Original subtitles

ANNOUNCER: Previously on MasterChef Australia...

(ALL EXCLAIM)

..They cooked up a storm, making comfort food for a rainy day.

ALVIN: It's a bit like a hug from Mum.

They all put their home and their hearts on a plate.

ALDO: That's what food is. It's love.

But Tommy's dish was the standout.

You're going straight into the immunity challenge.

Thank you so much.

And tonight, it's a pressure test with a sting in its tail.

# 'Cause you're hot, then you're cold

# You're yes, then you're no

# You're in, then you're out

# You're up, then you're down

# You're wrong when it's right

# It's black and it's white

# We fight, we break up

# We kiss, we make up

# You're hot, then you're cold

# You're yes, then you're no

# You're in, then you're out

# You're up, then you're down

# You're wrong when it's right

# It's black and it's white

# We fight, we break up

# We kiss, we make up

# You # You don't really wanna stay, no

# You # But you don't really wanna go-o

# You're hot, then you're cold

# You're yes, then you're no

# You're in, then you're out

# You're up, then you're down. #

Morning, boy. Morning.

I've done one pressure test this season.

You do get a cool opportunity to cook something

you've probably never done before.

I'll get the door, shall I? Yeah, mate.

But...

..they are stressful and someone's going to go home.

MELISSA: Good morning, everyone.

ALL: Morning.

With each pressure test comes a new opportunity

to challenge yourselves as cooks,

and today is no exception.

Because the dish that you'll be replicating comes from a chef

with more dedication in his little finger

than most people have in their entire bodies.

This chef is the man behind the brand

that set the benchmark for gelato in Australia.

Born out of a small shop in Darlinghurst over 20 years ago,

it soon received cult status

and became regarded as the best gelato in the country.

(GASPS)

Please welcome co-owner and head chef of Gelato Messina...

God, it is!

..Donato Toce!

MONTANA: Messina is just insane.

Like, they're so indulgent and creative.

They've got full desserts inside the gelato.

So I'm eager to know what's under that cloche.

Donny, what a joy to see you here in the MasterChef kitchen.

How are you? Thank you. Well, thank you.

Talk to me about gelato.

How did the passion come about?

I think gelato, for me,

it's an amazing thing and it's always been in me.

I remember going for gelato with my dad.

It's the tradition, but it's also, the thing is,

it's just a little scoop of happiness.

You guys do about 1.5 million kilograms of gelato a year. Yeah. Yeah. About 1.5 million kilos.

Huge amount. Yeah.

Brr!

It's a lot.

That's a lot of ice-cream. It's a lot of milk. It's a lot of cows.

It is a lot of cows.

We've got our own dairy farm -

so, 400 head of Jersey cattle that provide our milk

straight from the source.

Unbelievable.

Yeah.

Montana.

How do you feel about gelato?

I love it.

I mean, I actually learnt how to make gelato from your book.

The one with the little mushroom on the front.

Are you fangirling?

A little bit, yeah. It's pretty cool.

Yes.

Daniel.

How's your gelato game?

I'm good at eating it.

(LAUGHTER)

By the time today's finished, you'll know how to make gelato.

(CHUCKLES)

Right, Donny. Do you wanna put them out their misery?

Yeah.

Today you're making my...

..honey.

Ooh!

(ALL EXCLAIM)

So, on top, we've got a honey tuile.

Stop it! Yes!

Then we've got honey gelato with a honey financier.

Oh, stop.

And then we've got blown sugar beehive

with honey chantilly,

honey financier, honey jelly and chewy strawberries.

Wow.

Now we're talking.

MICHAEL: This looks seriously impressive.

There's three different desserts in the three hidden layers.

I couldn't have dreamt this dessert up in my wildest dreams.

And now I've got to cook it.

ANDY: So, obviously it revolves around honey.

Run us through each component.

That's a honey tuile. So it's basically a tuile recipe.

We take out the sugar and we replace it with honey. Yep.

That is a beehive.

Blown sugar.

How hard you reckon blown sugar is for a first-timer?

It's probably the hardest thing, right?

It is the hardest thing. Yeah. It's not easy.

