MasterChef Aus S11E61 – Recap

This is it! It’s the Grand Final, and tonight, either Simon, Tessa or Larissa will be crowned MasterChef Australia 2019.

Personally, I hope it’s not Simon.

The episodes starts with a montage of their dishes throughout this season and their high points.
Tessa has having the most immunity pins and being tasted the most.
Larissa has being the youngest person left.
Simon was given tweezers by George once.

The contestants walk in, and see the previous contestants waiting at the top to judge them in their final moments.

The trio of judges are waiting at them at the front to scare them into their final challenge.

Hot Tip: Thanks to Juzza12 for sending me a link to this article, about how this is the last appearance of Gaz, Little G and Matt together as the trio of chefs. Next year, there will be a completely new set of judges for MasterChef Aus.
This has followed the controversy surrounding George Calombaris, after he was fined for underpaying his staff shy of nine million dollars. Over twenty million people signed a petition to have him removed from MasterChef Australia next year. However, the judges and Network Ten have said it’s come after months of negotiations, and failing to come to a compromise on a wage for the trio.

After getting a major grilling from Gaz, George “Little G” Calombaris brings their fams in.

The contestants are crying, there are some squeals, and Larissa gets hoisted onto her families shoulders.

Each family member is introduced and I honestly like don’t care. Anyway, they’re yeeted up the stairs, and it’s time to get cracking.

Matt tells them that their food and their recipes are the reason they’re in here, so they’ll be cooking nothing but their own food.

This is a service challenge, with a who’s who of the MasterChef family, like Curtis Stone, Maggie Beer, Julie Godwin, the mentors Poh, Billie, and Matt, and they’ve brought controversal chef, Shannon Bennett, to come and help them to serve.

Rules: The contestants have four and a half hours before service starts for prep of three courses. They’ll be cooking for twenty people each. After each course, their scores will be revealed, the highest score possible is 90.

Shannon takes over from the trio, and starts the time. The contestants run to their station and start prepping a menu.

Blah blah blah

Tessa has overcooked her marron and she’ll have to start the tails again.

With an hour until service, Larissa still hasn’t started prepping her entree.

More cooking happens, and then the trio of judges go outside to visit the guest diners.

It’s thirty minutes until service, and they’re busy busy.

The family and friends, and abandoned contestants are still standing upstairs to watch as other people eat their loved ones food. It’s kinda weird, but go off.

As everyone is serving their entrees, Larissa is still shaping those bone marrows.

The first entree is Tessa.

The judges enjoy it, and say the flavours are excellent.

Next is Simon.

He makes the wait staff spray a bit of vinegar stuff over the top, like one spritz, when serving.

The judges like his root to leaf approach, and say it’s pretty.

Matt says he really likes it, and it has a lot of flavour.
But Gaz says it needs something else.
George says it would be an amazing side dish.

Finally, Larissa is serving.

They really enjoy this dish and the onion puree.
Gaz likes that it’s different and unique, the little additions like mushroom and mustard seeds make the dish, “… come to life.”
Overall, it’s a delicious dish.

It’s time for the scores, and Tessa’s first.
George – 8. Gaz – 9. Matt – 10. Total: 27.

Next is Simon.
George – 7. Gaz – 7. Matt – 8. Total: 22.

Finally, Larissa.
George – 9. Gaz – 9. Matt – 9. Total: 27.

Tessa cuts open her beef and finds it’s too raw. It’s a fatty meat and needs to go back in – she can’t serve it like this.

It’s time for mains, and Simon’s first.

George likes it, tastes great, but Gaz says theres a certain luscious that’s missing. Matt says the carrot needs to just melt.

Next is Larissa.

They call it generous, and she’s two for two.

Finally, Tessa.

This is another delicious dish, and they super enjoy it.

It’s time for the scores.

Simon’s first.
George – 7. Gaz – 7. Matt – 7. Total: 21. Overall: 43.

Tessa second.
George – 9. Gaz 9. Matt – 9. Total: 27. Overall: 54.

Finally, Larissa.
George – 10. Gaz – 9. Matt – 9. Total 28. Overall: 55.

Time for desserts.

Larissa’s meringues seem to have fallen a bit, and she’s worried that it will be her demise.

First is Tim.

They say it’s delicious, but a safe dish.

Next is Tessa.

They call it a crowd pleaser, but also it’s another safe dish, especially with Larissa right behind her.

As Larissa goes to serve, she finds her sorbet rock solid, so she has to figure out something to do.

She figures something just in time, and serves it up.

The judges love the combination, and say it’s very well done. It’s a clear winner, and I think it’s easy to tell who the MasterChef is this year…

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It’s results time. Simon is pretty well out of the equation, so it’s between Larissa and Tessa.

Simon.
George – 7. Gaz – 8. Matt – 7. Total: 22. Overall: 65.

Even though he didn’t win, they give him a total of $20,000 to pursue his dreams.

Tessa.
George – 7. Gaz – 8. Matt – 8. Total: 23. Overall: 77.

Larissa.
George – 10. Gaz – 10. Matt – 10. Total: 30. Overall: 85.

That means, Larissa has won, and is MasterChef Australia for 2019.

They give Tessa a total of $30,000, for the same reason as Simon.

And that’s it! That’s MasterChef Australia done and dusted for another year, and my first season recap done! Wild. Further deets below.

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As usual, this recap was written as I watched the episode, so there will be spelling and grammar mistakes.

Wow! This has been the first show I’ve recapped, and I had a lot of fun! I hope you enjoyed reading these sixty one recaps. I’m still working on The Super Switch (deets below), but I’d love to do another show soon. If you have any suggestions, let me know via my contact page, by leaving a comment, or through any medium I’m on, such as Twitter or Instagram.

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.

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