Top three.
Congrats on top three, gang. Yeah, absolutely.
Exciting. I've never been here before.
Well, it's nice to have you here.Thanks.
I am so rapt to be in
the top three.
I've beaten my milestone,
but I'm absolutely going to be going in there
with my competitive head on.
I'm going to bring my best.
The mountain to climb.
I don't know if that makes sense, mate.
Here they are!
This screams one challenge
and one epic challenge only.
Oh! So good!
The old time auction, eh? Yeah!
It's auction day!
This is the time auction.
Yes!
Today you'll need to bid on the ingredients you want,
and time is your currency.
Today's prize is an extra 15 minutes in the semifinal cook.
That is a massive advantage.
A head start can mean the difference between
getting to the grand finale and going home.
Knowing how tough of a competitor Laura and Jamie are,
I want that 15 minutes.
It's not only just about me trying to get that 15 minutes,
it's trying to make sure that they don't get it.
Righto, let me explain how this is going to work.
Everyone has 120 minutes to spend.
There are three different categories to bid on.
You've got protein,
fresh produce
and a flavour pantry.
You'll each bid on ingredients within those categories
in lots of five minutes.
At the end of the auction your cook time,
that is whatever time you have remaining
after the bidding has ended.
The MasterChef pantry and garden, they are closed,
but you will also have access to your under-bench staples.
My goal today is to have the most time
coming out of the auction,
and be able to push the other two into spending too much money.
Righto, we're kicking it off with the protein category.
We've got a rib eye and a short rib.
Then we have John Dory and coral trout.
And last but not least, silken tofu and firm tofu.
Whoo! Yeah!
Love it.
You got tofu last time?
I got tofu last time.
How did you go? Um...
I didn't win. OK.
It wasn't the tofu's fault? It wasn't the tofu's fault.
Just go again.
No!
Tofu and me -
wrong!
Not again.
But also, that beef just looks so beautiful and marbled.
I want it.
Righto, we're kicking it off
with beautiful rib-eye and short ribs.
I'm pretty keen on the rib-eye and short rib.
I think having the ability to do a slow-cooked short rib
in this challenge could really build a lot of flavour in fast.
Shall we get the bidding started? Who's going to give me five minutes?
Five.
Jamie, five minutes.
10. 10 minutes!
Laura's in. She's got 15. Come on, Jamie.
Don't let 'em have it!
I'm not really interested in the rib-eye at all,
but I fully intend on bidding if I think
I can get more time out of either one of these two.
20.
20. We got 20 here. Callum?
I'll go 25. 25.
Laura? Hit him with a 30?
Look at the thickness, look how lean the fat is and glossy the meat is.
Imagine the flavours.
Oh, why do you think I want it so bad?
Look at that. "Take me! Take me, Callum! Take me!"
Callum's got the bid at 25 minutes.
What else have we got?
I'm out. You're standing staunch.
Ah...
Once it became clear that Callum and Laura both wanted the beef,
I was only in there playing. I don't really want it.
And if they're going to go at each other,
I'll just stand back and then try and convince them to bet even more.
Callum's got the bid at 25 minutes.
Can I get another five from any of you two?
No.
I mean, look at the size of the meat on the rib.You're gonna let him have
what he wants... Wow.
..for only 25 minutes.
What... That would still leave you
heaps of time.
I'm going to give him one.
Going once.
Let's do it.
Laura,
do you want tofu again?
No!
30.
Ah! There we go!
We got half an hour with Laura!
Yes!
I was not expecting that.
Laura has 30 minutes. Yes!
Callum wants this beef,
but I am not giving it up without a fight.
The bid is with Laura at 30 minutes.
Going once, going twice...
30 minutes.
Third and final call here for the short rib and the rib-eye.
Bang the hammer!
Are you sure?
If Laura gets this beef,
she's got 90 minutes to do everything she wants with it.
35.
35!
Yes!
Callum, straight back at him. He has the bid.
35 minutes. He's back in the game.
It's his bid for beef, short rib and rib-eye.
Laura, are you going back at him?
Callum, stop!
It's a measly 40 minutes.
40 minutes!
We've got 40 minutes here.
If I don't get this beef, there's a 50% chance I'm stuck with tofu.
And I refuse for that to happen.
I'm going all in.
You really don't want tofu.
Laura with the bid.
40 minutes, going once...
40 minutes, twice with Laura.
Oh, if only I could hear Callum's internal monologue.
