. ANNOUNCER: Previously on MasterChef Australia... 9/10. ..it was history in the making when Matt and Chloe triumphed to each win an immunity pin. It doesn't and it can't get any better than this. Tonight, a massive team challenge. Come on. Let's go. Cooking a Greek feast at George's own restaurant. I'm really scared. It's red versus blue... I'm worried about the timing. ..in a desperate race to win. Come on, come on, come on, come on! Huh? And with a special guest judge... Guys, meet my mum. ..the teams aren't the only ones feeling the pressure. Don't let me down, for God's sake. How long?! With 120 mouths to feed... It's getting a bit stressful. Fire up, yeah? ..and elimination at stake... Keep pushing! ..they're under stress... Send, send, send. ..to deliver the best. It's just perfect. GARY: I tell you what, my mouth's watering. Oh, my. But will the intense pressure... You think that's enough? Service! ..be too much? Whoo! I really need help. # Burning up # in my heart # like a flame, # like the brightest shooting star. # In our souls, # we all know # our dreams make us who we are. # We got today. # Ooh, yeah, yeah. # So spin me round and... # Ooh, yeah, yeah. # ...show me the way... # Ooh, yeah, yeah. # ...back to... # Burning up # in my heart # like a flame, # like the brightest shooting star. # In our souls, # we all know # our dreams make us who we are. # Able 2016 MATT: This morning, we rock up to Kew. We're kind of in a backstreet somewhere, all wondering what's going on. ZOE: We're walking up Cotham Road. I look up and, oh, my God. Oh-ho! (SQUEALS) So exciting! I know straightaway we are cooking a team challenge at George's restaurant. Whoo! Being Greek Cypriot, this is the type of food I love to eat, so I'm really excited. GEORGE: Hey, guys. Hi, George. Come on, let's go. It's gonna be a big day. And welcome to Hellenic Republic in Kew. This is my place, this is my home, and Hellenic Republic means a lot to me. Today - I'm sure you've worked it out - is a team challenge, and you're gonna be cooking a Greek feast. MILES: Sounds hectic, it sounds intense. I'm a little bit nervous, so it's gonna be a big day. What is Hellenic Republic? It's very simple, you know. It is classic taverna food. OK? There's no fine dining cooking here. This isn't The Press Club. This is Hellenic Republic. It's raw and it's real. You know, the food is simple, it's delicious, it's tasty and it means something. You feel nervous 'cause, you know, this is George's house. We idolise the guy. You don't want to mess this thing up. You know, if you do, then all hell could break loose in here. Right, let's get down to business. We need two teams. One team will cook downstairs here in Hellenic Republic. Now, the other team will cook upstairs in our events space Odysseus and Penelope, alright? Let's get you into teams. One, two. One, two. One, two. BRETT: So George starts picking teams just by going down the line - "One, two, one, two." Twos on one side, ones on the other. Alright, guys, your next job is to pick a captain. Do you want to have a quick huddle and a quick chat? (ALL GIGGLE NERVOUSLY) So the role was delegated to me and I'm really happy to lead these guys today. It should be a good challenge. (ALL LAUGH) How are you feeling, babe? Zoe? I really don't think Zoe had much of a choice. We don't need to say anything. Yeah, whatever. Yeah. I feel good but, you know, having a Greek Cypriot background, cooking Greek food in a Greek restaurant owned by a Greek chef, I'm...yeah, I'm really scared. Do you guys want to know what you're cooking? ALL: Yes! Alright, let's bring it on. Boys! HEATHER: George just wheeled in a whole table of food. It looks like share, share, share, and that's gonna be a lot of work. And, uh, how can we not have a Greek feast without a lamb? Hey? Two of his gun chefs bring out a whole lamb and it's gonna be full-on. I'm sure everyone is feeling the pressure at the moment. Each team will be responsible in preparing and cooking their own spit today. MATT: You know, that's not something that we do every day. We don't do that at home. Um, so it's a little bit intimidating. OK, it's very simple, the rule, yeah? And I know this because my uncle never leaves the spit, alright? All day long. And he bastes, bastes and bastes. The minute you walk away, that's an opportunity lost with flavour. OK? And with Hellenic food, Greek food, it's all about flavour. You'll be preparing a three-course Greek feast. Now, what you're gonna have to do is take inspiration from this... ..but create your own. ZOE: It's pretty daunting. How can anything we do possibly live up to George's expectations? Now, when I say that, I'm saying, right, do a saganaki but your own topping, yeah? This is gonna be a tough one. When you see George's banquet on the table, you almost feel like all the good ideas have been taken. Yeah, we've got our work cut out for us. The guests will start arriving in about three hours. Do not make them wait. Trust me. And can I tell you, they're not just any old simple guests. They're all my Greek friends and family. (ALL LAUGH) And can I tell you, they're a nightmare, right, because they've lived and breathed this all their life. Now, remember, I'll be running the kitchen, but, captains, you'll be running the pass, yeah? Matt and Gary will be joining us later and they'll be judging your food. One more thing you need to know. Matt and Gary are being joined... ..by a very special judge. A guest judge. This is the bit that makes me really nervous. It's my mum. Whoo! Now, if you think Gary, Matt and I are tough, you ain't seen nothing yet. She doesn't mince her words. She doesn't like something, you know about it. It's super daunting thinking that we have to impress, you know, the person that taught George how to cook. She's gonna be the hardest critic, I think. You ready? ALL: Yes, George. I can't wait for this. (ALL LAUGH) Your time starts... ..now. (ALL CHEER AND WHOOP) Let's smash this out. My first priority is to get that lamb started. Brett, Trent, can you get hold of that lamb, start getting that trussed up. BRETT: OK. I can deal with that. That's fine. I've done a few spit roasts before and I've actually done a couple of full-sized lambs. But time's ticking, we really need to get this lamb on. We wanna get it all centred and all that first. Yeah. It's three hours before service and this thing is gonna need every bit of those three hours. Number one factor today is communication. We've got to talk to each other. So we have to put up more or less what George has put in front of us but with our own twist on it. Any ideas for the first dish, those first three entrees? So we have to make three dishes for the entree today. One is a pie, the second one is a dip and the third one is a saganaki. Any ideas on a pie, anyone? He had duck and cherry so we've got to do something different to that. Could we go really traditional and just go spanakopita? Yeah, so we're not too heavy on the... 