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00:00Oh
00:20So dark. Oh guys. What's going on here? Wow, what is that?
00:25It is like walking into an enchanted forest. There's little trees and shrubbery and there's moss all over the floor
00:35Oh my god, it's a fish. It's a fish eating a cornetta.
00:39And it looks like there's edible things perched from a fish's mouth
00:45hanging from the tree. I don't know if it looks delicious. Sitting on the rocks. They can't be edible. Surely not.
00:53This is like
00:55unbelievable. Oh my god. Oh my goodness.
00:57What the hell is that?
00:59So beautiful. Oh, here they are.
01:02What about this?
01:04Amazing.
01:06Morning all. Morning.
01:09The kitchen is looking a little wild today.
01:12We are definitely stepping into the grain unknown for this elimination.
01:18These beautiful bites were made by a Kiwi legend.
01:22Oh.
01:24He made the top 100 chefs list this year.
01:30His ethos around New Zealand ingredients has earned his restaurant three hat status.
01:36It was awarded the best dining experience in 2024 and the third best restaurant in the world by food and wine.
01:47Oh my god.
01:48Holy shit.
01:49Now that ain't it.
01:50This is insane.
01:52It made the San Pellegrino world's 50 best restaurants list this year.
01:57I just got crispo.
01:59Crispo.
02:00Please welcome the mad genius of the South Island executive chef of Queenstown's Emmersfield, Vaughn Mabee.
02:11Born Mabee from New Zealand.
02:23His food is some of the best in the world.
02:26To see him in the flesh, he's a little scary walking into the kitchen.
02:30What's happening guys?
02:33Honey walked in like a boss.
02:36Mohawk.
02:37Just chilling.
02:38What's up?
02:39Kia ora.
02:40How good?
02:41Chef.
02:42Chef Vaughn.
02:43How are you?
02:47Vaughn, welcome to the MasterChef kitchen.
02:49Thank you for having me.
02:51Your approach to food really pushes boundaries.
02:54What's your ethos with cooking?
02:56Our restaurant, Emmersfield, it's on an island.
02:58Our ethos is just using what's around us.
03:01I'm motivated in telling a true story of our land, you know, Aotearoa and its cuisine in
03:08a different light to the world.
03:10Vaughn's restaurant is famous for its tasting menu of sensational snacks and one bite wonders.
03:16Up here are eight of his favourites.
03:19These are all loaded with world class New Zealand ingredients, flavours and technique that
03:24you cannot experience anywhere else.
03:28And, lucky you, you get to taste them right here, right now!
03:33Yes!
03:35That's an excellent start to an initiative.
03:38This is sick.
03:39First up, Laura.
03:41It kind of feels like I'm having snacks for free and it's an absolute vibe.
03:46Like, this is some of the best food in the world and we get to have it in this kitchen.
03:50This one is kind of one of the most nostalgic flavours of New Zealand.
03:54Growing up in New Zealand, we make white bait fritters.
03:57Inside is actually aerated white bait mousse and it's encaptured inside the fritter around it.
04:05That is so good.
04:06The weird and wacky ideas that he's come up with as dishes is so inspiring.
04:10This is what we call the duck foot.
04:13I mean, there's duck feet, like literally duck feet as a snack.
04:17We cook it in its own consomme and the claws are made out of black truffle.
04:23That is so cool.
04:25There is fish heads that have got almost Cornetto-like ice creams hanging out of them.
04:29I want to get into his brain and be like, how the hell did you come up with this kind of stuff?
04:33This is the New Zealand native green bone.
04:36Inside there is like a little aerated horseradish ice cream.
04:39The cone might be a tiny little thing but...
04:41Wow.
04:42As soon as I break that cone, my mouth just fills with all this flavour.
04:46It's so sour and so bright.
04:48That was amazing.
04:49It's like the ultimate palate awakener.
04:52This is the wing of the titi, also known as the mutton bird.
04:56I think the thing with all of these dishes is that they look really simple but so much thought and attention has been given to how to pack all that flavour in.
05:05Quite amazing how much flavour you can pack into such a small amount of food and to have those classic kiwi flavours makes it even more special, I think.
05:12Awesome, man.
05:13I think it's spectacular and if we're going to have to do this in the challenge, it's going to be a bit of a worry.
05:17Now this is the same bird Ben just tasted. This is the titi, this is the heart.
05:22So the heart, you know, it's the purest part of any animal.
05:25So we glaze it with a wild birch syrup, the sap we take out of the trees.
05:30So sweet, salty and fatty.
05:32You're just going to eat it like it's a lollipop.
05:35Best lollipop ever.
05:36Oh, yum.
05:38That looks amazing.
05:40Oregon Depender has chosen the worst mystery box to win yesterday because this is very cool right now, give you a try of these dishes.
05:46So this is the New Zealand Pawa.
05:48It's an endemic black abalone.
05:50Both of these bites I've been lucky enough to try.
05:53Wow.
05:54It's like that Willy Wonka thing where you cram a three course meal into a tablet.
05:58Like there is like so much flavour going on in these bites right now.
06:01Have you ever seen this before?
06:03No.
06:04It's called kaio in a native tongue in New Zealand.
06:06English name is a sea tulip.
06:08We harvest them in some of the purest waters down around the south of New Zealand.
06:13That's delicious and totally unexpected.
06:16Vaughan wants to use what's around him and celebrate all of the things that are beautiful and unique about the part of the world he's from.
06:24This is the native New Zealand tawaka mushroom tart.
06:28So when you eat this it goes sweet, crispy, fresh and then you have this powerful mushroom flavour.
06:34Each of these bites is really succinct in its idea and it's packed full of unexpected technique and flavour.
06:40I have a feeling we're going to be doing that today.
06:43What you just tasted is your inspiration for today.
06:47We want you to create your own spectacular one bite wonder.
