Episode 9 Junior MasterChef

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

From over 1,000 applications, only 32 cooks have made it to the heats.

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.

Junior MasterChef -

we have four cooks who are all really passionate about cooking.

Four cooks who are going to come in here today and want a place

in that quarterfinal, but remember, we can only take one through.

Today, our cooks face two tough challenges.

First, a masterclass from me - poached pears, sable biscuits,

and mascarpone cream.

A classic dessert.

Pour a little bit of syrup over the outside, and there you have it.

And afterwards, they're going to be cooking two of their most

favourite dishes for us to taste.

The pressure really is on.

Boom!

Competing today are Sophie, Nia,

Danielle and Sasha.

'I'd love to win,'

so I am a little bit competitive.

'I feel free when I cook.'

I just love it.

'I'm really excited, because I've never done'

anything like this before.

'I'll probably grin too much'

when I meet John Torode,

but it'll be fun anyway.

'We don't know who's coming in here today,

'but we can be guaranteed one thing.'

Today we will find a quarterfinalist.

Welcome to MasterChef, guys.

First up, John is going to give you a masterclass,

but stay focused, because afterwards

you're going to be cooking it for us.

Today I'm going to show you how to make poached pears,

sable biscuits and mascarpone cream.

First thing you need to do is to get these pears on to cook.

So, into a saucepan, a good amount of water, sugar,

cinnamon stick and a teabag

which is flavoured with Bergamot and orange,

a spice and also a citrus flavour.

And then a little bit of rind of our orange and lemon,

a squeeze of orange and a squeeze of lemon.

Take your pears, keep the stem on.

Using your peeler, and be very careful of your fingers,

one lovely stroke,

and go around it as if you were doing a clock.

Has anyone ever made poached pears before?

-ALL:

-No.

-It's a first for everyone, then, today.

We're going to take the core out now.

So take your Parisienne cutter, round baller, turn it around,

and then we've got inside the pear.

Put both your pears into the pot.

To stop them from bobbing around, take a piece of greaseproof paper,

put it on top of the pot, just push it in.

Those pears now are going to cook for about 10 minutes.

John now begins rolling out the biscuit mix.

Just push it out with your fingers, so you feel it.

Now, a rolling pin.

And not too thin, otherwise they will break.

But I'm going to do some different sizes and different shapes.

So, biscuits in the oven.

You can call upon us if you want a hand.

If you do this at home,

make sure you have a responsible adult with you.

Next, John takes the pears

and the other ingredients out of the poaching liquid.

So, our cinnamon and orange rind and lemon and teabag

and everything comes out.

Put it into the bowl.

He then leaves the juice to boil down so it's thicker

and stronger in flavour.

Next, John prepares the mascarpone cream.

Then add to that vanilla sugar, or any other flavoured sugar,

and then do a little stir around, so the sugar starts to dissolve,

then add to that our cream.

Stir around.

With the mascarpone ready now,

it's time to take the biscuits out of the oven.

Please, please, please be very careful. These trays are hot.

And now to think about the presentation.

I'm going to take a big biscuit,

our mascarpone cream on top.

Put the pear on top.

Then maybe stack some biscuits on top of each other,

so we have a nice stack of biscuits.

Pour a little bit of syrup over the outside, and there you have it.

There's a poached pear, mascarpone cream and sable biscuits.

I think the cream goes really nice with pears

and the biscuit goes nice with the cream.

You've seen me do it, you know what we expect.

You have 40 minutes to cook this dessert.

Off your benches but first wash your hands.

Nine-year-old Nia is from West Sussex.

She loves to put her own stamp on recipes

and focus on making her dishes look great.

It's going to be a tough day because the competitors look very strong.

'I'm a little bit nervous,'

they look like they know how to cook.

-Nia, obviously you love cooking.

-Yes.

But who is your biggest inspiration?

At home, it would probably be my mum.

I once went for my birthday to a ship with a kitchen

and I met a chef there and we cooked a meal for my parents with her.

How did that happen?

-It was a birthday present from my mum and dad.

-Wow, that's great.

And Nia, what is it about cooking that you love the most?

