Original subtitles

(CHEERING)

Welcome, everybody!

SOFIA: Morning!

Oh, that's cool.

It's got, like, postcards.

DOT: Wow!

We've got a suitcase. Going overseas! Nah.

How cool!

Morning. Good morning.

Where are we going?

Good morning, all! Welcome back.

CONTESTANTS: Morning!

You may have noticed the hundreds of postcards

from all corners of the globe.

It's those destinations, that will be your inspiration

for today's challenge,

because today is an invention test.

(CONTESTANTS EXCLAIM)

Mixed reviews on their faces.

Casper, have you been fishing?

(LAUGHTER)

Yeah, that's where we're going. We're going on a fishing trip.

That's my around the world.

Let's get straight into it.

You can choose the cuisine that you cook today.

However, you'll come up and pick not one,

but two postcards,

because this is a fusion challenge.

CONTESTANTS: Ooh!

You must combine two cuisines into one cohesive,

creative and delicious dish

that sings of both countries.

Annabel, how are you feeling today?

Good?

I love fusion dishes, to eat them.

Creating them,

I'm like, uh, kind of pulling blanks.

You should be super confident. You had a great dish yesterday.

You fused yesterday. Yeah.

Yeah, that's true. Can I do that again?

(LAUGHTER)

Luke, you struggled on your last invention test.

What is your strategy today?

I think my strategy today is to definitely go

a lot more inventive and to just do something that,

like, I can't even begin to visualise.

Um, something that, like,

no-one's ever really thought of

and, uh, who knows how it'll turn out?

But we'll see.

Throw clarity to the wind. Yeah.

Yeah, let's see how that goes. I'm looking forward to this!

This is an invention test, so it's your chance

to surprise us.

You have 75 minutes and full access

to the pantry and garden.

Show us what you're creatively capable of,

because the bottom four dishes

will be going into tomorrow's pressure test,

where somebody will be going home.

And trust me, you don't want to be there.

OK, guys, remember, we want fusion,

but no confusions.

Get ready to pick up your postcards

because your time start...

..now!

Ooh, you're going Greece.

Australia. OK.

Immediately, I think fusion sounds really scary

because you're blending, like,

two countries together

and it needs to be balanced and work.

The US have such good food.

Italia. Italia!

Whoo!

That's a big fishy. Big fish.

Oh, my God.

ALONYA: I love the theme of this week.

I think it's my favourite theme so far.

Around the world is amazing,

because I've travelled to a lot of places

that were so inspiring.

I'm doing France and Japan today.

So I recently went to Japan with a friend and we had

this really delicious matcha sweet,

and I just decided I'm going to package it up

and put it in choux pastry

with a yuzu veil.

So all the flavours for my dish is coming from Japan,

and then France is going to bring technique

with the beautiful choux pastry.

I feel like it's gonna be great.

I just need to bring it all together.

So, yeah, I'm gonna have to push it now.

I love this challenge.

You could do absolutely anything with this one,

and I'm really excited to see what they do.

I think a clever way to do this would be to take a dish

or a technique from one country and flavours from another.

It gives it clarity,

and I think that, yeah, that's what we're kind of looking for.

On the flip side of that, if we get confusion,

we're looking for the bottom four

to go into tomorrow's pressure test.

And we don't want any deja vu.

Deja vu. Eh?

Deja vu. Oh, we don't want something we've seen before.

Yeah, an obvious dish that we saw before.

Oh! Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah!

(LAUGHS)

Well, you expect me to speak English.

It'd be nice if you can sometimes try to speak French.

Un petit peu. Merci.

Yeah, je m'appelle Andy, yeah. Je vis dans le...

That means, "my name is Andy."

Hoo! She's heavy.

Fusion! I love fusion.

I feel like I naturally just cook fusion all the time,

but it can very quickly turn into confusion cooking,

and that is something I am prone to,

I won't lie, so today I need to make sure

I keep it clear with my ideas.

Today, I'm going with Turkish and Hungary.

Um, I'm doing a Hungarian langos,

which is like a Hungarian street food

that's a fried bread.

And then I'm going to load that up

with all of the Turkish flavours that I love.

Fried bread. Who doesn't love fried bread?

It's greasy, it's crunchy, that is just a dream to a tee.

Although I love a langos, it is very simple...

..so I've decided to try and stuff my langos

with a Turkish savoury mince, with beautiful Turkish spices.

So I am bringing the Turkiye flavours to Hungary.

I'm going to add cumin, coriander,

a little bit of paprika and currants for that sweetness,

because I feel like Turkish food

has that beautiful dance between that flavoursome spice,

but then also that sweetness.

