Original subtitles

ANNOUNCER: Previously on MasterChef Australia...

Please welcome the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

This very special guest...

Your time starts now.

..put everyone in a spin.

She has this, like, aura around her.

Thank you.

They all served up dishes that delighted the Duchess.

Rubbing my temples

because I can't understand how this is so good.

It's just a very easy, craveable dish.

It feels very Michelin-star to me.

Bravo!

And Petro won immunity and his place in the semifinal.

Then, letters from loved ones inspired

an especially emotional cook...

"Love you yesterday. Love you always, Dad"

Oh, my goodness, Vinnie.

..which was the end of the journey for Casper.

CASPER: I'm really proud of

what I've been able to do

and I've loved every minute of it.

You three are going to need these.

Tonight, it's time to have some fun...

Go, lads!

..with the judges versus semifinalists.

Hey, they're burning their dish!

They're burning it! (LAUGHS)

Shut up! (LAUGHS)

Thank you, gentlemen.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Oh, he's in his whites!

Here we go.

Nice, nice, nice!

Poh and Jean-Christophe are wearing their cooking uniforms.

I think I know what's going to happen today,

and I am so excited for it.

Vinnie, Aaron and Petro...

..all your efforts have led you to this point.

The semifinal is a pivotal stage

in this competition.

But before we get to it,

we should celebrate and have a little fun.

(LAUGHTER) Yes!

There will be two rounds today.

And in the first round...

..you three will be ecstatic to know you won't be cooking.

Yes! (LAUGHTER)

Because we will be!

(LAUGHTER)

Yes!

I've been waiting for this.

I can't wait to stand on the other side

and see how that all feels.

There is no elimination.

Andy's still on paternity leave.

Poh and Jean-Christophe will be cooking...

..and you three will be joining me to judge them.

Time to whip off those aprons and swap places.

Off you go. Come on!

WOMAN: Whoo-hoo!

PETRO: I am very excited.

VINNIE: Good luck! (LAUGHTER)

The judges have been pretty nice to me,

so I'm not out to get them,

but it's going to be good fun.

(LAUGHTER)

Are you all Jean-Christophe? Yes.

(LAUGHS)

Don't get too comfortable, guys.

In this first round, Poh and Jean-Christophe,

you'll be cooking head-to-head, mano-a-mano.

(LA CUCARACHA PLAYS ON HORN)

And I think I hear

your hero ingredient arriving right now.

(ALL GASP)

Cheeky, cheeky!

DRIVER: Good morning. Hello.

Thank you so much. There you go. Enjoy.

Have a lovely day. Oh, we will.

DOT: What's everyone's guess? Corn?

ALL: Ooh.

Please let it not be a capsicum.

(LAUGHTER) Oh, it's avos.

Is it heavy?

Today, my friends...

..you must hero...

..the humble...

..potato!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Potato!

VINNIE: Look, look, look!

They both just went, "Whoosh!"

Tick, tick, tick, tick! That's what you look like.

That's what you look like.

Alright.

We're giving you 60 minutes to cook a delicious dish.

The pantry and garden are open.

But remember...

..the potato must be the centrepiece of your dish today.

The winner will receive...

..bragging rights for a whole 12 months.

The loser will do the washing-up.

Oh, not again! (LAUGHTER)

AARON: Who's got the gloves ready?

Alright, final three,

any words of advice for our cooks today?

All the advice you gave to us this season,

try to remember that!

And channel all of it and put it on a plate for us.

Will you do the honours? You're halfway there.

All on three? Yeah.

Two. One...

ALL: Your time starts now!

POH: OK.

I need chicken stock.

I need butter.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Right.

Checking. Checking the conditions.

No running, just strolling!

I need...

..sugar. Sugar.

Caster sugar.

You know, I feel like I've had

my fair share of harsh feedback,

probably warranted by the dishes that I've made. But...

She hasn't picked up the potato yet.

Oh, spinach. Spinach. Spinach.

..today is a chance for me to kind of get

a dig back at the judges.

Some of that.

Ooh. Um...

At least... At least just one little dig.

You know what I mean? I think that's it.

Yeah. Go, Poh!

Go, Poh! Come on, Poh!

MAN: Yeah, Poh! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

DOT: Lots of spinach.

I think a potato is a good one.

It's a neutral root vegetable.

I feel like Jean-Christophe could be at an advantage here.

I feel I've seen him cook more with potatoes in my time.

Poh, she's a very versatile chef,

but sweets and Asian cooking,

I feel, are her strengths.

Wow. She's wasting no time.

MAN: What are you cooking, Poh?

I'm going to do a redemption dish.

I'm doing the dish that I went out on.

Oh, my God.

Season 12! It haunts me every day.

Kind of numb right now.

ANDY: The dough was raw.

My pasta dough was raw, only in the pleating

but it was.

I can see where she was going, but I think

the only thing that got in the way of Poh today...

..is Poh. SOFIA: Yeah.

So, it's a Sardinian dish... (GASPS)

..and it's a semolina dough,

and you stuff it with potato and mint -

it's quite unusual - and a bit of pecorino.

Um...

So, I'm doing my own little spin on it

and, um, kind of making it a bit Frenchy.

MAN: Nice. WOMAN: Woo!

Ooh-la-la!

Not just cooking for the win, cooking for redemption!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Go, Poh! Let's go, Poh!

(SIGHS) First, alcohol.

Let's go crazy.

If you need any help taking anything,

you let me know. Oh, thank you!

I'll give you ¤50 if you vote for me!

(BOTH LAUGH)

The bribes have started.

Pressure's off. This is just a fun day.

