ANNOUNCER: Previously on MasterChef Australia... You only have 10 minutes. ..a fast and furious Thai challenge... Pedal to the metal. Let's go. ..packed plenty of heat. Chilli. Get amongst it. I'll go there. I love the way that chilli sneaks up on you. But when Melita overlooked a key element of her chicken curry,.. There's not one bit of chicken in there, is there? ..she was eliminated from the competition. Tonight, it's favourites week... We're going to show you that your dreams can come true. ..and we're welcoming back... Yay, it's Poh. ..some familiar faces. So stoked it's Hayden Quinn. Inspired by MasterChef legends,... Incredible! ..they'll cook from the heart... It's good. I really love it. ..to create headline dishes. Put a big smile on my face. Delicious. Because that's happy food. But what will the judges make of this flavour combo? Is this a dessert, or is this a sweet savoury dish? It is a dessert. Pork in dessert. # 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. # Able 2015 STEPHEN: It's the start of a new week. Yeah, last week I cooked the best dish that I've cooked so far, so I want to ride that momentum now, and I'm looking forward to getting into the kitchen again. WOMAN: Another day, guys. Another week. WOMAN 2: Yeah. Here we go again. Another day in the kitchen! Are you ready to cook or what? Always. What are we doing today? We're gonna smash it today, right? ROSE: I'm just... I'm feeling so excited and motivated after the elimination last week, weirdly enough. And I just wanna get in the kitchen and just, yeah... just really kick it today. After you, guys. Yay, it's a mystery box. Yay! That will be awesome. (LAUGHS) Loving the mystery box. Mystery box day. Good morning! ALL: Morning! Yeah! You see, the start of a new week in the MasterChef kitchen. Doesn't it make you feel good? ALL: Yes. Love it. Well, this week we're gonna show you that your dreams can actually come true. We're gonna show you that MasterChef is well and truly a life-changing experience... ..and that your food dream can come true. Because all these things can happen. They HAVE happened. And no-one knows this better than the people that you're gonna meet this week. Ooh. Every challenge that happens this week is being set by people who have been there, where you're standing right now. This is a very special week. It's MasterChef favourites week. Yay. And to start the week, we have one of the most-loved MasterChef contestants ever. She's written books, she's fronted her own TV series, she's even been nominated for a Logie. There are a number of ways you can gauge success in the food industry - with hats, with stars, but the ultimate way is when you're known by just one name. Nigella, Jamie, Heston. It's Poh. Please welcome Poh. (ALL CHEER) Yay. Yay, it's Poh. She's absolutely my favourite. She's an Adelaide girl, and she's just absolutely nailed everything after she's left the competition, and she didn't even win. You've gotta go and say hello. I'm so overwhelmed. Mmm. Hello. Poh, welcome. Thank you. What do you remember most about the MasterChef kitchen? Your time here. It was one of the happiest moments in my life, I think, the whole period being in MasterChef. And I just embraced every moment - the bad, the good. I just really soaked it all up and just made sure that I was just always learning. So, you know, when you watch chefs cook, watch everything that they do. You pick up so much. And it taught me a lot about myself as well, seeing how you function under pressure. So it's telling of what might be to come, if you get into the industry. It was very life-affirming for me. You'd know the feeling of going into a challenge and thinking you're just gonna die of nervousness, and then you pull something out that, like, even you're sort of amazed at. I think that's something that's really unique about MasterChef, that I don't think there's a feeling that you can replicate in the world. And when I come in here, it feels still really electric to me. ROSE: Definitely a lot of inspiration. She never gave up and she kept pushing on the show, and that's definitely a big inspiration for me. That's definitely something that I'm trying to do in this competition, is just keep fighting. Well, you know what we're most excited about? We're most excited about those mystery boxes, because that's Poh's mystery box. She set the challenge today. She's chosen all the ingredients that you'll find under that lid. Do you want to have a look? ALL: Yes. Hands on. Go. Ooh! So, Poh, do you want to run through the ingredients you've popped in the mystery box? So, it's all my favourite things. We've got prawns, soaked glutinous rice, chillies, cucumber, some garlic chives, curry leaves, dark palm sugar, lime and coconut. Perfect. As soon as I see the ingredients, I know exactly what I'm gonna cook. So, you want some rules? Yeah. The rules are simple. Remember, you've gotta use at least one of the ingredients in Poh's mystery box, and you have... ..60 minutes to cook us one deliciously amazing dish. We are only tasting the top five dishes, so you've gotta show off if you want any chance of winning this challenge. If you win, then you get the advantage in the next challenge, which is the invention test. Are you ready? ALL: Yes. Your time starts now. Seeing Poh and seeing how her dreams have sort of come into fruition just makes me feel really positive. I'm from Adelaide, and I'm really happy to see someone from Adelaide in the kitchen. My food dream is to have a big warehouse space in Adelaide. I'm inspired by the street food that you see in Asia. Where will this be? Well, there's actually, um... You might know there's a warehouse in Magill, which is, like, covered in, like, amazing street art. Oh, so round the corner from your house. Oh, my God! I think I know where you're talking about as well. Yeah. Incredible. What's the dish? I'm going to do a cucumber gazpacho - like, sort of cold soup with a bit of prawn stock through it, which I've cooled down. Fry my prawns and get some coconut flavours in there and make a bit of a chilli oil. Yeah. Fantastic. This is awesome. This is, like, lots of my most favourite things. I follow you on Instagram as well, creepily, and love that you're doing paella now as well. Oh, thank you. Alright. Enough, enough, enough. I love you! Good luck. Thank you. So, today I'm doing bibingka, which is what my mum always cooked for me when I was a kid. Bibingka, it's a Filipino sticky rice cake. It's got amazing flavours. It's flavoured with a bit of lime zest and some coconut. Growing up in the Philippines, we had a hard time. We weren't well off. Mum was, basically, making a living cooking these bibingkas for her to sell. Cooking it today, I'm putting up something that Mum would be proud of. My mum would just normally cook off the glutinous rice, mix some palm sugar, coconut milk, serve it in a nice banana leaf. What I'm doing today is a modern version of all the flavours that she puts into that dish. I'm gonna modernise the dish by serving it with a palm sugar ice-cream and toasted coconut. My food dream is to modernise Filipino cuisine and introduce Filipino food to the Australian public. Come on, prawnies, please work for me. I'm trying to just think of a simple sponge cake so I can do a coconut and lime sponge. I want to show a bit of versatility today. I've never done a dessert so far in the kitchen - they're not my forte, by a long stretch. Give that a go. (LAUGHS) With baking, you have to be very precise in your ingredients that you use and the quantities that you use. So if I get one of these things wrong, then that's where my inexperience is really gonna tell. We'll see how it goes today. Love the fact that Poh's here showing you what you can achieve. 