06:52And you've got your work cut out for you today.
06:55Because we want the perfect bite times five.
06:58One morsel for each of us.
07:01So we're giving you two hours.
07:04The pantry and garden are open.
07:06And unfortunately, the least impressive dish will send its maker home.
07:11Take it away Vaughan.
07:13Your two hours starts now.
07:16Come on guys.
07:24I'm definitely excited for this challenge.
07:26But also nervous is absolutely the right word to use.
07:30These three guys are such creative, incredible cooks.
07:33I know they're going to put up something super magical.
07:37So it's trying to think how the hell am I going to save myself today
07:40and what is it going to take to put up an incredible dish.
07:43You know what, I'll get my fish last.
07:46Because that's going to be the smartest thing to do.
07:50Honestly speaking, it's an honour meeting you.
07:54And to go with your passion.
07:56I mean I love cooking, but this is another world.
07:59Vaughan, I can guarantee we're going to get some exceptional food.
08:02Like we've got four of the best cooks that this kitchen has ever seen
08:05cooking right at the top of their game at the moment.
08:08If it was you out there, where would you start?
08:11I mean for me, I start with like focusing on one ingredient.
08:15And then around that, I would create something,
08:17whether it's the way it's shown to you or the way it's given,
08:20to make it more elaborate where they can stand out amongst the other chefs.
08:24Love this.
08:25If I was potato starch, where would I be?
08:28You know what the beautiful thing is about these four?
08:30Like this challenge and why I love it,
08:31I have no idea what they're going to cook right now.
08:34I'm excited to eat.
08:36Yeah, same.
08:39You okay, Ben?
08:40Good chef, thank you.
08:41How do you feel having other zeal kiwi in the kitchen?
08:43It's always nice.
08:44Yeah?
08:45Twice as hard for you though.
08:46Twice as hard for you to understand what we're saying, right?
08:49I think Vaughan's food is amazing.
08:55Great to have another kiwi in the kitchen.
08:56I'd love to know how he makes it because it would help me today.
08:59But really inspirational start to the morning with some of that amazing food in there.
09:03So just trying to think of what I can do that's going to sort of pack the same punch.
09:08I'm more of a cook a dish sort of person than cook a mouthful sort of person.
09:12Small bites isn't really my style, so it's going to be a challenge for sure.
09:17But Vaughan talks about a connection with food and white beta definitely makes me think of my childhood
09:21and I'm sort of thinking that if I can get some white beta into this dish,
09:24it's going to help me form that connection and hopefully cook a better dish.
09:28Ben.
09:29Hello, hello.
09:30How are you, mate?
09:31Pretty good.
09:32Pretty good, yeah.
09:33Pretty good?
09:34You feeling the pressure a little bit or what?
09:35100%, yeah.
09:36There's never been more pressure in this room than right now.
09:37You know, it could be the last cook in here, so I don't want that to be the case.
09:40I'm just going to try to make the most precise, flavourful mouthful of food I can do.
09:43I'm actually going to use, having seen the white bait, I didn't taste it up there but I saw it
09:47and it just brought back my childhood memories of eating white bait
09:49and, you know, just pretty much white bait and egg is all you need,
09:51but I'm going to have to obviously do a bit more than that.
09:53So I'm actually going to take a chicken wing and I'm going to stuff it with a white bait mousse
09:58just so you really get that sweetness from the white bait when you eat it
10:00and hopefully take you to my childhood in New Zealand or your childhood as well, I imagine.
10:05It sounds really cool, sounds like something that interests me a lot, you know, like it's cool.
10:12Yeah.
10:13Chicken wings.
10:14Yeah.
10:15Obviously I want to see the kiwi wing win, sorry.
10:18Wings on the mind.
10:19I will not be biased.
10:20No, I promise.
10:21No, you won't be.
10:23He's also bigger than you Andy in case.
10:25Bigger than most.
10:26Good luck mate.
10:27Thanks Andy, appreciate it.
10:28Good luck mate.
10:29Thanks chef.
10:30For the chicken wings I want to stuff them in, you can either pull the bones out raw or pull them out cooked.
10:33It's far easier doing what they're cooked.
10:35So frying the chicken first, it gives it a bit of colour on the skin and then cooking it gently in the stock
10:39is just going to make it cook through without overdoing it.
10:45Hello.
10:46Are you excited?
10:47I am always chef.
10:49Is it your forte?
10:50Yeah, I think so.
10:51Yeah, I'm excited for it.
10:53I'm normally pretty level-headed on these things, but this is going to be one for my kids today.
10:59So most of them are going to be running higher, but yeah, I'm really excited.
11:04One of the things I love to do with my kids is to educate them about all things food.
11:08And so we'll often go out on little adventures, we'll go pick apples up in the Lead Hills where I'm from.
11:14In the cooler months, I've got wild mushrooms growing everywhere just near my house.
11:18And seeing Vaughan's creations today and how much it sort of spoke of, you know, a sense of place,
11:23I just thought that was really awesome.
11:25And so I'm going to do a mushroom and chicken tart.
11:30Something that I noticed with Vaughan's dishes were they were little works of art.
11:33Like they looked really interesting before you even had a chance to eat it.
11:37So I want to create a dish that essentially looks like the judge are going to be going mushroom foraging themselves
11:43to pick up a little mushroom-looking dish.
11:45But the thing is, when you commit to a dish, like, looking like something,
11:50or if it doesn't look accurate, then it sort of loses a bit of that magic.
11:54So, yeah, that's the goal today.
11:56Make sure I execute everything to the highest possible standard in terms of flavour,
12:00but also in terms of getting that presentation aspect right.
12:04My chicken liver parfait goes into the oven, and now it's time to make the mandarin and thyme gel.
12:08Let's go, Carl. Smells great.
12:10Thanks, mate.
12:12Single bite snacks is what we did at Alba for years.