Oh, I love the smell.

It makes sense in my head.

So let's see if it makes sense on the plate.

LUKE: I need strawberries.

Last invention test,

I didn't exactly put my best foot forward.

Uh, Luke,

chicken would love a little bit more punch.

I would love a little bit more acidity.

I would love a little bit more spice.

Is it inventive?

Probably not, in my opinion.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: It's missing the Luke

we had since the beginning of the competition.

That was definitely the lowest point

in my MasterChef career so far.

Yep, I'm taking them all.

So today's invention test, I'm hoping

that I can absolutely smash the brief with invention...

Corners!

..my dish nails on flavours and it's the missing Luke.

I'm gonna cook like Luke. It's gonna taste like Luke.

Uh, and it's gonna be good fun.

Today, I'm working with Australia and Spain.

I was drawn to these ones because I feel like

I'm not super good around the world,

but I know kind of how to blend a few flavours.

So I was thinking kind of, um, Spanish-inspired.

I want to do like a gazpacho,

which is normally like a tomato kind of cold soup.

I want to give it a bit of a shake up,

so I'm fusing Australia into my gazpacho

through, uh, using strawberries,

and I'm going to use, kind of play with

that Australian seafood thing,

do a bit of sashimi with the kingfish,

pair it with a few Australian natives.

So I'm going to use Geraldton wax,

which is where I'm from, Geraldton.

I think this dish is savoury,

but it's definitely got

some sort of sweet tinges to it,

especially using the strawberry.

I'm also going to put a couple of natives in there,

just very, very light hints of it.

I'm not 100% sure how it's gonna taste,

so I'm just hoping that, if I can get the flavours right

and the kind of the idea behind it,

the judges will really see what's happening.

It's missing a bit of sweetness.

It's either a match made in heaven

or it's gonna be an absolute disaster.

ANNABEL: Oh, my God, it's so nice working next to you.

Annabel and Alyona fusion.

Yeah, this is an Alyona-Annabel special.

I'm feeling pretty good about my concept -

to make beautiful French choux pastry,

filled with some Japanese flavour.

Where did I put...?

I don't know if I want salted butter.

So the first thing I'm making, the choux pastry,

I have to cook it as soon as possible

because I'll need to cool it before

I can fill it with my matcha cream.

For the dough, I'm heating up some milk,

some water, some butter and some flour.

But, oh, my gosh, making this choux pastry,

it's really hard.

Oh, my gosh.

I feel like I'm working out all this time!

Oh!

Yeah, look at us go. (LAUGHS)

Because it's a new thing to me.

I haven't been making these pastries for a long time,

so I really need to make sure I'm very focused.

Alyona, how are you?

Hi. I'm good. How are you?

Tell me - Japan and... France, yes.

So tell me, what are you doing?

Uh, so I just recently went to Japan with a friend,

and at one of the stops we had this really delicious

matcha sweet treat.

OK.

And I thought it would be really nice

to put similar flavours into a choux,

and then I'm gonna make yuzu gel

or like, a veil on top of the choux as well.

So you are using French techniques... Yes.

..to make something, to get some Japanese flavours? Yes.

So you like baking French pastries?

No, it's my new thing. I wasn't really... Your new thing?

Yeah, I really just started recently.

OK.

And it's an invention test, so I'm gonna push myself today. OK.

Suddenly, I feel a lot of pressure.

What are you doing?

Why don't you put a bit of oil on there

to make sure they stick on the table?

I need to make sure the choux pastries

are cooked perfectly because I'm gonna be serving them

to Jean-Christophe.

It can't be humid, yeah? Sorry?

It can't be too humid.

So, more? Yeah.

(SIGHS DEEPLY)

OK, guys, one hour to go!

Come on! Allez, allez!

Oh, my gosh.

VINNIE: Far out. Ah!

LUKE: Get it together.

This is fun!

Ha-ha! It's so fun!

LUCY: Invention tests are all about creativity,

and especially today where the brief is fusion,

so we're combining two countries together.

I am blending France and Vietnam,

and I'm making a French cruller doughnut

with Vietnamese iced coffee-inspired flavours.

Um, this is my choux pastry.

So I'm just about to pipe it

into little doughnut shapes.

And then I'm going to fry the doughnuts

and fill it with Vietnamese coffee cream,

condensed milk glaze and a coffee crumb.

My mum's Vietnamese

and my dad's background is Australian.

There's not much to it.

It's pretty... That's it.

So I love cooking Asian fusion-style dishes.

I think that really relates to who I am.

