Original subtitles

VOICEOVER: Previously on MasterChef Australia...

(APPLAUSE) Hi, Mum. Hi, Dad.

..family was at the heart of the kitchen,

even for a global superstar.

Love you, guys.

And while they said farewell to a member of the MasterChef family...

A big hand for Steph, everyone.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

..they said hello to thousands.

SOFIA: Bring them in! Hey, everybody!

..for a street-food extravaganza.

It's blooming delicious. ANDY: Yeah.

Man, does that taste good.

And the winner is...

..the Red Team!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

You are immune from the next elimination.

Tonight, another special family member sets the mother

of all eliminations.

(THUNDER RUMBLES, RAIN PATTERS)

Here we go.

Umbrellas and black aprons.

What a combo.

How's everyone feeling?

I'm nervous about this.

Yeah, it's got a heavy feeling today.

Black Apron Day is always a heavy day,

and especially when you're cooking

against some really top-tier contestants.

(APPLAUSE)

Welcome back.

Here they come.

SNEZANA: There's something underneath.

Ooh! What is that?

(LAUGHS)

Here we go, here we go.

(WHISTLES)

(WHOOPING)

Looking good.

Hey, guys.

Morning, all. CONTESTANTS: Good morning.

I'm afraid it's that time again.

It's elimination day.

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

Sav, how do you feel about this being your first elimination?

Well, pressure's on.

As always, screaming, crying on the inside.

(LAUGHTER) Um, but, you know,

here to cook and show my stuff,

so that's what I'm going to do today.

Brilliant.

Let's get into it.

This elimination,

it's a two-rounder.

CONTESTANTS: Oh!

And round one has been set by a very special guest.

(EXCLAMATIONS)

Just behind those doors

is one of my absolute idols.

Oh, my God, who is it?

Who is it?

This person.

they're the reason I got into cooking.

But she is definitely not known for hers.

Who?

Please welcome to the MasterChef kitchen

Marie.

Oh, gosh.

What? My mum!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

GILLIAN: My heart is instantly melting when I see Andy's mum

walk through.

I know Andy taught himself how to cook because he's mentioned that

so many times before.

So, instantly, when I see his mum, I'm excited because it's his mum,

and it's so special.

Oh, my God.

Mum, these are all our friends.

You've met these new friends.

Lovely to meet you. Yes, I have. It's so lovely to meet you.

I'm very honoured to be here.

Hello, Andrew.

Hello, Mum.

Andrew! Can you not call me Andrew?

(LAUGHTER)

Are you in trouble?

I get Andrew when I'm in trouble. Yeah.

Yeah, like, I'm not in trouble today.

OK.

As I mentioned before, Mum is the reason that I got into cooking.

It was purely because there was not much variety going on

in the Allen household.

How is your cooking? Are you a good cook?

No, I'm not. No.

I grew up on a farm, so everything was either mashed, boiled or baked.

Flavour came out of a can, usually.

Flavour came out of a can. Yep.

Flavour came out of a can. I was A lucky duck.

Or it came out of a packet.

So, you went to the continental section and...you know?

French onion soup.

That's exact... I still use a French onion soup.

So, you must be extremely pleased with Andy.

We are extremely proud of him.

We...can't tell you how proud we are because I get too emotional.

Aw! Stop it.

That's fantastic.

Look, it's not...it's not just about the food.

Too embarrassing. Like, we haven't even started yet.

It's not only about the food industry.

We're just so proud of the human being he is.

And we're very proud of the choices that he's made in life.

We're just so, so proud of his...how he's turned out.

(LAUGHS) (APPLAUSE)

I think you've gathered Mum wasn't winning any awards,

any Michelin stars for what she was putting on the dinner table.

And what you're about to see were dishes that we ate

all the time, in the Allen household.

And today,

they will be your source of inspiration.

Oh. This is good.

Oh, my God.

And so, your challenge -

take one of Mum's dishes...

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

..put your own spin on it.

OK.

Shall we take a look at the bounty?

CONSTANTS: Yes! Yeah?

Oh, God, I'm freaking out.

I'm getting PTSD thinking about this.

Oh, no. First up, we have...

..the Pine Burger.

(LAUGHTER)

What?

A pine what?

Well, so, Mum, what have we got?

Our layer at the bottom is a muffin.

On top,

the good old plain tomato paste. Tomato paste, yeah.

Spread it over.

Right. Tomato paste.

There's the flavour out of a can.

(CHUCKLES)

Then, a layer of ham...

This is so good.

..followed by the tinned pineapple.

And then, over the top,

we would just grate the cheese.

The Pine Burger!

Huh?

What has she done to Andy?

But then, also, what is she doing to us?

Like, I can't work with that. I can't work with the Pine Burger.

And next up, we have...

Oh!

These are my lamb chops.

What else you got on there?

I have what I'm famous for - my mashed potato.

I have... (CHUCKLES)

..mashed pumpkin, as well.

And then, I've got carrot and, of course, peas.

My favourite, peas.

This is the one that I can remember smelling before I ate it.

Grey, overcooked deliciousness.

(LAUGHTER)

I can't see anything wrong with that.

Last but definitely not least.

My Fruit Salad Slice.

What is this?

Well, this is a base of biscuit.

And then, the reason it's fruit salad

and it's held together

is because you would use... Stop laughing. (CHUCKLES)

The, um...held together with raspberry gel...

Jelly. Jelly.

Aeroplane Jelly. Yep, Aeroplane.

Yeah. No home brand for that one.

And then, it's topping with a nice, like, little custardy and...and, um,

coconut on top.

Really don't know what to make of these...uh, dishes

that have been put up.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the Pine Burger,

let alone, like, think about the other two dishes.

So, it's...it's a worry.

You will have 75 minutes.

You must create a new dish,

taking inspiration from one of Marie's classics.

And the five least impressive dishes

will go into the round-two elimination,

where one of you will be going home.

This is your big moment.

What's the big moment? You're gonna kick them off.

