MasterChef Australia (2009–…): Season 14, Episode 53 - Episode #14.53 - full transcript

ANNOUNCER: Previously
on MasterChef Australia...

..a pressure test
from Kirsten Tibballs...

It really is girl power today!

..truly was the icing on the cake.

JULIE: It's amazing!

BILLIE: This is beyond delicious.

How you doing, Billie?
(SIGHS) Good, Jules.

The three MasterChef superstars
lifted each other up...

I feel strong with these women
beside me.

..and raised their baking game
to the next level...

ANDY: It was an incredible effort.
Well done.



..but it was Mindy
who had to say goodbye.

It's all good, guys. It's all good.

(TEARFULLY) I just have
a very full heart

and I feel really, really proud.

Tonight -
the numbers may be dwindling

but the bar is being raised...

ALVIN: This is bloody exciting.

..in a team challenge with a twist.

# '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. #

ALL: Morning.

Beautiful.

How are you, Billie?
I'm good.

Well rested.
Ready?

Yep. Ready for today.

(ALL EXCLAIM AND LAUGH)

ALVIN: As we walk into
the MasterChef kitchen,

we see there is a huge wall,

so who knows what's
in store for us today?

SARAH: Oh, gosh.

JOCK: Morning!

Morning.
Morning.

Wow. Looking swish.

Morning, everybody.
ALL: Morning.

Obviously, you'll notice a bit of
a divide in the kitchen this morning.

(CHUCKLES)
Yeah.

With an immunity cook at stake,

we thought we'd draw
some battle lines.

Let's get you into pairs.

ANDY: This is very important,
this one.

What do you mean?!

Ooh! I love pink.

Sarah's very happy with her choice.
Yeah! (LAUGHS)

Oh, I love red!

Oh!
Alvin! (LAUGHS)

I got red. I'm so happy.

I love red
and I'm cooking with Alvin.

Julie!

Excellent! I'm on Billie's team.

Yes! (LAUGHS)

Oh, you're cooking with Dan!

Sarah, we... (LAUGHS)

Has it twigged yet?
Mm-mm.

Righto, guys, listen up,
there's a twist.

Today, you have to beat the person
in the same coloured apron as you

to go through to the immunity cook
tomorrow.

We're against our own colour?
ALL: Oh!

Oh, no!
Oh!

OK.

Sarah v Daniel.

Alvin v Keyma. Billie v Julie.

We get it?
Yep.
OK.

I have been in two eliminations
this week against Julie

and now I have to do a challenge
against Julie again.

That's really cruel.

Yeah.

Alright, top six,

you'll see behind us two identical
pantries divided by a wall.

In your pairs, you will each
step into a different pantry

and choose two ingredients each.

The four ingredients
that you both decided on,

you'll need to use them
in your dish.

(CHUCKLES)
Oh, wow.

I think that we need to be smart
in this competition

and, you know, if I was to win
immunity tomorrow

and be straight into top five,

that would blow me away.

The best dish from each pair

will go through
to tomorrow's immunity challenge.

And you're up with a shot

of being in the top five
of MasterChef 2022

guaranteed, baby. (APPLAUDS)

I'm clapping myself.
(LAUGHS)

Julie and Billie, you're up.

JULIE: Ah, Billie!

Don't be mean to me, Billie.

MEL: OK, Jules.

(EXHALES)

So we're gonna each choose
two ingredients.

Oh, my God.

OK.

We have to both use
all four ingredients.

What are you immediately drawn to?

Fresh stuff.
Mm-hm.

Do I choose ingredients
that I think will throw Billie?

Do I choose ingredients
that I think will help me?

You think you're going strategic?

I think I...am.

But then I'm also thinking
of what she might be doing.

I love Julie Goodwin,
but, man, I wanna beat her today.

Protein. No protein?

No protein?

I'm not sure.

Also, those two things
taste exactly the same.

I know.

Ooh.

Oooooh.

This is a real mind game.

(PACKET RATTLES)

Yep, OK. Alright.

Oh, Julie's done.
Ah.

JOCK: You done?

Yup.

Alright, Billie's done.
SARAH: That is amazing.

Are we done, ladies?

I guess so.

Two ingredients from each player.
Mm-hm.

Billie, do you wanna take two steps
over towards the little curtain.

Are we ready to see
what each other's chosen?

Oh, it's like a dating show!
(JULIE CACKLES)

Perfect Match.
Your blind date starts now.

(LAUGHTER)

On three.

One...

..two...

..three.

Ooh.

SARAH: That's actually so good.
ALVIN: That's workable.

High five, Jules!

ANDY: So we've got a lemon, garlic,

prawns and...

Star-anise.
Star-anise.

Julie, what was your strategy?

I just kind of thought
this would make it very challenging

for a dessert.
(LAUGHTER)
That is exactly...

No, that is exactly
what I thought you would do.

I think my strategy, it's paid off.

I ended up going savoury.

Julie's done the same thing.

So we've ended up
with a beautiful pantry.

(CHUCKLES)

Alright, red aprons, you're up.

JOCK: Let's go, Alvin.
ANDY: Come on, Keyma.

