It's the final week of the MasterChef heats.
Last time, nine passionate home cooks auditioned
for a place in this year's competition.
I'm actually sweating. Can you imagine?
What's inside this pastry cup is a bundle of brilliance.
What a fantastically flavoured dish.
Thank you.
Only seven earned themselves a MasterChef apron.
It is overwhelming. It is daunting.
This is my chance, so I better grab it now.
I think everyone's still got to prove themselves and I'm no exception.
So that's going through my mind all the time.
It's a very different ball game when you get in the kitchen here.
Anything can happen. There is jeopardy afoot.
Tonight, they continue their quest as they face two tough challenges.
First, they will have to cook a dish to a brief
set by one of the country's top food critics...
My mouth is on fire and I love this.
...before cooking off for a place in this week's quarterfinal.
You have an ace palate.
Now they're in the competition,
they've got to show us that they've got star quality.
Who's got the talent? Who's got the skill?
All of you have your aprons. Congratulations.
No time to rest on your laurels.
This is the MasterChef competition.
We are going to keep on challenging you.
You have been set a brief.
This brief was set by a well-respected
restaurant critic and food writer.
Can I introduce you now to the incomparable Grace Dent.
Hello. Welcome, Grace.
Today's brief is to create the ultimate potluck supper dish.
This is something that you might take along to a gathering,
put on the table with everybody else's dishes,
but yours is the star of the show.
So I want something hearty and delicious,
but it still has to have finesse, high standards,
and be enough to impress me.
Ladies and gentlemen, one and a half hours.
And at the end of this, we will only take the best cooks with us.
Let's cook.
Potluck is a word that's much more common in America.
It means that a group of people, maybe all from the same street,
are going to get together and they can bring a dish each.
It's potluck. You never know what you're going to get.
It might be chilli con carne, it might be baked pasta
or a pie and a massive jug of custard.
It can be just something quite straightforward,
but made with love and tradition and will serve a lot of people.
It's going to be a bit nerve-racking, I think, cooking for Grace today.
Very, very daunting.
Right.
Chicken.
38-year-old travel consultant Diya
is inspired by the flavours of her African and Indian heritage
and won herself an apron
with a knockout interpretation of a traditional street food dish.
I could bury myself in that really happily and have it all afternoon.
Thank you. I'm really happy to hear that.
The potluck supper is actually the kind of thing I do at home
because I literally put everything on a board and we all assemble and eat.
So I could relate to that.
What are you cooking for us today?
I'm making Tex-Mex tacos.
So I'm actually going to make my own tortillas.
Chicken mince, mango salsa and guacamole.
I think that's my idea of potluck. You take a little bit of this, a little bit of that.
This is what I do and this is what everybody likes.
What is it about your tacos that has people wanting to go to your dish first?
I love to play with spices.
So it's going to be fiery, it's going to be spicy, hot, sweet.
Don't mess it up! I won't. I'll try not to.
Diya is making a soft taco shell using masa flour,
which is cornflour.
You have to mix it with warm water
and then it needs to be squashed out into being a lovely, thin tortilla.
It's a workout!
If they're not wet enough, they dry and they crumble...
Don't break on me, mate. Come on.
...and if they're too wet, they go sloppy and they don't cook properly.
And they're really difficult to get right.
Everybody likes a taco, but I'm worried about chicken mince.
Mince can just go very watery.
Diya is going to have to work four times as hard
to make chicken mince taste delicious.
SHE EXHALES
30-year-old sports journalist Jack learned to cook when he was 11.
He's impressed so far with crowd-pleasing, flavoursome food.
Pork, mushroom, sage, nuts, all cooked really well together.
That's delicious.
What are you making for us, Jack?
What kind of things do you eat when you go round and there's a big group?
You eat carrots and hummus, that kind of stuff. Do you know what I mean?
So I've tried a twist on that, but taking it to another level.
I'm making a herb-crusted rack of lamb with hummus,
cumin and honey glazed carrots with crispy sumac onions.
Are you all out to feed us today? Yes.
I know a thing or two about a good, decent portion
and one of those is coming up today, absolutely, yeah.
Jack is absolutely going for it
and we are going to get huge amounts of flavour.
A pistachio-crusted, harissa-spiced rack of lamb.
Harissa, which is a North African chilli paste, sweet with peppers,
dipped in hummus, which is made from chickpeas, olive oil and lemon.
The sweet carrots and sweet pine nuts could be absolutely delicious
as long as that lamb is cooked really well.
Cooking the rack of lamb, it can go horribly wrong.
So, yeah, I just have to be on the ball today.
A cutlet of lamb dipped into hummus doesn't scream to me potluck dish.
Nobody ever walks out of a party and says,
"Wow, that hummus, that made the night.”
Exciting. Exciting, yeah.
I like feeding people, yeah.
So... So that's it. I like feeding people.
Indonesian-born Endang lives in Scotland and owns a gift shop.
In the last round, her spicy Asian broth really packed a punch.
Oh!
