Original subtitles

ANNOUNCER: Tonight we kick off Viral Week with a bang!

(ALL TALK AT ONCE)

Sooshi Mango, the comedy trio, is taking the world by storm.

(ALL TALK AT ONCE)

(LOUD CRUNCHING)

With sold-out shows around the country

and one of the busiest Italian restaurants in Melbourne...

..now they're secretly taking over the MasterChef kitchen.

ANDY: I couldn't think of a better way to kick off Viral Week.

Like, the look on the contestants' faces

when they see who our special guests are is going to be priceless.

Sooshi Mango! I follow them on Instagram.

They're so funny!

You and millions of others.

You know what? I cannot wait to meet them.

They sound hysterical.

I can't wait for them to meet you.

(ALL LAUGH)

I think they're going to find you hysterical.

(CLEARING OF THROAT)

Ah! Ah! Alright.

Alright. Alright.

(IN ITALIAN ACCENT) I'm very excited to watch MasterChef.

I love this show so much.

I wait all week for this.

Oh, my God. It's very excitement!

(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS)

It's the mystery box. They lift them up, the box.

This Christophe, he's got nice hair.

It's a beautiful, fancy suit.

WOMAN: Guys.

MAN: Mystery box, eh.

Welcome back, gang. Good morning!

Good morning.

Let's go, hustle, hustle!

There are so many chefs,

dishes and restaurants that go viral because of social media.

And that's why this week...

..is Viral Week.

We're honing in on the kind of food that gets the views,

the likes and all the favourites.

Starting with this mystery box.

You can lift your lids...now.

ALL: Oh!

MAN: Italian. Get out of town!

(LAUGHS)

WOMAN: Oh, what have you got?

Usually under our mystery box we would have ingredients,

but there's no ingredients today.

We've just got an Italian flag

and some beautiful old-looking plates.

Laura, do any of these things look familiar?

There's lots of plates on these benches that my Nonna owns.

Actually owns? Actually.

like, Samira's, my Nonna actually has them,

so I feel like I'm at her house right now.

Love it. Um, yeah, this is so cool.

Well, Italian is one of the biggest cuisines on social media,

and today we want you to make your mark on it.

Bring us your version of an Italian dish.

Whether it's a classic or unique to you,

remember to be inspired by Nonna.

Think - comforting, generous and packed full of flavour.

And trust me, guys, you want to be on your A-game for this one

because we've got a little bit of a twist for you.

Ooh! Ooh.

We aren't the only ones that are going to be eating your food today.

Ah, cool!

Nonnas. MAN: Nonnas.

Nonnas are coming for lunch. The nonnas are coming.

Oh, my God!

In fact, we have some very esteemed guests joining us

who know a thing or two about going viral.

They even have their own successful restaurant.

And they're watching you right now.

Oh!

They have a virtual army on social media...

..with over four million followers.

Wow! Wow.

Get this - one of their posts even has over 100 million views.

Wow!

They'll be keeping a close eye on every move you make during the cook.

So you got to stay on the ball.

There's no room for error.

Unless it's Pasta Grannies...

I'm trying to think about who these special guests could be today.

I'm a little bit terrified.

Nonnas are the harshest critics when it comes to Italian food,

so if they're watching us,

trying to please them is going to be such a challenge.

If you make one of the top four dishes,

you'll be cooking in tomorrow's pressure test...

..for immunity!

We're giving you 75 minutes. MAN: Alright.

Pantry and garden, they are open today...

..and they're filled with everything you could possibly need

to bring us an absolute pearler.

And, remember, it's all eyes on you, so the pressure is high.

Please, the 'suspensation' is 'a-killing' me. A-go!

Are we ready?

ALL: Yes.

That's good 'cause your time starts now!

(CHEERING AND CLAPPING)

Oh! Come on.

Run, quick!

What ingredient are they going to get here?

Look beautiful fruit today.

I just need the white cabbage, thanks.

JAMIE: For me, Italian cuisine is like,

if it grows together, it goes together.

And I can see that the pantry

has been stacked full of classic Italian ingredients.

Basil, tomatoes - delicious.

Tomato paste! Right here.

Beautiful cuts of meat,

some beautiful seafood like salt cod or baccala.

All really simple, big, bold flavours - don't mess with it.

So I'm trying to think what's going to be beautiful

and generous enough so that

I don't get blown apart by whoever's watching.

Osso buco?

Um... In 75?

Yes, in 75.

(CHUCKLES)

Today I'm making osso buco,

stuffed cappelletti and a saffron brodo.

So two of my favourite Italian dishes are risotto Milanese,

served with osso buco.

