All language subtitles for masterchef.australia.s16e22.1080p.hdtv.h264.eng

ANNOUNCER: Previously,
on MasterChef Australia...

Give it up for Mikiko Terasaki!

This top TikToker...

Ooh!
Here we go.

..made incredible eggs...

Oh!

..look overly easy.

(GIGGLES)

Aw, she's so cute!
So cute!

Then...

Make us a cracking dish
that uses egg

in a clever and creative way.

..their efforts were eggs-emplary.

Whoa!

The use of the egg component
was textbook.

An absolute ripper dish.

But Steve had to say hoo-roo
to the MasterChef kitchen.

Crocodile Dun-Steve,
you're a living, breathing example

that it's never too late
to follow your dreams.

Tonight, a mystery box holds
the keys to incredible creativity.

Here we go.
Let's go!

Yes!

Ooh, it's a small mystery box.

It's like a pinch-me moment
every day

when I walk into this kitchen
to see that I'm actually here.

And the start of a new week
is always exciting.

It's a small one today.

Let's go, crew!

Hey! What are you doing down here?

It's a mystery box day.

And who knows what lies
under that mystery box?

Good morning, everybody.

CONTESTANTS: Good morning!

It's a new week, a new day
and a new mystery box.

Ooh!
Guess what?

We're officially halfway
through the competition.

Wow.
Get out of town!

Well done, legend.

Well done, guys.

It is a huge benchmark in the comp
to get halfway through.

Because it just makes you go,
"OK, I survived all that.

"I can do that again."

Oh, yeah.

Hopefully. Right?
Yeah.

We're past the fake it
till you make it point.

Yeah.

I'm still doing it,
12...10 years later.

Same. Same.

First order of business -

time to find out what's in the box.

Yeah.

Go on, lift the lid.

(CONTESTANTS OOH AND AH)

This is amazing.

Got beautiful Asian sauces to use
from the mystery box.

Oh, OK.

In your mystery boxes,
you have chilli oil...

Ah, yes!

..soy sauce,

oyster sauce...

..XO sauce, hoisin sauce
and sesame oil.

I think we've been very kind today.

So kind. Oh-so kind.

Yes!

Let's go.

Mimi, was that a fist pump?

Yeah. it was.

These sauces are going to be
the secret to your success today.

We want you to use at least
one of these to cook us

a showstopping dish.

Yep.

Righto, crew. I've got the rules.
You ready for them?

CONTESTANTS: Yep.

How long do you want?
Two hours?

You've got 75 minutes!

And you can cook us
whatever you like.

The world is your oyster.
Sauce.

Saw it coming from a mile away.

You'll be happy to know -
pantry, garden, they are open.

So zero excuses.

Here's the bad news.

Bottom four will be going straight
through to tomorrow's pressure test.

Oh, my God.
Wow.

So cook us something delicious today
so you don't have to tomorrow.

We all ready?
Yes, Chef!

75 minutes starts now!

Go, go, go!

Darrsh opens the door
and ushers everyone else through.

He's such a gentleman.

Jesus Christ, that is a huge fish.

I absolutely love sesame oil.

So today I'm using
the Lee Kum Kee sesame oil

as the highlight of my dish.

So I'm making up a dish today.

I'm making a scallop and prawn

aguachile tart.

And aguachile is
a citrus-cooked seafood dish.

Oh!

So hopefully I get the balance

of the nuttiness of the sesame oil
and the citrus right.

I'm also making a seaweed tart base,

and I'm infusing it
with the flavour of seaweed.

It's risky to do this dish...

..because I'm inventing it.

So...fingers crossed.

These are the lifeblood
of all my favourite childhood dishes.

If I was in this position,
I would do everything.

I would pop out three dishes,
'cause 75 minutes is plenty of time

to do a steamed dish,
a braised dish

and then do a stir-fry.

I wonder
if everybody is going to be cooking

Asian and South-East Asian dishes,

or if people are going to branch out
a little bit.

And I wonder how many of them
are going to be able

to do something sweet.

I actually don't know.

The exciting thing is
we have given them

the gift of dreams
under the mystery box today.

So I am pumped for some good dishes.
Yeah.

Should we go have a look?
Yeah.