15 minutes down, 45 minutes to go! Come on. Hi, Jamie. Hey, Poh. How are you? So, I've done a palm sugar parfait with a chilli and lime biscuit. It's gonna be sort of like a deconstructed sandwich situation. How cool is that?! I have made quite a lot of desserts in this competition, because that's something that I'm really comfortable with. But it is time for me to experiment with savoury. I'm making butter-poached prawns with prawn oil vinaigrette and some lime mayo. So, Reynold, are you using prawns in pastry, or are you going savoury? So, I'm just trying to hopefully bring out the Asian in me. (ALL LAUGH) So I'm going to be doing a... Might pickle these cucumbers just lightly. I'm gonna slowly butter-poach these prawns, add a bit of chilli and make a lime mayo. Ooh, yeah. If I can get my dish tasted today I'd be really happy, because I haven't done a good savoury dish, and I really want to prove to the judges that I can do savoury. I decided to cook an upside-down palm sugar and lime cake. Chilli and lime is a great combination. I think I can make a really beautiful syrup out of that. The syrup has to be really well balanced. If there's too much chilli, it will overpower it. So, yeah, it is definitely a few risks, but I want to be brave, I want to pick those bold flavours, that real strong chilli hit in there. Yeah, so, in my restaurant that I want to open, my little eatery, you know, this is exactly the kind of dish that I would make. This dish is so me on a plate. To get tasted today with Poh in the kitchen, that would be amazing. MATT: You want the power, you've got to win the mystery box! 30 minutes to go! STEPHEN: I very rarely do desserts, but at the same time I wanna try and practise it as well as impress the judges with what I can do. So I'm using the glutinous rice to make sort of rice pudding, a really, really nice chilli and lime syrup. Mmm, that's delicious. My cakes have been in the oven for 10 minutes and... Oh, these are a nightmare. The cakes look like a volcano that is erupting. It's looking pretty grim down there. Let's face it, the cakes are an absolute disaster. If I can't salvage it, I'm not gonna have a dish. All I'm gonna have is some rice pudding and some syrup. In 60 minutes in the MasterChef kitchen, that's unacceptable. 1 Oh, these are a nightmare. The cakes look like a volcano that is erupting. It's looking pretty grim down there. And I've got Matt Preston looming over my shoulder. Oh! My cakes aren't looking good. I'm not 100% sure why. Tell Poh what you've got so far... Yeah. ..and let's see if she can counsel you. (LAUGHS) So, I've got a coconut and lime sponge cake in there that's going south. I've got a chilli, lime, palm sugar syrup. I've got sticky rice - like a rice pudding. I was gonna serve it sort of something like this - sponge cake, rice pudding, you know, sort of layer it a little bit. Well, the fact that that's overflowing is not really an issue. You've just overfilled it. But you might still be OK. Yeah. So, if you're going to deconstruct it anyway, which it sounds like you are... Well, I'm gonna have to. Yeah. I think you'll be fine. Yeah, yeah. Poh gives me confidence that it will be fine, you know. If I can just get the bits that I need, then it will be alright. Thank you, guys. Good luck. You'll be fine. Thanks, Poh. Yeah. Now I've just got to hope that it cooks through inside. Gee, I'm really surprised. I thought everybody would be going prawns and savoury, custards but savoury, but, in fact, it's the opposite. Here we've got Rose making a cake, Stephen making a cake. John's doing a bibingka, which is a classic kind of cake. He's using the glutinous rice inside there. But I'm really curious about that one. Yeah. So many people are going the dessert option. You're gonna have to really take a lot to sort of differentiate yourself from others. There are a few savoury dishes. I mean, Reynold, he's doing prawns, and that dish sounds absolutely delicious, doesn't it? Yeah, sounds awesome. And he's going to butter-poach the prawns, and then have a palm syrup over it. Nice. What I'm so excited about is... is we're seeing so many people putting dishes up that reflect their dream. Jessie doing a lovely cucumber soup with prawns, which is something you see, you know, going on the menu at her Asian street food warehouse. And I think what's exciting is the thinking of the contestants in this mystery box is very clear. GEORGE: I think we're gonna eat well. Yeah. Today I'm going to make something a little bit different. I've made eclairs a number of times, and it's something that I really like to change up and put different ingredients into. And I'm going to use the white glutinous rice as the filling for my eclairs. Usually with an eclair, you get a big, thick, dark strip of chocolate. Today, I'm using a caramel instead. I definitely think it's a little bit unusual to put these ingredients inside an eclair, but I'm thinking it's going to work. The competition's getting a lot stronger, and I'm hoping that I stand out and that the judges really want to try my dish. What is life without a dream? 