. ANNOUNCER: Previously on MasterChef Australia... In another frantic round... Go, Harry! ..as our search for the top 24 continued... Rock'n'roll. Time is flying! Come on! ..the competition was tough. The cooking has been absolutely phenomenal. But four ecstatic contestants finally got what they came for. Tonight, seven cooks, one apron. The last apron. To win it... Please welcome Shannon Bennett. ..they'll have to conquer one final test... Oh, my God. ..to re-create this Shannon Bennett masterpiece. I have no idea how we're going to get this all done. Come on! Let's hustle! Ooh! You're a little bit all over the shop. Are you feeling the pressure yet? Some will rise to the challenge. I can't believe this. For others, it will be a recipe for disaster. (GASPS) I don't know what I'm gonna do now. But for one contestant... Wow. You're a natural. You can taste chocolate. You should be exceptionally proud of yourself. ..it will be the sweetest victory of their life. That apron is about to change one of your lives... ..forever. Captions by Ericsson Access Services www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Able 2016 (ALL CHAT INDISTINCTLY) MILES: Yesterday I felt really confident that I was gonna get that apron. When I didn't get the apron, I was a little bit deflated. Today, the pressure is on. I'm going into that kitchen focused. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) JORDAN: Knowing that only one of us is actually gonna get that apron today, I think it's gonna be really tough because I just know how much every single one of us want that one apron. Well! Welcome back to the final round of judges' auditions. You look a little fresher. Hopefully you slept well, because let me tell you, because today is going to be a big one. Seven of you and only one apron. The last apron. You've all got potential. You're all great cooks. You've got to give it everything you have. Make this the day you got into MasterChef. MATT: And we know you're good cooks. The question mark remains over how you deal with pressure. There's only one way to discover that, and that's with a pressure test. Who better to be the gatekeeper for that final apron? Please welcome, from Vue de monde, Shannon Bennett. Oh, my God. He is just, like, a god. The fact that he is here and we're gonna cook one of his dishes is just...next level. (LAUGHS) Hello, mate. Buddy. Shannon, well, you were a very popular addition to the team last year. Welcome back this year. Thank you. The really exciting news for all of you and for one of you is Shannon is back as your mentor again this year. I'm very proud and excited to be in this season. It's one of those things where you go on a journey with you guys and to see you progress is gonna be incredibly exciting. Far out. (LAUGHS) Shannon, I think you understand the pressure of the kitchen probably as well as anyone. What advice would you give these final seven? I think the most important thing today is following instructions. It's reading that recipe thoroughly. You've just got to make sure that it's fully focused, get rid of the nerves, or harness the nerves. Right, Shannon, step forward and show them what they're gonna be cooking. Today, you're going to be cooking one of Bistro Vue's most popular dishes. My Snickers-inspired chocolate bar. MELISSA: I am just gobsmacked with what is sitting there. It just looks like a little piece of art on a plate. It looks intricate, it looks delicious, it looks complex. Come down, guys. Come down. You want to get close and intimate with this plate of food. Shannon, it looks spectacular. Thanks, George. What's in there? First of all, we've got a peanut caramel fudge on the bottom layer. On the opposite side there, we've got a peanut crumb, then got a chocolate parfait, honey nougat. Then tempered chocolate, really super thin. Here, sitting underneath the ice-cream, we've got a brown sugar crumble. Then on top we've got a caramel peanut ice-cream. I'm just trying to count all the elements in my head and I'm like, "Oh, that's way too many." The parfait is the hero and then you've got this amazing nougat so that the softness of that and then the sharpness of the chocolate, they're the key points that sort of bring the dessert together. MILES: There's a parfait, there's nougat, and there's tempered chocolate. None of those things I've made before. But what excites me most about this dish and also a lot of Shannon's cooking, is there's always a little surprise. Shannon, will you do the honours? In the jug, we have a milk chocolate and caramel and honey sauce. Take note. You'll see the theatre. Really careful. (APPLAUSE) Oh, my gosh. Does that not look spectacular? That is divine. Bringing this up to the judges like this, that's the wow factor. Theatre is so, so important to the introduction of this dish. Alright, start eating, guys. Tuck in. Mmm! WOMAN: It's happiness. The nougat is really quite honey. And the softness of that nougat as well, the way that just kind of dissipates. MILES: That is so delicious. It's just amazing. It's sticky, it's warm, it's gooey, it's soft, it's delicious. Every component has a different type of texture. It's seriously the best Snickers bar I've ever tasted. Right! This is it. Your last chance to get into the top 24. You have one hour and 45 minutes to perfectly re-create Shannon Bennett's chocolate bar. Plus, you will have five minutes to plate up the dish and present to us. MELISSA: In an hour and 45 minutes, I have no idea how we're going to get this all done. Remember what's at stake. You ready? CONTESTANTS: Yes! Pumped up? Yes! Your time starts...now. Whoo! She's numbering the pages. Yeah. How many pages are there? I'm excited to be cooking one of Shannon's recipes. But, man, there's some pressure on. The heat's in the kitchen. I've got to get things happening quickly, start making some noise, get things going. Step one, roast 400g of peanuts in the oven at 180 for 10 minutes. That's easy enough. The next thing I've got to do is I've got to get onto the parfait which is one of the main components of the dish. Desserts aren't my strong point. I'm familiar with and comfortable with cooking big, bold flavours, spicy food, Indian, Mexican, South-East Asian. This is a really difficult recipe but I'm just gonna rip into it, be methodical and focused. I'm in the pressure test today because I didn't deliver yesterday. What you haven't been able to do is give it some thought and time to take it to another level. I'm not taking anything by chance today. I'm gonna follow the recipe to the absolute letter. I want to show the judges that I'm being methodical and I'm keeping my cool and I'm keeping my A-game on and that I deserve that apron. (CONTESTANTS ENCOURAGE SARAH) It's just a Shannon Bennett recipe. That's alright. MELISSA: Reading the recipe, there are so many different things. It's gonna be quite tricky, but I'm feeling quietly confident because all I've got to do is follow a recipe and I can do that. It's like an encyclopedia. (LAUGHS) If I got onto MasterChef, it would change every single thing about my life. I'm a mum of three children and I'm actually here because my son, Connor, encouraged me. I'm gonna fight every last second to get this apron today. Peanuts are done now. The next thing I'm going to do now is make my chocolate parfait and I'm gonna start to whip my cream. GARY: This is gonna be a fascinating cook. I have no idea how the pressure's gonna build. I think you've set them up to push them so that the right cook ends up in the competition. So many elements. I have never been so methodical in writing a recipe before. GEORGE: Getting all the components done is one thing, but then there's the tempered chocolate, the piping, the quenelling. I mean... But it's not easy. I think this is gonna be Struggle Town for a lot of them. SARAH: A perfect parfait should be really light. It should be able to just melt in your mouth. I have my whipped cream going. It needs to be soft peaks but I need to make sure that I don't overwork it. Light and fluffy. MELISSA: I've put some cream in my mixer and I'm trying to multi-task. I'm going to melt some chocolate as well and that needs to go into some eggwhites. MAN: How's the cream looking? My cream has been overwhipped. I've got a bowl of butter. Think I might do that again. I want my chocolate parfait to look and taste just as amazing as Shannon Bennett's was. But I've made butter. SARAH: Miles the cool cat. (LAUGHS) MILES: I've whipped the egg and sugar mixture for the parfait and now it's time to pour the melted chocolate in. The next step is to fold that into the whipped cream that I made earlier. Miles is absolutely killing it. He looks like he's smashing it. All I can think of is my dad trying to cook, and he wouldn't be that far in front. (LAUGHTER) MAN: Come on, Jordan, you've got it, man! When I finished high school, I actually looked into enrolling in pastry school and following my food dream. My biggest strength in the kitchen is definitely desserts, but I think this is probably the hardest thing I've ever made before. So far, it