Ah! This is the part where I cry.
Four famous faces...
Yah!!!
..have survived the heats...
It's Frankenstein's Pie. ..and reached
the Celebrity MasterChef quarterfinal.
It's very dramatic, isn't it? Tonight, they're back...
Welcome to absolute chaos.
Back in the kitchen to fight for our place in the semis.
..and the competition is about to get tougher.
Slap me if you need to. Whatever you need to do. Right?
Oh, these eggs are a disaster.
I still do believe it's anyone's game.
I'm just going to give it a go and give it my all.
WHISPERS: Oh, they're eating it. They're eating it.
They'll face two intense challenges...
Why can a garlic just not be, like, one big garlic?
..that will decide who deserves a place in the semifinals...
This is ice cream. I've never made ice cream.
It's like a love story, isn't it?
..as one of them will be going home.
The Sheriff is fighting to get into the semis.
Come on! Start to plating up, now!
Absolutely stunning.
You've seen me laughing, having a bit of fun.
Now it's serious.
J Mo is in it to win it.
Oh, no. If it's not cooked, it's not cooked.
That's terrible.
Celebrities, welcome back to the kitchen.
Till now, you've worked alone, so it's time for a teams challenge.
We are going to create our own mini restaurant.
Because if you stay in the competition,
you'll end up cooking in a real-life kitchen.
I like to think I work well with others.
You know, my mum used to say that when I was at playgroup.
So, yeah, it depends who the others are, you know?
Joe, Shakira, you're on the Red team. Oh! Yes!
Jason and Emily, the Green team. We got this. Come on, then.
We're asking you to cook a three-course meal.
Then you'll serve it up. The only two diners will be
a Michelin-starred chef and a terrifying restaurant critic.
I can work with absolutely anyone. That's a quality of mine.
90 minutes in total for this challenge.
We expect your starter to be served in 30 minutes.
The main dish after 30 minutes, and the dessert after 30 minutes.
OK? And, Joe...
Yes, sir. ..there is no pie on the menu.
LAUGHTER
Head to your benches, where you'll find menus and recipes.
This is scary, Joe.
We are expecting excellence.
Good luck. Let's cook.
Menu. Right.
Is this the menu? Here we go. Let's have a look at this, then.
What we got here?
Giorgio, I think this is the hardest challenge we've set them yet.
Today we're going to find out who leads and who follows.
I'm good at following a recipe. Great.
OK. I'll be head chef. And you can shout at me.
I can take it. OK. Slap me if you need to.
Whatever you need to do. All right? Maybe not the slapping.
Thank you. We're sportspeople, right? Well, this is it.
We know how to work in a team. Teamwork.
Match made in heaven. Let's crack on with it.
These people have probably eaten in loads of restaurants,
but they've never cooked and served at the table.
And you are the guest as well. You're scary for chefs.
Can you imagine for them?
NARRATOR: Both teams have the same ingredients
and will make the same dishes.
Three courses. Very, very British. Not that complicated.
Scotch egg. Oh, my God.
I've never cooked a Scotch egg before, have you?
Oh, like them things people have at buffets?
Yeah. Yeah. I never, ever eat them.
Deep-fried in panko breadcrumbs,
the smoked mackerel Scotch egg will be accompanied by
a strong mustard cream,
and pickled cucumber to cut through the richness of the dish.
And then... Pan-fried chicken breast.
Fondant potato. I've never done... I thought fondant is sugar.
The pan-fried chicken breast must be served with decadent,
butter-enriched fondant potatoes,
lightly braised leeks and a flavourful
chicken jus made from the carcass.
They like to call it a jus,
even though you and I both know its juice.
That chicken's got to be cut up. But, like, you are perfect for that.
I've never made a sticky toffee pudding before,
but I've tasted plenty.
That's got to be in my, like, top three desserts. Yeah, same.
The classic British sticky toffee pudding
will be accompanied by
a rich butterscotch sauce and vanilla cream.
I would order that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You know, Giorgio, I am so thankful that we're the ones eating it.
I wouldn't want to be out there cooking it.
Got to get the chicken on first. That's the biggest thing.
NARRATOR: An essential part of the main course,
the chicken jus needs to be started straight away.
The carcass needs to go into roast
for at least 30 minutes before you can even make the jus.
OK, look.
Emily and Jason are taking exactly the way that I saw.
So the chicken would be going on straight away
to make the jus.
The chicken is the most important thing.
The starter... Soft-boiled, five minutes.
The Red team just concentrated too much on the starter already.
We've got pickled cucumber, so that is what's happening
first of all.
They haven't even looked at the chicken.
That could be a mistake at the end.
It should flake, then, really nicely. Yeah, exactly.
GRACE: For our starter,
we have a warm smoked mackerel Scotch egg with
a mustard cream and pickled cucumber.
It is important to have an egg not completely runny,
but nice and soft. I'm excited about the pickled cucumbers, though,
because they'll cut through the mackerel mix.
And the mustard sauce must have a really nice, sharp kick.
Good, oily fish.
NARRATOR: The teams must shred and mash 200g of mackerel
with thinly sliced shallots,
mustard, lemon zest and paprika.
Smells nice anyway, to be fair.
What is very important on the mackerel paste is the consistency.
The mackerel needs to be mashed very well
to make a paste. Otherwise it would be hard
for them to get an even layer around the eggs.
A minute left on the eggs, then. What's next on your list?
Mustard cream. Giorgio, Emily and Jason see themselves as equals
and they've stopped giving each other orders.
We're going to start dressing these plates, OK? Yeah. Go on, then.
Go for it. Yeah.
So I need greaseproof on here, chicken bones.
Really feels over on this bench like Shakira has taken charge.
Olive oil on top.
Drizzle. Yes, Chef. Salt, pepper. Let's go.
Obey!
GRACE LAUGHS
Shakira, I'm seeing a whole new side of you now.
I'm organised. Exactly.
