1 ANNOUNCER: Previously on MasterChef Australia - our contestants had to keep up with Marco... You've gotta push harder. ...as he led them through a classic Michelin-star cook. Yes, Marco! A cool-headed Billie nailed the task. I think you should be really pleased with yourself. But Matthew and Reynold now face an end-of-week elimination. Tonight, it's the final most crucial immunity challenge of the year. Win that pin and you're through to the finals. Do not let the fear take hold. But to be in with a chance... Sugar! ...first, they need to make our judges... I like my biscuits crispy. ...a little something to go with their cuppa. Tea's up! The winner will fight for the pin. But they'll face the toughest opposition of the season. And we've saved the best till last. # Burning up # in my heart # like a flame, # like the brightest shooting star. # In our souls, # we all know # our dreams make us who we are. # Burning up # in my heart # like a flame, # like the brightest shooting star. # Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Able 2016 GEORGIA: I'm so excited that this is the last chance for the immunity and I'm here ready to have a shot at it. At this stage in the competition, to get an immunity pin, it's a one-way ticket to finals week. So I know that whatever is going to happen today, it's going to be intense. Ready? Nope. (BOTH LAUGH) Today's my absolute last day to win an immunity pin. I have to pull out all the stops and push as hard as I possibly can. Go into this kitchen positive, try my absolute best. Hopefully it'll pay off. (CONTESTANTS APPLAUD) Cooking up against Georgia and Sara is definitely scary. They're both amazing cooks. But, you know, I'm a good cook too. So I'll be pushing as hard as I can. On your toes and full of energy? It's great to see! And you should feel upbeat, because you did brilliantly as the team that took out Marco's service challenge. And, of course, that means you get a chance to fight it out for the very last immunity pin on offer in this competition. And not only that, whoever wins today gets a game-changing advantage in tomorrow's challenge. So worth stepping up to the plate for, believe me. SARA: If an immunity pin wasn't enough, now there's another advantage up for grabs, so I really wanna win. Talking about the pin, I decided to take it back to the restaurant with me last night. Not to show it off to my guys, but while we were polishing the coppers last night, we gave the MasterChef pin a polish. And I want you to have a good look at it, 'cause it is super polished today. Like, how beautiful is that? That's pretty shiny. It's very shiny. Very shiny. I can see myself in it. Exactly. (LAUGHS) I've wanted the pin since the first week of the competition. To get the last pin would be just absolutely out of this world amazing. Today's the day when you want it. It could potentially take you right to the finale. Today's first round is about a little ritual that happens all over the world. Might happen midafternoon, it might happen midmorning, it might even happen first thing in the morning. It is... the cup of tea. I love tea. It's a pleasure shared by millions. Gary likes his with the tiniest dash of milk. George likes his green. Me and Marco, we like ours dark, strong. And Shannon likes an Earl Grey. (LAUGHTER) Me too, buddy. (LAUGHS) But we all agree about one thing - you can't just have a cuppa without something sweet to go with it. And that's what you're gonna have to do today. Make us something sweet and sensational to go with our mug or our cup of Rosie Lee. (LAUGHTER) Time is not your friend. You've got 30 minutes to make it, to cook it, to serve it. Half an hour to bake something is not a lot of time. The winner of this round will advance to round two, where you get a chance to win that immunity pin. So, are you ready? ALL: Yep. Bring us something sweet and delicious that'll blow our socks off. Your time starts... now. GEORGIA: Baking for me just comes naturally. It's what I do on a Sunday afternoon. So the fact that this challenge is all about baking is right up my alley. So today I'm going to cook my favourite childhood biscuit - Monte Carlos. A Monte Carlo biscuit is a biscuit with a cream filling with raspberry jam and there's nothing else like it. They are just divine. Coconut... I'm going to change the biscuit, though. Coconut, coconut, coconut. As I don't have time to make my normal biscuit, I'm gonna do my quick chewy coconut biscuit instead. I get back to my bench and I start straightaway on the biscuits. I'm not wasting any time. I'm adding in the flour, I add the coconut and I realise I've forgotten... Sugar. BILLIE: Let's go, George. MATTHEW: Go, Georgia. Can you get me some? (LAUGHTER) Sar, cheeky. You know I am. What do you need? Sugar, just a little bit. Thank you. My mum, when I went to school, I didn't really get ham and cheese sandwiches, she'd make me these weird things. They had figs, dates, honey, walnuts and some mascarpone cream, and I loved it. And I just thought, you know what, "That actually would be kind of cool in a scone." Half an hour for scones isn't very long at all, but I would much prefer a scone over a biscuit with my cup of tea. This is not ideal for me, a sweet challenge. You know, it was probably exactly what I didn't want to do today. But I've got a couple of little recipes up my sleeve, so, do not let the fear take hold. I am making a burnt butter friand with raspberry and thyme. Desserts and pastry is not kind of my forte, but I do love eating them. And I love eating these, so... I'm hoping that that the friands might just give me that little bit of creative edge, rather than just making a bog-standard biscuit. Oh, I love a cup of tea and a bickie. It's so therapeutic. Does wonders for you. We don't want to get in your way too much... Yep. ...but what are you making? I'm going to do Monte Carlos. But I don't really have time to make the actual dough, so I'm doing a quick coconut biscuit with raspberries