Original subtitles

AMAURY GUICHON: Season one of Dessert Masters...

..was incredible.

MELISSA LEONG: Kicking off the competition with a dish like this?

I'm deeply, deeply impressed.

This is definitely a Dessert Master-worthy dessert.

(YELPING, LAUGHTER)

I have goose bumps, I swear.

You can be so, so proud.

You are our Australian Dessert Master!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Dessert Masters is back!

I am so excited to be back in the kitchen with the most

phenomenal mind in the world of pastry, Amaury Guichon.

DARREN PURCHESE: There's nothing he can't do.

Our all-new line-up of pastry chefs is unbelievable.

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

So beautiful.

Let's get the party started.

Oh, my God, we're all twins!

(LAUGHTER)

I love this competition

because creativity takes centre stage.

(GASPING, EXCLAIMING) OK, guys, it's showtime.

Cook us a dish that celebrates the fun and the theatre

that a circus can bring.

Yeah!

For a lot of pastry chefs,

this challenge would be their worst nightmare.

EMELIA: Ooh! REECE: Oh, there's a book, Melsy.

Oh, it's a library.

Bring us a collection of desserts that tells a story.

CONTESTANTS: Ooh!

DARREN: Something bubbling.

Go! (OTHERS SCREAM)

But there is nowhere to hide.

REECE: Oh, no. I just broke it.

Oh, Amaury! Oh, no!

It's happening.

(CRACKING) It's breaking.

CHRISTY: I'm absolutely terrified.

Run! Oh, this is the worst part.

Ah! Oh!

No, I broke it!

Absolutely crazy.

Let's just skip to the good stuff.

MELISSA: The results are spectacular.

Wow.

That was unbelievable!

It's tens across the board.

(LAUGHTER) Come on!

Good one.

This is what I came to Australia for -

to see this type of things. Yeah.

This is close to perfection.

My daily greens.

You are unstoppable! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

I have never seen anything like this in this kitchen ever before.

Who will be Australia's next Dessert Master?

REECE HIGNELL: Oh, Katherine, let's go! (LAUGHS)

Look at this!

Oh, my God, it's so pretty.

Wow, that is so beautiful.

Oh, my gosh, look at that.

What's it like being back? Katherine, third time -

I'm so excited.

I cannot believe I'm back.

First time I stepped into this kitchen

was six years ago.

PRESENTER: What's your name? I'm Reece.

My experience in this kitchen was an amazing journey.

You're the tits, Reece.

Making that Rum Baba for Katy Perry was the most iconic thing

I think I could ever do.

Literally, in Newcastle, I would get people driving their car past me,

shouting on the side of the road, "Reece, you're the tits!"

(CHUCKLES) I was like, "What the...? What is going on?"

So, honestly, MasterChef completely changed my life.

Katherine, your first time as a contestant.

I know! Let's go! Let's go!

I'm Katherine Sabbath.

People know me for my big, celebratory,

joyous, colourful cakes.

I have over 20 years of cake-making experience.

I've written three cookbooks.

(APPLAUSE) Back, back, back again.

Hi.

I'm excited to push my epic cakes to another level.

You ready for this? Yeah.

My secret weapon - gelato.

I'm Donato Toce.

I'm the head chef and co-owner of Gelato Messina.

Working at Messina is a whole heap of fun.

We get to be really creative and come up with new flavours

and just make people happy.

I'm competing for everybody who works for Messina.

It's that that really pushes me ahead.

Let's do this. Don't kick my ass.

(BOTH LAUGH)

My name is Jana Lai.

I am a pastry chef teacher in Paris,

at a school called Ecole Bellouet Conseil.

I'm a Melbourne girl, but I've never been in this kitchen before,

so I don't know what to expect.

But I live for the pressure of competition.

That makes me thrive.

Donato Toce and Jana Lai!

KATHERINE: Oh, my gosh!

I've come from Paris to compete in this competition,

so I want to win it.

Cristy Tania and Dan Pasquali! (APPLAUSE)

Oh, my God!

I've been through Dan's Instagram, and the guy's creating actual,

like, scenes of crazy stuff out of cakes.

And Christy Tania is just an absolute goddess

when it comes to this pastry world.

So, this is competition like I don't think I've ever seen.

It's so much bigger than I thought. It is, isn't it?

Yeah. Wow. Oh.

My name is John Demetrios, and I'm an executive pastry chef.

I'm best known for refined and finesse dishes

in a fine dining environment.

Plated desserts is definitely my forte.

I've worked in some of the best restaurants in the world,

as head pastry chef for three-Michelin-star Pierre Koffmann,

two-Michelin-star Bordeaux,

Vert Mont.

I've never competed in any type of competition.

I normally like to stay out of the spotlight.

I'm here to prove to myself that I can work

in this competition environment.

I just hope I don't get flustered by all the attention.

Yeah, I just need to stay calm.

It's Alisha Henderson and John Demetrios!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

My name is Alisha Henderson,

and I am a self-taught cake maker.

I started posting photos of my creations onto social media,

and, all of a sudden, I just had people out of nowhere wanting

to order my baking from me.

That was when I was 19, 11 years ago,

and I am still here now.

I want to prove to myself and to everyone else

that you don't have to have any formal training to be a master.