12:17And I feel like this whole journey in this competition has been all about me
12:21sort of gaining back some confidence and sort of moving through that journey
12:25that I had with that venue that I love so much.
12:27So today I want to pay homage to that memory and create something that represents who I am now
12:32and what I'm about.
12:34So I'm making anchovies on toast.
12:38I feel like this is a nice little ode to my past, but as well it sort of represents where I'm going in my future
12:42and I'm confident in my cooking again.
12:44I feel like it's a bit of a flex for me to be in an elimination at top five of MasterChef
12:49and say, I'm putting anchovies on toast, but the toast is going to be crystal bread.
12:56Crystal bread is essentially completely transparent starch toast.
13:02It's completely hollow.
13:04It's completely see-through, but somehow still tastes like bread.
13:10Crystal bread takes a long time to cook, so that's the first thing I need to get onto.
13:14I take water, kuzu starch and potato starch and start whisking.
13:19This needs to start boiling and come together looking like a pretty gross paste,
13:24but greatness will come.
13:27Jamie?
13:28Oui.
13:29I'm so interested.
13:31Yeah, me too.
13:33I need at least 90 minutes for this to dry out in the oven
13:36because the danger with crystal bread is if I don't cook it out properly,
13:39the effect won't work and the texture will be gummy.
13:43Jamie?
13:44Chef.
13:45Sorry.
13:46No, you're out.
13:50How are you, mate?
13:51Very well.
13:52I'm making anchovies on toast.
13:53Right.
13:54Yum.
13:55Yeah.
13:56You've got a smoked confit tomato, a little anchovy custard.
13:59I'm making crystal bread, so it'll be a crystal clear wafer.
14:02Shatters like glass, but still has that beautiful taste of bread.
14:06So it may be anchovies on toast, but it's definitely MasterChef worthy.
14:10Mate, crystal bread.
14:11We've never seen that in a MasterChef dish.
14:13I think you know your way around crystal bread.
14:17What can go wrong?
14:18I mean, to be honest, I've never made it myself.
14:21Wow.
14:22I've eaten it in many restaurants around the world.
14:24I guess the only thing that can go wrong with it is that it's not crispy.
14:27Mmm.
14:28You've got your work cut out for you.
14:30Thanks, guys.
14:31There's no backup.
14:34There is no backup for the crystal bread.
14:37All of my bread is in one basket, and we're hoping that that is a clear vision of us going
14:42into the top four.
14:43Tiny dish!
14:44Huge steaks!
14:4590 minutes ago!
14:46Woo!
14:47Let's go, guys.
14:48Keep going, Tal.
14:49Let's go, let's go.
14:50Run, run, run.
14:51This is such a challenging challenge.
15:14You've got one shot in one mouthful to win the judges over.
15:19This fish would just tame itself.
15:22Stay on the chopping board.
15:24Look, any day you're wearing a black apron in this kitchen is a pretty terrifying day.
15:30To be honest, I feel like these three boys have been my biggest competitors since day
15:34one.
15:35So today is going to be a huge elimination.
15:38But I came back to win.
15:41I did not come here to set different milestones.
15:43It was to get to that final spot.
15:46And I am trying to do everything in my power to get there and to make sure I walk out of
15:52this kitchen a winner.
15:53That looks so fresh.
15:55It's beautiful.
15:57Absolutely beautiful.
15:59Today I think it's all about sticking to my strengths.
16:02And I want to play around with Japanese flavours as well as native Australian ingredients.
16:07So today I'm making a seaweed tart.
16:09Inside that's going to have a native citrus gel, a toasted nori jam and a smoked fish head
16:16emulsion.
16:17Babe, how long are you smoking that for?
16:21Probably about ten.
16:22Ten minutes?
16:23Yeah.
16:24And then I'm going to have the fish which I'm curing.
16:28It's a traditional Japanese technique called kombu jime.
16:31So you slice up my coral trout, wrap it in the kombu and just allow that to pretty much
16:36kill for as long as possible when it's cooked to really take on that beautiful kombu flavour.
16:40Laura, that looks amazing.
16:43So you're going to smoke it inside that?
16:45No, so it's going to go into the cryback so that it penetrates more flavour quicker.
16:50Beautiful.
16:51Showing some techniques, girlfriend.
16:53We love a bit of technique.
16:55I feel like I'm making dolmatis.
16:59There's definitely a lot of pressure today to really make sure both the Japanese and native
17:03Australian flavours sing, work cohesively and I think it's going to come down to not just
17:09the flavours of both the cuisines but also the textures as well.
17:13And you know, you want a really fun, textural, explosive mouthful.
17:16So, yeah, I'm ready to absolutely nail this challenge.
17:19There's no other option but to nail it today.
17:21You're working on your tart shells now?
17:23Yeah.
17:24Yeah.
17:25Let's go, yeah?
17:26Forty down, please.
17:32Steaks are so high today because whoever's going home today is going to miss out on being
17:36top four and top five's good but it's not top four and it's certainly not winning.
17:40So, I've decided to put as much technique as possible into this dish to prove that I should
17:44be the one to stay.
17:45So, I'm going to add a few extra elements to go off my chicken wings, stuffed with whitebait
17:49to really stand out.
17:51I'm adding a chicken liver parfait, a chive oil emulsion and a seaweed crisp.
17:56When the judges bite into this snack I want to have a whole range of feelings from firstly
17:59the texture, the crunch, right through to then big flavours from the parfait, right through
18:03to the sweetness of the whitebait.
18:05The chicken wings are the tuile and the parfait's in the oven.
18:08Now it's time to make the mousse to stuff the chicken wings with when they're ready.
18:12To make the mousse I basically blend up some whitebait with some egg, salt and a little
18:16bit of cream until it's really light and fluffy.
18:19Whitebait's got a very sweet, slightly salty flavour and I think that's going to go really well
18:23with the chicken.
