Semi-Final Junior MasterChef

It's Junior MasterChef -

the competition to find the best young cook in the country.

From 2,000 applications,

only four have made it through to the semifinals.

Now, top chef and restaurant owner John Torode

and actress and cook-book writer Nadia Sawalha

have to decide which cook is good enough to win the title of...

Today, the final four continue the cooking battle of their lives.

Amber, Hajrah, George and Georgia

are just a step away from the MasterChef crown.

I think it's a really tough competition,

but if I try my best I stand a really good chance of winning.

I've been wearing my lucky bows since the start of this competition

and they've worked so far, so I've got another one on today.

Already, I've shown off my skills. It's just been a great opportunity

and I don't want all that to just go, I want to be the winner.

Everyone in this competition are really good chefs

and it's going to be very hard for the judges to pick a winner.

Today's two challenges

will be to cook their most delicious food for top celebrities -

first, they will feed three admired and much-loved writers...

..then, they'll cook for the hottest boy band on the planet, JLS.

Honestly, John, the person that does best today

could be well on their way to being our champion.

This is the semifinal.

Today, you are cooking one course each

for three very, very famous children's authors.

We need you to cook brilliantly.

50 minutes...

let's cook.

The four semifinalists are experienced cooks,

but if you're trying this at home,

make sure you have an adult to help you.

So far in the competition, 12-year-old Georgia

has wowed with her delicious, tasty dishes,

impressing the judges and even Doctor Who and his companion.

Mmm! Just how I like it. I'm going to have another one.

I'm really, really enjoying this competition,

it's like a rollercoaster - there's up and downs.

It's an amazing experience and when I'm older I want to be a chef.

Georgia, what are you going to cook for us?

Prawn poori with a raita yoghurt dip.

I've cooked Italian and I've cooked Thai and I want to show you

-I can cook all different culture foods.

-Fantastic.

Does the fact that the children's writers are so famous,

does that affect your cooking at all?

I'm hoping not, but when I'm walking out,

I'm probably going to drop the plate or something.

I won't think about that.

The skill to be able to fry those pooris to perfection

-is really tricky.

-It's tough, timing is the issue.

11-year-old George has displayed great skill

throughout the competition,

and also managed to turn Doctor Who's head with a perfect steak.

I'm impressed, hats off to him. If I was wearing a hat, I'd tip it.

I really want to show the judges this round

that I'm a really good cook and I can deliver some really nice food.

George, you have just filleted a fish,

taking all the bones out with a pair of pliers.

-Where did you learn to do this?

-My mum taught me.

It's clever, the idea of filleting a fish is fantastic.

What are you cooking today?

I'm cooking bream with a shallot cream.

George, this is a classic dish of onions or shallots and fish.

What makes it delicious?

Mainly the mixture of all the sauces and the fish, it's just really nice.

How do you feel about being in the competition?

I think every round my skills of cooking are better

and I'm just becoming a better chef.

Does that mean that you might be able to win, George?

If I try my best, I think I can.

I understand he wants to show us that he has the skill to fillet fish,

but I'm worried that that is going to take him a lot of time.

If he pulls it off, this dish is a star.

12-year-old Hajrah has stood out

with her creative and skilful ability to blend spices.

It's like fireworks in your mouth, really aromatic spices, gorgeous.

I think I'm improving every week

and hopefully the dish I make today should be the best so far.

-Hajrah, what are you cooking for us?

-Lime and chilli chicken

with crushed sweet potatoes and a chilli sauce.

What makes this delicious?

The sweetness of the marinade of the chicken,

and the sweet potatoes as well, and the bitterness of the chilli.

Wow. Are you enjoying the competition?

Yeah, it's a lot of fun to be here again.

You hold back that smile sometimes, don't you? Look there it is!

I'm really worried about Hajrah,

because I have huge expectations of her,

because I know how brilliant she is with spices.

It sounds a little bit too sweet to me.

During the competition, 11-year-old Amber

has consistently impressed the judges

with both her fantastic savoury and sweet dishes.

What an amazing texture that has.

I think I'd call that chocolate cloud cake.

I think my food says how delicately I cook

and how I put food together to make a good dessert.

-Amber, what will our guests be getting for pudding?

-Spotted dick

with a winter berry compote and a vanilla custard.

