that didn't go to air! More Project tomorrow!
that didn't go to air! More Project tomorrow! Goodbye!
VOICEOVER: Previously on MasterChef Australia,
SARAH: Curtis Stone is a world-renowned chef.
He's amazing!
..with a fast and fancy service challenge.
Fast food is street food. It's juicy. It's eaten with the hands.
MAN: Cooking fancy, there's not a lot of room for error.
Both teams gave it their all.
MELISSA: Get it all out, honey.
JOCK: The chicken is juicy as.
Perfectly cooked chicken.
It was about as fancy as it gets.
But the Favourites pulled out a win for both fast and fancy.
Tonight they're cooking for immunity.
I've never felt this kind of pressure.
But they're up against the clock.
I need every single minute that I can get.
And the unknown.
# 'Cause you're hot, then you're cold
# You're yes, then you're no
# You're in, then you're out
# You're up, then you're down
# You're wrong when it's right
# It's black and it's white
# We fight, we break up
# We kiss, we make up
# You're hot, then you're cold
# You're yes, then you're no
# You're in, then you're out
# You're up, then you're down
# You're wrong when it's right
# It's black and it's white
# We fight, we break up
# We kiss, we make up
# You # You don't really wanna stay, no
# You # But you don't really wanna go-o
# You're hot, then you're cold
# You're yes, then you're no
# You're in, then you're out
# You're up, then you're down. #
WOMAN: We get to cook for immunity today! MAN: Yay!
It's a good day. It's a good day.
Alright. What is it going to be?
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
ANDY: Hey, guys! Come on in!
So the top of the room looks like people have thrown cloths
over their furniture and moved out.
It's just all this draped stuff,
and it's always so much fun trying to work out
what that's going to mean.
Everyone's got a little spring in their step this morning.
And for good reason.
Curtis is back in the kitchen.
(WHOOPS AND APPLAUSE)
Curtis Stone is back and I'm super thrilled.
He's just such a big presence in a kitchen
and you can't stop staring at him all the way.
Sorry, I've got... I've got a crush on you, Curtis.
Today's challenge is all about the two most integral components
of cooking in this kitchen - time and ingredients.
Ohhh...
Here's how today's challenge is going to work.
Hidden behind us are a range of ingredients.
All of you will start with 60 minutes on the clock,
and every three minutes we will reveal another set of ingredients.
Every three minutes... 30 minutes...
As we reveal them, your pantry grows.
You can start cooking whenever you like,
but you can only use the ingredients that we have already revealed.
And you get whatever amount of time is on the clock when you start.
As your pantry increases, your time decreases.
It's simple.
MICHAEL: This is my kind of challenge.
If I'm really honest, after a hard day at work, I don't often cook
anything that takes more than about 20 minutes for dinner at night.
So I love this.
I'm the kind of person that wants more ingredients rather than time.
But of course, there's a catch.
Yeah.
The first ingredient that we're going to reveal today
has been chosen by none other than Curtis.
And it MUST be used in your finished dish.
Curtis, any clues to what's under there?
Oh, this is one of my favourite ingredients to cook with.
You don't have to cook with it. You can serve it raw.
It's a very versatile ingredient.
And I think you're going to love it.
Your 60 minutes starts when Curtis reveals the first ingredient.
It must be used in your dish.
And we're going to taste all of your dishes.
Of course, the best dish wins immunity from Sunday.
Curtis, do you want to do the honours?
I'd love to.
Alright, guys, don't forget, as soon as Curtis reveals
the first ingredient, the clock starts.
You've got 60 minutes from that point.
And then each ingredient that gets revealed, the time ticks down.
Clear? ALL: Yep.
Curtis, you ready?
I sure am.
Your first ingredient is...
Apples.
Apples are versatile ingredients.
You could use them for sweet,
and you could also use them for savoury in a really interesting way.
No takers - just apples?
ALDO: No, thanks.
But just apples?
What is anybody going to do with just apples?
We have no under-bench pantry,
so you can't just serve them an apple with nothing else.
ANDY: At 57 minutes, you have Modi apples and...
..the under-bench pantry!
So, Tommy and Sarah.
Oh, he's gone as well!
John's in the game!
(OTHER CONTESTANTS CHEER)
TOMMY: Sarah, John and I have 57 minutes to cook with only apples
and under-bench staples.
I really want to push myself with these ingredients.
Every minute feels like five minutes in this kitchen.
So I need time.
I need every single minute that I can get.
Today I'm making a play on a Vietnamese dessert, banh gan.
It's like a baked flan, so an over-baked flan.
So you can't really...
Don't make me say it, but you can't really stuff it up, can you?
Or maybe - who knows?
I haven't cooked many desserts in MasterChef,
and there's a reason why - I'm not very good at it.
I think this dish has a little bit of comfortability
in being Vietnamese
that helps me kind of cook the dessert.
