MasterChef Australia (2009–…): Season 2, Episode 1 - Series Premiere: Top 50 - Part 1 - full transcript

Julie, Poh, if you're gonna
change the universe,

there's a small corner that
you must start from

and that's yourself.

Last year, more than 4 million
Australians watched

two amateur cooks battle it out
for the ultimate prize.

Julie, to beat Poh, you require
three points from Gary.

Couldn't score you any other way.

And overnight, an ordinary mom
became a legend.

Julie, you are Australia's first ever
MasterChef.

And now, we begin
the search again.

This is a battle to become
Australia's next MasterChef.



From around the country,
more than 8000 budding chefs

apply for the cooking competition
of a lifetime.

I wanna be a chef, that's what
I wanna do with my life.

But standing in their way, three formidable
names of the culinary world.

I'm Gary Mehigan.
I am looking for the one.

This year the bar has been set higher,
the challenges are tougher

and the victories sweeter.

I'm George Calombaris.
I expect 100% commitment,

passion, and dedication
for the love of food.

I'm Matt Preston.
To win MasterChef,

you have to have technique,
palate, and knowledge.

If you don't have that,
you can't win.

Tonight, 50 begin their journey
to fight for a place in the top 24.

- You really wanna be here, don't you?
- I bloody want it.



I'm daring to dream, but I'm terrified
that dream's not gonna come true.

I'm struggling to find anything positive
to say about that dish.

This chocolate mousse is gonna
make or break me,

but I'm trying, that's
all that matters.

I don't want to go home
with two sore fingers

and a broken heart.
I wanna be a MasterChef.

Wow! Who'd have thought
a lawyer could cook.

Well done, you absolutely
nailed that challenge.

It's just one of the most wonderful
kitchen experiences you can have.

You get so much joy from it, and you
know what's life with that passion.

Over 14 intense weeks,
they'll face amazing challenges.

It's showtime!

Pit their skills against
the world's greatest chefs.

You have to push yourself
beyond the limit.

And create 5-star dishes
under incredible pressure.

I can't believe I did that.

Magnifique.

In the end, only one will become
Australia's next MasterChef.

You can't stand the heat,
get out of the kitchen.

This is gonna be full-on.

Strap yourself in,
game on!

It's the first day of
MasterChef's top 50,

and I'm scared, nervous,
excited,

and my adrenaline
is pumping.

I'm thrilled to be here,
I'm thrilled to be recognized

as the top 50 in Australia.
This is fantastic for me.

To be surrounded by so many
people who love food,

who share the same passions I do,
is just an amazing feeling.

So we walk in through the doors,
and there's George and Gary,

looking very stern and determined
to sort us out.

Welcome to the top 50
of MasterChef Australia.

We scoured the country, looking for
Australia's best amateur cooks.

We tasted thousands of dishes.

My apprentices would
struggle to do that.

I reckon that is gonna be
the best thing I've tasted today.

It's cracking, I love it.

- Congratulations, you're going to Sydney.
- Oh yeah!

- What do you reckon, George? Top 50?
- I love it. Top 50.

- You're going to Sydney.
- Thank you.

Congratulations, you're through
to the top 50.

You're through.

I can't believe,
I can't believe.

You're going to Sydney.

Yours stood out from the pack.

This week we're looking for 24 cooks

that will go through to the next stage.

Standing in this room is
the next MasterChef.

Last year's winner Julie,
her life has absolutely changed.

And yours can too.

Today is your first ever challenge.

It's a baptism of fire.
Welcome to your kitchen.

The lights go up, and the first thing
I notice, barbecues.

I have never cooked
on a barbecue in my life.

It's total man's territory.

Crap!

Your first challenge is the barbecue.
What a great Australian icon!

I'm just thinking, hmm, that's not ok,
just do your best,

cause I really haven't
that many barbecues.

It's not an Austrian thing, *

The nice surprise is you get to
choose exactly the ingredients

you want to cook with.

That is the MasterChef pantry.
It is chock full of gorgeous stuff

for you to choose from.

If you can't come up with
a great dish out of all that,

you don't deserve to be here.

You've got one and a half hours
to create and cook a dish on the barbecue

that is gonna blow us away.

But also, we're looking for
ten of the dishes that least impress us.

And why?

Those ten people will face off
in an elimination round later on today.

The bottom 10 on day one
would just be devastating,

and I know ten people
will have to be there.

But I really hope
I'm not one of them.

The question is: Do you have what it takes
to be Australia's next MasterChef?

Yes!

Yes, chef.

Yes, chef!

That's the spirit.

Your ninety minutes start...

now!

Oh my gosh,
what am I going to do?

I just don't know
what to make.

I'm just thinking of
big sizzling steak.

Every steak I've ever eaten
was coming into my head.

Not many people going for
the chicken so I thought,

oh well, I'll go for the chicken.