Billie, you've got a crack, haven't ya?

Yeah, not well.

(LAUGHTER)

It was hard.

I had to blow a sugar sphere in the grand final challenge

in my season.

Oh, God!

And still have nightmares about it.

Oh. Dammit.

It's not working.

So seeing this sugar beehive that they have to recreate today,

they're in for a world of pain.

Oh, man! Stop it. Ohhhhhhhh!

Wow, that's thin.

Yeah! That's...

DONATO: So, in amongst each layer we've got the chewy strawberries,

honey financier, a honey liqueur jelly.

And we repeat that process three times throughout.

This here is honey gelato.

We've got flocked on the outside with white chocolate.

We've got a honeycomb powder on top, that you dust at the end,

and then inside you've got a little piece of honey financier.

ANDY: Righto, now the fun part. Go for it. Get into it.

Oh! Wow.

Oh, my God.

MICHAEL: Wow.

DANIEL: This dish is a different sort of dessert to anything

I've had before.

It's called honey, and it's honey for a reason.

When you have all three elements,

you do get this beautiful, gentle hum of honey so subtly.

And nothing is overpowering.

And you look like you're loving life.

I'm loving it. I love honey, too. So...

Beautiful.

It's... It is a masterpiece.

It's really well done. Like...

Thank you. It's intimidating.

If I manage to pull this off, I'm going to be super stoked.

But if not, there's no shame

in struggling with a pressure test like this.

Alright, everybody, you have three and a half hours

to recreate Donny's honey masterpiece.

Everything you need - recipe, everything - is on your benches.

And of course, because it's a pressure test,

the dish that least resembles Donny's in both look and taste

will send its maker home.

Donny, do you wanna do the honours?

Good luck. Your time starts now.

(CHEERING)

MATT: I've done some of the elements before in this cook.

It's definitely achievable.

But that sugar, the blown sugar just really scares me, definitely.

ALDO: Come on. Come on, Dan.

Yeah, definitely feeling match fit.

I think it's a bit of a curse at this stage because, you know,

the more pressure tests, the more chance to go home.

Come on, Montana.

From watching a few pressure tests from the gantry,

you can see the people who do well are the ones who sort of motor

from the get-go and don't let anything sort of get in their way.

So I'm taking on that today and just trying to move as quickly

as I possibly can.

I'm going to read that recipe,

make sure every ingredient is measured precisely,

but do it quickly and give myself as much time

at the end of the cook to get a blown sugar done.

The blown sugar beehive is an element I've never done before,

so I'm going to be completely out of my depth.

So, to start, I was quite comfortable seeing that we were making gelato.

I remember Donato's was beautifully perfumed with honey,

but not too sweet,

and smooth and creamy with just a really, really thin layer

of that honey financier at the bottom.

The gelato is why Donato's here.

It's what he is famous for.

So I'm going to make sure that this element is done perfectly.

Great work, babe.

Come on, guys.

Montana. Hello.

Big fan of Messina?

Yes, massive fan. Definitely. Yeah? Big fan of Donny's work.

And now you're cooking one of his recipes and he's going to judge it.

Does that add extra pressure for you, do you reckon?

Oh, of course it does. Because it is in your wheelhouse.

Yes, of course it does.

I mean, you don't want to be the person who does desserts

in the competition and goes home on a dessert.

So it's stressful.

But I think if I just do the recipe as it says

and not let anything get in my head, I'll be fine.

Definitely. Definitely. Exactly. Good luck.

Thank you.

DANIEL: Right now I'm working on my honey gelato,

which was a huge part of this whole pressure test.

Nothing here is in my wheelhouse.

Come on, Dan. Keep going, mate.

So coming into this challenge, I definitely feel like the underdog.

I know I've got to follow this recipe to a T.

It's a dessert and everything is weighed out

to a specific measurement.

38 of the melted dextrose.

Um...

But by the time I've read it and I've grabbed the ingredients to start,

I've already forgotten how much of each ingredient I needed.

Like, I'm moving quickly and I'm doing things quickly,

but I'm just losing time.

I have to double-check, triple-check, because I just don't trust myself.

I just can't fall behind.

Good work, Michael. Great work, mate.

