Original subtitles

VOICEOVER: Previously on MasterChef Australia...

Oh! Oh-ho-ho!

..the mystery box was a golden opportunity.

It reminds me of Willy Wonka.

And I'm going to the chocolate factory.

A ticket straight into the semifinal.

That's absolutely huge.

They made bold choices...

No, it's not set at all.

..to wow the judges.

POH: That lamb is like butter.

It's so perfectly cooked.

SOFIA: It was flawless. JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Look at that.

JUDGES: Oh!

The dish is bloody mind blowing.

And Sav heard the words they all wanted to hear.

You're in the semifinals of MasterChef 2024!

But Harry, Nat and Pez face a pressure test tonight.

Here we go. We're back.

Big day. Fight for top three.

Good luck, guys.

Going into the pressure test with Nat and Pezza is daunting

because they're both incredible cooks.

But this is the ticket into semifinals.

Like, we're here at this point

because we want to push it to the limit.

(JUDGES APPLAUD)

Here they are!

Hello, everyone.

This pressure test is going to be monumental.

It is all that stands between you and the semifinals.

The only person that can breathe a sigh of relief is Sav.

How are you feeling up there?

Relieved, but very stressed for these guys.

SOFIA: Pezza...

..what psych-up music did you listen to this morning?

I'm a real country man, so...

I thought Enya was coming out, for sure.

But I had a bit of, uh, Paradise City by the Gunners

and, uh, better than this rubbish these guys listen to.

(LAUGHTER) Oh, my God.

(IMITATES CHUGGA-CHUGGA BEAT)

We all know!

I really...I really show my age when I'm listening to that rubbish,

I tell you.

Righto. Let's get into it.

Today's pressure test dish

has been carved up by a global superstar.

He's currently Chef of the Year,

and he's on the list of the top 100 chefs in the world.

From his incredible restaurants to his one-of-a-kind butchery,

he has single-handedly revolutionised

the way that we cook seafood.

I think Harry knows who we're talking about.

Please welcome the Fish King himself,

Josh Niland!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(WHISTLES)

Unbelievable.

I am stoked to see Josh...

..but this is playing into Harry's hands,

and that really scares me.

Harry, is this a dream come true for you or what?

Oh, 100%. Um, yeah. Josh, right, mate...

..um...

I don't know, I don't know why I'm getting emotional, but...

Oh.

Alright, mate.

I guess, you know, like, I just love seafood so much

because I spend so much time trying to catch it.

Yeah. That's why I don't bother.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you just opened my eyes up to,

like, respecting the catch

and caring for it, and, you know, using every bit of it.

And, yeah, just the creativity that comes along with that.

It's just such an inspiration.

So... Thank you.

I was a lot less nervous before...before you came in.

Alright, Josh.

Today, you'll be making my...

..Flounder Kandinsky.

(GASPS) Yeah.

I love it!

This is so artistic, so delicate, so beautiful.

Thank you. Thank you. Well done. Excellent.

ANDY: So, where did the inspiration come from?

Well, Kandinsky, being the artist,

I saw an image done by him

which was a square of concentric circles.

And I thought, "Well, you know, count the rings.

"How many sauces can we come up with?"

I've got macadamia puree,

a preserved lemon yoghurt, a zucchini and basil puree,

a squash puree,

and then, in the centre of the plate, harissa.

Wow.

I'm very familiar with Kandinsky's art.

I did Art at school.

And the fact that Josh Niland is inspired by Kandinsky,

it's literally music to my ears.

I feel like it's the nerdiest thing and I love it.

And then, applying technique around it,

that carries its own beauty, as well.

We've got a rack of yellowbelly flounder

that's been grilled on the barbie, and then the bellies.

In the side of that,

then, you've got a beautiful mousseline of scallops

that's seasoned with preserved lemon and chives,

and then a zucchini.

Don't be shy. SOFIA: Share, Harry, share.

HARRY: (CHUCKLES) Yeah.

Fish is cooked to perfection.

The mousse inside of that belly piece of the flounder

is just the perfect texture.

The sauces are really interesting because a lot of them

on their own are sort of, like, funky and a bit too much.

But then you have them all together, and they're perfect.

Whoa!

Yeah, we're in for a cracker.

