As 12 very familiar faces returned to the kitchen to cook for their favourite charities, the enthusiasm of our MasterChef All Stars turned to fear as Adriano Zumbo arrived bearing a Croquembouche. The first challenge: a relay, with each team member looking after a stage of the towering treat’s construction. The Yellow Team took the win, earning a massive $20,000 to divide between their respective charities.

The second day’s action saw the contestants compete for the first time as individuals, over four themed rounds: Lebanese, Chinese, Indian and French. Julie won best dish in the first cook-off for her Kofta; Dani the next with her sweet Lychee Lollypops; Chris trounced the competition in the Indian round and completing the challenge Callum made the French round his own.

Back into teams, the contestants threw themselves into their first All Stars Offsite Challenge on Wednesday. Cooking a sausage sizzle for 100 hungry firefighters, each team worked with their chosen protein to create a memorable mouthful. So close was the result that the Red and Yellow Teams tied with 26 votes apiece, the judges giving the Red Team’s Spiced Duck Sausage the nod, validating their risky choice of meat.

That old MasterChef favourite The Mystery Box Challenge greeted the contestants on Tuesday, with the Red Team afforded a sneak peak at the ingredients as their reward for winning the Offsite Challenge. Within their boxes was a range of top quality ingredients, each picked by a celebrity chef. Despite a few dry ice calamities, the All Stars used their produce with flair. Marion, Kate and Kumar were singled out as the superior performers, with Marion’s Crab Soufflé taking the overall victory and netting its maker $10,000 for her chosen charity.

After racing to be the first to dice a kilo of onions on Wednesday, the contestants took on a Fix the Dish Challenge. Working in relay to rectify a Bolognese, some inventive ingredient selection was on display, but the best flavour combination belonged to the Blue Team’s dish. Their prize: the right to compete for $10,000 for their charity of choice.

The week concluded with the Blue Team drawing knives to discover which past disaster dish they would be granted a second chance at cooking. Julie seized the opportunity and dished up a perfect Puddle Pie to win the challenge, followed closely by Poh’s Chocolate Tart. Julie decided to split the $10,000 with Poh, capping off the first week of MasterChef All Stars with a wonderful display of sportsmanship.