All language subtitles for masterchef.australia.s15e43.1080p.hdtv.h264-cbfm

NARRATOR: Previously
on MasterChef Australia...

Murray River style.

..it was a battle
of the highest bidders.

I'm gonna start off at 20 minutes.

Let's just go straight to 40.

Oh!
ANDY AND RHI: Why would you do that?

Please don't send him
to a house auction. (LAUGHS)

THEO: Come on, let's go!

Time...
Come on, come on.

..and pantry items
were not on their side.

This is madness!

But...

ANDY: It was unbelievable.
JOCK: Gold standard. Mental.

It is absolutely perfect.

..Theo triumphed
with the winning dish.

MELISSA: Congratulations.

Come Thursday,
you'll be cooking for your spot

in Finals Week.

Yay!

Tonight, the top 5 travels
continue...

..somewhere totally unexpected.

(MYSTICAL MUSIC)

You're kidding me. (LAUGHS)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Wow.

Oh, my God.

What the hell?

This is so random.

What the hell.

CATH: Oh, look at the flowers.

Wow, we are in cactus country.

There is cactus everywhere.

Really, it's, like, a bit euphoric.

There's so many different varieties
too. Look at them.

Feels like we're in Mexico, right?

Yes!

The road trip really has taken us
to Mexico. I can't believe it.

I didn't expect this in regional
Victoria, but here we are.

Hola!

Beautiful. Cactus Country.

And, you know, it's the last spot

for someone to get into
that immunity cook,

and I feel like there's some
prickly tension in the air.

Rarrr!
Wow.

(DRAWLS) Oh, everyone
got their hats on.

We're in Cactus Country.

Hola. You're all looking very...
sharp this morning.

(CONTESTANTS LAUGH)

Welcome to Cactus Country!
Yeah!

You are standing in the largest
cactus garden

in the Southern Hemisphere.

What? Wait, what?
Yeah.

(IMITATES EXPLOSIONS)

Right here in Strathmerton,
in Victoria's Murray region.

Who would have known?

(COW MOOS)

This incredible 12-acre garden

is home to over 4,000 species
of cacti from all over the world.

CATH: 4,000!

Declan, Cath,

one of you will join these gentlemen
in tomorrow's Immunity Challenge.

Unfortunately, Rhiannon
isn't feeling well today,

so she won't be joining us,

which, sadly, also means

she's out of running
for the Immunity Challenge tomorrow.

Declan, what does this place
evoke for you?

Look, I'm not that familiar
with the old cacti,

but...but I know, like,
some subspecies,

maybe aloe and agave.

I use aloe vera a bit after,
you know,

having a bit too much sun.

And, of course, tequila.

I've had a couple of cheeky
tequila shots in my life,

so I'm familiar with it
in that sense.

Brent, you've travelled
around the world.

Are you getting any inspiration
from this environment,

what you see right now?

The only thing I've learnt
this morning

is not to touch them,
so my fingers are stinging, but...

How old are you?
I know.

It took you that long to realise.

You look at something that's...
They're just so inviting, like...

You were that kid, growing up.
Yeah, I was that kid, yeah.

Onto the challenge at hand, eh?

We want you to cook us a dish

that takes us straight from
the Murray to Mexico.

Yeah!

You good for take-out?
We'll just get you to cook it.

Oh, this doesn't really play
to my strengths, Mexican food.

And I know Declan
loves Mexican food.

He cooks it a lot.

So it's gonna be a challenge
for me today.

You will have 60 minutes to bring us
a Mexican-inspired dish.

Amazing.

The pantry is full
of fresh local produce

and Mexican flavours.

It has everything you need

to bring us a dish that is a fiesta,
not a siesta.

Oh!
Oh! That's actually good!

Hat-tip there.
Yeah!

(ALL LAUGH)

Good luck.

Your time starts now.

THEO: Come on, guys. Arriba!

I'm gonna beat you!
(CATH LAUGHS)

You gonna get ingredients
or equipment?

I'm gonna get equipment first.

Alright.
I'm gonna go up this way.

Yeah, you go.

It's right up my alley today,
especially that we're outside.

We're cooking in the great outdoors.

OK.

And I absolutely love Mexican food.

Alright, tomatillo.

It's something I cook with
my girlfriend on a weekly basis,

so I have so many ideas.

Let's get these going to start with.