Pretty happy with the cruller doughnut.

Um, nothing's gone wrong yet, so that's a good sign.

So I'm just working on my coffee crumb.

The coffee crumb is really important to my dish

because it needs to bring forward

that coffee element.

With Vietnamese iced coffee,

the coffee is really, really strong

because it needs to cut through that condensed milk.

I'm hoping that my dish fits the brief,

so really getting those French techniques

with that French doughnut

and then those Vietnamese coffee flavours as well.

No fish on the menu? No, not today.

Your fish on the menu? You didn't get the memo about our fishing trip?

Next time.

I love invention tests. I think I'm quite creative.

Fusion really excites me,

so I'm really keen to go do something crazy, wacky.

So I'm going Greece and Japan today.

I'm gonna have a crack at doing

a tsukune dolmade, which is like

a Japanese chicken meatball skewer,

but I'm going to do it in the style of a dolmade,

so I'm going to wrap it up in a shiso leaf

and give it a little torch

and serve it with kind of like a ponzu.

I really want the dish to be Japanese in flavour,

but almost like Greek in presentation.

Starting by butchering the chicken.

Traditionally, the tsukune is more the offcut

because they give a lot of flavour

and texture to the overall dish.

The rice, I'm going to sub out for a sushi rice.

I'm going to cook in a dashi,

so it still has that kombu-y, like, umami backbone to it.

Japanese-Greek is not really done much,

so I think it's quite inventive just by nature.

Greece and Japan couldn't be further from each other.

They're literally on the opposite ends of the world,

so I think if I can pull off

a fusion of these dishes, it'll really impress the judges.

It feels nice to be next to you, Emily.

EMILY: Am I giving you a good vibe?

Yeah. I will vibe...

I'll keep vibing you then.

It's like we're cooking at home.

Whoo!

I love fusion, and I'm really familiar

with both Chinese and Korean cooking.

So, thinking fusion,

I definitely want to play to my strengths.

Uh, do I need another fillet? I think I should be fine.

Bro, it's enormous.

So today I'm going to do a fish that is filled

with like a dumpling filling,

in with flavours of South Korea

with like a Chinese-flavoured broth.

So the elements of the dish include, like,

a kind of tofu vegetable filling

and a steamed fish marinated in doenjang,

which is a Korean soybean paste, with a soy Shaoxing wine broth.

I'm hoping that the dish looks beautiful,

and that you also still get the two distinct flavours as well.

Chinese and Korean - these are two cuisines that

I'm really comfortable with,

and I'm hoping the judges love it.

45 minutes to go! Come on, guys!

DOT: Oh, my God, that already smells so good.

VINNIE: The lime leaves? Yeah.

Oh, thanks.

So, today I've chosen Italy and Thailand.

Um, I'm going to be making a mango sticky rice arancini.

It's gonna look like an arancini,

but it's gonna have all the flavours of that Thai mango sticky rice.

Filling them with Thai flavours,

but using Italian techniques I think is pretty inventive.

I am gonna do India and Italy today.

I'm gonna make a rasam mussel soup.

So rasam is a South Indian vegetarian soup,

but I'm gonna do it in the style of an Italian mussel soup,

with a little pizzette on the side.

I've actually never made it with mussels or anything,

so we'll see.

I picked India and Mexico,

and the dish I'm making is a rasam ceviche.

Rasam is a sour soup from southern India,

typically tamarind.

I'm gonna use pineapple and chipotle

to give it that sour base,

and then obviously ceviche is very Mexican,

so using those two ideas together today.

I'm doing America and Japan.

I went to America a couple of years ago,

and I had this brownie and ice-cream dish

and it, like, was awful, it sucked.

And so I want to do it really beautifully

and elevated with, like, Japanese flavours

more than just like a brownie and cream

you would just get at like a daggy restaurant somewhere in America.

How are you doing, Dot? I'm inventing things. (LAUGHS)

Excellent.

I've got things started.

I've got my mince cooked,

and I've got my dough ready to go for my stuffed langos.

Next, I'm putting in my lamb mince.

I might have made langos before,

but I've never stuffed a langos before,

so we're venturing into new territories today.

The most important thing is that this rises in the oil.

We want beautiful air pockets with the dough.

Ooh, she's hot.

And it needs to have that crunch.

I've got my breads cooked.

I'm just figuring out the balance of flavour.

I feel like a langos is missing that freshness,

the pop of flavour that balances out all those spices.

OK, let's see what we can do.

So I'm going to make my herb salad

with fresh mint and parsley,

caraway, cabbage that goes on top of the langos.

