All language subtitles for MasterChef Australia (2009) - S17E54 - Elimination Challenge Vaughan Mabee

LAURA: Ooh, it's so dark.
DEPINDER: Wow!

Oh, guys.
CALLUM: What's going on here?

BEN: Wow.
What is that?

It is like walking into
an enchanted forest.

There's little trees and shrubbery
and there's moss all over the floor.

Whoa! This is wild!
BEN: What is this?
Holy crap, this is beautiful.

Look at... Callum, it's a fish.
God, it's a fish.

It's a fish eating a Cornetto.
JAMIE: Far out.

(BOTH LAUGH)

And it looks like
there's edible things

perched from a fish's mouth,

hanging from the tree...

What is that?
BEN: I don't know,
but it looks delicious.

..sitting on the rocks.

They can't be edible.
Surely not.

This is, like, unbelievable.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my goodness.
What the hell is that?

So beautiful.

Oop, here they are.

What about this? Huh?
Mm.

Amazing.
Impressive.

Morning, all.

ALL: Morning.

The kitchen is looking
a little wild today.

We are definitely stepping into
the great unknown

for this elimination.

These beautiful bites
were made by a Kiwi legend.

Oh!

He made the Top 100 Chefs list
this year.

His ethos around
New Zealand ingredients

has earned his restaurant
three-hat status.

It was awarded
the Best Dining Experience in 2024,

and the third best restaurant
in the world by Food & Wine.

Oh, my God.
Holy shit.

But that ain't it.

This is insane.

It made the San Pellegrino
World's 50 Best Restaurants list
this year.

I just got goose bumps.

Please welcome the mad genius
of the South Island,

executive chef
of Queenstown's Amisfield,

Vaughan Mabee!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Whoo!

Vaughan Mabee from New Zealand.

His food is some of the best
in the world.

To see him in the flesh,

he's a little scary
walking into the kitchen.

What's happening, guys?

JAMIE: Homie walked in like a boss.

Mohawk, just chillin'.

"What's up? Kia-ora." How good.

Chef.
Chef Vaughan, how are you?

SOFIA: Vaughan,
welcome to the MasterChef kitchen.

Thank you for having me.

Your approach to food
really pushes boundaries.

What's your ethos with cooking?

Our restaurant, Amisfield,
it's on an island.

Our ethos is just using
what's around us.

I'm motivated in telling
a true story of our land,

you know, Aotearoa,

and its cuisine
in a different light to the world.

Vaughan's restaurant is famous
for its tasting menu

of sensational snacks
and one-bite wonders.

Up here are eight of his favourites.

These are all loaded

with world-class
New Zealand ingredients,

flavours and technique

that you cannot experience
anywhere else.

And, lucky you, you get
to taste them...

Yes!
..right here, right now!
Yes!

Oh...

That's an excellent start
to the mission.

This is sick.

VAUGHAN: First up, Laura.

It kind of feels like
I'm having snacks for free

and it's an absolute vibe.

Like, this is some of the best food
in the world

and we get to have it
in this kitchen.

This one is kind of

one of the most nostalgic flavours
of New Zealand.

Growing up in New Zealand,
we make whitebait fritters.

Inside is actually
a aerated whitebait mousse

and it's encaptured inside
the fritter around it.

That is so good. Oh, my God.

The weird and wacky ideas
that he's come up with as dishes

is so inspiring.

This is what we call the duck foot.

I mean, there's duck feet,

like, literally
duck feet as a snack.

We cook it in its own consomme

and the claws
are made out of black truffle.

That is so cool.

There is fish heads that have got

almost Cornetto-like ice-creams
hanging out of them.

I want to get into his brain
and be like,

how the hell did you come up
with this kind of stuff?

This is
the New Zealand native greenbone.

Inside there is like a little
aerated horseradish ice-cream.

BEN: The cone might be
a tiny little thing, but...

Wow.

..as soon as I break that cone,

my mouth just fills
with all this flavour.

It's so sour and so bright.

It was amazing.

It's like
the ultimate palate-awakener.

This is the wing of the titi,
also known as the muttonbird.

I think the thing
with all of these dishes

is that they look really simple,

but so much thought and attention

has been given to how to pack
all that flavour in.

It's quite amazing how much flavour

you can pack into such
a small amount of food,

and to have those classic
Kiwi flavours

makes them
even more special, I think.
Awesome, mate.

I think it's spectacular,
and if we're gonna have to do this

in the challenge,
it's going to be a bit of a worry.

Now, this is the same bird
Ben just tasted.

This is the titi. This is the heart.

So the heart, you know,
it's the purest part of any animal,

so we glaze it
with a wild birch syrup,

the sap we take out of the trees.

So, sweet, salty and fatty.

You're just going to eat it
like it's a lollipop.

Best lollipop ever.

DEPINDER: Oh, yum.
That looks amazing.

I reckon Depinder has chosen

the worst mystery box
to win yesterday

because this is very cool right now,
getting to try all these dishes.

So this is the New Zealand paua.
It's an endemic black abalone.

Both of these bites
I've been lucky enough to try...

Wow.

..it's like that Willy Wonka thing

where you cram
a three-course meal into a tablet.

Like, there is, like,
so much flavour going on

in these bites right now.

Have you ever seen this before?
JAMIE: No.

It's called kaeo in
the native tongue in New Zealand.

English name is a sea tulip.

We harvest them
in some of the purest waters

down around
the south of New Zealand.

That's delicious
and totally unexpected.

Vaughn wants to use
what's around him and celebrate

all of the things
that are beautiful and unique

about the part of the world
he's from.

This is the native New Zealand
tawaka mushroom tart.

