ANNOUNCER: Previously on MasterChef Australia, our contestants made lunch... I think it's delicious. ..for two of Victoria's great Italian winemaking families. This is fantastic. I love it. Both teams produced near-perfect menus... That's such a great dish. ..with red just falling short. WOMAN: Yes! Whoo-hoo! So close, and yet we've still lost. Tonight, it's an elimination mystery box... Today is something a little different. ..with a killer catch. Wow. JACQUI: I don't know what's going on. They have three rounds to save themselves... What time are we on? That's yum. ..with each round more painful than the one before. I've bitten off more than I can chew. Nerves will crack. Oh, my God. Emotions will spill over. Ooh. I can feel the stress. Because at the end of this cook, someone... What are you making? ..will be going home. I think I'm making a mistake. # 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 JACQUI: I'm excited about today. I don't really feel like the underdog. I've turned the corner, showing the judges that I can cook and I can cook well, and it's anyone's game. It depends what waits for us in there. STEPHEN: To leave today, it would be a disaster, because I have been sort of middle of the pack so far. I really want to push on and progress now, you know, showing the judges what I can do. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) JACQUI: Walking into the kitchen, I see that the benches are all lined up and there are mystery boxes set up. This is unusual. We've never had this before. I don't know what's going on. We've seen some combinations on MasterChef, but I don't think we've ever seen black aprons and a mystery box. So, today is something a little different. It's a shame looking down the line and seeing a group of people that cooked so well yesterday - and in fact, as a whole, as a group, are cooking so brilliantly well. I don't know if we've told you enough that at this stage in the competition, you're blowing our socks off. You've achieved a lot, you've done a lot, you're cooking well. There's no doubt about it. Yesterday, you might have lost a team challenge. But today, a new day. Are you ready to find out what ingredients are going to save you or send you home? CONTESTANTS: Yes, George. Alright, guys, you can lift your lids now. In the mystery box you have scampi, Dijon mustard, mandarins, watercress, fresh horseradish, walnuts, dark chocolate, eggplant and a beautiful lamb rack. STEPHEN: It's a fantastic mystery box. I mean, there's something there for everyone to cook. Immediately, I can see there's a lamb rack - that actually got me into the competition in the first place, so this is absolutely too good to be true and there's got to be a catch somewhere. We have to constantly remind ourselves that you are home cooks. And being a great home cook is all about being resourceful. It's about making a little go a long way. And today, you're going to have to make that mystery box go a very long way. Oh. That's because today's elimination is going to take place over three rounds. And in each round, you're going to have to cook a delicious dish just using what you've got in your mystery box. Whoa! Wow. That's right - whatever is in your mystery box is all you're going to get. Once you've used an ingredient, there's no replenishing, there's no restocking - it's gone. So, save yourself in round one - sweet. Round two's a bit trickier - and fear round three. Because in round three, that's the round when one of you is going to go home. MATTHEW: We only get that one mystery box for the entire three rounds. That's really made this tough. I can't use all of the good ingredients in round one. In the first round, you have 30 minutes. We're tasting everybody's dish... ..and in round one, the top two are safe. You've got a pantry of staples under your bench, and of course, they're the usual - flour, eggs, sugar, vinegar, butter. And like your mystery box, they're not getting replenished either. So you have to be careful. I'm really thinking you have to play this smart today. I've really got to think about how to use those ingredients and the staple pantry. If you play your cards wrong, you're going home. So, one mystery box, three rounds, 30 minutes per round. Round one starts... ..now. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) SARA: Come on, guys. JESSIE: Let's go. Fire up, guys. Let's go. Half an hour. Make it count. JACQUI: Looking at these ingredients, I'm absolutely drawn to that chocolate. My strategy today is to cook something that will save me in the first round. Desserts are my strength, I feel, and I see the mandarins and I think, "Chocolate and mandarin - perfect combination." Today, I'm going to do a soft-centred chocolate pudding with some mandarin segments in sugar syrup and a whipped cream. AMY: Good choice, Jacqui. SARA: She's made these quite a few times in the house. They're amazing. I know that if I get this fondant right, it will ensure my safety. We're going to have a lot of different ideas, aren't we? Good mystery box. I like it. GEORGE: Yeah, you've got to move with 30 minutes. How do you approach this? Do you come up with three dishes straightaway? Go for gold! Go for gold! Or do you go for gold? SARA: Georgia, you're making scampi fritters? GEORGIA: Yeah. Nice. Today, I'm going to cook a scampi fritter with a horseradish mayo and the watercress. The scampi has to be the hero of the dish. It can't be just a fried fritter that just tastes like batter. It's got to taste like scampi and the scampi has to be the main flavour. GARY: So, what's the batter? Have you tested it already? It looks heavy. Um, yeah, I'm going to lighten it up a bit. I just had it resting, and then I'm going to put the scampi through into little balls into the oil. OK. I don't mind the idea, and I certainly think that chopping it up like that's quite clever. It will just be dependent on whether that batter's crispy and