2009 - Complete Season 01
| Week 1 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0001 | “Episode 01” | Monday 27 April 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Series Premiere: Auditions Part 1 - Australia is introduced to their first series of 'Masterchef' and its judges; chefs and restaurateurs Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris along with world renowned food critic Matt Preston. Hosted by Sarah Wilson, the judges are touring Australia for the best amateur cooks to join them in the Masterchef competition. With 50 spots available country wide, the judges begin with Sydney & Adelaide. Despite Adelaide's shaky start, both cities prove to carry an incredible amount of talent and as result, 18 of the Top 50 spots are filled. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0002 | “Episode 02” | Tuesday 28 April 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Auditions Part 2 - Continuing on with their search for Australia's best amateur cooks, the judges visit both Brisbane & Perth. The two cities' talent pools manage to impress the judges yet again, filling up another 18 spots between the two of them. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0003 | “Episode 03” | Wednesday 29 April 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Auditions Part 3 - The final stop on the judges tour of Australia is Melbourne, the food capital of Australia. With the final 14 spots managing to get filled, Melbourne certainly lived up to its name. With the Top 50 having now been decided, the chosen amateurs are sent to Sydney where they will undergo a series of challenges over the coming days. By the end of these challenges, only 20 will remain and continue on into the Masterchef competition. The Top 50's first challenge is a simple task of dicing onions. The 12 amateurs that possess the weakest knife skills as deemed by the judges are sent into the next challenge where half of them will be eliminated from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0004 | “Episode 04” | Thursday 30 April 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 50 Part 1 - The 12 weakest performers in the onion dicing challenge are tasked with cooking a dish that will 'wow' the judges using only the limited ingredients available in the pantry. With only 45 minutes on the clock, the pressure proved to be too much for some. One hopeful contestant withdraws from the competition to pursue an apprenticeship leaving the judges to eliminate the other 5 contestants who produced the worst dishes of the day. The remaining 44 contestants are then given the task of identifying as many of the 17 ingredients in George's special bolognese sauce as they can. The 11 contestants that guess the fewest correct ingredients will be sent into the next elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0005 | “Episode 05” | Friday 1 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 50 Part 2 - The 11 worst performers of the taste test are brought to Sydney's famous fish markets. Their task is to prepare a two course seafood meal in just 2 hours. However that time must also be used to shop for ingredients and make their way back to the kitchen. Many of the contestants found themselves with under one hour left to cook which proved to be a major downfall for some. After tasting all the dishes, the judges eliminate three of the five amateurs who produced the worst dishes. With two more amateurs set to be eliminated, the choice came down to Michelle, Tom and Josh. However, in a surprising turn of events, the judges chose not to eliminate any of them, due to their mistakes in the challenge not being severe enough to warrant elimination. |
| Week 2 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0006 | “Episode 06” | Sunday 3 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 20 Revealed - After a tough week those that remain in the Top 50 have one last challenge to prove their worth. Each contestant has a box of ten mystery ingredients including pork, chocolate, bread and cabbage and just 30 minutes to prepare a judge worthy dish. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0007 | “Episode 07” | Monday 4 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 20 Cooking Challenge - Arriving in Sydney, the contestants are taken to their luxury $16M pad and immediately into the MasterChef kitchen. Put straight to task, the Top 20 are given a set of ingredients and have just one hour to whip up a chicken dish of their choice. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0008 | “Episode 08” | Tuesday 5 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 1 - Fresh from the first challenge win, one contestant gets the opportunity to compete against a celebrity chef. Both Chef's make the same dish and the judges will blind taste each. If the contestant makes a 'better' dish, they will fastrack to the final. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0009 | “Episode 09” | Wednesday 6 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sushi Restaurant Team Challenge - Sam was given captainship of the Blue Team for winning the Invention Test and chose Sandra as the captain of the Red Team. Sam chose, Kate, Josh, Lucas, Poh, Julia, Melissa, Nic, Michelle and Brent, while Sandra chose Chris, Tom, Julie, Justine, Tom, Geni, Aaron, Andre and Linda. Winner: Red Team. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0010 | “Episode 10” | Thursday 7 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Team Elimination - Having lost the challenge, the Blue Team contemplated whom to eliminate. Michelle considered voting out Sam as a strategic move, but chose to vote out Kate, and Kate chose to vote out Michelle, and Melissa chose to vote out Nic for his lack of assistance, but the majority of the team decided to vote out Melissa as she "can't even chop." |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0011 | “Episode 11” | Friday 8 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Masterclass 1 - Cooking with the Masters - Resident judges Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris give the contestants a chance to learn from the best and see how it's really done in the weekly Masterclass. |
| Week 3 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0012 | “Episode 12” | Sunday 10 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Mystery Box Challenge - Before the challenge starts, Nic tells the other contestants that he is leaving to be with his wife. The challenge ingredients are bread, eggs, tomatoes, smoky bacon. Top three were Chris, Trevor, and Poh. Chris won for his "Eggs in Hell." Invention Test 1 - Italian theme using rabbit, chosen by Chris as his reward for winning the Mystery Box Challenge, along with the advantage of having five minutes in the pantry rather than the one minute the other contestants could use to select their ingredients. Three best dishes were Brent, Tom, Jenny. Three worst were Julie, Aaron, and Linda. Brent was chosen winner for his Braised Rabbit with Capsicum, Onions, and Fennel, Roasted Potatoes, Charred Zucchini, and Sweated Red Onions. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0013 | “Episode 13” | Monday 11 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test Elimination - Julie, Aaron and Linda landed in the Bottom 3 for their disasters in the invention test. They were asked to make a tarte tatin (apple tart) using a basic recipe with Julie's being deemed the best. The judges criticized Aaron for "running before he could walk" but ultimately chose Linda to be eliminated as besides her poor dish, she proved too inconsistent. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0014 | “Episode 14” | Tuesday 12 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 2 - Martin Boetz beat Brent cooking the signature Longrain dish of Eggnet, Pork, Prawns, and Cucumber Relish. Brent had 1 hour 15 minutes to make the dish, while Martin had 45 minutes and spent the first half-hour of Brent's time helping him because he "[hated] to see someone stressing when it's unnecessary." The judges gave Brent's dish 6/6/5 and Martin's dish 8/8/9 out of ten. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0015 | “Episode 15” | Wednesday 13 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Seafood Banquet Team Challenge - Brent was given captainship of the Blue Team for winning the invention test and chose Geni as the captain of the Red Team. Brent chose Sam, Trevor, Josh, Lucas, Kate, Julia, Michelle, and Aaron, and Geni chose Chris, Tom, Justine, Andre, Poh, Julie, and Sandra. Taken to the Vaucluse Yacht club, the contestants were divided into two teams and told they had $500 to plan, make, and serve a banquet for ten people. Chef Curtis Stone was invited to both teams' banquets as a guest judge. Winner: Red Team. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0016 | “Episode 16” | Thursday 14 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Team Elimination - The Blue Team faced elimination. All members selected one member to leave the competition. In the end, while he voted for Aaron, the others decided to vote out Brent, as they believed his poor direction let them down. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0017 | “Episode 17” | Friday 15 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Masterclass 2 - Class is in - Poached Egg Salad with Tomato Tea (consommé), Roast Saddle of Rabbit with White Bean Puree, Ricotta Tortellini, Eton Mess. The chefs expressed surprise that Brent had been voted off. Calombaris said, "Interesting. Really interesting." |
| Week 4 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0018 | “Episode 18” | Sunday 17 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Mystery Box Challenge: Chocolate, oranges, eggs, sugar, coconut, flour. Top three: Trevor's Coconut Dumplings Baked in Custard, Geni's Intense Orange & Chocolate Pudding, and Poh's Chocolate Pikelets with Orange Sauce. Winner: Poh. Invention Test 2 - Chinese theme, using mixed mushrooms chosen by Poh as her reward for winning the Mystery Box Challenge. Poh gets five minutes in the pantry; everyone else gets 2 minutes. Top three: Poh, Julia, Lucas. Bottom three: Sam, Michelle, Kate. Winner: Julia for her Mushroom & Vegetable Dumplings with Broth. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0019 | “Episode 19” | Monday 18 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test Elimination - Michelle, Sam and Kate had to follow a basic recipe to cook chargrilled, stuffed squid in their challenge. Despite not having the time to cook her squid, Kate managed to produce the best of the three. Michelle's was deemed worse than Sam's and she was sent packing. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0020 | “Episode 20” | Tuesday 19 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 3 - Julia beats Peter Evans preparing Tea-Smoked Duck Breast with Ravioli with Water Chestnut, Pear, and Duck Liver with Blood Orange Sauce, Spinach, and Crispy Fried Ginger. The judges give Julia 9/9/9 and Peter 8/8/8 out of 10 and Julia leaves the competition, guaranteed of a spot in finals week, and Peter Evans offers her mentoring in his kitchen while the rest of the competition continues. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0021 | “Episode 21” | Wednesday 20 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Food Critics Team Challenge - The judges chose the team captains: Red team Chris and Blue team Kate. Kate picks Sam, Trevor, Justine, Tom, Lucas, Sandra, and Chris picks Josh, Andre, Poh, Julie, Aaron, and Geni. Challenge is a three-course meal in one hour using a limited pantry and with extra team members George and Gary, to be served to Matt Preston and fellow food critics Simon Thomsen and Larissa Dubecki. Winner: Blue Team. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0022 | “Episode 22” | Thursday 21 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Team Elimination - At elimination, most of the team feel that Josh's abilities were inadequate and believe that he was the main flaw in determining their loss. Almost all the team, with the exception of Julie voting for Geni and Josh himself voting for Aaron, vote for Josh, sending him home. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0023 | “Episode 23” | Friday 22 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Masterclass 3 - Soufflés and stir-fries - Chilli and Fennel Squid, Chinese Mushroom Stir-fry with Tofu, Chocolate and Jaffa Soufflé. The chefs express surprise that Josh had been the one voted off. |
| Week 5 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0024 | “Episode 24” | Sunday 24 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Mystery Box Challenge: Eggs, chili peppers, ale, potato, whole red snapper in 30 minutes. The judges announce they will taste the top 5: Sandra, Julie, Geni, Tom, Andre. Winner: Tom for his Lemon Snapper with Chilli and Ginger. Invention Test 3: French theme. Tom's choice is between gruyere cheese, sweet shortcrust pastry, or ribeye beef. He chooses the beef and has five minutes to choose the rest of his ingredients from the pantry. The remaining contestants get 2 minutes to select no more than ten ingredients. Top three: Chris, Poh, Sandra. Winner: Chris for his Steak Tartare. Bottom three: Trevor, Sam, Tom. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0025 | “Episode 25” | Monday 25 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test Elimination - Trevor, Sam and Tom had to make a Sticky Date & Toffee Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce and Almond Praline from a provided recipe. There were only minor issues in each dessert, but overall Tom's was deemed the best. The judges chose to spare Sam and Trevor as the differences between the dishes were too trivial. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0026 | “Episode 26” | Tuesday 26 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 4 - Chris competed against Alex Herbert of Bird Cow Fish and had to make one of her signature dishes, Potato Gnocchi with Sauteed Prawns in a Burnt Butter Sauce. He had an hour and forty-five minutes, while she had an hour and fifteen. The judges gave Chris 7/8/6 and Alex 8/9/8 out of ten. Winner: Alex Herbert. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0027 | “Episode 27” | Wednesday 27 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Royal Easter Show Team Challenge - Team captains are Chris (Red Team) for winning the Invention Test. He picks Kate for Blue Team captain. Chris picks Justine, Poh, Andre, Julie, Aaron, Geni and Kate picks Tom, Trevor, Sam, Lucas, Sandra. Both teams have $750 budget. Red Team did Lamb Skewers with Yogurt Sauce, Aroncini Balls, Toffee Apples, Caramelized Pineapple Skewers. Blue Team did Lamb Kofta with Yogurt Relish, Mushroom Risotto. Blue team made $926.50. Red team made $1251.50. Winner: Red Team |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0028 | “Episode 28” | Thursday 28 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Team Elimination - At elimination, Sandra and Kate both received three votes, Sandra for her service and Kate for her lack of cooking skills and leadership qualities. Kate, being the team leader, decided to vote herself out to pursue a pastry apprenticeship outside MasterChef. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0029 | “Episode 29” | Friday 29 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Masterclass 4 - The Perfect Chip - Snapper in a Bag and Chunky Chips, Risotto with Pumpkin and Goat's Cheese, Rib Eye Steak with Red Wine Sauce and Spinach |
| Week 6 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0030 | “Episode 30” | Sunday 31 May 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Mystery Box Challenge: The contestants had to make cupcakes, whose recipes have been given to them ,but the decorations and flavouring was up to them. They also had to name their creations. The Top 3 were Poh, Julie and Chris, and Julie won with her lemon diva cupcakes. Invention Test 4 - British theme. There was an additional judge, John Torode of MasterChef UK. Julie's choice of ingredients was between blue-eyed trevalla, strawberries, or lamb legs. She chose the lamb and had five minutes to choose the rest of her ingredients from the pantry. The other contestants got 2 minutes to select no more than ten ingredients. Top three: Chris, Justine, Tom. Winner: Justine for her lamb roulade. Bottom three: Aaron, Sandra and Julie. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0031 | “Episode 31” | Monday 1 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test Elimination- Aaron, Sandra and Julie faced elimination and had to make paella. Sandra produced the best dish, while Aaron's overconfidence saw him neglecting to taste, and hence, did not achieve a correct balance of spices. Ultimately, he was sent home. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0032 | “Episode 32” | Tuesday 2 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 5 - Justine competes with Guy Grossi of Grossi Florentino making one of his signature dishes, Lobster with Russian salad. She has an hour and thirty minutes, he has an hour. The judges give Justine 7/7/6 and Grossi 7/7/7 out of ten. Winner: Guy Grossi beat Justine. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0033 | “Episode 33” | Wednesday 3 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Fresh Seafood Team Challenge - The task of the day is to prepare a three-course meal to be served at the flying fish restaurant. Team captains are Justine (Red Team) for winning the Invention Test. She picks Trevor for Blue Team captain. Justine picks Chris, Tom, Julie, Lucas, Sandra and Trevor picks Andre, Sam, Poh, Geni. Both teams have to catch the seafood themselves. Red Team did zucchini flowers with fish mousse, pan-fried Leatherjackets and poached pear with chantilly cream. Blue Team did Leatherjacket potato salad with avocado and squid, Pan-seared blue morwong with baked witlof and macerated strawberries with zabaglione. Winner: Red Team. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0034 | “Episode 34” | Thursday 4 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Team Elimination - Sam was scolded by the judges for producing the worst of the dishes of the Blue Team and Trevor was criticised for his choice to use bait as ingredients for the meal. In the end, Trevor voted for Sam, but Trevor's choice to use the bait, which made the food "taste like the bottom of a boat," was enough to see him have the majority of votes to send him home. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0035 | “Episode 35” | Friday 5 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Masterclass 5 - Lemon Goodness - Lobster Linguine, Tuscan Vegetable Soup, Roast Chicken with Buttery Potatoes, Lemon Diva cupcakes. |
| Week 7 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0036 | “Episode 36” | Sunday 7 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Invention Test 5 - Just when the contestants were getting the hang of the MasterChef kitchen, they were thrown a curve ball. Instead of a mystery box, they faced a taste test, and the contestant who correctly guessed the most ingredients of the dish won an advantage in the invention test. Chris and Tom were tied 12-12, but Chris won in a tiebreaker. All ten contestants were split into pairs and were challenged to prepare a two-course meal. Lucas and Justine ended up winning the challenge, while Tom, Poh, Chris and Julie were sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0037 | “Episode 37” | Monday 8 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test Elimination - Tom, Poh, Chris and Julie had to make Adrian Zumbo's croquembouche. Despite an unsettling start, Poh went on to produce the best dish. Julie came in second, leaving Tom and Chris in the bottom, and Tom was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0038 | “Episode 38” | Tuesday 9 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 6 - Tonight, the winning contestant from Sunday night cooks against one of Australias top chefs. Can this week's contestant go up against Ben O'Donoghue and win? |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0039 | “Episode 39” | Wednesday 10 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Martini Club Team Challenge - Once again the contestants are divided into red and blue teams for an offsite challenge. Tonight, they need to prepare canapes for the launch of the Martini Club at the luxurious Observatory Hotel in the heart of Sydney. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0040 | “Episode 40” | Thursday 11 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Team Elimination - Geni was the team's top performer with most of the guests stating her Fig and Duck Lady Cigars was "the best dish all night", whilst Andre and Sandra were criticised, Sandra for not aiding enough and Andre for producing the worst dish. In the vote, Poh and Andre voted for Sandra, but Geni became the decider, and with "a heavy heart" she voted out friend Sandra as she believed "she belonged with her family." |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0041 | “Episode 41” | Friday 12 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Masterclass 6 - Sweet treats - Feta Blini with Smoked Beetroot, John Dory on the Bone with Vegetables, Coffee Éclairs with Vanilla Cream Filling. |
| Week 8 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0042 | “Episode 42” | Sunday 14 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Invention Test 6 - First up tonight, the tropical themed mystery box, which contains kingfish, pineapple, rum, coconut and sweet potato. The winning contestant gets the right to choose the key ingredients in the night's big test, the invention challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0043 | “Episode 43” | Monday 15 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test Elimination - Geni, Poh and Andre were in the bottom three and had to make salmon terrine. Again, Poh produced the best dish of the three. Geni, whose thumb was injured, could not cope and produced the worst dish, and she was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0044 | “Episode 44” | Tuesday 16 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 7 - Tonight, Matt Moran steps up to the hotplate. Famed for the prestigious Aria restaurant, he's been a "two hat" chef for the last 8 years. Both he and the winning contestant will cook a poached pear tart. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0045 | “Episode 45” | Wednesday 17 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Wedding Challenge - In this special episode, the competitors get their biggest taste yet of real-world pressure in the kitchen, as they cater a wedding dinner. With just 24-hours notice, the pressure is on. Worse still, the wedding is on a boat with only a tiny galley. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0046 | “Episode 46” | Thursday 18 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Taste Test Elimination - Poh and Sam had to name ingredients in a pot of minestrone. Poh incorrectly guessed 'barley' and she was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0047 | “Episode 47” | Friday 19 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Masterclass 7 - Cocktail hour - Kingfish Skewers with Zucchini Salad, Piña Colada, Prawn Saganaki, Raspberry Tart |
| Week 9 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0048 | “Episode 48” | Sunday 21 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Hong Kong - In a spectacular week of challenges, MasterChef Australia goes to Hong Kong, giving the remaining contestants the cooking experience of a lifetime. The group arrive at the Langham Place Hotel's Michelin star restaurant for their first challenge: Arrival/Dim Sum Challenge |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0049 | “Episode 49” | Monday 22 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Hong Kong - Three contestants take to the water and find themselves on Lamma Island and in a local fishing village, the challenge is killing and cooking their catch as the locals would. Meanwhile, the remaining two contestants are surprised with a high society challenge. High Tea/Rainbow Fish Challenge |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0050 | “Episode 50” | Tuesday 23 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 8 - World famous chef Donovan Cook joins the MasterChef Australia team for one extraordinary challenge. The winner of the Lamma Island challenge takes on Donovan's prime protege Pak for one of the most high pressured celebrity chef challenges. Tam Kin Pak beat Julie |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0051 | “Episode 51” | Wednesday 24 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Hong Kong - Mystery Steamer Challenge and Super Challenge - Chris won the mystery steamer challenge and was given immunity from the Hong Kong super challenge. He chose to pair up Andre and Sam with Justine and Julie pairing up as well. Andre and Sam ended up being successful in preparing their three-course meal, sending Julie and Justine to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0052 | “Episode 52” | Thursday 25 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test Elimination - Justine and Julie landed in the bottom 2 and had to cook a sweet and sour duck with ho fun noodles. Despite being a frontrunner, Justine produced the worst dish and was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0053 | “Episode 53” | Friday 26 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Masterclass 8 - Fried Rice, Hot Salami Pizza, Seared Scallops with Braised Pork Belly, Lemon and Date Scones |
| Week 10 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0054 | “Episode 54” | Sunday 28 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Invention Test 7 - Three-course meal, 'Romance' theme - No contestants were up for elimination. Andre succeeded in both the mystery box Challenge and the invention test and he competed in the Celebrity Chef Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0055 | “Episode 55” | Monday 29 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Dream Restaurant Challenge - In a season twist, no one went home. Instead of a pressure test, all contestants cooked for the chance to meet and dine with three winners of the coveted "Chef of the Year" award. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0056 | “Episode 56” | Tuesday 30 June 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 9 - Sunday night's winner cooks off against world renowned Belgian chef, Emmanuel Stroobant, famous for his Saint Pierre restaurant in Singapore. Emmanuel Stroobant beat Andre |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0057 | “Episode 57” | Wednesday 1 July 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| HMAS Kanimbla Challenge - Poh, Justine and Tom returned to the competition, while Sam and Tom were up for elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0058 | “Episode 58” | Thursday 2 July 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Taste Test Elimination - Tom and Sam had to guess ingredients, and Tom incorrectly guessed "thyme.", which resulted in his elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0059 | “Episode 59” | Friday 3 July 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Masterclass 9 - Crepes Suzette, Twice Baked Cheese Souffle, Braised Lamb Shanks, Open Beef Kofta. |
| Week 11 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0060 | “Episode 60” | Sunday 5 July 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Invention Test 8 - In the mystery box challenge, contestants have to make their own sausages. There's chaos in the kitchen as they get to grips with turning a slab of meat into their own snag. None have used a sausage maker before, and it's not as easy as it looks. 'Christmas in July' theme |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0061 | “Episode 61” | Monday 6 July 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test Elimination - Sam, Poh, Chris and Andre had to cook a combination of panna cotta, passionfruit emulsion ("passionfruit slick") and filled macaroon biscuits. Poh made the best dish, followed by Chris, while Andre and Sam struggled. Sam failed to produce adequate biscuits and only Andre's panna cotta was up to the judge's standards. Despite achieving 2 out of 3 of the requirements for the dish at a fair standard, Sam's mediocre dish was not enough to save him and he was sent home. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0062 | “Episode 62” | Tuesday 7 July 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 10 - Celebrity chef Adrian Richardson, from Melbourne's La Luna restaurant goes up against the MasterChef winning contestant tonight. Adrian Richardson beat Julie |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0063 | “Episode 63” | Wednesday 8 July 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Matt Preston's Formal Dinner Challenge - The contestants had to cook for a dinner party hosted by Matt Preston for four leaders of the Australian food industry: Armando Percuoco, Margaret Fulton, Jacques Reymond and Cheong Liew. The five of them assessed the contestants' dishes, with the two worst performers being nominated for elimination. Justine won with 47/50 for her duck dish, Julie came in second with her spiced orange layer cake scoring 45/50, with Poh third with 42/50 for her floss curry and coconut laced crepes. Chris and Andre were the worst two performers. Chris scored lowest with 33/50 for his steak, and Andre 37/50 for his gnocchi. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0064 | “Episode 64” | Thursday 9 July 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Taste Test Elimination - Andre and Chris had to guess ingredients in a pot of Sri Lankan curry. After reaching the halfway point, Andre struggled and guessed "curry powder". It was not in the dish, and Andre was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0065 | “Episode 65” | Friday 10 July 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Master Class 10 - Pork and Fennel Sausages with Baked Beans, Roast Salmon and Artichokes with Red Wine Sauce, Chocolate Cigar with Sabayon. |
| Week 12 - Finals Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0066 | “Episode 66” | Sunday 12 July 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Invention Test 9 - In the first challenge of Finals Week, the contestants were asked to cook a meal under ten dollars using ingredients bought from the pantry that was converted into a supermarket. Only Julia and Poh impressed the judges while the other contestants were given harsh criticism for making dishes that were too simple (Julie and Lucas both made Potato and Leek Soup, Chris a French Onion Soup and Justine with a Roasted Bell Pepper Omelette) and also failed to have the "refined" level of taste for MasterChef Finals Week. Julia won the challenge and chose the core ingredient for the invention test: goat. In the end, Justine, Julia and Chris pleased the judges with their goat dishes. Despite their dishes being deemed the best two, Julia and Justine had minor flaws (burnt pastry, overcooked goat respectively) and for this, Chris was ultimately deemed the winner. For his prize, he was given a view of the dish they were to cook in the Mystery Box eliminator challenge the next day, thereby giving him an advantage over the other contestants to plan his dish. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0067 | “Episode 67” | Monday 13 July 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 1 - The contestants had to make two pies - one sweet and one savoury, making their own pastry. Almost all the contestants struggled to make time, with only Poh and Chris being able to prepare both their pies to a suitable standard before judging. In the end, Lucas was criticised for neglecting to use "the most simple seasoning" - salt, and was also scolded for his poor presentations of both his pies. Julia was applauded for her pastry but heavily chastised for leaving part of her pies uncooked. Chris was commended for his surprising Fish Pie and Lime Tart while Justine was faced strong criticism for failing to balance the filling, which the judges praised, with suitable pastry. Julie was reprimanded by the judges for her "Puddle Pie" which the judges deemed as one of the worst, however, they believed that her other pie, a Chicken and Mushroom pie was up to a suitable standard. Poh produced two pies that were deemed as some of the best visually; guest Judge Luke deemed her vegetable and blue cheese pie the best, while all the judges favoured her rhubarb, hazelnut and chocolate 'open sandwich' pie. After discussion, the judges deemed Lucas, Julia and Julie as producing some of the worst pies in the bunch. They chose to spare Julia first as they believed her Chocolate Pie was stronger, then chose Julie as she produced one good pie whilst Lucas produced two poor ones. Lucas was the first finalist sent home. The judges then deemed Poh, Justine and Chris as the Top 3 and chose Poh for her presentation and for producing the best tasting pies of the finalist and her ability to "modernise" the pie theme; the use of hazelnut, chocolate and rhubarb in a pie, Matt highlighted as never having been done with success until now. She, like Chris was given an advantage: to choose the theme for the following eliminator. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0068 | “Episode 68” | Tuesday 14 July 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 2 - As Poh had won the pie challenge she designated Malaysian as the theme and picked coconut cream and ling fish for the core ingredients. The contestants had 90 minutes to make two courses. Guest judge Matt Moran told Chris he had been following his progress during the competition and thought some of his dishes had been brilliant. However, at this stage he'd expect Chris' food to be better; his ling fried rice dish didn't appeal to Matt whatsoever. George said Chris' pannacotta was too hard. Gary said Poh's petai with sambal and fish custard was a fresh and vibrant dish. George thought it was interesting and tasty. Matt said her dessert of glutenous rice dumpling with coconut pandan leaf stuffing didn't look appealing but its flavour packed a punch. Gary told an upset Julia that the fish in her Malaysian broth was raw. Matt said the broth was too intense with no connection to Malaysian food and the fish wasn't cooked enough. Matt said he had been worried about the use of zucchini and udon noodles in Julie's vegetable coconut curry because it wasn't Malay but he could taste some nice Malaysian flavours in the dish. Gary told Julie the ling which she had served with peanut sauce wasn't cooked properly. Gary said the sauce of her fish dish was good, with a nice depth of flavour. George told Justine her sauce was zippy, gutsy and he loved the colour. Matt thought Justine's rice pudding was delicious. The judges told the contestants Justine and Poh had made the best meals, with Poh the winner of the challenge. Matt told Poh her dessert was the "killer" dish of the day. Chris, Julia and Julie had made the worst dishes. Chris was told he was safe and then Julia was eliminated. As the winner of the challenge Poh was again given an advantage for the following challenge. She was able to see and taste the pressure test dish the contestants will cook in the next challenge and was given the recipe to study overnight. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0069 | “Episode 69” | Wednesday 15 July 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 3 - The third elimination challenge emulated the pressure test challenge where the contestants had to make a several layered 'Chocolate Mousse' cake. In the end, Julie was the only contestant who managed to add all the decorations to the dish and Chris was the finalist deemed to have produced the best cake. Poh and Justine both struggled and the judges were shown to have a difficult time deciding. Guest judge Bill Granger praised Poh's superb palette whilst he also favoured Justine's technical abilities. Ultimately, the judges considered Poh's effort to be slightly better and Justine was the next finalist to leave in a teary elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0070 | “Episode 70” | Thursday 16 July 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 4 - The final elimination round before the final saw the contestants cooking the dishes they would include in self-authored recipe books with cookbook writer Donna Hay acting as the guest judge. Poh chose a traditional Chinese Malaysian style book that would include unusual, exotic recipes while Chris' book included hearty meals that utilised beer, and sought to fulfil a "snout to tail" approach to cooking animals. Julie's idea was a home recipe cookbook that would inspire other families. This impressed Donna Hay greatly and she stated that she wished to "steal (the idea)." In the end, Poh's dishes impressed the judges with presentation and taste, despite being described as "acquired," and was deemed the best of the three. She was then given a place in the Finals while Julie and Chris landed in the Bottom 2. Julie struggled due to her poor time management which saw her unable to complete any of her dishes while Chris's completed dishes were not visually accepted by Donna Hay and in the main disappointed taste-wise. Ultimately, what Julie had managed to cook coupled with her cook-book idea was enough to save her and Chris was subsequently eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0071 | “Episode 71” |
| Synopsis: |
| Masterclass Reunion - The Top 20 contestants were reunited in the final Masterclass and revealed what they have been up to since leaving the show. Poh and Julie also challenged George and Gary to a Mystery Box Challenge. |
| Finale |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0072 | “Episode 72” | Sunday 19 July 2009 |
| Synopsis: |
| Finale Night - Poh and Julie competed against each other in three rounds consisting of a Taste Test, an Invention Test and a Pressure Test. Points would be earned for each test, with the winner decided based on the final tally after the three tests. The Taste Test featured a beef bourguignon, with Julie naming 12 correct ingredients versus Poh's 11. The Invention Test pitted Poh's Hainanese chicken rice against Julie's sage and garlic chicken. The Pressure Test involved the finalists recreating a chocolate tasting plate, a signature dish by Matt Moran. Winner Announced - Julie was announced as the winner, beating Poh on overall points (82 to Poh's 75). |
2010 - Complete Season 02
| Week 1 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0073 | “Episode 01” | Monday 19 April 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Series Premiere: Top 50 Part 1 - The top 50 began with a barbecue challenge, with the freedom to cook whatever they wanted. The 10 worst performers were sent into a pavlova pressure test led by Donna Hay. The 5 contestants who produced the worst pavlovas were eliminated from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0074 | “Episode 02” | Tuesday 20 April 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 50 Part 2 - The remaining contestants were asked to prepare their signature dish. In a first for MasterChef Australia the contestants did the judging, with the men voting for their favourite dish from the women, and vice versa. The top 7 vote-getters (4 women, 3 men) were then put into a beef wellington pressure test, with the best man and woman progressing directly to the top 24. The winners, Claire and Jimmy, were the first pair to advance to the Top 24. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0075 | “Episode 03” | Wednesday 21 April 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 50 Part 3 - The 10 contestants who performed worst in Tuesday's signature dish challenge were split into 5 groups of 2 and given 7 hours to drive out to local farms, collect fresh produce, and return to the MasterChef kitchen to prepare a main and a dessert. One contestant, Andrea, found the challenge difficult, and realised that MasterChef was not for her; her withdrawal from the competition forced her partner in the challenge, Philip, to prepare both dishes on his own. Despite this setback, he and 4 others kept their spots in the competition, while 5 contestants were eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0076 | “Episode 04” | Thursday 22 April 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 50 Part 4 - With 10 spots in the Top 24 on the line, the remaining contestants competed in a mise en place challenge. The challenge had 4 stages, with the worst performers in each stage removed by Gary and George. The first stage involved separating egg yolks and whites. The second asked the contestants to julienne carrots. In the third, the first 10 contestants to shuck 12 oysters satisfactorily moved onto the final stage, wherein Marion, Adele, Courtney and Daniel successfully cut 6 fillets of salmon weighing between 170g and 190g first, gaining their places in the Top 24. Following the mise en place challenge, the remaining contestants had to follow a recipe from Matt Moran, with poor performers gradually eliminated in stages. 10 contestants had their dishes tasted, with Jonathan, Peter, Aaron, Adam, Kate B. and Philip impressing the judges the most, winning their spots in the Top 24. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0077 | “Episode 05” | Friday 23 April 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 1 - The remaining contestants get a welcome reprieve from challenges and are rewarded with a chance to learn from two of the best in MasterChef Australia's first masterclass of the season. The perfect steak is on tonight's menu along with George's Greek |
| Week 2 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0078 | “Episode 06” | Sunday 25 April 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 50 Part 5 - The remaining contestants participated in 2 challenges to attempt to qualify for the last spots in the top 24. The first challenge was a Mystery Box challenge which, for the first time in MasterChef Australia, was focused solely on desserts. The best desserts which were made by Callum, Matthew, Fiona and Joanne, granted the latter spots in the top 24. The remaining contestants competed in a Pressure Test led by celebrity chef Neil Perry. The 9 contestants who best replicated Perry's snapper dish took the last spots in the top 24. (9 spots were available since Kate B. chose to withdraw from the competition to be with her family.) In the end, Alvin, Sharnee, Dominic, Carrie, Kate N., Skye, Devon, Sarah, and Jake completed the Top 24. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0079 | “Episode 07” | Monday 26 April 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 24 Cooking Challenge - The contestants competed in their first challenge in the MasterChef kitchen: preparing a meal that rekindled memories of their childhood. Alvin won the right to contest the first Celebrity Chef Challenge of the series. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0080 | “Episode 08” | Tuesday 27 April 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 1 - Acclaimed chef and owner of Sydney restaurant 'Red Lantern', Luke Nguyen is tonight's celebrity chef. With a Vietnamese heritage, he has a complicated Asian dish in store for the MasterChef contestant. Can the celebrity chef be beaten at his own game. Luke Nguyen beat Alvin (26 - 22) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0081 | “Episode 09” | Wednesday 28 April 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Off Site Challenge 1 - Winner: Red Team. The off site team challenge, to take over the running of two Italian restaurants, saw the Red Team conquer despite having a simpler menu. From the Blue Team, Jonathan and Devon were selected by the judges as the two worst performers and were up for elimination. Sarah withdrew from the competition to return to her family. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0082 | “Episode 10” | Thursday 29 April 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 1 - As the Red Team enjoyed their reward: lunch and a mini MasterClass with Luke Mangan, Jonathan and Devon faced off in the Elimination Challenge; a best of three challenge with the theme: eggs. Jonathan won the first round; to correctly name different birds' eggs. The next round Jonathan and Devon raced to be the first to beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Jonathan won the round and the challenge, and Devon was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0083 | “Episode 11” | Friday 30 April 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 2 - The judges share their own food memories in this week's MasterClass. A good old English Sunday Roast was Gary's dish of the day while George cooked up lasagne with a twist. |
| Week 3 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0084 | “Episode 12” | Sunday 2 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Invention Test 2 - Japanese theme. The Mystery Box challenge saw the contestants making the "perfect burger", with only five selected to taste by the judges which were Adam, Courtney, Jonathan, Marion and Matthew. Marion won the challenge and picked tuna as the core ingredient for the Invention Test. With a Japanese theme, Adam was favourite to win the challenge but it was Callum who triumphed. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0085 | “Episode 13” | Monday 3 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test Elimination 1 - Carrie, Kate and Fiona faced off in the Pressure Test after cooking the three least impressive dishes in the Invention Test. They were asked to replicate a chicken dish from chef Peter Gilmore. Fiona had a slow start but she finished strongly and cooked the chicken perfectly but her dish lacked detail. Despite a strong start, Kate failed to read her recipe thoroughly, she wrapped up her chicken too much that it didn't cook properly and she ended up serving the judges raw chicken although her vegetables were perfectly cooked. Carrie struggled through the whole challenge, she cooked the chicken perfectly but all the flavour leaked out in the water bath because she left a hole in her chicken's skin and her vegetables were undercooked. In the end Kate was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0086 | “Episode 14” | Tuesday 4 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 2 - Renowned pastry chef Phillipa Sibley has a dessert challenge for the MasterChef contestant who won Sunday's invention test challenge. A chocoholics dream dish, it's highly technical and will test the contestant to their very limit. Philippa Sibley beat Callum (28 - 22) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0087 | “Episode 15” | Wednesday 5 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Off Site Challenge 2 - Winner: Blue Team. In an unprecedented twist, Callum as winner of the weeks Invention Test was granted the power to pick his entire team first. He selected Adam, Claire, Jimmy, Marion, Peter, Joanne, Matthew, Skye, Fiona, and Daniel to join him, leaving Courtney, Alvin, Aaron, Sharnee, Jake, Adele, Jonathan, Carrie, and Phillip to form the red team. The off site challenge was to put on a children's birthday party for 150 people, who would vote for their favourite dish. The Blue Team proved to have too great an advantage and won easily. From the Red Team, Jonathan and Adele were the lowest point scorers and were up for elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0088 | “Episode 16” | Thursday 6 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 2 - As the Blue Team enjoyed their reward at Sails on Lavender Bay with Nathan Darling, Jonathan and Adele faced off in a "fix the dish" challenge. They had to fix a poorly made dish (a bolognese sauce) in ten steps, each step adding their choice of a range of ingredients. In the end, Adele's bolognese couldn't match the complexity of Jonathan's. Adele was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0089 | “Episode 17” | Friday 7 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 3 - George shares his recipe for a gourmet burger while Gary shows the contestants what he would have prepared for a kids party, with sausage rolls and jam doughnuts on the menu. |
| Week 4 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0090 | “Episode 18” | Sunday 9 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Invention Test 3 - Indian theme. The Mystery Box challenge saw the contestants choosing between a main and a dessert, Matthew, Claire, Skye, Fiona and Carrie's dishes were tasted with Skye's Crispy Duck winning her the challenge and picking goat as key ingredient in the Invention Test. Jimmy was the favourite to win but in the end it was between Courtney and Jonathan with Jonathan being the one whose invention impressed the judges the most. This episode was also Courtney's 30th birthday. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0091 | “Episode 19” | Monday 10 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test Elimination 2 - Dominic, Joanne and Matthew faced off in the Pressure Test; to make a black forest cake. Joanne was able to put off a shaky start and finish strongly, leaving the judges to pick the least impressive of the two men. Dominic's cake only had three layers instead of the five in the recipe, while Matthew left a cherry pit in his cake. In the end it was Dominic who was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0092 | “Episode 20” | Tuesday 11 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 3 - Former chef of the year Justin North is the celebrity chef competing against one of the MasterChef contestants tonight. In a twist, Justin gives the contestant the choice of two dishes. Justin North beat Jonathan (26 - 21) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0093 | “Episode 21” | Wednesday 12 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Off Site Challenge 3 - Winner: Blue Team. Teams were chosen with each member selecting a remaining contestant, beginning with the captains, Jonathan (Blue) and Daniel (Red; chosen by Jonathan). The two teams were then tasked with preparing a Classic French three-course meal for Matt Preston, Tetsuya Wakuda and Guillaume Brahimi. Michel Roux mentored the Red Team, Tony Bilson mentored the Blue Team. In the end, the Blue team won, as the Red team's main dish, though well prepared, was not deemed to be of a Classic French Cuisine. The entire Red Team was put up for elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0094 | “Episode 22” | Thursday 13 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 3 - While the Blue Team enjoyed their lunch with Giovanni Pilu, the Red Team faced off in a two-round Elimination challenge. The first challenge was to make a traditional Genovese Pesto completely by hand in ten minutes, from which, only Marion's was of an acceptable quality, with Sharnee, Courtney and Daniel as the worst of the rest. Those three then competed in the second round of the challenge: naming herbs. Courtney incorrectly named mint "spearmint" and was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0095 | “Episode 23” | Friday 14 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 4 - The judges serve up duck two ways and invite guest chef Kumar Mahadevan to cook a spicy prawn curry. Justin North also helps the contestants make crackling pork. |
| Week 5 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0096 | “Episode 24” | Sunday 16 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Invention Test 4 - "Around the world" theme. The Mystery Box challenge saw the contestants tackle a complex range of ingredients and a time of just 25 minutes. Peter took out the challenge and was given a significant advantage in the Invention Test, which for the first time would see the contestants competing in trios. Peter was given the power to not only pick the core ingredient for each country's cuisine, but also to pick the members of each team. Team Mexico impressed the most and Aaron, Joanne and Matthew all proceeded to the Celebrity Chef Challenge. While Team Britain (Alvin, Daniel and Fiona) were the least impressive and faced elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0097 | “Episode 25” | Monday 17 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test Elimination 3 - Alvin, Daniel and Fiona faced off in the Pressure Test; to recreate a Pork Schnitzel with chips and coleslaw with no recipe to follow. While each contestant cooked the correct meat, Daniel and Fiona were under the impression that they were cooking veal. Aside from that, each dish had its shortcomings: Alvin failed to flatten his meat and it was undercooked, Daniel's meat was overcooked and he used shop-bought mayonnaise in his coleslaw, and Fiona used packaged breadcrumbs instead of fresh. Ultimately, Daniel's dish impressed the least and he was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0098 | “Episode 26” | Tuesday 18 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 4 - For the first time ever in MasterChef, not one, but three contestants take part in the celebrity chef challenge, going up against three of the best. Team "Restaurant Arras" (Adam Humphrey, Lovaine Allen, Aaron Eady) beat Aaron, Joanne and Matthew (22 - 19) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0099 | “Episode 27” | Wednesday 19 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Off Site Challenge 4 - No winner. The two teams were tasked with preparing a three-course meal for a normal family and judges Matt Preston and Curtis Stone, on a tight budget and time limit. In the end, the families rated each team equally and the judges could not agree on a winner, so the challenge was ruled a tie. Therefore, a bottom 2 was selected from each team, with Callum, Carrie, Jonathan and Philip sent into an Elimination Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0100 | “Episode 28” | Thursday 20 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 4 - As the Blue Team and Red Team enjoyed their lunch at Sailor's Thai, the four contestants were asked to name the ingredients of a traditional Bouillabaisse in a taste test Elimination Challenge. Over half of the ingredients had been correctly named when Philip incorrectly guessed "white wine" and was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0101 | “Episode 29” | Friday 21 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 5 - Gary cooked braised BBQ'd ribs with homemade sauce and George offered up a Waldorf salad. Guest chef Peter Kuravita from Sydney restaurant Flying Fish, showed the contestants two completely different bug dishes - one with an accompanying shaved fennel and edamame salad and a main dish featuring a spicy ginger and chilli sauce. |
| Week 6 (Melbourne Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0102 | “Episode 30” | Sunday 23 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Invention Test 5 - "Modern Australia" theme. There was no Mystery Box challenge this week, instead the contestants faced a pizza making challenge. Fiona was the victor and picked tropical fruit as the Invention Test's core ingredient. Many struggled with this sweet choice, while Marion's risky recipe paid off and she was declared the winner. Carrie, Jimmy and Peter were the least impressive and they landed in the Bottom 3. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0103 | “Episode 31” | Monday 24 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test Elimination 4 - Starting a week of challenges in Melbourne, Carrie, Jimmy and Peter faced off in the Pressure Test. Their task was to recreate a dish by Australian food icon, Stephanie Alexander, a confit duck-neck sausage with grilled duck breast in sour cherry sauce, potato crisps and buttered spinach. Peter, being from Melbourne, was able to source ingredients from Queen Victoria Market quickly and make his way to the Langham Hotel first, followed by Carrie and then Jimmy. In the end, each dish had its problems: Peter's sauce was too floury, Carrie's sauce was too thin, her sausage grainy and she failed to plate up the spinach, and Jimmy's spinach was gritty and his duck breast overcooked. Carrie was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0104 | “Episode 32” | Tuesday 25 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 5 - Legendary Melbourne chef Frank Camorra of Movida is tonight's celebrity chef. He will cook off against the winning contestant from Sunday night's invention challenge in one of Melbourne's laneways. Marion beat Frank Camorra (24 - 23) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0105 | “Episode 33” | Wednesday 26 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Off Site Challenge 5 - Winner: Red Team. The two teams were faced with their toughest challenge yet: to take over the running of George Calombaris' own restaurant The Press Club on its relaunch, serving a variety of Australian food royalty and celebrities. Each team struggled early with the stresses of running a restaurant, but it was the Blue Team who faced the most obstacles. In the end, the guests' scores for each team came down to the wire, with the Red Team emerging victors. The entire Blue Team was sent into the Elimination Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0106 | “Episode 34” | Thursday 27 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 5 - In a mystery box Elimination Challenge, the Blue Team members were tasked with creating a dish to complement a specific bottle of wine. Although Fiona's dish impressed more than others, it failed to match with the wine, and she eliminated from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0107 | “Episode 35” | Friday 28 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 6 - Gary and George showed the contestants how to make the perfect pizza, while Gary also served up an English rice pudding, and George cooked up some chicken oysters with homous and fatoush. |
| Week 7 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0108 | “Episode 36” | Sunday 30 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Invention Test 6 - Pasta theme. After a trying Mystery Box challenge featuring lambs' brains which Marion, Peter and Callum dishes were tasted, Marion emerged as winner and picked seafood as the core ingredient for the Invention Test. Most contestants thrived in making their own pasta, leading the judges to award a Top 6, with Aaron wowing with his remarkable invention. Jake, Jimmy and Matthew struggled and found themselves up for elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0109 | “Episode 37” | Monday 31 May 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test Elimination 5 - Jake, Jimmy and Matthew faced off in the Pressure Test; to recreate a Rick Stein seafood platter worth $350. Jimmy struggled when preparing the various types of seafood and a lack of attention to detail led to his elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0110 | “Episode 38” | Tuesday 1 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 6 - The winner of the pasta invention test faces off in the Celebrity Chef Challenge with cook Maggie Beer. Maggie lets the contestant choose the dish - a sweet pie or a savoury pie. Maggie Beer beat Aaron (27 - 22) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0111 | “Episode 39” | Wednesday 2 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Off Site Challenge 6 - Winner: Red Team. In the biggest Off Site Challenge ever, contestants were faced with preparing 8000 canapés for 2000 guests on the P&O Pacific Jewel, who would vote for their favourite team's menu. Under the guidance of a P&O sous chef (plus an extra helper for the Red Team to make up the numbers), each team prepared 1000 of four different canapés. The Blue Team struggled early and opted to buy the help of another chef for 100 votes. In the end, the Red Team were clear winners, with 1,138 votes to 762. The Blue Team were asked decide on their three least impressive performers, and so Jake, Joanne and Marion were selected to face elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0112 | “Episode 40” | Thursday 3 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 6 - In a taste test Elimination Challenge, Jake, Joanne and Marion were asked to name the ingredients of a Thai Green Curry. Marion chose to use her immunity pin and did not take part in the challenge. The remaining two quickly ran out of obvious selections and when Jake incorrectly guessed "palm sugar" he was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0113 | “Episode 41” | Friday 4 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 7 - George cooked up ravioli with potato and leek as well as a quail dolmatha with tahini and yoghurt dressing. Meanwhile, guest chef Matt Moran had quesadillias on the menu and a berry and frangipane tart. |
| Week 8 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0114 | “Episode 42” | Sunday 6 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Invention Test 7 - Vegetarian theme. In a meaty Mystery Box challenge for which Claire, Peter and Skye's Dishes were tasted, it was Claire who managed to impress the most and was given a significant advantage in the Invention Test, which would be contested in pairs. As well as picking the core ingredient, Claire was given the power to choose the pairs for the challenge. In a further twist, they would be cooking to impress six staunch meat-eaters, and the two judges, with their vegetarian meals. Aaron and Adam emerged as winners with their curry, and won the chance to face off in a mystery challenge for immunity. While Callum, Joanne, Peter and Skye were left to face the Pressure Test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0115 | “Episode 43” | Monday 7 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test Elimination 6 - Callum, Joanne, Peter and Skye faced off in the Pressure Test; to recreate George Calombaris' oyster terrine. Callum's terrine was described as a dog's breakfast but was closest to George's dish in flavour. Peter's dish was good overall but his oysters were overcooked and onions undercooked resulting him being eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0116 | “Episode 44” | Tuesday 8 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 7 - In a twist on the traditional format, Aaron and Adam competed against each other to win immunity. They had 1 hour 45 minutes to complete three dishes with three core ingredients for three Celebrity Chefs, Matt Moran, Kylie Kwong and Ian Curley. The Chefs would then pick their favourite of the two dishes, and the contestant with the most votes would win immunity. Adam was judged best in all three dishes and won himself immunity. Adam beat Aaron (3 - 0). |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0117 | “Episode 45” | Wednesday 9 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Off Site Challenge 7 - Winner: Red Team. Teams were tasked with creating a dining experience using principles of molecular gastronomy. With the help of two leaders in innovative cooking, each team was tasked with a specific theme to shape their dining experience. In the end, the Blue Team's carnival experience did not impress as much as the Red Team's beach experience and the entire Blue Team was sent into the Elimination Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0118 | “Episode 46” | Thursday 10 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 7 - In a two-round Elimination Challenge testing basic skills, members of the Blue Team were first asked to cook Chicken Korma. They were provided with all the ingredients but were left to choose which spices to use. Out of the six contestants, only Alvin's attempt was of an acceptable quality with Jonathan and Skye the worst of the rest. They were sent into a sudden death challenge to name spices. Skye incorrectly named cloves as garam masala and was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0119 | “Episode 47” | Friday 11 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 8 - Callum and Sharnee were treated to a masterclass on Cheese by Australian cheese expert Will Studd, while the remaining contestants were treated to a steak and kidney sandwich by Gary Mehigan and stir-fried Aubergines in Chili sauce by Kylie Kwong. Chef Darren Purchese also demonstrated his 'fruit carnival'. |
| Week 9 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0120 | “Episode 48” | Sunday 13 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Invention Test 8 - "Australian Food Icon" theme. The winner of Masterchef Australia 2009, Julie Goodwin, returned as a guest judge for the Mystery Box Challenge, the ingredients of which were also chosen by her. Alvin, Marion and Callum's dishes were tasted, Marion won the challenge and she chose Chiko Rolls as the food icon contestants had to "re-invent". Jonathan's dish was the most impressive while Callum, Matthew and Sharnee were chosen as the Bottom 3 contestants. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0121 | “Episode 49” | Monday 14 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test Elimination 7 - Callum, Matthew and Sharnee faced off in the Pressure Test, where they had to recreate a Beef Stroganoff with Parsley Fettuccine without a recipe to follow. Each of the contestants identified the correct meat, but each contestant's dish had flaws; Callum's Stroganoff lacked enough sauce and his pasta was overcooked, Matthew put too much tomato paste in his Stroganoff and Sharnee incorrectly used nutmeg instead of paprika. Sharnee was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0122 | “Episode 50” | Tuesday 15 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 8 - Head chef at Melbourne's restaurant Maze, Josh Emett has spent the last ten years training under the legendary Gordon Ramsay. What difficult dish will he challenge the contestants to recreate? Josh Emett beat Jonathan (27 - 22) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0123 | “Episode 51” | Wednesday 16 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Off Site Challenge 8 - Winner: Red Team. Teams were tasked with creating a three-course menu suitable for Qantas business class passengers. They were required to prepare the food at the MasterChef Kitchen and reheat it in the galley of a Qantas Airbus A380. The judging panel in addition to Gary and Matt included chef Neil Perry and Qantas CEO Alan Joyce. Ultimately, the Red Team's dishes were judged to be more consistent and the entire Blue Team was sent into the Elimination Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0124 | “Episode 52” | Thursday 17 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 8 - In a taste test Elimination Challenge, all members of the Blue Team were asked to name the ingredients to a carrot cake. Matthew guessed "apricots" but when asked to be more specific he incorrectly guessed "dried apricots" instead of "apricot jam" which was the correct answer and was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0125 | “Episode 53” | Friday 18 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 9 - Aaron and Marion are treated to a masterclass in artisan baking by Michael Klausen, while Gary and George cook up a dish of lamb backstrap fillet cooked in a Barramundi skin with flesh from the fish, along with a shiitake mushroom sauce and hash browns. Julie Goodwin then returns to the MasterChef kitchen and conjures up a dish of scallops with bacon crunch and cauliflower puree, and Gary and George round it off with an extravagant dessert of bitter chocolate ganache with peanut ice cream, peanut toffee caramel and a honeycomb. |
| Week 10 (Euro Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0126 | “Episode 54” | Sunday 20 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Invention Test 9 - "Afternoon Tea" theme. It was revealed to the contestants that this Invention Test would take place in London. After settling in at the Langham Hotel, the contestants first challenge for the week was to invent a pastry, drawing inspiration from one of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Callum won the challenge and was rewarded with a private MasterClass with Jamie Oliver as well as attending the announcement of the World's 50 Best Restaurants with Matt Preston. Jonathan was chosen by Callum to share the reward. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0127 | “Episode 55” | Monday 21 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 8 - Contestants competed in pairs to recreate Heston Blumenthal's elaborate signature dishes. Heston praised the contestants' attempts at dishes he'd taken years to perfect with Alvin and Marion's recreation of "Sound of the Sea" deemed the most impressive. Marion was selected as the best performer and went into the Celebrity Chef Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0128 | “Episode 56” | Tuesday 22 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 9 - One contestant faces off against chef Martin Blunos to cook a traditional British dish - but this is no ordinary egg and soldiers! Martin Blunos beat Marion (26 - 24) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0129 | “Episode 57” | Wednesday 23 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Super Challenge - In the first ever Super Challenge, contestants raced from London to Paris, France with the task to create a two-course meal based around the French favourite, the truffle. For the first time, the judges picked the teams: Callum and Marion (Yellow), Adam and Alvin (Red), Jonathan and Joanne (Green), and Aaron and Claire (Blue). Teams had to travel to Paris by the Eurostar, find the truffle shop, buy their ingredients from the market travelling via the Eiffel Tower, and prepare their meals on the banks of the Seine, all in 5 hours. Teams struggled with the language barrier, navigating a foreign city and finding necessary ingredients. In the end, each team faced criticism for their dishes, with Callum and Marion emerging as winners, while Joanne and Jonathan were selected as the worst performers and sent into an Elimination Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0130 | “Episode 58” | Thursday 24 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 9 - In the Elimination Challenge, Joanne and Jonathan both recreated one of Brett Graham's dishes. Although both dishes had positives and negatives, Jonathan's dish was judged to be more impressive and Joanne was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0131 | “Episode 59” | Friday 25 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 10 - Back in Australia, George cooks up a seafood dish of Char Sui salmon with stir-fried winter melon and wood ear mushrooms, while Gary cooks a rhubarb and blackberry crumble souffle. Joanne returns for that masterclass. Later, the remaining seven contestants, without Joanne, visit Donna Hay for some styling tips. |
| Week 11 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0132 | “Episode 60” | Sunday 27 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Return Elimination Challenge 1 - Eleven of the 17 eliminated contestants returned to the MasterChef kitchen to compete for three second-chance spots. Devon, Kate, Courtney, Daniel, Philip, Jimmy, Jake, Peter, Skye, Sharnee and Matthew competed in four rounds testing basic skills. In the first round, the eleven contestants had to correctly peel 400 grams of prawns. Sharnee was slowest and was eliminated. The second round saw contestants making the perfect potato mash. Kate was slowest and was eliminated. In the third round, the remaining nine contestants had to make 10 French-style pancakes as quickly as possible. Matthew was eliminated. The final round saw the contestants making Eggs Benedict and Hollandaise sauce with a twenty-minute time limit. Skye and Daniel were the least impressive and were eliminated. The remaining six moved on to the final round. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0133 | “Episode 61” | Monday 28 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Return Elimination Challenge 2 - Devon, Courtney, Philip, Jimmy, Jake and Peter competed in the final round for one of 3 spots back in the competition. They were faced with an Invention Test, with the freedom to choose from an extensive range of ingredients. In a twist, it was the Top 7 contestants who were unknowingly deciding their fate; judging the six dishes under the pretence of learning how to critique a dish. The seven plus Matt Preston were unanimous in their decision, with Courtney, Jimmy and Peter winning their place back in the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0134 | “Episode 62” | Tuesday 29 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 10 - Mitchell Orr won. Unlike other Celebrity Chef Challenges, Orr was cooking against all of the remaining 10, with the amateur winner (should there have been one) to receive immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0135 | “Episode 63” | Wednesday 30 June 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Off Site Challenge 9 - Winner: Red Team. Teams were faced with a seemingly simple challenge; to bake five traditional Australian afternoon tea staples made famous by the Country Women's Association. They had to impress a crowd of 100 CWA members as well as the judging panel which included CWA veteran Allison Mutton. Each team member was responsible for one dish with the judges picking which team made the best of each separate dish. The contestants struggled with this challenge, to the point where the judges granted them extra time to finish so as to not lose face. When it came to scoring the teams, Claire and Jonathan's Fruit Cakes and Peter and Marion's Neapolitan Cakes were judged to be of such poor standard as to not warrant scoring at all. The Red Team edged out the Blue Team two points to one in the other categories and Aaron and Jimmy were sent into an Elimination Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0136 | “Episode 64” | Thursday 1 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 10 - While the Red Team enjoyed their lunch at Bilson's, Aaron and Jimmy were required to "fix that dish", an unappetising coq au vin. George favoured Jimmy's finished dish but Gary preferred Aaron's. A draw was declared and both contestants returned to the house. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0137 | “Episode 65” | Friday 2 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 11 - While Adam and Alvin are treated to a masterclass in chocolate making from Belgian-Australian chocolatier Jan Ter Heerdt, the other contestants are given tips based on their struggles earlier in the week. George cooks up a Mushroom risotto with five types of wild mushroom along with mushroom powder before teaming up with Gary to produce their 'Adults Only' eggs Benedict-Ham Hock terrine with brioche croutons, poached egg and hollandaise sauce. Finally, Gary prepares his 'Gateaux Opera' with Almond sponge, coffee butter cream and chocolate ganache. |
| Week 12 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0138 | “Episode 66” | Sunday 4 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Invention Test 10 - "Home-style cooking" theme. Contestants were faced with snails under the Mystery Box, while Adam and Callum's dishes got tasted it was Alvin who impressed the judges with his dish, creating a unique balance of complex flavours. He gained the power to pick the pairs for the Invention Test, and the core ingredient of chicken and oranges. Contestants had to impress renowned Australian cook Margaret Fulton with their home-style inventions and many struggled under the pressure. In the end, it was Adam and Claire who really impressed and Claire was nominated to take part in the Celebrity Chef Challenge. Alvin and Marion, and Aaron and Peter failed to impress and were sent into a Pressure Test elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0139 | “Episode 67” | Monday 5 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test Elimination 9 - Alvin, Aaron, Marion and Peter faced off in the Pressure Test, where they had to recreate Adriano Zumbo's Macaroon Tower. Each contestants had to build their own tower consisting of 120 macaroons. Such a monumental challenge saw the contestants really struggle, each of them forced to cut corners. Half of Aaron's macaroons were "like cake batter" while half of Marion's were "hard as a rock", but it was Peter who Adriano selected as the poorest performer. Peter was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0140 | “Episode 68” | Tuesday 6 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 11 - Tonight's celebrity chef is molecular gastronomy expert Adam Melonas and he has a dish in mind that looks simple ... on paper. When liquid nitrogen is involved, anything can happen! Adam Melonas beat Claire (24 - 21) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0141 | “Episode 69” | Wednesday 7 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Off Site Challenge 10 - Winner: Red Team. Teams were faced with preparing a hearty buffet lunch for 100 Australian soldiers. Starting at Holsworthy army base, contestants trekked to the field kitchen where they tackled creating a suitable menu. Teams came up with a few similar dishes and were forced to negotiate compromise in their menus. The Red Team struggled with their dessert, and Callum was chastised by the judges for his poor handling of the situation. But in the end, the Red Team emerged clear winners, forcing the Blue Team into an Elimination Challenge. Adam chose to use his immunity pin to escape the challenge, leaving Aaron, Jonathan and Marion to battle it out. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0142 | “Episode 70” | Thursday 8 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 11 - Marion, Jonathan and Aaron were required to name a variety of nuts to progress to the next round. Jonathan won the first round and was safe. Marion and Aaron progressed to the second round where they had to recreate a Thai satay sauce. Although both dishes impressed the judges, Aaron's had better flavour and presentation, and Marion's was thicker and considered to be "gluggy" by the judges. Marion was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0143 | “Episode 71” | Friday 9 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 12 - Gary and George join forces to cook roast pheasant with peas, bacon and baby shallots. The contestants also learn how to make traditional tapas at the Ash Street Cellar. |
| Week 13 - Semi Finals Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0144 | “Episode 72” | Sunday 11 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Invention Test 11 - "Seven Deadly Sins" theme. Contestants struggled to produce stand-out dishes from a simple Mystery Box, with the two women left in the competition emerging as the strongest performers. Claire was declared the winner and won two big advantages: the power to skip the Invention Test, which would only have a Bottom 3, and the chance to face off in the Celebrity Chef Challenge. The Invention Test was based around the "seven deadly sins," with each contestant creating a dish based on one of the sins. In the end, Courtney, Jimmy and Jonathan produced the three least impressive attempts at "Envy," "Sloth" and "Lust" respectively and were sent into the Pressure Test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0145 | “Episode 73” | Monday 12 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test Elimination 10 - Guest chef Christine Manfield set the most technically difficult dish seen so far in a pressure test: spice roasted squab with a turnip cake, with a recipe including 55 ingredients. In a close elimination, Jonathan presented undercooked squab to the judges, and was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0146 | “Episode 74” | Tuesday 13 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Celebrity Chef Challenge 12 - Tonight the contestants face off against the master of Japanese cuisine, Shaun Presland. The challenge is a complicated tuna dish with three different components. Shaun Presland beat Claire (29 - 21) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0147 | “Episode 75” | Wednesday 14 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Signature Dish Challenge - Contestants were tasked with creating a dish that represented themselves and their cooking philosophy. After planning overnight and shopping with a $250 budget, each contestant had two hours to cook their signature dishes on five plates for Matt Preston and four other guests: Alla Wolf-Tasker, Mark Best, Kylie Kwong and Jacques Reymond. Each contestant was determined to impress such an illustrious panel, and the intense pressure lead to some potentially fatal mistakes. Overall, the judges were very impressed with the calibre of the dishes put forward, but only four contestants would automatically win their spot in the final week and a reward at Marque restaurant. Claire received the highest score (44.5 out of a possible 50 points), with Courtney and Callum tied in 2nd (43 pts) and Adam in 4th (40 pts), leaving Aaron, Alvin and Jimmy as the Bottom 3, fighting for their spot in the Finals. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0148 | “Episode 76” | Thursday 15 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 12 - Aaron, Alvin and Jimmy faced a Basic Skills Test in a two-round Elimination Challenge. The first round saw contestants identifying different types of fish, with the two lowest scoring contestants moving into the second round. Jimmy named the most fish correctly, leaving Aaron and Alvin to face off in the second round; to cook the perfect fish and chips. Though the judges commended both contestants for producing good dishes, Aaron's chips were soggy and this was enough to seal his elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0149 | “Episode 77” | Friday 16 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 13 - Gary and George create a delicious Friday night menu taking inspiration from some of the challenges seen in MasterChef this week. |
| Week 14 - Finals Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0150 | “Episode 78” | Sunday 18 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Invention Test 12 - The six remaining chefs were told they would be aiming to impress not only the three judges but also Hiroyuki Sakai, who arrived in his famous Iron Chef French uniform holding his nashi pear as he typically did in Kitchen Stadium. (Early in his career, Sakai had worked in Perth before returning to Japan.) The first challenge of Finals Week was then revealed - an invention test with the contestants split into two teams and asked to invent three dishes with the core ingredient of crustaceans, with ten minutes to plan and 75 minutes to catch and cook their crustaceans. Sakai was invited to "do the honors" of beginning the challenge, and he borrowed Takeshi Kaga's famous exhortation of "Allez cuisine!" that had customarily begun each Iron Chef battle. Sakai mainly spoke through an interpreter, though Adam (visibly and admittedly starstruck, having been born in Japan and having watched Iron Chef) was able to converse using his "rusty" Japanese. As someone who had become world famous for producing high-quality original dishes under pressure in Kitchen Stadium, Sakai appreciated how swift and sure the remaining chefs were even though they were amateurs, and he remarked at tasting that it was odd being a judge instead of the chef being judged and knew how nervous it was to be in their shoes. The Blue Team was praised for Adam's brilliant Scotch Egg invention but underwhelmed with the rest of their menu. The Red Team's dishes were, on the whole, more impressive (Courtney's Chilli Mud Crab had Iron Chef Sakai literally wanting more) but were criticised for not being as inventive. In the end, the Red Team's knockout dishes pushed them over the line, and Alvin, Courtney and Jimmy won an advantage going into the Pressure Test Elimination: to view the dish all six would be cooking (an Adriano Zumbo creation), taste it and study the recipe overnight. Sakai's appearance also compelled Adam to later tell News.com.au through the Telegraph, "(Iron Chef)'s the first (show) that entertained rather than educated. You wouldn't have MasterChef without Iron Chef." |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0151 | “Episode 79” | Monday 19 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Finals Week Elimination 1 - The contestants had to recreate Adriano Zumbo's eight layered "V8" vanilla cake. They had four hours to replicate this monumental creation, which featured 14 different processes, in order to be judged by Gary, Matt and Adriano himself. Each contestant struggled to have their cake ready on time, with only Adam, Callum and Jimmy coming close to the correct presentation. The judges were impressed with how well Adam's cake was assembled and his presentation but found his ganache layer was missing. Alvin failed to cover his cake with the glaze, and the judges criticised his layering, saying it lacked definition and was overall too messy. Jimmy's cake was rough on the outside, but the judges praised his layering and overall flavour; Adriano was "very happy" with Jimmy's effort. Callum was commended for his presentation but the judges found it was "big and clumsy," lacking the neutral jelly and salty praline. Claire's cake was missing the tempered chocolate decorations, and did not have the full set of layers, however the judges were impressed with the perfect balance of the layers presented. Courtney produced an uneven cake, half of her gel and topping having slid off as she was plating up, but the judges found the other half of her cake perfectly layered. However, she was missing the chocolate decorations and the flavour in the cake was deemed underwhelming. The judges decided that Alvin, Callum and Courtney were the worst performers. Callum was spared because, despite his mix up with the layering, he got all the elements on the plate and presented the cake beautifully. Courtney was deemed safe and Alvin became the first finalist eliminated. Although he had the best attempt at the tempered chocolate, the poor presentation, and the fact that he missed two of the layers sealed his elimination. Jimmy was then declared the winner of the challenge as he produced a cake with all 8 layers and a great taste. As winner, he won the advantage to pick the contents of the Mystery Box for the next days challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0152 | “Episode 80” | Tuesday 20 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Finals Week Elimination 2 - Contestants competed in a Mystery Box Challenge created by Pressure Test winner, Jimmy, having 90 minutes to produce both a savoury and sweet course for Matt, Gary and special guest judge Shannon Bennett. Jimmy's choice of ingredients created many issues for the other contestants, and even for Jimmy himself. Jimmy's Tarka and Garlic Butter Dhals were criticised for being under-flavoured, and his Onion Rings were deemed not up to competition standard. His Muscat Ice cream, although tasting good, was criticised for its poor presentation. Callum's lentil curry was praised for its flavour but his Flatbread did not impress. His dessert, a Lemon and Ginger Brulee Tart was a standout dish for each judge; Shannon praising both presentation and taste. Courtney's Dhal was deemed the best of the day, but the accompaniment, a savoury Pakora, was undercooked and claggy. Courtney struggled with ideas for her dessert, only deciding partway through the challenge. She subsequently ran out of time in her plating up, failing to complete all the elements of her dessert. The judges were underwhelmed by her Crepes with Lemon and Ginger Curd, saying it needed another element to make it work. Adam's complex dishes: Oeufs Mollé with Soubise, Gorgonzola Gratin and Tuile, and Candied Tomatoes in Muscat Sauce with Ginger and Salt Granita, proved to be too complicated, and while the judges admired his ambition, he overdid it ending up with unbalanced flavours. Claire struggled with creating two dishes from what she described as a "Mystery Box from Hell", and ended up making two similar dishes. She was criticised for not providing any crunch in her main course, for poor presentation of her Gorgonzola Mousse, and for an unbalanced Muscat Sauce. However, the judges were impressed with her Layered Lemon Curd Parfait, both in presentation and taste. In the end, Shannon Bennett was pleased with each contestant's performance; all had elements that were impressive. Callum was the first to be deemed safe, with Shannon praising his work ethic. Adam was next declared safe, and praised for his technical skills, creativity and instinct. Jimmy was the next through but was chastised for failing to take full use of his advantage. Claire and Courtney were declared the Bottom 2. The judges urged Claire to be more confident about her food, and while there was a lack of balance in her main, the techniques she displayed in making the solid dessert and brilliant Mousse were enough to save her from elimination, leaving Courtney the second finalist to be eliminated. A great Dhal was not enough to make up for the unimpressive elements of her dishes. More importantly, Courtney failed to demonstrate the level of skills expected at this stage of the competition when compared with Claire according to the judges. Adam, Callum, Claire and Jimmy moved on to the next challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0153 | “Episode 81” | Wednesday 21 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Finals Week Elimination 3 - In the third elimination challenge of the week, contestants had to present the concept of their cookbook they would write if they were to win, and make 3 dishes from it. They had 2.5 hours to produce the dishes for Gary, George, Matt and special guest judge, Maggie Beer. Claire was the first to present her dishes and the concept of her book which she named 'From the Hearth,' full of gutsy, honest and timeless food. Maggie Beer loved the concept of her book, but thought her Scallops with Crispy Pork Belly and Apple would be better without the pork belly, commenting, "this is a city dish." While the judges loved the Roast Beef from Claire's main course, they were disappointed with the Red Wine Sauce, calling it "vegemite-y." George noted that he would be pretty disappointed if he got that recipe from her book. However, her dessert, an Orange Blossom Pannacotta, completely won the judges over. Callum named his cookbook 'A Cook's Roadmap,' focussing on cooking techniques rather than ingredients or course. His three dishes, Coconut Mussels, Roast Pork Belly with Scallops, and Chocolate Fondant with Orange and Date Ice Cream each attempted to address the techniques of curry paste, roasting and custard. While Matt thought the curry was unbalanced with too much fish sauce, his two other dishes were met with raptures. Jimmy named his cookbook 'Flavours from My Home', citing he wanted to share what he learnt from home and to use the book to encourage readers to not be afraid to use all kinds of spices. While his dishes looked good, he was criticised for overcooking his Crispy Skin Duck with Tamarind Glaze. His Prawn Curry sauce tasted soapy. But he impressed the judges with his Chai Latte Brulee in terms of flavour even though it was not set properly. Last to present, Adam named his cook book 'Two Asian Kitchens,' which would include traditional and modern dishes inspired by Asian cuisines. His Hainanese Lobster Rice was praised for being "rich and sophisticated and hasn't lost the soul of the dish." His Smoked Kingfish Chirashi Zushi was praised for its inventiveness, technique and flavour. However, the judges didn't like his dessert, Chinese Churros with Salted Duck Egg Custard, citing that it did not appeal to the Western palate. Ultimately, Adam and Callum were the first told that they had made the Final 3, leaving Claire and Jimmy in the Bottom 2. Taking into consideration the faults in both Claire's and Jimmy's dishes, Jimmy was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0154 | “Episode 82” | Thursday 22 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Finals Week Elimination 4 - In the last elimination challenge before the Finale, Adam, Callum and Claire were tasked with cooking a three-course dinner for the Governor-General, Her Excellency Quentin Bryce and 30 of her guests. Each contestant was in charge of one course and would be judged on the quality of their dishes and their kitchen performance. Claire had first pick and selected the main: a Roast Rack of Lamb with Mushrooms, Broad Beans and Polenta. Adam chose the entree: a Tartlet of two Trout, Roast Tomato and Watercress, leaving Callum with the dessert: Chocolate Fondant with Blood Orange Jelly, Tuile and Honey Anglais. Adam faced problems with smoking his trout, and preparing the amount of pastry needed for 35 people. And although careful in his preparation, a bone was found in one of the tarts, although the mistake was caught before serving time. The judges were impressed with the consistent presentation of each of the tarts, the fact he served them on time and his overall performance in the kitchen. However, his pastry was criticised for being slightly too thick. Claire struggled from the word go, realising quickly the dish she had chosen had a huge amount of prep work; indeed preparing the Lamb Cutlets took up most of her time. She was forced to enlist a few extra hands along the way to help with her preparation. In spite of this, her main was not ready on time, delivered 15 minutes late. The judges were overall impressed with the dish, but noted that little things detracted from it as a whole: mismatched chops, crusty polenta, a lack of stickiness to the shallots. She was criticised for her performance in the kitchen, not getting her dishes complete on time. Despite a slow start, Callum handled the pressure well, methodically working through the technical elements of his dessert. The crucial moment proved to be getting all 35 fondants to just the right consistency: set on the outside and oozing from the middle. The judges were impressed with the level of skill shown by Callum in the kitchen to produce all the elements on the plate, however they found that not all the fondants had the "goo factor." Adam was the first declared safe and through to the Grand Finale after a solid performance. In the end, although each had their criticisms, Claire's performance in the kitchen proved not as impressive as Callum's and she became the fourth finalist eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0155 | “Episode 83” | Friday 23 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass Reunion - Prior to the Masterclass, the Top 2 were given private Masterclasses with chefs at the markets and restaurant. Adam joined Peter Kuruvita at Flying Fish while Callum joined Justin North at Becasse Restaurant. In the final MasterClass, the Top 24 reunited at the Masterchef Kitchen and revealed what they had done since being eliminated from the competition. Gary and George recreated their favourite dishes from the competition with the contestants, which included Alvin's dish, "Drunken and Bruised" and Fiona's Lavender Cream and Chocolate Ganache Tart. The two judges also completed the Mystery Box Challenge, the contents of which were chosen by the Final 2. |
| Finale |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0156 | “Episode 84” | Sunday 25 July 2010 |
| Synopsis: |
| Finale Night - The Finale consisted of three rounds. Points would be earned for each round, with the winner decided based on the final tally after the three rounds. Round 1 was a Basic Skills Test where contestants had to name ingredients and complete cooking challenges represented by six cloches. Under the first cloche were three different spices that had to be named: turmeric, fennel seeds and szechuan pepper, which Adam and Callum identified correctly. The next cloche contained three different fruits: a kumquat, a starfruit and a guava. Adam correctly identified the first two while Callum could only identify the starfruit. The third cloche contained three different cheeses: bocconcini, Parmesan and gruyere. Adam identified all three correctly, but Callum incorrectly identified bocconcini as mozarella. Under the fourth cloche were three different fish: tuna, kingfish and eel, all of which were correctly identified by both contestants. Three different sauces were under the next cloche: tartare, hollandaise and romesco. Although Adam correctly identified all three, Callum only named the tartare sauce correctly. Under the following cloche were carrots, which contestants had to julienne, brunoise and turn to the judge's standards. Callum was awarded points for his julienne and brunoise, but Adam was only awarded for his julienne. Under the final cloche were eggs, which contestants needed to use to produce a satisfactory omelette. Adam was awarded a maximum of two points for his omelette but Callum was only awarded one, which meant at the end of Round 1, the scores were Adam 17 and Callum 13. Round 2 of the final was an Invention Test, the theme of which was "3-ways", this meant contestants had to create an Assiette of a protein of their choosing, in which they could demonstrate three different techniques for cooking the protein. Adam chose pork belly, while Callum chose chicken. Accompanying Gary, George and Matt on the judging panel for this round was Matt Moran. Following the tasting, all the judges gave both Adam and Callum's dishes 9 out of 10 which meant at the end of Round 2, Adam was still in the lead with 53 points while Callum had 49. The Final Round was a Pressure Test where the Final 2 had to recreate Peter Gilmore's signature "Snow Egg". Although at the beginning of the Pressure Test, Callum was multiple steps ahead of Adam, he found problems with his batch of meringue which meant he had to redo them. As his granita had been in the freezer for too long, it was too hard and while he was trying to scrape it, parts of the granita fell to the ground, which resulted in his dishes not having as much granita as he had intended them to have. Adam also found difficulties with the dish, in particular whilst trying to mould the maltose disc on top of the meringue using a kitchen torch, he cracked a few. Ultimately, although Matt Moran awarded 9 out of 10 to Callum for his dish, the other judges awarded him only 8. In contrast, all judges awarded Adam 9 out of 10. |
2011 - Complete Season 03
| Week 1 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0157 | “Episode 01” | Sunday 1 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Series Premiere: Top 50 Part 1 - The top 50 began with a giant mystery box challenge, using commonly bought ingredients. Michael W. had the best dish of the day, while the ten worst performers were sent into a chocolate elimination challenge led by Adriano Zumbo. The following five contestants: Michael S, Tony, Sarah, Nathan, and Dai produced the worst dishes and were eliminated from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0158 | “Episode 02” | Monday 2 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 50 Part 2 - The remaining 45 contestants competed in a three-stage basic skills test. The five slowest to prepare 2 kg of potatoes for chips, to hand whisk a basic mayonnaise, and to correctly segment a whole chicken went into an elimination round of scone-making. Craig P, Cindy, Tanja, Elizabeth, and Liz produced the least consistent and worst tasting scones and were eliminated from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0159 | “Episode 03” | Tuesday 3 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 50 Part 3 - 40 contestants competed in a Pressure Test, vying for six spots in the Top 24. They each had two hours to complete a dessert tasting plate set by Maggie Beer. Most contestants struggled with such a challenge, with one not presenting a dish to the judges because he felt it was not of acceptable quality. Craig Y. was awarded the first spot after tasting. In the end, Michael, Kate, Adam, Hayden, and Cleo received the remaining 5 spots and secured their place in the main competition, while the ten least impressive performers went into an Elimination Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0160 | “Episode 04” | Wednesday 4 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 50 Part 4 - The ten least impressive from the Pressure Test were given a choice as to what would be the core of their Elimination Challenge dish; they could spend two hours on a fishing boat and risk what (if anything) they caught, or use a mystery ingredient unknown until the start of the challenge. Of the four that chose fishing, all caught at least one fish, while crocodile was revealed as the mystery ingredient for the remaining six. Elisa, Jess, Myri, and Alby struggled with preparing such an unfamiliar meat and were sent home. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0161 | “Episode 05” | Thursday 5 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 50 Part 5 - The remaining contestants competed for six more spots in the Top 24, cooking a "desert island dish" with five of their favourite ingredients. With the freedom to cook their favourite dish and no threat of elimination, many contestants talents shone through. In the end, Alana, Billy, Arena, Kumar, Seamus and Danielle received their spots in the main competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0162 | “Episode 06” | Friday 6 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 1 - In the first MasterClass of the series, a few special contestants take a trip to the Barossa Valley to visit Maggie Beer in her home and to learn the secrets of the perfect pastry and roast chicken. |
| Week 2 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0163 | “Episode 07” | Sunday 8 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 50 Part 6 - With the final twelve spots in the Top 24 on the line, the remaining contestants competed in two challenges, a taste test and an invention test. The twenty-four hopefuls were given three minutes to each taste and name as many of the thirty ingredients of Aria's Consommé, provided by Matt Moran. It was revealed that for the invention test, they would receive only the ingredients they correctly identified in the Consommé; those who fared poorly in the taste test struggled with the limitations of the challenge. Ultimately, after some debate by the judges, Andrew, Shannon, Peter, Paul, Rachel, Dani, Tom, Sun, Jay, Ellie, Mat and Chelsea emerged successful, completing the Top 24. While Marie, Nick, Gemma, Samantha, Sam, John, Rod, Vittoria, Ariana, Daniel, and Greg were eliminated, and after surviving 3 pressure tests, Alex was eliminated as well, or is he? |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0164 | “Episode 08” | Monday 9 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 24 Cooking Challenge - Matt went to Alex's house to bring him back in competition after Paul's withdrawal. The contestants competed in their first challenge in the MasterChef kitchen: preparing the dish that "changed their life". Hayden, Billy and Kate were judged the best of the day, and it was Hayden who won the right to contest the first Immunity Challenge of the series. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0165 | “Episode 09” | Tuesday 10 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 1 - The winner of the first challenge will cook for immunity against apprentice chef, Alex Keen, who works under Allesandro Pavoni. Will a 10 minute headstart be enough to beat the best? Hayden beat Ormeggio apprentice Alex Keene (22-21) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0166 | “Episode 10” | Wednesday 11 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 1 - Contestants were rudely awoken at midnight to discover their first team challenge: baking bread for five of Sydney's top restaurants. After being randomly selected into teams, Sun was nominated leader of the Blue Team and Tom the Red Team. The Blue Team struggled with organization and made a couple of crucial errors in the early stages of the challenge, but recovered well to just edge out the Blue Team for victory. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0167 | “Episode 11” | Thursday 12 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 1 - As the Blue Team enjoyed their reward, the Red Team were asked to nominate their two worst performers for an In-the-round Elimination Challenge. Tom, who took responsibility as team leader, and Kumar, whose ciabatta bread contributed to the team's loss put themselves forward. They were given 90 minutes to use three guests favourite ingredients to make three of their favourite dishes with no aid of a recipe. Ultimately, Kumar received two votes to Tom's one, sealing Tom's exit from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0168 | “Episode 12” | Friday 13 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 2 - The lucky 23 contestants who survived the first elimination are treated to a scrumptious MasterClass. George will teach them the secrets of his sweet bougatsa with poached figs. |
| Week 3 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0169 | “Episode 13” | Sunday 15 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 1 - In a Mystery Box which included rabbit and mustard fruits, contestants were tasked with producing a dish which contained every ingredient in the box. The quality of dishes presented varied wildly, with many highs and many lows, the unfamiliarity of the meat proving to be a curse for many. After a difficult decision by the judges, it was Jay who beat out Cleo and Craig for dish of the day, while Billy, Ellie and Alex landed in the Bottom 3, facing elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0170 | “Episode 14” | Monday 16 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 1 - Billy, Ellie and Alex were faced with a Cherry Bombe Alaska and a two-hour time limit. Each contestant faced the challenge differently; Ellie worked calmly and methodically, Billy took a number of shortcuts and deviated from the recipe in a few key areas, and Alex struggled to juggle each element, quickly falling behind and only just finishing after judges intervention. In the end, Ellie wowed the judges with her recreation, and while Billy was warned for departing from the recipe, it was Alex who was eliminated, this time for good. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0171 | “Episode 15” | Tuesday 17 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 2 - With an Immunity Pin up for grabs, guest chef, Colin Fassnidge, better bring his A-game because this season's MasterChef contestants aren't going down without a fight! Colin Fassnidge beat Jay (26-19) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0172 | “Episode 16” | Wednesday 18 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 2 - The male and female contestants faced off against each other as they took over the running of the Mean Fiddler pub for a regular evening service. They each were tasked to prepare a menu of seven items fitting certain criteria, for example one burger, one special, one dessert, etc. The judges tasted the dishes and scored each team, also taking into account customer reaction. While both teams had big problems, especially with their steak orders, it was the male Red team's 16 returned meals that sent them straight to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0173 | “Episode 17” | Thursday 19 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 2 - After losing the battle of the sexes, the entire Red team faced a three-round Elimination Challenge. They had the freedom to cook whatever they wanted, but only a short amount of time in which to prepare their dish (ten or fifteen minutes). Contestants were declared safe at the end of each round and by the final round only Andrew and Seamus remained. Seamus was deemed to have delivered the weaker dish and was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0174 | “Episode 18” | Friday 20 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 3 - Gary and George give the contestants a MasterClass on the art of cooking rabbit. Later, Gary whips up a modern take on the classic Shepherd's Pie. |
| Week 4 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0175 | “Episode 19” | Sunday 22 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 2 - Contestants competed in teams of three in a mix of Invention Test and Mystery Box. Each team randomly chose a protein (such as pork or scallops) and a cooking method (such as roasting or braising) and were tasked with creating a dish around that element. Some teams struggled with their unusual combinations, such as cooking snapper en croute (in pastry), but Sun, Peter and Craig triumphed with their pork en papillote (in paper). Chelsea, Rachel and Ellie's smoked octopus was judged the least impressive, sending the three girls into elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0176 | “Episode 20” | Monday 23 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 2 - Chelsea, Rachel and Ellie had to recreate an Australian-ised pork with fried rice, without the aid of a recipe. Relying on their food knowledge proved a challenge for the three girls, as the wrong cuts of meat were chosen, sauces were unbalanced, and meat was overcooked. The judges decision proved difficult as Chelsea was found to have the best rice, Ellie the best meat, and Rachel the best sauce. Ultimately, Chelsea's lack of sauce, tough meat and over-reliance on outside help saw her eliminated from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0177 | “Episode 21” | Tuesday 24 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 3 - The winning trio from the Lucky Dip Invention Test, face off against chef, Adam D'Sylva, from Melbourne restaurant, Coda, in the first team Immunity Challenge. Adam D'Sylva beat Craig, Peter and Sun (27-21) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0178 | “Episode 22” | Wednesday 25 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 3 - Teams were tasked with catering for a busy Sunday morning at Cronulla Beach for hungry nippers and their families, providing a sausages sizzle and gelato. Two from each team had spent the night making three flavours of gelato each, while the rest of the team prepared their hand-made sausages. Hayden, being a lifeguard, attempted to boost sales by charming the crowds toward the Blue Team, sparking strong rivalry between the teams. By providing a 'breakfast sausage,' Michael's Red Team managed to start selling over an hour before Craig's Blue Team. As it came down to how much money the teams made, the Blue Team's slow start cost them in the end with earning $2,114 over the Red Team's $2,434, sending them into elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0179 | “Episode 23” | Thursday 26 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 3 - The Blue Team were faced with a pastry skills based challenge; they needed to prepare a sponge, a custard, a toffee and finally a ganache. They were not allowed to move on to the custard until they had finished the preparation of their sponge, and so on through the stages, before combining all four elements into their own dessert creation. Sun, Peter and Kumar had serious problems with each of their elements, but it was Cleo's mistake of starting her ganache before completely finishing her toffee that forced the judges to eliminate her. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0180 | “Episode 24” | Friday 27 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 4 - Gary makes a hearty veal osso bucco with cannellini beans and George teaches the contestants how to cook snapper en papillote with special guests: Donna Hay and Romeo Baudouin. |
| Week 5 (Western Australia Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0181 | “Episode 25” | Sunday 29 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 3 - Contestants were whisked away to Western Australia and the Sunrise Dam Gold Mine for a team challenge like no other: catering for 450 hungry workers over a 24 hours and three courses. Early on, Jay and Dani's leadership of the Blue Team proved a little shaky, as poor rostering lead to short staffing, and a lack of preparation meant they were still planning their breakfast menu just before service started. Each team had its share of mishaps during the challenge, and although the Blue Team served up uncooked fish and deep-fried bacon, they managed to win the challenge by a small margin (685 votes to Danielle and Kate's Red's 665), leaving the Red Team with a second shift in the Mine's kitchen. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0182 | “Episode 26” | Monday 30 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| W.A. Invention Test - As winners of the Team Challenge, the Blue Team competed against each other at Margaret River's Clairault Winery for a double chance at immunity: to cook off in the Immunity Challenge and be exempt from the next elimination challenge in the MasterChef kitchen. The ten contestants faced an Invention Test, each cooking a different meat picked at random and using a range of organic ingredients from chef Jake Drachenberg's kitchen garden. In the end, Michael and Jay impressed the judges the most, and it was Jay's skillful technique when cooking the Western Australian crustacean marron that sent him into the Immunity Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0183 | “Episode 27” | Tuesday 31 May 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 4 - With an Immunity Pin up for grabs, guest chef, Tony Howell, better watch his back because this week's challenger is ready to cook up a storm! Who will recreate the best seafood stew? Tony Howell beat Jay (23-22) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0184 | “Episode 28” | Thursday 2 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| "Tinned and Frozen Challenge" - Contestants (all except Jay who had immunity) were given 90 minutes, full run of the pantry and the freedom to cook what they wanted, but with one twist: the only ingredients available to them were tinned and frozen produce. This confused a number of contestants who struggled to produce smart, tasty dishes within the limits of the challenge. Many also rose to the challenge, producing a Top 5 and giving winners Billy and Shannon a special reward and private MasterClass. However, Andrew and Kumar's dishes did not impress and landed them in an Elimination Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0185 | “Episode 29” | Thursday 2 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 4 - Andrew and Kumar faced a "Fix that Dish" Challenge; they had eight steps each to fix a Massaman curry. Both contestants choice of ingredients surprised and confused both judges and other contestants, as neither Andrew or Kumar picked peanuts or potatoes, two key ingredients in the traditional dish. In the end, the judges faced a tough decision as neither dish was considered close enough to an actual Massaman curry. However, Kumar's tenderer meat and decision to add cashews gave his dish a slight edge over Andrew's, sending Andrew home. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0186 | “Episode 30” | Friday 3 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 5 - George, Gary and Matt Moran take the contestants through a step-by-step guide to the best Summer pudding, a yummy curry and Matt's famous Blue Swimmer Crab. |
| Week 6 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0187 | “Episode 31” | Sunday 5 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 4 - In a "Super Invention Test" with a Spanish theme, contestants were given the choice of three pairs of core ingredients: lamb and anchovies, orange and sherry, or squid and chorizo. The "super" twist of the challenge came when, after each contestant had picked their 15 additional ingredients, the judges redistributed each contestants set of ingredients, forcing them to show their flexibility in the kitchen. Danielle beat out Arena, Shannon and Michael for top spot, while some disastrous efforts dropped Jay, Dani and Ellie into the Bottom 3. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0188 | “Episode 32” | Monday 6 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 3 - Jay, Dani and Ellie faced a Pressure Test set by Dan Hong, head chef at Ms G restaurant: pandan chiffon cake with black sesame icecream and coconut tapioca. All three contestants struggled with technical elements of the dish, but it was especially Jay whose instinctive style of cooking did not gel with the precise nature of the dish. While Dani had tapioca "like chalk," and Ellie had elements that were below standard, it was Jay's uneven dish with sugary praline that led to a tearful elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0189 | “Episode 33” | Tuesday 7 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 5 - Superstar Noredic chef, Thorsten Schmidt, arrives at the MasterChef Kitchen to battle it out with one lucky contestant. Is the Immunity Pin within their grasp? Or will they be schooled by a pro? Thorsten Schmidt beat Danielle (26-21) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0190 | “Episode 34” | Wednesday 8 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 4 - In the first ever Tag-team Challenge, teams were asked to prepare six dishes with only one team member cooking at any one time. Additionally, only the first to cook would be allowed to view the recipe, with a one-minute change-over period to relay information about the dishes. Communication breakdowns brought both teams problems and left some group members relying only on instinct. Surprise guest judge Nigella Lawson (whose recipes contestants were making) praised both teams efforts; especially Alana's Red Team's game pie and velvet cupcakes and Adam's Blue Team's roast lamb and devil's food cake. In the end though it was the Blue Team's better overall performance which gave them the three judges votes, sending the Red Team to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0191 | “Episode 35” | Thursday 9 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 5 - Shannon and Arena put themselves forward as the two weakest performers from the Red Team and faced off in a Pressure Test. They were given a core ingredient (one whole chicken) and complete freedom of choice to prepare as many dishes as they would like in 75 minutes. Each contestant struggled with the pressure of the challenge, both running out of time and presenting incomplete dishes. The judges praised Shannon's steamed chicken breast and Arena's chicken soup, but ultimately the overall quality of Arena's dishes did not match Shannon's and she was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0192 | “Episode 36” | Friday 10 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 6 - In a very special MasterClass, two lucky contestants are sent to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for a private cooking lesson with legendary seafood king, Rick Stein. |
