All language subtitles for MasterChef Australia - S18E47_Eng

Here we go!

(WHOOPING)

Let's go!

ANNABEL: I definitely
feel pretty jittery

going into
the pressure test today.

I haven't done one yet.

Straining bag.

And I'm definitely daunted
by the fact

that there is
a one-in-four chance

that I could be
going home today.

I'm also going up against,
you know, Luke,

who's done
multiple pressure tests,

so he definitely has an edge
going in today.

Also, Casper and Alyona
are both incredible cooks.

They are so strong.
So I don't love my odds.

Today's pressure test will test
your skills on every level -

your organisation,

your timing, dexterity,

flavour balancing and plating.

You need to have
extreme focus...

..quick thinking and resilience

if you hope to be standing here
at the end of the day.

The pressure test
you'll face today

has been set by an Aussie chef

who's had huge success
on the global stage.

He trained under Peter Gilmore

at Sydney's iconic
Quay restaurant.

He later returned
to become head chef there.

From there,
his career turned international,

leading two restaurants

to earn Michelin stars
in their very first year.

Please welcome

all the way from
Akuna Restaurant in Vietnam...

..Sam Aisbett.

(WHOOPING)

Walking through the door,
Sam's got aura.

Judging from his credentials,

this guy's a serious weapon
in the kitchen.

ANNABEL: Oh, dear. (LAUGHS)

Savoury.

CASPER: Today is definitely not
going to be easy.

If we're putting out
Michelin star food

in a pressure test,
you know it's going to be hard.

Wow. This is going to be tough.

ANDY: G'day, mate. How are you?
Good. How are you?

Welcome.
Exciting.

Oh, it is.

Very lucky. Very lucky today.

Sam, it is so good having you
in this kitchen.

Been doing such good things in
both Singapore and now Vietnam.

Tell us about Akuna in Saigon.
My second restaurant.

We're lucky enough to have
Michelin star

as well in the first year.
(WHOOPS)

So we're working hard,
working hard, but we got it.

And it's just fascinating.

It's probably the restaurant
where I could express myself

and I'm cooking my own food now,
I think.

It's hard because
you get trained

by these legendary chefs

and you're cooking their food

with your sort of
little touch on it.

I'm a little bit older now,
but the more you do it,

you get the freedom to,
you know, "I can cook,

"I can play around
with different ingredients,

"and I know, you know,
I know what tastes good."

And then you start creating
your own food.

Yeah. And that's where I am now.

ALYONA: He just seems so happy
and fulfilled

now that he started cooking
from his heart

and the dishes that he loves.

Chef Sam, it's time
for your cooks...

..to come face to face
with your creation.

Oh, wow. Scary.
(POH LAUGHS)

A little bit.

This is all me in here.

This is my travels,
my experience

working with these, like,
legends.

Alright, guys,
today you will be making my...

ALL: Wow!

Good luck.
..my crab salad.

It doesn't look like a crab.
Wow.

(LAUGHS)

Oh!
(LAUGHTER)

Oh, no.

What the hell?

LUKE: I'm not sure if Sam has
mixed up his words or something,

but that does not look like
a mud crab salad.

All I've seen in the middle
is the jiggly jelly

of whatever that is.

It is not like any other salad
I've seen before.

Come, have a close look.

SAM: So mud crab salad...

Starting at the very bottom,

we have a fennel jam

mixed with creme fraiche.

So you've got some sweet,
you've got some sour in there.

Next we have mud crab.

It has a dressing.
It's a bit umami.

It's got caramel sort of
flavours in there.

Then next we have little pearls
of a apple dashi,

which kind of looks like caviar.

Then on top we have
some pickled palm heart,

which gives you a nice sort of
crunchy texture.

We've got macadamia nuts
that are shaved on a mandoline,

but super fine.

You want to get sort
of long slices and they curl up.

If it's too thick, you've
got these big chunky bits

which ruins the dish.

We have Buddha's hand citrus,
which we get in Vietnam.

So we turn it into a jam.

So that's bitterness
in the dish.

And then obviously in the middle
we've got the jelly.

LUKE: It's so good.

At the bottom we have almost
like a fennel panna cotta,

like a fennel cream
that we've set.

And then on top we have
a seaweed vinegar jelly.

That's like see through.
Wow.

Take note of kind of where
you put things

'cause that is important too.
It's all sort of portioned.

You've got sweet, you've got
salty, you have sour,

you've got umami.

And if it's all balanced,
it's perfect.

If one of them's out,
we will know.

You'll be able to taste it.

This dish, like,
it looks really unassuming.

It is just, like, some jelly,
some crab,

a lot of beautiful plated
little bits and bobs

around in a circle.

But then you get a scoop of
everything

and it is like the most
balanced, subtle flavour.

Together, everything
just works so perfectly.

The best salad I've ever had.

Good. There we go.
By a country mile.

Well, thank you so much.

So key things for the dish -

obviously crab is the star,
shell is a big no-no.

So make sure you pick the crab,

but also keeping sort of pieces
of crab.

You don't want it
to be picked too fine,

otherwise there's no texture.

POH: There's different parts
of crab as well.

Yeah, exactly right. I use claw
and I also use body meat.

I'm trying to lock in all
the flavours and the textures,

and the proportions
is the big thing I'm noticing.

Everything is down
to the minute detail.

Like, the crab is, like,
just cooked,

and the jelly on top is
very strong

to balance with the fennel
on the bottom.

And then the proportions -

like it's got the right number
of flowers

and any more or less of anything

would just throw
the whole dish off.

