Original subtitles

Master Chef Australia is definitely the best cooking competition in the world.

We take raw talent and we transform them to superstars of the kitchen.

Our final two have learned to harness their natural ability.

Every skill learned, every risk taken, every dish cooked

has led them here.

To the MasterChef 2026 Grand Finan.

Petros walked away from his family accounting business to follow a dream.

But it took him a while to find his feet.

It's burnt and it's quite bitter.

Because foodie just wasn't good.

I don't know whether this is enough.

Unfortunate. Just keep on going, yeah?

But once he did, he was...

When he made that tonka bean tart in Sweet Week, we all knew he had something

special. Petra.

You don't know how good you are. I don't think I've ever come across someone so

naturally gifted with flavour. It took me three years to perfect a dish, but it

took you an hour, so well done.

It just shows me that your palate is completely on fire.

His superpower is his deep understanding of flavours. I'm calling it now. That's

dish of the day.

And incredible palate. You are absolutely going to play in this

competition if you continue to cook food like that. He is a wizard.

When Petro is at his best, he is unstoppable.

And he wants his name on that trophy.

Vinny has a big heart and wears his Italian heritage on his sleeve. I hope

you can taste each individual part and see the love. I can't believe we gave

him an instant apron off the back of a panini.

And then we saw Vinny go from strength to strength. You're really moving in the

right direction. You're taking what's true to you, which is your Italian

heritage, and just flipping it on its head.

That's what excites me about you. We realised that Vinny was the fourth to be

reckoned with when he won an immunity pin.

But he's been up.

Down, sideways.

Not what I imagined it to be.

We get where you were going, you just didn't quite make it there.

I feel like I let down myself.

I don't know where this leaves you, mate.

But being in the most eliminations, if he has learnt so much... You've just put

your stamp on this competition.

I feel like Vinnie's food has always been a little rough around the edges,

but it's always got soul, it's always got flavour, it's always got a depth to

it, which is why he could win this thing.

Hetro be vidded.

What a grand finale matchup.

Can you believe it? No. Let's do it. Let's go.

I could not be prouder to say, welcome to the grand finale of MasterChef

2026.

Tonight, one of you will claim the MasterChef title.

Have your name carved into that trophy.

And take home a whopping $250,000.

That's crazy.

Petro, from walking away from your job to getting a white apron, how does it

feel now to be standing here in front of that trophy?

It feels surreal. It really has felt like a very transformative time.

The moment I walked through...

these MasterChef doors, I just realised that this is where I'm meant to be and

I've been in the wrong profession for a long, long time now.

Vinny, can you believe it?

Not at all. No, not at all. You know, I came in with that little dream of a

humble little panini shop and now I think it's grown a lot more since then.

Everything that I've learnt has brought me here and I feel like, you know, what

a man to be sitting next to doing that and we're just like such good mates.

And representing the ethnic community.

I'm so proud of you guys.

I always feel all the feels in the finals because it completely transports

me to when I was once standing there but with Julie.

And it's been not only amazing to watch you grow as cooks, but to watch your

mateship, the way you've supported each other through this.

Sorry.

And I also really want you to just take a moment

during the day to just soak it all in. You are in a room full of people that

adore you and want you to succeed today.

It has been a privilege to see you both grow to

the people standing on the front of us.

But you will not be standing there without some very important people

behind you.

Please welcome your loved ones!

Welcome!

Hi everyone!

I think this is the biggest family gathering we've had guys.

True to your three-kin Italian roots.

So this is my nonno Vincenzo, who I'm named after.

This is my nonno Pina.

This is my dad, Ange.

This is my girlfriend, Bridge.

My brother, Alexander.

And this is my mum, Trish.

Hi. I've got my godfather, Theo.

My brother-in-law, Nick.

My dad, Gus. My mum, Georgia. And my sister, Sophia.

Great name.

Georgia.

Can you believe this? Petro's standing here in the grand finale of MasterChef.

Yeah, I can't believe it.

We've watched MasterChef from day one, really.

When they were young, he's always been in the kitchen, always cooking, and,

yeah, he's just determined.

When he puts his mind to something, he'll carry it through. Yeah, we've

definitely seen that. We've definitely seen that.

Gus!

When Petro stepped away from the family business, and I want an honest answer

here, how did that make you feel?

I was happy for him.

What's that on it?

No, I'm very excited. You know, it's been a dream for him. I've kept a desk

there in case.

If the desk has a hibachi on it, then maybe we'll see.

How proud are you of Vinnie? Oh, very.

Extremely. I've got no words to even say. I don't even know what to say.

I knew he was going to get far, and I knew that he had it in him.

So, mate, I must have taught you a lot of shit.

No,

no, have you tasted much of Vinnie's cooking? Is he a good cook?

I don't know.

That's a standard response.

Standard.

I have nothing but the utmost appreciation for my family.

My dad, Andrew, he's a chef, and growing up watching him as a kid has definitely

inspired me to cook.

He's been very supportive of me coming on to MasterChef and just living out my

dream.

So I really want to make my dad so proud today.

Today, you will have to master two of the most iconic MasterChef challenges

there are.

So, get ready, because round one is a

mystery box!

But this isn't just any old mystery box.

This is a superstar mystery box.

Inside are ingredients from the superstars who have graced our kitchen

this season.

Let's have a look, shall we?

Wow.

Okay. So, we have flathead a la Josh Nyland.

Dry aged duck breast on the crown, thanks to Chef Dobbers and Matt

Sinclair. Some Jerusalem artichoke from the Duchess of Sussex, Megan Markle.

Who could forget the cavolo nero, thanks to Jimmy and Jane Barnes.

A Maggie beer staple, fresh sage.

Brown onion from Chef Sanjeev Kapoor.

Lemon from our fave, Jess Lemon.

Marion Grasby's thick Sichuan peppercorn.

