MasterChef Australia (2009–…): Season 2, Episode 2 - Top 50 Part 2 - full transcript
The MasterChef Australia judging trio travels to Brisbane to find the Sunshine State's greatest amateur food talent.
Last time on
MasterChef Australia
Our search began for Australia's
next MasterChef.
- Welcome!
- Culled from 8,000 entries
the top 50 amateurs
were put to the test.
I'm gonna fight for my dream
to come true.
But for five hopefuls
that dream ended.
Lights out for me.
That's it.
Tonight, 45 remaining contenders
go head to head.
This is a battle to become
Australia's next MasterChef.
- Boys and girls face off...
- That's right, the stakes are high!
- Come on.
- ... to create the best signature dish.
This is me on a plate.
I don't think they're
gonna like it.
Up for grabs, the first two spots
in the final 24.
No more tests, no more challenges,
no more eliminations.
That's amazing.
It's day two, and it's top 50,
and I'm thinking, wow!
I'm still here.
I wanna be here tomorrow.
When I walked in, it hit how I,
you know, I was...
this is it. This is what we're
here for.
I'm so happy that
I'm still here,
and I can face another challenge.
Welcome.
Day two, top 50,
MasterChef Australia.
We've had some
casualties.
Five eliminations, it's starting
to hit home, isn't it?
This is a battle to become Australia's
next MasterChef.
This is what the dream's
all about.
This is why you're here.
It's quite simple
with the three of us.
Give us bad food,
we don't like it.
Give us great food,
we wanna hug you
and kiss you.
Right, this is the way
today will work.
There's two challenges.
Challenge number one,
signature dish.
The signature dish challenge
brings a whole new pressure with it.
This is supposed to be our dish,
our favorite,
the one we've cooked
a thousand times.
Hopefully, your signature dish
is a representation of your culture,
your background,
who you are.
Who we are as Australians.
This is our dish, it's our
chance to show off.
If we screw this up, then
we really shouldn't be here.
The top 3 women and the top 3 men
will go through to another round,
where they'll battle it out
for the first two spots
in the top 24.
That is... that's awesome.
Hearing that, nailing the signature dish
would get you a place in the top 24,
and the chance to be able to
skip all these elimination challenges,
I mean, I was pumped, and I'm
really, really, really thinking
hey, I've got this one nailed.
You'll have 90 minutes
to complete your signature dish.
There's also one other thing.
For the first time ever,
we're gonna hand
the judging reins over
to you.
It's incredibly daunting,
there's a certain expectation,
when food critis and professionals
are tasting something.
When it's your peer group
judging you,
it adds a whole another
dimension of pressure.
Girls, you will taste the boys' dishes.
Boys, you'll taste the girls'.
So, let's start.
Three girls from this side
of the room
will be going into a
qualifying round.
Three of the best dishes.
Three boys from this
side of the room
will be going through
to a qualifying round.
It is a fantastic opportunity,
you will be securing yourself a spot
in the top 24.
I'm excited,
are you excited?
Yes!
Yes, who?
Yes, chef!
You've got 90 minutes to cook
and give us the best dish ever.
Your time starts
now.
The atmosphere in the kitchen
is really intense,
there's 45 people scrambling around,
there's definitely
a huge amount of excitement,
tenseness and nerves in the air.
George, you know what I'm loving
in here more than anything?
It's the fact that here we are
in the top 50, and I've never seen
so many different cooking techniques
going on.
Let's get amongst them,
see what they're saying.
- Adele.
- Hello.
- Tell us what dish you're doing.
- I'm doing a herbed goat's cheese
in an eggplant stack with
a carrot and pinenut dressing.
I feel really confident doing
my signature dish.
Because it's a dish that we actually
talked about around the kitchen table,
that's the dish that mum would do,
because it's something that I do well.
You scraped through yesterday,
didn't you? In the elimination.
Yes, I did.
Thank you.
How does it feel to be back on the,
back on the pans today?
Absolutely fantastic.
- You know what I love about you?
- What?
You've got this commitment and
determination,
and that's absolutely fantastic.
- Thank you.
- Alright? Good luck, my darling.
- Thank you so much.
Marion, what are you actually
gonna be giving them today?
I'm giving them a twice-baked
cheese and snail souffl?.
- Why the snails?
- I love the taste of snails,
but the thing is, in my cooking
I really like to use things that maybe
a lot of people haven't tried before,
or they're a bit unusual.
But tell me, are the boys going to be
frightened by the sound of snails.
I'm a bit worried about that
to tell you the truth, George.
My signature dish is a
paella australiana.
Scallop and homemade ricotta
ravioli.
Pistachio and herb-crusted
rack of lamb.
Just with a fondant potato.
This dish is a real favorite for me,
because it's such a versatile dish.
I've eaten it in really
fine dining restaurants,
and I've also cooked it on
a weeknight for the kids,
so it was really me.
It's alright for the moment.
You have one hour to go.
My signature dish is a lightly spiced
rack of lamb.
I know it's a clich?, but you know,
feed the men meat.
I'm a lawyer. That's what I do,
that's what takes up most of my life.
But I often find myself looking
outside, looking out the window.
wondering what else
is out there.
I'm absolutely ready to leave
my old life behind.
Can't wait to start
my new one.
Can't wait.
It is a juggernaut.
Nobody's at the wheel,
where are we going?
Come on!
My signature dish is a lemon myrtle
and raspberry semifreddo,
and also a chocolate avocado
wattleseed mousse.
These are actually raw desserts,
there's no cooking involved.
I'm Skye Craig, and I'm
an art director from the Gold Coast.
If I was to describe myself,
I'd say really creative,
really into sustainable practices
and organic food,
and very passionate
about cooking.
Skye, what on earth is going
on there? I can see coconut,
cocoa powder, avocado,
and what...
what is happening?
I'm doing a chocolate wattleseed
avocado mousse.
You know, I'm into just doing desserts
that are obviously really delectable
and just taste fantastic,
but I'm really interested
in trying out new things.
- Is this you? Your signature?
Is this who you are?
- One hundred percent.
This is me on a plate.
- Are the boys gonna like this?
- I reckon they will.
I hope so. I know they'll definitely
like it, the chocolate mousse.
- Really?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
- I think so.
Off you go, Skye, we'll leave
you to it.
You're halfway through,
you have 45 minutes to go.
No ifs, no buts, no maybes,
just great food,
hopefully securing yourself
a place in the top 24.
Come on!
Coming up.
Who will reach
the qualifying round?
Wow, but that's hot.
- Let's hope the girls can handle it.
- It's okay they can do a bit of heat.
And later.
Who will grab the first
two positions in the top 24?
This is what you've won. A stamp
on your culinary passport.
In to the top 24.
You're halfway through,
you have 45 minutes to go.
Hopefully securing yourself
a place in the top 24.
Come on!
Whoa!
There's 45 people
in the room,
there's probably that many ovens going,
and saucepans, and frying pans,
so it's just sweaty
and hot.
- Kim, tell us what you're cooking.
- Today I'm cooking
a deep dish lemon meringue pie.
- Deep dish. Is that like high?
- High, yes.
- Are you good at lemon meringue pies?
- Yeah, I think so.
- Is that why you've got a little
lemon meringue pie type colors?
- Yeah, just trying to
tie in with the colors.
- Let's see how it goes. Good luck.
- Let's see.
My dream is to eventually own
a fine dining tapas and dessert wine bar.
I've been exposed to a lot of desserts
from a really young age,
so it's where my life kinda lies,
so I'd love to give someone else that.
My signature dish is a
twice cooked duck breast
with a coriander salad.
It sort of combines a lot of my culture
and it speaks a lot about me.
I was born in Malaysia,
and my parents are still there.
I'm very close to my mom.
She's taught me how to treat others
she's taught me how to love others,
and she's taught me it doesn't matter
what or who you are.
You shouldn't judge.
You have 30 minutes left
in this signature dish challenge.
Make it count.
I am doing a beetroot
papardelle
with a white wine sauce
with mussels,
finished off with
a basil pesto.
Halfway through the challenge,
and I'm really confident
that this dish is going to be
working out fine.
Pasta's resting, all I need to do now
is get it into water
and bring the whole dish
together.
I've done this dish
a thousand times, so
I could cheat and
sit back and relax.
You have fifteen minutes to go.
The stakes are high, never ever
in the history of MasterChef
allowed you guys
to judge the food.
My signature dish today
is a spicy crab curry
with crispy okra.
So, Jimmy, you've done
a chilli crab curry.
Yeah.
I'm gonna taste a bit of that.
My name's Jimmy Seervai,
I'm a food ingredient researcher,
but I really wanna be a chef.
I create flavors,
but the molecules.
You don't really see them.
I wanna be able to cook
with these hands,
I want people to be able
to taste what it is,
and I wanna see the reactions
on their faces when they do it.
There's a lot of flavor going
on there, wow.
Let' hope the girls can handle
a little bit of heat.
I know, I've been worried
about that actually.
I love that,
but that's hot.
It's hot. It is hot.
- Nice to see. Well done.
- Thank you.
So George, who are you
most excited about?
- Curry at the back.
- Oh, Jimmy.
Jimmy's curry. You know, with
a big towel around my neck
I'd sit down and devour all of it
and I'd absolutely love it.
I hope the girls
will love it too.
Now, the other end too.
I just saw Dominic
slicing a rack of lamb,
it's pink, perfect all the way through,
what do you reckon,
has this guy got a chance?
I think he's a chance, I think
he's actually a really good cook.
Yeah.
The other one that you quite fancy,
George, was Skye.
She has made this interesting
concoction with avocado, chocolate,
you know, is she gonna turn that
into a fantastic dish?
If it's not smashing, it's gonna
be a disaster.
I'm at the final stage of
preparing my lemon meringue tart.
I take it out of the oven
and I'm happy
that my pie is kind of
thick and solid.
As I plate it, I realize
that the meringue
has gone soft from
the humidity in the air.
It's so hot everything's
melted.
Kim, what's
going on?
It's just... the temperature
and the meringue
like in the room it's too hot.
- Yep.
- So why so emotional?
- I just put everything into it.
And I know I can do this at home,
and it didn't turn out
how it usually does.
- At least hope it tastes fantastic.
- Okay.
You have five minutes
to go.
You're at the business end
of this challenge. Let's go.
Alright, that's done.
Done, done, done.
I put the pasta
in the water.
And someone had
taken my colander.
So by the time it took me
to find the colander,
my pasta was disintegrating
in the boiling hot water.
and it ended up
beetroot porridge.
