we've got to serve them up
some delicious food.
I want tarragon, if you're
alright, guys. Is that alright?
Yep. I would like...coriander.
Coriander?
Yep. Beautiful.
You want coriander?
Yeah, I want coriander.
Amazing.
Is that alright?
So, I guess we've got Thai basil.
Alright, so...
Is that alright?
Well, I'm just...
I'm just calling it out.
Billie, are you happy to do dessert?
Yeah.
That's where I was going with it.
OK. OK.
Dessert. Dessert all the way.
OK.
As a team, I think we're gravitating
towards certain flavours.
We know we're going to play
to our strengths.
Just a given that Billie's
going to be on dessert.
She is a queen of desserts.
And she's doing a spider dessert
featuring coriander.
So, I want to go on the light side.
Normally, tarragon goes very well
with everything - meat or fish.
Tarragon for Aldo works perfectly
with European flavours.
He's happy to take the entrees.
Pan-seared scallops,
gorgeous sauce with tarragon.
Let's go, guys.
Let's go and have a look.
That leaves me on mains with Daniel,
and I'm all vibing for this.
Alright, let's do this! Yoo!
Let's go.
We love our South-East Asian food.
Grab 'em all.
We're doing a beautiful
Thai basil curry with coral trout.
Hey, have you seen the tarragon?
Glucose.
I'm just gonna be running out there
with a bucket of eggplant...
(SARAH LAUGHS)
..like an absolute numpty.
Alright, here we go.
JOCK: It's been a while
since we've had a full gantry.
I know. Wow!
ANDY: They are going to be
brickin' it today.
I know.
The energy raining down
on this service is going to be huge.
Go, Aldo!
JULIE: Huge fish. (LAUGHS)
What kind of fish is it, Jules?
Kingfish.
Kingfish? OK.
Yeah.
Aqua team, who's
leading the charge here?
Oh, Julie. How are you?
(LAUGHS)
Well, we kind of worked out
that these three
were on a course each
and so I'm the main...shouter.
Dr... Yes. I love it.
Our entree is a beautiful
coriander kingfish.
Yep.
And then Alvin's in charge
of a Thai basil curry,
and we're going to do that
with eggplant.
And then we've got
a pineapple dessert.
So, we've got pineapple
with tarragon syrup,
we've got tarragon ice-cream,
we've got a crumb with some cashews
and tarragon through that as well.
OK.
Tell me, immunity challenge -
that spot has gotta be
something that you want.
Oh, look, it is.
And immunity - obviously,
every time you get immunity,
it's one more day in this kitchen.
But, for me, I'd like
that proud moment for them.
I'd like them to see that. (CHUCKLES)
Oh, I mean, I cook
for my boys all the time,
but not here, and not like this.
So, hopefully, I just take
the inspiration of their love
looking down on me,
and turn that into good food.
ALDO: This is a tarragon sauce
that I made at home.
Beautiful.
Sounds fantastic, bro.
My mum, she doesn't eat pretty
much anything except Italian food.
Yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
I'm in charge of the entree course.
The dish that I'm making,
it is pan-seared scallops
with salsa al dragoncello.
A northern Italian sauce,
which means 'tarragon sauce'.
More tarragon?
More tarragon, yeah.
I'm just adding
a little bit at a time.
I'm picking scallops because this
is something that my mum loves.
Oh, my... I seriously can't believe
that my family's here
from the other side of the world,
I finally got a beautiful,
warm hug from my mum,
and that's it, that's what
I was aiming for, to get so far.
(SPEAKS ITALIAN)
Mum is already crying.
Aww!
(CLEARS THROAT) I'll go here.
Mum! What are you making?
I am making fish cafreals,
just for you guys.
Yay!
(CHUCKLES)
I am working on the entree,
pan-seared, marinated kingfish
with cafreal sauce.
How much chilli
can you guys handle today?
Lots!
All of you. Chilli? (LAUGHS)
Julie's assisting
the butchery of the Kingfish
and I'm going to get started
on the cafreal sauce.
Cafreal is a beautiful, green,
vibrant, coriander-forward sauce.
Cooking this will be tough
if it's too thick like that.
Yeah, try that,
and I'll just weigh it.
We've been cooking in the MasterChef
kitchen for a long time now,
so, honestly, seeing my family
walk through today, I'm in tears.
Last time I did MasterChef,
Phoenix was just a baby
and he doesn't remember any of it.
This is for your fish.
Oh, to put it in?
Yeah.
One of the reasons why
I came back to this competition
was to show him that you can
do whatever you set your mind to.
JACKSON: Aunty Sarah,
you need to win this one!
I know.
Yeah, for us!
Thanks for the pressure. (LAUGHS)
I think everyone wants to prove
to their family
that they're the best.
(LAUGHS)
So I think I need to
ruffle things up a little bit.
Hey, Jackie and Phoenix!
Yeah?
Are you allowed to be our snoops,
and see what they're doing,
and tell us?
Or not?
OK, sure.
(LAUGHTER)
Are you training them
to be spies, Sarah Todd?
(LAUGHS)
They are your harshest critics,
and the ones you love the most.
And you've only got
90 minutes to feed them!
(CHEERING)
Keep pushing, Aldo!
Is there any open spots?
Dan! What are you making?
Uh, I'm on Mindy's team,
and we're making the curry together,
so I've gotta fillet all the fish.
I am on the mains course today
with Mindy,
and we are doing Thai Basil Curry
with coral trout.
Alright, let's have
a taste of this quickly.
Colour's good.
Yeah.
So, this is the oil?
Alright, we need
more Thai basil in there.
Yep.
Mindy's been working on
the curry sauce.
My main job is the fish.
Filleting a fish with my family
watching, it's, um...
It's probably the most nervous
I've been in this kitchen so far.
(LAUGHS)
I love cooking with fish,
but today I have to make sure
they're all perfect
because I've got Dad watching.
He's going to be a bit tougher on me
than I think the judges are.
Dad takes his filleting
quite seriously.
Oh... (LAUGHS)
So, when we were kids, we were
always fishing, 'cause Dad loved it.
We always caught it,
Dad would to fillet it,
and then we would have fish
for however long we had it.
STEVE: I'll be...
I'll be watching him.
No pressure at all, eh.
The bloke can fillet a fish
really well, I'll give him that.
I was never that good at it.
Alright, Dad, what do you reckon?
Yeah, you're learning.
I thought you were struggling
there for a minute.
SARAH: Peeling garlic
is the worst job in the world.
Yes. Can you do me some?
(BOTH LAUGH)
No.
I'm going to make the main dish
with Thai basil.
I'm very comfortable
with Thai basil.
I use it quite a lot.
MARK: Alvin, what are you cooking?
I'm making a Thai basil
eggplant curry.
Yum!
Oh, yum!
The curry is essentially a cross
between a red and a green curry.
So, like, green chillies,
you know, lemongrass,
a bit of cumin, shallots, ginger,
and a whole heap of Thai basil.
Mark and my friends
would love the curry
because I think they're just...
they're spice queens.
Green curry.
Green curry, Aunty Sarah!
Green curry?
BOTH: Yep.
OK.
(LAUGHTER)
Little Jackie's a bit chatty.
(LAUGHS)
Oh, he's very chatty.
Mindy and Daniel are also
doing a Thai basil curry,
and I'm up against two of them,
who know flavours, and who can
really sort of pack a punch.
So, if I'm going to win this,
I really need to make sure
that my curry is fresh, is zingy,
and it's Thai basil forward.
Bit of belachan.
ALDO: So, the tarragon sauce,
it's nearly finished.
So, time to take it out.
Good timing, to remember myself.
I'm working on the entrees today.
Now I'm working
onto the pangrattato.
I just want to add a little bit
of texture to this dish,
so the pangrattato needs to give
that crunch at the end.
It's very easy -
the bread needs to dry out
and then it needs to be tossed
through olive oil, anchovy
and garlic, just finely minced.
JOCK: Um, can I taste that?
I need to finish that one.
There's not enough salt in the
breadcrumb, in the pangrattato.
Yeah. I mean, it's just, I'm having
difficulty with the texture of it.
You've got really delicate scallop.
You've got a really smooth sauce.
And then you've got, like...
..real chunky.
Jock thinks that this pangrattato,
it's too rough,
doesn't go together with
the refined scallops and sauce.
I'm just slightly confused.
MARK: What are you going to do?
I don't know. I'm thinking.
I'm thinking.
ANDY: The last thing you want to do
is let your family and friends down.
You've got 45 minutes to go.
What are you going to do?
I don't know.
I'm thinking.
Guanciale?
I'm thinking.
You're wasting time.
Just. Just.
Just think quickly, bro.
They say you got
a very chunky pangrattato.
How are we going to dress it up
a little bit, then?
I don't know. That's the thing.
Maybe go a little bit finer
with the crumb?
With the crumb?
So it looks really delicate.
Blitz it, make it a real
little beautiful, like, crumb.
Crumb, yeah.
It's not as abrasive.
Yeah.
Mindy comes over and say,
let's blitz it.
And I can't believe I actually
didn't think to do that.
Alright? It tastes great, babe.
Done.
Just because I'm too stressed.
And also the overwhelming having
my family around.
There you go.
That's it. Yeah.
Go, Aldo!
Bravo!