Ouré plum, a favourite of Robert Irwin.

Chocolate, thanks to the choccy master, Kirsten Tibble.

And finally, some black garlic from Ms Sarah Todd.

What a box.

Wow.

Boys, it is time to lock in.

Because you've got 75 minutes to create a dish using one or more of these

superstar ingredients.

The pantry and the garden, they are closed.

And as always, you'll have access to your underbench staples with a few extra

eggs chucked in, courtesy of our friend Andy Cook.

Couldn't forget about him.

Each of us will score your dish out of ten.

So in round one, there are a total of 40 points up for grabs.

Come on, country, are you ready?

Yeah!

Your time starts now.

All right, go, Pedro.

Go. Come on.

Absolutely crazy to be cooking here in the grand finale.

I cannot believe it.

So in round one, I cooked you a beautiful protein, but there's a lot on

the line, and Vinny's such a good cook.

So I need to make a strategic decision to stand out and do something that

Vinny's not going to do. To give myself the best chance to win today.

Hello, Petro. Hello, how are you?

So, from the smell and from the ingredients, I'm thinking you're making

a dessert.

Yes, I'm doing a tart.

And I'm doing a fresh wine caramel with proper creme diplomat. And I'm going to

incorporate some lemon zest somewhere.

Yep. I might try doing some fried artichoke. Okay.

crisps on top. I really like the flavour combination.

It's just how you control the balance of all that. Good luck, Patrick.

Thank you.

I feel like making a dessert today plays to my strength.

And I'm able to incorporate a really sophisticated flavour combination within

that.

The challenge will be getting the balance right.

But if I pull this off, it's going to set me up really well for round two.

Nice. Looks beautiful, Petro.

All right.

You all right, Petro?

Yeah, mate, and you?

Yeah.

Petro is a very, very good cook.

He's going to be really, really tough to beat, and he's going to put up a big

fight.

So I'm choosing to cook with the duck today because I want to do something

that's a little bit more elevated.

Dry-aged duck roasted on the crown. It's a really, really great cut, and it's

also a really chef-y way to present duck.

I feel like to get through this grand finale and win this competition, I'm

going to need to draw on absolutely everything I've learned and make a

really nice fine dining plate of food.

Vinny! Hello, Vinny. Hello, hello.

Talk to us. What are you making?

So I'm going to do some duck breast. I'm going to roast it on the crown. So I've

got that straight in, and then I'm going to make a glaze with it.

I want it to be like a kind of spicy and sweet glaze. So it's going to have the

Szechuan peppercorns and a little bit of Davidson plums. So it's going to be a

bit acidic.

I'm going to use some crispy Jerusalem artichoke skins as well because they're

yum.

And Jerusalem artichoke gratin.

I'm going to have a sage oil, which is also going to have a bit of colour and a

bit more warmth.

So you've gone, how am I going to take this to another level? Because that's

what you need to do to outdo Petra. Yeah, and that's why I thought I'd do

something with a little bit more technique and a little bit more finesse.

Show us what you've got, Vinnie. Thank you.

I want to show a little bit more technique and a little bit more growth

by not just using things like Jerusalem artichokes as a puree and turning it

into something a bit more chef-y like a gratin.

Using it in a way that is a bit unexpected and can add a lot of texture

to a dish.

The grand finale is here.

Only greatness is going to cut it. You've got one hour to go.

Here we go, MasterChef grand finale. This is a momentous occasion.

Vinny is taking on this grand finale mindset. So he was drawn to the duck

instantly. He's going to put this...

Sweet, spicy glaze over the top with the ure plum and just thinly slicing the

Jerusalem artichokes. And he's making a, what do you call it? Yeah, he's

basically making a gratin. I feel like with Vinny, he's grappling so hard to

try and show technique and just don't want to lose what he's good at. Yeah.

Which is doing the simple things better than anyone in this kitchen. Yeah, yeah.

He's just gone to visit Petro. What's he got?

A tart.

Have we got some Petro-esque?

filling? Has he bumped it up a little bit? Very much so. So he's doing a set

one caramel, a chocolate cream, and he's thinking of frying up some artichoke.

Does that not sound like the best tart you've actually put in your mouth? It

does. It sounds so creative and really unique to Petra.

Oh, that's nice.

That's what we want in here.

As long as you're happy.

Feeling pretty good.

I'm just tasting my caramel and rolling out my pastry.

You've become such a deserter, guys.

He's a real sweetie boy now.

Vinny's going to be fighting really hard today, so I have to make sure that I

cook the best plate of food I've cooked in this whole competition so far.

Greeks versus Italians, it's always a big rivalry, but look, the Greeks

usually come out on top, so that's what I'm going to be aiming for.

That's it, Petro. Come on!

I am in the zone.

Tart shells are in the oven.

I've got to finish my creme diplomat.

I need to thinly slice my Jerusalem artichokes and fry them.

Ah, big bite.

Szechuan caramel I'm really liking. It's got a really nice floral note. There's

plenty of kick.

I'm only adding a little bit of Szechuan pepper at a time because I want you to

be able to taste the Szechuan but not for it to completely numb the palate.

It's all about that trophy!

30 minutes to go!

Oh my god.

I can't believe time has gone so quickly.

Alright. So in the oven I've got my duck breast that's roasting. I've got my

Jerusalem artichoke.

Gritan that's just cooking.

I'm feeling good at this point. My dish is coming along nicely.

But today, there is no room for error. And I really want to see that beautiful

medium rare duck as a star of the show here.

How's the duck, Finn?

I think it's time to take it out.

Definitely feels cooked.

Hopefully it's cooked perfectly.

My heart just sinks.

This duck is well overdone.

Oh, my God.

To make a mistake like this so soon into the grand finale, I

might have just lost my chance at

winning Mastership.

My heart just sinks.

This duck is well overdone.

