MasterChef Australia (2009–…): Season 14, Episode 62 - Episode #14.62 - full transcript

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

SARAH: I cannot believe
I am in the grand finale.

The competition is fierce today.

Billie is an incredible cook.

She's a legend and past winner.

She's been through this before.

She knows what it takes and...

..she is gonna be tough to beat.

BILLIE: When I won MasterChef,
I was 24.

But this time, it's a bit different.

I've gained so much from being here



and kind of reignited
that food passion.

Sarah...is an absolute force.

So it's gonna take everything I have
to win this competition again.

But I do, I wanna create
MasterChef history.

We made it!
We made it!

Final two. Can you believe it?
Oh! I know.

No, I can't believe it.
I can't either.

Here we go.
One more time.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Go, girls!

Wow. Everyone looks so glamorous.
I know!

I feel very underdressed.
(LAUGHS)

Wow, what an entrance,
fit for two finalists.

Let's make it official,
in case it wasn't clear already.



This is the grand finale
of MasterChef 2022!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Billie, Sarah,
the last women standing.

(BOTH LAUGH)

Soak this up
and take a big, deep breath.

'Cause one of you
is about to lift that trophy,

pocket a cool ¤250,000,

and take home the title
of Australia's MasterChef for 2022!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

It's crazy.
Oh, what?

Through all of the time
that you spent in this kitchen,

this moment is
what you've done it for.

And all the while,

family and friends, they've been
supporting you from afar.

Well, today, they are gonna be
on the front lines with you two.

Because...

..here they come.

(BOTH EXCLAIM)

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Oh! Your daughter came!

Who is that? Who is it? Hey?

Hi.

Hi. Can I have a cuddle?

Hi. How are you?

Come here! Run, monkey!

(LAUGHS)

Hi.

Mmm, my little angel.

Oh, my God. Hi, Joe.

We're so proud of you, darling.

Come on, let's go!

Bring the families down,
Sarah and Billie.

You brought the whole gang
here today.

I know! My God.

Righto, Billie,
you got quite the crew there.

I do.
Do you wanna introduce us?

Um, this is Haydn,
who you met at the family day.

This is Ada, my daughter.
Hey, Ada.

This is Frankie, my little sister.

Georgie, older sister.

This is my mum, my brother Joe,
and my sister Rosie.

And Sarah, who have you got?

I've got my big brother, Stephen.
Who we met.

Yes. My mum, Lorraine.
Hey, Lorraine.

And my little angel, Phoenix.

Phoenix. What's happening, mate?

Good.
You good?

Billie, how's life changed
since Ada came into your lives?

Oh, God.

So much. Um...

Yeah, I don't think you really...

Yes. Um...

(EXHALES)
(CHUCKLES)

Yeah, it's, um... It's been very
hard, being away from her. Um...

Yeah. She's, um...

..given a lot of meaning to my life
and, um...

..has made coming here, um,
even more worth it.

Because I feel like...

..I'm a happier and more confident
and capable person

and I think...

Yeah, might make me a better mum,
I guess.

Lorraine.
Hi, Andy.

Big smile over there.

You must be so proud of Sarah.

I am.

Sarah has always been driven,
from the time she was a little thing

and she has been powering
since last MasterChef

and hit the ground running.

You know, win or lose today,

I'm scared, actually,
about what's going to happen next.

(LAUGHTER)

It's only gonna go on from here.

Bigger and better.

And Sarah, hearing your mum speak,
you must be so proud of her

and inspired by her.

Yeah, absolutely.

And...I feel like...

You know, my mum is a superwoman.

She raised us on her own

and I never for a second felt
like I was without anything.

My mum made us feel like we had
everything, and we had so much love

and...the most incredible upbringing,
and my mum...

Oh, stop it.
..sacrificed her life
to give us that.

It's, um... She's the superwoman.
It was worth it.

And if I can be half the woman she is

and take this little man
on that journey,

it'll be interesting to see
what he grows up to be.

(LAUGHS)

Righto, family and loved ones,

now it's time to be the cheer squad
on the gantry, so head on up.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
ALDO: Come on!

It's so special
having the family here

and I really wanna make them proud.

They've done so much for me
over the last few months

and I, yeah, wanna make that
worth it, for me, but also for them.

Now we have to cook.
I know!

(BOTH LAUGH)

Well, Billie, Sarah,
welcome to your final challenge.

And let me tell you, it's a belter.

(CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY)
(GROANS)

Today's challenge will take place
over two rounds.

And across both rounds,
your dishes will be scored.

Whoever has the highest score
at the end of the second round...

..will win.

Mel.
MEL: Thank you.

Oh, no. I don't wanna know.
Something underneath there.

Yeah, what is it under there?

In round one, you'll have a choice

between three classic
MasterChef challenges.

But you'll only be cooking in one.

OK.

So...

..your choices are - first up...

..a mystery box...

(SPECTATORS EXCLAIM)
Oh, my God!

You can see yourself in it.

..which will be you
versus nine random ingredients

and of course,
the under-bench pantry.

Next...

..is a brief.
Oh.

I'm scared of the brief.
I know.

You can cook whatever you want

with an open pantry
and an open garden,

as long as it hits the brief.

Ooh.
(LAUGHTER)

And lastly, a cloche.

Oh, my God. Oh.
Seriously!

I didn't want to have to make
any choices today.
I know!

There's usually one or two
ingredients under here

that you MUST feature.

Of course you can cook whatever
you want - there's an open pantry -

but featuring what's under
that cloche is key.

So...

..you'll each get to remove
an option from the table

until you're left
with your challenge.

Alright, come and grab a token
and that will decide who goes first.

Far out.
(CHUCKLES)

Number one will take
the first off the table.

Do I even need to pick?
Yeah.
(LAUGHS)

Ooh.
It's you.

It's me.
It's you.

Alright. Put 'em up for us.

So, Billie, you'll be taking
the first choice off the table.

Sarah, you'll get the final choice.

I think having the pantry
and the garden there

with the brief or the cloche option
is...pretty important.

The mystery box -

although I like having
those parameters when cooking,

I just don't know
what's under there.

Alright, Billie.

Which of these challenges would you
like to take off the table?

The mystery box.
(SPECTATORS EXCLAIM LOUDLY)

(BOTH LAUGH)
Why the surprise?

