1 ANNOUNCER: Previously on MasterChef Australia... ..the mystery box challenge saw Chloe headed straight to immunity. Yeah! (SQUEALS) ..while the invention test... Ooh-hoo-hoo! ..sent Brett, Charlie and Theresa to elimination. Tonight, a pressure test from a world-famous Michelin-star chef. MATT PRESTON: Jason Atherton. And despite its name... Quail afternoon tea. ..this recipe will be no picnic. What's in the box? (LAUGHTER AND EXCLAMATIONS) (GASPS) (CHEERING) Stop shaking, Charlie. Push, push, push! This is pressure at a whole new level... It's crystal-clean. Um... I feel like I'm paralysed. ..where one mistake... Far out. Come on, Brett! ..could cost them their place in the competition. I didn't think it would be this hard. # 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. # We got today. # Ooh, yeah, yeah. # So spin me round and... # Ooh, yeah, yeah. # ...show me the way... # Ooh, yeah, yeah. # ...back to... # 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. # Captions by Ericsson Access Services. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Able 2016 THERESA: I'm devastated to be facing elimination today. Watching my brother, Jimmy, go home last week was absolutely awful. I think I'm just going to focus on myself, what I'm doing, do it well and just smash it. I'm a long way off from my destination here, in MasterChef, so we're at the top 17 and, for me, I'm proud of what I've done, I'm glad I'm here, but I'm not ready to go. Surviving this pressure test today is really important. I do love my job as an airline captain but my food dream is to run a gastro pub in the country with my daughters. It'll be a family business, with me running the restaurant and the girls working front of house. So, I'm fighting for myself today, but I'm also fighting for my family. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Go, Brett! Go, Charlie! Go, Brett! Go, Theresa! Morning. ALL: Morning. How are you? Good. Tough day - pressure test. Of course, somebody's going home. And is it the first time for all of you in a pressure test? Yep. Yes. CHARLIE: This is my first pressure test, but it's my fourth time facing elimination. I'm really frustrated about that. I do not want to go home. I play golf for a living, and I'm extremely competitive. So I'm gonna draw on all those experiences to get me through today. I think, in a far-distant and rather ridiculous future, when MasterChef historians sit round and they write the list of the toughest pressure tests ever, this one will be right up there. Wonderful. And it's probably because the guest chef, who's about to walk through that door, has the sort of CV that is dizzying in its breadth... ..and amazing in its elevation. From humble beginnings in the army catering corps, he went on to work alongside Marco Pierre White... ..Ferran Adria... ..and Gordon Ramsay. He now has 19 restaurants on four continents. Three of them have Michelin stars. Oh, my goodness. Over the course of his career, he's been named Best Young Chef in Britain... ..British Chef of the Year... ..and Restaurateur of the Year. Oh, my goodness. Please welcome, from Pollen Street Social and Kensington Street Social in Sydney,... ..Jason Atherton. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Jason has a massive reputation. He's achieved a lot in a rather short time. This guy is the man. THERESA: He's pushing a trolley, and I'm thinking, "Oh. He can't even carry it in?" And I'm just dreading what's hidden under there. Oh, Jason, we've never had anyone need a trolley to bring in the dish. That is a whole 'nother level, and it scares me. Firstly, welcome. Thank you so much for coming to the MasterChef kitchen and setting this pressure test. It already looks complicated and we haven't even seen what it is yet. Give us a sense of the intricacy of the dish our contestants are about to face. Well, the dish is really, really... it looks really simple. But the complications to get to that simplicity is a lot of hard work, a lot of concentration. You know, we've got, like, 50 steps to get to this finished dish. You've got five crates of ingredients, 44 individual ingredients, just to achieve that. (MATT CHUCKLES) THERESA: That's ridiculous. I don't even think I have 44 ingredients in my kitchen. You know, there wouldn't be the same sense of achievement if we gave you a little hill to climb. So we want you to climb an Everest, because the view's gonna be so much better from up there when you do it. And we know you can do it. We know that all three of you are capable of doing this dish within the time allotted, so good luck. Thanks, Matt. Thank you. Right, Jason... You know, the moment of truth cliche time. Yep. Off you go. So... ..today, you're gonna be cooking my... (CONTESTANTS EXCLAIM) CHARLIE: Oh, my God. ..quail afternoon tea. (GEORGE LAUGHS) Oh... CHARLIE: I can't believe what I'm seeing. You know, it's crazy. There's so many different things going on, and there's a little intricate box. And I just can't even fathom what this dish is. What's in the box? (CONTESTANTS CHUCKLE) CHARLIE: God. BRETT: You see this waft of smoke come out and there's nice little pieces of quail in there that look just amazing. You know, this...this dish, it ain't simple. JASON: The principle, or the concept, for me, was enhancing what we have in the UK as a quirky mealtime, which is afternoon tea. GEORGE: Guys, come forward. You need to really tattoo that flavour on your palate 'cause you're gonna need it, yeah? Jason, talk us through all the elements. We have the porridge. So, we make pearl barley mushroom porridge. The quail. And then, with the livers, we make a lovely parfait. Wow. I think that's