All language subtitles for MasterChef Australia - S18E51_Eng

(CHEERING FROM GANTRY)

This is interesting.

PAT: I can kind of see the set
up of the benches

could be like a mano a mano
versus competition.

You ready?
Ready.

Morning, Kings.

It's very intense,
especially on elimination day.

Trying to cook up a dish

and knowing that you're going
to go up against

one of your great mates.

When it comes down to my spot in
the competition

or somebody else's spot
in the competition,

you've got to put yourself first
and do what you need to,

to get the win.

This is it.
The final day of heat week.

All week, you've been fighting
for top dish,

to stay out of elimination.

And now you four are left

fighting to keep
your flame alive.

Today, one of you
will be leaving the competition.

The fight for survival
in this competition

has never been so intense.

Today, we're doing heat of
a different kind.

Two heats, to be exact.

Because this...

..is MasterChef duels.

We're putting you into
two pairs,

where you'll battle it out,
head-to-head.

If you win your duel,
you'll be safe.

If you lose, you'll be
cooking again in a final duel...

..where someone
will be eliminated.

MasterChef duels is crazy.

To go one on one against someone
in the MasterChef kitchen,

that only really happens
in the final.

So right now,
we are all amazing cooks.

So to go head-to-head against
anyone here

is really, really scary.

Matching tokens means
you're in a duel.

Aaron.
Hello.

Luke.

No-one's looking.
No-one wants to know.

Oh, I love this.

That's new.

Make it interesting.

Let's see what tokens
you've got.

Oh!

(ALL EXCLAIM)

Smoke and fire. That's cool.

Luke and Vinnie,
you drew smoke tokens.

That means you're facing off

and you must incorporate smoke
into your dish.

Aaron and Pat,
you drew fire tokens.

You're cooking off
against each other

and must use the flambe
technique in your dishes.

(GANTRY EXCLAIMS)

LUKE: I just don't know
what I would cook with smoke.

I've never used a smoking gun
before.

Cogs are trying to turn
in my mind,

but I've got nothing.

We are giving you 45 minutes.

You can cook anything you like.

But we will taste your dishes
side by side

to determine the winner of
the duel.

If you win, you will be safe.

If you don't win, you will be
in the final showdown,

fighting to stay in
the competition.

It's tough because this is your
spot that you're fighting for.

You're literally fighting
against someone right now

to keep your spot
in this competition,

and I really have to bring
myself into this dish today.

Otherwise, I feel like
I don't really have a chance.

OK, guys.

If you are ready...

..your duels start now.

Come on.

(SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT)

ANNABEL: Pat's straight on in.

VINNIE: Patty already
with the pan.

PAT: I've pulled out
the fire token today.

I'm a little bit rattled with
the technique I've been given.

Flambeing is not something
I gravitate towards normally.

I much would have rather
that nice smoke token.

I'm kind of racking my brain
to come up with a dish

that I use flambe for.

So, yeah, it's not...
it's not ideal.

VINNIE: I love cooking with
smoke,

so I feel like this token
is suited to me

really, really well.

Cooking over charcoal is kind of
taking me to my happy place

because I love cooking outside.

I love cooking over fire.
I love getting smoke into meat.

I'm really excited
for this challenge.

So I'm up against Luke,
which is wild

because Luke
is always a wild cook.

He's been in so many
eliminations.

My pastry's come out
and it's burnt.

Mate, it's pretty scorched.

I need this off grill.

It was on grill?!
Yeah.

Oh, mate.

SOFIA: Luke forgot to take
the plastic off.

On all of them?
All of them.

But this man just turns it on
during elimination,

and he normally pulls it out
of the bag and does really well.

So that is a little bit scary.

But I love cooking with smoke,

so I feel like getting
this token is suited to me

really, really well.

And today I'm gonna cook
the food that I want to cook.

I had a little bit of a wobble
last night.

I felt like kind of
I lost my way a little bit

and I don't like that.

So today I'm literally going
to make something

that I would want to cook for my
girlfriend at home or my family.

I'm at my absolute happiest
cooking the food that I love,

for the people that I love.

I feel like if you cook with
love and happiness,

it comes out in the plate
and everyone can taste it.

Vinnie,
you're in the smoke duel.

Yeah.
What have you gone for?

So I'm making a steak.
Yeah.

Nice...
Got a nice scotch fillet here.

Looks beautiful.

I'm smoking it over a little bit
of the hibachi.

I've got a bit of rosemary in
there.

With that, I'm going to do
just a light glaze of some miso,

just to extra punch it up.
I've got some smoked vinegar

in there, too.
Right.

Uh, and then I'm gonna do
a salad, I think,

with some radicchio, fresh.
Mm-hm.

Some chard figs
and some smoked prosciutto.

It's at the end there.

And I was thinking
I'm going to do a salsa

because I feel like I want
the salsa to be the thing

that bridges the gap between
the two smoked elements

and then freshness for
the whole thing.

Smoke is a great superpower
to have while you're cooking,

but it can also take over a dish
if there's too much of it.

So I really need to be careful.

I don't know how I'm feeling
about today.

Obviously, pretty rough
coming up against Vin.

He's an absolute beast.

Getting that smoke token has
thrown me for a bit of a loop.

First off, Vinnie against me,
he is a gun.

He does not get flustered
at all.

