Episode 2 Bake Off Creme de la Creme

Tonight on Bake Off Creme de la Creme...

HE HUFFS

..the British Armed Forces...

This is carnage.

'..do battle with one of the most exclusive hotels in the world.'

-OK?

-No.

Mate, mate, mate, mate, mate.

'..and the only all-women team in the competition.'

-More jellies, more jellies.

-Ah!

They face gruelling challenges...

Just be careful.

No.

This is really heart-in-the-mouth stuff.

..and the toughest of judges.

I cannot really mark that.

Who will take their place in the semifinal

and prove to be the Creme de la Creme?

Why did we enter this competition, mate?

I don't know.

The Welbeck Estate, Nottinghamshire.

15,000 acres of farms, forestry and historic buildings.

For centuries, fine food has been produced here

and today we are expecting the very finest as our search

for Britain's best pastry chefs continues.

Welcome, chefs.

You are here because you are amongst the best of the best.

The teams are being judged by three of the world's leading patissieres -

Cherish Finden, Claire Clark and Benoit Blin.

In one intense day of competition,

they will set two immense challenges,

the first of which requires incredible attention to detail.

We are starting today with the miniatures.

This is to test your precision

when mass-producing high-volume fine pastries.

Three different types, 36 of each, 108 in total.

And you have three hours to do it.

What's French for, "on your marks, get set, bake"?

A vos marques,

prets,

partez.

Your time starts now.

First to the wall for the first few hours, yeah?

Yes, Chef.

-Those are all good?

-Yeah.

In the first challenge of each heat, the teams must make identical

batches of handcrafted, geometric and layered miniatures.

The layered, sliced miniature the teams have been asked to

make in this heat is a version of the French classic, the opera.

So, we've chosen opera aux fruits.

It's really hard to get right.

They have to assemble it, and that means palette knife skills.

Each layer is going to have to set,

and then they've got to cut it. We're wanting to see layers.

That's what the opera aux fruits is all about.

It's like building a house,

and if any of those foundations are wrong, it's going to fall down.

Be careful.

Yes, Chef.

-ALARM SOUNDS

-What is that?!

The alarm to get up in the morning. It's like being on a ship, isn't it?

Certainly is, Chef.

MILITARY DRUMBEAT

Team captain Liam

and his team-mates are chefs in the British Armed Forces.

Our primary role is to feed the troops in desert locations, jungle

or in the Falklands.

Mass catering for 1,700 troops every day is the norm for this unit.

It boosts the morale of the troops,

which could eventually win the fire fight.

But sometimes military precision is required.

I've cooked for the Queen.

Never got the chance to speak to her myself.

I'm led to believe she did enjoy it, yeah.

Despite no specialist training between them,

they compete in pastry competitions three times a year.

It's probably not the most expected thing from the military.

-We are the underdog.

-Pressure's on.

-Oh, brilliant.

HE CHUCKLES

Really classical flavours with this one.

'The military boys are layering their opera with

'pistachio joconde sponge,

'pistachio creme mousseline,

'raspberry and dark chocolate ganache

'and a raspberry glaze.'

Andy, is this being a bit different to the day job?

Where's your normal cooking conditions?

Sometimes we're in the kitchen,

sometimes we're out in the field, sometimes we're in tents.

Guys have to go up in aeroplanes and cook in the aeroplane.

So these guys are in the RAF, and you are...

-I'm in the Army.

-You're in the Army, OK.

But highest rank is Andy.

Highest rank is Andy.

So when it goes all wrong,

are you shirking responsibility or will you take it?

Liam's the team captain.

-It's Liam's fault.

-It's all Liam's fault!

In the second kitchen...

I start to build my opera.

We're going to play and hopefully win the game.

..a trio of chefs from one of the most exclusive hotels in the world -

the Savoy.

For over a century, world leaders, royalty

and movie stars have dined here.

When you got some VIP people,

you need to always give the best for them, so do something special.

Make something nobody saw before.

It's something that you can't really describe to work here.

You just, like, you fall in love. That's it, you know?

You fall in love with it.

Team captain Felicien has exacting standards.

My personality thing is,

I want to do the best and if I can't do the best,

it makes me a little bit angry.

Who turned this down here? Did you touch?

-No, didn't touch!

-You sure?

Yes, Fel! I didn't touch it. This fridge is not strong enough.

Don't fight on this, keep going.

Their opera will be layered with blueberry-flavoured joconde sponge,

jam and yoghurt mousse.

It'll be decorated with chocolate-shaped mountains

and piped with clouds of mascarpone Chantilly cream.

'Chef Loic is in charge of the chocolate mountain.'

I love that. I don't care what you two think, I love that. I love it.

To break chocolate, you need really a cold marble.

That will look like nice work.

Those guys, they will give everything they've got

until the last drop, because they love what they are doing.

They've got that pressure in them, which is

really borderline emotional.

In the third kitchen...

-Hello, girls. Spirit is up?

-The spirit is always up.

THEY LAUGH

And the smile is always there.

..are captain Kumiko,

Jennie and Anais.

