‘MasterChef Australia’ Season 8 episode 10 recap: Cooks put out emotionally charged dishes; Adam Mizzi gets eliminated

Network Ten’s “MasterChef Australia” Season 8, episode 10 aired on May 12, wherein four home cooks battled it out in a pressure test to impress judges Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston, as well as guest chef Marco Pierre White. In the end, Adam Mizzi failed to do present a dish good enough to make it through the next round.

After the Blue Team lost their first ever team challenge with Chef Marco, they were subject to the dreaded Alphabet Game. Whilst the first few “MasterChef Australia” hopefuls breezed through the round of letters, Adam became the first casualty when he wasn’t able to identify rambutan. Shortly after, Cecilia Vuong joined him when she failed to recognise jicama. Matt Sinclair and Harry Foster also unsuccessfully named umeboshi and crocodile, respectively, completing the lineup for round two.

The judges revealed that for the cook-off, the contestants will make use of the ingredients that were properly identified in round one. Adam encountered a challenge early on, after receiving negative feedback from the judges regarding the concept of his dish. He had to overhaul his plans and come up with a new dish. Cecilia, on the other hand, also had a slow start as she was a bit overwhelmed of the ingredients and didn’t know what to cook. Whilst she picked up the pace and gained confidence with her dish, she was horrified to find out that her tuna was overcooked. As she looked like she was about to throw in the towel, Chef Marco approached her and encouraged her to use her instincts. A few minutes before the time ended, Cecilia managed to whip up a plate worthy to serve the judges.

Matt and Harry were not spared with kitchen difficulties, as well. The judges questioned the quantity of Matt’s quail dish, wondering if it would be enough. Harry, meanwhile, decided to go Japanese with tuna but his mayonnaise became an absolute disaster and he had to start all over again.

When 60 minutes were up, the four contestants filed one by one to serve their dishes to the judges. Matt came up with pan seared quail on celeriac puree and chargrilled zucchini, which earned thumbs up from all the judges. Because of his dish, he was even deemed to be a potential finalist in the season. Adam’s plate was a bit of letdown for the judges. His duo of grilled lamb with grilled zucchini and salad were met with negative reviews, except for “MasterChef Australia” judge Matt, who especially raved about the salad. Harry’s smoked and seared tuna with celeriac remoulade and mayonnaise passed the judges’ critical tastes. Chef Marco, however, could not help but comment on a burnt piece of tuna that Harry included on the plate. Tuna was also the hero ingredient of Cecilia, who served it seared. A portion of salad with basil oil and celeriac in mayonnaise completed her dish. Chef Marco praised her attitude, telling her, “You amaze me.” However, once they tasted her dish, they deemed the mayonnaise too “eggy.”

In the end, Matt and Harry’s plates were named the top two for the night, earning them a spot for the next round. Despite stumbling all throughout the preparation and barely making it in time, Cecilia also made it through, booting off Adam in the competition.

After a grueling week, the remaining contestants were treated with a Masterclass courtesy of Chef Marco. He taught them how to make risotto, as well as his own recipe of saffron arancini from leftover risotto.

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.