All language subtitles for MasterChef.Australia.S15E25.1080p.HDTV.H264-CBFM

NARRATOR: Previously
on MasterChef Australia...

..our home cooks took on
titans of the industry...

From Serai in Melbourne,
Ross Magnaye and his team!

Let's go!

..in a whole week
of David versus Goliath battles.

CATH: We're taking on
the professionals at their own game.

They bravely tried to win
bragging rights and immunity...

BRENT: I've just gotta back myself
and go for it.

ROSS: It's a challenge.
I'm competitive, bro. We wanna win.

..with dishes
that were out of this world.

JOCK: That is delicious.
It's so good.

MELISSA: Flawless.
Absolutely incredible dish.

But three times out of four,
the professionals prevailed.

Oh! (LAUGHS)

Tonight...
(DRAMATIC CHORAL MUSIC)

..a demonstration...

ADI: This is
a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

..and an elimination
with a global superstar.

(UPBEAT MUSIC)

CATH: We deep-breathe.
MALISSA: Yep. Breathe in.

Yeah.
Just breathe in.

(EXHALES)
Breathe out. (LAUGHS)

Yeah.
RUE: How are you feeling, Ralphie?

Well, you know, kinda a bit nervous.
Yeah.

It's black-apron day.

BRENT: What's it gonna be? Hey?

Good luck today, guys!

Maybe if we all do well,
they'll just let us all stay.

ADI: Yeah, wouldn't that be nice?
(LAUGHS)

PHIL: Looking around at the cooks
that are here,

it's getting stiffer
and stiffer competition.

In.
(APPLAUSE AND CHEERING)

The dishes are getting better.

The level of flavours and complexity
that people are putting up.

Morning!
Good morning!

It'll be tough to stay
in the competition from here on out.

Good morning, everyone.
ALL: Good morning!

(LAUGHS) All this week, you've been
head-to-head against the pros

and, unfortunately,
you're standing here today

because you were unable to beat them
in a classic MasterChef challenge.

But don't be disheartened

because today you are in for
a little surprise.

Ooh!

Today, we're being joined
by someone we all know and love.

RALPH: Ooh.

He owns a string of
renowned restaurants,

two of which
sit on the coast of NSW.

(CONTESTANTS MUTTER)

They're beloved for serving
fresh, simple seafood.

He's an unlikely celebrity chef

and has been gracing our screens
since 1985.

Oh, wow.

With over 25 cookbooks
and over 30 TV programs...

..of course you know
who I'm talking about,

it's Rick Stein!

(ALL CHEER)

(RAUCOUS APPLAUSE AND CHEERING)

CATH: What?! THE Rick Stein!
It's just...

I'm just jumping for joy.

(CATH SQUEALS EXCITEDLY)

(CATH SCREAMS)

Morning.

That's him! That's him!

ADI: My mum loves him!

Hello, mate! Good to see you.
Good to see you.

Come on!

Rick, welcome back
to the MasterChef kitchen.

Lovely to be back, I must say.

How have you been?
Yeah, really well.

Travel back on?
Yes.

Tell me somewhere far-flung
that you've been recently.

Well, I haven't been anywhere
apart...

Oh, yeah, I went to Iceland.

Oh, Ice... Pfft!
It wasn't very nice.

(RALPH MUTTERS)
That's for fishing with my boys.

Wow.
And where else have I been?

France, of course, Greece,
Italy, Spain. It was nice.

You join us every year.

You stand here, you're looking at
a whole new line-up of contestants.

What do you think when you see
all these new fresh faces?

As I'm a bit of an old dude,

what I really like
about younger people

is just their...their enthusiasm
and their hope

and their sort of expectations
out of life, you know.

It just invigorates me.

Adi, you're smiling ear to ear.
Big fan of Rick?

Big fan of yours, Rick.

I feel like I've got your show on,
like, almost all the time.

Your food always feels
really accessible,

but you're also really respectful
of where it comes from,

which I really appreciate.

I'm just so thrilled
that you're here.

(LAUGHS)

Well! (LAUGHS)

Today, Rick is gonna show us
one of his cooking secrets.

Rick, what are you gonna show us?

Well, I'm gonna actually
clean a squid for you

because it's much better,
if you can, to buy a whole squid.

Basically because
they look so beautiful,

it just enthuses you and I think
that's true about produce generally.

If it looks good,
it makes you cook better, you know?

So, I just want to do justice to it.

Rick Stein, who I've only
ever seen on television,

and now he's giving us
a masterclass.

This is
a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Look at those.

(WHISTLES) Beautiful.

I don't think I need to tell you
just how fresh those are.

But I will tell you
how fresh they are.

(LAUGHTER)

And, um, what I'm looking at
is the sheen on them.

They've got a wonderful shine
about them.

Beautiful.

So, I'm going to show you
how to prepare one.

You have the head, the tentacles
and the body.

And the first thing to do

is just to pull the head
and tentacles away from the body.

Like that.

And out will come all the innards.

PHIL: Rick is great. He's kinda like
the David Attenborough of food.

He's just got that soothing voice
and he just engages you right away.

And find the little backbone
to the squid and pull that out too.

There it is.

Getting a squid demo from
the seafood man himself - how good!

Life's good.

Now, then, I'm gonna cut
the tentacles away

from just in front
of the eyes like that.

That's good.

What we want to do now
is just squeeze this

and get the little beak
and we cut that out.

RALPH: I love eating squid,
but I've never cooked squid before.

So, I'm trying to take in
as much as I can

so that I can actually try
and perfect this.

You can eat the skin.
It's perfectly edible.

And it looks good if you want a bit
of a rugged finish to your dish.

But today I'm gonna take it off.

Just find a bit of purchase

and just pull it...pull it off.

THEO: I'm pretty comfortable
with squid.

I just love the way
he's going about it,

cleaning his,
because I often don't take skin off

and, yeah, I just love
watching him work, it's great.

I'm gonna just show you two ways
of preparing the tube.

The easiest way
and the most common way

would be to cut them into rings,
which is just like that.

This is so tender, this.
You're gonna love cooking with it.

And you can cut them a bit wider
if you like and cook them simply

and don't overcook them.

Aim for about a minute, no more.
30 seconds to a minute.

Of course, the other way

is you just do a little diamond
pattern across like that.

As you cook them, they'll curl up
in that really attractive way.

Whoo!
(APPLAUSE)

And there are zero prizes
for guessing

what round 1 is actually about.

CATH: Yeah.

You're gonna be cooking
with calamari.

(CONTESTANTS LAUGH)

Use what you've just learnt

and bring us a quick and delicious
calamari dish.

You'll have a total of 45 minutes

to bring us something
absolutely delicious.

Whew!
OK.

And the four least impressive dishes
in round 1,

they'll send their makers
into round 2

from where one of you will go home.

(TENSE MUSIC)

So, make the most of your time
because it starts now!

MALISSA: Ohh! Let's go!

Oh, have fun, guys.
Have fun, guys, cooking for Rick.

PHIL: Mate, just cook good,
just cook good.

I need pepper, pepper,
pepper, pepper.

Today I'm making
salt and pepper squid.