The other teams might underestimate us,

but I think sex and age doesn't matter in this industry.

Kumiko works at the chic La Patisserie Des Reves in London,

where she manages a team of four pastry chefs, including Anais.

Joining them is their friend, Jennie,

who works as a chef de partie at the Royal Albert Hall.

-A little bit clumsy from time to time.

-A little bit!

JENNIE LAUGHS

-I think I... We'll be fine.

-Well, we'll practise a lot,

so you know exactly what you're doing, so there's no room for error!

Kumiko has delegated the intricate task

of building the opera to Jennie.

I'm in a panic. I'm so sorry. I'll calm down and the minute.

Yeah, just calm down. You'll be fine.

It will have multiple layers of pistachio joconde

and cherry buttercream,

a layer of chocolate ganache,

and will be finished with a chocolate glaze.

Ah, I think the sponge is looking quite good.

I've got a nice, flat layer. It's the height I want it to be.

So I'm quite happy.

Oh, no.

Oh, no, I've made a hole in this one.

Anyone got a brush? Brush?

Pastry brush?

-Yes, pastry brush.

-Ahhh!

Yay!

Are you going to promise to give it them back, though?

-I can't promise.

-Oh-ho-ho-ho!

-I promise, I promise!

It might be a fake pastry brush, and all the bristles might fall out.

Who knows? It could be sabotage.

'Once the operas are built...'

Very pretty, very pink.

We're the girlie team.

The girlie team?

'..they're put in the freezer to set.'

The more layers they have, the longer it will take.

If we can get them to set on time.

That is a massive issue for us today.

It will be a last-minute slice, I think.

We'll jump on together. We'll be there, we'll be all right.

It'll be good. We have to have to crack on now.

The second miniature the teams must produce is a petit gateau

in the shape of a sphere.

In this sphere I would like to see texture, texture, texture.

Multiple internal layer, explosion of flavour and top-notch decorating.

This is the professional challenge. It has to be perfect finish.

How we doing, pastry special forces?

I'm obviously getting a bit pushed now for time.

Ian's working on the geometric petit gateau spheres.

Right, starting to get really messy, guys.

Looks a little messy and a little disorganised.

I can't imagine Cherish would be happy to see that.

The military team's sphere has a white chocolate

and lemon mousse shell, filled with lemon and poppy seed sponge,

mascarpone and a lemon gel.

It'll be decorated with mini meringues.

Chef?

Just delightful. Such a sensation in your mouth.

In Team Kumiko's kitchen...

This is white chocolate that I melted.

I added some purple cocoa butter

just to make it a light purple colour,

and these are going to be the case for our spheres.

Anais is making the biscuit insert.

As well as their sable Breton biscuit,

they're filling their spheres with a yogurt mousse

and cassis insert.

It'll be wrapped in a tempered chocolate shell with a cassis glaze.

So you're going to stick them together?

No join, so it's a perfect sphere?

Yeah, that's what we're hoping for.

Before Kumiko can join the two halves together,

they'll need to set.

Well, hopefully it sets in time.

In the next kitchen...

-So, add slowly.

-Yes, Fel.

..Felicien's team from the Savoy

are creating a sphere with a tropical twist.

My main sphere is with yuzu and mango mousse.

The sphere will sit on a chocolate sable biscuit

and be filled with a mango-glazed mousse

And a ball of jasmine ganache.

Like this?

No! No! Not going to have enough time.

Yes, Fel(!)

Using all their five-star nous,

they've sourced a mould they hope will give them an edge.

Wow! I saw Savoy using a fully round mould.

I'm so excited to see that, because it will be a perfect finish.

But there is risk,

because it will take longer to set.

If the mousse doesn't set in time,

they will not be able to unload the mousse for the case.

Fingers crossed it's going to be frozen.

So you're going to be taking deep breaths right to the last minute?

OK.

OK, pastry chefs,

that is half-time.

You have one and a half hours remaining.

With their spheres and opera slices chilling...

We need to put back in the freezer.

-OK. The opera 's too soft. It's going back in the freezer.

-Yeah, yeah.

..the teams' attention turns to the handcrafted miniature...

..the babka knot.

So the babka knot has to contain a filling.

We are looking for the perfect knot

so their handcrafting skills will be tested.

The babka knots must be identical.

This is a tricky process,

as the chefs are plaiting with miniature ropes of dough.

So it needs to be fermented enough

to have a beautiful, typical bread flavour.

So you're making the babka knots right now?

-Where's the dough, proving?

-Yep.

Those are nearly done, yep.

It's vital the dough is given enough time to prove.

Kumiko has left Anais in charge.

I've got 45 minutes. I will do the knots, and I will do...

So you've got the responsibility of tying the knots?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Inside the pastry will be

a raspberry compote

and a butter made from matcha,

a Japanese green tea.

It will be brushed with syrup

and sprinkled with dehydrated raspberries.

My jam is liquid.

That's way too liquid.

The only things I change is I put the sugar and the...

-The raspberry together.

-Yeah.