And then I love tortellini in brodo,

so I'm just combining a couple of classics from the north.

Make it nice and generous.

It's going to be big and rich and bold, and hopefully that's enough.

Andy look nice, nice boy.

I wonder if he's a-single 'cause

my daughter, she's still a-single, you know.

Maybe she can, you know, be together.

All the judge look Italian.

All Italian. All Italian.

All Italian.

(METAL OBJECT CLANGS)

Every single time.

BEN: Snez. Eh. Thank you, buddy. Thank you.

It's really smelly. Yeah, I know, I can smell it.

I'm all about nonna challenge.

Like, this is how I cook at home. Like, generous, big food,

a lot of flavour.

And then I walked in the pantry and I saw this bad guy.

It's a baccala. It's the smoked cod fish.

So I got too excited, so I'm going

to try to combine these couple of dishes into one.

After finishing MasterChef last year,

I spent some time in this beautiful Sardinian restaurant.

And the chef there taught me this

ancient Sardinian way of making pasta.

So today I'm going to show my technique

and combine it with this dish from my childhood.

So my dish is going to be this seafood, baccala soup fregola,

which is a type of pasta that looks like a couscous.

So you have to go this motion to make it,

which is a bit challenging.

It takes time to mix it.

Fregola is a bit of a process.

First I need to stir semolina and spray it with water

until you get these, like, little balls that look like couscous.

Then I need to toss it in the oven for roughly 25 minutes

and shake it every five minutes.

Then I need to cook it in my soup.

I just hope nonnas are watching,

they'll appreciate all this effort and bringing back the tradition.

'Nonna' you want to miss out on top dish today.

You've got one hour to go!

(CHEERING AND CLAPPING)

Get that out of there.

So today I'm going to be doing southern Italian.

I've got a crab tortellini served with a beautiful, you know,

seafood-y sauce, keeping it full of flavour.

Lots of wine, tomatoes. So, yeah.

So I'm doing a ginger bundt cake with a Jerusalem artichoke

and mascarpone ice-cream

masala, drizzled over the top of that

and then some little bruleed figs just because, you know,

give it a little bit more of Italian flair as well.

Well, this is super exciting... Ah!

..and I dare say, nothing of this kind

has ever happened in the MasterChef kitchen before.

Would you agree? 100%? 100%.

Do you think any of them know?

I've heard a few names and handles

getting thrown around... Yeah, yeah, yeah.

..and they were wrong, so that's exciting.

But you know what?

They've got to watch it today because our guests

definitely have their eyes on them and they want to see...

And they're not afraid to communicate that.

Yes. Yes. And they want to see certain things.

Yeah, so long as it still has that feeling like a big warm Italian hug.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Generosity.

Yeah. Take me to Nonna's house. I'm ready to go.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Good Italian cooking doesn't have to be complicated.

That's the thing, it's quite simple.

Yeah, yeah.

And if it's done very well,

it's probably one of the best cuisines in the world.

He's right. The French man is right.

Yeah, just making sure all the flavours are coming out.

For me, I like Italian food tradition.

Tradition.

But... Simple, tasty. That's it.

I'm a very excitement.

You know, I want to taste all of this dish.

Me too. Me too.

Mm... Hmm...

Hey, look, it's Andre. Andre!

Adriano!

It's good.

He pick fresh like that, look with a knife like that.

It's a good style.

Borage - amazing companion, plant in the garden

grows wild in northern Italy.

These little flowers taste like melon and cucumber.

It's amazing. Very fresh.

My family's from the north of Italy.

And in the northern regions we do what's called Cucina Bianca.

Good-a luck, boy. Good-a luck.

Basically means 'white kitchen',

so there's not many red sauces used like there is in southern Italy.

There's a different climate.

I'm very passionate about my culture.

So today my strategy is doing a northern Italian contemporary dish.

So I'm doing buttermilk ricotta gnocchi

in a white soy and cucumber consomme

with some borage oil.

And what you're finding in the fine restaurants of Italy

is that they're using influence from Japanese ingredients.

Andre, Andre! What are you do, Andre?

Why? Why? Why?

Mm!

Step out of the traditional, uh, the traditional cliche, let's call it.

And I understand this...a lot of this dish.

Please, God, make him stop, please.

No red, no basil.

I just need to tell him to stop.

This is a refined, contemporary dish.

(GASPS)

Think you can be the next MasterChef?

Only one way to find out. Applications are open now.

Head to the link below and apply.

We'll see you in the kitchen.

The kitchen has got no tiles there.

I don't understand why no tiles...

No tiles. ..in the kitchen.