The reason for that is
it's the only squid I've eaten

and it's the only squid I can
kind of familiarise flavours with.

Has anyone seen shallots?

Pardon? What are you looking for?
Shallots.

Yeah, over here.
Jeez. It was right in front of me.

If it was a snake,
it would have bitten me.

MALISSA: Where's the fish sauce?

ADI: Um....fish sauce is here.
Oh, thanks, darling.

CATH: Oh!

Seafood is not my strength.

But I'm really excited
about pushing myself.

Alright, come on, Cath.
Let's get to it now.

Being a black-apron day today, I
really wanna think outside the box.

(SIGHS) OK.

CATH: Just relax. Enjoy it.

Just have fun. Have fun!

Yep.

Awesome. Look where you are.

Rick Stein's in the house.

Rick has just highlighted how
beautiful and fresh this squid is.

Let's go. This is gonna be epic!

So I'm gonna do
just a little squid ceviche

with some, um, tropical flavours.

Really fresh and zesty.

Alright, OK, let's go for it.

(MUTTERS)

Let's get this tricky skin off,
shall we?

Now, this is gonna be
the important, Cath.

(TENSE MUSIC)

PHIL: The skin is
an absolute nightmare.

THEO: Yeah, I'm not taking it off.

I think I've got some ink.

Yeah.
Beauty.

So, what are you looking for?
What are we looking for?

Less ingredients.
Yeah.

You know, like, I think
that's gonna be the key today

to make the squid shine.

I'd do a som tam and... Yeah.
Beautiful.

That's what I'd do.

And really lightly cook the squid
and fold it through that salad.

Yeah.
Like, really sharp, really punchy.

Or the best tempura going, you know.

Yeah.

Like, gossamer-thin tempura...
Yeah.

..dropped in the oil and out.

The world is your oyster.
You can do anything at all with it.

Everywhere from raw
through to a slow braise.

Yeah. Yeah.
And everything in between.

ANTONIO:
Let's go, Rue, let's go, Rue!

RUE: I have decided to do
a seafood stew.

I just want this to get
as much flavour as it can

in a short amount of time.

The shells of the prawns
and the heads of the prawns,

they have so much flavour.

If I can get as much of that
in my stew, that would be awesome.

So I've picked a small pot and I'm
doing everything in small portions.

Feels like... I think I need salt.

Rue, this is Rick.
Hello!

Hi, Rue.
(LAUGHS) I know.

You know?

Good.
I know.

I am fangirling hard.
Oh.

The smells...
Really good.

..from your bench are...
OK.

..very good.
There's prawn heads in there too.

OK, yeah, so I'm making a prawn stew

and I was thinking I would cook
my squid in the sauce.

That's interesting, actually.
Yeah?

I mean, if you get it right,
it'll be lovely.

(LAUGHS) Yeah.
Sorry to be...

No, no. I think that that's fair.

So, um, I'm trying to pack
as much flavour as I can

and I'll reduce it a little bit
with some tomatoes

and then I am going
to quickly blitz it.

Hopefully I'm not
taking on too much.

There's not a lot of liquid
in there, so it will...

Condense.
..concentrate quite quickly.

Yeah.
Make it a good one.

Thanks, Mel. OK.
Cheers.

Yep.

I'm hoping that this plate of food
actually proves to the judges

that I can pack a lot of flavour
in a stew in 45 minutes.

All we need is one
delicious squid dish.

You've only got 30 minutes to do it!

RHIANNON: Yeah, go, guys! Whoo!

RALPH: Whoo-hoo! 30 minutes. Jesus.

THEO: I am cooking peri-peri squid
because I love the flavours

and you can cook the squid
very quickly on the fire,

which just really imparts
that smoky flavour, which I love.

RHIANNON: Go, Gracie.

Um, so I'm making an ajvar sauce
with squid on top.

Ajvar is a traditional
Croatian sauce.

Velvety capsicum and eggplant.

It's sweet but it's a little bit,
um, smoky from the charring.

It's a feast for the eyes, anyway.
That's right.

Look at this pan of joy!
Yeah, a little, uh...

Oh, it's lovely.
I love the curry leaves in there.

I'm gonna, uh, do sort of a bit
of a Sri Lankan spin on the squid.

Ol' curry, very alive, fragrant.
Yeah.

It's just a sauce, the squid and
then some, um, crispy curry leaves.

RHIANNON: Go, Declan.

DECLAN: As soon as I saw Rick Stein
walk through the doors,

I've just put so much pressure
on myself

because I'm the seafood guy

and Rick is an idol of mine...

You know what? I'm not sure
it makes a lot of difference.

..in the way he works with seafood.

It's awesome to have, um, Rick here
and I'm doing something that I love,

so, you know, I've taken a lot
on board the last few weeks

and it's just, like,
simplicity is key.

Yeah, I just really
wanna not take away

from...from how beautiful and great
squid is to work with, yeah.

Fish and...and seafood
is something I'm so confident with

and I'm in my element.

RHIANNON: What are you doing, Dec?

Just gonna tenderise it to start.

Yeah.

I juice kiwifruits. Marinate
the squid in that kiwifruit juice.

It's a method that I do at home
to tenderise it.

MELISSA: Hello, Declan.
Hello.

Hi, Declan.
Rick, how are you?

Good.

One fish-obsessive to another.
The pleasure is mine.

Oh.
(LAUGHS)

And for you, Mel. Always a pleasure.
Thank you so much.

Lots going on here.
Yeah!

Yeah. Yeah, it's coming together.
Fill us in.

So I'm just gonna do a squid
on the hibachi.

Yeah.

I've got a little
lemon, uh, ginger dressing.

And then I've got some pork.
Some pork chorizo.

What do you think about
the flavour combo?

As soon as you put chorizo
with something,

you're compromising everything else.

Yeah.

Taking a risk?
Yeah.

I really wanna impress Rick,
but he's not sure about my dish

and now I'm building up
with a head noise

and putting a lot of pressure
on myself.

It's just all a bit overwhelming.

you're compromising everything else.

Yeah.

Taking a risk?
Yeah.

I've got so much pressure on myself
to impress Rick.

Thank you very much.

But risk on a black-apron day
this far into the competition,

I'm pulling out of that.

I'm ditching the pork sausage,
the chorizo.

It's such a strong flavour

and I want to emphasise
the sweetness of the squid.

I'm just gonna stick with what I know
and that's squid.

I know I still need that salty
element brought into the dish.

So I grab some anchovies

that I can crush up and put in my
sauce I'm gonna baste that squid in.

I'm just hoping the flavours
work well together.

I don't want to be
in this round 2 cook.

I really need to up my game

and I need to put something good
on the plate today.

(TENSE MUSIC)

So I'm gonna do
a Maharastrian squid curry today.

Maharashtrian seafood curries
are really punchy.

They have a lot of coconut and
a lot of lime or tamarind or kokum,

lots of different tangy flavours

that really complement
the seafood well.

Hi, Adi!

Hi, Mel. Hi, Rick.
Hi, Adi. Hi.

Um, you just lit up when you heard
the Rick Stein being bellowed.

