VOICEOVER: Previously on MasterChef Australia,
it was Lucky Dip Day.
Dried chillies. (LAUGHTER)
Are you ready?
PEZZA: Couldn't have picked anything worse.
Like yin and yang,
some were happy with their ingredients...
These are an absolute gift. Like, these are besties.
..and some were not.
A nightmare, I think, is an understatement.
How did I end up with this?
But they all did their best to impress.
The fried chicken is epic.
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: That's superb.
SOFIA: All those flavours dance on the back of your palate.
It is bloody delicious.
And Mimi won the final immunity challenge of the week.
Tonight, it's time for an elimination,
and time is of the essence.
Enjoy yourself, mate. Main thing. That's it, mate.
Best of luck. You too, man.
Black aprons when it counts, and going up against three
of my best friends - Lochy, Pezza and Sav.
Everyone's going to want it.
It's you against everyone.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Step right up, everybody.
And I see the auctioneer's paddle up the front,
and I have seen this one on the telly,
so I think we're in for a bit of fun.
Right?
It's elimination day, and this one is going to be huge.
We polled our fans to determine that this is one of the most popular
MasterChef challenges in the competition's history.
It is...
..The Time Auction! Yes!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Any ingredients you want to cook with today,
you'll need to bid for.
And the only currency we accept
is time.
Play it smart because, at the end of the day...
..one of you will be going, going, gone.
SAVINDRI: I'm always in a state of determination
when I'm in a black apron,
and I have to put my slightly manipulative hat on today.
Pezza, how do you feel about auctions?
I love a good auction.
Used to be a part of my life for about 10 years, so I'm, um...
What, you're an auctioneer? Yeah.
No way!
Auctioneer for 10 years, selling cattle along the coast.
Give us...give us a little demo. Yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
OK, ladies and gentlemen, beautiful line-up of food here today.
Who'd like to start me off on a lovely line of, uh, coriander?
Who's got luck? 25? 25, now.
25 and six, seven. Yes!
That's 28. 28, nine.
29. 30? 30 now. 30 gone.
All done at 30.
We sell, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Oh, look, I love auctioneering, but, um, I'd rather
be auctioneering than buying -
that's the way I always see it.
Here's how it's going to work.
Everyone has 120 minutes to spend, so use it wisely.
There are three different categories to bid on.
You have protein, fresh produce,
and pantry items.
You bid on ingredients in each of those categories,
in lots of five minutes.
You must use at least one of the ingredients
from each category in your cook.
Your cook time is whatever time you have remaining
after the bidding finishes.
The MasterChef pantry and garden are closed,
but you will have under-bench staples,
minus the eggs...
Got ya.
Righto, for our first category,
we've got proteins.
Pretty important, I reckon.
So, we've got a whole duck,
a beautiful whole red snapper,
some lamb mince
and eggs.
HARRY: I think I know
what everyone's going to be leaning towards.
You know, there's a duck up there - I think that's up Pezza's alley,
but also Lochy's, and, um,
look, I'd love to end up with that snapper.
We're gonna kick it off with the whole duck.
Can I get five minutes for this beautiful bird? Come on.
Yeah, go on. Yeah, baby.
I knew he'd be in for the protein.
I'm no stranger to the auction system.
I have got a strategy.
I don't want to tell too many about it, but I think the duck
will pair so well with nearly everything that's left.
I'll give 10. Five minutes with Pezza.
You got 10, Harry? Yeah.
15 with Pezza. 20.
Five...
25, there we go. Now we've got the ball rolling.
Come on, 30? I'll give you 30, mate.
We've got 30 with Harry. There it is.
I'm surprised. I thought Harry would want the fish.
Out of the group today, like, Pezza's hyper competitive.
He may not seem it all the time, but he doesn't like to lose.
So, I'm gonna try and drive that price up.
30 minutes. Can I get 35 from anyone?
Yeah, go on. There we go.
35, with Pezza! Come on! Yeah!
Now we're getting into it.
I'll give you 40. 40 minutes. There we go.
Yeah, give us another crack. There we go.
45 minutes with Pezza.
Harry?
No. I'm out, Andy. I'm good.
No more takers?
Sold to Pezza for 45 minutes. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(SPEAKS FRENCH)
The first pen of cattle will always be the cheapest.
It won't be the biggest, but it'll be the cheapest
because everybody's getting a feel for what the market's doing.
Make him pay for the fish, won't you?
Jean-Christophe, what have you got over there, mate?
A red snapper.
LOCHY: That red snapper looks like it could be so versatile.
I really do want it, and I know who else is going to want it.
Who's kicking me off with five minutes?
Five minutes. Lochy, five minutes.
I'll go 10.
Oh, wow!
Welcome to the game, Sav!
I need to play it smart.
And I know Harry is going to gun for that snapper,
and I'm going to give him a fight.
10 minutes, with Sav, for a whole snapper.
Surely. What is going on over there?
No?
I mean, I can...I can start the call if you want.
I'll give you 15 minutes. There he is.
Ah!
I knew it!
15.
Nah, I'm the fish guy. Like, I want the fish.