Spotted dick - a sponge pudding, filled with raisins and sultanas,

and then you're serving that with custard and berries.

How does that come together?

If you eat a plain spotted dick,

it's a bit dry and it needs something.

So I thought it needed some custard

and I put a bit of a modern day kick in as well with the berries.

(Do you think you can win the competition?)

I hope can I win.

I personally don't really fancy the berries with the hot sponge,

but I'm here to be surprised.

With 20 minutes to go, the writers arrive.

Andy Stanton writes the Mr Gum books,

which have been awarded the Blue Peter Book Award

and the Roald Dahl Funny Prize.

I think if you get to the semifinals of Junior MasterChef,

that's got to be pretty good, because it's called Junior MasterChef,

not Junior Not-Very-Good-Chef or Junior Urgh-Chef.

Charley Higson writes the thrilling Young Bond books,

which have been translated into over 25 languages around the world.

At home, if I'm writing,

I'll just have the most basic sandwich for lunch,

so this is a treat today.

Dame Jacqueline Wilson is the best-selling author

of the Tracy Beaker series,

which has sold over 25 million copies in the UK alone.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what they produce.

However, because I'm such a lousy cook myself,

if somebody makes a complete mess of things,

I shall try and be as sympathetic as possible

because I do understand how things can go wrong.

Georgia is first with the starter.

But will she cope with the pressure of cooking for the writers?

You've got one and half minutes left, Georgia,

but I think you can get it done.

Remember, you've got to do four, don't run out of your sauce.

Now your best three.

That one, that one and that one.

OK. You've got to go now, Georgia, just take them out.

-Lovely, thank you.

-Thank you, Georgia.

-Thank you, enjoy.

Georgia has made an Indian starter of prawn poori in a spicy sauce,

served on a poori flatbread with raita, a yoghurt-based dip.

The taste and the texture is good.

I think the prawns are astonishingly good,

-just perfectly soft.

-I'm very impressed.

If she had 50 minutes to do this, she's managed, I think, very well.

She made everything from scratch,

-so well done, Georgia.

-Very nice.

But will John and Nadia agree?

The prawns are cooked beautifully, she did a great job with the poori.

I have to say, the yoghurt is absolutely gorgeous.

I think I was quite calm and collected.

I did all right and I'm quite proud of myself.

OK, George,

a couple of minutes and then you're going to have to go, yeah?

Let's go, George, no time to waste now.

Looking delicious.

Next up, it's George with the fish course.

Thank you very much.

He's made poached bream with a creamy shallot sauce.

He's done a very good job on the filleting there.

Not a bone in sight. Well done, George.

You've just got this very nice, very soft texture of the fish.

It's done beautifully, all of it.

Well that was a cream, bream dream!

The bream is so soft and buttery.

And that cream sauce - it's perfect.

For me, for an 11-year-old to fillet a fish is just quite extraordinary.

I'm really pleased with my dish and hopefully it tastes really nice

and the authors like it.

Hajrah, you have got two minutes left.

30 seconds, you're going to have the get these dishes out now, OK?

Thank you very much.

Hajrah's main course

is a lime and chilli chicken on crushed sweet potatoes.

That's a pretty serious chilli kick in the sweet potato,

I'm not sure I can taste so much lime.

No, the sweet potato and the sauce and everything is all a bit sweet.

It's the sort of thing that my kids would really love though,

it's got that sticky, sweet, spare-ribs-type appeal to it.

I think it's a great attempt.

I expect a real punchy flavour from Hajrah

and I haven't got that in this dish.

It would mean a lot to me if the writers enjoyed my food,

because they are creative and I like to be creative with my food as well.

Amber, you have two minutes left.

Well done, Amber. Keep on going.

Right, you ready to go?

Happy with them all?

Take your three best ones.

Gosh, this looks exciting.

Wow. Thank you, Amber.

For dessert, Amber has made spotted dick

with vanilla custard and a warm berry compote.

This looks absolutely terrific.

Yes, it lives up to expectations, it really does.

I'm not a custard fan at all.

This is...

delightful and it just goes beautifully with the sponge.

And no lumpy bits either.

I think it would be fair to say if you got this plate

in a restaurant, you wouldn't be disappointed.

-The sponge is perfect.

-It is so light and fluffy,

but I feared the berries wouldn't go with it and for me they do not work.

