Tonight, Brent, Theo, Rhiannon and Cath fought for their spot in Finals Week as Declan watched on from the safety of the gantry. The two-round elimination began with a ‘dual duel’ where pairs were selected at random to cook head-to-head. The winner of each duel moved safely to the top four.
Cath and Theo battled it out with a dish that had to feature Dijon mustard while Brent and Rhiannon competed to create the best dish that featured anchovy.
Theo settled on a Dijon sauce paired with pan-fried kingfish served with a dill oil, a dish inspired by his time living in France. Cath chose to create a trout dish, basting the fish in Dijon mustard served with potato and fennel with a Dijon dressing.
Rhiannon was thrilled to highlight anchovies and she chose a simple dish of grilled chicken where she was able to highlight the flavour by putting anchovies under the skin, as well as in her broth and salsa, with deep-fried anchovies on top. Brent created a pasta with lobster tail basted in anchovy butter and anchovy pangrattato. He was nervous, having not made pasta in the competition so far and he was worried he didn’t have enough time for the pasta to dry.
Upon tasting round one, the judges loved Theo’s kingfish, which beat Cath’s trout dish. Rhiannon’s chicken dish was a huge hit but unfortunately Brent’s pasta fell flat.
With Rhiannon and Theo safely joining Declan on the gantry, Cath and Brent battled it out in round two where they had to bring the judges their best dish of the competition and take it to the next level in 75 minutes.
Cath settled on a dessert that she had been formulating in her mind – a wattle seed shortbread and chocolate parfait with a Davidson plum sauce and vanilla dippin’ dots. She took a risk, having not made the dish before but was determined to show the judges how far she had come. While her cook went relatively smoothly, it wasn’t until plating that Cath realised her error of putting her parfait in the fridge instead of the freezer after it had set, causing it to quickly melt before her eyes.
Brent was determined to cook a personal favourite dish in round two – chicken adobo skewer with a charred corn and cucumber salsa and a sauce. With just three elements, he knew the importance in nailing each one. While at one point he was nervous about the cook on the chicken, he trusted himself and basted the chicken skewer until it was perfect.
When the judges tasted Brent’s dish, it was clear they were impressed. His chicken was cooked perfectly and the hibachi added a deep layer of smoke to his dish. Cath held onto hope that the flavours in her ‘ugly delicious’ dish would see her through, and while the judges agreed on its classic flavour profile, the execution was her letdown.
The judges, and fellow contestants were devastated to see Cath go, knowing how hard she worked in each cook. Cath left immensely proud of herself for making the top five of MasterChef Australia.
