- 20 hours ago
2026.Season 18 Episode 49 - Elimination Challenge: Hot New Chilli Dish
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00:00.
00:05Here you go, lads.
00:07Here you go.
00:08What's going on here?
00:09Ooh!
00:10What's that?
00:11Heat Week.
00:12Walking into the must-have kitchen,
00:13and at the front of the room is a big glass box
00:18filled with smoke.
00:20I'm thinking this is going to be something very hot.
00:24Ooh!
00:25Come on, everybody!
00:27Good luck, guys.
00:28Thanks, Gatsby.
00:30Let's go.
00:36Morning, all.
00:37Morning.
00:39Heat Week.
00:39Woo!
00:40It erupted yesterday, and it was a scorcher, right?
00:47Every day is a chance to rise above the rest.
00:51Top Dish earning immunity for the whole week.
00:57Casper won the spicy mystery box challenge yesterday,
01:00and he has guaranteed himself another week in the competition.
01:07Whoever gets Top Dish today will join Casper.
01:12Be one step closer to MasterChef glory.
01:18Everyone else stays in the danger zone,
01:21heading towards the elimination at the end of the week.
01:29Outside, the MasterChef garden boasts some of the most beautiful fresh fruit,
01:35veg, herbs and spices.
01:38Today, we've selected an ingredient from our garden that we want to celebrate.
01:51It's...
01:53Chilis!
01:55Yay!
01:57Chilis!
01:59Chilis!
02:10Chilis!
02:12I'm told that I use too much Chilis, so hopefully I can actually do well with this challenge.
02:17There's four types of fresh Chilis growing in our garden.
02:20Birdseye,
02:21Jalapeno,
02:23Red Cayenne,
02:24and Green Cayenne.
02:27Each variety has its own unique flavour and characteristics.
02:31So make sure you taste them.
02:33Very, very important.
02:35Use the heat from the Chilis to add dimension to your dish.
02:39But don't forget, while some are mild, some others will pack a punch.
02:46Guys, you've got 60 minutes to cook a dish.
02:52Celebrating at least one of those four Chilis.
02:57Okay, guys?
02:58Yeah!
02:58Yes!
02:59Yes!
03:00Your 60 minutes stop.
03:02No!
03:02Come on!
03:03On the bus!
03:04Woo!
03:05Let's go, guys.
03:06One of the four ladies first!
03:08Oh, no, no!
03:10Hold up.
03:11Get a basket.
03:12My guy.
03:14I've got my eye only on one chilli, and that's the red cayenne.
03:19I really love the flavour.
03:21We are raining these plants.
03:23It's actually very floral, and it's got a light amount of heat.
03:26I think it's going to pair really well with what I have in mind.
03:29Probably enough, but let's get a bit more.
03:32I'm feeling pretty excited for this challenge.
03:34I feel like I can muster up a unique idea, something creative.
03:37Shall I take a brunch?
03:39I do wear a chilli around my neck.
03:40It is a kind of like a good luck thing in Sicily and stuff like that.
03:45All right, see you guys.
03:47He's gone rogue, guys.
03:48Hopefully luck is on my side today and I can pull out something crazy.
03:56Oh, what bench is great, damn it!
03:59I am loving the energy in the room.
04:01I think it's related to the fact that they've got 60 minutes.
04:03I feel like it wakes them up.
04:05And I think today they're suddenly realising it is a wide-open cook.
04:09We need to have fun.
04:10Today is just 100% about yummy food using chilli.
04:14And it's just setting them up for success, right?
04:16Yeah.
04:17When have you had a dish that really does feature chilli and gone,
04:20oh, I wish it had a bit more flavour?
04:22Like, they've got the key ingredient here.
04:24They can match it with sweetness, with sourness, with bitterness.
04:27Like, it's all there.
04:28It's all hidden inside the chilli.
04:30Yeah.
04:30But what is interesting is here in the MasterChef kitchen,
04:34there is no limits.
04:35So a day like today where you can express yourself,
04:39I think these little ingredients there,
04:41all of them are so versatile.
04:43And I think we're going to have so much to enjoy.
04:46I agree.
04:52It's weird only having one person on the bench,
04:54because, like, you've got no friends to talk to.
04:56You guys are just offering.
05:01Hi, Annabelle.
05:02Hi, Chloe.
05:03So tell us what you're making.
05:04I'm going to do a butterfly King George Whiting on the hibachi.
05:07And then I'm going to make, like, a Thai-inspired red curry sauce.
05:11And then do some pippies in that as well.
05:13And then serve it on the plate.
05:13Like, pippies, barbecue, whiting.
05:16That's how I would like to eat chilli.
05:18Yeah, I love it.
05:19I think it's solid.
05:21Yeah.
05:21I think just the hibachi.
05:22That's going to be a little closer point for you.
05:24Yes.
05:25And the filleting.
05:27Yes.
05:27So making sure there is no bonesies.
05:29No bonesies.
05:32Yeah.
05:32I'm, like, fairly confident with, like, sis.
05:34Yeah.
05:35I love butterfly King, so...
05:36Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
05:37You're going to the zone.
05:38Yeah.
05:38I love this.
05:39I think you're on a good path.
