This week's five celebrities have taken on the challenge
to become MasterChef champion.
I'm baffled, mate.
Last time, it was children's TV presenter Dave Benson Phillips
who went home.
Now the remaining four are back to continue their quest.
Tonight, they will experience the heat of a professional kitchen...
Are you still alive?
Oh, the pressure! The pressure, the pressure!
HE GROANS
I've got to do another one.
I feel like Mrs Doubtfire.
..before cooking for a place in the quarterfinal.
I have to tell you, I really like it.
I'm not going to lie.
I didn't see myself getting this far.
John told me I made the worst chips he's ever tasted.
I haven't cooked that much before,
so just cooking in a kitchen is kind of a mystery to me anyway.
John and Gregg are still alive, and they have tasted my cooking.
I'm competitive anyway.
You know, I'm the fourth of six kids, so I want to win. That's it.
You want to come top.
JOHN:We've got ourselves four great celeb cooks.
They've had a taste of the competition, and you can see
they're all hungry for more.
Have they got what it takes? There's only one way to find out.
Hiya.
Hey.
Blue. We've both got blue.
Vibey.
Welcome back to the kitchen.
The first challenge we have for you... I love this.
We call this the Pairs Challenge,
and it's all about teamwork and communication.
Shazia, Terry, you are the red team.
I knew it.
Remi, Max, you're the blue team.
We are going to ask each team to cook for us two portions of a dish,
one dish from each of you,
and those dishes need to look exactly the same
and they need to taste exactly the same as each other.
The twist is that there is a team leader,
and the team leader is the only one that actually has the recipe.
Ladies and gentlemen, could you please reveal your ingredients?
Oh, wow.
I've got squid, bro.
Yeah, I've got a squid.
Pasta. Pasta. Pasta.
One hour to prepare, cook and serve your dish.
Off you go.
Max. Yes? OK, cool, we got this, yeah. We got this.
Yeah. All right.
Terry? You can turn around and look at me. Yeah. Yeah.
Each team leader has been given basic instructions
for a different dish...
We're going to do this, all right? I'm going to lead you.
..with separate trays of ingredients for every element.
OK.
As leader of the red team, it's up to comedian Shazia to guide
broadcaster Terry through their recipe for ravioli
with an egg yolk and ricotta filling,
and spinach pesto.
The team leader here is absolutely vital.
They need to be able to communicate what they're doing to their partner.
It looks like that.
How many ravioli?
Right, let's start with the pasta.
Sorry... Let's start with the pasta.
We're going to combine eggs and flour...
..into a springy pasta dough.
The dish itself, it's a ravioli.
They first have to make pasta dough, and the pasta dough has to rest.
Combine two eggs and flour.
It doesn't say.. Oh, two eggs? Yeah.
It says, "Combine..." No, it says, "Combine eggs and flour."
It doesn't say how much.
Will three eggs not make it a bit too wet?
Shall we put two eggs in?
Oh, two eggs.
I'm used to giving out orders.
So, in that way, you know, I know how to do it,
you know, kind of not on a need-to-know basis.
I think this is going to be a fascinating team, team red.
I think there could be sparks flying.
As long as Terry listens to what I'm saying,
it will all go well.
I'm worried that he thinks he probably knows better.
So, we're going to start with the aioli garlic, because that's
30 minutes in the oven, so we need to get that in ASAP, OK?
What does it say, just the garlic? Literally.
Radio DJ Remi is in charge of the blue team.
Don't you think you have to take this off?
She and boyband singer Max need to produce two identical plates
of squid stuffed with sourdough croutons, peppers and tomatoes,
with a caper salsa and aioli garlic mayonnaise.
This is a complex dish with lots of different techniques.
This is what it looks like.
Yeah? OK? Can you see that?
Well, that's what we're going to aim for. Yeah.
OK, now we've got to clean the squid. Yeah. Clean the squid.
The blue team have got to prepare a whole squid.
REMI:Are you cutting it open? Just rip the inside out.
Pull it. Jesus.
OK, that was easy.
Now, I don't know whether they've done that before,
but that is a lovely, slimy, slippery, messy business.
Oh, man, it absolutely hums, doesn't it?
I'm literally just rinsing it off.
I've never worked with squid before.
I've heard of squid ink before,
and I think I've just got it all over my hand.
What you want is a nice squid bag that you can stuff.
There we go.
Do you know what? I don't mind being a leader, but I also feel like
there's no "I" in team, so I can't do this without him.
Our dishes have to look the same. So, we're...
We're doing this together.
Yeah, Remi, I couldn't ask for a better team leader, really.
She's got a great... My G! ..a great voice that booms over.
My G!
Always positive.
OK, cool.
And, yeah, I think we're going to get on just fine.
15 minutes gone.
The red team's pasta dough is made and resting...
Terry. What? What does blitz mean?
Blitz? Yeah. I don't know. Like, whip it up really quick, I think.
..and they are under way with the ricotta filling that will hold
the egg yolk in place inside their ravioli.
So, how much herbs are you putting in?
There are no measurements here.
OK. No, I'm asking you, so I do the same as you.
The flavours need to be exactly the same,
so Shazia is going to have to talk about handfuls and pinches
and teaspoons to make sure the measurements are correct.
You've got to put lemon rind...
That's what I'm doing. How much? Lemon rind is the back of the lemon.
Yeah, I know, yeah. Grate it into there. Yeah.
How much?
Not a lot.
The red team of Shazia and Terry is anything but a team.
So, we just shove it all in there, and then...?