Yeah. I needed to, like,
pull myself together.

So, Rick, I'm originally from India,

but I actually have not cooked
Indian food in this kitchen yet.

Really?
Yeah.

How come?
I don't know.

This is unheard of!

I like cooking
from around the world.

Talk to us about why this dish.

So the state of India that I come
from, which is called Maharashtra,

is really famous for seafood.

I know it well.
It's coastal.

Filmed there.
Yes, I'm sure you would.

Big on coconut and sour flavours.

The first great fish curries I had
were in Goa.

Which is next door to Maharashtra.
Next door to Maharashtra, yes.

So, I mean, and the tartness,
I'm full of enthusiasm for that.

Bring it on home!
I will. Thank you so much, guys!

Whoo-hoo-hoo!

Rick Stein in the house!
It's Rick Stein.

Talking to me about my curry.

Oh, it's amazing, isn't it?
Yeah.

Ooh!

I feel pressure making Indian food
in this kitchen

because I so want to do it justice

and I want to make my family proud.

I was born in India,

but my parents moved to Australia
when I was just a year old.

Growing up,
I ate a lot of Indian food

and my mum was a fantastic cook.

But I never really learnt
how to make it.

That's why I went
and saw my grandma.

(SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

I recently went to India.

My grandma taught me how to, like,
roll a chapati properly.

And I learnt curries
from my whole extended family.

My heritage and India
is such a diverse country

and even the food culture
is so varied,

so I'm very proud of it.

RHIANNON: That smells amazing, Adi.

Thank you!

MasterChef Australia
is a really big deal in India

and a lot of my family watch it,

so I really want to show them that,
"Hey, I'm on this show.

"I'm cooking our food
and I'm doing it well."

PHIL: Yes, Phil's using chillies.

Phil.
Jock, Andy, how are we?

There's a bit going on here.
First time with squid.

There is a bit.
Tell us the dish.

I'm doing a confit
scallops and squid.

I'm gonna make a little tomato
vinaigrette number to pour through.

Is that what this is?
No.

This is some cauliflower that
I'm just giving a little pickle to.

It's also going to go into the dish.

Pickled cauliflower?
Yes.

OK.
Right.

And is this
your little tomato number here?

Yes. Yes, it is. That's just
the tomato juice for now.

Right. What are you
gonna add to that?

'Cause it's literally
tomato water right now.

These aromats.
All that gear?

Yeah. Yeah.
Wow. OK.

You have a bit going on.
You've got so much to do.

I'm not talking to you any longer.
OK. Thanks, guys.

I need to add the aromats
into that tomato vinaigrette.

Calamari and scallop are a bit more
on the meatier side

when it comes to seafood,

so I think they can stand up
to those flavours

of the ginger, coriander, limes.

But if I don't balance
those flavours

in the pickle and the vinaigrette,

then it could overpower
the whole dish

and kind of dull the...the flavour
of the...the squid.

Which is the main element
of the challenge today.

It's a bit of a risk, but
I'm going to give it my best shot

and cook my heart out.

Whoo! It's punchy.

You might be cooking with squid,
but this is no game!

15 minutes to go!
(APPLAUSE)

RHIANNON: Yeah! Go, guys! Come on!
You're all going awesome!

CATH: Right.
It's going very, very quickly.

Let's stir it.

RALPH: So today I'm making
salt and pepper squid

with a chilli vinaigrette.

I'm going against Malissa
right next to me

and we kinda got similar dishes.

Yeah, it's a bit daunting,

but I need to do the best I can
and put my best foot forward.

MALISSA: Who doesn't love
a good salt and pepper calamari?

It's something
you'd eat on the beach.

It's something simple,
but hopefully I can nail it.

So I am making a prawn stew
with, um, some poached calamari.

Poached squid!

I'm tasting the stew so far.

And I'm liking the flavours
that are in them.

Oh! Bloody hell.

But it tastes really prawny,
I'm not gonna lie.

Hey, Rue.
Hello.

Your dish is about calamari?
Yes. So...

So you're making a prawn stew?
(LAUGHS)

I'm confused.

The squid is being cooked
in the stew.

OK.
Yeah.

OK.
OK.

Alright.
Yeah?

Some decent flavour going on there.
OK.

But you just don't want to, like,
over...overtake the beautiful squid.

What this is about. OK.
Seasoning, balance.

Make the calamari sing.
OK.

Yeah.
Yeah.

ANTONIO: Let's go, Rue!
Oh, my gosh!

(SIGHS)

Is...is this the right dish?

Ahh! It's too late.
Like, there's no time to change now.

I'm going to have
to balance that sauce

to make sure that you're not
tasting more prawn than squid.

You got sugar?

Yeah, I do. You need some?
Oh, I got some of Ralph's.

(TENSE MUSIC)

I'm doing a charred squid
on the hibachi.

Some fennel.

A little bit of watercress.

After a couple of alterations,

I'm going to be serving it with some
blanched fennel and watercress

with anchovies and citrus dressing.

My squid goes on the hibachi

and this is the main element
of today's dish,

so I really need to nail
the cook on this squid.

Maybe a bit more on there.

I really want the squid to have
that fresh, citrus punch to it.

So the hood comes off.
I'm happy with the cook on that.

I take the tentacles off.
So it is a bit of an uneven cook.

The hood's more consistent,

whereas some tentacles
are sitting up a bit more,

sitting off on the side and stuff.

Come on and cook, cook, cook!

I've really got to leave it on there
sort of till the last minute

till I know it's got
a nice thorough cook.

CATH: I'm making the brine
for my squid ceviche.

Even though you're eating
the squid raw,

the brine does cook the squid
a little bit.

Well, the pressure's on.

I'm just trying to cut up all...
everything so finely and delicately.

I'm going to dice the squid
quite small.

It is going to be sitting in
this brine for about 3 to 4 minutes.

I'm excited about this.
Yeah, same.

Do you know what? I am too!
This could be an absolute banger.

I can see chilli,
shallots, pineapple.

I can see lime.
Yes.

Yep.
Um, all beautifully prepared.

That dice looks absolutely stunning
as well.

Cath, bring it together.
Get yourself on the gantry.

I'm so excited!
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)

Five minutes to go!
Let's go, guys! Come on! Hustle!

(APPLAUSE)

ADI: Today I'm doing
a Maharashtrian squid curry

which is really tart and sour.

I really want to go hard

and make sure that I've cooked
a really punchy, big dish

that is gonna keep me
definitely safe from the bottom.

I just need to make sure that
I can cook the squid perfectly.

I'm gonna poach my squid
in the curry sauce itself.

Everything is down
to the wire for me.

I'm so happy
with these flavours now.

Yes!

It just needs a little hint more
of sweetness to offset the sour.

So I'm just getting the sugar out...

Oh!

Oh, my God! It's way too much!

ADI: My curry paste...
Yes!

..just needs a little hint more
of sweetness.

Oh!

Why did you do that?
Why did you do that?

I just hope that I've not stuffed up

all of this balance that
I have spent so long working on.

'Cause an unbalanced curry
means "Hello, round 2."

You've only got 10 minutes to go!
Come on!