hasn't been too bad, but I know there are some more difficult elements coming up which I'm a bit worried about. The key to this challenge is keep the energy high at the start and don't let time slip away. Half-hour down. 75 minutes to go. Come on! (CHEERING) Come on, Miles! Sarah! You can do it, Lauren. I was whipping my cream and it just went a little bit too far so I'm just gonna do that again. So I'm going to start whipping some more cream, start multi-tasking again. And I make more butter. Done it again. MAN: I'm really starting to worry about Melissa. This is the second time she's accidentally made butter. This is putting me behind. The pressure's starting to get to me now because everyone else is forging ahead. (BLEEP) MAN: Stick it on the floor. Give yourself space. (BLEEP) The cream. This is starting to get too hard now and I...yeah. I don't think I'm gonna get through it. (WHISPERS) There's our manager Neville. He's super picky. (WHISPERS) There's no fault he can't see or crack he won't spot. And no conversation he can't hear. . Um, my cream is no good again, for the second time. (BLEEP) this. WOMAN: Has she overwhipped it? MAN: Yeah, twice. Today we're cooking Shannon's chocolate peanut bar. But I haven't made parfait. I've made butter. I'm getting behind everybody else. And I'm feeling a little bit overwhelmed. There's still a lot to do. Oh, no. Look. Are you looking at my cream? My butter?! I have... I have found butter. That is perfect! That was too... trying to multi-task a bit too much. You're a little bit all over the shop. Alright? Yep. But you've just got to keep trying to follow the recipe. Yeah. Don't panic. And get that parfait done, because you're going to run out of time. I'm still a little bit overwhelmed, but I don't get another shot at this after today. So I'm going to start whipping some more cream. I'm on my third attempt now, and I'm not going to multi-task. I'm going to stand and watch it. I can actually... I can do this. MILES: I've incorporated the chocolate into the cream that I whipped earlier, and it looks good. (CHEERING) Yum. Come on, Miles. Now I think I've got a parfait. So I'm pretty chuffed. Hey, Miles. G'day, Gary. How are you? Are you good at following a recipe, by chance? Yes, I've had a couple of goes at it before. The reason we came to your bench is you're onto the parfait already, which is great! Yeah, first to complete. It's looking good. I think the evenness is going to be very, very important in this tray. Love it. Go. Put it in. At least I can cross that one off the list. Miles is like the Terminator at the moment in the kitchen. He seems like he's very focused. Yes, I've got my eye on him. Time will tell, hey? Yeah. One apron up for grabs. One hour to go. Come on! Let's hustle! WOMAN: Nice work, Jenny. MAN: Oh, yeah. Oooh! Fascinating, what's going on there. Because actually Miles, he is doing brilliantly well. He's made the parfait already. He's banging on with the caramels. And he seems really confident. Sarah, at the front, really focused. You know, she wants this thing, which, I think, more to the point, she wants to prove that she's good enough. You know, she's a good cook. There's a bit of struggle in there. But, you know, some determination too. Look, I didn't think it would take 45 minutes for most cooks to, you know, not even have the parfait in the freezer yet. So time... they're really up against it. She made butter a couple of times. I've got soft peaks! I've been standing here, and I've actually created whipped cream. Yes! Say hi to whipped cream! I'm feeling pretty excited now. I can move on. I can put the butter-making behind me and get on with this dish. MAN: Come on, Mel. WOMAN: Come on, Melissa. Alright. This is my last opportunity to get into the top 24, so I'm going to give it my all today. I'm not stressed, which is a good sign. My strengths lie in sweets, so I feel like I do have a strong chance to get the apron today. It's just a matter of picking up the pace to keep up. WOMAN: Come on, Lauren! Whoo! How does it look, Miles? Alright? Got the caramel happening, ready to pour over the peanuts. I'm making the candied peanuts. I'll blitz them up when they've set. I'll add a portion to the ice-cream, and another portion to the peanut crumble, which sits at the bottom of the dish. At this stage, I'm travelling pretty good. I'm totally focused. I'm in the zone. I'm feeling confident. I really want to get that apron today. My kids have now fled the nest. Nicole's 23. She lives in Tokyo. My son, Louis, he's 19. He's a chef on the Gold Coast. You're doing good, you're doing good. Having them here two days ago to see that first cook was just amazing. It was our little reunion. Ultimately, the dream for me is to get the kids back together in a family, little business where we can sell wonderful food together. There's a decent prize at the end of Masterchef, with 250 large, I think it is. Having that sort of cash in the skyrocket would just be phenomenal. Miles, you're killing it. Well done, Miles. While I'm waiting for the candied peanuts to set, I get cracking on the ice-cream. I combine milk, cream, trimoline, vanilla pods and seeds and get it on the stove. WOMAN: Great job, Miles. Yes, Miles! Miles, you are killing it! SARAH: I can hear people making noise behind me. I don't want to look back. At this point, I don't care who's in front. I don't care who's behind. I need to make sure that I'm executing each step to the highest level I can. I have to make sure that I get absolutely every skerrick of that chocolate. It's a really delicious chocolate, and I need to bring that to the front. How are things going? Um, I'm a little bit nervous cooking your dish for you. I want to show you that I've got it together. Do you? Yep. I really, really do. I want to show you that I can actually cook, and it's just that yesterday wasn't my day, and I just want to prove it to everyone that I can actually cook a really good dish. Well, you know what you've got to do is obviously read that recipe like your life depends on it. But you've also got to keep the pace up. Because even Miles has been a little bit more fluid. You know, he's pushing it along, and he is a little bit ahead. I need to make sure that I'm working accurately, but I need to quicken up that pace. MAN: Come on, Jordan! JORDAN: I don't think it's hit me yet that I'm actually cooking for Shannon Bennett. I'm a little behind Miles, but I'm working methodically, so I'll get there. I'm here just to change my life and actually do something that I'm so happy about and passionate about. I think I probably haven't shown it, but today I really hope that I can show that I actually do deserve a place. Come on, Jordan. You're doing good. Keep going. LAUREN: I started this pressure test really confidently, but time is going so fast, and I can't lag behind. So I pull the peanuts straight out of the oven, pour the hot caramel straight on top without thinking. It's instinctive just to spread them out with my hands so it's a nice, even layer. (CRIES OUT) (BLEEP) Oooh. (BLEEP) Ow! Ahh! Why would you do that? That burnt my hand severely. Arggh! What was I thinking? It's hot caramel. I can't afford to lose this time that I'm losing. . Ow! (BLEEP!) I've burnt my hand severely. Not only have I got a burn today, but it's on my dominant hand. So I'm gonna have to do everything with my left hand. Do you need to see the nurse? Yeah. Just make sure you get it dressed up. My hand is hurting, the time is ticking. I can't afford to lose this time now. MILES: The candied peanuts have caramelised perfectly. I grab them out of the blast chiller and break them down to a crumb. How do these things work? This thing has got more bells and whistles on it than my car does. MAN: They got a camp oven there for you, Miles? Miles, have a look at you. You are absolutely going for it, aren't you? I'm punching it out, trying to get there ahead of time. Is this your ice-cream base? Yes, that's the ice-cream base. Are you pleased with that? I'm...very happy with that. I'm about to put that in the churner. Yep. Just another quick stir and that will be ready to rock. Great. Looking good, man. Well done. Keep pushing, yeah? MAN: Come on, Miles! Are you feeling the pressure yet? You should be. Only 45 minutes to go. Come on. (CHEERING) I'm in a lot of pain but there is no way I'm going to give up my chance to get in that apron today, so I need to move on to my next element. I need to focus and just get on with it because I'm running out of time. MAN: You've got this, Lauren. MELISSA: I have to blast it. I know that I'm a little bit behind everybody else, but I'm feeling really positive now. I'm trying to keep plugging away at this recipe so I can catch up and now I need to make my peanut ice-cream. I want that apron and it would be amazing if it was mine today. Then I don't have to ring the family and say, "Sorry, I'm just coming home." Come on, Miles. (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) I've got the parfait in, the ice-cream is churning. I've done the crumbs and the crumbles. I've got to do the honey nougat. The nougat needs to be firm 'cause it holds that piece of tempered chocolate. When that chocolate melts, you see these beautiful firm dollops of glossy nougat. What's 60 and 80? 