| Week 7 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0193 | “Episode 37” | Sunday 12 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| QANTAS Fine Dining Challenge - Contestants were paired up and asked to prepare one of eight courses of Neil Perry's QANTAS First Class menu. They were given 60 minutes of mise en place, followed by 20 minutes to cook, plate and serve one course at a time to 27 special guests, including world class chefs Thomas Keller and Andoni Adruiz. The extreme pressure of the challenge led to some problems especially in the plating stage, with most teams struggling with presentation. Ultimately, it was Kate and Danielle's poached snapper that the judges deemed most impressive, rewarding them with the chance to cook alongside Thomas and Andoni at a dinner for the Starlight Children's Foundation, and Kate a shot at immunity. However, it was Rachel and Craig whose tart lacked flavour and Michael and Shannon whose pudding was too dense who were deemed least impressive, landing them in the Bottom 4. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0194 | “Episode 38” | Monday 13 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 4 - Craig, Michael, Shannon and Rachel faced a Heston Blumenthal creation: a seemingly simple burger with chips and milkshake. But true to his molecular gastronomy style the dish was a complex combination of cooking styles, including a milkshake inspired by a personal memory. Michael's dish overall impressed, especially with his lime shake reminiscent of his now-deceased father, and Craig also impressed with his extremely thick chocolate milkshake. But despite having "the best bun of the lot" according to Heston, Rachel's overcooked meat and rushed milkshake lead to her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0195 | “Episode 39” | Tuesday 14 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 6 - Sweet superstar, Darren Purchese, is Melbourne's answer to Adriano Zumbo, and he is now challenging our MasterChef contestants to replicate his own highly technical dessert. Darren Purchese beat Kate (26 - 24) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0196 | “Episode 40” | Wednesday 15 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 5 - In this "sustainable food challenge," contestants prepared a lunch service at the Greenhouse "pop up" restaurant in Sydney under the guidance of chef Matt Stone, with an emphasis on minimising waste. Their guests (including famous chefs and sustainable food experts) would vote for their favourite team, with the two best performers from the winning team experiencing a shift in Gary Mehigan's restaurant Fenix. Blue Team members questioned Sun's leadership as a lack of organisation slowed service down considerably. In the end, the Blue Team were commended for their sustainable menu and some excellent dishes, including Alana's dessert and Hayden's prawns. While Craig's Red Team worked well in the kitchen, their wastage was significant and they suffered from a poor dessert. The Blue Team won in a landslide (45-21), even without the bonus 10 votes they received for their minimal waste, with Alana and Hayden receiving the reward. The entire Red Team fell into an Elimination Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0197 | “Episode 41” | Thursday 16 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 6 - The losing team faced a three-round elimination challenge, where they had 15 minutes and limited ingredients to produce their dish. Billy, Danielle and Ellie created the best dishes of the first round using only three ingredients, with Dani and Michael escaping elimination in the second round with dishes made from only six ingredients. In the final round, Craig and Shannon both impressed with their two very different dishes; the judges naming them two of the competitions best. The quality of Shannon's was judged as slightly below Craig's sealing her elimination from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0198 | “Episode 42” | Friday 17 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 7 - The final 14 contestants attend MasterClass to learn the fine art of Spotted Dick with custard. Later, three lucky contestants have a private MasterClass with James Privett. |
| Week 8 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0199 | “Episode 43” | Sunday 19 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 6 - In this Korean-inspired "Invention Box" challenge set by Korean-American top chef David Chang, contestants were faced with a range of exotic Korean ingredients and a randomly selected protein. Many contestants floundered with such unknown ingredients, but Dani, Hayden and Peter impressed with their inventiveness, creativity and tasty Korean flavours. In the end, Hayden was crowned the winner of the challenge, earning him a spot in the Immunity Challenge, and immunity from the Team Challenge. Danielle, Michael, Adam and Ellie (who did not compete due to sickness and received an automatic bottom spot) were left as the Bottom 4. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0200 | “Episode 44” | Monday 20 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 5 - Danielle, Michael, Adam and Ellie faced a Pressure Test set by George's mother Mary Calombaris: cooking 4 traditional Greek-Cypriotic dishes. Contestants struggled to plate up each dish in the 90 minutes provided, with some receiving a helping hand from Mary herself. Ellie and Michael dishes were the two best received, while Adam and Danielle's were plagued with errors including raw pastry and overly salty, garlicky and oily elements. Despite performing the worst, Danielle was saved from elimination when Adam, realising that he did not have the same passion for the food industry as his competitors, withdrew from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0201 | “Episode 45” | Tuesday 21 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 7 - Guest chef, Vincent Gadan, is thrown a curve ball in the Immunity Challenge. A sweet treat whiz, will Vincent cope cooking a roast pork? Or will our MasterChef contestant win that illusive pin? Vincent Gadan beat Hayden (21 - 19) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0202 | “Episode 46” | Wednesday 22 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 6 - Teams (excluding Hayden, who had immunity) were taken to Westfield Sydney, where they were asked to prepare some simple dishes (such as burger and fries, pizza, cake and pastry) with one twist: each dish had specific dietary restrictions (such as lactose free, low salt or vegan). Contestants from each team were paired off and given 60 minutes to prepare their dish, with the best dish receiving a vote from the judges. Many contestants failed to fit the brief of the challenge and lost votes accordingly, and despite two disastrous dishes it was the Blue Team's overall performance that won them the challenge, sending the entire Red Team to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0203 | “Episode 47” | Thursday 23 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 7 - The Red Team faced an "In-the-round" challenge with two stages: three contestants at a time would prepare a savoury dish in 15 minutes with the least impressive from each group going into the final elimination round cooking a sweet dish in 30 minutes. Craig's overcooked quail breast and Alana's raw lamb led them to the final round, where it was Craig's undercooked apple fritters that led to his elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0204 | “Episode 48” | Friday 24 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 8 - Mary is back! George's mother returns to the kitchen to serve up a special Moussaka MasterClass. Christine Mansfield also makes an appearance to demonstrate how to create her Satay Spice Paste. |
| Week 9 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0205 | “Episode 49” | Sunday 26 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 7 - The Top 12 contestants were tasked with preparing lunch for 200 hungry farmers and their families when they travelled into the NSW country to Matt Moran's dad's lamb farm. They had four hours to prepare any dish they wanted under the restrictions of an outdoor fire and with lamb as their only protein, their guests voting for their favourite dish. Michael's decision to ignore the lamb and cook two sweet dishes confused the judges but led him to second place, behind winner Billy, whose hearty and spicy Lamb Curry and sweet Rocky Road were perfect for the cold and wet weather and proved popular with adults and children alike. Danielle, Ellie and Peter's uneven and unattractive dishes landed them in the Bottom 3, to face elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0206 | “Episode 50” | Monday 27 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 6 - Ellie, Danielle and Peter were set a tough test by chef Matthew Kemp: to re-invent the classic French dish Duck à l'orange, with no aid of a recipe. Despite initially struggling for ideas and burning her hand, Ellie's dish universally impressed the judges. And while Peter was criticised for not being inventive enough, it was Danielle's cold pasta dish missing the orange flavours that led to her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0207 | “Episode 51” | Tuesday 28 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 8 - The winner of the Matt Moran farm challenge has their chance to win an immunity pin, but they must face Merle, a home-style country baker who has won more than 1,000 awards for her baking. Merle Parrish (Country Women's Association) beat Billy (24 - 21) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0208 | “Episode 52” | Wednesday 29 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 7 - Teams were faced with their first catering jobs: The Blue Team, a corporate 3-course lunch for 12, and the Red Team, a 21st birthday for 50 guests. The Blue Team, led by Peter, worked well in the kitchen and were commended for the quality of their dishes, while the Red Team, led by Ellie, had "kitchen chaos" as forgotten ingredients delayed preparations, and were criticised for their decision to prepare a rabbit terrine dish which did not involve any cooking. Ultimately Blue failed to deliver on the client's brief: a light lunch delivered within a strict time limit, while Red impressed with their menu and the interactive element to their birthday cake, filling the client's brief. The Red Team members secured their places in the Top 10; despite being out-cooked by the Blue Team they delivered what the client wanted, leading the Blue Team to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0209 | “Episode 53” | Thursday 30 June 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 8 - The Blue Team (minus Hayden, who chose to use his immunity pin) were faced with two challenges, a Taste Test and an Invention Test. Michael, Peter, Billy and Kumar were given three minutes to each taste and name as many of the ingredients of a terrine, blind-folded. Those they guessed correctly would be the only ingredients they would have to cook with in the 40-minute Invention Test. It came down to Michael (who had 11 ingredients, the most) and Kumar (with the fewest at four ingredients) and it was the latter's lack of available ingredients that sealed his fate. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0210 | “Episode 54” | Friday 1 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 9 - Gary and George are joined by guest chefs Fleur Sullivan, Simon Gault, Martin Bolsey and Al Brown in MasterClass, for a crash course in seafood chowder, crayfish tails and more. |
| Week 10 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0211 | “Episode 55” | Sunday 3 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 8 - In the first Sunday Challenge in the Top 10, the contestants were faced with a Mystery Box and an Invention Test. The winner of the steamed pudding-themed Mystery Box challenge was Kate with a white chocolate and raspberry pudding with Kahlua ice cream, who then picked figs as the core ingredient for the Middle Eastern-themed Invention Test. Peter, Michael and Dani were selected as the top three and in the end it was Dani who prevailed with her idea of a 'frozen baklava' (fig and pistachio ice cream between sheets of filo pastry), especially impressing guest chef Shane Delia. As winner of this challenge, besides the chance to win immunity, Dani received an "unparalleled" advantage going into the next week. Hayden, Billy and Mat were named the bottom three and were sent into an Elimination Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0212 | “Episode 56” | Monday 4 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 7 - Mat, Billy and Hayden faced off in a Pressure Test, in which they had to recreate a Salt-crusted Guinea Fowl with a Mushroom Duxelle and a Thyme Jus, with two complementary side dishes of their own choosing. Mat showed most competency overall despite a burnt hand, only slightly overcooking the guinea fowl. Despite his perfectly cooked guinea fowl and excellent gratin dauphinois side dish, it was Billy's raw beetroot salad and "rubbish" jus that saw him eliminated from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0213 | “Episode 57” | Tuesday 5 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 9 - Alessandra Pavoni is back, and he's cooking for the pride of his restaurant. After his apprentice chef lost to Hayden in a previous Immunity Challenge, Alessandro is determined to win. Dani beat Alessandro Pavoni (22 - 22) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0214 | “Episode 58” | Wednesday 6 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 8 - After Mat's removal from the competition for having an unauthorised mobile phone, Billy returned to the house. Teams were tasked with providing a three-course lunch service at the Merivale Felix restaurant in Sydney, under the scrutiny of iconic British chef Marco Pierre White. The Blue Team (which Dani was able to hand-pick due to her Sunday Challenge win) chose to prepare a French menu for 30 French expats, leaving the Red Team (with Alana as captain) with a British menu for British expats. Both teams struggled with the pressures of a professional kitchen, but it was the Blue Team that proved the most disorganised, especially during preparation time and the start of service. Despite surpassing the Red Team by dessert and receiving high praise from the judges for the quality of their dishes, their overall performance saw them going into elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0215 | “Episode 59” | Thursday 7 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 9 - After Dani chose to use her immunity pin, Michael, Hayden, Kate and Peter faced a three-round elimination challenge, with the best performer in each round declared safe. In the first round, they were given 15 minutes to prepare Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls with a dipping sauce, testing their knife skills and ability to balance flavours. Michael's technical precision led him to be the first deemed safe from elimination. In the second round, they had to trim, French, truss and cook a rib-eye steak to medium rare in 25 minutes. Hayden's decision to wrap his frenched bone in foil gave him the slightest edge over Peter, sealing his place in the top 8. In the final round, Peter and Kate had 60 minutes to make an apple pie with custard. Despite wholly positive reactions to both pies, it was Peter's slightly undercooked pastry that sent him home. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0216 | “Episode 60” | Friday 8 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 10 - Series 1 and 2 favourites, Alvin, Andre and Jimmy join Gary and George in the kitchen for another stellar MasterClass. |
| Week 11 (New York Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0217 | “Episode 61” | Sunday 10 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 9 - In their first challenge in New York, contestants were each sent to a different part of the city (such as Chinatown, The Bronx and Brooklyn) to get inspiration for a restaurant-quality dish. The best dish would earn its maker an advantage at the next challenge with the worst performer going straight into lockdown to face elimination later in the week. The top three were Michael, Billy and Alana, with Michael's evocation of 'street food' with a Mexican taco landing him the win. Dani and Sun were the least impressive, and it was Sun's flawed honey cake invention that sent her into lockdown facing elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0218 | “Episode 62” | Monday 11 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| United Nations Challenge - In the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations, the contestants were tasked with preparing canapés for a V.I.P. event hosted by the Australian mission to the U.N. The winning dish would be determined by guests' votes (representatives of all 192 member states), earning its maker a chance at immunity, while the worst performer would face lockdown and a spot in the elimination challenge. As winner of the Sunday Challenge, Michael had access to each recipe and picked each contestant's dish, his decisions not making him popular. Hayden and Ellie's dishes received the most votes and it was Ellie's duck canapé that earned her the win. Dani and Billy's dishes were the least popular, with Billy's bland vichyssoise receiving the fewest votes and leaving him facing elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0219 | “Episode 63” | Tuesday 12 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 10 - The contestants head to the Big Apple, the City That Never Sleeps, the culinary heartland that is New York! Don't miss a second as the top 8 cook up a storm in the world's most famous city! Ellie beat Cesare Casella (24 - 22) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0220 | “Episode 64” | Wednesday 13 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Ultimate Dinner Party Challenge - Teams had 3.5 hours to race from Times Square to the Four Seasons Restaurant to each cook one course for "the ultimate dinner party". After choosing their dish, they collected the recipe and ingredients for the dishes from a famous restaurant in New York City. Alana and Ellie, despite struggling with navigation and arriving in the kitchen last, delivered the dish of the day. Hayden and Dani could not hold onto their advantage in arriving first, sending them into the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0221 | “Episode 65” | Thursday 14 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 10 - Sun, Dani, Hayden and Billy were tasked with cooking traditional soul food under the scrutiny of three generations of the Woods family, of the world-famous Sylvia's Restaurant of Harlem. Each contestant had to prepare the restaurant's signature dishes of BBQ Ribs, Fried Chicken and Macaroni 'n' Cheese, plus a different side dish. Billy was the best performer of the day, receiving positive comments for all three dishes and his sides of Black-eyed Peas and Collard Greens. Sun was plagued by raw chicken and a bland side of Potato Salad, sealing her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0222 | “Episode 66” | Friday 15 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 11 - The contestants head to the Big Apple, the City That Never Sleeps, the culinary heartland that is New York! Don't miss a second as the top 8 cook up a storm in the world's most famous city! |
| Week 12 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0223 | “Episode 67” | Sunday 17 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 10 - Contestants each prepared one vegetarian course for the 14th Dalai Lama and his guests, four charity leaders. Under the guidance of guest chef and Buddhist Kylie Kwong, they had a strict three-hour deadline. Dani beat out Michael for the win, with a well received Sri Lankan Vegetarian Curry. Ellie, Billy and Kate's dishes "lacked punch," sending them into a Pressure Test to face elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0224 | “Episode 68” | Monday 18 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 8 - After Ellie decided to use her immunity pin, Billy and Kate had two hours to recreate Katrina Kanetani's 'Autumn' dessert plate. Both contestants, though strong in desserts, struggled with multiple elements of the dish. In the end, Kate was praised for her strong flavours, while Billy's dish showed technical precision and flair; both dishes had some technical errors. The judges ultimately decided that Kate's dish was more refined, eliminating Billy for the second and last time. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0225 | “Episode 69” | Tuesday 19 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 11 - Can a current contestant out-cook a former MasterChef champion? We find out as Eamon Sullivan returns to stand between the winner of the Dalai Lama challenge and that elusive Immunity Pin. Dani beat Eamon Sullivan (25 - 24) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0226 | “Episode 70” | Wednesday 20 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| QANTAS First Lounge Challenge - In the first part of the challenge, team captains Hayden and Alana faced a mini Mystery Box, with the winner receiving an advantage for their team in the second part of the challenge. Alana won for the Red Team, gaining them the advantage as teams took over the QANTAS First Lounge kitchen at Sydney Airport. They took the first 90-minute shift, taking over the service from professional chefs with all prep work done and a clean kitchen, followed by the Blue Team. Overall, Red performed well, delivering two outstanding dishes but struggling with time management and a "disastrous" Club Sandwich (the lounge's signature dish). Despite all of Blue's dishes being on time and producing an excellent Club Sandwich, it was their fish, both raw and burnt, that lost them the challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0227 | “Episode 71” | Thursday 21 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 11 - Hayden, Kate and Michael had 90 minutes and an open pantry to cook a dish that demonstrated skills acquired throughout the competition. Each contestant impressed the judges with their dish, with only minor flaws. Kate's Stuffed Squab with Parsnip Purée and Jus Gras, was perfectly cooked but criticised for a slightly fibrous purée. Michael wowed the judges with his Sous-vide Chicken with Crispy Chicken Skin, Pea Purée and Jus Gras, only slightly overcooking the end of the breast. Hayden's Sesame-encrusted Coral Trout with Tapioca Pearls and Garlic Wasabi Cream was praised for its complex flavour combinations, but a garnish of pickled daikon was so salty that Gary deemed it "almost inedible". This small mistake was enough to seal Hayden's elimination for the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0228 | “Episode 72” | Friday 22 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 12 - Gary and George host another delicious MasterClass. With plenty of fine food to tempt your tastebuds, they will have you inspired to hit the kitchen and whip up a fancy treat in no time! |
| Week 13 (Semi-Finals Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0229 | “Episode 73” | Sunday 24 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 11 - In a Mystery Box Challenge without elimination, the top 5 picked each other's ingredients as per the Secret Santa method. The winner would earn the final chance to cook for immunity and a spread on their winning recipe in Taste magazine. Michael and Alana were the top two, but Michael's Panna Cotta with Roasted Rhubarb and Orange & Honey Syrup triumphed in the end, and the recipe was subsequently published in Taste. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0230 | “Episode 74” | Monday 25 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Family Dinner Challenge - In a second challenge without elimination, contestants cooked ten servings of a single dish of their choosing for the judges, who were joined by all the contestants' families. Alana's Pancake Stack met with ravings from the judges: she was rewarded a night at home with her family in Brisbane, accompanied by a four-course dinner cooked by Gary and George along with two sous-chefs from their restaurants, and the floor run by Matt Preston as maître d'. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0231 | “Episode 75” | Tuesday 26 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 12 - In the last Immunity Challenge of the season, Teage Ezard from "Ginger Boy and Ezards" in Melbourne challenges the lucky contestant to a three-course cook-off! Teage Ezard beat Michael (26 - 25) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0232 | “Episode 76” | Wednesday 27 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Worst Nightmare Challenge - The top 5 were surprised by George in the early morning as he showed up at the house with three guest chefs, who each brought one unusual core ingredient of their own choosing. The contestants were given two hours of mise en place and then 10 minutes to plate up during service. Although her Caramelised Pumpkin Cake was a little dense for some judges, it was enough to land Kate the win and a one-on-one MasterClass with Matt Moran. Michael's Sea Urchin with Angel Hair Pasta suffered from claggy pasta, but his respect for the core ingredient was enough to land him the second spot in Finals Week. Dani and Ellie were the bottom two: Dani's Liquorice Ice Cream lacked in presentation and concept and Ellie's Lobster Salad with Salsify Purée had the core ingredient of salsify playing second fiddle. Alana landed in the middle, but she was informed that she would be up for elimination if Dani decided to use her immunity pin. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0233 | “Episode 77” | Thursday 28 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 12 - Dani chose to use her immunity pin, sending Alana into the Elimination Challenge against Ellie. They faced a "Fix Your Biggest Stuff-up" Challenge in which they had to re-invent a bad dish they cooked earlier in the competition. For Ellie it was a dish from episode 31 and for Alana it was both her dishes from episode 47. Ellie got 75 minutes like in the original challenge, Alana only got 45. Ellie left the capsicums out of her dish and turned it into a dessert, while Alana decided only to improve the weak points of the original dishes, being raw lamb and crunchy, undercooked pear. Ultimately, Alana's decision to leave the fat on her lamb cutlets did not go well with the judges, but her Poached Pear dessert was deemed faultless. Ellie's eggy Crème Caramel and the pith left on the orange wedges in her Citrus Salad were enough to lead to a teary elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0234 | “Episode 78” | Friday 29 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 13 - It's Christmas in July in the MasterChef Kitchen as Gary cooks beef short rib and dykon radish. Meanwhile,George serves up some mouth-watering scampi. |
| Week 14 (Finals Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0235 | “Episode 79” | Sunday 31 July 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 12 - In the first challenge of Finals Week, again without elimination, contestants were to develop a recipe for a single dish, which was then styled and photographed as if designed for their personal cookbook. The recipes would then be tested by four contestants who had to follow the recipe to the letter. They were paired up with a contestant in the studio and had to cook the dish along with them within 90 minutes, so their version of the dish could be judged by how much it tasted like the contestants' original recipes. All contestants ran into trouble with mistakes in their recipes or processes that proved too complicated for contestants, except for winner Michael, who had written a recipe that was so easy to follow that Sue, the contestant assigned to him, even managed to cook a better version of his dish according to Matt Preston. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0236 | “Episode 80” | Monday 1 August 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 9 - The top 4 were given 2 hours and 15 minutes to reproduce Maggie Beer's Chook Terrine with various accompaniments. All contestants struggled with the high level of technicality in the dish and despite each of them showing competence in the condiments and general plating, it was four undercooked terrines that sealed everyone's fate, as every contestant was sent into an elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0237 | “Episode 81” | Tuesday 2 August 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 13 - Contestants were given three hours to cook three dishes that reflected the story of their life. Kate and Alana were the two best overall performers, with stunning desserts and very little substantial criticism on any of their dishes. Both Michael and Dani were criticised on some points, each overall only getting good comments on one of their three dishes. Despite Michael's overly sweet and acidic caper mayonnaise that tasted "like the beginning of a lemon curd" and a "hmm" duck dish, it was Dani's thick and underseasoned Sweetcorn Soup, poor Crab Wontons and grainy, icy Sesame Ice Cream that sent her packing. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0238 | “Episode 82” | Wednesday 3 August 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Three Hat Challenge - The top three were each sent to a different three hat establishment where they each designed a dish to fit on the menu of their assigned restaurant. They then had to cook the dish during lunch service, where Matt Preston joined by two of his fellow food critics would taste the dish and decide if it fitted in with the restaurant's menu, scrutinizing both flavour and presentation. Michael's main proved the most successful, guaranteeing him a spot in the grand finale. Although Kate came very close, her dessert fell just short of the mark, landing her in a Pressure Test elimination against Alana, whose dish was judged the least impressive overall. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0239 | “Episode 83” | Thursday 4 August 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 10 - In a patented Adriano Zumbo superchallenge, Kate and Alana were given 4.5 hours to reproduce his "Fairytale House" dessert (a miniature gingerbread house with several candy and fruit decorations), with the last spot in the Grand Finale at stake. The challenge proved notoriously difficult indeed, but both contestants managed to plate up in the end. Despite setting herself back roughly 1.5 hours after burning her first batch of gingerbread, it was Kate that emerged victorious. Alana's skill shown in the preparation of the candies and other garnishes were ultimately not enough to make up for her burnt and overcooked gingerbread, leading to a teary elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0240 | “Episode 84” | Friday 5 August 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 14 - All the contestants from series 3 return to the kitchen for the final MasterClass. Filled with fun and laughter, the contestants turn the tables on the judges, presenting them with a Mystery Box. |
| Grand Finale |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0241 | “Episode 85” | Sunday 7 August 2011 |
| Synopsis: |
| Grand Finale - Kate and Michael faced off in the Grand Finale, which consisted of three challenges: Mystery Box Race (20 points) - In the first challenge, the finalists were given 45 minutes to cook a single dish with the ingredients given to them in three separate Mystery Boxes. They were to choose their ingredients and complete the mise en place on that bench before moving on to the next. Once prepared, they could not return to a previous bench. Kate's Balmain Bug and Crab Remoulade Salad was liked by the judges for clean and subtle flavours, but the judges were not sure her bug was cooked enough. Michael's Steak and Oyster Pie was hailed for its flavour combination, but was let down by crunchy carrots. Kate's dish scored 15 out of a possible 20, Michael's scored 17, giving him an early lead. Invention Test (40 points) - The second challenge was also dubbed the "Best Dish of Your Life" Challenge. Michael and Kate were given 2 hours and 15 minutes to cook a dish that demonstrated the skills they acquired throughout the competition. Michael's dish of Butter Poached Lobster with Fennel,Baby Leeks and Champagne Sauce was deemed simple by the judges and his last-minute decision to leave the roots on his leeks was not applauded. Kate's Sherry-Glazed Quail with Roast Garlic Custard, Asparagus Duxelle and Hazelnuts received good feedback overall, except for the slight smoky flavour in her custard, caused by the accidental burning of her bamboo steamer. Kate overtook Michael by scoring 36 points over his 31, giving them a respective total of 51 and 48 out of a possible 60. Pressure Test (40 points) - The third and final challenge was set by René Redzepi, head chef at Noma in Copenhagen, crowned Best Restaurant in the World two years in a row. He brought in his "Snowman" dessert, an intricate three-layered dish. Kate lost a third of her carrot puree for her carrot sorbet in the process of draining the liquid out of it, Michael lost half. When it came to plating up, Kate's carrot sorbet showed some cracks and Michael's passion fruit mousse, which makes up the snowman's head, was a bit loose. The judges raved about both finalists' dishes and polished the plates clean. The Winner Announced - Kate is declared the winner, scoring a total of 87 points over Michael's 82. Kate wins $100,000 in cash, a culinary scholarship and a cookbook deal with Random House. Runner-up Michael is offered a culinary apprenticeship by judge Gary Mehigan at his restaurant, Fenix. |
2012 - Complete Season 04
| Week 1 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0242 | “Episode 01” | Sunday 6 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Series Premiere: Auditions - Hundreds of hopeful contestants competed for a place in the Top 50. They each had an hour (plus an additional five minutes in front of the judges of final cooking and presentation) to prepare a dish of their choice, with a number securing their place in the next stage of the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0243 | “Episode 02” | Monday 7 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 50: Part 1 - After completing the audition round, the Top 50 contestants faced a Mystery Box challenge at the Royal Exhibition Building. With half given chicken and the other half beef, contestants had 90 minutes to create a dish using any cut of their given meat. Kevin's Cider Can Chicken was the dish of the day, giving him automatic entry into the Top 24, while the twelve contestants who impressed the judges the most moved on to challenge for six Top 24 spots. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0244 | “Episode 03” | Tuesday 8 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 50: Part 2 - The top 12 performers from the Mystery Box challenge had six hours to travel to the Mornington Peninsula, collect their choice of ingredients and prepare a dish that showed off the fresh produce of the region. Contestants struggled with organisation and timing, some forgetting ingredients, others getting lost, leading many to change their dish last minute. In the end, Audra, Amina, Andrew, Jules, TK and Dalvinder impressed the most and won their place in the Top 24. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0245 | “Episode 04” | Wednesday 9 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 50: Part 3 - The remaining contestants were given the choice to compete for one of five spots in the Top 24, with elimination as the result should they fail. In a challenge set by Matt Moran, the ten contestants had to fillet and bone a salmon and produce a dish of their choice. In what was a first for many, filleting the fish proved a challenge, with a number of contestants failing to remove the scales. In the end, Alice, Matt, Sam, Tregan and Wade earned their spot in the main competition while five others were eliminated. The remaining challengers competed to gain an advantage in the next challenge: they had to quickly whip cream into 150 grams of butter and present it to the judges. Beau won the right to study the dish for the next challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0246 | “Episode 05” | Thursday 10 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 50: Part 4 - In their first Pressure Test, Shannon Bennett brought a twist on the classic Peach Melba to the MasterChef hopefuls. With two hours on the clock, contestants struggled with the many technical components of the three-hatted dessert. The six standout performers (Andy, Julia, Kylie, Lydia, Ben and Beau) won their place in the Top 24, while the remaining contestants were assessed by the judges and whittled down to twelve final hopefuls to compete for the last 6 places in the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0247 | “Episode 06” | Friday 11 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 1 - The top 18 contestants, head to Daylesford for a MasterClass; later, Matt Moran and George teach the contestants some classic French cooking techniques. |
| Week 2 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0248 | “Episode 07” | Sunday 13 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 50: Part 5 - The remaining twelve hopefuls faced a French Invention Test set by Jacques Reymond at Montsalvat, an artist colony in Eltham. With 90 minutes on the clock, contestants proved their worth cooking both sweet and savoury dishes. Reymond was very impressed with some contestants skill and ability to capture the "essence of France," and Debra, Filippo, Mindy, Kath, Mario and Emma secured the final places in the Top 24. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0249 | “Episode 08” | Monday 14 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 24 Cooking Challenge - In their first challenge as the Top 24, the contestants had 75 minutes to "put themselves on a plate". In the first challenge set in the MasterChef kitchen, many faltered, forgetting ingredients or producing food that was overcooked or deemed too simple. Emma, Ben and Debra were declared the Top 3, despite each having elements of their dishes that found fault with the judges. Ben was declared the winner, and went into a battle for immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0250 | “Episode 09” | Tuesday 15 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 1 - Today's Immunity Challenge sees the winner of the last Pressure Test try and 'Beat the Chef'! It's a battle royale as our contestant takes on superstar chef Dan Hong from the Lotus Restaurant. Dan Hong's Team beat Ben, Andy and Emma (2-1) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0251 | “Episode 10” | Wednesday 16 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 1 - In their first Team Challenge, the contestants took over the running of two of King's Cross best restaurants, Ortolan on Bayswater and Concrete Blonde. With five hours of preparation time and three hours to cook and serve, teams also had to run the Front of House and spruik to possible customers. The Red Team, under Emma's leadership struggled initially with delegation of duties, leading them to fall behind and start service late. After a shaky start, they found their rhythm and were praised for the quality of their dishes, especially with dessert made by Kylie. The Blue Team thrived under Andy's leadership and their ability to bring in customers. Their dishes earned praise from the judges, especially Ben's scallop main, but were criticised for their dessert. In the end, it was decided by how much money each restaurant made, and the Blue team's initial organisational edge saw them the victors by over $500. The Red Team were sent into their first elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0252 | “Episode 11” | Thursday 17 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 1 - In a three-round pasta-themed challenge, the Red Team fought for their places in the competition. In the first round, the contestants had to identify different kinds of pasta with the first six to make a wrong guess moving to the second round. First-in-line Kevin incorrectly labelled one of the hardest varieties (lasagnotte), and as no one else could identify it correctly, his decision pulled the next five people in the line into the second round. Kevin, Jules, TK, Mindy, Emma and Kylie then had to make 250 grams of fettuccine from scratch with the first four declared safe. Kevin and Jules were left in the final round, in which they had to reproduce a Ricotta & Egg Yolk Raviolo with Sage & Burnt Butter Sauce. Despite excelling in presentation, Kevin's lack of seasoning and imbalance of flavour led him to be the first eliminated contestant of the series. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0253 | “Episode 12” | Friday 18 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 2 - Gary and George host a seafood inspired MasterClass, while Phillipa Grogan from Phillipa's bakery in Melbourne teaches the contestants the art of bread making. |
| Week 3 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0254 | “Episode 13” | Sunday 20 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 1 - In the Mystery Box challenge, contestants were faced with a range of ingredients that had to be "cracked", such as eggs, crab, nuts and spices. With the judges only tasting their favourite three dishes, the twenty-three hopefuls fought to gain their attention with some inventive dishes. Filippo beat out Mindy and Debra to gain the advantage of picking the core ingredient for the Invention Test. Tasked with making the perfect sandwich using tomato as the core ingredient, the quality of dishes meant the judges were faced with a difficult decision. Filippo, Mindy and Debra excelled again and along with Dalvinder were the Top 4, but it was Mindy who impressed the most. While TK, Wade and Lydia made enough mistakes to fall into the Bottom 3, and face elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0255 | “Episode 14” | Monday 21 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 1 - TK, Wade and Lydia faced a Peter Gilmore challenge, in which they had three and a half hours to replicate Quay's Eight Texture Chocolate Cake, consisting of a chocolate mousse, chocolate and hazelnut dacquoise, a caramel, vanilla and chocolate ganache, tempered chocolate disc and a warm chocolate sauce. Each contestant worked well under pressure, systematically tackling each component, although TK initially chose to disregard the order of steps provided, and having enough time to assemble the cake. In the end, TK recovered well to produce the best replication of Peter's dish, and while Wade was let down by his presentation, it was Lydia's curdled cream that sealed her elimination, becoming the second contestant eliminated from the game. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0256 | “Episode 15” | Tuesday 22 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 2 - The lucky winner from the previous Invention Test returns to the kitchen tonight to face off against former head chef of Tetsuya restaurant, Darren Roberston. The Blue Ducks team beat Mindy, Amina and Julia (2-1) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0257 | “Episode 16” | Wednesday 23 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 2 - In this yum cha challenge, contestants had to serve 5 different kinds of yum cha in Sydney's Chinese Garden of Friendship. The team with the most total votes from the visitors to the Garden would avoid elimination. Both teams faced struggles in preparation, with the Blue Team forgetting ingredients and Debra and Mindy's leadership of the Red Team causing confusion. While the quality of food was generally close, it was the Blue Team's initial speedy service that gave them the edge over Red with 148 votes to 97, sending the Red Team into elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0258 | “Episode 17” | Thursday 24 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 2 - The first of a two-part Elimination Challenge consisted of a Taste Test, in which the contestants had to guess the 25 ingredients of Gary's Moroccan Tajine, with the first 5 contestants to get an ingredient wrong going into the elimination round. Debra, Matt, Filippo, Emma and Andrew fought it out, given the choice of any 5 ingredients from the tajine to make a single dish in 45 minutes. Matt and Filippo were the bottom two, but despite some errors, it was Matt's undercooked lamb that sealed his elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0259 | “Episode 18” | Friday 25 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 3 - It's a mega MasterClass as Gary and Matt Moran teach the top 21 contestants about raw foods, herbs, and oils. Later Gary whips up a mushroom gnocchi and his 'Mum's Lamb Stew with Dumplings'. |
| Week 4 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0260 | “Episode 19” | Sunday 27 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 2 - In a biscuit-themed Mystery Box, Julia beat out Ben and Amina with her Melting Moments. In a Mexican-themed Invention Test Julia chose cactus and prickly pear as the core ingredient. And while Mindy won a second shot at immunity, beating Alice and Dalvinder, Julia found herself in the Bottom 3 with Andrew and Kath, and a Pressure Test battle. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0261 | “Episode 20” | Monday 28 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 2 - Kath, Andrew and Julia were faced with the task of reproducing Maggie Beer's Upside Down Grape Cake with Ginger, Raisin & Lemon Wafers and Olive Oil & Verjuice Ice Cream in only 90 minutes. Julia managed the best overall reproduction of the cake and its garnishes. Both Kath's and Andrew's cakes were very undercooked, but won praise for their accompaniments, Andrew with the best ice cream and Kath the best wafers. In the end, it was Kath's collapsed cake that led to her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0262 | “Episode 21” | Tuesday 29 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 3 - Sake head chef Shaun Presland takes on the winner of the Invention Test in a Raw Food Immunity Challenge. With no cooking, no heat and no gas bench tops they need to be super creative. Mindy, Amina and Audra beat Shaun Presland's team (2-1) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0263 | “Episode 22” | Wednesday 30 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 3 - The teams were tasked with creating a three-course fundraising dinner for OzHarvest - a charity organisation that collects leftover produce from restaurants to feed the needy. The winner of the challenge would be decided by the guests, who paid as much as they thought the dinner was worth. Teams picked up ingredients on behalf of OzHarvest and created their menu from what was available. The Blue Team's decision to inform guests on where the produce was sourced led them to receive a $20,000 donation, winning them the challenge and raising $32,012 in total for the charity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0264 | “Episode 23” | Thursday 31 May 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 3 - In the first part of the elimination, contestants had to correctly name 10 different kinds of poultry. The first five to guess incorrectly, would go on to the second elimination round. TK, Julia, Debra, Tregan and Alice had 60 minutes to cook a dish with poultry of their choice. The bottom two consisted of Julia - with undercooked duck - and TK. It was the latter's uninspiring turkey stir fry, which she put together in 10 minutes after overcooking her turkey breast, that sent her home. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0265 | “Episode 24” | Friday 1 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 4 - Gary kicks off the MasterClass with mouth-watering BBQ chicken and is later joined by special guest chef Jason Jones who teaches the contestants how to serve up the perfect Mexican feast. |
| Week 5 (Tasmania Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0266 | “Episode 25” | Sunday 3 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 3 - In the third Mystery Box of the Top 24, Dalvinder beat Audra and Beau with her nostalgic sweet & sour pork dish with egg dumplings. In the Invention Test, contestants got their pick from three classic "seductive" combinations to use as a core ingredient: strawberries & cream, champagne & caviar, or chocolate & roses, while Dalvinder had no restrictions. As there would be no bottom 3, Andy sat it out with a badly burnt hand. Tregan and Filippo were beaten by Sam and his refined "Seafood for Two" dish, which featured elements such as a champagne jelly and caviar cream. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0267 | “Episode 26” | Monday 4 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Salamanca Challenge - Tasmania Week began with a four-team Market Stall Challenge, which took place at Hobart's famous Salamanca Markets. The teams had to set up stalls and sell dishes made exclusively from market-sourced ingredients, with the team that impressed the judges with their quality and total earnings declared the winners. Each team served some delicious fare, but it was the Blue Team's (handpicked by Sunday Challenge winner Sam) range of clever dishes that won them the right to cook off for a shot at immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0268 | “Episode 27” | Tuesday 5 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 4 - As the winning team from the Salamanca Challenge, Sam, Kylie, Ben, Mindy and Amina traveled south to Kettering to cook for a spot in the Immunity Challenge. They first had to net a salmon, the weight of which would determine their cooking time, and then cook using their catch. Sam and Amina, who had the longest cooking times, produced the Top 2 dishes of the day but Sam's slightly overcooked salmon gave Amina the shot at immunity. In a more traditional Immunity Challenge, chef Philippe Leban of The Source at MONA, outcooked Amina on a tricky dessert, beating her on total points (25-22). |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0269 | “Episode 28” | Wednesday 6 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 4 - The contestants were divided into two teams for an Afternoon Tea Challenge, Andrew captaining the Reds and Amina the Blues. The teams had to produce four dishes to serve at an afternoon tea at Launceston's Cataract Gorge for 100 guests, who would vote for their favourite. While some contestants foraged on local farms for ingredients for their dishes, others milled flour in Oatlands - a process that wasn't without incident. The Blue Team, buoyed by excellent presentation and a high quality of dishes (including Julia's Melting Moments), took the challenge by a landslide 60 votes to 12, leaving the Reds facing another Elimination Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0270 | “Episode 29” | Thursday 7 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 4 - The Elimination Challenge in Stanley began with a Skills Test - the contestants having to cook the perfect medium rare steak. Kylie, Ben, Andy and Sam were the first contestants found to have incorrectly cooked their meat, sending them through to the second round: an onion ring cook-off. Kylie and Ben most impressed, leaving Andy and Sam to compete in the final round: at the Stanley Hotel both contestants had to cook one dish for 50 people. Andy (cooking beef cheek) and Sam (cooking crayfish) were both praised for the quality of their food as well as their sportsmanship throughout preparation and service, leading the judges to declare a tie and keep them both in the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0271 | “Episode 30” | Friday 8 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 5 - Gary goes into chef mode when he puts himself up against the MasterChef clock in a 30 min real time challenge. Later Gary is joined by Lorraine Pascale of Ella's Cupcake in Covent Garden. |
| Week 6 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0272 | “Episode 31” | Sunday 10 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 4 - In the Mystery Box challenge, the contestants were given a single egg and asked to make it the hero of their dish. The Top 6 were selected and ranked, with Kylie's Poached Meringue the standout dish, over Mindy, Andy, Jules, Amina and Andrew, respectively. For the invention test, which was set by Rick Stein, the winning contestants, in ranking order, picked a type of seafood and a country to inspire dishes which their teams would prepare. Rick was impressed with most teams' ability to encapsulate the essence of their given country's cuisine, but it was Team Morocco, consisting of Jules, Alice and Tregan, who won the opportunity to cook for immunity. Given botargo to create a UK-inspired dish, Andrew, Dalvinder and Audra struggled with the unfamiliar ingredient and fell into the Bottom 3 and a Pressure Test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0273 | “Episode 32” | Monday 11 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 3 - Dalvinder, Audra and Andrew were given three and a half hours to replicate George's 'Greek Salad', an intricate dish featuring ten elements and various cooking techniques, such as a capsicum terrine, black olive sponge and a cucumber ice cream. Audra produced the best dish overall and was the first declared safe. While Andrew's decision to take a shortcut with his capsicum terrine led to it not setting as a result, it was Dalvinder who, despite having the best terrine, presented a dish that lacked flavour and had technical errors. That led to her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0274 | “Episode 33” | Tuesday 12 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 5 - MasterChef welcomes iconic chef and culinary legend Jamie Oliver to the MasterChef kitchen! "There are moments you will remember forever" said Matt Preston, and he is right! Jamie Oliver beat Jules, Alice and Tregan (27-25-24-21, respectively) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0275 | “Episode 34” | Wednesday 13 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 5 - The contestants faced a 24-Hour Team Challenge, in which they had to run an entire day's service at the Shangri-La hotel in Sydney. Groups of three contestants each faced a shift in which they catered for hotel staff, served canapés for a function, covered room service orders and ran the hotel's restaurant. While both teams faced some problems with preparation and service, it was the speed and efficiency of the Blue Team that won them another Challenge victory. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0276 | “Episode 35” | Thursday 14 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 5 - In the first round of a three-round elimination, contestants were tasked with creating a dish in just 20 minutes. Kylie, Debra, Filippo and Amina produced the most impressive dishes and were declared safe. In the second round, the remaining contestants were given only 10 minutes to create a dish. Tregan, Sam and Emma's dishes were the best, with Mario and Julia left to face off in the final round. Given only five minutes, Mario opted for a simple salad while Julia cooked an intricate three-layered dessert. It was her innovative use of time and ingredients that saw her pronounced safe, as Mario was the seventh person eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0277 | “Episode 36” | Friday 15 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 6 - Gary and George's MasterClass serves up Lamb ribs, apple strudle and quail. |
| Week 7 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0278 | “Episode 37” | Sunday 17 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 5 - The contestants faced a Mystery Box set by the three previous MasterChef Australia winners: Julie Goodwin, Adam Liaw and Kate Bracks, who each brought a Box containing five of their favourite ingredients. The top four consisted of Audra, Andrew, Debra and Mindy, with Audra pronounced the winner thanks to her elegant dish of pork belly over noodles. Wade, Filippo and Emma's dishes were the least impressive, sending them into a Pressure Test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0279 | “Episode 38” | Monday 18 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 4 - Wade, Emma and Filippo had to recreate Gary's Quiche Lorraine without the aid of a recipe, and create an accompanying salad. Emma's effort was deemed the best overall; with the creamiest custard, the flakiest pastry and the best salad, she was the first pronounced safe. The biggest flaw in Wade's quiche was undercooked pastry, and his salad was deemed "careless". But it was Filippo's uneven stuffing, use of the wrong cheese (cheddar instead of gruyère) and "old-fashioned" salad that were enough to see him eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0280 | “Episode 39” | Tuesday 19 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 6 - The Mystery Box winner is eager to win an immunity pin. To win they must beat former Billy Kwong Chef, Hamish Ingham from Bar H. With a choice of tea or coffee as the core ingredient. Hamish Ingham's team beat Audra, Kylie and Amina (2-1) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0281 | “Episode 40” | Wednesday 20 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 6 - The two teams were tasked with catering a Sri-Lankan wedding ceremony for 450, with the guests to determine the challenge winner. Guest chef Kumar Mahadevan mentored the Red and Blue teams, both of whom struggled with the expectations of the challenge, the timing, food preparation and quality and having to work together despite competing against each other. The judges and guests were overall impressed with the dishes provided and it was a close call, but it was the Red Team who won by 243 votes to 207. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0282 | “Episode 41” | Thursday 21 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 6 - The Blue Team were faced with a cake-themed Elimination Challenge. Contestants had to pick out and correctly name a cake from a line-up. Emma and Ben were the first to guess incorrectly and were sent into the final elimination round. Ben offered to give up his place in the competition if it would save Emma, but after the judges made it clear that, should he leave, Emma would still have to cook, he decided to cook in the second round. Given 1 hour and 40 minutes to create a cake, both Ben and Emma were commended for their flavour combinations, but criticised for their "messy" presentation. In the end, Emma's dense sponge couldn't match Ben's sophisticated flavours and she was the ninth contestant eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0283 | “Episode 42” | Friday 22 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 7 - Gary and Matt Moran head up a MasterClass of French onion soup, roast chicken and yummy pork belly with noodles. Later we learn the art of baking classic cakes with Chef Philippe Mouchel. |
| Week 8 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0284 | “Episode 43” | Sunday 24 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 6 - In the Mystery Box Challenge contestants were given 60 minutes to make a soup of their choice. The top three consisted of Debra, Amina and Wade, with the latter's Mushroom Soup with Porcini Croutons picked as the judges' favourite. With "dude food" as the theme for the Invention Test, and Wade's pick of Japanese mayonnaise as the core ingredient, contestants cooked a host of indulgent and tasty dishes. Julia, Kylie and Tregan landed in the top three and it was Tregan that managed to win a shot at immunity, while Amina, Andrew and Sam were left as the bottom three. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0285 | “Episode 44” | Monday 25 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 5 - Andrew, Amina and Sam had two hours to replicate Christine Manfield's Smoked River Trout with Mussels and Turmeric Lemongrass Broth, a technical dish with 40 ingredients. This proved highly challenging for the contestants, and in the end, each dish was criticised. Andrew, despite having too much broth, cooked the best dish overall and was the first declared safe. And while Amina filleted her fish poorly and put too much white pepper in her broth, Sam's over-reduced broth and under-smoked fish despite having the best presentation, eliminated him from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0286 | “Episode 45” | Tuesday 26 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 7 - Rum and Raisin is a classic combination, but will it be a perfect match for our contestant in the Immunity Challenge? Chef Daniel Wilson also joins the kitchen. Daniel Wilson's team beat Tregan, Jules and Julia (2-1) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0287 | “Episode 46” | Wednesday 27 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 7 - In a 'home-style' challenge, contestants first had 90 minutes in the MasterChef house to cook for the chance at immunity from the next elimination. The top two dishes, picked from the judges' favorite five dishes, were Audra and Ben. The other three favourites were team captains in the next challenge: cooking a three-course meal in three different homes using ingredients only from those homes. Each team served up dishes with their own merits and criticisms given the nature of the challenge; the Yellow Team struggled cooking in a makeshift kitchen with limited cooking equipment. The Red Team were judged best overall, thus sending the Blue (with raw lamb) and Yellow (which did not serve up dessert in time) Teams to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0288 | “Episode 47” | Thursday 28 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 7 - The eight losing contestants had their pick from 120 ingredients, with a catch: any ingredient, when picked, could only be used once and only by that contestant. Besides the "first-come, first-served" rule, they also had to incorporate every ingredient they picked in that round and were given only 30 minutes. In the first round, using 8 ingredients, Andy, Amina and Mindy were pronounced safe. In the second round, using 5 ingredients, Alice and Debra were the top two leaving Jules, Julia and Tregan in the final round. Despite all serving up quality dishes with minor flaws, it was Tregan who was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0289 | “Episode 48” | Friday 29 June 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 8 - George, Matt Moran and Gary showcase the best food Kangaroo Island has to offer. Expect tips on cooking with Lamb, Marron and Chicken. Then we end the night with a taste of honey. |
| Week 9 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0290 | “Episode 49” | Sunday 1 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 7 - In an Invention Test set by Heston Blumenthal from The Fat Duck, contestants got their pick from six core ingredients that would be paired with an unknown ingredient chosen by Heston. After it was revealed that all the ingredients (bacon, Vegemite, cauliflower, beetroot, caviar and blue cheese) would be paired with chocolate, contestants were given full run of the pantry to cook a single dish that highlights the given flavour combination. Kylie won the challenge and a shot at immunity with her Blue Cheese & Honey Sundae with Chocolate Fudge Sauce, despite other great desserts from Julia and Jules, who completed the top three. Beau, Andrew and Amina were the bottom three, due to lack of concept in their dishes and poor flavour combinations. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0291 | “Episode 50” | Monday 2 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 6 - Andrew, Amina and Beau were given two hours to recreate Vincent Gadan's "Essence of a Woman" dessert, an extremely intricate dish featuring a frozen salted parfait shaped like a vintage bottle of perfume, a rhubarb velvet, tempered chocolate and an isomalt sugar shard. Beau produced the best overall dish, receiving no criticism whatsoever. It was between Amina, who had clumsy presentation but great texture in her parfait, and Andrew. Despite having the best sugar work, it were the cracks in his sculpting chocolate (the tube of the "perfume bottle") and the lack of texture in his parfait that saw Andrew eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0292 | “Episode 51” | Tuesday 3 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 8 - The winner of the Heston Mega Invention Test gets the added reward of competing in an immunity challenge. Up against the winning contestant is a 1-hat chef Tomaslav Martinovic. Kylie and Mindy beat Tomislav Martinovic's team (2-1) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0293 | “Episode 52” | Wednesday 4 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 8 - The teams were tasked with creating a pop-up restaurant. The Blue Team struggled with poor leadership, timing, and food preparation. The judges were overall impressed with the Mexican dishes provided by the Red Team and send the Blue Team into elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0294 | “Episode 53” | Thursday 5 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 8 - Iconic British chef Marco Pierre White served as a mentor and guest judge on a series' first Double Elimination Challenge. In the first round, contestants were given 20 minutes to cook an entrée. Wade's simple sprout salad was deemed the best and he was instantly pronounced safe, followed by Audra and Debra. In the final round Jules, Andy and Amina were given 45 minutes to cook a main and an additional 15 minutes to serve up a dessert. Despite poor presentation on his main, Andy's dishes were pronounced the best overall as Amina and Jules were eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0295 | “Episode 54” | Friday 6 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 9 - Gary and Matt kick off this special MasterClass by officially welcoming and congratulating this season's Top 10. Topping off the week with an amazing Italian feast. |
| Week 10 (Italy Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0296 | “Episode 55” | Sunday 8 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 8 - For their first Challenge of Italy week, the contestants split into teams of two and wandered the streets of Rome seeking inspiration for a "Roman story on a plate". After their expedition, the teams went to the Villa Aurelia where they had 90 minutes to cook, with Chef Massimo Bottura as a guest judge. The best dishes were judged to be the Green Team of Alice and Wade's Squid Ink Gnocchi, and the Orange Team of Julia and Mindy's Roman Seafood Stew. Their reward: to cook in the following day's Challenge for a shot at guaranteed immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0297 | “Episode 56” | Monday 9 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Rome Pizza and Pasta Challenge - Alice, Wade, Mindy and Julia competed in a Pizza and Pasta Challenge, cooking lunch for 120 Roman diners, while the rest of the contestants served either on front of house or as dishwashers. The chefs responsible for the two best dishes of the day would win the right to cook for guaranteed immunity. With four hopefuls sharing limited kitchen space, the action was manic, with George having to step in to assist in order to get customers served. Mindy's pasta and Alice's pizza were a resounding hit with the judges, sending them through to the Immunity Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0298 | “Episode 57” | Tuesday 10 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 9 - Before facing off, Mindy and Alice set off on a 'taste tour' of Florence in preparation for the dishes they'd be making. Celebrity chef Antonio Carluccio judged the challenge, which took place over two rounds. The first was a taste test, with the contestants having to isolate the ingredients in a Ribollita. Alice won the round, and the option to choose either savoury or sweet for the next stage, choosing savoury. They then had 90 minutes to cook the same three savoury dishes. With judging extremely close, it came down to whose rabbit dish they preferred. Alice's was chosen, awarding her an Immunity Pin. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0299 | “Episode 58” | Wednesday 11 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Italy Team Challenge - The contestants competed in a 'Death Dish' Challenge, having to recreate Gualtiero Marchesi's risotto. Wade, Audra, Mindy, Kylie and Beau were considered the strongest, and formed the Red Team for the forthcoming challenge, while Julia, Ben, Debra, Andy and Alice made up the Green Team. The Team Challenge was at the Barilla Pasta Factory in Parma, with the teams cooking three pasta dishes each to feed 500 staff. As their advantage, the Reds got first choice of which pasta types they wanted to cook with. The teams both produced superb performances, but the Red Team's lasagne was such a hit it gave them the overall win, sending the Greens into elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0300 | “Episode 59” | Thursday 12 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 9 - The Green Team were sent to the Tuscan village of Monticchiello (Pienza) to cook for 50 of its residents. Alice opted not to use her Immunity Pin. The first round consisted of a competition to roll 100g of acceptable quality Pici the fastest in order to choose what they wanted to cook on the menu for the second round. Ben completed the challenge first and chose to make Pici again in the 2nd round. Alice was second, choosing the Antipasti. Debra was sent back, allowing Julia and Andy to choose dessert and salted cod respectively, leaving her with the spit-roasted pig. In the 2nd round, the contestants were given four hours to prepare the dishes with the best being voted by the villagers and the rest decided by Gary and George. Alice was chosen by the villagers and Andy and Ben were declared safe, leaving Debra and Julia in the bottom two, whereupon Debra was eliminated for her pig dish. Exceptionally, she was allowed to attend the following MasterClass. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0301 | “Episode 60” | Friday 13 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 10 - The superstar chef Neil Perry joins Gary and George for an Italian inspired MasterClass. |
| Week 11 (Semi-Finals Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0302 | “Episode 61” | Sunday 15 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 8 - Contestants had to cook with whatever they found in one of nine fridges. Andy, Mindy and Audra excelled with their dishes, mostly compiled from leftovers. Andy made full use of the fresh ingredients in his fridge to make a winning Smoke Trout Pie. In the second round, the judges were joined by MasterChef magazine editor Sally Feldman. With a spot on the cover of the magazine at stake, contestants were given 90 minutes to cook a single dish that was cover-worthy. As an advantage for winning the "What's in the Fridge?" Challenge, Andy was given an extra 30 minutes. Dessert girls Mindy, Kylie and Julia came out on top of the challenge, with Mindy's chocolate tart crowned dish of the day. Wade, Alice and Ben produced the least impressive dishes. Alice was informed that, should she use her Immunity Pin, Beau would take her place in the following day's Pressure Test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0303 | “Episode 62” | Monday 16 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 7 - With Alice opting not to use her Immunity Pin, she, Ben and Wade were faced with a Crispy-Scaled Snapper with a Squid Wafer, created by chef Grant King. The judges couldn't find fault with Ben's dish: despite suffering a shaky start, he plated a near-perfect reproduction. Wade and Alice were evenly matched, and it came down to their biggest mistakes. Alice had left a dangerous hooked bone in the fish, and Wade had put his squid spaghetti on top of his fish, making the crispy scales soggy. As the judges considered the latter the hero of the dish, Wade was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0304 | “Episode 63” | Tuesday 17 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 10 - Alice, Mindy and Kylie all used their Immunity Pins to skip this challenge. The remaining contestants had to keep up with guest chef Kylie Kwong in the first round, where they created a crab dish and had to plate up along with Kylie. Ben and Andy plated the best dishes and were pronounced safe after this round. Audra, Beau and Julia then had to create a Chinese dish in 45 minutes with one of Kylie's favourite core ingredients and eight more from the pantry. Audra was the first deemed safe with her dish of deep-fried tofu, leaving the decision between Julia, who had cooked what the judges deemed the least Chinese, and Beau, whose dish was very simple and lacked punch. In the end, the judges went for Julia, and Beau was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0305 | “Episode 64” | Wednesday 18 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 9 - The hopefuls had to cook a French dessert in an hour with free run of the pantry. Audra's Chocolate Frangipane Tart with Poached Pears not only won her immunity from the forthcoming Team Challenge and a guaranteed spot in Finals Week, but she also got to pick the pairs. The remaining six had to design an edible centerpiece inspired by Marie-Antoine Carême, with Adriano Zumbo as a mentor. They did prep work at Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney, and assembled their cakes at Sydney's Curzon Hall. Audra's choice to split up Kylie and Julia and putting Mindy and Andy - both weak in dessert - together, paid off. Mindy and Andy plated up the worst dish by far, and it was between the Green Team (Julia and Alice) and the Blue Team (Kylie and Ben). Green's choice to put a sugar box on the top didn't pay off, as it was too big and clumsy. Blue's cake suffered from a dense base, but looked the best overall. Kylie and Ben were sent into Finals Week, with the rest up for elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0306 | “Episode 65” | Thursday 19 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 11 - Representatives from the contestants' families were invited into the kitchen and set them a challenge: to cook a single dish that shows them how much progress they made throughout the competition. Mindy served up the dish of the day and was the first sent into Finals Week. Andy also impressed, and was the second. It came down to Julia, with a simple dish that didn't really fit the brief, and Alice, with overcooked lamb. The latter was eliminated due to this key flaw. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0307 | “Episode 66” | Friday 20 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 11 - In this week's MasterClass, Anthony Puharich from Victor Churchill shares his expert opinion with our contestants on selecting the right cut of beef for the right meal. |
| Week 12 (Finals Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0308 | “Episode 67” | Sunday 22 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Finals Week Elimination 1 - The hopefuls were taken to Guillaume at Bennelong at Sydney Opera House to cook for sixty guests under scrutiny of chef Guillaume Brahimi. The order in which the contestants got to pick which of the six signature dishes they'd cook for service was determined by chance. The result would be determined by kitchen performance, opinions around the dining room and the judges' tasting. Andy, Ben and Julia performed well enough all-round to be safe. Audra struggled in the kitchen, but the dish sent out in the end was "impeccable". Both Mindy and Kylie had great kitchen performances, but Mindy's mushrooms were undercooked and Kylie's parfait had curdled due to a host of technical errors. Kylie was eliminated, but was offered a pastry apprenticeship by Brahimi. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0309 | “Episode 68” | Monday 23 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Finals Week Elimination 2 - The contestants were given 20 minutes to make a perfect steak sauce. The hopefuls would then be ranked from 1 to 5 according to the quality of their sauce, thus determining the order in which they got to pick their cuts of beef for the second challenge. Audra produced the best sauce with Andy as a close second, with Julia performing the worst. For the second part of the challenge, the judges were joined by John Torode, host and judge of the original British MasterChef. The contestants were to pick a cut of beef of their choice and create a dish in 2 hours. Andy's sophisticated dish came out on top, with Julia and Ben on the bottom. With technical mistakes in both, it came down to lack of direction in Ben's dish as he was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0310 | “Episode 69” | Tuesday 24 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Finals Week Elimination 3 - The top 4 were asked to cook their signature dish worthy of three hats in 90 minutes with an open pantry. A three-hatted chef was paired with each contestant and were allowed 5 minutes to design and discuss the dish before cooking started. At any time during the 90 minutes, contestants were allowed one block of 15 minutes with their assigned chef for guidance. Andy produced the best dish for the third straight time, receiving no substantial criticism on his dish. Julia was accused of biting off more than she could chew for the 90 allotted minutes, but she delivered on flavour and was the next sent into the Grand Finale. It came down to Audra, whose dish disappointed the judges for not showing enough technique, and Mindy, who had drastically undercooked her fillet of barramundi. Top favourite Mindy was eliminated because of her serious mistake "that could've been easily set right". |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0311 | “Episode 70” | Wednesday 25 July 2012 |
| Synopsis: |
| Grand Finale - Andy, Audra and Julia faced off in the Grand Finale, consisting of three challenges. Entrée - The final three were given three hours to prep 35 hot entrées each and 30 minutes to plate them up during service. Each finalist could also select two eliminated contestants as commis chefs. The person with the lowest score would land in third place. Julia's dish was criticized for sounding like a main course, but was very well-received overall despite lacking punch of flavour. Andy's lacked visual balance due to the size of his tuna portion, but scored in taste. Audra's got rave reviews, but missed the brief as it contained too many cold salad elements. Julia scored 25, Andy 23 and Audra 22, eliminating her and pitting Julia and Andy against each other for the last two rounds. Main - Andy and Julia were given 90 minutes to cook their own interpretation of "Australia's National Dish". Andy served up his modernised Seafood Basket with which the judges found little fault, despite insecure plating. Julia's lamb dish fared worse with slightly undercooked meat. Julia received 21 points; Andy got 28 (including a perfect 10), allowing him to overtake Julia with 51 to 46. Dessert - Christine Manfield set the signature final sweet challenge with her "Gaytime Goes Nuts", a highly intricate dessert including a cylindrical biscuit, two ice creams, a mousse, a soil, a caramel and a honeycomb. Julia failed to plate up four perfect biscuits and her caramel ice cream lacked intensity. Andy did manage near-perfect looking desserts, but failed to fix his split caramel to a decent consistency and had a dense mousse on top. Julia scored 22 and Andy 25, tallying the final score to 76 for Andy and 68 for Julia out of a possible 90. The Winner Announced - Andy was crowned MasterChef Australia 2012. He won $100,000, a cookbook deal and professional training in the country's best kitchens. Julia was given $15,000 and a pastry apprenticeship with Adriano Zumbo, and Audra received $5,000 for her third-place finish. |
2013 - Complete Season 05
| Week 1 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0312 | “Episode 01” | Sunday, 2 June 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Series Premiere - Series five started with its 22 contestants being welcomed to Melbourne with their first challenge at the MCG. With the first themed week of the series being 'boys vs. girls', each team of eleven were tasked with creating a three-course meal for their new 'family': the opposing team plus the three judges, on a budget of $204 (what the average Australian family spends on groceries per week). Up for grabs was also an extra $33.70 (what the average Australian family spend on take-away per week) which is given to the winning team of an egg-separating "mini-challenge". Rishi and Clarissa battled it out in the egg challenge for their teams, with Rishi winning the money for the boys. Each team then had four hours to plan, shop and prepare their menu. Both teams struggled to stay under budget while shopping, forcing the girls to neglect cream for their lemon tart which was later criticized by the judges. Overall each team produced one fantastic dish (the girl's Middle Eastern chicken and the boy's chicken pie), one bad dish (the girl's overcooked pasta and the boy's disastrous Eton mess) and one average dish (the girl's lemon tart without cream and boy's thick and slightly grainy pumpkin soup). Despite it being a fairly evenly matched competition, and the boys' meat pie being extraordinary; the mushy peas served alongside the pie were judged to be under-cooked and therefore the girls won the first challenge against the boys, winning themselves an advantage in the next challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0313 | “Episode 02” | Monday, 3 June 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Protein Pick Face Off Challenge - After winning the previous challenge the girls gained the advantage of selecting the protein they would be cooking with from the eleven available options (ranging from beef mince to offal) in a first-come, first-served manner. The boys were unknowingly given the same protein as the girl standing opposite them once they chose a kitchen position. Each pair of contestants with the same protein would face off, either producing a winning dish or a losing dish. The winning dishes would be automatically safe from the elimination challenge, while all the losing dishes would be compared in order to find the worst 6 dishes. Contestants from both teams struggled with the simplicity or complexity of their given ingredient, with Samira mistaking Barramundi for Snapper and Kelty's offal dish being branded one of the "five worst" ever tasted on the show, which automatically earned him a place into the bottom 6. In the end Michael, Dan, Neha, Nicky and Samira joined Kelty in the bottom 6, to face the first elimination challenge of the series. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0314 | “Episode 03” | Tuesday, 4 June 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 1 - The six worst performing contestants from the Protein Challenge went into the series' first elimination challenge. After being surprised by the presence of their own pantry and fridges complete with their contents in the storeroom, they were given 60 minutes to present a dish inspired by cooking for their loved ones. Michael scored 'dish of the day' with a simple, but technically well-executed dish of Steak with Hollandaise and Roast Vegetables and was first pronounced safe. Neha's egg curry and Nicky's salmon with savoury egg custard won praise from the judges and were next pronounced safe, leaving a bottom 3 of Kelty, Dan and Samira. Samira's Koshary rice contained onions that were burnt, Kelty's simple stew was boring and lacked the promised soda bread and Dan's caramel for his chocolate tart was rock solid and the ganache was grainy. In the end, Dan became the first contestant eliminated from the series. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0315 | “Episode 04” | Thursday, 6 June 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 1 - Romesco de peix - Catalan fish stew; the perfect boiled egg; calf's liver with potato foam, apple and bacon sauce; sour cherry pudding; pumpkin soup. |
| Week 2 (Barossa Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0316 | “Episode 05” | Sunday, 9 June 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Barossa Boot Camp Day 1 - In the first of a series of challenges in the Barossa Valley, contestants were first tasked with breaking down a whole lamb after a quick masterclass from a professional butcher. Continuing the 'Boys vs. Girls' contest, each team started strongly, but both made some crucial errors. In the end, the boys edged out the girls and were safe from the next round. Round 2 saw the girls cooking a dish of their choice, with a range of lamb cuts. Contestants struggled with missing ingredients, using the given 90 minutes and the elements, and the results were mixed. Lucy, Lilliana and Faiza won praise for their dishes, but Noelene and Clarissa were deemed the least impressive and were the first to be sent to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0317 | “Episode 06” | Monday, 10 June 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Barossa Boot Camp Day 2 - Contestants faced a tag-team challenge set by MasterChef favourite Maggie Beer. After a masterclass on skinning and breaking down a whole chicken, the teams picked their lead members who were taken through the two courses their teams had to prepare in the two hours given. Each member had twelve minutes to cook followed by one minute to transfer information to the next team member. The girls team had a few hiccups overall, with small problems found with all of the elements of their main course, but with a flawless dessert. The boys suffered from poor communication and made some crucial mistakes in their preparation, and while their main was faultless, their inability to produce a working pastry meant they didn't serve dessert as it was specified. That was enough to lose them the challenge with Nicky, Andrew and Michael judged the worst performers. The mistakes made by the latter two sent them to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0318 | “Episode 07” | Tuesday, 11 June 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Barossa Boot Camp Day 3 - The teams faced a seafood relay challenge: shucking oysters, peeling prawns and filleting flathead; the losing team facing round two and the possibility of filling the two last spots in the Elimination Challenge. With each team picking three representatives for each part of the relay challenge, it was a close race until Totem's inability to fillet his flathead sealed the Boys' fate. The next round saw the losing team cooking a seafood dish (with the same proteins as round one) in 60 minutes. In the end, Nicky's overly salty dish, Xavier's poorly cooked fisherman's basket and Daniel's plain fish pie landed them in the bottom three, with Nicky escaping elimination for the second day in a row. Xavier and Daniel joined Michael, Andrew, Noelene and Clarissa in the Elimination Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0319 | “Episode 08” | Wednesday, 12 June 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 2 - In this double Elimination Challenge, Andrew, Clarissa, Daniel, Michael, Noelene and Xavier were given two and a half hours to revisit the proteins that they failed with earlier in the week. Cooking for twenty locals proved daunting for some, and the pressure caused the contestants to make some missteps along the way. Daniel struggled to make enough pasta in the given time, Noelene found she didn't have the right ingredients or enough oven space and Andrew had to scrap his potatoes last minute. In the end, both Noelene and Andrew impressed with their dishes, and Clarissa was declared safe despite her lamb not being uniformly cooked through. Michael served raw chicken and was the first of the 2 eliminated. Despite not delivering with his pasta, Daniel was saved due to Xavier's flavour-lite curry being called underwhelming, sending the latter packing. With three of the boys eliminated in the first two weeks, the girls were declared winners of the 'Girls vs. Boys' Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0320 | “Episode 09” | Thursday, 13 June 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 2 - Berkshire pork loin with cavolo nero and apple sauce; quail dolmades with pickled vegetables and tahini dressing; the smear is dead; the perfect mashed potato; raspberry tart. |
| Week 3 (Kids Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0321 | “Episode 10” | Sunday, 16 June 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sunday Challenge 1 - Kicking off Kids Week, the Mystery Box Challenge returned with a twist: the contestants faced a Mystery Kids Lunchbox. Using only the ingredients in their box (such as yoghurt, fruit, sandwiches and juice), plus some basic staples, they had 60 minutes to produce a quality dish, the winner receiving an advantage in the Invention Test. Lucy, Pip, Noelene, Andrew, Kelty and Samira produced the most exciting dishes with Lucy winning with her Eccles Cakes. Her advantage for the Invention Test was threefold: she got to pick the nine other contestants to compete, plus which core ingredient they had to cook with and choose her own out of the three options (liver, Brussels sprouts and anchovies). The ten contestants had to take their core ingredient, one that kids rarely enjoy, and make a dish which three guests judges (eight- and nine-year-olds) would be happy to eat. In the end, Emma, Rishi, Kelty, Lynton and Neha were declared the five best and won their spot in the Immunity Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0322 | “Episode 11” | Monday, 17 June 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 1 - Emma, Rishi, Kelty, Lynton and Neha faced off in an Immunity Challenge with a twist. They had 60 minutes to produce their best dish, with one of them guaranteed an immunity pin, however the pantry would be in complete darkness. With only five minutes to blindly grab their ingredients, and then plan a coherent dish with the results, the contestants struggled with the constraints of the challenge. Kelty and Neha were criticised for a lack of direction in their dishes and failing to produce enough in the time given, and while there were some good elements to Rishi's dish it was Lynton and Emma who rose to the top. Emma's Cos Lettuce Cups with Bugs and Scallops won her the challenge and the first immunity pin of the series. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0323 | “Episode 12” | Tuesday, 18 June 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 1 - Teams went "back to school" catering for 450 students under the tutelage of chefs Curtis Stone and Shannon Bennett. Each team prepared their lunch menu consisting of four items thought of by the chefs and with their mentor-ship, the winning team being the one with the most popular menu with the judges and students. Vern's leadership of the Blue Team early won praise, while Emma struggled to fill her required role as Red Team Captain. Both teams worked well under their mentors, until service time when the Red Team's organisation was called into question. In the end, the judges gave two votes to each team from the four dishes, but gave the Red's the win for their crowd favourite Barramundi Burger with Chickpea Fritters. The entire Blue Team went into the Elimination Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0324 | “Episode 13” | Wednesday, 19 June 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 3 - The Blue Team faced a two-round Elimination: a skills test followed by a pressure test. In the first round, the ten contestants had to successfully separate eggs and whisk the whites to perfect soft peaks, holding the bowl upside down over their head to prove their whites were whipped correctly. The first seven contestants were declared safe, leaving Andrew, Christina and Clarissa in the final round. Their task, in three and a half hours, was to recreate Bernard Chu's Lolly Bag Cake with seven layers based on seven classic lolly flavours. Contestants got off to a slow start but all worked through the recipe methodically, until Clarissa made a mistake in her Spearmint Buttercream layer that put her a long way behind. Andrew faced some structural problems assembling his cake and his glaze was too runny, while Clarissa could not get her buttercream done in time and had to leave it out. Christina's efforts won her enormous praise from the judges, producing an almost perfect replication, and while Andrew's technical flaws and an overly "Eucalyptus-y" taste were criticised, Clarissa's lack of some required elements sealed her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0325 | “Episode 14” | Thursday, 20 June 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 3 - In tonight's MasterClass we are joined by the wonderful Stephanie Alexander & along with Matt Preston, they make a spinach & potato torte; George shows us how to have some fun with brussel sprouts. |
| Week 4 (Italian Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0326 | “Episode 15” | Sunday, 23 June 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 2 - Contestants were faced with a Team Challenge to start off Italian Week. Due to repetitive stress fractures, Andrew was forced to retire from the competition on medical advice, while Jules' hip injury forced her out of the challenge and therefore into the next day's Pressure Test. Working in teams of four with the guide of four Italian Nonnas and with Antonio Carluccio as a special guest judge, they had four hours to prep, cook and serve a plate of food for diners on Lygon Street with the winners the ones to raise the most money. The Green Team were first to start service after only forty minutes; their dish of Fritto Misto proving popular, with the Grey Team and their Crostini of Mushroom and Roasted Veal not far behind. The Red Team's time-consuming Arancini dish and Blue Team's lack of organisation meant they didn't start service until well into the challenge. In the end, with $2499 raised, Grey were declared winners, with Green close behind on $1851. Red and Blue failed to raise enough money, and despite slow service and their dish lacking flavour, Red were declared safe. Vern, Kelty, Totem and Nicky were criticised for their slow prep time, lack of organisation and sales skill and joined Jules in elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0327 | “Episode 16” | Monday, 24 June 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 1 - Jules, Vern, Totem, Nicky and Kelty faced off in an Italian Pressure Test set by Stefano De Pieri. They had 60 minutes to prepare his dish of Quail Ravioli with Sage Butter, but with no given recipe for the pasta. With the limited time given, contestants faced struggles with their pasta (being too dry and crumbly or too soft), breaking down their quail, cooking and pulsing the filling correctly and even with reading the recipe. Ultimately, Jules, Kelty and Totem had the best pasta and well cooked filling leaving Vern and Nicky as the bottom two. Despite Vern's pasta being too thick, it was Nicky's overly processed filling and lack of seasoning that sealed his elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0328 | “Episode 17” | Tuesday, 25 June 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterChef Pizzeria Challenge - Teams were tasked with their first restaurant service at the 'MasterChef Pizzeria'; including all preparation, order management and even home delivery. Rishi was picked as the leader of the Green Team but struggled to give clear direction, while the Red Team thrived under Liliana's clear management. With a restaurant full to capacity, teams struggled with keeping up with demand and keeping track of the orders needed. While Red struggled with order confusion in the middle of service, Green faced a multitude of problems throughout service: Emma's pizza dough wasn't given enough time to prove resulting in a biscuity crust, Pip failed to bring a correct order for her home delivery and confusion on the pass led Jules to take over leadership of the team from Rishi and Faiza. In the end, while both teams had pizza toppings that impressed the patrons and judges, Green's poor pizza dough and slow service pushed them into elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0329 | “Episode 18” | Wednesday, 26 June 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 4 - With Emma opting not to use her pin, the entire losing team fought to keep their place in the competition in an elimination challenge based on the colours of the Italian flag: red, white and green. Faced with a wall of colour-coded ingredients, they randomly picked one of the three and could only use ingredients of that colour in their dish. A number of the contestants struggled to design a dish within the constraints given, but by the end, six of the eight dishes created impressed the judges and Rishi, Emma, Jules, Noelene, Pip and Christina were declared safe. Neha, who tried to produce a pizza in only an hour was criticised for taking such a risk on the back of losing a pizza-themed team challenge and for its fairly bland flavours. But it was Faiza's confused dish of meatballs and smashed potatoes, judged to be dry and overly spicy, that sealed her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0330 | “Episode 19” | Thursday, 27 June 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 4 - The Godfather of Italian food, Antonio Carluccio will make his Handkerchief pasta with Ligurian Pesto; Gary shows us how to make the perfect carbonara; George will make a Risoni with Chicken Polpete. |
| Week 5 (Wild West Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0331 | “Episode 20” | Sunday, 30 June 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Western Australia Team Challenge 1 - The top 15 contestants started Wild West Week at the Fremantle docks. Separated into two teams, they headed offshore to catch their own seafood for a feast for 30 local fishermen, with 60 minutes to prepare their catch once they'd docked. After braving the wild seas and a good deal of sea-sickness, teams called in their catch to teammates shopping for ingredients, in time to meet them back at the dock to start cooking. With 60 minutes to prepare all their seafood and cook a feast, the Red Team found themselves behind in their prep due to their incredible haul. Ultimately, despite providing a range of sophisticated and multicultural dishes, the Blue Team's menu didn't impress as much as The Red Team's simple dishes championing the fresh produce and they won a shot at immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0332 | “Episode 21” | Monday, 1 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 2 - The Red Team, as winners of the previous challenge, had the chance to win immunity, but it was down to them to elect one member to face chef Russell Blaikie. The team decided on Vern, because of his contribution in the previous challenge. Vern was allowed 90 minutes (Russell given 60) to produce a dish with the core ingredient of duck, chosen by Russell. With the guidance of Guillaume Brahimi, Vern worked well in the kitchen and with Brahimi's help produced a commendable dish. The judges noted Vern's dish lacked precision in plating, and elements such as the lentils were not cooked enough. Russell won praise for what he managed to put on the plate in his limited time and in the end, beat Vern (28-21). |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0333 | “Episode 22” | Tuesday, 2 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Western Australia Team Challenge 2 - The contestants headed to Kylagh Station in York to cook lunch for 20 hungry stockmen and women, with the farmed beef the focal point of the menu. With limited time, access to only a certain weight of ingredients and only an open fire to cook with, both teams struggled with the conditions. While the judges noted that the quality of dishes was quite even between the two teams, it came down to how well teams treated the prime beef on offer. The Red team were judged to have done this the best, leaving the Blues to decide which three members were the worst performers. Christina, Totem and Rishi nominated themselves based on the judges comments and were sent into elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0334 | “Episode 23” | Wednesday, 3 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 5 - As the 3 worst performing members of the previous team challenge; Christina, Totem & Rishi faced a service challenge held at Greenhouse restaurant in Perth. Under the supervision of restaurant head chef Matt Stone, contestants had to prepare one of three pairs of dishes and cook them during the dinner service to 80 diners. Overall, the contestants struggled with the pressure of the challenge and limited preparation time, especially Christina & Totem, the latter having two serves of his Mussel dish sent back to the kitchen. In the end despite Rishi's Mushroom dish lacking seasoning and Christina's marron on her dish being under-cooked it was Totem's performance in the kitchen leading to unsatisfied diners that sent him home. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0335 | “Episode 24” | Thursday, 4 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 5 - In tonight's MasterClass, we wrap up Wild West Week on Perth's picturesque Cottesloe Beach. Joining the judges is guest chef Brendan Pratt, where he puts slow roasted lamb shoulder to good use in sliders and croquettes. |
| Week 6 (Heaven & Hell Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0336 | “Episode 25” | Sunday, 7 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Heaven & Hell Mystery Box Challenge - The fourteen contestants faced a tough choice in this Mystery Box Challenge with a twist: the Heaven or the Hell Box. Contestants (working in pairs) choosing the Heaven Box would have 90 minutes to create a dish from 9 heavenly ingredients as chosen by the judges, while those choosing 'Hell' would have three hours (plus a recipe) to create one of the hardest dishes from past seasons. Four pairs chose 'Hell' and were faced with a Zumbo Macaroon Tower, featuring over a hundred macaroons flavoured with beetroot and olive. Liliana (who had made a Macaron Tower for her sons previous birthday) and Samira produced the dish of the day, and while Lynton's mistake of adding the wrong food coloring meant he and Neha only presented one type of macaroon for judging; they just avoided elimination for how perfect that one type were. In the end, it was two teams who chose 'Heaven' that found themselves in elimination: Daniel and Kelty who overcomplicated a dish that could have taken 15 minutes to prepare, and Lucy and Pip who made the decision to serve their premium wagyu beef with chunks of butter overpowering the simple flavours of the dish. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0337 | “Episode 26” | Monday, 8 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 6 - Daniel, Kelty, Pip and Lucy faced a two-round Elimination Challenge set by chef Ian Curley. The first round saw them recreating the chef's dish of Steak Tartare with Pumpernickel Biscuit (with a recipe given for the biscuit only), with the best two dishes saving their contestants from the elimination round. Lucy's decision to add lemon juice early, and thus 'cooking' the raw beef for too long, and Pip's failure to plate up the biscuit paired with her overly minced meat dropped them into the bottom two. In the final round, Lucy and Pip had two hours to replicate Ian Curley's Fig Bombe Alaska. Despite Lucy and Pip having varying experience with desserts, they were both on schedule and executed the elements of the dessert well. The difference in dishes came down to the meringue, Pip's over-aerated topping sealing a close elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0338 | “Episode 27” | Tuesday, 9 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Seven Deadly Sins Challenge - The remaining 13 contestants faced a seven-course service challenge based around the seven deadly sins. Cooking in two teams for 70 university students, they had to design and cook seven courses in two hours based around the same core ingredient signifying one of the sins (envy, lust, sloth, etc.). The Blue Team struggled under Neha's leadership with the strong personalities of Jules, Kelty and Noelene butting heads with her over the menu's direction. The Red Team, with one less member, thrived under Rishi's leadership but faced some struggles with preparation and limited kitchen supplies. Ultimately, the judges were impressed with standout dishes from each team leading to a close decision. The Red Team just made it over the line with a chilli dish that, while overly spicy, better embodied the feeling of wrath; Blue were again sent to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0339 | “Episode 28” | Wednesday, 10 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Last Supper Elimination Challenge - The losing contestants from the previous challenge were given two hours to produce a dish that personified their position: a Last Supper showcasing their skills and beliefs about food. With no limits of ingredients or creativity, contestants thrived and each successive dish wowed the judges. In the end, Lilliana's Four Layer Birthday Cake was singled out for, though well made and capturing the essence of the challenge, being not up to the same standard as the other contestants' dishes and she tearfully bid goodbye to the MasterChef kitchen. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0340 | “Episode 29” | Thursday, 11 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 6 - One of Melbourne's best known chefs Paul Wilson shows us a traditional Mexican mole with lamb cutlets. Meanwhile, the judges pit their skills against each other in creating one of the most sinful desserts ever, chocolate mousse. |
| Week 7 (Fast Food Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0341 | “Episode 30” | Sunday, 14 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Fast Food Mystery Box Challenge - In this Mystery Box Challenge, contestants were tasked with re-inventing three fast food favourites: fried chicken, souvlaki and burger-with-the-lot. Working in groups of three, they had only as much time as it took Matt Preston to go out and buy all three items. With each contestant making one of the three dishes, they had varying success with some overly ambitious while others playing it overly safe. The judges found fault with at least one dish in each team, and though Emma's burger lacked all the necessary elements and Daniel's souvlaki meat was poorly cooked, it was Jules' inedible Thai-style burger (with a poorly realised bun made of rice) and Samira's bland and under-thought souvlaki that left them plus teammate Rishi facing elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0342 | “Episode 31” | Monday, 15 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 8 - In an Elimination Challenge with a twist, Rishi, Jules and Samira faced the first ever ingredients auction. With three lots of ingredients (a protein, a dairy ingredient and a vegetable element) to 'purchase', they could bid with their cooking time in five-minute increments. With only 90 minutes of cooking time initially, they quickly bid away their time trying to win their preferred ingredients and ultimately, Rishi was left with 60 minutes, Samira 50 minutes and Jules only 30 minutes. Rishi with plenty of time and well-matched ingredients, wowed the judges with his rabbit dish. Samira and Jules both struggled with their oddly matched ingredients and limited time and both dishes came under scrutiny for their technical flaws. And while Samira served some very under-cooked lamb, it was Jules' bland and mismatched dish of Buttered Crawfish with Vinaigrette and Yoghurt that sealed her elimination from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0343 | “Episode 32” | Tuesday, 16 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 3 - In a Car Rally Team Challenge, teams were tasked with creating the perfect Club Sandwich with Chips for 50 Alfa Romeo enthusiasts. With three hours on the clock they raced to three checkpoints and competed in mini challenges with the winner of each getting to pick from pairs of key ingredients. At the first challenge, the Blue Team were first to crush six bottles of grape juice and picked sourdough as their bread, leaving Red with multigrain. On the way to the second challenge the Red Team got repeatedly lost and Blue easily won the next two challenges (making the perfect omelette and milking a goat) choosing chicken and sebago potatoes (Red left with turkey and kipfler potatoes) and racing back to Red Hill Estate on the Mornington Peninsula with 90 minutes left to cook. The Red Team's poor navigation cost them valuable time with less than one hour left when they arrived, but they made up time fast in preparation and had their dish of Turkey Club with Roast Vegetable Crisps ready first. However, the Blue Team's Chicken Club with Roast Tomatoes won the day for its flavour punch and Red was sent into elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0344 | “Episode 33” | Wednesday, 17 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 2 - The losing members of the Red Team faced a Pressure Test set by Daniel Wilson of restaurant Huxtable. With two hours on the clock they had to recreate his signature dish of Maple Glazed Bacon Hot Dog, with Comte & Dijon Sauce, Tomato & Quince Relish & Mustard Pickles in a Pork Brioche Bun. What looked like a simple dish at first had many contestants confounded at its actual difficulty, which included making brioche and sausages from scratch. The pressure of time and delicate nature of bringing together all the components got to most contestants, but Rishi again showed the judges his skill with the dish of the day. In the end, it came down to Samira (whose religious beliefs meant she couldn't taste most of her dish's elements) and Kelty (whilst his dish had many technical flaws, he had perfectly made the brioche). Kelty was saved and Samira eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0345 | “Episode 34” | Thursday, 18 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 7 - Gary has the challenge of proving that fast food can be healthy and he makes Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls with peanut dipping sauce; Matt embraces the idea of 'fast' food but with a twist, showing us an ultra-fast method for the sponge. |
| Week 8 (Second Chance Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0346 | “Episode 35” | Sunday, 21 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Second Chance Challenge 1 - With the Top 10 safe from elimination for the week and an immunity pin up for grabs, the contestants first competed in a skills test: crushing a Chinese five-spice mix in a mortar and pestle. Christina was the slowest to finish and lost her chance at immunity for the week. In the second round, nine of the twelve eliminated contestants returned to cook for their place back in the competition. Paired up randomly (Rishi & Samira, Kelty & Jules, Lynton & Lilliana, Daniel & Pip, Emma & Faiza, Vern & Nicky, Neha & Xavier, Lucy & Michael, Noelene & Dan), their challenge was to take a pair of ingredients (a protein and a classically Chinese accompaniment) and create a Chinese dish in 60 minutes. The worst two dishes would lose their makers a shot at immunity (for the Top 10) or a spot back in the competition. Vern, Nicky, Neha, Xavier, Noelene and Dan were praised for their excellent cooking and teamwork, while Rishi, Samira, Emma, Faiza, Lucy and Michael found themselves in the bottom three. Ultimately, Rishi & Samira were declared safe, eliminating Faiza and Michael from the competition a second time. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0347 | “Episode 36” | Monday, 22 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Second Chance Challenge 2 - The remaining seven teams of two competed in a test of planning, synchronicity and communication: without seeing or tasting each other's food they had to produce exactly the same dish. Dishes were judged on their similarities in taste and presentation, with the least identical losing their makers the chance at immunity or a place back in the competition. Being unable to work collaboratively with their partner caused some key missteps in a number of teams, with the smallest difference in preparation (such as the type of blender used) leading to big differences in final product. Ultimately, Pip and Daniel paid the price for not using their planning time efficiently (after disagreeing on their dish's initial direction) and although the judges declared Pip's dish one of the best, Daniel's proved too dissimilar and they fell out of the running for the week's reward. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0348 | “Episode 37” | Tuesday, 23 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Second Chance Challenge 3 - The twelve remaining contestants faced a three-hour Pressure Test set by owner of Gelato Messina, Nick Palumbo: a Black Forest Gelato Cake known as The Dome. With pairs working together in teams of four, each member had 45 minutes (plus changeover time to pass on information) to prepare the various precise elements while working in a cold store at -2 degrees Celsius. The Blue Team, headed by Neha (with Nicky, Vern and Xavier) fell behind early but recovered brilliantly to almost perfectly replicate the dish, wowing the judges. Both the Red (Noelene, Dan, Kelty and Jules) and Yellow Teams (Rishi, Samira, Lynton and Lilliana) struggled with their Spiced Chocolate Gelato layer, ensuring it set correctly. But in the end it came down to taste and because Red's Kirsch Semifreddo had separated and their overall taste wasn't as good as Yellow's, Noelene, Dan, Kelty and Jules dropped out on the running for the week's prize. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0349 | “Episode 38” | Wednesday, 24 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Second Chance Challenge 4 - The final challenge of Second Chance Week saw the remaining four teams (Lynton & Lilliana, Neha & Xavier, Rishi & Samira, and Vern & Nicky) compete in an Invention Test with butter as the core ingredient. With 90 minutes on the clock, each pair had to produce one sweet and one savoury dish, the winners receiving either a ticket back into the competition or (for the current contestant) an immunity pin. With so much on the line, teams scrambled to develop dishes which championed butter as an ingredient. Lynton and Nicky struggled to produce the sweet dishes for their teams, and despite Lilliana's dish winning dish of the day and rave reviews from all three judges, Lynton's was judged as the worst and they, as well as Nicky and Vern were declared out of the running. It came down to Neha (whose Poached Quince Flourless Chocolate Tart was praised) & Xavier (who was criticised for playing it safe with a simple steak dish), and Rishi & Samira, and it was the latter team whose dishes, though slightly flawed, were the more inventive, thus giving them the win. Samira won herself a place back in the competition while Rishi won immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0350 | “Episode 39” | Thursday, 25 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 8 - Join us on the picturesque Bellarine Peninsula for MasterClass. Matt gets back to basics with a homemade tartare sauce. Meanwhile, Gary takes some fresh local produce to create a hearty dish for the local lifesavers. |
| Week 9 (Love Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0351 | “Episode 40” | Sunday, 28 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Love Mystery Box Challenge - The remaining eleven contestants faced an empty Mystery Box and were tasked with filling it with ingredients they loved, plus one 'hard to love' ingredient. In a further twist, they had to swap boxes with another contestant of their choice (although Rishi was luckily left with his own ingredients), forcing some hasty re-evaluations. This curve ball rattled some contestants, including Vern whose dessert Mystery Box put him out of his comfort zone and landed him in the bottom three. Joining him were Neha (whose Pavlova contained too much cornflour) and Rishi, who despite having the advantage produced a mediocre overcooked pasta dish. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0352 | “Episode 41” | Monday, 29 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 3 - With Rishi choosing to play his immunity pin (only days after he won it), Noelene (as the fourth worst performer from the previous challenge) joined Neha and Vern in a Pressure Test set by Kirsten Tibbles: the Lourous Cake. With an extremely technical, five-page recipe it was crucial to get each stage right. While a misstep with dessert landed him in elimination, Vern impressed with a near flawless dish. And while both Noelene and Neha had some problems in preparation they recovered well to also impress the judges and Tibbles. But it was an unfortunate piece of baking paper left in her cake that was enough to seal Neha's elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0353 | “Episode 42” | Tuesday, 30 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Date Night Team Challenge - The Top 10 contestants faced a team challenge: to cook a main and a dessert for 50 couples on a first date. Complicating matters, each contestant randomly chose an mystery ingredient that had to feature in their dishes, five desirable (such as red wine and figs) and five not usually associated with date night food (such as garlic and sardines). Lucy's Blue Team luckily ended up with four of the five desirable ingredients, leaving Kelty's Red Team to get creative with their less typical date food. While the Blues faced some missteps in prep time (a mistake in ordering their protein set them back significantly), Red had disharmony as team members disagreed with the direction of their dishes. In the end, both teams impressed with their mains and faced disappointment with melted ice cream desserts, but it was Red's shared Meze Platter which showed impressive technique and fit the challenge brief that won them the challenge, sending the entire Blue Team into elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0354 | “Episode 43” | Wednesday, 31 July 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 9 - After losing in the previous challenge, Lucy, Daniel, Christina, Lynton and Vern faced a breakfast service challenge in Gary Mehigan's restaurant the Maribyrnong Boathouse. Each contestant had to design a modern breakfast dish with 90 minutes of prep time before one hour of service. With this being the first service challenge for most of them (plus Lynton's first elimination challenge), the time constraints and pressure of a commercial kitchen was a steep learning curve. Lynton had to think on his feet as his dish was re-imagined twice during prep, but he recovered well to have one of the most impressive dishes (Daniel's Sweet Potato Croquettes getting dish of the day), and Lucy's muesli, while simple, was praised for being a cleverly chosen, delicious dish. Both Christina and Vern had dishes sent back (Christina both over- and under-cooked her baked eggs, while Vern's smoked trout pizza contained some bones), and found themselves in the bottom two, with Vern the one to leave in a close result. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0355 | “Episode 44” | Thursday, 1 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 9 - Kirsten Tibballs returns to the MasterChef Australia Kitchen to demonstrate an indulgent chocolate dessert perfect for sharing; Gary shows us a gorgeous dessert to tempt your loved one featuring the most seductive of fruits, strawberries. |
| Week 10 (Heston Blumenthal Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0356 | “Episode 45” | Sunday, 4 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test 4 - In this episode the contestants were split into three teams - red (Samira, Kelty, Lynton), blue (Lucy, Emma and Noelene) and Yellow (Rishi, Christina and Daniel). The teams were asked to re-create Heston's classic Royal truffle. Noelene and Emma struggled in the blue team.Blue team's base was too runny so it came down to the red and yellow teams. Kelty misread the recipe and didn't add enough gelatine to the jellies.Finally yellow team won the challenge as all their components were perfect.The winning team gets a shot at immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0357 | “Episode 46” | Monday, 5 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge 3 - The winning team from last night's pressure test gets a shot at immunity. Each contestant gets 90 minutes to cook a starter (Daniel), main course (Christina) and dessert (Rishi). Heston gets 90 minutes to cook all the three courses. It was a blind tasting. Daniel had the entree and eggs, Christina had main and wine, and Rishi had dessert and milk.Daniel and Christina's course were on par with Heston's and it came to very tiny details. Rishi's dessert was a disaster. Heston's dish was declared a winner in all three courses, so none of the contestants won the immunity pin. However, it was Daniel who was adjudged the best among the three contestants, so he gets to skip the next challenge and goes directly to the top 8. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0358 | “Episode 47” | Tuesday, 6 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 4 - The contestants were split into two teams- Blue (Rishi, Kelty, Samira and Noelene) and Red (Lynton, Lucy, Emma and Christina). The challenge was to prepare a Medieval feast, which included a range of poultry and game birds along with Heston's garden (herb garden with some garnishes). Team blue captured the essence of medieval theme when compared to the red team and all their dishes were cooked to perfection; however blue team lost the challenge as their turkey was raw and the judges couldn't taste it. Red team won the challenge and blue team was put into elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0359 | “Episode 48” | Wednesday, 7 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 10 - The Elimination Challenge required contestants to 'Hestonise' a dish of their choice with innovation in technique and use of ingredients. Drawing on their experiences during the week, all four managed to exceed expectations with their dishes. Rishi plated sweet Indian-Chinese dumplings with a soy sauce caramel and dry ice tea; Kelty offered up a deconstructed hot toddy with liquid nitrogen frozen ice-cream at the table; Samira changed her initial idea of a volcano to serve Znoud al-Sett (sweet Middle-Eastern rolls) with the flavours echoed in a rose and orange blossom scented dry ice sheesha prelude. Noelene, who served curried fish heads with clumsily frozen curry 'jellies', was eliminated.