KEYMA: Alvin, be kind.
Be kind.

Be kind. (LAUGHS)

(EXHALES) Come on, Keyma.
Right.

Think about this.

The worrying thing about having
Keyma as my other half,

who knows what she's going
to choose?

You have to think about what your
strengths are in the ingredients

that hers aren't.
Mm-hm. I've got one.

Oh, yeah.

First thing I think of
is fish sauce.

I'm trying to play to my strength,

and if that is not
Keyma's strength, eh.

(LAUGHS) I'm such a bitch!

(WHISPERS) Oh, plantains!

Yes!

Oh, my God, there's plantains!

(WHISPERS DRAMATICALLY)
That's a good one.

We've got one here, Andy.
Yeah, I got one too. It's a doozy.

Oh.

(CHUCKLES) This one too.

Um...

(WHISPERS) What else do I do?

Limes? Chillies?

Yeah, maybe...

Oh, wow.

Habaneros?
You got this.

(LAUGHS)
They are the best picks.

If Alvin chooses a protein

and I have some plantains
and chillies,

I might be able to play
one dish I have in mind.

(LAUGHS)
How you guys going over there?

Not yet.
Ooh.

(LAUGHS)
We're sorted over here.

Is good!

Protein? No protein?

Nup.

Is there another ingredient
you are an expert in...?
Yep.

The second ingredient I pick
is gochujang,

which is a Korean chilli paste.

Alright, we got two ingredients
here.

(LAUGHS) Oh, God.

I'm just watching their faces.
I'm so screwed with this one.

I KNOW I am!

Damn you, Keyma.

The queen is emerging, Alvin.
Yes, the queen!

THIS queen has emerged.
(LAUGHS)

Oh, you're going down!

(LAUGHTER)

Going down, Keyma.
Oh!

You're going down.
I know you're gonna screw me up!

Let the games begin now, Alvin.

Would you like to show
your ingredients to each other?

(BOTH LAUGH)

Keyma, you've chosen plantains
and chilli,

and, Alvin, you have fish sauce
and gochujang.

Yep.

Far out, that's gonna be
a flavoursome combo.

Holy mackerel.

What are we gonna do here?

Alvin has chosen...

(LAUGHS) ..just two condiments...

How often have you cooked
with gochujang?

Um, I've tried it.

What about fish sauce?
Do you cook with that much?

I've used it.

That's a definite no.

Oh, my God! What I'm gonna do?

How often have you cooked
with plantain, Alvin?

Big fat zero!

You've never cooked a plantain?
Nope!

Oh, my goodness.

Oh, she's just twisted that knife
behind my back.

You're going down, Keyma.
You're going down. (CHUCKLES)

Pink team, let's go.

Not team - pink enemies.

Frenemies.
ANDY: Come on, Dan. Step right up.

Good luck, Sarah.
Go, Dan.

Gosh.
MEL: Alright.
Oh.

Come on, make a good decision.

Daniel can go pretty rogue sometimes

but I just have a really strong
gut feeling

he's going to choose
a big piece of meat.

Don't look at me. Don't look at me.
(LAUGHS) Oh.

I want to choose ingredients
that I think will play well

with the ingredients
that Dan chooses.

I'm gonna trust my gut.

Yep. Alright, we have one over here,
Andy.

Righto, we've still got doughnuts
over here.

(AMERICAN ACCENT)
There's doughnuts there?

(LAUGHTER)

Come on, Daniel.

Righto, we've got one.

(WHISPERS) Out of everything,
you went for the chilli bean curd?

OK.

Don't think Sarah would have cooked
much with fermented bean curd

so I just bite the bullet
and I go with that.

Yeah.

Come on, Sarah. Chippity-chip-chop.
Have you got both...

You've got yours?!
I think so. I think so.

Yeah, baby!

(ALL LAUGH)

Alright, are you ready to see what
you're gonna be cooking with today?

BOTH: Yes.
Step forward.

Ooh.

What is that?
It's like a flavour bomb.

OK.
It's good.
Alright.

I ended up choosing ingredients
that anyone can use,

but Dan has chosen the curve ball
to stitch me up.

I'm really not familiar
with this fermented bean curd,

and could he have picked
any larger piece of meat?!

Like, what the hell is that?
(LAUGHS)

Like, an hour-cook, Daniel,
what were you thinking?

Daniel, what was going on
with the chilli bean curd?

Have you used it before?
Yeah.

It almost probably looked like
I grabbed something

I've never seen before.
It definitely did.

(LAUGHTER)
I must admit.

Nah, it's good. It's just like a...

Don't give it away!

Yeah, it's good. It's a bit
of a flavour bomb, I suppose.

Righto, you'll have 60 minutes
to cook us your dish,

keeping in mind you must use all
four ingredients on your plinth

and you do get
the under-bench staples.

Mm-hm.

Remember, you have to beat the person
that is standing right next to you

to go through to the immunity cook
tomorrow.

Good luck.
Your 60 minutes starts now!

(JUDGES CLAP)

DANIEL: Go, Julie!

BILLIE: Oh, God, where is everything?