Wow. Yeah, wow.

(CHUCKLES)

You've done this walk a few times, though, haven't you?

Once or twice. (BOTH LAUGH)

No, you've been here more than anyone.

I am really familiar with being in this kitchen.

JUDGE: Darren Purchese. JUDGE 2: Darren Purchese.

JUDGE 3: Darren Purchese. JUDGE 4: Darren Purchese.

JUDGE 5: Darren Purchese. JUDGE 6: Darren Purchese. JUDGE 7: Darren Purchese!

I'm Darren Purchese. I've been a pastry chef for about 30 years now.

I've authored five cookbooks,

and I owned and operated

Burch and Purchese Sweet Studio for 12 years.

I love pastry so much. I think it is a bit of an art form.

Passion flower.

I'm known for my amazing creations.

Passionfruit pavlova.

I use lots of different components,

and I try and blend familiar flavours together.

Bombe Alaska.

WOMAN: Oh, my God.

It's on. (CHUCKLES) It is on.

And finally...

it's Darren Purchese and Emelia Jackson.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Hey.

Good evening, everyone.

From gelato empires

to cake kingdoms,

home-grown pastry chefs and global superstars,

and, of course, MasterChef royalty.

Take a look around.

This is one impressive line-up.

By the end of this competition, one of you is going to be crowned

Australia's Dessert Master for 2024

and walk away with ¤100,000.

(APPLAUSE)

I am so excited to be back in this kitchen,

and even more excited to eat your dishes.

Last year, I didn't know what to expect,

and I was blown away by the level of expertise.

So, obviously, this time around, my expectations are huge.

Great.

(LAUGHTER)

Part of the magic of this place is sparked by the earth

on which this kitchen is built.

We pay our respects to the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung,

the traditional owners of the land Dessert Masters is filmed on.

We acknowledge their elders, past and present.

This is a place that has always and continues to celebrate food,

culture and story.

So, be inspired by that

when it comes to what you do in here.

Let's get down to business.

Because it's your first cook in this kitchen,

the stakes are high.

Tonight, if you cook the best dish,

you will receive a sweet advantage...

..never before seen in this kitchen.

Wow.

Not ready. (LAUGHS)

My God.

What is it?

A safe?

This is the secret SOS box.

Ah... OK.

What?

If you're ever in trouble in this kitchen,

you can use its power to save your sweet.

However, you won't know what power it holds until you choose to use it.

Oh, my God.

If I'm thinking about what the best help

when you scream out SOS could be,

it's Amaury coming to finish your dish

if you put your hand up and say, "Please, help me."

But any advantage in this competition is a godsend,

so of course I want to win this challenge today.

OK, for your first challenge, we want you to bring us

a dessert masterpiece.

This is your chance to show us your greatest strength.

There are endless possibilities,

but make sure you bring us a jaw-dropping,

showstopping,

chart-topping dessert.

Oh, God. You will have three hours.

And this kitchen is the ultimate playground.

Are you ready?

Ready as ever. Let's go!

Good because your time starts now.

Go! (YELPING)

Baskets, baskets. OK.

Alright. OK. OK.

(CLATTERING)

Oh, man.

There's just so many things. (LAUGHS) I just...

I want to cook with everything.

Reece, have things changed since you've last

been in the pantry, or are you good?

Yes, it has, girlfriend. It has?

What are you looking for, doll?

Oh, I'm just grabbing stuff, hoping for the best.

I've taken a whole bowl of raspberries.

We're at number three.

Number three.

Got to use the French butter.

French butter. For the brownie point.

I'm next to Reece! (CHUCKLES)

It's, like, nice having a little familiar...

We're home! Yeah, we're home.

But we'll fight to the death over the SOS box.

(LAUGHS) Don't you think, Reecey?

No, I want it, Melsy.

You want it? I want it.

You're not getting it.

My name is Emelia.

You may remember me from such shows as MasterChef: Back To Win

and season six.

Emelia, you are the winner of MasterChef: Back To Win!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

I don't think I've ever been able to replicate that feeling

of holding that trophy above my head.

It was just enormous.

This kitchen has shaped who I am.

It has shaped my career.

I know what it takes to win.

I'm definitely here to try and do it again.

So, I'm going to make a dessert masterpiece that reflects

my greatest strength.

Hey! What a man!

Look at that. What a man.

Thank you. Pleasure.

These are not just showpiece muscles.

These are functional muscles. (OTHERS LAUGH)

Mels, you are the queen of choux in this kitchen.

I can only assume that choux will form some part

of your presentation today.

Choux - I'm doing eclairs today.

I want them to kind of show a bit of my story,

throughout my entire MasterChef experience.

I'm doing three different flavours.

One will be my pistachio-strawberry.

Another one is a choc-hazelnut.

And then, the third will be one for my daughter,

who loves all things mango and passionfruit.

So, I'm doing a little tropical number.

Classic French. Yep.

And I love a good twist on an eclair.

Well, choux queen making choux for the choux guy.

I love 'shoes' also.

Serendipitous. Can't wait.

Well, we'll let you work. Thanks for that.

Shit.

Ooh, it's been a while.

You have two and a half hours to go!