It was announced to the contestants that the following week, they would travel to Dubai for an international food experience, with Christina and Daniel earning business class tickets as a reward for their performances in Heston week. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0360 | “Episode 49” | Thursday, 8 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 10 - Heston shows us how to make perfect scrambled eggs; He shares one of his favourite dishes, a roasted leg of lamb with anchovies and rosemary and demonstrates how to carve for maximum flavour; Heston shows us how to cook a perfect steak. |
| Week 11 (World Food Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0361 | “Episode 50” | Sunday, 11 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Dubai Team Challenge - On Day 1 of World Food Week, the top 8 contestants paired off to cook local for 36 Emirati VIP guests in the Dubai desert with Michelin-starred Greg Malouf mentoring and judging their platters. The teams were assigned proteins with their pick of team colour: Rishi and Christina (Yellow) received fish, Lynton and Lucy (Green) camel, Kelty and Samira (Red) lamb, and Daniel and Emma (Blue), chicken. In a budget of 600 dirham, the teams sourced their ingredients from the local market and then travelled by camel to the cooksite at Al-Waha. All pairs overcame problems faced in the cooking process (unfamiliar ovens, mistaken and 'misplaced' ingredients) to plate up and impress the guests and judges, but Blue's chicken platter was declared the standout leader for its innovative and 'perfect' selection of dishes, including chicken cooked two ways, a pilaf, an array of dips, and rose-and-halva accented watermelon. With the remaining three pairs facing elimination, Daniel and Emma won themselves first-class tickets to Paris for a culinary walking tour with Matt Preston. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0362 | “Episode 51” | Monday, 12 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 11 - The bottom six were tasked with taking over service at Ossiano Restaurant at Atlantis, The Palm, cooking for 50 VIP guests. The menu comprised a selection of high-quality entrees, mains and desserts, from which the contestants picked their dish in the order assigned them after drawing coins from a 'treasure chest'. Lynton picked the beef tenderloin main due to his familiarity with the ingredient, but struggled through prep and failed to prepare and serve the beef cheek croquette element of his dish. Christina, choosing the crab entree, also failed to use her prep time efficiently but recovered to plate up all the required components of her dish, but was faulted for having been too heavy-handed with her mashed potatoes. Samira did well with her quail entree, and Kelty and Lucy, both having picked desserts, also received generous praise. Despite getting the last pick and the prep-heavy fish main, Rishi impressed the judges with his prep and execution of the dish. Christina and Lynton were chosen as the worst of the best, but on account of the general quality of the cooking and service from all contestants and the unprecedented degree of disagreement among the judges regarding the elimination, it was revealed that neither would be sent home. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0363 | “Episode 52” | Tuesday, 13 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Offsite Challenge 5 - The Top 8 were tasked with cooking and delivering takeaway lunch orders to office workers scattered around Melbourne CBD. Each team had to cook one entree and two mains with accompanying sides. The teams and the cuisine they had to cook were determined by picking a flag at random, with the blues getting Mexican and the reds getting Chinese. The first orders were to start calling in 90 minutes into the challenge leaving each team 2 hours to deliver the food. Once in the kitchen the blues nominated Christina to be captain while Emma captained the reds. Once preparation started, each team questioned the number of people they must prep for and both estimated for 100. This turned out to be a major challenge for both teams with the blue team needing to double their portions of their soft shell tacos with less than 10 minutes before the first orders came through and the red team having to shrink their portions of prawn wontons from three to two in order to have time to finish them. Once the first orders came through, both teams struggled to pack the food, manage the phone and prep for future orders. Despite this the blue team managed to send Rishi & Lynton off with their first delivery well before the red team. Once the red team sent off Emma & Lucy to deliver their first order, they got lost and fell even further behind the blue team. Upon returning for the second order the blue team decided to re-plate their tacos upon complaints from some of the customers, which turned out to be a success with the customers the second time round. Once the reds returned for their second order they realised Samira had added up the number of wontons incorrectly for the second order and were forced to leave without them. In the end the judges decided which team had won based upon performance in the kitchen, the deliveries and the taste of their food. The faults for the blue team were the inconsistencies in the plating with the tacos, while the red team's beef dish "lacked flavour and authenticity" as well as some customers not receiving their wontons. In the end the red team was sent into elimination due to this key flaw. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0364 | “Episode 53” | Wednesday, 14 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 12 - The losing team from the previous challenge were faced with a two-round elimination using a map of the world in food. With Emma opting to use her immunity pin, Samira, Daniel & Lucy were faced with the task of cooking a single dish in 45 minutes using only ingredients from one continent. Daniel & Samira chose Australia and Africa respectively to play to their strengths, while Lucy chose Asia because she believed it was quick despite it being an unfamiliar cuisine for her. Overall all three of the contestants struggled, especially Lucy & Daniel (Lucy failing to plate up her crab which was the highlight of her dish and Daniel's only positive being that his scallops were "cooked nice"). Samira was pronounced safe from the second round and won the opportunity to choose the continent both Lucy and Daniel must cook with in the second round. Samira chose North America because she believed that it was the only continent that would give both contestants a fair chance. Lucy and Daniel then had 1 hour to produce a dish with that continent. Daniel opted to revolutionise the smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel, while Lucy did an Eton Mess. Both contestants struggled with the unfamiliar cuisine and both put up dishes that were criticized but were "line-ball" in tasting. It came down to the plating of the dish. Lucy's dish was plated well while Daniel was criticized on his "clumsy and old fashioned" plating. As this was the deciding factor, Daniel was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0365 | “Episode 54” | Thursday, 15 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 11 - The two lucky contestants who won Sunday night's challenge are flown first class to Paris. Matt Preston shows them some of his favourite foodie haunts and they learn some culinary tricks from real Parisian masters. |
| Week 12 (Dreams Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0366 | “Episode 55” | Sunday, 18 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Service Challenge - The seven remaining contestants began to realize that their food dreams are a real possibility. They were asked to create dinner for some very special guests which in the end was revealed to be their families. Everyone presented delicious dishes but it was Emma's dish that was declared as the "Dish of the Day", thereby granting her safety from tomorrow's elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0367 | “Episode 56” | Monday, 19 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 13 - Christina's dish was named "Dish of the Day" for her new interpretation on a classic Caesar Salad. For elimination, it came down to Lucy and Kelty. While Lucy presented a trio of cupcakes with some flaws, it was Kelty who was eliminated for the overly thick molasses glaze on his dish's pork shoulder. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0368 | “Episode 57” | Tuesday, 20 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Josie Bones - Series 1 second runner up Chris Badenoch opened his restaurant, Josie Bones, to the red and blue teams to serve a lunch service to regular customers. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0369 | “Episode 58” | Wednesday, 21 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 14 - Darren Purchese and Series 4 contestant Kylie Millar gave a task to Lucy, Rishi and Samira to recreate Darren's intricate raspberry, rhubarb, chocolate and ginger dish, made of 13 individual recipes. Rishi was praised for the quality of the dish but missed the ginger element. Samira also earned praises but was criticised for the textures of her domes and jelly. In the end, it was Lucy's technical issues with her buns and poor presentation that lost her place in the Finals, therefore eliminating her. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0370 | “Episode 59” | Thursday, 22 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 12 - Guest chefs Annie Smithers & John Reid join the top five contestants & the judges, to cook & share some great regional country produce. They sit around a rustic table at The Royal George, to enjoy a good old fashioned country afternoon tea. |
| Week 13 (Finals Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0371 | “Episode 60” | Sunday, 25 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Finals Week Mystery Box Challenge - The top five each get to pick an ingredient for the last Mystery Box Challenge. They picked Chili Chocolate (Christina), Chilli (Rishi), Espresso coffee beans (Emma), garlic (Lynton) and Pomegranate molasses (Samira). While the judges gave the ingredients to each contestant: Emma has kale, Samira with nuts, Rishi with prawns, Christina with onions and Lynton with kangaroo. They have 60 minutes to cook their dishes with their ingredients. Emma again won the advantage for the Invention Test. She chose barramundi (over rib eye beef, duck and squid) with 60 minutes to cook. After having critical flaws in their first dishes, Christina and Samira redeemed themselves as the Top 2 and it was the latter's complexity of flavours that won her the advantage for tomorrow's elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0372 | “Episode 61” | Monday, 26 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 15 - Each top five contestant were assigned with one chef to cook their dishes in 90 minutes to survive from elimination. Their mentors (Adam Da Silva, Ryan Flaherty, Matt Germanchis, Jason Jones and Matt Stone) have fifteen minutes to assist the contestants in their dishes. Lynton is paired with Flaherty and cooked a Sous Vide Lamb Rack dish. Christina and chef Stone prep a cauliflower soup. Rishi and Da Silva cooked a Mughlai Spatchcock. Emma and Germanchis made a Buttered John Dory. After winning last night's challenge, Samira got extra five minutes to cook her dish. She and chef Jones cooked their Stuffed Roasted Spatchcock. Emma, Samira and Lynton had overall positive reviews from the judges and they were safe while the final decision came to Rishi and Christina's dishes. Ultimately, the lack of creativity and simplicity in her dish isn't enough for Christina to advance, sending her home. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0373 | “Episode 62” | Tuesday, 27 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Finals Week Service challenge - Its service challenge in The Atlantic restaurant with Donovan Cook running the pass. All contestant had problems in the kitchen and struggled to keep up. Emma had the most problems in prep time (in some point even broke to tears) but served stand out entrée (king fish capraccio), but step back with her main scalops dish, which was good but not great (serving to judges some raw scalops). Rishi had great prep time and good tuna entrée, but struggled with risotto. Samira's crab entrée lacked a bit of punch and had trouble with snapper sticking to grill but in the end the snapper was cooked beautifully. Lynton's bug entrée put him behind as it was cook to order and lack flavor and he didn't impress with main either. Rishi and Samira rose to the top with Rishi winning the advantage in the next challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0374 | “Episode 63” | Wednesday, 28 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge 16 - Emma won the first round against Rishi. The cuisine was Indian and the protein was mussels. Lynton won the second round against Samira. He picked kangaroo as the protein when Samira picked Middle Eastern cuisine. The final round began to see who would join Emma and Lynton in the Grand Final. Cuisine was French and protein was the eye fillet. Both the remaining contestants were comfortable with what they landed with, but made a mistake while executing the dish. Rishi forgot to blanch his leeks before char-grilling them, and Samira garnished her French dish with coriander leaves. The judges had a difficult time deciding whether Samira's choice of coriander as garnish not being French or Rishi's ashy leek sauce was the worst mistake. Rishi, one of the favourites to win the contest, went home one step away from the Grand Final. Emma, Samira and Lynton are the Masterchef 2013 Grand Finalists. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0375 | “Episode 64” | Thursday, 29 August 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass 13 - All of the contestants from MasterChef Australia 2013 reunite to take part in the final MasterClass of the season. However, the tables are turned as they set a mystery box challenge for George and Gary. |
| Week 14 (Grand Finale) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0376 | “Episode 65” | Sunday, 1 September 2013 |
| Synopsis: |
| Grand Finale Emma, Lynton and Samira cook off in the Grand Finale in three challenges. •Entrée - The grand finalists had to create a perfect dish and they were able to practice before the cook. Samira's confit salmon tarator earned high praise on the presentation but judges' opinions split on the need of the remoulade. Lynton didn't receive any negative feedback on his beef eye fillet that highly impressed the judges whom they named it as the dish of the day. Emma served her roast chicken with black truffles that also impress the judges. Samira scored 26, Emma also scored 26 and Lynton scored a perfect 30 (10 points each from the judges). •Main - Their next challenge was to serve a main dish that featured chicken as the core ingredient to be served to 20 guests in their "dream restaurant" with three hours of prep time. The finalists who had the lowest score would be eliminated in third place. Emma's chicken gratin with salt crust potato did not mind the judges as it contained the bones in her plate as the meat was cooked perfectly but they noted the salt crust being a bit tough. Lynton's barbecue sambal chicken impress the judges but was criticised as the dish did not feature the core ingredient of the challenge. Samira's spiced chicken breast with pumpkin puree was condemned by the judges for the cold puree despite having the meat cooked perfectly. Samira got 22 points, Lynton received a 21 and Emma had 23 points. Samira finished in third with the final score of 48 while Emma's total score was 49 and Lynton got 51 points total. •Dessert - Emma and Lynton pit each other in the last round to recreate "Plight of the Bees", a 700-layered honeycomb dessert contained a meringue, a lemon thyme honey cream, thyme ice, and cooked pumpkin with fresh fruit and herbs made by chef Ben Shewry of Attica restaurant. While Lynton's dish received praise on the flavours and the cooking of the pumpkin, his construction of the dish was flat while his pumpkin was too thick, his curd was grainy and missed out the crunch. Emma also had a problem with her presentation while she missed the granita and the tear in her pumpkin disappoint the judges but they praise for the textures of her other elements. Lynton got 30 points while Emma got 36 with the tally of the final scores of 81 to Lynton and 85 to Emma out of 100. The Winner Announced - Emma was named the winner of MasterChef Australia 2013. She won $100,000, a cookbook deal, an Alfa Romeo Giulietta car, and professional apprenticeship in the Australian restaurants. Lynton received $20,000 and Samira earned $10,000 after finishing in third place. |
2014 - Complete Season 06
| Week 1 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0377 | “Episode 01” | Monday, 5 May 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Series Premiere: Auditions Part 1 - Contestants started Series 6 with a challenge to cook their signature dish in one hour, vying for automatic entry into the Top 24. Originally there were twelve contestants who passed the auditions but Matt announced to the other remaining contestants that they still had a chance to present their dishes where two contestants (to a total of fourteen) joined the Top 24. Eighteen contestants, who were given a second chance, cooked again in the following episode. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0378 | “Episode 02” | Tuesday, 6 May 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Auditions Part 2 - The eighteen second-chance contestants competed in a two-round challenge for the ten remaining spots in the Top 24. The first round was an invention test where they had 75 minutes to cook a dish using one of three core skills: filleting, butchering and baking. Jamie, Brendan, Scott, Brent, Kira, Renae and Nick delivered the best dishes, received an apron each and joined the Top 24. The five other contestants, whose dishes had technical issues and failed to impress the judges, did not compete in the second round and were eliminated. The six remaining contestants faced a pressure test to claim the last three spots in the Top 24. They had two hours to recreate George's dessert, "Lemon, Lime and Bitters". Steven's version of the dish highly impressed the judges during tasting, and he won an apron. Afterwards, the last two aprons were given to Sarah and Byron. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0379 | “Episode 03” | Wednesday, 7 May 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 24 Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test - Georgia returned to the competition after Cecelia withdrew due to brain surgery. The Top 24 got their first challenge, in which the past five winners each chose a core ingredients for the mystery box: Julie Goodwin chose lemons, Adam Liaw selected guava, Kate Bracks picked white chocolate, Andy Allen chose hazelnuts and Emma Dean selected rhubarb, and the contestants had with one hour to cook a dish using those ingredients. Georgia, Ben, Sarah, Tash and Nick were each chosen by the past winners as the Top 5, and Nick won the challenge with his salted hazelnut crumb, lemon curd and white chocolate mousse. The theme of the invention test was the past (over present and future), and the contestants had 90 minutes to make a dish from the past chosen by Nick. The three contestants with the best dishes were saved from the first elimination challenge. In the end, the judges saved Laura, Sean and Jamie from elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0380 | “Episode 04” | Thursday, 8 May 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Chinese Cuisine Elimination Challenge - The remaining contestants faced a three-round elimination challenge set by in-house mentor Kylie Kwong based on Chinese cuisine. In the first round, they had 30 minutes to cook fried rice with different ingredients in the pantry that are not used in Chinese cooking, and the top 12 contestants were safe from the next round. In the second round, each of the remaining contestants had to name a Chinese ingredient, and the first three to guessed an ingredient incorrectly cooked in the final round. Deepali, Rachael and Brendan had 60 minutes to cook a Chinese dishes using the ingredients that were guessed correctly in the second round. Rachael's Sichuan pepper and coriander crab with Chinese broccoli was praised by the judges. Deepali served only three dumplings which did not have enough filling and had technical issues, despite being praised by the judges for its taste. Brendan, who had inexperience with Chinese cuisine, presented a raw pork loin, which missed the mark on the theme of the challenge, which resulted in his elimination. |
| Week 2 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0381 | “Episode 05” | Sunday, 11 May 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Mystery Box Challenge and Breakfast Invention Test - The contestants had 60 minutes to make a dish using the following ingredients from the mystery box: chicken, licorice, pineapple, pistachios, cinnamon, beetroot, yogurt and thyme. The top three contestants were named and Kira won the challenge. She chose eggs from a choice of breakfast ingredients for the contestants (except Scott) to make a breakfast dish with in the 60-minute invention test. The winner was granted an advantage for their first team challenge. Kira was among the top three contestants, but it was Sarah who won the advantage with her scotch quail eggs. Deepali, Nick and Jamie were sent to the pressure test after their dishes had serious issues. Because of his decision to sit out the second challenge, Scott was also sent to the pressure test per the rules of the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0382 | “Episode 06” | Monday, 12 May 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Shannon Bennett's Fillet of Beef - Shannon Bennett presented his Filet De Boeuf Et Pommes Souffle Au Jus Gras for Deepali, Nick, Jamie and Scott to recreate in one and a half hours. This pressure test led to all the contestants struggling. Scott made various mistakes during the challenge, but his steak and pommes soufflées impressed the judges apart from the jus gras. Nick's steak was very rare and it wasn't cut correctly after he repeatedly burned himself. Deepali's steak was unevenly cooked and her pommes didn't rise, while Jamie's pommes lacked salt and his jus gras was too thick. In the end, the fact that Deepali's Indian religion forbade her from either tasting or cooking a steak proved to be her disadvantage, and that was enough to seal her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0383 | “Episode 07” | Tuesday, 13 May 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Restaurant Takeover Team Challenge - At St Kilda Beach in Melbourne, the 22 contestants faced their first team challenge, in which they had four hours to prepare and serve to customers at two restaurants: Captain Baxter (from upstairs) and Republica (in downstairs), both headed by executive chef Matt Dawson. The two teams got identical pantries to create their own menus and select pricing, and the team that earned the most money won. After winning the invention test, Sarah earned the advantage of choosing her own team and restaurant of choice as team captain. She chose Nick, Kira, Sam, Jamie, Sean, Colin, Georgia, Emelia, Renae and Ben to cook dishes for Republica as the Red Team, while Tracy volunteered to lead the Blue Team, which consisted of the remaining contestants, in Captain Baxter. Although both teams struggled, they both produced great dishes, but Tracy's pricing strategy failed to attract more customers, handing the win to the Red Team ($2477 to $1952) and sent her team to the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0384 | “Episode 08” | Wednesday, 14 May 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Three Dishes from One Snapper Elimination Challenge - The 11 members of the Blue Team faced a three-round elimination challenge, in which they had 30 minutes to cook a dish using one snapper. Tash, Emily, Laura, Rachael and Amy made the best dishes. However, the other contestants were saved after Nicole took the crucial risk of using her whole snapper in the first round, despite the judges' pleading. Unfortunately, that risk didn't pay off as her fish lacked crispness due to an overuse of the hot oil dressing, and without any remaining protein to cook with in the second round, Nicole was automatically eliminated.
Masterchef Australia: Class of 2014 - This episode featured behind the scenes of the show and on-set interviews from this year's Top 24 contestants. |
| Week 3 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0385 | “Episode 09” | Sunday, 18 May 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Maggie Beer's Mystery Box Challenge and Spanish Invention Test - Maggie Beer's choice of mystery box ingredients consisted of octopus, dark chocolate, pears, parsley, bay leaves, capers, Japanese plums, vinno cotto and her signature ver jus, and the contestants were given 60 minutes to make a dish using those ingredients. Kira, Sarah, Emily, Scott and Rachael had standout dishes, and Scott won the challenge with his chocolate ganache tart. The invention test was set by chef Frank Camorra of MoVida, and, from a choice of three Spanish ingredients, chorizo, rabbit and citruses, Scott chose chorizo. With all the contestants choosing to pair the key ingredient with squid in their dishes, it was Laura, Tracy and Amy that won over the judges and the chance to cook for immunity. Jamie was criticised by the judges for his use of the nightshade flowers, but it was Sean, Nick and Sarah who were sent to the pressure test for serving dishes with raw squid. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0386 | “Episode 10” | Monday, 19 May 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Alla Wolf-Tasker's Rivers and Lakes - Sean, Nick and Sarah had two hours to recreate Lake House executive chef Alla Wolf-Tasker's dish, "Rivers and Lakes". Sean's curing of both fishes was praised in the judging, but his consommé was cloudy and lacked depth of flavour. Sarah's dish impressed the judges, but her watercress puree was overly acidic and lacked vibrance. However, those errors were outweighed by Nick's poor plating and missing elements, along with his soggy crispy skin and deplorable watercress puree, which resulted in his elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0387 | “Episode 11” | Tuesday, 20 May 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Ollie Gould - Laura, Tracy and Amy competed in the first round of immunity. They faced a small mystery box challenge, where they had 30 minutes to cook an amuse-bouche using a mystery box containing tiny ingredients (quail, quail eggs, melba toast, honey, candied beetroot, chili and finger lime), small cooking equipment and required staples (without using anything from the garden). Despite being critiqued on the presentation of her dish, Tracy won the challenge with her quail ballontine to cook against Ollie Gould of Stokehouse in Melbourne. The chef decided to cook a dish with fruit in one hour and Tracy had 75 minutes to cook her dish using the chosen key ingredient. The pastry in Tracy's Lemon and Lime Curd Tart with Candied Orange Peel and Italian Meringue earned praise the judges but the meringue was over-whipped and the curd was runny, and she scored 20 points. Ollie's Seared Pork Loin and Summer Fruits with Pickled Beetroot and Prosciutto had notable flaws, but his pork was perfectly cooked, and he scored 24 points to win. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0388 | “Episode 12” | Wednesday, 21 May 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Three-Course Team Challenge from Memory: Cutler & Co. and Ezard - The contestants were split randomly into two teams and had to cook a three-course meal for 30 guests at two restaurants in Melbourne: Cutler & Co. and Ezard. The Blue Team, led by Sarah and vice-captain Tash, were assigned to cook dishes from Ezard while The Red Team, led by Jamie and vice-captain Emelia, were assigned to Cutler & Co. The captain and vice captain went to the restaurants and had to memorise the directions of the recipes from the chef of each restaurant (Teage Ezard and Andrew McConnell of Cutler & Co). They then returned to the MasterChef kitchen to relay to their other team members instructions to be able to replicate the dishes in 90 minutes. During service, the watercress puree in the Red Team's entrée was bitter, while the plum broth in the Blue Team's main course had an odd taste. Both teams had technical issues with their desserts – the Red Team had issues in demolding their panna cottas, missing the caramel topping and there was an error in their syrup, while the Blue Team's honey jelly didn't set and their sorbets melted, but their cheesecake and crumb were well received in judging, and the Blue Team won. The Red Team was sent to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0389 | “Episode 13” | Thursday, 22 May 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sudden Death Elimination Challenge: Fast Food - The 10 contestants on the Red Team competed in a three-round elimination challenge whose theme was fast food. Each contestant chose ten different ingredients for each round with different time limits. Tracy, Emelia, Sam and Ben had the top dishes and were safe in the first round after 30 minutes. Jamie, Georgia and Brent were next to be declared safe in the 20-minute second round while Sean, Emily and Steven cooked in the 10-minute third round. Despite having issues in filleting his fish, Steven delivered the best dish while the judges critiqued Sean's inconsistent cooking of his liver, but Emily's banana fritters had technical issues after she mistakenly fried the plantain - the stiffened texture and loss of sweetness in the dish sealed her elimination.
MasterClass: Maggie Beer, Alla Wolf-Tasker, Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris, Kylie Kwong and Matt Preston - The nineteen remaining contestants were presented by the judges, Kylie, Maggie and Alla with their recipes in their first MasterClass: Maggie's Octopus with Squid Ink Pasta, Alla's Red Wine Pears, Gary's Ocean Trout on Rosti, George's Walnut with Blue Cheese Mousse, Kylie's Blue Swimmer Crab with Stir Fried Greens and Matt's Chicken Italienne. |
| Week 4 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0390 | “Episode 14” | Sunday, 25 May 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Press Club Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test: Proteins or Vegetables - George set up the Mystery Box Challenge for the 19 remaining contestants, in which they had 60 minutes to cook a dish with leftovers from his restaurant, the Press Club. Emelia, Kira, Renae, Sarah and Colin were chosen as the Top 5, and Emelia won the advantage with her avgolemono dish. She chose to remove the proteins (including gelatine) from the pantry for the 60-minute invention test. This invention test was a struggle for some of the contestants but it was Tash, Brent and Sarah who delivered the top three dishes while the judges slammed Jamie, Steven and Scott's dishes, sending them to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0391 | “Episode 15” | Monday, 26 May 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Christy Tania's Mango Alfonso - Adelphi Hotel's Om Nom Dessert Bar pastry chef Christy Tania from Melbourne presented one of the restaurant's signature desserts, Mango Alfonso, composed of 10 elements, for the Jamie, Steven and Scott to replicate in three hours. Steven earned praise with his dish. He was safe as Scott, who missed the other elements of the dish and whose his choux pastries were too moist, and Jamie, who overused the shiso cremeaux in his pastries and whose mango and shiso sphere toppled on the plate were the bottom two. The main focus of the challenge was the choux pastries, which was one of the key elements of the dish, and with his second take on the pastries failing to excel in judging, Scott was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0392 | “Episode 16” | Tuesday, 27 May 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Benjamin Cooper - Brent, Tash and Sarah competed in the first round of immunity. They had to cook a dish with their choice of one of five different chilies with different cooking time limits. Sarah's and Brent's dishes both lacked spice, and Tash won the challenge with her pineapple and chili sorbet and the chance to cook against Benjamin Cooper of Chinchin in Melbourne. He decided to cook with spices for the second challenge. Tash's Twice Cooked Spice Chicken was praised the judges for the complexity of flavours and her other elements in the dish. Benjamin's Brazilian Seafood Stew was also praised for its complexity and despite the criticisms on leaving the bones as well as the requirement of rice in the dish, he beat Tash, 28 points to 24. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0393 | “Episode 17” | Wednesday, 28 May 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Four-Course Dessert Degustation Challenge - Darren Purchese mentored the contestants, who were split into two teams of nine, in cooking a garden-themed four-course dessert using the following savoury ingredients: carrot, thyme, ginger and blue cheese in each course. Emelia and Georgia, both of whom thrived in desserts, elected themselves captains, and instructed their teams to design their desserts in each course. Each team had their assigned different garden theme: Georgia's Red Team were assigned with "Sunday in the garden" desserts while Emelia's Blue Team created "Footprints in the garden" desserts. For the first course, they had to create an edible dessert centerpiece using carrots. For the second course, the teams prepared their desserts with thyme as the key ingredient. For the third course, they had to cook a dessert using ginger and liquid nitrogen. In the final course, they prepared a hot blue cheese dessert. While both teams were praised each for their two courses, the combination of the Red Team's inconsistent presentation in their centerpiece and overuse of the salt in their thyme biscuits sent them to elimination as the Blue Team won the challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0394 | “Episode 18” | Thursday, 29 May 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Blind Taste Test Elimination Challenge - Georgia, Sam, Rachael, Brent, Colin, Tash, Sean, Amy and Kira had 3 minutes to identify and write down 23 ingredients of an unknown dish, which was revealed to be Louisiana Gumbo, blind-folded. The contestants who correctly guessed all the ingredients did not cook in the second round, and those who had correct guesses had 45 minutes to cook a dish using the ingredients they guessed correctly. Both Rachael and Colin delivered standout dishes, while Sean, Brent and Kira were the bottom three. Brent served char-grilled prawns that were too hot, but his excellent performance in the kitchen was enough to be save him. Kira's kransky sauce failed to impress the judges despite burning her hand during the challenge. Ultimately, it was Sean who had a lot more mistakes during the cook than Kira as his overcooked prawns and undercooked, bland flatbread sealed his elimination. |
| Week 5 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0395 | “Episode 19” | Sunday, 1 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Perilous Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test - The contestants had 30 minutes to make a dish with the option of choosing between the ingredients from the mystery box: tofu, paw paw, zucchini flowers, Vegemite, choko, salsify, cardamom and pheasant, and the given ingredients from the cutting board in their benches: potato, pumpkin, lamb, and brussels sprouts. Georgia, Amy, Jamie and Sarah were among the Top five, using the Mystery Box ingredients but it was Emelia's use of the "safe board" ingredients that won her the second time for the advantage of the invention test with the option of choosing the core ingredient, cooking time and cuisine of her choice. She chose a Thai prawn dish with 45 minutes to cook. However, Steven was feeling unwell and opted to sit out of the second challenge, and therefore, he was sent to the pressure test. It was Brent, Rachael and Renae who made the best Thai prawn dishes. On the other hand, Ben, Byron and Sarah delivered dishes with technical errors and were sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0396 | “Episode 20” | Monday, 2 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Saint Crispin Pressure Test: Sweet and Savoury - Byron, Ben, Steven and Sarah competed in a two-hour challenge set by Saint Crispin chefs Joe Grbac and Scott Pickett. They gave the contestants the option of picking one of two dishes. Byron, Ben and Sarah chose to make Scott's venison dish, while Steven picked Joe's rice pudding. All four contestants struggled in the challenge as each had critical issues in their dishes. However, Ben, who had all the elements of the dish on his plate, despite having a burnt crépinette, and Sarah, who received praise from the judges apart from her missing figs and a small strip of cling wrap left in her dish, were saved, despite serving undercooked venison. Byron was condemned for his panicked plating and missing figs, while Steven, despite being motivated with his choice of dish, flustered and presented a poorly executed dessert. Ultimately, Byron's cooking of the venison saved him and Steven was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0397 | “Episode 21” | Tuesday, 3 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Matt Stone - Rachael, Brent and Renae competed in the first round, taking turns naming different cheeses. Renae and Brent failed to correctly identify their next guesses, and Rachael won the chance to cook for immunity against chef Matt Stone from Greenhouse in Perth. He chose cheese (over ham) as the core ingredient. In one hour, he cooked a carrot and manchego salad while Rachael made a Lobster Mornay and Cheese Soufflé with Grilled Mango. Matt's salad was praised for the quality of the dish and highlighting the core ingredient, but lacked balance in taste. While Rachael's dish earned praises for her lobster and grilled mango, the conflicting flavours in her cheese soufflé on her dish meant she lost with the lowest score of 15 to Matt, who scored 23. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0398 | “Episode 22” | Wednesday, 4 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Queen Victoria Market Team Challenge - The 16 contestants were taken to the Queen Victoria Market for their next team challenge, where they were split into four teams of four and had to cook a dish with a budget of $700 for ingredients with the team who made the most money winning the challenge. By the time they bought their ingredients, The Red Team attempted to debate between two options for their dish to sell. The Green Team spent all their money buying ingredients for their dish without a captain in charge. During preparation time, tensions between two members of the Red Team (Rachael and Tash) arose on a task of cooking the elements of their dish. In service, the teams (except Yellow) began losing customers due to the poor service in preparing their dishes. Both the Green Team (now led by Amy) and the Yellow Team (with Sam as captain) spent their budget for ingredients. Therefore, the popularity of their dishes earned the highest money with the Yellow Team winning with $3884.35 and the Green Team earning $2328.14. The strategy of saving money on ingredients to allocate to profits didn't work out for the Blue and Red Teams, earning the lowest money each. In the end, the profit of $1600 marked Red Team captain Brent's fifth time facing elimination with his team members. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0399 | “Episode 23” | Thursday, 5 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge: Time Auction - Rachael, Ben, Brent and Tash faced off in a time auction challenge. Each contestant got 100 minutes of time and had to bid for proteins, produce and condiments in blocks of 5 minutes. Tash had 30 minutes to cook with the mackerel, Asian vegetables and sauces, Rachael was left with 50 minutes to cook with the pork belly, forage vegetables and pantry staples, Brent had 50 minutes to cook with the rib-eye steak, root vegetables and spices, and Ben got 55 minutes to cook with the pigeon, nightshades and dairy. Eventually, the verdict came down to the contestants who excelled throughout the challenge. Rachael struggled during the challenge and produced a dish that lacked quality, and she was eliminated.
MasterClass: Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris, Darren Purchese and Matt Preston - Darren Purchese and the judges presented their dishes in this special Dessert MasterClass: Gary's Pistachio Sponge with White Chocolate Mousse & Yuzu Curd, George's Risogalo Jar, Darren's Apple Tarte Tatin and Matt's three dessert recipes (Flourless Nutella Cake, Simple Peanut Cookies and Instant Ice Cream). |
| Week 6 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0400 | “Episode 24” | Sunday, 8 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| "Superfood" Box Challenge & Chocolate Invention Test - The contestants had 30 minutes to cook a dish with the use of nutritious ingredients from the Mystery box, including goji berries, kale, yogurt and lentils. The Top 5 were Emelia, Ben, Colin, Renae and Brent. Despite her third appearance in the five, Emelia lost to Ben, who made the best dish the judges had eaten this season. In the invention test, the contestants were divided into teams of three and had 60 minutes to make sweet and savoury chocolate dishes, and Ben selected the teams. He picked Emelia and Jamie as his team members. Ben grouped Kira, Tracy and Tash; Laura, Byron and Sam; and Brent, Renae and Sarah, and Amy, Colin and Georgia were the fifth team by default. It was the latter team who delivered the best chocolate dishes, including a Chocolate Fettucine with Lamb, and were named the Top 3. While their respective fellow team members' desserts were praised by the judges, Tracy did not have enough chocolate flavour in her thyme venison dish, but in a close decision, Byron and Sam's chocolate chicken roulade dish was deemed the worst, sending them along with Laura to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0401 | “Episode 25” | Monday, 9 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Nobu Pressure Test - Byron, Laura and Sam faced a two-hour pressure set by famed celebrity chef and world entrepreneur Nobu Matsuhisa, in which they had to make four plates of sushi consisting of six nigiri and six vegetable rolls without a recipe. All three struggled throughout the challenge, but Laura's performance in the kitchen impressed Nobu and she was saved, despite missing one element, while both Byron and Sam were criticised for their inconsistent presentation. A single snapper bone was found on one of Sam's plates, which resulted in her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0402 | “Episode 26” | Tuesday, 10 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Jock Zonfrillo - Georgia, Colin and Amy competed in the first round of the immunity challenge, in which they had 45 minutes to make a dish using a randomly selected kitchen gadget of their choice: a blowtorch, a smoking gun and a foam gun. Both Colin and Georgia's use of the foam gun and the blowtorch, respectively, had issues with their dishes, and Amy's use of the smoking gun in her puree won the challenge to cook against guest chef Jock Zonfrillo of Orana. Amy was given a choice to either pick between one of the two pantries with 15 minutes less to cook her dish or let the chef pick his choice with the regular cooking time limits. She gave the pick to Jock who chose the 'pauper' ingredients containing native Australian ingredients over the 'prince' ingredients containing expensive ingredients. He cooked a Roast Beef and Pumpkin with Native Succulents while Amy prepares her Pan-fried Leather Jacket with Potato Puree and Apple Sauce. Jock's dish impress the judges for its presentation, taste, and the clever use of the indigenous ingredients. While Amy was praised for the quality and depth of flavour to her dish, she lost to Jock with the score of 24 points to the professional's 27. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0403 | “Episode 27” | Wednesday, 11 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Diamond Jubilee Wedding Anniversary Team Challenge - The two teams had to cater two dishes, an entrdesserts weree and main, and prep a two-tiered wedding cake for 80 guests to celebrate Margaret and Eddie's 60th Wedding Anniversary at the Ascot House in Victoria. Within three hours of planning and preparation of their dishes, Blue Team member Brent wasn't feeling well and decided to withdraw from the entire challenge while the Red Team struggled for improvements in their entrdesserts weree. Both teams struggled to prep their main courses and their cakes. While the judges noted the Red Team's main course being less over cooked and their presentation of their cake, it was the Blue Team's lack of execution in their main and under baked cake that sent them to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0404 | “Episode 28” | Thursday, 12 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge: Classic Dishes - The contestants from the Blue Team faced a two-round elimination challenge. In the first round, they had to name a classic dish correctly by writing their answers on cards. Colin, Tracy and Sarah failed to guess their correct answers and were sent to the second round. They had 60 minutes to make a dish using ingredients from the dishes that were correctly identified. Tracy's chicken ballotine earned positive reviews, while the judges criticized Colin's chicken pithivier. However, they couldn't taste Sarah's chicken roulade due to the protein being raw. Though she had been motivated throughout the competition and in team challenges, Sarah was eliminated despite being a top favourite to win. |
| Week 7 - Marco Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0405 | “Episode 29” | Sunday, 15 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Marco's Mystery Box Challenge and Italian Cuisine Invention Test - Dubbed the first celebrity chef, Marco Pierre White served as the guest chef for the week. In the mystery box challenge, the contestants had 75 minutes to make a dish using his favorite ingredients: white port, lobster, ginger, coriander, vine tomatoes, olive oil, carrots, cucumber and mixed spices. With Emelia, Kira, Brent, Amy and Laura named the Top 5, Marco picked Tracy as the sixth contestant. He and the judges then picked Laura as the winner of this challenge after Marco was impressed in her recipe profile. In the invention test, the hone cooks had 60 minutes to make an Italian dish using only five ingredients from the pantry and one of three Italian ingredients: (porcini mushrooms, prosciutto and bottarga), that Laura got to choose from, and she chose the mushrooms. She then won the challenge, along with Tracy and Ben, for a chance to compete for immunity, while Amy, Byron and Tash's dishes had technical errors that sent them to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0406 | “Episode 30” | Monday, 16 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| White Heat Pressure Test: Roasted Pigeon with Ravioli of Wild Mushrooms - Amy, Byron and Tash had two and a half hours to recreate a famous dish from Marco's best-selling cook book, White Heat. Amy was declared safe after presenting a dish similar to Marco's. Tash's plate had two underwhelming elements and she missed the turnips, while Byron, despite having the best presentation of the dish, ran out of time to serve enough sauce. Unfortunately, the lack of sauce derailed the harmony of the elements and failed to match the quality of Marco's dish, which resulted in his elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0407 | “Episode 31” | Tuesday, 17 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Donovan Cooke - Marco demonstrated his knife skills to Laura, Tracy and Ben on how to dice an onion perfectly which they had to do the same in order to advance in the second round for immunity. It was Laura's time and precision of finely dicing her onion that won her the chance to cook against Michelin star chef Donovan Cooke of The Atlantic Restaurant in Melbourne. Laura takes the pick and from the core ingredients of the surf 'n' turf dish, choose fish (over red meat) with the same cooking time limit for her and the chef to cook their dishes. She cooked Pan Fried Snapper with Anchovy, Tomato and Caper Vinaigrette with Fennel, Orange Salad while Donovan cooked his Pan Fried Barramundi with Seafood Broth and Summer Vegetables. Despite Laura overcooking her fish apart from receiving praise for the balance of flavour, Donovan ran out of time to plate up and served his dish five seconds late. As a result, the judges couldn't taste his dish and Laura automatically won the immunity pin with 26 points out of 30. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0408 | “Episode 32” | Wednesday, 18 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Taxi Kitchen Team Challenge - Two teams were instructed by Marco and the judges to compete in a British-themed challenge. They had to prep two entrées, two mains and a dessert for 60 diners each before service in the Taxi Kitchen restaurant at Federation Square in Melbourne. Within two hours and forty-five minutes, the Blue Team was still deciding their menu and struggled to prep their main. During service time, the Blue Team served their main dish with raw lamb. Despite receiving praise for their dessert, it wasn't enough to overcome their bland scallop entrée and overcooked lamb dish against the overall praise of the Red Team's dishes, and they were sent to the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0409 | “Episode 33” | Thursday, 19 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Knife Block Elimination Challenge - To escape elimination, Laura decided to use her immunity pin. The other contestants from the Blue Team had 60 minutes to put their own spin on a classic dish, which was determined by pulling one of seven knives with the names of seven classic dishes, which was the risotto. Kira took a risk in making a quinoa risotto and tomato salad and it paid off, as it was the dish of the day. Tash and Brent were the bottom two. Brent's risotto was under-seasoned, but while her risotto had a smooth consistency, Tash overpowered the acidity of the dish by pouring too much wine in the rice. The lack of balance from both the lemon and wine overwhelmed the delicate flavours, which resulted in Tash's elimination.
MasterClass: Marco Pierre White, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris - The judges and Marco treated the remaining contestants to a Masterclass. Marco presented his salt baked snapper dish, a simple spaghetti carbonara and a tuna dish. Later, Gary and George presented their respective dishes. |
| Week 8 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0410 | “Episode 34” | Sunday, 22 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Duel Mystery Box Challenge & Team Invention Test - The Mystery Box Challenge had a twist: the contestants got to decide who would step up to compete in the first round, in which each had to answer a trivia question, and only two remained to face off in the second round. The winner was safe from elimination and an advantage, while the loser was sent straight into the pressure test. Tracy and Renae were left to compete in round two, in which they had to make a dish with the ingredients from the Mystery Box. Both of them were praised for their outstanding presentation in their dishes, but the cloying sweetness in Renae's dish landed herself in the pressure test as Tracy won the challenge. The other contestants were grouped into three to compete in the invention test. Each team member randomly pulled out a knife corresponding with the three choices (cuisine, appliance and cooking method) to cook two dishes. Jamie, Emelia and Brent received high praise with their two American dishes and the use of the planetary mixer and a stove-top, making them the Top 3. Ben, Colin and Kira also received praise for their Moroccan dishes with the oven and the ice cream machine. Laura, Georgia and Amy struggled throughout the challenge (due to their use of the deep fryer and unfamiliarity with Vietnamese cuisine). Despite receiving praise on both of their dishes, their prawns were uncoated and overcooked, joining Renae to face elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0411 | “Episode 35” | Monday, 23 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Vikas Khanna's Rose-Tea Smoked Chicken Tikka Masala - Laura, Georgia, Amy and Renae had 75 minutes to replicate award-winning Michelin starred Indian chef Vikas Khanna's rose tea-smoked chicken dish. Renae and Amy presented the best dishes and were safe, despite minimal errors on their respective plates, and the final decision came to Laura and Georgia, both of whom had no experience in Indian cuisine. While Laura's sauce was overcooked, her chicken saved her and Georgia's overcooked chicken sealed her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0412 | “Episode 36” | Tuesday, 24 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Second Chance Cook-Off - The 14 previously eliminated contestants returned to compete for a second chance in the competition. They got to choose between two mystery boxes to make a dish with. The original box contained ingredients of the dishes that had them eliminated to recreate their dishes in 60 minutes and the steel box with ingredients that resulted in their best dish with only 30 minutes to cook. Furthermore, only 10 contestants used the wooden box, while the other four used the steel box. It was Brendan, Rachael, Sean, Georgia and Sarah who redeemed themselves as they made the best dishes. It came down to Georgia's and Sarah's chicken dishes and despite her gritty puree, Sarah's sauce was complex and she narrowly won her place in the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0413 | “Episode 37” | Wednesday, 25 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Starlight Children's Foundation Service Challenge - For winning this week's Mystery Box Challenge, Tracy got to sit out the team challenge. As there was no elimination challenge just for the week, the teams, under the mentorship of Curtis Stone, competed in raising money to be given to the Starlight Children's Foundation for charity. Each team had to cook a three-course meal using citruses. The Red Team, led by Sarah, struggled throughout both prep and service time as they had issues with their dishes. The Blue Team, led by Jamie, did well throughout the challenge. However, their dishes also had issues but the judges were impressed with the quality of their dishes. Both teams raised a total of $48,350 and the blue team won the challenge with a $20,000 donation given to Bendigo Bank. They joined Tracy to compete for tomorrow's special challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0414 | “Episode 38” | Thursday, 26 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Power Apron Challenge - The judges introduced a special apron to the contestants: the power apron. The golden apron would grant the wearer numerous advantages and control throughout next week's challenges. Tracy, Jamie, Emelia, Brent, Amy and Renae must cook in three rounds a three-course meal to win the apron. Brent, Amy and Renae failed in the entrée round while Emelia didn't make it through the main round, leaving Tracy and Jamie to compete in the dessert round. While Jamie's soft chocolate mousse had issues, Tracy impressed the judges with the balance of sweetness in her cookies and cream dessert and she won the golden apron. |
| Week 9 - Power Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0415 | “Episode 39” | Sunday, 29 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Tracy's Mystery Box Challenge & Invention Test - As the holder of the Power Apron, Tracy took advantages and control of the following daily challenges for a week. If Tracy was sent home, she would pass the apron to another contestant of her choice. Her first advantage was to choose the ingredients in the mystery box that she and the contestants cooked with in the 45-minute challenge. Tracy's second advantage in the invention test was to handpick a core ingredient and to allocate its cooking time in a box for each contestant to cook a dish. Brent narrowly beat Sarah to win the Mystery Box Challenge, and got the chance to switch his box with any contestant besides Tracy. He swapped his box with Colin's for chicken with 60 minutes to cook. Sarah blew the judges away with her crispy tripe, with Emelia and Renae also wowing the judges. On the other hand, Brent landed in the Bottom 5 with Kira, Ben, Colin and Jamie. Ultimately, he and Ben dodged the pressure test as Jamie, whose prawns were undercooked, Kira, whose spices were burnt, and Colin, whose mousse was elastic, formed the bottom 3. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0416 | “Episode 40” | Monday, 30 June 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Croquembouche - Colin, Jamie and Kira had three and a half hours to recreate a croquembouche without a full recipe. Tracy had the power to give each contestant a partial recipe of one element of the dish. Colin received the caramel recipe, Jamie had the choux pastry recipe and Kira was given the crème patissiere recipe. Each contestant's croquembouche had one issue: Colin's dish lacked spun sugar toffee and some of Jamie's pastries lacked crème patissiere, but it was Kira's first pressure test that stumbled her. Her choux pastries were brittle, which was enough to eliminate her. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0417 | “Episode 41” | Tuesday, 1 July 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Jason Jones and James Viles - Tracy's advantages with the Power Apron gave her an automatic pass to the immunity challenge and the ability to choose two other contestants to join her. She chose Laura and Colin and in the first round, the three contestants had 45 minutes to create a bar snack with beer as the core ingredient. Tracy beat them with her Beer Candied Bacon and Popcorn Chicken Sliders for a chance to cook in the second round. Tracy was given the power to choose between two chefs, Jason Jones of B'stilla and James Viles from Biota to compete for Immunity. She picked James and for the core ingredient by coin toss, Tracy's choice was 'heads' (containing various animal head parts in the pantry). She cooked Braised Beef Cheeks with Pan Fried Gnocchi while James cooked his Pork Neck and Brain Puree with Egg and Leek. The judges claimed James' dish missed the mark on flavour and his meat was dry. Ultimately, Tracy's dish earned overall praise and she won the immunity pin with the score of 27 to James' 26. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0418 | “Episode 42” | Wednesday, 2 July 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Farm Banquet Team Challenge - The teams of contestants were tasked with cooking a banquet for 20 of the best food producers in the region at the Great Ocean Road. Tracy was given the Red Team captaincy and the power to choose her team, while Laura took charge for the Blue Team. They had to buy their produce with a 300 minute budget to use. The Red team picked pork (45 minutes), shellfish (30 minutes), crayfish (45 minutes), greens (15 minutes) and root vegetables (30 minutes) with two hours to cook, while the Blue Team had one hour and forty minutes to cook with lamb (60 minutes), snapper (60 minutes), duck (45 minutes), greens (15 minutes.) and potatoes (20 minutes). While the Blue Team struggled to prepare their dishes after five hours, it was their lack of sauce, overcooked duck and overcooked lamb that sent them to the elimination challenge as the Red Team wins. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0419 | “Episode 43” | Thursday, 3 July 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Mexican Cuisine Elimination Challenge - Tracy had the advantage of saving one member of the Blue Team from elimination. She chose to save Laura, while the remaining contestants faced each other in pairs in a two-round Mexican-themed elimination challenge. They had to make a savoury Mexican dish in the first round. Brent and Amy's Mexican spiced snapper with adobo sauce, guacamole and corn beat Colin and Renae's prawn and bean tostadas with Lime and Chipotle Mayonnaise, sending the latter two to the second round, in which they had to face each other by make a Mexican dessert. Both of them opted to make chocolate chili desserts. While they were praised with their dishes, the fondant in Renae's dessert was too floury, but in a close call, Colin was eliminated as his dish lacked cohesion. |
| Week 10 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0420 | “Episode 44” | Sunday, 6 July 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Barter Mystery Box Challenge & Decade Re-Invention Test - In the mystery box challenge, each contestant received one ingredient. They were allowed swap up to 5 of their ingredients and could either accept or reject trades. Contestants got 60 minutes to produce their dishes with the use of the pantry staples (no visit in the pantry and the garden). Renae, Amy and Brent impressed the judges but Amy won the advantage into the Invention Test. Her advantage was to choose between three dishes of previous decades: prawn cocktail from the 60's, apricot chicken from the 70's and Nouvelle cuisine from the 80's. Amy chose the chicken dish for the 60-minute cook. Her win in the second challenge along with Ben and Laura earned a chance to compete for immunity whereupon Emelia, Sarah and Tracy were sent to elimination but because the latter had won the pin from last week, Renae (who had the fourth least-impressive dish) will be sent to the Pressure Test if Tracy decides to use it. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0421 | “Episode 45” | Monday, 7 July 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Nick Palumbo's Choc Top Extraordinaire - Tracy decided to use her immunity Pin, and Renae took her place and joined Emelia and Sarah in the pressure test. The three had to recreate four salted caramel soft serve gelati by Nick Palumbo, each with Italian meringue covered in ganache and amaretti biscuits on a sugar cone. With two hours to prepare the components and fifteen minutes to assemble the cones, Emelia and Sarah impressed the judges with their performance. While Emelia was confident and organized throughout, Sarah fell behind early, but mounted a brilliant comeback in the final minutes. However, neither impressed in the tasting as it was Renae who produced the best replication of Nick's dish. In contrast, Emelia and Sarah served up unexpectedly bland ice cream after failing to push the caramel far enough. In a close decision, the judges decided that Emelia's ice cream had a slightly better salted caramel flavor than Sarah's, and Sarah was sent home once again. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0422 | “Episode 46” | Tuesday, 8 July 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: John Lawson - Amy, Ben and Laura competed in the final immunity challenge of the season. The first round was to re-assemble the cuts of beef to a diagram. Amy's second try of re-assembling the cuts earned her the win to compete in round two. In the second round, she cooked against John Lawson from No.8 in Melbourne. John take the pick and choose the bitter ingredients (over sweet). He cooked Pan-fried Quail with Braised Radicchio and Pancetta in 75 minutes, scoring 25 points. Amy cooked a Poached Lobster, Citrus Sorrel and Lobster Mustard Mayonnaise in 60 minutes but her poor plating of the dish meant she lost with 22 points to the professional. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0423 | “Episode 47” | Wednesday, 9 July 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Asian Street Food Team Challenge - The contestants were divided into pairs and took responsibility of two and a half hours prep time and serve different Asian street foods for 200 customers in 90 minutes outside the MasterChef kitchen. The teams were chosen by drawing coloured chopstick from a bamboo steamer basket and each team had a chef as the mentor to any Asian cuisine. Laura and Jamie from the Blue Team, under the mentorship of Jarrod Hudson, cooked two Thai dishes. Shaun Presland mentored the Red Team of Ben and Renae in cooking Japanese street food. The Green Team's Brent and Tracy prepped their Vietnamese dishes under Adrian Li. Frank Shek took charge by instructing Amy and Emelia of the Yellow Team to prepare Chinese street food. The Green Team fell behind after struggling to prepare their dishes which took too long to serve and burnt half of the elements. Their Vietnamese tacos made it difficult for the customers and the judges to eat. The Red Team took too long to prepare their dishes. Their Japanese noodle soup earned reviews for the depth of flavour but it was criticised on its bland texture. With 10 minutes to go, the Yellow Team's Chinese pork and mushroom soup earned popularity among the customers which meant they quickly ran out. The Blue Team earned overall positive reviews on their two dishes. Two teams were saved based on the highest number of votes from the customers for each team. The Blue Team earned 79 votes and The Yellow Team got 59 votes. The critical flaws in the Green and Red Teams' dishes earned them the lowest votes each (Green's 51 and Red's 11), sending them to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0424 | “Episode 48” | Thursday, 10 July 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Cryptic Elimination Challenge - Ben, Brent, Renae and Tracy faced off in an elimination challenge, in which they had two hours to recreate an unknown dish by head chef Dave Verheul of The Town Mouse. Unlike any other Pressure Test, there was no recipe provided and they didn't get to either guess or know the characteristics of this dish. The contestants got to decipher the clues based on a food critic review by judge Matt Preston to recreate the dish with intuition. The dish was a buttermilk poached pear with walnuts, salted caramel, roast chocolate ganache & pear sorbet. All four struggled to recreate the dish: Brent's sorbet lacked freshness and flavour, Ben did not have enough chocolate ganache while his caramel hardened. Renae missed the walnut crumble, and Tracy overcooked her pear. However, Ben and Brent manage to excel in their approach to the dish and were safe, and it came down to Renae and Tracy, who had issues in making the ganache. In the end, Renae failed to balance the sweetness of the dish and she was eliminated. |
| Week 11 - Heston Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0425 | “Episode 49” | Sunday, 13 July 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterChef House Pantry Challenge & Australian Food Culture Invention Test - The Top 7 contestants were greeted by Heston Blumenthal at the MasterChef house, and he served as their mentor for the week. In the house kitchen, they had 60 minutes to cook a dish using ingredients from the pantry. Laura, Jamie and Ben made the three best dishes, and Ben won. He was informed that their next challenge was an invention test, in which the contestants had 90 minutes to make an inventive dish inspired from their families using native Australian ingredients. The winner was granted an advantage in the following challenges, while the contestant with the worst dish in each challenge was sent to the elimination challenge and therefore did not participate in the other challenges for. The two stand out dishes were Brent's Roast Lamb with Native Greens, Carrots and Pumpkin and Ben's Salt and Pepper Snapper with Mustard Emulsion and Charred Cucumber. Brent won the advantage, while the worst dishes belonged to Amy, whose Stuffed Quail with Davidson Plums and Sweet Potato had overcooked meat, and Tracy, whose Native Herb Cured Beef with Saltbush Salt and Samphire was too salty. Ultimately, Tracy became the first contestant to be sent to the elimination challenge due to the lack of balance in her dish. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0426 | “Episode 50” | Monday, 14 July 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Beetroot Risotto - The six contestants were tasked with making Heston's beetroot risotto with no set time limit. They were not provided with a recipe or dish to taste, and they had to follow along as Heston cooked this dish. For winning the previous challenge, Brent got to see the recipe. However, despite having the advantage, he fell behind throughout the cook. His dish lacked acidity and there were problems with his ice cream. He was in the bottom two with Ben, but the latter was sent to the elimination challenge for overcooking his dish and over churning his ice cream. Amy and Jamie delivered the best dishes, but it was Amy who won the next day's advantage. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0427 | “Episode 51” | Tuesday, 15 July 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pub Food Service Challenge - Amy, Brent, Emelia, Jamie and Laura faced off in a service challenge, in which they had to cook pub food dishes for 120 guests at The Hotel Albion in Port Melbourne, Victoria. Each got to pick one of the five different classic pub dishes: surf 'n' turf, parma, pasta, roast of the day and fish of the day. Amy, after winning the advantage, got to pick first and chose surf 'n' turf. Brent picked Parma, Laura chose the pasta, Emelia picked the roast and Jamie received the fish dish. Amy's Pork Belly with Seared Scallops beat Emelia's Roasted Spatchcock with Roasted Potatoes, Lentils and Madeira jus for the second win and the advantage. During the challenge, Laura struggled with the amount of pasta to be served to the as her Pappardelle with Mushroom Ragu was served with less pasta and lack of execution while Brent dropped his sides for the entrée and his Chicken Parmigiana with Fennel Salad did not impress the judges. Those missteps were enough to put them in the bottom two for the size inconsistencies in their dishes. However, Laura's pasta skills in the dish was enough to save her and Brent was sent to the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0428 | “Episode 52” | Wednesday, 16 July 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Five Senses Challenge - Amy, Emelia, Jamie and Laura faced off in a challenge where they had to cook a dish inspired by one of the human senses (minus taste) with 30 minutes to plan and one and a half hours to cook their dish. Amy's advantage gave her the ability to pick one of the senses first. She chose sound but although she had the pick, Amy fell behind throughout the challenge as the concept of her Seafood Stew with Fresh Oyster and Bread Roll wasn't convincing to the judges while the fish was overcooked and wasn't handled with care. Laura's Citrus Cured Salmon with Beetroot Jelly and Coriander Oil, which was inspired by her choice: sight, delivered the dish of the day as she was sent to Finals Week. Despite the small errors in Jamie's Green Tea Cured Salmon with Compressed Apples and Green Strawberries (smell) and Emelia's Lemon Verbana Jelly with Pickled Apples, Confit Lemon Segments and Mascarpone Ice Cream (touch), they also made it to the finals. Amy then joined Tracy, Ben and Brent for tomorrow's elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0429 | “Episode 53” | Thursday, 17 July 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge: Deception - Amy, Ben, Brent and Tracy faced off in the last elimination challenge before Finals Week. In honour of Heston, the theme of this challenge was culinary deception. They had two hours to create a dish that looked like one thing but tasted like something else to trick Heston and the judges. Ben's campfire sous vide beef dish and Brent's chocolate soil dessert earned high praise for the presentation of their dishes. It came down to Amy and Tracy, as both of their dishes missed the brief of the challenge: Amy, despite being motivated in this week's previous challenges, had problems with the presentation of her magic fruit salad dish and her cheesecake plums had issues on the texture, while Tracy's crumble custard dish did not have enough deceptive creativity, although her flavours stood out to the judges. As a result, Amy was eliminated.
MasterClass: Heston Blumenthal, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan - Heston presented his three dishes in molecular gastronomy to the Top 6 for their MasterClass: gin 'n' tonic nitro with the use of liquid nitrogen, fish 'n' chips in two methods to the fish with an iSi gun and his creative black forest gâteau hot chocolate. Next, George made his pavlova and lastly, Gary cooked his lamb hotpot dish. |
| Week 12 - Finals Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0430 | “Episode 54” | Sunday, 20 July 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Finals Mystery Box Challenge & Dessert Pressure Test: "Banana Split" - The Top 6 finalists faced their last mystery box challenge, in which they had 45 minutes to make a dish using ingredients chosen by their loved ones, and the three contestants who made the best dishes were safe from elimination. Brent, Emelia and Tracy were named the Top 3, while Ben, Jamie and Laura were declared the Bottom 3. They faced a two-hour pressure test, in which they had to replicate a difficult interpretation of a banana split created by three returning pastry chefs: Darren Purchese, Christy Tania and Nick Palumbo (each chef composed one of the elements of the dessert). Jamie managed to deliver the best dish and he was safe. Ben's chocolate peanut sauce had split and was greasy, while his tuilles were too thin causing them to crumble, and his banana parfait lacked texture. Laura had issues with her banana gelato and her coconut foam lacked spices, but the rest of her elements thrive in judging and she was safe, eliminating Ben from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0431 | “Episode 55” | Monday, 21 July 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| "No Rules" Elimination Challenge - Brent, Emelia, Jamie, Laura and Tracy cooked off in the elimination challenge. The challenge was rather unconventional, with no rules and a time frame chosen by the contestants as a group. They were allowed to cook whatever they liked without access to the pantry and the garden. They decided to give themselves 90 minutes to cook a dish. Jamie's autumn salad with smoked duck, Emelia's baklava parfait with chocolate sorbet and Laura's grilled quail with artichokes and mushroom panzanella earned positive feedback. The dish of the day was given to Laura and she received an advantage in the next challenge. The judges felt Brent overcomplicated his dish, which missed the mark in the challenge and Tracy's plating of her dish was unorganized, having flawed elements and an unfinished plate. In terms of creativity in his dish, Brent was declared safe and Tracy was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0432 | “Episode 56” | Tuesday, 22 July 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Three-Round Duel Challenge - Brent, Emelia, Jamie and Laura cooked off in a three-round challenge. Two contestants competed in each round, in which they had to make a dish with the choice of protein and cuisine. For winning the dish of the day, Laura got to pick her opponent in the first round. In round one, she chose Brent and they faced off cooking an Italian fish dish, and Laura won. In round two, Emelia and Jamie had to make an Indian shellfish dish, and the winner of the second round competed against Laura in the final round to guarantee an automatic pass to next week's semi-finals and would be safe from elimination. It was Emelia who won and advanced to round three. She and Laura had to make a Lebanese kangaroo dish, and Laura who won with her kangaroo, granting her the fast pass to the semifinals. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0433 | “Episode 57” | Wednesday, 23 July 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Vue De Monde Service Challenge - Shannon Bennett returned to bring Brent, Emelia and Jamie to his restaurant, Vue de Monde. They had two and a half hours to make the restaurant's signature three-course meal for 60 VIP guests, and the best performer was granted an advantage in the pressure test. Each contestant got to randomly pick one of the three courses by pulling a knife from the block: Emelia picked the entrée, a Slow Cooked Duck Egg with Fresh Pear, Truffle Purée, Shaved Bread and Crispy Saltbush, Brent picked the main, a Blackmore Wagyu Beef with Apple and Ox Tongue, and Jamie received the dessert - a Tonka Bean Soufflé with Chocolate Mousse and Smoked Chocolate Ice Cream - by default. Emelia's entrée was too salty but received praise on the presentation. Brent's dish earned overall positive feedback. Jamie also received overall praise in his take of the dessert. Both Brent and Jamie impress with their performance in the kitchen, but Brent won the advantage as had a positive energy and composure throughout the challenge. He was rewarded with a recipe of the dish to practice for tomorrow's pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0434 | “Episode 58” | Thursday, 24 July 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Martin Benn's Chocolate Forest Floor - Jamie, Emelia and Brent had three hours to recreate Sepia restaurateur and award-winning chef Martin Benn's intricate chocolate dessert. Emelia was praised for her dish, but was criticised for the soft texture of her sorbet and the thickness of her tempered chocolate. Ultimately, she advanced to the semifinals, and it was down to Brent and Jamie. The latter's under-tempered chocolate, split lavender cream and missing finger limes did not outmatch the lack of finesse and unstable cloudy jelly in Brent's dish, which was praised for the other elements on the plate, and Jamie was eliminated.
MasterClass: Chefs vs. Contestants - The top 3 semifinalists were greeted by the former eliminated contestants to join them for their last MasterClass presented by Matt with his slow roasted lamb souvlaki and George with his version of a village salad. Then Brent, Emelia and Laura cook off against Gary, Kylie Kwong and Curtis Stone in a relay challenge. The contestants cook a prawn dish while the professionals cook a crab dish. Ultimately Gary, Kylie and Curtis won the challenge. |
| Grand Finale Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0435 | “Episode 59” | Sunday, 27 July 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Semi-Finals: Service Challenge - The semifinalists faced the first day of the Grand Finale. They competed in a service challenge, in which they had four hours to cook a main and a dessert for 20 diners and the judges, and only two advanced in the Grand Finals. All three fell behind during the prep time. Emelia made Glazed Beef Cheeks with Jerusalem Artichoke Puree, Brent cooked his Roasted Pork Belly with Apple and Celeriac Cream and Laura made her Smoked Quail with Chestnuts and Mushrooms. All of their mains received high praise from the judges on complexity. Both Emelia and Laura had issues with one of their elements for their desserts, forcing them to salvage it. Meanwhile, Brent's Seasonal Apples with Pistachio and Fennel received praise on the complexity, and he was the first person through to the grand finale. While the judges liked Emelia's Whipped Chocolate Ganache with Mandarin Chantilly Curd and Fig Leaf Anglaise, her curd lacked acidity and freshness in the dish to balance the richness of her chocolate elements. Laura's Chestnut Forest impressed the judges on the complexity, sending her to join Brent in the finale. As a result, Emelia was sent home in an emotional elimination, but was offered a pastry chef apprenticeship at The Press Club by George. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0436 | “Episode 60” | Monday, 28 July 2014 |
| Synopsis: |
| Grand Finale - The grand finale was composed of three rounds and the Brent and Laura had to cook a dish in each round for the judges. In round one, they got to make up their own Mystery Box by individually taking turns choosing their ingredients, and they got 60 minutes to make entrées. Laura was praised for her grilled scampi with anchovy butter, pickled cabbage, roe and pear barley, but her cabbage lacked finesse. The textures of Brent's pearl barley with poached scampi, pickled cabbage and fresh chervil earned overall positive remarks on the complexity of his dish. Laura received 25 points while Brent got 9 points each from all of the judges for a score of 27. In round two, Brent and Laura took charge at the chef's table and had 90 minutes to make a main dish for their special guests: their families and friends. Laura received overall praise from the judges for her butter poached lobster and cooked scallops with chestnuts and mushrooms, while Brent also impressed the judges with his modern take on a Lancashire hotpot, but he was criticised for leaving out the potatoes from his dish. Laura got 24 points (8 each from the judges) for a total score of 49, overtaking Brent, who scored 21 (7 points each) for a total score of 48 points. In the final round, Brent and Laura had to recreate Quay executive chef Peter Gilmore's "Chocolate Ethereal" with three hours to cook and 20 minutes to assemble the dish. Throughout the challenge, Laura struggled in making the nougat component after reading the wrong recipe. She then fell behind when her tempered chocolate seized in her bench and she failed to peel the hot caramel off before time expired. In judging, Brent managed to reinterpret Peter's dish and he impressed Peter and the judges with the textures and complexity. Laura's plate did not meet the brief in the presentation when she didn't chop the nougat and she forgot the tempered sheet components. As a result, she got 8 points each from Gary, George and Matt and 7 from Peter and received an overall score of 80 points. Brent got 8 points from Gary and 9 points each from George, Matt and Peter, finalizing his score at 83 points. Winner Announced - Brent won $250,000 as the grand prize, a cookbook deal with Hardie Grant, an Alfa Romeo Giuletta, and a work experience from one of Australia's popular restaurants. Laura was given $20,000 as the runner-up while Emelia was given $10,000 in placing third. |
2015 - Complete Season 07
| Week 1 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0437 | “Episode 01” | Tuesday, 5 May 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Series Premiere: Auditions Part 1 - Season 7 started with a challenge for the contestants to cook their signature dish in one hour, vying for automatic entry into the Top 24. Gary, Matt and George judged the competitors with either "yes" or "no", with their votes deciding whether the contestant would stay in the competition. 15 contestants received three yes votes and won their way through to the main competition, while 16 others, who received either one or two yes votes, were given a second chance and cooked again in the next episode. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0438 | “Episode 02” | Wednesday, 6 May 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Auditions Part 2 - Sixteen second chance contestants were given the chance to get the nine remaining spots in the Top 24, in two challenge rounds. In the first round, an invention test, the contestants had 75 minutes to cook a dish using ingredients from one of three different world food markets, and the 8 best dishes won their makers a spot in the main competition. James' dish earned positive praise and he received an apron during the tasting. The other seven contestants who received aprons were Georgia, Mario, Billie, Andrea, Jamie, Amy and John. The remaining eight faced a pressure test set by Shannon Bennett for the one remaining spot in the Top 24. They had two hours to create his layered Warm Chocolate Orange Mousse, with a number of technical elements, including tempered chocolate. Rose's version was declared the best and she won the last apron. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0439 | “Episode 03” | Thursday, 7 May 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 24 Mystery Box Challenge - Before the first challenge, the show disqualified Mario for his five month professional experience as a paid chef, which violated the guidelines of the auditions. With his removal, Jessie was brought back to replace him. The contestants were given a choice of three mystery boxes, with one picked by each judge with series six winner Brent Owens as the guest judge. Cooking with ingredients chosen blindly and with 75 minutes on the clock, some contestants struggled with the pressure of their first challenge, while others thrived. Of the five standout dishes, it was Jessica, John and Sara who were declared the Top 3 and won an advantage in their next challenge.