Yeah.

CASPER: This dish is really
speaking to me.

Like it's this really crazy mix
of, like, Japanese,

Vietnamese
and, like, French technique.

I would never do this dish
at home.

So being given the opportunity
to do it in the kitchen is,

yeah, it's a privilege.

You have three hours to recreate
Sam's mud crab salad.

The recipe and
all the ingredients you need

are at your benches.

The person who creates the dish
that least resembles Sam's

in looks and taste
will sadly be going home.

Sam, any final words of advice?

Read and follow the recipes
because that is the key.

And you're cooking my dish,
so do me proud.

Do it, come on.

Good luck. Alright, guys,
your time starts now.

Go, go, go.

ANNABEL: Where's the recipe?

Oh, here.

The strategy I've learned from
doing a few pressure tests

is that you really just
need to focus

and make sure that you read
the recipe really carefully,

and you just need to work like
an absolute madman.

You can't afford any time
to play around.

You really just need to push as
hard as possible.

The first thing I need to do

is to get my pot of
boiling water salted

and on and ready to go.

Good job, Lukey.
Put that salt in.

I've learned
from other pressure tests

that you don't even have time
to read the recipe twice.

So as soon as I get to my bench,

I read my recipe once
and I'm just off and running.

Saline solution.

Casper!

CASPER:
It's my first pressure test,

so I'm not really used to
working under these conditions,

but I think
they're suited to me.

I think pressure tests are kind
of up my alley with, like,

you know, reading instructions,

sticking to them
and being precise.

So I just need to make sure
that I'm, like, taking in

everything I've got
in front of me.

And, yeah,

like executing exactly as is
written in front.

Are you ticking off your steps?

That is a good shout, Vinnie.
I will.

OK, Annabel.

Bring back to the boil.
Prepare an ice bath.

This recipe is chunky.

There's, like, so many pages,

but I don't have time to count
how many there are.

I just need to get cracking.

The first element we need
to get onto is cooking the crab.

Five...

1.5 cook time per 100.

We need to cook it
for 1:30 per 100g.

So I have to crunch some numbers

and do some quick maths
and work out how long.

17 minutes.
That seems ages for a crab. OK.

These crabs are hefty.

I'm weighing it
and it's like over a kilo.

So no wonder it's gonna take
so long in the water.

The crab is going into a pot
with about 800g of salt.

That is so salty that water!

But I guess that's a way to
season the meat.

Seaweed jelly...

My strategy for today
is head down, bum up.

Don't spend too much time
reading the recipe

and just crack on and
try and not make any errors.

I'm so happy they
get to cook this.

It's cool.

It's such a cool dish,
and like...

I mean, this is scary,
I would be...

I mean, you've done it.

I never got to do
any pressure tests.

Oh, didn't you?
No.

I just did different challenges.

So every time I see one,
I get really jelly.

Yes. Good, good.

800g.

First step, I'm just measuring
the salt

and it's...it's 800g.

(SIGHS)

My strategy today is to read
the recipe carefully.

If I don't understand something,

I'm going to reread it
and make sure I do it correctly.

800g. That's a lot.

Just remember
to trust the recipe.

A lot of water.
Like sea water.

I need to park my intuition for
a bit and just read the recipe.

I'm good at reading recipes, but
I think it's the pressure test,

so I'm just, like, a little bit,
um, questioning myself.

So the next step says 1.5 minute
cook time

per 100g of crab.

I don't understand,
it says 100g is required,

but do I take the whole crab
to cook?

I feel like I'm reading
the recipe,

but I'm not fully reading
the recipe.

I'm just gonna have to cook
the whole crab

and get the meat out.

It's a huge crab

and I just go with
this 1.5 minutes.

And I think from all of that,
I probably just need 100g.

Plain flour, vinegar...

While the crab is cooking,

I'm gonna start on
my seaweed vinegar jelly.

Oh, my gosh.

(MUMBLES)

Tasting the dish,

the fennel bottom of
the jelly is very subtle.

And the final jelly, the seaweed
vinegar on top, is very punchy.

It is super strong.

It's delicious,

but if you had that element
just by itself,

it's quite polarising.

So I'll have to try
to recreate that.

(MUMBLES)

Bonito...

I'm trying to measure
all the right ingredients.

And then I hear the timer.
(TIMER BEEPS)

1.5 minute is up.

I take the crab out,
put it in the ice bath.

Let's move on.

She just put it there.

She literally just put it in
there.

What is going on?

That's...that's
got to be raw.

I think Alyona might have
misread

or misunderstood the recipe.

You can see Casper, Annabel,
and Luke's crabs

still boiling away in the pots.

It's definitely not enough time.

Make sure you're reading
that recipe, guys.

Yeah.

Come on, Alyona.

Read and do.

Oh, my gosh. OK.

I'm looking at
this giant crab...

(EXHALES)

..and my intuition kind of goes,

"Hey, it's not right."

There's no way this crab would
be cooked in 1.5 minutes.

Oh, my gosh, I don't understand
what's happening. Um...

I'm trying to read the recipe.

I keep rereading it
and then I'm realising,

oh, my gosh, I'm rereading it
for the third time.

Oh, my gosh.

Finally I get it.

In order to calculate how
much time we need

to put it in the water for,

we need to measure the crab
and 100g was 1.5 minutes,

so I calculated it. So, OK,
thank God I have a second crab.

We got there in the end.
What is it? 25 minutes in.

Let's go, Alyona.
Come on, come on, come on.