Because we don't have long today,

I'm going to braise it first

to speed up the pri...pickling po... Uh!

Mm!

To speed up the prickli... The prickling?

To speed up the pickling process.

Say that three times!

Mm, yum.

Why does caraway always just smell so good?

(SIGHS)

So my choux pastries are done...

Oh, thank God.

..and they look beautiful.

I'm really happy with them.

While my pastries are cooling in the fridge,

I'm starting on my matcha cream.

Matcha is a very strong green tea flavour,

and I don't want it to be overpowering,

so I need to be really careful.

Have you tasted? Yes.

Have you tasted it? Tried the...?

Yeah. Yeah.

Have you tasted? Yeah.

And? Yeah, it's good.

Happy? Yeah. It's really tasty. Very matcha-y.

My matcha cream,

it's actually working out very well.

It's really bright and green.

The matcha flavour is quite profound,

but I don't think it's overpowering.

I also want to add a yuzu element to balance it

and add a little bit of tartness to the dish.

So, pushing myself today.

I hope it's gonna hit the brief

and I'm gonna avoid the pressure test.

ANDY: Balance is absolutely everything in fusion!

You've only got 30 minutes to go!

I've got the broth cooking, and I am stuffing the fish

with the tofu filling

and just about to steam that now.

The fish is marinated and the filling in.

Put it on the steamer and I get it cooking.

And in the meantime, I'm working on the broth

and trying to balance out that flavour.

The broth is quite subtle Chinese flavours,

so to make the distinction between the two cuisines,

I just hope that fish has a lot

of those punchy, South Korean flavours.

I'm just gonna back myself,

I backed the flavours that I know,

um, and, yeah, keep going.

Hey, Jackie, how are you going? Hi.

Let's see where you're taking us. Yes.

China and...South Korea.

Yes.

I wanted to make sure that I played to two flavours

that I know really well, but I know

the subtle differences between as well.

What I'm trying to do is basically a fish

that is filled with, like, a dumpling filling, in a broth.

I'm trying to do a fish that uses

the punchy, some of the punchy flavours of Korea,

South Korea, like the doenjang and a bit of chilli,

mixed with really subtle Chinese cooking,

like in the soy and the Shaoxing wine as well.

OK, so...

..I am a little bit worried about

the two cultures melding together.

My concern for you is how you make sure

that those two cultures are clearly delineated.

Yeah.

Just make sure that you're delivering

those flavours and the idea...

Yeah. ..very clearly. Yeah.

You want to hold on to that pin as long as you possibly can.

Totally.

Yeah. Yeah, no, I really appreciate that.

OK? Yeah. Alright. Good luck, Jackie.

Thank you.

I'm a little bit worried.

Oh, dude...

There are a lot of elements in Chinese and Korean cooking

which are really similar.

..I think this is confusing.

I think I need to just take a moment

and just reframe and really think

about the decisions that I'm making today.

I really need to stay out of the confusion territory.

I think I just really need to pivot.

JACKIE: I'm really worried,

after the visit from Sofia and Poh,

that Chinese and Korean cooking are quite similar.

So I decided to swap China for Italy.

Um, I am going to listen to the judges today

and make sure that I have a bit more

of a distinct flavour in my dish.

I'm cooking the same dish, but instead of Chinese,

I'm going to have a more

Italian/European-flavoured broth.

Um, so I'm going to do like a...

..I guess I feel like fennel goes really well with fish,

and I'm going to do like a fennel, tomatoey-type broth.

I know it's a risky move doing a change,

especially halfway through a cook,

but I just want to prove to myself that I can.

I'm definitely hoping

this keeps me out of elimination tomorrow.

I've got the pin, and I just want to keep it

as long as possible.

LUKE: For today's around the world invention test,

I'm making

a strawberry gazpacho with Geraldton wax kingfish.

I just tasted my gazpacho after straining it,

and it actually tastes very delicious.

The acidity of the tomato and capsicum

and kind of the tartness of the strawberry

has just all come out in one.

So I'm very excited for that one.

It's got kind of not too sweet,

not too tart,

but it's got this beautiful depth of flavour

and it's something a bit different.

It actually tastes banging, Luce.

LUCY: Really? Yeah.

I'm surprised. I was too.

But gazpacho is just one element on the plate.

Alrighty, time to fillet a fish!

And I need to make sure that all my flavours

and all my techniques really nail

and fuse well together.

Often, when people do like sashimi-style

or crudo style,

they'll use lemon zest on the fish,

but I'm going to be using Geraldton wax instead.

Now, it has a very similar kind of flavour

and kind of smell profile as lemon,

so I think it'll just work perfectly.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: OK, guys, 15 minutes to go!