So the Scotch egg's the first thing that you've got to get out.
Yes. So the mackerel mixture is chilling.
I'm going to do my breadcrumbs, my eggs and my flour.
Do that mixture. Get them in the fryer
right at the last minute.
Remember one thing - presentation. Thank you, Chef.
Cucumbers are done.
Very nice ribbons. Very impressed with them.
The cucumber are supposed to be
in wide strip, in order to soak up the vinegar.
Joe's looks good,
but Jason's one looks like they've been through a pencil sharpener.
Look at that. Absolutely stunning.
You can peel the eggs. Peel the eggs. Peel the eggs.
That's a good job for you. Nice and neat, please.
Celebrities, 15 more minutes
for your starter to be ready on the plate.
Really, we need to be making the Scotch eggs now. Yeah.
NARRATOR: With the mackerel mix now chilled,
they need to wrap a thin layer around each soft-boiled egg.
It's Scotch egg time.
This is my first-ever Scotch egg.
Very gently.
Joe, look at this!
Oh, fantastic.
JASON: Let me know when you want your eggs in.
Yeah. No dramas.
Don't be heavy-handed today, Jason.
Careful, careful, careful. I know, I know, I know.
Jeez. Oh, these eggs are a disaster.
Sorry, what's happened with the egg?
When he peeled the eggs, he cracked the eggs.
Ah, OK. One was broken. That's what I'm saying.
..cracking them, you see, because of my hands. OK.
I can't work with this. But you need an egg that's a bit firmer.
There's nothing I can really do.
Yeah, so this is the mustard sauce, and this is the pickled cucumber.
And hopefully, this can make up for the egg.
I think I'm going to get this done. This is going to be good.
NARRATOR: The mackerel-wrapped eggs need
a thin breadcrumb coating before frying.
I've got one. I've got one, I've got one. You're going to have
to crack on with the other one. We haven't got time.
I'm going to sit down now, and in two minutes I'm
expecting my starter to be ready. Talk to me here.
You've just got to keep, like, moulding it around.
Joe, how are we looking on them Scotch eggs?
Golden. Golden. That's what we're looking for.
Get it on, get it on, get it on. Come on.
We've got to move now. We are ready!
JASON: Eggs are in. JOE: Eggs are done.
Oh, perfect. Is that OK?
You should be serving your food now!
I thought I was scary in restaurants!
Lift it up. Let me look at it. Yeah? Let's go.
No. I need you to get out... Get out... You just tip them on.
Shakira! Shakira, first down.
Shakira, thank you very much. I know you've got a lot of work to do.
Right. Take this plate, please.
This one looks better.
We've got ours up there first.
# Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah! #
Oh, Jason! Oh, Jason Mohammed.
There you go, my friends.
NARRATOR: Both teams have served smoked mackerel Scotch egg with
mustard sauce and pickled cucumber.
GRACE: I really like Green team's Scotch egg, visually.
I think it's smaller. It's more delicate.
I don't think that they've styled the cucumbers very prettily.
OK, let's cut it.
Oh!
A little bit disappointed that the egg just seemed to come apart.
The crust is a little bit too thick.
Right, let's eat a bit.
It's warm all the way through,
but they should have worked the fish much more.
Absolutely.
The smoked mackerel mix needs to be almost pulpy.
To me, this feels like it's more cucumber skin
than actual cucumber,
and it hasn't maybe taken on as much of the vinegar that it could have.
I really feel like I'm tasting that panic that happened.
Can you start peeling some potatoes?
Yeah, yeah. Of course. That would be really lovely.
Eggs. Who knew?
The pressure is like nothing I've ever experienced.
Boom. Red team's next, Giorgio.
I like this presentation.
I love what Joe's done with those cucumbers.
Really, really beautiful ribbons of them.
OK, let's cut it.
The yolk is runny.
Yeah. Which is very good news.
WHISPERS: Oh, they look happy. They look happy. Do they, really?
I don't know. I don't know what Grace's happy face is.
The egg is much more intact. That mackerel,
much more of a paste. It's clinging around the egg.
The crust is a little bit too heavy,
and I would have loved to have a little bit more mustard kick.
Can't work out if they're enjoying our food.
No, they're not eating our food. That's why they're smiling.
Should we see what's happening with the main course?
I'm worried about this.
I don't like losing.
I'm going to crack on
with braising these leeks in some butter.
Now I've got to start seasoning and getting chicken breasts ready.
Once you've done that, let's get the potatoes on, please. OK.
For the main course, they are pan-frying a chicken breast
with a fondant potato,
buttered leeks and chicken jus.
I'm fascinated to see what the celebrities do
with fondant potatoes,
because it needs to be exactly the right shape.
Crisp but full of butter.
Fondant potato, there is only one rule.
They have to melt in your mouth. If they are uncooked...
..that's the end of it. JOE: Uh, how many do you want to do?
Do as many as you can get out of it,
and we'll pick the best-looking ones.
NARRATOR: For fondant potatoes to cook evenly,
they must be cut to a small and identical size...
Did you look at the potatoes? Yep. They're perfect.
Are they OK? Amazing. Thank you. Thank you, Chef.
..before being braised in lots of butter and chicken stock.
Oh. Who's cut this potato? This was my sous-chef, Joe.
Wow. They're just a feast for the senses.
And then just the gorgeous smell coming off them!
They make me a happy woman already.
These... Get these potatoes on. Yeah, yeah.
Spuds on. Right, I need to get the chicken on.
How are we doing? We're getting there, Chef.
We're getting there. Do you want to see the potatoes? Yeah, love to.
Oh, God.
Yeah. I would get them out and cut them in half now.
I think they're going to be cooked, aren't they?
No. Let's do it. We should take these out.
Jason's fondant potato, they look so thick.
Chop them in half.
They're like...Stonehenge!
I don't know if they're going to cook through.
I want the leeks cut... Half inch? ..about an inch.
