. ANNOUNCER: Previously on MasterChef Australia... Argh! ..Elise, Mimi and Harry fought it out for a place in the quarterfinals. No, not giving up. Sadly for Mimi, she just missed out. To come through this experience, just amazing. Tonight, the biggest week of the competition begins with an emotional bombshell. Inside those envelopes are letters from home. Far out. MATT: To have their support is just incredible. With their loved ones front of mind... Make it brilliant. ..the top four will face this challenge... Everything's on the line. ..with all the passion they have. Use that emotion to make your food delicious! Yum! Yeah, I'm happy with that. For some, it will inspire their best cooking. It just makes me happy. For others, the emotion will get the better of them. Guess I'm just feeling really overwhelmed. And for one, it will be the end of their journey. It's now time to leave the MasterChef kitchen... # 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. # In my heart # like a flame, # like the brightest shooting star. # Captions by Ericsson Access Services www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Able 2017 It's so amazing to be in the quarterfinals of MasterChef 2016. Who would have thought a girl from Cairns would make it this far? It's a huge achievement for me. It's probably one of the biggest achievements I've had in my whole entire life. A one-in-four chance is pretty high of winning it. I do have it in me and I just hope that I get there. MATT: It's pretty crazy that there's four of us left. Everything that I've got inside, I'll be throwing it out there today. This is all for my wife, pretty much. My family, the people that pushed me to come and do this. This is my point to acknowledge those people back at home and thank them, because I wouldn't be here without them. HARRY: It's really, really hard at this point in the competition because we're all at the top of our game. There's barely a couple of cooks between me and the finals and I really want to be there and I really want to fight my hardest to get to the end. ELENA: Let's do this, eh? (CHEERING) I think it's another one of those pinch-myself moments. Walking in with the beautiful applause from the gantry is a nice reminder of how far we've come. It's really exciting to see them back here. Welcome to the quarterfinals of MasterChef 2016. You are our top four. And not very often you get a round of applause from the judges at the top of the room, but it is time, because you are the best amateur cooks in this country and you deserve it. In three days, we'll know which of you will be Australia's MasterChef for 2016. (APPLAUSE) So, here's how today is going to work. Two rounds and two chances to earn a place in the semifinal. The winner of round one - straight through to that semifinal. ELISE: Oh, wow. Just to add that little bit of pressure. Oh, God. That is huge! That means you don't have to do cook again. I want that. I want to be in that position and I want to be carefree and just focus on the semifinals. The rest of you go into round two, and from there, I'm afraid, one of you will be going home. And to be honest, we don't think you need any more motivation, so let's get started. Off to your benches. HARRY: To make it just short of the semifinal would be devastating. I really, really want to perform well in round one. I can't go home. I want to make it to the end. You have every right to be nervous. This is the biggest week of your cooking adventure so far, so we're gonna start with something heart-warmingly familiar. Take a look behind you. (APPLAUSE) So now you know it's a mystery box. But what you don't know is each of you have different ingredients. The envelopes on top of each mystery box are a little clue of what might be underneath. I know the handwriting! Guys, inside those envelopes... ..are letters from home. Do you see where this is going? Yep. Yep. We asked your nearest and dearest to choose the ingredients that's going in your mystery box. Before we get to lift your lids... ..let's read your letters. Ohhh! I think I probably could've coped with a mystery box full of ingredients from my family, but as soon as I know that there are words to go along with it... (TEARFULLY) Far out. ..I know I'm a goner. (LAUGHS) "You are a bright, shining light... "..a luminary, a sunshine girl." MATT: I think one of the most difficult parts about being in this competition is... "Dear Matty..." (LAUGHS) "This journey has been a long one, "but we are on the home stretch and so close." Whilst we're putting ourselves through the paces, our families and our partners are also fighting a pretty similar battle back at home... "I'm so proud of you, my lovely boy. "I can only guess the amount of pressure you are under. "You have much of your grandad in you." ..having to carry it through for us while we're off here chasing our dreams, but to have their support is just incredible. Come on, then. Let's lift those lids. ALL: Ooohhh! The ingredients that my wife, Jess, has chosen for me are SO familiar. She knows what I like to cook with in the kitchen. MATT PRESTON: What have you got? I've got a snapper, some daikon, peanuts, papaya, lime, chilli. Do you reckon she knows me? (ALL LAUGH) The fact that even after all this time that I've been away, she still wants to drive me to the finish line. Pfff! I can't explain how... ..how special she is. Elena, what have you got? I've got a mud crab, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, apples, bacon and lemons. Oh, nice. ELISE: Yum! I think the mud crab... (LAUGHS) I think that was to get me giggling, because we had some mud crabs in the fridge and they escaped and they were... (LAUGHS) (ALL LAUGH) ..in the house! I don't know whether my mum put the muddie in there to give me a giggle or not, but it certainly reminds me of our house in Tewantin. (LAUGHS) Harry, how about you? I can just see Mum's favourite ingredients. I've got avocados, lemons, asparagus, pinot noir chardonnay, salmon, chilli and also sweet peas. Ever since a young age, I've been cooking with Mum, and that's where I got my passion for cooking. Oh... I haven't seen her in... ..so long now, and I don't know, I guess I'm just feeling really overwhelmed at this point. (GARY LAUGHS) Elise? Elise, don't do that! Elise, don't shake your head! Did I shake it? My ingredients have been chosen by Emanuele, my fiance. I've got some quail. I love my strawberries. Vanilla. He calls me 'vanilla bean'. Nice. Thyme. Leek. Gelatine - my best friend. Um, and freekeh. He's also given me freekeh. I don't know why he's given me freekeh. Freekeh is a roasted green wheat. I've never used it before, so I have no idea what dish I'm going to do. GARY: Right. You have to use at least one of the ingredients in the mystery box. The usual pantry of staples are under your bench. You have 60 minutes to create one delicious dish. The most impressive dish puts their maker straight through to the semifinal. The rest of you have to cook again in round two. Are you ready? Yes. Are you inspired? Yep. Your time starts now. (CHEERING) BOTH: Come on, Elise. ELENA: There's definitely a little bit more pressure today than usual. The best cook from the first round goes straight through to the semifinals. BRETT: Come on, Elise! MIMI: Whoo! We've only got an hour and I know that it was an emotional start, So I get as much as I can carry so that I don't have to make lots of trips and I get started on breaking down that crab. TRENT: Go, Elena! I'm gonna be doing a crab, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and making a bit of a crab seafood sauce to go with it. I definitely need to maximise flavour as quickly as possible with this