Original subtitles

NARRATOR: Previously on MasterChef Australia...

Welcome, Vincent Yeow Lim!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

..trending week came in hot...

..with this famous foodie.

You're a wizard, Vincent!

Plus...

Give it up for Anna Polyviou!

What?

..an Instagram-worthy dessert...

Sunny side up.

..was the end of the MasterChef journey

for Snez.

And David won immunity with some microwave magic.

That is flawless, mate.

SOFIA: Awesome job!

That bloke is a genius!

Tonight...

..it's an elimination

with a giant TikTok sensation.

STEPHEN: It's been a long journey to get here.

And then you get into these black aprons...

..and everything's on the line.

There's absolutely no margin for error on elimination day.

ANDY: Hey!

(CHEERING)

ALEX: Oh, my God!

That is so cool!

Come on down, crew!

Welcome back!

Bloody oath!

What are we looking at?

I'm not really sure what's going on here,

but we're in trending week.

I think it's got something to do

with social media.

Righto, gang,

we're bringing the week home strong.

There's been sensations and smashes galore.

And we've saved the biggest for last, literally.

ALL: Argh!

(GASPS)

(ENTHUSIASTIC SCREAMING)

DARRSH: That is so cool!

Give it up for Mikiko Terasaki!

Oh, my God, that's crazy!

NAT: So cute!

Hi! Matching!

Oh, my God!

Miki appears!

(SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)

And I'm like, "Holy crap!"

..and rice. (GIGGLES)

Oh, don't!

Ba-ka! Hey!

Oh, I know what she's gonna make!

Miki is famous for her omurice reels.

Oil.

GILLIAN: Oh, my God! Stop!

Oh, she's making omurice!

I get sent omurice reels on a daily.

Ooh!

And everyone's like, "Nat, you should make this,

"Nat, you should make this." I'm like...

(HUMS TUNEFULLY)

.."Dude, I can't make it 'cause it's so hard!"

OK, surely we don't have to make this, right?

Same!

This is scramble.

Go! Hey!

Top!

Ooh!

ALL: Oh! (APPLAUSE)

Here we go! Oh!

(CHEERING)

That is a job well done!

Very cool!

Whoo!

LACHLAN: Miki's skills are amazing.

It's so satisfying watching those eggs ooze over.

Ah, yes!

Ah! What a showpiece!

Oh!

Oh, my goodness!

Ping!

Aw, she's so cute!

No, you can't take her home!

(LAUGHTER)

Miki, welcome to the MasterChef kitchen!

How are you? Good, thank you!

(LAUGHTER)

So, for everyone standing here, Miki is a social media STAR.

She turned a Japanese comfort dish into a viral sensation.

And she turned her food stall

into the successful Sydney restaurant - Omu.

Miki, how did it progress?

Mm, so, I didn't have much money to do the business before,

and I got one of the TikToker for collaboration

and changed my life.

The next market stall, I got a 100m queue.

Wow! And then getting busier and busier.

And one day, I made my dream come true

to open the restaurant.

Miki, you are an absolute credit to yourself.

Thank you so much!

Everyone, put your hands together for Mikiko Terasaki!

What Miki said just makes me feel like anything's achievable

if you put your heart into it.

Hopefully, Miki left you inspired...

..because today, we want you to make us

a cracking dish that uses egg in a clever and creative way.

I have to say, I have never, ever spent a single day

without eggs in my kitchen.

You can combine, you can clarify, you can froth,

you can make mayonnaise.

Eggs are essential.

It's like oxygen. Hm.

We're giving you 75 minutes.

You can cook anything you like

so long as an egg makes an EGGS-citing appearance!

There you go! (LAUGHTER)

The least impressive dish will send its maker home.

Alright, everybody, are you ready?

Your time...

(MURMURS)

..starts now!

Nearly had a couple of crashes!

NAT: Oh, my God, that's heavy! This is so heavy.

First things first,

how epic was Mikiko?

I mean, I can't stress to everyone how difficult that is

and how easy she made it.

Yeah, yeah. It looked unreal.

It got everyone in the perfect mood for what is a great challenge.

It's all about the egg today, which is so versatile.

We've talked about it already, but... I love this challenge.

..this is a great challenge.

What do you reckon?

I don't want to see, like,

a perfectly boiled egg sitting in a broth.

I think we want to see innovation... Yes!

..we want to see technique... Yep.

..we want to see...

Flavour? ..the flavour.

Has to taste good. It's gotta be tasty, yeah.

Egg is one of those things,

it can make something really light and fluffy,

it can make something really rich with that yolk,

it can bind things together.

It could be a quail egg... Yeah.

..it could be duck.