05:41Good luck.
05:47Hmm.
05:49Spicy, Annabelle?
05:49I don't think raw curry paste is designed to be eaten.
05:54It's probably not the most traditional Thai red curry paste I'm making today.
05:58I don't want this to be like a curry.
06:00This is like a curry sauce.
06:02I don't want to overpower the flavour of the fish or the pippies.
06:06So I want to be fairly restrained in my level of spice and the aromats as well.
06:12But I want you to be able to taste all of those delicious ingredients.
06:15Instead of just being, like, smacking your face hot, be like, this is yummy.
06:20Smelling good, Annabelle.
06:26Heat week, feeling pretty good.
06:27You know, I'm not scared of chilli.
06:30Today I'll be using three varieties in my dish.
06:33So the cayenne, the jalapenos and the bird's eyes.
06:38And today I'll be cooking potatoes bravas.
06:41A potato and saffron hash, which will be sitting on a fiery tomato sauce,
06:45a smoked garlic aioli, there'll be an anchovy on top
06:48and some pickled chillies as well.
06:51The first thing I need to get onto is the first stage of the potato hash.
06:56Oh, look at that.
06:57The Tardus Bravas is a tapas meal.
06:59The type of food I love to eat.
07:01It's like rich, indulgent, crunchy, deep fried.
07:05You wouldn't want to have too many of them.
07:07That's why it's designed as a one-bite dish.
07:10But with a cold beer, mate, you could probably smash a few.
07:12Get up on that gantry and into the top six is the target today.
07:16So we've got to get a good dish out first and see how we go.
07:20Let's go, brother.
07:21Let's get a big job.
07:22Two chillies I'm choosing today are the cayenne and the bird's eyes.
07:26I know that I need to taste these chillies to work out how kind of spicy they are.
07:30Handling chillies?
07:31Goodness me.
07:33But in the back of my mind, I've just got flashbacks to me eating a bird's eye chilli as a
07:37kid
07:37and blowing my head off.
07:38And I just can't force myself to do it.
07:43Today I'm relying on a little bit of memory inspired by the bird's eye chilli.
07:48I'm going to use some of the skills I've learnt from the competition so far.
07:51With a technique I learnt from Josh Nyland.
07:53Reverse butterfly snapper.
07:56That is something I would have had no idea how to do before MasterChef.
08:00I'm then going to deep fry it and put on like a Thai style dressing.
08:03Serve it with a som tam, which is like a Thai kind of salad.
08:07And then just some nice jasmine rice.
08:09The dream is that when the judges eat the dish, they get the flavour of the fish,
08:13then they get that really nice spice from the sauce.
08:16But it doesn't matter how good this fish tastes,
08:19if I leave just one bone in this fish, I'm completely cooked.
08:23That a girl.
08:25I really want to make sure I take my time and get it right,
08:28and really nail it.
08:32The judges say they want flavour,
08:34and I'm leaning into my Malaysian flavours and heritage
08:36and I'm going with a Malaysian style chilli crab.
08:40So my memories of chilli crab is always having it in Malaysia.
08:45My grandpa knew a lot of fishermen,
08:47and they would bring in these massive foam boxes of seafood to our house.
08:51And my grandma would make the most amazing curry crab.
08:56And it was spicy, really spicy.
08:58The plan for the crab is just to have it as is.
09:00So like serve it in the shells.
09:01It's like it's a real like hands on get in there, real messy kind of way to eat.
09:06I love it.
09:08Like, you know, it's real quintessential like Malaysian food.
09:12You know, you get around a big table, family style, everyone grabs a crab,
09:16they're all wearing bibs and everything.
09:17They're like bashing away and like taking out the meat.
09:20It's a whole affair.
09:21So I really love the dish.
09:24And what better day to bring it up than today to celebrate chilli.
09:27The main thing I have to nail is balance of heat, acidity and sweetness in the sauce.
09:33But also it's very easy to overcook the crab meat.
09:36There's a lot riding on this cook because I really want to transport the judges to my memories,
09:41to my nostalgia.
09:43To bring them to that space where they're really getting stuck into the dish and like really enjoying it.
09:49But also want to honour the memory of my grandparents, my heritage.
09:57And I really want to do this dish justice.
10:07Alright.
10:09Feeling pretty excited to make a dish using one of the chillies from the Masterchef Garden.
10:13My first introduction to chillies was my non-known non-no's house.
10:17I was probably three or four years old.
10:20And I remember them saying to me,
10:21do not touch this bush.
10:23It is spicy.
10:24And I said, okay, no worries.
10:26And obviously the first thing I did was touch the chillies and put them directly into my mouth.
10:29So...
10:31Alright.
10:32When I think of like chillies and spicy heat in Italy,
10:36my first thought goes to Nduja,
10:39which is like a spicy spreadable salami.
10:44Vinny, that is scary.
10:46Why?
10:46That's moving so quick.
10:50Normally to make Nduja, it's a long process.
10:53You need weeks to do it at home.
10:54But today I'm going to find some shortcuts to pull it off
10:57and get the same flavours that you would get from Nduja in under an hour.
11:01You've all started strong.
11:02Keep it going.
