ANNOUNCER: Previously on MasterChef Australia ` Charlie, Theresa and Ashley were the first to face elimination. Ah! Someone will be going home. The pressure was intense. Come on, guys. But it was Ashley who stumbled at the finish line... The outside of the ravioli is very tough. ..and paid the ultimate price. It's disappointing to be the first person eliminated, but I've got so much more to learn. Tonight, the godfather of modern cooking... Marco Pierre White. ..is back... ..and ready to whip them into shape. There's no excuse to not create a great dish. I'm terrified! They'll have to cook under the intense scrutiny of this world-famous, three-Michelin-star chef. You can't read the guy, I tell you. He'll be disarming... Apart from a mess, what are you making? Uh... ..and charming. He's really a soft and a very beautiful person. But when it comes to the crunch... This is beautiful. ..it's all about the food. Bang - I get that big explosion. And one contestant will serve up a dish that will take Marco's breath away. This, without question, is the greatest dessert I've ever eaten in MasterChef. The grand prize for the winner of the country's biggest cooking competition - a monthly column in Australia's leading premium food magazine, Delicious, $250,000 to kick-start their food dream and the title of Australia's next MasterChef. 'MASTERCHEF THEME' DRAMATIC MUSIC Hey. Always excited, buddy. Let's do it. I really need to impress the judges this week. I had a shocker last week, fell into elimination. I was lucky to kind of scrape through. It would be great to put my foot down and chalk up a win today and show people that, you know, I'm not here just to sail through the bottom of the pack. So nervous. Let's get inside. Oh! Wow. Mystery box. Oh, my goodness. Here they are. We can see mystery boxes on benches, but the boys have called us straight up to the front. Come on, come on, come on. Hustle, hustle, hustle. So I'm getting a bit of a feeling something big is going to go down. We have a massive week planned for you guys. And today... Ho-ho-ho-ho! ..sends shivers down my spine. What?! Oh, no. We love our mystery boxes. Eight ingredients, so simple. But... ..the best mystery boxes... ..are also devilish in their simplicity. And, boy, oh, boy, have we got a devilish mystery box for you. Oh, can I go home now? (LAUGHS) Devilish because... ..it's been picked... ..by the devil in the kitchen himself... ..Marco Pierre White! Oh, my gosh! It's bloody Marco. You know, it's... I'm terrified! How are you? Good. CECILIA: Oh, my goodness. I'm cooking for Marco. He's really here. Like, he's really here. Hello, Charlie. I'm glad you've got your names on your jacket. I'm watching him walk up the line shaking peoples hands and I'm thinking, 'Oh, please shake mine, please shake mine.' And then it happened. Hello, Matt. It's one of those things you're never, ever, ever going to forget. Nicolette. Hi. How are you? GARY: Look at that. Nice. I'm... You should save those tears for another day. (OTHERS LAUGH) God bless. A nice reaction, wasn't it? Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Well, Marco, welcome back to the MasterChef kitchen. You're a regular here. We love having you. These guys are about to face the mystery box. Give them some advice. Give them some of your wisdom. You want some advice? Keep it simple. Don't overwork it. Don't be over-ambitious. When I was a young man, I was never ambitious. Why? Because I didn't have the confidence to be ambitious. I was motivated by my dreams, ruled by my fears - my fears of not being good enough. That's the truth. And the truth is I'm still that same boy... ..as I was all those years ago. I'm still motivated by my dreams, I'm still ruled by my fears. My fears that what I put on the plate... ..is not good enough. If you're going to win MasterChef Australia 2016... ..then you have to be honest. Honest with yourself. Honest with what you put on the plate. That is my advice if you want to win. One simple question. Hands up, who wants to win? Good luck. There's some really, really, really good news. And that is Marco is with us all week. NIDHI: Yes. I was excited because he's a food legend and I idolise him a lot. So, yeah, I'm quite happy with that. I hope you'll be clapping at the end of it. Um... LAUGHTER For now, it's all about that mystery box. NATHANIEL: So, Marco set the mystery box today. I really don't know what to expect, to tell you the truth. I think there's going to be classical French ingredients under there. Keeping it honest means that I need to cook something that I love and I know how to cook well. I just hope there's something under the mystery box that I can do that with. You can lift the lids... ..now. Whoo-hoo! CHARLIE: So, in Marco's mystery box today, we've got chicken, potatoes, bacon, lemon, parsley, honey and cinnamon. Straight away, I am quite excited because I think there's definitely something I can work with. The mystery box has been designed to help you, not to confuse you. I have selected the ingredients for their versatility. There's no excuse to not create a great dish. The rules are pretty simple, guys. 75 minutes to create one delicious dish using at least one of the ingredients from that mystery box. You've got all the usual staples under your bench. Sugar, flour, butter, eggs, vinegar, cream, milk. Now, listen up. We're only tasting five of the most appealing dishes. Not only do you need to impress us, but more importantly, impress Marco Pierre White. Cook the best dish today and you get that all-important advantage in the invention test. Good luck, everybody. Your 75 minutes starts now. I don't even know what I'm cooking. Great mystery box. Really happy because it is simple, it can be confusing, but if they're clever, they can put up a lovely dish. The biggest complication is which ingredients do we use. Yeah. The box is so versatile. Look at all those combinations. Cinnamon and lemon, parsley and chicken, honey-roast chicken. I mean, the list is endless. Today I'm doing a potato gnocchi served up with a nice little chicken jus, some crispy bacon, crispy chicken skin and a little bit of fresh parsley to finish it. My decision to make gnocchi and jus, two huge classics, and then