It draws the moisture out. You shouldn't have put it.

Oh! Don't think about that.

It's so hard in here, the pressure.

I lost it earlier on and Benoit just went...

Ah!

In the military kitchen...

Just shaping the babka knot.

You done this before, practised it?

Just a couple of times.

They were laughing there about practising a lot!

Oh, maybe not!

Here, we've got some toasted pecans.

They're combining the pecans with

a salted caramel mixture.

Once baked, it'll be washed in a vanilla glaze.

-This one?

-Yep, cheers.

The two others are bringing to their team captain

a spoon of whatever recipe to taste.

I think they want to show a well-drilled organisation,

so it'll be interesting to see what impact it will have on the result.

In the hotel team's kitchen,

captain Felicien has asked Loic to make the babka knots.

I've got 15 minutes to shape it.

He is making his dough with lemon zest

and filling it with a raspberry puree jam.

It will be brushed in a clear glaze and sprinkled with extra lemon zest.

You rolled it into these beautiful little shapes.

Yes, like a wheat shape, it's going to look like wheat.

It's going to look like wheat? But not tied in a knot?

Not really.

Have you seen him actually knot the babka knot?

That is certainly a conversation we need to have

when we are going to be tasting.

As a professional chef, I think they should pick up on this.

I am very disappointed.

OK, pastry chefs, you have half an hour, that is 30 minutes, remaining.

-Guys, we've got half an hour.

-What?

The Armed Forces chefs are using melted chocolate

to join their spheres together.

How are we doing for time?

It's just impossible, because I have got to get 36 done.

Not completely under control, not at the point we want to be at.

Just assembling the spheres.

The biscuits, there is more than we wanted. I tried to grate it down.

-We all good, girls?

-Yep.

-Yep.

-Everything under control?

-Not really.

-Not really.

OK. 'Felicien's spheres are still setting in the freezer.'

We start to have some problems with time, because the freezer

is not powerful enough and it's going to be really borderline.

I'm a bit nervous,

because I want everything to be exactly the same size when I cut it.

Just try.

'If the opera slices are not identical,

'the chefs will be marked down.'

-This is the tricky bit, yeah?

-Yeah.

It makes me feel a little bit nervous inside,

so I don't know how you feel.

-Do it now.

-I can't, it's not set.

You're not going to have enough time.

-BLEEP

-sake.

Cutting a straight line into a half-frozen opera is not easy,

but Liam has no choice.

Very nervous at the minute. Fingers crossed.

FELICIEN:

-No.

-Yes.

But the opera slice is the least of Felicien's worries.

The sphere is not frozen, so... now I'm going to go to check.

-You OK?

-Just getting...

-Little bit under pressure.

Under pressure, yeah.

So this sphere has been a nightmare,

now we're just hoping everything sets up.

Ooh, ah, uh.

WHIRRING

It's disgusting.

BLEEP. Oh...

The glaze is wrong, it's not the right consistency.

So we are quickly adding more gelatine.

Hope that it gets thicker and then I can glaze,

but I'm not sure I have enough time.

That is ten minutes remaining.

We haven't got time, so I'm doing it the traditional way.

-Just throwing it on with a ladle.

-Literally.

We should be fine, we should be fine.

You've swerved two disasters, no sinking Titanic.

Sinking Titanic would be not having the products up.

-But Felicien's team ARE sinking.

-The sphere is not frozen.

-If it's too soft...

-We're not going to be able to present it actually.

OK, pastry chefs, you have five minutes remaining.

One!

Mm-hmm...

OK, we have one minute.

We can show the judges our idea,

but we know we didn't have enough time.

OK, pastry chefs, time is up.

-Oh,

-BLEEP.

That looks really good, well done.

Was it all right?

Well done, girls.

-Oh, my gosh.

-Well done.

Row upon row of cakes and pastries made in just three hours.

Now the teams will have their work judged by three

of the finest pastry chefs in the world.

Kumiko's opera slice is layered with cherry buttercream,

pistachio joconde sponge and dark chocolate ganache.

We talked about the importance of the layering,

and we can't really see even layers.

And you didn't use your skill

of levelling it with the palette knife,

and it unfortunately shows.

You need to cut the cake to perfection.

I'm going to pick this piece over here.

Which measures about 3.5.

And we're going to measure this piece over here.

And it is three centimetres.

It's 0.5 different.

If you give about 0.1 different, I can accept that. 0.5 different?

It's not quite acceptable.

-You ARE a professional.

-Can I have five minutes?

-Come here, mate.

-Sorry.

-0.1 would have been all right.

-Sorry, it's my fault.

-No, it's not that, it's just...

I'm sorry, come on.

LAUGHTER

It's really not...

SHE SNIFFLES

We are professionals, we are

really proud of what we do every day.

We are quite hard on ourselves as pastry chefs...

-Yeah.

-..cos we always want things to be perfect.

-A little tear doesn't kill anybody.

-It just shows that we care.

-CHERISH:

-That's good, that is the spirit.

-Let me cut yours.

-OK.