An inch? OK. NARRATOR: To braise them correctly,
the teams must sear the chopped leeks in butter,
only stirring occasionally.
Don't forget about your leeks.
What does it say? Mashed leeks? Braised.
OK. Make them braised, then, not mashing.
You have ten minutes until the main course needs to be served.
Ten minutes. Thyme, butter, a lot of butter,
and basting it now.
Joe, I think we need to do the chicken breast, darling.
Oh, yes. I'm just trying... Do you want to do that?
Yeah, I'll do that.
The pressure has indeed ramped up now.
I'm worried about that chicken. We need to get that chicken going.
I'm fascinated by Shakira's decision to start the chicken so late.
So, skin side down, six minutes. I don't like the sound of that.
Now she's panicking. Right, let's get the pan in.
Let's get the pan in. OK.
Um, I need it on 180, please. 180.
There you go. 180.
We're going to start plating.
EMILY: Need to get the potato. They're soft to the point,
but...I'm not sure if they're all the way done.
Time is up!
Those leeks have got to go in. They're beautiful.
SHAKIRA: Are them chickens done?
Uh, no. I need to get them plated up.
They're quite thick breasts.
I think we actually leave them in until the last minute to plate them.
Service!
I say we go for that.
SHAKIRA: Can you get them chickens out, please?
Yes, Chef. The judges are waiting. Let's go. Come on.
A little spoon, just on top of that chicken. Perfect.
All right. Ready to serve. Let's go. OK.
There's your mains. Sorry, Chefs. I will leave you to it.
Thank you.
Here we come.
Thank you. Chefs, thank you. Thank you.
WHISPERS: She's furious!
I'm trying to get the sponge going.
Try to stay ahead of the game.
Do you know, I am so glad I am not Jason Mohammed right now!
Right, where was I? Come on.
NARRATOR: The teams have cooked pan-fried chicken breast
with fondant potato, buttered leeks and a chicken jus.
OK, the Green team. Let's taste it.
It's cooked all the way through.
I don't think the potatoes are cooked.
Oh, no. This is raw.
Chicken is actually really succulent.
The chicken - seasoning is "a point". Perfect.
The jus, it's got a bit of depth,
but the leeks, they're oversalted.
I would argue the fondant potatoes
shouldn't have even been served.
They're raw.
I would call these Jason potato, Jason leeks.
And I think the chicken was Emily.
Now I know why she's fuming.
I told you I don't like losing.
We need to lock in.
Here we are, the Red team.
My mouth's watering!
Oh, they're eating it. They're eating it. They're eating it.
Oh...
It isn't pink, but it's very close to.
Please be cooked.
Mm.
Grace, those potatoes are perfect.
Those are potatoes that you could serve at the Savoy.
Yeah. I think the chicken is just slightly pink,
but to me, that is absolutely fine.
I think that the jus is really pretty good,
and the leeks truly braised.
This is a really good plate of food.
I'm going to make the batter, yeah?
Yeah, you make the batter.
The Green team, looking at them,
I see democracy falling on his knees.
Where's...where's my notes gone? But in this side of the kitchen,
we have, like, a benign dictatorship that works.
I need a clean surface. Let's get this...
OK. ..clean. Thank you, Joe. No problem, Chef.
There you are!
THEY LAUGH
I'm going to start on the sponge.
I've never made a sticky toffee before,
but this should be easy-peasy for us.
NARRATOR: On the Green team,
Jason has raced ahead with dessert, already
completing their sticky toffee sponge batter.
Got to get these put into the oven.
Get those bad boys in there... and pray.
I love sticky toffee pudding.
I order it whenever it's on the menu.
I want it to be also a great feast for the eyes.
Um, I'd like you to move on to the vanilla cream, please.
Vanilla cream. OK. NARRATOR: To go with the pudding,
the teams also need to make two garnishes.
What were you on, Em? You're on the butterscotch...
I'm doing butterscotch right now.
GRACE: That butterscotch sauce needs to be sweet, but not overly sweet.
And cream -
cream needs the lightest touch, doesn't it? EMILY: There we go.
One butterscotch sauce.
Right. Is there anything I can be doing?
The vanilla cream. Do you want to whip?
Yeah, absolutely.
Soft peaks. Are you happy? Or maybe a little bit more?
Because I don't want to overwhip it. That's the problem, that you...
..you overwhip it. Honestly, I'm not really sure,
like... Let's have a go. Let's see. All right, I'll take your lead.
Hang on. I'm going to plug you in.
What the hell?!
Go on. Ready?
You're in. Take your lead on this one.
OK.
Try that. See how we get on.
We can always speed up a bit and see how we get on.
I think it's a bit over-whipped now.
I think you've got to start again.
Bit more cream? I think we've gone too much.
Starting to get like ricotta now.
Just stir it out, start again.
SHAKIRA: Whisk it.
The Red team has only just started to make their sponge batter.
The Green team got theirs in the oven ages ago.
We've got 15 minutes. Let's get these sponges done.
The Red team's sponge may not set properly.
Okey doke. Butterscotch sauce.
I'm on sponge watch. Usually I've got a timer going on.
Did you not set a timer for the sponge?
No, I missed the timing of the sponge.
OK! I just thought I'd get them in.
How's it going, Emily? We're just waiting on the pudding.
Are we waiting and hoping, or are we waiting
and we are sure it was going to come out?
What we're doing here, we're waiting and we're praying.
Ah, you're at that stage? Well... You needed a miracle.
JASON SCOFFS
We'll leave you to it.
Thank you very much. OK. Come on.
Six minutes. Is it any good? It's beautiful.
Six minutes for your pudding.
All right, let's get them out. Here we go.
This is the moment of truth, isn't it?
Oh! Come on.
SHAKIRA GASPS
Oh, no!
Oh, no, no. Should have had longer.
I'm going to scoop this one back in.
OK. Let's get it back in.
Don't look at that, Chef.