When I think Mexican, straightaway
I'm thinking margaritas,

and what goes well with margaritas?

Tacos.

Keeping it traditional, so I'd like
to do a grilled flathead taco

with a tatemada, which is, like,
a Mexican charred salsa.

Gonna have some fresh coriander
and the white onion

for that fresh hit.

Bit of charred corn.

Gonna try and do two different types
of tortillas.

With this dish today,
there's these taco holders there,

and I'd love to have
one yellow-corn tortilla

followed by a blue-corn tortilla.

I think it's just gonna
look beautiful on the plate.

And yeah, that's sort of
what I'm trying to do,

make my food look a bit prettier
as well as taste amazing.

THEO: Are you mixing them, Deccy?

No, I just might do
two different-coloured ones.

Now that I'm inside the top 5,
I think my eyes are on the prize.

Bit ambitious,
but I think I can do it.

And if I want any chance
at taking out Cath...

Red onions!

Red onions!

..everything has to be up to
that standard,

restaurant-worthy and spot-on.

Ah, there you go!

Alrighty.

Octopus.
Mm.

Mm.

There we go.

Mexican is something I'm not
familiar with or comfortable with,

but I know, like,
the basic sort of flavours.

So I just want to try and just
keep it simple for me.

So today I'm gonna be cooking
Mexican octopus

with a salsa and avocado cream.

Brent's not cooking today,

so I'm gonna rub it in and I'm
gonna cook octopus on the hibachi.

(THEO LAUGHS)

I've cooked octopus before,

but I haven't cooked octopus
on the hibachi,

so I'm actually excited about that.

So I've got all these
Mexican spices,

and my plan is to add some oil and
make it into, like, a little rub.

Ooh!

I've got some cumin, some paprika,
some oregano.

I'm gonna go
really simple Mexican flavours.

Alright, just boil.

I need to simmer the octopus
for 45 minutes

before I kiss it with the smoke
on the hibachi.

Unfortunately, the water's taking
a long time to boil,

so I'm a little bit concerned
about it actually cooking in time,

but we'll just see how we go.

I might just take a little bit out.

(CHUCKLES) That did a lot.

(LAUGHS)

OK.
That'll boil in a sec now.

Yeah, I'm sure, sure it will. OK.

You've still got some in there.

Stop touching all the cacti.

Here we are in Cactus Country,
and I mean, just look at it.

It's completely transportive.

We feel like we could be in Mexico.

So we're hoping for a little bit of
that beautiful vibe today.

What would you cook
if you were in this?

I think, like,
I would go super-traditional.

I'd have to cook tacos,
because when you go to Mexico,

it is what you remember.

You remember the tortilla.
Yeah.

You remember the salsas.

The proteins, like, for me,
it's not really about that.

Look, I would be with Andy.
I'd be going for tacos.

Salsas and spices and flavours
and aromas,

and loads of fresh herbs,
do you know what I mean?

That's it.

There are so many different flavours
all playing beautifully together.

It's exciting food.

BRENT: Ooh, I like those tomatillos
up on that hibachi.

Yeah. (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)

DECLAN: Put these on here.

I've got my dough resting to the side
for my corn tortillas,

and now I'm gonna move onto charring
my corn and capsicums

for my tatemada.

I'll be bashing it all up
in a mortar and pestle

to give it that fresh, spicy,
vibrant salsa feel.

Right on time, Declan.
Right on time.

What's happening?
Not much.

What have you got for us?

So I've got a bit, but I'm trying to
keep it traditional.

I'm doing a flathead...
grilled flathead taco

with a tatemada.

So, traditional sort of
Mexican charred salsa.

Yep, love it.

Gonna be doing, like, a fresh sort
of cilantro and the white onion.

Yep, beautiful.

And I've got my tortillas over here
that are just resting,

ready to go in the press,

so I think it's gonna come down to
the perfect tortilla.

You got two types?

Yeah.

And I think it'd just look beautiful
having different colours,

so two of each.

Is it worth it?

As I'm talking about what
I'm gonna be making to the judges,

I realise I'm definitely
over-complicating it.

We all know how that ends.
No, keep it simple, stupid.

Alright, buddy. Good luck.
Thank you.

I... Yeah.

So, making a couple of adjustments.

I'm just gonna focus on doing
one kind of tortilla,

and really just, you know,

make it punchy and vibrant

and give it that Mexican twist

that they're after.

