Another sweetie ruthlessly cut from the competition.
Our favourite numbers man and gentleman 💛 #MasterChefAU @callumskitchen pic.twitter.com/Fcuyspv8Y0
— masterchefau (@masterchefau) July 14, 2020
And people are taking it well...
Fuck this fuck everything #MasterChefAU
— Dean Nye (@Dean_Nye) July 14, 2020
You all really need to know that @callumskitchen's wholesome nice guy persona on #MasterChefAU is all an act.
— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw) July 14, 2020
In reality he's actually even nicer.
Men like Callum and Adam Liaw should be held up as symbols of what Australian men could and should be
— Heath (@popculturepooka) July 14, 2020
Instead lol heres some Bachelor in Paradise and MAFS #MasterChefAU
This means that Sunday night’s elimination will be between Emelia, Reynold and Laura. As always, they’re promising it will be “the toughest one yet”.
It also means that there’s only two episodes of this show left this season! This does not add up as I have at least 5 more weeks of Melbourne lockdown left. Please advise.
Thanks for following along with me. I’ll be blogging both the semi-final on Sunday, and Reynold’s inevitable victory in the grand final on Monday. See you then!!
Updated
Callum is eliminated
Jock starts the speech like he’s breaking up with someone in his throuple.
“Laura, Callum - I just want to say you two are both incredible … whatever happens from here, I just want you to know that I’m so glad to have been able to taste your food and get to know you both a lot better.”
Andy says both dishes were incredible, but the technical flaw of the fish was just too much.
“The name Callum Hann is synonymous with this competition,” Mel says. “So many people around this country, and the world, love your food and what you represent. 10 years ago you might have walked into this kitchen as a boy. But this time you’ve returned as a dad. Every time you walk through these doors, humility and integrity has always followed.”
Her speech is so emotional, she’s made herself cry.
Laura says she grew up watching this show and “fangirled so hard watching Callum”. “He’s so loving, so humble, so gracious … he should be really proud of himself.”
“No regrets at all,” Callum says as he leaves. “Except maybe how I cooked that fish.”
Back to Callum’s snapper.
It’s initially good news: “It is absolutely pinging with flavour,” Jock says. But, unfortunately, the texture of the fish is “really off-putting”.
YIKES.
That is extremely bad.
Mel says “in many ways, this dish makes me very proud to be Australian … it’s this hodge-podge of ideas, and it really works.”
“However, there’s no getting around the fact that fish is really mushy. There’s no getting around it: it’s the heart and the soul of that dish.”
NOOOOO.
In my eyes, not matter what the outcome tonight, @callumskitchen is an outright winner. He’s just made the whole country love him all over again and he should be very proud of the food he’s produced. #MasterChefAU
— Bec Derrington (@becderrington) July 14, 2020
Let me tell you: people are not excited for Bachelor in Paradise.
To go from that lovely, tender, most HUMAN moment on #MasterChefAU to the trash fire that is BIP is exactly why people stream shows now
— Fiza Zali (@fizawanders) July 14, 2020
As much as we all make fun of Jock and the judges for being overly-critical and mean, MasterChef really is a rare kind of show in the reality genre. At its core, it’s still sweet, tender, and interested in everyone chasing their beautiful gooey “food dreams”. It’s been the perfect lockdown show, and I’m so mad I have to do more lockdown without it!
It really is a breath of fresh air to see a reality show where the participants support each other and are genuinely happy to see others do well. #MasterChefAU
— Michelle 🐿💨 (@MichelleMackey1) July 14, 2020
On to Sweet Callum.
He is so, so concerned about Laura - even as he walks in for the tasting. “Of course I want to make the semi-final,” he says. “It just doesn’t feel good having to leapfrog your mate to do so.”
His dish looks good! It’s coconut-poached snapper, crispy ginger and shaved fennel, roasted chilli oil and coriander dressing:
He says he feels like he owes a lot to this kitchen because it set up his whole career. Because of that, he wants to see out this final part of the competition and prove how far he’s come.
Do you reckon he can do it? We are, of course, off to an ad break.
It’s time to taste (again)!
Laura brings her strawberries and cream up for tasting. She says it was a weird cook because she was frazzled - she was looking straight at the person she was cooking against. (Big tick for the producers there, I guess). But she’s happy with how it all came together.