I'm not as scared. But who knows?
I reckon I could do a nice chilled glass of apple juice
in under two minutes.
SARAH: Time is definitely more important to me right now.
I need to think smart and choose a dish that's going to be flavoursome,
highlight your skills.
So I'm going to make an invisible apple gateau.
But 57 minutes is still tough.
JOHN: I'm still sort of thinking what I'm gonna actually put into the dish.
Try and do like an apple pie, maybe.
MELISSA: Are you ready?
CONTESTANTS: Yes.
You now have 54 minutes and...
(CONTESTANTS EXCLAIM)
Ha! Booze.
Good enough for me. A selection of spirits and liqueurs.
Right now, I could do with a shot of Frangelico.
That's just screaming Italian to me.
But it's a tick, but it's not a full tick-tick all the other boxes.
Save me a glass!
ALVIN: I am making apple and butterscotch.
So some stewed apples sitting on a butterscotch sort of custard
and then some other sort of apple-y bits
that I'm just going to start thinking about what I want to do.
I can do this in time.
It's all about pushing myself, so I will push myself today.
Juicy.
Sweet. A bit tart.
I think I've been described the same way.
Juicy, sweet. Little bit tart.
(LAUGHS)
What are you hoping for?
Savoury. Something... Main course. Savoury.
ALDO: Spices. Spices.
It is, in fact, my favourite...
Pork!
OK, I'm going.
Only one taker?
51 minutes.
Speck, pancetta, pork mince.
We got some fillet, some chops, shoulder.
I just need one more thing.
That's it. One more, one more. One more.
Oh! (COUGHS)
MINOLI: What is that? Is that vinegar?
No. Calvados.
I only had it to settle my nerves.
(LAUGHS)
Glug-glug! Ah!
I'm thinking of doing a flatbread with textures of different apple,
maybe some pork and either a ricotta or mozzarella.
Yeah. Nice.
I'm really nervous today because I've got to get a good balance
of time, yeah, and ingredients,
so I'm just hoping that I've picked a good balance.
Who knows?
I wrote a whole cookbook about $20, 20 minutes,
so I'm not too stressed.
When I cook at home,
it's quite often in half an hour.
I do that almost every night
and I do it with whatever's in my fridge and in my pantry.
I'm not running down to the shops every five minutes to cook.
So it's kind of my wheelhouse.
OK, guys, you've got 48 minutes.
Everything that's already been revealed, and...
..root vegetables. Root vegetables.
ANDY: Root vegetable. Kohlrabi, there's swede,
there's parsnips, radishes, carrots, beetroot.
I mean, you name it, it's here.
Roots.
Seriously, why you didn't give me spices or herbs?
I was waiting for inspiration to sort of strike me from above.
But you can do anything with anything.
No takers?
It's a no from me. Sorry.
This is, um... It's called an invisible gateau.
So it's really big in Japan,
but it's actually a French technique of making it.
This dish is so deceptively simple, but when it works, it's amazing,
and it's got these beautiful layers of apples.
And when I do make it at home, I make a really big portion
and, you know, I put it in the oven.
It usually takes about an hour and a half.
Today I want to utilise the time and create a smaller version
and make sure that I can get it cooked perfectly in this time.
While my cakes are in the oven,
I'm going to get started on making my apple caramel.
Last time when I was on MasterChef, there was a lot less pressure
because I wasn't putting my entire career and life into a bowl of food.
I was just starting out.
It's a lot different now.
I have done and still am doing so many things outside this kitchen.
I've got my own product range, my restaurants in India,
you know, writing cookbooks, so many things,
and I've never felt this kind of pressure.
I really want to prove I can do well in the MasterChef kitchen.
ALDO: Spices, spices, spices, please spices!
(LAUGHTER)
Spices, spices, spices, calling the spices.
I'm very hoping the next reveal will be spices.
Very hope for cinnamon.
ANDY: What if it doesn't come?
High is the risk, high is the gain.
Hey! OK. We have some gamblers here.
I'm not going to be able to do this without cinnamon,
because cinnamon, it's the main component.
Has to be spice in some way, or herbs.
Righto, so if you choose to go, which means you'll have 45 minutes,
you'll have all of this,
and what I've got under here to cook with.
Oh-ho!
So if you choose to go, which means you'll have 45 minutes,
you'll have all of this
and what I've got under here to cook with...
Oh!
Aromatics - chilli, ginger, garlic and onions.
Aromatics? Why there is no cinnamon in these aromatic boxes?
Come on, give me cinnamon. I need it.
JOCK: There she is! There we go. There we go.
MINDY: Alright, game on. I'm so excited.
Finally, some of my favourite ingredients. I'm in.
Alright, let's do it!
Chilli, garlic, ginger.
They're like the holy grail of food for me.
Like, I use them in absolutely everything.
I'm really hoping that I can bring those together
with, of course, apple, and just bring a beautiful dish up today.
