Original subtitles

ANNOUNCER: Previously on MasterChef Australia...

It's Marion Grasby! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

..heat week... (OOHS AND AHS)

..was a battle to keep their flame alive in the competition.

That is bangin'.

Whoo!

Are we bringing it? I feel you.

They all had a burning desire

to reach the top six...

That is bold. It's a bold move.

You have to do whatever you can to stand out from the pack

because everyone is such a good cook.

..and show their passion to progress.

It makes your tongue dance.

There is a spicy discotheque in my bouche.

(LAUGHTER)

ANDY: It is so, so, so perfect.

We said, "Hibachi challenge." And you said, "Dessert!"

I love it.

In fact, I was going to try something new.

Uh-oh! (METAL GONGS)

Yay!

ANNOUNCER: But we had to say farewell to Pat.

My MasterChef journey has been one of

the best things I think I've ever done in my life.

I came way further than I thought I ever would

so there's no regrets and I've had a blast.

Tonight, the judges up the ante...

This is hard.

..as simple must become extraordinary.

It's a good test, really, to see how far we've come.

VINNIE: Get on in there. PETRO: Ooh!

ANNABEL: Oh!

What's going... Oh, it's all dark!

Oh! Jeez!

This is eerie. What is happ... This is weird.

Ooh!

Walking into the MasterChef kitchen.

I don't see much at the moment.

Why is it so dark?

It's very...

..eerie, I would say. I'm a little unsettled.

Ooh!

Oh.

I've never seen this before.

And I don't know what it means.

ANNOUNCER: (ON TANNOY) Tonight, on MasterChef Australia...

(CHUCKLING) What?

..the judges will drive you harder than ever before.

(WHISPERS) Is it an auction?

Every challenge is designed to push you to new heights.

It's time to rise to the occasion.

Hearing the voice of a man, it's got me...

It's got me pumped up.

It's reminding me that this is game on.

No looking back. No looking 45 either side.

Just straight at the finish line.

That's right, MasterChef voiceover man.

Each challenge this week has been individually tailored

by one of us to prepare you

for the business end of the competition...

..starting with today's mystery box...

..which has been set by me.

Ooh!

I'm very intrigued, actually.

Sofia has such a wealth of knowledge

when it comes to food.

There could be a plethora of ingredients under there.

I've created four mystery boxes for you to choose from.

However, there is only one ingredient in each.

This is kind of the complete opposite

of what I thought Sofia's mystery box would be like.

This is going to be really tough.

Here's what I've chosen.

Ooh! Oh!

Onion.

Yuzu. Oh!

Beetroot.

Almonds. Ah!

ANNABEL: Usually in a mystery box,

there is just, like, a plethora of options.

Like, this is hard.

There is literally one ingredient

in this mystery box.

That's all we can use.

They're, like, fairly one-dimensional

as an ingredient on their own.

So, like, we're going to have to get really creative.

To do well in this challenge, you'll need to harness

what you've learned throughout the competition.

Think about ways of extracting flavour,

using texture, and applying technique

to get the most out of your ingredient

and use your under-bench staples wisely

to make that ingredient shine.

This is a really difficult challenge,

but when there's not too much to work with,

it forces me to think strategically

about what dish I'm making.

Righto, you'll have 75 minutes to create a dish

using one of Sofia's chosen ingredients.

Can use as much or as little of that ingredient as you like.

Of course, the pantry and the garden,

they are closed.

But you will have access

to your under-bench staples today.

They are very important.

The top dish will win its maker immunity

from tomorrow's elimination...

..and you become the first person

into our top five.

You just need to shoot for the stars.

This is your moment, guys.

You've been training for this for months now,

so just use everything that's gotten you to top six

and it might just get you to top five.

Good luck.

Your time starts now. Come on, everybody!

PETRO: I like beetroot.

I think there's a lot of things you can do to beetroot.

That's what's appealing to me the most.

None left! POH: Wow.

AARON: Huh! Huh! Huh!

LUKE: I've got no idea what to do.

I'm looking at the four ingredients,

and none of them are screaming out to me

that they'd be great on their own.

A one-ingredient mystery box is really tough.

Balance, flavour, technique, texture,

and just a cohesive dish with only one ingredient

and your staples?

Just feels like there's a lot more you can do

with sweet in terms of the under-bench staples...

Oh, they smell nice.

..so I'm going with the yuzu.

CASPER: Ho-ho-ho!

I'm feeling pretty good about this mystery box.

Yuzu is one of the OG citrus favourite ingredient of mine.

I don't get them too often, too,

so to actually have them today, I really want to make

the most of that.

Single-ingredient cooks are, like, really hard.

I really need to break this yuzu down.

Almost like yuzu butchery.

So, got to juice up a whole bunch of yuzus,

get that juice, and then the leftover frames

take off a bit of the rind from some

and then I've just the first layer of skin

with no pith, and all of a sudden,

one ingredient becomes, like, five ingredients.

The annoying thing with yuzu is

because they are, like, that ancient fruit,

they've really been, like, cultivated

like lemons are these days,

so you don't get a huge amount of juice out of them.

They're full of seeds.

Today, I'm going to be making a yuzu cruller,

which is sort of like a doughnut.

And I'm going to try and use the yuzu,

like, in every single way possible.

So, I'm going to do a salted-yuzu glaze.

Then we're going to candy some of the peels,

make a jam with some of the peel, as well,

and then do, like, a charred, milk and pepper anglaise

to go with it, as well.