MAN: Oh, nice, Laura.

Hey. Ciao, bello. Yeah.

MAN: Eat the cannoli.

You know, like they say, "If you're ever lonely,

"eat the one cannoli."

(ALL LAUGH)

I was honestly in so much shock.

I was not expecting an Italian challenge today.

But I am beaming with joy inside.

Like, this is just so me and very, very close to my heart.

For me, my first-ever food memory

was actually when I was living in Tuscany as a child.

I was six years old,

and my Nonna Rosa also taught me how to make gnocchi for the first time.

I'm just so excited to put up something inspired by her today.

So I am making chestnut garganelli,

which is, uh, essentially a tube-style pasta, hand-rolled,

with a braised veal, rosemary and pear ragu.

Chestnuts are quintessentially Tuscan,

so I'm like, if they want nonna-style food,

this is what they're going to get.

Yeah, you give me 75 minutes, I cook for all of Australia. (LAUGHS)

Always a lie.

Dai, Dai! Avanti! Avanti!

45 minutes to go!

Allez, allez!

(CLAPPING)

Ciao, bella! Ciao!

(LAUGHS)

Yes!

I can't believe not even one person is a-making meatballs.

No meatballs today.

Depinder. Oh, hey, guys.

What are you making? Um, today

I'm making laal maas tortellini.

So basically, laal maas is like

a really chilli-heavy Rajasthani

beautiful gravy. Right.

DARRSH: We're doing a tiramisu.

We're doing tiramisu?

Yeah, with rosewater. OK.

Yeah, yeah. So a bit of a twist.

Cardamom, pistachio, rosewater, chai.

Are you doing a bolognaise? Yes.

So I'm doing kind of a spiced beef ragu.

And we're serving it with, like, crisp flatbreads,

like a fried pasta, because I'm not a fan of pasta.

(LAUGHS LOUDLY) I don't know why.

Like, it's the weirdest thing.

She's in the possession of the devil!

What is she talking about? Sacrilege!

That's a sacrilege. That's a sacrilege.

Call the priest to come and bless this lady.

What is the reason of cooking your mussels so early?

Ah, because I'm actually using the mussel cooking liquor,

that is going to go into my sugo and make a sauce.

Got you.

I feel like I get very jealous of all the people

with these really amazing kind of food backgrounds.

Um, and I was very skippy,

but, um, growing up, we used to have this, like, pasta salad.

So I'm going to do, um, something that's a little bit nostalgic to me.

I'm going to make, uh, mussel farfalle,

which is basically bow ties, as I called them as a kid.

And that's the kind of an Aussie name for them.

We used to do it as, like, a pasta salad with sun-dried tomatoes.

And frankly, I didn't like it at all.

So I'm kind of doing that, but a version that I'm going to like.

The dish I'm cooking today is by no means a classic Italian dish,

but I think it takes classic Italian principles

with a tiny bit of Australian spin on it.

So instead of the sun-dried tomatoes,

it's going to be full of flavour

with a beautiful kind of roasted tomato and mussel butter sauce.

So whilst I don't have an Italian bone in my body,

if it is nonnas judging us, I hope that they get around this dish.

# Love is such a sweet thing Good enough to eat... #

(LOUDLY) All eyes are on you, gang!

30 minutes to go.

ANDY: 30 minutes!

That was one of your best.

Why? 'Cause it felt like it was from...

(GRUNTS) ..the earth.

And then it came up and out.

Samira, so what are you making?

I'm going to make veal schnitzel

and a nice, beautiful arugula salad as well.

So how do you say it in Italian?

Laura. LAURA: Si. Yes.

How do you say 'schnitzel' in Italian?

Cotoletta. Cotoletta, there you go.

We call it a schnitty.

Nobody make cotoletta like me. No, come on.

One, one, one... Come on, the best one's my one.

Smells like baccala...

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Are you OK? BEN: Yes, very good, Chef.

We are going with salt cod croquettes,

the sugo and a basil mayonnaise, hopefully.

So bechamel base. Just got to get the seasoning right.

Don't want to overdo it.

This type of cooking is half of my origin.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Novelli.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

One side is Italian, one side is French.

Yeah, no, totally. I've used it.

So make sure...make sure you do it well.

I'll be thinking of you, Chef. Don't worry.

THEO: That's good. That's good.

This challenge hits me right in the heart.

Greeks and Italians share a lot of common ground

when it comes to hospitality

and feeding people way too much all the time.

And it just brings back so many memories of my grandparents,

my yaiyias.

Got to love it.

So I'm doing something crazy today.

Theo! Hello.