Is it soft? Oh, really soft.
Just going back in a little bit longer. Yeah?
How's that looking? Oh, beautiful. Look at that!
That's a lot better now. It's a lot smoother.
Come on! Plate up now!
WHISPERS: It's way too soft.
They look beautiful. To be far to you... They look banging!
Come on. ..you know how to make it.
You're allowed to smile. We are, but we need to plate.
Come on! Come on!
If it's not cooked, it's not cooked. Time is over!
Shall we get that one out or not? Get 'em out.
Looks beautiful. I just so want to eat that.
Looks great!
We can't serve that.
I'll go, I'll go, I'll go.
Jason the first one on the table!
Et voila. Enjoy.
JOE: We've got to serve it.
SHAKIRA LAUGHS
That's terrible. Oh... Oh!
It wasn't a great reaction. It was, "Ohhhh..."
Celebrities...
..why don't you take a little break
and let us enjoy this dessert in peace?
JOE: Whoa!
JASON: Oh, my word! Yep.
NARRATOR: For the judges' dessert, sticky toffee pudding
with butterscotch sauce and a vanilla cream.
The Green team, Jason and Emily's sticky toffee pudding
really looks the part, doesn't it?
It's very well presented. Here's your pudding.
That's your sauce. That's your cream.
Let's taste it.
To be fair, our pudding went ten on ten.
He made a fantastic batter mix. Yeah, it looked really good.
He really did. And then obviously, I did the sauces.
Perfectly cooked. Really moist. It's rich. It's decadent. Yeah.
The butterscotch sauce really does help.
The distribution of the cream, as well, is good.
Servable in a restaurant, this one.
How did you get on, then, guys?
The only thing that we aren't happy with is our sticky toffee pudding.
Aw!
Joe and Shakira.
They've got it out far too early. Yes.
It's so good, isn't it? Mm.
The sauce is absolutely outstanding.
I'm heartbroken they didn't have five more minutes
because it could have been really good.
It makes me so happy, but it's also a bit of a disaster.
Yeah. I think we learned a lot about them today.
Absolutely.
Celebrities, that was very illuminating.
A task about teamwork, about timing.
It was about setting you up for
the realities of an actual restaurant.
Right. I see two teams operating in a very different way.
Red team worked very, very well, but the chicken...
I think that a few people in the restaurant
would have sent back that chicken, thinking it was
a little bit pink.
But I like it like that.
It was juicy. But the work of art were those potatoes.
The Green team, Emily and Jason, at the start
I thought you were perfect.
Chicken, straight away in the oven.
Then suddenly, boof!
The whole thing disintegrated and fell apart.
The eggs wasn't very attractive.
The cucumbers, they lost their integrity.
But your sauce was delicious.
The big problem, you serve me raw potato.
And the leeks - a mush.
But your dessert...
..that is a dessert that you could serve in any restaurant you want.
So it comes down to a very important point.
Who understands how a kitchen works?
One brain, four hands. Perfect.
Joe and Shakira, congratulations.
You were the best team in this challenge.
Shakira, you... you'll be a junior sous-chef.
Jason, after I look at your potato, you'll be back in the washing-up.
Red team, you were a joy to watch. And Emily and Jason,
please don't walk out of here and think
that was a complete disaster.
Individually, there were wonderful moments.
Thank you. And I'll see you back in the kitchen very soon.
Telling Jason Mohammed that you'd have him as pot-washer...!
Yeah.
We won!!! Can you believe that? Can you believe we did that?
Mind blown. Dub! You say "dub", do you?
It's a "dub". It's "dub". It's "dub". It's a "dub"!!!
Six, seven. Six, seven.
You know, it is what it is, isn't it?
Em's got a bit of a temper, so have I. But I am sassy.
Sorry, I am. Listen, listen, I don't mind that. I'm your team-mate.
I don't mind that at all.
That was really, really hard.
My coping strategy is to just get on with it.
I went to a bit of shutdown mode, I think, halfway through it,
because I just realised how much there was to do.
The heats, the quarterfinals, it's definitely changed.
Like, the heat's gone up, literally, in the kitchen -
physically and mentally!
But, yeah, next challenge I'm going to come in nice and refreshed.
Look, would I be cooking that sort of food in my kitchen?
Of course not.
The fight will always be there.
All I'm saying to you now is, bring it on.
Glad that's over!
Welcome back, celebrities. Hope you've recovered!
Are you OK, Jason? Just about.
To win this competition,
you must be adaptable.
This round is about cooking someone else's recipes.
This is how you learn to cook.
Today, we want to welcome a very special guest.
Her culinary creations... Well, they've been viewed by millions.
She's a storyteller and probably one of the most
influential food creators online today.
Please welcome...
..Seema Pankhania.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
JASON: Oh, my goodness! Hello!
Seema, welcome. Hi! SHAKIRA: Seema!
What an icon. She is a legend.
I'm going to show you how to make fresh pasta.
NARRATOR: Cookbook author and content creator Seema's recipes have
inspired millions of home cooks globally.
Wow!
From a young age, her dream was to cook professionally,
and after graduating university,
she secured a job at Gordon Ramsay's Lucky Cat.
I am absolutely obsessed with learning about food,
and I think there's so much history and culture behind food,
and I feel like we're just stuck in our ways,
learning about the few cuisines that we know.
Five years ago, Seema started posting
videos online, and the clicks followed.
This is how to make the best butter chicken you're ever going to have.
She now boasts well over a million TikTok followers,
and her recipe content, inspired by her travels, regularly goes viral.
The cooking that I like is strong, spicy, intense.
I don't want it to be mild. I don't want it to be timid.
I want it to feel a bit like a slap in the face.
Seema's videos have established her
as one of the UK's best-known online food personalities.
GRACE: OK, Seema, what are they going to be cooking today?
So I've got four of my favourite recipes I've ever developed
for you today.