Are you guys looking at this? Yeah.

Like, look at that. Yeah.

They're, like, as thin as a hair.

Mm.

The fish butchery component of this dish

is the one key pressure point.

SOFIA: But you're in luck.

Josh is going to show you how it's done!

NAT: No way! PEZZA: Nice.

I can't believe that I'm getting a masterclass by Josh Niland.

So, flounder, what we're going to do firstly

is take all the little fins off.

But whatever he does to his fish, it's so hard to replicate.

Now what we're going to do is draw the blade down from behind the head,

all the way down to the bottom, like this.

Then, I'm going to use scissors to separate the collar...

..the first cut that I've made,

and trim the ribs.

And then sweep down,

staying as close to the bone as possible.

Angling the blade across those bones.

And then, get your thumb underneath the fillet

so that then you can move across.

Sort of like a pinch-me moment. Josh is like a surgeon.

He's got that knife and it's like it's just an extension of his body.

It's incredible.

Just that belly piece alone.

You're doing all of the hard parts of butterflying a fish,

but with so much more difficulty.

It's definitely above my pay grade.

Now, what we have is a symmetrical belly

that's clean and ready

to then have mousse popped into the middle of it.

Now, for the star of the show,

it's the rack to get those perfect little bones.

I'm just cutting along,

just to trim the cartilage away

from the actual structured bones.

And then, what I'm doing is I'm going to make a scissor cut

in between each point.

So, boiling hot water,

dipping the bones in, without dipping the flesh in.

And the idea is you're cooking the flesh on the bone.

OK.

Now, take a napkin.

And this is usually where it goes pear-shaped.

This is where you'll run into issues

where the first one you do,

you'll apply just that too much pressure to it,

and you'll break the first one.

So, then, it's a matter of just sliding the cooked flesh

off the bone, all the way down.

PEZZA: Yeah, I'm loving watching Josh butcher this fish.

It looks like a little lamb rack.

Oh, yeah.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Wow! HARRY: So cool.

NAT: It's so... JOSH NILAND: So, that's our little

rack of flounder,

and there is going to be a part of us, like,

that are thinking to ourselves, "Well, what's the point?"

But that's what beautiful food is all about, right?

Like, I mean, create a new method,

create a new technique or create something

that's desirable to the eye,

and then we want it.

So, that's how you butcher a flounder into a rack...

..and the butterflied belly.

Good luck.

We're giving you three hours...

..and you'll have everything you need to recreate

Josh Niland's Flounder Kandinsky at your benches.

Of course, whoever's dish looks and tastes

the least like Josh's will be going home.

Alright, guys, your time starts now.

(CHEERING)

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Good luck.

PEZZA: She's going to be a tough one today,

but I'm raring and ready to go.

This is the part of the competition that we've all dreamt about.

And now it's here. Don't let it slip away.

I think being a butcher gives me a bit of an edge.

But because it's a fish,

I just don't know if these little butcher's hands

are going to be delicate enough for today's job.

As well as the fish butchery,

we've got to make a mousse and five sauces.

Josh's harissa in the middle of the plate was so smoky.

So, capsicum has got to go on the hibachi to start off with.

And that's going to really bring out that depth and body

in that harissa that we're really after.

Let's go. Let's go.

It's time to start on this scallop mousse.

The scallop mousse in the inside of the flounder belly

just made it go to the next level.

It was so soft and luxurious.

It was beautiful, and that's got to be perfect.

First thing, just need to blitz them nice and slow

and bring them all together.

And then, add eggwhites slowly

so it gives you that smooth texture and doesn't split the mix.

Nice work, Pezza!

And then wrap it up in the piping bag

and let it chill in the fridge,

ready to pump into that belly later on.

You know what I like very much, Josh?

You brought a bit of glamour into the fish world.

It's so intricate,

the way you are so delicately going through the fish.

I think you should change the name -

"The Fish Surgeon."

Surgeon? Choo-choo-choo.

SAV: Good pace, Nat!

I've got to be so switched on because I'm fighting.

Harry's a fish butcher and Pezza's THE butcher.

I don't have those skills.

The biggest strategy for me

is to really focus on the butchery of the fish.

So, I have to work really fast so that I have time later on.

I am definitely multi-tasking here.