If one of these other guys wants to take it off me,
they're gonna have to pay for it.
Sav, you going straight back at him? Come on, 20 minutes.
Yeah, I'll go 20. 20 minutes with Sav.
25 with Harry.
Lochy's in at 30 minutes.
35 minutes with Harry. JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: On y va!
Come on, Sav. Yeah!
Here we go. 40 minutes.
45 with Harry.
I'll go 50.
There is Harry, 55.
Come on, round it off at an hour, Sav.
Like, the thing is, do you really want to leave him with the fish?
Give me 60. 60!
We've got one hour with Lochy.
Good bid, I reckon.
Hey! Wow!
65 minutes!
Can't go any higher.
That just takes too much time off the clock for me to do anything
that I actually wanted to do with that snapper.
65 minutes.
(GAVEL BANGS) Sold to Harry!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
PEZZA: Dearer than the duck, brother. I'm happy.
(LAUGHS)
That's your baby. Thank you.
I've spent 65 minutes on this fish,
which means I'm only left with 55 minutes
to buy fresh produce,
buy pantry items and cook.
But I'm still stoked.
Like, I've got my strength.
I've got the fish.
Righto.Let's get into the third protein.
We've got lamb mince. Lamb mince.
Got a nice amount of fat in there.
Sav and Lochy, we're down to you two.
Remember, if you don't win the lamb mince,
you get the eggs.
LOCHY: I'm really gonna go for this lamb mince,
but I'm not going to let anybody else know
that I actually want that over the eggs.
So, I'm just going to play it smart, play it cool.
So, can I get five minutes.
Who's got...who's got five minutes for me?
I just want my eggs, man.
Like, just give me the eggs.
I don't care about this lamb mince.
Someone's gonna have to bid.
I don't know. Alright.
I don't know.
Ah.
Can I get a five minutes?
Five minutes. Five minutes. There we go, Lochy.
Five minutes. Come on, Sav.
No.
Not at all?
Nope.
This is an absolute steal.
Unbelievable. Well played, Lochy.
Sold. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
What a bargain.
Alright!
Five minutes. Lamb mince. Perfect.
Got 115 left on the clock, and got two biddings to go.
And she got them.
And I didn't have to spend five minutes for them.
For our second category, we've got fresh produce.
So, amongst that bunch, we've got a variety of root vegetables,
some alliums, nightshades and some different fruits.
First is a basket of root vegetables.
And it's a big basket. It is a big one!
What is in there?
We have ginger, two types of sweet potato,
all sorts of turnips,
uh, radishes.
We've got, uh, rainbow carrots.
Great basket, guys.
So, who's going to start us off with five minutes
for the root veg?
I'll give you five minutes.
I'll give you 10.
I'll give you 20.
20 with Sav.
Alright, going once to Sa... Oh!
Lochy! (LAUGHS)
25 minutes for Lochy.
25 minutes with Lochy, going once.
Going twice.
Going three times.
(GAVEL BANGS) There you go.
All yours. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
I would be absolutely thrilled with that if I were you.
There's so much in here.
LOCHY: For 25 minutes,
I think that's a pretty good deal for that array of root vegetables.
And I've still got 90 on the clock,
so I've got a little bit of wiggle room.
Poh, what's up next?
Alliums.
Yes. So, we have leeks,
spring onions, garlic,
beautiful shallots.
And this runs deep, too.
There's quite a lot in here.
This is your road to flavour, guys.
Let's kick it off.
Anyone with five minutes for the alliums?
(CHUCKLES) Oh! Sav is straight in.
HARRY: I would love the alliums.
You know, I think that would just be the perfect accompaniment
to the fish.
But I'm sort of watching the bidding go up and up and up.
Yeah, give her another one.
And I'm trying to work out in my head what's still good value
and what would leave me with enough time to cook this fish.
25 with Sav.
Anybody going to give me 30?
Oh! Here he is!
30.
30?!
So, Harry, you've got a whole fish, your happy zone.
You're now sitting with another 30 minutes...
Mm-hm. ..for this amazing
basket of alliums.
So, this will take you down to 25 minutes...
Yeah. ..to cook a fish dish.
Yeah, yeah. Feeling good?
No, no, no, 30. 35 minutes.
Look, I'm only a part-time intellectual, but even I can
figure out that the math is not math-ing on that one.
Oh, 25 minutes?
Well, you're at 55, so 25.
I cannot believe I've just done this.
Oh, 25 minutes?
I did my maths wrong.
Can I retract this bid?
Harry is at the very bottom, Sav.
You've still got 120 left.
Are you going to give me 35?
Let him have it. Let him have it!
Ooh!
Last call to Harry for a basket of alliums.
Sold to Harry!
I'm not gonna lie, I made a stupid mistake.
25 minutes will be your fastest cook in the MasterChef kitchen yet.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
The next category in fresh produce. Poh, what have we got?
Nightshades.
SAV: I really, really want the tomatoes because I already
have a bit of a concept in my head about what I want to do.
Sav, straight up.
Pezza's at 10.
Sav back in with 15.
Pezza, you've got 75 minutes.
Will you give me 20?
