ANNOUNCER: Previously on MasterChef Australia... ..four red-hot cooks... WOMAN: Let's go, Rose! Push! Where's my meat? ..went head to head in a fearsome pressure test. This is it. James struggled with his sauce... I think you've missed the mushroom stock. I'm sorry to say, James, that's why you're going home. ..and became the second person eliminated from the competition. You're a champion. Tonight - it's the first immunity challenge. But you have to earn it. And it will take our home cooks back to basics. You'll have to use what's under this box. Oh, no. What is this thing? One ordinary appliance... That looks freakin' brilliant. ..will produce some extraordinary food... Oh, my! That taste was amazing. I loved it. ..and give someone the chance to fight for the pin... One thing that stands between you and that immunity pin... ..against hot-shot chef Ben Williamson. I'm worried. I think I might be up against it. # Burning up # in my heart # like a flame, # like a brighter shooting star. # In our souls, # we all know # our dreams make us who we are. # We got today. # Ooh, yeah, yeah. # So spin me round and... # Ooh, yeah, yeah. # ...show me the way... # Ooh, yeah, yeah. # ...back to... # Burning up # in my heart # like a flame, # like a brighter shooting star. # In our souls, # we all know # our dreams make us who we are. # Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Able 2015 REYNOLD: Coming into the very first immunity challenge today, it's an amazing opportunity for me to prove that the kitchen is where I truly belong. ASHLEIGH: Winning an immunity pin would bring me one step closer to achieving my dream of owning my own dessert bar, but I'm up against Jessica and Reynold, and they're gonna be tough competition. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JESSICA: It's super exciting to be competing for an immunity pin. Any time that you get to cook - always gonna be great fun. Wow! I feel like I'VE got a spring in my step? Jessica, you're nearly bouncing out of your shoes! I love it! Love that kind of excitement. And very different wearing a white apron versus a black one. Welcome to the MasterChef kitchen, and of course, this is the first immunity challenge of the year. You may notice our little friend George is not here today. Unfortunately, he won't be walking around the kitchen. He's not well today. But in his place is Shannon Bennett. He's joining us for this and all of this year's immunity challenges, here to dispense advice, push you in the right direction when you need it. Couldn't ask for anybody better, could you? Shannon? Are you excited about it? Very excited. This is, uh, the pinnacle for me. Being classified as a mentor on MasterChef is an incredible compliment that you couldn't top. Yeah, it's great. And it's good to be in a position, too, where... I mean, you use all of that experience that you have and helping them through this challenge. STEPHEN: The guys down there fighting for immunity are really lucky. They've got Shannon Bennett as a mentor, which is invaluable. You know, he's got so much experience in Europe and in Australia that, yeah, it's unbelievable, really. Reynold, Ashleigh, Jessica, you stand here because you smashed it... (CHUCKLES) ..in the invention test this week, and that means you get the chance... ..to potentially win one of these. (INHALES SHARPLY) SARA: Oooh! That's the immunity pin. That pin allows you, if you win it, to avoid an elimination of your choice at any time up until finals week. It's heavy. It's solid gold. (CHUCKLES) And it's a solid gold advantage over all the other cooks in the competition. It's a game-changer - it always has been - but you have to earn it. It would be amazing to have that immunity pin. Opportunities like this don't come along every day, and I really want to prove myself, so it's really important that I fight my hardest to get my hands on that pin. It's an immunity challenge and it's in two rounds. The winner of the first round will go head to head against a guest chef. You beat the professional, you win the immunity pin. So, round one is very, very tasty. You'll have to use what's under this box... ..to make one outstanding dish. It can be sweet or savoury. Ready to see what's underneath that box? Oh! (LAUGHS) (ONLOOKERS EXCLAIM) Come on, Jess! Your dinner of choice! MAN: (LAUGHS) Come on, Reynold! Shannon lifts off the box and I'm thinking, "Oh, no." Like, "What is this thing?" Well, Shannon, some might call it a toastie, some might call it a jaffle. What would you put in that little baby over there? I call that just...decadence and comfort at the same time. It's part of Australian food culture, in my opinion, and it's something that... I think all good chefs have one great jaffle recipe. JESSICA: I eat so many jaffles. I'm so excited that I get to make Shannon Bennett a jaffle! We all have got a great story about a jaffle and some of the weird things that go into a jaffle. REYNOLD: I haven't used this machine before and I have no idea what to do with it, and I don't have a jaffle recipe up my sleeve at all. The rules are simple. 45 minutes. Open pantry. Bring us a jaffle that's gonna wow us. A simple cheese and tomato toastie, delicious though it is, ain't gonna win you that chance to cook for that pin. Are you ready? Your time starts now! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) (JESSICA LAUGHS) So, as time starts, and we're running into the pantry. I have this very clear vision of what I want to make. My favourite jaffle is a bolognaise jaffle. This dish is everything I like about, you know, homey comfort food - you know, lovely bolognaise and gooey cheesiness, which means I'm gonna have to make bolognaise in, you know, essentially half an hour. ASHLEIGH: Is that everything I need? The first and only idea I really have is to go for a sweet jaffle and play on the flavours of chocolate and orange. I am making a Jaffa jaffle. REYNOLD: Having never made a jaffle before, I don't know what the rules of making one are, so I'm gonna go out on a limb and I'm gonna reinvent the jaffle as I go along. I see some apples and I'm thinking to myself, "You know what? I'm gonna go with apple pie." I think it's gonna be a great idea. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) AMY: Go, Ashleigh! SARA: Go, Jess! Whoo! Go, Ash! ASHLEIGH: The first thing I do to make my jaffle is get started on making some candied orange. I take some strips of orange peel off and finely slice them, and I blanch them a couple of times to remove the bitterness and cook them down in a sugar syrup for about 10 minutes. The candied orange is going to go in the ricotta filling for the jaffle. It's gonna add a bit of freshness and some zinginess to the dish. Reynold. Hey, guys. Something sweet. What a surprise. What are you making? I'm gonna make apple pie. Apple pie. OK! Not a bad idea. What's gonna make it special, though? You've never made a jaffle before? Never made a jaffle before, so don't leave it till the last minute, OK? Alright. Thank you. When the judges started to question my jaffle, I'm a bit worried that the dish is missing a few elements. So I've decided how to make my jaffle special. I'm gonna make a butterscotch caramel sauce. We're after a jaffle in a jiffy! 30 minutes to go! Come on, guys! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JESSICA: I've only got half an hour to make this bolognaise, which is not as much time as you would normally have, so I really need to pack a whole lot of flavour in there. Tomato paste, balsamic vinegar and red wine are my little artillery to make it taste like it's been cooking for hours. I'm just browning off my mince. I really need to get all this tomato in here just to get these flavours homogenised. Got to get this bubbling away, and then I can think about everything else! Alright. My favourite part of a jaffle is the really crispy cheesy bits on the outside, so I'm gonna try and enhance that today with a little bit of parmesan and a crispy pancetta. So I put my pancetta in the oven and then I really need to get this sauce going. I need to get the tomatoes in there so all the flavours can meld before it goes into the jaffle. Make sure you get your iron on hot when you're ready, so you're not doing it at the end. Yeah, cool. Good thinking. Get your jaffle maker on! Get your jaffle on! ASHLEIGH: I'm feeling a little bit flustered, even though the cook's going quite well. The time is disappearing a lot more quickly than I thought it would. Yum, Ashleigh! Whoo! BILLIE: You're cooking dessert tonight, Ash. I'm putting in the salted caramel sauce to add an extra gooey element to the dish and also to balance some of the sweetness from the other elements. KRISTINA: Let's go, Reynold! REYNOLD: As I'm resting the apples, I grab a pot with some sugar and let that caramelise. I grab some butter and some cream, let that just incorporate together, making butterscotch. This butterscotch sauce, I'm looking down at it, and it looks really nice - I'm really happy with it. So, his cream's in the fridge, he's got butterscotch... KRISTINA: Reynold's elements are amazing, and once he stuffs them all inside his jaffle, he could have a real winner on his hands. If I can win immunity, it will be a huge safety net for me, 'cause last week, the elimination challenge, I felt pretty scared coming into it, and feeling that pressure and stress - I don't want to repeat that again. MATT: We are loving the food we're seeing! Loving it! 20 minutes to go! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Hey, Ashleigh. ASHLEIGH: Hello. What's going on? What's going on? I reckon you could guess. Look. You've got orange, ricotta, chocolate and cardamon. Yes. That's a good start! Hopefully. I'm making a Jaffa jaffle today. I'm gonna have a little ricotta filling. I've got some chocolate ganache setting in the fridge. I'm gonna candy some of the orange. I've got some pistachios for a little crunchy praline. And a salted caramel sauce to, like, ooze out. Yeah. So, lots of filling. Lots of filling? Oooh! I really hope the flavours I've chosen for my jaffle work well together and that it won't be too moist. JESSICA: For my bolognaise jaffle, I have a lot of cheese to grate here. I've picked three cheeses, and there needs to be lots of all of them. But we've got raclette, we've got cheddar and we've got some parmesan, so... The biggest gun in my armoury is the raclette. Fantastic. Which gives it the stretchy... So, you want super stringy? Cheesy, stretchy, delicious. The issue you've got is to balance, isn't it, between the, um... ..between the filling and the cheese, and to make sure you've got enough punch in that cheese without it overloading the bolognaise. Absolutely. Your jaffle maker's already on, heating up? It is. Great. GARY: Your first chance at immunity! Let's get a razzle on! Or - get your jaffles on! 10 minutes to go! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) GEORGIA: Oh, yum, Ash! (OTHERS EXCLAIM) That looks awesome! REYNOLD: All my elements are coming along nicely and I'm feeling quite confident. So I start to put the apple mixture into my brioche and into the jaffle maker. KRISTINA: I don't know what he's doing. He's only putting apple mixture inside his jaffle. But that can't be right, because he's got all these other elements, and that and the sauce should all be going inside. ANNOUNCER: Coming up... JESSICA: If these jaffles fall apart, I really don't have time to make another one. ..with the chance to cook for immunity on the line... ASHLEIGH: It's not very crispy, though. SHANNON: Get a hurry on, guys! Come on! ..will Reynold's plan to reinvent the jaffle pay off? STEPHEN: It's the first immunity challenge, and Jessica, Reynold and Ashleigh have 45 minutes to impress the judges with a delicious jaffle. The winner will go into round two and have the opportunity to win an immunity pin. KRISTINA: Reynold decides he's only putting apple mixture inside his jaffle. But that can't be right, because he's got all these other elements, and that and the sauce should all be going inside. REYNOLD: So, I've decided how to reinvent the jaffle. I'm gonna fill it with some apple, but rather than placing the butterscotch caramel sauce on the inside, I'm gonna put it on the outside. Just a bit of theatre. JESSICA: So, one of my little tricks today is to add parmesan to the outside of the bread. So I'm hoping that's gonna cook in the jaffle maker and create that beautiful crunchy layer that you normally only get around the edge all over the top of the jaffle. SARA: I get what Jessica's doing, but putting cheese directly onto the jaffle iron could be very risky. If it works, it's gonna be crusty and cheesy. If it doesn't, her jaffle is gonna stick to her jaffle iron. We're gonna be tasting your jaffles in three minutes! Better hurry up, guys! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) I am feeling a bit worried that the filling is quite wet and that it might make the brioche go really soggy. It's not very crispy, though. ROSE: It isn't? AVA: Just leave it in there till the last... You've got time. At this stage, if it doesn't go crispy, it just won't be nice to eat, it won't have the right texture and it'll be a bit of a disaster. I just have to leave it in the jaffle iron for as long as I can and hope that it's enough time to make it golden. REYNOLD: I haven't used a jaffle machine before. I don't know when it's gonna be ready. How long does it take? When the light goes green. (LAUGHS) That's how it works, man! JESSICA: So, the little green light on the jaffle machine says ready. I know never to trust this. It's never ready. It always needs a little bit longer. So I've left it in a little bit longer, but I really want to check on them just to make sure that everything's travelling nicely. I open it up... ..and everything sticks. Both pieces of bread to each side, and I start to panic. It's a bit stuck. Remember, this is about going head to head to win a chance to get immunity. One minute to go. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) ASHLEIGH: It's coming out. BILLIE: Go, Ash! Good job. JESSICA: Everything is stuck. If these jaffles fall apart, I really don't have time to make another one. SARA: Don't rush it. Go, Jess. Whoo! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Superb! They fall down and come out like a dream. I'm super happy! (LAUGHS) REYNOLD: So, I'm starting to plate up the jaffle. I start with the sandwich, then I add the toffee apple skin, fresh apple, raspberry and some mint. And on the side, I have the cinnamon stick, lemon cream and a butterscotch caramel sauce. BILLIE: Looks good, Reynold. JAMIE: Love it, mate. Love it. Reynold's jaffle looks absolutely amazing. But is it a jaffle or is it a dessert? Ten seconds! Nine. ALL: Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Jaffles down! Time's up. REYNOLD: Time's up. I feel really happy. What I've put in front of me, I'm really proud of. It's the first time I've made jaffles, so, yeah, I'm really happy about that. (SIGHS) Oh! JESSICA: It looks amazing, Ashleigh. Time is up. I'm really happy. They look beautiful. Like, the bolognaise tastes great. I'm just a little bit worried about the cheese in the middle. The three of you had 45 minutes to create a delicious jaffle, and it HAS to be delicious if you're gonna stand a chance to go into the next round. So, first up - Jessica. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JESSICA: I really, really want this immunity pin. The bolognaise tastes great, so I'm hoping there's a real gooey, cheesy ooziness to the jaffle. We were excited about this one. 