and vanilla. Yeah, so quick coconut biscuit with raspberries. And whipped cream. Like a Chantilly cream. Yeah, OK. How's it taste? I like coconut. Oh. Good idea. Like it. The fact that Marco Pierre White is going to eat my biscuit with his cup of tea is an incredibly daunting feeling. I'm taking a few shortcuts today. This is definitely not my usual Monte Carlo recipe. I'm doing the quick jam with quick chewy coconut biscuits. I just really hope he likes this. In 20 minutes everything stops for tea. Come on! BILLIE: Come on, guys. REYNOLD: Go, Georgia. Come on, Sara. MATTHEW: Come on, Jessica. Today is probably the most important immunity challenge that we've done thus far. It's a massive, you know, advantage to get a pin now. And also there's an advantage for whatever tomorrow may hold. So, um, yeah, it's a big one. I've got enough friand mix to make six, which is enough for one for each of the judges and a spare one for me to taste. I put my first raspberry onto the friand... and it sinks down into the batter a bit further than I would like it to. I'm not too worried, 'cause the taste in the middle is still gonna be really nice. Keep it nice and moist in the centre. So, you know, I just stick the rest of them in to the same level. BILLIE: I'm worried dropping raspberries into the centre of the friands may affect the cooking time. Hopefully Jessica realises this and leaves them in the oven a little longer. I've only made scones once before this, so everything could go wrong with these scones. What time is it? I need to get them in the oven now. Just over 15 minutes to go and I've got my scones in the oven. I'm definitely worried. I'm definitely worried that it's not enough time. I think I'm a bit ambitious. I feel trouble brewing. 15 minutes to go. Come on! GARY: Come on! BILLIE: Come on, guys. Let's go. I get a tray lined with baking paper and I take the biscuit mixture and roll that into balls. In the hurry, my biscuits are different sizes. But hopefully they'll be fine. I'm going OK for time. It just all depends whether these scones cook in the next five minutes. I'm worried that they're not gonna cook in time. How's the scones, Sara? Oh, they're OK. MATT: Are they raising? Yes, they're coming up. I just hope they're cooked in time. Mmm. So have you made a jam? Sorry? Have you made a jam to go with it? Not a jam. I'd like just the figs that are lightly heated through. Right, OK. Rather than a jam. And how are you balancing the sweetness of the dates and figs? Um, so I've got some mascarpone in there. Mmm. Interesting. Do you love a scone? When they're made well. BILLIE: Yum, they smell so good. GEORGIA: With my biscuits out of the oven, they're nice chewy biscuits, I've got to cool them down quickly. They're soft. MARCO: Do you have a little rack? No, I'm just gonna pop them into the freezer. Why in the freezer? So they chill really quickly so I can put cream and jam on them. But won't they absorb moisture? Um... Make them soggy? Well, they're gonna be a kind of chewy biscuit anyway. I don't have much time. I like my biscuits crisp. I don't want them soft before I get them. Now I'm worried. I've made chewy biscuits and Marco likes crunchy biscuits. But, in saying that, I know how good they are. And I'm just hoping that once I put that beautiful jam, the whipped cream, little raspberry on top, that I can convert him and that he will see that they go perfectly with a cup of tea. It doesn't matter whether you're digging a ditch or you're a baron, someone's gotta put the kettle on, and today, that's me. (LAUGHTER) Five minutes to go! MATTHEW: Go, Georgia. Come on, Sara. Come on, Jessica. I check my friands and they look really nice and brown on top and crispy. So... I'm tempted to take them out now. It comes out a little bit dirty, which usually means it's undercooked, but you want it to be really moist inside. So... I'm gonna trust my guts and just get 'em out of there. SARA: Less than five minutes to go and I need to take these scones out of the oven because I still need to assemble my whole dish. But when I do, they're not as golden as I would like. So now I'm eating into plating time. Two more minutes. I have to put them back. I'm going to give them two minutes. That's all I can afford because I need to get these on to the plate. You have three minutes left to bring something for tea. Three minutes to go. And push, come on! GARY: Come on. GEORGE: Let's go. I pull the biscuits out of the blast chiller and they're perfectly cooled, they're still crunchy on the outside. I know that they're still gonna be chewy on the inside. I just need to move it and start plating up. I put one biscuit down, a squirt of jam, a little raspberry and some of the whipped cream. I'm hoping that I've got enough time to make them perfect. SARA: I think they're done. I take my scones out of the oven. They're still not as golden as I would like them, but I have no time. I begin to cut them in half and I now need to assemble them. GARY: Here comes Matt with the tea. That means one minute to go. Come on! Hold on to it. SARA: The figs are just starting to break down and they're nice and sweet. The dates are cool and sticky, the walnuts have got a bit of crunch. I think my dish would go nicely with a cup of tea. It's scones but in a different kind of way. JESSICA: The plan was I had six friands, one for myself to test and five for the judges. In my haste I haven't tried that one to make sure they're cooked. So, yeah, I'm really not sure whether they're cooked in the centre or not. Right, this is it! Ten seconds. Nine! ALL: Eight, seven, six, five... four, three, two, one. Tea's up! SARA: They look amazing. Well done, girlie. Well, that was a great cook. Nice and fast. And I can tell you what, we think all three of you have done a smashing job. Remember what you're competing for. The next round is that last chance at immunity and also that massive advantage in tomorrow's challenge. Something worth fighting for. (EXHALES) Who