You've gotta hustle, yeah?

Come on, mate. Faster.

Looking good, Mon.

You got it, Mon.

Half an hour in and I'm sort of finding my groove a little bit,

so it's not as scary as I thought it would be.

I've got my gelato in the churner

and I am working on my honey financier.

Donato's cake in the gelato was reeking of honey

and super thin, and light and fluffy.

I'm adding 110 grams of honey to this butter mixture.

I just want to make sure that that amount that I'm putting in

is spot-on absolutely to what the recipe is saying.

Let's go, Matty.

I think a financier is just a fancy word for a cake.

Reading the recipe, honey is in everything.

Honey. Honeycomb. Honey jelly.

Honey tuile.

It's so hard to keep track of the elements.

But as a teacher, one of the things I always drill into students

is that you've got to read questions right.

And pressure test is like that.

You've got to read these instructions correctly.

If you read them wrong, you could do something wrong.

Everything relies on how accurate you are

to get the right balance in the dish.

So I'm measuring very carefully, but very quickly,

so I don't fall behind.

My honey financier is looking nice and smooth.

It's looking like what I think a cake should look like.

So I'm pretty happy at this point.

And now I can work on my honey tuile next.

I hope you're moving. You've only got two and a half hours to go.

(CHEERING AND SHOUTING)

So, first hour down, gelato's finally in the churner,

and now I have to work on my honey financier.

I feel like I've been motoring on, but...

I dunno, I sort of have a quick look around

and I see Montana's already getting the financier into the oven.

Done, done, done.

So I start to worry a little bit because...

..I still need to do the whole element.

So I'm actually a step behind.

"Sift flour and baking powder in a small stainless steel bowl

"and sprinkle in the..."

HARRY: Keep pushing, yeah, Dan?

I've just gotta hustle. I've gotta go really fast to catch up.

So, first hour down, I'm working on my financier,

but I'm already a whole step behind at the moment.

Righto, Dan. How are you tracking, mate?

I'm just trying to follow it as best I can,

which is hard because I'm rereading things just to be sure.

Righto. There's no time to reread. Yeah, OK.

You just have to read precisely and then do precisely.

Yeah.

You keep going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth,

mate, there's 100 steps in that thing.

It's going to be, a third of your time is going to disappear.

Yeah. So you need to pick up the pace.

OK, cool. OK?

He's in all sorts.

Come on, Dan. Let's go.

TOMMY: Let's go, Dan.

Still got so much to do,

but, yeah, just got to keep on keeping on.

"170, 12 to 14 minutes till golden.

"Turning the tray halfway through cooking." Yeah.

Finally, my honey financier is in the oven.

Now it's time to move on to my tuile.

Alright, two hours to go. Come on, guys!

(SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT AND CHEERING)

ALDO: Go, Daniel! Go, mate! Go, Michael! Come on!

BILLIE: Good work, Mon!

So, I've got my cake in the oven,

I've got my gelato in the churner,

and I am working on my honey tuile.

Donato's honey tuile was so perfect.

I want to replicate that, but in the back of my mind,

I just know I need enough time to do the blown sugar,

so I'm just pushing as fast as I can.

WOMAN: Yee-hoo! Yes! MAN: Oh, nice work, Montana.

Go, Michael!

It's like kitchen art, what he does.

And so I've got to try and make an artwork

that tastes really good as well.

I really want to get it right.

How are you, Michael? Good, Andy.

Mate, you look like you're in some pretty good form.

I'm in some good form.

So, this is my tuile, so I'm gonna chill that down in the fridge.

Yep. And then I'm moving on to the honeycomb.

Mate, you're smashing it. Like, I gotta say.

I'm sweating as well, though.

Imagine how big the beads of sweat will be

when you're trying to blow that sugar.

They'll be... Have you done it before?

Never done it before. I'm actually excited.

I just wish it wasn't going home on the line if I stuff it up.

You know, I've got pretty... Look at these clumsy fingers.

Well, that's the thing.

So it was very smart to get ahead of the game as much as you can,

so you can take some time to make sure that sugar's blown perfectly.

Yeah.