It may have taken you a while,
but you finally got the hint!
The answer!
JULIE: I think
the team's going great.
Taste now, Julie.
Sarah has done a wonderful job
on the green coriander sauce.
Steady hands, steady hands.
And a bit of a pickled fennel salad.
The fish is marinated,
ready to cook.
JOCK: How are we looking
for the cook on that fish?
Perfect.
You do have to be careful
because kingfish can go dry.
Seriously dry.
Yes.
So we will have to be careful
with the cook.
Good luck.
Thank you.
Sarah is pretty confident
with all the components of her dish,
so I need to make sure
the fish is cooked perfectly.
Fish is going in. No pressure, Mum.
Ha ha! Thanks, Patty.
Can count on you, bud.
Pan sear it till it's got
a beautiful golden colour on it.
Hot!
Tray goes into the oven,
and I want to make sure
that it is not a degree over
or a degree under
what I want it to be.
Mum, what are you working on?
I'm making a dessert
and I'm making tarragon ice-cream.
Tarragon crumb.
Some grilled pineapple.
Sounds cool.
Today I'm thinking tarragon as
a sweet herb instead of a savoury.
For me, it tastes almost like
an aniseed flavour.
I'm invading on your space, guys.
After my sour cream and tarragon
ice-cream is in the churner,
I'm moving next to the crumb.
I'm using tarragon, sugar, flour,
butter and a bit of salt.
I haven't done a whole course
by myself in any team challenges.
This is the first time.
A few months ago I was just cooking
for my family at home
and now I'm facing against Billie.
She is a dessert queen.
Can you wish me luck?
Yes.
Good luck. You're the best.
Thank you.
But my family's here.
I need to just step up.
I've grown so much, and
the only way I can show them
is by cooking for them.
The crumb's looking nice, Mum.
You're almost at the aromatic
finish line.
15 minutes to go.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE FROM GANTRY)
So I'm on the dessert course.
Surprise, surprise.
I tend to go a little bit
wacky with dessert.
And I'm going to go a little bit
wacky today again and make
a coriander spider.
Spider is obviously the
ice-cream with a fizzy drink.
This is sort of bringing it
into restaurant territory.
I've done the coriander apple sorbet
and I've made
the coriander parfaits.
OK. So many things.
This meringue is looking
pretty amazing.
Yeah.
Talk me through.
Where is coriander featuring
in your dish?
The base is a coriander seed
vanilla lemon parfait.
Yep.
Sitting on top of that
is the apple coriander sorbet.
Love it.
And then this will be coriander
meringue shards
which will sit on top again
and then poured around the outside
will be the fizzy coriander, apple,
bit of gin, bit of lemon...
Yeah.
A coriander praline.
I want, like, something sweet.
Good luck, mate.
Thank you.
So there's a lot to balance here.
And if I don't get it right,
it's just going to taste strange.
But I want to take risks today
because I want to impress my family.
You're happy?
Yes, I am happy.
OK.
I think we're good, Sar.
Yeah.
What's the plan for service?
I'll do sauce and fish, and Sarah
will do the pretty bits on top.
Excellent.
Yep.
Good. Good.
I got a feeling these diners
don't want to wait for their food.
You got 5 minutes to go.
When I start to cook them now,
it's very important
that they're going to be very
perfectly cooked and the plate up,
which nearly finished over there.
So it's very quick and easy.
It's going to be out.
OK. Olive oil.
Where is olive oil?
It is here.
Beautiful.
I'm putting them clockwise,
which means that one is the first.
First one there, yeah.
One and then this way to put them
around, OK?
I want it quickly pan-seared
on just one side,
just flip on
the other side for 20 seconds,
because the residual heat from
the side that have been very hot,
caramelised,
it's going to keep going through.
Mindy, if you can start to take them
out, grab a spoon, please.
A spoon to take them out, please.
Take them out?
Yes.
Listen up,
you've only got one minute to go.
Here we go.
Come on!
Like one tablespoon.
Yep.
Julie and I are working on
entree service,
and I think it's going
really smoothly.
Maybe one and a half.
I'll do that, you do the salad.
Plating my dish.
I've got that beautiful pan-seared
kingfish on the right of the plate
and a good amount of that sauce
going on the left
and topping it
with the pickled salad.
I've been waiting for this all day,
gantry. Let's do it.
Ten!
Nine, eight,
seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one.
Time is up!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Let's go eat.
We've finished.
We're done, we've done them.
This has been crazy.
I am slightly worried
about the pangrattato
and the cook of the scallops.
I hope that they're perfect.
And OK, we bring...
Oh!
I'll go on your right.
Always on your right.
So we got tarragon emulsion
with pan-seared scallop
and pangrattato.
Enjoy.
Thanks, Aldo.
And OK, we...
Ooh! Aldo.
On your right,
always on your right.
So we got tarragon emulsion with
pan-seared scallop and pangrattato.
Enjoy.
JOCK: Thanks, Aldo.
Well, what do we think of the looks?
It's thick.
It is. I can see that he's rectified
that pangrattato.
It was very, very clumpy earlier on.
So he's firmed that up a little bit.
This scallop's beautifully cooked.
Mine too.
Nice and opaque in the centre.
You know, I was definitely hoping
that he would just bring us
a classic dish today,
and he's just done that.
Scallops. All nine of them
were perfectly cooked.
Beautiful crust on the outside,
still just set on the inside.
The sauce. Great tarragon hit.
So, box ticked there.
The pangrattato was nice.
But...was still quite chunky.
I thought he was going to go finer.
So did I.
Yeah.
Overall, the flavour is really,
really nice.
I think a couple of textural issues
really could've taken it
to another level.
Tarragon's shining through,
no question.
You know, hit the brief.
Absolutely.
It was a good dish.
Just not a great dish for me.
There's a lot to really
like about this dish.
I mean, those scallops could not
have been cooked any better.
They were absolutely beautiful.
I think where the problems lie
are in that pangrattato.
You're sort of distracted by that,
whereas it should feel
a little lighter,
a little bit more effortless.
And I didn't get that today.
Yes!
JULIE: Service, please.
Service!
Hey! Alright!
Yeah! Go Julie!
Hello.
MAN: Oh!
SARAH: I'm really happy with
how the dish has turned out,
'cause I think coriander
is really forward in the dish.
Don't fall down the stairs, Sarah.
But I hope the cook on the fish,
consistent across the board,
and the judges love this dish.
Hi.
JUDGES: Hi.
There you go.
That is cafreal
with marinated kingfish.
ANDY: Beautiful.
JOCK: Thank you.
Enjoy. Thanks.
This looks tasty.
It looks inviting.
I immediately want to stick my face
in it.
It smells amazing.
Shall we stick our faces in it?
Yeah.
Let's do it.
My hope this fish
is cooked perfectly.
Mm. Look at that fish.
Ohhh!
Look...look how perfect it is.
MEL: Beautiful.
That, my friends,
was how you do an entree.
How good was that?
What about the hum and the heat
that's in that sauce?
The white pepper coming through.
The coriander is bright
and shiny here.
Obviously, they've hit the brief.
The fish was cooked perfectly.
I love the little side hustle
with the fennel, with the raw onion,
little pomegranate seeds.
You put all of those things
together in your mouth
and you are having
one hell of a time.
It's hitting all the heights.
The way that the spices work
with the coriander, with the cafreal,
is really beautiful.
And then you have the acidity
of the pickles and the pomegranate
just to kind of fill in the edges.
What an entree should be.
An absolute belter.
Winner, winner, fish dinner.
Yeah, look, it doesn't get
any better than that.
Like, you can go to any restaurant
around the world,
you get that bowl of food,
and you are just happy as Larry.
That green sauce is the perfect
element to put on a dish
where you need to hero coriander,
because that was flawless.
So we're going to tog them
all the way through skin side down.
Kiss them. And then portion.
Totally. Great. Sounds good, mate.
Let's do it.
Entrees are pretty much finished.
Mindy's been working
on the curry sauce.
It's complex.
Like, it's deep.
It's, like, Thai basil flavours,
like, punching through.
And I'm digging it, and I know
that that's going to work beautifully
with the fish if I nail it.
That's the main pressure
point of today.
If the fish isn't cooked properly,
if there's a bone in it,
and if the skin isn't crispy,
it's not going to be enough
to take us home, I don't think.
Let's do it. Let's take it home, hey?
It's like the last sort of 10 minutes
in a footy match, you know?
It all comes down to this.
So you've got to dig deep and make
sure your fish isn't undercooked.
I'm going to have to watch it
so that the cook of the fish
goes up nice and evenly
until it's 80% done.
Yep.
And then going to have to flip it
and just give it under a minute.
I let it rest flesh side down
so that the heat
just sort of takes it up to that
beautiful temperature.
All the juiciness stays
inside the meat.
And that's how I got to do it.
(FISH SIZZLES)
I just want the seal of approval
from Dad.
It's good. Happy with that.
Good to go, right? Service, please.
With the final entrees going out,
it's showtime for me.
Yum.
It's good curry, right?
Yum. Yeah.
The curry - that's nice
and developed.
The eggplant -
I'm gonna deep-fry the eggplant.
So the batter's done.
Three per person?
I think so.
You can't have two and...
No, two's weird.
..if you have more,
there's gonna be five.
Yeah.