Hello. What are you doing, mate?

I'm almost scared to say it.

You're not going to be happy about it.

Oh! Tell us.

So I'm mashing up some cultures here.

Um, I'm making spanakopita-filled tortellini

with a leek and chicken broth.

Spanakopita? Spanakopita?!

Flat-out Greek. Flat out... Well, with tortellini.

So, you know, it's Italian.

It's 100% Italian, is it not?

So why this dish for top four?

Uh, well, I mean,

I'm not traditionally Italian,

so I want to bring some of my culture into it as well.

Um, trying to, as well, surprise, in a way.

Yeah. Like, if this is good, then it's pretty amazing, I think.

If! If! Yeah, 'if' is the magic word.

Yeah. Yeah. I think it will work.

Well, good luck. Thank you.

Good luck. Thanks.

This is a new thing for me.

Mashing up these flavours is going to be a bit of a risk, I think.

He start the war, this boy!

Because the Greek think they invent everything, but no invent this one, sorry.

Honestly, uh, I think the Greeks and the Italians

would be absolutely horrified to hear

I'm mashing up spanakopita and pasta.

It's a scary thing to play with.

If it's not right,

a lot of people are going to be very angry.

CALLUM: How's your pasta going there, Deccas?

Yeah, it's good.

Bloody pasta-off here, mate.

I'm not used to using these machines,

so I just roll it out at home with a wine bottle, so..

(LAUGHS)

Oh, he make a fresh, a pasta fresh.

Now listen,

talk about the pasta... Mm.

..my pasta - come on, let's be serious -

is the best from here.

Listen, I'm number one.

That's it. No, you're not good.

Before, we don't say nothing, but your pasta,

your pasta smell like a fish.

Bring us a bella banger! 20 minutes to go!

Whoa!

Come on, come on! Come on! He's screaming!

He scare me! He scream!

LAURA: Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on.

Um, the ragu is on. The soffritto is done.

I'll get the peas done in a second. But things are looking good.

So it's gonna be all about this pasta now.

Do you think we get the chestnut flavour out, yeah?

I think so. Like, you can definitely smell it.

Do you mind if I test very quickly? Just a touch quickly.

Thanks.

(LAUGHS)

Mamma mia, mamma mia!

Thank you. How good's raw pasta dough?

I tell you, but my grandparents will be turning in their graves.

In their graves? Just by seeing this.

Thank you. Grazie. Grazie. Grazie.

It literally is singing of chestnut flavour.

So I'm using a Rigamonti board today,

which is the tool that I need to make my garganelli.

Hm...

Do you reckon that's enough, Samira? Is that generous enough?

SAMIRA: Two more. Always aim for two more when you think it's enough.

Mamma Samira says two more. Yeah.

It's so therapeutic,

and I just love old-school traditions like this.

My little garganelli, little tube. I can see you through it.

Um, they're looking beautiful. I'm really, really happy with them.

My nonna would definitely be proud of this.

This is, like, definitely a homage to my childhood,

um, and my Tuscan roots.

So hopefully I've done Tuscany proud.

Ooh, that's organised! Oh, that's a fancy roll.

Very good techniques. Very good techniques.

DARRSH: Let's go, let's go, let's go.

ANDRE: So I'm finishing off the charred cucumber consomme

with some bonito flakes, some white soy.

Then I've got... The ricotta gnocchi has to come together now.

Uh, basically, now.

I've got to make this and cook it.

Today, I'm representing

a northern Italian, contemporary

evolved Italy, using Japanese ingredients.

That is a really, really hard sell,

especially if it's to some old nonnas from the south,

which I'm expecting them to be.

It's good.

So I've got to make sure

that my dish is full of flavour and executed perfectly.

In this case, because we've got a buttermilk ricotta gnocchi,

it's going to just be very rich in that cream flavour...

..which is going to go really well with cucumber consomme

and the freshness of the borage oil.

It's crunch time. Let's go.

Even though it's risky,

it's a dish that showcases who I am and where I come from.

Ay, ay, ay! OK.

What's means... What means, consomme?

I don't know. It's, you know, when you get married,

you consume the marriage

for the... The tak-a-tak?

That's right, that's right.

10 minutes to go!

Avanti! Avanti! Allez!

(APPLAUSE)

Whoo-hoo! Whoo!

How do you like these?

Hey, Snezza! SNEZ: Hot, hot, hot stuff!

Baccala soup is quite sentimental for me

because we have this for Christmas Eve,

and it's very traditional to my Balkan heritage.

Pasta, I need to cook my pasta.

So I'm combining it with Italian fregola

and with Italian flavours to hit the brief today.

