MasterChef Australia (series 6)

The sixth series of the Australian cooking game show MasterChef Australia premiered on Monday, 5 May 2014 on Network Ten.

MasterChef Australia
Season 6
Judges
No. of contestants24
WinnerBrent Owens
Runner-upLaura Cassai
Country of originAustralia
No. of episodes60
Release
Original networkNetwork Ten
Original release5 May (2014-05-05) –
28 July 2014 (2014-07-28)
Additional information
Website10play.com.au/masterchef
Series chronology

This series was won by Brent Owens in the final against Laura Cassai on 28 July 2014. Coincidentally, Cassai and third-placed Emelia Jackson attended the same high school, Siena College.[1]

Changes

In a reversal from the previous season, the audition and preliminary stages were again broadcast as part of the series, and the weekly theme format was dropped. Series 6 also introduced the "power apron", which granted its wearer a number of advantages and control across a series of challenges. In elimination challenges and pressure tests, the contestant wore black aprons with their name in it. The same type of aprons were used by eliminated contestants in week 8 of 5th season of Masterchef Australia. In the previous seasons, the contestant who faced an elimination test or a pressure test wore a black apron without their name on it. In addition, the Immunity Challenges were expanded to have a preliminary round between three contestants before the winner moved on to cook for immunity against a professional chef. Kylie Kwong regularly appeared as a mentor during the Immunity Challenge episodes in addition to a recurring role as a guest judge.

Contestants

Top 24

The full Top 24 were revealed on Tuesday, 6 May. At the first Top 24 challenge, it was revealed that Cecilia Vuong, who was recovering from brain surgery due to a skiing injury, had withdrawn from the competition based on medical advice. Georgia Hughes, who had been the last one eliminated in the Top 50 portion of the show, entered as her replacement.[2]

Contestant Age State Occupation Status
Brent Owens 24 VIC Bobcat Driver Winner 28 July
Laura Cassai 18 SA Health Science Student Runner-up 28 July
Emelia Jackson 24 VIC Marketing Coordinator Eliminated 27 July
Jamie Fleming 26 NSW Bartender Eliminated 24 July
Tracy Collins 38 SA Hairdresser Eliminated 21 July
Ben Macdonald 36 QLD IT Systems Consultant Eliminated 20 July
Amy Shields 37 WA Learning Systems Admin Eliminated 17 July
Renae Smith 31 NSW Brand Developer Eliminated 10 July
Sarah Todd 27 QLD Model Eliminated 7 July
Returned 24 June
Eliminated 12 June
Colin Sheppard 51 SA Winemaker Eliminated 3 July
Kira Westwick 31 QLD Nutritional Coach Eliminated 30 June
Georgia Hughes 18 SA Physiotherapy Student Eliminated 23 June
Tash Shan 27 ACT Social Media Manager Eliminated 19 June
Byron Finnerty 27 VIC Deckhand Eliminated 16 June
Sam Gant 26 VIC Kidswear Designer Eliminated 9 June
Rachael Ciesiolka 45 NT Data Manager Eliminated 5 June
Steven Peh 20 WA Commerce Student Eliminated 2 June
Sean Baxter 31 VIC Brand Manager Eliminated 29 May
Scott Yeoman 32 SA Carpenter Eliminated 26 May
Emily Loo 31 QLD Resort Sales Coordinator Eliminated 22 May
Nick Doyle 22 NSW Law Student Eliminated 19 May
Nicole Cleave 55 WA Inflight Manager Eliminated 14 May
Deepali Behar 30 WA Dentist Eliminated 12 May
Brendan Langfield 26 QLD Retail Manager Eliminated 8 May
Cecilia Vuong 30 VIC School Maths Teacher Withdrew 7 May

Future appearances

-Brent Owens appeared on Series 7 as a guest judge for a Mystery Box Challenge.

-Cecelia Vuong will return at Series 8 to have a second chance to win but eventually reached 17th place.

-Brent also appeared on Series 10 at the Auditions to support the Top 50.

-Laura Cassai (now Sharrad), Emelia Jackson and Tracy Collins appeared on Series 12. Tracy was eliminated on May 24th 2020, finishing in 13th. Laura placed Runner-Up on July 20th 2020, placing 2nd. Emelia won the competition on July 20th 2020.

Guest chefs

Elimination chart
No. Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Finals
Mystery Box Challenge Winner Nick KiraScottEmeliaEmeliaBenLauraTracyBrentAmyBenBrent
Emelia
Tracy		None
Invention Test Winner Laura
Sean
Jamie		SarahTracy
Amy
Laura		Tash
Sarah
Brent		Brent
Renae
Rachael		Amy
Colin
Georgia		Tracy
Laura
Ben		Emelia
Brent
Jamie		NoneAmy
Laura
Ben		BrentNone
Immunity
Challenge		 NoneNoneLose: TracyLose: TashLose: RachaelLose: AmyWin: LauraNoneWin: TracyLose: AmyNone
1 Brent Top 24Btm 9INBtm 6INBtm 6Top 3Btm 3Top 3Team LoseINTeam LoseINBtm 2Top 3Team WinBtm 5Team LoseINTeam Lose 2Btm 4Top 3Btm 2Btm 3Top 2WINNER
2 Laura Top 24Top 3INTeam LoseTop 3Team WinINTeam WinINTeam 2ndBtm 3Team WinTop 3Team Lose/Imm.Btm 4Team LoseINT.L.SavedTop 3Team WinTop 3Btm 3Top 3ADVTop 2Runner-up
3 Emelia Top 24Btm 21INTeam WinINTeam LoseINTeam WinINTeam 3rdINTeam LoseINTeam LoseTop 3Team WinINTeam WinBtm 3Team 2ndTop 3Top 3Top 3Btm 33rdEliminated (Ep 59)
4 Jamie Top 24Top 3Btm 3Team WinINBtm 6Btm 3Team WinINTeam 3rdINTeam LoseINTeam WinTop 3Team WinBtm 3Team WinINTeam WinTop 3Btm 3Top 3ElimEliminated (Ep 58)
5 Tracy Top 24Btm 21INBtm 6Top 3Team LoseINTeam WinINTeam WinINBtm 3Top 3Team WinWinWinP.A.INTeam WinBtm 3/Imm.Team Lose 2Btm 2Top 3ElimEliminated (Ep 55)
6 Ben Top 24Btm 9INTeam WinINTeam LoseINTeam WinBtm 4Team LoseINTeam WinTop 3Team WinINTeam LoseBtm 5Team WinTop 3Team Lose 1Btm 4ElimEliminated (Ep 54)
7 Amy Top 24Btm 9INTeam LoseTop 3Team WinINTeam LoseINTeam 2ndTop 3Team WinBtm 3Team WinBtm 4Team WinINTeam LoseTop 3Team 2ndElimEliminated (Ep 53)
8 Renae Top 24Btm 9INTeam WinINTeam WinINTeam WinTop 3Team 3rdINTeam WinINTeam WinBtm 4Team WinINBtm 2Btm 4ElimEliminated (Ep 48)
9 Sarah Top 24Btm 21WinTeam WinBtm 3Team WinTop 3Team WinBtm 4Team WinINElimEliminated (Ep 28)Team LoseINTeam WinElimRe-eliminated (Ep 45)
10 Colin Top 24Btm 21INTeam WinINTeam WinINTeam LoseINTeam 3rdTop 3Btm 3INTeam LoseINTeam LoseBtm 3ElimEliminated (Ep 43)
11 Kira Top 24Btm 21Top 3Team WinINTeam WinINBtm 3INTeam WinINTeam WinINTeam LoseINTeam LoseElimEliminated (Ep 40)
12 Georgia ReturnBtm 21INTeam WinINBtm 6INTeam LoseINTeam 2ndTop 3Team WinINTeam WinElimRe-Eliminated (Ep 35)
13 Tash Top 24Btm 21INTeam LoseINTeam WinTop 3Team LoseINTeam LoseINTeam WinBtm 3ElimEliminated (Ep 33)
14 Byron Top 24Btm 21Top 3Btm 6INTeam WinINTeam WinBtm 4Team 2ndBtm 3Team LoseElimEliminated (Ep 30)
15 Sam Top 24Btm 9INTeam WinINTeam LoseINTeam LoseINTeam WinElimEliminated (Ep 25)
16 Rachael Top 24 Btm 3 IN Team Lose IN Team Win IN Team Lose Top 3 Elim Eliminated (Ep 23)
17 Steven Top 24 Btm 9 IN Btm 6 IN Btm 3 Btm 3 Team Win Elim Eliminated (Ep 20)
18 Sean Top 24 Top 3 IN Team Win Btm 3 Btm 3 IN Elim Eliminated (Ep 18)
19 Scott Top 24 Btm 21 DNP Btm 6 IN Team Win Elim Eliminated (Ep 15)
20 Emily Top 24 Btm 21 IN Team Lose IN Elim Eliminated (Ep 13)
21 Nick Top 24 Btm 21 Btm 3 Team Win Elim Eliminated (Ep 10)
22 Nicole Top 24 Btm 21 IN Elim Eliminated (Ep 8)
23 Deepali Top 24 Btm 3 Elim Eliminated (Ep 6)
24 Brendan Top 24 Elim Eliminated (Ep 4)
25 Cecilia Left
Eliminated (Georgia)
Cecilia		 Brendan Deepali Nicole Nick Emily Scott Sean Steven Rachael Sam Sarah
1st elimination		 Byron Tash Georgia None Kira Colin Sarah
Re-elimination		 Renae Amy Ben Tracy Jamie Emelia Laura
80 points
Brent
83 points (win)