You're going to start the cook.

And your time starts now! Time starts now!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Go, go, go, go!

Go, guys! Go, guys!

Oh, my God.

Let's go, let's go.

KHRISTIAN: I like you.

I like you.

These dishes are something I've eaten or made

a thousand times as a kid.

Every family event, you'd find some kind of fruity jelly slice.

I'm feeling really good about this challenge.

It's going to be fun.

Lost my paper?

Marie, what are you hoping that everybody cooks today?

Uh, anything that's better than that.

So, I feel... (LAUGHS) (LAUGHS)

Nice. Set the bar low. I like it. JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Ah, bless you.

I think, with the ingredients that I've chosen,

so I'm really excited to see the people

from different backgrounds and things like that,

what they can do to a good old Aussie-type meal. Yes!

I think the key here is to not look at the actual dish,

but look at the components. (LAUGHTER)

Oh, smelling yum!

Like, there's a bread, there's a tomato sauce,

there's a protein, there's pineapple.

You know, I think you've got to pull it apart

because if you get stuck trying to make this any better than it is,

because it's so perfect right now... Well, so, this is it. That's right.

Can't beat perfection. ..then it could be really tough

because it is such simple food.

Uyy! Sorry. Oh, my goodness.

ALEX: Today, I have to take inspiration

from one of Marie's dishes.

I have decided to take on this fruit jelly slice

and make it my own.

Hi, Alex. Hello.

I saw you guys there, in the corner of my eyes.

I was like, "Don't come right now. I'm so busy."

We're here. What are you making?

I'm doing, like, a raspberry and strawberry gel

with a little bit of rhubarb.

That's going to be, like, a ravioli kind of thing...

Oh!

..with a creme-pat filling,

and then a biscuit crumb, some coconut,

some other bits and bobs going on.

So, it's a little bit of a sort of experimental dessert.

It's different, but it should be good different.

Alright. Good luck. Thanks, guys.

Essentially, it's like a roll-up,

you know, the ones you'd get in school.

And you fill it with filling,

but make it look like ravioli.

I am really going out on a limb here.

So, it's all about focus, focus, focus.

Just do something cool, something unexpected

and something that's tasty.

So, I'm inspired by Andy's mum's, um, chop and three-four veg.

So, what I'm doing today, I'm doing carrot and three veg.

Looks like it's going to be a lot of meat happening today,

so I thought I'd give three... these three vegetables, uh,

like, a little place to shine.

The carrot is going to be in the middle. That's the hero.

So, I'm going to have a lovely, um, well seasoned, uh,

dollops of puree.

Uh, potato, pommes potato and also the peas puree, as well.

Every cook in this kitchen,

I learn so much about myself, so much about what I can do.

When I cook at home, I cook usual suspects.

But then, I come in here, MasterChef kitchen,

and I come up with this dish.

So, I've decided I don't even need that lamb in my dish.

Mmm. Yum.

And remember how you used to yell at me and raise your voice?

Yell out? Yes. Use that voice. OK.

You have one hour left! (WHOOPING)

That was alright. That was alright.

It's not even going in here.

It's not doing its job.

Hi, Nat.

Hi. How are we doing?

Are you inspired by the Pine Burger?

Yes, I am.

So, I'm making a sweet Danish with a banana creme pat...

..a charred pineapple, and I'm gonna make a bacon crumb,

like, a salty bacon crumb.

And then, a raspberry and tomato, like, jam.

If anyone's going to balance these together, it is you.

Good luck. Thank you so much.

I'm taking inspiration from the lamb chop.

And I'm doing three types of gnocchi.

So, I've got pumpkin and carrot going in one.

You've got the potato gnocchi, and then a pea and mint gnocchi.

Um, and that's going to be served with the lamb sauce.

So, it's, um...it's meat and four veg but my way.

Oh, my lord! (LAUGHS)

Hello. No fish!

(CHUCKLES) Yeah, no fish. What are you gonna do, mate?

I've been waiting for that day to come, eh?

He's filleting the pumpkin.

(OTHERS LAUGH)

I've gone the lamb with the veg, as well.

Yeah. What are you doing? How are you making it different?

This is really weird to say, but my family,

when we have mashed pumpkin and potato,

we call it 'potumpkin'. I love it.

So, I'm gonna do a potumpkin croquette,

a sous-vide rack of lamb cutlets,

and once they're out, I'm gonna finish them on the hibachi.

Good luck, Harry. (CHUCKLES) Thanks, guys.

(WHISTLES)

Today, I have decided to go the dessert route.

I am absolutely petrified.

Like, I don't love making desserts and stuff,

probably because I'm not super good at it,

but I think there might be a way to recreate Andy's mum's

fruit slice.

Then, hopefully, that'll be enough to keep me out of the bottom five.

Jonathan, my mother, Marie. Jonathan. Hello, Jonathan. How are you?

Hi, Marie. Lovely to meet you.

Yeah, lovely to meet you.

And, Andrew, how are you? Yeah, I'm good mate.

Don't you start.

Um, what have you got, mate?

Looks like you're going for the sweet variety.

Ooh, yes, Jonathan.

And going for a bit inspo from the Fruit Salad Slice.

That's exactly right. Said no-one, ever. But here we are.

No. So, I'm doing this with a white chocolate,

uh, cream-cheese filling.

Uh, and then a jelly fruit salad on top.

Right, OK.

So, you've taken the biscuit base.

Next layer?

Uh, next layer is going to be the white chocolate.

So, I'm just getting that done. OK.

And then, it'll be just working on the fruit.

Right, so you're literally making what Mum made?

Uh...

It was more the ingredients that I was looking at a change for.

Yeah. So, not a replica.

Yep.

It's one thing to be making the same thing as what Mum brought in,

but it needs to be more interesting. Yeah.

It needs to be MasterChef-worthy.

Right. So, you're literally making what Mum made?

Because it's one thing to be making

the same thing as what Mum brought in,

but it needs to be more interesting.