And he's had the pin.
He's had top dishes.

So I'm definitely worried
coming up against him.

On top of that,

how the heck do you get a dish
to taste like smoke,

apart from just doing it
on the hibachi?

So I'm gonna have to think
outside the box

to make sure that I'm nowhere
near that second round.

When I think of smoke,
I think of like a camp fire.

I'm gonna do a s'mores-inspired
dessert.

You know, when you have
a s'more, it's really delicious.

And it's chocolatey.
It's marshmallowy.

But it's also got that char
and that smoky flavour.

If I can recreate a dish
like that,

I think I could be in with
a shot.

Hello, Luke.
Tell me, what are you doing?

I'm gonna try and do
a s'mores-plated dessert.

So a nice smoked, charred
meringue,

a chocolate cremeux
an almond crumb,

and, like, a raspberry coulis.

A smoked meringue?
Yeah.

So how are you going to smoke
the meringue?

So make my kind of mixture,
dissolve the sugar

and then smoke that with
a smoking gun.

Have you done this before?
No.

No idea how it's going to taste,
but...

Do you realise how not easy
it is to get the smoke element

into the thickness of
a meringue?

And especially
with the content of the sugar.

Yeah.
And you think you can do it?

It can't be that hard,
is what I'm thinking.

But I do think if I can deliver,

then it's going to keep me safe
from the second round.

Look in my eyes. If you do...
(CHUCKLES)

I'll leave you alone.
Honestly, good luck.

Thank you, Chef.
I'm really excited.

OK. Thank you.
Wow.

I haven't done this dish
altogether before

and there is no room for error.

And in a challenge where my spot
in the competition

is on the line and the dish
needs to be, quite frankly,

perfect to keep me alive,
I'm definitely nervous.

But I have to try something
a bit different,

something a little bit risky if
I'm going to beat Vinnie.

PETRO: Let's go, Aaron.

CASPER: What are you doing,
Aaron?

AARON: This is a Malaysian dish.
Is that condensed milk?

Yeah.

I feel pretty nervous.
I'm up against Pat.

He's been so, so good
and consistent

this whole competition.
So, yeah, it is...

It is a bit stressful
going up against Patty.

Pat is an incredible cook.

Strong with flavours,
strong with technique.

He knows what to do,
how to do it.

Pat's the one to beat.

So today I've got to play
to my strengths

and I need to use that
against Pat.

So I'm using the flames today

and my dish is a play on
drunken prawns.

And I'm just gonna add
an egg floss to it as well.

So like a Malaysian-style egg
floss with some curry leaves

and all the aromats as well.

I'll make the prawns and kind of
flambe them in some vodka,

a bit of Shaoxing wine

just to get that drunken flavour
as well into it.

This dish elicits a lot of
memory for me.

The egg floss is one of
those dishes

that I look forward to the most
when I go back to Malaysia.

My grandpa would take us out
to big family dinners.

He would order this giant dish
of prawns and egg floss

just for me.

It's one of those things that
takes me right back to...

..to when he was still around.

When we lost my grandpa,

we felt an immense presence
disappear.

The way I cook now emulates

the way my grandpa
lived his life.

He lived large.
He ate big.

He loved flavour, loved spice,

and he would be so generous
with everything that he had.

He taught me so much about just
living life to the fullest

and appreciating everything
you got.

So not only do I not want to be
in round two today,

I want to honour the memory of
my grandpa through this dish.

Pat's pan's already
smelling good.

He's going all out.
ANNABEL: Oh, yeah.

Go, Patty boy.

Yum.
Yeah, you can smell that prawn.

Today, I have to use
the flambe technique.

It does rattle me a little bit.

Yeah, I don't use a huge amount
of flambeing

in the cooking I do.

I'm just going to have to cook
something that I believe

is going to keep me
in the competition.

Oh, he put plenty...

Oh! Ey, Patty!

There he is.

Flambe.
Yes.

Tick. What are you making?

Um, so I am doing a pan-seared
barramundi

with a bisque sauce,

some charred leeks and some
potatoes and shaved fennel.

Holy moly.

Have you ever made a bisque in
45 minutes before?

Uh, no, I haven't.

Mate, this is like
a 90-minute cook.

I've always backed myself
and pushed myself in the kitchen

to be able to cook at a really
high pace,

but some alarm bells
are going off in my head.

Can I pack enough flavour into
that sauce with 45 minutes?

Have I picked the right dish
to beat Aaron?

I don't know.

Smoke versus smoke,
fire versus fire.

25 minutes to go.

(SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT)
ANDY: Well done, guys. Come on.

CASPER: Hustle.

ANNABEL: Nice, Vin.

Ooh!
It smells yum.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Luke against
Vinnie.

Luke, he wants to smoke
a meringue.

He wants to obviously use it
around a chocolate cremeux,

a raspberry coulis,

and he wants to actually
introduce the meringue

by a siphon gun. And guess what?

He's never done it before.

I should have known!

So smoking, doing a dessert,
never did before.

SOFIA: That is going to be
so difficult.

Vinnie on the other side.

He's obviously cooking with
smoke.

He's got smoke pretty much
everywhere in the dish.

Oh, really?
Yes.

So it's all centred around
a scotch fillet,

which he's cooking on
the hibachi.

He's smoking that with
some rosemary.

