‘MasterChef Australia’ 2016 recap and spoilers: Curtis Stone blasts Matt, gets stressed with ‘dessert queens’ Chloe and Nicolette

It’s another exciting and nerve-wracking team challenge on “MasterChef Australia” Season 8. In episode 34 that aired on June 15, the home cooks get a taste of what it’s like to work in a real restaurant, with actual customers and a top chef breathing down their necks.

The remaining “MasterChef Australia” hopefuls welcomed Australian celebrity chef Curtis Stone, who led them on a six-course degustation challenge. Each contestant cooked their hearts out to win the hearts of judges George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston and save their spot in the competition.

In the end, the team of Trent Harvey and Elise Franciskovic, as well as Chloe Bowles and Nicolette Stathopoulos failed to impress the judges with their dishes, sending them straight to the elimination challenge.

Spoiler Alert! This article contains "MasterChef Australia" Season 8 spoilers. Read only if you want to know more about it.

Network Ten posted a sneak peek of Thursday’s episode, which centres on a four-way battle among the four contestants on the chopping block. They know they have to give their all in what could be their last cook in the “MasterChef Australia” kitchen. The upcoming pressure test is not only one of the toughest challenges in “MasterChef” history – it also turns out to be one of the toughest decisions the judges have ever made.

Trent may be the underdog in this particular challenge, especially because he faces three of the strongest home cooks in this season so far. Chloe and Nicolette have proven themselves worthy contenders especially with sweet dishes, and both have earned immunity pins before. Anastasia, on the other hand, also shines when it comes to desserts. Having won the black apron several times, she may have mastered the pressure test by now.

“MasterChef Australia” Season 8 recap

While the contestants guessed right from the start that it’s going to be a team challenge, they did not know it’s not going to be an ordinary task. The judges informed them that they’d be preparing a six-course degustation for 50 customers, using citrus fruit as the hero ingredient. Unlike previous team challenges, they were randomly divided into teams of two.

For earning the power apron at the last task, Theresa Visintin got the advantage of choosing the person who doesn’t have to cook for that day, except herself. She decided to return the favour and picked Anastasia Zolotarev. During the Returning Contestants Challenge, Anastasia chose her to have an extra ingredient for the cook, which may have contributed immensely to her win.

[READ: "‘MasterChef Australia’ 2016 recap and spoilers: ‘Home and Away’ alum Theresa is back in the game, earns power apron"]

The first course belonged to Trent and Elise, who got mandarin as their hero ingredient. They decided to make prawn salad, but Curtis and the judges advised them it’s too simple for a first degustation course. Curtis suggested using pesto to elevate their dish, and Elise gushed in this “genius” idea. With only 15 minutes before service time, they shifted gears and opted to prepare mandarin cured prawns with rocket pesto and a reduction. While they were able to pick up the pace, the judges and customers panned their prawns for being undercooked.

Karmen Lu and Harry Foster were up next, and they were assigned lemon as their fruit. The duo worked extremely well and plated up a beautiful batch of lemon cured salmon with smoked creme fraiche. Their dish earned rave reviews for looking refined and the taste.

The challenge didn’t run as smoothly for Heather Day and Matt Sinclair, who had to use orange in their dish. Matt miscalculated the time and thought they still had 30 minutes before service, but Curtis informed them they only had 10 minutes. Seeing that the team wasn’t ready to plate, Curtis lost his cool. “Oh my goodness,” he exclaimed. “What’s going on?” Matt observed that Curtis didn’t look too happy and knew they were in huge trouble.

Despite being a few minutes late, Heather and Matt were able to whip up the fourth course: crispy skin duck with fennel, orange and beetroot. During service, Curtis continued to reprimand the two. “You guys had the responsibility to make it on time and get this food out,” he said. At the judges’ table, their dish received generally positive feedback. The judges noted the great combination of flavours of orange with the fennel and duck. Judge Matt, on the other hand, said he loved everything about the dish except the duck, which was overcooked. The customers shared his sentiments.

Mimi Baines and Brett Carter followed suit, and they got lime as their hero ingredient. They decided to serve red meat to add punch to the degustation menu. Their beef with lime and beetroot was well received both by the judges and the customers.

Tangelo was the highlight of the next dish, courtesy of Elena Duggan and returning contestant Theresa. As the second to the last course, they were expected to do a pre-dessert, something that would clean a diner’s palette to get ready for the dessert. They discussed with Chloe and Nicolette and the four agreed that Elena and Theresa will make a warm dessert, while the last team will make something light and refreshing.

However, when they told Curtis about their plan, he shot it down. He said it should be the other way around – light dessert first, then warm and heavy for the last course. Theresa and Elena heeded his advice and made tangelo refresher with a tangelo explosion and crumb. The judges, after tasting their dish, couldn’t help but gush over the taste and the flavours.

When it was Chloe and Nicolette’s turn, Curtis told them they’d be cooking with grapefruit. He also gave them the same advice he said to the other team. However, the duo decided to defy his orders of making a heavy, hearty and warm dessert. They chose to stick to their guns and whipped up a light dessert. When Curtis checked in on them during service, he was astounded to hear that they continued with their plans. He looked stressed as they plated up grapefruit sorbet with chocolate ganache and meringue shard. At the judges’ table, the three gentlemen looked disappointed when they saw Chloe and Nicolette’s dish – they said it was too light to perfectly close the degustation.

When service was over, Curtis commended all the “MasterChef Australia” hopefuls for cooking phenomenal courses. The judges said one stood out from the rest. Theresa and Elena’s dessert was named dish of the day, and Gary lauded Theresa for her strong performance. “What a way to get back to the competition,” he said.

The good mood was soon replaced by a feeling of doom and gloom, however, when it was time to announce the contestants facing elimination. Trent and Elise were called out for their undercooked prawns. Chloe and Nicolette were shell-shocked to hear their names as well – their risk didn’t pay off, and for that they landed in the bottom of the pack.

Find out what happens next week to “MasterChef Australia,” and stay tuned for episode spoilers. “MasterChef Australia” Season 8 airs every Sunday to Thursday at 7.30pm on Ten.