shall we get up first? MATT: Jessica. Jessica, come on. Up you come. (CONTESTANTS APPLAUD) These friands, I'm not sure how they're cooked, but the fact that I've actually made this plate of food in half an hour is still kind of astonishing to me. So, yeah, very proud of them at the same time. There you go, gents. Mmm, gee. So what have you made? I have made: The friand is almond base, yeah? Yes. So it should be kinda sticky on the outside, little kind of chewy and then soft in the middle. I love 'em. I think they're delicious. Thank you. I think they're... super light. And it's that little chewy outside on the surface of that friand that I particularly love. Thank you. I think a friand has become culturally Australian, so another real tick. And I would say from my perspective from being a chef, to making that from memory in that time frame, 10 out of 10. Thank you. I'll tell you what I think. By putting the raspberry inside, it slowed down the cooking. It's not cooked quite to perfection. Had you not put the raspberry inside, it would have been cooked perfectly. Right. Your recipe is so good it's not necessary. OK. The raspberry on top is enough. Thank you. Well done. Great job. Well done. Thank you. Well done, Jessica. Next, Sara. MATTHEW: Let's go, Sara. I'm walking up to the judges and it's just occurred to me that Gary, Matt and Marco Pierre White, they're all from England and I've made them scones. Probably not the best choice. 1 Next, Sara. SARA: It's just occurred to me that Gary, Matt and Marco Pierre White are all from England, and I've made them scones. Probably not the best choice. Sara, what have you cooked? So, I've done fig, date and walnut scones with a mascarpone and lemon cream. Are you pleased? Yeah. Um, if you had told me this morning that I could make that in half an hour, I would have told you you were crazy, so... happy. Good stuff. Shall we taste? MATT: We've had... a terrible, terrible history of scones in this kitchen. Um, we've had bullets, we've had nuggets, we've had stuff you could, um, put into a cannon and fire it. They are... they're the best scones we've ever had in this kitchen. GARY: Yeah. Really? You've got some flakiness there. You haven't overhandled the dough. You've got some rise. You've got a little bit of a crust on the top. And I really like the combination of the fig and walnut in there. What would have helped you is the 35-minute challenge, rather than the 30-minute challenge. The scones just needed a little bit more time... Yep. ...just to cook through. Remember one thing. I'm English. (LAUGHS) And we eat lots of scones in England. And if I'm gonna be brutally honest, I like my scones with jam and with cream. But you know something? Would I sit down and eat one with my tea? Yes. Well done. Thanks. Good stuff, Sara. MATTHEW: Good work, Sara! (APPLAUSE) Georgia. Your turn. GEORGIA: Marco Pierre White's there. It's like the big elephant in the room. But I'm kind of determined to make him like this biscuit. I know how much I like it. I know that Gary's going to love it. I'm just hoping that I can convert Marco. My favourite biscuit as a child was Monte Carlos. Usually I'd make a shortbread biscuit, but I made the quick coconut biscuits today instead. So, it's a quick Monte Carlo biscuit. Marco? GEORGE: Good. GARY: That is really good. (CHUCKLES) I don't even have to say anything. (CHUCKLES) It's taking every bit of my self-control not to eat the other bit. It's a little-known fact that George, Gary and myself are the founding members of the Australian Biscuit Appreciation Society. (LAUGHS) We are. It's a registered name. ABN. ABAS. Yeah. Um, and this biscuit is chewy in the middle. It's crispy on the outside. The cream is perfectly billowy. The raspberry jam has been taken to that point where it's tangy and it's sweet and it adds some extra chew. You are a genius with biscuits. You've put up some great ones, and this is right up there. I'm sure, this weekend, everyone will be baking your version of the Monte Carlo. Congratulations. I love that. Brilliant work. Well done. Thank you. Thanks, Matt. Georgia. Yes, Marco? Did you know I like coconut? I do now. (LAUGHTER) I just thought the raspberries and the cream and the coconut biscuit was delicious. Thank you. And perfect with a cup of tea. Thank you. Well done. Well done, Georgia. MATT: Jessica, Sara, Georgia, thank you for putting wide, sugar-crazed smiles on all our faces with what you managed to do in half an hour - bring us something sweet to go with our tea. Um, we loved everything you did. But one creation stood out for us. The winner of this challenge... is Georgia. Mwah! Thanks, honey. (CHUCKLES) JESSICA: Well done. Well, Georgia, you know what this means - you pick up a massive advantage in tomorrow's challenge. Also, you now have a final shot at the pin. Win that pin, and you're through to the finals. I'm so excited. I can't even explain how excited I am. The last time that I cooked for immunity was when Marco was here. Something good must happen when he's in the room. Shannon - the jacket. Thank you. Congratulations once again, Georgia. Thank you. (CHUCKLES) So, Georgia, you're through to round two. Yes. To win that pin, you have to beat a guest chef. And, because we're nearing the end of the season, needless to say, we've saved the very best till last. Oh, no. (GARY CACKLES) You're gonna go up against one of Australia's greatest chefs. He's written cookbooks. He's written travel books. He has eight cafes, a bar, a bistro and a restaurant. But not just any restaurant - a restaurant that's been named the best in Australia... twice. He's trained under Albert Roux... Oh, my... ...under Alain Ducasse... and under Marco Pierre White. Are you ready for this? Have you guessed it might be? Do you have any... any... any inkling at all? I can't think right now. I'm petrified. Terror is coming in waves at you right now. Yes. (LAUGHS) But that is no wave to compare with who you have to cook with. He is a tsunami of the kitchen. Please welcome... Shannon Bennett. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) 1 MATT: You're gonna go up against... Shannon Bennett. (CHEERING) I'm sorry. That's... I feel so guilty. Don't worry, don't worry. It's OK. I feel so guilty. It's alright. GEORGIA: I'm cooking against Shannon? This is crazy! This isn't meant to happen! It's too much. I can't handle this. (CHUCKLES) Right. So how do you feel on the other side? Great. Yeah. You're great? Yeah, I'm not surprised. I'm a little concerned. The man on the end there on the right, you know, cooking for mentors is always daunting. Shannon, give us a little snapshot of your experience working under Marco. Uh, it was one of exhilaration, energy, fly by the seat of your pants. I wouldn't replace that time of my life ever. Loved it. Georgia. Yes. You keen to see what you're cooking with? Absolutely. I have no idea what it is, by the way. OK. I've got no idea. No idea. So today is a special day. So what we've got under this cloth is a special pantry. Matt, Marco? Now, this is a selection of some of our favourite ingredients. There's 20 ingredients there in total, and you get to choose which 10 you'll be cooking with today. But before you do, we're gonna leave you with Marco to get things underway. Shannon, Georgia, good luck. Thank you. GARY: Good luck, you two. MARCO: See you later. SHANNON: Thanks, guys. Good luck, Marco. Georgia... Yes, Marco? ...you'll be choosing 10 of the ingredients. Come forward. Choose your first ingredient. Choose wisely. Think about your dish and draw it within your mind. See it on the plate before it's ever created. Mm-hm. I don't have a dish in mind, so I'm just going to choose ingredients that I like... I'm going to go with the lemons. ...and hopefully a dish will come to me. Bring the lemons over. Can I say, you choose 10, but if you only want to use one ingredient, then just use one ingredient. But you have to choose 10. OK. We move 10 onto that table. I'm just wondering if there's an under-bench pantry, so I don't... Yes, there is an under-bench pantry. OK. Come on, push. OK. We like pushing. Yes. I'm going to go with the chicken. Do you want me to carry it for you? (CHUCKLES) Thank you. There we are. BILLIE: Well done, George. Choose another one. Yeah. JESSICA: Follow your guts, Georgia. Um... Usually I see ingredients and I can start building a dish in my head and ideas start firing. Celery. The celery. Yes, thank you. Bingo. Thank you. And another. 'But I'm so nervous. I'm standing there looking at Marco Pierre White.' I'm about to cook off against Shannon Bennett and I really don't know what ingredients to choose. Miso. 'I'm just all over the place.' Can I say there are no eggs in the under-bench pantry because they're there. Yes. Eggs. There you are. Aren't you glad I said that? Yes, Marco. OK. Two, four, five. We're halfway there. Yes. I'll have the banana shallots. Banana shallots. Well chosen. The... dill. Three more to go, Georgia. These. Leeks? Leeks? Yes, Marco. Yes, yes, yes. Yes. And I'm thinking... Two. Two more. I like the idea of the John Dory but I'm not familiar filleting it. Not the marron? You've got chicken. Yeah. But you've got two more to go. Yep. Two more. I'll go the marron. Well done. There we are. You have one more ingredient and you've got 10 seconds. Do you want me to count them down? No. 10, 9... Blackberries. ...8... Are you sure? 7, 6, 5, 4... Yes, Marco. Yes, Marco. ...3... Are you sure? Yes. ...2, 1. Sure? Yep. Well, I don't know what you're gonna do with them. MATTHEW: Great work, Georgia. Well done. (APPLAUSE) Don't tell me that's what I've got to cook with? That's unbelievable. Is that really true? Shannon... you like the look of Georgia's ingredients? I think it's a very good pantry. But can I say something? You will not be cooking with it. I... I figured that out. You're cooking with the leftovers. Yeah, I know. I figured that out. You worked that out, did you? Yeah, I did work that out. The penny dropped? You joined up the dots? Yeah, I knew that... John Dory with figs? Genius. (LAUGHS) Mmm. So, Shannon, this is what you've got left. OK, Marco. You've got tonka beans, you've got ricotta, you've got mastic, you've got a John Dory... Mmm. Curry leaves, Thai basil, coconut cream. Broken rice. What's that? Is that rice, is it? Broken rice. Oh, broken rice? Broken dreams. And... Chicory. And chicory. Well, you're gonna use the John Dory, aren't you? I was thinking of leaving that one out. (CHUCKLES) My job may be now to torture the judges with the worst dish they've ever eaten in their life. (CHUCKLES) Shannon, he is brilliant. If anyone can put together something out of those crazy ingredients, it'd be Shannon Bennett. Georgia, you have 75 minutes. Shannon, you get 60 minutes. George, Matt and Gary will be judging your dishes in a blind tasting. Good luck to you both. Georgia... Yes, Marco. ...your time starts now. (APPLAUSE) Looking at my ingredients as a whole, I'm really happy with them. They're all really delicious. I like them, I've cooked with them before. And... I know there's a lot of potential sitting there, but I'm still ridiculously nervous and can't think straight. I'm really struggling to pull a dish together in my head. OK, Georgia? Yes. Yeah? Plan? Yeah. I have to get something going, so I'm going to make a poaching liquid. I can either use this for the marron or the chicken. So tell me what's in your mind. I'm trying to decide whether to use the chicken or the marron. Right. The chicken... is quite safe. Yes. Let's not forget what the prize is. Yes. The last immunity pin of the season. Georgia? Yes, Marco. Look over my shoulder at Shannon. Yes, Marco. Do you think he's gonna rest on his laurels? No. He's here to beat you. He is. So you should be exactly the same. Yes. You should fight for that pin. (APPLAUSE) Right now I'm so nervous that taking any big risks would be really stupid of me. I'm just going to go with