Previously on MasterChef Australia...
Home Cooks vs Pro Cooks Week!
...a brand-new week got off to a sizzling start.
Definitely a different ball game from what
we would be doing at the restaurant.
Three of our own took on the giants from NOMAD...
Team NOMAD's definitely here to win today.
It's legit gonna take me the dish of my life to beat these guys.
If one of us wins, we actually get to be safe from elimination!
...and they turned Mystery Box ingredients into something magical.
It is out of control. Absolutely dynamite.
Very impressive.
I think you've made a serious play for the win today.
But Grace's genius idea...
Tempura betel leaf with pork and a salsa.
...won her dish of the day.
You've nailed it. You are on fire.
Tonight, which three home cooks take on the professionals...
All that adrenaline's pumping.
This is gonna be tough.
...in a Pressure Test that will challenge the best of the best?
Cooking today! Ooh! I know!
Morning!
Good morning, everybody.
Morning!
As you know, all this week
we are putting you up against Australia's best chefs
in classic MasterChef challenges.
If you beat the professionals, then you are safe from elimination
at the end of the week.
And the question is which three will be cooking?
Alright, you know the drill.
Green token means you're cooking today.
Eyes up, Ralph!
Yeah, I ain't looking, I ain't looking.
It's green! I get to cook.
Ooh! Three in a row. Here we go.
Oh, my gosh! Imagine!
Ahh! Ohh!
It's my favourite colour!
I've got Mal and I've got Phil with me as well.
They're both amazing cooks, so I'm excited.
Righto, I bet you three are dying to find out who you're up against.
Yep.
They're the team behind a hatted gem
located in tropical Far North Queensland.
These chefs combine contemporary techniques
and their love of tropical ingredients.
They've even taken out 'Gourmet Traveller's
Regional Restaurant of the Year.
Please welcome, from Nu Nu in Palm Cove,
Nick Holloway and his crew!
How cool is that?!
Oh, so Nick from Nu Nu is such a cool dude.
I've seen him on MasterChef before.
Hey, guys.
He's got his reputation to protect. He's gonna play to win.
Nick, great to see you. Welcome back to the MasterChef kitchen.
Oh, it's so exciting to be back here.
With me, I've got two of my wingmen here,
bringing some jungle funk to the city.
I've got Mel, aka 'Shooter',
who's been working with me for a long time, 20 years.
20 years. Oh, Jesus.
And one of our newest recruits
and a bit of a heavy-hitter, this is Chrisso.
You've brought the heavyweights, mate.
I don't know. I feel like a heavyweight at the moment.
I know that much.
Well, you guys are cooking in a Pressure Test today.
That means you're gonna be cooking another chef's recipes.
Chris, how do you feel about that?
Yeah, I feel good about that. Yep, we're up for the challenge today.
Full disclosure, you used to work for Andy, right, at the Ducks?
That's right. Andy and I go back a little way.
Is he any good at reading recipes?
Yes, he's good at everything. Oh.
They set you up!
Thanks. Thanks, Andy. Thanks, guys.
Now to the challenge at hand.
Today's Pressure Test has been set by a chef
whose elevated take on South-East Asian cuisine
is ingenious and in high demand.
With three hats across two restaurants,
he blends his culinary heritage
with native Aussie ingredients and ancient techniques.
Please welcome executive chef and co-owner of Sunda and Aru,
it's Khanh Nguyen!
Wow!
I'm just so excited that today's guest chef is Khanh
as much as I'm terrified by the technique
that Khanh brings to the table.
Khanh, how are you, buddy? Hello.
I just know that he's gonna set us a really serious challenge.
Khanh, mate, great to have you back.
Sunda, Aru, absolutely pumping, no doubt?
Yep, both fully booked.
That's why I can't get in.
So today it's obviously team versus team,
which means this Pressure Test,
it's comprised of three different dishes.
Righto, Khanh, why don't you let these guys know
what menu they'll be cooking today?
Alright, so for entree, you'll be cooking...
...my macadamia tofu with Skull Island prawns,
tamarind and lemon myrtle broth.
Ooh! Whoa.
Ooh.
Bring it on.
And for main course, you'll be cooking...
...my Wagyu rendang pie...
...with Vietnamese satay and pickled daikon radish.
This will be epic.
Do you have to make your own pastry? I'd say so.