15 minutes to go! Come on! GEORGE: Come on, guys, push! JACQUI: Whoo-hoo. Look at those. WOMAN: Oh, beautiful, Jacqui. JESSIE: This mystery box has ingredients that I love to use. Looks good. I've lightly dusted my prawns with the coconut and some lime zest, and then just get them in some hot oil and fry them off. You're doing a soup, aren't you? Yeah, I'm going to do a cold soup with a bit of prawn broth in there, with the prawns and the toasted coconut. Quick question - why don't you cook more Asian dishes? That's a thing I've been asking. Like, if you want to open, you know, this Asian kind of eatery, why don't you do more? I think I've been not cooking what I know and just really dumb. Yeah. If this is honestly your dream... Yeah. ..then I'd love to see you at every opportunity to explore a technique or a dish. This is my happiest time I've had so far, right now, with these ingredients. Well, let's get on board. And now I've got high expectations. Oh God. No pressure. (LAUGHS) I can only hope that my dish will end up living up to his expectations. It would mean a lot to me to get tasted today. So, my ice-cream's finished churning in the ice-cream machine, and the ice-cream looks perfect. And I've got my bibingka setting. John. Hey, George and Gary. I've eaten this once before, so it will be interesting to see what your version's like. And what I'm serving with that is a milk palm sugar ice-cream. Well, I'm just trying to think. I'm looking for freshness as I'm imagining tasting that in my palate. Where are you getting that freshness from? It is quite a sweet dish. George is worried that my dish will be too sweet. Immediately I think I could use the cucumber and the lime to make a pickle to cut through the sweetness of the dish. Ava... Hey. ..do you have any more lime left? Lime? Even just a zest. Yeah. No, I do, I've got a whole limes for you. I'm just hoping that the flavours are well balanced and not too sweet. I'm making butter-poached prawns with prawn oil vinaigrette and some lime mayo. So, I've got the prawns, they're poached quite gently in the butter. As I'm poaching the prawns over a low heat, I just really carefully watch it. When they turn just opaque, that's when it's done. I just hope it's cooked to the right consistency, where it's just enjoyable to eat. Some of your food is looking amazing. Five minutes to go! Today I'm cooking an upside-down palm sugar and lime cake with a chilli and lime caramel sauce. I need to get my cakes out of the oven. Ooh! Cool. And they're beautiful. I do have my caramel going on the stove. There's a bit of a chilli hit in there. I'm really hoping that the chilli and the lime isn't overpowering. STEPHEN: I'm feeling a bit flustered. You know, a bit all over the place. I've got my nice sticky rice and my chilli and lime syrup. I've put those two elements to one side, they're ready. I open the oven door and I pull my cakes out of the oven. This is the main ingredient of the whole dish. And as soon as I touch the baking tin... ..I know the cakes are under. But, you know, I've got to get something on the plate, so I'm just hoping that it is cooked enough. You ready for the moment of truth? They've collapsed. 1 Guys, it's that time. It's the time when you need to start plating. Three minutes to go. Come on. Come on, let's go. I pull my cakes out of the oven... Are you ready for the moment of truth? They've collapsed... ..and they're still raw in the middle. Note to self - wait a few weeks before doing another dessert. Oh no, they've turned out more like puffs. GARY: How are you going? I'm good. How are you? Are you doing eclairs or something? Yeah. They're not really eclair-y. They're kind of when an eclair and a profiterole have a baby, and they're like eclair-erole. Well, it's like a cronut. Yeah, yeah. The eclairs are really oddly shaped and a little pale. They didn't have as much time in the oven as I probably would have liked. I don't have any time to lose. I still have to fill them. The rice tastes beautiful and the texture's awesome. The caramel looks really lovely, but it's really weird to put that inside an eclair. So I'm just a bit worried if the judges will like it or not. Come on, bring it together! One minute to go. GEORGE: Come on, guys! Come on. (JUDGES SHOUT ENCOURAGEMENT) ROSE: I have to put a lot of concentration into plating this cake today. It's not just about the flavour of being really nice. It's also about presenting really beautifully on the plate as well. 10 seconds! JUDGES: Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. That's it! Time's up. Stephen. Oh, John, what have you done to me? Well done, Stephen. Oh, I haven't been tasted yet. I've been at the bottom of almost every challenge. I'm really hoping that today's my day. Oh! The flavours, I like. I'm just hoping that it's all balanced out and that it's likely enough for the judges to taste and that they'll enjoy it. I haven't turned the corner. I put the handbrake on, haven't I? (LAUGHS) Well, what a great cook and hopefully you felt inspired, because Poh put together a great bunch of ingredients. And this mystery box challenge is all about putting yourself in the prime Poh-sition for the next challenge - which is the invention test. First up to the tasting bench is... ..John. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) I've worked hard to put up this dish, and it's a dish that I enjoyed while I was growing up. It brings back memories every time I eat this dish, and that's the experience I wanted the judges to have. I've cooked bibingka, which is a sticky rice cake, with a coconut caramel glaze with cucumber and lime pickle. And I've also served it with a palm sugar milk ice-cream and toasted coconut. Beautiful. My food dream is about sharing the Filipino dish with the Australian public. In John's style. Definitely. Dive in. I think I'm really excited by this, because my mission on MasterChef was to put Malaysian food on, you know, Australian dining tables, so... And is your mum gonna be reeling watching this 'cause it's so different from the traditional version? She will be. That's what I used to get all the time, as well. Oh! I'm in heaven. That's awesome. Love it. You've got that really, like, springy texture, stickiness of the rice, and you've really punched with all those flavours. But it's just... That's absolutely delicious. Really, really love that. That crunch and the milk and the palm sugar, so that kind of dark, sugary and complex flavour you get is really beautiful. That is incredibly good. I love it. It's put a big smile on my face. What a great start to the week. That is absolutely the bomb. The cucumber! Oh, the cucumber! There's a little bit of pithy bitterness, which reduces the sweetness of the palm sugar ice-cream. It is fantastic. I love the food in the Philippines, but this is a really refined version of it, and I think that is amazing, what you're doing. Thank you. Thank you. I'm feeling really happy. Mum was making a living cooking these bibingkas, and cooking it today, it's probably the most proudest moment that I've had in this competition. Next dish we'd love to taste belongs to... ..Georgia. Carrying my dish up to Poh and the judges, I'm really nervous. I really want to push myself, but there's always that fear that you're doing something that doesn't really go and that the judges might actually cringe at. Today I've made: I think we have to share them together, don't you? I think so. There are some technical problems with the profiterole, for me. They're not very