“It’s simple, but it’s just done well - very well,” Andy says. “It’s technically perfect.”
Mel is singing its praises: “the devil is in the details and in a dish this simple she’s really perfected the idea of strawberries and cream”.
Jock points out that there was ricotta in the pantry she could have taken (lol no one’s falling for that out of the Hayden corn chips incident). “It may be a safe idea, but the execution for me was very well done.”
Don’t know if the viewers are feeling so generous...
If Laura gets through on these very simple elements that is ridiculous! Imagine what the judges would say if Reynold served up ricotta, granita and a basic sorbet !! 🤦 #masterchefAU
— Emma.v (@emmstahvie) July 14, 2020
Everyone has a good cry
And we’re done!! The last cook before the semi-final is finished. Both Callum and Laura seem happy with their dishes, but they’re also quite emotional. As soon as the countdown ends, Callum is moved to tears.
“The last few months have been massive - both inside and outside this kitchen,” he says. “I’m feeling really emotional because either Laura is sending me home, or vice versa, which really sucks.”
Laura and Emelia start crying too.
We’re at the point where each one of them is a winner. They’re all champions. #MasterChefAu pic.twitter.com/UzokC2QtpM
— robert. (@FierceRobert) July 14, 2020
Again, a reminder: these contestants continued filming, away from their families, through the most uncertain and stressful weeks of this extremely uncertain and stressful year. They’ve all earned the right to a good cry!!
Callum is the most wholesome man on the show his reputation is stellar 🥺🥺 #MasterchefAU
— bobawhorestudios (@zychiichanart) July 14, 2020
if sweet, baby-faced Callum doesn’t make it to the semi finals, we riot
— Isha Bassi (@Isha_Bassi) July 14, 2020
#MasterChefAU pic.twitter.com/CUsaEAtrvF
If sweet Callum goes ...I can’t #MasterChefAU pic.twitter.com/JMJ3zE0NpI
— DE (@dee_idk_) July 14, 2020
Updated
Laura’s plating up her strawberries and cream. She says it’s simple, but the flavour is there and the technique is there too. All the elements look really bright and vibrant - it could just come down to that grainy ricotta.
5 minutes to go! Callum is getting his snapper out of the bag, and says the flavour is delicate but intense at the same time. Reynold says he should have taken it out of the sous vide 10 minutes ago...
People are definitely prepping their eulogies for Callum.
Callum represents us, the audience, growing up with MasterChef. When he first competed, he was only 19. Now, ten years later, he has both a family and a son. This symbolises the show and it's audience coming of age... 🥺#MasterChefAU
— aspen 🧸 (@aspenblomfield) July 14, 2020
I love Callum’s ‘listening’ face. He gets that little crease between his eyebrows and he always looks a little nervous and a little confused. A true sweetheart. #MasterchefAU
— Jade Wirth (@JadeWirth) July 14, 2020
Callum is talking about his wife! Historically, that is not a good sign for any contestant facing elimination.
He says that his wife has sacrificed a lot for him to be there, and yep, I bet that’s true. They live in Adelaide with their baby daughter - moving to Melbourne for a reality show would have been tough, even without a global pandemic getting between them halfway through.
After conferring with the VIPs upstairs, Laura decides to quickly whack the ricotta in a smaller blender and that seems to do the trick. She’s happy with the consistency.
Crisis averted, I guess? That seemed easy.
I’d just change the name when I hand it to the judges : “Here’s strawberries with grainy ricotta... enjoy Jock” #MasterchefAU
— Dean Nye (@Dean_Nye) July 14, 2020
FYI the MasterChef hashtag is full of cakes right now. I am drowned in icing. There is no relief from the endless onslaught of cakes online.
Fully expecting the #MasterchefAU finale to involve the contestants making a series of confusing looking cakes pic.twitter.com/ZEhj2h3Eg8
— Tas Mavridis* (@TasMavridis) July 14, 2020
In related news, my Twitter poll has ended and 65% of people want to see Laura go tonight. Most of you are stoked with that grainy ricotta.
Who do you WANT to go home tonight? #MasterchefAU
— Meg Watson (@msmegwatson) July 14, 2020
Laura’s ricotta crisis
Uh oh, bad news for Laura: her ricotta is grainy. The flavour is good, but the texture is off. It seems like it could have something to do with the big tablespoon of sugar she just dumped in there, but apparently that’s not it.
