Original subtitles

RUE: Oh. Thank you.

What...? Oh, is it Shannon? Oh, it's Shannon!

WOMAN: Oh, my God!

Shannon Bennett. MAN: Is that Shannon Bennett?

I can see, as soon as I walk in, it's old mate Shannon Bennett.

He's here cooking up a storm. (LAUGHTER)

Last time I was on MasterChef,

Shannon Bennett was there to help during immunity cooks.

WOMAN: Something smells good.

We worked together on two immunity pins.

Didn't get it, but this time, I'm happy to cook for him.

Oh, what's he making us for lunch? I know! Yum, smells really good.

ANDRE: Here we go. SHANNON: How are you?

Very good. What's going on? Just a little bit of cooking.

Show you a couple of things.

JAMIE: A lot of respect for Shannon Bennett.

The last service challenge I did on my series was actually

in Vue de Monde.

Thank you very much. Appreciate everything.

It was tough all those checks coming in at once.

But you handled it well.

Handled it well. Thank you.

He gave me some really choice words

that helped propel me into my career as a chef.

So hopefully today's going to be a good day.

OK. No pressure here at all.

(LAUGHTER)

So I'm making a pea puree here.

I don't want to give too much away just yet.

Pea puree, doing some beer-battered scallops. MAN: Yum!

I've got some quail eggs

that I'm sort of poaching in a little bit of olive oil here.

Some black pudding. It's all going to come together.

That's about it, really. And... (LAUGHTER)

And I haven't got long. I've got to hurry.

This is so cool. I love this. Yeah. It's amazing.

I'm loving watching Shannon cook here in the MasterChef kitchen,

because every time you see one of these guru chefs cooking,

you always learn something.

And his knowledge on kind of French, modern cuisine is second-to-none.

Pastry's really delicate.

It's got that sort of homemade feel,

and it's got that sort of Frenchy-ness about it that I like.

But I've got a funny feeling this is not going to be a MasterClass.

I feel like Shannon is setting us up for something big here.

Using one of these iSi guns is like...

There's so many great little tips with these...these guns,

from desserts to batters and things.

Just two ingredients -

beer and flour.

Actually, that's such a good idea, isn't it?

WOMAN: Such a good idea. Incorporate air. Yeah.

OK. I've got black pudding here.

This is not your normal black pudding.

This here has actually been made with some oats.

(OTHERS OOH)

Black pudding and scallops, for me, are a real classic combination.

So I'm going to fry off the black pudding, nice and crispy,

but try not to burn the flour.

High heat can be your enemy here.

Just that medium, even though we're rushing.

Oh, yum... Why are we rushing?

DECLAN: It's been a pretty intense couple of days here

in the MasterChef kitchen with Legends Week.

Scallops are cooked.

And looking at Shannon, he's working really fast.

And see how it's a little bit opaque.

I don't know if you can see that in there.

It's just a little bit under, which is perfect.

I spent a lot of time with Shannon Bennett on Season 15.

He helped me beat Sergio in a pressure test

to earn my immunity pin.

If you put all these elements together,

the fish is cooked perfectly... Yeah.

..really, it's going to be hard to fault, no matter what Sergio does.

OK, yeah. OK? I've got faith in you, Declan. Thank you, thank you.

You have won one of these, my friend -

the coveted immunity pin.

And not only that, but we're told we look quite similar.

So, you know, he's a good looking rooster,

so I take that one as a compliment.

Shannon, you have two minutes left. (LAUGHTER)

Thank you. Come on.

Thank you. Show us what you're made of.

You're loving this, aren't you? (LAUGHTER)

I'll get my own back, don't you worry. Don't you worry.

Come on, Shannon. You can do it. LAURA: Go, Shannon.

Pretty sure we're down to one minute. Surely.

I'm worried for you, Shannon.

OK. Pea puree in there.

Scallop on.

Oh, yum.

OK, black pudding on. Are we at 10?

Now you can make your call. 10...

ALL: Nine, eight, seven,

six, five, four... Shit!

..three, two, one. Oh, my God.

Right on time.

How are you, mate? How are you, mate?

Very good.

How are you?

Give it up for the legend that is Shannon Bennett.

Hello, mate, how are you going?

Look at that thing!

We just couldn't have Legendary Week

without having you back in this kitchen, mate.

Too kind.

And then, mate, what is it about this place

that just keeps you coming back?

Ah, I think it's the aspiration. Yeah.

I think, you know, all of you. Look at you. You're all aspiring.

You're all at different stages in your careers,

but it's all hospitality-based.

You've given up something else to be here.

So even my second son, Declan, is there.

(LAUGHTER)

Illegitimate son.

Declan, good seeing Dad back in the kitchen?

Yeah. Yeah, mate. It's great to see you back here.

Yeah, I need protection around Sergio now, every time I see him.

You hoping he'll be your lucky charm again, mate?

I'm definitely hoping for it.

Yeah, just walking through the doors, happy to see you here.

Yeah, so good to see you. So good to see all of you.

Shannon, what is going on here? That looks spectacular.

So we've got beer-battered scallops, crispy black pudding, quail egg,

sitting underneath that is a little bit of pea puree.

You went pretty hard there, mate.

