ANNOUNCER: Previously on MasterChef Australia...
Luke Nguyen! (APPLAUSE AND CHEERING)
...Luke's Pressure Test...
You'll be cooking my...
...pho suon bo dac biet.
...had them flying blind.
You will not be given a recipe.
RUE: Ooh!
Oh, my gosh!
...in a true test of instinct...
Come on!
We are making Luke's pho. This is brand-new territory for me.
...ability...
MELISSA: We're straining, we're balancing, we're reducing.
I need to push. ...and perseverance...
THEO: There's no giving up. You just have to keep trying.
...they produced something pho-nomenal!
JOCK: This is very good!
ANDY: I loved everything in that bowl.
I'm so impressed.
But it was Grace whose MasterChef journey came to an end.
GRACE: This has been the coolest life experience ever
and I'm excited for what's next.
Tonight, it's a massive Service Challenge
and a major milestone.
MALISSA: Such a crazy moment!
I'm still pinching myself that I'm even here.
Plus, the big names in the kitchen keep getting bigger.
(GENTLE MUSIC)
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC) No aprons! Team Challenge today.
RHIANNON: For sure. It's gotta be, doesn't it?
RALPH: Top 10. That's what I'm excited about.
MALISSA: I know! What an achievement.
I wanted to make top 10, so, like, this is it for me.
I've made it to the mountaintop. Now it's about setting that next goal.
Well, there's big names this week.
DECLAN: Declan Cleary! (LAUGHTER)
BRENT: That's a big name. RHIANNON: Welcome!
Thank you.
CATH: Ohhhh! ADI: Oooh!
Whoo!
Beautiful!
Yeah, it does. It's stunning. Look at it.
DECLAN: This is a bit exciting. MALISSA: Yeah! Look at this!
ADI: I like this set-up.
MALISSA: Good morning! JUDGES: Morning.
MELISSA: There is plenty of reasons to be happy this morning
because you are the top 10 of MasterChef 2023!
(CHEERING)
But as it stands, there only nine of you standing here.
Unfortunately, Theo isn't feeling very well today,
so he's going to be spending the day recovering.
That means that he has no shot at winning immunity this week.
Of course, it's no secret as to what you're doing today.
It is a Team Service Challenge. Ohh!
So, first order of business, grab an apron,
separate yourselves into teams.
(CHUCKLES) What are we today?
Green team! Green!
Oh, it doesn't really match my outfit.
DECLAN: We only got four. We got more. Yeah.
As soon as we get our aprons on,
I can see we're only a team of four.
Oh! What's going on here? We're on here. (LAUGHS)
ANDY: Righto, so in the green team,
we've got Ralph, Adi, Brent, Rhiannon and Rue.
And on the brown team, we've got Declan, Cath, Antonio and Malissa.
So, brown team,
you've obviously got one less team member, so don't worry.
We're gonna make things fair. We'll get to that a little later.
OK.Don't stress, though. We've got you.
Are you coming on our team? Ahhh!
That may be a disadvantage.
(LAUGHTER)
Now, with big guests coming in every day this week,
it wouldn't be right without having one of the biggest names
in the industry right here, right now.
Ohhh!
This superstar chef - born in Melbourne.
But he left our shores to train under some of the absolute greats.
Now based in the US.
Oh! My God! It's Curtis Stone.
He is the proud owner of three restaurants
where he serves up Michelin-star cuisine.
Oh, my God!
He's one of the biggest chefs in the world
and one of our best mates.
We could only be talking about Curtis Stone!
(WILD CHEERING)
Whoo! Whoo! Whoo! Whoo! Oh, my God! (WOLF-WHISTLING)
What?! Curtis Stone's walking through the door.
What's going on, guys?
(JOCK GRUNTS)
How are you doin'?
Oh, my goodness! I nearly wet myself. (LAUGHS)
Yes! Hello, mate.
Andy! How are ya? Good to see ya.
He's tall! Yeah!
MALISSA: Oh, my God! Everyone's tall next to you.
I know. But, like, particularly so.
Curtis, great to have you back in the MasterChef kitchen.
It's nice to be back. How are ya? What's going on?
More Michelin stars?
Well, to be perfectly honest, we weren't expecting it at Gwen,
but it was a little bit of a surprise, a very, very welcome one,
and now, of course, we've got to keep it.
Amazing. Well, the good news is Curtis has got a chef's jacket on.
And you know what that means?
Oh! Ahh...
He's in the kitchen. You're on our team?!
He's not on your team. No, no, no, no, no.
But Curtis will be running the kitchen today.
He'll be on the pass, so you're gonna have to be top of your game.
Well, guys, today we're putting fresh ingredients front and centre.
Which is why I brought you...
...some delicious root veggies.
CATH AND MALISSA: Oooh! Ooh-wah!
BRENT: Da-da-da-da! Root veggies.
We've got turnips, sweet potatoes, parsnips and beetroots.
It's alright. Root veggies - you know, not my go-to.
I love root veg. Great comfort food. They're so versatile.
And it's a wonderful way to make your meals go further.
MELISSA: And today versatility is going to work in your favour
because you need to pick one of these ingredients
and use it two ways -
both in a savoury course and a sweet course.
Ah, right!
Mmm! Mmm!