It doesn't mean I'm not going to be pestering them

like they pester me throughout my cook.

(CHUCKLES)

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) (EXCLAIMS INDISTINCTLY)

Go, JC! A little faster, I think.

Oh, my God! So much alcohol.

MAN: Very French.

DOT: Looks like he's just having pre-drinks.

Yeah.

Is there any potatoes in there?

AARON: Come on, Chef. 60 minutes goes quick!

Alright, boys, so, this is the point where we get together

and we have a little chat about

what's going on... Uh-huh.

..what we're concerned about, what we're excited about.

Mm-hm. Mm-hm.

So, obviously, we have Jean-Christophe versus Poh...

Yes. ..heroing the humble potato.

Yes. What do you want to see?

From Jean-Christophe,

I want to see some real high-level French technique.

Mm-hm. What am I going to be doing?

I want to see some layering of flavours.

And I want to see finesse. Agreed.

OK. So, all the things that he asks you for...

Yes! ..all the time.

Well, that's fair! Exactly!

That is completely fair. Yeah.

What do you think, Aaron? I think the same.

I'm a bit worried about Jean-Christophe.

I don't see any potatoes on his bench right now,

I just see a lot of alcohol.

I think the beauty about food, and what I want

to see today, is I want to be surprised.

I want to try something I've never had before.

Something unexpected. Something unexpected.

Unexpected with potatoes. We say that all the time.

Yeah! (LAUGHTER)

Who do you think's going to win this challenge?

Ooh.

You know, Poh, she's going all out for it.

But then again, Jean-Christophe hasn't won before.

Yeah, he's got a lot more motivation, as well,

to pull this one out. Yeah.

So, Andy won last year, Poh won the year before,

and Jean-Christophe is the only judge...

Is waiting. ..who hasn't won this challenge.

Yeah. He's won Michelin stars but not this challenge.

Exactly. Exactly. Yeah.

Shall we go see what they're cooking?

Yeah. Yes.

Let's do it.

I know this looks very crumbly, guys,

but that's how this dough is.

Just in case you're thinking,

"What the hell is that idiot doing?"

(LAUGHTER)

Actually, maybe it is a bit dry.

(LAUGHTER)

OK, I don't need the glasses right now.

Hey, Poh! Hi.

This is the most chill I've ever seen you...

Really? ..in the last three years.

You call this chill? Yes!

Maybe it's because I've made this dish three times.

Oh!

So, this is double redemption. It is double redemption.

What are you making?

I'm doing this dish called culurgione.

It's essentially a Sardinian potato dumpling.

But I'm changing the sauce.

Poh! I'm changing the sauce

because I learned something in your veloute class.

Oh, yes.

Um, but, yeah, that's my dish.

Poh, you've got the Sardinian potato dumplings

and veloute. What's in your veloute?

Um, it's going to be Jerusalem artichoke.

I really want to do a really beautiful crimp.

I want to show you guys something

that you've never seen before.

So, it's going to look rad. (CRASH!)

Oh, my God! (LAUGHTER)

Um...

Let's get out of here. PETRO: Just let her be.

She needs every single minute.

She's just kicked it up a gear. Watch from the sidelines.

Go away now! Bye! Good luck, Poh.

Thank you. Thank you.

I cannot let Jean-Christophe beat me!

Cannot!

WOMAN: You've got 45 minutes to go!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Oh, my God, I'm so stressed.

WOMAN: Come on, let's go. Time's ticking.

WOMAN 2: Let's go, Chef.

(CLATTER!)

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: I'm good. I'm excited, actually, to be given

a tremendous ingredient - potato.

Oh, that's clever. Yeah.

(BOTH GASP)

Did he put the packet...? What?

MAN: He's doing the Vinnie-style...

..leave the wrapping on the butter.

Have you seen that technique before?

Never! Never have I, either.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: So, I'm hoping to use the potato

in four different ways.

MAN: Here comes the alcohol. There we go.

(ALL GASP)

I think I want to win, yeah, because...

(GASP)

I want to win because I think it would be

a privilege to win something on MasterChef, of course.

I've been here for three years now, so why not?

But you know, I'm against a legend there.

Um, so, yeah, it's a lot to do. Yeah.

DOT: No, he needs a bottle opener.

Can somebody open this for me? That would be lovely.

Yeah, sure. Thank you.

I got you, I got you.

AARON: Wow!

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Sofia, you look fantastic.

Look, I don't think that flattery is

going to help you today.

I'm putting my full faith... Thank you for that.

..in you as a chef.

What are you making us with potatoes?

So I'm thinking of several dishes I used to do,

which I used to enjoy.

So, I'm going to take a bit of all of them

and put it in one dish,

which is still...

I don't know how it's going to look like.

So, the first one I'm going to be doing some potato,

which is going to be layered around and in the centre,

some chicken mousse.

Then I'm going to do some little potato crisps.

Then I'm hoping to do some potato pearls.

Then I'm using the water of the potatoes,

the liquid to combine into my sauce.

So, there's four elements...

AARON: Wow, that's...

Whew! That's a lot.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Yeah. It's a lot.

That is a lot of elements.

Jean-Christophe, there's only 45 minutes to go.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: I know. Thank you very much.

Where's the clock? Oh, yes. (LAUGHTER)

Jean-Christophe, you just spent five minutes...

I know, I know!

..talking us through all your elements.

Do you know how to say "Hurry, hurry, quick, quick!" in French?

Allez! No. Ah!

I think he got it! Allez! Allez!

Go, Jean-Christophe, you've got to move!

Allez!

I have no idea

what Jean-Christophe is trying to make.

I think it's potato four ways, but I... (CHUCKLES)

Just, I have no idea.

