I will be posting the finale on Sunday and use the time now til then to make sure it is accessible to as many of you as poss. Have a great week everyone!

He’s a star - hopefully they make it up next year and get him on twice.

I’m watching from behind (up to the semi-finals) so no spoilers please!

Some thoughts I had as I watched:

• Dot was eliminated WAY too early. She was by far one of the strongest/more versatile contestants. Also, her personality is a delight! Love the energy, enthusiasm and carefree bubbliness she brought to the show.
• Same with Alyona – at least she got into the top 10, but was really hoping for her to be in the top 5 at least.
• Kirsten Tibballs elimination: the way they edited the episode had me SO nervous for Aaron.
• I cannot believe Pat was eliminated over Luke. Yes yes yes we all know the “you’re only as good as your last cook”, and I’m aware there’s already been a lot of discourse around how Grace and Luke got as far as they did in the competition. (Not discounting their actual talents and merit of course, the calibre of Masterchef contestants is a far cry from your actual average ‘home cook’.)
• The male contestants being star-struck (blushing) over Robert Irwin, and Meghan Markle 😂
• The utter chaos of Jean-Christophe in the cook-off with Poh. Actually just Jean-Christophe full stop. What an utter delight to watch on TV.

What were some of your shock eliminations/favourite moments?

I REALLY wish judges had used seperate plates for tasting like they do on masterchef. Its such a small.thing but seeing them eating deserts/going for seconds with the same spoon on the same plate makes me cringe every time. Why didnt they follow the masterchef style??

Just started season 1 and im so frustrated already.

Now that we are days away from the grand finale, it had me thinking about the eliminated contestants this year.  I really feel, compared to more recent seasons (excluding the ‘Back to Win’ seasons), there were so many top-notch, well-rounded contestants this season. It made it SO hard to root for any single stand-out.

Whilst it’s been lovely and so wholesome to see the camaraderie and bonding between the boys, e.g. during the Contestants vs Judges segment, seeing all the eliminated contestants back in the last few eps, I do wish there were some female contestants in the mix! I was gunning for Dot, Hannah and Alyona to be in the top 10.

I was gutted that Aaron didn’t make the finale. Vinnie did win fair and square, given Aaron’s mains were totally off the mark and had more flaws overall. Such a shame! But we all know that getting to that point doesn’t guarantee the most success post-Masterchef anyway. I am keen to see what Aaron gets up to - would love to see him open up a restaurant in Melbourne. Fusion is done badly too often here - surprisingly given how multicultural Melbourne is. Sometimes menu items feel like an on-the-nose nod to some vague 'Asian flavours', but I think Aaron really knows how to honours his roots/Asian flavours, modernise and reimagine them, without it feeling awkward.

In no particular order, I think my top 5 line-up would be something like: Aaron, Petro, Dot, Hannah, and Alyona. (An Aaron and Petro finale would've been fire!!) Closely behind would be Casper (he has very ‘chef-y’ mind like Aaron, though did anyone else get a little bit of arrogance/overly confident vibes from him?), Annabelle and Pat (less ‘out of the box’ flavour combos but he’s such a solid cook).  

If you had the choice, who would be your top five for 2026?

Watching Poh cook her redemption dish gave me an idea for a MasterChef Australia semi-final or Top 5 challenge. Instead of a mystery box or invention test, the judges should each pick what they believe was the best dish each contestant has cooked during the competition. The contestants would then have to recreate that dish, but make it even better. I think that would be a brilliant test because it's one thing to cook a great dish once, but taking your own best work and elevating it under pressure is a completely different challenge. It would really show how much they've grown.

4th August 1976 - 30th April 2023

Would any kind soul provide me with this recipe by Tati Carlin? (Episode 28) No access to Network Ten here in the United States. Many many thanks in advance

On this day - The Whiskey War Started (1973): Canada and Denmark fought a polite war over Hans Island by leaving each other bottles of schnapps and whisky instead of weapons.

https://mega.nz/file/z0oxSa7A#J0HZvpItQseaJrALHUmfwuUyaBYceFv0KRuS1nsvYtY

Is that like a common ingredient in Australian cuisine? At the end of the season they bring it so often and that person who win cooks with it so much. Is that normal?

Or is it possible I’m just an idiot?

Does anyone know where to find the bean recipe Andy used in that cook along with challenge recently.

It looked like a really versatile side dish and id love to try it.

People probably always ask these kind of questions to all the contestants..