'Cause then it's, like, meat, meat, meat. Nicolette's the Greek in the crowd and throws in the idea of going traditional with a vegetarian option. And even, like, the toasted... ..the roasted garlic through there too. It's a great idea because we don't have to cook any meat for it and we'll save heaps of valuable prep time. A dip. Goat's cheese with the beetroot feta. I know a great recipe for a beetroot dip that I can whip up real easy. I'll get those beets on now. Get those beets going now. Just, like, quarter them, Harry. For the saganaki, George's was beautiful. It had some black peppered figs on top of it. I'm thinking spiced apricots or something on that saganaki. Yeah, that'd be yum. Shall we focus on that now, come back to the doughnuts and everything else later? How are you guys going there? Yep, good. Good? Alright. Uh, yes, I'm with Matty here just trying to truss this lamb up. Just trying to get it in place so we can get it onto the spit. Never trussed a lamb before but we'll see how we go. Do one at a time... OK. Ideas. Anyone got ideas? HEATHER: Time's gonna be a huge factor today, you know, having eight dishes plus the lamb. So we are really lucky we've got Zoe as our red captain. OK. Dip and bread. Do we want to stick to a taramasalata? George's dip was a classic white taramasalata. But we have to give our own a different twist. I saw one that was kind of like a smoky eggplant dip with some tahini, pine nuts, olive oil, some fresh herbs. OTHERS: Yep. Nice. OK, so changing the dip to roasted eggplant is definitely a twist, but it's manageable and I think everyone will absolutely love it. Let's also think about how our flavours are gonna work together. OTHERS: Yep. Knowing that it's a Greek challenge today, I feel so much pressure. I feel like all eyes are on me and we definitely need to wow everyone today. The pita, that filled pita. It doesn't need to be round. It could be something that we bake, that we wrap. Could be filo cigars. George's first statement to us was, you know, "This is Greek tavern food." What if we do, like, a... They're too tricky, though. Cigars? There's filo in the pantry. Yeah, but it's a share plate and we're gonna have to... We could do triangles. I think it's too much. They do take a long time. I think it might be overcomplicated. We need to be honest with ourselves and keep things simple. I think we just keep it to one sharing thing. I mean, if we're gonna do triangles, we can still do cigars. All eyes are on me and I'm just really nervous. I don't want to let anyone down. Alright, my end goes towards the fence there. Your end goes towards the fence? Yep. Trent and I have finally got this lamb nicely arranged. It feels solid on the pole. We put it on the top shelf, we attach the fan belt and it starts rotating beautifully. Seems nicely balanced. It's turning well so it should turn out alright. Now we've got our lamb on the spit first, so I don't know what the red team are doing. They're obviously stuffing around with something. But ours is looking great. MATT: (SIGHS HEAVILY) This one. Yep. Matty and I are really struggling with this process. I'm pretty worried because it's such a big part of the challenge today. The lamb is gonna take hours. The more time that we spend mucking around trying to truss this lamb, it's just chewing up time and this is really gonna lead into service. Alright, let's flip him, Matty. Matty and I have got the middle rod through and the two prongs. Alright. And it's in place, so we run it out to the spit. And right away we notice blue team already has theirs on. At least we're not too far behind. Whack it on top of the coals, hook it up to the motor. It starts to spin. And it just stops. . CHARLIE: Matty and I are trying to get this lamb on. It starts to spin... ..and it just stops. No. We're no good. We don't exactly know what's going on but there's definitely something wrong with the weight. When you're in a pressure situation like this, you kind of panic for about 10 seconds and then you realise you've got to get on with it. Got to take it off, run back inside and do it all over again. Yep. Yep, yep. If we can't fix this fast, there's gonna be a lot of angry customers. MILES: How you going, Trent? Down there, got it on? Spinning? Yeah, we started to get the... Yeah, it's spinning alright. Are we all good down there? Yeah, I'm all good, Miles. Everyone else is right? Karmen, you're good? Yep. We're communicating really well up here. Our menu is a spinach pie with some feta in it and a lot of other different greens. We're doing a beetroot roasted with feta dip. Saganaki cheese is the third thing we're doing and we're gonna serve that with some spiced apricots on top. Main course is gonna be that beautiful lamb on the spit. George was worried about the timing of getting that lamb on. He was a bit frantic we make sure we get it on early. BRETT: It's spinning, it's looking great and I'm still waiting around for this red team to show up. Seriously? They said to do it all up. This is not what you want at the start of this cook. We just tested our lamb to see if it was gonna spin and it only got to a certain point and stopped so we've just got to adjust it, try to get the weighting right. The lamb is gonna take hours and we really need to sort this out quick. GEORGE: Guys, you have to get this on. BOTH: Yep, yep. If it doesn't get on in the next 10 minutes, it's not gonna be cooked. Yep. We are seriously running out of time here. So, sausages for... Have you seen tea towels? Yeah. I'll bring you a tea towel, Cecilia. Thank you. I found one. Down here. OK. Knowing that it's a Greek challenge today, I feel so much pressure, but we've finalised the menu and I feel good about it. Ana and Heather are working on the entrees. I've dropped the idea for the filo cigars. They're just going to be too much work. Knife. Knife. Knife. And instead, we're making a spiced mince filo pie. I'm working on the filo pies. Ana's helping with the beetroot chutney and the whipped mint for that and then we're also together working on our smoky eggplant and zucchini dip. It's pretty hectic at the moment. Come on, guys! We