dark, they're very pale. It needs to have a texture of its own. And when I bite through it, I've got caramel stuck in my teeth. OK. But I love the idea of it, I really do. Like, it's a great idea. To pull an idea like that out of the mystery box, pat on the back. I think there's a genesis of something there that you can take and develop and kind of maybe shuffle the textures around a little bit. As the competition gets tougher and creativity becomes more and more important, you'll really come into your own, so I see this as another step in the development of Georgia, and it's good development. Well done. Thank you so much. GEORGE: Well done, Georgia. Thank you. I'm walking away feeling really proud of myself and really motivated to give these eclairs another go. Next up... ..Reynold. When the judges call out my name, I'm really shocked, really surprised. At the same time quite happy. I really wanna prove to the judges that I can balance the flavours well in savoury. What's the dish? Nice. What do you think, Poh? Yeah, it looks beautiful. Mmm. It does look really lovely. I think the balance is excellent. You've got your salty, sweet, sour really beautifully balanced. Prawns are poached perfectly. I think it's a really beautiful dish, Reynold. I think that's the thing. You eat it all together, completely - the pickled cucumber, the buttered prawns. It's wonderful. Cook more savoury food, man. 'Cause that's great. Thanks, guys. Jessie. Poh - she's my most favourite contestant ever. As I take my dish up to the judges and Poh, I am feeling proud. The dish is: GARY: OK. Beautiful. Looks great, doesn't it? I like it. I love the sort of richness of the fried prawn, with all its crispy bits and stuff, and then that really refreshing cucumber soup on the bottom. And, yeah, it's really balanced. It's really nice. I think it's a really, really pleasant dish to eat. I just love those big, crispy prawns. I mean, the idea of just crunching shells and pulling off the crispy bits off the outside is smashing. Thank you. Next up, another dessert - Rose. (CHEERING) Rose. Oh my God. I don't believe it. (LAUGHS) Finally. Yes! Rose is here! Yes! Yes. Ah. I haven't been tasted before. In case you haven't guessed. Congratulations. Thank you. I'm really excited. Turned the corner, yeah? Yeah. What have you cooked? I've cooken... (STAMMERS) I'm so excited, I can't even talk. That's OK. I've cooked a: Yum. Yeah. Can we come up? We just wanna come up. MATT: Can I just say how elegant this dish looks. And I know we've had an issue with some of your plating in the past, but that is beautiful. Thank you. Love it. Beautiful. Beautiful. Lovely, dense pudding in all the right ways. And I love that caramel. Love the little chilli hit in it and the lime. Uh... what can I say? It's just a great pud. Thank you. Really, really good. I don't know what I'm more excited about - the pudding itself or the light bulb moment you've had. And I think when you come to MasterChef, everyone feels like they're not good enough at the beginning - everyone. And everyone gets frustrated, because you get knock-backs and setbacks, but the winners are the ones that turn the corner about a third, two-thirds of the way through. Cooking like that, you could go all the way. Well done. Thanks, Rose. Thank you so much. I want to dance. Like, I just want to dance. I was ready to do this little happy dance. But I'm not, I'm gonna keep it cool. Oh, my gosh. STEPHEN: Well done, Rose. Thank you. And I'm so glad that I got through that really rough patch at the start, and I really feel like I'm here now. Like, I feel like I am in this competition and I am in with a shot. Oh, what a great tasting. And we watched you cook and we saw some amazing food. Well, we've now got the deliciously difficult job of trying to decide which one of the five people whose dish we tasted get the advantage in the invention test. And can I tell you, it is a MASSIVE advantage. Shall we? If I can win mystery box on a savoury dish and get the advantage, it will be pretty amazing. I love Reynold's prawn dish. What about Jessie's golden crunchy prawns? Oh, they were good. Rose's? Do you like Rose's pudding? I like Rose's pudding. This is everything that I have been working for. I have been pushing and pushing and pushing. Because I'm thinking about that dessert. That was one of the best desserts I've tasted, that bibingka. I'm standing next to some of the amazing cooks in this competition. It's gonna be a hard call. I think we know which dish is our favourite. I think we do. Do we? 1 Five clever cooks, five great dishes. The winner of today's mystery box is... ..John. Congratulations. (CHEERING) Mum will definitely be proud. This dish is basically... it's her dish. John, your dream's simple - introduce people to Filipino food in an elegant manner, and today, that's what you put on the plate, and we loved every single element of it. Every part of that dish had a role. John, before we let you know what superpower you're gonna get in the next challenge, which is the invention test, we all have to thank Poh Ling Yeow for coming in and giving a little inspiration to the MasterChef kitchen. Maybe some final words of advice, Poh. What do you think? Savour every moment. This is going to be one of the, like, most amazing, most important things you've ever done in your life, so just go for it, guys. And best of luck. Alright, round of applause for Poh. Poh, we'll see you soon. Thank you so much, guys. Thank you. John, congratulations. Well done. You win the advantage going in to the invention test. That you know. What you don't know is the three core ingredients that you'll be picking from in the pantry have been chosen... ..by a very special person. Another MasterChef favourite. He competed in season three and won an immunity pin in the very first immunity challenge that season. The earliest pin ever to go off in MasterChef history. He's got his own television show all about healthy eating. His second book is about to come out. Please welcome back to the MasterChef kitchen Hayden Quinn. I'm so stoked it's Hayden Quinn. I loved watching his season. He walks in with this big grin. He seems so happy and confident. It's years after his season finished, and he's still pursuing his dream. Hello, gentlemen. Hello. How are you? Good to see you. Have you got a resume now, huh? Eh? How are you? Hello, Matt. How's it going? Welcome, Hayden. Thank you. How does it feel? You come back in here, well, at this end of the room, instead of standing behind one of those benches. It's still very daunting. Is it? Yeah, it's a weird feeling. But I'd much rather be on this side of the fence, that's for sure. I can tell you that much. Absolutely. You had your fair share of ups and downs, but what are the most memorable things do you