I just need to put it all together.

There's still... I need to cook my fregola.

First I made it, then I baked it.

Now I need to finish it off with the soup

and I want to make sure it's all balanced nicely.

Baccala is quite a pungent fish.

It's a salted cod,

and if not done right, it can be really smelly

and strong.

Come on, buddy.

So I have two broths on my stove.

One is just baccala,

and the other one is full of seafood.

And to control the flavour, I'm going to combine them together.

Beautiful.

Because if baccala takes over, dish completely can be ruined.

Yum.

Our guests are hungry! Five minutes to go!

ANDY: Come on, bring it on!

DECLAN: Cook away, little dumplings.

SARAH: I'm happy with the flavours of the dish.

I think it's got the essence of Italy.

It's got a fried pasta.

It's got a ragu-style sauce, which is really rich.

So I'm just, you know, hoping that it's enough on the brief.

BEAU: I'm happy with what I've got up.

I think my cannolis are really tasty.

It's looking perfect.

Nice puff on the outside and beautiful colour.

Whether they're traditional enough, I don't know.

Cannolis. Hey, it's a boy.

This is the baccala. What was this again?

This is the baccala. Baccala?

Ah, yes.

Is it crispy enough, Ben? Is it crispy enough?

Yes, Chef. Just thinking how I'm gonna plate this.

The thing with using salt cod is it's already so salty,

So I've got to be really careful how I put this together.

I'm happy with the croquettes.

I want the sweetness from the sugo on the bottom,

and the creaminess from the croquette itself,

and then acidity from the basil pop from the mayonnaise on top.

Hopefully, it's balanced just right.

I've got no idea who's watching,

but I can tell you they will definitely know Italian food,

and I really hope my dish will please them.

CALLUM: Eaten a bow tie or two in your time, mate?

DECLAN: Yeah, I love a little bow tie.

Whilst my parents were excellent cooks,

this is frankly a much better version

than the dish that I used to eat.

Go, Lozzie, go!

That pasta work, it's just al dente.

That kind of tomato and mussel butter sauce

is really rich and umami-heavy.

We're good to go here.

Take us to Italy! One minute to go, please! One minute!

Allez!

(SOOSHI MANGO SHOUT EXCITEDLY) Come on!

(SOOSHI MANGO CHATTER EXCITEDLY)

Hurry up! Sauce on top! Come on, quick!

You've got to push! Push! Push! Push! Push!

Pour the sauce! Quick! Pour the lemon!

LAURA: That is everything I wanted. That is so good.

Come on, Theo! Come on!

As he runs out with micro herbs!

THEO: I think that the spanakopita-filled pasta

will complement the Greek sort of essence

of that leek and chicken broth.

It's definitely going to be a bit of a risk,

but I hope that what I did today

can get me into that pressure test for immunity.

Italian feasts are up in 10!

ALL: Nine, eight, seven, six,

five, four, three, two, one!

Happy New Year.

Yay!

Brother! Whoo!

Oh, my God.

Are we all ready to meet who you've been cooking for?

CONTESTANTS: Yeah!

THEO: Whoever it is, they're Italian, so they're going to have lots of opinions about...

Yeah, exactly! True!

CALLUM: I've got no idea who the special guests

are going to be today,

but all I know is that nonnas tend to have very strong opinions,

so I just hope that my dish hits the spot for them today.

Alright, let's go try the food in there! Come on! Let's go!

Very excited! I'm starving. I can't wait to eat.

Are we all ready to meet who you've been cooking for?

CONTESTANTS: Yeah!

Please welcome, from Johnny, Vince & Sam's in Melbourne,

Sooshi Mango!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Hello!

Wow!

Good to see you. How are you? Hello!

POH: Ciao, bella!

(LAUGHTER)

Mwah!

I can't stop laughing. It's... It's Sooshi Mango!

(CHEERING) Hello!

These nonnas are so similar to my bakas, to my grandmas,

and we kind of reshare their videos 100 times

to my friends from the same background,

and we just laugh, "Ha! Classic. This is exactly what we do."

Welcome to the MasterChef kitchen. Thank you. What's been happening?

(ALL CHATTER AT ONCE)

(CONTINUE CHATTERING)

Perfect.

(LAUGHTER)

Shall we get into it? Yeah. Let's go.

Let's-a go!

Hurry up, hurry up. I'm very hungry. Alright, come on.

Chop-chop! Thank you very much. I'm here.

Ooh, he touched my bum!

Sorry.

(LAUGHTER) Ooh!

I need a cigarette after that!

It's got the plastic on top of the table.

It's very smart, you see?