Oh, my God!

LYDIA: The chillies.

Please remind me not to rub my eyes later on today.

So, I am cooking...

(GASPS)

..from Argentina and Thailand.

I'm cooking an empanada filled with a pork larb filling.

I've got Malaysia and Italy.

I'm trying to make a prawn sambal raviolo

with a prawn and coconut cream sauce.

So that's my little spin on it.

And hopefully, yeah, I can pull it off.

So today I'm using French and South Korean cuisine.

So I'm doing steak frites with Korean flavours.

I've got Nigeria and China today I'm making a suya agege bao.

Suya is a spicy kind of beef skewer,

usually done over coal,

and I'm making the bao from scratch,

you know, the Chinese steamed bun.

I'm going to modify it with some Nigerian flavours as well.

CASPER: I'm super excited with how it's all going.

All the elements of my dish are looking good.

I need to start pushing to get my dolmades rolled.

I think what's really going to invoke Japan in this dish

is swapping out the traditional grapevine leaves

for shiso leaves, for the wrappers,

for the dolmades.

So I'm grabbing as many of

the biggest green shiso leaves as I can, so I can assemble.

My only concern is that the leaves might be

a bit more fragile than your vine leaves, traditionally.

I'm just hoping

that they keep holding their shape while they steam.

The leaves are sort of changing...colour.

Yeah, I'm pretty happy with how they're coming along.

Keep cooking! Nine minutes to go!

Oh, dear Lord!

Allez!

Which one to serve?

I'm tasting my dish as I go.

I've probably eaten two langos

this cook time!

But I'm not mad about it.

The flavours from both Hungary and Turkiye are coming together,

but I need to make sure I've got the balance right,

enough of every little element,

so every mouthful, you get the Turkish,

you get the Hungarian.

It's coming together.

I'm just going to keep tasting and get the balance right.

I'm happy with the flavours.

I feel like I've done both cuisines proud

and I think it works.

Oh, she's good.

ALYONA: Ah!

So my choux pastry is cool.

I'm piping creme pat inside of the choux pastry.

OK!

Then I'm cutting out

little circles of that yuzu gel,

and I'm putting them on top of the pastry.

They look so great.

I'm just hoping that

the choux pastries are cooked perfectly

because you never know.

Hopefully, they'll love it.

LUCY: So I've made my coffee cream

and then I've got a coffee crumb in the oven,

getting nice and golden.

And so now it's time to fry my doughnuts.

I'm just focusing on the frying right now.

I really want some nice brown colour,

um, crispy on the outside, soft in the middle.

I've never done this before, but they're looking

pretty good.

The piping looks great,

they've held their shape, so I'm really happy with them.

LUKE: Luce, how are you going?

Good. Yeah?

And as I'm glazing my doughnuts,

I can just smell this, like, burning smell,

and I'm thinking, like,

"Someone's definitely burning something over here.

"Like, I would hate to be them."

And then it clicks!

Whoa!

Oh, that is really burnt.

My crumb is completely black.

It is so burnt.

That is bad.

There is no saving that.

LUCY: I've got five minutes left on the clock and my crumb

is completely black.

It is so burnt.

Um, not the best feeling

that my crumb is completely obliterated.

I'm definitely feeling worried.

My coffee cream doesn't have the strongest coffee flavour

because I toned it down

for the coffee crumb.

Now I'm worried that there is like,

no coffee flavour on this dish,

and that all they're gonna taste is condensed milk.

What I'm gonna do is just toast off

some hazelnuts,

um, and have that as a bit of a crunch element on my dish.

I'm just hoping that there's enough

coffee flavour there now, um, without that crumb.

SOFIA: Two minutes! Come on!

VINNIE: Pretty happy with my dish.

I feel as though it looks like an arancini.

And the flavours are tasting really, really good.

Um, they're definitely all Thai.

Mango sticky rice.

ANNABEL: My brownie's coming together.

I'm just doing my yuzu curd at the moment.

I've just got to pay extra special attention to it!

I think I'm tracking OK.

Adjusting flavours because I'm combining

essentially things

that normally would never go together.

It's always you think you have more time than you do,

and you're just rushing to get everything done.

CASPER: I still haven't plated up my dolmades,

but all I've got to do is just brush them with a tare,

hit them with a blowtorch,

and then finish off my sauce,

which is just cracking an egg yolk into a little bowl.

I'm really happy with the outcome.

The dolmades look great.

They really remind me of having an actual dolmade,

so I'm really happy with that.

OK, guys, one minute left to go!