I'm not super keen on Laura winning,
but if I bid too high, I'm not going to have enough time left
to actually slow cook it.
So, yeah, I've got to be careful here
with how much time I spend.
Are you sure?
She can have it. Slam the frickin' hammer!
40 minutes.
Yes! Sold to Laura for 40 minutes!
Whoo! Well done. Hell, yes!
No tofu. We're on.
Here we are, Laura. Thanks, Chef. Well done.
Beautiful. Bon appetit.
Great start.
She paid 40 minutes for it,
which means she's got 80 minutes left.
Shall we get to the second item? Bring 'em over, Jean-Christophe.
What have we got? Something fishy.
One coral trout, three John Dory.
Imagine what you can do with this.
Look at that. "Hello! Tres bien!"
Look at the beauty of that fish.
Andy, look at that. I'm looking.
Well, it's go Jean-Christophe hyped, so what have we got, fellas?I'll tell you what...
Ah! There we go.
We've got five minutes straight off from Jamie.
Out of the fish or the tofu that's left,
let's be honest, I definitely prefer the fish.
I'm bidding. 10 minutes, Callum.
Jamie, surely you're going back at him?
15 minutes here.
Calum, you got 20. 20.
As soon as I see how much Calum wants it,
all I'm thinking is,
"How high can I get this price?"
Jamie, 25.
30.
35 with Jamie.
So much you could do with this.
The bid is with Jamie at 35 minutes.
Callum, can I get 40 minutes?
Oh, you can get 40 minutes alright.
40 minutes!
40 minutes on Callum.
45. 45! Aw!
Here we go. Now we're getting juicy.
I can tell that he's already got dishes in mind.
That's just how his head works.
Let's see how expensive we can make it.
One coral trout, three John Dory for 45 minutes, with Jamie.
Uh, I'll give you 50.
50 minutes.
Here we go. That's good for Callum.
50 minutes, with Callum. That's our bid. Jamie?
Do you want the tofu? Should I call it?
Nah, I'll go. Here we go!
So the secret that I don't want them to know is that...
..I love tofu.
Jamie, that is 55 minutes with you. Can I get an hour, Callum?
Surely you're going back at him?
We're going back and forth and this is getting higher and higher,
but I'm prepared to spend a little bit more on the fish
than what I would have on the beef.
Callum, when was the last time you cooked with John Dory?
It's quite hard to get where I live in SA, so very seldom,
but they're beautiful,
so I'd be very happy to pay 60 minutes for them.
Yes! 60 minutes!
60 minutes, with Callum.
You're getting back at him, Jamie?Just let me have it, it's alright.
You need to drive the price up, but also know when to fold.
Going once, Jamie.
Going twice.
No more bets.
All said and done.
Sold to Callum for 60 minutes. Wow.
Alright. 60 minutes, yeah?
Thank you.
So you've got 60 minutes left.
And that means, Jamie,
you get firm tofu and silken tofu for free!
Wow. Hey!
I may have been left with tofu,
but I still have 120 minutes.
Got on a full extra hour than Callum does,
and we've still got two categories to bid on.
OK, second category - fresh produce.
So, you'll have a mix of vegies.
We've got some alliums...
..and then we've got citrus fruit.
First up, we have the fresh vegetable basket.
Those vegies are screaming at me to cook them with this beef,
so I really need to be strategic and make sure I lock these in.
We're going to start the bidding.
Five minutes.
OK, Callum's giving us five minutes.
Anyone else?
10. 10 minutes.
I don't really want the vegies,
but I wonder if I can get Laura to go another five?
15.
Oh, Jamie's in the game.
The bidding is with Jamie at 15 minutes.
Anyone for 20?
I went high with that beef.
I gave up 40 minutes of my cook.
I feel like I don't have much wiggle room
with these vegies.
Beef, vegetables.
Mm! Works perfectly.
It does. Are you guys
going to let Jamie have the vegetables for 15 minutes?
Oh!
Come on, get excited! I am super excited!
Come on!
If you let Jamie have this for 15 minutes,
he will have 105 minutes on the clock.
Are you happy with that?
Oh!
Go on, Loz.
She's thinking. She's thinking.
Going once.
Going twice, Laura.
Think you can be the next MasterChef?
Only one way to find out. Applications are open now.
Head to the link below and apply.
We'll see you in the kitchen.
The vegetables are with Jamie, currently at 15 minutes.
Anyone else?
Go on, Loz.
Yes!
Oh, so good. 20 minutes, with Laura.
Yeah.