Your balance of flavours really are quite incredible. Thank you.
Endang is going completely Indonesian.
We have got chicken thighs marinated with lime juice
and then she's going to grill them with more lime juice across the top.
With that, we've got cassava chips.
Cassava is a root vegetable.
She's coated them in some paprika and cumin.
Then you deep-fry it.
It's served with a sambal, which is a cooked chilli sauce,
usually with limes and lots and lots of chilli.
And then a peanut dressing, which is going to go with the vegetable salad.
And she's serving it as a platter.
This whole thing sounds wonderful.
This lady loves a chilli.
Music to my ears.
How do you feel about dishes that you put on a plate to share?
It feels like home.
Everybody just licking their finger and coming back again for the second plate.
I'm halfway living in Indonesia, halfway in Scotland.
So, yeah, home.
Are you thinking about your family and taking this for... Yeah.
Yeah, it's emotional. Yeah. Are you OK? I am OK.
You need to take all of this emotion and the love and nerves...
To the food, yeah.
Endang is cooking with so much passion and there's a lot going on.
I worry about her cassava chips.
Cassava can either be dreamlike and delicious,
or it can just be a stodgy, tasteless thing.
Ladies and gentlemen, you've had 40 minutes.
You've got 50 minutes left.
Right, my next thing to blend is this.
Health and safety specialist Fannata from Peterborough
grew up on a farm in Ghana
and dreams of running her own eco-friendly restaurant.
She impressed the judges with the ambition she showed over two rounds.
I admire the work you've done here, I really do.
This is, like, the most intense thing I've done in my life.
I've learnt that pressure can get to you.
You just need to keep a cool head, really.
You just need to sort of keep your eye on the target and just try and deliver.
So I'm making a Ghanaian potluck supper.
We're going to have groundnut soup,
which is, like, my grandmother's favourite soup.
I'm going to make it with chicken.
We're going to have goat's mince koftas,
spiced with typical Ghanaian flavours.
Jollof rice, some fried plantains,
because you can't have jollof without fried plantains.
Everyone that makes jollof thinks that theirs is the best.
What special thing are you doing with yours?
Goat meat is very popular in Ghana. It's like... We love it, right?
So I'm going to use goat stock to cook it.
I really want to execute it properly
because my mother wouldn't forgive me!
I don't think I've had a goat's meat kofta before. It's a first.
This is why I come here.
Goat meat is really difficult to get absolutely right.
It doesn't have a lot of fat on it.
It can go dry really quickly.
On the side of that, Fannata's making us a chilli sauce to go with that goat kofta.
Then there's lots of Scotch bonnets in there and Scotch bonnets are ferociously hot.
There's not a lot of space, is there? That's the thing.
Painter and decorator John likes to cook sugar-free meals
for his daughter with diabetes.
He surprised the judges with an indulgent,
artificially sweetened chocolate tart.
John, everything you made on this plate tastes great. Thanks.
Without any sugar, I'm really surprised, because it's sweet enough for me.
If I was going to do a street party at my place
and everyone was bringing a dish,
we'd bring our standard lasagnes, moussakas.
But obviously it's MasterChef kitchen,
so you've got to try and think outside the box a little bit.
So today I'm doing chicken curry, cardamom and saffron rice,
some sourdough flatbreads, sugar-free mango chutney
and a coriander and coconut lime dip.
Why are we getting a curry?
It's one of the family favourites because obviously feeding
four young girls is quite a mean feat, you know?
Sugar-free mango chutney. Sugar-free.
So I use a little bit of the fake sugar.
So your challenge is to take out all of the good stuff
and replace it, but for it still to be good.
Yeah, I know.
John is making us his version of a chicken curry.
Quite a juggling act, cooking with substitutes.
I hope it works. I hope it's delicious.
I'm always excited to see a curry.
And yet, it worries me that John's reference for this curry
is feeding small children.
They do not like strong flavours.
They do not like chilli.
Retired tour guide Cristina owns over 140 cookbooks
and went straight through with her accomplished sea bass dish.
We both can clearly see that you are a knowledgeable and skilful cook.
That's very kind. That's lovely to hear. Thank you.
Getting the apron straight off was a validation
and it was just uplifting.
You're never too old to do something brilliant.
I can stand in front of the mirror in the buff with an apron!
Cristina, you are a woman on a mission. What's going on?
I'm making meatballs with tomatoes and red onions in ras el hanout
with spiced cauliflower fritters, a yoghurt dip,
with a sweet chilli sauce.
Cauliflower is one of my favourite things.
Fried cauliflower, even better.
What's the inspiration behind this?
Big family, lots of mouths, lots of interesting food.
Kids are really critical, so I've had to up my game.
Cristina, she's got a little stick, she's got some peppers and some onions and a meatball in the middle.
The whole thing covered in ras el hanout, that lovely rich spice, which will be smoky and chilli hot.
And it looks like she's going to grill them.
Those little meatballs are all-important because they need to be really moist.
It's a waiting game, isn't it?