Yeah. It needs to be MasterChef-worthy.

If I can jazz it up a bit?

You do that, yeah. You have to jazz it up, yeah.

You need to introduce different flavours and textures.

Yeah. Yeah.

You've got the base. Now we need to add to it.

Andy's concerns with my dish today are that I'm actually

just replicating Marie's fruit slice -

I'm not taking inspiration from it.

I feel like I might be in a bit of trouble here.

I need to think of something real quick.

POH: Listen up, everybody.

We have Andrew's mum in the house.

You have 45 minutes to go!

Come on! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

I'm regretting this already.

The blowtorch. Food processor.

Blowtorch. Food processor.

So, my inspiration dish is the pineapple burger,

and I'm making a pascualina.

That is a small tart from Argentina with mascarpone cheese,

charred pineapple and crispy bacon.

It is...it's creamy, it's cheesy.

It's all that flavour that you... You know, when you...grrr!

You want to bite and melt the cheese in your mouth.

It's like having a...a type of pie.

It's called pascualina because in Spanish, OK?

(BOTH LAUGH)

Sav, my mum, Marie.

Andrew. Oh, hello, Sav, how are you?

Lovely to meet you. Right, what are you doing?

I'm doing the Pine Burger. Yeah.

The infamous Pine Burger. Yes.

I'm doing a galette.

Do you know what a galette is? No.

Little...little... It's like an open-faced little...

..little pie business.

I've got to temper the pineapple.

OK. I'm gonna do some labneh.

I've got a rough puff, and there's pulled pork going in there.

Pulled pork?

I really need a taste sensation today, OK?

So... Yeah. No pressure, Andy's mum.

Alright, good luck.

Good luck.

Are you going alright? Yeah, good.

I'm just going to... Just lots of components.

Yeah. Just trying to get them all on.

I need to prove, in this competition,

that I can do something other than desserts.

I know it's an elimination, but I really want

to, at this high-pressure situation,

prove that I know how to cook a savoury dish.

I'm doing a lamb backstrap,

and then I'm taking inspiration from the three different vegies

that were on the plate.

So, we've got minted pea puree, uh, carrot crisps and fondant potatoes.

And then, bring it all together with the red wine jus.

Today, I have to nail every single element

because, yeah, you can't hide behind meat and three veg.

I need to get as much flavour into this dish and show technique.

SNEZANA: Andy! Snez, how are you?

Hi, Marie. Hello.

Hello. Lovely meeting you.

Oh, now, what are we doing here? Alright.

I have this...like, a little carroty thing.

So, I was thinking, just to keep it as a hero dish.

Oh, wow. Yeah.

So, it's going to be carrot and four veg.

OK.

Daubs of, um, pea puree and potato puree on the side.

Yep. I would have a fondant pumpkin.

Love the sound of it. Yeah?

Remember you don't have to have all the ingredients...

Yes? ..that was presented on my plate.

Remember, you can go with your choice.

I think you've hit the brief in terms of the concept,

but I still think you've got to bring the flavour.

Thank you, Andy. Thanks, Marie.

For my vegetarian dish,

I'm hoping for a crunchy caramelised bottom

and very soft inside,

so when you cut in it, you see all the layers reveal.

This is exactly food that I want to make.

Simple food that tastes amazing.

This dish is a risk, but if I can still nail all the flavours,

I could be safe from elimination in round two.

I think this is turning out to be a tough challenge

that you've set, there, Mum. Oh, I'm pleased.

I think we're seeing a lot of the contestants

have gone for, like, the...the meat and three veg, and just doing it

in a slightly different way.

POH: Yeah, they've gone quite a literal interpretation.

Yes, yeah. I think, which is always going to be the challenge

of, you know, taking inspiration from something.

That's all we want.

Ooh!

Take the bones of it, and make it something extraordinary.

Josh, do you think that's too rare? Uh...I'd eat it.

Sweet.

I think the thing is, it's elimination time.

Somebody is going to be eliminated today,

and it's no time for prisoners. Yeah.

I spoke to my nonna on the weekend.

She said, "You know, you've already

"done heaps by making it down there and having a good time.

"So, at the end of the day, you're in the kitchen cooking.

"And have a good time - that's all you can do."

When Andy came round, he basically just said,

"Look, I don't want you to replicate exactly, like, um,

"what my mum's done."

So, I've changed my dish into a mango sorbet,

tempered white chocolate, white chocolate ganache,

fruit cheesecake.

I've done the white-chocolate cream cheese filling

with some gelatine in there.

I'm just caramelising these peaches for the next layer.

That's going to then sit on top. Last, chill that.

Now that I know where I'm going with it, I'm feeling a bit

better about it.

Winging it as I go.

I just hope I've done enough to keep me out of the bottom five.

Ooh-whee!

Yum!

It's all about taking inspiration of my childhood from my mum,

and you've only got 30 minutes to go. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Oh, shit.

# Dame mas gasolina! #

Ha-ha!

(CHUCKLES)

Oh, no!

I'm blanching peas,

I'm making a pan sauce, and I'm about to crumb and fry

my croquette.

The lamb looks good.

I think it's going to be medium rare.

I'm just going to get it on.

NAT: Oh, my God.

Making a Danish kind of thing, you know, with the rough puff.

Made the creme pat.

I'm about to make a raspberry and tomato jam.

Yeah, I've got a lot to do.

GILLIAN: I'm up to peeling these potatoes so I can put it

in the blast chiller for a quick two minutes,

and then I can start making all my gnocchi.

And then, it only takes about a couple of minutes to boil.

Then, I'm going to fry it off.

Ooh! It's hot.

I'm reinventing Marie's fruit jelly slice.

Look, I'm not a dessert girl.

Uh, but I thought

it might be time to step up my game and really show myself.

The creme pat's in the fridge.

I'm trying to do a little jam kind of thing,

and I'm about to whip up a Chantilly cream.

Right now, my biggest concern is this fruit jelly.

I essentially need to create a really thin layer of fruit gel,

which is going to case my filling.