Let's go! Come on!

Push!

JACKIE: I've got to get the fish dumplings

out of the steamer,

but they are so delicate.

They are very, very crumbly.

She is very flaky.

It comes out, and now I need to get that skin off

because I know the skin is just going to be tough

if it stays on.

Shit...

But as I'm pulling the skin,

it's just not coming off how I want it to.

It's starting to fall apart.

I know it's super delicate,

so I just need to stop touching it.

We are arriving in Flavourtown in ten...

JUDGES: Nine, eight, seven,

six, five, four,

three, two, one!

That is it!

GRACE: Hey. OLAOLU: How did it go, Grace?

Good, good, good. Yum!

Alright. CASPER: You happy?

You pivoted a lot, eh? Not exactly...

Yeah! Aw...

Not exactly what I wanted, but...

Good job. ..we'll see.

Looks so good! Good job, guys.

The first dish we'd like to taste was cooked by...

..Dot.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

We have Hungarian, we have Turkish,

we have invention.

This is new. I've never seen this before.

I'm happy with what I've made

and hopefully the judges love it too.

Wow.

Hello, Dot. Hi.

Which countries did you pick?

I picked Turkiye and Hungary.

So we have

a langos, which is a fried Hungarian bread,

and I've stuffed it with a Turkish lamb mince.

Um, and then I've done like a herb salad on top

with mint parsley and pickled caraway, red cabbage.

So, yeah, I think it does work.

Alright, we'll let you know...

Do! ..very shortly.

Dot, I was in Budapest and I ate a langos,

and I found it quite plain.

And I love this version of it.

Yay!

I really love the ratios that you've used.

You have treated this so sensitively

and you have managed to delineate both cultures.

Every little mouthful,

I can taste you've borrowed from each culture

and it is quite distinct, which is amazing.

I think you've done a great job.

Thank you.

And I had to really put on my poker face

and just leave a few bites, even though I just want to cram

the whole thing in my mouth. Oh!

It's a dish that is incredibly harmonious

with both of the flavours.

To be able to do that,

you have to be well-travelled and have a great palate.

I think you've done a really beautiful job of it.

Thank you.

I am picking up what you're putting down here.

Yay!

Like, fluffy,

like, well-risen caramelised, deep-fried bread -

uh, yes, please -

stuffed with, like, slightly spiced mince.

Like, I think you've just nailed this challenge,

in terms of making those two countries,

like, literal best friends.

Um, mate, I think you have mastered this challenge.

Great stuff. Thanks, guys.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Well done!

Lydia, you're next.

I think you might have picked the most exotic combination,

which was Argentina and Thailand.

(LAUGHS)

LYDIA: Yes, I made an empanada. Yeah.

And I've made a larb-style filling for it,

and so I've called it an empanlarba.

(LAUGHTER)

Fun idea and fun to eat.

It was just such

a surprising combination and it's worked.

It's a really great idea. Well done.

Pat.

PAT: I've done South Korea and France today.

So I've done South Korean steak frites.

Great concept.

The real star of this show is your kimchi bearnaise.

Well done, mate.

Annabel.

I chose Japan and the USA.

I have done a black sesame brownie.

I think you have achieved everything

you wanted to achieve with the flavours, OK?

The balance is fantastic. I think it's bloody delicious.

I really like it.

Olaolu, you couldn't have picked

more different parts of the world, yeah?

Nigerian and China.

OLAOLU: So I've made you suya agege bao.

I love that you packed so much flavour

and heat into that meat,

and I feel myself developing a slight lisp

because I'm still drooling from it

as I try to speak.

In terms of showcasing the meat, you absolutely did that.

Hannah!

HANNAH: Yeah, Italy and Lebanon.

I made an orange blossom panna cotta,

and then roasted figs with some buttered pine nuts.

I think your choice of flavours is great.

Your figs are fabulous. So, well done.

Thank you.

Next up, it's Jackie!

JACKIE: I'm not feeling great about the dish.

I'm concerned about the fish, the cook on it, the broth,

so I'm nervous to hear what they're gonna have to say.

Jackie. Hi.

Which countries did you pick?

I picked South Korea and Italy. And what did you make?

I've made a steamed fish with a tomato broth.

Alright, Jackie, we're going to taste it.

Maybe just peel that back.

POH: I think I have to

because it's taking the fish apart too much.

Or should I just use this? No, I think that's good.

Jackie, when you were describing your dish

at your bench and up here,

I think we were all a little bit confused by it.

I think you were confused by it as well.

And I was really hoping that when we separated it out,

cut it up, tasted it, that it would make more sense.