But then he's got, like,
smoked salt, smoked vinegar,

smoked pancetta as well.

So I think he's going to need
to edit.

My concern with the smoking
element

is I don't want to be left with
some kind of burning...

Ashtray.
..flavours.

Ashtray.
Yeah, an ashtray.

OK, to the fire duel.
I went and visited Pat.

He is doing potatoes, a bisque,
fillet of barramundi

and leeks on the hibachi.

All in 45 minutes.

And I tell you what,
he is just locking in.

He knows he's short on time.

Aaron, I think, has picked
the most perfect dish.

He's doing drunken prawns with
a egg yolk floss.

Ah. So what booze is he using?

Shaoxing and vodka.
Yum!

Vodka?
Yeah, yeah.

It'll be interesting to see
which one has the best flambe.

This is so...
Yeah, I know.

AARON: This dish can seem quite
simple

because it's only two elements,

but it is very technical.

Those prawns are ginormous.
Yeah, I know.

The cook on the prawns has to be
perfect

because I've got to cook them
twice.

I first flash fry them in some
hot butter and oil.

I can see them getting
nice and crispy.

The colour is changing.

The prawns look really good
from what I can tell.

So I'm just setting them aside
to rest

before I flambe them
in the Shaoxing wine and vodka.

Now it's time to work on
the egg floss.

So the egg floss is basically
just streams of egg

that's fried in butter.

The egg mixture needs
to come out in a thin stream,

so I'm putting it into
a piping bag

and poking holes in
the piping bag

so I can squeeze the piping bag

and get an even pressure
and continuous stream of egg

in the butter and the oil.

PETRO: That looks so cool.

ANNABEL: That's so cool!
Go, Aaron!

The smell is amazing.

You've got curry leaves,
chilli, garlic, shallots,

brown butter and it's just like
a nice sort of texture

and a garnish to sit on top of
the prawns.

A bisque in 45 is mental.

Reduction and everything
as well.

He's mental.

I'm feeling absolutely
under the pump.

Today, I've decided I'm going
to cook a pan-seared barramundi

with some potatoes,
some charred leeks,

shaved fennel with
a prawn bisque.

This will definitely be a push
to achieve in 45 minutes.

I've never really done a bisque
in under 75 minutes.

So I have to try to amp up
those flavours.

My bisque has been in the pan,
reducing down,

developing with the mirepoix and
the prawn shells.

I have been smashing those up

to extrude all the flavour I
can.

Right now, I'm just gonna get
my sauce blended and strained.

I love the taste of the bisque,

but I just want it to be
a bit more intense.

It just needs to reduce down.
It's got a good base.

I'm definitely giving this cook
everything I've got.

I don't want to be in round two,

but Aaron's definitely
a huge opponent

to go up against.

He's really sure of himself

when it comes to a lot of
the Asian cuisine.

He's an amazing cook

and every dish he's cooked
for me

inside and outside the kitchen,
has just been delicious.

I just have to focus on
what I'm doing.

I can't control what's happening
over there.

I just have to back myself
in my dish.

It is a very fierce battle
today,

and I feel like I'm gonna
give it everything I have.

Being in this MasterChef kitchen
has been life-changing for me,

and I don't want that to end
yet.

So my dish needs to be perfect.

I'm just trying to finish off
the last components of my dish.

So far, I've caramelised
a little bit of my figs,

so they're doing well.

I just want to give them a taste
just to see how we go.

They're good. They're good.

You can definitely get
that smoke on there.

I'm just wanting
to balance this dish.

So that's why I'm cooking
my steak now,

so I actually have time
to get the balance

of every other component on
the plate right.

Because I feel like with smoke,

it's actually like
really delicate to balance

because too much smoke
and it just tastes bitter.

I feel like with this dish,

I have
a really strong foundation,

but I need to taste
every single element together

to make sure they all work out

and form
a really nice, cohesive dish.

I'm gonna have to edit this
as I go.

I'm feeling that this is like,
you know, how I like to cook now

and it's making me feel happy,
so...!

Let's go, Vinnie!

Pretty simple.

Win this duel and you are safe
from elimination.

Ten minutes to go.

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

Go, Luke.

I was feeling a bit like
a deer in headlights

when I first heard
the assignment,

but I'm feeling a lot better.

I've done my chocolate cremeux.

It's in the fridge,
just setting.

I want this cremeux to be
the consistency of, like,

a super thick mousse.

Therefore, this cremeux needs
as much time as possible to set.

I've got my crumb in the oven
and it's looking good.

Cooking this dish, I'm in love
with the concept of it,

but it's now time to smoke
the meringue.

And I've never done
a smoked meringue in my life.

I don't really know
what I'm doing.

How long do I smoke it for?

I've got no idea.

Look, it smells exactly like
a camp fire right now,

which is what I want
my s'mores dish to smell like.

But I've never done it before,

and I just hope
it doesn't affect the texture.

Otherwise, this whole dish
will be stuffed.

When you have a small anomaly,

all the smoky flavour comes from
the marshmallow.

So that's why my meringue is
a main smoky element

on this dish.

So this has to taste like smoke.

PETRO: Just make sure when you
whip it, Luke,

that you give it a taste
'cause...

Yeah.

It does actually smell good.

Go, Lukey.

Come on!

