Episode 11 Junior MasterChef

It's Junior MasterChef.

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

From over 1,000 applications,

only four cooks have made it to the finals.

Now, top chef John Torode

and food blogger and TV cook Donal Skehan have to decide

which cook is good enough to win the title of Junior MasterChef.

Josie, Tom, Jamie and TJ are our four finalists.

They're about to have an experience few young cooks will ever get.

Today, they'll be taking their first steps into a professional kitchen.

-There we go. Restaurant.

-GIGGLING

Chill out, love.

I've never cooked in a professional kitchen before.

I didn't think it was actually going to come true, but here it is.

You've got to believe it.

Even in the best dream I've ever had,

I wouldn't have thought of anything like this.

Surprisingly, I'm not that nervous.

I don't know why.

But I'm looking forward to it.

It is such a big opportunity to be doing this.

It's just going to be absolutely amazing.

Good morning, guys.

This is where the competition starts and your adventure begins.

I was 16 years old before I was allowed into a professional kitchen.

This is a real privilege. This is extraordinary.

Remember, kitchens can be dangerous places.

Keep your eyes open, your ears open.

I can't wait to taste the food you're going to cook. Off you go.

Luke's Dining Room is the restaurant of a boutique hotel

set in the Berkshire countryside.

18-year-old Luke Thomas is in charge of the kitchen.

Food was always so important to me

because I was always the person who cooked at home.

It's what I enjoy doing.

At the age of 12, I used to go work at the local butcher every Saturday.

He used to take me to all these different restaurants that

he'd deliver the meat to, and I knew from that point onwards,

this is what I'm going to do for the rest of my life.

It's great to have you here today, I hope you enjoy it.

First things first, a tour of the kitchen.

So, this is our big fridge.

Normally about four or five degrees in here.

-Do you think it's quite cold?

-It's freezing cold, yeah.

So, all the raw vegetables and fruit are on the right hand side.

Towards the left are some prepared ingredients,

we keep some of the desserts. I don't want you to get too cold,

so if you'd like to come back, we'll go warm up in the kitchen.

This is what we call the hot section.

The oven... The gas...

And the solid top.

-You'll feel the heat even stood here.

-I want to go back in the fridge!

And then if you turn around and have a look here,

this is what we call the pass.

Have a look under here. The lights that keep this really nice and warm.

This is where we plate up all the food later,

and then we call service into the restaurant,

and that's when the waiting staff come and take the plates away.

In two hours, it will be lunchtime,

and Luke's invited guests will be arriving.

Today, our four finalists will be responsible for all the dishes,

but first they have to learn how to cook them.

So, Jamie.

Jamie will be making a starter of salmon cured in lemon, salt, sugar,

and coriander with pea puree, caviar and minted creme fraiche.

It's wrapped in clingfilm to get a really nice round shape.

Take the end off. Take a piece two centimetres thick.

A bit of lemon juice on top and a touch of pepper.

That is the salmon ready to go. Take some nice mint leaves.

-If you have a smell...

-It's fresh.

Create a little claw shape with your fingers so you don't cut yourself.

Be very careful with the knife and go very slowly.

Pea puree, you take a nice spoonful.

And just smear...

..the pea puree on the plate like so.

Take our nice salmon, creme fraiche, a little bit of each, caviar.

Baby rocket.

-And that's it finished.

-It looks really tasty.

I've used salmon quite a few times.

I hope I can achieve the dish that he's just achieved there.

Josie will be cooking the second starter.

A warm, crispy duck salad with pickled red onion

and pink grapefruit segments.

Get the pan nice and hot. Tip the duck straight in.

The idea is you wanted to get it nice and crispy.

If you stand back, you can guarantee you're not going to burn yourself.

Take the pan over, tip it onto there. Try a little piece of that duck.

Tastes lush.

Next, Josie will need to remove the skin

and pith from a pink grapefruit, and carefully cut out the segments.

Very slowly, let the knife do the work.

Lastly, she needs to delicately season the salad with honey

and mustard dressing.

Take a spoonful of that on there.

And then our pickled red onion is here. Finally, the duck.

-That's it, that's the finished dish.

-Absolutely gorgeous.

I don't think I'll be able to do it as nice as Luke has,

but I will certainly give it my best shot.

Luke has invited four people who really know the restaurant's food.

The hotel manager and his mum,

and two others who promote the restaurant.

The timing is going to be crucial.

It's trying to balance the two to work in an eight-minute window to

get them out on time together.

I want to start.

I'm expecting good things.

-OK, so, guys. The first order is in, and it's one salmon.

-Yes, chef.

-And one duck.