I do really like the chocolate that you have used,

it does complement the cherry, it really does.

Your lovely buttercream,

it was working with the time challenge you had, because going

with very light texture mousses and so on

would have been extremely difficult to get right.

With buttercream, you were on the money. It's nice in flavour.

Well done.

Their petit gateau is filled with a Sable Breton biscuit,

cassis insert and yoghurt mousse.

It's wrapped in a cassis glaze.

So, the glaze. What went wrong?

Cos I saw you playing with the spray gun there...

- Yeah, my gosh, it was tough. - ..going all over the shop.

They are not uniform enough.

-I think you know that, you don't need us to tell you.

-We do.

I think the blackcurrant is kicking.

Really, when you put a flavour like blackcurrant,

you expect it to be there, and it is. The yoghurt mousse?

That might have been slightly over-whipped,

because I feel little fat crystals on my tongue.

The babka knot is made with a matcha tea butter and a raspberry compote.

In terms of the visual, I can see there is definitely a knot,

which was in the brief, so well done for that.

It is very wet, almost like liquid.

So I am assuming it probably wasn't supposed to be like that, right?

-No, more like a jam.

-It should have been a jam.

-Yep.

-Yeah?

But bread, to me, is my heart and soul,

and the texture of that dough is beautiful.

Really, really good. This was fermented correctly.

I can see hair on your babka knot, two pieces of hair.

-Oh, my gosh.

-Oh, my God.

I am a bit concerned, because it is a no-no for hair.

-TEAM MEMBER: It's the brush! CLAIRE:

-Pastry brush.

-BENOIT:

-It's a brush.

I know it's from the brush,

I do understand that it's from the brush,

but if this could have reached my customer, they would not know.

-Anything that you serve should not have hair...

-No, of course not.

..brush, any foreign article in your product.

'Was that the pastry brush they borrowed from Felicien's team?'

(Oh, God.)

Felicien's team has created an opera layered with

blueberry joconde sponge,

wild blueberry jam and a blueberry yoghurt mousse.

It's finished off with white chocolate

and mascarpone Chantilly cream.

My God, when I looked at this piece of pastry I say,

"Wow, I want to eat it."

And when I saw, Loic, how you temper the chocolate, I said that...

"I like the way he tempers chocolate, it's very sexy."

He move around, he scrape it - love the way you work.

I am not completely in harmony with my dear colleague and judge.

What, you didn't find Loic sexy?

No.

The brief was saying you need to have a layered cake,

but at the moment, we see nothing.

You have gone to the trouble to pipe the cream to cover the layers.

Kind of really disappointed that I can't see the layering.

I'm not getting the blueberry, but the yoghurt is coming through.

With the cocoa, the chocolate, it actually works quite well.

It's not overly sweet, there is a lovely crunch to it.

It is really, really nice, thank you.

Their one and only sphere is served with yuzu and mango mousse,

a chocolate Sable biscuit and jasmine ganache.

It's coated in white chocolate and a mango glaze.

So we have one sphere, one sphere for the judges to try.

Is it fair to taste only one? We were asking clearly for 36.

There was really nothing for us to do,

except wait for the pastry to freeze.

And you kind of, like, feel helpless.

When you come to a competition, time management is so important.

You need to move like Formula 1.

-LAUGHTER

-Lewis Hamilton, there we go!

-OK, so I'm going to open it carefully in half.

-CHERISH:

-Wow.

-CLAIRE:

-That looks good from here.

That is an explosion in my mouth of mango flavour. Amazing!

Just hit every single surface of the inside of my mouth.

Completely, 100%... I know what it is.

So, Benoit, you happy, it tastes great?

Yeah, it tastes great, but it's meaningless to me.

We were expecting 36 pastries, we got only one to share between three,

so I cannot really mark that.

The babka knot has a lemon zest dough filled with raspberry jam,

all covered in a lemon glaze.

As you guys are French, do you understand the word "knots"?

-Yes.

-So what is a knot to you?

-A knot is something you...

-Tie.

-Yeah, tying.

-Tie together.

Now, we can ask you - is that tied together?

It's not a knot, not...

So it's not a knot, it's a knot which is not a knot.

We take a bit too much risk.

Those really under-proved.

You can see there's hardly any aeration at all.

It's almost like eating a biscuit as well, it's quite dry.

It's too heavy and too doughy for my liking.

And when I eat it, it's quite gummy in my palate as well.

Just frustrating. Just completely frustrating.

Mmm.

Liam's team have served an opera with pistachio joconde sponge,

raspberry ganache, pistachio creme mousseline and chocolate.

Guys! What happened to the military precision? Look at it, look.

A little thin, a little thick, uneven all the way through.

They need all to be looking uniform.

I'm actually a little bit disappointed

with your cutting skill.

When you use raw pistachio, it is very nutty when you get it raw,

but as soon as you crush it down and mix it up with other things,

it is a very mild flavour,

it kind of loses a little bit of its personality.

Their petit gateau sphere is filled with mascarpone,

white chocolate, lemon mousse, sponge and curd.