We're plating it on a...on a
sort of like a bowl sort of plate
and then the curry is at the bottom
and then the eggplant piled high.
Because this is going to be
a Thai basil challenge,
I wanted to make sure
that it's pretty obvious
that there's Thai basil through it.
Smell this.
It's Thai basil salt.
That's lovely.
So I've done a Thai basil salt,
so that's going to coat the eggplant
after it's been fried.
And that way it will sort of
elevate the curry.
So do you want to put one ladle
of the curry?
Yep. Yep.
Then we start the pass
for the curries.
The curry will sort of sit
at the base of a bowl.
And then on top,
like, just three or...not two.
Not more than three.
Yeah.
Alright.
Service, please.
We're ready for service.
Watching the plates go out the door.
It's quite surreal.
Like, we're going to feed
our families.
Ugh. I just want to show off
to my family.
This one, right?
Yes, please.
I'm happy with my dish.
I think I have ticked a Thai basil
element,
but I'm up against Mindy
and Daniel's curry.
I hope the judges preferred mine.
Hi.
ANDY: Hello.
MEL: Hi!
Eggplant and Thai basil curry
with Thai basil oil
and some rice to go with that.
Hi!
Eggplant and Thai basil curry
with Thai basil oil and some rice
to go with that.
Beauty.
Enjoy.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I feel a little bit conflicted
about this one
because there are some really,
really good flavours going on
in that curry sauce.
But it doesn't feel complete to me.
You know, having these battered
and then fried eggplants
sitting on top of the curry,
I don't know.
It just sort of feels like
two separate dishes.
Yeah, as much as
the sauce is beautiful,
I think the Thai basil has got him,
because that Thai basil salt that
is...that is on there makes...
I don't know if it was just mine.
Oh, there's some on mine. Yeah.
But...and I think it's an addition
to try and boost up the Thai basil
flavour in that curry sauce,
but it makes mine really salty.
Yeah.
The sauce. Knockout. Beautiful.
Delicious. Well-balanced.
Alvin's great at balancing a sauce.
He's great at bringing
a punch of flavour.
It definitely sings
of Thai basil.
I just think as a dish,
as a main course?
Yeah.
It's a tough one.
MINDY: How many portions you got?
Four. That one's ready to be cut up.
OK, alright.
Just double-check the...
Just double-check the temp
and she'll be sweet.
Got a bit of a production line going
so that it's just off, rest, serve,
off, rest, serve,
so that it's the freshest,
well-rested piece of fish
that we can get.
It's just looking perfect.
I'm stoked.
Lovely one for you.
Oh, beautiful, brother. Nice.
Mindy's curry sauce. It's sick.
But for me, it's not nailing
one piece of fish
that you would
normally do on a challenge.
This is 20 plates and a lot
of fish to cook perfectly.
And I just hope that, like,
I've done that.
Your main has arrived.
Ohh!
Your Thai basil fish curry.
Thank you so much, Mindy.
Thanks, Mindy.
JOCK: Thanks, Mindy.
Would you look at that?
Crispy. I got crispy.
Did everyone else get crispy?
Yeah, crispy.
Fish, nicely cooked.
Very nicely cooked.
I'm relieved.
I really enjoyed that.
Me too.
Mm.
Really enjoyed that.
The curry sauce has a slight perfume
of Thai basil,
but then when you get it
with the Thai basil oil
and the fresh Thai basil,
it just gives you dimension
after dimension after dimension
of Thai basil.
So, well played there.
Mm.
My fish.
Lucky enough, for once in my life...
No bones.
No bones.
Yeah!
Perfect skin.
Wow.
Perfect cuisson.
Nailed it.
Thank you very much.
The right amount of char.
Yeah.
Versus the right cook time
on the flesh.
This is a resounding success.
The fish, cooked so beautifully.
The lick of smoke.
Perfect cuisson. Lovely, bubbly,
crunchy sort of skin on top.
That is a crowning glory
to a very successful curry.
I, too, loved it. This really was
all about the Thai basil.
Mindy knows what she's doing
with these flavours.
She knows how to balance it.
Almost perfect, for me.
Almost perfect.
You know what that means?
Mm.
One all.
It's all on for desserts.
Whoo!
(MINDY LAUGHS)
Oh, I'm gassed, man.
Hey! Great work.
Not easy to do. And you did it.
Whoo!
Great.
We'll go do dessert.
OK.
Keyma, what do you need me to do?
We have tarragon everywhere.
There's tarragon in the crumb.
There's tarragon in the ice-cream,
in the tarragon syrup as well.
Tarragon everywhere.
JULIE: Pineapple looks beautiful.
I like it.
I'm just thinking.
Let me try one and see.
I'm making a taster to see
how is the tarragon
throughout the whole dish.
I'm tasting tarragon.
I'm just not sure if the dish
is completely balanced.
It needs acidity.
I feel that it's a bit sweet
with the caramelised pineapple.
OK, Jules, I need you
to try my dish.
Absolutely.
Of course it makes me nervous
to know that Billie is on the other
side of the room cooking dessert.
You right, Billie?
Yeah, I'm good.
But then I need to just focus
on what I'm good at,
which is to be able
to understand flavour.
I'm thinking if we add some
fresh pineapple as well.
Yeah, I actually don't disagree
with that.
Pineapples - they're sweet,
but if we make like
a kind of a salsa salad,
it will tie the whole dish together
with that little bit of acidity.
Just see how you want to plate it,
because this might be one
where we need a few hands on deck.
Yeah.
ALDO: Billie, stunning.
BILLIE: I only want a little bit
of this on there
because it's more about
the ice-cream, right?
That's beautiful.
Let's just use these little ones.
Great, let's do it.
Go.
I hope that's busy enough.
I love that.
Ooh.
Oh, my God.
Do you like it?
It tastes like a spider.
Yeah.
I am happy with the flavours.
It's refreshing
and kind of childlike.
But I'm a bit nervous
that it's kind of wacky.
It literally tastes like a spider.
Yeah, it is like a spider, right?
Coriander's quite savory,
so it's definitely a risk.
Just gotta plate 'em up now.
Get 'em out.
Guys, all hands on deck for this.
Let's do it together.
So to plate up, we put the parfait
in the bowl, put some praline
on top of that, the sorbet on top
of the praline and meringue shards
around the outside.
And then we pour the fizzy
coriander juice into a jug
and we'll serve that at the table.
Alright, cool. Those ones are ready.
OK, let's go.
I've got coriander
in all the elements,
so I just hope that it's balanced.
Mel.
MEL: Hey!
ANDY: We're pouring it.
Yeah.
ALDO: One, two, three.
Missed an episode of MasterChef?
enjoy another serving,
or savour past seasons,
at:
Here she is.
Mel.
Hey!
We're pouring it.
Yeah.
One, two, three.
So it's a coriander spider.
So there's a coriander seed
and vanilla parfait on the bottom,
there's a coriander praline,
an apple coriander sorbet,
coriander meringue,
and finished with a gin,
coriander and apple fizz.
All good.
Thanks, Billie.
Thanks!
She said "coriander"
ten times then!
I think she's hit the brief!
I love this meringue.
It almost tastes like sherbet.
It does.
So...
Hm!
It's very interesting,
but it does make you think,
it does make you work.
I enjoy dishes like that.
I love the floral elements,
and the sorbet,
and the fizzy coriander juice,
but the bitterness of the
coriander seed is a little too much.
It's an interesting one...
Mm.
..I just don't know
if she nailed it.
Hm.
It's a balance, right?
I think each individual component
was nice.
You've got the coriander meringue,
in isolation,
is nice.
The sorbet, again, on its own,
delicious.
It's fragrant, as well as being
sort of acidic and fresh and light.
You've got the praline on the top,
it adds sweetness,
which I think this probably needed
a little bit more sugar in it...
Yeah, I agree.
..in the dessert.
As a whole dish,
it needed more sweetness,
if all of those components
were going to work together.
Mm.
Currently everything!
I'm so proud of myself.
All of the concept is there,
and it was just all me.
OK. Let's do this.
Alright, service.
Thank you, Richie.
But I've seen Billie's desserts
go out,
and they look amazing,
so, yeah, I'm nervous that my dish
is not good enough.
Good luck, Keyma!
Whoo!
Whoo!
Go, Keyma! Yes!
Thank you.
OK, she's going to the judges.
Good luck!
Go, Mum!
You guys, hello, guys.
Hi.
Hello.
The dish is tarragon ice-cream,
tarragon creme,
tarragon and lime syrup,
caramelised pineapple
and fresh pineapple salsa.
Nailed it.
Thank you, Keyma.
Yay!
Enjoy, guys!
Thank you.
That was a solid high five. Did
anyone else get a solid high five?
It was solid.
Yeah, she leant into that one.
OK.
Very interesting dessert.
The little pineapple salsa -
beautiful.
The tarragon crumb is biscuity,
is crumby,
does its job, which is a break-up
from the thick richness
of the ice-cream.
I love the grilled pineapple,
and she's really, really, really
pan-fried that, and got us
a roasty, toasty, charred,
and it was that bitterness
that played off the sweetness
and the acidity from the pineapple,
the richness from the ice-cream.
There's a great balance
between all the flavours.
Delicious.
I think the thing about herbs
is that they blend
so much to a dish,
and they are as multidimensional
as any other, you know,
fruit, vegetable, meat,
whatever you're cooking with.