I have no way to change it,
it's really gut-wrenching.
I want them to like it, you know,
I plate food up to please people
and to, you know, make them want
to come back for more.
It's looking good,
isn't it?
You have thirty seconds to go,
Final flourishes on the plate,
and your better halves
are gonna taste.
00:16:18,937 --> 00:16:19,513
00:16:20,427 --> 00:16:20,961
00:16:21,786 --> 00:16:22,354
00:16:23,234 --> 00:16:23,753
00:16:24,498 --> 00:16:24,985
00:16:25,803 --> 00:16:26,386
00:16:27,138 --> 00:16:27,729
00:16:28,514 --> 00:16:29,018
00:16:29,075 --> 00:16:33,310
That's it. Step away
from your benches.
00:16:38,537 --> 00:16:38,962
00:16:39,722 --> 00:16:40,217
00:16:40,257 --> 00:16:42,961
That's it. Step away
from your benches.
- Well done, guys.
- Well done, everybody,
that is fantastic.
Brilliant effort.
I just looked around at everyone's
dish around me,
I think I've got a chance,
I think I'm gonna make it
to the top 6 challenge.
What a fantastic challenge
that was.
Now it's your chance
to be the judges.
The boys will taste
the girls' dishes.
The girls will taste
the boys' dishes.
You will identify
your favorite dish,
you'll write down
that person's name
on a piece of paper,
and place it on the spike.
The top 3 girls
and the top 3 boys
will go into the next
qualifying round.
With two spots up for grabs
in the top 24.
That is just the most exciting thing,
cause I want it so bad,
but I don't know
if I'm gonna get it.
Girls, make your way over onto
the boys' cooking stations.
The critique process is a lot
like speed dating.
They stand in line, and they have
two to three minutes to tell you
what they like about your food and
what they don't like about your food,
and then they move on.
Hiii.
What is it?
A saddle of lamb with moroccan
spiced dates and parsnip pur?e.
Yum! That's really good.
Wow.
So what have we got?
Pistachio and herb-crusted
rack of lamb
with a red wine and veal stock
reduction and a fondant potato.
That lamb is cooked perfectly
for me, just medium rare,
really tender.
- Thanks.
Girls tasting all sorts of dishes,
and I'm thinking to myself,
they're gonna have to taste
this spicy hot curry.
I don't think they're
gonna like it.
- Hi, Jimmy.
- Hi, how are you?
- I'm really excited.
- Really excited?
Looking at it so far, just,
I like the look of it.
Hope you like crab. Do you like
chilli?
I love crab. I don't like huge
amounts of chilli.
But this looks so good
I just want it.
Yes, it's a chilli crab,
and I've put some
Indian bread with it
as well.
Let's taste this first.
Oh my Gosh!
That is so yummy.
And I can't usually eat
a lot of chilli.
This is good stuff.
I'm gonna stop eating, cause
I've got to try other people's dishes.
Thanks.
To watch her face light up,
it was actually quite exciting.
At that point I knew
I made something great.
Yum!
I'm loving this, George,
really interesting dynamic,
and not what I expected at all.
The girls are cruising
the guys' benches,
tasting all the food,
really getting into it,
tasting it.
That's great. That's really, really,
really good.
This was a signature
dish challenge.
In theory, they should all be
kicking goals, George,
every dish should have
been nailed.
So what have we
got here?
I've made twice cooked duck.
See you're meant to eat the duck
with the peking sauce,
have some peking sauce
before you have the salad.
It's very daunting to have
all these good cooks judging
what you put on the plate.
That is beautiful.
I love the sauce with the duck,
the fact that it's sweet.
and then having salad with it
balances out
the sort of sweetness
of the sauce.
- I think you have done a great job.
- Thank you very much.
George, it'd be really interesting
to see how the girls go,
and how they vote, who they decide
is the best,
and of course who they decide
is the worst.
Justin cooked a beetroot pasta,
and overcooked it,
by his own admission,
it's a real failure,
that is not good,
not good at all.
It's really embarrassing
to have people come up
and taste my food,
because I would never plate that.
That's an interesting color,
tell me about what this is.
It's a beetroot pasta
with a white wine sauce
and finished off
with a basil pesto.
I think that maybe the pasta is
a little bit overcooked,
it's sort of falling apart a little bit.
- Yeah, I agree.
No, it's really watery and
tasteless.
I'd say that it's the most memorable
dish, but not in a good way.
My dish is not up
to scratch,
so I'm expecting
to not be in the top.
Girls, you've tasted
the boys' dishes.
It's time to vote.
You're voting for
the best cook.
You're giving them the chance
to go through
to the top 24.
Boys, now it's your turn
to play food critic.
Going to taste the girls' food.
I really like the signature
dish challenge,
because it comes
from the heart,
I think we all cooked
from the heart.
So what do we have here?
I made a fig and mastic
bavois.
Oh, wow.
That's honestly amazing.
When someone tells me
that they love my dish,
it just makes me feel like
I've done what I wanted to do,
and did it right.
That's gorgeous,
I love the sauce.
I was a bit worried,
because it's a soft dish,
you know, it's not a manly dish,
and with the guys tasting it,
I thought...
I've gone wrong here.
Hello.
It's a herbed goat's cheese
in an eggplant
and I do a currant
and pinenut dressing.
- That's a cracker.
- You like that?
I love that, it is awesome.
- Thank you.
- Well done, awesome.
They loved it, they just kept
coming back saying they wanted more.
Polished off the plates and I thought,
yeah, that's really good.
The dish is called lily pad,
it has lemon myrtle and
raspberry semifreddo,
then we've also got chocolate
and avocado mousse.
Right, now.
- Avocado?
- Yes.
The chocolate is really interesting
and I think the texture is amazing,
because of the avocado,
so good on you.
Thank you so much,
really appreciate it. Cheers.
Snails underneath and
souffl?e on top.
I've never eaten a snail before,
and I've been hanging out to eat one
the whole day, so I'd better
give it a go, yes?
You know I actually thought
I wasn't gonna like it,
but I really do,
that's good.
Good!
If I didn't see and know
that was snail
I wouldn't have known,
yeah, that's really good.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
I hope you like it,
if you like meringue pies.
Meringue is soft. Was it meant
to be that?
So what do we, have we got?
A big chunk of everything
on your fork.
- Just have the full experience.
- Have the full...
It looks fantastic.
Wow!
- It's pretty big, isn't it?
- It's really big.
That's really big.
Two words to describe your dish.
Knock out.
Thank you. Thank you.
Boys, you finished tasting
the girls' dishes.
Time to vote.
I'm pretty happy that I've gone with
what I have, but
whether or not I'm one
of the best,
don't know.
We'll find out.
You've tasted the
signature dishes,
you've scored your
favorites.
It's time
to find out
which three men and which
three women
have garnered the most
votes.
They'll compete for the first
two places
in the top 24.
First person through
to this huge opportunity
is
It's time
to find out
which three men and which
three women
have garnered the most
votes.
This challenge, the six people
that are voted
have a chance to be
in the top 24.
That's amazing.
First person through
to this huge opportunity
is
Claire.
- Congratulations, Claire.
- Thank you.
Wow. Knock out.
- How does it feel?
- I'm very honored and pleased
and privileged I've been
picked out by group of people
who have cooked their
hearts out themselves.
Well done,
it's a very fine dish.
Thank you.
The next person
going forward
is Bel.
The moment my name is called,
I was in complete shock,
I was not expecting it
in the slightest.
Oh, wow.
That's obviously
amazing.
- You excited?
- Yeah, I am.
This is an amazing opportunity,
you know,
having a shot at making it
into the top 24.
What more could you ask for,
so yeah.
The next woman that'll be
competing
for this golden ticket,
is Adele.
That's a cracker.
- Well done, awesome.
- It absolutely delivers.
Good stuff, Adele.
One step closer to the green.
Thank you.
I couldn't believe it.
I was on such a low,
and then I was on such a high
in just the last two days.
It's been amazing.
One more thing.
We have a surprise.
There will be a fourth girl
going through, because
there was a tie.
Joining Claire, Bel
and Adele
will be Skye.
That's gorgeous,
I love the sauce.
The texture's amazing
because of the avocado.
I'm extremely proud and very lucky
to have made it through
because there are 45
seriously talented cooks
in this kitchen.
It's time to find out,
which three blokes
scored the most votes.
I'm standing there, praying,
and keeping everything crossed
that they'll call my name.
Alvin.
That is beautiful.
- I love the salad.
- This is really nice sort of dish.
I'm so overwhelmed.
I, I cannot believe it,
I actually had tears
running down my eyes,
I'm such a wussbag.
When I cook,
I think of my mom.
Cause my mom...
mom's an inspiration.
And when I'm feeling homesick,
I try and replicate my mom's food.
I cooked, I put my heart
on the table,
and it's what I cook
for people I love,
and I think she'd be
really proud.
Beautifully said, Alvin.
Thank you.
Joining Alvin
is
Jimmy.
Yum!
This is good stuff.
Wow.
Jimmy.
I watched people who didn't like curry
rave about your dish.
- How did you do it?
- I like the flavors in that.
It is a bit spicy, I was
a bit worried about that,
but I put it in the pot,
crossed my fingers,
and wished for the best.
So, the final bloke,
that has excelled
in the eyes of the women.
Jonathan.
Yum, that's really good.
The lamb's cooked perfectly.
That's great.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you.
I'm ecstatic that I'm
in the top 3.
I can feel I'm one step
closer to top 24.
What a lucky seven.
The magnificent seven,
cause you guys
are going to go into
another cook-off.
One boy,
one girl
will go straight through to the top 24
of MasterChef Australia.
No more tests, no more challenges,
no more eliminations.
I don't know what's in store,
but there's no way in the world
they will send us straight
through to the top 24
without us cooking
something extremely difficult.
In order to get those two spots
in our top 24,
you're gonna have to do one of
our toughest challenges yet.
The pressure test.
So this is the way it works.
You get the same ingredients,
the same timeframe, and
of course the same recipe.
The dish that you will be
cooking today
is full of technique.
You have to nail it.
Why? Cause it has a very
soft spot in Gary's heart.
I'm sure he's made it more times
than I've had hot dinners.
This dish is close to my heart.
It's a timeless classic.
When we talk about what
we're gonna give you to test you,
often we go back
to the very basics.
The dish that you're all gonna
be cooking today
a beef Wellington.
Gary announces that it's
a beef Wellington.
I have no idea
what that is.
So it's beef and pastry.
That's what it is.