Hey, they were going hard on me. (LAUGHTER)

You guys know that what's about to happen,

he can just get his revenge on you.

Yeah! Yeah.

Now, that is one good-looking dish, Shannon.

Yeah.

Rhiannon, do you want to guess how long that took to make?

It'd have to be at least half an hour.

POH: Interesting. Surely!

I mean, you know, there's quite a few little components there.

Like, it looks like minimalistic, but there's a lot going on.

Well, believe it or not...

..that dish took Shannon just 20 minutes to make.

(CONTESTANTS GROAN AND LAUGH)

And that's exactly how long you'll have to cook today.

(CONTESTANTS GROAN AND LAUGH) Oh, my gosh!

You can cook whatever you want in that 20-minute time frame.

But, guys, really important to remember...

..short on time shouldn't mean short on...

ALL: Flavour. Correct.

The pantry and garden are open.

We are looking for the best dish today.

Whoever cooks it will be safe from this Sunday's elimination.

So, you literally do not have a second to waste.

Shannon, take it away. Thanks, Poh.

OK. You have 20 minutes to bring us the best dish you can.

Your time starts now. (EXCITED SHOUTING)

RUE: Sorry. Oh, my gosh. Sorry.

(GRUNTS) Oh, I can't reach.

(SNEZ SHRIEKS) JIMMY: Sorry. All good.

Oh!

20 minutes is insane.

Sorry. Can I just go that way?

It feels like I'm in a shopping centre on Boxing Day sales.

It is chaos.

Everyone's running around like crazy and there's no stopping.

Like people are actually sprinting in the kitchen.

Go, Rhiannon. Yeah, mate.

Being a mum now, I actually have no choice but to whip up,

like, really quick meals.

Far out.

I usually have one of my girls hanging off one leg,

and the other one's, like, climbing up the kitchen counter,

so I've got no choice but to make it quick.

Since season 13, I think I've really grown as a person,

and I think being a mum has really played into that.

And I feel like I can be a lot more composed in the kitchen.

I have a lot more patience now.

So today, I'm going to be making a fried fish,

wrapped in banana leaf.

So I'm going to be marinating the fish really quickly

with some coconut chutney.

And I'm going to pan-fry it in the banana leaf itself.

And it's going to be really yummy and delicious.

I'm going to serve that with some rice.

But time is ticking away, so I just need to keep motoring.

Shannon, so excited to have you here for a 20-minute challenge.

And I think our contestants are really excited too.

What are you looking for?

Well, I think the main thing I'm looking for is that

I don't know that it's only taken them 20 minutes to do that dish.

I want to see something that looks like, "Wow, that's taken an hour."

That'd be pretty amazing. Yeah, yeah.

And obviously flavour.

ANDY: Flavour is the big one

and I reckon where you're hitting that is, like, the condiment section

is your best mate in something like this.

Anything, like, fermented or sweet-and-sour,

something that you can go... (IMITATES JAR OPENING) ..and get maximum flavour.

That's where it's at, I reckon. Yeah, yeah, totally agree.

What would you cook? You'd love this, surely?

I'm not sure specifically what,

but I think I'd probably use a seafood.

Yeah, that's a good one.

So you can just watch it really intently

and you know you're gonna nail it.

I might go for maybe a souffle or maybe some...

Souffle in 20 minutes! Or maybe some moules mariniere.

Why not?

Oh, moules mariniere would be good. In 20 minutes?

Yeah! I think so. Go on, then.

Sure? Are you sure? SOFIA: Yeah, why not?

What? Are you gonna do it now? You going for it?

You gonna do it now? Seriously! Yeah, do it!

SOFIA: Do it! Do it, do it. I love mussels.

Is he joking? No.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Where's the basket?

20 minutes is not a lot of time at all. This is actual chaos.

I'm gonna make a little take on a prawn cocktail.

So something really fresh, vibrant, crunchy,

heaps of flavour in the sauce.

To do this for Shannon Bennett is incredible.

He was our mentor in season six.

I won an immunity pin with Shannon.

So I'm really, really looking forward to doing this with Shannon today.

It's going to be epic.

I am going to make kibbeh nayyeh.

I'm staying true to my colours.

I'm making a Middle Eastern raw dish.

I can do it in 20 minutes.

I'll laugh if I can't, though.

I'm going to do what I LOVE most -

tamarind prawns.

Look, I'm just going to max it out with as much flavours as possible.

Wish me luck.

I think from what we just saw, what Shannon did,

he did a heck of a lot in his 20 minutes.

So I kind of think to stand out today -

you know, there's only one winner -

it's got to be something that the judges are not expecting.

And I'm hoping they're not expecting this.

I'm going to have a crack at a souffle.

Normally the kind of dish that you would never do in 20 minutes,

which is exactly why I'm doing it.

Do you want a bigger kingfish?

It's as big as you. Nearly.

Another one. It's a half Lozzie.

Mirin. Mirin. Mirin. Mirin. Bing. Bang! Boom!

I'm feeling nervous about this one today.

Far out.

Last time I was in the kitchen with Shannon, it was the semifinals,

and I got eliminated.

I think I really, you know, bit off a bit more than I could chew.

And that's still what haunts me to this day.

So I've spent the last 18 months trying to simplify my food,

focus on ingredients, and really letting them shine.

