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Masterchef Australia Season 17 Episode 50
Transcript
00:00Welcome to the Melbourne CBD and the challenge could still be anything at this point in time
00:26there is amazing venues everywhere you look the plot thickens I'm really
00:33interested to see where we're gonna end up oh my god I can get this
00:43holy moly we're at Vietamond there's a beautiful view
00:59I've got goosebumps because I'm like oh my god I'm gonna be cooking here
01:06well everyone this is the phase of the competition where we need to keep up in
01:12the ante you are all in peak form and that's why we're here for today's
01:18service challenge welcome to one of Australia's most iconic restaurants the
01:25legendary Vietamond this institution has been setting the bar for Aussie cuisine
01:32for the past 25 years and it's still climbing with three hats to its name
01:39the food it's unparalleled it has become the peak of prestige and all that
01:46success is owed to the skills of a remarkable talent please welcome executive
01:53chef Hugh Allen
02:02I am a huge fan of Hugh Allen I've never met him before I love what he's doing at
02:07Vietamond he does highlight lots of local Australian produce as well of native
02:11Australian ingredients so to be cooking up here in a service challenge with Hugh
02:16Allen this is definitely a bucket list moment Hugh it's great to see you thanks
02:21for having us thanks for coming it's great to have you tell us a little bit
02:25about views philosophy it's evolved a lot of the time when Vietamond is 25
02:29years old this year it's been around for a while it's actually it's third
02:32location as well so I think it's always been about evolving and not staying
02:36stagnant whether that's where we are or with the food chefs and restaurants do
02:41have to keep a level in the bar because you don't come too close with you know
02:46what people can do at home and what restaurants can do when a dish lands at
03:01your table of view you just know that you're in for a special experience that
03:08is what we're looking for from you for now Hugh has run thousands of services in
03:15this kitchen and today he's leading yours you'll each need to bring us one course
03:21as part of a unique tasting menu worthy of views reputation and the best course
03:29will of course win immunity from Sunday's elimination which means if you win today
03:34you'll be the first member of our top five of master chef back to win that is huge so go for it
03:43to be the first person in the top five would mean so much we've come so far to get to the stage of
03:48the competition but it's not gonna be easy he Allen is known for sourcing some of the most
03:53incredible ingredients you'll be assigned a course with an ingredient that must be featured
03:58today you're not just serving us you need to feed 15 special guests that definitely deserve VIP
04:09treatment community volunteers that donate their time to helping people that's wonderful we're giving
04:17you each two and a half hours there'll be a staggered start so your dishes will be sent out to us one
04:24after another which course and ingredient you'll get will be decided by what you pick out of that bag
04:30good luck oh that's a very heavy oh perfect oh you beauty all right so you've got your courses
04:43Callum your first on veg Ben your second on fish Laura your third on meat and Depinder
04:53your fourth on sweet the ingredient you must include in your dish is waiting for you at your
04:59stage ship we all ready for this yeah yeah Callum let's go to the kitchen cool let's do it I get
05:05allocated a vegetable course so I'm first up straight in the kitchen I know the Voodermond
05:09very much cooks with the seasons nice to see you man yeah good to see you too man I'm thinking it's
05:13going to be a gutsy maybe root veggie or something that I can sort of have as the center point of the
05:18dish to then build flavors around you ready to see what you're cooking with yeah can't wait let's do it
05:22do you all right Callum today you're cooking with it says many wasabi leaves oh okay that is not what
05:31I was picking I would not have guessed that all right uh what is a wasabi well I know what a wasabi leaf
05:37is but I have never like ever used wasabi leaf in any kind of cooking I've barely used fresh wasabi
05:47full salt so I have doughnuts right now that's what I'm gonna do with this obviously it has a
05:53flavor of wasabi it's the leaf of the wasabi plant but it's much more delicate a bit more peppery a bit
05:59more sort of those mustard herbaceous flavors you can cook it lightly but you can also eat it raw it is a
06:06sort of a less used ingredient but it also is a very versatile ingredient Callum veg course using
06:14Tasmanian wasabi leaf your two and a half hours starts now good luck thank you I was expecting to
06:19start this challenge just like absolutely smashing it and get in all guns blazing and now I'm just
06:25looking at this pile of wasabi leaves and going what am I gonna cook that's a gonna make the wasabi leaf the
06:31actual feature of the dish but be make it vudemont worthy yeah this is gonna be a real challenge I
06:37don't have a dish in mind at this point in time but I've got to make a lot of plates of food so I
06:43don't have time to sit around I need to start something so I guess I'm stop cooking good luck
06:51good luck cheers guys cook well I get the fish course I'm happy with that because I love cooking fish bin
06:57mm-hmm I'm really excited about what's gonna be under them if this ingredient is shellfish great
07:02lobster or marin grade there's some sort of fish I need to fill in cook that's great too I'm happy to
07:07cook any of these things are you ready to see what you're gonna be cooking with I am okay I've been
07:11today you are cooking with giant kelp wow that's an interesting seafood I wasn't expecting that I like it I
07:22think yeah that's cool it can be used in so many ways it can be just hydrated and used raw seasoned
07:29almost like a like a salad or you can use the broth like a you know as you're making the dashi or
07:34something like that yeah yeah nice really versatile really amazing flavor it's not too overpowering I
07:39don't know much about this kelp I've never used it before but I'm actually really excited to come up