Massimo Bottura Team Challenge - Massimo Bottura brought the Top 24 their first team challenge, in which they had three hours to make an Italian main course and dessert for a restaurant of 40 guests, with the worst performing team facing elimination. Jessica, John and Sara were team captains and initially designed menus. John and Sara's teams decided to simplify their dishes, while Jessica's Red Team kept going with their plan to make fresh fettuccine. John's White Team received overall positive reviews in both their main and dessert. Despite serving the judges some raw fish and missing a table during service, on the whole, Sara's Green Team impressed. Ultimately, while having skillful elements in their dishes, the Red Team's fettuccine was too chalky and dry while the strawberry element of their dessert did not impress. Those flaws were enough of a disappointment to land them in elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0440 | “Episode 04” | Friday, 8 May 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Fish Elimination Challenge - The losing team from the previous challenge faced a three-round elimination challenge based on fish. In the first round, the eight contestants were tasked with naming twenty Australian fishes, one by one. The first five to incorrectly name a fish moved to round 2. In the second round, the remaining contestants had 4 minutes to fillet and pin-bone a whole snapper, with the three worst moving to the final round. Georgia, Kha and Marcus faced off in the final round and given 45 minutes to cook a fish dish of their choice. Kha's Tuna with Potatoes and Vinaigrette was appreciated but labeled too simple, and Georgia had overcooked her fish, but she impressed the judges with all other elements. Marcus faced many problems during his cooking time, delivering a half finished dish and despite being praised on the cooking of his fish, his other elements failed to impress, and a single bone was found in his flathead fillet, resulting in his elimination. |
| Week 2 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0441 | “Episode 05” | Sunday, 10 May 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test - Andrea withdrew from the day's challenges due to sickness and therefore went through to the pressure test. The remaining contestants faced a mystery box challenge with ingredients including popcorn, blood orange and coriander, with only five dishes being tasted by the judges. Ashleigh, Sara, Georgia, Billie and Reynold were selected as the Top 5, with Georgia's Crumble with Chamomile Meringue and Creme Patissiere and Blood Orange Curd giving her the win and the ability to choose the invention test core ingredient. From a 'guilty pleasure' selection she chose chocolate (over bacon and cheese) and the contestants had 90 minutes to cook a dish, with the Top 3 going to the immunity challenge, and the Bottom 3 going to the pressure test. Most of the contestants excelled with such a well-used ingredient, and Reynold, Jessica and Ashleigh were declared the Top 3, while Georgia, Jamie, James and Rose failed to impress with their dishes. However, the flavours in Georgia's dish eventually saved her as Jamie James and Rose joined Andrea in the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0442 | “Episode 06” | Monday, 11 May 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Sat Bains' Beef and Mushrooms - Andrea, James, Jamie and Rose had two and a half hours to recreate Sat Bains' technical dish, "Beef and Mushrooms", to avoid elimination. Andrea's mushroom ketchup had the wrong consistency, leading her to leave it off the dish, while Rose forgot to make her pickled onions and had some issues plating the dish. Ultimately, both of their dishes were praised, despite missing some elements. Jamie's dish impressed, but his sauce lacked depth of flavour and his tartare lacked cornichons. Even though James had all the elements, despite neglecting to taste each component during the cook, he received negative feedback from the judges due to technical issues. The theory is that none of his elements balanced together correctly and therefore, James was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0443 | “Episode 07” | Tuesday, 12 May 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Ben Williamson - In the first round, Ashleigh, Jessica and Reynold had to make a dish using a jaffle iron. Ashleigh won the round with a "Jaffa jaffle", and moved to the Immunity Challenge round against Brisbane chef Ben Williamson. Ashleigh decided to use an 'eastern-inspired' pantry and with 75 minutes, cooked a Thai chicken curry with lychee relish and Roti. Ben prepared a pan-fried duck with Kimchi, Puffed millet with Daikon and a Nashi pear salad. Ashleigh was praised for the depth of flavour in her dish and her lychee relish, but her rice was undercooked and the Roti dry. Ben's dish was criticised for a lack of depth in his Kimchi, but the rest of his dish was well received, ultimately giving him the win, 16 points to 15. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0444 | “Episode 08” | Wednesday, 13 May 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Puckapunyal Team Challenge - The remaining 22 contestants travelled to Puckapunyal Army Base for a team challenge, cooking for 120 Army personnel, Legacy guests and their families. The two teams had a total of four hours preparation and service time to cook and individually plate a two-course meal, a main and a dessert. Being their first challenge in a commercial kitchen, contestants rose to the challenge and delivered all around excellent dishes, impressing their guests. Both teams delivered knockout desserts, the Red Team's golden syrup semifreddo with anzac crumble being met with acclaim from the judges. However, they served uneven and undercooked lamb compared to the Blue Team's perfectly cooked beef eye fillet, and it was this that sent them to the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0445 | “Episode 09” | Thursday, 14 May 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Two-Round Elimination Challenge: Salad and One-Rule - The eleven contestants from the losing team faced a two-round elimination challenge, and in the first of which, they to make a centrepiece salad in 30 minutes. Georgia, Ashleigh and Jacqui made the 3 best salads, while Amy, Kha, Rose and Sara made the four worst. In round 2, the four contestants had to each choose one rule (area of cuisine, type of protein, cook time, cooking method) for the challenge from three options. With 45 minutes to cook Vietnamese-style quail on the stove-top, Sara and Amy shone, producing exemplary dishes. And while Rose overcooked her quail, Kha undercooked his and his dish lacked flavour, making him the third contestant to be eliminated. |
| Week 3 - Marco Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0446 | “Episode 10” | Sunday, 17 May 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Marco's Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test - Marco Pierre White brought his version of a mystery box, which consisted of ten ingredients that make up five fundamental flavours: sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami. With 60 minutes to them, Ashleigh, Georgia, Jessica, John and Sara were chosen as the Top five by Marco and the judges, with Ashleigh winning the challenge. Her advantage in the invention test was to choose one of five basic sauces (for example, Bechamel and Hollandaise) that had to underpin the contestants' next dish. Ashleigh chose Veal Jus, and it was the quality of this sauce that determined the top and bottom dishes. Billie, Georgia and Matthew impressed with their inventive dishes, while Andrea, Jacqui and John's dishes were not well received and put them in the bottom 3. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0447 | “Episode 11” | Monday, 18 May 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Lamb Noisettes à la Forestiere with Madeira Sauce - Andrea, Jacqui and John had two and a half hours to recreate Marco's dish, including preparing the Noisettes from scratch out of a saddle of lamb after a demonstration of how to 'break it down' from Marco. Jacqui had some problems with her meat, ultimately presenting it with the skin still on. John impressed with his approach and final dish, getting praise across the board. After falling behind early despite departing from the recipe, Andrea ran out of time while plating her dish and her lamb was cooked inconsistently. That was enough to seal her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0448 | “Episode 12” | Tuesday, 19 May 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Josh Pelham - In the first round, Billie, Georgia and Matthew had to make a simple dish using a single egg and their choice of pantry items. Georgia won the round with her fried egg, black bean and tomato salad, with goat cheese cream, and moved to the Immunity Challenge Round against Josh Pelham from Estelle in Melbourne. Georgia decided to use a 'food from below the ground' pantry and with 75 minutes, make a seafood and fennel broth with prawns and scallops. Georgia was praised for the flavour of her broth, but her prawn was undercooked. Josh's dish of marron and mussels with truffles and leeks was praised, and although Marco didn't like salmon caviar, Josh edged out Georgia 33 points to 31. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0449 | “Episode 13” | Wednesday, 20 May 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Relay Team Challenge - The contestants were split into four teams of five and were tasked with a relay-style challenge, in which each member had 15 minutes to cook and 45 seconds to transfer information. Billie, Jacqui, Jarrod and Melita, the captains of the Red, Yellow, Blue and Green Teams, respectively, chose the dish and started off the challenge. Jarrod chose to make a coconut mussel broth, Melita chose to cook lobster medallions with a seafood broth, Billie chose to make a stuffed chicken thigh with a fennel and carrot puree, and Jacqui decided to make Mexican corn tacos. During three changeovers, the Yellow Team attempted to create a new component to replace the corn tacos when a core ingredient, masa flour, was not found in the pantry. In the Green Team, Rose's choice to pour too much wine in the bisque made it overly acidic, which led to Kristina restarting the dish with a stronger base. In the Blue Team, John changed the entire dish by adding other ingredients for new components (White Chocolate Velouté with Scallop Tartare), which only confused the last two members of his team. The Blue Team was really struggling with Georgia tasked with completing the dish. With five minutes left, she salvage the dish and plated up pan-fried prawns with a scallop ceviche. Both the Green and Red Teams were praised for their teamwork and excellent communication. The Yellow Team, on the other hand, was praised for their prawns but criticized for their undercooked flatbreads. Despite Georgia's efforts to single-handedly make her team's dish under extreme conditions, it wasn't enough as their miscommunication, cluttered decisions and undercooked prawns left the Blue Team in elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0450 | “Episode 14” | Thursday, 21 May 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| The Fifth Judge Elimination Challenge - Amy, Fiona, Georgia, Jarrod and John had 75 minutes to cook five servings of a dish for the four judges, with each contestant joining the judges to taste their own dish. Georgia's dish was loved by Marco and the judges. John and Amy were both were criticised for the tendency errors in their dishes, but also received praise from the judges. Ultimately, the three of them were declared safe. Jarrod's execution let him down, delivering a gazpacho that lacked acidity and a croquette filling that was overcooked, while Fiona's pastry was inconsistent and undercooked. However, her pie filling was good enough to keep her in the competition and it was Jarrod who was eliminated.
MasterClass: Gary Mehigan, Marco Pierre White, Shannon Bennett, Curtis Stone and Matt Preston - In their first MasterClass, the nineteen remaining contestants were presented by Marco and the chefs with their recipes. Gary used Marco's Mystery Box ingredients to create his twice Baked Souffle. Marco cooked his Mac n' Cheese. Marco's former apprentices showed their dishes to the contestants - Billie's Red Team, after their performance in the relay challenge, were presented with Shannon's Apple Tart and Curtis cooked his Butternut Pumpkin Soup to them and the contestants. Lastly, Matt presented his two sweet recipes (his White Chocolate Mousse and Mango Daiquiri). |
| Week 4 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0451 | “Episode 15” | Sunday, 24 May 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Maggie Beer's Mystery Box and Invention Test - Maggie Beer brought a twist to the mystery box challenge, with the ingredients having to be foraged solely from the MasterChef garden. Georgia, Kristina, Matthew, Jessica, Sara and Melita were the Top 6 and impressed with their use of the garden's fresh produce, with Melita winning the advantage in the invention test. She chose stone-fruit (over apples and berries) and the contestants had 60 minutes to invent a savoury dish with fruit as the inspiration. This challenge confused a number of contestants, with the worst dishes belonging to Fiona, Jacqui, Jamie and Rose. Billie, Jessie and John impressed Maggie with their ability to use the fruit in new and interesting ways and won the chance to cook for immunity. Fiona and Jacqui were sent to the pressure test for serving raw proteins, while the judges chose to send Rose to the pressure test as well. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0452 | “Episode 16” | Monday, 25 May 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Anna Polyviou's Carrot Cake - Guest chef Anna Polyviou brought her version of a carrot cake, judged "Australian Dessert of the Year", for Fiona, Jacqui and Rose to replicate. With three hours to bring 12 different elements together, the time pressure was great, leading each contestant to fail to temper her chocolate and each of their plates had notable errors: Jacqui's caramel glaze was too dark and sticky, Fiona's cake had issues on the assembling and texture, while her sorbet lacked flavour and her cream cheese foam was lumpy. Rose missed the foam at the last minute, but the judges were impressed with her dish overall and she was first to be declared safe. Ultimately, Fiona's dessert, which lacked definition, sealed her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0453 | “Episode 17” | Tuesday, 26 May 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Duncan Welgemoed - Billie, Jessie and John faced the first round of the challenge with each contestant having to name one of 26 mystery ingredients, one for each letter of the alphabet. Billie and Jessie each dropped out on their second guess, thus moving John into the second round by default. He thus had the chance to cook for immunity against South Australian chef Duncan Welgemoed. He picked the fresh pantry (over the processed food pantry) and with 75 minutes, cooked a pork adobo with coconut rice. Duncan's dish of Tuna, Pork Fat Vinaigrette and Stonefruit was praised for its simplicity, cleanness and presentation, and while John was praised for the subtlety in his dish, compared to past dishes, his rice was chalky and pork was unevenly cooked, and he lost to Duncan, 24 points to 22. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0454 | “Episode 18” | Wednesday, 27 May 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Abbotsford Convent Bakery Team Challenge - The teams took over the running of the Abbotsford Convent Bakery, designing a menu with the objective of making the highest profit in three hours of service. With four hours to prepare at least one savoury dish and one dessert, plus loaves of sourdough bread, the scale of the challenge created problems. Both teams struggled to make the pastry for their pies, get their bread baked, and have a couple of dessert options ready to sell. By the time service started, the Red Team managed to have all but their pies ready for sale, while the Blue Team only had brownies, meaning that early on, the Red Team had six times the profits. The Blue Team's slow start combined with lower pricing meant they were not able to catch up ($2565.75 vs. Red's $3205.80) and they landed in the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0455 | “Episode 19” | Thursday, 28 May 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sudden Death Elimination Challenge: Thai Cuisine - The nine losing contestants faced a three-round Thai-themed elimination challenge set by chef Benjamin Cooper. Anna, Billie and Jamie cooked the top three dishes in the ten-minute round. Ashleigh, Ava and Stephen most impressed in the 20 minute round, leaving Jacqui, Melita and Rose to cook in the thirtyminute round. Rose impressed with her final dish and while Jacqui's elements were disjointed, it was the lack of protein in Melita's chicken curry that was enough to send her home. |
| Week 5 - Superstars Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0456 | “Episode 20” | Sunday, 31 May 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Poh's Mystery Box and Invention Test - Poh Ling Yeow, the runner-up of series 1 returned to set the mystery box challenge, filled with her favourite ingredients. John, Georgia, Jessie, Reynold and Rose were the Top five, and John won the advantage in the invention test, with Hayden Quinn, from series 3, bringing the three core ingredients. He chose pork and with 60 minutes, it was Anna, Ava and Georgia who championed the ingredient in inventive ways. Ashleigh, Kristina and Rose failed to deliver and were sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0457 | “Episode 21” | Monday, 1 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Kylie Millar's Toffee Apple - Former season 4 contestant Kylie Millar gave Ashleigh, Kristina and Rose the challenge of recreating her 14-element toffee apple dessert in two and a half hours. Ashleigh excelled and was the only contestant to complete the dish. Rose was criticised for taking most of her sugar elements too far, making her caramel too bitter. But, while Kristina had the best edible spoon and caramel glaze, she failed to temper the required heat for her sticky caramel sauce to achieve the perfect amount of bitterness and missed out the other key components to the dish, including the apple jellies, cinnamon flakes and isomalt shards - one of which was the freshness from the apple. Those errors Kristina had made failed to achieve the significant balance to match Kylie's dish and she was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0458 | “Episode 22” | Tuesday, 2 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Callum Hann - In the first round, Anna, Ava and Georgia faced a basic skills relay challenge, in which they had to finely dice onions, whip egg whites to firm peaks and segment a whole chicken. Anna managed a comeback win, overtaking Georgia at the last moment to win the chance to compete for immunity against season 2 runner-up Callum Hann. She picked the 'black' food pantry (over 'white'), consisting of exclusively very dark and/or very expensive ingredients. With 75 minutes, she cooked Dry-aged Beef, Carrot and Blackberry Salad with a Mushroom Truffle Puree. Callum's dish of Black Pudding, Goats Cheese and Carrot Salad with Pickled Blackberries was praised for its delicate balance and textural elements, and while Anna's beef and carrots were well cooked, her puree was bland and she lost, 21 points to 19. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0459 | “Episode 23” | Wednesday, 3 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Mexican Street Food Team Challenge - The teams faced a service challenge, which they had to cook Mexican Street food for around 500 people, mentored by Ben Milbourne and Andy Allen from series 4, with the team making the most money winning. With three and a half hours of preparation and 90 minutes of service, having to buy their ingredients, price their dishes competitively and cope with demand, the teams were challenged. Both teams had issues during service; the popularity of the Green Team's Churros meant they ran out quickly, and the Red Team served some raw chicken. Sara's decision to raise her team's prices in the last 30 minutes was not enough to win and the Green Team won $6084.15 to $5807.70, sending the Red Team to the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0460 | “Episode 24” | Thursday, 4 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Re-invention Elimination Challenge: French Dishes - The eight contestants faced a re-invention test set by season 1 contestant Justine Schofield, in which they had 90 minutes to put a modern spin on one of nine classic French dishes, determined by knife pull, Duck a l'Orange. In the tasting, Georgia's duck and orange consommé received criticism over the layer of fat left in the protein and the subtle lemon flavour in her broth. Jessie, John, Jessica and Stephen impressed with their dishes, while Jacqui, whose duck and range hotpot lacked sauce, and Ava, whose duck salad with figs and goat cheese lacked orange flavour, were declared the Bottom 2. Ultimately, the lack of orange flavour did not meet the brief of re-inventing the Duck a l'Orange and it was enough to eliminate Ava.
MasterClass: Callum Hann, Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris, Poh Ling Yeow and Matt Preston - Callum and Poh presented their dishes to the contestants for their next MasterClass: Callum's Goat Cheese Mousse with Walnut Brittle, Lemon Curd & Honey Syrup and Poh's Shredded Duck Rendang with Pandan Coconut Lace Pancakes, Sticky Turmeric Rice & Cucumber Coriander Relish. The judges presented their recipes to the contestants: Gary's Fish Soup and Lobster Sliders, George's Coconut Calamari with Blackberry Sorbet and Matt's Prawns à la Plancha. |
| Week 6 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0461 | “Episode 25” | Sunday, 7 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| "Dollar" Box Challenge and Team Invention Test - The contestants faced a mystery box filled with items costing less than one dollar, and with 60 minutes to make an outstanding dish with budget ingredients, Georgia, Matthew and John were the Top 3. John again won the advantage in the Invention Test, which was set by Curtis Stone, and from a choice of seasonal vegetables picked pomegranate (over pumpkin and beetroot). Working in teams of three to make a sweet and savoury dish in 60 minutes, it was Jacqui, Jessica and Matthew's dishes that impressed the judges and made them the Top 3. Ashleigh, Anna and Billie failed to deliver enough pomegranate flavour and were sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0462 | “Episode 26” | Monday, 8 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Marcus Wareing's Braised Veal - Anna, Ashleigh and Billie faced a two and a half hour pressure test set by British chef Marcus Wareing, in which they had to recreate his 13-element braised veal dish. Billie won praise for the quality of her dish, with Marcus especially impressed with her skills in the kitchen. Both Ashleigh and Anna struggled during the challenge, having undercooked veal kidneys in their dishes. But it was Anna, who overcooked her veal ribs and forgot to glaze it, who was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0463 | “Episode 27” | Tuesday, 9 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Nick Holloway - In the first round, Jacqui, Jessica and Matthew faced a plating challenge, in which they had four minutes to use prepared ingredients to plate a Press Club dish in a modern way. Both Matthew and Jacqui forgot to plate some elements, handing Jessica the win and the chance for immunity against chef Nick Holloway. She picked the food pantry of tiny ingredients (over big) and with 75 minutes, cooked a pan roasted and confit quail with pumpkins, carrots and Mandarin. Nick's dish of Autumn Fruit Poached Quail with Candied Grape, Radish and Fennel was universally praised for its depth and balance of flavours, and while Jessica's dish was also met with rapturous admiration, it was slightly less impressive and she lost, 28 points to 29. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0464 | “Episode 28” | Wednesday, 10 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Italian Team Challenge - The teams had to cook an Italian three-course lunch for 40 guests each at Pizzini Wines in the King Valley, with each team having to use a different local wine in each of their dishes. With three hours of preparation and having to collect their choice of protein from local farms, The Red Team fell behind early, as it took them the longest time to get their protein. The Blue Team changed their entrée last minute, and initially struggled to tie their rockmelon soup together as a dish. Both teams had problems with the accompaniment with their main course, but both made outstanding desserts. Ultimately, the decision was so tight, with the judges saying it was almost a tie. It came down to small details and because of the Blue Team's perfectly cooked chicken, it was the Red Team that was sent to the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0465 | “Episode 29” | Thursday, 11 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Mystery Box Elimination Challenge - The contestants on the Red Team faced a three-round mystery box elimination challenge with a twist: they were given only 30 minutes per round and were only allowed the ingredients in their box, as well as the usual staple ingredients to make up to three dishes. In the first round, Georgia and Matthew made the two best dishes, with Billie and Jamie declared safe in the second, leaving Ashleigh, Jacqui and Stephen in the final round. Ashleigh impressed the judges with her crème brûlée, and she was safe. It came down to Stephen and Jacqui, and it was the latter whose overcooked scampi and undercooked pasta sealed her elimination. |
| Week 7 - Power Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0466 | “Episode 30” | Sunday, 14 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test - The contestants faced a challenge, in which they had to cook a dish using every ingredient in their mystery box, with the winner gaining the Power Apron. Despite fierce competition from Ashleigh, Matthew and Reynold, it was Jessie who brought the judges one of the best desserts they'd eaten in the MasterChef kitchen. Her reward was a 30-minute head-start in an Invention Test in which every contestant could pick his/her own core ingredient and had to showcase it in three different ways. The Power Apron was then be passed to the next contestant who excelled in the following challenges. Four contestants were be chosen for guaranteed immunity with the Power Apron being given for the winning dish. Winning the challenge and the Power Apron was Reynold with his dish of Chocolate Three Ways, while Billie, Jessie and Sara completed the Top 4. Amy left off one element in her duck dish, and that put her at risk of being sent to the pressure test, but the judging was turned in her favour when Matthew, Stephen and Jamie made dishes with technical errors and found themselves in elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0467 | “Episode 31” | Monday, 15 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: The Sunday Roast - Jamie, Stephen, and Matthew were tasked with reinventing the "Sunday Roast", a classic Australian dish, with sides. In possession of the Power Apron, Reynold picked chicken over beef as the main protein that Jamie, Stephen, and Matthew had to cook with. Matthew decided to keep it simple and his macadamia-stuffed chicken roulade with pommes dauphine was declared a stand-out dish. Although Stephen's gravy was criticised for being too condensed by fat and the skin of his chicken too rubbery, one of Jamie's chicken roulades was overcooked and his roasted potatoes lacked execution. In a split-decision verdict for one of them to be safe, the final vote based on the cooking of the chicken was given to Stephen and Jamie was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0468 | “Episode 32” | Tuesday, 16 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Three-Round Duel Immunity Challenge - Billie, Jessie, Reynold and Sara cooked off for guaranteed immunity and the Power Apron in a duel-based challenge, in which they faced each other in three rounds, one v one, with a different cuisine and protein each round. In the first round, Reynold, as holder of the Power Apron, chose Jessie as his opponent cooking a French dish with pipis, but it was Jessie who won the round. In the second round, Billie and Sara faced off cooking flathead UK-style, with Billie winning. Jessie and Billie then competed in the final round cooking a Chinese dish with chicken, with Billie's twice-cooked orange and cinnamon glazed chicken beating Jessie's Hainanese chicken soup (27-24), giving her the immunity pin and Power Apron. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0469 | “Episode 33” | Wednesday, 17 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Restaurant Takeover Team Challenge - Teams had four hours of preparation and service for 50 guests at two Asian restaurants in Melbourne, Tokyo Tina, a Japanese cuisine restaurant, and Saigon Sally, Vietnamese restaurant. Billie, as holder of the Power Apron, was given the Red Team captaincy and the power to choose her team and restaurant of choice, which was Saigon Sally. John volunteered to captain the Blue Team at Tokyo Tina. John's decision to make six dishes pushed the Blue Team to the edge, while the judges' suggestion that the Red Team's four dishes were too few led them to add a dish in the last hour of preparation time. By the time service started, both teams were feeling the pressure, but the Blue Team particularly struggled to cope with initial demand. Both teams put up mostly quality dishes, winning praise from the judges, but it was the poorer quality of the Blue Team's main dish and desserts that left them in elimination. Ashleigh was judged the best individual performer and won the Power Apron. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0470 | “Episode 34” | Thursday, 18 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Blind Taste Test Elimination Challenge - Ashleigh, as the holder of the Power Apron, chose to save Stephen from elimination, leaving Georgia, John, Matthew, Rose and Sara to face the two-round elimination challenge. In a blind taste test, they had three minutes to taste and two minutes to write down the ingredients of an unknown dish, the Korean Bibimbap, with the contestants receiving only the ingredients they correctly guessed to cook with in the second round. Sara and Georgia, who had the most correct guesses, along with Rose, made outstanding dishes, while John, with the least ingredients, and Matthew, who was unfamiliar with Korean cuisine, struggled the most. Ultimately, it was the irrelevant underwhelming elements and overcomplexity of John's dish that resulted in his elimination. |
| Week 8 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0471 | “Episode 35” | Sunday, 21 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Heston Blumenthal's Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test - Heston Blumenthal presented a mystery box filled with Australian ingredients, such as macadamia nuts and emu, and with 60 minutes to showcase these local ingredients, Billie, Reynold and Sara were the Top 3. The latter won the advantage in the invention test, and from a choice of cocktails picked Whiskey Sour over Espresso Martini and Bloody Mary. Tasked with taking the flavours of the drink and creating an inventive dish in 60 minutes, it was Ashleigh, Matthew and Rose who impressed the judges most and made them the Top 3. Amy, Georgia and Stephen failed to recreate the flavours of the drink and were sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0472 | “Episode 36” | Monday, 22 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Guillaume Brahimi's Jewel of the Sea - Amy, Georgia and Stephen had two and a half hours to recreate Guillaume Brahimi's French sea urchin dish. Ultimately Georgia and Amy both, made, despite the former's dish looking flat, and the latter missing some urchin tongues in her garnish. While Stephen had thick squid tagliatelles, it was also the derailment of his dish due to the lack of urchin sauce that sealed his elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0473 | “Episode 37” | Tuesday, 23 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Jim McDougall - In the first round, Ashleigh, Matthew and Rose had to recreate a classic sticky date pudding, using second-hand equipment and ingredients. Ashleigh's modern take on the pudding won her the chance to cook for immunity against chef Jim McDougall. She picked the Northern Australian Food pantry (over South) and with 75 minutes, cooked a passionfruit semifreddo with a chocolate mousse and coconut crumb. Jim's dish, a red emperor with smoked butter and a vanilla sauce, slightly confused the judges with the mix of sweet and savoury flavours, winning praise nonetheless, but it was Ashleigh's dish that highly impressed the judges, winning her the immunity pin 26 points to 22. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0474 | “Episode 38” | Wednesday, 24 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Team Challenge: Afternoon Tea at The Hotel Windsor - The two teams were tasked with providing a high tea for 100 guests, as well as the three judges and four guest pastry chefs: Bernard Chu, Darren Purchese, Christy Tania and Kirsten Tibballs. They had three hours of cooking time in the MasterChef kitchen, and then had to transport their dishes to the Hotel Windsor, where they had half an hour of prep time and half an hour to serve. The Blue Team, led by Reynold, strived at the beginning, completing most of their prep in the kitchen and being the first to send out their tiers. The Red Team, however, struggled under Rose's command, especially when their chocolate tart shells collapsed, providing them with not nearly enough time to complete plating up at the Hotel Windsor. This, along with the Blue Team's top three dishes, gave the Blue Team the win and sent the Red Team the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0475 | “Episode 39” | Thursday, 25 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pie Elimination Challenge and Second Chance Cook-Off - Billie used her Immunity Pin and the other members of the losing team had 90 minutes to bake a pie. Matthew's pie was a standout dish and he was immediately declared safe, and while Sara's pie had a crumbling pastry and an underwhelming filling, Jessie's pastry was raw, which resulted in her elimination, but she was given a second chance, after the fourteen previously eliminated contestants returned to compete for a second chance for a Top 10 spot. The returning contestants had an open pantry and 60 minutes, with the best performer then cooking off against Jessie for his/her place in the competition. Kha, Kristina and Stephen had the top dishes with Stephen narrowly winning the opportunity over Kristina to cook off against Jessie. Ultimately, Jessie's lobster dish beat Stephen's rhubarb dish, which lacked acidity, and Jessie remained in the competition, finalising the Top 10. |
| Week 9 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0476 | “Episode 40” | Sunday, 28 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| "Mystery" Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test - The contestants faced a Mystery Box filled with a range of uncommon ingredients, including achacha, sorghum, sugar ants, New Zealand yams and Armenian cheese, and with 60 minutes to cook with ingredients they had never used before, the Billie, Jessie and Rose were the Top 3. Rose won the advantage in the Invention Test and chose to cook an Asian protein dish with 45 minutes to cook, meaning the contestants had no access to any dairy or European ingredients. It was Jessica, Jessie and Sara whose inventive takes on Asian flavour won them the chance for immunity. Rose, despite having the advantage, misfired on her dish as the subtlety of her egg was overpowered by spices. She was joined by Matthew and Reynold in the Bottom 3. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0474 | “Episode 41” | Monday, 29 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Janice Wong's Cassis Plum - Matthew, Reynold and Rose had two and a quarter hours to recreate Janice Wong's blackcurrant-based plum-shaped frozen dessert. Ultimately, Matthew was praised for his daring and exact recreation of Janice's technical and refined dish. Reynold was ultimately praised for having the best sphere of the three despite facing difficulty with his dish, but he forgot some of the raspberry rice crispies. However, Rose's time was finally up - she struggled throughout and her sphere was deformed and too dense causing it to crack, while her yuzu caviar was too coarse, leading to her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0478 | “Episode 42” | Tuesday, 30 June 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Ross Lusted - In the first round, Jessica, Jessie and Sara had to make the perfect batter, using only the provided staple and select pantry ingredients. Jessie delivered on the brief best and won the chance to cook for immunity against chef Ross Lusted. She picked the savoury pantry (over sweet) and with 75 minutes, cooked Beef with Beetroot. Ross' dish of Squid with Sweetcorn, Ginger and Spinach initially confounded the judges, but won them over with its complexity and technique, beating the elegant simplicity of Jessie's dish, 28 points to 25. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0479 | “Episode 43” | Wednesday, 1 July 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| All American Barbecue Team Challenge - The contestants were split into teams of three for a challenge under the mentorship of American pit master grand champion Andy Groneman. They had to cook American barbecue dishes in the unique style for 150 guests. With six hours of preparation, the teams had to cook pork ribs and two other choices of meat, as well as three vegetarian sides. The Red Team of Billie, Georgia and Jessie mistakenly let their barbecue run out of fuel, putting them behind the other two teams, while the Blue Team of Jessica, Reynold and Sara had problems getting their ribs to the standard required by Groneman. When service started, only the Yellow Team of Amy, Ashleigh and Matthew were ready with all of their dishes. Ultimately, the Red Team's meat dishes were criticised for its inconsistent cooking with an off balance of spice and salt. The Yellow Team earned praise for the inventiveness of their lamb and apple slaw, but it was the Blue Team's exemplary ribs that won them the challenge, sending the other two teams to the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0480 | “Episode 44” | Thursday, 2 July 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Rick Stein's Seafood Elimination Challenge - The six contestants on the two losing teams, except Ashleigh, who used her immunity Pin, faced a challenge set by Rick Stein, known for his traveling and expertise with seafood, which the challenge revolved around. After randomly choosing a seafood core ingredient and a cuisine, the contestants had 75 minutes to make a seafood dish. Billie, Matthew and Georgia presented the judges with dishes that didn't receive any negative feedback and were declared safe. It came down to Jessie's poached Murray River cod with peas, bacon and Brussels sprouts and Amy's Malaysian curry with squid noodles. Both dishes had raw seafood, but it was the thick and grainy texture in her curry sauce that sealed Amy's fate, eliminating her. |
| Week 10 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0481 | “Episode 45” | Sunday, 5 July 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| "Déjà Vu" Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test - The Top 8 mystery box challenge had the eight previous mystery boxes return to the kitchen, with each contestant cooking with the ingredients of one of them. After the 60 minute cook, Matthew (with the Power Apron week box), Reynold (with Heston's history box) and Billie (with Poh's Asian-themed box) impressed the judges, and Billie won the advantage into the invention test. She chose earth (over wind and fire) as the conceptual theme of the challenge. The judges told the contestant that 4 of them would go to the immunity challenge and the other 4 would go to the pressure test. Jessie wowed the judges with her dessert, with Georgia, Reynold and Sara completing the Top 4. Billie blew her advantage and landed in the Bottom 4 with Matthew, Jessica, and Ashleigh. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0482 | “Episode 46” | Monday, 6 July 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Darren Purchese's Passion Flower - Darren Purchese returned to set up a pressure test for Billie, Matthew, Jessica and Ashleigh, who were given 2 hours and 45 minutes to recreate his passion flower dessert and 10 minutes at the end of the challenge to plate the dish with the grade based on presentation. None of the contestants, except Billie, managed to add the mint oil in the white chocolate petals and paint it due to time constraints. Matthew had problems plating the dish as his white chocolate collar, which held the chocolate petals in place, broke into four pieces. During the tasting, Billie and Jessica impressed with the presentation, while Ashleigh's collar was too small and her petals did not open properly. She and Matthew both missed the textures of their elements. After Billie's dessert was the dish of the day and Jessica was also declared safe, it came down to Matthew and Ashleigh and the presentation of the dish. Ashleigh, who did not have the blossom effect in the dish, was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0483 | “Episode 47” | Tuesday, 7 July 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Monty and Jaclyn Koludrovic - In the first round of the immunity challenge, Reynold, Jessie, Georgia and Sara took turns naming herbs. Georgia and Sara were eliminated on back-to-back guesses, sending Reynold and Jessie as a team (meaning they would both get an Immunity Pin should they win) against Monty and Jaclyn Koludrovic. Both teams had to cook two dishes, a main and a dessert. With 75 minutes and an open pantry, Jessie and Reynold cooked Lobster with Fennel and Orange for main and Coconut with Passionfruit and Pineapple for dessert. Monty and Jaclyn put up a seafood alad for their main and a chocolate and olive oil mousse with granita and an aperol jelly for dessert. Monty's seafood salad scored him 28 points while Jaclyn's aperol jelly scored her 26, giving them a total score at 54 points. Even though the judges loved Reynold's dessert, giving it a perfect score of 30, the lack of depth in Jessie's sauce cost the duo the challenge as her main course scored only 23 points, giving them a total score to 53. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0484 | “Episode 48” | Wednesday, 8 July 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Seven-course Degustation Challenge - The seven contestants were responsible for creating a seven-course meal at The Prince Hotel Restaurant in St Kilda, Victoria, with each assigned a course. Billie went first, making a marron dish that earned general praise. Georgia was second, and her soup dish lacked balance and she faced trouble with her tuile as well as the quantity of soup. Matthew was third, and his tuna dish received praises all around. Sara went fourth, and her dish was named dish of the day, with a perfectly cooked quail, and a corn puree and blackberry vinaigrette that were applauded. Jessie had the fifth course with a lamb dish, but did not achieve the standard she aspired to as her meat was undercooked and her lentils were overcooked. Jessica had the sixth course, a savoury dessert with the feature ingredient being plums and which received praise on the combination of sweet and savoury. Reynold presented the last course with a chocolate dessert, but the judges were left disappointed with the lack of creativity and technical errors in his dish. As a result, he joined Jessie and Georgia in the bottom 3. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0485 | “Episode 49” | Thursday, 9 July 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge: Time Auction - Georgia, Reynold and Jessie faced off in the return of the auction challenge from season 6. They had 100 minutes of cooking time to bid for ingredients. Jessie was left with 60 minutes to cook with chicken, root vegetables and spices, Reynold had 75 minutes to cook with eggs, citrus fruits and condiments, and Georgia got 75 minutes to cook with and sardines, nightshades and herbs. All three struggled during the cook, but in the tasting, all of their dishes were liked by the judges. However, the judges felt Georgia's butter dressing was unnecessary and Jessie's sauce was bitter, while the latter's dish lacked originality. Ultimately, the bitterness was a key flaw in Jessie's dish and she was eliminated. |
| Week 11 - "Marco Returns" Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0486 | “Episode 50” | Sunday, 12 July 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Restaurant Service Team Challenge - The Top 6 faced a restaurant service team challenge set by Marco Pierre White, with three hours to prepare three courses for 120 people. The Blue Team, consisting of Sara, Jessica and Georgia, had a prawn entrée, a lamb main and a peach dessert, while the Red Team, consisting of Matthew, Billie and Reynold, had a duck entrée, a snapper main and a brûlée dessert. The Blue Team served overcooked prawns in their entrée, they served cold lamb and they ran out of smashed potatoes for some orders, but their dessert was universally praised by the judges, handing them the challenge win. The Red Team served some entrèes with raw tortellini, they failed to scale their snapper properly, despite cooking it perfectly in their main, and had to leave out the doughnut from their dessert due to time constraints. As a result, they were sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0487 | “Episode 51” | Monday, 13 July 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Double Lamb Chop on a Crepinette with Chicken Mousse and Leeks - Billie, Matthew and Reynold were given the task of replicating Marco's lamb dish with instructions coming from him and there was no set time limit; the contestants had to finish within 10 seconds of Marco. Billie initially fell behind, but was able to catch up, producing an almost identical copy of Marco's dish that received praise from all judges. Matthew struggled throughout, plating a single cut instead of a double cut. Reynold used a cut from the wrong side of the saddle, and had a large piece of bone as a result. Due to these minor errors in Matthew and Reynold's dishes, they ended up being the bottom 2. However, neither was eliminated - they would not cook for the rest of the week and instead they went straight into the elimination challenge at the end of the week. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0488 | “Episode 52” | Tuesday, 14 July 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Shannon Bennett - Georgia, Jessica and Sara competed in the final immunity challenge of the season. The one competing for immunity was also guaranteed an advantage in the following day's team challenge. The first round involved baking desserts to serve as a complement to tea. Georgia's coconut biscuits earned her second chance to compete in round two over Sara and Jessica, whose dishes had technical issues. In the second round she cooked against in-house mentor Shannon Bennett - she was provided with a pantry of twenty ingredients, from which she had to choose ten, and Shannon had to cook with the remaining ten. Georgia decided to cook a Marron dish with crispy chicken skin, which the judges liked, and she received 25 points. However, despite having a difficult pantry, Shannon managed to produce a delicious fish dish with John Dory fish, figs, chicory and curry leaves, and beat her with a score of 26 points. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0489 | “Episode 53” | Wednesday, 15 July 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| French Restaurant Service Team Challenge - Billie, Georgia, Jessica and Sara faced off in a team challenge, that involved preparing a French meal for 70 guests - 2 mains and a dessert. Georgia, due to her advantage from the previous day's immunity challenge, had the power to choose her teammate. She chose Billie to be part of her Blue Team, which left Jessica and Sara as the Red Team. The teams were responsible for ordering the ingredients as well as preparing and serving the meals. The Blue Team chose to go with a beef dish made by Billie, and a prawn dish by Georgia, both of which were praised. Jessica prepared a salmon dish which was cooked perfectly, but Sara's lamb dish with chocolate and blackberry sauce did not work well. Both teams' desserts had issues - the Blue Team did not make enough, and the Red Team's plating was questioned. However, the latter's burnt butter cake was praised. Despite all the troubles however, the Blue Team won, sending Billie and Georgia to Finals Week. The Red Team would join Reynold and Matthew in the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0490 | “Episode 54” | Thursday, 16 July 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Childhood Food Memory Elimination Challenge - Jessica, Matthew, Reynold and Sara faced off in the final elimination challenge before the Finals. They had 90 minutes to make a dish using their childhood as inspiration. Reynold made a chocolate ganache with honeycomb, tempered chocolate and orange jelly. Although he initially had problems with his honeycomb, he got it to work and his dessert was named dish of the day. The simplicity of Sara's pasta dish lacked complexity in her broccoli sauce. While Jessica's prawn dish earned praise with the flavour depth in her broth, the prawns, which were served in their shells, made it difficult for the judges to eat. But it was down to the imbalance and construction of Matthew's lasagna as he was eliminated.
MasterClass: Marco Pierre White, George Calombaris and Matt Preston - Joined with the judges, Marco presented his second MasterClass to the Top 5. First, Marco made a simple pasta with tomato sauce. Billie and Georgia were given the opportunity to have a masterclass alone with George due to their exceptional performance in the team challenge earlier in the week. He showed them the "monochrome of red". Later, Matt showed them two simple but homely chicken dishes. |
| Week 12 - Finals Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0491 | “Episode 55” | Sunday, 19 July 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Finals Mystery Box Challenge & Food Trends Invention Test - The Top 5 finalists competed in their last mystery box challenge. The contestants were allowed to choose one ingredient each from the pantry in 30 seconds, followed by one ingredient chosen by each of the judges before cooking in 60 minutes. The contestants all received praise for their dishes, particularly Sara for her beetroot squid dish and Billie for her beetroot and dill stack, but Sara's unique dish won her the challenge. She was given an advantage in the invention test where she had to choose one of three food trends: "Cheeks and Jowls", "Peel to Stem" and "Savoury Sweets", for all five contestants make unique dishes with in 60 minutes. Sara chose the peel to stem, but blew her advantage when she struggled for the options of her dish, with the decision of leaving off the watermelon skin during the cook before serving it to the judges, who agreed that her dish did not meet the brief of the challenge. Jessica's dish split the judges' opinions on the use of her ingredients. Reynold struggled early on, using a protein instead of a vegetable. Realizing his mistake, he used celery for his dish, which impressed the judges, but it lacked creativity as they preferred Billie's and Georgia's dishes and named them the Top 2, sending Reynold to join Sara and Jessica in the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0492 | “Episode 56” | Monday, 20 July 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Grant King's Liquid Gnocchi with Mushroom Consommé - Jessica, Reynold and Sara faced off in a pressure test, in which they had to replicate one of two hat chef Grant King's dishes. They had 2 hours to recreate a technically challenging and detailed liquid gnocchi with mushroom consommè. All three contestants struggled and, after the end of the cook, both Reynold and Sara forgot their brioches in the oven. When Reynold became the first of the three to successfully create his liquid gnocchi spheres, his consommè was opaque. Jessica did the best of the three, and managed to get all the elements on the plate and whose dish was close to Grant's as her clear consommè and delicate gnocchi spheres was praised in the tasting. However, Sara presented her dish with deformed gnocchi that was bland and under-seasoned, which resulted in her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0493 | “Episode 57” | Tuesday, 21 July 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| "No Rules" Challenge - Billie, Georgia, Jessica and Reynold faced off in a rule-free cooking challenge in their chosen time frame, 90 minutes. The winner was be awarded an advantage in their next cook off. All of them chose to make desserts: Reynold made an apple and caramel dessert with ice cream and a nested tuile, Billie and Georgia made desserts inspired by their respective childhoods - Billie's lemon verbena mousse with saffron cornflakes and Georgia's deconstructed lemon meringue, while Jessica made a blue cheese mousse with roasted figs, a burnt butter crumb, ice cream and caramel sauce. Although her plating was an issue, the flavour of her caramel sauce and silkiness of her ice cream highly impressed the judges and she won the challenge, securing the advantage. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0494 | “Episode 58” | Wednesday, 22 July 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| The Press Club Service Challenge - George let Billie, Georgia, Jessica and Reynold cook at his restaurant, The Press Club. They had to cook four of his signature dishes for 35 VIP chefs and restaurateurs in four hours and thirty minutes. As he advantage from last night, Jessica was able to choose one of the restaurant's dishes and chose the Devil's Footsteps lamb dish. The others got to randomly pick a dish from the knife block: Georgia picked the Monochrome Greek salad, Billie chose Greek Creme Brûlée with commandaria, and Reynold was left with the Whiting and Lamb Tzatziki. After service time, both Jessica and Reynold's dishes had critical issues, and the final decision came down to Billie and Georgia, who both delivered the dish of the day. Nonetheless, the judges gave Georgia the win and Billie joined the Reynold and Jessica to face the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0495 | “Episode 59” | Thursday, 23 July 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Brett Graham's Flame Grilled Bonito with Pickled Cucumber, Celtic Mustard and Shiso Dressing - Reynold, Billie, and Jessica faced a pressure test, in which they had two hours to replicate Brett Graham's flame grilled bonito dish and five minutes to cook and plate the fish. Although Billie had been behind time in order to perfect the cooking of her fish, her dish was praised. However, she received criticism for the lack of shiso dressing in her dish. Jessica had a balanced sauce but a rather chaotic presentation as well as a slightly torn bonito skin. Reynold also had a torn bonito skin, but the fact that he turned the flesh side down briefly during the cook caused his fish to become dry, which resulted in his elimination.
MasterClass: Chefs vs. Contestants - In the last MasterClass of the Top 24, first George and Gary faced a Mystery Box chosen by the Top 3 contestants. Then Gary, George and Shannon Bennett competed against Billie, Georgia and Jessica in a relay challenge. Gary, George and Shannon made a savoury dish, while Billie, Georgia and Jessica made a dessert. Both dishes were praised by the judges (Matt and two former contestants, Ava and Stephen) but both had issues. The professionals won the challenge. |
| Grand Finale Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0496 | “Episode 60” | Sunday, 26 July 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Semi-Finals: Service Challenge - The top 3 semifinalists faced a four-hour service challenge, in which they had to cook a main dish and a dessert to be served to 20 diners and to the judges in the. Billie's dishes, Roasted Lamb with Mint Peas and Dill and Rhubarb Spider, received overall praise from the judges, sending her to the finale. Jessica made a roasted pork belly with a smoked yoghurt shiso and poached quince, and a white chocolate dome filled with a popcorn sponge and grapefruit gel. Her savoury dish also received overall praise by the judges, but her dessert had some issues: her sponge was heavy and her gel had an artificial taste. Georgia fell behind throughout the challenge to prep her dishes, a cured ocean trout with cucumbers and apples and a mango sorbet with a vanilla yoghurt parfait, but despite the panicked plating, both of her dishes earned praise in the taste and Georgia advanced to the finale. Although the judges applauded Jessica's main dish, they just weren't convinced about the flavour profile and creativity in her dessert and she was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0497 | “Episode 61” | Monday, 27 July 2015 |
| Synopsis: |
| Grand Finale - The finale consised of three rounds, in which the grand finalists had to cook a three-course meal for the judges. The first round was a mystery box that contained produce presented by ten of Australia's best farmers. Billie and Georgia had 60 minutes to use any of these ingredients from the box to cook their dishes. Billie picked goat cheese, strawberries, Daintree vanilla, Ligurian honey, pear cider and pineapple sage, while Georgia picked vanilla, goat cheese and strawberries. Billie's baked strawberries with grapeseed oil cake lacked flavour in her strawberry parfait. Georgia earned high praise in her goat cheese and vanilla ravioli with strawberry broth despite her pasta being too thick, scoring 23 points out of 30 while Billie scored 21. In the second round, the finalists had 90 minutes to cook a dish for their respective family and friends. Billie's scallops dish with fennel, ginger, orange and earned praise, but the presentation of her dish let her down, scoring 25 points to the total of 46. Georgia took the lead again with her mushroom three ways dish, which received overall praise on the execution and presentation, earning 27 points to 50 total. Ih the last round, Billie and Georgia had five hours to recreate a monumental interpretation of a dessert known as Botrytis cinerea (a grape rot which produces some of the sweetest dessert wines in the world) made by Heston Blumenthal. In five hours, Billie managed to redeem herself in keeping her control of recreating the dish as Georgia fell behind throughout the challenge and, which led to her decision to disregard the sugar ball and focus on her other elements during the last five minutes. In the tasting, Billie earned overall positive feedback from the judges with her take of the dish, while Georgia had missed the sugar ball and her grape gel was grainy. She scored 30 points, (7 points each from Matt and Heston and 8 points from Gary and George), tallying her overall score at 80. Billie then scored 36 points (9 each from all of the judges), finalizing the score of 82 points. Winner Announced - Billie won the grand prize of $250,000, an Alfa Romeo Giuletta, and a monthly column in the magazine Delicious. She was also offered a job on the spot by Blumenthal at his UK restaurant, The Fat Duck. Georgia, as runner-up, won $20,000, while Jessica, in third-place, won $10,000. |
2016 - Complete Season 08
| Week 1 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0498 | “Episode 01” | Sunday, 1 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Series Premiere: Auditions Part 1 - The contestants started Season 8 with a challenge, in which they had one hour to cook their signature dish, vying for automatic entry into the Top 24. Gary, Matt and George judged the competitors with either "yes" or "no", with their votes deciding whether the contestant would stay in the competition. Nineteen contestants received three yes votes and won their way through to the main competition, including Cecelia, who came back from Season 6 (who withdrew due to brain surgery). Eleven other contestants, who received either one or two yes votes, were given a second chance and cooked again in the next episode. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0499 | “Episode 02” | Monday, 2 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Auditions Part 2 - Eleven contestants, who were given a second chance to secure the five remaining spots in the Top 24, competed in the second challenge, in which they had 90 minutes to cook a dish with one of ten ingredients from their basket. Mimi was praised for her snapper dish and immediately received an apron. The other three contestants who received an apron were Elise, Harry and Adam. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0500 | “Episode 03” | Tuesday, 3 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Auditions Part 3 - The remaining seven contestants faced a pressure test in the second round, in which they had to recreate Shannon Bennett's chocolate peanut bar to secure the last apron. Between the three contestants who delivered the best dishes, Miles won the last apron after earning high praise from the judges for his dish. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0501 | “Episode 04” | Wednesday, 4 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 24 Mystery Box Challenge - In their first challenge, the Top 24 contestants had 75 minutes to cook with their choice of ingredients from the mystery box, which was assembled by series 7 winner Billie McKay. The three standout dishes were Nidhi's tea parfait with cornflake crumble, Mimi's tea-smoked duck dish and Jimmy's pan seared duck with stuffed mushrooms, and special mention went to Trent's pan-fried duck with home-made ricotta. The three contestants who were sent to the elimination challenge were Ashley, Charlie and Theresa. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0502 | “Episode 05” | Thursday, 5 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Two Cloche Clash Elimination Challenge - The bottom three contestants faced their first elimination challenge. Each had to pick one of twelve cloches that contained twelve mystery ingredients on display and create a dish based on the chosen cloche in 75 minutes. They had the option to choose again if they didn't like their first pick, but would be stuck with their second selection. Ashley's chose mushrooms, Charlie picked ginger and Theresa selected prawns. The judges were impressed with Theresa's prawn salad and Charlie's chocolate ginger cremeux, despite the lack of ginger in the latter's dish. As a result, both were declared safe. Ashley, who tried to recreate a pasta dish and was criticised for overcooking his egg and frying his ravioli, became the first contestant to be eliminated. |
| Week 2 - Marco Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0503 | “Episode 06” | Sunday, 8 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Marco's Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test - Marco Pierre White presents a mystery box that consisted of his favorite ingredients: cinnamon, chicken, extra virgin olive oil, ham, honey, lemon, parsley and potatoes, to the contestants. Cecilia, Charlie, Matt, Mimi and Nidhi were the Top 5, and Charlie won the challenge with his honey semifreddo. He had to pick a meat and three vegetables for their first invention test, and he chose lamb, parsnips, onions & carrots. The contestants had 90 minutes to cook a dish with those ingredients. Nidhi, Olivia and Zoe received praise from the judges for their dishes and competed for immunity in their first immunity challenge. Matt received special mention with his dish of lamb koftas. Con, Nathaniel and Cecilia all received negative feedback from the judges for their dishes, and they competed in their first pressure est. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0504 | “Episode 07” | Monday, 9 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Dory a la Nicoise - Nathaniel, Con and Cecilia had to copy and recreate a dish Marco was cooking with no set time limit. All their instructions came from Marco and they had 10 seconds to prepare the dish after Marco finished cooking. Cecilia managed to follow Marco's instructions carefully and took the lead in the challenge. Meanwhile, Nathaniel and Con fell behind after the latter accidentally cut himself while skinning his fish. All three managed to complete the dish. Cecilia excelled with her approach, which was similar to Marco's, and was saved. It was between Con and Nathaniel who both had issues with the presentation of their dishes. Due to his overcooked fish, Nathaniel was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0505 | “Episode 08” | Tuesday, 10 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Jake Kellie - Nidhi, Olivia and Zoe had 60 minutes to make a classic pasta dish. After Olivia and Nidhi fell behind with their dishes, Zoe won the first round of the challenge with her roast pumpkin and goat cheese ravioli and advanced to the second round to compete against guest chef Jake Kellie for immunity. For the first time in an immunity cook-off, the guest chef was asked to leave the kitchen for the first 15 minutes and sit in a store room. She chose to cook Italian cuisine with a marsala and cinnamon crème brûlée in 75 minutes. Jake had 60 minutes to cook veal carpaccio. The judges praised Jake's flavour but criticised the presentation of his dish. Zoe presented her dish but it hadn't set perfectly after her brûlée top cracked, despite the judges appreciating her flavours. Therefore, her dish scored 24 points while Jake's dish scored 25. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0506 | “Episode 09” | Wednesday, 11 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Plough Hotel Team Challenge - The 22 contestants traveled to Footscray at the Plough Hotel for their first team challenge. The team captains, Brett (Red Team) and Nicolette (Blue Team), each picked a card from three jars representing a three-course meal that would describe the characteristics of each meal. The teams had three hours of prep time to cook for 70 people before service began. The Blue Team fell behind after they took a lot of time to prep the dishes. The Red Team's entrée, skewered prawns, received praise from George and Gary, who declared them the winners. The Blue Team were sent to the elimination challenge after serving the judges raw scallops and also missed the mark on the theme, pub-lunch, as their entrée. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0507 | “Episode 10” | Thursday, 12 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Alphabet Elimination Challenge - The Blue Team faced the first round of elimination. Each contestant had to name an ingredient correctly according to the first letter. Cecilia, Adam, Matt and Harry made mistakes and were sent to the second round of the challenge, in which they had 60 minutes to cook a dish, using the ingredients they chose correctly in the first round and the usual pantry staples. Both Matt and Harry produced exemplary dishes and were declared safe. Cecilia impressed the judges with the flavours of her tuna dish, but it was simplistic and the consistency of her mayonnaise was criticised. Adam, on the other hand, presented an under-seasoned and bland lamb dish that resulted in his elimination.
MasterClass: Marco Pierre White, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan - The judges (minus George) and Marco treated the contestants to their first MasterClass. Marco made the contestants his risotto Milanese. Matt taught the contestants how to cook his baked cheesecake, while Gary showed them how to cook his Vietnamese duck pho, which had been chosen by viewers. Lastly, Marco taught the contestants how to cook his saffron arancini using his leftover risotto Milanese. |
| Week 3 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0508 | “Episode 11” | Sunday, 15 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| "Viewers' Choice" Mystery Box Challenge & Invention Test - The remaining 21 contestants faced their next mystery box challenge, in which they had 75 minutes to cook with ingredients chosen by viewers: cauliflower, maple syrup, coconut, goat cheese, okra, lemon myrtle, beef mince and squid. Karmen, Con, Heather, Matt and Anastasia stood out with their dishes. The judges named Anastasia as the winner of the challenge with the advantage for the invention test. She chose marmalade, over peanut butter and vegemite, which everyone then had 75 minutes to cook a dish with. Anastasia won the second round of the competition with her orange quail dish and received a chance to compete in the immunity challenge, along with Con and Nicolette, who also impressed the judges with their inventive dishes. Karmen, Chloe and Olivia all had serious technical issues in their desserts, and were sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0509 | “Episode 12” | Monday, 16 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Reynold Poernomo's "Moss" - Chloe, Olivia and Karmen had two and a half hours to recreate season 7 alumnus Reynold Poernomo's dessert, "Moss". Chloe received praise for creating a very similar dish to Reynold's, and she was safe. Several of Karmen's elements were liked by the judges, but she didn't allow time to finish her dulce crémeux, so she didn't serve it, which was criticised. Olivia completed all the elements of the dish, but despite this, each had notable errors - a dense pistachio sponge, a lime yoghurt foam without gelatine and a matcha sphere that was left too long in the blast chiller. Those issues were too much to keep her safe over Karmen and consequently, it was enough to eliminate Olivia. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0510 | “Episode 13” | Tuesday, 17 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Braden White - Anastasia, Con and Nicolette faced the first round of the immunity challenge, in which they had 60 minutes to make a dish using popcorn. Both Con and Anastasia lacked sufficient popcorn flavor in their dishes, handing Nicolette the win with her popcorn parfait and the chance to cook against guest chef Braden White in the second round. She decided they would both cook fish. She had 75 minutes and cooked a confit salmon with crispy skin. In his 60 minutes, Braden cooked a mulloway dish, but the judges found his fish over-cooked and declared Nicolette the winner of the season's first immunity pin with the score of 26 to Braden's 25. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0511 | “Episode 14” | Wednesday, 18 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Three Course Team Challenge from Memory: Huxtable and Pei Modern - The contestants were split randomly into two teams and were tasked with replicating a three-course meal for 30 guests from two restaurants in Melbourne: Huxtable and Pei Modern. The Blue Team was assigned to Pei Modern while the Red Team was assigned to Huxtable. The captains (Blue Team's Karmen and Red Team's Matt) and vice-captains (Blue Team's Chloe and Red Team's Trent) arrived at the restaurants to memorise the directions of the recipes from the chef of each restaurant, Anthony Hammel of Pei and Daniel Wilson of Huxtable before returning to the MasterChef kitchen, relaying instructions to their team members in order to replicate the dishes before service in 90 minutes. The Blue Team failed to replicate all of the dishes of Pei Modern's three-course meal after a series of technical issues oi each dish: the zucchini flowers in the entrée were undercooked, the radicchio puree in the main lacked colour and they left off the hot caramel topping for their dessert. As a result, they were sent to the elimination challenge after the Red Team won. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0512 | “Episode 15” | Thursday, 19 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Raw and Cooked Elimination Challenge - After losing the team challenge, the Blue Team faced a two-round elimination challenge. In the first round, they had to prepare a raw dish with one ingredient from the pantry without cooking in 30 minutes. The rest of the team was safe, while Miles, Nidhi and Theresa, who fell behind with their dishes, had to compete in the second round. They had to cook with the ingredient they had chosen from the first round (cauliflower for Nidhi, pear for Theresa and tuna for Miles). While Miles was safe after impressing the judges with his tuna tataki, Theresa and Nidhi were left to await the final verdict. Theresa forgot the syrup on her poached pear before she could present it to the judges. Despite being an early front runner of the competition, when Nidhi served the judges her cauliflower paratha and mint chutney, her bhajis suffered from serious technical issues, which resulted in her elimination. |
| Week 4 - Nigella Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0513 | “Episode 16” | Sunday, 22 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Nigella's Mystery Box Challenge & Invention Test - International celebrity chef Nigella Lawson appeared as a guest chef for the week. She presented her chosen ingredients :butternut pumpkin, chestnut, chicken thighs, pippis, ginger, pancetta, feta cheese and cumin in a mystery box for the contestants to cook with in 75 minutes. Heather won the challenge over Charlie, Elena, Jimmy and Zoe with her open filo pumpkin pie. She chose chocolate as the core ingredient for the invention test, with 60 minutes to cook. Harry, Karmen and Mimi were named as the Top 3 with their inventive chocolate desserts. Chloe, Jimmy and Miles were sent to the pressure test after each suffered technical issues with their respective desserts. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0514 | “Episode 17” | Monday, 23 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Nigella Lawson's Three-Course Dinner - The bottom three performers in the invention test faced a Pressure Test featuring three dishes from Nigella: a crab avocado salad, lamb with radishes and peas, and a coffee panna cotta with chocolate coffee sauce. The contestants had just 60 minutes to plate up all the dishes. Chloe was praised for her dishes and was declared safe. All of Miles' dishes had notable flaws, including a salad that lacked dressing, a sauce for the lamb that was burnt and a panna cotta that had a grainy texture, which would have been enough to send him home. However, the judges were more disappointed with Jimmy. Despite getting positive feedback on his panna cotta, his salad missed some ingredients and lacked presentation and his lamb was under-cooked, sealing his elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0515 | “Episode 18” | Tuesday, 24 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Lachlan Colwill - Having landed in the top 3 of the invention test, Harry, Karmen and Mimi were surprised in the middle of the night by Nigella and Matt as the preliminary round for the immunity challenge involved creating a midnight snack, something Nigella is well known for. Harry's brookies, a combination of brownies and cookies, were deemed the best dish and he won the right to challenge chef Lachlan Colwill for immunity in the second round . Harry chose "Christmas sweet" (over "Christmas savoury") as the pantry, but his Christmas pavlova wasn't enough to beat Colwill's Australian summer Christmas pudding and the professional won the challenge with a score of 27 over Harry's 26. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0516 | “Episode 19” | Wednesday, 25 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Melbourne Showgrounds Team Challenge - The 18 contestants were randomly divided into three teams of six. They had to cook three dishes, one savoury, and two sweet, one of which had to include jam for a crowd of 1000-2000 people who turned up for a fete. The judges declared that the money that the teams made by selling their food would be donated to the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne. The two teams who made the most money were safe and the winning team would therefore be decided by the guests. The teams were given four hours to cook before service would start after two hours. The Yellow Team's rocky road popcorn and blondies, the Blue Team's chocolate cupcakes with jam and buttercream and the Red Team's chocolate-chip cookies were the hits of the day. The Yellow Team was declared the winner with an amount of $6326. The red team was safe with an amount of $5892, leaving the blue team to face the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0517 | “Episode 20” | Thursday, 26 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Cake Elimination Challenge - The losing team faced a cake-themed elimination. In the first round, they had to take turns tasting and naming different cakes. Charlie, Matt and Con were the first three to misname a cake and had 90 minutes to bake a cake in the second round. Matt's carrot cake received very positive feedback overall. Meanwhile, Charlie's chocolate and raspberry hazelnut cake split the judges' opinions for being dry and Con's thyme pound cake was described as unevenly baked. Both cakes were dense, but the buoyancy in the bottom interior of Con's cake resulted in his elimination.
MasterClass: Nigella Lawson, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan - For the remaining contestants' second MasterClass, Nigella cooked her tequila and lime chicken. George presented the contestants his lamb moussaka. Gary showed the contestants his dish: fish three ways and hot-smoked trout. Nigella also presented her second recipe: her lemon pavlova. |
| Week 5 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0518 | “Episode 21” | Sunday, 29 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Mystery Box Challenge & Leftovers Invention Test - In the mystery box challenge, the contestants found themselves cooking with a mix of ingredients, including barramundi, vanilla beans and miso, as well as with instructions to keep every discarded piece of food stored with a "waste not, want not" principle in mind. Chloe won the challenge and her advantage was a pass straight through to the week's immunity challenge. The remaining contestants were tasked with making an inventive dish with no pantry or garden available, just what was left of the mystery box items, including the scraps. Matt, Karmen and Mimi impressed the judges and they joined Chloe in the immunity challenge, while Theresa, Charlie and Brett missed the mark and ended up in the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0519 | “Episode 22” | Monday, 30 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Jason Atherton's Quail Afternoon Tea - Brett, Charlie and Theresa had three hours to recreate one of guest chef Jason Atherton's signature dishes. His dish consisted of five components: a roasted quail, duck tea, a slow-cooked quail egg, pearl barley mushroom porridge and a savoury parfait. While Brett's dish impressed the judges, Charlie was criticised for the consistency of his parfait and the lack of mushrooms in the porridge, but it was Theresa who was eliminated after failing to complete her dish when she missed the quail egg and duck teabag. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0520 | “Episode 23” | Tuesday, 31 May 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Woodland House Immunity Challenge: Thomas Woods & Hayden McFarland - The winners of the mystery box challenge and invention test were split in pairs for the first round of the immunity challenge. Chloe, as the winner of the mystery box challenge, had a second advantage of picking one of the invention test winners as her partner. She chose Matt and in the first round, they had to cook two jaffles (sweet and savoury) in 75 minutes. Matt and Chloe beat Mimi and Karmen with his spiced mince jaffle and her apple pie jaffle. As a team, they then competed against Woodland House chefs Thomas Woods and Hayden McFarland from Melbourne in the second round with a chance for both of them to win immunity pins. With 75 minutes, they were given the option to choose two ingredients: one sweet and one savoury, for them to cook their dishes with. Matt chose prawns and Chloe picked raspberries. Thomas and Hayden had 60 minutes to cook their dishes with the same ingredients. While Thomas' raspberry vinegar jelly scored 28 points versus Chloe's rosewater bavarois, which scored with 21, Hayden's miso glazed prawns was criticised over the use of bitter melon in the dish and given a score of 18 points to Matt's 27 for his hot n' sour prawn head broth. The professionals' final score was 46 while Chloe and Matt, for the first time, won an immunity pin each with their total score of 48. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0521 | “Episode 24” | Wednesday, 1 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Hellenic Republic Team Challenge - The contestants were randomly split into two teams by George. The teams had to cook a Greek three-course feast, including a lamb on a spit, for 120 guests, including George's family and friends. George's mother Mary was the guest judge with Gary and Matt. The Red Team, led by Zoe, fell behind during the challenge. Despite this, their dishes impressed the judges, but cost them the victory after they put too much cinnamon in their dessert, and they were sent to the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0522 | “Episode 25” | Thursday, 2 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| One-Inch Cube Elimination Challenge - After Matt used his immunity pin to escape elimination, the other members of the team had to identify and correctly guess each cube of an ingredient while blind-folded. Cecilia, Elise, Heather and Mimi then had 60 minutes to cook a dish in the second round with the use of the ingredient they guessed incorrectly in the first round. After Mimi was declared safe with her mango dish, it was between the dishes of Heather, who used too much lemon, Cecilia, who had a lack of ham, and Elise, whose lamb sauce was too salty. The judges were unanimous and Cecilia was sent home. |
| Week 6 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0523 | “Episode 26” | Sunday, 5 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Maggie Beer's Invention Test & Mystery Box Challenge - Each contestant picked one of three ingredients: abalone, silken tofu and lemongrass, to cook a dish within 60 minutes in the invention test, which was set by Maggie Beer. The top three dishes were named and Zoe won with the use of silken tofu in her cheesecake. Her advantage was to choose the eight ingredients in the mystery box challenge for everyone to cook with in 60 minutes. She chose basil, chili, garlic, pancetta, pork mince, ricotta, thyme and tomatoes. Chloe, Trent and Brett made three top three dishes, while Charlie, Harry and Nicolette were sent to the pressure test after presenting the least impressive dishes. Elise's dish was deemed the fourth-worst, and she was therefore required to take Nicolette's place if the latter opted to play her Immunity Pin. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0524 | “Episode 27” | Monday, 6 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Anna Polyviou's "Mess" - In possession of the immunity pin, Nicolette used it and so Elise took her place alongside Charlie and Harry in the pressure test. They had three hours to make all the elements of Anna Polyviou's dessert, "Mess", and 15 minutes to plate the dish. Harry and Elise impressed the judges with the flavours of their dishes despite the issues on each of their plates. Both of them were declared safe as Charlie's plate lacked balance due to his white chocolate dome being thick and his raspberry curd missing gelatine. Despite his elimination, Polyviou offered him work experience as a pastry chef at the Shangri-La Hotel in Sydney. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0525 | “Episode 28” | Tuesday, 7 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Morgan McGlone - In the first round, Brett, Chloe and Trent had 60 minutes to bake an éclair for an advantage in the second round. Both Trent and Chloe impressed the judges, who voted Chloe as the winner with her chocolate éclair with toasted pecan praline. Hoping for a second immunity pin, Chloe chose coffee over tea as the core ingredient to cook with against guest chef Morgan McGlone of Belles Hot Chicken in Barangaroo. She presented a coffee bombe dessert, but an issue with the meringue resulted in failing to win another pin, scoring 18 points to Morgan's 22 for his coffee crusted quail. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0526 | “Episode 29” | Wednesday, 8 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Melbourne Chinatown Team Challenge - Former immunity challenge mentor Kylie Kwong mentored the contestants in cook at least two Chinese dishes, with one costing $7 and any others $5, to be served to 500 people. Two teams were assigned through fortune cookies that contained a coloured paper (red or yellow) with one person on each team being assigned as captains (Red Team's Elise and Yellow Team's Chloe). The money raised was given to the Smith Family charity organisation. When the yellow team ran out of customers at their stall, they added another dish to the menu at the last minute. Both teams raised over $6000 with the Red Team winning the challenge as the Yellow Team was sent to the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0527 | “Episode 30” | Thursday, 9 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Lucky Dip Elimination Challenge - Chloe opted to use her immunity pin and the other members of her team faced elimination. They had to pick a core ingredient and a cuisine from lucky dip bags to cook a dish with in 75 minutes. Elena, Harry and Matt cooked the best dishes and were declared safe. Mimi's Thai lamb dish lacked a crunchy element and Zoe was criticised over the texture of the pumpkin filling in her American tart. But it was Miles' salmon dish, which lacked focus on the fish itself, that resulted in his elimination. |
| Week 7 - Power Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0528 | “Episode 31” | Sunday, 12 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Luke Nguyen's Mystery Box Challenge & Invention Test - For the contestants to gain a Power Apron, Luke Nguyen presented his Mystery Box (with ingredients including crickets) for them to cook an exemplary dish. Beating Matt and Heather in the challenge was Elise with the use of crickets in her parfait. After earning the power apron, Elise had 90 minutes to prepare her dish, choosing the method of frying (over steaming), while the others had 60 minutes to prepare a fried dish. Despite this advantage, Elise fell behind after wasting her 30-minute advantage due to choosing a dish that would require an element that could not be fried. Anastasia, Chloe and Harry received praise for their inventive dishes. The winner of the Power Apron was Anastasia with her tarragon prawns and fried fennel pesto. Elise was sent to the pressure test along with Elena and Zoe to face elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0529 | “Episode 32” | Monday, 13 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Ross Lusted's Two-Cloche Pressure Test - The advantage of the Power Apron gave its holder the ability to choose between the two cloches presented by Ross Lusted for the pressure test. Each cloche contained a difficult dish (sweet and savoury) for Elena, Elise and Zoe to cook. As the holder of the Power Apron, Anastasia chose his sweet perfumed stone fruit over his savoury chicken duckling dish. All the girls struggled during the challenge: Elena's dish lacked freshness as she sliced the fruits too early but it was declared she had the best replication of Lusted's dessert. Elise's burnt peach butter was lumpy and Zoe's syrup was thick, over-reduced and her sorbet was quite chalky because it had churned for too long. In a close decision, Elise's dessert was deemed better than Zoe's and Zoe was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0530 | “Episode 33” | Tuesday, 14 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Second Chance Cook-Off - Previously eliminated contestants returned to the MasterChef Kitchen to compete for a place back in the competition. They had 60 minutes to cook a dish with the use of the following ingredients: wine, rosemary, raspberries, dark chocolate, cardamon pods, lemon, Greek yoghurt, lamb and beetroot. The returning contestant would also receive a Power Apron for the winning dish. In possession of the Power Apron, Anastasia got a second advantage to choose one of the eliminated contestants who would add another ingredient. She chose Theresa who added desiccated coconut in order to make a yoghurt rosemary snowball which highly impressed the judges over Cecilia's yoghurt sorbet and earned Theresa her place back in the competition, winning the Power Apron. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0531 | “Episode 34” | Wednesday, 15 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Six-course Degustation Challenge - Curtis Stone mentored the contestants at the restaurant Sails by the Bay in their team challenge. They were randomly chosen in pairs and each team had to cook and serve a 6 course degustation dish with the use of citruses for 50 people. The thirteenth contestant could sit out of the challenge to avoid elimination if Theresa used her Power Apron. Returning the favour for giving her the advantage to earn her place back in the competition, she chose Anastasia. The green team (Elise and Trent) attempted to come up with another element to improve their dish at the last minute, while the purple team (Chloe and Nicolette) ignored Curtis' advice for improvements on their dish. By the time the teams presented their dishes during service time, the green team's mandarin prawn salad had a technical issue on the prawns and the purple team's grapefruit sorbet received negative remarks on its presentation. Those dishes sent the two teams into the elimination round. The other teams won the challenge with the blue team's (Elena and Theresa) tangelo refresher named the dish of the day. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0532 | “Episode 35” | Thursday, 16 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Nature Affinity Elimination Challenge - The contestants faced each other in pairs in a two-round elimination. For the first round, Elise and Nicolette had to cook a dish inspired by seashells while Trent and Chloe took the inspiration from autumn leaves. Elise and Trent produced the best dishes and were saved while Chloe and Nicolette then had 60 minutes to compete with a dish inspired by fire in the second round. It was a close decision, with one of them declared safe based on presentation. Although she was praised for the flavours of her dish, Nicolette was eliminated by judges' decision. |
| Week 8 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0533 | “Episode 36” | Sunday, 19 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Grotesque Mystery Box Challenge & Team Relay Invention Test - The mystery box contained "ugly" ingredients, including monkfish, celeriac, morel mushrooms, morton bay bug, blue cheese, Buddha's hand, chicken livers and horned melon for the contestants to make a dish with in 60 minutes. Elena won with her buttered bug, celeriac and horned melon. From a choice of paired ingredients, she chose honey and lemon as the core ingredients for the invention test, which was a one-hour relay challenge. Elena had another advantage of choosing her own team (Matt, Karmen and Trent), while George randomly divided the other remaining contestants into teams of four. Each team member had 15 minutes of cooking time and 45 seconds to hand over without talking to the next cook. Elena's Red Team won the challenge with a duck dish, despite missing one of the elements. The Yellow Team's dish lacked creativity after Brett changed their original dish from a trifle to a tart, but the Blue Team was the worst performer due to a lack of teamwork and Theresa's very slow start. The lack of coherence in their dessert sent the team straight to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0534 | “Episode 37” | Monday, 20 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Flynn McGarry's Beet Wellington - The four members of the Blue Team had two and a half hours to recreate Flynn McGarry's "Beet Wellington." Heather and Theresa impressed the judges, but both Anastasia and Chloe had a couple of serious issues in their dishes. Chloe's beet bordelaise sauce was diluted after she accidentally spilled half of her smoked beetroot water and her beet leaf balls lacked smoothness. However, despite her impressive run throughout the competition, Anastasia's struggled the most. Though she was praised of the cooking of her wellington, the dish itself lacked balance due to the filling of her beet balls being too salty and her under-smoked dates in her roulade. These were not enough for the judges to disregard her rough plating of the dish and Anastasia was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0535 | “Episode 38” | Tuesday, 21 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Victor Liong - Elena, Karmen, Matt and Trent faced a dessert skills relay test that involved separating egg yolks, rochering five scoops of ice cream and spinning sugar to a 30 cm-high cone tower. Matt managed to complete the final task after the others fell behind in caramelising the sugar and won the opportunity to compete in the second round. He chose a pantry with ingredients from A to M (over N to Z) to compete against Melbourne chef Victor Liong of Lee Ho Fook. After Matt's and Victor's dishes both highly impressed the judges. Matt's crispy skin kingfish scored 9 from each judge for a high total of 27, but Victor's roasted crayfish received a perfect 30 (10 points each). |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0536 | “Episode 39” | Wednesday, 22 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Outdoor Cinema Team Challenge - Guests attended the Caulfield Racecourse for the screening of "MasterChef Australia's Greatest Hits" featuring clips from past series. The contestants were unevenly divided into two teams and had to serve two savoury dishes and one sweet dish each. After both teams chose to cook Japanese dishes, they struggled during service time. The Blue Team, led by Brett, ran out of beef for their main dishes but managed to recover. After service, the Blue Team won the challenge, after all three dishes were praised, including the black sesame pavlova dessert, which was considered a stand out dish, and were the first six contestants ever to secure their spots in the Top 10. However, the Red Team, led by Matt, presented their remaining 15 desserts late at the last minute. Their inconsistent plating and poor service upset the judges, sending them to the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0537 | “Episode 40” | Thursday, 23 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Time or Ingredients Elimination Challenge - Elise, Karmen, Matt, Mimi and Trent competed in an elimination challenge to secure the last remaining spots in the Top 10. They had up to 100 minutes to gather their ingredients from between one and five small different hidden pantries. Karmen, Matt and Trent had 75 minutes to cook with herbs and vegetables while Elise and Mimi waited another 15 minutes and had 60 minutes to cook with the addition of fruit. Trent, Matt and Mimi had amazing dishes, joining the Top 10. Karmen showed the judges her ambition and creativity in her Mille-Feuille which consisted of sweet tomatoes, soft ricotta, and Elise's charred apricot was well flavoured and the texture of the parfait and the saltiness and the flavour of the thyme in the crumb were praised. While Karmen and Elise impressed the judges with their dishes, Karmen's basil ice cream lacked the brightness and the depth of flavour which made her dish out of balance, and in the end, it's enough to send Karmen home. |
| Week 9 - Heston Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0538 | “Episode 41” | Sunday, 26 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pop-Up Challenge 1: Melbourne Star - Heston Blumenthal mentored the Top 10 contestants for the week's challenges, which involved a pop-up restaurant each night, with contestants from each challenge being sent straight into the elimination challenge. For their first challenge, the contestants were divided into teams of two, with each team having to prepare a main dish and a dessert for 20 diners in pods on the revolving Melbourne Star, which for one night would become the world's largest pop-up restaurant. Brett and Elise were the Green Team, Elena and Mimi were the Blue Team, Heather and Trent were the Maroon Team, Theresa and Matt were the Yellow Team, and Harry and Chloe were the Red Team. Heston set the theme of the night: outer space. A number of teams struggled with timing, but all managed to get the dishes to their diners in time before the pods moved on. Theresa's "black hole" dessert for the Yellow Team was the dish of the day, with Elena's "sea stars" main for the Blue Team and Chloe's "big bang" dessert for the Red Team were also acclaimed. All three dishes were declare safe. While the Green Team's dishes were slightly disappointing, the Maroon Team had overcooked the duck in their main and a produced an overly heavy sponge cake in their dessert, making Heather and Trent the first two contestants sent into the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0539 | “Episode 42” | Monday, 27 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pop-Up Challenge 2: Brighton Beach - The eight contestants in the top four teams at the previous pop-up restaurant were again divided randomly into teams of two: The Yellow Team (Elena and Theresa), Blue Team (Harry and Matt), Red Team (Elise and Mimi) and Green Team (Brett and Chloe), and with each team having four and a half hours to make two savoury ice creams and one savoury ice block, with the theme of childhood memories. They then had 60 minutes to serve their desserts to 500 people from the Brighton bathing boxes. The Blue Team impressed with their prawn cocktail ice-cream and gazpacho ice block, as did the Yellow Team with their mustard, bacon and chips ice cream. Both the Red and Green Teams produced disastrous ice creams and they also had problems with their ice blocks: the Red Team's were way too sweet and the Green Team's were split and flavourless. But Elise and Mimi did a better job and joined the others in tomorrow's challenge as Brett and Chloe joined Trent and Heather in the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0540 | “Episode 43” | Tuesday, 28 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pop-Up Challenge 3: Melbourne University - The remaining contestants were divided into teams of two: Red Team (Elise and Theresa), Blue Team (Elena and Matt), and Yellow Team (Harry and Mimi) and had two hours to create an adventurous-themed chocolate dish at the heritage-listed Melbourne University underground carpark. Each team was assigned one type of chocolate as their core ingredient. The Yellow Team was safe after receiving praise from the judges for their dark chocolate dessert. The Red Team also received some praise for their white chocolate dish but was criticised for the dish being too sweet and not having as many elements as the other dishes and there was not a lot of relief. Some elements of the Blue Team's milk chocolate dish impressed the judges but they didn't like the bitterness of their green tea jelly, which was bland and tannic and the way they plated it up, they thought it was a mess and Elena and Matt joined the others in the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0541 | “Episode 44” | Wednesday, 29 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pop-Up Challenge: Rippon Lea Estate - Harry, Elise, Mimi and Theresa competed in the last pop-up challenge at the restaurant of Rippon Lea Estate. It was a service challenge in which each received an envelope containing a recipe of an historical-themed dish. They had two hours to cook their assigned dish for 10 diners the judges. Theresa fell behind the others after panicking when preparing her dish during service. Her poor presentation of her dish and inconsistent plating gave her the last spot in the elimination challenge as Harry, Elise and Mimi were safe. Elise's fennel nougat tart was praised by the judges and declared a signature dish. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0542 | “Episode 45” | Thursday, 30 June 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Rainbow Affinity Elimination Challenge - The losing contestants from each pop-up challenge faced an elimination challenge set by Heston and the judges. Each contestant randomly picked a knife with a colour of the rainbow (Red for Theresa, Orange for Elena, Yellow for Heather, Green for Brett, Blue for Matt, Indigo for Chloe and Violet for Trent) and they had 75 minutes to present a dish inspired by their assigned colour. Theresa, Elena and Brett had the top three dishes. They were safe from elimination, along with Trent, while Chloe, Heather and Matt all missed the mark, they also failed to impress the judges of the connection between their choice of the colours and the dish. While Chloe and Matt's dishes failed to adequately incorporate their colours, the judges were not impressed with Heather's Lemon Delicious dessert, which collapsed on the plate and also criticised her flavour combinations. Ultimately, the judges felt that Heather had missed the brief and she was eliminated.
