MasterChef Australia series 9

MasterChef Australia (series 9)
Series 9
No. of episodes	30 (as of 8 June 2017)
Release
Original network	Network Ten
Original release	1 May 2017 (2017-05-01) –  ()
Series chronology

The ninth series of MasterChef Australia premiered on 1 May 2017 on Network Ten. Judges George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston from the previous series returned.

Contestants

Top 24

The Top 24 contestants were announced on 1–3 May 2017. Chosen contestant Josh Clearihan was a previous auditionee from the eighth series who failed to reach the auditions when he was hospitalized in an induced coma after a run-in with a car thief. The series featured other previous auditionees: Pia Gava, Benita Orwell and Eloise Praino.

Contestant	Age	State	Occupation	Status
Arum Nixon	34	NSW	Advertising Strategist	Competing
Ben Ungermann	32	QLD	Retail Manager	Competing
Callan Smith	18	NSW	Student	Competing
Diana Chan	29	VIC	Accountant	Competing
Eliza Wilson	30	VIC	Theatre Nurse	Competing
Eloise Praino	32	SA	Graduate Law Clerk	Competing
Karlie Verkerk	26	NSW	Copywriter	Competing
Michelle Lukman	19	VIC	Student	Competing
Nicole Stevenson	24	QLD	Medical Secretary	Competing
Ray Silva	42	NSW	Doctor	Competing
Sam Goodwin	25	VIC	Construction Coordinator	Competing
Sarah Tiong	26	NSW	Risk Consultant	Competing
Tamara Graffen	28	WA	Engineering Officer	Competing
Samuel Whitehead	26	SA	Market Stall Owner	Eliminated 8 June
Pete Morgan	31	WA	Crane Operator	Eliminated 5 June
Jess Butler	29	VIC	Nurse	Eliminated 1 June
Trent Devincenzo	27	NSW	Systems Engineer	Eliminated 29 May
Benjamin Bullock	27	WA	Lawyer	Eliminated 25 May
Bryan Zhu	23	NSW	Photographer	Eliminated 22 May
Benita Orwell	57	QLD	Ex-Ground Staff	Eliminated 18 May
Pia Gava	49	VIC	Contracts Officer	Eliminated 15 May
Josh Clearihan	32	VIC	Senior IT Administrator	Eliminated 11 May
Lee Behan	29	WA	Hospitality Manager	Eliminated 8 May
Rashedul Hasan	35	NSW	IT Program Director	Eliminated 4 May

Guest Chefs

Week	Guest Chef	Challenge
1	Maggie Beer	Auditions Part 2
	Anna Polyviou	Auditions Part 3
	Elena Duggan	Top 24 Mystery Box Challenge
2 (Home Cooking Week)	Jarrod Di Blasi	Immunity Challenge
	Johnny Di Francesco	Team Challenge
3	Ben Shewry	Mystery Box Challenge/Invention Test
	Andy Bowdy	Pressure Test
	Charlie Carrington	Immunity Challenge
4 (Sweet Week)	Kirsten Tibballs	Mystery Box Challenge
	Janice Wong	Invention Test
	Christy Tania	Pressure Test
	Lauren Eldridge	Immunity Challenge
	Angélique Pereto
	Reynold Poernomo
	Darren Purchese	Team Challenge
5	David Thompson	Mystery Box Challenge/Invention Test
	Josue Lopez	Pressure Test
	Clinton McIver	Immunity Challenge
6 (Yotam Week)	Yotam Ottolenghi	All Challenges & MasterClass
	Blayne Bertoncello	Immunity Challenge
7	Curtis Stone	Mystery Box Challenge/Invention Test
8
9
10
11
12
Finals

Elimination chart

Week	1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		12		Finals
Mystery Box Challenge Winner	Bryan Callan Pia Sam		Eloise		Ray		Pete		Karlie		Karlie
Invention Test Winner	None		Eliza Karlie Sarah		Eloise Sam Sarah		Callan Diana Sam		Ben Samuel Tamara		Diana Karlie Tamara
Immunity Challenge			Lose: Sarah		Win: Eloise		Lose: Callan, Diana, Sam		Lose: Tamara		Lose: Karlie
Arum	Top 24	IN	IN	Team Lose	IN	Team Lose	IN	Team Win	IN	Team Win 2	IN	Btm 3
Ben	Top 24	IN	IN	Team Win	IN	Team Lose	IN	Team Win	Top 3	Team Lose 2	IN	Team Win
Callan	Top 24	Top 4	IN	Team Win	IN	Team Win	Top 3	Team Lose	IN	Btm 3	IN	Team Win
Diana	Top 24	IN	IN	Team Win	IN	Team Win	Top 3	Team Win	IN	Team Win 1	Top 3	Team Lose
Eliza	Top 24	IN	Top 3	Team Win	IN	Team Win	IN	Team Win	IN	Team Win 1	IN	Team Win
Eloise	Top 24	IN	IN	Team Lose	Top 3	Team Win	IN	Team Lose/Imm.	IN	Team Win 2	Btm 3	Team Win
Karlie	Top 24	IN	Top 3	Team Win	IN	Team 3rd	IN	Team Win	IN	Btm 5	Top 3	Team Lose
Michelle	Top 24	IN	IN	Btm 4	IN	Team 3rd	IN	Team Lose	IN	Team Lose 2	IN	Team Win
Nicole	Top 24	IN	IN	Team Lose	IN	Btm 3	IN	Team Lose	IN	Team Lose 1	IN	Team Win