(APPLAUSE)
RHIANNON: Yeah, go! Come on!

ANTONIO: Let's go!

Doing alright, brother?
Yeah, mate.

Good man.

Let's do it. Let's do this, sweetie.

Come on. Give yourself enough time.

I've tried the ceviche.

Oh!

Awesome.

I'm delighted.

It's beautiful and fresh.
I love the flavours.

(WHISPERS) Let's go. Let's go.

OK. It's OK. You can do this.

(NORMAL VOICE) It looks beautiful.

Feeling really proud.

JOCK: Time's almost up!

10...

ALL: 9, 8, 7,

6, 5, 4,

3, 2, 1!

That's it!
(APPLAUSE)

(CHEERING)

My God!

Good job, brother.
Good job. Looks delicious.

RUE: I think the cook on the squid
is fine.

What I'm worried about
is just the prawn sauce.

So I hope the sauce
complements the squid

versus, um...overpowering the dish.

I hope I've done the right thing.

(FOREBODING MUSIC)

JOCK: Squid's the name
of the game today.

We're only looking for the bottom
four dishes to go into round 2.

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

ANDY: Yeah, Cath.
(APPLAUSE)

CATH: I'm feeling
really chuffed today

because I didn't play it safe.

I went out of my comfort zone.

If I go into the second round,
I've got my head held high.

I'm really, really proud.

Cath, what have you cooked us?
I've cooked squid ceviche today.

I'm gonna guess that this is
not something you do at home?

Uh, you guessed correct, yeah.
Amazing!

Yeah, well, great.

Can I just say it looks beautiful?
Thank you.

I think it looks beautiful.
I'm really proud of myself.

That's lovely.

Cath.

Ahhh! Yes! Yes!

(LAUGHS)

I am so proud of you, Cath.
Oh, thank you.

I'm so proud of you that you found
the confidence to step out

and go, "You know what, I've never
done it before but I'm gonna do it."

You got excited about the produce.
Oh. I have, yeah.

You got excited because Rick's here.

And it looked fantastic,
tasted fantastic.

Yeah, thank you.
Well done.

Yeah, thank you.

All the flavours go together
really well

and, for me, it tastes -
dare I say it? - rather Australian.

Yeah. (LAUGHS)
You know?

I mean, with the pineapple,
particularly.

Yeah.
It's so fresh.

I'm really, really enjoying it.

Thanks!
ANDY: Nice work, Cath!

Thanks, guys. Thank you! (SQUEALS)
(APPLAUSE)

I'm really stoked!
Yeah!

Whoo-hoo! I get a clap!

Mwah!

Rick Stein, he loved it.

I'm so over the moon and so proud.

I'm just... Yeah. It's a great day
in the kitchen today.

(SIGHS)

JOCK: Theo!

I made peri-peri squid.

It's stunning. Like, stunning.

The cook on the calamari is perfect.

There was a Turkish term
for a sort of barbecue king.

You're one of them.
ANDY: Nice one, Theo!

Grace.

The squid on an ajvar.

Grace, I think you did
an outstanding job today.

Thank you!
It was a very tender piece of squid.

I thought the presentation
was stunning.

Thank you!

Brent.

BRENT: Sri Lankan-inspired
charred squid.

I love it! I absolutely love it.

Well done.
Thanks, Rick. Thank you.

That's an absolute cracker.

Peaking with flavour.

And you couldn't have cooked
the squid any better.

Stunning.

Thank you.

Next up - Phil!

(APPLAUSE)

PHIL: It's a pretty plate of food.

But unless it tastes delicious
that doesn't really matter.

I'm hoping that's not
gonna see me unstuck today.

Phil, what have you cooked?

I cooked confit squid and scallops

with pickled cauliflower
and a tomato vinaigrette.

All in all,
I think I'm pretty happy.

I'm questioning the balance
with those aromats.

Needed more of a lift of...
a heavier tomato.

Sorry, where was the tomato?
I'm sorry...

Oh, in the vinaigrette.
Yeah, in the vinaigrette.

Crikey!
JOCK: You can't taste it?

I couldn't taste it.
That probably says it all, you know?

All it needed was just the slightest
bit more acidity or more freshness

to really help everything
along the way.

But we'll see where you end up.
Well done, Phil.

Thanks, guys.
(APPLAUSE)

THEO: Good job.
We'll see, we'll see.

Rue!

(APPLAUSE)

Oh, God!

Come on!

I am feeling so nervous.

Why would you make a stew
in 45 minutes?

Breathe! Breathe!
Yeah.

I'm just hoping...

..my dish is good enough to keep me

from cooking in round 2.

(EXHALES DEEPLY)

Rue, what have you cooked today?

I made a prawn sauce on the bottom

and I poached my squid in the sauce.

OK.

(EXHALES DEEPLY)

(EXHALES)

JOCK: Rue.
Yep.

I'm so happy for you!
What?!

(APPLAUSE)
What?!

What?!

It's beautiful.

The flavour that you've got in that
broth in 45 minutes is sensational.

It is just incredible.

The simplicity is beautiful in this
and the calamari is perfect.

Dishes that are so strikingly simple
like that, there's nowhere to hide.

But you didn't have to hide
anywhere, so well done.

Thank you! Wow!

I loved it.

I mean, what I liked particularly

was the stock you made
with the prawns.

And you can taste that in this
so, so well.

I mean, it's just an essence
of seafood dish.

It's just simple perfection.
Well done.

Well done, Rue.
Thank you! Oh, my gosh!

(APPLAUSE)

MELISSA: She did good.

Oh, my gosh!
I could cry tears of happiness.

Oh!
Rue!

(LAUGHS)

You doubted yourself too much.
Oh, my gosh!

Next up it's Declan!
DECLAN: It's me.

(APPLAUSE)

Hello, guys.

Hello, Declan.
Hello, hello.

What have you made us today?

Charred squid on the hibachi
with a citrus dressing.

Did it makes you nervous today
to have Rick here?

Oh, definitely. I'm just honoured to
be cooking seafood for Rick Stein,

so I hope that does it justice.

(EXHALES DEEPLY)

Well, that's...that's
very interesting.

You can taste
the barbecued effect on it.

For me, I think
the...the citrus dressing

is a little bit on the tart side.

But I just...I just
like the presentation.

I thought...I thought it was nice.

Thank you.

ANDY: Unfortunately, I got a really
thin piece and it's overcooked.

OK.

I'm looking at Mel's and hers
is maybe double, triple the size.

Same with Rick's.

Because it is a bit uneven,

it's just suffered
from the cooking process.

Sorry.

I don't think this entirely
landed for you today.

Thanks, Declan.
Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

(SIGHS) Bloody hell.

I'm pretty disappointed in myself
at this point.

JOCK: Ralph.

RALPH: Salt and pepper squid with
a chilli vinaigrette on the side.

RICK: First thing is
there's not enough salt and pepper

in...in the batter.

OK.

And that sauce, it's just
a bit overpowering, really.

No problem. Thanks, guys.
MELISSA: Thank you, Ralph.

ANDY: Malissa!

MALISSA: I've made
salt and pepper calamari

with a lime and chilli dressing
and a cucumber salad.