If this fruit jelly doesn't work and it doesn't form, like,

a somewhat solid, you know, consistency,

I can pretty much just scrap the whole dish,

and I won't know whether it's going to be right

until it's set.

SNEZANA: Looking beautiful, Juan.

(GASPS) Holy moly!

Pearls! Are you Heston Blumenthal or what?

(CHUCKLES) What?! (LAUGHS)

DARRSH: Right now, I'm feeling pretty good.

Everything's kind of gone to plan with the lamb.

There's a pea puree on.

Fondant potatoes are in the oven,

and the last element that I need to nail is the sauce,

which I need to start on.

Hello. Tell me. What are you doing now?

I'm actually just trying to get the bones out.

Sauce, yeah. Yeah, for the sauce.

So, I'm just gonna brown off the bones as long as I can.

More vegetables, so I'll get onion, I've got another carrot,

and just get it all in the pan, reducing.

Next time, always start your stock, your sauce ahead.

It's logic because this is the basis.

This is the foundation of your dish.

So, if there is not the right flavours,

the right concentrations, that's it.

Yeah. Waste of time.

In hindsight,

I probably should have got this sauce on a lot earlier.

So, I have to try and pack as much flavour

into this sauce as I can.

You have 15 minutes! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

15 minutes!

Yes!

Now, do it at, like, 180 for 15 minutes until lightly golden.

15 minutes? Yeah.

10. 15.

JONATHAN: Time's almost running out.

I had to pivot and think on my feet,

but I've managed to pump out all my elements.

I've got my sorbet done, my white-chocolate dome done,

the cheesecake layer is setting.

I've just got to get everything back in the blast chiller to set.

Ow! Too hot. Ow!

I'm just hoping to leave the mango sorbet in the blast chiller

for as long as I can, and then it's a matter of getting it

on the plate.

Oh, my God!

It smells delightful, Sav.

How's it tasting, Darrsh? Nice?

I just want to loosen it up a little bit.

I'm really happy with the pea puree,

the fondant potatoes,

even the cook on the lamb,

but I'm looking at my red-wine jus...

It's essentially a red-wine paste at this stage,

because I've over-reduced this sauce, way too quickly.

I can't serve it. There's nothing left.

It's essentially a glaze.

If I don't fix this red-wine jus, then I'm in trouble.

So, I decided to get the beef stock.

Oh, where's my stock?

And I start reducing that down again.

I'm hoping that this will work.

Andy's mum is in the kitchen, and we want to see the mother

of all dishes in the next five minutes!

Come on! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

ALEX: I have my creme pat ready.

But at this point, I'm so nervous.

I need to make sure that these gels come out in one piece.

My whole shot at saving myself from the next round

relies on this jelly.

I'm really stoked with my fruit gel.

It seems like it's holding the consistency I'm after.

It's just a matter of now filling it.

It's working.

I've never made this before as a whole dish,

so I'm really hoping that it's a pleasant surprise

for these judges that they weren't expecting.

SNEZANA: The clock is ticking, and I have been working on getting

more flavour into this vegetable dish.

I'm looking on my dish, I'm loving what I see -

it looks beautiful.

It smells so fragrant.

I absolutely love this, but my question is if the judges

are going to love it, too. (LAUGHS)

Without the lamb, did I get the flavour they're after?

Trust me, you never want to let my mum down.

Two minutes to go! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Almost there.

Holy moly.

JONATHAN: I've still got to get my cheesecake out

of the springform pan.

I've gone to go undo it,

and nothing moves.

Right now, I'm just starting to panic.

I hope I've inspired you.

One minute to go!

One minute! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Oh, I don't know how to get it out of there.

It's...it's not budging.

It's frozen.

30 seconds to go! Come on!

(APPLAUSE)

With seconds to go, all I can do is just put it on the plate.

It's all I can do.

Really should have put baking paper in the tin

before I did the cheesecake.

Here we go. You have 10...

JUDGES: Nine,

eight,

seven, six,

five, four,

three, two,

one!

And that's it!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Couldn't get it out of the...

Well done, everyone.

Well, the challenge today was all about taking inspiration

from my mum's masterpieces.

(LAUGHTER)

We are looking for the bottom five dishes to go into round two.

So, shall we get started?

First dish we'd like to taste belongs to...

..Snez.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Oh, beautiful! OTHERS: Oh!

It looks nothing like anything I've cooked in my life.

(LAUGHTER)

This is carrot and three veg.

I've done that rose with carrot.

And then, I have fondant pumpkin, pommes potato and pea puree.

Aesthetically, you got it right.

It's just whether flavour-wise you got it right.

It was risky to do something like this, but when you can do

vegies that good,

who needs meat?

It's interesting. It's got guts.

The textures are perfect.

Caramelisation on the bottom was delicious.

You've got veg game.

Go, Snezzy!

Thank you.

Yeah, it is so good. It's fantastic.

You've got this pumpkin, it's nice and glazed.

It's tasty. It's been seasoned.

It's been... Oh, it's a delight.

Look, if this was opera,

this is soprano.

It is...bang!

What I love about this is the texture.

It would have been so easy to overcook that carrot

because they're so thin.

By creating those layers, it's giving this bite

that you would be missing in a dish without meat.

But that IS the meat.

I just wanted to say that this is an excellent example of editing.

Leaving the lamb out.

You're really good at listening to your ingredients.

I think this is your superpower.

Thank you. Well done.

Thank you so much, guys. Woo! Way to go, Snez!

Starting in this competition, I kind of felt like,

"Oh, my God, what am I doing here?

"Everyone's so good."

Carrot Queen! Well done! Queen of carrot!

But after this couple of cooks,

I feel really confident to go there and try something different.

And our next contestant to come to our table is Juan.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

JUAN: This is called pascualina.

It's a tart that we have in Argentina.

Love the filling. The pineapple in it takes me back to that memory.

(LAUGHTER)

It was bang on.

I could leave the pearls.