So when you eat this,
it goes sweet, crispy, fresh,

and then you have
this powerful mushroom flavour.

Each of these bites
is really succinct in its idea,

and it's packed full
of unexpected technique and flavour.

I have a feeling we're going
to be doing that today.

What you just tasted
is your inspiration for today.

We want you to create your own
spectacular one-bite wonder...

..and you've got your work cut out
for you today,

because we want
the perfect bite times five.

Oof!
One morsel for each of us.

So we're giving you two hours.

The pantry and garden are open
and, unfortunately,

the least impressive dish
will send its maker home.

Take it away, Vaughn.

Your two hours starts now!

DEPINDER: Go, guys!

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE:
Good luck! Bonne chance!

Come on, guys.

I'm definitely excited
for this challenge,

but also 'nervous' is absolutely
the right word to use.

These three guys are such creative,
incredible cooks,

I know they're going to put up
something super magical.

So it's trying to think,

"How the hell am I going
to save myself today,

"and what is it going to take
to put up an incredible dish?"

Know what? I'll get my fish last,

because that's going to be
the smartest thing to do.

Honestly speaking,
it's an honour meeting you.

And to go with your passion -

I mean, I love cooking -
but this is another world.

ANDY: Vaughan, I can guarantee

we're going to get
some exceptional food.

Like, we've got
four of the best cooks

that this kitchen has EVER seen,

cooking right at the top
of their game at the moment.

If it was you out there,
where would you start?

I mean, for me, I start with,
like, focusing on one ingredient

and then around that
I would create something,

whether it's the way it's shown
to you or the way it's given,

to make it more elaborate,

where they can stand out
amongst the other chefs.

Love this.

JAMIE: If I was potato starch,
where would I be?

You know what the beautiful thing
is about these four, like,
this challenge and why I love it?

I have no idea
what they're going to cook right now.

I'm excited to eat.
Yeah, same.

Are you OK, Ben?
Good, Chef. Thank you.

How do you feel having
another Kiwi in the kitchen?

It's always nice.
Yeah?
It's twice as hard for you, though.

Twice as hard for you to understand
what we're saying, right?

(CHUCKLES)

I think Vaughan's food is amazing.

Great to have another Kiwi
in the kitchen.

I'd love to know how he makes it,
because it'd help me today,

but, um, really inspirational start
to the morning

with some of that amazing food
in there.

So just trying to think of
what I can do

that's going to sort of
pack the same punch.

I'm more of
a cook-a-dish sort of person

than cook-a-mouthful sort of person.

Small bites isn't really my style,

so it's going to be
a challenge, for sure.

But Vaughan talks about
that connection with food,

and whitebait definitely
makes me think of my childhood,

and I'm sort of thinking that if

I can
get some whitebait into this dish,

it's going to help me
form that connection

and hopefully cook a better dish.

Ben.
Hello, hello.
How are you, mate?

Pretty good, pretty good, yeah.
Pretty good?

You're feeling the pressure
a little bit, or what?
100%, yeah.

There's never been more pressure
in this room than right now.

What are you feeling?

Um, you know,
could be the last cook in here,

so I don't want that to be the case,

so I'm just going to try to make
the most precise,

flavourful mouthful of food
I can do.

I'm actually going to use,
having seen the whitebait -

I didn't taste it up there,
but I saw it -

and it just brought back
my childhood memories
of eating whitebait

and just pretty much
whitebait and egg is all you need,

but I'm going to have to obviously
do a bit more than that.

So I'm actually going to take
a chicken wing

and I'm going to stuff it
with a whitebait mousse.

I want to really get that sweetness
from the whitebait when you eat it

and, uh,
hopefully take you to my childhood

in New Zealand or your childhood
as well, I imagine.

It sounds really cool.
Sounds like something that, uh,
interests me a lot.

Yeah!
You know? Like, that's cool.

Yeah.
Whitebait, chicken wings.

Yeah.

Obviously, I want to see
the Kiwi wing...win.

Sorry.
Wings on the mind!

But I will not be biased, no.

No, you won't be.
Not while I'm around, anyway.

He's also bigger than you, Andy.
I'm bigger than most.

Good luck, mate.
Thank you, Andy. Appreciate it.

Good luck.
Thanks, Chef.

The chicken wings,
I want to stuff them,

and you can either
pull the bones out raw

or pull them out em out cooked.

It's far easier to do
when they're cooked.

So I'm frying the chicken first.

It gives it a bit of colour
on the skin,

and then cooking it gently
in the stock

is just going to make it
cook through, without overdoing it.

Callum, are you excited?

I am, always, Chef.

Is it your forte?

Yeah, I think so.
Yeah, I'm excited for it.

I'm normally
pretty level-headed on these things,

but this is going to be
one for my kids today.

So, um, emotions are going
to be running high,

but, um, yeah, I'm really excited.

One of the things I love to do
with my kids

is to educate them
about all things food,

and so we'll often go out
on little adventures.

We'll go and pick apples up in
the Adelaide Hills where I'm from.

In the cooler months,

I've got wild mushrooms
growing everywhere,

just near my house,

and seeing Vaughn's creations today

and how much it sort of spoke of,
you know, sense of place,

I just thought
that was really awesome.

And so I'm going to do
a mushroom and chicken tart.

Something that I noticed
with Vaughn's dishes
were they were little works of art.

Like, they looked really interesting

before you even had
a chance to eat it.

So I want to create a dish
that essentially looks like

the judges are going to be going
mushroom foraging themselves

to pick up a little
mushroom-looking dish.

But the thing is,

when you commit to a dish,

like, looking like something like,
if it doesn't look accurate,

then it sort of loses
a bit of that magic.

