Original subtitles

ANNOUNCER: This season on Dessert Masters...

CHRISTY: This is my Raspberry Mushroom Vacherin.

JOHN: This is my Alter Ego.

..a new batch of pastry superstars...

AMAURY GUICHON: Wow, wow, wow!

..vying for the title.

It's so good.

MELISSA LEONG: It's just masterful work.

I love it.

Inspiring challenges...

(EXCLAIMING)

REECE: Oh, my God. What is going on?

I just got goose bumps.

KATHERINE: Oh, my golly gosh!

CONTESTANTS: Whoa!

Yay!

AMAURY: Bring us a story.

MELISSA: You've seen the master at work.

CHRISTY: That's amazing. Now it's your turn.

Go.

(SCREAMING, EXCLAIMING)

..skill...

Oh, my God!

..talent... EMELIA: Wow-wee!

Nice. That looks amazing.

..passion...

REECE: So, this is the things that I grew up loving to eat.

So, yeah, it means a lot to me.

(CHEERING)

..led to spectacular dishes.

AMAURY: This is what I came to Australia for,

to see this type of thing.

Yes! (CHEERING)

That is simply smashing!

I love it. It is so playful. It is so fun.

Cheers.

I have never seen anything like this, ever before.

Now, just three remain.

John...

(LAUGHTER) Hi, everyone.

..the globe-trotting pastry chef...

..with Michelin-star skills.

I love this dessert.

Flawless.

Christy...

Oh, God. Oh, God, oh, God.

..a legend of the Australian pastry scene...

..with a flair for the spectacular.

MELISSA: This is amazing!

I just don't know what to say. I'm speechless.

Thank you.

And Emelia...

Damn! Damn, girl.

..a MasterChef champion...

..here to make history by winning a second title.

Bro...

Mmm, it's so fantastic. (LAUGHS)

Who will be crowned Australia's next Dessert Master?

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(EXHALES HEAVILY)

Now, that the gang's all here,

let me officially welcome you to the Grand Finale

of Dessert Masters 2024!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

You three walked into this competition

as pastry elites,

and we could not be prouder of what you have achieved.

Day after day, you served absolute bangers.

(LAUGHTER)

I did good? (CHEERING)

Thank you, thank you.

I had to rehearse for three hours before, yeah.

(LAUGHTER)

This is it, you three.

One of you is about to win it all.

¤100,000,

that trophy...

..and the title of Australia's Dessert Master!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

We believe each of you has what it takes to win.

Best of luck, everyone.

Thanks.

Throughout this competition, there have been some pretty

big challenges,

but trust me, this is the biggest.

You will be serving five people.

Not just any five people.

Tonight,

joining Amaury and I are three renowned pastry chefs.

We, along with our guests, will be expecting two themed courses.

This is Dessert Masters Australia,

so what better inspiration than a classic Australian combo?

Course one is green.

Ah!

We want a lush, vibrant, verdant plate, full of life.

And course two is gold.

Think luxury, indulgence...

..and a touch of sparkle.

Hey, Dan? Always.

(LAUGHS)

Here are the rules.

You will have four hours to serve up your green course.

One hour after that, you will need to serve the gold one.

Mel and I will score both of your dishes out of 10

for a possible total score of 40.

I can only imagine the amount of stress you guys are under...

..but regardless of this, try to focus on having fun

and cook with your hearts.

Your time starts...

..now!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Go, go, go!

ALISHA: Go, Melsy!

Go, John! Go, Christy!

Go, guys!

You can do it! Woo!

Um... (SIGHS)

It's OK. Keep it together.

Pistachios.

Four hours to come up with two beautiful dishes

and present five plates of each,

perfectly, identically is a huge push.

But this is my second Grand Finale in this kitchen, so I think

I'm well versed with the pressure of it.

I know what the expectations are for Grand Finale,

so I want to take two desserts that I've done before

and reinvent into a beautiful, plated, cohesive dessert.

75 isomalt, 60 glucose, 180 apple.

I've chosen a couple of dishes that are quite familiar to me

from my time in this kitchen.

So, the inspiration from the green dish

comes from my time in series six.

I was cooking for Heston, and I was doing this dish

all around my grandma's apple tree.

I want to do version two, that's, you know, elevated,

stripped back,

using apple, lemon verbena and mascarpone.

And my head for gold instantly goes to my Paris-Brest.

Paris-Brest I made in my Back To Win series.

It's a classic French choux pastry.

I'm really here to show who I am. (VOICE QUAVERS)

I don't want to be anyone who I'm not here.

I was that last time, and I don't want to repeat that.

And it was a real kind of moment of clarity, where I thought,

"I don't need to pretend to be something I'm not.

"I can...I can just make what I love and do it really well."

I've kind of been keeping my Paris-Brest up my sleeve,

just in case I got to this moment.