really interesting. Savoury parfait. Like, I've never really thought of parfait as being savoury. And the duck tea consomme. You infuse actual tea in that, don't you? Yeah, so, lapsang tea we infuse in there with just a little bit of thyme. CHARLIE: The duck tea is amazing. It's so clear. It just sings in your mouth, it's so delicious. It's quite a complex thing to do. It's making sure that when you're making the initial part of the stock, that you get the roasting correct. Oh, wow. The parfait has got to be pink. Making sure that it's smooth in texture is super crucial. It's really easy, easy to mess up. Oh, it's amazing. It's so smooth. And it's...really intense. The pearl barley porridge is pretty much like risotto. You've got to really look after it, you know, making sure your mushroom puree is really smooth, it's seasoned nicely, and it has that real depth of flavour. That's what we're really looking for. BRETT: The pearl barley porridge, you know, has got a real strong mushroom flavour. It's almost like nothing I've tasted ever before. The slow-cooked quail egg, which you soft-poach... Oh, yeah. Wow. ..it's very important that the egg is really, really soft. Yep. The recipe today is absolutely crazy. I think we're all thinking that the cook's gonna be fairly long and, you know, it's gonna be a really tough day. GARY: Suitably impressed? ALL: Yes. (CHUCKLES) Suitably terrified? Yes. So, the rules are simple. You have three hours to re-create Jason's beautiful dish. All I can say is I hope you had your porridge this morning, 'cause this is gonna be a bit of a marathon. Try your best. Jason, will you do the honours? Good luck, everybody. Your time...starts...now! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) WOMAN: Whoo! Go, Charlie! CHARLIE: Time starts, and the first thing I do is I run to the recipe and have just a little bit of a quick look through there, then just get straight into it. The first thing I get onto is the parfait reduction. So, I get all the ingredients - a few different types of alcohol, we've got shallots, garlic and a bit of thyme - pop them into a pan and reduce it down by a third, and that's gonna go into the parfait mix and then just create a really nice savoury note. WOMAN: That reduction smells incredible. Whilst that's reducing down, I move on to the duck tea. It's so important I do well. I don't want to just scrape through another one. I want to win this elimination. So I'm gonna work as fast as I can to make sure I get every element up. (WOMEN LAUGH) Not mucking around here, guys. (LAUGHTER) MATT SINCLAIR: Good man! That's it, mate. Keep that speed up. MILES: Arm the doors and crosscheck. Roger. The parfait reduction's on the heat. The recipe says I've got to move on to the parfait mixture, but I'm gonna jump forward maybe one or two steps, do a duck tea. Get your bones on, mate. I want to crack on with this duck stock now, because you need to caramelise these duck bones off. The more brown you can get these bones, the more flavour it's gonna impart into the stock. HEATHER: Go, Bretters. You've got your girls right there, mate. I've brought in a couple of photos of my daughters today just for a bit of inspiration. (SIGHS) To have them there is really important to me. Brett. George. Is the pressure on? Yeah, it is. It's turned up a bit today. I mean, you would have a lot of pressure being on a plane. Yeah, I eat pressure for breakfast. But this is a little bit different. (LAUGHTER) In my day job, I'm used to dealing with pressure. There's the obvious ones, with fatigue and time pressure. Thunderstorms, typhoons can be hair-raising, but your training really kicks in and you never feel more alive. Jeez, you don't want to misjudge the quantities. No, you don't want to... It's like misjudging the landing, yeah? Yeah, like landing on the grass ` not good. (LAUGHTER) Never ends well. Come on, Bretters. Keep going, mate. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) So, today, I'm just staying cool, calm and collected. I've just got to focus and get on with this. OK. So... Ooh. Scary part. Parfait... This recipe is so huge, I can't comprehend it, so I'm going to just step through it. Livers. How much liver? The recipe says the next step is to make the parfait mixture, and I know the recipe is right, so that's the first thing I do. So, to make my parfait, I have to add to my chicken livers and my eggs some parfait reduction. HARRY: Good job, Theresa. Really well done. Get it blitzed up. Go. The next thing I have to do is melt down some butter and I have to add that to my parfait mix with the motor running so that it can emulsify. HARRY: Beautiful, Theresa. Thank you. My parfait has to be really smooth. It's one of the most important elements on the dish. And when I tasted Jason's, it was so, so smooth and delicious. Mmm. Yum. Come on, Theresa! Go, Theresa! So, the recipe says to actually sieve the parfait into my tray, and that will just help me to keep the lumpy bits out. It's, um, pretty thick, and I don't want to push all the bits in it, you know? How does it taste? Oh, beautiful. Yeah? Yeah, nice and smooth. Good girl. So, following the recipe seems to be working really well at the moment, so I get it into the combi oven. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) WOMAN: Brett? BRETT: Yo? Sure the butter goes in there? Huh? Sure the butter goes in there now? I can't hear you. Ideally, I'd like my parfait to be exactly like Jason's. I want it to be nice and smooth. ZOE: Does he have to sieve that? For some reason, Charlie's poured his parfait straight into the tray. I don't know if he's made a mistake. Come on, Charlie. That parfait mixture needs to be passed. Now, if they're not passing their mixture, that changes things, doesn't it? It absolutely changes everything. It will taste really grainy. There's no two ways about that. You've got to make sure that everything you do is to recipe. Charlie? Tastes good, the mixture? Yeah. Yeah, it does. You stuck your finger in it? Yeah, it does. It tastes really nice. Jason's looking at me and I almost feel like he's looking straight through me, and...my brain starts to rattle and I'm trying to think, you know, "What have I done wrong? What have I missed?" You know, I'm stressing in the back of the mind, but I've got so much to do that I've just got to get on with it. 1 (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) BRETT: The challenge for us today is Jason Atherton's quail afternoon tea. I've never made anything like this before. This is Michelin-quality food. It's a monster recipe. 44 ingredients, 50 steps. One of the most technical challenges we've ever had. And now we have to create it. In three hours. Doesn't look right to me. MILES: It's alright, mate. It's getting there. And I haven't done a liver parfait like this before, so I'm really starting to get worried. I mean, what's going on here? Nah, it doesn't look right to me. But I don't have time for... stuffing around with it, really. That's the way, Brett. Get it in the oven. So, the parfait is in the oven and the duck tea is reducing down. Can you guys let me know when it's 45 minutes from now? Come on, guys! One hour down, two hours to go! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Come on, Brett! MAN: Come on, Charlie, go! ELENA: This is a monumental task that they've undertaken for themselves today, and they're all at different stages, all have different strengths, and it's quite hard to choose who's gonna come out on top. MATT SINCLAIR: Come on, Charles. Come on, Charlie! CHARLIE: Time's moving extremely fast today, so just got to keep motoring as fast as I can. I'm making the mushroom puree, and it gets stirred through the pearl barley right at the end. It just brings it all together. So, I grab one mushroom and I quickly dice it up, put the diced mushroom into the pan and saute it off, and then I throw that in the blender, start it blitzing. ANASTASIA: Does he need all those mushrooms? ZOE: Well, Charlie's got two sitting there. Brett's cut all his mushrooms, Charlie hasn't. How many do you need, Brett? All of these. 500 grams. That's a lot. That's heaps. I have a look at the mushroom puree. It doesn't look good. It doesn't look like a puree at all. It's more soup-like. It's really, really runny and the texture's just all wrong. It's not passing through. Yeah, it's not... Is it going through? There's a lot of liquid coming through. Yeah, there IS a lot of liquid. Charlie's run into a bit of a problem. I don't understand why that mushroom mixture's so watery. What do you reckon? He should have used all the mushroom. Yeah, OK. Do you see what I mean? So, he hasn't made enough? Yeah. Yeah, I'm just trying to read it and see what...maybe I've done wrong. MATT SINCLAIR: It's so frustrating to watch Charlie. Make sure you follow that recipe, mate. All we keep screaming at him is, "Checklist, checklist, checklist," like, fine-tooth-comb it. And I go back to the recipe and read through, and I look back at my bench and see the two other mushrooms that I've weighed out, and...no wonder my puree hasn't turned out right. I've only put one of three mushrooms into the blender. (GROANS) I'm really concerned at this point, because the taste and the texture's gonna be completely different to Jason's mushrooms. I'm thinking, "I don't have any time to redo this step," so I think I'm just gonna leave it and try and think of something to rectify this later. Just under the pump now, so I've got to really push on from here. Are you sure? Yeah. Puree - it's looking pretty good, actually. It smells really good. The mushroom flavour in the puree is strong. I pass that through a sieve, and I've got this beautiful puree underneath. It's good. I think I've nailed this. WOMAN: Come on, Theresa. THERESA: This recipe is so complex. I don't want to go off recipe, but I've only just started the duck tea. Hi, Theresa. How's it going? Hi. How are you? How are you? Oh! Just...trying to be systematic here and not miss anything. I'm just going step by step. Not really sure about timing, but I'm not gonna worry too much yet about that. I just want to go through and make sure I don't miss anything. Just with you, it's important - don't be robotic with the recipe. It's about intuition. You know what I mean? Yeah. There is SO much to do... Yeah. ..and so little time. Yeah. I think I've got to pick it up a bit. Motor, Theresa. Good luck. OK. Thank you. Thanks. Who do you think's, sort of, ahead at the moment in this long marathon? I mean, Charlie seems to be ahead, but being ahead doesn't always mean you're gonna get it right. He just seems to be struggling a little bit with a couple of jobs he did in the past - the mushroom puree and his parfait. I think Brett looks really, really in control. What about Theresa? She's following that recipe absolutely to the letter, so, you know, even though she looks a little bit behind the other two guys at the moment, if she keeps that up, if she can keep momentum, that will stand her in good stead for the finishing line. So, it's gonna be really interesting to see in an hour's time who's really got it by the scruff of the neck. CHARLIE: So, the parfait's cooking away in the combi oven, the mushroom puree's in the fridge, and the duck tea consomme is boiling away. So now I'm gonna move on to the duck