Was it done in two parts? I saw you working with...

-I made it in two parts.

-I see there is a bit of a sealing issue.

I'm going to tell you, this is the nicest thing I have eaten so far.

The lemon flavours are just phenomenal.

Not only are they phenomenal,

I am getting different hints of lemon, different strengths of lemon.

The handcrafted babka knot is made with a toasted pecan

and salted caramel filling and covered in a vanilla glaze.

Great shaping! Look at that shaping, amazing shaping, love it.

-Shall I cut yours?

-Thank you, Chef.

Ooh!

The dough is very, very heavy and it's very dry and it's very tight.

I just did not like it at all.

Instead of a proper kneading and a proper proving,

you've got something which clags in your mouth and sticks.

And that is not very pleasing.

However, I love that saltiness, nuttiness, caramel-ey flavour,

it's delicious.

Results in Creme de la Creme are based on points

awarded by the judges.

The team with the most points after both challenges is guaranteed

a place in the semifinal.

Each judge will award each pastry a score out of ten.

So that is 90 points available.

A low score for their miniatures could ruin

a team's chances of progressing in the competition.

I know.

Now, we are going to start...Felicien's team.

And for your opera aux fruits...

The judges awarded you 11 points for your opera.

And now the spheres.

Four points for your spheres, Felicien.

The babka knot...

11 points.

And that is a grand total of 26 points for your Miniatures Test.

'Only presenting one sphere has cost Felicien's team dearly.'

To Liam's team, your opera aux fruits.

The judges awarded you 15 points.

For your petits gateaux...

18.

And lastly...

14 for the babka knots.

And a grand total of 47 for your Miniatures Test.

'A full complement of miniatures leaves Liam's military boys

'a commanding 21 points ahead of Felicien's team.

'Can Kumiko's team beat them both?'

Kumiko, your opera aux fruits.

The judges awarded you 18 points.

The petit gateau sphere...

13.

'A score of 17 for their babka knot

'would put Kumiko's team out in front.'

Finally, the babka knot.

17 points.

Kumiko, your team is in the lead. Only just, mind.

Guys, you've deserved yourself a well-earned break.

Go on, off you go. Come on, dismissed.

-I think overall the judges are very harsh.

-Yes!

They're terrifying.

We are in first position, but the boys are right on our tail,

so we can't let that, you know, throw us off our game.

We need to give it all we've got.

Trailing by one point, if we can only make it up, we'll take over.

We just didn't choose the right strategy

because for everybody, it is the same.

Everybody working in a hot kitchen.

I really hope we can score a lot more.

Yeah, impress the judge and why not be first?

The second and final test is on such an extraordinary level,

-the day before the heat began...

-It is taking forever.

..the teams were granted a golden hour to prepare any elements

that needed to be chilled or set.

Chef?

They'll be creating an ambitious and spectacular showpiece dessert.

-Ah!

-Pipe!

And with even more points up for grabs,

there's no telling who will be top of the leaderboard by the end.

Who do you think could shine this afternoon?

I think Makiko is doing such a good job.

All the pressures is on her.

-Liam's team.

-Shows immense discipline.

They just need to go that little notch up.

And then Felicien is quite a way behind with 26.

Felicien's team is a little bit in trouble,

-but it's not over until it's over.

-I really believe in them.

The skill that I saw this morning was phenomenal.

Only need to work on their time management.

In the competition, anything can happen.

Welcome back, chefs.

Your second task for today is the showpiece,

that takes its inspiration from a popular British home-made pudding.

It's the trifle.

It was my first cultural shock, really, as to

when I joined the UK 20 years ago.

Let me explain what I faced.

A very boozy, over-soaked sponge with a cheap custard

and some fruit jelly. I seriously hope you can do better.

There is 50 points available from each judge.

So that means there are plenty of points to make up for any

earlier disappointments.

You now have three hours to get this job done.

Chefs, your time starts now.

Right. Come on then, guys. Smash it out. Yes, Chef.

A showpiece dessert is the pinnacle of the pastry chefs' craft.

Gently.

It needs elegance, drama, and an element of surprise.

It must take one's breath away.

-You are not leaving any chance to go wrong this time, yeah?

-No.

-Well done.

-I don't want.

-That's my man.

I wish I had a French accent.

And every one of the team's 36 servings need flavours

and textures that must be tasted to be believed.

Trifle to me is a very simple dish.

It's what British food is for a French man.

Oh...!

They will have to work very hard to inspire me with it.

The showpiece element,

what we've decided to do is we did a lot of research on the construction

of trifle and we went right back to

when it was first originated in 1576 and we've tried incorporating

as many flavours as we could from the years of it constructing.

Liam's team is creating their trifle using flavours past and present.

Strawberry jelly, Genoese sponge, custard

and sherry syrup will work alongside ingredients used

over 400 years ago, such as macaroons and ginger.

Their towering chocolate showpiece represents the different

ways in which the trifle has been constructed over the centuries.

Nuts and bolts and iron girders and they're all made of chocolate.

