It’s the first day of week ten, and it’s time for a mystery box and invention test.
But first, here’s today’s Hot Tip.
Thanks for the Hot Tip, Johnson Leung!
When the contestants come in, Gaz tells them that George isn’t here today, but doesn’t elaborate as to why…
Matt tells them that the mystery boxes are all surprises. Each box is different, but they’re all ones they’ve cooked with before. They get the same rules and ingredients that applied to their box.
Tessa gets the Sweet Week box of lollies and dessert items from week 8.
Tim gets the dumpling box from week 5.
Simon has the Brisbane ‘cracking’ mystery box from week 6.
Christina has Rick Stein’s box from week 4.
Larissa has the black box from week 2 pressure test.
Nicole has the judges’ favourites mystery box from week 2.
Tati has Nigella’s mystery box from week 3.
Anushka has the best box from week 9.
Derek has the everything box from week 7.
Gaz gives them the overall rules – the top three are tested. The best into immunity, and everyone else into the invention test. As usual, they’ll have 60 minutes.
Time starts and everyone starts cooking. Eventually, it all ends, and the duo of judges choose three dishes to eat.
Simon is first to be tasted with his Brisbane box.
Matt and Gaz say it was better than last time, which he won, and the crab worked really well with the flavours.
Next is Larissa with her black box dish.
The judges say it’s beautifully cooked. Gaz calls the puree, “absolutely smashing,” and calls the whole dish, “really beautiful cooking.” Matt says the sauce was delicious and the best dish she’s ever done.
Last but not least is Derek.
Derek did almost the same dish last time, but added a couple of different things.
From the get go, the judges are excited to eat this one. After tasting it a first time, Matt wants to go back and have some more. Matt says Derek has taken it from simple ingredients to restaurant level.
It’s time for the decision, and Matt says that while all of them were delicious, there was one that just really stood out to them.
Derek’s the winner, and heads upstairs.
Now, to find out about the invention test. Matt tells them to make a dish inspired by a moment in time. They want a story from the flavours on the plate.
They’ll have 60 minutes, the garden and the pantry are open. Top three will join Derek, and bottom three will be with in the pressure test tomorrow, where someone will go home.
Time starts and everyone heads to the pantry.
After grabbing her eggs, Larissa has a quick snack.
ANUSHKA WATCH: Optical distributor, Anushka, seems to have an endless supply of glasses. Today, she’s wearing brown/caramel frames.
Time ends, and it’s ready to eat.
As usual when everyone’s tasted, I’ll take a photo of the ones that have the little logos. We’re getting to the pointy end of the stick, so at this stage, probably everyone will have one. We’ll see.
First up is Simon.
His memory is when he first moved with his partner and the ate cheap mussels and salad on the four crossed legs just chatting and hanging out.
Following on from George and Matt’s date last week, Gaz and Matt have a moment.
Gaz says he likes that the personal memory has translated well to MasterChef standards.
Matt does say that the only thing uncomfortable with the dish was watching Gaz eat.
Next is Nicole.
Her memory is when she stopped loving junk food and started loving real food. She ate a ton of peking duck pancakes with her brother in China.
Gaz talks about the best way to eat peking duck, and says she’s missing layers and elements. Matt says she didn’t think about how it would be eaten, and it’s a bit of a missed opportunity.
Tim’s up next.
Gaz says it’s hard to get excited and calls it a bit pedestrian.
Next is Tessa.
Her memory is when she was in Thailand and a woman made this and it was delicious, so she wanted to recreate it.
Gaz says he’s not salavating and he should to want to eat more.
Tati.
Gaz says it needs more effort and lateral thinking. He says he understands that it’s an emotional dish, but he doesn’t feel the emotions.
Up is Larissa.
Her memory was her childhood, raised on a peach farm and her earliest memories are of eating peaches.
Gaz says he likes it.
Matt likes that she brings a story of peach and the dish is very peach-y.
It’s Anushka’s turn.
Her memory is Christmas parties with her uncles with all her cousins. She’s got an Australian twist – the coconut.
Gaz says it doesn’t look very good. He says there are so many things she could do to make this go from looking average to a totally different arena.
He calls the sauce the hero of the dish and then says he doesn’t like the dessert.
Finally, Christina.
Her memory is her first date with her partner. He arranged a special cooking class and they chose this dish.
The judges cram it down their throats and call it a great dish.
It’s time for the results.
Those joining Derek in the immunity challenge are Simon, Larissa, and Christina.
The bottom three, headed to the pressure cook tomorrow is Tim, Tati and Anushka. One of them will be heading home.
Do I agree with this decision? No.
Do I know who will be going home? Yes.
I would pretty much bet everything that Tim will end up being safe, and either Tati or Anushka will be eliminated.
How do I know this? The favouritism that MasterChef continues to show towards Tim.
Check out my rant post for further analysis and details (link below, opens in a new tab).
As usual, this recap was written as I watched the episode, so there will be spelling and grammar mistakes.
I posted a MasterChef rant about Sandeep, and you can read it here. I also did a bigger rant about the rest of the season, and you can read that here.
If you have a Hot Tip, tweet me, leave a comment, or head over to my contact page, and let me know what’s good.
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Felicity Feiner 
“The judges cram it down their throats and call it a great dish.” 😂
But sad news for Tati and Anushka, if Tim gets out I’ll bake a celebratory cake.
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