Sounds easy.
- Does it?
- No.
Funny thing is,
even I'm nervous,
because I've gotta cut this
and hope
that that beef is lovely
and pink.
Very thin crepes,
prosciutto,
and a very fine chopped
mushroom around the beef.
Let's take a look
and see if I got it right.
It's beautiful.
Beef Wellington is just about
great pastry,
and great beef.
You need to get those two
components right.
Now with that you're gonna make
a simple red wine sauce.
Just to help it go down.
Cause the three of us
always need a good gravy.
Right.
Should we taste?
Wow.
The moment I've tasted
the beef Wellington, I thought,
I've got no chance
of cooking this.
This is gonna be impossible.
So quick run through
the pressure points.
Seal the beef well,
make thin crepes,
make a beautiful tasty
mushroom mixture,
wrap it tightly,
so that's where your
skill comes in.
Alvin, what do you feel
about this?
I'm really nervous,
it's such a work of art.
There's such an even sort of
layer of mushroom
and the beef is
perfectly cooked.
Cooking beef isn't really
my strongest point,
let alone something that's wrapped
in layers and layers
of crepes and ham
and pastry.
Very... yeah.
Very, very difficult challenge.
You've got two and a
half hours
to execute the best
beef Wellington.
Do Gary proud,
respect his recipe,
smash your way
into the top 24.
Your time starts
now.
- Next...
- Oh no.
I would say that I was about
this close to disaster.
The beef Wellington
brings out the best
and the worst.
- Oh, this is not good.
Yeah. All over.
Oh, this is not good.
Your time starts
now.
So the rules for today are,
it's beef Wellington,
it's Gary's favorite recipe,
it's two and a half hour
that we've got to cook this,
one guy, one girl
is gonna get through
to the top 24.
I'm starting off with the crepes,
cause I've never made crepes before.
I'm gonna follow this by the book,
step by step.
I'm gonna read the recipe,
I'm gonna carry it under my arm,
cause I know if I mess it up,
it's gonna be a disaster.
I love cooking desserts,
the pastry I can get,
beef I can cook.
The main thing I'm actually
worried about in this dish
is the crepes.
I don't make crepes,
I never... I don't eat crepes.
I mean, I didn't even hear
of crepes in beef Wellington.
- Jonathan!
- George.
- How are you doing?
- Good.
I just saw the first crepe
go in the bin.
- You did.
- What was that?
Cause I didn't get it
brown enough,
I don't think I had
high enough heat.
Yeah?
- That looks really thick to me.
- Thick?
Well, you know.
What does it say in the recipe?
What do we talk about?
- No, no, no, no.
- You said it was thick,
so I start again.
- Right.
He takes things personally,
doesn't he?
I don't take things personally,
I'm a perfectionist.
It doesn't matter if I'm cooking
for you guys
or for my family, it just gotta
be perfect. You know what I mean?
I work as an IT
management consultant.
I think I'm pretty good
at my job,
but it's not my passion.
For the last 10 years,
food has been everything for me.
When I'm standing in the kitchen,
I'm in my element.
I'm dreaming, and I'm just...
I'm just cooking. I love it.
The crepes took a while,
I think after my third crepe
I finally perfected,
I've never done a crepe before.
So the next struggle I had
with the challenge was beef.
- Alvin.
- George.
- How are you, mate?
- Good.
- You're uh...
- Just really under the pump.
You had an emotional
sort of morning...
- Yeah it was very overwhelming.
- ... start of the day, yeah.
I just get emotional when I
sort of think about what
inspires me to cook.
My mom's my inspiration
when it comes to food as well
What do you worry about
with this dish?
I'm fairly nervous cause I'm...
beef is my weakest link.
I always overcook my beef.
- You overcook it?
- I always overcook my beef, yeah.
That's not a good start,
is it?
I mean, you don't wanna
overcook this dish,
cause it's all about
the beef and the pastry.
Alright? So,
best of luck, Alvin.
My fingers and toes
are crossed for you.
Cheers.
So my beef's done
and it's cooling down,
and I'm going on to my
mushroom sauce,
which is one of the layers,
I've got to wrap around the beef.
I'm good at working
from a recipe.
I'm a lawyer, so, you know,
bang bang bang.
- Claire! How you going?
- I'm feeling okay.
Yeah. I mean I have things
under control at the moment,
but there's a lot to do so...
- You've come out on top
in the signature dish
challenge.
Are you the person to beat?
- Maybe.
- Are you the person to beat?
- I really want this, so...
- Are you the person to beat?
Yes, George,
I'm the person to beat.
- I love that attitude.
- Give me five.
- That's fantastic.
- That's it. Come on.
George, I'm loving
the excitement in the room,
and we are in fact looking at
the seven people
who have put their heads up
and said, I'm good at what I do.
- And particularly Claire.
- She's a very disciplined cook.
She knows her flavors.
She plays herself down a lot,
but I reckon
there's lots more to come.
Do you think they're
doing your recipe justice?
I think they should be a little bit
further ahead than they are.
- Adele, for example.
- She's a little bit on the back four.
- How do you think she's doing?
- I think she's nervous,
but I've got a feeling
that's Adele.
She's here for a reason,
she's here for not only herself
but her son, and when she thinks
about that, she really homes in
and brings on an
absolute cracking dish.
- Now Alvin.
- He did say beef is his weakest link,
he's overcooked it a plenty of times.
You know, that's the whole thing,
when cooks at home have this
"I always overcook it,
I always overcook it",
they generally follow that pattern,
because they keep making
the same mistake.
- The self-fulfilling prophecy.
- Yeah, that's right.
Interesting to see
how he goes.
Cooks, you have an hour
and a half to go.
If it was me, at this point
I'd be picking up the pace.
Cause you need time
to build this baby.
And don't forget
it's my baby,
and I want you to
look after it.
Come on, guys!
That's all taking
a little bit too long,
I think I'm going
a bit too slow,
I'm behind the eight ball,
I'll be doing mushrooms now, so
I'm a bit stressed.
This is our chance to
have a spot in the final 24,
so there's really not much
room for error.
When I'm making the mushroom layer,
because I am looking
to the recipe page,
and back to the stove constantly,
I kind of misread the list
of ingredients,
and I read that I have to put
200 grams of Dijon mustard
into the mushroom mixture.
Hey Bel, how are you going?
- Okay.
- There's a lot of mustard in there,
isn't it?
- Well it says 200 grams.
- 200 grams of mustard? No.
Oh no!
Oh no. One tablespoon.
That's... I'll fix it.
You probably don't got as much time
as you think you have,
so you need to pick up the pace,
I reckon. Alright, Bel?
- No worries.
- Alright.
Thanks, Gary!
I would say that I was about
this close to disaster.
I was just about
to press the process button.
So far I think I'm going
pretty well.
I just got the iberico
ham there,
the mushroom mix on top,
gonna lay the beef in,
roll it tight.
When I'm wrapping the beef,
I'm really unsure of
how to wrap it tightly
without squashing all the
mushroom mixture out,
you have to get even mushroom
around the thing,
but it seems it's
going okay.
I don't wanna get into rush,
you know, take it easy,
and you get everything done right,
done right the first time
is the most important.
Less than 45 minutes to go,
come on!
The pressure is really on now.
This thing needs about 30-35 minutes
in the oven, plus a good rest.
If you don't hurry up,
you are not gonna be
finished in time.
You guys need to get
on top of it, come on!
- Jimmy, what are you up to?
- Okay, I'm up to start the...
I'd like to wrap the beef now.
I've read this about seven times,
and I still can't understand it.
It's not the recipe, it's me.
Um, I'm trying to figure out,
where does the crepe come into it,
it's...
Well, that's for you to figure out.
Time is gonna run out,
so you've gotta
pick up the pace.
- Good luck with this rolling.
- Yup, thank you.
There's a lot of finesse in this,
in this particular dish,
so you need to roll it well.
Oh, crap.
I don't know what went wrong,
it all just fell apart.
Oh, this is
not good.
This is not good.
I'm at the crucial point of my
beef Wellington pressure test,
wrapping the beef
in mushroom and ham.
Oh, crap.
I don't know what went wrong,
it all just fell apart.
This is not good.
It is a pressure test for a reason,
they're putting me under pressure.
So I thought, let's go
ahead with this.
Rather have something on a plate
that's less than perfect,
than nothing at all.
Yeah, that's it,
wrap it.
There she goes,
it'll be fine.
I look around, Alvin,
behind me,
is fluffing around
just like I am.
Jonathan is in front of me,
and Jonathan is cool as a cucumber.
The next thing for me
is cutting the pastry
and folding it
around the meat.
I'm generally perfectionist
in the kitchen
I don't really take anything
seriously in life
except my cooking,
and there I'm perfectionist,
everything's gotta
be meticulous
Guys, you have thirty
minutes to go.
Your beef should be in the oven,
sauce should be simmering,
have you done enough
to get through to the top 24?
This challenge is very important
to me, because I wanna
make it through and I wanna have
a chance of being in the top 24.
I've gotta make it,
and I wanna make it.
I know I can do it.
I know I can do it.
Skye, what's going on?
Well, I've got my
parcel ready,
now all I've gotta do
is brush it with some egg yolks.
You've got 25 minutes to go,
and this baby normally takes
about 30 minutes to cook,
so I think we'll better leave you to it,
cause I'm a bit worried that you're
not gonna finish in time, so...
- Thank you.
- It needs to go in the oven.
- Cheers.
- Need to move along.
I'm just happy it's in the oven.
I can focus on the sauce.
Cause the sauce I think
is gonna be
if someone else produces good
beef Wellington,
it's the sauce that's gonna
be the winner.
Claire!
Gary. How's it going?
Everything good?
- Beef Wellington's in the oven?
- Yes.
You know what? Me and you
in the cockpit of a plane.
- I'd be like, Aaaaaaahhh,
- And Claire would be flicking switches,
I'm sure it's this one.
You're so calm. So collected.
Go, Claire!
My beef Wellington's in the oven,
and I'm in absolute panic mode,
to get the sauce finished.
And the top of the wine bottle
hits the bench,
and there's red wine
strewn all over the kitchen.
Hey Alvin, I've just
dropped my wine,
is there any chance that
you can share bottles?
- Yeah, yeah, take.
- Cheers.
Thank the Lord that Alvin
was around
with the extra red wine.
I do not think I would have been
able to finish my sauce without it.
Just under 15 minutes left
in this all-important challenge.
Come on, guys,
you've gotta dig deep now.
This is the time you
gotta pull out aaaallll the stops.
