Original subtitles

GRACE: Ah! Here we go. CASPER: Oh, yeah.

(CHEERING) Oh, no.

They've got nationalities on the thing.

Country flags.

Oh, damn.

Today's another elimination day,

and you can feel, like,

the energy of everyone just being low.

They look nervous. They're all so nervous.

Wearing a black apron can feel extremely daunting.

Come on. No-one is doing the washing-up today.

You just see these five cloches with flags of countries.

We've got nervous.

And you don't know what's ahead of us cooking today.

OK, guys. Bonjour,

mes amis, les cuisinieres et cuisiniers.

Comment ca va?

Ca va bien, merci.

How are you? (LAUGHTER)

This week, we are taking your tastebuds

for a culinary exploration around the world.

But...

..I need to remind you

today is a black apron day.

And, unfortunately,

someone will have to go home.

ANDY: Dot!

I've got to admit,

it was a very sombre, slow walk in today.

Yeah.

Is that kind of how everyone's feeling?

A little bit nervous?

Are you all kind of bricking it at the moment?

Yeah. The nerves are high.

Everyone is just so great

and it could really be anyone.

And you just don't know. Yeah.

Every elimination, it does get harder and harder.

So everyone should be at the top of their game.

And you're going to need to be.

Jackie...

..as per the rules this season,

you're going to need to decide whether you're going

to play your immunity pin just before the cook starts.

Alright. Are you ready to hear what today's challenge is?

CONTESTANTS: Yes.

You can see from these cloches

that, today, we're focusing on five specific countries...

The good news - you get to choose

which of these five cuisines you want to cook.

OK.

The not-so-good news -

under each of these cloches is a secret ingredient

that you must feature

if you choose to cook that country's cuisine.

And you won't know what it is

until after you've chosen your cuisine.

You're kidding me. That's a joke.

That's ridiculous!

All I hear is the bad news.

Knowing that we don't actually know what the ingredient is

before we select the cloche

is definitely getting my mind working.

Definitely hoping for not something really obscure

that I haven't worked with before.

Alright, everyone, it's time to make your choice.

Please stand in front of the cuisine

that you would like to cook today.

Let's go. LUCY: Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

Straightaway, I'm drawn to Vietnam.

That is my background and heritage.

Hopefully that can help get me through today.

This is crazy.

GRACE: Make safe choices. Safe choices.

PAT: It's not safe until we know what's under there.

Mexico. Jeez.

The most popular.

Lucy and Aaron, you've picked Vietnam.

Hopefully my home country doesn't send me home today.

Well, the feature ingredient for Vietnam is...

..lemongrass.

Someone's happy. Come on.

Happy man, Aaron?

Lemongrass is used all over South-East Asia.

I'm Malaysian, so I'm loving it. I'm loving it.

Lucy, you've got to be happy with that.

Yeah, that's pretty good.

Lovely. I'm happy.

OK, we're going to Mexico. Quite the line here.

The biggest.

The Mexican ingredient that you have to feature is...

..corn.

Huh? Yep, yep, yep, yep.

Yeah, corn is pretty good.

That's very Mexican. There's a lot we can do with that.

Petro, Lydia, The Lebanese ingredient

you have to feature in your dish is...

Oh. Don't make me regret...

Eggplant. Oh. Alright!

Lydia, head in hands!

I thought you'd be happy with that.

Yeah, I am, I am. You are.

I do enjoy eggplants.

Oh, do I?

OK. Jackie and Emily, you've chosen Japan.

Shall we have a look? Yes, please.

Feature ingredient for Japan is...

..miso!

That's a good one. That's a good one.

Jackie, time to make up your mind.

Are you playing your pin

or are you cooking in the challenge?

I am not going to play the pin.

She's cooking!

Yeah. Jackie. Nice.

Righto. Our final trip, we're going to Italy.

The feature ingredient for Italy is...

..tomatoes.

That's good. That's good.

You'll have 75 minutes to cook us a dish...

..that transports us to the country that you've selected.

The garden and pantry will be open,

but, don't forget, you must feature the ingredient

that was under your cloche.

There is a lot at stake,

as the bottom dish will be eliminated from the competition.

OK, guys, it's time to take us around the world.

And your time starts now. Go!

Come on, guys! Let's go!

Let's go, guys! Let's go, guys! Push!

Should probably get some tomatoes.

