Original subtitles

I came into this competition all guns blazing.

How about you, Aaron?

Are you just looking at the trophy?

As in the prize?

I'm literally armed to the teeth with technique.

I'm making a cured kingfish and an ahobanko-style sauce.

I'm trying to do a Japanese-inspired steak tartare tartelette.

No way.

Yeah. Fish roulade with a prawn fast in the middle. Ooh.

Oh, yeah. Ooh, all right.

I've had some incredible feedback.

The amount of flavour in a small bowl is unbelievable.

But something was missing.

I hate to be dragging, Aunty, but you've got insider knowledge on how to use all

these ingredients.

This one's a bit of a myth for me.

I realised that I couldn't just rely on my own technique. Thank you.

So I started leaning into my heritage.

It's real quintessential Malaysian food.

Fusing my favourite Asian flavours with elevated dishes.

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

And the results were incredible.

Do you really see your potential? What you want to be?

I came in wanting to be a chef.

You look like a chef.

I know.

And if I can get to the finale, I'll be proving I have what it takes.

I always thought I was a good cook, but...

Coming into the MasterChef kitchen.

I was a deer in headlights.

Oh, God.

Damn. It actually took me a while to find a rhythm.

You all right?

Um, yeah. I don't know what to think about this one.

And then I started playing around with different flavours.

Cypriot raviolis with halloumi ricotta and mint.

Miso and wattle seed glaze pork chop. Dang.

Cigars with the coconut and pandan creme pat.

I'm making a tart today with tonka beans, orange dates.

And ever since then, it's just been an upward trajectory.

You're a real natural talent.

I am all about flavour and technique.

So I started applying that to dessert.

So now I feel like I'm a really well-rounded cook.

I've only got one cook to get through to make that grand finale.

I've worked this hard to get here.

I'm not going to stop now.

Just heard through the grapevine. Pretty sure he's like a mad baker. Yeah, wow.

I came into this competition as the panini guy. I'm making a porchetta

panino.

So delicious.

I'm making a fried gnocchi pat brown. Oh.

I'm making a pork barbecue sandwich with a Grosjean barbecue sauce.

I'm looking at everyone else's dish and it's all elegant and I'm giving you a

roll.

As I got further into this competition, I found myself cooking more elevated and

complex dishes.

I'm going to be making some pate en creme. Wow.

Duck rested on the crown with a macadamia and black garlic puree and a

puree sauce.

I'm going to do flat iron steak two ways today, pata, and I'm also going to do it

on the hibachi with like a little salad as well.

This is really neck level.

It hasn't all been smooth sailing.

I don't know. I'm not very happy with this dish.

This is not your best dish.

I found myself pretty close to going home quite a few times.

Yuzu and parmesan, gotcha chang and ragu.

Whoa. On a black apron day.

Yep. But that's when you learn your best.

You're thinking more and more like a professional cook, and that's the stuff

that makes us the happiest to see.

Today is going to take a lot, but I've proved that I'm a fighter.

And I'm going to fight again to get into that grand finale.

Looking good, mate. Looking good. Looking fresh.

You never thought you'd actually get to this point, right?

No, never.

Can you feel the energy in his kitchen?

I can feel it in my bones.

Petro Aaron Vini.

Congratulations for making the semi-final of MasterChef Australia

2026!

I want this so bad, and I can see the commercial kitchens in the back, and I

can see all the equipment there, and I'm like, I can't believe I'm here, about to

run a service in a professional kitchen.

You are such fantastic cooks.

You're so sexy, by the way.

It's fantastic.

We are very proud of you.

You face one final challenge before the grand finale.

The semi-final service challenge.

Running your own service will be your toughest challenge yet.

So we thought we'd bring somebody to back you up.

He's a hatted chef.

Has seven venues across Australia.

And is well known for mentoring young chefs and new cooks alike.

He's a MasterChef winner.

Judge.

Anony Dad!

Welcome back, Andy Allen!

Hello,

hello! Congratulations, Andy!

Thank you.

Congratulations.

Here we go!

Incredible. I can't believe Andy's back.

Oh, good to be home.

He's got a bit of a newborn glow. He looks very, very happy, very, very

joyful and very proud to be a new dad, I think.

Welcome back, Papa Andy. Thank you.

Congratulations on your beautiful baby boy. Thank you very much.

We are so happy for you and I cannot wait to have a cuddle. Auntie Poe.

Cuddles are coming.

Tell us everything. How's it going?

Amazing. Like, it is the best thing I've ever done in my life.

Just to hold him and stare at him. For the first couple of days, I just like...

I just do that for hours on end. It is the most beautiful thing.

Are you getting any shut-eye?

Bits and pieces, but who needs sleep?

I am so proud of you three.

And I'm not here to judge.

I'm just here to help, right?

I'll be in the kitchen feeling the heat.

Just like you three. I'm going to offer advice.

It's up to you if you take it or leave it.

Believe me when I say I want the best for all three of you.

You all have very distinct styles and personalities.

Showcase that in your menu.

And above all, make it freaking delicious.

In a few hours, this kitchen will be filled with 60 diners.

and they have high expectations.

You must prepare a two-course dining experience, serving a main followed by

dessert, to 20 diners plus us.

That's 46 plates each.

You only have three hours before your first course must leave the path.

The pantry is stocked. The garden is open. Your menu needs to show us how far

you've come as a cook.

We want to taste your true potential.

There are only two spots in the grand finale.

Roof, you deserve one of them.

Petro, Arun, Vinny, are you ready to become chefs?

Yes!

Your time starts now.

I can't wait.

They need to think of how they're going to handle serving all those plates.

We're not talking one dish. We're talking lots of dishes.

Live in a busy restaurant.

And this is the step. Whatever happens, they are opened up, ready to become

chefs.

Go, Vinny!

Yeah, Vinny!

Yeah, Vinny!

We have set the semi-finalists a monumental task.

We want to see how far they've come, for sure. We want to see flavor. We want to

see consistency across all the plates.

And also just see how smoothly their service runs all on their own.