need to fire up! That lamb has to be ready. Alright, you good? MATT: Yep. We secure it again, lock it all up. Yeah, that feels better. Yeah, heaps better. Space, space, space, space, space. Good job, guys. This is do or die with this lamb. We are out of time. We take the lamb back out, put it on the spit, we rig up the motor. We're just praying that ours spins this time. Oh, perfect. Our hearts are in our mouths and, you know, it does a couple of revolutions and... Come on. I think we're all good. It's good. It's spinning. It hasn't stopped. I think we're good. It looks to be running pretty smooth. Alright, sweet. Alright, sweet. You know, there's so much relief. Matty and I are rapt. We've hooked it up properly and now we can start basting. Quickly trying to prepare a baste for the lamb to make sure that we get as much flavour on there as possible, keep it nice and moist. There's about two hours until service. Entrees are up first, so we've got a little bit of room to move. We just have to keep our eyes on it. I'm going to the pantry. Does anyone need anything? No, thanks, Miles. We've got a lot going on. There's people everywhere in the kitchen. There's nine different dishes that we're looking after. Chloe and Karmen are helping out with the first section of the entree, the pie. I'm doing the leeks now for the spanakopita, so I just want to basically sweat them down with some thyme and oregano and then I'm gonna mix them with spinach and cheeses. Harry's working on those beetroots. We've got to get them in the oven to get the dip full of flavour. HARRY: So for entree, we're gonna do beautiful beetroot and goat's cheese dip with pita bread. I'm just roasting the beetroots in the oven, I'm gonna get some cumin in there. It's gonna have a nice, toasty cumin flavour with it as well. So we're gonna do beetroot dip on top and then underneath it's gonna be, like, a beautiful whipped feta. Yep. Now that the entree is under control, it's time to focus on the mains and making sure that lamb is perfect is paramount. BRETT: You have to keep an eye on this barbecue because these coals, you know, they're live, you know. They could go down, they could flare up, they could burn the meat. Lots of things could happen. You know, you've got to constantly be basting this lamb, just adding more and more layers of flavour. (CHANTS) Let's go, blue team, let's go! Let's go, blue team, let's go! Nice job, Harry. For the main dishes, the second one is lamb moussaka, so the lamb is gonna be slow cooked. Takes a little bit of time but it tastes delicious. Guys, I just want to question a couple of things. Yep. We've got lamb on a spit, yeah? Yes, George. You've got a lamb moussaka? We were trying to go traditional with that moussaka but we're open to options. Remember what I said. It's about being slightly adventurous. Yeah, OK. You can, you know... Doesn't have to be... You go with lamb, that's your choice. Yep. I'm not... But think about it. You want us to be sitting at a table with some slight variety there. Yeah, OK. Yep. Yeah? If George doesn't like our moussaka and as the team captain, it's up to me to sort of take ownership. We'll scrap the lamb out of the moussaka and make it more of a vegetarian eggplant, onion... With tomato sauce and a nice bechamel with different flavours through it. OK, we'll get some star-anise and other stuff out of the pantry. Not having to cook lamb in that moussaka is probably gonna save us a world of time because it would have to be slow cooked to make sure it's tender. We really don't have time to do that, so let's just go with what we've got and make it delicious. So I'm looking for star-anise. Found it. Hopefully we'll be finished ahead of the others. ZOE: Go, red team! Whoo! (OTHERS CHEER) Is everyone good? Does everyone know what they're doing? Does anybody need help? One of my biggest fears is cooking of the lamb, but Charlie is outside watching and basting. Secret sauce here - can't give away too much because the blue team is just over here. So, a bit of garlic, a bit of olive oil, some acidity in lemon juice and lots of rosemary and stuff. Just all nice flavours that aren't going to overpower the lamb and let it kind of shine through at the end. We can't keep our eyes off it. The skin needs to be crunchy, so it's really important that we keep basting. Basically, one person's got to be out there the whole time. You've got to baste it every couple of minutes and just check on it and make sure certain parts aren't getting too dry and you've just got to watch it like a hawk. Thank you. Today I've got Heather and Anastasia working on the entree. Alright, I'm just going to get some more mince for this. With our mince filo pie, it's really important that the filling's really well balanced. Needs to be spicier. Even though I trust them, I still want to taste and be happy with what I'm going to send out. There's not enough spice in there. If I do something wrong today, I'm definitely going to hear about it. Everyone has got really high expectations and I'm still really second-guessing myself - our menu just isn't exciting enough. I've got a few ideas going through my mind. For main, we have to create our own version of a moussaka. When I think of moussaka, I think about meat. Instead of using mince, I think it would be nice to use a shredded meat just for a bit more moisture and a different texture in there as well. There is beef? That's cool. There's beef brisket? MIMI: I freak out a little bit because it's gonna take forever to cook. Are we positive with this cut of meat? Yeah. I just have doubts in my head about this beef brisket. It needs to be cooked and shredded and it's really long and time-consuming. So, if we can get them in the pressure cookers... I am so worried that this moussaka is not gonna get done in time. It's definitely a risk, but even though it's gonna take time, the result will be worth it. . GEORGE: Guys, how are we going? HARRY: Good, George. Yeah, all good? What time can I taste stuff? The girls are about to start the pie. Yep. So that'll be in the oven 20 minutes. I think you know what you say, I mean, there's, what, an hour and 10 minutes to go? Yep. You know, in 45 minutes, come and grab me. I'll have something for you. I want to taste everything and see it. Yep, sorted. Alright? We all good? We pushing? Everything... You're sorted with your dip? Yep. Ready to go? Harry is working on those beetroots. We'll get the dip full of flavour. So I put the beetroots in the mixer, heap of olive oil, some vinegar, salt and pepper and they're looking beautiful, they're nice and really rich and smooth, so I'm gonna get that into the fridge to cool and ready for service. That's awesome. Sensational. I love this bit, though. I love an hour before service. It gets you...gets you fired up. (CONTESTANTS CHEER ONE ANOTHER) So, menu? Blue team? What do you like about it? Very, very vegetable-driven. OK, which is clever, and that also typifies Hellenic food. That's Greek food, isn't it? Yeah. So, you know, they're making a classic spanakopita. Nothing wrong with that and I love the way they're escargoting that. Yep. 