Eggplants. Is there any parsley anywhere?

Do you know where the bonito is? Oh, there you are.

Lime, lime, lime, lime, lime, lime, lime...

Go, Em!

Whoo! Let's go.

Yeah, go, Dot!

I love the tomatoes! Beautiful!

Oh, it's not a gym session, Petro.

Every day's a gym session. Yeah.

I chose Italian today.

I'm pretty happy with the choice,

considering tomatoes are, like, in my blood.

So I'm going to be making ricotta-stuffed pasta

with a roasted tomato sauce.

Hopefully, I can bring out the flavours of them really well.

I really don't want to be in the bottom today.

Lucy, pho? Yeah.

Well, lemongrass and beef Vietnamese noodle soup.

Yeah, yeah.

I chose Vietnam because I'm pretty familiar

with the flavours.

I'm gonna punch the lemongrass really heavy

in my soup as well as those beef flavours,

really making sure that lemongrass shines through.

What is that? Mexican chilli.

I don't know how hot they are.

Taste it.

Oh.

If that had stayed in my mouth any longer,

I would have been in pain.

OK, we'll just use a little bit of these.

I love Mexican food.

I spent some time in Mexico last year with my brother

eating heaps of tacos, street food.

It was just awesome.

Like, it's really vibrant,

super punchy, just delicious.

As soon as they lifted the cloche

and I saw corn, I was like, "I love corn."

It's one of my favourite foods, so I'm really happy.

So I'm obviously hero-ing corn.

I'm just gonna keep it super simple

and not do anything crazy.

I've only got three elements.

That seems to be the thing that I do

that, like, kind of gets me through,

so I'm just going to stick at it.

So I'm going to be doing some seared scallops in their shell

with, like, a sweet corn butter on the bottom,

then the scallop, and then like a salsa macha on top,

and then some lime and coriander.

So, like, super Mexican flavours,

maybe elevated a little bit.

And I know it'll taste good because I have had this before.

I like to play it safe when I'm wearing my black apron.

That's so hot.

Delicious.

ALYONA: Emily, so precise, so beautiful.

I'm trying!

Little baby daikons.

GRACE: Em, what are you doing?

Making a Japanese dish called jibu-ni.

Uh-huh.

Which is kind of like a duck with a broth.

Miso will go into the broth.

In your sweet spot, meat and broth.

Yeah, man.

I feel like I'm quite familiar with Japanese cuisine

'cause I lived there for eight and a half years.

I don't want the fat.

But I'm doing my own little twist on it

by adding in miso,

which is not traditionally used in this dish.

I'm going to add that at the very end,

because you're not meant to overcook miso.

Miso is a umami bomb.

I need to make sure that I have a great balance.

It's a very delicate dish with very delicate broth.

But I feel this would be a great dish

to push myself to balance flavours.

I just want to make sure

that my flavours are actually bangin'.

Oh, it would help if I turned this on.

On an elimination day,

it is vitally important that you play to your strengths.

Calm down. We don't want you to get too gnarly.

The flavours of Lebanon are familiar to me

because they're very close to Greece.

OK, garlic.

With Greece, we share a lot of overlap.

Just don't be too garlicky.

Today, I'm going to stuff some eggplants

with typical Lebanese herbs and spices.

Rice and lamb.

We're making room for the stuffing.

It's a fine line between stuffing an eggplant

and it feeling Greek or feeling Lebanese.

So I'm going to make them distinctively Lebanese...

Pomegranate juice.

..by just balancing of the spices...

Oh, come on. Trust your palate, Lydia.

..use cumin, coriander, mint and Aleppo pepper.

Oh, harissa.

Hi, Lydia. Hi, Poh. How are you?

Are you taking us to Lebanon with eggplant?

I hope so.

Tell us what you're making.

I'm stuffing my eggplant with a lamb mixture...

Oh, nice!

..and lots and lots of herbs and a little bit of rice.

This sounds like it's right up your wheelhouse.

Why are you not looking incredibly confident?

I think we just have to accept that this might be my face.

Are you feeling confident? I am feeling confident.

I'm just, time-wise, very nervous.

Yeah. I'm worried about it roasting

for long enough and it being tender.

You do not want undercooked eggplant.

You want that beautiful silky texture

and you want that seamless bite.

But these are your flavours. You can do it.

