It’s episode 34 of MasterChef Australia 2023 and it’s Immunity Challenge time! Four contestants put their culinary skills to the test to win immunity from elimination and a shiny pin.
In round one, Malissa, Declan, Theo and Brent were given 60 minutes to whip up a dessert with a coffee element. The best dish would secure immunity, and that person would then get a ticket to round two.
In the second round, pastry chef superstar Kay-Lene Tan stepped in as the chef to beat. The triumphant contestant from round one had to battle it out with Kay-Lene with a tea-inspired dish. If the home cook was crowned best cook of the day, they’d secure an Immunity Pin.
The Cook – round one
Malissa was super excited about the coffee challenge and decided to make a Chocolate Parfait with Burnt Orange Coffee Syrup and Chocolate Crumble.
Meanwhile, Declan was a little overwhelmed by the task of making a coffee-flavoured dessert. “I don’t even put sugar in my coffee!” he exclaimed.
He decided to make a Coffee Creme Caramel Tempered Chocolate and a Coconut Crumb with some Coconut Flakes.
Brent chose to make a Chocolate Ice Cream with Maserated Cherries and Coffee Caramel Syrup.
While he decided on his dish, electrician Theo reminisced about drinking coffee in Paris with a Biscoff, which is a relatively surprising mental image. Anyway, he opted for a Parfait with Coffee Caramel.
Judging round one
Declan was the first to be judged, and he said he was “quite proud” of his Coffee Creme Caramel, Coconut Crumb, and Coffee Icecream dish. The judges agreed, and Melissa Leong called it a “really fantastic dish”.
Next, Brent presented his dessert which Jock Zonfrillo called a “chocolate puddle” but was meant to be Chocolate Ice Cream with Coffee Caramel Syrup and Cherries. It wasn’t a hit, however, Andy Allen said the “flavours were nice”.
Theo’s Coffee Parfait with Biscuit Crumb and Coffee Caramel served on a miniature plate looked adorably sweet, and apparently, it tasted that way too.
“I don’t feel as though you’ve used coffee to the best of its ability here to dial down that sweetness and the sugariness,” Jock told him.
At this point, it looked like Malissa was the only one with a chance to knock Declan out of the running to head to Beat The Chef for a second time.
Like Theo, she made a Coffee Parfait but she added a Biscuit Crumb, Burnt Orange and a Coffee Syrup. Mel said that her dish was “supercharged” and Andy confirmed that she’d be heading to the next round to cook against Kay-Lene.
The Challenge – round two
The judges introduced Kay-Lene, who is currently working as the Executive Pastry Chef at Melbourne’s Ritz Carlton.
The two women are informed that will need to make a sweet or savoury dish with tea as their main ingredient. This revelation was something that Malissa wasn’t too excited about.
“I’ve never cooked with tea before,” she said. “There are so many different teas here. Some that I’ve never seen before, some that I’ve never tasted.”
She decided to make a Smoked Tea Chicken with a Vegetable San Choy Bow.
Fortunately for Malissa, Kay-Lene was just as disappointed by the key ingredient of tea as Malissa.
After long deliberation, Kay-Lene chose to use white tea and decided to make a Tea Cake with Pears in the Tea Syrup and Tea Icecream.
The judging
The judges took their places at their table and were presented with Malissa’s dish of Jasmine Tea Smoked Chicken.
Jock said that the “tea flavour is infused all the way through the chicken”, and Andy said it was “really smart using tea like that.”
All the judges agreed that Malissa’s dish was cooked perfectly with Andy calling it “epic”.
Unsurprisingly, Kay-Lene’s Fruit and Tea dish looked like a work of art.
However, the judges weren’t impressed with the dish. Andy said that the cake was “wet” because the ice cream pearls melted on it.
The Verdict
Kay-Lene
- Melissa 7/10
- Andy 6/10
- Jock 6/10
Malissa
- Jock 8/10
- Malissa 8/10
- Jock 8/10
With high scores all around, Malissa was the winner and earnt an immunity pin.
MasterChef Australia airs Sunday – Thursday at 7.30pm on 10 and 10Play.
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