Original subtitles

ANNOUNCER: Previously on MasterChef Australia...

Please welcome Nornie Bero!

(WHOOPING)

..she kicked off a week of culinary wonders...

Oh, wow!

..from Down Under.

This is mind blowing.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Keep on cooking this way.

Ooh! That's next level. That really did blow my mind.

But a cook-along with Curtis...

CURTIS: You keeping up? Come on, guys, you can do this.

..was the end of the journey for Theo.

You are definitely ready to open that bakery.

And we should be the first customers.

Merci, Chef.

And an ice-cream worthy of winter...

This ice-cream is a velvety masterpiece.

..was a massive win for Laura.

Your creation is in stores at Coles.

You also just won immunity.

(WHOOPING)

Tonight, an elimination

with the most adored Aussie culinary legend.

MAN: Oh, it's really coming down. WOMAN: It's really raining!

This is like Survivor.

(LAUGHTER)

Survivor in the kitchen.

At the start of this competition,

I didn't even dream to get this far, so...

Oh, well, keep on going. I know.

Ooh!

What have we got?

What's going on here?

Let's go, everybody!

Come on down!

What is going on?

CALLUM: Is there going to be some sort of auction or something?

This could be the time versus thingy-thingy.

Oh, jeez.

Hello, everybody. ALL: Hi.

If you weren't feeling the pressure before setting foot in here,

you will when I remind you, you're on the brink of the top 10!

ANDY: Oh, yeah, baby.

This elimination is the final hurdle

before hitting that MasterChef milestone.

You're all here Back To Win.

So this should be the goal that you all have your sights set on.

Snez, you've absolutely smashed your former ranking.

I've never been in top 10, so for me,

hitting it in Back To Win, it would be massive.

But I'm so nervous just looking all these guys.

They all want the same thing as well.

But it would mean a world. Yeah.

This pantry of hidden goodies you see up here

has been handpicked by one of Australia's most adored legends.

ALL: Ooh!

This person is the heart and soul of Australian cooking.

For over 45 years, she's been creating a legacy of recipes

that we'll be using for the rest of our lives.

Australia and the MasterChef kitchen would not be the same without her.

You know her name, you know her face,

and you love her food.

We reserve the words 'national treasure' just for her.

Oh! Maggie!

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: They know.

Please welcome the Barossa Valley's brightest star...

Yes!

..Maggie Beer!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

I got goosies.

WOMAN: Oh, my God!

It's Maggie Beer. Ha-ha-ha!

I love Maggie Beer.

Every time I talk about Maggie Beer, I start tearing, it's ridiculous.

The world... Not just Australia, the world loves Maggie Beer.

This is so happy.

How are you?

(LAUGHS) I'll take that.

Oh.

Maggie, we are so excited that you're here.

I'm so pleased to be here myself.

I think there's a few faces out there pretty pleased as well.

These guys are huge fans!

Callum, it must mean so much to have

an absolute icon of our industry on your doorstep.

Oh, 100%. I think, like, Barossa Valley

is known for wine and for Maggie.

I feel like most people go, "Shiraz and Maggie Beer."

(LAUGHTER)

Thanks, Callum.

Depinder, what's it like to have Maggie here?

Oh, hi, Maggie. I'm such a huge fan.

This is actually the second time I'm meeting you.

You probably don't remember the first time.

I was in the Gold Coast for a conference.

And I spotted you from the corner of my eye in the ladies bathroom.

(LAUGHTER)

And then I waited outside and then you came out and I was like,

"Oh, my God. Hi, Maggie!"

And you're like, "Oh, my gosh, you scared me."

(LAUGHTER)

I'm just glad you didn't ask for a photograph in the bathroom.

No, I waited outside!

So this is about eight years ago.

I'd be really embarrassed if Maggie did remember me.

But, yeah, I've been a fan of Maggie's

for as long as I can remember cooking.

You had a big birthday this year, Maggie.

I did, I did. How did you celebrate?

Three parties. Oh!

(WHOOPING)

If you're turning 80, you just have to really go for it.

It sounds like you've still got it, Maggie.

I'm not giving it up. (LAUGHTER)

OK. The constant battle in this kitchen,

it's time versus ingredients.

ALL: Ooh!

And that is exactly...

Oh, my God. ..what this elimination is all about.

This is how it's going to work.

Up here, you see the pantry.

Hidden under these cloths are 12 groups of ingredients.

The clock starts at 90 minutes

with whatever is in the first bundle of ingredients.

Every five minutes, a new batch of ingredients will be revealed.

That will beef up your pantry but slim down your cook time.

You can start cooking whenever you want,

but be warned, you'll only be able to use the ingredients

that have already been revealed.

It's a balance. It's a balance today, I think.

Ideally, all I need is about 45 minutes,

a beautiful fish and some aromatics to pull off a great dish,

but I'm going to have to wait and see what's underneath these cloths.

OK, even though Maggie's been in and out of this kitchen

dozens of times, she's never set this challenge before.

And today, Maggie has put her own cheeky little spin on it.

(CHUCKLES)

We're still in love with Maggie or what?

ALL: Yeah.

Ooh, there was a big pause there! Not sure?

Maggie, can you please tell us a little bit more

about those ingredients?

Ah, well, all those ingredients I love,

but some I love more than others.

(LAUGHTER)

And I'm a risk taker.

(LAUGHTER)

And so you have to be ready to put your skates on

if you do what I might do.

Wow. Good advice.

I'm just hoping that there is going to be some Maggie Beer

verjuice there and lots of fresh ingredients,

which is what I have in my pantry at home as well.

Alright, let's get started.

Good luck!

Thank you. Thanks, Maggie.

OK, crew, we're going to start with 90 minutes on the clock and...

..pantry staples!

Yes.

Don't all come running at once!

Hey, I'm all for staples, but I don't think there's quite enough

to make an interesting dish, even with all the time in the world.

So I'm going to hang on a little bit longer here.

So, any takers?

Tempting, but, nah.

Tempting?

It's a lot of time.

Some of you need more time than ingredients.

Are you looking at me?

No, I didn't look at you, Audra.

I would never do that. Looking at me.