When I know it's the last
10 or 15 minutes, I panic.
I open the oven so many times
to make sure that my beef
doesn't dry out. Why?
I don't know.
I don't do that at home. I have
the confidence at home.
Pastry doesn't look crisp enough.
I know that. But I just get into this
crazy panic scared situation.
My biggest concern here, George,
is that we're going to end up
with a lot of soggy Wellies.
Adele for example. She keeps
taking this thing out of the oven.
It's not cooked, you can tell.
It's all about the pastry,
it's all about the beef.
I've said it so many times.
Skye as well. I mean, she only
put it in not long ago.
That thing needs to be in the oven,
it needs to come out,
it needs to rest,
and then carve.
I think the guys are on top of it.
Jonathan seems to be doing really well.
He's just checking the temperature now,
it seems to be golden brown.
It could be anyone's race.
Who knows who's gonna take
those two spots
in the top 24?
Jimmy, it's all looking
a bit chaotic over here.
This is nearly done,
I think it's
just a bit chaotic,
the two and a half hours
just didn't even seem
like it was enough, so...
but um, should be right,
it's...
- It never is enough.
- It never is enough.
You always need
another five minutes
- I wish I had another five minutes.
- Always another five minutes.
But you don't have another
five minutes.
- I know.
- So you better get a move on, pal.
You have one minute to go,
and this minute
is the most significant
in the competition so far.
Why? Because it could
guarantee you a spot
in the top 24.
Gary just screams out,
60 seconds,
and I haven't even got
the Wellington out of the oven.
I start panicking.
This is it, this is the
final 10 seconds.
00:50:45,808 --> 00:50:47,081
00:50:47,281 --> 00:50:48,402
00:50:48,602 --> 00:50:49,826
00:50:50,026 --> 00:50:51,336
00:50:51,536 --> 00:50:52,536
00:50:52,735 --> 00:50:53,777
00:50:53,977 --> 00:50:55,017
00:50:55,217 --> 00:50:56,217
00:50:56,313 --> 00:50:57,385
00:50:57,585 --> 00:51:00,321
That's it. Step away
from your benches.
- Tools down. Well done.
- Well done, guys!
Steak comes out,
and it looks golden,
looks like it's meant to.
The other two guys seem to
have either burned their outside
or done the wrapping
incorrectly.
But I'm confident that mine
looks really nice.
You've prepared, I hope,
a gorgeous beef Wellington.
It is now time for us to judge
your dish,
the boy and the girl, that cooked
the best beef Wellingtons
will of course take out
one of those coveted spots
in the top 24.
The first beef Wellington
we'd love to taste,
belongs to Alvin.
I'm taking out my beef Wellington
to the judges,
so I feel very, very nervous.
- Beef was your weakest link.
- Yes.
- Are you not confident
- I'm not.
- Why?
- There was...
there were a few disasters
along the way.
And if I were to serve this
to my mother,
she'd say,
What is this roadkill?
Let's find out, whether or not
the beef inside that motley crust
is medium rare.
Alvin, let's find out, whether or not
the beef inside that motley crust
is medium rare.
It was that all-important moment
when I had to cut up
the beef Wellington, and a part of me
just wanted to run away,
I didn't want to cut it.
It was perfect. The beef
was perfectly pink,
my first perfectly pink
cooked beef.
Take a slice, pop it on the plate,
a little bit of sauce.
Alvin, it's no roadkill,
that's for sure.
I think you need to have a little
bit more confidence in yourself.
It's nice and pink, the mushroom
itself's got a nice texture,
it's nice and mushroomy.
The only thing that's let you down
is that wrapping.
And if you got that
under control,
then you would have had
a much better result.
- But a good effort
- Thanks.
A few too many crepes.
It's a bit like a fire blanket,
you know?
It's just way too many
of them.
A little bit more finesse,
and you'll get there.
Thank you.
I love the exuberance.
You've learned how to make crepes,
and you've just gone
crazy with them.
Bang them all in, more crepes
more crepes, more crepes.
The terrible thing is, that a
year ago, this probably
would have got you
into the top 20.
This year?
You'll have to work a little
bit harder in the top 24.
There goes my spot.
Not liking my chance.
Yeah, all over.
The next beef Wellington
we'd like to taste
belongs to Jonathan.
I'm walking up with my
beef Wellington,
I'm thinking, I can't wait
to cut it open and see
what it looks like.
I'm quietly confident.
- Happy?
- Yeah.
Bloody brilliant.
Fighting words, eh?
I must be honest, I'm
a little bit disappointed.
I was convinced, convinced,
that you were miles ahead
of everybody else. You seemed
really confident, really in control,
and you were very precise.
But on delivery,
and what I mean on delivery,
when you put it in your mouth,
it's just a little bit of
a letdown.
What lets it down, is those
mushrooms are a little bit pasty.
But beautifully cooked beef,
beautifully wrapped,
I think it's a fine job, and I think
it shows that you're a good cook.
Is it good enough to secure
you a spot
in the top 24?
I don't think I have a chance
of beating Jonathan.
His Wellington was spot on.
I had a nappy foldover,
I just thought, nah,
it's not gonna be me.
Arthur Wellesley, duke of Wellington,
first came to prominence
the end of the eighteenth
century
for a campaign in India.
And what we have here
is a beginning of your campaign
to become the next
Australian MasterChef.
With any great young general,
there are mistakes.
The sauce is wonderfully velvety,
but it's got this
intense, quite sticky,
vegemity flavour.
Your pastry has come apart
at the seams here.
However, textures, of the pastry,
of the mushrooms, of the meat,
are all impeccable.
And then the hero.
And what you've done
is you've given us a great hero
in that meat.
I'm waling back to the station,
I'm stoked.
I'm thinking to myself at that point,
I could stand a chance here.
Girls,
the boys have set the bar high.
Now's your turn.
First one up to the
tasting table is
Bel.
Bel, are you confident?
Somewhat. I almost had
a couple disasters.
- 200 grams of mustard? No.
- Oh no.
I love the amount of mustard in it,
cause I'm a real mustard fan.
So it's, I can get
more mustard.
For a first effort, wow.
Outstanding job.
Thank you.
The next dish we'd like to taste,
belongs to Skye.
I've got my beautiful
beef Wellington, finally,
on a plate, I'm looking at it,
thinking, how on earth
did I manage to get this
decent, semi-decent looking
beef Wellington together?
I'm actually quite proud of it.
I like it.
- Thank you so much
- It's good. I'm surprised.
- So am I.
- I'm surprised. I just thought
there is no way that you had that
thing in the oven long enough
to be cooked, but it is.
I just feel absolutely relieved,
I can't believe it.
There's a chance that I could
make it through to the top 24.
Adele.
How many times did you have
that thing in and out the oven?
I did it twice.
I did it twice.
I knew at home, I mean,
my husband's a butcher, I cook meat,
and I'd stick the thermometer in,
and I'd take it out,
and I'm confident, where here,
I just, lose it.
Just lose it.
Alright, presentation first.
You can see the pastry's not cooked,
that's first. You know, that's
101 Basic pastry cooking.
It's raw.
The sauce is really thick. It's gone
beyond the point of being
the right consistency.
Adele, is this the dish that's
gonna get you into the top 24?
No. Definitely not.
Let's see.
As I walk back to my station,
I feel very disappointed in myself
cause I know that I'm not
going to be one of those two
in the top 24.
But I also know, that I'm gonna
still keep fighting for this dream
that I have in my heart.
Next person up to the
tasting table is Claire.
Golden puff pastry,
perfectly cooked beef,
who'd have thought
a lawyer could cook?
The most lawyers are boring, like
would you go to a lawyer party
or a chef party? You'd go to
the chef party, wouldn't ya?
But if you're turning out
beef Wellington like that,
I'd come to your party.
Give me five.
Well.
We've tasted your versions
of Gary's beef Wellington.
I think I detected a little
hint of a tear,
as you passed that recipe
like a small baby
over to your tender care.
Worried about what would come back.
You shouldn't have been.
Cause what we've seen
is seven very fine examples
of that treasured recipe.
The issue is, there've been seven
fine cooks, only two
will fast track straight through
to the final 24.
If I call your name,
please step forward.
The boy and the girl that
cooked the best
beef Wellingtons, will of course
take out one of those coveted spots
in the top 24.
Have I done enough to earn
a spot in the top 24?
I'd like to think so.
It's now the moment of truth.
To think that I might be
one of the top two cooks
in Australia
is just mind-blowing.
I call your name,
please step forward.
Claire.
- Claire.
- Matt.
Your beef Wellington was
absolutely perfect
I could think of no better
person to be the first person
through to the final 24.
I'm just...
stunned and thrilled.
I'm kind of bursting
with excitement,
but also it feels
kind of unreal.
There's no better day
here in the MasterChef kitchen
than when you
get one of these.
A stamp on your culinary passport.
In to the top 24.
This is what you've won.
Claire,
you're the first one.
- Shall I?
- Please.
Take that grubby one off.
There's no comparison between
being in the MasterChef kitchen
as opposed to my day job
as a lawyer.
I really can't imagine going back.
I just, I'm loving being here.
All of it.
There's only one more spot
that we're giving away today
for the top 24.
Keep everything crossed,
boys.
Standing, waiting for the verdict
is torturous.
It is, just, the anxiety
comes back again.
That precious place in
the top 24 goes to
Jimmy.
I thought I was in a dream.
I really didn't think
he was going to call my name.
Of course I wanted it,
and I wanted it badly.
Well, general Jimmy,
your first battle won.
Come back, fire it up,
and show us
the skills, the talent,
the knowledge,
and the palate
you've shown us so far,
and you'll do very well in this
competition, young man.
Well done.
Thank you. Thanks.
Jimmy, this apron here
is gonna be your best friend.
Just get ready, you're gonna go
through highs, lots of lows,
but if you're strong,
you'll come through at the end.
Congratulations, mate.
Thanks, mate, thank you
so much.
I'm looking at them and I'm thinking,
wow, that's so good for them.
At the same time
I'm thinking,
ah, how can I get
one of those aprons?
Tomorrow night
on MasterChef Australia.
It's the day of reckoning.
Fail to deliver, and you'll go home.
The contestants continue their
fight to stay in the competition.
Why are you so worried
about what I'm doing?
Because it affects me.
For some of you this will be
the last time you'll ever
cook in the Masterchef kitchen.
To survive, they'll have to impress
with a two course menu.
I think that we'll be able
to pull this one off.
But for six amateur chefs
the dream will end.