I

can

just feel my dad watching over me and I feel

as though I'm letting him down.

I don't know what else to do.

You got this, mate.

Come on, Vinny. Come on, Vincent.

You got this, brother. Come on. You got this, Vinny? Yes.

Do something else.

Do something else.

Let me think what I can do.

I remember there's that flathead in that mystery box.

After Josh and I came into the kitchen, I went to the market, picked up 10

flaties, and I just went to town filleting them until it was musselman.

So I need to put those skills to use and use my instinct to pull out something

amazing with the fish.

Vinny, what's going on?

So I've got my fish still here. I think I'm going to do a quick butterfly on the

flathead, cook it over the hibachi. I'll just have to freshen up the flavours a

little bit.

You now forget about that duck, and you focus on this fish. Thank you. You got

it. You did it all the time. You got it.

I'm going to have to try, aren't I?

Now, I need to get this flathead filleted, butterflied, deboned, and

cooked on the hibachi as quickly and perfectly as possible.

Oh,

my God. I'm going to cry.

15 minutes to go!

Where's my tweezers, bro? Come on, Vin. 15 minutes. Come on.

Come on, Vinny!

Oh, that's hot.

Feeling pretty good.

In a good spot.

Caramel's done, tart shells are looking good. I'm just incorporating my

chocolate in my creme diplomat.

It's looking good.

I'm really happy with it. Beautiful.

I've tasted all the elements separately and everything tastes great.

This caramel has a really floral aroma of the szechuan with just a light

numbing sensation at the end.

My chocolate creme diplomat is really creamy, luscious and have a beautiful

chocolate flavor.

And the lemon zest adds a beautiful freshness throughout the tart.

Everything's coming together.

Yeah, I'm loving it. It is stressful, but it is fun. You know, this is why

we're here. What more could you ask for?

How'd you go with the fish?

It's okay.

Looks great, Vinny. Yeah, love it, Vinny.

Let it go.

Bring the flavour to the... Fish, I've done a nice lemon salt on that.

Vinny, you got it, mate.

Well done, Vinny. Come on, Vin.

I am moving so unbelievably fast to make sure I get this dish done.

But I still need to rethink all my other elements to make it work because fish is

much lighter than duck.

The gratin is not going to go with the fish. It's going to be way too rich. So

I'm going to have to think of something else.

I'm going to call it fish.

Lemon, get a bit of that from that.

Give it sweetness from something. I need sweetness.

I decided to do a really light Jerusalem artichoke puree, which will add

sweetness as well as a little bit of fatness to such a lean fish and bring my

dish together as a whole.

It's go time. That's it, brother. Yeah, Petro.

Petro.

My fried artichokes are done.

Now I just need to take my tart shells out of the oven.

Here we go.

Nice head.

Good colour on the tart shell.

Should I do two?

I made two tart shells, so I have one to spare. But serving up one tart in the

grand finale might not be enough.

So two tarts are better than one. That's what I reckon.

Tart shells looking great.

The other one's going to come out soon.

And then we can start thinking about lighting everything.

He's way too relaxed.

It's killing me.

Five minutes to go!

All my

elements are now ready to go, and I just need to start assembling.

I lay some Szechuan caramel on the bottom.

Then I grate some lemon zest.

It's going to be so yum.

My chocolate creme diplomat. And finish it off with some fried Jerusalem

artichokes on top.

So important to do well in the first round and try to get ahead and have some

confidence going into round two.

Two minutes to go!

Two minutes!

Two minutes!

I'm taking the head off.

I've been working as fast as I can. Smells so good.

My fish is smelling amazing. You're getting that really nice perfume from

that lemon salt, but there is no time to slow down.

One minute to go!

I've had to rebalance all these elements to now work with fish.

I've got my Jerusalem Artichoke puree with a little bit of black garlic in

there, some Jerusalem Artichoke-textured chips.

I've got my sage oil, and I just need something, I think, just with a little

bit of extra acid. So I might just do a quick Caballonero salsa.

Well done, Petro.

Nice one. Well done.

I'm looking at my dish and I realize that the second tart shell is more

cooked than the other one.

They're a little bit inconsistent.

Serving two tarts right now might not have been the best decision.

There's 40 points up for grabs, making this the most important mystery box of

the competition.

We'd like to taste your dish.

Finish!

I feel so disappointed in myself for overcooking my duck.

Because of that, I was very rushed and had to rely on instinct.

It looks good.

It smells good.

But I was so flustered that I have no idea whether or not I've pulled this

off.

Vinny? What have you made?

I made a butterfly barbecue flathead, a Jerusalem artichoke and caramelized

onion puree, Cavalero narrow salsa, and some sage oil.

And there's also no duck there. And there's no duck.

Well, Vinny, the question is, did the pivot pay off?

Let's take it.

Finish. This dish is

better than what you set out to do at the start of the cook.

Mate, that is showing the cook you are.

The fish prepared, butterflied and cooked perfectly.

The Caballero salsa is high in acidity. And then that.

Jerusalem artichoke puree is the full anchor to the symphony that's going on

here. You have come up with something that is truly amazing.

Well done.

Thank you very much.

The flathead is just so soulful and so natural.

The Jerusalem artichoke puree is velvety and rich and decadent. It's got that

lovely nuttiness, that sweetness.

And you've balanced it probably better than any other dish you've done in this

kitchen with the acidity of your salsa.

You've absolutely nailed it.

Watching you fillet that fish was muscle memory.

And I was like, yes, son!

It made me feel so proud because it's my favorite of all your plates of food.

Just the char on that fish was so beautiful.

It was such a beautiful thing to watch you cook today. Thank you very much.

Let's go down to the fish.

So one single bone.

So even more.

The fish, look at that. It's lovely and just perfectly white. That means

perfection.

And this touch of lemon salt.

It is unbelievable.

