Tuesday nights episode of Plate of Origin was a battle of two rounds.
In round one, the five losing teams from previous head-to-head cooks faced off in a challenge – taking their heritage and combining it with an Australian classic – the good old Aussie pie.
Team Vietnam (Beef Pho Pie) and Team India (Samosa Pie) served up the best pies to ensure safety from elimination. After a stressful cook trying to thicken a traditional Pho broth into a pie gravy and running out of time to get it in the oven, Team Vietnam’s Thanh and Duncan left the judges agreeing their pie was unbeatable.
Team India’s (husband and wife Ash and Simran) Samosa pie earnt them safety with Matt declaring it “a textbook example of how to put the flavours of your heritage into something that is quintessentially Australian.”
Friends Kiki and Aly from Team Venezuela (Chicken Polvorosa Pie) were praised for their flavours but eliminated from the competition for a dry chicken filling and undercooked pastry.
Team France (Chicken & Champignon Pie) and Team Australia (Beer & Vegemite Pie) were sent to round two after Team Australia had so much trouble with their pastry, they forgot to season the entire filling and underdelivered on the promise of vegemite.
While Team France’s pie was delicious, their sides of potatoes were inconsistent, and a bland salad wilted their chances of safety.
Round two saw Team Australia and Team France take on a tart challenge to fight for their spot in the competition. Team Australia’s (Cherry Ripe Tart) run of mistakes continued when their pastry shrunk and was overcooked.
Although Team France (Lemon Tart) were forced to use their back up lemon curd after fears their burnt butter spoilt their first batch, Leo’s pastry was the hero of their tart, and combined with their smooth curd, secured a win leaving mates Ethan and Stew from Team Australia eliminated from the competition.
On their challenging cook, Manu said:
“That is typical of the Aussie spirit, the mateship, the never give up the fight until the end.”
Ethan said:
“We’ve had a good bloody laugh and we’ve met some incredible people and I’m going to be taking those with me after this competition because that’s what it’s all about – food bringing people together.”
The Scores
In the next episode
The quarter-finals are here as eight remaining teams enter the Fast and Furious round. Four teams will cook in two fast head-to-head battles – they will have just 45 minutes to serve a premium free-range chicken dish that celebrates a true taste of their cuisine.
At the end of the night two teams will be eliminated and two teams will go to the semi-finals.