Thu, Apr 22, 2010
With 10 spots in the Top 24 on the line, the remaining contestants competed in a mise en place challenge. The challenge had 4 stages, with the worst performers in each stage removed by Gary and George. The first stage involved separating egg yolks and whites. The second asked the contestants to julienne carrots. In the third, the first 10 contestants to shuck 12 oysters satisfactorily moved onto the final stage, wherein Marion, Adele, Courtney and Daniel successfully cut 6 fillets of salmon weighing between 170g and 190g first, gaining their places in the Top 24. Following the mise en place challenge, the remaining contestants had to follow a recipe from Matt Moran, with poor performers gradually eliminated in stages. 10 contestants had their dishes tasted, with Jonathan, Peter, Aaron, Adam, Kate B. and Philip impressing the judges the most, winning their spots in the Top 24.
Sun, Apr 25, 2010
The remaining contestants participated in 2 challenges to attempt to qualify for the last spots in the top 24. The first challenge was a Mystery Box challenge which, for the first time in MasterChef Australia, was focused solely on desserts. The best desserts which were made by Callum, Matthew, Fiona and Joanne, granted the latter spots in the top 24. The remaining contestants competed in a Pressure Test led by celebrity chef Neil Perry. The 9 contestants who best replicated Perry's snapper dish took the last spots in the top 24. (9 spots were available since Kate B. chose to withdraw from the competition to be with her family.) In the end, Alvin, Sharnee, Dominic, Carrie, Kate N., Skye, Devon, Sarah, and Jake completed the Top 24.
Wed, Apr 28, 2010
Winner: Red Team. The off site team challenge, to take over the running of two Italian restaurants, saw the Red Team conquer despite having a simpler menu. From the Blue Team, Jonathan and Devon were selected by the judges as the two worst performers and were up for elimination. Sarah withdrew from the competition to return to her family.
Sun, May 2, 2010
Japanese theme. The Mystery Box challenge saw the contestants making the "perfect burger", with only five selected to taste by the judges. Marion won the challenge and picked tuna as the core ingredient for the Invention Test. With a Japanese theme, Adam was favourite to win the challenge but it was Callum who triumphed.
Mon, May 3, 2010
Carrie, Kate and Fiona faced off in the Pressure Test after cooking the three least impressive dishes in the Invention Test. They were asked to replicate a chicken dish from chef Peter Gilmore. Fiona had a slow start but she finished strongly and cooked the chicken perfectly but her dish lacked detail. Despite a strong start, Kate failed to read her recipe thoroughly, she wrapped up her chicken too much that it didn't cook properly and she ended up serving the judges raw chicken although her vegetables were perfectly cooked. Carrie struggled through the whole challenge, she cooked the chicken perfectly but all the flavour leaked out in the water bath because she left a hole in her chicken's skin and her vegetables were undercooked. In the end Kate was eliminated.
Wed, May 5, 2010
Winner: Blue Team. In an unprecedented twist, Callum as winner of the weeks Invention Test was granted the power to pick his entire team first. He selected Adam, Claire, Jimmy, Marion, Peter, Joanne, Matthew, Skye, Fiona, and Daniel to join him, leaving Courtney, Alvin, Aaron, Sharnee, Jake, Adele, Jonathan, Carrie, and Phillip to form the red team. The off site challenge was to put on a children's birthday party for 150 people, who would vote for their favourite dish. The Blue Team proved to have too great an advantage and won easily. From the Red Team, Jonathan and Adele were the lowest point scorers and were up for elimination.
Thu, May 6, 2010
As the Blue Team enjoyed their reward at Sails on Lavender Bay with Nathan Darling, Jonathan and Adele faced off in a "fix the dish" challenge. They had to fix a poorly made dish (a bolognese sauce) in ten steps, each step adding their choice of a range of ingredients. In the end, Adele's bolognese couldn't match the complexity of Jonathan's. Adele was eliminated.
Sun, May 9, 2010
Indian theme. The Mystery Box challenge saw the contestants choosing between a main and a dessert, with Skye's Crispy Duck winning her the challenge and picking goat as key ingredient in the Invention Test. Jimmy was the favourite to win but in the end it was between Courtney and Jonathan with Jonathan being the one whose invention impressed the judges the most. This episode was also Courtney's 30th birthday.
Mon, May 10, 2010
Dominic, Joanne and Matthew faced off in the Pressure Test; to make a black forest cake. Joanne was able to put off a shaky start and finish strongly, leaving the judges to pick the least impressive of the two men. Dominic's cake only had three layers instead of the five in the recipe, while Matthew left a cherry pit in his cake. In the end it was Dominic who was eliminated.