(CHEERING)

Time moves so much faster in this kitchen, doesn't it?

I know. Too fast! Woo!

Let's get this party started. (CORK POPS)

Have you got a mixer?

I'm Christy Tania, owner, chef, director of Glace.

I'm a pastry chef and I'm a mum.

I've been in MasterChef kitchen before, many times.

Today, you will be recreating my Mistique.

It's called Mango Alfonso.

My Ice-Cream Float.

Oh, my God.

It put myself in a map of Australian dessert.

But I have been out of the business, basically, for 12 months

to raise my son.

And I love being a mum, but the last 12 months,

it's all been baby food or something that you can process without teeth.

OK.

So, I'm here to prove to everyone,

but most importantly myself,

that I'm still a good pastry chef.

Christy. Hello.

Hello.

What's the dish?

So, it's my interpretation of vacherin,

called the Raspberry Mushroom Vacherin.

Vacherin is one of the oldest

traditional childhood desserts in France.

It comprises of a red-fruit sorbet, a meringue and Chantilly cream.

It's looking like a mushroom sort of field.

So, the top of the mushroom is made

out of the raspberry-rosewater sorbet.

The stalk is meringue, filled with, like, Chantilly.

And then, we have some, like, caramelised

white chocolate crumble,

coconut and raspberry panna cotta,

lychee and rosewater sphere.

So, it's a revisit of, like, my first dish

that I created as a head chef.

Oh, I love a good vacherin.

Thank you Christy. Thank you.

Today, for my dessert masterpiece, got to raise the bar even higher

because I'm on show now.

So, that means lots of different components,

lots of different techniques.

This is a dish that would normally take me hours and hours,

if not working a day ahead, to get everything done,

so it's going to be a massive push.

Hi, Darren. Hey.

How are you going? Good. I'm sweating.

You are sweating. I can see that.

Out of all the contestants we have,

do you feel like your reputation is really on the line?

I do feel a bit of pressure.

I feel like people are looking to me to create something amazing.

So, I've got to be at the top of my game.

Now, what are you making?

I'm going to be doing an interpretation of Peach Melba.

Yeah. Something I learned as a pastry chef

when I did my apprenticeship at the Savoy Hotel in London.

So, Chef Escoffier was the Chef de Cuisine there.

Escoffier made this dessert for Dame Nellie Melba,

a famous opera singer from Australia,

to soothe her vocal cords

while she was performing at Covent Garden.

It was a dish that really

made me fall in love with being a pastry chef.

What are the elements?

I've got a peach mousse with a peach-schnapps-infused

peach-compote centre.

I've got vanilla ice-cream.

Peach-schnapps sauce.

I've got raspberry cream, raspberry jelly,

raspberry crumble, raspberry tuile,

white chocolate and raspberry disk,

peach compote in a clear gel. Wow.

I've also got a peach-schnapps jelly and a white chocolate vanilla cream.

Some poached peach.

Oh, there's also a vanilla panna cotta.

It's a lot of elements for three hours.

Yeah.

Yeah, well, um...

I mean, 16 separate recipes,

in three hours,

made by one human.

I mean, 16 separate recipes,

in three hours,

made by one human.

Well, we'll see.

We will. Yeah.

Aim for the stars.

I'm going to go for it. Yeah.

And then, we'll see what happens.

I think if anyone's going to do it, it'll be you.

So, good luck. Thank you. Awesome to meet you.

Thank you.

I'm feeling the pressure.

Although I was trying not to show it,

but I'm up for the challenge.

I don't want to be standing here with 10 minutes left, you know,

wondering what might have been.

I'm just going to go for it.

ALISHA: Looking around me,

and I'm pretty excited because there is some

extremely high-profile names here.

I've got my money on her to win - best pastry chef in the world.

Jana Lai.

REECE: Girl, they look stunning!

Thanks, girl.

I've seen Emelia compete in this kitchen many times,

and she is an absolute force to be reckoned with.

Godspeed, my beautiful angels.

I know that John may look unassuming.

He is used to working behind closed doors,

but I have had the privilege of eating in his restaurants,

and he is a wizard.

He is one to watch in this competition.

So, for my masterpiece, coming in really strong

is really important to me.

Hi, Alisha.

Hi.

We are so excited to have you in the kitchen.

You bring such a wonderful energy.

What are you channelling that energy into?

So, I am making a dish called Let Them Eat Pavlova.

Right.

So, I want to make a cake stand out of a pavlova,

encase the pavlova flavours inside the stand,

with a piece of pavlova-inspired cake on top.

OK. OK.

I don't have an engineering degree, but why not try now?

I love the concept because it's like two desserts in one, per se...

Thank you, yeah. ..with a sense of showmanship.

(LAUGHS)

Did you put your meringue stand in the oven already?

Yeah. OK, so it will be dry on time?

Yes. Great.

Thanks, guys. Good luck.

I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping the Dessert Masters gods

who've come before me will be very kind.

I'm here at Dessert Masters because I love a good competition.

I live for adrenaline, which is why I continuously compete.

After every competition, I always say, "That's enough."

But, no, that's never enough.

I've competed in the Coupe du Monde, which is the highest level

of pastry competition in the world.

With this competition,

only limit would be my imagination.