And I go back to measuring
my seaweed vinegar jelly.

Keep going, Cas.

ANNABEL: No, point three.

Come on, mate.
Go to point three.

LUKE: I've got my crab in.

I've got my seaweed
vinegar jelly going.

I'm now just doing
my fennel bulbs.

I'm trying to get them done
as quickly as possible.

I've learned from the other
pressure tests,

while I'm doing one element,
I'm working on another,

and I'm only reading
the recipe once

and then just moving straight on
to the next element.

The fennel bottom of the jelly
is very subtle.

It's just a light
kind of charred fennel flavour,

and with the seaweed
vinegar jelly on top,

it's just such
a gorgeous combination.

Good stuff, mate.
Watch them fingies.

I feel like I'm kind of
semi ahead of schedule

as to other people
from what I can see.

Motor, motor.
Vroom, vroom. Keep going, Cas.

Going, keep pushing.

There's no real room to just
take a foot off the gas

at any point during this cook.

Hey! That's warm.

Hey, Casper.
Hey, how are you guys going?

Casper.
Where are you at?

I've got my crab in.
The crab's in, I can see.

It's got, like,
a minute and a half left.

Yeah, OK.

I've done the seaweed vinegar
jelly stock.

And you've got your fennel...
Fennel's on charring.

..for the milk jelly.
Yes.

Yes.
You are the expert.

You've given us all the
instructions to nail this dish.

So just follow this recipe.

Honestly, yeah, take your time.
The recipe is important.

Yeah.
Taste everything.

Yeah. Of course.
Alright. Good luck.

(TIMER BEEPS)

I've got my crab cooling down.

Now I'm moving on to make
the fennel milk jelly.

Fennel milk jelly has

a really nice, like, charred,
smoky flavour

from the fennel bulb.

So I need to make sure
that I'm getting

a really good char on the fennel
without going too far.

The fennel milk jelly
is probably

the most important part of
this dish in my opinion.

Like, it's the centrepiece.

So it's really got, like,
the theatrics of the wobble.

So if you, like, mess that up,
I don't think you've got

a good chance of replicating
Sam's dish.

Alyona.

Hi.
Hello.

I just want to introduce
you to Sam.

How are you? How are you?
How are you? Nice to meet you.

Lovely to meet you.
How are you going?

Um, I am...
I think I'm a little bit behind

because I got confused with
the calculation on the crab.

So what are you doing now?

You're doing the seaweed jelly.
Is that what you're doing?

Yes, I'm just about to
measure...

Oh, gosh, now I got confused.

What did I put in here?

Just breathe. You've just
got to read the recipe.

Very easy.
OK.

I would be ticking things off
all the time.

Yes.
Don't just be sighting.

And also, you need to
keep your bench tidy

because you'll get more and more
confused as the cook goes on.

Yes, yes.
And important

to get this seaweed jelly made
because it has to set.

Remember,
you've got to set the jelly.

Yeah, yeah.

We feel like we need to leave
you alone. Good luck.

Yes, thanks.
Good luck.

Thank you.

I'm realising that
I need to make it again.

So I'm starting with
the instructions,

and I need
to make it perfect this time.

You got this. Come on.

One hour down, two hours to go.

(CHEERING)

Keep going. Come on!

ANNABEL: Wow! Big claws.

Come on, let's pick it up,
Alyona. Come on, come on!

Pick it up, come on.

Oh, my God, I'm so sorry.

Don't take out the judges.

Alright. Got that. Got that.

Once those fennel
are sufficiently charred,

they've got this really
nice dark exterior,

but they're not burnt within
an inch of their life.

I get them out, and I get them
in a vacuum sealed bag

with the milk,
and I vacuum seal that

and get it into a water bath
for an hour.

I feel pretty good so far.

I think it's still early on
in the cook,

so I don't want to get ahead
of myself and be like,

"Oh, yes, you've got this.
This is fine."

(THUD)

Sorry. Sorry.

Um, but I think I'm going
at a good pace.

I'm working really clean,
I'm being really efficient,

and I'm also taking my time
to season and taste

and maintain
attention to detail.

I just got my fennel, uh...

..milk jelly into the sous vide
machine.

I just need to get onto
my apple dashi now.

The next element that it says
to work on is the apple dashi,

which is for those beautiful
agar pearls.

Those agar pearls look like
caviar.

They're, like, beautifully
scattered all around.

It's got, like, this beautiful
green appley flavour

and then all of the complexities
of a dashi broth.

It's just, like,
kind of exciting.

You get it in your mouth
and you pop it

and you're like, "Mm, OK, cool.
That was fun."

Apples chopped into quarters.
One, two, three.

Let's go, Alyona.

ALYONA:
My seaweed vinegar is done.

I have the second crab cooking.

I'm roasting my fennel
for the fennel milk jelly.

Get the fennel in the milk,
Alyona.

Oh, my God. She's not gonna
get anything done.

Am I, like, really behind?

Try to work the fastest you can.

Just read and move.

I just need to keep going.

I need to catch up.

Oh, why is it not on?

What are you juicing, Casper?

Ah, the apples.

Is that you or the machine
making the noise?

Not yet. Maybe later,
when I'm crying.

LUKE: For my apple dashi,
I'm juicing apples,

I'm taking off the foam,
straining it,

adding miso, dashi,

all these different bits
and bobs.

And then I'm putting it
in a sous vide bag.

You're doing good, Lukey.

You're doing very, very well.
Keep it up, yeah.

And I get it in the sous vide
for 30 minutes.

Just finished my apple dashi.

