Fighting to stay in the competition, the bottom 8 cheflings faced a Perfect Curry Challenge judged by Kumar Mahadevan. With 80 minutes on the clock, some pushed the spices too far—especially Tom, whose fiery “Thaiferno” left George speechless. Steven’s golden seafood curry and Jack’s chicken Massaman earned top spots and a safe place on the balcony.
Round two was an Invention Test: recreating Matt Moran’s mango cheesecake with coconut tapioca. Gracie and Tom struggled as their desserts failed to set, while Harry and Kieren delivered near‑perfect plates and claimed the remaining safe positions. That left Tom, Gracie, Marcus and Dee to say their goodbyes. Gary then revealed the next big surprise: the Top 12 were heading to Los Angeles for the adventure of a lifetime.