Mate, keep hustling. We'll get out of your hair. Thank you.

You guys really do need to be hustling.

An hour and a half to go! Come on!

(ALL SHOUT AND CHEER)

MONTANA: I'm working at a good speed.

I've made the tuile batter...

..so I'm ready to assemble my gelato element.

It's looking beautiful.

Definitely tastes like Donato's, so I'm really happy.

And honey financier is ready.

I remember just a really, really thin layer

of that honey financier at the bottom.

TOMMY: Go, Mon. You've got this.

So, to start, I fill the honeycomb hexagon with that gelato,

making sure it's really pushed into all those corners.

This is one of the main elements of the whole dessert,

so I really want to make sure I get it right.

And then the recipe says to punch out three holes

from the honey financier and cut them in half

so I end up with six discs.

And place the honey financier in five spots

around the outside and squeezing that sixth one in the middle.

Yeah, it looks really pretty.

It's one of the main elements. It's done.

Good work, Mon. Great work, Montana.

I can tick it off

and I can move on to this crucial blown sugar beehive,

which I've been dreading this whole cook.

So, yeah, it's time to get into it.

Can we get the morale up in here, please?

HARRY: Shake your booty, Dan! Let's go!

(ALL SHOUT) There we go.

That's good, mate. There we go.

How much flour? 100 flour and nine eggwhites.

I am making my tuile, but I'm still behind a bit here.

Don't look around. It's the wrong thing to do in a pressure test.

Because you'll find out that you might be behind

and then you stress yourself out.

But in my job as a firey, there is stress

and there's going to be things that go wrong.

But it's all about figuring out how to get around it

and not give up.

Alright, cool.

ALDO: Come on, Dan. Keep going, mate.

MATT: I'm moving so quickly in this kitchen.

It melts so quickly.

BILLIE: Matt has managed to get out a nice-looking gelato.

(MUTTERS) Oh, my God.

But I'm worried that maybe he didn't read the recipe right.

I've noticed Michael and Montana have cut

the little discs of cake in half...

..but Matt hasn't done that.

And the cake, I think, acts as a bit of a base to the dessert.

So if it's any thicker,

it could throw out the balance of the entire dish.

Keep going! One hour to go!

Come on, gang! JOCK: Come on!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Come on, guys! Come on!

WOMAN: It smells good!

MONTANA: My gelato is all finished,

so it's got the honey financier in it,

it's in the hexagon mould in the blast chiller.

And now...

..it is the blown sugar beehive.

This is the step that I was definitely

just nervously waiting for it to come up in the recipe.

The only time I've ever sort of been exposed to it

was watching Billie's finale,

so, I mean, hopefully, I can take some tips from her,

but, yeah, never done it myself.

I'm glad I've sort of sped through the first elements

to give myself enough time on this one.

We have to make the honeycomb itself

and then create a beehive by blowing sugar in the mould.

Donato's blown sugar beehive was so incredibly thin

and it just sort of was there for a crunch and then just disappeared.

So I want to make sure mine is wafer-thin like his was.

HARRY: How are you feeling, babe? Good?

Yeah, good. Well done, mate. Keep pushing.

MATT: I'm up to the blown sugar beehive.

Yeah, the blown sugar is definitely the part that I have been dreading.

MICHAEL: First time blowing sugar. Definitely nervous.

I think if you've got a beautiful sugar dome when you serve it up,

it's going to be a really impressive thing to the judges and to Donny.

So, yeah, I'm going to work really hard

to make sure I get this one right.

Pretty.

I look like a lady at golf.

So now it's crunch time.

I need to actually construct this beehive.

I need to start working with the sugar at 110 degrees,

which is very hot and definitely going to burn your fingers,

so I'm making sure that I've got the protection on.

Ooh, this is hot.

It's just sticking. Is it supposed to stick to me?

I'm really nervous.

This is...this is, like, the make-or-break part of this dish.

Let's give it a go, hey?

BILLIE: Really gently, Mon.

Come on.

Come on, you got this, Montana.

KEYMA: You're going well. Come on, keep going.

I'm starting to make a ball with my sugar

to try and get a little bit of air into it

before I get it into the mould.