They are loved by millions around the world,
so I'm very excited to see how well you do with them.
You have 90 minutes to recreate Seema's recipes.
And remember,
there are only three place on the semifinal.
So you are cooking for your survival in this kitchen.
OK. Let's cook!
Here we go.
Oh, cabbage dumplings. I was hoping for something a bit spicier.
Butter chicken with naan.
Shakira, have you got butter chicken? Butter chicken!
K-Khao soi, it's called, with crispy chicken skin.
Look at that. It's a caramel tart, but I'm looking at it as a pie.
Now, these dishes are all very different and complex
in their own way. I think there's definitely
a few bits in each dish that people can be tripped over,
but they've got enough time.
I'm very excited to see what they do.
Gorgeous.
I want that semifinal place.
OK. All right. Chicken is the first priority.
We've got to get this skin off and then get the legs off.
I've got to be careful with this skin.
Mm. That's better.
Olympic weightlifter Emily has had her ups and downs...
My ice cream was a disaster,
but we're going to just say it's cold custard.
..but her bold flavours...
Jerk chicken taco with a mango salsa.
Peach and cherry lattice pie.
..and her winning mentality... This is a very exciting opportunity.
I'm thinking about how much people would pay to get this!
..made her a quarterfinalist.
GRACE: Real rich, gorgeous consistency.
Courageous, Emily.
Listen, we all know I like collecting bling,
so if we're going to add a MasterChef trophy to that,
I'm not going to be mad at it.
Emily's tasked with a northern Thai classic,
khao Soi - a spicy noodle broth topped
with crispy chicken skin, that's rooted in Seema's heritage.
OK. I had it for the first time ever
when I was in Thailand in this tiny little town.
It tasted exactly like my mum's chicken curry.
And I started doing some research.
I found out that khao soi actually originated from
the Pakistani community in Gujarat, where my mum is from.
It's a really, really special dish to me.
So you've got the skin off already? Yes.
Skin's there, underneath. When it's in the title of the dish,
you can't really mess that bit up. Keep checking it.
If it cooks too much, it'll have a bit of a bitter taste.
Needs baby-sitting. Yeah, absolutely. I got you, girl.
I'm loving this new happy Emily that's come back into the kitchen.
Yes, I've had a refresh. I feel a little better.
Are you and Jason speaking now? We're good. We're good.
He's my best friend again now. Good luck. Yes, ma'am.
Make sure you taste as you go. See you soon.
The trick to this is making sure
that they cook the chicken skin in between two baking sheets
so it's nice and crisp,
so it looks beautiful on the top of the soup.
What I'm worried about, this dish, is the mixture of spice.
There's also the creaminess of the coconut milk,
the saltiness of the fish sauce,
and of course, all the Indian spices that are going to go into it.
Does smell great, though.
I've got my fingers, toes, everything crossed.
The chicken skin - starting to get the...
It's not tanned on holiday yet, so we know that it needs longer.
That's 15 minutes that have passed already.
What?!
Last round wasn't fantastic. We've just got to get on with it.
Can't wait for them to try this. Sports presenter Jason...
Mm! GRACE: I mean, it does look like a child's drawing of the sun.
NARRATOR: ..got off to a bumpy start...
Jason, they have to be round.
Just too much flour! Thank you, Chef.
..but made a determined comeback...
I need to be braver with my flavour. Boom!
..wowing guest judge Paddy McGuinness.
Oh-ho! Eh?!
Paul Hollywood, who are ya?!
Peel the larger leaves off the cabbage.
These are going to be to roll.
He's been given Seema's cabbage dumplings filled
with ginger and Shaoxing wine-infused
chicken mince, served with egg fried rice.
Chicken's going in. Oh, my goodness. The smell is unbelievable.
I absolutely love these cabbage dumplings.
We're using a traditional Chinese filling,
and you stuff it inside a cabbage.
As you can probably tell, I don't eat a lot of cabbage.
You want to make sure that you're blanching your cabbage correctly.
You're going to make sure
that your filling is properly seasoned.
And then you want to steam it, just until the filling is cooked,
and they still stay juicy and plump.
JASON MUTTERS
"One tablespoon of the filling." Cabbage dumpling,
very, very difficult.
I can see a lot going wrong on this dish.
If they follow the recipe, they should be fine.
Right. "Place one tablespoon of the filling
"on a leaf and roll..." La, la, la, la, la, la...
"Heat a little oil in a frying pan."
Do you know what? Forget this. I'm going to riff.
The recipe says one teaspoon. This is a J Mo riff now.
We're going to start rolling like I would if I was doing it at home.
Woohoo!
Seema, I introduce you to Jason. Hello. Hello, Seema.
Great to see you. I've done two already.
What's going on?! The filling's cooked?
Filling's cooked. Is that what the recipe says?
I think it does, yeah. No, no, no, no.
You cook off about a teaspoon to taste it for seasoning.
And then the raw mix,
you wrap into the dumpling. Yeah. Understood now. Understood.
I might have misread that.
No, you definitely misread it because that's how it's written!
You've gone rogue. You've still got cabbage.
You still might have filling. Good luck.
Seema, God bless you. Thank you so much.
So I need to get another pan on the go.
Jason Mohammed, you can't knock his confidence.
You can sometimes knock his cooking skills.
I thought I was doing all right, actually.
He decided to cook all the filling instead of putting the
raw filling into the cabbage.
That's what's going to keep the filling juicy.
It's what's going to bind the cabbage leaves to the filling.
So I think he's had to redo a little bit,
and he looks quite stressed out.
HE EXHALES
Tough crowd.
SHAKIRA: I'm really stressed about time. I've literally just
started making this curry base, and that is not ideal.
Celebrities, Seema has a special announcement!
You are halfway through!
EMILY: Oof! That is strong, isn't it? Fish sauce.
GIORGIO: Very complex. Yeah.
You have to really try to balance it well.
Can't wait to taste it.