So I should be using the soy sauce,
the sesame sauce and the XO.

So today I'll be doing
a Asian stir-fry

with butter-poached prawn.

Ah!

Feeling pretty saucy today with
this challenge, that's for sure.

I'm going to be using
the soy sauce, the chilli sauce

and the oyster sauce.

I'm going to go
with some beef short ribs.

Uh, finish them in the oven

so they're really sticky and yummy.

Shoulder to shoulder, babe.
I know.

I'm merging my Italian side
with my Asian side today.

So my mum and my dad
will be proud of me.

I'm making an XO scallop wonton
with a shiitake and ginger broth

and the chilli oil on top.

Yum!

Yeah, Lachie, pops.

My confidence is a little low
right now.

Lately, I've felt a little bit
confused trying to do too much,

and last week I was bottom three
and almost went home.

In my life, I've had
really, really tough times.

I think that's only made me
more resilient.

My mum was very ill.

She got diagnosed
with Huntington's disease.

Which is
an incurable degenerative disease.

And after a long, long battle,
unfortunately, I lost my mother.

I also have the same disease.

And my daughter...

Thank you.

..she will most likely have it
as well.

Here you go.
Thank you. Thank you.

I think about that every day.

She's the joy of my life.

She really helps me to think
of all the positives/

Using my hands and being active,
that keeps everything at bay.

Lily!

I love to cook,

and I want to make
that love and passion

for food a reality.

And I want my daughter to know
that dreams can come alive.

I need to push forward and get
as much out of this life that I can.

So I just need to draw back
and cook the things that I love.

Today, I'm going to be using
the sesame oil, the soy sauce

and the chilli oil.

I'll be making fried kingfish wings
with a smoked egg mayonnaise.

Fish is expensive these days,
but fish wings still are cheap.

And that's exactly where my mind
went to with these sauces,

because they go so well
with fish wings.

I've been using kingfish wings
for a number of years.

I buy whole fish
and always the wings.

They're usually like
a secondary product,

but I find they're like
the best part of the fish

because there is really
nice fat content in there.

So this is really
how I love to cook.

I feel really good, and I'm hoping
I can redeem myself today.

Love it.

Pressure test tomorrow,

and trust me,
you do not want to be in it.

You have one hour left.

Come on, let's go!

Let's go, Sue, let's go!

Yes, let's do this.

What?

Nothing, mate -
I'm just checking you out.

How do I look?
Good. My word, you look good.

I wish I looked like you.

I was thinking the same about you.
(LAUGHS) Bullshit!

Today, I'll be making
a stuffed chicken wing

with a sticky Asian sauce.

This is a dish
that we just love eating at home.

The kids love it.

"Dad, when are you going to make
them chicken wings again?" You know?

So it's food from the heart for me.

I'm feeling a little bit emotional
today.

We're halfway through
the competition now,

and I've never actually felt
more aligned to my purpose

than what I'm doing now.

So it's a lot that is at stake.

Ice-cream machine, Sumeet?

Have you gone fully bonkers?

I'm going fully bonkers.
OK.

I'm going Asian sauces
in my dessert.

Black sesame ice-cream
with some soy sauce in it.

Soy caramel marble cake.
Right.

That's going to go into
a coconut milk and matcha cone.

In 75 minutes?

Yes.
You have gone bonkers.

You are unbelievable.

Oh, my God.

Oh, I cannot wait.

I was mentioning,

who is going to be brave enough
to make a dessert?

Oh, well, there you go.

Brave or stupid, we'll come to know.
Brave or crazy!

Execution is key.

Timing is going to be key.

You got a lot to do,
so we'll leave you to it.

Good luck.
Yeah. Thank you so much.

Thank you.
(LAUGHS)

Oh, yum!

I'm excited for this mystery box.

We have six sauces

and we have to use
at least one of the sauces.

Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool.

I'm using soy, sesame oil
and some chilli oil.

Ooh, that is pretty spicy.

OK. Oops.

So these condiments are
traditionally used

in like stir fries,
in Asian cuisine.

I really want to showcase the fact

that these condiments
are very versatile

And it can be used
in, like, just anything, really.

So making a sous vide kingfish.

Fishy, fishy!

And I'm gonna have
a miso beurre blanc

and also a macadamia puree.