I just hope that when it's in front of us...

It makes more sense. ..it's more obvious.

Mm.

But it's not filling me with confidence.

I think the real question is,

is if he's even going to get a dish up today.

He is so relaxed for 45 minutes.

POH: Oh, my God. No-one look at my bench.

DOT: Looks good, Poh!

Poh-tato day.

Judges week in, week out have been putting us

under immense pressure.

And today's the day where we put it back on them

and we get to have a bit of fun. And I'm all here for it.

I'm very excited, but, oh, my God, it's the same.

Every year, I'm like, "I'm gonna be

"so polished this year," and it just never is.

I won't have time to do that.

I won't have time to do that. I won't have time to do this.

Time's getting away from me. I've got 30 minutes left.

I've got my dough done, I've started my veloute.

My filling's made. Yum.

I'm having mega flashbacks

to my time in the kitchen and, as much as I love it,

there is some kind of, you know, relived trauma!

Um, sugar.

Every day, no joke,

every day, this dish comes across my mind,

flits across my mind and goes, "Hello!"

And I'm gonna put it to rest, finally,

I'm gonna put it to bed.

SOFIA: You've got 30 minutes to go!

(CONTESTANTS CHEER)

LUKE: Here we go, there's the potatoes.

Yeah!

Finally. Finally got potatoes.

Oh, JC? Did he just take a bite?

Yes.

Jean-Christophe is being a little bit of a madman!

It's 30, Jean-Christophe.

Agh! No way! Yes.

Yes way!

He's having lots of chitter-chats...

Do you need anything, Poh? No. I'm good, thank you.

But less chitter-chats, more cooking.

I'm so excited

cooking in front of them and all of them.

Honestly, I am, because it's something you share.

Yeah.

But I'm a little bit behind.

WOMAN: Ah! Ooh!

Ooh, JC!

Whoa! It worked.

I don't believe this.

Look at that. He's impressed himself!

Yes, Chef!

So, the sauce is on, but it's going to take

at least 20 more minutes before I use the juice of the potato

with the full potato to thicken my sauce.

And I'm about to make chicken... a chicken mousse.

Right, now.

Yeah. It's tight. Of course it's very tight.

Poh, Jean-Christophe, you have 25 minutes to go!

(CONTESTANTS CHEER)

That's flour. That's my bowl.

Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!

Running out of time. Chef, um...

..whereabouts are the potatoes?

The potatoes? Um...

The first lot which I was on about is this one.

OK. If I don't put this in a steamer

in the next minute, I'm done.

That's it. How long does it take

the steam to cook through? It should take...

..20 minutes.

Hmm. OK.

So, now I'm making a chicken mousse.

A lot to do still.

So this is gonna have to go in the steamer.

Yeah. Yes, Chef. Alright. Thank you, Chef.

Look at you, you're nearly a head chef already!

Jean-Christophe wanted several potato elements on his dish.

What the hell am I doing?

But at the moment, I'm doubting

whether he can finish any of them.

He's so far behind.

Chicken mousse, which hasn't been finished yet.

It needs 20 minutes to cook. AARON: Yep.

The potatoes in the oven aren't cooked.

I can't see how he can get this done.

Let's see.

LUKE: Yes, Poh!

Beautiful! Bit of nutmeg.

POH: If any of you are feeling a little bit traumatised,

just get yourself a position as judge so that you can

come back once a year and try and redeem yourself.

Wait for a redemption challenge.

Yeah, you just wait. It's coming.

Everything has to support the potato,

because that's the hero.

And that's why I've chosen the, um, Jerusalem artichoke veloute.

It has a sort of subtle note of nuttiness to it.

Like me!

Subtle note of nuttiness. Um, it tastes delicious.

I'm really happy with it.

Are you happy? Is everything tasting good?

I'm happy. Everything tastes good.

Have you left yourself enough time to make

pretty little dumplings for us? I feel like I have.

I mean, I haven't started them, which is a problem, but...

Oh! I know!

I know, I know, I know.

Give us a third time lucky! I know, I know, I know.

Oh, it's a roller-coaster in there.

VINNIE: Wow. It's a roller-coaster.

You gotta Poh it!

I'm gonna Poh it. I'm gonna Poh it.

Poh it! Let's go, Poh!

Ooh! Oh, no!

Oh, my hands!

Look at these little thingies go!

AARON: Oh, we've gotta see the crimping.

No-one does it as fast as you. PETRO: Oh, my God.

Watching Poh work is just amazing.

CONTESTANTS: Wow!

Look at that!

Thank you.

This is a masterclass in its own.

The crimping on her dumplings, it's just perfect.

And I don't even know why I'm surprised. It's Poh.

Beautiful, Poh. That is very cool.

That is very cool.

EMILY: Imagine that her redemption would be

beating a Michelin-star chef.

Jean-Christophe, Poh, you are stressing us out!

You only have five minutes left!

(ALL CHEER)

JACK: Where's JC?

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Where are you, asparagus?

Where is he? Where is he?!

Where is he?!

The last one. The last one of the season.

Jean-Christophe is really freaking us all out.

No, he's back. He's back!

Let's go! Come back!

Come on, Chef! Come on, come on! Quick!

No more ingredients!

Asparagus?! Where's the asparagus come from?

Minutes to go, and Jean-Christophe starts

adding new ingredients to his dish.

What is he doing?

Allez, allez, allez! You only have three minutes to go!

(ALL CHEER)

Come on, Chefs! Come on, Poh!

(GRUNTS) What am I doing?

Get the dumpling on the plate!

Go, Poh!

(ALL CHEER)

Beautiful.

Where's my glasses?

