It's the MasterChef quarterfinals
and this week's four best cooks are back.
I cannot believe I've got here,
but I'm officially
a quarter finalist, which is mad.
Still can't process it yet.
I'm massively excited to get back in the in the kitchen again,
but it's hard work from here on in.
I am very nervous.
I have butterflies in my stomach
and I hope I don't screw up.
I would hate to go home.
I want more and more.
The vibe, the rush you get from it,
and I want to stay here till the end.
Tonight just one challenge stands between them
and a place in the semifinals.
This is one of the best things I've eaten in a long time.
They are going to be under pressure, our four.
They've got to deliver.
This quarterfinal is red hot.
Welcome to a quarterfinal.
You've done brilliantly well to get here.
You are going to be presenting your food today
to three fantastic guests in the dining room.
Champion from 2010, Dhruv Baker,
winner of 2017, Dr Saliha Mahmood-Ahmed
and winner from 2020, Thomas Frake.
You have to deliver two courses in an hour and 15 minutes
and four plates of each course, that's eight plates of food,
so the pressure is enormous.
There are only two semifinal places.
Let's cook.
The first time we met Bhavina, she gave us food in the tiffin tin
and you and I absolutely loved it.
The last time she cooked with that soup,
it actually divided us.
I really like it.
I don't know why I'm not convinced.
Sometimes they love it and sometimes they hate it.
And it's great to hear it
cos you're like, "Do you know what?
"Maybe gone rogue that day, I should stick to my guns.
"Be confident in who I am and really
"just, you know,
"believe in myself a little bit more."
A big inspiration is my mum.
So the first course is a dish that me and my mum cook for
pretty much all dinner parties.
Keema-stuffed chillies wrapped in a crispy pastry
and then a yoghurt and mint chutney to go along with it.
What's a keema?
Keema is just lamb mince, is what we call it. Ah!
And then for my second course, it's tandoori salmon,
with a cumin pomme puree,
Tenderstem broccoli with a lemon butter and a coriander oil.
I've taken what I've learned from my mum
and mixing a bit of
classic ingredients with spice.
Sounds very exciting. Thank you.
There's three champions in the dining room today.
How do you feel about cooking for them?
I'm quite nervous because I've loved every single one of those chefs.
They know spices as well.
So it's definitely a lot of pressure
just to make sure that I can nail it.
The first course, keema-stuffed chillies,
I've never seen before.
As long as the lamb is cooked and not dry,
and as long as the pastry is crispy and not soggy,
I love the idea of that.
I can understand spices with the salmon and the mashed potato and broccoli.
It's the addition of lemon butter sauce -
that's a difficult one to balance.
James, we know, is a classic cook,
he loves classic flavours,
from a sticky toffee pudding,
all the way through to a bowl of pasta with crab.
The guy understands food that people want to eat.
What is the difference between cooking at MasterChef and cooking at home
for a dinner party with your best friends coming around?
Well, I think dinner party guests are not too picky,
they're just happy to be fed,
whereas now everything's got to be perfect.
So two courses, the first course is a baked cod with a green crust,
so the crust is going to be breadcrumbs with parsley
and smoked salmon.
Fondant potatoes and some creamy leeks.
Smoked salmon... Smoked salmon.
..and breadcrumbs as a crust?
OK, fascinating.
And the second course is going to be a lemon posset
with some apple with cinnamon on top.
My little boy, he loves apple crumble
and loves picking the pieces
when they've been sort of done in sugar and cinnamon,
so it was a good way to get him to try the lemon posset.
I quite liked it across the top, so I thought we'll keep it.
Lemon posset, but with the flavours of an apple crumble?
Classic elements from James,
however, this is also adventurous.
The purpose I should imagine of adding smoked salmon to the crumb
on top of the cod is to give a salty, smoky flavour.
Nice idea,
but how do you crisp up breadcrumbs
and not rubber up the smoked salmon?
We're doing OK. Lot to...lot to get done. Very hot.