Wed, May 12, 2010
Winner: Blue Team. Teams were chosen with each member selecting a remaining contestant, beginning with the captains, Jonathan (Blue) and Daniel (Red; chosen by Jonathan). The two teams were then tasked with preparing a Classic French three-course meal for Matt Preston, Tetsuya Wakuda and Guillaume Brahimi. Michel Roux mentored the Red Team, Tony Bilson mentored the Blue Team. In the end, the Blue team won, as the Red team's main dish, though well prepared, was not deemed to be of a Classic French Cuisine. The entire Red Team was put up for elimination.
Thu, May 13, 2010
While the Blue Team enjoyed their lunch with Giovanni Pilu, the Red Team faced off in a two-round Elimination challenge. The first challenge was to make a traditional Genovese Pesto completely by hand in ten minutes, from which, only Marion's was of an acceptable quality, with Sharnee, Courtney and Daniel as the worst of the rest. Those three then competed in the second round of the challenge: naming herbs. Courtney incorrectly named mint "spearmint" and was eliminated.
Sun, May 16, 2010
"Around the world" theme. The Mystery Box challenge saw the contestants tackle a complex range of ingredients and a time of just 25 minutes. Peter took out the challenge and was given a significant advantage in the Invention Test, which for the first time would see the contestants competing in trios. Peter was given the power to not only pick the core ingredient for each country's cuisine, but also to pick the members of each team. Team Mexico impressed the most and Aaron, Joanne and Matthew all proceeded to the Celebrity Chef Challenge. While Team Britain (Alvin, Daniel and Fiona) were the least impressive and faced elimination.
Mon, May 17, 2010
Alvin, Daniel and Fiona faced off in the Pressure Test; to recreate a Pork Schnitzel with chips and coleslaw with no recipe to follow. While each contestant cooked the correct meat, Daniel and Fiona were under the impression that they were cooking veal. Aside from that, each dish had its shortcomings: Alvin failed to flatten his meat and it was undercooked, Daniel's meat was overcooked and he used shop-bought mayonnaise in his coleslaw, and Fiona used packaged breadcrumbs instead of fresh. Ultimately, Daniel's dish impressed the least and he was eliminated.
Wed, May 19, 2010
No winner. The two teams were tasked with preparing a three-course meal for a normal family and judges Matt Preston and Curtis Stone, on a tight budget and time limit. In the end, the families rated each team equally and the judges could not agree on a winner, so the challenge was ruled a tie. Therefore, a bottom 2 was selected from each team, with Callum, Carrie, Jonathan and Philip sent into an Elimination Challenge.
Thu, May 20, 2010
As the Blue Team and Red Team enjoyed their lunch at Sailor's Thai, the four contestants were asked to name the ingredients of a traditional Bouillabaisse in a taste test Elimination Challenge. Over half of the ingredients had been correctly named when Philip incorrectly guessed "white wine" and was eliminated.
Fri, May 21, 2010
Gary cooked braised BBQ'd ribs with homemade sauce and George offered up a Waldorf salad. Guest chef Peter Kuravita from Sydney restaurant Flying Fish, showed the contestants two completely different bug dishes- one with an accompanying shaved fennel and edamame salad and a main dish featuring a spicy ginger and chilli sauce.
Sun, May 23, 2010
"Modern Australia" theme. There was no Mystery Box challenge this week, instead the contestants faced a pizza making challenge. Fiona was the victor and picked tropical fruit as the Invention Test's core ingredient. Many struggled with this sweet choice, while Marion's risky recipe paid off and she was declared the winner. Carrie, Jimmy and Peter were the least impressive and they landed in the Bottom 3.
Mon, May 24, 2010
Starting a week of challenges in Melbourne, Carrie, Jimmy and Peter faced off in the Pressure Test. Their task was to recreate a dish by Australian food icon, Stephanie Alexander, a confit duck-neck sausage with grilled duck breast in sour cherry sauce, potato crisps and buttered spinach. Peter, being from Melbourne, was able to source ingredients from Queen Victoria Market quickly and make his way to the Langham Hotel first, followed by Carrie and then Jimmy. In the end, each dish had its problems: Peter's sauce was too floury, Carrie's sauce was too thin, her sausage grainy and she failed to plate up the spinach, and Jimmy's spinach was gritty and his duck breast overcooked. Carrie was eliminated.
Wed, May 26, 2010
Winner: Red Team. The two teams were faced with their toughest challenge yet: to take over the running of George Calombaris' own restaurant The Press Club on its relaunch, serving a variety of Australian food royalty and celebrities. Each team struggled early with the stresses of running a restaurant, but it was the Blue Team who faced the most obstacles. In the end, the guests' scores for each team came down to the wire, with the Red Team emerging victors. The entire Blue Team was sent into the Elimination Challenge.