07:44with something Ben your ingredient is kelp and your two and a half hours starts now testing looking at
07:51this kelp I'm just trying to think how I can get into this dish to highlight it I'm thinking if I can
07:55get into a broth a really tasty broth I could be onto a winner how you going Kel hey man what do you
08:01got got some lovely local seaweed okay I thought you were doing a fish dish I am that's gonna be a
08:08seaweed what are you here I got um wasabi leaf oh nice very healthy lunch we got here I've got the
08:14fish course which is going second it's quite a difficult thing to do to cook fish for this many
08:18people so looking at what's in the pantry I see Marin in there and that's something I can poach
08:24with butter and have cooked perfectly on mass which is something I need to do today I'm gonna
08:28cook Marin which is one of the most beautiful piece of produce you can get I'm gonna make a faro
08:34risotto with a juice from an artichoke and lato puree Marin head emulsion and a broth so there's a few
08:40things happening I'm about to get really busy good luck thank you I'll see you in there the
08:45nerves are definitely running high whatever is under this cloth she's gonna determine what dish
08:50I'm making I'm hoping it's something that plays to my strengths so I'll take any native Australian
08:57ingredient that he wants to throw me today hey how are you good good fingers and toes across that that
09:02is what's under my gosh so Laura yes you've got a third course and you have the meat course yep so
09:09let's see what your ingredient is okay all right Laura today you're cooking weird golden beetroots
09:19I've got golden beetroots so let me tell you how I feel about beetroots
09:25I hate beetroots like they just taste like dirt I actually don't like eating beetroots to be perfectly
09:36honest I know so I'll have to put that aside and I'll get you some of my favorite I mean a great
09:42ingredient to have on a main course don't get me wrong but like I'm really excited about a beetroot
09:46right now I really want immunity so I will make they shine you've got 29 photos and you start now
09:55thank you so much thank you beetroots are a really big earthy almost meaty kind of vegetable so I'm
10:03thinking of big bold flavors to go with those beetroots there's this gorgeous dry aged wagyu sirloin in the
10:15pantry and that's just like screaming my name all over it and I think beetroot wagyu I can start to
10:22form a dish with these flavors what do you get I got beetroots I feel like I've only just really
10:30started cooking Ben and Laura are already in the kitchen time is moving very quickly generally in
10:37the MasterChef kitchen I feel pretty comfortable today I'm feeling anything but comfortable like I'm
10:42feeling quite stressed to be honest trying to come up with a dish that's featuring the wasabi leaf
10:47even though I feel like I'm behind the eight ball here today because I'm not familiar with this
11:00wasabi leaf ingredient I do just take a moment to look around and go this is one of the best kitchens
11:06anywhere in the country like there is chefs from all over that would do anything to be in my shoes right
11:10now so I really need to take a step back and think about this in another way I guess the wasabi leaf
11:19itself it's got the pepperiness of wasabi but it's got sort of a herbaceous nature to it as well so
11:24yeah it's a nice flavor profile I'm just head spinning trying to trying to think how to best use it
11:29I'm thinking that because of wasabi leaf it makes me straightaway think of Japan and Japanese flavor
11:35profiles shio koji fermented rice so I'm gonna start making elements that have that kind of
11:42flavor profile going on and I can taste and refine as I go Callum hello gents how are you very good how are
11:49you because you did seem a little shaken when you saw wasabi leaf yeah I've gone through the rollercoaster
11:55of emotions I reckon and I kind of went the oh no I've never used this before to oh this is exciting
12:00to oh crap I've actually got to do it now what are you going to do so I guess the first thing I'm
12:07trying to do is figure out how wasabi leaves sort of work I guess so I'm going to try and use it in
12:12a couple of different ways but I guess because I think wasabi I think kind of Japanese flavor
12:16profiles that's kind of straight where my brain's gone so I'm using like mushrooms and some seaweed a few
12:21of the bits and bobs that kind of make sense of that Japanese flavor profile for me and I've got
12:25a shio koji mushroom broth on I'm gonna try and cook for the majority of the time yeah I'm gonna
12:30make a an oil out of these bad boys as well I'm gonna try and then punch some out with a little
12:34ring mold and pickle some and see how that behaves as well and taste many times and figure out that
12:41iterations as required you know it does add another layer of complexity to the dish it sounds like
12:47you're still experimenting yeah two and a half hours of prep good luck much appreciated I've never
12:55been more out of my depth in this competition because I don't have a super clear dish concept
13:00in my head and I'm kind of working it out as I go I've got no idea if this is gonna work or not
13:04all right but I need to get things working and keep tasting as I go and make sure that by the end of
13:13the cook I've built what is not only a delicious dish but something that looks and feels voodemol worthy
13:18Callum you are halfway through your dishes need to be leaving the past in 75 minutes
13:25thank you so halfway through already
13:27what'd you get I got beetroot beetroot yeah love I'm on the me course today
13:37and I'm really excited by that because it's the final savory course before the dessert comes out
13:44beef and beets beef and beets I'm going to use classic French cookery techniques but also introducing
13:52native Australian flavors into it sniffed a whole packet of mountain pepper to make it a very Laura dish
14:01yum oh you know what how are you good how are you guys good yeah so what is your dish you know I'm
14:10doing a wagyu sirloin glazed cooked over the hibachi and some pepper berry salt baked golden beetroot
14:16the really classic shoe with a watercress emulsion with some of the beetroot leaves as well so you're