“This has never happened to me before,” she says. But, with about 20 minutes left on the clock, she doesn’t have time to make any more. “I honestly do not know what to do - I feel like I’ve ended my dream of winning this competition, and it’s so heartbreaking.”
45 minutes to go! Callum puts his snapper into the sous vide bag with his coconut broth, while casually reflecting on the trajectory of his entire life and career.
“My reputation is on the line,” he says. “I’ve worked really hard these last 10 years to try and establish my business … I feel like I’ve earned my place in finals week.”
A reminder: Callum was only a 19-year-old student when he first appeared on MasterChef back in 2010! He was even impressive all the way back then, finishing second to the now iconic Adam Liaw.
Laura is doing a sweet dish: “a take on strawberries and cream”. She’s making a ricotta, a granita and a sorbet.
“Is strawberries and cream enough, on a day like today, to get you into the semi-final?” Andy asks.
“Yes,” Laura replies.
I mean, great. Glad we got that sorted.
Laura says this is “a dish I’ve been wanting to do for awhile”, which makes me nervous for Callum. That’s the same thing Reynold says right before he made a snitch.
Also did everyone know that there was a red carpet up on the gantry? Geez, we get it. You’re VIPs.
So, what are we making?? Callum is making snapper poached in a coconut broth, with coriander sauce and crispy ginger. Yum! Is that “MasterChef” enough? Who knows. The rules are constantly changing on this show, and I have no idea where the goalposts are anymore.
Callum says this will be the hardest challenge of the whole competition for him because he’s such good friends with Laura.
Laura is also having trouble with it because Callum is “such a good guy!!”
To help them work through all these feelings, the producers have made the benches face each other so they can stare their opponent directly in the eye as they work to eliminate them.
Round two: a very ordinary cook for your life
With Reynold winning a spot in the semi-final, it’s now a showdown between Callum and Laura. The person who cooks the best dish in this round will be joining Reynold and Emelia in the top three. The person who cooks the worst dish is going home!
The challenge is a simple one: it’s a complete re-do of round one, but this time they have to use the “ordinary” pantry instead of the “extraordinary one”. They have 75 minutes to create something amazing out of stock-standard supermarket items (ie, no caviar or truffles this time around).
They both seem very sad about facing off against each other because they’ve “been mates for a long time”. High chance of tears at the end of this one.
Reynold’s bonito redemption
He’s done it! Bonito boy has blasted away from the competition and earned himself a spot in Sunday’s semi-final. This means Callum and Laura will have to fight it out in the second round.
On to Reynold’s Redemption Fish. It’s “seared bonito with a bonito tartare, pickled kohlrabi flower and caviar with bonito sauce”. Reynold really wants the judges to know: he’s extremely horny for bonito now.
Either that or this is some kind of Spanish mind control technique.
Also, it’s not often that I would say this, but I feel like my guy could have done a bit more with the presentation?
“REDEMPTION IS YOURS,” Mel yells. She is also horny for the bonito! “This is triumphant food, and you should be so happy right now.”
We get a series of extremely horny close-ups of the fish.
Jock agrees: it’s an “extraordinary dish”. He’s “nailed it”.
Andy says that Reynold is ALSO in the realm of being up in the gantry with Emelia.
What now??? Everyone can’t go up there. Who do you think had the best dish?
On to Callum’s dish: wattleseed duck with quandongs, smoked beetroot, duck fat leaves and jerusalem artichoke puree. It sounds good, but did he overdo the flavours again?
Callum is stoked: “it’s the happiest cook I’ve had in awhile. I don’t think I could have cooked it any better if I did that challenge 10 times over”.
But how does everyone else feel?
Andy says “I’m upset…. UPSET THAT YOU’VE MADE MY JOB SO HARD.” Really channeling Matt Preston on that one.
Andy loves it. He said the duck breast is cooked perfectly, the sauce is full of flavour, and everything else fits together harmoniously too. Mel calls it a “multi-dimensional dish” and “really fantastic food”. “We’re all proud of you for putting this up.”
Jock says it’s “easily the most balanced dish you’ve brought us”, and he especially loves the wattleseed.
I’m so sorry for doubting you, Callum!!!!
Time to taste!
Laura’s turnip dish is the first one up for tasting. It has roughly $700 worth of truffles on it.
