Original subtitles

VOICEOVER: Previously on MasterChef Australia...

..a pressure test from the king of tarts...

He's hot. (CHUCKLES)

..had everyone going nuts.

TOMMY: This tart looks like it could be in a museum.

I may or may not have drooled on it.

They all put in a gutsy effort...

I'm going to fight to the very end.

..with Matt and Daniel surprising the judges.

ANDY: Your tarts were delicious.

None of us wanted to stop eating them.

But it was Favourite Christina

who had to say goodbye to the MasterChef kitchen.

Even though there were some low moments,

the highs were just incredible.

Tonight, the Fans and the Favourites are going all out to impress...

HARRY: I am so pumped.

MINDY: I am just starstruck.

..a three-Michelin starred chef.

# 'Cause you're hot, then you're cold

# You're yes, then you're no

# You're in, then you're out

# You're up, then you're down

# You're wrong when it's right

# It's black and it's white

# We fight, we break up

# We kiss, we make up

# You're hot, then you're cold

# You're yes, then you're no

# You're in, then you're out

# You're up, then you're down

# You're wrong when it's right

# It's black and it's white

# We fight, we break up

# We kiss, we make up

# You # You don't really wanna stay, no

# You # But you don't really wanna go-o

# You're hot, then you're cold

# You're yes, then you're no

# You're in, then you're out

# You're up, then you're down. #

Lovely sun. Yeah, it's beautiful. Oi-oi-oi.

MICHAEL: Yesterday, we lost Christina in the pressure test

so that's two Favourites gone in a row.

The score's definitely evening out.

It's really hammering home it is a competition

so although we wanna have a great time,

we've gotta cook really well as well.

MINOLI: It's always the nerves, you know?

Excited nerves.

I've no idea what today's gonna be but I'm ready to cook.

(BOTH EXCLAIM AND LAUGH)

Yes!

JOCK: Morning! Oh, fancy.

Look at the tables!

There's lots of tables and the tables look...

(EXHALES) ..like, stunning.

I don't know who's coming to this dinner.

Very pretty.

MEL: Here we go.

Morning, all. ALL: Morning.

If you hadn't guessed already, yes, it's a service challenge.

And that means you're not only cooking for some very hungry diners,

but you're also cooking for a chance

to go into tomorrow's all-important immunity cook.

First order of business - to even up the numbers,

Favourites, one of you have gotta sit out.

If your team wins, you'll get to cook for immunity tomorrow.

But if they lose, of course, you won't.

So, who's it gonna be?

We haven't really discussed this. Anyone wanna...?

I'll sit out. I'll sit out. You'll sit out? Yep.

Yeah, yeah. Sarah's gonna sit out.

Righto, the person sitting out, raise your hand. Sarah Todd.

JULIE: Thank you, Sarah. No worries.

Sarah, you'll obviously be watching on from the gantry today.

Yep. You can head on up.

Thank you. Bye, Sarah.

Good luck. Bye, Sars.

You know today's a service challenge

but this service will be run by a VERY special guest.

Consider yourselves lucky because this chef is a cut above the rest.

(GASPING)

She's the first and currently the only British female chef

to hold three Michelin stars in the UK. (GASPS)

It's Clare Smyth!

No way.

Please welcome from Core in London...

..and the newly established powerhouse Oncore in Sydney,

it's Clare Smyth!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Wowee!

Oh, you're joking!

JULIE: Oh, my God, I am awestruck.

I get goose bumps. I get all the feels.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

JOCK: Hello.

How are you?

Thanks so much for being here.

Lovely to finally have you in the kitchen. Mwah.

Oh, wow. (GASPS)

MINDY: I am just starstruck.

Clare Smyth is like an icon in the cooking world.

She's all about really driving the produce

and the techniques she uses

are techniques that I've never even cooked with before.

She's just in a whole 'nother level.

You're all freaking out! (ALL LAUGH)

Love it. I've got goose bumps too.

(LAUGHTER)

JOCK: Clare, what an absolute pleasure

to have you back here in the MasterChef kitchen.

It's awesome. I cannot tell you how excited I am.

So good to be back.

So tell me about Oncore in Sydney.

What's the premise of the restaurant? What's it all about?

You know I'm all about fine dining, high-end dining,

it's all I've ever done in my life.

But the product is so important.

Over the years that I've been coming back to Australia,

I've just seen so many more and more producers

producing fantastic produce.

And of course, I do what I know with it, in my style,

and the vast quantity of produce that Australia has

is just phenomenal,

some of the best in the world.

Ali, I imagine that Clare's style of food is really inspiring to you.

Yeah, no, I'm so thrilled that you're here

and really follow what you do.

Obviously, I live here and I am from Scotland, erm, originally...

Would never have guessed with that accent, hey?

(LAUGHTER)

But, erm, but really thrilled to have you here

and hoping we'll really learn some awesome little tricks.

It's amazing having Clare here and I just think she's such a legend.

She is immaculate with her presentation.

As a designer and an artist, I do find that super inspiring.

Of course, because the one and only Clare Smyth is here,

she has selected two ingredients

that you'll have the choice of cooking with today.

You'll cook with these ingredients over a three-course service.

And your team's chosen ingredient must be included in each course.

Alright, Clare, why don't you show them the ingredients?

So, I have chosen...

..honey.

(ALL EXCLAIM HAPPILY) Beautiful.

So this isn't just any honey,

this is Malfroy's Gold wild honey from the Blue Mountains.

Ooh.

And the second ingredient is...

..cherries.

Yum.

These are beautiful Australian cherries.