Even though Andy's there to mentor, usually to prep and cook this amount of

food, John Christophe, you know, you would be daft up. So we're asking a lot

of them.

but they've been training for this. So this is where they need to prove that

they belong in the grand finale.

Come on, Aaron!

Make that ice cream.

Nice, Jack.

I'm so excited. This menu is a representation of who I am as a chef.

It's a nod to where I've been and a reflection of where I want to go.

You know, I really want to have...

Asian-inspired dishes that have French techniques and, like, bring my little

flair to things that I learn along the way.

Trying to get into my zone right now, trying to set myself up well for the

service later. For the main, I'm making a pork loin chop with crispy skin and

three sauces, but I won't actually start with that yet because I have to start

working on my dessert.

With the dessert, I'm making a basil and white pepper ice cream, a strawberry and

tomato granita and a hazelnut crumb.

This dessert is...

reminiscent of my tomato salad dessert that I did earlier in the season, and

that went exceptionally well.

Now I need to try and elevate that to show how far I've come.

Right now I'm working on the basil ice cream anglaise, and from there I'm going

to do my granita as well. My dessert has a lot of things to set, and I have to do

that now because I need that churned or frozen and ready for later. Once that's

all done, I'm going to start prepping my pork.

20 minutes down, lads. Let's keep going.

There he is.

The kid wonder.

Is anyone going to come with me? I could.

More meat. More meat. The worst thing you can do as a Greek is under cater.

This service challenge is crazy.

We have to serve so many people and we have to do it all on our own.

in three hours and at this high standard.

So my strategy today is trying to do something that's achievable, but still

show off technique, flavor, and also my growth and what I've learned here.

So that's why I have a focused plan of attack to execute my menu.

Petro, I'm done and I know what you're going to cook.

I am doing my fillet with a jus that's going to be infused with pine mushrooms,

Jerusalem artichoke and parsnip puree, fried artichoke crisps, some roasted

pine mushrooms, micro sorrel and herbal.

Okay.

I know that is daunting trying to get 23.

portions of eye fillet perfectly so how are we planning to cook the eye fillet

obviously i would love to do it off on the hibachi and get that flavor yeah but

it's all going to come down to whether i have time you need to push yourself yeah

it's a semi-final yeah this is to get into the grand finale yes i think safe

isn't going to get you there this is your strength yes this is your strength

if you can caramelize that meat over the hibachi and then we finish it in the

oven Like, that could take it from good to amazing.

Okay, Chef. Same for that. That sounds like a plan. Let's go to dessert. I am

making what I'm calling a Greek eclair. So I'm doing a fig leaf creme madame.

Yep. Some fresh figs and a verjuice syrup that's going to be laced with a

bit of olive oil and masita.

That's my petro.

That sounds like a you dish that you've gone, how am I going to blow the judges

away? That is solid, that dessert. Okay. Okay? Good.

So now the main, let's get that to the same level as the dessert. Yes, sir.

Let's cook like the wind today.

Yep. And put a smile on your face. Thanks. Well, I'm nervous right now

because my relationship with the hibachi is a little love-hate. It didn't get off

to a beautiful start and I feel like this could potentially put me behind

schedule. But Andy's right. I need to push myself to elevate the steak.

So I've got to bite the bullet and do it.

Right now, I'm developing my jus.

And I need to also get started on my Jerusalem artichoke and parsnip puree.

I am motoring. I'm not leaving anything to chance today. I'm going to work as

fast as I can.

Hello, fellas.

Two hours and 20 minutes till dishes leave the path. Let's go.

Let's go, guys.

Yeah, you know that's the time for.

I feel like this is a perfect challenge for me to showcase my journey here and

how far I've come. For my main, by playing on a dish that I started the

competition with, it's going to show how far I've come and how much I've grown as

a cook.

For my audition, I made a porchetta panini.

And I'm reimagining it today as the cook that I want to be, keeping a rustic

heart of my food and keeping true to my Italian roots.

But I'm definitely trying to be a little bit more ambitious.

V, talk to me. I guess we're cooking pork. My name's going to be a porchetta.

Oh, full circle. Throwback to the day one. So I'm going to do a marinade. Roll

it back up. Crust it. Get that in the oven. Low and slow for as long as I can.

Pump it up right at the end just to get that puff. Yep.

Serve that with a pork jus with a celeriac puree and a radicchio and pig

salad. Made it sound.

So you, which I think is the most important thing in this cook. I want to

see who Vinny is on the plate. Okay? Yep. But we've had some ordinary pork

headers in this kitchen. Yep.

From very, very good cooks. Yeah. Right? Yeah. They want crispy tips. Yeah.

Correct. Correct. So we need to make sure that it puffs in the end. Yep. And

to make sure it's, you know, tender and fall apart like. Yes. 100%. Okay.

Let's go. A few desserts.

My dessert is going to be like a tiramisu tart.

That flavor's inspired of tiramisu. I'm going to do a few big circle tarts. Yep.

And then slice one on each plate. Yep. So it's going to have chocolate cremeux

layer, a coffee gel, and then the top layer will be a whipped muscarpone cream

with the Baileys in there. Right.

Okay. Mate, tarts are not easy. You know?

People devote their whole careers to tarts. Yeah.

You know? And you just don't have that experience yet. So we need to make sure

that we can finesse this dessert.

And execute this quite flawlessly, mate. Yeah.

I feel like it's a great idea.

This is really ambitious for today's challenge, I feel like. To get both of

these dishes as good as they need to be to get you into the grand finale, you

need to work like an absolute demon. For sure.

Thank you. Thank you, Andy.

I know I've got my work cut out for me, but I need to back myself.

I've started my pork jus.

So now I need to get on to my pork head off.

And to make porchetta for, you know, 20-plus diners, I need a lot of pork.

You know, normally when you go to the shops, you buy a pork belly about that

big. Today, it's about that big.

There is a lot to do here, because I need to butcher, marinate, roll and tie

this pork and get it in the oven as soon as possible.

And I need to nail not only one, but two big slabs of porchetta, and I really

need to keep it nice and tight, otherwise it'll cook unevenly.

