Our budding food heroes are back from Italia. Gary drops a bombshell. Next week is finals week. Jaws drop. There’s still nine of them left, which means three will be eliminated this week. Six will go into finals week and daily eliminations will cull the finalists. This is the last week that the gold pin wearers can use them.
The losing Green team are packing their bags. Hipster Alice is the only one with an Immunity Pin. Whether or not she uses it, is left to be seen.
They’re in Monticchello, Tuscany, a thousand year-old village that’s seen its share of conflicts. It’s fitting then, that Bandy, Cupcake Barbie, Deb and Hipster Alice will be fighting it out to stay in the competition. George asks Alice if she’ll use her pin. Gary says he’d use it. Hipster says something about needing to believe in herself, and what would happen the next time there’s an elimination. She decides not to play her pin. Cupcake Barbies says she has balls. Alice says her people call it chutzpah.
In this episode, our hopefuls head into a massive Team Challenge. In Parma, the Top 10 don their chef whites and arrive at the stunning International School of Italian Cuisine.
It’s a big two part challenge. Day One will the have them cooking for the legendary father of modern Italian cuisine, Gualtiero Marchesi. He arrives to an extravagant welcome, involving a procession of his students.
Florence, 6:30am. Hipster Alice and Mindy are both ready for a big day. Alice is a bit shaky, considering she’s up against superstar Mindy. Deb encourages her to steel herself.
A huge aerial shot of the gorgeous Tuscan city sets the scene. Hipster Alice admits she’s the underdog. Mindy could potentially be the first contestant in the history of the show to hold two Immunity Pins at the same time.
It’s another beautiful morning in Rome. The four winners from yesterday’s challenge, Hipster Alice, Cupcake Barbie, Wade and Mindy are donning their chef whites. We get a glimpse of Hipster Alice looking kinda normal without those dumb glasses on, as she brushes her teeth. It’s short lived, however, as she puts on her garish red ones.
The contestants arrive to Campo de Fiore, the oldest market in Rome. Cupcake Barbie and Mindy receive a number of wolf whistles and unrequited attention from the Italian men.
Italy Week is here! After some extensive QANTAS product placement, the Top 10 arrive to a gorgeous Roman day. Sweeping establishing shots of the ancient city and its landmarks set the epic tone for the week. Our remaining culinary wannabes arrive to an almost deserted Piazza Navona and find out that guaranteed Immunity is on the table this week. But someone will also be going home.
A sombre mood lingers over Blue after a devastating loss. The cleaners are on standby when Wade and Amina both start crying, opening their hearts as to how badly they want to stay.
In another epic MasterChef Team Challenge, there’s no time for a MasterChef House intro. We get right in the thick of things with the gastronomes arriving to an empty warehouse somewhere in hip and happening Alexandria. The challenge today is like something taken straight out of The Apprentice playbook, to create two pop-up restaurants. They have to plan the four-course menu and organise all the cooking equipment and decor from scratch.