She needs to get the consistency of that cauliflower right.
Oh, shoot!
They need to be light and moreish and not too oily
and delicious and perfect for dipping.
Guys, your dish is due at the party in 25 minutes.
It's going well.
I think I'm on track, but you never know with the time here.
South Indian born IT consultant Vijaya
lives in Dunfermline with her husband and two children.
After an issue with her curry in the first round...
The only problem I've got here is there's a couple of bits of chicken that are undercooked.
...she came back fighting with an ambitious vegetarian thali.
The array of spices and flavours
that go through these dishes is amazing.
Vijaya is making for us what she calls Chana chaat.
It's made of chickpeas and cooked with a lot of different spices
and it is served with a crispy papad,
that is kind of a cracker made with pastry bread.
We've also got a mixed vegetable bhaji,
which needs to be soft in the centre and crispy on the outside.
And then something which is called Manchurian cauliflower,
which is deep-fried bits of cauliflower,
served with soy sauce and ginger.
And then we've also got three different chutneys.
I have so many ingredients on my table.
It's so confusing to see so many, but I think I'm OK.
I am really excited about the different flavours she's got going on.
I hope Vijaya is not doing too much.
How are you feeling about the competition now?
Confident, but at the same time, because of the timings
and the pressure and a lot of elements, I'm very tense.
So on an average night at home,
would you do so many different little dishes?
Yes, I do. Normally I do.
It's never one, for sure!
I've got no doubt that Vijaya can cook,
but there is so many different components to this dish.
I'm stressed even thinking about this.
You have five minutes, everybody.
If you're not plating up, you should be.
OK. Let's go, let's go. Let's go, let's go.
Come on, baby. Don't let me down.
I'm happy with the cooking. Yeah, the lamb's come out nice.
Fannata, you've got three minutes left, please.
Oh, what a plating mess.
Vijaya, come on. Is that the last touch? Nearly done. Just this one.
That's it. Stop. Finished. Time's up.
Absolute bombsite!
This is what my kitchen looks like on a regular. Absolute bombers.
Oh... BLEEP.
My soup, my soup, my soup.
I forgot my soup, so I'm upset. It's sat right there.
It's a shame.
Diya, please.
First up with her potluck dish is travel consultant Diya.
She's made cornflour tortillas,
served with cumin, paprika and chilli spiced chicken mince,
guacamole, pickled cabbage, mango, tomato and pomegranate salsa,
feta cheese and a lime cream.
The way this is presented is absolutely beautiful.
Thank you.
Diya, my mouth is on fire and I love this. I love it.
The chicken, beautifully seasoned,
loads and loads of spice and flavour. Delicious.
This is really confident, clever cooking.
And from now on, I'll be looking for tacos at the potluck.
Thank you so much.
Your tortillas are great. Lovely and thin.
Sweet, lovely, luscious, quite sour avocado.
A bit of crunch from that pickled cabbage. It's really good. I like it a lot.
Thank you. Thank you.
You got some great flavours here.
If you want sweetness, you've got the sweetness of the mango, but that also comes with chilli.
Bitter, salty, feta. That's great. That's proper party food.
Well done. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Grace Dent liked my food.
I can't believe it. That for me is amazing.
Gift-shop owner Endang has served an Indonesian-inspired potluck dish,
grilled chicken thighs marinated in lime, coriander and sesame
with cumin and paprika cassava chips,
vegetable salad dressed in chilli, tamarind and peanut oil,
and a Balinese chilli and dry anchovy sambal.
I love your chicken, and the thighs have stayed lovely and moist,
which I'm really pleased about.
Your salad with that peanut dressing is absolutely delicious.
Your cassava chips, they need to be cooked more.
That cassava is quite hard and chalky.
I find this really exciting.
That sambal is absolutely ferocious.
I like the sourness you're getting in there
and I really like the heat.
Allied that with a bit of really good, well-cooked barbecued chicken, it's great.
Thank you.
Endang, some of it was so hot that it blew our heads off.
But it was undeniably Indonesian.
You didn't hang back.
You gave us it from the heart.
Food is just about soul, bringing back memories.
But, yeah, I'm happy.
I'm happy that I show this is... This is why I cook.
Sports journalist Jack has cooked
spicy harissa herb and pistachio crusted rack of lamb,
topped with crispy sumac onions on home-made hummus
with cumin and honey glazed carrots,
garnished with pine nuts and pomegranate seeds.
When you described what you were going to do, I thought,
"How is that a potluck dish?"
And look at it.
Bang!
Boozer, beauty, bingo.
Absolutely brilliant, mate.
This crust around the outside of the lamb, which is cooked beautifully,
is sharp with that harissa, but sweet with lemon and the pistachio nuts.
The fat has been rendered. Sweet meat. Like it a lot.
Thank you.
That hummus has got as much tahini as it's got garlic.
And it's delicious.
On the lamb, on the carrot, even on a piece of toast.
I would have you round just to make me vats and vats of those onions,
just to put into sandwiches, because they are incredible.