So, um, yeah, that's the goal today,

make sure I execute everything

to the highest possible standard
in terms of flavour,

but also in terms of getting
that presentation aspect right.

My chicken liver parfait
goes into the oven,

and now it's time to make
the mandarin and thyme gel.

DEPINDER: Let's go, Cal.
Smells great.

Thanks, mate.

Single-bite snacks is
what we did at Alba for years,

and I feel like this whole journey
in this competition

has been all about me,
sort of gaining back some confidence

and sort of moving
through that journey

that I had with that venue
that I loved so much.

So, today, I want to pay homage
to that memory and create something

that represents who I am now
and what I'm about.

So I'm making anchovies on toast.

I feel like this is
a nice little ode to my past

but, as well, it sort of represents
where I'm going in my future,

and I'm confident
in my cooking again.

I feel like it's a bit of a flex
for me to be in an elimination,

at top five of MasterChef and say,
"I'm putting anchovies on toast,"

but the toast
is going to be crystal bread.

Crystal bread is essentially
completely transparent starch toast.

It's completely hollow.

It's completely see through,

but somehow still tastes like bread.

Crystal bread
takes a long time to cook,

so that's the first thing
I need to get onto.

I take water, kuzu starch

and potato starch,
and start whisking.

This needs to start boiling
and come together

looking like a pretty gross paste,

but greatness will come.

DEPINDER: Jamie.
Oui?

I'm so interested.

Yeah, me too.
(LAUGHS)

I need at least 90 minutes
for this to dry out in the oven.

Because the danger
with crystal bread is,

if I don't cook it out properly,

the effect won't work
and the texture will be gummy.

Jamie.
Chef.

Sorry.
No, you're alright.

How are you, mate?
Very well.

I'm making anchovies on toast.

Right.
Yum.
Yeah.

You've got a smoked confit tomato,

a little anchovy custard.

I'm making crystal bread.

Oh, wow.
So it'll be a crystal-clear wafer.

Shatters like glass, but still has
that beautiful taste of bread.

So it may be anchovies on toast,

but it's definitely
MasterChef-worthy.

Mate, crystal bread.

We've never seen that
in the MasterChef kitchen.

I think you know you're way around
crystal bread. What can go wrong?

I mean, to be honest,
I've never made it myself.
Wow.

I've eaten it in many restaurants
around the world.

Um, I guess the only thing
that can go wrong with it

is that it's not crispy.
Mm.

You've got your work
cut out for you.

Good luck.
Thanks, guys.

There's no backup.

There is no backup
for the crystal bread.

All my bread is in one basket,

um, and we're hoping that
that is a clear vision

of us going into the top four.

Tiny dish!
Huge stakes!

BOTH: 90 minutes to go!

Whoo!
DEPINDER: Let's go, guys!

Keep going, Cal! Let's go, let's go!
Run, run, run!

This is such
a challenging challenge.

You've got one shot in one mouthful
to win the judges over.

If this fish would just tame itself!

Stay on the chopping board.

Ah, look,

any day you're wearing
a black apron in this kitchen

is a pretty terrifying day.

To be honest,
I feel like these three boys

have been my biggest competitors
since day one,

so today is going to be
a huge elimination.

But I came back to win.

I did not come here
to set different milestones.

It was to get to that final spot.

And I am trying to do everything
in my power to get there

and to make sure I walk out
of this kitchen a winner.

That look so fresh.
It's beautiful.

Absolutely beautiful.

Today, I think it's all about
sticking to my strengths,

and I want to play around

with Japanese flavours, as well
as native Australian ingredients.

So today I'm making a seaweed tart.

Inside, that's going to have
a native citrus gel,

a toasted nori jam,
and a smoked fish head emulsion.

Babes, how long
are you smoking that for?

Um, probably about 10.
10 minutes?
Yep.

And then I'm going to have the fish,
which I'm curing.

It's a traditional
Japanese technique called kombujime.

So I slice up my coral trout,
wrap it in the kombu,

and just allow that
to pretty much cure

for as long as possible
in this cook,

to really take on
that beautiful kombu flavour.

Laura, that looks amazing.

Thank you.

So are you going to smoke it
inside that?

Uh, no. So it's going
to go into the Cryovac

so that it penetrates
more flavour quicker.

Beautiful.

Showing some techniques, girlfriend.

We love a bit of technique.

I feel like I'm making dolmades!

(BOTH LAUGH)

There's definitely
a lot of pressure today

to really make sure

both the Japanese
and native Australian flavours,

um, sing, work cohesively,

and I think it's going
to come down to,

not just the flavours
of both the cuisines,

but also the textures as well.

And, you know,
you want a really fun, textural,

explosive mouthful.

So, yeah, I'm ready
to absolutely nail this challenge.

There's no other option
but to nail it today.

You're working
on your tart shells now?

Yep.
Yep? Let's go, yeah?

40 down.
Oh, yeah.

The stakes are so high today
because whoever's going home today

is going to miss out
on being in the top four,

and top five is good,
but it's not top four,

and it's certainly not winning.

So I've decided to put
as much technique as possible

into this dish

to prove that I should be
the one to stay.

So I'm going to add
a few extra elements

to go with my chicken wing
stuffed with whitebait

to really stand out.

I'm adding a chicken liver parfait,

a chive oil emulsion,
and a seaweed crisp.

When the judges bite
into this snack,

I want to have
a whole range of feelings,

from firstly the texture,
the crunch,

right through to the big flavours
from the parfait,

right through to the sweetness
of the whitebait.

The chicken wings, the tuile
and the parfait's in the oven.

Now it's time to make the mousse
to stuff the chicken wings with
when they're ready.