'Cause what is it? Tell us what it is. It's a bolognaise jaffle with a few different kinds of cheese in there. Uh, one question - let's get it clear - when we cut one half of the jaffle open, we're gonna get lovely, stringy fontina, are we? I hope so. The raclette should give it stringiness, I hope. SHANNON: (INHALES SHARPLY) OK. Now... (FLATLY) OK. Hmm? Hmm? More cheese! It needs more cheese! More cheese. (SIGHS) There's definitely not enough cheese in there, which is not what I was going for today. There is absolutely no doubt that is super crunchy, and that parmesan and the rye bread, I think were really good choices. So, big thumbs up on that one. I love it. You hit the childhood memory on the head. The seasoning was really good. Crispiness was excellent. I actually really like it with that fresh basil... Mmm. ..inside there. So, um...commendable. Thank you. Jessica, you've forgotten the fundamental rule of a toastie, the cheese toastie. No matter how much cheese you put in there, it seems to disappear. But if you'd had three times as much cheese, that probably would have been the right ratio. But well done. Really, really good jaffle. I was a bit shy about putting the amount of cheese I'd put on it at home, and that's what I should have done! (LAUGHS) Oh, not... Hey. If we're gonna sort something out today - never be shy. You certainly know what Matt and I like, so there you go. Nice work. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Reynold, let's taste your jaffle. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) REYNOLD: I love the theatrical side of food, and especially reinventing. I think this jaffle is looking great. I'm proud of myself. Mmm. That's a snazzy jaffle, isn't it? Mmm. So, what's that? Uh, it's just a lemon cream. What is the actual dish? So, this is an apple pie jaffle. Looks alright, doesn't it? Oh, there's more? Oooh! Ooh! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Reynold, that looks freakin' brilliant. (CHUCKLES) It really does. Thank you. Mmm. It looks great, but, you know, does it fulfil the need for the crunchy outside, the gooey filling? At this moment, I'm quite worried if I've put too little of the mixture in. I'm hoping to hear from the judges that they love the way it looks and the flavour's gonna be there. It's got to be gooey. 1 Get ready to be part of history and rank the alternative flag designs in the first referendum. Next year, you'll choose between the preferred alternative and the current flag. What do we stand for, NZ? REYNOLD: Waiting for the judges' feedback, I'm feeling really nervous and my heart is pumping. I'm just hoping everything is just there. And I've got...there's a lot of doubt in my mind. It's got to be gooey. JUDGES: Mmm. Looks a bit dry in the middle. All the goo's on the outside. I think... the problem with this jaffle sits in my hand right there. A lot of brioche and not enough apple. Maybe if you'd used some of that butterscotch inside the jaffle, so when you cut it, it oozed and was all, like... (SLURPS) ..that would be better. I applaud the creativity. You've got all the elements. But what you need to do is just know when to use them. Yeah, 'cause what it is is a lot of elements on a board, which is all great, and they're creative, but the heart of it, which is the jaffle, needs to be gooey and delicious. And if you could get... ..if you'd have pumped that caramel sauce into that apple, then it would have been perfect. You've just got to get all the flavours INSIDE the jaffle. Exactly. That's... Everything there that's made it special on the outside needs to be on the inside. Thanks, guys. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) It's the first time I've made jaffles, so next time, it's definitely gonna be jam-packed. It's gonna be full of flavour. Ashleigh! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Tell us what's inside that jaffle. When we cut it open, what are we gonna see? ASHLEIGH: It is a Jaffa jaffle. So, it's got a ricotta mixture with chocolate and pistachios, it's got some chocolate ganache, and some salted caramel sauce. Oh. The big question is, is that brioche gonna be crispy? 'Cause it's a soft, buttery, rich bread, isn't it? It certainly smells nice. Mmm. It does. It smells great. It's got that very doughnutty characteristic, hasn't it? Yeah, it has, hasn't it? Amazing how the ricotta has just sucked everything up. Mmm. Oh! (CHEWS NOISILY) (LAUGHTER) Oh, my! Mmm. That was actually... I was not looking forward to trying that. I have to admit. Yep. (GIGGLES) But I completely misjudged. Because I tell you, that taste was amazing. I loved it. I love that little hint of cardamon in there as well. So, you know... Well, it's surprised us, I think, hasn't it? Yeah. Mmm. I think it's really elegant. It's delicious. I wasn't expecting it to be as good as that. I was worried it was gonna be dry. Yep. But, gee, that is really, really good jaffle work. Well done. Thank you. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Well done, Ash! ASHLEIGH: I'm really happy that they loved my jaffle and that I got such great feedback. I'd love an opportunity to cook off for that immunity pin. I think we're delighted at what we've just seen. (CHUCKLES) I don't think we thought when we set a jaffle challenge we'd see so much creativity in those 45 minutes. Sadly, only one of you can cook off against a top chef for the chance of winning this pin. The winner of the jaffle challenge today is... ..Ashleigh. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Ashleigh, come and collect your white chef's jacket. I can't believe I was picked for the first immunity challenge. It's amazing. Well, congratulations. Thank you. STEPHEN: Watching Ashleigh put on the chef whites for the first time this year, it's quite inspirational. They really suit her as well, so... Ooh, it's exciting. Ashleigh, one step closer to immunity. How do you honestly feel? I'm excited. I am feeling nervous, but I'm excited, though. That's good. Feeling positive. Well, there's only one thing that stands between you and that immunity pin, and it's a chef. Mmm. A chef we're really pleased to have in the kitchen today. He started cooking at 16 years old. He's been in the kitchen for 18 years. He's worked around the world. Started in Perth, then ended up being the head chef at Cha Cha Char in Brisbane, which was named best steak restaurant in Australia. Then he moved to Euro, at that time one of Brisbane's best restaurants, and now he has his own place, which is in its own right the current Brisbane Restaurant of the Year. You have your work cut out for you, Ashleigh. (GARY CHUCKLES) From Gerard's Bistro in Brisbane, Ben Williamson! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) How are you? Hi. Ben, welcome. Thanks for having me. Walking through those doors for your first time on MasterChef, how do you feel? Confident, ten-foot high, or a little bit nervous? Probably a combination of both, you know? It's a proud moment to be invited, but there's an element of nervousness to it as well. And there's a reputation to uphold, that's for sure. Ashleigh, there's a choice of two pantries behind us. You have 75 minutes, and you'll choose which pantry you're both gonna cook with. Ben, you've only got 60 minutes, because you're our professional. Ready to see what your choices are? Shall we? Yes. Ashleigh, your choice is between... ..East... (SEVERAL MOAN APPRECIATIVELY) ..or West. Loads of ingredients to put up a fantastic dish. Ben, you cook a lot of Asian food? Not a great deal, I have to admit. How about this pantry here? This would be your comfy place, would it? Yeah, certainly. Yeah. (WHISPERS) Don't be influenced by that. (LAUGHS) I... Yeah, it is a tough choice. I think I'm gonna go East. You're gonna go East? Yeah. Oh, and Ben goes, "Damn!" That hurts. You feel confident with that? I feel like I have more of an idea of a dish on that side than I did on that side, so that's what I'm gonna go with. Great stuff. That's what you've got to do. You know what's up for grabs here. It's an immunity pin, and you want one. Matt and I will be judging your dishes in a blind tasting, so we won't know what's going on in the kitchen - all the dramas, all the stress. All the mess. There'll be no mess, alright? No mess. No. OK? (LAUGHTER) Alright? Yeah. Good luck, Ashleigh. Good luck, Ben. Good luck. Can't wait to see what you both put up. Shannon? You're the mentor. Thank you. We'll see you later. Good luck, Ashleigh. Good luck, Ben. Ashleigh, you've chosen the East pantry. Good luck. Thank you. Your time starts now. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Time starts, and I have got 75 minutes to cook a dish. I'm starting to think about a bit of a Thai-style chicken curry using Kaffir lime leaves, ginger. They're flavours I use quite a lot at home, so I'm pretty comfortable with working with them, and I know they go really nicely together. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Come on, Ash! Come on, Ash! Come on, Ash! Whoo! The first thing I do is soak the dried chillies to go into the curry paste. I have to be really careful the curry sauce is well balanced, that I don't overpower it with too much chilli. WOMAN: Ooh! Nice chopping, Ash. I get onto preparing the other ingredients to go into the curry paste, so I chop up some garlic, ginger, lemongrass and I add some lime zest. ROSE: Ashleigh seems to be really charging ahead. She's just so calm. She's in control. Yeah, she looks like she's doing a great job. SHANNON: Ashleigh, you've had 15 minutes. Yes. That means there's one hour to go. Ben, your time starts now. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) BEN: Today, I'm making a pan-fried duck breast with kimchi, a daikon and nashi pear salad, and egg custard. I'm looking at the Eastern bench and I'm going through and I'm checking off ingredients. There's no cream in the pantry. There's none of the things that I'm comfortable with using with egg custard. FIONA: He's taking his time over there. STEPHEN: I'm a bit worried about Ben. He seems to be taking his time choosing which ingredients he's gonna use. He's only got 60 minutes. You know, if he doesn't get a move on, he's gonna be in trouble. I don't have time to think of something else to cook. So I'm racking my brain, searching that table, trying to find something that I can use for the egg custard. Hmmm. Ooh, enough window-shopping! It's time to make your choice in the first referendum on the New Zealand flag. Just rank the five options, then pop them in the post by Tuesday. I've made my decision. How about you? Call 0800 36 76 56 or visit elections.org.nz. SARA: Today is our first immunity challenge, and Ashleigh has gone through to the final round against Ben Williamson, who is a top Brisbane chef. She's chosen the East pantry today, but it looks like he's having a lot of trouble choosing ingredients from that particular pantry. No cream in the pantry. There's no butter in the pantry. There's none of the things that I'm comfortable with using with egg custard. Time's ticking away. I see a tin of coconut cream. I think that could be a good solution. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) ASHLEIGH: I pick the chicken to cook with in my Thai curry today. It's a protein I'm familiar with using and comfortable with breaking it down. I remove the breasts first and then I cut off the thighs and legs. SHANNON: This is exciting. I like this. Excellent. How are we doing? I'm good. Really good. I start to take the bones out of the chicken thighs... Why are you taking it off the bone? Um...that's just how I do it at home. OK. You know, I'm thinking presentation. You've got that bowl, and the bone may give it a bit of height. Leave it on? Um, well... When you leave it on the bone, the bone actually protects some of the moisture. Obviously, the downside is that you've got to make sure it's cooked. Cooked. Yes, exactly. It will take longer to cook. Yep. Alright. Shannon suggests keeping the chicken on the bone, 'cause it's gonna keep the meat more moist and add more flavour if I leave it in. I think that's pretty good advice, so I decide to leave the bones in. Ashleigh, Ben! It's a fantastic Eastern pantry! I'm expecting amazing things! 45 minutes to go! (ALL CHEER) BEN: Kimchi is a Korean dish of fermented cabbage and chilli, and it just gets this really, really good, sweet depth and this beautiful kind of effervescence to it. How are we doing, Ben? Um, starting to pull it together now. We've got, uh...some good Chinese cabbage, spring onions. Hulled millet. Interesting. Yes. The millet, well, I'm gonna have a go. I was looking for something I could puff. I'm not sure how to puff the millet, but I'll give it a go. The only thing I'm missing which is making me a bit nervous is, um, some cream for that custard, so it's just gonna be pure egg. I went over there and grabbed some coconut cream. We'll see how that goes. Coconut cream would be good. Good luck, Ben. Cheers. To go with my Thai chicken curry, I'm going to make a roti bread that's really dear to my heart. The roti bread is something I learned when I was travelling last year in Nepal. I recently travelled to Nepal to stay with some family there who are Nepalese. Whilst I was there, my uncle taught me how to make his roti bread, so I definitely have got very fond memories of them. I'm really hoping this element will impress the judges today. I would love immunity. I've been in an elimination already, and it's not fun. So to have a bit of a safety net would be very reassuring. ROSE: What are you making, Ben? I'm gonna get the legs off the duck, dice them up, and I'll take all the bones and we'll just try and make a little bit of a sauce on the side here. Is this as hot as this thing goes? SEVERAL: Yep. JESSICA: Uh, put the middle one on. What's that? The furthest left knob. This one here? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Turn that one. Yeah. That's the middle of your burner. Inside information. Good to know. (LAUGHS) MATTHEW: And that's all the help you'll be getting. Come on, guys! 30 minutes to go! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Come on, Ashleigh! ASHLEIGH: I really need to get a move on and get this chicken cooking. I get a chargrill pan out because I really want to get a nice, charred, smoky flavour on the outside of the chicken before I cook it in the sauce. It's about all the flavours all in one pot, so that the meat really takes in the flavours of the curry paste. Ben, what are you cooking? Um, just doing a bit of a duck breast with a, um...kimchi and a kimchi custard. Yum! Yeah. ROSE: No, it's not! Yours is better! Go, Ash! Come on! "Oh, come on!" (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Whoo! That smells awesome. How is it, Ash? Yeah, it's good. Good. Just thinking, though, Ashleigh, in my head, I'm thinking presentation. I'm trying to think what your book cover's looking like with this dish. Yes. This is gonna be your defining dish. Yep. Oh, it's exciting! What's the thinking about taking this dish to the next level? Um... I'm happy with the elements I've got already, but Shannon clearly thinks I need to add something else. I just cannot think what it could be. But I can definitely feel any sense of calm starting to slip away. BEN: An egg custard is set eggs. There's usually cream involved. So I'm looking for a really nice, thick, fluid, pipeable consistency. I add coconut cream and add the squeezed juices from the kimchi. And just hope for the best. I'm tasting the kimchi and I know the balance is not quite right. Mmm, it's still a little bit too harsh. I'm gonna try and incorporate some more sugar into it. The problem I recognise with nailing the kimchi is that I don't have the fermentation, and I've really got to try and get some depth of flavour in there somehow. I'm starting to feel the pressure. This is it, Ashleigh, Ben! 10 minutes to go! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) I'm not sure about the roti. They look a bit dry. They don't look as nice as they usually do when I make them at home. I just didn't knead it for long enough, and I think maybe that's why they haven't turned out quite right. I know that Gary really likes having bread with curry, so I'm still going to serve it. How are you going, Ben? How's your custard? Uh, it's starting to come together. I'm actually slightly concerned. But it's, um... Oh, really? I'm hoping that in the next two minutes, it's really gonna... ..come together a little bit better. OK. So, the custard, you're confident? It's gonna... it's all happening, yeah? Hopefully I'm not undone by some custard in the Thermomix. (LAUGHS) You hearing that, Ashleigh? No? A lot of problems over here. (OTHERS LAUGH) A few over here too. Things aren't going to plan. MATTHEW: Good work, Ashleigh! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Come on, Ashleigh! You've got him worried! Shannon's really encouraging me to add another element to my dish. I'm thinking maybe something fresh. I run over to the ingredients. I see some lychees, so I grab those and just decide to make a quick relish with the lychees, some fish sauce and lime juice for a little dressing. You're alright, hon. You're alright. OK, this is it, guys! Two minutes to go! Time to bring your dish home! Let's go! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) So, tell me what's going on with the custard. I'm stressing about this a little bit. It's actually thickened up. Yes. It's just not gonna hold its shape the way I wanted. OK. So, it's like a sauce? Yeah, basically. Alright. I'll leave you to it. The options are running out. It's not gonna be an egg custard, but maybe it can work as an egg sauce and tie it together. How are you feeling, Ashleigh? In the home stretch now. You almost there? Yeah, I'm starting plating. Thinking about your plate-up? Yep. Cool. (LAUGHTER) She's on the plate already, isn't she? (ALL CHEER) She's plating up. I need to pull my finger out. First immunity pin of the season! Come on, Ashleigh! 60 seconds left! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Come on! OK! It's that time again! Ten! ALL: Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Well done. Oh, my God! It's amazing! I think it looks not too bad on the plate. It's probably not quite as pretty as I would have liked, but I'm really happy with how the curry looks, at least. The sauce is really bright and it looks really inviting. (SIGHS) Oh, yum! That looks beautiful. I'm looking at the plate. It's looking good, but I can't help but feel disappointed that that kimchi balance wasn't perfect. Looking at Ashleigh's dish, the colour that she's achieved in the curry and the smells that are coming off it, I think I might be up against it and I'm worried. ASHLEIGH: It would be amazing to have that immunity pin and know that I could be safe from an elimination. I'm not confident that I've done enough, but I'm happy with the flavours. BEN: I'm feeling quite apprehensive. I think it could go 50/50. I'm really in two minds. Am I gonna win this thing? Am I gonna lose? It's just playing over and over in my head. Well, let's get the first dish in, shall we? MATT: Yes. Mmm. WAITER: Here we have a Thai chicken curry, a lychee relish, roti and some coconut rice. That looks good! It does look great, doesn't it? Yeah. It really does. And look - all the bells and whistles. And we know that, Gary, you can't stomach a curry without some carbs. (LAUGHS) You've got the choice of two! It's heaven. That little lychee relish, or chutney, that's clever thinking - I like that. Hot, sour, fresh. You know? High expectations. And you know what I love about this dish? We don't have to worry about George not being here and plating up. Because this is a shared dish, we can plate up ourselves! Perfect. (CACKLES) Right. Let's do it, then. Lovely. Oh! I get nervous. That was perfect. But George, I think, would have put it round the edge. (CHUCKLES) Yeah. I've got a pile mounded on one side. Oh, that smells good. Smell that. There's more than just... Oh! ..more than just chilli and coriander in there. Um, it's got some complexity. Really good. Shall we taste? I love that...that sauce. You know, it's dark, it's interesting. It does all the right things. It makes you go, "Ooh, yum. I'll have another spoonful." And I like the grilled element in that chicken leg. I think that's really good. And I think the rice is a little bit bitey, a little bit chalky. Not as springy as I like it when you're having a curry like this. The only real flaw for me on this dish is the bread. If the bread hadn't been there, it'd be a far better dish. Yeah. It's a really nice first dish, and dead tasty. Yeah, I like it. I'd go back for more, there's no doubt. Well, let's score dish one. 1 Mmm! So, we have a pan-fried duck breast with kimchi, puffed millet and a daikon and nashi pear salad. Lovely. Crunchy, crispy. Lovely colour on the duck. Yeah. It looks good. Very, very pretty. Here, you'd better plate. You do have 395 years of experience. And so, I think what George would do is probably just push that to one side... Mmm. Right. Tuck in. It's a very fresh, summery dish. Really fresh. And what mood are we in? Are we in the mood for a fresh, summery, cleansing dish or are we in the mood for something a little bigger, a little more powerful and hearty? 