(SIGHS)

I'm having a few attempts at it...

Come on.

Nearly got one.

..and it's not really sort of working.

Oh, God.

BILLIE: Close. So close, Mon. ALVIN: So close, Mon.

Come on, Michael.

Ooh.

How's the sugar going, Michael? Terrible. You?

Not good. Have you done one?

I can't get it to seal. I can't get a seal either.

Yeah.

Guys, just a little bit of advice on the sugar work.

A couple of little things. Try heating the tip of the nozzle.

First of all. Secondly, when you're balling it up,

even though it looks like we're making meatballs, don't go nuts.

And when you grab it, try not to touch the top with your hands.

So over the top...

Like a claw.

..and clench like that around it.

That's it. Thank you.

Sorry.

DAN: My tuile mixture is done. And I'm still behind.

Come on, Dan.

But I can't give up.

So, I'm onto my beehive, and it's just been on the back of my mind.

(GROANS) I just can't...

I can see the other guys, they're struggling.

Oh, damn. Not a good one.

HARRY: Go, Dan.

But once upon a time, I used to work in the mines

and we used to bog up holes with this sort of steel putty-type stuff.

And the pliability of the sugar is somewhat the same.

Like, it's tacky.

Oh, yeah, that's stuck.

So I'm trying to apply the same logic here to sugar,

because I think that's what we're trying to work with.

ALDO: Come on, Dan, you're doing great.

I've got this little ball here...

You've got him shaking like a leaf.

..and it seems to be working quite well for me.

Are you pumping? Yeah, gently.

Now I need to get it out without breaking it.

Oh. Oh, don't. You're making me nervous!

Yes, Dan! Oh, my God!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Yes!

Do you think I've got it?

I've gotta find out. MELISSA: We'll find out.

I'm sure we'll find out.

I've nailed it!

Quick! Quick!

First crack, I can't believe that.

Dan, it looks really good.

And I look around and everyone's still trying to do theirs,

and I've caught up massively.

There you go. That's looking killer.

Now I just need to put it into an airtight container

so that it's ready to plate up.

(CRACK!)

NO!

Oh, sorry. Sorry.

Oh, did he break it?

Oh...fudge.

Oh.

Oh, I'm such a bloody goose.

Daniel. G'day.

You have one?

Yeah. I just crushed it, though, so I'm making another one.

You crushed...?

Actually, when I was putting it in the thingy,

I accidentally crushed the top.

Oh, you crushed it. Not in the good way.

Yeah. Not in the good way. No. OK.

I managed to pull it off in one crack,

so let's see if I can do it again. You can do it.

Pressure makes diamonds, Mel. Correct.

It really does. And I love diamonds.

(CHUCKLING)

Play on. Let's go to round two.

I'm starting my second blown sugar beehive.

I was so far behind but I managed to pull a banger out of nowhere

and catch back up

so, hopefully, I can pull this off again.

I can see that the other three, they're still struggling

to even get the first one.

But I'm getting the same feeling that I did the first time.

ALDO: Come on, Dan. You're doing great, mate.

Nice one, Dan.

Yes!

I don't know how I did that,

but I did it again and I've done it better.

And I'm just cashing my chips on this beehive.

Now, gentle. It's a newborn baby.

Now I've just got to gently, gently, just work away these edges here.

BILLIE: Nice and light, Dan.

(SIGHS) OK. I'm actually stoked with that one.

Oh, Dan!

It looks beautiful. It sits perfectly.

STEPH: Dan? Don't crack it.

This time, I put it in the right container and put that away

so that I don't knock it over. (CHUCKLES)

BILLIE: Let's go! You got it! Let's go!

Last bit.

I feel like I'm getting a second wind about me.

I'm on the homestretch,

I'll just have to finish my tuile and tie up all my loose ends.

I think I can get this done.

Now it's time to get the skates on because you've got 15 minutes to go.

That's it. Beautiful, mate.

Good work, Michael. Beautiful work, Michael.

Go, Matty.

MINDY: Matt, be really careful.

Oh, my God.

(APPLAUSE)

MONTANA: I keep hearing cheers from the gantry for everyone else

once they've gotten their blown sugar work done.