We thought you'd take the brief.

Alright, mystery box, begone.

OK, Sarah.

You have the final and potentially,
the most important choice, I think.

Which would you like
to take off the table?

The brief or the cloche?

Phoenix, what do you reckon?

MEL: Ooh!

Which one should she take off?
I think keep the brief.

Keep the brief?
Yep.

OK.

I'm taking off the cloche.

Alright,
you're taking off the cloche.

Cloche, begone.

ANDY: See ya.

So that's it. then.

Both of you are cooking to
the brief that is in this envelope.

Please be kind, brief.

Please be kind. Please be kind.

OK, your brief today...

..is to cook a dish that is...

..sweet and savoury.

(SPECTATORS EXCLAIM AND MUTTER)

OK.

In this round,
you will have 75 minutes to cook us

a dish that is both
sweet and savoury

or savoury and sweet.

The pantry and the garden are open.

And the three of us
will score your dishes out of 10

meaning, for round one, there is
a total of 30 points on offer.

This is the dish that will set you
up for the title, so make it count

and most importantly,
make it delicious.

Billie, Sarah,

round one of the grand finale...

..starts...

..now.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

ALDO: Come on, guys! Let's go!

The atmosphere in the kitchen
right now, it's electric.

We have Billie,
who could make history

by winning that trophy
a second time...

Uh... Um, rosemary.

..versus Sarah,
who is tougher than a ¤2 steak

and a bloody amazing cook.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT)

Go, Billie.

Go, Sarah Todd! Come on!

It's anyone's game.

This is gonna be an epic battle.

Come on, Billie!

Billie.
Hey, Mel.

Because finale,
all three judges are here...

Oh, my God. Wow.
..to wish you luck

and find out what's going on.
This is nice. Yeah.

Tell us what the dish is, please.

So, the dish is a dessert.
It's flavours of rhubarb and cumin.

So, I'm doing a cumin panna cotta.

On top of that will be
a rhubarb rosemary sorbet, um,

some honeycomb pieces

that will also have a bit of cumin
on them too,

to reiterate the savoury.

Big job on the balancing.
Totally.

ANDY: Good luck, Billie.
Yep. OK. Thank you.

Good luck, Billie.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

I haven't had a good history
with brief challenges.

So I'm gonna give this round
everything

and I need to make sure
that I hit the brief.

Savour how sweet it is
to be in the grand finale.

60 minutes to go!
Come on!

(CHEERING)

Sarah.
Hello.

Tell us, what's the dish.

So, I am doing sticky chicken wings
with a touch of India

and then I am making, like,
a tomato-based sauce

so that'll be at the bottom
of the plate...

Like a bit of a butter chickeny
kind of number?
Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, nice. I like that.
Yeah. It's like, yeah.

Those kind of flavours.

For my chicken wingettes,
I am gonna confit that

and then push out the bones.

And then finish that
with the sticky glaze.

There's 30 points up for grabs.
Yeah.

I know.
How many are you gonna get?

I mean, as close to 30 as possible.

(LAUGHS) Is the goal.
Let's do it. Let's do it.

MINDY: Let's go, Sarah! Let's go!

Come on, Sarah!

Go, Sarah.
You got this!

(APPLAUSE)

BILLIE: I'm really making sure
to think about this brief today.

I wanna make sure
everything on that plate

has a good balance
of sweet and savoury.

Go, Billie!

So, the panna cotta
is flavoured with cumin.

It has a bit of vanilla
in there as well,

but that really savoury flavour
of cumin,

I think, will form a good base
for this dessert.

Good running, Billie. Keep it up.

I like the idea of setting
the panna cotta in the bowl

so that I can build on top of it
and make the dish look really pretty.

But also the way
that it eats as well,

that you get a spoonful
of everything.

Good job, Bill.
Go, Bill.

Got 45 left.

So, I want this sorbet to be...

..quite sweet, with rhubarb and sugar

but also a big hit of rosemary to
bring back that savoury note to it.

But I taste it...

..and I just can't get
the rosemary flavour

and the rhubarb flavour
is even muted as well.

Go, Billie!
Go, Billie.

Go, Bill.

I'm just getting a bit
of, um, acidity.

Is there not enough rhubarb?
I don't know.

(CHEERING)

The rhubarb flavour's not...

..really coming in enough.

This dish needs that sorbet.

It needs the sweetness.

It needs the flavour of rosemary
as well

to carry those savoury flavours
of cumin.

Go, Bill.
Come on, Billie.

It was easy before.
She was cruising.

The brief is sweet and savoury,
so I need to make sure I hit that

and I need to make a quick decision.

Come on, girls. Come on!

I have to ditch it.

Come on, Billie.
Come on, Billie.

I'm rapidly running out of time

and if I don't come up
with another idea,

any chance of winning that trophy
again would be gone.

Yeah. So, not happy
with the sorbet mix.

So I'm pivoting. I'm going to do
a rhubarb snow instead of a sorbet.

I just don't want to put anything
on the plate that I'm not happy with.

And I know that that sorbet

is not going to be something
that I'm happy with.

Going up against Sarah,
she's such a good cook.

So it's very important today
to start off strong with this dish,

to give myself
the best chance at winning this.

Classic MasterChef. Tell you what.

For my sticky wingettes, I've got
my butter chicken-inspired sauce

in the pressure cooker.

Chicken wings,
normally pretty rustic as a dish

and it's grand finale,
so I'm refining this dish

by confiting the chicken wings

so they're cooked just perfectly
and juicy and tender on the inside.

And I really want to show
my two loves -

those French techniques
with Indian flavours.

But, before coming back
to MasterChef,

I was very confused

with the direction of my food.

And it wasn't until I cooked my
lobster dish with an Indian touch,

and it was such
a big light-bulb moment.

That has all the refinement
of a three-Michelin-star dish.

You've fused it so very well with
French because that is your passion.

And that gave me the confidence
to cook more of my own food.

I think you've done something
which very few people do to me.

Impress me.

So, I'm hoping that the judges
see me in this dish

and my style,
and the way that I've developed

throughout the competition.

Whether you're cooking
a sweet that's savoury,

or a savoury course that's sweet,
you've only got 30 minutes to go.

(CHEERING
AND SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT)

Is that for the sorbet?

