MasterChef Australia: Surprising fact about ‘terrifying’ Black Box dish

Chef Peter Gunn has revealed a fun fact about The Black Box, his “terrifying” dessert that the MasterChef contestants attempted to recreate.

Chef Peter Gunn has revealed a fun fact about The Black Box, his “terrifying” dessert the MasterChef contestants attempted to recreate in last night’s pressure test.

The visually stunning dessert hails from Melbourne restaurant Ides and features 11 elements including gingerbread stars, isomalt wafer, grilled mandarin custard, yoghurt pearls, honeycomb, choc-dipped mandarins, sherbet, and chocolate soil.

The black box itself is made of white chocolate mixed with ash.

The Black Box dessert from Peter Gunn.

RELATED: Sarah Clare sent packing after Black Box challenge

The dessert is the most technical dish the MasterChef contestants have had to make this season, and according to Gunn, the cooking show actually inspired the masterpiece.

“It’s funny that it has an opportunity on (MasterChef) given that the initial idea behind it was like a mystery box,” Gunn told 10 Daily. “You don’t know what’s in it.”

If you’re not across MasterChef, a feature of the show is a Mystery Box challenge where contestants must make a dish featuring random ingredients given to them inside a box.

Inside the box was everything I thought it would be... Terrifying #MasterChefAU

— khanh (@khanhong) May 19, 2020

this black box is honestly just a piñata for fancy adults #MasterChefAU

— jo (@joannafalafel) May 19, 2020

Ides has been serving the dish since 2018 with the contents of the Black Box changing a few times over the years.

“The contents inside are always evolving, moving, and different but what’s great about it, it’s a visual signature,” Gunn said. “My very first signature, I should say.”

At the restaurant, the dessert is served on a plate from the Gifu Prefecture in Japan and diners are given a steel hammer to crack it open.

But there have been plenty of plates lost since 2018, according to Broadsheet.

“Ides started with 38 plates, but it’s now down to 15 – in part due to guests getting a little too frisky with their hammers and accidentally shattering the Black Box and the plate it comes on,” the site wrote in 2019.

Peter Gunn with the MasterChef judges.

Ides is currently closed due to the coronavirus pandemic until June 4, but the restaurant has made some dishes available for takeaway, including the Black Box.

It’s available for $25 and requires a fridge and assembly.

“It actually comes together really well for home delivery,” Gunn told restaurant critic and writer Dani Valent. “All the biscuits and crunchy stuff are in a little bottle, there’s compressed pear and a custard replacing the frozen element.”