Sun, May 30, 2010
Pasta theme. After a trying Mystery Box challenge featuring lambs' brains, Marion emerged as winner and picked seafood as the core ingredient for the Invention Test. Most contestants thrived in making their own pasta, leading the judges to award a Top 6, with Aaron wowing with his remarkable invention. Jake, Jimmy and Matthew struggled and found themselves up for elimination.
Wed, Jun 2, 2010
Winner: Red Team. In the biggest Off Site Challenge ever, contestants were faced with preparing 8000 canapés for 2000 guests on the P&O Pacific Jewel, who would vote for their favourite team's menu. Under the guidance of a P&O sous chef (plus an extra helper for the Red Team to make up the numbers), each team prepared 1000 of four different canapés. The Blue Team struggled early and opted to buy the help of another chef for 100 votes. In the end, the Red Team were clear winners, with 1,138 votes to 762. The Blue Team were asked decide on their three least impressive performers, and so Jake, Joanne and Marion were selected to face elimination.
Thu, Jun 3, 2010
In a taste test Elimination Challenge, Jake, Joanne and Marion were asked to name the ingredients of a Thai Green Curry. Marion chose to use her immunity pin and did not take part in the challenge. The remaining two quickly ran out of obvious selections and when Jake incorrectly guessed "palm sugar" he was eliminated.
Sun, Jun 6, 2010
Vegetarian theme. In a meaty Mystery Box challenge, it was Claire who managed to impress the most and was given a significant advantage in the Invention Test, which would be contested in pairs. As well as picking the core ingredient, Claire was given the power to choose the pairs for the challenge. In a further twist, they would be cooking to impress six staunch meat-eaters, and the two judges, with their vegetarian meals. Aaron and Adam emerged as winners with their curry, and won the chance to face off in a mystery challenge for immunity. While Callum, Joanne, Peter and Skye were left to face the Pressure Test.
Mon, Jun 7, 2010
Callum, Joanne, Peter and Skye faced off in the Pressure Test; to recreate George Calombaris' oyster terrine. Callum's terrine was described as a dog's breakfast but was closest to George's dish in flavour. Peter's dish was good overall but his oysters were overcooked and onions undercooked resulting him being eliminated.
Tue, Jun 8, 2010
Adam beat Aaron (3-0). In a twist on the traditional format, Aaron and Adam competed against each other to win immunity. They had 1 hour 45 minutes to complete three dishes with three core ingredients for three Celebrity Chefs, Matt Moran, Kylie Kwong and Ian Curley. The Chefs would then pick their favourite of the two dishes, and the contestant with the most votes would win immunity. Adam was judged best in all three dishes and won himself immunity.
Wed, Jun 9, 2010
Winner: Red Team. Teams were tasked with creating a dining experience using principles of molecular gastronomy. With the help of two leaders in innovative cooking, each team was tasked with a specific theme to shape their dining experience. In the end, the Blue Team's carnival experience did not impress as much as the Red Team's beach experience and the entire Blue Team was sent into the Elimination Challenge.
Thu, Jun 10, 2010
In a two-round Elimination Challenge testing basic skills, members of the Blue Team were first asked to cook Chicken Korma. They were provided with all the ingredients but were left to choose which spices to use. Out of the six contestants, only Alvin's attempt was of an acceptable quality with Jonathan and Skye the worst of the rest. They were sent into a sudden death challenge to name spices. Skye incorrectly named cloves as garam masala and was eliminated.
Fri, Jun 11, 2010
Callum and Sharnee were treated to a masterclass on Cheese by Australian cheese expert Will Studd, while the remaining contestants were treated to a steak and kidney sandwich by Gary Mehigan and stir-fried Aubergines in Chili sauce by Kylie Kwong. Chef Darren Purchese also demonstrated his 'fruit carnival'.
Sun, Jun 13, 2010
"Australian Food Icon" theme. The winner of Masterchef Australia 2009, Julie Goodwin, returned as a guest judge for the Mystery Box Challenge, the ingredients of which were also chosen by her. Marion won the challenge and she chose Chiko Rolls as the food icon contestants had to "re-invent". Jonathan's dish was the most impressive while Callum, Matthew and Sharnee were chosen as the Bottom 3 contestants.
Mon, Jun 14, 2010
Callum, Matthew and Sharnee faced off in the Pressure Test, where they had to recreate a Beef Stroganoff with Parsley Fettuccine without a recipe to follow. Each of the contestants identified the correct meat, but each contestant's dish had flaws; Callum's Stroganoff lacked enough sauce and his pasta was overcooked, Matthew put too much tomato paste in his Stroganoff and Sharnee incorrectly used nutmeg instead of paprika. Sharnee was eliminated.