The ninth series of the Australian cooking game show MasterChef Australia premiered on 1 May 2017 on Network Ten.
Chosen contestant Josh Clearihan was a previous auditionee from the eighth series who failed to reach the auditions when he was hospitalized with brain damage after a run-in with a car thief.
Ben's Cardamom Coffee Ice Cream with Butternut Three-ways and a Dutch Spice Biscuit impressed the judges with his creativity of his ice cream and received 28 points, while Diana's Malaysian Oatmeal Prawns with Vegetables in a Creamy Sauce also impressed the judges and received 27 points.
In the last round, Ben and Diana faced the longest pressure test yet, in which they had six hours to recreate Kirsten Tibballs' Trio of Fruits dessert, consisting of chocolate disguised as an apple, pear and mandarin.
Both Ben and Diana struggled with the final task, failing to make the sugar-crusted liquor center for the apple, which came out like a jelly rather than a liquid.