Ray	Top 24	IN	Btm 3	Team Win	Btm 3	Team Win	IN	Btm 3	IN	Team Win 1	Btm 3	Team Win
Sam	Top 24	Top 4	IN	Team Lose	Top 3	Team Win	Top 3	Team Win	Btm 3	Team Win 1	IN	Team Lose
Sarah	Top 24	IN	Top 3	Team Win	Top 3	Team 3rd	IN	Team Win	IN	Team Win 2	IN	Team Lose
Tamara	Top 24	IN	IN	Team Lose	IN	Team 3rd	IN	Btm 3	Top 3	Team Win 2	Top 3	Btm 3
Samuel	Top 24	IN	IN	Team Lose	IN	Team Win	Btm 3	Team Lose	Top 3	Btm 5	IN	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 30)
Pete	Top 24	IN	Btm 3	Team Win	Btm 3	Btm 3	IN	Team Win	IN	Btm 3	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 27)
Jess	Top 24	IN	IN	Btm 4	IN	Team 3rd	IN	Team Lose	Btm 3	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 25)
Trent	Top 24	IN	IN	Team Win	IN	Team Win	Btm 3	Team Win	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 22)
Benjamin	Top 24	Btm 4	IN	Btm 4	IN	Team Win	IN	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 20)
Bryan	Top 24	Top 4	IN	Team Win	IN	Team Win	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 17)
Benita	Top 24	Btm 4	IN	Team Win	IN	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 15)
Pia	Top 24	Top 4	IN	Team Lose	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 12)
Josh	Top 24	IN	IN	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 10)
Lee	Top 24	Btm 4	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 7)
Rashedul	Top 24	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 5)
Eliminated		Rashedul	Lee	Josh	Pia	Benita	Bryan	Benjamin	Trent	Jess	Pete	Samuel	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
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Episodes and ratings

Colour key:

  – Highest rating during the series

  – Lowest rating during the series

Ep#/Wk-Ep#	Original airdate	Episode Title / Event	Total viewers (five metro cities)	Nightly Ranking
Week 1
1/01-1	Monday, 1 May 2017	Series Premiere: Auditions Part 1 - The ninth series started with contestants cooking their signature dish in one hour for an automatic entry to the Top 24. Each judge awarded contestants with a "yes" or "no". Twenty contestants received three "yes" votes and won their way through to the main competition while the second-chance contestants, with one or two "yes" votes, were to cook again in the next episode.	1,060,000	#5
2/01-2	Tuesday, 2 May 2017	Auditions Part 2 - Maggie Beer set a challenge for the twelve home cooks who received a second chance to cook either a savoury dish or a dessert in 75 minutes, with lemons as the core ingredient, to secure a place in the competition. The top three dishes were chosen by Maggie and the judges sent their makers to join the Top 24. The bottom three who failed to impress the judges were eliminated while the remaining six competed for their last chance to secure the 24th spot in the next day's Pressure Test. In the end, it was Eliza, Lee and Sarah who received an apron each during the tasting after earning overall praise from the judges with their respective dishes.	913,000	#6
3/01-3	Wednesday, 3 May 2017	Auditions Part 3 - To win the last apron and secure a spot in the Top 24, the remaining contestants faced a Pressure Test set by Anna Polyviou. They had three-and-a-half hours to recreate her intricate firecracker-based dessert with ten technical dessert elements inside the dish. The two hopefuls who delivered the best take of the dish were considered by the judges for the last spot in the Top 24. Arum's dish was declared the best, winning him the last apron.	917,000	#5
4/01-4	Thursday, 4 May 2017	Top 24 Mystery Box Challenge - In their first cook in the competition, the Top 24 contestants faced a Mystery Box that contained ingredients chosen by Elena Duggan (series 8 winner). Cooking with 75 minutes on the clock, the majority of the contestants opted to cook a pasta dish while some opted for an inventive dish. Rashedul suffered a major setback when he dropped a dish containing many of his elements in the final minute of cooking time. In the end, it was Sam, Callan, Pia and Bryan who were declared the Top 4 while Rashedul was sent to elimination along with Lee, Benjamin and Benita.	899,000	#6