Now, brown team, you are a person down,
so you get first pick of the ingredients.
What's it going to be?
ANTONIO: We can do sweet potato pie, brownie.
We can fire up the skin and do crisps.
Alright. Yeah! Alright.
What's the winning veg?
Uh, so we're gonna go the sweet potato.
OK, green team, you have the option of beets, turnips or parsnips.
RUE: I'm thinking beetroot. BRENT: Yeah.
I think... I think versatility-wise...
Yeah. ...um, beetroot...
Yeah. ...by far.
OK. What will it be?
We're gonna go with beetroots.
ANDY: Righto, brown team,
because you're one man down,
we're gonna give you a little extra time for prep.
So that means you'll have 3 hours
before your savoury course leaves the pass.
Green team, you'll have 2.5. OK.
You wanna know how many you're cooking for?
Yes!
24 diners, plus us.
The team that cooks the best menu overall,
they go straight into tomorrow's HUGE Immunity Challenge.
Oooh! OK. DECLAN: Ohh.
And as we said, Curtis is running the kitchen,
so I would have your A-game on.
Brown team, your 3 hours starts now!
(GREEN TEAM CALLS OUT)
CATH: OK. DECLAN: Alright. Um...
So, protein, um...
But you're thinking beef straightaway?
Yeah. ANTONIO: Yeah.
MALISSA: Do you want to go more of a Middle Eastern flavour profile?
I love Middle Eastern.
Like a Middle Eastern, Moroccan spice sweet potato?
Yeah, yeah.
You're thinking you're gonna do the main, then?
OK. Yeah, yeah. What about you?
Yeah, we'll do the main. Ah. We're dessert. Yeah! (LAUGHS)
I'm delighted to be on a team with these guys.
And I'm grateful for the advantage,
but having one person down is gonna be very, very challenging, I think.
Alright, ladies and gents, what are you thinking?
Hi there! Alright.
So, main we've got, um, an eye fillet steak
with an oven-roasted sweet potato,
um, with Moroccan spices rubbed on it.
OK. Tell me about your dessert.
We're probably going for a sweet potato brownie.
As soon as I read that menu, I think, "They're playing it safe."
Hmm. OK. Right?
And this is a restaurant challenge,
which means we need to have it achievable.
Mmm. But we also need to impress.
Let's have a think about that and then crack on.
OK.
MALISSA: Yeah, let's do that.
DECLAN: Curtis is really reminding us
that we really need to emphasise and elevate this menu today.
So I think it's important that the team utilises
that half-an-hour advantage at the beginning of the cook.
Do you want to go, um, grab some sweet potatoes?
Yeah. I'll write this out a bit better.
CURTIS: They've chosen sweet potatoes.
I love the look of these sweet potatoes.
They're beautiful, sustainable, Australian sweet potatoes.
These are grown by Henry and Matthew Prichard
from Cudgen Farms in Cudgen, NSW.
They supply to Coles.
How are they going?
Look, brown team has some decent ideas.
They're playing it a little safe, if I'm being honest.
Um, but I think with a little refinement, they can get there.
The difficulty that we've seen
when they don't have a clear idea at the beginning,
they struggle to make it on time at the end.
Yep.
So, the sooner they can work out... Lock it in.
...exactly what these two dishes are
and exactly what the components are,
the more chance they're gonna have of getting this right.
Right.
RALPH: Five minutes to go.
ADI: They're still planning. CATH: Yeah. That's the thing.
They're still writing things. Yeah, yeah, so that's...
So you're saying that's what we have to do.
So what are we gonna do first? Yeah.
BRENT: Yeah, the brown team hasn't started cooking yet.
Time is ticking away and they're just talking and planning
instead of just getting going.
Urgency from the start. Urgency from the start.
Green team, you have beetroots and your 2.5 hours starts now!
Go, green team! (CHEERING)
RHIANNON: Let's go, green team.
Alright. OK.
It's a great team! We have Brent, Adi, Ralph and Rue.
Oh, here! Here.
And we have beetroot as our dessert and main element.
So, what are we thinking? What about octopus?
Marries up really well with beetroot. Earthy...
Yeah. I think that could look really nice too.
We've decided on that. We'll go out and do the planning out there.
RALPH: We'll chat at the bench.
I've never won a Team Challenge, but I'm winning today.
I've got only winning on my mind.
Do you want to be team captain? I don't mind. I'll be team captain.
OK, you'll be team captain. Yeah. You can still write, you know?
OK. I'll write. I'll be your... I'll be your...
RALPH: Scribe. Scribe.
So, I haven't been team captain, I've lost every bloody challenge
and I'm like, "You know what? Just step in and do it."
- Hello. - Hi, Rhiannon. What are the ideas?
So we're going to do an octopus
and we're gonna braise it and we're gonna just have it in aromats
and then finish it on the hibachi...
OK. ..just to give it that little char.
Who... who cooks octopus?
ADI AND RUE: Brent. Yeah?
Octopus is either fabulous or horrible.
There's nothing in between.
So, if you're 100% confident you're gonna get it right...
Yeah... then it's the right dish to do.
Yeah.
But if there's a shadow of doubt in your mind that it could go wrong,
you need to change the dish right now.
I think I've come up with a great idea
and then big Curtis Stone, he's a bit worried.
