Tommy blows the judges away on MasterChef with his pastry dish

Thursday’s episode of MasterChef really sees contestant Tommy at the top of his game.

Tommy, Depinder, Linda and Kishwar all had the chance to cook for a guaranteed weekly immunity, with Andy welcoming the contestants to Lune Croissanterie in Melbourne’s Fitzroy.

This was a pastry challenge, and Tommy absolutely nailed it.

The contestants have 90 minutes and an open pantry to turn their chosen pastry shape into a dish worthy of the Lune menu. The contestant who cooks the top dish will have their creation added to the Lune Lab menu, but most importantly, win guaranteed immunity from Sunday’s all-in elimination.

Faced with a line-up of eight unique pastry shapes, the contestants are the told they will have to pick one to be the base of their dish. Given the length of the process involved, they will be given the proved, shaped dough ready to bake, and charged with making it something worthy of sitting on the Lune Lab menu. The owner, Kate Reid – a former aerospace engineer and Formula 1 designer – warns that today will be all about balance, and that she doesn’t want the delicate, buttery flavour of the pastry to be overwhelmed.

After a blind pick to determine their selection order, the contestants choose the following shapes:

Kishwar with a Croissant, Tommy chooses a Danish, Linda with a Vol Au Vent and Depinder chooses the Half Pipe.

Drawing on his Vietnamese heritage, Tommy created a Bánh mì inspired pastry, and it’s an absolute hit.

Mel says: “This is fantastic … This is extraordinary cooking”.

Kate was delighted. “For me this is the essence of what a Lune Lab dish is. It’s delicious, it’s perfectly well balanced. I loved everything about it.”

“I couldn’t fault any of it,” said Andy.

Jock was just as impressed. “Mate, you’re a contender today buddy,” he claimed.

In the end Tommy of course won the challenge, and is therefore immune from the next elimination. Not to mention will have his creation on the Lune Lab menu!