5/01-5		Hidden Pairs Elimination Challenge - Benita, Benjamin, Lee and Rashedul competed in the first elimination challenge. Each had to pick an ingredient of their choice next to a cloche that contained a hidden paired ingredient and make a dish in 75 minutes. Rashedul selected mango paired with green peppercorns, Benjamin had walnuts and dates, Benita got peaches and Earl Grey tea, and Lee chose salmon with aniseed. Benita’s risk of producing an ice cream dessert didn’t pay off, forcing her to change it into a custard dish. Benjamin’s katoumari received criticism on his presentation but received overall praise on the taste. Lee’s dish also won praise from the judges. Rashedul struggled to think of a dish, and chose to make a mango, mint and peppercorn sorbet. The judges couldn’t taste the green peppercorn in his sorbet, which meant it did not meet the brief of highlighting both ingredients, and that was enough to eliminate him.	910,000	#5
Week 2 - Home Cooking Week
6/02-1	Sunday, 7 May 2017	Judges' Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test - The 23 remaining contestants could only rely on the basics of home cooking for the week by using simple kitchen equipment. They faced a Mystery Box Challenge with ingredients like prawns, chillies, pineapple and parmesan, that were chosen by the judges for the 75-minute cook. Sarah, Pia, Diana, Michelle and Eloise were chosen as the Top 5 and Eloise’s Pineapple Tarte Tatin with Pumpkin Chilli Caramel won her the advantage for the choice of the core ingredient for the Invention Test. She chose halloumi (over fennel and mussels). This ingredient caused some of the contestants to struggle throughout the 75-minute cook, including Lee, Ray and Pete, who found themselves in elimination. Eliza, Karlie and Sarah managed to champion the cheese in creative ways and were declared the Top 3.	767,000	#5
7/02-2	Monday, 8 May 2017	Pressure Test: Gary Mehigan's Roast Chicken, Peas and Potatoes - Lee, Pete and Ray had to follow and recreate Gary’s roasted chicken dish without a recipe provided; they had to follow the chef before plating the dish within 10 seconds of Gary to be spared from elimination. Ray struggled throughout, he poured too much cream in the pea custard and his fondant potatoes were cooked inconsistently. Pete fell behind when he tried to prepare his vegetable jus but his dish received overall praise and was first to be declared safe. Throughout the challenge, Lee started well and his dish impressed the judges, but it was his cooking of the chicken that let him down, as he failed to sear the flesh side of the protein at the end of the cook.	861,000	#8
8/02-3	Tuesday, 9 May 2017	Immunity Challenge: Jarrod Di Blasi - In the 32-minute first round, Eliza, Sarah and Karlie had to make a savoury dinner plate with just one trip to the pantry. Sarah’s Pan Friend Barramundi with Bok Choy and Vinaigrette won the round and she advanced to the Immunity Challenge against Jarrod Di Blasi, who was the Victorian Young Chef of the Year. She chose one of the judges’ home fridges (Gary’s which contained Asian Ingredients) and with 75 minutes, prepped a XO Marinated Steak with Pickled Mushrooms and Potato Mash while Jarrod made a Sashimi of Whiting with Roast Bone Dressing and Avocado Puree in 60 minutes. Jarrod received overall praise on the creativity of his dish while Sarah’s dish also pleased the judges but her mashed potatoes and her marinade divided the judges’ opinions, giving her 23 points to Jarrod's 27.	979,000	#4