crab, so I want to roast off those crunched-up legs and I want some bacon in there. I'm quite excited about these ingredients. Some of them could be seen as quite simple ingredients, but my mum, she's picked some of my favourite things to work with. I'm really excited for my family to see how I put them together. TRENT: Come on, Matty! (ONLOOKERS CHEER) Hey, Matty? Hey? I reckon Jess is a keeper, mate. She's a good girl. (LAUGHS) She picked well. She could've got me shelled peanuts! (ALL LAUGH) These are definitely pretty symbolic ingredients. When Jess and I first got together, we spent quite a bit of time travelling around South-East Asia and we basically just lived on soups, so that's what I really want to try and re-create today. So, I'm gonna do just a really nice fish broth, a little crispy-skinned piece of snapper, and then a couple of little snapper dumplings. The snapper is what this whole dish is based around, so that's what I'm preparing first. (ALL CHEER) Go, Matt! Go, Matt! Alright. MIMI: Come on, Elise! Reading the letter motivated me to cook Emanuele a dish that he would absolutely love. I haven't done that in this competition yet, so that's something that I want to do for him, and I'm gonna enjoy doing it. Thyme. I'm looking at the ingredients and... Alright. I know what I'm doing. ..I want to cook a vanilla and thyme panna cotta. I love thyme and I've never made one before, so I just want to use those flavours together. I make him panna cotta at night all the time. He once criticised and said I put too many vanilla beans in it, so I'll make sure I won't do that today. Next, I need to bloom my gelatine. I look down at my gelatine and it's gold-strength gelatine. He knows I use titanium, not gold! (LAUGHS) He's killing me! With my normal panna cotta, I usually use 2� sheets of titanium to about 640mL of milk mixture, but I don't really know how to use the gold gelatine. (LAUGHS) One... So, 300... So I'm just gonna increase it by half a sheet. You good? I'll go four. I'm just hoping that it's the right ratio. You're 10 minutes in, Harry. What? You cooking or looking? Just looking. Just looking. 10 minutes have gone in this challenge and I'm still racking my brain. Everyone else around me has already started. Harry, get it done, bro. Keep moving. I didn't think I was gonna get so emotional seeing the ingredients from my mum. I dunno, I guess I'm just feeling really overwhelmed at this point. Harry, are you having a drink to start with? I need a drink right now. (LAUGHS) So I'm looking at these ingredients and I'm trying to conceptualise the dish. I want to create a dish that my mum would really love to eat. She loves pinot and she loves chardonnay as well. So I'll make the granita with the bubbly and I'll come up with the rest of the dish as I go along. MATT: You right? Yep. Oh... GEORGE: You know how you were emotional just a minute ago? ELISE: Yep. Well, use that emotion to make your food taste better! 45 minutes to go. Come on! (CHEERING) 15 minutes down and I'm only now looking at the salmon. Hmm. He hasn't started cooking yet. What's he doing? I know that it will have to become the hero of my dish. What have you got in mind? Still yet...still yet to figure out what I'm gonna do. I'm not really 100% sure on what I'm gonna cook today. But I'm definitely gonna use the salmon. Come on, Harry. Go, Harry! Come on, mate! Come on, Harry! Keep working, Harry. Hello. GEORGE: Look at you. (LAUGHS) You look a bit washed out. A little emotionally drained. You want to push it today. You want to push it. You want to get straight into that semifinal NOW. OK. So, what are you cooking? Um, I haven't really decided, actually, to be honest. . . (ONLOOKERS CHEER FOR HARRY) Come on, Elise! Go, Elise! HARRY: In this mystery box challenge, we've got 60 minutes to create a dish using at least one of the ingredients picked by our nearest and dearest. You right? Yeah. My mum chose what I have to cook with, so I really want to make something that she would enjoy. But I'm stuck with the concept of exactly what I'm cooking. But you haven't been drained so much emotionally that you've got nothing left for this challenge, though, have you? No. Just checking. Come on, mate. Go for it, yeah? Come on, Harry! Go, Harry! Come on, mate! The winner of round one will go straight into the semifinals. There is so much at stake today, so I really have to focus and come up with a dish. Come on, Harry! Come on, Harry! I finally decide that... I'm actually gonna do the salmon a couple of different ways. I'm gonna do a quick cure on one and I'm just gonna do a nice, simple tartare on the other. As an accompaniment to the salmon, I'm gonna make some sweet pea dumplings. Peas and salmon work really, really well together. I'm so happy to finally have some direction for this cook. Now I just have to hurry up and get it done. MATT: Today I'm making crispy-skinned snapper with snapper dumplings, daikon noodles and a snapper broth. That smells really good, Matt. Thank you. The broth has definitely... definitely got a bit of heat on it. I love it. I just need to season and reduce it. Um, and I'm just about to make my dumpling dough. The ingredients that Jess has chosen for me are super familiar and ones that I used to cook with all of the time before I came into this competition, so I'm actually kind of looking forward to travelling back to that time and reproducing a dish with everything that I've learnt. Come on, Matty! You're good, Matty! You want to show Jess how far you've come, because I think she'll have an image of what the dish is that you put together with these ingredients. You want to show Jess that her faith in you has been rewarded by huge development, OK? Yes, Matt. Thank you. Keep going, Matty. We're cooking so differently to what we were before we came into this competition. HEATHER: Looking good, Matt. WOMAN: He's so fast. Far out. In order to give myself the opportunity to go into the semifinal, I need to make sure I show them how far I've come with what I can do with food. You got it, Matt. ELISE: I'm making my vanilla and thyme panna cotta. Yum! And I taste it and the flavour is delicious. You can taste a little bit of the vanilla and a little bit of the thyme - exactly what I wanted. It's done, so I've just got to add my gelatine. I've never used gold gelatine in my panna cottas before, so I'm just hoping that I put enough in and that it sets. Fingers crossed. I place that into a tray and get that straight into the blast chiller. Go, Elise! Thanks, guys. Because this is quite a savoury dessert, I want to add sweetness somehow. Are you gonna do, like, a strawberry and thyme coulis or something? I'm gonna do a jelly. Alright. I'm gonna add a jelly, strawberry jelly, with my panna cotta. I love jelly. Love strawberries. And it all works well together. But I want to show the judges that I'm not just a panna cotta girl. I want to show different technique today to get me that position in the semifinals. I know I need a crunchy element for this dish. So, two cups of boiling water and one cup... So I decide to use freekeh. Freekeh is a roasted green wheat. I've never used it before, so I'm just gonna try and puff it, and if it comes out something amazing, it's just gonna give a nutty, crunchy element to my dish and I really hope that it works. Tell us what you're doing and we'll get out of your hair. I've got some freekeh in the microwave, so I'm gonna dehydrate that and try and puff it. It's a good idea. Yeah, really, really good idea. You know what we noticed straightaway when you picked the freekeh out of the mystery box? We go, "These are ingredients that your boyfriend "would have put together based on how you USED to cook." I know, and that's... "Not on how you cook now." And the freekeh is there to kind of, I reckon, get your brain going. Yeah. Yeah. Throw me. Thinking, "How can I use it?" Oh, it's wonderful. That's the creative bit. Isn't it? Yeah. (LAUGHS) It's gonna be fine. It'll be fine. Thanks, guys! (CHEERING) I'm really enjoying this cook. I'm having such a fun time. When you're actually cooking a dish for someone you love, it makes me feel good inside and I'm really happy. This cook may be emotional, but it's all about pushing you straight into the semifinals. Make it brilliant. 