Original subtitles

MasterChef Australia is

definitely the best cooking competition in the world.

We take raw talent and we transform them

into superstars of the kitchen.

Our final two have learnt

to harness their natural ability.

Every skill learned...

Are you ready?!

..every risk taken...

Yeah, Vinnie!

..every dish cooked... Come on, Petro!

..has led them here...

..to the MasterChef 2026 grand finale.

Petro's 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.

Your clafoutis just wasn't cooked.

I don't know whether this is enough.

Unfortunate. Just keep on going. Yeah?

But once he did, he was off.

Oh!

When he made that tonka bean tart in sweet week,

we all knew he had something special.

Petro...

..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 the dish

but it took you an hour, so well done.

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

His super power is his deep understanding of flavours...

Mate, I'm calling it now. That's dish of the day.

Oh, my God!

..and incredible palate.

You are absolutely going places 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.

Vinnie 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 Vinnie 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 Vinnie was a force

to be reckoned with when he won an immunity pin.

Completely flab-ber-gasted.

Congratulations!

But...

..he's been up, down, sideways.

It's not what I imagined it to be.

We get where you were going.

You just didn't quite make it there.

You OK? No.

I feel like I let down myself.

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

But being in the most eliminations,

he has learnt so much.

Get started. 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.

Petro v Vinnie.

What a grand finale match-up.

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

Let's go.

There they are! Look at you two.

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.

Vinnie,

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 learned has brought me here,

and I feel like, you know,

what a man to be standing next to doing it.

And we're just, like, such good mates

and representing the ethnic community.

Yeah.

I'm so proud of you guys.

Oh!

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.

Um...

Sorry. Aw!

And I also really want you

to just take moments 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 would not be standing there

without some very important people behind you.

Please welcome your loved ones!

How are you?

Welcome. Hi, everyone.

I think this is the biggest family gathering

we've had, guys.

True to your Greek and Italian roots!

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

This is my Nonna 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.

Great name!

Georgia, can you believe this?

Petro is 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...

I said, "Honest!"

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

I've kept the desk there in case.

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

We'll wait and see.

Ange, 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.

Nonno, have you tasted much of Vinnie's cooking?

Is he a good cook?

I don't know.

That's a... That's a standard response.

Standard.

I have nothing

but the utmost appreciation for my family.

My dad, Ange, 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 onto 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!

Oh!

That's the nicest mystery box I think we've had.

That is an admirable mystery box!

But this isn't just any old mystery box...

..this is a superstar mystery box.

Oh!

Inside are ingredients from the superstars

who have graced our kitchen this season.

Let's have a look, shall we?

Oh!

Ho-ho!

Wow. OK.

So, we have flathead a la Josh Niland,

dry-aged duck breast on the crown,

thanks to Chef Dobbers and Matt Sinclair,

some Jerusalem artichoke

from the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan 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 pick - Sichuan peppercorns,

ooray plum - a favourite of Robert Irwin's,

chocolate thanks to the chocky master Kirsten Tibballs,

and finally, some black garlic from Miss Sarah Todd.

Ooh.

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 under-bench staples,

with a few extra eggs chucked in,

courtesy of our friend Andy Cooks.

Couldn't forget about him.

Each of us will score a dish out of ten.

So, in round one, there are a total of 40 points

up for grabs.

Come on, gantry, are you ready?

Are you ready?

Yes! Yes!

Your time starts...

..now!

Go, Petro! Go! Come on.

Absolutely crazy to be cooking here in the grand finale.

I cannot believe it.

So, in round one, I could do a beautiful protein,

but there's a lot on the line and Vinnie's such a good cook.

So I need to make a strategic decision

to stand out and do something that Vinnie's not going to do

to give myself the best chance to win today.

Hello, Petro. Hello. How are you guys?

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 Sichuan caramel with chocolate creme diplomat.

And I'm going to incorporate some lemon zest somewhere.

Yep. I might try doing

some fried artichoke...

OK. ..crisps on top.

I really like the flavour combination.

I love it. It's just how you control

the balance of all that. Yes.

Good luck, Petro. Thank you.

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

..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. -Noice.

Looks beautiful, Petro.