My meringue is looking
really good.

It's looking exactly like
a meringue.

I'm absolutely pumped.

I'm just hoping that it's also
got that, that smoky flavour.

It tastes really delicious,
but it's not super smoky.

Far out.

I'm racking my brains
to think about why the meringue

doesn't taste like smoke.
It should.

I'm not sure what to do.
I'm in serious strife.

It's got me a bit stumped.

LUKE: I give my meringue a taste
and...

..it doesn't taste very smoky.

In fact, it doesn't even taste
like smoke at all.

This is an absolute disaster.

I'm feeling pretty devastated.

My understanding of
the smoke gun is

you smoke something with
a smoke gun,

it tastes like smoke.

I don't understand, how could
it not taste like smoke?

Time is running out and I can't
make a new element in time.

So I'm gonna have to work out
a fix really fast.

I think I'm gonna leave
the meringue as it is

because it's delicious.

I'm gonna put it in the fridge.

I'm gonna smoke my cremeux,

and I'm hoping that will carry
the smoke flavour.

PETRO: Remember, it's got to set
as well, Luke.

Yeah, I know, brother.

OK, guys, if it's fire or
smoke,

five minutes to go.

(SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT)

PETRO: Looks good, Vinnie.

Alright, let's go, Lukey.

AARON: There's literally
five minutes left,

and I've just got enough time
to flambe my prawns

and plate up.

ANNABEL: Yum, Aaron.
That smells unreal.

So I'm happy with the cooking
of the prawns.

Like, you can see it's like
the flambe has actually gotten

it crispy,
which is really cool as well.

So like the little legs will be
like little prawn cracker-esque.

I want to make sure the dish
looks appetising. It's inviting.

It's a celebration of the prawn
and the egg floss,

and it's a way to celebrate
my grandpa.

PAT: This is probably the
hardest I've had to work

in the kitchen.

I'm going 100mph
to get this thing on the plate.

I've got my charred leeks
and potatoes

on the base of the plate.

The charred leeks are really
good. They're smelling great.

The potatoes are crispy,
golden brown and buttery.

The barramundi has
a beautiful crispy skin.

It's nice and tender,
and then I add shaved fennel.

At the last minute, I've got
my bisque off the heat.

I pour it into my jug

and I just hope there's enough
flavour in there.

ANNABEL: Wow.
Oh, that looks good, Patty.

VINNIE: It's time to plate up.

I've got all my elements
ready to go.

I lay my steak that's full of
char, full of flavour,

on the plate.

I start to build my salad,

so I get some radicchio and
I get some of my charred figs.

I taste it with the dressing

and the charred figs
are way too much.

They take over the flavour
of this whole salad.

They almost taste burnt.

I really need to balance
this dish properly,

so I'm gonna leave it off the
dish and use fresh figs instead.

Cool, cool.

I just hope that I've made
the right decision

and this dish
is perfectly balanced.

Keep fighting. One minute to go!

Come on, guys, wrap it up.

PETRO: Go, guys!

ANNABEL: Go, Luke.

LUKE: One minute to go and I'm
trying to plate everything up.

This is absolute chaos.

I'm just throwing things on
a plate.

The crumb, the coulis.

I take my cremeux out of
the blast freezer.

It's not setting.

It's not fully set.

But I give it a taste and I'm
pretty happy with the flavour.

It's not what I envisioned, but
it's just going to have to do.

Time's up in ten...

ALL: Nine, eight, seven,

six, five, four,

three, two, one...

ANDY: That's it, everybody!

I think it'll be touch and go
whether I'm in the second round.

Everything tastes good.

I don't think it's like
blow your head off flavours.

But I do think it has
the smoky element from the char

from the chocolate cremeux.

I mean, I feel good, but I just
know Vin is like,

he's a beast and coming up
against him,

always going to be in trouble.

OK, first up...

..we have the duel of
Luke and Vinnie.

CASPER: Go, boys.

VINNIE: I'm walking my dish up
to the judges,

and all of a sudden
I'm wondering,

do I have enough smoke
in this dish?

LUKE: I know my cremeux
isn't set,

but I think if the judges
could see my dish

is kind of creative, maybe a bit
more smoky compared to Vinnie,

I might be safe.

So you both had to use smoke
in your dish.

So, Luke, what have you made?

I've made a s'mores-inspired
dessert.

I've done a smoked almond
and wattleseed crumb,

a raspberry coulis, chocolate
cremeux, and a charred meringue.

OK,
we're going to taste your dish.

Luke, the idea of this dish
was really cohesive.

I love all the flavour elements
of your dish.

It eats really well,
flavour-wise.

Where I feel it lets you down
is the textures.

So I think the cremeux is
a little under set

and the meringue definitely
hasn't worked in the siphon.

Smoky s'mores, brilliant -

really tasty flavours,
very well balanced.

But the meringue, it's watery.

It's, you know,
it is really collapsing.

I think by toasting the meringue

you've sort of kept it all
together,

but it's just holding on.

You were nearly there
on this one.

I think if you separate it
all out,

the cremeux, yes,
it's a little bit loose

and you can taste the smoke
by itself,

but as soon as it gets in and
amongst the crumb, the meringue,

the raspberry,
it just gets lost.

And I feel like
if there was a bit of focus on

the cremeux from
the first minute of the cook,

it would have been
an absolute winner.