You alright, Cath?

CATH: I'm just trying to get this
water boiled,

and it's taking its time.

My octopus is not even
in the water yet.

It needs about 45 minutes to braise

before I finish it off
on the hibachi.

Come on, water.

You have 45 minutes till fiesta.
Come on!

Come on, guys.

(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)

If I don't cook
the octopus long enough,

it's just gonna be rubbery,
it's just not gonna be palatable.

Come on, come on!

I have to make a decision right now.

Am I gonna risk it, or am I gonna
pivot and change?

(MYSTICAL MUSIC)

(WHISPERS) Far out.

Only 45 minutes left in the cook,

and my octopus
is not even in the water yet.

Come on, water.

I have to make a decision right now.

Am I gonna pivot
and change my dish already?

Alright, let's just quickly...

The water's not even boiled.

I really don't think it's gonna work
with the octopus.

Just coming through, buddy.
Yep, you're alright.

I'm gonna have to think quickly now.

What have you got?

Oh, I've got some chicken wings.
Alright.

You're alright, Cath. Let's do it.

I'm spewing.

Really wanted to use that octopus.

I've decided to go with
chicken wings

because they're really quick
to cook.

So plan is now

just to do the same thing
with the chicken

that I was going to do
with the octopus.

So I'm not gonna let it worry me.

I'm just gonna go
and we'll just go with the chicken.

Love wings. Love wings?
Love wings.

MELISSA: Where's my swipe?

(CHUCKLES)
Those flies.

I'm just getting rid of them for you.

I appreciate it.

(CATH WHISPERS) OK.

Alright, we're halfway through,
guys. Only 30 minutes to go!

Come on!

(URGENT MUSIC)

Flies.
Get out!

Time is flying by

and I really need to start
pulling this dish together,

cooking off the tortillas,

cook my fish
and finish off this tatemada.

You know, you really want to
get your back into it.

I want them to have a generous size
to them so, you know,

the fish and all that beautiful
tatemada and freshness sits in there.

I'm pretty happy with how
the tortillas are looking.

Flip it, they're looking good.

They have a nice char on them.

That's warming up.

And, yeah, I think it's just
all gonna come down to

the cook on the fish
and how it looks on the plate.

How good's it being in Mexico?
Oh, Mexico's great, isn't it?

(JOCK HUMS 'MEXICAN HAT DANCE')

(URGENT MUSIC)

Take us to Mexico in five minutes!

Yeah!

Yay!
JOCK: Come on, Cath!

I feel like I've made the right
decision to pivot with the chicken,

because I have all the ingredients
aside for my salsa.

Yeah, smells nice.

Just gonna see how they are.

And chicken wings are ready
to go on the hibachi

and I can smell those aromats,
which is really lovely.

Ooh! Chilli.

It's quite spicy,

so I'm hoping the avocado cream
cuts through that spiciness.

(SINGSONGS) # Oh-ho-ho! #

Right, now, it's just to kiss it.

The Cath who originally came into
this MasterChef kitchen

would not have been able to do that,

even think about a different concept
of cooking octopus

and then having to pivot to chicken.

I've developed.
I'm always developing.

One minute to go! Come on!

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

Push, push, push, push.

Get 'em all on the plate, Deccy!
Come on, plate it up.

DECLAN: I think I've definitely hit
the Mexican brief today,

keeping it traditional with
tortillas and grilled fish,

but I think the stand-out
on my plate today

is that tatemada.

At this point in the competition,

presentation takes a huge part,

so I'm trying to piece this together

so it looks beautiful.

30 seconds!
Come on, Cath! Come on, Declan!

JOCK: Push, push, push!
Let's go! Come on!

THEO: Come on, let's go!
Come on!

(CATH GASPS)
ANDY: 10!

JUDGES, THEO AND BRENT: 9, 8, 7, 6,

5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

That's it!
We're done!

Oh! Good job, Cath!
Yay!

Well done, you two.
Beautiful. Good job.

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

BRENT: Go, Dec.

Beautiful.

Declan, what did you make?

Today I've done grilled
flathead tortillas

with a tatemada and a fresh
coriander, onion, charred corn.

It looks...

..very nice.

Those flies are nasty, huh?

(MUMBLES) I'll do you.
(LAUGHS)

You eat.

(CONTESTANTS CHUCKLE)

Can I get involved?
(CATH LAUGHS)

(LAUGHS)

Declan, this guy here, this salsa...