I'm going to disagree.

I think this made the dish, I'm sorry.

This happens all the time. Nice one, Juan.

Sav.

SAVINDRI: Rough puff galette.

I've got the tomato sauce with a tempered pineapple

and spiced pork. Go on, just say it -

you got inspiration from the Pine Burger.

I saw the pine burger, and I was here for it.

It was giving, and I was living, loving and laughing.

So, we're here.

I loved it.

(LAUGHS)

It was so good.

I am absolutely blown away with it.

That Pine Burger, now, could go on any menu in Australia,

and we would be famous.

It's a Marie and Sav collab.

Congratulations, Sav. Thank you. That means everything.

That's absolutely amazing. Thank you.

Jono, let's see your ode to Marie.

JONATHAN: My mind's going a million miles an hour.

I am absolutely gutted putting up a dish

that hasn't been plated properly.

I couldn't get the cake out of the springform pan.

I'm hoping the flavours are good,

but I don't know if it's going to be enough to keep me safe today.

What is that?

Uh, I had a bit of a mishap at the end.

It's a cream-cheese White Chocolate Cake,

Rum Peaches.

The tempered white chocolate with a mango sorbet.

POH: Jonathan, can I just tell you...

Yep. ..I can't even scoop that crumb out.

Obviously, there's a massive problem.

There's no structure to the dish.

And we couldn't even get half of it out.

Sure.

It's tasty, but to me, all the components are quite clumsy.

The base is quite thick. The chocolate's quite thick.

I'd love to see what the best version of that looked like,

because I think if you can nail that technique,

it would have been great.

Thank you, I appreciate that.

Thanks, Jonathan.

Cheers.

What a shame.

Harry.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Sous-vide lamb cutlets, a potumpkin croquette,

and peas and mint.

I think the potumpkin is great.

It brought the dish to life.

But the lamb, it's under.

This little guy on the end

is probably the only piece that's edible.

Thanks, Harry. Thanks, Harry.

Nat.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Oh!

NAT: Danish puff pastry with banana creme pat,

chargrilled pineapple,

raspberry and tomato gel

and bacon crumb.

I actually enjoyed that flavour combination.

However... Oh, God.

..there are problems with the pastry.

It's actually uncooked. Damn.

Gill.

GILLIAN: Lamb with pea and mint gnocchi,

a pumpkin and carrot gnocchi and a potato gnocchi.

Each vegetable isn't coming through for me.

Maybe it was the pressure.

Maybe it was the ambition.

Thanks, Jill. Thank you.

Next up to the tasting table,

Josh Clarke.

JOSH: Pulled pork tacos with a pineapple salsa.

I feel like the pork just needs a bit more oomph.

It was a little bland. Yeah.

Next dish is Lochy's.

LACHLAN: A Moroccan-style meat and three.

The lamb is beautifully cooked, and that tahini is gorgeous.

Yeah.

(APPLAUSE) Let's do it, then, Alex.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

ALEX: There are so many really good dishes today.

Hello.

But I've made something a little different,

so I'm really hoping,

fingers crossed, the judges love this.

OK. Hello.

What have you got?

Uh, Fruit Jelly Ravioli.

We've got a rosewater Chantilly,

a strawberry-apple jam in the filling

with a coconut crumb and a creme pat.

Wow.

Alex... Poh.

..I think this is the most inventive dish we'll see today.

I think you really went out on a limb,

and I'm really proud of you for doing that.

You've showed us a lot of technique and sensitivity.

MARIE: Might try that when I go home. (LAUGHS)

Oh, gosh.

Alex...

..bravo. Thank you.

The flavour inside your ravioli is just an impact.

You are dealing with softness,

crunch,

you know, you've got the sharpness of the apples.

I mean, it's just incredible.

You've delivered a beautiful piece of art.

It's just... Well done. That's it. Thank you.

That's well done. Yeah!

Can't believe it.

The judges have all said really great things

about this crazy little dish.

And I'm just on cloud nine.

I'm so happy right now.

Darrsh. Come on, Darrsh!

DARRSH: I really tried stepping out of my comfort zone

and not going for a dessert.

I'm worried I haven't nailed my jus.

I over-reduced it, I tried saving it.

I just hope that what I've done is enough to keep me out of round two.

So, tell us, Darrsh, what is it?

A Lamb Backstrap with minted pea puree,

fondant potatoes and carrot crisps.

The pea puree was...was a beautiful texture.

I like the fondant potatoes, too. Nice caramelisation.

However...

..the biggest problem is the sauce.

I don't know how you did that because it tastes bitter and salty.

Did you have it on quite a high reduce?

Yeah, I did. I reduced it quite a bit,

and I was worried about quantity.

So, I did beef it up with more stock.

Your stock was not made early.

Then, it was panic.

Then, you tried to make up something out of nothing,

and then you try to accelerate like a Formula One race, you know?

Quick, quick, quick.

It won't work. Yeah.

I can see you've got vision, clarity.

Uh, it's lack of execution.

Thanks, guys.

Having Marie in this kitchen has been such a gift.

Marie, any parting words for these guys?

I think the most important thing for your experience here

is just to totally be yourself

and to thoroughly enjoy every minute you possibly can.

Andrew taught us that it doesn't matter

how good you can cook one day -

you can always pick yourself up the next day and try harder.

So, I wish you all the very best of luck.

Not only did Marie inspire Andrew,

today, she inspired you guys, too.

Snez, Sav...

..you absolutely smashed it today.

Well done. You're definitely not going home.

(APPLAUSE) Good job.

Right.

We were looking for the bottom five dishes.

So, if I call your name, you are, unfortunately, headed

into round two, where someone will be eliminated.

Jonathan.

Harry.

Gill.

Nat.

And Darrsh.

I'm sorry. Unfortunately, you're cooking in round two.

It's time to say goodbye to my mother.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Love you.

Love you, too.

Bye!

DARRSH: There is a feeling in my gut that I'm in trouble.