Everything's made out of chocolate. The main piece of it is actually

the curly bit over there which is coming out from yesterday's

-prep time.

-What are the risks with something being a metre high?

The maths of whether it was going to be too front heavy,

whether it was going to collapse. The balance.

Make sure the line of gravity was right through the centre.

So mathematicians, physicists and pastry chefs.

We're trying our best.

Liam's Armed Forces boys are only one point behind the leaders.

Their chocolate sculpture could be the difference between winning

and going home.

Every time I touch it, there's every likelihood it'll get damaged.

Of course, we're taking a risk.

We don't have a back up.

-You need to be careful because that's going to go.

-Yeah.

Just be careful.

-The other team is doing nuts and bolts. All men.

-The boys over there.

-All men. Here, little daisies.

-Yeah, pretty girlie things.

Pretty girlie things.

I won't go near that because I'm not like a pretty girl.

OK, mate, presentation. Tell me what it's going to be.

The whole idea is that the main components of the trifle

looks like a terracotta pot, but you can actually eat the whole thing.

Kumiko's English country garden will feature

36 edible plant pot trifles

made of pear compote,

gin sponge,

elderflower jelly, pear mousse,

and a cream anglaise.

It will be served on a bed

of chocolate soil and flowers,

with a watering can of quince coulis.

-You are one point in the lead.

-I know! One point...

One point is all it takes to win.

One point is nothing, though, and the guys are right on our tail.

It's still anyone's game.

'Kumiko has asked Anais to make a start on the chocolate flowers

'for the showpiece.'

Anais, Anais.

THEY SPEAK FRENCH

Team Felicien are also going green.

We're going to make like a...

a mini version of a Japanese garden.

Their Japanese-inspired trifle

will have a matcha sponge and mousse,

and a ring of cherry jelly.

It will sit within a garden of chocolate rocks and bonsai trees.

A sugar river will twist its way under a chocolate bridge

and through a bed of chocolate soil.

Japanese-inspired old English trifle.

-Made by French and Bulgarian people.

-Made by French and Bulgarian...!

-It's a multinational trifle.

-Yes.

'While Felicien takes charge of the trifle...

'..Irina and Loic are given the dirty work.'

We're making some rocks made of chocolate

to fit in our Japanese garden theme.

The fact there's a balloon with Happy Birthday written on it

is no relevance to what we're trying to achieve?

-Not really, that's what we found.

-OK, OK.

'After the first challenge, they're in last place.'

How are you feeling after this morning?

I think we feel motivated to really give our best.

This morning was wrong, but we're going to get 150 points from the judges.

You're going to get 150? That's what I like to hear.

We can make it, and we will make it.

-Make sure you put my hairdryer back when you're finished with it.

-Of course I will!

-Oh, sorry... I think it's your hair...

-Oh, yeah!

LAUGHTER

They really decided to take it all by the horn

and give everything they've got.

I think they're proud of the company they're working for.

Why should they leave the competition today?

Everything is to play for, of course.

In Kumiko's kitchen...

..they're sticking to the basics.

Trifle's a trifle at the end of the day, you know, you've got

to have the custard, you've got to have the jelly, and sponge...

Ten, 20, 30... Fingers crossed.

But there's one vital ingredient to be added to the sponge.

So what alcohol are you using?

-We've got gin and elderflower soaked sponge, and we love booze.

-Yup.

-So...

-LAUGHTER

The British love their booze

in the trifle, but the type of alcohol that they choose,

and the amount they put in, is so important.

I'm just testing it to see if it got enough gin in.

-Might need a little extra kick. Gin!

-I'd want more gin.

-I'd want more gin. Let's add more gin.

-Mmm. Yeah.

Are we OK, chefs?

Of course we are.

Now the booze is out, everything is OK.

We have a sherry-soaked sponge. Pedro Ximenez.

-Yeah, Pedro Ximenez, yeah.

-We've gone for a boozy one.

With their sponge soaked in sherry,

the military boys turn to the other trifle classics...

Custard.

If I spill it, we're all going down as one.

And strawberry jelly.

It's quite a traditional trifle.

Yeah.

Felicien, on the other hand, is bending the rules.

He's curling his jelly around the outside.

So, it's a jelly, but...

slightly different.

The jelly has been set using agar,

so it will hold the trifle in place when it comes out of the mould.

Once the trifles have been assembled,

the teams must get them into the freezer

so they have time to set.

Get that in the chiller as fast as we can.

So we can hopefully un-mould. That's our biggest risk.

Pastry chefs, you have one hour remaining. That's one hour.

-Let's really push on, now, guys, yeah?

-BOTH: Yes, Chef.

All of the teams are building their showpieces out of chocolate.

So that is some magic clever spray that's happening there?

Freeze spray, so it just shocks the chocolate into place.

So it's kind of like just blowing on really ice-cold air.

-That's it, chef, yeah.

-How are we looking on sturdiness?

Just done. Wouldn't touch it just yet.

So, your structure is going to sit on there, yeah?

Liam's team must mount their one metre tower onto the base.

