ANNOUNCER: Previously on MasterChef Australia,
ANDY: That's the beauty of the invention test -
it's all up to how you interpret it.
The creative juices were flowing...
Definitely taking a little bit of a...artistic interpretation with it.
..and they knocked out some incredible inventions.
That is topnotch.
JOCK: It is just bloody delicious.
But it was Julie who pulled out a win.
It's just a bowl of adventure.
Hallelujah, Julie. Fruit salad curry?!
Who would have thought?
Tonight...
..they're putting it all on the line...
JULIE: I'm up against some amazing cooks
and this dish can't just be pedestrian.
..for the last pin of the season.
# '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. #
DANIEL: Kinda got no idea what to expect. (CHUCKLES)
Maybe it's a guest judge
or maybe they'd make up a mad challenge or something.
MINDY: Here we are!
Away we go. (ALL CHUCKLE)
JULIE: Walking in today, we're really pumped.
The four of us who've won immunity from the next elimination
now have a shot at the last immunity pin of the season.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Oh, my God, what is this?!
BILLIE: My God.
ALDO: Go, Julie! Go, Dan! Go, Billie!
I'm so fired up.
This is it. I got one more shot at that pin.
Step right up.
Couple of clues there, when you land at your bench,
but we'll get to those in a second.
First up, unfortunately, Mel can't be with us today -
she's a little under the weather.
But, today, it's gonna be huge.
'Cause that shiny immunity pin, that's up for grabs
and it is the last of this season.
JOCK: Mindy, you're obviously safe from elimination on Sunday
but how good would it be to pick up this little extra?
It is like fuel to the fire, you know what I mean?
That just gives you that little octane in the tank
to actually push ahead
and I think we all really want it today, so game on.
Julie.
You've done so much in the MasterChef kitchen
but you've never actually worn one of these pins.
I never have.
Is today the day? (CHUCKLES) I hope so.
We're about to find out what lengths I'm willing to go to
to get that off of you.
(LAUGHTER) We are.
The paddles and the times there may have given a smidge away...
..but, let me welcome you, officially,
to the MasterChef time auction!
(LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE)
BILLIE: This is scary.
We've done this scattered throughout the last few seasons.
It is an absolute MasterChef classic.
Let me explain it for you.
Any ingredients that you wanna cook with today,
you're gonna have to bid for 'em.
Not with money,
but with time.
(CHUCKLES) BILLIE: Mm-hm. Easy.
You'll start with a total of 120 minutes...
Ooh. ..to spend.
Wow.
Under this cloth are three different categories of ingredients
that you're gonna bid on.
Your cook time is whatever you have remaining
after the auction's finished.
Our regular pantry and garden are closed
so you'll only have whatever you buy,
plus a few of the under-bench staples.
Alright, are you ready to find out what you're gonna bid on?
ALL: Yes.
(ALL EXCLAIM)
BILLIE: OK.
Tripe?!
ALDO: Tripe. I love it.
Really? Yeah.
MINDY: I'm seeing some good flavours up there that I love.
BILLIE: Did you say bugs? Yeah, looks like bugs there.
Where can you see them? Oh, there.
And then there's tripe.
It's, like, the lining of the stomach of a cow!
Righto, first up, we've got the proteins.
We've got lamb rack, Moreton Bay bugs, eggs and delicious tripe.
Yes! (LAUGHTER)
In the middle, we've got fruit and veg.
A selection of root vegetables,
bunch of alliums,
some night shades
and then, also, some tropical fruits.
And here's the miscellaneous category.
Bunch of different herbs,
a bunch of different vinegars,
at the front here, we've got flavour bombs -
seaweed paste, belacan, gochujang.
Lea & Perrins. Gets better.
Everything you need in terms of umami.
And then, here, we've got a bunch of mixed spices.
There's like four of each. Yeah. OK. So you get one...
It's gonna be interesting.
Is anyone digging the tripe?
Um...
Me! Me.
If I get stuck with tripe, God help me. (LAUGHS)
I've never cooked it before.
Well, good news is one of you is gonna end up with it
so we'll see how that goes. (ALL LAUGH)
Eugh! Shall we kick this off?
Let's do it! Yeah! Let's do it.
(APPLAUSE) Whoo!
DANIEL: I'm trying not to even think about who I'm standing up against.
Like, these guys are so good at what they do.
So my strategy today is I'm willing to spend a bit of time
on the right protein that I'm comfortable with cooking.
'Cause then I can sort of set myself up.
OK, no prizes for guessing what we're gonna auction off first,
in terms of categories.
We're gonna start with the proteins.
And we're gonna start...
..with the bugs. (LAUGHTER)
Cruel, Andy. Cruel.
Would have been a very slow start.
Tripe.
I wanna do what I can not to have that.
I want these bugs, but...
..I think I'm willing to spend and give myself maybe 45-50 minutes
and then that's it.
Beautiful Moreton Bay bugs are the first item for auction.
They're looking good.
Don't let Mindy have the bugs. (CHUCKLES)
Bring it on, Daniel! Let's go.
I want those bugs, because I don't wanna go anywhere near that tripe.
So, opening bids on the luxury Moreton Bay bugs.