So I'm doing a very
French-Japanese-inspired dish.

Is that a puree?

Yeah.

I'm happy with the macadamia puree.

Let's go.

And the kingfish
is in the sous vide.

So, right now,
I'm working on my beurre blanc.

So, traditionally,
for a beurre blanc,

you would be putting white wine

with a white wine vinegar
and shallots.

So today I'm doing exactly that.

But I'm gonna use sake
instead of white wine.

I'm known for loving sake.

I'm also going to add miso into it.

Perfect.

And soy from the mystery box.

So it's like
a Japanese-French fusion.

Whoa, cool.

That's been used.

The consistency is so French,
but the taste is Japanese.

So I personally like it.

But...

I think I'm most nervous

for Jean-Christophe trying
my beurre blanc.

It's so risky doing a fusion version
of a traditional French sauce

for a French chef,

because he might think
it's blasphemy.

What I'm known for
in this competition is flavour.

Oh, my God, that is yum.

And balancing complex flavour.

I will put a bit of soy sauce
in there, actually.

So today, I am feeling energised
to be creative

and push the boundaries.

Hey, Sav!
Hello, judges, how's it going?

What have you got?
I'm doing a dessert.

Say what?!

That's the exact reason
why I'm going the dessert.

Because I love eating
a lot of these sauces,

and I feel like a lot of them
have that sweetness

as well as the saltiness
and the umami,

which I think will, um, go well.

Right. OK.

What's the...what are you doing
as the whole dish?

The vision is
the soy sauce-poached pear.

I've got a miso and ginger
Chantilly.

I'm getting the caramel on to make,
like, a sesame and peanut brittle,

almost, yeah.
Brittle, yeah.

Have you done anything like this
before?

Hell no.

But I want to get another dessert
notch under my belt as well.

And I think I'm going to back myself
on flavour

and being able to balance flavour
well.

That's exactly
what this dish is about.

So...

I can't wait to see your dish.

Sav, good luck.

Thank you.
We are so happy to see that.

Alright.

The biggest pressure point
for this dish

is the actual balance
of the soy sauce

in the poaching liquid
for the pears,

so I am tasting the liquid as I go.

Oh, that is salty.

Oh.

Mm.

Can you believe that,
in a savoury sauce challenge,

we have desserts on our hands?

I think people are trying to be
almost too clever.

Too creative,
and they're forgetting about...

And they're forgetting flavour!

Sumeet, she's really
just going all out today.

Like she's doing an ice-cream cone
with a marble cake.

Whoa!

With a black sesame
and soy ice-cream.

But if she can get it right,
it's gonna be ground-breaking.

I'm just making my pancake batter
for my ice-cream cone.

Alright...

I do want my ice-cream cone
to be crunchy,

so I need to give it enough time
in the oven to sort of dry out.

So I just have to deliver.

That's it!

The secret to success
is in the sauce.

You've got 45 minutes to go.

What are you making?
Short beef short ribs.

Oh, yes!

I'm beefing it up today.

Yum!

Hey.
Hello. I'm just chilling, mate.

Yeah?
No formalities here.

Just saying hi.

I'm working on my sauce
for that stuffed chicken wings.

I'm using a few of those beautiful
condiments from the mystery box

to make a real nice sticky sauce.

This gooey, sticky Asian-style sauce
is going to be the hero of the dish.

I put a lot of time and effort
into this,

and it's got a beautiful taste
in the sauce already

that just makes you want to lick
your fingers after you've eaten it.

Looks like it's going to come
together really beautifully.

Let's get that simmering down
so we can move on to our next job,

because I think time
is going to be really tight today.

How's that?
Hey, Chefs.

How are you going?
What's going on, mate?

So I've just boned
the chicken wings out.

Now I'm going to stuff them
with pork mince, a bit of sesame oil

and a bit of soy in them,
just to give them a bit of flavour.

I'll have time to try a couple,

just have a taste myself,

and then we'll see
how it comes along.

It's going to be very tricky to get,
like beautiful, crispy,

shattering batter on the outside.
Yep.

Like, chicken cooked perfectly.
Yeah.

There's a lot going on
in that chicken wing, mate.

Interesting. Challenging.
That's it, Chef.