I've got the charred peppers going,

and the scallop mousse is in the blender.

Oh, yeah. She looks like a good paste.

The scallop mousse is going to be one of the hardest things.

It's inside a flounder belly when it cooks.

So, I have to test it because this is going to be it.

Oh, my God.

I'm tasting my mousseline. And it's so, so good.

I think it needs a touch more salt. So I'm going to do that now.

But, oh, it's so delicate.

I've never made mousseline before, and that is... Oh, it's beautiful.

I'm so inspired by... (GIGGLES)

Just fangirling so hard right now.

HARRY: I'm actually feeling pretty good.

I finished my scallop mousse.

I'm really happy with the texture and the look of it.

My capsicum is looking great, the skin's black.

They're done.

But I think, if I've got any advantage today,

it's in the butchery and the preparation of the fish.

I've nailed it every time I've done it in this competition,

so I hope today is no different.

But having Josh in the kitchen

could be like having a Formula 1 driver

in the backseat of your car.

Yeah, it's pretty nerve-racking.

Harry. Hey, guys.

Don't mean to throw your food idol at you during a seafood cook, but...

What are you most concerned about today?

Mate, to be honest, the cook on the zucchini.

There you go.

We know you're confident with fish,

but don't let that confidence overwhelm you,

because it's the small things that will get you today

when the standard is this high. 100%, yeah.

Yeah, when we're splitting hairs at the end,

that's where we're going to pick it up.

100%.

Alright? Let's hope it works for you.

Thanks, guys. Thank you. Well done, mate.

This dish is all that stands between you and the semifinal.

Two hours to go!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Let's do the fish, hey?

First hour is gone, and I'm feeling alright.

I'm about to start my, um, fish necks, actually, so...

Um, I know that I'm going to struggle with the fish

a lot more than the others.

There are two cuts of the fish, and that's the rack and the belly.

And I have never butchered fish like this before.

Woo!

Let's go.

It's like you're doing, like, an operation on the fish, basically.

ANDY: Nat!

Hi.

Oh, if it couldn't get any more hectic for you,

now you've got the wizard himself looking over the top of you

while you're butchering it. Oh, God, please don't.

Is that the first step?

Nope. It's not.

That's a very good point.

You know, I did everything in that process

of the flounder for a reason. Yeah.

Literally, you have to follow each step.

Dammit!

I did everything in that process of the flounder for a reason.

Yeah.

Literally, you have to follow each step, one point at a time.

And I think we just walked over at a point

where number one got missed,

and we were straight into number two.

Yeah.

There's a time to take risks. There's a time to multi-task.

But then there's times to zone in... Yeah, to focus.

..on what is truly important... Yeah.

..to get you through to the semifinal.

Because those two, behind you... Yeah.

..they're on fire. Yeah.

Good decisions. Come on! Good luck.

Thank you.

I completely screwed up.

Step one was meant to be snipping the little tails

and the wings off first.

Dammit!

So, I completely step back.

I'm gonna get myself in the zone

and really stay focused and butcher this fish perfectly.

Holy crap.

This is precise.

How are we going? Am I up with 'em, Sav?

You're keeping very good pace. Thanks, darl.

I've done the scallop mousse.

I've done my capsicum.

And I think it's time to get on to this fish

and get some butchering skills out.

Pressure's on. I'm the butcher boy.

I need to take all the fins off around the outside,

and then we need to take the tail off.

The next step is to take the belly off in one piece.

I've just got to feather down those ribs,

peeling the flounder back as I go.

This is next-level stuff.

Like, it's just so delicate.

Stop your joking, Josh.

The butchering has got to be perfect.

Oh, mate.

That belly comes off beautifully.

Good job, Pez.

It just looks spectacular.

That's done. It's ready to be sat away

until I'm ready to fill it with the mousse.

I need to get onto this rack.

And this is where it gets a bit scary. (CHUCKLES)

Time to dip this flounder into the water.

This is a real pressure point.

We've got to get it down so close to the backbone.

JOSH NILAND: And this is the interesting thing as well.

The hands go into very shallow water.

You scorch yourself on one side of your hand,

the flounder goes in the water. Yeah.

And now you've got a poached flounder.

We don't want that.

PEZZA: When I lift it out of the water

and grab a bit of paper towel...