Yeah. I'm not making it anymore.
Oh, sorbet's ditched?

Yeah, no.
Rightio.

I wasn't happy with the mixture
of it, so see you later to that.

So, what's this?

This is going to be, like,
a rhubarb and rosemary snow.

Oh, we're pulling the snow out. OK.
Pulling the snow out. Yeah.

It just wasn't
rhubarb forward before.
Yeah.

And I couldn't get enough rosemary
out of it either, so...

Just pivoting, Andy,
in the grand final.
This is good, though.

Because it means that you're
following the brief.

Yeah. I'm not missing that bloody
brief again, I tell you what.

(SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT)

MINOLI: I think today
is going to be an epic day.

It's like watching Rafael Nadal
and Roger Federer battle it out

because they each have
their strengths,

but they're both
just spectacular to watch.

Oh, look at it go. Yeah, Billie.
Yay!

Nice job, Bill.

The snow seems to be turning out
really nicely.

It's this beautiful pink colour.

Beautiful, Billie.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

I feel like things
are starting to turn around.

Yeah, Sarah!
Go, Sarah! Come on!

My butter chicken-inspired gravy,
it's looking and smelling beautiful.

I'm really happy.
Yeah.

I take out one of my wingettes

and I go to slip out the bone
and it just slides out perfectly.

This is exactly what I was after.

Still beautiful
and juicy and tender.

So, my intention is to make
the gravy slightly more savoury.

But I'm thinking maybe
I can incorporate jaggery,

which is a cane sugar.

So, this sauce is loaded
with tomatoes, onions.

You know, those flavours are on
the slightly sweeter side as well.

And then reinforced
with that jaggery.

I think that's where the balance
is going to come in.

I'm feeling OK.

Just... It bloody flies.
What happens in this kitchen?

Billie, where did this time go?
I don't know.

ALDO: Keep going. Come on.
(LAUGHTER)

Don't talk. Keep moving, please.

ALVIN: There's no time to chat.

Billie and Sarah, make sure
you hit the brief and bring it home.

Five minutes to go.

(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)

Come on, girls!

Go, Sarah! Come on!

Go, Bill!

I try the honeycomb,
and I'm really happy with it.

The cumin flavour
actually works quite well.

It's also another reinforced
sweet/savoury element.

I've got everything ready to go.
I'll just start plating that up now.

Now. I need to go now.

(CHEERING)

I take my panna cotta
out of the fridge.

Come on, Billie. Whoo!

I start putting the rhubarb on top
with the honeycomb.

Nice, Billie.

The rhubarb snow.

Yes, Billie. Whoo!

And the rosemary syrup.

Good work, Bill.
Go, Bill.

Two minutes to go!

Come on!
You got this!

SARAH: As this sticky
honey jaggery glaze

is coating those beautiful
chicken wingettes,

I'm seeing it change the colour
and slightly darken

and they're looking
and smelling beautiful.

I'm plating up. I add the gravy.
I've got my little wingettes.

Like magic.
Whoo-hoo, Sarah!

Coriander and mint oil
and the salsa in between.

That's stunning, Sarah.
Thank you.

Gantry, let's do this!

ALL: Ten, nine, eight,

seven, six,

five, four,

three, two,

one!

JOCK: That's it!
(CHEERING)

Oh, my God!

Billie...

(BOTH SPEAK INDISTINCTLY)

High five. High five.

Oh, my God.

The first dish we'd like to see
in round one of the grand finale

belongs to Sarah.

(APPLAUSE)
Go, Sarah.

We still have another round to go.

Billie's an amazing cook,

especially
when she's under pressure.

So I need to get
as many points as I can.

Sarah, what did you make us?

I made sticky wingettes
with a gravy.

Shall we taste it?
Let's do it.

Please.

The look.

Chicken wings, eh?

Very brave to do chicken wings
in the grand finale.

What you have done
is made them luxury.

One of the best things about this

is that you can
still taste chicken wings

and it's clean and white and fresh
and beautiful

because you confited it.

Just that one thing made so much
of a difference in this dish.

Your gravy
was incredibly well balanced,

with the exception
of the sweet and the savoury,

which popped out in amongst
all the other tastes on the palate.

Amazing. Very, very well balanced.
Thank you.

You've hit the brief for me
in two ways.

Definitely that gravy.

I'm glad that you put
some jaggery in it

because it does have that sweetness
and depth of flavour

that you're looking for, and
that we wanted in this challenge.

Then the jaggery glaze as well.
That's another tick on the brief.

Really, really tasty
and played to your strengths.

And I'm glad that you
definitely ticked the brief.

Thank you.

There was so much refinement
and consideration

in every element of the dish,
and I'm really impressed with it.

I loved the glossy glaze
over the top

and it really did highlight

the parts of the caramelisation
on the skin

where it did really have
that burnished glow about it.

It was gorgeous.

A very well-balanced plate of food.

Thank you so much.
Nice one, Sarah.

Thank you.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Well done, Sarah!

Well done, Sarah.

Good on you. Amazing.
Aww!

The next grand final dish we'd like
to taste belongs to Billie.

Come on, Bill!

Billie, what's the dish?

So, I did a cumin pannacotta
with rosemary and rhubarb.

OK, we'll taste.
Thank you.

It's not... It's not set.

Billie...
Mm-hm.

..got bad news for you.

This panna cotta is not fully set.

OK.

I can't believe
I did that to myself.

Like, it's round one
in grand finale,

and I've brought the judges
unset panna cotta.

I am so disappointed for you
that the panna cotta didn't set

because we're in the grand finale.

I know.
I know that it's...

..it's the foundational aspect of
this entire dish, and it's not set.

That's a really tough pill
to swallow,

but the flavours are really sound.

The honeycomb is the last experience
I have on my palate right now.

It was really crunchy.
It was not at all sticky.

And it's just leaving
a lovely perfume of sweetness

and that little bit
of cumin in there as well.

To be able to balance it
takes a lot of skill.

It was very clever.

It's the kind of dish
that only you could conceive of.

And in that regard,
I'm deeply impressed with this.

Thank you.

Whether or not you hit the brief,
I do think that you did.

Billie.

The panna cotta, it's like
a thick custard, really.

It's hard when you do it in the bowl

because it presents itself
as being set...

Mm-hm.