Terry, take the stalks off the herbs.
Good idea to tell me about the stalks before I've put them in!
It's about as harmonious as a group of howling cats.
We don't want it too thin.
Stop. I thought, for blitz,
it meant to make everything mixed together?
Blitz, give it a good shot.
Don't overdo it.
Over on the blue team, the squid is cleaned,
but Remi and Max have only just started prepping the red peppers,
sourdough and tomatoes for the stuffing.
Max, how are you cutting it? Like that.
It's quite random, but just cut it up into small chunks.
OK, cool. Got you.
All right, so now we've got to stuff the squid, yeah.
Just stuff it in, yeah? Just stuff it in.
We've got to use these toothpicks in front of us to secure it. OK.
If they don't seal the squid, when they start to cook it,
all that stuffing is just going to come straight out the end.
Try and stuff it evenly. Yeah.
Stuff that bad boy.
I'll tell you, they can take a lot of stuffing, these.
Proper, like, fill it right up.
Rah.
OK, cool. Got that.
You guys are nearly halfway.
27 minutes gone.
You need to push on, all of you.
After we put this in the oven, it's all systems go, you know.
We've got to be quick. Yeah.
Oh! Remember to seal it with the sticks.
Right, yes.
We've got to seal it with these.
The aioli has not been made from the blue team yet.
The caper salsa has not been made from the blue team yet.
And the actual squid is not even being cooked.
There's a lot of work to do in the last 30 minutes.
So we need to get a move on.
SHAZIA:How do you move the dial?
It's not going through.
The red team are also up against it.
They need to roll their pasta to the perfect thickness
before they can begin to make their ravioli.
Agh... Nightmare.
It's very difficult.
What Terry and Shazia have to do now is cut out four nice ravioli,
put a filling on it.
How much do you put on each?
I've put a squirt of it. Oh.
And then, Terry, you place an egg yolk on top of each one.
JOHN:They need to make sure the egg yolks hold,
so when you cut into the centre, the egg yolk runs out.
SHAZIA:OK. OK.
That filling needs to be a shape that will support the egg yolk,
like a little valley.
It keeps breaking every time.
They're just throwing egg yolks on top of the ravioli filling,
hoping it's going to stay there.
This is impossible.
Terry?
Are you OK?
I need more eggs.
The mess is unbelievable.
If they rush, there could be holes around the outside,
and that can spell disaster.
So let's go again.
How many egg yolk raviolis have you finished?
One, but it's leaking out.
How many have you finished, Shazia?
Four. Right.
But two are leaking.
Great.
REMI:Right, this is what mine looks like.
Yeah, I'm pretty much exact... OK, cool. Yeah, exactly the same.
I think we should put it in the oven now, yeah. All right.
Are you going middle? Yeah, yeah.
You've got about 15 minutes left, guys.
You got to think about that squid being cooked all the way through,
make your aioli and get the caper salsa done,
and then you've got to get it onto a plate.
An aioli, really rich garlic mayonnaise, just made with egg yolks
and whole roasted garlic whipped together with olive oil,
so it becomes really rich and very, very peppery
and really, really strong.
Mash it up, yeah.
We need to get this into a mayonnaise ASAP.
Oh...!
Whoa...!
REMI LAUGHS
Oh...
Oh, my wrist.
You've got ten minutes.
Whatever you do, do you mind doing it quickly?
Let's put the pasta on, yeah?
How long does it have to boil for?
Erm, it doesn't say, Terry. But we don't want to overcook the egg.
Yeah, I know. I'm just saying. So how long, then?
A couple of minutes.
To be honest, I'm not happy with the ravioli at all,
and I've got no time to talk to you, cos I'm busy.
Do one!
The mayonnaise is almost done.
It's a bit lumpy, which is stressing me out.
OK, guys, you've got five minutes to go. Just five minutes.
Terry, make a spinach pesto.
Hold on. And how do you do that?
Olive oil, basil, erm...
Oh, so we just bung it all in, really? Yeah? Yeah, yeah.
Salsa, we need to get on that. Yeah.
Let's chop the capers up small.
It's tight, it's tight, cos we've still got to plate up.
Are you taking your things out yet?
My God, I've got an omelette.
JOHN:They look all right, Terry. Oh...
I'm a jelly inside.
Let me see your mayo.
More oil, more oil.
You've got just two minutes.
Blue team, you need to get something on a plate.
MAX:Yeah.
Right, let's just go for it.
Nice.
Oh, it's too hot. It's too hot.
TERRY:Where does the pesto go, at the side or on the top?
I'll put it in the middle, Terry. In the middle of what?
In the middle of the plate.
Ten seconds, and we're calling time. It's final, final touches.
And we should all be thankful for that!
REMI:Have you put the salsa on the bottom? Uh...
It goes on the bottom. Over the top. Over the top.
Are you doing it on the top? Yeah.
REMI GROANS
That's it! Time's up!
Wherever you are, time's up.
Well done.
Wow, I thought my communication was tremendous.
Yeah, right!
I feel like I had a much smoother ride than the other two did,
cos that just sounded like hell!
So, yeah, I was... I was well happy with that.
Red team, come on.
Let's look at stuff here that's glaringly obvious.
Look at the Parmesan shavings here
and the slices here.
Look at how much pesto on here
and how much pesto on there.
We've got four ravioli on the plate, though.
Shazia, shall we start with yours?
Oh, my word. This one's empty. What have you got, Mr Torode?
And out comes the egg yolk. There we are.
Look at that.