30 minutes to go. (CHEERING) ELENA: 30 minutes to go. I'm cooking crab, brussels sprouts and cauliflower. I'm fairly happy at the moment. I've never cooked anything like this, but I'm really excited by the flavours. For the sauce, I've roasted my crab legs with some bacon. As soon as that's got a lot of good colour, I deglaze with my fresh apple juice and leave that to reduce. WOMAN: How is it, Ellie? So yum. It smells amazing. CON: It smells amazing. MAN: Smells amazing, Elena. The crab is the hero of this dish, so it's very important for me to get that on to cook. I've put my crab in, just waiting for it to cook before I can pick the flesh. It needs 12-13 minutes, so I put the timer on so that I can get on with other elements. Just want to get some toasty colour on these brussels sprouts. I've got brussels sprouts and a number of textures on my dish. I have definitely not used this combination of flavours before, but I'm visualising tasting them all together and I'm excited. Hi. Cracking ingredients. I mean, crab, apple, brussels sprouts - it all goes. Yeah, absolutely. Would your family have seen you cut perfect matchstick apple before like this? (LAUGHS) I don't think they would have put apple, lemon, brussels sprouts and crab together before. No. Yeah. I would love for them to see this. Well done. (ONLOOKERS CHEER FOR ELENA) I'm in my happy place and with happy ingredients and some love from home. Certainly goes a long way. (ONLOOKERS CHEER FOR ELENA) CON: Looking good, Harry. HARRY: Thanks, mate. Well done, buddy. I'm finally back on track. I've got my salmon curing in some pinot noir chardonnay and I'm gonna make a tartare to go with the dish as well. It was definitely a very emotional start to the cook. I never realised how much I actually miss my family. All I have to do is portion up a nice piece of the belly, cut that up into nice small cubes along with some lemon juice and avocado. So, Harry, you've sorted out your salmon dilemma? Yes. So, I've cured some in the pinot noir chardonnay. Yep. You're already getting some colour there. Yeah. Solution. Thanks, Matt. Thank you, Harry. While that's in the fridge, I'm gonna start on my dumplings. CON: How are you going with, like, 15 minutes to go? You're looking... Yeah, I think I'll be OK. Once I've got a nice, thin sheet of pasta, I just cut out some rings. I have to be really, really careful. The pasta dough is quite thin. How much time do you need for your dumplings? Only about two, three minutes. Cool. To make the sweet pea filling, all I have to do is get the peas out of the pod, put them in the microwave with some butter, take a fork to them with some cream, and then they should be nice and soft to make the perfect filling. You're looking good, Harry. Thanks, mate. I've been working out, you know. (LAUGHS) I can tell. GEORGE: It's pretty simple. You're cooking for a place in the semifinal of MasterChef 2016. 10 minutes to go! 10 minutes! (CHEERING) Good job, Ellie! WOMAN: Oh, look at that crab! Go, Ellie! MAN: Go, Elena! MAN: Come on, Matty. Good, Matty. Mmm. Yeah, I'm happy with that. Alright. How is this dish gonna look? Less than 10 minutes to go and I'm in a really good position. My strawberry jelly is set. Is it smooth? Yep. Perfect. And now I can pour the panna cotta over the top of the jelly so that when you pop this mould out, it's gonna have diced little strawberry pieces, some jelly and the panna cotta that's gonna sit underneath. The hero of my dish is looking great. I'm really happy with it. Oh, how's my freekeh? It's time to check on the freekeh and it's been cooking for quite a while. Let's see how this worked. I need something to give crunch and texture to this dish. So I hope that it's worked. What is it that she's...? She microwaved some freekeh. Hmm. It's still crunchy. It's so hard. It's not what I thought it was going to be. I'm running out of time. It's less than 10 minutes to go. I start fretting. I don't know what to do. I really need a crunch element for this dish. There's a spot in the semifinals on the line. I need to think quick. Um... . Hmm. It's still crunchy. It's less than 10 minutes to go and the crunch element of my dish isn't working. My freekeh didn't work out, so I've scrapped that idea. Whoa, whoa, whoa. I've just got to get myself together and start thinking of something I can put on the plate. Um... Come on, Elise! I need something else to give crunch and texture to this dish, so I decided to do a thyme crumb. THERESA: Clever girl. Clever. I love thyme in biscuits and everything, so it's just gonna lift that thyme flavour that I have in the panna cotta and just tie it all together. Alright, got my crumb, got my panna cotta, got my jelly. I want to show different technique today to get me that position in the semifinals. Whisk, whisk, whisk, whisk. What are you making, Elise? A tuile. Looking really good, Elise. I'm gonna make a black pepper tuile... Sugar. ..and a black pepper praline. Lovely. JIMMY: Beautiful colour. I want to do everything I possibly can to get to number one. Oh, it smells so good. Smells so good. Come on, Matty! Looking good, Matty! This stock's nearly ready to come off. I don't want to overdo that. Now I've got to look into these noodles. Getting towards the end of the cook and I need to get cracking on these daikon noodles. THERESA: Wow. Looks good, Matt. I begin by peeling the daikon whole and then using one of the vegetable shredders to take off some really long, thin strands. Interesting technique, but, I mean, it looks like noodles to me. They look so good. Matty, they look good, man. I've never done it before, I don't know how it's gonna play out, but it's something a little bit different, a little bit interesting and if it pays off, then I'm through to the semifinal. Everything's on the line now. Um... And to come down to a dish with ingredients from home, it's just... It's a big day in the kitchen. All your dreams, all your hopes on the plate! Five minutes to go! (CHEERING) With five minutes to go, it's time to crack into those claws. CON: How are you going, Elena? I'm just removing the meat from the shell but I just don't want to destroy it if I can, because it's so pretty. I want to make sure that this dish looks as beautiful as it possibly can, so I want to try and preserve that beautiful claw flesh for my plating. Oh, that crab looks bloody good. Ohhh! It just looks delicious and so sweet and so succulent and the judges are gonna be lucky if they get any if I don't eat it first. (LAUGHS) GARY: The pressure is well and truly on! Three minutes to go! (CHEERING) Let's go, Harry! Come on! Let's go, Harry! So, my dumplings are all wrapped and they're looking pretty nice. So all I have to do is cook them for about two minutes. How are you cooking your pasta, mate? Just in this boiling water here, mate. OK. So I've got all my other elements ready to go. I wanted to use as many elements out of the mystery box that I could, so I've made an avocado mousse and a lemon curd to really elevate the dish. I'm just gonna pipe it on around the plate, make it look pretty. What's