what I know and I know chicken. Marco actually is the sort of guy that worries a lot of people, stresses a lot of people. Shannon, she's like the silent assassin. (LAUGHS) She didn't leave you much, did she? (LAUGHS) You must be happy that she left you the John Dory. But for me, he always influences me in a positive way. What are your thoughts? Well, let's say that you invited me over for the weekend, there was a huge snowstorm. It's all that was in the cupboard. I could do something with it. Yeah, of course. Mmm. You're clever. The question is - what? He's been a mentor of mine for a long, long time now - nearly three decades, actually. And he actually... he relaxes me, in many ways. You remember the John Dory that you used to do, on the bone? You gonna cook it on the bone? I was thinking I could cook it on the bone. It's big enough. It's big enough. Because it has to be the hero. There's nothing else. I could do something with the chicory. And even maybe, potentially, the fig could go with the broken rice as part of the crust on top. The bottom line is, what you've been left with dictates where you've got to go. Yeah. Good luck. Hmm. Thanks, Marco. I need it. So I go into my planning mode and at that stage, I've got a little bit of trepidation, I suppose. I break down the chicken. I've decided I'm going to use the breast today and keep it on the crown. If you keep the breasts on the crown, they stay beautiful and juicy and moist and don't dry out. I love the flavours of celery and blackberries and I think it'll go well with poached chicken. So I take the skin off and I'm going to reserve the skin and do a beautiful chicken crackling to serve at the end. Why are you skinning the chicken? Um, 'cause I'm going to poach it. That's right. You should always poach chicken with the skin on. Oh, no. I was going to use the skin to make the crunchy skin. Then that's your reason. Yes. But think about it, when you poach chicken... Yes. ...always have the skin. Number one, it protects the flesh, number two, it flavours it. OK. I'm thinking, "Oh, my gosh. I'm already off to really a bad start." I'm totally rattled with nerves and now I'm not even poaching the chicken properly. I've only got one chicken. I can't get another one. I've just removed the skin. Now I'm worried. 1 Why did you skin the chicken? You should always poach chicken with its skin on. Oh, no. Oh, my gosh! I'm not even poaching the chicken properly. 30 seconds, Shannon. Are you ready? Ready. Nervous? No. Good. I would be. (CHUCKLES) Now I'm worried after what Marco said to me. I don't know if the chicken's going to win this against Shannon Bennett. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. The John Dory is all yours. Good luck, Shannon. Thank you, Marco. Thank you. Oh, you need a basket, do you? (LAUGHS) I'm just making myself feel better by getting a basket. Thank you. Beautiful. Thank you, Marco. I don't want you telling people that I never helped you. No. No way. Opposite. Do you want this cheese? Uh, no, thank you. I didn't think so. Do you want the figs? Yeah, I'm going to take the figs. Come on, Shannon. At least I have some energy. I'll be eating figs. Come on, Shannon. Thank you, Marco. I have a plan for the John Dory. At this stage I' not really sure what else I'm going to serve with it. Look at all those delicious ingredients over there to your right. Oh, they're lovely. They're lovely. But I've got to figure out how to use these leftover ingredients as I wouldn't normally pair them with John Dory. OK. There you are, Shannon. Thank you, Marco. I look forward to seeing your fish butchery. Yeah, thank you. (SIGHS) It's been a while actually. I'm so nervous. I'm, like, rattled. MATTHEW: Don't worry about it. BILLIE: You know how to cook. Just keep going. REYNOLD: Just keep focus. I don't know what I'm cooking. All I know is that I've got blackberries and I've got celery. I need to pull it together and make a decision but I'm in two minds. Think about your dish. Think what you need to put in there. Shannon's got nothing to work with. He's lost. You're not using the marron? (SIGHS) Um, no. No? Fair enough. I would really like to, though. Billie's one of my friends in the house and she's on the gantry today. She cooked the marron at the Circa challenge with the degustation and she did so well. You could try and use it and then see how it is, just in case. Georgia, I just boiled them for four minutes. Four minutes and then into cold water. And then into iced water and then just... Don't crack the tail now, crack it... Later. ...after, yeah. Four minutes is nothing. I've got the marron sitting there. So now I've got a dish. Today, I'm making marron with celery, blackberries and a lemon mayonnaise. OK, what we are cooking today is John Dory with a crust of fig and broken rice with Thai basil sauce. I am preparing the fish. I've cut the head off the fish. I've got all my trimmings, cutting around the fish, and then I'm using the pressure cooker to make a fish stock to make some sort of sauce. The fish stock's going to be pretty important to the base of that sauce. OK. Right. Are you OK, Georgia? Yes, Shannon. Are you? Yeah. Yeah. Fine. If you need anything, just give me a shout. I'll leave you alone with your terrible ingredients. (LAUGHTER) Actually I might need a bit of mentoring off you. (LAUGHTER) Have you ever used broken rice before? No, I haven't. Oh, dammit. Shannon. Yes, Marco. Georgia, 45 minutes to go. ALL: Come on, Georgia. So, I'm trying to make a really beautiful and smooth green sauce. Then I've got this chicory that is a little bit bitter. I've got some basil, but I'm blending it up. Overall at this stage I'm just trying to utilise the ingredients and make some flavours harmonise together. It's a bit of a discovery. MATTHEW: So, Shannon, can you tell us what the dish is? Yeah. It's John Dory... Yep. ...with a crust. And it's cooked on the bone. And I'm just going to flash it back through the oven. I'm just taking