I want to make something that's different
from what everyone else is gonna do.

No caraways. That's not okay.

I am going to cook barbecue pork
Austrian style,

never met anyone
who didn't love. Ever.

I'm going to marinate the prawns
in a Thai marinade

and then I'm gonna barbecue them and
then serve them with an Asian salad.

My mom's Thai, so these are
flavors I've grown up with.

I'm gonna do a snapper fillet
with caramelized banana,

wrapped in banana leaf
on the grill.

I use this dish every weekend around
the family and around my kids,

and it brings two beautiful
Australian products together.

I'm cooking today a ribeye on the bone,
sweet mushroom in soy, chilli and garlic,

I'm just trying to whip up a hollandaise
and see if that works,

if it doesn't I won't serve it.

I'm doing a ribeye
wrapped in prosciutto,

served with caramelized onion
and potato r?stis.

So, cooking is so important to my life,
it is my life.

I am Sarah Carmichael,
I am a police detective,

and I wanna be a MasterChef.

- Good morning, this is detective...
- Working for Victoria police

is certainly very challenging.

But my passion for being a police officer
has changed since I had children.

Now I'd like to explore some new things
and nice thing would be cooking.

My mom's gonna be a MasterChef.

I've got a shoulder of lamb and
I'm going to barbecue it in one piece

and serve that with
a lemon butter sauce.

I'm Adele Fragnito and
I'm a salon owner from Adelaide.

I have two beautiful boys,
Matthew and Michael.

Michael was born with dyspraxia.

It's a language disorder.

My food dream is to own a little cafe,

just something that
I can manage with him.

That'd be amazing.

George, I've never seen anything
like this before,

look at it, look at it.

There's fifty of them, all in a line,
all cooking their hearts out,

this is amazing.

The first challenge, and they're marinating,
they're scoring, they're brushing,

they're searing.

I thing we should get amongst them.
Let's go.

Peter, look at this!
- How are you? George?

What we have in here
is a whole snapper,

the taste of this fish
is gonna blow you away.

You look at home,
you just need a beer,

that'd sort it out.

I just feel so happy right now,
it's just great.

Tell us the dish that you're cooking.
My version of the surf and turf.

Parsley lemon butter prawns
and a sort of Asian-style ribeye.

Katie, what are you cooking?
I made sweetcorn fritters with haloumi.

I'm here to win MasterChef.

I've got a big dream
to be Australia's Nigella.

This is a hundred times
more frightening than it looks.

Just pace yourself.
Look down there.

- Wow.
- Amazing, isn't it?

- Good Luck, Katie.
- Welcome to MasterChef.

Thanks.

Half an hour down,
you have one hour to go.

Just a little bit of stress.
Just a tiny bit.

Don't forget the MasterChef title
will not come to you.

You need to hunt it down, and put
the best food possible on the plate

and hopefully win this challenge.
Come on!

- Excuse me, Amanda.
- Yes sir?

Are you gonna use all your fennel?

My name is Jake and I'm a
cement renderer from the Central Coast.

I'm a little bit outside the square
when it comes to a typical foodie.

I'm more of a blue collar worker
sort of thing.

My resum? says self-employed
cement renderer,

but I wanna be
a top notch chef.

I'm gonna cook a simple steak and just
a char-grilled sweet and sour salad.

It's stinging.

To be honest, it happened that quick,
I just sliced my thumb

without even thinking about it.

Yeah, I'm feeling like
a real idiot about now.

Everyone's flooding into it and yeah,
I'm losing valuable seconds.

I thought, oh no, I've blown it.
That's it. It's game over.

Gentlemen.

Coming up. The top 50 face their
moment of truth at the first tasting.

There's not much to like
about that dish.

I love that dish.

And later, the bottom 10
face elimination

in the ultimate
pressure test.

Donna, can you please
reveal the dish

they'll be cooking today?

With the creation from
cookbook queen Donna Hay.

The ten of you are
going to be cooking...

It's stinging.

I sliced my thumb.

I thought I wasn't gonna
be able to finish my dish.

Ok, I give you a glove
and you're off running.

Yep.

Once it finally stopped bleeding,
I was a little bit relieved,

I could get back there
and get into it.

I'm gonna have to dig deep
and just make sure I try harder

and chop the last few
ingredients carefully.

This is your chance to cook
the best barbecue

you've ever cooked in your life.

Come on!

What are you cooking
for us today?

Big bloody steak.

A big bloody steak?
- Yeah.

I love a big bloody steak,
George.

Oh, this looks good already,
tell me what you're cooking.

I'm cooking an Asian tasting plate.

Lacey, what are you cooking?

I'm basically doing a yoghurt,
fennel and lemon marinated lamb.

Gee, you've got a lot going on there,
you feel confident?

Um, hopeful.

I may have taken
the other finger off.