Shazia, you did one.
A little bit of filling in there from the ricotta.
That is really lovely pasta.
It's just got enough spring in it.
Loads and loads of garlic in that very, very vibrant pesto.
But the pasta isn't sealed... No. ..so all the filling has come out.
The issue here for you is panic.
Yeah. And the panic comes in...
When you're sealing them, just taking that time to be gentle
around the outside and really seal them nicely.
Cos they would have been OK.
Some of them haven't quite worked out, but we've got one which has,
which means it's not a complete disaster.
Terry.
You've got a couple in here that look like they might actually
have filling in them. Let's see, shall we?
Whoa!
There we are. That's what it's supposed to look like.
You've got a runny egg yolk in there, that's clear to see.
The pasta is a little thick.
Your pesto is fantastic.
Quite a bit of garlic and quite a bit of lemon in there, as well,
making it very, very zingy. This is good.
The communication between the pair of you was not good.
The aim of the whole task is that you both produce dishes
that looked exactly the same and tasted the same.
Hasn't quite worked out, has it?
It was a bit need-to-know, for my liking!
So I was panicking... I was panicking. ..because I didn't feel
I was getting enough information.
I was panicking because I couldn't give him the information,
and I was the leader.
Blue team, please, up you come.
Cheers. Cheers.
I think you've done a remarkable job.
Look how similar these two dishes are.
And it seemed perfectly harmonious.
Yeah, I enjoyed working with you, man. Yeah, I really enjoyed it.
Let's start with yours, Max. OK.
That is really good squid.
You've got that bounce, it's not too rubbery.
Max, it's delicious. Oh.
The squid is nice and tender, the stuffing is nice and soft
but still sweet, the sharpness of the capers.
Everything together on the plate, it works really, really well.
Brilliant. Thanks a lot.
Your aioli hasn't quite worked.
Not quite mayonnaise texture, is it? It's not quite thick enough.
But I'll forgive that, because if that's the first time
you've prepped and cooked a squid, I'm very impressed.
Thank you.
Remi. Right, here we go.
The squid on the outside perfectly clean, lovely and soft,
dissolves in your mouth.
The bits of bread inside all exactly the same size.
Lots of tomatoes and peppers in there.
The caper salsa, you can almost swap them between plates,
they look exactly the same.
You, I think, have done a great job here,
and I think you've done a great job as a leader.
Everything that you did well,
you both did well.
Any error, which is the aioli,
you both made the same error.
That should be expected if you are following each other.
Thank you so much. Thank you.
We made a proper meal... A proper dish, yeah,
that could go out into the world
because they said our squid was bouncy.
That's the best compliment I've ever got.
HE LAUGHS
Well, the contrast in the two teams was quite remarkable.
I think both teams now should have learnt a really valuable lesson
about teamwork and communication.
Whether they've learnt that lesson through success or adversity,
they've learnt a lesson.
I liked working with Terry.
It was quite exciting because we didn't know
what was going to happen next!
Next up, they're going to be under true pressure.
They're all going to have to take instruction, they're all going
to have to learn really, really quickly,
and this time, it's for the paying public.
It's day two, and the four celebrities have been split
into pairs once again.
We're cooking in a public kitchen?!
They're on their way to work a lunchtime service
in a professional kitchen.
Burmese cuisine.
My lads are an eighth Burmese. Are they? Yeah.
You should smash this, then! THEY LAUGH
Terry and Max are heading to the critically acclaimed
Burmese restaurant Lahpet in London's Covent Garden
to work under its executive chef and co-founder Zaw Mahesh.
Burmese cuisine is unique in its own right.
Flavours are between Indian, Chinese and Thai,
so we've got a lot of flavours going on.
Hello, mate. Hi.
Welcome to Lahpet.
Hi, I'm Terry. Nice to meet you.
Let's not waste our time. Let's crack on.
All right. Scary!
During service,
Terry will be in charge of a fish main -
deep-fried bream carcass and fillets,
with a chilli, tomato and garlic sauce and steamed greens.
You'll be frying carcass.
So they can eat all of that? Even the carcass?
Yeah, the whole dish is edible.
We cook about six minutes. Six minutes. Yep. Right.
While the carcass is frying, we'll heat the sauce up
cos it's quite full-on on spice.
Fantastic.
The bream fillets are added to the fryer minutes before service.
So when the fillet starts to float, we're not far off.
OK, we're ready to plate.
Aside from cooking the fish correctly,
Terry's other challenge will be the tricky plating of the dish.
Hold the carcass and put one fillet first.
Half of the sauce goes on top of the fillet.
The main thing is, the carcass needs to be standing like this.
And we've got mixed fried beans.
There you go. That's the fried bream.
And that's how it's got to look?
Exactly like that during the service. Can you do that?
I'm going to try my best.
You know, I'm normally cooking for people who just want to eat
before the football comes on, so you slap it on a dish
and if it tastes all right, they eat it, you know?
And so, you know, this is my big challenge, is to present it.
Terry's first job is to cleanly separate the bream fillets
from the carcass.
I've never, ever filleted before,
but I did lie on the form and said that I have.
So, your lies catch you out, don't they, in the end?
Across the kitchen, Max is also trying a new cookery skill.
So, I'm trying to debone a chicken thigh,
but I keep wasting quite a bit.
Some of them are all right, like the last one I did.
But then...
..what's that?! Do you know what I mean?
HE LAUGHS
So, yeah, a bit of work to do, but we're getting there.