that, Harry? Granita. Sweet. I made it from the pinot noir chardonnay, which is my mum's favourite bubbly. I'll put it on at the last minute next to the salmon. Wow. Harry, that looks great, mate! Thanks, mate. Tuile. Final touches! One minute to go! (CHEERING) Elise, that looks great! I get my panna cotta out of the mould and it looks stunning. Push it! I did have a problem with the gelatine. The gold - I haven't used it before. But I'm pretty sure that I've done well. It's set and it's wobbling on the plate. You know, everything relies on this. If I can get into the semifinals, it'd just mean absolutely everything to me. Come on, Elise! Come on, Elise! Make it look amazing! Oh, yes! Oh, Elise! Oh! Good job, Elise! Go, Matty! I want to make sure that I present this dish as elegantly as possible. I get a generous portion of the daikon noodles on the base. I have the dumplings scattered around it, the crispy-skinned snapper over the top, dress it with chilli and some of the Vietnamese mint, and then I can pour the broth to the side. 30 seconds! (CHEERING) Come on, Ellie! ELENA: I'm just so pleased with the plate that I'm putting forward and I would love to serve it to my family, and I think they would be surprised with what I'm serving them, which is just as thrilling. 10 seconds! ALL: Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! That's it! Stop cooking! Wahey! Well done, Matty. You happy? Yeah. Did good? Yep. Yep. You alright? How'd you go, love? Did you harness it? It was good. It was a good cook. Time's up and I'm looking down on my dish. After such a scattered start, I've managed to pull off a dish that I'm really proud of. But I didn't properly conceptualise the dish. There's a hot element, there's a dumpling, and also a cold element on the plate. So...I don't know, as long as it tastes good. It looks nice, but it all comes down to the taste at the end of the day. Wow. An emotional start. And it may have been an exhausting cook, but from our point of view, an absolute pleasure to watch. Let's get this tasting under way. First up... ..Elise, up you come. (CHEERING) Whoa. It looks fantastic. What is it? It's a thyme and vanilla panna cotta with strawberry jelly, a black pepper tuile and caramel. Looks great. I love the fact that we can see specks of black pepper. I love the fact that you can see the thyme in the crumb and you pushed the crumb to a good place. Yeah. I think it's great, and I like the fact you've called it 'vanilla and thyme and strawberry', because I think when we're gonna taste it, they're gonna be the dominant flavours rather than strawberries. (LAUGHTER) (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) (LAUGHS) You know, the pleasure for me in it is there are dishes that you... ..you know, like a chocolate pudding or something, where you dive in and it's all obvious. Yep. Actually, when you dive into that, you're waiting for a second and then you get a pop - a little bit of pepper from that caramel, you get that pop of thyme, and then you get that very subtle vanilla and strawberry. It's so strange to have a dish that doesn't have the fruit as the hero, and what's so clever about what you've done is basically, this is just about vanilla and black pepper and thyme, and I think that is delicious. And the strawberry is almost like the seasoning to that. Obviously, strawberry goes so well with thyme, goes so well with black pepper. I love all of that. But the one thing I question is how much gelatine there is in that panna cotta, and this one is quite firmly bound. OK. But that is the only thing in what is a really spectacular dish. Yeah, and that's the only bit for me that I've got a question mark on. Gelatine. Yep. I know you love it and I love it too, yeah? But it's that point where... Yeah. ..as Matt says, it's just holding together. Yep. But flavour? Thank you. Thanks, Elise. Go, Elise! Harry. (CHEERING) What's the dish? It's a sweet pea dumpling with salmon tartare, cured salmon, a pinot noir chardonnay granita. OK. I think it looks pretty. It looks sophisticated. There's certainly a lot of elements in there. Harry, the pasta is just absolutely gossamer-thin. It's a really fresh and clean-looking dish and...all the flavours, bar one, go really well together for me. But the thing that throws the whole dish is that granita of champagne, because it's raw. And there's something about the raw wine flavour and the peas that doesn't sit quite...right... Yeah, I know what you're saying. ..with me. Perfect pasta - I think probably the best we've seen in the whole of the competition. That's a big plus for me. But as it is, that granita's a problem. I know. Thank you very much. (APPLAUSE) The next dish we'd like to try is Matt's. (CHEERING) MATT: I'm actually pretty stoked with the whole daikon noodle idea. It's a beautiful, simple, humble dish. I hope the judges can appreciate my restraint. Well, a dish made with ingredients that Jess picked for you that remind you of your travels around South-East Asia. Let's just pour the broth. Yeah, come on. Alright. They look great. Yeah, really good. Look how well they turn on the fork like that. That's perfect. You know, lots of technique. You've learnt so much, and I love seeing that on the plate. And yeah, the noodles, for me, are a hit. They're fantastic. Those daikon noodles are beautifully cooked. The addition of the little threads of green papaya, pickled, gives some sourness to them, which I think you need. I love the cooking of the fish. My question for you is there's a real sharpness in terms of flavour from the combination of chilli heat and also the heat from the Vietnamese mint, which in itself is a hot mint. GARY: So where, I wonder, does that sit when you're looking at tiny details that may make the difference between getting into the semifinal or having to cook again? All good. Thanks, Matt. Thanks, boys. (APPLAUSE) Good job, Matty! I want those noodles. Yeah, they look alright. Next up, Elena. (CHEERING) What have you cooked, Elena? Crab, cauli, sprouts and apple. What do you think of the presentation, boys? I love it. I love it. I think it looks brilliant. I'm absolutely drawn to these just massive chunks of mud crab, which is, let's be honest, one of the finest crabs on the planet. Mmm. And I just think it looks really fresh and textural. You've taken a lot of trouble getting the meat out of the claw. That's so beautiful, to have both parts of the claw there. And that sauce smells amazing. And that texture - you can just see it in the jug there - that looks beautiful. So, maybe plate it up and we can taste. Can you put some dribbles on just for me on the plate? (LAUGHS) Just kind of over there somewhere. (LAUGHS) Yeah. It's not part of YOUR presentation, but it's just...it's just for me. (BOTH LAUGH) Oooh! (ONLOOKERS LAUGH) Patience, gentlemen! It's torture, isn't it? Yeah. Can you pass it back this way? (LAUGHTER) Oh, come on! Only if you're a good boy and you say nice things. I love sauces. I LOVE sauces. You know, for me, they're almost at the pinnacle of beautiful food, you know? I actually think when you can take ingredients and turn them into this, it's an alchemy, and that, Elena, is an alchemy of just wonderful things. It is so delicious! It just makes me happy. So that... ..amazing. You bastards. (LAUGHS) Couldn't help it. Yeah. You talk, we eat. That's the way it goes. That DOESN'T make me happy! And then to put it with something like those big chunks of crab that are absolutely perfectly cooked, little fine batons of apple, a beautiful puree of cauliflower was just heaven. That is amazing cooking. What would the world be without food? The way it makes our soul feel. What would the world be without