Yeah. I'm... I'm... confident.
You're confident? OK. Yeah.
You need to get the octopus tenderised immediately.
But you've gotta just put your hand up, back yourself and go for it
and today is one of those times.
RHIANNON: You right there, Brent? Yep.
Ralph, Rue... RUE: Yes.
Tell me about your dessert.
A goat's cheese cremeux with a beetroot consomme.
Gotcha. Nice. Yeah.
OK. So...
Phew! You guys are ambitious over here in the bloody green team.
You can pour that consomme... Around?
...and it can just sort of go around.
Nice idea. I like it. Yeah. OK.
The beetroot needs to be front and centre in this consomme.
OK.
Because it's really the only place we're seeing it in the dessert.
So this is a lot. OK.
You guys ready to move tonight? We're ready.
(TENSE MUSIC)
Alright, let's go.
The brief is root vegetables,
so it goes without saying you have to dig deep!
Two hours to go! ANDY: Come on, guys!
MALISSA: Um, so I'll just do... How many of those will we need?
DECLAN: So the green team have already got started
on both their dishes and we're still talking for some reason.
Are you doing crispy sweet potato skins anymore
or can we steal them back?
We've spent a good 30, 40 minutes planning
and organising everything that we're gonna be doing.
Um...
But time is of the essence, especially being one person down
and, you know, I think we need to really focus on a bit more prepping
and not as much planning.
I'll just put it here and we can work along as we go.
Yep. Awesome. OK. Alright. Sweet as.
Yeah, yeah.
RHIANNON: So currently, I'm just getting beets ready.
So we're basically gonna roast them
and then we're gonna chop them in pieces and then spice them
and we'll just have a piece on each plate with the octopus.
Yeah, so our team is booming forward.
Brent's working on the braised octopus
and Adi's working on the green sauce.
Tell me what you want with the herb dressing.
Not like... as liquidy, I guess. It eats pretty good, though.
We've got Rue and Ralph, they're doing dessert.
We're going blast chiller 30 minutes.
Put a time on it, check it. Yeah, OK.
They're making goat cheese cremeux with a beetroot consomme
and beautiful poached pears.
So this is nearly done, this portion? Yep, that's done. Yeah.
Alright. Keep going with the other stuff.
OK. Yeah.
Ralph and Rue are really powering on.
They've got the goat's cheese cremeux all done,
so they're putting that in.
Ah! Perfect!
My biggest concern with dessert is the poached pears cooking
and the beetroot consomme
because they're gonna need a long time to cook.
Hey, Rhi! Hi, darling.
Team captain? Yeah.
You go, girl!
DECLAN: Alright. So, yeah, you'll get them in, Mal?
Yeah. And then I'll start working on the tahini.
Yeah.
Planning is done.
OK. Alright.
It was a bit chaotic, but we are moving forward.
So now for our main today, we're gonna be doing fillet steaks
with a Middle Eastern-spiced sweet potato puree
and some tahini.
So you're cooking them individually? Yeah.
Yeah. Nah.
I just want it to be delicious and full of flavour.
Yeah.
Cath and Antonio are really good with their sweets and desserts.
And they're working on the sweet potato custard tart
with the cinnamon ice cream.
We haven't got a designated captain, have we?
We don't have an official team captain,
but, um, we all know our places
and where we need to be throughout this challenge.
MALISSA: How are you guys going? ANTONIO: Good.
So, remember to shout if you need anything.
OK. Teamwork!
Feeling confident? Yeah!
OK. That's what I like to hear. Teamwork! This is gonna be good.
So, today, I'm doing the ice cream.
But we're cooking for 24 diners, plus three judges.
So, I need to be making, you know, large quantities of the ice cream.
But I'm feeling very nervous.
Oh!
I need to...
From last time,
I think maybe I've got a little bit of PTSD from making ice cream.
Oh, no!
Yeah, I'm falling apart now. THEO: You're good. Don't fall apart.
Check the ice cream. It's not... It's not... great.
It's not great? This is really soft!
We've gotta go... We've gotta go so quick, OK?
JOCK: What happened?
So, I really want to be very, very careful today.
And if we don't get the quantities right now,
we may not be able to serve plates which are consistent.
One cup of milk, one cup of cream. So it's 500 mils.
Yep. Yeah?
Tablespoon.
It's trying to get that right
and trying to do it under pressure.
Alright, so hang on a sec. So, one and a half, um...
So, I need 400...4,000 mils.
(CATH GASPS)
I just get... I just get mixed up with all this.
I just want to get it right this time.
You've got this, Cath. I believe in you.
Yeah, I'm just nervous with the spice mix.
So I've got, um, some cinnamon here, I've got some ground nutmeg.
No. I didn't do that.
Oh, my God! I just used the wrong one.
(TENSE MUSIC)
Right from the onset, mistake.
So I've actually... I'm st... I need to start my spice mix again.
Yeah.
Cinnamon, cinnamon, cinnamon. Where did you go?
Ice-cream queen or ice-cream curse?
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
(BIRDSONG)
CATH: Hey, do you think I just need to get this milk on?
I'm trying to do the cinnamon spice.
OK. Um, do you need a hand?
I'm not sure whether what I'm... You good?