MasterClass: Heston Blumenthal, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan - Heston and the judges presented their recipes to the contestants in their Masterclass: Heston's roast chicken, Matt's steak sandwich, Gary's French squab and truffles and Heston's chocolate mousse. |
| Week 10 - The toughest week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0543 | “Episode 46” | Sunday, 3 July 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| The "Toughest" Mystery Box Challenge & Previous Seasons Re-Invention Test - The contestants' mystery box challenge was more difficult than usual as they had to cook a dish using all of the ingredients from the box, which consisted of corn, dates, pork belly, onion, apples, cinnamon, rum and condensed milk. Harry and Mimi delivered the best dishes, but it was Brett who won the advantage with his sticky pork and smoked corn puree. His advantage gave him the ability to choose one of three difficult invention tests from previous seasons: the cactus and prickly pear (chosen by Julia Taylor from series 4), 70s’ Apricot Chicken (chosen by Amy Shields from series 6) and earth (chosen by Billie McKay from series 7). Brett chose to re-invent the apricot chicken and the contestants had 60 minutes. Brett won a place in the immunity challenge along with Elise and Harry. Theresa, Mimi and Trent, on the other hand, failed to impress the judges. Their dishes were not well received, sending them to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0544 | “Episode 47” | Monday, 4 July 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Peter Gilmore's Cherry Jam Lamington - Peter Gilmore presented "Cherry Jam Lamington", his acclaimed dessert, to the contestants to replicate within two hours. Trent didn't receive any negative feedback from the judges on his dish and was safe. Despite struggling and making mistakes during her preparation time, Mimi also impressed the judges, although she was criticised for the lack of coconut shards in her dish. Theresa's dish lacked tartness in the cherry jam and her ice cream was too sweet. The imbalance of her dish resulted in Theresa being re-eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0545 | “Episode 48” | Tuesday, 5 July 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Shannon Bennett - Brett, Harry and Elise competed in the first round of the immunity challenge, which was another mystery box. They were allowed to choose to cook with one or more of the first four ingredients in twenty minutes, or open a smaller box inside to gain 20 minutes cooking time, but then had to cook with whatever ingredient was inside. Brett chose the 20 minute cooking time with venison, bay leaves, cauliflower and elderflower oil. Harry and Elise opened the smaller box which contained quandongs and another smaller box. For another 20 minutes, they both also opened this, meaning they had 60 minutes to cook with mastic, quandongs and at least one of the original ingredients. Harry struggled to incorporate the mastic into his dessert and his meringues didn't work. Elise's quandong tart and mastic ice cream was praised by the judges, but Brett won the challenge with his perfectly cooked venison. Brett then competed for immunity against MasterChef mentor Shannon Bennett with Gary running the kitchen for the challenge. Due to the week's theme of difficult challenges, he had no time advantage, and both had 60 minutes and an open pantry. Brett's lamb cutlets with smoked parsnip puree scored 17 points, but lost to Shannon's lamb two ways and mustard foam with a score of 18 points. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0546 | “Episode 49” | Wednesday, 6 July 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Four State Corners Team Challenge - The contestants were randomly put into pairs and given two hours to serve a main and dessert for 20 people. Each team represented a corner of Australia, with Matt and Mimi's Maroon Team representing Northern Australia, Elise and Trent's Yellow Team Western Australia, Elena and Chloe's Green Team Southern Australia and Brett and Harry's Blue Team Eastern Australia. Each team was given a mentor, a resident guest chef from each corner of the nation. Ultimately, the Maroon and Green Team's desserts had technical issues, sending them to the elimination challenge, while the other teams were declared safe, with the Yellow Team winning the challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0547 | “Episode 50” | Thursday, 7 July 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge: Time Auction - Chloe, Elena, Matt and Mimi competed in a time auction elimination challenge. Starting with 120 minutes, they bid in 5 minute increments for ingredients from three pantries: proteins, fruits and vegetables, and miscellaneous. Mimi ended up with 75 minutes to cook with beef, root vegetables and spices. Matt also had 75 minutes with duck, alliums and sauces. Elena gathered red mullet, nightshades and herbs with 80 minutes to cook, and Chloe had 100 minutes to cook with eggs, citrus and spreads. Elena delivered the dish of the day the, while Mimi also impressed the judges. Matt had problems with the sauce on the dish, but Chloe's eighth time facing elimination sealed her fate - she struggled throughout, her honey mousse had the wrong texture and her orange curd was too runny. After she was eliminated, the final seven learned they would be flying to San Francisco via Sydney and Trent and Elise, as winners of the team challenge, were told they would be flying business class with Qantas as their prize. |
| Week 11 - California Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0548 | “Episode 51” | Sunday, 10 July 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Fisherman's Wharf Eclectic Box Challenge & Fast-Track Invention Test - The judges and contestants took a trip to California for the weekly challenges. Each contestant bought one ingredient to make up the Mystery Box: Mimi chose short ribs, Elena picked fennel pollen, Brett selected fennel goat cheese, Harry chose Dungeness crab, Matt picked 100% Ecuadorian chocolate, Trent selected tangelos and Elise chose golden beets. At Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, they had 60 minutes to make a dish. Matt won the advantage for the invention test, and picked beef as the core ingredient from produce chosen by local farmers. The contestants had 60 minutes to make a dish using any of the produce from the open pantry, with the winning dish earning its maker the first place in a challenge to win a fast-track to Finals Week. Elise and Trent's dishes were declared the best, with the latter's spiced walnut and butter sirloin winning him the invention test and the advantage. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0549 | “Episode 52” | Monday, 11 July 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Atelier Crenn Team Pressure Test - The contestants (minus Trent) were taken to Atelier Crenn, where they were divided into two teams and given two hours and 45 minutes to recreate two of Dominique Crenn's dishes and fifteen minutes to plate. The winning team joined Trent in the Fast-Track Challenge. Both teams struggled in preparing their dishes during the challenge, but they received praise for their takes one of Crenn's dishes each. The team of Elena, Matt and Mimi won the advantage to compete against Trent for a place in the finals. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0550 | “Episode 53” | Tuesday, 12 July 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Fast-Track to the Finals Challenge - Elena, Matt, Mimi and Trent arrived at the vineyards of Inglenook Estate in Napa Valley. To compete for a fast pass to the finals, they had 90 minutes to make a dish using grapes. Elena cooked quail, grapes and goat's cheese. Trent prepared his grilled quail with cauliflower skordalia and sauce. Mimi prepared a dessert, a red wine sorbet and cake with blue cheese cream, and Matt cooked a roasted lamb rack dish. All of their dishes impressed the judges but Elena's dish was declared the most outstanding and she won the fast-pass to the Finals. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0551 | “Episode 54” | Wednesday, 13 July 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Santa Monica Food Truck Team Challenge - At the Santa Monica Pier, food truck chef Wes Avila of Guerilla Tacos mentored the contestants in running food trucks for their next team challenge. Since Elena had already won a place in Finals week, she did not participate. The rest were divided into teams of three and with two hours, they had to prepare two dishes to be served to 200 customers. While both teams struggled during the challenge, the Red Team, consisting of Brett, Harry and Mimi, served dishes with notable issues: they scrapped their original idea of soft shell crab tacos and didn't remove the sand veins from the prawns in their second dish. The Blue Team, consisting of Elise, Matt and Trent won the challenge, joining Elena in Finals Week, sending the Red Team to the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0552 | “Episode 55” | Thursday, 14 July 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Maude Restaurant Elimination Challenge - Curtis Stone returned to instruct Mimi, Harry and Brett, who had 90 minutes to make a dish inspired by what they wanted to do when the competition ended. They had 90 minutes at Curtis' restaurant, Maude, in Beverly Hills. Mimi's chocolate aero mousse highly impressed the judges and she was declared safe. The creativity of Harry's plate was praised by the judges, although his burnt lemon puree overpowered the dish. Brett was praised for his perfectly cooked pork and vegetables, but his underwhelming sauce failed to meet the mark and he was eliminated.
MasterClass: Javier Plascencia, George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston - In the Top 6's MasterClass for their last stop at Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, guest chef Javier Plascencia presented his baja fish taco recipe. The judges also presented their respective recipes to the contestants: George's oyster ice cream, Gary's mushrooms on toast and Matt's American beef n' bacon burger. |
| Week 12 - Finals Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0553 | “Episode 56” | Sunday, 17 July 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Finals Mystery Box Challenge & Method Invention Test - The mystery box contained ingredients that were "hot right now" or popular to cook with, and the Top 6 contestants had 60 minutes to cook and impress the judges, with Harry, winning the challenge with his grilled cobia with gochujang sauce and kohlrabi. Taken inside the pantry, Harry had to choose between three popular methods of cooking: smoking, sous-vide and liquid nitrogen for the invention test, and he chose liquid nitrogen. The contestants had 60 minutes to cook a dish using this technique. Elena's savoury cucumber dish, along with Harry and Elise's desserts, impressed the judges and they were safe. Matt, Mimi and Trent's dishes were the least impressive and they were sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0554 | “Episode 57” | Monday, 18 July 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Christy Tania's "Mistique" - Matt, Mimi and Trent four and a half hours had to recreate Christy Tania's dessert, "Mistique", which had almost 64 steps. Mimi enjoyed the challenge, while Trent and Matt struggled. Trent was imprecise in following the recipe and the amount of mix in each layer was out of balance. He also made his banana milk brownie too thick and it didn't set. Matt made mistakes in the first two steps but managed to recover. Mimi went on to create each of the layers of the cake perfectly, while Matt's passionfruit curd did not set and became more of a sauce. All three struggled with the blue and dark chocolate sphere on the top of the dessert, but Trent's fate was sealed when his overall presentation wasn't appealing and the different layers were out of proportions, leading to his elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0555 | “Episode 58” | Tuesday, 19 July 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Lake House Service Challenge - Alla Wolf-Tasker mentored the final five contestants in a challenge at her Lake House restaurant in Daylesford. They each had to cook a dish from the menu to be served for 40 guests in two hours. Matt's performance in the kitchen impressed Alla and the judges and he was declared safe. The others fell behind during the service challenge: Harry's dish didn't have enough eel on the plate, The sauce in Mimi's chicken dish had technical issues, and Elise's kale puree was bitter. Elena's plum jelly was too thick, but her dish had the best flavours and she was also declared safe, leaving the others to face elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0556 | “Episode 59” | Wednesday, 20 July 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge: Looking Back - To celebrate how far they had come in the competition, Elise, Harry and Mimi each received a box of ingredients they used to make their audition dishes, which they now had to reinvent. All three contestants struggled. Elise's brownie was raw, but when the decision was based on taste, she was safe. The lobster bisque in Harry butter poached lobster dish lacked complexity, but Mimi's blunder in using ricotta cheese, instead of goat's cheese, ultimately cost her - that element derailed the flavours of her fig ice cream dessert. Although she displayed a lot of technical skills in her dish, the elements Mimi put on the plate did not work together, and she was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0557 | “Episode 60” | Thursday, 21 July 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass: Chefs vs. Contestants - With it being the last Masterclass of the season the four quarter-finalists took over as the judges while Gary, George and Shannon compete in a Mystery Box Challenge. Gary won the challenge. Then Elise, Harry and Elena compete against Gary, George and Shannon in a relay challenge with the two Matt's as judges. The contestants made a mandarin dessert while Gary, George and Shannon cooked a poached quail dish. However they left a bone in the dish, handing the win to the contestants. |
| Grand Finale Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0558 | “Episode 61” | Sunday, 24 July 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Quarter-Finals: Mystery Box Challenge & Invention Test - The final four contestants faced their last mystery box challenge, in which they had 60 minutes to make a dish using ingredients chosen by their respective loved ones. Elena beat Matt's crispy skin snapper dish with her crab dish to secure her place in the semi-final. To secure their places in the semi-final, Elise, Harry and Matt each had to choose one food or cooking technique, which all three would then have to use to cook a dish in 60 minutes. Matt chose blending/juicing, Harry chose aeration and Elise chose setting, and all three made desserts. Matt's blackberry sorbet with tempered chocolate and port jelly nailed was a standout dish with the judges calling it flawless. The coconut foam for Harry's passionfruit sorbet disappointed the judges as it dissolved on the plate, but Elise's smoked chocolate parfait with orange sorbet had serious issues with both the balance of flavours and presentation. She was eliminated due to those critical issues. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0559 | “Episode 62” | Monday, 25 July 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Semi-Finals: Service Challenge - In the semifinal of the competition, Elena, Harry and Matt had to prepare two dishes, a main and dessert, for twenty diners and the judges in a four-hour service challenge. Matt's confit duck and brioche doughnut stood out, making him the first through to the finale. It was between Elena and Harry who both had issues in their mains, despite having excellent desserts (Elena's apples and biscuits, and Harry's espresso bavarois). Elena's Australian version of a nicoise salad and Harry's lobster cannelloni were both dry due to the lack of sauces, but it was Harry's use of oily kingfish, which overpowered the lobster flavour on his canneloni that resulted in Harry's elimination, and sent Elena to the finale. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0560 | “Episode 63” | Tuesday, 26 July 2016 |
| Synopsis: |
| Grand Finale - The finale took place over three rounds: entree, main and dessert. In the entree round, the judges chose a selection of core ingredients from which Elena picked marron and Matt picked quail. Matt's confit quail and sauce received 26 out of 30 points, while Elena's marron two ways lacked depth of flavour in her dashi sauce and she scored 23 points. For the main course, there were no rules, and Matt and Elise had 75 minutes to cook whatever they liked. Both Matt's crispy skin barramundi with prawn and pancetta sauce and Elena's twice-cooked lamb and smoked vegetables received perfect scores of 30, and Matt took the lead with a total score of 56 to 53. The finale then came down to the dessert: Heston Blumenthal and Ashley Palmer-Watts' "Verjus in Egg" creation. Both finalists had struggles, with Elena having to remake her 'egg yolk' jelly and Matt his coconut panna cotta 'egg white'. This led to Matt running out of time and not being able to seal the tempered chocolate egg shell in his dish, which split apart. Matt's dessert cost him the win, scoring 7 points from each of the four judges, giving him a total score of 84. Elena scored 8 each from Matt, George and Gary and 9 from Heston and Ashley, giving her 86 points. Winner Announced - Elena Duggan won the title of Masterchef 2016, the grand prize of $250,000 and a monthly column in the magazine Delicious while Matt Sinclair, as runner-up, received $40,000. Harry Foster, who finished in third-place, also received a cash prize of $10,000. |
2017 - Complete Season 09
| Week 1 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0561 | “Episode 01” | Monday, 1 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Series Premiere: Auditions Part 1 - The ninth series started with contestants cooking their signature dish in one hour for an automatic entry to the Top 24. Each judge awarded contestants with a "yes" or "no". Twenty contestants received three "yes" votes and won their way through to the main competition while the second-chance contestants, with one or two "yes" votes, were to cook again in the next episode. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0562 | “Episode 02” | Tuesday, 2 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Auditions Part 2 - Maggie Beer set a challenge for the twelve contestants who received a second chance to cook either a savoury dish or a dessert in 75 minutes, with lemons as the core ingredient, to secure a place in the competition. The top three dishes were chosen by Maggie and the judges sent their makers to join the Top 24. The bottom three who failed to impress the judges were eliminated while the remaining six competed for their last chance to secure the 24th spot in the next day's pressure test. In the end, it was Eliza, Lee and Sarah who received an apron each during the tasting after earning overall praise from the judges with their respective dishes. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0563 | “Episode 03” | Wednesday, 3 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Auditions Part 3 - To win the last apron and secure a spot in the Top 24, the remaining contestants faced a pressure test set by Anna Polyviou. They had three and a half hours to recreate her intricate firecracker-based dessert consisting of ten technical components The two hopefuls who delivered the best dishes were considered by the judges for the last spot in the Top 24. Arum's dish was declared the best and he won the last apron. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0564 | “Episode 04” | Thursday, 4 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 24 Mystery Box Challenge - In their first challenge of the season, the Top 24 contestants faced a mystery box that consisted of ingredients chosen by Elena Duggan, the winner of season 8. Cooking with 75 minutes on the clock, most contestants opted to cook a pasta dish while others chose to make an inventive dish. Rashedul suffered a major setback when he dropped a dish containing many of his elements in the final minute of cooking time. In the end, it was Sam, Callan, Pia and Bryan who were declared the Top 4 while Rashedul was sent to elimination along with Lee, Benjamin and Benita.
Hidden Pairs Elimination Challenge - Benita, Benjamin, Lee and Rashedul competed in the first elimination challenge. Each had to pick an ingredient of their choice next to a cloche that contained a hidden paired ingredient and make a dish in 75 minutes. Rashedul selected mangoes paired with green peppercorns, Benjamin had walnuts and dates, Benita got peaches and Earl Grey tea, and Lee chose salmon with aniseed. Benita's risk of producing an ice cream dessert didn't pay off, forcing her to change it into a custard dish. Benjamin received criticism for the presentation of his katoumari but received overall praise on the taste. Lee also won praise from the judges for his dish. Rashedul struggled to think of a dish and chose to make a mango, mint and peppercorn sorbet. The judges couldn't taste the green peppercorn in his sorbet, which meant it did not meet the brief of highlighting both ingredients, and that was enough to eliminate him. |
| Week 2 - Home Cooking Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0565 | “Episode 05” | Sunday, 7 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Judges' Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test - The 23 remaining contestants could only rely on the basics of home cooking for the week by using simple kitchen equipment. They faced a Mystery Box Challenge with ingredients like prawns, chillies, pineapple and Parmesan, that were chosen by the judges for the 75-minute cook. Sarah, Pia, Diana, Michelle and Eloise were chosen as the Top 5 and Eloise won the challenge and the advantage with her Pineapple Tarte Tatin with Pumpkin Chilli Caramel the advantage for the choice of the core ingredient for the Invention Test. She chose halloumi (over fennel and mussels). This ingredient caused some of the contestants to struggle throughout the 75-minute cook, including Lee, Ray and Pete, who found themselves in elimination. Eliza, Karlie and Sarah managed to champion the cheese in creative ways and were declared the Top 3. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0566 | “Episode 06” | Monday, 8 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Gary Mehigan's Roast Chicken, Peas and Potatoes - Lee, Pete and Ray had to follow and recreate Gary's roasted chicken dish without a recipe provided; they had to follow the chef before plating the dish within 10 seconds of Gary. Ray struggled throughout as he poured too much cream in his pea custard and his fondant potatoes were cooked inconsistently. Pete fell behind when he tried to prepare his vegetable jus, but his dish received overall praise and he was saved. Throughout the challenge, Lee started well and his dish impressed the judges, but it was his cooking of the chicken that let him down as he failed to sear the flesh side of the protein at the end of the cook. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0567 | “Episode 07” | Tuesday, 9 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Jarrod Di Blasi - In the 32-minute first round, Eliza, Sarah and Karlie had to make a savoury dinner plate with just one trip to the pantry. Sarah's Pan Friend Barramundi with Bok Choy and Vinaigrette won the round and she advanced to the Immunity Challenge against Jarrod Di Blasi, who was the Victorian Young Chef of the Year. She chose one of the judges’ home fridges (Gary's which contained Asian Ingredients) and with 75 minutes, prepped an XO Marinated Steak with Pickled Mushrooms and Potato Mash while Jarrod made a Sashimi of Whiting with Roast Bone Dressing and Avocado Puree in 60 minutes. Jarrod received overall praise on the creativity of his dish while Sarah's dish also pleased the judges but her mashed potatoes and her marinade divided the judges’ opinions, giving her 23 points to Jarrod's 27. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0568 | “Episode 08” | Wednesday, 10 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| 400 Gradi Team Challenge - The contestants arrived at the 400 Gradi Pizzeria, headed by World Pizza Champion Johnny Di Francesco, for a team challenge, where they were split into two teams of 10 and given fours to prepare an Italian three-course meal for 250 people. The Green and Red Teams, led by Diana and Eloise, respectively, had to make two pizzas, a pasta dish and a dessert. During their first challenge, both teams struggled in prepping their respective pizza doughs and desserts. The Red Team's pizzas received more praise than the Green Team's, whose pizzas had technical issues with the topping and crust. However, the judges slammed their bland pasta and heavy sponge dessert, and sent the Red Team into elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0569 | “Episode 09” | Thursday, 11 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Potato Elimination Challenge - The 10 members of the Red Team faced a two-round elimination challenge featuring potatoes. In the first round, they had 60 minutes to cook a classic side dish of chips and dip. Samuel, Arum and Eloise made the three best dishes, while Benjamin, Jess, Josh and Michelle served soggy chips, sending them to the second round, in which they had 60 minutes to make another a dish using potatoes. Jess and Michelle delivered exemplary dishes. While one of Benjamin's sweet potato doughnuts was mushy, Josh's undercooking of his potato resulted in his gnocchi being lumpy and his elimination.
MasterClass: George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston - The judges individually presented their respective simple dishes to the contestants in their MasterClass: George demonstrated the cooking of broccoli on a grill, Gary presented a dessert that featured chocolate and beetroot, and Matt cooked nuggets and chips. Gary helped George make his Lamb Tortellini with Butter Sauce and Yoghurt Dressing. |
| Week 3 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0570 | “Episode 10” | Sunday, 14 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Ben Shewry's All-Australian Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test - Ben Shewry showcased a mystery box that consisted of Australian ingredients. After 75 minutes, the Top 5 were Jess, Tamara, Trent, Nicole and Ray, and the latter won the challenge. Ray's advantage in the invention test was to choose one of three cooking techniques that had the contestants had to highlight in their dishes. Throughout the second challenge, Ray, despite choosing smoking as the highlight of his dish, under-cooked his crayfish and under-smoked his broth, while Pia failed to plate up all of her components. Sarah, Sam and Eloise impressed with their inventive dishes while Ray and Pia were joined by Pete in the Bottom 3. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0571 | “Episode 11” | Monday, 15 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Andy Bowdy's "Rita" - Pete, Pia and Ray had four and a half hours to recreate pastry chef Andy Bowdy's signature twelve element intricate layered cake. The judges were impressed with Pete's dish overall, despite the fact that he burned his second batch of candied pecans, and he was declared safe. Ray lost points in the presentation of his cake layers, but was praised on the tasting apart from his thick biscuit base. Although Pia's dish had the best presentation, her bavarois was heavy and her meringue was too grainy. In the end, the errors in Pia's dessert outweighed Ray's bulging cake appearance, sealing her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0572 | “Episode 12” | Tuesday, 16 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Charlie Carrington - In the 45-minute first round, Eloise, Sam and Sarah were tasked to cook a dish using a waffle maker. While Sam and Sarah opted for the sweet option for their waffle dishes, Eloise's savoury take on chicken and waffles with chili soy caramel won her the opportunity to cook against chef Charlie Carrington of Atlas Dining in Melbourne. Eloise had the advantage to beat the chef by choosing the 'indulgent' pantry, which contained sweet ingredients and, with 75 minutes, made a dessert of chocolate and peanut butter. The judges applauded Eloise's dish over Charlie's midnight snack dish, which left them uncertain of his mascarpone ginger beer foam, awarding her the immunity pin with 28 points to Charlie's 21. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0573 | “Episode 13” | Wednesday, 17 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Relay Team Challenge - Four teams competed in a relay challenge where each member had 15 minutes of cooking time and 45 seconds to pass their instructions to the next cook. Diana, Benjamin, Tamara and Benita, the captains of the Red, Yellow, Blue and Green Teams, were tasked with choosing a dish that featured maple syrup. Benita and Tamara chose the savoury option for their dishes (Green's Singaporean Chilli Crab and Prawns, and Blue's Asian Sticky Pork Belly with Bao Buns and Slaw) while Benjamin and Diana opted for maple ice cream desserts. Throughout the following changeovers, Benita's choice of dish confused her team members when she decided to replace the palm sugar with the syrup at the start of the cook, the Red Team struggled with their jelly element which they failed to plate at the last minute and the Yellow Team provided improvements to their dish. Michelle, who was the third to cook for the Blue Team, struggled throughout and tampered with the elements of her team's dish, forcing the last two members to salvage it. The Yellow and Red Teams were applauded for their desserts despite the latter missing the jelly in their dish, while the judges praised Diana's leadership and organization of her team's dish. The Blue Team's was criticised for overcooking their pork while the maple flavour couldn't be detected in the Green Team's dish despite the fact that they used all of the syrup throughout the cook. As their dish failed to highlight the core ingredient, the Green Team was sent to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0574 | “Episode 14” | Thursday, 18 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Time Shopping Elimination Challenge - Arum, Ben, Benita, Nicole and Pete faced the elimination challenge, in which each contestant could bid part of his/her 90 minutes' cooking time to purchase their ingredients. Each pantry of ingredients (except the staples) cost different minutes of time. Arum and Nicole spent 20 minutes on ginger, sugar and pistachios. Ben had John Dory, artichokes and vanilla beans that cost him 15 minutes. Benita decided to spend 45 minutes on prawns, ginger, coriander and kecap manis, while Pete bought cherries, vanilla beans, sugar and pistachios for 25 minutes. Arum's cake was loved by the judges with Ben's dish also receiving praise, while Pete had issues in plating his cake but stood out in the tasting. Nicole made a pudding that was crumbled and dry which lacked sauce. Benita faced problems during the cook, presenting an underwhelming dish, and despite her efforts in improvising her burnt broth, it was not enough to save her from elimination. |
| Week 4 - Sweet Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0575 | “Episode 15” | Sunday, 21 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Kirsten Tibballs' Mystery Box Challenge and Flower Affinity Invention Test - The daily challenges in the coming week focused the contestants on cooking desserts. Kirsten Tibballs presented her Mystery Box, which contained chocolate and her chosen ingredients (coconut, raspberries, mint, instant coffee, coffee beans, green tea, nectarines, desiccated coconut and dark rum) along with additional pantry dessert staples, for the contestants to make their dish in 30 minutes. Bryan, Eloise, Arum, Eliza and Pete were chosen for tasting and impressed the judges with the creativity of their desserts, with Pete winning the advantage in the invention test, which was set by Janice Wong. He was rewarded an extra 30-minute head start with Janice mentoring him in making a dish inspired by flowers, but it was Callan, Diana and Sam who thrived in highlighting the flowers in their desserts and won the chance to cook for immunity. Samuel and Trent had technical issues in their dishes while Bryan's dessert had too many elements and the flavours in his dish did not balance together correctly. Therefore, the three of them were sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0576 | “Episode 16” | Monday, 22 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Christy Tania's Ice Cream Float - Bryan, Samuel and Trent had three hours to replicate Christy Tania's gravity-defying ice cream dessert and thirty minutes to make their sugar balloons. The time pressure proved too much for the three contestants as they had issues in their dishes: Trent's balloon was too small as it dispersed when he presented his dish, Samuel used excess chocolate to cover the crevice of his cone after he poured his hot chocolate sauce during the cook, and Bryan's semifreddo was too dense and contained dollops of meringue in the mixture, while he ran out of time to make his balloon. Ultimately, Trent and Samuel scored on taste and presentation, respectively. Despite having a good run in the competition, Bryan's first pressure test sealed his elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0577 | “Episode 17” | Tuesday, 23 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Lauren Eldridge, Angélique Pereto and Reynold Poernomo - As a team, Callan, Diana and Sam individually competed against one of three guest pastry chefs for immunity. By knife draw, Sam was pitted against chef Lauren Eldridge, Diana faced chef Angélique Pereto and Callan cooked against KOI Dessert Bar's Reynold Poernomo (from season 7). In 75 minutes, Diana made a dark chocolate sorbet with orange sauce, Sam made a deconstructed black forest gateaux and Callan baked a layered sponge cake with fruits, jelly, toffee and chocolate ganache. In 60 minutes, Reynold made a mango cream with spiced pineapple and lemongrass ginger consommé, Angélique made a green tea dessert with coconut and raspberry, and Lauren presented a honeycomb with crème fraiche ice cream. While Reynold's dessert scored 27 points, the judges felt Callan's use of chocolate ganache was unnecessary and gave him 16 points. Diana's dish was liked by the judges, but was criticized for being an inefficient use of the allotted time and lacking finesse, but Angélique highly impressed the judges with the creativity of her dessert, giving her a perfect score of 30 versus Diana's 18. While Sam earned rave reviews for his dish, Lauren's use of two simple elements and precision earned her high praise, and she won, 28-27. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0578 | “Episode 18” | Wednesday, 24 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Edible Dessert Greenhouse Art Team Challenge - The two teams were tasked by Darren Purchese with constructing edible dessert art installations in their respective stations for public viewing in eight hours. The Red Team, led by Sarah, chose a Japanese Zen garden concept, while the Blue Team, led by Tamara, took inspiration from a beehive. During prep time, the Red Team overcooked their first batch of dehydrated strawberry cherry blossoms, which forced them to only make 300 blossoms, while the Blue Team took too long to make their honeycomb biscuits and build their cookie cutters. Afterwards, both teams were praised in their creativity by the judges, but the Blue Team's installations lacked balance in the sweetness of each element over the Red Team's and landed them in elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0579 | “Episode 19” | Thursday, 25 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Blind Ingredient Tasting Elimination Challenge - The nine losing contestants (except Eloise, who used her immunity pin) had to correctly guess each ball of a dessert ingredient while blindfolded, to avoid landing in one of three places in the second elimination round. The bottom three: Ray (who mistook grapes for watermelon), Benjamin (banana instead of rockmelon) and Tamara (cucumber rather than rockmelon), had 75 minutes to make a dessert with the ingredient they guessed incorrectly. Both Tamara and Ray impressed with their dishes but, while Ray struggled throughout the challenge, Benjamin overcooked his bananas and he was sent home. |
| Week 5 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0580 | “Episode 20” | Sunday, 28 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| David Thompson's Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test - Thai cuisine expert and chef David Thompson set up a Mystery Box Challenge for the contestants, where they had to cook a dish with his chosen Thai ingredients, with Tamara, Diana, Michelle, Karlie and Samuel selected as the Top 5. Karlie won the advantage in the invention test, which was the choice between two of Thompson's dishes. The contestants had 75 minutes to cook an inventive dish using the ingredients of the chosen dish. She chose his pineapple and crab curry (over his tom yum soup) and several contestants prospered with their dishes to compete for three places in the immunity challenge. Tamara, Ben and Samuel had the top dishes chosen by the judges. Jess, Sam and Trent had technical errors in their dishes and were sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0581 | “Episode 21” | Monday, 29 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Josue Lopez's "After the Eucalypt Fire" - Jess, Sam and Trent had three hours to replicate "After the Eucalypt Fire", a 14-element emu dish made by Josue Lopez, Brisbane's Chef of the Year. Sam was first to be declared safe despite the fact that his beetroot leaf puree was grainy. Jess' puree was bitter and lacked vibrance, but while Trent was praised for the cooking of his emu, his plating was unorganized and the essential crispy elements were missing, which resulted in his elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0582 | “Episode 22” | Tuesday, 30 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Clinton McIver - Ben, Samuel and Tamara had 45 minutes to recreate a classic macaroni and cheese in the first round. Tamara's chili mac 'n' cheese was the best, and she won the chance to cook off against Melbourne chef Clinton McIver of Amaru. From a choice of herbs, she chose rosemary and made Chicken Rosemary Garlic Dumplings with Chicken Broth in 75 minutes, while Clinton made a Rosemary Lamb with Pickled Vegetables and Pear in 60 minutes. Both of their dishes were praised on simplicity but Clinton's modern flavours of his dish beat Tamara's overall quality presentation, 27 points to 26. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0583 | “Episode 23” | Wednesday, 31 May 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| South Melbourne Market Team Challenge - The four teams were taken to the South Melbourne Market, where they had to cook two snacks (savoury and sweet) and sell them to 1000 people, with only two teams to be pronounced safe for delivering the best dishes and earning the most money from the public. All teams struggled to plan their dishes: Michelle's Yellow Team attempted to estimate the mass of their ingredients, Tamara's Green Team took a lot of time to prepare their food and Sam's Blue Team had issues with the lime curd in their dessert. After service, the teams made $13,728 to be donated to Kidney Health Australia. The judges applauded the Blue Team's dishes, which were free from flaws and declared the team safe. The Green Team was also safe with takings of $4,158, sending the other two teams to the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0584 | “Episode 24” | Thursday, 1 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Three Dishes from Six Eggs Elimination Challenge - The eight losing contestants faced a three-round elimination challenge where they had to cook dishes in 45 minutes with only six eggs available. Ben, Michelle and Nicole had the top dishes in the first round. Karlie and Samuel excelled in the second round, sending Callan, Jess and Pete to the final elimination round. The judges doubted Pete's choice of cooking a simple steak and chips with a fried egg but they applauded his dish in the tasting. Callan was also safe with the creativity of his smoked egg yolk. Jess’ flavours of her dish were flat while her egg cracked in the cooking which was overdone, and she was eliminated. |
| Week 6 - Yotam Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0585 | “Episode 25” | Sunday, 4 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Yotam's Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test - Celebrity chef and writer Yotam Ottolenghi made his first appearance as this week's guest judge. His Mystery Box contained the following ingredients, used in Middle Eastern cuisine: freekeh, tahini paste, lamb, date syrup, parsley, eggplant, rose water and sumac. After 75 minutes against Michelle, Eliza, Sarah and Ben, Karlie won her second mystery box challenge, gaining the advantage of a 30-minute head start in the invention test, where she had to cook a stuffed dish in 60 minutes. She then won the invention test and joined Diana and Tamara with immunity. Pete and Ray, who faced their third pressure test, were joined by Eloise, after all three served undercooked dishes. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0586 | “Episode 26” | Monday, 5 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Yotam Ottolenghi's Mezze Feast - Eloise, Pete and Ray had one hour to recreate five dishes from Yotam's mezze: lamb koftas, deep fried olives, butter bean hummus and roasted ricotta with broad bean spread. Eloise won praise for the overall taste and quality of her dishes. Ray also won praise with his feast, but served large chunks of onions in his koftas and some dishes that were under-seasoned. Pete's disorganized plating failed in presentation while his flatbreads and fried olives received praise in the tasting, but he overcooked his lamb and pomegranate jam, which saw him eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0587 | “Episode 27” | Tuesday, 6 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Blayne Bertoncello - Karlie, Tamara and Diana competed in the first round, in which each of them took turns naming one of the 25 ingredients of Yotam's pastilla. Diana and Tamara were eliminated in consecutive guesses, which left Karlie to cook against O.MY head chef Blayne Bertoncello. Both of them had to feature the ingredients from the first round to cook their dishes. In 75 minutes, Karlie cooked Braised Chicken with Onion Sauce, Chipotle and Tomato while Blayne made a Tomato Salad with Chicken in 60 minutes. Karlie was praised for the cooking of her dish but received mixed reviews on the blubbery chicken skin. While Blayne's salad lacked acidity, it received overall praise for its taste and presentation, winning by 35 points to 30. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0588 | “Episode 28” | Wednesday, 7 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Vegetarian Feast Team Challenge - For their next team challenge, the contestants were split into two teams of seven and had to cook a feast featuring vegetable-based dishes to impress 10 meat-eating guests and the judges. In the two-hour prep time, Callan's uncertain leadership and decisions pushed the Blue Team over the edge while both teams had issues in cooking their flatbreads. In the tasting, both teams' dishes were praised for highlighting the brief but their flatbreads were undercooked and, despite Callan's restrained leadership, the Green Team overused their sour plum compote which diluted and imbalanced their fried halloumi dish and sent them to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0589 | “Episode 29” | Thursday, 8 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Visual Perception Elimination Challenge - The seven contestants on the Green Team took turns identifying a chosen sliced cross-section of an ingredient. Incorrect guesses led to three contestants being sent to the elimination round. Arum, Samuel, and Tamara then had 75 minutes to cook a dish using the pantry of ingredients that were guessed correctly in the first round. Arum's apple dessert was applauded, saving him from elimination. The verdict came down to Tamara, whose fruit tart had unusual flavour combinations, and Samuel, whose vegetable tart had disproportionate quantities. The latter was eliminated as a result.
MasterClass: Yotam Ottolenghi, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan - Yotam, with assistance from Matt, presented three dishes to the contestants: a salad of cauliflower, shallots, barberries and pistachios, scotch eggs with aubergine and manchego; and a pistachio and rose semolina cake. George cooked one of the dishes from his Press Club restaurant: a potato skordalia, while Gary made a savoury yabby tomato tart. |
| Week 7 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0590 | “Episode 30” | Sunday, 11 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Curtis Stone's Mystery Box Challenge and Power Pin Invention Test - Curtis Stone presented the ingredients for the Mystery Box challenge. Sam beat Diana and Ray to secure the advantage in the invention test. He chose the following three core ingredients: kingfish, capers and turnips from farmers' produce. This season introduced the Power Pin, which granted the wearer 15 minutes extra time in any individual challenge until the finals. The best dish in this invention test won its maker the pin. Diana, Karlie and Michelle were named the Top 3 with Karlie delivering the winning dish for the pin. The four contestants who were sent to the pressure test were Arum, Ray, Sam and Tamara. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0591 | “Episode 31” | Monday, 12 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Deniz Karaca's "Passion for Caramel" - Arum, Ray, Sam and Tamara had three hours to recreate pastry chef and chocolatier Deniz Karaca's chocolate caramel tart. While some of them struggled in replicating the various elements, Arum's dessert was the dish of the day. Though Sam's tart was too soft and his passionfruit jam lacked flavour, Tamara left her tempered chocolate garnishes off her plate, while her cremeux leaked into her tart shell and her caramel crème was undercooked. Ultimately, the caramelization of the mousse was vital to the dish and Tamara's mistake resulted in her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0592 | “Episode 32” | Tuesday, 13 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Second Chance Cook-Off - The previously eliminated contestants returned to compete for a place back in the competition. In a two-round cook-off, they could only choose one core ingredient from the given pantry to cook a first-round savoury dish and a second-round dessert. Jess, Samuel, Bryan, Tamara, Pete and Lee had the top savoury dishes and advanced to the next round. The top three in the second round were Bryan, Tamara and Jess. After her elimination in the previous episode, Tamara returned to the competition after producing the best dish. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0593 | “Episode 33” | Wednesday, 14 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pop-Up Restaurant Team Challenge - Season 8 runner-up Matt Sinclair mentored the two teams in running pop-up restaurants and making a four-course meal for 100 customers in three hours. Tamara, having an advantage after earning back her place in the competition, chose to spare Eloise from the challenge. The Red Team, led by Karlie, was assigned to cook dishes with meat, and the Blue Team, led by Ben, cooked seafood dishes. Both teams struggled early in the prep time: The Red Team fell behind in making their dishes due to a series of technical errors, while the Blue Team had issues in preparing their entrée and delayed their second main dish in preparing the noodles. Both teams' dishes showed technique and flavour but the Blue Team's delayed tuna dish with technical flaws and confusing apricot flavours of their dessert sent them to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0594 | “Episode 34” | Thursday, 15 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Potluck Elimination Challenge - The six contestants on the Blue Team chose a covered bench of their choice with different ingredients and kitchen equipment, to make a dish without using the pantry. Ben received praise for the cooking of his Moreton Bay bug bisque. Tamara's use of the hibachi grill for her duck dish met with acclaim. Sam succeeded in cooking his lamb apart from his use of fruit. Michelle was applauded for her crepe dessert, which featured the apple used in three different ways. Ray tried to think of a dish using a fryer and an oven and he decided to cook a simple fish and chips dish, of which the judges were not impressed with its lack of originality. Despite being concerned about the rareness of his steak after having issues with his cooking time, Arum was commended on the quality of his dish. It was clear that Ray's dish did not match the competition and he was eliminated. |
| Week 8 - Heston's Road Trip |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0595 | “Episode 35” | Sunday, 18 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Murray River Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test: Water - Heston Blumenthal took the Top 12 contestants on a road trip around Victoria for the week's challenges, which were inspired by the four classical elements. They arrived at Swan Hill on the Murray River for their first challenge, which was based on water, and had 75 minutes to make a dish with Heston's Mystery Box ingredients: corn, olives, oranges, Murray cod, currants, saltbush, oats and snails. Diana, Karlie and Sarah made the best dishes, with Diana gaining the advantage of extra time and mentoring by Heston in the second round. The least-performing contestants from the following challenges were sent to this week's elimination challenge. In the invention test, some contestants produced inventive dishes but Diana (whose elements in her dessert were disjointed), Tamara (whose technical dessert was too sweet) and Sarah (who served undercooked yabbies) struggled. Consequently, Diana and Sarah were the first two contestants to face elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0596 | “Episode 36” | Monday, 19 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Brim Silos Team Challenge: Earth - The remaining contestants arrived at the silo mill in Brim, Victoria for their second challenge, in which they were divided into pairs and given 75 minutes to make a main dish and dessert inspired by earth. The Purple Team (Karlie and Nicole) were first to be declared safe after impressing with their saltbush lamb dish and grapes and grains dessert. While the Blue Team's (Callan and Sam) dessert pleased the judges, their chocolate lamb dish was deemed the worst with undercooked meat and an unnecessary flavour combination. The elements conflicted in the main dish of the Yellow Team (Arum and Ben). However, their refined dessert was enough to save them and the Blue Team was sent to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0597 | “Episode 37” | Tuesday, 20 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Mildura Salt Flats Team Challenge: Air - The contestants arrived at the salt pans of Mildura for their air element-based challenge. They were split into two teams and had to cook a three-course meal, including a salt-based dessert, for the guests and the judges. The progress of Eliza's Blue Team strive in the captain's poor leadership, composing a small underseasoned entrée. While Nicole's Red Team were fascinated with their entrée and main dishes, they struggled to cope their team member Michelle in making the dessert - their whipped chocolate ganache was too thick and lacked salt in the plate. Eventually, the Blue Team wins and were pronounced safe with their other course dishes. For the Red Team, their dessert failed to meet the brief and they were sent to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0598 | “Episode 38” | Wednesday, 21 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Jack's Magazine Invention Test: Fire - Arum, Ben, Eliza and Eloise faced off in their last challenge inside Jack's Magazine from Maribyrnong. In the challenge, which was a two-round invention test, they had to cook savoury and sweet dishes using the element of fire as inspiration. Ben's dish was met with acclaim from the judges with Arum also declared safe, while Eliza and Eloise, both of whom had technical issues in their dishes, were sent to the second round, in which they had to make a dessert to avoid receiving the last spot in the elimination challenge. Eliza's Peach Ember dessert beat Eloise's Rhubarb Sorbet with Smoked Italian Meringue to join Ben and Arum in the Top 3. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0599 | “Episode 39” | Thursday, 22 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge: Deception - The contestants returned to the MasterChef kitchen after their four-day road trip for their elimination challenge. From series 6, the contestants had 75 minutes to cook a dish that focused on culinary deception. While she struggled with her caramel element, Eloise was safe after delivering the dish of the day. Ultimately, Sam and Nicole (both of their dishes had less deceptive creativity) were among the Bottom 3. Michelle, however, presented a frigid parfait when she used cream cheese as the base for the mixture while her coating was butyraceous and that sealed her elimination.
MasterClass: Heston Blumenthal, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston - Heston presented dishes with different cooking methods of eggs. Gary made a Blue Eye Cod with Bacon and Mussels. Matt showcased his use of molecular gastronomy in making his ice cream bread and baked a self-saucing chocolate pudding. Lastly, Heston served a spit roasted barbecue lamb to the contestants. |
| Week 9 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0600 | “Episode 40” | Sunday, 25 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Peter Gilmore's Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test - Peter Gilmore's choice of ingredients from his Mystery Box tasked the contestants with cooking a dish in 75 minutes. After winning the advantage for the invention test over Arum and Diana, Tamara was given the choice of picking one of Peter's three technical desserts, which were featured in previous pressure tests: his Guava and Custard Apple Snow Egg (from season 2), Eight Texture Chocolate Cake (from season 4) and Cherry Jam Lamington (from season 8). She chose his Cherry Jam Lamington, and the contestants had 60 minutes to make a dish inspired by the lamington. Eliza, Eloise and Sarah made the three best dishes and won the opportunity to cook for immunity. Callan, Arum and Nicole failed to recreate the flavour of the dish and were sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0601 | “Episode 41” | Monday, 26 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Paul Carmichael's "Bajan Fish Fry" - Arum, Callan and Nicole had three hours and forty five minutes to replicate guest chef Paul Carmichael's Bajan three-course meal, consisting of a fried snapper, charred pumpkin with salted cod, black pudding with cucumber and a spiced cucumber juice. None of them managed to complete all the elements in their dishes, particularly in their pumpkin. Arum's cooking of the fish damaged the presentation, but his dishes stood out in the tasting. After Callan struggled throughout the challenge and won praise for his fish, his accompanying dishes had too much spice and vinegar while his pumpkin was undercooked. However, it was Nicole's failure in deboning her fish which was the deciding factor in her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0602 | “Episode 42” | Tuesday, 27 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Ben Devlin - Eliza, Eloise and Sarah were given 60 minutes to cook a stuffed dish in the first round. The judges loved Sarah's chicken wings with mushroom filling and she competed in round two against chef Ben Devlin of the Paper Daisy restaurant. From a choice of similar paired ingredients, Sarah picked prawns and shrimp paste for her 75-minute cook. Both she and Ben received overall praise on their grilled prawn dishes but the professional won the challenge by one point over Sarah (28-27). |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0603 | “Episode 43” | Wednesday, 28 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Blind Pairing Team Challenge - The Top 10 were divided randomly in pairs for the team challenge. Through the use of communication, they had to cook two plates of the same dish while each member was separated by a divider. None of the teams’ dishes matched completely, but all won praise in the tasting. The split decision came down to the Green Team (Tamara and Sarah) and the Purple Team (Arum and Eliza) with the judges voting the Green Team as the winners. Ultimately, Eloise and Callan's overcooked scallops and Diana and Sam's misplaced praline sent them to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0604 | “Episode 44” | Thursday, 29 June 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Time or Ingredients Elimination Challenge - Callan, Diana, Eloise and Sam competed in the time displacement elimination challenge from season 8, in which they had to gather their ingredients from one of the following four different hidden pantries on the prescribed time limit. Eloise, Sam and Callan had 60 minutes to cook with herbs, fruits and vegetables, while Diana waited for the last pantry (protein) with 30 minutes left to cook. Her risk paid off when her dish was praised by the judges, along with Eloise's ice cream dessert. The difficult decision was between Callan and Sam as their dishes did not impress. Callan took a risk with odd flavour combinations in his ice cream dessert, while Sam's execution let him down when his flawed elements impacted the presentation and taste of his dessert. As a result, he was eliminated from the competition. Tamara and Sarah flew business class for the Top 9 contestants’ trip to Japan after winning the team challenge. |
| Week 10 - Japan Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0605 | “Episode 45” | Sunday, 2 July 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Tokyo Eclectic Box Challenge and Invention Test - After arriving in Japan with the judges, the Top 9 contestants each bought one ingredient around Tokyo for the Mystery Box. Tamara chose scallops, Sarah selected lily root, Callan picked soya beans, Arum chose honey yams, Eloise selected cherry blossom radish, Karlie picked wagyu beef, Diana chose sesame dressing, Eliza selected miso Ben picked sake. After 60 minutes, the three best dishes were cooked by Karlie, Eloise and Diana, who was the winner for the Invention Test's advantage. She chose wasabi (over ginger and soy sauce). The contestants then had 60 minutes and an open pantry to cook their dishes. Beating Eliza and Sarah was Ben, whose Wasabi Ice Cream with Yam Fondants and Nutmeg Biscuit earned him a chance for immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0606 | “Episode 46” | Monday, 3 July 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Kodama Eight-course Degustation Challenge - The other contestants arrived at chef Tsutomu Kodama's Michelin-starred restaurant, where each had to cook a dish from a Japanese eight course degustation menu under George's mentorship, and the two contestants who made the best dishes joined Ben in the immunity challenge. Tamara had the first course of shiso with crab and yuzu. Eliza was assigned to cook white asparagus accompanied with a quail egg for course 2. Diana's assigned core ingredient for the third course were clams, producing a clam broth with spring onions and ginger floss. Mackerel was assigned for Eloise's fourth course dish, with cauliflower, tomato and wasabi. Karlie had course 5 with mushrooms in different ways. Arum's dish of marinated eye fillet with sake, broccoli and wasabi was course 6. Callan produced a dessert with matcha for course 7. Sarah was last with a savoury dessert of black sesame for the eighth course. All of their dishes (except Eloise's and Callan's, after struggling with the flavours) earned general acclaim from the judges and the customers. In the end, the dishes of Karlie and Sarah won overall praise from the judges and they joined Ben to compete for immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0607 | “Episode 47” | Tuesday, 4 July 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Mount Fuji Immunity Challenge - Ben, Karlie and Sarah arrived at the Obuchi Tea Plantation in the foothills of Mount Fuji for the two-round immunity challenge. In the first round, each had to make a dish with one of three Japanese fruits of their choice: fuji apple, shiranui and yuzu, to land two places in the second round. Karlie and Sarah had 60 minutes to make a dish featuring tea as the main ingredient. In the end, Sarah managed to claim the immunity pin after beating Karlie's Tea Poached Chicken Broth with her Tea Braised Pork Belly, Vegetables and Bean Curd. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0608 | “Episode 48” | Wednesday, 5 July 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Shinjuku Food Stalls Team Challenge - The contestants arrived at the food stalls of Shinjuku, where they were divided into teams of three and had to make three Japanese street food dishes for 100 diners. The Yellow Team won the challenge and the prize of a private Masterclass. The Red Team's beef skewer lacked sauce, but otherwise, they were also safe. Although the judges applauded Blue Team member Sarah's prawn dish, her team members' other dishes had technical flaws, which sent them to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0609 | “Episode 49” | Thursday, 6 July 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Akagi Shrine Elimination Challenge - Sarah decided to participate in the elimination challenge by not using her immunity pin. She, Callan and Tamara were taken to the Akagi Shrine, where they had 75 minutes to make a dish inspired by their personal past and future. Callan made a sushi-inspired dessert, Sarah made a pork "steamboat" dish, consisting of mushrooms, taro and wombok), and Tamara made pork dumplings with a spicy broth. In the end, both Tamara and Sarah had outstanding dishes and they were both safe, and Callan was eliminated when his dessert lacked flavour in its roasted rice ice cream. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0610 | “Episode 50” | Friday, 7 July 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass: Takayuki Odaka, George Calombaris, Matt Preston and Kagehisa Imada - On the last day in Japan, the judges along with local Japanese chefs gave the contestants a MasterClass before the finals. Yesterday, Gary took the Yellow Team members to the Soba restaurant Kanda Matsuya for their private MasterClass with chef Takayuki Odaka who explained the history and demonstrated the making of Soba noodles. The next day, the Yellow Team rejoined their fellow contestants in the next MasterClasses at the Tateyama Castle. George made a modern Japanese seafood salad, Matt made three Japanese dessert slices and sushi chef Kagehisa Imada presented the basics of making sushi. |
| Week 11 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0611 | “Episode 51” | Sunday, 9 July 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Shannon Bennett's Mystery Box Challenge and Re-invention Test - Shannon's Mystery Box contained four special ingredients: Moreton bay bugs, porcini, Yukon gold potatoes and sunrise lime, for the contestants to cook a dish and in the 60-minute challenge, Eloise, Karlie and Arum delivered the top 3 dishes. Arum won the advantage which was to pick a random dish from the knife block to re-invent the core dish in 60 minutes. He chose Beef Wellington and he also got an extra 30 minutes to make his dish. Karlie used her Power Pin that she won in her previous invention test, with an extra 15 minutes to re-invent a dessert version of a wellington. But Tamara, Eliza and Arum received praise for their dishes and were named the Top 3. The challenge struggled Eloise, Diana and Ben which sent them to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0612 | “Episode 52” | Monday, 10 July 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Kylie Millar's "Nest" - Season 4 alumna Kylie Millar set up a challenging three-hour pressure test for Ben, Diana and Eloise, in which they had to recreate her elaborate 10-element dessert, "The Nest", with 15 minutes to plate it. Both Eloise and Ben struggled to make the honeycomb as well as plate the dish (the cured egg yolk in particular). In the tasting, Diana managed to interpret the dish. Eloise's panna cotta was grainy while both her honeycomb and parsnip bark were overcooked, which made her dish too bitter, and Ben's honeycomb was too chewy. Between the two of them in which their dishes did not score in presentation, the final decision came down to taste. As a result, the bitterness in Eloise's dish failed to match the flavour profile of the chef's dish and she was eliminated from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0613 | “Episode 53” | Tuesday, 11 July 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Fast-Track to the Finals Immunity Challenge: Federico Zanellato - Before Finals Week, instead of winning an immunity pin in the second round, a Top 3 contestant from the invention test cooked against a guest chef to win an automatic pass to the Finals. In the first round, Arum, Eliza and Tamara had 45 minutes to make a soufflé to advance, and Arum won with his vanilla soufflé despite missing his prune puree. He competed against New South Wales' Chef of the Year Federico Zanellato and he had the advantage of choosing 10 ingredients of his choice from the available pantry of 20. Arum used strategy in cooking his seared beef with celeriac, apple, black pudding and pernod, which beat the simplicity of the professional chef's pasta dish, which won praise overall from the judges (26 points to Federico's 24). |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0614 | “Episode 54” | Wednesday, 12 July 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Six-Course Meal Service Challenge - The other contestants faced an individual three-hour service challenge on a commercial kitchen with three-starred Michelin chef Clare Smyth as their mentor. Each had the responsibility of cooking a dish of a six-course meal for 50 diners and the judges. Clare assigned a pair of ingredients for each contestant, which they had to highlight in their dish. By knife pull, Tamara (with marron and ras el hanout) and Eliza (mushrooms and spruce) were assigned to cook entrées, Diana (who had venison and pear) and Karlie (duck and Tasmanian mountain pepper) cooked the mains & Sarah (assigned with sheep's milk yoghurt and bergamot leaf) and Ben (pineapple and coriander seeds) were tasked with making the desserts. The best performers of the challenge joined Arum in the Finals. The time pressure was great for the contestants as they struggled to prep their dishes. Ben's performance in the kitchen resulted in him delivering the dish of the day and he advanced to the Finals. Tamara failed to highlight her second ingredient: ras el hanout while her couscous was undercooked which derailed the overall grade of her dish, Karlie's duck was cooked inconsistently and Sarah's savoury dessert was imbalanced with the use of roasted fennel. They were named the Bottom 3 as a result, but Eliza, who overpowered the spruce flavour in her dish with her Parmesan custard, had never been in any previous Elimination Challenges (including Pressure Tests) and therefore, she would face her first if Sarah decided to use her immunity pin. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0615 | “Episode 55” | Thursday, 13 July 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Outdoor Food Memory Elimination Challenge - Eliza took Sarah's place in the elimination challenge after the latter decided to use her immunity pin. She, Karlie and Tamara had 75 minutes to cook a dish inspired by the memories of their respective vacation with their loved ones for the last two places in Finals Week. Karlie cooked Oysters with Oyster Cream, Cucumber Granita, Gin and Fennel which reflected in her beach living. Eliza's trip to Sorrento inspired her Beetroot and Gin Cured Trout with Horseradish Crème Fraiche, Fennel Crackers and Beetroot Butter. Tamara's contemplated her honeymoon in Paris with her Macaron Parfait Sandwiches with Strawberries. All of their dishes won praise with their creativity, flavour and technique from the judges, but unfortunately Eliza's choice of fish was slightly dry compared to the other two contestants' dishes, which did not receive any flaws. In the end, her first (and only) Elimination Challenge sealed her fate despite being consistent throughout the competition. |
| Week 12 - Finals Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0616 | “Episode 56” | Sunday, 16 July 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Finals Mystery Box Challenge and Free Choice Invention Test - The Top 6 finalists had to use all of the ingredients in their Mystery Box to make a dish in the 60-minute challenge. All of the finalists chose to make a dessert with these ingredients and three of them (Karlie, Ben and Tamara) stood out in the judging. It was Ben's unique ice cream dessert that won him the Invention Test's advantage. The advantage gave him the ability to choose any ingredient of his choice from the pantry to be a main feature in his dish. Relying on strategy, Ben chose liquorice, a choice that threw most of the contestants off. Karlie and Sarah struggled the most, and landed in the pressure test. Ben's advantage almost backfired when his liquorice ice cream's texture was deemed too soft, but, in a close decision, he was declared safe along with Tamara and Arum, as Diana's overly bouncy panna cotta sent her to join Sarah and Karlie in the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0617 | “Episode 57” | Monday, 17 July 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Shaun Quade's "Pearl on the Ocean Floor" - Diana, Karlie and Sarah, three of the most consistent cooks in the competition, went head to head in the pressure test. They were given three and a half hours to recreate “Pearl on the Ocean Floor” – one of the most intriguing signature dishes of the Lûmé restaurant by chef Shaun Quade. The dish was composed of various seafood and lemon marmalade concealed with flavoured sand, mussel foam and a miso pine nut ice cream encased in a small sugar pearl and chocolate. Karlie excelled in her first pressure test and was the only contestant to successfully recreate all the elements of the dish. But while both Sarah and Diana's dish had a missing element, Sarah's ice cream was deemed pale and bland. Despite being a top favorite to win the competition, Sarah was eliminated in her first pressure test, leaving Diana and Karlie to join the Top 5. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0618 | “Episode 58” | Tuesday, 18 July 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| World Class Service Elimination Challenge - The Top 5 competed in their places for the Top 4 in the Surprise Elimination Challenge. They each had to cook a dish of a five-course meal (3 savoury and 2 desserts) in two hours of service to impress the judges, Shannon, returning chef Peter Gilmore and other popular chefs: Ross Lusted and Alla Wolf-Tasker. Diana, Arum and Karlie were assigned to mains while Ben and Tamara did desserts. In judging, Diana's Charred Squid with Peas, Mint and Cucumber and Tamara's Chocolate Mousse with Orange and Fennel delivered the dishes of the day with Karlie also declared safe with her Pork Loin with Mushrooms and Blueberries. Arum and Ben were the last two remaining. While Ben's lavender ice cream impressed the judges, his shortbread was undercooked but the fact that Arum cooked his duck (the main element) early before service hinted his meat becoming dry, which meant he was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0619 | “Episode 59” | Wednesday, 19 July 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Dinner by Heston Service Challenge - Ashley Palmer-Watts instructed the Top 4 finalists to recreate four signature dishes of the menu of the restaurant Dinner by Heston in Melbourne for 40 diners in 5 hours. Karlie got the Frumenty octopus dish, Tamara recreated the Roast Groper and Green Sauce but she discarded the onion element when she ran out of time to make it and her dish was imbalanced. Diana's Beef Royale received rave reviews, but she cut the sirloin incorrectly. Ben was tasked with replicating the complex 105-step Lamington Cake. After being affected and struggled with the recipe, he took control to produce the best replication of the dish which impressed the judges overall and Ben advanced to the semifinals. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0620 | “Episode 60” | Thursday, 20 July 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Freestyle Elimination Challenge - Diana, Karlie and Tamara were given the option of designing the concept of their own innovative dish with any cuisine and ingredients. After 75 minutes, the two contestants with the best dishes secured the last two places and joined Ben in the semifinals. In the tasting, Diana's Thai Broth with Crayfish and Karlie's Spicy XO Pork Belly with Rice Cakes were met with high acclaim. Both of them were declared safe and advanced while Tamara, despite winning praise for her flavours, served underbaked brownies to the judges. She was eliminated from the competition for the second time.
MasterClass: Chefs vs. Contestants - In the last MasterClass of the season, the semifinalists and Matt set a Mystery Box Challenge with their chosen ingredients for Gary, George and Shannon to cook a dish in 60 minutes. The winning dish was Gary's roti with pepper and tea pork. Curtis Stone returns to join George and Gary to pit against Ben, Diana and Karlie to cook a dish featuring coral perch in a team relay challenge in 60 minutes. In a split decision verdict, the finalists were declared the winners with their Steamed Coral Perch with Spiced Tamarind. |
| Grand Finale Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0621 | “Episode 61” | Sunday, 23 July 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Semi-Finals: Service Challenge - The semifinalists competed in a four-hour service challenge, in which they had to cook one main dish and a dessert for 25 diners and the judges. Diana's dishes of Wagyu with Mushrooms and Lemon Verbena with Whey Caramel met with overall acclaim in its complexity. Despite struggling in the challenge to prep his dishes, Ben also won praise with his main: Cinder Fillet, Tulip Bulbs, Port Jus and Greens and dessert: Pumpkin Galette with Dutch Spices, Cream Cheese Mousse and Vanilla Bay Leaf Ice Cream for his bold flavours. Karlie also struggled throughout in prepping her dishes and, despite the fact that the judges applauded her main dish of Crayfish with Ginger Broth, they noted the pieces of pith and the bitterness involved in her mandarin syrup for her black sesame ice cream. Her dessert didn't match her sophisticated main dish and she was eliminated, leaving Diana and Ben to compete in the Grand Finals. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0622 | “Episode 62” | Monday, 24 July 2017 |
| Synopsis: |
| Grand Finale - The finale took place over three rounds: In the first round, the finalists had 60 minutes to make a dish using at least one ingredient from a selection of every mystery box they had, from which Ben picked Elena's mystery box and Diana picked Peter Gilmore's mystery box. Ben accidentally cut his hand with a knife and lost time. However, his Lemon Myrtle Ice Cream with Macadamia Shortbread impressed regardless, receiving 26 points out of 30. But Diana wowed the judges with her Abalone with Chinese Broccoli, Mushroom and Green Juice, receiving a perfect score of 30 points. In the second round, there were no rules, and Ben and Diana had 75 minutes to cook three identical dishes for the judges. Ben's Cardamom Coffee Ice Cream with Butternut Three-ways and a Dutch Spice Biscuit impressed the judges with his creativity of his ice cream and received 28 points, while Diana's Malaysian Oatmeal Prawns with Vegetables in a Creamy Sauce also impressed the judges and received 27 points. Diana kept her lead with a total score of 57 while Ben had a total of 54 points. In the last round, Ben and Diana faced the longest pressure test yet, in which they had six hours to recreate Kirsten Tibballs' Trio of Fruits dessert, consisting of chocolate disguised as an apple, pear and mandarin. Both Ben and Diana struggled with the final task, failing to make the sugar-crusted liquor center for the apple, which came out like a jelly rather than a liquid. In the tasting, Diana's dessert received praise in flavor, but the chocolate in her mandarin was thick and lacking in mandarin flavor. Ben had a better replication, despite accidentally covering his pear with too much tempered chocolate. Diana scored 33 points (8 points each from all the judges, except Matt, who gave 9 points), tallying to the overall score of 90 points. Ben scored 35 points (9 each from all of the judges except Gary who gave 8 points), finalizing his score at 89 points. By one point, Diana was declared Australia's ninth MasterChef champion. Winner Announced - Diana Chan won the title of MasterChef 2017, the grand prize of $250,000 and a monthly column in the magazine Delicious while Ben Ungermann, as runner-up, received $40,000. Karlie Verkerk, who finished in third-place, received a cash prize of $10,000. |
2018 - Complete Season 10
| Week 1 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0623 | “Episode 01” | Monday, 7 May 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Series Premiere: Auditions Part 1 - The nine former winners of previous seasons appeared to encourage the candidates who will be cooking their signature dish in one hour for entry to the Top 24. Eighteen home cooks secured their places in the Top 24 after receiving three votes from the judges while nine contestants who received one or two "yes" votes were given the opportunity to cook again in a second audition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0624 | “Episode 02” | Tuesday, 8 May 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Auditions Part 2 - To win their places in the Top 24, the hopefuls under mentor Shannon Bennett were given 75 minutes to cook a dish that highlighted their choice of one of the ingredients: coconut, chilli, bacon, orange or peanuts, The judges tasted each plate without knowing the cook to determine the next five aprons awarded. Tim, Ben, Lisa, Jenny and Jess triumphed with their dishes and made it into the Top 24 while two out of the four contestants were eliminated due to technical flaws in their dishes. The second round challenged the other remaining contestants to cook another dish in one hour with ingredients from the pantry. It was Michelle who succeeded with her chocolate lava cake and she won the last spot in the Top 24. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0625 | “Episode 03” | Wednesday, 9 May 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Hospitality Cooking Challenge - On their first day in the competition, the Top 24 had 90 minutes and an open pantry to cook their dishes and impress the judges, focusing on hospitality. The four standout dishes belonged to Aldo, Loki, Chloe and Gina. Genene, Brett and Jess were sent to elimination after producing the least impressive dishes. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0626 | “Episode 04” | Thursday, 10 May 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Home Fridge Elimination Challenge - Brett, Genene and Jess were given 75 minutes to cook a dish with ingredients from their home fridge and pantry. Jess was successful with her white chocolate mousse and raspberry jelly which impressed in the judging. While Genene's quantity of her chicken dumplings are small, they were delicious in the tasting. Brett's salmon dish with carrot purée was praised but not the chickpeas, which were overcooked. Between him and Genene to face the results, the judges chose the latter's dumplings and she was safe as Brett became the first 2018 contestant eliminated from the competition. |
| Week 2 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0627 | “Episode 05” | Sunday, 13 May 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Eclectic Box Challenge & Precipitation Invention Test - In their first Mystery Box Challenge, the contestants were informed that the new advantage was for an appointed contestant to choose eight ingredients, with at least one to be used to cook a dish in 75 minutes. The winning dish will grant direct access to the Immunity Challenge. The ingredients selected by Sashi were parsnip, oranges, cinnamon, chicken, mixed peppercorns, sage, celery and onions. Sashi was also one of the top five contestants' dishes to be tasted by the judges along with Gina, Brendan, Denise and Genene. It was Sashi who won with his roasted chicken dish. The remaining contestants were given 75 minutes to prepare dishes centering on precipitation in the Invention Test, with the top three joining Sashi in the Immunity Challenge. Chloe, Kristen and Tim stood out as the top three and advanced to compete for immunity. Samira, Sarah, Metter and Michelle faltered throughout the challenge with the bottom three dishes sending their cooks (Samira, Metter and Michelle) to the Pressure Test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0628 | “Episode 06” | Monday, 14 May 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Maggie Beer's Apple and Rosemary Tarte Tatin - Maggie Beer challenged Metter, Michelle and Samira to recreate her tarte tatin-the first Pressure Test dish from the first series-accompanied by a custard and ice cream in two-and-a-half hours. Samira impressed with her approach to Maggie's dish, winning praise overall. It was between Metter and Michelle for elimination, and while the latter's caramel was too dark and bitter, Metter's raw apples and underbaked dense pastry ensured he became the second contestant to be eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0629 | “Episode 07” | Tuesday, 15 May 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Shui Ishizaka - In round one, Chloe, Kristen, Sashi and Tim had to make a simple dish using eggs and their choice of pantry items. Kristen's Raspberry Mousse with Lemon Curd and Chloe's Soba Noodles with a Soft-Boiled Egg were the two standout dishes, with Chloe winning the challenge by split decision. To compete against Shui Ishizaka, the current Young Chef of 2018, Chloe had the advantage of selecting her choice of ten ingredients to cook in 75 minutes. Ishizaka had 60 minutes to cook with the same ingredients. Chloe's tortellini scored 24 points but lost to the professional's 26 points for his prawn dish with custard and milk skin. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0630 | “Episode 08” | Wednesday, 16 May 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Melbourne Cricket Ground Team Challenge - Teams cooked in the Melbourne Cricket Ground to serve nutritious three-course meals (two canapé appetizers, a main course and a dessert) to the Melbourne Football Club and their partners, including the judges, as well as guest judge and footballer Nathan Jones in their first off-site challenge. Each team was assigned with their respective core protein: meat (Red) and seafood (Blue). The miscommunication in Sashi's Blue Team struggled for suggestions and their demand for the dishes (particularly the salmon main) than Tim's Red team but the latter stumbled with one of their meat appetizer dishes forcing them to improvise it in the three-hour prep time. After service, both teams won praise with their main dishes but had technical flaws in one of their canapés. However, the deciding factor was the inadequate presentation and imbalance of the Red team's dessert after the Blue team excelled the challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0631 | “Episode 09” | Thursday, 17 May 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| First Food Memory Elimination Challenge - Losing team members from the team challenge had to cook dishes that influenced their first passion for food. After Aldo, Brendan and Reece produced the best dishes, Adele's corn fritters were too dense and lacked spice while Jenny's matcha sponge cake was heavy and underbaked, but Denise pushed herself in making her pig's trotter salad in the 75-minute challenge as the protein was cooked inconsistently, and led to her elimination. |
| Week 3 - Nigella Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0632 | “Episode 10” | Sunday, 20 May 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Nigella's Mystery Box Challenge & Food Physics Invention Test - Nigella Lawson returned as the guest judge for the week with her choice of Mystery Box ingredients: marsala, chicken livers, squid, condensed milk, ginger, chilli, cherries, passion fruit, anchovies and thyme. The winning dish after 75 minutes earned entry to the Immunity Challenge and also an afternoon tea with Nigella in London. Out of the dishes of Genene, Gina, Jess and Reece, it was Kristen who won the challenge. The remaining contestants were given 75 minutes in the Invention Test to cook a dish focusing on the sounds of "snap, crackle and pop". Ben, Loki and Hoda succeeded in meeting the brief and were named the Top 3, mentions went to the dishes of Lisa and Reece. Adele and Jenny, who were in the bottom three last week, were once again sent to elimination along with Chloe. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0633 | “Episode 11” | Monday, 21 May 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Nigella's Chocolate Feast - Adele, Chloe and Jenny were given 75 minutes to recreate four of Nigella's chocolate desserts: a white chocolate cookie dough pot, a milk chocolate brownie, a dark chocolate olive oil mousse and a ruby chocolate cheesecake. Chloe nailed the challenge with her dishes as it came down to Jenny and Adele. Jenny's mousse was too runny after struggling with her egg whites and Adele's cheesecake was rushed on the assembling while both of their cookies were underbaked. But Adele forgot the white chocolate chips in the dough batter which failed to attain the objective of Nigella's Pressure Test and that was enough to eliminate her. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0634 | “Episode 12” | Tuesday, 22 May 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Alanna Sapwell - Ben, Hoda, Kristen and Loki competed in the first round, cooking pancakes in 45 minutes. Hoda and Loki both impressed with their dishes but it was Loki who won the challenge with his savoury take on the dish (dosa with two chutneys) to cook off against Alanna Sapwell, head chef of Saint Peter restaurant, in the second round. He chose one of the two citrus fruits (lemons over oranges) as the core ingredient. During her 60 minutes, Alanna cooked Squid with Ink Sauce and Lemon Dressing. Loki won praise for his Kingfish with Shellfish Lemon Broth and scored 37 points over Alanna's 34, winning him the immunity pin. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0635 | “Episode 13” | Wednesday, 23 May 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Brunch Cafe Service Challenge - The contestants, led by Aldo from the Red team and Kristen from the Blue team, took charge for service in two adjacent cafes (Kitty Burns and Frankie Says) in Abbotsford, Victoria and served their menu of four brunch meals prepared in two-and-a-half-hours for 75 customers each. During prep time, Brendan of the Red team was injured when his hand was cut on a broken bottle of olive oil; the other team members took charge. All of their dishes stood out during the tasting and, despite Red team losing a team member, it was the undercooked semolina crumb from the Blue team's dessert that took them to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0636 | “Episode 14” | Thursday, 24 May 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Trifle Tasting Elimination Challenge - The ten losing contestants have three minutes to taste and identify all the ingredients of Nigella's trifle in the first round. Lisa (with 18 correct guesses), Kristen (17), Reece (13), Sashi and Sarah (12 each) were announced safe leaving the others to face the second round of elimination where they had to create their dishes with all 26 ingredients from the trifle in 75 minutes. In the judging, Khanh's dessert had technical flaws on the rest of his elements despite winning praise with his pistachio ice cream. Hoda and Samira delivered standout dishes while Genene also impressed with her dish. It was between Tim and Khanh. Tim took a risk prepping a bombe Alaska in the cook. But overall, the dish was too sweet and the layers lacked precision as it collapsed after his parfait thawed completely when he presented it to the judges and, as a result, Tim left the competition.
MasterClass: Nigella Lawson, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan - The top 19 arrive at the Jacalope Hotel in Victoria for their first MasterClass with Nigella and the judges who will present their recipes (Nigella's Middle Eastern beef & aubergine fatteh, Matt's cauliflower with tarator, Gary's samosas with coriander chutney and Nigella's ginger and walnut carrot cake). |
| Week 4 - Gordon Ramsay Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0637 | “Episode 15” | Sunday, 27 May 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Gordon's British Box Challenge & Fast Food Invention Test - Gordon Ramsay, the celebrity chef, was introduced as the show's guest judge for the first time. He challenged the contestants to cook dishes in 75 minutes with his chosen British ingredients from the Mystery Box: scallops, lamb, peas, cauliflower, beer, mustard, English tea and biscuits. Brendan, Gina, Reece, Sarah and Sashi chose lamb and cooked the top five dishes, and the latter won the challenge for the second time to compete for immunity. The Invention Test tasked the contestants to cook a burger meal in 75 minutes with only the top two contestants joining Sashi in the immunity challenge. It was Reece and Samira who stood out in the challenge. Ben, on the other hand, joined Chloe and Michelle, who had previously been in a Pressure Test, for elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0638 | “Episode 16” | Monday, 28 May 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Raviolo of Marron - Ben, Chloe and Michelle had to follow Gordon to recreate his dish of marron raviolo with shellfish bisque and lemon vinaigrette before plating the dish ten seconds after Gordon. Ben, despite missing out the garnishes, and Chloe, despite lacking depth of flavour in her sauce, both excelled in the judging. Michelle faltered in the challenge and served her dish with an inedible unshelled marron claw and an undercooked raviolo filling, eliminating her. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0639 | “Episode 17” | Tuesday, 29 May 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Jo Barrett, Gavin Hughes, John Rivera - Reece, Samira and Sashi competed as a team against three guest chefs to win an immunity pin each with mentorship from Gordon. Reece was pitted against John Rivera, Samira faced pastry chef Jo Barrett and Sashi cooked against Gavin Hughes. From the majority votes of Samira and Sashi, they chose the vegetables over fruits to cook their dishes in 75 minutes. Samira made a Pumpkin Pilaf with Quail and Saffron Jus which scored 24 points but lost to the creativity of Jo who scored 29 points with her dessert of potato, rosemary and ginger. Sashi scored 20 points for his deconstructed duck curry paired with his choice of vegetables while Gavin's roast beef with red wine sauce didn't meet the brief to highlight the vegetables as he scored 18 points. Reece produced an innovative dessert with vegetables (Cucumber Sorbet with Yoghurt Mousse) and earned 25 points while John prepped a seafood dashi with tomatoes, however, the broth was overpowering, using too much bonito flakes and the dish scored 21 points. For their respective wins, Reece and Sashi succeeded in the challenge to win an immunity pin each. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0640 | “Episode 18” | Wednesday, 30 May 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Three-Course Dinner Service Challenge - Gordon drafted the contestants into two teams and mentored them for the service challenge, where they had to cook a three-course dinner for fifty diners in four hours. In prep time, the communication in Chloe's Blue team faltered in the cooking and produced technical flaws in the first taste dishes critiqued by Gordon. The prawn filling for the entrée was overcooked, the salmon was raw for the main and the panna cotta for the dessert was not set. During service time, Brendan's Red team trimmed off the pork fat to improve the main dish while the Blue team changed the entrée to make up time but their main salmon dish was cooked inconsistently in the judging. The results came down to the errors of the main dishes from both teams but the flawed communication and salmon dish sent the Blue team to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0641 | “Episode 19” | Thursday, 31 May 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Matt Abé's Roast Chicken with Summer Vegetables and Green Herb Consommé - The contestants had to recreate a three-Michelin star chicken dish from Restaurant Gordon Ramsay by chef Matt Abé in the two-and a-half hour Pressure Test. Jo delivered her best interpretation of the dish over Ben's while the bottom three faced the judges' decision: Sarah's chicken was overdone and her other elements were inconsistent. Chloe's lacked mousse while her consommé was flat. However, despite his good run throughout the competition, Loki, who had the immunity pin last week, put his position at risk by participating the challenge. He fell under the pressure and his chicken was overcooked while the mousse was grainy, the consommé lacked flavour and the vegetables were untidy which resulted in his elimination, making him the first contestant to leave the competition with possession of the pin without ever using it. |
| Week 5 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0642 | “Episode 20” | Sunday, 3 June 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| "20" Box Challenge & Team Relay Invention Test - The Mystery Box challenge required the contestants to shop in 20 minutes with $20 for their choice of ingredients, and cook a dish in 75 minutes. Sarah was named the winner of the first round for the opportunity to compete in the Immunity Challenge. Samira, Genene, Kristen and Lisa, who had the remaining top five dishes, were assigned to start in the first leg of a team relay Invention Test and to highlight honey in their dishes. The Blue team produced the only impressive dish and joined Sarah in vying for the Immunity Challenge. The Yellow team improvised their dish in the first two changeovers but at the last leg, their chocolate ganache was unnecessary on the plate. The Red team struggled throughout and had overall flaws in their dish, but it was the disjointed teamwork from the Green team (Lisa, Jenny, Jo and Brendan) as they presented the least impressive dish, sending them straight to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0643 | “Episode 21” | Monday, 4 June 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Darren Purchese's Peach Melba - Brendan, Jenny, Jo and Lisa were given three hours to recreate Darren Purchese's first dish, peach Melba, with a tempered white chocolate collar and a raspberry tuile encased in a sugar cage. Brendan astonished with his version of Darren's dish while Jenny's take also impressed the judges. Both of them were declared safe. Neither Lisa nor Jo plated the chocolate in their dishes but Jo overpoached her peaches and her tuile was too thick which eliminated her from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0644 | “Episode 22” | Tuesday, 5 June 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Jacqui Challinor - Aldo, Jess, Samira, Sarah and Sashi had 45 minutes to cook their chicken wings with a side dish in the first round. The two best dishes belonged to Sarah and Jess, and it was the latter's first savoury dish that won her the chance to compete against Jacqui Challinor from Nomad restaurant. Jess chose the big ingredients (including eggs) to cook her lime tart in 75 minutes while Jacqui prepped barbecue prawns in 60 minutes. The judges gave praise for the tart but it was too sweet from the overuse of meringue and Jess scored 25 points against Jacqui's score of 28 for her prawn dish. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0645 | “Episode 23” | Wednesday, 6 June 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Two-Course Team Challenge from Memory - The sixteen contestants were divided into two teams to replicate a main course and a dessert from the restaurant Wickens at the Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld. The Red team, led by captain Lisa and vice-captain Reece, and the Blue team, led by Sarah and Jess, memorize the recipes of the dishes from executive chef Robin Wickens and head chef Dave Sutherland. They had to communicate to their teammates with instructions on replicating the dishes in 120 minutes. The decision was close and, while the balance of the Red team's main course was flat, their dessert was lauded by the guest chefs. The Blue team was praised with their main dish but their dessert's core element (the ice cream) was too soft and lacked cherry pit flavour, which sent them to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0646 | “Episode 24” | Thursday, 7 June 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Butchery Elimination Challenge - The elimination challenge saw the contestants in two rounds set by Curtis Stone and centered on butchering. In the first round, they took turns to identify cuts of meat to avoid landing one of four places in the second round of elimination. Brendan, Chloe, Jess and Sarah were given 75 minutes to butcher and choose one cut of their beef to make a dish. Sarah's beef with corn and salsa was praised while Chloe's noodle dish impressed the judges despite mincing her beef. It came down to Jess, whose flavours in her beef salad were unbalanced, and Brendan, who served up a dish with undercooked beef. It was Brendan who departed the competition. |
| Week 6 - South Australia Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0647 | “Episode 25” | Sunday, 10 June 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| South Australia Farmers' Invention Test & Victoria Square Market Stall Service Challenge - The challenges this week took place in South Australia and in the first of the two challenges at Victoria Square, contestants were given 60 minutes to prep a dish with local produce from South Australian farms. Genene, Jess, Sashi, Sarah and Khanh had the top five dishes. After Khanh advanced to the immunity challenge, the remaining contestants were divided into pairs and ran market stalls to prep a $7.50 savoury dish and a $5 sweet dish for 500 customers in three hours before service over two hours. All teams raised a total of $7,280 for SecondBite food rescue charity. The popularity of the White team's (Reece and Sashi) chicken curry dish increased as they ran out of portions for the customers. Despite this, the team raised a total of $1,370 while the Blue team (Jenny and Samira) put up the best dishes. Both teams joined Khanh to compete for immunity. The Green team (Ben and Hoda) served overcooked kofta balls while their salad let the dish down and their milk custard dessert was underwhelming. The flavours in both of the Red team's (Chloe and Genene) dishes were bland. For these reasons, both teams were sent to the Pressure Test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0648 | “Episode 26” | Monday, 11 June 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Brendan Wessels' Lemon Meringue Pie - Ben, Chloe, Genene and Hoda arrived at the d'Arenberg Cube restaurant in McLaren Vale to recreate a lemon meringue pie by restaurateur Brendan Wessels with the use of a 3D food printer in three hours. Ben cooked with precision to interpret the dish while, despite her fennel pearls being too soft, Chloe's plate also impressed. Genene and Hoda missed the attention to detail. Hoda's dish lacked texture after excluding the crisp pearls and the feulletine for the coconut rocher but Genene's chocolate was uncaramelized while she missed out the crisp pearls, the candied ginger and the fennel garnish; lacking the significant balance in the chef's dish that left her eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0649 | “Episode 27” | Tuesday, 12 June 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Jin Choi - Jenny, Khanh, Reece, Samira and Sashi arrived at one of the historic houses of Mount Lofty for the first round of the immunity challenge where they took turns choosing a random cloche and guessing the ingredient. Khanh succeeded in the challenge and cooked against South Australian chef Jin Choi from Hardy's Verandah Restaurant. Khanh took the advantage to beat the chef by picking Vegemite over peanut butter to cook his chicken and Vegemite dumplings. Jin produced a lackluster risotto dish that failed to feature the core ingredient and he had the lower score of 17 points as Khanh won an immunity pin with a score of 26. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0650 | “Episode 28” | Wednesday, 13 June 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Jacob's Creek Team Challenge - Two teams arrive at Jacob's Creek vineyard in the Barossa Valley where they had to cook a three-course meal featuring local produce from the vineyard, and grapes as the core ingredient, for 60 diners. Both Khanh's Red team and Reece's Blue team produced standout entrée dishes but the pork fillet main dish (Blue) was overcooked and the blue cheese mousse (Red) was unbalanced. Highlights were Red team's eye fillet with vegetables for main and Blue team's vineyard-inspired dessert. Both teams delivered two standout dishes and by unanimous vote, the Blue team won the challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0651 | “Episode 29” | Thursday, 14 June 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Maggie Beer's Chicken Elimination Challenge - The contestants arrived at Maggie Beer's eatery at the Barossa Valley for their last challenge in South Australia. After Khanh escaped elimination by using his immunity pin, the others competed to impress the judges and Maggie by prepping dishes using one chicken over three rounds. Lisa and Ben were safe in the 45-minute first round while Aldo succeeded in the second within 30 minutes. This left Hoda, Jenny and Jess to face the last round with 20 minutes left. Hoda's final dish won praise but Jess undercooked her chicken coating. While Jenny's chicken impressed and her corn salad was flat, none of those elements overall are cohesive, sealing her elimination.