Get it on the plate! One minute to go!

Oh, my God.

One minute. Come on. No way!

Ow, ow, ow!

His plate is empty! I'm stressing, I'm stressing.

Chef, come on!

I feel like I'm at the circus watching JC!

This is not that... Oh, yeah.

Come on, Chef!

Yes!

(ALL CHEER) Yes! Yes!

(ALL SHOUT FRANTICALLY)

He is here, there, everywhere. There's ingredients flying.

Come on! Hurry up!

I need you!

I don't want to do the washing-up!

Things are popping off.

What is he going to get on this plate?

For glory in...

ALL: Ten! Nine!

Eight! Seven!

Six! Five!

Four! Three!

Two!

One!

(ALL CHEER)

I can see that you just smashed it. I can feel it.

I don't know. How are you feeling?

I'm not sure if I've done enough to beat Jean-Christophe.

Good luck, yeah? He is a Michelin-star chef,

so he knows his stuff.

Only time will tell who's going to do the dirty dishes.

And there's a lot of them.

I don't know about you guys, but my blood pressure went up

about 20 points watching that cook.

Yes! But now we're going

to let your dishes decide who wins today.

The first dish we want to taste is Jean-Christophe.

(ALL CHEER)

Jean-Christophe got his mousse steaming late,

so I don't know if it's going to be cooked through.

Go, Chef!

Plus, he was literally throwing things onto his plate

at the last minute.

Good luck, Turnip!

But it all comes down to taste, so who knows?

Hello, everyone. Hello.

Jean-Christophe, what have you made?

Right. It's two titles. Which one do you want?

French or English? French!

Autour du monde sur une pomme de terre.

English!

Around-the-world flying with potatoes.

Around-the-world flying with potatoes.

Right. So, a steam dariole with a chicken mousse,

some sliced Desiree potatoes,

served with some elements of asparagus, shiitake,

um...

I was just about to explain my garnish.

Long chives.

Long chives!

And, on the side, a sauce.

The sauce is so important.

Shall we taste?

(LAUGHTER)

Please don't do that!

(CHUCKLING)

Is that what I do?

CONTESTANTS: Yes!

It's like watching myself on a mirror.

Eeh...

Jean-Christophe,

it is clear from your techniques and from the depth

and the layers in your sauce,

that you are a classically trained,

French Michelin-starred chef.

The mousse is beautiful and light,

those potatoes are delicate, perfectly formed.

But I think, because you ran out of time at the end,

the visuals were covered up by your long chives.

Chef, the mousse was really nice and light,

like Sofia said, and the beautiful layers

of your potatoes were really, really lovely.

I think these little crispy potatoes...

(CRUNCH!)

..really, really well done.

This sauce is amazing. It's silky, it's layered.

I was very impressed with the way

that you just threw in all the alcohols

without any measurement. You just went off feel,

and you knew how to balance the sauce beautifully.

The way that you made the potatoes so fine

in that dariole mould was beautiful

when it came to the table.

So, I'm just going to keep it simple.

For me, it's about that sauce, and the sauce is...

..amazing!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

It is perfect. I love the sauce. I could drink it out of a jug.

Thank you for your lovely comments.

Thank you. Thank you, all of you.

(ALL CHEER)

The next dish we'd like to try is Poh's.

(ALL CHEER)

GRACE: Poh's dumplings look so beautiful and so refined.

I'm really Team Poh today.

I really want to see her get this dish redemption.

Oh, my God. This is legitimately scary.

So, Poh, what have you made for us today?

I have made a riff

on a Sardinian dish called culurgione.

And it's a potato dumpling, essentially,

stuffed with potato, a bit of pecorino and mint.

This is the third time

you've cooked this dish in the competition.

It is. How do you think this one went?

I think... I think I've actually done OK.

You think you've done OK? Yeah, yeah.

Alright. Shall we dig in?

Poh. Yes, Aaron?

I love this!

(LAUGHTER)

Aaron, are you being Poh? Could you tell?

Everything from the crimping to the layering of the flavours

to the balance...

I thought I'd miss an aspect of texture,

but with the chewiness of the wrapper,

it was beautiful.

So, very well done. Oh, thank you.

The amount of mint that you put

into your potato filling is just so spot-on.

It just adds this little bit of zing,

bit of freshness, but you still get

that lovely texture of the potato in there.

I loved the filling of your dumplings.

The potato filling was really good.

The chew of your dumpling is also really, really lovely.

And the crimping is perfect, as you always do.

Thank you. Really, really good dish.

Thank you.

It's actually very nostalgic.

To crown the potato and mint filling in a dumpling

is like what we make at home

with our mince raviolis.

I love this, Poh.

You're an artist, Poh. You're an artist.

Third time lucky!

(ALL CHEER)

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Well done.

That was definitely a battle for the ages.

But there can only be one winner.

The winner of today's face-off is...

..Poh!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Well done. Merci.

Thank you.

Never gets old this feeling.

Thank you.

And don't worry, Jean-Christophe,

the boys have something for you too.

(LAUGHTER)

That's a good kiss, by the way. You're a good kisser!

Aaron.

Well done.

Finally got that kiss. Yeah, I did!

OK, fun's over.

In round two, you three are going to need these.

Ooh.

Go, lads.

Back in my apron, and I feel at home again.

This is the way I'm meant to be, and I'm excited to cook.

This round is a team challenge.

Ooh, yes. Yes.

Your task is to cook a finals feast.

Ooh.

EX-CONTESTANTS: Ooh!

Both teams have 75 minutes.

(LAUGHTER)

You're obviously professionals,

so it shouldn't be a problem, right?