20. 20 with Pezza.
And Sav straight back with 25.
Oh, he's out, the big fella.
Beautiful box of nightshades.
Sold to Sav for 25 minutes.
PEZZA: I would have been happy with them at 20, but she's paid 25,
and it's left me with the fruit, so now I need to think
quick on my feet to incorporate the fruit.
The last category is pantry items.
We have a range of flavour bombs,
some fresh herbs, some dried spices,
and then some grains.
I have no investment in the spices at all.
I came in today, telling myself that, regardless of the challenge,
I want to show a different side of me, which means moving away
from the Sri Lankan flavours,
moving away from the reliance on spices.
So, I want the box of flavour bombs.
First up, what are we going to go? Jean-Christophe?
Flavour bombs.
Black garlic. You've got horseradish.
You've got anchovies.
This is what's going to give you a lift to your dish.
Cor, this is going to be a good one. Oh, yeah.
Let's start off.
I'll give you five minutes.
Five minutes with Pezza.
Sav, 10 minutes.
Yeah, I'll go at 15.
Yes!
25. 25, with Lochy.
Now we're starting to play.
35.
35 minutes with Lochy.
Come on, Sav. Straight back at him.
I'm running out of time.
But...but I can't let him have the flavour bombs - I need them.
Alright, let's do it.
Yeah.
Let's just do it.
50 minutes going once.
50 minutes going twice.
50 minutes going three times.
Sold to Sav.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
NAT: Nice, Sav.
So, next, we have a selection
of fresh herbs.
Five minutes? Bid is yours.
Who's going to give me 10?
10.
Pezza, are you in or are you out? I'm out.
You're gonna let him get away with all that, and still have
80 minutes on the clock? That is the cardinal sin.
He will have 80 minutes,
lamb mince, root veg and every herb you could possibly think of.
Sold to Lochy for 10 minutes.
Lochy!
I've still got 80 minutes on the clock,
which is a lot of time
to try and infuse as much flavour
into the root vegetable and the lamb mince as possible.
So, Harry and Pezza, the only two left in the game.
So, what are we playing with Jean-Christophe?
So, Andy, we have now...
..selection of spices.
The coriander, the cinnamon, the star-anise.
You've got vanilla, you've got... You've got everything.
..everything. Look at that. You've literally got everything.
This is the last item up for auction.
So, if you don't win this,
you're getting the grains.
Do I hear five minutes? Who's got it?
He's doing it. There he is!
Five minutes from Hazza.
HARRY: I've got no time left, but the dry spices,
it can inject a lot of flavour into my sauce or the fish.
On top of that,
I don't want to end up with the grains.
Like, I just don't know what I'd do with them,
other than having just a random carb on the plate.
Yeah, righto. 10 minutes.
I'm trying to put a dish together in my head,
and I'd really like them spices.
I don't think Harry's game enough to go again.
Pezza, 10 minutes.
Bunch of spices.
Sold. Done.
(APPLAUSE) DARRSH: On you, Pez.
Et voila!
I've ended up with the grains by default.
I'm starting to regret bloody wasting all that time
on this snapper.
I don't even think I've got time to cook rice or, like, quinoa
or, like, anything that's in there.
OK. I hope you're happy with your purchases.
Lochy!
You've got the most time.
You're up first,
so your 80 minutes start now!
Come on! Allez! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
LOCHY: I have 80 minutes, all up,
and I got the lamb mince, the basket of root vegetables
and the fresh herbs.
Go on, Lochy!
Come on, Lochy! Go on, mate.
This is so weird being the only one cooking right now.
Yeah, I'm feeling...I'm feeling pretty good with 80 minutes.
I've just got to get right into it and make sure I do
as much as I possibly can with what I've got there.
Lochy.
Andy. Lochy, how are you?
How are you feeling? I reckon you went pretty well.
I'm pretty happy with what I've got and especially the time, as well.
And that transfers into the dish of...?
What I'm going to try and do is, like, a kofta-style type of thing,
and grill them over the hibachi,
with, hopefully, a smoked beetroot dip
and some sweet potato chips.
Do you think the mince will be seasoned enough
or, um, flavoured enough? Um, I'm hoping...
..I'm hoping that it is.
Seeing I don't have spices or anything like that,
um, trying to infuse as much flavour into this mince as possible
with the ginger, as well as the herbs,
and I'm going to give this mince a little bit of a smoke, as well,
to, like, infuse some better flavour.
Good luck. Thank you.
Good luck by the way.
First things first - I've got to get those beets
into that pressure cooker to start working my dip.
And then, work on infusing as much flavour
in this lamb as I possibly can.
The old Time Auction is a lot of fun,
and we seem to see great combinations.
We see good combinations with little time.
So...and I think that we got that today.
I mean, this is really just like a mystery box, really,
isn't it? Yes. Mmm.
If you think that way, I think you'll succeed in this challenge.
Yeah, a mystery box with 25 minutes, in Harry's case.
I'm gonna talk about Harry straight up, because 25 minutes,
he's going to have to be creative.
You know, it's hard because he's got no eggs.