...am I doing the wrong thing.
So, today I'm doing the ice cream,
but my stress is escalating.
Oh, my God!
Yeah, I'm worried about the quantities of the ice cream.
Um, Curtis, can I just ask you? Yes.
I've got PTSD from ice cream last time.
So I'm feeling a bit sick about it. Yep.
So I'm doing four batches of ice cream.
OK.
So, it's really cup of milk, cup of cream. That's the four egg yolks.
That's the recipe I'm doing. Yep.
Yeah, two cups of cream, two cups of milk.
OK.
It doesn't look... I don't look efficient, do I?
You're panicked, then it's messy. I am. Do you know what?
I know I am. So, calm down.
So I need to... Yeah. Thank you. Alright? Calm down.
Put your ingredients in. Yeah.
Turn them all on so they're getting hot together.
Mm-hm. Yep. OK?
Curtis is amazing. He is.
He has such a presence about it, and a calm presence.
Did you put two in the other one? Yeah.
I just really want to concentrate on this ice cream.
Yeah. Yep, that's exactly what you should be doing.
You know?
Very direct presence, but calm.
Don't let this boil, and light your stoves.
Okie-doke.
Here's your lighter. Thank you.
And that was really comforting and just what I needed at the time.
So I gotta win. It's a beautiful Team Challenge.
Just relax with the ice cream.
Have a good time. Just enjoy. Look where you are.
Curtis Stone is in the house. OK. Have fun.
I know I can do this!
So keep going, Cath!
Green team, brown team, you have 90 minutes until the start of service.
Let's go! Come on! CATH: Come on, guys! Let's go!
RUE: Yeah, we're better off, like, you know, just...
Ooh! That was close, love. Reflexes like a cat...
That was close. Reflexes like a cat.
RHIANNON: You alright, Brent? Yeah.
So, what are you up to?
Just the spice mix for the... For the beet?
Yeah. Yep.
We have beetroot as our dessert and main element.
So, today for main, Brent's on octopus.
Well, Brent's all ready for the hibachi.
Adi's working on the sauce.
Ralph and Rue are doing dessert -
the goat's cheese cremeux with a beetroot consomme.
And... oh, my God! Curtis in the kitchen.
CURTIS: Have a taste.
RUE: Oh, my goodness! I am a huge fan!
I'm literally having to look at him like this. (LAUGHS)
You hold it, you pour it. OK.
With our consomme, we have to drain just the liquid.
Can it drop lower than that? No!
Trying to hang the beetroot so that it just drips lovely into a bowl.
But we can't hang it up because it's not gonna sit in a bowl.
And I need gold old Curtis to... to help.
How can we fix this so you don't have to stand here?
Yeah, we don't have deeper pots. Get me some cling film.
I'm like, "What are you gonna use this cling wrap for?
"What are you trying to do?"
This is called the... the bushman's mechanics.
The bushman's! (LAUGHS)
And he just MacGyvers it
so that we can tie it onto the side of the pot
while it drips into the bottom.
And I'm like, "That's quite impressive."
Right side tight.
Everyone's going well. I'm pretty happy. Yeah.
But in saying that, I haven't won one Team Challenge.
Come on! Today's the day while I'm captain.
When you're team captain,
like, you've got your own jobs,
but you've also got to look out for the whole team.
ADI: Are we on track, Rhi?
'Cause I'm running behind on this bloody sauce.
You've got to make sure that everything's going to plan
and everything's going to time.
Well, what else are you doing, though?
Are you just doing the sauce?
I mean, the mother comes out of me
and I can start, like, telling people what to do
and I feel right at home with that.
(LAUGHS)
Well, currently, yes.
Yeah, so just stay on it. OK.
But you've still got to focus on your own thing.
Yes, I'm just trying to get one job at a time, like the beets in,
asap, before mains are served.
But with everything that's going on...
...I just hope that these beetroots are good.
It doesn't matter if it's beetroot or sweet potato,
you've only got one hour till service!
Argh! (CHUCKLES)
Let's go! Whoo-hoo!
One hour? ANDY: One hour!
Oh!
(GIGGLES) More important.
DECLAN: It's really important to hit that brief today
and feature your given ingredient and we've chosen sweet potato.
Um, I'm in charge of cooking and the prep of these steaks.
So I grab the bull by the horns
and... and I'm gonna work on trimming back all that steak,
taking the sinew off.
Meat, it's definitely not my forte to this mass extent,
so I've really got to make sure all these portions
are pretty much the same and uniform.
That's pretty small, brother.
How big are you cutting the steak? Alright. That was 115.
Is that what you're planning on serving them?
Yeah. So I was... Are you putting them on a diet?
Oh... OK. Alright. Yeah. No worries. Yeah.
Have you ever been out for dinner
and read "Eye fillet - 115 grams"?
115 grams. No. I haven't, no. Don't be such a tight-arse.
Yes. (LAUGHS) Cut it at least 150.
I'm extremely intimidated cooking these many steaks to order.
You have to cook that perfectly. Correct.
And if you mess that up... Yeah.
...you're exposing yourself to the whole dining room.
Correct. Right? It's overcooked.
Yeah. And everyone sees it.
You know, the steak's one of the biggest parts of this dish
and Curtis definitely has high expectations.