18:24Is that your mousse, babes?
18:25Yep.
18:26Beautiful.
18:27It's almost all whitebait.
18:28Taste everything, yeah?
18:29Yeah.
18:30Let's go Jamie!
18:31Woo!
18:32Great energy, Dave.
18:35Always.
18:36I'm here for it.
18:37I'm working on my home feed tomatoes, my anchovies on toast.
18:41Did you put a bit of sugar on your tomato?
18:43Sorry?
18:44Did you put a bit of sugar on your tomato?
18:46No, not yet.
18:47But, now that you've said it, it might bring out some more sweetness, huh?
18:51It's every five minutes left and all the things that take a lot of time are in the oven.
18:56So I've got my confit tomatoes in there.
18:58The bread is the main thing that needs time to, like, to just dry out.
19:02Now moving on to my anchovy cream, which is almost like a custard.
19:07It's a good time right there.
19:09Right.
19:10So, I've got to infuse this cream with the anchovy flavour and then mix it through some egg yolks,
19:17essentially making a custard.
19:19I want the fat from this to really cover the mouth so that even after the anchovy and the crystal bread's gone,
19:24you're left with this unmistakable anchovy flavour that's just sitting on the palate.
19:29Do you want it to be really intense?
19:31Um, not too intense.
19:33You're still going to have an anchovy on the top.
19:35Oh, okay.
19:36How long is your crystal bread going to be in the oven for, Jamie?
19:39Uh, till it's ready.
19:40You can't overcook it.
19:41Oh, okay.
19:42Cool.
19:43It needs to be in a 170 oven for a long time.
19:47I need all of the water to cook out and the starch to just solidify around the outside.
19:51The slower you can do that, the clearer you can get the bread.
19:54What we don't want is any of that moisture to not have evaporated
19:58because then you're going to get something real gummy and it won't be nice.
20:02So, it's a waiting game.
20:06I'm wearing a black apron and I'm resting my entire competition on whether this one thing
20:11that's never been done in this kitchen gets done on time.
20:14But I came fourth on my last season of MasterChef and the further into this competition I've gotten this year,
20:21the more and more confidence I've had that I will be here at the end.
20:24I just need to keep pushing.
20:29You only have 75 minutes left to go.
20:32Good luck, please.
20:33I'm going so fast in this kitchen.
20:36Wild.
20:37My chicken liver parfait is cooking in the oven.
20:41It's now time to make my mushroom tart.
20:43The pastry from my mushroom tart case is here.
20:46It's flour, it's water, it's olive oil and, of course, all those dried mushrooms in there as well.
20:51Callum!
20:52Hey, gents. What's your one bite?
20:54Mushroom and chicken liver tart is the dish.
20:56So, actually, slightly inspired by your mushroom tart.
20:58But, yeah, I guess as soon as I walked in today and just saw the moss
21:02and it kind of felt like you were walking through a forest.
21:05It's like my favourite thing in the world.
21:06We show all my kids, like, food things.
21:07So, we've got, like, picking apples and picking strawberries
21:09that go on foraging for mushrooms.
21:10So, I want you guys to do a little bit of a forage today.
21:12So, it's going to be little mushrooms on a plate
21:13and they're going to be stuffed with chicken liver parfait,
21:16chicken skin, a little mandarin thyme gel.
21:19Wow.
21:20And then a little mushroom stem made out of, like, a mushroom butter as well.
21:23So, it's going to be a good time, I reckon.
21:24And this incites me because I know that, like,
21:26Callum has the technique behind him.
21:29Awesome.
21:30So, unfortunately, that means, Callum, very high expectations over here.
21:34Have your expectations as high as you like.
21:36I can't wait.
21:37Way out.
21:38Good luck, mate.
21:39I wish you luck, Callum.
21:40Thank you, Jeff.
21:41Is that your shell, Callum?
21:43Yeah, beautiful.
21:45My mushroom tart case dough is resting.
21:47I'm now going to make a port mushroom dashi jelly.
21:51The mushrooms and the dashi are going to give that real savoury umami flavour.
21:55And the port in there just gives a little bit of sweetness
21:58just to make sure it's not too earthy as well.
22:01I'm going to set this into a jelly into little moulds.
22:03And this is kind of going to be, if you can imagine,
22:05an upside-down mushroom with all the little gills in there,
22:07all those kind of lines that join the mushroom together.
22:09This is going to be that part.
22:13Okay, boil. That'll be good.
22:14Alright.
22:15My white bay mousse is finished.
22:17I now need to start stuffing the chicken wings.
22:19I need to sort of pull the bones out, which is a very fiddly task.
22:22Come on, fire out.
22:24I hold it by one end and just wiggle each of the two bones
22:28that's inside the winglet.
22:29Stuff it with the mousse and then roll it up in cling film
22:33so I can steam them and cook the mousse through.
22:35Can't put too much in because they'll be too big to eat.
22:39I've never cooked white bay in this way.
22:42I'm taking a bit of a risk, but, hey,
22:44it's what you've got to do in this competition at this stage.
22:48Habib!
22:49Hello, hello.
22:50Tell us, how are you going to wow us with one bite?
22:52Well, I took one bite.
22:53I've got these lovely little chicken wing stuff
22:55with a white bay mousse here, just cooking through.
22:57Almost done.
22:58Yep.
22:59They're going to be sitting on top of these lovely seaweed
23:00and chive twills.
23:02That's already done.
23:03Yep, chicken parfait.
23:04Chicken liver parfait underneath that.
23:05Yep.
23:06And on top, a little bit of a green oil emulsion
23:08and heavier.
23:09Wow.
23:10A lot of texture, a lot of flavour.
23:11Strong flavour.
23:12Yep.
23:13Yeah, and a lot of flavour.
23:15Just make sure that you're not just going for technical powers.