you, Elena, in this competition? Thank you. Three words. Crab, apple, genius. (LAUGHS) It was already an emotional start to the day and then they go and be extremely nice, and I can't handle it. It's...it's too much. (LAUGHS) Enjoy it. It's just really special and I'm thrilled to pieces. Four great dishes, four dishes that really showed your development and some wonderful technique from all of you. But one dish blew us away with its creativity, with its flavours, with its textures, with the fact we just couldn't stop eating it. The first person through to the semifinal of MasterChef 2016 is... ..Elena! (CHEERING) Top three, it's, uh... (SIGHS) That's gonna take a while for it to sink in. I'm so happy for Elena. Thank you. She put up an absolutely magic dish. But finishing up this cook and knowing that I've got to head into round two, that's when it all gets real. There's no more safety nets, there's no more second chances. That's it. If you don't perform, it's all over. . So...crunch time! Just one more cook until two of you end up in that semifinal with Elena. For one of you, though, not so good news - you'll be going home at the end of the day. But in this next round, we're giving you every opportunity to shape your destiny in this competition, to take your fate in your own hands. Behind us... ..is a selection of ingredients... ..cooking techniques... ..and utensils. You each choose one. Then each of you must incorporate all three choices in a dish that you're going to cook. (SOFTLY) Wow. If we look at your choices, we're gonna want you to skewer something, you might choose to candy something, set something, juice or liquefy something, use tea, grill something, pound something, and finally, aerate something. MATT: So not only do I have to use whatever I choose in this cook... ..but I have to use Harry and Elise's choice as well. Anything could happen here. Ladies first. Elise. What have you got? Matt, you'll be going first. Harry, second. Elise, third. Get in that order, guys. So, Matt, you pick first. What ingredient, technique or utensil do you want to pick? Uh, the juicer and the blender. OK. So, liquefying. Yep. I chose the juicer and the blender. I think it's something that can go in any direction - sweet, savoury - and a common piece of equipment that we use in the kitchen. Harry, what's your choice? HARRY: First thing that's jumping out at me is the iSi gun. I know there's plenty of different things that you can aerate. You can do meringues, you can do foams. I think that's gonna be a great choice. I'm gonna choose aeration. Right. Elise, you're in the box seat. You can choose any one of those remaining ingredients, items or equipment. ELISE: I need to play to my strengths, and my strengths are dessert, so all I can see is the gelatine. I'm gonna go with gelatine. What a surprise. Elise chooses gelatine. (LAUGHS) So, Matt, Harry and Elise, the dish you have to make has to show us liquification, aeration and also the use of gelatine. You have 60 minutes, an open pantry, and the garden is in play. The best two dishes join Elena in tomorrow's semifinal. The least impressive dish will send their maker home. Remember, the three of you, what is at stake. Put EVERYTHING into this. Your time starts now. Go, guys. (SPECTATORS CHEER) Honey. Juice, juice, juice. Interesting choices, I think. And I kind of think that it plays into the hands of Elise very well, because that gelatine choice narrows your options, don't you think? MATT PRESTON: Elise obviously is the contestant with the dessert skills. This is really her challenge to lose. The boys are both coming to play in her arena. (CHEERING) THERESA: Come on, Elise! BRETT: Come on, Elise! (CHEERING) Go, Matty! Looking at the three techniques that we must use in our cook today... JIMMY: I reckon Matt will do savoury. TRENT: Nah, I reckon sweet. MIMI: I reckon he'll do sweet. You think?! ..it looks like the three of us are gonna be doing dessert. Come on, Matt! Come on, Matt. Come on, Matt! Strangely enough, I'm a little bit excited to make a dessert today. Go, Matt. Go, Matty. Um...so today I'm gonna make a blackberry sorbet with a honey nougat, some tempered chocolate and a little port jelly. That sounds amazing. ZOE: Sounds so good. Today I'm absolutely stretching myself to the limit. This is just not my place in the semifinals I'm fighting for - one more step, I'm in the grand final. That is something I didn't even dare to dream of, and now I'm that close. Alright. Scales. (CHEERING) Come on, Elise. NICOLETTE: Come on, Elise. Push! ELISE: There is so much pressure in this cook. I'm up against the best cooks in this competition. I need to play to my strengths. So I'm gonna do an aerated chocolate parfait. Just fits so perfectly with this challenge. I can aerate the parfait so it's nice, airy and fluffy. With the liquification, I'm gonna juice some oranges to make an orange sorbet, and then setting is going to be my gelatine, which I'm going to do a jelly. I'm doing what I do best. She just said she's making an aerated parfait. I think it's a parfait. She said a chocolate parfait. I know Elise is always wanting to do something with parfaits, but this challenge is for a spot in the semifinal, so not only does your dish have to be great, but you have to push yourself and make sure that you're showing the judges that you've learnt so much. TRENT: Come on, Elise. I'm pushing, I'm pushing. I'm just not sure if she made the right decision. CHARLIE: Hey, Harry - 10 minutes down, bro. Thanks, mate. This morning when I was reading my letter from my mum, that sort of really took me back and made me think about my family. I celebrated my mum in the first cook - now I really wanna celebrate my grandad. He loved gardening, and one of his biggest things was a massive passionfruit vine right out the front of the house, and also a grapefruit tree right at the side of the house. So I figured I could really incorporate these two and sort of be taken back to that childhood experience. Just finished the mixture for, uh...my sorbet. And I've just got to chill that down before I can put it in the ice-cream machine. So today I'm gonna make a passionfruit sorbet, Aperol and grapefruit jelly, and also a coconut espuma. Do what you gotta do, Harry. There's so much to do for this dish. I really, really wanna get as much done as I can in the 60 minutes. Smells good, Harry. Today is my chance at getting into the top three. That's really where I wanna be at the end of the day. Blend, jelly, whisk, aerate. Time, pressure - 45 minutes to go. Come on! GARY: Come on! (CHEERING) MIMI: Go, Matt! CHLOE: Go, Harry! I'm super pushed for time. I'm just gonna move as fast as I can through this kitchen. Take a breath, Harry. ELISE: So much stuff to do. I've got two frozen elements that I need to work on at the same time if I have any chance of them both setting. ANASTASIA: Get those two elements done and make it amazing. So, while the chocolate is melting for the parfait, I move on to the sorbet. HEATHER: Are you making an orange sorbet, Elise? Yep. Oranges work so well with chocolate. It's a perfect combination. THERESA: You got this, Elise. Yep. I now need to juice my oranges, mix that into the sugar syrup, ready to go into the churner. I'm doing what I do best, but I'm up against Matt and Harry. The standard is so high. I'm feeling nervous. My heart is pounding. I'm sweating. Elise. Hi, boys. What's the dish? It's a chocolate parfait with an orange sorbet, and gonna do a Grand Marnier jelly. OK. So you're using the setting agent, gelatine, in your jelly. Your aerating was your parfait. And the juicing? Sorbet. OK. Why are you making a parfait again? Just...the only thing