You know, he's a Michelin-star chef.
OK. Alright. Thank you.
So, yeah, I feel like the pressure's on me.
And, look, in all honesty...
...I'm shitting myself.
ANDY: Things are well and truly starting to heat up in this kitchen!
And you've only got 30 minutes till service!
JOCK: Let's go! MELISSA: Come on!
(JUDGES CLAP)
Alright, guys, let's really motor.
You alright, Antonio? ANTONIO: Yep. All good.
For our sweet dish, brown team will be cooking a sweet potato tart
with a spiced ice cream and a caramel sauce.
CATH: OK, so the ice cream, we've got three are churning,
one's in the blast chiller ready to go in.
CURTIS: Good. We're getting close. CATH: Yeah? Yeah? Cool!
And it tastes great!
Curtis Stone just said my ice cream was looking good. Yes!
BRENT: Push now.
So, half an hour to go, octopus is just slowly braising away.
We've got Rhiannon who's still on the beetroots for the main course.
She's got whole roasted beetroots
and we're gonna crisp up the beetroot leaves.
And Adi who's making the green sauce.
It's a big pressure point, the octopus,
so I've really gotta make sure that it's nailed perfectly
'cause we all want to cook for immunity.
So, end goal today is put up something delicious.
Ooh, yeah. Yummy, yummy.
Tester on the octopus? Yeah, a little tester.
Are you happy? Yeah.
They're definitely done. Yeah.
Once you cool them down and put them on the hibachi,
anything kinda brushy-brushy?
Uh, lemon juice, salt, pepper, oil, that's it.
OK.
There's heaps of talk about how important
this octopus is to the dish,
but I think we're forgetting that the brief is beetroot.
So, everyone, stop looking at me
and let's start looking at Rhiannon and her beetroot.
(CHUCKLES)
Hot behind you.
I'm just checking this one.
Still not ready.
Beetroots aren't cooked.
Octopus is great, but beetroots are our feature!
What do we do?
(BIRDSONG)
Hot behind you.
I'm just checking this one.
CURTIS: Still not ready, right?
Beetroots aren't cooked.
Octopus is great, but beetroots are our feature!
What do we do?
Let it cook. The more you take it out, the less it cooks.
Yeah.
Come on! Get it in.
If this team loses today because of my bloody beetroot,
I'm gonna be spewin'.
Right, guys, you should be cleaned down.
So don't just stand there. Do something.
Well, from what I can see here, Curtis is in the thick of it.
Mmm.
He's got two kitchens to try and hustle here.
Green team, I've seen you over there trying the octopus.
Is it nice? Is it tender? It's tender. Yeah, it is tender.
MELISSA: Good. Rhiannon took the beets out of the oven
a couple of minutes ago.
Curtis had a little poke and a little prod
and it's not looking cooked, so they went back into the oven.
And that does worry me. Yeah, that would be a shame.
Because if Brent's gonna go through all of the work
to get this octopus spot-on and the beetroot component isn't cooked?
You'd be gutted.
Brown chicken. Hmm.
Yeah. I can see Antonio, the desserts.
Right? He's chosen to go with the big tarts, which is great.
Are they gonna bake in time?
Well, we hope so, because otherwise when you go to slice it
and you have, you know, instead of having a beautiful wedge of a tart,
you'll have, um, something that doesn't look overly lovely,
and, you know, we have 24 guests to think about.
How are you going?
ANTONIO: Uh, we have the tarts blind-baking.
CURTIS: Ooh! Oh, you don't have a weight on them. There's no weight!
Sorry? There's no weight.
You need to weigh them. Yeah. Oh!
Otherwise they're gonna bubble up. Yep.
I don't have much time before the diners start their meal.
And I'm falling behind with the sweet potato tart.
Alright, we definitely need a... (BEEPING)
Oh, I just put a timer off!
I still need to do a lot of stuff and I'm a bit frantic.
After the custard's done,
we're gonna fill in the tart shells
and then we're gonna put them in the oven for roughly 20, 30 minutes,
and then they need to come out and rest.
MALISSA: Whoo! This is so hot!
For mains,
my job is to make the sweet potato puree, tahini dressing
and some crispy sweet potato skins to add a little garnish on top.
Mmm. It's good.
It's not good. It's absolutely delicious!
(LAUGHS) You're right!
My goal is just get as much done now
because as soon as Declan is ready to start cooking those steaks,
I don't want him to have to think
or even look at anything else going on in the kitchen.
This will take about five minutes to cook.
Yeah, yeah. Perfect.
Um, so... And about three minutes to rest.
Curtis Stone, a Michelin-star chef,
he's renowned for cooking his steaks and his beef
and he's probably done thousands of services in his life,
I'm gonna listen to him.
You need butter, garlic, thyme leaves.
'Cause that's what we'll baste the steaks in.
OK. Beautiful. Butter, garlic, thyme.
Your diners are arriving,
so that means you have 15 minutes till service!
JOCK: Let's go! Hustle! Hustle! ANDY: Come on!
Oh, gosh.
CATH: Oh! Oh, man!
That's scary!
CURTIS: You've all gotta be ready on your stations
and coordinated to come up as one team, OK?
BRENT: Yes, Chef. RALPH: Yes, sir.