Good luck.
Thanks, guys.

Can't wait to see.
See you soon.

Wow.
Don't hold back!

You have 30 minutes to go.

Come on, let's go!

I've marinated my kingfish.
I've breaded them.

The eggs are smoked.

Let's make that mayo.

This smoked chilli oil mayonnaise
is going to pair so well

with these kingfish wings.

And it's just going
to marry in perfectly. Righto.

So I've got all my ingredients
for my mayonnaise -

the smoked eggs, some salt...

..and some oil,
and I start blending away.

Why is that not working?

I just cannot get my, um, my mayo
to emulsify right now.

I'm not actually too sure
what's going on.

It's whether I've...

..because I've smoked the egg yolks
or not.

I don't know whether that's got
something to do with it.

Nothing's happening.

It's just turning to a runny liquid.

I don't know what's going on.

I'm trying to think back.

I've got one egg yolk left
to use that I've smoked.

So I just need to figure out
what the go is.

Why?
I don't know what is going on.

Have I done the wrong thing here?

(BLENDER WHIRRS)

Why?
I can't get my mayo to emulsify.

I'm pretty stressed out right now.

What's creeping in the back
of my mind is I've just...

I haven't made it on a few cooks,

and I just don't want this
to be the next one,

because this dish
represents who I am

and what I love about cooking.

But luckily...
(LAUGHS)

..David's next to me.

Dave.
Yo.

Can't get my, um, mayo to emulsify.
Ah? Too thin?

Yeah, it's way too thin.

How much, um...

..liquid, vinegar do you use again?

Oh, shit.

It's the vinegar.
I forgot to put vinegar in.

So I race off to the pantry,
get some Japanese rice vinegar.

Put it in.

Bingo! Mayonnaise is back on.

Oh, thank goodness for David.

It's great consistency.

I'm just getting my chilli oil
into it

to give it some nice flavouring.

And then I'm going to chuck it
in the freezer

so I get that nice consistency
that I want.

I'm feeling pretty good right now,

because this is actually
what I love to cook,

and I'm actually starting
to be quite confident in my chances.

Push that sauce to the max!

You have 20 minutes left!

Come on! 20 minutes!

Oh, God. OK.

My black seaweed tart shell
is in the oven

and I've got all my elements going
for my aguachile filling.

My scallops are curing in the fridge
in the citrus mixture.

I've pickled some apple and radish.

I'm going to make a prawn head mayo,

and it's going to go
with crispy rice.

Time to take my tart shells
out of the oven.

Yeah, baby!

Let's do it.

My tart shell looks great.

It's got that crispy texture

and the colour is
ridiculously stunning and fun.

Ta-da!

I love it.
Everything is on the right track.

So happy times.

I think I'm going to be
pretty safe today.

How's the stir-fry coming along?

I've definitely got, like,
good colour on it,

good caramelisation.

And I've got
chilli butter-poached prawns.

Short ribs are in the oven.

They're coming out now. Woo!

So I just want to put it
in this stickiness now.

Is that your spoon? No, it's mine.
It's yours.

Right now, I'm Speedy Gonzales.

I'm just frying off this XO paste

just to put in the scallop mixture
for the wonton.

And then I'll have to focus
on this broth.

We don't have a lot of time left,

so I want to make sure this broth
has got as much flavour as possible.

Get it, girl.

My ice-cream is set.

I love the taste of
that black sesame ice-cream.

And I've got a beautiful vibrant red
raspberry sauce reducing.

And I'm just making
my pancake ice-cream cone.

The stress of it gets to me.

A lot is riding on the success
of this dish.

I need to stay away
from the bottom for today.

Sumeet.
Hi.

You're being very ambitious today.

You're really pushing your boat out.

Well, you know, like we said,
it's halfway down the line.

We've got to lift up our game.

Lots...lots of elements, Sumeet.

Not much time to plate them.

How much longer do you need
before you can start doing this?

Because you have
quite a lot to assemble.

And not that much time.
Another five minutes.

I'm going to start assembling.

I'm going to run into the garden
and get some flowers as well.

Off you go! Quick!

I'm worried that's not enough time.

Cold things, hot things...

About four or five of them.

And she's still letting stuff dry
and freeze and whatever else.