to be putting them to a man like Marco, the king of classic dishes... Yeah, big risk. Big risk, for sure. Got my sauce started, which is my main concern at this point. Obviously I want to get as much flavour as possible in there. I taste the jus one after another, one after another to make sure that it's on track. There's a good flavour profile in there. And... (LAUGHS) ..lo and behold... ..Mr Pierre White approached my bench... Alright, Matt? Yeah, mate. ..tastes my jus... ..just gives me that classic glare. Now I'm just hoping that he's happy with it. I want to use the chicken. I love cooking with chicken. I think I'm going to do a stuffed chicken leg. Yeah, I think I am going to go the savoury route and do a parsley chicken. Now, Charlie, looking at what you've got out, you're going dessert. Yes. Yeah, I am. I'm going to try play to my strengths today and go for a sweet option. Looking round you, how many desserts do you think are out there? Not too many, I think. A lot of people might go for the chook today. I reckon 3 out of 23 are doing dessert, the rest are doing chicken. That's a great way of standing out. What's the dessert? I'm going to do a honey semifreddo with a lemon crumb. A honey semifreddo? Do you think it will set in 75 minutes? I think so. I've got the blast chiller there, so I'm hoping that can be my best friend today. Your saving grace. Yes. Good luck. Thank you very much. Thank you. I'm really nervous today. You know, I've got a lot to prove. I had quite a shocker last week. I really want to redeem myself, but it just means I've got to work that much harder today. I'm feeling pretty confident. I've made the semifreddo a couple of times, but it's just getting it all done in the amount of time which is going to be a stretch. So, we'll see how we go. I want my semifreddo to have as much time in the blast chiller as possible, so I've got to make sure I bang that out of the way early so it's got enough time to set. I just heard what you're making. Huh? We're doing the same thing. Are we? Yeah. Yep - today I'm making a honey semifreddo too. A semifreddo-off, hey? I'll win. Game on. But I'm pairing mine with a lemon syrup cake, which I'm hoping will impress the judges. I've done really well in the competition so far. I was tasted on my last mystery box and I'm hoping to be tasted on this mystery box as well. GARY: Absolutely no pressure. Marco Pierre White is in the kitchen. Just cook something delicious. One hour to go! Come on! Come on. My bad. (LAUGHS) I don't know what to cook! Uh... I don't know what I'm cooking. I'm really struggling to focus right now. Oh, wow. I'm thinking savoury and then I'm thinking sweet. I just need to start. I really need to start. Oh, gosh. The ingredients have thrown me today. I feel so much pressure to perform right now. And on top of that... ..I miss my kids. I've never been away from Ella and Nathan this long. I feel heavy-hearted while I'm trying to think of what to cook today. I really don't know what I'm cooking. GARY: Looks a bit lost, doesn't she? GEORGE: Yeah. Cecilia. Hi. How you going? I don't know what I'm making. I'm thinking a tart with pastry cream, or a lemon tart. I'm in a terrible place. Well, I'm thinking if you're doing a tart, pastry's made, is it? No. The pastry would be made, resting, almost ready to go in the oven if I was doing a tart. 'Cause now you've got under an hour. I'm really stressed right now because I really can't make a decision. You need to hone in on the idea. Just make sure you've got enough time to do it. Yeah. Because you'll run out of time. I've got to come up with a clear dish right now, or I'm not going to have any dish at all. 1 Cecilia, you need to hone in on the idea. Just make sure you've got enough time to do it. Yep. There's an hour to go in Marco Pierre White's mystery box. Ooh! I still don't know what to cook! I've got to make up my mind quick because I'm running out of time, but... ..I'm really struggling to focus. I cook because of my kids. And not having them here is a bit difficult. Open it. Like a Kinder Surprise. Being in a kitchen with Nathan and Ella is really cool. We can create something together and then eat it together. And it's 'us' time, so I love it. I'm thinking Marco Pierre White said keep it simple, cook honestly. Lemon curd. I look at the ingredients and I see a lemon and it really reminds me of my daughter, Ella - her favourite colour. So, I'm going to put what I'm thinking about on the plate and I miss my Ella, so I'm making things that remind me of her. OK. Ella likes to eat lemon curd with really sugary things, so I decide to make a butterscotch ice-cream. I know ice-cream takes a while, so I'm going to start with that. I'm going to burn the butter to make sure it's really nice and dark and just a little bit bitter. I think the judges will like that. I just hope that I haven't left the ice-cream too late and the ice-cream sets in time. MATT: Honesty, simplicity, flavour. That is the recipe for success today. You've got 45 minutes left. Again! Every time. MILES: It's pretty overwhelming, being in a kitchen with Marco. He's a larger-than-life figure, I think. It's nerve-racking having him around 'cause you can't read the guy, I tell you. How was the texture of the ricotta? You know the answer. Don't ask me to confirm what you already know. Start again. NIDHI: Today I'll be making pepper lemon cream chicken with a flaky paratha and potato crisps. Getting my food tasted by Marco was one of my dreams. I've always told my husband that I really want to present Marco with a fiercely Indian curry which has lots of love, just made for him. Looks good, Nidhi. It smells good? Really good. So, I hope Marco tastes my dish. I've crossed my fingers and my toes. (LAUGHS) Oh, my God. The legend is there, in front of my eyes. You understand spices very well. My dad taught me. There's a very gentle warmth. Really clever. Thank you. His personality, it melts you. He's like a coconut that he's hard from outside, but inside... ..he's really a soft and a very beautiful person. You know what, Marco? I love you a lot. I love you too. I was like, 'Oh, my God. My love story is complete.' Guys, just a little reminder - we're only tasting five dishes. Make them stand out. 30 minutes to go. Come on. Come on! CHARLIE: So far, I've only got honey semifreddo with a lemon crumb and at this point, I'm concerned that I might not be doing enough. I had a bit of a nightmare last week and I felt like I didn't belong in this competition. I want to be in that top five today. In order to get tasted, I need to put something on a plate that is going to catch the judges' eye. I think I need to try and get a little sauce in there. I might make a honey-lemon caramel. This dish needs a sauce, it needs something kind of warm and syrupy that will tie the whole dish together. I'm hoping that it comes to some sort of workable consistency. Cooks! 