I feel like
I can't go much more than this. Like, I need these vegies now.
Going once.
Going twice.
Sold to Laura for 20 minutes!
Oh, that is good gear!
Unbelievable.
Wowie! Thanks, guys.
Laura takes the bait,
uses another 20 minutes for the vegetables.
Great combination, but how
is she going to go with the third category?
Well done, Laura. So you got 60 minutes, Laura.
Thanks.
Alright, Jean-Christophe,
let's grab our next category of produce.
The alliums!
You cannot possibly cook without this.
Onions, Saint-Andre,
garlic, leeks - it's the foundation of your dish.
Alliums is absolutely the one I want.
And I really wanted to be going against Callum
to get them.
He has no time to work with,
which means hopefully I can get this for a bargain.
Alright, let's get started on the bidding.
Who's going to give me five minutes on alliums?Five, please.
Jamie, five minutes.
10. Callum, 10.
15, please. 15 for Jamie. 20, Callum?
You've got 60 minutes. It's be 40.
Then by the time I...
The bid's with Jamie at 15 minutes.
Callum, you're going to let him have this for 15 minutes?
Oh, I think I am. I just think I've got not enough, uh...
..not enough dollarydoos to work with here. Not enough moolah.
Yeah, I need to go to the bank and refinance my house. Time moolah!
Going once,
going twice.
Oh, I'll just give it a cheeky 20.
-Yes! -He loves a late bid!
I think Callum's only bet 20 minutes because he knows I want them.
I'm fine with that. I have time to play with.
Well played, Callum.
25, please.
Alright, 25 minutes going to Jamie. Going once...
..going twice.
The alliums are sold to Jamie for 25 minutes.
Yes! Yeah!
I'm happy to get the citrus for free,
but I'm going to have to find a really clever way
to round out the flavour of my coral trout dish.
And now you have the citrus for free!
Yes. Wow.
Oh, look at this array of different gear.
Righto, to round out our auction,
the third and final category,
we are taking you down to Flavourtown with...
flavour bombs,
fresh herbs
and also spices.
First up, we've got our basket of flavour bombs.
Oh, yes.
Oh-ho-ho-ho!
It's a juicy one.
Alright, this one could absolutely make or break a dish.
Recognise these guys? The bonito flakes.
We've got miso here.
Porcini.
This is a one-way ticket to Flavourtown.
I have tofu and alliums, and there is a dish building in my mind,
but to execute that dish, I need the flavour bombs.
Have I got five?
Well, I've got a cheeky five. Callum's got a cheeky five.
I know Mr Tofu has a cheeky 10.
Laura, 15!
Yeah, I'll take 20.
There he is. Jamie!
Jamie, with 20 minutes.
If I bid, that's going to bring me to 25 minutes.
which means that I get a 35-minute cook.
Going once...
Like, nah, I have to tap out.
..going twice.
Sold to Jamie for 20 minutes!
20 minutes. This is dangerous!
Yeah, boy. Wow.
I've only spent 45 minutes,
which means I have 75 minutes
to build a dish out of tofu, alliums and flavour bombs.
This is prime time.
I'm so happy.
Next up, we've got fresh herbs.
Those fresh herbs are looking lush.
I need them.
Do I hear five minutes for fresh herbs? Five minutes.
Yeah! Straight up from Callum.
Laura?
Think of what you can do. We've got 10.
Callum has made it very clear he wants these herbs, but so do I.
So the beautiful fresh herbs are with Laura for just 10 minutes?
Can I get 15 from you, Callum?
Uh...
10 minutes from Laura.
Going once.
Going twice.
Sold to Laura!
What a happy customer!
10 minutes for herbs?!
Is Callum mad? It's like an absolute steal!
Which means, Callum, you just scored a basket of spices for free.Yes!
Whoo-hoo!
I got my citrus for free, I've got my spices for free,
and I think
I've got enough time to cook a really lovely dish.
Thank you very much. You're very welcome, mate.
What a treat. That's your spices.
You've got some dried chillies.
Yeah, I've got a few bits and bobs here, mate.
Alright, Laura,
you have beef, vegetables and fresh herbs,
with the least amount of time - 50 minutes on the clock.
Callum, you've got 60 minutes on the clock,
with fish, citrus and spices.
And, Jamie, you've got the most time,
75 minutes on the clock,
and you're cooking with tofu, alliums and flavour bombs.
Jamie, your 75 minutes starts...
..now!
Just wait, eh, Cal? Yeah.
Just wait it out.