23:19Also make sure that it's carefully balanced.
23:23Have I just really screwed up here by adding so many big flavours?
23:30I really hope I haven't committed to the wrong dish.
23:38I know I have some big flavours in my dish, but with a small bite of food, a single mouthful,
23:49it's the proportions and the quantities and the way it's put together that's actually going
23:53to control how it eats.
23:54Finally, I'm confident with the concept of the dish and if I can get the balance right,
23:59I think I can do something really special with it.
24:01How's that, Binny?
24:02Beautiful.
24:03Beautiful, mate.
24:06My parfait's in the oven, which is good.
24:08My mushroom tart case dough is resting.
24:13My gills gel is cooling down the blast chiller.
24:18I'm just working on a little thyme and mandarin sauce I'm going to make as well.
24:23I've chosen to use mandarin as one of the flavour profiles I was in today with my mushroom
24:26and my chicken liver.
24:28And where that idea comes from is all the way back in season two, I was in London and
24:33I got to cook a challenge with Heston and I got to make his meat fruit, which is chicken
24:37liver and mandarin.
24:38And I remember eating that that day and just having a similar kind of magical food experience
24:43like we've just had with Vaughn here.
24:44And so when I thought of something to kind of break through the earthiness of that mushroom
24:49and that sort of silky saltiness of the chicken liver parfait, mandarin just seems like the obvious choice
24:54to link those two things together.
24:57What's that for, pal?
24:59Just a little sauce, like puree thing.
25:02Beautiful.
25:03Is that going to go inside the mushroom?
25:05Yeah.
25:06That now goes into the blast chiller.
25:09Time to start rolling out my dough for tart shells.
25:12No pressure.
25:13You have 30 minutes to go, guys.
25:17Let's do it!
25:18Let's do it, guys.
25:19Bring it home.
25:31There's 30 minutes to go.
25:32My fish is still curing.
25:33My smoked fish head stock is reducing down.
25:36My nori jam still bubbling away.
25:38The next thing I'm going to get onto is making my native citrus gel.
25:43I'm using lemon aspen and desert lime today.
25:46I feel like with Japanese cooking, you'd use lots of yuzu within the dish to bring out that really nice acidic flair.
25:52And these flavours are going to really complement that yuzu style of flavour.
25:59Oh!
26:01She needed 100ml and she got it.
26:03Now that my citrus gel is on the stove, I crack onto rolling out my seaweed dough.
26:08Oh!
26:09My heart is racing so fast.
26:10Laura, did I just hear you say that your heart is beating so fast?
26:13So fast.
26:14Yeah?
26:15You're feeling it, aren't you?
26:16Definitely.
26:17Yeah.
26:18So nerve-wracking.
26:19Like, there's so much at stake today.
26:20I can see it in your eye.
26:21So much at stake.
26:22Have you got confidence in your idea?
26:24Yes.
26:25Like, at first I felt you're going to get hit with all the native citrus, because I feel like it's so prominent.
26:28And then you flip to the Japanese side, then I want you to get the smokiness from the head emulsion.
26:33So it's really a two-part journey in a single mouthful.
26:35Yeah.
26:36Yeah.
26:37Sounds amazing.
26:38If you can pull it off, it's genius.
26:39That's what you need with, like, any little snack.
26:40Like, you just want to be blown away, and you've only got one mouthful to do it, so that's what
26:44I'm trying to do.
26:45Yeah.
26:46Blow your socks off in one mouthful.
26:47Well, we don't need to tell you what's riding on this, so we're wishing you all the best.
26:50Oh, God.
26:51Thank you so much.
26:52Thank you, ladies.
26:53Are you wearing socks?
26:54I'm not wearing socks.
26:55I'm not wearing socks.
26:56Put some socks on, Soph.
26:58Just one bite between you and the top four!
27:0115 minutes to go!
27:09That's perfect.
27:10Stunning.
27:11Oh, my God, that's perfect.
27:12Perfect.
27:13Perfect.
27:14Oh!
27:15Wow.
27:16Yes.
27:17I just got goosebumps.
27:18Soap.
27:19How are you going?
27:20Good, man.
27:21Having fun?
27:22Yeah.
27:23How are you travelling?
27:24Good.
27:25Nice, mate.
27:26Usually when you have chicken liver parfait, it'll be covered with, like, a jelly or, like,
27:27a clarified butter or something like that, and today I'm kind of doing both of those
27:30things.
27:31So I've got my jelly setting away, and I'm now going to make a little stem for the mushroom.
27:35There's going to be butter, black garlic, and slippery jack mushrooms.
27:39Nice, Cal.
27:40Even though the little stem I'm making here is quite a small part of the dish, I think
27:44it's a really important part because that sort of fat from the butter as it melts in
27:47your mouth is going to offset some of that sweetness from the mandarin gel and that kind
27:51of savoury earthiness of the mushroom dashi jelly that goes on the top as well, so it's
27:56going to be a really important sort of balancing act.
27:59How long till the crystal bread comes out, Jamie?
28:04I'm pushing it a little bit.
28:07The crystal bread's going to come out, and I'm probably going to have minutes to play.
28:11It's not a lot of time, but it's going to have to be.
28:14Oh, that smells incredible, Jamie.
28:17Tomatoes look amazing.
28:19Yeah, they do.
28:20Take my confit tomatoes out.
28:22They're still just holding together, and although they look beautiful, top four is
28:27on the line here, so a little bit of smoke is just going to elevate them that little bit
28:31more and take it to the next level.
28:34My anchovy cream is now done.
28:37It all comes down to this crystal bread.
28:39They look like ice cubes.
28:41They actually look like ice cubes.
28:42Andy, have you had it before?
28:44What's that?
28:45No, no, no.
28:46I can't push it any longer.
28:50They need to come out of the oven right now.