My greatest strength in this kitchen,

I would probably say it's pulling out stuff

that they haven't really seen before.

I hear only... Oh, actually, that's an insult to me

I was going to say, "Only losers cook crullers!"

Only losers do crullers, so makes sense!

Checks out.

I'm going to do a cruller.

And my friend Casper here,

I believe is also doing a cruller...

..but that's OK.

I'm using beetroot.

A cruller is just choux pastry that you treat like a doughnut.

So, you'd make your choux dough and then fry it up.

I've never thought,

"Beetroot dessert - yeah, great idea."

But I really want to stand out today.

And I think in order to get top dish,

that's what it's going to take.

I'm going to do a beetroot caramel.

I'm going to hibachi some beetroot

and make it into a jam

and, like, ripple that through a buttermilk ice-cream.

I'm going to try and dehydrate some of the leaves,

beetroot leaves.

I'm going to pickle some of the stems

and I think that should do me.

First things first,

I need to get onto my anglaise for my buttermilk ice-cream.

Egg yolks, sugar.

I've made some buttermilk using

the vinegar and the milk from the under-bench staples

and then some thickened cream.

I want to use the hibachi today

because I think that it can add, like, a smoky element,

which is just another way to get a bit more of a...

Multiple dimensions into this beetroot doughnut.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Did you hear that, Casper?

Next door? Mm-hm.

So, doughnut against doughnut.

Sorry, I'm not calling you doughnuts, by the way.

I'm just saying... Casper is a doughnut!

..doughnut using a beetroot. Yeah.

Oh, I love it. Good luck. Thank you, Chef.

If I'm going to be in the semifinal,

I can imagine Casper will probably also be

in the semifinal because he's just been

so consistently good the entire time.

Casper, you're good with numbers.

What's 300 divided by 4?

Is it 75? 75.

That's the last bit of advice I'll be giving you.

(LAUGHS)

If I don't win top dish,

I at least want to beat Casper today. (LAUGHS)

I was about to grab your bowls. Yeah, you would.

Do you want my eggs while you're at it?

I'm really excited about this challenge.

It's not just because I set it.

It's because it kind of feels like the culmination

of everything our contestants have learned today.

Spot in the top five is on the line.

Like, it is all to play for.

And when you give them one ingredient,

that's when you need to really peel the layers back,

no pun intended,

of the ingredient... (LAUGHS)

..and manipulate that to be a balanced dish.

POH: I think, for me, all of them are capable

of using any of these ingredients

and producing a decent dish.

It's about how industriously you use those staples

to highlight your ingredient.

LUKE: Hey, Aaron, what are you cooking there?

Pasta.

Hey, I like it.

Make sure once you're almost done,

you give me a bite, please.

You bet.

Yeah. I'm feeling really good today.

Pretty hectic week last week,

getting so close to being eliminated,

but somehow sticking around a bit like a cockroach -

you just can't get rid of me.

It does just feel like

this dream might actually come true.

Honestly, I can't really believe I'm still here.

I've taken a few risks, but it's paid off,

especially in eliminations.

But I've also taken a fair few risks

where it hasn't paid off, and it's kind of ended pretty badly.

ANDY: What's going on here?

Forgot the flour, like an idiot.

Oh, Luke!

EMILY: Oh, no, they're really burnt, man.

They are so burnt.

The mousse. It just went, "Pfft!"

OK. Melted.

It feels like I've been in every elimination so far.

Unfortunately, that means Luke. SOFIA: Luke.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Luke, tomorrow you will be fighting

to stay in the competition.

I've still got something to prove.

I'm gunning for top dish more than ever.

Today, I'm going to be cooking a yuzu-meringue crepe cake.

The vision for the cake is that you can stack

quite a few of the crepes up,

a yuzu curd in-between.

Going to get a decent height

and then a really nice big pipe of the meringue on top.

And so, you get kind of this grand design,

but it also has a lot of sophistication

and a lot of technique and flavour in it.

I've never used yuzu before,

but I do feel like it's yellow

and it looks a lot like a lemon

so it can't be that different.

The first thing I get started on is my crepe mixture.

I want to make sure this mixture is in the fridge

as soon as possible, so that it can chill

and make sure it's alright.

Keep pushing, eh?

To get that immunity today, in a challenge like today,

I need to cook a dish

that's pretty much perfect at this stage.

I've got no idea what yuzu is so we'll just punt.

AARON: Just punt, mate. Just punt.

PETRO: Small ones for that.

I've gone for beetroot.

I feel like it can be used quite a few different ways.

Taking Andy's words

and shooting for the stars today.

To base a dish of one ingredient is so hard.

To be able to do that, you've got to think creatively.

No mucking around.

I'm a chartered accountant,

so not too much creativity going on there.

Look at that. I'm drenching it, mate!

I'm drenching it! How can this go wrong?

If you put enough olive oil in anything, it'll taste good.

But I'm a creative person.

So, definitely outside of work,

I need to fill the rest of my life

with creativity.

And that's mostly with food and my music.

# I don't want to go this way

# I don't wanna be all alone this way

# I don't wanna be OK

# Hey, ahh. #

I've always said that there's a really strong connection

between trying to balance out a meal

and trying to write a song.

It's all about balance, textures.

Alright, let's get this in the oven to start.

It's made me want to show that I am able

to balance out a dish and think creatively,

as I would writing a song.

Petro. Sofia.

You've gone for beetroot?

Yes. What are you doing?

I'm making beetroot a few ways. OK.