At the other end of the scale, you've got Lochy,
who has the most time, with 80 minutes,
and so much to work with.
He caned it. He caned it.
I would be feeling pretty smug if I were Lochy.
Same. Yeah, same.
HARRY: There we go.
You alright, Pez? Yeah.
I really wanted them kipflers.
And I'm not keen on the fruit, but I've got to use it.
So, my brain goes 10 different ways,
and I've just got to try and pick the best way
and zone in and go with it.
Pezza, you've been waiting patiently, mate.
Your 65 minutes starts now!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Go, Pezza! Good luck, Pezza!
I'm fighting hard to get into the top six today.
I don't want to go home.
I'm loving this journey, and I'm loving this competition,
and I want to keep going.
I think I can do it,
and I'm starting to believe in myself.
Today, I'm going to be cooking a duck two ways,
with my berry sauce.
Pezza with his duck. Look at him breaking it down.
He is a butcher, eh?
If he couldn't butcher a duck, it's like you not being able to cut a fish.
(CHUCKLES)
I want to roast the duck Maryland, I call it, which is the drumstick
with the thigh, still bone in, but really, really still juicy
and moist in the inside
so it just pulls away from the bone.
They're going to want a good hour.
So, they're going to be pushed right out to the last bit.
I'm going to use the strawberries, the raspberries
and the blackberries.
They're going to be the core flavour for my sauce.
I've used these flavour combinations to make a coulis,
but not really for a savoury side.
So, it's different for me, so I'm really worried about that.
Pezza. Pezza.
Hey, chefs. What are you making?
Duck two ways.
So, I'm going to roast the leg and fry the breast.
And then, I'm going to do a nice berry sauce just to go with it.
I mean, it looks like you got a pretty good bid, yeah?
Obviously. But do you think there's anything you miss out?
I would have loved a carb, there's no doubt about that. The carbs, yeah.
I mean, I liked the look of them kipflers.
I would have liked to have done something with that,
but that's just how I normally... normally cook.
You're treading this fine line of, like, it being desserty.
Yep.
It should still be, like, rich and robust...
Yep. ..duck and fruit.
You have to really balance the sweetness
and the savouriness of fruit well,
otherwise it's just all out of whack.
That's the biggest thing with duck and fruit.
Yeah. It can be, like,
the bestest of friends.
It can also be a disaster.
That's the biggest thing with duck and fruit.
Yeah. It can be, like,
the bestest of friends.
It can also be a disaster if you don't get it right.
Yep.
I think this is going to need to be your best cook...
Yeah, no doubt. ..to keep you in the competition.
Yep.
Good luck. Thanks, guys.
Yeah, good luck.
My biggest concern with this dish is that it's too sweet.
I need to get the balance right today or, otherwise, I'm going home.
The only positive spin I can put on this for both of us, actually,
is that we've got the time to get a workflow.
Yeah.
It's possibly a good thing that I don't have
the full length of time because now I've got time to think.
I've got a little workflow in my head,
ideas about what I want to do,
how I want to play it.
So, I need to grab saucepans, bowls...
I've got a little plan.
Sav,
your 45 minutes, it starts now.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Yes, Sav!
Go, go, go, go, go, go!
I chose these options because I felt like that gave me
the best chance to actually showcase a little bit more
of what I can do and not just, you know, constantly
be in that Sri Lankan box.
I don't want to be complacent and be in a comfort zone.
I'm not here to be in a comfort zone.
And if you are in a comfort zone at this point of the competition,
cooking similar things to what you've cooked before,
you don't deserve to be here.
The dish that I have forming in my mind is something based
on a Japanese chawanmushi,
which is a steamed egg custard
with a charred or blistered tomato broth.
And it's really important that I get on my tomato broth first thing,
because that not only forms the actual broth of the dish,
but it also forms the stock for my steamed egg.
Um, there's quite a few...number of things that I need to get done,
but I'm feeling OK at the moment.
OK, une fois, deux fois, trois fois.
You've got 40 minutes left to go!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(STEAM HISSES)
HARRY: I was just saying, I feel like Darth Maul.
You know, in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace?
When, like, he's fighting Obi-Wan... (LAUGHTER)
..and the things come across, it's... Bzzzz!
They've just got to wait there.
(LAUGHS) What do I say?
Like, I'm an idiot. I stuffed up the maths.
I've ended up with 25 minutes to cook, and I've got a snapper,
I've got alliums, which is great,
and I've got these grains.
I've got a little idea in my mind with what I'm going to do
with the fish and the alliums,
but I've got to figure out what to do with these grains.
I'm just going to have to really think hard and pull something
out of my hat.
LOCHY: While that lamb is smoking for my kofta,
I'm thinking, "Well, I've got time,
"and I don't have anything else to bring sweetness.
"I don't have spices."
So, it doesn't take long to get some carrots in the oven
with some olive oil and salt.
That'll bring a nice natural sweetness to the dish.
There's still lots of time left, so I'm thinking,
"What about a pickle as well?"
Maybe pickled radish? That sounds great.
I'm trying to get as much earthy sweetness
into this dish as possible,
with the beets, with the radish, with the carrot,
without any spice.
