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It’s episode 12 of MasterChef Australia and after last night’s Mystery Box, Theo, Declan and Larissa are heading into the biggest Pressure Test the kitchen has ever seen!

Tonight, the three cooks have been tasked with recreating Eddie Stewart’s Tokyo Lamington Tower and it was not only the tallest bake ever, but there were FIVE hours on the clock! The most time the MC kitchen has ever seen!

Being an elimination, the maker of the dish which least resembles Eddie’s creation would be eliminated from the competition.

The Lamington Tower consisted of the following flavours: Tres Leche, Snickers, Strawberry Matcha, Yuzu Meringue and Charcoal Pumpkin — and the competitors had to create ALL of them, four times over!

“You’ve seen the tower, you’ve tasted the tower and now you have to make the tower!” Judge Andy told them.

The Cook

There were 26 elements to get through and eleven pages in the recipe; and with five hours on the clock, it was time to motor!

“Jeezus, what am I doing?” Declan asked himself.

The contestants began baking the sponge, the “biggest” element of the cook. Straight off the bat, Theo makes a mistake, forgetting to sift the flour.

Meanwhile, Larissa and Declan had put their sponges in the oven, and it was time for Declan to create the “Tres Lecky” filling.

35 minutes down and Theo’s sponge was finally in the oven.

While Declan’s “nan” told him to never touch sugar while caramelising, Larissa stirred hers, causing it to crystalise and had to start again. But, disaster struck once more when her sugar crystalised and she had to start over.

Theo was also struggling to make up time but managed to complete his custard while Declan was surging forward. The third time lucky, Larissa finally perfected her sugar; however, it started clumping once she poured it into the cream.

Eddie then told her that she had to pour the cream into sugar and so, for the fourth time, she had to start again.

“Do I want to toast my nuts a bit more?” Declan asked while moving onto his Snicker’s mousse and then subsequently onto his Strawberry mousse.

Theo — who had picked up the pace — had now “somehow” caught up to Declan, while Larissa finally perfected her caramel! But because she was so far behind, Larissa had to do multiple things at once as Declan turned over a delectable sponge.

Larissa then cut her cake before Declan made a “detrimental” mistake, cutting his sponge the wrong way.

Eddie and Judge Jock told him to put it together like a jigsaw puzzle while Theo began to feel “weirdly energised” and was ready to fill his Lamingtons.

With four hours down, Declan was ready to make his “Tres Lecky” and add the “Dul-che de Loo-chy” (Gosh, we just love him!) and Larissa couldn’t remember how many nuts to use on top of her Snickers component.

While her meringue was praised by Judge Mel, once again, Larissa became flustered, forgetting to torch the bottom, so rushed to complete the step.

“Feeling super spent and super emotional,” Larissa said through tears when it was finally all over.

The Judging

Theo was up first, and said he thought he “went pretty well.”

“Colours look good, size is pretty consistent,” Eddie said while the Judges concurred his sponges and layers were “great”.

“I couldn’t fault much, to be honest,” Eddie remarked and Mel said that he’d “done a superlative job”.

Declan was up next but was still concerned about the measurements of his Lamingtons.

The Judges commented on the size, with Andy saying the sponge “was very good but not as good as Theo’s.”

“All in all, I think he’s done a great job,” he added, before nitpicking the double coating of the Snickers.

Eddie said you can tell he was “meticulous” and had a perfect Italian Meringue and Jock said it “wasn’t far away” from Eddie’s.

Finally, Larissa was up. She knew she had the “biggest advantage in the MasterChef kitchen” and was concerned she had blown her second chance.

Jock called her Tower “a bit rough and ready”, while Mel said she had trouble with the coating and Eddie called them “big lamingtons”.

“Big challenge, big pressure test, big problems,” Jock said. “Structure? They feel pretty clumsy. It’s a shame.”

“There’s big problems on this,” Andy added.

The Verdict

Andy praised Theo’s sponge, telling him he had beat the pressure test. Declan was told that his Lamingtons were perfect and flavour-wise? Fantastic.

