‘MasterChef Australia’ 2016 recap and spoilers: After a galaxy-themed cook, threat of elimination sends Heather and Trent crashing back to earth

Heston Blumenthal week has just began, and things are about to get bigger. In episode 41 of “MasterChef Australia” Season 8, which aired on June 26, the top 10 contestants were tasked to create out-of-this world dishes to win over the special guest chef, as well as judges George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston. Everyone was on their A-game to impress Heston, but Heather Day and Trent Harvey failed to shine.

Heather and Trent were devastated to learn that they would be sent straight to the pressure test at the end of the week. They also would not be able to cook for the other upcoming pop-up restaurant challenges, which are set to test the “MasterChef Australia” hopefuls’ skills and talents more than ever.

Spoiler Alert! This article contains "MasterChef Australia" Season 8 spoilers. Read only if you want to know more about it.

Network Ten posted a sneak peek of Monday’s episode, focusing on Heston’s second pop-up restaurant. He tells the contestants to take them back to their childhood by preparing savoury ice cream. Matt Sinclair says to the cameras that he has never eaten or made something like that ever.

[READ: “‘MasterChef Australia’ 2016 recap and spoilers: Matt is literally on fire in the kitchen, but fails to make history with second immunity pin”]

As waves of people descend over them, each team attempts to wow them with outrageous flavours. Fans wonder who will hit the mark this time and who will be joining Trent and Heather in the elimination challenge.

“MasterChef Australia” Season 8 recap

It’s an epic week for the top 10 “MasterChef Australia” contestants this season. The judges informed them that they would be making history for the upcoming episodes: for the next four episodes, they will be opening a “MasterChef” pop-up restaurant every single day.

To start off their daunting task, they’d take over the Melbourne Star, making it the world’s biggest revolving restaurant for one night. As if that’s not shocking enough, the judges dropped another bombshell regarding this week’s special guest chef: Heston Blumenthal. The contestants were beside themselves, completely star-struck. Chef Heston shared a brief history about the Big Bang Theory, which set the mood for that evening: a galaxy-themed menu.

The “MasterChef” hopefuls were then divided into five teams of two: Chloe Bowles and Harry Foster (red); Matt and Theresa Visintin (yellow); Elena Duggan and Mimi Baines (blue); Brett Carter and Elise Franciskovic (green); and Trent and Heather (maroon). Each team was tasked to prepare a main dish and a dessert plate.

Gary told them the next obstacle that the contestants have to overcome: once the Star starts, it won’t stop for anything or anyone. This means that as the Star rotates, the team had to get their dish on board before the door closes. If the team missed their pod, their opportunity to serve would be thrown off the window. The judges warned them that the least impressive team would be going straight to the elimination challenge and they won’t be able to cook again for this week.

The teams’ two-hour started and they rushed to their respective benches. Time flew by quickly and with one hour on the clock left for preparation, the teams started to encounter problems with their dishes. Elise discovered that her tempered chocolate was too thick, and as a result, didn’t slide off from the moulds easily. She decided to do it again. Meanwhile, Gary got concerned with Mimi and Elena, who were just starting to prepare their dessert. Gary also started to be bothered with Matt’s timing – it looks like he won’t be able to make it on time for service. Speaking of time, Brett was also getting nervous that he won’t be able to get all the elements of his dish ready.

Heather, on the other hand, hit a snag when she noticed that her sponge cake is too thick and it didn’t look fluffy. She tried to salvage her dessert with the time ticking. When service started, Gary observed that Chloe’s beef pieces were overcooked. She decided to make them from scratch, with only a few minutes remaining before they take the plates to the pods.

The “MasterChef Australia” hopefuls were able to breeze in service for the first pod, as all teams managed to get their food and make it on time. Matt and Therese got worried that they’d miss the second pod, but their waiter ran to get the plates inside literally on the last second. Their Trip Around the Sun, composed of chicken and potatoes earned fairly good reviews from the judges. Green team’s Crater of the Moon had its flavours bang on – it presented a good combination of scallops, shrimp and bacon, among other elements. However, the judges commented that the plating looked rushed and they didn’t find any connection to the theme.

Day time/Night time was the title of maroon team’s dish. While the judges raved about the carrot puree and red cabbage, the duck was a bit overcooked which ruined the plate. The blue team, on the other hand, called their dish Sea Stars. According to the judges, the presentation of the Kingfish and scallops was beautifully made, and it offered surprising flavours. Elena’s savoury plate definitely nailed the brief, the judges said. Heston, George and Matt also loved the red team’s Floating Through Space. Heston said the dish – a combination of eye fillet, goat cheese and dried olive – was a really nice dish.

When it was time for dessert, Heather hit another snag – when Gary tasted her dish, he told her that the cream has split. She had to start all over again. While she was able to fix their sweet plates called Night Time Comet, the judges deemed her sponge cake disappointingly heavy. The green team’s chocolate stars also tasted heavy and bitter, according to the judges. While the dish’s presentation was spot on with the chocolate domes, raspberry coulis, mousse and fresh fruit, the flavours were not balanced at all. Shooting Star, blue team’s dessert, also looked great. However, the combination of caramel, uzu syrup cake and sherbet was too sweet.

Yellow team’s Black Hole, made of black rice, lime gel and mango, won over the judges. They said it was a discovery in every bite and surprises were aplenty. The judges were also impressed with the red team’s Big Bang – a dessert composed of chocolate half-dome, berry coulis, mascarpone mousse and fresh fruit. The three gentlemen had fun smashing the domes on their plates, and Heston said they got the balance right, making it exciting to eat.

At the end of the cook, the judges called out the three stand-out dishes: Theresa’s dessert, Elena’s main dish and Harry’s sweet course. On the other hand, Trent and Heather were told that they prepared the bottom dishes for that evening. With the central elements on both courses flawed, they will face the elimination at the end of the week.

Find out what happens next on “MasterChef Australia,” and stay tuned for episode spoilers. “MasterChef Australia” Season 8 airs every Sunday to Thursday at 7.30pm on Ten.