If that got put up on the pass
in my kitchen,
I'd throw it.
No matter what happens, I'm still
going out proud.
MasterChef Australia
Our search began for Australia's
next MasterChef.
- Welcome!
- Culled from 8,000 entries
the top 50 amateurs
were put to the test.
I'm gonna fight for my dream
to come true.
But for five hopefuls
that dream ended.
Lights out for me.
That's it.
Tonight, 45 remaining contenders
go head to head.
This is a battle to become
Australia's next MasterChef.
- Boys and girls face off...
- That's right, the stakes are high!
- Come on.
- ... to create the best signature dish.
This is me on a plate.
I don't think they're
gonna like it.
Up for grabs, the first two spots
in the final 24.
No more tests, no more challenges,
no more eliminations.
That's amazing.
It's day two, and it's top 50,
and I'm thinking, wow!
I'm still here.
I wanna be here tomorrow.
When I walked in, it hit how I,
you know, I was...
this is it. This is what we're
here for.
I'm so happy that
I'm still here,
and I can face another challenge.
Welcome.
Day two, top 50,
MasterChef Australia.
We've had some
casualties.
Five eliminations, it's starting
to hit home, isn't it?
This is a battle to become Australia's
next MasterChef.
This is what the dream's
all about.
This is why you're here.
It's quite simple
with the three of us.
Give us bad food,
we don't like it.
Give us great food,
we wanna hug you
and kiss you.
Right, this is the way
today will work.
There's two challenges.
Challenge number one,
signature dish.
The signature dish challenge
brings a whole new pressure with it.
This is supposed to be our dish,
our favorite,
the one we've cooked
a thousand times.
Hopefully, your signature dish
is a representation of your culture,
your background,
who you are.
Who we are as Australians.
This is our dish, it's our
chance to show off.
If we screw this up, then
we really shouldn't be here.
The top 3 women and the top 3 men
will go through to another round,
where they'll battle it out
for the first two spots
in the top 24.
That is... that's awesome.
Hearing that, nailing the signature dish
would get you a place in the top 24,
and the chance to be able to
skip all these elimination challenges,
I mean, I was pumped, and I'm
really, really, really thinking
hey, I've got this one nailed.
You'll have 90 minutes
to complete your signature dish.
There's also one other thing.
For the first time ever,
we're gonna hand
the judging reins over
to you.
It's incredibly daunting,
there's a certain expectation,
when food critis and professionals
are tasting something.
When it's your peer group
judging you,
it adds a whole another
dimension of pressure.
Girls, you will taste the boys' dishes.
Boys, you'll taste the girls'.
So, let's start.
Three girls from this side
of the room
will be going into a
qualifying round.
Three of the best dishes.
Three boys from this
side of the room
will be going through
to a qualifying round.
It is a fantastic opportunity,
you will be securing yourself a spot
in the top 24.
I'm excited,
are you excited?
Yes!
Yes, who?
Yes, chef!
You've got 90 minutes to cook
and give us the best dish ever.
Your time starts
now.
The atmosphere in the kitchen
is really intense,
there's 45 people scrambling around,
there's definitely
a huge amount of excitement,
tenseness and nerves in the air.
George, you know what I'm loving
in here more than anything?
It's the fact that here we are
in the top 50, and I've never seen
so many different cooking techniques
going on.
Let's get amongst them,
see what they're saying.
- Adele.
- Hello.
- Tell us what dish you're doing.
- I'm doing a herbed goat's cheese
in an eggplant stack with
a carrot and pinenut dressing.
I feel really confident doing
my signature dish.
Because it's a dish that we actually
talked about around the kitchen table,
that's the dish that mum would do,
because it's something that I do well.
You scraped through yesterday,
didn't you? In the elimination.
Yes, I did.
Thank you.
How does it feel to be back on the,
back on the pans today?
Absolutely fantastic.
- You know what I love about you?
- What?
You've got this commitment and
determination,
and that's absolutely fantastic.
- Thank you.
- Alright? Good luck, my darling.
- Thank you so much.
Marion, what are you actually
gonna be giving them today?
I'm giving them a twice-baked
cheese and snail souffl?.
- Why the snails?
- I love the taste of snails,
but the thing is, in my cooking
I really like to use things that maybe
a lot of people haven't tried before,
or they're a bit unusual.
But tell me, are the boys going to be
frightened by the sound of snails.
I'm a bit worried about that
to tell you the truth, George.
My signature dish is a
paella australiana.
Scallop and homemade ricotta
ravioli.
Pistachio and herb-crusted
rack of lamb.
Just with a fondant potato.
This dish is a real favorite for me,
because it's such a versatile dish.
I've eaten it in really
fine dining restaurants,
and I've also cooked it on
a weeknight for the kids,
so it was really me.
It's alright for the moment.
You have one hour to go.
My signature dish is a lightly spiced
rack of lamb.
I know it's a clich?, but you know,
feed the men meat.
I'm a lawyer. That's what I do,
that's what takes up most of my life.
But I often find myself looking
outside, looking out the window.
wondering what else
is out there.
I'm absolutely ready to leave
my old life behind.
Can't wait to start
my new one.
Can't wait.
It is a juggernaut.
Nobody's at the wheel,
where are we going?
Come on!
My signature dish is a lemon myrtle
and raspberry semifreddo,
and also a chocolate avocado
wattleseed mousse.
These are actually raw desserts,
there's no cooking involved.
I'm Skye Craig, and I'm
an art director from the Gold Coast.
If I was to describe myself,
I'd say really creative,
really into sustainable practices
and organic food,
and very passionate
about cooking.
Skye, what on earth is going
on there? I can see coconut,
cocoa powder, avocado,
and what...
what is happening?
I'm doing a chocolate wattleseed
avocado mousse.
You know, I'm into just doing desserts
that are obviously really delectable
and just taste fantastic,
but I'm really interested
in trying out new things.
- Is this you? Your signature?
Is this who you are?
- One hundred percent.
This is me on a plate.
- Are the boys gonna like this?
- I reckon they will.
I hope so. I know they'll definitely
like it, the chocolate mousse.
- Really?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
- I think so.
Off you go, Skye, we'll leave
you to it.
You're halfway through,
you have 45 minutes to go.
No ifs, no buts, no maybes,
just great food,
hopefully securing yourself
a place in the top 24.
Come on!
Coming up.
Who will reach
the qualifying round?
Wow, but that's hot.
- Let's hope the girls can handle it.
- It's okay they can do a bit of heat.
And later.
Who will grab the first
two positions in the top 24?
This is what you've won. A stamp
on your culinary passport.
In to the top 24.
You're halfway through,
you have 45 minutes to go.
Hopefully securing yourself
a place in the top 24.
Come on!
Whoa!
There's 45 people
in the room,
there's probably that many ovens going,
and saucepans, and frying pans,
so it's just sweaty
and hot.
- Kim, tell us what you're cooking.
- Today I'm cooking
a deep dish lemon meringue pie.
- Deep dish. Is that like high?
- High, yes.
- Are you good at lemon meringue pies?
- Yeah, I think so.
- Is that why you've got a little
lemon meringue pie type colors?
- Yeah, just trying to
tie in with the colors.
- Let's see how it goes. Good luck.
- Let's see.
My dream is to eventually own
a fine dining tapas and dessert wine bar.
I've been exposed to a lot of desserts
from a really young age,
so it's where my life kinda lies,
so I'd love to give someone else that.
My signature dish is a
twice cooked duck breast
with a coriander salad.
It sort of combines a lot of my culture
and it speaks a lot about me.
I was born in Malaysia,
and my parents are still there.
I'm very close to my mom.
She's taught me how to treat others
she's taught me how to love others,
and she's taught me it doesn't matter
what or who you are.
You shouldn't judge.
You have 30 minutes left
in this signature dish challenge.
Make it count.
I am doing a beetroot
papardelle
with a white wine sauce
with mussels,
finished off with
a basil pesto.
Halfway through the challenge,
and I'm really confident
that this dish is going to be
working out fine.
Pasta's resting, all I need to do now
is get it into water
and bring the whole dish
together.
I've done this dish
a thousand times, so
I could cheat and
sit back and relax.
You have fifteen minutes to go.
The stakes are high, never ever
in the history of MasterChef
allowed you guys
to judge the food.
My signature dish today
is a spicy crab curry
with crispy okra.
So, Jimmy, you've done
a chilli crab curry.
Yeah.
I'm gonna taste a bit of that.
My name's Jimmy Seervai,
I'm a food ingredient researcher,
but I really wanna be a chef.
I create flavors,
but the molecules.
You don't really see them.
I wanna be able to cook
with these hands,
I want people to be able
to taste what it is,
and I wanna see the reactions
on their faces when they do it.
There's a lot of flavor going
on there, wow.
Let' hope the girls can handle
a little bit of heat.
I know, I've been worried
about that actually.
I love that,
but that's hot.
It's hot. It is hot.
- Nice to see. Well done.
- Thank you.
So George, who are you
most excited about?
- Curry at the back.
- Oh, Jimmy.
Jimmy's curry. You know, with
a big towel around my neck
I'd sit down and devour all of it
and I'd absolutely love it.
I hope the girls
will love it too.
Now, the other end too.
I just saw Dominic
slicing a rack of lamb,
it's pink, perfect all the way through,
what do you reckon,
has this guy got a chance?
I think he's a chance, I think
he's actually a really good cook.
Yeah.
The other one that you quite fancy,
George, was Skye.
She has made this interesting
concoction with avocado, chocolate,
you know, is she gonna turn that
into a fantastic dish?
If it's not smashing, it's gonna
be a disaster.
I'm at the final stage of
preparing my lemon meringue tart.
I take it out of the oven
and I'm happy
that my pie is kind of
thick and solid.
As I plate it, I realize
that the meringue
has gone soft from
the humidity in the air.
It's so hot everything's
melted.
Kim, what's
going on?
It's just... the temperature
and the meringue
like in the room it's too hot.
- Yep.
- So why so emotional?
- I just put everything into it.
And I know I can do this at home,
and it didn't turn out
how it usually does.
- At least hope it tastes fantastic.
- Okay.
You have five minutes
to go.
You're at the business end
of this challenge. Let's go.
Alright, that's done.
Done, done, done.
I put the pasta
in the water.
And someone had
taken my colander.
So by the time it took me
to find the colander,
my pasta was disintegrating
in the boiling hot water.
and it ended up
beetroot porridge.
I have no way to change it,
it's really gut-wrenching.