Episodes and ratings
Colour key:
  – Highest rating during the series
  – Lowest rating during the series
Ep no./Wk-Ep no. Original airdate Episode title / Event Total viewers (5 Metro cities) Nightly ranking Ref.
Week 1
1/01-1 Monday, 5 May 2014 Series Premiere: Auditions Part 1 - Contestants started Series 6 with a challenge to cook their signature dish in one hours, vying for automatic entry into the Top 24. Originally there will be twelve contestants who passed the auditions but Matt announced to the other remaining contestants that they still have a chance to present their dishes where two contestants (to a total of fourteen) joined the Top 24. Eighteen contestants, who were given a second chance, will cook again in the next episode. 874,000 #10 [3]
2/01-2 Tuesday, 6 May 2014 Auditions Part 2 - The eighteen second chance contestants compete in a two-round challenge for ten remaining spots in the Top 24. The first round was an Invention Test where contestants have 75 minutes to cook a dish from a choice of three core skills (filleting, butchering and baking). Jamie, Brendan, Scott, Brent, Kira, Renae and Nick delivered the best dishes, received an apron each and joined the Top 24. The five other contestants (whose dishes had technical issues that failed to impress the judges) will not compete in the second round and were eliminated. The six remaining contestants faced a Pressure Test to claim the last remaining spots in the Top 24. They have two hours to recreate George Calombaris' dessert "Lemon, Lime and Bitters". Steven's version of the dish highly impressed the judges during tasting, winning him an apron. Afterwards, the last two aprons were given to Sarah and Byron. 847,000 #9 [4]
3/01-3 Wednesday, 7 May 2014 Top 24 Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test - Georgia return to the competition after Cecelia withdrew due to brain surgery. The Top 24 got their first challenge, the five winners from previous seasons each chose their personal core ingredients for the Mystery Box: Julie Goodwin chose lemons, guava was selected by Adam Liaw, Kate Bracks pick white chocolate, hazelnuts were chosen by Andy Allen and Emma Dean chose rhubarb; with one hour for the contestants to cook their dishes. Georgia, Ben, Sarah, Tash and Nick were each chosen by the previous winners as the Top 5. It was Nick's salted hazelnut crumb, lemon curd and white chocolate mousse that won him the advantage for the Invention Test. The theme for this next challenge was to cook a dish from the past (over present and future) chosen by Nick with 90 minutes to cook. The top three dishes cooked by their makers will be saved from tomorrow's first elimination challenge. In the end, the judges save Laura, Sean and Jamie from elimination as the Top 3. 787,000 #11 [5]
4/01-4 Thursday, 8 May 2014 Chinese Cuisine Elimination Challenge - The remaining contestants faced a three-round elimination challenge set by in-house mentor Kylie Kwong based on Chinese cuisine. The first round was to cook fried rice with different ingredients in the pantry that are not used in Chinese cooking in 30 minutes with the top twelve contestants will be safe from the next round. For the second round, each of the remaining contestants must name a Chinese ingredient. The first three people who guessed the ingredient incorrectly will compete in the final round. Deepali, Rachael and Brendan have 60 minutes to cook their Chinese dishes. They were able to use the ingredients that were guessed correctly in the second round. Rachael's Szechuan Pepper and Coriander Crab with Chinese Broccoli was praised by the judges. Deepali served only three dumplings with less filling that had technical issues, despite praising the judges with its taste. Brendan, who had inexperience with Chinese cuisine, produced a dish with under-cooked pork loin that missed the mark on the theme of the challenge which left the judges' decision to eliminate him. 1,001,000 #5 [6]
Week 2
5/02-1 Sunday, 11 May 2014 Mystery Box Challenge and Breakfast Invention Test - Contestants have 30 minutes to cook a dish with the use of the following ingredients from the Mystery box: chicken, licorice, pineapple, pistachios, cinnamon, beetroot, yogurt and thyme. Top three dishes were named and Kira won the challenge. She choose eggs from a choice of breakfast ingredients for the contestants (except Scott) to cook a breakfast dish in 60 minutes. The winner will grant an advantage for their first team challenge. Kira was among the top three contestants but it was Sarah's scotch quail eggs that won the advantage. Deepali, Nick and Jamie were sent to elimination after their dishes have serious issues. Because of his decision to sit out of the second challenge, Scott will also be sent to the Pressure test as followed by the rules of the competition. 770,000 #10 [7]
6/02-2 Monday, 12 May 2014 Pressure Test: Shannon Bennett's Fillet of Beef – Shannon Bennett presents his Filet De Boeuf Et Pommes Souffle Au Jus Gras for Deepali, Nick, Jamie and Scott to recreate in one and a half hours. This pressure test struggled all of the contestants: Scott made mistakes during the challenge but his steak and pommes soufflées impressed the judges apart from the jus gras. Nick's steak was very rare and it wasn't cut correctly, after he repeatedly burnt himself in his cooking time. Deepali's steak was unevenly cooked and her pommes didn't rise. Jamie's pommes lack salt and his jus gras is too thick. In the end, the fact that her Indian religion forbids Deepali to either taste or cook a steak is proven to be her disadvantage, and that is enough to seal her elimination. 735,000 #13 [8]
7/02-3 Tuesday, 13 May 2014 Restaurant Takeover Team Challenge - At St Kilda Beach in Melbourne, the 22 contestants face their first team challenge with four hours of prep time and service to customers at two restaurants: Captain Baxter (from upstairs) and Republica (in downstairs) both headed by executive chef, Matt Dawson. Two teams will get identical pantries to create their own menus and select pricing. The team that earns the most money, wins. After winning the Invention Test, Sarah earned the advantage of choosing her own team and a restaurant of choice as a team captain. She chose Nick, Kira, Sam, Jamie, Sean, Colin, Georgia, Emelia, Renae and Ben to cook dishes for Republica as the Red Team while Tracy volunteered as captain of the Blue Team to the remaining cooks in Captain Baxter. After both teams struggled, both of them produced the best dishes but Tracy's strategy of pricing failed to attract other customers handing the win to Sarah's Red Team with $2477 to the Blue's $1952 that sent them to elimination. 701,000 #14 [9]
8/02-4 Wednesday, 14 May 2014 Two Dishes from One Snapper Elimination Challenge - Members of the losing team faced a two-round elimination challenge to cook a dish with the use of one snapper in 30 minutes. Tash, Emily, Laura, Rachael and Amy have the top dishes, however the other remaining home cooks were also declared safe after Nicole took a crucial risk of using a whole snapper for the first round, despite the judges' pleading. Unfortunately, that risk didn't pay off as her dish lack crispness in the fish due to the overuse of the hot oil dressing and without any of the remaining protein to cook for the second round, Nicole was automatically eliminated from the competition. 889,000 #10 [10]
Thursday, 15 May 2014 Masterchef Australia: Class of 2014 - This episode featured behind the scenes of the show and on-set interviews from this year's Top 24 contestants. 578,000 #14 [11]
Week 3
9/03-1 Sunday, 18 May 2014 Maggie Beer's Mystery Box Challenge and Spanish Invention Test - Maggie Beer's choice of ingredients in the Mystery box contains octopus, dark chocolate, pears, parsley, bay leaves, capers, Japanese plums, vinno cotto and Maggie's signature ver jus. After 60 minutes was given for the contestants to cook their dishes, Kira, Sarah, Emily, Scott and Rachael have the standout dishes. It was Scott's chocolate ganache tart that won the challenge. The Invention Test was set by chef Frank Camorra of MoVida and from a choice of Spanish ingredients (chorizo, rabbit and citruses), Scott chose chorizo. With all the contestants chose to pair the key ingredient with squid for their dishes, it was Laura, Tracy and Amy that won over to the judges with a chance to cook for immunity. Jamie was criticised by the judges on his dish and for the use of the nightshade flowers, but it was Sean, Nick and Sarah who were sent to elimination for serving their dishes with under-cooked squid. 924,000 #7 [12]
10/03-2 Monday, 19 May 2014 Pressure Test: Alla Wolf-Tasker's Rivers and Lakes - Sean, Nick and Sarah have two hours to recreate Lake House executive chef Alla Wolf-Tasker's dish "Rivers and Lakes". Sean's curing of both fishes praised in judging but his consommé was cloudy and lacked depth of flavour while Sarah's elements of her dish impressed the judges but her watercress puree was overly acidic and lacked vibrance. However, those errors in their singular elements outweigh Nick's poor plating and missing elements along with his soggy crispy skin and deplorable watercress puree that saw him eliminated. 748,000 #17 [13]
11/03-3 Tuesday, 20 May 2014 Immunity Challenge: Ollie Gould - Laura, Tracy and Amy compete in the first round of immunity. They faced a Small Mystery Box Challenge containing tiny ingredients (quail, quail eggs, melba toast, honey, candied beetroot, chili and finger lime) using small cooking equipment and required staples (without using anything from the garden) to cook their amuse-bouches in 20 minutes. Despite the critique on the presentation of her dish, Tracy won the challenge with her quail ballontine to cook against Ollie Gould of Stokehouse in Melbourne. The chef decided to cook a dish with fruit in one hour and Tracy have one hour and fifteen minutes to cook her dish from the chosen key ingredient. Tracy's pastry for her Lemon and Lime Curd Tart with Candied Orange Peel and Italian Meringue praise the judges but the meringue was over-whipped and the curd was runny, given a score of 20. Ollie's Seared Pork Loin and Summer Fruits with Pickled Beetroot and Prosciutto have notable flaws but his perfectly cooked pork scored 24 to win. 780,000 #13 [14]