But unfortunately, it's making even less sense.

The broth is not heavily Italian.

I think maybe because you pivoted as well,

you sort of had to work with less time

and a base that wasn't quite there

to create something new.

There's also problems technically with the dish.

So obviously it's falling apart and the fish is very overcooked.

The skin on the fish is really problematic as well.

It's very, very thick and rubbery, yeah.

Sorry, Jackie.

I think if you go,

"Oh, I wonder if the judges will understand,"

the answer probably is

it's the wrong dish for the challenge,

and I feel like that

that's just led to a plate of food

that is kind of neither here or there.

Thanks, Jackie. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Sofia, you look like you are a fortune teller.

Ah, yes!

Can you tell me in the future who's next?

Can I have your palm? Yeah.

Oh, my God! Alyona!

ALYONA: I'm feeling really nervous.

Like, as soon as they called my name,

my heart is pumping,

and I wonder what Jean-Christophe

was going to tell me.

But you just never know

how Jean-Christophe is going to react.

(SIGHS)

I hope he's going to like it.

Alyona, what are your countries?

Uh, my countries are France and Japan.

Wow.

So what have you made?

I made a choux pastry

filled with matcha, white chocolate cream

and yuzu topping.

Well, if the choux fits...

I hope it does!

Let's have a test.

Wow!

I have to say, what you've done is absolutely phenomenal.

The way you've combined

those flavours together is just...

Thank you. It is extraordinary.

I'm still enjoying the taste and the flavours.

In fact, oh, look over there.

Look, look, look!

That's for me.

Well, you could just finish the one on your plate first.

(LAUGHTER)

Thank you so much.

Thank you so much. This is absolutely perfect.

POH: Your choux buns were beautiful and hollow,

crisp on the outside,

so you could fill it with plenty of that creme pat,

which was so silky.

And also just the little, um, yuzu veil -

very, very clever.

That was just masterful.

Thank you, Poh.

You are a flavour queen

and I'm really excited to see that from you

in a dessert as well.

Oh, my God! Thank you.

It's becoming very clear that it's not just

your savoury dishes or your desserts,

it's you as a whole package,

and this dish is the whole package as well.

Oh, my gosh! Thank you.

Thank you. You alright?

Yeah, I just... Oh, my gosh.

I thought I was going to have a heart attack

serving choux to Jean-Christophe and for you,

and, um, yeah, thank you so much.

I'm so overwhelmed.

Well done. Well done.

Oh, my gosh.

I am, like, having some sort of

out-of-body experience with all this positive feedback.

It's almost like I don't believe it.

But it's just such an incredible thing.

I'm so happy!

We'd love to taste your dish next, Vinnie.

You picked Thailand and Italy.

VINNIE: I have made you some mango sticky rice arancini.

Vinnie, I loved the idea of this,

but I think the rice

being more on the risotto side is a bit mushy.

SOFIA: Without the gelatinous nature

of that sticky rice,

it kind of takes it away from being from Thailand.

Miin!

MIIN: I have combined India and Mexico today,

and what you have in front of you is a rasam ceviche.

Unfortunately, with this dish,

there is next to no Indian in it.

The use of the chipotle,

it's just overpowered all of those beautiful spices.

Aaron, you picked Malaysia and Italy.

AARON: Yes. I've made a prawn sambal raviolo.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Your pasta work, very well done,

but the problem is the sambal, or the mix, not cooked enough,

so it's a bit dry.

Petro.

PETRO: I went Greek and Japan.

I made a creamy skordalia

with a miso butter.

Holy mackerel that has got some flavour going on,

and you get Greece and you get Japan.

But the prawns are inconsistently cooked.

I could only eat the tail of mine

and, mate, you know me,

sometimes if it's still swimming, I'll eat it,

and that, yeah...

Grace.

GRACE: Today, I chose India and Italy.

I've done rasam mussel soup

with anchovy and garlic pizzette.

SOFIA: Mussels are cooked really well,

but, while I think you've made two tasty dishes,

I don't think you've been successful

in fusing them together seamlessly.

You're up next, Casper.

Yeah, Casper!

I'm really happy with what I've been able to do,

but seeing some of the other people's fusion dishes

not working, I'm getting a little bit worried.

Casper, which countries did you pick?

I picked Greece and Japan.

And I've done tsukune dolmades.

I've been to both Greece and Japan multiple times

and I have never come across a Japanese dolmade.

Yeah! (BOTH LAUGH)

I am looking forward to tasting one.

Um, Casper,

I have a long list of things that I love about this dish.