Again, I just thought maybe
a bit more salt and pepper.

And the sauce was
a bit...a bit strong.

ANDY: It's just not a beautiful,
crisp, clean batter.

Thanks, Malissa!
Thank you!

Thank you. (LAUGHS)

The next calamari dish we'd like
to taste belongs to Adi.

(APPLAUSE)

ADI: I rushed this dish
so much at the end

and all of the time I took balancing

could have been thrown off
with my sugar.

My family is gonna be watching
MasterChef, even back in India,

so, like, if I don't get this right,
they're all gonna know about it.

Hi, guys. Hi, Rick. (CHUCKLES)
Hi!

Ooh, look at the squid.

Adi, what have you made for us?

I've made
a Maharashtrian squid curry.

Amazing.

Adi...
Yeah?

The cook on the squid
is...is amazing.

Yeah. Thank you.

It's...absolutely set to perfection.

It's so delicious, it's so moreish.

I just wanna grab some bread
and put it in there

or dump the rest of it in that rice
and just eat it.

Like, it is...stunning cooking.
Well done.

Oh, thank you. It's made me
a bit emotional. (LAUGHS)

Very, very nice.
The squid's cooked perfectly.

It's delicious.
Very, very moreish, I would say.

MELISSA:
You executed everything perfectly.

Balanced everything
to the nth degree.

And I'm so happy for you.

So I hope this elevates your cooking

to the next level and the next level
and the next level.

Well done.
Yeah. Thank you so much, guys.

All of you.
Thank you.

Your aunties will be proud.

She skipped!
(ADI LAUGHS)

CATH: Awesome. So nice.

That was so nice.
Yeah, that was really nice.

Such a quite, like,
"Oh, I cooked my own food."

Yeah, I know! I feel like that too!

Yeah.
I can feel it.

Well, Rick Stein in the house
has raised the level of cooking,

like, double, I reckon.

The good news is that means
we ate a lot of good dishes.

The bad news,
if you weren't up there today,

you're gonna be in round 2.

(TENSE MUSIC)

The people going into round 2 are...

..Ralph...

..Malissa...

Mm-hm.

..Phil...

..and, finally...

..Declan.

Everyone else, congratulations.

You're safe.
You can head up to the gantry.

Good luck.

DECLAN: Obviously, very nervous
being in round 2,

but, you know,
I've got to shake this off

because someone is
gonna be going home.

Now, round 2, it's all about
what's under there.

Ready to find out what it is?

Yes, please.
Yes.

(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)

MALISSA: Oh!
PHIL: Yes.

Rick, you've travelled and eaten

in some of the most extraordinary
places around the world.

How does that influence the food that
you love and then, I suppose, cook?

Well, I mean, it's totally
influenced me, really.

I mean, you name it,
wherever I've been,

I've got elements of that
in what I cook.

Early trips to Italy.

India, particularly.

Australia, even.

It's good we're on the list.
(LAUGHTER)

Well, Mexico,

it was my first introduction
to, sort, of foreign food.

Yeah, that was when I really started
to think, "I need to travel more.

"I need to go to different countries
and experience their cuisine."

And I've never forgotten.
Fabulous. Very strong wines.

Would match your Aussie reds,
that's for sure.

Spain. OK, there I am in Cadiz.

I'm just about to eat
a grilled mackerel

with pirinaca sauce.

I'm so happy to be in Cadiz!

If you love Europe, go to Cadiz.
It's like I'm there already.

Yeah.

That's me in France, in...in Paris.

And we sort of celebrate
every November.

Me and a few friends go to

this restaurant in Rue Saint-Honore

and we just eat seafood.

The thing I love about French food

is that it's always designed
to go with French wines.

(LAUGHTER)

Speaking of Mediterranean cooking,
let's take a plane to Italy.

That's actually in...in Puglia,
near the town-city of Ostuni.

And we're in a lemon orchard.

The big farmhouse

in that part of the country.

You see, you don't have to be
a vegetarian

to love vegetable cooking

and I think Southern Italy
is one of those places

where you just love it to bits.

MALISSA: Mmm.

DECLAN: Rick's an absolute icon.

It was probably only six months ago

I was sitting on the couch with Nan
watching Rick on TV,

like, just, you know,
taking in what he's doing.

And six months later, here I am!

OK, in this round,

you'll need to choose one of
these photos from Rick's map

and make us a dish
featuring that country's cuisine.

All of you will have 75 minutes.

It goes without saying,

whoever cooks the least
impressive dish in this round

will be going home.

Are you all ready?

Your time starts now!
(APPLAUSE AND CHEERING)

CONTESTANT:
Show us what you're made of!

This time we'll go
with some self-raising.

I'm feeling a lot of pressure
right now.

Honey, honey, honey.

I was really hoping I'd cook
an absolute banging dish

for one of my food heroes in round 1.

(WHISPERS) I know - a beer batter.

RALPH: Breadcrumbs, breadcrumbs,
breadcrumbs.

DECLAN: But didn't pull through,

so I'm really gonna have to
shake off whatever's happened

and focus on the challenge
in front of me right now.

RHIANNON: Go, Dec!
CATH: Come on! Let's go, boys!

Been to Mexico a fair few times,

so I'm going down
the Mexican route today.

Um, and I'm going to be doing
a beer-battered flathead

with a Mexican salsa and
some other little garnish elements

to, yeah, complement it.

Smells delicious, Deccy.

The cook on my beer-battered flathead
is gonna be my biggest thing,

and as well as, like,
the depth of flavour in my salsa.

You know, I do have the pin
if I want to lean on it,

so I don't want to think about that
until the final moment.

I wanna save it.

You know, this could
come in handy later on.

ANDY: I'm begging to know
what Declan's gonna do.

Rick, he's got an immunity pin.

So at any stage throughout this cook,
he can play that immunity pin

and get himself up to the gantry
and safe.

I think he was a little bit rattled
on the first cook.

It was a big thing,
him cooking for you.

And I'm hoping that he can find his
path and cook a really great dish.

Yeah.
But will he play that pin?

Confidence is one thing, but
you want to be in the right side

of confidence and arrogance, right?

Otherwise, you're gonna end up going
home with a pin still in your apron.

Yeah.
Nobody wants that.

Nah.

When I walked into the pantry,

I saw these beautiful ripe apricots

and immediately
they reminded me of my nonna

because she has beautiful fresh
fruit trees in her backyard

including an apricot tree.

So... (LAUGHS)
..I'm gonna take it as a sign.

THEO: You're going dessert, Mal?

Yeah, I'm doing a dessert.
Nice!

(SINGSONGS) Malissa!
Hello! How are you?

We're very good. How are you?
That's good. I'm good, I'm good.

What are you doing?

I'm doing an olive oil
and honey panna cotta.

OK.
And then some glazed apricots.

And the lemon crumb on the bottom.

I love panna cotta.
I love panna cotta.

Oh, good!

So I've made myself
a bit of an expert

into what really constitutes
a good panna cotta.

Expert!
OK!

But I'll be looking for the wobble.
OK, um, yes.