So that's in there cooking away.

I'm now going to work
on my mud crab.

Just go... Just go primal,
brother. Just go primal.

Yes, Luke. Nice. Think of how
you get to the meat.

(MUMBLES)

(MACHINE GROANS)

God, that thing's scary.

It's time to start
picking my crab meat...

It's a big boy.
Big boy.

..which is something
that I've never done before.

And I'm like, "Ugh!

"Why didn't you practise this
at home?"

"Remove the bonnet"?
Yep.

Take your time.

How do you even remove
his bonnet?

I need to pop open the bonnet?

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, there we go!

Let her rip, let her rip.

And then get
all the beautiful head meat out

whilst discarding the gills.

I'm going to need a lesson.
Are these gills?

Or are these gills?

Are these gills?
They look like gills.

It's taking me a while.

I think it deserves
a lot of time and attention

because it is literally
the centrepiece of the dish.

Oh.

Ah!

This is the first time
I've done this.

I don't know
if you guys can tell.

I have my fennel milk jelly
in the vac sealer.

I cooked my crab
and just, yeah, trying

to not let pressure get to me.

I know that most likely
I'm behind,

but I am not giving up.

I'm not giving up.

There's this internal battle
of, "Oh, my gosh,

"I'm behind.
I'm not going to make it."

And then this calm voice
of reason saying,

"You can do this."

OK, three
of Granny Smith apples.

People fall behind
in the beginning,

some people fall behind
in the middle of the cook,

I can still catch up.

I just need to keep going
and stop doubting myself.

(SIGHS)

Juice, apples...

Do you just have to get

a certain amount of weight
of crab, Cas?

CASPER: It doesn't actually say

so I'm just going to pick
the whole thing

and we'll go with extra.

My strategy going into this
was being methodical.

And when you get
to breaking down a crab,

the method just seems
to go out the window.

And I just want to
get it done quickly

so they've got plenty of time
to get the dish plated up.

Gently, gently.

POH: Yeah, it is.

SAM: Bits of fine shell.
POH: Yeah.

Ooh!
(SHELL CRACKS)

VINNIE: Oh, my God.

AARON: I cannot watch, brother.

ANDY: You're half way there!
90 minutes to go!

Come on, team!

90 minutes! Come on!

You've got to work fast.
Come on, Alyona.

Come on, Luke.
Yes, boy.

I've absolutely no idea what
I'm doing, Chef, but...

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE:
Keep going, yeah?

I know there's no shell.
That's the number-one rule.

That's it, Annabel.

God, that took ages.

Nice! (CLAPS)

Crab's done
so the next thing I need

to get started on
is my fennel jam.

"Trim the ends of the fennel,

"remove the outer layer,
halve fennel and finely dice."

Sam's fennel jam is mixed
through that creme fraiche

and is on the bottom
of the plate.

It was just the right sweetness
and tartness.

It was, like, beautiful
and jammy and sticky

and a little bit chewy.

Stirring to prevent
fennel catching the bottom.

So I'm remembering
those flavours

when I'm making this jam
to try and draw on that.

Annabel.
Hello, Chef.

How are you?
Good.

You look like you're doing well.

You can see you can deal
with a stress and emergency.

(LAUGHS) Well, I wouldn't be
able to go back to work

if I couldn't get through this.

I think they'd be like,

"You're not allowed
around patients

"if you can't cook this dish
on MasterChef."

Doing really well, Annabel.

(CLAPS) Doing so well, Annabel.

Good stuff, Annabel

LUKE: How much meat did I need?

Let's go, Luke.
Keep pushing, buddy.

ANDY: Halfway there and I think

the pressure is starting
to show.

Oh, yeah, definitely.

But there is some good stuff.

POH: What do you think
of how Annabel is performing?

She's super clean,
super organised.

I know!

As a chef
at this sort of level,

I notice these little details.
Yeah.

And I think she's reading
the recipe.

She seems quite calm.

So... I don't know,
For me, it looks pretty good.

Good job, Luke.

Good pace.

Luke, the young
whipper snapper's

coming through with the goods.
Oh, nice!

Is he moving as fast
as he promised he would?

He's working really fast.
He knows his speed.

His speed to work, obviously,
because he's done it before.

Casper is working
like an absolute legend.

He's, like, ahead of the game,
as well.

He's organised, I think.
He's really organised.

I just hope that the attention
to detail is there.

Speed is one thing,
but if you're not being precise,

especially with this recipe...
Yeah, on this dish.

..you can get yourself
in a lot of trouble.

Speaking of trouble.
Oh, Alyona.

Oh!

ALYONA: Oh, my gosh.

It's taking me so much time
with this self-doubt.

(EXHALES DEEPLY)

It's just this like,

loop in my mind that,

"Oh, God, I'm not doing great.
I'm behind."

And I keep telling this
to myself...

Let's go, Alyona,
you can do this. Alright?

Somehow we got there
in the end.

I've made my apple dashi.

Time to approach the crab.

Where's the crab?

Alyona!
Yes.

How you feeling?

Uh, I'm feeling quite a lot
of under pressure, to be honest.

OK. We're here to help.

OK.
What's wrong?

Um, I think, from the beginning,

I just, like, kind of, like,
started guessing myself.

"Am I reading the recipe
correctly or not?"

Are you about to pick this?
Yes.

Looking at it,

because you only need,
what, 65g?

A hun... Uh, I don't know.
I haven't read yet.

Um...

65g.
Yep.

Where do you think
the most meat is?

In the claws.
Perfect.