I have 75 minutes to cook a dish
using tofu, alliums and flavour bombs.
I know it may appear, because I have tofu,
I have the most amount of time with, like, the lesser cuts of ingredients,
but I don't think so at all.
There's so much flavour within the flavour bomb and the alliums.
Yeah, I'm really stoked with what I got.
I love tofu, but not everybody likes it,
so I need to be creative in the way that I use it,
and make sure that I use the flavour bombs and the alliums
to the best of my ability.
So today I'm making charred shallots,
a burnt onion and leek dashi,
and then a little tofu and miso cream over the top,
which I'm going to turn into a foam,
utilising some of the stuff in my flavour bomb.
The most important part of this dish is the burnt onion dashi.
That's where a whole lot of depth and character is going to be built,
so the first thing I do is take some of the bonito flakes
to create a bonito stock,
and I throw some of the porcinis in there as well.
Let's get as much earthiness and richness
into this broth as possible.
My strategy up there was to force the others to bid
as high as possible on anything I thought they really wanted.
You can come up with a great dish in not a lot of time,
but you can't cheat the amount of flavour
that you can build over the course of a longer period.
At the end of the day, time is what we're sort of fighting for,
and I think having the most time is definitely an advantage.
I'm about to go into the semifinal
against Callum and Laura,
who are MasterChef royalty.
If I can walk into the end a little bit more confident,
having beaten them head-to-head, and an extra 15 minutes,
that is huge!
So, fingers crossed.
Jamie, your onions are burnt!
Oh, no!
I'm trying to, like, stay in this, like, calm, zen space,
but then I've got the least amount of time
to cook with today,
and watching Jamie unpacking all this flavour into his dish,
I'm like, "Oh, this is going to be hard to beat."
Couldn't think of a better challenge to sort out
a massive prize for the semifinal -
15 minutes in a semifinal cook.
That is, like, just game-changing.
Treasure. Treasure, it is! Absolute treasure.
It just affords you that time to just stand still,
write your list and just get clarity.
Jamie, first cab off the rank and I want to talk
about how he played that time auction.
I think he was very savvy...
Yes. ..in just kind of waiting,
bidding when he had to,
and I reckon he kind of sucked
a few minutes out of Callum and Laura.
And now he's left with tofu,
which I think everyone was dissing at the start.
But when you put that with flavour bombs and alliums,
I think he's sitting pretty with 75 minutes.
I think so, too.
Laura has ended up with such a good bunch of ingredients.
She got two of her first picks.
Callum's next.
He's got 60 minutes.
I just think his struggle is going to be the fact
that, you know, citrus is fairly one-note.
It's the zest, and then it's the juice, you know?Mm.
So, I think he's actually probably got the hardest job.
More onions, 'cause he burnt the first lot.
He's running...he's running out of time.
Callum your 60 minutes starts now.
Allez!
I've got my nervous pacing happening.
Raring to go.
I hope so. God, 50 minutes.
Ooh.
It's not a lot of time.
I'm feeling good.
We, um...we usually get 75 minutes in all the challenges,
so I think this hour is going to go past pretty quick.
So, I just need to absolutely motor.
Looking at the ingredients I've got here,
I think the spices, citrus and fish work together really well,
but I've only got 60 minutes, so I need to build flavour and fast.
I'm going to start filleting this fish
so I can start getting a stock made.
My two key challenges today
are not only having 60 minutes to cook,
but also not really having, like, a starchy thing or a vegetable.
And I can't just serve a piece of fish on a plate with sauce.
It's not really going to feel complete.
So I think I need something kind of carby
or something to go with it.
Callum. Callum!
Hello. Mate, what are you making?
Uh, I'm gonna do the coral trout.
I'm going to make curried burnt mandarin butter sauce.
It's going to go over the top. Right, yep.
And a nice little roti kind of thing to suck it all up...
..is the plan.
Right. So just fish, sauce, roti?
Yeah. Yeah.
Well, I don't really have any vegetables, so to be honest, I...
Yeah, I think... Everything's, like, flavoury,
so it's got to be about the fish.
And that's...that's where I got to.
Do you reckon old mate Jamie out-strategised you in that, uh...
..in that auction?
What do you mean? He ended up with tofu. OK.
I think you've got the hardest task here.
In all seriousness, it needs to feel and taste like a complete dish.
Yeah. Not just three components.
Righto.
Andy tells me he reckons I've got the hardest pantry to work with.
Then, up until now, I thought I did a good job in the time auction.