They're so juicy, so ripe, stunning.

ANDY: So, which team's cooking with which ingredient?

Minoli...

..remember you won the advantage in the mystery box in?

Well, it's time to cash in.

You get to pick which ingredient your team, the Favourites,

gets to cook with throughout their three courses.

Do you wanna have a little huddle or you ready to go?

Yeah, can we have...? Yeah, have a huddle.

TOMMY: So whatever you choose, we can work with.

JULIE: My brain goes to more cherry dishes than...

Cherries. Yep, savoury.

Yeah? OK, cool.

Minoli, which ingredient will you guys be featuring

in all three courses today?

Um, we've decided to feature cherries in all three courses.

Cherries? Lovely.

I feel like cherries are more versatile across three courses so...

(CLUCKS TONGUE) ..cherries it is.

That means Fans, you guys will be featuring honey.

HARRY: I'm stoked.

Honey is such a beautiful ingredient

and it's a product that I really cherish.

Now for some rules.

Your entrees will need to leave the pass in two hours.

You can cook whatever you would like

but remember to feature the core ingredient in each course.

(CHUCKLES)

Each team will serve 20 diners plus the three of us.

And today, if your team wins two or more courses,

all of you will cook in tomorrow's immunity challenge.

Now, of course, the brilliant Clare Smyth will be running service

and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

to work alongside the best of the best.

So use it well.

Good luck, everyone.

Your time starts now.

MINOLI: Who's doing entree? JULIE: I'll do entree.

MINDY: I'm happy to be... 1, 2, 3? Done.

BILLIE: Dessert? Yeah, we'll do dessert. OK.

Time starts, we get straight into planning

and there are certain things that just leap out

when it comes to thinking about cherries.

Duck and cherries obviously. Yeah, as main.

Main? What about a parfait?

Oh, that sounds amazing. Pate?

Pate. I can do a pate. I can do a pate.

JOHN: Dessert?

Maybe black foresty flavours? Oh!

Spiced? Yeah, yum.

All very cherry-heavy, right? Cherry focused.

Cherry everywhere. Let's go to cherry heaven.

I think today, it's all about produce and perfection.

I'm sure Clare will help us plate it up but very pretty.

Yeah. If we can get our flavours right,

I think she'll be able to help us with the execution and the plating.

Finesse. The finesse. So...

I mean, what a set of hands to be in - Clare Smyth mentoring us

is, you know, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience

and I think we're all gonna soak it up.

Let's get into it.

Alright. Yep.

Tommy, you've got the handwriting. You write it.

Teacher handwriting. (TOMMY LAUGHS)

So who's doing what? Entrees, main, dessert.

ALI: Mains. Mains over here.

Today, we're doing menu vs menu instead of course vs course.

And I think creating a cohesive menu with honey

is a little bit easier than doing it with cherries.

DANIEL: So if we do a charred fish or a crispy skin fish,

then that'll work with the honey.

It's really difficult walking into service challenges

knowing there are multiple people on the other team

that do this on a daily basis.

We are thinking that we are going to do a chicken liver pate.

Sounds beautiful. And a little crostini.

Yeah, really good.

It'd be great if today could be the day we come out on top.

And so fingers crossed we can pull it off.

One, two, three. Go!

(ALL LAUGH) Honey?

JULIE: So chicken liver pate. Cherry pate.

You've got a recipe for that. MINDY: Yep, I've got that.

Today, I'm working on the entree with Julie and Aldo.

We're throwing around the idea of a chicken liver pate.

I do have a recipe up my sleeve, I've made this many times

and it's a really popular dish amongst my guests

and amongst my family.

I'll do it, like a cherry jam. Cherry jam, yep.

We're thinking sweet with a bit of sourness to it.

Julie and Aldo will be working on the cherry gel and the cherry chutney.

With this one here... Mm?

..I'm gonna put a little bit of ginger in it

just to put a bit of warmth through it. Spice it up.

It'll take a wave of the gaminess of it.

Yep. Mm-hm.

JOHN: Come on, boy. SASHI: Let's do it.

The chicken liver pate, we do not want that to overpower our entree

because it has to be about the cherries.

So we're gonna try and make it really mild

and hopefully, the balance of flavours is spot on.

TOMMY: Oh, look at those livers. Beautiful.

# Liver, liver, liver. #

Alrighty, here we go.

Ginger.

Where's the orange.

I got sugar.

Yum.

So they're like preserved cherries, yeah? Cool.

HARRY: Oh, God, they're good.

So I'm gonna be doing entrees today.

I'm with Jenn and Matt.

We're trying to think about how we can incorporate honey

where it's still shining throughout the dish

and it's not being overpowered by other ingredients.

We're basically gonna make the spring salad

but it's just a celebration of different kind of things

that are tasting really good right now.

So we've got some beautiful peas, some baby corn.

These beautiful pear tomatoes that are from our garden out the front.

Lots of natives.

And we're gonna have, like, a goat's cheese and honey mousse,

a beautiful honey vinaigrette

and Jenn's gonna also make a really bright citrusy honey gel.

Last week in Jenn's pressure test, she worked with honey

for Reynold's dessert challenge and she made a burnt honey gel.

She knows that recipe now like the back of her hand.

Oh, it's native honey. Yep.

Yummy.

It's a very simple, elegant dish but to have a winning dish today,

we need to make sure that every single element on that plate

is perfect.

Good work, Tommy. Nice work, brother.

Thanks, mate.

Let's get this sorted.

I'm on the main course today, cooking with Sashi and Tommy.

They're juicy ducks.

Today, we're gonna focus on a classic pairing -

cherries with duck.