9/02-4	Wednesday, 10 May 2017	400 Gradi Team Challenge - The contestants arrived at the 400 Gradi Pizzeria headed by World Pizza Champion Johnny Di Francesco for a team challenge cooking for 250 guests. The two teams, led by Diana (Green) and Eloise (Red), had four hours preparation and service time to cook and plate an Italian three-course meal: two pizzas, a pasta dish and a dessert. During their first challenge, both teams struggled in prepping their respective pizza dough and desserts. The Red Team’s pizzas received higher praise than the Green Team’s, which had technical issues with the topping and the crust. However, the judges slammed their bland pasta and heavy sponge dessert compared to the Green Team’s, and sent the Red Team into elimination.	876,000	#5
10/02-5	Thursday, 11 May 2017	Potato Elimination Challenge - The losing team members faced a two-round elimination challenge featuring the core ingredient: potatoes. The first round was to cook a classic side dish of chips and dip in 60 minutes. Samuel, Arum and Eloise had the Top 3 chip dishes while Benjamin, Jess, Josh and Michelle served soggy chips, sending them to the second round. After 60 minutes to cook a dish with potatoes, Jess and Michelle delivered exemplary dishes. And while one of Benjamin's sweet potato doughnuts was mushy, Josh's undercooking of his potato resulted in his gnocchi being lumpy and made him the third contestant to be eliminated.	875,000	#5
		MasterClass: George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston - The judges individually presented their respective simple dishes to the contestants in their MasterClass: George demonstrated the cooking of broccoli on a grill, Gary presented a dessert that featured chocolate and beetroot, and Matt cooked nuggets and chips. Gary helped George make his Lamb Tortellini with Butter Sauce and Yoghurt Dressing.	669,000	#8
Week 3
11/03-1	Sunday, 14 May 2017	Ben Shewry's All-Australian Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test - Ben Shewry showcased his Mystery Box that contained Australian ingredients for the contestants. After 75 minutes, the top five were Jess, Tamara, Trent, Nicole and Ray, with the latter winning the challenge. Ray’s advantage for the Invention Test was to choose one of the three cooking techniques that had to be highlighted in the contestants’ dishes. Throughout the second challenge, Ray, despite choosing smoking as the highlight of the dish, was responsible for under-cooked crayfish and under-smoked broth, while Pia failed to plate up all of her elements. Sarah, Sam and Eloise impressed with their inventive dishes while Ray and Pia were joined by Pete in the Bottom 3.	734,000	#5
12/03-2	Monday, 15 May 2017	Pressure Test: Andy Bowdy's "Rita" - Pete, Pia and Ray had four-and-a-half hours to recreate pastry chef Andy Bowdy’s signature twelve element intricate layered cake. The judges were impressed with Pete's dish overall, despite him burning his second batch of candied pecans, and he was declared safe. Ray lost points in the presentation of his cake layers but was praised on the tasting apart from his thick biscuit base. Although Pia’s dish had the best presentation, her bavarois was heavy and her meringue was too grainy. In the end, the errors in Pia’s dessert outweighed Ray’s bulging cake appearance, sealing her elimination.	868,000	#9
13/03-3	Tuesday, 16 May 2017	Immunity Challenge: Charlie Carrington - In the 45-minute first round, Eloise, Sam and Sarah were tasked to cook a dish with the use of a waffle maker. While Sam and Sarah opted for the sweet option for their waffle dishes, Eloise’s savoury take on chicken and waffles with chilli soy caramel won her the opportunity to cook against chef Charlie Carrington of Atlas Dining in Melbourne. Eloise had the advantage to beat the chef by choosing the ‘indulgent’ pantry that had sweet ingredients and, with 75 minutes, cooked a dessert of chocolate and peanut butter. The judges applaud Eloise’s dish over Charlie’s midnight snack dish that left them uncertain of his mascarpone ginger beer foam, awarding her the immunity pin with 28 points to Charlie’s 21.	1,045,000	#4