I'm going to do a pork pancake with apple nahm jim.
Not a lot of time, so really need to get a hurry on.
I've got a lot to do, so I'm just trying to get the processes
all happening really quick.
I want that chance at immunity this week.
MELISSA: Are you not getting a little bit of FOMO?
These guys have been cooking for 15 minutes already.
It's a lot of time to stuff something up, 15 minutes, you know....
(LAUGHTER)
Sashi, what will be the one thing
that if you see it, it's game on immediately, that's it?
If I see a scallop...
Yeah. ..I'll go for it.
OK. Very specific.
Yeah.
I have a dish in mind that I always want to do.
An apple stew with nicely seared scallop and some roast vegetables...
They could be pretty.
OK, let's see if there are some scallops under here.
Alright, you have 42 minutes and...
JULIE: Oh! ..berries.
Dammit! Oh!
Sashi! What's wrong with these?
It's good to have it as fresh fruit.
(LAUGHS)
No, no berries for me. (LAUGHS)
JOCK: So that's a big, fat no.
What can I do with them with pork? No.
That was rubbish, Mel. It's not what they want.
Good lord. OK. No. It's just not what they want.
MICHAEL: Nah, not at all. OK, but they're just not scallops.
How have they not gone?
I just... There are so many things there.
And, like, they're coming up to 40 minutes.
I can't believe it. That's wild.
Keep breathing, Jules.
Oh! I waited all this time.
I feel a stitch-up coming on.
What if the last few are just all really boring?
It's got stripes on it, so it must be good, right?
Flavour town!
CURTIS: Surely.
Come on. Surely.
Shallots, pineapple, fish sauce.
Surely. Rice wine vinegar. Galangal.
(LAUGHTER) Palm sugar.
Coconut. No?
Come on, Sashi. Yes.
ANDY: Sashi's gone. Sashi's in.
Might as well name that... that box 'Sashi's Box'.
SASHI: Wow. This is my alley.
When I saw the sweet and sour...
Like, you got fish sauce, you have tamarind, you got galangal,
you got ginger, peanuts...
Quickly, I came up with another idea.
I'm going to whip up a nice Thai version of a curry,
Thai red curry.
I've got less than 40 minutes,
and I'm going to make, like, a...
..more like a pork red curry.
I'm using a pork loin,
because loin doesn't take very long to cook.
Make a paste out of all the aromats,
make a curry,
and all the apple will go into the sauce as a puree.
It's a big risk, a curry in 39 minutes.
But this is my strength.
I'm going to pack as much flavour as possible to win this.
I imagine you have a bunch of 30-minute dishes
that are sensational.
(LAUGHS) I've just got to think of them.
(BOTH LAUGH)
Julie, Aldo, Michael, I'm not going to lie.
I reckon you guys are going to stay straight where you are.
Oh, God. But anyway...
I'm going to add this to your pantry,
and you'll have 36 minutes if you choose to go when I lift the cloth.
Cabbages and leafy greens.
Like, if you've waited this... like, if you've waited this long,
you might as well keep going, right.
(SIGHS) Cabbage. Seriously.
I'm going to cry.
Like, I don't understand why this is happening to me,
and I'm getting so flustered.
The time is ticking and I'm not going to have enough time to cook.
Oh, my God.
OK, guys, here it is.
Your 10th ingredient is...
..citrus!
Lemons, limes, grapefruits, pomelos, and, of course, beautiful oranges.
Finger limes there as well.
I'm still waiting for cinnamon, but now I got 33 minutes left to cook.
I got to go. I got to run.
(ALL EXCLAIM)
Aldo's in. I'm shocked.
That three minutes might be very useful, Aldo.
JULIE: He's not getting cinnamon. ANDY: There's no cinnamon out there.
JOCK: He's got... That's fine.
I've sacrificed time
for an ingredient that didn't come along.
And I do regret a little bit.
Waiting for a...a sign from God, but it didn't happen.
He just abandoned me today, so I got to move.
There's only just over 30 minutes left,
and Michael and Julie are still hanging out over there.
They are nuts.
I mean, I don't know what they're hoping for,
but I think they're hoping for seafood.
OK, you two. You have waited...
Good luck, mate. ..for this moment.
You now have 30 minutes and...
..seafood.
ANDY: The scallops are there.
CURTIS: The scallops are there.
Sashi!
SASHI: Yes! Your scallops are here!
Arggh!
MICHAEL: How are you going, Jules?
JULIE: Good, love. What are you making?
I'm just doing seared scallops with apple slaw and crispy prosciutto.
Oh, perfect. What are you doing?
Scallop ceviche. Oh, nice.
Use the apple juice to cure it. Yeah.
And then just some pickled apple
and some crispy kohlrabi bits and stuff like that through it as well.
Beautiful.
Seeing Julie's doing scallops and bacon.