I've got a lot to prove today.

I've got to prove to, you know, myself that I can plate up a dish

worthy of gaining immunity.

I am getting sweaty.

So today, in the 20-minute challenge,

I'm going to be doing a kingfish crudo

with a green tomato verjuice consomme.

It's super important I start with this fish.

I don't have a lot of time,

but I need to be really precise with my portions and filleting.

Alright, that's good. Fillet here.

For an added depth of flavour in my tomato consomme,

I'm going to char off these tomatoes.

I think it's going to go well with the kingfish.

I've got beautiful verjuice and it adds that bit of acidity.

I've got some mirin for sweetness,

a little bit of lime and rice vinegar.

And I'm just going to work this

together with the charred tomato

and hopefully can find some sort of balance

that's not going to be too overpowering.

Oh, this is outrageous!

Um...

Rosemary, how can I miss that?

How can I miss it? (SMELLS)

Oh, look at that. Beautiful.

Look at the thyme.

Oh! The smell of that.

I might add a few pipis. I don't know yet. I might, actually.

(SNIFFS) Superb.

(SNIFFS) Guaranteed freshness, that's for sure.

Time's ticking! Oh, yeah. Yes.

You know, I got so much... Time's ticking.

So much. How many ingredients do you want?

Help me! I got you, I got you, I got you.

I got you.

Heads-up, everyone. 15 minutes to go.

Oh.

(EXHALES)

Today we can cook anything we want,

but we only have 20 minutes - that is not much time.

So what can I make in 20 minutes that's gonna impress the judges,

impress Shannon, and win immunity?

So my mind immediately goes to

loukoumades, re.

Loukoumades are essentially a fried doughnut.

They're little doughnut balls

that you then coat with some sort of syrup.

The hardest part of this is getting this batter on straightaway

'cause it needs time to ferment 'cause it's yeasted.

So I'm pushing it today, big time.

Today, I'm going completely off script.

I need to think about the ratios of my yeast to flour and water

and the temperature.

I need to wait till the last minute to fry these loukoumades,

so the dough has as much time as possible to prove.

If this yeast has acted too quickly,

it's going to deflate when it goes in the fryer.

If it's too early, it's not going to puff up.

I've never ever made loukoumades in 20 minutes.

It's normally like an hour and a half,

two hours maybe.

Theo. Hey, Shannon.

How are you, mate? What are we doing, mate?

Good to see you, brother. G'day, Theo. How are you, mate?

(LAUGHTER) Oh, sorry, buddy. How are you, mate?

You know how it is.

Mate, what are you doing? I'm doing loukoumades.

So traditional Greek flair.

So, really, the main thing is I need time for that to ferment,

because that's a yeasted dough.

Keep going! Yeah, that's a yeasted dough.

I'm also doing a mahlepi sort of glaze on it.

And then there's the two sauces - mahlepi glaze,

another one is honey, thyme, lemon and orange.

Wow. Excellent. So you've done this plenty of times?

I have, but, um, time-wise,

I've never done it in this amount of time, so that's a big, big risk.

You've picked a dish... Yeah, I know.

..that you've never done in 20 minutes...

I know. ..to get immunity.

What am I doing?

This is super risky.

Holy sh...

If this dough doesn't work,

I don't have a dish.

Time flies when you're having fun. You've only got 13 minutes to go.

I've got leeks. You want the leeks? Yes. Thank you.

I really appreciate your help, by the way.

But am I cheating having you helping me?

Nah, I got you, I got you.

I would do this to all of them. Thank you.

What I want to do now is straight in.

Go for it. No time.

Just a touch. Black pepper.

Quick, quick, quick.

Now back to the shallots.

JAMIE: Far out. The time is melting.

I'm using this beautiful kingfish to make kingfish kinilaw.

It's like a Filipino-style coconut ceviche.

Taking away the concept of having to cook something perfectly,

use something beautiful, make it delicious.

This is the kind of thing I cook at home.

Today, it's tuna ceviche.

It's going to be very fresh,

lots of stuff that I'd get from my garden at home in there,

and it's going to have potato chips on the side.

Fish and chips? Yeah.

Raw fish and chips. Raw fish and chips.

Your energy is still chill. Always.

That worries me.

We have miang kham today, which is a single bite.

It's with flavours of otak. It's all my favourite aromats -

coconut milk, coconut, chillies.

So, cooked kingfish? It won't be.

It'll be slightly ceviched.

I've got some lime. Ceviche, right.

Not cooking the kingfish, smart. No, he's done this before.

Good luck, Jimmy. Thank you.

I've got kids at home that I've got to cook to...for

within about 15 minutes.

So this is a little bit of luxury, actually, having 20 minutes.

It'd be the same, Timmy, wouldn't it? TIM: Absolutely.

Yeah. I'll stand beside you and like, "Where's my dinner?!"

I really wanted to do fish,

but I had a look around and I can see

that everybody else is doing ceviche or crudos.

I need to keep it a little bit different here.

Oh, my God.

So I'm using flounder and making a pan-seared flounder

with a zhoug sauce,

a crispy apple slaw and some fried saltbush.

Oh, there we go. That's better.

Immunity at any stage of this competition is what you want.

There are great cooks here.

I don't want to be going up against any of them in an elimination.