How many of them are gonna be doing sweets or savouries?

Mm-hm. Yes.

Can't forget...

..black aprons are on. Mm.

Shall we have a look? Yep. Absolutely.

SAVINDRI: Smells amazing.

It really does.

An egg challenge has been set

and I am a little bit nervous

because I need to tell a very special part of my history.

Hey, Sav! Hello, judges. How's it going?

Some very familiar flavours in front of me.

Very familiar, indeed.

So, I'm making my version of my mum's steamed-egg curry.

Egg component. Is that...? It's a steamed egg.

It's a steamed egg by itself.

No, it's sort of like a chawanmushi, almost.

OK.

Um...

Just a bit of an emotional cook for me,

'cause the last time I made this

was literally a month after my mum was diagnosed

with lung cancer.

So, physically, not been able to get myself to make this

for the past 7.5 years.

My mum passed away in 2017,

so six years ago now.

And the reason I haven't had the stomach

to make this dish all this time is because...

..my mum passing away...

..was very much like having the rug pulled out from under me.

I completely lost who I was.

I just became incredibly angry...

..until I had this turning point where I just realised

that there was more gratitude

for the life that I've had with my mum

than just the grief.

So, I just want to honour the memory of my mum more than anything else.

The timing feels right today.

This is my way of letting go

but also holding her close.

It's a beautiful, beautiful tribute.

Good luck. Thank you.

It sounds like she's taught you well.

Thank you.

Today's brief is we've got to cook eggs in a creative way.

After what Miki showed us,

it needs to be something very different

and something technical and something that's beautiful.

Pezza. Hey, Poh. How are you doing?

What's going on?

'Cause it's kind of dessert-y ingredients,

but what are you making?

I'm making a twice-cooked cheese souffle today, Poh, so...

Ah! Souffle!

You've gotta express yourself and do different things.

So, this is different to me and that's the way you get...

Can I just say, I've never made a souffle in this kitchen.

It is a very ballsy move! (LAUGHS)

Oh, don't tell me that!

I mean, I really admire you for it.

It's a way to go out in flames if that's what you wa... (LAUGHS)

Argh!

I think it's great that you're doing it,

but it has to work. Work.

That's going to be your little, personal battle today.

Alright... Thanks, Poh, appreciate it. ..good luck, Josh.

Just trying to think of the...recipe.

It's not sitting in my head real good.

75 minutes is going to be pushing it.

The souffle wants around 25 to 30 minutes

for the first cook.

It's got to go into the fridge to settle

and then put cheese on and give it a second cook.

Yeah, a bit worrying. I've just got to pull it together.

I nearly put in double the amount of flour that I wanted to use,

so pleased I didn't.

I'm actually feeling pretty confident

because I've done quite a few egg dishes before,

but being in the black apron, it's a terrifying situation...

OK.

..but through my jobs, I've been under similar pressure.

Most recently was driving airboats in the Northern Territory.

There's always risks involved.

There's water buffalo, there's crocs around.

It just takes a 30-second mistake...

..and it's all over.

I guess that's the same sort of feeling.

I've been thinking about this dish all morning.

I think the flavours are going to be there.

They all go well together, they're all Japanese flavours.

The dish I'm cooking today is

crispy tempura eggs on asparagus with a miso sauce.

And when you cut the egg, the egg yolk runs out

and it mixes with the sauce, and that makes the complete dish.

It's a simple-looking dish, but it's quite hard to do

because of getting the eggs just right.

So, I think I'm on the mark here, but... (EXHALES FORCEFULLY)

..I never know.

You've only got one hour to go!

Whoo! Come on, guys, let's go.

We're in the MasterChef kitchen,

so it can't be as simple as just an egg.

You've really got to trick stuff up.

I'm gonna roll with

a cheese and onion steamed custard little number today,

a spin on breakfast.

DAVID: You got it, Darrsh. You're good, bro.

Doing the double-mix manoeuvre.

So, today I'm cooking a bombe Alaska.

Every single layer in it is eggs.

There's going to be a meringue,

which I'm going to torch and then flambe.

So, it's a bit crazy, yeah. (LAUGHS)

Yeah, bro, get it!

(HARRY LAUGHS)

I might just serve up a plate of that! Just... (LAUGHS)

I'm cooking a tuna tartare.

I'm gonna have a steamed egg yolk in white miso sauce.

I'm just trying to get a little bit creative

and make things interesting.

Oop! A little bit too much katsuobushi.

Today, I'm doing egg cha.

So, it's a play on yum cha.

I'll have a sesame ball

filled with a soy-marinated quail egg,

and then the next thing will be a mango pancake

with cream inside, as well.

Yeah, lots to do!