ANTONIO: Mal, can you open the oven, please?
MALISSA: Yeah. This one?
Alright.
(RALPH SINGS) # Let's get it done. ♪
Adi. Um, can I help you?
RUE: Um, yes. We need more pears.
So, here.
For the dessert, the concept we're working with today
is a goat's cheese cremeux with poached pears
and then you've got the beetroot consomme on the side
which is a beautiful, deep purple colour.
But with the amount of time that we've got left,
we can't actually poach the pears entirely,
so we're just gonna have to get a melon baller, scoop them out
to make them a bit smaller so they're easier to poach.
Green team, brown team, service has started!
I want my first tables of four up in four minutes, please.
Four minutes. Yes, Chef. Four minutes. OK.
DECLAN: Alright. These go in.
(SIZZLING)
The time I've been most nervous about,
the time to finally cook these steaks
and it's here in front of me now.
You know, I'll cook for myself and the missus a steak at home,
but that's about as far as it gets.
When he says, "I'm sending my beef," that's when you send your garnish.
I'm gonna be cooking all the steaks,
Antonio's gonna be cutting them in half
and Malissa's gonna be helping plate them up.
Just take the hot plates and drop them up here.
They should be hot. Almost so hot you can't hold them.
How long on my first table, please? DECLAN: Yeah, Antonio, you're ready.
Yep.
The steaks I wanna cook medium-rare.
I think it's just sort of everyone's favourite way to eat it.
And so I send my first four steaks out.
The steak's not cooked. Refire it. Take it back.
All of them? All of them have to go back.
And all four come straight back.
Not cooked enough.
I'm really feeling the pressure right now. I can't let my team down.
Serve me raw steak, I sent it back to you, right?
Yes, Chef. Then you cook another four.
Yep!
So now we have a table that's gonna wait about eight minutes.
It really comes down to me and how I cook these steaks.
And, yeah, it's intense.
Are those next four steaks out, Declan?
Nah! They're coming out now!
Oh, shit.
CURTIS: How long on my first table, please?
DECLAN: Yeah, Antonio, you're ready. Yeah.
I sent my first four steaks out.
The steak's not cooked. Refire it. Take it back.
And all four come straight back.
So you know what you have to do, right?
Cook for a little longer, rest for a little longer.
Yeah. Alright. Alright?
You sent it sooner than I told you to.
Curtis Stone, a Michelin-star chef, didn't hold back
from sending those first four steaks back.
Do you have four extra or do I need to cut you some more beef?
I need... Yeah, I had three extra. So I need one more.
I've never cooked this many steaks to order.
And not having a probe to sort of check the internal temperature,
it's bloody tricky.
Yeah.
Once they come out of the pan... Yeah?
...you've got about three minutes to rest them.
OK. Right?
That's a tiny bit over. OK.
You're just gonna have to feel it. Yep. Alright.
If I somehow pull this off,
maybe I deserve a spot in Curtis's restaurant.
(LAUGHS)
ANTONIO: Alright, let me know when you have your four.
Are you quality controlling those steaks?
(LAUGHS) Of course! One for me and one for the guys.
(CHUCKLES) Right!
Four more steaks are ready in one minute.
You gotta move, you gotta move. OK.
Come on! I'm on the pass today.
My job now is to add a tablespoon of the sweet potato puree,
add a swirl of the tahini dressing,
layer up my baby spinach, steaks, and then the sweet potato crisps.
Very nice. Very, very nice.
Service, please!
Hi.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
From the brown team, we have an eye fillet
with Middle Eastern sweet potato puree
and a tahini dressing.
Yours looks beautiful.
It does! Mine is a touch over medium.
And yours is medium-well.
It's exactly what you don't want eye fillet to be.
No. No.
So... the sweet potato puree,
it's got a nice spice blend to it.
It goes really well with that kind of acidic tahini sauce
around the outside.
Those two marry up really nicely.
Some simple sauteed spinach, which is well seasoned.
Um... and the sweet potato chips. Done!
There's some great cooking on most of the elements,
but the Rolls-Royce is that steak
and for it to be so inconsistent, it leaves them in trouble.
It's a shame because my steak was medium.
It was nice. Obviously I've eaten it.
But everything else married up so well.
And I enjoyed the flavours.
You know, it was a good Australian dish.
It takes a little bit of... a little bit of flavours
from all over the place.
Yeah.
And you put it together and it's surprisingly delicious.
It's that thing about a Service Challenge
where I look at your plate and yours, they're all very different.
That means we're all having three very different experiences
and that's not what you want.
RHIANNON: Well, we're kind of just waiting on these beets.
So, brown team have already started
and we still haven't bloody sent out anything.
Brent's got the octopus ready to go.
The green sauce is done.
The spice mix is done. The beetroots aren't.
CURTIS: Rhiannon, your job is to give me hot beets.
I know. That's fully cooked.
Yes. Alright?
So you can't give me anything but that.
I'm panicking.
I can't let this beetroot be our failure and our downfall.
I would be devastated.
Um... Well, let's taste it.
Oh, it's pretty crunchy still.
'Cause some of them are a bit bigger, so...
So pull the small ones out. Yeah, I'll work on the small ones.
And leave the big ones in.