Andy says that she’s pulled it off! She managed to make the turnip the star, amongst all the caviar and the truffles. Mel says that it’s a “wonderfully sophisticated” dish, that was elevated by the depth of flavours in the puree and the decision to salt-bake the turnips!
Will it be the best dish of the three though?? Remember: we’re only looking for the very best dish of the round. That person will go straight through to Sunday night’s semi-final, and the other two will have to cook again in a second round.
Everyone is plating up on time. Everyone is happy with their dishes.
I’m happy for them, but I gotta admit: the competition really loses some drama when everyone left is just completing a set task in a very competent and efficient manner. There was lobster and white choc in that luxe pantry. Why doesn’t someone try and redeem white chocolate veloute?
The white chocolate velouté was the best ever episode of #MasterChefAU and John was the best ever contestant. I'm not joking. pic.twitter.com/ZDXQKxFkCc
— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw) May 12, 2020
Reynold has just one fillet of bonito left. It all rides on this. He’s giving it another go on the hibachi.
Aaand, it works! The fillet doesn’t stick to the grill, and the skin is perfectly charred.
Will this be the ultimate redemption for redemption cooks?
Shoutout to the hibachi.
Say what you will about the hibachi but when it comes to burning your food it simply cannot be beaten #MasterChefAU
— gurnie sanders (@kimbaheartsyou) July 14, 2020
Some drama in the posh veggie department.
Am I the only person perplexed at turnips and celeriac are in the fancy pantry?#MasterChefAU
— ✨ Miss Natski ✨ (@Natski82) July 14, 2020
At the risk of sounding like a super arrogant French person. Celeriac is one of the most common, basic veg I can think of. Is it really viewed as luxury here? For me it’s the same as turnips, i don’t get it #MasterChefAU
— True Krys (@heartmadeofsoul) July 14, 2020
In fairness, I am definitely an Ordinary Cook and I don’t think I’ve ever cooked either of these foods.
Reynold’s bonito bonfire
10 minutes to go and Reynold is starting to cook his fish on the hibachi. Hibachis are back on trend! But… should they be? Reynold needs to cook his fish perfectly, and that’s very hard to do when it’s engulfed inside a giant, uneven, out of control flame.
And it gets worse: when Reynold goes to flip the bonito, the skin sticks to the wire. He has to ditch the whole fillet, with just minutes left on the clock.
Andy comes by to offer his support with a disapproving glare.
Callum’s elements are all coming together: the duck, the puree, the agridulce natives, the sauce… But then, of course, he says “I think I need something else”.
CALLUM.
He’s adding a wattleseed salt to his duck. Just a little bit, because “it can be overpowering” and he needs to “pull it back”. Eek.
15 minutes to go!
Andy and Jock saunter over to Reynold to PUT. ON. THAT. PRESSURE. “Hey Reynold, remember when you messed up last time you were on the show??”
By the time the judges leave Reynold starts making a flower out of kohlrabi. I guess it worked?
The notes from the judge’s first debrief:
Laura’s turnips and caviar is “going to be all about balance”. They wonder how she’s going to make the turnips into the extraordinary thing on the plate.
Callum’s meat is always perfect, they say. The duck should be good! But can he stop himself from “loading up 100 different flavours”?
Reynold needs to be “cornered” and “pressured” into success. Everyone nods sagely.
Reynold, run.
An update on the poll: most of you (56%) think Callum is going home tonight.
Who do you think is going home tonight? #MasterchefAU
— Meg Watson (@msmegwatson) July 14, 2020
But most people (68%) WANT Laura to go. Keep voting!
Who do you WANT to go home tonight? #MasterchefAU
— Meg Watson (@msmegwatson) July 14, 2020
Callum is going hard on the native ingredients again - the quandongs, and also pepper berries. He says he’s “learned a hell of a lot” about how to cook with these types of ingredients from Jock.
It would be cool to see some of that on screen! They seem to cut that out of each episode, and instead put in 42 scenes of Jock inflicting psychological torture instead.
“Callum, you are an extraordinary cook,” Jock says. Oh, nice - here we go!
“But can you tame your brain? Can you get those ingredients singing together rather than fighting?”
Hm.
Reynold is tempting fate again by cooking bonito - the fish that sent him home from his last season of MasterChef. Uh oh. It’s another redemption cook, folks!!