Thanks, Steve. No worries, mate.

This part of the competition, presentation is everything

and we need to start lifting our game.

I've got an idea in my head

from my dad's '70s Asian recipe cookbook.

It's old, it's ratty...

Chillies. Thanks.

..but it's got some damn good recipes in it.

I feel like it's a little bit of a difference

and something that I can pull off in the time limit today.

Lochy. Hey, mate.

I'm getting straight into it.

Egg dish, what is it?

I'm gonna do, like, a Thai-style stuffed egg

with a seafood mixture on the inside and then deep-fried.

So, is this a Scotch egg? Um...

Um, I'm super confused.

Essentially, yes, it is a Scotch egg,

but there's no yolk in the middle when you open it.

So, what's in the middle?

The mixture?

Correct.

So, instead of not overcooking the yolk,

you have to not overcook your seafood mixture?

Yes. Right.

Where did you learn about this dish?

Um, to be honest, my old man's got

a really old-school Asian cooking book

that he got in, like, the '60s or the '70s,

and there's a recipe in there which is quite similar.

You're relying on a recipe from the '60s or the '70s

to keep you in this competition. Well...

Yeah, it's like an inspiration of where my mind went,

because I've thought about it before and I'm like, "Yeah, OK."

Could be crazy, could be genius. Let's find out.

Could be crazy, could be genius. I just don't want to go home.

Good luck. Thank you.

I just don't get it. Me neither.

I know that the judges seem confused...

..but...I'm still sticking by my guns on this one.

(EXHALES SHARPLY) Hopefully, at the end, I can wow them.

Everyone, you have 45 minutes to go!

(WHOOPING AND CLAPPING)

(EXHALES SHARPLY)

I love the timers there, Nat.

Pretty cool. OK. Got it.

We have 75 minutes to prove to ourselves that we are worthy

of staying in this competition.

I'm doing alright. A little bit nervous today.

I've decided to pivot and do a dessert.

You know what I'm like, I'm not exactly a dessert gal,

so new big things.

We definitely have to go out of the boundaries

of just doing poached eggs or scrambled eggs,

or custards or ice-cream.

Oh. Ooh!

Getting boozy. (LAUGHS)

I want to taste it, Nat.

As soon as I saw Miki, it took me straight back to Japan

doing snow seasons.

And I'm going to call my dish...

..'yuki yama', which means 'snow mountain'.

Hey, Nat! Whoo!

Holy sugar! What's wrong?

Just a casual alcoholic drinks over here.

Do you guys want to...?

It looks like a bar, but what are you making?

I'm making, uh, yuki yama which means 'snow mountain' in Japanese.

I'm making a coconut sorbet.

I'm gonna dip it in a matcha dip.

And then I've got drunken melon balls

to remind myself of the days on the mountain...

Whoa! ..drinking chuhais,

which are always melon flavoured.

Well, that's my favourite anyway.

And the egg element is I'm making foi thong,

which is a Thai sugary egg floss.

(GASPS) I've just realised there's so much going on

that I actually almost tuned out

and went into my own little world

because I couldn't... I can't keep. I know.

There were six elements before you even got to the egg floss.

You are really pushing the boat out. I know.

Both with technique and flavour combinations.

Yeah, I know.

And also, this is all about the egg floss

and how that reacts with everything else.

Yeah.

If that component isn't there loud and proud

and everything else balances out... Yeah.

..we might be getting that pin this afternoon

or you could be going home.

Let's hope I nail the egg floss.

I have only made egg threads twice in my whole entire life.

And both times have failed.

But I'm aiming for, like, the best dish of the day.

What?!

MAN: You good, Nat? It's a double yolk. Lucky.

It's good luck, surely.

SAVINDRI: I'm making my version of my mum's steamed egg curry.

My mum used to do it in the microwave,

but I do like the gentle steaming.

I'm using the Japanese chawanmushi technique.

They're prized for having a perfectly even custard.

They're doing their thing, they're changing their colour.

No air bubbles in it at all.

They're steaming. Keep it closed.

I really want to be able to showcase this love letter to my mum.

Ooh, yum.

I'm making a green eggs biryani.

I think it's going to showcase the eggs really well.

And it's a play on Doctor Seuss' Green Eggs And Ham sort of a vibe.

So I was just feeling it.

So good, Sumeet.

I'm making a Greek lemon egg soup called avgolemono.

It comes across as a really simple dish,

so I've got to nail the flavour.

DARRSH: So my Bombe Alaska, it's going really good.

Ice-cream's already in the churner.

Uh, my sponge is in the oven,

and now I really need to work on my meringue,

'cause that's, like, the main bit. (CHUCKLES)

The judges are coming over.