the skin off the Dory. I needed some of the skin for the stock. And then I'm going to shape the Dory on the bone. There were some issues with skinning the fish. The skin is just not coming off cleanly. I'll need to wait until it comes back out of the oven and then it should come off without much difficulty. We have faith in you, Shannon. Come on. Come on, Shannon. Keep it going. Come on. I've got an idea now to use all the trimmings. I'm going to place them in a butter sauce, a classic beurre noisette, for about five or six minutes. And that gives me the opportunity to take all of the little bits off the bone really easy because they're actually beautiful to eat. Less than 40 minutes to go, and I've made a decision - I'm going to cook the marron. I've got Billie up in the gantry. I'm going to do the marron. I think I might have a go at the marron. Oh, I see. What? To go with the chicken? No, to just do marron. How are you going to cook it? I know that Billie, she cooked it perfectly in the challenge the other day and she just did it for four minutes. And then I could just finish it off with some butter, slice it up, have the beautiful braised celery. You should always braise the hearts, not the outer leaves. OK. OK. I'm definitely taking Marco's advice on this one. I'm really impressed with the celery heart and I think it's going to go perfectly with the marron. Shannon, what does chicory taste like? It's quite bitter. Yeah. Quite nice with figs actually. How are you going to prepare those chicory ends? I'm actually going to cook them in a concentrated fish stock... Cool. ...that's cooking in the pressure cooker at the moment. Just so you know, guys, 35 minutes to go. Thank you. I've got my oil going to fry off the curry leaves. I've never actually fried curry leaves before and I'm tasting... I'm tasting the curry leaf, and it's actually quite nice. It actually dissolves in your mouth when you eat it. So that's been a bit of a revelation in many ways. I am being experimental in my ingredients because I am left with no other choice really. Are you going to use the figs in there? Yeah, I most likely will. Marco doesn't want me to, but I think I will. OK. Shannon. Yes, Marco. Georgia. Yes, Marco. 30 minutes to go. (CONTESTANTS SHOUT ENCOURAGEMENT) I've got my marron in cooking and I can feel the pressure more than ever before. It is so intense. You'll be right. It'll be fine. You'll be right. I know. I want this immunity pin more than anything. And I'm so rattled with nerves, my hands are literally shaking. I get my chicken skin out of the oven... It's golden-brown and it's crunchy. Yeah, lovely, Georgia. Good work. But now I've got the marron in to boil so I don't even know if I'm going to use the chicken skin. I've got all my trimmings, all those little bits of really beautiful fish, really crispy. And that's working well. That's rather clever what you've done there. How is Georgia doing? Is she OK? She is. Sorry, I completely blanked you out. This is ridiculous, sorry. Super competitive, Shannon. I...I... Not being deliberate but my apologies. Look, I'd like to go around and help Georgia right now, but time is not on my side. I've got to get a dish up. I don't really know whether this dish is going to be successful or not but instinct is kicking in. I've just got to get on with it. You know, Shannon, most chefs would have melted in your position. And very few chefs would have created the flavours that you've created. Oh, thank you, Marco. Don't say I don't help you. No, I won't. Thank you. It's alright. I don't mind tapping it through for you. Old habits die hard. They do. They do. It's instinct. It becomes natural. Good cooks cook for others. Exactly. (ALARM BEEPS) My timer's gone off. That means that my marron has been in the boiling water for four minutes. So I cool it down and now comes the tricky part - getting the marron out of its shell. He looks cooked. It's going to be a great centrepiece with my dish. But I'm just having some difficulty getting the flesh out of the shell. And it's just not coming away easily. It's so delicate. Oh. Oh, it broke! What have I done? 1 GEORGIA: This flesh is so, so soft, and I don't know how that flesh is going to come out of the shell. Oh! I've taken it out and I've broken off a piece of the tail, but I've still got most of the tail intact. It looks beautifully cooked, but I've definitely messed it up as I've tried to pull it out of the shell. Did I make a total mess of it? BILLIE: A little. Yeah. (LAUGHS) REYNOLD: Yeah. Is that your marron? It is. Are you happy with it? It's beautifully cooked, it's just very delicate, the flesh. Is it meant to look like that? Should I put it in some butter in the pan? It's up to you. I don't know. You want the pin? Yes. Make the right decision. I do know what I'm going to do. I'll fry it off with a little bit of butter to make that marron really shine, and then I can get on with making my lemon mayonnaise. JESSICA: What are you doing, Shannon? Toothpick. Yeah. You can check to see if the fish is cooked. SARA: What are you looking for exactly? It should go through straightaway. Yeah. Just not quite there. I know that whatever Shannon's done, it's going to look amazing, so I really need to put some time and some detail into what I'm plating up. To plate up my dish, I put some lemon mayonnaise on the plate first. Eight minutes to go. Yes. Does it take eight minutes to plate a fish? One that's gonna win the immunity pin, yes. Are you feeling confident? Um... I'm happy with my elements, yes. Shannon! Yes, Marco? Georgia's plating up already. Can you believe that? That's my star. (MATTHEW LAUGHS) You trained her well. I have. Good work, Georgia. I don't have any other elements that I need to finish off, and Shannon always says make time and take time to plate up. Are you using your chicken skin? No. Georgia... Yes, Marco? Can I give you one little piece of advice? Yes. George, Matt and Gary, do they love crispy chicken