11:0345 minutes to go.
11:06Come on guys, let's push.
11:09Indy.
11:10Indy.
11:10It's a chilly day, you must be happy.
11:12Yes I am.
11:13I am.
11:13I am.
11:13I am making a fresh Nduja.
11:16Okay.
11:17Spicy spreadable salami.
11:18Yeah.
11:19Instead of curing it, it's going to be all fresh.
11:22So I've made like a Nduja paste, all the same flavours.
11:24Right.
11:25I'm going to turn that into a sauce with the pork.
11:27I'm going to make a glaze with the leftover paste with some prawns.
11:30Cook them on the hibachi.
11:32And then like a zucchini salad on the side.
11:35Yep.
11:35Right.
11:36Okay mate, it really does come down to this Nduja, right?
11:39Yep.
11:39You know, that's the...
11:40That's the celebration.
11:41The hero.
11:42And I assume that this is kind of your mince mix here.
11:44Yes.
11:45Yeah.
11:45Are you happy with the, how coarse it is?
11:48We'll probably chop it up again.
11:49I just want it to get onto everything else and get all the pork and marinate it in that paste.
11:53I'm going to get my pickles in now.
11:55My glaze is basically done.
11:56Peel those prawns, put them in, hibachi, off we go.
12:05Petro.
12:07Oh.
12:08Yes.
12:09Yeah, it's smelling pretty good.
12:11Very, smelling very chilli-like.
12:13I'm going to add in a pinch of salt and finish it off.
12:16And then I'll be straining this and putting it into the blast freezer.
12:19I want to do something really creative today.
12:21I feel like now there's not many of us left.
12:23And you have to do whatever you can to stand out from the pack.
12:27Because everyone is such a good cook.
12:29Petro.
12:29What's going on here?
12:30I'm doing dessert.
12:32In a chilli challenge.
12:33Yes.
12:34In a chilli challenge.
12:35That is bold.
12:36It's a bold move.
12:36I think it's a good chance to push myself.
12:38I don't think anyone else is doing desserts.
12:39No.
12:40I'm making a chilli ice cream, which has a bit of lime zest and a touch of vanilla.
12:45Yep.
12:45Okay.
12:45I'm making a fresh granita with chilli, lime juice, lime zest, vanilla.
12:50Which chilli?
12:50Long red cayenne.
12:52Yep.
12:52Okay.
12:53Real nice fruity notes.
12:54And I'm doing a toasted coconut tapioca pudding.
12:59I want to add a fruit element.
13:00So I got pears, I got pineapple and I'm going to char some off and see which one works best.
13:06Okay.
13:06Cool.
13:07Definitely a good way to stand out.
13:09Get it done.
13:10Alrighty.
13:10You got this.
13:10Thank you Sophia.
13:17I am the most pumped out of all you guys.
13:20Because I feel like this has done exactly what we thought it would.
13:23Clear ideas, concise ideas, flavour at the forefront.
13:27I've got Vinny.
13:28He's going all out and making his own enduya, which he's going to put over prawns.
13:32Wow.
13:32So he's done it at home a heap of times.
13:35Probably hasn't done it in 60 minutes, but he's still pretty confident.
13:38It's just about that enduya.
13:40You know, like for me, what will the texture be like?
13:43He's used a hand cut method rather than a mint.
13:46It's normally a spreadable type consistency.
13:49Has he gone dim sim limb?
13:51Sort of.
13:51Yeah.
13:52Just dim sim.
13:53One hand.
13:54No limb.
13:55And then Pat.
13:56Pat's got a great idea.
13:57He wants to create like a potato finger type thing.
14:01Oh, I love this.
14:02A lot of process into it.
14:04Chilli element is a roasted chilli and tomato.
14:06It's a hot sauce.
14:10Annabelle.
14:10She's doing a red curry sauce.
14:13Butterfly to whiting.
14:13And going to roast some pippies all on the hibachi.
14:18Solid idea.
14:19I think she's sort of looks styled in.
14:22And I think she's going to be good.
14:25Now, Arun.
14:26Mad crab.
14:27Malajan style.
14:28Yeah.
14:29I know.
14:30Can you imagine how much fun we're going to be having
14:32if we're all like fighting over the last...
14:34Bring out the bibs.
14:36Bring out the bibs.
14:38How are you supposed to mop the sauce?
14:39Like this.
14:42Chilli.
14:42Oh, yeah.
14:43I can see that already.
14:47So, Luke is doing an all-fry snapper.
14:49And you can see he's kneading all the buns one by one.
14:52And he's doing some tom.
14:54Sometime you lose some.
14:56Some tom.
14:57Palm sugar.
14:58Fish sauce.
14:58Chilli.
14:59Lion.
15:00And lots of chilli.
15:01Yes.
15:03To fill up my fish with my Thai-style crispy snapper,
15:07I'm using a reverse butterfly technique.
15:11I can't tell if that's a bone I can take out or not.
15:15But it's quite difficult to get all these pin bones out.
15:24Far out.
15:25It is taking a lot longer than I thought.
15:30I'll fill it in for you.
15:32She's so fun.
15:33I'm working on my fish for my butterflied King George Whiting on the hibachi.
