Episode 21 MasterChef: The Professionals

It's the Professional MasterChef final.

48 ambitious chefs entered the competition.

And now, only the three strongest are left.

I want it a lot, I've worked so hard for this.

But there's two other people that's in my way.

To walk away today with the trophy would be absolutely incredible.

It would just be the pinnacle of my career, without a doubt.

It means the world to me.

I'm a one-in-three shot.

Why not dream? You know, dare to dream.

One of these is going to set this final on fire!

The question is...

..who is going to be our champion?

I grew up in a big family.

It was a pretty full house.

I didn't actually particularly enjoy school.

I wasn't particularly academic or bright.

Someone said, "Why don't you be a chef?"

I actually didn't know there WAS a job as being a chef.

Because growing up in Glasgow at that time, you would never dine out.

You know, you cook for a living, I thought, "People pay you to cook?

"How mad is that?"

It was kind of a Eureka moment.

My brother got me a job in a country house hotel.

At that point as well, I started college.

And then I got a call to ask

if I would be interested in maybe covering a class.

And before you know it, I had a part-time job.

Every Wednesday for 13 years.

I've been a chef lecturer... six years full-time now.

-Morning, guys, how are we? Are we good?

-Yes!

Being a chef lecturer is an amazing job.

Remove the limbs.

'Teaching the next generation of chefs,

'you've got a lot of responsibility.

'Not everyone is going to be heading off to London

'to work in Michelin-star'

but what I try and do is make sure that everybody is leaving college

being the best that they can possibly be.

The first thing you want to do is get those claws off.

He cares so much about all his students.

He will go over and above his call of duty.

He's very highly thought of by all the students.

Look at the swans.

On my first day at college, I met Sharon.

-I thought you could buy anything on the internet?

-You cannae buy a swan.

Can you no' buy a swan? I'm surprised.

And we just kind of clicked.

To be honest, I didn't like him to start with.

I thought he was a bit of a know-it-all, teacher's pet.

But the more I got to know him, the more...

I'm stuck with him!

I've been married to Sharon for 24 years.

We've got five kids.

'The reason I entered MasterChef, my kids were saying,'

"Why are you not in that show?" and the students were saying it.

You know. So it just seemed quite natural.

Do you think Dad should make pizza in the final?

-Yes!

-Do think I'll win making pizza?

-Yeah, I think.

-The kids, yeah, they're all super-proud,

every one of them.

If Gary DID win it, just achieve something for him alone

and not to be for work... Couldn't be any prouder.

He's done amazingly well, so he has.

Gary stood out. While other people were shaking,

he seemed completely and utterly happy.

I knew we had a contender in the kitchen

when we tried Gary's cherry crumble tart.

There's a lot of skill in this dish. It's a really good job.

Gary always has so much technique and skill that he wants to showcase

in every dish that he's brought into this kitchen.

Just naturally brilliant and beautiful.

Ticks a lot of boxes for being a proper piece of work.

It's such a tough journey and you push yourself to the absolute limit.

Gary is an all-rounder.

His dessert at the French ambassador's residence,

it was the dish of the night.

Oh, that is perfect.

I loved it.

Eh, Gazza!

I mean, these experiences just don't happen to college lecturers.

-GREGG:

-Gary gave us haggis, neeps and tatties

better than I think I've ever had.

I think you've absolutely done a sensational dish and I think you've

nailed the flag of Scotland well and truly to the mast of this building.

Gary is a chef that's always cooked from the heart -

you could feel the emotion that goes into his cookery.

He's a very talented chef.

However, it hasn't all been plain sailing for Gary.

Chef's Table was really tough.

-You need a steady hand.

-Yeah.

I was trying a plate of food that looked outstanding.

It looks good, but, at the end of the day, a bit disappointing.

That was a great lesson for Gary, and he came back in here fighting.

He had a point to prove after that.

His experience with Chef Esben in Oslo

was quite a turning point for Gary.

The second I walked into the kitchen, it just clicked.

-MARCUS:

-For a chef lecturer to step into a three-star Michelin kitchen

and feel so at home is quite unique.

It's a completely different level from what I do for a living.

You got it. You got it.

I actually really, really, really like this dish.

Took what we do here, but you made it your own.

Yes!

We've opened the doors of another world to him.

My time in Norway,

probably the first Eureka moment I've had in the competition.

The whole attitude towards food, it just seemed everything he'd done,

I understood the concept, just an incredible experience for me.

I absolutely loved it.

Gary's story is incredible.

There is a teacher who has become pupil.

And embraced every single lesson

and is having the time of his culinary life.

There is every chance I could win it.

I don't think there's anyone who's got their nose in front.