Once again, Larissa was sent home and this time, for real.

MasterChef Australia continues at 7.30 pm on Wednesday, May 24 on 10 and 10Play.

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It’s episode 11 of MasterChef Australia and Big Week lives up to its name as the contents of the biggest-ever Mystery Box are revealed!

Contestants must think outside the box and up the flavour to avoid tomorrow’s Pressure Test.

Inside the large wooden crate was their pantry for the day and everything was supersized including Yellow Fin Tuna, barrels of wine, a planter box full of mint, cassia (similar but stronger than cinnamon), some huge pumpkins, a “regular Jock size” Toblerone, parmesan, a leg of prosciutto and bags of peanuts.

With 75 minutes on the clock, it was time to cook one delicious plate of food!

The Cook

As the cook began, we checked in with what the contestants were making.

Rhiannon decided on pumpkin, prosciutto and parmesan to create a mouth-watering Gozleme while Rue chose peanuts and Toblerone, to make a Snickers-inspired Tart with peanut butter ice cream.

Brent also went the sweet route, creating a Salted Caramel Ice Cream with peanuts and Cath, a caramelised Cassia Ice cream Sandwich.

Declan was originally going to do sweet out of the “behemoth of a mystery box”, but the Yellow Fin Tuna was calling his name and he decided on Peanut-crusted Seared Tuna Loin with Pumpkin Puree.

Antonio also chose to create an Ice Cream Sandwich — however, we later learned, it had a delish molten core!

“There’s something about today, I think it’s going to be a good day,” he said.

Ralph picked cassia and orange to make a South African Dessert Milk Tart, while Theo grabbed cassia, rhubarb and oranges to make a Puff Pastry with Rhubarb and Cream a.k.a Milfoil.

“Should get three folds…to create super nice buttery layers,” he said.

Larissa, who won a second chance to come back to the kitchen during last night’s elimination, decided to make her “first pasta dish in the kitchen” — Doppio Ravioli with Roasted Pumpkin and Burnt Butter sauce.

“I’ve never made it before”, she said. Great time to start!

“Focus on the sauce, make it blow our minds,” Judge Andy told her, and Larissa stressed about what she could do instead.

Phil also went sweet, making Ice cream with an Orange Tuile and a Chocolate Biscuit base, inspired by Terry’s Chocolate Orange from his childhood.

Then disaster struck.

Theo had overworked his pastry but with half an hour to go, just had to “go with it” before Declan was told by Judge Mel that she was worried about the textures of his dish.

“I just have to back myself and keep going,” he said.

Rhiannon said her Gozleme was “me on a plate” and decided to bulk them up with lots of filling.

Theo took his pastry out of the oven and said they looked “sub-par”, disappointed by his effort, while Larissa still hadn’t decided on her sauce. Instead, she decided to do the Doppio pasted against her “better judgement”. She then decided to make a Burnt Butter Whey Parmigiano sauce to accompany it.

Even though his tarts were “epic” (according to Andy), Ralph’s tarts cracked during plating, so he had to pivot to create a deconstructed version.

The judging

It was judging time and time to impress the judges. The bottom three would be heading to tomorrow’s Pressure Test!

Phil presented his Toblerone Ice Cream Sandwich with Orange Sugar Tuile.

“Nicely done,” Mel said while also saying it was the “best thing” he’d cooked, yet!

“Great texture and good flavour,” Jock said. “Triumph!”

Cath, Rue and Brent all served their dishes with high praise, while Rhiannon’s Gozleme had a “good amount of filling”.

Then it was time for Larissa’s dish and unlike Rhiannon, her dish was lacking in filling.

“Good work on the pasta,” Jock said before calling the Doppio “poor” with Andy saying the sauce “didn’t quite get there”.

Declan was next up with his Peanut Crusted Tuna.

“Declan, it eats exactly how it sounds,” Jock said, “But all you can taste is peanuts. It’s an odd combo.” Mel then said it wasn’t “cohesive”.

Antonio presented his Toblerone and Ice Cream sandwich.

“Great,” Jock said. “Nutty, delicious” before Andy called the biscuit “perfect”.