Since season three,

I've had this incredible career in food,

food and travel, TV presenting,

food styling, working with these wonderful chefs.

But it's been 14 years

since I was last in the MasterChef kitchen,

and this is some tough competition.

I came so close last time.

Top three, can you believe it?

I can't believe it. I really can't.

And I know what it takes to get to that grand finale.

But this time, I know I'm going to need to stand out.

I now need to move on to that zhoug sauce.

I blanched my herbs first

because I want it to be that super vibrant green colour.

If I was at home, I'd probably skip that step.

But this is the MasterChef kitchen,

I'm not skipping any steps today.

Believe it or not, you have 10 minutes to go.

Halfway.

Everything's fine, everything's fine.

Everything's so, so fine.

The best prawn cocktail we've ever tasted, right?

Yes. One delicious frickin' mouthful.

Simple, simple. Yeah, but there's 20 minutes.

Rhiannon, what are you making? I'm making...

Keep moving. I'm making prawns and noodles.

Prawns and rice noodles.

Hey, Audra. Ah!

OK, Andre, what do you making? What are you making?

Ajo blanco, prawn crudo... Yeah.

..squid ink crisp. Yum.

Wow, that sounds fancy for 20 minutes.

(LOUD WHIRRING) (SHOUTS) I can't hear you.

Oh! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

That's a lot to try and achieve in that amount of time. I know, I know!

Calm it down. Calm it down.

Today my goal is to create a restaurant-quality meal.

So I'm making an ajo blanco, which is a Spanish cold soup.

In the ajo blanco, we've got the almonds that need to be blitzed.

We've got some soaked bread in milk through there.

You've got some really good-quality sherry vinegar.

And then - here's the trick -

is cucumber and green apple to bring it up

and bring it fresh and vibrant.

Alright.

Now I need to start the prawns, quick cure, because...

It's a really quick cure.

10 minutes, salt, sugar, lemon zest to set that protein

a little bit.

To ensure that I impress Shannon,

I need to use every single minute of the minimal 20 stupid minutes

to cook this dish.

There's multiple elements to this.

I need to balance it correctly in the madness.

Um...

I can't think straight.

My mind's a little bit mental at the moment,

so I've just got to get on top of my nerves.

How's it going? How's it going? Ladies, I'll be two minutes.

(LAUGHTER)

I get excited, Sofia. I can pass you a spoon.

Have you got enough time? Yes, I do.

Amazing. Thank you.

I'm excited.

And we're done.

Improvising, sense of urgency. and enjoy it - that's it.

Yes. Yes.

Great ingredients. Beautiful equipment, you know?

A lot of noise up there at the front.

(POT RATTLES)

Bff! Crrrrr! Vvvvv! (CHUCKLES)

ADAM: Eight minutes, crew. Eight minutes. Let's go!

Cheese, cheese, cheese.

Oh, that's a lovely cheese.

I've had some wacky ideas in the MasterChef kitchen before,

but this is definitely amongst the wackiest.

Time is moving very quickly indeed.

My souffle has gone into the oven.

Alright. So I need to just keep pushing.

Ah, no, I don't want to log in. Ah!

I'm starting to think making a souffle is a really stupid choice,

but that's kind of why I'm doing it.

Callum. Oh. Hi, gents.

How are you? How are you, mate?

Very well. Nice green jacket, mate. Thank you, mate.

Are you trying to deflect from

the sweat that's running off your face?

I feel like I had a 10-minute cook. I'm doing a souffle.

Hey. Hey. Hang on. A souffle?! Yeah, yeah, a souffle.

I'm gonna do it with a coconut rum mango sorbet as well.

So I'd better just go check on that.

You've got a sorbet going on as well?!

Yeah. Just... Can I go check on it? Hang on. Yeah, you can.

I'll come with you, though.

Uh, what's on your timer for your souffle?

Oh. Two minutes. OK.

Two minutes.

OK. Two minutes. And so...

..devil's advocate, Callum,

what happens in two minutes if it doesn't work?

Yeah.

I reckon more 20-minute cooks, please.

Ooh!

Salt.

THEO: My dough is resting for my loukoumades.

Getting this done in 20 minutes feels almost impossible...

Oh!

..but I just need to stay positive.

Ah...

So now I need to move on to these sauces.

For my honey syrup,

I am adding thyme, lemon,

orange, all the classic flavours of Greek cuisine.

I'm also adding some salt

so it's not so one dimensional.

Mm. Peaking.

I'm also going to do a mahlepi glaze.

Mahlepi is an aromatic spice

that is derived from cherry pits.

It's a marzipany, sort of nutty flavour.

Remind me of my yiayia which is my grandma.

It brings me back to growing up,

and, you know, these different sort of spices

that I'd never seen in Australian cuisine before.

I absolutely love it,

and I hope the judges do, too,

because I think this could really wow them.

SOFIA: Seven minutes to go, everybody.

Woo!

I love this.

This is my kind of cooking.

Oh, my God! Oh, my God. How much time? How much time?

Here you go.

That's delicious. Ooh. Coconut vinegar. Yum!

Do you reckon crinkle cut lettuce is really tacky, Jamie?

Or does it go with the vibe of a prawn cocktail?

Goes with the vibe.