Now, there's so much pork.

Come on, Vinny.

Vinny, quick.

This is definitely a risk for Vinny. Like, those pork headers are massive,

and he really is pushing it for time to get them cooked.

It's almost an hour into the cook, and Vinny hasn't got anything in the oven

yet.

I'm a little bit worried about how he's going to get these huge, huge porchetta

rolls back to consistently cooking time.

It's been so long to butcher a duck.

Can't believe it.

It's just crazy.

Vinnie. Eddie.

Mate, this is going to be the first of many little love taps that I give you

today, okay?

Because I feel like we need to get each pork kind of done. Yeah.

I'm looking at the clock.

You've had an hour.

Yeah. And you've got your stock on. Yeah.

And you've done a bit of butchery. Yeah. Okay. That's nearly a third of your

whole cook time, right?

So you've got to think about it like that. We need to get them in the oven.

Yep. I am going to push you so hard. Thank you, please. You have so much work

to do.

Don't hate me. Love me. It's going to be a battle, but we got it. Yep.

I need to get this pork marinated, rolled, and tied.

Time is slipping away, and I'm not used to cooking with cuts of meat this big.

They're huge.

They are huge.

That's not the biggest cut I've ever had.

You need to push harder than...

I know that my mains are going to be served first, but right now my focus is

to finish working on my dessert.

All right, Darren, keep going, buddy.

Because it's time consuming, and it has to be perfect.

Right now I'm working on the basil ice cream anglaise and my granita as well.

With the tomato granita, I have to blend up some heirloom and Roma tomatoes, put

them through a strainer, make sure I get all the pips out, and do the same with

some strawberries to add a bit of sweetness.

Hit me with the menu.

Dessert. Dessert is a basil white pepper ice cream, tomato, strawberry, and white

balsamic granita. Okay.

Fried basil leaf and a hazelnut crumb. Okay. This is very similar to a dish.

Yeah, it is. Isn't it? I mean, that was the ice cream taste test. Yeah, it was,

yeah. What I remember about that dish, it was near on perfect.

That was the turning point for me. I felt that, you know, wow, I can actually

do dessert and, you know, I'm actually pumping it full of new flavours, new

ideas, just elevated a bit more.

The ice cream with the pepper, that really adds a nice fruitiness and a

little heat and interesting.

And that's quenched by the granita. And the granita now has the strawberries

through it, so it makes it less vegetable. Okay.

The hazelnuts with the skin on it adds sort of like a toasted sesame flavour,

which is really interesting. Okay. So that's where I'm kind of going with

that. I love the idea of this.

So now, the main.

So my main is a pork loin top. The first one on the bone is going to have crispy

skin. Right.

With that, I've got some charred trevisa.

A pork and veal jus, and I've got the exo sauce as a garnish.

Exo sauce as well. Yeah. And a red miso mustard.

Wow. Okay, so there's a fair bit going on here, right?

You've got miso, you've got exo. Yep.

You've got the jus.

Like, there's a fair bit of heavy hitters here. So let's try and think

about how they're going to play with each other, not against each other.

Yeah. They need to be harmony on a plate.

I'm loving where it's going, though. Okay. Good luck. Thanks.

I've got to be really intentional with how I use flavors and techniques in both

my main course and my dessert course.

But I feel like I have a really clear vision on how to execute the Asian

-French fusion in my main course.

I just need to make sure that I leave enough time to do it.

How long are you going to give yourself, Vinny?

Five minutes. Five minutes. Five minutes to have both sides.

Yeah. Mate, you can come to the dust and roll some porchetta if you want.

We're about an hour into prep for my main course. I've got my stock on the go

for my pine mushroom jus.

I have so much to do, so I've got a really tight plan of attack that I need

to stick to.

Now I'm jumping onto dessert.

I am just about to clean my fig leaves. I need to get my milk infused.

I think this is a really unique dessert, and I think it highlights my heritage,

which is so...

Important and something I haven't highlighted as much throughout this

competition. My background definitely plays into my dessert for sure, hence

the Greek clear.

I've made this big leaf creme pat a few times before.

You got it.

Great, let's go.

Big leaf has like a floral, coconutty sort of flavour. It's quite subtle, so I

need to infuse my milk for as long as I can.

Looking good, Petro.

Thank you. Feeling good?

Feeling good.

Beautiful, mate.

Just watch that thing like a hawk. Now I'm back onto my main, and I'm starting

to prepare the Jerusalem artichokes for my Jerusalem artichoke parsnip puree.

I love Jerusalem artichokes. They are super fresh, very seasonal, and the

flavour is amazing.

But it comes at a cost.

So I need to clean my Jerusalem artichokes.

I'm just making it easier to clean because they do take a while.

and then clean it with a steel wool.

Jerusalem artichokes are very hard to prepare.

They are very oddly shaped, and they're extremely hard to clean.

I feel like I'm on track, but I just need to keep pushing.

Vinny's getting his bloody pork in the oven.

Let's go, Vinny! In the oven in two minutes.

I finally got my pork tied up and ready for the oven, but it has taken me much

longer than I thought.

How long is that going to take?

Hour and a half.

Okay. So, mate, in an hour and a half, you're going to have 15 minutes till

service?

Cutting it fine.

Yep. You know the drill, mate. As soon as that service starts, there's no

catching up, especially when you're by yourself.

Yep.

I'm going to push my panic aside right now and just keep pushing on.

Yeah, Vinny!

Full measure, I know that I've gotten all that goodness out of those veggies

and out of those bones.

So I get that reducing down.

Let's go, Vinny!

I've started my salerac puree.

Vinny is pumping the salerac out of it.

But I'm a bit worried that I haven't even started on my tiramisu tart at all.

How's dessert looking?

Dessert's looking good. Anglaise on that one's done now. How many batches are you

going to need for 23 portions?

Three batches? Yep. The anglaise with basil ice cream is finally done.

I'm happy with the flavour.

It's laced with basil and it finishes with a beautiful bit of that white

pepper. I need to get that churning in an ice cream machine.