..that is where it's at.

That mixture of the char from
the tomatillos and the onions

and the soaked dried chillies...

..with a good whack of lime juice,
that's where it's at, mate.

Like, honestly.
Awesome.

You've done it really, really well.

And it's your take on it, you know?

And then being as pared back and
really just having the confidence

to put raw onion, charred corn

and a little bit of coriander
chopped up.

These two things today
is the most transportive

and what I wanted to see
out of this challenge right there.

I really thought there was
a lot of mastery

in how you've pulled together
your side hustles,

because they're both contrasting
in both flavours and textures,

so they gift the entire dish

complexity, texture.

Declan.

Good job on the tortillas.
Really, really nice.

And the fish, perfectly cooked.

Well done, Declan.
Thank you, Declan.

Thank you.
Awesome. Awesome, Declan.

Righto, there's only one thing
left to do. Cath.

MEN: Go, Cath.

CATH: I'm really nervous
taking my dish up to the judges.

My biggest concern is,

am I taking these guys
to Mexico today?

Have I hit that brief?

(TENSE MUSIC)

MEN: Go, Cath.

MELISSA: Cath, what did you
make for us today?

I've made some Mexican chicken wings
with a salsa

and an avocado cream.

Wonderful.

Cath, um, I think you did
a decent effort.

I could tell that Mexican cuisine
isn't, like, your go-to,

probably eating or cooking,
am I right?

Yeah, you're right.

It kind of shows here on the dish.

The chicken wings themselves,
they're tasty, they're delicious.

You've coated them in your signature
Mexican spice mix.

Thinking you could have
made this better

by maybe rolling them in
smoky chipotle number after that,

I think that would have sent them
to a full nother level.

The two sidekicks, they're good.

They're not, like, blowing me away.

True Mexican is something that needs
practice, investigation...

Yeah.
..research.

It's not something you can pull out
of the bag if you don't know it.

And that's OK. We all don't know
everything about cuisine.

That's the wonderful thing
about the world of food.

It's now opened a door for you,
and if you choose to investigate it,

you will go down this wormhole
of flavour,

and it is absolutely amazing.

OK, thank you.
Thanks, Cath.

In this tasting,
it came down to the dish

that took us all the way to Mexico,

and that was you, Declan.

Oh!
Congratulations, mate.

Good boy.

Getting this spot
in an immunity cook

gets me one step closer
to a spot in Finals Week,

so it feels pretty awesome.

Three amigos, hey?
(THEO AND CATH LAUGH)

And I'm ready to go home and have
a taco and kick my feet up.

Oh.

So, we have our cooks for tomorrow's
huge final Immunity Challenge.

But...
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)

..we also have a huge surprise
for you.

Oh, yeah, of course.

Going to Mexico.

Oh!

The three of you,
Declan, Brent, Theo...

..you're gonna cook for
an all-important advantage

in tomorrow's challenge...

..right now.

Oh!

Surprise!
Oh! (LAUGHS)

Still got it, don't we?

Bring it on!

Ah, look, I was knocking off,
I was gonna have a nice cold beer

after a hot day in a cactus field,

and, yeah, well, now I've got to
somehow gather the strength to cook.

So this is a surprise
advantage round,

and we want you to cook with
a surprising ingredient.

Well, probably not so surprising,
given where we are.

Of course I'm talking about cactus.

Oh, yes!
Oh!

Alright, yeah.
OK.

Yeah, look,

to say it's gonna be
a prickly challenge

is probably correct.

I don't think any of the boys
have cooked too much with cactus,

so it's a pretty level
playing field today.

Brent, Theo, Declan,
you can cook whatever you like,

but you must use cactus in your dish.

We're giving you 60 minutes and a
fully stocked cactus-friendly pantry.

And the top dish in this round
will win a game-changing advantage

in tomorrow's Immunity Challenge.

Don't take this lightly.
OK.

This advantage could be
the reason why one of you

becomes our first contestant
into Finals Week.

A lot to play for, lads.

Good luck. 60 minutes starts now.
Oh!

Oh, he's over. Off track.

Ooh, let's have fun.

Let's go, fellas.

(BOTH MUTTER INDISTINCTLY)

DECLAN: I've never cooked
with cactus,

but I'm always trying to do better
than my last cook

and go one step ahead.

Round 2 for me today.