It's a perfect combination.
So not only have I got to cook a good dish in 30 minutes,
I've got to do one that beats Julie Goodwin.
I've only got 30 minutes to cook, so I've got to get cracking.
I just need to start on that ceviche curing liquid.
That's the most important step for this entire dish.
We've got a scallop-off on the back bench.
Julie and I stuck it out to the end and decided on scallops.
Michael is an extremely different cook to me.
He's... He's really clever, really creative.
And the way he puts flavours together is something
that I find really inspirational.
So I know that Michael and I won't end up doing the same kind of dish.
They will be very different scallop dishes.
Alright. They're all cooking now.
Some with a lot more time than others.
All the way down to the end of the 30 minutes. Yeah.
Of course, they must use the Modi apples.
They're one of my favourite apples.
They're great for eating and cooking.
They're 100% Aussie grown and they're exclusive to Coles.
I, for one, am very excited to see
what these guys have chosen to cook with.
Me too. Let's go and check them out. Ooh, yeah.
Tommy. Hey. How are you going?
Front bench. 57 minutes. Just under an hour you had.
Yep. What are you making?
I'm making a fun play on a Vietnamese dessert called banh gan,
which looks kind of like...
It's kind of like an overbaked flan.
You overcook the crap out of it,
and then it gives you this really nice texture
and little bubbles inside it.
I was actually really surprised that you went so early, to be honest.
Yeah. I wanted to kind of change things up.
I don't want to, you know, just keep doing savoury.
I want to kind of see if I can test myself with sweet.
Can't wait to try it.
I still haven't got my flan into the oven.
I'm worried about the cook in time
because it usually takes me about 25 minutes to cook a banh gan,
and I'm just putting it in now,
and I really need it to set.
No matter when you started,
you've only got 20 minutes to go.
20 minutes, guys! HARRY: Whoo!
(SPECTATORS SHOUT ENCOURAGEMENT) Whoo-whoo!
WOMAN: Sashi...
WOMAN: Sashi, just casual.
I might burn something, you know. (LAUGHTER)
Aldo. What's cooking?
A dish that we do back in Naples for Carnival.
It's called chiacchiere. Fried pastry.
But I'm going to stuff them up with poached apple.
The ingredients that I got was definitely worth the wait to that point,
but I'm actually concerned about the timing wise,
because normally it would take me at least 45 minutes.
So, break it down for me.
So we're going to have the pastry and it's got a little bit of booze in,
and that's where I go with the Frangelico.
Fantastic.
And then it's going to be fold,
and that's going to be into the apples for a little bit of sweetness.
They're going to be served with the beautiful Italian zabaglione.
OK. And that's it.
You know, I've never heard of that dish before.
Yeah. Always a first time.
Looking at everything and making the decision right at the end.
It was the citrus. You just went, "That's it. That's the dish."
I would have loved some cinnamon, but it didn't happen,
so I've got to be happy with what I got.
Will this dish be great without cinnamon?
I'm getting very flustered and very angry to myself
that I put myself in this position with not enough time.
Come on, mate. Come on.
33 minutes, it's not a lot of time,
and cooking for Curtis as well.
It's... Oh, my God. It's so hard.
MAN: Let's go, guys. Come on. (SPECTATORS SHOUT ENCOURAGEMENT)
15 minutes to go, and my pancakes are getting rolled out.
Tommy is making a cake in the oven in the same tin as me.
He's making a caramel and a whipped cream as well.
I feel like we're quite in sync today.
Do you mind? Yeah. Go for it.
It's me and Sarah cooking apples and under-bench staples.
We've both got cake in the oven, both waiting anxiously.
So scary right now. I don't know what's happening.
I know. (LAUGHS) What am I waiting for?
Someone to save us. (LAUGHS)
I'm so anxious.
Looking at the oven and waiting for the invisible gateau
just to cook through.
I want it to be perfect.
Today, there's just a lot more pressure. I want to win.
I just don't want to open the oven even for a second.
Oh, God, this is terrible. This is so bad! (LAUGHS)
Why do people do this? Tommy...
The texture I want from this banh gan is really interesting.
It's got a nice chewy, bitey texture at the top layer,
but in the middle, it's got really soft and silky as well.
How does yours look? It's good. I need to cover it soon.
But I just don't even want to open it for a second.
Agggh! Why?
This oven waiting game is terrible.
I hate it all my life.
Oh!
So, at the 10-minute mark, take that out.
Come on, mate. Come on.
Michael. You dug your heels in. Curtis.
You waited till the end. Are you happy?
I am. Look, I love apple and scallop.
I think it's a great flavour combination. It's a classic.
I love ceviche, so I'm going to use the apple juice
as a bit of a curing and seasoning for the ceviche, rather than lime.
I've got a little bit of lime in there
just to brighten it up a little bit, some chilli.