ALVIN: It's so weird being
in this...

JULIE: So weird.

SARAH: Where's the pans?

DANIEL: Where's all the bloody pots?

Pots? Pots.

Where are the bowls?
Like, the mixers?

Where are the bowls?

Oh, they're up this end.
(CLANG!)

Oh, sorry.

KEYMA: What I'm doing?
What I'm doing?

Hmm. Strong flavour.

Not gonna lie, I am pretty nervous
going up against Sarah.

She's a jack of all trades,
you know what I mean?

Sarah and I, we've gotta cook with
onions, asparagus, rib-eye steak

and fermented bean curd.

Mmm.

I just gonna do a rib-eye
on the hibachi

and slowly sort of smoke it as well
while it's cooking

and gonna make a bit of a dressing
out of the fermented bean curd.

SARAH: Whoo! That's not
what I expected.

I thought it was a bean SHOOT!

(LAUGHS)

That's so strong!

The flavour of that is INTENSE.

Wow. I was not expecting that
at all.

JULIE: I've got prawns, lemon,
garlic and star-anise.

Today, I'm going to attempt
a prawn mousse ravioli

with a bisquey kind of sauce.

To beat Billie, I'm gonna have to be
pretty switched on,

she's a very cool customer

and whatever it is she's up to
over there,

I have no doubt it's gonna be
absolutely beautiful.

ALVIN: The other three ingredients -

so chilli, gochujang
and fish sauce -

I'm very familiar with,

but haven't cooked
with plantains before.

I don't have a dish in mind
at the moment.

I'm concentrating on the plantain
and I really need to know

how I can actually use it
in a dish.

You know, I haven't worked
with plantain before,

I haven't cooked with plantain
before.

I don't even know how
to prepare plantains.

So nice one, Keyma.
Good play. Good play.

Uh, hey, Alvin!

Alvin?
Yeah, Keyma.

How are you going with the plantains?

I don't know, Keyma.
You stitched me up.

You're going down.
(LAUGHS)

I'm so sorry, Alvin!

You'll be sorry.

(LAUGHS)

How are YOU going, Keyma?

I'm OK.

Yes, you are OK.
(BOTH LAUGH)

So, today's ingredients
are really interesting.

I haven't used gochujang.

I've used fish sauce for
Vietnamese cuisine and chillies,

but, um, yeah, not
in combination with plantains.

So I'm just trying to use plantain
in different ways.

Because plantain is the most
substantial ingredient

in my whole limited pantry today,

I'm thinking of
celebrating plantains.

We normally serve them
as a mash, as a side dish,

but today I'm going to make
plantain steaks front and centre.

And the gochujang and the fish sauce
are really strong,

so I'm thinking using those two
to marinate my plantain steaks

and maybe I can do a sauce as well,

and I'm going to do
crispy plantain chips

and then pickle the chillies.

I haven't tried this before,

so I have to be careful with
how much plantain

and how do I cook plantain
in each stage.

I'm just experimenting today.

It's the day to have fun, isn't it?

I've been concentrating
on the plantain,

and I figured it's not
an unripened banana.

If I'm not mistaken,

I think it's more of
a starchy vegetable, in fact.

MELISSA: Alvin.
Hi.

How are you feeling about
these four ingredients?

Um, actually, not bad.

Like, if I treat plantain
like...like a root vegetable,

I think I can make
something delicious out of it.

So I'm going to try and make
plantain abacus beads.

You know, it's sort of like
the Asian gnocchi.

Very, very cool.
And then fry it. Yeah.

And then I'll make a fish sauce
and gochujang sort of caramel

and I'll put some sliced chilli.

OK. Alright.
So I think it could be tasty.

I have faith in this.

Then you have to do the thing
that Alvin does well,

which is to balance flavours
with nuance and with purpose.

Yes. Yes.

And the good thing is, today,
you only need to beat one person.

I know she's pipped you
at the post a few times.

Well, you're at the post - pip her...
That's right, time to pip her.

..before she pips you.
Yes. Yes.

OK?
Yes.

I'm going to make sure
that this dish takes out Keyma

by, essentially, sort of
work with flavours that I know,

but ingredients that I don't know,
and hopefully they marry.

Basically, Alvinising this.

It's a cooking method now. (LAUGHS)

Everybody wants that chance
to get into the top five,

and all you gotta do

is beat the person
on the other side of the wall!

45 to go!

(JUDGES CLAP)

SARAH: I'm cooking against Daniel
in today's duel.

And I have to cook
with asparagus, onion, beef

and fermented soybean

with chilli...something.

Sarah.
Hi.

How you doing?
Good. How are you?

Very well. Four ingredients.

Are you happy with them all?
Yeah.

I trusted my gut and thought that Dan
was going to pick some sort of meat.

And he did, so...
And he did. Yeah.

True to form.
(LAUGHS) He followed through.

So, yeah, I think they're all
ingredients that can work together.

That was not what I was
expecting it to be.

I was gonna say, what about this?
I put a whole chunk in my mouth.

I was thinking it was going to be
a bean shoot for some reason.