raft. Follow the recipe. Follow the recipe. I can't afford to make any more mistakes today. I need to read this recipe and just focus on the task at hand. I grab the duck breast, roughly chop that up with some vegetables, toasted spices and egg white, and blitz it in the food processor. And I've got to whisk it into the duck tea. ZOE: It smells good, Charlie. So, basically, it sits on top and gathers all the impurities up and the fat solids. I kind of let it come up to the boil and then a thin layer forms on the top of the consomme. I skim off the duck raft and then I strain it through a muslin cloth. MILES: Looks good, Charlie. NICOLETTE: All that flavour looks so yum. How good is that? Oh, that looks really good. Have you ever made a consomme as good as that? No! (CHUCKLES) Never before! Charlie, that looks SO good. It's crystal-clean. It's perfect. Thank you. Certainly brings a new definition to the word 'concentration', maybe 'determination', 'technique', 'process', blah, blah, blah. Come on, guys! 90 minutes down, 90 to go! Come on! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) So, I go to the combi oven and I check my parfait. HARRY: Yeah. Beautiful, Theresa! My parfait looks good. I'm just not sure if that's set enough. I think it is. How's it going? Looks good? Yeah, I've just got to get my parfait into the fridge now. Yep. This should be really good. Jason says that my parfait looks perfect. OK. It's a really beautiful colour. That makes me so proud. I'm, like, so happy and relieved. That's a major element done. ELENA: You're doing really good, Theresa. But I have to keep moving, because there is so much to do. BRETT: So, I'm checking on the parfait, and I take it out of the oven, and Jason's with me, peering over my shoulder. I'm a bit worried about it. Did you see my bowl there? There's something wrong with the parfait. It's just not right. Oh, he's... Oh, he's in big troub... Here... Oh. I see what's happened. So, he's got problems here, hasn't he? All the butter's just coagulated. He's trying to pass coagulated butter. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. While I'm working, I can hear the judges talking about my parfait, and it doesn't sound good. His parfait's gonna taste completely different, isn't it? Yep. It'll go a lot more gamy in flavour. We're already halfway through this cook, and if I have to start it all again...it's gonna be a disaster. And it looks like I've made a mistake and it was MASSIVE. 1 GARY: Oh, he's in big troub... Here... Oh. I see what's happened. JASON: He's trying to pass coagulated butter. His parfait's gonna taste completely different, isn't it? Yep. It'll go a lot more gamy in flavour. BRETT: Looks like I've made a mistake earlier. I put the butter in cold, but I'm supposed to put it in melted. To survive today, everything needs to be perfect. So I want to ditch this parfait, but I really don't have the time. So I'm gonna put it in the blast chiller. If I've got time later on, I'll redo it. I don't want to make any more mistakes today, so I really have to nail this consomme. MILES: How's your raft, mate? Got to come up to heat first. You'd have to think Brett, with his occupation as an airline pilot, he's gonna be cool, calm and collected, but, jeez, he's not moving real quick. Flick on the afterburners, Brett. You need to start moving quicker, mate. I'm really concentrating on getting this consomme right, but it's taking time. Time is just flying out the window. You mustn't have to multi-task while you're flying aeroplanes, hey? You just sit there and do one thing. Push a button and have a nap! (LAUGHTER) As if I needed any more pressure, Jason approaches the bench. How's it going? (GROANS) Oh! Man, I need to get faster, but, you know, it's kind of hard. Well, this is the point, Brett, now where you need to start looking at just two or three jobs ahead where you can start picking up a bit of time. Yeah. This is great. It can't overcook. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right? So don't worry about that. Yep. But now start to pick up the pace. Get the pan on for the eggs. Looking at the quails. So forth and so forth and so forth, to try and really start to pick it up now, 'cause you've got a lot of work left to do. I need to move faster so I can give myself time to go back to redo this parfait at the end. There's a mountain of things to do, and I'm slipping behind. GARY: Right, guys, this is the time where you need to put the pedal to the metal. So much to do. Remember what's on the back of this, yeah? Nobody wants to go home. One hour to go! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Ah. Chop the vegetables... So, I'm cutting more vegetables for the duck raft. MILES: Quick, Theresa. Move quicker. Yep. Two cloves of garlic, finely chopped. Come on, Theresa. You've got to get moving. HEATHER: Theresa, you've got to move. The recipe's like my crutch, so I go back to the recipe, just because I feel, well, I can read it and it tells me what to do. Theresa, you've got to get into fifth gear. Come on. I know. Just... You've got to pick up the pace a bit. Keep pushing, Theresa. Theresa is being SO careful with vegetables being cut up into these tiny little dices. Better safe than sorry. But it's taking so much time, and...I'm just looking at her, willing her to go faster, you know? Jimmy's not here yelling, and I feel like I need to yell for him as well. So..."Hurry up!" If I was at home, I would roughly chop a couple of vegetables, get them in there. But I think I'm still caught up in this recipe. I'm really confused. I'm not even sure what I'm cutting anything for. I'm just cutting. I'm not looking up and