28:53If this doesn't work, there's no re-dos.
28:58I'm going to be putting an anchovy on a spoon.
29:01This snack needs to be your saviour five minutes to go!
29:05Come on, guys.
29:13I'm praying it's worked.
29:15I'm trying to get this crystal bread out of the pan, but these round ones just aren't
29:35de-moulding.
29:36How are they?
29:37Good.
29:38Good.
29:39Good isn't filling me with heaps of confidence.
29:44Can't remake it.
29:47I move over to my squares and I can see them retracted from the edges.
29:53We could be on here.
29:55Pretty clear.
29:58Happy, Jamie?
29:59Yep.
30:00These are so fragile, but it's holding form.
30:03It's clear.
30:04It's worked.
30:07Are they super delicate?
30:09They are right now.
30:11They firm up.
30:12Yeah, but what happens when stuff gets put on them?
30:16Things go on it.
30:17Um, not sure.
30:20Nice one, Cal.
30:23I take my mushroom dashi and port jelly out of the fridge and turn it out and they look
30:28exactly like little mushroom gills.
30:30They look really good, mate.
30:32My porcini tart cases come out of the oven and they're looking good and they're nice and
30:36crunchy.
30:37The next thing that goes in is that chicken liver parfait.
30:39Around that, I'm going to pipe some of that mandarin and thyme gel and top each with a
30:43little doughnut of chicken skin.
30:45Chicken skin doughnuts, baby.
30:46I've punched out my little circles with chicken skin so I can put the stem through the skin.
30:51Next up is the mushroom dashi and port jelly.
30:54They're making kind of the gills of the mushroom.
30:56And finally that black garlic and slippery jack mushroom butter that forms the stem.
31:00Two minutes to go!
31:02Oh my God, they look so perfect.
31:08The last little thing I need to do is make a little Geraldton wax powder to dress the
31:13coral trout with.
31:14By pouring liquid nitrogen over the actual Geraldton wax, it's going to keep its colour and also
31:19the freshness of flavour that I want to accentuate in this dish.
31:22I've got my tart shells and I start to pipe in my three different emulsions.
31:27The balance of these is so crucial.
31:29There's a little bit more of that citrus gel, a good amount of that smoked fish head emulsion
31:34and three little dots of that nori jam.
31:38I feel like my heart rate has intensified so much in the last like half an hour because
31:42I just, I...
31:45Because this means so much to me and it obviously means so much to everyone else.
31:49Let's just make sure that every single thing I'm putting in this tart is the most incredible
31:53version of itself.
31:57The crystal bread holds unto itself but now I'm piling stuff on top of it.
32:02The last thing I want to do is weigh it down so much that it collapses.
32:07The flavours are all there.
32:09The anchovy comes through in the cream, obviously you get the beautiful anchovy on top.
32:12So hopefully the crystal bread stays nice and crisp.
32:16Works.
32:17One minute to go!
32:19Oh my God.
32:22That was bad.
32:23Thank God they're durable.
32:25I'm trying to get this on the plate as fast as I can.
32:28I've fried off my chicken wings, chopped the end off and then divide that into two.
32:32It's only a small mouthful but any more than that and it won't fit in anyone's mouth.
32:35Slice some thin slices of parfait and put that on top of the tuile.
32:39It's not as refined and pretty as I would like it but it's still going to taste amazing I hope.
32:45Time to serve your snacks in ten!
32:47Nine!
32:48Eight!
32:49Seven!
32:50Six!
32:51Five!
32:52Four!
32:53Three!
32:54Two!
32:55One!
32:56One!
32:57Epic!
32:58Epic!
32:59Epic work everybody!
33:00Hey bro!
33:01We'll done later.
33:02It's into you mate.
33:03I know.
33:04Nice work boys.
33:05So hard.
33:06One bite has to explain everything that you want to say today.
33:20Can I see?
33:21Can I see?
33:22Whoa!
33:23You know, this could be my last cook and if I don't go, one of them is.
33:30Well done mate.
33:31Yeah.
33:32Woo!
33:33Hey Laura.
33:34Hi.
33:35Hey Lars.
33:36Wow.
33:37Wow.
33:38Look at that.
33:50This is my seaweed tart with cured coral trout and native citrus.
33:57When we pop this one bite in our mouths, what do you want us to experience?
34:10I think that contrast of Japanese flavours and the really wild intense citrus that the natives have given to this dish.
34:17Do you think you've balanced the intensity of your ingredients?
34:19I think I have.
34:20I think it's got enough punch but it's also still really clean.
34:22I think when you're sitting down having lots of snacks, you want it to kind of have that intense impact but you want to be left going and I could have another one that wasn't too much.
34:37So hopefully I've hit that.
34:39Thanks Laura.
34:40Thank you so much.
34:41Thanks Laura.
34:44Okay.
34:45What do we think of Laura's snacks?
34:48Beautiful.
34:49Looks like deceptively simple.
34:51Yeah.
34:52I don't know how much work has gone into that.
34:53Yeah.
34:54Completely agree.
34:55Yeah.
34:56Alright, let's have a try.
35:17I think Laura's created something here that's really special highlighting the native Australian citrus.
35:25I'm not really familiar with it but I love the Geraldton wax.
35:28It kind of got that pine like like almost like a conifer finish.
35:32I think all in all it's a really good dish.
35:35Yeah.
35:36What she set out to do was really highlight Australian native citrus in here.
35:41What she's done really beautifully is pair it with Japanese ingredients that really scream umami.
35:46Like that nori jam for instance combined with that really kind of rich fish head emulsion.
35:53Those two things are just like holding everything at bay and then letting the finger lime, the desert lime jam.
36:00Just zing on zing on zing on zing.
36:03The Japanese do simplicity and clean so so well.
36:07And I feel like they are two adjectives for what I would describe Laura's.
36:11Do you see?