Don't worry about...

Don't worry about him. Worry about you. Worry about you.

You do you. Yeah.

Everything was going so well.

But this blown sugar has just completely thrown me.

I know the other three have gotten a beehive done.

Ugh. I've done about...

..probably over 10 attempts at this sugar ball.

I don't know.

When everyone else's is perfect and you've got one major flaw in yours,

it pretty much means that you're going home.

Oh, my God.

DAN: I caught up massively with the blown sugar beehive.

So now I've got enough time to play with everything else.

Ow! That's really hot.

KEYMA: You don't need fingers. HARRY: (CHUCKLES) You don't need fingers.

The tuile, I'm happy with that. I think that looks good.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

You bloody bewdy.

I spent a lot of time and care into the gelato.

Come on, Dan.

And I think I've done a good job here.

ALDO: Yes, Daniel. STEPH: Dan, it looks really good.

And I've been waiting for an excuse to do some spray painting.

Putting my white chocolate coating on the gelato,

that's what it's like.

And then I'm just double-checking everything.

Yay!

Yes, Dan.

I feel like I was thrown in the deep end today,

really out of my comfort zone.

And I think I've done a cracking effort.

Sorry, guys.

You've only got 10 minutes to go. Come on!

(CHEERING AND SHOUTING)

I don't have a sugar ball I'm happy with.

So, if I've got enough time at the end

after all the elements are done, I'll go back to it.

Beehive is done. So, yeah, I'm pretty happy.

Just getting all these little last elements ready to go.

There's eight minutes to go. I'm tired, but I'm about to get it done.

So I'm happy.

I'm confident in my mise en place.

But I'm going to plate up the dish in front of the judges

and in front of Donato in the tasting room.

That really frightens me.

Beautiful. Great work, Matt.

Come on, guys! You've only got three minutes to go! Come on!

Push! Push! Push! Let's go!

MONTANA: So, I've come back to my blown sugar beehive.

Keep going, Mon.

I have finished all of my elements

except for this.

Close. So close, Mon. ALDO: So close, Mon.

It's just heartbreaking.

Oh, my God.

Has Mon got one? No.

She just needs one. I know.

You can do it.

This one looks good. This one looks good.

Yes!

Come on!

I actually cannot believe that I have managed to make one.

Oh! Oh, God!

I'm seeing the finish line here.

I've still got to do the hard part.

I know it is hard, but you've got it.

Careful, Mon.

Be really gentle.

So, I'm super, super careful with the edges.

MEL: 30 seconds! 30 seconds!

Come on!

Oh!

To come so close and all of a sudden just slip away so quickly...

I don't have a complete dish.

All that's going through my head right now

is that I'll be leaving this kitchen today.

Alright. It's time. 10...

ALL: nine, eight

seven, six,

five, four

three, two

one.

That's it!

Well done, guys.

Well, I think this is going to be a very interesting tasting -

lots of techniques, lots of elements.

But they desperately don't want to go home

and they're really digging their heels in.

Shall we get the first one in? Let's do it.

Oh, God. Good luck, mate. Thank you.

It's been such an intense cook.

This pressure test was by far the hardest so far.

Matt.

And now I have to plate up in front of the chef who created this dish.

You've got five minutes. Your time starts now.

It's probably the most nerve-wracking thing

that's happened in this kitchen.

And I'm so worried about breaking the beehive.

I've got to be so careful.

I'm piping a little bit of cream Chantilly,

my jelly, my financier and my chewy strawberries.

Matt. Yep.

You've got two minutes left.

Three of my minutes have gone. I've just got to motor.

But the beehive is filled and it's done.

I'm just stoked.

And then to finish the gelato honeycomb,

sprinkle across the powder.

Then I just need to be really careful

about placing my tuile on top.

And...time's up.

Five minutes flies when you're having fun, huh?

(CHUCKLES) It sure does.

Really happy with how it's come together.

I think it looks pretty similar to Donato's,

but you never know, do you?

Alright. Matt, we'll taste it. Thank you.

It's pretty good.

Have a look at that.

There's a lot of financier in there.

There's too much cake in it.