Now I need to finish up doing my tomato crinina. I've just got some strawberry

here as well that will go through it.

I just have to go off my own palate to really find that point where I'm happy

with the tomato flavor being there, the acidity being there, the brightness

being there, the balsamic having that note underneath that you feel and you

can taste.

Yum.

You have 19 minutes.

19 minutes left to go before the service. Come on!

I know it's an ad for today. This is the painful thing about Jerusalem

artichokes. Yeah, they're a labour of love, unfortunately. They are.

I'm still cleaning these Jerusalem artichokes.

This is stressing me out a bit because I am behind schedule.

This has definitely taken some time.

So I do need to find another gear. My milk is almost ready.

Um, to start my creme pat, need to get these done for my chips and also for my

puree. So, oh.

Oh, you are kidding.

The figs leave, oh my God, that's never happened.

They split.

What, what?

It, it, it, it, it, it, it split the milk.

I've done this so many times, it's never split the middle.

Do you have more?

No.

Okay.

What's your plan B?

Hey, mate, it's going to happen. Plan B, it's going to happen.

Alright, um, I need to...

All right, I'm just going to workshop some stuff. I may as well get another

pot on, and if it tastes good, it tastes good. If not, I'll pivot into something

else. But I may as well have my options open. Take a second. I need you to take

a second. Trust me, it's going to be worth it. Right now, you've just done

three laps of the kitchen, and there hasn't been anything done. Okay?

So we need to just still stay calm.

Adrenaline is a great thing, but it can also be a bit of a curse as well. You

can get yourself in a lot of trouble.

Yep.

Poor... Poor Petro. Why? Big leaf milk. Is it curdled?

How's Petro now?

It seems rather... Petro, this is it. It's the semi-final. You've done so

well. Let's get you to the grand finale.

An hour and a half before my diners come through the door and my big leaf milk

has curdled.

I'm already under the pump.

It needs to refocus.

I don't have time for this.

Get the milk on.

I need to keep moving. I need to keep getting all my elements done.

Are you trying it again, Petro? Yeah. I'm just going to heat it to a lot lower

this time. Nice. Very fixable. Nice, Petro. Don't overheat it this time. Oh,

thank you, Captain Obvious.

I still need to finish my Jerusalem artichoke. Ah.

And I've got to start thinking about cooking this beef.

Just got to put. Just got to put.

Good work, Petro.

Still trying to serve that granita.

Just for your granita?

Yep. Do you need that kind of done now? Know what I mean?

90 minutes until you start serving main. Yep.

That's a little bit scary for me. I don't know how you're feeling.

We need to get these pork done. We need to find another gear here now. Get them

in the oven.

Less than an hour and a half ago, and I realized that I've spent way too much

time on my dessert.

And I've only just started on the pork.

It takes around an hour to actually cook and rest an entire pork loin on its own.

Keep going, Eric!

And if I don't get it in now, I won't have time to carve and serve.

And I need to perforate the skin so that it puffs up.

brush some vinegar on the skin as well and salt it heavily.

So we've got three sauces to do. I've got the Trevico that needs to be

prepped. There's a lot of different things.

The pork, you're going to take it off the bone.

Slice it. Slice, yeah. Don't underestimate how long that takes. Yeah.

You know, to get it as good as you would want it.

Perfect. Going to take a fair bit of time.

Yeah.

But I still need to finish up this granita.

Has Aaron still got the fiver?

Yeah.

I'm making sure my crumb is on point.

This dessert has to be perfect.

Jack, are you worried about Aaron?

Mm-hmm. I'm really worried about him.

OK, semi-finalists, your mains need to go in one hour!

Come on, guys!

Let's go!

Let's have a look at our list. All right. I'm just rotating my fork around.

Juice is reducing down. I've got my celeriac taking away from my puree. The

salad I will prepare now and the dressing I'll do right now. Okay, so you

need to do salad and the dressing for the main. All other elements are either

on or done. And I'll just do the glaze right now too.

Okay.

Hey.

Sorry, are you talking to me?

How's dessert looking? I need to get started on my tart. Mate,

I feel like we need to start kicking jobs off. Yeah. I know that I do need to

start my tiramisu tart.

Just want to make my glaze quickly.

Cheers, Vinny.

I finally got all my elements done for my dessert course. What do I need?

XO next, Darren.

You got...

Scallops and shrimp soaking, or?

Not yet.

Right.

Aaron, we've got to get XO working. We've got to get XO working. We need to

find a gear. Yeah.

Got it? Yep.

Time is really ticking.

Yep. Yeah, got a motor, got a motor.

But I know that I've spent way more time than I thought I would.

Let's go, XO, XO, XO.

Now I'm really short on time for the elements for my main.

Yeah, a lot to do. In the time I've got to get my XO sauce done.

my jus sorted and also look at making my meat and mustard for the mains i really

wanted to prove that i can think like a chef come on aaron you can do it but

i've just completely blown my entire process out the window we want to try

and have full prep done so we can get a plate up oh man oh my god we need to

taste every element together

We are well into this prep time now and Andy is worried.

Vinny, tart shells, tart shells, tart shells, tart shells. He's getting more

and more concerned.

In the next half an hour, you need to cook your beef. Come on, find that gear.

All three boys, Aaron, Petro and Vinny, might not be ready in time.

How long until that stock comes out of the pressure cooker? One minute. They

need to knuckle the hell down.

Find another gear.

Absolutely go, go, go, go, go. Don't push now. It's going to be a disaster.

Yep, yep.

Here they come.

The diners are here!

You only have 30 minutes to go!

The

diners

have arrived.

But... Cleaning these artichokes has taken me forever.

Colin, got to get this puree on as quick as you can.

This is behind schedule, so I have to push really hard if I'm going to make

service on time.

I think I'm just running on pure adrenaline at the moment, but I am

finally done.

I'm going to combine it with parsnip to make my puree.

Now I need to get on to my beef.

Oh, my God.

I'm searing off my eye fillet.

The hibachi's been a very defining part of my journey.