So yeah, now I've got two chunks
out of two fingers.

This is day one and you are halfway
through your first challenge,

which is the barbecue challenge.

I don't want to go home with two
sore fingers and a broken heart,

I want to be a MasterChef.

My parents would be proud
if they saw all this now.

Today I decided to cook
a traditional Lebanese snapper.

There's a tahini sauce I've done
with walnuts

and I'm doing something
like a coleslaw salad.

Fingers crossed it works out.
I'm nervous a little bit

but it'll be good.

My name is Irmgard Kastner
and I'm a grandmother from Melbourne.

Beautiful!

The MasterChef competition
is giving me a new lease on life.

My husband was a chef.
He passed away two years ago.

To have the potential
to become MasterChef,

it's sort of giving me something
to sink my teeth in

instead of just sitting at home
and getting old

which is very hard
for me to do.

Irmgard!
- Yes?

We're here to talk to you.

OK! We wanna know
what's going on here.

What are you cooking?

Well I've made some Austrian
seasoned pork on the barbeque,

and some pickled Styrish cabbage.

You finished so quickly.
- Yeah.

Some things I had to compromise with.

Is that pork? Yeah.

So I used a bit of fennel seed which
is not as good as the caraway seed.

But fennel and pork,
it's a good combination.

Yes.

Are you sure that's pork?
- Yeah?

Isn't it?

I don't know, George, is it pork?
- It wasn't lamb.

Smells a bit lamby to me.

Well I'll tell you what,
it's certainly done in Austrian style,

there's no arguing about that.
That's for good.

You have fifteen minutes
to go.

I've stuffed this up.

I decided I'm gonna do
a Thai beef salad.

This is the most unhappy
I've ever been with myself.

I've never cooked on a barbecue before,
I've never done this dish

with a cut of meat so thick.

And I'm really, really worried
that it's not going to cook through.

I'm Sharnee Rawson
and I'm a law student

but I wanna be a chef
and one day own and run my own caf?.

I'm willing to give up law
through career in food

because while I enjoy law,
my heart's just not in it.

Like friends and family have said to me,
they've just seen my spark fizzle out

and just when I cook
it all comes back.

Getting through just means
that I might not be stuck

in a career I don't wanna do.

You have five minutes to go.

Now's the time to add
those little flourishes,

make sure everything's
cooked perfectly.

If you doubt it,
don't put it up.

Time is going very well for me.
I've plated up.

I felt really organized today.
I knew what I wanted to do,

and so I think I feel good about it.

Hopefully it tastes good.

My vegetables all turned out well
but I'm worried that the lamb is tough

and there's too much on the plate.

After I cut my finger
the second time

I got back here and
I knew I couldn't stop.

I won't leave something unfinished,
no matter what it is.

You have one minute to go.

Make sure you clean
the side of your plate,

we don't want thumbprints,
this isn't a police station,

this is MasterChef.

This is it,
you have ten seconds to go.

00:19:40,303 --> 00:19:41,416

00:19:41,616 --> 00:19:42,952

00:19:43,152 --> 00:19:44,441

00:19:44,641 --> 00:19:45,832

00:19:46,032 --> 00:19:47,159

00:19:47,359 --> 00:19:48,359

00:19:48,559 --> 00:19:49,719

00:19:49,919 --> 00:19:50,919

00:19:51,119 --> 00:19:54,703
That's it, tools down,
step away from your benches.

Finished!

What do you reckon, mate?

I've done everything I can
and I hope the judges

really really like my meal.

You had all completed
your first ever challenge.

Well done.

We'll taste your dishes
and pick the ten least impressive.

Those ten will go
into an elimination challenge.

I'd feel terrible
if I'm going home on the first day.

I wanna be given a chance to show
something other than my first dish.

Of course we won't be tasting
all of your delicious food on our own.

There's someone missing.

He's an award-winning food critic
and he is of course Mr. Matt Preston.

When Matt Preston walked into the room
I just thought, Oh my God,

he's going to be eating my food!

That was a very scary moment.

I'm expecting great things
from you fifty.

You're here to become a MasterChef.

I want vibrant flavours.

I want imaginative, succesful dishes.

I don't wanna see
char-grilled vegetable,

hunk of beef
wrapped in prosciutto.

Yawn! We've seen it.

If you can't cook with fire,
if you can't cook with barbecue,

you have no place
in this competition.

Today has been exciting.
The barbecue.

It seems simple but it ain't.

So keep your fingers crossed,
and we're looking forward

to tasting the first dish.

Keep your fingers crossed,
and we're looking forward

to tasting the first dish.

Gentlemen.

I'm just starting to get sweaty,
and I'm just like,

oh, I hope they like it.

I'm feeling quite worried
at this point.

They've all got
a very stern look on their faces

and I'm just hoping one of them
cracks a smile or something.