Duck's one of those gamey meats that really needs some sweetness

to really bring out its flavour.

And cherries is one of those perfect ingredients

that pairs so well with duck.

CLARE: How's it going? How's the duck?

Good. So, just taking the breasts off and the legs off. Yeah.

Get them in the pressure cooker, the legs.

Render the breasts in a pan and finish in the oven.

Are you gonna use these bones and stuff...?

In the stock, yeah, so Tommy's just...

(BANGING)

Tommy loves a cleaver so he's cleavering. Yeah, nice.

Um, yeah, so we're gonna sauce,

little bit of smoked cherry jus

but lots of roasted our bones.

That's one of our pressure points, getting them in the next ten minutes into the oven

so they're really dark and we get lots of flavour out of them.

Cool. I think it's a good plan.

Yeah, good. Yeah, cool. (CHUCKLES)

As long as you're happy. Yeah, good. Sounds good. Thank you, Clare.

I think using the whole ducks today is a really important thing.

We're using the breast and the leg meat

as well as the bones to make the jus because then nothing's wasted.

And I know at Oncore, they're using every bit of that duck

so I think we should do the same.

Hey, Dan. Yo.

It's a butchery-off, mate, you and I.

Yeah. It is. Duck versus fish.

TOMMY: Quack, quack. (CHUCKLES)

To have a win, it's all about the cooking of the duck breasts

being totally, you know, perfect and spot on.

OK, Fans and Favourites, you've got 90 minutes

until your entrees need to be on the pass.

HARRY: Let's go!

ALDO: My God, cherries, cherries, cherries.

MINDY: How you going, Dan? How you going, Ali?

Good, mate. Good, Mind. How are you?

Chicken livers, mm. Yeah.

Yum. How about you fellas?

We're going coastal beach vibe.

Hibachi coral trout.

Wow!

It's gonna be ripper.

So mains for the Fans,

we are gonna cook these beautiful

coral trouts on the Hibachi

and get a lovely charred skin.

We're gonna smoke some of that lovely honey,

then we're gonna serve that with some sea vegetables

in a really lovely honey beurre blanc.

So trying to get the different notes in the honey kind of coming through.

Beautiful fish.

Just gotta be very careful, these bones, they're so little.

The first thing we do is get stuck into getting the fillets off these

so we can start to portion.

Two, three...

..four, five, six.

So how many have we got? We got one...

Got six. KEYMA: So that'll they have?

They don't have any extras? No, this is it.

Oh, wow.

We're underway with the fish

and we realise we've only just got enough fish

to feed the diners and the judges.

We don't have spares.

CLARE: Hi, Ali. Hey.

Erm, so we're planning on going for the coral trout,

which is a really beautiful eating fish.

I've got this on my menu at Oncore. Have you? Yeah. It's beautiful.

No pressure. (CHORTLES) Under pressure.

Erm, portion size... Yes. Main course.

Only got six, erm, six fish. Yeah.

We're really cutting it fine on our testers,

to do, erm, half a fillet each. OK.

But is a third too small, probably?

Yep.

Yeah, this is, er, this is not good.

Thrown into a bit of a panic.

There's a whole larder full of incredible produce in there. Yeah.

But make a decision now, between you, just get it out.

What should we do?

Do we need a different fish?

But we've already done all this work.

So...

..do we need another element?

DANIEL: So how many have we got? We've got one...

ALI: We've got 6. So we've got 24. KEYMA: So that's all they have?

They don't have any extras? No, this is it.

No. Oh, whoa.

We've been thrown into a bit of a panic.

We've only got enough fish to feed the diners and the judges.

We don't have spares.

Do we need a different fish?

Do we need another element to go with it?

What about an oyster?

I don't think an oyster would pass us right.

If anything, probably a langoustine or the pipis.

I think that's gonna get a bit too convoluted.

I can't think of anything else that'll go with it.

We've already done all this work prepping the fish and the sauce.

And we keep being told simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.

I just have to make a call.

I think that we...

..take the tail off, use those as our testers, that little end piece.

Go and grab another just white fish, just to...

For plating purposes. Yep. OK.

Let's go. We need to move.

We decide to use all the coral trout

but we've only got exactly enough to feed the diners and the judges

so in order to plate up

and get an idea of what the plate's gonna look like,

we're going to use a little piece of snapper instead.

It's not an ideal situation,

we literally have no room for error.

JOHN: Hey, Dan. Yo.

Just so you know, I've already finished butchering all the ducks.

I had... I had a delay. (LAUGHS)

I'm only stirring you, brother.

(SPLASH!) Oh. Ho-ho.

STEPH: Are you OK? (LAUGHS)

Are you OK? Went straight in my eye.

So today, I'm working with Montana and Melanie in the dessert team.

This will be our third dessert challenge together.

So we work really well as a team.

We have... We have won...

Two from two on the desserts! (LAUGHS)

ANDY: One team nailed the brief -

the Fans. (ALL LAUGH AND CHEER)

Most restrained and delicious dish of the day

and that's why Fans, you guys won the dessert.

(ALL CHEER AND LAUGH)

And we're hoping to make that three on three.

Do you wanna work here or do you wanna work there?

Yep. I don't mind.

So the way that we're going to ensure that we feature honey in our dessert

is to put it in as many elements as we can.

So we're doing a honey parfait with a burnt honey gel.

Some figs, honey macadamias as well as a honey and thyme tuile.

It is ambitious but we think showcasing honey in all its forms

would be a really interesting way to present honey in the dessert.

Honey, figs and thyme, stunning, you know?

