All language subtitles for MasterChef.Australia.S17E01.1080p.HDTV.H264-DARKFLiX

Oh, wow. This is amazing.

WOMAN: Wow!

MAN: It's a bit magical, eh?

Stunning.

MAN: MasterChef changed my life.

I've come back to push myself
to new limits.

I'm laser-focused
on holding up that trophy,

and I'm back to win.

WOMAN: Look how lush it is!

It's never been the right time,

but I believe now is the right time
to test myself in the kitchen again.

MAN: This looks amazing.
Look at this.

This second chance
is now or never for me.

It's the universe telling me,

"You've got what it takes.
Let's go."

ANDY ALLEN: Welcome to
the MasterChef kitchen!

(CHEERING)

WOMAN: As soon as you walk
into the MasterChef kitchen...

10 minutes to go!

(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)

..it is so exhilarating.

SOFIA LEVIN: That's exceptional.

Everything's in there
perfectly balanced.

It genuinely does feel like
coming home.

I honestly feel like I owe
my whole career to MasterChef.

I've co-opened two restaurants now.

I've hosted my own cooking shows,

done MasterChef twice,

and I've come second twice.

You've had 18-year-old,

first-moved-out-of-home version
of me.

To cook like this at 18 is really,
you know, it's amazing.

MATT PRESTON: We haven't got
an Italian name on that trophy.

Cook like this,
and you will be the first.

Thank you.

Service, please!

You've had business owner version.

JOCK ZONFRILLO: I've watched you
come a long way.

You left this kitchen the first time
and you came into my kitchen.

I've got to say,
the person you were then

compared to the person you are now
is night and day.

(BABY COOS)
Yeah!

And now you've got the mum version.

Good girl!

This is the third chapter
of my MasterChef story.

(LAUGHS)

This time I'm competing
for my daughter, Florence.

I want to make her proud and
show her that it's never too late.

You can win, third time.

MAN: My life has changed a lot

since I first did MasterChef
in season two.

Absolutely drop-dead gorgeous.
It's brilliant.

Put it there. Seriously, Good job.
Thanks.

(WHOOPING)

I was the youngest contestant.
I was 18.

GEORGE CALOMBARIS: Not long ago,

you were a kitchenhand
washing pots and pans.

You are a champion.
Well done today, mate.

Now I feel like I learned
a heck of a lot

and I realised cooking
is what I want to do for a living.

So I've competed twice.

I've gotten pretty close
to winning MasterChef,

but to be here right at the end
and be holding that trophy,

it would feel like I've
just finished what I started.

And I think showing my kids that I'm
happy to get outside my comfort zone

by coming back into the competition
is actually a really powerful thing.

MAN: Game face.
WOMAN: Yee-haw!

When I first stepped into the
MasterChef kitchen in season six,

I was such a baby in the industry.

You know, I'd never cooked
anything professionally.

You're cooking with an experience
that is far beyond your years.

MAN: It looks absolutely beautiful.

That is delicious, delicious,
delicious. Delicious.

I got out of the competition
and just hit the ground running.

And eight years later,
I came back...

..and I missed out to Billie
and came second.

I was totally devastated,
missing out on winning.

So I'm back to win.

ANNOUNCER: Three of our toughest
contestants are back,

taking on 21 of the best
returning cooks we have ever seen.

They are all here with one goal -

they want that title!

Who will win the MasterChef crown?

(ALL SHRIEK AND LAUGH)

Oh, my God!

(CONTESTANTS SHRIEK AND CLAP)

Oh, my God!

MAN: No way. That's huge.

He's beautiful.

Oh, my God!

Wait a minute. That's Gordon Ramsay!

Like, ah! (LAUGHS)

Good evening, everybody.
I'm Gordon Ramsay.

Welcome back to MasterChef,
everybody!

(ALL CHEER)

Wow.

Right.

For all of you, MasterChef
has really changed your lives...

..and helped shape who you are today.

Because you've all gone on to do
extraordinary things.

From cookbooks to amazing products,

TV shows and even
successful restaurants.

But none of you have ever earned

the title of MasterChef Australia.

This, right here,

right now,

is your chance...

..to rewrite history.

Because you're all standing here

back to win.

(ALL WHOOP AND CHEER)

Declan, where are you, young man?

There you go.
Here we go.

We've heard of you
as far back as London, right?

Declan's my name, and...

Fish is my game.

(LAUGHTER)

Have you got what it takes this time
round to pick up that trophy?

Yeah. Most definitely.

I wouldn't be here
if I didn't think I was.

And how hungry are you for that?

Because we're not
messing around here.

There's serious stakes for this.

I'm starving, mate.

More than hungry,
I'm starving for it.

I'm here to prove to myself
that I can do it,

and to the rest of Australia.

That's what I want to hear.

Audra, you're used to standing
on this side

judging MasterChef in Singapore.

Shall I join you?

(LAUGHTER)

My whole life changed
after I went into MasterChef.

And I think it's a reminder...

..that this was
what I was meant to do.

Absolutely.
Yeah.

MAN:
To see someone like Audra from 2012,

who's gone on to become
an amazing judge,

an amazing cookbook author,

she's achieved so much.

And it's testament to just how high
the calibre is of this competition.

Now, sadly, I'm not sticking around
for the entire competition,

but the ones that will be here
to inspire...

..motivate and push you
every step of the way...

..are, of course,
your incredible judges.

Please welcome back, Andy!

(WHOOPING AND APPLAUSE)

Sofia!

(WHOOPING AND CHEERING)

Poh!

(WHOOPING AND CHEERING)

And Jean-Christophe Novelli!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(WHOOPING)

How are you?

ANDY: Wow-whee, look at this.

Are you trying to steal my job
or what?

(LAUGHS)

I'm just here to make sure
you don't (BLEEP) it up.

(LAUGHTER)

I'm going to say something
very quickly.

Many, many years ago,
like 35 years ago,

Gordon used to pick me up
on his motorbike

most of the night for a Chinese.

(POH LAUGHS)
And we both used to be skint...

True or not?
This is true.

..and we used to share a bowl
of rice in Soho, like two lovers.

(LAUGHTER)

And you know what?

One day, he dumped me...

..for David Beckham.

(LAUGHTER)

It's so good to see your faces.

Guys, do you realise
what you've done?

You have said yes to this
wild roller-coaster ride again!

Thank you for your courage

and for your vulnerability.

ANDY: Righto. You guys know
better than anyone

just how fast things move
in this kitchen, right?

So, we're not wasting any time.

Tonight is a service challenge.

(GROANING, LAUGHTER)

And Gordon Ramsay is going to be
running the kitchen.

Let's go.
MAN: Bring it on.

We are getting you into three teams.

It's game on!

Oh!

Depinder. One, two, three.

One, two, three.

One, two, three.

One's over there,
two's in the middle.

Three's over there. Let's go!

WOMAN: Day one,
doing a service challenge.

Oh, my gosh!

It's about to be brutal.

We are not here to play.

Righto. We've got our teams.

But...every team,

they need a team captain.

And yours...

..are about to walk
through those doors.

What?!
(ALL GASP)

Really?

(WHISPERS) Who do you reckon?

Three more contestants.

That's right.

There's three more cooks
joining you.

(ALL GASP)

Not only are they
your captains tonight...

..they are your biggest competition.

No!

(LAUGHS)

Please welcome...

MasterChef legend,

Callum Hann,

Sarah Todd

and Laura Sherrad!

(WHOOPING AND CHEERING)

Whoo!

Yes!

DECLAN: Would you believe it?

Look who's walking through
those MasterChef doors.

Three absolute MasterChef legends.

Just when you think you're special,
they just bring you back to ground.

I'm going to be versing
Callum, Sarah and Laura.