Yeah?
Perfect.

OK.
So, if I were you,

I know this sounds really hard,

I would just take a step back,
a couple of breaths

while you're cleaning down,

clear your mind,
clear your bench,

and then start to rip in again.

No, I shouldn't.

Uh, OK.
OK, so I've done the dashi...

Alyona.
Yeah.

A couple of deep breaths.

A couple of deep breaths.
Yes.

OK?
You got it. You got it.

OK.

My bench is like a bomb site.

I don't even know what...

If I don't need anything
anymore.

I'm realising how behind I am.

OK.

It's like a light-bulb moment.

OK.

I have my deep breaths.

I clean a few little bowls out.

That's it, Alyona.

And I'm thinking,

"OK, that's going to be
my little reset."

I just need to focus.

I need to get clear
on what I'm doing here,

why I want to stay

and make sure I just,
like, go move forwards,

like, really quickly.

You can do it.

Just don't second guess
yourself when you're reading.

I've got this. Whoop!

Stay sharp. 45 minutes to go!

Come on!

45! 45! Come on!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Mm! God, that's yum.

Looking good, Luke.
Keep motoring, brother.

LUKE: I think it tastes
pretty nice.

It's the right
jammy consistency.

So, I'm pretty happy
with this guy

and I think I'm going to
move on to another element.

It's time to go back
to my seaweed vinegar jelly.

I'm reminded of doing it during
the Kirsten Tibballs challenge.

When you add gelatine
to these things,

you bloom it in cold water,

strain it,
then you whisk it in.

I'm working really,
really hard,

and I'm just pushing through
as many elements at a time,

which so far
seems to be paying off.

It feels like
the point of the cook

where I really have
an advantage.

25g of seaweed vinegar jelly.

I've got a good head space,

and I'm doing these techniques
that I've done before

and I've done from a recipe.

(TO HIMSELF) You've got this,
Luke.

You're wiping the floor
with them. Come on, mate.

Wipe them out.

It's now time to move on
to my Buddha's hand jam.

It smells really good.

A Buddha's hand,
it's this weird green thing.

It's got kind of things
coming out of it.

And I think it's a citrus,
by the sounds of it.

Nice, Lukey.

I'm really struggling
with this one

because I actually can't
remember what the jam is like,

but I'm just following off
what the recipe says.

The best choice of action
for me is to move

as fast as I possibly can,

and I'm hoping that by the time
I get to the end of the cook,

the dish on the plate is
delicious.

Looking good, Luke.

That's going to have to do.

Flying.
Flying?

Yeah, he's flying.

Uh, I've just finished
my Buddha's jam.

I'm going to launch into
these...

Uh, I think
it's pickled palm heart.

No idea what that is.

No idea
what it's meant to taste like.

I am enjoying the flow
that I've gotten into

and just, like, getting
the steps done.

And it's really satisfying
being, like,

"Done, tick. Done, tick.
Done, tick."

I've done the Buddha's hand jam

and it's now time to get onto
my pickled palm hearts.

OK, "Fresh palm heart.
For the pickled palm heart,

"remove, peel back
and discard the outer layer."

Oh, yeah.

"Remove the soft core so that
you have a crescent shape."

You're doing good, Annabel.
Keep going.

"Thinly slice the crescent
so you have five discs,

"1mm to 2mm in thickness."

This is so cool!

Ooh.

Everyone seems to have
been ripping off

this thick outer layer.

And with Luke, he seems
to only have gone through

real quickly with
a vegetable peeler.

Oh, my gosh.

Different layers of the heart of
palm give different textures.

And as Chef Sam mentioned
before,

this dish is all about texture.

With Luke using this particular
part of the heart of palm,

it could give the wrong texture.

LUKE: Oh, yeah. That'll do.

It could really put him
in trouble.

Uh... Scrap bucket.

Make sure you're reading
that recipe, guys.

You reading the recipe, Luke?

Yeah, brother.

ANDY: From here on in,
it is all about finesse.

You've got 30 minutes to go.

Let's go, guys! Come on!
Push, push, push!

Let's go!

ALYONA: My seaweed vinegar
jelly is in the fridge.

I'm doing the fennel jam,

so I just need to cook this
for another five minutes.

And then I'm starting
on my pickled palm heart.

Let's go, Alyona.

You're well behind. Come on.

Good stuff, Casper.

What are you working on?

I'm just about to do
the fennel milk jelly.

I've ticked off
the last few steps,

and now I really feel like
I'm in the zone.

We're just going to keep
motoring on and just, like,

work with the same speed
until the end.

Finishing off
the fennel milk jelly

is really similar to the seaweed
vinegar jelly.

It's just mixing it with
bloomed gelatine again

and topping those moulds up.

How much have you got left,
Casper?

I've got, like, three pages left
of actual, like, cook time.

And then the rest is plating.

Awesome, Casper.

I'm just getting
my fennel milk jelly done.

I just added a little bit of
salt and a little bit of sugar.

After I tasted it,

I just felt like his was
a little bit more like fennel-y.

And I think that was a way that
I could get

a bit more fennel flavour is
just play on

the natural sweetness
and saltiness of the fennel.

I need to get that second layer
of jelly into the blast chiller

for another 12 minutes,

and then into the fridge
until time to plate.

Where are you going?
To the blast chiller.

Oh, thank you so much, Chef.

That's alright. Let me pass.

Nice, Annabel.

You're doing very good,
just keep pushing.

Annabel, how are we travelling?

Crab dressing?
Crab dressing.

Crab dressing now.
Nice. I think you're flying.