12/03-4 Wednesday, 21 May 2014 Three-Course Team Challenge from Memory: Cutler & Co. and Ezard - The contestants were split randomly into two teams and had to cook a three-course meal for 30 guests from two restaurants in Melbourne: Cutler & Co. and Ezard. The Blue Team, led by Sarah and her vice-captain Tash, were assigned to cook dishes from Ezard while The Red Team, led by Jamie and his vice-captain Emelia, were assigned to Cutler & Co. The captain and vice captain went to the restaurants and had to memorise the directions of the recipes from the chef of each restaurant (Teage Ezard and Andrew McConnell of Cutler & Co). They then returned to the MasterChef kitchen to relay to their other team members instructions to be able to replicate the dishes in 90 minutes. During service, the Red Team's watercress puree for the entrée was bitter while the Blue Team's plum broth for the main course had an odd taste. In the dessert, both teams have technical issues with their dishes - the Red Team had issues of demoulding their panna cottas, missing out the caramel topping and there's error in their syrup while the Blue Team's honey jelly didn't set and their sorbets were melting but their cheesecake and crumb were well received in judging as the Blue Team wins while the Red Team were sent to elimination. 928,000 #8 [15]
13/03-5 Thursday, 22 May 2014 Sudden Death Elimination Challenge: Fast Food - Ten contestants from the losing team competed in a three-round elimination challenge with Fast Food as the theme of this challenge. Each contestant chose ten different ingredients for each round with different time limits. Tracy, Emelia, Sam and Ben had the top dishes and were safe in the first round after 30 minutes. Jamie, Georgia and Brent were next to be declared safe in the 20-minute second round while Sean, Emily and Steven cook in the 10-minute third round. Steven, despite the issues of filleting his fish, delivered the best dish while the judges critique Sean's inconsistent cooking of the liver but Emily's banana fritters had technical issues after she mistakenly fried the plantain - the stiffened texture and loss of sweetness in the dish seal her elimination. 870,000 #7 [16]
MasterClass: Maggie Beer, Alla Wolf-Tasker, Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris, Kylie Kwong and Matt Preston - The nineteen remaining contestants were presented by the judges, Kylie, Maggie and Alla with their recipes in their first MasterClass: Maggie's Octopus with Squid Ink Pasta, Alla's Red Wine Pears, Gary's Ocean Trout on Rosti, George's Walnut with Blue Cheese Mousse, Kylie's Blue Swimmer Crab with Stir Fried Greens and Matt's Chicken Italienne. 629,000 #17
Week 4
14/04-1 Sunday, 25 May 2014 Press Club Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test: Proteins or Vegetables - George sets up the Mystery Box Challenge for the nineteen remaining contestants to cook a dish with leftovers from his restaurant the Press Club. Emelia, Kira, Renae, Sarah and Colin were chosen as the top five with Emelia's avgolemono dish that won the advantage. She chose to remove the proteins (including gelatine) from the pantry to cook the inventive dishes. This invention test was a struggle for some of the contestants but it was Tash, Brent and Sarah who delivered the top three dishes while the judges slam Jamie, Steven and Scott's dishes, sending them to the Pressure test. 948,000 #7 [17]
15/04-2 Monday, 26 May 2014 Pressure Test: Christy Tania's Mango Alfonso - Adelphi Hotel's Om Nom Dessert Bar pastry chef Christy Tania from Melbourne presented one of the signature desserts from the restaurant, Mango Alfonso composed with 10 elements for the bottom three contestants to replicate the dessert. Steven earned praises with his elements of the dessert. He was safe as Scott (who missed out the other elements of the dish and his choux pastries were overmoist) and Jamie (who overuse the shiso cremeaux in his pastries and his mango and shiso sphere toppled on the dish) meant they're the bottom two. The main focus of this challenge was the choux pastries (one of the key elements in the dish) and with his second take of pastries failed to thrive in judging, Scott was eliminated. 718,000 #15 [18]
16/04-3 Tuesday, 27 May 2014 Immunity Challenge: Benjamin Cooper - Brent, Tash and Sarah compete in the first round of immunity. They had to cook a dish with their choice of one of the five different chillies with different cooking time limits. Sarah and Brent both lacked spice in their dishes as Tash won the challenge with her Pineapple and Chilli Sorbet with Macerated Fruit to cook against Benjamin Cooper of Chinchin in Melbourne. He decided to cook with spices for the second challenge. Tash's Twice Cooked Spice Chicken praise the judges for the complexity of flavours and her other elements of the dish. Benjamin's Brazilian Seafood Stew was also praised for its complexity and despite the criticisms on leaving the bones as well as the requirement of rice in the dish, he beats Tash with 28 points to 24. 934,000 #11 [19]
17/04-4 Wednesday, 28 May 2014 Four-Course Dessert Degustation Challenge - Darren Purchese mentored two teams of contestants to cook a garden-themed four-course dessert with the use of savoury ingredients: carrot, thyme, ginger and blue cheese in each course. Emelia and Georgia, both thrive in desserts, elect themselves as captains, and instruct their teams to design their desserts in each course. Each team have their assigned different garden theme: Georgia's Red Team were assigned for “Sunday in the garden” desserts while Emelia's Blue Team create “Footprints in the garden” desserts. The first course was to create an edible dessert centerpiece with the use of carrots. For the second course, teams prepared their desserts with thyme as the key ingredient. The third course was to cook a dessert with ginger and the use of liquid nitrogen. In the final course, they prepared a hot blue cheese dessert. While both teams were praised each for their two courses, the combination of the Red Team's inconsistent presentation in their centerpiece and overuse of the salt in their thyme biscuits sent them to elimination as the Blue Team wins the challenge. 779,000 #11 [20]
18/04-5 Thursday, 29 May 2014 Blind Taste Test Elimination Challenge - Georgia, Sam, Rachael, Brent, Colin, Tash, Sean, Amy and Kira have 3 minutes to identify and write down 23 ingredients of an unknown dish, revealed to be Louisiana Gumbo, while blind-folded. The contestants who guess all the ingredients correctly will not cook in the second round. Contestants who have correct guesses will receive their ingredients to create their dishes in 45 minutes. Both Rachael and Colin delivered their standout dishes while Sean, Brent and Kira were the bottom three. Brent served his char-grilled prawns too hot but his excellent performance in the kitchen was enough to be declared safe. Kira's kransky sauce failed to impress the judges despite burning her hand during the challenge. Ultimately, it was Sean who had a lot more mistakes during the cook than Kira as his overcooked prawns and under-cooked bland flatbread sealed his elimination. 882,000 #5 [21]
Week 5
19/05-1 Sunday, 1 June 2014 Perilous Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test - Contestants have 30 minutes to cook a dish with the option of choosing between the ingredients from the Mystery box (tofu, paw paw, zucchini flowers, Vegemite, choko, cardamom and pheasant) and the given ingredients from the cutting board in their benches (potato, pumpkin, lamb, brussels sprouts). Georgia, Amy, Jamie and Sarah were among the top five dishes using the Mystery Box ingredients but it was Emelia's use of the "safe board" ingredients that won her the second time for the advantage of the Invention Test with the option of choosing the core ingredient, cooking time and cuisine of her choice. She chose a Thai prawn dish with 45 minutes to cook. However, Steven was feeling unwell and opted to sit out of the second challenge therefore, he will be sent to the Pressure Test. It was Brent, Rachael and Renae who delivered the creativity with their Thai prawn dishes. On the other hand, Ben, Byron and Sarah delivered technical errors and were sent to elimination. 885,000 #8 [22]
20/05-2 Monday, 2 June 2014 Saint Crispin Pressure Test: Sweet and Savoury - Byron, Ben, Steven and Sarah compete in a two-hour challenge set by Saint Crispin chefs Joe Grbac and Scott Picket. They give the option to the contestants to pick one of the two dishes of their choice: sweet and savoury. Byron, Ben and Sarah chose to cook Scott's venison dish (savoury) while Steven picked Joe's rice pudding (sweet). All contestants struggled in this challenge, each have critical flaws on their dishes however Ben (who had all the elements of the dish over his burnt crépinette) and Sarah (who received praise from the judges apart from her missing figs and a small strip of cling wrap left in her dish) were first to be declared safe despite their under-cooked venison. Byron was condemned for his panicked plating besides his missing figs while Steven, despite being motivated with his choice of dish, flustered and delivered his dessert with poorly executed elements. Ultimately, Byron's cooking of the venison saved him in the competition and Steven was eliminated. 743,000 #14 [23]
21/05-3 Tuesday, 3 June 2014 Immunity Challenge: Matt Stone - Rachael, Brent and Renae compete in the first round, taking turns of naming different cheeses. Renae and Brent failed to answer their next guesses, and Rachael won the chance to cook for immunity against chef Matt Stone from Greenhouse in Perth. He chose cheese (over ham) as the core ingredient. In one hour, he cooked a Carrot and Manchego salad while Rachael cooked a Lobster Mornay and Cheese Soufflé with Grilled Mango. Matt's salad was praised for the quality of the dish and highlighting the core ingredient, but lacked balance to taste. While Rachael's dish earned praises with her lobster and grilled mango, the conflicting flavours to her cheese soufflé on her dish meant she lost with the lowest score of 15 to Matt's 23. 836,000 #12 [24]