Max will be cooking the restaurant's best-selling
chicken and coconut noodles,
served with a boiled egg, spring onions and a crispy wonton pastry.
He will need to cook each portion of chicken to order.
You pan-fry it for a couple of minutes,
and the whole pan goes in the oven for six minutes.
When it comes out, you check results. Yeah.
We don't want to feed undercooked chicken. No.
While the chicken is in the oven,
he will have just minutes to cook the noodles...
It looks like a fistful.
Yeah. A fistful.
..and warm the coconut broth.
Phew! That's hot!
Yeah, that looks class.
That looks ready.
Time to plate.
We've got noodles.
Put the broth around it. Mm-hm.
You still want to see the noodles. Yeah.
Then you get the chicken on.
Max will need to remember to finish the dish
with seven different garnishes,
including a boiled egg, paprika oil...
Nice.
..and a crispy wonton pastry.
Voila, that's your dish. Beautiful, that, innit?
Yeah, there you go.
I'd be well happy if mine looks something like that.
In Burmese, we call it ohn-no kauk swe.
Ohn-no kauk swe. That's the swe we do it!
Shazia and Remi are in London's Mayfair,
cooking at the Colony Grill Room in the five-star Beaumont Hotel.
Serving international cuisine,
executive chef Ben Boeynaems will be heading up service.
Our guests come and they have very high expectations.
They're paying a high price point for amazing produce
that we want to treat with respect,
so the room for error is very small.
He's a real chef.
Good morning. Welcome to the Colony Grill.
We've got a fully booked restaurant for lunch.
There's lots and lots to do, so follow me.
Shazia will be cooking a starter of smoked potato gnocchi
served with celeriac puree and cavolo nero.
Gnocchi, gnocchi - who's there?
THEY LAUGH
You start by sauteing the gnocchi.
You want to get a nice, even colour all the way over.
You get a lovely crust on it, you get that caramelisation.
In the meantime, you can start to put your celeriac puree on there
and it will start to warm up. Yeah?
Once you start to get that nice colour on the gnocchi,
we're going to deglaze with the yeast stock
and what you're doing is you're reducing the stock
to create that lovely emulsion.
The difficulty with the dish is getting the emulsion right
and making sure that the gnocchi is beautifully glazed.
If they split the emulsion, it's going to delay the service.
The gnocchi is finished with 36-month-aged Parmesan...
How much of that do I put in? A tablespoon.
..and black truffle.
Make sure it's all coated really nicely on the gnocchi.
So now we're ready to plate.
You want to take your puree.
So, a spoon and a half.
Spoon in your gnocchi.
Just a little bit of sheep's curd on top.
Each serving is finished with cavolo nero, hazelnuts,
celeriac crisps
and green apple slices.
OK. And how long have I got to do it?
Four minutes.
From order to plating.
It's, like, ten different things that have gone into making that,
and we've only got four minutes to do it.
Four minutes.
A lunchtime bestseller, Shazia now has to make enough
gnocchi for a busy service.
They all need to look exactly the same or we can't use them.
OK. Thank you for that tip, Chef.
Only 900 to go.
Big one, innit?
So, right now, I'm peeling the cucumbers
because they need to be pickled for my meal.
Like Shazia, timing will be crucial for Remi's main dish of roast cod
with cockle chowder,
roast and pickled cucumber,
and sea herbs.
The first stage is we're going to cook the cod.
So, is this what a cod looks like when it's not in a batter?
Once it starts to look a little bit golden,
I'm going to stick it into the oven for six minutes.
That goes in there like that.
Getting all the other garnishes ready together at the same time
is the technical, tricky bit.
Remi will need to work fast to make the cockle and potato chowder,
roast the compressed cucumber circles...
Blowtorch to get a nice colour.
Are you leaving me in charge of that?
Of course. I'm glad you trust me.
..and steam the fresh cockles in wine.
In service, the pressure is a lot more intense in this dish
just because of the number of elements to come together.
That's the six minutes up.
So, at this point, you want to take the fish out,
and we use these little skewers to check for resistance.
If it's not cooked, there'll be a little bit of resistance,
so we stick it back in the oven for a minute.
Here we have a little butter emulsion.
The most crucial bit is to make sure it's beautifully glazed
and you've got a lovely emulsion on the fish.
So now we're ready to plate.
And then we just finish with the sea herbs.
There's our roast cod, cockle chowder,
roast cucumber and sea herbs.
Let's do this. I hope it looks like this.
I really hope it looks like this. Me too.
THEY LAUGH
It's midday and in both restaurants lunchtime service is about to begin.
I've got guests arrive. Let's get serious.
Don't burn your hands. Don't cut your fingers.
Oh, wow. There's actual human beings coming through the door,
and there's a lot of them, as well.
Oh, of course I'm worried!
I've got a jumbled-up head of what stuff's got to go in.
I'm kind of remembering it.
Table three mains away.
Yes, Chef.
The first orders are in, and service is under way for Terry and Max.
All right, Max, you heard me. I didn't hear you, Max.
Table three mains away. Yes, Chef.
I don't even know what he said.
I didn't hear what he said.
I was just like, "Yes, Chef."
Chef, what is it you wanted? Table three mains away.
So I want everything in five minutes. OK.
I'm still confused.
I'm just going to whack three chickens on.
How long for that bream, Terry?
About 30 seconds.
Damn! That's broken. Fall apart? Yeah.
Get another bone in.
We don't want to serve this. No.
While Terry starts again with a new fish carcass,
Chef is also waiting for Max's first noodle dish.
