From across the UK...
...32 up-and-coming chefs...
...are putting their reputations on the line...
...in a battle to become Professional MasterChef Champion.
Tonight, four new hopefuls compete to impress
MasterChef judge Gregg Wallace,
renowned chef Monica Galetti,
and Michelin-starred Marcus Wareing.
This is definitely the most important day of my career.
On my best day, I believe I can beat anyone.
That's what I'm here to do.
It's a massive opportunity. And it is also my birthday,
and I'm hoping a good omen.
My plan is to cook my heart out
like I have been for the last seven years.
Very exciting - a little bit pressure,
but I'll try to do my best.
As always!
Who has got the talent to rise to the top?
It's time to discover our next culinary superstar.
Right, we have four new chefs to meet.
First off, Skills Test.
Two of them, Monica, are going to be doing yours.
Marcus, two of them yours. What are you going to get them to do?
I would like our chefs to make spiced monkfish,
served with polenta and a chilli butter sauce.
Wow. Mm!
Yeah, yeah, I'm into that.
So, prep the monkfish,
but the cooking of the fish, of course, is the main thing here.
Making polenta, it's about cooking that beautifully
and getting the right consistency.
The polenta's the neutral element of it.
It's the bit that balances the dish out.
20 minutes, Marcus. Let's see it done.
All right, first job, monkfish tail.
And we're just going to pull off the skin.
So you've got your backbone, from head to tail.
So the fillets do come off quite easy.
What's really important now is to remove all the membrane.
It is quite frightening, a monkfish, if you've not prepared one before.
It has seven layers of membrane that you need to remove on it.
Cooking with the membrane on this
is what will tighten the fish up when it's cooked.
So you really do want the chefs to remove that.
They only need to cut one portion.
I'm going to cut it into three nice medallions.
They can portion it any way they like.
The most important thing is if they're going to cut it
as a big tranche, they need to pretty much get that on now
and probably get it into the oven.
So, small enough and it can be cooked in the pan.
Too big enough, it will have to go in the pan, followed by the oven?
Yeah. So now on to my polenta.
So I've got some veg stock.
I'm just going to bring that up to the boil. Drop in my polenta.
It's not going to take long. Just stay with it.
Turn up the heat. It starts to get thick pretty much straight away.
There you go. Look. Just be careful, because if you do leave it,
it can catch on the bottom.
How wet or dry do you want your polenta?
It has to be wet enough for it to be runny,
but also to be able to hold the monkfish.
I'm going to serve my monkfish on top.
I've added quite a bit of butter into it as well,
so I want it be nice and rich.
That's a really nice consistency.
I'm asking them to make a spiced monkfish dish.
I've got some coriander, smoked paprika,
some cumin and some chilli flakes.
They can use one, they can use them all.
I'm just going to use a combination of all four of them.
So a teaspoon of each.
So we're now good to go.
We can start cooking our fish.
Monkfish is a great fish to use with spices,
and it can take it because it's so meaty.
Really important with monkfish,
especially with something that's got a spice around it,
is that you get a good temperature, a good heat into the pan,
so you almost seal the fish.
So it gets almost like a little bit of a spicy crust around the outside.
Got to also make sure those spices don't burn. That's right.
Just going to put in a couple of knobs of butter.
That's just to finish off.
Mm, that looks great.
All about the touch now. You've got to get a little bit of sponginess.
You don't want it to be too firm.
You want a little bit of bounce, but not too much.
I want to cook this, rest it for a minute and serve it.
Mm.
Lovely. Very lovely.
Fish is cooked, the polenta's ready.
Now I just need to finish my chilli butter.
It's just literally as simple as melting butter
with some spices.
Right, we're good to go. Yay!
That's a beautiful dish. Look at that!
Finish with the chilli butter.
There we have it. Spiced monkfish, polenta and a chilli butter sauce.
Marcus, it looks amazing. Thank you.
Almost don't want to ruin it, it's so beautiful. I know.
Mm!
The polenta with the spice mix and the chilli butter
comes together beautifully.
You know, the cooking of the polenta is important,
but also I want to see how they apply the spice
to the monkfish, too. Beautiful.
All right, we need to get the chefs in.
Monica, you're going to be watching on the monitor, right? Right.
We'll see you back here for tasting. See you in a bit.
Now, of course, it's the turn of our first two chefs.
Let's please hope they treat this fish with as much care as you did.
Fingers crossed.
First up is 34-year-old chef patron Rosie...
...a self-taught cook and an owner of a small cafe-restaurant in Rye.
We serve food from all over the world.
On our lunch menu, we've got some Middle Eastern food,
we've got some Indian food. It's a real mashup -
and then for dinner, we do small plates,
cos I always think it's a shame to go out and have one plate of food
when you can have six plates of food.
Greedy pig!
I love being a chef.
It is hard, but it's so rewarding.
I haven't had any classical training at all.
I am the first one to admit that will definitely be my weak spot.
But I need to know how I rate compared to other people.
Am I good for a small cafe in Rye,
or am I actually good? Like, am I really good?
Rosie, welcome to Professional MasterChef.
First up is the Skills Test.
This one was set by none other than the chef over here,
Marcus Wareing. The best of luck. Thank you.
I would like you to make spiced monkfish, served with polenta
and a chilli butter sauce.
20 minutes.
Over to you, Rosie.