So it's really...heart and soul on a plate is going to get me through.

I have always stayed in the south-west.

I love this area.

I think I'll be based here forever.

I've got a twin sister.

My dad brought us up until we were eight years old

on his own, as my real mum left us when we were one.

I was a single parent.

Having to stop work

and have that time with them is probably one of the best times

of my life, to be honest with you.

He stuck by us.

He's been there ever since.

He's been strong for me.

Since I was a young age, my whole career

has been based on being in a kitchen.

I started washing all the pots and pans.

One night, there was a chef down and the head chef said, "Oh, Elly,

"can you jump in and can you cook me some mussels?"

I was like...

I ended up doing the whole service.

And then it just went from there.

It was long hours. When you're young, you go out with your friends.

I don't think I did that, really.

I was more in the kitchen till one o'clock at night,

cleaning down, going home to bed.

There was always times where I thought, you know,

I don't think this is for me, and it's too hard, I can't do it.

It was a sort of a pressure point

to maybe throw the towel in or keep going.

My dad has always been the one that says,

"Look, you've done it, you can't back out now."

All I've been is someone to try and keep her going in the bad times.

Like any parent does, you know?

But...I stuck to it.

I got my first job in a Michelin-star kitchen when I was 18.

That was my first level of high, top-end cookery.

All about trying to get as high as possible.

Get myself out there as a female chef.

Service.

-Want to sit here, Dad?

-Yeah, we'll sit here.

'Elly has always got it there.'

To do something really magical.

I think, if you do go through and win it,

which I think you can, it would be the best thing that ever happened

-to all of us.

-Yeah, I know.

-We're all so proud of you, so well done.

-Thank you.

The first day was horrible.

I felt sick, I was so nervous.

Elly was one of the first chefs to walk into this kitchen.

She set a benchmark from the onset.

It's a brilliant, brilliant dish.

For me, it's a ten out of ten.

That was the best feeling.

Thanks.

'And I think I set myself such a high standard,'

that's what they're expecting of me every time I get in the kitchen.

Elly's journey in the competition has been all about precision.

And great cookery!

It really, really presses all the buttons. It's great.

The sauce is exceptional.

I LOVE this dish.

SHE GIGGLES

There are 11 other cooks in that kitchen,

and she put a marker down right there and then.

I'm on edge now, thank you!

She's such a serious chef.

She's not someone you want to mess with in the kitchen,

and I love her attitude, the gusto,

the fight that she has when she's cooking.

But no chef goes through a competition as big as MasterChef

without the odd little mistake.

My tart is a bit burnt.

Which is a shame.

The chorizo is just not coming through strong enough.

It would have worked so much better

if there was more of it on this dish.

I didn't think the pressure was going to be this tough.

That's not good. Let's get another one in.

Table three, we've got to do the dessert again, OK?

Can you apologise for me?

I messed up a little bit there.

The further you get into the competition, it's more heated.

At Chef's Table she came back fighting

with a beautiful, accomplished dish.

Come on, Elly. We really need to get moving.

Elly absolutely nailed it with her brill raviolo.

-You see the finish line now?

-Yeah.

Whoo-hoo!

I thought that was a delicious dish.

It's one of the best dishes we've ever had at MasterChef, I think.

I mean, it's clean, it's beautiful. It's a pleasure to eat.

-Wow.

-Thanks, mate.

-Beautiful, beautiful.

You know, walking in there as the only female chef,

it was massive for me.

I felt there was a lot of love in this dish,

and for that you should be very proud of you.

So, very, very, very well done.

It's physically draining,

but you want it more and more and more, so every round you go through,

you're buzzing for the next round and you just can't wait.

Make sure every single one is perfect.

I've never seen so much drive, so much commitment in a chef so young.

Incredible talent for the future.

Incredible!

-First three-star?

-Yes. Won't be the last, I hope.

That's my girl!

It shows that you CAN get what you want and you can be ambitious.

I've come this far, you know, we'll see.

It all depends what's going to happen in the kitchen today.

I was born in Leeds.

It wasn't great growing up - we didn't have a lot of money.

The food was just rubbish!

My parents couldn't cook. It's probably part of the reason why

I got into it, just to make sure me and my brother got fed properly.

I started in the industry, I was 14 or 15.

I liked it when I was in at pot wash,

chopping potatoes and picking spinach.

And then it went up the next level and then the next level again.

It became a real passion for me.

I got head chef quite young,

at a local Spanish restaurant.

And then moved to London off the back of that,

and worked at an incredible restaurant down there.

This way!

It was the best time of my life cos I met this beautiful girl

called Natalie, that I ended up marrying.

'But the worst time of my life, because my dad was ill.'