OK, you can do it.

In my mind, I am picturing three beautiful choux buns

with some chocolate discs,

floral tuiles and a beautiful chocolate gelato.

Gold dish, I'm going to start after my green dish.

I'm going to do them kind of chronologically.

So, I'm working on my apple dish now because I'm making an entremet.

So, I've got to get that on, get it set, and then, uh...

..just stay on track.

Kiwi.

(HUMS QUIETLY)

Uff!

Go, Christy Tania!

Thank you, Reece-y. I love you.

I love you, too.

It's surreal to be here.

I'm really, really...

I'm pinching myself.

And it's just a really great feeling, to be honest.

Christy! Hello.

I am so excited for this.

What are you making? Um, so the first,

for the green dish, it's a kiwi mojito.

Ooh! Kiwi mojito?

Yes. Kiwi, definitely. Alright!

So, it's very fresh.

It's as if you have a cocktail made of fruit salad.

Have children? This will be it.

Cool. (LAUGHS)

Right now, I'm piping the meringue that is going to cover

the whole entire dish.

And it's going to have a mojito mousse

and a lot of white rum.

And my second dish is inspired by absolute Australian gold,

which is macadamia nuts.

When I first came to Australia, I realised this country

is just full of richness,

so I just want to hero and champion the Australian produce.

Yep. So Australian macadamia.

Australian Mandarin.

Even using Australian milk chocolate.

So, combined together, it looks like a macadamia.

And we're going to dip it in gold.

Ah-ha!

Um, I love it, but you often put a lot on your shoulders

in this kitchen. Yes.

What's the plan for tonight?

The plan is to try to step back a little bit

and focus on the flavour

and spend time to just... Perfection.

..put a grand final dessert.

OK.

Good luck to you, Christy. Bye-bye. Thank you so much, guys. Thank you.

Spiky, spiky!

For my green dish, I have so many components that need to set.

Thank you very much. You are done.

And now...you.

So, I need to get all these elements done now.

I'll deal with you soon.

Do you want to hear a neat trick? Yeah.

Yeah?

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!

CONTESTANTS: Oi, oi, oi!

(LAUGHTER)

Pretty cool, huh? What is this?

I don't even know.

Even John joined in.

See? It works.

He's got the fig leaf. Go, John!

Super stoked to be in the Grand Finale.

I still can't really believe it.

So, I'm going to go all in today.

(LAUGHS)

I'm a little bit scared.

I'm a bit stressed.

Knowing there's going to be three other pastry chefs to cook for,

10 total plates instead of one.

Usually, I'm hiding away in the shadows.

But being here, I've made some really wonderful dishes.

This is amazing chocolate work, John.

Every texture inside was perfection.

This is just a mastered plate.

This is Dessert Master-winning worthy stuff.

Absolutely.

And that's made me so confident.

And now, I believe that I've got the skills to win the Grand Finale.

Yeah, man!

Woo!

To be in the running to win tonight...

..I'm going to need to bring big, delicious flavours.

But also, more than that, it's going to need to be magical,

whimsical, impressive.

I can see Emelia is using Apple and Christy is using kiwi fruit

for the first dish.

Both are really refreshing and visually green,

but when I think about the colour green,

I think about running around Mum's backyard,

and right in the centre is this giant fig tree.

So, I want fig leaf to be the hero of my dish tonight.

I want it to look natural.

I want there to be movement.

I don't want it to be straight lines.

I want it to be alive.

Hey, John. What are you making?

Green and gold. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie.

Oi, oi, oi. Alright.

Starting with the green - what's your vision?

Starting with the green.

I'm going to use a couple of Australian natives in there.

I'm going to use fig leaf as the main flavour of the dish.

So, that's the dominant? That's the leading flavour? That's the dominant flavour, yeah.

Wow! That's a bold choice.

In my childhood home, massive fig tree in the backyard,

so I want to bring a bit of that.

It's a...it's a challenging one sometimes.

It can either be very herbaceous,

or it can become a little unwieldy.

A bit too tannic. Yeah.

Yes, it can definitely be a bit too tannic.

I think a dish like this could really go south quickly.

If I don't get every element right and they don't work in harmony,

I'll be in big trouble.

Let's move on to the gold course.

Tell us about what's... what the dish is.

Sticking with the Aussie theme here,

I want to do a big nod to the Victorian gold rush era.

A leading flavour is going

to be probably brown butter and whisky.

OK. OK.

That's also a bold choice.

Having leading flavour as fat and alcohol,

uh, it can go south very quickly. Yeah, sure.

Too boozy, and it takes the overall palate.

Those are not easy flavours to work with.

You know, actually never done it before,

so I hope I don't shoot myself in the foot.

Alright. Good luck. Thank you, John. Good luck.

Bye.