Harry, your cook starts in five minutes,
which means, everybody else, you have 30 minutes left!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Yeah, come on, guys! Woo!
NAT: Pezza, your duck smells good.
Thanks. I think it's your leg.
Smells good.
Your leg smells good.
Duck in the oven, and it's coming along quite nicely.
The only thing that scares me is that the dish might be too sweet.
I'm thinking that the sauce is lacking something.
I'd like to put something in it, but I don't know what's going to go,
and I don't want to wreck it, so I'm just trying to get it
somewhere close to where I want to eat, you know?
I know the berries are going to work,
but it's just trying to get that savouriness into it.
And I've realised, now, that that's going
to be from the spices.
So, I'm so pleased I've got the spices now
that I can try and put them in to give it...out of that sweetness
and into a nice savouriness.
Star-anise is a very powerful spice.
I think that's going to give me the savouriness with the fruit
that I'm really after.
As I strain that sauce,
I come up with the idea to add some butter
to try and give a little bit of depth to the sauce.
Oh, it's done. It's done. You're beautiful!
That butter at the end, if that reduces down,
it's getting that... You know what I mean?
They're going to like that. That's good.
HARRY: I can't stop moving. I just want to get in there.
SOFIA: This would drive me mental.
Yeah. And I think if I stop moving, then I'll lose energy.
But if I keep moving, it'll save... I'll have my energy.
I've got limited ingredients and limited time, but I think
I've got an idea that's going to get me through.
Harry...
..your 25 minutes starts now.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Must go fast!
Yeah, Harry.
Fastest fillet in history. Let's go.
Yes!
Harry, fast and furious, mate. Hi, guys, yeah.
25-minute fish dish. What is it? Yep.
Uh, so, today, I'm going to do a semolina-crumb snapper.
Uh, and then, I'm going to serve that with a beurre blanc sauce
and some charred leek on the hibachi.
Gotcha. OK. And a vinaigrette.
Um, semolina-crumb snapper, how's that gonna work?
Because I was always interested
on how you were going to incorporate the grains.
Yeah, so I thought about making rice and, you know, all the rest of it.
No chance. But I actually don't think
I've left myself enough time for that.
So, semolina, uh, like, it's obviously, like,
just a coarse grain.
So, I think if I egg-wash the fish...
..uh, and then just treat it as a breadcrumb, um, you know,
I think it'll give it a nice sort of...
Egg...? ..crunchy,
colourful element to the dish.
Egg-wash?
Yeah.Where are you getting your eggs from?
In the...
Oh!
No eggs.
Sav's got them.
Ah.
Semolina, it's obviously, like, just a coarse grain.
So, I think if I egg-wash the fish...
Egg-wash?
Yeah.Where are you getting your eggs from?
In the...
Oh!
No eggs.
Sav's got them.
Ah.
You have your work cut out for you.
Push, Harry. Good luck. Thanks, guys.
So, without the eggs, I've got to come up with some way
of having that semolina crumb cling to the fish.
And I've only got 20 minutes left.
I'm gonna have to think of something fast.
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: I think the one who worries me the most...
..I think it's Pezza.
He's used to playing with carbs.
So, for him, I think he's out of his comfort
because he has to deliver a dish...
..with no substance.
PEZZA: The sauce, to me, is balanced really well.
I'm happy with it, but I'm thinking I need some sort of a carb
or something to go with the duck, so it's just not too...
..I guess, just meat.
When I didn't get the nightshades,
I was a bit disappointed
because one of those kipfler potatoes would have been perfect
with the duck.
I'm looking through the fruit box,
and then I've seen a pear, and I thought,
"I can poach this pear,
"but somehow put some savouriness with it, too."
And now, I can notice that them duck legs
have got the most beautiful fat.
So, when the pears are poached,
I'm going to toss them around in that duck fat
so they go a little bit savoury.
So, it would give me that bit of different texture
and also something to balance the sweetness of the dish.
I hope your ingredients were worth it
because you've got 15 minutes to go.
Come on, let's go! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Uh...
..leeks.
On you, Loch.
My dish is egg and tomato.
So, I've got a steamed egg,
a tomato broth, pickled golden tomatoes
and sugar-brine tomatillos.
I just tasted my tomato broth, and it's got the tomato flavour,
and it's got a beautiful heat from the chilli.
I think it just needs a little bit more seasoning.
I'm looking at the fish sauce in my flavour bombs box,
and the moment I add that fish sauce in,
it becomes so bright.
It is singing with the flavour of the tomato.
It took me way more time than I wanted,
but I've finally finished the tomato broth,
and I'm running out of time,
so I need this egg cooked.
The perfect chawanmushi is just set.
It's not overcooked.
That needs to go into the oven ASAP.
And now we pray.
LOCHY: I'm going alright.
I'm just getting through each element
and each stage right now.
Ah! These are nice and hot.
I've started working on my smoked beetroot dip.
Once the smoked beetroot dip comes out of the blender,
I've still got a bit of time left on the clock.
I decide to make my beetroot dip
into a bit more of a puree
by blending it for a little bit longer to get it
as smooth as possible.