14:22getting like the earthiness but then pepperiness I'm kind of playing on like the flavor profile of
14:28pepper whether it's coming in pepper berry or watercress itself throughout the dish I just think
14:33they work really nicely together so using leaves and the roots or baking and it's in the sauce yeah
14:39nice yeah so do you realize you're gonna be cooking 19 portions yeah of steaks yeah cooked
14:48consistently yeah on time yeah is that too ambitious as you know there is the fat marble so it has to be
15:00cooked you know in motion you can't force it you can't push it I know you want the fat to melt yeah and
15:07deliver that wonderful flavors from the steak yeah how are you gonna manage that I will find a way
15:13John Christop I'm sure you win but I mean I've cooked it before I feel confident cooking it I thought I
15:17wouldn't have chosen it as a protein okay if I didn't feel confident but I know that I've definitely
15:21got my work cut out for me so I just need to kind of get the base of everything on okay good all the best
15:27yeah thank you so much thank you thank you that wagyu needs to be cooked perfectly it's one of the
15:34most expensive cuts of meat that you can buy the beetroots obviously need to be super prominent one
15:39season we'll move on to the base and I want to use the whole of the beetroot today I'm going to salt
15:45bake those beautiful bulbs of the actual golden beetroot we're about to go into the oven I want to also
15:52juice them down the stems and all and add that into my masala jus at the end but I also want to use
15:58the tops of those golden beetroots in a really beautiful peppery watercress style sauce so for me
16:04today I need to perfect every single element on my dish so much to do thank you nervous very depending
16:16you're the fourth and final course and you've got sweets yeah Q what's our ingredient ready
16:22all right Defender today you are cooking with green ants green ants
16:31yeah I don't know how I feel about this maybe a grant for I know I have never cooked with green
16:41ants I think I've eaten them before but I can't even remember I know they're supposed to be acidic and
16:48then that's where it ends for me I love green ants they're like this they're actually super versatile
16:54ingredient they've really got amazing sort of lemongrassy citrusy flavor yeah you know your way
16:59on lemongrass yeah I do yeah your two and a half hours starts now okay good luck thank you I do not know
17:07what I'm gonna do with this ingredient and I'm like kind of scared to eat it I give it a bite and it's
17:15actually quite tasty it's tart it's like acidic it's almost like citrus and it does taste like lemongrass
17:22like lemongrass this is hard so I'm gonna try my best to kind of lean back into my flavor profiles
17:31that would complement green ants I spot yogurt and I'm like okay I can incorporate yogurt into a dessert
17:38adds beautiful tartness I pick up a pineapple and I use a lot of citrus in my herb dressings in my herb
17:46chutneys so I'm just thinking maybe I can incorporate the green ants with herbs such as mint coriander I
17:54think those flavor profiles will really go together what'd you get deeps green ants oh jealous you reckon
18:02yeah it's happening in the flavor yeah they are they've got a slight ginger in it to them but I think
18:11you can still taste the pepperiness I'm starting to feel a little bit more confident now I'm starting to
18:15kind of bring this dish together I'm starting to taste components together and it's making sense
18:19in my mind I love cooking with vegetables in my restaurants at cooking school the first thing that
18:25we do at the start of each season is look at what's coming into season and then work backwards to build
18:29a dish from those ingredients so I'm going to roast some shiitake mushroom as well as some
18:34Jerusalem artichokes and I know that I've got this beautiful sauce getting made I've got my mushroom
18:38shiokoji broth on and that's a really important part of this whole shebang which is a good thing because
18:42that needs to cook for as long as it possibly can I'm thinking if I can turn the wasabi leaf into a
18:48wasabi leaf pasta I'm going to get that pepperiness that's coming through but it's also then going to
18:53be a prominent enough part of the dish visually and also to suck up that beautiful sauce and we're about
18:58to make a wasabi oil and have a taste of that as well I think if I make something into a little oil as
19:04well when I pour this sauce over the top let's flip in the goods whilst there's the starchy elements
19:09there to sort of carry those flavors the whole dish should be singing with that wasabi leaf pepperiness
19:15the first time you cook a dish you never know how it's going to taste until you taste it right so
19:18I'm just working towards that right now tasting a few little things along the way to give myself a
19:23little few kind of clues as to how it's coming along and so far I think it's tasting good but yeah I've got a lot of work to do
19:28in 30 minutes which means Betty you've got an hour thank you thanks so six minutes to go and I've been
19:43multitasking the whole time because preparing this Marin is a mammoth effort I mean as such a premium
19:50ingredient it has to be celebrated and I can't afford to miss any of them up I need to firstly blanch them
19:56correctly and then painstakingly peel every single one of them make sure there's no digestive tract
20:00left in them and then poach them to perfection every minute I spend preparing it there's minutes
20:06I can't be used on other things I go to check my broth and the flavor from this kelp it's there but
20:16it's just not that prominent I need to get loads of this kelp flavor in there otherwise it's not gonna
20:23be on the dish I don't know what I'm doing I think quickly I'm gonna hydrate some and then roast in
20:27the oven so it's nice and crispy and salty but even if I put it on as a garnish I don't think it's
20:33gonna be enough so I'm piling as much kelp as I can into this water and I get some kombu and put
20:38that in because that is seaweed hopefully it will not just taste like kombu but reinforce that seaweed
20:43flavor from the kelp itself depender hey sweet course you've got green ants yeah what are you