-Yes, chef.

What I'm looking for is focus, passion,

and real sort of dedication to what they're doing.

Second order now... One duck, one more salmon.

They now have just minutes to get their starters out for both tables.

The main thing I'm worried about is the swipe of the peas.

Perfect.

I think the two things I'm most worried about -

one, I might not get the grapefruit quite right,

and two, I might not get the duck crispy.

I'm just putting loads of duck on, because I think it's really yummy.

-Are you happy with them?

-Yes.

-You ready to send them? Yes?

The first table has been served.

Now, the second order has to be just as good.

I'd be really happy to pay for that.

Really, really great job.

Thank you.

The duck is really tasty.

Pink on the inside, crispy on the outside, exactly as it should be.

Maybe a little heavy on the vinaigrette, but really good cooking.

The salmon was delicious. Absolutely beautiful.

I got the swipe of the puree, and that was very good.

I perfected it, I think. I just want to do it all over again.

It was just such an experience to be in the pro kitchen

and doing all the stuff.

Really good! It's like, "yeah"!

Josie and Jamie have done really well.

Now, TJ and Tom have to do the same with the main courses.

TJ will be cooking roasted trout with crushed new potatoes

and a salad garnish.

First, he will oven cook his fillet of trout.

Straight in on the top shelf where it's nice and hot.

Close the door and we're going to cook it for 10 minutes.

That will go off when it's ready.

Next, TJ must crush and perfectly season some boiled new potatoes.

Just a little tiny squeeze of lemon juice, butter, some salt.

We're just going to sit them on the side and let them warm up slightly.

His next job will be to make the salad garnish,

with quartered cherry tomatoes, olives, and chopped fresh herbs.

-Do you know what this one is?

-Basil.

Be very, very careful. Take this out.

-And that's the dish finished.

-Wow.

When you're cooking here, you've got to get it out fast, serve it hot.

Hopefully, I'm OK with it.

For his main course,

Tom will be cooking Luke's summer truffle risotto.

His first job will be to chop and pan fry the button mushrooms.

We'll leave them to get a bit of colour on there, that's when

we start adding the risotto.

Let's take our risotto base, which we cook for about 15 minutes,

so it's still got a bit of bite.

To the pre-cooked risotto rice, Tom must add vegetable stock,

cream and truffle salsa, to create a rich, mushroomy flavour

and creamy texture.

We'll finish it with the Parmesan and fresh truffle.

Take the truffle - and they're very expensive.

Something like that would cost maybe £15.

Truffles are underground fungi,

unearthed using specially-trained sniffer dogs or pigs.

-They have a unique, mushroomy flavour.

-That's it.

Do you think you're going to be able to recreate this dish?

I reckon so, yeah. I think so.

I've just got to get it right, because it's a fancy thing.

OK, I've just got the ticket through to say the mains are away. One trout.

-Yes, chef.

-And one risotto.

-Yes, chef.

I'm feeling very confident.

Press start for 10 minutes.

With so much to remember, can the boys get the dishes out on time?

-Really slowly, take your time. Good knife skills, chef.

-Thank you.

So, one more trout and one more risotto, OK? Let's go.

-Maybe a little bit more liquid, do you think?

-Yep.

-How long?

-Three minutes.

-Cool, let's go.

Good job, really, really good.

That's my fish done.

I thought you did a great job. I hope you enjoyed it, too.

And I'm sure the guests will enjoy every mouthful,

so really, really good job and thank you.

A little bit salty, but, overall,

the flavours were well-balanced, the rice was well cooked.

I was impressed.

Presentation was really, really good.

It's very easy to overcook fish. That was absolutely spot on.

There's going to be some fierce competition for Luke.

I really enjoyed it,

it was really fun cooking in a big kitchen like that.

I think it went really well in the end.

It's given me a huge taste of being a chef.

I'm really excited about going in there and cooking again.

Most chefs create the dishes that appear on their menu.

Some will offer more than 20 choices.

But all chefs have their favourite, known as their signature dish.

The finalists' next challenge is to recreate Luke's.

Ribeye steak, cooked medium rare, served on sauteed spinach, glazed

with mustard and finished with peppercorns and a red wine sauce.

To start, what we're going to do is get some salt and some pepper.

Because of the bar marks in the griddle pan, there's no point

putting oil in, because it's just going to go between the marks.

What I'm going to do is oil the steak.

Very carefully, place the ribeye away from you,

so if it does spit, it will spit towards the back.

The secret to my signature dish is all in the cooking of the meat

and resting it.

The spinach just nicely cooked, nicely seasoned.

We leave it to rest and we're going to finish it with the mustard

and the peppercorns.