It has burnt me, it has loved me. It's kind of been like a relationship. I have

my ups and downs with it, but I still love it at the end of the day. So let's

go again.

Nice, Petro.

Keep an eye on the hot spots.

Surely we should just get a barbecue at this rate.

Why aren't we stealing the hibachi?

This is going to be really hard to get the consistency right. What's Petro

doing?

It's hard enough just to cook one perfect, let alone eight logs.

They're all really difficult.

How are we looking?

Andy, I've gotten the meat on. I've just been doing one-minute rotations just to

get a nice sear.

Let's go, mate.

This next 15 minutes is going to set you up. It'll either be where you succeed or

you fall behind the other team.

I've had so many cooks on the hibachi, and this is definitely the most

important one yet.

We can do it, Petro.

Keep moving.

Get the knee!

Lock in!

I'm behind right now.

Everything's going on for my main course, and I'm trying to do 50 things

at once. I've got my pork in the oven. Oh, that pork looks so good.

I've got my jus reducing down.

Tart shells, tart shells, tart shells, tart shells.

So now I need to get on to my dessert element.

What was I getting?

Butter.

Let's use every second of that clock, brother.

For my tiramisu tart shell, I'm using a wattle seed tart crust.

Wattle seed is one of my faves.

It's got like a really deep coffee nutty flavour, which is perfect for a tiramisu

tart. Yeah, Vinny.

I'm no expert on tarts, but I know that the tart shell needs to be nice and

crumbly, but still hold its shape.

Has Vinny started any of his other dessert components?

So my tiramisu tart is going to be a layered tart and I'll be setting each

layer in the tart before I add the next, which is really going to take some time.

Keep going, Vinny. Keep going, mate. The first layer is going to be a chocolate

cremeux with a chocolate liqueur. I want it to be nice and rich and chocolatey

and have the texture of a really nice set custard.

The second layer of my tart is going to be a coffee liqueur gel.

I need to make sure that the flavour profile is definitely tiramisu and I'm

making a top layer of mascarpone and Bailey's cream.

Go Vinny!

I think I'm channelling my Italian heritage and making tarts are not the

easiest thing.

This is really ambitious, but if I can pull them off, I feel like this is going

to show a bit of growth.

Time is really ticking. Yep.

Okay, we need to get as many pans as you can on. Yep. Shallow pans so that it can

come down as quick as we can.

I'm trying to play catch up, rushing to get all my elements ready for my main

course.

My jus still needs to reduce.

I'm still working on my XO sauce. How are we feeling about this Mito mustard?

Mate,

if you're content on it and you feel like it's absolutely necessary for this

dish, then do it. Yep. I'm just looking at the time.

If you can do it and you want it on the plate, it's all yours.

It's up.

This miso mustard is actually going to be really tricky to make and balance.

But if I don't get it on the plate, I don't know if it'll just throw off the

balance of the dish.

This jus, I want it to be unctuous. I'm full of that veal and pork flavor.

That's murder, Aaron.

So an extra sauce is just a seasoning. It's got to have texture, but also have

that hit of chili.

I want the red miso mustard to have an earthiness from the miso, the zinginess

from the mustard, the acidity from some rice wine vinegar.

This is the menu I want to do. This is the sauce that I need on the plate.

There's a whole trifecta of flavors that I've thought about, and I'm not about to

let go of it.

Vinny, Aaron, Petro, we need to get plates out in less than 10 minutes.

So you need to start really moving, like as fast as you've ever moved in this

kitchen. This next 10 minutes.

like your spot in the grand finale, that's what's on the line. If we don't

push now, it's going to be a disaster.

Vinny, where we at?

How long until we can start focusing on these mates?

We're done. I'm done with the dessert.

So in the next three minutes? Yep, yep, that'll be done. Get that done, clean

this down, set up boards for the porch header. Yep. It's go time.

I need to put my tiramisu touch element aside.

It's all systems go.

My porchetta has sent me behind schedule, but the crackling is nice and

crunchy.

I'm really happy with my porchetta, but there is so much to do before service.

I need to get all my tart shells into the oven. They need to start cooking now

or I'm not going to have enough time to fill them.

I'm doing four tarts, which is good that I got four tarts done in like 15

minutes, so that's pretty good.

I need to bake them for at least 20 to 25 minutes before I can actually start

even filling them.

Okay, how long till we can start sending some food, lads?

Come on.

Good thickness.

Nice work, Petro.

Beautiful paste, Petro.

Now I'm just going to strain it. Here, I'll hold that.

I feel like I'm getting back on track.

Looks smooth, Petro.

My creme patte has the aromatic flavour of fig leaf.

I have made my choux pastry.

Now I need to get onto my beef.

So at the moment of truth, you start to cut.

I'm hoping that when I cut into this meat, it should be pink all the way

through and a beautiful medium red.

Wow, Pedro!

Yes!

Are you happy with all this?

I think so.

I feel pretty good.

How much better do they look after being on that watch? A million times better,

Andy. Are we thanking me now? Yes, I am.

You made the decision, mate, so it's all yours.

Yeah, Petra. Beautiful, Petra. Bring it home, mate. Come on.

Okay, everyone, come with me in ten, nine, eight, seven,

six, five.

Petro, we're going to go five plates at a time, okay? Got to start sending food.

Now, I know it's been frantic.

Take a breath. You've done all the hard work.

Let's make sure it looks as beautiful on the plate as it does off.

It is go time.

And I start by laying down my Jerusalem artichoke puree.

This parsnip and Jerusalem artichoke puree cost me a lot of time earlier, but

I'm really glad that I did with it.

Put my artichoke chips, my pine mushrooms, micro herbs.

Go, Petro!

And then I put my piece of beef right next to it.

We've got to start getting plates out. Let's go. Come on, come on.

I've worked really hard to be here.

Beautiful, Petro. Gorgeous.

I was the last contestant to make it on MasterChef. So I think it would be so

special to make the grand finale.

I think it would really prove that I'm doing the right thing.

It's looking really good, mate. It's looking really good. Well done.

Let's go. Try and pick up the pace here. Keep everything nice and hot.