To be honest, I'm probably a little bit scared about the people

that I'm cooking up against.

Nat and Gill, Harry and Jono, they're all amazing,

so I'm gonna have to fight so hard to stay in this competition.

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

Jonathan, Harry, Gillian, Nat and Darrsh...

..in this round, we want to see a dish inspired by your families.

You have 75 minutes.

Bring us a taste of home.

But whoever cooks the least impressive dish will go home.

(EXHALES HEAVILY)

Nat, if you feel like you're in trouble during today's cook,

you can play your pin and save yourself from elimination.

Yeah.

Everyone,

your time...

..starts...

..now.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

This.

It's so quiet up in here. Shallots, shallots, shallots.

Down, second shelf. Tamarind, tamarind, tamarind.

Another pressure cooker.

Pressure cookers galore!

Four pressure cookers. Yeah.

Uhhhhh...

Go, Natty!

NAT: Today, I'm cooking a dish that reminds me of home.

It's something that my family used to make us all time,

and that brings me really, really good memories.

It's a pork belly. Five-spice braised pork belly.

It's called Palo Moo, which is Thai,

with some rice.

And I've got some pickled cucumber,

and I've got some pickled chillies and pickled shallots, as well,

to go with it.

So, my parents are both Thai.

That's why I love cooking Thai food so much.

Traditionally, this dish takes, like, hours and hours.

So, I have to be very smart about how I go about this.

I'm cooking the pork on the pressure cooker,

and I'm hoping for the best.

Go, Harry! You've got this, buddy.

Yeah, I'm making my take on my nonna's Christmas raviolis.

So, I'm going to do them as a tortellini.

Just another shape of filled pasta.

And there's going to be just a sort of meat consomme, uh, sauce

to go with it.

A 75 minute cook.

We normally do this over a couple of days.

Just going to utilise the equipment that we've got here.

The pressure cooker is going to be huge.

That'll allow me to get the meat and the sauce done

in a shorter amount of time.

So, time is obviously of the essence.

I'm hoping it's really enough time for all of those juices to come out

and the flavour to develop.

Let's go! Well done!

Keeping it simple, crew, 'cause you've only got one hour to go!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Oh, I've got chillies in my pocket!

I had zero clarity in round one.

Round two, I know exactly what I'm going to do.

Today, I'm making Nonna's pappardelle ragu.

I've got my ragu simmering away in the pressure cooker.

And now, I'm just getting started on my pasta.

Hey, Jono. How are you doing?

Good, guys. How are you? Excited to get an invite

to everyone's homes without having to do any travel.

I'm very excited to have you guys there.

You are a nonna's boy. We've established that early. (POH LAUGHS)

I'm very...I'm very much a nonna's boy.

I love that, though. You know, we live together.

She's my world, really.

Like, she took me in when I was 17...

(CLEARS THROAT)

..and, um, yeah, has been my world since.

She holds a very special place in my heart.

So, what is the dish you're making?

Nonna's pappardelle. Beef ragu. That's brilliant.

What do you think Nonna's gonna think

of you cooking her pappardelle? Oh, she's gonna love it.

She's gonna love it. Gonna be very proud.

Yeah. There's a lot of emotion going into this one.

Alright. OK, well, clock is ticking.

We don't want you to waste any time.

Thank you very much, guys.

Nonna means a lot to me for everything that she's done.

She's always been super supportive and wanted to see me succeed

and grow in anything that I do.

I couldn't ask for more than that. I'm very lucky, very blessed.

I screwed up round one with savouries,

but if this is my last cook, I want to be able to prove

to the judges that I can cook something other than dessert.

So, it's redemption season, baby.

We're going to go for savoury in round two.

The pressure's on, big time.

I'm making a brinjal curry with basmati rice

and a yoghurt raita.

This is Sri Lankan curry that I had every Sunday

at my grandma's place.

Today is going to be the first time I'm cooking a Sri Lankan dish.

I've actually strayed away from cooking Sri Lankan dishes

because, for a long time, I rejected that side of me.

I just wanted to fit in.

As you get older, you go, "Wow, it's actually amazing

"that I've got that part of me

"that I haven't leant into for so long."

Feeling pretty excited to bring my culture to the judges.

KHRISTIAN: We happy, Darrsh? Yeah, mate.

Happy. Good job, Chef. Come on, brother.

This is how my aunties would cook it - not measuring anything.

Just having a splash here or there.

Yeah, just wing it.

This challenge is all about family.

So, today's dish is Thit Kho,

which is a traditional Vietnamese dish.

It's caramelised braised pork belly with quail eggs,

and I'm braising it in coconut.

The key to nailing this is to have a nice braise on this pork.

You want it to melt in your mouth.

And I'm going to pair it with a cucumber salad today,

just to cut through the heaviness of the pork and the eggs.

You want to be able to dig into it and keep wanting more.

This dish reminds me of home.

It's one of the earliest memories of my dad cooking in the kitchen.

This dish was one of the dishes

that I brought to my dad in hospital.

He passed away with leukaemia, six years ago,

and it was such a battle for him,

a battle for us as a family.

Dad was everything to me.

We were best friends.

I know how much this dish meant to him,

so I hope to do it justice today and make him so proud.

Very vinegary.

Everyone's got a pressure cooker except for Darrsh.

JOSH PERRY: If I'm going to do shanks, I'm going to do cheeks,

or whatever, you chuck them on when you go to work.

Yeah, yeah, for sure. You get home, they're bloody falling off the bone, you know?

If you run out of time, you're stuffed, you know.

Yeah, exactly. That is the scary thing.

Can I just say? Yeah.

Now that my mother is gone, so is 'Andrew'.

(OTHERS LAUGH) 'Andrew' is no longer.

Like this morning's challenge with my mum,

it was harder than it seemed. POH: Yeah.

And I think this is just that.

Jean-Christophe, what would you make?

My mother's stuffed tomato.

Ooh! Yeah.

She stuffed it with beef mince.