There's hardly any gelato. It's almost all financier.

There's no gelato in it.

It's not a great sign.

So, he hasn't cut it.

You should be able to just crack the top.

The top's OK.

What do you think, Donny?

The beehive was beautiful. It was great, great flavours.

Nailed everything. The jelly was great.

The strawberries were great. The Chantilly was great.

How about the tuile? The tuile was beautiful.

Faultless.

Yeah, everything was good.

It's just what really counted for me was the gelato.

And unfortunately, I couldn't taste it.

There was just too little of it on there.

For me, that gelato is key.

You know, earlier when you said

it's like this little scoop of happiness. Yeah.

Kind of missed out on having that.

He's failed to read one pivotal step,

and I actually don't think he's got any idea.

No.

Let's face it - that could send him home today.

ANNOUNCER: Hungry for inspiration?

JOCK: Michael.

Gonna need some crossed fingers, guys.

This is scaring me. (CHUCKLES)

Michael, your five minutes starts now.

I don't think you're ever ready for your MasterChef experience to end.

Even season three when I got all the way to the finale,

I still wanted to keep going for months after that.

(EXHALES)

That scares me so much. (CHUCKLES)

Did you get it?

And I think my elements are good.

I think I've done enough to keep myself safe.

I dunno but I'm happy that I got that honey blown sugar beehive done.

(EXHALES)

I...I'm 85% happy.

Thank you, Michael. We'll taste.

Enjoy.

Hey!

Good financier to gelato... DONATO: Gelato.

..ratio. (CHUCKLES)

The gelato was spot-on. I couldn't fault it.

It was silky, it was smooth, there was no caramelisation of the milk,

the honey came through nicely.

The beehive, it was good. It was good.

You know, everything tasted right. I got a little bit of everything.

I think Michael was more or less right in his assessment

of being 85% happy with it.

Yeah. Michael's done a pretty good job.

Good luck, mate.

Best of luck, brother. Get it, buddy.

ANDY: Daniel. DANIEL: Hey, guys. How are we?

Good, mate.

Righto, Daniel, five minutes starts now.

Let's go.

The intricate nature of the Messina dessert, it was very terrifying

but managed to pull off this dish...

..like, I can't believe that I did sugar blowing.

90 seconds, Daniel. Oh, my Lord. (CHUCKLES)

I double- and triple-checked everything that went into this dish.

So hopefully, the care that I've put into it will pay off.

Righto, mate. Thanks, Daniel, we'll taste.

Thanks, guys. Cheers. Enjoy. Thank you.

(CRACK!)

Oh. Look at that.

That went straight through it. Straight through.

Very, very good.

(CRUNCH!) Woooow!

DONATO: That's... That's perfect.

Yeah.

Look how thin and beautiful that sugar is.

That is very hard to do.

Agreed. It's...

It took us a while to get that right too.

(ALL LAUGH)

That has to be gelato of the day so far.

It's glorious. Without saying the 'P' word, it's perfection.

Mm.

I don't dare to say it's identical to yours, but...

I was actually gonna say it's a little bit better.

Wow!

Er, so, the gelato was bang-on.

He couldn't have got it any better.

Um, like I said to you while we were eating,

I think it's better than mine.

So he absolutely nailed it.

Um, the beehive sugar was super fine.

Tuile...nailed it. Yeah.

Jock, you always describe a good gelato as feeling warm to the palate

and this had... definitely that texture

but also, it carried such a beautiful, delicate perfume

of the honey.

It's pretty epic.

Like, the sugar work.

It's not luck, you know?

You do it once, maybe - perfect, that's luck.

But to do it a second time and get it absolutely spot-on?

He seems to be good with just reading a recipe

and doing what it says.

It's incredible.

I mean, from Territory tacos to high, high quality blowing of sugar?

Come on! It's MasterChef.

Mm. He's done well.

I know the other three have gotten a beehive done

and I'm the only one who doesn't have one.

But, I've wanted this for too long,

and I'm not ready to leave this competition yet.

Montana. Hello.

So, I'm gonna keep fighting till that very, very last second.

I just need to figure out how I'm going to make this into a dish

that somewhat resembles Donato's.