Big boy. Mm.
All right, Rosie. First chef up of the day.
I don't think I've ever
used one this big before.
Fish prep, do you do a lot?
To be honest, no, we don't do a huge amount of fish.
But I have, actually, in preparation for the competition,
I have been practising.
I just went and bought loads and loads of fish. Did you? Yeah!
Got a freezer full of fish now at home.
Not that I chose monkfish.
Wish I did now!
This is not how you want to remove the sinew off.
I should have done this when I had it on the fillet.
I'm struggling to get this off.
If she had tried and removed more of the sinew on the whole fillet,
it would have been much easier.
She's left it on.
OK, so I'm going to go for the paprika, the cumin
and the chilli.
She's making oil with a spice, OK.
Like it spicy? However you'd like it.
Spicy, always.
OK. She's got her monkfish in the spiced oil.
That looks nice.
What sort of places have you worked, Rosie?
I've never worked in a fine dining restaurant.
I have done lots of private catering and ski seasons,
which was really fun. I now have my own little cafe.
Right. You are halfway.
You've got ten minutes left. OK.
Right. So what's next?
So I'm going to get the polenta on.
Which is making me a bit nervous because I'm not really sure.
It's a bit of guesswork.
So just think of... Porridge.
...the texture, how you want to serve it. Porridge!
Just think of porridge.
What just went in there? Was that a handful of sage?
Oh, it's not even chopped up.
OK. What time am I on?
You have eight minutes left. And I still need to do the fish
and a chilli butter. Aah!
Don't get nervous now.
You need to just stay focused.
I've burned my monkfish, no!
Fish like that, in spices it's going to catch.
But a char-y flavour could be delicious.
So if she just takes the heat down a little... There she goes.
Maybe add some butter to it.
This is even more stressful than it looks on the TV,
which I didn't know was possible!
But I might actually put some paper under it,
cos I'm worried it's going to burn.
Well, it is burnt already on one side,
but I'm worried the other side is going to burn.
She's stopping the heat from getting to that.
It's a big piece of fish and hopefully she has enough time
to cook it. I think I'm going to put it in the oven.
OK. Chilli butter. Chilli butter. Chilli butter.
Thyme and rosemary.
Oh, gosh, the panic.
Right, look, you've got about a minute.
So you need to start putting this dish together now.
Yeah. I really hope this polenta's OK.
Better pull these huge, great, big lumps of sage out of it.
You are out of time.
Now breathe. Thank you.
Right. Let's see if this fish is cooked.
Rosie. Hi, Monica, how are you?
That was a bit of a hard watch from the back there.
Yeah, it was very nerve-racking.
Oh, no. Is it...?
As you can see, it's not cooked.
It needed a lot longer.
12 minutes it would take to cook that, and then resting time.
That's a shame.
Right. Look, the fish isn't cooked. The polenta's not right.
It should be a lot looser, a lot wetter, and also seasoned as well.
And the chilli butter is just incredibly hot.
And so there's no balance to the dish, Rosie.
This fish was hardly ever going to cook
with the amount of sinew left on it.
It's going to pull the fish together.
So try as you might, it's going to take you longer to cook that.
The polenta, Gregg said, "Cook it like porridge.”
He wasn't joking.
He was actually giving you a bit of a hint there.
Rosie, this isn't a great start,
but that doesn't mean the end of the competition.
It just means that you have a big point to prove in the next round.
Yep. Thank you, Rosie. Thank you.
I think that was 100% the scariest thing I've ever done in my career
by a million miles.
So I'm just going to try and put it behind me and move forward,
and just do my best to do well in the next round.
Next to face Marcus's Skills Test is 27-year-old Tommy...
...head chef at a fine dining restaurant in Bristol.
So the restaurant I currently work in,
we do a lot of our own foraging, just to showcase our own produce
throughout the year, which is really rewarding.
Personally, I like to think my food's quite contemporary.
It's not just cooking food. There's so much more to it.
It's a science, I believe. There's art involved in there, you know,
working as a team and just achieving everything that you possibly can
on a daily basis.
I feel like I'm at a point in my career now
where I'm able to showcase a little bit more about myself.
I've also recently had a little boy who's just inspired me
to not be afraid of anything and do what you can to be your best.
Right, Tommy. Looking serious.
Focused.
Tommy, good to see you. Welcome.
I would like you to cook for us a spiced monkfish.
Serve it with polenta and a chilli butter sauce. OK.
How's that sound? Sounds good. OK.
20 minutes. Over to you. Lovely.
It's been a long time since I've prepped a bit of monkfish,
to be honest with you.
He's doing all right, removing the skin off the monkfish.
He's not rushing it, which is good.
What type of restaurant do you work in, Tommy?
It's a fine dining restaurant.
Just been promoted to head chef, which I feel very lucky.
And daunting.
Yeah, and very scary as well. Yeah, for sure.
I had a baby as well.
He's just turned one, which is fantastic.
Right. So, head chef... Yep. ..MasterChef,
and a one-year-old son.
Talk about the buses all coming at the same time. Yeah.
It's definitely a big year for me.
He's doing his best to remove the sinew,
so he does realise the sinew needs to come off.
So Tommy's just chopping some thyme and rosemary.
Not sure where he's going to use it.
Oh, it's into his polenta. Nice. Thyme and rosemary into his polenta.