Now she's gardening.

Attention! Attention!

10 minutes left.

10 minutes.
Let's go!

Come on!
Allez, allez!

Oh, my God.

Tell me you're under control.
I'm under control.

Good, good.
I'm under control.

Nat.
Hi.

How's this whack little creation
coming along?

Just...it's getting there.

Guess what my dear French friend
is interested in.

Uh, the beurre blanc?
Oui!

Not just any beurre blanc.

Miso sake, soy...

OK, how confident are you,
trying to combine

all the different condiments?
Yeah.

How do you think
you're going to be doing?

I'm very worried.

I'm really hoping these flavours
go together,

because I don't want
it to be, like, overpowering.

So do we.

(LAUGHS)
So do we.

Good luck.
Thank you.

Wow.

So many sauces,
so little time to go.

You have five minutes!

Come on, everybody, keep pushing!

Last five.

Oh, OK. Bit of brown sugar.

Gotcha.

Five minutes to go,
time is running out,

but everything's
just coming together.

The sauce is perfect.

And the stuffed chicken wings are
ready to come out of a deep fryer.

I need to get these chicken wings
cooked to perfection.

But, look, I'm confident
that they'll do

what I need them to do.

It works at home, so I think
we can pull this off.

So I pull one out
just to see where it's at.

(SOFTLY) Oh, shit.

Josh, ain't no thing
like a chicken wing.

Unless...
They're not done right.

You're sweating it.
Yeah, I'm sweating it.

I just cooked one,
and it's a bit under.

So...
That's raw.

Yeah. That one was
not what I wanted.

That is completely undercooked.
Yeah.

Yeah, that one was not
what I wanted, so...

That is completely undercooked.

I'll make sure
they're cooked a bit more than that.

Yeah, you're running out of time.

I've got, like, three minutes
on the clock.

I know I'm going to need that time
to cook these chicken wings.

And I've got to get them out
and get them plated up.

I'm really running out of time.

It's going to come down to the wire.

So just keep pushing.

Ooh la la!

It's getting so serious.

Three minutes to go!

I have got to start plating up
the soy sauce-poached pears.

So I taste everything together.

Oh, yummy. Does it taste good?

I think so.

And I actually really like it.

Yum.

But I am aware of the fact
that it is very soy forward,

and that will be pushing
the envelope.

But I'm here to take the risk,
not play it safe.

Cooked?
Yeah, man.

I get my fish wings on the plate,

and they look phenomenal.

I think that chilli oil mayo is
going to be so good

for these wings today.

It's delicious
and it's got that perfect zing.

Really happy with it.

I think this could be
right up there for the top dish.

I hope.

I'm piping my mayonnaise
on my seaweed tart shell.

The scallop aguachile is going to go
on top,

topped with crispy rice

to bring forth
the nuttiness of the sesame oil.

I really like the flavours here
and I think it's looking great.

So all my elements
are just coming together.

The black sesame ice-cream,
a raspberry sauce,

coconut, matcha cone
and a soy caramel marble cake.

So I really need to push myself
and get these things on the plate

as quickly as I can.

Always a little bit stressful.

Putting it all together,
this is crunch time.

Team, you do not want to be
in tomorrow's pressure test.

You have one minute!
Come on!

OK.

Only 30 seconds!
Come on, 30 seconds!

I would have loved to give them
chicken wings

another few minutes, you know.

I don't even know if they're crispy,
but there's no time left.

And if you don't get nothing
on the plate,

you're going into the bottom four.

That's all there is to it.

Say it with me, crew.

10, nine...

Shit.
..eight, seven,

six, five,

four, three, two, one.

That's it. We're done.

Far out.

Whoo!
Oh, God.

How does that happen so quick?
I know.

Thankfully,
I've completed all my elements,

but these are hard cooks.

I want to do well.

You know? I've come this far.

I never expected myself to get here.

This really means a lot.

It means more
than I probably express.

Not just for me,
but for the family as well.

So...

Oh, my God.

Frickin' hell. I just... (EXHALES)

That's why we have a roll of
paper towels under our bench.

(LAUGHS)
To wipe tears off after our cook.

Far out. Time's up.

I look at the plate.

There's stuff-all sauce
on these chicken wings.

