Original subtitles

VOICEOVER: Previously on MasterChef Australia...

It's Rick Stein! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

..Rick's tantalising tuna dish...

Do something like this and you'll probably be fine.

..kicked off an exciting elimination.

I'm such a fan of Rick Stein.

I actually used to wag school to watch him on TV.

Nat gave up her gold...

Alright, I'm playing my pin.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Well done, Nat. You are officially safe.

..but seafood was the superstar.

That is a belter. Yes! Plain and simple.

SOFIA: It absolutely is a stunner.

I really loved that.

You kept it simple,

allowing the seafood to speak for itself.

And David had to say goodbye to the MasterChef kitchen. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Tonight, they leave the kitchen behind

for some seaside excitement.

(CHEERING)

Look at that.

(DOLPHIN CHATTERS)

ALEX: Did you see the dolphins?

MALE CONTESTANT: Oh, I didn't, Alex.

Oh, my goodness!

So pretty.

Picturesque Frankston.

Who would have thought that I would be beachside

in a MasterChef competition

with those four judges and one single mystery box?

Normally we have our own, so I don't know

what's happening here today.

Come on, guys. Hustle, hustle!

Hello.

Welcome to beautiful Frankston.

I'm so pumped to say that by the end of this week, we're going

to have the top 10 for MasterChef 2024.

Sav, you're back in action after a wee little break.

If you can call that a break.

Are you ready to make this second chance count, though?

I'm not taking this for granted at all, because, yeah,

these guys have had a close call.

I was gone.

So to point out the obvious, this is no ordinary mystery box.

Shall we have a look and see what's inside the box?

CONTESTANTS: Yes!

Are you ready?

Yes!

(SHOUTING AND CHEERING)

Today is actually a team service challenge.

Yeah, gotcha!

Alright. It's been a while.

We're gonna get you into teams and split you right down the middle.

(ALL GASP)

Oh, wow.

We're going to be this half orange and this half green.

(APPLAUSE) OK.

Go! Whee!

Thank you.

HARRY: Green Team. Wore a green shirt today, too.

Must be a sign. Yeah.

It's a good team. I'm happy with this.

Yeah. I mean, we got a butcher on our team.

LACHLAN: I think both teams are pretty well complemented today.

I think it's going to be a good old-fashioned cook-off.

Just over there is the Cheeky Squire,

a venue known for its exceptional pub food

and quality craft beer.

And today you guys are taking over the kitchen.

(CHEERING)

I love it. (CONTESTANTS CHATTER EXCITEDLY)

I am known to frequent the pub.

Yes!

Love pub food.

Yeah, this is a great challenge.

We want you to take classic pub dishes

that we all know and love and pimp them up.

Take some risks, elevate them.

Each team, you need to make a starter and a main for 30 guests each,

plus, the four of us.

Guess how long you got?

(CONTESTANTS GROAN)

Two and a half hours to cook... OK. ..before service begins.

OK. OK.

Bad news -

the losing team, they'll be cooking in tomorrow's pressure test.

(CONTESTANTS GROAN)

We want happy diners today.

Not just 10, not just 20.

Every one of them.

So you've got to be working together.

Be quick. Rapido!

You know, there is no chichi. Focus on the flavours.

No chichi! Say after me.

ALL: No chichi!

So good luck to you!

What do we eat in Australia at a pub? We taught you earlier on.

Ah, anything except parma!

(LAUGHTER)

Parmi, not parma!

Alright, alright, I was just... I was just trying to be cheeky.

So we'll see you at The Cheeky Squire.

Get on over there. Your time starts now.

(CHEERING)

Good luck.

Faster! Faster!

Alright. First round is yours.

GILLIAN: Let's go, let's go, let's go!

FEMALE CONTESTANT: I'm not built for running, but it's fine.

NAT: Oh, my God, I'm so nervous!

I hate team challenges. (LAUGHS)

Because I am highly organised

with how I do things in the kitchen.

(CHEERING)

These people cook like nut cases.

Let's go guys, let's go!

Alright. Down, down, down.

LACHLAN: Let's go, team.

PEZZA: Look, I'm excited. I've done really well in the team challenges.

And I think we've got a pretty strong little team today.

I like orange. It looks alright on me, I think. Probably better than green.

Who hasn't been captain before? I haven't been captain.

I'm more than happy to do it today. Let's go, Lochy, let's go.

I'm glad you're writing because my handwriting is terrible.

Nat. NAT: Yep? Skip?

I think you'd make a good boss lady. Would you like to be Skip?

(SIGHS) Everyone's pointing their fingers at me

and I'm like, "Crap."

Does everyone... Does everyone want me to be captain?

Yes. Yes, captain.

I'm happy with that.

But game on. Let's go.

If people want me to lead, I'm going to lead in my terms.

Watch out, because I'm about to yell! (LAUGHS)

Um, and what sections are we going?