Honestly.

You're up next.

Petro.

Petro, what have you made?

I made a fish wine caramel and chocolate tart.

We're going to take.

Petro. This Szechuan caramel, you're left with this tangy,

hot sensation in your mouth.

And clearly what you've done is fantastic.

And then it's all with that diplomat-style chocolate.

Your pastry paste.

It is very well baked. So well done on that.

Thank you so much and well done.

Thank you, Chef.

Now I can finish to enjoy it.

Just in the decisions that you made in terms of what ingredients you chose to

use shows how far you've come.

Your pastry shell is textbook.

It's caramelized so beautifully. It's crisp.

I love the Sichuan caramel and I love how far you took it.

And I love the Jerusalem artichoke. I wish you'd dumped all of them on there.

I wanted more because I think crispiness of those would have added another

element to sort of bring everything together.

I think you've done really beautifully, Petro.

Thank you.

Petro, that Sichuan caramel is heartbreakingly delicious.

It just has this little ringing of fruitiness and citrusy notes.

But I'm just looking at Poe's and my fellow judges,

and I think I might have had...

the edge that was the most cooked.

And so I got notes of bitterness from my pastry.

The balance was a little bit off.

I think the Szechuan caramel, when

I dug down and tasted it by itself, my golly gosh.

But combining the Szechuan caramel with the chocolate, but also the pastry.

because it has a real deep, rich flavour, you lose out that Szechuan

pepper.

Thanks, Petro. We'll score you just now, mate. Thanks, Pete.

What a cracking kickoff to the finale.

Let's get into it, gentlemen.

Vinny, that flathead, it was perfectly butchered and expertly cooked.

I've got you a 9 out of 10.

Vinnie, that was the classiest pivot ever, and your flavors made Auntie Poe

big time proud.

I gave you a 9 out of 10.

I scored you a

9 out of 10.

I

scored

you... Ten out of ten!

Thank you.

So, Vinnie, for round one, you have a total score

of 37!

Petro, my tart was simply fantastic!

I scored you a 10!

Petro, I thought your flavours were thoughtful and considered.

I gave you an 8 out of 10.

Thanks, Petro.

I scored you a seven out of ten.

It hurts me to say this,

but only one of those tarts should have been on the plate.

I had to score you seven out of ten.

So, Petro, for round one.

You have a total score of 32 points. Well done.

I'm really disappointed after my round one book.

Being five points behind Vinny has made my chances of winning even harder.

But I'm going to fight as hard as I can in round two and take out that title.

In round one, you took on the superstar mystery box.

In round two, you'll need to conquer the toughest challenge of all.

The pressure.

The person who set today's pressure test is an internationally acclaimed pastry

chef.

She learned her craft in world-class hotels across Singapore.

Before becoming executive chef at the Langham and Pan Pacific Hotels London,

she has won over 25 international awards.

And she baked for Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday celebration.

Please welcome,

all the way from London, and titan of the pastry world, Cherish Bindan!

Oh, my God.

Cherish is, like, coming in hot.

She is just, like, queen of technique, queen of precision.

I knew that it was going to be big for the grand finale, but, like, this is,

like, off the rails now.

Cherish, welcome to the MasterChef kitchen. It's so good to have you.

Oh, thank you for having me here.

You've had an incredible career.

What is it that you love about what you do?

Well, I have to say, every moment, I only think about pastry.

Good is not good enough for me anymore.

A goal is not good enough for me anymore. I want to reach for the star.

Small but formidable, guys.

Watch out.

Just how difficult is this dish going to be?

This is one of the most difficult challenges I have created, especially

for both of you. This is the grand finale, and Cherish definitely looks

like she means business.

She's not pulling any punches here, and I am already scared.

So what kind of judge are you?

Tough.

I'm very fair, but I am brutal.

I will dissect every single layer.

I will test every component that you put in front of me.

Vinny, Petro, are you ready to find out what you'll be making?

Yep. Yep.

Today, you will be making my...

Chinese afternoon tea.

This is probably my worst nightmare come true.

Desserts aren't my strong suit.

And they are the most delicate little cakes I've ever seen in my entire life.

Chef,

please come closer to take a closer look. And I promise, I won't buy.

Well.

As inspired by my grandpapa, every Chinese New Year, we would visit him and

greet him with a pair of mandarin oranges.

And this is the culture of respect.

And in return, he would make us a kung fu cha ceremony where each

of us would get a cup of tea.

And after the ceremony, There will be big bang with firecracker

to welcome the Chinese New Year.

That's really cool.

First, mandarin orange.

Whoa.

Wow. Oh, my God.

On the bottom, you have a tiger sponge followed by orange marmalade.

Chocolate orange mousse.

The mousse has to be smooth. It needs to be creamy. It needs to be just melting

on my palate.

And encased by a chocolate tip. Oh, my God.

It's just delicious.

It is beautiful.

The firecracker.

Oh, my God. Look at that.

In this collection, on the top is your mango compote.

Coconut dacquoise is inserted into the pandan.

Pandan, is that another mousse? Yes, it's a mousse that you have to make a

meringue and fold them in.

There's a lot going on.

Okay, the last is the black sesame teapot.

It is very sexy when you eat it. You will remember me for life when you eat

this. Yeah.

Oh, my God. Wow. Look at that.

In the center, you have a very floral, very sexy yuzu curd enclosed

with the black sesame cheesecake.

It should be creamy. It should be rich. It should just melt on your palate.

This cheesecake teapot is delicious.

There is so much going into these desserts. We've got biscuits, sponge

cakes, dacquoise, compote, curds.

This is going to be the hardest thing I have ever done.

It's a beautiful flow.

Petro is a really fierce competitor, and when it comes to desserts, he's just

better than me.

Even though I've got that five-point lead, I can't get comfy right now. I

need to double down and work twice as hard.