But if he's worried, I'm worried.
Laura,
your 50 minutes start now. Yes!
Oh.
I've been left with beef, the biggest abundance of vegies
and herbs, in 50 minutes.
It's A lot of meat to cook in 50 minutes, Loz.
Thanks, Jamie.
First thing I need to do is start on this beef.
This beef needs to go onto that hibachi
as quickly as possible.
I want char, I want smoke, I want caramelisation.
I'm trying to draw out
as much flavour as possible in 50 minutes.
Oh, my God, I stink like smoke after today.
I feel like I have no time to write my dish down,
be methodical.
It's just get in, cook,
and...
..cross all my fingers and toes it's a banger.
Honestly, maybe a little bit overwhelmed
with actually what I have
because there's a lot of beautiful produce here.
So, yeah, I feel like the pressure's on me,
with incredible ingredients to make something delicious.
Hey, Laura. Hey, Laura.
Hey. Oh, that was fun.
You ended up with some beef... Yeah.
..an abundance of vegies and every herb under the sun, just about.
Oh, my God. Actually... They're such beautiful ingredients,
but they're, like... they're quite basic.
You know, there's nothing for us to, like, sit up out of our chair
and go, "Whoa-ho-ho-ho!" I know.
I know, so I feel like I need to use them in a really smart
and clever way. Yeah.
What's the dish?
Um, so the beef is all seared off really nicely.
Lots of smoke, lots of char.
Make a really nice little myrtle oil, brush that with later.
Yep.
And I'm gonna make some fondant Jerusalem artichokes.
Ooh. Never done it before.
Don't know if it's gonna work. I'll let you know.
I'm gonna use some of the green tops to make almost like a herby sauce
to go with it, like, something really, like, silky and delicious.
Um, but it's also...
I've got 50 minutes, so I'm, like, time-poor.
That's your challenge, is you need to bring us a dish
that tastes like it wasn't cooked in 50 minutes...
Yep.
..but it tastes like it was cooked in, like, an hour and a half.
Yep. God, it's an uphill battle from here, isn't it?
Remember, it's 15 minutes... Yep.
..on the semifinal.
This is gold. I know. I know.
This is precious. He's stressed.
Laura, you've stressed him out. What've you done?
No! Don't stress ME out. You can do it.
Stress yourself out but not me, Chef.
Anyone but me.
It doesn't matter how much time you started with,
you've all got 45 minutes left!
More flavour. How can I build more flavour?
At the moment, I'm feeling pretty good.
My burnt-onion dashi is reducing.
I've chopped up a whole lot of leeks, and now I'm just going
to sweat them off in a wok.
This is just going to cook down really gently with a little bit
of butter, turning it into a puree.
There's lots of charry, burny flavours
from all of the caramelised leeks
and the burnt-onion dashi itself.
So now it's about balance.
I'm going to be using the silken tofu
as a textural element, in a miso and tofu foam.
So what I want this to do is provide a sweetness, earthiness,
and sort of lift the whole dish -
make it a little bit more enjoyable as an eating experience.
This is a very gentle dish,
but it's really celebrating how beautiful alliums are.
And we're utilising all of the other ingredients
that I've been gifted within this challenge
to really prop up that flavour.
I have the most time, which gives me the most opportunity
to build flavour, and that's what I wanted.
But part of me is like,
"I can smell incredible beef cooking over fire behind me,
"I look around and Callum's prepping fish.
"I've got some onions and tofu."
I just need to make sure that this dish showcases the alliums
in all of their glory.
I want refined, I want focused,
and I want to celebrate that alliums basket.
There's so much pressure on me today,
and I think the judges definitely know that.
And I want to put up something
that is super incredible and they just absolutely love it.
My challenge today is to make a dish
that tastes like it wasn't cooked in 50 minutes,
and I know I can find a way to ramp up the flavour where I can.
It's all about trying to find short cuts
and also utilising my under-bench staples.
What else can add flavour?
So far,
my ribeyes are really beautiful and caramelised and charred.
I take them off to rest on a resting rack.
Now, the next thing I need to do
is crack onto my Jerusalem artichoke fondants.
It's chaos on this bench.
I'm using a cookie cutter to cut out perfect circles
so they cook at the same time
in some beautiful, foaming, brown butter.
A classic French technique, done a little bit differently
with a different vegetable.
So much chaos.
The next thing I need to do is crack onto my green sauce.
I want to use the watercress, the cime di rapa.
I'm going to have beautifully reduced beef stock in there.