that came into my head at that point in time. They're right. It's the truth. I'm doing another parfait. Yep. And I'm just defaulting to what I know. Alright. Well, let's hope it tastes brilliant. It's going to taste brilliant. Going to blow our socks off. Yep. Great. Come on, Elise! (GROANS) I'm starting to doubt myself. Have I made the right choice? And the panic just sets in. I don't wanna put you off, alright? No. You're right. But it has to be said, right? Yep. No, no, no. I understand, Gary. It isn't the right day to play it safe. Elise! Babe. Keep moving. JIMMY: You're good, Elise. Elise, you're good. . MILES: You've got it, Elise, you've got it. Come on. ELISE: Why did I decide to do an easy dish when the semifinals are up for grabs? I just defaulted to something that I was comfortable with. NICOLETTE: Come on, Elise. I need to get my sorbet on quickly and make this parfait special somehow. This is MasterChef, not AverageChef. (CHUCKLES, SNIFFLES) I decide that I'm going to smoke my parfait. ANASTASIA: That's awesome, Elise. Good idea. That should give it a real kick. Smoked chocolate parfait. MIMI: I love the smoky chocolate parfait. That's cool. JIMMY: That's a lovely, lovely twist. There's so much pressure today. One bad cook and this is all over. There's no more MasterChef. That's a massive possibility. (SNIFFLES) Why am I getting upset?! Because you wanna be here, and that's OK. That's why I can't stop crying. I can't control my emotions, but at least I can control what I'm going to put on the plate. Smile. You love making desserts. Remember that. Yeah, I know. I can do it. I know I can do it. Yep. And I'm loving my decision to go with the smoked parfait. Taste good? Yep. Yes! I hope by putting a spin on my regular parfait... ELENA: Smells good, Elise. ..that this will be enough to get me through. Good job. You're back on track. NICOLETTE: Go - blast chiller. Come on! Alright. You've all decided how you're gonna use your aeration, your liquification and your setting agent. Now let's put 'em all together and make a delicious dish. 30 minutes to go. Whoo! Come on, Harry! (SPECTATORS CHEER) He can move, can't he? This cook has got 10 times the intensity that that first cook did. The least successful dish today is gonna be going home, and that's the end of the competition. This is gonna be it for someone, and no-one is going to give that up easily, so it is an absolute madhouse in here. CON: Let's go, Matty. My sorbet's been cooling down in the blast chiller. I take that out, add it into the churner... Nice colour, Matty. Looking good, Matt. So organised. Now I can move on to the port jellies. I'm thinking of flavours that go really well with blackberries, and to me, port, dark chocolate would be incredible. Nice, Matty. GEORGE: So, Matt... Hello. Dessert? Doing a dessert. Why not? I was a bit worried, to be honest. I thought, "Gee." Trying to think of something that YOU'VE done with jellification. And nothing comes to mind. Have you? Have you used gelatine in the competition so far? Only in a pressure test, I think. Oh, OK. Alright. Great. Nah, I haven't made this before, so...bit of an experiment. (SIGHS) Right. I've got my port jellies in the freezer. Now I need to move on to the tempered chocolate. In the last week of my life, I've tempered the most chocolate ever, being in a pressure test. Tempering chocolate is always very temperamental. So much could go wrong. It's something that you need to be patient with. You can't rush it. (SIGHS) I wanna get into the semifinals more than anything. I guess that's why I'm taking such a big risk right now. Go, Harry. Come on, Harry. Go, Harry. HEATHER: Go, Harry. HARRY: I'm running round the kitchen like an absolute madman. Today's all about speed. I'm not going at this half-heartedly. I'm gonna go all out. Is that his jelly ready? Yeah. Yeah, Harry normally sort of keeps it really simple and only does a couple of elements. Bitten off a lot today. He's trying to go all out to really impress the judges. Come on, Harry. Come on, Harry. Got it, got it, got it. There's only 20 minutes to go. It's gonna come down to whoever can pull it all together and get it on the plate at the end. MILES: Keep it together, mate. So, Harry, you've got a lot going on, yes? Got a lot to do. Got a sorbet, marshmallow, got a jelly, got an espuma. Yep. Do you think that maybe would be just a bit too much with a mere 20 minutes to go? I'm gonna fight for the top three, Matt. So, the whole point is you wanna push yourself? Yeah. To blow the others away? Exactly. Be the best dish? Exactly. I really wanna get myself in the semifinals. CON: Looks good, Harry. I wanna show as many techniques as possible. I've never made sorbet before. There's a first for everything, buddy. (CHUCKLES) And I really wanna prove that I deserve to be here. So I still have to use aeration in something, so I'm gonna make a coconut espuma. A coconut espuma is essentially a coconut foam. This will add a little theatre to the dish. And this foam's gonna sit right on top of the sorbet. CON: Is he doing a coconut...? I want my foam to be airy and not set like a jelly. Gelatine helps it foam up really nicely, but if it goes cold, it could set. So my coconut espuma foam needs to stay nice and warm, so I'm gonna keep it in a nice, warm water bath till it's ready to serve. I hope that this is gonna work out. (SPECTATORS CHEER) It's pretty much all cards on the table right now. Come on, Elise. Come on, Elise. I don't know what is wrong with me. I just keep racing for one item to the pantry. Alright. What am I doing? I'm not myself. I finally get my Grand Marnier jelly finished. MIMI: Another element done. Good job. NICOLETTE: Go, Elise. Come on. But I'm worried about every single element on this dish other that the parfait. Elise, have you got, like, crunch or something? Like honeycomb or something like that? Yep. I'm gonna add a chocolate crumb. I need a crunch element, but again, I'm just defaulting to what I know. Elise, you should, quite frankly, be happy, because... I know, I know. This challenge, you've basically got the boys having to fight on your chosen battleground. Don't let that pressure get to you. Yep. Oh, babe. MIMI: She's so stressed out. You're doing really good. And you know how to bring it together. There is no way I'm gonna throw in the towel. I'm gonna keep going. I'm gonna keep pushing. Come on! I'm not gonna give up. I'm gonna fight to the absolute end. I don't know why I'm getting upset. ZOE: Come on, Elise. Elise, it got you this far - trust yourself. So many things to finish, so little time! 15 minutes to go! Come on, Matty! MIMI: Go, Matt! TRENT: Come on, Elise! Come on, Harry! I do not have time to casually stroll around the kitchen today. Ooh. (CHUCKLES) But I still have to use aeration in something, so I'm gonna make a marshmallow. All I have to do is make an Italian meringue with eggwhites and sugar, incorporate some gelatine and a bit of grapefruit zest. Harry, that smells really beautiful. I really want there to be the perfect balance of flavour in this dish. Looking good, Haz. So I have to make sure there's nice sweetness, acidity, creaminess. It just all has to mix well. You are a mixologist by trade and you know balance, yeah? I balanced the sweetness in the passionfruit sorbet and I'm gonna use the tartness of the grapefruit to my, you know, advantage. Don't forget, you can use texture, too, to distract your mind. So, you've got sweet things, but then you've got crunchy things too. It plays with your head, changes it. Crunchy, question mark. Crunchy question mark! (GROANS) I've been so focused on flavour that I've totally forgotten about the textures. What do I