No bakers in the room?

SOFIA: Heaps of bakers.

I just feel like a savoury.

I know that I can do pastries, but after Sweet Week,

I'm really wanting to do something savoury.

And I'm trying to use my X-ray vision to see through these fabrics

that's covering these ingredients.

But of course I can't!

So I'm just waiting.

Alana, what are you - more of a time person or an ingredient person?

I'd like more time and I'm happy

to work with less ingredients if I need to.

I think you've got to start thinking,

what do you need along with these pantry staples,

to make a cracker of a dish

that is going to keep you in this competition?

'Cause that's what today is all about.

Yeah.

It's a super strategic cook today.

And I think I need a little bit more than just the pantry staples.

Five minutes gone off your cooking time.

That means more ingredients.

So, if you decide to start now,

you'll have 85 minutes left to cook.

And to add to the pantry staples...

ALL: Ooh! ..a selection of fruits!

So we have Granny Smith apples,

ruby red grapefruit, figs.

It's the best fruit bowl ever.

Have I got any takers?

Who's dabbling?

Anyone, like, kind of thinking...?

Ooh, Audra. Hello.

AUDRA: I'm really confused right now.

Oh, my God, it's so tempting.

Because I'm torn about whether I go sweet or savoury.

Those figs are calling me.

I could make a dessert, but I'm hesitating because I'm thinking,

"Should I wait for a savoury? Should I wait for a savoury?"

Alana, got one leg nearly going. Yeah.

(LAUGHS) I'm ready.

I'm very tempted, but I might wait one more. One more.

Time is a-ticking.

If you're going to go, you might as well go.

Ooh! This is so tempting to go,

but I would love some flavour bombs to come out because I think with

the fruit and the pantry staples,

I could come up with something spectacular.

Time is a-ticking away.

And remember, when I reveal these next set,

you've only got 80 minutes left,

so if you want to get the best out of these...

..you might want to think about going pretty soon.

WOMAN: Whoo-hoo!

(LAUGHTER)

This is going so well!

Alright. There's 80 minutes on the clock.

And with the pantry staples and the fruit selection,

the next set of ingredients are...

..flavour essentials.

ALANA: Oh, my gosh. Oh, here we go!

I'm out. I see ginger, I see vincotto, there's vanilla.

Plus all of that amazing fruit and the pantry staples.

I can create a really fresh, zesty, fruity dessert from this.

OK, we have red onion, brown onion,

shio koji, verjuice, vino cotto.

You've got the beautiful fruit selection down there,

your pantry staples.

It is game on, I reckon.

So I've got 80 minutes to cook up an amazing dish.

So I'm going to do a little biscuit tart

which is going to be like a lemon and ginger base on it.

Um, and then some sort of cream flavoured through the middle

with a bit of a jam and an ice-cream and some tuiles.

I'm still conceptualising a dish, but first things first,

that I'm thinking is that I want to do

a really beautiful biscuit, kind of pastry tart shell.

It's a little bit different, but I think it's going

to be something the judges are going to love.

And 80 minutes - I think I've got just enough time

'cause I have not only a biscuit base,

but ice-cream and all the various jams,

my diplomat cream to make,

but I need to get them started super early,

because I don't want to waste the extra time that I've been given.

(QUIETLY) Oh, shit!

You've totally confused me now.

Oh, oh! It's so tempting.

And I'm also conscious of the fact

that I'm always fighting against time.

Maggie, vino cotto, verjuice, that is you to a T.

Well, it is. I'm always looking for that acid balance in food,

so it's bright in your mouth.

And that's where I use verjuice every day.

And with all that umami in the flavour bombs,

there's so many things you could do.

Audra, surely?

Oh, far out!

(CHEERING)

She's off.

(GRUNTS)

If you're gonna go, you got to go

'cause you're losing time by the minute.

If you wait like Audra just did... She's got three...

..you've lost two or three minutes.

I could've bloody gone just now.

I'm actually in a bit of a panic,

but totally running with my gut right now.

I'm thinking, you know what? I've got 80 minutes.

I'm just going to go sweet.

Snez?

I thought this would be your jam!

This is my jam. Ooh! So close.

So close? What's stopping you, Snez?

You're right. Let me do it.

(CHEERING) We've got another one!

Snez is off too. Just a little prod.

Sweet or savoury? Sweet or savoury?

Wow.

I really think this pressure is really starting to get to people.

Surely, Ben, you're getting antsy.

No, no. He's good. Really?

There's is gonna be so many beautiful things under here, Andy,

I wouldn't want to miss out.

But I just got to take a breath and hold my nerve here

and wait for something I'm really happy to cook with.

AUDRA: Probably could have gone a little bit earlier.

However, I'm loving that

I've got the verjuice and a vino cotto and figs.

Today, I'm going to be making ricotta and caramelised fig tart.

And even though I've got 80 minutes to cook,

I'm not sure if that's enough time.

I've just got to move really fast.

'Cause in this kitchen I don't...

..I don't move very quickly sometimes.

So, no, I've got to move fast.

LAURA: You're doing good. Just keep hustling.

I love making simple dishes,

but I'm going to make an egg raviolo.

It's going to be stuffed with burnt butter-infused ricotta.

And also I'm going to make this gorgeous, like a little saucy broth.

Yum. Love it.

So we've got Alana, Audra and Snez cooking away.

CALLUM: I've actually done this challenge before.

And last time I did it, I thought the best strategy

was to wait near the end and have all the ingredients

under the sun to work with, but not very much time.

But it was very stressful.

So to be honest, I'm kind of thinking today

maybe the opposite strategy might be the way to go.

Righto, guys. 75 minutes left on the clock

and your next batch of ingredients are...

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Yes.

..vegies!

Callum's gone. He needs no more.

So, we have parsnips, swedes,

beautiful French beans, globe artichokes - yum.

There's so many things that you could do here.

I feel like, Andy, I'm at the market

and you're trying to sell it to me. I reckon I could get a job, eh.

Capsicums, two for five bucks.

These are free. You can take them. I'll give them to you!

What are you thinking?

Um, I'm thinking I might do a dessert.