It's definitely sort of a South-East Asia meets South America ceviche.
Are you glad you waited? I am. I think, like...
This kitchen is all about pushing ourselves, right?
And having a bit of fun.
And I like cooking for you, Curtis, and I wanna make sure I impress you.
So extra pressure for me.
OK, I'll just go. No, no, no.
I always want to impress you, Mel.
Got 12 minutes to go and I've sliced my scallops.
I've made my little ceviche curing liquid.
They're going to go into that in about one minute.
I've sliced some apples and some daikon
that are going to go with it as well.
I'm going to pickle half of them.
And then I just need to work out my garnish
just to bring it all together in...12 minutes.
What am I doing?
With 10 minutes to go, I've got to cook my scallops..
..and then assemble.
I've got... My slaw is done. My crispy prosciutto is done.
Pickled apples are done.
I want to have a little taste of how that all is together,
and then plate up.
ALDO: Come on, mate. Seriously.
I'm stressed because I know that I've got a lot to do
and I got to just keep running around like a headless chook.
MAN: Go, Aldo.
# Yeah-eah-eah... #
So now that pastry is done, I need to roll the pastry out.
I'm running out of time.
Sweating.
Sweating, sweating. Burning hot.
JOCK: Aldo. Hello.
How many do we get each, Aldo? I'm pretty hungry.
Look, I can't... ANDY: He's got three done.
There's one... No, you touch one. One? One?
One each. One?
Come on, man.
I cut the pastry twice more, and the filling has to be there.
I can't put just a single piece of apple.
So I got to stuff them up.
So I got to be very careful, even when I'm folding,
otherwise they're going to burst when I'm going to fry them off.
Aldo! Do you want to know how long?
Yeah. You got five minutes to go, brother.
Great. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
So good. Thanks, Andy.
WOMAN: Beautiful, Christina.
Beautiful.
Go, Mindy.
Hey!
Oop! Now we've got more fire.
That was unexpected. (LAUGHS)
Eyebrows still there. My fingers are still there.
Never expect that.
Even though I am burning everything, my curry is in good hands.
I've reduced the heat.
They are cooking slow and gently. It's still safe.
Thank God this is a curry, so plating-wise,
I don't have to worry too much into it.
I'm all about flavour.
I'm going to give the four judges flavour, flavour, flavour.
And nothing less than flavour.
Ooh.
Tastes alright.
It's time to start plating this dish up,
and those 30 minutes have gone super quick.
I start plating up my dish, and it's scallops on,
and then all the other little crunchy elements
around each of the scallops
so that every bite has the perfect little bit of scallop
and all the other textures to go with it.
These crunchy elements don't really go classically on a ceviche,
but this isn't a classic ceviche.
This needs to be a cevich-yay,
right up the top there, that gets me up onto the gantry.
So I'm going to go as hard as I can to really lift this
and make it cevich-yay.
MINOLI: How many servings are you making?
JULIE: I'm plating up. I'm really excited. Everything's done.
Like, I'm going to make this.
Oh, she forgot there's four of them!
There's four judges to today and I'm about to plate up three things.
I don't want people fighting over the scallops.
Oh, my God.
Can't forget Curtis.
I doubt that Curtis would take kindly to being forgotten.
He looks like a boy who likes to be fed. I'd better feed him.
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
SARAH: I open the oven, and the gateau,
it's got that perfect amount of push as I, you know, press through
and it's caramelised on the top.
It's cooked exactly how I want it.
I am trying to take this out of the tin
and it's just completely stuck on the bottom.
Oh, my gosh.
I'm trying to slice around the outside
just to be able to...to bring that cake out of the tin.
But it's not looking good.
I'm looking at Tommy and his is doing the exact same thing.
What is going on here?
We're literally having the same cook side by side.
(SQUEALS) Tommy!
Shh! Shh! Shh!
I'm trying to unmould this banh gan and it is not coming out.
I am panicking like I've never panicked before.
If I can't get this out, I don't have a dish.
It's stuck.
I'm not even going to get anything on the plate.
There is nothing worse than serving an empty plate to the judges.
You've only got one minute to go. ANDY: One minute!
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
SARAH: It's stuck.
My cake is still not coming out. I'm so panicked right now.
And I can see I'm losing a layer of this cake
in the bottom of the tin.
But I just need to put it on the plate.
It's tipping out. MELISSA: Oh!
Oh, my God.
Half of it... I think half of it's stuck in there.
Yeah.
It's stuck to the bottom.
(TOMMY INHALES SHARPLY)
That's OK. She's alright.
When the banh gan comes out of its mould,
it isn't the most beautiful thing I've ever seen before,
but I think it will taste amazing.
30 seconds!
So stressful.
I'm going to plate it up all in a straight line
on just on one side of the plates.
I never plated anything that small in my life,
and I'm actually embarrassed of myself.
But, you know, sometimes finger food is delicious.
