Tonight the final 9 contestants are in Japan. They meet the judges outside a traditional temple and the judges reveal it’s mystery box time. The contestants will be choosing the mystery box ingredients today, one ingredient per person. The contestants head off to explore Tokyo and to find their mystery box ingredient. The ingredients they have chosen are:
Tamara- Scallops
Sarah- Lily root
Callan-Soya beans
Arun- Honey yams
Eloise- Cherry blossom radish
Karlie- Wagyu beef
Diana- Sesame Dressing
Eliza- Miso
Ben- Sake
Only the three best dishes will be tasted today, the winner will receive an advantage.
The first dish the judges want to taste belongs to Karlie. Karlie has made a Shabu Shabu which is a soup. The judges taste the dish. Matt loves the detail in the dish and he says the broth is earthy and meaty. George says awesome cooking. Gary says it’s a super dish. Next up they taste Eloise’s dish. She has made black soybean filled honey yam dumplings. The judges taste the dish. George says wow and it’s mind boggling. Gary loves the texture and the sweetness of the honey yams. Finally they taste Diana’s dish, she has made a seared wagyu beef with a broth. Gary says that sesame broth is huge, George says it is outstanding.
The winner of the mystery box is Diana. Diana wins the advantage. The advantage is to choose from one of the closhes in front of her. Under the closhes are ginger, soy sauce and wasabi. Diana chooses fresh wasabi. The contestants have 60 minutes and an open pantry for the invention test. The judges will taste all the dishes but they will be picking only one winner today. The maker of that dish will be going through guaranteed into the immunity pin challenge.
The first dish the judges taste belongs to Eliza, she has made wasabi and peas. Gary says it’s delicious and he likes the complexity of it. Matt says it looks amazing and is incredibly inventive. Ben is up next. He has made wasabi ice cream with honey yams. The judges taste the dish. Matt says the combination of nutmeg and wasabi is very inventive. George says he love loves the dish. This dish puts him straight into contention for winning today. Next up is Sarah. She has made roasted pork with a wasabi and pea puree. Gary loves the pork and the glaze. Arum is up next with a wasabi ice cream and buckwheat biscuit. Matt says it’s delicious. Eloise has made a scallop roe custard with wasabi. Tamara has made mackerel and wasabi crackers. Callan is up next and the judges say his dish needs more flavour. Next up it’s Diana’s turn. She’s made a grilled mackerel with mushrooms and wasabi. The judges taste the dish. Gary says it’s delicious but there’s a lot going on. Finally it’s Karlie’s turn. She has made scallops and bacon. George loves every bit of the dish. Gary says it’s pretty and creative.
It’s time to find out which dish wins today. The top three dishes belong to Eliza, Sarah and Ben. The best dish belongs to Ben. He now goes straight into the immunity pin challenge.