A very nerve-racking moment.

In practice before, shelves have collapsed.

Things break, and...

That's pretty much it.

-All right, onto there, yeah?

-It's a delicate operation.

Shall we get it level? Need to be careful.

Fu...

-No, no, no.

-Right, we need to get it back down.

-Back down.

-Get it down.

-Lie it back down, the shelf's coming off.

-All right, put that back on.

Do you know, it doesn't feel tempered at all.

Because it's so warm in here, it's melting the chocolate,

so it's not holding anything.

We've had a little bit of a problem.

So we're just going to re-scrape,

re-temper some chocolate,

and start again.

'In the next door kitchen...'

This looks like breakfast cereal.

-Exactly.

-It's breakfast cereal in white chocolate.

It's breakfast cereals in white chocolate.

'Felicien's team from the Savoy are assembling

'their Japanese-inspired showpiece.'

-So, this bonsai, it's made of chocolate?

-Yes.

That's very skinny.

This one will be the river for our Japanese garden.

-What is it?

-Kind of like lollipop.

-Kind of like a lollipop?

-It is edible?

-Yeah.

Now, we're going to play a bit with the white.

Makes it look like white-water rapids.

Makes me want to get in a little kayak

and have a little paddle down it.

-Well done, chief.

-It's not me, it's all the team.

-It's a team.

-Yeah, yeah, teamwork.

-Live and die as one team.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

'While Felicien's team are right back in contention,

'in Kumiko's kitchen...'

-Can you just try un-moulding that pot?

-It's very soft.

Leave it in longer.

..their trifles are nowhere near set.

We'll check the trifle again.

Give it 20 minutes.

Getting a bit to the rushing stage. We are behind on this, now.

All right, we ready to go again?

The Armed Forces team have repaired their showpiece...

-Reckon it's going to work?

-I hope so.

-A bit more sturdy, yeah?

-..and are ready to mount it again.

-Very nervous at the minute.

-Moment of truth.

-Yeah.

Aw.

Nope. That's both gone.

-Right, come on. Come on, lads.

-Need to scrape off and start again.

Pastry chefs, you have half an hour.

That is 30 minutes remaining.

This is carnage.

Whilst Liam's lads start over...

Not how we wanted it.

-Come on, Andy.

-Yeah, I can only go as fast as that, mate.

..Kumiko's English country garden...

Edible soil.

Not too neat like that. I want it messy.

..and Felicien's Japanese garden...

-So that's going to be the stand for the trifle.

-..are taking shape.

This is a little bridge.

Multiple pieces of chocolate, like dark, white, and milk.

It's going to be the support for our trees.

Just getting everything ready.

-But there's one thing missing.

-It's not frozen.

-We just miss the trifle.

-OK.

-It's still in the freezer.

Same issue as this morning, the blaster freezer.

-So your trifle might not be set?

-(Yeah.)

-Mate, mate, mate, mate.

Felicien is in a bit of pain here for his team.

His trifle doesn't seem to be able to set.

It's a 50-50 call by the looks of it.

And they're not the only ones in trouble.

That's not going to come out. Stop, stop.

-It's not going to come out.

-I think it will.

No, that's too liquid, no.

Their trifles haven't set.

Can't get them out.

-I know.

-No way.

Yeah way.

New plan B, guys.

They've no choice but to leave them in their moulds.

It's a big disappointment. It would have been much more impressive to have the plant pot shape.

I'm sure you girls will be able to pull it out of the bag.

We'll go and cry after.

No, no tears, no tears! LAUGHTER

There's no need for tears.

How are we doing, special forces?

-Not so good?

-All the shelves collapsed.

-All the shelves collapsed?

-Yeah.

-Is it still going to be the same design shape?

-It's less showy.

-Liam, are you still happy?

-Not 100% happy right now.

All of that massive work, it must have been a heartbreaker.

-Just a touch, Chef.

-Just a touch.

The pressure these guys must be under right now, I dread to think.

Ten minutes remaining. You have ten minutes.

-Ooh.

-OK. Are we OK?

-No.

-No, we're not OK.

-Trifle is not set.

-Can we repair it?

-We going to try.

We'll spray it.

We're winging it.

When I was doing my A-levels, I did a whole project on trifle.

It's come back to haunt me.

Except this time, them three judges are worse than your teachers.

Oh, my God, like, 100 times worse.

Have you got a timescale to sort that piece out?

Erm, I couldn't give you one exactly at this moment.

You have about five minutes,

about five minutes to make this OK.

What do I do, Chef? We've got five minutes. I need to take them out.

(Oh, my God.)

This is really heart-in-the-mouth stuff, this is last-minute.

Proper nervy.

As soon as I can have that across here, can I get it across, mate?

-You reckon that is going to hold, now, do you?

-I hope so, mate.

Fingers crossed, now.

Careful.

-Just be careful.

-Oh,

-BLEEP.

One minute.

One minute remaining.

I need that, ASAP. Yes, Chef.

-You going to be all right on your own? Yeah?

-Be careful. Fu...