It's going to have the turnips cooked down in brown butter
for that nuttiness and almost bitterness.
Some vinegar, the resting juices from the beef -
may as well add them in there, too.
Like, I am jamming this sauce with flavour.
I want to take it to the next level.
Obviously I'm gunning for that top spot,
and I would love to get it,
but I know that these guys in front of me are going
to also put up something really, really beautiful and incredible.
So, game on.
Use all of those ingredients to your advantage,
and you might just win one!
30 minutes to go.
How many pans do I want? One cook!
I haven't really been nervous
up until this point in the competition.
I've always felt like I'm in with a really good chance
in any given challenge.
But I think there's a few nerves starting to creep in
because I know that extra time in that semifinal is going
to make a massive difference to whoever wins it.
Getting that extra 15 minutes is such a valuable advantage
to kind of get you in the right mindset.
So I need to get the most out of every ingredient here.
This coral trout is such a beautiful, big fish,
and I feel like if I can use a couple of different parts of it,
it can hopefully elevate the dish
more than just using a bit of fish on a plate.
So, I'm going to use the top loin here.
I'm going to pan roast it.
The kind of the fattiest part of the fish I'm going to do
over the barbecue and get really nice and smoky and gnarly.
And finally, the cheek, I'm just going to cure it.
So, at the end, I'm going to have the three different sort of cuts
of the fish, all on the plate together, um,
and then bind it with this lovely little
kind of charred mandarin and curry sauce that I'm making
that's almost done here now, as well.
But, yeah, still got plenty to do.
I very much try and take this competition one day at a time.
All you can do is worry about the challenge
that you're cooking in today.
But just in the last day or two,
I have started looking up at that gantry,
and kind of started thinking, um, like to have my family up there,
maybe in the in the finale,
and watching me cook and sort of seeing...
Oh, sorry, mate.
Um, I think it's...I think it's a combination
of obviously missing my family,
but I think, particularly for my kids,
this guilt of being away from them for such a long time,
at such, like, a young age, when there's so much going on,
and my wife is very, very pregnant now.
Yeah, it's a...it's a small sacrifice for me
to, um, do something that I absolutely love,
but it's a massive sacrifice for everyone back home in Adelaide
who's working harder to allow me to be here.
And so, I kind of feel like I owe it to them
to do really well from here.
You're all fighting for 15 minutes,
and that's what you've got left to go. 15 minutes!
# So much to do And so little time. #
It's time to cut into my ribeye,
and this is the moment of truth.
God, this better be perfect.
If these aren't perfect,
goodbye 15-minute advantage.
I can just feel that knife gliding through.
It is perfect!
It was a very expensive ribeye for 40 minutes,
but goddamn did I make it work.
# I'm gonna run out of time! #
But I can't celebrate just yet.
I almost feel like no element is complete,
and I still have so much to do.
I need to make sure the fondants are perfect.
I need to actually cook off the succulents,
to finish balancing out my green sauce.
It's tasting really good,
but I think it just needs a bit more vinegar.
I want it to be punchy, and I want all those flavours
that I crammed into that sauce to really sing and shine.
You're way too slow.
I don't think I've ever moved this quickly in this kitchen before,
but this dish could be the difference
between me winning the semifinals
and going straight into that grand finale,
or being eliminated.
You look like an umami witch with a cauldron.
A little bit of this, a little bit of that.
Bit of that, bit of that.
Beautiful.
There's only 10 minutes to go, and I'm refining the sauce.
I've got the burnt mandarin in there.
I'm tasting it. I'm seasoning it.
Flatbreads that I've taken off, they're brushed
with that mandarin brown butter.
And finally, this fish.
Trying to get these all kind of perfect at the same time
is not easy.
I think the fish is lovely.
It's really nice and charred on the top.
I've got this kind of translucency underneath because I'm going
to try and cook it with the warm sauce
as it gets poured over the top.
At the same time, I notice the makrut lime leaves
in my citrus basket.
So, I think by making the makrut lime leaves
into just a simple oil, it's going to cut through
that sort of slight smokiness and sweetness and acidity
of that burnt mandarin flavour,
and just kind of round it out and give it what you typically
would get from a herb,
which Laura has all of them.
There's a lot going on here.
Um, so I look forward to showing the judges where the dish ended up.
It's all happening right now,
and I think all the different elements will hopefully
come together really, really well.
Time's running out. Three minutes, everybody!
As I'm plating this dish up, I want a little bit of the puree
on the bottom, and I just want to fan out the shallot petals
to essentially look like a flour.