I'm going to roast them till they're nice and tender,

really showcase the beetroot

and I'm going to make a vinaigrette

out of the juices that come out of that.

And dress a salad out of the leaves.

I'm not sure what sort of creamy element

I'm going to have in the bottom.

I'm going to make a beetroot cream,

but I'm also going to make a beetroot and ricotta base.

I'm going to do some spiralised beetroot,

which are going to be cooked on the hibachi and glazed...

OK.

..and then I'm going to do rough-puff shards.

Um... (LAUGHS)

..you're making a lot. I think that was seven elements.

I'm going to see how it all works together.

OK.

There may be elements I leave off the plate

because it might be over-beetroot.

Alright.

Have you thought about any that you like the least?

I think the spiralised beetroot will probably be

the one I maybe leave off.

The one you're doing right now? Yeah.

Um...

Yeah, I'm not sure yet.

If you're making this many elements,

you're going to have to decide how it all goes together.

Yes, I agree. OK, I'll leave you to it, then.

Thanks. Thank you.

As I'm saying them out loud to Sofia,

I realise how confusing this idea is

and it's kind of concerning me a bit.

Alright.

Oh, boy.

What are you making, Petro?

I've actually... Actually couldn't even tell you.

VINNIE: What are you making, Petro?

I've actually... Actually couldn't even tell you.

Sounds good. Um...

Yeah, I'm working it out. I'm working it out.

Usually, I love having a limited amount of ingredients

and being able to create something from those,

but, today, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.

I'm making my rough puff.

My ricotta has turned out nicely,

but everything else, I'm not sure what I'm going to do.

I don't know.

I've just strained my ricotta

and I'm about to throw away my whey liquid.

And then an idea comes to me.

Oh, maybe I can use that.

I think it'll go really nicely with the beetroot.

How about I make a sauce out of the whey?

Maybe I can use the whey with that.

Alright. Come on.

I have never made this sauce before,

but I'm thinking of mixing the whey

with some of my reduced beetroot juice...

I don't need all these.

..so it's really sweet.

And it's got that acidity.

I've got no idea what this beetroot dish is going to be.

Ooh.

But we're gonna find out here.

Andy said shoot for the stars

so I decided to shoot for the stars.

And... ANDY: Yes, I did, Petro.

At the moment, it looks like I'm going for the sun.

One ingredient, one dish, and just one winner.

45 minutes to go.

Go for your lemon!

LUKE: Aaron, mate, it's time to go to the...

Have you noticed that Aaron has got

really amazing knife skills?

AARON: Feeling pretty good. Positive.

Always good when it's a white apron day.

Um, and, yeah, I like how we're kind of using one ingredient

and really, like, trying to be creative with it.

It's a good test, really, to see how far we've come.

In this competition, I've learned so much.

I mean, I've made an entremets in a pressure test.

I've never made an entremets before.

Uh, tempered chocolate. I've made ice-creams.

I've never made ice-creams before.

Even handmade pasta.

At this point of the competition,

I want to be able to utilise everything I've learned

in terms of knowledge,

in terms of really understand technique and flavour now,

and make a dish.

I'm planning on making, like, a play on

a filled tortellini-type situation,

but I want to do it with like a creamy onion filling.

Um, make like a caramelised onion broth.

Um, we'll see what else I add to it

in the time that I'm given.

(LOUD CHOPPING)

Aaron, are we making the same dish?

I think I'm doing tortellini,

and then I'm gonna do like a broth as well.

Yeah, I'm doing broth. You're doing a broth?

Yeah. Sick.

It's a good dish, mate. Sounds like a good dish.

An onion, really, especially a brown onion,

has a lot going for it.

If you treat it right,

you can really get a wide range of flavour profiles -

from sweet to bitter to raw and acidic.

And then pasta, I think, is just the perfect vessel

to encapsulate that.

So I'm going to make a filled pasta,

either agnolotti or tortellini today.

And I'm gonna do some caramelised onion

and some ricotta in the filling.

So it's got like that sweet creaminess.

And then I'm also thinking about making a charred onion brodo.

I definitely have a clear idea of how I want this dish

to look at the end.

But in the MasterChef kitchen,

when the judges are presented with two very similar dishes,

it's very difficult because now they have a comparison.

It's definitely a bit intimidating

going up against Aaron.

Aaron is much more refined, much more cheffy.

I've tried a few different strategies

to make myself stand out in this competition,

many of which haven't really worked.

Flavours and layering flavours is what I am good at,

so I feel like I need to focus on that.

I've got my pasta that I'm about to work on.

I'm caramelising my onions down

and then, um, I just need to make my ricotta...

Oops! (LAUGHS)

..and then get my filling actually done.

Once the filling is done,

I can really start everything else in motion.

ANDY: I've got to give it to these guys.

We've put them through the absolute wringer, right?

They've still got so much energy about them.

They've still got so much will to win.

I feel like we are just about to see these guys launch.

How's Luke going over there with his yuzu?

POH: He's going to do crepe cake,

and he's going to have a yuzu curd and a Swiss meringue.

Flavour-wise, I think it's great.

I think lovely, you know, lovely silken crepes

and then, you know, nice sharp yuzu

with lots of that yuzu perfume. Yeah, yeah.

So let's see... How about the height?

Mate, that's what I'm worried about.

Yeah. Crepe cakes are really hard.

They're hard to assemble.

They take so much time.

So, yeah, I hope he,

uh, he's thinking about all of that now.

It's the same for Petro.

