All hail queen Emelia. Coming up trumps in what was by far the best season of Masterchef, Emelia not only nailed choux pastry time and time again, but managed to beat 23 of Australia’s best cooks. To celebrate the season that was, we’ve rounded up our favourite dishes from episode one all the way to the grand finale, and it’s pretty dang droolworthy.
BEEF SHORT RIB WITH PEPPER AND ONION | EMELIA JACKSON
The star of the three-course meal that won her the competition, we all chewed our nails as Emelia (with the help of like eight pressure cookers) nailed this technically complex dish. The onion in the crumb was a masterstroke, and the celeriac purée was, as Jock put it, silkier than Khanh’s shirt. We stan.
MUSHROOM TORTELLINI EN BRODO | LAURA SHARRARD
The pasta master and a force to be reckoned with for the duration of the competition, Laura knows Italian flavours like the back of her hand. This was evident when she served up a perfect plate of mushroom tortellini in a rich, earthy broth.
SWEET CORN AND MISO ICE CREAMS WITH MISO CARAMEL POPCORN, CANDIED NORI, AND SESAME PRALINE DUST | SARAH TIONG
Hi, welcome to the official Sarah Tiong fanclub. Everything this chick served up was next level, but this crazy number somehow sits above the pack. Perfectly melding sweet and savoury flavours to create something that Melissa described as “synergy,” Sarah was the star of the ice cream challenge.
CELERIAC TACOS WITH GRILLED PINE MUSHROOMS AND AQUAFABA SKIN | SIMON TOOHEY
This guy really knows his way around veg, and his crispy celeriac topped with grilled pine mushrooms, baked radish, chilli tofu, beetroot relish and aquafaba skin was totally out there, but completely spot on.
FROZEN PRICKLY PEAR MOUSSE WITH HAZELNUT BEEF FAT PRALINE | CALLUM HANN
Callum dished up some real humdingers throughout the competition, but his frozen prickly pear mousse with hazelnut beef fat praline took the cake. Apparently it tasted even better than it looked, but I guess we’ll never know…
DUCK NECK SAUSAGE WITH APPLE, MUSHROOM AND MISO PURÉE | TRACY COLLINS
Eager to prove her technical abilities, Tracy nailed this complex classic and took it to the next level with an umami miso purée. Not something we’d typically go for, Tracy made this dish look pretty irresistible!
FRIED SOUFFLE, HAZELNUT PRALINE AND WATTLESEED CUSTARD | POH LING YEOW
Responsible for heart arrhythmias across Australia, Poh really loved to cook on the edge. She’d never conquered a fried souffle before, yet decided to whip it out in the Masterchef kitchen… Of course, because she’s Poh, she nailed it, and created yet another A1 dessert.
BANH XEO WITH NUOC MAM | KHANH ONG
Whenever Khanh said he was cooking Vietnamese, you automatically knew it was gonna be good. This banh xeo with nuoc mam was traditional, humble Vietnamese fare, prepared flawlessly.
INTO THE WOODS | JESS LIEMANTARA
You knew there HAD to be something made by Jess on this list. With many, many delightful desserts to choose from, we decided to go with her burnt caramel, fennel, and chocolate ice cream, served with crispy parsnip noodles and drizzled with parsnip oil, because it was just so wild.
DAN DAN NOODLES | BRENDAN PANG
A sweetie who just happened to be one of the best savoury cooks of the competition, Brendan’s dumplings and noodles were just exemplary. These Dan Dan noodles were hand cut and loaded up with fried pork, preserved mustard greens, spicy sesame sauce and roasted sichuan chilli oil. Talk about packing a punch.
THE SNITCH | REYNOLD POERNOMO
Surely you didn’t think we’d leave Reynold off this list. A conceptual piece that was made up of countless components, The Snitch was truly magical. The dish combined a brown butter mousse, tonka bean caramel, honey feather tuiles, roasted milk chocolate ganache, chocolate coating, pear and yuzu sorbet, yoghurt snow, and caramelised white chocolate crumble. 10000 points to Gryffindor.
Safe to say we’re pretty jealous of Melissa, Andy, and Jock…