I'm hoping that it's gonna have
a really good wobble to it.

But, yeah.
It's so simple.

But actually it's so complicated.
It is hard to execute, yes.

Alright.
Good luck.

(LAUGHS)
Good luck, Malissa.

Thank you.

If I go home
on an Italian challenge,

my family will not be happy with me.

They'll lock me out! (LAUGHS)

Basically, all I'm worried about is,
uh...my panna cotta not being set.

So I've decided I'm gonna make
two panna cottas -

one in the plastic panna cotta mould
and one this very small bowl.

Yeah, I'm kind of gonna have
a plan B today

because I have learnt
in a lot of my other cooks

you need to have a plan B.

GRACE: Well done, Phil.

(MUTTERS)

This is my first elimination cook.

It was bound to come eventually
and I'm ready to go.

No, ready to go with this cook,
not ready to out the door.

So, today, I'm gonna go
with the cuisine of Italy

and I'm gonna cook
spaghetti con l'anatra

or spaghetti with duck sauce,

which is from the Veneto region
of the north of Italy.

So last year, I actually took off and
I went and lived in Italy for a while

and was winemaking
over there in Veneto

just outside the city of Vicenza.

This is one of the big dishes
to the local area

and one that I loved quite a lot

and I wanted the opportunity
to cook it since I've come here

and today I got that chance.

This dish usually takes
a couple of hours to cook,

so I'm not gonna have
a lot of time to spare.

So it is definitely
an ambitious task today,

but I'm quite confident
I can get this done.

The secret to this dish
is just all in the duck itself,

making sure that the sauce is
reduced down, nice and flavourful,

and...and just really sings
with the rest of the dish

which is just that spaghetti.

I've really got to do it justice
and make sure it delivers.

Wherever you're going in the world
today with your dish,

you've only got one hour
to take us there.

Come on!
Let's go!

ADI: Pop it in the freezer.
Fridge? Freezer?

Freezer, then fridge.

(MUTTERS)

Getting round 2
is never a great feeling,

but now that I'm here
I've just gotta do the best I can

to make sure
that I get back up there

and get another chance to cook.

So I've gone France.

My dish today is a take
on a croque madame.

Really good friend of mine,

we went to France just not
so long ago and this is something

that we literally had
every day for breakfast.

So just kinda when...
the second he said France,

it kinda just took me there
immediately.

Don't overmix.
Yep. Yep.

The traditional version
of a croque madame

is a piece of bread,
you've got your ham and cheese,

another piece of bread,
bechamel sauce,

perfectly cooked egg.

We've got 75 minutes
to make our dish today

and I've decided to go left of field
and not make the sandwich.

Give them a dish that reminds them
of a croque madame,

but a new take on it.

Ralph.

What's the dish? I can't work it out.
Yeah!

Normally I get a reasonable idea
just looking at the ingredients.

Going on a play on a croque madame.
OK.

OK.
So I've got my bread element.

I've got my mash with my bechamel
and cheese combination.

Uh-huh.

And then just a bit of bacon
just for the ham in it

and then I'm gonna do
a perfectly cooked egg on top

and then at the bottom,
just some breadcrumbs

to kinda give you texture
and tie it all together.

Are we going to recognise this
adequately as a croque madame?

Not saying this to try and scare you.
Yeah.

I'm saying this 'cause
I feel like this is legitimate.

It has to be absolutely faultless.

(TENSE MUSIC)

You need to execute this...
Everything.

Oh, my gosh, like...
Yeah. Everything on the plate.

It has to be restaurant-ready.

Oh, God, like...this dish
is a bit risky.

Every element needs to be perfect.

If I don't have that, then I might
as well pack my bags and go home.

Are we going to recognise this
adequately as a croque madame?

Yeah, you need to execute this...

Oh, my gosh, like,
it has to be restaurant-ready.

RALPH: Oh, God.

This dish is a bit risky.

Especially on black-apron day.

But today, I'm not
listening to the judges.

I'm just gonna follow through.

'Cause I've got a clear vision
in my mind

of how I want this to taste and look.

You know, I can give them a dish
that reminds them of a croque madame

but in a much different way.

My idea today is try and make

a really rich potato foam

which will act as my bechamel...

..and elevate
my croque madame reinvention...

CONTESTANTS: Come on, Ralphie.
Onya, mate!

..to help give it another
extra layer of flavour.

That should be alright.

Hope your next trip's
not out those doors.

45 minutes to go!

(CONTESTANTS APPLAUD AND EXCLAIM)

ADI: Go, guys! Come on!

Get it on!

ANTONIO: Are you gonna go
with the foam?

Remember, don't overmix.
Yep, yep.

Alright, alright, alright.

This bad boy.

Forgot the most important part.

The wine.

What have you got
in the apricots, Mel?

Honey. Thyme.
Oh, yep.

And, uh, a bit of salt.

Ah, great.

My panna cotta is done
and that is setting in the fridge.

It's gone quick.

And I've also made my crumb
and have popped that in the oven.

And I'm gonna get started on

putting my apricots on the hibachi.

Let's talk about
this central element...

Yes, the panna cotta.
..the panna cotta.

How is she going?
She's going good.

The setting's going well.
I've still got a bit of time.

We've seen...some great ones.
I know.

We've also seen
some absolute failures, haven't we?

Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah.

We've experienced puddle cotta
more than once.

OK.

It really is all on a knife edge
that it sets properly.

That it is still that beautiful
texture that we hope for...

Yeah.
..carrying great flavours.

Ooh, have all my fingers
and toes crossed for you.

Everything's crossed. (LAUGHS)
Let's do it. Yeah!

Whatever country you're in, we want
those flavours front and centre.

20 minutes to go!

CATH: Let's go, guys. Come on!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Come on, Phil! Go, Declan!

ADI: Bring it home. Make it tasty.

Flavour, flavour.

So right now there's
20 minutes to go on the clock

and there's so much to be done.

So far I've been working on
balancing and reducing this sauce.

GRACE: Happy?
I think so. So far, so good.

It's all riding on the flavour
of the sauce today

and making sure that pasta
is cooked perfect.

The last few minutes of this cook
have gotten away from me

and I've gotta just get straight on
to rolling out my pasta.

Usually it needs time
to dry out after cutting it.

But I don't have that luxury today.

GRACE: Beautiful, Phil.

It's gonna be
a really rushed process.

But right now there's nothing
I can do about it.

I'm genuinely concerned right now.

The amount of work I have to do
and time is ticking away.

Time for a beer. I put two in there.

One for me
and one for the beer batter.

The pressure's on today.

I'm just... I'm really feeling
a bit rattled, still, from round 1.

GRACE: You're doing so good.

Almost there.

Thankfully, my salsa is finished.

CATH: That smells nice.

I taste it and it tastes amazing.

So I set that aside.

I've also made the beer batter
for my flathead

and the cabbage slaw.

But when I taste my cabbage slaw,

I realise that I've added
way too much jalapeno mayo

and it's just a sloppy mess.

But I really don't have time
to rectify this right now.

Hello.
G'day. How are we?

I am...

I'm...

..kind of picking up that you're,
like, you're a little bit flat.