Service, please.

Did you send?

Yes.

Okay. Now, the next lot, exactly the same. Yes. Nice work.

This is Petro's main course.

It's beef tenderloin, pine mushroom jus, artichoke and parsnip puree, and

artichoke quips.

I'll tell you what, I really love Petro's plating.

The way that he's arranged a Jerusalem artichoke and pine mushroom forest on

the side, you can tell that he's come quite a distance from where he started.

That's right, absolutely.

Let's take a look.

My goodness, this is so delicious.

I love it. And I think every element is shining on the plate. The beef tongue

alone is cooked to perfection.

It's just melt in your mouth.

It's charred just enough so that it's got this lovely crust on the outside and

just enough smokiness.

And I love the choice of ingredients. You know, he's really lent into the

seasonality.

The Jerusalem artichoke puree is so lovely and silky, and I also love the

pine mushrooms.

I thought that they wouldn't kick enough, but I actually really love how

they've got this really earthy nuttiness to them. I think he's done a brilliant

job.

The mash is absolutely a delight.

The pasta combining with the Jerusalem artichokes is absolutely very well done.

The crisp, you can see the crispiness, which is very welcome.

A fantastic accomplishment.

My favorite thing on that plate is absolutely the Jerusalem artichoke

puree.

It's got this otherworldly sweetness, and it's still really light, so it

doesn't bog you down. And I think the fact that the jus is on the thinner

side, those two elements work together for me. Yeah, they do. I think you still

retain the subtle earthiness of the pine mushroom in his jus. So in terms of

balancing flavors, I think you've absolutely nailed it.

When it comes to the beef, I am so glad that Petro used the hibachi.

He really managed to get that caramelization.

Petro's done a beautiful job.

Chip.

Come on, Petro. We got this, mate. We got this, mate. Thanks. Thanks, mate.

Got it?

This has now hit me that it's really happening. Like, the service is really

happening. Come on, Aaron. Let's go. Keep moving.

I've really pushed myself.

And my sauces are ready. Chivito is charred and glazed. The pork skin is

crackly. It's crunchy.

How are we looking, Aaron?

Aaron? Yep? That pork is on its own.

You happy?

Not really.

Touch under?

Service is about to start and my pork is under.

Over under?

Yeah. I'm just really annoyed right now because I know that I needed the pork to

go into the lot earlier. Really starting to feel a sense of fear and doubt now

and creep in. Okay, what are we going to do about it? Touch it on the flat top?

We're going to have to.

Hang on, hang on, hang on.

Get all of them done for that? Yep.

Just so you don't have one on there, you've got to keep coming back to the

pork head.

But part of being a chef is knowing when to pivot and how to pivot.

I've just got the chorizo off. I know the flat top's hot.

I've got to slice this pork. It's got to hit the flat top, sear on both sides,

make sure it doesn't overcook, cut to serve.

I know that I can do this.

I've just got to get it a little bit more cooked and it'll be ready.

I need to get my main fence out.

You starting to cut?

Yep. Let's have a look.

You know how you've got your Italian portion?

Yeah, we're not doing that today. Bring it back a little bit.

I think like one finger. One finger. One finger. Now's the time we can refine it.

Yep.

My pork head up is just super juicy, and you can still see that beautiful swirl

with that green marinade inside.

I'm so happy.

Vinny, how long? I'm good to start plating up.

Let's see it, Vinny, come on!

To plate up my main course, I start off with a dollop of my celeriac puree, rest

my pork head on top of that, lay across my ridiculous big salad, and two

sprinkles of that pork shoot.

Service, please.

Yeah, finish!

I feel like this dish really shows how far I've come as a cook

and right now I'm really feeling in the zone and I'm in a really good flow.

I feel like the flavours going on this plate are just so me. I'm so proud.

Keep pushing now. Let's go.

I still have dessert lingering in the back of my mind because I still need to

finish my tiramisu tart.

Here it comes.

Thank you. Look at the size of that. That is one giant hunk of meat.

Wow.

It's very Vinnie.

ginormous. But I can't wait to taste it. It looks delicious. It looks delicious.

Yeah.

Look at that crackling.

Sounds good.

Whoa. Whoa.

I think it's Such an unapologetically vinny dish.

It's really generous, just, you know, very unpretentious. And the flavours are

the same. The crackling is really beautifully done. Like, mine is crunchy

all the way around.

I love the celeriac puree, and I think that the sauce is really, really tasty.

I really enjoyed the dish.

The crackling is divine.

I love the glaze on there. There's that tang from the honey.

When I crunched down on it, my skull was reverberating because it was so brittle

and so crunchy. So I love that. And I think Vinny's done a pretty good job

overall.

It's a very, very tasty plate of food.

This dish is very much big-hearted, like Vinny.

The first thing that really, really seduced me the most is the sauce.

It's the right consistency.

And it really matched with this pork liver. And the second thing which I

really love is the celeriac mash.

It's just silky, creamy, very well seasoned, and very earthy.

The radicchio, sweet and bitterness, great.

And the pigs are fantastic.

Now, the pork liver.

My concern is that there is some fat that has not been dissolved.

And it looks like there is a bit of inconsistency in delivering this pork

etta.

Okay, are you plating?

Yes, chef. Aaron, we want a plate over here.

We want a plate over here.

My head right now is finny.

Diners are waiting.

We can't keep them waiting anymore.

Come on, Aaron. Come on, mate. Let's go.

Mane's looking pretty good. The pork's crispy.

It's cooked through, juicy, so I'm happy with that.

We had some hiccups on the way. I was behind for a while there.

Now I'm feeling the momentum. I'm so happy that I got to get all these sauces

on the plate. I've got my XO sauce, I've got my pork jus, and I've got the miso

mustard. Okay.

David. I'm feeling the flow. I feel like this is working.

Beautiful, Aaron. Beautiful, mate. It looked exactly the way I wanted it.

Service, please.

Lovely, Aaron.

Let's go.

Thank you.

Okay.

Aaron's main.

Pork. The charred Treviso. Pork and veal jus.

