Showing just how high the standard of cooking is on MasterChef All Stars, even the best efforts of competition heavyweights Poh and Marion weren’t enough to keep them in the game.

Taking the axe to their Mystery Boxes and using them as firewood, the contestants were challenged to utilise the ingredients within and cook over an open flame – a method with the potential to produce wildly inconsistent results.

While some managed to make the task look easy, others were left confounded by the unpredictability of open fire cooking. Dani and Julie were in the former camp, producing the Mystery Box Challenge’s superior dishes Mexican Chicken Tostadas and Greek Style Chicken Skewers.

Marion, Poh and Kate fared less favourably. Though the judges praised particular elements of their dishes, they called attention to the lack of flavour in Marion’s Lemongrass Skewers with Chicken and Prawn, and the uneven grilling of Poh’s Turmeric Chicken.

Their Mystery Box Challenge performances weren’t enough to see them safe, but both Marion and Poh walked away with valuable winnings for the respective charities. Poh secured $5000 for the Cambodian Children’s Fund, while Marion won $10,000 for Save the Children.