36:12That was delicious.
36:13She just layered every single ingredient with so much technique.
36:17Like I love the way she cured that fish.
36:19Wrapped it in the kombu and it just left it having the most beautiful texture and was just seasoned perfectly.
36:26What I like very much too is she's used most of everything.
36:30I mean using the fish heads to get the gelatin to make it to the emulsion.
36:35I mean it's a lot of work.
36:38It's phenomenal.
36:44Walking my dish up to the judges.
36:46I'm definitely concerned that this dish won't be good enough to keep me in the competition.
36:51I know it's a delicious dish but it doesn't look amazing.
36:59Hi Ben.
37:00Hi Ben.
37:01How are you mate?
37:02I've put all of my heart into this dish and I just hope it keeps me safe.
37:18Ben, what have you made?
37:20I've made a white bait stuffed chicken wing with a chicken liver parfait, a parmesan and seaweed twill and a chive oil emulsion.
37:32At the start of the day you were pretty inspired by Vaughan.
37:35How did that shape this dish?
37:37I think a few things seeing some of the ingredients from home which I haven't seen for a while particularly white bait being one of them.
37:43But I think more than anything those dishes had layers of flavour in them and texture in them.
37:48And so I wanted to try to create something leaning into that a bit where there's plenty of texture, plenty of flavour and plenty of layers.
37:55I'm sensing you're a little bit worried with this one.
37:59Yeah I'm worried every time I cook in here this one, you know this isn't the way I typically cook.
38:04I do know it's delicious and I do know I gave it my best so I can't really do much more than that.
38:09But we're looking forward to tasting it, thanks mate.
38:12Thanks Ben.
38:13Awesome bro.
38:19Trying to see that white bait.
38:20Yeah I'm trying as well.
38:21Moose.
38:22Maybe.
38:23Is that what this is?
38:24Those little ones there?
38:25Yeah there's a sliver of it in there.
38:52I mean it tastes good.
38:53I just feel like the end result, the execution of it, there's just too many things going on there.
39:02Like even the kind of the caviar gets lost because there's just so many things.
39:06Yeah.
39:07And I get it, there's all these things that I love but I just feel like if you had just taken a few of those things out,
39:12it would have been a more well executed dish.
39:15And I hate to say that because he's a kiwi.
39:18Yeah.
39:19But yeah, I'm men.
39:22It's definitely a tasty little tower.
39:24I love the layering of those really savoury flavours that is put in there.
39:28Parmesan and seaweed, chicken and caviar, they're all flavours that we know work together really well
39:33and I think Ben's used that to his advantage.
39:35I wanted more white bait.
39:37You know for me that that was the story when we went up to Ben's bench and yeah mate I wouldn't even know that was white bait in there.
39:44Yeah.
39:45Because there is so much flavour going on with the parmesan crisp, with the parfait.
39:49The only thing I've got in my palette and still know is the parmesan.
39:53Yeah.
39:54Yeah.
39:55Same.
39:56Strong.
39:57I think you can definitely see potential in Ben's dish and you can understand what he's trying to achieve here
40:01because there's some solid flavours in the individual elements.
40:04I just feel like they struggled to really come together and it's fallen short a bit.
40:09Hmm.
40:14Oh my God.
40:15They are adorable.
40:16Oh wow.
40:17Get it all in there.
40:18Oh you can smell the mushroom.
40:19Yeah it's a little mushroom stock just to finish.
40:35These are mushroom and chicken liver tarts.
40:38From the tart shell up it's a porcini tart case.
40:41There's then a chicken liver parfait, mandarin and thyme puree around that.
40:45On top of that is a little donut of crispy chicken skin.
40:48Mushroom dashi and pork gel is the little gills.
40:51And then the stem is made from black garlic, slippery jack mushrooms and butter.
40:55Were you thinking of your family while you were cooking this dish today Callum?
40:58Yeah I think today it was literally walking through those doors of the MasterChef kitchen
41:01and just seeing the trees and the moss and the rocks and it just instantly took me back
41:06to that moment with my family that in the colder months we get, you know, chuck a jacket on
41:11and go for a little explore.
41:12Yeah I've actually got my phone in my pocket.
41:15Can I show you a little photo?
41:16I would love to see a little photo.
41:18This is my daughter Elle helping me grab the little pine mushrooms.
41:24She's the same size as the mushroom.
41:27It's literally, I reckon it's bigger than her head.
41:29And so that's kind of the idea of the plating.
41:31You find like a hundred of these for every porcini you find.
41:33So that's a real magic when you get one of those.
41:36That's really amazing that you can walk in and have that memory
41:39and have it power an idea like this.
41:42Well Callum, thank you very much. We're going to test your dish now.
41:45Thanks Callum.
41:46Thanks everyone.
41:48Well look at this.
41:49Oh my gosh, I am gobsmacked by this.
41:53It smells so much like mushroom.
41:55It's really cool.
41:57I don't want to break one of these little big things.
41:59I know.
42:00I think I've got them all right.
42:01Look at that.
42:02Look at that.
42:03Even with the cuffs.
42:04So adorable.
42:05Oh my gosh.
42:06Oh my gosh.
42:15Oh my gosh.
42:16It's yum.
42:17It's so yum.
42:18It's so yum.
42:19It's so good.
42:20I actually really like the kind of citrus, mandarin.
42:23It's amazing.
42:24You can taste a little bit of the thyme.
42:25Is thyme in there?
42:26Yeah.
42:27The only thing that would make this better is if a fairy popped out of my mouth right now.
42:32That was so delicious.
42:33That was so delicious.
42:34I think when something looks so perfect, it's difficult because it can kind of really go
42:40downhill.
42:41But the way it looked completely matched the flavour.
42:43That parfait was so incredible.
42:44And it's when food is really good, we all end up shaking our heads because it's just
42:50like, we just don't know what to do.