Amy, Melissa and Adi all presented their dishes with the judges calling Adi’s a “good weeknight meal”, before it was Theo’s turn.

“You can tell you’re not overly stoked,” Andy said before Theo said he “overworked it”.

“Unlucky today, mate,” Jock said of his Milfoil with Rhubarb and Chantilly Cream.

Ralph then delivered his “deconstructed” South African Milk Tart.

While it didn’t present well, Jock clapped him and said “It was so good. When it’s that good…your custard is epic!”

“There’s nothing about that I don’t like,” he said before Mel called it “sublime”.

The Verdict

Antonio, Phil and Ralph had the best dishes of the day while Theo, Declan and Larissa were going into the “biggest pressure test we’ve ever set in this competition”.

MasterChef continues on Tuesday, May 23 at 7.30 pm.

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It’s MasterChef Australia 2023 episode 10 and MC royalty Julie Goodwin has returned.

Survival is on the menu and everyone except Theo is in a black apron, cooking for their place in the kitchen.

Once the shock had worn off that Julie was standing in front of them, the first-ever winner of the series presented a seafood stew. And the round one challenge? One by one, the contestants had to use their sense of taste to tell the judges what ingredients were in the stew.

Round One – The taste test

Choosing their order out of a bag, Rue got the first position while Grace picked the unlucky number 15.

After tasting the stew, one by one, the home cooks chose ingredients they could taste. Alice had to tell the difference between what kind of tomatoes were in the dish before Declan was the first contestant put into the Elimination Round with his guess of barramundi.

As black pepper, garlic and carrots were all mentioned, Antonio took a guess of Pancetta. He was the second person put into the cook.

Rue then guessed tomato paste, Robbie Tabasco Sauce and Jessica Tarragon which were all not ingredients in the stew and they were put into the final round.

Round Two — Elimination cook

Those who picked the wrong ingredient were now tasked with cooking to avoid elimination by using only the items in Julie’s recipe.

Judge Mel Leong then revealed the “biggest twist” yet. Larissa was back with her second-chance grey apron, ready to fight for a place back in the competition!

With 75 minutes on the clock, Declan began prepping a Seafood Soup. Jessica decided to stick to her strengths, cooking pasta that was “in my comfort zone”. She decided on Spaghetti al Pomodoro, the Calabrian way, with no eggs.

Robbie chose to make a bush-inspired Seafood Stew while Antonio began to prep his Fish Empanadas. Larissa set herself Russian Chicken Dumplings in a Broth and finally, Rue told Mel and Julie she was cooking Mussels.

Jessica’s spaghetti was thinner than she makes at home, accidentally using normal bread flour to create her dish. Judges Jock Zonfrillo and Andy Allen were concerned for her, with Jock calling it “risky”.

Round Two – Elimination

With the cook complete, it was time for the judges to taste.

Robbie was first up with his Seafood with Tomato Soup.

“Looks good, smells good,” Jock said while Julie said it had a “deep flavour”. Mel said Robbie had “respected the produce”.

Next up was Antonio with his Snapper Empanadas. He became emotional when talking about his food, saying that he had promised his Grandma, who taught him to cook and who passed away, that he would go on the show.

Mel said that they really needed to be “sealed” like a proper Empanada before Andy said it was “a decent effort without setting the world on fire”.

Rue then delivered her Mussels in White Wine and Tomato Sauce.

Julie thought the sauce was “absolutely beautiful” and Mel called the Mussels “succulent” while Andy said they were “perfect”.

Declan, who was proud to not spill anything, presented a Prawn and Snapper Soup with Flatbread.

Even though his “crisp bread” left something to be desired, Andy said he did a “good job of getting that amount of flavour” in the soup.

Jessica then shared her Spaghetti al Pomodoro.

Jock called the Pomodoro sauce “next level tasty”; however, the texture of the pasta was “a little bit off”.

Larissa was the final cook to share her dish. She served up her Russian Dumplings — Pelmeni and Broth.

Julie called them “yummy”, Andy said they were a “really tasty homestyle dish” and Mel said it was “exactly what she promised us”.