Very tannin. Very, very tannic.

Just by the smell, huh?

Emelia, John, Christy,

this is your last cook in this kitchen.

Make it count. Three hours to go!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Three hours!

Go, guys!

Go, guys.

CHRISTY: Sweating, eh? So serious.

OK. Duh-duh-duh...

I'm taking a big risk here,

using such bold flavours for both dishes,

but one of my biggest strengths

is working with big, punchy flavours.

REECE: Go, John!

Thanks, Reece.

Basically, I just need to make sure I nail my flavours

or I won't be winning today.

Fig leaf can be a really delicate flavour

or it can be a super aggressive flavour.

It's got so many tannins, so I need to take my time

and make sure that the balance is just perfect.

OK.

And the colour will be beautiful, as well.

ALISHA: Yeah.

We love it. Actually, you're in the perfect spot.

Reece!

CHRISTY: So far, everything is going good

for my mojito-inspired dish.

Very boozy, very yummy.

So, I'm moving on to the second course.

I'm piping my mandarin cremeux, which is going to have a little bit

of a praline in the centre,

and it's going to be encased with a chocolate macadamia mousse.

Gold dish is called Australian Gold.

Excuse me.

I want to show the judges that I can push myself

and try to put a lot of flavour in this dish.

So, I'm using chocolate, mandarin and macadamia,

which are really rich.

And I want to create this perfect shiny, gold macadamia bowl.

Such a sucker for punishment.

At the beginning of this competition...

..I came in with a lot of self-doubt.

But I have pushed myself to the absolute limit.

How about that? It's awesome.

It's here! Yay!

Oh!

Showing different layers of myself.

I've never seen anything like that before in this kitchen.

With this new-found confidence, I really want to push through.

I really want to give it my all

because I really want to win.

Nice. Done.

Chefs, you have an hour and a half left to go!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOHN: Oh, my goodness.

Let's go!

EMELIA: Oh, God.

OK, I'm just going to have a little calm down.

I thought I would have had a bit more done at this point.

You've got this.

So, I've got my apple entremets in the blast chiller

for my green dessert.

And now, I'm skipping ahead to my gold dish.

My original plan was not to cook both dishes at once.

I was planning to cook them chronologically.

(SIGHS)

But I'm definitely going to have to multi-task now.

I need to start my praline paste and my choux pastry

for my gold dish.

Next, choux.

I can feel this pressure bubbling inside of me.

I can feel my mind starting to get a little bit hectic.

Is that breakfast?

JOHN: Three-minute... three-minute eggs.

Three-minute eggs? I'll make an emulsion.

Using big words, John.

Yes, Chef. (LAUGHS)

Emulsion.

Oh, OK, John.

Whatever. (LAUGHS)

Time is flying.

I'm working on my second dish now, predominantly.

Dish two is going to be called Eureka.

And with this dish, I've chosen ingredients that are tied to gold.

I've got brown butter.

I've got whisky, chocolate, caramel.

And then, I've got malted barley.

I want it to be the finishing move.

I want it to be luxury, rich and delicious.

I'm going to do a little nod to the Victorian goldmines,

the gold rush era.

So, I'm picturing, like, a chocolate cake

that's hollowed out and filled with a brown-butter emulsion.

On top of that, will be, like, a caramelised chocolate parfait.

And then, build almost like a cave out of pastry.

And my dessert will be sitting on the inside.

I know that if I want to be a contender to win the Grand Finale,

I need to bring more than just flavour.

That's why I'm going with the goldmine concept.

I've got an idea to shape pastry over the silicone mould,

and that's going to give the real goldmine effect

that I'm going for.

I've layered my pastry with clarified butter and sugar.

Then, I'm just cooking it in a really low heat,

spraying it with a whisky syrup.

Slowly, slowly, slowly,

and it's just caramelising, layer, layer, layer.

Just backing up all that whisky flavour.

I know Chef is worried that I'm using such bold flavours,

but doing this pastry is way harder.

I've never done anything like this before.

It could just be a complete disaster, and you won't know

until the end, when you take the pastry out of the oven.

So, it's critical that I nail this

because I won't have time to do it again.

Whose idea was this?

Chefs, your first dishes leave the pass in 30 minutes!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Come on!

Uh, I didn't realise it's 30 minutes.

Holy shit.

Um...

Ah!

(EMELIA GROANS)

I'm working away, across both dishes,

and I don't love doing that.

I've got my hazelnut praline on the go.

I'm working on my choux pastry,

and I'm just working on the crisp

that is going to sit on top of my apple dessert.

REECE: Good job, Melsy.

Proud of you.

Oh!

It's definitely greener than I was anticipating.

(GROANS)

It's just so dark.

It is so fake-looking.

Now, I have to remake my apple crisp

because I absolutely cannot use this.