..this flesh just comes off so perfectly.

This is working just like Josh done, and I'm super stoked.

Proud butcher.

Yeah. Not as clean as Josh's, but it's close.

Give her a bit of a touch up, and, uh, Bob's your uncle.

I'm really pumped with this at the moment.

The bones are so clean.

It's really looking great.

NAT: Oh, my God, this is so fiddly.

SAV: Keep going, Natty. This is so hard, Sav!

Yeah, I can imagine. This is insane.

This is like...

Back yourself, yeah?

Yeah, I will.

I'm in the zone, and I'm looking at this flounder belly.

And I'm actually really proud of myself.

I can't believe I just did that.

Wow!

That has straight up given me so much more confidence

in this pressure test and to tackle the flounder rack.

Now she looks like she's nearly done.

She's got to do the bones.

It looks...gorgeous.

The soft flesh is falling off the bones.

OK. Next bit.

Uh, look, the fish is done, butchered, in the fridge.

I've got my macadamia tahini done.

Time to move on to the harissa.

I'm just stirring this harissa in the pan.

It's really starting to darken up.

And that's what we need.

Yeah, my harissa definitely looks like Josh's.

Bob's your uncle. Let's bottle it. SAV: Good work, Pezza!

It tastes good, Savi girl. That smells so good.

It's official!

One hour to go!

When you do it, you do it very well.

You gotta commit.

They're all really taking different strategies.

Yeah, they are.

Um, it looks like Pezza and Nat have done their fish butchery first,

but I'm assuming Harry's leaving it till later.

He's only just doing it now. Yeah.

HARRY: It's really delicate, filleting the flounder,

but I'm really enjoying it.

Um, you know, I feel like I'm... I don't know, making, like,

a little piece of origami or something,

like, it's just so therapeutic in a way.

I'm sort of, like, forgetting I'm in a pressure test.

I almost feel like I'm on the back of a boat in Moreton Bay

with a cold rum and, you know, some Cold Chisel playing.

I just want to make sure that I spend

as much time as I need on this to get it perfect.

Push, Harry!

I am watching Harry butcher that flounder

and he is babying it.

Like, hurry up, mate.

That's it, Hazza, come on!

Now that I've got the belly meat off the flounder,

the next step is to do the rack.

"Trim the back edge of the rack."

"Cut through the back edge of the rack."

(READS RECIPE ALOUD)

Come on, Harry.

Oh, I'm just a little bit confused with one step in the recipe

in regards to trimming, like, up near the head.

Hustle, Harry.

Says to cut it into two pieces.

You'll have one third in the head piece,

and then the tail piece being two thirds.

Push, Harry.

I'm just going to keep them both.

I'm going to cook them both on the hibachi

and just pick whichever one I think has cooked best.

Did you read everything? Yeah.

OK. I'm pretty sure.

That rack looks different to the others, so...

..I'm worried for him.

My fish is done, and it's ready to be cooked later.

And now, I need to go back to my harissa.

Ooh!

Careful.

That was close.

Not the flavour you want. Yeah. (CHUCKLES)

A little bit of blood. A bit of 'Haz-rissa.'

Yuck.

This harissa reminds me a lot of how I'd make a pasta sauce.

You know, slow, and, you know,

like, getting those flavours out over time and really caring for it.

That looks so good. Is it deep red?

It looks really red from up here.

Right, Mr Fish.

Hey, mate. How are you doing? Are you under control?

Uh, yeah. Are you?

I'm just... I realise I spent a lot of time

on making sure that the fish was how I wanted it.

Is the zucchini puree on?

No, no, it's not.

But the squash puree is done?

No. OK.

I mean, my fish and my harissa, I just wanted to spend the time on.

So, just your harissa is finished?

Yep.

Mate, we've got one sauce in a bottle. Yep.

We haven't started the green zucchini.

And you've still got to cook a fish on the grill

and steam in the oven and then plate it up later.

Yeah. So, I'm really worried.

Come on. How much do you want it?

Yeah. I'm gonna get there.

When your food idol comes to your bench

and tells you to hurry up, you hurry up.

And that means speed-reading.

I really hope it's not these purees that let me down.

Alright, Hazza? Yeah, mate.

Keep going, brother.