So you're going sweet, mate? Yes, that's the plan.

I've made my decision now, and I'm actually feeling pretty good.

I think by using that full 75 minutes and going quite early,

I've got the time to try and do something dessert-y.

and Maggie Beer and I are both from the Barossa,

and I do see her around.

So, yeah, I want to cook something

that she's going to be really impressed by.

So when I think of Maggie Beer, I think of South Australian icon.

And the second thing I think of is verjuice.

So I'm gonna do like a celebration of verjuice, is the dish.

I'm starting with a little lemon verjuice parfait.

Um, I'm going to do a verjuice and beetroot granita

and sorbet that's made from verjuice.

We'll see how that plays out.

By making my dish all about verjuice today, I know that I'm using

one of Maggie's favourite ingredients,

which is a good thing and a bad thing at once, right?

Because I know she's going to like the flavour,

but she's very familiar with it, so it's not going to be

a lot of wiggle room to hide if it's not perfect.

You got chillies in there, Andy?

No chillies.

Oh, come on!

I'm getting a little bit nervy. SARAH: Same.

I'm starting to get a little bit stressed now.

Some people are out there off and racing

and I'm thinking I've got to give myself enough time

to pull off a great dish.

Am I sweating?

Uh, yes, you are!

Like, I thought I was going to do

a seafood dish at the beginning of the cook,

but really need to push myself, do some crazy techniques,

work on some unusual flavours

and show the judges something different.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: OK, guys. I've got something else to offer you.

As soon as I reveal this, you will have 70 minutes left.

Right, next batch.

Ingredients is...

..wine time!

Yeah. Oh, wine.

The Barossa is about Shiraz, Shiraz and Shiraz.

(LAUGHTER)

You know, wine emits a lot of flavour,

but I'm really hanging on for a protein.

I just don't want to drop below 60 minutes.

One more minute. May as well wait now.

Are you ready? I want to see their faces.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: This is the trick.

Maggie is already getting excited about this.

I am, I am, I am.

It's a love affair with what's in there.

You're making us nervous!

(LAUGHS)

So as soon as I reveal what is under the cloth,

you will have 65 minutes left.

Rip the Band-Aid off. WOMAN: Yeah.

Bit of protein. Come on.

We have...

Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo!

I don't know, should I go?

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!

So you will have 65 minutes left.

And you will have all the ingredients

that have been revealed so far.

Plus...

..offal!

Finally! BEN: Here we go.

Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo!

So we have here smoked ox tongue,

chicken livers,

duck hearts, marrow bones.

We've got some lamb sweetbread.

And we have some pig jowls, or cheeks.

Look at all that flavour and texture.

The time is definitely ticking in my head

and offal is delicious when it's cooked right.

But then I'm so tempted to see what's under the other cloths.

I'd love to get in cooking that offal myself.

ANDY: If you want to impress Maggie Beer,

there's one way to do it.

Shall I just go? Mate, do it if you're gonna go.

I'm gonna go.

Oh, here we go! Sarah's off!

POH: Go, Sarah.

I want to impress Maggie.

And these are incredible ingredients,

if you know how to cook them.

Um, I'm thinking of making a sweet bread tart.

I'm going to layer it up,

make a little caramelised onion and vino cotto at the base.

I need to get my tarts in the oven ASAP.

It's definitely a risk.

You know, 65 minutes is not a lot of time to make such a technical dish.

I just hope I can pull it off.

LAURA: Come on, Sarah.

How are you going, Nana? ALANA: Good.

I like the sound of your dish.

Can you tell me what I'm doing?

You're making tarts with a ginger and lemon layer.

Yes. Just over an hour.

Yeah, thank you. Alright.

Oh!

WOMAN: Are they still going over there?

Deckers, I don't mean to interrupt your thought process,

but I want to know, do you think there's some seafood under there?

Uh, I love everything I'm seeing now already,

so I've sort of thrown seafood out of my brain.

And, um, I do love a bit of offal,

so I'm kind of leaning towards using that.

Yeah, well, you've got about 61 minutes now.

Yeah. But there's more to come! Ha-ha!

Yeah, but less time. Just a reminder, less time.

So you're not interested?

OK, next batch of ingredients.

You will have 60 minutes left.

Ooh!

We have...

..pork and poultry.

(LAUGHTER) ANDY: Stampede!

We have pancetta, pork cutlets,

Pork mignon fillet,

quail, chicken, ducks.

It's pork and poultry, which I love,

but I'm still just interested in this offal.

Heart, heart, heart.

Thank you. Grazie.

I think it's a great way to showcase the cook that I've become.

Let's do it.

Um, so today I'm making beef tongue

and chicken livers skewers all done over the hibachi.

I'm going to have, uh, toasted cabbage

and then beautiful pickled cabbage using that verjuice.

I do not want to go home.

I'm really hoping this is an elevated dish today.

60 minutes - I think I've got a bit of a healthy balance

with the time and ingredients to pull together a great dish.

That's good.

LAURA: What are you making, Jamie?

Just cook a beautiful piece of chicken, make a delicious sauce

and treat veg well.

Like, Maggie loves simple flavours.

Beautiful.

Uh, I got 60 minutes,

decided to pull the trigger when I saw the poultry.

So I'm going to char chicken over the hibachi.

I'm really going to get the bones of the chicken,

roast it down with some pancetta, maybe a few other things.

I want this white wine sauce to be balanced out

with some miso, butter and Dijon,

and try to get a little puree out of our...out of our eggplant.

The main thing I need to look out

for is just getting everything done in time.

When I was on the show, every cook was 60 minutes.

So this is just back in my wheelhouse, I suppose.

I waited this long to cook

because I wanted a core ingredient like chicken.

So I'm going to do a pan-seared supreme of chicken,

and I'm going to incorporate the smokiness of this tongue somewhere into the dish.

Black apron today. Absolutely don't want to go home.

I'm going to cook like a demon and fingers crossed.

I'm glad you're both still here. You know, it shows bravery.

Everyone is now cooking, except Depinder and Ben.

Ben playing the long game now. What are you hoping that's next?

Uh, I really want some seafood.

