‘MasterChef Australia’ 2016 recap and spoilers: Prawn’s ‘poo vein’ puts Brett, Harry and Mimi on the chopping block

As the top seven contestants’ count their last days in sunny California, the competition got hotter than ever on “MasterChef Australia” Season 8. In episode 54 that aired on July 13, this year’s budding chefs geared up for an intense food truck challenge. At the end of the cook, lack of teamwork, poor time management and inability to pay attention to details drove Brett Carter, Harry Foster and Mimi Baines straight to the elimination round.

The three strong contenders failed to impress Judges George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston with their take on street food. But if they think the food truck challenge was difficult, it’s nothing compared to the upcoming high-pressure elimination test, where one contestant’s dream would come crashing down.

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, which centres on another dreaded pressure test. It’s the “MasterChef Australia” hopefuls’ final day in sunny California and the dark cloud of elimination has rolled in. Brett, Harry and Mimi will be cooking at Curtis Stone’s Beverly Hills restaurants. Each contestant is fighting to keep their dreams alive, putting it on a plate. With intense pressure, all three will falter and for one the dream will be over.

As the competition goes down to the wire, this particular pressure test is expected to be as heated as ever. Brett, Harry and Mimi have all established themselves as worthy contenders this season. Mimi survived the super tough Heston pop-up challenge and was often included on the top pack. Brett, on the other hand, bloomed in the recent episodes that surprised viewers, the judges and even himself. Meanwhile, Harry managed to impress Nigella Lawson and was considered a frontrunner. However, he seemed to have taken the backseat lately while the others shined.

“MasterChef Australia” Season 8 recap

A team challenge greeted the remaining contestants at the iconic Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles, California. They were informed that each team had to run their own food trucks featuring two kinds of street food, which should be enough to feed 200 people.

Since Elena Duggan won the fast track to finals challenge, she didn’t cook for that day. The other six “MasterChef Australia” hopefuls were divided into two teams: the blue team composed of Matt Sinclair, Trent Harvey and Elise Franciskovic; and the red team with Brett, Harry and Mimi. Throughout the cook, chef Wes Avila of Guerrilla Tacos mentored both teams.

When Wes went over the red team’s truck, he thought their first dish was excellent. However, he questioned their second dish, a corn salsa salad, saying that it sounded like a side dish rather than a main. The red team decided to make their concept more complex by adding prawns. Over on the blue team, Wes liked their ideas for the two dishes, but warned them to ensure there’s enough soft shell crabs. When Elise checked the fridge, she found out that the red team already took all the crabs and they had to rethink about a new dish. Trent saw tuna and they decided to go for it.

With plans for both dishes from each team now complete, they started preparing the ingredients. Harry and Brett checked the prawns and thought they were already clean and deveined, so they used them as they were. Harry decided to put the prawns into skewers, despite Brett’s concern that it would take a lot of time. Mimi, on the other hand, was getting nervous because frying up the corn chips was so time-consuming. When Gary came over their truck, he confirmed Brett’s worries: that they’re not going to have enough time to skewer all the prawns. Brett was feeling stressed more than ever – he reckoned they’re in trouble and won’t be ready in time for service.

With only 30 minutes remaining for prep time, Harry worked on the tortilla mix. It finally dawned on him that they’re running out of time. When the customers started to arrive, Brett decided to step up and get his team together – he told Mimi and Harry they have to cook one dish together until they get it done. Despite Brett’s leadership, the red team’s nightmares were not over. Judge Matt checked in on them and learned that they’re nowhere near getting their dishes done. Worse, they weren’t able to make the tacos so they had to scrap it from their original idea and serve the soft shell crabs with a fennel salad instead.

The blue team worked well as a team and didn’t encounter any trouble all throughout the preparation. The only thing they did not agree on initially was the proportion of the chicken – Elise thought serving a quarter of the meat would be too difficult to eat. Matt relented and they decided to cut the chicken to finger food sizes.

Time was up and the customers descended to the trucks to order. When it was the judges’ turn to taste the team’s dishes, the red team’s soft shell crab with fennel salad was up first. Wes expressed disappointment since he would have liked to see how the crab would go with the taco. However, Gary said he loves the golden, crispy and well-cooked crab. Wes and the other judges agreed.

Blue team’s seared tuna with salsa, on the other hand, also received mixed reviews from the judges. Judge Matt said it’s old-school, but it tasted fresh, light and delicious. George commented that it might be too simple and Wes said the proportions should be more consistent. The customers seemed to be loving the blue team’s tuna dish however, that they didn’t care for the chicken. This made Matt nervous, thinking it could send his team to elimination.

The judges commented that the blue team’s bourbon and ginger chicken with coleslaw was a bit difficult to eat because of its size. However, Gary said it’s super juicy, while Wes liked its nice charring on the skin. Despite his concern on the proportion, Matt described the chicken as delicious and the coleslaw provided a fresh relief. The judges said the blue team produced two great dishes that day and they set the bar high. When the judges saw the red team’s charred prawn with corn salsa and tortilla chips, they loved how it looked. Gary commented that it’s a lovely light and fresh dish. However, George did not eat his prawn, since it still had the poo vein, putting him off. The red team’s poor assessment and decision earlier not to clean the prawns resulted to serious consequences.

It was the moment of truth for the “MasterChef Australia” hopefuls. The judges raved about both of the blue team’s food truck dishes. They also loved the red team’s soft shell crab but said it would have been better in a taco. However, the more crucial mistake of the red team was leaving the poo vein in the prawns. It was quite apparent who lost that day to battle it out in the elimination round: the red team composed of Harry, Brett and Mimi.

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.