Thomas is an interior designer.
He's got an eye for detail and his plates look wonderful.
His flavours are fantastic.
Born in Singapore,
however, he draws on his experiences around the world.
Eight dishes in an hour and 15 minutes.
That's basically Pizza Express, in my opinion.
Thomas wants to show off prawns.
He's going to make a little roll,
which is made from tofu skin with prawns and tofu inside it.
He's doing spiced king prawns.
We've got some wood ear mushrooms,
leeks, which he's going to pickle,
which are going to be sharp,
with a Korean chilli paste.
So it's going to be really, really hot and spicy.
I think it could be really interesting.
What's the inspiration?
Well prawn rolls is a celebrations item
that we usually had during Chinese New Year.
My mum's family's been making that for generations,
and today, if I can made it,
I'll be very happy today
because I'm very proud of this prawn roll.
OK, and then for dessert?
The dessert I'm doing
sesame walnut brownie
with a blackberry candy.
What's a blackberry candy?
I just dip it in the sugar and freeze it.
Brilliant! I try my...
I try my best.
Listen, I could be wrong,
but this seems like really a lot to do.
A lot to do.
But what...? Is it...is it doable in the time?
No.
I will try to do my best.
I have practised it three times
and each time I'm over about eight to nine minutes.
Evy loves process.
Evy wants to emulate the best restaurants in the world.
What she's got to do now is deliver flavour
with that look.
That rice needs a good grind of black pepper
just to lift it up a little bit.
Evy, you're in a MasterChef quarterfinal.
How's that feel?
Oh, it feels amazing. I love cooking.
When I first came to London, because in Poland
you can only get ingredients which are in season.
So here you can get anything you want
all the year round.
So for mine, I am serving lamb loin,
that's my husband's favourite meat,
with roasted potato cylinders,
parsnip puree, parsnip crisps,
shallots puree and lamb jus.
And I like fruit desserts, so my pudding,
I'm doing pears poached in sweet wine and oranges,
and I'm serving it with a bit
of a crushed Florentines.
Lots to do. Yeah.
Aiming for the stars as always. Always.
Can you get yourself a semifinal place? I hope so.
I will do my best,
but I need to crack on really.
Evy's staying with her classical style. That's good.
But when you do five, six, seven different bits,
you're giving yourself more places to make a mistake
and I don't want her to.
My head is going, you know, round and round
and, you know, all the processes, I'm trying to remember
what goes first, what goes second, what goes in the oven first,
just to make it in time.
Having been back a few years on the trot now I can genuinely say,
hand on heart, that the standard just gets higher and higher.
You know, I'm looking for confident cooking, coherent ideas,
well-executed, the sort of raw materials from which you could see
a potential champion.
When you're there in that moment,
you compare yourself to the other people,
you question whether you're good enough.
I really hope that instead of sort of channelling that into self-doubt,
that they can channel it into a constructive energy
that we feel through their food.
Hello.
I don't want to see too much on the plate
and people trying too hard.
I'm a big advocate of less is more.
I can't wait. I'm hungry.
You've got ten, Bhavina.
Yep. Yep?
Yep.
I am behind.
Bhavina's starter, keema stuffed chillies
with a yoghurt and mint chutney.
I think that sounds great.
I need to pick up the pace.
I think it'll be interesting to see how she spices it.
You know, whether she likes quite gentle spicing,
or whether she goes for a really punchy keema.
They look great.
Hopefully, the chillies aren't too hot,
it just burns your palate.
Great looking dish, let's go.
Agh!
Hi. Hello.
So for my first course, I have made you keema-stuffed chillies
wrapped in a crispy pastry
and with a yoghurt and mint chutney.
Hope you enjoy.
The lamb is delicious, but the spicing is delicate,
kind of warming background note
as opposed to just up front
and immediate heat.
That pastry was fried to perfection.
It adds real crunch, but it could have done with a little bit more
in terms of spicing, cumin and citrus,
some lime or some lemon.
