‘MasterChef Australia’ 2016 recap and spoilers: Matt's risk pays off; Elise makes parfait for the nth time and gets booted off right before semi-finals

From 24 budding chefs, an intense series of cook-offs narrowed down the competition to just four contestants on “MasterChef Australia” Season 8. In episode 61 that aired on July 24, the contestants were further trimmed down to only three in a highly emotional challenge. At the end of the cook, Elise Franciskovic’s strategy to play it safe completely backfired and she was sent home.

Judges George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston didn’t think another parfait and sorbet were enough to save Elise this time. With her out in the running, the upcoming semi-final round is now down to three: Matt Sinclair, Elena Duggan and Harry Foster.

Spoiler Alert! This article contains "MasterChef Australia" 2016 spoilers. Read only if you want to know more about it.

Prior to excusing the top three in the previous episode, the judges gave them a heads-up about the next task. Matt, Elena and Harry are set to face a service challenge, wherein they have to prepare a main course and a dessert for 20 people.

Network Ten posted a sneak peek of Monday’s episode, which hinted what the “MasterChef Australia” hopefuls have to go through before the much-awaited finale. The trailer shows mentor Shannon Bennett losing his cool as he pushes the top three to work quickly. From the looks of it, Shannon's outburst is just a taste of how the challenge going to be nerve-wracking, which will test the contestants physically, mentally and emotionally. At the end of the day, only two can make it through to battle it out for this year’s title.

“MasterChef Australia” Season 8 recap

From 24 contestants, the competition has been narrowed down to four. Elena, Elise, Matt and Harry walked into the “MasterChef Australia” kitchen and was ecstatic to find the past contestants up at the gantry to cheer them on.

There’s no time for a reunion, however, as the judges informed the top four that there would be two rounds that night, meaning two chances to earn a spot in the succeeding episode. The winner of round one would go straight through to the semi-finals, while the least impressive cook would be eliminated in the second round.

The contestants faced a mystery box challenge on round one. On top of the boxes, the budding chefs found envelopes from their friends and families. It was an indeed an emotional moment for the four. In addition to sending them words of support, their loved ones also chose the ingredients in their respective boxes.

When the contestants lifted the lids of their boxes, they discovered what they had to cook with for the first round. Matt’s wife gave him snapper, daikon, peanuts, pawpaw and chilli, while Elena’s mum put mud crab, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, apple, bacon and lemon in her box. Harry’s mum also chose the ingredients for him, which included avocado, lemon, asparagus, avocado, pinot noir chardonnay, salmon, chilli and sweet peas. Elise, on the other hand, had quail, strawberries, vanilla beans, thyme, leeks, gelatin and freekeh from her fiancé.

Elena and Matt, inspired by their loved ones’ support, were on their element in the kitchen. Elise, too, was motivated with what her boyfriend chose for her. However, she was disappointed to see gold strength gelatin leaves in her box, since she usually uses titanium strength. Ten minutes had gone by and Harry was still wracking his brain about his dish. The other three were already cracking on their dishes, and the previous contestants urged him to begin cooking.

After George and Gary went over to his bench, Harry got over his emotions, regained his composure and finally decided what to prepare. Elise, meanwhile, hit another snag with ten minutes remaining on the clock. She decided to use the freekeh, but she wasn’t happy with how it’s turning out. She chucked it and chose to make a thyme biscuit instead to have some crunchy element in her dish.

She was up first for tasting, and she served her thyme and vanilla panna cotta with a black pepper tuile and a praline to the judges. Her dish received mixed reviews, as well as Harry’s sweet pea dumplings with salmon tartare and a pinot noir chardonnay granita. Matt’s crispy skin snapper with dumplings, noodles and snapper broth were praised by judges for the techniques he used. However, they had misgivings on the combination of the heat of the chilli and Vietnamese mint.

Elena was the last contestant to serve her dish, which was crab with cauliflower, brussel sprouts and apple and a sauce. The judges were impressed with the presentation and loved the taste of the dish even more. In fact, they found it so heavenly, they ate everything up. Matt even described it as genius. It was quite apparent who won the first round – Elena was told she’d go straight to the semi-finals.

Round two now boiled down to Harry, Matt and Elise. The judges revealed a wall of items that feature a selection of ingredients, cooking techniques and utensils. Each contestant was asked to pick one, and all three of them would incorporate their choices in their respective dishes. Matt picked the juicer and the blender, Harry chose the aeration, while Elise selected the gelatin.

Matt, considered an expert in savoury dishes, took a risk and made a dessert. Gary and George were quite surprised, especially since he hasn’t used gelatin throughout the season except during a pressure test.

They weren’t as impressed however at Elise’s station – Gary questioned her decision to make another parfait. Panic suddenly set in, and Elise began to question herself as well. She almost had a meltdown after realising her mistake to play safe. She got back on track, but she still felt upset for making the same thing over and over again throughout the competition.

Harry, on the other hand, was asked by Matt whether he has made too many elements and if there’s enough time. With 15 minutes to go. Harry got worried as he has focused on flavour and not on different textures. He decided to make a last-minute dash for a crunchy element, and attempted to temper white chocolate. While plating however, his white chocolate was still soft so he decided to leave it off his dish.

Harry was the first one to be called at the judges’ table, and he served his passionfruit sorbet, grapefruit jelly and a coconut espuma. However, when he put on the coconut espuma, it wasn’t set at all – it broke down and melted all over the sorbet. George grimaced and the other judges were clearly disappointed. When they tasted his dish, Gary commented that it’s not really like a dessert. It’s more like a cleanser, he said. George said it’s a shame because the dish had so much potential, but it’s a miss on the presentation. Matt claimed this is not a dessert they are looking for at this stage in the competition.

The next contestant for judging is Matt, who made a blackberry sorbet with a dark chocolate and port jelly. The judges loved the how the dish looked, and even more how it tasted. George described it’s yum, and Gary agreed that it’s delicious. Matt also couldn’t get over the dessert, and admired contestant Matt’s skills.

When it was Elise’s turn, she brought her smoked chocolate parfait with a chocolate glaze, orange sorbet, jelly and a crumb. The judges were not happy with the presentation. Gary and George reckoned the plating was quite clumsy, and Matt said it’s disappointing. Gary described the sorbet as icy and flat, while the chocolate was too hard. George, on the other hand, didn’t like the fact that the sorbet gave him a sugar hit before the orange flavour.

Because of her dish’s crucial flaws, it was time for Elise to say goodbye to the “MasterChef Australia” kitchen and to her dream to win the competition.

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.