I've got, like, literally a couple
of little smears on them,

most of it's still sitting
in the saucepan.

Yeah.

This hasn't worked out like I want,
that's for sure.

We gave you six sauces

and asked you to use
at least one of them

to create a delicious dish

worthy of keeping you
out of the bottom four.

We think there are
some amazing dishes out there,

so let's get into it.

First dish we'd like to taste
belongs to...

..Lachie!

Alright, let's do this.

My love of food is riding
on this dish, so I'm hoping

for a little bit of redemption here,

but I just don't know

what the judges are going to say.

That looks amazing.

Oh, get in my belly!

Yum.

Lachie, what is it, mate?

Fried kingfish wings

with a chilli oil-smoked
egg yolk mayo.

Any other of the sauces
in the mystery box in there?

The fish had a quick marination
in soy sauce and sesame oil.

I hope this tastes as good
as it looks

because that looks so good.

Everyone happy with lime?
Lime it up.

Lachie...

(BLOWS RASPBERRY)

..that is epic.

That is epic.

(APPLAUSE)

I love fish wings as well.

Um, that is my favourite part
right there

because it is just so succulent,
like...

Oh, yeah, I'm going again.

And the coating on it,

like the use of soy, sesame,
buttermilk...

And then the crispy outer layer
is delicious.

Then you get onto your mayo.

I thought it was going to be
too heavy.

You know, it's like rich on fried,
on rich, on rich, but a good douse

of that lime and then a spike
of the extra little crispy chilli

on the side, and you're in heaven.

Please continue to cook like this.

This is your food.
It's good enough for us.

And it's good enough to get you
deep in the competition.

Great stuff today, mate.
Thank you.

Um, Lachie...

..I think it's super epic.

Oui, mais oui!
It is fan-tas-tic.

I love you.
Thank you.

Thank you, Chef.
Lachie.

I love that you're standing there
with this stillness

that I haven't seen with you
for a while,

probably since the first day.

You had a little bit
of a scenic route back to,

I guess, feeling comfy
in your own skin in a way,

and it completely translates
to your food.

Lachie, you are just living proof

that it doesn't matter
how bad your last cook is,

so long as you listen
and you learn from it.

You've created the most incredible,
really restaurant-standard dish.

There's not a single thing
I would change on that.

Lachie, I saw the blood drain
and then come back up.

Yeah, that's exactly...
That's exactly how I felt.

Get out of here while you can,
quick!

Thank you.

Oh, yeah.

That feels good.

Oh!

The next dish we'd like to taste
is Alex!

This is my soy and orange pork belly
with rice and salad.

I think it's really lovely.
Spices are beautiful.

I can taste the anise and the clove.

Great rice.

It was great rice.
Yes!

Harry.

Let's go, Haz!

Whole fried flounder.

There's some grated daikon,
dressed bean sprouts,

and a celery and brown onion pickle.

The cooking of your fish
were equally and evenly cooked

perfectly on both sides.

Oh, it's lovely.

Gill.
Yeah, Gill.

Wonton ravioli.

The beauty of this dish
is the filling.

The XO could have easily overpowered
the scallop,

but how you've married those two
together was so well done.

Thank you.

The dish we'd like to taste is Sav's.

Yo, Savi! Woo!

I'm trusting my ability to balance
complex flavours,

but this dessert is a bit out there.

Go, Savi!

And it is soy sauce forward.

So this is super risky.

Hello, Savindri.
Hello.

Sav, tell us what you've made.

I'm calling these my Soy-cey Pears.

So I've done
a soy sauce-poached pear

and a miso and soy Chantilly.

And a bitter brittle
with peanut and sesame.

My mind is exploding right now.

We've had some wack stuff,
but that's probably takes the cake.

Did you only use soy sauce
from the sauce?

I added a little bit of the oyster
into the poaching liquid as well,

just to have a little bit
of sweetness.

Lady!

But I stopped there.
I didn't use anything else, so...

You're a wild child.

Sav, um...

This is challenging me.

Sav...

I'm finding it very soy forward
to the point where...

..I don't think I would go back
for a second mouthful.

Because you've had to use
quite a lot of sugar

to balance the soy,

It makes for quite a cloying
mouthful of food.