..because it's confined
into a large surface area.

Yep.

The flavour of it is really nice.
Beautiful cumin note.

That sets you up for everything else
that's on there.

The cumin comes through
in the honeycomb beautifully.

You've taken that quite far
to the edge.

So, there's a nice little touch
of bitterness in there as well.

What you've got here is delicious.

You know, with all of those things
that are going on,

it is absolutely delicious.

But it could be better
with a set panna cotta.

OK. Thank you.

Thanks, Billie.
Thank you, Billie.

MATT: Well done, Billie!

Well done. Whoo!

This panna cotta has been a major
fail, and this round is scored.

Yeah, I'm in a pretty bad place,
I think, going into round two.

No, I don't...

What better way
to kick off a grand finale

than by choosing your own challenge
in round one?

Let's get to the scores.

Sarah...

..it was a bold move to bring us
chicken wings in a finale.

But for you,
I think it was the right move.

I gave you nine out of ten.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Thank you.

Another nine out of ten.

Thank you so much. Thank you.

I scored you an eight out of ten.

MAN: Well done, Sarah!

Which means, Sarah, for round one,

you have a total score
of 26 out of 30.

Thank you.

Well done, Sarah.
Well done.

Go, Sarah!

Billie.

Your cumin panna cotta
wasn't fully set, unfortunately.

But it was full
of some beautiful flavours.

So I scored your dish...

..a seven out of ten.

I gave your dish...

..seven out of ten.

I also scored it seven out of ten.

Thank you.

So, Billie, that means, for round
one, you get a total score of 21.

Well done.

Oh, I'm devastated.

I really missed the mark.

Yeah, it sucks.

It's a big ask to come back
from being five points behind.

I don't know if I can do it.

In this round, there are
40 points up for grabs.

And it is a pressure test.

The person who set this
pressure test is a megastar.

Someone who thinks about food
in a way that is unlike anybody else.

Would you like to find out
who it is?

(LAUGHS)

(ALL LAUGH)

Do you have a choice? (LAUGHS)

MAN: Oh, wow.

Oh, my God.

WOMAN: It's Heston.
MAN: It's bloody Heston, man.

(SPECTATORS EXCLAIM)

Oh, I just got chills.

All of the dishes you just saw
were reinvented by a man

who's about to walk through
those doors.

He's made it his mission in life
to re-imagine historical cooking

in a modern context.

He's set not one, not two

but three finale
pressure tests already,

and this will be his fourth.

I think you know who it is.

Please welcome the man himself,

Heston Blumenthal!

I just... Yeah,
I'm in a bit of shock.

I'm thinking, "Oh, my God."

Heston is an absolute genius
when it comes to food,

and he is definitely
in a league of his own.

How are you, mate?

SARAH: He has re-created
the food industry.

And seeing him walk through
the doors - so much joy.

Welcome back to the MasterChef
kitchen, Heston.

So great to have you back in

for no other special day
but the grand finale.

Amazing.

I can and cannot believe
that these two are in the final.

There you go.
I know both of them.

Billie...
Yeah.

..because you've worked
at The Fat Duck,

we had to choose a dish
that wasn't from The Fat Duck.

So the dish today is one
of Heston's historical dishes

from Dinner By Heston.

Wow.
OK.

This means, of course,

that you have never cooked
this dish before.

You would never have worked on
this dish when you were working

at The Fat Duck, and, therefore,
you have no advantage,

despite having worked
for Heston before.

Mm-hm.

Alright, Heston, why don't we
put them both out of their misery

and show them the dish that you
are challenging them with today?

So, today...

..for this final,
I would like you to cook...

Oh, wow.

..my taffety tart.

Oh, my God.

Come on in, ladies.
You're dying for a closer look.

OK.

Oh.
(CHORTLES)

Oh, my God.
Oh, that is so stunning.

SARAH: At first glance, this looks
like simplicity on a plate,

but these layers start to
reveal themselves,

and there is so much complexity...

..that it's really hard
to even comprehend

just how many elements
go into this dish.

So, Heston, where did the idea
come from - taffety tart?

Historically, around about 1600.

So, the tart wasn't quite like this.

Basically, it was a cake
until we got hold of it.

So, there are apples that
are cooked into a compote.

There is very fine
rolled-out puff pastry.

They are really difficult to do

because you have to push them
just to the verge of being burnt

so that it has enough bitterness

to compensate for the sweetness
of the apples.

Then there's crumb.

There's fennel, fluid gels.

There are crystallised flowers.

Taffeta, it's like silk,

so the awareness of the crunch
from dresses connected to this.

Wow. OK.

That crunch, that's really key
and important,

that the crispy layers get that.

It's complex. It took years to do.

The original taffety tart
never looked like this.

No. I wouldn't imagine.
Yeah. (CHUCKLES)

BILLIE: This is no ordinary tart.

This is such a stunning
piece of...art.

It's multiple layers
of really delicate flavours.

It looks terrifying.

The ice-cream has a significant
amount of vanilla in it.

Wow.

Billie, how are you finding it?

Oh, it's SO tasty.

You get actually the bitterness
from that pastry,

but the apple as well
is still there.

It's apple-pie-ish.

This dish has so many
delicate yet distinct flavours.

There's the fennel, the apple,
the caramel,

and then the speckles of vanilla
through the ice-cream.

Nothing is overpowering each other.

Like, it's so magical.

OK, ladies, for the final time,
here are the all-important rules.

You must replicate Heston's
taffety tart as closely as possible

in flavour, texture and presentation.

You have a total of...

..5 hours and 15 minutes
to complete the dish.

Wow.

Each of us will score your dishes
out of 10,

giving you a possible total of 40.

Those points, they'll be added
to your first round score,

and that will determine our winner.

Billie, Sarah,
you two have come so far

and you've ended up
in this very moment.

There's only one cook standing
between you and that trophy.

Heston...do you want
to start the cook, mate?

Ready? Steady.

Go!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

SARAH: I know I'm five points ahead,
but I know I'm up against it.

Billie's a machine in pressure
tests. This is her forte.

I know she can catch up.

I am going to have to dig deep
to keep a lead.

This is going to be an epic fight
to the finish line.

I can do this. I can do this.
Yeah, you can!

Yeah! Go, girl!
Let's go, girl! Keep pushing, Sare!