You two? Entree. Entree.

Yes, entree. Entree.

What are we thinking?

OK, so idea is fish and chips crumbed into like a croquette.

I don't want to call it a croquette, but essentially fish and chips

in a crumb ball.

I love... I love that idea.

So we've got Sav and Harry on entree,

and he wants to do a twist on fish and chips

because he's very confident with that.

I'm sort of thinking with the main we could also do something

with, like, lamb is quite classic.

So I'm sort of thinking like tandoori rack of lamb.

Oh, I love it.

I've got Sumeet and Josh on mains because Sumeet wants to do

a tandoori lamb rack, and that's going to be in her favour

to do that because Sumeet and I know our flavours.

I'm gonna get timers going

so we can know exactly when we should be getting stuff done.

Do you guys want to get your own elements? Yes, chef.

Yes, chef. Yes, chef.

(CLANG!)

Jesus Christ, that was loud.

HARRY: It's a stonky barra. Look at him.

So I think the judges are going to think

that the menu will play to our strengths.

But if we lose, I have to cook

against my team-mates in elimination.

And I'd be lying if I wasn't threatened by them.

Alright, guys, I want the lamb marinated and in the oven,

15 minutes.

I'm steering this ship to immunity.

That's all I care about.

So we've got to elevate pub food. Yeah. Classic pub food.

So that's, like, seafood as the starter.

Like, salt and pepper calamari.

It's very kind of down that line, but let's twist it up. Let's make it a bit bigger.

I saw some beautiful scallops in there.

Are we putting any bacon on it? Yeah. Bacon on this as well.

'Cause that's your surf and turf, yeah?

Yeah, a little surf and turf for a number.

What the judges have tasked us to do is make an entree and a main

of a pub meal, but pimp it out.

I'm like, "Well, why don't we do, like, a surf and turf,

"but the surf is the entree, the turf's the main."

What about peas? Peas? Peas goes well with scallops.

Peas and scallops and bacon crumb?

And a bit of wasabi. Oh, nice.

The idea is to have a scallop dish, three perfectly-seared scallops,

wasabi and pea puree, and a bacon crumb.

Little surfer number.

OK. Mains, guys. Alright, mains.

I noticed that we had some beautiful Wagyu there.

Yeah, I love steak.

If we're gonna do a spin on surf and turf, it's got to be Wagyu.

Alright, we can't just do steak, salad and chips. We need to... Nah.

So let's think about some vegies that are gonna bring some freshness.

Or maybe another hint of spice, something like that. Maybe a pickle.

Little pickled onion petals or shallot petals? Yeah.

I love that, I love that, yeah.

OK. Pickles. Sides. OK.

How do you feel about some sort of a puree, like a cauliflower or...?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And carrots?

Alright, let's go get... Let's see what there is.

Wagyu. No, that's not a pub dish.

You don't get no Wagyu at the normal pub in Smithton, let me tell you.

So I'm all for that.

Alright!

But I'm a little bit worried on where we go with our sides.

So we've got carrots. Yep.

We've got puree. Pickle.

Yeah. You've got a pickle. Pickle here, yeah.

That's what we're going with, are we?

Cauliflower puree - that goes well with the Wagyu.

But I don't know where the pickle comes in.

I just hope that they know what they're doing.

Who doesn't love a pub? I love a pub.

We've asked them to elevate pub favourites.

I really don't want to see them betray the honesty of pub food,

but I think the thing that I'm looking for is just for stuff

to be cooked well.

Yeah, I think we've all eaten some pretty bad pub food,

but then we've all eaten really good gastropub-style food

and I feel like that's what we're after today.

Pub food, it can be a bit boring.

You need to start from the basic

and give a bit of a je ne sais quoi, a touch.

Uh, not too much chichi, but just, you know...

Look, I want it to be generous.

The elevation doesn't have to be tiny.

Tiny food is a ba-bow.

But elevation in a pub can simply just mean using good ingredients.

I think I just want beer food... Yeah.

..taken to the next level.

Sav, I've got a 30-minute timer for your potatoes.

SAV: Yeah, that's fine.

I want you guys to get that marinade done in like 13 minutes,

if that's OK.

In 13? 13 minutes. Done.

I'm mapping that two and a half hours

in a way that's going to make us ready for plating

half an hour before service.

Nat. Yep.

Oh, am I beeping? Thank you.

First timer goes off and I yelled to Harry.

Harry, I want that fish done in about four minutes!

Yep, fish is done.

And I was like, "Alright, I'm giving you 10 minutes to cook this fish.

"I'm gonna look psychotic."

Alright, barra.

Nat, she's the skipper.

She's at the helm, steering the ship.

I'm all for the timers. I reckon the more, the better. Yeah.

If she wants, she can come and clip one to my hat and I'm all good.

Oh, Jesus, that butter is hot!