And, finally, for my dessert, you'll be cooking...
...my kaya jam ice-cream sandwich...
...with Davidson's plum and salted koji waffle.
Oh!
That's very delicious.
That looks like one epic feast, mate.
So there's an entree, there's a main and there's a dessert.
Each member of your team will cook a different course
and whichever team wins the most courses
wins the day - pretty simple.
But right now you guys have to decide
who out of your team is going to cook which course
before you taste it.
Righto, gang. OK.
The pressure is definitely on.
If our team can nail two out of the three dishes, we'll take the win,
so it's crucial for each of us to choose the right course.
Sure you don't want to do entree?
Nah, look, it's probably not a good idea.
We'll play to our strengths. Yes.
Let's do it. Let's do it.
Amazing.
We gonna do this? We gonna have fun? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Let's do it.
Righto, team Nu Nu, you good to go?
Ready to rock.
Hand up if you're on the entrees.
Right.
Malissa and Nick, the showdown is on.
And what about mains?
Yep. Chris and Phil.
Battle of the pie.
And that leaves Ralph and Mel for dessert. Lovely.
Nice work.
Alright, let's get to tasting.
Nick, Malissa, you're on entree.
Yeah, yeah, yeah! Hey!
I'm up against Nick, the head chef,
so that's gonna be challenging.
I love the knifework.
It looks like a chrysanthemum. It's beautiful.
We're gonna be judging on looks as well as taste
so just try and remember how Khanh's plated his dish.
Khanh's entree is the most beautiful dish I've ever seen in my life.
The top of the tofu has been so finely cut
so that it looks like a beautiful flower.
Oh, wow, I took a really big scoop, didn't I?
And of course it tastes incredible.
You're gonna have to make a macadamia milk.
You're gonna have to set the tofu and then cut it with a knife.
And then the broth, you're gonna have to clarify it
really nice and gently so it doesn't go cloudy.
Alright, main courses - Chris, Phil.
My Wagyu rendang pie, there's a lot of ingredients,
so you've really got to manage your time well.
You gotta get it in on time.
And, obviously, the puff pastry,
it's a rough puff, but you've got to get it done in time as well.
Even though it looks like it's just a simple pie and a sauce,
there's so many layers of layers of favours and textures
and herbs and spices and nuts.
There's a lot going on.
Alright, for dessert, Mel, Ralph.
Come on, Shooter.
Kaya jam ice-cream sandwich.
This is beautiful.
If you haven't made a parfait before,
if you don't whip it enough, it's just gonna freeze into a brick.
And the waffle's pretty hard to get right.
It's cooked over an open flame.
It's all in the recipe!
Alright. Thank you.
I'm expecting it's gonna be challenging.
It's a perfect dessert.
OK, for those cooking mains, Phil and Chris...
...you'll start first.
You will have 3 hours and 45 minutes to complete your dish.
Nick and Mal on entree...
...you'll have 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete the tofu.
And for Ralph and Mel on dessert...
...you'll have 2 hours and 15 minutes for your ice-cream sandwich.
Chris and Phil...
...your 3 hours and 45 minutes...
...starts now.
Alright, good luck, buddy. Have fun, mate. Enjoy it.
Yeah, come on, guys! Whoo!
Nice, Phil. Look at all these flavours.
Flavour! Flavour!
So I'm making Khanh Nguyen's rendang beef pie.
Never cooked anything like this before.
Shallots, garlic, galangal...
These flavours are pretty new to me.
Chilli and heat is not my friend at all.
The first thing I need to do is get that Wagyu rendang curry started.
This curry paste has 20-something ingredients in it,
so I'm just getting them all chopped and prepped and into the blender.
My strategy is read the recipe, read the recipe, read the recipe.
Doing good, Phil. Go, Phil.
Thanks, guys.
I'm gonna need to make the curry paste and the spice mix,
cook the beef and finally reduce down the rendang curry itself
before I get the pie fully enclosed and into that oven.
3 hours and 45 minutes seems like a lot of time,
but a lot to do and a lot to get right and possibly get wrong.
So I've got my curry paste.
My next step is the spice mix.
And then I'm gonna start caramelising the beef cheeks in the coconut oil.
Lot of ingredients in it.
Come on, Chrisso. You need to crank it up, buddy.