To make the mousse,

I basically blend up
some whitebait with some eggs, salt,

and a little bit of cream,
until it's really light and fluffy.

Whitebait's got a very sweet,
slightly salty flavour,

and I think that's going to go
really well with the chicken.

Is that your mousse, babes?
Yep.
Beautiful.

It's almost all whitebait.
Taste everything, yeah?

Yeah.
Let's go, Jamie. Whoo!

(LAUGHS) Great energy, Deep.

Yeah, always. Here for it.
(LAUGHS)

I'm working on my confit tomatoes
for my anchovies on toast.

Did you put
a bit of sugar on your tomato?

Sorry?
Did you put a bit of sugar
on your tomato?

No, no, not yet.

But now that you've said it,

it might bring out
some more sweetness, huh?

75 minutes left,

and all the things that take
a lot of time are in the oven.

So I've got my confit tomatoes
in there.

The bread is the main thing

that needs time to, like,
to just dry out.

Now I'm moving on
to my anchovy cream,

which is almost like a custard.

So, a good time right there.

Alright, so...

I've got to infuse this cream
with the anchovy flavour

and then mix it through
some egg yolks,

essentially making a custard.

I want the fat from this
to really cover

the mouth so that even

after the anchovy
and the crystal bread's gone,

you're left with this unmistakable
anchovy flavour that's

just sitting on the palate.

Do you want it to be really intense?

Um, not too intense.

You're still going to have
an anchovy on the top.

Oh, OK.

How long is your crystal bread
going to be in the oven for, Jamie?

Uh, till it's ready.
You can't overcook it.

Oh, OK. Cool.

This needs to be
in a 170 oven for a long time.

I need all of the water to cook out

and the starch
to just solidify around the outside.

The slower you can do that,
the clearer you can get the bread.

What we don't want is any
of that moisture

to not have evaporated,

because then you're going to get
something real gummy,

and it won't be nice.

So it's a waiting game.

I'm wearing a black apron,

and I'm resting
my entire competition

on whether this one thing
that's never been done

in this kitchen gets done on time.

But I came fourth on my last season
of MasterChef,

and the further
into this competition

I've gotten this year,
the more and more confidence

I've had that I will be here
at the end.

I just need to keep pushing.

You only have 75 minutes left to go.

Good luck, please.

Time goes so fast in this kitchen.

Wild.

CALLUM: My chicken liver parfait
is cooking in the oven.

Now it's time to make
my mushroom tart.

The pastry for my mushroom tart
cases here is flour,

it's water, it's olive oil,
and of course,

all those dried mushrooms
in there, as well.

Callum.
Hey, gents.

What's your one bite?

Mushroom and chicken liver tart
is the dish.

So, actually, slightly inspired
by your mushroom tart.

Cool.

Um, but, yeah, I guess as soon
as I walked in today and just saw

the moss, and kind of felt like
you were walking through a forest,

it's, um... It's, like, my favourite
thing in the world,

showing my kids, like, food things.

So we go, like, picking apples
or picking strawberries
or going foraging for mushrooms.

So, I want you guys to do
a little bit of a forage today.

So it's going to be little mushrooms
on a plate,

and they're going to be stuffed
with chicken liver parfait,

chicken skin and a little
mandarin-thyme gel.

Wow.

And then, a little mushroom-stem
meadow, like a mushroom butter,
as well.

So it's gonna be a good time,
I reckon.

This excites me because I know

that, like, Callum has the technique
behind him...

Awesome.

..to be able to pull
something like that off.

So, unfortunately,
that means, Callum,

very high expectations over here.

Have your expectations
as high as you like.

I can't wait. Let's do it!
Wow.
Good luck, mate.

Thank you.
I wish you luck, Callum.

Thank you, Chef.
DEPINDER: Is that your shell, Cal?

Yeah, beautiful.

My mushroom tart case dough
is resting.

I'm now going to make
a port-mushroom-dashi jelly.

The mushrooms and the dashi are
going to give that real savoury,

umami flavour.

And the port in there just gives it
a little bit of sweetness,

just to make sure it's not
too earthy, as well.

I'm going to set this into a jelly,
into little moulds.

And this is kind of going to be,
if you can imagine,

an upside down mushroom
with all the little gills in there,

all those kind of lines
that join the mushroom together.

This is going to be that part.

That can boil, that'll be good.
Um, alright.

My whitebait mousse is finished.

I now need to start stuffing
the chicken wings.

I need to sort of pull the bones
out, which is very fiddly task.

Come on! Far out!

I hold it by one end
and just wiggle each

of the two bones
that's inside the winglet...

(SIGHS)

..stuff it with the mousse,
and then roll it up in cling film

so I can steam them
and cook the mousse through.

Can't put too much in
because they'll be too big to eat.

I've never cooked whitebait
in this way.

I'm taking a bit of a risk.

But, hey, it's what you've got to do
in this competition at this stage.

Hi, Ben.
Hello, hello.

Benny.

Tell us, how are you going
to wow us with one bite?

Wow you with one bite?

I've got these lovely little
chicken wings,

stuffed with a whitebait mousse
here, which is cooking through.

Almost done.
Yeah.

They're gonna be sitting on top

of these lovely seaweed
and chive tuiles.

That's already done?
Yep. Chicken parfait.

Chicken liver parfait
underneath that.
Yep.

And on top, a little bit
of a green oil emulsion

and caviar.

Wow.
A lot of texture, a lot of flavour.

Strong flavour.
Yep.

Yeah, and a lot of flavour.

Just make sure

that you're not just going
for technical prowess.

Also make sure
that it's carefully balanced.

Have I just royally screwed up here
by adding so many big flavours?