The first thing I start on
is my caramel.

This is for two elements -
one for the poached apples,

and, secondly, for
the apple caramel gel.

I get my caramel started
in a large pan.

So, start with a layer
of golden sugar,

and let that caramelise,
and keep going layer by layer

until all the sugar
has caramelised.

Heston's dish had both of these
caramel layers pushed to the limit.

They really were
quite a dark caramel.

I remember the flavour
being slightly bitter.

So that's what I'm going for.

MAN: Go, Sarah.

BILLIE: I'm very annoyed at myself
that that panna cotta didn't set.

That was such a huge mistake.

And that puts me in a pretty bad
position for round two.

I can't afford any mistakes
in this round.

I need to be concentrating,
be focused,

because I can't afford
to lose any more points.

Come on, Billie!
Go, Bill.

I've poured the white caster sugar
into a frypan

to caramelise, to get really dark.

Sarah and Billie
have different sugars.

Exactly.
Yeah. Who's right?

Who's right and who's wrong?

She's using that one,
she's using white sugar.

Sarah and Billie
have different sugars.

Exactly.
Who's right?

Who's right and who's wrong?

BILLIE: I'm working on my caramel,

but just looking at it,
the colour isn't right.

Um...

Heston's was much darker in colour.

Oh, no.

Yep.

Straight off the bat, I've made this
mistake, and it's very annoying.

Got another pan?

Go to the pantry
and get another one.

You got it, girl. You're right!
Go, Billie!

I think it's just the intensity
of this challenge, and the nerves.

Onya, Billie!

This could put me behind.

But there's no room for error -
I need perfection.

WOMAN: Good work, Bill.

I start melting down
the golden caster sugar.

It has to be taken right to the edge

so that it has that bitterness
that Heston's dish had.

Once it's really caramelised,
I add in some butter,

whisk that around,
and then take it off the heat

and gradually add in
some apple juice

a little bit at a time.

Good stuff, Bill.

Come on, Sarah! Let's go!
Let's go, ladies!

Come on, Sare!

SARAH: I'm working on the
butter sheet and the dough

that form the puff pastry.

So, I am rolling out my dough

and getting approximately

the measurements that it says
on the recipe.

And for my butter layer,
I roughly roll it out

and do my first book fold.

Come on, Sarah.

Just need to keep pushing.

Once that's done, pop it
in the fridge to rest.

Great work.
Beautiful, mate. Beautiful.

ALDO: Go, Billie! Come on.

BILLIE: When it comes to puff pastry,
precision is key,

because you want to create those
multiple, multiple layers throughout,

which gives it that crisp texture,

which was such an important part
of Heston's dish.

This recipe is so detailed.

There are dimensions in here,
and it needs to be these dimensions

otherwise there won't be enough
dough to cover the butter

and it will end up being a buttery
mess rather than a nice puff pastry.

The puff pastry on Heston's
was really crisp, really delicious,

so, yeah, just got to make sure
I follow that recipe to a T.

Oh, Billie, I love it. Ingenuity!

Good work, Bill.
Yeah, good job, Billie.

Puff pastry is all about laminating,

so, yeah, just trying to
get that done.

You got this, Sarah.

I know I can multi-task.

So, at the same time, I need to
work on the poached apples,

vanilla biscuit and
crystallised rose petals.

Whoo!

There is so many elements
going on here,

but I'm actually decent
at multi-tasking.

Let's go, Sarah.

Come on, girl.

It's what happens
when you become a mum.

Hey, my angel.

Hi.

You get to the finale,
you really want to do

what you do best, you know,
tap into that strength.

Sarah is such a good cook,
and if Billie wins again,

that's going to make
MasterChef history.

You got it, girl.
Well done, girl. Let's go.

Three hours to go. Three hours!
Come on!

Yeah!

Yes! Come on, ladies!

BILLIE: I need to really
concentrate on this pastry.

Between each roll, there needs
to be a lot of sugar added

so that the pastry caramelises
as it cooks in the oven.

ALVIN: Amazing, Billie.
Good pastry work.

I get it onto some preheated
cast-iron trays

and put it into the oven.

Keep going, girl.
Keep pushing, yeah?

The pastry element of Heston's dish
is a big pressure point.

While that's in the oven,

I'm working on
my crystallised rose petals,

the vanilla biscuit
and poached apples.

Yum.

They're good.

Looks good, Bill.

(TIMER BEEPS)

Billie, your timer.

I take my puff pastry
out of the oven...

..and I feel like they are
golden brown.

The recipe's saying golden brown.

JULIE: What do you think, Billie?

MINOLI: Get the darkest ones
possible, Billie.

But I'm not sure that they're quite
as dark as what Heston's were.

They were taken to the bitter edge

and were really thin
and really crispy.

There's no way putting it
back in the oven will work.

I'm so far behind Sarah.

I can't afford this mistake.

But the only way
that I can rectify this

is by grabbing some more
puff pastry from the fridge

and doing this entire step again.

Let's go, Billie.
Come on, Billie.

What's she doing again?

She's doing it again.

Oh, bugger.

Go, Bill. Hustle, babe.

Go, girl. Move!

Come on, Bill!
Go, Bill.

Ladies, if you want to get
your hands on this trophy,

you got to get to the end
of that recipe.

(ALL SHOUT ENCOURAGEMENT)

ALI: Come on, Sarah!
Let's do this! Push, push, push!

(TIMER BEEPS)

My timer's just gone off,

and I go over to the oven
to check my pastry.

Please work.

ALI: Come on, Sarah.
ALVIN: Come on, Sarah. You got this.

Oh.

Oh, no.
It didn't work.

But what didn't work?

I have no idea.

It is terrible.

It's so wrong.

It's all kind of melted apart.

It's just completely wrong.
It's so wrong.

So wrong.

Like, I don't know what to do.

SARAH: Please work.

The lamination of her puff pastry
is not great.

SARAH: It's so wrong.

It's all kind of melted apart.

OK, how?
I have no idea.

Oy, oy, oy.

I can't handle it.

But there is nothing I can do
at this point.

She needs to get it together,
seriously. (LAUGHS)

I really need to try and salvage
as much as I can.

Come on, girl.

(SIGHS)
You did it, babe.

Brilliant.
(CHEERING)

Take a breath and reset.
Yeah.