Right, gang.

You will have five hours

to complete Cherry Spindon Chinese afternoon tea.

You're making three firecrackers, three sesame teapots, and three

mandarin oranges.

Each of us will call your dish out of 10, which means in round two, there's a

total of 50 points up for grabs.

These will be added to your scores from round one to determine the winner.

Cherish, would you like to do the honours?

This collection is really close to my heart.

Please do not disappoint me.

There is no room for mistake today.

Chef, your time starts now!

Strategy is to stay calm, fast and clean.

Do my best fighting when I'm up against it. I love the pressure. I love coming

from behind. And that's what I'm going to try and do today.

That's it, Pedro.

Get everything you need.

This morning my cook wasn't good, so I've really got to come back strong now.

Now pump it, bro. Come on.

I'm looking at this recipe and I cannot believe the amount of steps that are in

this thing. It's over 150 steps.

There's a lot to get through.

Passion fruit, mandarin.

The first thing I need to do today is do the marmalade for the mandarin.

Mandarin.

The mandarin marmalade was very refreshing, zingy, and that's going to

go in the middle of the mandarin.

Remove from heat, pour into a medium bowl.

I think I've got the one up on Vinny in terms of dessert.

Purees, memoirs.

And it's given me a bit of confidence for today.

Petro, you got this.

That's it, Petro. Come on.

Go,

Vinny.

This is a very big task, I must say. Everything up there was perfect,

delicate, and really, really intricate, all down to, like, the millimetre.

A lot of my cooking is much more rustic and much more rough around the edges.

So if I can do something that resembles that, I'll be pretty happy with myself.

That looks really good, Chen.

120 grams.

So my strategy today is to work really hard, be super organised and get all my

mise en place done.

Measuring out and preparing all my ingredients before I start moving on to

the method of this recipe.

Very precise, Vinny.

I'm working really smart.

I'm really happy with my mandarin marmalade. Just really bright and tangy

with a little bit of bitterness.

I get it straight into the molds and into the freezer to set.

Doing good, Vinny.

It's time for me to get on to my tiger sponge, which is going to be the base of

my mandarins.

Remembering Cherish the Sponge, it was so light, so airy, and it just kind of

melted away.

Vinny! Hello.

So you're on to the tightest one? I sure am. You're going to have to call on all

your nurse training, right? Yes, I think that's what I was going to call on.

I'm just imagining right now that this is an emergency.

It is an emergency.

Well, it is.

This will be a five-hour emergency, so you need all of that energy, all of that

decisiveness, all of that precision, but you need the stamina too. We know you've

got a five-point lead, but it will only take a couple of flip-ups for that to

disappear.

This win is mine for the taking.

Yes, Vinny.

Good job, Vinny. I just need to make sure I don't make silly little mistakes.

Seven minutes at 180.

Seven minutes.

The only thing that stands between you and that trophy is the next four and a

half hours. Let's go.

I am in the zone. Now it's time to pick up another gear. My target sponge is

done. Nice, Petra. Come on. Now it's time for me to move on to my coconut

dacquoise that's going to go in the middle of the firecracker.

I need to whip the egg whites and slowly add the sugar so it becomes nice and

glossy. Yeah, this is important.

And then I'll be mixing all my dry elements and coconut into that to make

my dacquoise batter.

Looks great.

Let's go, man. Let's go.

Go, Vin.

Glossy, semi-firm peaks.

I'm working on my dacquoise of my firecracker.

I combine my dry ingredients with my meringue and I get it straight into my

cake tin, ready to go in the oven.

This looks less chunky on.

And this looks, like, very chunky.

Yeah.

I know.

What's that in that bowl, Vinny?

The, uh, dacquoise.

No, the other bowl.

Which one?

That one there.

The coconut.

What if it was worth going there and you forgot?

Oh, God.

Oh, V.

Oh.

What

if

it was worth going there and you forgot?

Oh, God.

Oh, Vinnie.

Oh, yeah, you've got to fold that through, don't you?

Right.

This does not feel good.

I'm already feeling so nervous about making these desserts.

Almost forgot.

Sorry, chef.

To make a mistake like this so soon in this press test is not what I want.

Gentle now, Vin. Come on.

If I wanted to hold on to that five-point lead, Cherish wants

perfection here, and at this point, I need to give it to her.

My coconut dacquoise is in the oven.

And my yuzu curd's done. I'm in the blast freezer to chill.

All right, let's go.

Now it's time to move on to my mandarin mousse, which goes in the centre of the

mandarin. All right. Keep going.

There's so much to do. I just need to pick up the pace wherever I can.

Keep going, Seth.

Cherish's mandarin mousse was super creamy and silky with no chunks.

It's such a crucial element to get right.

I'm whipping the cream and I'm trying to work as quickly as I can.

I've over whipped it.

It seems like there's a really fine line of it being the right consistency and

over whipped.

So I'm going to have to redo this.

Oh.

Oh my god. I've overwhipped it again.

Crane, he's killing me.

There's really no room for mistakes.

Vinny's ahead by five points.

We've got this, Petra. I just need to move on, so I fold it through the

mandarin moon.

Is that looking okay for you?

Don't worry. Keep going.

Come on.

Get it in those moulds.

I just hope the texture is okay once it's set.

Well done, Minnie. Good stuff.

My coconut duck was in the oven. I need to make sure I don't let mistakes like

this happen again.

Go, Minnie.

Go take your foot off the gas. Yep.

I've just finished my yuzu curd for my teapot.

I'm working on my mandarin mousse.

How is it?

It's good, except the mandarin mousse that I had was really smooth, and this

one's got the chunk.

I've done a step wrong here.

What are you thinking?

I need to use a little bit of my intuition here. Maybe I might give it a

blend up.

Yeah, you want it smooth, hey?

So I decide to blend my mousse until it's really nice and silky smooth.