I could smell the Sichuan. Yum!

Alright. You alright, 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 cheffy 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.

Vinnie! Hello, Vinnie.

Hello. Hello. Talk to us. What are you making?

So, I'm gonna do some duck breast.

I'm gonna roast it on the crown. So I got that straight in.

And then I'm gonna 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 Sichuan peppercorns

and a little bit of Davidson plums,

so it's going to be a bit acidic.

Gonna do 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 Petro. Yeah?

Yeah. And that's why I thought,

"Let's do something with a little bit

"more technique and a little bit more finesse."

Show us what you 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 that into something a bit more cheffy,

like a gratin,

using it in a way that is a bit unexpected

and can add a lot of textures to a dish.

The grand finale is here!

Only greatness is going to cut it.

You've got one hour to go.

Come on, come on!

Here we go. MasterChef grand finale.

This is a momentous occasion.

Vinnie 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 ooray plum

and was thinly slicing the Jerusalem artichokes.

And he's making a... What do you call it?

He's like, yeah, he's basically making a gratin.

I feel like, with Vinnie,

he's grappling so hard to try and show technique

and I just don't want to lose what he's good at,

which is doing the simple things

better than anyone in this kitchen.

Yeah, yeah. We've just gone to visit Petro.

What's he got? A tart.

Have we got some Petro-esque fillings?

Very much so. Has he funked it up a bit?

Very much so. So he's doing a Szechuan caramel.

Oh. A chocolate cream...

..diplomat? Diplomat.

And he's thinking of frying up some artichoke.

Oh, yeah. That's smart.

Does that not sound like the best tart

you've actually put in your mouth?

Yeah, it does, it really does.

It sounds so creative

and really unique to Petro.

Oh. That's nice.

That's what we want to hear.

As long as you're happy. Yeah.

Feeling pretty good.

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

He's become such a dessert guy, eh?

He's a real sweetie boy now.

Vinnie's going to be fighting really hard today,

so I have to make sure that I've cooked

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.

Oh, be quiet.

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 gratin 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 the star of the show here.

How's the duck, Vin?

I think it's time to take it out.

Um...

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...

Mm...

..I might have just lost my chance at winning MasterChef.

My heart just sinks.

This duck is well overdone.

Oh, shit. Mm.

He's stressing, isn't he?

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, Vinnie.

Come on, Vincent! You got this, brother.

-You got this, Vinnie. -Yeah.

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 Niland came into the kitchen,

I went to the market,

picked up ten flatties and I just went to town

filleting them until it was muscle memory.

So I need to put those skills to use and use my instincts

to pull out something amazing with the fish.

Vinnie, what's going on?

So I've got my fish still here.

I think I'm going to do a quick butterfly on this flathead

cook it over the hibachi.

I just have to freshen up the flavours a little bit.

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

Thank you, Andy. You got this.

You do it all the time, you got it.

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

Now I need to get this flathead filleted, butterflied, de-boned

and cooked on the hibachi

as quickly and perfectly as possible.

Come on, Vinnie. Keep pushing.

Oh, my God, I'm gonna cry.

15 minutes to go.

Where's my tweezers? Come on, Vin.

15 minutes, come on.

Come on, Vinnie!

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 diplomats.

Um, it's looking good.

Um, I'm really happy with it. Beautiful.

I've tasted all the elements separately

and everything tastes great.

This caramel has the really floral aroma of the Szechuan

with just a light numbing sensation at the end.

My chocolate creme diplomat is really creamy, luscious

and has a beautiful chocolate flavour,

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 OK.

That's great, Vinnie.

Yeah, love it, Vinnie.

Let's go.

Let's go! Alright!

To bring the flavour to this fish,

I've done a nice lemon salt on that.

Vinnie, you got it, mate. Back yourself.

Come on, Vinnie!

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 gonna have to think of something else.

Fish, lemon, bitter, bitter, bitterness from that...

Sweetness from something, I need sweetness.

I decide 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. Nice, Petro.

My fried artichokes are done.

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

Here we go.

Ooh!

Nice, Pet.

Good colour on the tart shell.

Should I do two?

I made two tart shells, so I have one as 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 shell's looking great.