15 minutes remaining. MATT: Come on, guys. Let's go! Time, it's killing me. I'm starting to sweat, for sure. I've still got a lot to do. I've got my breadcrumbs in the oven, check on the chicken skin, make sure it's nice and crispy, and then I've got to nail the sauce and I've just started making gnocchi. Hello, Matt. Hello, Marco. How's it going? Not too bad. A little bit worried. You should be. I just really need to start hammering, put it all together and just try to make sure I nail everything. Could be close. It's alright. I'm pushing. Pffff! I just...I just want to finish strong. Get your gas right and then turn them individually. Then you don't create inconsistency, like this. Yep. Remember, fingers are for burning. Yes, sir! Be in touch with your food. There you are. Use your tongs if you prefer them. It's... It's so hot in that pan! But there's no way in the world that I'm going to wuss out and start pulling away. It's like, 'Mate, if you're in, I'm in.' Fingers will heal. Ah! That's something I was never, ever going to pass up. Can I just say, this is probably the greatest day of my life? CECILIA: Not many minutes left to go on the clock. Oh, gosh. And I'm really stressed. My butterscotch ice-cream is in the blast chiller and I really hope it sets in time. And I've got the lemon curd and I'm trying to think, 'What else can I make with this?' I'm doing what I can right now just to get things going and see what happens. I'm thinking, 'Well, there's eggwhites there, 'so I can make a meringue.' I've made it a million times. I can use it in many different ways. So, I pipe the meringue into long little sticks. For biscuity component, I'm going to make a tuile. Another element I can make really quickly is spun sugar. I make it all the time with Ella at home. I'm doing lots of bits and pieces that I think go well together, and I hope they really do. Cooks, three minutes ago! It's time to dress. Come on! Sorry, dude. Yeah, it's cooked. I'm happy. Got to plate, got to plate. CHARLIE: I'm stoked with my semifreddo. And my sauce has turned out exactly how I wanted. All that's left now is the lemon crumb for crunch and the candied lemon, 'cause I know that works really well with honey. Ooh! Look at that. Yum. That looks great. What are they? These are syrup cakes. Yum! Ooh. I'm really happy with my semifreddo and my cake, but I need to make it look impressive. I don't want to serve up a round cake and a round semifreddo. So, in the last minute, I make a decision and I cut up the cake. One minute to go! Come on! Serious? Push! Push! This is really super-stressful. Remember, everything on the plate, 30 seconds to go. Come on. The meringue, the curd, the tuile, the spun sugar - everything is done. All I have to do now is get this ice-cream onto the plate and I'm done. I have to scoop it out, but... Oh! ..the ice-cream is quite soft. And as soon as I put it into that ball... ..it's melting. Oh, my gosh. It hasn't set properly. I feel devastated. 10 seconds to go! JUDGES: Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. That's it! Your time's up. Oh. Oh, darling. Mwah. Yeah, that was insane. That was nuts. I got everything on the plate that I wanted to get there. CHARLIE: To have Marco Pierre White taste my dish would be an absolutely amazing thing. So, yeah, I'm praying for it, but we'll just have to wait and see, I suppose. CECILIA: I feel so disappointed. I finally came up with an idea for Ella, but my ice cream is melted. I know it tastes good, so I'm just hoping that I can have the chance to get tasted today. 1 GARY: So, you had 75 minutes to cook a delicious dish out of a mystery box that Marco set, full of versatile ingredients. How can you possibly go wrong, really? We know some of you have, and that's OK. It's all part of the learning. The question is what strategy are you playing? Are you risking it because you know maybe there's not any consequences or are you pushing it because you want that advantage in the invention test? Now, remember we're only tasting five dishes. So, whose dish shall we taste first? Nidhi, up you come. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE NIDHI: For an ordinary person like me who gets a chance to cook for Marco, that's a...big achievement. And getting it tasted... GARY: Ooh, ooh, ooh. ..is a double achievement for me. Wow! Like the look of it. Thank you. What is it? Cream pepper chicken with flaky paratha and potato crisps. This is a very simple dish, but this is quite close to my heart. Why? I always do this dish when I'm not having a good day or something, and it's easy and it's flavourful and it's full of fat, so I like it. JUDGES LAUGH I like the idea of a dish that you make for yourself when you're not having a great day. That's...that's beautiful. Shall we taste it? (GARY CHUCKLES) MARCO: Nidhi... ..in 35 years... of being in this industry... ..I've never seen a dish look like that... ..taste so good. It's delicious. Thank you, Marco. The combination of chicken fat and that black pepper, which is beautifully balanced, and that little squeeze of lemon, sensational! The crisps... ..and a little bit of salt. Well done. Thank you. GEORGE: It...it nailed the brief and the brief was simplicity, tasty, yummy. That's... What more can we say? Thank you. Definitely have to have a run after that, that's for sure. GARY: (CHUCKLES) Good stuff. Well done, Nidhi. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Cooking for a legend - not everybody gets the chance. Good luck. Only I can say that...must be I've done something too good in life. GEORGE: Next... ..Matt. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE GARY: Hey, look at that. That is a bowl of crunch, isn't it? MATT: Yes. So, it's a pan-fried gnocchi with some toasted breadcrumbs, crispy bacon, chicken skin and a chicken and bacon jus. Can you leave a little bit of sauce in the jug for me... Yes. ..so I can taste it separately? Absolutely. Thank you. (CRUNCHES) Mmm! Just like eating a bowl of cereal, in a sense, isn't it? Savoury, chickeny, bacony cereal. (CHUCKLES) Genius! Nice! Matthew, I don't think that you realise how clever you are. To have created that intensity of flavour within your sauce within such a short time, with such few ingredients, highlights only one thing - genius within your hands. Very clever. Thank you. GEORGE: Well done, Matt. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE It's...it is, hands down, I'm gonna say probably the best day of my life. Yeah! Now...I know, I just recently got married, but, seriously, that's just out of control. Mimi, you're next. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE MIMI: I'm so happy to be called for tasting again. I'm just hoping that this quick decision I made to cut the cake really pays off. I've made a lemon syrup cake with a honey semifreddo and a honey bacon crumb. MARCO: I've gotta say, the sticky, sticky lemon pudding... Yeah. ..and the honey semifreddo, sensational! Had you just served those two components, and not chopped up your cake, then it would look 10 times better. Sometimes - and if you listen to the great man, he'll tell you... Yeah. ..and he did at the beginning of the challenge - simplicity is the key. And that's the kind of dessert you just want to see on a plate, turned out of the dish, don't do anything to it. OK. MARCO: Thank you. Thank you. GEORGE: Well done, Mimi. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE I have no idea why I cut the cake. I know that he's right. I should have listened and kept it simple. I should have left it whole. Why did I cut it up? Next up, Cecilia. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Oh, shit. WOMAN: Well done! I can't believe Marco Pierre White wants to taste my food. I mean, there's melted ice-cream there. But I think I did something right today. Seemed a little surprised that we called you. Yeah. You know, 'cause we picked it because it looks really pretty and the promise of that caramel ice-cream I think is a delicious proposition. It's sad that it melted. Thank you. GARY: What have you cooked? Oh, um, Ella's favourite sweet and sour dessert. So, it's, um, the butterscotch ice-cream with a sour lemon curd and lots of little crunchy bits. Did you say Ella's? Yeah. Is that your daughter? Yeah, my five-year-old. So, you're starting to think about your children and create desserts for your children. Yeah. Is that what you're doing? You said to be honest, and I'm thinking about my kids today. OK. That's fair enough. You'll miss them. Always. Shall we taste? So, what are these, here? They're like a... Tuile. ..crispy tuile - that is so thin. MATT: They're meringue, yeah? The batons. Yes. It's like the lightest lemon meringue pie in the world. (LAUGHS) Deconstructed. Really clever. And the butterscotch ice-cream, it's still delicious, even though it's melted. The meringue, the lemon, the spun sugar, the little tuile biscuits, you've done a fantastic job. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Cecilia. Alright. Good job. Bye-bye. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE NICOLETTE: Well done, Cecilia. The last dish we'd like to taste... ..belongs to Charlie. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE GARY: Charlie, he's happy. MARCO: Come on, Charlie. MATT: Gee, Charlie! From elimination last week to being tasted this week. Um, what's the dish? Uh, it is a honey semifreddo, lemon crumb, candied lemon and a lemon and honey caramel. Wow. CUTLERY SCRAPES (CLEARS THROAT) I've stood at this block many, many, many times. And I've eaten many desserts in the MasterChef kitchen. This, without question, is the greatest dessert I've ever eaten in MasterChef. GEORGE: Oh! CHEERING AND APPLAUSE If I went to a Michelin-starred restaurant today and ate that, I wouldn't question it. I'd more than likely ask for the recipe. It is delicious. The smoothness - the balance of honey and lemon, the crunch, all together, in one. Have the confidence to sprinkle it all over. Have that confidence - allow your fingers to create the design. Don't force it, make it. Sensational. Thank you. Thank you so much. GEORGE: I've got nothing to say, really. GARY: Yeah, I've got nothing to say either. How can you finish on that? That's amazing. Charlie, how does that feel, man? Really? It feels awesome. You know, to be at the bottom of the pack and kind of questioning everything after that first cook, um, and then to hear those words from Marco, is just...I... Yeah, honestly...I can't...I have nothing to say. It's just crazy. Thank you so much. Great stuff, Charlie. MARCO: Well done. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE CHARLIE: The feeling that I'm feeling today is absolutely on the other end of the spectrum from last week. It's amazing to go from such a low to such a high. Did that just...? Did that just happen, guys? LAUGHTER Those words will live with me forever and it's something that I'll always be able to fall back on and... Far out. ..and draw confidence from. MATT: I think we love tastings like that, more than anything, where we get just deliciousness - whether it's that crunchy bowl of chicken sunshine from you, Matt... Nidhi, whether it's that black pepper chicken you'd go back for, that makes your spirit soar... Cecilia, whether it's seeing that excellent technique or, Mimi, that sticky, sticky lemon pudding. But there can only be one winner and it has to be the dish that Marco describes as the best he's seen in the MasterChef kitchen when it comes to dessert, and that's Charlie's! CHEERING AND APPLAUSE CHARLIE: I...I feel like I'm dreaming. I... I could never have imagined that this would even happen, and... Well done. (SIGHS) ..it's just absolutely crazy. GARY: Charlie, congratulations. And because you've won the mystery box, you've got the advantage in the first invention test of the competition. So, with Marco in the kitchen, you know, for sure, it's gonna be a classic. Are you ready to find out? I am, yeah. Right. Come with us. I'm praying that there's sweets in there because if there are, I can really play to my strengths and, you know, cook another dessert and stay at the top of the pack. I'm just really hoping that it's something that I'm comfortable with and it's gonna actually give me a real advantage. GARY: Meat, meat, meat and... a few vegetables. CHARLIE: My heart sinks. I'm looking at this meat, and it's not a real advantage for me. I don't want to go from top to bottom. And I think I'm in trouble. 