The smells coming out of my bench are really, really nice.

I'm actually getting really hungry. I don't have time to eat.

I've only got 20 minutes, guys.

I've lightly pan-fried the fish

with some ghee and curry leaves

for my coconut fish wrapped in banana leaf

and started on my coconut chutney.

This coconut chutney is super quick,

it's got bags full of flavour.

So I just add in all the ingredients,

blitz it into this really nice textured chutney

and it's ready to go.

It's time for me to wrap the fish in the banana leaf.

The only way you can impart,

like, the most amount of flavour in seafood,

is by wrapping it and cooking it.

So this was the quickest way.

I do a layer of coconut chutney on the base.

I put my lightly fried fish on top,

lather it with some more coconut chutney,

and I've got some coriander stalks in there for extra flavour.

Once it's wrapped, I can't open it to check the fish.

I'm going in blind and I just have to trust my instincts on this one.

Oh, God.

My sauce for my pan-seared flounder is so beautiful and vibrant.

I am super happy with how it tastes.

A little bit of extra salt, a little bit of pepper just to season it.

I still have to make my apple slaw and I still have to fry my flounder.

That's going to be quick to cook.

Yep. But very quick to overcook as well.

Yes. I know, I know.

So I'm gonna...

It's probably the best thing to cook in this amount of time.

For sure. You've just got to get it right.

A little bit of crispy skin as well.

Well, we won't take too much of your time.

No, please. Good luck, Alana.

I am worried about cooking this flounder

because it's so thin.

The flounder is going to be tough to cook on a heap of pressure.

The last thing I want to do today is overcook this fish

and give that to Shannon Bennett to taste.

I mean, that would be mortifying.

Ah! Oh, my God, guys, how you going?

Well, let's go. Let's go.

JEANÐCHRISTOPHE: So what I want is just to take an extract.

Oh, yum. Oh, yeah. It's a bowl.

We're taking a bowl...

This is my kind of serving. ..of beauty from the sea.

That looks so good, Jean-Christophe.

The pipi look lovely. The mussels.

Ah, look at the size of that. Shh.

That's it. Andy, Shannon, get over here.

Jean-Christophe is finished early.

ANDY: What is that thing?

Seafood mariniere with a bit of Camembert as a twist.

ANDY: With Camembert? Get in there!

POH: Oh, yum!

OK, I'll try. Have the straw.

Oh, yeah. You need to suck the sauce.

Yeah, in the bottom.

This place is turning mad, you know that.

Mm.

Oh, my God. Jean-Christophe, the garlic.

Yum. Oh, my God.

That's delicious.

Jean-Christophe, that is 'fantastique'!

Merci. Thank you. Thank you.

Guys, just a heads up.

Jean-Christophe is finished

and you have five minutes to go.

Five minutes!

Far out.

Good to go.

ANDRE: Ajo blanco is coming together.

The prawns are quick curing,

and now it's time to get onto the squid ink crisp.

I know it's quick. I know it's easy, but it can fail.

Time to go on a ring mould, in the frying pan.

Pour the right amount of liquid in there

and then let the sizzle tell you when it's ready.

The squid ink crisp is the sprinkle of magic MasterChef dust on my dish,

which elevates it into a restaurant quality.

And I know Shannon Bennett will appreciate it.

Five minutes. Right, you can do this.

Whoo! My sorbet's made. The toasted coconut is ready to go.

The souffle has come out of the oven.

It's come up nicely.

It's looking bright and vibrant.

It's got a nice crust on the top.

It's not quite at the great heights that it was.

It's shrunk a little bit.

But I think overall the dessert still looks really great.

And now I just need to hope the judges come and have a squiz

while it's nice and hot.

Jean-Christophe, come down, guys.

Callum's made a souffle.

So we're tasting it straight out of the oven.

Souffle. Did you say souffle? Souffle!

Run us through what you got.

So it's a lime and passionfruit souffle

with a mango coconut rum sorbet.

ADAM: Get in there, ladies. POH: Get in there? Alright.

SHANNON: Amazing you got that sorbet made in that time.

Yeah. Incredible. Well done.

Thank you.

Nice contrast between the two, both texturally and flavour-wise.

Um, well done. Very brave and... Yeah.

Yeah. Great technique.

I absolutely adore the flavours and your bravery.

This is superb. Well done.

SOFIA: Nice one, Callum.

ANDY: We also have another 20 dishes to taste.

Time's running out. Three minutes to go.

I'm looking at my batter and it's proved, I think.

But I need to fry now because I'm running out of time.

I don't even have time to test them.

I don't have time to do a second batch.

As soon as I put these loukoumades in the deep fryer,

I can see the outside puffs up.

It's crispy, it's looking great,

but I have no idea what the inside is like.

Best-case scenario, the inside is light and airy.

On the other hand, it could be raw on the inside.

Everything else is pretty much done, so I'm happy.

The loukoumades just need to come out of that damn fryer right away.

I am sweating up a storm.

It is so hot.

Holy moly. Blue shirt does not help the sweat.

The stress of 20 minutes,

the flame, the heat over me, Shannon up the front,

like, making me nervous.

Ugh, shaky.

I've sliced that kingfish up for my kingfish crudo.

I've portioned it, set it aside.