Oh, I'm stoked that I've made it
into the second round,

and a bit scary that we've
got to cook with cactus.

But I know prickly pear,
and I know it's sweet, it's tangy,

and I'm sticking today
with the Mexican roots

and I'm going a Mexican rice
with a steamed fish,

that tatemada salsa again,

and I'll be reducing
this prickly pear glaze down

that will be going over my fish.

It's all about cacti today,

so I'm using prickly pear.

I'll chuck some agave syrup,
which is made from cacti,

and I'm familiar with that.

And then some prickly pear,
blood orange liqueur

that I found in the pantry.

It tastes a bit like Campari.

It's prickly pear and bitter orange,

so I think it would...
that would make a nice negroni.

Yeah.

On a day like today,
I could go for that.

Did you grab some of
those dried chillies, fellas?

I did, mate. I've got some here,
so if you need some...

I might have to share those.
Yep.

I'm cooking pork tacos today,

with a prickly pear glaze.

I'm gonna pressure-cook some pork,

and then I'm gonna cook it
on the hibachi after that

to get some char on it.

I'm using Berkshire pork belly today
from the area.

I want that to come out
and still have that texture to it

so that I can glaze that pork
with a very sticky glaze.

I've got the prickly pears
and the agave syrup in the glaze,

so I'm hoping that is enough
for the judges.

At this point in the competition,

hitting the brief
is really important.

Prickly pear, it does taste sweet
but it is quite mild,

so hoping I can enhance the flavour
with a lot of Mexican spices.

Oof! It's hot.

Hey, Brent. How are you, mate?
Yeah, good, mate.

What do you want me to do?
Oh, just peel some garlic for me.

Yeah, righto.
If you get the chance.

Yeah, sweet, love to.
Thanks.

You've had 15 minutes.
You've only got 45 minutes to go.

Come on.

(DYNAMIC MUSIC)

Ooh, yeah. Yummy, yummy.

Brent.
G'day, Brent.

G'day.
What's going on, mate?

Oh, mate, just a bit of...
Surprised?

Very surprised, actually.
Yeah?

You said...
Got me good.

I heard you say,
"I have clocked off for the day."

What are you gonna do?

So, I'm doing
a twice-cooked chicken -

doing it in the pressure cooker.

And I'm gonna fry it and then
I'm gonna hibachi some cucumbers.

Yeah, as for the cactus,

I'm gonna make a sort of
a sweet-and-sour glaze

for the chicken at the end
with the agave and prickly pear.

It sounds like a good dish.
Yeah.

What I'm thinking is
I know cactus is quite soft

and the glaze will be sticky,

but that's why I've gone with
the crispy twice-cooked chicken.

I want that crunch.

I want the glaze
to just stick to that crispiness.

I want a sort of
sweet-and-sour glaze,

so I think, you know,

I can sweeten them up
with agave syrup,

and then with some vinegar.

I love the colour.
It's good, isn't it?

It's amazing.

I've eaten prickly pear,

and I know that they're not
bursting with flavour.

And I can hear that there's
a few cactus glazes

going on next to me.

I'm picking that up.

To win today
it's gonna be about the brief.

It's gonna be that you put
enough cactus in there

to really feature it.

I need to stand out,

and I know that glaze
is not gonna be enough.

I've got to come up really quick
with a plan B.

My sweet-and-sour glaze is,
you know, lacking in flavour.

I've got to somehow think

how to inject more cactus

so that when they eat it

they actually think of cactus.

I'm just tasting
every single cactus there is

and I'm trying to think

what I can, you know,
imagine it becoming,

or what other ingredient
kind of tastes like

where I could sort of pretend
I'm cooking with that ingredient,

'cause I haven't used these.

And then I'm tasting
the strawberry cactus...

..and it kind of reminds me
of little pomegranate seeds

that you put in a beautiful salad.

So I'm thinking I'm gonna make it
a strawberry cactus salsa.

Really, those strawberry cactus
are gonna do absolute wonders

in the little salsa

for a, like, a textural pop.

So across the board,

there's a lot of cactus
going into this dish.

Hopefully, when I get to
the end of it,

it all screams 'cactus'.

Brentles.
Yo.

Can I take some of that agave?
Yeah, bro.

Careful. (LAUGHS)
What are you doing?

And hopefully all those needles
aren't in the dish

and they're just in my hands.