Dish of the Day and Elimination

While Robbie won Dish of the Day and Larissa was welcomed back into the kitchen, Jessica’s bread flour spaghetti sent her home…for real, this time.

“This has been the best experience of my life,” she said.

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It’s episode nine of MasterChef Australia 2023 and an Immunity Pin is up for grabs!

Declan, Jessica, Robbie, Adi, Ralph and Theo were all in the winning team during Wednesday night’s first team Service Challenge, meaning they had the chance to cook it out to be safe from Sunday’s elimination, alongside Melissa.

Upon entering the kitchen, they were greeted by judges Jock Zonfrillo, Andy Allen and Mel Leong as well as chef Shannon Bennett and the “humble roast chook”.

To win Immunity, they were going to need to “beat the chef” as well as turn the “versatile” roast chicken into a delicious dish, with the challenge set by Andy.

“Take my humble roast chicken and turn it into something out of this world,” he said.

The contestants had a total of 45 minutes to bring the judges “an absolute banger” and with that, the countdown began.

The Cook

Theo said that the “challenge played into his strengths” given that he and his mates eat a whole roast chook each on a Sunday…

Adi referred to the roast chook as the “Bachelorette’s handbag — you can pick up the chook after a busy day at work,” she said, revealing she was turning it into Butter Chicken.

Robbie wanted to make his wife proud while Ralph said he was making a Chicken Pie. Jessica admitted she was making a “death dish” and Melissa, a simple Chicken Sandwich with Chips.

“I’m hoping I can pull off each one perfectly,” she said.

Declan decided on “festive food” with a Mexican inspired “que-sa-dill-o” i.e. a Chicken Quesadilla with “tor-till-a”.

“I’m lucky they don’t judge my pronunciations otherwise it might be a bit of hasta la vista…bebe!” LOVE HIM.

Adi struggled with the flavours of her Butter Chicken and had to smoke her dish to get the nutty flavour while Theo felt he was in “a good spot” and Declan used a tortilla press for the first time, getting the perfect round dough.

With five minutes to go, Theo’s oven wasn’t at the right temperature so he switched to using a pan and Adi forgot about her Jeera which she called “a crappy-looking bowl of rice”.

The judging

Theo presented his Chicken Lahmacun but said he was worried about the bread.

Jock called it “amazing” and a “deluxe sandwich”, Mel said she “loved it” and Shannon said he’s “got the passion and the talent”.

Declan then presented his Spicy Mexican Chicken Quesadilla.

Mel said that he did “very, very good work”, Shannon said he “loved it” and that there were “smarts in it”.

Robbie then presented his Malaysian Warm Salad.

Andy said the “idea was epic” and the “dressing was cracking”, calling it a “really solid place of food”. Mel said it “transported” her to being “on country” with him.

Melissa was up next with her Chicken Sandwich with Chips, Shannon said she had “knocked it out of the park”.

Ralph presented his Chicken Pie, which Andy called a “wrong decision”.

Jessica then delivered her “death dish”, a Chicken and Mushroom Risotto.

“You are a super talented cook, but what you can’t do is bend time in this kitchen,” Mel told her, while Andy said the bones needed to be roasted.

Adi was last with her Butter Chicken with Jeera Rice, apologising for how it looked.

Shannon said she had “great flavour depth in the sauce” while Jock said, “undercooked rice aside, that’s delicious”.

Theo was victorious and was now tasked with beating Three Blue Ducks’ chef Darren Robertson.

“Are you ready?” Jock asked him, to which he replied: “Nup.” Lol

Beat the Chef round

“Not let the pressure get to him and cook from the heart, mate,” Darren told Theo.

Theo had the choice of three pantries and was also given the opportunity to choose which one Darren was going to use.

The first choice was a 90-minute cook with only five ingredients and the second 60 minutes with ten ingredients. The third pantry was 30 minutes and 20 ingredients.

Given it was a blind tasting, the judges left the room before Theo chose the second option. For Darren, he gave him the third option.