20:56making um so I'm gonna do like a refreshing kind of like a tropical Southeast Asian vibe with my
21:02dessert I've got a yogurt sorbet a pineapple granita a little coriander chutney ice cream you've got a lot
21:09of sour flavors in there depender so you've got plant apple yogurt the green ants yeah are we gonna
21:14taste the green ants at all yeah I'm gonna have to I'm gonna have to make sure that you guys can't
21:22taste it you just need to make sure that we know they're there so if we were to have the exact same
21:28dessert minus the green ants would we taste the difference I got you good luck thank you Sophia's
21:33concerned that with all of these strong flavors they might not be able to taste the green ants at this
21:38stage of the competition immunity is confidence if you get immunity you're like okay I just need
21:45to keep doing what I'm doing oh my god and top five has been a milestone for me right from the beginning
21:51so I'm just thinking to myself maybe I should rethink this whole dish
21:56all right
22:03so I've still got to finish my broth um I haven't even started my juice and artichoke chips either so
22:10um yeah I've got some things I haven't started and some things I've got to finish
22:13and I'd say basically nothing's finished so I'm uh under the pump here
22:17I'm really happy with this stock that's ticking away so I'm taking some big kind of bold savory
22:23flavors I've got my vegetables roasting away in the oven my wasabi oil ready to go and my wasabi
22:29leaves pickling away it's now time to start rolling out this wasabi pasta though which I've
22:33never made before so I have no idea if it's going to work or not I'm rolling it through
22:38and that gluten's starting to stretch it is starting to come together and the color's really vibrant
22:42and I know there's going to be some of that peppery flavor in there at least from the wasabi leaf as
22:46well I'm thinking to elevate it into a voodemont worthy dish I could shape it in the shape of a
22:53wasabi leaf it almost looks like a little wasabi leaf because it's got the little kind of stem part
22:57on top and then use one of the wasabi leaves itself to press into the dough so you can actually see the
23:03pattern yeah that looks pretty sick yeah it's usually actual um you get like a little bit of an
23:10print on there but only is it gonna look better I actually think like the little grooves in your
23:13rigatoni it'll actually help that sauce sort of stick to the pasta it's gonna carry that sauce better
23:17as well call it mate you need to move you've only got 10 minutes until we need plates flying off the
23:23pass come on thank you Ben you got 40 minutes how you looking yeah good good yep happy
23:28let's leave it happy good I don't know what he just said
23:40how you going you good think so yeah I think so I think the most difficult part of incorporating green
23:47answers I need to make them front and center of this dessert I'm tasting the green ants and it just hits me
23:53I'm like this is a citrus I need to use it instead of using a citrus so for my coriander and green and
23:59ice cream instead of adding lemon juice or lime juice I'm adding a whole heap of green ants I'm
24:06tasting it and I can taste the green ants and add a little bit more and then a little bit more and
24:13it's perfect I can taste the green ants and they're front and center the combination of the coriander and
24:18green it's actually really good together as well I'm also gonna fold the green ants through some
24:23meringue and bake that at a really low temp as well I need to get them in the oven ASAP as soon as I
24:29get them in the oven I'm gonna start working on my pineapple granita so I'm feeling good I think I'm on
24:34track with time listen up everybody our VIP diners are here come on everybody oh my gosh the diners have
24:44walked in hello how are you welcome thank you please have a seat down and I am like terrified that I'm
24:51running out of time hello welcome hello hello it's gonna be down to the wire that I can guarantee you
25:04now I'm gonna start playing out these dishes in three minutes you're gonna be ready yeah yeah it's
25:09almost time to plate up and I think this idea has actually worked I'm cooking my wasabi pasta it's
25:15looking really good and I'm tasting my sauce and I really like it there's a lot of depth of flavor in
25:21it it's a really beautiful aromatic broth the wasabi leaf has that really beautiful pepperiness and I
25:26think that when you have it with the slightly salty shiakoji mushroom you have it all together the
25:32earthy Jerusalem artichoke and that little pasta I think for a vegetable dish it is super interesting
25:38to eat okay should we do a little set up let's go thank you mate I found these most amazing little
25:44green bowls in Hugh's kitchen lovely and even the color of it is not that dissimilar to wasabi leaf
25:49itself and they've got this little lid on so I feel like if I can build a little kind of story of
25:53all those vegetables in there and the wasabi leaf elements the guests have the opportunity to lift
25:57the lid and kind of go oh what is this dish and I've got that wasabi leaf split sauce to have in
26:01a jug for everyone to pour over the top themselves um would you mind pulling out the next lot of uh
26:06possibly chef and then maybe throwing another 12 pieces in chef all right service please my dishes
26:13start leaving the kitchen and this is like a dream moment being in voodemont kitchen having
26:18Hugh jumping on the pans lending me a hand helping me plate up I think that it looks crazy it tastes
26:23great service please from going from not having really any idea of what I was going to cook at the
26:27start of this challenge to now but couldn't be happier with the dish thank you very much
26:31I'm excited yes yes yes yes yes yes here he is thank you
26:39oh wow so Callum course one veg course we've got wasabi leaf shiitake mushroom Jerusalem artichoke
26:52shiitake shiitake wasabi leaf sauce whoa Callum oh here we go
27:02wow I'm so excited that looks so good based on appearances this is most certainly beautamond worthy
27:16yeah let's see if it tastes as good as it looks
27:22so it's crazy um just oh same
27:45Is everyone as happy as I am?