Yeah.

Sav, I was ready to take a mouthful

of a dessert with soy sauce forward

and go, "I love that.

"That is delicious."

But I haven't done it yet.

And it was just too jarring.

Your balanced dishes,
they're just seamless.

Whereas this felt like it was
just like, "Whoa!" You know?

And maybe in a savoury, you can get
away with that sometimes.

But like, definitely not
in a sweet.

So I admire you going,
"You know what?

"I am pushing the boat out today,"

but I just...I feel like
you missed the mark.

I found the cream quite refreshing.

And then I liked the bitterness
of your brittle there.

It looks like resin. I think
it's really beautiful on the plate.

So while there are elements
that work separately,

they're not tying together for me.

Sorry, Sav.

Que sera sera. Thank you.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Let's go, Mimi.

I'm so proud of myself for pushing
with this experimental idea.

I think I've highlighted sesame oil

in a beautiful, creative way,

and I hope the judges are proud
of what I've done today.

Hi, guys.
Wow!

(WHISTLES)

Mimi, what have you made?

So I've made a sesame and citrus
scallop aguachile

in a seaweed tart shell.

And you used which sauces?

And I used the sesame oil.

I can smell the sesame oil
from here.

Let's eat.

Oy.

Mimi!

I love where you're at
in the competition.

You've definitely got
a really creative lens

on every time you step
into the kitchen, which I'm digging.

For me, the use of sesame
was dynamite in this.

It wasn't overpowering,
but you knew it was there,

and it felt like a core ingredient
in this dish,

which is really well done

and a massive box ticked
in the challenge today.

Mimi, that is so much going on here.

You've got lemon zest,
you have nuttiness and toastiness

that's coming from the sesame oil.

I think it makes
for a very refreshing tart,

like it's just not
what you'd expect from a tart.

And I really like it.

Now, this little shortcrust.

I've made millions of short cuts,
but not like this.

Right.

So it's not just colourful,
but you deliver the support,

the base and the crunch.

Well done.

Thank you so much. Thank you.

Yes!
Well done. Nice work.

(LAUGHS)

(SIGHS)

Way in the back - you're up, Pezza.

These chicken wings
don't look like as crunchy

as what I'd normally have made,

so I'm just hoping
that there's enough sauce on them

to get me through.

What have you got here?

I've made my Asian-style
stuffed chicken wings for you today.

Pezza, you don't look overly happy.

I just seemed to run out of time.

Started playing with 10 seconds
to go.

So I got one spoonful of sauce
all over,

but a big pot of sauce there that

I just didn't get on the plate,
so sorry, guys.

In that situation,
you just get the pot

and you just dump it.
Just dump it.

Mate, you ran out of time.

It's as simple as that.

The filling is nice,
it's seasoned well,

but it's not crispy,

there's no sauce.

I'm worried for you.

Yeah, Pezza, it's a huge shame

because when you're doing sticky
Asian-style chicken wings,

you need that sticky sauce.

And if you don't have
that sticky sauce,

you need to make up for it
with the perfect amount of crunch.

So today it looked like
you've shot your own wing.

So good luck to you.
Thanks, mate.

Pezza...

Come on down, David.

XO stir fry snake beans

with a butter-poached prawn
and chilli oil.

David, your butter-poached prawns
are perfectly done.

But the stir fry, it's really dry.

OK.

Let's go, Darrsh.

Let's go, Darrsh! Woo!

Banana fudge sundae
and soy peanut brittle.

Mate, if you're going to serve me
a sundae, though,

like, give me about seven scoops.

Sure.
Yeah, it was for a baby.

Um, then you're bananas.

Like, they've got to be in the pan,

sucking up
all of that toffee goodness

that you got wrapped around 'em.

You just started 'em way too late.

Sue!
Yeah, Sue.

Spicy and sticky Asian short ribs.

Sue, you know how to do the sweet,
salty, sticky glaze.

But there wasn't enough of it there.

Even though it's tasty,
it's inedibly dry, Sue.

Let's taste your dish, Sumeet.

Woo! Go, Sumeet!

Woo!

Oh!

Looks amazing.

Sumeet, what have you cooked?

I've made
a soy black sesame ice-cream

with a soy matcha coconut pancake

and a soy raspberry sauce.