15:38Thank you, Chef.
15:40I feel like maybe this is why I found myself working in medicine.
15:43It's because I just like cutting things in a non, yeah, weird way.
15:47Bone-free.
15:48Pretty sure.
15:50That's one thing I actually trust myself to do is to get bones out of a fish.
15:53I think it's like operating.
15:55I just use, imagine them as like little patients at work.
15:58So there's no room for error there.
15:59So there will be no error here as well.
16:02My fish is filleted.
16:03I'm still nursing my paste.
16:05I feel like I'm in a good position.
16:06I get that salt on the skin and I get it in the fridge so that the skin can dry
16:10out
16:10and go like really crispy once it's cooked over the charcoal.
16:1630 minutes to go.
16:17Chili crab.
16:18The sauce is coming along nicely.
16:19It's bubbling away and slowly reducing.
16:21I'm really liking where the flavor's at, but I think it does need a hit more chili.
16:29Harun.
16:29Chef, how are you?
16:30Ooh, lovely crabs.
16:32Ooh.
16:33Yeah.
16:34Oh, this is one of my favorites.
16:36Is it?
16:37Sure.
16:37One of mine too.
16:38So I can see you got your shells.
16:39The freshness of the produce is always top.
16:43So what's going to make your sauce to get the best of your crab?
16:46So it's just layering the heat and making sure that it's not overly spicy.
16:50I'm going to use the inners of the crab to give it a bit of funk.
16:53And then I'm going to cook the crab in the sauce as well.
16:56You're going to serve it with the shells?
16:58Shell on, yeah.
16:59Are you going to break them up a little bit?
17:01Yeah, so I'm going to use a mallet and just lightly crack them so the sauce can go inside.
17:05Yeah.
17:05So it's going to be sticky fingers.
17:07Yeah.
17:07It's going to be lots of messy fingers today.
17:09So it's going to be a lot of licking fingers too.
17:11Yeah.
17:11Well done, mate.
17:12I can't wait to test your food.
17:13Thank you, chef.
17:14Excellent.
17:16Crab's coming apart easily.
17:17You know, I'm just there breaking it all down and cracking the shells to make sure that
17:21when it's cooked, it's accessible to get to the meat.
17:24I'm really good at this because I eat a lot of crab.
17:35So now that the potatoes are fried off, I put them into the loaf tins, compress down with
17:40some weights in them and into the blast chiller.
17:41I'm just getting on to my finishing my fiery red sauce.
17:44I've had my vegetables roasting here for a while.
17:48So far, I have done my mayo, my potatoes in chilling.
17:53I'm going to fry that with about 15 minutes to go.
17:57The heat is going to be coming from that little bird's eye just added into the sauce.
18:02So I've got some hot smoked paprika, but also the beautiful cayenne chilies that I picked
18:06from the garden.
18:08So they'll add spice and a bit of like fruity nature to the sauce as well.
18:15Don't go too silly with the chili.
18:1720 minutes to go!
18:24Finally, I've got my fish done.
18:26My batter is made, but the plan today is to serve the fish with a
18:31som tam and a just nice jasmine rice.
18:34So far, the jasmine rice is on and that should be done, but the som tam is not done and
18:40it's
18:40going to take a lot of time to do, so I'm really just pushing for time now.
18:44I'm just trying to make all this curry sauce and things so I can get the real flavour of
18:47the dish going.
18:48To make this sauce under some serious time pressure, I'm throwing in lemongrass,
18:53ginger, garlic, my chili.
18:55The plan is to make it quite spicy and then tame it with some kind of lime and palm
19:00sugar and fish sauce.
19:02This dish is all about balance today.
19:04But then...
19:05Whoa!
19:07What is that?
19:11All right.
19:13Uh, now it's going to taste like a burnt disaster.
19:26Whoa!
19:28What is that?
19:30Far out.
19:31This sauce, it's going to taste like a burnt disaster.
19:35I'm going to start again, but with this 60 minute cook today, it just feels like I've
19:40been pushing so hard that when one element messes up, it just has a knock on effect.
19:44I spent way too long filling that fish, which I wanted to spend a while on, because it
19:49was an element that needs to be kind of perfect.
19:51But I think I just could have spent a little bit too long on it.
19:54And I'm now just playing a bit of it.
19:56I'm now playing a bit of ketchup.
19:58I did not need that.
19:59Luckily, I can wash these chilies.
20:01OK, guys, balance is key.
20:05Please, 15 minutes to go!
20:08Allez, allez!
20:15I've got my prawns prepped, my enduya glaze done.
20:19I now need to move on to my sauce.
20:22I start by caramelising off that enduya pork.
20:28I realise this is kind of the most important aspect of my whole dish.
20:32It's the make or break of the flavourings of the enduya.
20:36And I have a thought of maybe when I serve this, do I strain this sauce or do I keep
20:42it more chunky
20:42so it's easier and more pleasant to eat?
20:46Normally, enduya is a paste.
20:48But I went through all this effort of inventing this fresh shortcut to enduya,
20:53and I'm going to leave it in.
20:57The sauce is tasting good.
20:58I think it needs a little bit of lift and a bit more salt.