beautifully golden brown. Yeah. Because if it ain't, you're going into the second round, aren't you? Yeah, that's not what I want today. There's a lot riding on a very simple dish and I'm really feeling the pressure right now. JOHN: Come on, Georgia! Stephen, so, what are you going to make? So, I'm doing a lamb rack with eggplant puree, some pickled walnuts, some fresh orange segments and some watercress. This is your kind of cooking. You love your lamb. I do indeed. You love your pickles, you've got a bit of greens. How are you going to make this look beautiful on the plate? (EXHALES LOUDLY) I think I'm just going to go for my old tried and tested puree in the middle, nice lamb cutlets, garnish with the watercress with some fresh orange segments and then hopefully that will get me through. I hope. I know I'm using a lot of my ingredients, and all of the lamb in this first dish. It's a bit of a risk, because that's my strongest suit, and if it doesn't pay off, then I'm going into round two and three with a weaker hand and less ingredients. But I've cooked many lamb racks in the past, so I'm confident of getting it right. 10 minutes down already and 20 to go. Come on, let's move it. GEORGE: Come on, guys. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) JOHN: Come on, Matty. Thanks, guys. ROSE: (LAUGHS) He's got his pasta on already. SARA: What? Are you serious? Yeah, he's got a dough and he's got it resting. What? It's been sitting on the bench. That's amazing. The pasta master. Today, I'm making a scampi linguine. 30 minutes is a bit of a stretch to make pasta in that time, but it's something that I'm comfortable doing and this is something that could really save me today. ASHLEIGH: The dish I've decided to make is a chocolate mousse dome with mandarin cream, mandarin oil, a mandarin syrup and a walnut crumb. I'm feeling really nervous and worried that I'm giving myself too much to do, but I'm going to try and push myself and hopefully it'll pay off. (MOANS) What are you making? I think I'm making a mistake. Oh my goodness. . WOMAN: Keep pushing! Let's go, let's go! (CHEERING) ASHLEIGH: Today's elimination is a mystery box challenge held over three rounds. The judges have told us that nothing will be getting replenished, so once it's gone, it's gone, and that makes me feel pretty nervous. I'm definitely feeling the pressure to put up a good mousse, but I think this dish was maybe a mistake. At this stage, I'm definitely starting to feel like I've bitten off more than I can chew. Desserts galore on the front benches. We've got Jamie, Jacqui and Ashleigh all making desserts. The odd one out's Georgia. She's making a scampi fritter. GEORGE: If that is crisp and nice and light and beautiful little mayonnaise and salad, why not? It's the same sort of energy at the back as well. Matthew's making scampi pasta. Fine pasta - has he laminated it enough? Can he get enough flavour in the bisque that he wants to put over the top of the pasta? And will he use the mandarin to bring some fragrance to the dish? And finally, Stephen. Stephen is, "I'm just going to do what I'm going to do. "I'm going to put some greens in the middle, "I'm going to put the perfect lamb chops on top." But, you know, when you've got six other cooks putting up really interesting food... GARY: Yeah, clever food. ..is that going... is a chop going to be enough? If it's perfect, it will be. If it's not... STEPHEN: The perfect lamb, to me, is medium-rare, so once I've caramelised my lamb, I pop it into the oven at 180. It's going to take about 12 minutes to get to medium-rare. GEORGE: Well, it's pretty simple. You're halfway there. 15 minutes to go. Come on! GARY: Come on. Let's go. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) I've put all my eggs in one basket with this lamb and I've just realised 15 minutes probably isn't enough to get the lamb cooked and then rested how I want it. So, that's a real risk. If this lamb isn't perfect, then I won't be going upstairs and I'll be into the next round of the elimination. MATTHEW: As I'm making the scampi stock, I'm looking at the mystery box and there's not really a lot of other ingredients that I can use to put into this sauce. I'm really worried about how I can maximise the flavour in here. So, I decide to add a squeeze of the mandarin juice in there and it just lifts the stock a little bit - adds a little bit of complexity to it. So, I'm happy with that. 10 minutes to get yourself to safety! 10 minutes to go. GEORGE: Come on, guys. Come on. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) ASHLEIGH: Time is definitely flying. It always goes by quickly in the MasterChef kitchen, but with only 10 minutes left to go, I'm starting to really panic. I'm a little bit worried about the mousse. I think it might be a bit too heavy. The texture isn't as light and fluffy as it usually is and I'm worried that when the judges taste it, it's not going to be airy and moussy as it should be. What time are we on? You guys have about six or seven minutes. ROSE: Looking good. Keep it up, guys. You're doing well. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) JACQUI: I'm definitely taking a risk today doing the chocolate fondant, but I'm confident. I think this is a risk worth taking, and I think if I can pull this off, then it'll see me through to the safety of the gantry. AMY: Oh, Jacqui! (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) All I've got to do is put it together now. MATTHEW: With five minutes to go and I really need to start pulling this dish together. I've never actually cooked scampi before, so I'm a little bit unsure about how to do it, but I've seen people cook it in the shell before, so I'm hoping that that method will help me today to keep that scampi nice and tender. Final little touches, guys. Three minutes. Come on! WOMAN: Come on, three minutes! ROSE: Go, guys! Come on, guys. Looking good. STEPHEN: There's only a few minutes to go. The lamb needs to come out of the oven. As soon as I pull the lamb out of the oven, I can tell that it's not right. I realise the fat's not rendered down and there's still a risk of it being rare in the middle. I'm really worried about my lamb. I've put everything on the line with this dish, and I know the judges are going to be expecting this lamb to be cooked perfectly, but I'm running out of time. I throw the lamb back into the frying pan just to try and caramelise that up. GARY: One minute to go. GEORGE: Come on, guys. Come on. Push! JESSICA: Loving it, guys. Come on. AMY: Let's go, Ashleigh. Let's go, Georgia. GEORGIA: I've got 60 seconds to go and I need to make sure that these fritters sing on the plate. It's got to look beautiful and something that you really want to eat. AMY: They look beautiful, Georgia. My lamb is not caramelising, so I cover it with mustard and put some watercress over the top and hopefully that will hide my mistakes. 30 seconds! Come on! (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) GEORGE: Come on! 10 seconds. Nine! ALL: Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Time's up! (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) JOHN: Good job, everyone. We love a fast and furious cook, but we also like to see what ingredients you've chosen. Have you been very careful, or have you gone all in and banked them all on that one plate? The first dish we'd like to taste belongs to Matthew. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) As I take my dish up to the judges, I'm pretty happy with the dish that I've made. The pasta's really well cooked, but I'm really worried about the sauce. I hope what I've done here is enough to make me safe in round one. What have you cooked today? I've cooked a creamy scampi pasta. I'm hoping for bags of flavour. There's two things that I love, alright? I love the scampi, because it's sweet and delicious and it's firm. So, the way you've cooked it is absolutely spot on. And I love those fine ribbons of pasta. The pasta is amazingly good for that amount of time. Thanks, guys. Thanks, Matthew. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Georgia, your turn. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) GEORGIA: Today I've made scampi fritters with a horseradish mayonnaise and some dressed watercress. Great. Sounds good. (LAUGHS) They're... They're... There really, really... They're really good, aren't they? What you've got is beautiful chunks of scampi. So, these really are - they're scampi first and fritters second. Yeah. I love it. Really good. That's yum, Georgia. Wonderful cooking. Thank you. Well done, Georgia. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Next up is Stephen. I want this dish to be my saving grace here. I want to get out after this first round. So I hope that this lamb is cooked perfectly. What have you cooked, Stephen? So, it's a lamb rack with an eggplant and mandarin puree, pickled walnuts and horseradish cream. So, I'm wondering - strategy, all in, use the lamb? Yeah, the lamb was my strongest card in this mystery box, so... So, if you don't make it through this one, we're in trouble, are we? SARA: Is it under? Looks slightly under. Bit mooey, isn't it? Is that a bit under? Yeah. I think the obvious mistake is the lamb is a little bit under. But I like the other flavours. It's a beautiful fresh dish. And if that lamb had been absolutely on the money, you'd definitely be safe in my book. Thanks, lads. I'm starting to worry now that I'm going to be in round two and whether or not I've left enough ingredients for me to work with. OK, next up - Ashleigh. ASHLEIGH: So, it's the chocolate shell, and then I've made a mousse in the middle. Looks dense. Definitely some technical issues there, Ashleigh. Thank you. Billie. BILLIE: I did the scampi today with scampi oil and mandarin vinaigrette, pickled mandarin segments and fresh watercress. It's a really lovely plate of food, but if you want to save yourself in the first round, it can't just be lovely. GEORGE: Next up, Jamie. JAMIE: It's a butter cake with mandarin curd and some chocolate ganache. That chocolate's really strong. Yeah. And it kind of smashes everything in its path. A miss of a dish. Yeah. Jacqui, your turn. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) JACQUI: I've cooked a chocolate fondant with mandarin syrup and caramelised walnuts. GEORGE: Oh, no, no. Oh, yeah. Yeah, gooey in the middle. There's gooiness there. Look at that. I'm going to watch you, because there's no greater pleasure than watching you eat pudding. And a small spoonful as well. It's worth the calories. I think you've been very clever. I think it's a great-tasting dish. I think all the flavours work together. You've got mandarin, mandarin syrup, walnuts, chocolate, gooey centre - all big ticks as far as I'm concerned. For me, it puts you up the top of the list, not down the bottom. So... Good. I think that's a good thing, don't you? Great. Yeah. (APPLAUSE) The judges told me that I'm certainly at the top of the list. I don't know yet whether that means I'm safe or not, but it's certainly a good start. It's sad that we only get a chance to save two of you... ..and when you've cooked that well, that's a tough decision, but we were all unanimous in the one dish that saved its maker. The first person safe... is Georgia. (APPLAUSE) Simple, clean idea, beautifully executed and absolutely delicious. Thank you. The second person safe was really tough. Was it Jacqui's lovely, rich, chocolatey fondant with the mandarins... or was it Matthew's delicious pasta scampi? So, we go back to what we always ask ` which dish you'd like to eat again. Which dish has shown the most technique, most skill? But we couldn't go past... . The second person safe was really tough. Was it Jacqui's lovely, rich, chocolatey fondant with the mandarin or was it Matthew's delicious pasta