think in the MasterChef kitchen? Yeah, lots of different things. Obviously I did an invention test with pork. It was a Korean invention pot, and David Chang actually came over from the US. I did not see this coming from you. I saw this, I didn't see this. Fantastic, Hayden. I really enjoyed it. I did pretty well with it. The key is to... I think it's just to be yourself. Stay true to who you are, cook the food you love to cook. Just do what you're doing - that's why you're here. So, John, you have the advantage in the invention test. Are you going to break the curse, that's the question. Are you gonna win it based on this advantage? Let's go, John. Let's do it. Oh. So, John, pretty special, huh? It is. You get to walk into the pantry before everybody else and, more importantly, you get to pick the core ingredient that everyone else must cook with in the invention test. The question is - do you play strategy, do you play to your strengths? Who knows? Got any ideas what might be under here? No idea. Go on! Go on! Have a guess. Well, I'm hoping there's, um... What would you love to be under there? Yeah. Purple yam. GARY AND HAYDEN: Purple yam? I would have gone in all the things in the world John- no, not purple yam. Why purple yam? Well, I haven't seen it in the pantry, and it's something that I always love cooking, especially in dessert. At the start of the week we said it was favourites week, and under these cloths are some of Hayden's favourites. So, maybe you need to rethink the purple yam theme. Come on, then, John, let's put you out of your misery. Hayden, do you want to do the honours? I will. OK, John, the first ingredient... ..is pork. The second ingredient... ..mussels. Number three, a staple - beef. There's a couple of dishes that's in my head at the moment. OK. Right. Remember, whatever you choose is gonna decide everyone else's fate. You ready? Sure am. Hmm, what does he have? (SIGHS) God, I'm so nervous. There's always that little moment where you come out of the pantry when everybody goes, "Ooh, what's under there?" So, today I've chosen... (LAUGHTER) ..pork. KRISTINA: I love pork. I cook it all the time at home. I immediately think of a dish I might like to make. It's an invention test. 60 minutes to cook. Open pantry. Your dish must hero the pork, and we want to see some invention. We're tasting everybody's dishes. The best three will have a chance to cook for immunity; the worst three, you know where you go - black apron, pressure test tomorrow. And your time... ..starts... ..now. 60 minutes, was it? Yeah. Do I want that, or do I not want that? What are you thinking? I get really excited when I see the ribs. I love ribs. I love any ribs. I wish it was more acceptable in public to eat them all the time. For the first time ever, I know what I'm doing. I need to get the right ingredients, and then walk back out there. I'm happy. I'm gonna cook sticky ribs with coleslaw and, like, crunchy spiced nuts. But I wanna get them really nice and charry on the outside so that glaze is really, like, sticky. They're called sticky ribs, so they need to be. I just wanna make sure I cook them right. Like, they need to be falling off the bone. I get my ribs into the pressure cooker really quickly. I want them to have enough time to cook through in liquid, and then I wanna get them out into a pan and get them sticky and delicious. Today, I'm cooking roast pork belly with crispy crackling, pickled pear, gravy and fennel salt. I love roast pork belly, and I know the judges love crackling. The way I cook my pork is under a salt crust. Salt the pork and get it straight into the oven at a really high temperature. So far in the competition, I have sort of hung around in the middle of the pack, but I'd really like to push myself now and really start to begin that upward journey to the top. Today I'm making a crispy pork belly with a spring onion pancake and a South-East Asian salad. Pork belly is my husband's absolute favourite dish, and I always make it for him. He loves that crackling, and that's what I want to give the judges today. I've got to nail the pork today. The challenge is all about pork, so I've gotta get the perfect, crispy crackling. I've heard whispers about using vinegar to tighten up the skin and get that perfect crackling. I decide to use that trick. I'm hoping that it's gonna give me a bit of a boost today. I am desperate for a top spot. I really wanna distinguish myself. And I want the judges to notice me. (CLICKS TONGUE) Today, I'm cooking pork and apricot kibbeh balls. It's a traditional Lebanese dish called kibbeh, and they're basically little balls that are stuffed with mince. I went really well in the mystery box this morning. I got tasted for the very first time. Just want to keep that momentum going. Is this, like, a family favourite? Is it a speciality? Oh, my God, when I think about my childhood - like, we used to have parties, and on every table there was this massive mound of kibbeh balls. Big pile? I'm gonna do as many as I can, yeah. I don't do things by halves. And so I'm gonna do the pork mince with the cracked wheat, and then I'm gonna stuff them with apricot, spiced onion mix that I've done... I can smell that. Beautiful. Yeah. We hope you bring us an interesting take on kibbeh, and if this could be it, you could be in that top three. I'm pretty confident with the dish, but at the same time I've never done them with pork. If I can pull this off, then I'll start to feel like I'm here, and I'm starting to actually be a competitor in this competition. GEORGIA: OK, OK, OK, OK. I'm getting really flustered. I think I'm doing something completely crazy. No-one else is doing what I'm doing. I look around the room, no-one else is doing dessert. Today, I'm making an apple and bacon crumble with pecans and maple syrup. I have never cooked anything like this before. I don't even really like bacon, and the fact that I'm putting it into a dessert is pretty crazy for me. I think that it will be interesting and something different. I'm definitely pushing myself, which is what I'm trying to do lately. That's hot! There's a lot riding on this. (GASPS) Nurse. Nurse. Then I cut myself. Ow. It actually took the nail off. This is not going well for me. I'm extremely flustered. This is the last thing I need right now. Ow. 1 NURSE: It'll be alright. It'll grow back. Ow. Thank you. I just really wanna do well today. When you cut yourself, you kind of get thrown a little bit. But I'm just trying to focus. I'm just trying to push on. So, the invention test today, we've got to cook a delicious meal using pork. The top three dishes will go to fight for immunity, and the bottom three dishes will go into an elimination. I'm really hoping that today's a good day for me. I was in top five this morning, so