What she said she loved about
tarragon is that,
almost anise kind of quality to it,
and you can see that in this dish,
because that's the dimension
that she's teased out of the herb,
and so this is a really delicious,
tropical vibe of a dish.
For me, I just gotta,
I gotta hand it to her, like,
she has nailed the tarragon element
and made it sing throughout
all the other elements so well.
You know, we're seeing people
start to show their true colours.
It's skills like that
that win MasterChef.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Just before we disappear,
I wanted to say a big thank you
for coming to dinner this evening,
and please give your top eight
another huge round of applause!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
You know, obviously we see her
cook at home all the time,
but seeing her cook
in a team environment
just shows how skilful, like,
she really is and stuff. Yeah.
And seeing her lead the team,
as well, like, taste things,
check out what other people are
doing and having people come to her,
and she's just thriving here.
She nailed it.
Oh, it was crazy! Them looking
and asking what I was doing.
Normally they just, you know,
run away from the kitchen.
They're too busy, really,
at home,
but then today, just looking at me
was just, ah!
It was crazy.
your team had to put together
a three-course menu
that featured herbs
from this very garden.
Let's run through your dishes,
course by course.
For the entree,
there was a clear, standout winner.
The dish was phenomenal.
The protein was beautifully cooked.
The sauce sang of the chosen herb.
That dish was cooked by...
..the aqua team.
Oh, wow!
Oh, my gosh!
Well done, Sarah.
Thank you.
Thank you. Oh, my God.
Wow.
Phenomenal. Really.
Well done.
Thank you. Thank you.
Next, the main.
This main,
the protein was perfectly cooked,
and the hints of Thai basil
in every element made this dish
multi-dimensional.
Mindy, Daniel,
green team, you smashed it.
What a dish!
Beautiful. Well done.
Thank you.
And so, as it often does, it came
down to the final course,
the dessert.
Keyma versus Billie.
Two very interesting desserts.
Both of them really made us think.
Billie,
every element on your dish
was incredibly well executed.
But when they found themselves
on the same plate...
..they didn't quite work together,
and all of us agreed the dish
would have benefited
with a lot more sweetness.
OK.
Keyma,
the tarragon, it was loud, proud, and
expertly used in all your elements.
It was a delicious dish.
Well done.
Thank you.
Which is why the team going
into tomorrow's immunity cook
is the aqua team.
Whoo!
Well done!
(APPLAUSE)
Amazing!
Oh! You should be proud of yourself!
Aqua team, green team,
hopefully seeing your loved ones
has given you that extra boost
of confidence that will spur all
of you onto the finish line.
Keyma, Julie, Alvin, Sarah,
tomorrow is going to be another
big day for the four of you.
Well done today.
See you all tomorrow.
Thank you!
See you, guys. Well done.
(APPLAUSE)
NARRATOR: Tomorrow night
on MasterChef Australia,
it's well and truly
the pointy end of the competition.
They've made this challenge
almost impossible.
But how will they save themselves...
It looks menacing.
..from a very prickly situation?
(SOMETHING DROPS TO THE FLOOR)
Oh, my God!
Oh, my good God!
Captions by Red Bee Media
on MasterChef Australia...
..it was a pressure test
that was sink or swim.
(GASPS)
JOCK: 99 ingredients.
ALDO: Oh, my God.
143 steps.
(INHALES)
13 pages.
Oh, my God!
All three cooks
made a massive effort...
This is like multi-tasking
to the next level, this dish.
..and everyone was shellshocked
when Montana had to say goodbye.
MONTANA: The cook that I was
at the start of this competition
is a completely different person
from who I am now.
Tonight -
a very special service challenge...
DANIEL: It's probably
the most nervous I've been
in this kitchen so far.
..delivers the biggest surprise yet.
# '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. #
ALDO: Let's go.
No jumping, no skipping,
no doing anything silly.
(DANIEL LAUGHS)
JOCK: There they are.
(LAUGHS)
MINDY: Maybe... Ooh.
What's that?
SARAH: I don't know.
Yesterday, Montana left,
which means Keyma and I
are the last remaining Fans.
Definitely feeling the pressure
a little bit more
and it's gonna only get tougher
but we've worked hard to get here
and we're gonna keep fighting
and try and make it
to that finish line.
Hello, everybody!
ALL: Hello!
Welcome to the marvellous
MasterChef kitchen garden.
You might be wondering why we're out
here and not in there,
well, it's not just
to enjoy the scenery.
Tonight will be a service challenge.
ALL: Ooh.
And you're gonna be highlighting some
of the incredibly special produce
grown right in this very garden.
JULIE: I'm really excited by this.
I love service challenges
and I love cooking from the produce
in the garden
'cause anything that's freshly
harvested is at its peak.
First things first,
let's get into teams.
MINDY: Here we go.
MEL: Alright.
Take an apron out of the magic bag.
Don't look.
ALVIN: I pull out an apron
and I've got aqua
and I'm cooking alongside
Sarah, Keyma and Julie.
It's a good team.
Sarah's got a lot of restaurant
experience,
I know my flavours,
Keyma is the dark dessert horse...
(LAUGHS)
..and Julie is the classic home cook
that knows how to mass-feed.
I can see you all eyeing off
the goodies
that this garden has to offer
but before you decide on anything,
you should know that today's service
is all about herbs.
Ooh.
(CHUCKLES) In a moment,
a member of both teams
will peruse the MasterChef garden
and select one herb each.
WE will then pick a third.
You'll use one herb in the entree,
one in the main
and one in the dessert.
Both teams will have to cook
with the same three herbs
across their entire menu.
But they can choose which course
they go in.
So decide who's going to
be your team's herb picker.
ANDY: Chief herb picker!
SARAH: Yes. (LAUGHS)
Keyma and Daniel.
Alright, off you go.
Peruse the garden, choose a herb.
ALDO: Have a good sniff around.
I'm picking the first herb
for the green team
and I'm having a quick look around...
MINDY: Something that's really
aromatic.
Pick something that's lots of...
Yeah.
Something that's aromatic.
Don't know what to pick.
ALVIN: Good choice, Keyma.
I see that Keym's gone straight
for a herb.
ALDO: Come on, pick a good herb.
Herbs are good anyway,
they're delicious.
Do not sabotage us!
Loads of flavour.
And then I see the Thai basil.
I love Thai basil.
It grows like a weed in Darwin.
And I know Mindy loves it.
It's aniseedy so Billie could use
it in a dessert, perhaps.
So I go for the Thai basil.
I think it's a good choice.
MEL: OK, so chief herb pickers
have done their job.
Keyma, what have you chosen?
I've chosen coriander.
Fantastic. And Daniel?
Thai basil.
Thai basil.
Alright, Jock, would you like
to go an pick a third?
Why not. I think I might...
rumble it up a little bit.
(ALL EXCLAIM AND LAUGH)
JULIE: Course you will!
Shake it up!
BILLIE: Of course.
ANDY: Don't be nice.
Curveball! Top eight.
ALDO: What are you picking?
Ooh, yes!
(CHORTLES)
Tarragon?
JULIE: Uh-huh.
So the three herbs that you're
cooking with today are
coriander,
tarragon
and Thai basil.
Tarragon. It is so different
to coriander and Thai basil.
But it wouldn't be MasterChef if
we didn't spice it up a little bit.
Wouldn't be.
Right. You know WHAT you'll be
cooking with...
..but, not who you'll be feeding.
These diners, they're some
of the harshest critics
that you guys will ever meet.
They're ruthless.
They're thorough.
And they will be watching everything
that you do today.
Right from the very first second...
(SIGHS)
..right to the minute
that they receive their food.
Good thing for you guys...
..is that...
..they're also your number-one fans.
ALVIN: No.
JULIE: Can't be.
Oh, my God!
My God.
(CRIES)
(TEARFULLY) Running towards me...
..are my boys.
My husband and my three sons.
And I can't even tell you
how happy I am to see them.
I miss those people so much.
They're the guys that are making
a sacrifice for me to be here.
So their support is
so incredibly special to me.
(CRIES)
ALDO: Oh, Mindy!
MINDY: Oh, my God. (LAUGHS)
Oh, Mindy.
(CRIES)
My mum, my dad and my Aunty Ros have
just walked around the corner.
I haven't seen my family
since Christmas.
Hello.
It is just everything
that we've needed right now
to keep pushing us and keep
spurring us on in this competition.
Oh, stop.
(LAUGHTER)
(TEARFULLY) No, I can't.
I can't.
Oh. It's so overwhelming,
seeing Mark.
Hello. (LAUGHS)
Guys!
Been so long
and without his support,
I wouldn't even be able
to last the first week.
Yeah, I'm surviving. Surviving.
For him to actually experience
this - physically be here -
it's truly, truly special.
Oh, my leg shake's come back, man.
Oh, you can see that we ALL
won't be here
if it's not for the love
and support of our family.
(SQUEALS)
My baby!
Oh, my God.
How are ya?
Dan!
DANIEL: I see the... My missus,
Kassie, running round the corner...
Oh, God, I haven't seen her
for so long.
This is so cool. Like...
I can't help it, I'm, like, tearing
up and getting all bloody emotional.
Oh, no way!
Then I see Mum and Dad
and my two brothers
and I just can't bloody believe it.