Because that's really going to elevate my dish,
even more than what I'm already doing.
It looks much more refined than what it did before.
Happy with that.
So, now, I'm going to cook my lamb kofta over the hibachi.
HARRY: So, I was gonna egg-wash the fish before I put it
into the semolina so that the crumb stuck to it,
but I ended up doing, like, a quick buttermilk.
So, I just mixed milk and the vinegar and strained it,
um, and then used that as, like, my binder, essentially,
for the semolina.
NAT: Come on, Harry. You've got this.
One motion. Jesus, he's so good with fish.
I need to generate flavour.
So, with this stock, I'm going to pump it full of alliums
in that fish frame, fill it up with water
and just bang it in the microwave.
I want to build a really hearty fish stock so I can pump some depth
and flavour into that sauce.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news,
but you've only got five minutes to go!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
I'm just literally waiting for my egg to cook 'cause...
Yeah.
Stressing.
I'm waiting for this egg and just staring at the oven
like it's going to somehow, magically, cook the egg faster.
My egg custard forms, literally, the basis of the dish,
and also is my only protein component from today's auction.
So, the execution needs to be perfect.
Alright, let's check this.
I'm running out of time, so I have to take my egg
out of the oven now because I have to start plating up.
My place in the top six is literally riding on this egg, at this point.
If this chawanmushi is not set,
I'm gone.
Alright. Let's check this.
I take my chawanmushi out, and...
..it could either be set egg
or it could be egg slop in there.
I peel back that foil and...
..thank God, that egg is cooked.
It's set.
It's just got a nice little inner-thigh wobble to it,
which is what you want.
And now, I have to get all of the other things
that I worked on - my pickles and my broth.
I have never made this dish before.
I've never practised it.
So, it's just very unchartered territory for me.
I chose those ingredients. I bid on those ingredients.
I made my bed.
But it's not a very comfortable bed, at the moment, to lie in.
Time to get that food up. You have three minutes left!
Come on! Keep pushing! JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Allez!
PEZZA: The duck leg and the pears come out of the oven.
They look perfect.
That duck fat gave the pears a nice savouriness,
which is just beautiful.
Looks good, Chef. Let's get it on the plate.
I'm really happy with the duck legs now.
The sauce, to me, is balanced.
I think the spices work to get that savouriness into it,
but I'm just hoping it's not too sweet
because that's my biggest fear out of today.
LOCHY: I'm just finishing off the kofta on the hibachi.
It's looking good.
The radishes are pickled, and my carrots are done.
I think I've done a really good job of infusing as much flavour
in these ingredients as what I possibly could.
My beetroot puree tastes great.
These purple sweet potato chips are really crispy.
My kofta looks like it is really nice and moist.
The pickled radishes brings that, like, vinegar sweetness
to the dish.
And then, the roasted carrots bring a really nice natural sweetness.
Uh, hopefully, my strategy of having the most amount of time
pays off for me.
Get it on the plate.
You have one minute to go!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
HARRY: Every time I look up at the clock, it's moved again,
and I'm running out of time, so I've got to hustle.
I've finished the dish, and I'm proud of what I cooked,
but I haven't tasted this all together because I just
didn't have time.
So, the sauce, the leek and the fish all have to be perfect
to keep me out of that bottom spot.
And here we go!
10...
JUDGES: Nine,
eight,
seven,
six, five,
four, three,
two, one!
That is it.
Well done.
Good luck, Savi. Thank you.
PEZZA: Good luck, Savi. You go, girl.
I completely stepped out of my comfort zone.
I've never done something so light-handed.
But if I'm going to go home,
I want to go home showing versatility,
not doing the same thing that I've always done.
Hey, Sav.
Hello.
Ooh.
Sav,
free eggs,
25 on nightshades...
Yep.
..and then, you blew all but 45 minutes on your flavour bombs.
And you made...?
I'm calling this Egg and Tomato.
So, I've got a steamed egg.
I've got a charred tomato broth.
Like, this is so pared back,
especially for someone like me.
But it's top seven, going down to top six...
..if now's not the time, then when?
Thanks, Sav. Yep.
I'll let you finish that.
Thank you.
Thanks so much, Savi.
Thank you, Sav.
(SIGHS)
POH: OK, so...
..I...
..loved that.
I thought it was really delicious.
It looked so meek and mild and delicate,
but it really packed a punch.
She used those flavour bombs absolutely to her advantage.
Let's start with the sort of consomme brothy thing.
It was such a lovely balance of spice, acidity, sweetness
and umami from the tomatoes.
And then, that sort of gluttony funk.
I just thought it was a really well-thought-out dish.
This is so powerful. It is actually a powerful dish.
And it's the most light... the most light dish ever.
This broth is in 45 minutes!
So clear.
It's magical.
I love no-spice Sav.
Yes.
I'm so glad that she didn't get those spices...
Yeah. ..regardless of whether she wanted them or not,
because we got to see a different side of her with this cook.
Sav has this superpower of taking really punchy ingredients
and balancing them expertly.
So, nothing's competing.
It's all so complementary, it's so cohesive,
and it makes you keep going back for another bite, another bite,
another bite, until you are left holding the bowl.