21:01But, like, I feel like the flavours of it and the glaze with these prawns, like, that I made from
21:05it,
21:06I'm really happy with it.
21:08These prawns are looking pretty tasty to me.
21:12The glaze and the prawns have a little bit of a hum,
21:14but I didn't want them to be overpowered,
21:16so the sauce is really where it shines through.
21:19And then I've also got some pickled cayennes in the salad,
21:22which gives you, like, this little pop of just, like, a quick hit of heat,
21:24and then they go away, which is nice.
21:26The fight for immunity is getting hot!
21:29Ten minutes to go!
21:30All right, everybody!
21:31Here we go!
21:41It's good.
21:42With patatas bravas, it is always served with a spicy tomato sauce.
21:49Yeah, really happy.
21:50The chilli's definitely there.
21:51It's nice and smoky.
21:52Just want to add a bit of that sherry vinegar to get it nice and vibrant.
21:55Time to now fry the potato hash.
21:58So I'm just praying that when I get these things in the hot oil, they don't fall apart.
22:04Nice.
22:05That looks cool.
22:06Yes!
22:07They're holding together.
22:08The dish is coming together.
22:09Hopefully the judges will like it.
22:11At this point in the competition, the immunity is everything.
22:14It'll be amazing to get up on the gantry up with Casper.
22:18For all the aromats here.
22:20To cook the crab, I put it straight into the sauce.
22:24And you only need to put it in there for around about seven minutes.
22:28The most important thing is to really make sure that that crab is cooked perfectly.
22:32Nothing worse than overcooked crab.
22:34It's fibrous.
22:35It gets stuck to the shells.
22:37What you want is like a really juicy crab where the entire claw meat comes out whole.
22:42The legs come out whole.
22:43You can dip it into that sauce.
22:46I'm going off instinct and timing right now.
22:48But I won't actually know if it's perfectly cooked until the judges eat it.
22:56I've never done a King George Whiting on the hibachi before and it's nearly fish cooking time.
23:04Nearly.
23:05I'm really happy with my curry sauce.
23:07I'm just popping some pippies in here and then serve more on the plate as well.
23:19It's hibachi time and I need to get that skin as dry as possible.
23:23I have watched so many fish hibachi disasters.
23:28It literally ruins the whole dish.
23:32Oh my God.
23:34All of the judges are just like standing there like just like watching me.
23:38Look at that.
23:40And I'm like, oh God, don't mess this up.
23:43I am just going to cook it fully skin side down right before the top is fully cooked.
23:49I'm just going to take it off and hopefully that fish is cooked perfectly.
23:53Time to hustle.
23:54Five minutes to go.
24:02Oh, ha, ha.
24:04Petro looking good.
24:06I've still got a lot to do.
24:08The ice cream looks good though.
24:10Thanks mate.
24:11Ice cream's done.
24:12It tastes really good.
24:14I'm really happy.
24:17It's time to get onto my fruit element.
24:20I've got to hustle.
24:21To add that freshness to my dish.
24:24I've got pineapple and I've got pear.
24:27With everything I've got on my plate with the chilli, the coconut and the lime, I am thinking maybe I
24:32should go with pineapple.
24:35I need to get my granita.
24:38Okay, that froze better than I thought it would.
24:40My granita, it's tasting great and it looks great.
24:44But it has frozen solid as a rock.
24:49Petro, you've got to hustle.
24:52It's not good.
24:53I've really stuffed this up.
24:55I've completely taken my eye off my pineapple and I'm not going to be able to use this.
25:01Petro, how bad?
25:03Oh no, it's scorched.
25:04Oh.
25:06I've left myself no time to redo another batch.
25:11But I have this pear.
25:13I'm just going to have to roll with this.
25:16Bring us the hot stuff.
25:17Two minutes to go.
25:19Come on guys, wrap it up.
25:26My sump time is ready and my fish is on the deep fryer, but I still need to redo the
25:31sauce.
25:32I'm really busy for time here.
25:34I need to make my sauce, which is kind of the main flavour in the dish, which I haven't even
25:37been able to do yet.
25:39And I need to toast some peanuts, I need to finish cooking this fish and get it all plated up.
25:43It's kind of chaos here.
25:44The vision for the sauce on top of the fish was to be this super vibrant, chilli, zingy sauce with
25:51all the good Thai flavours you like.
25:54But it's not on the stove yet and the time is running down and that's where all the chilli flavour
25:59in this dish is coming from.
26:03I'm trying to work on my sauce, but I realise I completely forgot about my fish. It's still in the
26:07deep fryer.
26:09It's been in there way longer than I would have liked.
26:13There's less than a minute to go and I'm still trying to cook down the aromats with the sauce.
26:19It's no longer a sauce, it's going to be more like a sambal because it's very dry.
26:23OK guys, time's up in ten!
26:25I'm starting to hear the judges count down.
26:27Nine!
26:28And I'm still adding Thai basil.
26:30Eight!
26:31Seven!
26:33Two!
26:36Five!
26:37Four!
26:39Three!
26:40Two!
26:42One!
26:43That's it everybody!
26:44Three!
26:48Oh my god!
26:51You're too good!
26:53Uh, yeah.
