Episode 78

George began the week's Masterclass by showing Kate how to cook a memorable flounder dish, before moving onto the art of plating up and making food look as good as it tastes. Gary showed Dani how better to plate up her rabbit recipe from the Mega Mysery Box Challenge, then cooked a beautiful braised short ribs dish. The contestants then joined Anthea Leonard of Sweet Art, who took them through cake decoration and other sweet treats.

Episode 77

Dani wisely used her Immunity Pin, leaving Alana to cook against Ellie for a place in finals week. The theme was 'Fix Your Biggest Mistake', with the contestants needing to prove how far they'd come by revisiting a disastrous Challenge and righting their wrongs. Ellie was sent back to the Spanish Invention Test, deciding to cook a sweet rather than savoury dish second time around. Alana fixed her lamb cutlets and spiced pear dessert from an earlier Pressure Test. The judges praised the quality of both Alana's dishes and Ellie's creme caramel, but the former were judged to be marginally superior sending Alana through and Ellie home.

Episode 76

The contestants were shocked to see George in their dining room, who explained the next Challenge. Each cook would be given a nightmare core ingredient to work with, which were revealed by guest judges Colin Fassnidge, Donovan Cook and Ashley Hicks. Michael got sea urchin as his ingredient, Ellie the little-known vegetable salsify, Alana pig’s tail, Dani licorice and Kate pumpkin. Considering the left-field ingredients all the hopefuls managed to plate up interesting dishes, despite Ellie and Dani struggling more than the others when it came to utilising their ingredients. Kate won the Challenge with her pumpkin cake and maple bacon, sending her through to finals week and winning her a personalised Matt Moran Masterclass. Ellie and Dani were in the bottom two, leaving the latter to decide whether to use her Immunity Pin and send Alana through to the Pressure Test in her place.

Episode 75

Decked out in his chef’s whites, Michael arrived for his long awaited Immunity Challenge. His competition, guest Teage Ezard, unveiled the dish they would be cooking, which comprised prawn dumplings, deep fried polenta, stuffed quail egg and roasted pork belly. Michael performed admirably in the Challenge, and his efforts were duly recognised by the judges, who gave him fantastic marks across the board. Unfortunately Ezard pipped him at the post, scoring the 9 he needed from George to win him the Challenge and deny Michael an Immunity Pin.

Episode 74

In need of a pick-me-up, the contestants were overjoyed to discover that for their next Challenge they would be cooking for some very special guests: their loved ones. There would be no losers, but the chef responsible for the best dish would win an incredible prize – a night at home with their family, being catered for by the judges. The contestants were given carte blanche to cook a dish from the heart, and it was Alana’s crepes stack that the judges fell in love with, securing her a first Challenge win.

Episode 73

The week began with a Mystery Box Challenge – with a twist. Inside each contestant’s box was the name of the fellow hopeful they had to pick the ingredients for. Though the judges revealed there would be no penalty for the worst dish, the winner would not only fight for Immunity but also have their recipe printed in Taste magazine. The contestants tried their best to unsettle their peers with awkward ingredients – Dani particularly struggling with her Ellie-chosen Italian produce. After a close battle Michael finally won the right to cook for an Immunity Pin and potential safe passage into the final week.

Episode 72

Gary welcomed the top 5 to the week’s MasterClass, which began with George cooking a turnip and mushroom ravioli. Bodega Restaurant’s Ben and Elvis then stopped by the kitchen to cook a BBQ spatchcock, before Gary cleansed the palette with a delightful ‘smashed cheesecake.’ Kate and Michael ended the Masterclass by enjoying a private tutorial with Mark Olive, who introduced them to outback produce and then cooked a kangaroo in paperbark dish.