She put a little bit of cheese at the last minute,

and it's juicy, it's colourful.

And what I like very much about my mum cooking

is, every time,

we eat on time. (LAUGHS)

6:00, there.

Otherwise, you get smacked behind the ears.

I think there is a danger of falling into the memory of that dish.

And if you have an amazing memory,

but it's really, technically, not a great dish,

yeah, that could make someone stumble.

It's very much a 'trying to turn a slow-cooker dish

'into a pressure-cooker dish in 75 minutes.'

I think four out of the five cooks are going down that route,

which always stresses me out.

SOFIA: God, I'm so nervous for these guys.

Attention! Attention!

You've got 20 minutes left!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Where's my cashews gone?

I feel like I'm a little bit too calm.

So, you know, it's a little bit concerning,

maybe because I'm so comfortable with this dish,

which is probably dangerous, as well.

I'm making a family favourite dish,

which is a five-spice braised pork belly.

It's called Palo Moo.

This dish, it reminds me so much of my family

and just of Thailand in general.

It's, like, very soupy. It's, like, very refreshing.

It's quite, like, um, herbal.

Um, it's got a lot of spices in it.

So, the, um, pickles work really well with it

to cut through everything.

So far, I've done the, um, braised pork belly,

which is in there, and then I've got the crackling in,

and then I'm about to do the rice now, and then the eggs.

Guys, we'll be eating your family favourites

in 15 minutes. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

15 minutes!

Go, guys. Let's go!

Using a pressure cooker in the MasterChef kitchen,

it's always a risk.

(CHEERING AND WHOOPING)

Cooking meat in a pressure cooker,

it's all about timing.

It's all about texture and flavour.

You really have to know what it is you're going for,

and to know when to take the lid off of that pressure cooker.

(WHOOPING)

So, if you don't time it right, it's a huge risk.

JONATHAN: Ooh-whee! Is this the moment of truth?

It is the moment of truth. OK.

Ooh!

I need...

Is it breaking apart?

Not as much as I'd like.

It's like my ragu and my heart kind of dropped.

It's not nearly as tender as it should be, and it's lacking

in a lot of depth of flavour.

My head kind of just starts to go all over the shop, going,

"What can I do to fix this?"

Little...

It's little slices.

Maybe.

The pressure is released, but the pressure is going up.

We've only got five minutes to go!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Come on!

Don't burn me.

Only thing I can do is just reducing that sauce down, to just amplify

those flavours and let the beef keep cooking in the sauce.

And I hope the flavours develop.

Yeah, I'm feeling stressed. I've still got to finish my pasta.

HARRY: The meat filling in my nonna's raviolis looks great.

Like, it's that texture that I want. It looks moist.

All I have to do right now is just fill my ravioli.

But I've strained the broth, and it's not as flavourful

as it should be, so I need to get the sauce reducing.

So, I just hope there is enough time for the flavour to develop.

DARRSH: My eggplant curry has been cooking for a long time,

and I'm really, really happy.

I've got tamarind there, which is the sourness.

I've got lemon juice, I've got brown sugar for sweetness

and also with the onion.

Honestly, as I'm tasting it, I'm getting transported back

to my childhood.

Attention! Attention, s'il vous plait!

Three minutes left!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Oh, yum, Nat! Go, Nat!

Hello, Natty girl. (LAUGHTER)

GILLIAN: I am confident in my rendition of Thit Kho.

I know it tastes great.

It's gelatinous, it's sticky, it's caramelised, it's more-ish.

I'm feeling really happy with how it looks.

I just really want to make my dad proud.

HARRY: The last few minutes, I'm pretty stressed.

Like, you know, the clock,

every time I look at it, it's ticking.

The tortellini are done.

The parmesan crisps have come out of the oven, and they've got

a beautiful colour on them.

So, I've had my broth simmering away on the stove

to reduce down as long as I can,

and hopefully it's enough to keep me safe today.

Oh, no.

Yeah, it's just quite an emotional dish for me to plate up

because it is Nonna's ravioli.

It's crunch time now.

By ragu has been simmering away.

I hope the flavours are there.

I just hope I've done enough.

SUE: Nat, do you think you're going to use the pin?

Am I going to use my immunity pin?

Are you gonna use the pin? No.

I'm actually really happy with my palo moo.

It's so beautiful. It looks really pretty.

I'm, like, very confident in the flavours.

And I know that my family would be so proud of me.

Alright, fam, you have 10...

ALL: Nine,

eight,

seven,

six,

five,

four, three,

two, one!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Well done!

ANDY: Great work, everyone.

DARRSH: I'm so anxious.

I haven't cooked Sri Lankan cuisine for a very long time.

I feel like I've got the whole weight of my ancestry

just bearing down on me.

Hey, Darrsh. Hey, guys.

I hope that I've done this dish justice

because I don't want to be going home.

VOICEOVER: Get inspired by our fabulous home cooks.

Stream full episodes of MasterChef Australia now,

on 10Play.

So, Darrsh, tell us, what is your dish?

We have a Sri Lankan Brinjal Curry, which is an eggplant curry.

with basmati rice and a yoghurt raita.

I just want to find out why

you haven't cooked Sri Lankan food before, in the kitchen.

Um...

Um...growing up,

I rejected my Sri Lankan heritage,

just to fit in.

And so, this was probably something that I would be eating on weekends,

but I didn't want to take to school.

Darrsh, in season one,

my first audition dish was this French nouvelle thing.

You know, I wanted to prove that I wasn't, like,

a cultural cliche.

I didn't want to look like this and cook like this.

Yeah.

I'd spent so much of my childhood shedding everything

that made me different, that I felt really disconnected.

I think you might be suffering from that a little bit.

MasterChef was just this amazing gift for me to reclaim that.

So, don't be afraid to lean into it, because you've got this instinct

and superpower that you're not tapping into.

Thanks, Poh. Yeah.

Thank you. Thanks, Darrsh.

Thank you.

There you go. Thank you.

I mean...