They've been confused by my Thai-style stuffed egg

and that's making me second guess myself.

But I'm feeling like I'm on top of everything.

I've got my seafood red curry sauce on.

It tastes damn delicious.

And I'm just starting my filling for this egg.

I've got my three quarter cooked pork,

my under Moreton Bay bug and my raw prawns.

Just making sure that I'm running on my schedule today.

I've got to stay...I've got to stay ahead.

I still have to get my eggs finished boiling

because if I don't have a hard boil white,

I can't stuff my mixture inside my Scotch egg type of thing.

I'm feeling nervous 'cause there is 12 other fantastic cooks

out there today, and...but I don't

want to be one of them that goes home.

Scare me, chef.

Just over half an hour to go.

My souffle's in the oven for the first cook.

I'm just working on the other elements.

I've decided to make a nice cheesy sauce,

and I'm thinking about some pancetta,

just to put a little bit of a crunch in there.

Yeah, I'm feeling quite good at the moment.

Hi, Josh. How are you doing? Hey, chef. How are you doing?

You've made a bechamel, yeah? Yep.

Do you think that bechamel is going to be strong

and thick enough to support your dish, to souffle?

Yeah, I think it is, chef. Are you sure or not sure?

Not sure, but...

Done this before?

I've done this, uh, once at home before, chef.

So you've done it once? Yeah.

OK. Good luck to you. Thanks, mate.

Thank you.

Listening to Jean-Christophe

ask whether the roux hasn't been done properly...

..put a little bit of doubt in my mind.

Like, "Pezza, you're cooking a souffle.

"There's so many elements that can go wrong,"

but it's nearly time to pull it out

'cause it's got to be cooled and got back in for that second cook.

So, I'm looking in the oven door and then I notice...

..the souffle hasn't risen.

Come on... Up, you bastard!

If it doesn't rise, well, it will wreck the whole dish.

Oh, mate, what a day.

It's time to scramble!

You have 30 minutes to go.

(CLAPPING)

PEZZA: Less than 30 minutes left on the clock.

Come on... Up, you bastard!

My souffle's got to come out of the oven

'cause it's got to be cooled and got back in for that second cook.

But it hasn't risen like I wanted it.

They're not puffing right up like I would have hoped.

I've always had this one motto in my head

that things get bad in the kitchen, you've got to keep going.

When I'd done them at home, they were still airy and fluffy.

So, look, I've just got to go with what I've got

and, touch wood, it works.

Let's fight through it.

Let's get something on the plate that you're still happy with.

So we've had a little walk around the room.

There are many dishes that are worrying me.

I've got Pezza, who is doing a souffle with this man in the house.

I think you can praise him,

because not one of my chefs wants to be in charge

of doing the souffle. No way!

They're like, "No way."

But my problem is

it might not have the consistency or the thickness that we require.

Right.

I've got the alarm bells on two frontbenchers.

So Lochy, it's a riff on, like, a Scotch egg.

But he's going to hard boil the egg first,

take the yolk out,

put a farce of seafood and pork mince inside where the yolk would go...

Seal it back up.

..seal it back up, then cook that and put it on a bed of a curry sauce.

Surely it's gonna cook more on the outside than the inside.

Yeah. But he could probably be very wrong.

Absolutely. So brave and so adventurous.

OK...

Steve, right, so he's going to soft boil an egg

and then deep-fry it in tempura.

It is an opportunity for him to hit the technique mark, though.

I mean, tempura,

it has to be all about that thin, light, crunchy crust.

And then I've got to go Nat because she...like, Nat does,

there's eight elements.

It's also the one that I think I'm probably most excited about,

because there's so much going on. Yeah.

And often I'm confused by what Nat's doing, and then she brings it all.

We'll have to see.

She looks super under the pump at the moment.

She's got four timers on her bench.

I hope she can get it done, but we may see the pin.

NAT: Um, currently doing the egg floss now.

I want strings. I want them to look like noodles.

You know, that's the main element.

I want to make sure that it's working.

Curious to see what you do with it.

The whole entire idea is that these egg threads are going to represent

the terrain of the snowy mountain.

Looks top, Nat. Come on.

So they're going to be brown,

they're going to be, like, sticks, rocks.

It's going to be earthy.

It doesn't look good.

Oh!

My first lot of egg threads just dispersed.

They've become, like, just little bits.

I need to lower the heat.

I want them to be a little bit finer.

So I make a second lot of egg threads...

..and they're kind of working...

Too slow. ..but they're still too thick.

So I'm going to do another batch.

It needs a little bit longer.

And another batch.

And another batch. Come on, let's get it. Let's get it.