looking at the big picture of what this element's gonna be used for and, you know... how I can make this go faster. Ah. I just noticed FINELY diced. That was not finely diced! JASON: Hey, Theresa. (CHUCKLES) Yeah, hi. What are you up to? I'm up to the, uh...the, um... ..um...yes, duck raft. Yeah. I get confused very easily, as... (LAUGHS) Yeah. Don't overthink it, 'cause you're gonna run out of time. And when it says "finely chopped mushrooms", just go for your life. Yeah, yeah. You've just got to go. OK. I will do. Yep. Come on! Go! Alright. Thank you. Thank you. Let's go. Now that the time is ticking, I'm just in a frenzy, and my intuition - I've left at the door. Oh, man! I'm a bit confused. Hang on. Come on, Charlie! Aim for a hole in one, mate! Let's go! Push, push, push, push! (SILENCE) Thanks for the support, guys. That was awkward. (MILES CHUCKLES) I move on to the quail egg. The quail egg has to be soft-boiled, and then that's got to be crumbed and then fried. So I've got a pot of boiling water going. ELISE: How long do you need to do the quail eggs for? Uh, 50 seconds. So, they're done. I take those out and refresh them in ice water, and I start peeling. This is such a fiddly job. I'm just having a struggle peeling them, I think. You've got to be really delicate and gentle with these 'cause they're really fragile. Oh... (GASPS) Oh, God. I've broken the egg. They only take a little bit to cook, so...uh...I should be right to get a couple more on. I need these eggs to work out this time because I don't have time to redo them again, because I've got so many other things that I've got to finish off and other things I've got to get done. Right. Be REALLY careful when you peel them. Yeah. You know? Oh, my God! (LAUGHS) Oh! I've got to start again. At this point, I'd be happy if I never saw another quail egg in my life. It took Jason six months to develop this dish, and you've only got 30 minutes to finish it! Half an hour to go! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Come on, Brett! Go! (SIGHS) I'm really feeling snowed under now. I mean, the pressure is just enormous. And I've still got so much to do. Are we all on top? Oh, I wouldn't say that, Jason. But, uh, you know, trying my hardest. Yep. Where's your pearl barley? Your pearl barley? I haven't touched it yet. Make sure you go through that list meticulously and you've not missed anything off. The pearl barley is absolutely crucial. OK? Brett? Yep. OK. Go, go, go, yeah? Come on, Brett. You've got to kick it up another gear, mate. Let's go. Work faster! Far out! Everybody's yelling and screaming at me to move faster. Bang, bang! Go! But it's like I'm in a daze. My normal feeling of calmness has just flown right out the window, and I feel like I'm paralysed by the pressure. Come on, Brett! Push! Push! WOMAN: Push, push, push! I'm just a mess. Push the throttle, mate! Come on, you've got to work faster! Keep pushing! What? Keep going! Quick, quick, quick! NICOLETTE: Come on, Brett! I didn't think it would be this hard. And I break down. 1 (SNIFFLES) It was like this wave of emotion just came from behind and just engulfed me. It's so intense, man. I didn't think it would be this hard. (BREATHES DEEPLY) And I break down. And I'm just so... ..emotional. I can just feel these tears running down my face. JASON: Brett? Thanks very much. (SOBS) You should be proud of yourself, man. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Look at that baby girl and you focus. Do her proud. You do not want to go home. You've worked so hard to get to this point, and that's why you're here. Jason says just breathe for a minute and look at the photos of your daughters there on my bench. My daughters. And that's why I'm here, and... It just really hit...hits home. (SNIFFLES) You know, they're the real inspiration behind this whole journey, and I need to do it for them. I'm gonna put something up. So, I hope that makes... ..uh...my two daughters proud. ELISE: Come on, Brett! Work quicker! MILES: Come on, Brett! Push! So, I start multi-tasking and getting things on at once. I'm just gonna slowly heat that up. Good work, Brett. (APPLAUSE) The pearl barley's coming together. You know, it's reducing nicely. It's time to add a couple of tablespoons of the mushroom puree. Basically, I'm just treating it like a risotto. MILES: What's your other hand doing? Get moving! I'm wiping sweat off my brow! I'm gonna finish then with a bit of butter at the end and, obviously, parmesan to bring it all together. What are you doing next, Brett? I'm gonna...try some...eggs. I've had my water bubbling away for the quail's eggs, so I slowly put them in... How are you timing those, Brett? Uh, you're gonna count out loud to 40 for me. It looks like the penny's finally dropped for Brett. He's found another gear and he's kicked it up a notch. Good work, Brett. So it's a race to get this egg in the deep-fryer. It's like, wow. I've found that third gear. Now it's time to hit the turbo. JASON: That's another job out the way. I've been putting so much pressure on myself about fixing this parfait, and I've got a million other things to do. So I'm just gonna leave it. It's not gonna be perfect - I know that. I'm just gonna move on and hope for the best. And you feel a bit more relaxed, right? Yeah, yeah. Totally relaxed now. Yeah. (SIGHS) Yeah. See? See? (LAUGHTER) THERESA: The boys are, like, SO far in front of me. I'm...definitely concerned that I'm just not gonna get everything finished. 10 minutes, yeah? 10 more minutes! Let's go! Come on! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) With, like, 10 minutes to go, the pressure's getting to me. My hands are shaking. I had 12 quail eggs to start with. How many eggs have you got left? This is my last one, so... Well, just take your time. We only need one. I've only got one quail egg, so if this bursts, I'm finished. Stop shaking, Charlie. It's alright. I'm trying! I'm trying! (LAUGHS) Easier said than done! Come on. When you're over that six-foot putt, right, to win a competition... You must have been over that. You know how to hold your nerve, right? Yeah, but this is different, man. It's not! It's the same thing! It is. It's crazy. Oh! MIMI: Yes! I've finally managed to peel this damn quail egg. The pace is frenetic, but then, so it should be! Five minutes left! Five to go! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) MILES: Five to go! Go, Brett! You can do it, Theresa! HARRY: Now your eggs, Theresa. THERESA: Sorry? Eggs. Peel your eggs. Peel your eggs. There's only five minutes to go and I haven't even cooked my quail, I've still got to plate up, and I haven't even peeled my quail egg. ELISE: Push hard, 'cause every second counts now. Everything you do counts. I'm gonna have to make choices about what to do in those last minutes. You don't have time to fry. Theresa, multi-task! If Theresa has any chance of putting up a dish, she has to abandon the quail egg. (GROANS) She doesn't have time. So, at this point, I have to choose my quail or my quail egg. There is just no way I'm gonna get both of them done. MILES: Leave them and get everything else sorted! Ah! I just don't have time to do the crumbing and get them fried. So quail eggs are off the menu. ZOE: Come on, guys! Don't forget to taste! Taste your food! BRETT: I know the parfait isn't as perfect as I'd like it, but as I'm plating it up, I think it's actually pretty good, and it tastes pretty good as well. That's it, Brett. CHARLIE: As I'm plating up, I'm having so much trouble with the parfait. The texture is totally wrong. Jason's parfait was perfectly smooth, you know. I'm looking at mine and... it looks like cat food. ELISE: Oh, my God! It looks terrible. Not my finest. We're all panicking up here! The question is, are you gonna finish in time? Three minutes to go! Come on! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) So, the next thing to do is saute my wild mushrooms. Earlier, my mushroom puree was missing two mushrooms, so I've got to rectify this. I decide I need to use every last mushroom I can get my hands on. I put them on top of the pearl barley. I think that will work out well. You're doing so well, Charlie. All that flavour looks so yum. ELISE: Come on, Brett! MATT SINCLAIR: Go, Bretters! BRETT: I know the consomme is good and the smell is wonderful. I've got to get that in a teapot... MILES: Come on, Brett! Keep it going, mate! ..but I've got to get this tea bag done, and I add some thyme in there and tie it up, and it's ready to go. JASON: You've done really well. You've done really well, buddy. It's very important, you know, because that tea is gonna add another layer to the consomme. Get the quail out, Theresa. WOMAN: Come on, Theresa! Theresa, where are we? As Jason goes through the elements with me, I realise I don't have my tea bag ready, and everyone's yelling at me, "Your tea bag! Your tea bag!" Theresa, don't lose it. You've got to stay focused. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) WOMAN: Keep going! MATT PRESTON: One minute left! One minute! One minute! Come on, guys! Come on! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Come on! HARRY: Twine! Twine, twine, twine! MILES: Theresa, on the shelf! THERESA: Sorry? Twine! The string! This is so stressful! I'm running around like a crazy woman and can't find my string. Tie it! Sorry? Tie it! Your string! I can't find it! Borrow some off Brett! Brett, do you have any string? Brett, give her some string! String? WOMAN: Come on, Brett! Run! HEATHER: Come on! Let's go! Chop it! Thank you, sir! Brett comes over and chops me off a bit of string. We tie that up. Yay! I've got my tea bag as well. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Good teamwork! Come on, Brett! Go! Go, Brett! And I've got to get the quail into the box with the pine needles... 30 seconds! Go, Charles! Get it on the plate, man! ..and I've got to get the consomme into the teapot with my tea bag. WOMAN: Have you got your tea bag?! Yeah, I will. 10 seconds! MILES: Theresa, go, go! Nine! Eight! ALL: Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! That's it! Your time's up. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) BRETT: How'd you go? Alright? I'm looking at my dish, and there's one massive concern running through my head, and it's that parfait. I know it's no good, and I'm just hoping that it's not the thing that sends me home. How'd you go? You're not happy? Today was an epic challenge. I know I gave it my all, and I know everything is there ` except for the egg. I just hope that everything else on my plate is good enough to keep me in the competition. Although I'm proud that I've got my dish up, I know my quail egg is missing... ..and I realise, "Darn, "my tea bag is still at my bench." I didn't put it in the teapot. 1 THERESA: Although I'm proud that I've got my dish up, I know my quail egg is missing, and I realise... ..my tea bag is still at my bench. I didn't put it in the teapot. But my parfait looks perfect. Everything is looking really good. So, that...that gives me hope that, you know, maybe everything's gonna be OK. It was epic, wasn't it? Yeah. It was big, yeah. The reality is we said goodbye to your brother last week. Yeah. Have you done enough this week to stay in this competition? I didn't get the egg. I boiled it, but I... I should have just even put it on the plate, but I didn't, and then, um... I've got my tea bag ready and then...it's still on my counter. So...yeah, just, um... some really stupid little mistakes, and it's just disappointing. Frustrated, yeah? Yeah, it's really frustrating. I don't know. I'm still waiting for it to click. You know, Theresa, it's, um... I've been doing this job for 30 years. You're an amateur cook. Yeah, there's some elements missing, but there was 50 steps to go through. 