MasterClass: Callum Hann, Matt Preston, George Calombaris and Poh Ling Yeow - The contestants returned to Adelaide for their MasterClass with recipes from the judges and series runners-up Callum Hann (series 2) and Poh Ling Yeow (series 1), both of whom reside in South Australia. Callum barbecued an octopus paired with beetroot and cavolo nero, Matt baked two interpretations of mac 'n' cheese, George made a savoury take on his afternoon tea and Poh demonstrated her rhubarb and pistachio mille-feuille. |
| Week 7 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0652 | “Episode 30” | Sunday, 17 June 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Bread Box Challenge & Re-invention Test - Contestants were given 60 minutes to make a dish with one loaf of bread as the Mystery Box ingredient. Aldo, Gina and Ben delivered the Top 3 dishes with Gina advancing to the Immunity Challenge. A re-invention test required the remaining contestants to re-create a dish with the ingredients from spaghetti bolognaise. Reece, Sashi and Khanh succeeded while Hoda, Lisa and Sarah had the least appealing dishes and were sent to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0653 | “Episode 31” | Monday, 18 June 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Alla Wolf-Tasker's Autumn Harvest - In two hours and forty-five minutes, the bottom three contestants had to recreate Alla Wolf-Tasker's Autumn-inspired duck dish. During the verdicts, Hoda's carrots were raw and Sarah forgot to plate her chestnut purée after the cook. While Lisa's presentation of the dish was too large, her plate had too much chestnut and celeriac purées, leaving the dish unbalanced which sealed her exit from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0654 | “Episode 32” | Tuesday, 19 June 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Andy Harmer - Gina, Khanh, Reece and Sashi faced a three-round sudden death skills challenge: dice vegetables in brunoise cut, prep a hollandaise sauce and cook a salted caramel sauce. After Reece and Gina are eliminated in the first two rounds, Sashi beat Khanh for an opportunity to face executive chef Andy Harmer from Melbourne and win a second immunity pin. Sashi's advantage was to choose one ingredient from each of two different pantries. With 75 minutes to cook a dish of lamb and peas, Sashi's dish impressed while Andy's take was also praised after 60 minutes but his lamb was slightly undercooked and he scored 24 points. For the first time in the ten-year competition, Sashi won a second immunity pin with an overall score of 27 points. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0655 | “Episode 33” | Wednesday, 20 June 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Dandenong Ranges Team Challenge - The contestants arrived at the Dandenong Ranges for the team challenge, set by the judges and guest chef Lennox Hastie, where they had to prep a three-course meal using open-fire cooking in two hours for 60 Victorian firefighters. Hoda's Blue team was assigned to cook dishes with seafood and Ben's Red team cooked a three-course meal of meat. After service, both teams were applauded with their entrées but both had serious issues with their chocolate desserts due to their inexperience of cooking on an open flame. The Red team struggled throughout more than the Blue team as their main steak dish had technical flaws in the other elements which sent them to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0656 | “Episode 34” | Thursday, 21 June 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| World Cuisine Elimination Challenge and Second Chance Cook-Off - Aldo, Ben, Chloe, Gina, Jess and Sarah each had 45 minutes to cook a prawn dish with their assigned cuisine: French, Greek, Mexican, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese. Jess won overall praise from the judges for her dish and she was first to be announced safe while the dishes of Sarah, Gina and Chloe also stood out. Ben, who served a disjointed prawn dish with shells and underwhelming elements, and Aldo, who served inconsistently cooked prawns with bland flavours, were named the bottom two to determine the next contestant eliminated. The judges decided Aldo's dish was least impressive. To be reinstated in the Top 12, he competed against the twelve previously eliminated contestants who had to cook a dish in one hour. Lisa, Brendan and Michelle delivered standout dishes. Ultimately, it was Brendan's poached lobster with carrot dressing and bonito bavarois that impressed the judges and he earned his place back in the competition. |
| Week 8 - Sweet Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0657 | “Episode 35” | Sunday, 24 June 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Adriano Zumbo's Mystery Box Challenge & Croquembouche Invention Test - On the first day of challenges centering on desserts, the twelve contestants were tasked to cook their dishes in 30 minutes with ingredients from the Mystery Box chosen by Adriano Zumbo. Ben, Jess, Sashi, Sarah & Reece are tasted for the Top 5. Reece and Ben are applauded and advanced to contest for immunity. The second challenge divided the contestants into pairs where they were given a task of baking their take of a mini croquembouche in two hours. The Red pair of Kristen and Chloe delivered and joined the boys for immunity. The Green team (Gina and Jess) and the Purple team (Sarah and Sashi) had technical issues with flavour, sending them to the Pressure Test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0658 | “Episode 36” | Monday, 25 June 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Katherine Sabbath's Birthday Cake - Cake artist Katherine Sabbath was welcomed as the guest judge to introduce one of her cake designs: a raspberry white vanilla layered cake with tempered white chocolate raspberry bark as the Pressure Test dish. After Sashi used one of his immunity pins, the others had 75 minutes to recreate her cake. Sarah won praise for the baking of the cake, however, her buttercream was eggy and her chocolate was too soft. Jess thrived with the presentation of her dish albeit rushed in the spreading of her buttercream while her chocolate was undertempered. Unlike her fellow competitors' cakes, Gina's was underbaked and the presentation did not match Katherine's which saw her eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0659 | “Episode 37” | Tuesday, 26 June 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Alice Wright - Ben, Chloe, Kristen and Reece took turns naming one of 36 flavours of gelato where a lone contestant would advance to compete in the second round of the Immunity Challenge. Kristen succeeded to compete against pastry chef Alice Wright and, from a neapolitan ice cream, chose chocolate (over strawberry and vanilla) to cook her dessert in 75 minutes. During the tasting, Alice had technical errors in her dish despite winning praise for the flavours but Kristen had technical issues in her mousse as it was overpowered with the other flavours. As both of their desserts were flawed, Kristen was not awarded a pin after the result ended in a tie on 18 points with the professional. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0660 | “Episode 38” | Wednesday, 27 June 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Restaurant Takeover Team Challenge - Executive chef Adam D'Sylva was the contestants' mentor for a lunch service challenge at his two Melbourne restaurants, Coda (Vietnamese cuisine) and Tonka (Indian cuisine) where they had to prep and serve a four-course meal (two sweet main courses and two savoury desserts) in four hours. The Blue Team served 40 customers at Coda while the Red team served 48 customers at Tonka. During prep time, Brendan's Red Team had a shaky start in prepping their main course dishes while Sarah's Blue Team struggled with their kingfish dish when the grill was too hot. After service, both teams missed the brief in two of their dishes and it was the Red Team's undercooked cauliflower dish and flat dessert samosas which sent them to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0661 | “Episode 39” | Thursday, 28 June 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Chocolate Wheel Elimination Challenge - Ben, Brendan, Chloe, Hoda, Khanh and Samira each had to spin an edible game wheel made out of chocolate by Kirsten Tibballs to determine their assigned ingredient (almond, banana, cinnamon, coconut, lemon or peppermint) to cook a dessert in 75 minutes. Brendan and Khanh, who both had cinnamon as their core ingredient, delivered the top two dishes while Samira (who had banana) and Chloe (with almond) also impressed. All four of them made it into the Top 10. Ben's jam for his lamington was too thick but it was Hoda's unnecessary use of cinnamon which overpowered her dense cake batter that sent her home. |
| Week 9 - Royal Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0662 | “Episode 40” | Sunday, 1 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Mystery Box Challenge & Royalty Cooking Challenge - For making it into the Top 10, the contestants each received $10,000 from Coles to develop their food career. In 60 minutes, the contestants had to use all of the ingredients from the Mystery Box (kalette, lemon, yoghurt, coriander seeds, extra virgin olive oil, gin and mint) to make a dish. Samira, Khanh and Kristen had the top dishes and Khanh won for the second time to compete for immunity. The others had to cook a dish fit for a king in 60 minutes. Samira and Kristen won out to compete for immunity along with Brendan as the Top 3 but Chloe, Sarah and Jess had technical flaws in flavour and were named as the Bottom 3. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0663 | “Episode 41” | Monday, 2 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Saransh Goila's Butter Chicken - With 150 minutes for the cook, Chloe, Jess and Sarah had to re-create a tandoori chicken in a butter sauce with coriander mint chutney, pickled onions and roomali bread by guest chef Saransh Goila. After Chloe was pronounced safe, Jess and Sarah missed the flavour palate of Saransh's dish. However, when the latter strayed in her recipe by grilling her chicken with the skin on, it left an unpleasant texture and charred bitterness to the dish. This was enough to eliminate Sarah. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0664 | “Episode 42” | Tuesday, 3 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Ashley Davis - Brendan, Khanh, Kristen and Samira were given an open pantry to pick only five ingredients to cook a dish without staples in the ten-minute first round. Khanh won the opportunity to compete against two-Michelin-star chef Ashley Davis in the second round. Between the two pantries, he was given the opportunity to select a 15-minute head start by picking the first pantry or losing the time advantage by choosing the second pantry also, and cooking with the chef in 60 minutes. Khanh risked the challenge by choosing both pantries to cook his duck breast with persimmon and ginger sauce. The dish scored 25 points but he lost to Ashley's dish of John Dory and abalone with autumn vegetables that scored 27 points. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0665 | “Episode 43” | Wednesday, 4 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Royal Reception Catering Team Challenge - The Top 9 arrive at Darwin and are divided into teams of three to take charge of prepping 450 canapés (gluten-free, halal, savoury and vegetarian) with native Australian ingredients and local produce to cater a Royal reception for Prince Charles, his wife Camilla and 150 guests in three-and-a-half hours. During prep time, the White team struggled under Kristen's orders with their wattleseed baguettes and duck tarts lacking an accompaniment while the Blue team also fell behind with their zucchini canapés and lamb canapés. Despite having wasted their prep time making wallaby tartare for their canapés, the Red team's menu stood out in the tasting and won the challenge, sending the other two teams to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0666 | “Episode 44” | Thursday, 5 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Nitmiluk National Park Elimination Challenge - The contestants arrive at the Nitmiluk National Park and Sashi used his last immunity pin to avoid the Elimination Challenge. Ben, Brendan, Jess, Kristen and Samira had 75 minutes to cook a dish inspired by their photographs of the surrounding scenery. Brendan prepped a fish dish with confit leeks and sea herbs, Jess made an inconsistently-cooked pork belly dish with apple purée and muntries, Kristen made a buttermilk-set custard with rosella consommé and peppermint gum oil, Samira cooked kangaroo fillets and crisps with smoked eggplant purée, and Ben cooked a barramundi cod paired with a lemon beurre blanc. After three of them were declared safe, Brendan and Jess faced the judges' verdict. Brendan had once again undercooked his dish and that was enough to send him home from the competition. |
| Week 10 - Superpower Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0667 | “Episode 45” | Sunday, 8 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Mini Box Challenge & Condiment Invention Test - The remaining contestants faced five consecutive challenges where losing contestants would be sent to elimination at the end of the week. To celebrate the tenth season, the surviving contestant would receive a special advantage after the last challenge. The first challenge was a Mystery Box where each contestant received a different single ingredient to cook three servings for the judges in 60 minutes. The bottom two was between Chloe (with inconsistently cooked duck) and Ben (with an overall dish of flat elements and underwhelming sauce) with the latter being the first contestant through to the elimination round. In the second challenge, the others had 75 minutes to make a dish that featured either oil, salt or pepper. While Khanh's dish was disjointed, Kristen lacked an accompaniment to counteract her dish and she became the second contestant to face elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0668 | “Episode 46” | Monday, 9 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| TV Dinner Re-invention Cook-off - The six remaining contestants competed in the third challenge where three of the six picked their choice of the three frozen dinner meals to pit against their rivals and re-invent the dish in 75 minutes. Sashi picked fish 'n' chips to pit against Khanh, Chloe cooked against Jess with beef and three vegetables, and Samira chose the chicken meal to face Reece. They succeeded in beating their competitors to advance for tomorrow's next challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0669 | “Episode 47” | Tuesday, 10 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Time or Ingredients Cook-off - Chloe, Samira and Sashi had to gather their ingredients from up to four different hidden pantries, with one pantry being revealed every 15 minutes. Samira and Sashi selected dairy and canned food with 60 minutes left while Chloe waited for root vegetables and cooked in 45 minutes. Sashi's third dessert dish won praise from the judges, Chloe's beetroot salad was too simple with less ingredients after struggling in the cook but Samira's choice of one of her selected cheeses (gorgonzola) and anchovies clashed on the overall tasting which made her the sixth contestant to be sent to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0670 | “Episode 48” | Wednesday, 11 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Panama Dining Room Service Challenge - Chloe and Sashi at the Panama Dining Room in Melbourne to cook a two-course meal for 30 customers under mentorship from Gary. For the main course, Sashi had to cook seafood while Chloe was assigned meat. After service, Chloe and Sashi had noticeable flaws in their dishes but Sashi struggled further in the prep time as he left an errant scale and bone in two of his fish dishes while his dessert had technical issues. This was enough to put him in the last spot for tomorrow's elimination round. For surviving all the challenges, Chloe was awarded the 10-Year Superpower Apron that grants her immunity from the judging in a future elimination challenge, right up to the tasting stage. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0671 | “Episode 49” | Thursday, 12 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Peter Gilmore's Snow Egg - The losing contestants from each challenge, except Reece who used his immunity pin, had to recreate three servings of Peter Gilmore's Snow Egg from season 2 in two-and-a-half hours and plate the dish in ten minutes. Jess produced a faultless replication of the dish, and was declared safe along with Ben and Khanh who also impressed. Samira, Sashi and Kristen made mistakes with each of their elements: it was a lack of fruit flavour in Samira's custard, the texture of Kristen's custard was grainy and her granita pretty much melted as soon as it hit the table, there's too much sugar in it, and Sashi's meringue was grainy on a platter. Consequently, Kristen's granita affected the balance of Peter's Snow Egg and it was enough to seal her elimination.
MasterClass: Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris, Matt Preston and Peter Gilmore - The judges presented their dishes to the contestants: Gary's venison and mushroom ravioli, George's crocodile avgolemono and Matt's crusted lamb shoulder with beetroot salad, while Peter presented his smoked pig jowl. |
| Week 11 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0672 | “Episode 50” | Sunday, 15 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Family Box Challenge & Vue de Monde Invention Test - The seven contestants received their ingredients in the Mystery Box from relatives or friends to cook their dishes. Sashi won the challenge over Jess and Reece to compete for a fast-track to Finals Week. With 75 minutes in the Invention Test set by Shannon Bennett, the others were tasked to make a dish that would feature in the degustation courses of his restaurant Vue de Monde. Chloe decided to use the 10-Year apron to skip the judging. Khanh beat Reece to go against Sashi for a place in the Finals as Ben, Jess and Samira were sent to the Pressure Test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0673 | “Episode 51” | Monday, 16 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Cryptic Pressure Test: Joe Grbac's Imperial Mandarin - Ben, Jess and Samira had to decipher Matt Preston's critic's review of the guest chef's dish to recreate it in three hours. The dish was Joe Grbac's yoghurt panna cotta and almond sponge with seven mandarin elements. All three succeeded with their dishes but Ben's panna cotta split and his jellies dissolved on the plate, forcing him to improvise before judging. Samira also struggled with both her panna cotta and custard didn't set after the cook despite having all her elements in the plate. Ultimately, the judges were unanimous and decide to eliminate her from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0674 | “Episode 52” | Tuesday, 17 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Fast-Track to Finals Immunity Challenge: Reynold Poernomo and Matt Sinclair - Sashi and Khanh battled in the first round where they had an open pantry from the garden to make a dish. Khanh succeeded as he selected between the two pantries to face off against one of the two former contestants for an entry to the Finals: the savoury pantry against series 8 runner-up Matt Sinclair and the dessert pantry with Reynold Poernomo (from series 7) as his opponent. Khanh chose the savoury pantry and cooked a red emperor with mushroom and radish but lost to the creativity of Matt's Thai sausage with squid and curry that scored the perfect 30 points to Khanh's 24. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0675 | “Episode 53” | Wednesday, 18 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Fast-Track to Finals Immunity Challenge: Reynold Poernomo and Matt Sinclair - Sashi and Khanh battled in the first round where they had an open pantry from the garden to make a dish. Khanh succeeded as he selected between the two pantries to face off against one of the two former contestants for an entry to the Finals: the savoury pantry against series 8 runner-up Matt Sinclair and the dessert pantry with Reynold Poernomo (from series 7) as his opponent. Khanh chose the savoury pantry and cooked a red emperor with mushroom and radish but lost to the creativity of Matt's Thai sausage with squid and curry that scored the perfect 30 points to Khanh's 24. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0676 | “Episode 54” | Thursday, 19 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sudden Death Elimination Challenge - Ben, Chloe, Jess, Khanh and Reece competed in three rounds for places in the Finals. The first round was to identify the ingredients of Gary Mehigan's Moroccan tajine where Chloe and Khanh succeeded to advance. The next round was the one-inch cube challenge from season 8 where they had to identify each cube of ingredient while blind-folded. Ben survived the second round, leaving Jess and Reece to cook-off in the final round with 60 minutes each and all the correctly-identified ingredients from the first two rounds. Jess received praise with the combination of sweet and savoury in her dessert. While Reece's dish was complex and tasty, it was too greasy. That was enough to eliminate him from the competition.
MasterClass: George Calombaris, Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and Curtis Stone - George cooked two versions of his Greek souvlaki, Matt made his vegetarian-style nachos and Gary braised his chicken paired with his spring onion pancakes. Curtis Stone returned to present his own take on steak and potatoes. |
| Week 12 - Finals Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0677 | “Episode 55” | Sunday, 22 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Finals Mystery Box Challenge & Invention Test - The finalists were assigned ingredients in a Mystery Box from past seasons: Ben (with the Burn Box from season 2), Chloe (with the Small Box from season 6), Jess (with the Molecular Gastronomy Box from season 5), Khanh (with the Big Box from season 7) and Sashi (with the Silver Box from season 6), to cook their dish in 60 minutes. Ben succeeded with his Pineapple Glazed Pork Ribs for an opportunity to compete for an advantage in the Finals Service Challenge. In the 75-minute Invention Test, the remaining finalists chose to cook desserts. Khanh's savoury dessert of pork and apples won overall praise, and he narrowly beat Chloe and advanced to the Advantage challenge, while the others were sent to the Pressure Test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0678 | “Episode 56” | Monday, 23 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Ashley Palmer-Watts' Sherried Marron - Chloe, Jess and Sashi had to follow 90 steps of the recipe to replicate a marron dish by Ashley Palmer-Watts in four hours and forty-five minutes. The plate was composed of a grilled marron tail, marron tartare, smoked cauliflower, pickled daikon, marinated smoked shiitake mushrooms, pickled mushrooms, pickled dulse, sea vegetables and a sherry mushroom stock. During the tasting, Jess stood out with her take of the dish. That left Sashi and Chloe who won praise with their consommés but both had technical flaws in the tartare. While Sashi's lacked finesse, Chloe's was mushy and lacked balance which sealed her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0679 | “Episode 57” | Tuesday, 24 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Season Affinity Duel Challenge - Ben, Jess, Khanh and Sashi competed in pairs to cook, inspired by one of the four seasons in two rounds with the winning finalist received an advantage for the Finals Service Challenge. The first round was Ben and Jess making their dishes describing Winter while Khanh and Sashi cook their Summer-themed dishes. In the second round to cook a dish representing Autumn in 60 minutes, Ben's Seared Coral Trout with Ginger Carrot Purée and Parsley Vinaigrette beat Sashi's Lamb Curry with Smoked Cauliflower to win. He will select one of the four courses for the next cook. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0680 | “Episode 58” | Wednesday, 25 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Icebergs Dining Room Service Challenge - The finalists were tasked to cook their dishes in two-and a-half hours inspired by the Italian menu from the Icebergs Restaurant, under mentorship by executive chef Monty Koludrovic, to be served to the judges and 30 diners. Ben, who won the advantage yesterday, selected the fish course while the others were assigned the remaining course dishes: Sashi (with pasta), Jess (the meat course) and Khanh (for dessert). All of the dishes, except Sashi's pasta course, impressed the judges and between the three of them, they decided to vote Khanh's fig dessert to advance to the semi-finals. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0681 | “Episode 59” | Sunday, 29 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| World Class Service Elimination Challenge - Ben, Jess and Sashi each had 90 minutes to cook their dishes to be served for the judges and four Australian chefs: Danielle Alvarez of Fred's, The Bridge Room's Ross Lusted, Jock Zonfrillo from Orana and returning chef Lennox Hastie. Ben's Seared Coral Trout and Steamed Whiting with Crab Bisque delivered high acclaim and made it into the semi-finals which left Sashi and Jess for the final verdict. Sashi's Singaporean chicken rice received mixed reviews for the chicken despite winning praise for the flavour. The judges and chefs thought Jess impressed with her black sesame ice cream and yuzu curd but her praline cream and macerated raspberries derailed the overall flavour of her dish. Those factors were enough to see Jess eliminated from the competition.
MasterClass: Chefs vs. Contestants - The Top 3 semi-finalists selected their respective core ingredient for the judges (except Matt) to assign and cook with for 60 minutes. George, who cooked with tuna chosen by Ben, and Gary, who had fennel selected by Khanh, both produced standout dishes which ended in a draw. They then competed against the semi-finalists to cook dishes in 60 minutes and in a close decision, the judges won the challenge. |
| Grand Finale Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0682 | “Episode 60” | Monday, 30 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Semi-Finals: Service Challenge - In the four-hour service challenge, the semifinalists prep a two-course meal (main and dessert) to be served for the judges and 60 MasterChef alumni from past seasons as the guests. Sashi made his Chicken Lemak with Jasmine Rice and the judges once again criticised his carving of the protein but applauded his Malaysian Pineapple Tart with Lime Ice Cream. Ben elevated his take of his menu: a Surf n' Turf main and an intricate Pavlova with Berry Gelato and Champagne Foam which received overall praise and he was first through to the Finale. Khanh relied on his heritage and inspiration from his family to cook his traditional Canh Chua Ca and after attempting to improvise before service, the dish receive praise but it was less impressive from two of the judges. His chocolate mousse was too heavy as it impacted the texture of his dessert, and ultimately with both errors in the menu at this stage of the competition, that's enough to send him home. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0683 | “Episode 61” | Tuesday, 31 July 2018 |
| Synopsis: |
| Grand Finale - The tenth-season finale consisted of only two rounds (instead of the usual three) with Ben and Sashi cooking their entrée and main in the first round. They had to highlight their dishes with the given ingredients in two hours. After the round, both of Ben's dishes didn't meet the standards in the judging - his crab with finger limes and avocado cream lacked texture and his coating for his deep-fried whiting with peas and garlic sauce was undercooked as he scored 20 points for his entrée as it lacked crunchiness and 21 points for the main as it was deemed too simple. Sashi stood out with his sambal prawns that received a perfect score and his fish curry scored 27 points (9 each). His total score was 57 points to Ben's 41. In the final round, they had to replicate an intricate dessert composed of 19 elements (yoghurt snow, steamed vanilla sponge, coconut ice cream, meringue, etc.) by Heston Blumenthal in five-and-a-half hours. The challenge was even for both of the finalists after struggling with one of their elements before completing the dish. In the tasting, both Sashi and Ben scored 36 points from all the judges. Based on the final results, Ben's overall score was 77 while Sashi won with the overall total of 93 points. Winner Announced - Sashi Cheliah was announced as the winner of the tenth season of MasterChef Australia, receiving the grand prize of $250,000 and a monthly column for Delicious. Ben Borsht won $40,000 as the runner-up while Khanh Ong won $10,000 after finishing in third place. |
2019 - Complete Season 11
| Week 1 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0684 | “Episode 01” | Monday, 29 April 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Series Premiere: Auditions Part 1 - Auditionees had one hour to cook their signature dish to secure their spot in the Top 24. Eighteen hopefuls received aprons with three votes from the judges, and thirteen contestants with one or two "yes" votes had another chance to win the six remaining spots in the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0685 | “Episode 02” | Tuesday, 30 April 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Auditions Part 2 - MasterChef alumni Billie McKay, Matt Sinclair and Poh Ling Yeow guided thirteen hopefuls in their second audition with 75 minutes to cook with their choice of ingredients from one of three pantries selected by each mentor. Each dish was tasted blindly by the judges. During the judging, Dee was the first to advance with her Sri Lankan crab curry. Afterwards, Larissa, Sandeep, Christina, Monica and Leah also succeeded with their dishes and claimed the last five places in the Top 24. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0686 | “Episode 03” | Wednesday, 1 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Desert Island Cooking Challenge - In the first cook in the competition, the Top 24 had 75 minutes to prep a dish they would cook if they were on a 'Desert Island'. This week, there were no elimination challenges and the four contestants with standout dishes competed in the first immunity challenge. The cooks who succeeded in that challenge were Dee, Mandy, Joe and Tim. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0687 | “Episode 04” | Thursday, 2 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Keeping up with Curtis Stone - To win the first immunity pin, Dee, Mandy, Joe and Tim had to follow steps from Curtis Stone in cooking his steak and chips with broccolini and béarnaise sauce. In the judging, all four impressed but Dee's béarnaise was fatty and lacked mustard seeds while both Joe's and Mandy's steaks were slightly undercooked. Despite mistakenly putting sugar in his sauce, Tim impressed with the other components of his dish and he won the pin. |
| Week 2 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0688 | “Episode 05” | Sunday, 5 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Judges' Favourites Mystery Box Challenge & Black Box Elimination Challenge - The Top 24 faced the first Mystery Box Challenge, in which they had 75 minutes to make a dish using at least one of nine ingredients selected by the judges. The Top 5 were Tessa, Tim, Steph, Abbey and Anushka and Abbey was the first to compete for immunity. The other contestants faced another Mystery Box containing black ingredients with 75 minutes to cook. The top three contestants will compete for immunity but the bottom four will be announced and the contestant who cooked the worst dish will be eliminated while the others were sent to tomorrow's Pressure Test. Tim used his immunity pin to skip the challenge. Tessa, Kyle and Derek triumphed and joined Abbey in the Immunity challenge. Yossra, Huda, Nicole and Dee were judged worst. Huda cooked a steak paired with eggplant and a tomato blackberry vinaigrette. Unfortunately, the judges found the steak overcooked while the dish as a whole lacked flavour, and she was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0689 | “Episode 06” | Monday, 6 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Darren Purchese's Bombe Alaska - Dee, Nicole and Yossra had to recreate the recipe of Darren Purchese's Bombe Alaska in 45 steps. Nicole impressed despite the lack of tempered chocolate in her caramel ice cream. Yossra won praise for her dish despite her meringue coating being uneven. However, during the cook, Dee's ice cream was too thick, forcing her to remake it but her second take was too eggy and her brownie was too dry and heavy, resulting in her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0690 | “Episode 07” | Tuesday, 7 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Max Sharrad - In the first round, Abbey, Derek, Kyle and Tessa had 45 minutes to cook a fried chicken dish. Both Tessa's buffalo wings and Derek's Korean chicken wings impressed the judges and for the first time, they advanced to the second round, in which they cooked against Max Sharrad, the Young Chef of the Year. In 75 minutes, they chose the orange as the core ingredient for their dishes. Derek's white chocolate orange mousse lacked finesse and he scored 16 points. Max scored 19 points with his kingfish and orange dish but lost to Tessa, who scored 28 points with her pork belly dish and won the immunity pin. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0691 | “Episode 08” | Wednesday, 8 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Briagolong Drought Buffet Team Challenge - Two teams cooked a feast for the local farmers and volunteers of disaster relief charity Lions Need for Feed at Briagolong, Victoria with three hours to prep three mains highlighting the core ingredient (meat for the Red Team and seafood for the Blue), three side dishes and one dessert before serving in ten minutes. During the cook, both teams struggled early. The dishes from the Red Team, led by Tim, earned overall praise from the judges. The Blue Team, led by Larissa, also impressed with their dishes, but despite special mentions for Sandeep's prawn curry and Christina's sticky date pudding, the dishes cooked by each team member lacked cohesion as a complete buffet menu, sending them to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0692 | “Episode 09” | Thursday, 9 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Favourite Ingredients Elimination Challenge - After Tessa used her immunity pin to avoid elimination, the other members of the Blue Team had to cook with either their favourite or least favourite ingredient, with the Bottom 4 being sent to the second round. In the second round, Christina, Kyle, Walleed and Yossra had 60 minutes to cook with their remaining ingredient. Yossra struggled to cook with her least favourite ingredient and her white chocolate mousse was heavy, didn't set and was overpowered by the flavour of the orange. The judges agreed that her fellow competitors redeemed themselves from their first round dishes and Yossra was eliminated.
Masterclass: George Calombaris, Poh Ling Yeow, Billie McKay, Matt Sinclair and Matt Preston - George, Matt and the mentors presented their dishes to handle the competition: George used this week's mystery box ingredients to make his tortellini with broth, Poh cooked her two desserts using orange selected from the Invention test: a spiced orange brûlée tart and a cocoa pistachio pâté sablée with an orange salad, Billie demonstrated a dish showcasing carrots in four ways, a duck red curry cooked by Matt Sinclair and Matt Preston's five elements recipe in five minutes: flatbread, instant chipotle mayo, pickled jalapeños, microwave salsa and cooked proteins - chicken and prawns. |
| Week 3 - Nigella Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0693 | “Episode 10” | Sunday, 12 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Nigella's Mystery Box Challenge & Team Relay Invention Test - In the mystery box challenge, the contestants had 75 minutes to make a dish using the following ingredients, selected by Nigella Lawson: mint vanilla bean, lamb mince, whiting, semolina, date molasses, red plums, red witlof and nigella seeds. Jess advanced to the immunity challenge with her pavlova with vanilla and plums. The other four contestants in the Top 5 started the first leg of a team relay invention test, in which they had to cook dishes featuring pistachios. The Yellow Team, led by Simon, succeeded with one savoury dish. The Green and Red Teams, led by Abbey and Nicole, respectively, on the other hand, failed to highlight the nut. During the changeovers, Walleed, the second contestant on the Red Team, changed the dish and mistook star anise as the core ingredient until Kyle, who was last in the cook, salvaged it. The dish lacked balance, but Abbey's poor performance as captain and the Green Team's lack of teamwork led to a dish with technical issues, sending her team straight the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0694 | “Episode 11” | Monday, 13 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Nigella's Tarragon French Roast Chicken - The Bottom 5 were given 90 minutes to recreate Nigella's roast chicken with two sides and a sauce of their choice. In the tasting, Leah and Abbey excelled and the latter's dish was the dish of the day. Mandy's side dishes impressed but her sauce did not have enough flavour, while Larissa's fennel was undercooked. Ultimately, it was the combination of Monica's half-cooked potatoes and a bitter sour gravy that eliminated her from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0695 | “Episode 12” | Tuesday, 14 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Coskun Uysal - In the first round, the contestants had 60 minutes to prep a custard dish (sweet or savoury) to compete for immunity. Simon's beat Tessa with his Japanese set custard to cook against guest chef Coskun Uysal. With 75 minutes to cook, Simon selected duck, onion, garlic, bay leaf and peas for his dish. With 60 minutes to cook, Coskun served a roast duck with peas two ways and scored 36 points, while Simon scored 24 points as his duck leg was overcooked. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0696 | “Episode 13” | Wednesday, 15 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Historical Three-Course Meal Team Challenge - The contestants were taken to the State Library Victoria, where they were divided into two teams of 10 and given two and a half hours had to recreate two three-course dinners from 20th century royal state receptions in Australia for 80 teachers from Victoria. The Burgundy Team, led by Steph, prepped the menu for Queen Elizabeth II's first visit in 1954 while the Purple Team, led by Kyle, made dishes presented during the coronation of Prince Edward of Wales in May 1920. The Purple Team struggled early with their entrees at prep time, and during service, the whiting in their entrée was inconsistently cooked, but the Burgundy Team had served raw chicken in their main. Despite their efforts to fix it and overall praise for their entrée and dessert, the Burgundy Team was sent to the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0697 | “Episode 14” | Thursday, 16 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Condiments Elimination Challenge - In the first of a two-round elimination challenge, the 10 contestants on the Burgundy Team took turns guessing the names of condiments in front of them. Abbey, Jess, Mandy, Steph and Tati, with incorrect guesses, were sent to the second round, in which they had 60 minutes to make a condiment that complemented their dish. While Abbey, Steph and Tati were announced safe, Jess and Mandy faced elimination. Jess' sweet potato dumplings impressed in the judging but had issues with the texture of the filling. Mandy served a peri-peri chicken with roasted cabbage. While her peri-peri sauce earned praise, the rest of the components of her dish were too greasy and failed to highlight her sauce, and Mandy was eliminated.
Masterclass: Gary Mehigan, Nigella Lawson and Matt Preston - The remaining contestants attended their second MasterClass from Nigella and the judges at Fresh Select Farm in Werribee. The judges presented their recipes: Gary's Thai fish larb and Matt's vegetable lasagne. Nigella, with help from George, cooked her two favourite recipes: chilli mint lamb cutlets with mint and preserved lemon sauce, and sticky toffee pudding. |
| Week 4 - Legends Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0698 | “Episode 15” | Sunday, 19 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Rick Stein's Mystery Box Challenge & Fish and Potatoes Invention Test - Famed chefs made guest appearances in each challenge for this week. Rick Stein brought his Mystery Box with ingredients for the contestants. Larissa was the first to advance to the immunity challenge with her grilled cuttlefish with bone marrow puree and tomato sugo. In the 75-minute Invention Test, the remaining cooks had to make a dish featuring fish and potatoes. Abbey, Steph and Tati excelled and joined Larissa in the immunity challenge. Derek, Leah and Jess fell short with their dishes and were sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0699 | “Episode 16” | Monday, 20 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Clare Smyth's Pear and Lemon Verbena Vacherin - Clare Smyth gave Derek, Jess and Leah four hours to replicate her intricate dessert, consisting of meringue, pears and a lemon verbena and 10 minutes to plate it. Derek made the best dish and Leah also impressed but her pear discs were too thin. Jess' meringue was fragile and thin, while her cream was loose, and her dish had collapsed after plating, resulting in her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0700 | “Episode 17” | Tuesday, 21 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Donovan Cooke - Abbey, Larissa, Steph and Tati had 45 minutes to cook a dish using one of three commercial appliances: a sandwich press, an electric kettle or a microwave. Donovan Cooke returned to cook against Tati who won the first round. She selected chilis from the garden to cook her dish with. In 75 minutes, Tati cooked a Thai green grilled spatchcock with pumpkin and coconut, but in the tasting, the dish received mixed reviews for the presentation and cohesion. Donovan won with his whiting, mussels and chili dish and scored 27 points, while Tati scored 21. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0701 | “Episode 18” | Wednesday, 22 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Street Food Service Challenge - The contestants were divided into three teams of six and took responsibility for serving three international street foods (two proteins and one vegetarian) to 120 customers, the judges and Yotam Ottolenghi at HWKR Food Centre in Melbourne. The Yellow Team, led by Nicole, served Mexican food, the Green Team, led by Simon, cooked Indian food and the Blue Team, led by Tessa, prepped Malaysian dishes. In 90 minutes, all teams struggled, but Nicole was able to manage her team to finish before service. Despite minor reviews on their last dish, the other dishes stood out and the team was pronounced safe. The Blue Team had problems with their nasi goreng as the rice was claggy and the sambal was not cooked enough while their beef satays had mixed reviews. However, the Green Team fared worse throughout the cook with all of their dishes - they stumbled early on in the prep and in service, their tandoori chicken was too salty, the vegetarian samosas did not have a flavoursome sauce and they forgot to prep the rice for their fish curry. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0702 | “Episode 19” | Thursday, 23 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Deli Items Elimination Challenge - In a two-round elimination challenge, the six contestants on the Green Team took turns naming different deli items, with the first three to choose incorrectly going to the second round. Ben, Blake and Tati were then given 60 minutes to cook a dish using the ingredients that were correctly identified in the first round. In the judging, Tati's laksa won overall praise. The judges thought Ben's cheeseboard was not properly executed, but while Blake impressed with his beef, his potato puree was too sticky while the other components of his dish didn't meet the mark, which resulted in his elimination. |
| Week 5 - Secrets Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0703 | “Episode 20” | Sunday, 26 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Dumpling Box Challenge & Top Secret Invention Test - The daily challenges this week remained in secrecy for the contestants to determine the objectives. Din Tai Fung restaurant chef Edward Yulianto taught the cooks how to make dumplings for their first challenge. In the 75 minute challenge, Christina and Derek produced two standout dumplings over Anushka, Joe and Tati. The judges selected Derek by split decision to advance to the immunity challenge. The other contestants had to cook another dish to secure one of the three remaining spots in the immunity challenge. Tati, Larissa and Sandeep all succeeded but Anushka, Leah and Kyle failed to deliver, sending them to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0704 | “Episode 21” | Monday, 27 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Leno Lattarulo's Seafood Paella - Anushka, Kyle and Leah had 90 minutes to decipher and recreate Leno Latturlo's paella without a recipe. Anushka presented the best dish. Leah's fish was cooked well but her rice was inconsistently cooked while Kyle's seafood was nicely cooked but there was way too much rice in his dish. However, there was one thing that none of the judges could looked past and that was the burnt taste of rice that tangy everything in the pan. Ultimately the judges felt that Leah had missed the brief and she was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0705 | “Episode 22” | Tuesday, 28 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Secret Chef - The judges presented their favorite sauces for Derek, Larissa, Sandeep and Tati to use with their dishes in the 60-minute first round. Sandeep's used Matt Preston's tamarind and chipotle ketchup for his lobster masala to win and cook against the guest chef, who was revealed during the 60-minute cook. Lemons were chosen from the citrus fruits on offer, with 75 minutes to cook a dish.The guest chef was revealed to be season 4 winner Andy Allen who cooked a confit squid with adobo sauce and corn salsa, but he lost to a perfect score of 30 points from Sandeep with his lemon pepper chicken with lemon rice and raita, earning him the immunity pin. Andy Allen's score was kept secret, but was revealed on Facebook to be 24. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0706 | “Episode 23” | Wednesday, 29 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Italian Four-Course Meal Service Challenge - The two teams had to cook a four-course Italian menu for 80 guests led by Rosa Mitchell of Rosa's Cantina for Abbey's Red team (Abbey, Anushka, Derek, Nicole, Sandeep, Tati, Tessa and Tim) and Olimpia Bortolotto from Cecconi's for Christina's Green team (Christina, Larissa, Steph, Ben, Joe, Kyle, Simon, Ben and Walleed). During prep time, the Red team decided to cook a beef cheeks dish despite Rosa's suggestion for the main and guessed the ratios of their panna cottas for dessert while the Green team struggled to prep their pasta for the entrée. Their dishes impressed in the tasting but their calamari dish for the appetizer had issues and against the overall praise of the Red team's dishes, Christina's Green team found themselves in elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0707 | “Episode 24” | Thursday, 30 May 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Blind Taste Test Elimination Challenge - The contestants had to guess an ingredient while blindfolded. Ben, Joe, Kyle, Simon and Steph had 60 minutes to cook their dishes in the second round while the judges tasted each dish blindly after the cook. Simon's lamb dish earned praise in its technicality, Joe's dish earned praise in the flavours despite his pasta being too thick, Steph's tart also won praise while Ben's sambal prawns was least impressive and Kyle's pumpkin was too firm and his pork ribs are not braised enough. Afterwards, the other three are announced safe leaving Ben and Kyle as the bottom two. However, with an undercooked pork and a raw pumpkin, Kyle was eliminated from the competition. |
| Week 6 - Queensland Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0708 | “Episode 25” | Sunday, 2 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Brisbane Box Challenge & Howard Smith Wharves Food Truck Challenge - For their first challenge in Queensland, the contestants were taken to Howard Smith Wharves in Brisbane, where they had 60 minutes to cook a dish using a mystery box filled with native Queensland ingredients. Tati, Abbey, Tessa and Nicole all delivered impressive dishes as the Top 5, and Simon won with his crab salad and advanced to the immunity challenge. In the invention test, the remaining cooks were divided into pairs: the Dark Green Team, consisting of Walleed and Joe, the Red Team, consisting of Abbey and Derek, the Maroon Team, consisting of Larissa and Steph, the Green Team, consisting of Tati and Sandeep, the Blue Team, consisting of Anushka and Nicole, the Yellow Team, consisting of Tessa and Christina, and the Purple Team, consisting of Ben and Tim, tasked with running food trucks, and given two and a half hours to prepare dishes costing $7.50 and $5. The teams raised over $5000 for SecondBite. Abbey and Derek delivered the best dishes while Nicole and Anushka raised the most at $1,045, and both teams advanced to the immunity challenge with Simon. Christina and Tessa's dishes were not executed properly, while Tati and Sandeep struggled and their chili dish was too thin, but the other teams fared worse throughout the cook - Larissa and Steph set their ovens for their food truck on fire, leaving them with no food to serve. Raising the least money, they were sent to the pressure test. Tim and Ben, who delivered two disappointing dishes, joined them. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0709 | “Episode 26” | Monday, 3 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Shannon Kellam's Chocolate de Passion - Larissa, Steph, Tim & Ben had to recreate Shannon Kellam's intricate chocolate dessert based on memory from the demonstration prior to the cook. Although she faced a few issues before the end of the challenge, Larissa excelled with her presentation and outstanding flavours of her dish, and her dessert was the dish of the day. Steph also impressed the judges with her take on the dish. In the end, although Ben had issues with flavour and his chocolate work, Tim had too many technical errors in his dish and he was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0710 | “Episode 27” | Tuesday, 4 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Ben Williamson - In the first round, Abbey, Anushka, Nicole, Derek & Simon all had to cook a dish that heroed ginger. Anushka won the challenge with her chicken and prawn dumplings with ginger broth, and she moved to the second round, in which she cooked against chef Ben Williamson. Anushka chose the pineapple to hero and cooked a pineapple lemon cake that scored her 19 points as the pineapple flavour was not strong enough. Ben made a salad dish that heroed thelemon myrtle and he scored 25 points, so Anushka did not win the pin. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0711 | “Episode 28” | Wednesday, 5 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Noosa Barbecue Feast Team Challenge - In the Noosa Surf Club Restaurant BBQ Challenge, the Blue Team, led by Walleed and consisting of Tati, Sandeep, Larissa, Derek, Anushka and Abbey, and the Green Team, led by Joe and consisting of Ben, Simon, Nicole, Tessa, Christina and Steph, had to make two meat dishes and two side dishes for 150 diners each to be combined and served on a single plate. On the Blue Team, Abbey's Turmeric Garlic Prawns stole the show and although their lamb was inconsistently cooked and Walleed's leadership was questioned, they received high praise and they won the challenge. On the Green Team, although their beef, eggplant and mushroom salad and betel leaves salad, which the judges thought the taste of Queensland went well, their prawns were not only missed the flavour of ginger that they promised but also well and truly overcooked, landed them in elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0712 | “Episode 29” | Thursday, 6 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Seafood Elimination Challenge - The first of a two-round seafood elimination challenge was a skills test, in which the seven contestants on the Green Team had to peel prawns, fillet and debone a snapper, and take the tail out of two bugs. The three contestants that did the best job were safe and the other four went into round 2. The three safe contestants were Tessa, Steph and Christina. The other four had to create a seafood platter using the seafood they prepared. Nicole and Simon made exceptional dishes and they were saved. Ben's ceviche did not have enough heat and acidity, but Joe's seafood platter was inconsistently cooked, and he was eliminated.
Masterclass: Ash Martin at The Homage, Spicers Hidden Vale - The contestants participated in their third masterclass at the Homage Restaurant, located within the Spicers Hidden Vale resort, with head chef Ash Martin. Ash cooked, showcasing local and sustainably sourced Queensland produce, charred yabbies and smoked damper on the Homage's trademark smokehouse coal pits. The judges also cooked a number of dishes, with Matt demonstrating a 'chocolate torte with rum and chilli' and a 'steamed pudding with ginger marmalade', Gary created a 'curry two ways' and George made a 'surf and turf' all using local produce. |
| Week 7 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0713 | “Episode 30” | Sunday, 9 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| 'Everything Mystery Box' Challenge and Whole Ingredients Invention Test - In the mystery box challenge, the contestants had to use all of the items in the box, which consisted of extra virgin olive oil, Greek yoghurt, brussels sprouts, lamb rack, rosemary, lemon, leeks and parsnips. Only the top three dishes, Derek, Tessa and Simon's, were chosen for tasting, with Simon's being declared the winner and he advanced to the immunity challenge. In the invention test, the other contestants were asked to make a dish that featured every part of a chosen ingredient. Abbey, Ben and Tessa produced standout dishes, sending them through to immunity. Waleed, Nicole and Christina, who each had major flaws in their respective dishes, were sent to the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0714 | “Episode 31” | Monday, 10 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Lucky Dip Elimination Challenge and Second Chance Cook-Off - Nicole, Christina and Walleed had to blindly choose a protein and a side ingredient to pair in their dish. Christina impressed the judges with her Chinese-inspired Duck and Spinach Broth, earning high praise and being announced safe. Although Nicole had issues with the grape in her rabbit and grape dish, Walleed completely missed the point of his artichokes, leaving out the heart and was therefore eliminated. All the eliminated contestants, including Walleed, had the opportunity to win their way back into the competition. They all had to create a dish using a pair of ingredients from the selection in the previous elimination challenge. The top 4 dishes belonged to Yossra, Jess, Kyle and Tim, and Tim won his spot in the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0715 | “Episode 32” | Tuesday, 11 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Jesse McTavish - Abbey, Ben, Simon & Tessa awoke to a letter from the judges containing instructions to visit Coles to buy one fresh ingredient for round one of the immunity challenge. The contestants had to use three of the chosen ingredients in a dish. The winner, Tessa, cooked off against Jesse McTavish from North Bondi Fish. Tessa chose to hero cheese and onion over salt and vinegar. Jesse made an onion soup with croutons and scored 22 points from the judges but it was no match for Tessa's Cheese and Onion Mille-feuille that wowed the judges, scoring her 27 out of 30 and earning her the immunity pin. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0716 | “Episode 33” | Wednesday, 12 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Picnic at Hanging Rock Team Challenge - The contestants were taken to Hanging Rock, Victoria, where they Maggie Beer and the judges instruct two teams, the Red Team, consisting of Anushka, Simon, Tati, Larissa, Christina and Abbey, and the Green Team, consisting of Tim, Ben, Tessa, Steph, Nicole and Derek, who had three hours to assemble 25 picnic baskets containing a savoury dish, sandwich, salad, dip dish and a dessert for 100 picnickers. The Red team under Anushka's captaincy struggled in prep time and served their dishes late. Their dishes were well received but were uninspired while their frittatas and salads had too many ingredients. Against the overall praise of the dishes of Derek's Green team, Anushka's poor leadership dragged the Red team to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0717 | “Episode 34” | Thursday, 13 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Herbs and Spices Elimination Challenge - Sandeep, who couldn't participate in the team challenge, used his immunity pin to avoid elimination. The first round required the losing team members to cook dishes featuring herbs. Abbey, Christina and Larissa, who served undercooked dishes, were sent into the second round to feature spices. Christina was first to be declared safe with her mussels dish featuring turmeric. Larissa also impressed with her ginger dessert but despite an impressive run, Abbey's dish did not feature enough spices, her fried calamari was too fatty and it was her overuse of the oil in the dish that was her undoing. Ultimately, the judges felt that Abbey had missed the brief, and she was sent home. |
| Week 8 - Sweet Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0718 | “Episode 35” | Sunday, 16 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Heston's Mystery Box Challenge & Cereal Invention Test - The Top 12 faced a mystery box challenge, in which they had to make a dessert using ingredients selected by Heston Blumenthal. Larissa beat Tessa and Steph to advance in the immunity challenge while the other contestants had to make another dessert featuring cereals. Ben, Anushka and Tim excelled, but Derek, Steph and Simon faltered during the cook and produced desserts with technical errors. They were sent to the pressure test, which was announced to be a two-day challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0719 | “Episode 36” | Monday, 17 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Two-Day Pressure Test: Kate Reid's Black Forrest Lune Croissant - The bottom three had 90 minutes to replicate Kate Reid's croissant on the first day and bake it before garnishing it on the next day. During the tasting, Simon's croissant won praise. Although Derek left out the tempered chocolate, his croissant was baked well. The judges were impressed with Steph's dish but the frangipane was undercooked. While she nailed the presentation, it was not enough to keep her safe, and this outweighed Derek's missing chocolate and Steph was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0720 | “Episode 37” | Tuesday, 18 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Alice Wright - Larissa, Ben, Anushka and Tim had to make ice cream cones for the judges and Poh. Anushka, Ben and Tim all made impressive ice cream cones but Tim's stood out from the pack. He not only got a chance to cook for immunity, but he won a place in the Top 10. In Round 2, Tim cooked off against Alice Wright and they had to hero one nut; from a selection of nuts, Tim chose walnuts. Tim's fig and walnut dessert scored him 19 points, but it was no match for Alice's apple walnut and mascarpone dessert which scored her 26 points, and therefore Tim did not win the pin. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0721 | “Episode 38” | Wednesday, 19 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Blind Pairing Team Challenge - The remaining contestants (minus Tim who already secured his place in the Top 10) had to cook in pairs with a wall dividing each pair. Their challenge was to cook two identical dishes in look and taste. The teams were the Green Team (Tati & Tessa), Red Team (Nicole & Christina), Blue Team (Larissa & Ben), Purple Team (Simon & Sandeep) and Yellow Team (Anushka & Derek). The Red Team won and the blue team was also declared safe advancing them into the Top 10 sending the other teams into elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0722 | “Episode 39” | Thursday, 20 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sugar-Free Elimination Challenge - Anushka, Derek, Simon, Sandeep and Tati had to create a dessert without sugar after Tessa used her pin to advance to the Top 10. Sandeep cooked a rice kheer with puri but the dish was average. The judges found the saffron overpowered the pudding while the bread was uncooked and Tati's dish was way too sweet. After Derek, Anushka and Simon won praise with their dishes, the judges had a split decision: Gary thought Tati should have go, Matt thought it should have been Sandeep and the final decision was down to George. In a close decision, Sandeep was sent home for missing the brief of the challenge. |
| Week 9 - The Best of the Best Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0723 | “Episode 40” | Sunday, 23 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Best-Selling Mystery Box Challenge & Best-Loved Invention Test - There was no pressure test this week and no bottom three in the invention test. The Top 10 had to cook with a mystery box filled with Coles' best-selling ingredients. Although Derek's dish impressed the judges, Nicole beat him and won the challenge, advancing to the immunity challenge. In the invention test, the contestants had to hero one of three of Australia's most loved foods: Milo, Vegemite and tomato sauce. Larissa and Tati both impressed with their dishes, but Simon won the challenge to advance to the immunity challenge with Nicole. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0724 | “Episode 41” | Monday, 24 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Jock Zonfrillo's Challenge - In this challenge, each of the eight contestants were given an indigenous ingredient chosen by Jock Zonfrillo to feature in their dish. The winner of the challenge would join Simon and Nicole in this week's immunity challenge. The indigenous ingredients are Christina (Dorrigo pepper), Ben (white currants), Anushka (Lilly Pilly), Tati (aniseed myrtle), Tessa (native lemongrass), Derek (long yams), Larissa (lemon-scented tea tree) and Tim (native basil). Larissa stood out by making the only dessert and although it wowed the judges, Tessa's dish was deemed best by the judges and she won the challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0725 | “Episode 42” | Tuesday, 25 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Phil Wood - In the first round Tessa, Nicole and Simon had to cook with Beluga Caviar, the world's best ingredient. All three made standout dishes but Tessa won the first round and was given a choice of food pairings for both her and Phil Wood. She chose beef and onion. Her dish wowed the judges who deemed it a restaurant worthy dish. She scored 27 but Phil Wood scored 30 points, making him the winner of the challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0726 | “Episode 43” | Wednesday, 26 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Best Diners Team Challenge - The contestants, led by Christina of the Green team and Larissa of the Yellow, had to cook a four-course meal for 40 diners featuring Delicious magazine's 2018 picks for Australia's best produce: Holy Goat Cheese's goat and cow milk cheese, coral trout from Mark Eather Seafood, Wagyu beef from Mayura Station, and Golden Delicious apples from Moonacres Farm. Both teams struggled during prep but managed to finish in time to serve the diners who were revealed to be the contestants' loved ones. The Green team's dishes earned praise, but their apple dessert was overpowered by the cinnamon ice cream. However, it was the Yellow team's undercooked wagyu that sent them to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0727 | “Episode 44” | Thursday, 27 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Food Waste Management Elimination Challenge - Anushka, Ben, Larissa, Simon and Tati faced a challenge set by Massimo Bottura on minimising waste cooking with the four most-discarded ingredients in Australian homes. Tati, Simon and Larissa made the three best dishes, and the bottom two were Ben and Anushka. Anushka did not showcase technique in her dish and it did not have enough flavour, but Ben wasted half of his duck. Not only did he fail to meet the brief but his dish was undercooked, resulting in his elimination. |
| Week 10 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0728 | “Episode 45” | Sunday, 30 June 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Déjà Vu Mystery Box & Memories Invention Test - The Top 9 were each given one of the previous mystery boxes at random to use for their mystery box challenge. Simon, Larissa and Derek were chosen as the top-3 and all had perfect dishes but Derek stood out and won after using the Everything box from Week 7. In the invention test the remaining eight had to cook a dish inspired by a moment in time. Larissa, Christina and Simon stood out with their dishes and joined Derek in the Immunity Challenge. Tessa, Tim, Tati, Anushka, and Nicole all had problems with their dishes but in the end, Anushka, Tati and Tim were named as the bottom-3 to face elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0729 | “Episode 46” | Monday, 1 July 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Kirsten Tibballs' Apple Pie - Anushka, Tati and Tim had three and a half hours to recreate Kirsten Tibballs' apple pie. All three struggled but Tim's pie was the dish of the day, and the final verdict was between Tati and Anushka. They both overcooked their crust, but it was Tati who took her caramel too far and created a bitter taste that overpowered the other component of her dish. These flaws eliminated Tati. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0730 | “Episode 47” | Tuesday, 2 July 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Adam D'Sylva - Derek, Christina, Larissa and Simon had to create a dish with chicken as the main ingredient using an assigned cuisine: Simon (Spanish), Christina (French), Derek (Vietnamese) and Larissa (Japanese). Larissa and Derek had the two best dishes with Larissa advancing to the second round to cook off against Adam D'Sylva. Her advantage was to pick any ingredients from an open pantry but they had to all fit in one basket. Larissa relied on strategy to win and chose sweet ingredients such as corn, popcorn, cornflakes, curry leaves, blackberry. Adam scored three sixes totaling his score to 18. Larissa got three sevens, giving her a total score of 21 and the immunity pin. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0731 | “Episode 48” | Wednesday, 3 July 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| The Q Train Team Challenge - The eight contestants had to cook in a Q Train Challenge, with Larissa and Anushka (Purple Team), Derek and Simon (Green Team), Nicole and Christina (Yellow Team), and Tessa and Tim (Maroon Team). They each had to cook one course of a 4-course vegetarian meal with fresh produce for 30 diners, to be plated and served on the train between stops. Both the Purple and Yellow Teams won the challenge after impressing with their dishes, sending the other two teams to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0732 | “Episode 49” | Thursday, 4 July 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| The Time Auction Elimination Challenge - Tessa, Simon, Derek and Tim competed in the MasterChef time auction where they had to bid for ingredients with time rather than money. The more time they spent buying ingredients, the less time they had to cook. Tessa spent 50 minutes on John Dory fish, citrus and herbs, Simon spent 75 minutes on a lamb rack, root vegetables and spices, Derek spent 80 minutes on eggs, onions, and sauces and Tim spent 90 minutes on a pork belly, nightshades and spreads. Both Tessa and Simon impressed the judges with their dishes and they were declared safe, while Tim was criticized for undercooking his pork belly. But Derek faltered under pressure, attempting to make quail's egg yolk ravioli for the first time. It did not work out, so he quickly turned his pasta dough into fettuccine and made an onion sauce, topping it with a sous vide duck egg he had cooked as a backup. It was not enough, and Derek was eliminated. |
| Week 11 - Western Australia Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0733 | “Episode 50” | Sunday, 7 July 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Western Australia Mystery Box & Surf and Turf Invention Test - The Top 7 traveled to Western Australia, where they were then taken to the Optus Stadium in Perth, for the mystery box challenge, in which they had one hour to make a dish using nine famous ingredients from WA, and Anushka won the Mystery Box. In the invention test, the other contestants had one hour to make a dish with meat and seafood both, and Tessa won. The judges also announced that this week one contestant would advance straight to Finals Week and only one person would be eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0734 | “Episode 51” | Monday, 8 July 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Wildflower Five-course Degustation challenge - The five remaining contestants had to cook one course of a five-course degustation meal at the Wildflower, under its head chef, with an assigned ingredient. Nicole cooked the first course with baby beetroots, Simon cooked the second course with marron, Christina made the third course with duck, Tim made the fourth course with finger limes and Larissa presented the last course with plum. Nicole and Christina made the best courses and joined Tessa and Anushka in the immunity challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0735 | “Episode 52” | Tuesday, 9 July 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Fast-Track to Finals Week Challenge - In the first round, each contestant was given a car and the address of a local shop to choose their feature ingredient. Nicole chose honey, Christina picked almonds, Anushka selected blue cheese and Tessa chose 70% dark chocolate. Nicole and Tessa beat Anushka and Christina to advance the second round. Tessa cooked the best dish in the first round and hence chose the feature ingredient for the second round. In the second round, both of them cooked with Red Spangled Emperor; Nicole won and advanced to Finals Week. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0736 | “Episode 53” | Wednesday, 10 July 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Leeuwin Estate Team Challenge - The other six contestants were split into two teams and had to cook a main course and dessert for 25 diners. The Yellow Team was faster in service while the Green Team forgot to serve 12 plates of their main course. The lamb in the Yellow Team's main was perfectly cooked but insufficiently reduced, while their dessert was loved by the judges. However, the Green Team main course did not have enough salt and acidity, while their dessert had an unnecessary smokiness, too much sweetness, and an overbaked cookie. Thus, the Yellow Team joined Nicole in Finals Week, and the Green Team was sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0737 | “Episode 54” | Thursday, 11 July 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Two-Dish Pressure Test: Santiago Fernandez - Larissa used her immunity pin to avoid elimination. In the pressure test, set by head chef Santiago Fernandez, Simon and Christina had three and a half hours to cook two of Santiago's dishes, one savoury and one sweet, at the same time. Simon and Christina did well on their savory dishes, but while Christina's sauce was too salty, Simon's dish was the dish of the day. However, he did not present a tuile on his dessert as he ran out of time. Christina's dessert looked beautiful and her ice cream was delicious, but her espuma was inedible. In the end, Christina was eliminated.
Masterclass: Karl Wulf on Rottnest Island - The contestants visited Rottnest Island for their last MasterClass, and they were joined by Chef Karl Wulf from Thomson's and Pinky's Beach Club at Discovery Rottnest Island. Using Rottnest's produce, Karl cooked some fresh caught crayfish, with a kafir lime dressing, salt bush and seaweed butter. The judges also cooked their own dishes, with Matt showing contestants simple steps to cook 'Pumpkin Three Ways', George cooked 'Halloumi with Quince Chutney Puree' and Gary returned to his roots with his 'French Pheasant, Mashed Potato & Cabbage'. |
| Week 12 - Finals Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0738 | “Episode 55” | Sunday, 14 July 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Ingredient from Home Mystery Box & Judges Choice Invention Test - In the last Mystery Box challenge, the contestants were each sent an ingredient from home and a handwritten letter from their loved ones, and Larissa won the challenge. In the invention test, the judges handpicked ingredients for each contestant. Simon and Tessa joined Larissa while Nicole, Tim and Anushka were in the Bottom 3. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0739 | “Episode 56” | Monday, 15 July 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Ashley Palmer-Watts' Lamington Cake - Anushka, Nicole and Tim had four hours to recreate Ashley Palmer-Watts' lamington cake. Nicole stood out with her dish. The time pressure got to Anushka and that, combined with some technical difficulties with her dish, sent her home. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0740 | “Episode 57” | Tuesday, 16 July 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| "No Rules" Challenge - The Top 5 contestants were asked to cook "the one dish" they wanted to cook with no rules, an open pantry and a time limit to be decided by them. Nicole and Tim's dishes were good but Larissa won the challenge, giving her an advantage in the next day's challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0741 | “Episode 58” | Wednesday, 17 July 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| The Press Club Service Challenge - The contestants cooked the last service in George's flagship restaurant, The Press Club, for all former and present employees. They had to cook a five-course tasting menu using George's favourite ingredients. Since Larissa won the previous challenge, she got to choose which course and ingredient she wanted to cook with. Tessa cooked the first course using capers, Tim cooked the second course using olives, Simon made the third using lentils, Larissa made the fourth using lemons, and Nicole cooked the last course using honey. Larissa won and advanced straight to the semi-finals. Tessa and Tim came in second and third, respectively, and got an advantage in the elimination challenge. |
| Grand Finale Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0742 | “Episode 59” | Sunday, 21 July 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Three-Round 'Duel' Elimination - Tim, Tessa, Simon and Nicole had to cook off against each other in pairs. Having won 2nd and 3rd place, respectively, in the last challenge, Tessa and Tim got to pick a pantry. Tessa picked the Asian pantry and Nicole cooked off against her. Tim chose the farmhouse pantry cooked against Simon. Simon and Tessa won the first round and joined Larissa in the semi-finals. Next, Tim and Nicole cooked against each other using the sweet pantry. Tim won, and Nicole was eliminated.
Masterclass: Contestants vs. Judges and Mentors -In the first round George, Gary and Curtis Stone competed in a Mystery Box challenge. All three dishes were outstanding, but ultimately George win with his "Tea by George". In the second round the top 4 competed against the season mentors, Poh, Billie and Matt, heroing coconuts. The mentors made a curry dish and the Top 4 a dessert. Both dish were outstanding, and the judges declared it a tie. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0743 | “Episode 60” | Monday, 22 July 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Semi-Finals Pressure Test: Peter Gilmore - Tim, Tessa, Simon and Larissa had two hours to recreate Peter Gilmore's white coral dessert, which replaced the snow egg dessert at his restaurant after 10 years, and the three contestants with the best dishes moved into the Grand Finale. Tessa struggled during the cook, but in the tasting, her dessert was considered Dish of the Day, as her coral was the best and all her flavors and textures were excellent. Peter said her white coral could be served in his restaurant. Simon was the second contestant into the Grand Finale. He had to remake his oloroso custard, but all of the components in his dish were excellent too. Larissa had various problems during the cook. Her coral was a little dense, but the other components of her dessert. were spot-on, and her prune ice-cream was considered the best. Tim made a very dense coral, and the other components of his dish had technical issues, so he was eliminated, and Larissa, advanced to the Finale. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0744 | “Episode 61” | Tuesday, 23 July 2019 |
| Synopsis: |
| Grand Finale - Tessa, Simon and Larissa competed in a three-course service challenge, in which they cooked for 60 VIP diners, including guest chefs and MasterChef alumni, with Shannon Bennett as their mentor. All three of them struggled during the cook, but ultimately succeeded. Simon did not have enough points in the service challenge, with a score of 65/90, making it a competition between Tessa and Larissa. Tessa became the runner-up with a score of 77/90. Larissa won with an impressive score of 85/90. Her dessert, a Szechuan Pavlova with Beetroot and Blackberry, scored a full complement of 30/30 points.
Winner Announced - Larissa Takchi announced as the winner of the eleventh season of MasterChef Australia, receiving the grand prize of $250,000, monthly column in Delicious magazine and a new Holden Equinox. Tessa Boersma earned a cash prize of $30,000 as the runner-up while Simon Toohey received a cash prize of $20,000 after finishing in third place. |
2020 - Complete Season 12
| Week 1 - (Gordon Ramsay Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0745 | “Episode 01” | Monday, 13 April 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Series Premiere: Finale-Worthy Dish - Gordon Ramsay, guest judge for the week, tasked the contestants with cooking a dish they felt was worthy of the Grand Finale. All the contestants received positive feedback, and Emelia, Dani, Laura and Reynold were named the Top 4. In a close decision, Dani's Sri Lankan crab curry beat Reynold's intricate white chocolate dessert to win her the only immunity pin of the season. Since Dani had won two immunity pins in Season 3, this made Dani the first person in the show's history to win three immunity pins. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0746 | “Episode 02” | Tuesday, 14 April 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Gordon Ramsay's Team Service Challenge - Each team had to cook a three-course meal for 60 guests in a service led by Gordon. The judges revealed three main ingredients: black garlic, ginger and potatoes, and challenged the contestants to showcase a different ingredient in each course. The Blue Team, led by Ben M., served a delicious entrée, but their failure in the main course and dessert sent them to the Elimination at the end of the week. The Green Team, led by Amina, were thus declared the winners, and advanced to the next challenge for an opportunity to cook for the single Weekly Immunity spot. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0747 | “Episode 03” | Wednesday, 15 April 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Round Robin Relay Challenge - The 12 contestants from the Green Team were split into groups of three to compete in a Round Robin relay-style cook-off, with every member spending 20 minutes each on the entrée, main, and dessert. All four teams received positive feedback, but Sarah C., Lynton and Callum impressed the judges with their indigenous-themed menu, sending the others to join the Weekly Elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0748 | “Episode 04” | Thursday, 16 April 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Keeping Up with Gordon - Sarah C., Lynton and Callum had to follow Gordon and replicate his potato-crusted Murray cod served with vegetable minestrone and macadamia purée; they were not given a recipe and had to plate the dish within 10 seconds of Gordon. All three struggled, but Callum produced the best dish, winning him the first Weekly Immunity of the season. Sarah C. and Lynton joined the others in the elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0749 | “Episode 05” | Sunday, 19 April 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Gordon Ramsay's 90-Minute All-In Elimination - All contestants aside from Callum had to cook in a two-round elimination challenge, with 90 minutes to split between the two rounds however each saw fit. In the first round, Simon, Laura, Brendan, and Ben M. wowed the judges and were declared safe immediately. Poh took a risk by spending all 90 minutes in the first round, risking elimination if her dish didn't impress, but she too was declared safe. Chris, Courtney, Lynton, Hayden and Rose produced the worst dishes and were sent to the second round, which they had to cook another dish with whatever time they had left from their original 90 minutes. Hayden, Courtney and Chris went on to redeem themselves, and they were declared safe. Rose's eggplant dish was underwhelming, but Lynton's crab was undercooked and the dish lacked balance. Despite an otherwise impressive first week, Lynton became the first contestant to be eliminated. |
| Week 2 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0750 | “Episode 06” | Monday, 20 April 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Ultimate BBQ Team Challenge - The remaining 23 contestants were split into three teams, with each team to serve two savoury BBQ dishes and a dessert to 400 people in five hours: two and a half hours for prepping, and two and a half hours for serving. Although the Orange Team, led by Simon, only had seven people (one less than the other teams), they managed to nail every dish and secure the win. The Purple and Yellow Teams, led by Tracy and Laura, respectively, received mixed reviews on their cooking. The Purple Team's donuts were fluffy, but their grilled corn lacked seasoning. The Yellow Team's donuts were delicious, but their meat was not flavourful. In addition, their chicken portions were inconsistent. Due to those downsides, the Yellow Team was sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0751 | “Episode 07” | Tuesday, 21 April 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Two-Round Pressure Test: Jock Zonfrillo - Jock set a two-round pressure test for the Yellow Team, centering on dishes served at his restaurant, Orana. In the first round, the contestants had 90 minutes to cook scarlet prawns, riberry crumpets, and bunya nut chawanmushi. Ben U., Courtney and Reece all had technical errors in their prawns and were sent to the second round, in which they had 105 minutes to recreate a damper and pickled kohlrabi salad. Ben U.'s salad received high acclaim, but while Reece's kohlrabi was undercooked, it was the lack of salad dressing in Courtney's salad that derailed the balance of her dish and sent her home. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0752 | “Episode 08” | Wednesday, 22 April 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Melissa Leong's Mystery Box - Melissa compiled a Mystery Box featuring cherries, coriander, Manuka honey, black vinegar, five spice, taro, King George whiting, chicken feet, spring onions and galangal. Ben U. produced a standout dish, with Laura, Sarah T. and Reynold also impressing the judges. Khanh narrowly beat Brendan to secure the fifth and final spot in the immunity challenge, and the rest were sent to the Weekly Elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0753 | “Episode 09” | Thursday, 23 April 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Judges' Taste Test - Ben U., Khanh, Laura, Sarah T. and Reynold each chose between Melissa's pie, Jock's pasta and Andy's curry to taste in an ingredient taste test. They then had to cook with the ingredients from the dish they had chosen, with the cooking time determined by how many ingredients each contestant had guessed correctly. Laura and Ben U. wowed the judges, but Sarah T. produced a flawless lemongrass coriander beef dish. She won the Weekly Immunity, sending the other four to join the elimination.
MasterClass: Jock Zonfrillo, Ben Ungermann, Harry Foster, Louis Tikaram and Andy Allen - Jock demonstrated what he would have cooked with Melissa's Mystery Box, and prepared a hibachi King George whiting with a taro and shallot cake. Afterwards, guest chef Louis Tikaram cooked XO pipis with crispy egg noodles, while Andy showed the contestants his BBQ octopus with burnt eggplant yoghurt and freekeh tabouli. For the first time ever, contestants were invited to join the MasterClass, with Ben U. demonstrating how to rocher ice cream and Harry demonstrating how to butterfly a fresh fish. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0754 | “Episode 10” | Sunday, 26 April 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| All-In Elimination: Judges' Ingredients - All contestants aside from Sarah T., who won the Weekly Immunity, had to cook a dish only using ingredients from foods that Jock, Melissa and Andy would eat on a typical day. Reynold, Tessa and Brendan produced the most impressive dishes. Most of the other contestants' dishes were also well-received, but Ben M. and Rose were criticised. While Rose's panna cotta dish had an undercooked crumb, Ben M. had an overcooked fish with an overly acidic sauce. The intense acidity made it difficult for the judges to eat his dish, and he was sent home. |
| Week 3 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0755 | “Episode 11” | Monday, 27 April 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| 3-Round Live Team Showdown - For their second team challenge, the 21 remaining contestants were taken to a warehouse amphitheatre with a live audience. They were split into three teams, and each had to elect one member to cook an ocean-themed dish in the first round. Tessa represented the Grey Team, Harry represented the Aqua Team, and Reynold represented the Pink Team. Tessa's calamari and scallop dish won, saving the Grey Team. For the second round, the remaining two teams had to each send one member to cook in a 30-minute duel. Simon represented the Pink Team, and Poh represented the Aqua Team. In a split decision, Simon's burnt cucumber dish won, saving the Pink Team. For the final round, all members of the Aqua Team had to cook a dish championing berries; with his coral trout and berry rasam, Khanh narrowly beat Amina to win safety, sending the rest of the Aqua Team to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0756 | “Episode 12” | Tuesday, 28 April 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| DIY Pressure Test - The members of the Aqua Team, aside from Khanh, were tasked with writing their own Pressure Test recipe and cooking it for the judges. Sarah T. delivered the dish of the day with her sweet and sour pork, with Amina, Poh and Laura also wowing the judges. Hayden's dish had a sticky honeycomb and an under seasoned ice cream, but his flavours were cohesive and balanced. Despite having the most visually spectacular dish, Harry's seafood dish had too many competing elements and overpowering flavours, and so he was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0757 | “Episode 13” | Wednesday, 29 April 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Barter Mystery Box - Each contestant was assigned a different four-ingredient Mystery Box, and had to cook a dish with all four ingredients. However, the contestants were allowed to barter with each other and swap ingredients if they wished. The Top 4 were Jess (parsley, parsnip, chocolate and fennel), Callum (chicken, carrot, ginger and soy), Laura (apple, peas, mint and potato) and Sarah T. (mango, coconut cream, chili and lemon). The rest were sent to the weekly elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0758 | “Episode 14” | Thursday, 30 April 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Curtis Stone's Time Auction Immunity Challenge - Curtis Stone appeared as a guest judge to set a Time Auction Challenge for Jess, Callum, Sarah T. and Laura. The contestants had 120 minutes to spend. Unlike the usual Time Auction challenge, a clock timer was set to 60 minutes. As the time decreased, the first person to raise their paddle won the ingredients for that amount of time. Laura had 45 minutes to cook her silken tofu, vinegars, green vegetables, and Indian spices, Sarah Tiong had 60 minutes to cook with her coral trout, citrus fruits, root vegetables and Asian herbs, Callum had 75 minutes for his chicken, corn, nightshades vegetables and European herbs and Jess had 100 minutes for her eggs, rice, stone fruits and Middle Eastern spices. Despite ending up with dessert-oriented ingredients, Jess cooked a savoury dish, and her 65-degree egg with turmeric noodles and chili oil received high praises. She beat Laura to win Weekly Immunity, as the others joined the All-In Elimination Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0759 | “Episode 15” | Sunday, 3 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| All-In Textures Elimination - Aside from Jess, who had won Weekly Immunity, all contestants participated in a two-round elimination challenge. Dani, feeling that it was still too early in the competition to use her immunity pin and thinking that her odds of making it through to the next round were good, chose to participate in the elimination challenge. In the first round, the cooks were given 75 minutes to prep a crunchy dish. Simon, Sarah T., Reynold, Tracy, and Ben U. impressed the judges enough to be declared safe immediately as their dishes were tasted. Brendan, Callum, Dani, Hayden, and Khanh, however, were declared the bottom five and thus were sent into the second round, in which they had to cook a gooey dish. Dani served kai loug kheuh with chili jam, which the judges found to be fatally flawed as her dish's egg yolk was undercooked and too runny. Since the other four nailed their dishes, Dani became the second contestant in the show's history to be eliminated while holding an immunity pin. |
| Week 4 - (Suburban Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0760 | “Episode 16” | Monday, 4 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Thai Team Service Challenge - This week the challenges took place in various Melbourne suburbs and explored their culinary offerings. For the first challenge, the 19 contestants were split into two teams to cook two entrees and three main dishes for 100 diners in Thai Ute Restaurant. Since the Orange Team had one extra member, Sarah C. chose to sit out from the challenge due to her unfamiliarity with Thai cooking. Both teams cooked spectacular entrées, impressing the judges. However, only Khanh's Orange Team (Khanh, Tracy, Brendan, Chris, Sarah, Hayden, Callum, Reynold and Jess) managed to do justice to their main dish, as Tessa's Aqua Team (Tessa, Laura, Ben, Poh, Reece, Emelia, Rose, Simon and Amina) came up short. Their chili basil clam didn't contain enough heat, their pork belly was hard, and their chicken larb lacked the body it needed. Therefore, the Aqua Team lost the challenge and was sent to the Pressure Test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0761 | “Episode 17” | Tuesday, 5 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Helly Raichura's "Pasta Not Pasta" - The Aqua Team were taken to the suburban Indian restaurant Enter Via Laundry by Helly Raichura. The contestants first had to identify the ingredients of "Pasta Not Pasta", an intricate khandvi dish by Helly. Poh identified the fewest ingredients and was the first into elimination. However, Rose, Ben U. and Reece all tied for the second-fewest correct guesses, which led to an impromptu tiebreaker taste test. Helly brought out her kachori, and the three took turns naming its ingredients. Rose and Ben U. both failed, and joined Poh in the elimination round. With 60 minutes to recreate "Pasta Not Pasta", Poh and Ben U. wowed the judges. However, Rose's pasta was too thin and her sauce lacked balance, resulting in her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0762 | “Episode 18” | Wednesday, 6 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Suburban Mystery Box - This week's Mystery Box showcased ingredients produced in the backyards and kitchens of suburban residents, containing Gravenstein apples, garlic, blue cheese, shiitake mushrooms, yellow zucchinis, basil and brown rice miso. The contestants were also each allowed to purchase one extra ingredient from Coles. Amina's lobster tortellini with miso bisque was declared the dish of the day. Emelia, Hayden, and Tracy also impressed the judges, with Emelia and Tracy joining Amina in the Top 3. The rest were sent to the Elimination Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0763 | “Episode 19” | Thursday, 7 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sushi Train Immunity Challenge - Tracy, Emelia, and Amina were taken to the Ganbare Kaz sushi restaurant in the Windsor suburb of Melbourne. They were tasked with preparing a sushi train for the judges, as well as the 15 other remaining contestants. Each had 150 minutes to produce five different Asian-inspired dishes, and cook 20 of each. In a blind tasting, Amina's Korean-inspired menu stood out to the judges, and she edged out Tracy to win Weekly Immunity. Emelia and Tracy joined the others in the Elimination Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0764 | “Episode 20” | Sunday, 10 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| All-In Home Delivery Elimination - All contestants except Amina participated in a two-round home delivery-themed elimination. The first round was a quiz where the contestants had to identify the name and country of origin for a variety of popular takeaway dishes. Ben U., Chris, Tessa and Tracy were the first to answer incorrectly, and were sent to the second round, in which they had to cook a dish that could withstand home delivery. Melissa returned to her house to judge the dishes after they had been delivered to her, while Jock and Andy judged the dishes in the MasterChef kitchen. All three judges were blown away by Ben U.'s nasi goreng, and Tessa's Southeast Indian snapper curry was acclaimed for its perfectly cooked fish. Tracy's Thai green chicken curry was also declared a standout dish, which meant Chris was eliminated. |
| Week 5 - (Twists Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0765 | “Episode 21” | Monday, 11 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Kitchen Switch Team Challenge - The judges announced that, this week, all challenges would start out normally, but that 'twists' would be introduced at unexpected times during the cook. The contestants were then split up into two teams and had to serve a three-course meal to 50 diners. Poh's Grey Team had one member more than Sarah T.'s Brown Team, so Hayden sat out the challenge. Halfway through the cook, the judges surprised the contestants by making the two teams swap kitchens. Each team had to then work with the elements that were being prepared by the other team, and could choose to either stick with the other team's original menu, update it, or scrap it and start from scratch. Later, the judges announced a second twist by revealing that several of the diners were vegetarian, forcing both teams to add vegetarian options to their protein-heavy menus. Both teams excelled, but the Grey Team's unbalanced mushroom sauce in their mains had bigger problems than the Brown Team's thick tortellini, costing them the win. The Grey Team was thus sent to the Pressure Test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0766 | “Episode 22” | Tuesday, 12 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Twisted Pressure Test: Darren Purchese's Passionfruit Pavlova - The Grey Team were given three hours to cook Darren Purchese's passionfruit pavlova dessert, designed to look like a simple pavlova on the outside but in reality composed of several complex interior elements. Many of the contestants struggled with the challenge but, with one hour left, the judges introduced a twist by taking away the contestants' recipes. Despite the difficult twist, Jess produced a near-perfect dish, with Reynold, Laura, Tracy, Callum and Sarah also receiving praise. Hayden, Poh and Amina not only struggled in the kitchen but also misfired and landed in the Bottom 3. The judges felt that all of their dishes had significant problems. However, for Amina, there were many things that none of the judges could look past and they were the broken meringue shell, mango mousse that didn't set, salted caramel that was overcooked, the glaze not being yellow and no panna cotta. Those flaws were enough to eliminate Amina. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0767 | “Episode 23” | Wednesday, 13 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Babushka Mystery Box - The contestants were given a Mystery Box containing scampi, wild rice, peanuts, shallots, turnips, Worcestershire sauce, duck leg breast and wing and mango. Midway into the cook, however, the judges delivered a mini Mystery Box to the contestants, and announced that they would need to incorporate whatever it contained into their dishes. The mini Box was found to include figs, as well as an even smaller Mystery Box that the contestants would be allowed to open 15 minutes later. The smaller Box was then revealed to contain lemon myrtle. Most of the contestants struggled to integrate the two new ingredients, but Poh, Sarah T., Reynold, Reece, and Simon all shone. The judges selected them to advance to the Immunity Challenge, sending the other contestants to the Weekly Elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0768 | “Episode 24” | Thursday, 14 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| 'Hot N Cold' Immunity Challenge - In a temperature-themed challenge, Poh, Reece, Reynold, Simon and Sarah T. were tasked with cooking a hot dish featuring a cold element. During the cook, the judges announced a twist by introducing Katy Perry as a surprise guest judge and revealing that the challenge was inspired by her song 'Hot N Cold', the show's theme song. Katy's surprise appearance distracted all of the contestants, particularly Reece, but all their dishes successfully met the brief. However, the judges found the textures and flavours of Reynold's dessert to be underwhelming, despite the sophisticated plating. In a close decision between Reece, Sarah T. and Poh, Katy picked Poh's duck rendang and coconut pandan lace crêpe as her favorite dish, praising its inventiveness and artistic flair. As a result, Poh was granted Weekly Immunity as the rest joined the others in the elimination.