The sauces is such a big linchpin in this dish.

If one of those is a little off... Yeah.

..it's gonna bleed into just a bit of a mess.

It's not going to be a Kandinsky.

It's going to be more like a Pro Hart.

(OTHERS LAUGH)

PEZZA: I'm just wrapping up my zucchini puree.

Oh, my God, Pezza, the colour!

Time to get on to the curried squash puree.

We need to just get the seeds out.

Cut it into small pieces.

Straight into the pan.

What's that, Pezza? Table salt.

Time to chuck in some salt, some pepper

and a quarter of a teaspoon of curry.

Smells amazing, Pezza!

It's got to go into the blender.

It's got to be chilled.

How are you, chef? Good, mate.

You alright? Yep.

We've got five puree bottles. Yeah?

I've just got to put that last one into the bottle, champ.

OK. And then, we need to get the fish started,

because you need to give yourself a minimum

of 15 minutes to get it cooked.

Yeah. Otherwise, we've got nothing.

Stop worrying me, champ.

Mate, I want the fish.

All eyes are on the gold, champion.

He sounds like my dad.

He's riding me like a mongrel dog.

All the sauces are done.

Time to get back to the flounder belly.

I've just got to fill it

with this beautiful mousse that we've got.

I wrap it in the cling film and put it into the steamer.

Keep going, Pez.

Woo!

Moment of truth.

It's time to cook this rack on the hibachi.

Want to hang these bones over, off the side.

Because, otherwise, they're going to burn

and they're going to snap off.

It's got to be perfect.

(IN FRENCH) Attention! Attention!

Mes amis, you've got 30 minutes left to go!

SAV: Come on, guys, keep pushing.

Good luck! Keep going!

I'm blending my zucchini, and it's not looking good.

Alright.

Hello.

How did you prep the zucchini? Oh, I...

"Remove the skin of the zucchini, then finely slice the..."

Oh. Then finely slice the remaining skin and flesh.

Alright. You've gotta work out how to fix it.

OK.

If I redo my zucchini puree, I'm not going to have fish on the plate.

So, I'm just really adapting at the moment.

I'm going to puree this and hopefully get it really smooth.

Keep going, Natty.

Next, I get my squash puree into a blender

And then, I read the recipe again.

Oh! So annoying.

I've forgotten the curry powder.

I've already started the squash puree in the blender.

It's too late to mix the curry powder,

and I'm definitely not adding it in raw.

It's going to taste of undercooked spices

and my mum's going to kill me.

So, I'm toasting the curry powder off.

OK.

I could be going home today

because of these really silly mistakes.

Alright, Harry. Hey, mate.

Green zucchini... Green zucchini.

..and basil puree. It's well seasoned.

It's a little bit grainier than I wanted.

You've got to get on with it. You've got to crack on.

Yeah, for sure, mate.

'Cause don't forget the fish. Yeah.

So, I've managed to get the zucchini puree,

the macadamia tahini,

the preserved lemon yoghurt

and the curry squash puree all done.

Had to rush through them and move at such a pace.

But I've just got to hope that they're, you know, good enough.

OK. And then, we're focusing on cooking that fish.

I'm so stressed for time right now.

I'm skimming through this recipe

and I've got to steam this flounder belly.

Heads up, everyone.

You've only got 20 minutes to go.

Come on! Come on, guys!

You've got to lift!

I've unwrapped my flounder belly,

and it's time to get it in the steamer oven,

so I've got a thermometer in there.

Set the timer for six minutes,

and I can focus on getting the rest of my dish together.

So, I'm back at my bench,

and I can hear a beeping going off near the combi oven.

So, the fish is at temp,

but there's still plenty of time left on this timer.

Like, it shouldn't be ready yet.

Oh, no.

My fish has come up to temp,

but it's puffed up, and it's just not looking right.

Oh, no!

I was meant to leave the flounder in the cling film.

I just can't believe I've made this mistake.

Some of you are making very basic, simple mistakes.

You need to read the recipe.

You need to focus on the small details.

The devil is in the detail.

Oh. I, uh, have left my, uh...

I left the cling film off the flounder,

and I just reread it,

and it was meant to be in cling film in the steam oven,

so it sort of puffed up and opened up.

Uh...