Now, Vinnie, tell me,
what have you made?

Um, I did a scotch fillet on
the hibachi

with a radicchio salad
and a green sauce.

Um, there was a few concerns
for me,

whether there'd be
too much smoke

in too many places across
the dish,

but I feel like you've got
the balance just right.

For me, the salad is where it's
at, which surprised me so much.

Like, when you've got
that 400g scotch fillet,

you know,
brushing over the hibachi,

I'm like, that's got to be
the winner.

But the salad is dynamite.

Serving the radicchio
just dressed

in that slightly smoky dressing
was really beautiful.

The figs were lovely and sweet.

And I also love that
smoked pancetta as well.

I agree.

I am so into the sneaky
smoked salad attack,

because the obvious thing to do
would be to inject all the smoke

into your meat
and rely on that completely.

And while you've done
a beautiful job on the steak,

it's the salad and those leaves

that really catch you
by surprise.

And I think that's
extremely clever cooking

because not everybody
would think,

I'm going to smoke my salad.

A very clever move.

Thank you.

Vinnie, I absolutely adore
your steak.

The smokiness with that rosemary

in your excellent green sauce.

Smoking was the theme
and I think you've delivered.

Thank you.

Well done.

Well done, mate.
Thank you.

Alright. It's time to taste
the fire duel dishes.

Pat and Aaron, come on down.

PAT: Taking my dish up to
the judges,

I can see Aaron's dish as well.

They're very different.

I just really hope that
I've been able

to pack enough flavour into
my bisque,

because I don't want to be
in round two.

Pat, I've got to say, it doesn't
look like a 45-minute dish.

It looks lovely.
Thank you.

What have you made?

I've made a pan-seared
barramundi

with prawn bisque sauce,
some charred leeks, potatoes

and a bit of shaved fennel.

Jean-Christophe, have you ever
made a bisque in 45 minutes?

Never.

Would you ever make a bisque
in 45 minutes?

If I have to save my life, yes.

Pat, I think you've wrangled
the time that you had

so beautifully.

The barramundi is cooked
to perfection.

And I love the texture of all
the elements.

I love the crunch of
the pickled fennel.

Your potatoes are beautiful
and buttery.

And then the leeks also are just
so nice and slippery and satiny.

Your fish is impeccable.
Absolutely perfect.

But for me, what interests me
the most is the sauce.

And I think you've done
an excellent job.

The sauce is beautiful
and especially in 45 minutes,

but clearly it's missing a bit
of depth.

I love how much flavour
you've got into that bisque.

It's got complexity,
a bit of acidity in there.

Would this dish have been better
if you had longer? Yes.

For a 45-minute bisque, I don't
think it gets any better.

But is it just the wrong sauce
to try and achieve

in 45 minutes?

Aaron, what did you make?

I've made my play on drunken
prawns with an egg floss on top.

Aaron,
I think it looks stunning.

I really do. It's so inviting.

Thank you.

That is so fantastically good.

The prawns themselves
are beautifully cooked.

Then I picked that up,

and then I sucked every little
bit of juice

out of that head.

And that is where it is on.

That is where you get
that beautiful hum

of the Shaoxing with all of
the coral

and beautiful juice
from the head of the prawn.

And that, for me, was like,
"We're on." Well done.

I think this is an amazing dish,
mate.

Thank you.
The egg floss is so interesting

because the texture is beautiful
and light,

but it's still crispy.

It's so technical
and it's so unique.

But it also is a direct link
to your heritage.

And it's the thing
that has sort of bridged the gap

for me between your style
of cheffy cooking

and something that requires
finesse and practice.

Thank you.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Very well done.
Well done.

Vinnie and Luke,
you were the smoke duel.

You had to incorporate smoke
into your dish.

One dish had the better
use of smoke.

It was a little surprising
and perfectly balanced.

It was yours...

..Vinnie.

Pat and Aaron, the fire duel.

You had to flambe an element
in your dish.

The winning dish used flambe
to infuse their elements

with bags of flavour.

And that was you...

..Aaron.

Congratulations,
Vinnie and Aaron.

You live to fight another day
in the MasterChef kitchen.

And then there were two.

You both showed real grit
during that cook.

But, unfortunately,
Pat and Luke,

you are through to
the final duel

where you'll cook head-to-head.

We're giving you 60 minutes...

..and you'll be cooking...

..whatever you like.

Cook like it's the last time

that you'll ever cook
in this kitchen.

Because if you don't win this
duel, it will be.

For the two of you,
the competition,

it's all boiled down to this,
fellas.

We wish you the best of luck.

Your time starts now.

This is unreal,
the elimination.

It's, uh, it's actually insane.

Like, the energy in here is,
like, palpable.

You've got Patty on one hand.

Pat's so good. He's got
flavours, he's got technique,

he's got ideas, he's got skills.

So it's hard for Luke to come up
against that.

Far out! I can't think!

But Luke is, you know,
a budding cook and everything,

and has so much potential
and raw talent.

ANDY: Come on, Lukey! Eh-eh-eh!

It's, yeah, it's tough today.

It's going to be a tough battle.

Patty!
Come on, Pat.

It's such a big head-to-head.

So, very tense right now.

I don't know
what's gonna happen.

This is it, lads.
The final showdown.