I just really need to focus and do my best in this round. (LAUGHS NERVOUSLY) MATT: Make it crispy, make it crackly, make it juicy! This is a pork invention test! 30 minutes to go! 30 minutes. GEORGE: Come on! I've decided to use a pork cutlet for the dish today. So I need to break down the rack into individual cutlets and French the bones. I haven't made this dish before, but I've eaten a similar one before with my sister. It's really tough being away from my sister. We're really close. I've just missed my sister's 21st birthday, being here in MasterChef. So that's where the inspiration is coming from today, so I'm just going to keep her in mind and hopefully cook something that she would like to eat. Hey, Ashleigh. Hi. What's your dish? I am making a pork cutlet with an apple and fennel remoulade-type salad, a fennel puree, and then a sauce as well. Hmm. Wow. Nice. It's alright. Yeah, it's alright. If you're playing safe, you know, you wanna sit in the middle of the pack and you don't wanna end up in an elimination, I mean, if that's your plan. Maybe that IS her plan. Maybe it is. I'm questioning now what I can do to make this dish stand out. Um, um, um... what am I doing? Pork is what I've chosen as the core ingredient for today's challenge. It's a hero of the dish. Today, I'm cooking a Filipino dish. It's called sinigang, and it's basically a pork braised in tamarind, fish sauce. I'm gonna cook pork belly in a pressure cooker. Normally, the pork sinigang is cooked with chilli, but I decide not to use chilli today, because I know that George doesn't like chilli in his dish. I need to make sure I've got a balance of flavour in that broth. Ooh, you know what's exciting? We've got some really wonderful dishes going on. Rose's kibbeh! HAYDEN: Oh, yeah. Yeah, finally we're getting kibbeh. But not just any old kibbeh, kibbeh with this delicious kind of caramelised onion and apricot stuffing, and then a pork mince around the outside. If she can pull that off, they'll be amazing. You know, fingers crossed that works, 'cause it sounds good. And we've got John out the front of the pack. It's his pick, the core ingredient, he picked pork. Can he pull it off again, with pork belly? Maybe. What's your favourite, Hayden? My favourite is the sticky ribs with coleslaw, with some spiced nuts and hopefully a cold beer. I love that. Ava. See you, boys. It smells lovely. (LAUGHS) Yum. All my elements are under control, but I'm just a bit worried about the pork crackling. It's not quite as crackled yet as I would like, and time's sort of running out. So I'm hoping that it lifts its game. MATT: 20 minutes to go! The judges are putting special emphasis on the fact that today has to be inventive. It's an invention test, they wanna see some inventive ideas. I'm feeling confident in the dish that I'm cooking. It's a prosciutto-rolled gnocchi. I pan-fry a couple just to test and take it out to taste... ..I like it. They're good. Also got a big piece of kaiserfleisch. Kaiserfleisch is a cured pork belly, and it's smoky, so, yep, I can get a bit more porky flavour into my dish so that it will be undeniably a pork dish. Only 15 minutes left to save your bacon! Come on! Come on, Reynold! Let's go! Yes! Yes! Yes! Kibbeh! Kibbeh! I'm making roast pork belly with crispy crackling and spring onion pancakes. Oh, they look cool. Great idea. I'm feeling great. I feel like I can bring the flavours together and execute it beautifully. I've got a handful of the pancakes made, and they're all looking great, and now I've gotta check on this meat. (GROWLS) I look at it, and it is not looking great. Oh my God. The skin of my pork is leathery and tough. It's not getting that beautiful crackling like I expected and hoped. (SIGHS) The way I've decided to cook this pork in vinegar was a total mistake. My pork should be crackled up. (SIGHS) I'm really, really scared for myself now. 1 My crackling is not looking good. Oh my God. This is absolutely worst-case scenario for a pork challenge. Messing up the pork is unforgivable. I slice some off and put it into a pan to try and get some crackling up with some hot oil. Operation Crackling Rescue is underway, and hopefully I can get some crackling up. This is the home stretch! 10 minutes to go! Come on! Come on, guys. That was really hot. 10 minutes to go. I'm definitely pushing it. And I need to get my ribs out into the pan. The meat is falling off the bone. They're just so soft and delicious. Nine minutes. Whoa. Time is getting a bit low, though. The judges worried me a little bit with their comments that my dish might not be very inventive. The judges say I'm playing it really safe, so I'm gonna add some pork crackling to my dish today as well. I know the judges love some crackling, so I'm gonna take them some of the skin off the pork cutlet and stick that in the oven and roast it on a really high temperature. Oh, what am I doing? It's a really risky move, but hopefully that will be enough to get me over the line. It's time to take the pork out of the pressure cooker. I'm happy with it. I'm hoping that the balance of flavour is there without the chilli. I'm hoping that the judges will love my dish. I have my kaiserfleisch out of the oven. It tastes great. Mmm. I'm gonna put slices of roasted kaiserfleisch with a few of those prosciutto gnocchi on the plate. It's really porky. It's so porky. You know what happens at this point! Five minutes to go! Push. Come on! GARY: Come on, let's go! Is there nutmeg in there? Oh, that's really hot. My kibbeh are boiling away in the oil, and I think they look pretty good. I take one out, that seems to be really perfect. I check it, it's all cooked, which is great. Take out the second one... Oh. ..and it's split. Oh my God. Oh. Are you serious? So I put more in and just keep cooking and... Oh my God, please let this be OK. ..they keep splitting. (SIGHS) It's just... (GROANS) I was so confident and so excited about this dish, and it's just... yeah, it's just started to fall apart now. All that fear and anxiousness about being in the bottom three, it's all starting to creep in. Come on, guys! Three minutes to go! HAYDEN: Come on, come on, come on. Let's push, push, push. Ow. Sorry. You're alright. I'm taking a massive risk with my bacon dessert. This dish could take me one of two ways. To plate up, I'm using the cooked apples first. I arrange them on a plate. I then pile up some of the beautiful pecan and bacon crumble. The last thing I need to do is put on a scoop of the semifreddo. It's too frozen. I check on my crackle... Oh! Burnt. ..I taste a little bit... Oh, yuck. I was really worried that my dish was gonna be too boring for the judges, and now that I've burnt my crackle, that could just put me even farther behind. Ow. Right, pressure's on! One minute to go! I'm down to the wire. I pull the pork out and start slicing it. If that crackling's not perfect, then it's gonna put me in the bottom three. I need to plate this dish. The only thing I can think of right now is just to put them in a big pile on the plate. I'm super nervous. I hope they don't notice that they're cracked. 