“I would have done the same,” Darren told him.

Beat the Chef round — Cook

Theo decided to create an Apple Tart, playing to his strengths and Darren chose to cook Barramundi, whole roasted with Mango Chilli Vinegar and Flatbreads.

Theo became stressed with three components to complete and Shannon told him to keep his “composure.”

“This is your bread and butter,” he said.

Beat the Chef round — Judging

First up was Theo’s Apple Tart. Mel said that there was “a lot of intelligence” went into the bake while Andy said the stewed apple was the “stand-out” and Jock “really enjoyed” the crunch and flavour of the tart case, but the tart shell was too thick.

Up next was Darren’s Whole Barramundi with Pickled Cabbage, Flatbread and Mango Chilli Vinegar.

Andy said the dish absolutely had to be Darren’s, but the judges were confused about the flatbreads and whether or not Theo cooked them.

When Jock cut into the fish, there was a question of whether the fish was cooked through. After an ad break, it was revealed it was “very close”.

Mel called it “delicious” and that “the devil was in the details” and Andy said: “This does have Darren Robertson written all of it”.

“It really is a tasty, tasty dish,” he said.

The scoring and final verdict

Theo – 23/30

• Mel: 8/10
• Andy: 8/10
• Jock: 7/10

Darren — 25/30

• Jock: 8/10
• Andy: 8/10
• Mel: 9/10

Theo did not walk away with an Immunity Pin.

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It’s MasterChef Australia 2023 episode eight and it was the first team Service Challenge of the season.

Tonight, judges Jock Zonfrillo, Melissa “Mel” Leong, and Andy Allen welcomed back past contestants Sashi Cheliah and Matt Sinclair to be team captains.

The MC kitchen was turned into a restaurant as the cooks were put into two teams.

Declan, Jess, Robbie, Adi, and Theo were in blue captained by Sashi, and in green, Cath, Rhiannon, Phil, Alice, Grace, and Antonio, captained by Matt.

Brent, Rue, and Andrea were sitting this one out for “a rest” while Melissa was up in the gantry with Immunity.

Mel announced that there were three ingredients per entree and main, each group had to feature.

The contestants also had 2.5 hours plus 30 guests to feed as well as the judges.

After the Green Team chose eggplant for the entree and pork belly for the main, they struggled to choose what to cook with Cath taking control of the team.

The Blue Team chose cucumber for the entree and coral trout. They also chose to serve prawns.

The Cook

Cath was tasked with the pork belly and had to work out how much they needed for service.

“I’m not a finance person, this is not my brain,” she said.

“This is a good hour and hour and a half process,” Matt said, saying there was no room to make a mistake.

With 90 minutes until service, the pork was finally in.

Over on the Blue Team, Declan was in charge of the fish while Robbie was in charge of the curry. At home, he cooks over a campfire, so cooking in a restaurant was a daunting experience.

Alice, Antonio, and Grace worked on the eggplant while Jess called for help with shelling prawns for the Cucumber and Prawn Deconstructed Raita and Adi struggled to pickle the cucumber because she was unsure of the ratio between water and vinegar.

Once again, numbers were an obstacle as Declan counted how many coral trout to use, while Ralph “massacred” the fish while trying to fillet it.

“I’m nervous I’m going to cost us this challenge,” he said.

Sashi effortlessly showed Ralph what to do before the judges talked to Matt and Sashi about what their teams were cooking.

Then, “FINALLY” the prawns were completed and ready to be marinated and the first cook of the pork belly was finished before being strained and cooked again to become crispy.

Over on the Green Team, there was still a lot to do but the granita and the raita on the Blue team were prepped and ready to go.

Adi’s pickled cucumber was too salty with everyone pulling a face and she was concerned there wasn’t any time to fix it.

With 20 minutes until service, the diners arrived.

The Blue Team were still struggling with their pickled cucumber and had to remake it, stressed about time.

Then it was time to plate.

Service

Entree from the Blue Team: Prawns with Cucumber Raita.

The judges loved it. The prawns were cooked “perfectly” and everything was “light and fresh” and consistently plated.