Oh, I'm just annoyed at myself.

All I can do now is wrap it back up in cling film,

try and retain a bit of the shape and pretty it up,

and just hope that the cook on the fish is still acceptable.

The silly mistakes are starting to creep in

because the pressure is building.

Harry put his belly in the steamer with no cling film on.

Which is quite far into the cook. Oh, la-la-la.

NAT: Come on.

How much is resting time going to take?

40.

If there's one thing I didn't want to do today,

it's cooking two pieces of the most important part of the dishes,

the rack and the belly, at the same time.

Like, that's dangerous...

..but that's exactly what I'm doing.

So, the belly is, um, on the... uh, in the steamer again,

because it wasn't at temp.

I do know that the resting time will rise the temperature up.

Um, I'm very well aware of that.

I'm just wanting to put it in for maybe another minute.

I'm putting the flounder onto the hibachi,

and it's so hard to cook this rack perfectly,

because there are bones on one end that, if I char them,

they will just break.

Four minutes. Let's go.

Oh, man.

I have to get the fish out. It's gonna overcook!

My flounder belly, it needs to cook

until it reaches about 42 to 48 degrees.

OK. She's done.

It's 42 degrees.

It's going to have some resting time in the cling film.

I think it's good.

And I need to run straight back to the hibachi.

Oh, Nat!

Oh, my God.

Not only has the bones cracked,

but the bones are also charred.

They're not glistening white.

All that work into butchering the fish -

it's...it's now gone.

HARRY: So, I'm cooking both of my flounder racks on the hibachi,

and then I can decide which one's cooked better.

I feel like the smaller rack is going to be better cooked

because it's a fatter fillet.

So, that's the one that I'm going to plate up today.

Get that fish on the plate! You have five minutes to go!

Come on!

(JUDGES APPLAUD)

PEZZA: I'm happy with my fish, but I need to plate it up.

First up, the zucchini.

I'm shaking like a sieve.

And it's time to move on to these sauces.

The squash puree, the macadamia, the harissa, the lemon.

I start with the macadamia tahini.

Then I pipe in the preserved lemon yoghurt,

followed by the zucchini puree,

the curry squash puree,

and then finish off with the harissa.

And I've got these beautiful circles and it looks really pretty.

NAT: This is it. Let's go.

I'm going to start with the macadamia tahini,

and then continue that with all the different sauces

until they're beautifully spread, like a Kandinsky painting.

I start with a dollop in the middle of around about a 10-cent piece.

And then, I'm just slowly working these perfect circles, you know?

But this is going alright.

I'm pretty happy with it.

That word 'Kandinsky' is probably not in my, uh...my repertoire.

I know Michelangelo and Leonardo - that's about the only two.

And I think I only know them

because they're Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

I finally get to the last one, the harissa.

"Oh, my God, Josh, what have you done?"

All the sauces are on the wrong order.

It's back to front.

Oh, this just really, really throws a curveball to me now.

30 seconds left to go!

Good luck!

I put the fish belly, the fish rack on the plate.

Not overly happy, but I've just got to go with it.

So I take my flounder belly out of the cling wrap,

and I've recovered it to a point that I think it's plate-able,

and hopefully it turns out alright.

So, I've got my smaller chop up at two o'clock,

and then I've got the belly piece at six o'clock.

For a spot in the semifinals in 10...

JUDGES: Nine, eight, seven,

six, five, four,

three, two, one!

(APPLAUSE)

NAT: Oh, God.

If there was one plate I really wanted to do well, it was...

..it was this one.

There's just so many things that I feel like I've done wrong.

Um, squash puree, I'm worried about,

the cook on the fish I'm really worried about.

I love this place so much.

I don't want to leave.

I'm not ready at all.

(SIGHS)

Oh, I'm just a bit flat.

A silly little mistake and a mental error...

..this could cost me my whole existence in the competition.

Pezza.

Chefs.

Hey, Pezza.

Here it is.

Wow!

Anything you're worried about here?

I've got to be honest with you,

the only thing that worries me is the look of the plate.

We can't wait to taste, so get out of here.

Yeah. Thanks. Lovely to meet you, mate.

Thanks, Pezza.

There's a big problem here.

JOSH NILAND: The sauces, they've been put down in the wrong order.