I'm working on the honey macadamias as well as the burnt honey gel.

Montana is working on the honey parfait,

and Melanie's on the tuile.

It is insane that Clare Smyth is in the house today.

She's a boss lady and I think she's expecting us

to really showcase the honey as well as refinement.

Because her restaurant in London and in Sydney,

it's just beautiful plate of food and that's what we want to do today.

MINOLI: What do you reckon?

BILLIE: Oh, they're nice.

They're nice. I like it.

They're more... Like tart and acidic. Yep, yep.

We've got cherries as our ingredient

so we're doing black forest flavours in a cherry dessert.

Couple of very familiar faces on the dessert section, hey?

Yeah, right. How you doing?

Good. What are you making?

We're doing like black forest flavours.

Yep. So classic cherry chocolate.

We're doing a sponge base, chocolate semifreddo, next layer

and then on top of that, we're piping some chocolate crema, a cherry gel.

We'll have macerated and fresh cherries

and then cherry dust over the top.

Wow.

It sounds epic.

Obviously, you need the cherry to sing above the chocolate, right?

Yeah, definitely. Yes. Most important thing, I think.

Yeah, I think that's...that's the challenge.

Yeah. Because we love chocolate.

We love chocolate.

Gonna be interesting to see how you guys can balance that out

so the cherries are just as powerful as the chocolate

'cause really, that's what it's about. Yeah.

We're trying to slam as much cherry as we can in there

without overpowering the whole thing, so...

..hoping we can get that right.

And I remember, the Fans beat you at the chocolate and cherry dessert. Yeah.

Which was like two, max three elements.

Yeah. Yep, yep.

Let's not have that happen again.

Rightio. Alright.

Thank you. Good luck.

(LAUGHS)

Steph, Montana and Mel have been the dream team in the Fans

for the dessert course in the last few team challenges.

We haven't won any yet.

The Fans have sort of pipped us on each occasion,

so hoping today's the day that we can take out the title.

MINOLI: Whoo.

Oh, my God, I just 'whooed' while Clare Smyth is in the kitchen.

(SNIGGERS)

Can someone just, like, smack me across the head, please. No, I love it.

Clare, you've popped in the kitchen to see what's happening.

Tell us, what's the menu? They looking good?

The Favourites have gone for absolute classics -

chicken liver parfait with cherries, classic duck with cherries,

cherry glaze, pulled duck leg

and then dessert, they've gone black forest gateau.

I mean, it's like... If they nail it...

It's knocking out of the park.

They look like a well-oiled machine.

It's like they've now been in the kitchen together, working as a team,

and I think that's really starting to show in these service challenges.

They're organised and, you know, more often than not,

they've nailed the brief and they've nailed their food

so we'll see how it goes today. What about the Fans?

They've got a lovely salad with whipped goat's cheese, with honey,

spring vegetables.

They've got a coral trout with a honey beurre blanc

and I think a honey glaze with that.

And then honey parfait with thyme tuile and caramelised fresh figs.

Good flavours... Mm.

..but they've given themselves quite a tall order.

I think they've got, like, loads going on

so I hope they can get it all done in the time.

Being in a team in a service with, like, royalty here,

this is what you apply for, this is why people come back.

It's for challenges like this. MEL: Yep.

And I think we're gonna see the best of the best today out of these guys.

I'm super pumped.

Speaking of, should you get back in there, or what?

Yeah. (ALL LAUGH)

We're pitting cherries,

it's gonna look like a murder scene

before too long. (LAUGHS)

MINDY: Well, the theme is cherries today

so the cherry is all the way through the menu

and that's gonna be the hero.

We're just keeping things very classic.

Julie and Aldo are working on the cherry gel

and the cherry chutney together.

I've got the job of making the chicken liver pate

and I'm gonna go with the new school method.

Traditionally, you kind of sear off the little chicken livers,

you blend them up, you put them in a tureen pan

and you bake them in the oven.

I don't have time on my side today,

I've gotta process this really quick and get it set.

So I'm gonna get my chicken livers, throw 'em in a food processor,

blend all the other ingredients in

and then I'm gonna integrate the butter at the end.

So it should really mellow down that flavour,

then I'm gonna set it in the fridge.

Wanna taste, Sash?

Oh! Yum!

Hey, Mindy, you wouldn't have any butter in there, would you?

(LAUGHS) Just a little.

Holy moly, how creamy's that?!

The chicken liver pate, we don't want that to overpower our entree

because it has to be about the cherries today.

We've kept it really mild

but it still has to be perfect texture and flavour.

Better get a move on because you only have one hour till entrees!

Let's go, guys. One hour. Come on, guys.

Let's go, Faves! MINOLI: Let's go, Faves!

Mm. Mm! Mm.

Oh, my God, they're so yummy.

I'm working on entrees. I'm feeling good.

At this point in the cook, the whipped goat's cheese is done

and sitting in the fridge.

The goat's cheese is gonna add fat to the salad,

which is gonna add great mouth feel

and round off those quite fresh elements.

Jenn is working on the honey gel and Harry is working on the vinaigrette.

And now, I am just cracking on with the vegetables,

to get them ready for service.

This salad is all about celebrating the fresh produce.

We've got really labour-intensive things

like peas that need to be shelled, corn that needs to be prepped,

finger limes that need to be squeezed out.

We've got micro herbs to pick, radishes to chop, tomatoes to chop,

so a lot of little pieces that are gonna need to come together

to form this puzzle that is our salad.

You've got so much going on.

Like, you've got loads of flavours now, like really strong flavours.

Yep.

Just make sure they all come together.