The foam is going to go over the top with the broth poured there.
It's going to be black and white and tan.
I want the dish to look inviting and intriguing
and make them want to dive in straightaway.
Whether it's going to compare
with the beautiful fish dish or a big piece of beef,
we'll wait and see.
Your time is going, going, gone in 10...
Nine, eight, seven,
six, five, four,
three, two, one!
That's it!
My voice is so bad right now.
Holy heck balls.
That was a wild 50 minutes.
I went for it.
I threw everything I had into it,
and this dish just looks so beautiful.
What has Callum done with his time, and what has Jamie done?
That's what it's going to come down to.
The first dish we'd like to taste belongs to Callum.
There's a lot riding on this dish today.
Not only do I want to win the 15 minutes,
but I'm not super keen on Laura or Jamie having 15 minutes extra
in the semifinal either.
Given I had spices, some citrus and fish,
I think it's quite an elevated plate of food.
I just hope the judges like it.
Callum, what did you make?
So, I've done coral trout
with a burnt mandarin and makrut lime sauce
and some brown butter mandarin roti.
Fish, spices and citrus.
With those three things,
how did you make it feel like a complete dish?
You know, normally, I'd probably have a vegetable or a herb,
or something to help kind of tie everything together.
But hence is the nature of this competition,
and when you don't have those things,
sometimes it forces you to think more creatively.
I thought by having a couple of different expressions
of the coral trout,
it might be a way to make it a little bit more restauranty.
But, yeah, I'm really happy with the end dish.
Let's have a go.
Callum,
I was really hoping when I ate this dish
that I didn't feel like it was missing anything.
I don't think it is.
It's phenomenal.
I was definitely, like, in awe of what you've done with that sauce.
I thought that you would need some sort of vegetable in there -
an allium wouldn't have gone astray -
to really build that flavour.
But what you've done with that fish-head broth,
reducing that with the burnt mandarin,
it's unbelievable.
The big one for me, though, is just that,
that piece that was on the barbecue of coral trout.
You did such a great job, getting some beautiful char on that skin.
But I think your fish is a little under.
It just needed to be kissed on that flesh side.
And it is, like, by the slightest second.
Callum, the hibachi piece was a little bit under,
but I kind of didn't mind it because it's just so fresh.
I loved how you did the cured trout.
It's kind of got this firmness about it that's...
..I find very satisfying.
Love the sauce.
It's very modern and very fresh but still delicious.
Thanks, Poh.
Thanks, Callum. Cheers.
We'd like to taste your dish, Laura.
With the time I had today, I feel like this was the best
possible dish that I could put up.
Ooh-la-la! Gorgeous.
Look at the colour of this sauce!
I just hope that I've managed to pump enough flavours in there
to make it a winning dish.
Laura, you ended up with the least amount of time,
only 50 minutes. Yep.
What did you make?
So, I've got ribeye with Jerusalem artichoke fondants,
asparagus, sea succulents, and an all-green sauce.
Your challenge was to make a dish in 50 minutes,
but to make it taste like it wasn't cooked in a hurry.
Yep. How did you do that?
I just went for lots of cooking over the hibachi
to kind of get lots of big, smoky flavours through the dish.
Uh, cooking a lot in brown butter, smoking butter.
So just trying to bring, like, bigger, bold flavours
to ingredients that I use quite often.
We're going to taste. Enjoy.
Thank you.
It's huge what's on the line right now.
One of us is going to win
a 15-minute advantage in the semifinal cook.
And for me, I need this one to get to that finale and hold that trophy.
I've dreamt about this since I was a 13-year-old girl.
I just want this to happen.
Which fan favourite will lift the MasterChef trophy?
Stream every mouth-watering episode on 10.
Well, Laura...
..I think this is tremendous.
You're cooking on the ribeye is absolutely excellent.
Your Jerusalem artichokes fondants are absolutely done perfectly.
You've got that artichoke flavour,
which is really balancing with your sauce, your steak.
Well done to you, Laura.
Thank you.
Laura, this is a really layered dish for a 50-minute cook.
It's quite incredible.
You've got these slightly bitter,
grassy high notes from your wonderful green sauce,
backed up by the saltiness of your sea succulents.
Then, the earthiness,
that earthy sweetness from the Jerusalem artichoke fondant
kind of just pulls everything down, as well.
And you've definitely managed to take this from what could
have easily have just been well-cooked steak and veg
to something that is deserving of being on a menu.