Dad was knocking at death's door,

so I made the decision to move back up north.

And then unfortunately he passed away.

To hold his hand meant the world to me.

When you have, sort of, trauma like that in your life,

you evaluate things. I fell out of love with food.

I wasn't bothered for it.

So I swapped to the other side of the industry.

So, thanks for coming

to the demo today.

Currently I'm a regional development chef

for a global manufacturer of combination ovens.

Doesn't matter if the probe doesn't go all the way

cos it's got six different sensors, OK?

Since he's come out of the kitchen, like a part of him has kind of gone.

He doesn't have this energy...

..that he normally would do.

But with MasterChef,

it's like he's been reinvigorated

with love for the cooking and love for food.

'Sometimes when he's called me to say,

'"Oh, yeah, I'm through to the next round," I'm nearly crying'

because it's just like, this is incredible.

It's incredible for him, it's incredible for him.

I'm so excited for him.

So, are you going to win it, going to smash it?

-Let's do it.

-OK.

I do remember my first day in the kitchen, the judges all stood there,

having never met them. It was awful.

Matt didn't know how to T-bone a plaice.

But he certainly knew how to cook one.

What this tells me is, Matt, you can cook.

Matt gave us a signature dish,

and it was the first time we'd tasted

one of Matt's absolutely fantastic sauces.

There's flavour bursting out of that plate, Chef.

I've loved Matt's sauces along the journey -

he could make those in my kitchen ANY day.

That was an outstanding gazpacho,

possibly one of the best I've ever had.

What a punch of flavour.

It's dark and earthy and almost angry.

I think I've been SAUCE-RER of this competition.

I don't think I've put a bad one up.

For me, one of the dishes that really stood out from Matt

was his roasted quail dish, and that beautiful sauce to go with it.

I wanted that extra something special, and you've done that here.

I'm really, really happy with this dish.

Matt's style of cooking is not elaborate.

His plates of food have been on the simple side.

I want a little bit more.

I'm not going to forgive you for the simplicity of your dish.

It's been kind of kneed in the groin.

I was just expecting a little bit more here from you.

If you're going to put a rose petal on the plate,

do something to it so that I can eat it.

Chef's Table was really tough.

I realised the magnitude of it.

Pressure.

And that's what I miss, that's what I miss,

being back right up against it.

Very, very nice, Matt, looks good.

What it has done is, this has reignited my passion for food.

There was a moment when I became extremely proud of Matt.

I thought the beef was cooked absolutely to perfection.

Really superb plate of food.

That was right up my street. That was a banging dish.

To please some of the top chefs in the world is a big thing to do.

I was just like... Bottom lip started.

That, for me, was one of Matt's finest moments.

And that's when I started to think, "There's a chance here,

"there's a chance I could do something in this competition."

-MARCUS:

-Matt is a chef that had lost his love for food.

But I think this competition has relit his fire.

Very beautiful, Chef, yeah? Killing it.

'I can stand here with my head held high and my chest puffed out'

and say, "Yeah, I do deserve to be here."

'I'm going into the final with a lot of confidence.

'I'm a one-in-three shot.'

But I think...I would bet on me.

I think it's been an absolutely fabulous journey.

They've come a long way.

They've just got to push themselves one more time.

Welcome to the Professional MasterChef final.

YOUR Professional MasterChef final.

But now, it has to be the best three courses you've ever cooked

in your career, if you're going to be our champion.

Show us how much you want this.

I wish you the best of luck.

One final push.

Three hours, three courses.

Don't just cook, guys - create magic.

Excitement, tension, energy.

This kitchen's going to be very hot today.

I'm in the final of MasterChef Professionals.

It's the biggest thing that's happened in my career.

It probably won't get much bigger, so I've just got to enjoy this.

Get the nerves to one side, I've got to have a smile on my face,

just crack on and make three cracking plates of food.

And it could be me, you never know.

-Big day today, Matt.

-It is indeed, yeah.

What's it all about for you?

Bit of a personal goal for me,

I just wanted to not get kicked out after the skills test,

so I've surpassed that! So, as far as we're going, I'm quite happy!

And it's given me back that love and that passion that I had for food,

when I first-ever started out all those years ago.

Is there a goal in mind, is there a dream?

The dream has always been from a very young age to own a restaurant.

But that sort of died when my father did.

I was just, "I'm not bothered for it." But it's been reignited now.

I'm excited by it, I'm excited by the prospect of who knows what?

What have you got to put into this to win this?

I've just got to make sure that I leave nothing here,

just put everything into it,

show the guys that not only can I bring good flavour to a plate,

but I can actually make it look kind of pretty as well.

And hopefully I'm better than these two, but that's no mean feat.