Be careful, because that's going to go.

Why did we do this idea, mate?

I don't know.

Macarons.

I need them now.

-Why did we enter this competition, mate?

-I don't know.

-I want more jellies, I want more jellies.

-Oh... Aah!

OK, pastry chefs, that is it.

Time is up.

-It's OK, it's OK.

-The worst bit's coming.

-Well done!

It's OK. It's OK.

-The worst bit's coming.

-Well done.

We can eat everything in the garden?

Not everything.

The terracotta pots were supposed to be unmolded.

And are we going to have to eat inside?

Yeah, you'll have to eat it like a trifle, I'm afraid.

I want to do this.

I hope it works.

You should be able to pour it. Be a bit patient with it.

Oh, look at that!

-Do you want a little bit?

-Oh, lovely.

-Into your spoon.

Look at that!

It's fun.

I love the flavour of the quince jelly.

-It's a really underused English fruit.

-Yeah.

I do have to say, though,

the texture of the mousse is a little bit gelatinous.

I can't taste the liqueur.

Jenny always says, "It could always use more gin.

-"It could always use more gin."

-Jenny is spot on.

-Yeah.

-BENOIT:

-There are technical issues.

I could see this potentially done properly being a great dessert.

Aha.

Well...

You've come back.

You're back in the race now.

Visually, it's very elegant.

Very pretty.

Would I have thought we could move the trifle into Japan,

an Asian country?

You know, I'm a bit surprised, but it's a good surprise.

Is this jelly on the outside?

Yes. Everything is edible.

The river we did with sugar,

the tree with chocolate.

For sure, I can eat the whole slice because the mousse is just so light.

And then the acidity from the cherry, it just combines together.

Beautiful, for me.

I could have the whole lot, and feel as light as before I started.

So that's a very light dessert.

Trifle usually isn't, so...

It's a new concept of a trifle and I like the way it goes.

I'm too British.

It's more like an entremet than a trifle.

But the special thing for me about it was the jelly on the outside.

It was a real surprise and it's very innovative.

You went back fighting.

As I would expect from any pastry chef and especially a French one.

-Well done.

-Well done, Chef.

-Thank you.

Wow.

So that's the construction,

so that's the story of the trifle for the chocolate work.

-How was it for you?

-We hit some real problems.

Real big problems.

All the shelves fell off, everything came off twice.

-Only twice?

-Stop telling him that?

Not bad. I think it's great.

I love the curvaceous shape. It's very voluptuous.

And I like the way that it's kind of masculine but it's feminine as well.

Lots of curves and then you've got those nuts

and bolts stuck right in the middle of it.

It's a bit Yin and a bit Yang.

I love the colours.

Love all these coppers and golds.

Chocolate's dark and you've really brought some light into it.

You can sense the flavour of the strawberry quite well.

-And the sherry.

-And the sherry, yeah.

It's a good choice of sherry.

It's definitely there, but it's not overpowering.

However, I do like my filling to be more flavoursome in the macarons.

-The macarons are perhaps your letdown.

-Yes.

You haven't got that typical almond kind of flavour.

It's slightly too sweet.

-But well done.

-Well done, Chef.

Cheers, Chef.

Just fingers crossed now.

Humble military chef.

To be on this stage...

To be on this stage with the likes of Felicien and Kumiko,

it's an honour.

For your showpiece desserts,

each judge will award your team a possible score out of 50.

When added to the score from this morning's test, the team with

the most points automatically goes through to the semifinal.

Pastry chefs, I have the scores.

Kumiko.

In your showpiece, the judges awarded you...

Which gives you a total of 64 points

and when added to this morning's scores for the miniatures,

gives you a grand total of 112 points.

'A low score for Kumiko's team

'has left the door wide open for Felicien's team.

Felicien, the judges awarded you...

Which gives you a grand total of 91 points for your showpiece

and when added to your score from this morning,

gives you a grand total of 117.

'It's a strong recovery.

'But will it be enough to halt the advance of the military

'and seal a place in the semifinal?'

The judges awarded you...

And finally...

Which gives you a total of 95 points and then when added

to your score from the miniatures, gives you a grand total

of 142.

That means you're today's winners.

Congratulations, guys.

You now have a place in the semifinal.

Well done, guys.

Absolutely unbelievable.

Couldn't actually describe it in words right now.

-Phenomenal.

-What a feeling!

-Well done.

-Cheers, Chef.

-Thank you, Chef.

I'm not going to give you a kiss, but there we go.

To show people that we can compete at this level

and we can stand shoulder to shoulder with these guys

is absolutely phenomenal.

A phenomenal achievement.

Well done.

Semifinals, boys, let's go! Let's get ready!

Can we take the aprons off?

Next time...

A macaroon master...

We do about 5,000 week.

Wow.

..takes on a team from a Scottish five-star hotel...

We just need to really rock on, Tommy.

..and a team of European bakers.

Mind the table, please. You'll give me a heart attack.

..in our tensest heat yet.

Oh, my God.

Who will be...

the creme de la creme?

Ooh!