Yeah. I'm hoping I will pack a flavour bomb today.

A Lebanese flavour bomb. Right, well, good luck.

Thank you, Poh.

In a normal cook,

you would let this eggplant be in the oven

for well over an hour or two.

I don't have that time today,

so I'm going to crank up the oven a little bit.

Alright, my little babies, braise away.

Centre, centre, centre, centre.

Give it everything you've got!

60 minutes to go.

ANDY: Here we go, everybody! Time to move!

Let's go, Dot!

DOT: I love eating Italian food and I love cooking it as well.

So I am doing Italian today

and my hero ingredient is tomato.

Pull this together.

So I'm making a spinach and basil ricotta-filled pasta

with a beautiful tomato nduja sauce.

I've made this all before - at home, though,

which is much more relaxing than the MasterChef kitchen.

I'm doing a Lebanese dish,

and my feature ingredient is eggplant.

So I'm making a loaded eggplant dip

with hummus and flatbread.

Go on! Puff! I'm cooking Mexican.

I'm using the corn. I'm going to do birria tacos.

Read and weep! Oh, hell, yeah, Luke.

I'm hoping that today,

my dish doesn't just get me through elimination,

but actually blows the rest of the Mexican dishes

out of the water.

JACKIE: I'm feeling good.

Today, I'm cooking Japanese,

and I'm going to be doing a miso pumpkin cake.

It's not super strong.

The cake is composed of a miso sponge cake

with miso cream, a pumpkin cream,

and an umeboshi plum jam.

Japanese cakes are traditionally very simple

but very beautiful as well.

They're always very light and definitely not too sweet.

I've just got the cake in the oven.

Is it, like, carrot-cake vibe with the pumpkin?

No, I'm just going to make a pumpkin cream.

Oh, yeah.

And now I'm going to focus on the creams.

Is this the miso cream?

Yeah. Quite savoury.

It is quite savoury. Yeah.

I thought it was going to be a pumpkin cream.

Both. It's going to have both. Double cream?

Yeah. Double cream. Yeah.

Alright. The one thing I will say

is think about how flavours carry.

We really need to know this is Japanese

and be able to taste the miso against that pumpkin as well.

Yeah... Keep tasting.

Yeah.

I'm starting to feel really nervous.

I need to make sure that pumpkin's not overpowering.

The start of this challenge,

I decided not to play my immunity pin.

So you need to be able to taste the miso

so that the cake transports the judges to Japan...

Um... What do we want to do?

..otherwise, I could be going home.

I'm feeling a bit nervous.

I'm just trying to stay calm.

The balance of the miso and pumpkin cream for my cake

needs to be so right,

so that pumpkin, it's not overpowering on the miso.

I need to concentrate on getting the balance right.

But I've chosen not to play my pin today

because I really want to back myself,

and so I really want to trust my instincts.

I just need to keep moving.

So, I add more miso in it.

I don't want to punish them with miso either.

That's miso.

I can definitely taste the saltiness,

but I don't want it to be overpowering

because there will be layers of miso in the cake too.

It's actually lovely.

I'm happy with the balance of it.

When the judges taste my dish, I'm really hoping it takes them

to a little tea house in Japan.

Yay!

OK, guys, don't be the one to go home.

You have 45 minutes left to go.

ANDY: Come on! Push, guys, push!

Smash that lemongrass, Aaron.

AARON: I chose Vietnamese, and I'm quite happy

with the ingredient that I got, which was lemongrass.

I'm trying to make a Vietnamese lemongrass chicken.

I've picked Mexico, and the ingredient is corn,

so I'm going to make beef quesadillas

with a corn salsa.

Quesadillas use a lot of the spices that I like

in Nigerian food, and so I hope I do it well.

Today I chose Italy, so I'm doing tomatoes.

I'm gonna feature that in a seafood marinara.

So, I've got prawns, mussels, pipis, scallops,

and also those beautiful cherry tomatoes

in there as well. Just got to go.

Today I chose Mexican, and I have to feature corn.

I'm cooking Mexican tacos with a pork...

"With a pork." (LAUGHS)

I'm working on my corn salsa.

Like, corn in every element.

I was, like, "I'm just going corny,

"like, everything."

PAT: Hey, Vinnie, have you got olive oil?

Here. Legend. Thanks so much.

I picked Italian,

so the hero ingredient today is tomatoes,

which is, you know, classic Italian.