We will experience something slightly different to what I put up.

Let's see how we go.

Let's do it.

I'm absolutely pumped for Pezza!

I think the butchery on the fish absolutely played to his strengths.

He did that to perfection.

Of course, he got the sauces reversed.

Um, but I didn't really mind that, to be honest.

I think it still ate pretty well, which is a testament to how,

you know, well-balanced the dish is.

So, there's no doubt that Pezza's done a very good job.

Absolutely.

And for him to replicate what he knows

and what he enjoys doing with meat, with fish, it's just phenomenal.

The flounder belly with the scallop mousse,

the precision of the steaming cooking

is very, very, very well done.

I am actually quite impressed. Thank you.

I thought he'd struggle with how intricate this was.

But the butchery was phenomenal.

Like, absolutely phenomenal.

And that was a huge pressure point of this dish.

You know, the integrity of all those bones

was really good to see.

And the cooking on the bone was beautiful.

Nice amount of smokiness to it.

The macadamia tahini is delicious. It's fatty.

Yes, we would have liked a little bit more,

but I think even the consistency of all the sauces

being, you know, very much aligned to what I had.

I think, all in all, it's a success.

NAT: I am terrified

because I did not only screw up one element...

..I screwed up multiple elements.

POH: Hi, Nat. Hi, Nat.

Oh, ooh!

Well, I think it looks, it looks the part.

It could be better.

I know how disappointed you are...

I am, I am. ..that this isn't perfect.

Yeah.

And that's what scares me - that this isn't perfect.

This could be the dish that sends you home.

To leave on this dish, I'd be annoyed at myself.

Alright, Nat. We'll taste your dish now.

Thank you. Thanks, Nat.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Well done. Thank you.

Thank you.

Let's have a look.

If we're going to have a look at this mousse a bit closer,

if I open that up...

..it's very underdone.

It looks a bit like scrambled egg. It does.

Ah, that really bums me out.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: She's so capable. I can't believe this.

VOICEOVER: Get inspired by our fabulous home cooks!

Stream full episodes of MasterChef Australia now

on 10Play.

It's obvious to all of us here how underdone the flounder flesh is.

But as well as that, like you just said to me,

that's scrambled eggs in appearance.

Well, I'm just disappointed.

And clearly, there is more faults than there is goods.

And I probably won't even sleep because of that.

It's the fact that the belly is clearly uncooked.

But I really enjoyed the macadamia for two reasons.

Because it smells absolutely lovely and from far.

And it tastes... Oh!

Yeah. I could lick it.

The quality of the French trim was excellent.

I think we all appreciate and know that cooking anything on the bone

carries a certain challenge to it.

And we've lost a couple,

but she's managed to harness some of the gelatine within.

Yep.

Her sauces, some of them are absolutely incredible.

I really love the hit of curry... Curry, yeah.

..in that squash puree. You can say it's better than mine.

(LAUGHTER)

I was...I was leading a horse to water, mate,

and I'm glad you drank it. So...

I reckon she's done me a service in toasting that curry powder off,

so I'm going to add that one into the repertoire.

Now we're on to the negatives.

And there's some doozies in there, like the belly -

both the flesh of the flounder and also that scallop mousse,

it is well undercooked.

It's just a glaring mistake

and something that is putting her on the precipice.

Big time.

I wish that there was a dish standing between me and semifinals

that I was 100% confident on.

I just hope that, like, the adjustments that I've done,

it is enough to, you know, keep me safe

and send me into that semifinal.

Harry! Hey, guys.

Hey, Harry. How are you?

Hi.

Right.

Was it a considered decision about which part of the rack you served?

Um...

I just knew that that one, being a bit thicker,

you know, there's more chance of it being better, so...

I think if I had, you know,

my squash puree and everything sorted, um...

So, time crept up?

(SIGHS) Oh, yeah. Yeah. For sure.

Yeah.

Thanks so much, Harry. Awesome. Enjoy.

ANDY: Cheers, mate.

I'm still a little bit perplexed about the choice on the rack.

Yeah, I think if we're being real, it's a bit

"Honey, I Shrunk The Fish."

Yeah.

If that came to you in a restaurant, you'd just be like...

Where's the rest of it? .."Well, what is that?"