Just going to finish it up with some butter, try to emulsify that,
get some richness into it.
Maybe finish it with some olive oil, some seasoning.
He's done this before.
You are halfway, Chef. Oui, Chef.
So I'm just going to coat my monkfish in some coriander,
cumin, paprika as well.
Nice. I like the sound of this, Tommy.
He needs to sear the fish, get some butter in there.
That looks great. Needs a couple more minutes.
I might pop it in the oven just for two minutes.
You've got three minutes left. OK.
Should have got that on earlier, really.
Going to get my butter sauce on now,
just because I feel like we're playing with fire a little bit.
You're running out of time, so get it on.
Keep it together.
Yeah? Nearly there. Working? Nearly there. Bit of salt.
Tommy, get your monkfish out.
Tommy, you've got a minute to get this on the plate. OK.
Moment of truth.
It's not quite there. Very nearly. Very nearly.
Oh, Tommy, don't panic.
Right, let's get it on a plate, Tommy.
Butter on there.
All right, done. You are done.
Now breathe.
So close, Tommy. So close.
Well done.
Hiya, Tommy. Hi, Chef.
How was that? Yeah, it was good. It was scary.
Tommy, your polenta is absolutely delicious.
Beautifully cooked, nice and soft.
You put herbs through it. Fantastic.
Your chilli butter's lovely.
You used the right amounts of spices around the monkfish.
You cooked it nicely. You just didn't have enough time.
You rushed, so the cutting of the fish, it didn't look great.
So I think with a couple more minutes, you'd have absolutely
nailed this challenge. Thank you.
The filleting of the monkfish, I like you didn't rush through that.
The cooking of your polenta,
so much attention and love was given to that.
And it is delicious.
Pretty good start, Tommy.
I've got a feeling the three of us are convinced you're a quality chef.
Look forward to seeing you in the next round. Off you go.
Thank you. Well done.
I think he's one to watch.
I'm really looking forward to seeing him cook again.
Very competent.
It went pretty well, to be fair, as a whole. Quite happy.
My timings was a bit off,
but they said that I seemed like I could be a great chef
and I just want to show them that they're right in saying that.
I don't want to let myself down now.
Skills Test. Marcus, we've seen two chefs do yours.
Monica, now your Skills Test.
What are they going to have to make with those bananas?
I would like to make a twist on a banana sundae.
I would like our chefs to caramelise some bananas.
We've got some rum there as well to flambe the bananas.
I'd also like them to make a coconut cream,
a chocolate caramel sauce,
as well as a quick banana ice cream.
Ice cream in 20 minutes?
I am giving them frozen bananas and some cream,
so it's very easy to just blend those up. It will be frozen
and they can keep it in the freezer. How fabulous!
20 minutes. Let's go.
So we have our frozen bananas. Quite simply, into the blender.
Is that double cream? This is double cream. Yep.
Just dropping a touch of icing sugar in there.
It's breaking the bananas down and whipping up the cream
because the bananas are freezing everything around it.
Creamy ice cream in less than five minutes.
I tell you what, there's going to be millions of people
watching at home doing that this weekend.
Splendid.
Could you put that in the freezer for me? Yeah.
Here we go. Bosh!
And now I'm going to move on to my caramelised bananas.
We've got some butter in there.
We've got some dark brown soft sugar.
The idea is that each piece of banana is completely coated, yeah?
Absolutely.
Get the pan nice and hot.
Look at that. Proper brown, sticky sweetness.
Very happy.
Going to go a touch of rum in there.
And now I'm going to make my chocolate caramel sauce.
So first thing in the pan, I've got some sugar.
Just going to do a dry caramel with that.
Even if the chefs haven't spent time in the pastry section,
you would expect them to be able to make a caramel. You would.
You would. Got some double cream.
You can add as much butter as you want.
So I've just set it to the side because I don't want it too hot
when I add the chocolate to it.
You can't put the chocolate into it when it's too hot.
Why, Gregg?
Because the oils would come out of the chocolate
and it would go all greasy. And split. It would split.
Mm! Oh, yeah!
So, for me, in a sundae I like to have some texture with it,
and that's why I'm making this granola mix.
I've got oats, I've got sunflower seeds, got pecans, coconut.
And in the oven.
And I also want a coconut cream.
Got some coconut yoghurt and some double cream, the vanilla,
and I'm just going to whisk it together.
The processes are relatively straightforward,
but there's lots of them here.
I think they're just going to have to keep calm and focus
on what we're asking them to do.
Right, ready to assemble.
I think this is wonderful.
It's lovely, look at that!
And there's our banana ice cream.
And then I'm just going to finish. More texture here...
...and there we have it,
my take on a banana sundae.
I think it's a great challenge from the ice cream granola,
the caramel, the caramelised banana.
So many things that our chefs have got to do.
This is going to be interesting.
Marcus, you'll be watching bananas from afar on the monitor.
We'll get you back in it for the tasting.
Yep, look forward to it.
I think that's really, really quite brilliant. They can do this.
First to attempt Monica's Skills Test is 22-year-old Charlie,
head chef at a popular fish restaurant in the West Country.
Here in Cornwall, we have some of the best fish in the country,
and working at this restaurant,
we can tell customers which boat, from the window,
that it came in from.
So my passion for food came at about the age of 14.