It's one of those dishes people would say for the next party,
"Can you just do it again?"
And that's as good as it gets with party food.
Unbelievable comments from the judges.
Wow,
I'm very, very happy, yeah.
Health and safety specialist Fannata's West African-themed potluck dish
is goat meat koftas brushed in curried butter,
jollof rice made with goat stock, fried plantain,
cucumber, tomato and herb salad and a green chilli sauce.
What happened to the nut soup? I forgot to plate it.
I was under a lot of pressure.
I love the kofta. I think they're absolutely delicious.
I think with the plantain, it's a little bit soft.
It's not very seasoned.
However, that is very memorable jollof.
The stock is in there just singing and it's hot.
You know what you're doing there. Thank you.
Your green chilli relish, chutney sauce.
Put it in a bottle, call it Fannata's Special Sauce and sell it.
It's vibrant, it's sweet, it's sharp.
Really delicious.
I'm really impressed with this goat kofta.
You've kept that pink and really moist.
However, if you're going to put your love and attention into something,
it's got to end up on the plate.
Just a bit disappointed, you know, because I got flustered.
Definitely feeling the pressure.
Painter and decorator John
has cooked his daughters' favourite chicken curry
with saffron and cardamom rice topped with crispy onions,
sourdough flatbreads, sugar-free mango chutney
and a coconut and lime dip.
Your curry, it's really creamy.
Your bits of chicken are cooked perfectly.
You cook for four little girls?
So your food is more sweet than it is spicy.
And I really like it.
I like your flatbreads. They're really good.
The rice itself is cooked really nicely.
I like that little bit of saffron running through it.
But I'm finding it very difficult to get much spice out of the dish.
I'd just like to give it a bit more oomph.
OK.
I would be incredibly happy if you cooked this for me at a party.
To pull a chutney out of the bag
with no actual sugar, using substitutes,
I'm really, really impressed.
OK, that's good. It's absolutely delicious.
To please everybody with spicy food is difficult.
I knew it wasn't spicy enough for him,
but hopefully it will be good enough, we'll see.
Retired tour guide Cristina has made cauliflower fritters
flavoured with parsley, cumin and cinnamon,
ras el hanout spiced meatball, tomato and onion skewers,
a sweet chilli sauce and a yoghurt, cucumber and mint dip.
The meatballs with the ras el hanout,
I think the flavour is really good.
But the problem for me is those meatballs are really dry.
The bits of onion amongst them is just not cooked enough.
It's really sharp and raw, which I think is a bit of a shame.
I love the sweet chilli sauce.
It's almost jam sweet, but it finishes with hot chilli.
I like that.
These fritters, you've got a nice crispy coating on the outside,
but they're a little bit wet in the middle.
I like the flavour of cumin, but it feels uncooked.
I love how the fritters look.
I love the parsley that's coming through them.
But I wanted more seasoning.
And you are getting bits of raw red onion.
I had a tomato that still had a stalk in it.
I think that you're kind of missing the detail
and the devil is in the details.
Disappointed. It didn't work.
| tend to rush at it. I'm a bull in a china shop.
I'm always trying to do things quickly and that was my problem.
A bit more time, a bit more care would have been a good thing.
Finally, it's IT consultant Vijaya with her Indian sharing feast.
She's cooked a spiced chickpea Chana chaat with papad bread,
mixed vegetable bhajis,
deep-fried cauliflower in a sticky ginger, chilli and soy sauce
with a green chilli and coriander chutney,
a tamarind chutney and a sweet yoghurt dip.
You need credit for how much you managed to pull off
in such a short amount of time.
You have layers of flavour running through everything you do,
whether that is tamarind sharp, whether it is toasty cumin.
The chickpeas have a slight sweetness to them,
flavoured with coriander and garlic,
and then they build in a mild, chilli pepperiness.
This tastes great. Thank you so much.
That cauliflower, it's sweet and joyous and it's got a kick.
You've thrown everything at it, but it's still cauliflower.
Delicious. And I'm just very, very happy.
Vijaya, what you can do with chickpeas, a cauliflower
and a bit of carrot is astounding.
I love the fact I don't have to travel to India
to actually taste the authentic flavours of India.
Thank you so much.
When you cook your heart out
and people enjoy it so much, it's amazing.
It's one of the best.
That was an incredible experience.
You cooked with your hearts on your sleeve.
Thank you so much.
John and I obviously have a lot to discuss.
We cannot take everybody through to the next round. We can't.
Go and take a well-earned break. You did brilliantly well. Off you go.
I thought that was delightful.
Plenty of passion, really big flavours. John, I loved it.
And the people who didn't hold back
are the ones who I think I'm going to fly the flag for.
Jack, I think, did an amazing job.
Did a dish which was inspired by carrots and hummus.
Lamb chops across the top.
It was good fun, it was exciting, it was generous and it was delicious.
I think Diya had one of the dishes of the day.
We've all had tacos and the guacamole,
but hers was something a little special.