I'm the fish guy.

We're doing a fish entree that I've sort of thought up.

It's not reinventing the wheel, but it's a creative interpretation

of fish and chips.

Have we set up a crumbing station or not?

Yeah, yeah. Oh, you have.

So what I'm thinking is we make, like, a crumbed, fried fishcake

that's packed full of, like, chunks of fish and potato.

Um, can you smell that? So that's the blend. Oh, yeah.

I'll keep it, like, very light, though, 'cause that's quite potent. Real light. I love that.

I'm really confident with the dish,

especially because I've got Sav here helping with the flavours.

We're going to do like a Sri Lankan-inspired tartare sauce.

And I think if we can execute it, it's going to be epic.

I'm repping the orange today.

It's not really my colour, but it is today.

Team banner, it is. So, yeah, bring it on.

Alright, everyone. I want to see some hustle!

You've got two hours left!

Come on, everybody, you've got to push it! Keep on going.

What did he say? (LAUGHS) Is that what he said? LACHLAN: I think he said 'hustle'.

Oh, hustle!

What are you on about, girls?

Everyone's off and running.

I've got Gill on the pickled shallots.

I'm just working on getting this cauliflower cut up into pieces,

ready to go into the oven.

Lochy. Andy! What's going on, mate?

Um, just... Know your way around a pub?

Uh, some pubs, yeah, yeah. I reckon you do.

If you get the menu right, it can be a very easy challenge.

But if you don't, you could be in the weeds.

Yeah, I think we're going down the right line.

What have you got?

Starter is a scallop, pea puree, wasabi dish,

a little bit of a bacon crumb, a little take on a surf and turf, but for entree.

How many per portion?

Uh, three per portion. Should we go to main?

We all agreed, let's just elevate a normal steak pub dish

with some Wagyu that's already going to be speaking for itself. Yeah.

Who's going to be cooking the steaks during the service?

Uh, me and Pezza will be cooking the steaks during service.

Are they going to be medium-rare? Yeah.

I don't mind your menu.

I'm just worried about the execution of the two proteins.

You're going straight from cooking 120 scallops,

and then you've got to get 34 perfect medium-rare steaks out.

That is tough!

We are doing individual portions for both our entree and our main.

And they need to be cooked perfectly in the time frame.

I'm starting to realise it's a pretty ambitious choice,

because if you don't get things done in the time,

you're going to have very hungry customers out there

waiting on food.

You're going straight from cooking 120 scallops,

and then you've got to get 34 perfect medium-rare steaks out.

That is tough!

Andy is right about

we've got a lot to do at service time.

I'm starting to realise it's a pretty ambitious choice.

When do you want to start doing those scallops?

You reckon you're going to pan-sear 100 in half an hour or like, 40 minutes?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. ALEX: Yeah, sure.

Cool. I'm just backing you. Yeah, I know, I get it. I'm just getting the questions out.

I'm backing you. It's all good. Yeah, OK, I get it.

At this point, I don't think it changes anything that we're doing

with the scallops because I really, really trust Sue.

But grilling that Wagyu right at service time is risky.

So we've got to come up with another plan.

Pez, let's get these reverse-seared.

You reckon? Why?

This Wagyu, just because 12 minutes on the grill, there's not enough space.

They're going to be using the grill, too.

Oh, are they? Yeah.

What do you reckon about just doing a reverse sear?

Bringing them up to 36, 40, and... In the oven, and then just hit 'em.

There's a fair few steaks here to cook,

and a pretty small grill to do it on, so it's going to be

a lot of inconsistencies, which we're not going to want.

Again, I haven't done it much, but I can do it.

So we decide we're going to pre-cook them to rare...

So I reckon we got one, two, three...

..and then turn that barbie up as hot as you can

or that grill up as hot as you can and just hit them on there

for like a minute either side,

and then take them off and let them rest.

They'll be beautiful.

Josh, are you going to want to fry on here or there?

Oh, uh...

I want to cook Wagyu steaks, that's all.

Yeah, we'll use this one. You can use all that?

Yeah. And then you guys can use that one.

Awesome. Cool. Champion, man. That's alright.

Sav, we need to start rolling the croquettes in 40 minutes.

SAV: OK. Alright.

ALEX: Tell me what you think.

Bitter?

What's it missing? No, it's good.

I was just waiting for the wasabi to kick. Oh.

I was just.... I was just.... Did it? Do you want more?

I think it needs more.

ANDY: Don't underestimate what good pub food is.

Your starters are leaving the pass in 90 minutes. Come on!

SUMEET: Oh, my God.

(GRUNTS)

Are you gonna be on time, yeah?

PEZZA: We'll be good. There's still a lot to do.

(LAUGHS)

Today we're making for the mains a tandoori rack of lamb

with a spiced breadcrumb.

I love this!

I love stainless steel.

That's my bling. This is incredible.