OK. How long for the first chicken? I still haven't got it yet.
How long for that first chicken? One more minute. Sorry, Chef.
It will be with you very, very soon.
This is not finished yet. Can you finish it?
What do you think's missing? This. These two.
Yeah, lime juice, paprika oil.
There you are, Chef. I hope you'll get better next one.
Yeah? Me, too.
Well, you should have four chicken working now.
So stressful.
I feel sick!
How long for that first bream?
Erm, about just as long as it takes to plate.
Terry's first dish is finally ready to go...
If you're done with this one, I can take it. Yeah.
..but his earlier mistake has put him behind...
As soon as you're done with this, plate it straight away, OK?
BLEEP
..and he now has several bream fillets frying at once.
Do you know which one you put first?
No, I'm just going to see whatever floats up first.
You should wait for that first one to come out. Oh, right, sorry.
Now you don't know which one is going to cook first, right? OK.
How many portions you got in there?
Probably two, maybe three. Three? Or two and a half.
It's not going to work like that. OK.
We don't sell half portion here.
I didn't understand that - you don't put them all in together.
So I'm struggling with that.
Two covers. One garden salad, one gnocchi to follow, two ribeye.
CRIES OF ASTONISHMENT
OK, OK!
Let's go - four minutes, please.
Over in Mayfair, Shazia's first gnocchi orders are in.
Oh, yeah, that's hot.
OK.
Watch your gnocchi, cos it's going to burn.
Watch the gnocchi, it's going to burn,
That's a little bit too dark, that one. Take that one out.
Give a little saute. All right, so two minutes.
Gnocchi, yes? Yes! Erm...
Right, knob of butter. Watch the cavolo nero.
Parmesan, truffle in.
Truffle...
This gnocchi's split.
Add some more stock to bring it back to an emulsion.
It's important when you add the Parmesan that you don't add
any more heat cos you start to make the Parmesan
all chewy and gloopy, yeah?
A little bit too much.
One more plate, please, quickly. One more plate.
How many minutes have I got to go?
We need to get this out now, really.
Need to move a little bit faster.
And then celeriac crisps, apple, and we're good to go.
OK. Service, please. Service!
Just make sure that you get a nice colour on the gnocchi.
Don't get them too dark or burn them. OK. Thank you.
It could be worse.
I burnt one gnocchi in the first round,
so I'm going to try not to burn anything in this one.
So that's three covers.
Two Arctic char, one gnocchi to follow two cod and a ribeye.
Yes, Chef!
On the mains, orders are starting to come in for Remi.
Right, we're getting the cod on first, cos once this starts,
I've only got six minutes.
Sorry. Mind your back.
She must now prepare the four accompanying elements
before the cod is cooked.
This is my favourite bit.
Is that one burning?
That's sizzling, that is.
You know, it's all about timing and there's just so much other things
to do as well. This is a real test.
Check with your spike.
Yep.
Yep. Emulsion in. One... Don't touch the pan.
Always use a cloth, yeah?
Baste the fish in the emulsion.
It's important that we get this out so the fish doesn't overcook. Yep.
OK, now up to the pass.
Remi's first orders are cooked, but now she has to plate
the dishes perfectly.
Let's go before it all goes cold, yeah?
Use your fingers to support the cod. If you break the cod,
the dish is ruined. OK. OK?
Right. Call service. Service!
Louder. Service!!
Say it like you mean it. Call service, please.
Service!!!
Six minutes is not a long time.
It's not a long time.
So we're coming up on two Arctic char and gnocchi
in two minutes. Another one?!
And then right behind that, we've got two gnocchi to follow two cod.
Oui!
People are obviously liking my gnocchi.
Look, I'm just going to just carry on making them, because,
um, I've lost track of them.
Back in Covent Garden,
it's halfway through service but Max is still
forgetting his garnishes.
What's missing? What is missing?
The wonton. Wonton's missing. Oh, my God. Yeah.
And that's not enough sauce? No? Not enough sauce. It's very dry.
OK. Put more sauce in there.
Missed a wonton, didn't I?
I keep forgetting things.
It's like, he'll say to me, "What have you forgot?" And I'm like...
"What? I forgot."
Do you know what I mean?
That's better. Yeah. Let's go.
And Terry is still battling with the delicate bream carcasses.
Oh, hell.
Those are dead. No.
Ruined it.
There's a lot of fish orders.
So, Terry is having a bit of a pressure on the fish.
Sh...!
They've all broken, all the bones are broken. All of them? Yes.
Oh, hang on. No, one. There's one there.
Can I serve that one?
Let's get that plated. Yes.
Oh, hell. Come on.
So, I need... You need three more fish on.
Three more? Three more fish, yeah. OK.
Across the kitchen, Chef is still not happy with Max's plating.
So, all three of them has got too much noodles.
And also, Max, that's not a very sexy dish.
No, it's not very sexy. That's not the sexy one that we usually serve.
Right.
Replate it quickly. They want it now.
Make it...
Try and make it look sexy, then.
I thought I was getting better.
But then I got... Well, pretty much brought them all back.
I'm a little bit concerned about, still there are delays there.
I hope my guests forgive me for this.
Remi, are you still alive?
The pressure, the pressure, the pressure!
In Mayfair, service is in full swing.
Two cod. Two cod? Yes, please.
On order, three covers.
Three gnocchi to follow two ribeye, one cod.
Oui, Chef.
Shazia's gnocchi starter is proving especially popular
with the diners.
Service!
I'm juggling 48 gnocchi here.