And the other impressive part is...
..45 minutes. Yeah.
Like, if you got that in a restaurant, you would think
it would take days of mise en place to prepare and get ready for.
But 45 minutes under extreme pressure?
It's like we've taken the safety blanket away of spices,
and we've just exploded a new Sav onto the scene of MasterChef.
HARRY: Good luck, Pezza.
SAV: Good luck, Pez.
PEZZA: I don't know if it's a walk of fame
or the walk of shame going up.
This whole competition is riding on that plate.
I hope I've done enough with my poached pear and my sauce.
Here he is.
Pezza.
Hey, guys.
I'm fighting hard to get into the top six today.
I don't want to go home.
VOICEOVER: Get inspired by our fabulous home cooks.
Stream full episodes of MasterChef Australia now
on 10Play.
Pezza, you had whole duck, fruit, spices -
what did you make us?
I made you, today,
Duck Two Ways, with pear and a berry sauce.
You've spent a fair bit of this competition
not believing in yourself, not necessarily backing yourself.
Has that changed?
I think I need to believe in myself.
I think I'm just the larrikin of this competition
that everyone probably doesn't think that I can win.
But I'm sure I've grown.
And if it keeps going, I'm just going to keep taking this ride
because I'm loving it.
You're only as good as your last cook,
and I've put it all into today for you guys,
and I hope you enjoy it.
If you want to sauce up, we'll taste your dish.
I thought a bit of sauce around the outside
would look really pretty. POH: Oh, brilliant. Look at that.
Thanks for your time, guys.
I think it looks lovely.
I'm dying to get into that duck.
I'm just hoping that this sauce is balanced
and it brings everything together.
It looks colourful. It looks tasty.
It looks simple.
Does it taste good enough?
I think that might be...
..the best version of duck breast and duck leg
that we've had in the competition so far.
It is dynamite.
Beautifully rendered skin, just blushing, medium flesh
and seasoned so, so well.
Then you get to the leg, and it is that dark meat flavour
and texture that you're after.
It has been cooked longer than the breast.
I was really worried about how berry sauce,
poached pear and the duck meat would go together, and I thought
it went reasonably well.
I think, for me, he's kept that sauce quite acidic,
which went with the sweetness of the pears.
And I think the great move on this was rolling those pears
through that duck fat,
um, because it's got that... that savouriness from the fat.
He's actually used a lot more spices than I thought, in the right ratio.
It's not too much, and it's just subtly perfect.
This is a miroir, a miroir of berries.
It's beautiful. It's the right reduction, and it tastes superb.
It lands, and you sort of think, "Oh, yeah, duck and potato."
And then, you go, "Hold on.
"No, that's a pear."
Because it still has that bite to it,
and he's cooked it in the duck fat,
it tricks your brain, or it tricked my brain, into thinking of potatoes.
From the butcher that we met on day one
to the Pezza that has presented this duck dish,
he has come so far,
and I'm glad I am bold enough to steal the leg from you,
Jean-Christophe, because now I get to eat all those crispy bits.
(LAUGHS)
Good luck, Loch.
LOCHY: I know I had the most time,
and I hope that that's going to serve me well today.
There is a lot of elements at play here, in this dish, to be perfect,
and I needed them to work together.
Lochy. Hey, Lochy.
G'day, all.
How are we? Fantastic.
POH: Mmm.
So, mate, lamb mince, root veg and a big old bunch of herbs.
What did you turn it into?
I made, like, a Lamb Kofta style with a smoked beet puree,
uh, roasted carrots, some purple sweet potato chips
and a pickled radish.
Time auction.
I reckon you probably came out the best out of anyone, really,
in terms of what you got for ingredients and 80 minutes.
Were you surprised? I was very surprised by that, yeah.
(OTHERS LAUGH)
Mate, I'm going to get you to buy my house.
I kept quiet about that, but I was, uh...
..yeah, I was quite surprised.
The competition so far, like, it is ramping up, right?
Oh, yeah. It is pretty hot.
Do you feel like this is a dish
that's going to keep you in the competition?
That's...that's the thing that I'm worried about.
Yeah, I know I can cook a good plate of food,
but is it enough to keep me in the competition?
And I hope that this is. We'll, uh, we'll taste now.
Thanks, mate. Thank you.
Thanks, Lochy. Enjoy.
(CRUNCHES)
(CLEARS THROAT)
OK.
Everything is executed really well.
The beetroot puree is really, really well seasoned.
The carrots are perfectly roasted, and the sweet potato chips,
they're fried really, really beautifully.
They're crispy, they're well seasoned,
but it feels like two different dishes.
It feels like he wanted to do a rustic-style beetroot dip
with a kofta and a big bowl of those chips,
and it's like kind of family-style food.
But then, he's got this beetroot puree,
which is silky smooth,
and in this totally different direction than kind of
that rustic style, you know, family food.
And then, the roast carrots,
they just...they just don't belong on the plate.
It's a good dish, but the real fault is that they don't go together.
And that could be a real problem for Lochy today.
Mmm.
