After the sad elimination of Harry in the last episode featuring Marco Pierre White, the cooks are in for a mystery box challenge in MasterChef Australia Season 14 Episode 36. The episode is titled ‘Burnt Mystery Box’ and has a runtime of about 50 minutes.
The contestants are presented with burnt mystery boxes that have smoke coming out of it and the wood turned black and with red slits from where the smoke is coming out. The guest for MasterChef Australia Season 14 Episode 36 is Dave Pynt, one of Australia’s highest-ranking chefs. It is revealed that the mystery boxes don’t consist of any ingredient but, serve as a metaphor for the real challenge. The cooks bring a dish with one burnt element- bitter, chary or smokey, a trademark cooking done by Dave Pynt at his restaurants.
– MasterChef Australia Season 14 Episode 36 Recap Contains Spoilers –
It is also revealed that Dave Pynt is the one who has filled the pantry with a collection of wood chips, dried herbs, and anything to elevate the dishes to the max flame. There are twigs from apple trees, dried grapevine leaves, and paper bark along with dried herbs such as thyme, sage, rosemary, lavender and more. The contestants are assigned 75 minutes to cook a dish with a burnt element or the flavour of fire in it.
The person with the best dish in MasterChef Australia Season 14 Episode 36 will win a massive advantage in the upcoming team challenge. However, the cooks with the four least impressive dishes will head for a pressure test that will result in elimination. As the smoke rises in the kitchen, the contestants get to cook their best fiery dish.
When it comes to tasting Tommy is the first one to bring his dish. The dish is called Co’m Su’o’n- a portion of classic Vietnamese street food and, the item is a success. Steph’s dish is called a Camp Fire Crumble- a smoked vanilla gelato with charred apple, an apple whiskey caramel and maple crumbles. According to the judges, the dish does not fill tied together with the given elements. A Maple Glazed Octopus with Cream and Rice is Montana’s presentation but, the dish isn’t smokey enough for the challenge.
Also Read: MasterChef Australia Season 14 Episode 35 Recap: Marco’s Pantry Favourites Offer a Safe Ticket
Billie’s Peaches and Cream dessert is made up of frozen ricotta mouse, grilled peaches, macadamia piling, rosemary peach syrup and white caramel. The peaches are a win but, the ricotta itself isn’t the best. Daniel brings to the table a Grilled Lamb with Charred Salsa Verde, the judges give it positive feedback. Mindy’s charcoal fish is next and the judges like it a lot. Julie’s dish, Corn & Fire, is corn pudding with charred corn, smoked charred salsa and fresh salsa and smoked sour cream. Julie nails the challenge with her simple dish.
Capsicum and Octopus by Aldo impressed the judges. Michael presents a barbequed Murray Cod and the judges really like the presentation and flavour of the dish. Next up, we see Keyma bring in her traditional Venezuelan barbeque dish and, it is a lovely, fun dish. Alvin’s dish is a Grilled Egg Plant with a Miso Satay Sauce. The sauce is good but, the eggplant is rather raw and, definitely not a dish to serve when you can end up in an eliminatory pressure test.
Sarah brings to the table a plate of Frankies, which is smoked chicken and paratha with a lovely green chutney. The dish is an instant hit and the judges love it a lot, appreciating Sarah’s skills in the firey challenge.
MasterChef Australia Season 14 Episode 36: Who Wins the Advantage & Who Heads Down to the Pressure Test?
Sarah’s dish is the best in the lot and she wins the advantage. Alvin, Montana, Steph and Billie make it to the upcoming pressure test and, will be facing elimination.
MasterChef Australia Season 14 Episode 36: Final Thoughts
Overall, MasterChef Australia Season 14 Episode 36 was really testing for the contestants. They had to be smart and skilful to really shine in this challenge and, many did like, Sarah and Tommy. However, it was sad to see some of the cooks head down for the upcoming elimination. Nonetheless, there was one thing for sure apparent in this challenge all the dishes looked and were presented with amazing fineness. However, with the top 12 in the lot, competition is just going to get tougher by the day and flavour might be the more important key to hold onto.
You can watch MasterChef Australia Season 14 Episode 36 now on Disney+ Hotstar.
Also Read: MasterChef Australia Season 14 Episode 34 Recap: A White Pressure Test to Immunity