He says that he’s learned from his mistakes since then: “I want to prove to myself, and to Australia, that I can finally cook bonito”. Is this a concern anyone had? I reckon you don’t have anything to prove after you make a sugar diorama of a fairytale book, but that’s just me.
Laura’s tactic?
I’d suck at this show because I’d automatically pick all the expensive ingredients, kinda like how Donald Trump decorates everything #MasterChefAU
— Jessica (@miss_jess) July 14, 2020
Laura says she’s focusing on humble flavours today: turnip, caviar and truffle (um). She says that the ~hero~ of the dish will definitely be the turnip - an “extraordinary food” that people often don’t really like. The challenge will be balancing such big flavours in the caviar and truffle.
Callum says that he actually has a better dish in mind from the ordinary pantry, but he’s saving it for round two.
Callum, you gotta work on that confidence. You have literally won already won an all-stars season of this show. You’re pretty great!
In the first round, he’s making duck with beetroot, quandongs and jerusalem artichoke puree.
Reynold, of course, is going luxe (there was no 24-carat gold dust in the ordinary pantry).
In fact, everyone is going luxe! This means they’re on an even playing field for both rounds of tonight’s cook.
Round one: ordinary v extraordinary
There are two rounds of cooking today. Whoever makes the best dish in round one is straight through to Sunday night’s semi-final. Whoever makes the worst dish of round two is going home.
Reynold came fourth in his first season of MasterChef (in 2015), so he’s feeling a bit of extra pressure this time around. Obviously he deserves at least a top 3 finish... The final should not be a bowl of pasta vs a traditional pastry. I want another golden snitch!!
In the first round of tonight’s challenge, the contestants can choose from two pantries: one that’s “ordinary”, and one that’s “extraordinary”. Think meat and potatoes vs caviar and lobster. If they end up cooking in the second round, they must use the pantry they didn’t choose in round one.
“Do you come out all guns blazing and go with the pantry you like best in round one, or do you save it just in case?” Jock asks.
They have 75 minutes to cook their dish.
We’re down to the top four! And at the end of this episode, one of your faves is going home (although, let’s be real: most of your faves have already gone home).
Tonight’s challenge is Reynold v Callum v Laura. Every episode is filled with heartbreak from here on out: that’s a Channel Ten guarantee.
On a lighter note: Andy is wearing another suit from Miami Vice.
Thankfully, this time his suit pants actually reach his ankles. Unfortunately, he’s completed the look with big white sneakers. It looks like he’s about to pitch everyone an app that delivers overpriced groceries via drone.
Also, while we’re here...
Who do you think is going home tonight? #MasterchefAU
— Meg Watson (@msmegwatson) July 14, 2020
Hello! And surprise! This is our first ever Tuesday MasterChef live-blog, in honour of Finals Week. I’ll be with you for tonight’s elimination, Sunday night’s semi-final, and Monday’s grand final.
Yep, MasterChef is the main feature of my life this week, so let’s go all out! Please tweet or email me with jokes, comments and predictions any time. A fair few of you told me you were boycotting the show after Reece was treated so unfairly by the judges. I hope you’re at least sticking it out with the blog:
Shoutout to the @GuardianAus readers who emailed me today to say they're boycotting #MasterChefAU after Reece's elimination 👀 pic.twitter.com/rzcQshgsK3
— Meg Watson (@msmegwatson) July 13, 2020
There’s only been one episode since Reece’s elimination on Sunday, so there’s not much to recap. Last night’s final mystery box challenge, set by Gordon Ramsay via Zoom, sent Emelia straight through to Sunday’s semi-final.
She made a compressed strawberry and rhubarb choux pastry that the judges lost their minds over.
If the choux fits... and it certainly does 🍓👌 Get the recipe for @emeliajacksonMC's rhubarb and strawberry choux 👉 https://t.co/voBuBgf5qK #MasterChefAU pic.twitter.com/0Vf3VbKvOp
— masterchefau (@masterchefau) July 14, 2020
She thankfully did not choose to cook Gordon Ramsay’s small child.
Jesus this mystery box ingredient is morbid #MasterchefAU pic.twitter.com/ManJYgDFLE
— Jared (@jjnoodles22) July 13, 2020
As always, we’re on at 7.30pm! Stay tuned.
Updated
