The judges choose sunny Daylesford for the set of the very first Master Class
Special Guest Anna Wolf Taskter shows the amateurs some of her favourite Master Class recipes
Anna's will be preparing a delicious Warm Duck Salad with Foraged Herbs and Shoots
Anna is one of Alice's culinary heroes and reminisces their chance meeting as a part of a Radio competition
Tregan and Ben get to sample on the declivous Alla Wold-Taskter's Duck Salad
Gary and Matt prepare the twelve hopeful cooks to get ready to battle for the final six spots in the MasterChef kitchen
Gary and Matt prepare a Roast Fillet of Beef with Pommes Dauphine and Warm Vinaigrette
Two lucky hopefuls get to sample the mouth watering Roast Fillet of Beef
Gary gets the Top 30 together to teach them his farm fresh Fig and Frangipane Tart with Pistachio Crumble and Clotted Cream
The hopeful cooks get involved in the Fig Tart action as Gary shows them the ropes
Gary is in love with his own cooking
Beau becomes public enemy number one, as the judges reveal that he has time to see and practise the Pressure Test recipe
Chef Shannon Bennett presents his 'Peach Melba' dessert that the hopefuls will have to reproduce
The hopefuls prepare to start the epic 2 hour Pressure Test recreating a 3 Star hatted dessert
Dom feel out of their depth, but not to fear, Shannon Bennett is to the rescue
Andy feels a cool breeze in a place he shouldn't and eventually realises he has indeed spilt his pants
The judges talk shop and seize up the contestants as they progress through the huge 2 hour Pressure Test
Matt gives a woeful contestant some great motivation and mentoring
Beau had every possible advantage for this Pressure Test, but couldn't anticipate his bottom chocolate nest slipping out
The twelve best dishes are selected for tasting by the judges
Julia gets amazing praise for her dish and even has Shannon Bennett say that her dish is worthy of an apprentice with three to four years experience
Twelve hopeful cooks stand in line waiting for six of the best makers to take a step forward
Andy, Julia, Beau, Kylie, Lydia, Ben are the six cooks chosen to receive an apron
The contestants have one last chance to plead their case to the judges for their chance into the Top 24
Matt Moran sets the challenge for the hopeful cooks and shows them his Samurai pin-boning skills
It's 'take a number' luck as 27 hopefuls step forward to attempt the challenge with only a select through being able to take a bench
The cooks practise their knife skills as they prepare to pine-bone Salmon to perfection
Gary gives one hopeless hopeful a lesson in scaling a fish
Matt Moran and Gary are disappointed to see how Sean has hacked at the Salmon Fillet
As the temperature starts to rise, the pressure is on as it's starts to get awfully hot in the kitchen
Alice shows a sign of relief as George gives her Salmon Consomme lots of praise
Matt's Salmon en Papillote with Orange and Fennel Salad impresses the judges
Matt's impressive dish earns him a Top 24 apron
The hopeful cooks line up as the judges decide who is receiving an apron to join the other apron holders.
Tregan, Alice, Wade, Matt and Sam all receive an apron and unfortunately see their other team mates home
The remaining hopefuls are then made to perform the basics. The first one to churn cream into butter will receive a huge advantage for the next challenge
The first hopefuls line up to submit the butter to the judges
The judges agree that Beau's butter is good to go
Winner the 'Back to Basics' challenge gives Beau the advantage of tomorrow's Pressure Test
Twelve hopeful cooks fight for the six aprons that are up for grabs and hope to join Kevin in the Top 24
The twelve hopeful chefs are off as they have only six hours to source, collect and cook their meal of choice
Chefs Amina and Fillipo pair up and get cracking on their dish of choice
Darling Chefs choose the road less travelled and decide to catch their own fish
Audra picks her own fresh raspberries and decides that she of course, has to sample them
Firsts one back Audra and Dalvinder make a critical error as they realise that the pantry contains no eggs or fresh vegetables for them to use in their recipes
The judges talk Dalvinder out of creating her 'Plan B' dessert as it doesn't use any of the Mornington Peninsula ingredients
As the last ones back, Amina is panicking at the thought of how much she has to do and the little time she has for it
Amina and Filippo come into the MasterChef kitchen last and have only 44 minutes to prepare their dishes
In the final dash to the finish line, the Chefs do their last minute planning and celebrate when the countdown is over
Six chefs: Amina, Andrew, Dalvinder, Jules, TK and Dalvinder all receive an apron and go into the Top 24
After fighting tooth and nail and literally chipping a tooth, Kevin is through to the Top 24
After preparing some delicious dishes, 12 contestants are asked to step forward as one will receive the apron
With seconds to go, Kevin is struggling to get his can out of his chicken
In the haste of cooking, Mindy accidently drops her chicken on the ground and decides she is unable to serve it
The contestants are asked to stop cooking and announce that for 12 individuals have the opportunity to fight for an apron and at the end of this challenge, the apron will go straight into the top 24
An iconic part of Australian history, The Royal Exhibition Building was the first place to have the Australian Flag raised and has a special place in the Olympic history
The Top 50 are introduced to their first challenge held at the stunning Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne
After having a chat with the judges, it turns out Young Rick decided on the 'Dish of Death' Risotto dish and is advised to make his own stock from scratch
Top 50 contestant Delvinda is a devote Seek and has never cooked with beef before
After having a chat with the judges, it turns out Young Rick decided on the 'Dish of Death' Risotto dish and is advised to make his own stock from scratch
With 90 minutes on the clock, it's time for the Top 50 to show the judges what they've got
The Top 50 take a peak at their mystery box ingredient, as half have chicken and half have beef to create a dish that will wow the judges
The lucky ones that managed to fight their way through into this year's MasterChef Top 50
Emma's Sticky Date Pudding sticks in the judges minds and Emma is through to the Top 50
The judges are blown away with Mindy's efforts to prepare her dish in front of them and makes an excellent first impression
Mindy prepares to wow the judges as she prepares a Malaysian inspired dish
Mario's performance wins universal applause from the judges.
Mario seals his Top 50 apron win with a bow.
Amina is bursting with pride after securing herself a Top 50 apron.
The youngest competitor, Rick, awaits Gary's all-important verdict.
The hopefuls know that to secure the judges' vote they'll need to prepare the dish of their lives.
Bianca's family congratulate her on winning through to the next stage.
George samples Bianca's gnocchi - what's his verdict?
Who can please the palettes of these seasoned food veterans?
The judges welcome this year's crop of amateur chefs.
The excitement is palpable as the MasterChef hopefuls prepare to get cooking.
Runner Up Journey Gallery
Winner's Journey Gallery
Andy's Top 5 Recipes
Julia's Top 5 Recipes
Behind the Scenes: Italy Week
Jamie Oliver Special Gallery
Best of Recipe Collection: Matt Moran
Behind the Scenes: Tasmania
Best of Recipe Collection: Maggie Beer
You on a Plate
2012 Recipe Collection