Eyes forward. Eyes forward at the moment.
I don't want to turn around and get scared by what's happening there.
Chris. Andy.
How you travelling?
Yeah, not too bad. Yeah, there's a lot of ingredients.
What about the boss over there?
Hopefully he can give me a little bit of advice.
He's a good man. He makes me feel comfortable.
I just want to help.
You are as chilled as ever.
This is why I love him. It's why I love him.
We just do our best. Thanks, guys. Good luck, mate. We'll move on.
I'm just trying to move at a good pace.
I definitely don't want to dillydally around.
Getting the pie in the oven is the crux of the challenge.
I don't have any small measuring jugs.
Measuring jugs?
Can I take one of your small ones? Take one of his.
Front bench? Yeah.
Yeah, help yourself. Just pinch this.
Yeah, take this. Take this one. Just, like, replace that one.
I am pretty nervous.
It feels like a lifetime when you're waiting.
All that adrenaline's pumping
and I know that as soon as I just start cooking,
I'll get in the zone.
Have you found your rhythm?
Well, it's pretty hard when you're in a kitchen
you've never cooked in before.
You don't know where anything is. Oh, here we go!
Everybody's looking at you.
Well, mate, I'm gonna join you very, very shortly.
I'm working on the beef rendang curry filling and...
...I've done my beef cheeks.
Next, I'm making some dry spice mix, so I have to grind them up...
...combine it with the curry paste, the braising liquid,
get everything in the pressure cooker and get it going.
And then I am gonna start making the rough puff pastry.
Going really well, Phil. WOMAN: Yeah.
Go, Phil. Come on, mate!
Thanks, guys.
Straight out of the gate, Phil has been on fire.
He's doing the curry filling.
He didn't blitz it up. He ground his up.
He didn't blitz it up in the spice grinder.
But I'm a bit worried about Phil.
I think that he might have missed a step.
Phil's put the tray of spices straight into the mixer.
But he didn't blitz 'em.
So I tell you what.
For a guy who doesn't like spice,
there's gonna be some spice.
Nick, Malissa, we're looking for two of Khanh's delicious entrees
and your 2.5 hours starts now.
Whoa!
Game on.
Oh, yes! Oh, game on!
I am finally starting.
Straight into it.
I've got 2.5 hours to make Khanh's entree.
The first thing I need to start making is the tofu.
That is the hero of my dish, so it needs to be perfect.
Usually, tofu's made from soybeans,
but this is made with macadamia nuts
and I love macadamias, they're such a beautiful flavour.
Ooh!
Crank it up, Mal.
Yeah, alright.
I'm up against Nick, the head chef.
He's extremely skilled and talented, so this is gonna be tough.
I really need to follow the recipe as closely as possible.
So I quickly strain the mixture.
And then add in the setting agents.
She's going really good. Yeah, looking good.
I'm ahead of Nick, so I'm feeling pretty good right now.
I really need to get started on the dashi for my consomme.
Are you streaks ahead of me already?
Yes, I am. Perfect.
I wouldn't have it any other way, buddy.
So I'm making my macadamia tofu, which I'm very excited about.
I start to weigh out my ingredients exactly right...
...so when I actually unmould the tofu,
I get that perfect wobble and perfect mouthfeel.
Oh, no!
I've added my thickeners too early
'cause I haven't read the recipe properly,
so now they're blending in here.
So I realise at this point, "My God! I've jumped a step."
I've added the two thickening agents before straining.
If I strain it now, it probably won't set correctly.
Back to the drawing board.
So I need to start all over again.
We could be down to the wire on this one.
Oh, no!
I've added my thickeners too early
'cause I haven't read the recipe properly,
so now they're blending in here.
Back to the drawing board.
How you going, Nicko? You reading your recipe?
I stuffed up!
Ooh!
So today I'm up against Malissa on the entree.
We are making Khanh's macadamia tofu,
but I've blundered the recipe,
so I'm starting the tofu all over again.
However, I'm nearly out of macadamias.
So at this point in time, I have to go off-grid.
I can't work off the recipe.
350.
So that's a little bit less.
I'm not a chemist. I'm a cook!
I just have to go on instinct
and go back to what it is that I do naturally.
Suffice to say, I add back some of my failed mixture...
It is what it is.
...and I've got enough ingredients left to make my tofu.