It's better. It's really nice and smooth and melty.

Good. That's what you want.

I am absolutely sweating bullets right now.

She really just puts the fear of God in me.

Trust me.

So in my pipe smooth, I pressed my mandarin marmalade spear and put a

perfectly cut piece of my tiger sponge on top before covering it.

Come on.

I'm still nervous about the texture, but I need to put my head down and keep

moving. All right.

Now I'm moving on to the cheesecake.

Keep your head in that.

Go, Petro. Come on, brother.

I have just done my mandarin mousse. I'm going to get on to my cheesecake.

I remember the cheesecake for the teapot. It has to be really smooth and

silky, but you do get a good hit of that black sesame.

So I'm going to try to find the right balance here.

Perfect. Come on, Petro! Come on, Petro!

I'm really happy with my cheesecake. It tastes exactly like cherry juice.

Now I need to put my yuzu spheres into the middle and then put them into the

oven. Nice, Petro.

Nice, Vinny. Come on, Vinny.

You got this, Amore. Keep it up.

Guys,

this is a kitchen marathon.

There's still a lot to do and you've got three hours to go. Come on.

All right.

I've finished my mango and calamansi compote for my firecracker. Keep it up,

Vinny. Really good pay.

The next thing I need to do is cut my dacquoise to the centre of that

firecracker. For the dacquoise, cut a rectangle.

Vinny's height should be approximately 0.6.

12.

Now I have to pipe my mango and calamansi compote on top of my duck

whites.

Get it straight into the blast chiller to cool down.

All right, let's do this. It's time to start on my pandan and coconut

mousse for my firecracker. I need to steep my pandan leaves for about 30

seconds and then blend it.

Loving that pandan, mate. And then have my Italian meringue ready to be folded

in.

Really nice, beautiful texture. I'm happy with it.

You got it, Chen.

That's it, Pedro.

My mango and calamansi compote is done. Come on, Pedro, pick it up.

Now I can't cut up the zaquaz for the firecracker.

14 centimetres.

Is he cutting it the right way?

What has he done?

Oh, shit.

I stopped it.

It'll be 14 centimetres by 12 centimetres. Okay.

I cannot believe it. I've cut my dacquoise wrong.

It's meant to be cut as a rectangle so I can evenly spread the mango compote.

Just stop and think because you only need six metres. Yes.

Hold your nerve. Yes.

Thanks, Chef. Take a deep breath.

You've got this.

Come on, Petro.

I get my cheesecake for the teapot out of the oven just in time.

I think it looks good.

Put it in the blast freezer to chill, and then I go back to my dacquoise.

Okay, let's reset.

I've still got a solid chunk of my coconut dacquoise, so I've just got to

hope that I can make this work.

That's it.

Beautiful, Pat.

Time to do my black sesame handle and knob for the teapot.

I'm not halfway through the recipe yet. Come on.

I really need to find a second gear here and find a way to make up some time.

Okay. You got this, mate.

I need to take my cheesecake out of the oven and put it to the side to cool down

and set.

Oh, look at the colour of that.

Vinny's cheesecake, it looks like it could have been in there a little bit

too long.

So I'm really hoping that this doesn't cost him.

Go, Vin.

My pandan and coconut mix is looking great.

The next thing I need to do is add in my gelatin and my sugar.

Have you just added your gelatin?

Just added the gelatin.

Read your recipe.

Did you save it before you add your gelatin?

No. Your moves might not set in time because of what you've done.

I've been pushing so hard this entire cook.

I can't believe I might have to remake his element.

Okay, yes, yes, yes.

Come on, Pat.

He's got his pages all over the place.

I remember the teapot handles being really delicate and really thin, so I'm

trying to roll these out as thin as I can, but it's really hard.

I'm rolling

my teapot

handle out, and I can see Vinnie making some sort of mousse or whatever, and I'm

thinking, where's that meant to be made?

Oh, wait a sec.

Oh, jeez.

I realise I have skipped a page.

Um... Oh,

jeez.

What a bit...

I realise I have skipped a page.

Put your pages in order.

I have completely missed the coconut and pandan mousse.

Um... Ah, this is all a bit overwhelming, but I've got to do both at

the same time and move as fast as I can to get everything done.

Come on, Petra, let's pump it. Yeah.

Into the boil.

Pour my pandan and coconut mousse.

I have added my coconut and my pandan together and I'm bringing that up to

heat.

I'm going to leave that come to the boil. Yeah, Petro.

And now I have to roll these teapot handles as quickly as I can. Oh, this is

hard. Yeah, it's hard.

It's time to multitask as much as I can now.

25 grand.

Yeah, Petro. Come on, Petro.

Going on 10.

I'm still trying to problem-solve my pandan mousse. You don't have time to

start that again. No.

When you think, what can I do here to fix it?

Um, the gelatin hasn't been incorporated yet.

So this gelatin is starting to melt, right? Yep.

So if I sieve this now, put it back in a clean jug, and then add a little bit

more gelatin to contribute to what's just been melted, it could still work.

Chef, you have to do that on your own. Yeah, because I think if I slow down

now, I'm not going to get everything done. This isn't my recipe, but I need

to make some decisions here. You're risking it.

This could change the final outcome of this element, but I need to take a risk

here and I need to make up some time.

Good boy, Vinny.

Come on!

So I strain my pandan puree, add in my gelatin to hopefully save my pandan

mousse. Come on, mate.

I've just got my fingers crossed.

Okay. Yes, Jen. You got it.

It's time to work on my teapot handle and knock. Keep it up.

Vinny, Petro, it's time to go, Kings.

90 minutes to go.

Go, mate.

Go, listen.

And what did Sin say here?

Nothing yet.

Ah, I see. Okay.

Petro's been cooking his pandan leaves for much longer than Vinny did.

I don't know who's right and who's wrong, but they can't both be right.