So, I'm doing a cavolo nero and ricotta tortellini...

..and that'll be in a tomato water.

Tomato water, I find, is a really beautiful element.

It's really simple to make, actually.

You just get tomatoes in season and beautifully ripe and sweet.

Today, I'm going to put a bit of cucumber

and just a little bit of chilli,

so there's a bit of a hum of heat.

Whoa! That is a full blender.

And you just blend them down,

and then you just need to make sure

that you strain it really well

so when you pour it in,

it's crystal clear in the bowl.

Yeah, super happy.

I think it's a bit more of a modern take

on a classic flavour combination.

So, I've just got to bring it together.

A lot of pastas. I know, isn't it?

You've got to do what you've got to do.

Well, I think we're all making ricotta,

and we're all making pasta. Yeah, I know.

It's a good combination. Battle of the pasta.

It's a good combination, you know.

I know. You can't beat the classics.

It's never fun to cook an elimination,

but I am feeling excited

because I've got my favourite cuisine.

My family, my girls, my husband,

we always love eating Mexican food.

Yes.

When I came to Australia, the first time we went out

was actually a Mexican restaurant.

Let's do one more.

My girls love tacos...

OK?

..so today I'm going to be making prawn corn tacos

with corns three ways.

So, I'm going to incorporate prawns

in a fried corn salsa.

I'm going to incorporate corns in a fresh, smoky salsa.

And I'm gonna incorporate it in the flour as well.

I feel like it's highly ambitious today

doing corn three ways.

Just so many elements in this dish

that I've got to do everything in a sequence and get it right.

Kanika, you got this! Let's go!

ANDY: We've given them cuisines

that have a very, very solid foundation.

And then we've given them very simple,

quintessential ingredients... JEANÐCHRISTOPHE: Yeah.

..from that country.

I'm a little bit worried about everyone

who's doing Mexican...

Keep an eye on my corn.

Copy that. Ah, yes.

Because it's just one of those cuisines

that tends to go cliche very easily.

I feel like Annabel's got it.

She's doing these beautiful seared scallops

with a roasted-corn butter.

And then she's got, like, a salsa macha on top.

Oh! Mmm. Yes.

Do you know what she's also not doing

that everyone else on Team Mexico is?

Tortillas.

Yes. Yeah.

Gone straight to tortillas.

I think Mexico is a tricky one.

I think people underestimate that cuisine,

how complex it is. Yep.

Get in the zone

'cause you've only got 30 minutes to go!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(GROANS)

My eggplants with the stuffing are roasting in the oven.

Now I'm making the yoghurt tahini dressing.

And I'm just going to fry off some pine nuts

with a ghee kind of dressing as a crunch element.

So, I'm just trying to balance the flavours at the moment.

My eggplants are...

One second.

Ah, Jesus.

I can... I can... I can smell.

CASPER: Something's burning.

Oh, dear Lord.

It's just taken too much colour on top.

The colour on these eggplants is worrying me

'cause they haven't been in long enough

for that rice to cook.

I have to turn that oven down.

Oh!

It's a tricky balance to get right. Um...

So, I'm just going to pop it back in the oven

and cross my fingers.

(SIGHS)

Ah, Jesus.

Do not take your foot off the gas.

You have 15 minutes to go!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) ALYONA: Go, guys!

GRACE: Come on! Keep pushing.

Things are looking alright.

That's the basil-ricotta filling.

I'm pretty happy with the texture of my pasta dough.

Vinnie, when are you starting your sauce?

It's in the oven. Oh, OK. Phew!

(LAUGHS)

I hope this dish saves me from elimination.

My nonna would be very, very angry at me

that I go home on a tomato challenge and I've made pasta.

She'd be like, "Are you for real?"

PETRO: So I've got most of my elements done

for my Lebanese loaded-eggplant dip.

Now it's really just the flatbread.

What is that?

I'm just frying some pita chips.

Pita chips? Yeah.

Oh, hell, yeah! ALYONA: Yes!

LUCY: I feel OK.

My pressure cooker is done

with my beef and lemongrass soup,

which I'm just gonna put on the stove

and start balancing those flavours.

Today, is all about that lemongrass,

so I really want to make sure that's shining through.

OLAOLU: I have my corn salsa,

and my quesadilla filling is in the pan.