Now I feel like something is burning. Sorry.

Something's burning.

It smells like toast.

DARREN: Something is burning.

Mels. Mels, are your nuts out?

Oh!

And now, I've burnt my hazelnuts.

The Paris-Brest is all about the praline paste,

so I feel like my chances of winning Dessert Masters

are totally slipping away.

(SIGHS)

She's looking stressed.

DONATO: Mels is not in a good place.

Keep going. Keep going.

15 minutes to go! Come on, guys!

ALISHA: Come on, let's go!

Go, go, go, go!

EMELIA: Um...

Hi, Amelia. Hi, Mel.

How's everything going? Not good.

I left my praline paste a bit too long and let it burn.

Oh.

So, um, I'm just struggling a bit with the pressure.

Release that little bit of emotion,

and just get back to that bad-ass place

where you know exactly who you are.

You're making your food. Yep.

You got this.

Thanks, Mel.

REECE: You've got it, Melsy.

It's OK. Get it together.

I'm definitely not a quitter.

I have never given up in this kitchen,

and I know that feeling of winning and holding up the trophy.

So, it's time for me to bounce back,

do it again.

Just going to keep melting it all together and see.

OK.

I am going to leave my hazelnut praline on the side,

because I need to finish this green dish.

For the first course,

I need to finish off my apple sorbet

and remake my apple crisp.

Go, Melsy!

And get my little entremets out of their moulds.

They need to defrost so that they are a beautiful

eating temperature.

REECE: Go, Melsy!

Hey, finalists,

are you ready to see who our very special guests are?

Please welcome Adriano Zumbo,

Kirsten Tibballs,

and our Dessert Master Gareth Whitton!

Oh!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

REECE: I'm seeing these three walk in,

I'm obviously a little bit starstruck.

I love all three of them.

Kirsten Tibballs, queen of chocolate.

Oh! Zumbo, just a god in the game.

And last year's winner Gareth.

Really excited that they're here,

and I'm sure it's going to be really nerve-racking

cooking for these three.

Well, it's amazing having you in our space again,

under slightly more glamorous circumstances for you.

Less stress.

How does it feel? GARETH: Awesome.

It's good to be on this side, actually.

Yeah!

Well, as you may have picked up on the way in,

the theme is a two-course challenge of green and gold.

It's an interesting one, and I really hope

they all just smash it.

Now, Gareth, what does it take to be a winner in this kitchen?

Uff!

You're gonna have to do better than that, Gareth.

(LAUGHTER) Yeah.

"Uff!" You have to reveal

some of your secrets.

I think your attitude and how you approach

a situation like tonight, I think is going to be reflected

in your dishes, so... Yeah, the mental is very important.

Yeah, I don't know.

Hopefully, these guys can, you know, put me to shame.

So, I have pretty much done everything for the first course.

And I really want to put up the best plate possible.

So, I want to add a mojito foam to the first course.

I really would like to emphasise the white rum flavour

to just bring out the freshness of the dish.

So, the mojito foam is going to add a very light, airy version

of a mojito drink.

Chefs it's time to serve your first course!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

JOHN: I need to start bringing my first dish together.

So, you flavoured the chocolate with figs?

Yeah, I made a fig...fig-leaf oil.

I want the judges, when they taste my first dish, to get a little bit

of sweetness and smooth elements coming from the white chocolate.

Super green colour, it's nice.

Oh, that's what gives the colour? No colourant, just fig.

Whoa. Yeah, yeah.

And then, refreshing from the fig-leaf ice-cream.

Oh, my goodness.

Why is this so hard?

Do you like it? As long as you like it.

Oh, gosh.

Oh, my goodness.

I'm going to press my fig-leaf ice-cream down

and make a fun shape to bring a modern edge to my dish.

I'm using the creaminess of the ice-cream

paired up with the white chocolate cremeux as the base of this dessert.

What I'm trying to do with all these other ingredients

is to bring another layer of flavour and sweetness.

DONATO: Good on you, Johnny. Nice, John.

Super.

And lastly...

..my fig leaf oil.

Beautiful.

Service, please. Yeah.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

It's risky cooking with fig leaf,

so I'm hoping that all the components work harmoniously.

Hello, everyone. Hey, John.

JUDGES: Hello.

(LAUGHTER)

Oh, wow. Wow.

What's the name of your dish?

Can You Fig It?

Oh, nice! (LAUGHS) Can You Fig It?

Now, the key flavours are white chocolate and fig leaf.

Thank you very much.

Oh!

It is so stunning. ADRIANO: Yeah.

Oh, my God.

Big question for us is, has he tamed the flavour of the fig leaf?

Let's try.

Far out.

That was a herbaceous lactonic dream.

I absolutely loved it.

I can't stop smiling, it's so good.