No, chilli bean curd.
Oh, my gosh. It was very strong.

Do you like it?
It's beautiful.

But not when you put
a whole chunk in your mouth.

Yeah, it's not great.
It was a lot.

What's the dish?
What are you making?

So, I am actually making
an asparagus dish,

focusing on that
as kind of the hero

and then trying to draw out
different flavours

from the other ingredients.

So, doing a bit of an onion cream,

doing a pickled onion
and onion gravy.

This sounds interesting.

Onions and gravy are
a classic combination,

but when you add in asparagus
into that mix...

Yep.

You know, asparagus is
a relatively strong flavour.

Are you detracting
or are you highlighting?

The asparagus, or the...?
Either.

That's the question.
As in... Yeah.

And you're up against Daniel,
so what's HE thinking?

'Cause he's the only one you need
to worry about beating today...

Mm-hm.
..to get in for the immunity cook.

Yeah. I think he's
going to do a big steak.

So you're going
for something cleaner?

Yeah.
Alright.

That's the aim. (LAUGHS)
Good luck.

I feel like Daniel is going to do

a beautiful, big,
grilled ribeye fillet,

and I'd like my dish to be
a little bit more refined.

I know that I'm going to have to
pull off a great dish to beat Dan.

Today I'm doing grilled ribeye
with smoky onion puree

and blanched asparagus.

I'm marinating the steak with the
brine from the fermented bean curd.

And now my onions
have cooked down a bit,

I'll throw them
straight into the cold oven

with my smoking wood chips.

Whoa!

And I'm going to let them
sit there for 25 minutes.

Where there's smoke, there's fire.

I hope Dan's OK. (COUGHS)

(COUGHS)

Lucky Dan's a firefighter -

he'll be able to put out
that fire over there.

Oh, it's smoky, isn't it?

JULIE: You good, there, Dan?
(COUGHS)

(LAUGHS)

Yeah, I wanted smoke, Julie.
(CLEARS THROAT)

Well...
Got it.

..it looks like you got it, buddy.

Just smoke everywhere. (LAUGHS)

(BLOWS SHARPLY)

I'm sending smoke signals to Sarah
and calling for help. (LAUGHS)

Are you OK, Daniel?

Can you hear me coughing?

I reckon it's a bit of a dead
giveaway what I'm cooking, mate.

(COUGHS)

I've put the coals offset
and a few wood chunks

just to really
get some smoke in there.

Whew.

I've finally got my meat
on the hibachi.

I want to just cook it low and slow.

I'm thinking 35 minutes
should be enough,

but I've really cut it fine.

It's going to need right to the end.

JULIE: I've got pasta dough resting,

I've got prawn shells cooking,

I've got...
star-anise has been ground.

I've got my mousse filling
on the way.

And, yeah, I'm motoring.

MO-toring.

Billie and I have chosen garlic,
lemon, prawns and star-anise.

I'm using all the ingredients
in a prawn-filled ravioli

with a prawn bisque sauce.

And, at this point, I feel as though
I'm going to get this done.

I tell you what,
Julie and I can't catch a break.

We did the elimination challenge
the other day together

where she used her pin.

Then we did the pressure test
yesterday,

and now we're up against
each other again.

So, today, I'm making
prawn vol-au-vents

and making rough puff pastry
in 60 minutes is a bit of a push.

I need to roll it out and laminate
it, let it rest, multiple times

so there's heaps of layers,

and still get it into the oven
with at least 30 minutes to go.

Billie! What's the dish?

I'm making prawn vol-au-vents.

Get outta town!

1984 called - they want
their vol-au-vents back!

Oh, I love vol-au-vent!
Alright. OK.

Pastry with stuff inside?
So, rough puff?

I've made a rough puff, yep.
That's resting.

And then I'll... Just about ready
to go into the oven.

There's only three spots
in this immunity challenge.

Yeah, I know. And I really want it.

Make this a good one. Good luck.
Will do!

This pastry should be
cooking by now,

so I'm not sure if I'm actually
going to have a dish

at the end of the challenge.

How are you going, Julie?
I'm good, darling.

How are you going?
I'm having a...having a...blast.

Are you happy?
Yeah, I think I am.

Ask me in...in a little while.

BILLIE: Oh! God!

I wanted to make sure I had

at least half an hour
for these vol-au-vents in the oven.

I want them to be
lovely and caramelised.

So I'm doing the final laminations
of the puff pastry dough.

It's a little bit tight,

but I've managed to get a heap
of layers into this pastry,

so it should rise.

And now I need to get on
to the prawn filling.

Whew!

No time for split decisions.
30 minutes to go!

Oh-ho-ho-ho!
That is good.

Yeah!

DANIEL: 60 minutes isn't much,
you know what I mean?

It's just enough time
to grill a steak this thick.

I got it on a bit later
than I wanted to,

but I think I've got it on
with just enough time.

Hey, Keyma.
Yeah?

What are you doing?
Um...

I'm making plantains.
Like, all plantain.

Sounds delicious, Keyma.

What about you?

Alvin?
Yeah?

I told you what I'm making.

What about you?

Not telling you.

