Now that the leadership spill has been decided, it’s time for tonight’s MasterChef elimination to follow suit. Who will ‘pull a Julia Gillard’ and be sent packing?
Rishi, Faiza, Neha, Noelene, Emma, Pip, Jules and Christina enter the kitchen for today’s elimination. The judges are dwarfed by a cloaked structure behind them. But before the reveal, it’s time to decide whether Emma will give up her immunity pin. She won’t.
Behind the curtain lies a three-tier wall of food- a green tier, a white tier and a red tier. It’s the Italian Flag of food. They will have 60 minutes to cook an Italian style dish but they can only use ingredients from one coloured tier. And, they won’t get to pick. They will have to pick coloured aprons from a bag, corresponding to the colour they have to cook with. Here is who cooks with what:
WHITE: Neha, Rishi
GREEN: Jules, Christina, Noelene
RED: Emma, Faiza, Pip
Neha is doing a Bocconcini and mushroom pizza but she is risking it with the use of fresh yeast. Christina is doing stuffed prawns. Rishi is doing gnocchi. Faiza is doing meatballs but she is missing key binding agents. Neha is also missing ingredients for a pizza base but she has something interesting up her sleeve involving garlic. Emma is cooking a rib eye steak and all these other fancy things. Pip is doing something with fish.
45 minutes remain and we have our first issue; Neha’s fresh yeast isn’t really working. Christina seems really happy with her progress and the judges sound very happy. She wants to ‘butterfly’ her prawns, but she’s never done that before. Emma leaves the cooking of her steak pretty late but she goes with it regardless. With 25 minutes to go, Neha’s pizza dough is still not working! The judges give her tips to improve the quality of it, but she begins to stress.
Rishi’s gnocchi looks good, but when he cooks them, Liliana from the mezzanine thinks he’s cooking them too long. With five minutes to go, Emma temperatures her steak and she thinks it will be underdone. She puts it back in the oven for one more minute. Christina is also nervous about uncooked meat with her prawns. Meanwhile, Neha’s pizza is very biscuity. She’s devastated.
Time is up and time to taste begins. Rishi is first with his pan-fried gnocchi. Gary says ‘job done’. Emma is next with her Roasted Rib Eye. It’s another success. To Neha’s pizza and she didn’t do so well. She’s ready to say goodbye. Pip’s cod is next and she gets high praise. Jules’ prawns are also a hit. Noelene’s pan-seared prawns are praised for presentation and George calls her a contender.
Christina is next with her stuffed prawns. Matt calls the dish ‘her’. Faiza’s meatballs are last and Gary isn’t happy with the ‘standard dish’. Will it taste good? Gary calls them dry and he’s not happy with the potatoes. Things aren’t looking good for Faiza. Will Neha be safe?
The contestant heading home tonight is… Faiza.
A not-so-shocking result. And now, the contestants prepare for Wild West week. Goodbye, Italy…