(NERVOUS LAUGHTER)

I want to see two mains...

..at least three sides...

..and something sweet from each team.

AARON: Ohh!

Oh, my God. This... This sounds crazy.

VINNIE: It's going to be difficult.

And while I'm confident I could devour each feast by myself,

I would love some company down here!

(CHEERING)

Come on down...

..Dot!

(CHEERING)

Oh, my gosh, I am the new judge.

Meghan Markle, Dot McHugh.

And maybe somebody suave.

Suave!

Just kidding! Luke, come on down!

EX-CONTESTANT: Yeah, Lukey!

LUKE: This is honestly a dream come true.

Like, I was just praying

that, by some miracle, she would call out my name.

Come on down, Lukey.

Good luck, eh?

I wouldn't quite say Andy's job is in jeopardy,

but I will say he might just want to think twice

about the next time he has a baby.

Luke, Dot. Any words of advice for our cooks today?

We want to see something amazing today.

We want flavour, we want textures...

Yeah. ..and we've come hungry.

WOMAN: Yes!

MAN: Exactly right, yeah.

Yeah, more is more.

Are you ready to get going?

CONTESTANTS: Yes. Come on, let's go! Come on!

EX-CONTESTANT: Come on!

Yeah, mate!

Whoo, boys!

BOTH: Your time starts now!

(CHEERING)

GRACE: And they are off.

It is Poh and Jean-Christophe versus our top three.

Come on, guys!

I can't lie. I really want the boys to win.

(APPLAUSE)

DOT AND LUKE: Your time starts now!

(CHEERING)

Go, go, go, go!

We've already got some planning at play.

OK.

I want to do dessert. Is that OK?

Yeah, of course. You can do whatever you want.

Tell me first what you want to do, and then I can adjust.

Well... No, I think the other way around.

Because, like, I can adjust to French.

So I was thinking of doing ile flottante

because it's really fast.

Yeah? OK. I love ile flottante.

OK. Perfect.

So I was hoping to do something

with red peppers for some reason.

Nice and red. Very, very fresh.

We have to hurry up!

Like a brandade. Oh, yes! Yes, yes, yes.

Yeah, that's what I meant.

They look so excited.

So, we're going French.

LUKE: I'm so interested to see what happens here.

Me, too. But I think these three are going to work so well

as a team.

They know each other's flavours, they know how to work together.

Yeah.

VINNIE: What am I getting, again? Steak, potatoes...eggs.

Er...

AARON: It'd be pretty cool to be the first ones

to beat the judges and actually have those bragging rights.

I'm so ready. Bring it. Let's go.

Er...

The concept for our finals feast is "boys barbecue".

We're going to hit hard with, like, the proteins.

We've got a big piece of tomahawk steak

with these beautiful prawns, as well, that we'll butterfly,

and have all these accompanying sides

that will play well with all the different flavours.

Do you know what you're doing or are you just shopping?

Plan - what's the plan?

I'm on meat, yep. Yep.

Seafood.

I'm going to be on desserts today.

LUKE: Ooh!

So we're all trying to play to our strengths.

We've been cooking with each other for six months now.

It's almost telepathic, in a sense.

Do the shallots for him first. I'll get the stock on first.

We get to all band together

and cook, you know, for a common goal -

bragging rights today.

Go on, Aaron.

EX-CONTESTANT: Go, Aaron! Whoo!

EX-CONTESTANT: Go, Vinnie!

EX-CONTESTANT: I want to see some hustle.

DOT: The judges have not left their bench.

LUKE: Yeah.

Do you want to do...? I think do potato dauphinois.

Gratin dauphinois. Dauphinois.

Are you talking about potato? I think.

Well, as a French thing. But what do you think?

Yep, excellent. Dauphinois, yeah?

And then I'll do a couple of salads. Just... Do you trust me?

Yeah. OK.

What do you mean, do I trust you?

Yeah, OK. Alright, cool.

I've been with you for three years.

As a team dynamic, Poh and Jean-Christophe...

That is... He's just come second place,

but he's the Michelin-star head chef.

Yeah, but Poh moves to the beat of her own drum, also.

DOT: Mmm.

So this is... Teamwork is going to be interesting.

Definitely orange and fennel, classic French.

Yeah. It's definitely Frenchy. But...

OK. I'm not quite sure what Jean-Christophe's doing,

but there's chicken and there's a fish dish.

Oh, and he's also doing a potato dauphinois.

And then I'm also going to do a dessert,

which... I'm going to do an ile flottante.

I'm just staying out of The Hurricane's way

and letting him do his thing.

Poh, best face ever.

Alright, guys, I'm going to be on dessert and sauce today,

Alright? Alright, yeah.

We're working really well. I'm really happy with the flavours.

I'm really happy with what we've got going on here.

Our barbecue feast is looking great.

Vinnie's killing it on the steak,

Aaron's prawns look amazing.

AARON: How many prawns do you want? Like, six?

And I'm on dessert.

Wow. Hello, final three.

Lads. Hello!

Hello, boys. How are we going?

Hello, Dots! I'm great.

Who's the lead singer in the band?

PETRO: Me. Alright, Petro.

Oh, OK. Here it is. Whoo!

Well, today I'm in charge of dessert.

So I'm making a chiffon sponge with strawberries and figs,

and mastiha.

So, did you just say you're making a chiffon against Poh?

That's a great point. Er...

Er, yeah, but if I can knock it out of the park,

it'd be pretty cool.

We will see.

You're going to have to nail it.

And if you do, I'm excited to see what happens.

But if you don't, there could be a bit of strife.

Maaa...

Good luck. Good luck, mate.

Thank you! Nail it.