I became a KP in a local restaurant,
and from that moment on, I just loved the passion
and the hard work and the adrenaline.
With my younger age, I feel like I can really keep up with food trends,
and being ambitious and enthusiastic,
I'm all up for trying new things.
Preparation for me is key.
Prep hard and then have an easier service.
So definitely coming into this competition,
I prepped as hard as I can and I practised as much as I can.
Right, Charlie,
I would like you to do a take on a banana sundae.
Flambe some bananas, serve it with a quick banana ice cream,
a whipped coconut cream,
and a chocolate caramel sauce.
There's some things to give your sundae some texture.
Completely up to you. How does that sound?
Amazing. Good luck. 20 minutes.
Thank you, Chef.
He's going straight for the machine. Bananas going in.
It's a good start.
So, Charlie, looks like you've made a quick ice cream before.
Yeah, my wife quite likes a quick smoothie in the evenings,
so definitely something she likes.
Did you say you're married? I am, yes.
I got married about six weeks ago. Wow!
It was a really special day.
I'm starting to melt my sugar for the caramel.
And you want a whipped coconut cream as well?
That's right.
I'm going to taste it and check for seasoning,
maybe add some vanilla in there as well to give it a bit of sweetness,
almost like a Chantilly style.
That cream looks the perfect consistency.
You've got 11 minutes, Charlie.
So we've got our ice cream.
Yeah. You've got your caramel under way... Yes.
...you've done your coconut cream.
The boy's on fire!
For a 22-year-old cook,
he is in really, really good control.
Great skills on show.
I'm probably just going to toast a few of these nuts off
to give myself a bit of texture to go on top.
Brilliant! Good idea, that, Chef.
I've never made a chocolate caramel before, but I really like it.
SHE CHUCKLES
Right, the centrepiece of this is banana,
so he needs to be very careful how he treats those.
Charlie, your work so far is impressive.
Where have you learned all these things at such a young age?
So I joined a kitchen at the age of 14 and started pot washing,
and then, at the age of 17,
I managed to work in a Michelin-star restaurant,
so that was a really good turning point for myself.
A nice hot pan here now.
A little bit of caramelisation.
Charlie, you've got four minutes left.
Just going to check these.
A little bit of caramelisation's good. Yeah, nice.
Charlie... HE EXHALES
...this is the fun part. Yeah. Go.
Ah, he's put it on a plate.
Interesting. I've never seen a sundae on a plate before.
Sundae's always got more than one scoop, hasn't it,
so let's give it two.
Bananas going on top.
I hope they've cooled down,
cos if they're not, they're going to melt the banana ice cream.
All done, Charlie? I'm done, yeah. Well done, Charlie.
Thank you very much, team.
"Team"! "Team." Stop it.
What a lovely lad.
He's done a good job.
That was very impressive to watch back there.
Thank you. Well done, well done.
Charlie, you understood the ice cream had to be made first thing,
got it in the freezer.
I think there were things here
that could have easily tripped anyone up and made them panic,
but you remembered to keep your cool throughout.
It was impressive to watch.
This, Charlie, is a great start.
Thanks, Chef. And I thoroughly enjoyed eating that.
I am trying my hardest to find a fault and I can't,
which really upsets me.
Thank you, Chef. Well done.
Soft banana in the ice cream, coconut nuttiness,
a granola scattered across the top,
and a beautiful caramel chocolate.
These are things of pud heaven and you've done it amazingly well.
In fact, I would go as far as to say
this may be the best Skills Test I've ever seen.
I think all of us can't wait to see your own dishes
in the next round. Well done, you.
Hey, hey, hey, happy Monica!
# I got a good one I got a good one! #
Monica's doing a happy dance! SHE LAUGHS
For Gregg to say that was potentially one of the best
Skills Tests that he's ever had
is fantastic, and more than what I could imagine.
I've got everything to prove now to make sure that it wasn't
a one-off. HE LAUGHS
Last up is 51-year-old Brazilian-born Cristina.
Her career as a chef wasn't her first profession.
I was 36 years old when I decided to be a chef.
I used to work in Brazil as an accountant.
My current role is a group head chef of a catering company
in the City of London.
I've been doing this for the past 15 years.
My food style, I like Mediterranean food,
I like Asian, Portuguese and Brazilian food.
I love to be a chef.
So intense, but it's great.
I've never done competition before in my life.
But I want to challenge myself.
I'm ready for it.
Cristina, what I would like you to do
is to do a take on a banana sundae.
Some flambe bananas...
Yes. ..a quick banana ice cream and a chocolate caramel sauce.
If you want to put some texture on it, it's up to you.
OK. Looking nervous.
Off you go. Thank you.
The most important thing with this skill
is getting that banana ice cream done.
It looks like she might be doing just that.
Good, good start.
Cristina, do they have banana sundaes in Brazil?
Yes. Got a lot of bananas.
What's the Portuguese for banana? Banana.
Brilliant! International language.
How long have you cooked as a chef? 15 years. In London?
Yeah, I've been in UK for 20 years.
What made you come to the UK?
My sister was here before, and I broke up with my boyfriend,
and then I said, "I want to change a bit." And then here you go,
20 years. Never regret, it was good.
How's that looking, Chef? It's good.
She's watching the ice cream
going round and round and round and round.
She really, really needs to do something else.