So he's going beetroot many ways.

I counted about seven ways.

By focusing on so many different elements...

Yeah!

I just wonder if he's going to have enough time at the end

to be able to assemble it all in a way that is balanced.

There is absolutely no doubt that

that guy is an amazing cook, has an amazing palate.

Let's just hope he keeps an eye on the clock.

Guys, you won't believe what's happening on the back bench.

What is happening on the back bench?

Tell us!

It's the battle of the doughnuts.

Nice. Wow!

So one is with yuzu, which is Casper...

I love a doughnut.

..and one is with beetroot, which is Annabel.

And they are both going to take the whole lot.

They're going to trim the yuzu to pieces

and use every element.

And the same with Annabel with the beetroot,

even to the leaves.

Oh, wow. It's amazing.

Interesting.

Make sure it's the best doughnut ever.

Thank you. Yes, Chef.

Yeah, no, I'm feeling good.

Right now, I'm making my choux paste.

And I've got some yuzu peels candying.

And then the next thing is this glaze.

I want it to be like a little tart, really thin.

But then like a good hit of salt there, too.

When you have a good cruller, it's like life-changing.

So, like, it's gonna be interesting to see

what Annabel can do to, you know,

turn the screws a little bit.

If we can both put up a cruller, we'll be at the top.

Who's gonna come out on the TOP top?

Everyone here is a strong cook,

but Annabel is definitely, in my mind,

one of the strongest cooks still in the competition to date.

What have you got for me to taste, mate?

Nothing for you. Not yet.

Nothing yummy. Not yet.

We'll be pulling no punches for Annabel today

because I know that she can take it.

Ooh.

So I was trying to dehydrate some leaves in the microwave,

but it caught alight.

Did you say you set something on fire in the microwave?

Oh, my God.

(THEY LAUGH)

My leaves.

I'm, like, really concerned that I have had zero idea

what's gone on inside this microwave

while I've had my back turned.

Did everyone else see that?

However, my ice-cream tastes really good.

I think it'll go really, really nicely with

the flavour of the beetroot.

I'm in a good spot - I think.

My ice-cream's churning.

I'm just getting onto my jam,

I've got my pickle going

and I'm just getting on to my choux dough

and then my caramel.

And then I want to do something with the leaves.

I just don't know what yet. Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!

(LAUGHS)

Are you charring your choux dough as well? Yeah.

LUKE: Oh!

Plenty of seeds.

I've got about 30 minutes left.

I've got my meringue done.

My crepe is still in the fridge.

I'm just heating up these pans.

I'm just currently working on my curd still.

This curd is going to go throughout

each layer of the crepe cake,

and I'm hoping that it'll have a lot of yuzu flavour,

but will also be quite tart.

But I'm realising that the yuzu,

it's not exactly like a lemon like I thought.

Whoa!

I'm using so many yuzus into this curd,

and it's only giving me like an eighth of a cup of juice.

It's not quite what I expected.

It's not as lemony as I thought.

It's a lot sweeter.

There's, like, no juice in it.

I haven't started cooking my crepes.

My curd is nowhere near where it needs to be,

and I still need ten to 15 minutes to construct this thing.

Where's the juice in this?

I have my curd on the stove top,

and I take my eyes off it for a minute.

I look back and...

..that is not right. Looks like scrambled eggs.

If I ruin the only yuzu element in my dish, this yuzu curd,

my whole dish will be in shambles.

Ah!

A good starter pack.

Aaron! Hey, Andy. Hey, Poh.

How are we? Good, how are you?

Good. Are we sending it? I'm trying.

Yes. What are we gonna do?

I'm planning on making kind of like a soubise-filled tortellini

with a caramelised onion broth.

Thoughts, Poh? Ah...

I want to know... Uh-huh.

..the flavour of the filling.

Like, what are you doing to that?

So this is just going to be sweat down

until it's translucent almost.

Yeah. Not caramelised.

Just basically just really sweet onion filling.

That's what I want, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Seasoned really well.

So if that's sweet, then what's the broth gonna be?

So the broth's gonna have a bit of that caramelised sweetness,

but also a bit of brightness from the vinegar.

OK.

And then that's where you've got the charred...

So a bit of bitterness in it as well.

Yep. So I think that's going to be your challenge

is to really make a obvious difference

between the filling and the broth.

That's what I'm getting at.

I'm looking forward to seeing this one come together.

Good luck. Good luck, Aaron.

After that bench visit from Poh and Andy,

I feel quite concerned about

being able to distinguish between

the filling of my tortellini and the broth...

..but also Vinnie's in front of me

doing an onion pasta.

VINNIE: Just gotta love onions.

He's such a strong cook, knows flavours so well,

and, you know, he's Italian.

It could very well come down to the battle of the pastas

and onions here with the top dish.

I need to think of a way

to incorporate something in the filling,

or maybe the broth

that can really make it stand apart.

I mean, winning immunity would be huge.

So I'm making sure that I'm adding

a lot of different elements to the broth.

So I've got white pepper. I've got charred onion,

caramelised onion.

I'm using the skins as well to give

a bit of a colour difference

and make sure that that's highlighted.

And I'm thinking of doing some sort of pickled-onion petal

and charred-onion petal just on the top,

just to add a little differential

and different flavour of the onion.

I haven't tasted it all.

I've tasted the individual parts,

but I will try and see if all of it works together.

VINNIE: Coming along.

Just need to let it reduce as long as possible, I think.

I've got my pasta done.