40. Maths is probably not my strong suit but I survive on good looks and charm. I combine all the ingredients - the honey, the eggwhites and the sugar. Then we pour them into the mixer, mix them at high speed until firm peaks form. MAN: Nice work, Miles. MAN 2: Yes, Miles. The nougat looks great. Stiff peaks, it's glossy. Get it into a piping bag and get it into the fridge. I've ticked off a lot of firsts today. Nougat is another one on the list. Please don't let the pressure get the best of you. 30 minutes to go! (CHEERING) Caster sugar. 120g of eggwhites. I need to keep pushing to get all these elements up today. I have got to do a honey nougat. I need this to work. I don't have the time for this not to work this first time, so I'm willing it on. I need it to be stiff peaked. I'm not sure if it's there. I don't have the time to check it. I just need to keep going. So I put it into a piping bag and I need to put it into that fridge and just keep pushing. Sarah hasn't whipped her eggwhite mixture for long enough and I don't think that Jordan has either. I'm worried that they're going to end up with runny nougat compared to Miles, whose texture is really nice and firm. Come on. Yew! There's less than 30 minutes to go and I've still got a stack of elements left to do to finish this dish. Now I've got to start making the honey caramel sauce. This is where the theatre comes in. This is the last component that gets poured onto the chocolate at the end of the dish. This really has to be spot on. I heat some honey in a saucepan. Once the honey is caramelised, I add the cream, whisk them together, then combine the chocolate in there and mix that until it's melted and the sauce looks great. Good job, Miles. Now it's time to get onto the peanut caramel. The peanut caramel forms the foundation for the dish, so it's got to be perfect. I've got to heat some sugar in a saucepan, turn it into a dry caramel. At the same time, I need to blitz the remaining peanuts into a fine crumb, warm up some cream to incorporate into that caramel. Time is ticking, the pressure is on, but I'm so focused. Nothing has entered my mind that shouldn't be there. But I go back to my peanut caramel. It's not looking very good. OK. What is that, Miles? Uh, caramel...crumble thing. The sugar has caramelised, but it's hard and it's firm. I think I've taken it too far. Uh-oh. Crystallised, maybe. I try mixing some of the warm cream in with it. It just looks a mess. It's solid, it's like whisking rocks. It's a disaster. I don't know what I'm going to do now. Show us how much you want this thing! Nail this dish. 20 minutes to go. (CHEERING) I've been travelling really well up until this stage. I'm in front. I've been feeling great, but I've hit a hurdle. This thing could bring me undone. . MILES: Time's running out. My peanut caramel isn't working. It's gotta go. I chuck it out. I've gotta start this thing again. I'm starting the dry a caramel again because it didn't quite go the way I was hoping it would. Everything that I'm doing now relies on that peanut caramel. If it's not right, the dish will be ruined and I won't get that apron today. WOMAN: Keep it up, Miles. Come on. I take the second batch of peanut caramel off the stove, it's too pale. It doesn't have that dark toffee colour that Shannon's did. But I can't risk doing it again. I don't have the time. I've just got to run with what I've got. That's hot. When I tasted Shannon Bennett's dessert, that peanut caramel was one of the most tastiest parts of the dish. It was really thick and gooey and perfect so I want to make sure that mine is the same. WOMAN: Good job, Jordan. I think the colour is really perfect compared to Shannon's so I'm stoked that it's come out that way. It looks amazing. It looks amazing. Dreams are fleeting. You've got 10 minutes to ensure this one doesn't slip through your fingers. 10 minutes to go. Come on. You guys have got it. Go, Jordan! Come on, Sarah, push, push! Push, push, push. Last few steps. Come on, Miles. Come on. Do it. Let's go, let's go, let's go! Thermometer? Thermometer? Now it's panic stations. There's 10 minutes to go. I've go to temper chocolate for the first time. It'll be an experience, making tempered chocolate for the first time in a pressure test challenge with 10 minutes to go... ..to the perfection that Shannon Bennett would like to see. So, yeah. The tempered chocolate is essential to the theatre of this dish. It's gotta be the perfect shape and super thin so that it melts as the chocolate sauce is poured on. Tempering chocolate takes time and after those issues I had with the caramel, I'm really gonna be pushed. Here's hoping. While I'm waiting for my chocolate to heat up I've got to get my parfait cut and all the other elements in containers ready for the dish to be assembled before the judges can taste it. Yeah, Miles! That's the way. Where do you find your piping bags? I've only got minutes to go and I'm making my honey caramel sauce at the moment. I'm absolutely frantic. But it's all coming together. SHANNON: Where are you, where are you at? You've got your parfait, you've got your nougat. Nougat's done? Yes. Great. Happy with your nougat? I think so. Great. You've done your honey caramel sauce? Doing that. That's what I'm up to at the moment. I can't believe this, hey? I've been working away up here. Come on, Melissa! Go! GARY: You have seven minutes to go. Come on! (CHEERING) (BLEEP!) Come on, Sarah. Push, push. I've got minutes left. I can't believe I'm about to temper chocolate. But I don't care. It's a Shannon Bennett dessert so I'm gonna do every single element. Is this for your tempering? It is. Maybe just do less? You only need a little bit. Yes. It will melt, right? This is it. We have seven people and there is one apron up for grabs. I'm feeling the heat. Come on, Sarah. Almost there. Come on! Go, Sarah! Fight! I've brought the chocolate up to 50 degrees and now I've got to bring it down to 28 by adding room temperature chocolate to it. I'm trying to be as careful as I can with these temperatures and making sure that they are perfect. But while I'm doing it, I drop the thermometer into the chocolate and now I can't read the thing. I don't know how this is gonna turn out. There's no option but keep going. That's right, Miles. GARY: Come on, guys. This is where it counts. Last five minutes. Dig deep. Come on! (CHEERING) Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. Come on! LAUREN: I started this pressure test really confidently but there are so many elements that I still need to achieve and I don't know if I can get them all done in time. Honey caramel. I know I need to caramelise this honey properly but I don't have the time. I just need to move on. Three minutes to go! Go, Sarah! Let's go, guys! That's it, Miles. Keep pushing. Keep pushing. JORDAN: There's only a couple of minutes to go and I've run out of time to temper my chocolate. Just get whatever chocolate you can on that acetate. I've pretty much just melt a couple of blocks of the dark chocolate, so I can get enough to just make a smear. I know that it's not gonna have the shine that tempered chocolate should but I'm hoping just having the chocolate on there will at least still have the same theatre. Push it. Parfait portions. Parfait needs to be portioned. I know I would have done that first. I've tried tempering chocolate and it's not easy to get right. I'm glad I'm not in there. MELISSA: I'm up to tempering my chocolate but I haven't got enough time to do it. So I'm just gonna melt some chocolate, spread it thinly and hope for the best. SHANNON: OK, Melissa. Just get that smoother. Get that a little bit smoother. Come on. Come on, Melissa! Go! Come on! One minute. One apron. One minute to go. Come on, let's do it. Go, go, go, go, go. Portion your parfait. Chocolate. Ice-cream. Get that in the freezer. That needs to stay chilled. MILES: I'm really struggling with the chocolate. It's come down to the wire. There's 40 seconds left on the clock. I get that chocolate out of the bowl onto the acetate, smear it across the acetate as quickly as I can. 30 seconds. Keep going, Lauren. Keep going. LAUREN: I've got seconds. I grab the chocolate and I work it as finely as possible and I spread it thin and I just hope to the gods and hope for the judges that this is gonna work. 10 seconds! ALL: Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. That's it. You killed it! You did great. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) MELISSA: Time's up and I am feeling so proud because I've actually... I've done it. I've done a Shannon Bennett dessert. I'm not a "let's put yourself out there" person, I'm the back person that drives people to sport who does all that so for me to step forward and do this, that's not me at all. But I think it is now. SARAH: I can't believe it. I have actually got every single element ready to go. You did such an amazing job. I want this so badly. I want to win an apron. I've put my heart and soul into it and I hope the judges see that. (SIGHS) . GARY: Wow! I bet none of you thought you'd get most of that done, if not all of that done, and it shows you what the pressure in this environment does, doesn't it? And there's a lot at stake. One apron. You had an hour 45 to re-create Shannon's chocolate bar. You now have five minutes to finish plating up and present to us. Jordan, your five minutes starts now. JORDAN: The first thing I have to do is to get my peanut caramel onto the plate. It's super important to have the right consistency 'cause you have to build that amazing tower on top of your peanut caramel. It actually looks really, really good. The colour is amazing and the consistency is really thick and it looks exactly like Shannon Bennett's did. But I can see that my nougat isn't good. It's not sitting up nice and firm like Shannon's was. It's just kind of soft and droopy. I then put my not-so-tempered chocolate on top of the nougat. I know this is my last chance to get an apron so I'm really hoping that these two things won't count against me too much. Well, Jordan, well done. You've got all the elements there. GARY: You know what's nice about it? It's just sitting up on that salty peanut caramel, which is good, isn't it? Peanut plinth. (GIGGLES) How badly do you want that apron? Really bad. It's, like, the only thing I can think about all day and all night at the moment. Would you like to come down and sauce it? GEORGE: Be generous! (LAUGHS) It's just starting to melt now. Wow. If you buy a Snickers 'cause you love that peanut caramel, this dessert is going to blow you away. (EXCLAIMS) What I get is incredible peanut caramel on the bottom. Like, delicious. I love the ice-cream actually. I think the flavour is good. Nicely done. But overall, the presentation is not there. I think the nougat itself, the texture suffered. Mmm. But the flavours are great. Really enjoyed it. Well done. (CHEERING) JORDAN: I'm really disappointed about my nougat but I feel like I'm in the mix. I think that I actually might have a chance at the apron. Melissa, your five minutes starts now. Oh, God! MELISSA: Today's cook has been the hardest day I've ever spent in a kitchen. I didn't think it would get on a plate. I'm feeling really proud of myself. Everything is on my plate. The only element I'm worried about is my chocolate which isn't tempered. (CHEERING) Oh! Incredible, Melissa, that you have got the dish complete. Well done. I mean, I didn't think at one stage you'd even get the parfait done. Neither did I. You've got the nougat there with some lovely shine on it. But the actual chocolate on top, the tempering process obviously suffered. Do you want to pour the sauce? Yep. MATT: The theatre of that sauce is so important to this dessert. How good is chocolate sauce being poured on stuff? There are obviously some mistakes. The tempered chocolate I think does play an important part. But the massive pluses for me are just the reproduction of flavours, how close it is to the original. You know? The caramel flavours, the chocolate flavours. Yeah, you should be exceptionally proud of yourself. Thank you. Yeah, 'cause that's a tasty dish. The ice-cream is beautifully smooth. Great flavour. But I think what we'd love you to do is go back, get a spoon, try it. And see for yourself how close you've come to replicating Shannon's flavour. You know what? 2016 may not be over yet. Thank you. Well done. MELISSA: I'm just floored that my dish is so amazing. I could have let it all slide when I was struggling but I didn't. I showed myself I can actually do it. I can pick myself up and I can keep going. (SIGHS) Lauren. LAUREN: I think I didn't caramelise the honey enough in the sauce. But I'm super proud of what I have achieved today. I burnt my hand. I could have given up but that's not what MasterChef is about. I think that nougat is fantastic. For me, the let-down is the lack of honey within the chocolate sauce. Yep, yep. GEORGE: Next up, Molly. The honey sauce is made perfectly. The parfait, that's really dense and it doesn't have that super chocolate flavour that Shannon's had. Ginny. All the elements you've done, you've done a really beautiful job on. You are definitely missing the peanut caramel. And the tempered chocolate. Yes. They're essential to complete the brief. I'm absolutely thrilled. I had an amazing time and I've pushed myself like I've never done before. Sarah, your five minutes starts now. (CHEERING) SARAH: I'm looking at my chocolate and I think I've actually tempered chocolate. I've just got to get it off the acetate now and it's sticking slightly. Come on! (SIGHS) I put up absolutely every single element but there are two elements that aren't 100% - the peanut caramel underneath the parfait and the honey nougat. They're not quite set. Whoa! (SIGHS) We know the last couple of days have been a struggle. But you're here. This is it. It's all or nothing. Have you done enough? I hope so. We've all commented as soon as we walked up to the bench the lovely gloss you got on that chocolate. So the technique of tempering chocolate has been mastered. I've never tempered chocolate before in my life and that was the first time I've ever done it. You're a natural at tempering chocolate. (GIGGLES) (SIGHS) OK. Two things that stand out for me - the ice-cream, really, um, the parfait. You can taste chocolate. Yeah, this is the best chocolate parfait by far. Absolutely, for me, texture and the flavour of chocolate just absolutely shines through. Now, obviously, there are some problems. Yeah. The peanut caramel underneath the parfait is a little soft. Yep. The nougat is a little soft. Yep, it hasn't set. Question is are those two elements enough to push you out of contention or are the rest enough to keep you in contention and win that apron? Miles, your five minutes starts now. MILES: I peel the acetate away from the tempered chocolate. It looks amazing. It's like opening a Christmas present. I've got the perfect tempered chocolate. I cut the shape that I need. I'm ecstatic. It's gonna sit on top and melt perfectly. Hopefully there's the theatre which no-one else has got yet. But the thing that concerns me more than anything is that peanut caramel. It's too pale. It's a bit light. It's not as dark as the others. Yeah, it's light. It doesn't have that dark, toffee colour that Shannon's did. I didn't take it far enough. I didn't want to burn it. I couldn't risk doing another one. This is what can stand between me and that apron. . It's a bit light. The thing that concerns me more than anything is that peanut caramel. It's too pale. But I'm happy with most of my elements. The tempered chocolate looks amazing. (CHEERING) I am so proud of what I've done today and so amazed at how good this dish looks. Wow! It looks beautiful. You got all the elements up. How does it feel? You are a park ranger putting up a Shannon Bennett dish. Yeah, it's pretty amazing. (SIGHS) Bloke from the bush comes down to the big smoke and bashes out something from one of the best, it's, yeah, overwhelming. MATT: Your son is a chef. Do you think he would believe that his dad had this dish inside him? No way! (LAUGHS) Are you doing this for you or for your kids? For us. We're a family. Um... (CLEARS THROAT) (TEARFULLY) It's been just the three of us for a while and we do everything together, so... ..having them here at the beginning of the week was just awesome, you know, and when they see this, the pride from me will pass through them. GEORGE: What's just happened to me right now, just, I don't know...my son is only four so I've got a long way to go. You just made me realise that, you know, jeez, this stuff is important for other reasons bar just putting food on a plate. So, thank you. Cheers. Shannon, what do you think? The chocolate work is the best chocolate work so far. From the moment I saw you work, there was a sense of determination. It's come through on the plate. Thank you. Should we put the sauce on? Yeah. Beautiful. Look at that. Look at that! Yes! That's the kind of theatre we want to see. (APPLAUSE) Crack on. Let's see what it tastes like. That parfait is so light and that ice-cream is loaded with flavour, but again, really light. I mean, they are head and shoulders the best ice-cream and parfait that I've tasted today. The caramel sauce over the top made beautifully. Parfait made beautifully. But the peanut caramel sitting under the parfait - not the best example we've had. It's the one element that you've got wrong. We said at the start of the day that we wanted you to take it down to the wire, put everything of yourselves into this dish and make it almost impossible for us to decide who earns that apron, and I think you did that. You can all be extremely proud today. Shows me why I love being involved in MasterChef because it just makes you step up to the next level. You all impressed us today but three of you really stood out. If I call your name, please step forward. Melissa. Miles. Sarah. That