And she took the gamble, making her own tortillas.
They were great.
Vijaya used a cauliflower, carrots, spinach and some chickpeas,
and we end up with a feast.
An array of textures, an array of flavours.
Really, really good.
John's dish.
Those breads made really well, the dips made well,
and that buttery chicken
inside that coconut-flavoured sauce was delicious.
It just needed a bit more oomph for me, but you guys loved it.
We've got a conversation now about Endang, Fannata and Cristina.
Cristina's dish, the little meatballs were really dry
and in between we had bits of onion that weren't cooked enough.
I really liked the flavour of those fritters,
but they were a little too wet inside.
Endang came in here and walloped to surround the chops
with a huge amount of chilli, beautifully cooked chicken,
but cassava that was really dry.
I know it's not perfect,
but I liked Endang's food, I thought it was quite exciting.
Fannata definitely had a timing issue today
in that she ran out of time.
But I did love some of the flavours.
She did those koftas brilliantly.
Who's shown you and I they've got what it takes
to fight it out for the next round?
If the judges took me to the next round, I'd be shocked.
I'm just being transparent with myself. It is what it is.
Of course I would love to stay,
but it's a competition and the competition is hot.
Hopefully, they can pick up that Endang can go through
because she knows what she's doing, you know.
Fingers crossed.
Well done, all of you. You really stepped up.
But we can't take everybody through to the next round.
There were two cooks that we all felt
were absolute shining stars in this round.
Jack...
...Diya, congratulations.
You guys are going through to the next round.
Thank you. Well done.
There were two other people who just didn't hold back.
Vijaya...
.John, marvellous job.
Thank you so much. Thank you.
Endang, Cristina, Fannata...
...the first person leaving us is...
...Cristina.
Cristina, thank you. Lovely to meet you.
Great fun. Thanks very much for the opportunity. Had a blast.
Good. Take great care. Good to meet you.
I mean, when you're up against competition like that, phew.
I'm going to take away a really positive vibe.
I've got a grandson who's three weeks old.
I'm going to teach him to cook.
And I think we'll start not with cauliflower fritters!
Endang, Fannata...
...as we've said, we can only take the best cooks with us...
...and that's why both of you are going through to the next round.
Well done, mate.
Congratulations, guys!
Unbelievable. Unbelievable.
I cooked from the heart.
So that's why I'm so emotional.
I'm shaking. Like, I'm very surprised.
I thought I was going home.
To get straight through, incredible feeling.
It just fills me with confidence that my flavours are good.
Hopefully I'll sleep really well tonight.
I'm loving it. I honestly love it.
It's fantastic.
It's a really big day in the MasterChef kitchen.
Quarterfinals are just around the corner.
That means we are looking for a fabulous four.
They have really stepped up and these six right now
are getting stronger with every challenge.
MasterChef quarterfinal
is something that I have never even dreamt of reaching.
Time to prove yourself, so ready for battle.
Excited, nervous, because it's a roller-coaster.
Up, down, up, down. My tummy churns, it's just all over the place.
Just going to try and concentrate, get my head down
and cook to the best of my ability if I can.
Welcome back here to the MasterChef kitchen.
The last round was fantastic.
Keep that momentum going.
Your brief is an amazing brief, an exciting brief,
and that is to celebrate the world of spice.
From cardamom and cumin to coriander and vanilla.
It's got to be delicious.
And it's got to look amazing.
There are just four quarterfinal places up for grabs.
That does mean two of you will be leaving the competition.
One hour and 30 minutes, ladies and gentlemen. Let's cook.
Chickpea flour, chickpea flour. Where did I put it? Where did I put it?
What I'm about to make, I've made it before, lots of times.
I love it, so hopefully John and Gregg feel the same way.
Fannata, how do you feel about spice?
I'm super excited. I can't stop giggling.
Why? Ghanaian spice is very, very intriguing.
The way we mix it, the type of spices we use, like,
it's all I've eaten growing up.
So I'm making a yaji spiced ribeye.
So yaji is essentially made with very fine groundnuts powder,
allspice, salts and chilli.
I also have a spiced pommes Anna with some coriander, fennel
and some nutmeg because Ghanaians love nutmeg.
And then we'll have a cumin-spiced chicken sauce.
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
The yaji spice that I'm going to be using is my grandfather's recipe.
Every family has their own variation,
but I think my family's recipe is the best.
Fannata fascinates me because she seems to draw on the classic.
We've got a ribeye steak with pommes Anna,
but we're also getting the flavours of Ghana.
We've got allspice, which is the flavour of jerk chicken,
which almost numbs your tongue.
We've got nutmeg, which is also quite numbing.
But then we've also got fragrant spice like cumin going through the sauce.
And then we've got fennel seeds, which is aniseed.
Getting this balance absolutely right,
I think, is going to be a real task.
How are you going to make sure you finish on time today?
I've timed myself in terms of the different elements I'm meant to make,
so I'm going to stick to it, basically.
So hopefully, you know, this round I'm able to ace it.