One portion is 12, and I'm juggling 4 of them.
This gnocchi's a little bit too dark. Let's do another one, yeah?
Get a fresh pan. Get rid of that.
Need to hurry up on this table or they're going to get complaints.
Some of the gnocchi got burnt,
so I'm a bit behind on time.
Two covers. Two gnocchi to follow two cod.
Oui!
I've lost track how many I've made.
I've got to do another one.
Remi, we're coming up on three cod.
Three cod, got you. How long?
Three minutes.
It's going all right. This is the first time I'm cooking
a bunch of three, so it's a lot.
The toughest bit is just remembering everything.
Like, there's a system,
there's an order.
There's no other way but the way.
I wonder how Terry and Max are doing.
There's a lot going on here.
Maybe let's concentrate on getting this out nicely, yeah?
Service, please.
Over in Covent Garden, service is drawing to a close.
Are you ready with those two coconut noodle? Yeah. On the way.
But Max is still feeling the heat.
I feel like Mrs Doubtfire.
Um, right. I've lost it.
Look at the state of that.
Anyone got a straw?
I'm just going to start plating up now.
And Terry is still struggling with his fish.
I nearly snapped the head off that fish.
Oh, for God's sake!
Right... Oh, sugar. That's just fallen over!
No wonder chefs are right, you know, aggro merchants.
It's the last orders and a final chance to impress.
Yeah, last one.
So I'm going to try and present this one a lot nicer than...
Not that I haven't tried with the others, but...
A quick Hail Mary,
if it stays together.
This is an awkward one.
It's not balancing.
There.
That's nice. That's the best-looking dish for today.
TERRY LAUGHS
Well done, man. Hey, thanks very much.
Thank you very much, Terry.
That looks pretty good.
It's a good'un, that, innit?
There we go. Right.
Chef, last one. Oh, last one.
Yeah.
Ah, nice. Yeah? Yeah.
Brilliant. Thank you very much.
Thank you. I really appreciate it.
Well, I mean, it was stressy, but I knew that it would be.
You can't start crying, you know? There's no crying in cooking,
you know. It's relentless.
Under pressure, I crumble.
I'm not going to lie. Like, the first five,
I always forgot something.
But all in all, like, that was so cool to cook in, like,
a proper kitchen with, like, proper chefs.
Like, what an experience, yeah. Like, won't forget that.
Service! Table 53, please!
In Mayfair, final checks are also in
and Shazia is still trying to keep up with the gnocchi orders.
I'm not sure if these are the last two.
I hope they are.
I'm famous for my gnocchi now.
You're doing really well. Oh, can I have a job here, then,
if the comedy doesn't work out?
Let's call service... Service!
21. Table 21, please.
Thank you.
You did really well. Thank you.
It was a bit of a tricky start, but towards the end
you really nailed it. Well done.
On the fish main, Remi is still under pressure
to stay on top of her timings.
How long are you on the cod?
I am just under two minutes.
Chef, how many more orders after this?
This is the last three. Amazing.
Make it nice. OK. Got you.
Baste it, baste it, baste it, baste it.
Tender... This is the most...
This is SO tender.
It's looking OK.
Right, let's get the sea veg on and let's get this out, yeah?
Service! Table 21, please!
Woo!
It's over, Chef.
Remi, really well done. You did an amazing job. Thank you.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,
and I'm going to keep it at once. It was great. Great job.
Thank you so much for all your help.
It's made me respect chefs a lot more now.
I feel like when I'm dining now, I'm going to be like, if they're,
like, running behind, I'm going to be like, "I understand - trust me!"
My God. It was nonstop for about two hours.
It was gnocchi, gnocchi, gnocchi, gnocchi, gnocchi.
Service!
That's the bit I like, is when you shout, "Service!!"
That's the best bit.
Oh, my God.
We survived.
I'm not going to lie,
I think you might have got the short straw with that one.
Yeah, but it was hotter on your side.
Welcome to the MasterChef Street Food Market.
We call this The Food Truck Challenge.
You've been given a brief, and that brief is to cook for us
a dish that you would serve in your own food truck.
You can take your inspiration from anywhere you like in the world,
but feed us something truly delicious.
We have just three quarterfinal places to give.
At the end of this, one of you is going home.
Ladies and gentlemen, you have one hour.
Let's cook.
I'm excited about this one.
The competition's really, like, heated up now.
I am a food truck kind of girl.
I'm always like, "Ooooh,"
because everyone's just trying to serve up a mad thing.
So if I did have a food truck, it would be called Remi's Ramshackle.
Good music, good food, good vibes.
Might meet your partner there. Who knows?
"Where did you meet?" "Remi's Ramshackle."
Come on. Beautiful.
Remi, what are you making for us?
I am making a rice burger.
A what?!A rice burger.
Usually it's pretty easy to just go for a burger, but I thought,
how can I add, you know, something different to it?
So I've just made the bun out of rice.
In between the burger is just going to be chicken thighs
with peppers and scotch bonnets.
How do you get the rice to stay together in a block
that would resemble a bun?
Hopefully, if I can wrap it properly, it will stay firm.
It's going to be one of them big burgers that you, like,
would get at a food truck.
So the filling of the burger I understand.
Spiced soft chicken, lovely vegetables, green spring onions,
peppers, chillies, plantain.
Ahh!
That is s-picy!
But the burger bun is going to be made out of rice.
You just don't imagine, do you,
taking a bite out of a lump of rice as you would a burger bun?