I've got bloody prickly pears in me.
Look sharp!

30 minutes to go!
Come on, gentlemen!

THEO: Let's go.

DECLAN: Get it in the fridge.

You right, buddy?
Yeah, I'm good.

THEO: You weren't lying about
those flies, were you? Jeez.

30 minutes to go,
I've got my glaze on.

It's starting to reduce.

(STEAM HISSES)

My pork is in the pressure cooker.

That's good, that's good,
that's good.

So I move onto my corn tortillas.

Man, it is hot.

Hoo-hoo! Ow.

Alright, now I'm in my happy place.

I feel like, you know,

this is gonna come together
really nicely.

You know, a beautiful pork belly
with that prickly pear,

your sticky glaze
and your beautiful corn tortilla,

got a little salsa on top,

it's gonna be a really nice
bite of food.

JOCK AND ANDY: Theo.
Hey, guys.

What's happening?
Loving the flies.

Loving it.
Yeah, loving it.

What's happening?
What are you cooking?

I'm cooking, um, pork belly.

I've got it in the pressure cooker
with a bunch of chillies

and I'm gonna take it out and glaze
it with this prickly pear glaze.

What's in here?
Prickly pear juice and...

Agave, bit of chicken stock,

a bit of cumin
and a bit of coriander.

Have you tried that?
Yeah, I have.

Taste like? Not much.
Just... Not much.

I... You need to
turbocharge that, mate.

Today we have to use cactus
in our dish,

and the judges want to be able to
taste that cactus,

and I don't think
I'm hitting the brief.

We know what the advantage is
for tomorrow.

You want it, trust me.
OK, alright.

Every advantage right now is gold.
Sweet as. Thanks, guys. Cheers.

I'm sort of spinning right now.

They're telling me that, you know,

there's not much cactus there
in my glaze,

so I need to turbocharge this.

Just a...

..bit of a worry that I need some,
you know, something more.

It just tasted like prickly pear
and chicken stock.

I've really got to think today.
I've got to think on my feet.

And I will take any sort of
advantage over these two cooks,

'cause they're great cooks.

I've just amped it up with
a few more aromats, a few chillies.

I've just got to make sure

that it's got all the flavour
in there that I want.

(TAPS SPOON)

Righto, this is bubbling away.

But...fish time.

I'm feeling good.

My Mexican rice is on the go,

my prickly pear reduction's
simmering away,

now I need to get started
on this fish.

Alrighty.

It's a big bloody fish.

This time I'm gonna be doing
a steamed fish,

and kingfish is a thicker,
more versatile white-flesh fish,

and that's gonna steam perfectly
with some Mexican aromats.

I'm massaging this glaze
into my kingfish

and they're going beautiful,
pink and vibrant.

And it's tasting so nice and sweet.

Mm, yummy.

And I'm thinking

maybe I can incorporate
this prickly pear reduction

into my tatemada.

Yeah.

Alright, the cactus
is going in that, yeah.

Tasting beautiful.

It's balanced out, and there is
that sweet element in there.

I think I'm onto something new here.

Oh, I like it.

And I'm trying to stick to
this Mexican vibe.

I see there's corn husks there,

so why not steam my fish
in the corn husks?

My steaming basket's ready to go.

I'm just gonna treat it
as cooking it, you know,

in my baking paper and foil.

CATH: Nice, Declan.

Oh! Look at that.

Awesome!

So, the chicken's out
of the pressure cooker,

so it's straight into the deep-fry.

It's now time to get that
chicken stock into a nice big pan,

start reducing that.

It is quite a sauce,
and full of flavour.

The more it reduces,
the better it's gonna get.

And as I'm tasting
the prickly pear glaze...

Mm.

..it's now just screaming
'sweet-and-sour'.

I think I'm onto a winner here.

The chicken, you know,
is gonna be super-crunchy,

and then this sticky reduced glaze
painted over the top of it.

Feel like I'm at the beach.

And then comes the smokiness
with the cucumbers,

putting them on the bottom
underneath the chicken,

and this beautiful, you know,
dark, rich sauce,

cucumbers are just gonna
suck that up.

The sweetness in the glaze,

acidity in the strawberry
cactus salsa,

yeah, I think the guys should just
pack up and go have a beer

while I finish this dish off.

Not gonna play it down.

Huge advantage on the line
for tomorrow,

and you have 10 minutes to go.