Don't forget you've got quite a few other things
you need to do as well, Cristina, OK? Yeah.
Come on. First job done.
Now she's got to step up the pace. Come on.
You've got 11 minutes, Cristina.
I need to do my flambe banana and then the caramel chocolate.
WHISPERS: Done wrong.
What have we done wrong?
There's caster sugar there.
Yeah. Yeah.
I didn't add the sugar. Oh, sorry.
So she's starting the caramel sauce again.
She didn't want to use the brown sugar,
she wanted to use the caster sugar.
She could have made the caramel with the brown,
because she needs to get a move on.
You've got four minutes left before you start to plate up, OK?
OK. That's it. Get them out, otherwise they'll overcook.
They've been in that far, far too long.
She's just pushed them to the side,
so they're going to lose their texture.
Good caramel - colour, the cream's in, she's now got the chocolate
and she needs to take that off the heat,
otherwise it's going to split.
Get it off the heat.
And then your whipped coconut, yeah? Yeah.
OK, coconut milk. She's got to get some cream going in there,
so that will help to give it a bit of body.
What else is on that bench?
Got about a minute to finish off, please, Chef.
The bananas really do look like they've just gone too far.
Started to break down. Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear.
Is that the last touch?
Yeah. Are you done?
Done, yeah.
Hi. Hello. How are you?
Good. How are you? Yeah, very well.
The making of the ice cream was very quick.
You knew how to do that.
Great.
The caramel sauce,
it's only a hint of chocolate through there
so it was hard to get that.
The whipping of your coconut yoghurt,
you could have done with a touch more of the cream through it,
and I didn't really enjoy the raw oats.
Bananas were far too long in the pan,
and the bananas were completely overcooked, so it's soft ice cream,
soft banana, soft sauce. OK.
I've got the banana ice cream
that hasn't been sweetened very much that I like.
I've got a dark, almost bitter caramel
with a hint of chocolate in it. You've done it.
However, it could do with some texture.
Thank you, Cristina. Thank you.
Tough. I was very nervous.
My legs were shaking.
But it is what it is, it's done already.
I think I'll have more to show in the next round.
Listen, good Skills Tests.
We've got some strong chefs in this heat.
We saw various degrees of skills and nerves and quality and problems.
But I have to say, we also saw some absolutely outstanding cookery,
which is really good to see on the Skills Test.
Well, guys, you know what's up next - it's their food.
I think it's going to be exciting.
Chefs, welcome to your signature two-course menu.
Show us what type of chef you are,
show us the food that really excites you.
What happens now, it is down to you.
At the end of this, two of you will be going home.
90 minutes, one main course, one dessert.
Let's see what you got. Off you go.
I feel a lot better about cooking my own food
than I did on the Skills Test.
Travelling a lot around the world,
being lucky enough to eat amazing food everywhere,
ignited my real passion for cooking.
I just want to do myself proud.
And the best thing that I could possibly hear
is that, "That's delicious."
That would be creme de la creme. SHE LAUGHS
Rosie, how do you feel after the last round?
Yeah, I've got a point to prove, for sure.
What is your main course?
Chicken with a cauliflower and feta puree.
And then, like, a chickpea, date, preserved lemon
kind of warm salad. And dessert?
Set cardamom yoghurt, poached rhubarb, pistachios,
and then, like, a filo shard thing with orange and rose.
Why the Middle Eastern vibe?
I absolutely love Middle Eastern food and some of my favourite chefs
cook that kind of food.
Are your family in food? Not in the cheffing sense.
But my dad's a farmer,
and I actually live right on the farm, which is great.
So you open my back doors and it's just fields forever,
so it's my idea of heaven.
Big family? Massive family.
So I'm the youngest of seven.
ALL: Whoa! Yeah, so it's kind of...
So you've had to fight for a living?
I have had to fight.
I'm the youngest of four, that was hard. But I loved it.
Yeah, it was great growing up in a big family, it's been really fun.
I love the sound of these dishes.
Do 'em justice. Thanks a lot.
I love the flavours of the Middle East.
So she's starting with the roast chicken breast.
You want the chicken breast to be nice and moist.
She did put them on very early, so I hope they're not dried out
before we get to taste them. Got a lovely-sounding salad
of chickpeas, date and preserved lemons going through.
Finish the dish with harissa oil.
Going to be hot, it's going to be spicy.
Too much of it will kill this dish.
Rosie's dessert is a set cardamom yoghurt.
She started off making the yoghurt,
she got them into the blast chiller,
then she realised that it wasn't setting.
I've been practising my dessert with a firmer Greek yoghurt,
and I got a looser yoghurt, so it wasn't setting.
I really hope this one is going to set.
It's going with poached rhubarb and an orange and rose filo.
She's got fantastic flavours.
I really like the sound of this dish.
25 minutes gone! 25 minutes gone.
Cooked this dish probably 15 to 20 times in the last two weeks,
so really just want to do it justice today
and treat it just like every other run-through I've done.
I'm definitely proud to be Cornish,
and I always want to try and tie that in
in some way, shape or form.
I love taking food that I like to eat and giving it a modern take.
So, Charlie, impressive Skills Test.
What is your food for today? Lamb rack with a tart,
and in the tart, I've got roasted spicy aubergine puree
with a Roscoff onion, crumbled Buff eta cheese.
It's a feta made from buffalo's milk.