Fig leaf is one of those flavours where, if you can nail it

to that perfect level of coconutty greenery,

you get just this tropical joy.

And that's what you get here.

The ice-cream is gorgeous.

It's silky, it's soft, it's the perfect texture.

But the white chocolate plays such a key part in adding richness

and sweetness to this dish.

The mousse itself is really, really light.

Some heavy-hitting flavours and textures going on,

but every single one of them just works in seamless harmony.

It's a very adult dessert to me.

It's not something easy to comprehend.

It's very subtle.

There is many nuances that all take you on a specific journey.

Even flavouring the chocolate around to make sure

you have a different experience than just plain old

boring white chocolate,

using only natural colourants from the oil he made

from the fig leaf.

It is definitely Grand Finale worthy.

He's taken a lot of risk with those flavours,

and...and the way he's finessed them, it blew me away.

Not only the flavour combination,

but the texture combination for me.

Outstanding.

John asked, "Can We Fig It?"

I think we can.

Yes, we can. (JUDGES LAUGH)

CHRISTY: My mojito foam is done.

It's very boozy, very yummy.

Ah, still stressed, still under the palm.

Alright, I just need to run.

I've got my kiwi-pear fruit salad compote,

mojito mousse,

kiwi, pear and lime sorbet.

To top it off, I pipe some mojito foam

and close it with the lime-leaf meringue.

KATHERINE: Look at that. Look at that!

Service.

What I hope is that, when the judges close their eyes and take a bite,

it tastes just like mojito.

Christy, what do we have here?

This is my Kiwi Mojito.

Thank you so much, Christy. We'll taste.

Thank you.

I think it's quite fun.

The colours are so fresh.

You... I'm anticipating a very fresh dessert.

I think it was a very beautiful visual dessert.

Refreshing and good in flavour,

and it really hits the mojito mark.

But for me, I think it's a little bit too mojito.

It did deliver on the promise of the flavour.

I love the fruit salad around.

I thought it was so refreshing,

and the texture of the sorbet is fantastic.

However, I will have to agree with Adriano.

When there is alcohol, there is always a risk

to be too boozy.

I think, because of the form, the white rum takes over everything

in my palate.

I would have loved something that sort of just melted away

and gave you the sensation of rum.

So, that was definitely a little bit distracting.

But I think the creamy textures and the fresh, acidic flavours

really worked together to complement one another nicely.

OK, next.

I've had a couple of wobbles so far in this cook,

but I am pushing on...

..and it's time to serve my green dish.

Still frozen.

Oh, man.

My entremets are still frozen in the centre.

Stay calm.

No, lost it.

I'm, like, gonna cry for her.

I just want her to be able to plate up, yeah.

REECE: You can do it, Melsy.

I'm feeling, now, like dish one is a total flop.

(SNIFFS)

You good, Melsy?

Don't stress.

(CRIES)

I'm about to send out my first dish,

and I think my entremets might be frozen inside.

(SNIFFS)

Don't stress. Don't stress.

You're amazing.

And my hands are completely tied...

..because I have to start plating up my dish.

Ooh. (SIGHS)

All I can do is present it beautifully and hope for the best.

I've got my verbena mascarpone mousse,

apple and pistachio entremet on the plate

with a quenelle of apple-sorrel sorbet.

And then, finish it off with that beautiful apple crisp.

Yes. So good!

Service, please.

God, I love that colour of the green.

That shade is so pretty.

Wow. ADRIANO: Wow.

Thank you. Wow. Terrific.

This looks gorgeous.

AMAURY: Sexy green.

Emelia, what do we have?

We have Apples And Verbena.

Are you happy?

Uh, I'm not...

I think it looks beautiful, but I just am not overly happy

with the temperature.

OK. Yeah.

Thank you. We'll taste. Thank you.

Thanks.

(CRISP CRUNCHES AND CRACKLES)

I don't think there is a temperature problem at all.

It eats very well. It is very refreshing.

All the flavours she announced really come through

from the apple confit in the centre.

The mousse is light, quite soft.

The sponge has a lot of bite and strong flavour of pistachio,

and the tuile not only plays a great visual, but is also

just crispy enough and brings a lot of crunch to the dessert.

I'm in my pistachio era, right now,

and so that was, like... That was a real winner.

And you could actually smell that pistachio, that nuttiness.

Mmm.

I think every texture here is being eaten at the height

of where it's meant to be.

That mousse is so airy, so velvety -

it just envelops everything in the most luscious way.

The sorrel and apple sorbet, not icy at all.

Again, really refreshing, really cleanses the palate.

And then, that apple crisp.

It was a fun texture, really great to crack into.

Mmm. That was beautiful.

It added a bit of theatre, as well.

I think this was a light, bright dish.

And I think that it fit the theme perfectly.

Well, we're one course down.