Hitting the brief is authentic Mexican,

has corn and tastes good,

so I want to make sure I get that right.

I'm having such a good time today.

Like, this is food that I love to cook.

Mexican flavours and just, like, beautiful corn.

Think I've got corn in my tooth.

The corn sauce is tasting good.

I'm just balancing it now.

And I want to get it, like, super-duper smooth,

so I'll pass it through a sieve.

I need to get my scallops cooked, and then I just need

to, like, give my chilli salsa macha just a bit of love.

And then I think we're good.

Salsa macha is something that I came across

in my travels in Mexico,

and I am obsessed with it.

It's got, like, peanuts and Mexican chilli.

It's so good.

I don't even just put it on my Mexican dishes.

I put it in, like, nearly everything.

Like, poke bowl, add some salsa macha.

Dumplings, add some salsa macha. It's unreal.

Moment of truth.

(COUGHS)

Yeah. Like...

Oh!

(CHUCKLES)

Oh, wow. You did buckwheat? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, I did buckwheat soba.

Can I have one? Yeah, sure.

I think they're pretty bounce.

I am making my Japanese dish for jibu-ni,

and I'm going to hero miso.

So, the broth is very ducky at the moment,

so I've just added it to the dashi, made from bonito.

And now I just have to do a lot of seasoning

and then add in the miso.

I am trying to season this broth to perfection

because I have this black apron on.

Go, Em! Nice work, Em.

Miso happy! (CLAPS)

And I'm spooning tablespoons,

and slowly incorporating my miso into my combined stock.

I really need to make sure

that this broth delivers them to Japan.

Bring it together.

Ten minutes to go!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) GRACE: Push, guys!

CASPER: Let's go, guys! Let's go, guys!

Let's go guys! Faster!

ALYONA: You've got this. Yeah, Oalalu! Woo!

Keep tasting everything, guys.

LYDIA: It's not quite there yet.

I'm at the mercy of the rice grain again.

(CHUCKLES)

KANIKA: How much time do we have?

Not long.

I look up at the clock, and I'm like, "Oh, my God."

I've lost the track of time.

I just need to roll my tortillas

and just need to fry my prawns in the sauce.

I've got my prawns marinated for my prawn tacos

with corn three ways.

I've got my fresh salsa.

I've got my smoked salsa.

And I've got my marinated onions.

But I haven't even started my tortillas.

And I start rolling my tortillas.

Oh, my God, it's not coming together.

It's not working.

Oh, my God.

Oh, no. No. No.

OK, guys, five minutes to go!

Home stretch, everybody! Push it, push it!

Come on.

KANIKA: I've started to really panic.

I can't serve a taco without a taco.

It's not...

It's not coming together.

Oh.

Oh, no. You got this, Kanika. Breathe.

Let's go, Kanika. Breathe.

I'm gone, I'm gone, I'm gone, I'm gone.

I'm gone.

Now is not the time for doubt.

You've only got three minutes to go!

GRACE: Three minutes, guys. Come on.

Push, guys, push!

MIIN: Get it on the plate! Get it on the plate!

(GASPS) They look beautiful, Pat.

(LAUGHS)

PAT: I believe I have celebrated

the main component of the dish, today being tomatoes.

I've got the beautiful dressed tomatoes on the plate.

But the big moment will be when the tomato water

is poured onto the tortellini.

Yeah, I'm really happy.

I've just got to bring it together.

When the judges taste my dish,

I'm really hoping that they get that beautiful,

fresh, vibrant tomato flavour.

It's sweet and tangy.

And then, as that starts to dissipate,

they'll taste the basil, which will come through

in the fat of the oil.

Yeah, I think I've done enough today.

JACKIE: Japanese cakes are traditionally very beautiful.

CASPER: Oh, Jackie, good piping.

I'm piping the cake, alternating between the miso cream

and the pumpkin cream,

and adding dots of the umeboshi jam as well.

ALYONA: Jackie, that looks amazing.

I've chosen not to play my pin today.

I know that my spot in the competition

and everything is riding on this cake,

but this is the vision that I had for the cake...

Oh, my gosh.

..and so I hope the judges love it.

LYDIA: OK.

Pull you out.

My biggest concern was whether

the rice is going to cook in time,

so I've cooked it for as long as possible.

Just the top bits are crispy,

so I'm just scraping off the top bits.