JOE: Looks like a proper vanilla ice cream.
I remember those ones with bubble gum in the bottom.
They were called Screwballs. I loved them.
I'm going to go for this one.
NARRATOR: Legendary entertainer Joe...
Brown sauce. Wholegrain mustard. Sriracha sauce.
..won the palate test.
Correct! Yeah!
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
You are the Sheriff of Taste.
JOE BURPS
Oh, I'm sorry!
Get the meat in.
His unconventional methods raised eyebrows...
GRACE: I've never seen anyone cook beef like that.
NARRATOR: ..but pie...
Apple and banana. ..after pie... Chicken and chorizo.
..he proved himself.
GRACE: Weirdly, there's a wonderful richness.
Oh!
Ice cream in the blast chiller now.
Got to leave that in there for ten minutes.
Mix the pretzels to a fine powder.
He's working on a biscuit base for Seema's dessert,
inspired by a well-known American shop-bought treat.
Get that out of there.
So I developed this big chocolate peanut butter tart with
a peanut-y caramel filling and a chocolaty ganache on the top.
I've given this recipe to so many people
and they've absolutely loved it.
Melt the butter and bind the mixture.
I have added sponge, sugar and ice cream to go along with it,
just to add a little bit more difficulty.
Joe, Joe, Joe. Hello, Joe. How are you?
You didn't get a pie this time. It's kind of a pie!
Quite close. Don't tell him that! I think it's a pie without a top.
Exactly! OK. So how are you doing with this?
I'm OK at the moment, thank you, Chef.
I've got the ice cream in the freezer...
Perfect. ..and I'm just doing the base now at the moment.
Make sure you press quite firmly
so it doesn't crumble when you cut it. OK.
Did you teach yourself this, or what?
So this recipe I developed when I was at university.
It was for Christmas, and one of
my friends absolutely loves these peanut butter cups. Oh!
So I wanted to make kind of like a bigger version of it.
So the dish has been made for caring for somebody that loves that thing.
OK. So that's the attitude that you have to have.
I know we've only known each other for the past few days,
but I do have a lot of affection for you, Giorgio. Aw, that's good.
Let's hope it shows through the tart!
Thank you, Chef. You know, the spun sugar...
I love to see you doing it.
Well, I'll try not to let you down, I promise, OK? I believe in you.
15 minutes.
Next, peanut butter filling.
GRACE: Three pies in a row. Now he has the tart.
He must be happy with that. I think he's happy,
but I hope he's careful with the caramel peanut filling.
If you have the temperature too high, it could cause it to split...
It smells nice. ..so when we cut into it,
we're not going to get that clean cut of caramel
because it's separated a little bit.
We don't want it to catch on the bottom.
Celebrities, 30 minutes left.
JASON PUFFS
EMILY: Come on, Jase, keep fighting, mate. We never give up.
Never give up.
Ice cream, ice cream. I'm hoping it's going to set.
OK. That's in. I've got to leave that now.
SHAKIRA: These stupid little garlic things taking up all my time.
Why can a garlic just not be, like, one big garlic?
These look good.
NARRATOR: Despite being a novice in the kitchen...
GRACE: I think it's a really elegant plate of food.
Thank you! ..reality star Shakira...
Nyaaaw!!!
..has stood out with recipes she learnt online.
A peach and burrata pie.
It's absolutely gorgeous.
Um, I don't have a lemon squeezer.
Butter chicken is probably my most viral recipe.
Happy Diwali.
I'm going to show you how to make the best butter chicken.
The butter chicken will be served with naan bread
and a cucumber, tomato and pomegranate kachumber salad.
There is no better way
to celebrate than lots of delicious food.
Right. One teaspoon of garam masala.
I think when people think of Indian food,
they think of butter chicken,
and I am so excited to see how they perform
because this is one of my favourite dishes.
That is getting tastier and tastier.
Hello. Shakira, meet Seema. Hi! Hi!
Sorry. Big fan.
Oh! Oh, my God. Amazing!
Diva recognises diva, Grace.
THEY LAUGH
Seema, tell us about the twist here,
because this isn't just a buttery butter chicken. It's got a kick.
It's got a lot of spice, more than you would think,
but because it's got a lot of cream to balance it out...
You want colour in the chicken, though.
Got to char it off. Exactly.
So blast it in the grill, as high as it goes.
Oh, OK. Make sure you cook out your curry base as well.
The longer you cook out the curry base, the better it tastes.
OK. Good advice.
Shakira, there's only three places in the semifinal.
I know, and I really want one, so I can't fail.
Good luck!
I need to get that chicken brown.
GIORGIO: The recipe is quite complicated,
and the amount of spice that is in there sometimes scares me.
You've got a lot of spice,
but you've also got a lot of butter and cream. The richness and
the fattiness will balance that out.
I'm mixing together my flatbread dough.
I want to see the naan being fluffy and the kachumber being fresh.
I think if she pulls it off, all together, it could be really great.
I'm multitasking.
Celebrities, you have 20 minutes to finish your dish.
EMILY: Come on, guys, last push through. Let's do this.
All right? JASON: Tablespoon of chilli powder?! Woof!
NARRATOR: With cabbage dumplings steaming, Jason's working on
a chilli dipping sauce to accompany a broccoli side...
This is a vicious sauce. Look at that!
I messed my noodles up.
I'm going to go and try the last batch in the fryer.
..while Emily's khao soi recipe requires crispy noodles
to top the broth. I'm hoping it's going
to come out more uniform in the fryer.
SHAKIRA GASPS
This is looking great. How are you going?
Thank you. I'm quite stressed for time.
I've done my flatbread mixture and I need to start my salad.
You need to crack on. Get those flatbreads rolled.
Oh, my God!
Go on, Joe!
Joe! Your ice cream's looking great, mate.
He's not listening to me. He's too in the mode.
JOE: Now got to put the filling into the pie dish.
I've stuck to the recipe religiously.