Yeah, I mean, whatever I'm cooking is going to be cooking quick.

I can cook the quail very quickly, so I'm happy with that.

So I've got plenty of time to make it up.

You've got a backup plan already? Yeah, yeah.

And if there's fish, even better. But...

What's the minimum amount of time that you'll let yourself cook?

I'd do fish in 35, in all honesty. Yeah? Yeah.

Depinder, what about you?

Whole spices, powdered spices, anything.

Anything. Any spice.

Was that a little prayer, then, for spice?!

I've been praying all morning!

I am worried because I would like to play to my strengths

and make a curry.

But so far I don't have any herbs. I don't have any spices.

But I'm thinking if I've waited this long,

I may as well just wait a little bit longer.

I just need the right ingredients.

Alright, guys, you'll have 55 minutes left.

The next ingredients are...

..grains.

Black lentils. Steel cut oats.

Freekah.

Spelt grain.

And semolina.

No takers? Yeah, it's a pass from me.

Hard pass. Not very spicy, is it?

Oh, my God.

There's no way I'm using those today.

I'm gonna wait it out.

I know this is a risk.

I know I'm wearing a black apron, but I just need more ingredients.

I'll do a 50 if I have to.

There are a few surprises, let me tell you.

Pleasant ones? Oh, good ones.

Or pheasant one!

It is smelling good out there, though, I must say.

There's a lot of work going on out there.

Those beautiful onions.

Yeah, I can just smell the onions and vinegar.

Whoo! I'm in a smoke here.

We'll be here, Snez!

Hello! Meet Maggie Beer. Hi, Maggie. Hello.

I'm, like, starstruck.

You're wonderful.

What are you cooking? OK.

I'm going to do one big raviolo that's gonna have egg.

And I'm making brown butter ricotta inside as well.

It sounds wonderful.

Yeah. I wish I waited one more block.

I was about to say - any regrets?

Those vegetables there were just me.

I think I got too excited, but that's OK.

And it has given you more time to be able to do it

by not waiting for that next one.

Yes. I hope you like my idea, Maggie.

I love your idea. I want to taste the end.

There we go. Thank you. Oh, my God.

Yes, it'll be. Thanks, Maggie.

(POTS CLANK) Oh, my God.

Got too many things up here.

Time is just going so fast.

I had 80 minutes, but now I have about 50.

The pressure is on to get going.

I'm going to be making ricotta and caramelised fig tart.

My shells are crispening up lightly in the oven,

and I want to infuse all that vino cotto

and that verjuice in it,

just to amp up the flavours of these beautiful figs.

Now I've got to work on that ricotta.

I'm blocking everybody off.

I need to focus on what I'm doing and do it quick.

LAURA: Audra, good? Yeah.

Cal, are you good? Yeah, mate.

My verjuice parfait needs a good amount of time

in the blast chiller to set.

So I'm really glad that I chose to get as much time as I could.

And now I need to get those other elements sorted.

Hello. Hi, Maggie. How are you?

Lovely to see you, as always. Oh, it's great to see you.

In year two, you cooked pheasant? I did indeed.

And the sauce, I still can taste it.

Wow. Yes.

Well, thank you very much, Maggie.

I reckon I'm pretty pumped with my idea, if I'm honest.

So I reckon this is gonna be one for you, Maggie.

You ready? Tell us. Tell us.

So this dish is going to be all about...

..verjuice!

Got it, got it.

So it's going to be a verjuice parfait,

a black grape sorbet. Yes.

We've got a verjuice beetroot granita,

and I'm currently making some vine leaves.

What do you think, Maggie?

Well, I think that's pretty exciting.

And that's, you know, I did say earlier, and I meant it so much.

I've always learned a different way of using something that I love

and use every day.

Do you mind if I ask - verjuice, how did you discover it?

In 1984, we couldn't sell our Rhine Riesling grapes,

so I convinced my friend to make verjuice

when I'd never tasted it, didn't have a sample of it.

And that's when it started.

Wow. How good is that?

In flagons.

41 years later, here we are

and you're celebrating Maggie's own verjuice.

Yeah. And in one dish, I've already used half a bottle, you'll notice!

It's wonderful. Well, I'll get back to it, then.

Good luck. I'll leave you to it. Thank you.

The next thing I want to get onto is a verjuice and beetroot granita.

And it's a slightly risky strategy,

making a dessert that's quite beetroot-heavy,

especially because it's such a dominating flavour.

And I want this dessert to be about the verjuice.

So I've got to balance it really carefully here.

LAURA: Good juicing, Callum.

Less messy this time. Love to see it.

BEN: People are cooking. Some of them have been cooking for ages now

and we haven't even started.

SOFIA: Depinder, you can't stand still! No.

Depinder and I, we're just sort of hanging out with Maggie.

I'm obviously waiting for seafood.

I guess she's waiting for some herbs and spices.

Yeah, the pressure's definitely mounting.

POH: Alright, guys, once I reveal these ingredients,

you'll have 50 minutes left.

We have...

..fresh herbs and spices!

ANDY: Wahey! There we go, Depinder!

DEPINDER: Finally, there's herbs and spices.

OK. We have lemon verbena, coriander, dill, mint.

It's a mixed bag.

The herbs are great...

And then we have caraway seeds,

fennel, smoked paprika, dried oregano.

MAGGIE: Poh's selling it!

..but I don't think there's enough spices there to build flavour.

I'm gonna wait.

You're gonna wait, Depinder?!

How are waiting?! I'm so surprised!

Oh, my gosh!

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Unbelievable.

I'm floored. I really thought that these were gonna tempt you.

It wasn't really the array that you were probably hoping for, was it? Yeah.

I'm almost there. Almost there!

Almost there.

I'm now...

I'm so confused because I'm like, I could have gone.

And normally I would have at least an hour

to build that depth of flavour.

And I usually have my spice box,

which I miss so much right now.

If the herbs and spices didn't tempt you,

maybe these next ingredients will.

I really hope so, Poh.

When I reveal these ingredients, you'll have 45 minutes left.

OK. 45.

These next ingredients are...

..leaves.

WOMAN: Ooh.