See if take two works.
It looks good.
I just hope... that it sets correctly.
Beautiful. Yes!
He's back!
There's a lot on the line.
As the leader of my team,
I need to take a deep breath and get back on with the job.
Oh, Nick, pineapple, your favourite. I know!
Now I need to get the dashi going.
Alright, where am I? Come on.
Ralph and Mel, it's been a long an anxious wait,
but your 2 hours and 15 minutes for the dessert starts now!
Come on, Shooter! Whoo-hoo!
Let's go! Come on!
Come on, Ralphie.
"Roughly chop pandan.
"Place in medium saucepan with the remaining ingredients."
Pretty excited to take this challenge on and do well in it.
How we going, Chef? Yes, I'm going good. Are you?
I'm tracking OK for now.
My nerves are still there, though. They didn't go away.
I thought they'd calm down, but they didn't.
So I'm working on the most important element of this dessert, the parfait.
Uh, I feel a bit nervous.
Khanh's... Well, his is amazing.
It was very even in, like, temperature.
And the texture was kind of like silk.
OK, we're whisking.
Khanh has said that with this parfait,
it's really important to get the eggs whisked to the correct volume
and it's really important that I get the parfait
into the blast chiller as quickly as I can
because it's gonna need an hour to set.
One hour.
How are things going over there?
Are you OK, Ralph? Yeah.
Desserts are not really, like, my strong suit,
but I've been trying to get better at them.
Today, it's best of three.
We need to beat two of the professionals and I have teammates.
I can't let them down, so I've gotta put
my best foot forward and just stay focused.
Everyone's cooking. The kitchen's humming.
You've only got 90 minutes to go. WOMAN: Come on, guys! Looking good!
How you going? I've gotta fire up.
No, don't!
Good job, Phil. It seems a bit 'whisky'.
Get outta here!
Yes, Declan.
Do we have dishies?
Like, I'm getting a bit of a mess over here.
So I'm looking after the main, the beef cheek pie.
My beef rendang curry is cooking.
It looks like Phil and I are at about the same stage.
We're making the rough puff pastry.
Khanh's pastry was beautiful and golden and flaky.
So I need to pull this pastry off.
I've got to fold it and chill it a couple of times.
And I know, "Don't overwork it." It's supposed to be rough.
Looks good, Chris. Thanks.
So I've got my pastry in the blast chiller now.
I've gotta go check on my beef cheeks
so I can start assembling my pie.
Hey, guys, when this one gets down, you just flick it open?
Yeah, just release it.
Come on, guys!
Looking good, Phil!
Um, I think it's all going to plan so far.
I'm not an expert by any means on rough puff
and I know some of it's a bit of touch and feel
with how it looks and the texture and that,
but I feel like I'm on track at the moment.
My pastry is ready.
That's it, Phil.
Go, Phil! Go! Well done!
And I'm just about to take the beef rendang out of the pressure cooker
to assemble the pie and get it into the oven.
Phil, how's it going? Phil, how you going, mate?
Not too bad. Looks like you've got a bit done.
Beef is in. Rough puff has been folded.
It's in the blast chiller. Excellent.
Definitely the definition of 'rough'. That's for sure.
Beautiful. You did all the roasting of spices?
You didn't roast them too much?
I don't think so.
Blended them all... Did you pass them?
Blended, passed?
No.
Where did you put them?
Into the curry paste.
But you blitzed them first into a powder?
No.
Is that what it says in the recipe?
Did you weigh out a certain amount of them?
No.
I'm gonna leave you with that, mate. Good luck.
I'm looking after the mains, the beef cheek pie.
Yum!
Oh, it smells good.
Getting it ready to put it together.
So I've got my pastry in the blast chiller,
so now I'm working on my beef rendang curry filling.
Khanh's was just full-flavoured, rich, deep and delicious
with big chunks of beef cheeks.
The beef looks good. Yeah.
Smells and looks delicious, so I'm pretty happy with that.
Yep.
He tasted it and just walked off.
That's what we do.
So now I'm feeling a little nervous.
This challenge is all about replicating Khanh's dish.
I want mine to look and taste exactly like his
and do his recipe justice.
How much time do we have left?
Is that gonna go... Hour and 10.
Hour and 10? I haven't looked at it the whole time.