'Cause it means you get lots of filo bits through it, and get it nice and crunchy and people peel off a piece. Is the filling classic or have they put their own little touch to it? Look, I think they've added things like dill to it, some extra greens to pump it up full of flavour. Certainly makes much more sense having a filling that's ready to go and spending more time, you know, rolling it and baking than braising. Come on, guys! Keep pushing! Come on, red team! Ana, you're doing amazing! You're all working really, really well. MIMI: I've got my beef brisket. I brown it off in a pan and then add it to the pressure cookers. So we need it to be really nice and soft and tender. I put them on for about 60 minutes. I hope that's gonna be enough time, otherwise we'll have nothing to send out. GEORGE: Come on, guys! Push, yeah? Yes? Come on! Come on! Keep pushing! Just making the filo pie at the moment. I'm just doing a test pie. I want to make sure that we're cooking it perfectly. Zo-Zo? Yeah? You happy with that? Can you cut me a piece so I can taste it? We do a test pie just to see how long it's going to cook in the oven and how the filling is going to taste. This is our filo pie. I don't know what... if the filling is too dry or not. No. This is our first one. It's just a test batch. Too dry. George comes over and has a taste and it's just too dry. It means it's too dry, so what about if we put some... Matty, our mince is too dry. I just go blank and I'm freaking out. I'd say caramelised onion. Caramelised onion. Caramelised onions would be perfect. But entrees are taking way longer than I thought they would. I'm not really worried about the quantities. I'm worried about timing. Everything needs to be prepped and ready to go. Just got to come up with a plan B. Charlie? How is it going? Good. Are you moving the coals over? Yep. I have a look and it's coming along perfectly. I make a decision that I don't want someone standing out there the entire time with the lamb. I need your help inside. How long till entrees? Charlie just looks horrified. Thank you. I'm a bit shocked but this is a team challenge and I've got to be a team player, so... It's definitely a risk but we could have an extra set of hands in the kitchen helping us. We've got so much work to do. Guys, remember, you've got to keep basting, yeah? Yeah. That's the lamb I'm talking about, yes? Yes, George. Alright? You baste, you give flavour. You don't baste, you don't give flavour. It's very simple. It's like one of the most ancient ways of cooking meat. Uh, George? Yeah? Every 15 to 17 minutes, that lamb is getting basted. Interesting. You think that's enough? I think so. OK. Your choice. It's a risk that I have to take. I don't have a choice. We need to finish the entree. As long as it's basting and we don't have one man down, wasting time out there just sitting there watching it, it's fine. Blue team, how are we going? BLUE TEAM: Good, George. 30 minutes to go, yeah? Yes, George. Come on! Come on, my mum is coming. All her friends are coming too. For Godsakes. Don't let me down. My mum's gonna be here. I don't want to hear it for the rest of my life. MILES: Yeah, less than 30 minutes before we start getting some punters through the door, so we're clearing down the pass, getting ready to pre...sort of sear some dishes here, ready for service. Spinach pies are in the oven. They'll take 20 minutes to cook. They'll be nice and brown and crispy when they come out. HARRY: So we're gonna serve the beetroot dip on this beautiful little tray - olive oil, lemon zest, thyme. Then of course the pita bread as well. Oh, we love some pita bread. That'll get flashed on the grill there. Yeah, everything is travelling along smoothly. Quite happy with how things are working. It's a great team. Guys, a second of your time. Meet my mum. ALL: Hello! Obviously you know who Matt is. I'm his dad. (LAUGHS) Hello, everybody, and I wish you all the very best for today. MILES: Thank you very much. I hope you enjoy your lunch. Thank you. Now we're really under pressure because he doesn't want to let her down, we don't want to let her down and we've got to make sure that she's happy. She knows a lot about Greek food. The last thing we got to do is saganaki. Delegated Trent to get that cooked and on the plates. Come on, blue team! Come on, guys! Let's go! The idea is to pre-sear the saganaki in a hot pan just so that it's ready to go. TRENT: It still needs to hold its shape but it needs to have a nice crisp golden layer on each side. I put it on the hottest part of the stove, keep an eye on it that it doesn't overcook. And it's just not working out at all. It's just melting. Not how I thought they would go. Yeah, just not crisping up how we need it to. Just a mess on the pan and it's a disaster. They're not working out like I thought. We're not gonna be able to fool her today. If we don't have this dish right, we're definitely gonna be in the elimination. . Guys, meet my mum. Hello, everybody, and I wish you all the very best for today. Thank you so much. MILES: We could be in trouble here. The saganaki is not working. It's just going gooey and looking like a big mess. Harry, how's that... Remember, all three dishes go out at once. Can we get it all plated up? Plate them all up now. HARRY: That's what I'm doing. Maybe over here where you're out of the way as well. We are panicking and stuff is about to hit the fan. If we can't do it right, that's one element gone and in black tomorrow possibly. ZOE: Guys, keep smashing it out! Yep. Yes, Zoe. Zoe, this is ready. Just check. For the last time. We're about to start service. Good? Yeah, I like it. Feeling like we're in a pretty good position at this point to really smash out our entrees. Guys, keep working! Keep pushing! You're doing an amazing job! I took Elise off dessert to help out with entree. One slice each. Yep. I had to take the boys off the lamb to do the pita and saganaki. As soon as that was done, I could put them back onto mains and desserts. Three tables straight up, please. Yep, let's go. OK, guys, I need three serves of pita, three dips, three pies, three saganakis! Yes, Zoe! How long? Five minutes. Five minutes on... (CLAPPING) Service has started. Let's go, yeah? How long on the pita, guys? Matty, how long on pita? Yeah, I've got some pita here. Pita's done? Yep. How long on the saganaki, guys? Uh, two minutes. I grab some fresh cold cheese and a really hot pan and I start to cook the cheese and it's caramelising and then I flip it over and the skin's staying on and it's not melting and I think I've nailed it. One minute. GEORGE: And Zoe, you're tasting the quality, yeah? Yes, George. Yeah. There's a hungry room of Greeks out there, yeah? That scares me. It's got to be delicious, yeah? Dip for table 0. 