Confused. Yeah.

Bon appetit. Let's see.

I really, really feel for Harry.

This should have been his moment to shine...

Yeah. ..but I think it really got to him.

I think he was fangirling.

I think you being in the house

might have actually intimidated him a little bit.

Let's start with the positive.

The harissa is caramelised perfectly.

It's like for like in terms of yours.

But I thought it was such an odd choice

to pick that piece of the rack. Yeah.

You know, for me, it wasn't butchered perfectly either.

And that's...that's the thing that I thought Harry was going

to hang his hat on in this challenge, you know?

Right where the head comes off, there was blood all in that.

I'm not appetised to that because there's a bit of red. Yeah.

It actually was quite plasticky around the edges.

It was definitely dry.

And both pieces, the belly and the rack,

the skin I found really rubbery. Yeah.

It's like a rubber band.

Putting the belly in with no cling film wrapped around it,

it's just made that skin contract, and it hasn't really cooked.

It's really so tight.

The zucchini, there was something about it that wasn't quite there,

and maybe it was the depth of the cuts.

I don't think it came down far enough.

I want to say that I enjoyed the squash puree,

but, again, I kind of lean into that needed a little bit more lift,

whether it's salt or some of the curry.

And I don't think you can justify or offset that

by making a fantastic harissa.

Well, what a tasting. Um...

It was wild. That had everything.

We've got two very at-risk dishes.

I think we've got Nat's dish,

which had a pretty severe flaw with the flounder belly.

But then, Harry's dish,

that was littered with flaws right across the dish.

It's like... What's worse?

I'm always so shocked and impressed at the standard,

uh, of cooks coming out of this kitchen.

I think you should all hold your heads very high.

Everyone, give it up for Josh Niland!

Yeah! Josh Niland!

It was a bloody tough cook...

..but one of you nailed it.

Welcome to the semifinals...

..Pezza!

Oh, ho-ho-ho! (APPLAUSE)

My legs are just shaking.

I can't...

I don't know what's going on.

Harry, Nat...

..one of your dishes had one major flaw...

..totally undercooked flounder belly.

The other had multiple minor flaws.

And at the end of the day...

..what affects a dish more is the sum of its parts.

I'm so sorry, Harry...

..but you're leaving the competition today.

You don't have to be sorry. Like, I know I made some mistakes.

I wanted to say to you, as well,

um...

..there was a number of experiences that I've had

where I was responsible for the kitchen,

and then, all of a sudden,

your mentor comes in

and people that you admire more than they could imagine.

And I know that that's steered me wrong on a couple of occasions.

And it does hurt because you cook with emotion.

What you did today, you should be very proud.

Pezza, you got any words for your mate, Harry?

You're just a top bloke, mate.

I love, just, uh...

I don't want to talk. Um...

(LAUGHTER)

You're a good cook. Thanks, man.

Don't forget that, man.

(VOICE QUAVERS) I'm going to miss you.

(APPLAUSE)

I think the only place I've been where,

you know, people care so much about,

like, your creativity and want you to do well

is around my family.

So, like, I get it when people say that,

like, it is like a family here.

Like, I'm gutted it's over.

But, yeah, I'm proud of the journey that I've been on

and really grateful for the experience.

I want you to look around,

and look at the impact that you've had on these people.

But, for now, mate, unfortunately, it's time to say a big goodbye.

Yeah.

Well done. Seriously, well done.

To have cooked for Josh today,

like, that's just a dream come true in itself.

The highlight for me isn't a moment or a thing,

it's just the people.

Love you, mate.

Yeah, they're the stuff that, like, you just hold on to forever.

Sorry, bro.

I love you, mate.

At the end of the day, that's what I'll be grateful for the most.

(LOUDLY) Yeah! Harry!

(LAUGHS) (APPLAUSE)

VOICEOVER: Sunday night on MasterChef Australia...

We're swapping places!

..the judges have their work cut out for them.

It is payback time, baby.

Then...

You three are going head-to-head

against Poh, Jean-Christophe and Andy.

Oh, yes!

It's the biggest showdown of the season.

NAT: You guys are in for a doozy.

Where's the plug? Plug, plug, plug.

Oh, my God, my hands are shaking so much!

ALL: Five, four, three, two, one!