Butter.

Hi, Jana. Hello.

What's the dish? It's called Tunnel Vision

because that's what I need to be having on the first day.

I'm basing it on multiple tubes, multiple textures.

First tube is just a plain vanilla ice-cream.

One is going to be a chocolate tube with buckwheat-infused caramel.

The other one is going to be a tuile.

Can you conquer this kitchen?

So, we'll see.

Every time I do a competition, you want to win.

Hell, yeah, I want to win it. (LAUGHS)

I want to win it.

Um... Uh...

I couldn't prepare for this feeling -

being in the kitchen, looking up at that famous MasterChef clock.

I'm definitely feeling like a fish out of water...

(SIGHS)

..with such immense talent around the room.

But I know I've just got to take a breath,

let my muscle memory kick in.

I've done this a thousand times before.

OK, OK. You can do it, man.

For me, the most important thing in the kitchen is to stay calm,

be organised and collect your thoughts,

and then work with precision.

So, I've got to do what I do best,

show them what I love to cook.

Smells so good.

I like to take this approach where you have a hero ingredient

and really showcase it in all different ranges of flavours.

So, I'm going to take the coconut.

All different components, which I'm going to use,

different textures and flavour profiles.

Dish is going to look like a composed dessert.

So, it's going to be all built up in the centre.

A bit of magic on the top.

My dish is called Nuts About Coconut.

Bottom of my dish, I'm making a doughnut,

which is half sponge, half coconut mousse.

I'm going to fill that with a caramel

made of candied coconut curds.

On top of that is a young-coconut sorbet.

And then, I'm going to finish the plate with a coconut sago sauce.

We're doing it! We're doing it!

Whew!

A dish like this shows my understanding of flavour,

my understanding of technique,

and my understanding of finesse.

Warming up. Getting there. (LAUGHS)

Speak to me in an hour.

Show us why you're the best of the best.

You have two hours to go!

Go!

Should we stop now? It's a strong sample.

It's already very good.

Oh, no, I dropped my orange!

That's the good thing about Dessert Masters -

we all have the same ingredients on the bench.

Did you just take some of my stuff? No.

I grew up in Italy - can you tell?

And I used to live in a farm, and we had a lot of lemon trees.

So, every time I smell lemons, for me, it's like being back home.

My dessert is called Forbidden Flower,

with beautiful white-chocolate-mousse petals.

And there will be a lemon-peel centre,

lemon gel and honey jelly.

Once you bite it, you feel like you're in Italy.

Hey, Kath. Hey, judges.

I know what that means.

It means Celebration Cake.

Yes.

Three layers of a black sesame sponge cake, with flavours

of pandan and mango.

And I'm hoping to do a black and white marble glaze

on the outside, just to make it a little bit more sophisticated.

You've got your work cut out for you

because that's a lot of work.

That's why we're here. Thank you.

This is the milk skin.

My dish is based around five different textures of milk.

I need to get a milk skin dehydrated.

I need to make a dulce de leche.

I need to get a ricotta made.

I need to make a gelato. And I need to make a milk crumb.

I'm focusing on my dulce de leche.

It's one of our key elements in this dish.

The idea behind this dish is to show what milk can do.

The dulce de leche is on.

There is a secret advantage on the line, guys.

One and a half hours to go!

Go, go, go!

Oh, my God!

Wow!

Sponge, done.

I'm going to keep it really true to me today.

So, I'm going to be doing a dessert trolley.

So, I'm going to be making my bath cheesecake,

my signature lemon tart,

a chocolate and hazelnut layered cake and my nan's sponge.

It smells so good.

What defines who I am now

is that I've opened up my own bakery,

my pride and joy, Cakeboi.

The whole concept of Cakeboi is that it preserves

this really unique memory that I have of my nan

just being this most incredible country baker.

And my bakery is 100% a dedication

to these beautiful old classic cakes.

This is looking lush.

I'm just working on my lemon tart.

So, in the actual tart, we have a beautiful tart shell.

But I want to bring out a little bit of caramelisation in it.

And the lemon-tart filling, which is, like, acidic and sweet,

bring it all together.

The key about Australian country baking is everything needs

to be perfect and comfortable.

But I know what's around me.

There is some incredible dishes,

so my trolley's a massive risk.

But this is me to a tee.

It's just who I am now at its purest.

Chefs, you only have 45 minutes left to go!

Don't stop!

(SCREAMS)

ALISHA: Let's go!

We're getting towards the pointy end of this challenge,

and I'm really excited.

Yes, because I think a lot of them are really challenging themselves

into showing us a dessert masterpiece.

I like the idea of Jana's Tunnel Vision,

series of different flavours and textures

in a tubular sort of structure.

I think, visually, it could be very cool to look at.

Alright, so kiwi jelly should be done.

Ambition-wise, I really like Alisha.

I love the sense of a little bit of playfulness.

I agree. However, I think that she's definitely taking a risk.

I mean, when I think of load-bearing structures,

I don't think of pavlova.

Right, dip.

Speaking of taking a huge risk, Darren Purchese and the Peach Melba

with 16 separate elements.

In three hours!

That's a huge undertaking.

The load of work is massive.

I have all of my fingers and toes crossed for him.