0? Service, please! Guys, keep smashing it! Behind, behind, behind! Thank you, Charlie. Running the pass, it's really stressful but it's such a rush. Guys, I've got another three orders up! You're setting out all the dishes, yeah? So one table is getting its saganaki, its pita, its dip. Yes, George. And you're marking it off the docket as it's going. Yes, George. Because if a table is missing something, it's a disaster. OK. Yeah? Guys, we need some food up. How are we going on those dockets? Coming now. We're still not ready to go. All three of the entrees have to go out at the same time but the saganaki is going gooey and looking like a big mess. If it's not right, you can't serve it. I am really struggling to get the temperature up on these frypans, so my cheese isn't really as golden as I'd like it. We can't serve that. I can't even get up one cover. There's dockets coming in left, right and centre. Another check on, another four pax and a third four pax away. We need a solution and it's gotta happen really quick. Alright, how is this food? It's not going out or what? We're not really got much caramelisation on that saganaki, have we? Let's hope my mum likes it like that. She's never had it before like that, but hey. That pan is just not getting hot enough. It's gonna work. You've just got to... No, I just did it and it melted. I've just looked at downstairs. Theirs has worked, so... Just one element could destroy the whole day for us. 60 people waiting there for cheese and I can't even get one piece working. It's killing me. If it's not good enough, that could be the difference. Yep. You know what I mean? I'm telling you, my mum will love your menu, but if it's not got enough caramelisation on the cheese, she's gonna hate it. Rightio. Yeah? Thanks, George. I'm under so much pressure right now but I'm persisting with this cheese. I decide to pop it in the hot pan with a little bit of olive oil and I'm just praying that it works out. And I get a little bit of toasty caramelisation on there and it's not 100% but I'm happy with it. Fresh hot cheese! Yeah, she saved the day. With that beautiful spiced apricot on top, it looked sensational. OK, another cheese. That one's good to go. Another cheese in, like, 20 seconds, guys! The first plates leave the pass. They look beautiful. Thanks, mate. Table 4 is done. I'm so overwhelmed with pride for the whole team, what they've done, and this is just the first three plates. I've got more to do. Got to get working. Welcome to the world, huh? Thank you, George. Come on. Let's do it. You can do it. Yeah. Well, it's a real privilege to have the true Calombaris as our guest today. Oh, it is indeed. Mary, George's mum. It is. You've been so influential, not just in terms of food. You've shown George at home but also helping him with recipes for... Exactly. ..for Hellenic. What are you hoping to see from our two teams today? The real goodness in the Greek food. The food they are cooking today, it should come from the heart. Yeah, sure. I wouldn't like them to bastardise our Greek cuisine. OK, gentlemen and ladies... Oh, here we go. ..here we have our ricotta with pine nuts and raisin. First thing you notice is how beautiful and shiny and colourful all that food is. Mm. And very clean. This is the traditional way of doing a pita. Spanakopita, escargot. Yep. That shows it's a Greek version. Yep. I love the way you're serving up there, Matt. I'm freaking out. Let's try. So what do you think, Mary? Overall, the spanakopita was extremely good. I really liked that. OK, that's good to go, that's good to go. MAN: Where is it? The saganaki... Yep. ..with the apricots, it's just perfect. I love the idea of using apricots on the saganaki. I think that combination of the saltiness and the cheese... Yep. ..is brilliant with the tartness of the apricots. It is. Yes. That's absolutely benchmark work, so I reckon they've done a really good job. They did very well. Keeping up with service. Service is running smoothly. It's nice. OK, guys, listen up! Huh? Seven saganaki, seven pies, seven pita, seven dips! Yep. ALL: Yes, Zoe! Thank you! We've gotten off to a great start and hopefully we can keep it up. How long on pita, guys? Yeah, I've got some pita here. Pita's here? Which table is that? Table 6. We're going pita, dip and saganaki. Thank you. A third of the way there. Yeah? Not long to go now. Yes. It's getting really close to the service of mains. I've been on the moussaka all by myself. It's getting a bit stressful because I know that entrees are coming to an end and I still haven't got this ready. I'm still shredding the beef and I need to get the eggplant and potatoes out and then assemble it all. Zoe? Yep? How long until mains? I need to get... I need help. Huh? How long until main? I'm still doing the meat. Got to put it in the oven. We need to finish the entrees so that I can take people off entree to really smash out mains. Come on, guys! Keep smashing it out! Is anyone on the bechamel? I am so worried that this moussaka is not gonna get done in time. And it's just delicious. WAITRESS: Excuse me. Ooh. Hey. We have here a saganaki with chargrilled grapes and currants. Got our smoked eggplant dip and some pita bread. What's the first thing that strikes you? I think the saganaki... Melted saganaki? Melted, crunchy saganaki. The grapes look beautiful on that. Yeah. I like more raisin, less currants, but I think we should start there. Well, let's eat first and then we can break it all down. OK. Overall impressions first, and then we'll break it down. Overall impressions, right. The saganaki was very nice. Yep, yep. I enjoyed the crunchiness in it with the grapes and the currants. That, for me, was just bang-on. Yeah. And the pie too? Delicious, crunchy