The other one's going to come out soon,

and then we can start thinking about plating everything.

He's way too relaxed. It's killing me.

Five minutes to go.

Nice work!

It looks unreal.

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 gonna be so yum.

My chocolate creme diplomat.

And finish it off

with some fried Jerusalem artichokes on top.

It's 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!

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!

Run!

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 cavolo nero salsa.

Hurry up.

Time's up in ten...

Nine, eight, seven,

six, five, four,

three, two, one.

That's it!

Good stuff, mate. There you go.

Well done, Petro.

-Nice work. -Well done.

I'm looking at my dish

and I realise 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...

..Vinnie.

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.

Vinnie, what have you made?

I made a butterfly barbecue flathead...

..a Jerusalem artichoke and caramelised onion puree,

cavolo nero salsa

and some sage oil.

And there's also no duck there.

And there's no duck.

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

Let's taste.

Vinnie...

..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 cavolo nero 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, go!"

It made me feel so proud

because it's my favourite 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. There is no one single bone.

Not even one!

The fish, look at that.

It's lovely and just perfectly white.

That means it's perfection.

And this touch of lemon salt...

Oh!

It is unbelievable, honestly.

Thank you.

Well done, Vinnie! Well done, Vinnie!

Let's go!

Well done, Vinnie. Thank you.

You're up next, Petro.

Petro, what have you made?

I've made a Szechuan caramel and chocolate tart.

We're going to taste.

Petro...

..this Szechuan caramel...

..you're left with this hanging hot sensation in your mouth.

And clearly what you've done is fantastic.

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

Your pastry base, 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 now.

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 caramelised so beautifully, it's crisp.

I love the Szechuan 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 the crispiness of those

would have added another element

to sort of bring everything together.

I think you've done really beautifully, Petro.

Thank you heaps, Poh.

Petro, that Szechuan caramel is heartbreakingly delicious.

It just has this little ringing of fruitiness

and citrusy notes, but...

..I'm just looking at Poh'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 for me.

I think the Szechuan caramel,

when I dug down and tasted it by itself,

my golly gosh. Mm.

But combining the Szechuan caramel with the chocolate,

but also the pastry -

'cause it has a real deep, rich flavour -

you lose out that Szechuan pepper.

Thanks, Petro. We'll score your dish now, mate.

Thanks heaps. Thanks, Petro.

Petro!

Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!

Superb.

What a cracking kick-off to the finale.

Let's get into it, gentlemen.

Vinnie, that flathead,

it was perfectly butchered and expertly cooked.

I scored you...

..a nine out of ten.

Vinnie, that was the classiest pivot ever

and your flavours made Auntie Poh big-time proud.

I gave you...

..a nine out of ten.

I scored you...

..a nine out of ten.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Vinnie. Whoo!

I scored you...

..ten out of ten!

Well done, mate. Thank you.

So, Vinnie,

for round one you have a total score of...

..37!

Petro.

My tart was...

..simply fantastic!

I scored you a ten!

Petro, I thought your flavours were thoughtful and considered.

I gave you...

..an eight out of ten.

Thanks, Poh.

I scored you...

..a seven out of ten.

Thanks, Chef.

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 cook.

Being five points behind Vinnie

has made my chances of winning even harder.

But I'm going to fight as hard as I can in round two

to 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 test.

The person who set today's pressure test

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.

Far out.

Please welcome, all the way from London,

and titan of the pastry world,

Cherish Finden!

Oh, my God.

Cherish is, like, coming in hot.

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

I knew that it was gonna be big for the grand finale,

but, like, this is, like, off the Richter scale.

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 stars.

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.

Vinnie, Petro,

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

Yep. Yep.

Today you will be making my...

Oooh...

Ohh!

..my Chinese afternoon tea.

This is probably my worst nightmare come true.

Deserts aren't my strong suit,

and they are the most delicate little cakes

I've ever seen in my entire life.

Oh... Holy cow.

These guys have got their work cut out for them.

Chefs, please come closer to take a closer look,

and I promise I won't bite.

Wow.

It's inspired by my grandpapa.

Every Chinese New Year, we would visit him

and greeted him with a pair of mandarin oranges.

And this is the culture of respect.