They are the GOATs in this kitchen.

Yeah, it's crazy, hey!

CALLUM: You guys in teams already?
Yeah!

Oh, amazing. Oh, good.

That's your team!

Who would have thunk?
I know!

Let the games begin.

These legends, they're third timers
in this kitchen.

WOMAN: Oh, my God.

And not only that,
they've all placed second.

I'm very good at coming second.

(LAUGHS)

I know how to get to the end.

I've just got one extra
little hurdle.

Well, this competition
is going to be intense.

Only one of you

is going to take home $250,000,

hold up that trophy...

..and earn the title of
Australia's next MasterChef.

(LIGHT WHOOPING)

I'd like to acknowledge
the traditional owners

of the land upon which this
competition takes place,

and pay our respects to the elders,
past and present.

This is a place that has always been
rich in food and culture.

So take that as inspiration
in this kitchen.

Right, all of you,
the family reunion is over.

Let's get to it, shall we?

For today's service,

you'll be cooking
an incredible two-course menu.

An amazing main course,
followed by a spectacular dessert.

Now, lucky for you, I've chosen
two incredible ingredients

to be featured across these dishes.

It's up to you to decide
which ingredient

goes into the main course

and which ingredient
goes into the dessert.

Now, trust me,

this is one challenge
you want to win.

The top team tonight will have
a unique opportunity

to cook for the biggest prize
of this entire season.

Ooh!

Game-changing advantage.

And because tonight,
we're not just feeding anybody.

This is serious.
This is Back To Win.

All of you are going to be
responsible for cooking

the most incredible dinner...

..for front-line workers.

Cool.
Wow.

And they deserve nothing short
of perfection.

Now, it's very near and dear
to my heart,

our eldest daughter, Megan,
is in the police force.

Our son Jack is
a Royal Marine commando,

protecting and defending the country.

We're giving you two hours
before service starts.

You'll be serving two courses,
60 plates per team...

Wow!

..30 per course.

Gordon, any famous harsh words?
(LAUGHS)

Give it your all. Understood?
Yeah.

Understood.
Good.

Your two hours start now!

Let's go!
Go!

Go, captain, captain, captain.
OK.

Apron.
Aprons!

Yeah. Thanks, Laura.
Thank you.

CALLUM: I like this colour.
Alright, let's do this.

Let's have a look, guys.

Oh!

Oh, my God!
(GASPING)

Oh, my gosh. OK. Amazing.

Corn and carrots. Dessert, corn?

I think dessert corn.

Alright.

Alright. Sweet corn.
I like...I like your style.

Sweet corn.
Alright, let's talk teams quickly.

Yeah.
I'm just gonna...

I don't know everyone very well,
but I'm gonna try.

Andre, you're on mains.

Yep.
I think you should be on mains, boys.

Mains?
Yep.

Yeah, mains. Yeah.

Alright, guys, first impressions?

Carrots and corn. Come on.
CALLUM: Classics.

Not a thank you in the house, anyone?

Thank you, Chef. Much appreciated.

Main course.
Tell me, what are we thinking?

So we're thinking with carrot, beef.
Right.

We're gonna get ideally
the rump cap if we can.

We'll do carrot, a couple of
expressions. We're still...

We've only just started planning,
Chef...

Clock's ticking, guys, yes?
Lovely.

Let's go.
OK, thank you.

So we've got a hero carrots, right.

It's got to be prominent on the dish,
we've got to use it a couple of ways.

Yeah.

Callum's leadership skills
are phenomenal.

Do we do, like,
macadamia carrot puree,

something along those lines?
Yeah.

Do we do like a, I don't know,
a little pickled carrot as well?

You can clearly tell
he runs his own restaurant.

Whereas I've only been out
of MasterChef for two years.

So, Callum, tell me
what you need me to do.

Go for it.

Guys, I missed you!

Aw! I missed you guys, too!

The gang's back together.
I know.

What a way to kick off day one.

It's kind of like coming back
to school,

but we're the teachers,
which is pretty cool.

Gordon Ramsay in the house.

First impressions
of the two ingredients.

Protein. What are you doing?

So protein, we're going to do fish
and sort of like a corn chowder.

Like in a modern way.
Yeah.

And the captains
could not be three better people

to lead the first team challenge.
Yeah.

There's six restaurants
between our three captains,

which is pretty impressive.
Wow!

If you were Laura, Callum or Sarah,

how would you go about
leading your group?

I'm wondering if you'd lead
with a bit of an iron fist,

or if you'd let everybody
play to their strengths.

I think you have to take charge
from the get-go,

because if you don't
and people start to, like,

go in their own lane,

I feel like that's when the plan
can get confused.

So lay down the law.
Exactly.
Yeah.

Alright, let's go,
let's go, let's go, let's go!

Jean-Christophe, if you were
one of the leaders,

how would you go about it?

I would make sure clearly
that everyone understands me.

And that's the problem.

(ALL LAUGH)

Guys, I've got
a little bit of Adelaide goss.

Laura, when she popped out of here,

she actually went and worked
for Andre for a while.

LAURA: Where's Andre?
And she's the team captain today.

No way. Now she's leading Andre.
Yeah.

That is good.

I wonder how either of them feel
about that change of dynamic.

LAURA: Get the three things
that need to be set on there,

like your set and forget,

they're your three things
and then dress around that.

100%.

We are doing
a corn and milk dessert,

so we're gonna have, like,
a little roasted corn ice-cream,

a buttermilk granita,
a little corn flake crumble,

and then, like, a really yummy,
bitter whole orange cake.

I've decided that I'm gonna work
with the sweet team,

and I'm going to leave the mains
to Andre to sort out.

Lots of flat leaf parsley.
MAN: Yeah.

Mustard, fennel, garlic.

I definitely trust Andre.
I know how he works.

I think he can really help be
that emotional support,

almost sous-chef role today.

Everyone, work neat and clean.

Andre, you're in charge of that.

I am feeling quite anxious
at the moment.

I'm meant to be on maternity leave,

and I've just been thrown back
into the MasterChef kitchen,

into this role,
and it's feeling quite daunting.

There's lots of new faces,

lots of people
that I haven't worked with before,

but also lots of familiar faces,
which is nice,

but I am back to win, yes, I am.

Today and every other day
in this kitchen.

Having fun, Laura?
Always.

(LAUGHS)

For, like, the chowder kind of base
we need something carby.

I think the fondant potato
would be much better.

Yeah, so I reckon
you can get on to that.

So on our mains we have Jimmy
working on the pommes fondantes,

Jamie working on the kingfish.

And we have Snezana
working on the corn chowder.

How are you going here?

Do you want me to make, like,
a more stock and then we add

the corn to thicken it?
Yes.

Is that how you wanted to do it?
OK, good.

Having my own restaurant,

what I love to do is really find
what people are good at.

Giving people the opportunity
to shine is key.

JAMIE: How do you want
the kingfish cooked?

If you're happy to do it on the pan,

um, and sear, get crispy skin.
Yep.

Or if you want to just pop it in
and confit, we can do that.

Yeah, OK. Skin on, crispy skin.
Yeah.

I put my hand up from the start
to do one of the toughest jobs -

cook the fish.

It gives me an opportunity to show
a little bit of technique

and try to really impress Gordon
and the judges.

It feels pretty wild
to be back in MasterChef.

Um, it's been, you know,
nearly 11 years

since I've been in the kitchen.

Jamie!

(CHEERING)

First time round on MasterChef
I came on with a dream

that I'd always wanted
to open a restaurant.

Thank you, sir.

I was 12 the first time
I told my mum

that I was going to own a venue
by the time I'm 30.

I signed the lease for
my restaurant, Alba, when I was 30

and it meant everything to me.