1 GARY: Meat, meat, meat and... a few vegetables. So, Charlie, I'll bet you were hoping there was gonna be something sweet... (LAUGHS) Yeah. ...inside the pantry. But it's not. Look at this. Today's invention test is that classic, Aussie, sit-down-to-dinner, meat and three veg. Now, because you won the mystery box, it means that you get to choose the ingredients that everyone else has to cook with. And in this case, one of these meats - so, you've got beef, you've got pork, you've got lamb - and three of these vegetables. Pumpkins, carrots, broccoli, onions, parsnips, potatoes and cabbage. If I was in your shoes, do you know what I would choose? Bones. Bones, bones, bones. Why? Because they don't scare me. They will scare most people because they don't know what to do with them. Secondly, they give you great flavour. That would be my advice to you. Bones. If you're not scared of them. Are you scared of bones? Uh, a little bit. Well, then, don't use bones. Yeah. (LAUGHS) Now I'm thinking do I confront my demons and work with the bones or do I go with a safer option? And then I'm also thinking, 'Which vegies can I work with?' CONTESTANTS EXCLAIM Ooh, what's goin' on? Not one cloche, but four. That's because today's invention test is all about Australia's most commonly cooked meal. Charlie? Today, we'll be cooking with... ..meat... GEORGE: And three veg. APPLAUSE GARY: So, Charlie chose lamb, parsnips, onions and carrots. MATT: I think the mere mention of meat and three veg and images start leaping into your head, don't they? You think of a big chunk of roast meat with sort of roast vegetables. But this is a...an invention test. We need to think about reinventing, redesigning that idea. Now, do you use the meat as a seasoning and hero the vegetables? I think that's probably where George would go. I'd probably go down the route of something Middle Eastern - parsnip puree, date puree, lamb rubbed with pomegranate molasses and cumin on the carrots. Why? Because I know that Marco loves cumin and he loves dates. If you bring us a top three dish, you go through to the first immunity challenge of the year. Stumble,... ..bring us something that's badly executed, shows weak technique or is unimaginative, you'll be in the bottom three and that means a pressure test tomorrow. And from the three of us, let us warn you that a pressure test with Marco is never a good place to be. So, you have 90 minutes... ..an open pantry... You must use lamb, parsnips, onion and carrots as a significant part of your dish. Got it? ALL: Yes! MARCO: Good luck, everybody. Your time starts now. Ooh! Aagh! GARY: Some good choices from Charlie, I reckon. They can choose any cut of lamb. Yeah, look, I'm looking at these... these vegetables here and I'm looking at that lamb, which you can extract so much flavour from...obviously the fat, and then those onions, in so many different varieties. I mean, you can obviously puree, pickle, roast. And then the parsnip, well, it's endless, really. Oh, sorry! I'm so sorry. GEORGE: At the end of the day, this is an invention test. Let's see how well they go. I got in the top five in mystery box. I'm pushing for the top. Absolutely. Parsley? Yeah, that's what I'm looking for too. I think I've got a great idea. I'm doing spiced lamb koftas with some yoghurt flatbreads, a carrot and parsnip hummus and some onion jam. Is there any lamb mince? A kofta is essentially spiced lamb mince that's rolled onto a skewer and then chargrilled. There's no lamb mince. You can mince it. Mince a shoulder. Yeah? Yeah. Just ask them for a mincer. I'm loving Trent's idea. I can still make these koftas. All I've got to do is hunt down a mincer and make that mince myself. I just put it through a mincer? TRENT: It'll work. Definitely. Good luck, love. Thanks, babe. Good luck. Pressure cooker, pressure cooker, pressure cooker. CON: I'm thinking, straight up, lamb two ways. Backstrap is really lean and rack doesn't take that long. So, I can leave the cooking of the lamb till last. Also, I'm gonna do some parsnip chips. I might use the onion to make a custard. And I feel that a really nice, sweet Pedro Ximenez sauce would really set it off. It's rich in flavour, it's sweet and it's beautiful. I did pretty well today, making a dish inspired by my daughter, Ella. So, this afternoon, for the invention test, I'm gonna do a dish thinking of my son, Nathan. I'm gonna cook a parsnip surprise. So, I'm gonna bake the parsnip. Then I'm gonna cut a hole, put the lamb and the rest of the vegetables inside. So, it's gonna be a fun dish for kids to open up and eat. So, it's always something inside something, so they can open it up, like a little present. Hopefully, it works. I'm worried about 'hopefully', because if you end up in the bottom three, you end up in a pressure test. Yep. So, I don't know how much I'd be chancing this one. You're not really sure how this little thing's gonna come together and there's a surprise within a surprise? The judges have warned me about this dish. But I'm gonna stick with it. I think I can make it work. I really miss my son Nathan and I just want him to know that I'm thinking of him. MARCO: Elena? ELENA: Thank you. Aaagh! ZOE: The judges mentioned the flavours that Marco really loves to eat. And I think I've got just the dish to impress him. Hey, Zoe. Hi. How you going? Good. How are you? Good. GARY: What are you actually cooking? So... Uh, so I'm doing a Middle Eastern spiced lamb... Yeah. ..with a smoked parsnip puree. Great. I put some tahini through it as well. Nice