Oh, that's the lamb. Yes, it is.

So it's actually a take-off on the crumbed lamb cutlets

from the pub. Yeah.

And what we're doing is we're just rendering the fat

and then finishing it off in the oven.

What's the point of the crumb?

It's going to be a spiced crumb, but we're going to just put it

as a sprinkle on the top, rather than actually

have it a full-crumb lamb cutlet. Oh, right. It is texture.

So it's the crispy element on the charred lamb cutlets.

Then you've got fried potatoes as well.

OK. If it needs to be there, it needs to be there.

I am literally just worried about a crumbed and fried main.

That is way too heavy, in my opinion.

OK, cool. Thank you, chef.

(SIGHS) Andy's just come in and he's told us,

"Do you really think it needs the breadcrumbs?"

And I'm feeling the stress of that.

Because it's an elevated dish,

we need to make sure that this be a complement

rather than overpowering it,

because it's actually the lamb that's the hero in this.

That's a curveball for us.

I don't know what we're going to do.

Everything's starting to come together.

Our pea puree just finished.

Really nice wasabi on the front of that. It's really lovely.

And, yeah, working right ahead on mains.

Time is evaporating in this kitchen,

but I feel like I've got this under control.

Pezza's cut up all the steaks.

Scallops station is ready to go.

So right now I'm really focusing on the side dishes.

Lochy, I have the pickles, when you're ready.

Yep. Are you ready to try pickles over there?

Shallots have been in there for about an hour.

So I just broke down the biggest one.

And I'm just eating, like, one of them.

They obviously need to be a lot softer.

So get one out, slice a little bit off, try it.

It still tastes like a raw shallot.

Yeah, I don't reckon they're going to pickle whatsoever.

Um... So what's our solution?

I think...

Do you want to add more salt and more sugar?

Yeah, I want to add more salt and more sugar. And more vinegar?

And they need to be... And they need to be sliced.

It's still going to be fine. We just need to get it done quickly.

It's happy hour, everyone! That's right.

You have one hour to go!

Come on, guys!

Josh, can we just get a second opinion on the mayo real quick?

JOSH: Yeah.

Needs more lemon still? Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah, just a little bit, though. It's almost there.

Does it smell alright? It smells good, yeah.

Good, I'm sure. But is it good enough?

Yeah.

Nat? Yeah?

Andy was questioning whether we need to have

the crumb at all on the cutlets.

Yeah. I think he's got a point.

Like, I know we're elevating the classic dish,

but doesn't mean we have to have the crumb.

We're trying to elevate pub food, but right now

we're not doing that with the concept.

We've got to pivot.

I think, um... Get rid of the crumb?

Yeah, I think get rid of the crumb.

We're ditching the crumb in the lamb element

because it's too much oily parts.

Um, it's unnecessary.

It's like one element less to do, which means that we can perfect

all the other elements and make sure the cook on the lamb

is perfect.

Sumeet, how's the lamb? Lamb is looking awesome.

The lamb rack is just looking stunning.

You can't really go wrong with a beautiful rack of lamb

that's been marinated in yoghurt and spices,

and then cooked to a char.

How can you go wrong?

JOSH: The sear is perfect. That's good temperature.

Sumeet's finishing frying off the last, uh, of the lamb racks

that we've prepped.

Um, and then we're getting all of them in the oven,

and then it's pretty cruisy from that point on.

We're just gonna make sure that, you know, the lambs

are cooked to that perfect medium-rare

that everyone knows and loves.

And we're gonna make sure it's consistent across the board.

Put that right there, and I'll get that wrapped up.

Perfect.

You know, looking after the cook of the meat is a massive pressure.

But I know exactly what temperatures the meat needs to be cooked at.

It's just that one's set at 49 now.

That's the settings for when we start.

So I have zero doubts

at my capability of cooking this lamb rack.

These smell so good.

This is the first time I'm cooking a lamb rack.

I just have never had the chance to actually do it myself yet.

But it looks like today is the day.

Don't make me out on this... (LAUGHS)

I'm opening up the oven. Please be careful.

I think because I was so confident in explaining to them that I knew

the temperatures, they didn't even second guess that I had never cooked

a lamb rack before, and this wasn't the time to let them know

that I hadn't.

So if the lamb is no good, the fall of Team Green

is completely on my shoulders.

Let's make sure we're tidy.

(LAUGHS) Don't laugh at me!

Sorry, chef. Behind. Behind. Behind.

How's it going, Nat?

Oh, I'm just trying to tidy right now.

It's like giving me a bit of anxiety, you know?

Where are you at? Where are you at?

So right now we just want to get the, um, fish and potato cakes

rolled out ASAP, because if we don't get that, then we're screwed.

OK, we're gonna leave you to it. Good luck.

It's getting hot in here. Thank you.

Harry and Sav looking about three to four minutes behind.