I want them to like it, you know,
I plate food up to please people
and to, you know, make them want
to come back for more.
It's looking good,
isn't it?
You have thirty seconds to go,
Final flourishes on the plate,
and your better halves
are gonna taste.
00:16:18,937 --> 00:16:19,513
00:16:20,427 --> 00:16:20,961
00:16:21,786 --> 00:16:22,354
00:16:23,234 --> 00:16:23,753
00:16:24,498 --> 00:16:24,985
00:16:25,803 --> 00:16:26,386
00:16:27,138 --> 00:16:27,729
00:16:28,514 --> 00:16:29,018
00:16:29,075 --> 00:16:33,310
That's it. Step away
from your benches.
00:16:38,537 --> 00:16:38,962
00:16:39,722 --> 00:16:40,217
00:16:40,257 --> 00:16:42,961
That's it. Step away
from your benches.
- Well done, guys.
- Well done, everybody,
that is fantastic.
Brilliant effort.
I just looked around at everyone's
dish around me,
I think I've got a chance,
I think I'm gonna make it
to the top 6 challenge.
What a fantastic challenge
that was.
Now it's your chance
to be the judges.
The boys will taste
the girls' dishes.
The girls will taste
the boys' dishes.
You will identify
your favorite dish,
you'll write down
that person's name
on a piece of paper,
and place it on the spike.
The top 3 girls
and the top 3 boys
will go into the next
qualifying round.
With two spots up for grabs
in the top 24.
That is just the most exciting thing,
cause I want it so bad,
but I don't know
if I'm gonna get it.
Girls, make your way over onto
the boys' cooking stations.
The critique process is a lot
like speed dating.
They stand in line, and they have
two to three minutes to tell you
what they like about your food and
what they don't like about your food,
and then they move on.
Hiii.
What is it?
A saddle of lamb with moroccan
spiced dates and parsnip pur?e.
Yum! That's really good.
Wow.
So what have we got?
Pistachio and herb-crusted
rack of lamb
with a red wine and veal stock
reduction and a fondant potato.
That lamb is cooked perfectly
for me, just medium rare,
really tender.
- Thanks.
Girls tasting all sorts of dishes,
and I'm thinking to myself,
they're gonna have to taste
this spicy hot curry.
I don't think they're
gonna like it.
- Hi, Jimmy.
- Hi, how are you?
- I'm really excited.
- Really excited?
Looking at it so far, just,
I like the look of it.
Hope you like crab. Do you like
chilli?
I love crab. I don't like huge
amounts of chilli.
But this looks so good
I just want it.
Yes, it's a chilli crab,
and I've put some
Indian bread with it
as well.
Let's taste this first.
Oh my Gosh!
That is so yummy.
And I can't usually eat
a lot of chilli.
This is good stuff.
I'm gonna stop eating, cause
I've got to try other people's dishes.
Thanks.
To watch her face light up,
it was actually quite exciting.
At that point I knew
I made something great.
Yum!
I'm loving this, George,
really interesting dynamic,
and not what I expected at all.
The girls are cruising
the guys' benches,
tasting all the food,
really getting into it,
tasting it.
That's great. That's really, really,
really good.
This was a signature
dish challenge.
In theory, they should all be
kicking goals, George,
every dish should have
been nailed.
So what have we
got here?
I've made twice cooked duck.
See you're meant to eat the duck
with the peking sauce,
have some peking sauce
before you have the salad.
It's very daunting to have
all these good cooks judging
what you put on the plate.
That is beautiful.
I love the sauce with the duck,
the fact that it's sweet.
and then having salad with it
balances out
the sort of sweetness
of the sauce.
- I think you have done a great job.
- Thank you very much.
George, it'd be really interesting
to see how the girls go,
and how they vote, who they decide
is the best,
and of course who they decide
is the worst.
Justin cooked a beetroot pasta,
and overcooked it,
by his own admission,
it's a real failure,
that is not good,
not good at all.
It's really embarrassing
to have people come up
and taste my food,
because I would never plate that.
That's an interesting color,
tell me about what this is.
It's a beetroot pasta
with a white wine sauce
and finished off
with a basil pesto.
I think that maybe the pasta is
a little bit overcooked,
it's sort of falling apart a little bit.
- Yeah, I agree.
No, it's really watery and
tasteless.
I'd say that it's the most memorable
dish, but not in a good way.
My dish is not up
to scratch,
so I'm expecting
to not be in the top.
Girls, you've tasted
the boys' dishes.
It's time to vote.
You're voting for
the best cook.
You're giving them the chance
to go through
to the top 24.
Boys, now it's your turn
to play food critic.
Going to taste the girls' food.
I really like the signature
dish challenge,
because it comes
from the heart,
I think we all cooked
from the heart.
So what do we have here?
I made a fig and mastic
bavois.
Oh, wow.
That's honestly amazing.
When someone tells me
that they love my dish,
it just makes me feel like
I've done what I wanted to do,
and did it right.
That's gorgeous,
I love the sauce.
I was a bit worried,
because it's a soft dish,
you know, it's not a manly dish,
and with the guys tasting it,
I thought...
I've gone wrong here.
Hello.
It's a herbed goat's cheese
in an eggplant
and I do a currant
and pinenut dressing.
- That's a cracker.
- You like that?
I love that, it is awesome.
- Thank you.
- Well done, awesome.
They loved it, they just kept
coming back saying they wanted more.
Polished off the plates and I thought,
yeah, that's really good.
The dish is called lily pad,
it has lemon myrtle and
raspberry semifreddo,
then we've also got chocolate
and avocado mousse.
Right, now.
- Avocado?
- Yes.
The chocolate is really interesting
and I think the texture is amazing,
because of the avocado,
so good on you.
Thank you so much,
really appreciate it. Cheers.
Snails underneath and
souffl?e on top.
I've never eaten a snail before,
and I've been hanging out to eat one
the whole day, so I'd better
give it a go, yes?
You know I actually thought
I wasn't gonna like it,
but I really do,
that's good.
Good!
If I didn't see and know
that was snail
I wouldn't have known,
yeah, that's really good.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
I hope you like it,
if you like meringue pies.
Meringue is soft. Was it meant
to be that?
So what do we, have we got?
A big chunk of everything
on your fork.
- Just have the full experience.
- Have the full...
It looks fantastic.
Wow!
- It's pretty big, isn't it?
- It's really big.
That's really big.
Two words to describe your dish.
Knock out.
Thank you. Thank you.
Boys, you finished tasting
the girls' dishes.
Time to vote.
I'm pretty happy that I've gone with
what I have, but
whether or not I'm one
of the best,
don't know.
We'll find out.
You've tasted the
signature dishes,
you've scored your
favorites.
It's time
to find out
which three men and which
three women
have garnered the most
votes.
They'll compete for the first
two places
in the top 24.
First person through
to this huge opportunity
is
It's time
to find out
which three men and which
three women
have garnered the most
votes.
This challenge, the six people
that are voted
have a chance to be
in the top 24.
That's amazing.
First person through
to this huge opportunity
is
Claire.
- Congratulations, Claire.
- Thank you.
Wow. Knock out.
- How does it feel?
- I'm very honored and pleased
and privileged I've been
picked out by group of people
who have cooked their
hearts out themselves.
Well done,
it's a very fine dish.
Thank you.
The next person
going forward
is Bel.
The moment my name is called,
I was in complete shock,
I was not expecting it
in the slightest.
Oh, wow.
That's obviously
amazing.
- You excited?
- Yeah, I am.
This is an amazing opportunity,
you know,
having a shot at making it
into the top 24.
What more could you ask for,
so yeah.
The next woman that'll be
competing
for this golden ticket,
is Adele.
That's a cracker.
- Well done, awesome.
- It absolutely delivers.
Good stuff, Adele.
One step closer to the green.
Thank you.
I couldn't believe it.
I was on such a low,
and then I was on such a high
in just the last two days.
It's been amazing.
One more thing.
We have a surprise.
There will be a fourth girl
going through, because
there was a tie.
Joining Claire, Bel
and Adele
will be Skye.
That's gorgeous,
I love the sauce.
The texture's amazing
because of the avocado.
I'm extremely proud and very lucky
to have made it through
because there are 45
seriously talented cooks
in this kitchen.
It's time to find out,
which three blokes
scored the most votes.
I'm standing there, praying,
and keeping everything crossed
that they'll call my name.
Alvin.
That is beautiful.
- I love the salad.
- This is really nice sort of dish.
I'm so overwhelmed.
I, I cannot believe it,
I actually had tears
running down my eyes,
I'm such a wussbag.
When I cook,
I think of my mom.
Cause my mom...
mom's an inspiration.
And when I'm feeling homesick,
I try and replicate my mom's food.
I cooked, I put my heart
on the table,
and it's what I cook
for people I love,
and I think she'd be
really proud.
Beautifully said, Alvin.
Thank you.
Joining Alvin
is
Jimmy.
Yum!
This is good stuff.
Wow.
Jimmy.
I watched people who didn't like curry
rave about your dish.
- How did you do it?
- I like the flavors in that.
It is a bit spicy, I was
a bit worried about that,
but I put it in the pot,
crossed my fingers,
and wished for the best.
So, the final bloke,
that has excelled
in the eyes of the women.
Jonathan.
Yum, that's really good.
The lamb's cooked perfectly.
That's great.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you.
I'm ecstatic that I'm
in the top 3.
I can feel I'm one step
closer to top 24.
What a lucky seven.
The magnificent seven,
cause you guys
are going to go into
another cook-off.
One boy,
one girl
will go straight through to the top 24
of MasterChef Australia.
No more tests, no more challenges,
no more eliminations.
I don't know what's in store,
but there's no way in the world
they will send us straight
through to the top 24
without us cooking
something extremely difficult.
In order to get those two spots
in our top 24,
you're gonna have to do one of
our toughest challenges yet.
The pressure test.
So this is the way it works.
You get the same ingredients,
the same timeframe, and
of course the same recipe.
The dish that you will be
cooking today
is full of technique.
You have to nail it.
Why? Cause it has a very
soft spot in Gary's heart.
I'm sure he's made it more times
than I've had hot dinners.
This dish is close to my heart.
It's a timeless classic.
When we talk about what
we're gonna give you to test you,
often we go back
to the very basics.
The dish that you're all gonna
be cooking today
a beef Wellington.
Gary announces that it's
a beef Wellington.
I have no idea
what that is.
So it's beef and pastry.
That's what it is.
Sounds easy.
- Does it?
- No.
Funny thing is,
even I'm nervous,
because I've gotta cut this
and hope
that that beef is lovely
and pink.