So we've got nasturtium, vine,

fig, sorrel, shiso.

ANDY: Oh, that fell a bit flat, Poh!

It's leaves. And it's still not

the ingredients that I really wanted.

And I just realised these ingredients

are leaning towards Maggie's palate.

So I could be waiting for ingredients that don't exist here.

Holding out is a dangerous game.

You've got to remember, I chose the ingredients.

ANDY: Oh, that fell a bit flat, Poh.

DEPINDER: 45 minutes on the clock and the leaves have been revealed.

It's not exactly what I wanted.

Holding out is a dangerous game.

You've got to remember, I chose the ingredients.

But I don't think there's going to be spices there.

I love sorrel. Oh, she's off!

Oh, she's up! That was sudden.

So I'm not waiting any longer. Time's going to fly.

I have so much to do.

I need to get started on my curry straightaway.

I'm just going to make the most of what I have.

I was like, "OK, I'm going to go for the chicken,

"and I'm going to go for the herbs,

"and I'm going to make a chicken curry and some flaky roti."

I just need to make sure the chicken is cooked perfectly

and packed full of flavour.

I'm going to be using the herbs to build flavour,

and I'm also going to be using fennel seeds and caraway seeds.

I do use them, you know, in my curries,

but I usually have, like, 10 other spices.

So my brain's just ticking away.

And I'm just thinking how to bring out

enough flavour in this dish.

I don't want to serve the judges a curry

that's not good enough just because I don't have enough spices.

That's not a good enough excuse at top 10.

LAURA: Yep. You got it, girl. Let's go.

ALANA: Rapeseed oil. What's that?

Declan. Oh, g'day. Hey, Maggie, how are you?

Good to see you. Sorry, Declan.

I was just very interested in what you've got going on here.

More offal skewers.

Um, last time I was in the kitchen cooking for you,

I made an apple and blackberry crumble,

and you told me to pull my finger out.

So it's a homage to my progression.

Um, so I've got these little skewers, um, figs.

There's delicious ox tongue and chicken livers.

I've made this garlic vino cotto glaze,

and I'm going to finish them over the hibachi

and then serve it on top of, like, a slaw.

A slaw? OK.

Yeah, I feel like it kind of needs fat.

Something... Yeah. Mouthfeel, mouthfeel. OK.

You need kind of something to connect everything together.

Yeah. OK. Yeah.

And also, it's extremely important that you cook these really lovely.

I mean, I'm glad you're taking a risk

and you're cooking something that shows your progression.

But today's not the day to put a foot wrong.

No, it's not. You need to nail this dish, mate. Alright. Alright.

Go for it. Good luck.

Thank you guys.

Andy and Maggie, they know my potential

and they know I can push myself.

So I decide I'm doing a verjus emulsion.

I hope this emulsion is going to add that fatty richness

that's going to cut through the sharp flavours of the slaw

and that vino cotto-glazed offal.

It's better not to watch everyone else over there.

No, it's a lot of noise.

Yes, yes. Taking their time.

Yeah. Time is on their side, but flavour might be on yours.

Yeah.

I'm starting to get a little bit worried.

The way I saw this flowing was that the ingredients

were going to get better and better and better,

but, you know, two of the last three things revealed

have been grains and leaves.

I mean, really?

Come on. Seafood has to be next, surely.

They can't do a challenge like this without seafood.

SOFIA: Ben, last man standing.

Yeah, well, you know, don't leave Maggie hanging.

All good things come to those who wait.

Alright, Ben, it's time to reveal the next ingredients.

If you choose these, you'll have 40 minutes left to cook.

Mm-hm. Three, two, one.

It's seafood!

I need to get going.

Oh, yes. Deckers, we finally got seafood.

Oh, he's only going now. He's crazy.

40 minutes. Oh, ho-ho-ho!

Just lift that up, please.

You don't want to cut yourself, my dear.

Thank you, Chef. Alright.

Today, I'm going to be cooking a lovely ocean trout

with some parsnip puree,

some herbs and some mussels and some clams.

Huge risk taking the least amount of time,

but it's long enough to cook fish

and I'm the only person cooking it, so that's a good thing.

First thing I start working on is the parsnip puree.

I chop it as finely as possible.

I've got no time to waste.

LAURA: Let's go.

If you'd waited to the end,

you would have had caviar, black truffle,

black garlic, aged Parmesan, finger lime.

So much flavour. All the luxury.

And it's all ours!

(CONTESTANTS GROAN)

Oh, my God, what have I done?

Alright, the last person is cooking,

which means everyone is behind the stoves.

35 minutes to go.

Hello, Sarah. Hello.

I'm so excited that you're here, Maggie.

And my dish is an offal and caramelised onion tart.

Ah! Savoury tart, yeah.

So run us through. You've got the tart shell.

Yes. What's the filling?

So the filling is layers.

So it's an onion cream, then it's caramelised onions,

then it's the sweetbreads and crispy parsnip.

How's the tart shell? I haven't checked yet.

(GASPS) It's in the oven.

You haven't checked?

Can we have a look? I'm not hiding anything.

You can have a look and let me know how it is.

No soggy bottom. No, no soggy bottom.

Yeah. Good luck. Thank you.

I really want to take these tarts to the edge.

I want that caramelisation to be there.

And now I need these beautiful, delicate sweetbreads

to be perfect. Whoo!

LAURA: Smells beautiful. Thank you.

Very, very good. The colour is wild.

The curry is really herby.

Very different to the curries I usually make.

For obvious reasons, I don't have all the spices.

My curry is quite herbaceous

and I feel like there's something missing.

And all of a sudden, I see I've got pepper.

I'm like, "Why did I not use pepper earlier?"

So now I'm adding pepper into my curry

to build the nodes of that warmth, curry spices that I normally use.

And I think I need an element of smoke.

So I'm smoking my chicken curry with the ghee that I've made,

and that's going to add a really good depth of flavour.

And I'm also going to serve that with a really tangy,

sweet tomato herb chutney for Maggie.

I think she really likes those tangy flavours.

I have never made anything like this before,

but I'm going to punch in as much flavour as I can with what I've got.