I think all three of us agree on this one.
Lots to like, just a little bit more flavour.
The lamb inside the keema is really quite spicy,
and then the yoghurt is sour
and there's a lovely coriander flavour going through the whole lot.
I'll eat the whole lot of that.
It's delicious.
15 minutes on your salmon.
Are we all right?
Er...maybe.
Calm down, calm down, calm down.
Salmon with mash and broccoli is
basically the favourite meal in our house.
I love that she's given her own sort of flavour to it
and zhooshed it up with the tandoori seasonings.
Pomme puree. I'll be really interested on how she gets
the cumin flavour through there
and maintains that silky smooth texture.
I've never seen a piping bag like that before.
I don't know why it's exploded,
but I just need to get it on the plate.
You've got two minutes.
Yeah, that's not going to work.
So you're not going to serve the broccoli? No, it's too hard.
There's no point.
So, coriander oil. Nice. I like that.
Well done, well done.
Hi, again. Hi.
So for my second course, I have tandoori salmon
with a cumin pomme puree
and coriander oil and almonds on top.
Unfortunately, there's no broccoli on it today,
I ran out of time.
God, my bloody broccoli.
I didn't get it on it quick enough, but it's fine.
Minor...
..I hope.
I want to know how our guests feel about the cooking of this salmon
because it is under.
Unfortunately,
we are completely raw in the middle of my salmon,
I don't know about yours.
Unfortunately, that heat hasn't got into the middle of it.
It's a shame because, you know, the spice mix is delicious.
Sadly, I don't think it's possible
to look past how undercooked the fish is.
James, two minutes. Thank you.
Fish done?
I'm happy.
Let's see what you make of it.
I'm intrigued by what the green in the crust is,
whether he's using herbs,
or whether there's something sort of unique or different about it.
Yay!
Come on, buttery fondants.
Who doesn't love a fondant potato,
just perfectly cooked potato dripping in butter?
This could be a real standout dish of the day.
Hi, guys, how are you?
I've made you an oven-baked cod
with a green crust,
with creamy leeks
and peas
and fondant potato.
Thank you. Thanks, James.
My cod is very beautiful and just flakes apart.
The crust is a little bit unusual.
It's not got that crunchy, crusty kind of element to it.
It's very spongy, but I'm getting the classic lemon parsley.
There's a smokiness in there as well,
almost like a smoked salmon, there is bundles of flavour in there.
All of the component parts have been seasoned properly,
whether it's the leeks or the potato or the fish.
I think, from James, a pretty solid effort.
The cod, nicely cooked,
but that crust is beautiful.
It's got a real smack of smoked salmon,
and I'm really liking it.
It's very, very nicely done.
He's seasoned it really well, that's for sure.
Pud time, right? Pud time.
There you go, you've got 15 minutes.
Lemon, posset is just such a great British classic, really, isn't it?
So you've got your son to eat posset by putting cinnamon apples
across the top. He loves apple crumble. What can I say?
I see.
You've got the textural and temperature variation from the frozen apple.
I'm starting to slightly salivate already.
James' dessert is a lemon posset
topped with cinnamon apples
and grated frozen apple.
Thank you, guys. Enjoy. Thank you.
It was extremely hectic in there, lots to do
and not a lot of time, unfortunately.
Hopefully they like the taste and the flavours.
I don't think I could have done much more.
I actually really like the lemon posset.
I think it's got a nice sort of wobble to it.
It's very smooth.
It's got a lovely amount of sharpness.
Could probably take a bit more.
The cinnamon and the apple kind of works with the posset.
But I think as a full dessert
it is missing a textural element.
I want some texture.
I want a biscuit,
I want a crumb, I want something else with this.
But I really like the posset.
Should be serving in about two minutes.
Everything for your main course is done, right?
Yes, sir.
Right, here we go.
Prawns two ways.
Spiced king prawn...
..a prawn and tofu roll...
..with pickled leeks and a white port sauce.