Much creamier, not so tangy.
And for dessert, Charlie? I'm doing a take on rhubarb and custard
that's got coconut rum in there. And a nod to being Cornish,
I've got a Cornish fairing biscuit recipe that my mum gave me
when she used to cook for me when I was younger.
What's a fairing biscuit? It's a mix of ginger, flour, butter,
golden syrup, all baked together until they're crispy on the outside
and still slightly soft on the inside.
Did you always want to be a chef?
I decided I was going to be a police officer,
and I couldn't enrol until I was 16,
so I got a job as a pot wash, and then it flew from there, really.
Funny how life turns out, isn't it? For sure.
Charlie, good luck. Thank you.
Charlie is cooking rack of lamb, so he's going to water-bath it.
I've seen that Charlie's kept the fat on,
so he's got to make sure he sears that lamb all the way through
and renders it down.
Like the idea of the tart with the aubergine puree in there, too.
He needs to make sure the tart case is lined well, it's rested -
and, of course, it needs to be just melt in the mouth.
The feta, I think, will work really well
and just pull down the richness of everything else that's around it.
Delicate, very tricky to do under this pressure.
Charlie's dessert is whipped coconut rum custard.
Ooh, I do like the sound of that.
My whipped custard, in a couple of my run-throughs, I have split it,
so I'm really hoping that today that doesn't happen.
Poached rhubarb, beautifully cooked, maintaining the colour.
Stem ginger will bring a little bit of heat into the dish,
and I really am looking forward to the fairing biscuits.
That's Mum's technique - flattens them,
makes them crispy on the outside, and then soft on the inside.
Slowly coming together.
I've definitely got a lot to do still,
so just need to push on and get it done.
I'm very ambitious in the kitchen.
I dream big, you know, you've got to,
otherwise you'll never get there.
If I manage to get these two dishes right today,
it would be banging, I'll be very happy.
Tommy, love the smell of the bench, it smells great here.
So, what are you cooking?
For my main course, I've got a lobster dish,
so I've got the tail, which I'm going to poach in butter
with some lemongrass, I'll do a crispy claw.
Courgette and basil puree, shiso oil.
To finish with, a Thai yellow sauce to bring it together.
I did a bit of travelling around Thailand for a little bit
and that was a big part of my inspiration behind food.
It was just a massive culture shock to me.
It's not something I've ever seen before,
I've always worked with French cuisine,
and I'm very classically trained in that sense.
Dessert-wise, I'm doing a chocolate orange cremeux,
yoghurt sorbet and, to finish with, a chocolate soil.
That trip to Thailand has inspired you to cook a bit of Thai influence
in your signature dish, yet you've been cooking completely
a different way all of your life.
Yeah. Do you think that's a bit risky?
I do think it's very risky, but at the end of the day,
I'm here to cook the food I want to cook.
It's not something I get to do... Fair enough.
...and I want to showcase that.
You've got off to a good start. Keep that going. Thanks so much.
So lobster tails are currently poaching in a butter emulsion
with some aromats in there.
Tommy, I love the sound of his menu.
Most important thing with the cooking of lobster
is do not overcook it, you don't want it to be too chewy.
Just going to cook them low and slow till they're nice and tender.
Crispy lobster claw, that's going to be going in tempura batter,
so you want it nice and crunchy on the outside.
I'm just blending up the lobster head for the base of my sauce now,
just to get more of the flavour of the lobster
as much as possible.
And he's got a Thai yellow sauce.
We've got fish sauce, galangal ginger, we've got coriander.
We've got shrimp paste as well.
Loving the sound of this sauce.
Tommy's dessert is chocolate orange cremeux.
I'm doing a chocolate dessert because it's the sort of thing
I'll go home and eat a bowl of chocolate,
essentially, it's just what I love.
HE LAUGHS
Chocolate orange, we know that works,
but let's just hope he can get the texture right,
nice and smooth, and the orange working beautifully well with it
will be absolutely delicious.
There's certainly a lot of risks.
My chocolate cremeux needs to set.
If that doesn't set, it's a horror.
The yoghurt sorbet will bring some sharpness.
Chocolate soil. It's what's going to bring the texture to a cremeux.
I hope it's not just a sprinkling of chocolate soil,
I want a lot of it there to make a difference.
Chefs, halfway! Halfway to food glory!
Exciting.
Being a chef is everything for me.
These dishes represent where I come from.
I ate these when I was very young, but I try to elevate the dish.
It's nervous because I need to get it nailed.
So, Cristina, what's your menu today?
I'd like to show people Brazil is not only samba,
we got nice food to eat.
So for main course, I'm doing mocqueca, a stew of fish.
I make the bisque. It's got spices,
it's got coconut as well.
And going to do prawn on the top, some of the salsa. Wonderful!
And for dessert? It's called Cartola.
Cartola is the name of the singer, very famous in Brazil.
Come back from the slavery, got only plantain in sugar.
So I'm going to do layer of the plantain between
cheese with caster sugar and cinnamon.
I'm excited. I don't think I've had plantain dessert with cheese.
Love the sound of that. Who's supporting you back at home?
My wife. Your wife? Yeah.
What does she think of you coming on here?
She said, "You are going to smash it."
I, for one, can't wait to try the flavours of Brazil.
OK. Thank you so much.
I'm excited about Cristina's menu.