dish. But... Yeah, I think it's good. ZOE: The judges love the sound of my dish and the sooner I can get on to smoking the parsnip, the better. My dish has a lot of sweet elements, but I think the smoke will be the thing that balances it out. NIDHI: Having an Indian background, I was very excited to present the judges with Aussie classic in an Indian way. I'm using the lamb shanks now for the curry. I will be making a South-Indian-style lamb curry with onion-stuffed fried breads and carrot pudding. It's like grated carrot with lots of milk and everything, so there will be a dessert within the dish, yes. I'm very excited because I'm guessing that none of the other contestants will be thinking to make a dessert with these vegetables. You know the magic words - make...it...inventive! One hour to go! OTHER JUDGES: Come on! JUDGES APPLAUD MATT: Uh, so, today, I'm gonna do some spiced lamb koftas. I definitely think this is an inventive dish. There's no-one else out there that's mincing their own meat today. Ah! But there's just one problem with that. <BLEEP>. (LAUGHS) The machine kicked back. It's like... just jamming. It basically looks like the mince is just backing up and clogging and just pumping out fat mousse. (SIGHS) It's killing me. I'm... I'm starting to sweat for sure. This is not a part of the plan. I don't want to change my idea, cos I'm happy with it. But I'm gonna have to come up with a solution pretty quick... or it's... bottom three. 1 MATT: We've got 90 minutes to re-create the classic meat and three veg. But I've got a massive problem. It's just jamming. I'm trying to mince this meat for my lamb koftas but the machine is just backing up and it's pumping out this fat mousse. I've really got to start thinking outside the square and be able to use what I've got in front of me to put up a dish. If I use some of the fat that has been minced, dice up some leaner cuts of meat, and then combine them as a whole, it should give me a nice fat content, good flavour, and, hopefully, work. Now I just need to crack on, get the koftas rolled, and move on to my condiments. CHARLIE: My plan today is to make a strong, tasty jus, packed full of flavour, so I'm gonna use the bones because in the pantry, earlier, Marco told me that's what he would do. MARCO: Charlie... ..tell us your dish. Um, I'm doing a lamb backstrap and then I've got a nice parsnip puree coming along. But I've got my bones roasting away... Good. ..uh, in the oven, trying to get some colour on them for my little jus that I'm gonna make. Sounds sensible. I'm just gonna do what I can to get through because I don't want to end up in that pressure test. GARY: Meat and three veg! What could possibly go wrong? 30 minutes to go. Come on! JUDGES APPLAUD Oh, my... (WINCES) OLIVIA: The dish that I'm cooking today is a marinated lamb backstrap with honeyed carrots and a cumin and quinoa cracker. I really like the combination of honey, cumin and carrots. It's something I do at home. And I love cooking with quinoa. So, that's the building blocks to a great dish there. Yeah. I'd eat it. I know that Marco really likes cumin, so I'm hoping that the strong flavour of cumin in my crackers is really gonna make it stand out. NATHANIEL: I think creativity in this challenge is the most important part of the day. I want to separate myself from the pack. I am gonna reinvent shepherd's pie today. So, I'm gonna take my, um... My carrots are gonna be my... instead of my potato. I'm gonna do some smoked lamb. So, I'm really, really excited for this test. The idea of cooking shepherd's pie came from Mum. She knew that I didn't like carrot as a kid, so she'd always grate it into the shepherd's pie. Today, it's gonna be my hero. There's a lot to do. I just hope that I can get it done in time. GEORGE: Everybody, stop! GARY: Top three dishes, chance at immunity. Bottom three dishes, pressure test. 15 minutes to go! GEORGE: Come on, guys! CECILIA: I'm doing really well with the parsnip surprise. The parsnip has cooked really well. I'm gonna stuff it with some lamb, stuff it with lamb now, and flip it over, so when the judges cut it open, you know, it'll be like, 'Surprise!' I just hope that this is the kind of surprise they'll like. Because...they weren't too happy about this idea. I'm making a South-Indian-style lamb curry. While the curry is reducing, I started my dessert. This is one of my favourite things. This is like a winter comfort food. Out of 23 contestants, I might be the only one who's cooking dessert in the dish. It's grated carrots put in milk, with some condensed milk, with nuts and cardamom and saffron, cooked till it gets a creamy consistency. The carrot pudding is almost done. I move on to kneading the dough for the bread. Ohh! All right. It boiled. I didn't notice that. I hope the milk isn't burnt. If the milk is burnt, the dessert is ruined. And if the dessert is ruined, it could send me into the pressure test. 1 NIDHI: I'm making a carrot pudding. Ohh... But I forgot about the carrots and the milk in the pot and then they overflowed. It boiled. I didn't notice that. Then I smell it... Ooh! It has burnt. I'm hoping that I can save it, otherwise the smell of the burnt milk would ruin my dessert. So, I'm just changing the pan, so there's no smell of burnt milk in there. Oh! It's not done. ZOE: My Middle Eastern spiced lamb is coming along really well, and now I just need to check on my parsnip puree. It's been smoking away and I really need the smokiness to be perfect to even out the flavours in my dish. Mmm! Yum. It tastes perfect. It just tastes like smoky...goodness. Happy. MARCO: Cooks! 