ANDY: Ready or not, you got 10...
ALL: 9! 8! 7! 6! 5!
4! 3! 2! 1!
That's it! (ALL CHEER, APPLAUD)
That was making me sweat. Tommy down to the wire.
SARAH: Oh, my God. That was too much.
(LAUGHS)
ALDO: I think I got a shot to win immunity,
because apple is there, I done it in 33 minutes.
So I'm very happy.
Gosh, it's just so stressful, this kitchen.
This dish, the whole idea of it is to have these beautiful layers of apple,
and that's the texture coming through.
And unfortunately, the whole base layer has stuck to the tin.
so it just doesn't look anything like what I was hoping to.
Could definitely be what, you know, makes or breaks my dish.
OK. Increasing and decreasing was today's challenge.
Of course, you had to use the apples.
Now, the more ingredients you had, the less time you got.
First up...
..Sashi.
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
SASHI: I know that I've done a good job. The curry looks amazing.
But I don't know whether I've done enough to win immunity.
Sashi, please introduce your dish.
I've made a pork and apple... like a red curry,
with grilled pineapples in the curry.
Some parsnip chips, toasted peanuts and kaffir lime and chilli.
You were holding out for scallops and you didn't get them.
I don't want to take the risk of waiting till the end
and there's no scallops, then I'll be stuck.
I tried to pack as much flavour as possible within the 39 minutes.
I mean, it's almost impossible to make a wonderful curry
in 39 minutes.
Getting that much flavour in a bowl in 39 minutes is...exceptional.
It is reeking of lime leaf.
The spice level is just right.
There's a crunch from the peanuts, the sweetness from the apple.
Mate, it is a delicious bowl of food.
That will undoubtedly be hanging around the top today.
Sashi, it's so tasty.
It really is just so tasty.
The cleverness in it.
You know, the parsnip chips that you put over the top
give a real earthiness to it.
It is a wonderful plate of food.
Thank you.
Sashi, your ability to generate that amount of umami,
and it's just epic amounts of umami in the dish,
in 39 minutes just absolutely blows my mind.
An amount of flavour and depth that, if you had to hazard a guess,
would be three times more time to be able to do that.
Once again, wow.
Thanks, Sashi. No problem. Thank you.
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
Next up, Tommy.
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE) ALDO: Go, Tommy!
Alright, let's do this, huh?
Here you go. My little friend.
His little friend.
I'm going to wait until it's awkward and then I'll stop.
No, awkward would be making eye contact with each of us
while pouring.
Thank you.
Alright, Tommy. What have you made, mate?
Today I've made a banh gan with an apple caramel and an apple cream.
Awesome. Are you happy with the final result?
Look, she's a little bit ugly,
but she's mine, and it's fine.
She tastes pretty good, and I'm happy about that.
And it's a she.
It is she for some reason and I'm not sure why.
Congratulations.
Thank you. Let's just dive into it, shall we?
Tommy... Yep.
..I could've eaten all of that on my own.
It was delicious. Thank you.
Really interesting texture.
Overall, I think it's just a great dessert.
I love the way that you've used the apples
in something that is nostalgic and delicious for you yourself.
And it's the perfect use for the apple, to be honest. Well done.
I love the apple caramel sauce. It is so good.
I mean, you just...
The apple flavour is just right front and centre. It's just delicious.
There are so many deserts throughout South-East Asia
that have a weird sponge-like texture,
and the reason for it is that it is refreshing in the heat.
So. while there are some very rich,
deeply caramelised flavours going on,
there's a light lift and a refreshment going on there.
And in...in... I think that's the magic of the dish.
Like, this is... It's both.
ANDY: I thought it was a real success,
and I think that you need to continue to research
and do what you're doing,
because is finding these little gems are...
That's exactly what they are. They're gems for you.
So, good stuff.
Well done, mate. Thank you so much. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
Next up, Sarah.
(APPLAUSE)
ALDO: Go, Sarah!
SARAH: I think this cake is definitely enough to win immunity.
But I just hope that the last flustered moment...
..hasn't ruined it for me.
ANDY: OK, Sarah, what's the dish?
So, it's an invisible apple gateau.
You're really making me sweat over here. (LAUGHS)
I really like it.
I think it's delicious.
I think in the same way when you eat a great pomme dauphinoise,
you sort of think to yourself, "Is this potato I'm eating
"or is it some sort of creamy, delicious amalgamation
"of the sum of the ingredients?" You know?
And it sort of just turns into its own thing.
And here, you do get the individual slices of apple,
you still feel the texture, but only just.
And you have to stop yourself and think,
"Well, what is it that I'm eating?" And I think that's very clever.
I didn't think I was gonna like it
and I thought it looked really cakey and tight.
But when you're eating it, it needs to be that tight
to have that illusion between the apple and the cake
and I would have drowned it
in more of the caramel sauce, personally. Caramel. (CHUCKLES)
But, um... I saw you take a big dunk of it.