This is, I think, quite an interesting proposition.
You've got a lot of things to get in this plate.
Yeah.
Look at that, look at that.
I'm loving the smells off this plate, I have to tell you.
They are beautiful, let's go, go, go. Thank you.
Hello. Hi.
Thomas's main course is prawn two ways.
Cayenne pepper king prawns
and tofu-skin-wrapped prawn rolls
filled with tofu, spring onion,
carrots and oyster sauce,
served with pickled leeks,
mushrooms infused with bonito tuna flakes,
avocado and a port sauce made from the prawn shells.
Everything on this plate is just utter perfection,
and it all balances one another.
That spring roll has that wonderful crunch from water chestnut
or something, but the depth of flavour is unbelievable.
And then you've got these perfectly cooked prawns,
sympathetically seasoned,
and another kick of intense prawniness from that bisque.
The mushrooms bring woodiness,
and those pickled leeks just bring
this sudden punch of acidity to the plate
and brings the whole thing to life.
This is one of the best things I've eaten in a long time.
The whole dish is hot,
but it's stunning.
Everything has a purpose.
Even the avocado, which is cooling, us there
to take away this sweet, hot chilli.
I think that's absolutely fantastic.
My hand is shaking like mad.
Thomas' dessert is a sesame and walnut brownie
with a blackberry coulis
and blackberry candies.
We all love brownies.
As long as they're thick and dense and fudgy
and hopefully with the taste of sesame coming through as well.
Not sure how the candies fit into this,
but it sounds quite exciting.
What are those little shards?
The tofu skin. That he used to wrap the spring rolls.
Oh, wow!
Yeah, these are the edges they usually get thrown away.
Deep-fried, covered with honey and then sprinkled with sesame seeds.
Yeah. Very inventive.
Thomas, are you happy?
Yeah. Looks great, Thomas. Relieved now.
GREGG LAUGHS
I present you the sesame and walnut brownie,
and with the blackberry coulis
and blackberry candy.
The two little trims on top is a surprise,
It's the actually the tofu skin
that I wrapped with the prawn roll earlier on,
deep-fried it and I dipped it in honey.
I hope you like it.
The brownie is quite crumbly, but in a pleasant way.
There's a bite from the sesame seeds,
from the walnuts.
It's not overly sweet.
The blackberry coulis was really lovely and fruity, and smooth,
and I loved those little candied blackberries, as well.
They're just like a burst of flavour in your mouth.
The little crispy tofu skin pastries
just smack of honey
and actually add another dimension to this dish.
It's a really interesting, accomplished plate of food.
I really like his work. I think his work is great.
It looks good. It's got amazing flavours.
My heart is, like, almost dropping out.
I was so nervous.
Thank goodness I managed to get it all out.
HE EXHALES
Just under 15 minutes, Evy. OK, thank you. OK?
Evy's main sounds really classic and delicious.
She needs to make sure that her lamb loin is beautifully cooked through.
Happy with that? Yes, I'm happy with that.
It's nice and moist and pink.
Rainbow chard that hasn't gone soggy.
A nice, smooth parsnip puree.
These are flavours that go together.
This is going to be about how well she can execute it,
how well seasoned it is,
and whether or not she can put a smile on our face.
GREGG: There we are. Look at that.
Are we done? Happy, yeah.
Go, the Evy!
It's good cookery.
Hi. Hiya. Hi. Hello.
So, today I cooked for you lamb loin, parsnip puree,
shallot puree,
roasted potato cylinders,
chard and parsnip crisps and a lamb jus.
Thank you.
The lamb is cooked really, really well.
Mine was, like, beautifully pink in the centre,
really tender.
Potatoes are really cooked nicely.
For me, it's all quite sweet.
If the jus had been reduced a bit more,
it would have made it a bit more savoury and a bit punchier.
I didn't really get much from the shallot puree,
and I think overall, seasoning-wise and flavour-wise,
it could have been dialled up.