So for that, you should be really proud.
Thanks, Laura. Thank you.
Whew! Well done.
Grazie. Well done.
I was going to slap you in the face.
The last dish we'd like to taste belongs to Jamie.
Good luck, Jamie. Thank you.
Walking up to the judges, I'm really happy with the way my dish looks.
Hello.
It's very inviting.
Ooh!
And hopefully, my crazy idea to beat fish and beef
with some tofu and onions
is going to give me a fighting chance to win this advantage
in the semifinal - that extra 15 minutes would mean everything.
Jamie, you had the most time.
You had 75 minutes,
and you had tofu, alliums and flavour bombs.
What did you make?
Today, I've made charred shallot,
a caramelised leek puree,
a miso and tofu foam
and a burnt onion dashi.
You look nervous, brother. Why?
Yeah, a little bit. I'd love this 15 minutes.
Plus, also, every time I put a dish up
that's relatively pared back
and sort of focusing on, essentially, one ingredient,
but you're really putting yourself out there.
But that little bit of confidence
and that knowledge in my own palate to go, "Yeah, cool, I can do this,"
um, that would be a big boost. So, yeah.
Let's eat.
Jamie, for me, I think it was down to two things -
it was a time that you had and the use of those flavour bombs.
And...
..I think you smashed it out of the park, mate.
Man, when you taste that, all together,
money. Absolute money.
There is just this really rich,
huge-bodied amount of umami when you get everything together.
And I think that this is probably one of your best dishes.
And it's also shown
that you've got restraint.
When you want to use it, you know how to do it.
I'm very impressed by that. I'm very impressed.
Jamie, very bold move to make the centre of your plate a shallot.
And it worked in your favour.
You had so many powerful, intense flavours in your hands.
And I was really worried
that you were not going to be able to wrangle them.
But you really, really... You did such a great job of it.
That hint of rawness in your shallot gives the palate a fresh hit.
So very, very well managed. You've done a great job.
Jamie, when you put it down in front of us,
knowing that you had 75 minutes, it could easily scare you.
But you used every single one of those minutes to your advantage
because of the flavour that you rammed in there,
and the way that you balanced everything like an absolute pro.
It's giving French onion soup so strongly.
But light. Yeah.
And I mean, you could, you could write this
as French onion soup on a modern menu.
That is an indicator of such a clever dish.
Thanks, Jamie! Thanks, Jamie.
It's not every day you put a dish up,
and the judges get what you were trying to do.
Killed it, mate. Yeah.
I had a vision,
and so much of my heart and soul went into it, and they loved it.
And I'm hoping it's enough.
With a priceless advantage at stake,
you had to spend your time wisely today.
A 15-minute head start in the semifinal could
be the boost you need to get into the grand finale.
Everyone wanted to get their hands on it.
But we had to give the win to a dish that was too good to be beaten.
I'd be pretty happy if I were you
to be heading into my first semifinal with an advantage. Yeah!
Jamie!
Tofu! Tofu! Tofu!
Tofu! Oh, you're not joining in?
So Laura. Tofu.
Alright, Jamie, how do you feel?
I'm rapt. Absolutely over the moon.
Yeah, I'm really happy with the dish I put up
and definitely happy with the advantage.
This win puts me in the best possible position
going into the semifinal.
I'm full of confidence.
I will take full advantage of that 15 minutes.
Might even make a cup of tea.
Why not?
We can't wait to see what you've all got in store for the semifinal,
but before the biggest cook of your lives so far...
..we're going to have some fun.
Yay! Get excited.
I know we are. Ha-ha-ha-ha!
See you soon!
See you, guys. Well done, guys.
Well done, fella. Thanks, mate. LAURA: Well done.
Tofu! Tofu! Tofu! Tofu!
Join in!
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Sunday night...
Welcome back, you lot!
We're turning the tables.
It's semifinalists versus the judges.
..it's all fun and games.
Mate, you need all the help you can get. Get over there.
I'm back to win, mate.
But what happens...
It's going to be a hard battle.
..when reputations...
I'm so worried.
..are at stake?
Oh! Oh, no!
Do you have a plan B, Andy?
And...
This is the most important cook
of your MasterChef career so far.
..the semifinal.
Let's do this.
There's this sense
of unfinished business,
so there's a lot riding on this.
I'm at the top of my game at the moment.
This is the time for me to shine.
I'm going to beat them
the only way I know how -
swing hard and leave everything
in the kitchen.
Captions by Red Bee Media