I've only got 20 minutes left and I'm losing so much time.

But I need this to be perfect.

So I just keep going and keep going, keep going.

Till suddenly...

Oh, my God.

Yes!

(EXHALES DEEPLY)

It's like magic.

So, I've decided I'm definitely not going to use my immunity pin today.

That's it.

Keep going, Al. You got it, too. Thanks, babe. You too, man.

Keep going, keep going. Just keep pushing.

10 minutes to go!

Come on, 10 minutes!

I need to get my Swiss meringue on.

I need to get it over the bain-marie and then fluffed up.

But every other element is ready to go.

Goddamn, that's good. Stoked with this flavour in the tartare.

SUMEET: There's a lot of elements that go on a biryani.

Curry sauce is punching with flavour.

ALEX: I'm a bit of a mad man right now.

I'm currently working on, like, four different elements.

My egg custard, pickling asparagus, the chive oil.

Honey, crispy bacon -

gonna live up to the last name, finally,

in this kitchen. Yeah, Crispy!

STEPHEN: Just under 10 minutes ago.

The miso sauce for my tempura eggs is done.

All I have to do now is get the eggs out,

coat them in the tempura batter, put them in the deep fryer.

But being in the black apron...

..your adrenaline is so highly pumped,

you're actually shaking trying to do something

which, obviously, is not good

when you're trying to do something delicate.

Oh, broke it!

Oh.

My backup egg just breaks away.

I broke one, yeah.

The good one, of course,

that one's perfectly cooked, that one.

So now I don't have any backup.

But I've got to keep going

so I put my three good eggs in the tempura batter...

..and drop them in the fryer.

Moment of truth.

Yeah, I know, tell me about it.

It feels like you're going to have to balance how golden

you want the outside of that... To cook...

..to how runny the inside is going to be,

because it doesn't feel like those two things are going

to match up perfectly for you... No, it doesn't.

..because that's not the colour of tempura.

No, I know.

I want this tempura batter to be light and crispy,

but I can't overcook them in the deep fryer.

I've got to make sure that when they come out

and they break open, they've got a runny yolk.

Do you have any test eggs? No, at this stage.

So the only time we're going to know if the dish has worked

is when the judges cut those eggs open.

So I'll either have a perfect egg or probably go home.

Attention! Attention!

Four minutes to go! ANDY: Yes!

(CLAPPING)

She's set. (LAUGHS)

LACHLAN: OK. Just under five to go.

Really want to impress the judges because they are a little confused

by this Thai-style stuffed egg.

I know exactly what I'm trying to achieve.

I envision it in my mind, how I'm going to plate it up.

It's all there.

I'm going to serve this stuffed egg inside the bug shell,

and I put some black beans to kind of dress the inside of the shell.

Now I can actually dip the egg into that batter...

..put it into that fryer.

I am really pushing it. I am so under the pump.

(EXHALES SHARPLY)

Oh, shit!

Oh, no.

It needs to stay in there until...

..30 seconds to go.

Come on. Boil.

We have high expectations.

We want to see finished dishes in three minutes!

SAVINDRI: I have got about three minutes left to go,

and the chawanmushi for my mum's egg curry comes out of the steamer...

..looking really nice and shiny and jiggly and set.

And I want to try and de-mould it

so that the judges are surprised

by the fact that it's actually my mum's steamed egg curry.

I don't know if it's going to come out.

Oh.

But it only half comes out.

So I need to figure out a way to pivot.

Got to do what you've got to do. It's fine.

I'm scooping the chawanmushi as delicately as I can,

making it look as pretty as possible.

Now I can add all those beautiful, warm autumnal colours

that I chose to represent my mum.

I've got two minutes left and I've just made six elements

and I need to plate up ASAP.

I need my dish to resemble the snowy mountain.

So frantic.

Are you under control? I am.

Andy's so concerned for me because I'm doing a lot of elements

and I'm not using my immunity pin.

So if I don't execute these elements...

..I'm going home.

But everything is looking pretty awesome.

It's quite bright, it's quite colourful.

I'm happy to show the judges how much I can do in 75 minutes.

STEPHEN: So, I'm plating up.

I put my three eggs down.

I decorate it with my wasabi leaves,

and I've got the sauce on the side ready to go.

The only thing I don't know about is the eggs,

because I've got no spare eggs to test.

When the judges cut these eggs open, they should run

and then mix in with the sauce, so let's hope that it works.

Last one's a rotten egg!

One minute to go!

Whoo!

Come on, Stevo! Where are they?

Sesame seeds. Where are the sesame seeds?

Ah!

Allez! Allez! Allez!

PEZZA: It's down to the last minute in this cook.

Souffles are not exactly how I want them to look.