OK, cool.
Yeah.

But that doesn't mean you,
like, have a cup of tea.

Yeah, yeah, nah.
But don't relax, yeah.

I'm not gonna take my foot off
the pedal.

I kind of like working
like this, to be honest.

Like clean and tidy and focused?

And a bit like low-key psycho
locked in!

OK. Psycho locked in!

You've still got to do
the dashi caviar.

And then the macadamia shavings
as well.

The macadamia shaving. You've
got to plate the thing up.

Yeah.

Sam reckons ten minutes
at least.

Don't take your foot off
the pedal.

Great.
Bye.

Bye.
See ya.

Come on, guys! Come on.

You've got to work fast.
Come on, Alyona.

Smells gorgeous.

Yeah. It's this fish sauce.
Ah!

It's so full on.

Alright. Here goes nothing.

I've finished my crab dressing

and I move on to
my apple dashi pearls.

I've made caviar pearls
a few times before,

and every time
they've completely failed.

Good stuff, Lukey.
Go on, heavy squirt.

And somehow, in a pressure test,

when my spot in the competition
is on the line...

That's it, Lukey. Nice.

..I've delivered
on these pearls.

Come on!

That's it, Luke. Well done.
Come on.

Give it your all!
15 minutes to go.

Come on.

Come on.
15 minutes. Come on.

Oh, my gosh.

How's it looking, Casper?
It's looking good.

Looking good.
Nice.

Hey, everyone. If you want
this dashi caviar made,

you need to start it now.

There's a bit of a process
to it,

and you're running out of time.

So things that can be on
the stove that you're stirring,

I'd leave it and I'd get that
dashi caviar on the go.

Come on.

Keep going, guys. Push!

ALYONA: I'm pickling
my palm hearts

and I hear the boys from
the gentry.

Alyona, did you hear Andy about
the caviar?

Ah! No, no.
No?

No.
He said...

Get that going.
..get that going.

Oh, my gosh.

But I haven't even reached
the caviar page yet.

I still have crab dressing
to make.

OK, where's the agar agar?

But I'll just leave it

and I'll come back to it
once the caviar is done.

OK.

I need to move, like,
super fast.

I'm thinking the caviar
will show more technique,

and if I have time,
I'll do the crab dressing.

That's it, Alyona.

Come on, Casper,
keep going, buddy.

Not long left.
Yeah.

Pretty much all my elements
are done,

and I am pretty happy
with how they're tasting,

so I really need to get started
plating up this dish.

Sam's dish up the front
looked perfect.

His garnishes were on point.

If I want to replicate it,

I need to do the exact
same thing.

Michael Jackson?

He-he!

(LAUGHTER)
Keep going! Don't look at me!

This is a garnish
I've never seen done before.

Like, macadamias that are so
fine that they curl up is crazy,

but I think I've actually
cracked the technique

on my first go,
so I'm feeling really good.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: OK, guys,
you should be plating up.

Ten minutes to go.

(SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT)

Come on! Come on!

Ten minutes to go.

I need to get some ring moulds
onto the plate.

I'm plating that beautiful
creme fraiche on the bottom.

I'm placing all of the beautiful
bits of crab perfectly.

Good stuff, Annabel.

The dashi pearls.

I'm piping the Buddha's hand jam
in five perfect dots.

Go, Annabel.

I'm plating up that big, wiggly
tower in the middle.

Nice, Annabel.

Keep going, Annabel.

Just push, push, push!
Don't stop, keep going.

I'm trying so hard to remember
how Sam's dish looked.

I'm like... I just remember
there was five of everything.

Five flowers, five sea spray,
five dots...

Push, guys. Let's go.
Let's go!

'Cause it's so hard
to plate this up,

I'm trying to really be
meticulous and take my time,

making sure that everything's
in the exact right spot.

I drop the jelly onto the plate,

and just like Sam's jelly,
it bubbles around.

Go, Lukey!

Today I've had my first taste of
what it would be like

cooking in a Michelin star
restaurant.

It's kind of addictive.

Here we go. Three minutes left.

Come on. Three minutes.

Keep pushing. Come on.

Let's go, Alyona.

I'm thinking about how did Sam's
dish tasted and looked like?

I don't have time to make
the crab dressing,

so I'm just seasoning it
with salt.

Kind of like to overcompensate

that I didn't have
that dressing.

Come on, Alyona.
You've got to motor.

Let's go, Alyona. Come on.
Come on, Alyona. Come on.

Let's speed it up.

It's all coming together,

and I cannot believe
that I'm finally here

and I'm in the good zone.

Come on, Alyona.

Only one minute to go.

Last minute, come on.

Last minute. Final stretch.
Come on.

Come on, Casper.

Putting the final
finishing touches on my dish,

and I'm just trying to have
that image in my mind of

what Sam's dish looked like.

Nice work, Casper.

And I'm really happy with what
I've got in front of me.

I think it looks
almost identical.

Your time is up in ten...

ALL: Nine.

Eight. Seven.

Six. Five.

Four. Three.

Two.

One.

That's it, everybody!
All done!

Well done, guys!
Well done, guys!

You OK?
No.

Nice job, guys.

That was a wild ride.

I think that dish, Sam, pushed
them to their absolute limits.

I mean, honestly, I think
they did a pretty good job.

This is on the menu at
the restaurant

but we don't make
every single component every day

in three hours.

I'm interested to see
what they taste like.

I feel like mixed emotions
walking my dish into the judges.

I'm looking down at it and
I'm like, damn, this looks good.