22/05-4 Wednesday, 4 June 2014 Queen Victoria Market Team Challenge - Four teams compete at the Queen Victoria Market in a team challenge: to cook a dish with the budget of $700 for ingredients with the team who make the most money wins. By the time they bought their ingredients, The Red Team attempted to debate between two options for their dish to sell. The Green Team spent all their money to buy ingredients for their dish without a captain in charge. During preparation time, tensions between two members of the Red Team (Rachael and Tash) on a task of cooking the elements of their dish. In service, the teams (except Yellow) began losing customers due to the poor service in preparing their dishes. Both the Green Team (now led by Amy) and the Yellow Team (with Sam as captain) spent their budget for ingredients. Therefore, the popularity of their dishes earned the highest money with the Yellow team winning with $3884.35 to Green's $2328.14. The strategy of saving money on ingredients to allocate to profits didn't work out for the Blue and Red Teams, earning the lowest money each. In the end, the profit of $1600 mark the Red Team captain Brent's fifth time to face elimination with his team members. 828,000 #9 [25]
23/05-5 Thursday, 5 June 2014 Elimination Challenge: Time Auction - Rachael, Ben, Brent and Tash faced off in an auction challenge. Each contestant got 100 minutes of time and had to bid for proteins, produce and condiments in 5 minutes. Tash had 30 minutes to cook with mackerel, Asian vegetables and sauces, Rachael was left with 50 minutes to cook with pork belly, forage vegetables and pantry staples, Brent had 50 minutes for rib-eye steak, root vegetables and spices, and Ben got 55 minutes to cook with pigeon, nightshades and dairy. Eventually, the verdict came down to the contestants who excelled throughout the challenge with their dishes and unlike Rachael, she struggled during her cooking time and produced a dish that lacked quality. It was enough for the judges’ decision to eliminate her from the competition. 931,000 #6 [26]
MasterClass: Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris, Darren Purchese and Matt Preston - Darren Purchese and the judges presented their dishes in this special Dessert MasterClass: Gary's Pistachio Sponge with White Chocolate Mousse & Yuzu Curd, George's Risogalo Jar, Darren's Apple Tarte Tartin and Matt's three dessert recipes (Flourless Nutella Cake, Simple Peanut Cookies and Instant Ice Cream). 688,000 #17
Week 6
24/06-1 Sunday, 8 June 2014 "Superfood" Box Challenge & Chocolate Invention Test - Contestants have 30 minutes to cook a dish with the use of nutritious ingredients from the Mystery box (like goji berries, kale, yogurt and lentils). The top five were Emelia, Ben, Colin, Renae and Brent. Despite Emelia's third appearance in the top five dishes, she lost to Ben who delivered the best dish the judges had eaten this season. This Invention Test was to create a sweet and savoury chocolate dishes in 60 minutes as Ben will select the teams of three. He picked Emelia and Jamie as his team members. Ben groups Kira, Tracy and Tash; Laura, Byron and Sam; and Brent, Renae and Sarah while Amy, Colin and Georgia were defaulted as the fifth team. It was the latter team who delivered the best chocolate dishes as well as their Chocolate Fettucine with Lamb and were named the top three. While their respective fellow team members’ desserts were praised by the judges, Tracy's thyme venison dish lack chocolate flavour in her chutney but in a close decision, Byron and Sam's chocolate chicken roulade dish was deemed as the worst, sending them along with Laura to elimination. 736,000 #10 [27]
25/06-2 Monday, 9 June 2014 Nobu Pressure Test - Byron, Laura and Sam compete in a two-hour challenge set by famed celebrity chef and world entrepreneur, Nobu Matsuhisa to recreate four plates of sushi: six nigiri and six vegetable rolls without a recipe needed, serving to each judge and Nobu. All three struggled throughout the challenge, but Laura's performance in the kitchen impress Nobu and was declared safe with the quality of her dish despite missing out one of the elements while both Byron and Sam were criticised for their inconsistent presentation of their plates. A single snapper bone that was found in one of Sam's dishes resulted in her elimination. 830,000 #12 [28]
26/06-3 Tuesday, 10 June 2014 Immunity Challenge: Jock Zonfrillo - Georgia, Colin and Amy compete in the first round of immunity, using a randomly selected kitchen gadget of their choice: a blowtorch, a smoking gun and a foam gun to cook their dishes in 45 minutes. Both Colin and Georgia's use of the foam gun and the blowtorch respectively had issues with their dishes, and Amy's use of the smoking gun in her puree won the challenge to cook against guest chef Jock Zonfrillo of Orana. Amy was given a choice to either pick between one of the two pantries with 15 minutes less to cook her dish or let the chef pick his choice with the regular cooking time limits. She gave the pick to Jock who chose the ‘pauper’ ingredients containing native Australian ingredients over the ‘prince’ ingredients containing expensive ingredients. He cooked a Roast Beef and Pumpkin with Native Succulents while Amy prepares her Pan-fried Leather Jacket with Potato Puree and Apple Sauce. Jock's dish impress the judges for its presentation, taste, and the clever use of the indigenous ingredients. While Amy was praised for the quality and depth of flavour to her dish, she lost to Jock with the score of 24 points to the professional's 27. 881,000 #11 [29]
27/06-4 Wednesday, 11 June 2014 Diamond Jubilee Wedding Anniversary Team Challenge - Two teams had to cater two dishes (entrée and main) and prep a two-tiered wedding cake to 80 guests to celebrate Margaret and Eddie's 60th Wedding Anniversary at the Ascot House in Victoria. Within three hours of planning and preparation of their dishes, Blue Team member Brent wasn't feeling well and decided to withdrew the entire challenge while the Red Team struggle for improvements in their entrée. Both teams struggled to prep their main courses and their cakes. While the judges noted the Red Team's main course being less over cooked and their presentation of their cake, it was the Blue Team's lack of execution in their main and under baked cake that left them to elimination. 847,000 #8 [30]
28/06-5 Thursday, 12 June 2014 Elimination Challenge: Classic Dishes - The contestants faced a two-round Elimination Challenge. The first round was to name a classic dish correctly where they will write their answers on cards. Colin, Tracy and Sarah failed to guess their correct answers and were sent to second round. They receive their ingredients from the dishes that were correctly identified to cook their dishes in 60 minutes. Tracy's Chicken Ballotine earned positive reviews while the judges criticized Colin's Chicken Pithivier however, they couldn't taste Sarah's Chicken Roulade due to the protein being raw. Though she had been motivated throughout the competition and in team challenges, Sarah was eliminated despite being a top favourite to win the competition. 987,000 #5 [31]
Week 7 - Marco Week
29/07-1 Sunday, 15 June 2014 Marco's Mystery Box Challenge and Italian Cuisine Invention Test - Dubbed as the first celebrity chef, Marco Pierre White served as the guest chef for the week. He presented his ingredients (white port, lobster, ginger, coriander, vine tomatoes, olive oil, carrots, cucumber and mixed spices) in a Mystery Box for the contestants to cook their dishes in 75 minutes. With Emelia, Kira, Brent, Amy and Laura named the top five, Marco picked Tracy's dish as the sixth participant for tasting. He and the judges then picked Laura as the winner of this challenge after Marco was impressed in her recipe profile. The Invention Test was to cook Italian dishes with only five ingredients from the pantry in one hour and from a choice of Italian ingredients (porcini mushrooms, prosciutto and bottarga), Laura choose the mushrooms. She then won the second challenge along with Tracy and Ben for a chance to compete for immunity while Amy, Byron and Tash's dishes had technical errors that sent them to elimination. 1,000,000 #7 [32]
30/07-2 Monday, 16 June 2014 White Heat Pressure Test: Roasted Pigeon with Ravioli of Wild Mushrooms - Amy, Byron and Tash had two and a half hours to recreate one of Marco's famous dishes from his best-selling cook book, White Heat. Amy was first to be declared safe after delivering the similarity to the dish. Tash's plate had two underwhelming elements and she missed out the turnips while Byron, despite having the best presentation of the dish, ran out of time to serve enough sauce. Unfortunately, the lack of sauce derailed the harmony of the elements and failed to match the quality of Marco's dish which was enough for Byron to be eliminated. 776,000 #12 [33]
31/07-3 Tuesday, 17 June 2014 Immunity Challenge: Donovan Cooke - Marco demonstrates his knife skills to Laura, Tracy and Ben on how to dice an onion perfectly which they had to do the same in order to advance in the second round for immunity. It was Laura's time and precision of finely dicing her onion that won her the chance to cook against Michelin star chef Donovan Cooke of The Atlantic Restaurant in Melbourne. Laura takes the pick and from the core ingredients of the surf ‘n’ turf dish, choose fish (over red meat) with the same cooking time limit for her and the chef to cook their dishes. She cooked Pan Fried Snapper with Anchovy, Tomato and Caper Vinaigrette with Fennel, Orange Salad while Donovan cooked his Pan Fried Barramundi with Seafood Broth and Summer Vegetables. Despite Laura overcooking her fish apart from receiving praise for the balance of flavour, Donovan ran out of time to plate up and served his dish five seconds late. As a result, the judges couldn't taste his dish and Laura automatically wins the Immunity Pin with 26 points out of 30. 988,000 #7 [34]
