‘MasterChef Australia’ 2016 recap and spoilers: Lack of extra pair of hands cripples Matt’s team; fans question judges' decision

With only 11 contestants remaining, the competition is getting more intense than ever on “MasterChef Australia” Season 8. Episode 39, which aired on June 22, proved that there’s power in numbers when the team with six members led by Brett Carter trumped their opponents. At the end of the cook, George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston decided that the home cooks in the blue team deserve a spot in the top 10.

The red team, led by this season’s frontrunner Matt Sinclair, did not measure up in the challenge set amid the “MasterChef” greatest hits. As a result, he will face the daunting pressure test with his teammates Elise Franciskovic, Karmen Lu, Mimi Baines and Trent Harvey.

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 Thursday’s episode, focusing on the upcoming pressure test. The trailer shows the five contestants wearing the dreaded black apron as they face five pantries. The judges tell the “MasterChef Australia” hopefuls that they’d be unveiling the pantry one by one. Judge Matt says they have to choose which they want to have more of: ingredients or time. The longer they wait, the less time they have to cook.

As the five home cooks fight for a place in the top 10, the fans are in for a shocking elimination. It really is going down to the wire, and the competition is getting tighter than ever. Individually, the members of the red team has proven themselves as worthy contenders, and it would be surprising to see any of them go home.

“MasterChef Australia” Season 8 recap

While the contestants were having their day-off, their R&R was cut short when George and Gary arrived at the house with some big news. The “Masterchef Australia’ hopefuls were told that they would be catering for the “Masterchef” Gourmet Cinema at the Caulfield racecourse. The guests at the cinema would be watching the best moments from “Masterchef Australia” for the past seasons. The contestants, on the other hand, were tasked to prepare three courses of finger food.

Brett was chosen to be the captain of the blue team, while Matt was picked to lead the red. Each team had two hours to prepare two savoury dishes and one sweet plate. The teams started cracking and the red team immediately thought of a Japanese-themed menu. Over at the blue team, they seemed to have a similar train of thought. Elena noticed this at Coles when she and Heather picked up their proteins. She saw that Matt and Trent were getting the same type of fish they chose.

When the judges came in to talk to the team captains about their menu, Matt ran them through the red team’s courses. They all sounded great, but the judges were concerned about the way the beef course would be eaten. They reminded Matt that most of them would be relaxing on bean bags, and therefore the presentation should not be fussy. Meanwhile, Gary and George were quite confused about the blue team’s menu when Brett could not explain it clearly. Fortunately for him, Heather stepped in and decided on the accompaniments. Elena also contributed an idea to elevate the beef dish.

The blue team hit a snag on their first course. When Gary came over to check on their salmon sample, Harry said people can just lift them off with their hands. Gary did so, but it totally fell apart. To salvage the dish, the blue team decided to toast the rice base longer. Harry successfully redeemed his dish and when it was time to evaluate it, his torched salmon and avocado with charred rice cake earned positive reviews from the judges. Next was the red team’s salmon and miso pumpkin puree with fennel kimchi. The gentlemen raved about the elements of the dish, which were cooked perfectly and tasted great.

Because the red team only had five members, Elise had to ran back and forth to help both Trent with the first course and Karmen with the dessert. It was their turn to encounter an obstacle for the second course. When George checked in on their beef plates, he commented that the proportions were too big. Matt heeded his advice and decided to cut the beef into smaller pieces. It was a good decision – the judges gave their nod of approval on the red team’s beef tataki with soy caramel.

Over on the blue team, Elena became worried that they may not have enough beef and recommended weighing the portions. However, Brett shut the idea down, saying that they lack time to do it. While the judges thought that the blue team’s ponzu beef salad with fried and pickled mushrooms was a clever and pretty dish, Brett and his members soon found out that they’re lacking of 10 servings. Brett rushed to grill more beef and successfully delivered their dish to the remaining guests.

The blue team quickly redeemed themselves when it was time for dessert. Their black sesame and apricot pavlova earned praises from the judges, who commended the beautiful combinations of the elements. The judges also loved the red team’s chocolate coated matcha parfait with lemon curd ripple. The red team, however, ran into a big problem when one waiter told them that they lacked 15 parfaits. They hurried to make some more using off-cuts but the presentation was clearly not as beautiful as the previous ones. These less-than-stellar desserts did not go unnoticed by the judges, who looked unhappy about the messy batch.

When it was time to announce the winners, the blue team was ecstatic to find out that they won, sending them straight to the top 10. Fans reacted negatively to the previous episode's results, believing that the uneven numbers set Matt's team up for failure. On the Facebook account of "MasterChef Australia," some were skeptical about the shortage of red team's desserts -- they believed that the waiter might had been the one who did a miscalculation. Remember that because the red team lacked one member, they were only tasked to serve 75 guests, while the other team had to cover for 90. Whether the fans were right or not, the red team would have to face the upcoming pressure test, where the members would have to cook what could be their last dish in the "MasterChef Australia" kitchen.

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