It looks pretty similar to Sam's
and he is a Michelin star chef.

But there's just, like, part of
me that's just like,

"You just never know."

There was no opportunity
for me to taste

all those ingredients and all of
those components together.

I just don't know how
this is going to eat as a whole.

Thank you.
Thank you.

Thanks, Annabel. Well done.

It looks stunning.

Wow.

And, like, the fact that
that jelly is so clear,

like the joint of the layers
is legit,

and everything else just looks
really well proportioned, so...

Oh, man. I'm hoping this tastes
as good as it looks.

Oh, man. I'm hoping this tastes
as good as it looks.

I'm trying to find something
that's not close to yours, Sam.

What do you reckon?

I think she's nailed
the balance of everything.

The citrus was
the perfect amount.

Yeah.

I really liked
the seaweed vinegar jelly.

I think she nailed the flavour
in that.

Her actual jelly.

I mean, I don't want to say it,

but it probably looks
a bit better than mine!

(LAUGHTER)

First impression. Very good.

I'd hire her.

Would you serve that one
in your restaurant?

100%. I think she nailed it.

This is top class.

The milk fennel jelly
was delicious.

I absolutely enjoyed my crab.

You can see it's flaky.

It's so pleasant.

The combination with
the creme fraiche in the bottom,

very well with
the dashi apple pearls.

Incredible.

She's got everything to become
a fantastic chef.

I cannot wait to tell her
how good she's done today.

Taking my dish up to the judges
and looking down at it,

it honestly sums up my journey
in the MasterChef kitchen.

It's not perfect, but it's been
such a learning journey,

and I've had so much fun.

I'm really proud of this dish

because I think
it represents me.

It's wobbling.
Yeah, it's got wobble.

(LAUGHTER)
Yeah.

Your plate looks so beautiful.

You should be incredibly proud
of yourself.

So hopefully you might stay
and do more.

Until then,
we're going to try your food.

Thank you, Luke.
Thank you.

JUDGES: Well done.

Good luck.

You can tell he has a...

He's got an eye for detail.
Yeah.

And he's had a good crack.
I think he's done OK.

Jelly looks like a good texture
for me.

Yeah.

But then you've got to taste it.

Thank you.

I think his jelly's very good.

It's got a nice texture.

Crab was dressed very well,
seasoned.

The little pearls,
which I like the texture.

I didn't get shell.
No shell.

Big plus for me.

But if I'm gonna be
a little bit technical

and brutal as a chef,
some things are out of balance.

Mine was very Buddha's hand
citrus jam heavy.

My palm heart was very fibrous.

He has used the very outside.
The wrong part.

It's very different in texture.

Apart from those two things,
I still felt it ate pretty well.

Love the huge, sweet, tender,
succulent segments of crab.

Both jellies I thought
were really delicious

and the texture was perfect.

The texture is beautiful,
the colours are there,

the flavours are there.

And the other thing that I adore
in Luke's dish

are those segments of crab.

He nailed that, yeah.
Exactly.

There's only two
glaring mistakes here,

but on a day when everyone's
cooking, like,

at the top of their game,

you never know
what can send someone home.

My dish looks beautiful.

I got all the elements
other than the crab dressing.

I'm really hoping that this dish
is gonna save me today.

The fact that
you pulled yourself out of

whatever funk you were in,
turned it around

and plated up
nearly a full replica of

Sam's dish is really impressive.

Thanks, Sofia.

And it looks amazing.
And it looks pretty good, yeah.

And it's jiggling along. Yeah.

We're gonna taste your dish.
Thank you, Alyona.

Thank you.
Thanks, Alyona. Well done.

Well done.
Thank you. Oh, thanks.

Based on how that looks,

you would never guess
the struggle

that Alyona just went through.

I actually don't know
how she's done it.

Hm. Macadamia.

Not shaved.

Yeah, I got one of them,
too, actually.

I was really surprised
at how much she got up.

And the jelly,

I thought she did
a really good job on that.

But I think, for me,

the biggest clanger
is definitely the dressing.

I really, really miss that.

I mean, I can tell
there's no dressing.

And, for me,

I think she's over-seasoned
the crab a little bit.

Yeah, too salty. Yeah.

I get salt.
I agree.

Yeah. Like, I think she's tried
to make up for not having

the dressing...
She's overcompensated.

But I did like her
seaweed vinegar jelly.

I thought that had
quite good flavour.

Like, seasoned-wise, very umami.

And I really liked
her apple-dashi pearls.

Mm-hm.
She nailed them,

and she was doing it so quick.

If I look at my plate,
they are even.

But not having
the crab dressing...

For me, it's a crab salad,

that's the whole part
of the dish.

The crab's over-seasoned.

Mmm.
That's kind of it.

There were some beautiful
flavours on there.

The seaweed vinegar jelly
was spot-on...

Yeah.
..both for texture and flavour.

I feel like the crab
is cooked well,

but the macadamia...

She was, like, shaving macadamia
over the top.

Like Parmesan cheese.
Yeah, like Parmesan cheese.

Up until the time expired.

And in her haste to do that,

I kind of bit down
on like a solid chunk...

Like a nub?
..of macadamia.

(INHALES SHARPLY)
And it's the thing

that I remember the most
on the dish.

I'm a bit worried about this.

CASPER: Putting up this dish
today,

it looked, like, identical,

and it was, like, tasting
identical.

I'm just like, "Holy...

"Holy shit, like,
I can do this."

Hey, Casper.
Hello.

I can push myself this hard.