And now I'm working on balancing the sauce.

This dish is well within my comfort zone,

a crudo ceviche-style.

Oh!

But I'm looking around me

and there's some amazing cooks in this kitchen.

And now I'm just thinking,

"Have I done enough to make this a MasterChef-worthy dish?"

Holy dooley!

This is so stressful.

My mind's just racing.

I think I need to add another element to this dish

and really elevate it.

But I'm running out of time.

Holy shit.

I'm trying to think what can go with this crudo

to absolutely elevate it.

I'm thinking, alright, I can do like a rice paper crisp.

It's just going to add a textural element,

a crisp, a crunch.

I'm really trying to prove I'm here.

I'm in this MasterChef kitchen,

and I can do more than the average Joe.

Ha-ha, hee-hee!

Nice.

They look perfect. This is exactly what I envisioned.

Now I can focus on plating up this beautifully refined dish.

Hey, Declan. Shannon, how are you?

Oh, look at this. Is that a flower?!

Yeah. Look at me. Yeah.

The sweat-drenched shirt makes me think that

you're trying to make Dad proud.

I certainly am.

Yeah, I'm just gonna leave you to it.

Yeah. Good luck, son. Thank you.

Only one minute to go!

Pepper!

Oh, shit. That one needs one more.

One minute.

One minute.

The time's evaporated. One minute to go.

I'm starting to plate my ajo blanco.

And I need to do it in an elegant, soft way

with delicate fingers.

Fairy fingers.

Beautiful white cracked pepper.

16 years ago, I shook the whole way through the competition.

And so it's really nice to come back

and these things aren't shaking during the cook.

This dish, I'd be happy to serve and take someone's money for.

ANDY: 10...

JUDGES: Nine, eight, seven, six...

Bloody rice.

..five, four, three,

two, one.

You're done.

Oh, man. Oh, my God.

Where did that go? Oh! Bloody hell.

Good job.

That was hectic. Um, that was really crazy.

I think the rice is cooked perfectly.

The chutney tastes nice.

The only thing is the cook on the fish.

I'm really, really hoping for that immunity today,

so the cook on the fish needs to be perfect.

Time's finished.

And I look down at my plate.

I'm so happy with how it looks,

but I think there's a couple of tiny little bones

sticking out from the top end of the fish.

I'm devastated.

Argh!

The bones in this fish could definitely cost me

the immunity today.

Well, that challenge resulted in some incredible food,

but we're only looking for one top dish.

The first dish we'd like to taste is...

..Theo.

Oh. They look good.

Yum. Theo, what have you made?

Uh, today I've made loukoumades, re!

(LAUGHTER)

So what's all the little accoutrements?

So, yeah, we've got a mandarin, lemon,

thyme and honey syrup.

Uh, then you've got mahlepi glaze,

which is a spice that's used

in a lot of Greek and Middle Eastern cuisine

that's, uh, actually ground cherry seed or pits.

Oh, whoa!

With your 20 minutes, what made you think to do this dish?

Well, I think, um, it was kind of a bit crazy

to try and do something that's a little bit fermented

in 20 minutes, but I'm just trying to show

that you can do something pretty epic.

And who taught you? Who taught you to make this?

We used to have to go to church, and I hated going.

And the only reason I would go is because

my grandma would actually make the loukoumades

that they had at the church. And I was always...

That was the only way I could get 'em.

Mum's like, "You have to go to church,

"otherwise you're not getting any." And that's what I'd do, so...

What's your grandmother's name? Vicky.

Whose was better? Out of me and her?

Yeah. I can't say that it's me. No way.

(LAUGHTER)

And I'm sure she'd strike me down from wherever she is

if I said mine are better than hers.

So learnt from the best.

Shall we? Yes.

JEANÐCHRISTOPHE: In 20 minutes...

(LAUGHS)

(LAUGHTER)

I saw you, you little shark.

Theo...

I think you can tell by our giddy little faces

and the empty bowl there, mate, they are absolutely banging!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

I thought you were absolutely no chance.

Like, because I thought you just would have had to triple the yeast

and it just would have been so noticeable.

But you don't notice.

I don't think I've had loukoumades that good ever.

A beautiful crisp shell, super airy.

20 minutes, mate. That is epic. Thank you.

Absolutely epic. Thank you.

Theo, I just want to say thank you to your grandma.

(LAUGHTER) Efharisto!

Efharisto!

JUDGES: Efharisto.

I love that you showed us something

that I don't think any of us have tasted.

The...? What do you call this again? Mahlepi.

Mahlepi? Yeah.

I love, love, love. I can't talk about it enough.

When you guys bring us cultural ingredients, techniques,

dishes that we haven't tasted before, it is so joyous.

Mm! So good! Thank you.

Fantastic, mate. Thank you, mate.

You know, I had so many great experiences with you

where you were very brave, so...

And you've started here again so well done.

Thank you, mate. Thank you, guys.

ANDY: Yeah, Theo! (ALL CHEER)

And he's modest. I like that.

You killed it, man. You killed it. THEO: Thank you.

Luscious. Well done, buddy. Well done.

Thanks, mate. Well done, mate.

Thanks.

Next up - Laura.

(APPLAUSE)

(SOFIA GASPS)

Prawn cocktail.

Love that!