MasterClass: Jock Zonfrillo, Khanh Ong, Michael Weldon and Jerry Mai - Jock demonstrated how to make an Apple Tarte Tatin with Brown Bread Ice Cream and Salted Apple Caramel. He also demonstrated how to make Triple Hog Corn 'n' Cheese. Khanh then provided a demo of how to French trim a lamb rack with a piece of string instead of a knife. Series 3 runner-up Michael Weldon returned to show the contestants how to reverse sear beef. Guest Chef Jerry Mai showed the contestants how to make a Sticky Tamarind Pork Hock with Pineapple Apple Salsa and Ban Tieu. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0769 | “Episode 25” | Sunday, 17 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| All-In Elimination: World Cuisines and Flavour Pairings - The judges announced that Ben U. had left the show for personal reasons and would not be returning. All the contestants except for Poh then headed into a two-round elimination challenge. In a twist, the first round was revealed to be a head-to-head duel, with each contestant facing off against their benchmate on an assigned cuisine. Simon beat Callum on French, Jess beat Tessa on Vietnamese, Emelia beat Laura on Japanese, Tracy beat Hayden on Chinese, Khanh beat Sarah T. on Italian, Reece beat Brendan on Spanish and Reynold beat Sarah C. on American. Although the judges were very impressed with Sarah C.'s buffalo wings, she was narrowly beaten by Reynold who won with his inventive, highly technical take on apple pie. All the losing contestants then faced the second round, where they could choose any one of five classic flavour pairings (apple and cinnamon, tomato and basil, ginger and lemongrass, walnut and date, and beetroot and horseradish) to highlight in their dish. Brendan, Tessa and Sarah Tiong all picked lemongrass and ginger, Callum chose apple and cinnamon, Laura chose to cook with tomato and basil, and Hayden and Sarah Clare both picked beetroot and horseradish. Tessa stunned the judges with her ginger/lemongrass bonito dish, and she was immediately declared safe with Brendan, Callum, Laura and Sarah Tiong. However, Sarah Clare and Hayden both produced lacklustre beetroot and horseradish dishes and landed in the Bottom 2. Sarah's tartare definitely celebrated beetroot but it was overly earthly and actually dominated her dish, and her tartare had a broken egg yolk. However, the judges were even more disappointed in Hayden's decision to showcase his flavour combination as a condiment rather than in a main element. Also, his beetroot and horseradish ketchup was a bit of a problem. As a result, he was eliminated from the competition. |
| Week 6 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0770 | “Episode 26” | Monday, 18 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Savoury and Sweet Team Challenge - For this week's service challenge, the contestants were asked to distribute themselves between two teams, with one cooking savory dishes and the other cooking sweet dishes. Matt Stone mentored Brendan's Yellow Team (Tessa, Simon, Khanh, Sarah Tiong, Brendan, Sarah Clare and Laura) in cooking a savoury three-course menu and Jo Barrett mentored Reece's Pink Team (Callum, Reynold, Poh, Reece, Jess, Emelia and Tracy) in cooking a sweet three-course menu. In the tasting, both teams had standout dishes, and the judges were impressed with the Pink Team's passion fruit yuzu chiboust and the Yellow Team's kangaroo, beetroot and berries dish. Both teams, however, also had their downsides. Reynold's mistake of using dark chocolate instead of white chocolate caused the Pink Team's cake to become too dry. The judges were also critical of the cooking of the Yellow Team's squid tentacles, and felt that the high quantity of tentacles in the dish caused it to become imbalanced. In a close decision, the judges chose the Pink Team as the winners, sending the Yellow Team to the Pressure Test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0771 | “Episode 27” | Tuesday, 19 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Peter Gunn's "Black Box" - The members of the Yellow Team were given 2 hours and 45 minutes to recreate Peter Gunn's "Black Box", a dessert designed to look like a simple black cube, but in reality being a tempered white chocolate shell containing 10 different intricate elements. Tessa and Laura amazed the judges by producing near-perfect replicas, with Khanh and Brendan also drawing praise. Most of Simon's white chocolate boxes collapsed, but he was able to salvage one unbroken box and save himself from elimination. However, Sarah C. and Sarah T. fell behind during the cook, and they weren't able to complete all their elements. With both of their missing elements, the judges had to decide based on which dish tasted closer to Peter's. In a close decision, Sarah Clare was sent home. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0772 | “Episode 28” | Wednesday, 20 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Shannon Martinez's Vegan Mystery Box - Chef Shannon Martinez arrived to set the Mystery Box challenge. As a renowned champion of vegan food, Shannon revealed that the challenge would involve no animal-based products. The Mystery Boxes were revealed to contain miniature kitchen gardens growing baby cos, radish, beetroots, asparagus, Dutch carrots, pencil leeks, petite capsicum, thyme, celaric, pine mushrooms, sweet potato and garlic. The usual pantry staples were also substituted with vegan alternatives(vegan salted butter, vegetable shortening, soy milk, vegan cream cheese, nutritional yeast, agar agar and aquafaba). The vegan restrictions proved challenging for several contestants, with Reynold and Laura receiving negative feedback. However, Jess and Simon impressed the judges with their celeriac dishes, while Poh was praised for cooking two flavourful dishes that complemented each other. In a close decision, Reece won the final spot in the Immunity Challenge, joining Jess, Simon and Poh. The rest were sent to the Elimination Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0773 | “Episode 29” | Thursday, 21 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Comfort Food Immunity Challenge - Simon, Reece, Poh and Jess were faced with a two-round Immunity Challenge centering on comfort food. In the first round, the contestants were required to revamp instant noodles into a restaurant-quality dish. Despite failing to create the crispy noodle topping for her khao soi dish, Jess impressed the judges with her flavours. Poh also succeeded with her elaborate seafood noodles, which incorporated five different types of protein. Poh and Jess advanced to the second round, sending Reece and Simon to the elimination. Jess and Poh then went head-to-head cooking their ideal comfort food. Poh's nasi lemak and otak-otak impressed the judges, but Jess's Thai red duck curry with roti canai was deemed flawless. Jess then became the first contestant to win Weekly Immunity twice, as Poh joined the elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0774 | “Episode 30” | Sunday, 24 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| All-In Kingfish Elimination - Chef Josh Niland set a two-round elimination challenge themed around fish. All the contestants aside from Jess were shown several different types of fish, and had to take turns identifying them. Khanh, Emelia, Laura, Tracy and Reece were the first five to guess incorrectly, moving into the second round. Josh demonstrated how to cut a kingfish in a manner that minimized waste. The five contestants then each chose a different cut from the kingfish to use in a dish. Khanh attempted to redeem himself by recreating the canh chua dish that resulted in his elimination in the Series 10 semifinal. His risk paid off when the judges deemed his dish a standout, alongside Laura's kingfish tail with pipi broth. Reece, Tracy and Emelia, however, all overcooked their fish, but, while Emelia's sauce was too salty, the sloppy presentation in Tracy's dish sealed her fate. Tracy was thus sent home, finalising the Top 12. |
| Week 7 - (Best Dish Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0775 | “Episode 31” | Monday, 25 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Two-Dish Team Relay Challenge - The judges announced that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, contestants would need to begin practicing social distancing and taking heightened sanitation measures. In order to allow the contestants time to adapt to these new changes, the pressure test was cancelled, two contestants would be allowed to gain Weekly Immunity from the All-In Elimination Challenge at the end of the week and one contestant was be eliminated. The contestants were then split into three teams of four and competed in a relay challenge, with the winning team advancing to the first Immunity Challenge of the week. Each contestant was given 20 minutes to contribute to the team's dish, but, unlike the usual relay challenge, each team needed to produce two dishes rather than one. The Red Team (Reynold, Laura, Tessa and Reece) received negative feedback for the oily, unrefined fish in their main and the unset panna cotta in their dessert. The Blue Team (Sarah T., Poh, Jess and Callum) were criticised for their simplistic, unoriginal lamb roast dish, but praised for their passionfruit ice cream dessert, particularly Jess's coconut foam element. The Green Team (Emelia, Brendan, Simon and Khanh) hit a major hurdle when they overcooked their octopus, but Brendan salvaged the dish with five minutes to go by cooking prawns as a replacement. His effort paid off, with the judges declaring the dish an overall success, alongside their blueberry galette dessert. Therefore, the Green Team won the challenge and advanced to compete for the first Weekly Immunity spot. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0776 | “Episode 32” | Tuesday, 26 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Pressure Test: Kirsten Tibballs' "Meljito" - For the first Immunity Challenge of the week, Kirsten Tibballs arrived to set a Pressure Test for the Green Team. Khanh, Emelia, Brendan and Simon were tasked with recreating her "Meljito", a white chocolate and watermelon dessert designed to resemble a watermelon cocktail. Simon, Khanh and Brendan all struggled with the highly technical dish, while Emelia breezed through the recipe due to her familiarity with confectionery techniques. All four of them received praise, but Khanh and Simon both botched the dessert's white chocolate casing. Brendan's dish impressed the judges despite its slightly unrefined presentation, but Emelia's replication was deemed faultless. Therefore, she won the first Weekly Immunity spot, and would skip the rest of the week's challenges. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0777 | “Episode 33” | Wednesday, 27 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Memories Mystery Box - All the contestants aside from Emelia, who had already won Weekly Immunity, opened their Mystery Boxes to find family photos from their childhoods. They then had to cook dishes inspired by the memories shown in the photos, with the Top 4 dishes sending their makers into the second Immunity Challenge of the week. Many of the contestants grew emotional upon seeing their photographs, but all eleven contestants produced outstanding dishes. Due to the quality of food produced in the challenge, the judges announced that they would be selecting a Top 5, rather than a Top 4, to move into the Immunity Challenge. Ultimately, it was Brendan, Jess, Khanh, Poh and Reynold who won the chance to compete for the second Weekly Immunity spot. The other contestants then joined the All-In Elimination Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0778 | “Episode 34” | Thursday, 28 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Fairy Tales Immunity Challenge - For the second Immunity Challenge of the week, Khanh, Brendan, Jess, Poh and Reynold were given 75 minutes to build a dish around a classic fairy tale (Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, The Ugly Duckling, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs). Jess picked Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Poh picked The Ugly Duckling, Reynold picked Alice in Wonderland and both Brendan and Khanh picked Beauty and the Beast. The five contestants took different approaches to interpreting their chosen stories, with varying degrees of success. Brendan missed the brief of the challenge, while Jess and Poh both had technical errors in their dishes. Khanh's kladdkaka received positive reviews, but it was no match for Reynold's technically perfect "Down the Rabbit Hole" dessert. "Down the Rabbit Hole" was declared to be a "clear winner" and Reynold joined Emelia with Weekly Immunity. The other contestants were then sent to the All-In Elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0779 | “Episode 35” | Sunday, 31 May 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| All-In Elimination: Unusual Flavours - All contestants other than Emelia and Reynold, who had Weekly Immunity, faced a two-round elimination challenge. In the first round, the contestants were given 75 minutes to cook a dish incorporating two different flavours of ice cream, with the only requirement being that the flavour combinations were unusual and inventive. Tessa, Reece and Khanh received rave reviews, with Laura and Sarah T. also impressing. This left Brendan, Jess, Callum, Simon and Poh, who put up the least impressive ice creams, had to cook in the second round, where they were given 60 minutes to cook a dish highlighting one of five unusual flavour pairings (lamb and coffee, basil and peanut butter, dark chocolate and soy sauce, mustard and mint, and carrot and raspberry). Simon chose to do lamb and coffee, Brendan chose to cook with basil and peanut butter, Jess chose carrot and raspberry and both Poh and Callum picked mustard and mint. Poh, Callum and Brendan's dishes were impressive, but Jess' dessert and Simon's dish received mixed feedback. While Simon's lamb was cooked perfectly, the other flavours were too far down except for the coffee which dominated too much and made his dish out of balance. On the other hand, Jess chose to feature what Jock thought was the most difficult pairing: carrots and raspberries, and while she received praise for the concept of her carrot and raspberry-inspired dessert, the dish tasted more of red wine and orange than carrot and raspberry. Ultimately, the judges felt that Jess had missed the brief, and she was eliminated. |
| Week 8 - (Heats Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0780 | “Episode 36” | Monday, 1 June 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Heat 1: Citrus Invention Test - This week was structured as a series of 'heats', where, again, only one contestant will be eliminated. The eleven contestants were split into three groups to compete across three heats, with the winner of each heat advancing to the Immunity Challenge. Brendan, Callum and Reynold competed in the first heat, a two-round Invention Test based on citrus. In the first round, they were given 60 minutes to cook a sweet or savoury dish celebrating a citrus fruit of their choice. Brendan chose navel oranges, Reynold chose limes, and Callum chose mandarins. All three received positive feedback, but Reynold and Callum advanced to the second round, sending Brendan to the All-In Elimination Challenge. Callum and Reynold were then given 60 minutes to cook a second dish highlighting the same citrus fruit, but because both had chosen to cook desserts in the first round, they now needed to cook savoury dishes. Reynold's dish was marred by technical errors, but the judges were blown away by Callum's mandarin glazed duck with noodles. Callum then advanced to the Immunity Challenge as Reynold joined the elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0781 | “Episode 37” | Tuesday, 2 June 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Heat 2: Coşkun Uysal's Meat Dessert Challenge - Chef Coşkun Uysal arrived as a guest judge to set the second heat for Khanh, Tessa, Reece and Emelia. He showed the contestants his tavuk göğsü, a traditional Turkish pudding dessert containing chicken meat. The contestants were then given 75 minutes to cook a dessert highlighting a protein, using the tavuk göğsü as inspiration. Tessa, Khanh and Emelia all received rave reviews, but Reece's dessert suffered from technical errors. In a close decision, Khanh's anchovy dessert beat Emelia's fig and pig dish and secured him the win. Khanh thus advanced to the Immunity Challenge as Emelia, Reece and Tessa joined the All-In Elimination Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0782 | “Episode 38” | Wednesday, 3 June 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Heat 3: Lotto Mystery Box - For the third and final heat, Laura, Poh, Sarah T. and Simon faced a special Mystery Box challenge, with the ingredients to be selected at random. The judges used a lottery drum to draw random numbers, with each number corresponding to a specific ingredient. This resulted in a Mystery Box containing kale, plums, lemon, champagne, kipfler potatoes, durian, grapes and brown onions. All four contestants struggled with the lack of protein in the Mystery Box, with Simon and Sarah T. both receiving negative feedback. Laura impressed with her cheese and potato dish, but it was no match for the flavours in Poh's lemon sponge cake. Poh then advanced to the Immunity Challenge as Laura, Simon and Sarah T. joined the All-In Elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0783 | “Episode 39” | Thursday, 4 June 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Fast-Track to the Top 10 - Poh, Callum and Khanh competed for a fast-track to the Top 10 in a challenge structured as a mock-up of the Grand Finale. In the first round, the contestants were given 15 minutes to make a toastie. Poh's fruit bread toastie was acclaimed, and she took the lead with 25/30, as Khanh scored 24/30 and Callum 23/30. In the second round, the contestants were given 20 minutes to cook a quick dinner meal. Khanh's banh xeo was praised, and he closed the gap on Poh by scoring 29/30, against her 28/30. Callum fell further behind by scoring 26/30. For the third and final round, the contestants were given 30 minutes to cook a dessert. Despite being the underdog, Callum drew high praises for his gin and lime mousse, scoring a full 30/30. Poh and Khanh scored 22/30 and 18/30 respectively. Callum's comeback gave him a final score of 79/90, ahead of Poh's 75/90 and Khanh's 71/90. Callum then won Weekly Immunity for a second time and secured his place in the Top 10, as Poh and Khanh joined the others in the elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0784 | “Episode 40” | Sunday, 7 June 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| All-In Elimination: Aussie Classics - All contestants aside from Callum competed in a two-round elimination challenge themed around iconic Australian dishes. For the first round, the contestants were given 90 minutes to produce their rendition of a meat pie with sauce. Poh, Brendan, Laura and Emelia produced the strongest dishes, with Reece and Khanh also scraping through to safety. This left Reynold, Tessa, Sarah T. and Simon to fall through to the second round. They were then given 1 hour to cook any dish that represented Australia for them. Reynold's Cherry Ripe-inspired dessert received rave reviews, with Tessa and Sarah T. also receiving overall praise. However, Simon's broccoli was panned for being overcooked and soggy. He was thus eliminated, finalizing the Top 10. |
| Week 9 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0785 | “Episode 41” | Monday, 8 June 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Blind Pairing Team Challenge - The Top 10 were split into pairs and given 75 minutes to cook identical dishes, but with a wall dividing each pair. The Green Team (Tessa and Reynold) were assigned sweet potato as their hero ingredient, the Red Team (Emelia and Callum) had fennel, the Grey Team (Sarah T. and Brendan) had celeriac, the Blue Team (Laura and Khanh) had peas, and the Brown Team (Poh and Reece) had corn. All five teams received positive feedback, but the Blue Team's dishes were declared the best in terms of both flavour and similarity, with the Red Team coming in at a close second. The Green Team were then also declared safe, leaving the Brown Team and Grey Team to enter the Pressure Test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0786 | “Episode 42” | Tuesday, 9 June 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| No-Recipe Pressure Test: Benjamin Cooper's Jungle Curry - Chef Benjamin Cooper arrived to set a Pressure Test for Sarah T., Brendan, Reece and Poh. The contestants were given 90 minutes to replicate his jungle curry dish, but without a recipe. Instead, they were each given a sample dish for comparison to taste throughout the cook. Reece excelled, and, despite his flawed rotis, produced the closest replication of the curry. Brendan also received unanimous praise for his rendition, leaving Sarah T. and Poh to face the judges' verdict. Poh's curry was criticised for its thick consistency and caramelised taste, but Sarah T., who had accidentally burned most of her curry paste, ended up with a watery, insipid broth. This meant that her curry was furthest from the original, and she was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0787 | “Episode 43” | Wednesday, 10 June 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Smoking Mystery Box - The contestants opened their Mystery Boxes to find smoking guns, and were given 1 hour to produce a dish featuring smoke as a key component. Reece, Emelia and Laura all blew the judges away with their desserts, and advanced to the Immunity Challenge. In a split decision, Poh's Sichuan pepper-crusted duck beat Tessa's smoked snapper to win her the final spot in the Top 4. The rest of the contestants then joined the weekly elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0788 | “Episode 44” | Thursday, 11 June 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Sudden-Death Pumpkin Immunity Challenge - Laura, Poh, Reece and Emelia faced a sudden-death knockout challenge, where they were each given one pumpkin with which to cook across three rounds. Each round lasted 30 minutes, and, in each round, the contestant with the worst dish would fall out of the running for Weekly Immunity. Poh was knocked out in the first round, followed by Laura in the second round, leaving Reece and Emelia to go head-to-head in the final round. Both produced mediocre dishes, but the judges felt that Reece's pumpkin and eggplant panang curry was marginally better than Emelia's pumpkin and créme fraiche mille-feuille. Therefore, Reece won Weekly Immunity, sending the rest to join the All-In Elimination Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0789 | “Episode 45” | Sunday, 14 June 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| All-In Elimination: Street Food and Fine Dining - Chef Charlie Carrington arrived to set a two-round elimination challenge for all the contestants aside from Reece. For the first round, the contestants were split into pairs and given 75 minutes to cook two street food dishes from a given cuisine. The Orange Team (Laura and Emelia) were assigned Indian, the Yellow Team (Tessa and Brendan) got Mexican, the Brown Team (Poh and Callum) got Lebanese, and the Red Team (Khanh and Reynold) got Chinese. The Yellow Team nailed the challenge and received universal acclaim for their dishes, with the Brown Team also receiving somewhat positive feedback. However, the Red Team's effort was deemed mediocre, and the Orange Team's dishes were marred by technical errors. As a result, the Red and Orange Teams were sent to the second round, where they were given one hour to cook a fine dining dish from a cuisine of their choosing. Reynold's confit blue-eye and Emelia's Paris-Brest petits fours both received rave reviews and were declared safe. Laura and Khanh were criticised for serving unrefined, rustic dishes and missing the brief of the challenge. Laura's coq au vin was quail and cognac rather than chicken and wine but her flavours celebrated the classic French dish and her quail was perfectly cooked. Khanh's gà kho was a great Vietnamese dish but the dish lacked finesse and the cooking of his quail was less than perfect. As a result, he was eliminated. |
| Week 10 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0790 | “Episode 46” | Monday, 15 June 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Golden Mystery Box - The Top 8 were greeted with a fireworks display and a golden Mystery Box, containing golden raisins, golden Swiss Chard, golden beetroots, golden trout, golden syrup, gold leaf, Golden Delicious apples and gold mustard. Brendan and Tessa received high praises for their trout dishes, as did Reece and Callum for their desserts. Therefore, they were declared the Top 4 and advanced to the Immunity Challenge, leaving the rest to join the weekly elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0791 | “Episode 47” | Tuesday, 16 June 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Time or Ingredients Immunity Challenge - Tessa, Brendan, Reece and Callum were given up to 90 minutes to gather their ingredients from between 1 and 11 different hidden pantries, with a new pantry being revealed every 5 minutes. Reece was the first to begin cooking, and had 70 minutes to cook with pantry staples, beef and bones, gin and juniper, roots and alliums, and orchard fruits. Tessa started second, and had 60 minutes to cook with the addition of leafy greens and grains. Brendan went next, and had 50 minutes to cook with the addition of herbs and quail. Callum was the last to start, and had only 45 minutes to cook with the addition of shellfish. His mussel escabeche was praised, but he was pipped to the post by Reece, whose gin tart won rave reviews. Reece thus won Weekly Immunity for the second straight week, sending Callum, Tessa and Brendan to the All-In Elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0792 | “Episode 48” | Sunday, 21 June 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| All-In Elimination: One-Inch Cube Challenge - All the contestants other than Reece were faced with the One-Inch Cube Taste Test, where they were blindfolded and tasked with identifying a variety of ingredients shaped into 1-inch cubes. Tessa mistook celery for celeriac, Reynold mistook ham for turkey, Brendan mistook lime for pomelo, and Emelia mistook kohlrabi for daikon. Because they had guessed incorrectly, they were sent into the second round. The judges then revealed five different pantries, each showcasing one of the five basic tastes: bitter, salty, sweet, sour and umami. Brendan, Tessa, Emelia and Reynold were given one hour to use at least one ingredient from each pantry to create a dish that balanced all five basic tastes. Tessa delivered the dish of the day with her scarlet prawn crudo, leaving Reynold, Brendan and Emelia in jeopardy. Normally, the judges love umami but today was all about balance. Unfortunately, Brendan's dish elevated umami way too far above the others. Ultimately, the judges felt that Brendan had missed the brief, and he was sent home. |
| Week 11 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0793 | “Episode 49” | Monday, 22 June 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Two-Dish Everything Box - The contestants were presented with a Mystery Box containing 8 ingredients (milk, wattle seeds, thyme, hazelnuts, parsnip, ribeye beef, caulini (a broccolini and cauliflower hybrid) and prickly pear). They were given 75 minutes to cook a sweet dish and a savoury dish using all eight ingredients across the two dishes. Tessa mistakenly left her parsnip element off the plate and failed to meet the requirements of the challenge, despite receiving high praises for both her dishes. The performances of the contestants were a mixed bag this time around but Callum, Laura and Poh all did well and were therefore declared the Top 3, advancing to the Immunity Challenge. The other contestants then joined the All-In Elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0794 | “Episode 50” | Tuesday, 23 June 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Alphabet Immunity Challenge - Laura, Poh and Callum were shown 26 cloches, each containing an ingredient for a different letter of the alphabet. They were each given 7 turns to pick a letter and identify the corresponding ingredient; if identified correctly, the ingredient would be added to their pantry. Callum got all of his guesses correct, and ended up with rabbit, quark, gochujang, sawtooth coriander, eggplant, kangaroo and nashi pears. Laura also got all of her guesses correct, and ended up with halva, longan fruit, Moreton Bay bugs, amaranth, watercress, flax seeds and Jerusalem artichokes. Poh misidentified caraway seeds and barberries, but successfully guessed persimmon, duck, tarragon, octopus and yuzu. Despite having a cohesive set of ingredients, Callum was roundly criticised for overthinking and overcomplicating his dish, which was deemed a "step backwards". Poh, however, excelled despite her limited pantry, but was narrowly edged out by Laura, whose brown butter bugs were declared the superior dish. Laura thus won Weekly Immunity as Poh and Callum joined the others in the elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0795 | “Episode 51” | Sunday, 28 June 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| All-In Elimination: Classics and Novelties - All the contestants aside from Laura faced a two-round elimination challenge, with the first round focusing on culinary classics. They were shown a list of classic dishes with corresponding cooking times, and were asked to pick a dish to cook without modifying its original recipe. Emelia and Reynold chose to cook bombe Alaskas in 90 minutes. Poh and Reece chose to cook crème caramels, Tessa chose to cook fish & chips, and Callum chose to cook a chocolate soufflé, all in 60 minutes. Emelia, Reece and Callum all excelled and were declared safe. However, Poh's créme caramel failed to set, Reynold's sponge was thick and dry, and Tessa's tartare sauce did not contain capers. As a result, they were sent to the second round and given 75 minutes to produce a novel dish that the judges had never seen before. Poh had the best dish of the challenge with her inventive takes on kuih koci and rempah udang, and was declared safe. Reynold chose to cook a Sagittarius B2-inspired dessert tasting of rum and raspberries and his sorbet was light bright and amazing, but his mousse element suffered from serious technical errors. Tessa's Indian-style tacos were praised and delicious but the overall flavours distracted from the flavour of the fish and disrupted the balance of the dish. With both dishes had issues, the judges had to decide based on which of these two did a better job than the other by referring back to the brief they looking for something they've never seen before. Reynold chose to meet the brief with his presentation while Tessa chose to meet the brief with her fusion of Mexican ideas and Indian flavours. Unfortunately, the judges felt that her smokey Kashmiri chili hot sauce and pineapple salsa not only left Mexican flavours dominating the dish, but also tasted more Mexican rather than Indian, thus making the dish more classic than novel. In a close decision, Tessa was sent home for missing the brief of the challenge. |
| Week 12 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0796 | “Episode 52” | Monday, 29 June 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Rubik's Cube Mystery Box - The contestants opened their Mystery Boxes to find Rubik's Cubes, and were given 75 minutes to cook a dish using one of the six colors on the Cube as inspiration. All six fared well, but the most-positively received dishes were Poh's red-inspired Nyonya chicken curry and Laura's white-inspired yoghurt and bay leaf dessert. In a split decision, Callum's orange-inspired persimmon and kakadu plum dessert lost to Reynold's green-inspired matcha dessert, a redacted version of his Series 8 Pressure Test dish "Moss". Poh, Reynold and Laura thus advanced to the Immunity Challenge as the rest were sent to the weekly elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0797 | “Episode 53” | Tuesday, 30 June 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Two-Dish Lucky Dip Immunity Challenge - Reynold, Laura and Poh entered the MasterChef kitchen to find a vast arrangement of cloches containing hidden ingredients. They were told to choose any two at random, and highlight one of their assigned ingredients in a savoury dish, and the other in a sweet dish. However, if they were dissatisfied with one of their ingredients, they could decline it and choose a third cloche. Reynold ended up with madeira and fennel, but gave up his fennel and received dates instead. Laura ended up with red miso and vanilla beans, and chose to keep both. Poh ended up with bergamot and ruby grapefruit, but opted to decline her bergamot, receiving olives instead. They were then given 90 minutes to cook the two dishes. During the challenge, Reynold overcooked the quail for his savoury dish, and was forced to serve an incomplete dish consisting only of shiitake mushrooms and date purée. However, his sweet dish, a chocolate brownie with madeira gelato, received high praise, and he edged Laura out to win the challenge. He was thus granted Weekly Immunity for the second time as Laura and Poh joined the rest in the All-In Elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0798 | “Episode 54” | Sunday, 5 July 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| All-In Pressure Test: Phil Wood's Potato Duchess - Chef Phil Wood arrived to set a Pressure Test for Laura, Emelia, Callum, Poh and Reece. In the first round, the contestants were given 75 minutes to recreate Phil's potato duchess with shiitake, cauliflower and salmon roe. Laura and Emelia were the only ones to replicate the dish successfully, and they were declared safe, while Callum, Reece and Poh all struggled and landed in the second round. They were then given 75 minutes to produce a dish highlighting either potatoes, mushrooms or cauliflower, the key ingredients from the Pressure Test dish. Callum aced the challenge, drawing rave reviews for his mushroom and bonito broth with buckwheat noodles. Reece also received positive feedback for his potato stack dessert. Poh, however, struggled again, and while her dumplings were elegant to look at, her culurgiones were raw and her sauce was rushed. She was eliminated, finalising the Top 5. |
| Week 13 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0799 | “Episode 55” | Monday, 6 July 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Terrarium Mystery Box - The contestants opened their Mystery Boxes to find a glass terrarium, and were given 75 minutes to cook a dish inspired by nature. At their disposal were the usual pantry, the garden and an additional nature-inspired pantry unveiled by the judges as inspiration. All five went on to receive positive feedback, but the judges chose Callum's autumn-inspired dessert, Laura's mushroom tortellini and Reynold's mushroom-shaped dessert as the Top 3 dishes. As a result, they advanced into the final Immunity Challenge of the season, as Emelia and Reece joined the All-In Elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0800 | “Episode 56” | Tuesday, 7 July 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| "No Rules" Immunity Challenge - For the final Immunity Challenge of the season, the judges informed Reynold, Laura and Callum that there was no challenge brief, and that they could cook any dish they liked in a time limit agreed by them as a group. They decided on two hours as the duration of the challenge. Laura cooked a seafood snack platter designed to look like pebbles and driftwood, Callum cooked a chicken liver parfait with Davidson plum gel, and Reynold cooked a dessert resembling the Golden Snitch from the Harry Potter series. All three dishes received rave reviews, but the judges were particularly impressed with the technique, creativity and flavour in Reynold's dish. As a result, Reynold won Weekly Immunity for the second week running, and became the only contestant in the season to win Weekly Immunity three times. Reynold was thus fast-tracked to Finals Week as Laura and Callum joined the elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0801 | “Episode 57” | Sunday, 12 July 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| All-In Elimination: Four-Course Service - All contestants other than Reynold faced a service elimination challenge, with Matt Stone, Jo Barrett, Shannon Martinez, Peter Gunn, Darren Purchese and Kirsten Tibballs all joining the judges as the guests of the service. Each contestant was assigned one of four courses, with Reece cooking vegetables, Emelia fish, Laura meat, and Callum dessert. They then had 2 hours to cook their respective dishes for the 3 judges and the 6 guests. Emelia and Laura produced standout dishes and were the first to be declared safe. However, Callum overcomplicated his dessert, despite aiming to create a simple dish. Reece was criticized for producing an overly simplistic dish that was deemed uninventive. Because his dish as whole lacked seasoning and cohesion, Reece was eliminated just shy of Finals Week. |
| Week 14 - (Finals Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0802 | “Episode 58” | Monday, 13 July 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Gordon Ramsay's Mystery Box - Gordon Ramsay returned via live stream to set the final Mystery Box challenge for the season, with the best dish fast-tracking its maker to the Semi-Final. The contestants were given bream, scallops, Cornish rhubarb, strawberries, mortadella, cabbage, paprika and Pimm's. Additionally, each contestant was allowed to choose a single ingredient from the garden to add to their pantry. With 75 minutes to cook their dishes, Reynold and Emelia both impressed the judges. Reynold's bream chawanmushi received unanimously positive feedback, but the judges were blown away by the technique in Emelia's compressed choux with strawberry and rhubarb. Emelia's dish was deemed a true standout, winning her Immunity from the next day's All-In Elimination and securing her spot in the Semi-Final. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0803 | “Episode 59” | Tuesday, 14 July 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| All-In Elimination: Ordinary or Extraordinary - For the final All-In Elimination of the series, Callum, Reynold and Laura were shown two pantries: an "ordinary" pantry containing everyday ingredients and an "extraordinary" pantry containing luxurious, expensive ingredients. In the first round, they were given 75 minutes to cook a dish using the pantry of their choosing, with the catch being that the two contestants moving to the second round would then need to use the pantry that they hadn't chosen for the first round. All three chose to use to the extraordinary pantry for the first round, and went on to receive rave reviews for their dishes. However, it was Reynold's barbequed bonito that won, sending him to join Emelia in the Semi-Final. This left Laura and Callum to go head-to-head the second round, where they both had to use the ordinary pantry to cook another dish in 75 minutes. Laura impressed the judges with her simple but perfectly executed strawberries and cream dessert, while Callum's coconut-poached snapper drew high praises for its flavours. However, his fish was slightly overcooked and had a mushy texture. As a result, Callum was sent home, leaving Laura to secure the last spot in the Semi-Final. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0804 | “Episode 60” | Sunday, 19 July 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Semi-Final Pressure Test: Martin Benn's "Toffee Apple" - For the semi-final of the series, chef Martin Benn arrived to set a pressure test for the Top 3. They were given 3 hours and 45 minutes to recreate his intricate "Toffee Apple" dessert, with 5 minutes to plate the dish prior to the tasting. Emelia sailed through the 113-step recipe and delivered the dish of the day, with Benn praising her dish as one he would gladly serve at his own restaurant. She was the first to be declared safe, with the decision then coming down to Laura and Reynold. Laura's apple element was misshapen and more closely resembled a pear, but her flavours and textures perfectly matched those of the original. Reynold's dish had the most vivid colours of the three, but his apple element was too small and his flavours were out of balance. The judges unanimously agreed that Reynold had failed to meet the mark in terms of taste, and he was eliminated in 3rd place, sending Laura to face Emelia in the Grand Finale. |
| Week 15 - (Grand Finale) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0805 | “Episode 61” | Monday, 20 July 2020 |
| Synopsis: |
| Grand Finale: Three-Course Dinner Service - Emelia and Laura faced off in a three-course service challenge, in which they had to serve an entrée, main and dessert to the three judges, as well as most of their fellow contestants. With four hours to prepare all three courses, both Emelia and Laura faced hurdles, with Emelia struggling to pressure-cook her beef in time and Laura burning her hand, requiring medical attention. Despite these difficulties, both excelled in the service. Emelia chose to serve a menu inspired by classic French techniques and flavours, while Laura chose to showcase Indigenous Australian ingredients. Emelia's seared scallop entrée and Laura's seared bonito entrée both received rave reviews in the tasting. Similarly, for the mains, Emelia's beef short rib and Laura's Wessex Saddleback pork were both well received. Prior to the dessert course, the judges found it impossible to split the two finalists, since both entrées and both mains were perfect. Laura then mistakenly left her freezer door open, causing her Jerusalem artichoke gelato to become icy. As a result, her dessert suffered from textural issues, whereas Emelia's pistachio financier with raspberry and Davidson plum sorbet had no issues. The judges declared that, having served three faultless courses, Emelia had produced the better menu, thus winning the 'MasterChef' title of 2020.
Winner Announced - Emelia Jackson was announced as the winner of the twelfth season of MasterChef Australia, receiving a prize of $250,000. Laura Sharrad was awarded $30,000 as runner-up, while Reynold Poernomo was given $20,000 for finishing in third place. |
2021 - Complete Season 13
| Week 1 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0806 | “Episode 01” | Mon 19 Apr 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Series Premiere: Auditions Part 1 - The thirteenth series auditions introduced the applicants cooking their signature dish within 75 minutes to secure entry to the Top 24. Nineteen contestants received aprons with three "yes" votes from the judges and sixteen second-chance contestants, with one or two "yes" votes, were given the opportunity to cook again in the second audition for the five remaining spots. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0807 | “Episode 02” | Tue 20 Apr 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Auditions Part 2 - The hopefuls chose between one of two pantries: to cook a dish in 90 minutes with less ingredients or 45 minutes with more ingredients, to secure one of the five remaining places in the Top 24. The top five dishes were produced by Aaron, Wynona, Katrina and Elise (choosing ingredients from the big pantry), and Conor (who chose from the small pantry). |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0808 | “Episode 03” | Wed 21 Apr 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Top 24 Mystery Box Challenge - Emelia Jackson, the winner of season 12, returned to set a mystery box challenge for the Top 24 to cook in 75 minutes to win one of three immunity pins. Therese, Elise and Wynona were the Top 3, and they won the immunity pins with their chocolate Sichuan ice cream with pistachio, quail with ricotta and silverbeet, and pistachio ice cream with cherry granita and saltbush, respectively, as well as exemption from the next elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0809 | “Episode 04” | Thu 22 Apr 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Chicken and Egg Elimination Challenge - A two-round elimination challenge tasked the remaining 21 contestants with highlighting either a chicken or an egg, with the bottom five having 75 minutes to make another dish with the other ingredient. Depinder, Eric and Justin's dishes were praised, while Amir, Dan, Linda, Trent and YoYo served flawed dishes and were sent to the second round. Trent's chicken dish was overpowered with too much lemon myrtle, and with the four other dishes winning over the judges, it was Trent who found himself at the bottom, and the first contestant eliminated from the competition. |
| Week 2 Superstars Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0810 | “Episode 05” | Sun 25 Apr 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Cryptic Elimination Challenge: Nigella Lawson's Toasted Marshmallow and Rhubarb Cake - Nigella Lawson set the 23 contestants' next elimination challenge, in which they had to identify eighteen biscuit flavours; the five cooks with the fewest correct answers were sent to the second round. Brent, Conor, Maja, Tom and YoYo had to decipher Nigella's detailed description of her dish, a marshmallow and rhubarb cake, inspired by her cookbook Cook, Eat, Repeat, and had 90 minutes to recreate it. Brent delivered the dish of the day, with Tom, Maja and Conor also declared safe, but YoYo's cake was off: the meringue was under-whipped and the rhubarb was underbaked, forcing her out of the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0811 | “Episode 06” | Mon 26 Apr 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Flavour Combinations Team Challenge - In their first team challenge, contestants were tasked by Yotam Ottolenghi with creating a three-course meal highlighting three of his flavour combinations: numbing oil, chipotle peanuts and fenugreek marinade. Aaron, Conor and Elise, the captains of the grey, orange and brown teams, respectively, led the first groups of three cooks to draft each course in thirty minutes before the remaining three cooks finished the meal. In the tasting, the brown team served a thawed dessert, while the orange team had a poor element in their main. However, both teams were saved after the grey team served overcooked chicken skewers and an unnecessary element in their dessert, which sent them to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0812 | “Episode 07” | Tue 27 Apr 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Cheese and Bread Elimination Challenge - Massimo Bottura gave the losing team members 60 minutes to make their take on mac 'n' cheese, with the three best dishes declared safe. Dan, Katrina, Pete and Tom were sent to the second round, in which they had 75 minutes to make a dish featuring bread. Tom and Pete stood out with their bread desserts, while Dan also impressed with his savoury bread dish. Katrina opted to bake an orange bread and butter pudding with crème anglaise and almond crumb. While it was quite delicious, she failed to highlight the key ingredient because of the flavours of orange and raisins actually dominated throughout the entire dish. Overall, the judges felt that Katrina had missed the brief and she was the third contestant to be eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0813 | “Episode 08” | Wed 28 Apr 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Clare Smyth's Michelin Mystery Box Challenge - In the Mystery Box Challenge, the contestants had 75 minutes to make a dish using ingredients selected by Clare Smyth: scampi, peas, wasabi, brandy, lemon, chives, tomatoes and rose geranium, inspired by one of her dishes. Aaron's lasagna, Depinder's bombe Alaska, Conor's koulourakia, Linda's tortellini and Pete's scampi with tomato tartare were the top five dishes and won the opportunity to compete for immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0814 | “Episode 09” | Thu 29 Apr 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Breakfast Ice Cream Immunity Challenge - Heston Blumenthal set an immunity challenge for Aaron, Conor, Depinder, Linda and Pete, in which they had 75 minutes to make an ice cream dessert highlighting one of five traditional breakfast ingredients: avocado for Depinder, bacon for Pete, corn flakes for Aaron, tea for Linda and Vegemite for Conor. Although Depinder's avocado ice cream received rave reviews, it was Pete that won immunity with his clever use of bacon in his savoury ice cream dish. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0815 | “Episode 10” | Sun 2 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Restaurant Dish Elimination Challenge - The contestants had 90 minutes to make a dish that could be featured on the menu of the restaurant of one of three returning MasterChef alumni: Poh Ling Yeow, Callum Hann, and Reynold Poernomo. During the last 30 seconds, Elise and Wynona played their immunity pins, while Aaron, Kishwar and Scott stood out as the Top 3. Minoli, Conor, Maja and Tommy all had issues with their dishes. This challenge was about designing a dish that will fit on the menu of Poh's, Callum's or Reynold's, make whatever that dish is delicious and most importantly executing perfectly. Attempting to cook a sous vide steak with yuzu gel, Minoli scrapped the first dish and replaced it with a sesame crusted steak dish with yuzu dressing and pickled radish. The dish lacked clarity and the imbalance of flavours overpowered the steak. Conor's tiramisu cake was dry, Maja's fresh strawberry mille feuille was disjointed and Tommy's salmon was overcooked. The judges agreed that while the bottom 4 missed one or two of those marks today, only one dish failed to meet the brief and also missed all three. As a result, Minoli became the fourth contestant to be eliminated. |
| Week 3 Learning Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0816 | “Episode 11” | Mon 3 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Six Course Meal Race Team Challenge - Brent was exposed to a COVID-19 hot spot and was stood down for six days. Therefore, he was sent to next week's pressure test. Each member of three teams had to cook one dish of a six-course meal within the time allocated: 8 minutes for mayonnaise, a fish dish in 15 minutes, 30 minutes for a steak meal, a pasta dish in 45 minutes, a curry in 60 minutes and 75 minutes for dessert. The blue team won with three points for the pasta, the curry and the dessert while the green team scored two points for the mayonnaise and the steak. The purple team only scored one point for the fish dish and they were sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0817 | “Episode 12” | Tue 4 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Jock Zonfrillo's Two Tart Pressure Test - Conor, Eric, Kishwar, Maja, Sabina and Therese had three hours to recreate one of Jock Zonfrillo's two tarts: his savoury yabby curry tart or his sweet chocolate ginger salted caramel tart. Therese, Conor and Eric all succeeded, while Kishwar, Sabina and Maja failed to get their tart shells out in time and faced elimination. But it was Maja's burnt crumb and underbalanced caramel that sealed her elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0818 | “Episode 13” | Wed 5 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Staple Ingredient Box Challenge - The remaining contestants had 75 minutes to make a dish using the staple ingredients and two ingredients from the garden. Therese, Conor, Depinder, Kishwar and Dan made the five best dishes and advanced to the immunity challenge while Sabina received special mention for her ricotta doughnuts. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0819 | “Episode 14” | Thu 6 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Hidden Pairs Immunity Challenge - Conor, Dan, Depinder, Kishwar and Therese had to pick an ingredient of their choice next to a cloche that contained a hidden paired ingredient and make a dish in 75 minutes. Depinder had mangoes and chili for her fried chicken, Kishwar got mint and beetroot to cook a Middle Eastern feast, Therese paired corn with blue cheese and made an ice cream sandwich, Conor delivered a dessert with coffee and cherries, and Dan got figs and licorice to make a panna cotta. Beating Dan, it was Depinder's dish that won her immunity.
MasterClass: Andy Allen, Laura Sharrad and Jock Zonfrillo - Season 12 runner-up Laura Sharrad joined Andy and Jock for the contestants' first MasterClass at the Flemington Racecourse: Andy presented his salt baked beetroot with smoked hollandaise, Laura cooked pumpkin ricotta ravioli and Jock made his eucalyptus-smoked mashed potato. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0820 | “Episode 15” | Sun 9 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Food Expressions Elimination Challenge - The contestants had 90 minutes to cook a dish interpreting one of three food quotes: "bring home the bacon", "cool as a cucumber" and "the proof is in the pudding". Pete, Conor, Tommy and Kishwar stood out with their dishes. Eric faltered in the execution of his carbonara while Dan, Jess and Wynona missed the brief of highlighting the cucumber. Overall, Wynona's execution of her dish did not meet the standards the judges had expected, which made her the sixth contestant to depart the competition. |
| Week 4 Masters Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0821 | “Episode 16” | Mon 10 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pasta Team Challenge - In a pasta-themed team challenge set by chef Andreas Papadakis, the contestants were split into six teams of three and given 75 minutes to prep and serve a three-course meal. The blue team, consisting of Conor, Depinder and Sabina, delivered a pumpkin and taleggio pansotti, hilopites with salmonglio and strawberry rhubarb sorbet, all which won overall praise, while the grey, red and green teams' meals were also applauded. Although the brown team's dishes did not meet the mark, it was the pink team's inconsistent linguine that sent them to the pressure test, alongside Brent, who avoided the previous elimination challenge due to COVID quarantine. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0822 | “Episode 17” | Tue 11 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Kirsten Tibballs' Three Chocolate Desserts - Brent, Dan, Justin and Therese had three hours and fifty minutes to recreate three of Kirsten Tibballs's chocolate dishes: her exotique mousse cake, strawberry rebellion lollipops and ruby financier. Choosing not to use her immunity pin, Therese struggled to temper her chocolate while she missed the second stencil of the cake and failed to glaze it at the end of the cook. Her lollipops were dense and her chocolate was too thick. Therese became the third contestant to be eliminated while still holding on to the immunity pin. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0823 | “Episode 18” | Wed 12 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Bento Box Challenge - The 17 contestants had 90 minutes to make their own take on a bento box, after receiving demonstrations from Michelin-starred chef Masahiko Yomoda, with the best bento boxes named the Top 4. The four contestants who stood out were Depinder, Pete, Scott and Jess, and they advanced to the immunity challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0824 | “Episode 19” | Thu 13 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Fire Immunity Challenge - Depinder, Jess, Pete and Scott competed in an immunity challenge, set by restaurateur Scott Pickett, in which they had 75 minutes to cook a dish with fire. Jess cooked carne asada tacos, Scott made a coffee-cured trout and Pete grilled his wagyu beef with potato, but it was Depinder who won her second immunity challenge with her tandoori chicken. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0825 | “Episode 20” | Sun 16 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Butchery Elimination Challenge - Curtis Stone set a two-round elimination challenge for the contestants centered on butchery cuts of beef. The first round was an auction challenge where the contestants were grouped in pairs and given 100 minutes of cooking time to bid for a cut of beef and cook a meal with two side dishes in the remaining time. Sabina and Linda presented massaman curry with the gravy beef in 100 minutes, Jess and Scott made a grilled oyster blade meal in 49 minutes, Tom and Elise finished their 90-minute meal with short ribs, Kishwar and Pete cooked with tenderloin in 65 minutes, Aaron and Eric cooked the blade in 73 minutes, and Brent and Tommy made their scotch fillet meal in 59 minutes. Amir, Conor, Dan and Justin were sent to the second round, in which they had 75 minutes to cook. In the tasting, the judges were impressed with Justin's sweet potato tacos while Dan's duck bao buns was praised. Amir's falafels were delicious but the dish was rushed. The judges thought Conor delivered with his green olive ice cream with revani. However, the texture of his ice cream was grainy. As a result, he is eliminated from the competition. |
| Week 5 Service Brigade Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0826 | “Episode 21” | Mon 17 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Service Brigade Immunity Challenge: Tonka - Every challenge this week was a three-course service challenge where remaining contestants competed with one of four Melbourne chef teams to win immunity from Sunday's elimination challenge. The first group, consisting of Depinder, Elise, Eric and Linda cooked against Adam D'Sylva's team from Tonka where each team had two hours to cook a three-course meal in different cuisines. The cuisines selected were Mexican for the entrèe, Indian for the main, and French for the dessert. Both teams had technical flaws in their entrèes with the pink team impressing with their ceviche while Adam's team scored one point for their dessert, but Depinder's prawn ghee roast stood out to earn her team the win for immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0827 | “Episode 22” | Tue 18 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Service Brigade Immunity Challenge: MoVida - Dan, Jess, Scott and Tommy competed against MoVida's Frank Camorra and his team to secure immunity. The featured ingredients were lemongrass for the entree, Jerusalem artichoke for the main and kumquats for the dessert. Jess's team struggled in the prep time to produce their dishes, failing to highlight the lemongrass in their carpaccio and plated a flawed puree during service. Compared to the chefs' entree and main dishes, they lost the challenge despite winning praise for their dessert. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0828 | “Episode 23” | Wed 19 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Service Brigade Immunity Challenge: Lucy Liu - Aaron, Brent, Kishwar and Tom competed for immunity against Jenna North and her crew from Lucy Liu Kitchen and Bar. The chefs chose the Eastern pantry, leaving the red team led by Brent with the European pantry. Both teams stood out with their mains, but both had technical flaws in their desserts, and while the flavours of the chefs' dessert stood out, the red team's entree paired with their main impressed the judges and secured their win from elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0829 | “Episode 24” | Thu 20 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Service Brigade Immunity Challenge: Stokehouse - The four remaining contestants competed for immunity against the chefs of Stokehouse to be safe from elimination. Sabina, Pete, Justin and Amir selected the colour green for their dessert while executive chef Jason Staudt and his team chose red for their entree and yellow for their mains. The turquoise team, led by Sabina, impressed with their red prawn entree but the puree in their main lacked acidity. The chefs' beef tartare entree had technical issues, but they were applauded for their main and dessert, and they won the challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0830 | “Episode 25” | Sun 23 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Team Relay Elimination Challenge - The green and turquoise teams competed in the first round of the elimination challenge. The captains, who chose savoury, started the first leg of a team relay challenge and had to highlight apples in their dishes in the 80-minute cook. Sabina, Justin, Pete and Amir were safe with their pork and apple dish and Jess, Tommy, Dan and Scott were sent to the second round, in which they had 75 minutes to make a dessert also featuring apples. When the judges tasted their dishes, Dan's frozen apple dessert was applauded while Tommy delivered on his apple tao'er but Scott's apple cheesecake lacked flavour. Jess' dessert, however, lacked clarity from her other elements in flavour and saw her sent home. She became the ninth contestant eliminated from the competition. |
| Week 6 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0831 | “Episode 26” | Mon 24 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Vegetables Invention Test - The fifteen contestants had to highlight one of five vegetables: broccoli, carrot, onion, potato and zucchini to cook an inventive dish in 75 minutes. Tom, Tommy, Pete and Depinder delivered creativity in their dishes as the top four. On the other hand, Scott's potato dessert was dense, Brent's carrot dish missed the brief, Sabina's dish had technical errors and Eric's carrot balls were greasy. The four of them were sent to the pressure test as a result. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0832 | “Episode 27” | Tue 25 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Blind Taste Pressure Test: Clinton McIver's Aged Lamb with Native Spiced Butter and Flowering Legumes - Clinton McIver's pressure test challenged Brent, Eric, Sabina and Scott to blind taste his lamb dish and re-create it in three hours. Sabina's dish received overall praise from the judges. Brent received praise for the cooking of his lamb but his dish lacked acidity. Scott also impressed with his lamb but his onion gel was grainy. Eric's lamb was raw and he had cut the fat from the meat. In the end, it was those errors which sent Eric home. He became the tenth contestant eliminated from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0833 | “Episode 28” | Wed 26 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Utensil Box Challenge - The top fourteen contestants had to cook a dish in 75 minutes using only eleven household kitchen utensils. The top five dishes securing immunity were Dan's octopus with cucumber salad, Elise's melanzana with gremolata, Pete's lamb and turnips, Linda's pun seen with nam jeow, and Kishwar's eggplant vorta, niramish with khichri. Mentions went to Sabina and Tommy who also impressed with their dishes. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0834 | “Episode 29” | Thu 27 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Chili Immunity Challenge - Dan, Elise, Kishwar, Linda and Pete drew numbers to select their blind choice of one of the eight hottest chilis and cook it in 75 minutes. Dan got the bhut jolokia to pair his chocolate ice cream, Pete and Elise had the hurt berry and lemon blast, respectively, to cook their pasta dishes with, Linda chose the God stopper to make her salad and dressing with her eye fillet, and Kishwar used the chocolate Trinidad scorpion for her crab curry. It was Linda's salad and dressing that stood out and won her immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0835 | “Episode 30” | Sun 30 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Elimination Challenge: Game Meats - The contestants had to identify fourteen game meats in the first round. Tom, who had the fewest correct answers, found himself in the second round alongside Aaron, Kishwar, Pete and Tommy. The bottom five had to feature one of the meats in their dishes in 75 minutes. Tom came undone choosing to cook crocodile with fennel, beurre blanc and tarragon oil, Pete's dish was underseasoned, while the others impressed during tasting. The judges agreed Tom took a risk with a versatile ingredient; when they tasted his dish, the fennel was good but the crocodile was undercooked. Therefore, he was eliminated. |
| Week 7 Second Chance Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0836 | “Episode 31” | Mon 31 May 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Second Chance Cook-Off - The eleven eliminated contestants returned to compete for two places and reinstatement to the Top 15. Each returning contestant chose one of the current thirteen contestants to shop for an ingredient with which they had to cook their dishes in 75 minutes, with the four best dishes advancing to the next round. Conor used lemon to pair with his octopus dish, Katrina presented her piña colada dessert with mint, Eric received pork belly to make his dumpling dish, and Minoli paired chilis with her salmon dish. Those four stood out and advanced to the Pressure Test. The other seven received a second chance later in the week. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0837 | “Episode 32” | Tue 1 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Second Chance Pressure Test: Anthony Hart's Chocolate Oasis - Conor, Eric, Katrina and Minoli were given two hours and fifteen minutes to replicate an intricate chocolate tower by pastry chef Anthony Hart to fight for one of the two returning places in the competition. During the tasting, both Katrina and Eric struggled with the tempered chocolate and, while Katrina was applauded for her caramel, Eric's plate had overall flaws. Conor missed the chocolate twigs and his cream was dry. That left Minoli, who delivered a perfect dish that earned overall praise as the judges awarded her place back in the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0838 | “Episode 33” | Wed 2 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Second Chance Mystery Box Challenge - The returnees chose between the regular box with eight ingredients or the clear box with four ingredients. The four winning dishes after 75 minutes competed for the last returning slot in the Top 15. The last four contestants advancing for the fifteenth spot were Maja (who used the clear box for her Moreton Bay bug dish), Tom (who used black garlic to make his French dessert), Wynona (who changed the protein to prawns for her overcooked duck), and Eric (who cooked his chive pancakes and omelette with prawns). |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0839 | “Episode 34” | Thu 3 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Second Chance Three Course Marathon - Eric, Maja, Tom and Wynona competed in two and a half hours to make one dish of a three course meal in each round. Tom's crab tortellini in the entree round had pieces of the shell in the filling while in the main round, Eric's squirrel fish had technical errors, leaving Maja and Wynona in the last round where Maja's intricate splice-inspired dessert beat Wynona's simple orange cake and kaffir lime ice cream, finalizing the Top 15. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0840 | “Episode 35” | Sun 6 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Three Dishes from One Cod Elimination Challenge - Josh Niland demonstrated the butchering of a Murray cod and utilising each part of the fish to make a three-course meal. The contestants had to do the same across three rounds. Aaron, Brent, Depinder, Elise, Justin, Sabina, Scott, and Tommy succeeded in the first round in 30 minutes while Kishwar, Linda, Maja, and Minoli redeemed in the second after 45 minutes. Amir, Dan, and Pete had one hour to cook with what was left of their cod. Dan had previously faced seven eliminations, but he struggled to choose his remaining cuts for his laksa in the third round of his eighth elimination cook. When the judges tasted his dish, Andy and Josh admitted Dan did not highlight the fish head in his broth while Jock noticed his lack of butchery of the fish. The dish did not meet the brief, and it was the misuse of the cod that undid his work, eliminating him. |
| Week 8 Victorian Culinary Road Tour |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0841 | “Episode 36” | Mon 7 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Apollo Bay Crayfish Team Challenge - This week's challenges took place throughout Victoria. At Apollo Bay, the team challenge tasked the contestants, drafted into pairs, with cooking two dishes featuring crayfish in 75 minutes. The red, purple and turquoise teams delivered with their dishes, with Pete and Kishwar's dishes being declared highlights. The blue team's Linda and Amir failed to extract lobster flavour in their dishes while Sabina and Minoli of the pink team overcooked their crayfish, sending both teams to the elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0842 | “Episode 37” | Tue 8 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Daylesford Vegetable Elimination Challenge - Alla Wolf-Tasker set a challenge for Amir, Linda, Minoli, and Sabina at her Dairy Flat Farm in Daylesford where the four had to cook a vegetarian dish in 75 minutes. Sabina decided to pickle her carrots paired with pesto and rye lavosh, Linda opted for a Laotian tomato dish with pickled cucumber, Amir chose the beetroots to make a kebab with tabouleh and labneh, and Minoli cooked a potato and beetroot salad. Amir struggled to cook his beetroots in the last minutes. His concerns were well-founded after the judges tasted his dish. The beetroot was burnt and the texture was flawed, sealing his elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0843 | “Episode 38” | Wed 9 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Melbourne CBD Mystery Box Challenge - The thirteen contestants strolled though Melbourne CBD taking photographs to draw inspiration for the dishes they cooked in 75 minutes. The top four dishes were named to compete for immunity - Kishwar made a kingfish ceviche inspired from the water feature of the window at the National Gallery of Victoria, Tommy chose the banh beo, Linda made donuts with iced coffee and Depinder baked a raspberry chocolate choux; all inspired from shops in the laneways of the city. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0844 | “Episode 39” | Thu 10 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Lune Lab Immunity Challenge - Depinder, Kishwar, Linda and Tommy competed for immunity at Kate Reid's Lune Croissanterie, to bake and fill a prepared pastry in 90 minutes. Kishwar selected the regular croissant with rosewater, Linda picked the vol-au-vent to pair with garlic and mushroom, Depinder chose pastry with a spiced ginger cake and cream, and Tommy filled his Danish with a savoury banh mi. His first time competing in the challenge earned him a win, saving him from Sunday's elimination challenge |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0845 | “Episode 40” | Sun 13 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Cooking Duel Elimination Challenge - The contestants were first split into pairs and went head-to-head against each other in cooking duels. They had 90 minutes for both rounds and had to divide the time they used for each round. Justin, Linda, Depinder, Kishwar, Pete and Minoli all succeeded with their dishes to beat their opponents who were sent to the second round with their remaining cook time. However the challenge didn't commence when Brent, who became overwhelmed after the first round, decided to withdraw from the competition for health reasons, finalising the Top 12. |
| Week 9 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0846 | “Episode 41” | Mon 14 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Deliveroo Pop-up Team Challenge - The top twelve contestants were responsible for running a three-hour service, preparing a three-course meal for delivery throughout Melbourne. Aaron's green team stood out with their Sri Lankan meal, receiving praise from the judges. Scott's orange team also impressed with their Thai duck curry but the beef mince for their phat kaphrao was dry. Unfortunately despite the purple team delivering on their aloo bonda and their lamb chettinad curry, the curry was overpowered by the capsicum which was undercooked, sending Depinder, Pete, Maja and Tommy to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0847 | “Episode 42” | Tue 15 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Khanh Nguyen's Pork Wellington - Depinder, Maja, Pete and Tommy were given four hours and fifteen minutes to recreate a complex pork roll dish with a Vietnamese meatball mix, a pate, and a lattice pork crackling. Pete was first to present his wellington. The crackling was crispy and is loved by the judges. Tommy's wellington also impressed with the cooking of his pork. Depinder's pork was juicy but her pastry was too thick and underbaked while her dressing was too salty. Last to be tasted was Maja whose thick pastry was also underbaked and while the layers are there, the pork was undercooked. With two outstanding dishes from Pete and Tommy, it was between the girls and Maja was eliminated for the second time from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0848 | “Episode 43” | Wed 16 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Barter Mystery Box Challenge - Sabina was unwell and therefore did not participate in the challenge. The other 10 contestants each received four different ingredients they were allowed to swap before cooking in at least 60 minutes. Some boxes additionally contained bonus time cards that contestants could swap along with ingredients. Tommy, Pete and Depinder, who all have previously competed for immunity, were applauded by the judges for their dishes. They joined Justin, who also impressed with his pumpkin dish, to be selected by the judges as the top 4. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0849 | “Episode 44” | Thu 17 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Unconventional Immunity Challenge - To secure the first place in the Top 10, Depinder, Justin, Pete and Tommy competed in a 45-minute first round where they had to make a dish featuring instant noodles. The winners, Depinder and Justin, were given an open pantry in the second round to cook an unconventional dish in 75 minutes. Justin's inventive cola and potato chip dessert beat Depinder's savoury sriracha ice cream, earning his spot in the Top 10. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0850 | “Episode 45” | Sun 20 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Nu Nu Menu Tasting Elimination Challenge - Nick Holloway brought three of the dishes from his restaurant for the contestants to taste and identify all 50 ingredients in fifteen minutes. Tommy, Elise, Sabina, Kishwar, and Linda had the most correct guesses and made it to the Top 10 while the bottom five contestants had 75 minutes to make a dish with the ingredients from Nick's three dishes. Minoli chose to cook a Sri Lankan seafood broth with rice balls while improvising to make her coconut milk for her broth. Aaron planned to prep with prawns and was thinking of other elements to pair with his dish. Scott selected the tropical fruits to make his pavlova with grilled pineapple and molasses lime granita. Pete opted to make a savoury curry ice cream with pineapple granita and peanut coconut crumble. Depinder did well with her curry but she strayed from reading the recipe for her gluttinous rice which became thick and claggy. In the tasting, the judges thought Aaron's dish was strange and it stood out as the obvious choice for elimination and as a result, Aaron became the fourteenth person to leave the competition. |
| Week 10 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0851 | “Episode 46” | Mon 21 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Surf and Turf Team Challenge - Andy mentored the ten contestants responsible for serving one entree and two mains to 60 diners at the Three Blue Ducks restaurant. The green team led by Justin was assigned meat while the core ingredient for Elise's blue team was seafood. During prep time, the blue team struggled to prep the proteins and failed to discard the innards of their flounder. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0852 | “Episode 47” | Tue 22 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| DIY Pressure Test Dish - As the winners of the team challenge, Justin, Kishwar, Linda, Minoli and Tommy competed for two places in the immunity challenge. Darren Purchese mentored the contestants to create their own pressure test dish featuring vanilla in two hours. Minoli made a pineapple tarte tatin, Justin presented his intricate vanilla mousse with lemon curd, and Kishwar delivered her vanilla pepper kulfi with rose granita and pistachio sable. It was Linda's vanilla pond dessert and Tommy's vanilla flan that stood out in the challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0853 | “Episode 48” | Wed 23 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Family Box Challenge - The other eight contestants competed for the last two places in the immunity challenge where they took inspiration from their respective families and friends to cook their dishes in 75 minutes. Kishwar's lau chingri and sardine curry with jau bhaat and Sabina's fisherman's stew were the two standout dishes while mentions went to Minoli's lamprais and Pete's peanut butter & jelly dessert. The top two then joined Linda and Tommy to compete for immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0854 | “Episode 49” | Thu 24 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Keeping up with Curtis Stone - Kishwar, Linda, Sabina and Tommy followed Curtis Stone in replicating his roasted chicken dish. In the tasting, Linda missed out the wings and legs in her dish, Kishwar had a technical flaw in her sauce and Tommy overcooked his chicken oyster. All three had stumbled during the cook while, despite her potato fondant being undercooked, Sabina won overall praise with her dish. As the winner of immunity from the double elimination round, she also earned $10,000 worth of groceries.
MasterClass: Andy Allen, Jock Zonfrillo and Nornie Bero - Andy showed the Top 10 contestants his two seafood dishes: scallops with chickpea miso butter, and crab flatbread with picked onions. Jock demonstrated the use of a pressure cooker to make a base jus and consomme. Guest chef Nornie Bero showcased native ingredients in making her banana pakalolo with coconut panna cotta and hibiscus syrup. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0855 | “Episode 50” | Sun 27 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Black Box and Cloche Elimination Challenge - In this double elimination challenge, the contestants voted to use the mystery box in the first round, and a hidden core ingredient (horseradish) in the second, to cook each dish in sixty minutes. The first round saw Elise's pumpkin agnolotti with brown butter sauce as the top dish, giving her immunity from the second round. Minoli had technical errors with the noodles in her dish and she was the first of the two contestants to be eliminated. Tasked with highlighting horseradish in his dish in the second round, Scott cooked a Dory fillet with horseradish cream and green oil. He struggled with time to prep his fish which was quite firm. While his sauce was velvety and his salad worked well, there was a bland flavour in his horseradish cream and the fish was overcooked, sending him home. |
| Week 11 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0856 | “Episode 51” | Mon 28 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Uluru Team Challenge - At Uluru, the top eight contestants served a three-course meal with indigenous Australian ingredients to 30 diners in two hours. Both teams impressed with their entrees but Justin's yellow team's main was less refined than Pete's orange team's main. However, while the yellow team's dessert was rustic, the orange team's panna cotta that was way too set and way too much gelatin in it. Overall, the judges felt the orange team had missed the brief, with Kishwar, Pete, Tommy and Depinder going to elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0857 | “Episode 52” | Tue 29 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Simpsons Gap Elimination Challenge - Indigenous cook Rayleen Brown set a challenge for the orange team at Simpsons Gap in Alice Springs, where they had to create a dish using a variety of bush ingredients in 75 minutes. Taking on Kishwar, Pete and Tommy, Depinder decided to make a technical tomato salad with carpaccio and warrigal green damper. The judges agreed that while it was tasty, they all struggled to identify the flavor of the indigenous ingredients that Rayleen brought today. Overall, the judges felt that Depinder had missed the brief and she was eliminated from the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0858 | “Episode 53” | Wed 30 Jun 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Everything Box Challenge - The contestants competed in the Mystery Box Challenge for a spot in the last immunity challenge. They had to feature all of the following ingredients: lamb loin, milk, white onion, black pepper, verjuice, blackberries, bay leaves, and purple cauliflower in their dishes in a 75-minute cook. Justin's lamb and cauliflower, Linda's pepper crusted lamb, and Elise's blackberry tortellini won the last chance to compete for immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0859 | “Episode 54” | Thu 1 Jul 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Lucky Dip Immunity Challenge - Elise, Justin and Linda each selected two of sixty cloches to reveal the essential features for their dishes in the 75-minute cook. Linda chose the preserved lemon and lemon verbena to pair with her duck, Elise paired dark chocolate with pistachios to make her dish, and Justin made a grilled sweet dish using his options. The winner of the last immunity challenge was Linda, who advanced to Finals Week. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0860 | “Episode 55” | Sun 4 Jul 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Fast and Fancy Elimination Challenge - Competing for their places in Finals Week, the six contestants other than Linda selected one ingredient to cook with in two rounds. Tasked to cook in the sixty-minute first round with street food dishes as the theme, Tommy chose beef to make his bo la lot but the beef was overcooked, sending him to the second round with Pete and Elise. They had to use their chosen ingredient to make a restaurant quality dish in 75 minutes. It was his inconsistent cooking of the beef that let him down once again while attempting to make his bún bò Hu? and found himself facing the judges' final verdict alongside Elise. Despite having a flavoursome broth and a dish that showed technique, Tommy's beef was blue, deeming it inedible. His elimination left six contestants competing in Finals Week - Elise, Justin, Kishwar, Linda, Pete and Sabina. |
| Week 12 Finals Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0861 | “Episode 56” | Mon 5 Jul 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Society Six-Course Service Challenge - The six finalists arrived at Martin Benn's new restaurant Society to run a two-and a-half-hour service to present a six-course meal featuring Japanese ingredients to twenty diners. For the mains, Pete started with nori seaweed and celeriac, Elise's ingredient for the second course was yuzu, which she used to make a risotto, Justin featured tarragon with lobster for course 3, and Kishwar prepped the fourth course using fig peppercorns, which she paired with quail. All four succeeded in the tastings, but not Sabina and Linda who stumbled with the desserts. Sabina had to make the fifth course with macadamias, opting to prep a sorbet with lemon curd. Linda had miso paste in the sixth and final course and she chose to prep a ice cream with peanut brittle and yuzu syrup. While Linda's Miso Ice Cream was a little soft, Sabina's Macadamia Ice Cream had an unpleasant flavour of raw macadamia. Ultimately, the judges felt that Sabina failed to meet the brief and she was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0862 | “Episode 57” | Tue 6 Jul 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Hugh Allen's Bottlebrush, Gumnuts and Billy Buttons - Elise, Justin, Kishwar, Linda and Pete had to recreate in three hours and forty-five minutes a versatile dessert consisting of a strawberry gum mousse, carmelised white chocolate mousse, and passionfruit sorbet by executive chef Hugh Allen. Linda's hurdle came during the middle of the cook when she struggled to temper the chocolate for her mousse while mistakenly mixing the wrong colour of her glaze. It was the balance that sent her home, with her strawberry gum mousse earning praise despite the glaze, but the texture of her white chocolate mousse was off and lacked depth of flavour. This left Kishwar, Justin, Pete, and Elise cooking for places in the Grand Finale. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0863 | “Episode 58” | Wed 7 Jul 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Gemstone Affinity Duel Challenge - The remaining four finalists competed in pairs to make dishes inspired by gemstones in two rounds with the winner of the second round advancing to the finale. Kishwar and Justin cooked dishes inspired by the ruby while Pete and Elise were assigned the emerald to make their dishes. Pete and Kishwar competed in the second round where they had to cook dishes inspired by the pearl. It was Pete's leek and oysters dish that stood out and advanced him to the finale. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0864 | “Episode 59” | Sun 11 Jul 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Semi-Finals: Service Challenge - Elise, Justin and Kishwar prepped a three-course meal in four hours for sixty diners and the judges. Justin made a cauliflower taco, a lamb backstrap dish and a Brie cheese ice cream. Elise used native Australian ingredients in prepping venison and a parsley semifreddo with figs. Kishwar chose a kingfish ceviche for entree, a goat curry for main and a fennel and bay leaf ice cream for dessert. Elise changed the flavour of her ice cream to pistachio when she missed out on chopping the herbs, but as service started, all of her dishes had some issues: her lentils and mushrooms for entree had technical errors. While cooking her main, Elise rushed to prep her venison, however, one of the meats was dry. After the judges tasted her dessert, her pistachio semifreddo was delicious but when they ate it as a whole, the birdseed brittle overpowered that semifreddo that she worked so hard to bring back from disaster. As a result, Elise was eliminated one night short in the Grand Finale, which meant Pete, Kishwar and Justin were the grand finalists.
MasterClass: Chefs vs. Contestants - Justin, Kishwar and Pete challenged Andy and Jock to cook a dish featuring butter, picked by Andy for Jock, and tahini, picked by Jock for Andy, in sixty minutes. Jock won but joined Andy in tasting Carolina Reaper chilies for the punishment. The contestants cooked against the chefs, prepping a three course meal featuring anchovies, crab and pineapple, but Andy and Jock won the second cook. |
| Week 13 Grand Finale Week |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0865 | “Episode 60” | Mon 12 Jul 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Grand Finale: Part 1 - The two-night finale, consisting of three challenges, saw the Top 3 finalists cooking their entrée and main in the first two rounds. In 75 minutes, Justin, Kishwar and Pete had to make their entrées with the ingredients from the Mystery Box selected by the eight chefs from every previous weekly challenges: duck (Khanh Nguyen), passionfruit (Darren Purchese), saffron mushrooms (Alla Wolf-Tasker), kohlrabi (Nick Holloway), pandan leaves (Kate Reid), King George whiting (Josh Niland), gold chocolate (Kirsten Tibballs), and tomato ponzu (Martin Benn). Pete selected the King George whiting, kohlrabi and mushrooms for his dish which was applauded overall, scoring 9 points from all three judges. Kishwar also chose those ingredients but her fish was dry, earning her 21 points out of 30. Justin chose duck with passionfruit and kohlrabi but his mushrooms were dry, also scoring 21 points. For the mains, the finalists' loved ones randomly selected from two bowls the key ingredient and method of cooking for their dishes. Kishwar impressed with the use of smoking and white soy sauce for her aloo bhorta with smoked rice water & salsa which earned her a total of 30 points while Justin was praised for the use of fusion cooking for his ruby grapefruit with poached fish, scoring him 29 points. Pete, who was given quince and steaming method, stumbled with a score of 25 when one of his quail dishes was raw. With two of the three rounds completed, Pete kept the lead with 53 points to Kishwar's 51 and Justin's 50. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0866 | “Episode 61” | Tue 13 Jul 2021 |
| Synopsis: |
| Grand Finale: Part 2 - The finale continues with Peter Gilmore returning to set a two-dish pressure test in five hours for the finalists to earn the additional final score of 40 points for each dish. The savoury dish was a shaved squid with shiitake, garlic sesame aioli, amaranth, sorghum, and custard from Quay restaurant while the dessert from Bennelong was a five-textured chocolate dessert with sherry caramel, prune jam, rice elements and a golden starch dome. Pete, who took the lead on the first day, struggled during the cook to prep his elements, resulting in an unset custard that was slightly overcooked after plating and missed out one element for the dessert while the plating was rushed. Kishwar's dishes impressed overall but despite being able to fix her split butter sauce for the main, its texture lacked balance. Justin's take on the squid dish received overall praise and while he had all the elements for the dessert, his cake was slightly underbaked. Justin thrived, overtaking Pete and Kishwar with a score of 40 points for the savoury dish and 35 points for the dessert. Kishwar's squid dish received 32 points and her dessert 31 points, while Pete's scores were 36 for the main and 35 for dessert. The overall results were 114 points to Kishwar and Pete with 124 points but it was Justin who won out by one point with a total score of 125. Winner Announced - Justin Narayan was named the thirteenth winner of MasterChef Australia 2021, awarding him the grand prize of $250,000. Pete Campbell, as the runner-up, won $30,000 and Kishwar Chowdhury won $20,000 after finishing in third place. |
2022 - Complete Season 14
| Week 1 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0867 | “Episode 01” | Monday, 18 April 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Series Premiere: Strengths Immunity Pin Challenge - The 24 contestants were tasked with cooking a dish which showcased their strengths for one of three immunity pins. The contestants competed in their teams, as Fans or Favourites. The contestant who cooked the top dish in each team received an immunity pin, as well as the contestant who cooked the next best dish in either team. Harry's burnt cabbage and Tommy's bún mâm were declared the best dishes from the Fans and the Favourites respectively, thus winning the first two pins. The third and final pin was granted to Christina, whose bacalhau à brás was deemed the next best dish. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0868 | “Episode 02” | Tuesday, 19 April 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Featured Ingredients Service Challenge - The contestants competed in their Fans and Favourites teams in a three-course service challenge, in which each course had to feature a key ingredient chosen by the Fans or the Favourites. Teams were broken up into three smaller sections of four people who worked on each course; the sections who cooked each of the winning courses will enter the immunity decider challenge. The Fans had the best entree and dessert, while the Favorites had the winning main. Fans Harry, Max, Jenn, Chris, Melanie, Montana, Steph and Keyma and Favourites Sashi, Tommy, Julie and Michael advanced to the team challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0869 | “Episode 03” | Wednesday, 20 April 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Food Pyramid Invention Test - The 12 winning contestants from the service challenge were given 75 minutes to cook a dish using one or more layers of the food pyramid. Steph, Sashi and Chris had access to the entire pyramid, while Melanie, Julie and Jenn cooked using the bottom three rows. Keyma, Tommy, and Harry had the bottom two rows, and Montana, Michael and Max were limited to the bottom row, consisting of fruits, vegetables and legumes. Montana, Harry, Julie and Chris' dishes were deemed the best in their respective categories, and they earned the four spots in the immunity challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0870 | “Episode 04” | Thursday, 21 April 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Lucky Dip Immunity Challenge - Chris, Harry, Montana and Julie each chose one cloche blindly from four rows containing fruits and vegetables, herbs and spices, pantry items, and cooking techniques. They had 75 minutes to cook a dish featuring leeks, anchovies, saffron and a deep-fried element. The judges liked Harry's gnocco fritto with ricotta and leeks, but they loved Julie's prawn, leek and chorizo paella, and she won immunity from elimination. |
| Week 2 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0871 | “Episode 05” | Sunday, 24 April 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Great Aussie Jaffle Elimination - In the first of a two-round elimination challenge, all contestants except Julie (who had immunity) and Melanie (who sat out to balance the team numbers) had 45 minutes to cook a dish using a jaffle maker. Minoli's chicken and potato jaffle was considered the best and the Favourites were saved from elimination, sending the Fans into the second round, where they had 75 minutes to make a dish that had changed their lives. Harry, who decided not to play her immunity pin, had multiple issues with her dish as her pumpkin was under-seasoned and her lentils were under-cooked. Max's tart was also under-cooked. Chris struggled during the cook as he burned the first batch of crispy noodles for his dish and forgot to clean the oil before cooking his second batch. Ultimately, the burnt oil overpowered the flavour of the dish, which resulted in his elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0872 | “Episode 06” | Monday, 25 April 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Throwback Mystery Box - The contestants were given 75 minutes to cook a dish using the first mystery box from the first series, containing ingredients such as a pork chop, Granny Smith apples and dark chocolate, as well the pantry staples. Aldo's pork cotoletta Milanese and Melanie's gluten-free choux lemon meringue were the top two, fast-tracking them to the immunity challenge. Julie's noodles for her fettucine dish were rolled too thin and overcooked, and Alvin's noodles were under-cooked. Dulan's pork chop was overcooked, while Max's agnolotti was under-seasoned and bland. The four were sent to the pressure test as a result. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0873 | “Episode 07” | Tuesday, 26 April 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Adriano Zumbo Pressure Test - Alvin, Julie, Dulan and Max faced a pressure test set by pastry chef Adriano Zumbo. They had four hours and thirty minutes to recreate his chocolate dessert Polly Want a Waffle, with the chocolate feathers already prepared for them. Julie's and Alvin's desserts were near-perfect, with the latter's dish being the dish of the day, and they were safe, putting Max and Dulan in the bottom two. Max's waffle layers were set well, but his marshmallow was problematic. Dulan, who struggled and fell behind early in the cook, rushed to make his layers and his dish was unbalanced, which sealed his elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0874 | “Episode 08” | Wednesday, 27 April 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Chili Team Relay - With Aldo and Melanie fast-tracked to the immunity challenge, the 20 remaining contestants were divided into four teams of five and asked to cook a dish featuring chillies, given 15 minutes each to cook and 45 seconds to transfer information to the next cook. Since the Favourites have one extra cook, Mindy joined the Fans to balance the team members. John and Julie, the captains of the Red and Grey Teams, respectively, decided to make curries. Harry, who captained the Green Team, selected chicken wings, and Matt, leading the Purple Team, opted for tacos. The Red Team's Sri Lankan chicken curry was praised, but their chilli jam was over-reduced and over-caramelised. The Purple Team struggled from poor communication as Max, the last cook on the team, scrapped the tacos and chose to serve a steak with a chilli salsa, which was criticised for being a jumble of flavours. Overall, the Grey Team's Thai chicken curry beat the Green Team's sweet chilli chicken wings, earning them the chance to compete for immunity alongside Aldo and Melanie.
MasterClass: Jock Zonfrillo, Andy Allen, Rosheen Kaul, Julie Goodwin and Jenn Lee- Jock and Andy each cooked a dish using Monday's mystery box, while guest chef Rosheen Kaul presented her wood-fired mackerel with charred tomato sambal. Julie and Jenn then demonstrated their favorite fried chicken recipes. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0875 | “Episode 09” | Thursday, 28 April 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Beat the Chef Immunity Challenge - Aldo, Alvin, Michael, Billie, Julie, Minoli and Melanie competed against guest chef Matt Stone for one of seven immunity pins. They had 75 minutes to cook a dish highlighting one of the following controversial ingredients: licorice, blue cheese, Brussels sprouts, coriander, oysters, and pineapple. Matt's grilled oyster dish earned 26 out of 30 points. Billie and Michael impressed the judges, receiving 27 and 29 points for their coriander panna cotta, and pineapple and ham broth, respectively, and they each won a pin. |
| Week 3 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0876 | “Episode 10” | Sunday, 1 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Shannon Bennett French Service Challenge - The judges announced that, instead of an elimination, contestants would compete in a service challenge set by guest chef Shannon Bennett. Each team needed to cook a French entree, main and dessert for 20 diners plus the judges, with the least impressive course cooks having to cook in mystery box challenge. They were given two hours to prepare their elements. Tommy was ill and did not compete; Julie sat out to balance the teams. The Fans' entree was delicious but there were a couple of minor flaws. The Favourites presented the best entree and their main was tasty, but the seasoning could have been better, and their dessert had technical issues, giving the Fans the win on the latter two courses. Favourites Aldo, Christina, Sarah and Michael, and Fans Daniel, Harry, Keyma, Montana, Melanie and Steph, were safe from elimination, sending the others, including Julie, to the mystery box challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0877 | “Episode 11” | Monday, 2 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Shannon Bennett Mystery Box - Tommy and the 10 losing contestants in the service challenge had 75 minutes to cook a dish using a mystery box assembled by Shannon Bennett, featuring ingredients such as sweetbreads, turmeric, and spanner crab, with the bottom four facing elimination. Ali, Tommy, Sashi, and Julie received high praise for their dishes, however, Alvin's dish was full of flavour but his sweetbreads were overcooked, while Jenn's turmeric pawpaw parfait was smooth, her flavour balanced got a little bit rocky, and John's ajoblanco was overpowered by sweet elements. Following the disappointing reception to his dish, John suffered an emotional meltdown, and was consoled by Melissa. In a close decision between Max and Matt, the judges chose to send Max to the Pressure Test with Alvin, John and Jenn, due to a piece of crab shell in his dish. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0878 | “Episode 12” | Tuesday, 3 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Reynold Poernomo Pressure Test - Former contestant Reynold Poernomo challenged Alvin, Jenn, John and Max to replicate his new signature dish, Noi. John and Jenn, whose chocolate twigs were too thick, impressed the judges with their dishes, putting Alvin and Max in the bottom two. Alvin's dessert lacked in presentation, but it tasted better than it looked. Max, however, had multiple errors in his dish. His jasmine mousse lacked tea leaf flavour, his green apple sorbet was malformed and lacked caramelisation, and his muscovado tuiles were too soft. Those errors were enough to eliminate him. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0879 | “Episode 13” | Wednesday, 4 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Curtis Stone Service Challenge - Fast and Fancy - Guest judge Curtis Stone returned for another service challenge. Minoli sat out due to illness and Billie joined the Fans to balance the team numbers. Each team was then split into groups of five and given two hours and thirty minutes to serve 80 diners, with one group from either side cooking two fast food dishes, and the other cooking one fancy dish. The Fans were to hero pork, while the Favourites were assigned chicken. The Favourites' outperformed the Fans in both the challenges, with their Chicken shawarma and Korean fried wings being deemed the best fast food dishes, and their rendang roasted chicken being declared the better fine dining dish. As a result, the Favourites, aside from Billie and Minoli, advanced to the Immunity Challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0880 | “Episode 14” | Thursday, 5 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Curtis Stone Immunity Challenge - Ingredients or Time - Alvin, John, Mindy, Julie, Sarah, Aldo, Michael, Sashi, Christina and Tommy had up to one hour to cook a dish using up to 10 sets of ingredients, with each set becoming available every three minutes. They also had to incorporate Curtis's chosen ingredient, apples. Tommy, Sarah and John were the first to start, making apple desserts in 57 minutes. Alvin made apple and butterscotch in 54 minutes. Christina had 51 minutes to cook with pork. Mindy had 45 minutes to cook with the addition of root vegetables and aromatics. Sashi had 39 minutes to cook a pork and apple red curry with parsnip chips. Aldo cooked chiacchiere in 33 minutes. Julie and Michael started as the final set of ingredients was made available, having only 30 minutes. Sarah, Tommy, Sashi and Michael were declared the Top 4, but Michael's apple and scallop ceviche was praised for its exceptional balance, and he was awarded weekly immunity. |
| Week 4 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0881 | “Episode 15” | Sunday, 8 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Egg Elimination - Michael had weekly immunity, and Alvin and Christina sat out the first round to balance the teams. The other contestants faced a two-round elimination challenge featuring eggs. In round one, they had 30 minutes to cook a dish using a single egg, with only the top three dishes from each team being tasted. Minoli's rice was undercooked and John's egg was rubbery, leaving Aldo, Steph, Ali, and Daniel's dishes being deemed the Top 4. Daniel's crab omelette with chilli butter was declared the winning dish, saving the Fans from elimination. In round two, the Favourites (except Michael) were given one hour to cook another dish with at least one of eleven eggs. Not feeling confident about her chances, Billie played her pin at the beginning of the cook, while Christina and Tommy played their pins towards the end, feeling dissatisfied with their dishes. Most of the contestants impressed the judges, especially Aldo's filoscio, Minoli's egg pan rolls, Alvin's Nyonya egg curry, Mindy's Chinese omelette, and Sashi's egg sambal. Landing in the bottom two were Julie, whose fried rice was tasty but greasy, and John, whose lemon tart contained too much pastry, as well as an overcooked lemon curd. Additionally, he was unable to whip up his meringue and was forced to replace it with cream. Due to the flaws in his egg elements, the judges felt that John had missed the brief and he was the first Favourite to be eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0882 | “Episode 16” | Monday, 9 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Alphabet Mystery Box - The contestants had to each choose a letter of the alphabet revealing a mystery ingredient starting with that letter. Then they had 60 minutes to cook a dish using that ingredient. Minoli's curry leaf-cured kingfish was the dish of the day, earning the Favourites an advantage later in the week. However, Tommy's macadamia puree was grainy in texture, while Christina's burrata was too dry and her fig jam was too heavy. Daniel was criticised by the judges for not featuring kale in his ricotta and kale turnovers, and Matt undercooked the pastry for his tahini mille-feuille. As a result, the latter four ended up in elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0883 | “Episode 17” | Tuesday, 10 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Tarts Anon Pressure Test - Chef Gareth Whitton set the pressure test, which required Christina, Tommy, Daniel and Matt to recreate his smoked pecan and butterscotch tart in two hours and fifty minutes, along with an accompanying element of their choosing. Daniel's and Matt's desserts were considered the best, saving them from elimination. The judges agreed that the cook overwhelmed both Tommy and Christina, and both of their dishes had significant problems. The greatest problem was that Christina's tart was in the oven too late and it didn't cook through which made the flavours out of balance. In the end, the judges felt that Christina had missed the brief and she was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0884 | “Episode 18” | Wednesday, 11 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Clare Smyth Service Challenge - The contestants except Sarah, who sat out to balance the teams, faced a service challenge set by Michelin-starred chef Clare Smyth. The teams were split into groups of three and given two hours to cook a three-course meal highlighting one core ingredient, honey for the Fans and cherries for the Favourites. The Favourites won on the main course, but the Fans won on the entree and dessert, and they earned the right to compete for immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0885 | “Episode 19” | Thursday, 12 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Random Ingredient Immunity Challenge - Ali, Daniel, Matt, Keyma, Harry, Melanie, Jenn, Montana and Steph competed in a two-round immunity challenge. In round one, they had 60 minutes to cook a dish using either tea, milk or cinnamon. Ali, Jenn and Montana, who had the best tea, milk and cinnamon desserts respectively, advanced to round two, where they had 60 minutes to make another dish incorporating one ingredient chosen blindly from three, which was white nectarines. Ali, who initially disliked the choice of ingredient, impressed the judges with her nectarine and squid noodles with daikon. She narrowly beat Montana's nectarine and basil sorbet to win Weekly Immunity, sending the others to the elimination. |
| Week 5 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0886 | “Episode 20” | Sunday, 15 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Time Elimination Challenge - Ali had weekly immunity, while Aldo sat out the first round to balance the teams. The remaining contestants had to cook a ten-minute dish. Melanie's silken tofu with fried egg was considered the best, saving the Fans from elimination. The Favourites then faced a two-day elimination cook-off, where they were given 45 minutes to prepare a dish of their choice, then 60 minutes to cook it the next day. Michael, whose beef brisket became tough and dry, played his pin minutes into the cook. Most of the Favourites' dishes were praised by the judges, with Minoli's pork belly curry with chana dal curry and chili pineapple, Alvin's tofu, Billie's confit duck leg, Julie's Moroccan lamb shoulder with couscous, Sarah's pork vindaloo and Aldo's octopus and octopus broth, leaving Mindy and Sashi in jeopardy. Mindy's dumplings were raw, but her broth was deep and rich in flavour. Sashi, who had to remake the dosas for his overnight fish curry, mistakenly left his curry to cook on the stove at high heat, burning on the bottom of the pot and the burnt flavour overpowered the entire dish, and Sashi was eliminated. Tommy, who was absent isolating, must compete in the first elimination challenge after his return. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0887 | “Episode 21” | Monday, 16 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Fitzroy Mills Mystery Box - The 18 remaining contestants were taken to the Fitzroy Mills Market in Melbourne for their next mystery box challenge, where they had 75 minutes to cook a dish highlighting coffee. The judges praised Aldo's panna cotta al caffe, but they were impressed by Ali's coffee-marinated eggplant with tofu latte, earning the Fans an advantage in the next team challenge. Billie, Matt and Julie received special mentions for their dishes. However, Jenn burnt the coffee for her pumpkin dish, and Harry overcooked the bacon for her breakfast sandwich and her toast was soggy, sending both of them through to the pressure test. Alvin's brownie missed the brief by failing to highlight coffee, Sarah's gulab jamun didn't have the right texture despite her well-received coffee syrup, and Minoli's coffee and berry dish was overpowered by her mixed berry compote. Minoli and Sarah were chosen to join Harry and Jenn in the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0888 | “Episode 22” | Tuesday, 17 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Alla Wolf-Tasker's Summer Cucumbers with Murray Cod - Harry, Jenn, Minoli and Sarah traveled to Alla Wolf-Tasker's Lake House restaurant for a demonstration of her summer cucumbers and Murray cod dish. They then returned to the MasterChef kitchen, where they had 90 minutes to replicate the dish from memory. Harry, who struggled to properly cook her fish, played her immunity pin in the last few minutes of the cook, while Jenn was praised for her near replication. Sarah's vichyssoise was slightly watery, her dill fronds were missing, her fish was problematic, Melissa's fish was overcooked, and it was unpleasant to eat while Andy's fish had a bone in there. Minoli's vichyssoise was balanced and well executed, but her fish was overcooked, her dill oil tasted like a puree and she left numerous elements off the plate due to time constraints. Although Sarah's dish had too many flaws, the judges felt that Minoli had missed the brief and she was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0889 | “Episode 23” | Wednesday, 18 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Date Night Service Challenge - The contestants, aside from Tommy, competed in a delivery service challenge, where they were split into four teams of four to cook a three-course date night meal for 25 couples, with the bottom two teams facing an elimination challenge. The Purple Team, led by Aldo, had Ali's advantage of having Andy cook with them for 15 minutes. The Orange Team, led by Julie, impressed the judges with their retro South Asian menu, and they were safe. The Teal Team struggled under Daniel's leadership. They didn't have enough broccolini in their entree and the pulled pork was unseasoned and bland. The judges liked the Pink Team's meatball main, but they felt their entree and dessert were problematic. While the Purple Team's pizzaiola sauce was rushed and their cauliflower puree lacked cauliflower flavour, their sticky date pudding was judged as the dish of the day, saving them and sending the Pink Team to the elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0890 | “Episode 24” | Thursday, 19 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| 90-Minute Two-Round Elimination Challenge - Tommy and the Teal and Pink Teams faced a two-round elimination challenge, where they were given 90 minutes to split between the two rounds however they chose. Steph and Melanie impressed the judges with their dishes. Keyma, who used 60 minutes to make her Caribbean prawn curry, also impressed the judges. All three were declared safe, with Montana and Matt also scraping through to safety. Daniel, Harry, Jenn and Tommy were sent into the second round, where they had to cook another dish using whatever time they had left. Harry and Daniel redeemed themselves with their curried carrots and ocean spared ribs respectively, saving them. Both Tommy and Jenn had issues with their dishes. Jenn chose to meet the brief with the same dish as round 1 while Tommy chose to meet the brief with a dish from his heritage. However, his fish was overcooked and his broth was under-seasoned, despite the flavours of his fish and his delicious noodles. Jenn attempted to improve her mapo tofu dish. However, while her rice was improved, her mapo tofu was problematic. In the end, the judges felt that Jenn failed to meet the brief and she was eliminated.