Alright.

Your time starts now.

JOCK: Montana...

..your time starts now.

MONTANA: I'm the only one who doesn't have the complete beehive done.

So I'm building this dessert from the bottom up.

And I try and salvage these shards.

It does sort of look like a beehive shape

that resembles Donato's in an abstract way, I guess.

Alright. We'll taste.

Thanks, Montana. (GIGGLES)

MEL: OK.

I mean...

..considering...

..what happened, I think that's a pretty great presentation.

DONATO: I agree.

Very thin sugar.

Very glossy.

Right colour.

It's partially perfect. Yep. That's really nice.

(CRACK!) Yep.

I think as well, you gotta give her props for just keeping going.

ALL: Yes.

Start with the main event - the gelato.

I thought it was just as good as yours, to be honest.

I agree. The gelato for me was spot-on, it was perfect.

The honey shone through, that amazing honey.

The dusting on top, it was just the right amount.

I think there was a lot of attention to detail

in the texture of the gelato and the construction as well,

just how thin the financier slices were.

The tuile, I thought it had really nice flavour

and I didn't note that nearly as much in some of the others

that we tasted today.

And in that regard, I think it's closer to yours.

And I mean, we have to call a spade a spade -

she didn't bring us a complete beehive.

But what she did bring us is a very thin sugar shell

that has the same colour as yours and it's ephemeral, isn't it?

The sugar was so fine that as soon as it sort of blended in with the cream,

it almost melted through.

So as soon as you got to your mouth, there was a slight crack

but it disappeared.

I... (SIGHS)

It's a funny tasting.

I'll ask all of you a question.

If you ate this with a blindfold on,

would it be the closest,

taste- and texture-wise to yours, Donny, throughout the day?

Yeah, I'd say yes.

If you take that technical element of the sugar out, yeah.

But, blindfolded, you wouldn't be able to tell.

Unfortunately, this is not a blind taste test, though...

No. (LAUGHS)

Donny, mate, that was an incredibly challenging pressure test.

I think you did amazingly well.

I'm glad I wasn't in your shoes.

(DANIEL CHUCKLES) But you guys killed it.

Thank you.

Montana, Daniel, Michael and Matt...

..there were a myriad of difficult components

that you had to put on the plate today.

And you all made great attempts at mirroring Donny's dish.

Starting with yours...Daniel.

Your sugar work was expert.

And Donato thought that your gelato...

..was BETTER than his!

(LAUGHTER) Which means, of course, you're safe.

(APPLAUSE)

That leaves Michael, Matt and Montana.

Michael,

your gelato was spot-on.

Montana,

your gelato resembled Donny's.

The flavours of honey sang throughout.

But you know as well as us...

..that wasn't a beehive.

Matt,

your beehive was a ten.

But...

..there was a serious flaw in your gelato...

..in that you misread the recipe

and its construction was more financier than gelato.

Montana, Matt...

..we had to assess which problem is the greatest.

And in a gelato challenge...

..we decided that that element

is the most crucial.

Which is why, I'm sorry, Matt, you're going home.

Oh, buddy.

It's alright, mate.

Matt, so sorry, mate.

We knew that you were great

when you walked through those doors for the very first time.

Since then, you have grown in every single cook

and we believe you belong in kitchens,

and that's the biggest thing for us.

Thanks, guys.

Unfortunately, dude, it's time to say goodbye.

Thanks, guys.

I'm disappointed because I wanna be here still.

Thanks for cooking for us, man.

But I'm gonna own the fact that I made a mistake.

That was on me.

But I'm gonna hold onto how proud I am of myself

for the growth I've achieved,

some amazing dishes I've cooked.

And I think I've held myself really well through this competition.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Give it up for Matt, everybody!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

ANNOUNCER: Tomorrow night on MasterChef Australia...

Goose bumps! What?

..they're literally surrounded by a masterpiece.

SARAH: It's just so magical.

You aren't just cooks today...

..you're artists.

Entree needs some hands.

But will that inspiration...

Ugh.

..translate to the plate?

How long have we got?

Will it be a stressful next 25 minutes?

You bet.

Service, please!

Captions by Red Bee Media