Best brief ever.
Spices is literally my sort of comfort zone and my safe place.
Diya is making for us a thali,
a dish of lots and lots of different things that you get in India,
a lot of the time served with bread.
We're being promised butter chicken.
The classic of cumin and coriander, lots of garlic and ginger going through it as well.
Come on, come on. Give it to me. Give it to me. Give it to me.
We've got jeera rice, jeera meaning cumin.
Very, very smoky, really quite strong.
And then we have a bright green spinach curry
with sweetcorn running through it.
Crispy okra as well, raita, bread.
A huge amount of work going on.
I just hope the flavours are big and bold.
Diya, why this dish?
Spices, colour, India. That's just perfect for me.
Where are your family from originally?
I was born in Malawi, but my grandparents were originally from Gujarat.
All my life I've been brought up with spice.
I think at the age of three, I think I probably had
the spiciest curry that my mum made and I fell in love with it.
I'm cooking a dish that I'm very, very comfortable with.
But the nervousness of knowing that two people will be leaving today
is what's really scaring me.
25 minutes gone.
I'm chilled with my recipe. A lot of spices running through it.
But the pressure is what it means, it means so much today,
and a quarterfinal spot, so that's the pressure.
Have you decided to do a dessert?
Yes, I'm doing a coconut-spiced rice pudding
with rum and caramel glazed pineapple
and a caramel and cardamom snap.
Why a rice pudding?
I love cinnamon. I love nutmeg. I love cardamom.
And how can you bring all those things together?
Rice pudding, one of my favourite desserts when I was a kid.
So hopefully I can take it to a new level from what I had out of a can when I was a child!
We have got a tropical rice pudding going on here.
Coconut, rum, pineapple.
He's got cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, all going together in one dish.
The rice pudding needs to be lovely and creamy,
and Jack says he's going to flavour it with lashings of vanilla.
Mmm.
Wow,
I love what Jack's going to do and I hope it works for him.
One of my earliest memories was begging for rice pudding in a supermarket as a kid.
As I've done with every round so far, it's cooking what I like.
So hopefully, the judges will like it.
A bit nervous, very much stressed.
It's spices, so the pressure is on.
Vijaya is making for us a biryani.
Not any biryani.
We are getting a Hyderabadi dum biryani.
"Dum" means to steam.
The chicken is firstly marinated with yoghurt and spices,
including chilli and turmeric, cardamom, coriander seeds.
And then it's got to cook nice and slowly,
so all the flavours go through the rice.
And then we're getting a salan gravy,
made of lots of different nuts.
Lightly spiced with turmeric, more cumin, garlic and chilli,
and then little peppers which have been roasted
and then simmered away within the sauce.
The whole thing, for me, sounds delicious,
but how does Vijaya make it look good?
The biryani comes in a big pot.
I don't want just a pile of rice.
All my spices are from my hometown, southern India, Hyderabad,
and they are all very, very authentic and really yummy.
So I wanted to show them what we eat at home
when there is a special occasion.
What do you love about biryani?
Everything about it. The taste is just heaven.
Is this good enough to get you a quarterfinal place?
I'm dying for a quarterfinal place.
But there is so much to do and so little time left,
so a bit stressed out now.
I'm using ginger instead of flour.
I like playing with spices. I've been playing with spices for the last 20 years.
At the beginning, obviously they weren't so good,
but I've certainly got better at using them over the years.
I've kind of designed something that might not be perfect,
but I'm hoping that I can manage to balance the spice in it
so that it all marries together.
A sugar-free dessert? Definitely another sugar-free dessert.
I'm going to make a spiced sponge cake with a spiced apple puree,
ginger caramel sauce and a saffron and nutmeg ice cream.
Wow.
I understand your little girl can't eat sugar? Yeah.
Are you making this competition harder for yourself? Yeah, probably.
But it's showcasing what I've got to offer. It's how I cook at home.
I just need to make sure that I nail every element, I think.
John's dessert, it sounds to me the flavours of a sticky toffee pudding
crossed over with a Jamaican ginger cake. Yum!
All right. Stick that in there.
Then we've got a Granny Smith apple puree.
And inside that, he has got lots of different spices -
allspice, cardamom, cinnamon, all going together with these apples.
I think this could be a lovely dessert.
I hope there's enough flavour from the actual cake itself and the apple,
that we don't just get too much spice.
You have 25 minutes left.
The competition is exciting and emotionally exhausting.
Because cooking involves your soul, you open...
...for the people to see.
That is very challenging.
I should not open. I shouldn't open. That's against the law.
Endang. Yes. What are you making, please?
I'm making nasi longtong.
That's rice you cook wrapped in banana leaves.
And you boil with baked cod in sweet pepper sauce,
tamarind and cinnamon and ginger.
Cod on rice that's been cooked in banana leaf. Mm-hm.
Anything else?
Crispy aubergine and glazing with teriyaki sauce and ginger.
You have a Scottish husband? Yes.
When you met him, did he like your spicing?
Did it scare him?