My ricotta has just finished.

The broth, now, I think I'm getting to the point

where I need to actually start seasoning it up

and tasting it and balancing.

There is a lot to do here all at the same time.

I'm putting together all the elements

of my caramelised onion agnolotti

with my charred onion brodo.

I have a clear vision of what I want to do,

and I'm actually taking the time to think about

each individual element and how they're going to taste.

The broth has a nice charred bitterness to it,

so I'm just going to balance that

with a little bit of brightness,

a little bit of sugar.

Mm. OK. The flavours of that onion really come out.

And the charredness is really, really cool.

That is bangin'. I'm really, really happy.

But I feel like it needs a little bit more -

something that's gonna give it that wow factor.

I'm gonna do some burnt onion petals.

The charred petals are kind of the bridging element

between my broth and my pasta.

They're going to be sweet from a sweet-and-sour glaze,

but also have a little edge of char,

which is going to bridge together the charred broth

with the sweet filling.

Yum.

I definitely feel like I'm onto a good dish here today.

I hope that I've done enough in terms of flavours here

to make the better onion pasta.

So now I'll roll out my pasta, get it filled.

I've got my onions,

which are cooked perfectly and, um, plate up.

'Yuzu' every second.

15 minutes to go. Yes.

LUKE: Oh, yeah!

OK. That's better.

This challenge is definitely proving a lot harder

than I originally thought.

I'm just working on my yuzu curd.

It's going to go in the crepe cake,

and because I couldn't get much juice out of the yuzu,

I was trying to just use the zest,

but I really needed the juice to make sure

the eggs don't curdle in my curd.

So it's a lot kind of thicker and a bit, um, scrambled-eggy.

I don't have any more eggs in the mystery box,

and I've used the juice of, like, ten yuzus.

I can't start this thing again.

I just have to make do with what I've got.

Alright, let's do this. I've just sieved it.

Got it to the right texture.

And in terms of flavour,

I'm going to adjust with fresh yuzu zest

once it's cooled down

so I get as much of the kind of zesty fragrance

because I just can't seem to get much flavour out of them.

To be honest, I've had a gutful of eliminations.

I'm gonna pick myself back up

and think about the dish in front of me,

and I'm hoping that today is the day

where it can all just come together at the right time

onto the plate and I can get my spot up in the gantry.

Keep pushing, eh?

(PETRO HUMS)

I spiralised the beetroot.

But I'm thinking there's no point having roasted beetroot

and spiralised beetroot on the plate -

doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Alright, come on.

So I heat up some oil and put spiralised beetroot

in the oil to fry.

Um... I don't have a whole lot of time.

I'm pretty nervous.

Oh, boy.

My rough puff isn't done.

I don't know how this plate's going to come together yet,

because I'm still tasting all my elements.

I'm not sure how they're all going to taste.

Tell me you've got a plan.

Don't make that face. Tell me you've got a plan.

Oh, I still don't fully have a plan,

uh, I'll be honest. Um...

I've got a dressing, um,

from the roasted beetroot juices.

For what?

That's, that's going to go on top.

Of what?

That's gonna go, um...

Well, I'm gonna dress the plate with it.

I think you've gotta...

You've gotta focus on the things you know

are definitely gonna be there. Yes.

Because you need to allow time to plate and balance.

Yeah. Yeah. This is true.

I know there's gonna be ricotta.

I know there's gonna be beets. Alright. You got this.

You're good, Petro, you're good. You can do it.

Alrighty. Let's go.

Remember the stars that you're shooting for?

Yes. Yeah. The stars are feeling

far, far away at the moment, but...

I'm experimenting until the bitter end.

Don't leave it all to the last minute.

Five minutes to go.

CASPER: Five minutes.

And I'm just about to start frying my crullers.

It's going to get a little tight, I think.

We'll be glazing to the last second.

It is hectic right now.

I love a cruller, but I think I'm, like, learning

that they're really hard to make.

Yeah, I'm feeling stressed for sure.

Finally, I've got my piping bag set up properly

and the dough is coming out really nicely.

But time is ticking away

and I'm starting to feel a bit stressed.

ANNABEL: I still have to fry my doughnuts.

Yes. You're concerned. I'm concerned.

What are the chances that

neither of them have cooked their doughnuts,

yeah, with five minutes to go?

Crazy!

They are at the exact same point in their cook.

Where did all that time go?

I'm trying to jump between cruller-making

and caramel-making.

My caramel is, like, in the process,

so it does need a little bit of TLC.

Annabel is just not even... She hasn't even piped yet.

Oh, no.

She has. Has she?

Yeah, but I don't know what she's doing.

It's just sitting there. He's firing ahead.

Get the doughnut in the oil.

Yes.

Four minutes to go. In my experience,

crullers need a low temperature at about 150 degrees

for a couple of minutes.

Crank the oil up and then fry them at about 180.

And I'm like, I don't have time for this.

CASPER: Let's push, Anabel.

Mate...

Oh, my God.

This is a cruller catastrophe.

ANNABEL: I am freaking out.

Mate.

Less than five minutes to go...

..my crullers are still in the fryer

and I will not be taking them out

until there are two seconds to go.

But my ice-cream tastes really good.

My jam is ready to be rippled through.

My beetroot caramel is like this beautiful sort of maroon colour.

I've got my pickled beetroot.

Alright.

The one thing that makes me feel better about

the fact that I don't have my crullers fried

is that neither does Casper.

At this point, I've just got to cross my fingers

and hope that one of the crullers is cooked enough

for me to serve today.