Remi's really going for it,
and I kind of admire her courage, but I'm slightly nervous.
Woo-hoo-hoo!
Max. Yeah.
Is it fair to say you're loving this competition? Absolutely.
I think it's, like, the adrenaline rush of it.
Like, I didn't think ever being in a kitchen and cooking
would be, like, such a buzz.
Max is making us chilli con carne.
Minced beef, usually, some beans inside, chillies, tomatoes,
maybe some peppers and some onions.
And Max is even using chocolate in his to give it an extra
bit of flavour. That's really good.
Hopefully, I can make it how I like it, which is pretty spicy.
It's gotta have a kick. It's going to kick like a mule, this one.
I like that he's doing it inside a loaf of bread,
hollowed it out, toasting the top of the piece of bread,
adding some garlic as well so it's like garlic bread.
I think that's great. But at the end of the day,
it's got to be yummy.
Why have you done a chilli con carne?
My friend started a food truck business
and this was one of his dishes.
This is actually called Bob's Big Bowls Chilli.
I'm not copying his recipe, but I'm using very similar ingredients.
Is that one portion? I'm doing big portions.
Good-value food truck. Absolutely.
Has Bob still got his truck? He hasn't got a truck.
It's more of a pull-out table nowadays.
Didn't really take off. Right!So he sold the truck and bought a table.
But this might give it... This might give him a lift!
THEY LAUGH
Food trucks, you've had 25 minutes.
You've got 35 minutes left.
When I was growing up in Birmingham, every Friday was
fish-and-chip night. It was like a night off from the curry.
So the dish I'm cooking is masala fish and chips
with chilli mushy peas.
So it's not your ordinary fish and chips.
It's got a twist on it.
And I really want the flavours and the spices to come through
on the batter and on the chips, but not overpower it.
If you did have a food truck, how would it be?
Well, I'll call it Chilli Chilli Bang Bang.
And I would have it like a rickshaw outside, like football stadiums
and nightclubs, where people get drunk.
And when English people get drunk, what they love is fish and chips
or a curry. And this is a combination of the two.
You don't think you might have broad stereotypes here...?
Well, I'm just going on what goes on in Birmingham,
and that's what happens.
Shazia has big bits of cod,
but she's making the masala batter with cornflour and soda water,
very similar to a tempura batter.
So it's going to be a really thin batter on that piece of fish.
She can really pack some flavour into that batter if she wants.
The cod can stand up to it.
This is a combination of two styles that Shazia seems to know...
Right. I'm going to put the chips in now.
..and I'm very much looking forward to it.
Panicking about this.
Never used one of these before. I hope that ball's not too big.
It can't be perfect. It's street food, you know.
Go to another stall if you're moaning, mate.
It's only a couple of quid. What do you want?
Today I thought I will make El Tel's Pollo Loco.
Or maybe it should be Tez Mex Feedy Gonzalez.
So it's a Mexican theme,
so let's have some "Me-hee-co" on the horizon.
So I'm doing a spicy Mexican chicken tortilla with all the trimmings.
And you've made your own tortillas, like a soft-shell taco? Yes.
OK. I've never done that before.
So the cornflour's a bit awkward. Right.
What would your food truck be like? Oh, it'd be fun.
I'd have it all draped in, you know, like, Mexican flags,
all the rest of it. And would you serve drinks at this...?
Oh, aye. Tequila slammers. Do you know what I mean?
That's it. You make your money on the booze, really.
They can have this for cheap.
Terry, for me right now, is being the most ambitious in the room.
He's making his own tortillas from cornflour.
Then we've got shredded chicken, lots and lots of spice.
He's making guacamole, rich avocado puree with lime juice,
maybe some spring onions.
A salsa made from tomatoes and chillies.
Does he have enough time in just an hour?
That's my question.
Ten minutes, please, everybody.
Whew!
It's down to the dying moments of the rice burger.
I have to make sure it doesn't fall apart.
I think a little bit more of everything.
A little bit more seasoning.
I'm guessing now. I'm panicking.
The fish is stuck a bit to the bottom.
But it's OK.
Shazia, you seem to have left some of your fish behind.
You've got just three minutes. Really?!
Are you in trouble here, Remi? Yeah, yeah. Come on.
And stop.
And...stop.
TERRY CHUCKLES
I enjoyed that a lot. I just hope I got the flavours right.
I'm just hoping for the best right now.
Terry. Please, sir.
NARRATOR: First up is Terry, whose Mexican-inspired food truck offering
is spicy chicken tortillas with guacamole, tomato salsa,
grated cheese and sour cream.
That looks pretty hearty there, Terry.
And it folds up, look. Uh-huh.
I think your tortillas are fantastic.
Absolutely fantastic.
You've got that sweetness of corn
running through there with that flour. Absolutely lovely.
Terry, I have to tell you, I really like it. Thanks for that.
It's got all the lovely, magical flavours of what I would think of as
being Mexican street food.
The chicken is cooked really nicely.
I've got a little bit of spicy chilli, a lovely slipperiness
coming from the avocado, with a little bit of diced onion
and chilli running through it as well.
I think you're probably one of the most ambitious people in the room.
It's a tasty dish.
I mean, I feel great.
You know, I feel quite elated by it because I was worried,
because it was very stressy.
I think everyone felt the stress today was like, "Wow!"
Shazia is serving masala-spiced fish and chips
with chilli mushy peas and a tartar sauce.
I'm going to unravel my fish and chips, as I would do
if I'd have brought them from the truck, all right?
What's happened to the fish?