OK.
Spun sugar.
It's five minutes left.
Welcome to absolute chaos!
That means I'm going to have to chop the fastest salad of my life!
So, Joe, you're starting on the spun sugar.
It's not that easy, is it? So, 150 to 165.
Yep. And then
when it gets a nice amber colour, you can start spinning it.
You got this. Yes. I've got this now.
OK.
TIMER BEEPS
That, baby, is the sound of rice.
I'll tell you what, my guy...
..the fluffy rice is back, ladies and gentlemen!
Celebrities, you have one minute left.
Come on, start to plating up, now!
Am I getting a pomegranate out in a minute?
That'll do.
I didn't see the time.
I've got to do the egg fried rice, and the broccoli is on the go.
I don't know if it's up to her standards,
but I do know that it tastes good.
Come on, J Mo.
OK, the ice cream looks like it's set nicely.
I'm very proud of this one.
I'm pleased with the sauce.
Three...
..two...
..one.
Stop!
I want to see your arms up in the air.
EMILY: I really, really enjoyed that.
Didn't manage to do everything I needed to do.
JASON: That was unbelievable.
Never lose your dignity. That's what my mum always used to say.
Emily, come on up. JASON: Good luck, Em!
NARRATOR: Emily has made Seema's khao soi - chicken noodle broth
flavoured with cumin, chilli, lemongrass and turmeric,
with crispy chicken skin shards
and topped with crispy noodles.
SEEMA INHALES
I think it looks beautiful.
It's really inviting.
We need to taste this. We need to taste it.
OK, Seema, what's your taking on this dish?
I think it tastes delicious. Thank you.
It's really well balanced.
I think it could have a little bit more fish sauce.
There's so many rich flavours,
especially the coconut milk and the spices.
It helps to cut through it a little bit, create that balance.
It's a very strong dish. Thank you. I mean,
you could actually serve it in a restaurant very easily, this one.
I think your red onion's a little bit rough and ready,
but wow - I love this bright orange sunset.
It's wonderful.
Honestly, this is my favourite challenge so far.
I loved every single minute of this. Very well done.
Thank you. And thank you for letting me cook your recipe.
You did a great job.
I think the Olympian might be back in the game.
SHAKIRA: Woo!
Come on, Em!
It was lush. It tasted incredible.
Yeah. I feel like I was in my bag there.
Shakira, come on up.
Thank you.
NARRATOR: Shakira's serving Seema's viral-hit recipe for butter chicken.
Char-grilled chicken pieces in a creamy sauce spiced with cumin,
garam masala and chilli, with naan and a kachumber salad.
I think it looks fantastic. The butter chicken looks rich.
It looks red.
You can still see the char on the chicken.
OK. Let's eat. Definitely!
I'm really, really happy with that.
You can taste the char on the chicken.
The chicken is perfectly cooked.
I also really love the naans. Fluffy and really soft.
Your butter chicken... Wow!
It's buttery, it's decadent,
it's moreish.
Sweetness and its deepness, and the perfect cooked chicken.
This is a curry that I expect at this point of the competition.
I feel like I've just about done enough.
When I tasted the curry, I was like, "Pfff!
"Game's done. Mic drop."
Jason...
..come here.
JASON LAUGHS
Go on, Jason.
Jason's made Seema's cabbage dumplings
stuffed with ginger and Shaoxing wine minced chicken,
served with egg fried rice,
Tenderstem broccoli and a chilli dipping sauce.
There's a lot of elements to here.
I think you could have worked a little bit more for the plating.
Yes. Um, and you want the dipping sauce to be more,
I guess, a similar bowl to like this,
so you can really dip the cabbages in them.
Let's go for it.
I think the dumplings taste delicious.
I'm really glad that you reread the recipe and then did it again.
I think they're plump and they're juicy.
The rice is very good. It's fluffy.
Could have done with a little bit more salt for me.
And it was egg fried rice. Where's the eggs?
And let's not talk about the naked broccoli,
which was meant to have a gorgeous coconut topping. I'm so sorry.
I just ran out of time and I thought,
"I've got to get something on the plate."
You had trouble in that round.
I could see you beginning to become very stressed,
and I think that the fact that you've delivered
this entire plate is really to be commended.
That's very kind of you. Thank you.
That was a really tough one because I've never,
ever made cabbage rolls.
WHISPERS: Oh! That was clearly a really tough round for him. Yeah.
So let's just hope and pray that
they've seen that, actually, I can cook and adapt.
Joe, come.
Thank you, Chef.
Today I have made a chocolate, peanut butter and caramel tart -
not a pie in sight - with vanilla ice cream
and a very small hummingbird nest of spun sugar.
Hmm.
Joe, has the tart been in a fight?
Yeah, it got a bit crumbly towards the end.
Sorry about that.
You definitely had some issues with the crust.
Yes. But I do really like how glossy the chocolate looks.
It's not separated.
Let's cut it. Oh, it's like taking somebody's spleen out...
Go, go, go. Oh! Wow!
I'm so proud of you
for getting even this much spun sugar.
And the ice cream looks really delicious,
so I'm ready to tuck in.
Right, I'm going in, guys. Can't wait any longer.
I think the chocolate on top is silky-smooth.
The spun sugar is perfectly crisp,
and the ice cream is absolutely delicious.
But the base is quite crumbly.
You need more butter to bind it together. Right.
And the caramel is slightly overcooked.
When you bite into it, it's very, very chewy, the caramel.
The tart looks as if it was decorated
in the dark...
..and then kicked here.
However, it's rich and dark and naughty,
and I love that glossy top that you've got on there.
This shows me that you can follow a recipe with
a lot of little complicated bits and pieces.
I think you know which points to work on,
and I think you've done a really good job. Thank you, Seema.
Do you know what? That is my favourite thing I've done all week.
Thank you, Chefs.
He leaves backwards!