I scrape the charred top off,

just to reveal the more tender stuffing inside.

And the tahini yoghurt dressing.

OK, I think I'm happy.

Pine nuts.

Oh, my God.

That eggplant is front and centre on the plate,

with the lamb and rice stuffing.

I just really need it to be cooked perfectly.

30 seconds left to go!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) 30 seconds, guys. Come on!

You've got this!

Push, push!

Get it on the plate, guys!

Oh, my God. You've got this, Kanika.

I don't have... You've got this Kanika.

Get it on the plate. I don't have my tortillas.

I wanted to do prawn tacos with corn three ways.

Oh, my God.

I've got two types of corns, crispy and fresh,

and I've got prawns.

I feel devastated.

I know not having a tortilla on the plate

might put me in the risk.

We are all said and done, in ten...

JUDGES: Nine, eight,

seven, six, five,

four, three, two,

one! That is it!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Great work, everyone.

Nice work, guys!

LUKE: Oh, you did amazing.

Well done. Well done.

Ooh-ah!

(EXHALES HEAVILY)

SOFIA: You chose a cuisine,

and we gave you the ingredient you had to feature.

On the line is your spot in the competition.

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

..Annabel.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Annabel, you had to cook Mexican.

You had to feature corn. What have you made?

I have made some seared scallops...

..with a corn butter

and a salsa macha.

They look epic. Oh, yeah.

They look amazing. Do they?

They look really, really cool. Thank you.

But...

..three was a very interesting choice.

Oh, true!

Dammit, I wish I had a full one.

Yeah. Or a full seven.

Absolute belter.

You know, that salsa macha,

it's got a beautiful background of smokiness

from that chipotle powder.

The cook on the scallop - ripping.

That lovely corn - that's the thing.

Because the corn and the salsa macha just

play so well against each other.

And then you brighten it up

with a squeeze of lime and some coriander.

Thoughtful, thoughtful cooking -

that'll get you a long way in this competition.

Thank you.

I am so intrigued by the flavours you've used,

because there is just something going on

with the use of the corn and the chillies

and the scallops.

I don't know, there's just

something that's alchemy going on there.

I don't care what you've done.

It's just bloody delicious. (CHUCKLES)

Thank you. Thanks, guys.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

PETRO: You are a force. Oh, my God.

Well done. Well done.

Thank you.

Next dish we'd like to taste belongs to Pat.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Oh, pretty! Ooh.

Oh, wow, the colour!

Oh, my Lord.

G'day, Pat. Hey, mate.

How are you? Good.

Um, Italian, obviously. Yes.

What did you go with?

So, I've gone with tortellini,

which is filled with cavolo nero, pine nuts

and ricotta.

I've got a tomato water and a basil oil.

Nice. Very fancy!

(CHUCKLES)

That looks an absolute picture, Pat.

JEANÐCHRISTOPHE: Pat...

..this is an amazing job.

Thank you.

To turn tomatoes to a liquid,

a consomme, who is so clear -

well done.

The transparency, the clarity of your liquid is just perfect.

It's sweet. It's well-seasoned.

Tastes so impeccably lovely.

There's so much technique in that.

It's your pasta work.

It's the clarity and the flavour of that consomme. It's your oil.

And for me, it's also those little peeled tomatoes.

I just love them.

They were so supple and kind of floral,

and they just, you know,

added a whole new dimension to that dish for me.

Thanks, guys. ANDY: Well done.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Ah, he deserved that. That is so yum.

Smashed it, mate. Well done. Thank you.

Petro.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

You had to feature eggplant because you chose Lebanon.

PETRO: I've made a loaded Lebanese dip platter.

For me, Lebanese really does shine with texture,

colour and flavour.

And the bread, mate?! The bread is absolutely ripping.

Thank you so much.

Dot. Today I've made a ricotta,

spinach, and basil agnolotti

with an nduja and tomato sauce.

The tomatoes shows very well in your dish,

which is quite special.

I love your little pinch parcel of pasta, stuffed

with this ricotta, spinach.

I can't fault it.

Aaron.

AARON: So I've made a crispy lemongrass chicken thigh.

Aaron, for me, the chicken is cooked perfectly.

The sauce is so beautifully balanced,

and it does make me think of Vietnam, for sure.

Thank you.