And that's probably what
I need to do to win this thing.

So it seemed like you kind
of cruised through that cook.

I don't know, like,

if I was, like,
comfortable-comfortable.

But I found, like, a good pace
to work at,

at a speed
that I was comfortable with.

I was, like, happy
with how I've gone,

but obviously, still, it's
like...

There's a lot on the line.

Mmm, mmm.
And, it...

Yeah, it's kind of
anyone's game.

I mean, I think you've done,
visually, pretty good.

Awesome. Thank you.

Casper, we're going
to taste your dish now.

Thanks, guys.
Thank you.

Everything's spaced quite...
Evenly.

..perfect. Evenly.
Yeah.

It looks very delicate.
Yeah.

Like, a real deft touch
with the plating.

Yeah.

I think, out of all
the contestants,

with his macadamias,
he's actually got some curls.

He does.
SOFIA: Oh! Nut curls of the day.

Yeah.
Easily.

Nut curls of the day!
Mmm.

Oh! Look at that whopper!
That's a claw.

You got the whole claw.

Uh-oh.

Oh, no.
That's what you do not want.

It's happened.
POH: It's happened?

Mm-hm.

Oh, that's a shame.

Mmm...

You, too!

I think, for me,
it's the best plating.

Yep.

It eats really beautifully.

So, there's some nice textural
differences of the crab -

there's some from the body,

some from the claw.

The dressing on the crab
is beautiful.

And the Buddha's hand jam
is lovely.

But there is shell.

I'm very sorry if you got
a shell, because I didn't.

SOFIA: I'm happy for you.

My dish was absolutely
topnotch.

Yeah, it's amazing.
In fact, it's probably

the closest to yours.
Yep.

For me, it's faultless.

I love the seasoning.

The creme fraiche is actually...

It's like a mayo.

It's just simple as that,
the way he's whipped that.

Every element
was perfectly done...

Yeah.
..and perfectly put together.

His was the most impressive.

I mean, he's got detail,
everything was spaced out.

I mean, you can see layers

of the creme fraiche
at the bottom,

with the fennel jam
and the crab.

I really liked
the seaweed vinegar jelly.

I thought his Buddha's hand
citrus was very good.

I didn't, obviously, get shell.
You two got shell.

But that, for me,

in a restaurant setting,

it's a big thing.

Yes, in a restaurant setting,

this is such a sin.
Mm-hm.

But there are people who have

left out entire elements.

Right?

We've got a big question
to answer.

You know, what is worse?

No matter the result,

take a moment to appreciate
what you've achieved today.

You've recreated
a Michelin-star dish.

Thank you for bringing
your masterpiece

into the MasterChef kitchen.

Sam Aisbett, everyone.

There was one mud crab salad
we couldn't fault.

Sam thought it was almost
exactly like his.

Congratulations,

you have cemented your spot
in the top seven...

..Annabel!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Well done, Annabel,
you are safe.

Thank you.

It came down to two dishes.

Alyona,

your presentation was beautiful,

and the way you hustled
to catch up

was seriously impressive.

But...

..your crab salad
had no dressing,

was over-seasoned,

and large chunks of macadamia
impacted the dish,

making it very different
to Sam's.

Casper...

..everything,
from the presentation

to the flavour, to the texture

of your mud crab salad...

..was exactly like Sam's.

But...

..there were pieces
of crab shell in your dish.

This was an incredibly hard
decision for us to make.

It came down to the dish

that was the most different
to Sam's.

I'm sorry to say
you're going home...

..Alyona.

Not my best in the kitchen
today, clearly.

But I still plated the dish.

I'm going to go home
and try to refine it.

Serve it to my guests.

I'm going to say that
that's just in one

of the Michelin-star
restaurants.

Just so grateful
for all this experience.

I... Honestly, overjoyed
that I've come so far,

and so happy
I met all of you guys.

I honestly am gonna
miss you so much.

Alyona, we are totally
gonna miss you.

I think it's your creativity

that will be missed the most.

We've loved having you
in the MasterChef kitchen,

but it's time to say goodbye.

Bring it in.

This was one of the best
experiences

of my life, honestly.

I've made...

..made so many incredible
friendships here.

Oh, I'll miss you so much.

I think these are for life
because everyone is so genuine.

OK, you do well. You stand up
for the girls, yeah?

Yeah.
OK. And I'll see you in Sydney.

Leaving all these guys feels
like I'm leaving

half of my family.

Go and smash it.
Yeah.

I think this is just
the beginning.

I feel MasterChef really opened

a lot of little parts in me,

food-wise, personality-wise.

Give it up for Alyona,
everybody!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

And I'm really excited

to see what's going
to happen next.

ANNOUNCER: Next week,
on MasterChef Australia...

It's Heat Week!
Oh, yeah!

..every challenge is a red-hot
battle for immunity.

I have to push myself
to stand out from the pack.

You've got to go big.

Whoa! That is bangin'.

ANDY: Are we bringing it?

I feel you!
And...

It's Marion Grasby!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

..with a few hot tips...
(EXCLAIMING)

It's now time for the fun bit.

(EXCLAIMING)

..heat week...
SOFIA: Yeah, baby.

..will be a scorcher.

There's a spicy discotheque

in my bouche.

(LAUGHTER)

God, that's a fun dish!

It's so much fun.

ANDY: It is fire!

Absolutely stunning.

POH: I couldn't love this more.

I love it!

In fact, I was going
to try something new.

Uh-oh.

(LAUGHTER, CHEERING)

Captions by Red Bee Media