She's starting off the main course with a mocqueca,
which is like a stew
of cod, prawns, peppers, tomatoes and onion.
Back in the day, my mum used to cook this for me.
The pan-fried cod,
she's got that into a brine, so that draws out any moisture.
The bisque, turmeric, ginger, coriander and chilli
has to be nice and smooth and full of flavour.
We've also got a coconut rice just to go with it.
I have to say, I do like the sounds of this.
Whoa!
Sorry. You all right?
Is that red-hot? Yeah.
Can we get some...? Get it under cold water, please.
I'm so sorry. You're OK, over there.
Put that on your chin.
You sort of need as much cold as possible on it.
Unfortunately, Cristina's has just had a bit of an accident.
She put the bisque into a blender, and it was incredibly hot.
When she released the lid,
unfortunately, some of it hit her face.
I don't think you should carry on. You're hurt.
So we're going to stop.
Unfortunately, she's had to go and get medical help.
Chefs, you have three minutes!
Still lots of work to do.
Let's get it done.
Definitely starting to panic, so just keep going.
I'm a bit up against it now,
but I think I'm going to start plating in a second.
Just waiting on a few final things.
Charlie, calm down. Oui, Chef. Sorry, Chef.
You've got about half a minute to finish these dishes.
Are you finished, Rosie? OK. No, no, no,
I'm just going to put a few of these on and then I'm done.
That's it, your time's up. Everybody stop!
Well done. Whew!
How you doing, Chef, OK? That was a rough one.
Oh... Did you see...? I watched it happen
in the corner of my eye. Poor thing.
I hope she's OK. Yeah, hope she's all right.
It looked pretty bad, pretty nasty.
First up is head chef Tommy.
His main course is poached lobster tail and tempura lobster claw
served with a courgette and basil puree,
pickled courgette ribbons, blanched courgette balls
and a yellow Thai lobster and coconut sauce
split with shiso oil.
This is a very delightful, very pretty, very elegant dish,
and I like it a lot.
The lobster tail is beautifully cooked.
Love the pickled courgettes, nice and fresh.
The little courgette balls on the plate
just give a little bit of different dimension.
Everything worked in harmony.
Overall, a very, very nice plate of food.
The lobster claw is delightful - lovely, sweet, fresh lobster inside
with a nice, crispy batter, not at all greasy.
Love the basil puree,
cos you wouldn't expect to find Italian basil
in an otherwise Thai-inspired dish,
but I really do like it.
The basil courgette puree works wonders
with this fabulous, fabulous sauce.
I love the warmth of the chilli and the galangal that's in there,
you've got the lime leaves,
and then, of course, split with the green oil.
I like what you've done with your lobster main course.
Thank you.
Tommy's dessert is a set chocolate and orange cremeux
served with orange segments
macerated in lime zest and fructose,
with chocolate soil
and a lime yoghurt sorbet.
Your cremeux is absolutely delicious.
It's silk, it's velvety, it's chocolaty.
Segments of orange, you've marinated them,
it's absolutely brilliant.
For your first dessert in this competition,
you've set the bar very, very, very high.
That's absolutely exceptional.
Thank you so much.
The cremeux, it's rich and it works so well with the orange,
and it needs that crumb for the texture.
It's actually quite delicious!
I'm trying to stop eating it, but I keep going back in.
There is an absolutely fabulous sorbet that's sour with yoghurt
and sharp with that lime, it makes it really refreshing.
I think that is fabulous.
I feel amazing. Just the comments in general,
I feel... Wow. I just wasn't expecting it.
So good! So proud.
Thank you. That was great.
I'm very happy.
HE LAUGHS
Chef patron Rosie has cooked roast chicken breast
on a bed of cauliflower and feta puree
topped with za'atar, a Middle Eastern spice mix,
and harissa oil served with spiced and pickled cauliflower florets,
cauliflower shavings,
and chickpea, date, and preserved lemon salad.
Rosie, I like the way you've plated your main course,
you've given it a lot of thought.
I watched you cook the chicken incredibly early today,
and that is a little bit telling on the plate.
It is a little bit on the firm and dry side.
But I have to say the flavours on the plate are really delicious.
Puree at the base is lovely and smooth.
Chickpeas with the parsley and the herbs and the shallots
all running through there. The harissa oil is great.
I do like the flavours, really good.
The cauliflower puree with the feta is delightful.
when you get a hit of the za'atar mix with the sumac, it's lovely.
You understand the flavours of what you are putting on your plate.
Inside your salad, you've got sharpness,
like lemon juice sharpness.
You've got sweetness of dates in there as well,
as well as fresh mint. I'm really enjoying it.
You've got the warmth and smokiness from your own harissa.
Your flavours are fantastic.
Rosie's dessert is a set cardamom yoghurt with poached rhubarb,
orange and rose filo pastry, toasted pistachios and fresh mint.
The yoghurt is delicious.
Beautifully set. I love the pistachios in there,
and the pastry's lovely and crunchy.
I think this is a great addition to the main course
and I would thoroughly enjoy eating this. Thanks. Great job, well done.
I love the rhubarb -
and, of course, you've got the textures here
from your crispy pastry.
Works really well with the pistachio.
You get a hint of that mint.
You've got sourness of yoghurt.
Your rhubarb is cold and slippery and still sharp.