But there's still one more course to go.

Shall we go change tables?

Sounds good.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

JANA: Keep going, keep going!

JOHN: OK.

CHRISTY: Stressy, stressy, guys.

Miaow! Miaow, miaow!

REECE: Go, Christy.

CHRISTY: I still have quite a bit of things to do.

So, I've got my mandarin and milk chocolate ice-cream,

my tuile and my mandarin-milk chocolate mousse.

This is looking good. It's sort of semi-set.

I'm just hollowing out the centre, and I'm working on the crumble.

Sort of, like, crumbly, cakey kind of texture.

This one's done. Done.

Hopefully, I can bring this home.

JOHN: High stress, man. EMELIA: High stress, hey?

Yeah, a lot harder than I expected. (LAUGHS)

Yeah. For some reason.

Are you good for your first dish?

Yeah, it's not bad.

I'm behind on the second.

Yeah.

First round of desserts,

I think I've done a good job, but I can't stop.

Run, John! Run!

Oh, my goodness.

(LAUGHS)

I've definitely bitten off a lot of jobs for the second,

but nothing is finished.

My pastry shells are still drying in the oven.

I've got my cocoa-nib crunch disc.

I've got my chocolate cake baked and sat in the whisky syrup.

And I've made my caramel-chocolate parfait.

DAN: I love it. So elegant.

It's so good.

I still actually need to make a couple of elements,

but they're going to be served warm, so that's fine.

A hot chocolate and a malted barley sauce

and a brown butter emulsion.

These are the hero flavours in my dish,

so it is quite important.

When executed properly, this brown butter emulsion

is going to bring super rich velvet mouthfeel to this dessert.

It is integral I get this right.

ALISHA: Go, John!

(SIGHS)

My green dish is done.

It has been presented to the judges,

and I am so nervous about the green dish.

I have no idea if it was at the right temperature.

It's OK. Get it together.

You've beat them all.

It's OK.

Beaten John before. You've beaten Christy before.

You can do it again.

But this second course is my jam.

This is what I do.

This is what I feel the most confident in.

And I know I can pull off a great Paris-Brest.

I have to get back on to my hazelnut praline

that I had burnt.

I've got to think on my feet, I've got to assess the situation,

and I've just got to keep moving forward.

I think it's kind of good.

I think there's a little bit of burn, but I think it's good.

It is really dark, but it's good because if it's not dark,

it's going to be really sweet.

So, I'm just sort of finishing off

the lumps that kind of stuck together,

remelting those down, getting them separate.

Then I'll blend it.

KATHERINE: Go, Melsy!

I check on my choux in the oven...

..and it looks beautiful.

My angels.

Good, Melsy?

Yum, yum? Yummy, yummy.

It's, like, I can still win.

Um, I just have to keep moving forward.

Go, Melsy!

Put a pep in your step, Melsy. Pep in your step.

CHRISTY: I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

My Australian Gold dish comprises

of a milk chocolate and a macadamia mousse ball.

DAN: Oh, look at that. JANA: Beautiful, Christy.

Oh, that's so beautiful, Christy.

They are looking really pretty.

They are looking really shiny.

I've got my macadamia and milk chocolate mousse.

I have my mandarin, milk chocolate and macadamia ice-cream.

That's beautiful, Christy! Beautiful!

And I am happy.

I'm pushing richness of the macadamia with the chocolate,

with the mandarin citrus and my crunchy, fruity crumble.

Service.

Service!

(CHEERING)

It's a lot of sweet, but Christy loves sweet.

I'm so proud of myself.

I decided to just back myself up,

push through so many elements and get everything done.

Hey, Christy.

Hi.

But this is the Grand Finale,

so I hope the judges love them as much as I do.

ANNOUNCER: Don't miss a delicious moment of Dessert Masters.

Watch full episodes on 10Play now.

Hey, Christy. Hi.

MELISSA: Wow. KIRSTEN: Wow.

What do we have here?

So, it is my Australian Gold.

You have a milk chocolate-macadamia mousse, a mandarin cremeux,

a macadamia praline.

You have a milk chocolate-mandarin ice-cream.

Thank you so much. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

I think gold leaf, used in that way,

where it completely coats the product is really...

Yes. It is the best way.

It is the best way. (ALL LAUGH)

Let's do it.

I think this was the best way for Christy to finish the finale.

This is indulgence on every level.

The flavours are easy to understand.

Rich in variety of textures,

from the very light mousse

with the macadamia praline in the centre,

the mandarin cremeux.

A celebration of an iconic Australian ingredient,

the macadamia nut.

And I think that Christy did really well.

I think that she loves this ingredient,

and you can absolutely tell,

the way that she's woven it through this dish.

There's some wonderful textures on this plate that I really enjoyed,

but I think, for me, this dish reads, in its entirety,

on the sweeter side.