I don't like how comfortable Luke looks at the moment.

What is that smell? Where?

It's too much power for a young man like that.

And I think he's going to abuse it just a little bit.

They're facing each other, but there hasn't been any banter.

I want to win. I want to have fun.

We are match-fit and we have numbers on our side.

I think we're in with a good chance today.

This little family is looking forward to a feast.

You've got 45 minutes to go.

(CHEERING)

45 minutes to go, only 45 minutes to go.

From the top we're watching, like, lots of little busy ants

just doing a heck of a lot of stuff at once.

The boys are doing Sunday barbecue vibes.

Alright, Aaron, do you reckon you could watch that

while I go suss the pantry for, some sides?

Like, really vibing the barbecueness with all the smoke.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: I don't know what it is,

but something smells. It's mine.

When I look over at Poh and Jean-Christophe,

I've seen, like, these sick floating islands

that Poh's done.

And then, I cannot quite figure out

what Jean-Christophe is doing, though,

'cause he's got, like, toasted couscous,

some chicken, lots of vegetables.

They look fantastic! SOFIA: Poh, hi.

So, you're on dessert? Yep, I'm on dessert.

So I'm doing ile flottante.

I've steeped mandarin into the custard...

I can smell it.

..but I have to do two other sides.

So I'm going to do anchovies over radish and parsley.

Beautiful! Super bright.

So lots of brightness...

Sorry, I just have to quickly...

(MUMBLES) ..got to drop this off.

OK, Jean-Christophe. How are you, Sofia?

We're so good.

We've just had a little update from Poh on what she's doing.

Yeah, OK.

So that must mean you're in charge of mains.

Yes, I am, actually.

What are you cooking?

So I'm going to be doing a chicken dish,

which is the drumstick, then gratin dauphinois.

Oh!

So I decided to put some celeriac at the last minute.

So I'm glad. Look at that. DOT: Yum.

Gorgeous. We must have it. I love it.

OK. My favourite root vegetable.

Then I've got a lovely recipe to make a ratatouille.

Beautiful. Alright. (GASPS) Ratatouille.

I'm just going to do that now.

I've got some sweet potatoes in the microwave.

Nice. That's for my fish dish.

Job done. And then I do my dessert.

Hold on, you're doing... You're both doing a dessert?

Ah.

OK. Well, that's good. I will have to do it, too. Ha!

That's great.

Poh, do you know, Jean-Christophe is also doing

a dessert? I have no control over the man.

So, are you...? Are you guys talking?

We don't need to because she knows what she's doing,

I know what I'm doing, and we love each other so much.

DOT: The dynamic between Poh and Jean-Christophe

is really interesting.

They are so solo workers.

You know, they teach us to communicate,

and who's the team leader?

Everything is just perfect.

There's not much talking, is there?

No talking. On set there's no talking.

Yeah.

"Has to be a team leader."

And here they are - no team leader, no communication.

They're breaking all the rules.

Jean-Christophe is doing a dessert as well

because he wants to.

(APPLAUSE)

Oh! Don't. Don't, please.

I know, it's getting colour quick. Look on the side there.

I love you, boys, but do me proud, judges!

30 minutes to go!

OTHERS: Come on! Come on!

Let's do it.

Right, what am I doing now? What was I doing?

It was around the 25-minute mark in the last cook...

Where it all fell down? Where, like...

Yeah, Cyclone Jean-Christophe hit and it was a bombsite.

Shhh.

And I think we're getting close.

Oh!

I can't believe this.

This is the battle of the century.

The judges versus the contestants.

Poh and Jean-Christophe seem to be working completely solo.

But, together, they have so much experience

and a few Michelin stars on their side.

This has got to finish slowly. Here we are. Now I can flambe.

The boys are working together so well.

Everything is going really smoothly

and their barbecue feast looks unreal.

AARON: What do you reckon about these?

They look beautiful.

Competition is well and truly on.

DOT: Oh, we've got some flames from JC.

Hey, they're burning their dish! They're burning it!

Shut up!

(LAUGHTER)

You got this, JC.

The gantry vibes are very loud.

Poh! Poh, that looks so good.

And I'm hearing a lot of "Go, Poh!" And "Go, Jean-Christophe!"

And that's just not on. You know, they're on our team.

Just because you got eliminated, that's not my fault.

You know what? As long as we have some fun,

and I reckon we're going to put up some really tasty dishes,

I reckon we might be alright.

We are working awesome as a team today.

Our barbecue feast is coming along beautifully.

Potato gratin.

We've got Aaron on the grilled zucchini side,

Petro's making his cake, and I'm on the potato gratin.

Luke, do you see the care I'm taking with every layer?

I just want you to know

that Jean-Christophe is also doing a gratin.

Of course he is.

Yeah, I think that's very, very well done.

I definitely am a little bit concerned.

You know, I'm making a French dish against a Frenchman.

This is so important, not having too much liquid.

I haven't made potato gratin before.

I know what it's supposed to be like,

but I haven't actually made it.

But you know what? I reckon I got it.

It'll be fine. It'll be fine.

Quickly, quickly. Hurry up, hurry up.

So I don't even have to think of this anymore.

We're not really a team.

We're more like two chefs

working in two different restaurants

and hoping that our dishes and our menus, match.

Um, no. I think it's going to be OK, actually.

I need some fish and some... (CLAPS) ..peppers.

But I think Jean-Christophe decided

he was going to do a dessert.

But I'd convinced him not to.

I'm going to get my stuff done on time,

but I'm a bit worried about him.

Just trying to get my two sides, my desserts, pretty much done.

And then I'm also on to my radish with anchovies,

and chard, fennel with ouzo reduction.