I'll just make sure I've got enough time to cook it.
Yeah, it takes an hour or something, doesn't it?
I don't know.
Think you need an hour and 10 for it, don't you?
40 minutes. Oh, OK, that's alright.
Time is moving by pretty quickly,
but I've got the beef rendang filling and my pastry done.
How did the filling go?
Yeah, it looks pretty good. Not too tender?
Well, it's hard to tell when it's the first time making it.
Look, if I got to do this a second time, I'd nail it.
Excellent.
So I'm up to assembling my pie now.
It's the make-or-break moment.
So I've had to create my lid separately.
My base is separate.
I've scored it. I've got a little chimney on there.
It kind of looks like Khanh's.
I've got to keep a close eye on it now.
Nice, Chris! It's in there!
Oh, man. At least I'm gonna have a pie now.
Is it in the oven? Nice work!
Thanks, guys.
Khanh's pie was quite a deep, golden brown,
so I want to get mine to look just like his.
Oh, my God.
I'm stoked now. Yeah, I feel really relieved.
At the end of the day, hopefully I'll have
a pie to put on a plate to plate up for the judges.
I've just got to finish off my ketchup.
This is the last leg to try and bring it home for Nu Nu.
Um, I missed a step with the spice mix.
I was meant to blend it up into, like, a fine powder
and pass it, which I didn't,
so I might need to pass the curry paste to try and rectify that.
Ooh! Ohh!
Phil!
I know Chris has got his pie in,
but I made a mistake with the spices.
Yum! Wow!
If I deliver a pie that's not right,
it's probably gonna mean that I'm gonna lose.
So my plan to try and fix the dish is set the beef aside,
pass the curry through the sieve,
push it through as much as possible,
take the chunky bits, blitz them up as much as I possibly can.
This definitely won't fix it,
but I've just gotta get it as close to now.
There's nothing else I can do.
So I had a taste and it actually works quite well.
Mmm.
So good! So good.
Yeah, Phil! Yes, Phil!
So I do add it back into the curry and assemble the pie.
Obviously, I know my way around a pie. I've eaten a few in my time.
The top goes on nice and neat.
I get those little crimps around the edge
as close as possible to Khanh's as I can...
...before I can get that pie into the oven and on time.
That's it, Phil!
Whoo-hoo! Well done!
Nice job, mate. Ooft!
Neck and neck.
It doesn't matter which course you're on, you have one hour to go!
Here we go!
Shooter!
That looks good, Mel.
It seems OK, yeah.
Now we've just gotta get it to set.
I'm up against Ralph.
We're doing the dessert, the kaya jam parfait sandwich.
I think that I've got the eggs
whisked for the parfait to the correct volume
with the cream and the kaya jam.
Perfect. Good job, Mel.
One down.
Get it into the blast chiller
and I move on to making the Davidson's plum jam.
The consistency and the zigzag of Khanh's Davidson's plum puree
was, like, incredible.
How you going back there, Mel? I'm good. Yeah.
Getting in the zone? I'm in the zone.
Yeah, I am. Great.
It's going good. I'm making a bit of a mess, but, yeah, I'm going.
I've also still got to get my waffle batter together
and then try and get that waffle perfect.
It's a bit of pressure. Yeah.
I'm still nervous about the waffle. I haven't even started it.
You got this, Ralph.
Let's go! Come on! Let's go!
What's left, Ralphie?
We're on the last page pretty much.
We've got Davidson's plum and the waffles.
OK.
Ralph.
How are you, mate? I'm doing well. And yourself?
I'm excited to see you on desserts.
Yeah, look, I'm excited to stretch myself out a little bit,
so excited for the challenge.
There's a couple of trip hazards here, to be honest.
Definitely the wafer is critical. Yep.
It's cooked over flame, so it's gonna take a few times
to actually get it right.
OK. You will screw up the first few.
So you want to be nice and early, practise a little bit.
Yeah, get a few goes in.
Then hopefully it's smooth sailing from there.
How are you feeling about cooking against...
The pros? These guys here?
I think we'll do OK. Quietly confident.
You got this. Got it. Good luck.
Good luck, mate. Thanks, guys.
We're not in Kansas anymore.
Whoops!
Almost went too far.
What are you doing to us?
How you going, Nick? Enjoying it?