First dish we'd like to taste belongs to Laura.

LAURA: Thank you, thank you, thank you.

ALL: Ooh!

And your name, it's pronounced LOW-ra. LOW-ra.

Not LOR-ra. Yes, Nonna, I know.

(LAUGHTER)

Uh, you married?

Si. Ah. Ah, that's no good.

We got the son that we want to marry you, but... Oh, so sorry.

This look very nice, Laura. Thank you. What is it?

It's chestnut garganelli with osso buco, peas and rosemary.

Well, Laura... Si?

(GIGGLES)

..we're going to try your food now.

Amazing.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: See that?

Bon appetito!

Laura, your dish is exceptional.

Your introduction with the chestnut to your pasta dough

is extraordinary,

how you managed to keep the texture,

the flavours and the seasoning together.

The colours is immaculate.

The way that is put together is class.

And the deep, rich vibes that are coming from that sauce,

with the perfectly cooked beef.

And I loved that you put those peas in there.

They just kind of, like, give it a bit of texture,

give it a bit of attitude.

I would eat that, like, forever.

For me this was a beautiful dish, well balanced.

Whatever he say, I say the same thing.

I don't understand nothing. Alright?

That was beautiful.

I'm going to leave my husband

and come and move in with you because it was beautiful.

Done. Thank you, Laura, you can go back.

(CHEERING)

I could not be happier.

This was, today, the day for me to shine and to show

everyone the food that I've grown up with.

And I'm just so proud to be able to call myself Italian.

LOW-ra! LOW-ra!

You done it. Oh, thank you.

Come on down, Snez.

SNEZ: Oh, thank you.

(JUDGES EXCLAIM)

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Wow.

Snez, what have you made?

So I made fregola soup with baccala and pipis.

Cooked my grandma all the time,

and baccala soup is the thing she always makes for Christmas Eve.

And then I thought, "I'm going to combine it

"with Italian nonnas and make the fregola."

I love the dish, but I'm more in love with the colour of your top.

Thank you. We're matching!

We look like twins. Very nice. Very nice!

Exactly the same. That's no good thing. That's no good thing.

You don't want to look like her!

Right, we try? ANDY: Yeah, let's do it.

Well, if my dad here, he would say you have to slurp as you eat soup,

'cause you can't eat soup quietly.

Yeah. Alright.

(SLURPS) Yes!

ANDY: You smashed it. Thank you.

Yes! You absolutely smashed it with this bowl of food, Snez. Like...

And it all started with that fregola.

Like, there's so much work that goes into that.

And they were so well executed.

That broth was just so deep and complex, so beautifully done.

It was so evident that every single element

you'd taken the trouble to cook to perfection.

I could have eaten that whole plate. Delicious.

This one is my new number-one dish, this one.

(CHEERING AND LAUGHTER)

It's beautiful.

Well done!

Next up,

the lady who doesn't like pasta!

(LAUGHTER)

Sarah!

You couldn't let that slide?

Why? (SNEERINGLY) Hello, Sarah.

I'll plate up.

OK. Alright. Done.

What do you make today?

So I've made pasta fritta with a beef ragu.

Miss "I no like pasta..."

..it was very beautiful.

I like the meat.

It reminded me of spezzatino meat, which we eat all the time.

It's delicious, and your pasta, deep-fried,

is so well executed.

This was very nice. Well done. Right, next up is Darrsh.

What is it?

DARRSH: Rosewater, cardamom and chai tiramisu.

Rose, the flower? Correct, yeah, right.

No coffee inside today? No coffee.

No co... Come here.

(LAUGHTER)

Darrsh is... Put your face here, please.

Oh, God. That's it.

POH: Darrsh, I really liked it.

'Cause I love those Persian flavours.

And I think you've done a really good job.

It's yum.

It's called the tiramisu.

I think this one's called tirami-stupid, but...

(LAUGHTER)

..I'm very upset because I like it very much.

Ben, come on down.

BEN: I've made salt cod croquettes with sugo and a basil mayonnaise.

That was really, really yum.

Between the perfect fry,

that really crispy outer coating and then the creamy inside,

you've done a really fantastic job

of just rounding that baccala flavour out.

Nailed it.

The sauce is lovely.

It's got the right sweetness and the right acidity.

The baccala is a very salty fish.

I would think this dish was going to be salty,

but it was perfect salt, beautiful taste.

Thank you very much. It's delicious.

Bene, bene.

Thank you very much. Thank you all. Cheers. Cheers.

(APPLAUSE)

Next up, Theo.

THEO: I'm feeling the pressure.

Greeks and Italians are very staunch on both their dishes.