While the Blue Team were serving their entree and getting their plates out quickly, the Green Team was behind.

The Green Team entree: Miso Glazed Eggplant

The judges said that it was “beautifully cooked” and it was “even Stevens” at this point.

The Blue Team main: Fish Curry with Cumin Rice

“The fish is cooked unbelievably,” Andy said while Mel added: “It’s outrageous!”

Jock said that the cook of this fish really “surprised” him.

“Oh my god, what a good competent plate of food,” he said.

The Green Team main: Braised Pork Belly

Being a main, the judges were shocked that there was only a small amount of pork on each plate.

Mel called it “rustic in appearance” and “inconsistent” in portioning; however, there were a lot of great flavours.

The Decision

“Every single piece of fish was cooked to perfection and that’s why blue team, you’ve won the challenge!” Jock said.

The Blue Team will now be cooking — alongside contestant Melissa — for immunity.

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It was the first elimination on MasterChef Australia 2023 and we welcomed past winner and dessert queen Emilia Jackson back to the kitchen.

Emilia was tasked with bringing her “secret to success” which happened to be her infamous eclair, made with her signature choux pastry.

“The only choux I’ve heard in the past are the ones you wear on your feet,” Declan said.

With eight contestants in the first round and 75 minutes to complete it, the clock was set and off they went.

But even though they had the recipe, all of the contestants struggled to make their choux pastry in time; however, it was Rhiannon who struggled the most.

Elimination round one — judging

After a stressful bake, Declan was up first. He created a Profiterole filled with a vanilla almond cream and butterscotch sauce with toasted almonds.

Even though the judges were expecting a banoffee pie, Jock said that “considering it was his first time” he had done a “brilliant job”.

Larissa was up next with the only savoury dish of the round — Fried Chicken Chipotle Choux Buns. Unfortunately, the sauce let her down because it was too sweet.

Theo then presented his Lemon Meringue Eclair with Jock saying he “loved everything” about the curd, while Antonio presented a Hazelnut Paris-Brest (a classic French pastry) and Jessica, a Peanut Butter and Jam choux, which Jock called “perfect”.

Then it was time for Kat.

Kat delivered a Lemon Marscapone Choux Bun, and after saying that she had practised at home and had had “a few fails”, this time was a different story.

Andy called them “perfection” and she was sent straight to the gantry, avoiding elimination.

Alice then presented an Oolong Tea Choux, while Melissa loved the concept, the matcha and the oolong were too strong and Jock said they were “fighting each other”.

Finally, Rhiannon shared her Mango Curd and Lime Meringue Choux Buns. Unfortunately, her curd was curdled and the choux underbaked.

Elimination round two

Unsuccessful in the first round, Rhiannon, Larissa and Alice were sent to the next one.

For the second round, they had the chance to make the choux again; however, if they made savoury in round one, they had to make sweet this time and vice versa.

Alice decided on something simple, but was worried she was overthinking it while Larissa struggled with baking something sweet.

Elimination round two — judging

Rhiannon was first in the elimination room. She presented a Mexican Prawn Choux with an Avocado Cream.

“This is me,” she said.

“That’s what happens when you stay true to yourself,” Andy said while tasting her dish, with Jock saying he “loved it”.

Next up was Alice. Her dish was a Bacon and Egg Choux with scrambled eggs, caramelised onions and bacon.

“It’s more of an onion jam choux,” Andy said, while calling it “the best choux of the day”. Jock said he “quite liked it” and the onion was the “star of the show”. Emilia said it “surprised her”.

Finally, Larissa presented the judges with a Lemon Meringue Curd Choux Pastry.

“It’s been a day,” she said.

The judges agreed there wasn’t enough curd in the pastries and Melissa said it “just all feels… fine?!”.

Who was sent home?

Unfortunately, having a “fine” dish on elimination day meant that Larissa was the first to be eliminated; however, she was lucky enough to have the second chance apron!

“Everybody thinks I’m going home, but I’m not!” she said. “I have to keep it a secret for now, but I’ll be back in the next elimination to fight my way back in.”

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