Laura, guess what?

It's a perfect prawn cocktail. Yay!

POH: The amount of flavour you packed into that - beautiful.

Thank you.

Sarah. (APPLAUSE)

SARAH: Coconut beurre blanc seared scallops,

just with a hint of spice and singju-inspired cabbage.

Ooh-la-la. I love the combination of the raw, the cooked,

and also this fantastic original beurre blanc.

SOFIA: Jamie.

Kingfish kinilaw. So, Filipino-style ceviche.

You needed to pack a lot into that crudo...

..and you did! (CHUCKLES)

Yeah, really great dish.

Alana, we'd like to taste your dish next.

ALANA: I am super proud of this dish.

I love the way it looks...

..but if there are bones in that fish,

it will lose me the chance of immunity.

Here we go.

What have you made us?

I've made you a pan-fried flounder

with a zhoug sauce, a apple slaw and some crispy saltbush on top.

How much of your time was taken up by the flounder?

I should have taken a little bit more time

because, I'll be honest with you... So thin.

..um, there's a couple of little bones left at the end.

Oh, self-confessed. Oh.

Yeah.

Alright, let's go for it.

Checking. I'm on the... I'm on the bone check.

The bone was up the fat end.

Someone's... (CHUCKLES)

But you probably have chewed them up, maybe.

Maybe I shouldn't have confessed and you would never have known!

(LAUGHS) Oh, no! What have I done to myself?

This sauce is absolutely fantastic.

SOFIA: You know the sauce is good

when Jean-Christophe is licking it off his hands!

Oh, God!

I'm joking!

(LAUGHTER)

I was going to say, "Please, I'll take it!"

You have done a really good job.

That whole dish is so fresh.

And then those little beautiful...

The little julienne salad, very simple -

just some spring onions and some fresh apple

and just that little hit of sweetness - it is delicious.

Such a beautiful plate of food. Thank you.

You should be really proud of yourself.

That's an amazing achievement for 20 minutes.

Thank you.

The flounder was cooked really well.

It's actually cooked perfectly, the fish.

So, you know, that's a fair bit of skill

for being so thin.

Thank you. Nice one, Alana!

Thanks, guys, thank you.

I want all the hugs!

I want all the hugs!

I was not expecting that. Yeah.

Samira. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Today I bring you kibbeh nayyeh,

which is a traditional raw meat dish.

I loved it. It tells a story on the plate,

a bit about you, too, which I really love.

Thank you. Congratulations. Thank you.

Snez, your turn. Yeah!

I made these tiny, little doughnuts, I call them ustipci,

a grilled plum sauce and mascarpone.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Did you use any yeast?

Not yeast today.

Ten for the plum sauce.

I was just wanting a little bit more air

in the old doughies.

Let's see what you can do in 20 minutes, Ben.

(APPLAUSE)

It's a beef carpaccio with beer-battered oysters.

SOFIA: I think you cooked the oysters perfectly.

That batter is so crisp and light. Thank you.

Great, thank you.

Jimmy.

Kingfish otak.

POH: All those classic South-east Asian aromatics

that appear in Malaysian food are just singing.

Really, really clever. Thank you.

(TUNEFULLY) Andre. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(SOFIA GASPS) Oh, wow!

ANDY: Say what?

You did that in 20 minutes, hey? Just.

(LAUGHS) Just.

Just! Just.

Can you tell us what it is?

Yeah, we're in Spain today.

That's ajo blanco with a prawn crudo and a squid ink crisp.

Well, let's hope it tastes as good as it looks...

I cannot wait to eat this! ..because it looks incredible.

Andre, 20 minutes, you bring up something

that is visually ready to go off the pass.

That is an absolute banger, mate.

You should be so stoked with that.

Thank you. Cheers.

(MOUTHS)

Not yet! I'm going to pump you up even more, mate!

Um, I thought, like,

even how your mind goes to this dish

for a 20 minute challenge is incredible.

It's why we love you.

It's why we're so keen to have you here.

The ajo blanco -

when I first tasted it, I thought I wanted more body.

Then, when you get the fat from the olive oil

and the slipperiness of those prawns,

that's when it starts to really, really sing.

Well done. Thank you. Ta.

Well, one thing hasn't changed is Andy's never short of words.

Soz! He said everything! You know?

I've got nothing left to say! Um, amazing!

Like, the restraint in the ajo blanco was...

Really just the sherry vinegar was nice restraint, didn't overpower it.

Well done, mate. Well done, Andre!

Thank you.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Cheers. Cheers. Thank you. Cheers. Cheers.

Next up - Declan. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(WHISTLES)

POH: That is...

Wow. Look at this. ..very delicate, Declan.

SHANNON: Looks amazing, son.

(LAUGHTER)

I'm going to settle this once and for all.

Can you just go and stand side by side?

(LAUGHTER)

I just want to... Everyone's...

And then just, like, raise your eye... Both raise your eye.

(LAUGHTER) It's pretty close... (LAUGHS)

(LAUGHTER)

It's pretty close! It is.

Fancy Declan, what have you got?

I've got kingfish crudo with a tomato verjuice consomme.

When we came around, you weren't just dripping in sweat,

you were shaking. Yeah.

Like, this one means a lot to you, hey?

This competition means a lot to you.