Thank you, co-host.

Working on a raspberry tuile at the moment, just to make

the dish look pretty.

I've still got quite a lot to do.

JANA: My dessert is called Tunnel Vision

because I'm using different types of tubes.

A vanilla ice-cream tube,

a chocolate tube filled with toasted buckwheat caramel,

and the third tube is filled with a coffee-vanilla cream.

OK, I'm done.

I finish my different tubes.

I'm looking at the time, and I want that box.

My strengths in pastry would be in sugar work.

I'm going to have to pull out a little surprise.

I'm gonna make a sugar plate.

I knew we would have some sugar work.

I can't resist doing it.

I've taken a lot of my inspiration from beautiful glass sculptures,

plates from Murano in Venice.

Cool.

Why get a Murano plate when I can get a Jana plate?

So, I'm hoping that will impress the judges.

Whew! Not bad.

DARREN: Oh, dear me.

Can I have a bit more time, please?

I'm just recreating the Peach Melba, kind of in a modern style.

I can't believe the time has gone so quick.

I've still got loads more than half of my 16 components to do.

Making a vanilla ice-cream at the moment.

Making a raspberry jelly. I've already made a peach compote.

I've made my peach and white chocolate mousse.

I'm working as fast as I possibly can.

A lot to go.

But you've got to keep pushing on.

Do this, 175.

Especially in this kitchen, you cannot stop.

How are you? In the shit.

Stressing out a bit.

JOHN: The clock is ticking quickly now.

My dish is called Nuts About Coconut.

I'm taking coconut and trying to showcase it

in all different ranges of flavours.

I've completed my coconut frangipane and my coconut mousse.

I've put them together to form the doughnut that's going to sit

at the base of my dish.

Alright!

I taste everything.

Ugh!

I love the coconut flavour, but it's really sweet.

So, I know I need to bring in some bitter flavours with acid

that's not too heavy.

I'm going to start making a lime and coconut sago sauce.

It's OK. You can do it, man.

I'm using lime for its acidity.

That's going to help balance that sweetness of the coconut

and make the whole dish work together beautifully.

Whew!

When the judges taste my dessert, I really want them to be transported

to their favourite fine-dining restaurant.

Just making a white chocolate garnish to sit on top

of the dessert.

I want there to be clean, pure flavours

and a bit of whimsical magic on the plate.

Tick tock, tick tock.

I hope your creations are coming together.

30 minutes to go!

Go, go, go!

(CLAPPING)

No pressure. Got to smooth this, just a little.

Let's go.

Alright.

It's like watching the grass grow, the pav grow.

Mm-hm. Exactly, yeah. Exhilarating.

DARREN: Time is going pretty quick.

Donato, how is everything going?

I'd like to say really well but probably not.

Am I arriving at the worst moment? Uh...

Redoing a couple of things just because they're not up to spec.

I've got my ricotta cheese, gelato and milk crumb done.

I've got my milk skin in and my dulce de leche.

How long does dulce de leche take to make?

We've got 27 minutes left,

and I've got 26 minutes left on my dulce de leche.

So down to the wire, huh? Pretty much.

(LAUGHS)

KATHERINE: I'd like the glazes to kind of marry together

and make a really beautiful marbled pattern.

And I need to do that with a hair dryer.

OK. (HAIR DRYER WHIRRS)

I don't think I've seen a hair dryer in the MasterChef kitchen before.

(CHUCKLES) Yeah. Oh.

EMELIA: Go! Chocolate's done.

Each eclair has three or four fillings.

So, next, I need to work on slowly piping my eclairs

because I want them to be as neat as possible.

These three eclairs represent different aspects of me.

I've got Paris-Brest-inspired eclair,

which is my all-time favourite flavour.

I have a hazelnut cream, hazelnut praline paste,

and then a crunchy chocolate-hazelnut layer.

OK.

And then, the first-ever choux pastry I did in this kitchen,

the pistachio and strawberry.

And then, my daughter's favourite flavour, which is mango.

I'm so glad that I really played to my strengths, and hopefully,

these will be enough to get me the SOS box.

We're looking good.

You have 15 minutes to go!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Do it like that, darling. Yoo-hoo-hoo!

Oh, gosh. Ooh-la-la!

Alright!

ALISHA: Alright, let's get this pav out.

All of my elements are looking good, so I think it's time to pull it out.

The pavlova.

Let's have a look, hey?

I think we're looking alright.

The meringue is looking amazing.

It seems to, at this point,

be holding its structure really well.

We are ready to start assembling.

OK, OK.

No, don't do this.

This is the part where you have to be super careful

because it is so delicate.

(CHUCKLES)

Oh, Amaury! Oh, no!

It's breaking.

I don't have a second one.

Um...

Oh, Amaury! Oh, no!

It's happening. It's breaking.

My meringue has cracked.

Yeah, OK.

Oh, dear. OK.

At this point, I could just serve that tiny little slice of cake.

I just don't think that's enough.

And I really want to push forward with seeing this completed.

Let's just keep the pieces.

No-one panic yet.

And we'll see if I can patch it in.

I'm going to get an Italian meringue on,

and that can be used as a bit of delicious glue

to patch this thing back together.

I can bring it back, you know!