As the judges walked over
to taste my food,

I was very nervous.

Their eyes pierce into you.

Jason.

Tell us what you've cooked.

I've cooked a shoulder of snapper,

fresh prawn with caramelised
smashed banana reduction

with a hint of mint.

Wish me luck, George.

I'm a bit nervous about this,
caramelised banana.

Jason. I really struggle
with the whole

banana in a fish thing.

But worse than that,
the prawns aren't cooked.

The snapper's just cooked.

So for me, honestly,
there's not much to like

about that dish. Sorry.

No problems.

You might possibly be
twenty years ahead of your time.

I don't think you are.
It's a poor dish.

As I see the judges walking over,
huge tightening of the stomach,

I'm feeling a bit shaky.

It's not going to be easy
to impress them.

- Claire.
- Yes.

Dish.

Chicken cooked two ways,
with a little Asian salad,

served on some
grilled pineapple.

The only way to eat it is like that.

If you eat chicken and you
lick your fingers afterwards,

it's a good chicken,
so well done.

I love that dish, thank you.
- Thank you

What I don't like about it is nothing.
I love it, I think it's great.

It's fantastic, well done.

Thank you.

Good stuff,
well done.

It was all positive,
and I was a little shocked,

to be honest.

I like that.

And you've grilled the vegetables
really really carefully.

Thank you.

The beans, the prawns,
the smoked chicken.

Wow, a dish with so much flavour.

It's huge.

That is a cracking dish,
I love the salad.

Really nice combination of flavours.
Well done.

Thanks, Matt.

As the judges were walking over,
my heart sank.

Gary was smiling at me,
I think they knew what I've done.

Jake.

How are you?
Show us your hand.

Oh my goodness.

Right, okay.
Tell us what the dish is.

Just salt and pepper prawns
with an eye fillet

and a sweet and sour salad.

Okay, and how would you like
the steak cooked.

How did you cook it?
Medium, medium rare, rare?

Well I like it rare, I think it'll be
a little bit over that.

Bit of a flavor confusion,
you've done a classic

Aussie surf and turf.
- Yeah.

It's certainly better than a lot of
dodgy pub meals I've had,

that's for sure.

But it's a little bit disjointed.
- Yeah.

I actually commend you for
putting up a dish,

considering you were
knocked out for half an hour.

My heart was just pounding.
I thought they could hear it,

it was that loud.

Joanne.
- Hello.

What have you cooked for us?

I've made fillet of snapper
with tahini sauce,

tartoor, we call it in Arabic,

with walnuts, garlic, little lemon,
my parents make it,

it's really delicious.

Not that sure about
the fish because

it's the first time I've
ever filleted fish.

- Wow.
- So hope you like it.

For someone that's never
filleted fish before,

I commend you, cause I remember
the first fish I ever filleted.

It was an absolute massacre.

But putting that fish aside,
I absolutely love that.

I love this dip.

I love it because you put me
on a journey.

You've allowed some soul in it.
Very proud of yourself.

Thank you.

What I have accomplished today
has made me so proud.

It helps me to think I'm here,
I'm good, I can do this. Yeah.

This is lovely and moist,
probably the moistest and softest

of the whole snapper
that we've tasted today.

Ta.

The syrup on the outside
is magnificent.

Can I tell you, I love that.
Who said you can't make a moussaka

without meat in it, so well done.
- Thanks.

Irmgard.
- Yep.

Tell me about the dish.

I was going to make pork and I went
and took the shoulder,

thought oh that's pork,
but it's lamb.

I tasted it and found out it was lamb
and with it I made some cabbage.

And it goes normally with pork.

Maybe I'm lucky
and I won't be in the pressure test.

Just take it as it comes,
it's all we can do.

I'm tasting
the flavour of fennel,

I'm tasting
the wonderful sweetness of apple,

the saltiness of prosciutto,

I'm going, that's fantastic and then,
something bang! it's lamb.

Yeah.

And it just throws the dish off for me.
- I know.

I'm not really one hundred percent
happy with what I've done.

It makes me feel even more anxious.

Adele. Thank you for bringing us
enough food for twenty people.

- Adele.
- Yes?

It's a good ol' shoulder of lamb,
it's a bit overcooked.

From this point onwards, it
needs to be better than that.

- Sarah, you're a detective.
- I am.

- This is like a stakeout.
- Sort of.

It's CSI Miami,
isn't it?

I reckon that's under medium.

Dominic, what is really weird
is those mushrooms.

It's like medicine.

I think, you know,
the steak's overcooked.

Don't fall at the first hurdle.

- I'm sorry.
- That's okay.

The meat doesn't work.

The judges are coming
towards me.

I'm the last person
to have my dish tasted

and I'm thinking,
they are just going to be so full

they're not going to want
to eat anything.