It's going to get a little tight, I think.

Uh, yeah, I'm feeling stressed for sure.

Yeah. Oh, my God!

AARON: My broth's turning out beautifully.

Every other element is in its place.

At this point, I'm feeling pretty good.

What I need to do now

is hone in and focus on the tortellini.

It's very fiddly work, actually, working

with, you know, pasta and then a wet filling,

and making sure that everything's sealed.

I'm being really careful to pinch everything

to make sure it's all sealed,

have it all not leak out and burst.

God, he did it! (LAUGHS) It looks really good.

VINNIE: Hot, hot, hot.

There's two minutes to go.

I'm putting together all the elements

of my caramelised onion agnolotti

with my charred onion brodo.

I'm feeling really, really good about this dish.

I love the clarity of the broth.

I love the shape of the pasta.

I test my pasta.

They're starting to float,

and I'm happy with how they look.

Next, I check on my onion petals,

and they are looking pretty perfect.

They'll give a little pop of sweetness and sourness

to my dish.

Let's get this done.

Last push - two minutes to go!

I haven't had time to decide which are my best elements,

so I've just got to throw what I have on the plate.

I've got ricotta. I've got some crispy beetroot.

I've got my sauce.

Put my roasted beetroots around,

and then my dressed beetroot leaves.

I think it looks good.

But the reality is,

this whole cook, I have had no clear idea.

And when I have no clear idea,

I don't cook well.

Bring it home - one minute to go!

(APPLAUSE)

LUKE: Alright, let's do this.

The biggest issue at the moment is definitely time.

I'm just starting to construct this cake.

I want it to be nice and tall and fluffy,

and you get the texture of the crepe

and the beautiful meringue on top.

I'm piping on this curd,

and it's nowhere near as thick as it needs to be.

And as I'm trying to hold it together,

it's just getting squished and smushed either side,

like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Alright, this is just falling apart. Good job, Luke.

I'm so disappointed

because it's not going to win me immunity.

It's not even going to win me over in the eyes of the judges.

It's just going to remind them

why I've been in every elimination so far.

Ah!

Ten...

JUDGES: Nine, eight,

seven, six,

five, four,

three, two,

one! That's it, everybody!

How did you go? I forgot to put my pickle on.

Where did it go? (CHUCKLES)

Dammit! (LAUGHS)

It's there.

You alright? Yeah. It's alright, mate.

What happened? What's wrong?

What's wrong?

It's alright. What happened?

Just embarrassed myself. Nah, man.

You didn't embarrass anyone.

You're top six.

(SIGHS)

Today, I gave you four single-ingredient mystery boxes,

and all you had to do was cook the top dish.

The first dish we'd love to taste is yours,

Aaron.

(APPLAUSE)

I'm feeling pretty good.

I think I've done pretty well with the onion today.

I hope I've done enough

to get me to that top spot.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Ooh!

That looks stunning, Aaron. It does!

(CHUCKLES)

Uh, what is it?

An onion tortellini with a charred onion broth.

I've got some lightly pickled onion petals.

I've also got some lightly charred onion petals.

And I've made, like, a tiny tuile with the onion water.

Wow! OK.

You're not the only onion pasta out there, are you?

No, I'm not. Turn over your right shoulder,

stare him down. (BOTH LAUGH)

The Italian and the Chinese.

Do you want to finish it off, mate?

Sure.

(SOFIA AND POH LAUGH)

It's OK. Just going with it now.

It's a whole new plating.

It's OK. It's OK. Let's do that.

Just even it out. Wow. How did you manage that?

Aaron, I can feel you're hitting your stride.

I think the big question today was whether you could get

that contrast between the sweetness

of the filling with your broth,

which you wanted to be sort of deep and rich.

And you absolutely have done that.

That broth, you've definitely nursed that really carefully,

and you can taste it.

And I love that little hint of bitterness as well, in there.

You're thinking like a chef now,

and I really love seeing that.

Aaron, I thought your pasta work was great.

Mine was cooked perfectly.

The texture of your soubise-esque filling,

it was really light and fluffy and creamy.

It's so clear, the progression,

from even just two to four weeks ago,

through to the technique in this dish.

It's really beautiful to watch.

You've done an amazing job, mate.

Thank you, Chef. Your broth is very concentrated.

I love the colours. I like the fact that you kept the skin.

That's very smart.

Your pasta work - impeccable.

Thank you. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

(LAUGHS)

Good job, buddy!

It's such a validating thing for them to say

that I'm thinking like a chef.

I'm getting closer to the ideal chef I want to be.

You're up next, Vinnie.

Hearing the feedback from the judges on Aaron's dish,

it's definitely a bit intimidating.

I've also made onion pasta with a broth.

Now they have a comparison.

If my dish doesn't deliver on flavour,

I don't think I'll be in with a chance at top dish.

Vinnie, you had four ingredients to choose from,

and you went with the humble onion.

Yep. Why?

Every time we have a mystery box challenge,

I'm always like, "Where's the onion?"

And I feel like, it was there today,

so we've got to go for it.

And what did you do with them?

I did a caramelised onion agnolotti

with a charred onion brodo.

I'm loving these, like, kind of really caramelised,

glazed-up petals on top.

They're not so uniform, but, my gosh,

if that doesn't taste good,

I'll be very surprised. (CHUCKLES)

It looks really like a very comforting bowl of food.

So, Vinnie...

..you've actually opened up

the different personalities of what onion can offer.