It was definitely a passion project
and something that I loved.

It's unofficially my fourth child,
I suppose.

Five years later,
I ended up closing it.

Closing the door on Alba
was pretty tough.

I put everything into it
and it's still raw.

Coming back on MasterChef is going
to allow me

to hopefully move forward.

It's still food that drives me,

and it's still food that allows me
to show love...

..and it's still food
that is my passion.

This is almost like
a new start point for me.

GORDON: Jamie, why did you choose
this fish?

Kingfish, big fillets.

We can really portion it
and make it look pretty.

Get consistency through timing
of cooks

and then get plates out
that look similar.

Sure. Yeah. Listen. The main course.
Wrestle the kingfish.

Yeah. Absolutely.
So elevate that.
Yeah. For sure.

Skin on, it's staying on?
Skin's on. Yeah.

Good, good.

This kingfish is
the central element of this dish.

The sauce can be as delicious
as we want.

If the protein's not perfect,

we're not going to win
this challenge.

I need to make sure this is good

to prove to myself that I belong
in this industry.

I belong in this competition.

And closing a restaurant isn't
the end of my food dream.

It's just the start of
another chapter.

(CHATTER)

Get more ice-cream machines on
quick!

Let's go.

How's that, um,
creme anglaise tasting, Darrsh?

Yeah, it's really subtle.

We're going to need something else
to amp it up.

OK. Get yourself, in a minute,
a juicer.

Yeah.
Cut off some corn kernels.

Juice the corn kernels.
Yeah.

Put the sweet corn juice in
to boost the flavour.
OK. Perfect.

As captain today, I'm only as good
as the team around me.

And when you've got superstars
in the dessert space

like Darrsh and Rue, I know that

the sweet dish is going to
be sorted today.

And people like Audra.
She's gone on to be a judge herself,

so she's super experienced.

And someone like Ben,
who's actually gone on

to run his own hospitality business
as well.

I feel like we've got
a really solid team.

Uh, Callum, give me an insight to
what we are doing.

So, sweet corn with our sweet.

So we think we're going
to do cute little, um,

sweet corn-inspired pavlovas.
Mm-hm.

Carrot with our savoury, we're going
to be going beautiful rump cap.

We're going to do it on
a macadamia carrot puree.

We're gonna do some beautiful
little pickled carrots

and then the carrot tops
in the chimichurri. So, three ways.

Smart. Protein-wise.
Did you grab the rumps?

We did. We got the rump caps there.
Right.

Thinking we're gonna sear them
all whole

and then just baste them
as they're cooking...

Yeah.
..and then carve them to order.

It's something that
seriously needs to rest.

It's not a strip loin.
It's not a rib eye.

It's a rump.

Please just don't leave it too long
before you start working with it.

Yeah. OK, guys.
That's a great idea. Thank you.

Good.
If Gordon says it, we do it, OK?

I think we almost need
to get them searing,

like, sooner than later.
They're pretty even.

I would just gonna, like,
half in like that.

And then once we've cooked it...
Cut across the bone like that.

..we'll cut across like that.
Yeah. Totally. OK. Sweet.

I'm in charge of the meat today.

And with this rump,
it's all about simplicity.

The entire dish is there to
highlight this phenomenal produce.

You just wanna render the fat
down on these, Cal.

Yeah, 100%.
Yep, yep.

Last time I was on MasterChef,

my cooking style was
a little bit more experimental.

Molecular gastronomy was a thing.
What's the dish?

It's a camp fire
with some beef sous vide

rolled in charred leek ash.

Absolutely smashing.

I can't remember
when we've seen stuff

as good as this in this kitchen.

After being on MasterChef,
a lot of opportunities came my way.

I was lucky enough to set up
a couple of great food businesses,

have a couple of children.

However, running a kitchen
and having young children

is not an easy thing to do.

Sometimes you've got
to make tough decisions,

and, in the end, I decided it made
more sense to take a step back

from cooking professionally.

My two little girls are huge
MasterChef fans.

What would you think if I told you

that they asked me to go on it
again?

Yeah. Yay!

Then after I told them
that I was coming back,

they are almost as excited
as I am by it.

I love you!

I think they expect me to win,
so there's a bit of pressure there.

(LAUGHS)

Ben, you got your work cut out
for you,

with them all being so random
in size.

But everyone does beef fillet,
though, right?

Rump caps - kind of cool
to do something different.

Mate, I'm all about the rump.

If you can nail the rump cap,
I'd take the rump cap

over a beef fillet any day
of the week.

Yeah.

Right.
Hi.

Hey. How are you? You good?

Good, thanks.
Are you good?

I've got Gordon Ramsay
standing right behind me.

Oh, God. How scary is that?

What am I doing
with my life right now?

Teams, let's hope your menus
are locked in!

You have 90 minutes to go!
(JUDGES CHEER)

Alright, team, in half an hour.
Gordon's going to come back.

He wants to taste something.

Let's just make sure we've got
a few elements to show him.

How's your fish portioning?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Like, the fish will...
We'll be good for fish.

That's alright.
What's happening here?

So this is a puree.
OK. Thank you.

It's a green...

That's fine. Thank you. I trust you.

Laura's given me the reins
for the main course.

We're doing a porchetta roll
with a pickled carrot,

a slaw, glazed carrots
and a parsley veloute.

Alright. Oven's on high.

Decided to make three
porchetta rolls tonight

because it's a great dish to cook
in bulk and to slice to order.

Pork one's in. I got the timer on.
Fab.

Pork in the oven!

What's going on?
So, Burgundy team, captain Laura.

They've chosen the, uh, porchetta as
their main course.

That's going to be
an interesting one

because it's all going to come
down...

Obviously, you want that blistering
crackling on the outside,

which is the hero of the porchetta.
That's it. Yeah.

And then beautiful succulent meat.

Alright. Second pork's in, Loz.
Thank you.

Are you having fun, Andre?
I actually am, man!

Yeah. I can see you're into it.

Poh...

I nearly cried, man,
when you walked in.

Really?
Yeah.

So I said to Poh,
you look really emotional.

I was trying not to.
I was like, "Two minutes in,

"I can't cry."
Sure you can.

Real men cry all the time.
Not two minutes in.

(THEY LAUGH)

It is. It's setting a standard.

I'm very emotional today to see
Poh for the first time

under the bright lights of
the MasterChef kitchen

after all these years.

Back in season one,

we were both competitors,

at the start of our food dreams
and careers.

You might need to put some more
layers on there, Poh.

Are you trying to psych me out?
Yep.

I'm going to do another layer. Shit.

Yeah, you should.

And after all these years,

I'm so proud to see her
where she is and where she belongs.

The queen of Australian food!

After MasterChef series one,

Poh and I's careers split.

I went on into opening
multiple restaurants and venues

with about 70 staff.

The reason why I'm back is because
after all of these years,

I've built these businesses
in hospitality

and that's taken me away
from cooking.

Instead,
I'm concentrating on numbers,

business, overheads.

So this allows me to come back
to base,

start cooking again.

The mains porchetta

is looking really, really good
in the oven.

We're starting on the slaw.

The veloute is on.
We're looking really good.

We're looking really good.

I realise now that

this is what I'm meant to be doing
for the rest of my life.

So getting back into the kitchen is

the start for the rest of my career,
basically.

Back in the kitchen.
Sarah...

Oh, my God. The corn chowder.
It's amazing.

Oh, that's yummy.
Do you think so?

It's perfect.
Yes?

Yeah, it's really good.
Behind. Behind. Behind.

I'm loving the vibe of
the blue team.

Everyone's working on
their own respective element,

and it feels great.
How are you going, Theo?

Yeah. Good, good.