14/03-4	Wednesday, 17 May 2017	Relay Team Challenge - Four teams competed in a relay challenge where each member had 15 minutes of cooking time and 45 seconds to pass their instructions to the next cook. The captains Diana (Red Team), Benjamin (Yellow), Tamara (Blue) and Benita (Green) were tasked with choosing a dish that featured maple syrup. Benita and Tamara chose the savoury option for their dishes (Green’s Singaporean Chilli Crab and Prawns, and Blue’s Asian Sticky Pork Belly with Bao Buns and Slaw) while Benjamin and Diana opted for Maple Ice Cream desserts. Throughout the following changeovers, Benita’s choice of dish confused her team members when she decided to replace the palm sugar with the syrup at the start of the cook, the Red Team struggled with their jelly element which they failed to plate at the last minute and the Yellow Team provided improvements to their dish. Michelle, who was the third to cook for the Blue Team, struggled throughout and tampered with the elements of her team’s dish, forcing the last two members to salvage it. The Yellow and Red Teams were applauded for their desserts despite the missing jelly in the Red Team’s dish, while the judges praised Diana’s leadership and organization of her team’s dish. The Blue Team’s dish was criticised on their overcooked pork while the Green Team’s maple flavour couldn’t be detected despite using all of the syrup throughout the cook. As their dish failed to highlight the core ingredient, the Green Team were sent to elimination.	958,000	#5
15/03-5	Thursday, 18 May 2017	Time Shopping Elmination Challenge - Arum, Ben, Benita, Nicole and Pete faced an elimination challenge where each contestant could bid part of their 90 minutes' cooking time to purchase their ingredients. Each pantry of ingredients (except the staples) cost different minutes of time. Arum and Nicole spent 20 minutes to cook with ginger, sugar and pistachios. Ben had John Dory, artichokes and vanilla beans that cost 15 minutes. Benita decided to spend 45 minutes for prawns, ginger, coriander and kecap manis. Pete bought cherries, vanilla beans, sugar and pistachios for 25 minutes. Arum's cake was loved by the judges with Ben’s dish also receiving praise, while Pete had issues in plating his cake but stood out in the tasting. Nicole chose a pudding that was crumbled and dry which lacked sauce. Therefore, the four of them excelled with their performances in the kitchen. Benita faced problems in her allocated cooking time, producing an underwhelming dish and despite her efforts of improvising her burnt broth, it was not enough to save her from elimination.	935,000	#5
Week 4 - Sweet Week
16/04-1	Sunday, 21 May 2017	Kirsten Tibballs' Mystery Box Challenge and Flower Affinity Invention Test - The daily challenges in the coming week focus the contestants to cook desserts. Kirsten Tibballs presents her Mystery Box, with chocolate and her chosen ingredients (coconut, raspberries, mint, instant coffee, coffee beans, green tea, nectarines, desiccated coconut and dark rum) along with additional pantry dessert staples, for contestants to make their dishes in half an hour. Bryan, Eloise, Arum, Eliza and Pete were chosen for tasting and impressed with the creativity of their desserts, with Pete winning the advantage in the Invention Test set by Janice Wong. He was rewarded an extra 30-minute head start with Janice mentoring him to make a dish inspired by flowers but it was Callan, Diana and Sam who thrived in highlighting the flowers in their desserts and won the chance to cook for immunity. Samuel and Trent had technical issues with their dishes while Bryan’s dessert had too many elements and the flavours in his dish did not balance together correctly. Therefore, the three of them were sent to the Pressure Test.	839,000	#7