(CHUCKLES) It's just incredible.
How are you, mate?
Oh, my old man's like
the typical old Aussie bloke -
no emotions, no feelings, you know,
"How you going, mate?" and handshake.
So I've even gone in for the awkward
handshake and there's a cuddle
and, you know? (LAUGHS)
Hello, beautiful. Love you.
G'day, mate, how are ya?
How are you?
You know, like, I wanna really
show them what I can do.
Oh, God, I'm shaking.
Oh, my love.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God! Phoenix!
Phoenix!
Oh, my God.
Oh, shit.
ALDO: (LAUGHS)
Everybody's family is coming in.
It is very exciting.
Oh, my God.
(LAUGHTER)
But at the other end,
I'm start to think
my family is on the other side
of the world
and I got just my husband here.
Aldo...you ready for this?
(SNIFFS)
Oh, Aldo.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
Oh, that's my mum!
(LAUGHTER)
That's my mum and sister!
Mum!
I can't believe it.
Is just so...overwhelming, actually.
And it's been nearly three years
that I haven't seen my mum
thanks to COVID
and it's been so hard.
And they're gonna see me cook
in this crazy environment.
It's just so good.
Hello.
Hi, guys. How you going?
Aldo, introduce us
to your family, mate.
Well, I got my niece, Ginevra.
Hi.
Hi.
Nice to meet you.
And I got my younger sister.
Hi, everybody.
Hello.
Then, my mum.
Hi, mum.
(LAUGHTER)
How long has it been
since you've seen your mum?
November 2019.
(ALL EXCLAIM)
Wow.
My family's on the other side
of the world. And it's...
That Facetime phone call,
it's never gonna be enough.
A hug from my mum today
that I haven't seen in ages...
Hey, I think you missed somebody.
(LAUGHTER)
My husband as well!
My husband, sorry!
Sarah.
So it's my mum, Lorraine.
Hi, mum.
My two brothers, Matthew and Steven.
Nice to meet you.
And then this is my son, Phoenix.
And my nephew Jackson,
who also comes everywhere with me.
So he's like, yeah, my second child.
(LAUGHS)
Phoenix, what about Mum's cooking?
I love it.
You love it?
(LAUGHTER)
Course you do.
Keyma?
This is my son, Osvaldo.
Hi.
Bella is my daughter.
Bella, nice to meet you.
And Eugene, my husband.
Hi.
Hi.
You guys must be pretty proud of Mum.
Yep.
Absolutely.
We've been encouraging her
to go into the show for years
and seeing her now, here,
it's unreal.
(CHUCKLES)
Billie, why don't you introduce us
to your family?
Sure. This is my husband, Haydn.
This is my nan, Sheila.
Hi, Nan.
(CHUCKLES)
My mum, Alison, and my dad, Dave.
Hi, Alison. Hi, Dad.
(SIGHS) Oh!
(CHUCKLES)
Dave, the last time you were
in a MasterChef kitchen,
Billie was holding the trophy
above her head, right?
Proud moment for you?
Very, mate, yeah.
I didn't think I'd get emotional
this time, but, uh...
(LAUGHTER)
It's, uh...
When she started, I started, so...
Daniel, we've got the whole
of the Northern Territory here,
by the look of it.
(LAUGHTER)
Who have we got?
So this is my lovely mother, Trina.
Hi, Mum.
Old boy, Steve.
Hi, Dad.
Um, my older brother, Cameron,
younger brother, Hayden,
and my beautiful girlfriend, Kassie.
Hi.
Alvin?
This is my partner, Mark, and
these are my friends Mel and Dan.
Mindy, introduce us to your family.
This is my mum, Brenda, my dad,
Gary, and my Aunty Rosie Sten.
Julie Goodwin!
Mick, 14 years later,
Julie decides she's coming back
to the MasterChef kitchen.
Do you think it was a good idea?
Yeah. I did, actually.
Just changed our life in such
a positive, amazing way.
It's given us so many experiences
as a family
and so, it was really a no-brainer.
Julie, what do these boys
mean to you?
I mean, you guys look super tight.
They're my babies. (CHUCKLES)
My little babies.
And this one's given me
another little baby girl, so, um...
Yeah, they're the reason
for everything.
They're the reason...I cook.
They're my favourite people
in the world
and the nights where we get to sit
around the table together
and eat together are
my favourite times in my life.
Um, I wouldn't trade them
for anything.
Do you reckon Mum can do it,
14 years later?
150%.
There we go.
150%! I like it.
MEL: OK, well, we know this is
a service challenge
for the most-loved people
in your lives.
Your three courses today
must feature
the three herbs in front of us.
Coriander,
Thai basil
and tarragon.
You will have 2.5 hours
before your entrees need to start
leaving the pass.
And of course,
you don't only need to feed us,
but also, you need to feed
your family and friends.
The winning team today goes
into tomorrow's immunity cook
to vie for safety
from Sunday's elimination.
And we all know herbs
are a family of plants
used to take food to another level.
With your families here,
let's hope they can do the same.
We'll give you a few minutes
to catch up
and then as soon as you step
into the MasterChef kitchen,
your time will start.
Good luck.
Lovely to meet you all!
Hey!
(APPLAUSE)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Having my family here
is so incredibly special
and the idea that they're
not just here to watch...
I'm gonna say,
"Mum, what you cooking?"
"What you cooking?" (LAUGHS)
..they are here to dine
in the MasterChef restaurant today
and they're here for us
to cook for them.
I cried all my make-up off
and I had to put it back on.
Now I've cried it all off again.
It's just a gift that I am
so grateful for.
Good luck, guys.
Bye!
Oh, my God.
Well, green team and aqua team,
that was a bit of fun,
but now we're down to business.
Your 2.5 hours starts now.
JOCK: Let's go, guys.
BILLIE: OK. What's...?
MINDY: So, our three herbs.
Does anyone have a preference in
terms of what they would like to use?
What an incredible
team challenge today.
We have to feature herbs
throughout three courses in our menu.
How about we do a really nice
eggplant Thai basil curry?
Our family and friends are here
and we're just about
to cook for them.
We've somehow got to, like, pull
all that energy back and refocus
because we've got to serve them up
some delicious food.
I want tarragon, if you're
alright, guys. Is that alright?
Yep. I would like...coriander.
Coriander?
Yep. Beautiful.
You want coriander?
Yeah, I want coriander.
Amazing.
Is that alright?
So, I guess we've got Thai basil.
Alright, so...
Is that alright?
Well, I'm just...
I'm just calling it out.
Billie, are you happy to do dessert?
Yeah.
That's where I was going with it.
OK. OK.
Dessert. Dessert all the way.
OK.
As a team, I think we're gravitating
towards certain flavours.
We know we're going to play
to our strengths.
Just a given that Billie's
going to be on dessert.
She is a queen of desserts.
And she's doing a spider dessert
featuring coriander.
So, I want to go on the light side.
Normally, tarragon goes very well
with everything - meat or fish.
Tarragon for Aldo works perfectly
with European flavours.
He's happy to take the entrees.
Pan-seared scallops,
gorgeous sauce with tarragon.
Let's go, guys.
Let's go and have a look.
That leaves me on mains with Daniel,
and I'm all vibing for this.
Alright, let's do this! Yoo!
Let's go.
We love our South-East Asian food.
Grab 'em all.
We're doing a beautiful
Thai basil curry with coral trout.
Hey, have you seen the tarragon?
Glucose.
I'm just gonna be running out there
with a bucket of eggplant...
(SARAH LAUGHS)
..like an absolute numpty.
Alright, here we go.
JOCK: It's been a while
since we've had a full gantry.
I know. Wow!
ANDY: They are going to be
brickin' it today.
I know.
The energy raining down
on this service is going to be huge.
Go, Aldo!
JULIE: Huge fish. (LAUGHS)
What kind of fish is it, Jules?
Kingfish.
Kingfish? OK.
Yeah.
Aqua team, who's
leading the charge here?
Oh, Julie. How are you?
(LAUGHS)
Well, we kind of worked out
that these three
were on a course each
and so I'm the main...shouter.
Dr... Yes. I love it.
Our entree is a beautiful
coriander kingfish.
Yep.
And then Alvin's in charge
of a Thai basil curry,
and we're going to do that
with eggplant.
And then we've got
a pineapple dessert.
So, we've got pineapple
with tarragon syrup,
we've got tarragon ice-cream,
we've got a crumb with some cashews
and tarragon through that as well.
OK.
Tell me, immunity challenge -
that spot has gotta be
something that you want.
Oh, look, it is.
And immunity - obviously,
every time you get immunity,
it's one more day in this kitchen.
But, for me, I'd like
that proud moment for them.
I'd like them to see that. (CHUCKLES)
Oh, I mean, I cook
for my boys all the time,
but not here, and not like this.
So, hopefully, I just take
the inspiration of their love
looking down on me,
and turn that into good food.
ALDO: This is a tarragon sauce
that I made at home.
Beautiful.
Sounds fantastic, bro.
My mum, she doesn't eat pretty
much anything except Italian food.
Yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
I'm in charge of the entree course.
The dish that I'm making,
it is pan-seared scallops
with salsa al dragoncello.
A northern Italian sauce,
which means 'tarragon sauce'.
More tarragon?