For dessert, we have Depinder
making the carrot halwa,

which is a traditional
Indian dessert

that's cooked in ghee,
sugar and spices.

I'm just blending this.
Yeah.

And we're going to pass it through.

We are elevating
the traditional halwa.

We're going to make it into
a parfait,

which will make it
a beautiful creamy texture.

The parfait we need to get on now,

because otherwise it's not going
to set.

So we're working really hard
on that.

And I'm working on the rough puff.

The parfait is going
to be silky smooth.

Then you've got the pistachio cream,

which is also another texture
that's smooth.

So we want that contrast.

Andy! Good to see you.

You on the bread section? Crazy!

Can't really do anything else.

All eyes are on me for this dessert.

Theo...
Yeah.
It's a puff pastry, right?

Yeah.
You should know that inside out
learning that in France.

Yeah, definitely.

I was known for my bread skills
and my pastry skills in season 15.

Have a go at the bread, dude.
Look at that. That is next level.

Your pastry is perfect.

10s, 10s, 10s across the board.

I've got this massive burning desire
to open a bakery

and always be working with bread
and things like that.

But after the first time
on MasterChef,

I went back to working as a sparky,

just to earn some money
so that I could open the bakery.

But I just felt like I got stuck
in that rhythm of,

"Alright, this is safe."

And, you know, it's easy to earn
money.

But now I feel like the universe
is telling me something

by giving me this opportunity
to be on MasterChef again

and just go,
"Theo, what are you doing?"

Like, "Stop putting up lights
and putting in power points."

I need to follow this dream.

If I was to win,

I would definitely
be opening a bakery.

Like, the next day.
Like, "Let's go!"

How long have we got?

Um...

75 minutes to go, teams.

OK.
Our guests are arriving shortly.

75 minutes to go, guys. Yes?

Alright, guys,
there's 75 minutes to go.

We've got to push hard now.

Sauce is on. That's great.
Thank you for getting these seared.

Yeah, yeah.

I know I say 75 minutes,

but ice-cream takes a long time
to set in the hot kitchen, yeah?

Yeah, oui, Chef.

I'm maining up the sweet team.

So we're gonna have, like, a little,
uh, roasted corn ice-cream,

a buttermilk granita,
an orange cake,

and then little corn flakes,
salty crunch.

Sav, you got a timer on for crumble?

Uh, yeah, it's stuck on there.
Let's keep an eye on the crumble.

Make sure it's rotated.
Yep.

We're absolutely in for
a chance at winning this.

Laura, focus on those ice-creams.

'Cause if we're going to turn the
ice. It's got to get in the freezer.

Is that ice-cream in yet?

Let me check with Sav.

Sav, I need this in the freezer
in literally five minutes.

You will not have set ice-cream.
Yes, Chef.

Being a captain is an honour,

but also terrifying,
because, at the end of the day,

the captain goes down with the ship.

Those ice-creams are still not
in the churners.

The ice-cream is going in now.
Ice cream's going in now.

Is it cold?
Is it cold?

Yeah. It's cool.
Is it cold?

No. No.
It's cool.

Three minutes and it needs to go
in the blast, in the thing.

100%, Chef.
Three minutes.

I'm trusting everyone with their
own elements, and I don't like
to hover over people.

So what is this?
This here is a parsley veloute.

This is for the base for the pork
belly that the pork will go on.

Laura.
Yes, Chef.

Get a quick taste of that.
That's a very weird taste.

But Gordon's starting to notice
that things are going wrong.

A bit too much white wine
went in it.

How much white wine went into it?

That's where we've been trying
to wrest it from... I didn't see.

I can smell something.

Something's burning.
Is there something burning?

Oh, shit.

I look over and Gordon's found
our cornflake crumble.

The crumble is burnt.
It's gone. It's burnt.

It's (BLEEP). What happened?

And I am mortified
that he's found this before I have.

Shit!

For Gordon to find this
burnt crumble before I do,

he knows I'm in the shit.
Come on. You gotta...

You gotta think now. Gotta think.

I just feel like
I've lost complete control.

It's like failing. Let's be real.

It's like a complete fail right now.

Shit.

So our crumble is burnt.
Come on, guys, please.

Oh, there is a bit going on here,
isn't there?

Like, I saw that whole crumble
for the dessert - burnt,

straight in the bin.
Really?!

Straight in the bin.
That's going to hurt.

Also, no ice-cream
in the churners yet.

It's almost an hour of ice-creams
not going in the ice-cream churner.

Yes. Understood, Chef.
It should not take that long.

Clearly, you can see
there are some problems.

Alright, I want...

I feel like there's a lot of things
that have contributed to

what is happening right now
in our team.

First day jitters.
It's like a war zone.

Working with new team members.
Laura, 30 seconds, please.

Oui, Chef. Sorry.

And I'm gonna say me not probably
being across everything.

But this is where you need
to divide and conquer.

You're the captain for a reason.
Exactly. I'm going to make some...

Do not fall on the sword.
..some decisions.

No, it's not. Listen,
you want to win this thing.

Correct. Exactly.

There's a life-changing,
incredible prize for this.

But captains need a voice.
Yes.

The pressure on the team captain
is always huge.

But today, on me,
it's absolutely enormous.

White wine.
White wine.

And then you're going
to gradually take it into...

Mix it into...
Yeah.

I've come second twice
in this competition.

I'm back to win for the third time.

The voice is amazing.
It's actually hard.

Why is it so hard
when you're so successful? Come on.

I know, it's just, it's a lot of
different personalities.

We're going to get out of this.
No, I know, I know.

We're gonna get out of this.
It's just a shame.

But they can't work blind.
They've got to get close to

what they're doing,
and they've got to be accountable.

The easiest thing to do right now
is just to accept defeat.

But I feel like I know
how to make it to the finale.

I know how to pivot.

I know how to take on the challenge

of what this MasterChef kitchen
throws at me.

I am going to turn this around.

Guys, can we have a quick
team meeting, please?

Can I get everyone to stop
what they're doing?

Unless it's going to burn
and just come here

and let's just have
a really quick powwow.

Full attention.
Pork - mains team. Andre, sauce.

Where are we at?
Sauce. I think it's done.

I just want taste and seasoning,
your thoughts.

Fantastic. Porchetta.
Where are we at?

Porchetta. I'd say we've got about
12 minutes on the first one.

We need to remake a crumb.
I need ice-creams on.

Right. Understood.
But get organised.

These firefighters, police officers,

it's a dream come true for them.

OK? So you need
to start taking this serious.

Is that understood?

Can I have an answer, please?

ALL: Yes, Chef!
Thank you. Let's go.

ANDY: Heads up, crew!

WOMAN: Oh, my goodness!

MAN: Holy moly!

The diners are starting to arrive
and they are hungry.

Woo hoo!

Here they are.

MAN: Oh, wow.
WOMAN: Come on, Team.

AUDRA: I think we sometimes
don't realise that, as chefs,

we're not really cooking for us.
It's not really about us.

It's about our diners.
It's about people that we cook for.

And today
it's so much more meaningful.

Hey, team.
Yes.

How are we doing?

Hello.

You know, my uncle's a cop
and my younger sister's a nurse,

so I know how hard they have it.

RUE: My mum's a frontline worker.
She's a dialysis nurse.

And I do have
a lot of family members

that are frontline workers,

and I would like to do them proud.

Captain.

Sarah, I want to see a dish...
SARAH: Yes.

..before it leaves your pass, please.
Yes?

Yes.
15 minutes, I want to see a dish.

15 minutes.
It's not a banquet. Understand that?

We're not cooking 30 portions,
sending...

No, four at a time.
It's four at a time.

Seven fours. One table of two. Yes?
Yeah.