XO glaze.

And miso mustard.

So I guess you have it all together, right? Yeah.

And a little bit of the mustard, I guess.

I think the pork is cooked really beautifully, really nice and juicy and

tender. But I'm afraid that's the only thing that's working on the plate for

me. I feel like everything else is just fighting on my palate.

And I think because he's always trying to do this fusion thing, right, with

fine dining.

You have to learn to create dynamism by pulling back on some elements and

letting some other elements dominate.

And then the intensity of the miso mustard.

It's just such a clash with the XO.

So, I'm worried for Aaron.

It feels to me like Aaron taking Frenchy techniques, Asian flavours, and

trying to sort of force them all together on one plate, where I think he

should have leaned harder into the French technique. I think Aaron could

have gotten away with that beautiful pork.

The jus, there's no relief.

For me, it's taken away.

The miso mastered.

I'm left on my chair baffled. Why did he come up with this where that sauce is so

good? Yes. So fantastic.

If Aaron wants a spot in that grand finale, he needs to absolutely blow us

away with his dessert.

Oh, yes.

Big time.

OK, service, please.

Service, please.

That's half the job.

Half the job. OK.

Thank you. We cleaned down. Yep. We set up for dessert service.

Yep. Hey, nice work. Thank you.

My mains are done, all sent out, but now comes the other hard part.

My tarts are in the oven. I really wanted to have at least one layer of my

tarts filled before main service, and I still haven't even started.

This is just another last push that I need to get done.

Vinny! Have you seen these tart shells?

Hey? Have you seen these tart shells?

They've shrunk so much.

Why have they done that?

They needed a lot of rest.

Oh, no.

They have shrunken so much.

Oh, man, you're going to have your work cut out for you on them.

Hold on, sorry, hold on.

Have you seen these tar shells?

I cannot believe my eyes. These tar shells, they have shrunk so much.

Oh, man, you're going to have your work cut out before you fill them.

I'm definitely starting to worry now. That's not going to leave me a lot of

wiggle room to layer this tar.

You can't do much about it now.

Yeah. Are you taking them out?

I am so disappointed because I am so close to the finish and this could cost

me my spot in the grand finale.

Vinny Tuchel has shrunk considerably.

What are we scared about?

Considerably. He is going to have a real tough time filling those.

He's going to be lucky to get one in that.

Yeah, that's for sure. It's going to be really difficult.

He's just not getting fixated on it. Yeah. And he's moving with great

purpose. That would have sent a lot of contestants into an absolute thin thing,

this Tuchel. But he's just gone on to another job, giving himself time to

think about it, and then he'll come back to it. Yeah. Go Vinny! You can do this!

I feel like throughout this competition, I've proved that I'm a fighter and I'm

going to have to use the cards that I've been dealt and use these type shells as

they are. This is a lot tougher than it seemed.

So I'm getting my chocolate cremeux in just a sec. Slow down here. Yep.

And so far, there are no villages.

Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.

So now the chocolate cremeux layer needs to just be set before I add this coffee

to a gel. Is there another layer on top of the gel? Cream. But I'm just going to

pipe dots of cream. Okay. That's it. Easy done. Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.

Bit of cocoa powder.

Off we go. I love it.

That easy.

This tart isn't going to look as refined as I had originally planned, but I have

to keep pushing to get this dessert ready for my diners and judges.

Come on, Aaron.

Go.

Well done. Well done. Let's go. That felt like going through an absolute

marathon.

Maybe take the ice cream out. Yes, definitely.

That was a push. I'm going to keep pushing. I deserve to do. I'm not done

yet. I'm going to dig so deep because we've got to finish strong. Come on!

How'd you like?

How does it pour up?

Nice work Beto.

I'm just doing my syrup.

I'm adding my sticker as great as it is that I've gotten all my mains out. It's

time to serve dessert.

We're going to do everything in your power to get this out quicker.

Yes chef.

This is a big nod to my great heritage

Taking

my choux pastry out of the oven Hello,

they're not bad.

They have held their shape. They're viewed with golden on the outside.

It's exactly what I'm up Pretty good. Yeah

Any adjustments?

No. Nice.

All my elements there, I'm really happy with them, but now I need to plate it

up. I need to sprinkle my pistachio praline dust, then my slivered

pistachios. I also love big leaf creme madame.

I feel like I did save it for sure.

Then my fresh figs, and then my sticker syrup on each one.

And this is like a umami bomb, this syrup.

My speaker, it is a really classic Greek flavour. It's something we hold very

dear. It is very piney and floral.

Put the lid on.

Icing sugar.

Service, please.

And then out.

Your class looks beautiful, Petro.

Okay, judges, we have here Petro's dessert, which is Greek eclair.

Ooh. Yeah.

Oh, the way you said eclair. Eclair.

It looks beautiful.

You can see that it's light.

Oh, feels nice.

Beautiful color.

i have to stop oh my god i

love that mastic alcohol into the creme madame i think that was genius

it really really bound so well with the crispiness of the shoe there is a bit of

saltiness into the crumb with the pistachio the presentation is immaculate

and the most important thing is the eclair is well baked so i am super

pleased

Well done, Pedro.

Service, please.

I think Pedro has done a magnificent job.

The eclair is baked perfectly.

It's so nice and caramelized on the outside and nice and dry on the inside,

but still soft.

And the fig leaf creme brulee, which he had trouble with, has completely worked

out. It's so luscious and rich.

I think he's done such a fantastic job.

I'm so happy for him.

Unbelievable. Unbelievable work from Petro. This is, for me, the culmination

of everything this man has been cooking towards. We are going to be thinking

about that, Eclair, for a very long time. I agree with you. The both of you.

Andy,

I'm going to build my tart. I need to finish my tiramisu tart.

Very lightly.

Very lightly.

Okay. I'm adding that thin layer of coffee gel onto my tart.

Okay, that'll do. It has a very, very strong flavour. And then to finish off

my tart, I'm piping little dots of my mascarpone and Bailey's cream.

Beautiful, Vinnie!

Good pay!