Very thin crepes,
prosciutto,
and a very fine chopped
mushroom around the beef.
Let's take a look
and see if I got it right.
It's beautiful.
Beef Wellington is just about
great pastry,
and great beef.
You need to get those two
components right.
Now with that you're gonna make
a simple red wine sauce.
Just to help it go down.
Cause the three of us
always need a good gravy.
Right.
Should we taste?
Wow.
The moment I've tasted
the beef Wellington, I thought,
I've got no chance
of cooking this.
This is gonna be impossible.
So quick run through
the pressure points.
Seal the beef well,
make thin crepes,
make a beautiful tasty
mushroom mixture,
wrap it tightly,
so that's where your
skill comes in.
Alvin, what do you feel
about this?
I'm really nervous,
it's such a work of art.
There's such an even sort of
layer of mushroom
and the beef is
perfectly cooked.
Cooking beef isn't really
my strongest point,
let alone something that's wrapped
in layers and layers
of crepes and ham
and pastry.
Very... yeah.
Very, very difficult challenge.
You've got two and a
half hours
to execute the best
beef Wellington.
Do Gary proud,
respect his recipe,
smash your way
into the top 24.
Your time starts
now.
- Next...
- Oh no.
I would say that I was about
this close to disaster.
The beef Wellington
brings out the best
and the worst.
- Oh, this is not good.
Yeah. All over.
Oh, this is not good.
Your time starts
now.
So the rules for today are,
it's beef Wellington,
it's Gary's favorite recipe,
it's two and a half hour
that we've got to cook this,
one guy, one girl
is gonna get through
to the top 24.
I'm starting off with the crepes,
cause I've never made crepes before.
I'm gonna follow this by the book,
step by step.
I'm gonna read the recipe,
I'm gonna carry it under my arm,
cause I know if I mess it up,
it's gonna be a disaster.
I love cooking desserts,
the pastry I can get,
beef I can cook.
The main thing I'm actually
worried about in this dish
is the crepes.
I don't make crepes,
I never... I don't eat crepes.
I mean, I didn't even hear
of crepes in beef Wellington.
- Jonathan!
- George.
- How are you doing?
- Good.
I just saw the first crepe
go in the bin.
- You did.
- What was that?
Cause I didn't get it
brown enough,
I don't think I had
high enough heat.
Yeah?
- That looks really thick to me.
- Thick?
Well, you know.
What does it say in the recipe?
What do we talk about?
- No, no, no, no.
- You said it was thick,
so I start again.
- Right.
He takes things personally,
doesn't he?
I don't take things personally,
I'm a perfectionist.
It doesn't matter if I'm cooking
for you guys
or for my family, it just gotta
be perfect. You know what I mean?
I work as an IT
management consultant.
I think I'm pretty good
at my job,
but it's not my passion.
For the last 10 years,
food has been everything for me.
When I'm standing in the kitchen,
I'm in my element.
I'm dreaming, and I'm just...
I'm just cooking. I love it.
The crepes took a while,
I think after my third crepe
I finally perfected,
I've never done a crepe before.
So the next struggle I had
with the challenge was beef.
- Alvin.
- George.
- How are you, mate?
- Good.
- You're uh...
- Just really under the pump.
You had an emotional
sort of morning...
- Yeah it was very overwhelming.
- ... start of the day, yeah.
I just get emotional when I
sort of think about what
inspires me to cook.
My mom's my inspiration
when it comes to food as well
What do you worry about
with this dish?
I'm fairly nervous cause I'm...
beef is my weakest link.
I always overcook my beef.
- You overcook it?
- I always overcook my beef, yeah.
That's not a good start,
is it?
I mean, you don't wanna
overcook this dish,
cause it's all about
the beef and the pastry.
Alright? So,
best of luck, Alvin.
My fingers and toes
are crossed for you.
Cheers.
So my beef's done
and it's cooling down,
and I'm going on to my
mushroom sauce,
which is one of the layers,
I've got to wrap around the beef.
I'm good at working
from a recipe.
I'm a lawyer, so, you know,
bang bang bang.
- Claire! How you going?
- I'm feeling okay.
Yeah. I mean I have things
under control at the moment,
but there's a lot to do so...
- You've come out on top
in the signature dish
challenge.
Are you the person to beat?
- Maybe.
- Are you the person to beat?
- I really want this, so...
- Are you the person to beat?
Yes, George,
I'm the person to beat.
- I love that attitude.
- Give me five.
- That's fantastic.
- That's it. Come on.
George, I'm loving
the excitement in the room,
and we are in fact looking at
the seven people
who have put their heads up
and said, I'm good at what I do.
- And particularly Claire.
- She's a very disciplined cook.
She knows her flavors.
She plays herself down a lot,
but I reckon
there's lots more to come.
Do you think they're
doing your recipe justice?
I think they should be a little bit
further ahead than they are.
- Adele, for example.
- She's a little bit on the back four.
- How do you think she's doing?
- I think she's nervous,
but I've got a feeling
that's Adele.
She's here for a reason,
she's here for not only herself
but her son, and when she thinks
about that, she really homes in
and brings on an
absolute cracking dish.
- Now Alvin.
- He did say beef is his weakest link,
he's overcooked it a plenty of times.
You know, that's the whole thing,
when cooks at home have this
"I always overcook it,
I always overcook it",
they generally follow that pattern,
because they keep making
the same mistake.
- The self-fulfilling prophecy.
- Yeah, that's right.
Interesting to see
how he goes.
Cooks, you have an hour
and a half to go.
If it was me, at this point
I'd be picking up the pace.
Cause you need time
to build this baby.
And don't forget
it's my baby,
and I want you to
look after it.
Come on, guys!
That's all taking
a little bit too long,
I think I'm going
a bit too slow,
I'm behind the eight ball,
I'll be doing mushrooms now, so
I'm a bit stressed.
This is our chance to
have a spot in the final 24,
so there's really not much
room for error.
When I'm making the mushroom layer,
because I am looking
to the recipe page,
and back to the stove constantly,
I kind of misread the list
of ingredients,
and I read that I have to put
200 grams of Dijon mustard
into the mushroom mixture.
Hey Bel, how are you going?
- Okay.
- There's a lot of mustard in there,
isn't it?
- Well it says 200 grams.
- 200 grams of mustard? No.
Oh no!
Oh no. One tablespoon.
That's... I'll fix it.
You probably don't got as much time
as you think you have,
so you need to pick up the pace,
I reckon. Alright, Bel?
- No worries.
- Alright.
Thanks, Gary!
I would say that I was about
this close to disaster.
I was just about
to press the process button.
So far I think I'm going
pretty well.
I just got the iberico
ham there,
the mushroom mix on top,
gonna lay the beef in,
roll it tight.
When I'm wrapping the beef,
I'm really unsure of
how to wrap it tightly
without squashing all the
mushroom mixture out,
you have to get even mushroom
around the thing,
but it seems it's
going okay.
I don't wanna get into rush,
you know, take it easy,
and you get everything done right,
done right the first time
is the most important.
Less than 45 minutes to go,
come on!
The pressure is really on now.
This thing needs about 30-35 minutes
in the oven, plus a good rest.
If you don't hurry up,
you are not gonna be
finished in time.
You guys need to get
on top of it, come on!
- Jimmy, what are you up to?
- Okay, I'm up to start the...
I'd like to wrap the beef now.
I've read this about seven times,
and I still can't understand it.
It's not the recipe, it's me.
Um, I'm trying to figure out,
where does the crepe come into it,
it's...
Well, that's for you to figure out.
Time is gonna run out,
so you've gotta
pick up the pace.
- Good luck with this rolling.
- Yup, thank you.
There's a lot of finesse in this,
in this particular dish,
so you need to roll it well.
Oh, crap.
I don't know what went wrong,
it all just fell apart.
Oh, this is
not good.
This is not good.
I'm at the crucial point of my
beef Wellington pressure test,
wrapping the beef
in mushroom and ham.
Oh, crap.
I don't know what went wrong,
it all just fell apart.
This is not good.
It is a pressure test for a reason,
they're putting me under pressure.
So I thought, let's go
ahead with this.
Rather have something on a plate
that's less than perfect,
than nothing at all.
Yeah, that's it,
wrap it.
There she goes,
it'll be fine.
I look around, Alvin,
behind me,
is fluffing around
just like I am.
Jonathan is in front of me,
and Jonathan is cool as a cucumber.
The next thing for me
is cutting the pastry
and folding it
around the meat.
I'm generally perfectionist
in the kitchen
I don't really take anything
seriously in life
except my cooking,
and there I'm perfectionist,
everything's gotta
be meticulous
Guys, you have thirty
minutes to go.
Your beef should be in the oven,
sauce should be simmering,
have you done enough
to get through to the top 24?
This challenge is very important
to me, because I wanna
make it through and I wanna have
a chance of being in the top 24.
I've gotta make it,
and I wanna make it.
I know I can do it.
I know I can do it.
Skye, what's going on?
Well, I've got my
parcel ready,
now all I've gotta do
is brush it with some egg yolks.
You've got 25 minutes to go,
and this baby normally takes
about 30 minutes to cook,
so I think we'll better leave you to it,
cause I'm a bit worried that you're
not gonna finish in time, so...
- Thank you.
- It needs to go in the oven.
- Cheers.
- Need to move along.
I'm just happy it's in the oven.
I can focus on the sauce.
Cause the sauce I think
is gonna be
if someone else produces good
beef Wellington,
it's the sauce that's gonna
be the winner.
Claire!
Gary. How's it going?
Everything good?
- Beef Wellington's in the oven?
- Yes.
You know what? Me and you
in the cockpit of a plane.
- I'd be like, Aaaaaaahhh,
- And Claire would be flicking switches,
I'm sure it's this one.
You're so calm. So collected.
Go, Claire!
My beef Wellington's in the oven,
and I'm in absolute panic mode,
to get the sauce finished.
And the top of the wine bottle
hits the bench,
and there's red wine
strewn all over the kitchen.
Hey Alvin, I've just
dropped my wine,
is there any chance that
you can share bottles?
- Yeah, yeah, take.
- Cheers.
Thank the Lord that Alvin
was around
with the extra red wine.
I do not think I would have been
able to finish my sauce without it.
Just under 15 minutes left
in this all-important challenge.
Come on, guys,
you've gotta dig deep now.
This is the time you
gotta pull out aaaallll the stops.
When I know it's the last
10 or 15 minutes, I panic.