Jean-Christophe, how are you?

So far, so good.

I'm happy with the dishes that we came to decide together.

And, um... And, um...

And I think we've got a big chance.

Anyway, we have no choice.

We are not going to embarrass ourselves together.

LUKE: Contestants and judges,

everything's riding on this cook!

You've got 15 minutes to go!

(CHEERING)

Luke's been waiting his whole life for this moment.

Right, what am I doing?

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

You've gone red, so it was a good one.

Yeah. That's how you know.

I think we might have burst something.

My steaks are looking spectacular.

They're presented beautifully.

WOMAN: Looks beautiful, Vinnie.

Aaron's prawns are looking so delicious.

Aaron. What?

How are you going? So far, so good.

Our sides are looking really, really good.

I've got some charred zucchini

with a lemon and tarragon dressing

and some endive and fig salad.

Alright. We're pretty good, yeah?

Yeah.

Petro's cake's in the oven,

and it's time to check on my potato gratin.

Hey, Aaron. Yeah, hit me.

I think there's too much liquid in this.

It's cooked, but it's wet as. Pour it out.

How? Like...

I check on my potato gratin and it is so wet.

It's like a soup. It's like a potato soup.

So I decide that maybe I'll try

and push a bit of weight on the potatoes

to get a little bit of that excess moisture out.

And maybe I just need to get them in the oven at full temp.

I'm just hoping that that liquid evaporates and dries up.

But if we don't,

then we're definitely not in with a chance.

Let's chat about plating, yeah? Yeah.

WOMAN: Yum.

Whoo! Come on, guys! Come on!

It looks and smells incredible!

OK. Ignore me. Just plate. Take everything from the oven.

Yeah. There we are.

So, first one. Oh, amazing.

OK, OK. Of course it's bloody amazing.

Look at that. See, gratin dauphinois.

Now, that's a gratin!

That's how you want your gratin to look.

That is perfect. That is a gratin.

Vinnie, come have a look at their gr... Ha!

So far, so good. We've got everything we need.

That is one dish, two dish. You got the chicken?

Watch out. It's very, very hot. Yep.

Ratatouille, done.

Now the fish dish,

which is basically some half-cooked fish

mixed with sweet potatoes and stuffed into a red pepper,

baked in the oven with some mozzarella.

Please, please, please.

Bon appetit.

GRACE: Oh, my God.

Poh and Jean-Christophe have pulled this out of the bag.

Their French feast is looking unreal.

Here. Just don't... 'Cause you'll damage the board.

Finish with some oil, please. With what?

Poh, some oil. Oil.

Just a bit of oil, just like that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Got it. I got it, I got it.

OK. (LAUGHTER)

Come on, come on, come on!

VINNIE: Petro, what about this cake?

Yeah, gotta get the cake out.

I'm running out of time.

This cake has taken a lot longer than expected

because it's so big.

I made the cake a little too big,

which is why it took longer to cook, longer to cool.

I want three even layers of cake,

so I need to slice it evenly,

remove the layers, and then start my piping.

Oh.

But my cake is still warm...

The boys could be in trouble.

..which means that this cake could just collapse.

EX-CONTESTANT: Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God.

We might not get a cake up here.

What is he doing?

Oh, he's taking the top off.

Why?

DOT: We want your dishes to be fantastic!

Come on! Two minutes to go!

(CHEERING)

We just need to torch. I just need to remove them.

WOMAN: Oh, he's going to decorate the whole thing

in two minutes.

Careful, Petro.

At the moment, I'm focusing solely on my cake.

That is my objective. This is my dish.

And I do not want to not put up a cake.

Petro, is it still hot? Yeah.

There's no more time to cool down this cake.

So I'm cutting it, there's steam coming out of it.

But I have to ice it, I've got no choice.

Oh, my God, this is so hard to watch.

So I've got a mastiha Chantilly cream,

and then I'll be putting my macerated strawberries

on top of that.

And I'll finish off with Chantilly cream all over.

Oh, he's doing it.

Can we...? Wait. Don't worry. Let's go for it.

We had a plan that we've done.

Oh, my gosh, this is down to the wire!

WOMAN: Come on, boys!

Oh, my God!

LUKE: Get it on the plate!

Oh, my God. They've got to move it.

Time is up in ten, nine, eight...

VINNIE: What are we doing? PETRO: Just chuck them on.

..seven, six, five, four,

three... How are we doing?

..two, one! That's enough!

Oh!

It's actually a very nice bonding experience at the end.

We feel so close. Yeah.

This has changed our relationship

after making that cake at the end together.

For three home cooks,

I think we did a pretty banging good job, I reckon.

In terms of flavour and what we've done,

I think we're definitely in with a chance.

It's amazing what you can do with no communication.

I mean we could be quantity over quality,

but I'm feeling very confident.

I think we've got some solid flavours

and I think we've balanced each other's flavours well.

I think we're gonna win.

The first final feast we would like to try

is by the judges.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

SOFIA: Oh, my goodness. Oh.

Wow.

Poh, Jean-Christophe, can you please talk us

through your finals feast? Lots here.

Jean-Christophe, do you want to start?

Ladies first. Oh, no.

You start with the mains. Oh, no, it's still going.

OK.

So, I made crispy, spicy

chicken gigolettes,

an oven-dry ratatouille,

a gratin dauphinois...

..and a brandade...

..of red peppers.

I did a chard fennel

with an orange and ouzo agrodolce...

..radishes and parsley with a lemon anchovy dressing

and iles flottantes, or floating islands.

Are you gonna eat all that by yourself?

