Eamon planned to make gnocchi for his signature dish in the first round, while Anna was ambitiously making three courses.

Eamon was not happy with his gnocchi after it was cooked but decided against making another batch because he was running out of time. Anna smelt her sauce burning but quickly added some more stock and still used it for her steak.

The judges tasted Simon’s stuffed chicken with spinach puree and grapefruit salad. George said the puree looked like “spew” but tasted really good. Matt said the dish was a bit of a Frankenstein affair and contained enough cheese to feed Switzerland for a month.

Eamon’s signature dish was roasted lamb rump with gnocchi and rosemary jus. Gary said the lamb was cooked well but the gnocchi was a bit bouncy. Matt told Eamon it was a great dish and his plating up was of restaurant quality.

Anna demonstrated her waitressing experience, impressing the judges by carrying three plates at once. Her dishes were Moreton Bay Bug salad with Thai dressing; Queensland rib-eye beef with red wine, asparagus and smashed potatoes, and a vanilla and mango panna cotta.

George noted the steak was overcooked and the sauce burnt. Gary said the Moreton Bay Bugs were cooked just right, while Matt swooned over Anna’s panna cotta.

Eamon won the first round and chose from two of Kylie Kwong’s dishes. The chef, restaurateur and author had made two main courses with accompanying side dishes. Eamon chose the crispy duck with orange sauce and vegetable sung choi bao as the pressure test dishes.

The celebrity contestants had two hours to make the dishes. After the contestants had steamed their ducks, they all used their lifelines to have Kylie’s help when it came to deboning them.

Simon served his pressure test dish to the judges first. Gary liked his orange sauce but noted the duck wasn’t as crispy as it should have been.

Gary was impressed with Anna’s presentation but said her duck was a little too crispy. George told Anna she’d done a great job with the sauce and her sang choi bao was tasty.

Gary praised the finely cut vegetables of Eamon’s sang choi bao and George raved about Eamon’s duck. Matt declared the duck perfect and told Eamon it was a fine dish. He said the only let down was Eamon’s messy lettuce cups for his sang choi bao.

George told Eamon to give him a call to work in his kitchen when he retires from swimming. Eamon won the heat and was through to the semi-finals.

Stay tuned for the next heat!