JAMIE: Sarah.

Fishes or portions?

We've decided on two pieces
of fish per portion,

so that every guest
gets the same amount of fish

and every plate looks the same.

So I tried to make sure
every single portion,

there's one top loin
and one of the belly,

which is a little bit more fat.

OK, I'll get a tray.
We're all good.

So you've got twice the jeopardy

'cause you're cooking two pieces
for one portion.

So just be careful
and when you need help, ask for it.

Yes.
OK. Before you go down.

Absolutely.
OK. Open up. Yes?

Not...not planning on going down.
No.

Cooking 60 pieces of fish
is going to be a mammoth task,

but I'm confident that
I'm going to be able to get it done

and make sure
that every guest walks out happy.

So you're going to sear the fish
and just finish it

with a little bit of lemon,

and then plating.

So we've got the chowder base.

We've got our fondant potatoes

and then our beautiful tempering
on top

just to bring it together.

And that's it for the main.

Sarah, I just want you
running a restaurant

for 30 covers.
Yes.

Your way. Let's go.
Done.

Audra, I need you up here
ready to plate. OK, Chef?

Alright, Chefs, let's go.

Service is about to start.

Time is moving very quickly indeed.

But we've got a great team

and I think things
are coming up pretty smooth.

The beef looks fantastic so far.
Thank you, Chef.

Some of irregular sizes,
unfortunately. So it's...

I'm sorry, I do not understand
anything you just said.

Speak slowly.

They are irregular sizes
so they're not even,

so it's a little bit complicated.

We're just trying to make them
all perfect.

Thank you.
It's the Kiwi accent.

Thank you to allow me to understand.
It's my pleasure, Jean-Christophe.

Great accent, by the way.

The meat's been cooking
for about two hours,

almost, to be honest with you.

It's been on and off.
On and off, on and off.

So we've crisped up the outside

and now we're letting it
rest through.

So it should be just cooked
in the middle.

For our main today, we are serving
a beef rump cap

with a carrot, macadamia puree,

pickled carrots
and a carrot top chimichurri.

The carrot is beautiful.
Oh.

Beef, please.
Can we get a cut?

A little slice of beef?
Yeah. A portion.

Just one stunning portion
of where we're going.

You've figured out how you're
getting your 30 portions, right?
Let's go.

Gordon Ramsay has the highest
standards of any chef,

so we don't have room
for any errors.

Let's go.

To plate our main course today

we're going to start with
that carrot and macadamia puree.

It's really sweet
and kind of roasty from the carrots.

And don't slice any more beef
just yet.

Yeah. Yeah, I'm not. I'm not.

The Wagyu rump,
that's going to go on next.

I need to see a plate. Let's go.

And then we've got
carrot top chimichurri.

That's going to sort of mellow
the whole thing out,

'cause there's a lot of richness
going on in this dish.

So that herbiness,
a little bit of chilli,

is going to be just the kick
it needs.

And then to finish off,
those pickled carrots.

It's looking great.

Matty, can I get the jus
we've got now, mate.

Just as it is. As it is, Chef.

I feel so proud of this team.
For a bunch of people

that have never cooked together
before today,

I just don't think
we could have done any better.

Puree, delicious.
Thank you.
Chimichurri, delicious.

The pickle is fine.

I pull that back like that,

that is raw in there.

Uh...

A fillet,
we're going to get away with.

A strip, we'll get away with,
but not...
OK.

Them, tonight, the firefighters,
police officers,

they're not going to have that raw.

We've got a chance of winning this,
but the beef has got to be cooked.

Yes, Chef.
Take control. Let's go.

I've spent two hours
cooking this beef,

and to not have it cooked
to Gordon's liking

is absolutely heartbreaking
at this point.

Was your vision of this
to finish in the oven?

Yeah.

We've got 10 minutes
before service starts,

so we make a quick decision.

Let's put the biggest ones
in one tray

and the other ones in the other,
'cause the biggest bits

are gonna need a bit longer,
aren't they?

We're gonna throw the beef
into the oven

and try to get a couple more degrees
of heat into it.

So probably another
five to eight degrees, Chef.
Yeah.

But we've got very little time left,
so we're gonna have to nail this.

10 minutes, guys. Yes?
Yes.

Yes, Chef.
10 minutes.

LAURA: What's happening
with the pork in the oven?

Pork. Let's pull it.
They need to come out
and they need to rest.

I'll get them all out.
What's that for, Steph?

Um, this is for the coleslaw.
The coleslaw? Good.

Yeah, it's a bit of a pomegranate
mustardy kind of thingy

with wee bobby whatsit.

Let's stop dallying.
Oh, thank you.
Let's go.

LAURA: How's my main looking?

Honey maple carrots are done.
Our slaw is nearly done.

Yep. Slaw.
Steph's making a dressing.

I don't want it to be a pub slaw.
I want it to be really fresh.

We have carving station ready to go?
Carving station's ready.

We're looking really good.
Team's working beautifully well.

We've found our feet and rhythm,
so it's looking good.

Three, four, five, six, seven,
eight, nine, 10.

We've got heaps.
Yeah, we've got heaps.

The porchetta comes out of the oven.

I reckon that's perfect.

And it looks beautiful.

The idea of cooking porchetta rolls

and cutting them up

into individual portions
just before service

has paid off.

Nice pieces, these.

Fantastic.

Gordon, can we borrow you?

(GORDON GRUMBLES)

What's going on?

Uh, Laura, yeah. She's...

I think she's letting Andre
run away with that main course

with that porchetta.

I think her team's running her
rather than her running her team.

Andre, can I borrow you?
Yes.

Is this what we're vibing?
And then slaw.

Yep. And then pickles.

Yeah.
And a little sauce on the outside.

Yeah. Slow, gentle. Thank you.

Blue team. Sarah. Yeah.

So they're doing
an elevated corn chowder.

The only team that's used corn
for their main.

How long on the fish?
Two minutes, Chef.

Kingfish, you know,
is a staple here.

But as opposed to one piece
of kingfish,

they're doing two per portion,

so twice the jeopardy there.

If one's a bit under,
he'll crucify us.

Callum is definitely, definitely
stepping up and running his team.

They've chosen the carrot three ways.
OK, great.

That chimichurri
with the carrot tops, it looks good.

My big worry is that rump.
That rump of beef.

If he gets this right
for the main course,

it could be a showstopper.

It's close, but it just needs
a little boost.

ANDY: Heads up, everybody,

we need plates leaving the pass
in one minute.

Yes!

Woo!
Come on, team, let's go, guys!

Restaurant quality.
Yes, Chef.

OK? Every dish, restaurant quality.

Alright, Chefs, let's go.

Ready? Come on, guys, let's do this.

What's it sitting at, Chef?
36.

Going right up.
Get it...

If it's... Out of the pan now,
please, mate.

We've popped the rump cap into
the oven for just a few minutes.

Without this beef being perfect,
we don't have a dish.

Carving the beef now,
I could not be happier.

It looks brilliant.

Yeah, the beef looks beautiful.
Oh, it looks awesome.

Beef looks amazing, guys.
Doing a great job.

Great work, great work, Ben.

Here we go, everybody.

JUDGES: 10, nine,

eight,

seven...

Oh, my God, this is crazy.

..five, four...

I need pork.

..three...

Where's my spoons?

..two, one.

Service has started!

Come on. Come on. Come on.

Restaurant style, guys.
Here we go. Let's go.

First four beef. Let's go.
OK. Let's go, Audra.

I'll do the puree.
AUDRA: OK.

OK, I'll put meat
and then chimichurri.

Let's go.
Lovely. Really consistent.

Each one the same, guys.
Yeah.

You're going to do carrots?
Yep.

