It’s the challenge that nobody asked for –  to see if Jock and Andy can host the show without Mel.

If it was a Monday night, we would probably just pour ourselves a Baileys and head off to bed, but since it’s an elimination we better see this through.

Tonight, it’s game on, literally. For the first time in the MasterChef kitchen, the contestants will need to cook a dish inspired by Australian game meat.

And everyone – bar Elise, whose partner is a hunter – looks like a deer caught in the headlights.

The first part of the elimination challenge is called “name the game” and we suggest you get used to the puns right now, because there’s a whole lot more coming. Basically, each contestant must identify as many of the 14 game meats on display as they can in just 5 minutes.

As it turns out, Pete is on a roll, identifying all three quail species – the ‘tiny quail’, ‘slightly bigger quail’ and the rarest of the lot, the ‘biggest quail’ – but it’s not enough to save him. He moves through to the next round with Aaron, Tom, Kishwar and Tommy.

Tomorrow someone needs to go to their local @Coles and ask for a kilo of wild boar. #MasterChefAU

— jen brennen (@zen_jen) May 30, 2021

In the second round, the five contestants with the lowest scores must cook a dish using one of the game meats on display. 

Pete chooses the ‘tiny quail’ which he pairs with a blackberry sauce and charred cabbage.

All my burnt food shall henceforth be described as abusively caramelised #MasterChefAU

— Lynn K. (@_lynnnnk) May 30, 2021

Tommy decides on a peasant-style pheasant, that he hopes is pleasant.

Without Mel, Jock and Andy just go around from bench to bench seeing who they can make cry.

They go up to Kishwar and try to get her goat, and we’re not talking about her mutton rezala. “Just step it up a gear and get to the end,” Jock says to a completely stressed-out Kish.

Andy prods at Pete, who is already feeling emotional. “I can tell you’re going to say you’re missing the girls, but are the girls missing you?” he asks and it’s super weird, even for Andy.

Stop trying to make him cry. Seriously. Just eat it and stop making fake drama. #MasterChefAU

— Amanda 💉 (@tartanthermos) May 30, 2021

Andy describes Pete’s dish as “too fruity in the fruit direction” and we can’t help but wonder what Mel would have said. Probably something insightful about the interplay of flavours and textures, and then something heartfelt and encouraging, it would have been beautiful.

Missing Mel and her ability to articulate beyond ‘cracking’ and ‘how good zat’ #MasterChefAU

— TheOnlyEfy (@theonlyefy) May 30, 2021

In the end, it turns out to be quite unbalanced and hard to stomach – the show that is – and we decide that we really need Mel back right now.

Can Mel never be absent ever again? #MasterChefAU

— 𝔻𝕒𝕫 🐯🐅 (@dcpchiu) May 30, 2021

Oh, and that other business of the elimination challenge… the judges announce that Tom’s crocodile dish tastes like a pair of Crocs, which is why he is going home.

It’s sad but not too sad, as we’ll see Tom again tomorrow night for Second Chance Week, where two former contestants will fight their way back into the competition. The only question is, can Therese use her pin?