And in return,

he would make us a gongfu cha ceremony,

where each of us would get a cup of tea.

And after the ceremony,

there would be a big bang with firecrackers

to welcome the Chinese New Year.

That's really cool. So good.

First, the 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 dip.

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.

OK. The last is the black sesame teapot.

It is very sexy.

When you eat it, you will remember me for life.

Drive you crazy. Yeah!

I think I'll already remember you for life.

Oh, my God. Wow, look at that.

In the centre,

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 cake, 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...

That is a big one!

..to complete Cherish Finden's Chinese afternoon tea.

You're making three firecrackers,

three sesame teapots and three mandarin oranges.

Each of us will score your dish out of ten,

which means, in round two,

there's a total of 50 points up for grabs.

This 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.

Chefs, your time starts now!

Come on, boys!

The strategy is to stay calm, fast and clean.

I 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, Petro. Get everything you need.

This morning, my cook wasn't good,

so I've really got to come back strong now.

Alright, 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.

Passionfruit, mandarin...

The first thing I need to do today

is do the marmalade for the mandarin.

And 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 Vinnie

in terms of desserts...

Purees. "Meanwhile..."

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

Petro, you've got this.

Come on, Petro!

Go, Vinnie!

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 was really good, Cenz.

120g.

So my strategy today is to work really hard,

be super organised, and get all my mise en place done.

I'm measuring out and preparing all my ingredients

before I start moving on to the method of this recipe.

Very precise, Vinnie.

You're 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 moulds

and into the freezer to set.

Doing good, Vinnie.

It's time for me to get on to my tiger sponge,

which is going to be the base of my mandarins.

Remembering Cherish's sponge,

it was so light, so airy, and it just kind of melted away.

Vinnie. Hello.

I can see you're on to the tiger sponge.

Yes. 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.

Yeah. Yeah.

I'm just imagining right now that this is a...

An emergency? 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. Yep.

But you need the stamina, too. Yeah.

We know you've got a five-point lead,

but it'll only take a couple of slip-ups

for that to disappear.

Yeah.

This win is mine for the taking.

Yes, Vinnie! Good job, Vinnie.

Beautiful.

I just need to make sure I don't make silly little mistakes.

"Bake for seven minutes at 180, fan 2."

Seven minutes.

The only thing that stands between you and that trophy

is the next four and a half hours!

Let's go!

Come on! Go, Vin!

You've got this!

Let's go!

Go, Petro!

I am in the zone now.

It's time to pick up another gear.

My tiger sponge is done.

Nice, Petro. 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 eggwhites and slowly add the sugar

so it becomes nice and glossy.

OK, this is important.

And then I'll be mixing all my dry elements

and coconut into that to make my dacquoise batter.

Looks great stuff, mate. Let's go.

Let's 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.

His looks less chunkier.

And his looks, like, very chunky.

Oh, no.

What's that in that bowl, Vinnie?

The dacquoise.

No, the other bowl.

Which one? That one there.

The coconut.

What if it was supposed to go in there and he forgot?

Oh, God.

Oh, Vinnie.

Uh!

What if it was supposed to go in there

and he forgot?

Oh, God. Oh, Vinnie!

Oh, yeah. Got to fold that through, don't I?

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 pressure 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.

Fellas, you've had one hour,

which means there are four hours to go!

-Go! -Go on, Petro!

My coconut dacquoise is in the oven

and my yuzu curd's done and in the blast freezer to chill.

Alright, let's go.

Now it's time to move on to my mandarin mousse,

which goes in the centre of the mandarin.

Far out.

Keep going.

There's so much to do.

I just need to pick up the pace wherever I can.

Keep going, Pet.

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.

Ah!

Uh-oh.

I've over-whipped it.

Ah!

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.

Come on, Petro!

Go, Petro!

Come on, come on!

Oh, my God.

I've over-whipped it again.

This cream here's killing me!

There's really no room for mistakes.

Vinnie's ahead by five points.

You've got this, Petro.

I just need to move on,

so I fold it through the mandarin mousse.

Is that looking OK, Chef?

Hm!

Don't worry, keep going.

Come on, get it in those moulds.

I just hope the texture's OK once it sets.