I really hope I haven't committed
to the wrong dish.

BEN: I know I have some big flavours
in my dish,

but with a small bite of food,
a single mouthful,

it's the proportions
and the quantities

and the way it's put together

that's actually going to control
how it eats.

Finally.

I'm confident with the concept
of the dish,

and if I can get the balance right,

I think I can do something
really special with it.

DEPINDER: How's that, Benny?
Beautiful.

Beautiful, mate.

My parfait is in the oven,
which is good.

My mushroom tart case dough
is resting.

Um, my gills gel is, uh...
(CHUCKLES) ..is, uh, cooling down

in the blast chiller.

I'm just working on a little, uh,
thyme and mandarin sauce

I'm going to make, as well.

I've chosen to use mandarin
as one of the flavour profiles

in today with my mushroom
and my chicken liver.

And where that idea comes from
is all the way back in season two,

I was in London and I got to cook
a challenge with Heston,

and I got to make his meat fruit,
which is chicken liver and mandarin.

And I remember eating that,
that day, and just having a similar

kind of magical food experience,

like we've just had
with Vaughan here.

And so, when I thought of something
to kind of break through

the earthiness of that mushroom

and that sort of silky saltiness
of the chicken liver parfait,

mandarin just seems like
the obvious choice

to link those two things together.

What's that for, Cal?

Just a little sauce,
like, puree thing.

Beautiful.

Is that going to go
inside the mushroom?

Yeah.

That now goes
into the blast chiller.

Time to start rolling out
my dough for the tart shells.

No pressure.
You have 30 minutes to go, guys.

ANDY: Come on!
SOFIA: Let's do it!

DEPINDER: Come on, guys.
Bring it home.

(APPLAUSE)

LAURA: There's 30 minutes to go.
My fish is still curing.

My smoked, fish head stock
is reducing down.

My nori jam is still bubbling away.

The next thing I'm going to get onto

is making my native citrus gel.

I'm using lemon aspen
and desert lime today.

I feel like, with Japanese cooking,

you'd use lots of yuzu
within the dish to bring out

that really nice acidic flare.

And these flavours are going

to really complement
that yuzu style of flavour.

Oh!

She needed 100 mils and she got it.

Now that my citrus gel
is on the stove,

I crack on to rolling out
my seaweed dough.

Oh, my heart is racing so fast.

Laura, did I just hear you say

that your heart is beating so fast?

So fast.
Yeah? You're feeling it, aren't you?

Definitely.
Yeah.

So nerve-racking, like...
Yeah.

..there's so much at stake today.
I can see it in your eyes.

So much at stake.

Have you got confidence
in your idea?

Yes. Like, at first, I feel like
you're going to get hit

with all the native citrus because
I feel like it's so prominent.

And then, you flip
to the Japanese side.

Then, I want you to get
the smokiness

from the head emulsion.

So it's really a two-part journey
in a single mouthful.

Yeah, yeah.
Sounds amazing.

If you can pull it off, it's genius.

That's what you need
with, like, any little snack.

Like, you just want
to be blown away,

and you've only got
one mouthful to do it,

so that's what I'm trying to do.
Yeah.

Yeah.
Blow your socks off in one mouthful.

Well, we don't need to tell you
what's riding on this,

so we're wishing you all the best.
Oh, God. Thank you so much.

Thank you, ladies.
Blow our socks off!

I will. Are you wearing socks?

I'm not wearing socks.
I'm not wearing socks.

Put some socks on, Sof.

Just one bite between you
and the top four -

15 minutes to go!

That's perfect.
DEPINDER: Stunning.

Oh, my God. That's perfect. Perfect.
Perfect. (SIGHS)

Wow.
Yes!

I just got goose bumps. Ah!

So...

How are you going?
CALLUM: Good man. Having fun?

Yeah, always.
How are you travelling?

Good.
Nice, mate.

Usually, when you have
chicken liver parfait,

it'll be covered
with, like, a jelly

or, like, a clarified butter
or something like that.

And today, I'm kind of doing
both of those things.

So, I've got my jelly setting away,

and I'm now going to make
a little stem for the mushroom

that's going to be butter,
black garlic

and Slippery Jack mushrooms.

DEPINDER: Nice, Cal.

Even though the little stem
I'm making here is quite

a small part of the dish, I think
it's a really important part,

because that sort of fat
from the butter,

as it melts in your mouth,
is going to offset some

of that sweetness
from the mandarin gel

and that kind of savoury earthiness
of the mushroom-dashi jelly

that goes on the top, as well.

So, it's going to be a really
important sort of balancing act.

How long till the crystal bread
comes out, Jamie?

Um...

I'm pushing it a little bit.

The crystal bread's going
to come out,

and I'm probably going
to have minutes to plate.

It's not a lot of time,
but it's going to have to be.

Oh, that smells incredible, Jamie.

Tomatoes look amazing.
Yeah, they do.

Take my confit tomatoes out.

They're still just holding together.

And although they look beautiful,

top four is on the line here.

So, a little bit of smoke
is just going to elevate them

that little bit more and take it
to the next level.

My anchovy cream is now done.

It all comes down
to this crystal bread.

POH: Look like ice cubes.

They actually looked like ice cubes.

Andy, have you had it before?
What's that?

No, I've never eaten it. No.

I can't push it any longer.

They need to come out of the oven
right now.

If this doesn't work,
there's no redos.

I'm going to be putting
an anchovy on a spoon.

This snack needs to be your saviour.

Five minutes to go!

DEPINDER: Come on, guys.

I'm praying it's worked.

Ooh.

JAMIE: No, not that one.

I'm trying to get this crystal bread
out of the pan,

but these round ones
just aren't demoulding.