What have we got? Five minutes.
Five from Dan, we've got. Anyone else?
10? 10 from Mindy.
We've got 10 minutes. Moreton Bay bugs.
Yeah, 15. 15?
15, 20.
Th..thirty. 30?
Straight up to 30. He's trying to blow you out of the water, Mindy.
35. 45.
45? Whoa. Straight up.
45 minutes for the Moreton Bay bug.
50. 50? 50 minutes.
(APPLAUSE AND SHOUTING) This is where we're at.
50 minutes. 55 for Daniel. 60.
JOCK: 60 minutes! 60 minutes!
Yeah.
Dan just goes harder and harder and harder on this one ingredient.
And he's gonna end up with five minutes on the clock.
Love it. 65.
65? Hoo-hoo-hoo!
ALDO: Daniel, don't leave it! Come on.
Alright, Daniel, give it to us, mate.
It's a valuable option.
The bid is with Mindy at 65.
Daniel, you got 70?
Carn! You got 120 there.
Um...
Seconds to cook.
Moreton Bay bug.
70. 70! 70.
70. We got 70.
70 minutes to Daniel. Stop, stop.
Just right now, this is the most expensive item
that we've ever auctioned in any MasterChef auction.
It's worth it. (APPLAUSE)
It's worth it. BILLIE: Who won?
JULIE: It's still going. Come on, can I get 75?
I was really hoping you'd go 75. (LAUGHS)
Bid is with Daniel at 70 minutes.
Julie, Billie, Mindy? It's all his, mate.
Can I get 75? Going once... Not from me.
70 minutes with Daniel twice.
Last call.
Five minutes. Nup.
Daniel, you just bought some bugs for 70 minutes, my friend.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
There you go. Thank you.
MINDY: What's that leave you, Dan? 50.
Bloody hell, they're expensive bugs. Yeah.
So, I've gone past my 45 sort of limit
and spent over half my time on these bugs
and I still need something to go with it.
I think I've just made a terrible decision here today.
Righto, next up, we're gonna start with the lamb.
Got the fat, you got the bones, worth its weight in gold.
Ooh-hoo-hoo.
I didn't want the lamb rack at the start
but now that I've lost my bugs, what choice do I have?!
Tripe, eggs or lamb rack.
I'll go the lamb rack.
Who's gonna start me off? Five.
Five bucks. Five minutes.
(LAUGHS) I'll take five bucks as well.
JULIE: Lamb's a beautiful ingredient and I love cooking with it
so, I'm gonna try and be a little bit sneaky today.
You wanna join the game, ladies? JOCK: Come on, lamb cutlets!
Lamb. Easy.
Lamb rack, five minutes.
Ooh. 10 minutes.
What have we got?
15 for Mindy.
15 minutes with Mindy. Mindy.
That is a bid right there. (SIGHS)
Gonna let her get away with 15 minutes? For lamb rack?
If I play a little bit cool then maybe she'll cool off a little bit.
It's cheap! 15 minutes! Righto, we're going once...
I'm calling once.
They're worth so much more than 15 minutes.
The tripe's coming...
Going once, 15 minutes with Mindy.
20. 20 minutes.
Julie Goodwin's got the bid at 20 minutes for lamb rack.
25 minutes. (CHEERING)
Mindy. Mindy Woods is back in the game. Love that.
Mindy's a player, mate.
And she's forcing the prices up on things.
She's like a one-woman inflation scheme.
25 going once...for Mindy Woods.
25 going twice... 30 minutes.
There it is! 30 minutes.
Boom! Here we go.
30 minutes, back with Julie.
Mindy? Have a look at the wobble on it.
MINDY: I'm really conscious of spending so much time, so eggs,
if the eggs are the next thing I have to go for, then I'm all for it.
Third and final call.
Done, Julie Goodwin. Lamb rack. ALDO: Yes, Julie!
(APPLAUSE) 30 minutes.
That's an egg fight. That's an egg fight.
Look at it!
I am so calm now. I have the lamb.
Oh, now we're getting to the good end, aren't we, huh?
Oh, yeah.
I just... I really love the wobble
on the tripe, you know? (RETCHES)
BILLIE: I've got my eyes pretty hard-set on the eggs.
DANIEL: So how much are you gonna buy these eggs for, Billie?
I want the tripe. (LAUGHS)
I know I can use the eggs in a dessert
and, looking at the boxes of food that follow the eggs,
there are some nice ingredients there
that I think I could incorporate into a nice dessert.
Jock, can you bring over the...
..eggs.
I feel like I'm gonna have to go pretty hard for 'em.
JOCK: You're kind of bidding here not just to get the eggs... Yes.
..but you're kind of bidding NOT to get the tripe.
I've got a feeling... Thank you for that.
..these are gonna be some expensive eggs.
Billie. I'm up against Billie with eggs
and I know she's the dessert queen, right?
She's gonna want those eggs, no matter what.
But boy, it's like, tripe, I never cook with it, I don't eat it
so I've really gotta play hard here.
Who wants to open the bidding?
What have I got? 10.
10. Got 10 minutes with Mindy.
15. 15.
20. 20. 25, 30. 30.
35. 40.
40 minutes with Billie.