It hasn't risen like I wanted it,

and I'm really disappointed with myself.

But I've got to get something on the plate.

I've got three to pick from. I picked the best one,

the highest one that's got a nice rise in it.

30 seconds!

(CLAPPING)

We are finished in 10...

ALL: ..nine, eight...

LACHLAN: Last few seconds with this egg in the fryer,

and I need to get it on my plate.

..five, four...

But the egg is stuck to that spoon.

Trying to break it off

and my egg splits.

The whole thing falls over.

Lochy.

(WHOOPING)

Good job, guys, good job.

Little bit stressed about the egg because, like, in my mind,

I didn't want to have it unmoulded.

But I...

I'm just happy that I got the chance to actually...

I'm getting emotional now.

Um, I'm happy that I got the chance to make it, so, yeah.

(INHALES AND EXHALES SHARPLY)

(EXHALES SHARPLY)

I just really tried to impress the judges.

It just wasn't enough time once again.

If this is me done today, this is going to really hurt

for a long, long time.

Wow, guys, that was such an emotional cook.

And that's something we've come to expect on elimination day.

The challenge seemed simple enough - use egg in a creative way.

But simple can be deceptive.

The first dish we'd like to taste...

..belongs to Sav.

SAVINDRI: This is nerve-racking.

Sav, what have you made?

Um, so I've made...

..Mum's steamed egg curry for you in, like, a chawanmushi style.

There's a curry sauce,

a brined tomato pickle,

a cashew and curry leaf crisp,

and I made a chilli and katsuobushi oil.

And are you happy with the plating?

Would have been great if it came out of the mould,

but I like the texture of the egg, so I'm happy with that.

Let's taste.

Hope that the judges understand

not just the technique and the flavour

that I put into the dish...

..but also how much it took for me to actually do what I did today.

ANDY: Sav.

You are a brave, brave woman.

It must take so much courage and emotional build-up

to be able to even attempt a dish like this.

But you can notch that up as a huge success.

Thank you. I'm so glad I got to eat that.

The use of the egg component was, like, textbook.

Just had enough structure to support itself.

And that's exactly what you want.

Then you put it on your palate and it's just a flavour.

Um, and then going with that red curry sauce,

the oil and the tomato pickle,

it just sets it alight.

I reckon there is a serious signature dish in that.

I think it's so unique.

It is so, so tasty.

Bright, delicious, funky.

I have high praise for that.

Phew! Relieved.

Sav, all your sentiments about Mum

are things that I'm going through as well.

And I just...

..I'm feeling what you're feeling.

That tastes like a love letter to your mum.

It is seamless.

It's almost like a really silken tofu.

Then you've got all those little bits and pieces on top.

It always amazes me how you keep bringing things up

that look similar, but then...

Totally different. ..just taste completely different.

I love that, I love the education you're giving me.

Just beautiful, beautiful. Thank you.

Sav, we've had the privilege of being able to hear the story

about where this dish comes from.

But even if you'd come up here and not mentioned any of that,

this would still be an absolute ripper dish.

That's amazing. Thank you.

Thank you, thank you.

(CHEERING)

I am just so relieved...

..to hear Sofia say that regardless of the story,

the dish would have stood up on its own.

I'm gonna start crying.

Don't make me cry again.

It came from a very emotional place, but it was important

that my cooking ability was validated as well.

Pezza, come on down.

(APPLAUSE)

PEZZA: Looking at my souffle today,

I'm really hoping that the taste and the flavour is in it,

but I just know it hasn't come out as I want.

Pezza, tell us what you've made.

I've made you guys my twice cooked cheese souffle.

It is such a volatile dish to cook at the best of times,

so you've really made a difficult task for yourself today.

OK, I'm going to send this down to the Frenchman

because this is clearly his area of expertise.

I would have liked to say,

"Congratulations, you have nailed it."

But, sadly, I think you half nailed it.

Your mixture was not perfect, it was too liquid.

Your mould is too small.

So there is no chance for the souffle to elevate.

I don't love it, but I admire you.

Thank you. Chef.

Josh, the flavours are really solid.

The balance is fantastic, seasoning, acidity.

I even love the bit of Dijon, that detail on the micro herb.

That's a really lovely touch.

I can only imagine if that souffle was sitting up nice and proud,

then we're talking, like, that is money,

but, unfortunately, flavour is on your side, technique's not.

Thanks, mate.

I'm deflated.

I've got the flavour, but the technique hasn't come out.

I could be the bottom dish for the day.

We'd like to taste your dish, Josh Clarke.

JOSH: Fried doughnuts and eggnog ice-cream.

That eggnog ice-cream is so good!