Not telling you, Keyma.
Yes, tell me! I need to know!

Rude. So rude.

(CLEARS THROAT) OK.

The plantain steak is going to be
the central part of the dish.

Alright.

Plantain steak is not
a thing in Venezuela.

It's just something
I came up with today,

and I thought they will
hold together as a steak.

Now they're marinated,
I'm just grilling them

to develop some caramelisation,

and then put them in the oven
to finish cooking them.

Now I think I can create a sauce
based on gochujang and fish sauce,

and that can tie
the whole dish together.

Again, I've never tried this.

I'm just going to wing it. (LAUGHS)

I just need to balance the flavour.

I know that Alvin is so determined.

He's going to be hard to beat.

It's cooked.

It's just very plantain,

which is why I'm turning them
into abacus beads.

My plantain has been steaming.

It doesn't have that
sort of starchy mouthfeel.

So I reckon they are done.

As I'm kneading this
to a pliable dough,

I'm thinking, yes, this is exactly
the consistency that I want.

Mm-mm-mmm!

It's exhilarating in this kitchen

when you have a concept
and it's coming together

and you think,
"This is bloody exciting."

And like everything I do
in the kitchen,

I don't have a specific
sort of timing,

but I think, when they start
floating up, they're cooked.

Like, the texture is chewy
and pillowy light,

which is perfect.

And the brown butter is going to
give a lovely crunch.

And once the fish sauce and the
gochujang is perfectly balanced,

I'll combine everything together.

Billie. Vol-au-vents.

How's everything going?

Puff pastry...
Slowly rising, so...

Slowly rising?
They're getting there.

This is interesting.

I think it has to be
the best vol-au-vent

that I've had this year...
Of course it does.

Yeah, of... Have you had any?
..'cause I haven't had
a vol-au-vent this year.

I was gonna say. (LAUGHS)

Aagh! (LAUGHS)

Come back here!

I'm making the filling
for the ravioli.

It has all four ingredients.

I've prepped the prawns, I zest
some lemons, I chop some garlic,

and I roast and blitz
some star-anise

to put that into the filling
as well.

Agh!

So, now I start
rolling out my pasta.

And last time I made pasta
in this kitchen, it was a fail.

Julie, my problem's the pasta work.

I think you've rolled it
a little bit too thin for that dish,

and it's overcooked.

So I want to be really careful
not to do that today.

Julie.
Yes?

Prawn mousse ravioli -
how's it all travelling?

Oh, I think it's going alright.

I've got a little bisquey
kind of a sauce going on.

How are you feeling?
I'm feeling good.

Yeah?
I'm feeling good.

I've just got to execute it now.

A few minutes to go, and I've just
got to balance that sauce,

cook this pasta.

We've got a serious battle
on our hands

when it comes to the yellow team.

Is she doing the same dish?

She's not doing the same dish.

She might be doing it
from the same era...

(LAUGHS)
..but she's not doing the same dish.

Listen, that's ageist, Andy.

Hey, I didn't say
anything about age.

You're not too big
to put over my knee.

(LAUGHS)
I didn't say anything about age!

Hey, Billie!
Yeah?

Andy just called us old.
Eh?

I must be getting old.
I can't hear you.

Andy just called us old!

Don't listen to Andy, Julie.

Yeah, totally. (CHUCKLES)

Alright. Alright.

The pasta's done.

I'm pretty happy with that.

However, I've only made three.

I haven't had time to make testers,

so I'm just pinning everything
on these three ravioli.

(COUGHS) Oh! Strong.

My choice to make asparagus
the hero and the main element,

I hope, pays off.

I like it. I think you still get the
beautiful taste of the asparagus,

but then balancing it out
with these other flavours.

So I just need to blend my onion

and then taste
the final ingredients together.

I've found a place to use
this fermented soybean paste.

I've made a brown butter

and I added some of
that fermented soybean paste

and I'm tossing those asparagus
spears through lightly.

For the onion puree, you just
want them really, really soft,

kind of melting apart,
and then it's time to puree.

I think the judges
are going to be expecting

something really refined and
a little bit special.

I've actually got no idea
what Sarah's doing,

but it's just playing on my mind.

(SIGHS)

I know Sarah's a gun, so, I mean,
everything has got to be perfect.

Jeez, Louise! (SIGHS)

I've got my asparagus blanched,

beautiful texture,

and I'll just get a nice
light dressing on it

with the brine
from the fermented bean curd.

But then I'm just worried
about everything else.

I've got my steak on.

I think it'll just come to temp,

but I don't know if it's going to
have enough time to rest.

And then I'm just about
to start my onion puree...

..but I realise that the onions
haven't cooked down just enough

and that really just stumps me now.

Try and get them
to cook down a bit more

so that I get a really nice texture.

They're not going to cook in time,
I don't think.

But it's not right.

I'm going to have to
change that idea.

'Cause, if I serve up
grainy or lumpy puree,

then I've just shot myself
in the foot.

But I need to get onion
in here somehow.

And I'm thinking,
like, what can I do?

Yeah, it isn't looking good.

(SIGHS)

You've only got 10 minutes to go!