32/07-4 Wednesday, 18 June 2014 Taxi Kitchen Team Challenge - Two teams were instructed by Marco and the judges to compete in a British-themed challenge. They had to prep two entrées, two mains and a dessert for 60 diners each before service in the Taxi Kitchen restaurant at Federation Square in Melbourne. By two hours and forty-five minutes, the Blue Team are still deciding their menu and struggled to prep their main. During service time, the Blue Team served their main dish with raw lamb. Despite receiving praise for their dessert, it wasn't enough to overcome their bland scallop entrée and overcooked lamb dish against the overall praise of the Red Team's dishes that lead the Blue Team to elimination. 859,000 #9 [35]
33/07-5 Thursday, 19 June 2014 Knife Block Elimination Challenge - To escape elimination, Laura decided to use her immunity pin. A contestant had to pull out one of the knives from the block with a name of the dish. They have 60 minutes to cook their assigned dish, risotto. Kira's risk of producing a Quinoa Risotto and Tomato Salad delivered the dish of the day as she was declared safe along with Colin and Emelia. The bottom two is between Tash and Brent. His risotto was under-seasoned but while her risotto had the smooth consistency, Tash overpowered the acidity of the dish by pouring too much wine in the rice. The lack of balance from both the lemon and wine overwhelm the delicate flavours of her dish that resulted Tash to be eliminated from the competition. 1,039,000 #3 [36]
MasterClass: Marco Pierre White, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris - The judges and Marco treat the remaining contestants a Masterclass. Marco presented his salt baked snapper dish, a simple spaghetti carbonara and a tuna dish. Later, Gary and George presented their respective dishes to the contestants. 726,000 #14
Week 8
34/08-1 Sunday, 22 June 2014 Duel Mystery Box Challenge & Team Invention Test - This Mystery Box Challenge had a twist: contestants get to decide who will step up to compete in the first round where each must answer a trivia question and only two will remain to face off in the second round. The winner will be safe from elimination and an advantage while the loser was sent straight to the Pressure Test. Tracy and Renae were left to compete in round two where they had to create a dish with the ingredients from the Mystery Box. Both of them were praised for their outstanding presentation in their dishes, but the cloying sweetness in Renae's dish land herself to elimination as Tracy won the challenge. The other contestants were grouped into three to compete in the Invention Test. Each team member randomly pull out a knife corresponding the three choices (cuisine, appliance and cooking method) to cook two dishes. Jamie, Emelia and Brent receive high praise with their two American dishes and the use of the planetary mixer and a stove-top, making them the Top 3. Ben, Colin and Kira also receive praise for their Moroccan dishes with the oven and the ice cream machine. Laura, Georgia and Amy struggled throughout the challenge (due to their use of the deep fryer and unfamiliarity with Vietnamese cuisine). Despite receiving praise on both of their dishes, their prawns were uncoated and overcooked, joining Renae to face elimination. 863,000 #9 [37]
35/08-2 Monday, 23 June 2014 Pressure Test: Vikas Khanna's Rose-Tea Smoked Chicken Tikka Masala - Laura, Georgia, Amy and Renae had 75 minutes to recreate a rose tea-smoked chicken dish by award-winning Michelin starred Indian chef Vikas Khanna. Renae and Amy's take of the dishes received high praise and were safe despite minimal errors in their respective plates as the final decision came to Laura and Georgia (both of them had lack of experience in Indian cuisine). While Laura's sauce was overcooked, her cooking of the protein saved her and Georgia's overcooked chicken sealed her elimination. 913,000 #9 [38]
36/08-3 Tuesday, 24 June 2014 Second Chance Cook-Off - The fourteen previously eliminated contestants arrive to compete for a second chance to return to the competition. They get to choose between two Mystery Boxes to cook their dishes. The original box contained ingredients of their dishes that had them eliminated to recreate their dishes in 60 minutes and the steel box with ingredients that produced their best dish with only 30 minutes to cook. Furthermore, only ten contestants who used the wooden box while four used the steel box but it was Brendan, Rachael, Sean, Georgia and Sarah who redeemed themselves to recreate their dishes after their respective elimination. It came down to the chicken dishes of Georgia and Sarah and despite her gritty puree, it was the latter's complexity of her sauce that beat Georgia to narrowly won Sarah's comeback in the competition. 968,000 #8 [39]
37/08-4 Wednesday, 25 June 2014 Starlight Children's Foundation Service Challenge - For winning this week's Mystery Box Challenge, Tracy gets to sit out the team challenge. As there won't be an elimination challenge just for the week, teams under the mentorship of Curtis Stone compete in raising money to be given to the Starlight Children's Foundation for charity. Each team had to cook a three-course meal with the use of citruses. The red team, led by Sarah, struggled throughout both prep and service time as they had issues with their dishes. The blue team, led by Jamie, did well throughout the challenge however, their dishes also had issues but the judges were impressed with the quality of their dishes. Both teams raised a total of $48,350 and the blue team won the challenge with a $20,000 donation given to Bendigo Bank. They will join Tracy to compete for tomorrow's special challenge. 899,000 #8 [40]
38/08-5 Thursday, 26 June 2014 Power Apron Challenge - The judges introduced a special apron to the contestants. This golden apron will grant the wearer numerous advantages and control throughout next week's challenges. Tracy, Jamie, Emelia, Brent, Amy and Renae must cook in three rounds a three-course meal to win the apron. Brent, Amy and Renae failed in the entrée round while Emelia didn't make it through the main round, leaving Tracy and Jamie to compete in the dessert round. While Jamie's soft chocolate mousse had issues, it was the balance of sweetness in Tracy's cookies and cream dessert that impressed the judges and she won the golden Apron. 1,060,000 #3 [41]
Week 9 - Power Week
39/09-1 Sunday, 29 June 2014 Tracy's Mystery Box Challenge & Invention Test - As the holder of the Power Apron, Tracy took advantages and control of the following daily challenges for a week. If Tracy was sent home, she will pass the apron to another contestant of her choice. Her first advantage was to choose the ingredients for the Mystery Box that she and the contestants will cook in 45 minutes. Tracy's second advantage for the Invention Test was to handpick a core ingredient and to allocate its cooking time in a box for each contestant to cook a dish. After winning the Mystery Box Challenge, Brent gets to switch his box to any contestant besides Tracy. He swapped his box with Colin's for chicken with 60 minutes to cook. Sarah blew the judges away with her crispy tripe, with Emelia and Renae also wowing the judges. On the other hand, Brent landed in the Bottom 5 with Kira, Ben, Colin and Jamie. Ultimately, he and Ben dodged the Pressure Test as Jamie's undercooked prawns, Kira's burnt spices, and Colin's elastic mousse formed the Bottom 3. 952,000 #5 [42]
40/09-2 Monday, 30 June 2014 Pressure Test: Croquembouche - Colin, Jamie and Kira had three-and-a-half hours to recreate a croquembouche in 2014 without a full recipe. Tracy's power was to give each contestant a partial recipe of an element to the dish. Colin received the caramel recipe, Jamie had the choux pastry recipe and Kira was given the crème patissiere recipe. Each contestant's croquembouche had one issue: Colin's dish lacked the spun sugar toffee and some of Jamie's pastries lacked crème patissiere but it was Kira's first Pressure Test that stumbled her - the brittleness of her choux pastries left her eliminated. 994,000 #9 [43]
41/09-3 Tuesday, 1 July 2014 Immunity Challenge: Jason Jones and James Viles - Tracy's advantages with the Power Apron was an automatic pass in the Immunity Challenge and choose two other contestants to join her. She chose Laura and Colin where the contestants had to create a bar snack with beer as the core ingredient in 45 minutes. Tracy beat them with her Beer Candied Bacon and Popcorn Chicken Sliders for a chance to cook in the second round. Tracy was given the power to choose between two chefs, Jason Jones of B’stilla and James Viles from Biota to compete for Immunity. She picked James and for the core ingredient by coin toss, Tracy's choice was ‘heads’ (containing various animal head parts in the pantry). She cooked Braised Beef Cheeks with Pan Fried Gnocchi while James cooked his Pork Neck and Brain Puree with Egg and Leek. The judges claimed James’ dish missed the mark on flavour and his meat was dry. Ultimately, Tracy's dish earned overall praise and she won the immunity pin with the score of 27 to James’ 26. 991,000 #6 [44]
42/09-4 Wednesday, 2 July 2014 Farm Banquet Team Challenge - The teams of contestants were tasked in cooking a banquet for 20 best food producers in the region at the Great Ocean Road. Tracy was given the Red Team captaincy with the power to choose her team. Laura took charge for the Blue Team. They will need to buy their produce with a 300-minute budget to spend. The Red team picked pork (45 minutes), shellfish (30 minutes), crayfish (45 minutes), greens (15 minutes) and root vegetables (30 minutes) with two hours to cook while the Blue Team has one hour and forty minutes to cook with lamb (60 minutes), snapper (60 minutes), duck (45 minutes.), greens (15 minutes.) and potatoes (20 minutes). While the Blue Team struggled to prepare their dishes after five hours, it was their lack of sauce, overcooked duck and overcooked lamb that sent them to elimination as Tracy's Red Team wins. 896,000 #7 [45]