It's one of the best ice-creams we've seen.

Thank you, guys.

Sue.

SUE: I've made you avgolemono.

It's a lemon and egg chicken Greek soup.

I wouldn't say it's the most outrageous use of egg

that we'll see today...

..but your pound of flavour in there so you've got that on your side.

Gill.

GILL: I've made egg cha, which is my EGGS-ample of yum cha.

Andy, just use your fingers.

Ah, mate, watch this.

Uh-huh, uh-huh!

I love the glutinous rice ball with that mochi texture,

and then to bite into a quail egg is quite a surprise.

It's a really fun couple of dishes.

Next up, Harry!

That looks great. It's a tuna tower. HARRY: Yeah.

A tuna and egg yolk tartare with a rice, crispy steamed egg yolk

and white miso cream sauce.

Whoa! Awesome.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Your tartare is delicious.

The sauce? Not too salty, not too sharp.

It's perfect.

(CHEERING)

Next up, with an immunity pin still on her apron, Nat.

NAT: The fact that I went adventurous on my cook today

is very risky.

The fact that I haven't played my immunity pin is so risky.

A lot is at stake right now.

JUDGES: Whoa!

Nat, that looks pretty interesting.

It is a coconut sorbet dipped in a matcha white chocolate dip,

egg threads and drunk melon balls,

and a matcha moss,

which I've doused in some green tea.

Nat, I think it's very obvious that you've played a monster...

..monster risk.

Plating this dish up, having it tasted,

black apron on and not playing your pin.

It's whether or not that risk has paid off.

Nat, I'm pumped that you're venturing into desserts.

First off, this coconut chocolate matcha log,

I'd buy that in a packet.

It's really good.

And I love your coconut matcha log

with your tea-soaked egg threads.

Nat...

..I like the coconut sorbet.

The white chocolate matcha case is evenly done.

It's well designed, it's clever.

The degree of difficulty on this dish is the highest possible,

and for you to get as close as you have

to knitting all that together is pretty special.

Thanks, Nat.

I'm so thrilled, I'm so energised.

You need to take risks to know how far you can push yourself.

(EXHALES DEEPLY)

Next up, Lochy.

LACHLAN: I feel gutted.

What I had in my mind did not transfer to the plate.

But I don't want it to be my last cook here.

ANNOUNCER: Get inspired by our fabulous home cooks.

Stream full episodes of MasterChef Australia now on 10Play.

OK, Lochy, what have you made us?

LACHLAN: Uh, this is the broken bug egg.

A broken bug egg.

In the egg is egg yolk, Moreton Bay bug, prawn,

some pork, some eggwhite with a prawn red curry sauce.

Gotcha.

POH: Lochy, I think that is your best sauce yet.

I love the heat in it.

It's really, really yum.

And it's perfectly seasoned.

The filling you've made...

..um, obviously, you had problems with that.

Always think about the diner and how that dish is going to play out

when someone eats it.

In terms of the use of egg,

I'm really unsure about whether...

..the innovation part is there.

Lochy, your sauce is fantastic.

But what lets you down is the piece de resistance...

..which did not resist to your plan.

And I'm so sorry.

The oil was not hot enough,

the deep fryer was not deep enough.

Then you are using a dry spoon

where you should've left it in a deep fryer

to get the right temperature to become an intermediary

between your egg and the hot oil.

I feel for you.

Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

Never do a dish that's confusing that nobody gets.

Even if you get it in your own mind, just simplify it.

Righto, Mimi, let's go.

POH: Oh, my God, it's such a tidy little package.

(GASPING)

Green tea infused chawanmushi

with a butter poached scallop.

I think some people would find that wasabi quite overwhelming,

but I really like it. Ha-ha-ha-ha!

(LAUGHS)

It's a yes for me.

Ah, thank you.

Sumeet, let's go.

Green eggs and no ham biryani.

When you eat from the bottom to the top, it is fantastic.

Thank you. (APPLAUSE)

It's our favourite little Viking next, Alex.

(LAUGHS)

Egg custard with chive oil.

The custard is...

..definitely overcooked.

OK.

I'm worried for you.

Sorry, Alex. Sorry, Alex.

Thanks, guys.

The next dish belongs to Darrsh.

Ooh!

ANDY: There you go. Keep going.

Oh!

Darrsh, what have you made?

I brought you my Bombe Alaska.

There's eggs in every element.

So the bottom, there's a genoise cake.

There is a lemon curd made with eggs.

There's a coconut ice-cream made with eggs.

And then you've got a Swiss meringue.

It does look like an egg! (LAUGHS)

Darrsh...

..it's fantastic.

It is the right size.