You have 10 minutes to go!

(APPLAUSE)

Well, I need a trolley.

Reece? Yes.

I bring you your throne, Your Highness.

Oh, my trolley! Make good use of it.

Thank you.

So, final touches.

But, like, I'm looking around and this is the bunch of people

who are just so talented.

OK.

They're very technical and modern patissiers.

Like, I'm just a humble baker from Newy.

I make delicious cakes in their most traditional form.

So, I hope it's going to be good enough.

(CHANTS) Pavlova! Pavlova! Pavlova! (LAUGHS)

There's something there. She's a bit rough...

But it's structurally sound?

I hope so.

Don't forget you're playing for a secret advantage.

Three minutes to go!

JOHN: My coconut frangipane and coconut-mousse doughnut,

I'm really happy with the shape of this.

Fill the cavity with my lactic caramel.

As you're eating through the refreshing sorbet,

you're going to hit this super salty, rich caramel

in the middle that's going to send your tastebuds for six.

Oof!

I taste my young coconut and lime sauce.

Wow!

It's super refreshing.

The lime balances the sweetness of the coconut.

I put it in a mature coconut shell,

and I'm going to serve that right in front of the judges.

I can stand behind a dish like this.

Elegant, refined and exciting at the same time.

Get everything on the plate, chefs.

Only one minute left!

DARREN: This is insane.

Oh, my God!

I now feel sorry for all of the contestants

I've put through pressure tests in the past.

Let's do this.

But somehow, I've got all of the components done

and on the plate.

I don't know how.

But hopefully, the judges are really going to love it.

Can't wait to taste in 10...

MELISSA AND AMAURY: ..nine,

eight, seven,

six, five,

four, three,

two, one!

Hands up! That's it.

(APPLAUSE)

Barely spoke to you the whole time.

Yeah! Team! (CHUCKLES)

Hug!

Congratulations. Yeah, we made it.

That was stressful, eh? (LAUGHS)

Your first cook together in the Dessert Master's kitchen

is over.

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

..Jana.

(APPLAUSE)

Oh!

JANA: It's called Tunnel Vision.

At the bottom, I have a vanilla cream,

which has been infused with coffee.

And then, I did a vanilla ice-cream with a caramel,

and I made a tuile,

which is also made of buckwheat flour,

a little bit of chocolate.

That's it.

I don't think you've named all the elements.

Oh. (CHUCKLES) The plate.

I mean, that's reasonably impressive.

Not only did you make the dessert, but you made the plate

out of isomalt, as well.

I mean, it looks like a beautiful sculptural thing.

From now on, we want all the presentation to be edible.

Yeah. Fully. Plates, silverware.

Yep. Please. Thank you.

(CHOCOLATE CRACKLES)

And now I get to do...

Oh, you can prepare.

(CHIMING)

(APPLAUSE)

Simply smashing.

I love it.

It's so good, so well balanced.

Within one spoon,

I'm getting everything,

all the elements -

The ice-cream, the cream, the tuile, the chocolate work, the crunch.

If this was a representation of you,

you brought a lot of craft, of skills.

And the fact that you even went out of your way

to present us a little bit of your speciality, the sugar work.

It is such a good dessert.

This is the type of dessert where I want to finish the plate.

It's not just interesting, it's something you want to go

over and over until it's finished.

You can literally finish the plate.

And you can finish the plate.

It's very elegant, and it's just good.

Thank you. This is a study in a significant

amount of skill, a significant amount of focus.

Tunnel Vision you have.

I'm so happy you're here.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

(APPLAUSE)

I'm so proud of you.

Emelia Jackson, it's time to taste your choux.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Ooh, look at these!

Wow. Wow.

We're in Paris. (EMELIA CHUCKLES)

What have you made us?

Um, I have made you my eclairs.

There's a Paris-Brest.

So, there is a hazelnut praline cream.

And then, we have a pistachio-strawberry.

And then, the tropical-flavoured one

is tropical cremeux

and coconut Chantilly.

Madam. Merci.

Cheers.

That's how we do in Paris.

Cheers? When you're eating a... Yeah.

You cheers with the with eclair.

I...I really like them.

As a professional, you can pinpoint and say

the pate a choux is well done.

It's thin. It's well developed.

My favourite is going to be the chocolate one.

I love the ratio of texture.

I love that you took the time to do chocolate

in multiple interpretation.

You are bringing some crunch into it.

When it's pure gluttony, and you have a bite,

and you just want to go back at it because it's so good.

(CHUCKLES)

This is my type of pastry.

Thank you.

It looks like the shop window of a Parisian patisserie.

It was absolutely beautiful.

Thank you, Melissa.

Thank you, Emelia. Thank you, Emelia.

(APPLAUSE)

That was good. So good.

The next dish we would like to taste belongs to Darren.

DARREN: I was not expecting my cook to be like that.

Big D.

It was super chaotic.

16 components is insane.

Ooh!

But just hope now that the taste is fantastic.

That's a lot of work.

Yeah.

ANNOUNCER: Don't miss a delicious moment of Dessert Masters.

Watch full episodes on 10Play now.

AMAURY: Nice.

Oh, that looks pretty!

This is a version of Peach Melba,

but I've presented it to you in a modern way.