ALDO: Can't believe the eggs are...worth more than the lamb!
40 minutes.
Who's gonna be left with the tripe? I think that's the bigger question.
45. 45 for Mindy. 50.
50. There we go. Billie's the bid.
Oh, no.
Eggs have never looked so good! (CHUCKLES)
(LAUGHS) Can we keep going?
Mindy, you know what that means. 55! 55.
55. Here we go. 60.
60. There's an hour! DANIEL: Yes, Billie!
There's one hour for the eggs.
Oh, my God.
These are expensive eggs.
I cannot afford to lose any more minutes.
(CHUCKLES)
And I am just praying that Mindy doesn't lift that paddle up again.
There's an hour.
I really want those eggs.
But Mindy is working that paddle like a pro.
Uh, not sure if she actually wants the eggs,
but she's just upping the bidding war.
You going up a notch to 65 minutes for the eggs?
Yeah, 65. 65 with Mindy.
70. 70.
Yes! Yes!
70 minutes.
70 minutes with Billie for the eggs.
I just want to know, Mindy, your least favourite ingredient.
(LAUGHS)
And I don't think it's eggs, Lamb rack, or Moreton Bay bugs.
You know what it is, Andy. It's offal.
It's offal!
That being said, Billie, for these eggs, 70 minutes.
We are...
75!
No! 75!
(CHEERING, LAUGHTER)
Mindy! 75!
Oh, my God! JOCK: I think it's smart.
It only takes a minute to cook an egg.
Billie, you want to hit it back?
80 minutes? Can I get 80 minutes?
80 minutes? Yeah.
If I bid 80, that leaves me 40 minutes,
which is not a very long time in this kitchen.
Going once.
I could absolutely end up with the tripe...
Going twice.
..and not really know what to do with it.
Third and final call.
And... 80.
80! (ALL EXCLAIM)
Billie McKay! 80 minutes for the eggs!
Billie! Come on! Girl! It's a reflex. It's a reflex!
85? Straight back at it?
I'm going straight up with Billie.
First call.
Second call.
80 minutes for the eggs.
Third and final call.
Sold! There we go. Oh! Amazing.
80 minutes. ALDO: 40 minutes for eggs.
Yes! I've got the eggs.
But it came at quite a cost.
I've only got 40 minutes left, so I'll take what I can get now.
Wowee.
Mindy!
What am I going to do with tripe?
I don't even know how to cook the bloody stuff.
You're going to be amazing with that tripe.
Seriously, how did I get stuck with tripe?
Here's where we stand.
Julie's got lamb rack, and you've got 90 minutes left.
Not bad, Julie. Not bad.
Billie, you've got eggs, and you've only got 40 minutes left.
Daniel, 50 minutes left, but you've got the Moreton Bay bugs.
Mindy, you've got a full two hours - 120 minutes -
but you've got the tripe.
(LAUGHS)
What a stitch-up. What a stitch-up.
The only good thing about this is I've got time on my side.
I know that I need to get
some really powerful ingredients that I'm familiar with
to try and win this challenge.
Alright, in the next category, which is fresh vegies,
we've got the root vegies, we've got the alliums,
we've got some tropical fruits,
and then we've got the chillies and the capsicums
and the night shades.
For me, any one of those four baskets of fruit and vegetables
would be fine.
I think we'll start with the root vegetables, please.
Root veg?
I'm quite happy to just take whatever's free at the end of it,
but I'm going to play a little in between.
Who's first? Five minutes.
Julie Goodwin, five minutes.
10 minutes, Mindy.
Do I hear 15?
It's currently with Mindy at 10 minutes.
Take some time off her, guys. Come on.
Are you guys going to let Mindy...?
She bid all of you up, just so you know.
Yeah, and she'll do it again,
and I'll have five minutes left to cook!
(LAUGHTER)
Mindy, going once.
Going twice.
Sold.
ANDY: Wow!
MINDY: Finally, something's gone my way.
A big, beautiful basket of root veg for 10 minutes.
Next up, Andy, let's have the alliums.
Bewdy. Chives, spring onions, white onions, purple onions, eschalots,
garlic in there too.
Who's going to kick us off?
Five. Julie Goodwin, five minutes.
Do I hear 10?
I don't mind if I get these or not.
I just don't want anybody to get them for five minutes.
Five minutes, going once.
Five minutes?! Twice.
10. Daniel, 10 minutes.
Julie, do I hear 15? Nup.
Oh! (LAUGHS) No?
Nup. Julie! Are you serious?
Very tight. It's an auction.
And the more they spend, the better it is for me.
Sold. Daniel, nice one.
Go, Dan.
I am no good at the time auction.
I think we should have Andy's favourites now, night shades.
Chillies, eggplants, capsicums, tomatoes, potatoes.
JULIE: I'd really like the night shades.
To see a lamb dish with eggplant and with tomatoes,
it just makes sense.
10.
Do I hear 15 minutes?
MINDY: Whoa! She got the Julie Goodwin look!
I know! It was scary.
Billie's out. Paddle's down.
Sold for 10 minutes to Julie Goodwin. ALDO: Yeah, Julie!
Billie can't really afford to bid again,
so she lets me have what I really want for 10 minutes.