top. I love the subtlety of the spice and the fact that it goes with that sweet beetroot I think is a real winner. And I love the texture, the smoke on that dip, you know? Overall, wonderful. Not a bad job? No, they did a wonderful job, and I'm happy with that, yes. Come on, guys! MILES: Whip it up, Kelly! Go, go, go! Righto, let's get those mains built, guys! Harry, quick as you can. You need help. I've got help. Waiting from a waiter. Last plate to go. WAITRESS: Chef, I've got tables waiting. How long? Coming now. Where's our waiter? Service! All the entrees are basically done and now it's time to focus on the mains. Yeah, we're just about ready to go. Lamb's done. GEORGE: Oh, look at that! Yeah, looks alright. I'm pretty happy with that. Yeah. How beautiful is that? Brett has just done an amazing job on this lamb. Right, go for it. Looks great. It just looks delicious. Oh, I'm starting to get hungry. All your entrees are gone? All entrees are gone. Fantastic. Yep. That's brilliant. Got the dressing here for the lamb. Just gonna put that on as it comes through the pass. Yep. Salad is built. Salad's looking good. Lovely. Yep. Beautiful. Simplicity but done well. Yeah, nothing over the top. The only thing I'm waiting on is the moussaka which is in the oven. Lovely. As soon as it's brown, we'll be ready to go. Come on, guys! We don't have many more tables to go! Keep pushing! Yes, Zoe! Come on, reds! Come on, red team! At this point, I should be focusing on mains, but I've still got a few minutes up my sleeve, so I'm not too worried. Alright, Zoe, first mains are away. So we've got three mains at least. What? Mains are up. It's time to go. We don't have anything ready. I think I might be in a bit of trouble. Alright, guys, moussaka - is it in the oven? Bubbling, bubbling. Going in now! We are definitely nowhere near that stage yet. Yeah, I'm trying to get some help but everyone's just pretty full-on...flat-out at the moment. Elise, I need you to start helping Mimi... Yep. ..getting those in the oven ASAP. Are we starting to break down the lamb? Boys? MATT: No, George. Pressure's on. Guys! Oi! Red team! Fire up, yes? Do you want to go through to elimination? It's simple tavern food. That's all it is. Guys, mains are up! Matty, when you're finished with that pita, I need you to start portioning that lamb. Yep. I'm more than happy to start doing that. There's just one tiny problem. It's still on the spit. I am the master of the way. I am the master of the way. ALL CHATTER, LAUGH Hey! Over here, mate. (LAUGHS) Hey! Over here, mate. (LAUGHS) Thank you so much. See ya! Hey, thanks for driving tonight. Hey, thanks for driving tonight. You owe me. Hey, thanks for driving tonight. You owe me. (LAUGHS) Fair enough. Kate was giving me the eye as well. What?! What?! She was. No. No. BOTH LAUGH What's that? What's that? Oh crap. Don't worry about it. You're well under. Don't worry about it. You're well under. Yeah, but it's a lower limit now. Good evening. Any alcohol tonight? Good evening. Any alcohol tonight? Uh, just a couple... with dinner. Good evening. Any alcohol tonight? Uh, just a couple... with dinner. Yeah. She's fine, eh. Stop. That's over 250 micrograms. I now require you to accompany me to the booze bus... Oh stink. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you do say... It's a failed result, ma'am. ...may be given in evidence in court. You could ring a taxi and pick your car up in the morning. Let's call your mum and dad. They're, like, 10 minutes away. Let's call your mum and dad. They're, like, 10 minutes away. We're not calling my parents. CHILDREN ARGUE CHILDREN ARGUE Please. Behave yourselves. No. In the car. INDISTINCT RT CHATTER . GEORGE: The pressure's on, guys! Oi, red team! Yes. Fire up, yes? Yes, George. You need to start getting these main courses out. Yeah? Way too slow. People have already been waiting for mains for at least 15 minutes. You want to go through to elimination? I'm having a complete panic attack. MATT: Let's not drop it here. This is definitely a bit tougher than what we thought it was gonna be. You've gotta get it done. Yeah. If you get behind now, it's like dominoes, yeah? You're gonna fall down. Yeah. Zoe, is this layered? I really need to get these moussakas prepped and in the oven. I don't want to let George down. GEORGE: How's the lamb, guys? MATT: I have absolutely not broken down a lamb before. It's pretty confronting. But there's no choice, it's gotta be done. ZOE: Come on, guys! Like your life depends on it, yes? Yes, George. Come on! MILES: That's one ready to go. Table 6, please. Thank you. Thank you. The mains are now flowing. Two more for four, folks. Two more servings, let's go. I've got such a great team that's putting it all together for me. Is this main course going out? It is. It is. Wow. Have a look at that. The lamb on the plate looked sensational. There's big chunks of juicy, tender meat. Moussaka's going out as well? Yes, George. Yeah? It looks gorgeous. It's brown and crispy and oozy and bubbling. (GASPS) They alright? Bubbling, crunchy. Yum. Yep, they're coming, Miles. Good on you, Chloe. Thanks, George. Yeah. Got four dockets here. Service, please. It looks great. The food smells great. The punters are smiling. Oh, wow! Just keep it going. OK, folks. For the main course, we have our vegetarian moussaka. Fresh out of the oven. Very hot. GARY: OK. They allocated Brett the job of looking after the lamb on the spit for the whole time. So he basted that lamb for the whole time it was cooking, didn't step away from it. And you're very right, it's gotta be basted quite often. So you're hoping that that's gonna translate into flavour. That's how they are really served in Greece now - iron dishes. Lots of cheesy sauce. It's got mushrooms and onions. Properly vegetarian. It is. How do you find your lamb? This lamb is absolutely beautiful and it falls apart. The marinade on the lamb, and what I think they've done is they've blended whole lemons... Lemons, yes, yes. ..and garlic and possibly oregano and spread that all over the lamb. And so, you know, like that crispy crackly you get on pork? Yes. That lamb skin now is just delicious. It's just nice and, you know... Really good. Vegetarian moussaka, the texture's just fantastic, it's beautiful. It's a meal. It's a home-cooked meal. And people will cook that at home. It's a tasty dish, isn't it? That juice in there is full of vitamins. Yeah. Service, please. Table 7, please. How you going? Any main courses gone out yet? Not yet. Come on, guys, we really need to