ANDY: Here we go!
MEL: Whoo!

Ooh, those vol-au-vents
have just come out of the oven

and they're looking pretty good.

So, I wasn't happy with the onions,
they weren't cooked through. Um...

So I had to do
a real last-minute, um, pivot,

which I finely diced some onion
and pickled it,

which I've thrown
through the asparagus.

I'm just under the pump.

I've just decided to ditch
the onion puree

but I need to use onions
in this dish.

So now the salad is gonna be
pickled diced onion and asparagus

with a sauce
of the fermented bean curd.

And I'm also using the bean curd

to make a nice savoury MSG sort
of butter on top of the steak.

Oh, yeah, sick.

The steak's hit the internal temp
that I'm after.

It's got a really nice
caramelisation.

OK.

I just hope that I've got enough time
to rest it.

Um, okey-dokey, cool.

Let's just see how these
fried plantains are like.

At the last minute, I thought
might as well add a crunchy element,

which are the grated plantain chips.

The fried plantain has actually
worked out

so it's gonna sit really nicely
on top as a garnish.

Um, I'm...quite happy
with this dish. (CHUCKLES)

I used all four ingredients -

the plantain abacus beads
are bouncy.

And then I balanced that gochujang,
chilli, fish sauce caramel

to the nth degree,

so hopefully I've Alvinated this
dish and I beat that girl.

(LAUGHS) For a change!

(LAUGHS) She's so good.

Mind you,
I don't know what Keyma's doing.

KEYMA: Where's my spatula.

I brought it.

So I have the textures of plantain

so the steak has
a really good flavour,

I can taste the marinade,

and some crispy chips to give
some crispiness to the whole dish.

My gochujang fish sauce
is very punchy and strong

and the pickled chilli is gonna add
freshness and some acidity as well.

Whoa!

I haven't tried this before
but it looks beautiful

and it smells delicious as well.

So I'm happy with it.

I think I can beat Alvin.
(LAUGHS)

Three of you in immunity tomorrow,
three minutes to go!

JOCK: Let's go, guys.
(JUDGES CLAP)

Now that the ravioli's done,
dusted and waiting,

I've gotta get onto this sauce
and make sure it's right.

This sauce tastes like prawns.

It's got an undertone
of the star-anise

and it's some lemon.

I am really happy with this.

Puff pastry,
they've risen really nicely

so I think they had just
long enough in the oven.

And I've got my prawn mix
to where I want it to be

so I'm really happy with them.

Feels very prawny.

And I do know that we're both
going classic

so I can't wait to see
what Julie's made.

SARAH: Yeah, I'm happy
with the final dish

but I'm not sure whether the balance
of flavours is there.

At the start of the cook, I was a bit
worried about the bean paste,

so...yep.

Let me see if I can...

Oh, it definitely tastes beany.

I hope that is enough asparagus,

there's enough onion
with the onion gravy

so that, you know,
all those flavours come through.

Final touches, frenemies!

One minute to go!
Come on, ready to plush it up!

(HUFFS)

I'm running deadset out of time.
I've got seconds left.

Oh, that smells so good.

I've got the three elements, I've got
the steak, the butter, the asparagus,

and the steak hasn't rested,
not as much as I would like.

(SIGHS)

But I just have to roll with it.

30 seconds!

Come on!

I'm just trying to stay
as calm as I can.

But I just need to get
all my elements on the plate

before I run out of time.

Otherwise,
it just won't be a complete dish.

We want cloches on in 10...

JUDGES: Nine, eight, seven,

six, five, four,

three, two, one.

JOCK: That's it!
(CLAPPING)

Argh!

Hey. Remember what today is,
alright?

Yeah, yeah.
Alright?

It looks amazing.

Yeah, nah, I'm just very annoyed.
I just...

I mean, I've got
all the ingredients in there

but I didn't get on the, uh,
the fermented bean curd butter

that I made.

I got the steak, beans and bit of
the pickled onion on there. Um...

You know, I would have loved
to quenelle

a nice piece of butter on top
and actually plate up properly

but I just couldn't do it. Um...
I just ran out of time.

Oh, my God, that hour goes fast.

I got it done.

Uh, I'm still emotionally scarred

from the last time
I served pasta up to Jock

and, uh, I hope that this is
the journey towards healing

and not the journey towards further
emotional scarring. (CHUCKLES)

My aim today was just to
celebrate plantains

and I feel that has all the notes
I wanted to achieve.

I think it sits in between
savoury and sweet.

Which I love.

That was a bit of fun, wasn't it?
ALL: Yes!

You had to cook one dish
using all four ingredients.

The name of the game was to beat the
person on the other side of the wall

for your chance to cook
in tomorrow's immunity challenge.

The first two dishes we'd like
to taste belong to the pink team.

Whoo!
Yeah.

Alright.
ANDY: Daniel's flexing.

Nah, it's just natural, man.
(LAUGHTER)

Heavy! (GRUNTS)

What about my muscles?

Your two ingredients were?
Asparagus and onion.

Fermented bean curd
and rib-eye steak.

Are you ready to find out
what each other cooked?