(LAUGHS) Yeah, there was very little there. That's just me.
Only had... Took a tiny little bit. And I left the spoon in there.
(LAUGHS)
Come on, seriously, there's still some left.
No, I thought it was great. I thought it was really great.
Amazing. Thank you.
Sarah, lovely balance of flavours within your dish.
I know this particular cake didn't quite come out of the pan
the way that you hoped, but the flavours are true.
Amazing. Thank you.
Win.
Even though you didn't get the whole thing out of the tin...
I know. ..win.
I think we're all kind of won over.
It's all good work. Amazing. Thank you.
Thanks so much. Thanks. (APPLAUSE)
Relief.
(CHUCKLES) Thank you.
(SIGHS) Relief.
Next up, it's Mindy.
MINDY: I did some little mandarin pancakes, stir-fried mince pork
and an apple nahm jim.
You've brought together a dish that is super tasty, really fun,
punctuated with lots of textures.
I love the pork for its richness.
I think the pancake could be a little bit thinner.
It is nice and soft and pliable
but I think you could have gone even thinner
and had it just almost disappear.
Alvin.
ALVIN: I made apple and butterscotch.
It was delicious and it's almost there
and I think if you had more time, it would probably be absolutely perfect.
But, that kind of dish from you, fantastic.
Really good, mate.
Christina. (APPLAUSE)
Go, Christina.
CHRISTINA: So I've basically done a flatbread
with some different textures of apple.
So there's apple butter, pickled apple and a ricotta.
I don't love it and I don't hate it.
I think for me, the flatbread's fine,
it's not the best flatbread I've ever had, it's not the worst.
And I like everything bar the pickled and the raw apple.
John!
JOHN: I've made for you apple pie.
John, I think it would have been a very different conversation
had the pastry just been cooked for three minutes less.
Yeah. I mean, really, that's it.
Every single component was yelling apple and textures were fantastic.
Everything just except that pastry.
Thanks, mate. Thank you.
Thanks, John. (APPLAUSE)
And now, with a big festive bowl of food, Aldo!
Oh!
(APPLAUSE)
You're gonna be stuffed after this!
Oh, the generosity! Oh!
The generosity!
Sometimes, can I do something different?
(MELISSA LAUGHS)
Righto, Aldo, what's the dish?
So, it is basically fried dough
which is stuffed with apple and then you've got classic zabaglione.
And a little bit of fresh macerated fruit to give a bit of sharpness.
And you were gagging for some cinnamon.
Yes. You didn't get it.
Nup. But then you still went.
Would it have been the same dish just with some cinnamon in it?
It would have been a different dish. Right.
Like, the pastry would have been done in a mille-feuille style,
then it would have been an apple cinnamon custard.
And there would actually have been possibility with the end result.
I love it. It's...me.
It's just a bite. That's it.
Finger food. But a sweet one.
Aldo, the pastry...
..is perfect. It's super nice.
You can get the zing of the zest in there, as it should be.
Zabaglione, also, is fantastic.
I wish there was probably more of it and I could actually get messy.
(CHUCKLES)
The apple mixture with the Cointreau is brilliant.
I wanna commend you for getting all this done.
Because 33 minutes to get all that, you know,
there's a fair few components there.
You made dough, you made your apple mix, your zabaglione.
And they were all really, really well executed.
Yeah, another really good dish from you, Aldo.
I think, like, you're...
I reckon you would have been tempted and tempted and tempted,
if you just keep your cool, keep your calm,
and go straight towards that and executed that well,
it's a big thumbs-up, mate. Thank you.
A small, perfectly formed little bite of joy.
Um, I loved the textures going on.
You know, the pastry had that lovely kind of short texture to it.
Beautiful sweetness.
The apples had a lovely tender texture to them.
I'm glad that they weren't sort of one way or another
because they really lent themselves perfectly to the dish.
And then the richness of the zabaglione
just to kind of bring everything together.
Thank you. Well done.
(APPLAUSE)
Next up, all the way from the very back of the kitchen,
on the scallop bench, it's Julie Goodwin.
(APPLAUSE) Go, Jules!
Julie, you had 30 minutes, you chose ingredients over time.
I did. What did you make us?
Uh, it's scallops with an apple slaw and prosciutto.
Magic.
Julie, I'm glad you waited to the end
because I feel like 30 minutes is like...that's your go-to.
Like, that's when you really shine.
Very classic stuff on the plate here and executed pretty bloody well.
Um, Julie, classic flavours, lovely produce treated with respect.
For me, a very pleasing dish.
Thank you.
Perfectly cooked scallop, Julie.
Really, really impressive - caramelised on the outside.
It's not easy to do, 'cause that's a very small scallop
so it's hard to get the intense heat on it
and it's very easy to undercook it or overcook it.