I know I'm five points ahead,
but I know Billie can catch up.

Billie has won before.

The pressure of a grand finale,
this is her forte.

I can't afford to let one
small mistake slow me down.

Yes!

I just need to keep moving forward.

Let's go, let's go, let's go.

The next step is my ice-cream.

Come on, Sarah!

I add in the milk, the vanilla bean,

one coffee bean, because this is a
Heston recipe and it's very specific.

One.

Smells good, Sares.
You need to motor.

I remember how perfectly set
Heston's ice-cream was.

She makes lab glasses look sexy.

(LAUGHTER)
Come on, Sarah!

As I'm adding my liquid nitrogen
to the stand mixer,

I'm extremely nervous
to take this too far.

I don't want to add too much

because I'm worried
that it will overset.

750mL.

There's very little done.

Everything is just taking
so much time per element.

Come on, Sarah! You got this.

If I'm going to beat Billie,

I need to stay one step ahead
the whole time.

It's a little bit runny.

Oh, Jesus.

You're on the final stretch
of the grand finale.

Bring it on! One hour to go!

(CHEERING)

(TIMER BEEPS)

BILLIE: I check my
second batch of pastry,

and I'm using my instincts
this time around.

I've spent so much time on these,

I can't afford
to ruin the pastry twice.

A bit more.

It's nice and dark, but I think
I can push it a little bit further...

Two minutes.
JOCK: Yep.

Uh-oh.

..and hope that that gets
the really deep golden colour.

Nice, Billie. Make it perfect.

(TIMER BEEPS)

This pastry is one of the most
important elements on this dessert.

(SPECTATORS EXCLAIM)

Oh, Billie!
(CHEERING)

DANIEL: Good-looking pastry, Billie.

MINOLI: Just stunning.
Beautiful, Bill.

And it's looking really good.
It's really dark. It's really shiny.

The sugar has caramelised.

Crisis averted, thank God.

Nice work, Bill.

But I'm in a bit of a situation now.

Uh...

It's so involved.

WOMAN: There seems to be
so many pages, still.

Because I'd had to redo
my puff pastry,

I know that I'm trailing
behind Sarah.

Keep going, Bill.

So I need to move fast.

Come on, Billie!
Let's go, Bill.

Just keep pushing.
You need to keep the pace up.

Now I have to get onto my ice-cream.

(ALL SHOUT ENCOURAGEMENT)

Go, Billie! Let's Go, Sarah!

SARAH: Now I'm working on
my poached apple layer.

DANIEL: How about them apples, eh?

These were really caramelised.

They had a beautiful colour to them.

So I'm glad that I have
enough time to get this right.

MINDY: So just move
a little bit faster, babe.

I've noticed that Sarah is already
working on the poached apples,

and I'm still working on
my ice-cream.

You need to cut your apple, babe.
Cut your apple.

Cut your apple.

I'm starting to feel the panic.

I'm so far behind Sarah,
but there's nothing I can do.

This is a dish by Heston,

and I need to get every
single part of it perfect

if I have any chance of
making up those lost points.

She basically has to get
almost perfect scores, I reckon.

Yeah. Yeah, pretty much.
To be in with a chance.

At this stage, I cannot see how
I'm even gonna finish.

SARAH: I know how far behind I am.

But this ice-cream
needs to be perfect.

Heston's ice-cream
was beyond perfect.

The texture, the flavour,
everything about it.

And I can see it all starting
to come together now.

Beautiful, Bill.

Oh, that looks good, Billie!

I think it's pretty good.

It might need one tiny
little bit more nitrogen.

(ALL CHEER)

That's it, Bill!

I'm really happy
with how it's turned out.

Good, Billie!

I have to get onto the poached apple
layer, the apple fluid gel,

and also the rose cream.

Come on, Billie.
(SIGHS) OK.

I'm happy with
all the elements so far,

but I know it's now possible
that I will run out of time.

You need to keep the pace up.

Billie and Sarah,

this whole competition is over
for you in 30 minutes!

(CHEERING)
JOCK: Come on, girls!

Come on, ladies!

SARAH: My rose cream
and apple fluid gel is done.

Now I need to make the crumble.

Get it in the fridge, girl! Keep
moving. Let's go, Sarah. Let's go.

This is the last element.

The crumble was on top of the tart
and also under the ice-cream,

and it just had
this beautiful texture,

like, this really is that crunch
that Heston is talking about.

Going well, Sarah.

While my almonds are in the oven,
I'm working on my vanilla salt,

my candied fennel seeds
and my brown butter,

and bringing all that together
for my crumble.

Beautiful.
Oh, my God, amazing.

That looks amazing.

I think it really resembles
what I had when I tasted Heston's.

I think it's got that
perfect amount of crunch,

it's really, really tasty.

Nice one, Sarah!
Let's go.

I can't believe
I'm on the home stretch.

OK.

BILLIE: My poached apple layer
is done.

And I've made my rose cream.

Yeah, good job, Billie.

As well as the apple fluid gel.

The last thing I need to do now
is making this crumble.

Pick up the pace, babe.

SARAH: I am so proud that I have
finished all of my elements.

I just need to put it all together.

Heston's dish was so precise.

I feel like I really need
to nail this.

It's a great colour, Sarah.

Got my vanilla biscuit on the base,
I add my apple caramel gel...

..and my poached apple layer.

Don't let it crack. You got this!

JOCK: Billie, Sarah,
you're so close!

You got 15 minutes to go!

(ALL SHOUT ENCOURAGEMENT)

BILLIE: All of my elements are now
made, and I'm checking off the items

on the recipe to make sure
that I have everything done.

OK, that's done, vanilla salt's done.

And I'm looking at this crumble,

and it looks...

..oily.

Heston really emphasised
the importance of the textures

in this dish, and the crumble
was really crispy and quite dry.

And the crumble that I've got
here on my bench...

..is really wet.

Go, Sarah.
You got this, Sarah.

You got it, Sares.

BILLIE: My whole MasterChef journey
this time around

has brought me to this point.

Oh, Bill...

And I can feel the title
slipping away from me.

Last time, when I won MasterChef,
I wasn't ready.

Keep pushing, Billie.
You're doing so well.

But now, after becoming a mum,

I feel like I'm capable and confident
and ready to do what I want to do.