You've put a liqueur in it that has a mild orange hint to it,
and, of course, you've got orange zest as well
across your crispy, sweet filo
that's almost becoming baklava dipped in yoghurt.
That is a fabulous-tasting dessert.
It felt absolutely amazing
for all of them to say the flavours are great.
It's really overwhelming to...
Oh, poor me, I don't want to cry!
Last up is head chef Charlie.
His main course is rack of lamb,
served with a tart filled with aubergine puree spiced with paprika,
roasted Roscoff onion
and buffalo feta cheese
topped with asparagus, broad beans, wild garlic flowers
and toasted pistachios,
with a lamb and port sauce.
The cooking of the lamb,
I love it. They're in parts where the fat is very thick,
which some people might not enjoy, but, for me, it's lovely.
The tartlet, it's got so much going on in that.
You've got the aubergine, the feta, which is rich and sharp,
and then the textures of the asparagus.
It's a really delightful little garnish to go with your lamb dish.
Thank you, Chef.
I love that little tartlet.
You get a crunch of the onion, and against that aubergine
and that feta, it almost tastes sweet. It's lovely.
Like the lamb flesh, pink and moist and juicy -
but for me, I'd like a little bit more cookery on this white fat.
The sauce is delicious, the tartlet is exceptional.
The pastry's incredibly flaky.
It's melt-in-the-mouth.
Love the puree.
I think putting the cheese in there was great
cos it's got a pepperiness to it.
Yeah, that's a winner.
For dessert, Charlie has made a set coconut vanilla and rum custard,
served with poached rhubarb, stem ginger, lime curd, rhubarb compote,
and a Cornish fairing biscuit base.
The custard is absolutely delicious.
The rhubarb, the ginger, there's not too much.
Your mum's biscuit is a star.
It's an absolute knockout in flavour!
We've got the itchy heat of ginger
and we've got crunchy rhubarb that is sharp.
There's a vanilla-sweetened cream.
The whole thing is delicious and delightful!
That chewy ginger biscuit is a delight, on the bottom.
It is delicious.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Your mum would be proud her ginger biscuit was a hit.
Thank you, Chef.
I think my mum will be happy that all the chefs
liked the biscuit. That was definitely a highlight
of my signature course, was the biscuit.
All in all, they were really happy with the taste,
so for me, that's a win.
It turned out to be quite an extraordinary day.
I mean, first off, sympathies for Cristina.
No-one's fault, accidents happen.
I was looking forward to trying her Brazilian cuisine today.
We do have three very talented chefs that we need to discuss.
Tommy, his lobster main course,
loved that Thai yellow sauce.
Tempura lobster claw was fantastic!
Tommy's pudding, that was a flawless piece of chocolate work.
And the lovely yoghurt sorbet that he flavoured with lime,
I loved, loved, loved that dessert.
Rosie, she had a point to prove to herself, and to us,
and she did it very well.
I thought the main course, the puree with the cauliflower
and the feta was delicious.
Disappointed with the way the chicken was cooked,
but when you've got hits of the preserved lemon and the mint
in the chickpeas, it really lifted the salad on the side.
And to follow that with a set yoghurt
with rhubarb and orange flavours,
with a pistachio crumb - delicious food.
Charlie's lamb main course,
there was a part of the fat which could have done with more rendering,
but that little tartlet, bit of spice through that,
we had the feta as well.
It was a small tart packed with flavours.
His dessert was a little pot of magic.
The rhubarb, the ginger, the set custard,
delicious, with vanilla and rum running through there.
And then, of course, you've got that incredible biscuit,
it was absolutely exceptional.
We're in a difficult position here,
cos I feel that we have got three chefs that we really like.
It's a good problem to have, but a problem nonetheless.
I think the field is so even, so getting through to the quarterfinal
would be amazing.
It would mean the world to me.
The judges seemed to enjoy my food, so I'm very happy with that.
Gave me a massive fire in my belly.
I want to keep pushing and just keep delivering.
Hopefully I can stay on to do that.
I think now I've had that validation,
my confidence is boosted.
If I did get through, I think I'd be, like, "Right, I can do this,"
and, hopefully, I'll get that chance.
Chefs, today was incredible.
Some great cookery on show, some very interesting ideas
and some very, very tasty food.
Very difficult for us as judges,
because we believe we have three talented chefs in front of us.
Very, very difficult to separate you.
We have made a decision.
All three of you are going through to the next round.
Well done!
Oh, amazing!
THEY LAUGH
Well done, lad. Oh, my God!
I feel amazing.
I'm just, like, overwhelmed.
I'm so pleased.
It's actually my birthday, as well,
so a very, very good birthday present.
SHE LAUGHS
Cannot prepare yourself for this kitchen,
it really does throw curve balls in.
Very stressful, a bit of frantic running around going on,
but it seems to have paid off, so I'm very happy with that.
I feel on cloud nine right about now.
It's a great feeling.
I couldn't have asked for a better morning,
but to be able to carry that momentum through
to what really counted, for me, is amazing.
I'm super happy to be going through. 100% ready for more.
Next time, it's the quarterfinal,
and this week's most talented chefs return to face two tough challenges.
Just want to get it as good as I possibly can.
You absolutely have smashed this brief to pieces.
Only the best will earn a place in knockout week.
It's perfect.
Brilliant, love it.
Wowzer.