The batter's not stuck to it.
One of the fish, the batter stuck to the bottom of the fryer.
I like your chips, but I've got problems with this fish,
in that the batter's come off, so I'm not getting any of the spicing
on the batter.
I like the tartar sauce. Quite salty.
Love the sweet peas with a bit of mint and a bit of chilli.
A beautiful piece of cod. Cooked well, it tastes good.
Your chips are really, really nice.
As with a chip-shop chip, they're really lovely and soft.
You've cooked them well. I get that lovely spice.
Chips, mushy peas, tartar sauce. Fine.
But one of the fish got stuck in the fryer, and I really wanted
to present a good dish.
Remi's food truck dish is a chicken rice burger -
a bun made from seasoned rice, filled with spiced chicken thighs,
roasted plantain, peppers and scotch bonnet chillies.
Remi, I think this is quite inventive, but I don't know
how I'm going to eat it. Right.
I can't... Look.Yeah.
I'm going to try and pick it up.
Out of the packet?!
Well, how else...? What am I going to do otherwise?
Mm.
I like the flavour of the crispy rice. Almost a sort of crunchy,
nutty flavour on the outside.
In amongst that sweet marinated chicken, you've also got the flavour
of plantain, which is slightly chalky.
The problem is we've got a big issue here about how you eat this.
And this is a food truck brief.
That's the problem.
You know, it tastes good, but right now I've got
a mixture of stuff in foil, and what am I going to do now?
I think what we have here is a work in progress.
The ingredients are great. There's a whack of chilli in there.
But as you get to the end there, it's just going to go
all over the place, Remi.
If you really are going to open up your food truck, I think
you've got to reinvent the shape. Got you.
I understand the feedback.
It was very, um, messy.
And I can understand, you're at a festival,
you wanna look buff, you wanna look peng,
and then you've just got, like, chicken stains on your jacket.
Like, it ain't cool.
Finally, it's Max,
who has dished up his version of friend Bob's Big Bowls Chilli -
chilli con carne made with dark chocolate,
served in a bread bowl,
topped with sour cream,
spring onions and cheddar cheese,
with guacamole
and a toasted garlic bread lid.
You have made a good chilli con carne.
There is a sweetness of tomato to it.
There's a richer sweetness from dark chocolate.Yeah.
And there's enough chilli and seasoning in there for me.
I like the crunch of the spring onions and the sourness of
the sour cream as well. I like it.
Your guacamole's nicely made.
It's half chunky avocado, half pureed avocado.
Bob's Bowl is more a Super Bowl.
It's massive, but it's really tasty.
And I actually think, for a family who's going to a food truck,
they got that and four forks, the kids would be really happy.
Thanks.
It wasn't as good as Bob's, but I think the chilli was good,
so I'm happy with that.
Listen, there were a few ups and downs in this round,
but on the whole, I think there was some really tasty food.
We are, of course, looking for quarterfinalists.
Quarterfinals.
The fact that we're in with a shout with that, I think is pretty cool.
I definitely thought that was the hardest challenge.
I'm disappointed that everyone can cook.
LAUGHTER
I liked Terry's tortillas.
I thought he did a great job making his own. Nicely cooked chicken.
Good flavours from Terry. He worked very, very hard.
There was lots to praise.
Max, I think, had a really good concept - to serve
the chilli con carne in a great big, round loaf of bread.
I liked it.The chilli itself,
tomato, rich with onions, beans,
and then he added extra chocolate to make it even more rich.
It was big, but I think as a sharing thing, that's great.
Shazia decided she wanted to do spiced fish and chips.
The fish itself, cooked really nicely. Great tartar sauce.
My cod, the batter had come off, but the chips were perfect.
They were exactly the same as chip-shop chips out of the bag.
Remi made for us what she called a rice burger.
And as much as I enjoyed the flavour of chicken and rice,
that whole thing collapsed in my hand.
I couldn't actually pick it up and eat it.
And that's the issue I've got. It's a food truck challenge.
I don't think I could look at another rice burger again
if I got sent home cos of this.
I might just quit rice overall, to be honest.
I would love to stay in the competition
because I've been enjoying it.
I mean, the pressure's high, but I have been enjoying it.
Two people we agreed have done more than enough to secure a place
in the quarterfinal.
Terry.
Max.
Congratulations, gents.
You are going through.
Shazia.
Remi.
The contestant leaving the competition is...
..Remi.
Remi! We've loved having you here.
We really hope you've enjoyed yourself. Thank you so, so much.
I'm sad to go, but I've really, really enjoyed this experience.
Thank you very much, guys. Thank you. See you later.
I feel like I definitely enjoy cooking more than I did
before entering this.
I'm going to look at a utensil with pride.
Yeah!
I'm going to use you more. CHUCKLES
Congratulations, you three.
You are MasterChef quarterfinalists.
Oh, man!
I'm relieved. Somebody's going to get kicked out in the next round.
It could be me if I don't pull my socks up!
I'm going to take a lot of joy in the shock of my family and that
when I tell them, cos when I told them I was doing this,
they thought it was a joke.
And I'm still here!
A wee celebration tonight.
I can't help it. It's in my genes.
I may stagger in at some point,
and if there's a kebab house nearby, get one of them.
Next time, it's the quarterfinal...
I'm sweating, man!
I don't think I've done this much exercise in years.
Are you panicking, Max? Absolutely. Been panicking for about two hours.
..and Max, Terry and Shazia
are back to fight for their place.
That cake is so moist.
It's just like...cloud!