How are they?
Yeah.

Good...

'Good' isn't filling me
with heaps of confidence.

Can't remake it.

I move over to my squares,

and I can see them retracted
from the edges.

We could be on here.

Pretty clear.

DEPINDER: Happy, Jamie?
Yep.

These are so fragile.

But it's holding form. It's clear.

It's worked.

ANDY: Are they super delicate?

They are right now. They firm up.

Yeah, but what happens when...
Stuff gets put on them?

(CHUCKLES) Yeah, things go on it.
Um...

Not sure.

DEPINDER: Nice one, Cal.

CALLUM: I take my mushroom, dashi
and port jelly out of the fridge

and turn it out,

and they look exactly
like little mushroom gills.

They look really good, mate.
Thank you.

My porcini tart cases
come out of the oven,

and they're looking good,
and they're nice and crunchy.

The next thing that goes in
is that chicken liver parfait.

Around that, I'm going to pipe some
of that mandarin and thyme gel,

and top each with a little doughnut
of chicken skin.

Chicken-skin doughnuts, baby.

I've punched out my little
circles of chicken skin

so I can put the stem
through the skin.

Next up, it's the mushroom, dashi
and port jelly that make up

kind of the gills of the mushroom.

And finally, that black garlic
and Slippery Jack mushroom butter

that forms the stem.

SOFIA: Two minutes to go!

DEPINDER: Oh, my God,
they look so perfect.

LAURA: The last little thing
I need to do

is make a little Geraldton
wax powder

to dress the coral trout with.

By pouring liquid nitrogen
over the actual Geraldton wax,

it's going to keep its colour

and also the freshness of flavour

that I want to accentuate
in this dish.

I've got my tart shells,
and I start to pipe in

my three different emulsions.

The balance of these is so crucial.

There's a little bit more
of that citrus gel,

a good amount
of that smoked, fish head emulsion

and three little dots
of that nori jam.

(EXHALES HEAVILY)

I feel like my heart rate
has intensified so much

in the last, like, half an hour
because I just...I...

(SIGHS) Because this means
so much to me,

and, like, obviously, it means
so much to everyone else.

It's just make sure
that every single thing

I'm putting in this tart is the most
incredible version of itself.

JAMIE: The crystal bread holds
unto itself,

but now I'm piling stuff
on top of it.

The last thing I want to do

is weigh it down so much
that it collapses.

The flavours are all there.

The anchovy comes through
in the cream.

Obviously, you get
the beautiful anchovy on top,

so hopefully the crystal bread
stays nice and crisp.

It works.

One minute to go!

BEN: Oh, my God, that was bad.

Thank God that dribbled.

I'm trying to get this on the plate
as fast as I can.

I've fried off my chicken wings.

Chop the end off,
and then divide that into two.

It's only a small mouthful
but any more than that,

and it won't fit in anyone's mouth.

Slice some thin slices of parfait
and put that on top of the twirl.

It's not as refined and pretty
as I would like it,

but it's still going
to taste amazing, I hope.

Time to serve your snacks in 10...

JUDGES: Nine, eight, seven,

six, five, four,

three, two, one!

(APPLAUSE)

DEPINDER: Epic.
ANDY: Epic work, everybody.

BEN: Hey, bro.

Well done, mate.
Same to you, mate.

Well done.

Mm.

All good?
Yeah.

Nice work, boys.

So hard.

One bite has to explain everything
that you want to say today.

Can I see, can I see, can I see?

Whoa!

Um, you know, this could
be my last cook and...

..if I don't go, one of them is.

Well done, mate.

Yeah. Oof!

ANDY: Hey, Laura.
Hi.

SOFIA: Hey, Loz.

POH: Wow.

(CHUCKLES)

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Wow, look at that!

This is my seaweed tart

with cured coral trout
and native citrus.

When we pop this one bite
in our mouths,

what do you want us to experience?

I think that contrast of Japanese
flavours and the really wild,

intense citrus that the natives
have given to this dish.

Do you think you've balanced
the intensity of your ingredients?

I think I have. I still...

I think it's got enough punch,
but it's also still really clean.

I think, when you're, like,
sitting down having lots of snacks,

you want it to kind of have
that intense impact,

but you want to be left going,
"I could have another one."

You know, it wasn't too much.

So hopefully I've hit that.

Thanks, Laura.
Thank you so much.

POH: Thanks, Laura.

OK.
What do we think of Laura's snacks?

Beautiful.
Looks, like, deceptively simple.

OTHERS: Yes.

I know how much work
has gone into that.

Yeah.
Completely agree.
Yeah.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Alright,
let's have a try.

Thank you.

I think Laura's created something
here that's really special,

highlighting the native
Australian citrus.

I'm not really familiar with it,
but I love the Geraldton wax.

It kind of got that pine-like,
like, almost like a conifer finish.

I think, all in all,
it's a really good dish.

Yeah.

What she set out to do
was really highlight

Australian native citrus in here.

And what she's done really
beautifully is pair it

with Japanese ingredients
that really scream umami.

Like, that nori jam, for instance,

combined with that really
kind of rich fish head emulsion.

Those two things are just,
like, holding everything at bay

and then letting the finger lime,
the desert lime jam,

just zing on zing on zing on zing.

The Japanese do simplicity
and clean so, so well.

And I feel like they are two
adjectives for what I would describe

Laura's dish today.
That was...that was delicious.

She just layered every single
ingredient with so much technique.

Like, I love the way
she cured that fish,

wrapped it in the kombu,
and it just left it having

the most beautiful texture
and was just seasoned perfectly.

What I like very much, too,
is she used most of everything.