skin? They love it. OK. Can you imagine your marron tail with that little bit of crispy chicken skin on top? Yes, I can. With the mayonnaise. Yes, I can. Oh, yes. See, just cut that in half on top. Uh-huh. Hide your mistakes. Yes. Yes, Marco. Good work, George. Good work, Georgia. Georgia, Shannon, five minutes to go! Thank you, Marco. Yes, Marco! (CONTESTANTS SHOUT ENCOURAGEMENT) BILLIE: Let's go, George! SHANNON: It's five minutes to go and time is really slipping away. The dish is out of the oven and I don't have time to remove the rest of the skin. There's just so many other elements that I need to finish. And I need to get started on my plating. The crumb on the top of the fish is diced fig, deep-fried curry leaves, some fried broken rice and then there's some Thai basil leaves and some crispy fish pieces, and they're all there to help balance the bitterness of the chicory. Make sure you get everything on the plate, Shannon. Georgia, Shannon, one minute to go! (ALL SHOUT ENCOURAGEMENT) How's it going, Georgia? Well, thank you, Marco. Does it look OK? Wow. MATTHEW: Good work, Georgia. Georgia, Shannon, this is the moment. 10 seconds to go. MARCO AND CONTESTANTS: Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Step away from your benches. (CONTESTANTS CHEER) MATTHEW: Great work, Shannon. That was so hard. Hi. You OK? Alright? (LAUGHS) Yeah. Sorry I couldn't help you. That looks amazing. I can't believe that he cooked that dish with those ingredients. Yum. To cook that in 60 minutes with the worst ingredients you could be possibly left with is amazing. Well done, Georgia. Thank you, Marco. Are you happy with your dish? I am proud of it. Do you think you have a chance to win the pin? I think I do. Yes, Marco. 1 Well, if it wasn't enough that this is the last pin of the year, we're in a situation where I think this is the one cook of all of them I'd love to have been on the gantry for, and I think... you would agree. With Marco Pierre White mentoring, Shannon Bennett cooking and Georgia kind of like the rabbit between the cobra and the mongoose. I mean, it should be a cracking cook. We know Georgia's got game when it comes to an immunity challenge. We also know that Shannon Bennett will not go quietly into the night. So I can't wait to see what they've done. Shall we get the first dish in? Let's do it. Definitely. Here we have marron with blackberries and celery. Is there some chicken skin on there as well? Ooh... Oh, yeah. Wow. Celery leaf and blackberries. Gee, what a great idea that is. What a combination. That looks good, doesn't it? Mm. Yeah. The only thing I'm noticing - and it's really colourful, it's really beautiful - but if you look at how the marron's prepared... I knew you were gonna go there. ...it's missing that whole centre line of the flesh. Yes. But you know what? That looks tasty. It does look good, doesn't it? Chicken skin and marron - yum! Let's taste. Mmm. That is a complete dish, in flavour. It's really tasty, isn't it? It's so tasty. Mmm. And I think the standout for me is the cooking of that chicken skin. Yeah. Where sometimes you taste it and it's been taken too far, where that's perfect, and really complete with that marron. Yeah. Yum. I love the celery. What a comeback this year. We've seen it a couple of times, and celery's featured heavily on a few of the dishes. And I'm really enjoying it. Ohh! That braised celery is delicious! It's good. It's really good. You forget what a beautiful vegetable it is. It's been well caramelised, beautifully braised. It's deliciously soft. And that, with the chicken skin, is beautiful. If someone wanted to bring me a dish of the things that I love at the moment, it would look like that. Yeah. Blackberries, celery leaf, braised celery, chicken skin. Throw in a bit of marron and some mayonnaise. I mean, gee - everything I love in one plate. I love that dish. Yeah. It is really delicious. Look, I mean, if I'm gonna find fault, then I'm not sure whether, um, the texture of the marron's quite right. Maybe that's how it's been cooked. Maybe it's been taken a little bit too far. Also, how it's been cleaned - that's a real miss for me. Yeah, you're right. But, in terms of flavour, this is a... this is a big-scoring dish. Yeah. Shall we score? Right - let's get the next dish in. Here we have roast John Dory on the bone with figs, crispy curry leaves, sauteed chicory and a bitter basil sauce. Thank you so much. Wow. John Dory is such a beautiful fish. Cooked on the bone - wow - it's just delicious. And it looks like a tasty bit of food. It's an interesting looking dish. And I actually really love... I love the fish with all the little bits and pieces on, but I also love the treatment of this chicory on the side. We've got some crisp leaves and then just blanched, by the look of it. It looks beautiful. Well, with a bitter basil sauce and those chicory leaves, which by themselves are bitter, it's gonna be interesting to see how that bitterness is balanced with, you know, salt or acidity, or maybe even sweetness. Well, let's taste. Mmm, that's interesting - the skin. There's been some problems there. Yeah. There's been some real problems there, actually. Nicely cooked, though. Beautifully cooked. It's really lovely. Have I seen John Dory cooked on the bone before? Yes, we have. Sure. It's been done for a long, long time. And it's a wonderful way to cook John Dory. Have I seen a combination of flavours like this before on a plate or eaten a combination of flavours like this before on a plate? Absolutely not. Is my mind processing it? Yes, it is. Do I like it? I love it. That's where I sort of sit with this dish. My brain's processing everything, and it's trying to go, "Wow! This is new. I've never tasted this before. This is interesting." Yeah. It's doing the same thing to me. I'm going, "So, alright, so how does that work with that, and how does that work with that?" And I like the bitterness that runs through it. I love those little chewy