do? Balance of texture is really important for desserts. Looking at the clock... ..I've got less than 15 minutes to add something brand-new to the dish. Um... Why didn't I think of this before? . At the moment, I've got nothing crunchy on my dish. Um... I really need a textural element to balance out this dish to make it perfect. I'm trying to rack my brain for ideas and think of crunchy elements I can add to the dish. So I run to the pantry, I grab a bag of white chocolate in the hope that I might have enough time to temper it. I think Harry's going to try and temper chocolate. In that time? I don't know. Oh, no. I don't have a lot of time to do this in. But I'm going to give it my absolute best. Pinch yourself! It's the quarterfinal! But 10 minutes to go! Come on! (CHEERING) Go, Matt! Come on, Matt. Far out. I would never normally do a dish like this. With 10 minutes to go, and the chocolate is taking a little bit longer to temper than what I expected. Oh, man! But I think I'm ready to pour it and spread it out over the acetate. I'm just hoping and praying that I've nailed it. CHLOE: Matty! Tempering some chocolate. I don't think Matt even knew what tempered chocolate was when he started the competition! It's pretty cool to see how far he's come. (LAUGHS) Looks good, Matt. It looks awesome. (WHISTLING) It's looking spot-on - nice and glossy. Yeah, good work, Matty. Good work, Matty. And I leave it in the fridge to set. Now I need to move on to my last component. To exercise the aeration technique today, I'm going to be making a nougat. So, this is just the base for the nougat. I've just got to bring it all together. I'm pumped. Yeah, I feel confident and I'm just going for it now. Now's the time to bring it all together. Five minutes to go! (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Whoa! Go, Elise. ELISE: I've really got to pull this together, otherwise I won't be serving the judges a dish. Go, Elise! I think my dish needs something to go over top of my parfait. Uh, this is my chocolate glaze. I'm going to put that over the top of my smoked chocolate parfait. Beautiful. My glaze is coming along OK, but I'm so flustered, I can't even remember what I've put in and how much I've put in. I'm just hoping that it's the right ratio. You can do this. Um, uh... Let's face it, all your hopes and your dreams depend on the next three minutes. Let's go. Come on, guys. MATT: Oh, yeah, definitely feeling the time pressure. Come on, Elise! Come on, Harry! Come on, Elise! HARRY: Deciding to temper white chocolate was probably not my best idea. But I really need that crunchy element to the dish. Let's go, Harry! Come on, Harry! I don't have enough time to temper the white chocolate properly, so I've just got the melted chocolate, spreading it over the acetate sheet. I'm going to put it in the blast chiller. Hopefully it's going to set, turn into a nice chip that's going to give me that crunchy textural element to the dish. Let's go, Elise. Come on, Matty. Looks good, Matty. I'm rapidly running out of time and I can't wait any longer. I have to get these port jellies out of the blast chiller. I gently start to pop one out and... ..it's JUST set. Oh, yeah. Go, Matty. I take the chocolate out of the fridge and she's tempered. And I figure why not, all guns blazing? I'm going to head out to the garden. Go, Matt! Come on, Matty! So I manage to find some purple sage flowers and a little bit of thyme. I just think it's a little interesting hit that's just going to bring something to this dish. Two minutes! Come on! Go, Elise! Come on, Elise. This is it. I need to get on to plating. I take my frozen parfait out of the blast chiller, and it's set perfectly. It's absolutely delicious. Come on, Elise. I put the glaze over the top of the parfait and next I need to get my sorbet out of the churner. Come on, Elise! Oh... But it's a little icy. There's nothing I can do now. It's never too late to make it better. One minute to go! HARRY: So, I've taken my sorbet out of the blast freezer. And I'm looking at it and...it's glossy. It's not quite as cold as I need it to be. I want a matte finish to make sure it's nice and frozen. But it's too late. I have to get it onto the plate. Go, Harry! I'm not happy with this plating. I haven't had time to think it through. And my white chocolate chips are still in the blast freezer. So I pull them out. So, I'm peeling it off the acetate sheet... Come on, Harry. ..and it's just soft. There's no way it's going to work. I'm going to leave it off. 30 seconds! Come on! Come on, Elise! Come on! (SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT) Come on, Elise! You can do it! Go, Harry! Come on, guys! Go, go, go. Come on, Matty. 10 seconds! Nine! JUDGES: Eight! Seven! Flowers! Six! Five! Come on! Four! Three! Two! One! That's it! Time's up! Looks beautiful, Matt! (CHUCKLES) MATT: I could not have done anything more. You know, I pushed myself to the limit today. Yeah, it was a whirlwind. I'm happy with my dish. I wish I got a crunchy element on there. And I was really, really worried about this sorbet not being cold enough to put on the plate, and...it's slowly starting to melt. And I've been keeping my coconut foam warm, but I've run out of time to test whether it's set properly. (SNIFFS) I said to myself that I wouldn't cry today, and all I've done is cry! ELENA: It's OK. You're only human. You didn't give up. Yeah, I didn't give up. There's nothing wrong with the dish. It tastes great. But the expectation on myself is quite high, and so should it be at this point in the competition. Just have to wait and see. (SNIFFS) Good luck, Harry, hey? Thanks. I'm going to need it. I'm really, really super nervous. I'm worried about the sorbet not setting properly and the fact that I don't have a crunchy element on the dish. Hi. Alright. Everything is resting on this dish. I just want to make it into the semifinals. You look like you've been through the wringer. It's been a long day, hasn't it? I feel like a shell of myself. (CHUCKLES) You look like it. So, what have you cooked for us? What is it? I've done a passionfruit sorbet, an Aperol and grapefruit jelly and a grapefruit marshmallow. What's in the gun? That's a coconut espuma. OK. What a day. Like, an emotional day. Yeah. But I just sort of sit back and... ..looking at you, Harry, and going, "Well done." Congratulations. Thank you. You've come so far. And we're proud of you, mate. Yeah. Thank you so much. So, we'll taste now. Do you want to put the espuma on, please? Thank you. (FOAM SQUELCHES) GARY: Oooh! . We'll taste now. Do you want to put the espuma on now, please? HARRY: Thank you. My foam should set firmly on top of the sorbet. GARY: Oooh! Thank you so much. Enjoy. Thank you. Well, what do you think of the presentation? Did he intend for that espuma to break down that quickly? I think he wanted it to hold just a little bit more than it has. It's really not a Harry dish, is it? I think he's lost his way a bit on this one. It's not exceptionally well balanced. No. That choice of plate and... Well, you know, I think the plate makes it look very crowded. I mean, the jelly looks wonderful. It looks like a big chunk of ruby grapefruit. So, I think that's smart. That's clever. But let's taste and see. He's warmed that up. If he'd kept it cold, it would have been tighter. It's interesting, 'cause for me, it's not so much a dessert - it's more of a pre-dessert. It's almost a cleanser, you know? It's got some lovely, sharp... clean characteristics. Like, that passionfruit ice-cream is delicious. But it's crying out for some texture and some crunch, some body. And that foam, because it's warm, it just...straightaway. It's really