17/04-2	Monday, 22 May 2017	Pressure Test: Christy Tania's Ice Cream Float - Christy Tania showed Bryan, Samuel and Trent her gravity-defying ice cream dessert for them to replicate in three hours, with thirty minutes to make their sugar balloons. The time pressure proved too much for the contestants as they had flaws in their dishes: Trent’s balloon was too small as it dispersed when he presented his dish to the judges, Samuel used excess chocolate to cover the crevice of his cone after he poured his hot chocolate sauce during the cook, and Bryan’s semifreddo was too dense and contained dollops of meringue in the mixture, while he ran out of time to make his balloon. Ultimately, Trent and Samuel scored in taste and presentation, respectively. Despite having a good run in the competition, Bryan's first Pressure Test sealed his elimination.	936,000	#8
18/04-3	Tuesday, 23 May 2017	Immunity Challenge: Lauren Eldridge, Angélique Pereto and Reynold Poernomo - As a team, Callan, Diana and Sam individually competed against one of the three guest pastry chefs for immunity. By knife draw: Sam was pitted against pastry chef Lauren Eldridge, Diana faced chef Angélique Pereto and Callan cooked against KOI Dessert Bar’s Reynold Poernomo (from season 7). In 75 minutes, Diana made a dark chocolate sorbet with orange sauce, Sam cooked a deconstructed black forest gateaux and Callan baked a layered sponge cake with fruits, jelly, toffee and chocolate ganache. In 60 minutes, Reynold made a mango cream with spiced pineapple and lemongrass ginger consommé, Angélique decided to cook a dessert of green tea with coconut and raspberry, and Lauren did a honeycomb with crème fraiche ice cream. When Reynold’s dessert scored 27 points, the judges felt Callan’s use of his chocolate ganache was unnecessary and gave him 16 points. Diana’s dish was liked by the judges but the creativity of Angélique’s dessert highly impressed the judges, giving her a perfect score of 30 to Diana’s 18. While Sam earned rave reviews on his dish, Lauren’s use of two simple elements and precision earned her high praise (27-28).	899,000	#7
19/04-4	Wednesday, 24 May 2017	Edible Dessert Greenhouse Art Team Challenge - Two teams were tasked by Darren Purchese to construct edible dessert art installations in their respective stations for public viewing in eight hours. Sarah’s Red Team chose a Japanese zen garden concept while Tamara’s Blue Team took inspiration of a beehive. During prep time, the Red Team overcooked their first batch of dehydrated strawberry cherry blossoms and forced them to only make 300 blossoms while the Blue Team took too long to make their honeycomb biscuits and to build their cookie cutters. Afterwards, both teams were praised in their creativity by the judges but the Blue Team’s installations lacked balance in the sweetness of each element over the Red Team’s and landed them in elimination.	845,000	#7
20/04-5	Thursday, 25 May 2017	Blind Ingredient Tasting Elimination Challenge - The losing contestants (except Eloise, who used her Immunity Pin) had to correctly guess each ball of a dessert ingredient while blindfolded, to avoid landing in one of three places for the second elimination round. The bottom three: Ray (who mistook grapes for watermelon), Benjamin (banana instead of rockmelon) and Tamara (cucumber rather than rockmelon) had 75 minutes to cook their desserts with the ingredient they guessed incorrectly. Both Tamara and Ray impressed with their dishes but, while Ray struggled throughout the challenge, it was Benjamin’s overcooked bananas that sent him home.	879,000	#4
Week 5
21/05-1	Sunday, 28 May 2017	David Thompson's Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test - Thai cuisine expert and chef David Thompson set up a Mystery Box Challenge for the contestants to cook their dishes with his chosen Thai ingredients, with Tamara, Diana, Michelle, Karlie and Samuel selected as the top five. Karlie won the advantage in the Invention Test which was the choice between two of Thompson’s dishes to cook an inventive dish with the ingredients of the chosen dish. She chose his pineapple and crab curry (over his tom yum soup) and several contestants prospered with their dishes to compete for three places in the Immunity Challenge. Tamara, Ben and Samuel had the top dishes chosen by the judges. Jess, Sam and Trent had technical errors in their dishes and were at risk of elimination.	737,000	#6