I just focus on cutting up the smaller ones,
tossing them in olive oil, salt and pepper,
and they... them seem OK.
ADI: How are you going, Brenty? BRENT: Yeah, good.
Now it's time to get ready for the 'bach.
Well, I always say, "What's better than one hibachi? Four hibachis!"
So it's going to get nice and smoky in my section.
Alright, next four are up. ADI: Thank you!
RHIANNON: These ones look awesome, Brent.
Coming with some more. Yep! Please do.
Finally, service starts.
I'm putting a drizzle of my sauce on the plate,
then a few slices of roasted beetroot.
Put on a spiced rub, cover it with the octopus
and then I'm using some of those crispy beetroot leaves
as a garnish.
They look good.
It really looks like something that could go out at a restaurant
and we made it!
OK, service, please. Service, please!
Thank you very much. JOCK: Thank you.
Wow. Thank you.
From the green team, we have a main of charred octopus with beetroot.
I think it looks pretty great!
Yeah, I like the look of it.
Yeah, it looks good.
(CLEARS THROAT) Interesting plate of food.
For me, I really enjoyed it.
Very kinda mod Oz.
It all centres round this braised and then charred ockie,
and you can see the colour on it's actually beautiful.
The flavour's great.
The other thing I like, actually,
is this green guy - sauce thing - that they've got going on.
I think that and the octopus go really well together.
I agree. I think the octopus is delicious.
It's the... It's the kind of texture that you really want,
really lovely and tender.
And that beautiful, you know, burnished glow on the outside,
adding another layer of flavour.
That's clever cooking to be able to kind of add little bits
during the cooking process
and then you end up with something on the plate
that is multidimensional, really interesting to eat.
I think we were so focused on the octopus.
Yeah. And he's nailed it.
But the upsetting thing is, like,
the thing that we weren't really worried about, the roasted beetroot,
one of mine was cooked and I was like...
But then the second one was... It was too al dente.
What a shame. Unfortunately, that's where they've come up short.
ADI: Service, please! RHIANNON: I think that's it.
Not too much congratulations until we get dessert on.
Oh, Ralph, it's yummy. OK.
Ralph and I have unmoulded all our little cremeux.
That's yummy! OK.
So it's still coming to temp. OK.
Just want it to be a little bit firm,
but, like, in a sort of bit wobbly...
Like, you know, when you get into it,
you want it to be like, you know, smooth and luxurious.
CURTIS: Whoo-hoo! Nice.
DECLAN: Alright. MALISSA: Whoo-hoo! Good job, guys!
Savoury service is done.
It's time for the dessert service.
Don't celebrate too soon. We've got to get ready for dessert.
Clean everything down. OK. Awesome!
We've tried to work out what's left to go for our sweet potato tart.
ANTONIO: They're resting. They're... they're resting, yeah?
The ice cream's in the blast chiller.
OK. Um...
Well, you think, well, we've got the caramel.
The caramel's done? No. Is it?
I don't... I don't know.
We don't have the caramel. (DRAMATIC MUSIC)
(SIGHS FRUSTRATEDLY)
I thought we were gonna do a caramel with the, uh...
Well, we were. Um...
Oh, my goodness!
Clean down, get organised.
We are so close to service.
Now, it's... it's pure chaos.
Let's do it. OK, let's go, let's go!
This is gonna go in here. Get it on!
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OK, let's go, let's go. This has gotta go in here.
Get it on. Yeah, OK. Alright.
Unfortunately, we've forgotten about the sweet potato caramel
for the dessert
and we are so close to service.
So now it's all hands on deck trying to get this done.
DECLAN: Yeah, come on, guys, let's motor.
OK, I need some more golden syrup probably.
More golden syrup? Oh, God, yeah.
Then I realised I've actually got a small batch of sweet potato puree.
Where's the puree?
So, with that sweet potato puree
we put into some of the caramel.
The flavour is beautiful!
I can definitely taste the sweet potato.
Yeah.
Unfortunately, we don't have enough for a jug for each person,
but we've got enough just to have a little drizzle on the plate.
You got three minutes, guys. Three minutes for dessert service.
DECLAN: Three minutes till dessert service.
CATH: OK, three minutes till dessert service, you guys!
So let's pull a tart. We should try to cut one.
So, the tarts have been cooled down.
You need a long knife. Yep.
And we do the first cut...
...and it's a tad runny.
It's a bit soft.
I'm kind of feeling... feeling a little bit defeated, to be honest.
Alright, so... They need a bit more time, but...
Yeah, they sure do.
So that's going to the blast chiller.
So we actually decide to get the tart back into the blast chiller
just to see if exposure to the cold air in the blast chiller
hopefully fixes it.
Looks amazing, guys. We're all ready.
Here's another bowl of balls. Thank you.
There's these beautiful poached pear balls
and then the cremeux's so smooth and goat-cheese forward.
With that beetroot, earthy consomme that it's got, the sweetness,
oh, my God.
The combination is divine!
Ralph and Rue have done such an amazing job.
Happy for service. Yeah, thank you.
JOCK: Thank you. ANDY: Thank you!
MELISSA: Thank you. OK.
So, from the green team, we have a dessert of goat's cheese cremeux,
beetroot consomme and poached pear.
Interesting dessert.