Marion, we have just
tasted 49 dishes,

you are number 50,
the lucky last dish.

- How are you feeling?
- Pretty nervous actually.

- What is this?
- It's Thai barbecue prawn salad,

and the prawns have been marinated
in coriander root, garlic

and pepper corns.

Let's taste.

Oi.

Leave some in the bowl, eh?

I hate chilli.
Makes me sweat.

But I love that dish.

Cool.

That's absolutely gorgeous.
It's refreshing, it's flavoursome,

it's gutsy, my mouth
is still salivating.

- That is absolutely fantastic.
- Cool.

It's just such relief to find out
they actually liked it.

After the break.

I'm gonna call out some names.
Please step forward.

The best and the worst
are revealed.

The ten of you are now facing
the elimination challenge.

Who will survive the Donna Hay
pressure test?

I love this dish.

Top 50!

Gary, Matt and I have tasted your dishes,
and made the decision

on the top performers of the day,
as well as

the least impressive
ten dishes.

I'm about to call some names out.
When I do, please step forward.

Joanne.

Claire.

Marion.

Claire, Marion, Joanne,
the three of you...

produced the best dishes of the day.
Well done.

Congratulations.

Claire, how do you feel
about it?

I feel surprised, and...
honored?

And I'm looking forward
to the next installment.

Marion, have you got
more in the bag?

Absolutely, you haven't seen
half of it.

Whoa, fighting talk!
That's what we like.

And Joanne. Who at home would be proud
of what you've done today?

My husband.

He has supported me and
wanted me to do this

for such a long time and
it just made me very proud.

The worst ten performers today
are gonna be in the pressure test

and I'm hoping and hoping
that it's not me.

I'm gonna call out some names.
Please step forward.

At this point I feel that I am a
reasonable chance to be in the bottom ten

and I am very nervous.

Jason.

Amanda.

Nicolette.

Irmgard.

Dominic.

Michelle.

Adele.

Mark.

Sarah.

I hear the nine names called
and mine's not in it

and I think, there's been
some mistake.

If I don't get through
after the shake-up,

I'm gonna have to dig deep.

Sharnee

I know I deserve to be here
and I would've felt terrible

if I wasn't.

The ten of you will now face
the elimination challenge.

You don't need to look so glum
and I'll tell you why.

The fact that Julie faced the first
elimination in the first MasterChef.

Strangely enough,
many of the contestants

that ended up doing
most of the eliminations

went through to the top 10.

You know what happened?

Is they used these eliminations
to learn something.

The opportunity to cook
and that's why you're here.

This is your chance to show us
how good you really are.

Good luck.

And now I'm in the bottom 10
and now I'm facing elimination,

so now I've gotta pick myself up
and fight to stay in MasterChef.

This elimination challenge
is your lifeline

to stay in this competition.

Half of you will be going forward,
half of you will be going home.

For such an important challenge,
we've invited a very special guest.

One of the most influential
cooks in the world.

She sold over 3.5 million
copies of 17 cookbooks.

She is of course...

Donna Hay.

When I saw Donna Hay, I was like,
oh my God, I'm cooking for my idol.

I'm Donna Hay, cookbook author,
magazine editor.

My food philosophy is
quite straightforward.

It's fast, fresh and simple.

To be a success in the food industry
you need lots of persistence,

lots of hard work,
sprinkle it with some creativity,

and you just might
get there.

Donna, welcome.

What one bit of advice
would you give to our hopeful

MasterChef contestants?

You're gonna get knocked down
a few times,

but it's about dusting
yourself off,

putting your smily graceful face
back on, and getting on with it.

Donna has brought along
a dish today

that is a much loved
Australian classic.

We all know it.

I love this dish.

We're all wondering
what it's gonna be

and I'm just dreading a dessert
of any description,

my real weakness
probably.

I'm looking at it and I'm thinking,
Donna Hay, dessert queen,

it's gonna be desserts.

I'm pretty good at pastry,
so I'm thinking as long as it's pastry

and not eggs,
I'm gonna do okay.

Ohh, the tension!
What's under there?

Donna, can you please reveal
the dish that these ten contestants

will be cooking today
in the elimination?

Donna, can you please reveal
the dish that these ten contestants

will be cooking today
in the elimination?

The ten of you are going to
be cooking...

Pavlova.

It's a Pavlova. Oh God.

Egg white and me
do not get on well.

Who hasn't made a Pavlova?

Fantastic!

So, eight people out of ten
have never made

that great Aussie classic,
the Pavlova.

So this is the way the challenge
is gonna work.

You have to make
the perfect Pavlova

using Donna Hay's recipe.

But, you can decorate it
any way you like.

Donna, tell us about
your recipe specifically.

First of all, no egg yolk
in your egg whites,

you need to measure
your egg whites as well,

it's all about precision and detail.