Well done, Vinnie. Good stuff.

My coconut dacquoise's in the oven.

I need to make sure

I don't let mistakes like this happen again.

Go, Vinnie.

Don't take your foot off the gas.

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

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 chunks.

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 you.

This stresses me out.

So, in my piped mousse, I press my mandarin marmalade sphere

and put a perfectly cut piece of my tiger sponge on top

before covering it.

Come on, mate.

I'm still nervous about the texture,

but I need to put my head down and keep moving.

Alright. Now I'm moving on to the cheesecake.

He's ahead in this step. Let's go, Petro!

Come on, brother!

I have just done my mandarin mousse.

I need 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!

Keep pushing, come on!

I'm really happy with my cheesecake.

It tastes exactly like Cherish's.

Now I need to put my yuzu spheres

into the middle and then put them into the oven.

Nice, Petro.

Nice, Vinnie. Come on, Vinnie!

You've got this, amore. Keep it up.

Guys, this is a kitchen marathon.

There is still a lot to do,

and you've got three hours to go! Come on!

Come on, Petro!

Go, Vinnie!

Come on! Keep pushing!

You've got it, Vinnie!

Alright.

I've finished my mango and calamansi compote

for my firecracker.

Keep it up, Vinnie. Really good pace.

The next thing I need to do is cut my dacquoise

for the centre of that firecracker.

"For the dacquoise, cut a rectangle.

"Finished height should be approximately 0.6."

12.

Now I have to pipe my mango and calamansi compote

on top of my dacquoise.

Whoo!

I get it straight into the blast chiller to cool down.

Yes, Cenz! You got it. Whoo! Come on, Vin! Keep it up.

Alright, 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, Cenz.

That's it, Petro.

My mango and calamansi compote is done.

Come on, Petro! Pick it up.

Now it's time to cut up the dacquoise

for the firecracker.

14cm.

Is he cutting it the right way?

What has he done?

Oh, shit.

I've stuffed it.

It's got to be 14cm by 12cm.

OK.

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 pieces.

Yes. Hold your nerve.

Yes. Yeah?

Thanks, Chef. OK.

Take a deep breath. You've got this.

Shit!

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.

OK, 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, Pet.

It's time to do my black sesame handle

and knob for the teapot.

I hope you're halfway through your recipe,

because you are halfway through your time!

Two and a half hours left!

Come on, Petro! Come on!

Keep pushing.

Come on, Cenz, go!

I'm not halfway through the recipe.

Come on.

I really need to find a second gear here

and find a way to make up some time.

OK. You've 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.

Vinnie'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.

Good job, Cenz.

Ooh!

Looks lovely, Vinnie.

Gorgeous, Vin.

My pandan and coconut mix is looking great.

The next thing I need to do is add in my gelatine

and my sugar.

Have you just added your gelatine?

Just added the gelatine.

Read your recipe.

Did you sieve it before you added your gelatine?

No.

Your mousse might not set in time

because of what you've done.

Ohh.

I've been pushing so hard this entire cook.

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

OK. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Come on, Pet!

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.

He needs to stop playing with it.

What's that for?

Are we seeing Vinnie do this?

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?"

Um...

Oh, wait a sec.

Oh, jeez.

I realise that I have skipped a page.

Um...

Oh, jeez.

Oh, Petro.

I realise that 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, Petro, pump it!

Yep. In to boil.

For 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 to come to the boil.

Yeah, Petro!

Ooh!

And now I have to roll these teapot handles

as quickly as I can.

Oh, this is hard. That's it.

It's time to multi-task as much as I can now.

25g.

-Yeah, Petro! -Come on, Petro!

Um...

What's going on, Cenz?

I'm still trying to problem-solve

my pandan mousse...

You don't have time to start that again, Vinnie.

No.

..and think, "What can I do here to fix this?"

Um, the gelatine hasn't been incorporated yet.

So this gelatine's starting to melt, right?

Yep.

So if I sieve this now, put it back in

in a clean jug, and then add a little bit more gelatine

to contribute to what's just been melted,

it could still work.

Chef, you have to decide on your own now.

Yeah, yeah. Yep.

'Cause 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, Vinnie.