There is enough amount of meringue

and the inside, who also looks like an egg yolk, is very well done.

The colours, the vivacity of the lemon,

the mango, the coconut is sweet enough.

I love it.

He-hey! He-he-he!

Next dish is Stevo's.

(APPLAUSE)

STEPHEN: It's a terrifying situation,

serving a dish to the judges

that you actually didn't test to make sure it's right.

So my nerves are actually a little frayed.

(EXHALES SHARPLY)

What's your dish, Steve?

So it's my twice cooked tempura-style eggs

with a miso sauce.

Soft boiled eggs?

Yeah.

Did you get to cut one open at your bench?

Uh, no.

Oh-ho-ho! No way.

No, I just didn't have the eggs left, unfortunately.

(GASPS)

It's a risk.

Three eggs means we want to see three runny yolks.

Yep. Oh, man. (EXHALES SHARPLY)

Ready for the first one? Go for it.

Ready for the first one? Go for it.

Hmm. No run, Steve.

No run?

Soft. POH: Soft. Yeah.

Not runny.

Hmm, oh, well.

Uh! ANDY: Hang on, hang on.

Eeh! There's one.

That's good. 50-50.

Alright. POH: That's jammy.

They're all cooked differently. Yeah.

You've got a hard, you've got a jammy,

and then you've got one that's run. Yeah.

I've never seen an egg gradient in my entire life.

They all came out the same time, they all went in the same time.

So I've got no idea.

Let's see what it tastes like.

Stevo, this concept

has the potential to be a trendy cafe breakfast option.

My issue with the tempura is that if your eggs aren't runny,

I want to see the tempura look like tempura.

It has to be golden and that's quite pale.

I think what you've done is creative in terms of elements on a plate.

I was kind of hoping that you pulled the reins back a little bit further

and just focus a little bit more on simplicity.

I thought that maybe the sauce might be the thing

that would bring them all together,

but, for me, it's like really salty, sour, punchy, umami,

but it's not what this dish needed.

And I think maybe where it's let you down

is the egg component. Yeah.

Because if all three of those eggs rushed into that sauce

and gave it richness...

Yeah, that's what it needed.

..then I can feel like it would be the thing

to wrangle all the things that are going on on the plate.

The fact that it didn't run has affected the whole dish.

Yeah, I agree.

POH: Thanks, Steve. Thanks, mate.

(APPLAUSE)

The whole dish hasn't worked.

Now I'm seriously worried.

And I know that I'm certainly going to be in the bottom.

So the whole thing's on the line.

(EXHALES SHARPLY)

The humble egg definitely put you through your paces.

And one of you cooked up an especially cracking dish.

Sav.

Food is made of memories.

You brought us a dish we not only ate but really felt.

Thank you. Well done.

I think if my mum could see

how she's, like, influenced my cooking ability,

I think she would be proud.

Look, this is hard.

We know none of you are ready to leave...

..but this is a competition

We call your name, step forward.

You're in danger of unfortunately going home.

Steve.

Lachlan.

Alex.

When it boils down to it,

none of your egg elements turned out as planned.

So, at the end of the day, as it so often does in this kitchen,

it came down to flavour.

And for one of you...

..the flavours of your dish just didn't get you across the line.

Which is why...

..I'm sorry...

..Steve, you're going home.

Steve.

I look at you and I'm blown away.

The cook that's standing in front of me is not the same cook

that walked through those doors on day one.

Your food has evolved and you along with it.

You're a living, breathing example

that it's never too late to follow your dreams.

It's been a pleasure being here, you know.

Great opportunity.

Really enjoyed it.

Learnt a lot.

Done a lot.

Uh, it's just my time, you know.

What will you miss the most?

Oh, I'll just miss the guys, actually.

Being here in the kitchen with everyone.

Steve, you really have blown us away cook after cook.

And I hope you're really proud of yourself.

Yeah, it's been good. Really good.

I'm really sad to say it's time to say goodbye.

No worries.

MAN: Stevo!

So the journey's come to an end.

It's devastating, it's sad.

But I've learned so much.

I've got some great friends that are going to be with me

for the rest of my life.

(OTHERS CHEER)

I've done the best I could.

So I'm actually sort of OK with it.

ANNOUNCER: This week on MasterChef Australia...

..things are really heating up.

Yeah, baby!

Because our home cooks keep cranking out incredible dishes.

SOFIA: That looks amazing!

ANDY: Oh, get in my belly.

POH: This is delightful.

It is everything that good cooking is about.

Plus...

(SCREAMING AND CHEERING)

The gang's back!

Fantastic!

..the ultimate redemption cook.

I'm so excited. I'm back, baby.

Let's do this!

Who will win their way back

into the competition?