HARRY: Argh, you bloody little bastard! You alright, Harry?

Oh, these potatoes are so hot, man.

Hot potato, hot potato, hot potato! Hot potato!

Hot potato, hot potato!

And they're peeling the potatoes and they're burning their fingers.

But I don't care. They need to get them done.

Ow! Far out.

Oh, you bastard!

Oh, my lord.

Hey, Lochy. Mm-hm? Can we have a little chat?

Where are you at with the scallops as a starter?

All it is is cooking those scallops.

So we're going to set up a few inductions

because it's just too busy over there. Yeah.

We're going to bring it over here.

They know what the stakes are. I've got to back them.

Alright. Tell us about the main. Where are you up to on the mains?

Our cauliflower puree is roasted.

Carrots are roasting right now.

Our steaks are cut.

Um, and, Gill's just working on our pickle right now,

but they're just not pickling, so just decided to change that up.

So with the mains, obviously there's a ton of focus on the Wagyu,

but you have to make sure you nail those sides.

Yeah. Yeah. Thanks for chatting.

Thank you. Good luck. Thanks.

NAT: Grr!

Ooh, shit.

I love pomelo!

DARRSH: Nice.

Green Team, Orange Team,

your starters need to be leaving the pass in half an hour,

and then half an hour after that,

we want to see the mains. Let's go! Come on!

They're big steaks, huh? (WHISTLES) Ooh-la-la-la-la.

Pezza, don't you think the steaks are a bit big, no?

Beautiful, chef.

You want it juicy, don't you?

NAT: Harry, we need those croquettes. HARRY: Yeah.

Like, in five minutes we need to start rolling them.

I've set, like, three timers now, and we need them, like, done.

Old skip Nat's freaking out.

We're getting some stormy weather on the ship,

but this entree is coming together.

Alright, let's just pull one together right now. Yep.

Um.... Fry it? Yep. Fry it and test.

Before we, um, you know, commit and just do these 40 balls...

Tester? Tester, yeah, perfect.

..we're making a tester, just so we can taste it,

make sure the seasoning is right, you know, the spice level is right.

Hey, the timer. That should take three minutes, yeah.

Ready, set, go.

I am a little bit nervous because, like, it's sort of on me if it's a failure, you know.

We want to win this immunity so bad,

and if it comes down to my balls... (LAUGHS)

..that don't get us the immunity, then, yeah, that's not great.

Oh, my dear God, would you look at this? Dude, that looks awesome.

Wow. That looks awesome.

Cracking this thing open...

Whoo, yes!

..it looks exactly how I envisaged it.

Nice chunks of potato, heaps of fish in there, you know,

Sav's spice mix.

It smells amazing.

Whoo! That is good.

Let's roll these suckers.

Nat, we've got seven balls down.

NAT: Seven? Yep.

We need more. Mate, they're coming.

POH: Teams, listen in.

Whether you like it or not,

diners are expecting their starters in 15 minutes.

Come on, let's go. It's time to set up the service.

I'm just going to test some of the scallops to see how quickly

they fry up and do a bit of experiment with the plating.

Um, if you leave that to the last minute, it's chaos.

So we want to work out the garnishes, get our little model,

uh, plate happening, and then it'll be seamless 'cause we all know

what it looks like, and we'll get it right.

I don't want to start cooking them until about 10-15 minutes

before service starts.

Everybody feels I'm being a little bit risky with time.

I'm feeling OK with it

because I know scallops don't take a long time.

But there are 120 of them to prepare,

and they're all different sizes.

So this is going to be quite challenging to get them

all perfectly right.

Are you using butter? Yep.

At the end I throw it in when I flip it.

Maybe under a minute. That's how long they're going to take.

Yep.

One, two, three, four, five...

I reckon you're only going to want to have to give them about...

I'm just going to do most of it.

..10 seconds each side.

Mm.

I feel I know how long these scallops need to be cooked,

but I've got Pezza saying it needs less time,

I've got Lochy saying the same.

So I just take them off.

Pezza.

I'm feeling a lot of pressure because I know how important it is

to get the scallops cooked perfectly.

And if I haven't, it's going to mean we're in the next round for sure.

Scallops.

Have we tried it yet? No, we're about to.

Oh, I'm right on time. I love this.

I think that's under.

Can I just, uh, state something very obvious

that makes me very scared? Yes.

That's three scallops,

and they're not cooked perfectly.

You have to cook 120 scallops.

If the scallops aren't perfect...

Yeah, there's nowhere to hide. ..it's not a success.

SUE: I think that's under.

Sue. I went against my gut there.

I feel like if I cooked the scallops, the test ones,

exactly what my instincts were telling me,

they would have been right.

They just came off a little bit early, but I had to try it

because there was opinions that all agreed.

Even though I'm getting this feedback, I'm backing myself.

Yep. I'll get you a place to rest.