Um, firstly, the conception is very clever, very clever.

Um, the fact that you've gone Greece and Japan,

I would never, ever, ever try and, like,

fuse those two together, but it makes so much sense here.

The filling was so juicy.

Like, the chicken mince,

you must have pounded

some chicken skin and chicken fat in there...

Yeah.

..because it is, like, so, so juicy.

It's heaving with flavour, which I think is great.

And I think you actually got the balance spot-on.

Well played, well played. Thank you.

That is a dolmade through and through

until you put it in your mouth,

and then it just takes you straight to Japan.

There's absolutely no question about it,

you actually exceeded my expectations on this one.

Yay. Well done.

Thank you.

Oh!

Next up, we'll go Luke.

I've got no idea what to expect from this tasting.

The flavour combo is pretty risky,

and if those flavours don't work seamlessly together,

I'm in strife.

I'm pretty nervous.

Luke, this is what we end up with

when you set out to create a dish

that you can't even envisage.

Yeah. OK. What have we got?

I had Spain and Australia. Yep.

And I did a strawberry gazpacho, so the Spanish-inspired there.

And then I paired it with, like, Australian natives

and a basil oil and then, like, raw kingfish.

Righto. Let's have a go. I'm interested.

You have my attention.

Are you in love? In love with my dish?

Uh...

Oh, not necessarily.

There is a lot of little hearts shape over there.

Oh! Uh... No, I wouldn't say yes.

No? No, I'm very single.

I'm still working on eye contact at the moment.

Luke...

..Luke...

..Luke.

The flavour...

..I thought was fantastic.

I don't know if I'd change much about it.

I thought it was beautiful

in terms of the kind of interplay

of the strawberry and the tomato,

and then combining that with the Geraldton wax

to give this kind of kaffir lime,

lemongrass acidity to it - bloody genius.

Like, bloody genius!

I'm so proud of how far you're coming

with tasting your food,

and your palate, it's gone, like, through the roof

in a very short space of time

since you've been in this kitchen.

Yeah, it's a really lovely dish.

Really refreshing, really modern.

A very accomplished dish for someone

who was just kind of flying by the seat of his pants.

(LAUGHTER)

Well done, Luke.

(APPLAUSE)

OK, Lucy, please.

Go, Lucy!

LUCY: I'm not feeling too confident

about serving my dish to the judges.

My coffee crumb didn't get on the plate,

and that crumb was so crucial

in providing

that strong coffee hit.

I'm definitely concerned.

Lucy, please tell us,

what are the two countries that you've chosen?

I chose France and Vietnam.

I made a Vietnamese iced coffee cruller

with condensed milk glaze and a coffee cream.

OK, we're gonna taste.

OK, Lucy...

First, presentation - wonderful.

Thank you for that.

Nice and neat.

But in your dish is a no-go.

Your condensed milk, I don't think there is enough.

Your coffee cream is weak.

I haven't tasted the nuts yet.

The nuts are raw.

SOFIA: I kind of wish that in, like,

some crazy last-minute rush

you just drizzled condensed milk all over the top of it,

because I think it would have helped with the balance,

and it would have injected that Vietnamese element

into your dish that's so desperately missing,

unfortunately.

I think today there's some people

that have missed on the brief,

some people have missed on technique.

I am so sorry to say,

but I think unfortunately you've missed on both

with this dish.

Oh, man. Shocked, I am. Shocked.

Yeah, thank you, guys.

Thanks, Lucy. Thanks.

I've completely messed up my execution,

and it's really hard because I really don't want

to go into the elimination tomorrow,

but it's not looking good for me.

Today's challenge was all about getting

those creative juices flowing with an invention test.

Some of you got it so, so right.

Casper.

Dot.

Alyona.

All three of you smashed it. Nice work.

A few of you struggled today.

If I call your name, please step forward.

Jackie.

Lucy.

Vinnie.

And Miin.

Unfortunately, you guys will all be cooking

in tomorrow's pressure test.

Jackie, you are wearing an immunity pin,

so you've got a lot to think about tonight.

All four of you, go away, recharge,

and be ready to fight to keep your position

in the competition tomorrow.

Au revoir, bonsoir.

OK, everybody.

VOICEOVER: Tomorrow night...

Please welcome Rosheen Kaul!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

..she's a force in fine dining.

VINNIE: It's pretty daunting. Rosheen is very impressive.

Today, you'll be making my...

(ALL GASP)

..chou farci.

LUCY: Like, what even is this?

It doesn't look real.

But in a pressure test,

it's what's on the inside

that counts.

(ALL GASP)

Captions by Red Bee Media