Cos these two are absolutely incredible.

We know when Matt is cooking that we get amazing flavours on the plate.

Matt's first course is inspired by working with Chef Esben in Oslo.

He can take exactly the same ingredients

and make them into a three-star dish.

But I've taken the experience... and putting it into my food.

Matt's first course consists of about four ingredients.

Apple, scallop, celeriac and cucumber.

He's got batons of cucumber,

which he's pickling in a little cider vinegar to go with his dish.

Matt is serving us two different purees.

One is celeriac.

Celeriac needs to be cooked down, so it's not grainy at all.

The apple puree - I don't want to see

too much sweetness going into this.

It's all about the simplicity

of something absolutely as stunning as an apple.

There is also going to be the addition

of a little veal jus on the plate.

It's a scallop dish,

so I'm really intrigued to see how the meat jus works with this dish.

Interesting.

Really nice jus that I'm just going to dot the plate with,

-just for a bit of meatiness.

-With the scallop?

Yeah, just a tiny, tiny bit.

Brave lad!

The introduction of a beef jus.

Now, I've never had that before.

How does that affect that dish?

Does it move it into meat and spoil it?

That really interests me.

Matt's main course sounds absolutely fantastic.

Dexter beef is a beautiful cut of beef.

It's delicious.

He's making little mini potato fondants

that he's cooking in goose fat.

They are going to taste divine with this beef dish.

The garnish that Matt is serving with his beef -

onion puree and a shallot pastry tart.

The beautiful juices of that shallot

should start to run through the pastry.

And he's going to finish it off,

hopefully, with another one of those beautiful sauces.

It's a great-sounding dish.

Done.

This dish, for me, is all going to taste incredible.

This, for me, is about refinement,

this is making it look knockout on the plate.

I'm trying to inspire myself to be better,

and hopefully this dish will say that.

The dessert, I've tried to push the boat out.

There's a lot of technique that goes into it to get it all bang-on.

Matt's dessert today is chocolate tart with raspberries.

He's making his own pastry.

And then he's going to pour in his ganache mix

and bake it in the oven for a few minutes.

Matt's also making a raspberry and vanilla sorbet to go with it.

Great combination of ingredients, lovely flavours,

but technically, this is a dessert Matt has to get right.

We expect perfection in the final when it comes to pastry.

That tart has got to be spot-on.

Pastry - got to sort of be brave and show that I can actually do it,

to a certain level.

If owt's going to let me down, it's going to be that, I think.

I tell you what, he's going through a whack of processes.

That's a man out to win the title.

They've got to be better than Elly and Gary, which is no mean feat,

you know, those guys are incredible.

And I've just got to take all the criticism and all the praise

and just sort of ball it up into one big plate of joy,

and make it taste and look incredible.

One hour gone, Chefs!

Two hours left before one of you lifts this title. Come on!

It's absolutely huge. It's going to be one of

the hardest things I'm ever going to do in my career, to date.

So I've got to walk in there with an open mind

and just absolutely smash my next three dishes.

You've come a very, very long way, haven't you, Elly?

You know, I entered this competition with my eyes open,

thinking I might not even get here, and now I'm in the final three,

it's absolutely amazing. And now I'm cooking my last three dishes

-to get me the title.

-Who will be most proud of you, do you think?

My dad, because he's my number-one fan.

He's supported me throughout this whole competition.

For me to tell him that I've won, well, he'll probably keel over.

But, you know, I entered this competition

for me to show what I can do,

and what I like to cook. It's an amazing feeling.

The only person I am worried about is me,

because I'm the one who's cooking it.

If I make a mistake, it's my fault.

But with these three dishes, I am pushing myself,

and I've got a lot to do with the time.

Elly came into the kitchen today 1,000mph.

She's got a lot of work going on,

and she really wants to get a few jobs done, out of the way, fast.

Her first course is salmon two different ways.

She's going to be confiting the thick side.

There's sugar, salt, lemon and orange going through this cure.

To make the tartare, she's going to be chopping up the belly.

She's adding fennel and cucumber.

It will then be dressed with a bit of orange, lemon,

lemon juice and olive oil,

so it's a very light and very refreshing tartare.

There's also going to be a pate de brick and a seaweed tuille.

It's almost like a filo pastry.

It's going to have a sprinkling of the seaweed going on top.

Elly's salmon may sound simple, but there's a lot of different elements

and they've all got to be just right for this dish to work.

Especially that marinading of the salmon.

Making sure that it's not too long in the salt and the sugar element,

because it could cure the fish too much,

and it won't have that beautiful soft texture.

That is a little concern that I have.

Her main course is three different types of lamb.