43/09-5 Thursday, 3 July 2014 Mexican Cuisine Elimination Challenge - Tracy had the advantage to save one of the losing team members from elimination. She chose to save Laura while the remaining contestants faced each other in pairs in a two-round Mexican-themed elimination challenge. They had to cook a Mexican savoury dish in the first round. Brent and Amy's Mexican spiced Snapper with Adobo Sauce, Guacamole and Corn beat Colin and Renae's Prawn and Bean Tostadas with Lime and Chipotle Mayonnaise, sending them to the second round where they had to face each other by cooking a Mexican dessert. Both of them opted for chocolate chilli desserts. While they were praised with their dishes, Renae's fondant in her dessert was too floury but in a close call, the lack of cohesion in Colin's dish eliminated him. 1,086,000 #3 [46]
Week 10
44/10-1 Sunday, 6 July 2014 Barter Mystery Box Challenge & Decade Re-Invention Test - The Mystery Box Challenge had each contestant receive a single ingredient from the box. They can swap up to 5 of their ingredients and can either accept or reject trades. Contestants got 60 minutes to produce their dishes with the use of the pantry staples (no visit in the pantry and the garden). Renae, Amy and Brent impressed the judges but Amy won the advantage into the Invention Test. Her advantage was to choose between three dishes of previous decades: prawn cocktail from the 60's, apricot chicken from the 70's and Nouvelle cuisine from the 80's. Amy chose the chicken dish for the 60-minute cook. Her win in the second challenge along with Ben and Laura earned a chance to compete for immunity whereupon Emelia, Sarah and Tracy were sent to elimination but because the latter had won the pin from last week, Renae (who had the fourth least-impressive dish) will be sent to the Pressure Test if Tracy decides to use it. 909,000 #9 [47]
45/10-2 Monday, 7 July 2014 Pressure Test: Nick Palumbo's Choc Top Extraordinaire - Tracy decided to play her Immunity Pin, sending Renae to take her place and join Emelia and Sarah in the Pressure Test. The three then had to recreate four salted caramel soft serve gelati by Nick Palumbo, each with Italian meringue covered in ganache and amaretti biscuits on a sugar cone. With two hours to prepare the components and fifteen minutes to assemble the cones, Emelia and Sarah impressed the judges with their performance. While Emelia was confident and organized throughout, Sarah fell behind early but mounted a brilliant comeback in the final minutes. However, neither impressed in the tasting as it was Renae who produced the best replication of Nick's dish. In contrast, Emelia and Sarah served up unexpectedly bland ice cream after failing to push the caramel far enough. In a close decision, the judges concluded that Emelia's ice cream had a slightly better salted caramel flavor than Sarah's, and Sarah was sent home for the second time in the competition. 1,074,000 #7 [48]
46/10-3 Tuesday, 8 July 2014 Immunity Challenge: John Lawson - Amy, Ben and Laura competed in the final immunity challenge of the season. The first round was to re-assemble the cuts of beef to a diagram. Amy's second try of re-assembling the cuts earned her the win to compete in round two. In the second round, she cooked against John Lawson from No.8 in Melbourne. John take the pick and choose the bitter ingredients (over sweet). He cooked Pan-fried Quail with Braised Radicchio and Pancetta in 75 minutes, scoring 25 points. Amy cooked a Poached Lobster, Citrus Sorrel and Lobster Mustard Mayonnaise in 60 minutes but her poor plating of the dish meant she lost with 22 points to the professional. 1,007,000 #5 [49]
47/10-4 Wednesday, 9 July 2014 Asian Street Food Team Challenge - Contestants were divided to pairs and took responsibility of two-and-a-half prep time and serve different Asian street foods to be served to 200 customers in 90 minutes outside the MasterChef kitchen. Team chosen by drawing coloured chopstick from a bamboo steamer basket and each team had a chef as the mentor to any Asian cuisine. Laura and Jamie from the Blue Team under the mentorship of Jarrod Hudson to cook two Thai dishes. Shaun Presland mentored the Red Team of Ben and Renae to cook Japanese street food. Green Team's Brent and Tracy prep their Vietnamese dishes under Adrian Li. Frank Shek took charge by instructing Amy and Emelia of the Yellow Team to prepare their Chinese street food. The Green Team fell behind after struggling to prepare their dishes that took too long to serve and burnt half of the elements. Their Vietnamese tacos made it difficult for the customers and the judges to eat. The Red Team took too long to prepare their dishes. Their Japanese noodle soup earned reviews for the depth of flavour but it was criticised on its bland texture. With 10 minutes to go, the Yellow Team's Chinese pork and mushroom soup earned popularity to the customers which meant they quickly ran out. The Blue Team earned overall positive reviews on their two dishes. Two teams will be saved based on the highest number of votes from the customers to each team. The Blue Team earned 79 votes and The Yellow Team got 59 votes whereupon, the critical flaws in the dishes of the Green and Red Teams earned them the lowest votes each (Green's 51 and Red's 11), sending them to elimination. 971,000 #9 [50]
48/10-5 Thursday, 10 July 2014 Cryptic Elimination Challenge - Ben, Brent, Renae and Tracy faced off in a challenge to re-create an unknown dish by head chef Dave Verheul of The Town Mouse. Unlike any other Pressure Test, there was no recipe provided and they don't get to either guess or know the characteristics of this dish. The contestants get to decipher the clues based on a food critic review by judge Matt Preston to recreate the dish with intuition. After two hours, the dish was Buttermilk poached pear with walnut, salted caramel, roast chocolate ganache & pear sorbet. All four struggled to recreate the dish: Brent's sorbet lacked freshness and flavour, Ben had less chocolate ganache while his caramel hardened, Renae missed the walnut crumble, and Tracy overcooked her pear. However, Ben and Brent manage to thrive the approach of the dish and were safe while it came down to Renae and Tracy whom they had issues of recreating the ganache. In the end, Renae failed to balance the sweetness in the dish and she was eliminated. 1,157,000 #2 [51]
Week 11 - Heston Week
49/11-1 Sunday, 13 July 2014 MasterChef House Pantry Challenge & Australian Food Culture Invention Test - The Top 7 contestants were greeted by Heston Blumenthal at the MasterChef House. He will be served as their mentor for this weekly challenges. The contestants cook a dish with the use of ingredients from the pantry in one hour at the house kitchen. The best three dishes were made by Laura, Jamie and Ben, who won with his dish. He was informed that the first challenge was an Invention Test where contestants must cook an inventive dish inspired from their families with the use of native Australian ingredients in 90 minutes. The winning dish will grant an advantage for the following challenges each day in a week while the worst contestant from each daily challenge was sent straight into elimination and therefore not participating in the remaining challenges for the week. Two stand out dishes were Brent's Roast Lamb with Native Greens, Carrots and Pumpkin and Ben's Salt and Pepper Snapper with Mustard Emulsion and Charred Cucumber. Brent won the advantage while the worst dishes belong to Amy (whose Stuffed Quail with Davidson Plums and Sweet Potato had overcooked meat) and Tracy (whose Native Herb Cured Beef with Saltbush Salt and Samphire was too salty). Ultimately, Tracy became the first contestant to be sent to the elimination round due to the lack of balance in her dish. 956,000 #9 [52]
50/11-2 Monday, 14 July 2014 Pressure Test: Beetroot Risotto - The six contestants were given the task by Heston to make his Beetroot Risotto with no set time limit. They were not provided with any recipe or dish to taste - the challenge was to follow along as Heston cooked this dish. For winning yesterday's challenge, Brent gets to see the recipe however despite having the advantage, he fall behind throughout the cook. His dish lacked acidity and there are problems with his ice cream. He was among the bottom two with Ben but the latter was sent to elimination for overcooking his dish and over churning his ice cream. Amy and Jamie delivered their best takes of the dish but it was Amy who won the next day's advantage. 1,042,000 #7 [53]
51/11-3 Tuesday, 15 July 2014 Pub Food Service Challenge - Amy, Brent, Emelia, Jamie and Laura faced off in a service challenge. They will cook pub food dishes to be served to 120 guests at The Hotel Albion in Port Melbourne, Victoria. Each gets to pick one of the five different classic pub dishes: surf ‘n’ turf, parma, pasta, roast of the day and fish of the day. Amy, after winning the advantage, gets to pick the dish first and choose surf ‘n’ turf. Brent picked Parma, Laura choose the pasta, Emelia's pick was the roast and Jamie had the fish dish. Amy's Pork Belly with Seared Scallops beat Emelia's Roasted Spatchcock with Roasted Potatoes, Lentils and Madeira jus for the second win and the advantage. During the challenge, Laura struggled with the amount of pasta to be served to the customers as her Pappardelle with Mushroom Ragu was served with less pasta and lack of execution while Brent dropped his sides for the entrée and his Chicken Parmigiania with Fennel Salad did not impress the judges. Those missteps were enough to put them in the bottom two for the size inconsistencies in their dishes however, Laura's pasta skills in the dish was enough to salvage the error and Brent was sent to elimination in his eleventh time. 973,000 #8 [54]