26:55Damn, just ran out of time.
26:59Yeah, pretty annoying after that one.
27:01Putting that fish on the hibachi with all four judges standing there was like scary.
27:07I'm happy and I think the pippies are like a fun little addition and it looks nice.
27:12I hope the fish is cooked perfect.
27:14That's the only stressful thing.
27:17They won't know until they eat it.
27:22It's day two of heat week and today was all about chili.
27:26The question is, will you blow our heads off or blow our minds?
27:32The first dish we would like to test is...
27:42Aoun!
27:47Walking up, I'm very happy with this dish.
27:49This is big, you know, like I really have such a deep connection with it.
27:58Being able to share this memory and nostalgia and this dish with them is very special.
28:13Aaron, tell us what you've made.
28:15I've made a Malaysian style chili crab.
28:18I've just got some toasted baguettes on the side because I thought, you know, I didn't want the sauce to
28:22go to waste.
28:24So the flavour profile of this dish, does this match your memories?
28:27It does, yeah.
28:28I really like how it's got like a slight hum of heat but that sweetness and that really unctuous sauce
28:33as well.
28:34It just makes you want to keep going back for more and more and more.
28:37It really elicits a lot of memories for me.
28:40Big round table, you're just spinning the table, everyone's like got mess on their shirts.
28:43Okay, I'm like getting like jealous.
28:47I'm very excited to taste this.
28:49Oh my God, how are we going to eat this?
28:52With gusto.
28:55I'm taking absolutely no risks here.
28:58Yeah, I'm going to have to do that.
29:02Ready.
29:10This is pretty Asian, but...
29:13I do that all the time too.
29:14Yeah, yeah.
29:17Sorry dentist.
29:19I don't believe I'm doing all this.
29:21Soaking my fingers like that.
29:23Why don't you come back in 10 minutes please, all of you.
29:26How'd I do?
29:28So good.
29:30Aaron, so many childhood memories evoked eating this.
29:36I think you've done a really beautiful job.
29:39The colour of that sauce, the flavour, really nice and intense.
29:43And this was the perfect dish to cook for this challenge.
29:47I think the amount of chilli you used was perfect.
29:52Because just when you think it's going to get a little bit too much, it just kind of evens out.
29:58Aaron, God, that's a fun dish.
30:00It's so much fun.
30:01And you know, it is absolutely delicious.
30:04It's the kind of food experience that I travel for, that I know other people travel for.
30:09It's such an immersive way to eat.
30:13And I must say, the cook on the crab is phenomenal.
30:19It was just exploding with those juices the second I cracked into the claw.
30:25The meat was really soft and sweet and tender.
30:29And your sauce wasn't so spicy that it overpowered the meat of that crab as well.
30:34So I am thrilled with that if you couldn't tell from this.
30:40Mate, like, you just nailed the cook on the crab.
30:44It is so, so, so, so, so perfect.
30:47The legs were like cracking, they were coming out in full slivers.
30:51And then using the leg as like a little straw to just suck everything else.
30:55It's like my favourite bit.
30:56You alright there?
30:57I can't speak.
30:58Hang on, hang on.
30:59Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
31:00My lips are like...
31:00My lips are so burning.
31:03Is it how much she did today or what?
31:06Listen, Owen, this is fantastic.
31:09You could be one of the top dish today.
31:12So, well done mate.
31:14What is it?
31:15Thank you so much.
31:19I'm beaming right now getting that feedback.
31:22You know, it's, it's unreal like that.
31:24Putting so much of myself on a plate and for them to,
31:27to, to enjoy it, to love it, to eat it the way that it was intended.
31:31It's, it's nice.
31:32It's really, really nice to see.
31:34Next up, Vinny.
31:49Vinny, what's the dish mate?
31:52I did, uh, india glazed prawns with zucchini salad.
31:55And an india sauce.
31:56That's like inspired by those flavours.
31:59When we said chilli, I mean, there's so many paths that you could have gone down.
32:04Um, and making like a quick cheats and doya probably wasn't the one that I expected.
32:10So I'm interested.
32:31Vinny, I like the concept of this quick and doya. I just don't think it's worked here.
32:37The coarse nature of the pork, it's giving much more mince vibes.
32:43You know, like in doya, it's, you barely notice the texture.
32:47This one's more like the texture of a dandan noodle.
32:51And I feel like it's just a little bit heavy for the prawns.
32:56They're kind of at war with each other.
32:58Because you're getting meaty bits of mince with a meaty prawn that's got, you know, some real bite to it.
33:03It doesn't allow either one to fully shine.
33:07It's yummy, but it's just a little bit disjointed.
33:10And I don't think the execution quite matched the ambition of your idea.
33:14Yeah.
33:16All right, mate.
33:24Next up, Pat.
33:36Pat, what have you made?
33:39I've made my spin on patatas bravas.
33:42The base is a spicy tomato sauce with a saffron and potato hash topped with a smoked garlic mayo, green
33:51jalapeno, and an anchovy.
33:53You say cooked yum food that we like to eat, and that's exactly what this is.
33:57I'd love to have a cold beer with it.
33:58What's the tomato sauce?
34:00I assume there's a bit of chilli in there?