I mean, using the fish heads

to get the gelatine to make it
to the emulsion...

I mean, it's a lot of work.

It's phenomenal.

BEN: Walking my dish
up to the judges...

..I'm definitely concerned
that this dish won't be good enough

to keep me in the competition.

I know it's a delicious dish,

but it doesn't look amazing.

(EXHALES FORCEFULLY)

Hi, Ben.
Hi, Ben.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: How are you, mate?

BEN: I've put all of my heart
into this dish,

and I just hope it keeps me safe.

Ben, what have you made?

I've made a whitebait-stuffed
chicken wing

with a chicken liver parfait,

a Parmesan and seaweed tuile,

and a chive oil emulsion.

At the start of the day, you
were pretty inspired by Vaughan.

How did that shape this dish?

I think a few things.

Seeing some of the ingredients
from home,

which I haven't seen for a while,

particularly whitebait
being one of them.

But I think, more than anything,

those dishes had layers of flavour
in them and texture in them.

And so, I wanted to try to create
something leaning into that a bit,

where I've got plenty of texture,
plenty of flavour

and plenty of layers.

I'm sensing you're a little bit
worried with this one.

Yeah, I'm worried
every time I cook in here.

This one, um... You know,
this isn't the way I typically cook.

I do know it's delicious.

And I do know I gave it my best,

so I can't really do much
more than that.

We're looking forward to tasting it.
Thanks, mate.

Thank you.
SOFIA AND POH: Thanks, Ben.

VAUGHAN: Awesome, bro.
Thank you.

Trying to see that whitebait.
Yeah, I'm trying as well.

Mousse.

Maybe... Is that what this is?
Those little ones there?

Yeah, there's a sliver
of it in there.

I mean, it tastes good.
OTHERS: Mm.

I just feel like the end result,
the execution of it,

there's just too many things
going on there.

Like, even the kind of...the caviar
gets lost

because there's just so many things.
Yeah.

And I get it. There's all
these things that I love,

but I just feel like
if he had have just taken a few

of those things out,

it would have been a more
well-executed dish.

And I hate to say that
'cause he's a Kiwi.

Yeah.

But, yeah. Um...

Uh, man.

It's definitely
a tasty little tower.

I love the layering
of those really savoury flavours

that he's put in there.

Parmesan and seaweed,
chicken and caviar.

They're all flavours

that we know work together
really well.

And I think Ben's used that
to his advantage.

I wanted more whitebait, you know.

For me, that was the story
when we went up to Ben's bench and...

(SIGHS) ..mate, I wouldn't even know
there was whitebait in there.

Yeah.
Um, because there is

so much flavour going on
with the Parmesan crisp,

with the parfait.

The only thing I've got in my palate
and still know is the Parmesan.

POH: Yeah. Yeah. Same.
SOFIA: Strong.

I think you can definitely see
potential in Ben's dish,

and you can understand
what he's trying to achieve here

'cause there's some solid flavours
in the individual elements.

I just feel like they struggled

to really come together
and it's fallen short a bit.

Mm.

ANDY: Callum.
Hello, everyone.

Hi, Callum.
(GASPS)

Wow.
Oh, my God.

They are adorable.

Oh, wow.
VAUGHAN: Get it all in there.

Oh, you can smell the mushroom.
CALLUM: Yeah.

There's a little mushroom stock
just to finish.

These are mushroom
and chicken liver tarts.

From the tart shell up,
it's a porcini tart case.

There's then
a chicken liver parfait,

mandarin and thyme puree
around that.

On top of that is a little doughnut
of crispy chicken skin.

Mushroom dashi and port gel
is the little gills.

And then the stem
is made from black garlic,

Slippery Jack mushrooms and butter.

Were you thinking of your family

while you were cooking this dish
today, Callum?

Yeah, I think today it was literally

walking through those doors
of the MasterChef kitchen

and just seeing, um,

the trees and the moss
and the rocks,

and it just instantly
took me back to, uh,

to that moment with my family

that in the colder months
we get, you know,

chuck a jacket on
and go for a little explore.

Yeah, I've actually, um,
I've got my phone in my pocket.

Can I show you a little photo of...?

SOFIA: I would love to see
a little photo.

Uh, this is...

This is my daughter, Elle,

helping me grab
some little pine mushrooms.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Wow, look at that!

She's the same size
as the mushroom!

CALLUM: Literally.
I reckon it's bigger than her head.

Um, and so that's kind of
the idea of the plating.

You find like 100 of these
for every porcini you find.

So it's a...
Wow.

That's the real magic,
when you get one of those.

That's really amazing
that you can walk in

and have that memory

and have it power an idea
like this.

Callum, thank you very much.
We're going to taste your dish now.

Thanks, Callum.
Thank you.

CALLUM: Thanks, everyone.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Wow, look at this.

Oh, my gosh!
I am gobsmacked by this.

Smells so much like mushrooms.
It smells like Porcini.

VAUGHAN: It's really cool.

I don't want to break
one of these things.

I reckon they'll be alright.
ANDY: Look at that!

(LAUGHS) Oh, it's so good!
Even with the cup...

POH: It's so adorable.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.

That's yum.
That is so yum.

So good.

I actually really like
the kind of citrus mandarin...

POH: It's amazing.

You can taste a little bit
of the thyme... It's thyme in there?

Yeah.
Yeah.

The only thing
that would make this better

is if a fairy popped out
of my mouth right now.

That was so delicious.

I think when something
looks so perfect, it's difficult

because it can
kind of really go downhill.

But the way it looked
completely matched the flavour.

That parfait was so incredible.

And it's when food is really good,

we all end up shaking our heads
because it's just like

we just don't know what to do.