Yep. 'Cause there's a lot.

Like, you've got a lot happening. Yep.

I've followed Clare's cooking for a while now,

erm, very high fine dining.

I know her expectations for food are right up there

so it's definitely a little bit nerve-racking.

Um, at the same time, great mentorship,

happy to learn off in this kitchen.

Jesus, how do you not have bigger forearms than me?

'Cause you do this, like... Look at you!

That's enough, hey, Mon? For the gel?

Yeah. Yeah.

How are you, ladies? Good.

On the dessert section, very familiar trio.

Yes. Back here.

That's the dish?

We're doing a honey parfait, honey and thyme tuile.

We're doing a burnt honey gel, bruleed fig and...

Was that everything? It's pretty much it.

Like, a honey and macadamia dust.

Five elements. Yep.

That's it.

I feel like we've got a bit of deja vu going on here.

How?

Remember Shannon Bennett came in here and you guys won the day

and after it, I was like,

"The girls had the biggest MasterChef lesson in here

"that people struggle to find their whole careers"

but now I feel like you're going straight back there...

OK. ..with overcomplicating things.

Yep.

Was your worry that you weren't featuring the honey enough?

And that's...? Yep. Yeah.

It's in four elements, I think. Yep.

Four elements.

JOCK: Think of who you're cooking with today. It's Clare Smyth.

Every element needs to be refined.

You're gonna struggle to get five elements super refined.

Mm.

I'm telling you.

Good luck. Thank you.

This is getting a bit stressful.

We really have to figure out what we're going to keep

and what we're going to leave off.

Let's take off the burnt honey gel. Honey gel?

Yep. Take away the macadamias.

But the risk of keeping things simple is that everything has to be perfect.

I'm not tasting the honey. No, neither am I.

I'm not tasting the thyme. Yep.

That tuile needs to be perfect. Yeah, I know, I know.

There can't be room for error.

Listen up, Clare Smyth is in the kitchen and so are your diners.

You've got 30 minutes to go!

ALI: Far out.

Oh, my God.

Hello, everyone.

This is actually insane.

Flipping heck!

We should probably get the fish on soon. (CHUCKLES)

This is a really great flavour, it's really about how you balance that.

Alright, guys, let's keep motoring. Yes, chef.

The diners just rocked up so it's go-time.

We're looking pretty good.

Sashi's rendering the breast, Tommy's just finishing off our gastrique.

I've gotta finish the jus.

We're looking good but we've got a lot to do.

The big pressure point for us today is cooking the duck absolutely perfectly.

Then obviously having enough cherry flavour through our dish.

Think we've ticked that part of the brief, as long as it all balances out and tastes good together.

Clare, pivotal time in a service challenge,

30 minutes to go till service.

How are they looking? OK. I would say that

but I would be nervous if I was them.

I'm always nervous going into service,

even now, I'm nervous going into service...

(ALL LAUGH) ..at this stage of my career,

and you should be, right? Yeah.

Well, I tell you what, we've got less than 30 minutes now,

you better get back in the kitchen. Definitely.

Good luck.

Getting our money's worth of Clare Smyth, aren't we?! (CHUCKLES)

MINDY: Right, how the vibes feeling, gang? We good?

Really good. Good. Yeah, great.

ALDO: Oh, look how beautiful and creamy it is.

JULIE: So Mindy's chicken liver pate is one that she does all the time

and she makes it differently to me.

Mine's a little more rustic.

But I feel really confident that she knows what she's doing.

I think we're gonna get a little bit more of that cherry on there.

This?

All the elements are finished

so we taste all these components all together

and I'm really happy with the result.

Are you happy with the balance of flavours?

We've kept that pate super mild

so it doesn't overtake the flavour of the cherries.

It's definitely all about cherries so hopefully, the judges love it.

Now it's time to get ready for service and start plating up.

How are we going team? Are we all on track?

We're GOOD. We're good. We're all on track, Mindy.

OK, teams, it's nearly time for service.

You need to start to put the finishing touches on those entrees.

You've got 10 minutes left.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

This is the vinaigrette with the gel.

MATT: That's yum. I like that.

The ingredients for our spring salad are prepped.

The honey goat's cheese and the vinaigrette is ready to go.

I'm really happy with how they taste individually

but now, it's time to put it together and see how it looks.

Just need volume, volume, volume.

I'm still really worried about volume.

'Cause we don't have a lot of like chunky textures in here.

Yeah, yeah.

There's not gonna be enough stuff on it for an entree.

Oh, my God, as I'm putting it all together,

I realise there's not enough on the plate.

It's definitely not the dish I wanted to serve at the start.

Was that what you envisaged? Nup.

What's the problem with it? Just looks sad.

I just don't know if we've got enough substance on the plate.

We just don't have...

I've never been this rattled in the kitchen, I don't think.

Do we need another herb?

Yeah, probably but...

JENN: It's not substantial enough... I know, I know.

Let's not panic and then we'll make a decision.

It feels really, really frantic right now on the Fans team.

But I look over to the Favourites and they're just so calm.

MINDY: We're fine, Jules. Yeah. Still got time, don't we?

You know, you got some fresh herbs and stuff to go on the top?

Yep. Yep. Yep, yep, yep.

I just feel really not confident.

And service starts in 10...

ALL: 9!

8! 7!

6! 5!

4! 3!

2! 1!

That's it. Well done.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Well done, team!

JOCK: Shall we?

Pate, crostini, jam, pickle, fresh, dorrigo.

Yep.

Everything ready. We're about to start plating.

I think we have a good dish.