45 minutes to go.

I don't think
words can really express.

how keen I am to stay here.

I think actions speak louder
than words

and my actions today are
going to speak pretty loud.

Taking on Pat one-to-one
feels like a mammoth task.

So I'm trying to be quite
strategic in the second round.

Pat's game is definitely flavour

and I just feel like, today,

I don't think I can beat him
in his own game.

I've come up with this dish
to show the judges something

that I haven't shown them
before.

A dish that's going to separate
the two of us.

This is a dish that gives me
a different type of edge,

and if I can pull it off,
I might be safe.

AARON: Come on, Lukey,
get that fish filleted.

ANNABEL: That's a kingfish,
right?

Yeah, yeah, it is kingfish.
A yellowtail.

PETRO: Yeah, it is a kingfish.

LUKE: I'm a little bit nervous,
obviously.

It's my spot on the line
and I don't want to go home.

Today, I'm going to be making
a kingfish mosaic.

A mosaic is a dish where you
slice up

individual pieces of fish,

roll each individual
piece of fish in the seasoning.

I'm using Japanese flavours
nori, yuzu,

sesame seeds, some wasabi,
some black sesame seeds,

and then you kind of stack them
all on top of each other.

You roll it up like a roulade,

really nice and tight,
and cook it in a sous vide.

And then once you slice it at
the end and have a look at it,

you get this beautiful pattern
and it looks like a mosaic.

I think there's actually
a chance this dish could win,

and I'm hoping that
it'll be a dish

that looks really good,
but tastes even better.

ANNABEL: Nice, Pat.
VINNIE: Come on, Pat!

I love the smell
of roasting capsicums.

Same.
And I don't even like capsicums.

It's not ideal to be in
round two.

I love it here.

I've gone further than
I thought I ever would.

My MasterChef journey has been
one of the best things

I think I've ever done
in my life.

I've loved what
I've been able to achieve here

and the feeling I get
walking into the kitchen.

But it's really big time
to be away from home.

Obviously, I've got my beautiful
daughter, Frankie.

She had her second birthday
last week

and my fiancee, she's six
and a half months pregnant

with our next child,

so she's just carrying the load
back home.

That's what's driving me
in the competition.

I want to make sure I go as far
as I can for them

and change my family's life.

Hey, Pat.
Andy, how are you going?

Good. How are you feeling,
one-on-one?

I'm not trying to focus too
much on

what's happening down that end.

I just want to get my dish done.

Love that, mate.
What is that dish?

Today I'm doing a chargrilled
octopus

on a romesco sauce
and some pickled kohlrabi.

The romesco, the octopus
and the pickled kohlrabi...

Yeah.

..it seems like a nice kind of
refined, bold-flavours dish.

Where's the inspiration
from the dish come from?

Well, I remember always thinking

octopus was such a great
protein.

Yeah, I agree.

I was a bit worried on
cooking it.

And then once I started
to delve into it,

like, I found it's really
beautiful to cook,

and, like, when you get it
right, it's amazing.

Push on, mate. Good luck.

Usually I braise my octopus on
a stove top,

but with a 60-minute cook,

I just don't have time
for the slow braise.

So, today, I'm going to
cook my octopus

in the pressure cooker
for 15 minutes.

Once it comes out of
the pressure cooker,

I'm going to get it into
a marinade

with some beautiful herbs
and spices and olive oil,

and then onto the hibachi
to char.

I believe this dish
is definitely enough

to get me through to the top six

and safe from elimination.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: One last dish,
one last chance.

30 minutes to go.

Come on, let's go.

Good stuff, Pat!
Good stuff, Luke!

VINNIE: Go, Lukey!

This is it.
The duel. The duel.

They are going to be cooking
the dish of the dish.

OK.
Luke's doing a kingfish mosaic,

and then he's making
a beurre blanc.

And his whole intention
for the dish

is just to show refinement.

So I don't mind this.
I don't mind it either.

There is nowhere to hide.

But if he can focus on
those two elements

and making them perfect...
Yeah.

..then I feel like
he's got a chance.

Well, he is learning from
everything to this point

and that's what we want to see.
Yeah.

What do you think about Pat?

So he's doing a romesco sauce.

Oh, and a kohlrabi pickle.

And he's got octopus
in the pressure cooker.

Having it in the pressure cooker
is such a risk

because you can go over
so easily.

So it's all about
how this octopus

is going to be - overcooked
or just perfect.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

PAT: Just taking my capsicums
off from the hibachi to...

For the romesco.

A romesco sauce is
a Spanish-style sauce

made from charred capsicums,

and it also has roasted
tomatoes, garlic.

I add chilli in with mine.

I really love all those
strong flavours.

Nice, Patty!

How is it, Patty?

I think it's a bit over.
Do you reckon?

My heart's going 100mph.

This octopus.,
it's really a bad texture.

It's super mushy
and not very nice to eat.

It was still sitting
at pretty high pressure,

so I think it's caused it
to be overcooked.

Mm. I'm going to get some more.

You got it, Patty. Come on.

I look up at the clock

and there's just under
20 minutes to go.

They need about 15 minutes to
cook,

so I'll be cutting it fine.

AARON: How's the reduction
going?

Yeah, good.
It does need to go slow,

so I'm just letting it
have that time.