OK, everyone, we want some Maggie magic.

20 minutes to go.

AUDRA: Where's my cream? Where's my cream?

CALLUM: Oh, Snezza, what a move. Bring it on.

DECLAN: Mandolin. No, no time for that.

I thought that I had plenty of time, but I'm stressing out.

I'm nervous, I know I don't want to go home today.

You know, being in a kitchen, that's my happy place.

It's taken me a long time to get where I am.

But I never gave up.

So I'm fighting for my place in this competition.

I've managed to do this emulsion,

and I'm just going to mix that with the slaw.

These bad boys.

And now I need to really focus on these

offal skewers with chicken liver, beef tongue and fig

with this nice sticky vino cotto glaze.

I just really need to nail the cook on this.

God.

LAURA: Benny, how are you going?

You've got... Oh, God. Under 20 minutes.

Huh? Under 20.

I'm feeling the heat. This is full-on, man.

I don't normally cook, like, this quickly in here.

(LAUGHS NERVOUSLY)

I've got so much to do.

I haven't even started on my ocean trout.

I need to make sure it's a nice, clean fillet.

There's no bones.

It's time consuming and fiddly,

and I'm thinking I could have gone 15, 20 minutes earlier

and cooked a beautiful quail dish

with plenty of time to get it all done.

So I really hope I don't regret my decision to wait that long.

LAURA: Come on, Benny!

BEN: Less than 20 minutes to go. I've got no time to waste.

To make the sauce,

I want to use some of the shellfish reduction

from cooking the pipis and mussels,

and the parsnip puree is cooking away.

I need to get on to the fish.

So I'm really racing to get this fillet off the ocean trout.

To pull the pin bones out of the fillet

is actually quite tedious.

Normally, you can pull the whole bones out,

but I've just cut it into pieces,

so I've got to go and pull a little half bone out there,

a third of a bone here, a big bone there.

I'm hoping there's not a little bone hiding in there somewhere.

So this is going to cost me a bit of time.

And time is one thing I do not have.

LAURA: Benny, just keep going.

Top 10 in your sights and just 10 minutes ago.

LAURA: Whoo! Come on, team.

The tarts are almost ready.

I'm going to pull them out and start plating any second.

So we're... We're there.

Finally, the tarts are ready.

I need to assemble. I need to make it look beautiful.

I'm layering in that caramelised onion cream.

I've got these beautiful sweet breads,

the grapes, my parsnip crisp.

Finishing with that bone marrow sauce.

You're cooking with Maggie Beer's favourite ingredients.

Do her proud. Five minutes to go.

LAURA: Come on, guys!

Come on, Deps!

I am very nervous

because I've never made anything like this before,

so I just don't know if my dish has that depth of flavour

and it's extremely risky.

So, yeah, I don't know if making this curry was the best decision.

CALLUM: At the start of this cook,

I had a very conscious decision

to go for more time and less ingredients.

I do think I made the right call,

because I've been able to get everything on the plate,

that verjuice parfait,

and I'm going to top it with some of that black grape,

fig and verjuice sorbet.

Around that goes some of the beetroot and verjuice granita.

And finally I'm going to top it with

that vine-leaf-shaped biscuit and the beetroot leaf powder.

So, yeah, I think in the battle of time versus ingredients

I think time was the way to go.

LAURA: Beautiful, Callum. Beautiful.

DECLAN: Ouch! Come on, Decky. Come on.

I'm really cutting it fine here,

but it's starting to look good.

I've got my fresh, punchy, crunchy slaw with the emulsion.

I'm really hoping that this emulsion is going to bring this dish together

the way Andy and Maggie wanted.

It's been such a special cook today having Maggie in the kitchen.

One minute to go.

(CHEERING)

BEN: Everything's a blur.

I've got no idea what I'm doing.

I definitely had to rush the dish more than I wanted to.

I thought it was enough time.

So this is not ideal.

This is the dish to get you into the top 10...

JUDGES: Nine, eight, seven,

six, five, four,

three, two, one!

That's it!

Wow. DECLAN: Wowee.

BOTH: Well done.

Oh, that was close.

Oh, I feel relieved.

This dish probably never exists anywhere in the universe.

So, big risks can be big rewards.

And it is a huge reward making it into the top 10.

One of my favourite challenges

with one of my favourite people, Maggie Beer.

Thank you so much for coming in.

And the age-old question,

what do our contestants value more - time or ingredients?

But no matter how much time or ingredients they picked,

their biggest challenge was trying to impress you, Maggie.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Yes, I agree. I'm such an ogre.

Please! Can't you tell?

I reckon we get the first dish in.

Hi, Callum. Hello, everyone.

SOFIA: Wow. JUDGES: Oh!

Caught our eye!

Righty-oh, Callum, what's the dish?

All Things Verjuice.

So it's a beetroot verjuice granita around the outside of the plate.

A verjuice parfait on the bottom there.

On top of that is black grape and verjuice sorbet.

And then on the top, it's vine leaf.

I've hit it with dehydrated beetroot leaves.

The old celebration of verjuice dessert, Callum.

You've chosen all the ingredients today, Maggie.

But we don't mind it. We don't mind it.

We accept it.

Callum, what would it mean for you to make top 10?

Top 10 is the ultimate milestone of kind of feeling like you've made it.

Confident that this dish will get you there?

You can never be too confident.

I do think that the last handful of challenges,

there hasn't been, like, bad dishes.

You know, the people that are going home at the moment

are like doing very minor, little slip-ups.

So, yeah, I think it's a good dish, but who knows?

Well, Callum, we're all looking forward to tasting

a celebration of verjuice.

Cool. Thanks, everyone.

JEANÐCHRISTOPHE: Thank you so much. SOFIA: Thanks, Callum.

Wow, look at it. Whoa!

I want to wear it. Great hat.

Wow!

Oof!

Alright, Maggie, so Callum was clever

because he knows that the way to your heart is through verjuice.

So, tell us, was it a hit?

It was a hit. It was a hit.

Yeah! It was a hit.

You know, to be given a dessert like this that's so pretty...

It is pretty. It is very pretty.

..and with all those different elements,

it was like a progression.