It's translucent.

It's very tasty. It's concentrated.

It's sweet.

I'm very pleased. I love it.

Well done. Thank you. Thank you.

The filling was lovely, and I think the thinness

of the pasta was really lovely.

Your brodo has this really deep onion flavour,

and you've really played with that agrodolce,

and kind of pushed it right to the edge,

which is really lovely.

You've gotten a lot of flavour into that dish.

There is a beautiful sweetness across all of your elements.

Lovely umami and roundness in that broth,

and those little bits

that Andy was looking forward to?

Definitely the highlight.

Nearly all bloody gone! (LAUGHTER)

We left you one. Don't complain.

(LAUGHS)

I love the little char on there.

I actually, I like the smoothness

of the filling as well.

I really feel like this bowl of food displays

how far you've come in the competition, right?

For you to do that with one ingredient,

I just don't feel like that's something

that you could have done at the start of the competition.

Not even close.

It would have been hard and fast, caramelised,

like, really rough around the edges.

But that's just got a real smoothness,

like, in terms of flavour about that puree inside.

And then, I love the addition of those charred

and glazed with the...

Onions with the...with the brown butter.

Pretty epic, mate. Well done. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

I feel really proud of the dish that I've made today.

It's just a reflection of everything I've learned

and how far I've actually come in this competition.

I do feel like I'm in with a chance at top dish.

Petro.

(APPLAUSE)

ANNABEL: Go, Petro! Go, Petro!

PETRO: Today, I just experimented with everything.

It's looking a little more rustic than refined,

as I would have liked,

but sometimes you do have to do something maybe more basic,

but with amazing flavour.

I just hope that it tastes good.

You've got a beautiful colour out of that sauce.

I chose beetroot

and this dish is called Beetroot & Whey.

So, I've got some roasted beetroots,

some ricotta, fried beetroot chips,

some of the beetroot leaves

that are dressed in a beetroot vinaigrette,

And I've got a beetroot and whey sauce.

I think you've done a pretty good job, mate.

Well done.

You made your own cheese.

The colour of your reduction is just perfect.

It's not bitter.

And what you've done, with tact,

is to retain...

..the balance between the earthiness

and the sweetness of the beetroot.

Your best element is the sauce.

That's beautiful.

That's amazing that you got that purity

of the beetroot sweetness in that sauce.

But I don't feel like you got

the best out of all the ingredients on the plate.

It does taste a little bit lacklustre.

The flavour overall is just very mellow.

You're not getting the full earthiness

or sweetness out of the beetroot in any of your elements.

Had you started off the cook with a really clear idea,

I think you would have got there

because we know how good you are,

but definitely wasn't your best day.

(APPLAUSE)

I went to shoot for the stars today

but missed the mark.

I think I'm gonna take all my learnings into the next cook

and really try to knock that one out of the park.

Next up, please, Annabel.

(APPLAUSE)

I am pretty stressed.

I don't know if my cruller is cooked.

I know I cranked that oil temp up.

Regardless, I'm very determined to beat Casper today.

Caramel looks stunning.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Amazing! Yeah.

It's intense.

You don't want to put

the two little bits of pickle on top anyway?

Oh, not too much!

(LAUGHS)

Nailed it. Finger-nailed it.

Oh, my God.

Annabel, you've chosen beetroot.

And what did you make?

ANNABEL: I made a beetroot cruller.

So, I've done a choux pastry that I fried,

a buttermilk ice-cream

with some roasted beetroot jam

swirled through it.

And then, I've made a beetroot caramel.

And then, I think there's two pieces

of pickled beetroot stem

that made it on the plate. Mate!

And then one of beetroot leaves that I fried.

Fabulous.

I think that this had potential for top dish.

I bloody loved the ice-cream.

The texture was so delicious.

But then, I feel like the biggest mistake

was what the dish was based around,

and that's the cruller.

It's just that oily flavour.

It just really got in the road of the genius

that you had in the bowl.

And that, for me, was sourness, earthiness,

sweetness and bitterness, all kind of

doing their thing at the same time.

Your cruller, I'm very satisfied.

It's light, crispy, coloured.

Your creme anglaise is cooked perfectly.

The caramel to start - perfect.

The sweetness, the rawness, the earthiness of the beetroot,

and to convert it to a dessert is a big job.

And what you've produced is just...

..an harmony of beetroot.

Thank you. Well done.

Well done.

OK. Next one, please, Casper.

Go, Casp. VINNIE: Go, Casper!

LUKE: Casp!

CASPER: Today, I think, maybe,

Annabel and I were having a little bit too much fun.

I'm just a bit worried that my cruller

is still raw inside.

Nice. Thank you.

So, can I ask you, Casper,

can you give us all the elements on your dish, please?

So, cruller is just, like, a plain one.

And then, we've got candied yuzu peel,

then a yuzu jam.

And then I did, like, a salted yuzu glaze

on the cruller, too.

And then, on the side, the anglaise

is a, like, really heavy toasted white pepper.

WHITE pepper? Interesting.

Raw?

Casper, the yuzu jam -

like, dynamite.

Such a clever idea.

And it fits so well with yuzu,

that technique that you learnt in the pressure test.

The texture of the anglaise is, like, dialled.

The cruller is...

..raw...

..which I didn't expect.

Yeah. Did you know that?

Uh, I had a... So, I think where Annabel and I

might have differed is I think I got mine in

just a bit earlier, but I did mine at a lower temp.

Ah! Yeah.