27:51My brain is melting right now.
27:53It's insane.
27:54Like, A, I just can't believe that's a veg course.
27:57It is so meaty.
27:59The smart thing that Callum's done here
28:00is pair it with two very intense vegetables,
28:03the rizum artichoke and the shiitake mushroom.
28:06It's got so much body, so much gut.
28:08You don't miss me at all.
28:10It's all for me about that sauce,
28:12which he had tiki on for basically the whole two and a half hours.
28:16It is rich.
28:18It's got so much structure.
28:19It's robust.
28:20It's got the faintest hint of wasabi leaf in there.
28:23And then Callum's thing was like,
28:25I'm going to put wasabi leaf in nearly every single element,
28:28but there's no way you feel overpowered
28:31by that wasabi leaf at all.
28:33It has just got a nice little kind of stranglehold on everything.
28:37It's just so beautiful to eat.
28:40He's got his pasta that looks like the little wasabi leaves
28:44because he's made these dimples.
28:45Using wasabi as the essential part of the dish
28:48has been balanced properly.
28:50And we have this lightness with power.
28:54He's been able to get that wasabi to kind of flirt on our palate,
28:59which is a different approach.
29:01Yeah.
29:01We always say to them,
29:03you can express a flavour at the quiet end of the scale,
29:06and that's what he's done.
29:07Overall, it's hard to believe
29:09that Callum had never even tasted wasabi leaf
29:14two and a half hours ago.
29:16And this dish, it was a total experiment.
29:19And the way that this has come together,
29:21it is absolute genius.
29:26All right, Ben, how are we looking?
29:28Good, Chef. Good, Chef.
29:29Ben, you've got 11 minutes to service.
29:30Feeling good?
29:31It's been stressful.
29:33Yeah, it's meant to be stressful.
29:34It's almost my time for service.
29:38And the marron's gently poaching away.
29:40I've got the risotto together.
29:41I'm really happy with the flavour and texture of that.
29:43And now I've just got to sort out this broth
29:45and get everything ready to plate.
29:49I'm tasting the broth.
29:51Um, seriously.
29:52I'm still not happy with the flavour
29:53that's coming out of this kelp.
29:55It's supposed to be featuring the kelp,
29:57and it's just not working.
29:57It's really worrying me,
30:01because I think if that flavour's not there,
30:02if the judges don't taste that when they eat it,
30:04I'm not going to win this immunity.
30:06It's just a real problem.
30:14Ben, we've got 245.
30:15So the plates have to go on 245?
30:16Yeah.
30:16You're going to be ready?
30:17Yeah, I am.
30:17How are we going to go?
30:18Cutting that marron right now.
30:19All right.
30:19This broth is concerning me
30:21that it doesn't have enough of the kelp flavour in it,
30:24but service is about to start.
30:25I can't afford to waste any more time on it.
30:27No, I do.
30:27So I really need this crispy kelp to work.
30:30I run over to the oven,
30:31take it out,
30:32and thank goodness,
30:35it's worked really well.
30:36It's beautiful and crunchy and salty.
30:39My dish needs this.
30:40Yeah, this is the stuff I rehydrated
30:41and then dehydrated with basically baked.
30:44So it's really salty,
30:45but it's got a nice crunch.
30:47Sounds good.
30:48You ready to go?
30:48Yeah, I think so, yeah.
30:49All right.
30:50I'm hoping that when they taste it together,
30:52you know, the garnish of the kelp
30:53and the broth,
30:54they sort of enhance each other.
30:57When I plate this dish,
30:58it's going to have a nice little amount of the risotto.
31:00That's going to bring a texture
31:02and it's going to have a meatiness
31:03from the risotto itself.
31:05Some emulsion next to it.
31:07You're shaky.
31:08I wish I can.
31:08It's not, it's just the adrenaline.
31:10I honestly can't help it.
31:11There's nothing.
31:12Deep breath.
31:13It's not you.
31:14Mindfulness.