Once you've done your next big step, I want to clean down. Clean down, yes. Get

that mind clear. Let's go, Petro.

Let's see if Petro can come on. My coconut and pandan mixture has been

cooking away for my firecracker.

Now I need to blend it, strain it, and add the gelatin.

Yeah. That's it.

Fold 35 of the Italian meringue into the gelatin puree mixture.

Come on, Vinny, let's do it.

All right.

Time for me to move on to my chocolate firecracker tube.

I have to move so fast because chocolate sets really quickly.

You got a 10.

140,

110.

Here we go. Come on, Vinny.

Come on, Vinny. Beautiful. Come on, yes, Vinny.

Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny.

Yes, Vinny.

Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes,

Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny.

Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes,

Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes,

Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes,

Vinny. Yes, Vinny. Yes,

Vinny. Yes,

Vinny. Yes,

Vinny. Yes, Vinny.

Yes, Vinny. Yes, Vin

15 grams.

This coconut and pandan mousse, I think it's looking all right. Now it's time to

assemble in the mould with the dacquoise and mango on pot.

Seven centimetres by one.

Petro, you've got this. It's going.

All right.

Yeah, Big Papa!

Come on, Big Papa, let's go!

Now I need to get on to my chocolate firecracker.

Come on, Petro.

I've got to work fast.

All right, Pedro, work quick.

Ah.

Setting's so quick.

No.

I wasn't happy with my mystery box cook.

This cook is starting to fall apart.

Keep going, mate. Come on. Keep going, buddy.

Oh, my God.

My dream of holding that MasterChef trophy.

Slipping away.

This

cookie's

starting to fall apart.

I've set such a high standard for myself because leaving the family business,

I knew what pressure I'd be putting on.

My dad.

And my last cook.

I feel like I've let my family down.

You alright?

I'm really upset with myself.

Petro, deep breath, deep breath.

Just having a moment.

Just having a, yeah.

Take a deep breath.

Hey,

it's fine.

Don't worry about the last four hours.

Take a deep breath and just focus.

You are here for a reason.

Okay, you can do this.

You are an absolute legend and a weapon, and you deserve to give this everything

that you've got. Deep breath and get stuck in. You can do this. Come on,

mate.

Let's go, baby,

let's go. Even though I feel deflated at the moment, I'm going to pick myself up.

The finish line's in sight, and I'm really trying to muster all the energy I

have left to finish off this course.

This firecracker tempering is not working.

I need to redo it and remold it and hopefully get it right.

Go, Petro.

Nice. Beautiful, Petro.

I just need to keep pushing until the very end.

I've just finished spraying my mandarin.

And the next thing I have to do is assemble my firecracker.

These final steps are probably the most important of the whole course.

They're not perfect cylinders, but I don't really have time to make any more

right now.

At this point, I'm just trying to get as much done as possible.

I know it's not really going to be perfect, but it's better than nothing on

the plate right now.

Steady hands.

They are a little bit wonky.

Oh, my God.

You're crazy.

But I don't have any more time to finesse.

My mandarins and my firecrackers are done, but I still need to do my teapots.

Get the teapot!

Looking at this teapot, I realise my teapots are not exactly like

Cherish's.

They are not the same colour.

I think I might have cooked mine a little bit more.

But then, I don't really have time to question myself.

I just need to keep going.

Your final ten minutes!

My hands are shaking.

I can't do anything about it.

I'm struggling to glue these pieces on.

I

have

to push as hard as I can until the end.

It's been an absolute pleasure cooking with you, yeah? Yeah, it's been a blast.

This whole competition, this whole season has been the best. It's been a

blast. Thank you.

Thank you. On you, boys!

I know there's physical flaws in my desserts, even though they may taste

good.

It's just tough, but it was a special moment, special thing to be a part of,

special person to do it with, with Minnie here. But, you know, today was

just really tough, and I think, yeah, all the emotions come out.

That was pretty special.

I'm definitely very, very proud of myself.

I would not have been able to even dream about doing anything like that at the

start of this competition.

And it means the world to have my family here watching me today.

I was doing it for them.

Having that connection with my dad and food is truly something special.

I can

tell that it just

means so much to him as much as it means to me.

And I really, really want to win this.

It was very surreal, large-pacing.

I know. I was just reflecting on all the fun we've had, everything we've done.

The whole ride.

Yeah.

It's pretty cool.

I'm five points ahead of Petro.

Let's go, mate.

And although I'm happy with what I was able to put up today,

I had to improvise on my pandan mousse as well as my mandarin mousse.

So, I still have no idea what they're like on the inside.

Hi Vinny. Hello.

Can you believe you did that?

Five hours.

No, I honestly can't believe it.

For the first time in this competition, I can 100% say that I'm very, very proud

of myself for what I did today.

How was that to have your old man come running down those stairs?

And that embrace that you two had, that must have felt really bloody good.

It did. I've never seen my dad like that, to be honest.

I've never heard him say that he was that proud of me before.

And that was really, really special, really awesome.

You know, we've always been like, you know, very expressive, but that's like

different. That was very, very different. And that was really, really

nice for me.

Thank you, Vinny. If you'd like to very carefully put your dishes on the table,

we will taste.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you

That smells amazing.

Very consistent.

Oh, my goodness.

The mandarin orange was vagabond. He nailed it.

The cream was so smooth, silky and melt on my palate.

The marmalade was really nicely cooked and the sponge was

spot on.

I feel like the mandarin orange is nearly like for like. Oh, la, la. You

know, flavour-wise.

And the texture of that mousse inside, and also the casing, spot on. Yes. Like,

spot on.

I am head over heels with that little petit gâteau.

The flavour of it is just phenomenal.

You really get that citrus in it.

I love the intensity of the marmalade, and I think it contrasts so beautifully

against that creamy, zesty mousse that you put in there as well.