apron is about to change one of your lives forever. All three of you impressed us with the flavours. But this dish is also about theatre and that's why... ..Miles, the apron is yours! (APPLAUSE AND CHEERING) Well done. Well done, mate. Well done. (LOUD CHEERING) MILES: I'm in the top 24. I'm in the MasterChef kitchen. It's mesmerising. My kids will be so proud right now. They'll be doing backflips. Somebody help me? (LAUGHS) To you wonderful six, today's the beginning of something special for you and if you want to be in food, follow your hearts, follow your dreams. If you want it bad enough, it will happen. Thank you so much. JORDAN: I've just learnt so much in three days. The fact that I plated up a Shannon Bennett dish and got all the elements on the plate - so proud and so happy at the same time. GARY: How's it feel, huh? You are this year's top 24. (CHEERING) 1 Look at the M! Look at the M! (LAUGHTER) We're here. Yep. (LAUGHS) Wow. Oh my God! Whoa. Being in top 24 is just, like,... Oh my God! (LAUGHS) ...totally being top of the world. I'm a blessed baby. (SHRIEKS, LAUGHS) Making it to the top 24 means so much. WOMAN: Can't wait to cook! I'm speechless. (LAUGHS) MAN: Wow. Beautiful. Look at the flowers! Oh, this is so fantastic! The vibe is electric. I can't believe I'm actually here right now. We're here, Jim. Yeah! Come on, let's go in. Let's go! Let's go! (LAUGHS) (SHRIEKS) Oh, my God, mystery box! Oh, my... Oh my God! Walking through the kitchen for the very first time, it's amazing. You almost can't believe that it's real. GARY: Come on! Up you come. Come on! Hustle! Let's go! (ALL CHEER) There's just such an energy in the room. This whole thing's a rush! Wow! Come on, come on. Wow, wow, wow. It IS wow, isn't it? Welcome to the MasterChef kitchen. It's a beautiful place. And we love the energy, the excitement that you have ` we feel the same way. This is the day that you've been waiting for. You are our top 24 for 2016. (ALL CHEER) How do you feel, Elise? Excited. Can't wait to get in there. It's a dream come true to be here, to be standing here with a white apron. Matt, how do you feel? It's pretty real right now, that's for sure. Grab this thing, you know? Yeah, absolutely. Grab it with two hands and run with it. Make it happen. Change your life. Yeah. Wearing that apron is an amazing privilege. Only a select few get to wear that apron. In fact, more people have won gold medals, been to outer space and climbed to the top of Everest than have worn that apron. Does that make you nervous? Yup. That is how it should be, cos this is a very special place. So, joining us today is someone who knows that probably better than anyone, someone who knows exactly what you're feeling right now. Please welcome, from The Fat Duck, Australia's MasterChef for 2015, Billie McKay. (CHEERING) NIDHI: I was, like, so excited. Oh, my God, she's here! I can see her in real! Seeing the trophy,... I want it. I want it so badly. Hi. Billie, hi! How are we? Now, just cast your mind back to that first day in a white apron in here. How did you feel? Oh, like I was dying. I mean, I was, like, so nervous. I'm actually nervous now, but, yeah, extremely scared. What advice would you give these guys here? Oh, I think the one thing I remember that Brent said when he was standing here and I was standing over there, he said, "Surrender yourself to the experience," so my main bit of advice is just go for it, and, you know, throw your whole self into it. Now, you're now working with Heston at The Fat Duck. Give us a sense of what that's like. Oh, it is so crazy. I still don't believe it. I never thought, standing where you guys are standing, that I would be standing here, in a Fat Duck apron today. I love it. So, time for your first challenge. You know it's a mystery box. What you don't know is... Billie has picked all the ingredients. You ready to find out what's under there? Yes. Billie, let's do it. All right! Right, let's do it. Go for it. All right. Well, that looks incredible. Obviously, every one of these ingredients means something to you. Mm-hm, so, Corn Flakes ` something I adopted in one of the challenges and cooked something that I really loved cooking. I did a cornflakes and cream. Cornflakes and cream, that's right. Mushrooms and black tea leaves. Sago? Sago, yeah. Mum always cooked sago pudding. Ginger wine. Beetroot and fennel. Yes. (CHUCKLES) Um, I cooked a lot with beetroot and fennel when I was here. And then finally... The duck. The fat duck. (LAUGHTER) That one's pretty self-explanatory. I think it kind of represents my journey here in MasterChef, so from beginnings here off to The Fat Duck. There you have it, an incredible selection of beautiful ingredients. Really no excuses today but to cook something beautiful. I'm feeling so excited about Billie's mystery box. In the lead-up to today, I actually had a dream that there would be duck under the mystery box, so I'm just like, "Yes!" So, you want some rules? Yup. You have 75 minutes to give us a delicious dish that you create from all the ingredients that Billie's put into that mystery box. You've got a box of staples underneath your bench. The kicker here is ` bring us a dish that impresses us, and you'll be safe. But be one of the bottom three, and you'll be in tomorrow's elimination. One of you will be this year's MasterChef, but one of you will be going home tomorrow. Don't let it be you. Right, everybody ready? Yes! Great. Billie, will you do the honours? Oh, I'd love to. (CHUCKLES) Your time starts now! I really want to do something with these. They're actually a bit of a favourite of mine too. I feel so good! This is awesome. Yeah, I'm loving it. This is my first cook in the kitchen, and I really want to crush it. I work in a call centre in Adelaide. I'm a chatterbox kind of a person. I talk a lot. Yes, I love cooking. I love cooking. And because of my accent, they get to know that I'm Indian, and then we start talking about food! Well, Nidhi, tell us what it is. I'm making tea-infused parfait. Yeah. Ginger wine and cornflakes crumble, plus a sago pudding. Nice! So, I'm just working on my crumble. And just thinking about how do I play it up for you. I love you as an idol, you're so adorable. I gotta tell you how much I like you. Oh, thank you! You... Thanks! (BOTH CHUCKLE) I'm just gonna let the two of you have a moment, OK? I'm superfluous here. Well, it sounds really good, your dish. I like that you're using the cornflakes and the sago too. Yes, when you said, like, "It's my childhood," you had good memories. I had not-so-good memories... Nidhi! Nidhi! You're supposed to be cooking, not talking! I know. Nidhi, come on! Focus on the dish! Keep cooking! You'll do well. Thanks, Nidhi. (LAUGHS) Forgot where I was for a minute! So did I. At auditions, I made a poached pear dessert, which the judges loved. Yes from me. Yes from me. Oh yes! (CHUCKLES) I'm a lot better at sweet dishes. It's something I feel a lot more comfortable doing. Oh, I shouldn't have done that. But today, I've decided to try my hand at savoury, to show the judges that I can do both. I'm going to do a pan-fried duck breast and fennel puree. Sounds like something you would've done. Yeah, I think I did a few dishes that were similar to that, actually. How are you gonna... I mean, today's all about one thing. It's avoiding the bottom three. Yup. How are you gonna make sure that your dish is the one we go, "Wow"? Because the problem is, these are all flavours that Billie is very intimate with. Yup. So your dish needs to stand out. So, I'm kind of having a little "Oh no" moment. I'm a bit worried about how I can make my dish stand out. But I'm gonna stick with it, and try and think of something extra that I can put on this dish. How you going? Good. Confident? Not bad. (CHUCKLES) Nervous. I'm really comfortable cooking with these fresh ingredients. Like Billie, I grew up on a farm as well, so I'm really hoping to impress her today. I'm an electrician. I work on the Eastern Gas Pipeline, which transfers gas from Melbourne to Sydney. Working in the environment that I'm in can be quite dangerous. There's always the potential for things to go wrong, and, at the end of the day, it's just a job, it's not something I'm really passionate about. I grew up in Batlow. My family has an apple orchard here. My food dream is to come back home to the farm, and I'd love to open a restaurant and serve my dad an apple pie that's almost as good as the one Grandma used to make. Today I'm cooking a seared duck breast with a beetroot and pickled fennel salad and a ricotta that I'm gonna make myself. I really love making ricotta. It's something that I do a lot at home. I think the creamy texture will go really well with the beetroot and fennel salad. I really hope Billie loves what I do with her ingredients. I really want to smash it today. I want to put up something special. I wanna use the duck, I'm loving the beetroot, the fennel. I haven't got a clear idea of the dish, but I need to just start, so I do roasted fennel and beetroot with a pan-seared duck breast. And I will finish it off in the oven. I really want to impress the judges and Billie today, so I'm gonna figure out another element that's gonna, hopefully, impress them. Your first, I'm sure, very nervous cook in the MasterChef kitchen ` make it count, one hour to go. Come on, guys. Let's go! Come on! I'm making a milk tea creme brulee with ginger wine sorbet and... something with beetroot. How you going? Uh, all right. You all right? Ohhh. Good to go, good to go. Good luck. Thank you. You too, Jim. Jim, my brother, is great. It's nice to have him here. But... I'm a little,... um, excited and nervous. I have to think, "What can I cook?" And this is a new environment, and I'm overwhelmed. I feel like the world just speeds past me, and I'm just standing there, looking at the clock. 