You've got this, Vin!

Come on!

So I strain my pandan puree,

adding my gelatine to hopefully save my pandan mousse.

Come on, mate.

I've just got my fingers crossed.

OK.

Yes, Cenz! You got it! Come on!

It's time to work on my teapot handle and knob.

Keep it up.

Vinnie, Petro, it's time to go off, kings.

90 minutes to go!

Come on! Let's go!

Come on, mate! You've got to lift now.

Yep.

That's it, Petro! Come on!

Come on!

What is inside here?

Nothing yet. Ah, I see. OK.

Petro's been cooking his pandan leaves

for much longer than Vinnie did.

Done. That can go.

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 a clean down again. Clean down, yes.

Yeah, get that mind clear.

Let's go, Petro!

That's it, Petro! Come on.

My coconut and pandan mixture has been cooking away

for my firecracker.

And now I need to blend it, strain it and add the gelatine.

Yeah! That's it.

"Fold 35 of the Italian meringue

"into the gelatine puree mixture."

Come on, Vinnie, let's do it!

Alright.

It's time for me to move on

to my chocolate firecracker tube.

I have to move so fast

because chocolate sets really quickly.

You've got it, Cenz.

140, 110.

Here we go. Come on, Vinnie.

Come on, come on, Vinnie.

Come on, Vinnie. Beautiful!

Come on, Vinnie!

Nice! Yes, Vinnie, nice!

You've got it!

Well done, Vin!

"Put it in the fridge."

One hour to go! Come on!

Come on!

Come on, Petro. That's it. Get it going.

"15g."

This coconut and pandan mousse, I think it's looking alright.

Now it's time to assemble in the moulds

with the dacquoise and mango compote.

"7cm by 1cm."

Petro, you've got this. Keep going.

Alright.

Yeah, big poppa! Come on, big poppa! Let's go!

Now I need to get onto my chocolate firecracker.

Come on, Petro. I've got to work fast.

Alright, Petro, work quick.

Ah! It's setting 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...

..is slipping away.

This cook is 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.

In 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. OK. Take a deep breath.

I just feel like... Yeah.

Mate, it's fine. Yeah.

Don't worry about the last four hours.

Take a deep breath and just focus.

You are here for a reason, OK? You can do this.

You are an absolute legend and a weapon...

..and you deserve

to give this everything that you've got, OK?

Thank, Chef.

Deep breath and get stuck in. Yeah.

You can do this. Thanks, Chef.

Come on, mate.

Let's go, Petro. 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 is in sight

and I'm really trying to muster all the energy I have left

to finish off this cook.

This firecracker tempering is not working.

I need to redo it

and remould it and hopefully get it right.

Go, Petro. Nice. Beautiful, Petro.

I just need to keep pushing until the very end.

Yes, Petro! Come on!

Nice, Petro.

Keep going!

Final push! 20 minutes to go!

Come on!

Vincent, you've got to hurry, mate! Come on!

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 cook.

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.

My God. This is 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! Come on!

Come on! Ten minutes! You can do it.

Whoo-hoo!

Oh-oh-oh!

My hands are shaking.

I can't...

I can't do anything about it.

I'm struggling to glue these pieces on.

Oh, my God. Oh, my god.

I have to push as hard as I can until the end.

Yeah, Petro!

Get it on the plate!

One minute to go!

This is for the title...

Ten!

Nine!

Eight!

Seven!

Six!

Five!

Four!

Three!

Two!

One!

Well done!

Are you crying?

Ay!

Stop it!

It's been an absolute pleasure cooking with you, yeah?

Yeah, same, mate.

This whole competition,

this whole season has been the best.

It's been a blast. Thank you.

Mate, thank you.

Friends for life, huh? Oh...

Good on you, boys!

So sweet.

Oh!

Um, the fact that

I know there's physical flaws in my desserts,

even though they may taste good,

it's just, uh, it's tough,

but it was a special moment,

a special thing to be a part of.

Special person to do it with, with Vinnie here.

But, you know,

today was just really tough and I think,

yeah, all the emotions have come out.

Oh!

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 love you so much. I love you, too.

What are you crying for?!

You 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 feels very surreal, last tasting.