Oh, that's such a funny question right now, to be honest.
I'm having fun. That's good.
I don't know how successful I currently am, but that's...
I had to draw on my years of experience,
but I feel as though I've got back on track.
I'm up against Malissa on the entree, Khanh's macadamia tofu.
The tofu is in the fridge and my dashi needs my attention.
Hey! Look out!
Too many machines!
Now I can move on with my consomme.
I need to get this consomme clarified correctly.
Khanh's was just exquisite.
It was cold, icy cold, and clear.
It had so much clarity and power.
This is bloody delicious!
Yeah, it smells amazing!
Holy moly! Oh, good Lord!
There's so much flavour in this.
It smells incredible.
Whilst the consomme is ticking away,
I still have to deal with my nemesis friend, the tofu.
Ohh!
I need to get it out of the mould.
It is not as tender as Khanh's. It is a bit firmer.
But it has set.
Oh, yes, that's beautiful.
Nice! Wow!
A little bit like a hockey puck.
I am able to get it out in one piece, which I feel like is a win.
Hmm, how's the best way to do this?
Now it's time for that beautiful, fine slicing
just to get the top exactly right.
How you travelling up there, big man?
Yeah, full concentration mode currently.
OK, Chef.
My consomme is clarifying. It's actually working.
All the egg white is on top, soaking up all those little impurities.
It's really cool. I've never done this before.
Good job.
So it's now time to get my tofu out of the mould.
This is the moment of truth.
Gosh! I'm so nervous. Is this number one?
Yeah, this is the first one. OK.
Yeah, it's got a nice shake to it. I hope it's set enough. OK.
You ready?
I don't know how to do this.
Oh, no.
Oh, no! Ohh!
Oh, my God, Mel. Oh, no!
Ohh!
Oh, it's not set!
Oh, my God, Mel. Ohh!
My first tofu hasn't worked,
but I've got another one in the fridge.
Phil?
Yeah. Mine wasn't set in time.
Do you think I should put it in the blast chiller for a minute?
Maybe give it a quick minute. Yeah, just to be safe.
I decide I'm gonna get that into the blast chiller
and hopefully that helps it set.
I am relying on that one to get on my plate.
Just put it away, cast it out of your mind.
We'll do the next thing.
I just want to make sure that all my other elements are perfect,
my consomme and my oil,
so I have something to serve the judges.
Now is not the time to take your foot off the gas.
You have 15 minutes to go!
Yeah! Come on, guys!
Come on! Go, Phil
Let's go!
15 minutes to go, the pie is in the oven
and now I'm making a Vietnamese satay sauce.
Khanh's satay was super smooth and rich and spicy.
And I want to replicate that.
Ooh!
It's time to get my pie out of the oven.
I've given it that extra couple of minutes
to make it nice and golden and as perfect as I can.
Oh, look at that!
Oh, well done!
Whoo-hoo!
I'm really happy with the pie. Yeah, it looks great.
I think my pie looks like Khanh's.
My ketchup is nice and smooth and shiny.
I've just got to plate up
a nice little flower of the pickled daikon,
so I'm feeling good.
How's it looking?
The edges are a little bit caught.
What made you put it on the top shelf?
I don't know. I was just rushing through it.
That's what's hurt you.
I can see that the top of the pie, it's really brown and caramelised
and the edges have started to blacken.
Khanh's version was quite dark,
but I'm quite lucky that there is still time to fix this.
So I'm cutting off those edges
and trying to smooth them out as much as possible.
It looks OK, but it's hard to know if I've done enough to win.
But I'm still gonna keep the head high and keep the faith.
Fancy, Phil!
Mm-hm.
I sure am.
Oh!
Uh, 10 minutes.
The time has run away, but the puree is done.
Oh! Yes, got it.
Come on, Ralph. Come on! Come on! You can do it.
I've got my waffle batter together.
Waffles. I wonder, are they making the waffles yet?
Yep.
I've still got to get a perfect waffle.
I'm starting to feel very nervous now.
Khanh had said you're gonna lose a couple at the start.
Oh, God. Oh, dear.
I mean, are you supposed to hold it? Do you squish it?
You can't really squish it.
Yes! Yum! Oh, man!
Mel's got one.
That is delicious. That's amazing.
Am I supposed... I think I'm supposed to cut it.