More tarragon, yeah.
I'm just adding
a little bit at a time.
I'm picking scallops because this
is something that my mum loves.
Oh, my... I seriously can't believe
that my family's here
from the other side of the world,
I finally got a beautiful,
warm hug from my mum,
and that's it, that's what
I was aiming for, to get so far.
(SPEAKS ITALIAN)
Mum is already crying.
Aww!
(CLEARS THROAT) I'll go here.
Mum! What are you making?
I am making fish cafreals,
just for you guys.
Yay!
(CHUCKLES)
I am working on the entree,
pan-seared, marinated kingfish
with cafreal sauce.
How much chilli
can you guys handle today?
Lots!
All of you. Chilli? (LAUGHS)
Julie's assisting
the butchery of the Kingfish
and I'm going to get started
on the cafreal sauce.
Cafreal is a beautiful, green,
vibrant, coriander-forward sauce.
Cooking this will be tough
if it's too thick like that.
Yeah, try that,
and I'll just weigh it.
We've been cooking in the MasterChef
kitchen for a long time now,
so, honestly, seeing my family
walk through today, I'm in tears.
Last time I did MasterChef,
Phoenix was just a baby
and he doesn't remember any of it.
This is for your fish.
Oh, to put it in?
Yeah.
One of the reasons why
I came back to this competition
was to show him that you can
do whatever you set your mind to.
JACKSON: Aunty Sarah,
you need to win this one!
I know.
Yeah, for us!
Thanks for the pressure. (LAUGHS)
I think everyone wants to prove
to their family
that they're the best.
(LAUGHS)
So I think I need to
ruffle things up a little bit.
Hey, Jackie and Phoenix!
Yeah?
Are you allowed to be our snoops,
and see what they're doing,
and tell us?
Or not?
OK, sure.
(LAUGHTER)
Are you training them
to be spies, Sarah Todd?
(LAUGHS)
They are your harshest critics,
and the ones you love the most.
And you've only got
90 minutes to feed them!
(CHEERING)
Keep pushing, Aldo!
Is there any open spots?
Dan! What are you making?
Uh, I'm on Mindy's team,
and we're making the curry together,
so I've gotta fillet all the fish.
I am on the mains course today
with Mindy,
and we are doing Thai Basil Curry
with coral trout.
Alright, let's have
a taste of this quickly.
Colour's good.
Yeah.
So, this is the oil?
Alright, we need
more Thai basil in there.
Yep.
Mindy's been working on
the curry sauce.
My main job is the fish.
Filleting a fish with my family
watching, it's, um...
It's probably the most nervous
I've been in this kitchen so far.
(LAUGHS)
I love cooking with fish,
but today I have to make sure
they're all perfect
because I've got Dad watching.
He's going to be a bit tougher on me
than I think the judges are.
Dad takes his filleting
quite seriously.
Oh... (LAUGHS)
So, when we were kids, we were
always fishing, 'cause Dad loved it.
We always caught it,
Dad would to fillet it,
and then we would have fish
for however long we had it.
STEVE: I'll be...
I'll be watching him.
No pressure at all, eh.
The bloke can fillet a fish
really well, I'll give him that.
I was never that good at it.
Alright, Dad, what do you reckon?
Yeah, you're learning.
I thought you were struggling
there for a minute.
SARAH: Peeling garlic
is the worst job in the world.
Yes. Can you do me some?
(BOTH LAUGH)
No.
I'm going to make the main dish
with Thai basil.
I'm very comfortable
with Thai basil.
I use it quite a lot.
MARK: Alvin, what are you cooking?
I'm making a Thai basil
eggplant curry.
Yum!
Oh, yum!
The curry is essentially a cross
between a red and a green curry.
So, like, green chillies,
you know, lemongrass,
a bit of cumin, shallots, ginger,
and a whole heap of Thai basil.
Mark and my friends
would love the curry
because I think they're just...
they're spice queens.
Green curry.
Green curry, Aunty Sarah!
Green curry?
BOTH: Yep.
OK.
(LAUGHTER)
Little Jackie's a bit chatty.
(LAUGHS)
Oh, he's very chatty.
Mindy and Daniel are also
doing a Thai basil curry,
and I'm up against two of them,
who know flavours, and who can
really sort of pack a punch.
So, if I'm going to win this,
I really need to make sure
that my curry is fresh, is zingy,
and it's Thai basil forward.
Bit of belachan.
ALDO: So, the tarragon sauce,
it's nearly finished.
So, time to take it out.
Good timing, to remember myself.
I'm working on the entrees today.
Now I'm working
onto the pangrattato.
I just want to add a little bit
of texture to this dish,
so the pangrattato needs to give
that crunch at the end.
It's very easy -
the bread needs to dry out
and then it needs to be tossed
through olive oil, anchovy
and garlic, just finely minced.
JOCK: Um, can I taste that?
I need to finish that one.
There's not enough salt in the
breadcrumb, in the pangrattato.
Yeah. I mean, it's just, I'm having
difficulty with the texture of it.
You've got really delicate scallop.
You've got a really smooth sauce.
And then you've got, like...
..real chunky.
Jock thinks that this pangrattato,
it's too rough,
doesn't go together with
the refined scallops and sauce.
I'm just slightly confused.
MARK: What are you going to do?
I don't know. I'm thinking.
I'm thinking.
ANDY: The last thing you want to do
is let your family and friends down.
You've got 45 minutes to go.
What are you going to do?
I don't know.
I'm thinking.
Guanciale?
I'm thinking.
You're wasting time.
Just. Just.
Just think quickly, bro.
They say you got
a very chunky pangrattato.
How are we going to dress it up
a little bit, then?
I don't know. That's the thing.
Maybe go a little bit finer
with the crumb?
With the crumb?
So it looks really delicate.
Blitz it, make it a real
little beautiful, like, crumb.
Crumb, yeah.
It's not as abrasive.
Yeah.
Mindy comes over and say,
let's blitz it.
And I can't believe I actually
didn't think to do that.
Alright? It tastes great, babe.
Done.
Just because I'm too stressed.
And also the overwhelming having
my family around.
There you go.
That's it. Yeah.
Go, Aldo!
Bravo!
It may have taken you a while,
but you finally got the hint!
The answer!
JULIE: I think
the team's going great.
Taste now, Julie.
Sarah has done a wonderful job
on the green coriander sauce.
Steady hands, steady hands.
And a bit of a pickled fennel salad.
The fish is marinated,
ready to cook.
JOCK: How are we looking
for the cook on that fish?
Perfect.
You do have to be careful
because kingfish can go dry.
Seriously dry.
Yes.
So we will have to be careful
with the cook.
Good luck.
Thank you.
Sarah is pretty confident
with all the components of her dish,
so I need to make sure
the fish is cooked perfectly.
Fish is going in. No pressure, Mum.
Ha ha! Thanks, Patty.
Can count on you, bud.
Pan sear it till it's got
a beautiful golden colour on it.
Hot!
Tray goes into the oven,
and I want to make sure
that it is not a degree over
or a degree under
what I want it to be.
Mum, what are you working on?
I'm making a dessert
and I'm making tarragon ice-cream.
Tarragon crumb.
Some grilled pineapple.
Sounds cool.
Today I'm thinking tarragon as
a sweet herb instead of a savoury.
For me, it tastes almost like
an aniseed flavour.
I'm invading on your space, guys.
After my sour cream and tarragon
ice-cream is in the churner,
I'm moving next to the crumb.
I'm using tarragon, sugar, flour,
butter and a bit of salt.
I haven't done a whole course
by myself in any team challenges.
This is the first time.
A few months ago I was just cooking
for my family at home
and now I'm facing against Billie.
She is a dessert queen.
Can you wish me luck?
Yes.
Good luck. You're the best.
Thank you.
But my family's here.
I need to just step up.
I've grown so much, and
the only way I can show them
is by cooking for them.
The crumb's looking nice, Mum.
You're almost at the aromatic
finish line.
15 minutes to go.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE FROM GANTRY)
So I'm on the dessert course.
Surprise, surprise.
I tend to go a little bit
wacky with dessert.
And I'm going to go a little bit
wacky today again and make
a coriander spider.
Spider is obviously the
ice-cream with a fizzy drink.
This is sort of bringing it
into restaurant territory.
I've done the coriander apple sorbet
and I've made
the coriander parfaits.
OK. So many things.
This meringue is looking
pretty amazing.
Yeah.
Talk me through.
Where is coriander featuring
in your dish?
The base is a coriander seed
vanilla lemon parfait.
Yep.
Sitting on top of that
is the apple coriander sorbet.
Love it.
And then this will be coriander
meringue shards
which will sit on top again
and then poured around the outside
will be the fizzy coriander, apple,
bit of gin, bit of lemon...
Yeah.
A coriander praline.
I want, like, something sweet.
Good luck, mate.
Thank you.
So there's a lot to balance here.
And if I don't get it right,
it's just going to taste strange.
But I want to take risks today
because I want to impress my family.
You're happy?
Yes, I am happy.
OK.
I think we're good, Sar.
Yeah.
What's the plan for service?
I'll do sauce and fish, and Sarah
will do the pretty bits on top.
Excellent.
Yep.
Good. Good.
I got a feeling these diners
don't want to wait for their food.
You got 5 minutes to go.