I open the oven so many times
to make sure that my beef
doesn't dry out. Why?
I don't know.
I don't do that at home. I have
the confidence at home.
Pastry doesn't look crisp enough.
I know that. But I just get into this
crazy panic scared situation.
My biggest concern here, George,
is that we're going to end up
with a lot of soggy Wellies.
Adele for example. She keeps
taking this thing out of the oven.
It's not cooked, you can tell.
It's all about the pastry,
it's all about the beef.
I've said it so many times.
Skye as well. I mean, she only
put it in not long ago.
That thing needs to be in the oven,
it needs to come out,
it needs to rest,
and then carve.
I think the guys are on top of it.
Jonathan seems to be doing really well.
He's just checking the temperature now,
it seems to be golden brown.
It could be anyone's race.
Who knows who's gonna take
those two spots
in the top 24?
Jimmy, it's all looking
a bit chaotic over here.
This is nearly done,
I think it's
just a bit chaotic,
the two and a half hours
just didn't even seem
like it was enough, so...
but um, should be right,
it's...
- It never is enough.
- It never is enough.
You always need
another five minutes
- I wish I had another five minutes.
- Always another five minutes.
But you don't have another
five minutes.
- I know.
- So you better get a move on, pal.
You have one minute to go,
and this minute
is the most significant
in the competition so far.
Why? Because it could
guarantee you a spot
in the top 24.
Gary just screams out,
60 seconds,
and I haven't even got
the Wellington out of the oven.
I start panicking.
This is it, this is the
final 10 seconds.
00:50:45,808 --> 00:50:47,081
00:50:47,281 --> 00:50:48,402
00:50:48,602 --> 00:50:49,826
00:50:50,026 --> 00:50:51,336
00:50:51,536 --> 00:50:52,536
00:50:52,735 --> 00:50:53,777
00:50:53,977 --> 00:50:55,017
00:50:55,217 --> 00:50:56,217
00:50:56,313 --> 00:50:57,385
00:50:57,585 --> 00:51:00,321
That's it. Step away
from your benches.
- Tools down. Well done.
- Well done, guys!
Steak comes out,
and it looks golden,
looks like it's meant to.
The other two guys seem to
have either burned their outside
or done the wrapping
incorrectly.
But I'm confident that mine
looks really nice.
You've prepared, I hope,
a gorgeous beef Wellington.
It is now time for us to judge
your dish,
the boy and the girl, that cooked
the best beef Wellingtons
will of course take out
one of those coveted spots
in the top 24.
The first beef Wellington
we'd love to taste,
belongs to Alvin.
I'm taking out my beef Wellington
to the judges,
so I feel very, very nervous.
- Beef was your weakest link.
- Yes.
- Are you not confident
- I'm not.
- Why?
- There was...
there were a few disasters
along the way.
And if I were to serve this
to my mother,
she'd say,
What is this roadkill?
Let's find out, whether or not
the beef inside that motley crust
is medium rare.
Alvin, let's find out, whether or not
the beef inside that motley crust
is medium rare.
It was that all-important moment
when I had to cut up
the beef Wellington, and a part of me
just wanted to run away,
I didn't want to cut it.
It was perfect. The beef
was perfectly pink,
my first perfectly pink
cooked beef.
Take a slice, pop it on the plate,
a little bit of sauce.
Alvin, it's no roadkill,
that's for sure.
I think you need to have a little
bit more confidence in yourself.
It's nice and pink, the mushroom
itself's got a nice texture,
it's nice and mushroomy.
The only thing that's let you down
is that wrapping.
And if you got that
under control,
then you would have had
a much better result.
- But a good effort
- Thanks.
A few too many crepes.
It's a bit like a fire blanket,
you know?
It's just way too many
of them.
A little bit more finesse,
and you'll get there.
Thank you.
I love the exuberance.
You've learned how to make crepes,
and you've just gone
crazy with them.
Bang them all in, more crepes
more crepes, more crepes.
The terrible thing is, that a
year ago, this probably
would have got you
into the top 20.
This year?
You'll have to work a little
bit harder in the top 24.
There goes my spot.
Not liking my chance.
Yeah, all over.
The next beef Wellington
we'd like to taste
belongs to Jonathan.
I'm walking up with my
beef Wellington,
I'm thinking, I can't wait
to cut it open and see
what it looks like.
I'm quietly confident.
- Happy?
- Yeah.
Bloody brilliant.
Fighting words, eh?
I must be honest, I'm
a little bit disappointed.
I was convinced, convinced,
that you were miles ahead
of everybody else. You seemed
really confident, really in control,
and you were very precise.
But on delivery,
and what I mean on delivery,
when you put it in your mouth,
it's just a little bit of
a letdown.
What lets it down, is those
mushrooms are a little bit pasty.
But beautifully cooked beef,
beautifully wrapped,
I think it's a fine job, and I think
it shows that you're a good cook.
Is it good enough to secure
you a spot
in the top 24?
I don't think I have a chance
of beating Jonathan.
His Wellington was spot on.
I had a nappy foldover,
I just thought, nah,
it's not gonna be me.
Arthur Wellesley, duke of Wellington,
first came to prominence
the end of the eighteenth
century
for a campaign in India.
And what we have here
is a beginning of your campaign
to become the next
Australian MasterChef.
With any great young general,
there are mistakes.
The sauce is wonderfully velvety,
but it's got this
intense, quite sticky,
vegemity flavour.
Your pastry has come apart
at the seams here.
However, textures, of the pastry,
of the mushrooms, of the meat,
are all impeccable.
And then the hero.
And what you've done
is you've given us a great hero
in that meat.
I'm waling back to the station,
I'm stoked.
I'm thinking to myself at that point,
I could stand a chance here.
Girls,
the boys have set the bar high.
Now's your turn.
First one up to the
tasting table is
Bel.
Bel, are you confident?
Somewhat. I almost had
a couple disasters.
- 200 grams of mustard? No.
- Oh no.
I love the amount of mustard in it,
cause I'm a real mustard fan.
So it's, I can get
more mustard.
For a first effort, wow.
Outstanding job.
Thank you.
The next dish we'd like to taste,
belongs to Skye.
I've got my beautiful
beef Wellington, finally,
on a plate, I'm looking at it,
thinking, how on earth
did I manage to get this
decent, semi-decent looking
beef Wellington together?
I'm actually quite proud of it.
I like it.
- Thank you so much
- It's good. I'm surprised.
- So am I.
- I'm surprised. I just thought
there is no way that you had that
thing in the oven long enough
to be cooked, but it is.
I just feel absolutely relieved,
I can't believe it.
There's a chance that I could
make it through to the top 24.
Adele.
How many times did you have
that thing in and out the oven?
I did it twice.
I did it twice.
I knew at home, I mean,
my husband's a butcher, I cook meat,
and I'd stick the thermometer in,
and I'd take it out,
and I'm confident, where here,
I just, lose it.
Just lose it.
Alright, presentation first.
You can see the pastry's not cooked,
that's first. You know, that's
101 Basic pastry cooking.
It's raw.
The sauce is really thick. It's gone
beyond the point of being
the right consistency.
Adele, is this the dish that's
gonna get you into the top 24?
No. Definitely not.
Let's see.
As I walk back to my station,
I feel very disappointed in myself
cause I know that I'm not
going to be one of those two
in the top 24.
But I also know, that I'm gonna
still keep fighting for this dream
that I have in my heart.
Next person up to the
tasting table is Claire.
Golden puff pastry,
perfectly cooked beef,
who'd have thought
a lawyer could cook?
The most lawyers are boring, like
would you go to a lawyer party
or a chef party? You'd go to
the chef party, wouldn't ya?
But if you're turning out
beef Wellington like that,
I'd come to your party.
Give me five.
Well.
We've tasted your versions
of Gary's beef Wellington.
I think I detected a little
hint of a tear,
as you passed that recipe
like a small baby
over to your tender care.
Worried about what would come back.
You shouldn't have been.
Cause what we've seen
is seven very fine examples
of that treasured recipe.
The issue is, there've been seven
fine cooks, only two
will fast track straight through
to the final 24.
If I call your name,
please step forward.
The boy and the girl that
cooked the best
beef Wellingtons, will of course
take out one of those coveted spots
in the top 24.
Have I done enough to earn
a spot in the top 24?
I'd like to think so.
It's now the moment of truth.
To think that I might be
one of the top two cooks
in Australia
is just mind-blowing.
I call your name,
please step forward.
Claire.
- Claire.
- Matt.
Your beef Wellington was
absolutely perfect
I could think of no better
person to be the first person
through to the final 24.
I'm just...
stunned and thrilled.
I'm kind of bursting
with excitement,
but also it feels
kind of unreal.
There's no better day
here in the MasterChef kitchen
than when you
get one of these.
A stamp on your culinary passport.
In to the top 24.
This is what you've won.
Claire,
you're the first one.
- Shall I?
- Please.
Take that grubby one off.
There's no comparison between
being in the MasterChef kitchen
as opposed to my day job
as a lawyer.
I really can't imagine going back.
I just, I'm loving being here.
All of it.
There's only one more spot
that we're giving away today
for the top 24.
Keep everything crossed,
boys.
Standing, waiting for the verdict
is torturous.
It is, just, the anxiety
comes back again.
That precious place in
the top 24 goes to
Jimmy.
I thought I was in a dream.
I really didn't think
he was going to call my name.
Of course I wanted it,
and I wanted it badly.
Well, general Jimmy,
your first battle won.
Come back, fire it up,
and show us
the skills, the talent,
the knowledge,
and the palate
you've shown us so far,
and you'll do very well in this
competition, young man.
Well done.
Thank you. Thanks.
Jimmy, this apron here
is gonna be your best friend.
Just get ready, you're gonna go
through highs, lots of lows,
but if you're strong,
you'll come through at the end.
Congratulations, mate.
Thanks, mate, thank you
so much.
I'm looking at them and I'm thinking,
wow, that's so good for them.
At the same time
I'm thinking,
ah, how can I get
one of those aprons?
Tomorrow night
on MasterChef Australia.
It's the day of reckoning.
Fail to deliver, and you'll go home.
The contestants continue their
fight to stay in the competition.
Why are you so worried
about what I'm doing?
Because it affects me.
For some of you this will be
the last time you'll ever
cook in the Masterchef kitchen.
To survive, they'll have to impress
with a two course menu.
I think that we'll be able
to pull this one off.
But for six amateur chefs
the dream will end.
If that got put up on the pass
in my kitchen,
I'd throw it.
No matter what happens, I'm still
going out proud.