Four beautiful plates at a time,

that's all we need.

Beautiful.

Service.
Service, please.

Let's go team.

Good. Very nice, Callum.
Next four, let's go.

CALLUM: Thank you. Chef.

BEN: The beef came right down
to the wire and it was so close,

but I think we just nailed it
in the end.

I hope that my beef
is going to win it for our team.

What a way to start.
We have the highest calibre of cooks

we've ever had in this kitchen.

And the competition is fierce,
right?

I think they're all looking around
at each other,

"How do I get to walk out of here
with my chest pushed out going,

"'We won the first challenge
with Gordon Ramsay in the house?'"

Got to keep that door closed,
my man.

You've got to get in and out
of there. That's it.

POH: It is pretty special
to watch Gordon in motion.

And because of him being here,
I really do feel like the food

is going to come out beautifully.

Beef cooked beautifully.

Try and keep it just a little bit
more central. Yes? Go, go.

A little bit less on the next one.

Thank you. Service please. Let's go.
Thank you very much.

Ooh, yeah.

Thank you.
Thank you so much.

(ANDY CHUCKLES)

That looks awesome.

Yeah.

This is Green team main

and it's beef rump cap,

carrot three ways.

I love the colours.
It's very well-proportioned.

And most importantly,

this look very appetising.

Yeah.
I love it already.

Let's dive in.

Oh, cuts like butter.

Wow.

Whoa.
Mm-hm.

I am loving this, right.

This is like beautiful textures,

beautiful colours,

stunning flavours.

Like, everywhere
that you put your knife and fork,

everything is just peaking
with flavour.

The seasoning is on point.

I am loving this dish.

I've got to give Ben a shout-out
for cooking that rump cap.

Looking good, guys. Yes?

Looking great.

That was so inconsistent,
the pieces,

it could have gone horribly wrong.

But if I look around,
every one is blushing medium rare.

That is absolutely money
and not easy to do.

As soon as the dish landed,
I wanted to dive in.

The colours are so inviting
and when you dive in,

everything has been executed
so well.

And what I love about it
is the balance.

There is such
a lovely amount of acidity,

heat and there's actually
a fair bit of garlic

in that chimichurri,

but it works so well
with the richness of that rump cap.

I love this dish.

It is not a surprise to me at all

that Callum has
such successful restaurants

in South Australia,

because this...this just feels like

a culmination of all of his
experience and his leadership

on a plate.

What a joy! If I was on my own,
I'd be licking that plate.

If it's good, it's good.
Yeah.

Sarah, are we ready to go?
Yeah.

Oh, yeah.
That's going to be beautiful.

This is out. Yeah?
OK.

This is it.
Our first dish of the competition.

We have to get this thing going.

I love that! I love the curry leaf.

I love that.

Yes, popcorn on top.

That looks amazing.

GORDON: Right, Sarah.

Describe the dish, please.

So basically it is the corn chowder.

Then we've got the pommes fondantes,

the fish, the clams, some popcorn.

So the sauce tastes good.

Fondants are proper now
where they are.

And who cooked the fish?
Me.

Raw fish.

Ice-cold raw fish.

Oh, my God.

The first piece of kingfish
was served raw.

Come on, blue team.

My first chance to impress him,
gone.

Might as well go to (BLEEP) Nobu
and serve it as (BLEEP) sushi.

Is this our best?
No, Chef.

Come on, guys. Come on.

(BLEEP)

(METAL CLATTERS)

Jesus Christ.

Raw fish.

Ice-cold raw fish.

Oh, my God.

May as well go to (BLEEP) Nobu
and serve it as (BLEEP) sushi.

The first piece of kingfish
was served raw.

Help me out, please, Jamie.
The job's hard enough. OK?

Yes, Chef.
Please.

As much as corn's the hero,

if I don't cook this fish perfectly,
we won't win the challenge.

So let's just nail the cook
on the fish, please.

If you check and you check,

she's not going to be left
in the shit, OK?

Look, we're a team, right?
Yes, Chef.

OK? We go up together.
We go down together. Yes?

Yes, Chef.
So give me all you got.

Yes.
And look at me. Get your head up.

Yes.
Let's go.

We got this.
We got it.

I need four more pork in one minute,
please.

I need four hot plates
in one minute, please.

Hey, guys. Laura's talking.
No one's answering her. Come on.

Sorry, Laura.
Come on guys.

Hey, guys. "Yes, Chef."

ALL: Yes, Chef.
Come on, guys.

To choose four of the best ones,
right?

Yeah.

This is the first dish I've done
in 16 years

in the MasterChef kitchen.

LAURA: Is the pork seasoned?

Pork seasoned.
Phew!

It feels refreshing to clear out
the cobwebs of the first cook.

That's it. Left, left. Right, right.
Let's go.

Three carrots per plate.
Handful of slaw in the middle.

More.
More slaw?

OK. It's got to be more.

It's got to be a big...
A big, high mound.

Just less sauce 'cause it's all
starting to go everywhere.

See what I'm saying?
There's a little puddle.

But in the chaos of this cook...

LAURA: More height, Tim.

..no one's actually tried this dish
in its complete entirety.

Let's go, guys. Service, please.
Happy with that, Laura?

Uh, yeah.

All we can do is hope it's good
and pray that the judges like it.

Let's go. Plates go. Pick up.
Let's go!

Thank you. Oh.
Thank you so much.

ANDY: OK.

Interesting.

SOFIA: That is...big. (LAUGHS)
Very interesting.

I hope you guys are hungry.

Righto, Burgundy Team,

porchetta, glazed carrot,
brandy jus,

and a lot of other things.

I think I can see, like,
some sort of parsley thing going on.

Veloute, veloute.

Carrots.

There's a lot.

It feels like everything
has been quite rushed.

Wait, let's get these
out of the way first.

Service, please. Guys,
we're crossing over each other.

Come on, let's go. Stay unified!
Guys, stop, stop, stop!

I can feel the distraction
in the kitchen.

There's clearly
a lack of definition.

You happy, boss?
LAURA: This is hard.

You're taking the responsibility, eh.
I don't remember it being this hard.

The first day,
you don't know everyone as well.

It's hard, isn't it?
It is.

POH: I feel like this tastes
like many people

going their separate ways
and making elements,

and then they've just
bunged it together.

This needs, like, seven layers off.

There is so much going on
and nothing is allowed to shine.

Service, please.
Service, please.

Doing a great job, team.

And let's just, yeah,
try and be methodical, team.

Let's follow one after the other.
It's not a race.

Can you get a temperature probe?

44, 46.

Yeah. That's perfect.
Yeah. That's 48.
Yeah.

Service!

Next round. Whoo!

Every piece of fish
that comes my way,

I'm double-checking
to make sure it's cooked perfectly.

I cook, you double-check.

But it only takes one piece of fish
to be over or undercooked,

and then we have no chance
of winning this challenge.

Sarah, are we good?
They brought it back up.

Yes, good to go.
Yeah?

Hey, blue team,
do you want to win this?

TEAM: Yes, Chef!
Come on, then!

(WHOOPING)

Here we go.
Ah.

So we've got
the blue team's main here.

Seared kingfish with corn chowder.
Wow.

And lots of other little bits there
as well.

I'm intrigued.

Should we give it a go?

My fish is a little inconsistent.

I've got my belly piece,
which is absolutely perfect,

but my loin piece is a touch over,

which is a shame.

I mean, that's the risk you run
when you try and cook,

what, 60 pieces of fish,
two per person?

But flavour-wise,
there's a lot going on here.

And I think
this is classic Sarah, right?

Being able to have, like,
this amalgamation

of a couple of cultures
and just that little spread

and that little sprinkle
of Indian spices over the top,

by the tempering
with the mustard seeds

and the frying of the curry leaves.