30 seconds! I hope that pork's cooked! Come on. Ow. I'm hoping that I can get some crackling up at the last second. This is it. 10 seconds! Nine, eight, seven, six... I grab that piece of pork in the pan with my bare hands and just throw it onto the plate. That's it! Time's up! Well done. How'd you go? Well done, buddy. I am worried about the judges' feedback. They said they thought my dish was a bit safe, and, yeah, I'm worried that just playing it safe might not be enough. I haven't tasted any of the broken kibbeh balls. Yeah, I just hope that they're OK. I think I've done, like, three pressure tests and two eliminations, and it's just exhausting. I don't wanna be the elimination queen. Looking around, I can't see any other desserts. It's pretty out there. We'll see. (CRIES) I'm overcome with emotion. I am terrified about that pork. I don't wanna go into a pressure test at all. No way. I really hope that I can stay out of that. What a great challenge that was. We love a good invention test. And I think the food looks like it's gonna be a bit of a thrill. Today we're not only looking for the top three but also the bottom three, so beware. First up, Georgia. This dish either has to be thumbs up or thumbs down. I really can't be in the middle with this. It's too much of a risk to kind of be, "It's an OK dish." It's either terrible or it's amazing. So, Georgia, is this a dessert, or is this a sweet savoury dish? It is a dessert. Mm. Pork in dessert. 1 Today I've made: Gee, pork in dessert. So, Moses comes down from the mountain top, he says, "I have a new commandment for you from now on. "Every time you make apple pie, put some bacon in there." OK. Delicious. Love it. Yeah. That is very, very special. When we were in New York for MasterChef, we saw a bacon maple syrup cupcake, and they were off the Richter scale. This is, like, three times as good. Oh, wow. Yeah. Fantastic. Maple syrup ice-cream and making a bacon crumble is a genius idea. Everyone else has done a savoury dish and you do a sweet, it makes it stand out. It makes us look at you and go, "Clever cook," and you are. Thank you. Georgia, you could win this competition. Yeah, yeah, she could, couldn't she? (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Next up, John. I didn't put chilli in my dish today. I'm crossing my fingers that the balance of flavour is there. I just want them to enjoy the dish. It's always one of those things, isn't it? You know, you win the mystery box, get the advantage in the invention test, and then you blow it completely. It happens. Yes. That's what happens. Always. But that, that looks good. It DOES look good. So my hopes are high. What did you cook? I cooked: I'm gonna dive in. I love it. The thing that stands out for me, number one, is the presentation. You said you were going to bring this dish up to date, and I think you've done that. I think it's nicely balanced, and I would love just a little whoosh - whack of heat, that chilli. I don't know, is it missing chilli for you? I don't know. Do you put chilli in it normally? You do normally, but I was thinking of George. MATT: Oh God. Blame George. You've got to appeal to the broader audience. Just to put it out there, I don't dislike chilli, just so you know. I just sweat when I eat it. You actually like it, don't you? I LIKE chilli. So I actually sit at home quite often just with my mop and bucket eating chilli. So, guys, put chilli in food if it's meant to be in there. I don't care. It's just a reaction that I have, so it's done, we've put it out there. Fantastic. Thanks, John. Thank you. Next up, Ashleigh. I'm feeling really nervous for the judges to taste this dish. I know it's not great, and I'm feeling really embarrassed at what I've plated up. Tell us what it is. I have cooked: What do you reckon? How have you done? I picked this dish because I've just missed my sister's 21st birthday whilst I've been here. And before I came in, I took her out for dinner, and we had something very similar to this, so I kind of wanted to re-create that. I was thinking of her when I was cooking it today. The pork was nice. It was moist. But I think at this stage of the competition and with the time you've had, you look in that pantry and you see those ingredients, mind-blowing. I'm underwhelmed. You know, it's a midweeker, I hate to tell you. We're travelling along the road towards the finale. You know, you think it maybe, you know, is gonna take a long time, but we'll be there before you know it. And your job is to stay alive. And I'm not sure you will with those kinds of dishes. MATT: Next up, Jamie. It's a pulled pork tostadia. That's a tasty, delicious dish. Beautiful. Really nice dish. GEORGE: Next up, Jessie. I've done a Chinese-style pork belly. That's good. I love it. It doesn't look like you wanna go and dive in there and eat it, but when you do, it's nice. It's got a whole heap of flavour. Right, Reynold, up you come. Braised pork belly with fennel and cucumber salad. I think the main problem you've got there is it's a pretty-looking dish, but it's a little confused and a little out of balance. It's not quite right. Billie. I've done a Thai-style pork belly salad. MATT: I think that's exciting. It's different, it works really well. But the pork's a let-down. Yeah. Stephen, your turn. Pork belly with a small parsnip puree and an apple salsa verde. I'm not saying it's a bad dish. I'm just saying it's two good dishes arguing over which one of them's gonna date that pork. OK. Next up, Jacqui. I've got kaiserfleisch, which is all pork. I've got prosciutto in a gnocchi. I have certainly heroed the pork. But I haven't had a good run of late. I've got some kaiserfleisch with pan-fried prosciutto gnocchi and oyster mushrooms. This challenge was all about the pig, you know, and you can definitely taste the pig in this plate of food. You've just got too much going on there. Yeah, tot... Yeah. I mean, it's just, like... (BLOWS AIR) Yeah. You do get that lovely sort of porky, you know...that pork fat across your mouth, which is nice. But you'd wanna want something to sort of wash it down with, I think. Next up to the MasterChef tasting table, Rose. I'm super nervous about the cracks, and, yeah, I just hope that that hasn't ruined them too much. I've cooked: So, something that's quite close to your heart, obviously, yeah? The last few weeks of the competition have really tested my individuality and who I am, and, you know, this is all about your food dream and who