Thank you!
Tropical fruit section... Yay.
..and eggs, for Billie.
So Billie gets the fruit for free.
Ooh, there's pineapple.
And then there's miscellaneous pantry items.
Wowee, we have instant flavour here - fish sauce, miso, gochujang.
I know somebody who really needs these.
(LAUGHTER)
There is no way I'm letting Julie Goodwin get these flavour bombs.
15. Julie, what have you got?
JULIE: I don't really want to spend much time on this particular tray.
ALVIN: Come on, Julie. 20.
But I do want to drive the price up.
20 minutes - late bid. 25!
25.
I will outbid you until I have five minutes left to cook
to make sure that you don't get them.
Can we keep the ball rolling?
Can I get 30, please?
No way. OK! I tried my best.
Sold!
25 minutes. The flavour bombs are mine.
I've got 85 minutes to cook.
Alright, next up, the herbs.
Five. Five minutes for Julie.
10. 10 minutes.
Julie, can I get any more? No.
Did you just suck five minutes out of him, or do you want this?
No, she just sucked it out of him. Oh!
Sold. Daniel. 10 minutes. Cool. Thank you.
This is a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be.
Next up, the vinegars.
Five. Five minutes, Julie.
BILLIE: I don't want to spend any more time.
I'm not getting anything out of you, am I?
So I'll just let Jules buy whichever one she wants,
and I'll take the leftovers.
Sold - Julie Goodwin.
What a buy!
I've really enjoyed the MasterChef time auction.
I feel like I've come out of it pretty sweet.
Billie, another freebie for you.
I mean, you did kind of pay for them at the start... Free stuff.
..when you bought your eggs. Yeah, exactly. Exactly!
I have nothing left to spend!
Oh, wow. There's quite a lot, isn't there?
Alright, with the auction officially over,
this is what we have.
Mindy, you have 85 minutes left.
You are cooking with tripe, flavour bombs and root vegetables.
Next, Julie, you've got 75 minutes left.
You're cooking with lamb, night shades -
all the potatoes, capsicums, chillies, etc -
and vinegars.
Billie, you've got 40 minutes left.
You're cooking with eggs, tropical fruits and spices.
And Daniel, you've got 30 minutes left.
You're cooking with the bugs, the alliums, and the fresh herbs.
Mindy, you've got the most time.
That means you're kicking us off.
And your time starts now.
ALL: Go, Mindy! (CHEERING)
MINDY: Wow. I've got 85 minutes to cook.
Thank God I've got the time,
'cause I'm going to need every single minute to figure out
what to do with these crazy, random ingredients.
It's kind of like when I go to the markets in Byron
and I grab everything that's beautiful
and think, "How am I gonna cook with this and what am I gonna do?"
So, that's the approach today.
So, I'm looking at my root veg...
OK, what do I need?
..and I'm really happy to see celeriac, which I'm familiar with.
I mean, look at this. This is a dream.
This stuff is a dream.
Jeez, it's quiet in here today, guys!
We need some noise going on!
Go, Mindy! Whoo! It's never this quiet! Come on!
ALDO: Go, Mindy!
So, I'm going to treat this celeriac as if it is the protein of my dish.
I'm going to, like, cut out big, beautiful steaks of it...
Beautiful.
..baste it in loads of butter, get it into the oven
and char-grill it at the end.
And then I'm going to create a broth for this amazing celeriac steak.
Waste not, want not.
I know how to bring the flavours when it comes to a broth.
I've got celeriac skins, I've got carrot going in there.
I've got anchovy sauce going in.
It's smelling good, and I know, the longer I leave that,
the flavour's going to get more intense.
This is how I love to cook -
just cook, and absolute cook on the fly, and wing it.
The only thing I'm really struggling with
is how to pull in this bloody tripe.
Tripe it up.
# Tripe it up. #
I feel like I'm dealing with a bad-behaved child
that you want nothing to do with...
Euaugh!
..but I'm stuck with it.
Go, Mindy!
That's celeriac, isn't it?
JULIE: Yeah, it's nice roasted. It's nice pureed.
Makes a beautiful puree.
MINDY: My celeriac steaks are in the oven and my broth is on the go.
I'm confident with these things. I've cooked with them before.
But tripe?
Never.
How am I going to fit tripe into this dish?
Just slice and cut it.
It actually smells. I know.
That's why you put in water and salt.
Far out.
Like, seriously, I feel like I'm washing a shower cap,
like, one of those old-school shower caps
that the old girls used to wear when they were, like, swimming.
Funky, slimy and sticky. Delicious!
I wonder how she's gonna cook it. I'd be getting that on.
I have to lean into some kind of calamari vibe today
because this tripe is only lending itself to texture.
So the first thing I do is finely slice up my tripe
and I'm going to try and actually pack in some flavour.
So I'm actually going to get a marinade on it.
I'll probably use some of these, like, miso, ginger,
a little bit of sugar.
Ah!
I'm in with a little bit of the anchovy sauce,
I'm in with chopping up some really tasty anchovies.
It is like a massive mystery box,
and I've got to just try to use the best out of my ingredients.
Hopefully, it will help tenderise it, too.