Vinnie Gibaldi.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

VINNIE: I've made a ricotta and basil ravioli

with a roasted cherry tomato sauce.

Vinnie...

..you're not going back home tonight.

It is de-li-ciousss!

Thank you.

Yeah, that sauce - just want to rub it on myself.

(POH GASPS) (LAUGHTER)

Lydia, we'd love to taste your dish next.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

I look at my dish, and... (SIGHS)

I know this dish tastes good...

..but just listening to all that positive feedback,

I'm worried.

I really need the rice and the eggplant

to be perfectly cooked.

I'm freaking out.

You chose Lebanon, and you got eggplant,

so tell us what you've made.

I stuffed the eggplant... Mm-hm.

..with some lamb and rice mixture...

..tahini yoghurt sauce for brightness,

and the pine nuts cooked in the ghee.

Lydia, that looks stunning.

Yeah, it's like a real face-planter.

Yeah. Just want to...

Lydia...

..this is magnificent.

You cooked the eggplant beautifully.

You've taken us to Lebanon, for sure.

The thing that I love the most on this dish

is those pine nuts in the ghee

because they're so buttery,

and then the eggplants are really silky.

There's something about those textures

coming together that is just so seamless.

Well done.

It's... It's just gorgeous.

Thank you.

Lydia,

it is a fan-tas-tic dish.

The mince...

..the rice, the depths.

Thank you so much.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I'm not sure what your method was, but remember it.

OK.

Because we want to eat more food like this.

OK. Thank you so much. ANDY: Nice one.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Well done, well done.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Ah, ha, ha!

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

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

EMILY: I'm looking down at my dish -

it looks absolutely exquisite.

I hope that I have made

any jibu-ni chef in Japan proud,

even though I did slightly modernise this with the miso.

(GASPS) Wow!

(WHISPERS) Shotgun.

Obviously you chose Japan, and you got miso.

Yes, I did.

So, I made jibu-ni, which is kind of, like, a duck dish.

So, the focus is usually on the broth...

..so I thought it would be a good way to showcase miso.

Emily...

..I love everything on this plate.

Your broth has just got so much depth to it.

And the way you've so sensitively used that miso,

so subtly,

that it's got this kind of fruitiness

that is just so lovely.

I'm totally in Japan.

I think you've done a brilliant job.

Emily, these noodles are bouncier than Beyonce.

(LAUGHTER)

They're amazing.

And I love that you chose

to make them out of buckwheat as well. That is not easy.

Far out, man - that's good cooking!

Well done.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Thank you so much.

You smashed it.

Next up, Kanika.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

I'm feeling really nervous.

The tortillas are missing.

I'm just hoping that all the elements

that I've got on plate are perfect.

Kanika, you had to cook a Mexican dish.

You had to feature corn.

What have you cooked?

Today, I've made prawns with corn two ways.

So, I did fried corns with chipotle sauce,

and I did fresh corns.

And there were meant to be tortillas, am I right?

Yes.

So, time was not your friend? Yes.

Are you a bit worried?

I am a little worried.

Kanika, um...

..the sauce, it's interesting.

It doesn't scream Mexican to me.

It's quite one-note.

And in Mexican cuisine,

that's the last thing that sauces are.

The two corn, for me, it just feels like there's not

enough difference.

I feel like you just should have focused on one

and made it the best possible version.

Your want to really nail this

has forced you to do so many different elements,

and, unfortunately, every single one of them

has kind of suffered.

Yeah, it's a really, really hard one, Kanika,

because we know that you're adept

at putting up multiple dishes...

..and doing all of them really well.

We've seen that for you.

But today the challenge was, you know, take us to Mexico.

And you didn't get the tortillas up.

So, we're just going to have to see

how everybody else cooks today.

Thank you so much. Thanks, Kanika.

(APPLAUSE)

I feel devastated.

I feel like...

.."You went too ambitious."

Today was not a day for it.

I just don't want to go home today.

Next dish we'd like to taste is Olaolu.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

You picked Mexico, with corn as the ingredient.

And what have you made?

OLAOLU: I've made some beef quesadillas

with a charred-corn herby salsa.

Olaolu, I wouldn't say it is, like, overwhelmingly Mexican.

The corn is, for me, where this dish falls down.

It's overcooked, so it's become, like, really chewy.

It's lost that kind of brightness, sweetness.

Thank you.

Time to call down Jack.