scampi? But we couldn't go past... ..that impeccable pasta and that perfectly cooked scampi. Matthew, you're safe. Well done. Whoo, Matt! (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) GEORGIA: Well done. Matthew, Georgia - congratulations. You're safe. Up to the gantry. GARY: Well done, you two. Excellent work. GEORGE: Good work, guys. MATTHEW: Good luck, guys. Good luck. I did take a risk in round one, and it nearly got me to safety. This time I need to take an even bigger risk. I'm certainly going in there with a fighting spirit. I won't go easily. Right, it's now round two, and time to reacquaint yourself with the mystery box. Hopefully you've saved yourself a few ingredients, Stephen, without putting all your eggs in one basket. The rules are the same. You have 30 minutes to use what's left in your mystery box to put up one delicious dish. The top two dishes save their makers and the bottom three will go into the third and final round, and from there, one person is going home. Make this round count. Are you ready? STEPHEN: Yep. Your time starts now. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) If I'm to avoid elimination today, I need to make round two count. WOMAN: Come on, Stephen! Looking at the mystery box, I've used quite a lot of ingredients in my first dish, so I've not left myself with a great deal to work with in round two. I've still got some scampi, I've still got some chocolate. I'm not the best at desserts, so I'm going to cook griddled scampi with a mandarin beurre blanc and a watercress and mandarin salad. I really want to stay safe. This is the most pressure I've felt in the whole competition just because I know how good all the people in front of me are. WOMAN: Go, Billie. BILLIE: I still have quite a few ingredients left, so I'm feeling pretty good about what I have left in my mystery box. I'm going to make chocolate, mandarin and walnut ice-cream sandwiches. I'm really pushing it for time. It's ambitious to get an ice-cream done, biscuits done and then put them all together in 30 minutes, but on the other hand, if I do, I think it will impress the judges and they'll hopefully think, "Wow, how did you do that in 30 minutes?" So, that's the plan and I hope it pays off. MATTHEW: Good work, Billie. JESSIE: Go, Billie. Nice multi-tasking. You're doing really well. With only 20 minutes to go, this is the round you want to win. Come on. Come on, Wardy. JAMIE: In the second round, I'm going to do pan-fried scampi with a shellfish bearnaise. I'm just making a reduction using the shells of the crustaceans and then I'm going to make a bearnaise sauce. I've got to make sure that I pack heaps of flavour into it. (GARY CHUCKLES) It smells good over here, Jamie, I tell you what. Good, good, good. And you've got these out of the shell. You've got these little scampi out of the shell beautifully. How are you going to cook them? I'm making a scampi bearnaise, so, like a crustacean bearnaise. I question... I honestly question the timing. If I'm being honest, I'm questioning whether or not you've got time to make a crustacean bearnaise. Yeah. You've really got to appreciate the fact you only have 20 minutes. But you only have to... Jamie? 20-minute challenge. 20-minute challenge. JESSICA: Come on, Jamie! George and Gary's concern is I really don't have enough time to make a bearnaise. I'm going to drop the idea of doing the bearnaise sauce. I'm just going to focus on getting as much flavour into this broth and do a shellfish reduction, basically. Pack heaps of flavour in it. Just have a few elements on the dish, but make sure that they're all perfect. WOMAN: Come on, boys. Let's go. Hustle. Let's go, girls. MATTHEW: Come on, guys. Come on, Jacqui. This is going to come right down to the wire, yes? Come on, Billie! Come on, Stevie. I did take a risk in round one and it nearly got me to safety. AMY: Are you doing what I think you're doing, Jacqui? Depends what you think I'm doing. This time I need to take an even bigger risk. I'm going to attempt a souffle. Souffles are a very tricky dish. The risk is that it's not going to rise, but if it works, surely I'll be safe. Are you making a souffle? I am. It's going to be a mandarin souffle. Oh. It's going to have some chocolate ganache and a walnut tuille. I know it's risky, but if it works it might just save me. So, we're going to have a lovely, fluffy, beautifully soft-in-the-centre souffle, and it's going to rock'n'roll and it's all going to be about mandarin? Yeah. (LAUGHS NERVOUSLY) I'm hoping that the judges see how much I've pushed myself and the technique I've tried to achieve here, and I hope it's not the thing that sends me to the third round. GEORGE: Five of you left and only 10 minutes to go. Come on. GARY: Come on, let's go! ASHLEIGH: I'm cooking a walnut-crumbed lamb cutlet with an eggplant and mandarin puree and a mandarin butter sauce. GEORGE: Ashleigh? Yes? Lamb cutlets? Yes. Have you thought about how to crust this? I've got a funny feeling that when they go in the pan, all the walnuts are just going to fall off, aren't they? Every time the judges come round to my bench, it always put extra doubt in my mind. They tell me to rethink how I'm using my walnuts, because they think they're probably gonna fall straight off the lamb when I cook them. So, I scrape all the walnuts off my lamb and decide to make a walnut crumb instead. JESSIE: Good idea, Ashleigh. I want it to have a nice, golden crust on the outside, but I've only got 10 minutes to cook my lamb, so I know that I'm really going to have to get it right if I want any chance of saving myself. MATTHEW: Looks really good, Ash. Looks really good. JESSIE: How's it tasting, Jamie? JAMIE: Yeah, nice. Yum? Tastes pretty crustaceany. I'm tasting the sauce and it's tasting really good. There's heaps of flavour in it. I've just got to freshen up the broth with some mandarin and some watercress and focus on cooking that scampi perfectly and I reckon I've got a good dish. GARY: Remember, you're cooking for your place in this competition. Three minutes to go. GEORGE: Come on. Come on, guys. Come on. MATTHEW: Just push it hard. I've got my souffles in the oven and they are starting to move. Maybe not as quickly as I would like, but they are rising. But everything is riding on these souffles. Ooh. GARY: How are they looking? Oh, yeah. They're rising. They're rising. They're going, Gary. They're going and they're going even. JAMIE: Do you reckon a bigger plate? ROSE: Yeah, go the bigger one on the bottom. One minute to go! One minute! GEORGE: Come on. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) STEPHEN: I feel quite comfortable with this dish. I've made beurre blancs in the past, but it's usually been with lemon or lime, but today I used mandarin instead of that citrus fruit. I've never cooked scampi like this before, but I'm quite happy how this has come together, so, yeah, I'm quite confident. Right. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) WOMAN: Yeah, come on, Jacqui. Go. WOMAN: Yeah, Jacqui. GEORGIA: Beautiful, Billie. WOMAN: Beautiful, Billie. That looks amazing. 10 seconds! Nine! ALL: Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! That's it! Time's up. Well done. Shivers. BILLIE: I'm really happy with my dish. I think it looks nice. I've got three little ice-cream sandwiches. ASHLEIGH: I feel really flat and deflated at the end of this cook. I'm not sure if the lamb is cooked properly, so I'm feeling pretty terrified. GARY: Getting more difficult, isn't it? Less ingredients in the box. And this is the round, in all honesty, that you want to be that top two. You want to save yourself in this one, cos it's going to get harder, and I think more so mentally. So, fingers crossed. First one up... Jacqui. (APPLAUSE) As I'm walking my dish up to the judges, I can visibly see my souffle rapidly deflating. By the time I get to the front, it's already sunk. This is not what I planned. Argh! It keeps falling. . Your souffle is falling fast, isn't it? Yeah, it's... Normally, that means too much eggwhite. Oh, does it? Because it pops up easy, then it hasn't got the structure to actually hold itself there. Right. Is it eggy? MATT: Yeah. GEORGE: Yeah, looks like it. Yeah, it's majorly flawed. It's so frustrating, because your ganache and your biscuit ` that wafer-thin sugar biscuit with the walnuts ` and this ganache are spectacularly good. Really really good. And we love the bravery of putting up a souffle. Thanks, Jacqui. Thank you. (APPLAUSE) Next up, Billie. (APPLAUSE) GEORGIA: Billie. BILLIE: Taking my dish up to the judges, yeah, I'm really happy. I just hope that they taste good. I've done mandarin chocolate ice-cream sandwiches with walnut shortbread and walnut praline. It's beautiful chocolate ice-cream. It's smooth and it's delicious. I would go back for more. I like it. Thanks. What I really love about what you've done with those sandwiches is the detail, and those little bits of mandarin peel in there just make you think, "Oh, there's fruit in here. That must be good for me." (LAUGHTER) And all that in a half an hour. You pushed. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Next... ..Jamie. This is the first time that I've changed my dish during the cook, and hopefully I've made the right decision. So, it's a pan-fried scampi with a walnut crumb and a crustacean reduction. Looks pretty. It does look pretty. I'll be honest with you, it looks pretty, and this particular scampi looks beautifully cooked. You know, firm flesh. Let's see. Wow. That's a really delicious dish of food that does what you always want it to do - heroes the core ingredient of the scampi. Well done. Thanks. Jamie, best dish you've put up. Sweet. (GARY LAUGHS) When you put up a dish like that, there is no doubt in my mind that that is some of the best cooking I've seen in the kitchen today. Well done. Awesome. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Thanks a lot. Appreciate it. They love everything about the dish. They say that it's delicious, it's elegant. It's perfectly balanced. It looks nice. Oh, you've got to be happy with that. (CHUCKLES) The next dish we'd like to taste is Stephen's. (APPLAUSE) STEPHEN: It's a griddled scampi with a mandarin beurre blanc and a watercress and mandarin salad. This is an important dish. Very important, yeah. I just hope it's enough to... you know, to get me through. Let's see. The pluses for me are how you've cook the scampi. Delicious. Couldn't get them more perfect. They are just cooked. The negative for me is the beurre blanc. It's lacking balance. It needs acidity. Citrus beurre blanc works brilliantly, so mandarin, which is a citrus beurre blanc, should work brilliantly, and it doesn't quite. It's almost desserty rather than savoury. It's more like custard. Thank you, boys. (SIGHS) (APPLAUSE) Next up is Ashleigh. (APPLAUSE) Ashleigh, what have you cooked? ASHLEIGH: I've made lamb cutlets with an eggplant mandarin puree and walnut crumb. How do you feel about it? I'm feeling a bit sick, actually. Yeah, you can see that when you're walking up. George and I were worried about it when we came to your bench, because we wanted you to do more with the dish. And the question is, you know, have you done enough? Ooh! Lamb's cooked nice. Yeah, good. There are two ways a dish can be good. One, it can have an outstanding element, or two, it can just have very harmonious elements put together. That's what we're looking for, and this dish doesn't quite deliver that. And I...I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but you've got to lift yourself, because that energy is coming across onto the plate. Yeah. And it's no good, because you take away good value off the plate. You get what I mean when I say that? Mm-hm. Come on. George says that my negativity and the messy headspace is coming across on the plate. I know exactly where he's coming from, but at this stage, I feel like I'm so far down that hole, I'm not quite sure how I'm going to be able to pull myself back out. You gave us some great dishes, and there was two definite standouts. And for the makers, safety up on the balcony. First up... ..Jamie. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) It was a dish full of flavour and simple, yeah? A bit of scampi, a little walnut, nice little sauce - done. Well done. Thanks. Cheers. And the second dish safe in round two belongs to... Billie. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Delicious stuff, Billie. Loved it. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Jamie, Billie, you're both safe. Up to the gantry. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) ASHLEIGH: At this point, I am not sure what I'm going to do about my messy headspace. I know that if I want to survive that third round, something big is going to have to shift, but I'm not quite sure how I'm going to get there yet. . Stephen, Ashleigh, Jacqui, you've got one more round to save yourself, and this is going to be the toughest round. Two of you will escape, but you'll only escape if you use what you've got left on your bench wisely, if you use the pantry staples you've got under your bench wisely. ASHLEIGH: I know it's going to be really tough to save myself in this round. This is really coming down to the wire and I'm feeling pretty terrified about this next round. So, round three - your final chance to save yourself. You've got to use what's left of your mystery box, or at least part of it. You've got 30 minutes to do it. Ready? ALL: Yeah. Your time starts...now. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) WOMAN: Come on, Ash. WOMAN: Let's go, Ashy. ASHLEIGH: I have not quite managed to shake off that negative headspace yet. I am feeling really confused about what dish I can cook for this third round. But then I start to think about my family. It's really tough being away from them. We're really close. So when I'm looking around the ingredients and see some mandarin left, I'm reminded of a dish that I've made with my sister. So I'm going to use that as my inspiration today. I'm going to cook a mandarin creme brulee with walnut butter biscuits and a walnut praline. Desserts are definitely my strength, I think. It's where I feel most comfortable. It's what I feel most happy cooking, so hopefully it's going to help to get me back into a more positive headspace as well. JACQUI: Having to cook now in round three is far from ideal. My only solace is that I've got lots of really good ingredients left to cook with. BILLIE: Looking good, Jac. I had taken risks with round one and round two, but strategy for round three may have to be different. I don't know that this is the time for me to take another risk. I want to try and cook something that I cook at home for my family. I'm doing an open lasagne with scampi, walnuts and cress oil. Lasagne is definitely a favourite at my house with my kids and I hope it's the same with the judges. BILLIE: Looks good, Jac. AMY: Go, Jacqui. MATTHEW: Come on, Jacqui. Yeah. STEPHEN: Looking at Jacqui and Ashleigh, my competition in the third round, I'm pretty worried, you know? The only ingredients that I've really got left in the mystery box are chocolate and mandarin, which lends themself to a dessert, and yet it's not what I'm most confident in. I'm going to make a chocolate mousse with a walnut crumb and some candied mandarin slices, I think. And I don't do a great deal of desserts, if I'm honest, which is a weakness of my game that should have been addressed a lot earlier than this minute in time. WOMAN: You can do it, Steve. Come on. MATTHEW: Come on, Stevie. Come on, Stephen. This is where you have to dig deep, draw on the reserves and make it happen. 20 minutes to go. JAMIE: Come on! (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) MATTHEW: Keep it going, guys. Come on. REYNOLD: Go, guys. Push hard. Let's push hard, team. MATTHEW: Come on, Jacqui. You got some great ingredients there, Jacqui. I have. I tell you what - prime position. If you lose this one, we'll be very disappointed. No pressure. You've been here before plenty of times. So many times. Are you going home today? I am going to make sure that I do everything that I possibly can to make sure that that does not happen. So, make the right decision. Be bold and flavour plus. That's what it's all about. That'll save you. Will do. AMY: Let's go, Jacqui. (APPLAUSE) This is it. I've got to step up. I just want to make sure that my scampi and pasta is cooked perfectly. STEPHEN: I'm definitely out of my comfort zone with this mousse, so the chances of me getting this right are fairly slim. SARA: Come on, Stephen. I'm worried about Stephen's chocolate mousse. I don't think he has enough whipping cream in his mix, and if he doesn't, it could be really dense. What are you doing? What are you doing? Hang on a minute. What are you doing? Chocolate mousse. Right. OK. You give me a nice quenelle, a bowl, a whatever of chocolate mousse, I'm going to love it, and I can tell you, all three of those ingredients are absolutely smashing. Wrong quantity. Right, OK. Because this is where it counts. This is where, when the proverbial hits the fan, alright, you've got to step up to the plate. Happens in service every day. Yeah. GEORGE: Come on, Stephen. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) I'm running out of time, and Gary's just told me that this mousse just isn't right and now I have to start again. I can feel the stress take a hold. SARA: Oh my God. If I don't fix this chocolate mousse, then this will be the last dish that I cook in the MasterChef kitchen. . It's very very simple ` go hard or go home! 15 minutes to go! Come on, guys. JOHN: Come on, Jacqui! GEORGIA: Come on, guys! Come on. BILLIE: Good luck, Ash. JESSIE: Come on, Stevie. STEPHEN: I'm running out of time, and Gary's just told me that this mousse just isn't right. If I don't get this right, then I'm going home. SARA: You can do it, Steve. Come on. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Come on, Stephen. There's just not enough air. It's too dense. I just need to get some more whipped cream into this mousse, pronto. JAMIE: Go, Stephen! Go, mate. Seven minutes to go, guys. ASHLEIGH: My custard base for my creme brulee has cooked out, it's been blended and it's all smooth and creamy. So, I need to get it into the moulds and setting in the blast chiller. I'm feeling really confident at this stage. I'm back in my comfort zone. I'm cooking something that I've made before. I've made it with my sister and I know that she loves it, so I'm feeling much better. GEORGE: You're back. Yeah, I'll tell you what, this is what you should have been round one. Like, you're totally confident and doing something that you love to cook. Yes. Let's not say any more and just let you cook. Thank you. BILLIE: Let's go, Ashy. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) It's definitely good to get myself back into a good place. MATT: Your future in this competition stands on the next five minutes! Five minutes to go! GEORGE: Come on. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) STEPHEN: Time is running out and I've got to really move quickly in the last however many minutes I've got left. Tell me something good, Stephen. I don't have anything good to tell you yet, mate. JACQUI: I'm cooking my scampi and I'm really conscious of not overcooking it. I don't know exactly how long it needs, but the worst thing is if I serve it undercooked. JESSICA: I'm really worried about Jacqui. Her scampi has been cooking for long enough now. She needs to get them off there or they're going to get kind of mushy and yuck. MATTHEW: You need to get that pasta in soon, Jac. Yep. Come on, Jacqui. JOHN: Come on, Jacqui. I put my pasta sheets into the boiling water to cook. They should really only need two, three minutes tops. Everything's on track, but it needs to come together at the very last minute. There's still a lot to do. GEORGE: Guys, this is your last chance - three minutes to go. Come on. GARY: Come on. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) MATTHEW: You need to get a plate too, Jacqui. Ow, that's hot! Looks really good, Ashleigh. Good work. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) GEORGIA: Come on, Stephen. STEPHEN: I need to add some freshness to this dish. The mandarin segments would be great. Unfortunately, I've only got about three left. I'm just hoping it's enough to balance this dish. What happens in the next 60 seconds could seal your fate! One minute to go! Come on, guys. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) JESSIE: Come on, Stephen. In there, come on, let's go. Come on. I grab the mousse out of the freezer and I'm a little bit concerned it hasn't set. Time is running out. I've literally got no time to do this, so I just need to get a bit into a quenelle and get it on the plate. 30 seconds! (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) SARA: Come on, Stephen! JOHN: Come on, Ashleigh. BILLIE: Come on, Jac. Good work. Stephen, Stephen! Do not give up! Do another one just in case. It's just... It's too soft. Wet your spoon. Just do another one. GARY: 10 seconds! Nine! ALL: Eight! Seven! Come on, Stephen! Go! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! That's it! Time's up. (APPLAUSE) STEPHEN: Time's up and I'm feeling really frustrated. I wanted to serve the judges the perfect quenelle of chocolate mousse and I haven't achieved that today. (SIGHS) ASHLEIGH: I'm definitely feeling really pleased with how I've gone today. I am surprised that I managed to turn it around and get myself back into a good place and I'm really happy that I could keep in that positive headspace and carry that through. Have you done enough today? I really hope so. I felt much better in that last cook. I felt back in the swing of things, so I really...I hope that that's reflected in this dish. You were saying before that you cooked this for your sister? Is that right? Yeah, we cooked it together before I came in here, this recipe. Did she like it? She did like it. What would your sister tell you right now? My sister would be so proud of me. She would love to eat that dessert. She tells me how proud of me she is and how I'm inspiring her to follow her dreams as well, so she'd be really happy. We're going to taste and you're going to go. Thank you. She's done a lot in half an hour. She's done a lot in half an hour. Again. Hasn't she? Yeah. Great. Looks good. Glazy-topped creme brulee. The kicker will be if that creme brulee is smooth. Mmm. (GRUNTS APPROVINGLY) I really like that. I think it's delicious. It's smooth. I thought it was going to be eggy, but it's not at all. You get a little burst of mandarin, the biscuits are soft, the walnuts are punchy, and that little crumble which I thought was irrelevant actually is really tasty. I like it. I mean, that's a beautiful dessert. It's a beautiful example of a creme brulee. Technique absolutely impeccable, you know? It's a really tasty dessert and she is a very talented cook. She is. She needs to know that. Let's get the next dish in. JACQUI: I'm really pleased with what I've got on the plate. It's what I had in my mind. My concern is the pasta. It seems thick and I think it could be chewy. Jacqui, you were looking for a change of life when you came into this competition. Do you think you'll follow it through? For me, it's all going to be about the balance with my family and my idea for what I would like to do from here can work. I will follow that. I can't imagine myself going back to how life was before after this experience. Yeah, I'd need to keep an open mind and go forward. I think it's time for us to taste, don't you? OK, thank you. Thanks, Jacqui. Looks