So I've taken a massive risk today, mashing up spanakopita and pasta.

I just hope it's perfect.

What did you make?

It's spanakopita pasta.

ALL: Ah! (LAUGHTER)

You try and bring the world together?

You see it come together? Why not we come together?

Sometimes world collide and it blow up.

Why not?

We'll see.

ANNOUNCER: Which fan favourite will lift the MasterChef trophy?

Watch every mouth-watering episode on 10Play.

ANDY: What did you make? It's spanakopita pasta.

SOOSHI MAGOO: Ah!

You try and bring the world together?

You see we come together? Why not we come together?

Sometimes the world collide and it blow up.

Why not? SOOSHI MANGO: Ah!

We'll see. Right.

We try. We try it.

ANDY: Yeah, get into it. POH: Go, go, go.

Theo,

I'm not sure about this.

It's confusing me. I think... Because it's spanakopita in pasta!

(LAUGHTER)

Help me, help me!

I think you've done a lovely work of pasta.

And as far as spanakopita sitting in a ravioli, it's good.

But then, in the brodo,

which is, like... It is quite heavy with the thyme.

I...I'm not sure,

but I kind of keep going back to eat it,

and that's all I can say.

It will never not be confusing. OK?

I had spanakopita on Sunday,

like, so you're so familiar with the textures and the flavours,

and then you put it in a raviolo, and you're just like, "What?"

Theo, I love the spanakopita.

I love my Greek brothers and sisters, you know?

And I love ravioli.

But together? No way, thank you very much!

Thank you. Well done. Well done.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Theo, thank you. You make everyone cry!

Ah, the nonnas are not happy with me.

I'm going to get the wooden spoon, I reckon, on this one.

Well done, mate. You got a good reaction? Yeah.

Alright, Depinder, show us your version of Italy.

(APPLAUSE)

DEPINDER: So, today, I've made for you guys laal maas tortellini.

So, laal maas is a very Rajasthani style,

like, red-meat gravy.

JEANÐCHRISTOPHE: Your tortellini, I've got to say, they are fantastic

in terms of portion, size, consistencies,

but it's not the brief of today, sadly.

Deccas, you're up next.

DECLAN: I have made crab tortellini.

POH: I think the tortellini itself was really beautiful.

Where I think you fell short were some of the pickling juices

from your mussel have gone into the sauce,

and it started to overpower it.

Right, Alana, vieni qui.

(APPLAUSE)

ALANA: I've made gingerbread bundt with a marsala sauce

and an artichoke and mascarpone ice-cream,

and some little brulee figs.

This one was just a perfect balance. Thank you very much.

It was a beautiful. Delicious.

Down to your execution,

I personally think it's too sweet. (GASPING)

Sorry, Alana, I think we changed our minds.

No good. No good.

Next up, Callum.

CALLUM: Thanks.

G'day, everyone. G'day.

ANDY: G'day.

It smells delicious.

It's a big wet pizza.

(LAUGHTER)

Callum, what is your big wet pizza?

So it's farfalle with mussel and tomato butter.

SOFIA: There is something about that bow-tie pasta salad

that is just so, like, Australian buffet.

So I think you've absolutely succeeded in making it

into something really, really beautiful.

And I love the way that you've still kept

the creaminess of that sauce.

Callum, that was just so straight-up yum.

I kept on having to remind myself that was fresh pasta,

perfectly cooked mussels.

It was just like a garden on a plate. Beautiful.

You sure you're not Italian?

I'm... I wish.

You wish you were. Good boy.

That's 10 points for this man. (LAUGHTER)

I give him 10 points.

Well done, Colin, well done. Thank you.

Thanks, Callum.

Thanks, gang.

(CHEERING)

Go ahead, Colin. (CHUCKLES)

Next dish we'd like to taste is Jamie.

(APPLAUSE)

JAMIE: So, I made an osso buco-stuffed cappelletti

with a little saffron broth.

Osso buco. (IMITATES PRONUNCIATION) Osso buco.

Bravo.

Not osso buc-oh.

Osso buco! Osso buco.

Osso buc-oh. Open your mouth. Osso buco.

Osso buco. (CHEERING)

Good. Bravo!

Alright.

Jamie, um...

..I really enjoyed your Milanese ragu style

with your addition of saffron.

Not just in the broth, but also with the pasta dough.

I think the pasta are cooked very well.

They're stuffed properly. They're seasoned sublimely, too.

So well done.

Thank you.

I was interested in this one to see how, you know...

Sometimes you have two loves, and they just don't go together.

Yeah, yeah.

