MasterChef Australia Season Five – Girls Vs. Boys Challenge Heats Up

The MasterChef contestants have been separated into a girl and boy team for an entire episode and words have already been exchanged. Today, the next challenge begins and the boys are out for revenge!

They’ve all moved into their new home, but it isn’t long before they’re summoned to their next challenge. This is the first time we get a proper look of the exterior of the kitchen, and it looks magnificent. The judges welcome them back to the MasterChef kitchen for their next challenge before they enter.

They debrief on the last challenge where Totem critiques the other contestant’s cooking. It’s not a smart move. For winning yesterday, the girls get an advantage. Inside, there is a selection of eleven proteins. The girls will get to go in and choose the protein they want to cook with today before the boys even get to enter.

The girls quickly run as it’s first in, best dressed. Noelene takes the offal where Samira takes the Barramundi, thinking it was Barra. Neha gets the eel. I don’t know all of their names, so forgive me for not noticing what the others got. You’ll find out during the course of this recap, I’m sure.

The boys then enter. They have to line up in front of one of the girls. Unbeknownst to them, the protein THEY will cook with will be the same protein the girl opposite to them will be cooking with.

When the girls reveal their plates, the boys either love it or hate it. Kelty is not happy he has been paired with Noelene and her offal. However, Totem is so happy he will be cooking with Samira’s ‘snapper’- especially as Samira has no idea that it’s actually Barramundi.

They all have 90 minutes to cook a meal with free range in the pantry. Not sure what the best dishes win, but the six worst dishes (as opposed to the ‘least impressive’ tag used in previous seasons) will head into tomorrow’s elimination.

It’s very hectic to begin with. Classically-trained singer Clarissa was given trout and will be making it en Papillote. Her opponent, Nicky, has experience in the seafood industry. He will be creating trout croquettes. When he tries to cook them, they fall apart. He tries to change his method by frying them and not deep frying them. They seem to hold together better. He then goes further and makes some mozzarella foam to increase the complexity of his dish! The judges are scared.

Meanwhile, Pip is cooking a Vietnamese dish with her mince. She is paired with Michael who is happy to get an easy protein. He’s cooking cottage pie with it.

Kelty is working with offal and has no idea what to do with it. Noelene is actually using all of it while Kelty only settles with braised liver in the end.

Lynton and Emma are working on the same protein and they seem to be quite chummy. Neha however is struggling with her eel. Andrew, her opponent, is really happy with what he’s been given. Neha decides just to marinade it with turmeric and salt. She gags. She has no idea what to do with it.

Samira is doing a middle-eastern style dish which involves pan frying her Barra. She puts the meat in too early for Totem’s liking.

The only protein that is going into a dessert today is the eggs, owned by Lucy.

Back to Neha and she’s decided to go for deep fried eel-balls with some curry paste. Meanwhile, Michael’s cottage pie is coming along well however when he tries to mash his potatoes, he realises he hasn’t cooked them enough.

He doesn’t have enough time to cook them again, but he has to because he bins the potato. He just gets it done and decides to blowtorch the potatoes’ colour into it.

As time runs out, plating up begins. Noelene is so confident and her dish looks amazing. Meanwhile, Samira realises that she cooked the Barra too early and there’s nothing she can do. She’s the first to crack under the pressure this year. She won’t be the last.

Soon, time is up and the tasting begins.

Neha and Andrew are first with Andrew’s eel croquettes and Neha’s eel balls and curried eel. They love Andrew’s eel and while there are some great elements with Neha’s dish, it’s not all positive. Gary loves the curry, but notices raw turmeric. Neha is ashamed that she was criticised on a curry. Andrew wins this round.

Nicky & Clarissa’s trout meals are next. Nicky blowtorches his mozzarella’s foam before they eat it. A reminder, Nicky is also making croquettes. They think his mozzarella foam is really bad. Clarissa’s en Papillote trout is perfect. She wins a point for the girls. She cries over being able to eat with the judges.

Lucy & Vern are next with their egg meals. From the comments, Lucy wins this one.

Next are Jules and Rishi with their dishes which Rishi wins. To Lynton and Emma’s duck and the point goes to the boys.

Samira and Totem are next with their Barra dishes. Totem gets magnificent reviews. Can Samira do even half as good with her Samkeh Harra? No, doesn’t look like it. George does like some of the flavours, so it’s not all bad. The point goes to the boys.

Pip and Michael’s mince are next. Pip has Bun Cha which they find authentic. Now, is Michael all talk with his cottage pie? Pretty much, as there are plenty of problems with the dish, especially with such a simple dish. Safe to say Pip has this in the bag.

Xavier and Christina are next with their calamari. Christina wins with her dish whereas between Faiza and Dan’s ribs, Faiza takes it home. Liliana and Daniel go against each other with Liliana winning a tough battle.

Last up are Kelty and Noelene with their offal. We have a platter of offal from Noelene and Pan fried liver from Kelty. The presentation of Kelty’s dish is enough to send him home. Noelene gets high praise. Gary starts his criticism as George begins to cough. Matt calls it one of the five worst dishes ever plated in MasterChef. Very harsh.

The girls win the round overall, but only six will be going to elimination- and with the girls only winning bragging rights, they’re up for the chop as well. The six going forward into elimination will be Kelty, Nicky, Samira, Michael, Dan and Neha.

That elimination will occur tomorrow

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