Good on you, Billie!
Go, Bill.

So I want it a whole lot more.

Keeping going!
You got this, girl!

Go, Bill!

Come on, Bill!
Go, Bill!

So, so close to the finish line,

I cannot afford to put
anything on this plate

that I'm not 100% happy with.

I think I'm just going to have to
push and make this crumble again.

ALVIN: Nope. Just doing it again.
What's she doing again?

The crumble.

Billie, you're nuts!

Oh, my God.

DANIEL: Billie's so far behind.

Now she's decided to redo her crumb

with no time left on the clock.

She wants everything to be perfect,
which is great,

but it's not going to matter if you
don't get everything on the plate.

Get it on the plate!

PHOENIX: Take your time.
You have enough time.

SARAH: Constructing this tart

is like the building blocks
of a house.

So many layers.

I add one layer of pastry.

Nice, dark one.

Now I delicately pipe on
my rose cream.

Beautiful.
Yeah, it looks good, Sarah.

Now for my last layer of pastry,

I do a layer of that
apple fluid gel...

Looks good, Sare!

..and add on my crumble.

Check everything, Billie.
Nice and quick, nice and quick.

Get that mixed together.

Oh, yes.

(ALL CHEER AND SHOUT)

SARAH: Oh, my gosh,
it looks so damn beautiful.

Did I just make that?

Beautiful.
That's it, Sarah!

BILLIE: I've made the second batch
of the crumble and...

..it's so much better.

(CHEERING AND SHOUTING)

It's crispy, it's drier,
it reminds me of Heston's.

Nice, Billie. Make it perfect.

And now I need to start
plating this dish up.

But I'm going to have to move
really, really fast,

but be really gentle
and really careful

to make this dish look
as good as I can.

Come on, pull it together.

Can't believe I'm about to say it!

You've only got one minute to go!
Come on!

(CHEERING AND SHOUTING)

Go, girl! Move!

(SHOUTING AND APPLAUSE)
Yeah, Billie!

Yes, Billie!

Wow-wee!
Beautiful, Bill.

Amazing.
Come on, Billie.

Come on, Billie.
You got this. You're killing it.

And for the final time!

ALL: Ten, nine, eight, seven,

six, five, four,

three, two, one!

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

What the hell?
That was hard!

That was hard. That was so long.

(CHEERS)

(SHRIEKS, LAUGHS)

Oh, my God!
Well done.

BILLIE: Today was tough.
Today was really hard.

Smashed it.

Right down to the wire there.

Well done.
Thank you.

I did the crumble again.

So good.

And hopefully that decision
was worth it.

Um...yeah, I tried my best.

Good luck, Sarah.
Thank you.

For the last time.
I know.

(BOTH LAUGH)

I feel so happy walking
this dish in to the judges.

I don't know if it's perfect...

..but I am five points ahead...

..and I just hope
I can keep the lead.

How are you doing?
Good.

Yeah, I'm feeling good.

Yeah, I'm actually feeling sad

because it's the last time
I'm going to be doing this.

So it's a strange feeling.

Your family's been on the gantry
all day, cheering you on.

What would it mean to you
to lift that trophy?

Oh, gosh.

I think my mum would be
very, very proud.

I think just sitting here now,
getting to this point in itself...

..is pretty amazing.

Thank you.

Shall we finish the dish?
Yes. (LAUGHS)

Thank you, Sarah. We'll taste.
Thank you. Enjoy.

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

Thank you.

What do we all reckon?
On appearance?

It's pretty impressive.

The ice-cream looked pretty...
pretty soft.

Yeah.
Yeah, it's rapidly melting.

The pastry is a little
tougher than yours.

See what I mean?
I see.

Yeah, it's bendy.
So less glass-like.

I think she's done an amazing job,
first of all.

The fluid gel, texture and flavour,

just as good as yours.

Lemon zest, the fennel fronds,
everything present.

The little crystallised rose petals
were beautiful as well.

And then onto the taffety tart
itself, I think the caramelisation,

which is the key thing
that I remember from tasting yours,

is that bitter edge.

And I think she's captured
it beautifully in the caramel.

The pastry, there was
a slightly different texture.

I don't think it detracted
a huge amount from the flavour,

other than you lost some of
the biscuity-ness

of the puff pastry that yours had.

And I think she got
very, very close to yours.

Yeah, I agree. I mean, this is
not the easiest dish to do.

And it's really, you know,
sort of one of...

Understatement of the century.
Understatement.

But a lot of it hangs on
the finesse of the layers

and pushing that level
of bitterness.

And I think she's done a great job.

I mean, I think she's done
a pretty...pretty impressive job.

I agree.
I think an extraordinary effort.

There are a lot of positives here.

However, I'm going to just go
straight to the negatives.

Is her probably not
book-folding her pastry

as well as she possibly could have,

and is the loose ice-cream
going to open the door for Billie?

I think, flavour-wise, it was lovely.

The texture was a little bit loose.

I would say it does read,
in comparison to yours,

ever so slightly
on the sweeter side.

I think it's an amazing
plate of food, but it's game on

because it's not perfect

and it's going to be very,
very interesting to see

what Billie brings to the table.

Are you a brilliant home cook?

Do you want to cook
in the MasterChef kitchen?

Well, head to the link below

to apply for the next season
of MasterChef Australia.

Good luck, Billie.
Thank you.

There's lots going on in my mind.

Having made all the pastry
and the crumble twice,

you know, I hope that was worth it.

JOCK: Billie.
Hello.

I'm five points behind Sarah,

so I'm going to need perfection
to have any chance of winning this.

(SIGHS)

I can breathe.
And...breathe.

What about your time here?

Like, I always think why

especially the winners come back.

Mm.

I'm a mum first and foremost,
I think.

The last two years
has really solidified that.

But I think pushing myself
into these sorts of situations

is what I need to do
a little bit more of,

and that's where the discovery
really happens, I think.

I feel like I've grown a whole lot.

I think I've realised
I am capable of doing this...

..and this has given me
a lot of confidence,

being back here,
and I do feel capable

and do feel like
I really want it now.

Billie, I've seen you look up
at the scores a couple of times,

you know, and just go,
"No, I'm going to remake that."

Yeah.