THEY LAUGH
SEEMA LAUGHS LOUDLY
I was getting very stressed with it, but I like the stress of it.
I like the, "Oh, yeah. Come on. Pressure. Pressure.
"Give it to me."
Celebrities, that was an absolutely enormous round.
Seema, how did that feel?
Fantastic job. Those recipes weren't easy,
and you brought out something to
the table that you should absolutely be proud of.
It's time for you to have a break
because we have quite a few things to discuss.
So I remind you that at the end of this day, somebody's going home.
Please. Thank you. Thank you, Chef.
Thank you.
This is a massively tough round to judge.
You can't fault their effort.
Another crazy-ass round, isn't it? It was, wasn't it?
Oh!
I think the recipes were difficult enough as is,
let alone with the time pressure, and us watching them as well.
I'm really pleasantly surprised for the performance of all four of them.
They've all given 100%.
Seema, you have set a task that's left us with an incredibly
hard job here.
It was a great set of recipe that you brought.
Thank you very much for that.
And we have a difficult decision to take now.
I am not jealous of you guys having to make that decision.
I will leave you guys to it and wish you good luck.
Brilliant. Thank you.
Thank you for coming. Bye! Bye-bye. We appreciate you.
GRACE SIGHS
Don't start.
It is not a tragedy.
It's just an elimination.
The challenge today,
like, it's something we've all never done before.
It was hard. Like, I really struggled.
We have to choose three semifinalists.
All of them have had ups and downs.
I think that they all show growth,
but now one has to go home.
Shakira's butter chicken made me dance,
like, mm-mm! JASON: Yeah, yeah, it was.
Yours, I've never heard Giorgio sing higher praises.
Can we talk about Emily?
Because she's had a few rounds where nerves have got
the better of her.
But then she gets hold of Seema's recipe
and she absolutely flies.
She has that capacity to follow a recipe to the dots.
This is what we are looking for.
I'm going to make my own chilli oil.
It was delicious. I tried your chilli oil. Well, I mean, there's
a lot of oil in it! But what do you think chilli oil is?!
Shakira - her understanding of flavours, consistency, presentation,
always there.
And we cannot forget that she carried the team challenge
as a chef.
Her time management can be very poor,
but she has got a real tenacity
that I feel that we can work with.
Joe Pasquale, the cookbook. Sheriff of Taste.
Joe Pasquale,
he makes his mark, every time he comes in.
I thought that peanut butter tart was really, really good.
And then he styles the tart
by simply throwing pretzels and pieces of chocolate at the top!
It looked like a child had made it! Yeah.
We need a little bit more.
We need an understanding of how the presentation needs to be done.
Jason, I'd say your dish was really, really difficult.
That's why I served... It was very impressive.
..naked broccoli.
THEY LAUGH
Jason. I think that was a very difficult recipe.
I liked the filling in his dumplings.
And there are definite moments of sparkle with Jason.
Some days you have to cook with your heart,
but some days you have to follow a recipe.
Confidence and instinct -
are these enough to take him to the next step?
This is between Jason and Joe,
both with skills and both with confidence,
but who has the potential?
Who can really keep up?
This is it, gang. The last time
all four of us are together.
JOE: Oh, my God.
Have we done enough?
Brilliant. Thank you.
Celebrities, we've been absolutely blown away by
the passion and the creativity and the effort
that you've brought to every single challenge so far.
But there are only three places
available in the semifinals.
There has been ups and downs,
but two of you have really proved to us you deserve to carry on.
Shakira...
..Emily...
..congratulations. You are the semifinalist.
Joe, you have brought so much joy,
but simple mistakes are still being made.
Jason, you've shown improvement along the way,
but we've seen you struggle.
But the person leaving us today is...
..Jason.
I'm sorry. Your time on MasterChef has come to an end.
Thank you so much. It's been incredible. Thank you for having me.
Congratulations, you guys. Thank you so much, Jason.
Well done, guys. Well done, Joe. Well done. J Mo!
Well done, well done.
Well done, Shakira. Well deserved.
Jason, you are a very instinctive cook.
It won't be enough for this competition.
I'm really sorry.
We've loved every minute of having you here.
It's been the best thing I've ever done,
and I've learned so much as well.
I invite you back to come to my kitchen, if you want, one day.
As long as you don't have a go at me, that'd be great! Thank you.
Wow! The cabbages have killed me today.
It was too hard for me, and it was just too fancy.
But it's been an absolute privilege to have been
in that same studio with Grace, and Giorgio especially.
He's invited me into his kitchen.
Free, I'm there. If I've got to pay, you're OK.
I'll keep watching you on the telly instead.
Joe, that was a close call.
I know it was, Chef.
I really want to see you sharpen up, and...
..no more pies.
So a bit of studying, a bit of reading while you are away.
Yeah, because we're really going to be asking a lot from you.
Congratulations. You are the semifinalists.
Yay!
THEY LAUGH
That's bonkers, innit?!
I love cooking, I love food,
so obviously to get this far, I'm very happy.
I'll have to bring what I channel into the old lifting
into the kitchen and see how far it gets me.
Sheriff of Taste! Sheriff of Taste!
JOE: I knew it'd be a shoot-out between me and Jase,
but do you know what?
The Sheriff of Taste, into the semis.
MIMICS GUNSHOTS
Poor Jason. I know. It was his time, though.
THEY LAUGH
I'll be honest, before coming into this competition,
I didn't do much preparation,
and now I really want to go away
and put the work in because I want to win this thing.
That's it now. And then the next time, we'll see other people.
Yeah. Yeah. I'm really scared now.
Next time...
It's a lot of chillies. ..five brand-new famous faces...
Oh!
HE LAUGHS
It's all right. ..head into the kitchen... Oh, my God, babe.
..to take their shot... Did you see that?!
..at becoming Celebrity MasterChef champion.
What is that?!
How come one of your eggs is outside?!
HE SPLUTTERS
Ugh! Argh!