I think I buy his love by cooking.
Because when I met him, I cooked.
And that's it. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Yeah.
Oh.
Endang is making for us something she calls nasi longtong.
"Nasi" means rice in Indonesian.
So it's like sticky rice that when it comes out of the banana leaf,
then it can be sliced.
That rice is flavoured with nutmeg, a really strong spice.
She's making a sauce from candle nuts,
which are like a macadamia nut.
We've got ginger, we've got tamarind, we've got cinnamon,
we've got nutmeg all going together,
so that the whole thing goes across the top of this cod.
All of them sound to me almost like a dessert.
With cod? I'm fascinated.
If this works, wonderful.
You have five minutes. We should be plating up now.
Cream, cream, cream, cream, cream, cream, cream.
He doesn't want to come out.
No.
You've got about three minutes to plate up.
I'm going to do it now. Right now. Yeah. Right now. Yeah.
Just waiting for this. Is that the pommes Anna? Yes.
It's like... It's nearly there.
Oh! There we are.
There we are. You have just 60 seconds.
Get your biscuit on top. Quick, on the plate. It's on.
If it's not on the plate, you're not going to be able to serve it, so get it on the plate.
Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick.
Final, final touches.
No!
And that's it. Stop. Time's up.
Yeah, I'm good.
The last 30 minutes just, like, flew by, like a second.
It's not as good-looking as I want it to be.
Crossed everything right now!
Diya, come up.
With over 30 spices in her dish,
Diya has served an Indian thali of butter chicken,
spinach and corn curry,
jeera cumin rice,
chilli and ginger deep-fried okra,
vegetable kachumber salad,
cucumber raita and a Gujarati roti.
Balancing the amount of spices that you put in this dish
is always going to be really difficult.
Actually, you've done that, which I'm really pleased about.
Oh, my God, yes.
Really smoky cumin through the rice,
lovely amount of that mango powder going through the spinach, giving it sharpness,
and then that wonderful richness of the cream and the chilli
that's going through your chicken.
I like that a lot.
I've got a particular fondness for okra.
That is perfectly crunchy
and it's got almost like a limey chilli finish to it. Not red hot.
You're building layers of flavour here that I find complex
and comforting at the same time.
I am really, really enjoying this. Thank you. Thank you.
I can't believe it. I gave it 100%.
I'm over the moon with that.
Fannata's dish is ribeye steak rubbed in a Ghanaian yaji spice
of groundnut powder, allspice and chilli,
with nutmeg and fennel spiced pommes Anna,
sumac radishes and crispy onions
and a cumin chicken sauce.
I've never come across this rub before.
I'm picking up pepper, a little bit of chilli and a little bit of garlic. It's nice.
I've got an issue with the cooking of the steak
because the flesh is beautifully pink
but there's lots of uncooked fat.
Your chicken sauce is made really well.
The issue is, chicken and beef together on the same plate.
They're fighting against each other.
The cinnamon and the fennel running through your potatoes
is fighting against the allspice.
And because they're of different thicknesses,
the thick pieces need more cooking.
And they're hard, which is a shame.
People have different tastes in what they like,
which is perfectly fine.
I mean, I'm not excusing, you know, a steak that's underdone.
It's a very fair judging.
Vijaya has served a Hyderabadi dum chicken biryani
with green chilli peppers in a spiced cashew,
almond, groundnut and sesame gravy
and a cucumber raita.
This nut gravy, I think, is absolutely delicious.
There's a sharpness coming from tamarind in there
and then there's all the smoky spices as well.
I find your chicken a little bit dry,
which I think is a bit of a shame.
I feel that should be moister.
And also the presentation,
it's just chucked together at the last minute.
It looks messy and looks really rushed.
That rice is lovely and it is heady with saffron.
However, you're not doing yourself justice as a cook
if your dishes are rushed and untidy.
I'm not, like, over the moon or anything like that,
because I should have given myself some time for a good presentation.
They just want to see the finesse.
Endang's spice dish is baked cod
in a sweet pepper, candlenut, cinnamon, tamarind and ginger sauce
with nutmeg sticky rice and deep-fried teriyaki aubergines.
My piece of fish is cooked really, really nicely.
It falls apart, which is really good.
I like the sharpness that's coming from the tamarind
going through with the red peppers in the sauce
and the nuttiness of the pine nuts.
I think that's really good. Your rice is cooked very, very well.
I like the fact that it's still lovely and sticky.
There's only a hint of nutmeg running through that rice.
It's very subtle.
Your sauce is actually quite sweet.
It's got a little bit of cinnamon in it,
which is unusual for a piece of fish, but I like it.
Your aubergines are well cooked.
A bit of teriyaki.
A bit of sweetness in there. A bit of saltiness.
But we're going to have to start presenting smarter-looking plates.
Yeah, it looked a bit messy, but I think it's OK.
They loved the fish and the sauce.
Unusual, but they love it.