And Pezza's gonna clean my pans.

Letting the boys know that I can do this,

and I'm going to do it the way I feel it needs to be done.

ANDY: Orange Team, Green Team, the diners are here.

10 minutes till we start setting plates.

Like, you guys need to be set up.

Come on, let's go. (CLAPS HANDS)

HARRY: The fish and chip cakes are in the fryer.

Look at that. Oh!

It's awesome.

I love your balls, Harry! (LAUGHS)

Really taking me back to when I used to work at Macca's as a 14-year-old.

Just, you know, on the fryer, having a good time.

Hey, Nat, 40 balls ready to go.

50 balls ready to go. Perfect.

Sue, we need a fire on those scallops.

Are you good on the scallops? Are you gonna cook them all there?

I need to do five lots of four plates.

I can fit 16 in there. Yeah.

And I have to do that five times.

Five minutes before service I place my scallops

in some searing hot pans,

and I place them in a clockwork fashion

so I know which one goes on first.

Oh, God.

This is not working to plan.

I'm shuffling them around, I've got two pans on the go.

Just let them rest. Yep.

We're taking a look at each one.

How long are they on for? Are you setting a timer?

No. It's feel, mate. It's feel. Yeah, OK.

Everyone's talking about how many seconds I'm leaving this on,

but I cannot go by timing.

I have to go by feel.

And this is proving to be a juggling act.

How are these, Sue?

Taste one.

I started out feeling super confident.

I have cooked hundreds, maybe thousands of scallops.

But I'm looking at this now and I'm going, "Oh, my God."

If these scallops are not cooked perfectly,

I'm going to send our team into an elimination challenge.

ANDY: Righto, teams. The guests are here, the guests are hungry.

It is now time to send some starters.

The kitchen's in your hands, come on.

NAT: All hands on deck, clear everything

and we have our plates out for the starters.

I am standing there like a hawk looking at each plate.

And, honestly, everything looks perfect.

Oh, yes! I love that.

The apple and fennel slaw

will cut through the fish and potato cake,

and the spice tartare will also cut through that,

which is going to be amazing.

Nothing less than perfect.

Yeah, it has to be perfect.

We're not cooking tomorrow.

Are you guys ready? We're about to call service.

There's nothing stopping us from winning.

We want this immunity.

Service, please!

MAN: Alright, more balls, more balls.

Entrees are out, and the public is going to try my food.

And I'm so excited.

POH: Thank you.

They look amazing!

That looks so good.

Wow, that looks really good. Yeah. What are we eating?

Alright, so we have Green Team's starter - fish and chip cakes

with fennel and Granny Smith slaw and spiced tartare sauce.

I love the look of this.

It looks clean, concise, beautiful.

I'm ready to dig in.

Everyone's getting stuck in.

I'm busy. I don't want to give feedback.

(CHUCKLES)

We asked for elevated pub food.

That plate of food is exactly that.

The riff on fish and chips was really creative and interesting.

Then that little spice mayo, that's got Sav written all over it.

It is laced with a beautiful spice mix.

A pint of beer, that for my entree,

happy boy.

Good size, colourful, very well presented.

No chi-chi...

No chi-chi. ..but an elevation of...

..an elevation of something which is more than ordinary.

Yeah. So I give them the point.

SOFIA: The crumb on that is so thin and so crisp,

it's almost like a batter... Yeah.

..but better.

And what I love about the potato or the chip element

is that it's quite chunky.

So you get all that softness and that comfort that you get

from a handful of chips out of a bowl.

I love this. I think they've done such a good job of keeping it simple

and executing what they set out to do.

If this was at my pub, I would order this time and time again.

Same.

I reckon that's a cracking start from the Green Team.

We've done this before, you and I. We have!

We're like the dream team.

Yeah, we are the pass dream team. The pass queens!

Service starts and I've got Alex and Gill on the pass.

WOMAN: Let's go, let's hustle, let's hustle.

Doing so good, Sue. Well done.

Yeah, I'm happy with that. They've got to be all like that, too.

OK. I know, I... I know you can do that.

You don't need to say that. Thank you.

Sue is killing it with the scallops.

They are all coming out perfect.

They look phenomenal.

And the wasabi pea puree in at the bottom.

Three perfectly-placed scallops, a little bit of bacon crumb...

Alright, we've got service.

WOMAN: Let's go. Service.

..and I am super happy.

That is exactly what we set out to do.

It looks fantastic.

POH: Ooh. Thank you. OK.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Looks lovely.

I don't know about your scallops,

but mine have got beautiful crust on them. Nice caramelisation.

Yeah, same. Yeah, beautiful caramelisation.

Alright. This is Orange Team's starter,

and it's scallop with wasabi pea puree and a bacon crumb.

Righto.

This is superb.

So, the scallops are cooked perfectly.

I mean perfectly -

not just one, all of them.