You've chosen Italian.

You featured tomatoes.

JACK: So, I've done a seafood spaghetti,

and just a pipi and mussel sauce.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Your dish is very well executed.

Now, the tomato...

..they're not dominant in your dish.

OK. No worries.

Lucy, you're next.

So, Lucy, you picked Vietnam.

What have you made?

LUCY: I've made a beef and lemongrass

Vietnamese noodle soup.

Lucy, the broth is absolutely delicious.

The lemongrass is there, but it is so subtle.

Take us to Mexico, Hannah.

I made you pork and corn taco

with a crema.

SOFIA: I think your tortillas are great.

Your meat's got some nice flavour to it, the pork,

but the thing that I'm missing to take me to Mexico here

is some heat.

Luke.

Picked Mexico.

LUKE: I did birria tacos with a corn salsa.

Birria - I thought the filling was delicious.

You know, I love that braised short rib.

The corn and pineapple salsa - loved.

I just think you could have probably gone

a little bit heavier on the corn,

just because that's what we're trying to feature today.

But I did like the combo of the pineapple corn.

OK, next one, Jackie, please.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

JACKIE: I'm feeling good. I'm glad I backed myself today,

and I didn't play the pin.

This is the vision that I had for the cake,

and I hope the judges love it.

Pretty.

Jackie, you've chosen Japan,

and your feature ingredient was miso.

What have you made?

Today, I've made a miso and pumpkin cake.

Is this dish good enough

to keep your spot in the competition?

Yeah, I hope so. Let's find out.

SOFIA: Come on, guys.

Jackie...

..I'm afraid to say, but I think

you should have played your pin today.

Jackie...

..I'm afraid to say, but I think

you should have played your pin today.

What I like about your dish is the gel on the top.

Say the name again. Umeboshi.

That's right. That's fabulous.

But because the cake is so sweet,

I can't get, really, of the miso effect.

And I think your pumpkin

is not really getting on with the cream.

So, basically speaking,

do I like it?

No.

Jackie, I think you started off with a really good idea,

and you might have gotten a little bit transfixed by it.

Yeah.

The actual sponge itself, I think, is fluffy and light.

But the...the miso cream is...is a problem.

It's...it's actually not that miso-y.

Mate, I must have had a totally different cake.

I got so much miso.

So it's so strange that...

'Cause I was like, "Wow, this is, like, so salty."

Must have just been the construction of the cake

because I got the miso half, you got the pumpkin half.

Yeah. You could be vulnerable today,

Jackie, with this one. Yeah.

No, thank you for the feedback.

Thanks, Jackie. Thank you.

I'm pretty disappointed.

I really want to back myself,

and I think it just didn't quite get to where I wanted it to be.

I'm definitely worried

that I could be the one going home today.

And, yeah, I...

Yeah, I don't know where I stand.

Today, we asked you to take us on a trip around the world,

and feature a defining ingredient

from one of five countries.

Let's start with the positives.

Four dishes truly transported us.

And those dishes were cooked by...

..Emily... (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

..Annabel...

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

..Lydia...

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

..and Pat.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

All four of your dishes were worth travelling for.

Congratulations. You're not going anywhere.

Impressive dishes aside,

it's an elimination day.

If I call your name, please step forward.

Olaolu.

Sorry.

Kanika.

Jackie.

Ultimately, it came down to the dish

that had the most flaws.

Cook going home today is...

..Kanika.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Kanika,

eliminations are hard.

Please promise us...

..that you will continue your journey after you leave.

I will.

What did you love, being here in the MasterChef kitchen?

Everything.

These people.

You guys.

Please don't give up.

But for now, sadly, it's time to say goodbye.

Thank you.

Oh, my God.

It's just been an incredible journey.

So much exposure to the world of the food.

Give it up for Kanika, everybody!

This is not the last time you're seeing me.

I'm not gonna stop here.

ANNOUNCER: Tomorrow night,

the world is at their fingertips,

with an international invention test

where fusion is the destination.

LUCY: Fusion sounds really scary

because you're blending

two countries together,

and it needs to be balanced and work.

This is a fusion challenge,

not a confusion challenge.

So what in the world

are they making?

Whoa!

Oh, my gosh. Dear Lord!

Far out. Keep it together.

It's either a match made in heaven

or it's gonna be an absolute disaster.

Captions by Red Bee Media