52/11-4 Wednesday, 16 July 2014 Five Senses Challenge - Amy, Emelia, Jamie and Laura faced off to cook a dish inspired by one of the human senses (minus taste) with 30 minutes to plan and one-in a-half hour to cook their dishes. Amy's advantage is that she gets to pick one of the senses first. She choose sound but although she had the pick, Amy fall behind throughout the challenge as the concept of her Seafood Stew with Fresh Oyster and Bread Roll wasn't convincing to the judges while the fish was overcooked and wasn't handled with care. Laura's Citrus Cured Salmon with Beetroot Jelly and Coriander Oil, that was inspired with her choice: sight, delivered the dish of the day as she was sent to Finals Week. Despite the small errors in Jamie's Green Tea Cured Salmon with Compressed Apples and Green Strawberries (smell) and Emelia's Lemon Verbana Jelly with Pickled Apples, Confit Lemon Segments and Mascarpone Ice Cream (touch), they also made it to the Finals. Amy then joined Tracy, Ben and Brent for tomorrow's elimination challenge. 1,215,000 #2 [55]
53/11-5 Thursday, 17 July 2014 Elimination Challenge: Deception - Amy, Ben, Brent and Tracy faced off in the last elimination challenge before Finals Week. In honour of Heston, the theme of this challenge was about culinary deception. They had to create a dish that look like it but tasted something else to trick Heston and the judges in two hours. Ben's campfire sous vide beef dish and Brent's chocolate soil dessert earned high praise on both the presentations of their dishes. It came down between Amy and Tracy as both of their dishes missed the brief of the challenge: Amy, despite being motivated in this week's previous challenges, had problems with the presentation of her magic fruit salad dish and her cheesecake plums had issues on the texture while Tracy's crumble custard dish had less deceptive creativity although her flavours stood out to the judges. As a result, Amy was eliminated from the competition. 1,239,000 #1 [56]
MasterClass: Heston Blumenthal, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan - Heston presented his three dishes in molecular gastronomy to the Top 6 for their MasterClass: gin 'n' tonic nitro with the use of liquid nitrogen, fish 'n' chips in two methods to the fish with an iSi gun and his creative black forest gâteau hot chocolate. Next, George made his pavlova and lastly, Gary cooked his lamb hotpot dish. 1,051,000 #4
Week 12 - Finals Week
54/12-1 Sunday, 20 July 2014 Finals Mystery Box Challenge & Dessert Pressure Test: "Banana Split" - The top 6 finalists faced their last Mystery Box Challenge. They must cook their dishes with the use of ingredients from the box chosen by their respective loved ones in 45 minutes. Three Contestants who cooked their best dishes will be safe from elimination in the second round. Brent, Emelia and Tracy were named the Top 3 while Ben, Jamie and Laura were declared the Bottom 3. They faced off in a two-hour Pressure Test where they had to survive elimination by replicating a difficult interpretation of a banana split created by returning pastry chefs: Darren Purchese, Christy Tania and Nick Palumbo (each chef composed one of the elements of this dessert). Jamie manage to deliver the take of the dessert and he was safe. Ben's chocolate peanut sauce had split and it was greasy while his tuilles were too thin causing it to crumble and his banana parfait lack texture. Laura had issues with her banana gelato and her coconut foam lacked execution of the spices but the rest of her elements thrive in judging and she was safe, eliminating Ben from the competition. 1,076,000 #7 [57]
55/12-2 Monday, 21 July 2014 "No Rules" Elimination Challenge - Brent, Emelia, Jamie, Laura and Tracy cook off in the elimination round. The challenge was rather unconventional with no rules and a time frame will be chosen by the contestants as a group. They could cook whatever they liked without the access to the pantry and the garden. The contestants decide to cook their dishes in 90 minutes. Jamie's autumn salad with smoked duck, Emelia's baklava parfait with chocolate sorbet and Laura's grilled quail with artichokes and mushroom panzanella earned positive feedback. The dish of the day was given to Laura and she received an advantage for tomorrow's next challenge. The judges felt Brent overcomplicate his dish that missed the mark in the challenge and Tracy's plating of her dish was unorganized, having flawed elements and an unfinished plate. In terms of creativity in his dish, Brent was declared safe as Tracy was eliminated. 1,165,000 #7 [58]
56/12-3 Tuesday, 22 July 2014 Three-Round Duel Challenge - Brent, Emelia, Jamie and Laura cook off in a challenge in three rounds. Two contestants will compete in each round to cook a dish with the choice of protein and cuisine. For winning the dish of the day, Laura gets to pick her opponent in the first round. In round one, she chose Brent and they face off cooking an Italian fish dish where Laura beat him in the round. In round two, Emelia and Jamie compete in cooking an Indian shellfish dish with the winner of the second round will compete against Laura in the final round to guarantee an automatic pass to next week's Semi-Finals and will be safe from the last elimination round. It was Emelia who won and advanced to round three. She and Laura cook off a Lebanese kangaroo dish but it was Laura who won with the cooking of her kangaroo, granting her the fast pass to semifinals. 1,123,000 #5 [59]
57/12-4 Wednesday, 23 July 2014 Vue De Monde Service Challenge - Shannon Bennett returned to allow Brent, Emelia and Jamie to cook at his restaurant Vue de Monde. They had to cook the restaurant's signature three-course meal to 60 VIP guests in two-and a-half hours before service. The best performer will grant an advantage for tomorrow's elimination challenge. Each contestant get to pick randomly the assigned dish by pulling a knife from the block: Emelia got the Slow Cooked Duck Egg with Fresh Pear, Truffle Puree, Shaved Bread and Crispy Saltbush for the entrée, Brent had the main's Blackmore Wagyu Beef with Apple and Ox Tongue, and Jamie was defaulted with the dessert – Tonka Bean Soufflé with Chocolate Mousse and Smoked Chocolate Ice Cream. Emelia's entrée was too salty but received praise on the presentation. Brent's main dish earned overall positive feedback. Jamie also received overall praise in his take of the dessert. Both Brent and Jamie impress with their performance in the kitchen but it was Brent's positive energy and composure throughout the challenge that won him the advantage. He was rewarded a recipe of the dish to practice for tomorrow's Pressure Test. 1,128,000 #2 [60]
58/12-5 Thursday, 24 July 2014 Pressure Test: Martin Benn's Chocolate Forest Floor - Jamie, Emelia and Brent had to recreate Sepia restaurateur and award-winning chef Martin Benn’s intricate chocolate dessert. After three hours, Emelia was praised with her dish overall but was criticised for the soft texture in her sorbet and her tempered chocolate was less thick. Ultimately, she advanced to the semifinals. It was down to Brent and Jamie however, the latter’s under-tempered chocolate, split lavender cream and missing finger limes could not outmatch the lack of finesse and unstable cloudy jelly in Brent’s dish that had the overall praise in the rest of his elements than Jamie's as he was eliminated from the competition. 1,171,000 #1 [61]
MasterClass: Chefs vs. Contestants - The top 3 semifinalists were greeted by the former eliminated contestants to join them for their last MasterClass presented by Matt with his slow roasted lamb souvlaki and George with his version of a village salad. Then Brent, Emelia and Laura cook off against Gary, Kylie Kwong and Curtis Stone in a relay challenge. The contestants cook a prawn dish while the professionals cook a crab dish. Ultimately Gary, Kylie and Curtis won the challenge. 883,000 #7
Grand Finale Week
59/13-1 Sunday, 27 July 2014 Semi-Finals: Service Challenge - The semifinalists faced the first day of the Grand Finale. They will compete in a service challenge where they had to cook a main and a dessert in four hours to be served to 20 diners and the judges in the MasterChef Kitchen where only two will advance in the Grand Finals. All three fell behind during the prep time to prepare their dishes. Emelia made Glazed Beef Cheeks with Jerusalem Artichoke Puree, Brent cooked his Roasted Pork Belly with Apple and Celeriac Cream and Laura prepare her Smoked Quail with Chestnuts and Mushrooms. All of their mains received high praise from the judges on complexity. Both Emelia and Laura had issues with one of their elements for their desserts, forcing them to salvage it. Brent's Seasonal Apples with Pistachio and Fennel received praise on the complexity. While the judges liked Emelia's Whipped Chocolate Ganache with Mandarin Chantilly Curd and Fig Leaf Anglaise, her curd lacked acidity and freshness in the dish to balance the richness of her chocolate elements. Laura's Chestnut Forest also impressed the judges on the complexity. With both of their two dishes received overall praise, Brent and Laura advanced to the Finals. Therefore, the lack of acidity in her dessert meant Emelia was eliminated but was offered a pastry chef apprenticeship at The Press Club by George. 1,261,000 #3 [62]
60/13-2 Monday, 28 July 2014 Grand Finale - The grand finale was composed in three rounds and the final two contestants must cook a dish in each round and serve it to the judges. In round one, Brent and Laura get to make up their own Mystery Box by individually taking turns in choosing their ingredients. They got 60 minutes to cook their entrée dishes. Laura was praised with her grilled scampi with anchovy butter, pickled cabbage, roe and pear barley but her cabbage lacked finesse. Brent's textures of pearl barley with poached scampi, pickled cabbage and fresh chervil earned overall positive remarks on the complexity of his dish. Laura received 25 points while Brent got 9 points each from all of the judges to 27.