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, Vinnie. Hello.

-Vinnie. -Vinnie.

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. Oh.

I've never heard him say

that he was that proud of me before.

And that was really, really special.

Wow. 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, Vinnie. If you'd like to

very carefully put your dishes on the table...

Yep. ..we will taste.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Thank you.

Oh, wow! Good crunch?

That's really thin. Wow.

Ooh-la-la-la-la.

Thank you.

Oh, that smells amazing.

Very consistent. Yeah.

Here you go.

Oh, my goodness.

The mandarin orange...

..was va-va-voom. 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, you know? Ooh-la-la!

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 gateau.

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 firecracker...

..oh, my goodness.

Look at the thickness of the chocolate.

I know!

I got goose pimples looking at that.

And he's not a pastry chef.

Ooh-la-la.

He can come and work with me any time.

Wow.

I think what's completely impressed me the most

is this fantastic pandan-coconut mousse.

It's just perfect.

That's actually a little bit of a victory for Vinnie,

because he forgot to sieve that mixture.

And he had already added his gelatine...

Gelatine.

..and he managed to salvage it and produce this.

However...

..the sesame teapot is the weakest link on the plate.

He has actually overcooked the cheesecake

and slightly overcooked the curd, as well.

And also, it'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, Cherish.

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.

Petro. Hello.

Hi, Petro. Hey, how's it going?

I've 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.

Um, but, you know, I am proud.

And I'm very proud that...

Um... Oh. Sorry, guys. I'm going to get emotional.

Um...

Yeah. Very special to do it in the finale.

I mean, what an... what an event.

If you'd 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.

Uh...

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.

I'll tell you what, accounting, very important skill

for a restaurant. It is very...

Not enough people do it properly.

Yeah.

Shall we? Yeah.

Would you please, Petro, to bring your

little gourmandes gateau on the table, please?

Thank you.

Thank you, Petro. Thank you.

Thank you, guys.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Petro. Thank you, guys.

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 flavours,

game on.

Let's taste. Let's do.

Oh, wow.

Alright? It's good filling, though.

Thank you.

Andy's looks fake... Look at that.

..it's so perfect. Looks legit.

Ooh-la-la. Look how good that looks.

Can I see?

Yeah, that's very similar to yours.

Crazy, isn't it? Yes.

Nice.

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, Cherish.

And 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 he didn't get the handle, but for something like this,

I still think flavour punches above appearance for me.

100%.

It's a joy to eat. Yep.

I think it's creamy

and 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 good. Yep.

It could very well be my favourite

petit gateau today.

I also really enjoyed the mandarin orange.

That shell was just so thin...

..and I loved how when you just busted through it,

the intensity of that marmalade was really, really lovely.

The marmalade is fantastically lovely

and a good ratio, too.

His mandarin orange mousse,

I think he overmixed the mousse

and it's actually quite dense.

The mousse is overwhipped.

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.

OK. 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?

Petro, we'll start with you.

Petro, I absolutely loved the flavour profile

of your sesame teapot.

But you were missing the handle.

I score you...

..seven out of ten.

Thank you.

Petro, good work,

but some of your elements were rushed.

I scored you...

..seven out of ten.

Thanks, Chef.

The ratios of your firecracker were spot-on...

..but the flavour of your pandan mousse was off.

I scored you...

..seven out of ten.

Petro, I also gave you a seven.

For me, Petro, it was also seven out of ten.

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

Well done.

Which means, Vinnie, you need more than 30 points to win.

Vinnie, your mandarin mousse was as good as mine.

Ooh!

For this, I scored you...

..eight out of ten.

Well done.

Vinnie, very good chocolate work.

I scored you...

..eight out of ten.

It tasted as good as it looks.

I scored you nine out of ten.

I also scored you a nine.

We have a winner!

Vinnie,

you are the MasterChef winner

for 2026!

Well done! Well done, mate!

You did it! Oh!

Vinnie, how are you feeling?

Um...

I don't really 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 am 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 you, man, 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 Vinnie.

He's worked really hard and he deserves it.

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

Um, 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 big ones.

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

Go get that trophy.

There he is - Vinnie,

the winner of MasterChef 2026!