CLARE: You know, you guys are quite organised.

Take your time and make sure that they're really beautiful.

Making sure they're exactly the same.

What I love about the flavours of our entree

is that it just speaks cherry.

We've got the chicken liver pate, we've got a chutney,

we've got pickled cherries, we've got fresh cherries,

we've got a cherry gel

and everything else is just adding a little bit of dimension,

texture and flavour, which really rounds out the dish.

So on the other side, cherry.

Are you doing a production line?

Yeah. I mean, this is how I like to do service.

Cool. Let's go, service, please. Service.

Thank you. ANDY: Thank you.

OK, so the first dish,

the entree from the Favourites

is Chicken Liver Pate With Cherries.

Well, I really liked the presentation.

I thought it was part way between super fine and a little bit rustic.

I love a chicken liver pate

and it's all about the richness of the flavour of those livers.

It's a lovely texture,

but unfortunately, in this particular pate...

..it could be any kind of meat.

The elements of the cherries, the chutney, I really liked,

it had a lovely sweet-sourness to it.

And the pickled cherries and the fresh cherries, also,

I liked that.

And I think what's happened here

is in their attempt to make the cherries shine,

they've really pulled back on a lot of the flavour in there.

You can't taste chicken liver anymore.

The other problem is it's over oxidised,

which also affects the flavour.

It's been made in a blender from start to finish,

think it was a great idea, though. Yep.

Um, it's just poorly executed. Yeah.

I think she's a bit on edge. MATT: I know, I know.

HARRY: Service has started and we are still not ready.

I really just need to get a plate up.

Um, we need to taste everything for seasoning before we decide, um,

how they're gonna go out.

Finally, it clicks in my head what is missing in the dish.

I run into the pantry and get some cos lettuce

and I'm like, "That's what we're going for."

Run back, throw it at the team, say, "I need this washed.

"I need this clean. I need this ready to go."

So let's start with the base, let's start to build a plate together. OK.

Let's get it dressed, seasoned really nicely

and then start dressing. As you start dressing,

start thinking about height and things like that.

I think this needs to go on first and create some lift

then we can put it around it, then we can build on top of the cos.

Are you happy with it, Harry, though, yeah?

Yep.

This is pretty good. This is pretty good.

We're in and we're going.

Alright, let's go.

There's beautiful big bits of cos lettuce

that are dressed in the vinaigrette,

the peas, the radish, the baby corn.

Matt's beautiful goat's cheese mousse, Jenn's gel dotted around it.

Service.

I just hope there's enough on the plate to impress the judges.

Thank you. ANDY: Thank you.

Alright, and from the Fans, their entree of Honey Spring Salad.

I was so worried about this dish,

right up until the 10-second countdown, frankly.

This is transformed.

Now there was a kind of equal quantity of peas, radish, lettuce,

toasted rye bread

and then the dressing over the top of it tied it all together.

Meanwhile, you've got mouthful after mouthful of popping peas,

crunchy radish, crunchy lettuce,

you know, a smooth texture from the whipped goat's cheese.

It's a dish that's surprisingly, I ended up really liking.

Well, with a...dish like this,

you might be able to win friends with salad.

Because it was fresh, it was interesting, it was balanced,

it had lots of texture going on.

That was really fun and refreshing to eat.

And an entree should be refreshing

and set you up for the next course to come.

I think for Harry, the whole way throughout this cook,

she was having all of these elements but there was no real clear vision

on how this thing was going to come together on the plate.

The honey was there, it was featured really well,

from five minutes out till service, this dish has been fully transformed.

Yep.

Into something that's a really pleasant entree.

ALI: OK, last few, yeah? Let's push it out.

It's pretty much make or break, really.

So the entrees are out, we really need to get motoring,

we are up soon and we are behind.

Really gonna have to get Daniel getting this fish going, pronto.

Can you cook more than two pieces at a time?

I think I should maybe fit three. Yeah.

I'd do that because we're gonna run short on time. Yep.

The entree guys are smashing it, they've just sent theirs out.

Service! CLARE: Service, let's go.

The mains service is about to start.

We've prepped up and we've filleted six coral trout

so I'm gonna get on to cooking them all.

We're off.

Cooking fish over a Hibachi is something quite new to me.

I haven't... I don't own a Hibachi but I've done it over coals

and over grilled barbecues several times.

But doing it in this environment

is obviously a little bit nerve-racking.

Hopefully, I can pull it off.

How do you reckon the skin will go with...

On the Hibachi? Yeah.

I was hoping it's gonna get lovely and charred and delicious.

Do you KNOW that it'll get lovely and charred and delicious?

Erm, well...

Over fire, that's very difficult. Yeah.

I can tell you now, this is a very technical dish.

You're taking a huge risk.

Good luck. Thank you.

The cook of the fish is critical.

Can't believe we're doing a Hibachi in a service challenge.

(LAUGHS) Let's go.

The chariness of the skin is really going to be what cuts through

the sweetness of the honey.

90% of the dish is gonna rest on this.

So yeah, I mean, it's a tall order

but I think if we can pull it off, it'll be really great.

MICHAEL: Tommy, this duck's pulled, ready to go.

MINDY: Where are you guys at? Duck's good?

Duck's good. Our jus's done.

We're happy with that. OK.

Our garnish is ready, our pulled duck leg is ready

so we're looking pretty good.

One of the things that Clare does so well is make her dishes look perfect

and we need to make sure we nail that as well.

Although the cook's gone really well,

the other pressure point in today's challenge

is making sure the plate-up goes really perfectly.

These ones here are spot on.

Awesome, thank you.