But I thought it was really good.
The only criticism I would have of it was it needed a bit more brightness,
a bit more acidity, squeeze of lemon, maybe, in that, um...
..slaw mix.
But all in all, it's a very good classic dish.
Thank you. Thanks so much. Go, Julie.
(APPLAUSE)
Oh, phew.
Good job. Legend.
Thanks.
Next up, it's Michael.
(APPLAUSE)
MICHAEL: I'm actually really happy with how my dish tastes, but...
..the big question here, I guess, is how my dish looks visually,
and if that will cost me the chance at immunity.
Michael, what's the dish?
So, we've got an apple and scallop ceviche.
You stole your nerves, you stood there,
and you decided to wait for scallops. Yeah. Yep.
Are you happy? I am. I mean, oh...
If we were eating with the lights off, I'd be really happy.
(LAUGHS) But... No, I am. It was...
Not that kind of show. No, I know. Yeah.
Look, it was...it was really fun.
It definitely was pretty nerve-racking
standing there for that long,
but I was really happy with how it tasted.
And, yeah, I think the flavours work.
It's not often I stand up here super happy about how something tastes.
So I'm pumped, yeah. Sure.
Well, you know, we love ugly-delicious
so, if it tastes as good as it smells,
then I think you might be, you know, right up there.
JOCK: Michael...
..I love this.
Got everything I wanted - it's got the sourness,
it's got the sweetness, it's got the saltiness.
But there's also interesting stuff going on there,
whether it's the lime leaf, the curry leaf,
whether it's the habanero.
I absolutely loved it.
Looked like a bag of... Yeah. (LAUGHS)
..but ate extraordinarily well.
Well done, mate. Thank you.
The flavours are really pleasing, Michael. They really are.
You've got sweetness, spiciness, brightness and acidic notes as well,
but they're no more impressive than the textures.
You know, you get all of these beautiful textures
that play off that beautiful, soft, sort of velvetiness of the scallop.
I think it's a wonderful dish. Thank you.
The balance in that dish is crazy.
The light cure on the scallops was genius.
There's nothing worse than overcured seafood.
So, for you to restrain yourself
and just pop them in that lightly acidic apple juice
just for 10 minutes, so they set, super well done.
I think this is probably one of the best dishes
that you've cooked in this competition -
took you half an hour.
I think that probably says
where you're at at the moment in this competition.
You're flying high, mate. JOCK: Exceptional.
Good stuff. Well done. Well done.
Wouldn't you say? Like, exceptional balance.
Yeah. Yeah.
Like, exceptional balance. It really is.
It's a lovely plate of food.
Impressive, but...and it also felt really effortless, as well.
MICHAEL: Ha!
(BOTH SPEAK INDISTINCTLY)
Wow.
Before we reveal who has won immunity from Sunday's elimination,
we have to say a massive thankyou to Curtis Stone!
ANDY: Hey-ya!
Curtis, thank you so much for being here.
Have you had a good time?
I've had a great time.
It's always so fun to come back,
see some familiar faces and some nice, fresh ones too.
You guys are doing great.
Alright, let's get down to it.
On immunity day, you've really got to shoot for the stars.
And while there was a lot of hits today
there was a couple of people that really knocked it out the park.
Tommy.
Sarah.
Thank you.
Sashi.
(ALVIN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)
But, look, at the end of the day, only one person can win immunity.
So we're going to give it to the dish
that we would eat again and again and again and again.
And that dish...
..belonged to Michael. (CHEERING)
(SPEAKS INAUDIBLY)
Well done, mate.
Love ya, Michael!
Good job, Michael.
Michael, mate,
both the flavour and the texture of that dish, they were on point.
It was spicy, it was sweet, silky and crunchy.
It was a ceviche on a totally different level.
And you did all in half an hour! Yeah, well... (CHUCKLES)
Congratulations, mate. Immunity is yours.
Thank you very much. Whoo-whoo!
Thank you.
How's that feel? You got a pin, you got immunity.
Oh, it's amazing. It feels really good.
And, I mean, it was just really fun today, as well.
And it's nice when things go right in challenges like that.
Congratulations, Michael.
You've won immunity.
On Sunday, you'll be able to take a breather and watch on from up there.
Everyone else,
you'll have to battle it out to stay in the competition.
So go home, rest up, and come back ready to cook.
Alright, we'll see you then. Well done, guys.
Bye, guys. Well done, guys.
See ya!
ANNOUNCER: Sunday night on MasterChef Australia...
We're only looking for the most egg-cellent dish!
(GROANING, LAUGHTER)
JULIE: You've gotta go all-in on this one little egg.
In a massive two-round elimination,
expect the un-eggs-pected.
And they'll have to pull out
something egg-ceptional
to stay in the competition.
BILLIE: Oh, yeah.
It's a daunting feeling
that someone's going home.
Captions by Red Bee Media