The richness of the parfait,

but still that, you know, piquancy that comes,

that flavour of the beetroot with the verjuice,

the fineness of that little biscuit,

the grape leaf that looked like a maple leaf was fantastic.

All of the elements were perfect.

That was absolutely divine.

And I feel like I've just had a beautiful, cool summer drink.

Like, that's how his desserts always leave me.

Just so refreshing. And the sugar balance is so perfect.

His flavours and how he plates them up are just so different.

And he's continuing to raise the bar

on being able to accomplish balance in those flavours.

SOFIA: It's always a surprise. Yeah.

Callum is just a flavour master and he's proven it once again.

Yeah, I agree.

This dish is what stands between me and top 10.

ANDY: Deckers! SOFIA: Hi, Deckers.

Winning MasterChef Australia, it's everything I've ever dreamed of,

and then opening up that restaurant one day,

showcasing dishes like this.

So, yeah, I'm sweating buckets.

I'm nervous.

Declan, what have you cooked?

These are my Inside Out Skewers with a vino cotto glaze.

And then I've got a radicchio slaw.

Deckers, I sense a little nervous crackle there in your voice.

Yeah.

I think there's always just a little bit of lack of confidence there.

Well, Declan, your nerves just show that you care.

We're going to taste your dish now. Thank you, guys. ANDY: Cheers, mate.

POH & MAGGIE: Thanks, Declan. Enjoy.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Thank you, Declan. Thank you.

Um, to be honest, it feels like we've got skewer and slaw

and nothing really in between.

What I wanted from the dish was kind of what we're trying to convey with him.

Some sort of fat.

He talked about this emulsion

and he's kind of lightly dressed, the slaw in that,

whereas I feel like it needed to be a sauce

so that all of the skewer work,

we could have kind of dug around in the slaw and in the sauce,

and that would have made the whole dish much more complete.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: When you're dealing with livers,

you need to have something very dominant in the palate

to match the strength of the offals,

and, for me, the slaw is too light for it.

There was a lack of lusciousness about that slaw.

You know, we talked about fat - I wanted more.

POH: It ends up being a very basic dish for me.

And compared to everyone today, I think he is in the woods.

ANDY: Jamie! What have you made?

Charred and roasted chicken.

Well, I thought the chicken was really nicely cooked.

I loved the parsnip,

because it's one of my favourite, favourite things,

and the freshness of the beetroot, so there's a lot I like about it.

Yeah.

Snez, what did you make? Egg raviolo with onion sauce.

I also have confit egg.

POH: I think Snez has done a really good job.

Obviously the yolk was a success, so that's fantastic.

Beautiful ricotta.

And I think her pasta work was lovely.

Alana, what have you made?

So I've made a ginger and lemon biscuit tart

with a diplomat cream,

a vincotto ice-cream

and a fresh grape sauce for you.

Mm!

POH: I hear happy sounds coming from Maggie.

(LAUGHS)

ANDY: That vincotto ice-cream could be

one of the best things I've had this year.

Oh, that's huge! I loved that.

Like, it's perfect. Mm.

And what a great day to pull it out with you in the house.

And, you know, taking a risk

and going the earliest of all of our contestants.

And she made use of her time so well.

One of my favourite things about that dish was

just hearing Maggie's happy noises when she ate.

(JUDGES GREET SARAH)

Sarah, that looks OFFALLY good. What did you make?

I have made an offal and caramelised onion tart.

Well, Sarah, I know I, for one, am very excited

to try your offal tart, and I'm pretty sure Maggie is too.

Absolutely. So we're going to get into it.

Awesome. Thanks, Sarah. JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Thank you.

Ooh-ooh! I want the offal!

There you go, Maggie. That's for you.

That's mine!

Well, there's not much left, that tells you I loved it.

The sweetbread was just perfectly cooked.

I loved that pop of the grape...

..the caramelised onion that agrodolce.

And the sauce I thought might be too rich, but it wasn't.

And the crispness and flakiness of the pastry...

I loved it. Yes.

And so thin. Yeah.

She did a good job of lining that.

I think she's absolutely crushed it. Yeah, agreed.

DEPINDER: I waited so long, but I never got my ideal pantry,

so I just don't know

if the judges are going to get that depth of flavour in the curry.

JUDGES: Hi, Depinder.

POH: One of our last two daredevils.

Depinder, what have you cooked?

So I've made a smoked chicken cafreal

with a flaky paratha

and a tangy onion herb chutney condiment.

Well, a curry and bread in 45 minutes is extremely brave,

and I know Maggie's looking forward to trying this one, so we'll taste.

JUDGES: Thank you. Thanks so much.

Thank you, guys. Enjoy.

So let's have a look. OK...

So the big question is...

Is the curry going to have enough flavour in it?

ANNOUNCER: In the mood to cook?

Grab your aprons

and try these delicious, MasterChef-approved recipes

on 10Play.

That is mind boggling.

Like, I know she had a lot of ingredients to play with,

but not specific spices that she would normally go for.

And, boy oh boy, she packed that full of flavour.

The smoking the chicken gives that such a high level of substance.

And what about the bread?

That is one of the best roti-style breads I've had in here.

Yeah. I agree.

It's flaky. It's perfectly cooked.

SOFIA: I think you really do get that smokiness.

And then what sort of backs that up is that pepper that's in there

because that's the last thing you feel.

It's that lovely warming hum.

Developing those layers in the curry in 45 minutes -

I couldn't do it in twice the time.

It's just so good. JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: It was actually.

You know what I do if I go somewhere and I absolutely love it?

Have you heard of goody bags?

Or doggy bags, whatever you call it.

This is going to go to my wife when I go back home.

Oh, my God. Ah!

Audra. What did you make?

Fresh ricotta and caramelised fig tarts.

Uh, you're a huge fan of Maggie.

What's it like cooking a dish for her?

Uh... I just... It's...

You just bring the emotions out of me.

And this is what you do to people... Oh.

You've given me goose bumps.

I think it means a lot to Maggie. She's going to taste your dish now.

Thank you. Thank you.

She had a lot of time, and I think Audra has done a fabulous job.

