Flown to Marlborough, the final six contestants were given the challenge of creating a barbecue-cooked signature dish that captured the essence of Marlborough and would match a randomly selected bottle of wine. After running into trouble last week, Aaron and his cumin-rubbed butterfish with clam panzanella impressed the judges, with Ray McVinnie declaring “the old Aaron is back”.
The dish was enough to see Aaron declared one of the week’s winners, ensuring his return with the final five in next week’s episode.
MasterChef New Zealand continues next Sunday on TV One.