I tried my hardest and for the authors to say

that they really liked my dessert, would be really good.

You are such clever chefs, you really are.

You gave us a delicious meal

and you presented it beautifully and served it with a smile.

I think you should all be very, very proud.

Well I think you're all fantastic cooks,

probably better than I'll ever be, EVER.

We're very glad that we don't have to decide which one of you

to put through as the winner, because you all did so well.

Our semifinalists have been absolutely brilliant yet again today.

This is just the start,

there's plenty more to come, the pressure will continue.

It's day two and our four semifinalists

arrive at a dance studio in South West London.

You have got an amazing challenge today,

because you are going to have to cook for a seriously famous boy band.

And that band is...

JLS! THEY SQUEAL

Oh, my God, we're going to meet Aston.

You will be cooking a two-course meal for JLS,

inspired by some of their favourite dishes,

and you are going to be cooking in teams.

For today's task, Georgia will be cooking with Hajrah,

and George will work with Amber.

The food has to be great,

because at the end of this we want JLS to applaud YOU,

not you to be applauding JLS.

Good luck, make us proud.

As there are no kitchens at the dance studio,

our contestants will be cooking in a professional kitchen down the road.

My sister absolutely loves JLS, her favourite's Marvin,

so she's going to be jealous when we get home, once she finds out.

I really want to work hard today because if I do good food,

I stand a big chance of wining the competition.

This is the last day of the semifinals

and this is, like, what counts.

So I really, really want to impress the judges, but mainly impress JLS!

If I can cope like I coped for the rest of competition,

I think I'll be fine.

For the next hour and a half we're going to cook for JLS

the most delicious food they have ever, ever eaten in their lives.

And then, we're going to load all our food on a trolley

and we're going to walk it down the street to the dance studio.

That's so embarrassing.

What will be embarrassing is if you drop it,

then a world famous boy band would be without their lunch,

that's embarrassing.

OK, one and a half hours, guys. Let's cook.

Each team will be responsible for making one main course

and one pudding based on JLS's favourite food.

Amber and George will be cooking spiced chicken with potatoes

and a tomato sauce made with paprika,

followed by cherry pie and vanilla cream.

I really need to get the preparation done, sorry.

Georgia and Hajrah will be making herb-crusted lamb,

served with potatoes and carrots glazed in honey,

and for dessert, tarte tatin -

an upside down apple tart coated in caramel with lemon creme fraiche.

Amber and George have decided to split their workload.

Amber has started stuffing the chicken,

ready to be rubbed with spices,

while George is making pastry for the cherry pie.

Amber, would you say that's done, yeah?

Yeah, it just needs, like, you rolling it in a ball.

Good, this is system.

See what's happening? You're helping each other.

I think the day's going to go well and I think that me and George

are going to work really well together.

Right, so try and keep tidy as we go along, as well.

Meanwhile, Hajrah is peeling the apples for the tarts,

while Georgia prepares the lamb.

I'm getting on really well.

I like the menu we've been given and all the ingredients

that come with it. I think we're going to do all right.

I think we just need to work together

and do the best that we can.

You're half-way through, guys,

so you have got 45 minutes cooking time left.

As the teams reach the halfway point, over at the dance studio

JLS's rehearsal is in full swing.

# Cos every minute's like an hour

# Every hour's like a day

# Every day lasts forever

# But what else am I going to do?

# I'll wait forever and day for you

# I'll wait up, wait up for you. #

Here we go. Chooks!

Back down the road, George is now working on the chicken

while Amber finishes the cherry pies.

So you two have swapped jobs, because...?

Because Amber's better at making pastry

and I'm better at making sauces.

Fantastic, good, playing to your strengths, absolutely perfect.

But there is a problem with the pastry.

George, I need help.

What's happened is the mixture's a bit crumbly

and we're using leftover bits to fill up the holes.

Meanwhile, Georgia is finishing the caramel for the apple tarts,

but the clock is ticking.

Get those apple tarts made,

otherwise, you're going to run behind.

I think we are just a bit behind on time,

but it should be OK if we just work quickly.

You take the side because it's heavy and they could drop.

-One, two, three, up.

-Wait, it's spilling out.

OK, be careful and then... And then push it.

There we go.

How long's your lamb been in for?

It's been in for about ten minutes now, so...