The pastry is a delight. It's crunchy. It's very thin.

And the ricotta is quite fresh.

It is very good.

Andre. Andre.

What's the dish?

It's supreme of chicken with a ginger veloute

and a agrodolce of ox tongue and zucchini.

POH: My chicken was perfect,

like so succulent.

It's a funny dish because it's kind of got Asian notes

because of the ginger.

It's really lovely. I love the vegetables.

Everything's sort of tender but still a little crunchy.

I think he's done a great job.

BEN: It was one of the most hectic cooks I've had in this kitchen.

Hello, mate. Hello.

The whole thing's a blur,

so I don't really know what I've done.

And at this stage of the competition,

you can go home for the smallest thing.

Ben, you were the last man standing. What did you make?

I made pan-roasted ocean trout

with shellfish, charred zucchini, parsnip puree

and a verjus parsley sauce.

Was that tough to wait all the way to the end?

Yeah, it was really weird, actually.

Like, when you can hear it all going on behind you

and you can smell it all happening. Yeah.

I was very tempted, but then I thought,

"Ah, the seafood can only be another five minutes away,"

and so I took the chance on that, I guess.

What's the goal for you to get out of this,

you know, after this competition?

Yeah. So, I mean, I've cooked professionally for a few years,

but in the last couple of years I haven't,

I've been doing family stuff,

and I kind of almost lost the mojo, you know, a bit.

Being back in here is just, like, really lighting that fire again.

It's just like it's right back.

I've got, you know, a few ideas

that I think can probably come to fruition from getting this far.

and certainly if I can get to the end.

I think you took a big risk. You know that. We know that.

I hope it's paid off. Thanks.

Thanks, guys. Thanks, Ben.

MAGGIE: Thanks, Ben. JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Thank you, Ben.

SOFIA: It definitely looks like a complete dish.

I think this is an interesting choice of dish

for the amount of time that he had.

If I put myself in his shoes

and I was dead keen on using seafood,

I probably would have gone, like, light and fresh and vibrant.

So I'm interested to see how it eats, but I'm worried for him.

I think, Ben, 40 minutes to make a dish like this...

Um, I think it takes a lot of courage.

The fish was cooked impeccably.

I think considering the size of the fish,

that he had to fillet it very quickly,

to keep it nice and pink

and the skin well retrieved was a formula.

And I think all the shellfish together also was very brave.

The white wine sauce reduced with the shellfish stock,

gave a bit of acidity to the dish.

But I would have liked the parsnip to be less liquid

and sadly it's missing some freshness.

I wanted zing, I wanted freshness, I want a texture,

but instead it's quite on the heavy side.

I've got parsnip puree,

which has been cooked down in a lot of fat and milk -

same with the butter sauce.

So I'm a little bit worried for Ben

because, for me, I wish that he had a little bit more time

just to finesse.

My ocean trout was cooked perfectly.

But just think how fresh

if he had have used those sorrel leaves with the fish.

You know, that would have really given us that lovely zing.

Maggie, how do you think everyone did?

I loved that each of you went to all these ingredients of mine

with such gusto.

You wanted to please me, and that made me very proud.

I loved your creativity.

And again, I've learned from you.

Well, we love you, Maggie.

So, please, everyone, put your hands together

for Madame Maggie Beer!

With top 10 at stake and Maggie Beer in the kitchen,

you had every reason to go all out today,

and four of you went above and beyond.

Sarah! Oh, wow.

You took a risk working with offal and, boy oh boy, did it pay off.

Callum.

If ever there was a way to win Maggie over,

it was with verjus.

But it's what you did with it today that stole her heart.

Well done.

Depinder. Oh!

That curry was stuffed with silly amounts of flavour.

We absolutely frothed it.

And...

..Alana.

That vino cotto ice-cream,

that was outrageously good.

Well done, all of you. You're safe.

SOFIA: Sadly, one of you is going to fall just shy of the top 10.

If I call your name, please step forward.

Declan.

And Ben.

SNEZ: (GASPS) Oh, my God, Ben.

Good luck, mate. Good luck, mate.

Declan...

The slaw was lacklustre and your dish really needed a sauce.

Ben...

..your dish needed freshness,

and you had the least amount of time to work with,

and I'm sorry to say it showed on the plate.

So both of your dishes had flaws.

But the difference between the two was that one felt complete

and one didn't.

Which is why I'm so sorry to say...

..Declan, you're going home.

Sorry, buddy. No worries.

Declan. Mate, you came in here to regain your confidence.

And trust me, you have done just that.

Yeah.

Declan is your name. Cooking is definitely your game.

Yeah.

I came here to win.

But I think, looking at it now,

I came here to bring joy and put smiles on everyone's faces.

But, you know, it's not the end.

It is just the beginning for me.

I think I'm peak Declan at the moment,

and it's definitely a force to be reckoned with.

So, Sarah, do you think Declan's got a bright future?

I think that Declan is

the most genuine, incredible human being.

He's so talented.

Whatever he puts his hand to, he gives it 100%.

And he really is a light in this room for everyone.

He lifts every single person up. He's incredible.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I think you can tell, mate, we all love you in here.

But for now, Peak Declan, it's time to say goodbye, mate.

Thank you.

Thank you, mate. Thank you.

It's bittersweet, of course.

Thank you, Maggie. I'll never forget this.

You know, I might be leaving the MasterChef kitchen,

but definitely a different person compared to season 15.

I'm a better cook. I'm a better man.

I'm better in my mind.

Give it up for Declan, everybody!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

And the fish-tro, Declan's fish bistro,

it is coming to a town near you.

It's going to happen.

ANNOUNCER: This week on MasterChef Australia...

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Are you ready?

..we're down to the top 10 for 2025...

ANDY: Yes, yes, yes!

..so the kitchen is pumping...

SNEZ: We are getting really close to that trophy

and I'm coming for it.

(JUDGES EXCLAIM)

..and creations this incredible...

POH: Oh, that's good! SOFIA: Wow!

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Wow, wow, wow. It's just unbelievable.

It is mad genius.

..put the judges in a spin.

Captions by Red Bee Media