But I think the flavours, overall, in this one work really well.

I love how you got that kind of richness

and heartiness of the filling

versus that quite...that floralness of the saffron,

because it is saffron-forward.

You haven't mucked around there.

But it was seamless. Great. Thank you.

I like osso buco, and I like, I like a tortellini.

Together, work very well.

Well done, Jamie. Congratulations.

Thanks, Jamie!

Well done, Jamie. Well done. Thank you.

Beau, tell us what you've made.

BEAU: Pistachio and cinnamon cannolis.

Beau, the shell was spectacular.

Super thin, cooked really evenly,

and it's caramelised all the way through.

Very good.

The shell was crunchy.

Inside was sweet.

I'm very proud of you because you're skippy

and you make a cannoli like that.

(LAUGHTER)

Very good.

Next up, an Italian feast from Samira.

SAMIRA: Today, I've made you veal cotoletta.

This masterpiece of your meat

with the crunch of the breadcrumb and Parmesan -

it was delicious.

This is a home-cooked Italian cotoletta,

the way my mother was cook it.

Well done. Thank you.

Thank you. (APPLAUSE)

Show us your Italiano, Andre.

Allez! Magnifique!

ANDRE: A little bit worried.

This dish is so vastly different to the big red sauces of the south.

But this style of northern Italian cooking

is how I was brought up.

But today, I'm putting on a contemporary twist on the dish.

Andre, you Italian? My father is.

Ah, alright. We expect big things. You've got big shoes to fill.

(CHUCKLES) Righto.

SOFIA: Andre, what have you made?

So, I've made a buttermilk ricotta gnocchi

with a charred cucumber consomme

and some borage oil.

Alright, we try, huh?

Andre, honestly, this is superb.

What I like very much is the cucumber charred

into this gentle, well-seasoned broth.

And then, the way you've managed

to introduce such a delicate flavour,

borage.

Who would... (CHUCKLES)

..who would have used borage and cucumber on a day like today?

Where's the...where's the tomatoes? (CHUCKLES)

You've done an accomplished...

Not just in the look, the presentations, the portions -

seasoning is perfect.

So well executed.

The gnocchi were exceptional.

Like, so light.

Just had enough body to, like, carry this, like, beautiful, salty,

like, umami broth, as well.

It was delicious.

(GLASSES CLINK)

Fantastico!

(CHEERING)

Beautiful. Very, very nice.

Beautiful, thank you. Thank you. Cheers.

BEN: Great dish, bro. Cheers.

POH: Mamma mia! What a day.

We asked for your take on Italian,

and you did not disappoint.

We got dish after dish of knockout flavour.

So the question is, who got nonna's seal of approval.

ANDY: Right. The part you've all been waiting for.

If I call your name, step forward.

You're cooking for immunity tomorrow.

Laura.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Textbook chestnut garganelli.

You smashed it. Well done.

Thank you. Thank you.

Snez.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Fregola made that dish.

That was a 10 out of 10.

Ben.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Golden crispy croquettes

and a bangin' basil mayo.

It was perfectly executed. Thank you.

Andre.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Mate, those flavours, they were complex.

But if anyone could pull them off, it was you.

Well done. Thanks.

I'd like to say I'm very proud of everyone.

You all do well.

And we like to invite you all to our restaurant,

Johnny, Vince & Sam's, on Lygon Street, Carlton,

to celebrate, eh?

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Eh-eh-eh-eh-eh!

You have to pay, but come anyway, alright?

(LAUGHTER)

SOFIA: Good work today, everyone.

Laura, Snez, Ben and Andre,

come back tomorrow,

ready to cook your heart out for immunity.

Buona notte.

Buona notte. That's it.

Mwah! Mwah! Mwah! Mwah! Bye! Ciao, ciao.

Ciao, ciao. Ciao, ciao. Ciao, ciao.

Ciao, ciao. Ciao, ciao. Ciao, ciao. Ciao.

Say hello to your daddy for me, it's a long time I no see him.

Ciao, ciao.

Ciao, ciao.

ANNOUNCER: Still to come this week...

I've created something that's never been seen before.

SNEZ: Oh, my God! What!

LAURA: That's wild. BEN: Oh, my God.

..there's plenty of dishes...

This is brilliant.

..fit for Insta fame...

ANDY: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

..and influential guests...

The king of FoodTok, Andy Cooks! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

..worthy of the viral title.

Instagram - 4 million followers.

TikTok - 6 million followers.

YouTube - over 3 billion views.

(CHEERING)

Andy's here to demonstrate a trend.

Oh! Oh, yes! Yeah!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Captions by Red Bee Media