-Ten minutes.

-Yes, it's about 11 minutes.

-How long's it been in for?

-About 12 minutes.

-You know what time you put it in? It's been seven minutes.

-OK, sorry.

-Set the timer now for eight minutes.

-OK.

They look nice.

Cooking time is almost over and both teams have to pull together.

-I think they're done, George.

-Yeah, that's done.

Ready to rock? Trolley time, we are going down Fulham Road.

As the teams make their way back to the dance studio,

a hungry JLS are making their way to lunch.

Let's do it, boys.

Mmm! Yeah, boy.

With the food safely at the studio,

all that's left is for both teams to plate their dishes.

-Calm down.

-Come on, we can do it.

I'm really looking forward to this food.

Me too, can't wait.

But will their efforts be enough to impress JLS?

-I'm ready, are you?

-I think so.

-Are you pleased with them?

-They look good.

-Let's go.

Hi. Hi how are you?

-I'm good, how are you?

-I'm OK.

Wow, this is incredible.

Georgia and Hajrah's main is herb-crusted lamb

served with potato and carrots glazed with honey.

-Enjoy your meal.

-Thank you, girls. Take care.

They were really friendly, but I'm just hoping the lamb's going to be cooked.

Because it seemed a little bit rare on the inside.

The lamb's very tender.

Kind of melts in your mouth, it's great.

Georgia and Hajrah are my two favourite girls in the world

right now. Because this food is good.

JLS might be impressed, but will John and Nadia agree?

The lamb is absolutely delicious.

It's so sweet and juicy and I think that's the loveliest potato I have ever tasted.

It's now George and Amber's turn.

They have made spiced chicken with potatoes in tomato and paprika sauce.

-Excellent. Thank you.

-Thank you.

I think it went really well, do you?

Yes, they definitely liked the look of it. But it's just to see how they like the taste now.

Quite impressed by the flavours of this tomato sauce.

-The chicken falls off the bone.

-I love that, bro, that's poetry.

This food has inspired you.

It's lovely and sweet, the tomato, smoky with paprika,

lots of heat with the chilli and then that lovely moist chicken.

An absolutely fantastic dish.

Now, both teams have to serve their puddings.

-Wow.

-Lovely.

Thank you, Georgia.

Can Georgia and Hajrah impress with their tarte tatin with lemon creme fraiche?

-I hope you enjoy it.

-Thank you, girls.

-Thank you.

I think it looked really good, I hope it tastes good though.

It's absolutely delicious.

This dessert's actually quite light for it being a pastry-based dessert.

It's a classic dish that isn't too heavy

and it is just nice.

I love those perfectly cooked caramel apples with the lemon creme fraiche.

It is perfection again.

This isn't making it easy for us as judges.

George and Amber have made cherry pie with vanilla cream.

-Enjoy.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

It was tough, but I think it was a really good dish.

This is absolutely incredible. Wow.

Presentation-wise, fantastic

-and there's not a whole lot of sugar on top, which is nice.

-Yes.

I love the crumbly pastry - it's buttery and soft and melts in your mouth.

I really like the taste of those cherries, they are sweet and sticky.

The cream, it's light, it's fluffy, but it needs vanilla.

Well done. Wonderful. Wonderful.

I just want to say to you guys, absolutely amazing food.

You guys have impressed us so much today. You have cooked us

meals that I would expect to get in a top class restaurant.

I would like to second that and say congratulations to each and every single one of you.

We enjoyed it so much that what we want to do for all four of you

is to give you a ticket to come and see us on tour.

-Congratulations.

-Well done.

I'm really pleased that JLS liked my food because it's like not a lot of

people get to cook for them and it made me feel really happy.

They have obviously been to loads of good restaurants, so they knew good food.

JLS were all nice guys and they were really generous with their comments, which made us feel really good.

This has been my favourite day on Junior MasterChef and the best day of my life, because to cook for JLS

and to get a compliment from them was really good.

What an extraordinary day.

They did it, John, and they held their nerve and I'm as proud as punch.

They food they cooked today - absolutely extraordinary, beyond my wildest dreams.

I'm getting more and more nervous, because at the moment, there's nothing between them.

Next time, it's the final.

For Hajrah, Georgia, Amber and George, the MasterChef crown is now in their reach.

But only one of them will walk away the champion.

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