It's process here which I admire,
but it's not exciting on the palate.
Evy has got to use some more seasonings.
She's not squeezing flavour out of the ingredients.
So you put sugar on them and then glaze them?
Yes. To make them shiny?
Yes.
Poached pear, almond Florentine and a maple syrup cream.
It's sweet, it's classic, it's comforting.
We know the flavours work together.
And as with the main, it's going to be all about the execution.
Here you go with quenelles.
That's a good quenelle.
Well done, you. Thank you.
Looks good.
I cooked for you poached pear in a sweet wine,
served with a crushed almond Florentine
and whipped cream infused with maple syrup.
Thank you. Thank you. Enjoy. Thank you. Thanks very much.
I actually quite like the poaching of the pear.
It's a very subtle, almost perfumed pear flavour,
but not much else.
It doesn't smack with flavour.
I did really quite like the taste of the toasted almond,
but the maple syrup didn't come through too strongly in the cream.
The pear, there's a bit of vanilla in it.
There's a hint of acidity, but not a lot.
It's almost like a lot of that flavour's been washed away.
The pear's really nicely cooked. Lovely and soft. Honey's sweet.
I like the sweet, nutty crumb.
I think it's nicely done.
What a relief.
Oh, I'm pleased it's done.
I'm exhausted, but then on the other side,
I'm a bit anxious, because I don't know what the outcome will be,
so I can't, like, fully relax yet.
It's been a great day,
however, now we've got a tough decision.
Two semi-final places.
I'm really impressed by these four.
I really am, and so are the guests in the dining room.
Thomas was my cook of the day.
His food took me on a journey. It pushed me.
It challenged me.
He is a star in the making.
Thomas explored the unknown and delivered to all of us something
we'd never tasted before or seen before,
and I think gave joy.
Mate, he's going through.
I really liked Bhavina's stuffed chilli dish.
I thought it was flavoured nicely.
Guys in the dining room thought perhaps it could have done with
a little bit more flavour.
The big issue for Bhavina is the cooking of that salmon.
I think that's the end of Bhavina's competition.
This means we have to make a decision between James and Evy.
Two very classic cooks. James's dishes were good.
Let's be fair, they were really good.
As an amateur cook, you know, no fault.
For me, that dessert just needed a little bit more ambition.
I just wanted a biscuit or something else with it.
Evy's technique is good.
Her main course ingredients belong together.
They just need a bit more oomph.
Evy's dessert I loved,
but the dining room thought it was a little underwhelming.
Going through to the semi-finals would be amazing.
Nothing could top that.
Well, going to final and winning it would probably top that.
The more you're in that kitchen and the more you've got that sort
of buzz around you, the more you want to stay in it.
Our champions of the dining room have helped us with our judging,
but they were seriously impressed.
Our first semi-finalist...
Thomas.
Congratulations.
Thank you. Well done.
Brilliant work.
The first person leaving us...
Bhavina. Thank you very much indeed.
Our second semi-finalist...
..is James.
Evy, it's been brilliant having you. Thank you very much indeed.
Good evening. Thank you.
I feel disappointed, but it was a blast.
I absolutely loved it,
and, you know, quarter-finalist, you can't take that away from me.
No-one can take that away from me.
I think it's a once in a lifetime experience,
and I enjoyed every single minute of it,
so I will remember this very fondly.
I'm going to milk this for a very long time.
You are now MasterChef semi-finalists.
It was obviously extremely close.
Yeah, I just can't believe it.
Unbelievable.
A great experience and adventure to have,
so just, yeah, over the moon.
I don't believe it.
Somebody have to pinch me.
My heart is pounding so hard. Oh-oh!
Semi-finalist - I think once in a lifetime.
Yeah!
Next time...
..nine new hopefuls audition... Ooh.
..for the right to wear a coveted MasterChef apron.
I think I've cocked it up.
Mmm.
I forgot to put the seasoning in it.
I'm not in the zone at all.
It's interesting, sophisticated and delicious.