The pea wasabi is a delight and I love it.

I think it's great.

And if I may, I'm going to finish it now, yeah.

Really, really good choice of seafood.

I think Sue was on the pans for that one,

and Lochy backed her backing herself.

And that was the right decision because all three of mine

were perfectly cooked, so that's what was important today.

ANDY: Silky smooth pea puree,

scallops perfectly cooked and I saw a bacon crumb.

Classic combinations.

But classics, especially in pubs, they work because, you know,

you come to a pub setting

and you just want, like, a little bit of nostalgia,

just a little bit of a hug.

And I feel like this was the plate of food to do it to me.

POH: Can I point something out? Yeah.

Look at all our plates. Yeah. Clean.

I loved that. Yeah.

I'm worried...

..about how we're gonna judge this. Yeah.

It might end up coming down to the mains.

It definitely will come down to the mains.

ANNOUNCER: In the mood to cook?

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these delicious MasterChef-approved recipes on 10Play.

Service, please. Thank you so much.

MAN: Yeah!

(WHOOPING)

Starters are done and I'm so happy with my team.

Let's get the mains crackin'!

Alright, mains. Let's go.

But, hey, half an hour, we've got to start on our mains.

Um, so we're doing tandoori lamb racks with mint yoghurt,

and then we've got asparagus and spiced potatoes.

Potatoes are actually done.

We just diced them small and we deep-fried them.

And then we essentially just tossed them in this beautiful, um,

spice salt and they're ready.

So the go with the lamb, we're making sure we keep it warm

because we don't want it to be cold.

We're not going to slice it yet 'cause it's going to dry out.

So we're going to slice just beforehand.

If the lamb isn't perfect,

we're probably going to go into elimination.

So, honestly...

..fingers crossed.

Let's go, last plate. (ALL WHOOP)

(ALL TALK AT ONCE)

It feels great serving the diners here, but that means pressure's on.

Just preparing for main service.

Cauliflower puree, that has had its first blend.

I think the shallots are perfectly pickled

for the amount of time that's in there.

We only have two and a half hours for this cook.

So for...in that amount of time

I think they've got a really nice flavour to them.

But most important thing,

Pezza is cooking these steaks.

For our main that steak's got to be bang on.

But we do have the, uh, king of meat back there,

the butcher, Pezza, so I'm not too worried about that one.

PEZZA: Today we're cooking the Wagyu steaks

a little bit different than I'm used to.

I've cooked them, uh, like, precooked them,

just to get them to rare, put them back on.

We'll get that nice, um, render on the fat

and give them a nice, bit more colour.

Then we'll slice them out the door.

It's all riding on this steak, really, so it's got to be good.

Josh? Yes?

Look at the masterpiece.

I know, I know. It's beautiful.

Two, four, six, eight, 10...

We're getting ready to plate our mains.

We're clearing the station, clearing the pass, checking the lamp temp,

and having our cutting board ready to slice that lamb.

Josh looks at me with puppy dog eyes

and just before carving, he whispers to me...

This is the first time I've ever cooked a lamb rack.

What?!

You've never cooked a lamb rack before?

I was just like, "What?! You're nuts!"

Slicing through, and I'm seeing a beautiful medium rare pink

in every single lamb cutlet.

Beautiful.

I'm absolutely over the moon.

The lamb is beautiful. It's perfect.

It's perfection. Oh, my Lord!

Look at this! Look at this!

Oh, my lamb!

Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!

All hands on deck right now.

We have a beautiful production line and I am making sure

that I'm checking each plate.

How's your ego there, Josh?

It's still quite small. (LAUGHS)

I've got the lamb cutlets, the mint yoghurt.

We've got the asparagus and spiced potato.

Service, please!

Thank you.

Everyone is losing their mind with how good the lamb rack is.

How is it so beautiful?

It's just like perfect.

It really is.

Generous!

ANDY: Oh, OK. Thank you.

OK.

Wow. I'm impressed. Huh!

OK. Main from the Green Team,

we have tandoori lamb rack

with spiced potatoes, mint yoghurt and asparagus.

It looks like pretty epic, I reckon.

It looks great. Yeah.

Shall we? Yeah.

There was a great flow to the menu.

You know, this, like, slight Indian tweak

of what would normally be pub classics.

It is really pub food reimagined and elevated.

The cook on the lamb is beautiful

and my mum would absolutely go to town on that whole lamb chop, so...

And that's all that matters, right?

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: The tandoori marinade is

fan-tas-tic!

(PLATES CLATTER) Sorry, everyone.

It's superb!

But we are in a pub and I expect to have a little bit more carbs.

Agreed.

The sides are more like a garnish.

For a pub, I'd want more veg.

Maybe there's a slight inconsistency there between these big, generous,

spiced lamb chops

and these kind of restaurant-style petite vegetables.

Essentially, for a pub meal, it's not generous enough.