you are, and I really wanted to show you me on a plate. Something traditional but with a bit of a modern twist. I like the flavours in there. I'm worried the pork might be a little dry. I don't wanna sound like a kibbeh snob, but obviously I've been very fortunate to eat some amazing kibbeh. The most beautiful kibbeh have these beautiful little sort of edges, they look like the top of a mosque, you know. It's like... It's wonderful. Now, what I love about kibbeh is the difference in texture from the outside to the inside, but I think that that mixture hasn't been worked enough. I'm going to applaud you on the idea of that filling, but that cracked kibbeh is not acceptable in the world of kibbeh. Oh God. George knows this dish inside out. I'm just so frustrated with myself. I can't believe I gave him cracked kibbeh balls. Next dish we'd like to see, Anna's. All I can think of is I hope that crackling is crackling. If it's soft, if it's leathery, if it's not what they're looking for, then this dish is gonna be a disaster. What's the dish you've made? I've made: ..and fennel salt. It's a nice-looking dish. It's an elegant-looking dish. It's very clean, for me. A very clean dish. (CRUNCH!) I can hear that from here. (LAUGHS) Also, you know, you can't go past crackling when you guys are on the judging panel. Hallelujah. HAYDEN: Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Delicious. Yeah. It's the sort of food I think we were expecting you to bring first cook in the MasterChef kitchen. It's taken a bit of time to get there. I'm very glad that you have. Very, very well done. I love it. I think this... Is it a gravy? Is it a sauce? I don't know what it is, but it brings everything together. Whatever you want it to be, Hayden. With that mash and the crackling, it's a beautiful dish. Very, very well done. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Next up, Kristina. I'm really scared. I know my pancakes are great, I know my salad's great, I know my dressing is great, but I am terrified about that pork. And using vinegar to tighten the skin... The dish is: It's quite leathery, isn't it? 1 Yeah, it's quite... it's quite leathery, isn't it? Mmm. Mmm! Oh, yeah. There's a lot of pork there that is undercooked. And, of course, the crackling ain't crackling, it's leather. Alright? Which is a let-down, 'cause these are wonderful and your dressing's wonderful. I love that pancake. Excellent. And I love the deep-fried anchovies, 'cause it gives that crunch, but you're searching for the crunch from the pork belly, aren't you? That crispy salt crackling. I was just kicking myself. I know how to get perfect crackling, and I don't know why I put vinegar on it. I just got a different result. Vinegar? If this was a pancake challenge, you'd have a winning dish. It's a pork challenge, and, because of the state of the pork, it may well be a losing dish. Ava! I never expect to get good feedback in an invention test, 'cause I'm always putting up ridiculous dishes, but this one I'm proud of. Great. Can we taste? 'Cause we're excited. Mmm. That IS good. I love the combination. The coleslaw is unreal, and the spiced cashews, awesome. The crunch, texture, sticky pork ribs. Right, lick your fingers, come on. Yeah, lick your fingers. Mmm! No, they're wonderful. Delicious. Delicious. And you're absolutely right to feel proud and happy, because that's happy food. It's everything we love - it's sticky, it's sweet, it's sour, and there's freshness, there's crunch, there's spice. Love it. Well done. Thanks, guys. Thanks so much. Well done. We're extremely pleased, and we're pleased because a lot of you have found your ways. I think you've gone through the haziness finding out who you are as a cook, so that's exciting. In saying that, some of you missed the mark. There's only one place you wanna be in an invention test... ..and that's at the top. If you're one of the three names I call now... ..you're through to the immunity challenge. A chance to cook against a top chef or cook. A chance to win a pin. Step forward, please,... ..Georgia. Georgia, you continue to impress with the way you think about food, the way you think in a unique manner. That dessert - cinnamon crumb, bacon and apple - was delicious. Well done. Thank you. Anna. That was unexpected. No way! I would have thought that the positive talk about the elegance of the sauce, the beauty of the plating, how well you cooked the pork, the crunch of the crackling should have given you a tiny inkling you were no longer mid-table Anna and you were Anna at the top. Well done. Thank you very much. I'm very excited. The third dish making up our illustrious trio today... ..Ava. The rib dish. There's spice, there's freshness, there's crunch. It's all there on that plate, and it's delicious and absolutely a joy to eat. Whoo-hoo! You're gonna win a pin! (WOMEN LAUGH) It's gonna be an epic immunity challenge, but with the three of you cooking, who knows? Maybe the first pin will go off. ANNA: To walk out on top of this amazing pack of cooks is just... You can't beat it. Right... ..picking the top three may have caused a little debate... ..but picking the bottom three, well, that was a little easier. Ashleigh. We're surprised. Your dish lacked invention, it also lacked composition, and, more importantly, execution. Kristina. It may be a surprise, Kristina, but this was a pork invention test, and it was your pork that was the let-down. And the crackling was rubbery. The last person going into tomorrow's pressure test... ..is Rose. Rose, honestly, we were going, "No, please, not another one." But... ..your kibbeh was split, and that pork was dry. OK, you can step back into line. It's a really hard job picking yourself up all the time. This is my third elimination in a row, and it's just... it's just exhausting. This will be a real challenge, this elimination, and it's gonna be hard. Hayden, thanks for coming in, mate. We're so, so proud of you. Right, tomorrow, pressure test. You three, you know what you need to do. Tomorrow, walk back in here guns blazing. Off you go. See you later, guys. HAYDEN: See you, guys. Good luck. KRISTINA: I love being here. There's nowhere else in the world that I'd rather be, and I want to fight to keep my place. ANNOUNCER: Next time, she's back in black... I'm really annoyed with putting myself in this position again. ..but can Rose survive a sixth elimination challenge set by MasterChef success story Kylie Millar? You call that a toffee apple? I'm excited and terrified in equal measures. Kylie's dessert is the most complicated dish... Good luck. 14 elements, 28 steps. Oh, it's huge. ..ever attempted. How do I make them spherey? And for one of our contestants... You need to move. I'm pushing. ..it will mean the end of their MasterChef journey. Able 2015