The answer, Vinnie, is yes. (LAUGHTER)

(LAUGHTER)

When I eat these dishes,

it is so clear to me

that you are speaking the same language.

Wow.

I think you've understood

each other on such a deep level

with these dishes.

It's all pretty Frenchy,

but I think, Poh,

you have been really considered

in knowing what Jean-Christophe is cooking

and very deliberately made beautiful support acts.

This is the full package as far as I'm concerned.

I love it.

It's a bit awkward to say, because I think

I kind of have to disagree with you when you say

that you really like it. Go for it.

'Cause I flippin' love it! (LAUGHTER)

The chicken, the couscous on that is genius.

The gratin is delicious.

This little bad boy, pretty good.

And I honestly reckon the other highlight

is Poh's radish salad.

Just the play of the anchovy

and the parsley is genius.

I'm delighted you say that. Thank you.

Well, I feel like I've just walked into

a little farm restaurant

and the tastes are out of this world.

This ratatouille, it's just,

every vegetable is singing.

This gratin is beautiful.

I don't think I've ever had better in my life.

There's layers of flavour in there

that you can't believe you get in 75 minutes.

It's delicious.

I can't wait to get into dessert.

Poh, I want to pour this cream all over my body.

It is so delicious.

It's like incredibly gentle

and floral and kind of feminine.

It's just like this whisper

of the most beautiful, fairy-like flavours.

Jesus, Luke. (LAUGHTER)

We've got another one of these to go.

This cream thing, that needs to be

on the shelves, whether it's body lotion

or a dessert topping

that needs to be on the shelves asap.

It is unbelievable.

Thank you.

And as someone who grew up as a huge fan of yours...

..I'll tell you, you're almost the reason why

I fell in love with cooking.

I want to say thank you for everything you've given me

in this kitchen and all the inspiration you've given me.

Luke! Cuddle.

Yes.

The next feast we'd like to try is from the boy band.

Come on down.

VINNIE: That was probably one of the most fun cooks

I've had in this kitchen to date.

Everything that we've put up

is looking and smelling really, really delicious.

Oh, my goodness.

That's a lot of steak. You wanted a feast.

I think there's a little bit of a possibility

that we could beat the judges today.

Alright. What did you make, boys?

AARON: So today we've made

some herb and butter butterflied prawns

on the hibachi.

We've got some zucchini

with a tarragon, lemon and olive oil dressing.

VINNIE: Salad is some endive and figs

with an orange and balsamic dressing.

And then I've done some rib eye steak

on the hibachi with a red wine jus

and some potato gratin.

PETRO: And I have made

an olive oil and mastiha chiffon cake.

Shall we see if it tastes as good as it looks?

DOT: Let's give it a go.

Alright.

I've got to start with the steak because it's amazing.

Thank you.

Look at that.

That's what you want.

I love the sauce that you put with the prawns.

It's got lots of herbs in it.

Lots of brightness, lots of lift.

Let's talk about the gratin.

Lots of work in the layers.

Beautiful herbs.

Perfectly seasoned.

A little bit wet. Mm.

You boys took a few risks today.

You've decided to cook a French jus

against a Frenchman in Jean-Christophe.

And I honestly reckon

I might have to exchange this fork and this knife

for a packet of nails and a hammer,

because that jus belongs in the Louvre.

It is unbelievable.

VINNIE: In the Louvre!

I don't completely get it. Hold on.

It needs to be hung in the Louvre.

Oh, I thought you were breaking in.

Wow. This is a spread.

Very modern Australian.

Loving the vibes.

The prawns,

love the flavour you've got in there.

Beautiful contrast with the orange shells

and that lovely bright sauce.

Great job, guys.

Let's get into dessert. Let's.

Yeah.

Oh! What a cake, man!

Guys, what's in that chiffon cake?

I actually got the recipe

from an Australian food icon.

Nice.

And I'm looking at her.

And you've chosen to cook a chiffon against Poh

with her recipe.

So I'm excited to taste it.

Oh, he's nailed it. (LAUGHTER)

The crumb on that chiffon,

it is so light and fluffy.

Super airy.

It dissolves in your mouth.

No notes on that one.

Dot, can you please give me another slice?

I think Poh's got to taste this.

It is a perfect cake.

Everything down to the flavour, the technique, the texture,

and the company I'm eating it with is just perfect.

This cake is exceptional.

You know, it's that perfect, light finish

with all these beautiful flavours.

And I think it's a lovely end to your finals feast.

So thank you, boys.

Thank you, Dot.

What do you think, Poh?

Oh, Poh, you didn't.

I mean, I mean, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright.

Well done, boys. You should be very proud of yourselves.

You make an awesome team.

Well done. Thank you.

Let me just start off by saying I have had the best day.

Same here.

Round two was the classic contestants v judges.

Both of your feasts were exceptional.

But when it comes to execution,

one feast was flawless...

..and that was.

The judge's feast!

The next time we see you all

will be the semifinal.

You'll need to prepare a two-course dining experience,

serving a main followed by dessert.

So you three go home

and think up a menu that will amaze.

Get a good night's sleep and we'll see you very soon.

Well done!

ANNOUNCER: Tomorrow night...

..it's the moment they've been waiting for.

AARON: I feel like I earned, not just a jacket,

but a place in the top three.

PETRO: This is the one.

This is the challenge that I've dreamt of,

and I can't believe that I'm going to be a part of it.

A service challenge

that could rewrite their history.

VINNIE: There's no turning back now.

This is exactly what I want and where I want to be.

Come on, come on.

Your menu needs to show us how far you've come as a cook.

This is it. It's a semifinal.

SOFIA: There are only two spots in the grand finale.

Prove you deserve one of them.