34:02Yeah, so it's got a few of the cayennes that were roasted with the tomatoes and garlic,
34:06and a couple of fresh bird's eyes, and one of the red jalapenos.
34:10Nice.
34:10Pat, this looks bloody spectacular.
34:13Oh, thank you.
34:15The colours are so beautiful and very, very consistent.
34:19I really appreciate that.
34:38Pat, you said you'd like a beer with this.
34:40I think for me, I'd like to be somewhere in San Sebastian, with like a really textural glass of white
34:47wine, sitting up at a bar, eating this little tapper.
34:50I love the direction that you've gone in with these, and I think that the actual potato number itself is
34:59absolutely delicious.
35:00It's golden on the outside, soft in the middle.
35:04Pat, mate, you said you'd like to have it with a beer, but unfortunately that's the downfall of it, because
35:11I was looking for something that was like, you know, a little bit more balanced.
35:15There's just a lot going on.
35:18But the tomato, the chilli, the smoked mayonnaise, the anchovy, there's just a lot.
35:24So I think it's one of those classic ones where Pat just needed to go, do I need everything?
35:29Alright.
35:30Thank you Pat.
35:30Cool, thank you guys.
35:36Next dish we'd love to taste is Luke's.
35:42I wouldn't say I'm embarrassed, I'd just say I'm disappointed.
35:47Hi Luke.
35:48Hey.
35:49The time it took me to fillet that fish today just cost me, and you can see it on the
35:53plate.
35:54How'd you go?
35:56Ah.
36:09I didn't quite nail it as I'd like to.
36:13It just took me so long to butterfly the fish, so the main thing that suffered is the sauce on
36:18top, the kind of sambal.
36:20I just had to throw it all in the pan at the end.
36:24It is just going to be so unbalanced.
36:26Just be warned, I think this is pretty hot.
36:32What'd you run with?
36:32Chilli-wise?
36:34I went the cayenne in the salad, like big strips to get the flavour.
36:37Yep.
36:38And then it's more the bird's eyes in the sambal.
36:40Arata.
36:41Yeah.
36:57Whew.
36:57Okay.
36:59Luke, I so appreciate how much you tried to do today, entering into a genre of cuisine that you don't
37:05do always.
37:06But I feel you're a little bit of a cowboy, and you're playing Russian roulette all the time.
37:12At this point in the competition, you have to take measured risks.
37:17The thing with sambals is they do come together in the end with seasoning.
37:21But I can taste that the aromatics are still a little bit raw.
37:25Yeah.
37:26So you just needed to cook them down further, and probably a pinch of sugar would have just, that would
37:31have been great.
37:34I love your salad.
37:37Vibrant.
37:39Your sambal, I think, is tasty.
37:41I can get the chilli, the heat, but I need a liquid there.
37:46A combiner.
37:48I feel like it was a bit of an uphill battle when you decided to butterfly it.
37:52I think for me, you either butterfly and barbecue, or you keep it whole and deep fry it.
37:57You need time for the flour to crisp up.
37:59That time is just too long for the flesh to still be cooked perfectly.
38:04Only do a technique if it's worth it.
38:07Yeah.
38:12Yeah.
38:14The next dish we'd love to taste is yours, Petro!
38:18Yeah, Petro!
38:19That's all, Petro!
38:21Oh!
38:31Petro, what did you make?
38:34I made a chilli ice cream with a chilli and lime granita and a toasted coconut tapioca pudding.
38:42Alright, we're going to taste your dish.
38:44Oh, my gosh.
38:44Oh, my gosh.
39:03Petro.
39:06That's the most refreshing chilli dish I've ever had in my life.
39:12In terms of flavour, it matches how it looks.
39:17It's got the slightest caress of heat in the granita, and then with the ice cream you're getting more of
39:24the floral fruity notes.
39:25Your tapioca, they're cooked perfectly.
39:29They've got the most amazing sort of squidgy texture.
39:32You can feel each one rolling around on your tongue.
39:34And you've used just the right amount of coconut to make everything creamy, but not so coconutty that you lose
39:42out all of the delicate, elegant flavours of the chilli in your granita and your ice cream.
39:47It's different, it's interesting, and it's a really creative use of the chilli.
39:53I think this could be a little surprise attack and a contender for being up on the gantry.
39:56Jeez, okay. Thank you.
39:58Petro, I think if this was a strategic move to make a sweet on a day like this, it was
40:04a correct move.
40:06Because I couldn't love this more.
40:10Great work.
40:11Thank you so much, Po.
40:13Petro, I've got to say that is probably the best granita I've had full stop.
40:16That is so, so, so, so, so delicious.
40:20Talk about the colour, but then you taste it and it's just as vibrant.
40:24It's got that beautiful tang of the chilli, the flavour of the chilli, without the heat of the chilli.
40:29And then the way that you've so perfectly balanced it with lime juice is unbelievable.
40:37But I couldn't get my head around the pear.
40:39I just found it so interrupting.
40:42I think it was a little bit powdery, it was a little bit grainy.
40:45I feel like there needed to be an element on there.
40:48I just don't think, for me, it was the right decision to put the pear on.