Beat the egg whites
to the perfect peak stage,

then start adding the sugar.
But gradually.

That is what's going to make you have
glossy outer crust on your Pavlova

and a nice fine but firm
marshmallow inside.

For such a simple recipe
with so few ingredients

so many things can go wrong.

Look how beautiful
and shiny it is.

Another really important element
is that.

That beautiful little
crisp outside.

Cause inside there it's gonna be
soft and marshmallowy.

I see this beautiful, beautiful Pavlova,
and it just looks so delicious.

I've never cooked anything
like that in my life.

I think to myself,
am I still gonna be here

by the end of the day?

So rules.

You have two hours
to make a Pavlova,

once you've made
that Pavlova,

Gary, George, myself
and Donna will taste it.

Based on those tastings,
five of you

will stay in the competition.

Five of you will go home.

Everything's riding
on the next two hours.

Be bold, be brave,
cook beautifully.

Your time starts now.

The challenge starts
and the first thing I have to do

is separate the egg yolks
from the egg whites.

There would be no yolk in there,
if there's any fat,

then that would ruin the Pavlova.

Pressure.
Lot of pressure.

We need to be absolutely spot on
with your measurements.

Every ingredient in it
is so crucial.

You can't scrap a single part.

It was 220 mils of sugar
and I had a cup

and I'm not sure
if 220 mils cup.

I can't cook desserts.

I've just started whisking
these egg whites.

You need to get these egg whites
with stiff white peaks,

otherwise the sugar's
not gonna blend with it,

and you can end up
with a Pavlova pancake.

Adele, can I... okay, mine doesn't
look anything like that, thanks.

I've got my egg whites
the way I like them.

They're working out great.

There are so many intricate details
that you have to take into this

when you're just putting
everything together

and it's just so overwhelming.

Nicolette, how are you going?
Now what is it saying on the recipe?

Whisk until stiff peaks form.

Right. And then what does it say?

And then says
gradually add sugar whisking well.

Right, now what are you doing?
Cause you're whisking in sugar

before there's any stiff peaks.

What do you reckon?

I'm posing a question.

So maybe I have to do
another one.

- Good luck.
- Gary, do you think I have got enough time?

Yes. I do.

One tablespoon of corn flour.

It's just nerves.

I'm gonna do this today,
cause I don't wanna go home.

I'm gonna do this for my family.

They're already proud of me,
but I'm gonna make them

even more proud of me.

I'm doing this for you, Michael.
Michael is my son,

and I'm not going home.

As a bunch of the contestants
start to put together their meringue,

it's clear there're some people
who've got off to a fine start.

And some people
who have had a bit of a mishap.

I'm not happy with the mix whatsoever.
It's not aerated, it's not bubbly,

it's not fat and thick and fluffy.

- Jason.
- Hey guys, how are ya?

You are in the world of meringue pain.

That's my second attempt,
this is my third.

Right. The secret is to get the aeration
before you add the bulk of the sugar.

Too much sugar,
you end up with

what essentially is gonna be
like royal icing.

You see, that's actually beautiful.
Keep adding sugar and that'd be lovely

when making a wedding cake,
George.

Mate, you've got egg white
all over the place,

you're sweating.

- I wish you luck, the third time lucky.
- Thank you very much.

Timing is really important
to the challenge.

It's nice and firm.

You've got the right amount
of sugar in there?

- Yeah.
- Yeah? Measured it? Sure?

Not gonna have another little
pork/lamb incident?

Thanks for rubbing it in.

Well, you know,
that's what I'm here for, Irmgard.

I know, I've noticed.

I am exactly on time for the Pavlova
to be finished baking.

You have one hour to go.
Your Pavlova should be in the oven.

Remember, five of you
will be going onwards and upwards,

five of you will be
leaving the competition.

One hour to go, and I have
no Pavlova in the oven.

I can't relax.

If I was doing it at home,
I'd probably...

I would get this done
no dramas, but...

Things, it's just a bit of pressure,
it's gotten to me, so...

this means everything to me.

My heart was breaking
with all this pressure.

If I can't cook a simple dessert,
then I don't feel

I have a place here.

Lights out for me.
That's it.

One hour to go, and I have
no Pavlova in the oven.

And I decide not to go through
with the elimination challenge.

Nicolette is clearly very distressed
and overwhelmed.

It's an incredibly intense
place to cook,

the MasterChef kitchen.

You alright? You sure?
Talk to me.

I feel so stupid. I feel so stupid
cause I've done it before

and I know what I'm doing.
I...

Thing that made me melt down
would have to be the pressure.

It was just in your face.

You're getting yourself
worked up.

Think about, you know,
how you cook at home.

And use that strength
to put something on a plate.

Alright? You're a great cook,
we put you in here for a reason.

Okay? Concentrate on the Pavlova.
Look at me.

Concentrate on the Pavlova.
You can do it.