Wow, wow, wow!

Do you mind running us through each of those elements?

Yep. OK, so there's a vanilla panna cotta.

The peach coloured mousse is there.

It's glazed with a white chocolate glaze.

And inside the peach mousse,

there's a peach compote with peach schnapps.

There's also a vanilla ice-cream.

There's piped white chocolate and vanilla cream.

There is a small sphere of peach-schnapps jelly.

There is a tablet shape of raspberry cremeux.

There is, underneath the ice-cream, a raspberry crumble.

There's a vanilla sugar decor there for crunch, and there's also

some poached peach slices,

peach compote, which has been encapsulated

in a clear gel, some lemon balm just to lift up.

And we've got some fresh raspberries, as well.

Let's try it. Mm-hm.

Also a white chocolate and raspberry disk.

And on top, there's a little bubble tuile of raspberry,

raspberry tuile for you.

And that's all we have time for this week. Thank you so much.

(LAUGHS) Goodbye!

(LAUGHTER)

Darren, I think you've taken

the sensibility of what makes a Melba so special,

which is that beautiful play

of that creamy, lovely vanilla ice-cream

and that sweet, sour tartness of peaches.

And you've brought it together in a way that is familiar.

But the way you have interpreted it

in so many different elements, textures,

that's why your name is so renowned,

and I'm really, really impressed with that.

I really like the dish.

You do get the peach Melba feeling on steroid.

I love the contrast of texture.

You have multiple variations of crunch, soft.

It's a very good plated dessert.

If I had to say one thing,

I think the result could be amazing

with less elements as well.

Yeah. Well done, Darren.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

The next dishes we would like to taste belong to...

..Reece! Yay!

I'm coming. You're our trolley dolly!

Hello.

(LAUGHTER)

A bit rickety, but I'm on my Ls.

Reece, this is amazing!

Look at that.

It's not one masterpiece - it's masterpieces.

So, can you please talk us through what you made?

Top and centre is my Nan's Sponge,

Orange Bath Cheesecake,

my Lemon Tart.

And it's my favourite thing to make, I love it.

Um, and over here is the 17-layer chocolate-hazelnut cake.

I love Australian classics,

but I'm kind of, like, nervous

and a little bit scared about the idea of the things

that I grew up loving to eat will go lost.

So, yeah, it means a lot to me.

Alright.

I really love sometimes the rustic-ness of pastry,

because sometimes when we modernise everything,

we lose a little bit of the essence of the...

The soul. ..the origin.

It's, yes, soulful. Yeah.

Oh, my God, thank you.

My favourite is absolutely the lemon tart.

Thank you.

It's so rare nowadays to have authentic lemon tart.

The shine is perfect.

The dough is crunchy.

You push the colouration,

which is also something I really appreciate.

Really good.

Reece, this is why you are a Dessert Master.

What you do is different to some super technical work

that's out there behind you. Correct.

Your particular corner of pastry

is about honouring heirloom recipes. Yep.

And you have done that to perfection.

That's really kind. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Reece. Thanks, guys.

(APPLAUSE)

EMELIA: Amazing.

Good job, Cakeboi. Oh, thanks, Melsy.

Dan, you're up next.

Voila. Whoa!

What's the name of your dish?

Forbidden Flower.

So, I have a white chocolate mousse with a lemon-peel interior,

lemon gel and honey jelly.

There is a very good balance of flavour.

The lemon is here, but it's not overpowering.

Thank you.

Katherine. That looks stunning!

I've made you my Black Sesame Marble Cake.

So we've got flavours of black sesame,

a delicious mango curd

and pandan.

A black sesame sponge cake.

I thought the mirror glaze was really lovely.

You have that beautiful black and white marbled appearance.

It's very dramatic

And the sponge is really lovely and light.

That combination of the rich brown sugar and the chocolate,

along with nutty black sesame.

Thank you.

Christy. (APPLAUSE)

Wow!

My Raspberry Mushroom Vacherin.

It comprises of meringue, filled with coconut cream,

raspberry-rosewater sorbet,

lychee and rosewater sphere

and vanilla tuile.

Every element is well crafted.

Great contrast of textures.

It is as good as it is beautiful.

It's just stunning.

What I see standing before me is a very elegant plate of food.

Thank you.

Donato!

DONATO: It's basically a plate of milk.

So, we've got milk gelato, a milk crumb,

we've got a dulce de leche,

a fresh-made ricotta,

and then covered with milk skins.

It's a very clever dish.

Every element is perfectly crafted.

It is a very minimalist approach.

You absolutely could see that in a concept...

..three-star Michelin-type restaurant.

Yep. Thank you.

Thank you. (APPLAUSE)

Next dish we'd like to taste belongs to Alisha.

(APPLAUSE)

Hi. Hello. Wow!

It's sort of in one piece.

Look at that.

Just.

Alisha, what have you made for us?

This is called Let Them Eat Pavlova.

Inside the baked pavlova shell are my favourite pavlova toppings -

strawberry mousseline,

there is a passionfruit curd, a kiwi jelly,

a passionfruit and lemon olive oil cake.

And then, there is Italian meringue on top of the little

slice of cake there.