I love lamb. Haven't cooked lamb in the whole competition.

For me, I wanted to keep that until the end,

to showcase something that's quite special.

She has the rump that she's going to put into a sous vide bag

and water bath.

She's going to braise the neck end down.

We've got this sweetbread

that she's turning into a beautiful little croquette.

She's going to be serving it with a mint jelly.

Mint, without a doubt, goes very well with lamb.

I LOVE the sound of Elly's lamb!

Sweetbreads may be the best thing ever in the world.

I really hope she can bring that all together - that sounds delightful.

Elly's dessert is a cannelloni with a raspberry mousse.

She's serving it with a peach and raspberry fruit salad with tarragon.

I love the idea of tarragon in with fruit. I can taste it right now.

It's just a little bit of aniseed. That works for me.

I hope it works for the other judges.

The cannelloni has got a nice twist to it.

It's not made from pasta.

It's a tube of caramel.

The risk factor here is you've got to make sure it's thick enough,

because it becomes such a fine mix, literally melts into nothing.

This is going to be filled with a raspberry mousse,

which she's making from a raspberry puree, whipped cream,

and just holding it together is a little bit of gelatine,

which I think is a very good idea.

Would you do something for me?

-Yeah.

-Would you make it big?

Yeah, no problem!

She's also making a tarragon ice cream to serve with her dessert.

Everywhere I've eaten, you don't tend to have a herb

with your dessert.

I've challenged myself, because I wanted to do something different.

I've never had a tarragon ice cream before,

but I do know that this herb works very well with fruit,

and it certainly works well in a dessert.

Wow, this menu sounds divine.

Deep down inside, this young chef wants that title.

The next three dishes have to be the best three dishes I've ever cooked

ever in a competition, so yeah, it's going to be a very hard day.

Halfway! Hour and a half left.

I think by far these are the most important three dishes

I have ever cooked, ever in my whole career.

And that's saying something,

considering how long I've been cooking.

Gary, did you dream you'd be here in the final?

I did dream, but it was definitely a dream.

So I feel as though I'm in a dream just now, to be honest.

You know, it's such a long journey

and there's so many chances when you can't be here,

and to be here's just amazing.

A massive risk for someone like myself coming on this.

You know, you've got lots and lots of students looking up to you,

and they're putting their career in your hands, and if you come on here,

don't do well, you're pretty much knackered.

-Paid off, mate, didn't it?

-It has done, yeah.

It's paid off massively, yeah.

And not only the fact I've got to the final, it's what I've learned

and how I've changed as a chef which I think's going to change me

-going forward.

-Who's going to be most proud of you?

I think my wife and kids, definitely.

I don't think people realise how long a journey it is, you know,

to get to the final, and they've been with us

every single step of the way, so it's been brilliant.

I really do like the sound of Gary's menu.

I'm thrilled that he is using quite a lot

of his ingredients from Scotland.

For Gary's first course today, he's using razor clams,

which he calls "spoot".

Gary is going to quickly steam-cook the clams using white wine.

When you're cooking spoots, the margin for error is zero.

It's 30 seconds' cooking.

If it's 40 seconds, they're tough.

He's going to serve this with a garnish using artichokes, lemons,

asparagus and courgette.

-GREGG:

-To introduce asparagus and artichokes, that is dangerous.

Big vegetables, kings of the vegetable world.

And they've got to play second fiddle to that clam.

Not easy.

He's also making a little lemon gel to add the citrus.

I like the sound of this dish.

The main thing is, it's got to really smack of the sea.

When you taste it, it should really take you to the seaside.

Gary's main course is roe deer.

He's going to smoke it.

That brings a wonderful element to this dish.

Gary's also doing celeriac three ways.

He's making it into a crisp...

..a puree and also a dice.

When the judges try the food,

I want it to transport them to the west coast of Scotland.

It was a menu that I wrote looking out the window in Norway.

Everything that I'm putting on that plate has been inspired

by my time there.

He's also using a mustard that's from an island off Scotland,

it's an Arran mustard sauce.

And I'm really intrigued to see if the sharpness and the flavour

of mustard works with deer.

Gary's got some carrots that he's sliced into ribbons

and he's flambeed them with Scottish whisky.

Love the sound of that!

And much as I want the judges to get that whisky flavour...

..it can't overpower everything else.

When you're working with big flavours

like smoke and whisky in the same plate...

..it's technically quite difficult.

For dessert, Gary is making a sable breton,

which is a very buttery, very light biscuit.

It puffs up, and when you bite into it, it's just like butter, it melts,

it's delicious.

He's then going to fill this breton with a raspberry gel.

He's making a pistachio ganache.

Ganache has to have the right consistency.