So you've used soy
in all of those elements.

The soy brings the earthiness
and the saltiness to the dish.

What do you think
your family's going to think

when they see that you've plated up
this sort of food at this point?

My family, really close to them.

I have this cheer squad behind me.

So I said to my husband
the other day on the phone, I said,

"I really want to do well."

And he's just...

Guffaws of laughter he burst into,
going,

"Mate, you've already done so much."

I just remember calling my mum
and going, "I'm still in."

And she goes,
"Oh, Andrew, you're bloody joking!"

(LAUGHTER)

Thanks, Mum.

Now that we've met her, I get it.

Just gonna eat it straight...

Sumeet.

(EXHALES)

You've been very brave.

The soya sauce in the ice-cream -

bit of saltiness, bingo!

Now the raspberry...

How the hell
you managed to keep that colour?

That soya sauce

into the raspberry is delicious.

Ah, thank you, Chef.

You've gone all out on this dish.

The ice-cream itself was
really creamy, quite velvety.

And I like the way there are
those little crispy coconutty bits

that actually do remind me
of a waffle cone.

I find it really interesting.

I really liked it.

So well done.

Thank you.

You're a wild child, huh?

Next up is Nat.

I'm terrified taking this up
to Jean-Christophe.

He is gonna either have his mind
blown away

or be a little bit grossed out.

Very pretty.
Oh, thank you.

Nat,
what have you made for us today?

I made a kingfish
with macadamia puree,

a sake and miso beurre blanc

and chilli and sesame oil.

Let's see how you went.

(PUFFS)

Right.

Now let's go down
to the first things,

which obviously, as a Frenchman -

beurre blanc.

Normally, a beurre blanc
doesn't contain so much acidity.

OK? So when you have
that much vinegar,

it's called a beurre nantais.

But that's fine. Who cares?

I mean, it doesn't matter.

What matter is
you've been very adventurous

and daring to put
Japanese flavours -

I mean, the miso, the soy sauce -
into your beurre blanc.

Your sense of combination -
fantastic.

Really?
Brilliant.

It is.

Oh! Why did you not put more
on the plate?

Because it was so intense.
Oh!

It's just extraordinary
how you managed that.

Nat, I agree with Jean-Christophe.

I particularly like
your beurre blanc.

I think
it's got this lovely savoury note,

but also this sharpness

that just kind of cuts
to the back of your palate

and coats the entire thing.

Amazing job.

For me, the dish is very, very good.

Beautiful, seamless, tasty food

and visually stunning.

The fact that you can have
this concept and then put that

onto a plate
with such conviction and skill,

it was really well done.

So great stuff today, mate.
Thank you.

Woo!

You had quite the 'sauce'
of inspiration today.

(NAT GIGGLES)

Got one giggle.

(LAUGHTER)

With so much choice, we expected
to see dishes that were dressed

to impress, and some of you
really met those expectations.

One in particular.

Lachlan!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Lachlan, mate,
you deserve props for that.

Those fish wings,
they were succulent,

the batter was crispy
and the mayo, it was punchy.

We could not get enough.

Well done, mate.

Finally, I've been waiting
for this moment,

and I've done it
on kingfish wings!

This is something
that I've loved to cook,

and to showcase it here
in the MasterChef kitchen

and get top dish...

(EXHALES)

I feel like I'm here
for a damn reason.

This challenge seemed
to throw a few of you.

Some of your dishes
had serious problems.

If I say your name,
please step forward.

You're cooking
in tomorrow's pressure test.

Pezza.

David.

Sue.

Sav.

I'm not exaggerating when I say

tomorrow is going to be
the toughest cook yet.

Go and get some rest.

You're really going to need it.

See you, everybody.
See you tomorrow.

ANNOUNCER: Tomorrow night
on MasterChef Australia...

You'll be making my...

..cherry blossom.

(ALL GROAN)

..it's a pressure test
so beautiful...

SUE: The most sublime piece of art.

I'm gobsmacked
by what I'm looking at.

..it's mind boggling!

My brain is short circuiting.

I have done one of Darren's
pressure tests in season 12,

and I've only just started talking
to him.

It's true.

Captions by Red Bee Media