bits of rice. And I love... there's some other little chewy bits of fish, that maybe have been deep-fried. So there's loads going on there. Loads of technique. Mmm. What I love - the cooking of the fish. What I love is the way that the bitterness of the basil sauce works so beautifully with that fish and accentuates the sweetness of the flesh. That's really clever. Little bursts of fig. The crunch of the rice. But I find myself in a situation of weighing up... which is the better dish. I mean, the ingredients on this, to bring them together and to make a delicious dish, is really, really hard. Know what I mean? This is brain-frazzlingly tricky stuff. Yeah. Because, how do you do it? How do you bring it together? How do you make them all work, talk to each other, and maintain a complete dish? It's clever cooking, isn't it? And I suppose, really, what we've gotta weigh up is that, as much as it is clever, whether or not any of the negatives, like the skin on that, are they negatives, in themselves, big enough to push the score down? Shall we score? Yeah. Yep. I'm a little bit sad - this is the last immunity challenge of the year. But it's been a great year. We've tasted some good food on this table. Yeah, absolutely. And I... Look, to be honest, I'm pleased it's the last tasting, because, I think, if we can give away an immunity pin now, it's a game changer. It's certainly a game changer for Georgia. And she could possibly win it if that's the case. And today, Marco's obviously inspired her to cook some really cool food. Absolutely. Um, and I don't know - I'm thinking we may not agree on our favourite dishes today. I think that's... Which is a rare thing. I think you could be right. Alright. Shall we go and tell them? Yeah. I want to know what you scored. (LAUGHS) 1 MARCO: Ah. We're back. (CHUCKLES) It is quite strange, looking at Shannon over there, I'll be honest. All I can say is what a line-up - Shannon against Georgia. Georgia, were you terrified at the start of that cook? Absolutely. I would be too. (CHUCKLES) Yeah. I don't have words for it. At least you had Marco to mentor you, which was... I don't think you could ask for anything better, let's be honest. So, Marco, how did they go in the kitchen? Georgia, I thought you did really well. Shannon... I felt for you. SHANNON: Thank you, Marco. I was glad I was in my shoes, and not your shoes. Because I think, had I been in your shoes, I think I'd have really struggled. And f I'm going to be brutally honest, I don't think I'd have done as well as you did. Thank you, Marco. Thank you. Beautiful. So, Georgia, what did you actually cook? What was the dish? I cooked the marron with blackberries and celery. Beautiful. So, Shannon, that meant you cooked... The John Dory with chicory and had a little fried curry leaf on top. Interesting. Alright. Should we reveal the scores? Georgia, you know what's at stake - the immunity pin. Yes. I scored your dish... an 8 out of 10. Georgia, I scored your dish... an 8 out of 10. Chicken skin and marron. Wow. Just a beautiful combination. Congratulations. Thank you. Georgia, I scored your dish... 9 out of 10. Georgia, so many ingredients that I love at the moment, all on one plate. Just delicious. Well done. Thank you. So, Georgia, you have 25 points. Shannon, that means you need 26 to win. Well, two really interesting dishes. Shannon, I think you did a great job, and I scored it... 8 out of 10. Thank you. Well done. You know what I love most? I loved all those little crispy, sweet, interesting things on top of the Dory - so, the curry leaves, the crispy rice. And also, I found these little bits of kind of crispy, chewy fish, which I thought was really clever. Loved it. Thank you, Gary. Thank you. Shannon, I scored your dish... a 9 out of 10. Wow, the cooking of the fish - beautiful. So much technique there. And the fig, it just added a bit of sweetness that sort of counterbalanced against that chicory - it's quite bitter. Well done, Shannon. Thanks. Thank you. So, Shannon... you need a 9 or more from me to win. Christ Almighty. (SCOFFS) You know that I love a tasty dish. The question is, how do I feel about a challenging one? I love them too. 9 out of 10. Sorry. Lads. Shannon, you've won. Congratulations. You know what that means? You can come back to the fold. Come on. Well done, Shannon. Thank you. GEORGE: Well, there you go - another memorable day in the MasterChef kitchen. And I think we all need to thank Marco for his amazing wisdom, and of course mentorship for you, Georgia. I'm sure you guys, from up there, learned lots today - and also watching Shannon cook. Georgia, you didn't win the immunity pin. But you've got a massive advantage in tomorrow's challenge. Do I still get that? SARA: Yeah. MATT: (CHUCKLES) You only had to win round one. Yeah. Win round one, get a massive advantage. I thought I only got that if I got the pin. No! Oh! Glad you guys have confirmed it all over there. That's great. Sorry. On that happy note, I think that's a wonderful way to end the day. Guys, go home, get rest. Off you go. Thank you. Bye. GARY: See ya. Well done, Georgia. Thanks, Marco. Thanks, Shannon. I came this close up against Shannon Bennett. I didn't win. But honestly, what an amazing day. And... I didn't know that I still get an advantage. BILLIE: Of course. ...I'm really excited to find out what this advantage is. I thought it was, like... No, no. Whoever won the first round. Oh, my God. Next time ` they're cooking for a guaranteed place in finals week. This is huge. Let's do the job. Service. Send it. With Marco in the kitchen... ALL: Yes, Marco. How long? How long? How long? Just have to keep going. I can't stop. How tough is this? Very tough. I don't know what's going on. ...and a restaurant full of people to feed... That's really good. ...they will produce the menu of their lives. Wow. So, who will go straight through to finals week? And who will face elimination? You're falling behind because you don't listen.