It must be beautiful and smooth and not grainy.

Gary's made some fabulous desserts in this competition,

and I think this is going to be another one.

I'm trying to have a little showstopper dessert.

There's lots of elements.

The raspberry gel has to cut through the richness of the chocolate.

Getting the ganache to the correct temperature so that it pipes.

There's no tricks, bells or whistles.

It's good cookery, good technique and good flavour.

30 minutes left.

Come on!

It's so intense in here.

The focus is brilliant.

Can't wait to taste the food.

There's a lot of nervous energy in the air, but I like what I'm seeing.

Right, listen up.

90 seconds!

That's it, stop!

Matt, up you come.

Matt, I think you should be very proud.

You've done a great job on the presentation.

Matt's starter is pan-fried scallops

served with celeriac puree,

apple puree, pickled cucumber,

garnished with red vein sorrel,

and finished with a port and red wine veal jus.

The cooking of the scallops has been very, very well done,

very gently sealed and seasoned as well.

There's a little earthiness of the creamy celeriac puree,

and the little batons of apple that just sort of zing in the mouth

when you bite through them. It's a very, very good dish, Matt.

I really like the sweetness of the apple that comes through

in the apple puree, and then the sharpness of the pickled cucumber

just really cleanses.

It's very light. I think it's a great start to three courses.

I was concerned about the addition of a veal jus.

But it's such a tiny amount that you just feel it on the back

of your tongue, like salt.

It almost acts like extra seasoning.

For his main, Matt has cooked fillet of Dexter beef,

served on a poached shallot tart,

with goose fat potatoes, onion puree,

girolles, broad beans, baby asparagus tips,

and finished with a port wine sauce.

You have such a big chunk of meat there.

I wish you'd been confident enough maybe just to slice it a touch.

The beef is incredibly rare, but for the people you're cooking for today,

it absolutely works a treat.

It's so tender, it almost melts in your mouth.

The vegetables are all beautifully cooked,

the potatoes have a lovely softness about them.

I was really looking forward

to trying one more sauce from you, Matt.

The sauce is amazing, as always,

and that's all I have left on the palate, is that flavour you get.

And I really love the shallot tart.

I think it's a shame that you hid it under the beef.

It's delicious, it's very sweet,

you've caramelised the shallots perfectly, and the crispiness

of the pastry is still there. It's a little star on its own.

Great job.

The cooking is just solid. It's just absolutely solid.

Matt's dessert is a dark chocolate and raspberry tart,

topped with raspberry jelly and fresh raspberries,

served with strawberry popping candy and a raspberry and vanilla sorbet.

Hm!

I put it in my mouth and I just went floating up into the clouds.

That chocolate and raspberry tart is absolutely divine.

In fact, I've eaten quite a few chocolate tarts,

but right now, I can't remember eating a better one.

That has great pastry, great chocolate ganache,

the fresh raspberries,

the beautiful freshness of the sorbet

that just cuts through the richness of the chocolate ganache.

This is one of my favourite desserts,

and I think you've done it justice.

I can't fault it.

I think it's a delicious looking dessert,

and it is as delicious to eat.

You've just completed your menu with a cracking dessert.

I'm just really pleased you rediscovered

your love of what you do.

This is what happens when you love what you do -

it comes straight from the heart.

No matter what happens today,

you really need to take that outside and build on it,

because you're a good cook and you deserve to be here.

-Happy?

-Yeah.

I'm over the moon with that. Borderline emotional, to be honest.

Yeah, it was really goose-bumpy.

Marcus telling me that I'm a really good cook - wow.

So happy.

Elly, please come and join us.

They are beautiful. Simply beautiful.

They look delicate, yet very intricate.

Just really pleasing to the eye.

Elly's starter is wild salmon two ways...

..tartare and confit,

served with a radish salad, apple puree, yuzu gel,

garnished with watercress, lotus root crisps, seaweed and fennel,

topped with a pate de brick seaweed cracker.

That, for me, is every bit as light and delicate as its appearance.

I think you've got very clever,

subtle little flavours going on with two types of salmon,

which is obviously the main flavour.

You have the apple and the cucumber round the side,

which brings sweetness and a bit of sharpness to the dish,

and you've got textures that go with it as well.

The lotus root

as well as that really lovely crisp that you have on the top,

with the seaweed seasoning.

That is a really lovely dish.

I like the idea of marinating salmon two ways,

and I like your garnishes that go with it.

You've got everything in this dish that I was expecting.

I'm just not 100% certain

that the curing of the tartare was the right thing to do.

It's a little bit firmer than I want from a tartare.