push. We need to get our mains out! There's nothing worse than going to a restaurant and waiting...and waiting. How long on the lamb? Six lamb portions. Yeah, we're portioning now. Guys, guys, guys, watch it. The moussakas are going in and coming out of the oven at the same time. We've got lamb being portioned. Even though it's kind of like organised chaos... The dressing. ..finally starting to get somewhere. Three done. Just check whichever one isn't done. One lamb up! As much as you've taken ages to get it out, that looks delicious. Yeah. Now get it out. Service, please. Thank you. I've got a lamb ready here. Service, please. Makes me feel good, but we're still under the pump, we still need to feed people. Send, send, send. Six lamb, six moussaka. Oh... Oh, yes. Hey. I think the red team fell behind with the entrees, but they've definitely picked up the pace. And I've gotta say, I'm excited to taste this. Yeah, my first impressions, I tell you what, my mouth's watering. I can hear Mary's going "Yum, yum, yum, yum." That moussaka's great, isn't it? That is very nice indeed. That delicious beefiness underneath. Nicely toasted on top, golden. Piping hot, straight from the oven the way it should be. The moussaka and that salad together - absolutely yum. The upstairs lamb was better cooked than this, but give us these bits. These are the bits than really make the spit so special. Exactly. Anything that's on the bone, it tastes delicious. When we have a spit, we stand over the meat and we just pull it off, and we eat it from the bone. It's just delicious. I'm still eating, Mary. I'm just...having fun. What a great day I'm having. Get to sit down with George's mum and Matt and have lunch. Here. I think the red team have done a smashing job. GEORGE: Hey, just a heads-up. Upstairs have finished their main courses. They're done. I need five more serves of lamb! It's a little bit deflating, but I feel like we can do this. ASAP! And I still think I can get this done. You don't dress, I'll dress. But then I realise that after all the chaos... CECILIA: Elise, can you... ..Cecilia's doing three desserts by herself. I've only done the mousse and the doughnuts, everything else... They're on mains. They're on mains. Just finish these four tables. It's tough, but I don't have any more people to spare. CECILIA: I need help on dessert. I'm at the verge of crying and giving up right now. I can't control this many elements by myself. This is too much. I really need help... with everything. GEORGE: Dessert, yeah? CONTESTANTS: Yes, George. It's not over yet. You're only two-thirds of the way there. CONTESTANTS: Yes, George. Alright? So finish it off. Desserts are taking care of themselves. Nicolette's onto that watermelon thing. She's already starting to plate it up. NICOLETTE: We're making a white chocolate mousse, an ouzo-infused watermelon, and a spice almond crumb. MILES: This is it, guys. Home stretch. Let's do it. Whoo! Go, blue! Chloe's got the rice pudding batched up. Each guest will receive a glass with rice pudding on the bottom, a butterscotch sauce and then the sesame crumb on top. Miles, first desserts away. First desserts, guys, let's rock'n'roll. Ready to go. Let's get some of these doughnuts up here. NICOLETTE: For our doughnuts we're keeping it traditional and going with syrupy loukoumades. MILES: Be generous. Be generous. This is George's mother we're talking about here. Karmen's doughnuts look fantastic. They're light and fluffy, they're brown on the outside. You guys all good? I'm sure they're gonna taste sensational. Service, please! Let's go! GEORGE: Guys! CONTESTANTS: George! Let's go. That's it. Let's go. Come on. I don't like this. You're faster than my waiters. Keep it up, guys. Guys, service. Come on. George is complaining that his waiters can't keep up with how fast we're putting everything up. Guys, service. Come on. This is awesome, blue. We're going awesome. Or, if food's waiting, maybe you guys can take it out. Come on. Some initiative. Let's go. Come on, Harry. Away you go, Harry. Come on, Harry. Get the guns out. HARRY: I take a whole tray of pudding out to one of the tables and they look so happy. Hello, ladies. How are we? Thank you. So do I. You just see massive smiles on their faces. I think that's the coolest part of today. Hey, the final course. Ooh, look at this. Look at this. Look at this. Ladies first, of course. Thank you, darling. MATT: Oh. So it's all gonna be the texture, isn't it? Very nice. Very nice indeed. The texture's light. Very nice and very light. They're light and fluffy. The concept of the doughnut looked just perfect. Good size bites. But a little bit of juicy syrup would have been lovely. Rice pudding. Butterscotch brandy, sesame wafer. Chloe's got a bit of a reputation for her butterscotch brandy sauce. She does do a good job. I love that. I would call this an Aphrodite dessert. Oh, my. Because it just gives you the most beautiful Greek flavours. The rice pudding, the sesame. And it's just fantastic. Can I serve you guys? Oh, yeah. That'd be lovely, thank you. The watermelon's been infused or compressed with the ouzo. Oh, my. Beautiful dessert. Very summery and refreshing one too. Yeah, it's light. Don't you think? And I think what I'm most impressed about is just the creativity. You know, we said this may be decided, this challenge, on desserts, and the blue team have done a smashing job, haven't they? Three good desserts. It all depends how the red team go. Yeah. Yes. Go, red team! Red team, I don't want to put the pressure on again, but blue team are done. You've got basically 20 minutes to get dessert out, you hear me? We have 60 desserts that need to go out. But Cecilia's doing all of it on her own. CECILIA: My stress level has... Sorry, sorry, sorry. ..quadrupled right now. I've got most of the little elements to go, so I need somebody to do figs, somebody to do the cherry. Yep. The two girls are just finishing plating. They're gonna come over here. Thank you. I get Elise on the cherry, I get Mimi on the figs. She caramelises that. I'm asking everyone to do everything for me right now. I'll get the rice out of the fridge. You need to lift it over your head, OK? Hoping that they don't feel like I'm being really bossy, but I'm desperate right now, I need help. We need a fryer for the doughnuts. We've still got people waiting for food. I need someone to fry the doughnuts. Someone on red team. Cecilia needs help. Red team, come on, let's go. 28 times four trays. It's going to be pushing it, but we can do this and we can finish. Three mousse. Three loukoumades. Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on! Let's go. So I get Matt frying the doughnuts. You need to get that going now. I'll get the honey and feta cheese going. How long is it gonna take, guys? Five minutes. Five minutes? The doughnuts look good. They're golden. They're coated in cinnamon sugar, there's some feta on the top, and some really nice thyme honey. Yep, doughnuts. Where's the caramel? Caramel's done. Caramel's done. Come on, guys, keep pushing. There's eight of us at the pass assembling dessert. Has anyone done the shortbread? Shortbread is coming now. Heather and Anna are doing the mousse. Charlie's putting shortbread on the top. I'm pouring caramel on. Not long to go, guys. Come on, red team. Come on, just send it, just send it, just send it. Guys, can we send some of these, please? Service, please. Grab a tray. Let's go. ELISE: The first dessert has gone out and, oh, my God, I can't believe we've done it. We're hot, we're tired, but still got heaps of desserts to get through. You gonna get there in 10 minutes? Yes, George. Keep pushing. GARY: That's what I'm looking at, Matt. I'm looking at these doughnuts. Well done. Beautiful doughnuts. Look at how nice and spongy. It's lovely and light. And I must be honest, I do like the little flecks of thyme. Very nice. And I love the feta. The combination of feta, thyme, honey - delicious. I have one really big problem. There's too much raw cinnamon there. For me, that really throws the doughnut out. So, what have we got here? Rice pudding with figs, cardamom shortbread. I'm liking that. I love this one. It is beautiful. Very light. That cardamom shortbread is lovely and crunchy. Crunchy. Very nice indeed. Soft. And it's soft. GEORGE: Come on, red team. Come on, red team. Come on, red team. You've got five minutes to go! Come on. Oh, my. Bowl of chocolate mousse. Oh! Small children's dreams are made on that. I know. It's nice, though, isn't it? It's smooth. Lovely. The walnuts are really good, aren't they? They are lovely, the walnuts on top. Very nice. And warm, and it is absolutely lovely. Yum. How many more? How many more? Do we need? How many more? ZOE: There's rice puddings all over the pass. There's bowls of doughnuts flying out. Five more? Four. Matty, four serves. Go, Matty. Come on, red team, push it through! Three, four, five, six. One left. Come on, guys. Keep pushing. We've only got four more to go. Go, red team. They're the last two, guys. Thank you. Come on, guys. Let's go. We're almost done. That's it. That's it. We're done. That's it, you're done, guys. Well done. (CONTESTANTS CHEER) Red team... I feel like a massive weight's just lifted off my shoulders. It's emotional, isn't it? Huh? Guys, honestly, I can't congratulate you and thank you so much. Because all I cared about was that you served customers and they enjoy themselves. And you know what? Both upstairs and downstairs, everyone's smiling. So you should be totally proud of yourselves. I'm proud of you guys. Yeah? Thank you. Thanks, guys. I'm so proud of every person in our team. But the hero of today is definitely Cecilia. Cecilia, thank you so much. Thank you. You were great. She was such a trooper, doing three desserts by herself. I believe in our team captain, Zoe, and...they came out and we finished on time, so it was really good. Oh, guys, I'm so sorry. HARRY: No! You were amazing. I think if we lose today that... ..obviously, I'll feel responsible. I couldn't ask for a harder-working team. They all work their butts off and I just hope that, you know, we've done enough and I can make them proud. . See, those are the kind of faces I like at the end of a team challenge. Some smiling, some beaming. But also a little trepidation. GEORGE: You guys did extremely well today. Obviously, blue team, you got yours out quicker than the red team. But at the end of the day, that doesn't really matter. What matters is what the judges tasted at the tasting table. But what I'm happy about is 120 people left Hellenic Republic happy. So, thank you. Congratulations. I'm very proud. Very proud of all of you. You've done wonderful. You're all winners in my heart. So, again, congratulations. ZOE: I think this challenge really hit home for me because it was all about family and being together. We all worked really hard and I couldn't have asked for a harder-working team today. So let's see how you went in the dining room. Blue team, what we loved about your menu was your spanakopita. Delicious. Your beautifully marinated lamb, and that creative twist of the ouzo-infused watermelon with the white chocolate mousse - well done! MILES: I really, really want to win this thing, because this team has just worked so damn hard. Let's hope that the verdict lies in our favour. So let's look at how the red team went. We loved that golden brown and slightly oozy saganaki. Brilliant stuff. As was that light and fluffy rice pudding with that crunchy cardamom biscuit. Mary loved that, as did Matt and I. But we knew this, as the tasting went on today, that it was gonna come down to the smallest of things. And I think we'd all agree it came down to dessert. And actually one dish, the doughnuts, the Greekest of things, the loukoumades. Red team... ..your loukoumades had far too much cinnamon. And that is the reason, I'm afraid, why tomorrow you're in elimination. The first thing that I do is turn around and say sorry to my team. I just feel like I let them...down. And...I take full responsibility. Red team, put today behind you. Come in tomorrow prepared to fight for your place in this competition. And above all, try and get a good night's rest. Well done. We'll see you tomorrow. Well done, guys. Brilliant job. ZOE: I don't want to go home. I don't want to go home yet. I just need to go home and have a cry if I need to, and...put it behind me and concentrate on getting through tomorrow. ANNOUNCER: Next time, a brand-new game. Let me introduce you... ..to the one-inch cube. (GASPS) Uh-oh. Blindfolded, they'll test their tastebuds. Cheese. Avocado. Apple. The tiniest mistake could put them in the firing line. I feel SO nervous. The first four to get it wrong... GEORGE: What's your answer? ..will go into the next round. And with just 60 minutes standing between them and elimination... You're cooking for your place in this competition. ..this will be the most crucial hour of their lives. My place in the MasterChef kitchen is riding on this. The pressure is on. # KELVIN JONES: Call Me Home # You got those eyes, stare into my soul.