42:53I'm kind of speechless.
42:55That is such an amazing bite of food.
42:58Yeah, for me, that's going to be hard to beat.
43:01You know, it almost looks like that's something a chef would be thinking about for quite a
43:06long time before they made it, not something that someone's just going to come in here and
43:10say, we're doing snacks and bust that out in two hours.
43:13You can see it just love cooking.
43:14It's like a machine.
43:15He has thought of everything from the thinness of that porcini shell.
43:20He went to the effort of taking that little disc of chicken skin and drilling a hole in
43:25it so that he could place it on top of the parfait but under the veil so it would be hidden
43:32but wouldn't get soggy so it still had that salty crispness to it.
43:35That was incredible.
43:36I think there's been times where Callum has been on the cusp of like, just Stephanie's
43:41authority on this competition and going, I'm the one to beat.
43:46This is it.
43:47He's just said, if he hasn't before, I am the one to beat and I couldn't be more proud
43:52of him.
43:53This is huge.
43:59It doesn't matter how confident you are in your dish, there's still thoughts in the back
44:03of your head.
44:06Jamie.
44:07Hi, Jamie.
44:08Hello.
44:09Oh.
44:12If this isn't absolutely spot on, there's every chance I'm walking out those doors.
44:16Jamie, what have you made?
44:30So I've made anchovies on toast.
44:33This is like no anchovies on toast I've ever seen.
44:36Where did you come up with the idea?
44:38It was certainly one of the things that represents Alba very well and I think that the tongue-in-cheek
44:46nature of coming in here in top five and saying I've made anchovies on toast is probably about
44:53as big a tip of the hat to not only my old venue but myself as a cook that I could possibly
44:59do.
45:00I love that.
45:01I'm gonna taste your dish now.
45:02Cheers mate.
45:04Thanks Jamie.
45:05Cheers.
45:06Gentle, gentle.
45:07Gentle, gentle.
45:08Oh yeah, yeah.
45:09I mean for me, that's super yum.
45:13I feel like it is, it's like Spain in one bite.
45:20You know?
45:21That was a one bite wonder.
45:23I loved how that crystal bread just shattered in my mouth and then it was just this familiar
45:30flavour that we all love and there was nothing mysterious about it, it was just delicious.
45:47Yeah, I felt like he definitely made the brief.
45:50Absolutely.
45:51The answer to my question, would I miss the bread?
45:54I didn't at all.
45:55You know, and I think it's just because he's gone so hard in the smoked tomato and the fat
46:00of the olive oil that he confid those tomatoes.
46:02Yeah.
46:03Topped off with a very simple anchovy.
46:05Man, it packed a punch.
46:07That belongs on a fine dining menu in Spain and the reason I know that is not just because
46:14of the taste, it's because what it's doing to my mouth afterwards.
46:16Like all the saliva is rushing to the front, it's really setting me up to eat more.
46:21I would smash ten more of those with a glass of sherry.
46:24No problem.
46:25So I was like, I would just like a little line of those things in front of me and I'll
46:28just be like, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop.
46:31As one bite?
46:32Yeah.
46:33Knocked it out of the park.
46:35Vaughn, how do you think these guys handled today's challenge?
46:42I thought everyone had their own cool thing going on.
46:46Some of it was super exciting for me and I honestly, I was like, wow, how does someone bust
46:51something like that out in two hours?
46:54And I think you guys are all awesome.
46:56Give it up for Vaughn Mabee!
46:57Before we get down to it, we just have to commend one of you for plating up one of the
47:10most interesting, well executed, masterful dishes of the competition so far.
47:17Well done.
47:18Callum!
47:21And Callum's dish wasn't the only one that impressed us.
47:28All of your dishes today showed us exactly why you're here.
47:32But sadly, one had a few minor problems.
47:36And up against perfection, it just fell short.
47:39Which is why I'm so sorry you're going home, Ben.
47:50Ben, you proved early on to us that you're a fighter.
47:55And you've absolutely lived up to the Eliminator name.
47:58Almost.
48:00I'm so glad I came back and I'm so glad what I've got out of it.
48:03You think what we've done on the season, you know, got to cook along with Gordon Ramsay, Curtis Stone,
48:07been to Doha, cooked in a Michelin star kitchen there, cooked in Vieux de Montere.
48:10Like, it was just an absolute dream come true.
48:13And to do it with such an amazing group of people is just unforgettable.
48:16So, you know, I feel like I've won even though I haven't won the competition.
48:20And I just want to wish these guys the best of luck because, you know, anyone could win this.
48:25Thanks, mate.
48:27Thanks, Andy.
48:28It's been awesome, man.
48:29Thank you so much.
48:30Thank you so much.
48:31Yeah, I'm pretty gutted that I'm going home today.
48:36But at the same time, I've gained so much from being in it.
48:42I had a couple of years out of professional kitchens and sort of almost lost my love of food a little bit.
48:47And being back in this competition has really lit that fire again.
48:50Give it up for Ben, everybody!
48:53Good luck, mate!
48:55Good luck!
48:58Good luck!
48:59Good luck!
49:00Good luck!
49:01Good luck!
49:02Good luck!
49:03Wow!
49:04Wow!
49:05Love what you see in the MasterChef kitchen?
49:07Now you can do it yourself with the MasterChef at Home Cookbook.
49:12Head to the website or scan the QR code.
49:17Sunday night, four contestants, four judges and four cloches.
49:24You'll pick whose ingredient you want to cook with today.
49:27But you're not going to know what the ingredient is until after you've made your choice.
49:32What the hell is that?
49:38It's a tassel for Top Dish.
49:41I'm like trying everything in my power to get that win.
49:44And a massive prize.
49:46Trust me, gang.
49:47It is one that you are not going to want to miss out on.
49:50Oh, yes.
49:51Oh, yes.