BOTH: Yes.
Alright, lift your cloche.

(CHUCKLES)
MEL: Mm.

Is it what you were expecting
from each other?

Yes.
Pretty much.

(BOTH LAUGH)

Something like that.

Alright, Sarah,
tell us what have you made us?

I have made

asparagus with an onion puree,

pickled onions and fried onions.

And a little beef sauce.

Alright, Daniel?

I've done a smoky rib-eye marinated
in soy bean dressing

and asparagus
and pickled onion slaw.

Is this what you were aiming for?

I originally had
a smoky onion puree planned

but I didn't cook
the onions down enough

so I had to scrap that
right at the end.

And then I had another element
that I wanted to put on the plate,

which was soy bean curd.

I seen that on your bench.
Yeah, but I ran out of time.

Alright, let's try it.

Daniel. Tough one, mate.

Um, your beef -

you've got a great amount
of smokiness in it,

you did a great job there,
but it's inconsistently cooked.

You gotta watch your coal
distribution in your hibachi.

The asparagus is nice, pickled
onions are hardly there.

You're literally cooking
steak and veg here,

you should have absolutely
nailed that

and I feel like you've put pressure
on your shoulders

and that's why it's turned
out like this.

The wall is either there physically
today or in your mind.

So whatever you're competing
against,

you need to set all of that aside

and just focus on doing what
you know that you can do well.

Yeah, absolutely. Thanks, guys.

Sarah, your dish.

What I loved was the onion puree,
the freshness of the asparagus

and then this rich, rich,
beefy, beefy jus.

Those three things work in harmony.

You've got a little pop
from the pickled onion.

Good dish.
Thank you.

Yeah, well done, Sarah. I think you
could have been overwhelmed

by the ingredient you weren't
overly familiar with

but you kind of managed to use it

for its deep, savoury
characteristics.

Was a really lovely plate of food.

Thank you.
Alright, well done, guys.

Well done, pink team!

It's all good.
Well done, mate.

You got this.

KEYMA: Well done, Sarah.

I feel bad.

(SIGHS)

If you're wearing a red apron,
come on down!

ALVIN: Secretly, I think
this is a good dish.

(CHUCKLES)

But every time I've been so close
to getting that winning dish,

I get pipped to the post

so I'm dying to know what Keyma did.

I'm dying to know.

Curious to see what you've got.
KEYMA: Yes.

You're about to find out.

Keyma, your ingredients
were habanero and plantains.

Plantains.

And, Alvin, your ingredients
were gochujang and fish sauce.
Correct.

Are you ready to see
what each other made?

I sure am.

Oh, my God.
Go for it.

Ooh.

Go for it.

Ready?
Yep. Three, two, one.

OK.

Ooh!

Oh, yours is so pretty!
Oh, that looks nice.

Damn you, Keyma.
What?!

(BOTH LAUGH)

It looks good.

You don't know what it is yet.

Keyma, what have you cooked?

I've made some plantain steaks

with gochujang sauce and plantain
chips and pickled chilli.

Fantastic.

So, you know, you chose
some ingredients

that you feel comfortable with.

Yes, but plantains are normally
used as a side dish,

so I was waiting for a protein,
which my friend didn't pick.

OK. And, Alvin, what did you cook
without protein?

I made plantain abacus beads

with a gochujang
and fish sauce caramel.

Keyma, I love the idea
of the plantain steak

being the centre of the dish.

As you said, it's normally
a side dish.

It's really modern to
show off a vegetable

as being the centre of the show here.

I love the way that, you know,
you brushed it with a gochujang,

caramelised it, and the texture
is perfectly tender.

It's exactly as it should be.

And it shows that you know
the produce really well.

The chips were perfectly lovely,
they gave a nice crunch.

I think you needed to kind of work
a little bit harder with the chillies

just to give it
a little bit more nuance.

It's just a bit starchy.

It was just craving more
of the pickled chillies,

even if they were chopped up
throughout

and scattered all over the top
with those fried plantains,

would have lifted it
to another level.

Thank you.

JOCK: Alvin...

..how do you think you went?

Oh, I like the flavour,
so I think I went well.

You always say that with
reservations, don't you?

Yeah, of course.

Would you use plantain again
to make abacus beads?

Yes, I think I would.

So would I.
(LAUGHS)

Really, really nice texture,
and the bounce was still there

that you would normally
get with tapioca.

And the genius for you was
using fish sauce, saltiness,

and then caramelising it
together with brown butter.

Killer.

It's like a pinball machine
of savoury, salty, spicy.

Well done, it was bloody delicious.

Thank you.

Mate, that is perfect!

You focused on those abacus beads
and then it was all about the sauce.

And you're the sauce lord.

So it ticks so many boxes, mate. You
should be really proud of yourself.

Thank you.
Well done, Alvin.

MELISSA: Thank you.
Well done, Alvin.

It's addictive.
That sauce is addictive.

Oh, yeah.
I need to, like...

Oh!
Oh, damn!

Oh, you go. You go, you go.
No, you go.

Go on. There you go.
It's just so, like, yum!

And lastly, the battle
of the yellow!