Yeah. Um, you can even feel the sugar crystal

as you bite into it.

I think, overall, this is the...the beginning

of an amazing dish.

It might need a tiny bit of refinement.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS)

JOHN: It's so mental.

EMELIA: It's time to serve my final dish,

my Paris-Brest, to the judges.

And I feel like my gold dish is my only hope.

Whew!

Mmm.

KATHERINE: Good, Melsy.

Yeah. Happy?

There was definitely a fear that I had burnt my hazelnuts.

But I feel over the moon with this.

It is velvety.

It is flavourful.

It's exactly what I was looking for.

My chocolate gelato is creamy, refreshing.

It's going to bring some bitterness.

And my flower tuiles are beautiful

and golden brown and crunchy...

..and I'm so excited to bring it together

and present something that is so totally me.

Beautiful. Service, please.

I'm getting very familiar flashbacks

to the Back To Win finale, and...

Wow!

..I just feel confident and happy and at peace with this dish.

I have made you my Paris-Brest.

Thank you. We'll taste it now. Thank you.

Good luck. Thank you.

These little tuiles look like little coronets on the top

of the Paris-Brest. It looks stunning.

I think it definitely meets the gold brief.

Definitely, yeah.

I feel like it's very fitting for this room, and very fitting

for this challenge.

Alright, let's try this.

I kind of want to go with my finger. Is that bad?

No. I'm already with you.

Go for it.

Well, that was amazing!

I'm back in France. Back to the classic.

I love Paris-Brest.

It's really one of the signatures

of the French patisserie that's made - it's world renowned.

I think it was very well executed.

Pate a choux is fresh, a little bit crunchy.

The mousse is just perfect.

I mean it... You cannot go wrong making a perfect classic.

I love the choux. It's crisp, it's fresh

and crackling - it's just so crispy.

Really makes your mouth just light up,

you know, when you eat it.

Mousseline is on point. It's so smooth.

I love the praline. Take me right to the edge.

You know, it gives that beautiful, bittersweet taste, which, you know,

helps balance out the dish even more.

The first time Emelia made Paris-Brest

was a watershed moment for her.

It was the first time she'd just accepted who she was

and what she could do, and it was glorious.

I think, as it stands, some...

just some exceptional work from Emelia.

I loved the dish.

High five!

Go, Johnny!

Ah! Jesus.

I don't think I've ever felt this type of pressure before.

Crazy!

Everything about this competition has come down to this moment.

Look at John go.

This brown butter emulsion is going to bring super rich velvet mouthfeel

to this dessert.

And it is beautiful and golden.

I've got my whisky chocolate cake.

On top of that is my cocoa nib tuiles.

Pour the chocolate sauce...

And then I put my caramel-chocolate parfait.

Oh, John, that looks so pretty. DAN: Oh, it's so beautiful.

Chef Amaury is worried about this flavour combination.

You know, their point of concern is that it's high fat,

high alcohol - it can really go pear-shaped.

But, uh...yeah. (CHUCKLES)

Hopefully, I've done OK.

But this pastry goldmine effect

is integral to the whole vision of this dish.

It's super important.

OK.

This is the moment of truth.

Pastry's been in the oven

for at least two and a half, three hours.

Unreal.

Whoo-hoo! Go, John! (APPLAUSE)

I'm really happy with these.

The pastry has kept its shape.

It looks like a goldmine,

and it smells delicious.

The whisky's there.

It's not overpowering.

I'm really happy.

I'm just going to spray that

so it's got that beautiful gold shimmer.

Yeah, feeling good? Fingers crossed.

Service.

I guess this whole competition,

I've just been trying to get to this point.

Uh, I've been focusing on that.

And now that I'm here, I think I've done enough.

I'm hoping the flavours are balanced, flavours are rich,

and flavours are luxurious.

AMAURY: What is the name of your dish?

Eureka!

So, Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oi, oi, oi.

Now we're celebrating the Victorian goldmines,

the gold rush.

So, my main flavours are brown butter and whisky.

Thank you so much, John. Thank you. Thanks.

Wow. ADRIANO: Right on.

It's such an intriguing plate of food.

Yeah, I was about to say intriguing. Very interesting.

I can see the textures before even biting in.

I love that you can see what textures you're going to experience.

Let's try this.

Oh, I feel it. We're digging down the goldmine.

Mmm. Mmm.

(CHUCKLES) Oh, man. Yeah.

This is... KIRSTEN: Wow.

Stop it!

Oh!

This is wild.

We were looking for gold this evening, and... Wow!

That was phenomenal.

That was an all singing, all dancing, multi-dimensional,

mind-bending feast of chocolate, whisky and friends.