For her main, Elly has cooked lamb three ways - roast rump,

braised neck fillet, and a deep-fried sweetbread,

served with mint jelly, girolles,

pea puree, and a summer pea salad,

finished with a lamb jus.

The lamb neck, which you've cooked down, it just falls apart.

You have the sweetbread, which is still very moist

and soft on the inside, yet crispy.

That brings a lovely texture to the plate of food.

What I really did enjoy,

and I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did, is the mint jelly.

And I'm really upset that Marcus took the last bit off the plate.

I've enjoyed this main course.

No, more than that - I've loved it.

It's a beautiful flavoured dish, and that mint jelly, I think,

is inspired. Lovely, clear jelly, you get it in your mouth

and it just explodes!

It's very, very clever indeed.

You hardly see it on the plate.

There was a point where I thought, "Wow, I forgot about the mint jelly,

"there it is," and it was in my mouth, and it was a surprise.

That's what I look for in food

and you delivered that perfectly well today.

That's a fine-dining plate of food if I've ever tasted one.

I think that's probably your best dish of the competition.

-Wow.

-Wowzer.

Elly's dessert is a brandy snap cannelloni,

filled with raspberry mousse,

served with a peach and raspberry salad, raspberry jelly,

fresh raspberries, and a tarragon ice cream.

It's like a glorious sunset, isn't it?

The gold going down with the red. It's very, very lovely.

Raspberry and peach is a combination I really like.

Raspberry takes you up sharp, peach brings you down fruity,

almost like wine.

Then the tarragon ice cream is an absolute triumph.

I'm very happy with that.

I think that's very, very clever.

It's got a PhD from Clever Land, that has.

I just love the tuille with the nuts.

It's so thin, and the texture it brings,

the mousse with the raspberry, it's ever so light.

The peaches with raspberries and then the macadamia nuts

coming through, and then the hint of the tarragon of the ice cream.

This dessert...

is...

possibly one of my favourites I've had on MasterChef.

Really. I mean, I'm stopping short of licking the plate clean.

Thank you.

There's a richness, there's a freshness, there's a playfulness,

there's skilfulness, there's just an absolute plate of joy,

and if that's your last dish in this competition,

you should be very, very, very, very proud of yourself.

Elly, I think you're a great inspiration

for young women out there wanting to get into this profession.

And you've done amazingly well,

and I'm so proud that you are in our final three.

-God, I nearly cried.

-That was amazing.

That was awesome, well done.

I feel overwhelmed, and I'm so happy with what I've produced now.

Well, I've never heard anything as good as that,

so I'm absolutely thrilled.

Gary, please, come and join us.

Gary, I think your three dishes look fantastic.

I'm loving the colours.

Everything here's been very well thought out.

They look great. Great job.

Thank you.

Gary's starter is razor clams, served with asparagus,

Jerusalem artichoke discs and crispy ham,

on a bed of diced fennel, courgette, and carrot in a white wine sauce,

finished with a lemon gel.

Have I enjoyed the plate of food?

Yes, I have. Very much so. The clams have been wonderfully cooked.

And I love the flavours of the lemon gel on here,

and with the sea vegetables -

it has that reminiscent flavours, the taste, of being by the ocean.

I really enjoyed it.

-Thank you.

-If that's the direction your food is going in,

keep going down that road, because I love that.

It's divine.

Gary...

it's absolutely outstanding.

There's freshness, there's the ocean,

there's the taste of the razor clam.

They're not tough, they're not undercooked,

they're absolutely perfect.

That, for me, is a dish that would come

from any three-star Michelin kitchen in Europe.

Best razor clam dish I've ever eaten.

For his main, Gary has made

smoked and roasted loin of Highland roe deer,

served with celeriac three ways -

diced, pureed and crisped.

Roasted and whisky washed carrots,

crispy kale, gooseberry chutney,

nasturtium leaves, finished with an Arran mustard sauce.

What I really love is the smokiness on the roe,

and I also get bitterness from that whisky carrot.

This, to me, is like a walk through the Scottish Highlands.

I think you've absolutely smashed it here.

The deer on its own is very strong with the smoky flavour,

but when you eat it all together, it balances out very well.

The sauce is very rich. You've got the seeds.

They sort of pop and bring a little vinegary texture to the dish,

and I love that. The vegetables are all well cooked.

Love the sharpness of the gooseberry compote underneath.

Just really pleased for you. Really pleased.

There's nothing about this dish I do not like.

It's sublime.

The carrots in whisky - what a clever idea.

Carrot ribbons rolled up are a very boring thing for me,

but touched it with the little touch of whisky - great idea.

I don't even like whisky, but that was absolutely fantastic.

I was concerned about mustard with venison

but, wow, does that work?!