BILLIE: I'm pretty happy
with these vol-au-vents,

but knowing that Julie's
done a classic dish,

I'm up against
some tough competition.

So I'm a little bit apprehensive
to see what Julie's made.

This is exciting, Jules.
It is exciting.

It's like Christmas.
I know.

Righto, you two. Billie,
what were your two ingredients?

I chose prawns and star-anise.

Jules, what did you pick?
Garlic and lemon.

The nice one.
Looked after each other there.

It was a nice one, yeah.

Should we find out
what each other cooked?

Yeah, let's do it.
Let's go.

Are you good?
Well?

One, two, three.

(JULIE GASPS)
Oh, Julie!

Yum!

(BOTH LAUGH)

The colours are similar.

Julie, did you think she'd
bust out vol-au-vents?

No. They're beautiful.

OK, Billie, what's the official name
of the vol-au-vents?

Prawn vol-au-vents.

Beautiful.

Did you want anything more?

No. That is as official as it gets.
OK, excellent.

And, Julie, what about
your prawn pasta?

Prawn ravioli.

Beauty.

You ladies must have been pretty
happy with what each other chose.

Yeah, that was nice.

You were looking after each other.
Thanks, Billie.

Yeah, it was a bit of a vibe.

Who's thinking about immunity
tomorrow?

Yeah. I'd love to have immunity.

After yesterday,
the idea of being safe

from that next elimination
is so appealing.

Yeah, it is.
Oh, boy.

Cheers.

It's much nicer standing up here
with someone, isn't it?

It is, it is.
Yeah.

It's really nice, actually,
to stand up here together.

It's a bit of moral support
going on there.

But Billie's made vol-au-vents.

She's made vol-au-vents in
one hour, I can't believe it.

Like, that's gutsy.

I need to redeem myself
with this pasta.

But there's just that
little devil on my shoulder.

It's Jock, saying,
"The pasta's overcooked."

I can feel it coming.

Julie, you were worried about
your pasta the whole time.

You needn't have worried, the texture
of your pasta was beautiful.

The making of the ravioli
was perfect.

It wasn't waterlogged in any way.

I actually really enjoyed
the star-anise in the filling.

I thought it was going to be
way too overpowering,

but it's just that hum of aniseed
through the whole thing.

It was really good.

This dish is so much
a celebration of prawn.

The bisque sauce itself, I thought
the texture was really great.

I liked the lemony tang at the end.

It does give a lift

to something that can be
quite rich and overpowering.

Thank you.

Nice work, Jules.

Billie...
Yep.

Vol-au-vents, eh?

When I was an apprentice,
I used to have to knock these out,

one after the other.

I'm slightly triggered by it,
if I'm honest.

Oh, sorry.

You got a good amount
of flavour in that prawn.

It's a nice idea, making that.

You could really taste
the prawns in there,

and beautiful caramelisation on it.

But my issue is
with the pastry itself.

OK.

The temperature you cooked it at

is just slightly too low,

which means the overall
vol-au-vent is quite dry.

Yeah, I think the pastry lacked
a little bit of tenderness.

They look absolutely perfect.

You know, the right vehicle
just to have that retro moment,

which I absolutely love.

And I liked the freshness
that you kept in the filling.

There's a sour twang to
the end of the experience.

It just gives it some new life,
which I quite like.

Yeah. Thank you.

Thank you so much.
Nice one, ladies. Well done.

Thank you.

Failed.
It was fun. It was fun.

Good on ya, mate.

We threw the gauntlet down today,

and you all picked it up
without hesitation.

Only one can emerge the victor,
so let's see who it is pair by pair.

Sarah versus Daniel.

We're not going to beat
around the bush.

Sarah, you won this one. Well done.
Thank you.

Thanks.

Daniel, don't look so glum, chum.

There you go.

Next up, Keyma versus Alvin.

Keyma, while your dish had promise,

it came up against a dish
that's promise was fully realised.

Alvin, congratulations,
you got the win, buddy.

Good job, Alvin.

Finally, Billie versus Julie.

Billie, your rough puff was
the right vehicle for your filling,

but it was a bit dry.

Yeah.

Julie, the texture of your pasta
was beautiful,

and the sauce only complemented
a generous bowl of food.

Which is why we're giving
you the win today.

Well done.
Well done, Julie.

Thank you. Thanks, Billie.

Billie?
Billie, sorry.

Julie!
Jesus.

Sorry. Well done.
(ALL LAUGH)

He gave it to you, Billie, the win.

I don't think so.

So, Sarah, Alvin and Julie,

tomorrow is your shot at top five.

Take aim and hit the bullseye.

Good luck. We'll see you tomorrow.

WOMAN: Thank you.
See ya.

KEYMA: Well done, guys.
Good job, Julie.

Congrats, Sarah.
Thank you.

Tomorrow night
on MasterChef Australia...

..they're in for a surprise.

What?

What's the catch?

Who can whip up the best dish...

Yes!
I'm into that.

This is so good.

..not only for immunity.

Oh, jeez.

..but one step closer to the trophy?

Captions by Red Bee Media