Inspired by his favourite childhood dessert,
Jack has made coconut, nutmeg and vanilla rice pudding
with cinnamon, rum and caramel glazed pineapple,
vanilla cream,
and a ginger and cardamom snap.
I really like the look of this.
It's almost as if the pineapple has got a sun hat on.
I love how much spice you've put in this dish.
Nutmeg going through your pudding
and then cinnamon going through your caramel.
And then, slowly but surely, comes a bit of cardamom as well.
You have an ace palate.
The stuff I've tasted from you so far in this competition
is absolutely bang on the money.
Thank you.
I find your flavours absolutely delightful.
There's plenty of vanilla in that rice pudding.
Really, really lovely.
The rum and the cinnamon and the ginger in the biscuit
is just the flavours of Caribbean sunshine.
And then all of that pineapple juice comes flooding out.
It's just heavenly.
It was great.
Spice was at the centre of absolutely everything I did,
so I'm pleased with that.
Done all I can.
John's sugar-free dessert
is a ginger, nutmeg, allspice and date sponge
topped with roasted pecans,
cardamom, cinnamon and star anise spiced apple puree,
saffron and nutmeg ice cream,
and a ginger caramel sauce.
I think it looks fantastic. Thanks.
I find that delightful.
Really, really comforting.
You've got the flavours of apple and cinnamon and nutmeg, which I really like.
You've got a small amount of spice coming through the pudding.
There's the sweetness of the dates.
You've got a tiny bit of ginger running through that toffee sauce,
just enough that it starts to tingle the front of the tongue.
I think it's really good work. It's lovely. Really lovely.
That ice cream, I'm very happy with that.
I'm clearly getting the saffron.
So I'll get that sponge and I can dip it wherever I want here.
A bit of ice cream, a bit of apple.
That is light, delicate and banging on the door of delicious.
Well done. Thanks very much.
I just can't believe the comments, to be honest, especially Gregg Wallace.
You know, he's the man who loves sugar.
He's thinking, you know, it's a winner.
I'm really happy with myself.
It was all about spice today and I've got to say, I was really impressed.
I don't remember the last time my palate was so indulged.
John was the pick of the day, dish of the day, cook of the day.
Lots of technique on show, great flavours.
With or without the sugar, that was a good dish.
Yeah, absolutely. John's got himself a place in the quarterfinal.
Jack makes food that I want to eat.
Rum and pineapple, vanilla, cinnamon,
nutmeg, ginger, all together in a pudding. Beautiful.
You can't go far wrong with that.
Somebody who disappointed today was Fannata.
I didn't mind the mixed spicing across the beef,
but my piece of steak had unrendered fat running through it.
The other thing for me is chicken sauce with a piece of beef?
It was just a really odd combination.
Fannata's time in the competition is over.
I think Diya has done enough to get herself a quarterfinal place.
I totally agree and I respect her ability to be able
to use spices in different ways, in different dishes.
That was what the brief was all about.
We've got one more place to give
and that means either Vijaya or Endang is going out.
Endang gave us a really beautifully cooked piece of cod,
rice that had been subtly flavoured with nutmeg
and then aubergines that I found delightful.
But her presentation is virtually nonexistent.
Vijaya made for us a biryani.
That gravy on the side was really delicious,
but my chicken was dry and it was thrown on the plate.
Endang and Vijaya are both good cooks,
but we can't take both of them through.
I am a bit worried, but whatever John and Gregg decide,
I've enjoyed every minute of this journey.
I love it.
I did my best, but it is the time that gets you there in the kitchen.
So I hope that doesn't cost me the place in the quarterfinal.
But let's see.
An absolutely incredible round, full of indulgence,
full of spice and full of celebration.
Thank you very much indeed.
We have just four quarterfinal places
and that does mean that two of you will be leaving us.
The first contestant leaving us is...
...Fannata.
You've had a great competition. Good to have met you. Thank you.
The second person leaving us is...
...Vijaya.
Thank you for the opportunity. It was great to meet you.
Honestly, you can leave this competition with your head held high.
All the best, everyone. Sorry to see you go. Thanks for the opportunity.
It's mixed emotions.
I was hoping to get through to the quarterfinal, but it is what it is.
I'm going to continue my passion for food.
It's my heart that belongs to food.
It's been great.
It's one of the most challenging things I've ever done
and I've done a lot of things.
But, you know, I'm so glad I did it. I really am.
Congratulations. You four are MasterChef quarterfinalists.
Well done.
Yes! Thanks very much.
Oh, my God!
It means the world to me.
I was just happy to be here in the first round and the journey continues.
I am over the moon. I'm so happy.
I think I'm actually speechless.
I normally never am speechless, but today I am.
The competition here is unbelievable.
So quarterfinal spot... Unreal. Absolutely unreal.
I lost bet with John.
I have to buy him a drink now!
You made it.
I'm still here. So that's amazing.
Next time, it's the quarterfinal...
...and John, Jack, Endang and Diya
return to face their toughest challenge yet
as they battle for a place in knockout week.
I want to stop talking and just keep eating.
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