Talking about the firecrackers.

Oh my goodness, look at the thickness of the chocolate. I've got goose pimples

looking at that.

And he's not a pastry chef. Oh la la.

He can come and work with me anytime.

Wow.

I think what completely impressed me the most is this fantastic palm coconut

mousse. It's just perfect.

That's actually a little bit of a victory for Vinny because he forgot to

sieve that mixture and he had already added his gelatin and he managed to

salvage it and produce this.

However, the sesame seed pod is the weakest link

on the plate.

He has actually overcooked the cheesecake and slightly overcooked the

curd and sauce.

And also he's quite dense.

It's the texture.

I think overcooking it, he's just lost that sort of sophistication of that

beautiful texture that yours has cherished. But still, my goodness, that

guy should stand proud. This is an incredible effort.

I guess now we have to score.

That was a tough cook.

I really tried my hardest today.

I know my desserts don't look as good as Cherish's, but hopefully my flavours are

there.

I just need to claw back five points to go and win this thing.

Petro, can you believe what you just did?

Not really, to be honest.

You know, I'm proud and I'm very proud that... Sorry, guys,

I'm going to get emotional.

Yeah, very special to do it in the finale. I mean, what an

event. You told me from day one.

that I would have been here in the MasterChef finale, I wouldn't have

believed you. So to be here is just very, very special.

So is Petro the accountant no more? Have you seen the last of a balance sheet?

I think so. Well, look, I'm going to have to go and help him transition.

I do owe him that, but I'll definitely be working as I'm doing that on my food

dream.

But I'll be doing my own books.

Accounting, very important skill for a restaurant. It is.

Yeah.

Shall we? Yeah. Would you please, Pedro, to bring your little gourmandise gâteau

on the table, please? Thank you,

Pedro. Thank you. Thank you, guys.

Thank you so much. Thank you, Pedro.

Thank you.

And good luck.

A little rough around the edges, but if Petro can do what he's done, this whole

competition, and nail the flavors, game on.

Let's taste.

Let's do.

Oh, wow.

All right.

Good feeling there.

Thank you.

And it looks fake. It's so perfect.

It looks legit.

Look at that look.

Can I think? Yeah.

That's very... Crazy, huh? Yeah.

First of all, the black sesame teapot.

I'm in love with that. I'm in love with that. It's got that beautiful, smooth

nature to it. That real lovely nuttiness just hanging out with that yuzu.

It's spot on. I think it's very, very close to yours, Jared.

I love that Petro's had that lovely perfume and sharpness of the yuzu. And

then the sesame was just so lovely and nutty and rich.

Pity you didn't get the handle. But for something like this, I still think

flavor punches above appearance. 100%. The joy to eat. I think it's creamy.

The balance of the yuzu tastes beautifully.

The earthiness of the black sesame.

Matched together beautifully.

The flavour of the black sesame teapot is just out of control. It could very

well be my favourite petit gâteau today.

I also really enjoyed the mandarin orange.

That shell was just so thin.

And I love how when you just busted through it, the intensity of that

marmalade was really lovely.

The marmalade is fantastically lovely and a good ratio too.

His mandarin orange mousse, I think he over-mixed the mousse and it's actually

quite dense.

The mousse is over-whipped.

The shell is where it's at, though.

That is, like, spot on.

But I've got some issues.

And they're mainly to do with the firecracker.

That pandan mousse, it's not right. I don't know how to say it politely.

Some strange chemistry has happened. I think the pandan leaves were just

sitting in that mixture for too long and it's definitely giving this sort of

like, yeah, not very pleasant flavour.

I'm so upset for him with the firecracker because there's some really

great work there.

Beautiful thin chocolate work.

The cross-section of mine was exactly the same as yours. The proportion of the

dacquoise and also the mango and calamansi compote was how it's meant to

be.

I just can't express how upset I am for him with the pandan and coconut

mousse. It tastes like it's been fermented.

Yes. And it really does lose out all the beautiful qualities of the pandan.

Okay, time to score.

From the very first cook to this exact moment, everything has been leading

here.

One of you is about to take out the title of MasterChef 2026, the trophy,

and $250,000.

Are you ready?

One of you is about to take out the title of MasterChef 2026, the trophy,

and $250,000.

Are you ready?

Petra, we'll start with you.

Petra, I absolutely love the favorite profile of your sesame tea pot.

But you were missing the handle.

I score you 7 out of 10.

Petro, good work.

But some of your elements were rushed.

I scored you...

Seven out of ten.

The ratios of your firecracker were spot on.

But the flavour of your panda mousse was off.

I scored you seven out of ten.

Petra, I also gave you a third.

Me, Petro, was also 7 out of 10.

So, Petro, that means your score is up to 67.

Well done.

You need more than 30 points to win.

Vinny, your mandarin mousse was as good as mine.

For this, I score you 8 out of 10.

Vinny, very good chocolate world.

I score you 8 out of 10.

It tasted as good as it looks.

I scored you 9 out of 10.

I also scored you a 9.

have any words to be honest i feel like you know that's just insane and i

couldn't have imagined it from the first day but i'm so so grateful for

absolutely everything that you know i've experienced here all the friends that

i've made all the people i've met and just like how far i've come i couldn't

have done it without all the support from everyone

I'm so proud of him. And honestly, it was just a blast cooking alongside him

this whole time.

Every time. Every cook.

Petro, how are you feeling?

Yeah, look, really happy for Vinny. He's worked really hard and he deserves it.

Very proud of what I've done throughout the competition.

Yeah.

Just missed the mark today.

Petro. We also are very proud of you.

Thank you, chef.

And for coming second, we are giving you $40,000.

And of course, Aaron, we didn't forget about you. For coming third, we're

giving you $10,000.

Alright Vinny, the moment you've been waiting for.

Go get that trophy!