22/05-2	Monday, 29 May 2017	Pressure Test: Josue Lopez's "After the Eucalypt Fire" - Jess, Sam and Trent had three hours to replicate "After the Eucalypt Fire", a 14-element emu dish cooked by Brisbane's Chef of the Year Josue Lopez. Despite his beetroot leaf puree being grainy, Sam was first to be declared safe. Jess' puree was bitter and lacked vibrance but while Trent was praised for the cooking of his emu, his plating was unorganized and the lack of the essential crispy elements in his dish left him eliminated.	765,000	#11
23/05-3	Tuesday, 30 May 2017	Immunity Challenge: Clinton McIver - Ben, Samuel and Tamara had 45 minutes to recreate a classic macaroni and cheese in the first round. Tamara’s chilli mac 'n’ cheese won her the chance to cook off against Melbourne chef Clinton McIver of Amaru. From a choice of herbs, she chose rosemary and cooked Chicken Rosemary Garlic Dumplings with Chicken Broth in 75 minutes while Clinton made a Rosemary Lamb with Pickled Vegetables and Pear in 60 minutes. Both of their dishes were praised on simplicity but Clinton’s modern flavours of his dish beat Tamara's overall quality presentation by 27 points to 26.	874,000	#6
24/05-4	Wednesday, 31 May 2017	South Melbourne Market Team Challenge - Four teams competed at the South Melbourne Market to cook two snacks (savoury and sweet) and sell them to 1000 people, with only two teams to be pronounced safe after they delivered the best dishes and earned the most money from the public. All teams struggled to plan their dishes: Michelle’s Yellow Team attempted to estimate the mass of their ingredients, Tamara’s Green Team took a lot of time to prepare the food and Sam’s Blue Team had issues with the lime curd in their dessert. After service, the teams made $13,728 to be donated to Kidney Health Australia. The judges applauded the Blue Team’s dishes that were free from flaws and declared the team safe. The Green Team was also safe with takings of $4,158, sending the other two teams to the elimination round.	704,000	#10
25/05-5	Thursday, 1 June 2017	Three Dishes from Six Eggs Elimination Challenge - The eight losing contestants faced a three-round elimination challenge to cook dishes in 45 minutes with only six eggs available. Ben, Michelle and Nicole had the top dishes in the first round. Karlie and Samuel thrived in the second round, sending Callan, Jess and Pete in the final elimination round. The judges doubted Pete’s choice of cooking a simple steak and chips with a fried egg but they applauded his dish in the tasting. Callan was also safe with the creativity of his smoked egg yolk. Jess’ flavours of her dish were flat while her egg cracked in the cooking which was overdone, and she was eliminated.	778,000	#6
Week 6 - Yotam Week
26/06-1	Sunday, 4 June 2017	Yotam's Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test - Famed celebrity chef and writer Yotam Ottolenghi made his first appearance as this week’s guest judge for the contestants. His Mystery Box had ingredients that were used in Middle-eastern cuisine: freekeh, tahini paste, lamb, date syrup, parsley, eggplant, rosewater and sumac. After 75 minutes assigned to the contestants, Karlie won the challenge for the second time against Michelle, Eliza, Sarah and Ben with Yotam’s encouragement as the second advantage in her 30-minute head start to cook a stuffed dish in 60 minutes. She then won the Invention Test to join with Diana and Tamara for immunity. Pete and Ray faced their third Pressure Test along with Eloise, after all three served undercooked dishes.	794,000	#6