You really want this to be good? Yeah.

Going up against these guys,

I need to sort of be like that every cook.

And that's what I'm here to do, yeah.

I hope flavour pays off.

Looks impressive. Let's hope it tastes good.

Good. Dig in.

Declan, my son, um... (LAUGHTER)

..harmonising that dish together works really well.

I really like it.

You know, I was worried... Yeah.

..because it just didn't look like you...

Yeah. ..but it actually tastes like you.

Yeah. It's actually a really good dish.

Thank you. Yeah.

I've got some constructive things that I would like to say

that could make it an incredible dish.

Yeah, please.

Like avocado puree... Yeah.

..you know, a bit more zest in it, piping that onto there,

making it pretty... Yeah.

..but the actual structure of the dish itself

with that tomato dressing, I enjoyed that.

I enjoyed those flavours. Thank you.

So, well done to you. Thank you. Thanks.

I'm really excited to meet Dainty Declan...

(CHUCKLES) Yes, dainty!

..and with a little bit of refinement,

a little bit more seasoning, you are well on your way.

So, well done, Declan. Thank you, guys.

Nice, Deckers! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Bloody hell. Good stuff. Thanks, guys.

MAN: Good stuff! Thank you.

Beau, let's go!

(APPLAUSE)

Tuna ceviche. So, in there's horseradish,

celery heart, chilli, avo,

a little bit of agrodolce and some chips.

ANDY: Great idea.

I think you just need 25% more of, like, the power.

Yeah. It needed more acid, more salt.

Rhiannon.

RHIANNON: Prawns and noodles.

Excellent noodles, delightful broth. The prawns...

They're under.

They're really under.

Oh, shivers!

Let's taste your dish, Audra.

There's grilled prawns with tamarind, jaggery and chillies.

If there was just, like, a lime on the side,

I think it would have gone such a long way.

I just wanted more like...

More, like, that kind of cheek-puckering flavour.

It's there, but it's not there. Cool, thank you. Thanks, guys.

SHANNON: Thank you, Audra. Thanks, Audra.

Depinder, you're next.

She did rice. Wow.

Mm-hm. She did rice!

Depinder, what have you made us?

I've made coconut fish wrapped in banana leaf

with some cumin rice

and some of that coconut chutney on the side.

So, tell us what's inside the parcel.

So, it's bream lathered in that coconut chutney

and a little bit of coriander,

and then I pan-fried it in that banana leaf.

So, how do you know whether the fish is cooked properly?

Ah, well, yeah, that's the thing.

So... Well, yeah.

Did you do a second one? No.

No, well, 20 minutes, I couldn't do another one.

Yeah, yeah. It's freaking ME out.

JUDGES: Oh!

JUDGES: Oh!

It looks good! It's almost gone moussey, hasn't it?

POH: Yeah.

It smells incredible. It smells so beautiful.

Right, let's see if the fish is cooked well.

Looks pretty good! ANDY: Oh, mate...

It's flaking off! ..that is so good!

(LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE)

Depinder, when you just steam a spice mix,

it can be hard to balance, um...

..but this is so beautiful.

Because it's so green,

I thought I'd get a lot of that sort of raw, volatile flavour

from those aromatics,

but they're so warm and round

and fresh and vibrant.

It's such a more-ish dish.

I could have just polished that off as a snack.

It was so light and beautiful.

It was just so delicious.

This is the type of food I love.

Your fish was cooked perfectly...

..how you did that? You're fantastic. Well done.

It's, you know, something that you could just put it

straight onto a restaurant menu... Yeah.

Oh, thank you. That means a lot. ..so well done.

Whoa, man, that's blown me away -

blown me away that you tried it,

blown me away how well it's executed.

Thank you. SOFIA: Well done, Depinder.

Yeah, Depinder! Thank you.

Thank you. Well done, babe!

Good job!

Ooh! I am still catching my breath.

That was one quick cook.

Shannon, what do you reckon?

You should all be extremely proud.

I hope you enjoyed yourselves

and it was fun being with you all.

Give it up for the legend himself, Shannon Bennett.

There were so many contenders for immunity today.

Alana...

..Andre...

..Depinder...

..Theo.

Honestly, guys, it was so tough to choose a winner.

But in the end, there was one dish

that had us fighting over the last morsel.

CONTESTANTS: Ooh!

Of course, I'm talking about...

..loukoumades, re!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) POH: Congratulations, Theo!

THEO: Yiayai!

Big congrats, Theo. Thank you. Thanks, Yiayia.

Theo, you are safe.

Everyone else, please be ready

for a huge elimination on Sunday.

So, see you then. Salut!

ALL: Salut!

ANNOUNCER: Sunday night...

It's back!

..this legendary challenge of tiny proportions...

Cubes of death. ..comes with a massive twist.

You'll be split into teams,

but only one person from your team will be tasting.

CONTESTANTS: Oh!

So much pressure because it's not just my life at stake

in this kitchen.

Eurgh!

Ugh... That feels really odd.

What the hell could this be?

And next week...

SOFIA: Curtis Stone!

..Curtis has a few tricks up his sleeve.

JIMMY: Curtis Stone is giving us a masterclass!

I can't believe it, I'm pinching myself.

Captions by Red Bee Media