Alright? Look at me.
You can do it.

To have someone
that believes in you,

is just an incredible feeling,
and I think

I'm gonna give it another shot.

Come on, come on.
Let's go, let's go.

Don't worry about that.
Come on.

You know what I'm gonna
suggest you do?

Get that in the oven, alright?

And get another one made.
Then you've got two.

Alright? Get it in the oven.

That's it.

Come on, run. Let's go.

I'm never gonna get
this opportunity ever again.

So, I just get out there
and just get the job done.

That's looking good.

I'm happy with it.

Yeah. It definitely looks good.

Looks alright.

I've got the tap.
The tap is happening.

Time is ticking on.
You need to have your Pavlovas out

so you're ready to dress them up
beautifully, ready to present.

Something's gone
really wrong.

Mine is going to be the worst
of the whole day, I'm sure.

I've got another one,
it's okay.

Sharnee.

What do you reckon?

Is this gonna keep you in the
competition Pavlova?

I'm thinking at the moment
it could go either way.

I've got two Pavs,
I'm not a 100% happy

with either of them,
so I have to make

a really fantastic topping.

So what were you thinking
for the toppings?

Mango and blueberries,
and I'm just gonna infuse

this lime juice with some mint.

That's good.

And I've just had a go
with caramelizing some macadamias.

What do you reckon about
toffee macadamias

on top of the Pavlova?

Might work with that
kind of bitter caramel.

Crunch too.

That- 's impressive.
- Thank you.

So, Dominic. Champagne, balsamic,
you're gonna do something

with strawberries?

I've done a mixed berry coulis,
I've blended them

with a little bit of balsamic
and a little bit of mint.

Then I've got the same three fruits,
strawberries, blueberries

and raspberries, and with those
I just dashed a little bit of lemon juice

and little bit of lemon rind
and about a teaspoon of champagne.

More just to pop the cork
for the crowd.

Yeah, a little bit of show.

You now have five minutes
to finish your Pavlova

and present it.

Make it beautiful to save yourself.
To save yourself

from leaving this competition.

I don't know what I did
in those final five minutes,

but I've got something
on the plate.

It wasn't my best,
but it was out of the oven.

I'm so happy at this stage,
really happy.

And I was thinking what a wonderful job
I've done and then...

I went to put the cream on it,
and the side collapsed.

Broke.

And my heart just fell
into my stomach.

What do I do?

I just feel like crying.

I just feel like please God,
make me get through this.

You have sixty seconds to go,
these beautiful Pavlovas

need to be plated, dressed up
and looking gorgeous.

You know what's coming,
you have ten seconds to go.

00:54:44,267 --> 00:54:44,689

00:54:45,361 --> 00:54:45,842

00:54:46,546 --> 00:54:46,976

00:54:47,544 --> 00:54:48,002

00:54:48,593 --> 00:54:49,025

00:54:49,554 --> 00:54:50,003

00:54:50,561 --> 00:54:50,986

00:54:51,602 --> 00:54:52,252

00:54:52,452 --> 00:54:57,720
That's it. Tools down.
Step away from your benches.

Wow, what an amazingly
emotional day today has been.

The question now is,
how you fared.

Of those ten Pavlovas
we're gonna taste,

five of you will retain your place
in the search to become

Australia's next MasterChef.

So the other five

will say goodbye.

All I was thinking is
that I can't leave now.

I need to stay in this competition
and I need to achieve

what I came here to do.

We all know what it
needs to be to be good.

White, crisp, marshmallowy,
it's gotta look like Donna's,

it's gotta taste like Donna's.

The first Pavlova we'd like to taste,
Sharnee.

Main thing going through my head is,
don't cry.

Don't cry.

I really wanna stay in the competition
because I haven't had a chance

to prove myself yet.

Donna.
Can you do the honors?

Let's see what it tastes like.

It's good.

Could have been a bit taller,
but there's definitely

a nice crust on the outside
and that marshmallowy center...

it's a good base Pav.

Thank you.

Mango's nice. And the macadamias even got...
you know that caramel on,

a little savoriness to them,
takes away some of the sugar.

- It is a nice job.
- Thank you.

I like the combination
of blueberries and mango,

I think it's a classic
Australian combination.

Works well. So well done
on the topping.

Next up to the tasting table
is Sarah.

I've done as good a job as I can,
and I suppose it's up to the judges now,

can't do any more.

Crust, marshmallow, topping,
texture, balance of flavors,

and it looks dead set delicious.
Well done, six out of six.

Thank you.

Dominic.

Dominic, how did you go
in this challenge?

I can safely say, George,
that that's the best Pavlova

I have ever made.

- It is the only one I think.
- Yes, it is.

Amanda.

The wetness of your cream filling
hasn't done you too many favors.

Mark.