31:15The marron's poached away
31:16and it's cooked perfectly.
31:17It's sitting on top proudly
31:18with some of the crispy seaweed.
31:20The broth will be poured around at service
31:22and should hopefully have
31:23a very salty sea-like flavour.
31:25Okay, service please.
31:26Yeah.
31:27It was a real struggle getting through it.
31:29All right, so next four.
31:31But so happy with this dish
31:32and how it's turned out.
31:33If it all works together,
31:35you know,
31:36I could definitely be with a shot
31:36with amenity here.
31:38Service please.
31:39Appreciate it.
31:39All right.
31:39Oh, hello.
31:47Okay.
31:48Oh, thank you.
31:50Interesting.
31:54Oh, it comes with sauce.
31:59Okay, course two is fish made by Ben
32:02and this is butter poached marron,
32:03Jerusalem artichoke, frica risotto
32:05and kelp broth.
32:06Looks lovely.
32:07Very elegant.
32:09There's such a crazy aroma coming off it.
32:11Yeah, yeah.
32:12It's going to be interesting to taste.
32:13It's going to be interesting to taste.
32:37I was impressed by the textures.
32:44The marron was impeccable.
32:45Texture, colors.
32:47This indicates how very, very well
32:49the marron has been pushed into the butter.
32:52The frica risotto
32:53is quite actually a fantastic result
32:56and it works well into the dish
32:58but not with the seasoning.
33:00The kelp, as the main part of the dish,
33:05I think is completely lost.
33:08I'm just finding it hard to distinguish
33:10some of the flavours.
33:12I think the emulsion is a beautiful texture.
33:15It's so silky
33:16but I'm not getting that much flavour out of it.
33:19Instead of using the kelp
33:21as like really beautiful umami
33:23and freshness throughout the dish,
33:25I feel like everything is dragging the kelp down
33:28and that's a bit of a problem.
33:31How's the ice cream so they turn?
33:37Yeah, the sorbet's done as well.
33:39I'm just trying to rocher them
33:40and have them ready to go.
33:41Where's the...
33:42What, you're going to pre-rocher?
33:44Um, yeah, I've already done the sorbet.
33:45Oh, you're done?
33:46I have to do maybe five more, I think.
33:47And then blast them or...?
33:49Blast them and then they're in the freezer.
33:50Alright.
33:51On the fourth course, the last course,
33:53Ben's calling out.
33:54Service, please.
33:56Thank you, Chef.
33:57Thanks for having me.
33:57Well done, man.
33:58And I'm just like, oh my God.
34:00Service.
34:00It is so close.
34:02While my frozen elements are almost all done,
34:06it's time to take out these meringue shards
34:09and I'm just praying that this meringue is done.
34:13These meringue shards are adding so much more to the dish
34:15than flavour.
34:17It's texture, it's the snap, it's the look,
34:20it's everything.
34:22Wow.
34:23I love them.
34:25They've just crisped up beautifully.
34:27You can really taste the green an in that meringue,
34:29the green an in ginger.
34:31They go so well together
34:32and I'm really, really happy with the flavours, actually.
34:35And I'm just thinking to myself,
34:37it would be really nice to actually add some fresh meringue to my dish
34:40just to add that creaminess
34:42and just to accentuate that green an in and ginger flavour.
34:45So I'm going to do another element.
34:48I'm going to get it done.
34:49I promise I'm going to get it done.
34:51It's going to be delicious.
34:54So I'm doing some of this
34:55and I'm going to do some putts and fresh meringue as well
34:57because of how tasty it is.
34:59It's like you can really taste it.
35:00Yeah, it's nice.
35:00Yeah, the hands are good.
35:01Yeah, you can taste the hands.
35:02Yeah.
35:07Time is not my friend today.
35:10I'm pushing myself to get everything ready for service.
35:12I'm still finishing off two sauces
35:15in that watercress emulsion sauce.
35:17I've used the tops of the golden beetroots
35:19and it's tasting great.
35:21It's really earthy and peppery.
35:23That's going to really brighten up the richness of this dish.
35:26I'm tasting my masala jus sauce
35:29and it's so rich and sweet from all those golden beetroots
35:32and I'm so happy with it.
35:35Now it's time to start searing off these wagyu steaks.
35:40So much do, so little chimes.
35:44I want to cook my wagyu to medium rare today
35:46and I want to get a really deep caramelised sear
35:51on every single side of these wagyu cubes that I've cut up
35:55but I'm almost hoping that one of the volunteers
35:57in the dining room today is a fireman
36:00because the hibachi is roaring with flames.
36:03The fat dripping off this wagyu
36:05is obviously igniting these huge sparks of flames.
36:10Two minutes.
36:10Two minutes, sweet.
36:12I'm trying to cook all of these steaks perfectly on the hibachi.
36:16I'm relying on intuition, touch and feel.
36:19It doesn't matter what I bloody do,
36:20it's just going to light on fire.
36:22Yeah.
36:22But this job is taking longer than I thought it was going to be.
36:29Hey, Laura, there's a fair bit of flair up.
36:32Yeah, I know, there's so much fat, Andy.