Making sure there's not too much mustard on top,

the right amount of pepper.

A nice amount of sauce - with every mouthful,

you want some spinach and some sauce.

-Do we feel quite confident we can do this?

-ALL: Yes.

-Great, I'll leave you to it.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Cooking and seasoning meat to perfection is hard.

Especially when you're cooking it for the junior judges as well.

It's very important that I get this right.

I don't want to muck up someone's signature dish.

Kind of an insult if I don't get it right.

Remember, these are experienced cooks.

If you're cooking at home,

make sure you get a responsible adult to help you.

The thing I'm nervous about is overcooking the steak.

But I've got my eyes on it, so...

Finished.

Jamie, you should be really happy

with the way you've cooked that beef.

It's medium rare, and it's been rested long enough

so that it eats very well. I think it could be a little cleaner,

rather than all the splatters on the outside.

You've cooked that steak beautifully, it's a wonderfully

tender piece of meat and you've given it the respect it deserves.

Maybe a touch too much mustard for me,

it's really quite hot in your mouth.

But I thought the steak was perfectly cooked.

Now we've seen you cook steak a couple of times,

-you seem to be getting better and better every time.

-Yeah.

I'm feeling really ecstatic.

I can't believe a really good head chef like Luke actually said

my steak was perfectly cooked.

Medium rare, just how he likes it.

I really, really want to impress Luke

and the judges in this next challenge.

Just have to watch the spinach and the steak,

otherwise I think I've done it all well so far.

I'm just a bit worried that I've maybe either cooked the steak

too short or too long.

Fingers crossed.

Josie, really nicely presented dish here.

Your meat is quite nicely cooked.

Personally, I like it a bit pinker, but it's really nicely put together.

It's more of a pepper steak than a pepper, mustard, spinach steak.

It needs a bit more mustard to balance it out.

I probably agree with John. You could have got away with a tiny bit more

Dijon mustard and maybe a bit less pepper. But really nicely done.

They said I put too much pepper on,

and actually just from trying it there, it was very, like, "woo!".

Peppery. It's just good to get it over with, isn't it?

I'm feeling a bit scared, because it's his dish.

If I make a mistake, he'll be able to spot it easily.

Jamie's plate was a bit messy, and Josie's steak was too peppery.

Can TJ get this tricky challenge exactly right?

My only concern is the meat. I want to get it perfectly done.

I'm trying to cook it a bit longer

because it looked really red inside.

Chef wants it pink.

That's more like it.

I'm happy with that.

Looks good, TJ. Let's hope it tastes as good.

I'm really impressed with how you've cooked the steak.

I think it's perfect medium rare.

Maybe just a touch too much mustard, but otherwise I think there's

a perfect amount of pepper, the spinach is seasoned nicely.

-Plenty of sauce. Think it's a great, great dish.

-Thank you.

For me, a bit too much mustard.

-But otherwise, I think it's very, very good indeed.

-Thank you.

Really well put together. I'm impressed.

I think I've impressed them a lot, because they just kept eating it.

TJ has triumphed. Can Tom get the perfect balance of mustard,

sauce and pepper on his steak?

I just really want them to enjoy it.

It will feel special to see Luke saying that I've

cooked his dish well, which is what I really want to do today.

That feels great.

Great.

Incredible presentation.

I'm just hoping that there's enough sauce to go around.

I think the flavour is really good. The steak is nicely cooked.

It would have been nice to see a little more sauce.

Tom, I really like this. The steak is cooked extremely well.

-I'm finding it hard to pick on something!

-Good job.

It went really well. Everything went to my liking.

The judges liked it, so I'm happy.

-What do you think?

-I had the most amazing day working with these guys.

Their knowledge and the focus they had is unbelievable for people

who are 11 or 12 years old.

I just hope we get more people like this coming into the industry.

They are the next generation of cooks.

I'm really happy about today. I'm very proud of the comments.

Especially my steak, so anyone who thinks I can't cook a steak,

you can put that in your pipe and smoke it!

I've learned so much about what it's like

to be in a professional kitchen. That is a great opportunity.

In the next round, I'm going to turn up the heat a bit and do my best.

The highlight of today has been cooking in a proper restaurant

for people I don't know, feeling like I'm actually working there.

Getting orders and, shouting "service" and stuff. It's been great.

I'm hoping that the next round will go really well.

I'm really just going to put my absolute all in, just cooking

until I'm dropping.

Incredible day. I think they all did a really good job.

We've got ourselves four cooks who were really eager

when they walked in the door, and now they're walking out

full of energy and knowledge.

May the competition truly begin.

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