(LAUGHS)

There's one grain.

I've...

He has nailed the sweet, spicy,

salty combination so well.

The eggplant is soft.

It's juicy.

He's cooked some onion down a long time,

so there's that caramel undertone.

It's a really tasty dish.

I'm just so happy that he's finally borrowing from his heritage.

And the blend of spices is brilliant.

Boom!

I'll have some more.

Go, Haz.

Hi, Harry. Hi.

Remind us what the dish is.

This is my take on Nonna's meat ravioli.

It's a filled pasta with a pork and beef filling.

Thanks, Harry. Thanks, guys.

There's things that I like,

and there's things that I...

..not so much like.

Things that I like - pasta, beautiful al dente texture about it.

He's cooked it perfectly.

But the broth.

It's not bold, like a beautiful brodo would be.

Yeah, I noticed that it was a little bit too much water

into the...to the pressure cooker, which is not necessary.

So, that's what surprised me, because the clarity of the consomme

or the broth is fantastic,

but I don't think there is enough depth.

Um, then there's the filling.

He could have been a lot smarter

in loading the flavour into the filling.

It's just quite monotone.

Where's that going to leave him today, you know?

If there's holes in your dish, it leaves you vulnerable.

Go on, Gill. Good luck, Gill.

You've got this. Thank you, guys.

POH: Hello, Gill. Hello.

JEANÐCHRISTOPHE: Hello.

Gill, tell us what you've made.

This is Thit Kho, which is a traditional

Vietnamese dish.

It's caramelised braised pork belly with quail eggs

and a cucumber salad.

Why did you choose this dish

to represent your family?

My dad taught me in the most traditional way,

and so this dish instantly sung out to me as soon as you guys

said, "Family favourites."

Thanks, Gill. We'll taste it now.

Thank you so much. Thanks, Gill.

Thank you. Enjoy.

(CHUCKLES) Smells so good.

So good!

I really love this dish.

I feel it shows a lot of growth,

the thoughtfulness she put behind it,

with the rice underneath to catch all that beautiful sauce.

The pork is gorgeous.

It's so luscious.

The fact that she's been passed on a beautiful dish,

very authentically, and she's managed to use

modern techniques to make it. Yes.

Yeah. Just perfect.

She's not going anywhere.

Oh, God.

Hey, Nat. Hey.

Hello.

I made Palo Moo,

which is a five-spice Thai-style braised pork belly.

Thanks.

Wow.

How is the rice?

It's quite dense, but it might just be because she packed it

into the little pot.

Heavy on the chilli. (CHUCKLES)

(LAUGHS)

Thank you.

Um...

..the sauce is delicious.

I can taste that five spice,

and it's really beautifully balanced.

She's got an excellent palate, we know that.

And I really love all the little garnishes.

It just adds these really nice, refreshing touches

to the really rich pork belly.

What I find the most impressive is that it looks so much

like a restaurant dish,

but you still get that warm family feeling

that I'm pretty sure Nat would have shared

with her grandma and parents.

Mmm.

JONATHAN: Nonna's my best friend,

so I think I've done enough to make Nonna proud

and keep me safe in the competition.

Oh.

Remind us what the dish is.

So, it's my nonna's Beef Ragu Parpardelle.

Nonna's boy. That's it.

(LAUGHS) Very true.

When did you learn how to make this?

Would have been years ago.

Probably, like, when I first moved in there, when I was 17.

Um...

..I was estranged from both my parents for, like, a lot

of years, which is how I came to, um, live with her.

Um, she took me in and...

..didn't have anywhere else to go.

You've put a beautiful tribute to Nonna Sandra on the table

in front of us.

So, regardless, of which way it goes,

you've done her proud and yourself proud, as well, so...

Oh, thank you, guys. Really appreciate that.

We'll taste it. Thanks so much, Jono.

Thank you very much, guys. Cheers.

Thanks.

Wow.

The ragu beef is tasty.

There is some good chunk, which is very well...a ragu should be.

But...

..the ragu is a little bit uncooked.

And usually with a dish like this, I want to twirl it on my fork.

I want it to be really slippery and be able to just slurp it down

quite quickly.

But I found myself having to cut it multiple times,

and I think that the pasta is really clumsy.

My problem was with the caramelisation of the meat.

Could have been better if he heavily caramelised it on all sides,

so you're really developing a body and richness to the flavour.

It's just not that hug that you're used to getting

with the three to five-hour version of this dish.

Even though all of your dishes had heart,

I'm sorry to say that two

had some problems.

Jonathan...

..and Harry.

Well, fellas,

both of you needed more time to execute your dish

to its potential.

But when it came down to the pasta work,

one of your dishes lacked refinement.

And that dish was cooked by...

..Jonathan.

Unfortunately, mate, it means you're going home.

POH: Jonathan, this might have been your last day in the kitchen,

but you cooked us something from your heart and from your home.

You've made your nonna so, so proud.

If there was going to be a day that I went out, I couldn't

have picked stiffer competition between all these guys.

They're all amazing.

You know, I learned heaps while I was here.

I loved the guidance from you guys and, you know, making such

great friends for life.

Love you, bro. You, too.

We're going to really miss your, like, radiant attitude.

(CHUCKLES)

And on that, I'm really sorry, Jonathan,

but it's time to say goodbye.

That's it. ANDY: Bring it in, mate.

(APPLAUSE) Thank you.

Well done, mate. You did so well. Cheers, bud.

I don't think my MasterChef experience is ever

really going to end.

You know, from the friends I've made here...

Go on, bring it in. Bring it in.

..to the experience, to the knowledge about food.

You know, it's all invaluable and things I'm going

to take with me for life.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Thank you.

I couldn't ask for anything more than that.

Woo!

VOICEOVER: Tomorrow night, on MasterChef Australia...

POH: These are not your average mystery boxes.

..what happens...

..when a mystery box has babies.

Ooh! Ah!

(GASPS)

Wait, what?

(LAUGHS)

Captions by Red Bee Media