Last night Trent, Chloe, Elise and Nicolette faced off in a two-round duel elimination challenge.
Round one saw Trent compete against Chloe to create a dish inspired by autumn leaves. Chloe made a crispy skin chicken breast with a caramelised onion puree. Trent made a seared beef fillet with crispy kale, roast beetroot and a salsa verde.
The judges loved Chloe’s flavours and plating, but they were simply wowed by the sophistication and complexity of Trent’s dish. Matt Preston told Trent it was of the 10 best dishes he had eaten all year, nabbing him round one.
With seashells as her inspiration, Elise tapped into childhood memories to make a strawberry parfait with champagne jelly. The judges loved the story behind her dish.
Nicolette struggled to tie a dish closely to the seashell brief, finally deciding on a cured-filled meringue with lemon and strawberries, which unfortunately sent her into round two.
In round two, Nicolette and Chloe had 60 minutes to present a dish, inspired by fire. Chloe prepared a cinnamon cake with port maple sauce, maple meringue and figs three ways. She added theatre to the dish by igniting the meringue during the tasting for a real taste of fire.
Nicolette made grilled peaches with vanilla bean marshmallows and smoked white chocolate mousse. Disaster struck when, with 10 minutes to go, her mousse did not demould and she broke down, fearing the error was enough to send her home.
The judges loved the look of Nicolette’s dish and her smoked white chocolate mousse and roasted macadamias. The judges thought Chloe’s dish was delicious and loved every element.
The sophistication and perfection of Chloe’s dish was enough to beat Nicolette’s dish and she farewelled the MasterChef Australia kitchen.
Nicolette is busy planning a series of dessert degustation events. She has also completed work experience with Anna Polyviou and Reynold Poernomo.