Like, a bit of a play on, you know, goat's cheese and beetroot,
you know, done into a dessert.
And the flavour is on point. It's delicious.
The balance is beautiful.
The consomme is actually the best bit about this dessert.
I really love it.
It sings of beautiful beetroot.
Almost as if it'd been cooked for a long time.
I love the concept of this.
This is a very intriguing savoury-sweet course.
And I like how sour the goat's cheese is
because it sort of makes the whole thing very palate cleansing,
very refreshing, really sound.
Hard flavours to get right...
Yeah. ...in a... in a sweet dessert.
You know, you're playing with goat's cheese,
you're playing with beetroot, and, yeah, I know they go together,
but then you throw a red wine poached pear in there,
it's not an easy thing to do.
Yeah, I think for... for a balancing act
and how beetroot really played a role in this role,
they've knocked this one out of the park for me.
ADI: Service. Thank you.
Service is done, guys!
We did it! RALPH: Good job. Well done.
We did it! We nailed it!
Well done, Rhi! We did it. Bloody awesome.
We did it. Teamwork.
CATH: Come on, let's do it, let's do it!
The other guys are out. They've got theirs out. Come on!
I take the tarts out.
MALISSA: OK, how are we going? Good?
I think this is a good batch. Yep, beautiful.
CATH: OK.
Some tart shells are definitely looking better than others.
You know what? I reckon start sending those.
But there's definitely inconsistencies.
Look, we are pretty slow on our dessert.
Um, our little pies didn't set perfectly.
But we're just trying to get everything together now
and get it out as quickly as we can.
You're just gonna have to be super careful
'cause they're really soft.
Finally, tart is on the plate. The crumb is on the plate.
As well as Cath's spiced ice cream and a caramel is on there as well.
Service, please!
ANTONIO: I'm really worried.
Some of my tarts are not completely set.
But, yeah, I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Well, well, well.
(BIRDSONG)
(TENSE MUSIC)
DECLAN: Alright, service, thank you.
Thank you!
Well, well, well.
Uh, from the brown team, a dessert of sweet potato tart
with spiced ice cream and sweet potato caramel.
Um, the tart, it was too soft.
It's a shame because the tart case is epic.
Look at the caramelisation on that. It's absolutely perfect.
However, the best thing for me was that caramel.
Mmm.
'Cause it really tasted of sweet potato.
Yeah.
The ice cream, beautiful spice blend in there.
Um, the tart itself, great job on the tart shell.
Like, amazing caramelisation. Yeah.
That is primo.
I feel somewhat conflicted about this dessert.
On paper, I really love it.
Where I get the sweet potato flavour is in that caramel,
but the custard, it's not a particularly enjoyable texture.
I wished for something a bit more silky, a bit more velvety.
And, honestly, I don't know where that puts them.
Here we go, guys. MALISSA: Here we go!
Last one. Come on, guys. Make it count.
CATH: Ohh. OK, this is it. This is it!
It's great! This is the last one!
Service, please! Good job. Good job.
Well done. Good work.
Thanks for your help. Well done.
Thank you so much! Well done. You guys rocked it.
Ohh! Cath, you're amazing. Good job.
ANDY: Right, time to see which team's menu
has won them a shot at immunity tomorrow.
Are we ready? CONTESTANTS: Yes!
Brown team, start with you.
Declan, it was always gonna be tough
to cook 27 steaks consistently
and, unfortunately, you didn't.
But... everything else on that plate,
it was well seasoned and it was delicious
and it was sweet potato forward.
Green team,
Brent, always gonna be tough to cook 27 portions of octopus perfectly.
But you did. Oh!
However, beetroots, which were your featured ingredient,
they were a little undercooked.
Oh, jeez.
Damn it.
Over to the sweet course.
Brown team,
your tart shell - epic!
Yay!
The caramel - delicious.
Yay!
But...
...the tart filling was soft and grainy.
Green team.
The flavour combination of beetroot, goat's cheese and pear
was the right one.
But more than that,
the beetroot consomme was beautifully executed.
It was sophisticated, elevated and exactly what we wanted to see today,
which is why, the green team, congratulations!
(GREEN TEAM CHEERS) Oh, my gosh!
Whoo! ADI: Well done, guys.
First team challenge I have won!
(LAUGHS)
Finally had a win! Bloody hell.
Rhiannon, Ralph, Adi, Brent and Rue,
you've won yourselves a spot in tomorrow's Immunity Challenge
where someone will walk away safe from Sunday's elimination.
OK!
On top of that...
...Curtis Stone will be with us again tomorrow!
(CONTESTANTS CHEER)
Wow! How good is that?!
So, be kind to each other and we'll see you all back in here tomorrow.
Well done, guys! Well done, gang! Well done, team!
Well done. Yay! Well done!
RHIANNON: Finally!
Whoo-hoo!
Oh, my God!
NARRATOR: Tomorrow night on MasterChef Australia...
Curtis Stone! (CHEERING)
...Curtis returns
with a mouth-watering Immunity Challenge.
It really makes you salivate.
It makes your mouth sort of excited.
Plus, a prize so massive...
The winner will be on Coles shelves
in stores tomorrow!
It's mind-blowing!
(IMITATES EXPLOSION)
Captions by Red Bee Media