10 minutes to go! Push! Push! Push! Yes, Marco! Yes, Marco! CON: Where's foil, foil, foil? I'm really happy with my Pedro Ximenez sauce. I just need to get this lamb cooked. If I get this right, I believe I'll have a really great dish. I'm just praying that it cooks in time. I cannot under-cook this lamb. NIDHI: I'm feeling pretty confident that my lamb tastes fine. So, now I'm making the flatbread stuffed with the onions in it. You look confident. Yeah. Can I taste this? Yeah, definitely. Uh... It looks all so delicious and smells beautiful. Thanks, Marco. Do you regard cooking as a form of therapy? Definitely. So do I. Aww! All my life. It tastes really delicious! Thank you, Marco. Make an extra one for me on the side. I just love your cooking. Your use of spice is genius. What an absolutely crazy cook it's been! You have...five minutes to go! Come on! CECILIA: So, it's time to plate up my parsnip surprise. I'm going to pipe up some parsnip puree on top, sprinkle a little bit of spring onion and finish it off with some cheesy crisps. Tomato sauce, tomato sauce, tomato sauce. So, I'm almost finished with the dish. I only need to plate up the tomato sauce and... ..I really want to make it special for Nathan. I want Nathan to know that I'm thinking of him - that, you know, it's for him, my son. And I'm hoping the judges will see where I'm coming from. NATHANIEL: I cruised through the first half-hour of the cook and I had this brilliant idea and I'm loose and I'm enjoying it. Cooks, two minutes to go! NATHANIEL: What the hell's happened to all the time? I'm not gonna get everything on this plate. My main focus is getting the layers of the pie right. I've got to push. CON: Bitten off way more than I can chew today. In the final moments of the cook, it is crazy in this kitchen. My sauce is done and my lamb is resting. Now I just need to get it all on the plate. I put my blade in the lamb... Ah, no! This looks like it's under-cooked by at least five minutes. What a mess! MATT: One minute! One minute to go! OLIVIA: I'm thrilled with the way that the quinoa crackers turned out. I really hope that the judges enjoy what I've cooked for them today. MATT: It's all happening. I've got koftas, flatbread, my onion jam. I think it's definitely inventive. I'm just hoping it's enough to get me into that top three. It must be all on the plate! 30 seconds to go! Come on! CON: As I'm plating up, I'm thinking, 'It looks pretty to the eye, but it's definitely not gonna be pretty to the palate.' 10 seconds to go! JUDGES: Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one... That's it! Your time's up. Second challenge of the day and another great cook. It's exhausting, isn't it? And you did well. We asked you to be inventive with lamb and three veg. We're excited to taste. So, first up... ..Nidhi. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE MARCO: Nidhi? Yes, Marco? Tell me, what's your dish? It's an Australian classic, Indian way. Lamb South Indian style, sweet carrot pudding, with an onion yoghurt, parsnip chips and a bread with onion stuffed in it. Did you say that one was for me? Yes, that was specially for you. GARY: Ah! Today, I made it for you. See? (NIDHI LAUGHS) Thank you, darling. All the special stuff for you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you. I'll have one of these, then. (SNIFFS) I went back-to-front there, didn't I? Yeah. Did you go pudding first? I went pudding first. MARCO: This morning... ..you were top five. This... ..tops what you cooked this morning. This is beautiful. Thank you, Marco. I wish you had a restaurant where I live. I'd be there every week. Oh! Thank you, Marco. Thank you. This little carrot pudding is... ..well, it's better than anything I've ever had in India. This is one of those sort of things you try and you come back for the next morning and you wait, and you queue up, waiting to get in. I love it. Thank you, Matt. I love it. GEORGE: Well done, Nidhi. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Well done, Nidhi. Delicious. Good luck. Oh, my God. Marco wants me to have a restaurant. It was the proudest moment. Your turn...Con. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE GARY: I'm a bit concerned about that, uh, lamb. It looks undercooked. It's very undercooked. 1 GARY: I'm a bit concerned about that, uh, lamb. It looks undercooked. It's very undercooked. What's your dish? CON: So, I've done a lamb backstrap, a lamb cutlet, I've done a crumb, some parsnip chips, roasted carrots and a Pedro Ximenez sauce. It's a big sauce. Obviously, the... the lamb is undercooked. We know that. But the dish needs relief. It's sweet, sweet, sweet. You've got the sweet carrots, sweet pomegranate, sweet sauce. The dish needs relief. A bit of tart. GARY: Sorry, Con. Thank you. MARCO: Thank you, Con. Thank you very much. APPLAUSE This is not a proud moment. And I'm devastated. Oh, no. Olivia? Come on. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE I'm feeling really happy, I'm really pleased with my dish and, to be honest, any kind of positive feedback from Marco would be insane. It looks like a forest floor. GARY: It looks beautiful. OLIVIA: My dish is a marinated lamb backstrap with roasted carrots and a quinoa and cumin cracker. GEORGE: I love these crackers. They look cool, don't they? GARY: Oh, they are great - those crackers. Amazing. I love 'em. I like cumin. I like it a lot. GEORGE: What a good dish. Olivia, you've got it. You know? You understand flavour. That is a beautiful plate of food. Keep on cooking like that. Never change your style. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE OLIVIA: I'm amazed. I can't even describe how amazing it feels for them to love my dish so much. APPLAUSE Mimi, your turn. I've made a lamb backstrap, a carrot-top pesto and a parsnip puree. For me, had you made your sauce that little bit stronger, bang! I get that big explosion of flavour. Yeah. Next up... ..Harry. I've cooked an alternative pot-au-feu. I'm super-thrilled that you were super-inventive, but you have missed the mark on flavour. MATT: Anastasia? ANASTASIA: Lamb, carrot and peach puree, the parsnip chips and the shallot jam. It's such a pity you've undercooked your lamb because the execution of all the other elements you've got there is delicious. GARY: Next up is Brett. BRETT: Well, we've got a herb-crusted rack of lamb with carrot granita. MARCO: The lamb is cooked beautifully. But do not serve granita with a roast meat. It doesn't work. OK. Nathaniel, please come forward. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE The idea of cooking shepherd's pie came from Mum. And... ..I haven't done it... I haven't done it right. GARY: Ah... Wow. NATHANIEL: I wanted to re-create a shepherd's pie. If you gave that to your mother, would she be happy? Not with the way it is right now. I just wish I could have finished. I think you've got a problem. An idea is one thing. Execution is another. APPLAUSE Good work. No good, mate. Matt, you're next. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE GARY: Look at that mighty plate of food. Hey?! Holy schmoley. It's a feast. MATT: Um, what's the dish? MATT: It's, uh, spiced lamb koftas with yoghurt flatbreads some onion jam, carrot-and-parsnip hummus and mint and coriander yoghurt. GARY: Chop off a bit of lamb. Yeah, chop a bit of lamb and just go... Mmm! Hello. GEORGE: Thank you. See, if we popped into our local pub and this came out to a table, this is how quick it'd get demolished, isn't it? Mmm! Oh, yum! Good onions! Yeah, that is... Let's not beat around the bush. That is absolutely fantastic. Nailed it. GEORGE: Mm. That's...proof in the pudding, man. That is delicious and yum, and I'm sitting there, eating it, going, 'Meat and three veg? Yeah!' But creative? Yes. Inventive? Yes! Matt, well done. (LAUGHS) CHEERING AND APPLAUSE That's a good day at the office. APPLAUSE CONTINUES Charlie? CHEERING AND APPLAUSE At this point, I'm really hoping the risk that I took with the bones has paid off in the jus. So, it's lamb backstrap with a parsnip puree, honey-balsamic Dutch carrots and pickled and charred onions. Hopefully the sauce kind of ties it all together. I'm just hoping that it all gels well as one. I'm going to be very brutally honest. It doesn't do it for me. The jus - it's a bit too strong for me. Lamb is so delicate that you want something that is delicate with it. And I'm sorry that I'm disappointed, Charlie. CHARLIE: Now I'm starting to get really worried. GEORGE: Thanks, Charlie. Thanks, guys. I don't want to go from top to bottom. APPLAUSE But after that, I might be heading to another elimination. Next up, Cecilia. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE CECILIA: I look around and I realise that my dish is pretty ugly by comparison. I don't think this is what the judges are looking for. GARY: Hmm. 1 What are we gonna say about this dish? Hmm. It certainly doesn't look very appetising. Shall we try? MATT: Yes. It kind of looks... like a sculpture. It doesn't look like a dish of food. And I think that's an important thing to understand. And you've made some big errors in terms of how you've cooked the dish. Do you want to come closer? (MARCO CLEARS THROAT) I get this is really difficult for you at the moment, yeah? And obviously, you're going through a tough time. But you've got to remember why you're doing this. I love the idea that you cooked something that your child loves. But you've got to enjoy this and not let that sort of weight or that stress overshadow your cooking. Stand strong and know that you're doing this for your family. You've got to put your head down, your bum up. You hear me? And those emotions, they've got to drive you to do better. Thank you, Cecilia. Thanks, Cecilia. APPLAUSE George is right. I've got to pull myself together. By not cooking my best, I'm not just letting myself down, I'm letting my kids down, and... Right now, I think I'm in the bottom three. It's OK. Zoe, your turn. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE I'm really happy with how this has turned out. I'm just hoping that my smoked parsnip puree really balances out all the sweet flavours. So, I've done a Middle Eastern spiced lamb. Wow. GARY: Ooh. George going back for more. Zoe, that dish is my favourite for the day. It is...yum! And what makes it, for me, is the smoke. I reckon that without it, it would have been maybe, probably, a little bit too sweet. You know, 'cause you've got a lot of sweet factors going on, with the little vinaigrette, the carrots, the chutney. I love it! Thank you. Without question... ..the best eating dish of the day. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Whoo! MARCO: Well done. Well done, Zoe. ZOE: I cooked for Marco Pierre White and he loved my dish. It's a dream come true. Yeah. (LAUGHS) MATT: There was really strong competition for the top three spots today. Lots of dishes that nailed the brief. If I call your name, please step forward. Nidhi. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Zoe. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Joining you in the first immunity challenge of the season... ..is... ..Olivia. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE From the way it looked to the way it tasted, it delighted all four of us. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE OLIVIA: I'm really proud of myself. I can't even describe how amazing it feels to have the chance to fight for immunity. MATT: Matt, those koftas were brilliant. You're heading in the right direction. We're loving the way you're cooking, so keep it up. Great work. Well done. Thank you. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Just as there was some brilliant cooking today, there were some that just didn't hit the mark. If I call your name, please step forward. You'll be in tomorrow's pressure test. Cecilia. Nathaniel. Joining you in tomorrow's pressure test... ..is Con. I know it's tough that you find yourself in this situation, because at the end of the day, tomorrow, one of you will go home. When I was a young man, I stood in your shoes. What I had to do is relive every mistake I made and then pick myself up the next day to push on. And that's what you have to do is find that inner strength to push on, if you want to survive. GARY: We'll see you three back in the kitchen tomorrow, full of fight. Off you go. MATT: Goodnight. I've gone through so much to be back into this competition. I've come so far now. I'm not giving up. Tomorrow, I'm gonna really fight - for my kids, for me, I'm gonna give it all I've got. VOICEOVER: Next time ` they're about to discover what real pressure is. Keeping up with Marco. Oh, my God. Are you ready? Their only recipe... Off with the tail. ..to watch Marco... Off with the head. ..and try to keep up. Are you listening?! I'm keeping up. 'Yes, Marco.' ALL: Yes, Marco. I'm watching you. Ooh! The first pressure test of the competition... GEORGE: Looks great, doesn't it? Fantastic job. ...will send one of these contestants... The pressure was all too much. ...home. Able 2016.