It just really interests me.

I know we started slow,
but we're gonna to finish strong.

OK.
And I want to hear you.

Come on, come on!
Yeah, alright. Let's do this.
Let's go.

I love the way the dish looked.

And my fish
was cooked really beautifully.

The skin was crispy
and the flesh just flaked apart.

And seasoning is perfection.

First, I would like
to congratulate them

for daring to try to use corn
in a main course...

Yeah.
..with fish and with a chowder.

And I'm actually quite impressed

because this is
absolutely delicious.

Well done.
Mm.

THEO: Happy?
SARAH: Yeah, thank you.

Four working. Last two going in now.

Halfway, guys, yes?
Halfway! (CLAPS) Yes?
Yes, Chef.

Let's start thinking about
the dessert.

Yes, Chef.

Alright, final four pork ready.
Yeah.

Plates are hot.
Plate the pork.

You chuck them down.

There's only a few more plates
to go out for mains,

so it's time to regroup
and focus on our dessert.

Are those ice-creams set?
They're set.

The ice-cream's going to be good.
The granita is going to be good.

We're definitely taking
a risk with this dessert.

Conceptually, it's something new,
it's something different.

There's lots of elements.

GORDON RAMSAY: Laura,
we can start desserts, please.
Yes, Chef.

Hey, guys, can we go on desserts,
please? They're waiting!

Let's go then. Four at at time!
Yes, Chef.

So the cake needs to be the vessel
for the ice-cream to sit on.

The key to this dessert is balance.
It's as simple as that.

So the bitter cake, the salty crumb
and the freshness of the granita.

Like, everything has got a place
in this dessert.

Load that granita on.

SAVINDRI: Make it snow!

Oh, my goodness!

Hold on, guys, just stop.
Just a touch less granita, please.

I'm just trying to gain
a bit of control

and make sure they know
that they're being led,

and hopefully I'm leading them in
the right direction to a win here.

Guys, that's way too much cake.

That's like four times the amount
that we originally put on.

But it's so hard!

Guys, I just want them all
to be exactly the same.

It's like having seven children.

I've got one,
and that's hard enough!

Service, please.
I love this place. It's amazing.

I think it's, um,
maybe a really good wake-up call

that this is not as easy
as I thought it was going to be.

SOFIA AND POH: Oh!

OK.

I think we're
all going to be surprised

because this one is just named
corn and milk.

Yeah, I want to unbury it.

Whoa!

Whoa.

Whoa!

Whoa.

Whoa!

I just felt like it didn't
come together at all for me.

I found the granita really jarring.

Like, it was just
way too sharp for me.

And the cake was a bit too bitter.

So there was just, like,
intense bitterness,

intense sourness.

I found all the flavours
quite incompatible,

and I did feel like their mains,

it felt a little bit
like they struggled.

I can see the struggle.

But I did really like
the corn ice-cream and the flavour

and the fact
that it was a bit salty.

Ice-cream, please.
Four portions, yes?

Ice-cream ready.

SOFIA: The thing I like most
about this dessert

is the intensity of the corn flavour
in the ice-cream.

And I think even just
the orange cake

with all that rind
and skins in it,

that bitterness
would have gone really nicely

with just the ice-cream.

The granita is really interesting

because I think it would be
a great element on another dessert.

I don't think it works here.

You know what I would call it?
Confusing.
ANDY: Mm.

(POH LAUGHS)

I would agree with that.

I get what's going on here.

Like, you know
you've got sweet corn ice-cream.

You've got sour buttermilk granita.
Like, you've got a salty crumb.

You've got a bitter cake.

In theory, it should all work.

But the balance
is just way out of whack here.
Yeah.

And, unfortunately,
it just hasn't worked with this one.

I think it's clear
after this tasting,

Laura's team,
they are out of the running.

And this is really going
to come down to what Sarah's team

and Callum's team bring us
for their desserts.

I think we're on the same page.
Yeah.
I agree.

Alright, last two.

Alright, well done, guys.

(TEAM CHEERS)
Great effort on the mains.

Let's bring it home.

Whilst I'm really chuffed
with this main course,

I now need to divert my attention

to this dessert because the dishes
are equal weighting from the judges.

So it's really important
that we nail not just the savoury,
but the sweet as well.

Spotless, yes?
Yes. Yes, Chef.

If this
is how you run your restaurant,

I can't wait to make a reservation.
Thank you, Chef.

Um, how are we doing
with the dessert?

With the ice-cream,
make sure it doesn't melt.

Yeah, so we're pre-cooling
on to frozen cold trays,

just so they can sit slightly
so they don't melt too quick.

Yeah, good. Let's finish strong,
shall we, guys?

Let's go.
Alright, guys,
let's get rocking and rolling.

I really want
to win this first challenge,

for me, for the whole team.

On the first day of the competition,
there couldn't be more at stake.

OK, chefs,
are the pavlovas all out?

Yes, Chef.
Do we have corn ice-cream quenelles?

We are halfway.
Halfway? Beautiful.

The dessert today,
we're going to be making
a kind of Aussie classic.

A sweet corn ice-cream pavlova.

It's gonna have a popcorn crumble,
fresh mango and passionfruit curd.

The popcorn crumble.
CATH: Yep, done.

What temperature is it right now?

Uh, it's room temperature.
Great.

Just chuck it in the fridge
or freezer, just for a few minutes.

Yep.
We've got to make sure
we don't melt this ice-cream, OK?

OK.
We've got
all the pieces of the puzzle.

We just have to come up
with how to plate this dessert now.

Ice-cold plate. Let's go.

Just grab four out again.

Let's go. In the middle,
so we work together.

That's it.
Two plates and two plates. Let's go.

Left, left, right, right,
so we don't keep on moving stuff.

There you go.
OK.

SARAH: Yep, perfect. Last four. Hey!

The main was a real struggle,

but I feel like
the result was incredible.

Let's start thinking about
the dessert, yes?

Yeah.

If we can nail this dessert,
I think we can take this out.

We'll do a test plating.
Yep. Sounds good.
OK, cool.

For our dessert, we are doing
a carrot halwa parfait.

So the carrot halwa is like...

I make it all the time at home.
I make it for my family.

So I'm hoping that flavour is going

to come straight through
the parfait, yeah.

This is...
That one there?
Yeah.

So then...can I have the pastry?

I think that the flavours
in these dishes

definitely show
a little bit of me.

And, you know,
also the other contestants,

I wanted Depinder to pull out
a dessert that really speaks of her.

Behind, behind, behind, behind.

Also, I really wanted Theo
to do his thing

and pull out
a really beautiful pastry.

One pastry, Theo.

I pull out the rough puff pastry...

So we've got the parfait dessert.

Yeah.
OK.

..and it's not how I envisioned.

It needs to be light and airy,

lots of layers,
but it's not thin and crispy.

It's quite thick and solid,
and it's quite brown.

Now, what's this bit on top here?
This is, um, the pastry.

What have they done there?

I've spent hours
making this element,

and it's the only thing I've done
pretty much all day,

and now it looks like a hockey puck

instead of a beautiful shard.

What a shame.

I think the puff pastry needs
to be cut through with a spoon,

not hammered through, yeah,
with a chisel.

It's not the way I wanted
to start my MasterChef journey.

Jesus.

The puff pastry needs
to be cut through with a spoon,

not hammered through, yeah,
with a chisel.

The crucial element of this dessert
hasn't quite worked out.

Everyone needs to be in sync
with what you want.

Yeah.
OK?

There's elements here, but it needs
to be brought together now.

You're the captain.
You're the only one who can do it.

Got it. Thank you.
Let's go.

We need to completely rethink
the plating.