And we've seen you do that
with the crumble,

we've seen you do it
with the pastry.

Yeah.

Do you think you've done enough?

I think, in other pressure tests,
I've sort of just gone,

"Oh, no, it'll be OK."

But this one, I just thought,

"Nuh, I just have to make sure
everything is perfect,"

and trying to use
a bit more of my instincts.

It was amazing to watch.
It's great to hear as well.

Would you like to rocher?
Sure.

Thank you.

We'll taste.
Thank you. Thanks.
Thank you.

Thanks, Billie. Well done.
Thank you. Thank you.

(CHUCKLES) Hey.
How'd you go?

Yeah, good.
(BOTH LAUGH)

HESTON: It does look, um,
pretty impressive, doesn't it?

ANDY: Yeah.
MELISSA: Certainly does.

There's just another level of
precision and finesse, isn't there?

Ooh, looks good.

That was just like a hot knife
through butter.

Wow.

I think when you're
five points behind,

you can either concede defeat
right there and then

or you can push and graft...

It's just not in her, is it?
..like you've never done it before.

It's not in her to concede.

Everything is there,
present and correct.

Really clear layers
and beautiful textures.

The biscuit is beautiful.

It has the right amount
of biscuity flavour and texture.

The gel has that perfect
amount of bitterness.

You can really sort of pick up on
every single, clear, distinct layer.

You can see the textures are
as they should be.

My mind is blown.

I have to say, I think
there's a real finesse

about what she's done here.

The ice-cream texture,
to the finesse in the layers...

..and the way the whole thing
is put together, really impressive.

The pastry is unbelievable.

It is so good. It's flaky,
you could see the layers.

Beautiful golden caramelisation
on it.

Your spoon just went straight
through it as well.

There was no resistance whatsoever.

And then the crumb on top, I'm glad
that she went back and did it,

because she wasn't happy with it
and it wasn't right,

and it's made the dish
better for it.

Definitely feeling her way
through this recipe...

Yes.

..is paying its dividends now
in the tasting.

And, you know, for sure,
the pastry - very, very good.

You know, the lamination -
there is the difference.

Look, I think it's safe to say

that Billie's dish
is better than good, you know.

The big question is,
is it good enough

to make up those five points

that would mean she would take
that title out for a second time?

There's no better way

than to end the grand finale
of MasterChef Australia 2022

than with a Heston Blumenthal
pressure test.

MELISSA: Every time
you walk into this kitchen

you set a new precedent
of culinary excellence

that can only be met
by the best of the best.

How would you describe
these two finalists?

To get this far,
let alone today's challenge,

is something incredible.

And...

..tasting your dishes today,
they were wonderful.

They showed so much dexterity,
finesse, and...

..nearly five and a half hours?!

Sorry. But I'm not really.

(LAUGHTER)

It has been a huge day.

We are moments away
from announcing the person

who will get their name
on that trophy...

..claim the title...

..and take home ¤250,000.

This round, it was a pressure test

and there was a total of 40 points
up for grabs - 10 from each of us.

Sarah, you had the lead.

So, all you needed to do was keep it.

Are we about to see your name
on the trophy for the first time?

Or, Billie, can you lift
that trophy for a second time?

Now, Sarah...

..there we so many positives
in your tart

but it wasn't perfect...

..and your ice-cream was
a little loose.

So, I scored you...

..a seven out of ten.

Sarah, it was
a pretty impressive effort.

I also scored you seven.

From a flavour perspective,
your dish was very close to Heston's.

And because of that, I gave you...

..eight out of ten.

Thank you.

It was beautiful to look at,
and an extraordinary effort.

I gave you...

..an eight out of ten.

(CHEERING)

So, Sarah, that's a score
of 30 out of 40 for this round,

bringing your total score to 56.

(CHEERING)

Billie...

..that means that you need
to score 36 points from us to win.

Your dish had to be near perfect.

Billie, I love the fact that I could
feel the emotion in that dish.

And it was delicious.

Nine out of ten.

(CHEERING)

Not only was that pastry
unbelievable...

..but almost every element
matched Heston's.

I gave you...

..a nine out of ten.

(CHEERING)

It truly was an incredible feat.

And I scored you nine out of ten.

Billie...

..your tart...

..showed an incredible
attention to detail.

It blew my mind.

And because of that, I scored it...

..ten.
(CHEERING)

JOCK: That means, Billie McKay,

you're the winner
of Masterchef Australia 2022!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Billie, congratulations.

You've just won ¤250,000.

Oh, my God. I can't believe it.

I am so grateful for this experience.

I've learned so much about myself.

It's changed a lot about me,
and I'm really excited about that.

And I admire Sarah so much.

She's an absolute force.

She's done so much since being
on MasterChef the first time around,

and I'm really inspired by her.

Um, and she's a, you know,
beautiful person to boot, so...

So are you, Billie.

Now you're making me cry!

Well, Sarah, commiserations.

You've impressed us week after week

not only with the calibre
of your cooking

but with your incredible
fighting spirit.

And we can't wait to see
what you achieve next.

Thank you.

It's been so much fun.

I learnt a lot about myself, and
I'm walking out feeling so grateful,

so much love and happiness,
and just in a really good place.

For coming in second place,
you won't be going home empty-handed

because we'd like
to give you ¤30,000

to help you with
your culinary ambitions.

Thank you.

(CHEERING)

ANDY: And, of course...

..we can't ignore our
third-place-getter, Daniel.

For you coming third,
we're gonna give you ¤20,000.

(CHEERING)

Whoo-hoo!

Oh! You wouldn't read about it!

The Milky Bars are on you.

(LAUGHTER)

Billie, congratulations.

(CHUCKLES)

You came here
with a lot to live up to.

Because you're already a member
of the winners' circle.

But, this time, you're leaving
with so much more.

Tonight...

..you have rewritten history.

You are now the first cook ever

to win MasterChef Australia
not once, but twice.

We are bursting with pride...

..and we could not be
happier for you.

Thank you.

Billie, I think you know
what happens next

'cause you have done it before.
(LAUGHTER)

The only thing left to do is to
come over and lift that shiny trophy.

(CHEERING)

JOCK: Give it up for
Billie McKay, everybody!

(CHEERING)

Whoo!

(CHEERING CONTINUES)

Whoo!

Captions by Red Bee Media