With some cocoa powder, cacao nibs and some tonka bean shake.

The looks are maybe something to be desired.

Service, please.

So... The regrets are starting to seep in about doing this tiramisu tart.

Thank you.

I can see the layers.

Well, I'm going to tell you what Vinnie's dessert is. Please. Tiramisu

tart.

That's it?

That's it. Et voila.

Vinnie can't help but have his...

Food always look a bit rustic, but there's a kind of friendliness to it.

Like, it makes me happy to look at it.

Oh, that's quite boozy, hey?

It's a coffee jelly.

It's actually quite a lovely interpretation of a tiramisu. It's not

overly sweet.

You're getting that deep coffee flavor.

And I can't believe it, but he's managed to squeeze in three defined layers. Some

of them are a little bit oozy.

And the pastry is very, very yum.

Mmm. Yeah?

Yeah. I've got a feeling the tart has not been laminated correctly because it

shrank.

I love the caramel. I love the texture, the gentleness. It's not too heavy. The

chocolate is very dominant, which is great.

I think this is a really yummy way to finish a meal.

It's got that rich chocolate flavor. You can get the cocoa in it. I love the

little cacao nibs on top that add that crunch and that thickness as well.

It's so chocolatey, and for that reason, I love it.

This is it.

One more service stands between me and the finale.

Happy? Yeah. Okay. Really fresh.

Yeah. We've got to get them out. Yep. We've got to get them out.

Elements are done. I've cut them all together.

All tasting beautiful.

I think I've successfully wrangled all these big flavors.

Carrots too. Really fresh, really bright. I really like the flavors. So

yeah, it's singing. The crumb is beautiful. It's earthy. It's rich.

It's got a nice savoriness and nuttiness to it.

The tomato and white balsamic granita.

It's so fresh.

It's vibrant.

I'm getting that umami from the tomato. The zinginess from the strawberry.

That hit of acid as well. And then there's the hum of heat from the white

balsamic. And the ice crystals dissolve in your mouth.

Aaron, it looks spectacular, mate.

Basil ice cream is laced with that white pepper.

Beautiful, Aaron. That looks unreal.

Couldn't feel happier because this is... Exactly how I wanted it to be.

So close. I'm so close.

Finish off with some olive oil and salt and a fried basil leaf.

They almost look as stunning as you do.

It has to show a level of elevation and sophistication.

Yep, lovely.

Service, please.

I'm nervous.

Thank you.

Interesting.

Okay, Aaron's dessert, basil ice cream, tomato granita, hazelnut crumb,

olive oil.

I think it looks very elegant. I'm pretty impressed. They all look really

consistent.

So for Aaron to even be in with a shot at the grand finale, this dessert

needs to be mind-blowing.

Whoa. Whoa.

That came out of nowhere. Yeah.

Wow.

That ice cream is just...

Cracker. Like, I'm eating it all.

This dessert is leek and bound more incredible than I ever

expected it was going to be. Absolutely agree with you.

I'm speechless.

Absolutely. Oh, yeah, big time.

You know what's happening now?

While I'm talking to you, I've got this process coming out with the tomato, the

basil, the balsamic. I can actually tell you exactly what is in that dish.

Just by talking to you now, it's just phenomenal.

I'm getting it as well.

I absolutely love the way he balanced the strawberry in a granita with the

tomato and the brightness, the freshness of the granita. This is what it's all

about. Sublime. I think it's interesting because we were so worried at the

beginning of his cook. He was so focused on his dessert that he kind of neglected

his mains and it showed. So I don't know how we're going to judge this.

Send us, please. Send us, please.

Send us, please.

Give me a hug.

I know it's been a long road.

It's been a long, long road.

But we made it together.

Yeah, we did.

There's no one else I'd rather cook with, eh?

Wow-wee. What a brilliant semi-final, guys.

The push for a place in the grand finale does not get any tougher than that.

Andy, how do you think they went?

Proud is an understatement. I asked a lot of you three because I just wanted

to get the best out of you. So I reckon it made the decision extremely tough.

Well done.

We miss having you around, so welcome back. Give it up for Andy, everyone.

Thank you.

To earn your place in the grand

finale, we wanted to be impressed.

And there was one person who really rose to the occasion, bringing two finale

-worthy dishes.

The first person through to the grand finale is you.

I cannot believe it. This is a dream come true.

Petro, congratulations.

Thanks, Chef. How are you feeling?

It was such a special experience to cook today and also to cook with these guys.

We are so close. So it's a bittersweet moment because it's going to be a hard

scene for one of us to go.

So, one spot left in the grand finale.

Make no mistake.

This was incredibly hard to judge.

It's one we debated, dissected, and looked at from every angle.

This decision was the toughest of the season, and there was hardly anything in

it.

But after much discussion, we all agreed.

The person joining Petro in the finale is...

Congratulations, Vinny.

What's going through your head right now?

I'm just making sure he said the right name. Yes, we said Vinny.

I didn't expect that at all, honestly.

That's so incredible, and I am going to make you guys proud 100%. I'm so happy

for you, Vinny. You deserve it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Haroun. Jeff.

You miss by this much. We want you to know this kitchen has been a better

place because of you.

You are very special and you've got so much to offer. It's clear.

And it does remind me how much I wanted to become a chef many years ago.

And in fact, we keep contact, please.

If there's anything I can do, not washing up, of course.

But I'm afraid I won't.

It's time for you to join your amazing friends there.

Thank you.

I feel like I've done myself really proud. I'm wearing this near the

chef's wife.

It may not have gone my way today, but it just goes to show that the potential

is there, and I'm really excited for what's to come.

Sky's the limit.

All right,

fellas. Petro, Vinny, you've made it. You're our grand finalists!

It's the showdown of the year.

The round one is a superstar mystery box.

No! No!

Our two finalists battle it out to win the title of MasterChef

2026.

Anne. Please welcome Terrence Bidwell!

She's known the world over.

as the grand de la creme of pastry chef.

This is the most difficult challenge I have created, especially for both of

you. You will be making mine?

Now, she sets the pressure test for the trophy.