Um...

The pastry is the only
textural element on the plate.

We cannot leave this off.

It's too late to make
the puff pastry from scratch.

I need to get creative.

Because the puff pastry is so thick,

we need to play around
with the plating of it a little bit.

OK.

So I feel like, if we actually have
the parfait in the centre

and we just crumble up
and make it a bit more

like a flaky pastry
around the outside...

So, make a crumb
out of the puff pastry?

I reckon.

We can put on the garnish
around the outside, like, neatly.

Because of the new way
we're plating the pastry,

we need to adjust

how much of each element goes
onto the plate.

The pistachio cream, we're doing,

like, four dollops
on top of the crumb.

I think just do three dollops
of the pistachio.

Yep.

So, we're going in with three
dollops of the pistachio cream,

four dollops of the carrot gel.

More of a blob.

Oh, yeah.
Let's keep that consistent.

And all of the other ingredients
scattered around...

And you're doing sultanas
and carrots.

..so that the plate looks full
and that with each spoonful you get

the correct proportions
of all the elements.

Oh, I'm proud of you, team.
Look at this!

So great.
Look at this!

Well done, Sarah.
No, it's not me.

Everyone has pulled it together.

I definitely feel
like we're in with a chance here.

Sarah, happy with that?
The look, visually, looks beautiful.

Yeah, we love it.

Service, please.
Let's go. Four more now, yeah?

Oui, Chef.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Ooh!

Oh, that's gorgeous!
POH: That looks gorgeous.

Thank you.
It's really beautiful.

What have we got?
Blue team - Carrot Halwa Parfait.

OK.

Hmm.

Halwa is
a traditional Indian dessert.

I've eaten this dish
in regional Indian restaurants,

and it's this lovely texture

which the blue team has made
into a parfait,

and that's genius.

So, when I bit into it
and it wasn't overly sweet,

it had that thickness
and that solidity to it

like a parfait does,

I just thought it was
a beautiful modern interpretation

of a traditional dish.

Plus that pastry, though it wasn't
a shard as expected,

added this crumbly, buttery texture,
which I think elevated the dish.

Let's go.

I thought it looked
absolutely beautiful.

I love the colours
and the composition.

Very, very pretty.

I love the flavour of the parfait,

and I thought the parfait
and the pistachio went

really well together -
that beautiful floral cardamom.

And I think it's a concept

that turned into something
really beautiful.

It looked a million bucks.
I'm loving the balance,

I'm loving the textures,
I'm loving the colours.

Well played.
Yeah.

That's it. That's it.
Come on, finish strong.

CALLUM: Alright, chefs, let's go.
Right now, let's go.

For the win today,
it all comes down to this dessert.

Rue, you good?

Yep, good.
Yeah?

Yes. Yep.
Excellent.

So, we've got to try and figure out

a way to elevate this dish
to the next level.

So, what's your vision
with the pavlova?

We're going to, like, grate
the little tips,

and then it sits like that,
and then we fill it up.

Love it.
Yeah.

Rue has had a great idea
to flip the meringue upside down.

Doing a great job, team.
I'm so happy with them.

We've shaved them down,
so we can effectively use them

like a little open bowl
on the plate.

These look absolutely beautiful.

And we're going to glue them down
with some

of that lovely passionfruit curd -
it's going to hold them in place.

Oh, my gosh, I love this.

And then all the goodies are
going in.

We've got popcorn,

we've got fresh mango,

and of course that beautiful
quenelle of sweet corn ice-cream.

Happy with that, Callum?
Yes.

Beautiful.
I think these are beautiful, Chef.

Yeah, these meringues are
the sexiest thing I've ever seen.

Service, please.
Four more plates, please, guys.

I love the look of our dessert,

but looking across
at Sarah's team...

Oh, that's great.

..their dessert is looking
so beautiful and intricate.

Blue team, let's finish strong.
Come on.

Let's go. One more four. Let's go.
Last four.

I know that our dessert is
just as good,

but I just hope
the judges think it's even better.

Four more plates, please, guys.

Oh, that's clever.
ANDY: Oh, hello!

I'm loving the look of that.

POH: OK, so this is green dessert -
Sweet corn Pavlova.

Oh, that looks so good!
That looks amazing!

I'm diving in.
Yeah, let's do it. I'm excited.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Whoa.
Mm-hm.

It is absolutely...

..delicious.

Yes.
Oh, he loves it!

What a job.
I think they've nailed it.

The dish looks very, very attractive,
very pretty,

very miniature.

I noticed very quickly some elements
were a little bit too sweet,

but then behind -
the sharpness of the passionfruit,

the citrus, the mango...

Oh, it's an envelope
of flavours, textures.

I loved it.

Presentation - A plus, 10 out of 10.

So clever to invert the moulds,

make those meringues
so that they're little bowls

and then actually fasten it
to the plate

so that it stays there

with the passionfruit and lime curd
as well.

For me, it's perfect.

I felt like every single element
on this played its role perfectly.

None better
than that corn ice-cream,

which just was like the anchor

to absolutely everything
on this dish.

All it's there to do
is just pull back on, like,

passionfruit, mango.

For me, I thought it just balanced
the whole dish.

GORDON: Final two, yes?
Yeah, you go, Audra. Go, Audra.

(THEY CHEER)

Well done, chefs.
Great job. All of you, well done.

Well done.
There's only one winning team today.

There is a massive prize
up for grabs.

You've done a good job.
Thank you, Chef. Thank you.

I just hope
that the green team has done enough.

First off, all three teams did
exceptionally well.

I mean, you all had bumps
in the road.

You all overcame those bumps.

I'll be honest, coming up
with two incredible dishes like that

in that short period of time

with a carrot and corn is
bloody hard.

Random choice!

You did yourselves proud. Honestly.
Well done, all three teams.

Thank you.

(ALL CHEER)

We know you all wanted to start
this competition off with a win.

It's what you came back to do.

But there was one team
that served up not one,

but two back-to-back bangers.

The winning team is...

..the green team!

Callum, you steered that ship
like a true captain.

How are you feeling?
Uh, so elated.

I forgot, just,
the adrenaline of this kitchen.

Like, that's such
a genuine reaction.

I feel so, um, chuffed
with how these guys went tonight.

SOFIA: Green team,

tomorrow, the eight of you cook
for a prize

everyone is going to want
to get their hands on.

And this guy here will be back
to set one hell of a challenge.

ANDY: Here we go!

ANNOUNCER: This season
on MasterChef Australia...

Are we ready?
CHEFS: Yes, Chef!

Let's go.

..Gordon is just getting started.

OMFG!

And...

Please welcome the one,
the only, Peter Gilmore!

..the superstar guests
keep on coming.

POH: Curtis Stone!

Maggie Beer!

Shannon Bennett!
(ALL CHEER)

Kirsten Tibballs!

The king of FoodTok, Andy Cooks!

Josh Niland!

You ready for this one?

(ALL EXCLAIM)

With our incredible judges.

This is the thousand-cut tofu flour.

(GASPING)

ANDY: That is my salt-baked mud crab
with confit garlic butter.

MAN: Oh, my God, Jean-Christophe.
MAN 2: The man is a genius.

Voila!
(AS JEAN-CHRISTOPHE) Unbelievable!

I get asked a lot
what Australian food actually is.

And it's dishes like this

that puts Australia
on the world stage.

ANNOUNCER:
Because, at the end of the day...

Wow! Holy moly!
ANDY: Holy dooly!

..the food is what makes
the world go round.

This is a celebration.

Well done.

That is perfection.

It's just like heaven.

That was so delicious.

If you keep cooking like that,

the trophy is yours for the taking.

You're in for one hell of a season.

Captions by Red Bee Media