From the bitterness and the saltiness of the chocolate sauce,

the tenderness and the thinness of the cake,

the mousse being just light enough and just rich enough

to kind of match but contrast beautifully,

the crunch of the pastry,

that nuttiness that it brings, the flavour of malt.

There are so many flavours going on, on top of the whisky.

I haven't even mentioned the whisky, but these are all hard-hitting,

heavy contributors to a dish.

But I think it's just enough in the best possible way.

Yeah. As a lover of brown butter, I think the brown butter

in this dish played an integral role.

So complete. It was so intelligent.

It was so considered.

The inspiration from...from the gold rush,

and being able to reflect that through storytelling, I think,

is...is also an amazing...

I mean, doesn't this look like the mountainside?

It does. Yeah.

I think that's very cool. Yeah, you're right.

Every flavour, except for the chocolate,

has a golden element. Mm-hm.

Whisky, malt... Yeah.

They're all golden.

I think he was able to tame the bold flavour of whisky and brown butter

very harmoniously in the dessert.

I think it pairs very well with the rich chocolate he used.

It's so beautiful.

I mean, we were all, like, wowed by what we experienced.

This is someone working intuitively

to bring meaning and feeling to food.

And that's what we seek in food.

That's what gives us the smile on your face, Kirst.

Like, it's more than what's on the plate -

it's how it came into being.

(APPLAUSE)

(CHEERING)

As far as grand finales go,

this one could not have been any closer.

It was green and gold for all the glory.

And each of you fought tooth and nail to secure it.

What a stellar performance across the board.

You definitely impressed, not only us but our esteemed alumni, as well.

Christy, John, Emelia...

..Mel and I have scored both of your dishes out of 10...

..for a possible total score of 40 points each.

The person with the highest score will win.

Deep breaths, guys.

Are you ready?

Let's start with you, Christy.

In your green Dessert,

the texture of your sorbet was fantastic.

I scored you...

..eight out of 10.

(APPLAUSE)

Your gold course was pure indulgence...

..but it was a little too sweet.

I gave you...

..seven out of 10.

Christy, your green course.

I gave you...

..eight out of 10.

Your gold dessert,

I scored you...

..seven out of 10.

This gives you a total score of 30 out of 40.

Well done. Thank you.

OTHERS: Well done!

Emelia.

Your green course was clean, chic and texturally on point.

I scored you...

..nine out of 10.

Your gold Dessert ate like a dream.

That's why you're the choux queen.

I gave it...

..nine out of 10.

Thanks.

Your green dessert.

I gave you...

..nine out of 10.

In your gold course,

I gave you...

..nine out of 10.

That gives you, Emelia, a total of 36 out of 40.

(WHOOPING)

That puts you ahead of Christy.

You're in the lead.

Now, John,

to win, you need to score 37 or higher.

Let's see if you've done enough.

Your green course was sophisticated perfection.

I scored it...

..10 out of 10.

Wow! That's amazing.

That's amazing!

Your gold dessert had bold flavours.

And you balanced them beautifully.

I wanted to eat every last bite.

I scored you...

..nine out of 10.

John,

your green dessert was divine.

I scored you...

..a nine out of 10.

Which means your gold dessert,

you needed to score a nine or higher from me to win.

And you did!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Congratulations, John,

you are our Dessert Master!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

How did I beat a 36?

With a 38.

38. Exactly.

How does it feel, John?

Oh, I can't believe it.

(LAUGHTER)

Shaking like when I walked in - it feels amazing.

Are you proud, John? Can you believe this?

I'm super proud. Yeah. Oh, no. Jeez.

It's going to take me a couple of days

for this to feel real, I'm sure.

But I... To be honest, when I was looking at their dishes,

I didn't think I was going to come out on top.

So, like, I think that says so much.

Um, it's actually been like that the whole competition.

It's like, you know, I've had my own confidence,

but then it's like...just being in this environment

as...and... It's been a real challenge.

And, you know, I'm so grateful for it, and thank you.

I was just about to say, are you enjoying the attention right now?

(LAUGHS) No.

(LAUGHTER)

It's getting worse and worse.

Still not loving the attention are you?

No. I'm getting better.

Emelia,

you started your pastry career, right here, in this kitchen.

And look at you now,

standing tall amongst Titans.

Mels, I already know how bloody talented you are,

and I am so glad that Amaury got to see that, as well.

Yeah, thank you both. It's been very special.

For me, too.

Christy...

..you've often said that you want to get back into pastry,

but, really, I don't think you ever left.

You have more than proved you're exactly

where you're meant to be.

I think I've won myself back.

Yeah.

And that is more than any prize or any trophy could ever put.

(SIGHS) John,

you've just won ¤100,000

and the title of Australia's Dessert Master for 2024!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

You know what time it is -

come and lift your trophy!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Aaaaargh!

Yeah!

(LAUGHTER, CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Captions by Red Bee Media