When I start to cook them now,
it's very important
that they're going to be very
perfectly cooked and the plate up,
which nearly finished over there.
So it's very quick and easy.
It's going to be out.
OK. Olive oil.
Where is olive oil?
It is here.
Beautiful.
I'm putting them clockwise,
which means that one is the first.
First one there, yeah.
One and then this way to put them
around, OK?
I want it quickly pan-seared
on just one side,
just flip on
the other side for 20 seconds,
because the residual heat from
the side that have been very hot,
caramelised,
it's going to keep going through.
Mindy, if you can start to take them
out, grab a spoon, please.
A spoon to take them out, please.
Take them out?
Yes.
Listen up,
you've only got one minute to go.
Here we go.
Come on!
Like one tablespoon.
Yep.
Julie and I are working on
entree service,
and I think it's going
really smoothly.
Maybe one and a half.
I'll do that, you do the salad.
Plating my dish.
I've got that beautiful pan-seared
kingfish on the right of the plate
and a good amount of that sauce
going on the left
and topping it
with the pickled salad.
I've been waiting for this all day,
gantry. Let's do it.
Ten!
Nine, eight,
seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one.
Time is up!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Let's go eat.
We've finished.
We're done, we've done them.
This has been crazy.
I am slightly worried
about the pangrattato
and the cook of the scallops.
I hope that they're perfect.
And OK, we bring...
Oh!
I'll go on your right.
Always on your right.
So we got tarragon emulsion
with pan-seared scallop
and pangrattato.
Enjoy.
Thanks, Aldo.
And OK, we...
Ooh! Aldo.
On your right,
always on your right.
So we got tarragon emulsion with
pan-seared scallop and pangrattato.
Enjoy.
JOCK: Thanks, Aldo.
Well, what do we think of the looks?
It's thick.
It is. I can see that he's rectified
that pangrattato.
It was very, very clumpy earlier on.
So he's firmed that up a little bit.
This scallop's beautifully cooked.
Mine too.
Nice and opaque in the centre.
You know, I was definitely hoping
that he would just bring us
a classic dish today,
and he's just done that.
Scallops. All nine of them
were perfectly cooked.
Beautiful crust on the outside,
still just set on the inside.
The sauce. Great tarragon hit.
So, box ticked there.
The pangrattato was nice.
But...was still quite chunky.
I thought he was going to go finer.
So did I.
Yeah.
Overall, the flavour is really,
really nice.
I think a couple of textural issues
really could've taken it
to another level.
Tarragon's shining through,
no question.
You know, hit the brief.
Absolutely.
It was a good dish.
Just not a great dish for me.
There's a lot to really
like about this dish.
I mean, those scallops could not
have been cooked any better.
They were absolutely beautiful.
I think where the problems lie
are in that pangrattato.
You're sort of distracted by that,
whereas it should feel
a little lighter,
a little bit more effortless.
And I didn't get that today.
Yes!
JULIE: Service, please.
Service!
Hey! Alright!
Yeah! Go Julie!
Hello.
MAN: Oh!
SARAH: I'm really happy with
how the dish has turned out,
'cause I think coriander
is really forward in the dish.
Don't fall down the stairs, Sarah.
But I hope the cook on the fish,
consistent across the board,
and the judges love this dish.
Hi.
JUDGES: Hi.
There you go.
That is cafreal
with marinated kingfish.
ANDY: Beautiful.
JOCK: Thank you.
Enjoy. Thanks.
This looks tasty.
It looks inviting.
I immediately want to stick my face
in it.
It smells amazing.
Shall we stick our faces in it?
Yeah.
Let's do it.
My hope this fish
is cooked perfectly.
Mm. Look at that fish.
Ohhh!
Look...look how perfect it is.
MEL: Beautiful.
That, my friends,
was how you do an entree.
How good was that?
What about the hum and the heat
that's in that sauce?
The white pepper coming through.
The coriander is bright
and shiny here.
Obviously, they've hit the brief.
The fish was cooked perfectly.
I love the little side hustle
with the fennel, with the raw onion,
little pomegranate seeds.
You put all of those things
together in your mouth
and you are having
one hell of a time.
It's hitting all the heights.
The way that the spices work
with the coriander, with the cafreal,
is really beautiful.
And then you have the acidity
of the pickles and the pomegranate
just to kind of fill in the edges.
What an entree should be.
An absolute belter.
Winner, winner, fish dinner.
Yeah, look, it doesn't get
any better than that.
Like, you can go to any restaurant
around the world,
you get that bowl of food,
and you are just happy as Larry.
That green sauce is the perfect
element to put on a dish
where you need to hero coriander,
because that was flawless.
So we're going to tog them
all the way through skin side down.
Kiss them. And then portion.
Totally. Great. Sounds good, mate.
Let's do it.
Entrees are pretty much finished.
Mindy's been working
on the curry sauce.
It's complex.
Like, it's deep.
It's, like, Thai basil flavours,
like, punching through.
And I'm digging it, and I know
that that's going to work beautifully
with the fish if I nail it.
That's the main pressure
point of today.
If the fish isn't cooked properly,
if there's a bone in it,
and if the skin isn't crispy,
it's not going to be enough
to take us home, I don't think.
Let's do it. Let's take it home, hey?
It's like the last sort of 10 minutes
in a footy match, you know?
It all comes down to this.
So you've got to dig deep and make
sure your fish isn't undercooked.
I'm going to have to watch it
so that the cook of the fish
goes up nice and evenly
until it's 80% done.
Yep.
And then going to have to flip it
and just give it under a minute.
I let it rest flesh side down
so that the heat
just sort of takes it up to that
beautiful temperature.
All the juiciness stays
inside the meat.
And that's how I got to do it.
(FISH SIZZLES)
I just want the seal of approval
from Dad.
It's good. Happy with that.
Good to go, right? Service, please.
With the final entrees going out,
it's showtime for me.
Yum.
It's good curry, right?
Yum. Yeah.
The curry - that's nice
and developed.
The eggplant -
I'm gonna deep-fry the eggplant.
So the batter's done.
Three per person?
I think so.
You can't have two and...
No, two's weird.
..if you have more,
there's gonna be five.
Yeah.
We're plating it on a...on a
sort of like a bowl sort of plate
and then the curry is at the bottom
and then the eggplant piled high.
Because this is going to be
a Thai basil challenge,
I wanted to make sure
that it's pretty obvious
that there's Thai basil through it.
Smell this.
It's Thai basil salt.
That's lovely.
So I've done a Thai basil salt,
so that's going to coat the eggplant
after it's been fried.
And that way it will sort of
elevate the curry.
So do you want to put one ladle
of the curry?
Yep. Yep.
Then we start the pass
for the curries.
The curry will sort of sit
at the base of a bowl.
And then on top,
like, just three or...not two.
Not more than three.
Yeah.
Alright.
Service, please.
We're ready for service.
Watching the plates go out the door.
It's quite surreal.
Like, we're going to feed
our families.
Ugh. I just want to show off
to my family.
This one, right?
Yes, please.
I'm happy with my dish.
I think I have ticked a Thai basil
element,
but I'm up against Mindy
and Daniel's curry.
I hope the judges preferred mine.
Hi.
ANDY: Hello.
MEL: Hi!
Eggplant and Thai basil curry
with Thai basil oil
and some rice to go with that.
Hi!
Eggplant and Thai basil curry
with Thai basil oil and some rice
to go with that.
Beauty.
Enjoy.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I feel a little bit conflicted
about this one
because there are some really,
really good flavours going on
in that curry sauce.
But it doesn't feel complete to me.
You know, having these battered
and then fried eggplants
sitting on top of the curry,
I don't know.
It just sort of feels like
two separate dishes.
Yeah, as much as
the sauce is beautiful,
I think the Thai basil has got him,
because that Thai basil salt that
is...that is on there makes...
I don't know if it was just mine.
Oh, there's some on mine. Yeah.
But...and I think it's an addition
to try and boost up the Thai basil
flavour in that curry sauce,
but it makes mine really salty.
Yeah.
The sauce. Knockout. Beautiful.
Delicious. Well-balanced.
Alvin's great at balancing a sauce.
He's great at bringing
a punch of flavour.
It definitely sings
of Thai basil.
I just think as a dish,
as a main course?
Yeah.
It's a tough one.
MINDY: How many portions you got?
Four. That one's ready to be cut up.
OK, alright.
Just double-check the...
Just double-check the temp
and she'll be sweet.
Got a bit of a production line going
so that it's just off, rest, serve,
off, rest, serve,
so that it's the freshest,
well-rested piece of fish
that we can get.
It's just looking perfect.
I'm stoked.
Lovely one for you.
Oh, beautiful, brother. Nice.
Mindy's curry sauce. It's sick.
But for me, it's not nailing
one piece of fish
that you would
normally do on a challenge.
This is 20 plates and a lot
of fish to cook perfectly.
And I just hope that, like,
I've done that.
Your main has arrived.
Ohh!
Your Thai basil fish curry.
Thank you so much, Mindy.
Thanks, Mindy.
JOCK: Thanks, Mindy.
Would you look at that?
Crispy. I got crispy.
Did everyone else get crispy?
Yeah, crispy.
Fish, nicely cooked.
Very nicely cooked.
I'm relieved.
I really enjoyed that.
Me too.
Mm.