I'm currently just working on
my miso beurre blanc.

A beurre blanc is always
a pretty technical sauce.

It's quite easy to make,
but it's quite easy to mess up.

I need to make sure the flavour
in this is spot-on.

It needs to be perfect.
It needs to be miso-forward,

but not too strong
that it's overpowering.

It needs to have the right
amount of butter

so that it just kind of balances
the dish,

and it needs to have
the right amount of acidity.

It just needs to be perfect,
to be frank.

You know these flavours,
you know the sauce. Come on.

What's the dashi taste like?

I just want a drop.

By adding shiro dashi,
sake, rice-wine vinegar,

I'm building
the depth of flavour.

I'm just trying to bolster
this sauce

to make sure that it's
as a beurre blanc should be,

a really subtle sauce,

but it also has a really
nice flavour underneath.

My fish is out of the sous vide.

I want the fish
when I cut through to have...

There's a little sheen it has
when it's perfectly cooked.

I've got my garnish ready
for plating

and I think this dish
could come together.

Mate, first mate,
five minutes to go.

AARON: Last five minutes. Come
on, Patty, come on, Lukey!

Come on, Luke!
Come on, Pat!

PAT: Time's running out

and I have to get the octopus
out of the pressure cooker.

My entire spot in this
competition

is lying in this pressure
cooker.

If that second batch of octopus
is overcooked

or undercooked, my time
at the competition is done.

Good?
Yeah!

Come on, Patty!

Gotta get this char on.
Get it on the plate.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Only three
minutes left to go. Come on.

AARON: Three minutes. Come on.

LUKE: I'm running out of time.

I need to slice my kingfish
and get it on the plate.

It's meant to be translucent
in the middle.

I'm really nervous.

I'm not sure if the kingfish is
cooked perfectly.

It looks perfect.

How's she looking, Lukey?
It's got the sheen.

Nice.

If I can plate this dish up
how I envisioned,

I might be keeping my spot
in the competition.

Finish strong. One minute to go!

(THEY SHOUT ENCOURAGEMENT)

Come on!

Is he happy with that?
Yeah.

He was really happy with it
when he came out.

Come on, Patty! Come on.
Stay focused.

Beautiful, Pat.

PAT: Right now is where
it all comes down to.

I get the beautiful
orange romesco sauce

down on the base of the plate.

I then lay on my chargrilled
tentacle,

place on some of
the roasted hazelnuts,

the pickled kohlrabi...
Beautiful, Pat.

The dish actually looks
really beautiful.

Good stuff, Luke.
Nice, finesse. Finesse.

Go on, Lukey.

LUKE: I place my kingfish mosaic
in a ring on the plate.

It looks incredible.

I add the shiso leaves,

the bits of salmon roe
and my beurre blanc.

It looks delicious.

Ten...

JUDGES: Nine, eight,

seven, six, five, four,

three, two, one!

That's it, guys!

Good job, mate!

Good work, fellas!

Today was a big one.

The highs of building up
for a cook, then not winning,

and then having to get yourself
up again for another cook.

Put up two dishes I'm proud of.

But, you know, just never know

what that nifty little
fella Luke's going to pull out

of the bag,
so we'll see what happens.

LUKE: Looking at this plate,

I'd be devastated if I went home
on this dish.

It's something that I would
never, ever, ever

think of cooking before
MasterChef.

I feel like this dish summarises

how far I've come
in this competition,

and I hope the judges will be
able to see that.

Here he is.

Hi, Luke.
Hey, Luke.

ANDY: Here he is.
SOFIA: Hi, Luke.

Hey, Luke.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Luke, what have
you made?

LUKE: I made a kingfish mosaic
with a miso beurre blanc.

Luke, you've got a little bit
of that larrikin in you.

It doesn't seem like you put
a lot of pressure on yourself.

Is that a true observation,
do you think?

I think I've probably come
across as

like I don't care,
but I definitely care a lot.

And I definitely feel a lot
of pressure in the competition.

I'm definitely not here
just having a bit of fun.

I still have a lot more to give
to this competition.

OK.

Good luck, Luke.
Cheers, mate.

Good luck, Luke.
Good luck.

I think visually,
he's absolutely pulled it off.

I think if, maybe, you know,
a month ago,

you saw this dish
in front of you,

you wouldn't guess
that Luke made it.

I don't think it's cooked.

But, like, that's what you're
looking for.

Yeah.
See the pieces on the outside?

There, that.
Yeah.

Whereas the middle ones,
they're just not cooked.

I do really enjoy the flavours.

I think that beurre blanc is
gorgeous.

It's really rich and velvety,
um, you know, buttery.

It's got all that fat in there.

You can't really taste
the kingfish.

And I'm trying to decide
how I feel about that.

So I'm sort of treating the fish
as a carrier

and maybe a textural element

more than it being
about highlighting the fish.

For me, the presentation was
beautiful.

It was elegant, you know?

It was really elegant.

I don't think it ate
as elegant as it looked.

The fish isn't cooked enough,
you know.

And, for me,
the fish shouldn't be a carrier.

That fish should be
the hero of that plate.

I really enjoyed the flavours.

I think he seasoned that

really beautifully
and sensitively.

I get what you're saying, Andy,

in terms of honouring
the ingredients,

but I still think there is
so much about the dish

that is really very
sophisticated.