40:52But I really, really, really love that granita.
40:56Thanks, Steve, guys.
40:57Thanks, Petro.
40:58Thanks, Petro.
41:00I feel like, overall, my gamble to use chilli in a dessert has paid off.
41:07It's just a shame about my pear.
41:09But, you know, the judges love my granita.
41:12And they've had Laura and Callum, so, for me, that's a big win.
41:17OK, next up is Annabelle.
41:22APPLAUSE
41:33Annabelle, who have you made?
41:35I have made a Butterfly King George Whiting with Pippi's and a Thai red curry sauce.
41:42Ooh.
41:42So, what chillies did you use?
41:44I used the red cayenne and also some of the bird's eye chillies.
41:49So, on a scale of one to five, how spicy is it?
41:54I would say a three.
41:56I wanted you to taste the chilli, but I don't love, like, super hot stuff.
42:00And so, I cooked the curry sauce to my personal spice level.
42:07Let's see.
42:14Standing in front of the judges, you get that feeling where you're like,
42:18oh, God, where is this going to land?
42:20I don't know what they're going to think of it.
42:23I'm hoping that fish is cooked perfectly.
42:28Far out, I just don't know.
43:01Ah, Annabelle, the technique you've used to cook your fish is fantastic.
43:13Come on!
43:15This is fantastic!
43:16Woo!
43:20The technique you've used to cook your fish is called unilateral.
43:26Unilateral.
43:26So, when you cook from one side, not everybody can do it.
43:30And also, to Butterfly a fish, not everyone can do it.
43:35Technically, Butterfly a piece of fish, who has so much bones and so delicate,
43:42cooking it on the barbie, on one side and only, under pressure.
43:47And this sauce, you've nailed a fantastic job there.
43:51So, well done.
43:54Annabelle, I think putting the fish and the curry together was a risk.
43:59Because King George Whiting is super delicate.
44:03And I was worried that that curry sauce was just going to overpower the fish.
44:08But it was the cook on the hibachi that just went, zoop, and linked them together.
44:14The Butterfly was absolutely spot on.
44:18Not a bone in sight.
44:19The beautiful speed bump char marks on the skin was, like, spot on.
44:24The pippies.
44:25Like, the pippies.
44:26They were so plump, so delicious, so perfectly cooked.
44:29And the chilli heat was spot on.
44:33This dish is technical, but most importantly, it's flavourful as well.
44:38You've used chilli in the perfect way for this dish, particularly with a fish like that.
44:44You know, it's very gentle, sweet-fleshed.
44:48And to have too intense a chilli heat would have just overshadowed the produce completely.
44:54Can you see how happy we all are?
44:56Like, with food like this, it just makes us happy.
45:00Annabelle, you know what happens when you put together a perfect plate of food like this one?
45:05You're in the running to be up there for the rest of the week.
45:07Well done.
45:08Thank you, thank you.
45:19Today, we sent you into the garden to pick the star of your dish.
45:24Chilli's.
45:25The challenge was all about balance and letting those fiery gems shine.
45:29But chilli's a tricky little thing.
45:32Push the heat too far, and it bulldozes every other flavour on the plate.
45:36Hold back too much, and they don't get their moment.
45:41But hit that perfect chilli harmony, and you take out top dish and win immunity.
45:48We had some great dishes showing chilli at its best, but it came down to two.
45:56Aaron, your mud crab and chilli sauce, they work together in perfect harmony.
46:01On top of that, it's just fun to eat.
46:03Great job.
46:05Annabelle took a big risk using a delicate fish with a curry sauce.
46:10But tied it perfectly together with smoky flavour from the coals.
46:16Clever cooking.
46:19We think both of your dishes did a fantastic job of celebrating chilli.
46:25So it came down to the dish that was hotter perfection.
46:32Which means...
46:36You are top dish...
46:38You are top dish...
46:41Annabelle!
46:48Great group of top six!
46:50That is...
46:51It's a really good feeling.
46:52But like, obviously getting really good feedback from the judges.
46:55It just makes you feel even better.
46:58Arun, you should be very proud of yourself.
47:01Because what you did today was amazing.
47:05In fact, you were both so close, the size of a bird's eye chilli.
47:13It was that close.
47:15Well then, Annabelle, you can relax and enjoy your time on the gantry.
47:20Everyone else, there is one more immunity up for grabs.
47:25So if you want it, you are going to have to bust your chops.
47:30Good night, well done.
47:32Good night everyone!
47:34Great day today!
47:36Nice work Annabelle.
47:38Good luck.
47:41Tomorrow night, hibachis and heat week go hand in hand.
47:48But, we've unplugged the microwaves and the ovens and the stove tops have been removed.
47:54Your only heat sauce today are the coals and those hibachis.
47:59Wait a minute, how am I going to actually cook all the other elements for my dish?
48:03This is crazy.
48:05Trying to make a sauce and a hibachi I've never done before.
48:08I'm going as hard as I can for this challenge today.
48:10That spot on the gantry, it's mine.
48:12I want this immunity so badly, but I may have bit off a little more than I could chew.
48:19It kind of seems like the universe is against me with this dish.
48:22Aww, Vin.
48:24Oh my god.
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