Tonight is the last day of Queensland Week, and an elimination challenge. The losers from yesterday’s team challenge, green team Joe, Steph, Nicole, Tessa, Simon, Ben and Christina, are competing to stay.
They walk along Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast to find the trio of judges, and guest chef James Brady.
“Today’s elimination takes place in 2 rounds. Round one is a MasterChef skills test,” George tells them.
They’ll have 15 minutes to peel and devein at least 6 prawns, filet and debone a snapper, and remove the tails of a Moreton Bay bug. The best is safe, the rest are going to be cooking in round two using those ingredients.
James shows them how to peel and devein a prawn, filet and debone a snapper, and deshell/detail a bug? I don’t know. I’m not the chef here.
Both montage and time start.
ANUSHKA WATCH: Anushka, the 49 year old optical distributor and a winner of yesterday’s challenge, is wearing black frames today. Her hair is down, and she’s wearing all white. I’m a fan.
Time is up, and so is the montage.
One by one, the trio of judges walk around to each contestants bench and checks the seafood. They touch each piece several times and I don’t want to eat any of their seafood.
Those safe are Steph, Tessa and Christina.
Joe, Simon, Ben and Nicole are up for elimination.
“Guys, today is all about seafood, so for round two, we want you to bring us the most delicious seafood platter ever,” George says.
They’ll have 90 minutes, an open pantry, and must include the prawn, snapper and bug they’ve prepared. One must be raw, one must be steamed, and one must be fried.
When time starts, everyone runs into the Rick Shores restaurant to cook. The montage starts.
Simon decides that he has to redeem himself from yesterday, and will butterfly his prawns. He tells Matt and James that he’ll cook it shell side down. They remind him that they did that yesterday and it ended badly. Simon decides to believe in himself and go with his gut.
George and Gaz come around and talk to Simon. They ask him if he’ll have enough time to do everything. He says he thinks so. The judges don’t look overly convinced. I’m mostly worried about Simon at this point.
Nicole leaves her popcorn shrimp in the deep fryer for a while and she’s worried they’ll be overcooked.
Joe accidently ruins his snapper. The skin suddenly stuck to the pan and he has to all but pry it off.
Finally time is up, and the trio and James get ready to taste.
First up is Simon
“It’s ticked off all the thing that were needed,” George says. “But is it cooked properly? Let’s find out.”
“Um, I love it,” Matt says.
He likes the prawns, and Gaz says it’s all on point and cooked properly. George shows them his greasy hands and says that’s what Australia is all about.
Next up is Nicole.
Nicole says she’s not sure about the prawns and I’m like the first rule of MasterChef is if you’re not sure about it or it’s not good, leave it off!!!
The boys divide it up and start to eat.
The tuna stands out to Gaz, and he thinks the popcorn prawn is good. She thought about lots of colour, lots of flavour.
James agrees – the tuna is the stand out. Matt says she did a great job.
“What’s exciting is that everything is cooked perfectly,” George says.
Next is Ben.
“There are some things on this plate that are really tasty,” Gaz says, pointing at the prawns and the bug.
Matt says he likes the bug, but there isn’t a lot of light or shade in the plate. He expects more vibrancy and heat.
Finally is Joe.
He says he knows the snapper isn’t great. I guess he just took the stuck one and ran with it. I don’t think he had any time to prep another.
Joe tells the judges he isn’t happy with his dish because there are errors in the proteins.
“Sadly, today, cooking things perfectly have escaped Joe,” Matt says.
Tasting is done and dusted, and the judges return to the beach to tell someone they’re taking a plane home today.
Matt says Nicole is safe, and it was a joy to eat. Simon is also safe. His prawns were perfect and he’s redeemed.
It’s down to Joe and Ben.
“I’m sorry. Joe, you’re going home,” George tells him.
George then goes on to talk about Joe’s journey, then tells him to leave.
After he hugs everyone and shakes James’ hand, he’s applauded as he walks off the beach and to the car park alone.
Where are they now? He completed work experience and is planning a culinary tour of Italy.
Maybe he’s dumped his girlfriend and he’ll take her nonna with him, or he’s lookin’ for a nonna to call his own.
No, look, I don’t wish to speak ill of the eliminated.
It’s time for the MasterClass, and I don’t care about that at all, so I’ll see you Sunday night.
As always, this recap was written as I watched the episode, so there will be spelling and grammar mistakes.
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Felicity Feiner 
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