I could go on and on and on about this dish,

but I'm going to stop because I'd just keep going on all day.

I think it's fantastic.

Thank you.

Gary's dessert is chocolate pistachio ganache

on a sable breton biscuit,

with raspberry gel, topped with a pistachio croquant wafer,

garnished with fresh raspberries, mint and dehydrated raspberries,

served with vanilla ice cream.

It offers more than it shows,

which I think is the height of clever cooking.

That pistachio and cocoa nib dish that you've got on the top there

starts sweet and biscuity and it finishes bitter.

Also, your chocolate ganache

takes you into chocolate comfort and finishes on bitter.

It's very, very sophisticated.

It's very, very clever.

Raspberries and chocolate are always going to work,

but it's the execution

of getting the textures of that ganache just right,

the ice cream is just silky smooth.

You can taste the vanilla coming through it.

It is a delicious dessert, Gary, and you've done amazing.

The breton can be a very dry biscuit, but it's lovely and moist.

I love the little raspberry gel

you've put in between the raspberries.

Then there's a little, little touch of mint just sitting within there,

a little mint leaf that comes through that just lifts it all.

Gary, all I can say is... another great dish.

Seems to be a stuck record with you at the moment.

You've really, really come a long way, Gary, in this competition.

Phew, I'd love to be in your kitchen

when you're teaching, when you get back home.

And now that we've had your dishes,

I think we're in trouble with the judging.

-Cor!

-Cor! Absolutely.

I'm absolutely gobsmacked.

I'm over the moon. Really over the moon.

And when we walk back in for the decision,

there'll be that chance that my name might get called.

So, yeah, I've done everything that I could today, definitely.

What a great final.

I mean, we ran out of superlatives in the end.

It was just incredible food.

Incredible food from three really talented, driven chefs.

You can't ask any more from any chef but deliver that level of standard.

All three of our chefs were on fire today.

Elly's food today has been absolutely stunning.

Really proud of this young chef and what she's achieved in this kitchen.

Beautifully executed, pretty on the eye and even better on the palate.

This chef has got a very bright future in front of her.

Matt understands what it is that the punters want to eat.

I like him as a chef. I want to eat his food.

Matt's food today was very, very well-executed in all areas.

What a time to deliver it.

He's a renewed man, renewed chef.

Gary has found a style and he's running with it,

and it's exciting him, and I have to say, it's excited me as well.

Gary has been such a pleasure to watch rediscover himself as a chef.

The two dishes that I ate today that just absolutely blew me away,

they were Gary's.

-GARY:

-Regardless of what happens,

you want to walk away with your head held high,

but to win it would be absolutely unbelievable.

If I get crowned the winner today, I think I probably will cry.

My dad would be over the moon, he'd be the proudest dad ever.

I think I'll miss it. I'll miss the buzz.

I'd really love to win it.

Everything's crossed.

# These are the days of our lives

# They've flown in the swiftness of time... #

I've been a chef for well over 20 years,

and the one thing I can say is,

I know talent when I see it in the kitchen.

Professionalism is almost an understatement.

You surpassed that.

We've come a long way together.

But the journey's about to come to an end.

Professional MasterChef winner is...

..Gary.

Goodness me.

Amazing. I've loved every second working with yous. Loved it.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.

INDISTINCT

INDISTINCT

So many experiences, so many wonderful people met.

The whole thing has just been once-in-a-lifetime.

So I'll look back on it with fond memories and lots of excitement,

I really will.

I'm overwhelmed with everything at the moment.

You know, you've made friends for life now.

So...you know, I'm happy.

I'm very happy for Gary as well.

The best chef won, and he absolutely deserved to win.

Yes!

Incredible. What an amazing journey.

This is the biggest competition

I think any chef can put themselves through,

and to be standing here at the end is incredible.

I've just run out of words, to be honest.

-Well-deserved.

-Thank you.

-There you go.

-Incredible.

-There you are.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Cheers.

Cheers, everybody. Well done. Well done. Congratulations.

Champion.

Gary has soaked up every little bit of this competition.

He's lived the MasterChef dream.

He's a major talent,

he's grown incredibly well and is a gentleman of the kitchen.

That man has forged his own style of cookery

while he's been here on MasterChef.

It's modern, it's of the moment, and I think it's fantastic.

-Well done.

-I've hit emotions that I never knew I had,

all in, you know, 30 seconds of each other.

Words can't describe it. Never, ever thought I would...

I would win, never.

My wife and kids are going to go nuts.

They're absolutely going to go nuts.

# I am the spaceman flying high

# I am the astronaut in the sky

# Don't worry, I'm OK now

# I am the light in the dark

# I am the match, I am the spark

# Don't worry, I'm OK now... #