Ugh, it's gonna be good, isn't it? Yeah, of course it is.
And then what I'm going to do is dust it in flour, crispy-fry,
and hopefully that will add, like,
an awesome textural component to my dish.
It's my turn to cook next.
My brain is just grinding away like cogs,
trying to figure out how I'm going to prepare everything.
Oh, boy.
You've got it, Jules.
I've got lamb, night shades and vinegar.
For me, eggplant and lamb are kind of a natural mix.
There's a lot of that in Middle Eastern cookery.
However, there's no garlic, there's no cumin,
there's not a lot of the ingredients you would use to lift those dishes.
Alright, Julie, your 75 minutes starts now.
(CHEERING)
So what I'm gonna have to do is take the ingredients that I DO have
and make them as tasty as I can.
So I'm going to make a lamb rack with smoked eggplant puree
and a cooked salad of capsicum, chilli and tomato.
Competitive me is coming out to play.
I just want to see what I can... what I can achieve here.
I'm up against some amazing cooks,
and this dish can't just be pedestrian.
I'm pretty happy with my ingredients. I love lamb.
It's become like gold these days.
It's expensive to buy, so we don't use it all that often,
but it's delicious.
So I'm pretty happy.
So, my idea for the lamb to impart flavour
is to use smoke as an ingredient.
I want that pin. I want that pin. I want it bad.
Come on, Julie Goodwin. Good work on the lamb.
So the lamb is going to go onto the hibachi,
and then I'll finish that off in the oven.
I decide to smoke some beautiful little vine tomatoes,
so I make a smoker in a wok.
I chuck a little bit of sugar in there and some eggplant skins
because that actually gets the smoke process happening.
Julie Goodwin.
I think it feels, like, quite under control.
Yeah, same.
You look really worried.
I didn't hear you. (LAUGHS)
I thought you said, "I think you look like quite a little troll."
So... (LAUGHS)
You know, you don't expect to be called a troll to your face.
No, I said you look really under control.
That's a much nicer thing to say.
I think you look under control, but your face looks worried.
He just thinks I'm under control. Oh, that's OK.
Yeah, before I say anything else wrong, I'm just going to leave.
Yeah, come on.
BILLIE: Wait. 15 minutes? Is that right?
Yeah. It's getting close.
I really want this pin today.
So my strategy was to just get those eggs
because I can go sweet or savoury with them.
What are you going to do? A dessert.
But because I bid so much on these eggs,
time is pretty tight.
Like, a passionfruit saffron parfait.
I like it.
40 minutes will just go like that in this kitchen.
And this parfait,
it will need 20 minutes in the blast chiller for it to set.
So...I gotta move.
Oh, my God, this is awful.
ALDO: Go, Jules. TOMMY: Go, Julie.
Oh, yeah, I'm starting to feel sick.
(DANIEL LAUGHS)
MINDY: The tripe is in, it's sizzling away.
But what does it taste like?
It's... Yeah.
It's got a crunch. Like calamari.
Like, it's not too bad.
Seriously, if I got served that,
I would actually think it was calamari.
Kinda weirdly tastes like calamari, which really, like, bends my brain.
It's actually tasting pretty good.
I'm actually surprised how cool it is. Here, Dan, go.
I bet your mother fed you that and called it calamari.
That's...that's delicious.
Oh, sorry, that's disgusting, Mindy.
The celeriac is gorgeous. The broth is amazing.
The tripe, if I can get that right, hopefully my dish will come together.
Interesting couple of cooks going on here.
Mindy's tripe, I think she's doing a great job.
She's marinated it, she's going to fry over the top.
But celeriac looks like it's going to be the main...the main event.
Yeah. She's talking about a broth as well.
I'm having difficulty understanding what the dish is.
If it's a soup or it's a... Do you know what I mean?
Yeah, I think it's going to be interesting to see how the dish comes together.
Next bench - Julie. Julie.
Middle-Eastern-kinda-vibe dish. Yeah, Middle Eastern.
She's missing the spice.
Yeah, she doesn't have garlic, she doesn't have cumin.
She's kind of got those more classic ingredients.
Her mission now is to really make them shine and take it up a notch.
Daniel, he's a dark horse.
Yeah, he's got the bugs, which he spent a lot of time for.
But I think he just needs to focus on making sure he's got a good idea.
And, like, right now, he's there ticking away,
going, "OK, this is what I'm going to do with this,
"this is what I'm going to do with this,"
and that is underrated.
He's going to have to have planned, because he's only got 30 minutes.
Billie, dessert. Are we gonna see a dessert from her?
I think so. She's had some bangers
when it comes to, like, putting spices into desserts.
Flipside of that is she's only got 40 minutes to execute it.
So can she hustle, hustle and get the dish
that she probably would normally take an hour to cook?
I think, if anyone's got a 40-minute dessert up their sleeve,
it's probably Billie.
Let's see.
Billie, your 40 minutes starts now.
Go, Billie! (CHEERING)
BILLIE: The first thing I need to do is get this parfait into the freezer.
ALDO: Go, Billie!
Because it needs plenty of time to set.
I whisk up some eggs and sugar and some whipped cream
and infuse some saffron into some passionfruit juice.
Combine all of those things together.