36:34Are we plating?
36:35Like, service has already started.
36:37We'll be.
36:37We've got to go.
36:38Yeah, OK, going, going.
36:39Grab your aprons and try these delicious MasterChef-approved recipes on 10.
36:51Um, yeah.
37:01So we'll just get four plate, four plate.
37:03I can carve for your plate.
37:05Uh, yeah.
37:06No-one wants to wait for food at any restaurant,
37:09especially in Brunamon,
37:10so I need to start hustling on these dishes.
37:13As I'm cutting into my first steak,
37:17I'm just, like, praying that it's cooked perfectly.
37:21And it is blushing pink.
37:24It is so beautifully cooked.
37:27You can see that marbling fat almost melting through the seams.
37:30Like, that is an epic piece of meat.
37:32To plate my dish, I place my Wagyu steak flesh side up.
37:38I've got three beautiful salt-baked golden beetroots.
37:42They are perfectly cooked.
37:43They're so tender to the touch of a knife.
37:46I am so happy with the cook on them.
37:48I'm dressing the plate now with my masala jus.
37:51That's how you pictured it.
37:52Yeah.
37:53Weirdly enough.
37:54Weirdly enough.
37:55And that beautiful waterpress and beetroot top green sauce.
37:59That's good.
38:00Thanks.
38:00These plates are looking fantastic,
38:03and it's ready to send.
38:05Service, please.
38:07All right, next four.
38:09Yeah.
38:15That's so good.
38:17Oof.
38:19Wow.
38:19Oh, wow.
38:20Wow.
38:21This is unbelievable.
38:25So, Laura course, the meat course,
38:28is Wagyu sirloin with salt-baked golden beetroot,
38:33watercress green sauce, jus.
38:36Wow.
38:37What the colours just there.
38:39This definitely looks incredible.
38:42Oh.
38:42You can see each of those four elements.
38:45The Wagyu is absolutely glistening.
38:47You can clearly see those two sauces,
38:49and the golden beets are vibrant.
38:51Shall we dial in?
38:53Wow, wow, wow.
39:19Oh, my God.
39:20John Christophe is praying.
39:26I'm literally just about to cry.
39:29It is just...
39:30You're really tearing up.
39:32I'm excited.
39:34What I love very much is the beetroot.
39:36Baking beetroot in a salt crust.
39:40What you have is this concentration of flavours.
39:42It's just done perfectly.
39:45The steak, it is fantastic.
39:48All that lovely fattiness just melting in your palate.
39:51That is the best piece of Wagyu I think I have ever had in my life.
39:55It is so magical.
39:57Like, it's exactly what Wagyu is about.
39:59Laura's ability to really play on the caramel notes.
40:05You know, the Wagyu, grilling it perfectly.
40:07The caramel notes of both the reduction,
40:09but also the pepperberry.
40:12And then the beautiful caramel notes of the beetroot
40:15marry up with that sauce so, so well.
40:18As a diner at Voodermonde,
40:22if you got this dish
40:23and then somebody asked you the next day,
40:25how was your meal, what do you remember?
40:26Yeah.
40:26You would say this sirloin.
40:28It's been a wee of one minute when you start going.
40:31Yeah.
40:32It's almost time to start plating up
40:34and I am so happy I got the fresh meringue done in time.
40:37Are you ready to go plating?
40:38And it tastes so bloody good.
40:40Let's do it.
40:41Yeah.
40:41The first thing I do is pipe a dollop
40:45of my fresh meringue on the base of the bowl.
40:48On top of the meringue,
40:49I place the yogurt sorbet rocher.
40:51Next to the yogurt sorbet,
40:53the coriander and the green ant ice cream.
40:55I add my pineapple granita.
40:57I place the two meringue shards on top
40:59and I finish it off with some more green ants.
41:02Service, please.
41:03Yes, chef.
41:04The dish looks amazing.
41:06Like, I am so happy with this dish
41:08because it's intriguing.
41:09You've got green ants, you've got meringue,
41:11you've got a granita,
41:12you've got frozen islands underneath.
41:14Service, please.
41:16But I'm a little bit nervous.
41:18This is a very brave dish.
41:20This is so out of my comfort zone.
41:21But I, yeah, I hope they like that.
41:28Oh.
41:29Oh, that looks cool.
41:31Our final course, we had to pin her on dessert
41:33and who gave her green ants.
41:35She's done yogurt sorbet,
41:38pineapple granita,
41:39coriander ice cream
41:40and a ginger meringue with
41:42green ants.
41:44Let's have a go.
41:45Oh.
42:01Oh.
42:02Oh, wow.
42:03Okay.
42:04It changes, doesn't it?
42:05Yeah.
42:14It's going to be really hard.
42:16There's colour beauties here, which I love.
42:28There's the beauty of what's going on flavour-wise,
42:34and then there's the beauty of technique.
42:35The way that she's used green ants here is I've never had it like this before.
42:38I've always had it in terms of trying to balance out sweetness or bitterness.
42:39Whereas here, she's really used it to make all the other acidic notes in this bowl work.
42:45I've never had one mouthful of a dessert and had the experience of when it goes from one,
42:50from one, to one, to one.