just...it becomes a watery sauce very, very quickly. It's a shame. There's some good things there. You know, the ice-cream's nice. The foam is tasty - it just needs to be cold. What you've got here is this dish that has got so, so much potential but it's a miss on presentation, which affects its flavour. Yeah. And, look, in terms of the flavours, they go really well together. And, you know, there's some tenderness in the jelly and the marshmallow is super light, which is what we wanted to see. Is it a dessert that you write home about? No. And I think at this stage of the competition, that's the sort of thing we're looking for. Shall we get the next dish in? Yeah. Looking at this dish, I'm stoked. This is pretty much exactly what I had in my head and how I pictured it. I've just got to see what the boys think of it. Matt... Yes. ..dessert? (CHUCKLES) Yeah. You get to that point in the competition you can't hide behind a savoury mask any more. It's... You've got to be able to do both. Tell us what the dish is. It's a blackberry sorbet with a dark chocolate and port jelly. Is this dish the dish that's going to put you into the semifinal? I couldn't think... ..of a better dish, you know, to be content with to put up to give me that opportunity. Great answer. Off you go. Thanks, boys. So, what do you reckon on the presentation? Love it. I'm mesmerised. And I just didn't want him to sit here any more, 'cause I want to tuck in! (LAUGHS) 'Cause I'm being a little piglet. Great. Let's go. It looks really fresh. The colour of the sorbet is so bright. And then that real sense of fine, rich chocolate. Beautiful. It's that textural element that we're looking for, isn't it? Yeah. Mmm. Wow. You know, for a minute, I had to sort of remind myself I'm sitting in the MasterChef kitchen and not in some cool restaurant here in Australia enjoying some top chef's dessert. My God! I mean, raspberry and thyme and chocolate and meringue and... It's yum. Yeah. Look, the standouts for me - absolutely, the sorbet is just spot-on. And I love that port wine jelly. I think it's just delicious. Like, it really is. Then of course, you've got all that crunch element, chocolate elements. And those little flecks of thyme that you just... in the first mouthful, I didn't get, second mouthful, it went pop and I went, "Nice." I love it. And you know what's really exciting? It's like when you watch a boxer who's got a big right hand and suddenly he changes halfway through the fight and he starts fighting southpaw. Yeah. He's suddenly got this big left as well. Got some proper skills. And that is proper skills. That's the skills you'd expect from a real MasterChef. Let's get the next dish in. Good luck. Thanks, guys. It has been the hardest cook for me in this competition. I was an absolute emotional wreck. But I look down at my plate and I've got five elements that I've done in one hour. I'm just hoping that it's enough to save me today. Why do you think the pressure got to you? I think when you get so stuck with one idea, I just struggle to think of something else at that particular time. And that's what happened to me today. You're absolutely worthy of making it to the top four. Thank you. And then that dish there will tell us whether or not you'll go any further. It all depends on how it tastes. . It all depends on how it tastes. Thank you. Thanks, Elise. Thank you. What do you reckon? It's a bit clumsy, isn't it? It's a bit clumsy. There could be a bit more refinement on detail. You know, the cutting of the jelly, the quenelle of ice-cream. That glaze, for me, it needed to be shinier. It's a little bit disappointing. Yeah. What I wanted this dish to do is make up for the fact that she went with something she knew. She did a parfait, she did a sorbet, rather than putting herself out there and doing a savoury. For me, the sorbet's a little icy and flat, to be honest. I mean, you know, where's the zest? You know, where's that kind of... ..you know, that essential oil that you should get when you make a delicious citrus sorbet? And the chocolate's too hard and doesn't leave me wanting to go back for more. Yeah, you're right. You know, OK, she's going with plan A. I'll forgive her. Yeah. But when the sorbet's first sugar, then orange in flavour, I've got a problem with that. But the smoked chocolate parfait - wow! Now...clever. It's definitely flavoursome. Yeah. There's that terrible thing about the weight of expectation. Sometimes when you have every opportunity, it's very hard to shine. I thought this was going to be an easy decision. (LAUGHS) I'm now sitting on the edge of the fence. It's a bit of a toss of the coin. Yeah. An emotional day. An exhausting day. But for two of you, you're about to join Elena in the semifinal of MasterChef 2016. It may be the end of the road for one of you, but you should all be very proud of yourselves. We certainly are. It's also always tough for us to say goodbye not only to a brilliant cook, but also to a fabulous person. There is no easy way of saying this. But I'm sorry... ..it's now time to leave the MasterChef kitchen... ..Elise. Yep. HARRY: (WHISPERS) Oh, God. I'm crying again! (CHUCKLES) Never mind. Elise, the sorbet just didn't pop with that fresh orange flavour, and the glaze, unfortunately, was a little bit too thick. Elise, I think you can tell by the reaction from both Matt and from Harry how much...not just they, but also how much we've loved having you in the kitchen. You are just this amazing ray of sunshine. We're convinced that you have an amazingly bright future. What are you going to remember most? Oh, everything about this competition. It's been the best experience of my life. That is utterly delicious. And the crickets are in there as well. So, wow. Hey, congratulations. It's incredible. Thank you. I never thought in a million years that someone like me who just comes from Cairns can come this far. Oh, Elise, putting fennel front and centre paid off big-time. And that could easily be a signature dish of yours in the future. The stuff I've learnt, I'll have with me forever. GARY: Blown us away. GEORGE: Blown us away. (ALL SHRIEK) This MasterChef experience has taught me so much. I'm going to pursue my dream. Well done. Thanks. Well done. I'm going to have my own cake store. It's only the beginning. Yeah. That's it. I can't wait to get out there and actually start doing it. (SOFTLY) Go and join the others. MIMI: I'm so proud of you! Elena, Matt, Harry, congratulations. You are our top three and YOU are in the semifinal! (CHEERING) MATT: Top three! Podium finish. (LAUGHS) I'm speechless. If that doesn't send shivers down your spine, I don't know what will. Now, listen up. I'm going to give you a little bit of a heads-up here. Tomorrow is a service challenge. Each of you is going to be cooking two courses - a main and a dessert for 20 people. Overnight, think, plan and prepare. I don't know what you're waiting for. Out you go. See you! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Let's run! ANNOUNCER: Next time ` one step away from the grand final. Are you ready? Each contestant must create two courses for 20 guests. Absolutely feeling the pressure. Come on, Elena! I'm so nervous. Ooh! This challenge will test them mentally, physically and emotionally... Like nothing I've ever experienced before. Do you want this or not?! I'm dead serious. ..as they cook like their life depends on it. Don't slow down, speed up! But at the end of the day... Oh, my God. Absolutely a restaurant-quality dish. ..only two can make it through. Tough decision, isn't it? The question is, which two will it be? I don't know if I'm going to get it done. Captions by Ericsson Access Services Able 2017