I think it's the closest
that we've seen so far,

to looking like Donna's.
- Thank you.

Nicolette.

I knew that it wasn't the best Pavlova.
That was nowhere near perfect.

- Nicolette, very emotionally charged day.
- Yeah.

Tell us why.

I thought I was quite good at desserts
but stress got the better of me today.

I really wanted
to put something on the plate

that I'd be proud of.

Donna.

It's a little bit cracked.

Maybe not long enough
in the oven drying out,

do you think?

Well done for putting something up.
You did it.

It's small, it's petite.
It's like you.

You know, food is a reflection
of who we are as people,

and that's fine.

And in terms of fruit that you picked,
delicious.

- I'm very proud of you.
- Thank you.

Michelle.

It's a little bit grainy.

Irmgard.

The sugar is weeping
out of the meringue,

which tells me
that's a lot of sugar in there.

Did you follow the recipe?

I think I did.

Okay.

The next Pavlova we'd like to taste
belongs to Jason.

Walking up to face the judges,
I'm feeling quite anxious.

The Pavlova looks like a pancake.

If the ballet dancer Anna Pavlova
had been Italian rather than a Russian,

this might well have been
a Pavlova pizza.

And that's kinda what it
reminds me of.

Not what we're looking for,
but a valiant attempt.

Put something up in the face of
what you knew wasn't a great result,

so well done, appreciate that.

Thank you very much.

The last Pavlova we'd like to taste
belongs to Adele.

I'm thinking, oh my God,
my Pavlova is collapsed on the side.

Are they gonna like this?

Adele, you look a bit nervous
standing there.

I am. I put too much cream
on the top and it broke.

Are you that concerned about it though?
Were you pleased with the meringue?

I was very pleased
with the meringue.

So I thought I did a good job.

Adele, after all,
everything comes down to the taste.

Donna, are you gonna do the honors
and take a slice?

Absolutely.

Adele, everything comes down
to the taste.

Donna, are you gonna do the honors
and take a slice?

Absolutely.

Breathe as big sigh of relief.
The sugar's dissolved,

you've got a great crust,
the marshmallow's perfect.

Tastes beautiful to me,
it's lovely and soft

and marshmallowy.

It's like a little pillow with a dollop
of cream and fresh berries,

it's gorgeous, well done.

Thank you.

I felt good,
I felt ten foot tall,

I felt like everybody was
behind me as well,

so that was fantastic.

We've tasted your ten Pavlovas,
made our decision

on which five of you
continue in the competition.

I'm just getting started.
To leave today

would just be really
devastating.

I don't wanna go home.
I want to get through this competition.

Sarah.

Please step forward.

Well done,
you're staying in the competition.

Thank you.

You're back in the group.

These next two people,
step forward.

Sharnee.

Dominic.

Congratulations.

You're through.

Sharnee, it's time to pop
your chest out and stand tall.

Exactly.

Congratulations
you two.

You can join the crowd.

Seven of you left.

Only two more safe spots.

I was feeling very anxious,
and hoping,

and praying that maybe something
was gonna get me through.

The next person safe...

is Mark.

Six of you there.

And only one of you
will continue on.

Hopefully to catch that train
becoming the next

Australian MasterChef.

The person for whom
that dream is still alive...

is Adele.

Thank you.

How're you feeling?

Feel great, really great.

Adele, we saw that Pavlova,
we saw how high,

how handsome you got
the marshmallow.

We knew at that point
you've come through,

you've done a beautiful job.

Thank you so much.

Don't find yourself here again.

I don't wanna be here again.

But if I am,
it'll make me stronger.

Fantastic, Adele,
thank you very much indeed.

I've got another chance
to keep going

and I'm gonna take it
with all my strength

that I've got in me, and I've got
enough strength in me to do it.

For the five of you, unfortunately,
your MasterChef journey is over.

If your dream is food, do it.

You just need to do it.

I hope you enjoyed
your experience here,

we thoroughly enjoyed
having you

part of this MasterChef family.

Thank you so much.
See you later guys.

Good luck.

I'm a more confident person.
I know that my food is good.

You get knocked down,
you get back up, have another go.

For ourselves it was really hard.

Because I knew what I was capable of.

I learned to take what the judges
and Donna have advised me

and I'm taking that under my wing.
I'm not gonna stop now.

I felt heartbroken and devastated.
No I didn't.

But life will go on, and I will now
make my parfait for my grandchildren.

Tomorrow night on
MasterChef Australia.

It's no better day
to get one of these.

The forty five remaining
hopefuls face off.

I am absolutely determined
to give it everything I've got.

This is a battle to become
Australia's next MasterChef.

Boys and girls fight it out to create
the best signature dish.

If we screw this up, then we really
shouldn't be here.

Up for grabs, the first two spots
in the final 24.

No more tests, no more challenges,
no more eliminations.

That's amazing.