CATH: Come on, 10 minutes!
Come on, finish it off!

Come on, Brent!

Go, Theo!

THEO: 10 minutes to go,
I am pushing.

I've got to finish my pork
on the hibachi.

I've got to do a quick salsa
as well.

So I've got a lot to do.

I'm happy with the cook on the pork.

Now I need to make sure that
the glaze is where it needs to be

so I can hit it with some heat
from the hibach.

But I'm looking at my glaze...

Man!

..and it's just not there at all.

This is meant to be
my cactus element.

I needed this to really reduce.

But it looks more like a stock now.

Nah.

I'm worried that I might have to
kiss goodbye to that advantage.

Come on.

Applications for contestants
are now open.

Head to the link and apply.

Five minutes to go!

CATH: Come on, Dec.
Finish it off, buddy!

Come on, Theo!

Come on, Brent!
Yeah, get into 'em, Cath!

Yeah!
Come on!

Come on! Come on, guys! Come on!
You need to bring your food over.

Come on!
THEO: Thank you, Cath.

Yes!

I needed my glaze to get to
that sticky stage,

but it hasn't reduced enough.

But I'm running out of time
and I've got to use it,

so I've got to hope that it still
permeates that prickly pear flavour.

It's crunch time now.

It's all got to
come together on the plate

and look bloody beautiful.

So I check my fish,
and it's beautiful and flaky.

Of course I'm thinking about
presentation in this round

and at this end of the competition.

Gorgeous, Dec.

So I grab a cookie cutter,

and I'm placing my rice in that
so I can de-mould it.

This is what I live for.

Oh, it's beautiful.

As well as my tatemada
in a beautiful jug

and my steamed fish wrapped up
in that corn husk.

Looking at my dish, I think this
advantage could be mine today.

It looks bang-on
and I hope I've hit the brief.

One minute to go. Come on!
Whoo!

Where's he going?
'Bye!

BRENT: Yeah, the last minute
is absolutely frantic.

I haven't even started plating up.

I'm trying to get the glaze
on the chicken, you know?

If I don't get that on there,

then all the work gone into that
glaze is just thrown out the window.

I've got to get the sauce
in the little jug.

I'm just pouring it
all over the sink, all over my hand.

Oh, sugar!
Oh, no, Brent.

But what I envisioned
at the start of the cook

is what's on the plate right now.

I tell you what,
I'll be a wounded little soldier

if I don't get the win today.

10...

(OTHERS JOIN IN) 9, 8, 7,

6, 5, 4,

3, 2, 1!

That's it!
Whoo!

(SIGHS)
CATH: Whoo!

Well done, guys!

Yeah, go, Theo. Good job, fellas.

Good job, mate.
Whew.

Lost 30 kilos. Needed it.
Yeah.

Good job, mate.

What a great surprise, eh?

We threw a cactus challenge at you.

(LAUGHS)

OK, obviously, the winner of that

will get an advantage
in tomorrow's Immunity Challenge,

which, believe you me, you want.

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

..Declan.

Let's go, son.
Come on, Dec. Looks gorgeous.

Looking at my dish today,

I definitely think I've got a shot
at this advantage.

It looks bang-on
and I hope the judges love it.

Declan.

Hey.
What have you cooked?

I've stuck with the Mexican vibe.

I've done steamed kingfish

with Mexican rice
and a prickly pear tatemada.

Where have you featured the cactus?

So, I've featured my cactus
in the tatemada.

I made the glaze and rolled the fish
in it before I steamed it,

and I've got the agave,
the prickly pear

and that cactus bitter.

Declan, picking up a lot of
good Mexican vibes, right,

in terms of flavour.

You gave us
absolutely perfect fish...

..permeated with that
sort of corn husk flavour

and the prickly pear glaze.

Loved the presentation.

It came up and I was like,

"That is exactly what
I was looking forward to."

There's definitely
some technique stuff there.

Tatemada really did kind of add
to the dish

with the sweetness
of the prickly pear.

And you really nailed it both in
round 1 and round 2, so good stuff.

I hope that you can be
so proud of yourself

thinking about your journey
through the competition,

because day 1 Declan would not
even have conceived of this,

and look at what you're doing.

It's really beautiful stuff.

Thank you.
Thanks, Declan.

Next up, it's Theo.
Yes, Theo.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Hey, everyone.
Hi.

What have you made for us today?