OK, well, it's not a cake stand and a slice of cake

if the cake isn't on the cake stand. (CHUCKLES)

So would you like to do the honours?

Sure.

I really don't know if it's gonna go on there.

How are you feeling about doing this?

Oh, this is... Yeah. There's no pressure.

Loving you watching me do this!

I really don't know if it's gonna go on there, though.

Would you like an additional...?

(WHISPERS) Yes. You got it. You got it.

You ready? Yeah.

Let Them Eat Pavlova!

Yes!

(APPLAUSE)

Should we just go for it? Yes!

I think...I think we just... Make it messy?

Alright. (CHUCKLES) Yes.

I like it.

I like the combination of textures,

the moistness of the sponge,

all the creaminess and a little bit of the crunchiness of the meringue.

However, it's a bit on the sweet side.

I think, because of the structure,

you needed to have such an amount of meringue.

You gave us something that had this beautiful kind of

slight trick of the eye to it.

We knew that there was more going on beneath the surface

that was bright and happy and bubbly, just like you.

So, it kind of really does, in that regard,

show us who you are,

as does the fact that you pushed yourself.

Commendable effort. Well done.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you. (APPLAUSE)

Oh, my God, it's over! Yay!

Ah! (CHUCKLES)

Next dish we'd like to taste belongs to John.

JOHN: I've never cooked in a competition before,

and I had a really wobbly start today,

but I think I've nailed all the coconut flavours.

I just hope the judges agree.

Ooh! Nice.

Chocolate work! Yeah. It's for you.

Thank you.

What is the name of your dish?

Uh, Nuts About Coconut.

On the base, there's a coconut frangipane and coconut mousse

double-layered doughnut.

I filled that with a lactic caramel.

On top, is a young-coconut sorbet.

And then, I finished it with a lime tuile

and white chocolate feathers.

The sauce is a take on a coconut sago.

Kept it fresh.

Wow, wow, wow!

(LAUGHS)

Looking sharp, John.

Yeah.

This is something that I did try to create to...for this moment.

It's not necessarily something I would put on one of my menus

or anything like that. Sure.

So I... Yeah, I wanted to show a little bit of me,

without giving too much.

And this is... Like I was saying, it's just the beginning.

So it's...it's the hello.

It's the purest of white.

OK, so it's the opening gambit. Correct.

Yeah. Alright.

(BOTH LAUGH)

Let's try it.

Mmm.

Flawless.

I love it.

Thank you.

The flavours are stunning.

All the texture complements each other,

using the acidity of the lime to counterbalance the sweetness.

Every element is interesting.

Even the tapioca, who appeared to be transparent,

probably flavourless, brings a lot of flavour.

And freshness.

Yeah, a lot of freshness.

And also, beautiful craftsmanship on the feathers.

It's stunning in the simplicity you've made it.

The goal of today was to get to know you guys through your dish.

And the true meaning of the Dessert Masters,

it's the mastering of the craft.

And this is just a mastered plate.

This is your first competition, right?

I'm very excited to see more and more of you.

Thank you. The sponge was super light.

That deeply caramelised coconut was sort of sticky,

so you have that lovely contrast in texture.

And then, the tuile has snap but no stickiness,

while still carrying that beautiful purity of flavour from the coconut.

On a scale of one to sexy?

Oh, that's sexy. For sure, yeah.

(LAUGHS)

Hard work has paid off.

Thank you, John. Thank you, John.

(APPLAUSE)

Well done, mate. Thank you. Thank you.

(CHUCKLES)

Oh, my gosh!

Very cool.

Jeez, Louise.

You should all be so proud of what you've delivered tonight.

There were so many standout dishes,

but there is only one secret SOS box.

So, Mel and I narrowed it down to two.

Jana.

Tunnel Vision turned laser focus.

You gave us a little bit of everything,

and it was masterfully executed.

And...

..John.

Think of a tropical paradise,

I'll think of that dish.

It was refreshing, complex, yet absolutely effortless.

Both of your dishes were flawless...

..but there was only one that we were truly 'nuts' about.

It's you John!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

John, how does that feel?

Oh! I'm shaking.

I'm so excited. It feels amazing. (CHUCKLES)

Well, congratulations, John.

The secret SOS box is yours.

Come and get it.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(LAUGHTER)

Now, remember, it'll stay locked and loaded until you choose

to unleash its power.

Got it.

Guys, I can already tell

that this is going to be a fun few weeks.

So, go get some well-earned rest, and we'll see you all tomorrow.

Good night. Bye, guys.

See you!

Ah! I'm on top of the world right now.

Well done, mate. Thank you.

Well done. Thanks very much.

Winning the first challenge, impressing the judges and holding

this SOS box gives me the confidence I'm going to need

to get through this competition.

ANNOUNCER: Next time, on Dessert Masters...

Bring us a dessert that incorporates movement.

Oh, my goodness!

We know they've got the skills.

AMAURY: You're starting off with a bang.

I love it.

But...

Look at this!

..have they got the moves?

JANA: Physics is not my strong point,

but it is a competition,

and we are Dessert Masters.

Are you nervous?

Here we go.

MELISSA: Yay!

That is very cool.

It is so playful.

It is so fun.

I freaking love this.

Captions by Red Bee Media