So, I was like, I wanted to give it

a bit more time to, like, hopefully dry out

and not puff up as much. Yeah, it just didn't get that...

(CLICKS TONGUE) Yeah. Yeah.

So, then, ends up being a bit raw.

Yeah. Casper,

when I closed my eyes and I tasted that dish,

flavour-wise, I found it really delicious.

But I did love that, yeah,

beautiful floral perfume that you get from white pepper.

But, texturally, there were some strange things happening.

Yeah, I was like, "What does this make me think of?"

And it's a bread and butter pudding.

Yeah. Yeah, that too.

Yeah.

Um, which is not what you want...

Everything but the cruller. ..for a cruller.

(JUDGES LAUGH) Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

Next dish we'd love to taste is Luke's.

PETRO: Go, Lukey! Come on, mate.

LUKE: Oh.

CASPER: Chin up, brother. Chin up.

I just had a shocker today.

Everything went wrong from the start.

Every single cook,

I'm trying to prove to the judges

why I should still be here.

And putting up a dish like that today...

Uh...

..it's just devastating.

Luke...

..you look super upset.

I just had an absolute disaster today.

I feel like I worked so hard to stay wearing a white apron...

Yep.

..and to still be here last week.

And then to prove you guys right,

that you made the right decision,

I've just gone and put that up, which is just disgraceful.

I was definitely pretty...stuck today.

And the yuzu, I just treat it like a lemon.

Yeah.

And the more I use it,

I just realise it's not really like lemon.

Yeah.

And it also has, like, zero juice.

You couldn't get enough yuzus?

Like, there was plenty at the front of the room, no?

I used, like, ten...

..and then everything just fell apart.

It's meant to be a yuzu meringue crepe cake.

Shall we taste?

A very good friend of mine who used to stand next to me

on this panel, used to say,

"Do you want it soft and fluffy,

"or do you want it hard and real?" Feedback.

I think you know.

I was hoping you'd say that,

um, because...

..I know that you're really upset,

and I'm just giving you some tough love.

There were 50 yuzus.

And I just feel, to say that you used ten

and didn't get enough juice,

I just feel like that's not taking the responsibility.

Like, you know,

when you make mistakes in this kitchen,

the only thing that you can do is own up,

assess what you did, and then move forward.

And so, I just want you to be real about this

and know where you went wrong - that's why I asked you -

and just take it on the chin.

But then, what will make me really upset

is if you walk back in here tomorrow with a black apron on

and you're not yourself again.

Because when you're like this, you do not cook well.

So, that was a tough day.

I've had tough days in here.

Poh's had tough days in here.

You are only judged on how you return

through those doors the next day.

So, head up.

Thanks, Andy.

Luke, you won't believe this,

but it actually tastes quite nice.

There's a nice little chew on the crepe.

You can definitely taste the yuzu.

Not as sharp as it should be, as a curd should be.

Obviously, the meringue has collapsed,

so there's not much going on there.

But it does add a nice sweetness that was needed

because the yuzu is not punching very hard.

I guess, like, the thing about a mystery box

is the whole point of it is you have to make do,

maximise the use of your staples.

So, you do have to, like, calculate

quite precisely when you only have a certain amount,

like of the eggs, to know where to put it.

And I think that is an experience thing.

Yeah. Yeah.

Today, really got me down flat, and I'm hoping

that I can just pick myself up and be ready to go for tomorrow.

No worries.

This week, it's the sprint to the finals.

And each day, us judges are taking it in turns

to set the challenge.

Today, I got to have a little fun.

You had four ingredients to choose from...

..and had to bring one to life

with your trusty under-bench staples.

Take out top dish,

and you'll earn yourself

a one-way ticket straight into the top five.

AARON: Winning would be unreal.

To be the first in the top five is no small feat whatsoever.

It came down...

..to the battle of the onion pastas.

Vinnie versus Aaron.

Let's go.

Vinnie, your filling,

it was smooth and full of caramelised onion sweetness,

while, Aaron, your broth was full of depth

and celebrated the complexity of onion.

It all hinged on which dish each of us would eat again...

..which means,

Vinnie, you win immunity!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Aaron.

I couldn't keep beating the Italian, you know?

(LAUGHS)

I wouldn't have been able to go home, mate.

(LAUGHTER)

Vinnie, you are claiming

the first place in the top five.

Well done.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

This is honestly a dream come true.

It's pretty sick. (LAUGHS)

With an onion.

Ha! Can you believe that?

Now that we're in the top five,

the next goal is MasterChef winner of 2026.

Right, let me remind you

that tomorrow is an elimination.

I can't tell you what it is...

..but what I can say...

..it's been set by a real dapper gentleman.

(LAUGHTER)

Have a rest, and we'll see you tomorrow.

Au revoir. Salut.

Doo-dee-doop! Doo-dee-doop!

AARON: Couldn't beat you again. (LAUGHS)

No! (CHUCKLES)

CASPER: Pasta boys.

LUKE: Who's the dapper gentleman?

Him? Could be either.

ANNOUNCER: Tomorrow night,

the dapper gentleman...

Oh, yes.

So, are you ready?

..sets a difficult challenge.

My final final of the final touch...

LUKE: I knew he was good.

I didn't know he was this good.

Who will impress the Frenchman?

I am, like, breaking

a few rules here.

But rules are made to be broken.

Or say au revoir

to the MasterChef kitchen?

PETRO: I love this competition.

And I really don't want

to be going home today.

Captions by Red Bee Media