50 steps in three hours - that's a big ask. You know, you're being really tough on yourself. You've done... In my opinion, watching you there today, you did really great. You know, you should be really proud of yourself. That means a lot to me, so, yeah, I do, I really do appreciate that. OK, well, let's see how you've gone. OK. Beautiful. OK. Thank you. The thing that is glowing for me is that beautiful pink parfait. GARY: Oh, it pops, doesn't it? Yeah. The colour is perfect. The texture looks good. Oh, look at that. Ooh. Fantastic. There we go. Wow. Look at that. Jase, what do you reckon? Yeah, I mean... all the texture is there for me. I really like the textural content of the dish. The quail was cooked nicely. I really liked the texture of the quail. On the outside, it was caramelised beautifully. It was nice and pink in the middle. I think she's cooked that perfectly, to be honest. I mean, I don't know how many times she's done it, but to keep the legs pink, breasts pink - really beautiful. And the parfait - she nailed that. That parfait is... ..as good as any I've had in Australia. Like, really spectacular. It's such a shame that she missed that crispy egg, yeah, 'cause for me, that plays a big part in the dish. It's that surprise of breaking it open and seeing that yolk. It adds richness to the dish. Naturally, you're missing the... Is it lapsang souchong that you use in the tea bag? It's missing that flavour. It's missing seasoning. I think the volume's been turned down a little. And it IS afternoon tea. You're right. Yep. Let's get the next dish in. BRETT: I'm so proud of what I've achieved today. I've put my heart and soul into this dish. I've given it everything. There's nothing left in the tank. My parfait doesn't look the best, but I'm still hoping it tastes OK. Brett, you've been pretty unflappable throughout this competition no matter what we throw at you, and then it kind of all came crumbling down. Yeah, it did hit me today, and it did surprise me a bit, you know? It was such an emotional... ..wave that came over me, even just sitting out there. You've talked a lot about this... this emotion in food, and... ..I just want to say, I understand. I understand now what it means. And, you know, to bring a guy like me to tears over food, that's pretty powerful. What do you think it's taught you about yourself? That I'm human. (ALL LAUGH) No, talking about human, that is a pretty superhuman recipe. When you started MasterChef, did you ever think you'd be able to put up a dish like this? Um...no. You know, we've all sat at home and watched and said, "Yeah, I can do that. "That pressure test doesn't look that bad. Why is that person crying?" Um...but now, after going through one, I understand totally where they're coming from. Being pushed to the envelope like that... ..uh, for me, is not something I'm used to. We call it 'spare capacity' in my line of work, and I found today that I had very little spare capacity left. Which is unique for me. Wow. Thank you for...opening up. Thanks, guys. JASON: Want to do the honours, George? Yeah. What do you reckon on the presentation, Jason? The parfait obviously looks a bit rough. But, you know, the consomme's nice and clean. Um, it's got a beautiful golden colour to it. The egg's the perfect colour. So, you know, I think he's done a good job. Yeah. You know, it's a good, good job. Wow. That's perfect. That's perfect. Wow. Look at that. Oh, wow. That's perfect. Jason? Brett's done a really, really great job with this. You know, it didn't look the prettiest with the parfait, but it tastes great. Pearl barley's cooked fantastic. The mushrooms taste good. The egg is perfect. I mean, that egg is just... Look at that. I mean, you know, if that was at Pollen Street and that was opened like that, I'd be stood there in the kitchen going, "Oh, yeah." This is just delicious. The quail is well cooked. The tea is delicious and actually tastes of tea, which is a huge plus. The barley is absolutely banging with mushroom flavour. The parfait, which we were so worried about, is...you know, more liver-heavy than butter-heavy, but I don't think that's a problem given how rich and creamy that barley porridge is. For me, what matters is, do I want to eat the dish again? And with this dish, it's a very big, very big thumbs up. Yeah. Me too. I'm really pleased with it. I think he's done a good job. Right, boys, let's get the final dish in. CHARLIE: I'm just so proud of the way that I handled myself today. I worked so hard and fast under pressure. I'm just hoping that I've produced a good enough dish not to go home. Nervous, Charlie? Yeah, no, I'm super nervous. And I'm scared, 'cause I don't want to leave. I was impressed the way you worked today. I really was, you know? Thank you. I can see you're a sportsman, 'cause you're super quick at stuff, but when I was watching some of it, you seemed to, like, do half a recipe, 'cause you're really quick, but it takes much more than speed. It takes the knowledge to take your time to go through a recipe properly. It's there for a reason, right? 