SASHI: Looks beautiful, man. TOMMY: Amazing.

MINDY: Hey, what a team. You guys looking for a job?

Only if you pay for our accommodation in Byron Bay.

Service, please!

Thank you.

Alright.

OK, this is pretty elegant.

This is the main from the Favourites

of very simple titled Duck & Cherries.

ANDY: Duck and cherries by the Faves.

The cook on duck is really nice.

Super tender, seasoned really well as well.

Then the sauce, I think the sauce is absolutely luxury.

Yep. I dug it.

It was like shining and gleaming off the plate.

Like, it was really well done

and I think probably between Michael and Sashi,

like, those two guys are like the sauce gods in this kitchen.

And those pickled cherries and those fresh cherries on top, that's...

..just bulk flavour.

I think they've produced

an extremely tasty, elegant plate of food.

JOCK: I really enjoyed this dish. The duck, perfectly cooked.

Loved the nice simple sliced modern way of plating.

It was a beautifully executed dish.

It's very much a dish that features the wonderful qualities of cherries,

especially when paired with duck.

Um...a classic dish, to be sure.

Are they sending their mains already?

They are sending their mains. OK.

Boys, we need fish as soon as you can.

DANIEL: It is what it is.

It's like, "We need fish." I don't have fish. (CHUCKLES)

Nah, look, we knew this was gonna be a challenge.

It is being a challenge.

We can only work as fast as the fish is gonna cook, you know?

OK, guys, how long is it still...?

It's just coming off.

Are they're just... They're just sticking, really badly.

Daniel's really trying to get his fish absolutely perfect

but the problem is the fish is now sticking.

The skin ain't going crispy.

We're really running out of time.

We got any fish ready? Just give us a sec.

That's...bad, bro. It's bad.

We really need char on that skin.

VOICEOVER: Missed an episode of MasterChef?

enjoy another serving or savour past seasons at:

HARRY: Boys, we need fish as soon as you can!

DANIEL: Bad, bro, it's bad.

Uh, they're just... They're just sticking, really badly.

Daniel's really trying to get his fish absolutely perfect

but the fish is now sticking and we're really running out of time.

We got any fish ready? Just give us a sec.

And I need to think of a solution because that skin has to be crispy.

CLARE: Just make sure you don't overcook it, OK?

We need to work out how many cherries we want per slice.

Everything's sort of coming together pretty well

for the black forest dessert.

The semifreddo's freezing in the blast chiller.

The sponge cake is cooling down in the fridge.

We've got the cherry sauce on the go and the cherry gel on the go.

Everything seems pretty calm in our little side of the kitchen.

Just have to pause sometimes and have fun.

Gotta have fun along the way, right? We do. We do.

But I can see that there's problems happening on the Fans team.

They still haven't sent out the main yet.

ALI: Have you got some fish up, guys?

How are we going...? (GASPS) Don't!

It's obvious that things are slightly falling apart.

We want to tidy this up really quickly now.

Somebody get the blowtorch, please.

Somebody get the blowtorch and go over these fish.

Quickly, start at this end.

Somebody get a blowtorch, start at this end.

Once the fish comes off the Hibachi,

I decide to blast it really hard with a blowtorch

to try and get a char on that skin.

'Course it's stressful.

Why wouldn't it be? (LAUGHS)

You know, they're ahead, it doesn't mean they've won.

Let's get it finished.

HARRY: Beautiful, mate.

OK, Service?

Service! Service, guys.

When the first plates go out, it's an absolute relief.

But to be honest,

I am worried the skin isn't quite as charred as we would have wanted.

The fish is cooked perfectly, I can see that,

so I'm hoping that will be enough.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Wow. OK.

So, from the Fans, their main of

Smoked Honey Glazed Coral Trout.

So, on the menu, it says 'charred honey glazed coral trout'.

And it is charred, right, there's a smokiness on there.

I was kinda expecting a...

..a full sort of burnt char.

Instead of that, it's kind of like...

..charred a little bit and it's soft, sticky skin.

The fish itself, though, cooked perfectly.

If we got what we were promised, which was, you know, gnarly, dark,

caramelised skin with beautiful smoked charred honey glaze

over the top of it,

then I feel like everything else could have worked.

It looks the part but when you dive into the detail of it,

it's not connecting the way that it should.

It's not a bad dish by any means. No.

I think they've done a really good job.

Is it a winning dish for...for the Fans today?

Dunno.

You eat with your eyes, especially with dessert,

so we just need to make sure, like, first thing they see is just cherry.

Well done, Billie.

I think it's delicious.

BILLIE: I'm loving the flavours of this dish.

It's sort of like a reinvented black forest cake.

So yeah, I think it looks really inviting and tasty.

If it tastes as good as the main course, you'll be in a good place.

Oh, right. Ooh, really. OK.

We have all hands on deck to get this dessert out.

Aldo and Julie are putting the cake on the plate.

Sashi and Michael are getting the semifreddoes for the plate.

Mindy is piping, Minoli's piping and I'm putting the sauce on the plate.

Stunning.

We're all just focused on getting these dishes out.

ALVIN: How are we going? Do we have four?

CLARE: Is this is the hardest dish? Yep.

It's the last impression, isn't it. Madness.

Have you tasted it, guys, all together?

ALL: Yeah. Were you happy with it?

Yeah. And is there enough cherries?

Was there enough cherries when you tasted it?

Having Clare ask if there's enough cherry is a little nerve-racking,

especially at this stage.

But honestly, I'm really happy with the flavours of this dish.

It's turned out how I wanted it to and I feel like it is balanced.

