‘MasterChef Australia’ 2016 recap and spoilers: Mimi sacrifices dessert to help Matt with his dish; both are up for elimination with Chloe and Elena

The toughest week of “MasterChef Australia” Season 8 is almost over, but that also meant that the stakes just got higher. In episode 49 that aired on July 6, four contestants – deemed to be the ones to beat this year – failed to bring their A game and found themselves on the chopping block.

In a surprising turn of events, season 8 frontrunners Matt Sinclair, Mimi Baines, Chloe Bowles, Elena Duggan are now in danger of being eliminated from the competition after disappointing judges George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston. These “MasterChef Australia” hopefuls are set to go head to head in a four-way battle that would weed out another promising home cook.

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 the return of the “MasterChef” auction. Matt, Mimi, Chloe and Elena have to bid for the ingredients they want to cook with, in order to prepare a dish that should save them from elimination. At this stage, the competition is so tight that the four are willing to take huge risks. However, one’s gamble will be a big fiaso, sending one of the biggest contenders home.

All four of them have proved to be worthy contenders this year. From the start, Matt and Chloe both have shown impressive kitchen skills and savvy, and have been at the top in a number of challenges. The two also won in the immunity challenge, and almost made “MasterChef” history with a second pin. Mimi, on the other hand, was among the few ones who managed to survive the daunting Heston pop-up tasks. Meanwhile, Elena has served a couple of dishes that were so remarkable that George predicted she could win this season.

“MasterChef Australia” Season 8 recap

When the remaining eight “MasterChef Australia” hopefuls arrived at the kitchen, they were surprised to see the entire floor cleared out of equipment and benches. They were informed that they would compete in pairs in a challenge that seeks to pay homage to Australia’s best produce from the country’s four corners: north, south, east and west.

Mimi and Matt ended up being paired as the maroon team to represent north, while Chloe and Elena became green team assigned with south. The blue team, which needed to cook ingredients from the east, was composed of Brett Carter and Harry Foster. Representing the west part of the country was the yellow team made of Trent Harvey and Elise Franciskovic.

Each team, to be mentored by a chef coming from their respective regions, had two hours to prepare one main and one dessert dish for 20 diners. As soon as the clock started, all the groups rushed to their assigned pantries to choose their ingredients. Trent immediately picked marron as the hero ingredient of their main dish. He felt like it’s a huge risk cooking with such a sophisticated protein, considering that he hasn’t used it before.

Matt, on the other hand, chose barramundi but became concerned that it is going to be time consuming to fillet. Their mentor, Nick Holloway, also expressed concern especially when Matt took such a long time with the fish. With only a few minutes before service, Matt became overwhelmed with the pressure and sought Mimi’s help to prepare the garnish. As a result, Mimi had to leave her dessert just as she was preparing to soak her cakes in ginger sauce.

Over on Brett and Harry’s area, Gary questioned Brett on using the sous vide machine to cook the pork fillet. Gary cautioned him that the pork might taste like cardboard, but Brett stuck to his guns and said that he had a way to make sure that won’t happen. Elena and Chloe’s team also hit a snag when Elena realised that she forgot to prepare a sauce for her dish. She rushed to prepare jus, but she knew it needed more time to reduce.

When it was time to send their dishes out, it was Trent and Elise’s team that went up first. The judges were happy about the look of their marron with a ginger cream bisque, and were even happier with how it tasted. In fact, they loved it so much that they finished theirs plates. The judges agreed that it’s a standout dish for the evening. Another winner for the night was Mimi and Matt’s steamed barramundi with curry sauce. The judges were also impressed with how it looked. Despite Matt’s worry about the time, the fish was cooked to perfection. George also said that it’s spot-on in terms of representing the north.

After cooking the pork fillet, Brett flash fried them with butter right before serving. Harry plated it with sweet corn and polenta. The judges commented that the dish looked lovely, and Gary admitted he thought it would be the worst. George said the flavours are very true to themselves. While they raved about the pork, they observed that the polenta spoiled the dish. Elena and Chloe’s saltbush lamb with celeriac and kale was the least impressive main dish. Gary said the sauce and meat looked pale. While the judges liked the celeriac puree, the sauce was a let-down and the lamb, which was the hero of the dish, was a little bland.

The desserts were up next, and Brett and Harry sent out their orange blossom honey custard with mandarin and pecan crumble. It looked fantastic, according to George. Gary loved the biscuit and the texture of the custard, while Matt appreciated the presence of lots of fruits.

Similar to their main dish, Elise and Trent’s dessert was also a standout. The dish, which they called West Australian soil, was composed of panna cotta, chocolate mousse, chocolate crumb and thyme. During service, they realised that they didn’t have enough panna cotta but Elise managed to save some of the mixture to make a new batch. Their dish earned positive reviews from the judges, especially the beautiful combination of textures and the addition of thyme.

Chloe and Elena were not able to redeem themselves from their main dish disaster. Their figs and goats cheese mousse was deemed a little clumsy by the judges because the syrup was a little too thin. Judge Matt said it was definitely a miss. Mimi and Matt’s ginger cake, yoghurt sorbet and monkey banana also did not get raving reviews. The judges said that it’s a big dessert and there’s a lot of cake. While the yoghurt sorbet and banana tasted great, the cake was dry. George said he didn’t like it at all.

When all the tastings were done, the judges announced the winning team, which would earn a big prize to be revealed the next day. Trent and Elise both served successful dishes and for that, they were named the best team. Brett and Harry were also called to safety. This meant that the two bottom teams were Matt and Mimi and Elena and Chloe. The four will have to face the upcoming elimination round.

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