Like, I really admire him

for choosing this moment to
raise the bar.

Yeah.

You know, like, it's quite
a scary thing to do.

For sure.

What was very clever
is that sauce,

I think he learned from
the lessons,

is to have the right amount of
cream

to take on enough,
but not too much.

And this is where we end up
with this splendour.

Look at that.

The question is, is the kingfish

supposed to be more cooked
or less?

I actually love it
the way it is.

But the fact is, the outside
of the fish is more cooked

than the inside of the fish,
and so it's inconsistent.

PAT: It's starting to dawn on me
that my fate in this competition

is all going to come down to
this dish.

But I'm really happy with
the flavour of the dish.

So it probably all comes down to

what Luke's put on his plate
as well.

G'day.

I think it'll be really tight.

Pat, what have you made?

A charred octopus
with a romesco sauce.

Pretty deep in the competition
now.

Um, and I feel like you've left
a lot.

Great job, great family,
young family.

But it's really hard.

(EMOTIONALLY) But that's...

But that's something that is
really a big driver.

After the first cook,
I really...

It hit big. You miss a lot.

I just tried to reset
and go again,

so I just hope I've done enough.

We see you in this place.

You light up in here.

And to risk all that
for a dream.

You just love this stuff.

Yeah, I do.

It's worth it, so...

Thank you.
Cheers, mate.

Good luck, Pat. Thank you.

I could definitely see this

at his little casual eatery
by the sea.

For sure.
Frankie's, yeah.

I was thinking of that, yeah.

I hope it eats the perfect
version, though,

because there were some
struggles.

He had trouble with his
octopus.

That's the final tentacle,
isn't it?

That's the final tentacle that
came out of the pressure cooker.

Whoa!
Yeah.

It looks like it's cutting
nicely.

Yeah, maybe too nicely?
Maybe too nicely.

It's an interesting one
because it's a yummy dish.

I love those little discs
of pickled kohlrabi.

Love the crunch, the freshness,

and also the garnish
of those hazelnuts

just adding
that extra element of texture.

My piece of octopus
was cooked really nicely,

but I didn't get heaps of char.

I found myself looking for that.

Everywhere your knife or fork
goes,

there is punch and flavour.
Yeah.

I think the octopus -
kind of mixed emotions for me.

You know that thicker end?
It was cooked nicely.

As soon as I got towards

the tip of the tentacle,
it was...

It was just a tad overcooked.

I feel like the romesco is
a little bit hollow, you know?

It just doesn't have
that kind of, like, richness.

With a little bit more seasoning

and the balance,
if the balance was right,

it could have just paired
with the occy next level.

Yeah, I did feel like
the romesco wasn't quite there.

I wanted more hit of, like,
the charred capsicum.

I wanted more sweetness.

The pickled kohlrabi added
a little bit of acidity

and a point of interest there.

I was quite seduced by the way
the dish was presented,

the colours,
the size of the tentacle.

But my concern is the octopus.

One part was a little bit soft
and one was too chewy.

I can't even cut it.

And that is a serious problem.
Mm.

To round out heat week,
we threw dual duels at you.

Pat and Luke, you found
yourselves cooking head-to-head.

That's about as intense as it
gets in the MasterChef kitchen.

And both of your dishes reflect
just how hard you fought

to stay in this competition.
Luke...

..your dish was strikingly
elegant,

and that beurre blanc
was absolutely gorgeous.

Unfortunately, we felt
the kingfish

should have been
the star of the show,

but it was overshadowed
by the nori.

Pat...

..your dish was classic Pat,

rustic, generous
and packed with flavour.

But your octopus was
unevenly cooked.

One dish...

..it missed the mark
more than the other.

Very sad to say,

your time in the competition
has come to an end...

..Pat.

Pat...

..what are you going to be
taking away

from this experience?

What I can do.

These legends...

..you guys.

(EMOTIONALLY) But I'm ready to
go, get home to my girls.

I'm glad you get to go home,
but we'll miss you.

He's just, like, been so much
fun to have around

and I've learnt a lot from him

and he's obviously an awesome
dad and an awesome partner.

We're going to miss you,
but I think, for sure,

your family are going to be
more than delighted

and so proud of you
and so pleased to have you back.

Well done, mate.
Enjoy the family time now.

Well done.

Being here,
I've achieved way more

than I thought I ever would.

Learnt so much about myself
and my skills

and what I can do in
the kitchen.

I could not be more thankful
for having this experience,

but I'm excited to go home

because that's
my favourite place on Earth.

Give it up for Pat, everybody.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

ANNOUNCER: Next week
on MasterChef Australia...

Each challenge this week

has been individually tailored
by one of us

to prepare you for the business
end of the competition.

Are we ready to roll?

ANNOUNCER: Four intense
challenges...

ANDY: There's a bit going on,
hence why we've got to keep up.

..to level up our contestants...

My final, final of the final
touch.

Today, you'll be making my...

CONTESTANTS: Ohhhhh!

..and with two eliminations,

the battle to reach finals week

is gonna be huge.

ANNABEL: I have this insane
hunger

to make it to the semifinals.

It's all within reach now,
which is crazy.

LUKE: This is game on.
No looking back.

No looking 45 either side.

Just straight at
the finish line.

Captions by Red Bee Media