Really enjoyed that.
The curry sauce has a slight perfume
of Thai basil,
but then when you get it
with the Thai basil oil
and the fresh Thai basil,
it just gives you dimension
after dimension after dimension
of Thai basil.
So, well played there.
Mm.
My fish.
Lucky enough, for once in my life...
No bones.
No bones.
Yeah!
Perfect skin.
Wow.
Perfect cuisson.
Nailed it.
Thank you very much.
The right amount of char.
Yeah.
Versus the right cook time
on the flesh.
This is a resounding success.
The fish, cooked so beautifully.
The lick of smoke.
Perfect cuisson. Lovely, bubbly,
crunchy sort of skin on top.
That is a crowning glory
to a very successful curry.
I, too, loved it. This really was
all about the Thai basil.
Mindy knows what she's doing
with these flavours.
She knows how to balance it.
Almost perfect, for me.
Almost perfect.
You know what that means?
Mm.
One all.
It's all on for desserts.
Whoo!
(MINDY LAUGHS)
Oh, I'm gassed, man.
Hey! Great work.
Not easy to do. And you did it.
Whoo!
Great.
We'll go do dessert.
OK.
Keyma, what do you need me to do?
We have tarragon everywhere.
There's tarragon in the crumb.
There's tarragon in the ice-cream,
in the tarragon syrup as well.
Tarragon everywhere.
JULIE: Pineapple looks beautiful.
I like it.
I'm just thinking.
Let me try one and see.
I'm making a taster to see
how is the tarragon
throughout the whole dish.
I'm tasting tarragon.
I'm just not sure if the dish
is completely balanced.
It needs acidity.
I feel that it's a bit sweet
with the caramelised pineapple.
OK, Jules, I need you
to try my dish.
Absolutely.
Of course it makes me nervous
to know that Billie is on the other
side of the room cooking dessert.
You right, Billie?
Yeah, I'm good.
But then I need to just focus
on what I'm good at,
which is to be able
to understand flavour.
I'm thinking if we add some
fresh pineapple as well.
Yeah, I actually don't disagree
with that.
Pineapples - they're sweet,
but if we make like
a kind of a salsa salad,
it will tie the whole dish together
with that little bit of acidity.
Just see how you want to plate it,
because this might be one
where we need a few hands on deck.
Yeah.
ALDO: Billie, stunning.
BILLIE: I only want a little bit
of this on there
because it's more about
the ice-cream, right?
That's beautiful.
Let's just use these little ones.
Great, let's do it.
Go.
I hope that's busy enough.
I love that.
Ooh.
Oh, my God.
Do you like it?
It tastes like a spider.
Yeah.
I am happy with the flavours.
It's refreshing
and kind of childlike.
But I'm a bit nervous
that it's kind of wacky.
It literally tastes like a spider.
Yeah, it is like a spider, right?
Coriander's quite savory,
so it's definitely a risk.
Just gotta plate 'em up now.
Get 'em out.
Guys, all hands on deck for this.
Let's do it together.
So to plate up, we put the parfait
in the bowl, put some praline
on top of that, the sorbet on top
of the praline and meringue shards
around the outside.
And then we pour the fizzy
coriander juice into a jug
and we'll serve that at the table.
Alright, cool. Those ones are ready.
OK, let's go.
I've got coriander
in all the elements,
so I just hope that it's balanced.
Mel.
MEL: Hey!
ANDY: We're pouring it.
Yeah.
ALDO: One, two, three.
Missed an episode of MasterChef?
enjoy another serving,
or savour past seasons,
at:
Here she is.
Mel.
Hey!
We're pouring it.
Yeah.
One, two, three.
So it's a coriander spider.
So there's a coriander seed
and vanilla parfait on the bottom,
there's a coriander praline,
an apple coriander sorbet,
coriander meringue,
and finished with a gin,
coriander and apple fizz.
All good.
Thanks, Billie.
Thanks!
She said "coriander"
ten times then!
I think she's hit the brief!
I love this meringue.
It almost tastes like sherbet.
It does.
So...
Hm!
It's very interesting,
but it does make you think,
it does make you work.
I enjoy dishes like that.
I love the floral elements,
and the sorbet,
and the fizzy coriander juice,
but the bitterness of the
coriander seed is a little too much.
It's an interesting one...
Mm.
..I just don't know
if she nailed it.
Hm.
It's a balance, right?
I think each individual component
was nice.
You've got the coriander meringue,
in isolation,
is nice.
The sorbet, again, on its own,
delicious.
It's fragrant, as well as being
sort of acidic and fresh and light.
You've got the praline on the top,
it adds sweetness,
which I think this probably needed
a little bit more sugar in it...
Yeah, I agree.
..in the dessert.
As a whole dish,
it needed more sweetness,
if all of those components
were going to work together.
Mm.
Currently everything!
I'm so proud of myself.
All of the concept is there,
and it was just all me.
OK. Let's do this.
Alright, service.
Thank you, Richie.
But I've seen Billie's desserts
go out,
and they look amazing,
so, yeah, I'm nervous that my dish
is not good enough.
Good luck, Keyma!
Whoo!
Whoo!
Go, Keyma! Yes!
Thank you.
OK, she's going to the judges.
Good luck!
Go, Mum!
You guys, hello, guys.
Hi.
Hello.
The dish is tarragon ice-cream,
tarragon creme,
tarragon and lime syrup,
caramelised pineapple
and fresh pineapple salsa.
Nailed it.
Thank you, Keyma.
Yay!
Enjoy, guys!
Thank you.
That was a solid high five. Did
anyone else get a solid high five?
It was solid.
Yeah, she leant into that one.
OK.
Very interesting dessert.
The little pineapple salsa -
beautiful.
The tarragon crumb is biscuity,
is crumby,
does its job, which is a break-up
from the thick richness
of the ice-cream.
I love the grilled pineapple,
and she's really, really, really
pan-fried that, and got us
a roasty, toasty, charred,
and it was that bitterness
that played off the sweetness
and the acidity from the pineapple,
the richness from the ice-cream.
There's a great balance
between all the flavours.
Delicious.
I think the thing about herbs
is that they blend
so much to a dish,
and they are as multidimensional
as any other, you know,
fruit, vegetable, meat,
whatever you're cooking with.
What she said she loved about
tarragon is that,
almost anise kind of quality to it,
and you can see that in this dish,
because that's the dimension
that she's teased out of the herb,
and so this is a really delicious,
tropical vibe of a dish.
For me, I just gotta,
I gotta hand it to her, like,
she has nailed the tarragon element
and made it sing throughout
all the other elements so well.
You know, we're seeing people
start to show their true colours.
It's skills like that
that win MasterChef.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Just before we disappear,
I wanted to say a big thank you
for coming to dinner this evening,
and please give your top eight
another huge round of applause!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
You know, obviously we see her
cook at home all the time,
but seeing her cook
in a team environment
just shows how skilful, like,
she really is and stuff. Yeah.
And seeing her lead the team,
as well, like, taste things,
check out what other people are
doing and having people come to her,
and she's just thriving here.
She nailed it.
Oh, it was crazy! Them looking
and asking what I was doing.
Normally they just, you know,
run away from the kitchen.
They're too busy, really,
at home,
but then today, just looking at me
was just, ah!
It was crazy.
your team had to put together
a three-course menu
that featured herbs
from this very garden.
Let's run through your dishes,
course by course.
For the entree,
there was a clear, standout winner.
The dish was phenomenal.
The protein was beautifully cooked.
The sauce sang of the chosen herb.
That dish was cooked by...
..the aqua team.
Oh, wow!
Oh, my gosh!
Well done, Sarah.
Thank you.
Thank you. Oh, my God.
Wow.
Phenomenal. Really.
Well done.
Thank you. Thank you.
Next, the main.
This main,
the protein was perfectly cooked,
and the hints of Thai basil
in every element made this dish
multi-dimensional.
Mindy, Daniel,
green team, you smashed it.
What a dish!
Beautiful. Well done.
Thank you.
And so, as it often does, it came
down to the final course,
the dessert.
Keyma versus Billie.
Two very interesting desserts.
Both of them really made us think.
Billie,
every element on your dish
was incredibly well executed.
But when they found themselves
on the same plate...
..they didn't quite work together,
and all of us agreed the dish
would have benefited
with a lot more sweetness.
OK.
Keyma,
the tarragon, it was loud, proud, and
expertly used in all your elements.
It was a delicious dish.
Well done.
Thank you.
Which is why the team going
into tomorrow's immunity cook
is the aqua team.
Whoo!
Well done!
(APPLAUSE)
Amazing!
Oh! You should be proud of yourself!
Aqua team, green team,
hopefully seeing your loved ones
has given you that extra boost
of confidence that will spur all
of you onto the finish line.
Keyma, Julie, Alvin, Sarah,
tomorrow is going to be another
big day for the four of you.
Well done today.
See you all tomorrow.
Thank you!
See you, guys. Well done.
(APPLAUSE)
NARRATOR: Tomorrow night
on MasterChef Australia,
it's well and truly
the pointy end of the competition.
They've made this challenge
almost impossible.
But how will they save themselves...
It looks menacing.
..from a very prickly situation?
(SOMETHING DROPS TO THE FLOOR)
Oh, my God!
Oh, my good God!
Captions by Red Bee Media