I'm really impressed with the elements, individually,
on this plate, and I could see that silky-smooth puree
even in a restaurant next to a beautiful steak
that had been marinating, as well.
This stage of the competition, when everyone is plating up
good food, what you need,
as well as individually beautifully cooked elements
is cohesion.
And for me, this dish doesn't have it.
Four root vegetable on the plate - radish, purple sweet potatoes,
carrots and beetroot.
There is five different techniques,
which he's done pretty well.
Maybe a little bit more pickle or less-sweet pickle
would have maybe worked better with the sweetness of the beetroot.
I think Lochy did suffer a little bit from too much time.
He could have done less and created more flavour.
Yeah, I agree. Mm-hm.
Good luck, Harry. Thank you.
That cook went so quick,
and, honestly, like, everything's just a blur.
So, I don't really know what to expect at this point.
Everything is riding on this 25-minute dish.
Harry. Hello, guys.
Hey, Harry. Hi. (CHUCKLES) How's it going?
So, tell us, what did you make?
Semolina Fried Pink Snapper
with Chargrilled Leeks
and a Beurre Blanc.
Did you ever think that you would have ended up in elimination
with only 25 minutes to save your life?
I never would have seen that coming, but, um...
..I've surprised myself a lot since this competition started,
and I knew that if I was going to get through today,
I'd just have to find that... you know, that other gear,
and I feel like I did.
Would you like to finish it, please? I'll sauce it up.
Thank you.
Alright. Thanks, guys.
Thanks, mate. Thanks, Harry.
Good luck. Thanks, Harry.
It's a very simple plating, that's for sure.
Um, and I don't mind that.
When you've only got 25 minutes,
simple is the best.
It just depends what it tastes like.
(WHISPERS) Bloody hell.
Guess what?
I am happy.
(LAUGHS)
I can tell from your fingies.
Cooking a big piece of fillet!
You're not talking, like, slice.
This is a big chunk.
On both sides,
the fish, for me, I think, is cooked perfectly.
It is sublime.
Am I satisfied?
Of course I'm satisfied.
This is brilliant.
Go, Harry! Seriously.
That is... (CHUCKLES) "Go, Harry!"
..rich, it's satisfying,
it's so full of flavour.
The batter is amazing.
I'm a big fan
of the seat-of-the-pants semolina batter.
He didn't use eggs.
He thought on his feet.
He's getting himself out of the weeds when he's in there,
and he's still creating something that is as good, if not better,
than what he had originally planned to do.
And I think that's extremely commendable.
I do know that second gear, all too well.
It can really inspire you.
The thing that I was so concerned about was actually the...the grains,
because I thought, "How is he going to cook grains in 25 minutes?"
And the fact that he's used it as a coating on the fish
was just the perfect solution.
It's just... (LAUGHS)
I love how you're just enjoying that.
It's really nice. I can't believe it.
I think most people take 25 minutes to make a beurre blanc,
let alone make a stock,
make buttermilk, fillet a fish,
crumb the fish, cook the fish, char a leek...
Yeah.
..in 25 minutes. He's a madman.
Put the auction aside...
..he chose the right dish that he knew that he could complete
in 25 minutes,
and he executed it pretty bloody well.
The time auction is notorious for being a tricky challenge...
..but you all did really well today.
Lochy, that entire plate was exceptionally seasoned.
Sav, that bowl might have been delicate,
but it sure packed a punch.
Harry, you didn't have a whole lot of time,
but you definitely made up for it in flavour.
And, Pezza,
you brought us the best-cooked duck in the competition so far.
Yeah, Pez. Nice job.
Good one, Pez.
The fact of the matter is,
each of you brought us a brilliant dish.
However, one of them consisted of individual elements
that tasted great on their own...
..but, sadly, they were confusing together.
And that dish...
..was cooked by...
..Lochy.
Lochy, mate, we know you're disappointed,
but getting this far,
that ain't no fluke.
From those Lochy Pops
to Kingfish Wings,
mate, you've left a hefty mark
on this competition.
You've got to take that passion that we love you for
and just keep going.
How are you feeling, mate?
Ah, look, I'm pretty devastated,
but this isn't the end for me.
I'm ready to go out those doors and give the food scene
a real red-hot crack and really make something of myself.
To still be here and be, now, seventh,
I'm pretty stoked with myself.
Mate, we've loved having you in the MasterChef kitchen,
and it's time to say goodbye.
Uh, the MasterChef experience has been better
than I ever could have dreamed of.
I've loved coming here every day, but I think a lot is waiting for me
outside the MasterChef kitchen.
I get to hang out with my daughter.
I get to go back to cooking over the fire.
And you haven't seen the last of me at all.
(SIGHS)
VOICEOVER: This week on MasterChef Australia,
the competition intensifies.
MIMI: I am ready to just put in the hard work
and get to the finish line.
And after all the feels...
NAT: So much emotional charge that is going through this kitchen.
..and fabulous dishes...
What?
Ha! This is brilliant!
..we'll be left with the top five.
If you keep cooking like this, you may just end up
lifting that trophy,
and that's the ultimate prize.
Captions by Red Bee Media