Cooking contestants out of frying pan, into flash home

Photo / Supplied

The Masterchef finalists move into their luxury home on Auckland's North Shore in tonight's episodes - but one needn't have bothered unpacking.

All 12 except golden apron winner Michael Lee are up for the chop in the first elimination of the finals.

To stay in the contest they'll have to cook a Kiwi dish containing one of three core ingredients - snapper, lamb or fruit - and no more than 13 others. Possible front-runners for elimination include Kathleen Te Raki, whose future hangs in the balance when she takes more than the allowed 13 ingredients from the MasterChef pantry.

And Stu Todd upsets judge Josh Emmet who says it's not even worth him trying his lamb dish.

Meanwhile vegetarian Robert Jacobs chooses the fruit option, but the judges are unsure if his deconstructed nachos will be considered Kiwi cuisine.

Finalist Jax Hamilton likened waiting for the judge's verdict to sticking your head in a guillotine.

"Taking that walk and then placing [your dish] down, it's like putting your head in that little slot and waiting for the verdict to come down, because you just don't know."

The winner will get a sneak preview of next week's mystery box challenge.