Is that your first one? Yeah.
Oh, happy days. Right?
I think... Good colour on both sides?
I feel... Yeah, I think I got lucky.
What?! That's pretty impressive.
I'm actually blown away. I can't believe it.
My first one has worked quite well.
I assemble it.
I feel happy that the parfait is the right texture it's supposed to be.
Oh, dear. We've had a catastrophe.
But I'm not happy about the Davidson's plum.
It's hit a lump and it's sort of all over the place.
Oh, no.
Not as close as I would've liked, but close.
There we go.
I've got all the other elements ready to go and set.
Come on, come on!
Come on! Oh!
Five minutes, guys.
But the clock is going so I've got one try to make the perfect waffle.
Come on!
Oh!
The absolute stress and panic is nuts.
Oh, my God!
Go, Ralph!
Come on, Ralph!
I'm losing my mind at this point.
I can't not put a dish up.
Ohh!
So I'm like, "Hurry, but relax
"because if you break this waffle, you're screwed."
Come on, guys! Come on, come on!
So I've got the waffle done.
The line is wonky and the sides of the waffle are a little bit crispy.
But you know what? It's character and I'm hoping that's enough.
I put everything I could into this cook to make my team proud.
Time to get it on a plate, guys.
You've only got three minutes to go. Come on.
Oh, my God.
Come on! Come on, guys!
Whoo! Get it, guys!
How's it look? Ehh...
Better than the other one.
I'm in the zone. I'm alright. I've just gotta focus.
It was touch and go there a couple of times
and the old bus got a bit wobbly.
The tofu is a little firm
and is standing up too straight and is not weeping like Khanh's did.
The broth is chilled and delicious, but it could be clearer.
And I think every element is delicious but on the salty end.
Tell you what, this tofu has been a mission.
It'll be interesting to see what the judges say.
I have left it down to the final seconds to get this tofu out.
It does look a lot more firm.
Yeah. Ooh, I'm nervous. I'm nervous too.
But let's do this together. I'm very nervous!
Ready? Yeah.
Ooh!
The pressure is on right now.
I've got a whole audience and they're all judging me.
You can see it. It wants to come out.
Ooh! Oh!
Maybe it doesn't look exactly the same as Khanh's, so not perfect.
It tastes really good, though.
But it has the most beautiful macadamia flavour.
Oh, my God. It looks amazing.
And it has a nice spring to it.
All my other elements are really good.
My consomme is amazing. It's super clear and it's beautiful.
So I'm super proud that I've managed to get it all done.
Here it is. 10!
9, 8, 7, 6,
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
That's it!
Man, that was unbelievable.
How'd you go? Oh, yours looks so beautiful!
I know! That was intense.
Good job, mate. Yeah, well done, dude.
Looks pretty good. It's OK.
We won't know until we cut it open, hey?
Exactly.
My first Pressure Test,
I expected it to be pretty full-on and it definitely delivered.
Team work makes the dream work.
Going for a clean sweep for the home cooks this week. Clean sweep.
Get inspired by our fabulous home cooks.
Stream full episodes of MasterChef Australia now on 10 play.
Well, Pro Cooks vs Home Cooks and it's the Khanh edition today.
Three courses, three tasty dishes.
We're looking for the team that has the best two dishes to win the day.
Shall we get the first one in? Let's get them in.
We gonna do this? Let's do it. Let's do it. Let's go.
I am pretty nervous because both teams
are a bit unsure about how this tasting's gonna go.
The moment of truth. Yeah.
Nick, Malissa. Hi.
Tofu, on a scale of 1-10, now how do you feel about it?
I loved this recipe. I thought it was so beautiful.
And this is what I want to aspire to be as a cook.
I think we've both managed to get either end of the scale there.
Yeah.
Mine's probably a little firm
and I just hope that I've done it justice.
Mine's just, like, staying there.
Well done, you two. Thank you. Well done.
Looking forward to hearing the results.
Thank you.
Mmm.
We'll start with Malissa.
The obvious downfall was the tofu.
It is the hero of that dish.
With her tofu not being set,
it was a different consistency,
but also she was unable to get
any of those cut marks in it to resemble yours.
I will say the flavour of her tofu
had that lovely, unmistakable macadamia flavour and aroma to it.
Yep, for me, the broth was pretty close to perfect.