Go, Billie! Come on!
Time is going so, so fast.
Billie. Hi.
How are you doing? Oh, a bit rushed.
You spent 80 minutes, you got 40 minutes left.
Yeah, I know. I'm sorta kicking myself for that. What are you making?
But I'm doing a passionfruit saffron parfait.
I just want to get the parfait in the freezer, that's the first job,
and then I'll work out what the hell I'm going to do.
Sorry. OK.
You've been waiting to go for a fair while.
I would have thought you would have had a very clear dish.
Well, it's just how it all comes together, I guess. I wanna...
Thank you. Want to, um...
Oh.
I don't have time to chat right now.
They're just chatting too much.
I'm in a state! I haven't got much time left.
You can go now, that's fine. Billie's in a flap.
We still don't even know what you're cooking!
That's our job! (MIXER WHIRRS)
Oh, no! Leave that. Ah!
I know my job, number one,
is to get this parfait into the freezer.
OK, thank you. Bye.
ALDO: Thanks. Bye. Walk away.
(LAUGHS)
I have to hustle today.
I'm hoping setting it in a mould will speed up the freezing process.
I really need this parfait to be set.
If it's not, then it's just going to be a puddle on the plate
and any chance of that immunity pin will be out the window.
MINDY: Bloody hell, Dan. When are you cooking, mate?
In about three minutes.
I'm still waiting for my turn to start.
I've spent way too much time on those bloody bugs.
(LAUGHS)
Bring it on. Stitch-up if I've ever known one.
He's got plenty to work with. He'll be fine.
I'll tell you what, Mindy, it's really been bugging me.
(LAUGHS)
I've got 30 minutes. That's all I've got.
So I just have to commit to managing every second of the cook
so that I don't waste time on anything.
TOMMY: You've got everything sorted out in your mind?
Yeah, I think so.
I've been thinking about everything that I can possibly do
to add more flavour to the bug in the quickest, easiest way possible.
ANDY: Daniel, mate, you're up.
Which means, everyone, you've got 30 minutes to go!
(CHEERING FROM THE GANTRY)
Go Daniel! Come on! 30 minutes, mate!
I seem to do a little bit better in these sort of time crunch challenges.
You know, less time, just let the sort of ingredients shine
as best they can.
So I'm going to fire-roast the bugs with some butter.
I'm going to char off some onions,
and I'm going to also have a chimichurri sauce as well.
Yeah, if I can just sort of stay cool, then I reckon I...
..don't see why I won't have a crack at it, you know?
BILLIE: Now that the parfait's in the blast chiller,
I feel a huge sense of relief.
But I can't just serve the parfait just on its own.
I need to put up a complete dish.
Passionfruit.
I've got a few different things going around in my head.
I can see passionfruit, green mango.
So I'm thinking a passionfruit green mango syrup
and a lime passionfruit crumble.
I can see pineapple in that basket as well, so I'm just tasting a lot
and working out what I need to balance this dish.
Oh, yum.
Brilliant.
I want this dessert to be really textural but also really flavourful.
So I have an idea on how to use the pineapple.
I'm going to char some pineapple on the hibachi
and sort of glazing it with the passionfruit syrup
that I'm making as well.
But now I've got quite a few things going on the fly here,
and it's really dawning on me that I don't have a lot of time.
ALVIN: 25 minutes, Billie.
25 minutes.
They're all such an integral part of this dish.
And if I don't get them all done, then there's no chance of that pin.
Hopefully, I've got enough time to actually do it.
Are you going to go or what?
My lamb rack is in the oven.
I've got my red sauce done,
which I absolutely love.
The tomatoes are very slightly smoked.
Ooh!
The capsicum tastes charred and sweet and juicy.
So at this stage I go back to the eggplant puree.
Problem is, it doesn't taste amazing.
Julie. Yes.
How we travelling?
I've got probably only a couple more minutes until I can get my lamb out.
Yep. So these eggplants, I'm looking at these.
Is there no puree anymore?
There is a puree, but yeah, that'll be...that won't be a major thing
on the plate, I don't think.
OK.
The last badge. Do you know what I mean?
So how do you amp that up?
Yeah. What can I do to that or add to it
or play around with it to make it one notch better?
And I think you've got time to do it, Julie, too.
Yep. Alright.
The problem that I have is a smoked eggplant puree,
it's inspired by baba ganoush.
But in baba ganoush you have lemon juice, you have garlic
and you have tahini, which is sesame paste.
But I don't have all those ingredients.
So I think, instead of that creamy sesame paste,
I'm going to put in some lamb fat.
I'm just trying to use the ingredients that I've got
in as many sort of tasty ways as I can.
So I just put some of the offcuts of my lamb rack into a pan,
put it on heat, and let that fat render out.
I want this immunity pin so badly.
So, hopefully...hopefully, it'll be good food.
Go, Julie! Whoo! Go, Jules!
Go, Mindy!
MINDY: Thank you, Aldo. (LAUGHS) I am, babe.
So good, Mindy. Looks beautiful.
I feel like I'm finally getting on top of things.
Tripe done!
My celeriac steaks are caramelising on the hibachi.
That's a good one, there.
The broth - it is funky, it is layered.