Um, yeah, I am, but, um...

Going to ask you
the difficult question -

do you think you really need
to consider playing that pin?

Yeah, I think it's all gonna
come down to my fish fry

and how happy I am with that.

So you need to make sure
that all of these elements...

Yeah. Yeah.
..not just the fish...

..are at 100%.
Of course.

Let's go.
Alright, buckle down.

The most critical component of this
dish today is the cook of the fish.

Everything's riding on that.

I'm the fish guy
and I've really gotta prove myself.

When I put it in the batter,

I can immediately see
that it's way too runny.

BRENT: Happy?
Nup.

It's pretty much not even
coating correctly.

This is a recipe I know
and I've cooked this many times.

Hmm. Not really
what I was going for.

I don't have enough time
to make another batch,

so, yeah, I'm gonna try and fry
another piece of the fish,

see how it turns out.

BRENT: I reckon...

I reckon...

I reckon he might use his pin.

CATH: Yeah?

OK, soft-boiled egg.

(MUTTERS)

Think, think, think.

I've decided to make a potato foam
for my croque madame reinvention.

'Cause I'm trying to make a bechamel
essentially out of potatoes.

So I wanted to have a runny texture

just so that
it actually just foams out.

So I've put the mixture
into my siphon gun.

Sprayed the foam onto the plate.

ANTONIO: How's the foam?

Absolutely amazing.
I'm happy with it.

So I've finished all my elements,

including that lovely cooked egg.

And now it's time to plate up.

Alright, that's perfect,
perfect, perfect. Now...

With this dish,
plating's gonna be important

but balance is gonna be important.

So I want a good serving
of breadcrumbs at the bottom

and then I'm putting bits of bacon
at the bottom of it as well.

And then I've got
that lovely potato foam.

On top of that, I've got
that perfectly cooked egg

and then I'm sprinkling
a bit more bacon around it

and then a little bit of breadcrumbs
and then finally that cheese.

So I'm plating a dish
that eats like a sandwich.

It screams 'France',
so I'm happy with it.

Confidence coming back.
Yeah, we're stepping into it.

MELISSA: Final touches
You have two minutes to go!

(ALL CHEER)

ADI: Good luck, team.
Make it beautiful!

CATH: Come on, Ralph!

Come on, buddy.

DECLAN: I pull the fish out
of the fryer.

Ooh, feel it.
Feel the pressure.

I'm not happy with it.
It's still not cooked right.

Yeah, the wheels
are definitely off the bus.

Not happy with my cabbage slaw.
Not happy with the fish.

Like, it is a bit of a disaster.

I'm a bit torn.

But I don't wanna be that person
that goes home with a pin.

Alright, yeah, I think
I'm gonna play my pin. So...

Yeah.
(CONTESTANTS EXCLAIM)

Yeah. Yeah.
CATH: Oh, Declan!

Yeah, gonna play my pin.

RHIANNON: Oh!
Yeah?

Yeah.
JOCK: Playing your pin?

Too risky? Too risky?

I don't wanna serve
something I'm not happy with

and I'm definitely not happy
with this, so thank you, yeah.

No harm in that.
Oh, thank you.

Well done, mate.
Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)
Head on upstairs, mate.

Thank you.

At first I'm like,
"Oh, yeah, Declan, he's safe."

And then I'm like, "Oh."

Now the odds are gonna be
one in three,

which, you know,
those odds are not good.

(LAUGHS) Yes.

RHIANNON: Go, Malissa.
ADI: Go, Mal.

All my elements are ready to go.

Has she turned out a panna cotta?

It's time to plate up
my panna cotta.

It seems set.
GRACE: Yeah?

Wobble.
It's wobbling.

Oh! Come on.
Interesting technique.

I can see that it is set
but it won't come out.

I just can't get it to come out.

Nup, it's...it's in there.

It's not coming out.

NARRATOR: Do you have what it takes
to compete

Applications for contestants
are now open.

Head to the link and apply.

Oh!

Nup, it's...it's in there.

It's not coming out.

I'm, you know, trying
to warm it with my hand.

Trying to use my finger and a knife
and it's just not coming out.

One minute to go!

CATH: Come on, Malissa!
You've got one minute!

Come on, get it on the plate!

So I have to use my plan B.

Come on, quick.
RHIANNON: Oh, God!

Oh, my God!

I'm frantic at this point,
and this is not what I wanted.

Get it on, get it on!
Come on, you can do it!

Come on, I don't have time.
Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God!

ANDY: 10...

ALL: 9, 8, 7,

6, 5, 4,

3, 2, 1.

That's it!

(CONTESTANTS CHEER)

Good job! My hands have
got cream all over 'em!

(LAUGHS)

Oh, my God!

Yeah, it was a one-in-four chance

but old Deccy decided to jump ship
and head up to the gantry,

so that does...does slim
the chances a little bit.

If the dish
isn't up to scratch today,

that will mean I'll be, uh,
walking out those doors very sad

'cause I'm, yeah, not ready
to leave.

I'm really happy
with the sauce itself

but I am slightly worried
about the pasta.

I'm just hoping
this dish has done enough

to see me through for another week.

(SIGHS)
PHIL: Good luck.

RALPH: Good luck.
Thank you, thank you.

That cook was crazy.

I'm really happy
with all my elements.

But I have no idea...
if my backup panna cotta is set.

Well, aren't you just
a beaming ray of sunshine!

(LAUGHS)
(LAUGHS)

What have you cooked us today?

I've made an olive oil and honey
panna cotta

with a lemon crumb
and honey-roasted apricots.

Let's talk about the cook today.

You've chosen Italy.
Yep.

Your family background is Italian.

Why this particular dish?

Well, I love panna cotta.

You know, it's such
a traditional Italian dish.

So I thought why not give it a go,

try something different today
and test myself with a dessert?

Now, when we came to visit you,

you said you wanted to serve us

the classic, wobbly, turned-out,
beautiful panna cotta.

Yep.
This isn't it.

No.
What happened?

I had it in the freezer
at the end of the cook,

so I think it really
kind of stuck to the mould.

It was chaotic,

so with about 10 seconds to go,

I just grabbed this one out
the fridge and thought,

"Just get it together.
Plate something up."

Um, I'm glad I had a plan B today.

We'll taste now. Thank you.
Thank you so much. Enjoy.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I thought that was brilliant.

I thought it was really beautiful.

Panna cotta itself, set beautifully.

And just a nice touch of honey.
Not too much, not too sweet.

And also the olive oil.

Just making it so rich and
giving it that slight grassy edge,

which, when it was paired together

with the grilled apricots,
beautiful.

I thought that the texture
of the panna cotta was luxurious.

It had that richness to it.

Nice balance of flavour with
that touch of honey, as you say.

It all came together really well
with that biscuity crunch.

This is a triumph.

I don't know if she put
a bit of salt on the apricots,

but the apricots are fabulous.

Italians have this way
of paring things back.

A very, very accomplished dish,
I think.

All's right with the world.

Good luck.

I'm hoping that
today's risk pays off.

Obviously, a croque madame is
something they all would have eaten

and they know the flavours.