27/06-2	Monday, 5 June 2017	Pressure Test: Yotam Ottolenghi's Mezze Feast - Eloise, Pete and Ray had one hour to recreate five dishes from Yotam's mezze: lamb koftas, deep fried olives, butterbean hummus and roasted ricotta with broad bean spread. Eloise won praise with the overall taste and quality of her dishes. Ray also won praise with his feast but served large chunks of onions in the koftas and some of his dishes were under-seasoned. Pete’s disorganized plating failed to score in presentation while his flatbreads and fried olives received praise in the tasting but overcooking his lamb and pomegranate jam saw him eliminated.	767,000	#12
28/06-3	Tuesday, 6 June 2017	Immunity Challenge: Blayne Bertoncello - Karlie, Tamara and Diana compete in the first round where each of them take turns to name one of the 25 ingredients of Yotam’s pastilla. Diana and Tamara were eliminated in consecutive guesses which left Karlie to cook up against O.MY head chef Blayne Bertoncello. Both of them had to feature the ingredients from the first round to cook their dishes. In 75 minutes, Karlie cooked Braised Chicken with Onion Sauce, Chipotle and Tomato while Blayne made a Tomato Salad with Chicken in 60 minutes. Karlie was praised for the cooking of her dish but received mixed reviews on the blubbery chicken skin. While Blayne’s salad lacked acidity, it received overall praise for its taste and presentation, winning by 35 points to 30.	927,000	#7
29/06-4	Wednesday, 7 June 2017	Vegetarian Feast Team Challenge - Teams had to cook a feast with vegetable-based dishes to impress 10 meat-eating guests and the judges. In the two-hour prep time, Callan’s uncertain leadership and decisions pushed the Blue Team over the edge while both teams had issues in cooking their flatbreads. In the tasting, both teams' dishes were praised for highlighting the brief but their flatbreads were undercooked and, despite Callan’s restrained leadership, it was the Green Team's overuse of the sour plum compote that diluted and imbalanced their fried halloumi dish which sent them to elimination.	868,000	#6
30/06-5	Thursday, 8 June 2017	Sight Perception Elimination Challenge - The seven contestants had to take turns in correctly identifying a chosen sliced cross section of an ingredient where incorrect guesses led to three contestants being sent to the elimination round. Arum, Samuel and Tamara had 75 minutes to cook their dishes from the pantry of ingredients that were guessed correctly in the first round. Arum's apple dessert was applauded, saving him from elimination. The verdict came down to Tamara’s fruit tart with unusual flavour combinations and Samuel’s vegetable tart with disproportionate quantities and it was the latter who was eliminated as a result.		#
		MasterClass: Yotam Ottolenghi, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan - Yotam, with assitance from Matt, presented his dishes to the contestants for their next MasterClass: a salad of cauliflower, shallots, barberries and pistachios and a dish of scotch eggs with aubergine and manchego; and a pistachio and rose semolina cake. George cooked one of the dishes from his Press Club restaurant: a potato skordalia while Gary made a modern savoury yabby tomato tart.		#
Week 7
31/07-1	Sunday, 11 June 2017	Curtis Stone's Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test -		#
32/07-2	Monday, 12 June 2017	Pressure Test -		#
33/07-3	Tuesday, 13 June 2017	Immunity Challenge -		#
34/07-4	Wednesday, 14 June 2017	Team Challenge -		#
35/07-5	Thursday, 15 June 2017	Elimination Challenge -		#
Week 8
36/08-1	Sunday, 18 June 2017	Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test -		#
37/08-2	Monday, 19 June 2017	Pressure Test -		#
38/08-3	Tuesday, 20 June 2017	Immunity Challenge -		#
39/08-4	Wednesday, 21 June 2017	Team Challenge -		#
40/08-5	Thursday, 22 June 2017	Elimination Challenge -		#
Week 9
41/09-1	Sunday, 25 June 2017	Mystery Box Challenge and Invention Test -		#
42/09-2	Monday, 26 June 2017	Pressure Test -		#
43/09-3	Tuesday, 27 June 2017	Immunity Challenge -		#
44/09-4	Wednesday, 28 June 2017	Team Challenge -		#
45/09-5	Thursday, 29 June 2017	Elimination Challenge -		#