MasterClass: Jock Zonfrillo, Andy Allen, Country Cob, Michael Weldon and Keyma Vasquez Montero - Jock and Andy each cooked a dish using ingredients in the MasterChef garden. Chan and Ryan from Country Cob Bakery baked their slow-cooked barbeque beef with quail egg and curried scallop pies. Michael and Keyma then went head-to-head making 30-minute desserts, and Keyma won with her lime churros with dulce de leche sauce. |
| Week 6 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0891 | “Episode 25” | Sunday, 22 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Two Cuisines Immunity Challenge - The judges announced that moving forward in the competition, the Fans' and Favorites' teams would be combined, and the format of competing in two separate groups would be done away with. The contestants were then given 75 minutes to cook a fusion dish combining two cuisines of their choosing. Several contestants impressed with their dishes, but the judges found Sarah's Indian and French inspired butter-poached lobster dish to be flawless and declared it to be head and shoulders above the other contestants' offerings. She won the immunity pin, along with $10,000. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0892 | “Episode 26” | Monday, 23 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Maggie Beer's Mystery Box - The contestants had 75 minutes to cook a dish using Maggie Beer's mystery box, which featured ingredients such as guineafowl, chickpeas, eggplant and prunes, as well as her vino cotto and verjuice. The judges loved Mindy's roast eggplant salad, Daniel's roast guinea fowl, and Aldo's melanzane a scarpone. However, Harry's roast eggplant was under-seasoned and overpowered by her Vegemite, while Matt's chickpeas were undercooked, and his sauce was too sweet. Melanie's guineafowl Maryland was undercooked, and the skin was under-caramelized, and Billie's guineafowl breast with parsley butter was criticized. With those major errors, the latter four ended up in elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0893 | “Episode 27” | Tuesday, 24 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Josh Niland's Tuna Wellington with Mashed Potato and Tuna Gravy - Billie, Harry, Matt and Melanie were given four hours to recreate Josh Niland's tuna wellington with mashed potato and tuna gravy. Billie and Matt, the latter of whom had the dish of the day, excelled during the cook and impressed the judges. The judges loved Harry's wellington and mashed potato, but her sauce was meaty and opaque. Melanie, who couldn't taste her dish, struggled. While her gravy was tasty, she forgot to weigh her tuna and the rest of her dish was affected as the pastry surrounded it was thicker and it was undercooked. Although Harry's tuna gravy was flawed, the judges felt that Melanie had missed the brief and despite her best effort, it was enough to eliminate her. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0894 | “Episode 28” | Wednesday, 25 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Werribee Mansion Team Challenge - The 15 contestants were taken to Werribee Mansion for a team challenge, where they were given 2 hours and 30 minutes to prepare a two-course fine dining meal for 60 diners using ordinary ingredients. The Pink Team struggled under the ambitious task set for them by captain Sarah, and their dishes were poorly received. The judges liked the menu of Billie's Yellow Team, but they felt that the Orange Team, led by Michael, was more successful at meeting the brief, and they were granted the chance to cook for immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0895 | “Episode 29” | Thursday, 26 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Air Fryer and Deep Fryer - In the first round of the immunity challenge, Ali, Julie, Matt, Michael and Mindy had 45 minutes to cook a dish using an air fryer. Ali's papri chat wowed the judges, and she advanced to round two, along with Matt and Julie, who also impressed the judges with their chicken wings and spanakopita respectively. The three were given 60 minutes to make a deep-fried dish. Ali's lobster tempura dish did not go according to plan, and was poorly received. The judges enjoyed Matt's fish and chips, but they loved Julie's Spanish bacon and corn croquettes, and she became the first contestant of the season to win Weekly Immunity twice. |
| Week 7 (Mega Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0896 | “Episode 30” | Sunday, 29 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| All-In Elimination: Greens & Herbs - The contestants aside from Julie faced a two-round elimination. In round one, they took turns identifying various greens and herbs on a wall, with the first five to guess incorrectly being sent to round two. Ali, Billie, Daniel, Matt and Sarah were the first five to guess incorrectly and were sent to the second round. In this round, they had 75 minutes to cook a dish highlighting the ingredients on the wall. Despite being happy with her dish, Sarah chose to use her Immunity Pin towards the end of the cook. Billie's curry leaf parfait, Matt's brassicas with tarragon and pistachio, and Daniel's braised kale with cucumber broth all earned praise from the judges. The judges liked Ali's green gnocchi, but her roasted fennel with cavolo nero sauce was heavy and her dish overall felt confusing. They felt that Ali missed the mark, and she was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0897 | “Episode 31” | Monday, 30 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Rainy Day Mystery Box - The 14 contestants had to cook their favourite rainy-day dish in 75 minutes, with the winner earning a fast-track to the immunity challenge. Aldo, Alvin and Keyma stood out with their dishes, but Tommy's bánh canh cua was considered the best, and he won the fast track. However, Matt's chicken jalfrezi was thrown out of balance by the lack of seasoning, Michael's chili con carne had a couple of minor flaws, Montana's Middle Eastern sweet chicken stew was criticised for not including bone-in chicken, and Daniel's prawn laksa wasn't balanced, sending the latter four straight to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0898 | “Episode 32” | Tuesday, 31 May 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Donato Toce's Honey - Donato Toce of Gelato Messina set a pressure test for Michael, Matt, Daniel and Montana. They were given three and a half hours to recreate Toce's Honey, composed of a honey tuille, a filled blown sugar beehive, and a honey gelato with financier. Daniel sailed through the challenge and created the blown sugar beehive with ease as all the others struggled. His dish impressed the judges and was declared dish of the day, with Donato remarking Daniel's gelato was even better than his own. Michael's dish received praise as well. Montana completed all the elements, but she was the only contestant who failed to produce a complete beehive but managed to plate her beehive element using broken sugar shards in a manner that resembled the original. Her dish also closely resembled Donato's in terms of taste, flavour and balance. Matt also completed all of the elements and his beehive element and his honey tuile were delicious, but there was a serious flaw in his gelato as he misread the recipe and its construction was more financier than gelato. Deciding between Montana and Matt, the judges felt that Matt had missed the brief and he was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0899 | “Episode 33” | Wednesday, 1 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Digital Art Gallery Team Challenge - For their next team challenge, the contestants were taken to the LUME Melbourne, where they were split into two teams of six and given two and a half hours to create a three-course menu inspired by Vincent van Gogh's forest painting. The judges liked the Yellow Team's dessert, but they preferred the Green Team's entree and main, and the latter joined Tommy in the immunity challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0900 | “Episode 34” | Thursday, 2 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Pressure Test: Marco Pierre White's Panache of Sea Scallops, Calamari and Ink Sauce - Alvin, Harry, Keyma, Michael, Mindy, Montana and Tommy competed for immunity in a pressure test set by Marco Pierre White. They had 45 minutes to recreate his panache of sea scallops and calamari with an ink sauce. Overall, the judges were impressed by the contestants' dishes, but they felt that Keyma's dish best resembled Marco's, and she won Weekly Immunity and became the first contestant in the top 12.
MasterClass: Jock Zonfrillo, Andy Allen, Thi Le, Nick Riewoldt and Mindy Woods - Jock and Andy cooked their favourite rainy day dishes, while guest chef Thi Le made her turmeric chicken bánh mí. Mindy and former Celebrity MasterChef Australia winner Nick Riewoldt then cooked dishes featuring extra virgin olive oil. |
| Week 8 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0901 | “Episode 35” | Sunday, 5 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| All-In Elimination: Marco Pierre White's Pantry - In an all-in elimination set by Marco Pierre White, contestants had to use condiments that Marco would usually have in his pantry. Aldo's calamari imbuttunat, Alvin's prawns with red sauce and egg floss, Billie's crispy potatoes with beef tartare and BBQ meatloaf sauce, and Tommy's steamed fish with soy sauce were the stand-out dishes. However, Daniel's beef mince pot pie and Harry's whole baked flounder with herb and butter sauce received criticism. While Daniel's minced meat was criticised for being flavourless, Harry's flounder was overcooked and overpowered by the sauce, and she was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0902 | “Episode 36” | Monday, 6 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Burnt Mystery Box - Dave Pynt set the Mystery Box with contestants having to use fire in at least one element of their dishes. Sarah's Indian frankies were declared the best dish and she won a strategical advantage for the next team challenge. However, Alvin's eggplants with miso satay sauce, Billie's frozen ricotta with peaches, Steph's dessert, and Montana's savoury dish were declared the Bottom 4 and they were sent to the Pressure Test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0903 | “Episode 37” | Tuesday, 7 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Melissa Cryptic Pressure Test: Andreas Papadakis' Tipomisu - In a pressure test set by Andreas Papadakis, contestants had to recreate his tipomisu using only a review written by Melissa. Billie excelled and her dish was declared nearly identical to Andreas's, whereas Steph had forgotten to put vanilla in her brownie, and as a result, it tasted overwhelmingly eggy. Because the brownie was the foundation of Andrea's dish, the judges felt that Steph had missed the brief and she was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0904 | “Episode 38” | Wednesday, 8 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Japanese or Italian Restaurant Team Challenge - The contestants were split into two teams to cook either Japanese or Italian cuisine. Since Sarah won the strategical advantage, she chose which cuisine her team would cook and she chose Japanese. In her team were Mindy, Aldo, Montana, Daniel and Alvin. Their dessert was the dish of the day and their mains and entrees were declared better than the Italian team's (Tommy, Michael, Julie, Billie and Keyma). Hence, they won the team challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0905 | “Episode 39” | Thursday, 9 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Movie Snacks Immunity Challenge - Team challenge winners Daniel, Alvin, Montana, Sarah, Mindy and Aldo competed in a two-round immunity challenge. The first round was a taste test of flavoured popcorn, with Aldo, Alvin and Mindy out of the running after guessing a flavour incorrectly. For the second round, Montana, Daniel and Sarah had to create their own choc top. Montana brought a brown butter and fig choc top. Sarah presented a mango kulfi white choc top. The highest praise, however, went to Daniel's peanut butter and bacon choc top, nicknamed 'You're Bacon Me Go Nuts'. As a result, Daniel won Weekly Immunity and became the first contestant in the Top 10. In addition, Deliveroo made and delivered a version of his choc top for its Australian customers. |
| Week 9 (Top 10 Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0906 | “Episode 40” | Sunday, 12 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Rick Stein's All-In Postcard Elimination - The 10 contestants, aside from Daniel, faced an elimination challenge set by Rick Stein. They had 75 minutes to cook a "postcard" dish evocative of a location they had traveled to. Billie's Spanish shellfish stew, Aldo's eggplant parmigiana and meatballs, Julie's coq au vin, Keyma's fileja alla 'Nduja, and Sarah's crab xacuti all received exceptional feedback, with Mindy's satay ayam, Alvin's nasi lemak, Tommy's banh khọt also being very well received. The judges liked the elements of Montana's American Christmas roast, but criticised her for not serving the chicken whole. The prawns and mussels in Michael's American cioppino were cooked well and the broth was tasty, but the fish was unevenly cooked. While the judges felt that Montana and Michael's dishes had flaws, they felt that Michael had missed the mark. This error was enough to send him home, finalising the Top 10. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0907 | “Episode 41” | Monday, 13 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Everything Mystery Box - The judges announced that any contestant who cooked a top dish in any challenge this week would automatically win immunity from the elimination on Sunday. Additionally, they would also get a chance to compete for the seventh and final immunity pin of the season and one contestant will be eliminated. For the first challenge of the week, the 10 contestants were given a mystery box containing milk, Carisma potatoes, shio koji, watercress, tommy ruff, green peppercorns, swordbelt mushrooms, and freekeh. Given 60 minutes to cook, the contestants were to include all the ingredients from the mystery box in their final dishes. Tommy's poached tommy ruff, Billie's fish pie, and Julie's gnocchi all received acclaim from the judges, with Billie edging out Tommy and Julie to win immunity from the elimination, as well as the first spot in the immunity pin challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0908 | “Episode 42” | Tuesday, 14 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| DIY Pressure Test - The contestants, aside from Billie, had to write their own recipe worthy of being delivered as a pressure test. The top two cooks would be declared safe from the elimination and would win the chance to compete for the final immunity pin of the season. Having planned their recipes overnight, the contestants were given two hours to cook their dishes. Sarah's falooda-inspired dessert, Keyma's hallacas, and Alvin's pork snack plate all wowed the judges, but they were beaten by Mindy's crispy fried snapper and Daniel's paperbark barramundi with aromatic broth. Mindy and Daniel were awarded immunity from the elimination and won the chance to compete against Billie in the immunity pin challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0909 | “Episode 43” | Wednesday, 15 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Fruit Salad Reinvention Test - The contestants, aside from Billie, Mindy, and Daniel, had to reimagine fruit salad. Given 75 minutes to make their dishes, most of the contestants struggled with the brief and received mixed feedback on their execution. However, Montana, Alvin, and Julie received acclaim for their creative reinventions of the classic dish. The judges especially commended the originality and unexpectedness of Julie's fruit salad Thai curry and deemed it the winning dish, beating Montana's fruit salad aguachile and Alvin's fruit salad rojak. Julie won immunity from the elimination and took her place alongside Billie, Mindy, and Daniel in the immunity pin challenge, leaving the other contestants to face elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0910 | “Episode 44” | Thursday, 16 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Time Auction Immunity Pin Challenge - In a time auction, contestants had to bid time for ingredients, with the best dish receiving the final immunity pin of the season. Mindy had 85 minutes to cook with tripe, root vegetables and flavour bombs, Julie had 75 minutes to cook with lamb, nightshades and vinegars, Billie had 40 minutes to cook with eggs, tropical fruits and spices and Daniel had 30 minutes to cook with Moreton Bay bugs, onions and herbs. Billie's passionfruit parfait with pineapple and saffron wowed the judges. However, she was narrowly beaten by Julie, who cooked a Middle Eastern-inspired dish featuring lamb and nightshades. |
| Week 10 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0911 | “Episode 45” | Sunday, 19 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Three Rounds, One Ingredient Elimination - Aldo, Alvin, Montana, Keyma, Sarah and Tommy were given the choice to use a single pumpkin, chicken, or pink snapper across three rounds. Aldo, Sarah, Tommy, and Keyma all chose to cook with a pink snapper, and Montana and Alvin chose to cook with a chicken. In the first round, Keyma and Sarah impressed with their pink snapper ceviches, and were declared safe. In the second round, Aldo and Montana succeeded with their snapper acqua pazza and chicken skin dessert, respectively, thus avoiding the final round. In the third round, Tommy and Alvin had to cook with the remaining parts of their ingredient. Tommy's take on Vietnamese rice cakes with a fish broth and mango salad was well-received, however, while his fish was perfectly cooked and the broth was tasty, his dish fell short with his rice cakes. Alvin took a big gamble with his dish back in season 2. However, while the judges were impressed with Alvin's drunken chicken, he cooked the best dish in his entire life. Ultimately, Alvin's dish was deemed "unbeatable" and was dish of the day, and Tommy was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0912 | “Episode 46” | Monday, 20 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Tiny Plate Mystery Box - Contestants had to cook with miniature-sized ingredients (school prawns, baby cauliflower, quail, micro basil, chardonnay, baby mandarins, fresh garlic, mini Oreo biscuits, and tiny tomatoes) to create a dish on a tiny plate. Billie's cookies and cream choux and Julie's quail á la mandarin were declared the top two dishes, with Daniel's pan-seared quail breast with charred cauliflower florets receiving a special mention. However, Mindy's quail wontons and Montana's quail with cauliflower and tomato and basil salad dish both contained bones, and Aldo's panzanella salad with school prawns failed to impress the judges. Having cooked the bottom three dishes, Mindy, Aldo, and Montana were sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0913 | “Episode 47” | Tuesday, 21 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Khanh Nguyen Pressure Test - Khanh Nguyen returned to set a pressure test. His seafood plate contained 99 ingredients, 143 steps and 13 pages in the recipe. Mindy excelled in the cook and presented a near-perfect version to the judges. Both Aldo and Montana's dishes had serious flaws and, in a close decision, Montana was eliminated due to pieces of oyster shell present in her dish. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0914 | “Episode 48” | Wednesday, 22 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Loved Ones Service Challenge - Contestants were divided into two teams and asked to cook with three herbs: tarragon, Thai basil and coriander. They had to cook for the judges as well as their loved ones, who were visitors for the day. The green team (Mindy, Daniel, Aldo and Billie) won the main course, but the aqua team (Julie, Alvin, Keyma, and Sarah) won the entree and dessert and they were given a chance to compete for immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0915 | “Episode 49” | Thursday, 23 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Prickly Ingredients Immunity Challenge - Team challenge winners Julie, Alvin, Keyma and Sarah each chose one of the four prickly ingredients: chestnuts, stinging nettles, sea urchin and prickly pear, to feature in their dish. Alvin chose to cook with sea urchin, Sarah chose chestnuts, Julie cooked with stinging nettles and Keyma made a dessert with prickly pear. The challenge proved to be overwhelming for all four contestants, with all of them presenting disappointing dishes. Julie's nettle oil lacked balance, her salmon was flat and underseasoned and overall, the dish lacked acidity, Alvin ruined his sea urchins by leaving his noodles on the heat, Sarah undercooked her chicken despite well-received chestnut puree and Keyma dropped her cake on the floor of the kitchen. The judging came down to the element that featured the prickly ingredient the best, with Keyma's prickly pear sorbet beating Sarah's chestnut puree. As a result, Keyma was awarded immunity from Sunday's all-in elimination.
MasterClass: Jock Zonfrillo, Andy Allen, Natalie Paull, Aldo Ortado, and Daniel Lamble- Jock and Andy demonstrated their favourite mud crab dishes, chef Natalie Paull made her carrot cake with cheesecake layers, and Aldo and Daniel cooked their favourite midnight snacks. |
| Week 11 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0916 | “Episode 50” | Sunday, 26 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Hugh Allen's All-In Elimination - The contestants other than Keyma had to cook a dish featuring the ingredient either in front of them or the one hidden under the cloche, both selected by chef Hugh Allen. They had to cook with the other ingredient in round 2. Alvin, Mindy, Sarah and Daniel chose corn, celeriac, lemon myrtle (under the cloche) and wattleseed nut, and saved themselves. Aldo, Billie and Julie proceeded to round 2, as Aldo's quandong sauce was grainy although the duck was perfectly cooked, Julie's terrine didn't feature enough of the golden beetroot and Billie's Jerusalem artichoke panna cotta was firmer than expected. In round 2, Aldo and Billie had to cook with cucumber and wasabi respectively (both under the cloche) and Julie had to cook with the lion's mane mushroom she had passed on in the first round. After Julie used her immunity pin, it came down to Aldo's cucumber salad with spanner crab and Billie's wasabi beef tartare. Billie's tartare had more of a "wow" factor than Aldo's salad; hence he was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0917 | “Episode 51” | Monday, 27 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Rainbow Mystery Box - For this mystery box, the cooks were given ingredients that were all colourful - painted crayfish, scampi caviar, fruit loops, dragonfruit, multicoloured corn, fennel mukhwas, flowering pineapple sage, rainbow chard and turmeric. Daniel's fairy mille-feuille and Sarah's crayfish and rainbow chard cigars were the top two dishes. However, Billie's mukhwas choux had technical issues, Julie's rainbow crayfish salad was overpowered by the turmeric, and Mindy's rainbow crayfish with egg noodles was criticized. Having cooked the bottom three dishes, Billie, Julie and Mindy were sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0918 | “Episode 52” | Tuesday, 28 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Kirsten Tibballs Pressure Test - Kirsten Tiballs returned to present her intricate 'cherry on top' cake. Billie, Julie and Mindy had three hours and fifteen minutes to recreate her dessert. All three faced hardships during the cook. During the tasting, Billie's dish was declared to be the closest to Kirsten's. Julie's cake's exterior was rough compared to Kirsten's, but other than that, there were hardly any other flaws in her interior. Mindy, on the other hand, presented an exterior similar to Kirsten's, but there were a lot of major flaws in the interior. Ultimately, the judges felt that Mindy had missed the brief and she was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0919 | “Episode 53” | Wednesday, 29 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Blind Pairing Duel Challenge - The final six were paired up and allowed to pick two ingredients each from a pantry. They faced off against the contestant with the same colour apron for a spot in the immunity challenge. The pairs were Daniel & Sarah, Alvin & Keyma and Billie & Julie. They had sixty minutes to cook using only the ingredients that they and their partner selected. Billie & Julie selected lemon, garlic, prawns and star anise, and Julie won. Daniel & Sarah picked fermented bean curd, steak, onions and asparagus, and Sarah won. Alvin & Keyma picked fish sauce, gochujang, habanero chillies and plantains, and Alvin won. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0920 | “Episode 54” | Thursday, 30 June 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Time Shopping Immunity Challenge - Contestants purchase their ingredients, using time as their currency. The more ingredients they purchased, the less time on the clock. Julie's orange upside down cake with an orange and ginger ice cream was outstanding, although she did not serve the undercooked parts. Julie won immunity and became the first member of the top 5. |
| Week 12 (Finals Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0921 | “Episode 55” | Sunday, 3 July 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Two-Round Oyster Bay Elimination - The Top 6 traveled to Tasmania to kick off Finals Week. They harvested their own oysters from the ocean in Great Oyster Bay, and all the contestants except Julie competed in a two-round elimination challenge. For the first round, the contestants were given 30 minutes to prepare condiments and accompaniments to dress six fresh oysters. Daniel's grilled and smoked oysters with soy sauce and coconut vinaigrette was declared the best dish, and he was the first to be declared safe. Following a split decision, Sarah's Goan-spiced Oysters Kilpatrick beat Billie's oysters with chicken fat dressing, and she was also declared safe. Billie, Keyma, and Alvin were left to cook in the 75-minute second round and prepare a dish celebrating oysters. Billie's Oysters Kilpatrick custard and Keyma's oyster Pisca Andina were well-received, but Alvin's Singaporean oyster omelette suffered from some textural issues. Ultimately, Alvin's dish failed to meet expectations, and he was sent home, finalizing the Top 5. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0922 | “Episode 56” | Monday, 4 July 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Truffle Hunt Immunity Challenge - The Top 5 traveled to a truffle farm in Launceston and hunted for their own truffles with dogs. They were then given 60 minutes to prepare a dish highlighting the ingredient. Sarah, Billie, and Daniel's dishes were well-received, but all suffered from some negatives. Keyma's cachapa-inspired truffle dish and Julie's truffle-stuffed quail dish were declared the best dishes, and Keyma narrowly beat Julie to win immunity from the elimination and secure her place in the Top 4. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0923 | “Episode 57” | Tuesday, 5 July 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Distillery Service Elimination - The last day in Tasmania saw the contestants visiting a distillery. Sarah, Daniel, Billie and Julie were each tasked with one course in a four-course service challenge. All of them needed to feature gin or whiskey in their dishes. The first course was presented by Sarah with mushroom and whiskey broth with togarashi parsnip chips. The second course was presented by Daniel, with gin squid served to the judges instead of a salmon confit which ended up overcooked. It was the dish of the day. Third was Billie's pearl barley encrusted lamb which also was well received. The meal was ended with Julie's whiskey toffee pudding. While her caramel and her other elements were outstanding, the major flaw of her pudding being overcooked and burnt could not be overlooked. As a result, Julie was eliminated, finalising the four finalists in the Grand Finale Week. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0924 | “Episode 58” | Wednesday, 6 July 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Fast Track to the Semi-Finals: Home Cook to Pro Cook - Billie, Daniel, Keyma and Sarah faced off in a two-round challenge for a fast-track to the semi-finals. In round one, they had 60 minutes to cook a dish using the staple ingredients and cooking equipment found in average household kitchens. Sarah's boudin blanc with cassoulet and Billie's apple crumble and parfait stood out, and they advanced to the second round. A new high-tech kitchen was revealed, and they were given 90 minutes and full access to the pantry and garden to create a "pro cook" dish using the advanced equipment on offer. The judges enjoyed Sarah's confit scallops with a compound butter sauce and herb beurre blanc, but felt that she had poured too much of the sauce onto the dish as she was plating, thus overpowering the scallops. The judges loved Billie's saffron mousse with cherry sauce, inspired by her grandmother's peach dessert, and deemed it free of negatives. Therefore, Billie won the fast-track to the semi-finals and secured her spot in the Top 3. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0925 | “Episode 59” | Thursday, 7 July 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| MasterClass: Jock Zonfrillo, Andy Allen and the Final Four - In the final MasterClass of the season, Jock and Andy went head-to-head in a pub classic invention test, judged by Melissa and the final four, and Jock won. Billie, Daniel and Keyma then competed against the two judges in a three-course service challenge, having to feature pork, honey and watermelon in their dishes, and the judges won. |
| Week 13 (Grand Finale Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0926 | “Episode 60” | Sunday, 10 July 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Peter Gilmore's Raw Abrohols Island Scallop and Moo - Daniel, Sarah and Keyma competed in the final pressure test of the season, set by Peter Gilmore. They had two hours and thirty minutes to re-create two of Gilmore's most complex signature dishes: his raw Abrohols Island scallop with katsuobushi cream, Ossetra caviar and sea cucumber crackling, and Moo, a dessert consisting of a salted oloroso caramel, prune jam, vanilla ice cream and cocoa tuiles. Daniel, who fell behind in making his katsuobushi cream, excelled in the cook and his dishes tasted exactly like Peter's and were dishes of the day. Sarah burnt the biscuits for her dessert, forcing her to remake them, and her whipped cream was too soft. Keyma, however, struggled. She didn't have enough katsuobushi cream, throwing off the balance of her scallop dish. The whipped cream for her dessert split after she used the wrong amounts of double and pure cream, and her ice cream was too icy. Due to these negatives across both dishes, she was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0927 | “Episode 61” | Monday, 11 July 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Semi-Finals: Service Challenge - Sarah, Billie, and Daniel were given five-and-a-half hours to prepare and serve a three-course menu to twenty diners, as well as the three judges. Shannon Bennett returned to the kitchen to run the pass, as well as to provide mentorship and support to the three semi-finalists. Billie served all three of her courses on time, but the flavours in her mussel and soup entrée were out of balance, and the duck in her apricot chicken-inspired main course was overcooked. However, her Lamington-inspired dessert was deemed faultless. Sarah's curry scampi entrée and lamb saag main course were very well received, but her main and dessert were served late. Additionally, while her poached pear and chai dessert was praised for its flavours, it contained undercooked pears. Daniel's cured kingfish entrée arrived on time and was acclaimed, but his main course and dessert both arrived late and were also marked with flaws. The coral trout in his main contained rubbery skin, and his curry sauce was unbalanced. Additionally, his pineapple tarte tatin dessert missed the mark on execution, and was served without the planned coconut sorbet element since he had mistakenly stored it in the blast chiller instead of the freezer. Billie excelled in punctuality, and Sarah had cooked the strongest dishes overall, but Daniel had missed the mark on both those measures. Having produced two flawed courses that were served late, Daniel was eliminated in third place, leaving Sarah and Billie to advance to the Grand Finale. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0928 | “Episode 62” | Tuesday, 12 July 2022 |
| Synopsis: |
| Grand Finale - The Grand Finale consisted of two rounds instead of the usual three, thus giving more weight to the dessert pressure test. In the first round, Billie and Sarah were presented with three challenges: a mystery box, a brief and a cloche, from which they were each allowed to remove one. Billie took the mystery box off the table, after which Sarah removed the cloche, leaving both of them to cook with the brief. They then had 75 minutes to cook a dish that was both sweet and savoury. Sarah sailed through the challenge, and her butter chicken-inspired sticky wingettes with a sweet and savoury gravy was praised for both hitting the brief and for being luxurious and well-balanced. She received 26 points. Billie, on the other hand, struggled in the challenge, having to scrap a failed sorbet element and re-evaluate her dish halfway through the cook. Ultimately, the judges were impressed by the flavours of her cumin panna cotta with rosemary and rhubarb, but the panna cotta had failed to set. As a result, she received 21 points and fell behind Sarah. In the second round, they were given five hours and fifteen minutes to replicate Heston Blumenthal's Taffety Tart, consisting of ten elements. Sarah's dish matched Heston's in presentation and flavour, but missed the mark with some of the textures. Her puff pastry was too hard, and not as delicate as Heston's. Additionally, she had been very cautious about not adding too much liquid nitrogen to her ice cream, which backfired when it ended up being too loose. She received a 7 from Andy and Heston and an 8 from Jock and Melissa, giving her a total score of 56 points. Billie fell behind throughout the challenge, being dissatisfied with her puff pastry and crumble, and choosing to remake both from scratch despite being short on time. However, both of these risks paid off when the judges were amazed with her final dish. They all felt that she was near-perfect in terms of presentation, flavour, and texture, receiving a 9 from Jock, Andy, and Heston, and a 10 from Melissa. With this, she was able to catch up to and narrowly overtake Sarah, landing at a final score of 58 points. Ultimately, the minor textural errors in the pressure test cost Sarah the win, with Billie securing the title again, and becoming the first cook in MasterChef history to win the competition twice. Winner Announced - Billie McKay won the title of MasterChef 2022 and the $250,000 grand prize, while Sarah Todd received $30,000 as the runner-up. Daniel Lamble received $20,000 for finishing in third place. |
| EPISODE | BORN | DIED | AIRING DATE |
| “A Tribute to Jock” | Wednesday 4 August 1976 | Sunday 30 April 2023 | Sunday 7 May 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| The Project team speak to the world's biggest chefs and members of the MasterChef family after the shock passing of much-loved judge, Jock Zonfrillo, ahead of the launch of MasterChef Australia. |
| Nationality: | Television show(s): | Award(s) won: |
| Scottish | •Nomad Chef (2014) •Restaurant Revolution (2015) •Chef's Exchange (2016-2017) •MasterChef Australia (2020-2023) |
•Young Scottish Chef of the Year •Basque Culinary World Prize •AGFG Restaurant of the Year |
| Previous restaurant(s): |
| •Turnberry, South Ayrshire, Scotland (1991) •Arkle, Chester, United Kingdom (1992-1993) •Aubergine, London, United Kingdom (1993-1994) •The Restaurant Marco Pierre White, London (1994-1995) •Chapter One, Kent, United Kingdom (1995-1996) •Restaurant 41, Sydney (1996-1997, 2000-2002) •Les Saveurs, London (1997) •The Pharmacy, London (1997) •Hotel Tresanton Restaurant, Cornwall, United Kingdom (1998-1999) •Street ADL, Adelaide, South Australia (2013-2017) •Orana, Adelaide (2013-2020) •Bistro Blackwood, Adelaide (2017-2019) •Nonna Mallozzi, Adelaide (2018-2019) |
2023 - Complete Season 15
| Week 1 (Surprises Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0929 | “Episode 01” | Sun 7 May 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Series Premiere: Secret Weapon Invention Test - The MasterChef kitchen welcomed celebrity chef Jamie Oliver as a guest judge for the next two days. The new contestants were tasked to cook with anything that represented their secret weapon. Larissa's borscht, Rue's tart and Alice's moon-chi emerged as the top 3, with Larissa's dish being considered the dish of the day. As a reward, Larissa received a 'second chance apron'. Should she be eliminated at any point in the competition, this will allow her to cook in the next elimination round for a chance to regain her place in the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0930 | “Episode 02” | Mon 8 May 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Jamie Oliver Two-Round Challenge - The contestants cooked in a two-round challenge for a chance to compete for immunity. In the first round they had to cook a dish in 15 mnutes; Andrea's spaghetti with clams, Antonio's cachapas, Grace's bruschetta (with greens, poached egg and bagna gauda), Jessica's butterflied prawns with chermoula sauce and Rhiannon's prawn coconut soup were the top 5 dishes. The top 5 then had to keep up with Jamie cooking his mushroom and spinach rotolo, with which Andrea and Rhiannon struggled but Antonio and Jessica were the top 2 and won a chance to compete for immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0931 | “Episode 03” | Tue 9 May 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Flavour Bomb Invention Test - Jamie Oliver left behind four flavour bombs for the contestants to use. The contestants could cook anything with the assigned flavour bomb, however, the flavour bombs would only be revealed to them 15 minutes into the cook. These were harissa, pesto, Dijon mustard and red miso. Most of the dishes were well-received, with rave reviews for Rhiannon's rissoles, and Theo's flatbreads. However, two dishes emerged as the best for the day; Malissa's red miso and pumpkin ravioli, and Cath's thyme ice cream with Dijon caramel. As a result, Malissa and Cath were chosen to join Antonio and Jessica for the first immunity challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0932 | “Episode 04” | Wed 10 May 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Hugh Allen - In the first round, Antonio, Cath, Jessica and Malissa had to create a dish in 45 minutes using ingredients from Shannon Bennett's fridge. Malissa's fig and date cake with ginger caramel impressed the judges and won immunity from Sunday's elimination and the opportunity to win a pin, for which she has to cook against Hugh Allen. In 75 minutes, Malissa chose the potent pantry while Hugh had to cook with the pleasant pantry. Malissa's prawn and mushroom linguine won praise for the cooking of the prawns and bold flavour but criticized for the pasta not being al dente, scoring 22 points. Hugh's strawberry gum parfait with raspberries and roses was praised for being elegant and well-balanced scoring 27 points and winning the round. |
| Week 2 (Secrets to Success Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0933 | “Episode 05” | Sun 14 May 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Childhood Memories Elimination Challenge - Before the challenge started the judges announced that Alice, Antonio, Cath, Declan, Jessica, Larissa, Rhiannon and Theo had COVID and missed today's elimination. When they return, they will cook in the next elimination challenge. In the first of a two-round elimination challenge, the rest of the contestants except Malissa (who had immunity) had 60 minutes to cook a dish featuring one of the judges' nostalgic ingredients (Vegemite, cumquat or panettone). Brent's Middle Eastern chicken with hummus and cumquat glaze, Phil's pork fillet with parsnip & vanilla puree and Vegemite sauce, and Rue's cumquat Swiss roll received the best praise while Amy, Andrea and Robbie's dishes had issues which landed them in the second round, for which they had 60 minutes to make a dish inspired by their childhood memories. Robbie's fish curry with fried bread was the standout dish while Amy's caramel dumplings with Bailey's cream also received praise, but Andrea's Nutella sauce was split and the flavours of his crepes were average, which resulted in his elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0934 | “Episode 06” | Mon 15 May 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Poh Ling Yeow Mystery Box Challenge - The contestants from yesterday's elimination challenge except Brent and Rue (who had COVID) had 75 minutes to cook a dish using the mystery box created by Poh Ling Yeow which contained the pantry staples and two other ingredients of their choice. Ali's Portuguese tarts were undercooked while Phil's brownie with smoked vanilla ice cream was not balanced. Grace's chive & salmon roe waffles and Robbie's pasta carbonara received impressive feedback, but it was Malissa's citrus cannoli with mascarpone and orange curd that won the challenge, fast tracking her to the immunity challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0935 | “Episode 07” | Tue 16 May 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Emelia Jackson Choux Pastry Elimination Challenge - A two-round elimination challenge tasked the eight contestants who missed out on the first elimination challenge to create choux buns in 75 minutes using Emelia Jackson's recipe while choosing either savoury or sweet flavour, with the bottom three having to highlight the other flavour in the second round. Cath's lemon mascarpone choux buns were the stand-out dish, receiving immediate safety from elimination. Declan, Antonio, Jessica and Theo also received praise, but Alice, Larissa and Rhiannon had issues with their choux and were sent to the second round. Both Rhiannon and Alice's savoury buns managed to redeem them while Larissa's sweet choux was unbalanced, which resulted in her elimination. However, with the second-chance apron she has the opportunity to cook in the next elimination challenge for a chance to rejoin the competition. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0936 | “Episode 08” | Wed 17 May 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Featured Ingredients Service Challenge - The contestants except for Malissa (who won the mystery box challenge and is through to the immunity challenge), and Brent, Rue and Amy (recovering from COVID), were split into two teams. The green team (Alice, Antonio, Cath, Grace, Phil and Rhiannon) led by Matt Sinclair, and the blue team (Adi, Declan, Jessica, Ralph, Robbie and Theo) led by Sashi Cheliah, had to cook a two-course meal for 30 guests. The judges revealed the choices for each course: cucumber, eggplant or pumpkin for entrée and chicken, coral trout or pork belly for main. Both teams delivered on their entrées with the blue team serving prawns with cucumber granita and the green team serving miso-glazed eggplant. While the blue team's main of yellow fish curry with cumin rice was a success, the green team's main of twice-cooked pork with mango salad had nice flavours but the pork was portioned inconsistently. The blue team delivered on both courses, and they advance for an opportunity to cook for immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0937 | “Episode 09” | Thu 18 May 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Darren Robertson - In the first round, Adi, Declan, Jessica, Malissa, Ralph, Robbie and Theo had to create a dish in 45 minutes by using roast chicken. Theo's chicken lahmacun with tzatsiki impressed the judges and won immunity from Sunday's elimination and the opportunity to win an immunity pin, for which he had to cook against Darren Robertson. Theo chose the 60 minutes with 10 ingredients pantry and gave Darren the 30 minutes with 20 ingredients pantry. Theo's apple tart with lemon custard was praised for its flavours and technique but was criticized for his presentation and the tart pastry being too thick, scoring 23 points. Darren served a feast in 30 minutes which was a whole barramundi with pickled cabbage, flatbread and mango chili vinegar and was praised for the cooking of the fish as well as complex flavours, scoring 25 points and winning the round. |
| Week 3 (Big Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0938 | “Episode 10” | Sun 21 May 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Julie Goodwin Seafood Stew Elimination Challenge - The contestants aside from Theo faced a two-round challenge. In round one, they took turns identifying the ingredients from Julie Goodwin's seafood stew by taste. Antonio, Declan, Jessica, Robbie and Rue were the first five to guess incorrectly and were sent to the second round where the judges revealed they would be joined by Larissa who has to survive to get back into the competition. In this round, they had 75 minutes to cook a dish using the ingredients from Julie's stew recipe without the under-bench staples. Robbie's seafood and tomato soup was hailed dish of the day, while Larissa's pelmeni and broth were praised, earning her the right to come back. Rue's mussels with white wine and tomato sauce received good compliments as well as Declan's prawn and snapper soup though his flatbread was more of a crispy bread and the wrong bread to serve, Antonio's snapper empanadas had great flavours but were too oily. Jessica's pomodoro had the flavour in the sauce but her decision to make an eggless pasta with bread flour proved to be her undoing as the pasta was criticized for being the wrong texture, resulting in her being eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0939 | “Episode 11” | Mon 22 May 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Giant Mystery Box Challenge - The contestants were given 75 minutes to cook a dish using large ingredients such as a large Toblerone, whole pumpkin, whole tuna, cassia-bark, rhubarb and sack of peanuts, with the bottom three facing elimination. Antonio's Toblerone and peanut ice cream sandwich, Phil's ice cream sandwich with Toblerone ice cream and orange sugar tuile and Ralph's 'busted' milk tart received the highest praise for the judges and were the top 3 dishes. However, Declan's peanut-crusted tuna with pumpkin puree was criticized for lacking texture and was overwhelmed by peanut flavour, Theo's rough puff pastry for his rhubarb millefeuille was more of a shortcrust pastry and Larissa's ravioli lacked filling and the sauce was rushed. As a result, the latter three ended up in elimination. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0940 | “Episode 12” | Tue 23 May 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Eddie Stewart's Tokyo Lamington Tower - Chef Eddie Stewart set the pressure test, which required Declan, Larissa and Theo to recreate his Tokyo lamington tower in five hours. Theo's was declared the best with perfect sponge, presentation and flavours while Declan's was praised for the flavours matching the original and a nice sponge despite looking a little rough and the chocolate coating of the Snicker's lamington was a little too thick. Larissa had flaws both in presentation and taste, her flavours were unbalanced with too much peanut on one, not enough yuzu curd on the other and she had to make her caramel four times, which put her behind, rushing the presentation and making the lamingtons too big and clumsy. The judges felt that Larissa had missed the brief and she was eliminated once again. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0941 | “Episode 13” | Wed 24 May 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Grazeland Street Food Service Challenge - The 15 contestants were taken to Grazeland food court in Spotswood for a team challenge, where they were split into two teams. The turquoise team (Amy, Cath, Declan, Grace, Phil, Robbie and captain Adi) and the yellow team (Alice, Antonio, Ralph, Rhiannon, Rue, Theo and captain Brent) were given five hours to prepare a surf and turf street food menu serving 1600 people. Malissa drew a white apron and sat out; she had to back a team and receive their outcome She chose the yellow team. At the halfway point both teams struggled to keep on time, so Andy helped the turquoise team while Jock helped the yellow team. The turquoise team's Thai red barramundi curry was praised for the cooking of the fish, presentation and flavour, while their Thai beef salad was praised for its cooking of the beef and textures, though the dressing was criticized for not being sweet enough. The yellow team had trouble with the portions of the mussels and had to continue cooking them during service time while Alice struggled to maintain the consistency of the cooking of the fried rice. Their surf dish of chili mussels was praised while their red braised pork belly was flavoursome, but the fried rice had an overwhelming flavour of burnt garlic. The judges felt that the yellow team's burnt garlic flavour cost them the challenge giving the turquoise team the win, and they were granted the chance to cook for immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0942 | “Episode 14” | Thu 25 May 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Sergio Perera - In the first round, Adi, Amy, Cath, Declan, Grace, Phil and Robbie had to create a dish in 75 minutes using only the kitchen appliances in the gift box on their bench. While all of the dishes were praised, it was Declan's Thai chicken broth with peanut and lime sambal that won immunity from Sunday's elimination, as well as a $10,000 voucher and the opportunity to win an immunity pin, for which he had to cook against Sergio Perera. From four flavour pairings, Declan chose the mandarin and tarragon combination with which he is given 75 minutes, while Sergio with 60 minutes chose the blueberry and chestnut mushroom flavour combination. Sergio's pan seared snapper with fennel and mushroom puree was praised for the cooking of the fish, strong blueberry flavour, silkiness of the puree and presentation but was criticized for not having the mushroom flavour strong enough and the flavour combinations were not cohesive, scoring 22 points. Declan's steamed kingfish with tarragon beurre blanc and mandarin salad received fantastic reviews for the cooking of the fish and hitting the brief for the perfect balance of flavour, scoring 25 points, winning the round and being the first contestant this year to win an immunity pin. |
| Week 4 (Nostalgia Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0943 | “Episode 15” | Sun 28 May 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Overnight Elimination Challenge - The contestants aside from Declan faced a two-day elimination cook-off, where they were given 45 minutes to prepare a dish of their choice and leave it to cook overnight, then 60 minutes to finish it the next day. Brent's crispy duck with pickled turmeric and sambal and Theo's Greek lamb with pita bread and tzatziki were given the most praise from the judges with Melissa awarding both dishes 10/10. Amy, Malissa and Rhiannon had the most criticisms of their dishes. Although her coconut sambal was good, Rhiannon's beef rendang was overcooked and the flavours were out of balance. Malissa's pork & beef ragu lacked freshness, had average flavour and the pasta was too thin. Amy's Mexican and Japanese braised pork tacos were dry, lacked flavour and the tortillas were too thick. While the judges felt that both Malissa and Amy's dishes had flaws, they felt that Amy's dish failed to meet the brief and was 'irredeemable', and she was the fourth contestant to be eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0944 | “Episode 16” | Mon 29 May 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Cereal Mystery Box Challenge - The contestants were given 75 minutes to cook a dish using at least one of the cereals in the mystery box (Coco Pops, Weet-Bix, Corn flakes, Fruit Loops and Rice Bubbles) with an open pantry and the garden; the bottom three would face elimination. Antonio's coco pops éclairs and Ralph's corn flake pork chop with mashed potato and mint sauce received the highest praise from the judges and were the top two dishes. Adi, Brent, Cath and Robbie also received praise with their dishes while Malissa, Rhiannon, Rue, Theo, and Phil had problems with their dishes. However, Grace's fruit loop pop tart cereal had technical issues, despite being creative and thinking outside of the box, Declan's three breakfast cereal muffins were dry and Alice's fruit loop parfait was split. Having cooked the bottom 3 dishes, Grace, Declan and Alice were sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0945 | “Episode 17” | Tue 30 May 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Donato Toce's Messinetta - Chef Donato Toce set the pressure test, which required Alice, Declan and Grace to recreate his Messinetta in four hours and fifteen minutes. Declan's was declared the best with perfect flavours of the strawberry gel and the vanilla and chocolate gelato, perfect textures with the gelato and gel well set, the crunch of the tempered chocolate and the best presented, despite looking a little rough around the edges. Grace was lauded with the perfect balance of flavours and the silkiness of both gelatos as well as the temper of the chocolate, but she was criticized for the presentation and construction looking very rough. Alice had great tempered chocolate, but her presentation was clumsy with not enough Chantilly cream. Her inability to clean out the gelato machine during the churning process as well as issues with setting the ice cream meant that both gelatos were dense and icy. The judges agreed that Grace's dessert was deemed better than Alice's and Alice was the fifth contestant to be eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0946 | “Episode 18” | Wed 31 May 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Mei Jing Chinese Dine In Service Challenge - The 13 contestants were taken to Mei Jing restaurant in Wantirna for a team challenge, where they were split into two teams. The red team (Brent, Cath, Declan, Malissa, Robbie and captain Theo) and the purple team (Antonio, Grace, Phil, Ralph, Rhiannon and captain Rue) were given three hours to prepare a three-course meal, inspired by the restaurant menu, serving 50 dinners. Adi drew a white apron and sat out; she had to back a team and receive their outcome. She chose the red team. On the red team, their entrée of pork san choy bow was praised for being served in cos lettuce, as well as the juiciness of the pork and the complex flavours, thanks to the addition of duck fat. Their main of beef and black bean with fried rice, led by Declan, was praised for the cooking and tenderness of the beef, the flavours of the sauce, different textures of the vegetables and being loaded with black beans. The dessert of lychees and vanilla ice cream was a miss with the ice cream not set and not well-balanced. On the purple team, the entrée of pork and prawn spring rolls was delicious, but the sweet & sour sauce was a miss. The lemon chicken main was crispy and cooked well, but the lemon sauce didn't have enough lemon flavour due to the sauce being prepared too late. The dessert of pineapple fritter with vanilla ice cream was also a miss due to the ice cream not setting. Jock thought that the dish didn't hit the brief of being nostalgic. The red team despite their dessert issues; the judges felt that the first two courses more than made up for it, and they were granted the chance to cook for immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0947 | “Episode 19” | Thu 1 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Gabriel Gaté - In the first round, Adi, Brent, Cath, Declan, Malissa, Robbie and Theo were shown by Shannon Bennett how to use a flambé technique with which they had 75 minutes to cook a dish. While all of the dishes were praised, it was Brent's bourbon chicken skewers that won immunity from Sunday's elimination and the opportunity to win an immunity pin, for which he had to cook against Gabriel Gate. The second round required a dish featuring a beverage. Brent chose orange juice for which he is given 75 minutes, while Gabriel with 60 minutes chose champagne. Gabriel's prawn and mussel casserole with julienne vegetables and champagne sauce received praise for the flavour of the sauce, the textures and cooking of the vegetables and for the seafood (though Andy got an undercooked prawn), scoring 25 points. Brent's orange duck with nam jim salad and crispy pancakes receive positive comments on the presentation, cooking of the duck with the glaze, crispness of the pancake and the powerful yet balanced flavour, scoring 30 points, winning the round and being the second contestant this year to win an immunity pin. |
| Week 5 (Home Cooks vs. Pro Cooks Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0948 | “Episode 20” | Sun 4 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Aussie Classic Elimination Challenge - The contestants aside from Brent (who had immunity) and Grace (who was unwell and must compete in the next elimination) faced a two-round challenge. In round one, they took turns identifying different cheeses. Malissa, Ralph, Rhiannon, Robbie and Rue were the first five to guess incorrectly and were sent to the second round where they had 75 minutes to cook a dish inspired by classic Aussie dishes. Rhiannon wowed the judges with her take on moussaka while Rue's Swiss roll trifle with strawberries and vanilla, and Ralph's sticky date trifle also received praise. Malissa wanted to cook a bolognese ravioli but had several issues during the cook, so she had to pivot for fettuccine bolognese. While the sauce was flavorful, the pasta had no structure. Robbie wanted to cook his curry with sausages but was worried when the judges pointed out that it was the same curry over again and he pivoted to a take on prawn cocktail using his curry sauce for the mayonnaise. His prawns were overcooked, and the curry sauce flavour didn't mesh well with the texture of the lettuce. Despite the pasta issue, the judges felt that Malissa's flavour was enough to save her, which meant Robbie was the sixth contestant to be eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0949 | “Episode 21” | Mon 5 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| NOMAD Mystery Box Challenge - Every challenge this week was a home cook vs professional cook battle where contestants competed with one of four chef teams to win immunity from Sunday's elimination challenge. The first group, consisting of Antonio, Grace and Rhiannon, cooked against Jacqui Challinor's team from NOMAD. Each team had 75 minutes to each cook a dish using at least one of the ingredients from the mystery box: pork chop, sand crab, pineapple, fennel, watercress, betel leaf, jerk beans, rosella flowers and Hello Panda biscuits. Whoever cooks the best dish will win for their team. For team NOMAD two dishes had praise for their flavours but it was Jacqui's crab and fennel salad that was the judges' highlight. For the home cook team both Rhiannon and Antonio's dishes were praised for the flavour but Antonio was criticized for not cooking the rosella flower in his jam long enough. It was Grace's tempura betel leaf with pork, pineapple and rosella sauce, and salsa that was declared faultless by the judges. After much discussion, the judges decided that the dish of the day was Grace's which means that she saved Antonio and Rhiannon from Sunday's elimination. Unfortunately, as she missed the last elimination challenge, she has to participate in the next elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0950 | “Episode 22” | Tue 6 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Khanh Nguyen's Three-Course Meal - Chef Khanh Nguyen set the pressure test, which required Malissa, Phil and Ralph to cook against Nick Holloway's team from Nu Nu to recreate his macadamia tofo with Skull Island prawns, tamarind, lemon myrtle for entrée in two hours and thirty minutes; wagyu rendang pie with Vietnamese satay, pickled daikon radish for main in three hours and forty five minutes; and a kaya jam ice cream sandwich with Davidson plum and salted koji waffle for dessert in two hours and fifteen minutes. The team with the most wins will win the round. Nick won the entrée round even though his tofu was a little firm and salty; the rest of the flavour and presentation were like Khanh's. While Malissa's flavours were praised her tofu wasn't set enough. Christopher won the main with perfect pastry, balanced flavours and cooking of the beef while Phil's flavours were too spicy as he forgot to blitz the spices before adding them into the curry. It was Phil's dry pastry that cost him the win. Melanie won the dessert with perfect flavours in the parfait, jam and waffle as the judges felt it closely resembled Khanh's. While Ralph's parfait was praised, his waffle was not crunchy enough. Nick's team won in a clean sweep, which means that Malissa, Phil and Ralph have to participate in Sunday's elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0951 | “Episode 23” | Wed 7 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Non-Verbal Relay Team Challenge - Adi, Cath and Declan had to cook against Louis Tikaram's team from Stanley restaurant in a relay team challenge, given twenty five minutes each without communicating during the changeover. Benson started for team Stanley and opted to cook a Cantonese feast of crispy skin chicken, steamed fish and Asian greens, while Declan opted to do an Asian-styled steamed snapper with coconut rice and salad. Declan's choice proved to be their downfall as Cath struggled with the concept and didn't make the sauce properly. While Adi managed to rectify the sauce, she put the fish in the steamer too late and it was undercooked; the rest of the dish was nice but not spectacular. Team Stanley managed to deliver on the dish with perfect cooking of the proteins and highlighting Cantonese cuisine, with their flavours winning the round, which means that Adi, Cath and Declan have to participate in Sunday's elimination challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0952 | “Episode 24” | Thu 8 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Ingredients or Time Invention Test - Brent, Rue and Theo had to cook against Ross Magnaye's team from Serai Kitchen and had up to 75 minutes to cook a dish using up to twelve sets of ingredients, with one set becoming available every four minutes. The dish of the day will win for their team. Theo and Leandro were the first to start, with both making wagyu beef dishes with bone marrow butter in 59 minutes. Rue made a lemon parfait with meringue and blueberry compote in 55 minutes. Ross made beef kilawin with bone marrow butter in 39 minutes. Shane made Moreton Bay bugs with palapa butter and fruit salsa in 35 minutes. Brent started as the final set of ingredients was made available to cook scampi and Bay bug stuffed zucchini flowers with caviar, having only 31 minutes. Both Rue and Theo receive mixed reviews, Rue for trying to do too much in the time and for Theo, while his steak was beautiful, the rest of the dish did not have enough acidity. Brent's dish was declared perfect being the stand-out from the home cooks. Leandro's dish received praise but both Ross and Shane's were declared faultless. As their team received more perfect dishes they won the round, which means that Brent, Rue and Theo have to participate in Sunday's elimination challenge. |
| Week 6 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0953 | “Episode 25” | Sun 11 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Rick Stein Travel Elimination Challenge - The contestants aside from Antonio and Rhiannon faced a two-round challenge set by Rick Stein. In round one they had 45 minutes to cook a dish with squid where the bottom four would face round two. Declan, Malissa, Phil and Ralph's dishes were criticized, and they were sent to the second round, where they had 75 minutes to cook a dish from a cuisine that Rick had the fondest memories from his travels. Declan chose Mexico but he was rattled by his first-round cook and struggled to the point where he used his immunity pin. Malissa chose Italy and her honey and olive oil panna cotta with lemon crumb and charred apricots received high praise from the judges. Ralph chose France and did a deconstructed croque madame with soft poached egg and potato foam. The dish was praised for its flavours but the judges didn't think it was better than the original. However, it was Phil who chose Italy, tried to make spaghetti con anatra which turned out to be a big mistake since the duck was dry, the pasta didn't have structure and he didn't have enough time to develop the flavour, resulting in him being the seventh contestant to be eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0954 | “Episode 26” | Mon 12 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| John Dory Mystery Box Challenge - The mystery box was set by chef Josh Niland. It contained different cuts of John Dory fish, with which they had 75 minutes to cook a dish. Most of the contestants' dishes received praise, particularly Antonio's dory al asado negro with cauliflower puree and plantain chips and Rhiannon's hibachi-grilled Dory with Asian apple salad and nam jim dressing. However, Adi didn't highlight the fish for her Dory cheek rice cakes with crispy skin, Theo's Dory khachapuri had the fish cooked perfectly but the bread was undercooked, and Grace's fried John Dory was overcooked despite a nice hot and sour sauce. Having cooked the bottom three dishes, Adi, Theo and Grace were sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0955 | “Episode 27” | Tue 13 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Luke Nguyen's No Recipe Beef Pho - Chef Luke Nguyen set the pressure test, which required Adi, Grace and Theo to recreate his beef pho without a recipe in two hours. Even though Theo was unsure at the start, his was the closest to the original with the cooking of the beef and noodles, clarity of the broth and well-balanced seasoning. Adi was confident at the start due to her experience cooking pho but she struggled with the rice noodles mixture setting her behind. As a result, while the beef was cooked beautifully and the broth was clear, it lacked seasoning. However, it was Grace's decision to roast the beef bones before adding them to the broth that proved to be her downfall. While her noodles were perfect and her pho was well-seasoned, the broth was too fatty and not clear. Overall, the judges felt that Grace had missed the brief and she was eliminated, finalising the Top 10. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0956 | “Episode 28” | Wed 14 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Root Vegetable Service Challenge - The contestants except for Theo (who was unwell) were split into two teams; the green team (Adi, Brent, Ralph, Rue and captain Rhiannon) and the brown team (Antonio, Cath, Declan and Malissa) had to cook a two-course meal for 24 guests. The judges revealed the choices of root vegetables to highlight beetroot, parsnip, sweet potato and turnip. The brown team with one less team member chose sweet potato first and were given three hours to prepare while the green team chose beetroot and were given two hours and 30 minutes to prepare, both teams were managed by chef Curtis Stone. Despite the advantage, the brown team took too long to figure out which dishes to cook and not having a team captain proved to be difficult, as the main of eye fillet with sweet potato puree and tahini dressing had great flavours but Declan struggled to cook the beef consistently. As for the dessert, a sweet potato tart with spiced ice cream and sweet potato caramel, Cath forgot to make the caramel until the last minute and Antonio cooked the tarts too late. As a result, the custard for the tarts was too soft and grainy despite a good crust. The green team's main of charred octopus with beetroot had perfectly cooked octopus and great flavours but the beetroot was cooked inconsistently. The dessert prepared by Ralph and Rue, a goat's cheese crémeux, beetroot consommé and poached pear was declared perfect by the judges. The green team won the challenge and will cook for immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0957 | “Episode 29” | Thu 15 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Condiment Immunity Challenge - In the first round, Curtis Stone announced that Adi, Brent, Ralph, Rhiannon and Rue have to make their own condiment (sauce, relish, jam or chutney) in 45 minutes. Brent's mango chili sauce, Rhiannon's 'troppo' chutney (mango and pineapple) and Rue's 'barbeRue' sauce (sweet and spicy barbecue) were chosen as the top 3 condiments to move on to round 2 where they had 75 minutes to make a dish that pairs well with the condiment. Brent's coral trout tacos worked well with the sauce, but the tortillas were too blonde, while Rhiannon's prawn three ways was praised for the cooking of the prawns and the ability to show her chutney in various ways. Rue's ribs and chicken were declared a success with the sauce being a perfect glaze for the pork ribs and wonderful flavour for the chicken. The judges decided that Rue's dish was the best, winning her immunity from Sunday's elimination and having her sauce on sale at Coles supermarkets for a limited time. |
| Week 7 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0958 | “Episode 30” | Sun 18 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Maggie Beer Gamble Elimination Challenge - The contestants, aside from Rue, faced a two-round challenge set by Maggie Beer. They had to choose from two ingredients allocated to them, one visible and the other underneath a cloche. Antonio was the only one who chose the cloche. In round one they had 60 minutes to cook a dish with whatever ingredient they choose, where the bottom three would face round two. Antonio, Declan and Malissa's dishes were criticized, and they were sent to the second round, where they had another 60 minutes to cook a dish with the ingredient, they hadn't chosen for the first cook. Malissa had raisins and made a rum and raisin semifreddo with hazelnut crumb and raisin compote. She was praised by the judges for the silkiness of the semifreddo and the flavour of the compote as well as the texture. Declan had carraway seeds; his carraway and tomato baked Murray cod with tahini dressing was cooked beautifully, but he had to remake his tomato sauce and was criticised for the lack of flavour and depth. However, Antonio, who had kalamata olives, chose to make a goat's cheese and olive caramel mille feuille. While the flavour combination was on point, the puff pastry was more like a shortbread which took away the essence of a mille feuille, resulting in him being the ninth contestant to be eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0959 | “Episode 31” | Mon 19 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Suprise Mystery Box Challenge - The mystery box contained confetti that exploded in front of the contestants, the theme was for the contestants to cook a dish in 75 minutes that surprises the judges. The performance of the contestants was a mixed bag but Declan's green curry choux buns and Rue's white chocolate mousse with passionfruit gel shaped like an egg were named the top 2 of the day. However, Malissa's lemon and vanilla cake with berry compote surprise proved to be the wrong dish as it was too basic, the cake was dry and the surprise element, which was the compote, which was rushed and didn't ooze out. Ralph made cinnamon parfait with salted caramel and apple compote. While the flavours were good, there was not enough caramel, and it didn't ooze out, failing to meet the brief. While Rhiannon's Thai-flavoured chicken ballotine with fondant potatoes looked beautiful on the outside, the mousse was overcooked. Having cooked the bottom three dishes, Malissa, Ralph and Rhiannon were sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0960 | “Episode 32” | Tue 20 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Nelly Robinson's Mr McGregor Garden - Nelly Robinson presented his dessert Mr McGregor Garden to Malissa, Ralph and Rhiannon. Malissa's re-creation was deemed to be the closest to the original, and although Rhiannon was criticised for her presentation, her flavours were balanced. Ralph decided to take on the complex recipe slow and steady, which lead to him falling behind and rushing through parts of the dish. This caused the flavours to be unbalanced, the carrot cake to be undercooked, and the crumb to be overcooked. The judges decided his dish was the furthest away from the original, resulting in him being the tenth contestant to be eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0961 | “Episode 33” | Wed 21 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Temple of Boom Service Challenge - The contestants visit the Temple of Boom art installation at the National Gallery of Victoria for a Greek service challenge with Shannon Bennett. They were split into two teams; the red team (Brent, Declan, Malissa, and Theo) and the navy team (Adi, Cath, Rhiannon, and Rue), and were given 2 hours and 30 minutes to prepare a main and a dessert featuring contemporary Greek cuisine. The red team's main of lamb shoulder with skordalia and the navy team's main of Greek seafood stew were both praised by the judges. The red team's dessert of galaktoboureko received praise on its flavour and textures. While the navy team's dessert of Greek yoghurt mousse had good flavours in each of its components, the dish lacked cohesion. As a result, the red team won the challenge, and were given a chance to cook for immunity. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0962 | “Episode 34” | Thu 22 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Kay-Lene Tan - In the first round, Brent, Declan, Malissa, and Theo were given one hour to cook a dessert featuring coffee. While Declan's coffee créme caramel with coffee ice cream was praised by the judges, Malissa's coffee parfait was deemed to have the best use of coffee, winning her immunity from Sunday's elimination and a chance to win an immunity pin. In the second round, Malissa and executive pastry chef Kay-Lene Tan had to cook a dish featuring tea. Malissa, with 75 minutes, chose jasmine tea, while Kay-Lene, with 60 minutes chose baihao yinzhen tea. Malissa's jasmine tea-smoked chicken received praise for its cooking and the use of tea, scoring 24 points. Kay-Lene's tea sponge cake with tea ice cream and pears had flaws in its execution, scoring 19 points. As a result, Malissa became the third contestant this year to win an immunity pin. |
| Week 8 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0963 | “Episode 35” | Sun 25 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Colours Elimination Challenge - The contestants aside from Malissa faced a two-round challenge. In the first round, the contestants took turns identifying flavours from petri dishes containing flavoured pearls. Adi, Declan, Rue, and Brent were the first four to guess incorrectly, sending them to the second round, in which they had to cook a dish featuring their assigned colour. Brent (yellow), who elected not to use his pin, and Declan (red) received praise for their dishes of octopus yellow curry and khao mu daeng respectively. The judges agreed that the cook overwhelmed both Adi and Rue and there were flaws in every part of their dishes, but, while Rue's (orange) dish of lemon verbena parfait with apricots was criticised for the parfait being soft and the coulis being boozy, Adi's (green) dish of kingfish sashimi with zhug was unbalanced and the presentation was rushed, resulting in her being the eleventh contestant to be eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0964 | “Episode 36” | Mon 26 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Everything Mystery Box Challenge - The Everything Box contained parsley, sugar snap peas, sherry, labneh, fenugreek, bacon, lamb, and garlic, with the contestants given 75 minutes to present a dish featuring every component. Brent and Theo were declared the winners of the challenge, with their dishes of lamb koftas and lamb skewers respectively. However, Cath's sherry jus was burnt during the challenge, Rue's fenugreek sauce was very bitter and unbalanced and Malissa's lamb spring salad with labneh was criticised for having too much whipped labneh. Having cooked the bottom 3 dishes, Cath, Rue, and Malissa were sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0965 | “Episode 37” | Tue 27 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Clare Smyth's Beef and Oyster - Chef Clare Smyth set the pressure test, which required Cath, Malissa, and Rue to re-create her take on a beef and oyster pie in five hours. With 10 seconds to go, Malissa elected to use her pin, leaving only Cath and Rue's dishes to be tasted. Both Cath and Rue were missing components in their dishes, leaving out the fried oyster crisp and sliced raw wagyu beef respectively. Although Cath left out the fried oyster crisp, the flavours in her dish impressed the judges. Rue, who had burnt her sauce in the cook, was criticised for the flavours in her sauce and the beef was undercooked, resulting in her being the twelfth contestant to be eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0966 | “Episode 38” | Wed 28 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| O.MY Restaurant Service Challenge - The contestants were taken to O.MY restaurant in Beaconsfield for a team challenge with chef Blayne Bertoncello. They were split into three teams: the brown team (Malissa and Theo), the grey team (Cath and Rhiannon), and the green team (Brent and Declan), with the top two teams advancing to the immunity challenge. Each team had to choose a fruit or vegetable from the restaurant's farm to feature in their dish and were given two hours to prepare their allocated course. The brown team chose basil and were allocated entrée, cooking a ricotta and basil raviolo with basil oil. The dish impressed the judges on its balance, finesse, and use of basil, winning the dish of the day. The grey team chose limes and were allocated main course, cooking grilled flathead with a kaffir lime broth and curry broth. While the judges liked the dish, they found the flavours to be restrained. The green team chose tomatoes and were allocated dessert, cooking a tomato honey panna cotta with strawberry and tomato granita and a black garlic glaze. Despite the challenge of using tomatoes in a dessert, the judges were impressed with the dish, praising it on its flavours and creativity. The judges declared the brown team and the green team the winners of the team challenge, advancing them to the immunity challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0967 | “Episode 39” | Thu 29 Jun 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Immunity Challenge: Chase Kojima - In the first round, Brent, Declan, Malissa, and Theo were given one hour to cook a dish featuring sound. Theo's dish of crispy betel leaf with grilled kangaroo was deemed to be the best, winning him immunity from Sunday's elimination and a chance to win the final immunity pin of the season. In the second round, Theo and chef Chase Kojima had to cook a dish using a large pantry with a limited range of equipment or a small pantry with a wide range of equipment. Theo, with 75 minutes, chose the large pantry, cooking Mexican pork with salsa. Chase, with 60 minutes, was allocated the small pantry, cooking bonito tataki with Moreton Bay bug tempura. The limitations with the ingredients and equipment proved to be a challenge for both, with both dishes deemed to have flaws. Theo was praised for the cooking of his pork, but his sauce was criticised for having too many ingredients, affecting its flavour; he scored 20 points. Chase was praised for the cooking of his bonito, but his Moreton Bay bug tempura was criticised for its texture and for lacking crunch, scoring 21 points, and narrowly winning the round. |
| Week 9 |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0968 | “Episode 40” | Sun 2 Jul 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Kirsten Tibballs Dessert Elimination Challenge - The contestants aside from Theo faced a two-round challenge set by Kirsten Tibballs, who presented her favourite dessert ingredients. The contestants had to split the ingredients and 90 minutes, with the bottom three in the first round only getting whatever ingredients and time they had left after the first round to use in the second round. In the first round, Brent elected to use his immunity pin, which meant that only one contestant would be safe from cooking in the second round. While Cath, Rhiannon and Malissa's dishes had several issues, Declan, who took a risk by leaving only 33 minutes for the second round, cooked choux buns with raspberry craquelin and hazelnut praline, which impressed the judges with its flavours and technique and was dish of the day, receiving immediate safety from elimination, and therefore winning the first round and secure his place in the Top 5. In the second round, Rhiannon, with 49 minutes remaining, cooked a chocolate fondant with hazelnut ice cream and a lemon crumb. While the judges liked the flavours, the chocolate fondant had not held its shape, resulting in the cake and the sauce on the plate instead of the sauce being inside the cake. Cath, with 38 minutes remaining, cooked a flourless chocolate cake with a vanilla bean ice cream and raspberry coulis, which impressed the judges with its flavours and textures. Malissa, with 39 minutes remaining, cooked a hazelnut ice cream sandwich with a chocolate ganache. While the judges liked the flavour of the hazelnut ice cream and the chocolate ganache that were well balanced, the biscuits had too much baking powder in them, which affected the flavour of the dish. In the end, the judges felt that Malissa failed to meet the brief and she was eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0969 | “Episode 41” | Mon 3 Jul 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Garden Mystery Box Challenge - The judges announced that over the next three challenges, the maker of the best dish in each challenge will be granted a place in Thursday's immunity challenge to compete for a fast-track to Finals Week. The mystery box contained tomatoes and gardening equipment, with the contestants given 60 minutes and an open pantry to present a dish featuring tomatoes and at least two ingredients from the garden. The result was a mixed bag, with the judges criticising Theo's dolmades for having underdeveloped flavours, Cath's summer lasagna for having flawed ricotta, and Rhiannon's hibachi-grilled snapper with eggplant and tomato relish for having raw snapper. While Declan's Thai fried fish was praised on the cooking on the fish and its presentation, the flavours in Brent's braised pork belly with a tomato salsa and adobo sauce was deemed to be perfect, winning him the first spot in Thursday's immunity challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0970 | “Episode 42” | Tue 4 Jul 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| All Saints Estate Time Auction Challenge - The Top 5 were taken to All Saints Estate in Wahgunyah, where Cath, Declan, Rhiannon, and Theo competed in a time auction. The contestants had 120 minutes to bid on proteins, fruit and vegetables, and pantry extras. Cath had 55 minutes to cook with rabbit, root vegetables, and fresh herbs, cooking rabbit fricassee. While the judges liked the concept of the dish, the liver was undercooked, and the sauce was unbalanced. Declan had 50 minutes to cook with Murray cod, alliums and dried spices, cooking a grilled Murray cod and charred leek with onion jam and crispy shallots. The judges deemed the cooking of the cod to be restaurant-worthy and liked the flavour of the leeks. However, the crispy shallots were burnt, affecting the overall flavour of the dish. Rhiannon had 30 minutes to cook with yabbies, leafy greens, and vinegar and wines, cooking grilled yabbies with a rocket salad. Due to only having 30 minutes to cook, Rhiannon struggled with time throughout the challenge, changing her dish mid-cook. Consequently, the judges criticised the dish for being rushed, with the yabbies undercooked. Theo had 40 minutes to cook with pork, orchard fruits, and condiments, cooking a glazed pork chop with a fig and apple salad. The judges were impressed with the flavours of the pork chop and the crackling garnish, winning him the second spot in Thursday's immunity challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0971 | “Episode 43” | Wed 5 Jul 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Cactus Country Invention Test - The contestants except for Rhiannon (who was unwell) were taken to Cactus Country in Strathmerton, where Cath and Declan competed for the last spot in Thursday's immunity challenge. They were given 60 minutes to cook a dish featuring Mexican cuisine. Cath cooked Mexican chicken wings with a salsa and avocado cream, while Declan cooked grilled flathead with tortillas and a tatemada salsa. The judges deemed Declan's dish to have the better use of Mexican flavours, winning him the third and last spot in Thursday's immunity challenge. The judges then announced that Brent, Declan, and Theo would be given the chance to cook for an advantage in that challenge. They were given 60 minutes to cook a dish featuring cactus. Declan cooked steamed kingfish with a Mexican rice and a prickly pear tatemada salsa, which impressed the judges with its flavours and technique. Theo cooked prickly pear glazed pork tacos, which was criticised for not adequately featuring cactus. Brent cooked prickly pear glazed fried chicken with a strawberry cactus salsa, which impressed the judges its use of cactus and the glaze; it was deemed to be the best of the day, winning him an advantage in Thursday's immunity challenge. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0972 | “Episode 44” | Thu 6 Jul 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Murtoa Stick Shed Immunity Service Challenge - The contestants were taken into the Stick Shed in Murtoa, where Brent, Theo and Declan competed for the final immunity of the season. For this service challenge, each was assigned a course which required them to feature a specific grain. Brent, as winner of the advantage in the previous cook, chose to use green lentils for his entrée of Sri Lankan dhal with smoked rainbow trout. This was followed with Theo's main dish of chickpea stew with lamb shanks. Ending the 3-course meal was Declan's dessert of pearl barley coconut pudding with peach and plum salsa. All three dishes wowed the judges, with Theo bringing forth his best dish of the competition so far. However, Declan's pearl barley coconut pudding was declared dish of the day, winning Declan the final immunity of the season and making him the first contestant to advance to Finals Week. |
| Week 10 (Finals Week) |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0973 | “Episode 45” | Sun 9 Jul 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Anchovies & Dijon Mustard Duel Elimination Challenge - The contestants aside from Declan faced a two-round challenge. In the first round, the contestants were paired up and competed against their partner. Each pair was given 75 minutes to cook a dish featuring either anchovies (Brent and Rhiannon) or Dijon mustard (Cath and Theo), with the winner out of each pair earning a spot in Finals Week. Brent cooked lobster and anchovy pasta, which was criticised for the flawed pasta, as it was not dried during the cook, and for not featuring enough anchovies, therefore missing the brief. Rhiannon cooked hibachi-grilled chicken with an anchovy salsa, which was praised for featuring anchovy flavours throughout the dish. Cath cooked a Djion glazed grilled trout with a potato and fennel salad. While the cooking of the fish received praise, the dish was criticised for lacking overall balance and the sauce lacked the flavours of Dijon mustard, therefore missing the brief. Theo cooked a pan-seared kingfish with a Dijon sauce and dill oil, which was praised for featuring Dijon mustard flavours throughout the dish, and for the dill oil. The judges declared Rhiannon and Theo the winners of their duels, earning them a spot in Finals Week. In the second round, Brent and Cath were given 75 minutes to cook a dish without any rules. Brent cooked a chicken adobo skewer with a charred corn salsa, which impressed the judges and was declared faultless. Cath cooked a chocolate parfait with a wattle seed shortbread. During the final minutes in the cook, Cath accidentally placed her parfait aside in the fridge, rather than the freezer, resulting in a melted parfait. The judges decided that Cath's dish had too many flaws, resulting in her being the fourteenth contestant to be eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0974 | “Episode 46” | Mon 10 Jul 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Family Mystery Box Challenge - The final mystery box of the year contained letters and photos from the contestants' families, in addition to an envelope mentioning their favourite dish cooked by the contestants at home. Brent, Declan, Rhiannon, and Theo were given 75 minutes to give their take on pork belly satay, chili and prawn pasta, laksa, and peri-peri chicken respectively. During the cook, Declan decided to pivot towards making rice noodles and a broth instead of pasta, while Rhiannon ran out of time to make fresh noodles, and decided to use packet noodles instead. Despite this, the flavours from all four dishes impressed the judges. Brent's braised pork belly was declared dish of the day, winning him a spot in the semi-finals and securing his place in the Top 3, while Declan, Rhiannon, and Theo were sent to the pressure test. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0975 | “Episode 47” | Tue 11 Jul 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Pressure Test: Peter Gilmore's No Recipe XO Squid - Chef Peter Gilmore set the pressure test, which required Declan, Rhiannon, and Theo to re-create his XO squid with scallops and pipis in 2 hours and 15 minutes, without a recipe. The contestants except for Brent were taken to the Bennelong restaurant at the Sydney Opera House, where Peter Gilmore and his team gave them a demonstration on how to make the dish. The contestants then returned to the MasterChef kitchen, where they had to re-create his dish from memory. Declan's re-creation was deemed to be almost perfect and although Rhiannon's XO sauce split, causing the texture of the dish to become oily, the flavours in her dish and the cooking on the seafood impressed the judges. Theo struggled to remove the membrane from the squid, requiring assistance from Declan, and as a result, lost cooking time, causing his seafood to be undercooked, and his flavours to be flawed. The judges decided that Theo's re-creation had too many flaws, resulting in him being the fifteenth contestant to be eliminated. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0976 | “Episode 48” | Wed 12 Jul 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Keeping Up with Curtis Stone Challenge - The semi-finalists competed in a challenge where they had to keep up with Curtis Stone and replicate his scotch fillet au poivre with a beurre rouge, pureed potatoes, and roasted bone marrow, with the winner of the challenge gaining a 30-minute head start in the semi-finals. During the cook, Brent burnt one side of his steak, resulting in it being caramelised unevenly. Declan trimmed too much fat off the scotch fillet, which affected the flavour and texture of the steak. In addition, Declan added the shallots in his onion jam late, resulting in undercooked jam. Rhiannon's potatoes were cut too large, which resulted in a grainy potato puree. The judges declared that Brent's re-creation was closest to the original, winning him the 30-minute head start in the semi-finals. |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0977 | “Episode 49” | Thu 13 Jul 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Semi-Finals: Service Challenge - Brent, Declan, and Rhiannon competed in the semi-final service challenge, cooking a three-course meal for 20 guests and the three judges, with Shannon Bennett mentoring and supporting the semi-finalists. Brent, who had won a 30-minute head start, was given 4 hours and 30 hours to cook, while Declan and Rhiannon were given 4 hours. For entrées, Brent served a charred octupus skewer with XO sauce and pickled daikon, which was praised for its flavour and for the cooking of the octopus. Rhiannon served betel leaf scallops with a Thai green gel, which impressed the judges with its flavours, and was declared the best entrée dish. Declan served scampi toast with a chili mayonnaise, which was criticised for its texture. For mains, Brent served roasted pork belly with a charred corn salsa, which impressed the judges with its flavours and the cooking of the pork, and was declared the best main course dish. Rhiannon served beef short rib with an apple salad and crispy potatoes, which received praise for the cooking of the beef, but the sauce was criticised for featuring too much spice. Declan served grilled blue eye trevalla with a green curry, which received praise for the cooking of the fish, but the sauce was criticised as being "lifeless", as it had been cooked for too long. For desserts, Brent served coconut ice cream with pickled mangoes and a tapioca pearl syrup, which received praise for the texture of the ice cream, but the dish was deemed to be slightly sugary. Rhiannon served lemongrass panna cotta with a finger lime syrup, which impressed the judges for featuring North Queensland flavours. Declan served a Paris-Brest with a pandan custard and tamarind caramel, which received praise for the cooking of the choux buns, but the custard was criticised for its chalky texture. Declan, who had served three flawed dishes, was eliminated, finishing in third place, while Brent and Rhiannon advanced to the grand finale. |
| Grand Finale |
| OVERALL | EPISODE | DATE |
| 0978 | “Episode 50” | Sun 16 Jul 2023 |
| Synopsis: |
| Grand Finale - Brent and Rhiannon competed in a two-round challenge, with the first round consisting of a choice between three challenges and the second round consisting of a pressure test. In the first round, the finalists were presented with the choice between a mystery box, an envelope containing a brief, or a cloche containing an ingredient to be featured. The finalists were given the opportunity to remove one challenge each, in which Brent removed the cloche, while Rhiannon removed the mystery box. Therefore, Brent and Rhiannon were given 75 minutes to cook a dish meeting the brief of telling a story. Brent, who took inspiration from his first dish on MasterChef, cooked a tamarind-glazed pork chop with charred cabbage and a salsa, impressing the judges, and scoring 29 points. Rhiannon, who took inspiration from her experiences with cooking with her family, cooked crispy pork belly with a citrus caramel and an Asian salad. While the judges liked the flavours of the dish, it was criticised for not featuring enough sauce, scoring 25 points. In the second round, pastry chef Amaury Guichon set the pressure test, presenting his intricate pocket watch dessert. Brent and Rhiannon were given 5 hours and 45 minutes to re-create Amaury's pocket watch, which consisted of a cake containing a double chocolate chip cookie base, coffee hazelnut financier, vanilla bean coffee caramel, coffee cremeux, and a chocolate mousse, in addition to a sugar dome. During the challenge, Brent reduced his sugar dome for too long, which resulted in it slightly deflating, while Rhiannon dipped her cake in chocolate first rather than glazing it, which resulted in it being coated in chocolate twice. Although Rhiannon's re-creation impressed the judges on its flavours, her mistake of dipping the cake in chocolate twice affected its texture. While Brent's sugar dome was flawed, his re-creation impressed the judges. Winner Announced - For the second round, Brent scored 34 compared to Rhiannon's 27 points, with Brent scoring a combined 63 points compared to Rhiannon's 52 points. Brent Draper was announced as the winner of the fifteenth season of MasterChef Australia, receiving the first prize of $250,000 and being the third returning contestant to win the competition. Rhiannon Anderson received $40,000 as the runner-up, while Declan Cleary received $10,000 for finishing in third place. A tribute to Jock Zonfrillo was played, with clips of him from his time as a MasterChef Australia judge. |
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