42:51I've never had it like this before.
42:52I've never had it like this before.
42:53I've always had it in terms of trying to balance out sweetness or bitterness.
42:58Whereas here, she's really used it to make all the other acidic notes in this bowl work.
43:08I've never had one mouthful of a dessert and had the experience of when it goes from one flavour
43:15to another flavour to another flavour.
43:18That's like a 10-second spread of your palate.
43:21Yeah.
43:21That was incredible.
43:23Just kept on morphing.
43:24Exactly.
43:24It was so interesting.
43:26I've never seen this before and I'm really, really, really impressed.
43:31This is the sort of sweet that sits really well in this sort of fine dining setting
43:36because it's very refreshing and it's a beautiful way to finish a meal.
43:40I think this is my favourite of Dependa's sweet dishes.
43:44It's really, really clever and definitely shows where she's at.
43:49My taste buds, I have not stopped.
43:53It's been a delight trying to get from the start to the finish of each single introduction.
44:00So I know this table is quite heavy.
44:02Yeah, I wouldn't do it.
44:03But what I'm going to do is this.
44:05That's very restrained of you.
44:08Service, please.
44:09Yes, sir.
44:12All right.
44:13Well done.
44:15All good?
44:15Thanks for everything.
44:16Yeah.
44:16Thank you so much.
44:17I don't think I would have been able to do this without you.
44:23What do we do now?
44:24We just came off the back of, like, one of the best tastings I've had.
44:28Yeah.
44:28And for our contestants to rise to the occasion in Voodamont, I'm so proud of them.
44:32Yeah.
44:33So proud of them.
44:34Now it's up to us.
44:35Three out of those four dishes were incredible.
44:38And we have to somehow pick a winner.
44:45Before we kick this off, I just want to say, what a tasting.
44:50That had a smiling from ear to ear.
44:52It was honestly such a treat.
44:56If there was ever a challenge tough enough to test MasterChef's best and brightest back
45:00to win, it was that one.
45:02Yeah, I think we all did really amazing, guys.
45:05Like, walking into any new restaurant or any new kitchen is difficult for anyone, even professionals.
45:09So to walk into a kitchen like this and obviously have to cook with such high expectations,
45:15I think overall, everyone did a great job.
45:19Now, our decision today, that was one of the most challenging so far.
45:27Because we almost had a three-way tie for first place.
45:31Oh, what?
45:32With that said, we need to take one of you off the table.
45:39Sorry to say, Ben, your dish, it just didn't quite come together like we'd hoped.
45:47But a great effort, mate.
45:49Oh, good.
45:50What up, Benny?
45:51Sorry, mate.
45:51It's a good one.
45:52Callum, the whole dish, it was fresh, earthy and humming with that wasabi leaf flavour.
46:00When it landed at the table, it immediately delivered the experience that we were all hoping for.
46:07Laura, from the cook on the Wagyu to the jus and the beets, that dish, flat-out flavour.
46:17Expertly crafted in only a way that you could, Laura.
46:22Depinda, that dessert, it was an adventure.
46:28From sweet to savoury, it was a little bit of everything.
46:30And most importantly, those green ants, they were a highlight.
46:36Get it, girl.
46:37Three outstanding dishes.
46:43So what do you do?
46:48You give the win to the cook that utilised their ingredient in the most creative way.
46:56And brought us a dish that would happily sit on the menu at Vudemont.
47:01And that cook...
47:02..was Callum.
47:07Well, Callum, you did it.
47:14You won immunity.
47:16Holy shitballs.
47:17Sorry, I can't say that, but oh, my God.
47:19Which means you've made the top five.
47:21How does it feel?
47:23Yeah, it feels incredible.
47:24Walking this morning, like, you can't help but feel overwhelmed and intimidated by it.
47:29And the amazing kitchen, the chef of used Callibur and the view.
47:33So, yeah, just, yeah, I feel really chuffed to have that result.
47:36Well, great work, because come Sunday, you'll be safe up on the gantry.
47:39Thanks, bro.
47:40Everyone else, immunity is back up for grabs tomorrow for the last time this week.
47:45If you want to guarantee your spot in the top five next to Callum, show up ready to rock tomorrow.
47:53Goodnight.
47:54Goodnight, guys.
47:54See you, everyone.
47:56Are you ready to rock?
48:01I don't know why I said that.
48:03It just came to my throat.
48:05Tomorrow night...
48:07Tomorrow night...
48:08I think you're the most courageous person I know.
48:12Sorry.
48:13Have the tissues handy.
48:15I asked if they want Daddy to come home soon.
48:18The answer was, not yet.
48:19We want him to win.
48:21Because this tearjerker will be someone's ticket to the top five.
48:28You're not just back to win, you're back to make your family proud.
48:31Come on, Jamie, let's go, mate.
48:33Are you okay?
48:34I definitely feel the pressure, because my family has made so many sacrifices.
48:39Come on, come on, come on.
48:40Are you going to get this done in time?
48:43Oh, sweet Jesus.
48:44If I fail at today's challenge, I almost feel like I'm failing the two biggest loves of my life.