I'm kind of speechless.

That is such
an amazing bite of food.

Yeah, for me, um,
that's going to be hard to beat.

You know, it almost looks like

that's something
a chef would be thinking about

for quite a long time
before they made it.

Not something that someone's
just gonna come in here

and say, "We're doing snacks,"
and bust that out in two hours.
Yeah.

You can see he just loves cooking.
He's like a machine.

He has thought of everything.

From the thinness
of that porcini shell,

he went to the effort

of taking that little disc
of chicken skin

and drilling a hole in it

so that he could place it
on top of the parfait,

but under the veil,

so it would be hidden
but wouldn't get soggy.

So it still
had that salty crispness to it.

That was incredible.

I think there's been times

where Callum's been
on the cusp of, like,

just stamping his authority
on this competition and going,

"I'm the one to beat."

This is it.

He's just said, if he hasn't before,
"I am the one to beat."

And I couldn't be more proud of him.

This is huge.

It doesn't matter how confident
you are in your dish,

there's still thoughts
in the back of your head.

Jamie.
Hey, Jamie.

Hello.
Ho-ho!

If this isn't absolutely spot-on,

there's every chance
I'm walking out those doors.

POH: Jamie, what have you made?

So I've made anchovies on toast.

This is like no anchovies on toast
I've ever seen.

Where did you come up with the idea?

Um, it was certainly one
of the things

that represents Alba very well,

and I think that
the tongue-in-cheek nature

of coming in here in top five
and saying,

"I've made anchovies on toast,"

is probably about
as big a tip of the hat

to not only my old venue,

but myself as a cook
that I could possibly do. So...

I love that.
We're going to taste your dish now.

Cheers, mate.
Thanks, Jamie.

Thank you.

Gentle, gentle.

POH: Oh, yeah. Yeah.

I mean, for me, that's super yum.

Yeah, like, it is. It's like...

It's like Spain in one bite,
you know?

That was a one-bite wonder.

I loved how that crystal bread
just shattered in my mouth.

And then
it was just this familiar flavour

that we all love.

And there was nothing mysterious
about it.

It was just delicious.

Yeah. I felt like
he definitely met the brief.

Absolutely.

The answer to my question -
would I miss the bread?

I didn't at all.

You know, and I think
it's just 'cause he's gone so hard

in the smoked tomato

and the fat of the olive oil,

that he confited those tomatoes in...

Yeah.

..topped off
with a very simple anchovy.

Ooh! Man, it packed a punch.

That that belongs
on a fine-dining menu in Spain.

And the reason I know that
is not just because of the taste,

it's because of what it's doing
to my mouth afterwards.

Like, all the saliva
is rushing to the front.

It's really setting me up
to eat more.

I would smash 10 more of those
with a glass of sherry.

Yeah.
No problem.

Same. I was like, I would just like
a little line of those things
in front of me,

and I'll just be like...
You'll go like this.

..boop, boop, boop.

As one bite...
Yeah.

..knocked it out of the park.

SOFIA: Vaughan, how do you think

these guys handled
today's challenge?

I thought everyone
had their own cool thing going on.

Some of it was super exciting
for me, and I honestly,

I was like, wow,

how does someone bust something
like that out in two hours?

And I think you guys
are all awesome.

Give it up for Vaughn Mabee.

(APPLAUSE)

Before we get down to it,

we just have to commend one of you

for plating up
one of the most interesting,

well-executed, masterful dishes
of the competition so far.

Well done...Callum.

Wahey!
(APPLAUSE)

Thank you.

Thank you.

And Callum's dish wasn't the only
one that impressed us.

All of your dishes today
showed us exactly why you're here,

but sadly,
one had a few minor problems.

And up against perfection,
it just fell short,

which is why I'm so sorry,

you're going home, Ben.

(GASPS)

Ben, you proved early on to us
that you're a fighter.

And you've absolutely lived up
to the Eliminator name.

Almost.
(ALL LAUGH)

I'm so glad I came back.

And I'm so glad
what I've got out of it.

You think what we've done
on the season, you know,

got to cook along with
Gordon Ramsay, Curtis Stone.

Been to Doha, cooked in
a Michelin-star kitchen there.

Cooked in Vue de Monde here.

Like, it was just
an absolute dream come true.

And to do it
with such an amazing group of people

was just...
It was just unforgettable.

So, you know, I feel like I've won

even though
I haven't won the competition.

And I just want to wish these guys
the best of luck

'cause, you know,
anyone can win this.

Thank you.
CALLUM: Thanks, mate.

Thank you, Andy. It's been awesome.

Your kids'll be proud.
Good to see you.

Yeah, I'm pretty gutted
that I'm going home today.

Chef.
Huge, brother.

(SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)

But at the same time,

I've gained so much
from being in it.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Thank you, Chef.

I had a couple of years
out of professional kitchens

and sort of almost lost my love
of food a little bit.

And being back in this competition
has really lit that fire again.

Give it up for Ben, everybody.

Good luck, Ben!

Good luck.

ANNOUNCER: Want what you see
in the MasterChef kitchen?

Now you can do it yourself

with the MasterChef At Home
cookbook.

Head to the website

or scan the QR code.

Sunday night...

..four contestants,

four judges,

and four cloches.

SOFIA: You'll pick whose ingredient
you want to cook with today,

but you're not going to know
what the ingredient is

until after you've made your choice.

(GASPS)

What the hell is that?

(ALL LAUGH)

It's a tussle for top dish...

I'm, like, trying everything
in my power to get that win.

..and a massive prize.

ANDY: Trust me, gang,

it is one that you are not going
to want to miss out on.

Oh, yes.

Captions by Red Bee Media