Service, please.

I'm really hoping this dish is good enough

to get us into the immunity challenge.

Yeah, we'll have to see what the judges say.

Thank you. Thank you.

OK.

And from the Faves, their dessert

of Flavours Of Black Forest.

First and foremost, the textures are delicious.

The cake has a dense, almost mud-like quality to it,

which is lovely and decadent.

I think the semifreddo has a light airy texture to it.

Nice and bitter.

That sauce is lovely and glossy and rich in texture.

The cherries are beautifully presented in halves

and then the gel, beautifully piped.

But when you really taste everything together,

are you really tasting much cherry at all?

Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head there.

I get beautiful chocolate, I get a lovely texture of parfait, um,

and then I get spices with a hint of cherry.

Um, and I just don't think they've hit the mark here today.

STEPH: Do you wanna see this? It's really...

Yep. Are they...? How do they taste?

So main service is over, now, finally, it's time for desserts

and we're ready to roll.

We're pretty much finish, all the parfaits are done,

the tuiles are finished.

It's just a matter of getting everything together

and getting it out to the diners.

All the parfaits are set, everything's good, yeah?

You wanna see the plating and what you think?

MELANIE: Yeah, do you wanna suss that out a little.

Our little desserty baby.

With a simple dish like ours, everything has to be perfect.

Oh!

Steph! Steph, she collapsed.

Our plated-up one collapsed. Like, proper collapsed.

Oh, my God, Melanie has got the test plate out of the freezer

and it looks like the parfait has melted.

They literally start melting

as soon as you take them out of the blast freezer...

This is not good.

Steph! Steph, she collapsed.

Our plated up one collapsed. Like, proper collapsed.

Oh, my God. The parfait has melted.

This is not good.

MONTANA: I'm slightly worried.

It is very, very warm in here,

so it will be a matter of having to get it on the plate

and out to the diners as quickly as possible.

Alright, guys, these need to go, like, ASAP.

This is getting a bit stressful.

There's only three elements, so this dish has to be perfect.

Let's go, 'cause it's starting to melt already. The plates are warm.

Just, yeah, hold off. I would do two at a time.

If I was you just get the service straightaway.

Service. Yep. Service, please.

Let's go, let's go. As soon as you've got it ready.

Service, please! Let's not let it go.

Thank you.

So here we have the dessert from the Fans.

It is a honey parfait with figs and thyme.

It looks brilliant.

It looks so good. So good!

Yeah.

I didn't think, when I was chatting to them,

that it was going to come out looking like this.

Yeah.

That's a fantastic tuile recipe.

That was a masterclass in elegant restraint.

It really, really was, in every element.

The parfait is gorgeous.

This particular honey is very floral.

It's very light, it's very pretty,

and that definitely sings throughout.

This is the opportunity, the dessert course,

to really amp up the sweet qualities of honey.

It's there without being cloying,

which is definitely a danger when it comes to honey.

It's just really been pulled back.

And I think the result is super successful.

In terms of balance, flavour, simplicity,

technique, choosing the right ingredients,

it is all there.

Classic flavours just done perfectly.

They're in with a big chance today.

Nice, big, last service, guys, yeah?

Yeah, well done.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

Well done. Such a good job.

Service, please!

Thanks.

Ah...we're done!

Yeah, I'm really happy with the dessert we pulled out.

We had a lot of help at the end,

but, yeah, happy with what we sent out.

I'd love to win today.

I've not beat the Fans yet in the dessert team,

so a win would give me the chance at immunity tomorrow.

ALL: Whoo!

Thanks, Clare! Yeah!

Well, well, well, how about that? What a service.

Clare, were you impressed with what you've seen today?

Yeah, so impressed.

Almost like every time I come back, the contestants get better.

You know, both teams just cooked at a really high level.

You should be super proud of yourselves.

Look, it's been an honour and a pleasure

having you in the MasterChef kitchen.

Everybody, please thank Clare Smyth. Come on!

Yeah!

In today's service challenge, it's winner takes all.

Which means if a team wins two out of three courses,

you're into immunity.

Fans, we had our doubts about your entree right up until service,

but with Claire's guidance,

you plated up a beautifully balanced dish,

and I'm happy to say...

..you won that course.

Favourites...

..the planting of your main was elegant.

The breast was tender,

the leg was rich,

and the jus was luxury.

And that's why you won the main course.

Oh, well done!

So, as it so often does,

it all came down to dessert.

One of your desserts was dish of the day.

It was restrained, refined

and celebrated Clare's philosophy

of putting the core ingredient squarely in the spotlight.

And that dish...

..was cooked by...

..the Fans.

(LAUGHS EXCITEDLY)

Three from three.

Congratulations, Steph, Montana and Melanie, you've done it again.

The Fans have won. We're so ecstatic.

We can't believe that we've beat the Favourites again.

That's insane.

Congratulations. Good job.

OK, Fans, you're all into immunity.

So, time to go home, pat yourselves all on the back,

but get a good night's sleep,

'cause trust me, you've got a big day tomorrow.

See you, guys.

Well done to you guys too.

Hat trick in the MasterChef kitchen. I don't know how often it happens.

Hopefully we keep it going.

What's after a hat trick? What's the fourth?

Let's go again!

VOICEOVER: Tomorrow night on MasterChef Australia...

ALI: I'm feeling really razzed up.

It's actually quite intense.

..it's the Fans' first immunity cook

all to themselves.

MELANIE: I'll be stoked for whoever makes it through,

but, you know, we all want it.

Who will win

and be safe from Sunday's elimination?

Captions by Red Bee Media