It's so complex in flavours.
But I need to know how I'm going to make all of this work.
You know what I mean? Like, I'm dealing with these weird ingredients.
Gotta figure out how to really pull this dish together.
And at the moment, I don't really know what it looks like at the end.
ALDO: Come on, mate. Come on.
Yeah, I'm gonna glaze it on the... on them as they're going.
I've got just over 15 minutes
and the only thing I've really gotten done is my onion glaze.
Mmm!
MONTANA: Like it?
Yeah, it's not bad.
My bugs, they're raw,
they haven't started cooking.
TOMMY: Hey, hey, hey, hey!
I haven't even started my sauce,
nor have I decided what herbs to use in that sauce.
I'm running out of time.
I just need to gun it because the clock is ticking
and it's breathing down my neck.
Keep going, Dan. You're doing well, brother.
I don't have time to think, Tommy. Yeah. Yeah.
I can't hear what you're saying, man.
So I throw the bugs on the hibachi and get a start on my green sauce.
I'm going to use, like, the Vietnamese mint coriander,
a green onion as well, which will work really nice with the bug.
ALDO: Oh, my God.
What's burning?
Oh, my Lord.
I look up and it's like, "Oh, God."
There's just so much smoke.
Oh, I'm going blind from the smoke. (COUGHS)
I've put too much butter in the heads of these bugs.
So that's all melting
and then it's just starting grease fires.
Come on, Dan. Come on, bro.
Keep pushing, mate.
Oh, bloody hell.
Like, I just don't have time to think about this.
If that acrid smoke gets in the meat, it ruins it.
It'll just destroy the flavour, and it'll just be unedible.
Oh, God, like, I've shot myself in the foot so hard.
Missed an episode of MasterChef?
enjoy another serving, or savour past seasons, at:
This whole challenge today has been about time,
and you've only got five minutes to go.
(CHEERING FROM THE GANTRY)
BILLIE: There's only a few minutes left,
and I have to check this parfait to see if it's set.
TOMMY: Ohhhh! So good. Yes, Billie.
It's set.
Yes.
OK. Very relieved.
Ah!
I just need to take the centre of the parfait out
and put the passionfruit syrup inside.
ALDO: Go, Billie. Come on.
I'm really stoked, and I'm just glad I stuck with the eggs.
(EXHALES SLOWLY)
So, my lamb's resting and I taste my eggplant puree.
It is still not right.
Is it salt that it needs?
Is it acid that it needs?
Is it, I don't know, fairy dust?
I am taking the judges' advice to put as much flavour into everything
as I possibly can.
What it needs is a bit more acid,
so I decide to put into it a beautiful plum vinegar.
And there is a magic point where it goes from being "ehh"
to being...
.."aha!"
That's what the judges want.
We can't wait to taste all your dishes.
You've only got one minute to go.
(CHEERING FROM THE GANTRY)
MINDY: I really hope I can wow the judges
cooking something as funky as tripe.
The four of us are in for the last immunity pin of the season.
I would love it to be me.
DANIEL: I've got my green sauce done,
and now I'm worried about the cook on my bugs.
(CLICKS TONGS)
The heat hasn't been consistent through these bugs at all.
This is the last chance you've got!
Agghh!
Get your sauce, Dan!
But it's too late now.
I don't have time.
I have to plate up.
Ten!
ALL: Nine!
Eight! Seven!
Six! Five!
Four! Three!
Two! One!
That's it! (CHEERING)
ANDY: Well, we hit you with another MasterChef classic,
the old time auction.
And a lot to play for -
the last pin of the season.
Let's see how you went.
The first dish we'd like to taste is yours,
Billie!
ALDO: Go, Billie!
Billie, what are you going to call this one?
This is passionfruit parfait, pineapple and saffron.
Two things annoy me.
The fact that you did that in 40 minutes was one thing.
And the fact that when we came around, you didn't even know,
with, like, 30... What? 30 minutes to go.
I don't know how you get to, like, such a complete dish
with balance, flavour and texture.
I couldn't do that in 40 minutes. Could you do that in 40 minutes?
I'd be pushed.
(LAUGHTER) I would be pushed.
Yeah.
It's just stunning.
Looks a million dollars.
The texture of the parfait itself was magic.
Some sweetness coming through from the pineapple,
then the char gives it bitterness.
This is how great dishes are made.
They are layered in flavour.
And you've done exactly that.
Absolutely stunning.
Thanks.
You can go away now.
(LAUGHTER)
ALDO: Well done, Billie!
Oh, my God!
Oh! God.
Next up, down the front, Mindy.
Go, Mindy!
Sauce. Sauce.
Broth it up. Sauce it up.
Mindy, what'd you cook?
I made a seaweed glaze celeriac steak,
root vegetable miso broth
and some crispy tripe.
Never thought you'd ever say that, did ya?
I probably never will again.
(LAUGHS)
Mindy. Pretty solid effort with the flavour of everything.
Slow-cooking that celeriac like you did, getting all this char on it,
the loading it with butter - huge tick.
The tripe - you got there in the end, which is great.
It is crispy and the texture is really lovely
and I think it's really well done,
but it just lacks cohesion.