pretty. Yeah, I was going to say. It looks really pretty. The scampi look pretty good. I mean, she certainly had bags of flavour in those different pans. Whether they all work together - that's another thing. Let's find out. I think the scampi's absolutely brilliant. It's cooked beautifully. Mine's soft, delicious, sweet. The pasta sheet is too thick. For me, my scampi is kind of mushy. And you can see it here. It's been overcooked and it's starting to break down. But when I eat this dish, the flavour of the oils, the walnuts and that watercress work beautifully with that pasta, but I'm put off by the texture of the scampi. It's a shame, 'cause you know what? She had a mystery box full of ingredients, and really, this should have been her round. Let's get the next dish in. STEPHEN: I'm looking at my dish and, to be honest with you, I'm feeling disappointed. I'm frustrated with how I've cooked today and I'm also frustrated that I should know what a good chocolate mousse is and I should be able to nail that in five minutes and I didn't. Gee, Stephen, you've got to do it the hard way, haven't you? Yeah. Yeah, it's been a tough old day today. This was where exactly you didn't want to find yourself, wasn't it? Third round, cooking a dessert. Are you going home? I think so, yeah. Yeah, I'm just a bit annoyed with myself and a bit annoyed that I've not... ..I've not practised more on this. I've not practised on my weaknesses as much as I should have, you know? I've concentrated on my strengths. What have you learned about yourself doing this experience? I'd learnt that I can do more than I probably give myself credit for... ..and that I should push harder. I don't think I push myself as much as I should. (BREATHES DEEPLY) Scared of failure? Very. Maybe that's the reason why I don't take... You know... ..I don't take it seriously as maybe I should or have been, because, you know, if you take something serious and then you fail... ..then it's even worse, you know? And I have taken it... ..seriously, but I've also, to handle the pressure... ..um... ..my way of handling pressure is to make light of things and take the piss out of things. Time for us to taste. Thank you, gentlemen. (SIGHS) Good luck, Stephen. Cheers. Thank you. I'm emotional because,... um,... the identifying parts of my character that I do not like... I normally can hide, you can make excuses, but there's no... there's no place for excuses here, and the three judges see those excuses and that's what's difficult. . Chocolate mousse, mandarin ` there's nothing wrong with that. As long as it's smooth, light, full of flavour, we're happy. It's a great combination. Do you think it will be good enough, boys? That's a great little chocolate mousse. Yeah, it really is. It's so simple. It's just this mandarin zest, mandarin segments and a little crumble of walnuts under there, and it just...it tastes delicious. Yeah. Well, the two things that I think make it delicious is the quality of the chocolate and the lightness of the mousse, and secondly, grating that mandarin over the top has taken it from, you know, mandarin to MANDARIN! You know, that's got stereo sound. It's really yum. Gee, that's a real surprise. I thought, "There is no way this man has any chance of surviving." I was willing to write him out his ticket and call him a cab. This is the end of a very long and tiring day for the three of you. And it is, in fact, sadly, for one person, the end of your MasterChef dream. Stephen, Ashleigh, Jacqui, all of you struggled... ..but one of you turned it around and kicked it out of the park in the last round. Ashleigh, that was you. You're safe. Well done. Thank you. (APPLAUSE) Oh, Ashleigh, what a little bit of self-belief does! That little brulee was absolutely delicious. That crack of the sugary top and also that beautiful crumble - it made the dish. Well done. You can jump over and join the others. (CHUCKLES) A sigh of relief. Well done, Ashleigh. Stephen, your mousse was beautiful and light and the mandarin took the dish to another level. Jacqui, your dish had great flavour of walnut and watercress, but your pasta was too thick and Matt and I's scampi was mushy. I'm sorry, Jacqui... ..that's why you're going home. (STEPHEN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) Oh, Jacqui, we're all so sorry. That was so close to being a great dish. JACQUI: Yeah. 90 seconds less on the scampi and more on the pasta - it would be a very different end to this story. Yeah. But what a story it's been. Let's forget about the black apron moments and how many times you saved yourself, which in itself is a feat. That panna cotta you put up with that pomegranate and orange blossom water - one of our favourite dishes of the series so far. Jacqui, it's time to say goodbye. (CHUCKLES) Thank you. (GEORGE MURMURS INDISTINCTLY) I will, I will, I will. Thanks. I'm gutted. I gave it everything I had today. I took risks that almost paid off. I had dishes that were close but just not close enough. It's so disappointing to know I was so close and yet I'm going home anyway. (APPLAUSE) This is not the end of the road for me in food. This is really just the beginning. What I've experienced here in MasterChef and the knowledge I have gained is only just providing me with more inspiration to follow my dream. ANNOUNCER: Next time, it's back. (AMY GASPS) This is the power apron. I want this power apron. But to win it, they must create a dish using every item... (GEORGIA GASPS) What? ...in their mystery box. Go! They'll need all their skill... REYNOLD: This is insane. ...and strength... Guns of steel. ...to cook food worthy of our golden apron. Absolutely smashing. It's wonderful. (GIGGLES) This could be a winner. But buckle under the pressure... I just want the world to come and swallow me up. ...and the apron they'll be wearing... I've thrown it all away. ...will be black. Captions by Red Bee Media Australia Able 2016