15 minutes goes past, and I'm still confused. My mind is spinning, because I'm thinking, "I know I can cook!" But at home, you know, I cook for my kids, and we cook what I know they like to eat. It's so important not to end up in the bottom three today, so I wish I could hone in on one of the ingredients, but my heart is pounding. I know... I know I'm in trouble. Hello, Mr Teasell. Come on through. Let's do the hearing test. Sure. OK. Alright. (BEEP!) WOMAN: Hi, baba. It's your daughter. (LAUGHS) You're my best friend. Mmm. You know that. Yes. You told me recently how isolated a lack of hearing makes you feel. Mmm. And that's not fair. I just can't wait for you to be able to be a part of what's going on. It will bring us even closer than we already are. (SOFTLY) Yes. (BOTH LAUGH) Oh! It's a good thing. (SOBS) Yeah, it was amazing. Something as little as a free hearing check can make a big difference. 1 I'm really confused at this stage. I wish I could hone in on one of the ingredients. So I'm thinking, as a mom, "What would my son wanna eat?" And I know he loves... He loves it when I make noodles. So I want to make handmade noodles, the ones that my son loves, and think of something great to do with it after. Hi, Theresa. Hi, Billie. How are you? You know, I don't know. I think you know how I feel, maybe. Oh, I do, I do. I can see it. Yes, I've got things roasting, and I'm hoping I can pan-sear the duck. And my hope is to make some Asian noodles, which I'm gonna do now, and try to use the ingredients well enough. I've got shaved beetroot and fennel roasting so it caramelises, and I'm hoping I can, um... I don't know. So, you wanna make noodles, you wanna break down the duck, you wanna cook the duck. Do you know how long the duck's gonna take to cook? I'd better get on to it. So, I'm just... That'll be real quick. Real quick. OK. So, I'm going to make the noodles, and so I have a lot to do, and I think timing, for me, um, is an issue. Ah! (LAUGHS) Is it, like, going everywhere? Yeah, I'm making a mess of it here. I'm making a roti canai using Malaysian-inspired techniques. Yeah. See how we go. Ideas start wandering through my head of, you know, how I can make my dish stand out today. I've done raw pickled beetroot before. I really like it, I like the crunchy texture. I've used it before in a couple of little salads with goat's cheese. It works really well. I'm not sure if it's gonna work with the duck and fennel mash, but I'm gonna give it my best shot. Smells nice here, actually. Also a little bit of poached duck in the ginger wine. Some great stuff going on now. Love the idea of... That smells delicious. Good luck, bro. Cheers, bro, same to you, mate. This is the first challenge, so it's really important to come out strong. I'm thinking pasta cos it's my go-to dish. It looks nice. It feels nice. I wrap it, put it in the fridge, let it rest. I've got plenty of time, so I'm trying to take things slowly and plan out all my steps. My name's Ashley. I work in sales, and I'm from Perth. I'm not passionate about sales. I don't think anyone's passionate about sales. I wanna work in a kitchen. I wanna be a chef, I wanna make food. What are you making? What am I making? I'm making a ravioli with fennel and mushroom. Beetroot sauce and a bit of crispy duck on top of it. Ravioli ` love that, it's a great idea. But I think a few people are making ravioli, so it needs to be... Hopefully I'm a little bit better than theirs. So, why's it gonna be better? Let's hope. Because it's made by me. (CHUCKLES) And it's just a better dish. That's a good start. Good luck, Ashley. The elements that I'm putting together work well together, and I know 75 minutes is plenty of time for what I wanna do. You do not wanna be in that bottom three. 45 minutes to go. Come on! (CLAPPING) Mmm. That is the best thing I've done today. Time is just, like, buzzing by. Wow. Time is just going, isn't it? I've put my parfait in the blast chiller to chill at least for 20 minutes. And then I'm working on my crumble, and I still have to do the sago pudding. Um,... I'll be able to do it in time. It's the first cook in the MasterChef kitchen today, and I really wanna impress the judges. I love to create new dishes, and I love to experiment around with new flavours. So, I'm looking at the tea, I'm looking at the duck, and I think I can create something really inventive with these. That's what we wanna see, a bit of pace in the kitchen. You've got your duck on. Well, this is my duck fat, um, cornflake crumb. Ooh! So, tea-smoked duck breast. And then hopefully a crumb with some duck fat and cornflakes with a confit of fennel. Is that gonna pass muster at The Fat Duck? That looks pretty good. Looks pretty good. Very nice. Well done. Yeah. Thanks. (GIGGLES) How much do you not wanna be in that first elimination? I don't wanna be in that elimination at all. I wanna make something so amazing and just prove to myself that I deserve to be here. I like it. The butchery looking good. I like the sound of the dish. Me too. Thank you. Thanks. Three places in tomorrow's elimination. Don't let it be you. 20 minutes to go! (CLAPPING) 20 minutes to go, I still haven't come up with my special element. But at least I've got the vegetables in the oven, I've got my duck breast in the oven. Would you like to have a quick look? Yeah. Why not, Jimmy? I'm just leaving that to go down. Hang on. Come here, come here, come here. Oh gosh. Look at the steam coming off that. Too much? Touch it. What do you think? Where's all that moisture coming from? The duck. That there? Big trouble. Big trouble. I'm thinking, "Oh no." To serve duck that's overcooked is a potential disaster, putting me down to the bottom three. So I've just chosen to not use that one. I need to take that second breast off that duck. I have to make sure that it's not overcooked, cos I have no more chances. That's way better. My second duck breast is looking much better. But I still need to figure out the new element that's really going to impress Billie and the judges. Well, this is where it all comes together or falls apart. 15 minutes to go! Come on, guys. (CLAPPING) Oh! Oh, don't do that! Don't do... Here... Do you need this? No. Why don't you put that over...? Oh! There's a hole. I'll start again. It was looking really really good then. Nerves. Nerves like that. We're gonna walk away, cos the moment we do, you'll nail it, and you're gonna be a superstar hero, OK? So, Billie, pulse rate right now ` are you empathising? Oh, yeah, I feel really sorry for them all, actually. What about your favourites? Oh, the tea creme brulee,... Yep. ...which sounds really good. That was Karmen. And she's serving it with... ...ginger wine sorbet. Yep. Yeah. Yum. And also Nidhi, she's doing a parfait infused with tea, which sounds delicious. I'm a little bit worried about Theresa. She's got a few things roasting in the oven. I'm worried... Nice noodles. Thank you. Thanks. So, I've got my noodles ready to cook, but I'm a little confused what to put with it. So, I know beetroot's beautiful, and I know the fennel's beautiful, and I'm thinking, "Cook the duck and hope I do that right. "And to try to make a broth." Like, with the ingredients that I have, it's not what I would use. And, um, not having onions and things to make a stock is difficult, so I'm going to try anyway. So, I'm not sure if it's going to work, but I want something to serve with my noodles. My fingers are crossed. So... I really wanna smash it today, so I want to add a new element. Cornflakes. So, I'm looking at these cornflakes, and I think, "Billie loves 'em. I love 'em." I've got this special thing in my mind ` a stuffed mushroom with cornflakes. I've got this wonderful pool of duck fat in my pan, and with the cornflakes going in, I know it's gonna be pretty amazing. I'm on track. I've just gotta smoke my duck breast. Finish off my puree and vinaigrette, and then I'm all good. I think I've got just enough time. Should be right. Hi, Trav. Hi. How you going? Good. How are you? Good, thanks. Cool. What are you making? Just a duck ` pan-fried duck, rare-finished in the oven. Um, and a beetroot and pickled fennel salad with ricotta. So you're making your own ricotta? Yep. Lovely. Another little Billie homage there. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's a nice touch. Good luck. Thanks, guys. It's great that Billie likes the sound of my ricotta. I'm on the right track. I'm gonna move on to my duck now. Once it's out of the pan, it only needs a few minutes in the oven. I'm confident that I can nail it. 10 minutes to go! You've gotta be thinking about plating-up. You've gotta be thinking about tasting, adjusting, making it spectacular. 10 minutes to do it. Come on, guys! (GASPING) How'd that happen? There's something beautiful about sitting there brulee-ing. Yeah. I love that as it starts to melt, tinge with that colour, you know you're building up a nice crispy top. She's not listening. She's watching the sugar. Just don't wanna burn it. OK. JIMMY: How are you going, Ashley? Oh, way behind. OK. I thought at the beginning I had a lot of time, so I was taking my time, making sure everything was good. Uh, big mistake on my behalf. I don't have my sauce being reduced. I don't have my ravioli rolled. I'm running out of time, so I get my pasta dough out of the fridge. It's well-rested. I start rolling my dough. Something's wrong. My pasta isn't rolling like it should be. I've made pasta so many times. I don't know why my dough's not working now. I'm absolutely falling apart. To come here, I've left my job and family behind. I'm here to change my life. But I'm feeling like everything's slipping away. I need to get at least a sheet rolled. I'm now getting quite nervous, because I'm not gonna have enough time to get my dish up. 1 I'm running out of time. My pasta isn't rolling like it should be. I don't have my sauce being reduced. I don't have my ravioli rolled. I need to get at least a sheet rolled, so I can get my filling in there. I decide to change pasta rollers. Hopefully this will fix it. Check! Adjust! Season! Adjust! Make better! Put it on a plate! Let's go. Five minutes. Come on. (CLAPPING) Under pressure. Under the pump. I'm pretty happy at this point. I've done my crispy duck. I've got my fennel mash and my pickled beetroot. I wanna taste the beetroot pickle, so I grab a spoonful, and I put it in my mouth. (COUGHS) And I'm absolutely annihilated. Oh whoops. The flavour's really sharp, but there's not enough time to change it, and I'm thinking, "Maybe I should've done a dessert." I'm not very good with handling stuff delicately. But I want to make Billie proud, so I'm thinking to layer it up, so that there's lots of crunchiness and creaminess, and the jelly in it, so that when the judges have it, it's just, like, bursting up everything in their mouth. I'm really happy with how the ricotta's turned out, and the duck breast is cooked perfectly, so, yeah, I'm really happy. My tart! Remember, if it's not on the plate, we can't taste it. Two minutes to go! I've got the duck in a rectangle. I decide to put a circular beetroot and crumb layer around, and I think it looks really pretty. I open up the oven. It smells amazing. My mushroom is looking pretty good. I'm happy with it. So, I've got my plate and I'm making sure that I'm gonna plate this up as beautiful as I know I can. (GASPS) I don't have the... Oh, goodness. There's only minutes left on the clock, and then I realise that, "Oh, my goodness, I have to strain the broth "and I have to get a sieve." I can't see, I'm so short. Thank you. No worries. I can't see the stuff on the shelf. Argh! I totally forgot about grabbing a sieve. And then all of a sudden I realise, "Oh, my goodness, there's no more minutes left." One minute to go! Louder! Oh! Louder. Ash has gotta hear at the back of the room. One minute to go! (CLAPPING AND CHEERING) That felt good. I'm looking at the elements that I'm putting together, and now I know I'm in trouble. I... Frantic, I throw ravioli into the sauce, hoping that they cook a little bit. This is it. 10 seconds. ALL: Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Time is up. Well done, guys. (APPLAUSE) (SIGHS) Yay! Aw. Well done, guys. (CHUCKLES) That was the fastest three minutes ever. Nice. Did you make that? The ricotta? Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Time's up, and I am just relieved. I love the way that my plate's looking. The duck looks great. The mushroom looks perfect. This is what it's all about. I feel pretty excited to have finished a cook in the MasterChef kitchen. I'm happy with the combination of flavours in my dish. I'm just hoping the judges enjoy it too. My dish is not a dish worthy of even presenting to the judges. I am quite dev... I'm destroyed. Cos I cook pasta, I make pasta ` I know how to make pasta. And what the hell did I do here? What an absolutely cracking challenge, cracking day! You've got Billie McKay in the kitchen, and she set you a beautiful mystery box, and you had 75 minutes to cook a delicious dish. Today was all about cooking your way to safety. So,... first up ` Nidhi. (APPLAUSE) I'm taking my food to the judges, and I'm feeling a bit nervous. But my heart was saying, "Don't worry, girl. Your flavours are good." I hope they like it. Nidhi, in 10 words or less, tell us what your dish is. (CHUCKLES) (LAUGHTER) (CHUCKLES) OK. Tea-infused parfait with ginger and cornflake crumble, sago pudding and cornflakes praline. Wow. It was more than 10 words, but I didn't expect you to get it out in 10 words. Let's have a look. OK. And some food just in its kind of... sheer childlike joy that makes you smile, and for me this is one of those dishes. I love it. (CHUCKLES) It's so refreshing. The tea is really refreshing. And while it's sweet, you could... Well, I could keep eating it. Yeah. Really nice, and millions of textures which is fun, I like it. Hmm. Mmm. Ooh. Yes, that is gorgeous. You are right. Get away! No, no. no, the guest. It's gotta be for the guest. Let the guest have some more of that. I would really like some more. This is really exciting, and putting something up like this for your first dish is great. Thank you. Thanks a lot. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Everybody loved it, all the judges, including Billie. I can't believe that I'm getting so much positive comments from the person I admire. I'm just on cloud nine. I can't believe it. Jimmy, you're next. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Walking up to the judges with my dish, I'm really happy with the roasted mushroom. I love the way that my plate's looking. I know these flavours are gonna work. Wow. What's the dish, Jimmy? The dish is a pan-seared duck with a light dressing of the ginger wine. I've got roasted beetroot and fennel and a stuffed mushroom. We just wanna have a little look, cos it looks beautiful. That's... That's spectacular. How good does that look? Oh, first dish plating like that ` that's really exciting. (LAUGHTER) George,... leave some. (CHUCKLES) I have to agree, it looks beautiful. Thank you. Oh! Mmm. (GIGGLES) Cornflakes and duck fat. Inspiring. I mean, you know, you think of that stuffed mushroom and go, "Ooh gosh", you know? But you've made it really cool and tasty. I think you've done really well with everything on there, you've pulled flavour out of everything. Well done, Jimmy. Boys? We are so excited to taste this one. Huh? You know I really don't like stuffed mushrooms, so this is gonna be interesting. No one's ever stuffed them for you before with... Yeah, exactly. Jimmy, if you're cooking like this, day one,... where are we gonna go? I believe that the young kids say today is, 'Oh, snap.' (LAUGHTER) (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Thank you. Good job. So proud of you, Jim. I'm really proud of you. Elena. A ricotta and mushroom tart, and a beetroot salad. It's a really seductive dish. Filling's banded together the mushroom, that silkiness. Well done. Great first cook. Thank you. Really nice. Next up, Cecilia. I made a roti canai, crispy duck and some pickled veggies. Really like the bread. I think the roti's really nice. The roti ` brilliant. Use it again. Matt, you're next. A crispy skinned duck breast with a fennel puree, roasted mushrooms and a beetroot and ginger wine caramel. You gotta be really careful with bright-red colours, because it looks like it's swimming in blood, which is a pity because that caramel is absolutely delicious. Karmen, you're next. I've made a milk tea creme brulee, ginger wine sorbet with a beetroot twirl. I love it. It's like having a really strong cup of tea, but then you put a sugar in it and it's nice, and that's the ginger sorbet. So I think it's really smart. Chloe, you're next. It's a roasted fennel and beetroot tart with a fennel oil ice cream. There's something here really, really special, and if this is your cooking from day one, Chloe, we're on our way. Ashley, you're next. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) As I'm walking my plate to the judges, all I can think about is, uh, dropping the plate, get rid of the food. I can't even think of nice words to say about my dish, so I don't know what the hell the judges are gonna say. 1 Ashley, you're next. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) As I'm walking my plate to the judges, I can't even think of nice words to say about my dish, so I don't know what the hell the judges are gonna say. Ashley, what have you cooked? Uh, ravioli with a fennel and mushroom mousse, pan-fried duck breast. And then beetroot sauce. You pleased? No! Definitely not. Definitely not. I thought I had plenty of time, and I did, and, yeah, it snuck up on me, and... plating in the last five seconds isn't good. No. (CHUCKLES) It doesn't look appetising. I know. I know. Sort of slightly scaring me. I'll commend you on the thinness of the ravioli dough. But everything else... Yep. ...it's an absolute let-down. Yep. (APPLAUSE) I feel like I've embarrassed myself with this dish, not only to the contestants and the judges, but to myself and my family. Day one in the MasterChef kitchen, this is not what I wanna be putting up, and this isn't where I wanna be. Next up, Trent. (APPLAUSE) I'm really happy with my dish. It's something that I'd make back at home. I think I've done the ingredients justice, and I really hope Billie thinks so too. Right. Ooh. Mmm. Interesting. What have you cooked, Trent? Uh, it's a duck breast with a beetroot and pickled fennel salad with ricotta, and a duck and ginger jus. Wow. So, you made the ricotta? Yep. I'm quite impressed. Yeah, it's the nicest-looking dish I think I've seen today. OK, thanks. Well done. Hey! That's a compliment. Pop some sauce on the plate, let's have a look at it. See if it tastes as good as it looks, huh? You know what, Trent? It looks beautiful, you've cooked the duck perfectly, like, it is... You've nailed that. You've surprised me. The texture on that ricotta is just absolutely gorgeous,... Beautiful. ...soft and delicious, I love it. I love it. Yeah, the sauce is really nice too. And the ricotta, I think that brings it all together. So that's lovely. The fact that it surprises us, first cook-in ` cracking. Good work. Thanks very much. I appreciate it. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) I'm really stoked Billie and the judges loved my dish. Feels great to have done so well in my first cook. Right, Charlie, your turn. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) I'm hoping the judges like the textures of my dish. I've got the creamy mash, the crunch of the beetroot and just that crispy-skin duck. Pretty simple dish, but I'm just hoping it's enough to get me through. Mmm-mmm-mmm. What's the dish? It's crispy duck with fennel mash and pickled beetroot. I love the way you've cut it. Odds are always better than evens. These little wedges of beetroot look beautiful. Um, let's see how it eats. All right. Mmm. I find the, um... That fennel mash is beautiful and I think it's a really nice idea ` those little kind of succulent bits of fennel bulb in there are beautiful ` but I find the, um... I find the rawness of the beetroot a problem against that mash. You got two... Vegetables can be salad-y or they can be wintry. One, the beetroot, is kind of hard and crisp and summery, and the other, the fennel, is yielding and beautiful. So... Yeah, and I'm not a big fan of that combination. Yep. Um,... the duck, you know,... probably a little bit too long in the pan. OK. My concern is that you've not done a lot, you've got some flaws, and in this present company, that's a potential invitation to the elimination tomorrow. All right. I'm really disappointed to get that feedback on my first cook. If I get a choice next time, I'm gonna play to my strengths and cook a dessert. GEORGE: Harry, you're next. So, I've done a pan-seared duck breast with roast fennel and beets and a duck and ginger wine jus. Love, love, love those beetroot and fennel. They're cooked beautifully. Thank you. Zoe, your turn. I've made duck with a fennel puree, pickled beetroot and a duck jus. Those petals of beetroot look beautiful, but duck, um, slightly overcooked. Miles. It's a duck and fennel tart. Is there pepper in that beetroot? Yeah. (COUGHS) Man. A little bit too peppery. Here's a spoon. Taste, taste and taste. I'll keep it close to my heart. I'm putting you in the, "I think you're in trouble a little bit." Theresa, you're next. You know, seeing my brother up there and hearing all that beautiful praise, I'm so proud of him, but it also starts to hit home. (APPLAUSE) I look at my dish, and I'm even more worried now. What's the dish? The dish is pan-seared duck breast with fresh noodles and a broth made with beetroot and the ginger wine. Should I pour it? As I pour my broth, I've realised what a terrible,... terrible mistake I've made. It just looks awful. 1 Should I pour it? You OK? I am... I'm good. Sorry. (CHUCKLES) Those noodles look beautiful, and they are beautiful ` the noodles. But there's nothing else that I like about the dish. I mean, if you tossed that noodle in some butter, it would've been 10 times, 100 times better. I'm so sorry to say that. That's OK. You have to take risks in the kitchen to get ahead, and they pay off sometimes. And sometimes I guess you just learn from them, so this is probably one of those times. I appreciate it. Thank you. Thanks. (APPLAUSE) I'm feeling, um, disappointed in myself. I know I can do better. But I agree with what they said. I still hold on and hope that maybe my noodles are a saving grace to me and they'll just get me over the line. It looks terrible. I totally... I totally know. Mimi, your turn. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) I'm happy with my dish. I think that my flavours and techniques really worked today. I'm just hoping the judges enjoy it too. Hey. Oh. (CHUCKLES) What's the dish? So, it's a tea-smoked duck with a confit of fennel, a cornflake and duck fat crumb, some beetroot stalk. And the sauce is a ginger and tea sauce. Thank you. Did you just give a little shiver? Was that a shiver of pleasure? (CHUCKLES) It's pretty good. (CHUCKLES) Oh. Ooh yeah. I wasn't expecting to see food as good as we've seen so far today. But that's really special. I absolutely love that. Yeah, it's perfect. I love the... The smokiness on the duck breast is really nice, and the skin's crispy and salty. You boys are gonna love this. Yeah. Thank you. It looks great. Oh yeah. See, I made a promise to myself, "Don't eat too much of the dishes, Gaz." It's just gone out the window already. Best dish of the day for me. Oh! Thank you. Well done, Mimi. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) I'm a bit blown away. I never thought that I would be able to do this. And to do this on the first day in the kitchen is just even better. Well, now you know for sure that this is one tough competition. You've set ` I think we've all gotta say ` an incredibly high standard with your first cook. There were some really outstanding dishes. Three of you have burst out of the blocks, waving a flag, going, "Look at me, look at me, look at me." So, take a great big pat on the back. Jimmy, amazing, great stuff. Mimi. Wow, George's dish of the day. Well done. The third dish that impressed us... Nidhi. (SQUEALS) (LAUGHTER) Oh, just delicious. Please bring us more stuff like that. It was great. Thank you. Well done, you three. And also a special mention for Trent. Great-looking dish, some great cooking there. Well done. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) But today, as much as we love celebrating the successes, today was about something different ` it was about identifying the three least-impressive dishes, and for the makers of those dishes, you'll find yourself in tomorrow's elimination. Unfortunately from there, one person will be going home. If I call your name, please step forward. Ashley. Charlie. The third contestant in tomorrow's elimination is... Theresa. You know what? Each of you struggled. You know where you went wrong. And mistakes happen in this kitchen. But the key is not to make them again. Tomorrow one of you is going home. Billie, thank you so much for coming in today, setting that mystery box. Can I say, from the three of us, we are so proud of you. You are the perfect ambassador for MasterChef. I mean, you're working in one of the best restaurants in the world, you're achieving your goals and your dreams, but you make us so proud, thank you. Oh, thank you. Thanks for having me. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Go home, get some rest, and we'll see you tomorrow. See you, guys. Well done today. Good job. To see Theresa in this position is heartbreaking, it's a bittersweet moment. No, it's OK. It's OK. I just hope she gets through this. Just... You know, I just want her to be here with me. ANNOUNCER: Next time ` it's a game of chance. You gotta pick a cloche. Which one they choose... This one. ...and what lies beneath could come back to haunt them, as they face one of the most pressure-filled hours of their lives. No, no, stop, stop. CONTESTANTS: Oh! I'm in panic mode now. Someone WILL be going home. Don't let it be you. Their future in the competition hangs in the balance. Beautiful, it's fresh. That is yum. Who will be the first to leave the MasterChef kitchen? I'm concerned about that. Captions by Ericsson Access Services. www.able.co.nz