I'm with Andy.
My brain's going, "What is it about?
"Is it about the broth or is about the celeriac?"
Yeah.
Yeah but the crispy tripe was fantastic.
So your only trouble here is not flavour.
It's just, what is it? Yeah.
You know, it's hard to work out.
Nice one, Mindy. Thanks, guys. It was fun. I had fun.
It was fun.
Next up, Daniel!
ALDO: Go, Dan!
Go, Dan. Come on.
Whoo!
Daniel, what have you made?
I made grilled bugs with an onion glaze and a green herb sauce.
You had the least amount of time in the actual cook -
30 minutes, just.
Do you reckon you spent your time wisely in hindsight?
In the auction?
Oh, no. Like, I screwed up hard in the auction.
(LAUGHTER)
This one's better.
Might be a bit over, though.
I think inconsistency is probably one of your biggest issues.
Um...
I think you should have taken the bug out of the shell.
It would have done two things.
It would have let you cook the bug meat beautifully and evenly.
And you would also have been able to apply that glaze,
and roll it around the hibachi
so as you get that caramelisation.
But really, flavour-wise, you know, there's not much problem.
You could have just got a little bit more by executing it differently.
Yeah.
I wouldn't really change much, bar what Jock just said.
I'm impressed with how you got to the concept, to get, like,
a sweet-and-sour kind of onion glaze, and thinking of going,
oh, let's explore the fresh, vibrant, bright herbs.
And that's what I'm really stoked for you about.
Yeah. Thanks, guys. Cheers.
(APPLAUSE)
JULIE: Good feedback in there, Dan.
Next up, Julie Goodwin.
ALDO: Go Julie!
(APPLAUSE)
Julie, what have you cooked us?
Lamb with night shades.
I wanna know, Julie, how much does winning that pin
at this stage of the competition really mean?
I...
I can't even tell you what that would mean.
Yeah, I just...
It would just feel like validation.
Julie.
You're a clever little shopper, aren't you?
(LAUGHS)
You played that so well during the auction,
and then you backed it up with an amazing dish.
The eggplant, putting the lamb fat in there,
that was a win, straightaway.
The lamb itself, perfectly cooked,
perfumed with smoke, from when you had it on the hibachi,
but, really, what made it for me was the smoked tomatoes,
and the pickled chilli, and the pickled capsicum.
That brought the whole dish together.
Julie, honestly, that is a plate of food
that neither of us could probably have done any better,
in terms of flavour.
Well done. Thank you.
Wow.
Ditto on how smart this was.
You know, having something as robust and powerful as eggplant,
that you can smoke, and then - genius - fold lamb fat through it
to give it body,
and then just bringing it home with sweetness,
in terms of that hot sauce that you did.
Phwoar, man, that's a good one from you, Jules.
Thank you. TOMMY: Well done, Julie.
ALDO: Go, Julie! Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
Getting this feedback, beautiful feedback,
it takes my breath away.
Makes me think
I may be in with a chance for the pin.
JOCK: Today's challenge proved that time is precious
and you have to spend it wisely.
Some of you had time to spare,
while others were on a very tight budget.
Regardless of the cost,
you all managed to bring us something rich in flavour.
One of you will leave the kitchen with this immunity pin...
..on your apron.
We're looking for the best dish,
and it came down to two cooks today.
Billie and Julie.
Billie,
you brought us a dish that not only looked a million dollars...
..but tasted like a sweet-and-sour smorgasbord
of saffron, passionfruit,
and charred pineapple.
And you did it in just 40 minutes.
It was balanced and it was baffling.
Julie,
talk about making the most of what you got.
You could not have used the ingredients that you bid for better.
Your dish was ingenious.
The lamb, perfectly cooked...
..the eggplant tasted magnificent,
but, more than that,
the vegetables made the dish the success that it really was.
Look, both dishes were delicious.
There wasn't a flaw to be found in either of them.
So, for us,
it came down to which cook we thought was the most impressive
and had made the most of the ingredients they had.
And that was you...
..Julie.
(GASPS)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Congratulations, Julie Goodwin!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
You have won yourself
a shiny immunity pin for the first time!
Yes! Thank you!
Oh, my God!
Jules, how does it feel?
I did not expect this.
I didn't expect it at any stage this week.
So I am over the moon.
Can I tell you that you did it yourself, alright?
Your dish was seriously impressive.
We'd eat it again and again and again,
and that's why we chose you as the winner today.
Thank you. Well done, Jules.
Thank you so much.
I am so happy.
I can't even...
I don't know. I am buzzing.
I'm buzzing from my head to my toes.
What a day.
(APPLAUSE)
Billie, Mindy, Daniel,
so close today,
but no pin for you guys, I'm afraid.
But you are still immune from Sunday's elimination.
For the rest of you,
we'll see you back here on Sunday
for the toughest elimination yet.
ANNOUNCER: Sunday night on MasterChef Australia,
an epic elimination...
SARAH: Three rounds? Are you kidding me?
That is so intense.
ALVIN: I need to bring out the big guns.
..will reach new levels of intensity...
JULIE: Yeah, it's a cooking show,
but it's so much more than that.
..and it could break the internet again.
Captions by Red Bee Media