Sometimes we don't even clarify it that clear.
That was, like, really good.
And everything tasted very, very close.
Um, Nick.
The tofu I thought was a bit salty and just a little bit firm.
But I think the broth was pretty close to mine.
So, yeah, definitely a good go at it.
I'm so glad he did the tofu again.
He's done the right thing because it really did lift it.
Overall, this just ate like yours, which was beautiful.
Alright, let's go.
It's hard to know if I've done enough to beat Chris.
There was a couple of mishaps, but I did have the time to rectify them.
Here you go. Thank you. Ta.
Righto, lads, we'll taste now.
Alright, thank you. That's it. Thanks.
Thanks, boys.
OK. Phil's first.
Very, very interesting.
OK, Phil's.
Pastry problems for him. It is just really dry.
He had it in the top shelf in the oven.
The filling itself is much more spicy than your one was.
It was actually really good.
So are you gonna amend your recipe? Yeah.
I gotta go home and fix my recipe now.
For the filling, I thought the beef was cooked perfectly
and the flavour was great.
Chris. Yep, so the pastry was great.
And for a pie, that's what you want, right, great pastry.
I thought the presentation was great as well.
It had those beautiful score marks in it.
The filling, Chris did really, really well.
Chris's beef, you got a chunk of beef texture - really, really nice.
I think Chris did a great job.
Pretty proud of him.
Hello. Hello.
Ralph, first Pressure Test, mate, how was it?
Oh, goodness. Frantic. But a great experience.
Mel, how did you go? Also your first Pressure Test.
Yeah.
I found it nerve-racking.
Are you happy with the final sandwich?
No, not 100%.
Well, what are you not happy with?
My Davidson's plum puree,
I don't know whether I needed to blend it more or something,
because when I've done the squiggle, it sort of hit a couple of bumps
and doesn't look as good as it could.
And I...I think my waffle could've been better.
Mel starts telling them about the mistakes,
so I'm just like, "Go on. Tell them more.
"Share. Tell them everything."
Um, well, it's got a couple of holes in it.
Oh, right.
Oh, sorry. I'm telling you the problems.
Alright, we're gonna taste these before they melt. Thanks, guys.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
Ralph, his parfait, he did a great job on it.
It's a shame that the waffle was, like, literally down to the second.
Yeah, the waffle itself isn't as crunchy as it should be.
Yeah, the texture wasn't quite there,
but, nevertheless, I didn't think he was going to finish at all.
OK, Mel from Nu Nu.
Completely different to look at.
Quite closely resembles yours, I think.
Really satisfying biscuit.
Yeah, it was great. Crunchy and even colour as well.
Lovely, velvety texture of the parfait
and a decent balance of flavour.
It's pretty close.
But isn't it crazy how much the pro cooks, the guys from Nu Nu,
had to work extremely hard
to get as close as yours as they possibly could
without them being actually perfect?
Now, that was my kind of Pressure Test -
a monster three-course feast
set by none other than Aussie chef royalty Khanh.
Nick, how did you find cooking Khanh's dishes today?
To be able to see into the way he thinks,
it was a really super-fun day, very challenging.
Well, Khanh, every time you step into this kitchen, you raise the bar.
Everyone, give it up for Khanh Nguyen!
You all put in a valiant effort.
But one team brought us the best version of the entree...
...main...
...and the dessert.
And without beating around the bush, that team...
...was team Nu Nu.
Phew!
Nick, Mel, Chris, congratulations.
It's no wonder that Nu Nu is still at the top of its game.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
But that does mean Ralph, Malissa, Phil,
you're joining Grace in Sunday's elimination.
See you all later. Well done.
Thank you. Well done.
Thanks, gang!
It is truly an honour, being on MasterChef,
to be able to share some knowledge,
get put under the microscope...
...and go away with the gong.
That was awesome. Good luck with the rest of the season.
Tomorrow night on MasterChef Australia...
From Stanley Restaurant in Brisbane, Louis Tikaram and team!
...another batch of pro cooks
means another chance at immunity from Sunday's elimination.
We need to go all-out
to impress the judges.
You're gonna have to bring it, seriously.
But... You're nervous!
I am, I am.
...they face a classic
Team Challenge...
What a stitch-up!
...with a massive twist.
Oh, come on!
Captions by Red Bee Media