'Cause I'm eating that and it looks...it looks amazing. It's a restaurant-style dish. It's got all the elements that say, "Order me. I'm gonna taste brilliant." And then I taste it and I go, "It's nice. "It's, you know, crunchy and interesting and chilli-ish." But there's not a lot of depth in there. 'Cause kimchi's fermented and aged, and none of that funkiness is there. The duck is cooked perfectly. Yes! The crunchy with it is great. The egg sauce - lovely. On face value, I thought it would be a lay-down misere for dish two. But on tasting, it's a far more complex... Decision, isn't it? ..a far more complex decision. Shall we score? I've scored. You've scored. Shall we? What a great first immunity challenge. The challenge was about East versus West, and, Ashleigh, you chose the East, which, uh, Ben - wasn't quite on your home turf. This MasterChef kitchen always has to make you feel a little bit uncomfortable. But you know what? It's all about Ashleigh and the immunity pin. What we want to know is, first up, who cooked which dish? Ashleigh, what did you cook? I cooked the Thai chicken curry. OK. So, Ben, that meant you cooked... The duck and kimchi. Right. Shall we reveal the scores for Ashleigh's dish first? Ashleigh, you ready? (INHALES DEEPLY) I scored your dish... ..eight out of ten. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Wow! Ashleigh, well done! I loved the complexity of the sauce, and especially, like every good curry, that little film of flavour which reveals itself as a thin layer of oil. It was absolutely spot-on. But that rice was just a little bit undercooked and chalky. Ashleigh. Yes? I scored your dish... ..seven out of ten. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) I loved that light, fragrant and slightly funky lychee relish. But... ..the flatbread was tough and biscuity. Well, Ashleigh, that's 15 out of a total of 20 points up for grabs. Now to you, Ben. (LAUGHS) The moment of truth! Oh, yeah, go on, tell me. Are you a little nervous? Yeah, I'm nervous. Good. I'm glad about that. I scored your dish - and it was a tough one... ..eight out of ten. Wow. What I loved about your dish, Ben, was the duck was cooked absolutely perfectly. Couldn't have done it any better. And I loved that little puffed or crispy millet on the plate. Delicious. The kimchi looked fantastic, but what I was looking for was that depth of flavour and that little funkiness. Put me out of my misery, Matt. (LAUGHS) Gee. We know Gary loves big flavours. I love big flavours too. And that kimchi...was just missing. But otherwise... ..the egg sauce, the cooking of the duck, the millet was impeccable cooking. And that's why I gave you... ..an eight out of ten. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Well done. Thank you. Are you relieved, Ben? Completely relieved, yeah. (LAUGHTER) I'll walk out with my head high. It was a tough challenge. Um... I'm not gonna lie - when I saw that curry and I saw the colours and everything on top, I was a little nervous. Close, Ashleigh. But it gives you something to drive towards. Well, Ben, you graced us with your presence. Now it's time to hop on that plane, get back to Gerard's Bistro, and we always say, if you hurry, you never know, you could just catch the end of service, and we hope to see you again soon. Thank you very much. Thanks very much for having me. See you, guys. Good luck. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) ASHLEIGH: It was so close between Ben and I. There's only one point between us. To have come so close is just the most amazing feeling, and I'm feeling really proud of myself. Ashleigh... Yes? ..you have established yourself amongst this lot as the one to watch. (CHUCKLING) Well done today. Thank you. Brilliant job. Well, Shannon, today, you turned from long-term MasterChef tormentor into just the mentor. Thank you so much for supplying your wisdom and your support to Ashleigh through that cook. We're looking forward to seeing how much closer you can get our contestants in coming weeks. Thank you, Matt. I'm looking forward to it. Come on, Ashleigh. Thank you. (APPLAUSE) Go home. We'll see you tomorrow for a massive day. STEPHEN: Goodnight. JESSICA: 'Night. ROSE: Hooray! Good job, sweetie. Oh, my God! One! MELITA: Good job! My God! You came so close! Well done, Ashleigh. WOMAN: A great experience, eh? ASHLEIGH: Yeah. ANNOUNCER: Tomorrow night... MAN: (BARKS) Atten-SHUN! ..it's their toughest deployment yet. Contestants, MARCH! A culinary tour of duty at legendary Puckapunyal Army Base. It's literally a battle. Let's go, Team Red! (ALL CHEER) They'll cook two Aussie-inspired courses... Hot, hot, hot! Hot! STEPHEN: You don't like it? GARY: No. Oh, my God. We're absolutely screwed. ..for a battalion of hungry guests... It's an honour and we're putting a lot of love into it. ..and serve up... I want to eat it. ..two exceptional desserts to those who serve us. That is brilliant. Top-level dessert cooking. But even with dishes this good... They've taken it to the point of perfection. ..there will be casualties. Tomorrow, one of you will go home.