I have made prickly-pear-glazed
pork tacos.

Is there enough prickly pear

in this dish

to suffice the challenge?

Look, I hope there is.

I hope that the prickly pear
is in there

and it has a nice flavour to it.

In the sauce only? Nowhere else?
Yeah, in the sauce.

Nowhere else. It's in the sauce.

It's, you know, agave syrup as well.

And, yeah, that's...that's
where I went with it.

OK.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

Good job on the tortillas.

Nice flexibility.
They're not cracking.

Very good.

But I don't taste the cactus.

And whether or not that's...

..a twofold thing here.

How can you expect the flavour
of the prickly pear juice

to be more than the chilli?

Yeah.

Which is a shame,

because that
could have been brilliant,

'cause you set it up magic with
the perfectly cooked piece of pork.

I wanted it so much to be glaze-y
and sticky and cactus-y,

do you know what I mean?

And it would have been perfect.
You were so close, mate.

Just execution, Theo.
Yeah.

Prickly pears, man, they're, like,

on the flavour scale,
they're a 0.5 out of 10.

So it was also
a bit of a trip hazard

for everyone out there today.

Thanks, mate.
Theo.

Thanks, yeah.

Brent, let's go, mate.

BRENT: I think overall
the dish looks good.

Tasted everything together
besides the chicken,

and, you know,
it tasted really yummy.

I could taste cactus in there.

Get after it.
Drown it.

Hopefully it's enough to hit
the brief and I get the win.

(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)

(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)

Brent, what's the dish, mate?

Today you've got
twice-cooked chicken,

a prickly pear glaze,

then there's
strawberry cactus salsa.

Gotcha.

MELISSA: Nice amount of heat
in those chillies.

Brent...

..I'll start with the sauce.

Loved the sauce, like,

you know, you're getting stronger
and stronger

in your...in your sauce section.

Every cook that you are, whether in
the kitchen or out in the elements.

Big tick there.

Out of all of the glazes
that we've had today...

..yours was the tastiest.

Out of the use of the cactus
in the dish,

yours was probably the best.

The salsa was delicious,

like, I really loved the use
of that,

um, the little strawberry cactus
in there.

The salsa had a really
lovely dimension of flavour

that the heat, the savoury qualities
of the coriander and the onion,

and then the little...
the little pops

of the strawberry cactus,

I thought was a really smart way
to use it.

And that's what we were talking
about earlier,

is you may not have used
these ingredients before,

and we certainly don't
expect you to,

but try it,

get the idea
of what the qualities are of it

and then find something familiar
in your repertoire

to integrate that into,

and I think you did that really,
really well.

Yeah, thank you.

The funny thing about that fruit is
there isn't a huge amount of flavour.

There's more aroma than flavour.

And of course we can taste more
with aroma,

so when you're eating it,

as you're eating it,
you're getting the aroma.

Yeah.
And that's the bit...

That, for me, the brief was filled.

Awesome. Thank you.
Thanks, mate.

Nice one, Brent.

CATH: Hey? You and Declan, hey?
Well done, hey?

(TENSE MUSIC)

Here in the largest cactus garden
in the Southern Hemisphere,

we wanted you to bring us
a captivating cactus dish.

Declan...

..loved the concept of your dish.

But, Brent, your dish,

it featured cactus in the way
that we were looking for,

which is why, Brent,

congratulations,
you got the advantage.

Oh, thank you!

It feels really good
to go into immunity cook-off

at the best of times.

Oh-ho! God!

But to go in
with a really big advantage

is everything right now.

(HEROIC MUSIC)

Get ready to battle it out
for the very first spot

in Finals Week, you three.

We'll see you all tomorrow for that
last location on our road trip,

and trust me, it's a big one!

A big one. OK.
Get out of here.

'Bye.

'Bye!

Adios.

NARRATOR: Tomorrow night
on MasterChef Australia...

BRENT: Holy dooley.

Wow!

RHIANNON: I've never seen
anything like it.

..it's a phenomenal finish
for the top 5 road trip.

BRENT: It's all been
leading up to this.

With the final
immunity cook

and a Service Challenge

all rolled into one...

THEO: There's never
a dull moment.

DECLAN: This is gonna
be very, very tough.

BRENT: Oh, my God.

I am going like
a one-armed bricklayer.

..it's an ending
of epic proportions.

Captions by Red Bee Media