LOCHY: Uh, all our elements are ready to go.

Girls are working on our finishing of the plate here.

Uh, about to slice this steak.

Uh, and hopefully it's medium rare.

Proteins are the hero on both dishes.

They have to be cooked to perfection.

I'm about to slice this steak.

Uh, and hopefully, it's medium rare.

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. I love it.

That steak is cooked perfectly.

It is perfect medium rare.

And, oh, God, these customers are going to be really happy today.

Yeah, we can start plating.

Service is starting for mains.

The idea is to have some cauliflower puree,

couple of roasted carrots,

some shallots down on that side as well,

and then the steak fanned out

with a drizzle of the sauce over the top.

Gonna look beautiful.

Look how pink and beautiful that is.

That's after... That was one of the rare ones that came out.

It just blushes back up. Yeah.

Pezza has done his job. I'm stoked, I really am.

The Wagyu's done perfect,

so that's been what my whole mind is focused on.

But our sides to go with it.

And that seems to be what we're a bit messed on.

Doing pickle and then doing a cauliflower puree.

The way I see it, it's a very mixed up plate.

Service, please.

ANDY: Oh, we're on here.

Thank you. Thank you.

Alrighty. Orange mains and it's Wagyu with cauliflower puree,

sticky glazed carrots, shallot pickle and jus.

Mm. Smells very good.

Well...

I'm not going to bang the table because there's too many people

and I might be kicked out from the pub, but...

(SHRIEKS) (LAUGHTER)

I love the beef!

Sorry about that. I got excited. (MAN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)

I'm French, by the way. That's why.

Now you're going to get kicked out.

Pezza has cooked the beef superbly.

To still get that sear on it and have everything in there just be so,

so moist and juicy and full of flavour.

I'm actually drooling so much that I've developed a lisp...

(LAUGHTER)

..which is new for me.

ANDY: You can tell the guy is a butcher because he's treated

this with such respect.

It is so well done.

Then we get to everything else.

I think the cauliflower puree is a little bit clumsy.

Mm. It's a bit lifeless.

I do feel like everything with the sides weren't quite there.

The onions just were not pickled enough for me.

They taste on the edge of raw, and...

The texture of it as well is like a raw onion.

Yeah. I feel like they're very distracting.

So...

..hmm.

Hmm.

Is the beef enough to pull them through?

(ALL CHANT INDISTINCTLY)

LACHLAN: I don't mind being a leader, but that was really tough.

Nobody wants to be in elimination,

especially when we're so close to the top 10.

Uh, I'm going to feel pretty...

..pretty average if it's on my watch.

Three, two, one...

ALL: Service!

Yeah!

NAT: As team captain,

if I had to cook against my team-mates tomorrow,

I would feel like I hadn't done enough.

I feel like we're at that stage in the competition

where anything could be the thing that doesn't let us win immunity.

Let me just say, you guys were on fire today.

ANDY: Yeah.

This was some of the most impressive food we've seen from you

in the competition so far.

(ALL GASP AND EXHALE)

Well done, guys.

Guys...

Both teams took the pub by storm today,

but only one has secured their spot up on the gantry tomorrow.

First things first, the starters.

We were blown away.

Sue, you smashed those scallops.

(ALL CHEER)

I knew it!

And, Harry, the fish king strikes again.

(ALL CHEER)

We couldn't pick a winner between them,

so it came down to your mains.

Both teams' proteins were textbook.

Sumeet, that marinade was pure aromatic heaven.

(SUMEET EXHALES)

(JOSH SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) Thank you.

Orange Team, that Wagyu

had the Tassie Butcher written all over it.

(CHEERING)

Pezza, impeccable job.

But for one team, unfortunately, your sides let you down.

(EXHALES SHARPLY)

The team safe from elimination tomorrow...

..is...

..the Green Team.

(ALL GASP AND CHEER)

ANDY: Green Team, well done.

And, Nat, phenomenal leadership from you today.

ALL: Yes!

Thank you.

I take back everything I've said about team challenges.

If I'm captain, let's go.

This is my jam right here.

Orange Team, you just missed the mark.

Tomorrow you're gonna be put to the test...

..by a very, very special guest.

(GASPING)

So, guys, we see you back in the kitchen.

And for now, goodnight, goodbye.

Well done, everybody. Great effort today.

MAN: We go again tomorrow. (SIGHS)

ANNOUNCER: Tomorrow night on MasterChef Australia...

Please welcome Curtis Stone!

(CHEERING)

Who can keep up with Curtis...

ALEX: Doesn't really matter what everybody else is doing.

This is my race to run, and I'm here to win it.

..to keep their place in the competition?

Dude, he's working fast.

SUE: I'm in trouble.

I'm not going to repeat everything five times, you guys.

You gotta listen the first time.

GILL: I'm already falling behind and this is just the beginning.