'Cause that recipe's been tested and it works. Thank you. Thanks, guys. Cheers, Charlie. Thank you, Charlie. There's one massive concern, and it's that parfait. I know it's not right. I know it's not gonna be nice and smooth like Jason's. Mmm. That's a disaster. Yeah. Oh, it's terrible. I'm just hoping that it's not the thing that sends me home. 1 CHARLIE: There's one massive concern, and it's that parfait. I'm just hoping that it's not the thing that sends me home. Mmm. That's a disaster. GARY: Yeah. Oh, it's terrible. Oh, there you go. Look at that. Looks good. Hmm. Has he...has he got every element? Looks like it, yeah. It looks like it, doesn't it? Yeah, yeah. And the tea bag? Did he remember the tea bag? Yep. Yep. Tea bag's there. MATT: That looks pretty good. Yep. It's a pretty good consomme. Alrighty. Before you tuck in, I'm gonna say, generous with the mushrooms. Yeah. REALLY gen... I've got three morels on here. I've got all sorts of things. It looks... It actually looks really good. Other than that parfait, I'm... I think the presentation's great. And I'm getting this lovely aroma from that consomme, yeah? Mmm, and the tea's really infused into it. I think the consomme is really, really sensational. Um, for me, it's one of the best... one of the best I've tasted. I really like the depth of flavour. I love the lapsang in it. The egg was nice and runny, even though it was his last one. But the biggest let-down is the parfait is a little bit rough, and that's because he didn't pass it. You know, for me, this dish is about this connection between that toast and the tea. And I get to the tea and go, "Jeez! That consomme's delicious." That makes me really, really happy. Mm-hm. But then I go to the parfait, I have a little bite into that, and I don't want to eat it again, 'cause it's grainy. For me, it's just that pearl barley risotto. You know, you're missing that mushroom. The volume's turned down. There's not a depth of flavour. And that's a shame. I'm just gonna put it out there. Brett's dish - I want to eat it again. Like, it was delicious. I... For me personally, I believe he's safe, and it's out of Theresa and Charlie. On one side, we've got Charlie's magnificent consomme turned into the tea, and on the other side, for me, you've got Theresa's fantastic parfait. Out of those two... ..I know the answer. OK. Shall we get them in? Yeah. Wow. What a pressure test. That was seemingly contrived in a dimly lit room by a group of evil chefs hell-bent on tripping up a bunch of unwary contestants. 44 separate ingredients, 50 separate steps and one brilliant dish. Jason Atherton, well done. (LAUGHS) How do you think they went? You know, Gary, these guys put their heart and soul into it. That means a lot to me. 'Cause it was a daunting task. And it's hard to prepare yourself in an instant to crack on with that straightaway, you know? Really good job, and I appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Well, there was one dish that nailed all the big, powerful flavours that we were looking for, and that dish belonged to... ..Brett. And that's why, Brett, you are safe. Well done, mate. Well done, Brett. You had some really great things on your dish, like, your pearl barley risotto tasted fantastic, your egg was great, your consomme was really, really super tasty, and, you know, I really, really enjoyed your dish. You don't hear these kind words from a chef of his stature every day. Take it on board. Charlie... ..Theresa, that means it comes down to the two of you. I'm sorry to say that one of you is about to go home. Charlie... ..that tea was absolutely delicious, the quail was well cooked, and you managed to compensate for the lack of mushroom flavour in the pearl barley by putting loads of mushrooms on top. But the really big negative was that parfait. Theresa... that parfait was absolutely beautiful. Your quail was cooked perfectly. However, your consomme lacked the depth of flavour that Jason's had. And...where was the egg? And that's why, I'm sorry, Theresa, you're going home. Charlie, you're safe. Congratulations. Oh, Theresa! It's tough, isn't it? We've loved having you here. We really have. I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to, sort of, shine the way that I hoped to. Um... But it doesn't mean I can't continue shining. Mmm. So I'm gonna go forward and I'm gonna continue learning and...and go for what I want. And I just wanted to say thank you so much for all your encouraging words and everything. I just really...I appreciate that you've taken us all under your wing and everything you did. It's a pleasure. Absolute pleasure. Yeah, you're welcome. Theresa, we can't wait to see what you're gonna do next. But now it's time to say goodbye. Bye, Theresa. Bye. Keep dreaming. Good luck. MATT: Bye-bye. I am really proud of all the things that I've achieved in this competition. It has been a really amazing experience... ..and I'm really grateful that I had a chance to be here. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) You know, food is part of my life now. And I'm so excited about that. It's not the end for me. It's just the beginning. ANNOUNCER: Next time ` the jaffle is back in the biggest immunity challenge yet. Today, there are TWO immunity pins up for grabs. This is monstrous! To win, they must take the humble jaffle... We all love to snaffle a jaffle! ..and create a mouth-watering masterpiece. I'm making a raspberry coulis with dark chocolate. With two immunity pins on the line... It's chaos! ..they'll cook like crazy and turn the ordinary... Ooh! You've given us a restaurant-quality dish. ..into the extraordinary. I'm slightly delirious. That's one of the best dishes so far in the competition. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air.