In round two, the grand finalists took charge at the chef's table to cook their main dishes to be served for their special guests: their families and friends in 90 minutes. Laura's butter poached lobster and cooked scallops with chestnuts and mushrooms delivered overall praise to the judges while Brent's modern take of a Lancashire hotpot also impress the judges but it was criticised for missing out the potato elements in his dish. Laura got 24 points (8 each from the judges) to a total of 49, overtaking Brent who scored 21 (7 points each) to 48 points total.

In the final round, Brent and Laura had to recreate Quay executive chef Peter Gilmore's “Chocolate Ethereal” with three hours to cook and 20 minutes to assemble the dish. Throughout the challenge, Laura struggled in making the nougat element after reading the wrong recipe. She now falls behind when her tempered chocolate seized in her bench and failed to peel the hot caramel element off before the time limit expires. In judging, Brent managed to reinterpret Peter's dish during the round that thrived the judges and Peter on the textures and complexity. Laura's plate did not meet the brief in the presentation when she didn't chop the nougat and her dish lacked the tempered sheet elements. As a result, she got 8 points each from Gary, George and Matt and 7 from Peter with the overall score of 80 points. Brent got 8 points from Gary and 9 points each from George, Matt and Peter, finalizing to a score of 83 points.

1,654,000 #2 [63]
Winner Announced - Brent won $250,000 as the grand prize, a cookbook deal with Hardie Grant, an Alfa Romeo Giuletta, and a work experience from one of Australia's popular restaurants. Laura was given $20,000 as the runner-up while Emelia was given $10,000 in placing third. 1,703,000 #1

Notes
  1. The candidate got to choose between the two cooks, Jones did not cook.
  2. The candidate got to choose between the two cooks, Viles cooked in the immunity challenge.

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Preceded by
MasterChef Australia (series 5)		 MasterChef Australia series 6
5 May 2014 – 28 July 2014		 Succeeded by
MasterChef Australia (series 7)
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