Hello, Ralph.
Good day.

So putting my dish down today,
I'm a little bit nervous

whether they're gonna like
my interpretation of it.

What did you make us?

So I've made you...

It's my inspiration
behind croque madame.

I've got my potato foam
with that perfectly cooked egg

and some bacon
and breadcrumbs at the bottom.

So it's a croque madame reinvention?

Yeah. Kind of my twist on it.

It's risky, huh?
Yeah, it is.

But if it pays off, it pays off.

If it doesn't, I'm glad that I was
actually able to take that risk.

Alright, Ralph. We're gonna
taste it now. Thanks, buddy.

Alright, thank you so much, guys.
Appreciate it.

Look, I think we've all...
We're all thinking it.

It was an interesting concept.

MELISSA: The flavours
distilled in this bowl of food

are pretty true to a croque madame.

You do get the bechamel cheesiness.

You do get the bacon-y goodness.

And the egg gives it a bit
of a luscious quality to it.

I got there. I got there in the end.

I agree. I mean, I...
I actually enjoyed eating that.

But it's a bit like
that sort of trend

for deconstructed prawn cocktails.

You just say, "Well, why, you know?"
(LAUGHS)

I mean, what's wrong
with the original?

If it ain't broke...
If it ain't broke, exactly.

I think this is one of those dishes

where we're gonna have
to taste everything

before we realise
just where it sits today.

Mm.
Yeah.

Phil.
Hey, hey.

How are you, mate?
Good. And you?

Pretty good.

Phil, what have you cooked?

I've made spaghetti con anatra.

Which is spaghetti with a duck sauce.

Big deep breath out.
Yep.

First round 2 in an elimination.
Yes.

How tough was it?
It was pretty tough.

Like, it was good too
that it was a round 2,

so I could at least have a cook
and get that feel,

but mentally it definitely weighs in

that, like, this could be
the last cook in the kitchen.

Yeah. Let's dive into
the memory of this dish.

Take us there.

(EMOTIVE MUSIC)

So, yeah, last year, I was kind of
at a dead end with work

and so we took off
and did a bit of travel

and lived with this beautiful family
that took me in in Vicenza

and, like, made me one of their own.

Every Tuesday,
we'd have the sagra festival,

where the whole...kind of all
the neighbourhood would come together

and have these little
street foods and catch-ups

and this was their main dish.

Are you happy? Is it like for like?

I'm happy.

This is the way it is to me
and the way I remember eating it.

Nice one, mate.

Well, I hope that this isn't the
last dish that we taste of yours

because with an attitude like yours,

we just want you
to stay in the MasterChef kitchen

as long as you can.

Um, but we'll taste it now.

Cheers, Phil.
Appreciate it.

Thanks, mate.
Thank you.

The main thing that I'm worried
about on the dish is my pasta.

I'm not ready to leave this
competition or this kitchen yet.

Just hope to God
that I've done enough.

(TENSE MUSIC)

JOCK: Ah, the pressure of round 2.

Um...I think there's so many dishes

Phil could have chosen from...
from all over the country of Italy.

And I think 90% of them
would have been more appropriate

because he would have been able
to do them in time.

There is no way that this dish
would have been made

back there in the winery
in 75 minutes.

Not a chance.

Taste everything in there.

The duck itself is just that...
that dry stiff way that it is

before it just relaxes it.

Well, I was just thinking I'm...I'm
a late convert to pressure cookers

but actually in that time if
you'd put it in a pressure cooker,

you'd probably have got there.

It's a shame.
I mean, the pasta works OK.

You know, the pasta itself could have
done with a lot more structure.

I understand where
he tried to go with it.

He just picked the wrong dish today.

I really wanted to buy
what he was selling today.

Unfortunately, the...the obvious
missing ingredient here is time.

You know, when you taste
a great dish,

you know that they've got it, right?

They've got the sort of essence
of what the dish is all about.

And this doesn't have it.
Mm. No.

Rick, have you enjoyed coming back
into the MasterChef kitchen?

Fabulous. I mean,
I really, really enjoyed it.

I mean, I think the thing that,
to me, matters so much

is it's serious.

You're all very committed

and I think it's all in the interest
of good food and good cooking.

And, um, I believe in it.

So thank you very much.
I've had a lovely time.

Well, Rick, mate. We love you.
We love your food.

It's been such an honour
having you here today.

Everyone, give it up for Rick Stein!

(CHEERING AND WHISTLING)

Well, Declan, after you played
your pin, you were safe...

Yep.
..and that left us with three.

And the brief for you three
was to take us on a food journey.

One of you did just that.

This cook, they brought us a dish.
It was as good as a plane ticket.

It was Italy all over.

Well done, Malissa, you are safe.

(ALL CHEER)

Yay.

So, fellas,
that means we're down to two.

Yep.

Ralph, we couldn't really fault
your flavours.

But your reinvented croque madame,
it just didn't take us to France.

Phil, your dish
was Italian-inspired.

But of all the dishes from Italy

that you could have been
inspired by,

sadly, we felt that was
the wrong one for the time frame.

And I'm so sorry, mate.

That's why you're going home.
CATH: Oh!

Oh, my God!

Oh, Phil.

(GASPS)

Phil, since day 1,

you have taken
every single opportunity

to learn and grow and we have loved
watching every single minute of it.

Oh, I think just not only as a cook

but as a person I've just changed
and grown so much.

I've learned so much
from you guys and these guys

and I've loved
every single minute of it.

It's just given me a purpose in life
again, 'cause I really was lost.

Last year when I left my job and was
following the food and wine dream

but didn't know what it was and this
kind of has galvanised that decision

to take that leap of faith and I'm
forever grateful for this kitchen.

Well, Phil, it might feel
like the end today

but we know that it's just
the beginning for you.

So time to say goodbye.
Come and give us a hug. (CHUCKLES)

Let's do it.
Well done.

Thanks, mate.
Let us know if you need anything.

Appreciate it.
We're still here for you.

Thank you. Appreciate it.
Lovely to meet you too.

Well done, Phil.
Thanks for everything, mate.

Appreciate it.

It's been such an amazing experience.

I knew MasterChef

was gonna be a huge part
of my food life and food journey.

It's given me a huge amount
of passion and invigoration

for food and the industry as a whole.

Give it up for Phil, everybody!

(CONTESTANTS CHEER,
EXCLAIM AND WHISTLE)

I'm gonna take this week,
go home, relax,

have a nice glass of wine
with my wife, enjoy some downtime,

and then, yeah,
get straight back into it.

NARRATOR: This week
on MasterChef Australia...

..they're on the brink...

..of being...

..top 10.

THEO: It's D-day.

RHIANNON: I want it so badly.

GRACE: I'm gonna absolutely
give it my best shot.

Now...
Maggie Beer!

..these legendary Aussies...

Hey!

DECLAN: Josh Niland

is the icon
of fish in Australia.

RHIANNON: Holy crap,
Curtis Stone.

I nearly wet myself.
(LAUGHS)

..lead them
one step closer

to the finish line.

ANDY: There's something
special in this food.

We're all digging it.

Captions by Red Bee Media