I like eating and I think I like presentation.

A lady after my own heart! Good luck.

Ten-year-old Danielle is from Wales.

Her favourite hobbies are gymnastics, singing

and of course, cooking, which she started when she was four.

I get all my ideas when I'm, like, sleeping in dreams,

in bed and then I think, "Oh, that'll go!"

Danielle, what do you love about cooking?

I just love making things and putting spices

-and herbs together in a dish.

-Do you have a dream when you grow up?

To be a cooking teacher for a comprehensive school.

Brilliant, what a great thing to do.

Danielle, who's your inspiration at home, who's teaching you to cook?

My mum because she thinks it's important for me

to learn how to cook for when I'm older.

Good luck.

Don't want it too thin.

Guys, you're halfway through your cooking time, stay focused.

11-year-old Sasha from Middlesex

gets her ideas from her grandma,

mum and her dad who used to be a baker.

She loves making her own pastry, desserts and cakes.

I'm definitely going to try my hardest

and make sure that my food is good.

Sasha, why do you love cooking?

I find it fun and I like it when people taste my food.

-And when they like it.

-When you grow up, Sasha, what will you do?

I'd like to be a chef but if I'm not,

I like animals a lot so I'd like to be a vet.

Do you know, that's really funny.

I was either going to be a chef or a vet, and guess which one I became?

-A chef.

-A vet? No, sorry, a chef. Sorry, yeah, a chef.

11-year-old Sophie from Durham enjoys going to restaurants,

trying to cook challenging dishes such as creme brulee.

My mum is a good cook

but I think I am reaching a level that's higher than her now.

Come on.

Sophie, why do you love cooking?

I love cooking because it's a fun way to just have fun, really.

-I just love it.

-Sophie, do you get to do cooking at school?

No, but I'm trying to get the teachers involved.

So you're going to try and get cooking started in your school?

-Yeah.

-That's a brilliant thing to be doing.

How do you feel about doing this recipe?

I'm really excited but I'm really nervous as well.

Because I haven't poached this before.

-But you've made biscuits?

-Yeah.

Good, well, we're looking forward to it, Sophie. Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Good luck.

You have only five minutes left, just five minutes.

Your last minute of plating.

Guys, your time is now up, please stop cooking

and step away from your benches.

It's now judgment time.

Is the pear perfectly poached?

Are the biscuits golden and crumbly?

Is the syrup sticky and the cream sweetened with enough vanilla sugar?

Sasha, let's start with yours.

I think it looks really clean and really crisp.

Your pear is cooked perfectly.

You have that wonderful natural juice, honey-rich,

running through the wonderful mascarpone cream.

Your biscuits are beautifully cooked and they crumble in your mouth.

I think it's really very good indeed. I'd probably like a little more syrup

just so it coats the whole thing, but very good.

We've got that beautifully cooked pear but I agree with John.

I'd love to have more syrup.

But really nicely put together and I like your presentation as well.

I'm happy I got it done in time and that I think I did everything right.

Nia, really delicious dessert.

The syrup is beautifully sticky and sweet,

your pear is just perfectly poached

and then that crumbly biscuit underneath.

It's the perfect, perfect put-together dessert.

Nia, it's really good. Your pear is wonderful.

And I like the fact that you've done your own presentation,

one single biscuit, the syrup, not too sticky

but sticky enough that it clings to the pear. Well done, you.

I haven't done poaching before

but I got it perfect so I'm pleased about that and it was really fun.

Sophie, let's have a look at yours.

I love the way

you've stacked this up high and you're proud of your dish.

Your pears are beautifully cooked, wonderfully tender.

You've got that syrup spot on.

The star of this is all that syrup sitting on the outside,

citrusy-sweet and sticky,

and I think it's a great, great dessert.

It was fabulous to make one of John Torode's dishes

and one of his famous ones, I'd probably guess.

Danielle, it's like a starburst.

Boom! There it is! It looks great!

Wonderful cinnamon and orange and lemon,

the sweetness of the pear, the pear perfectly cooked.

For me, if I could have one little wish,

just a bit more of that wonderful, sticky syrup on it.

The biscuits are just so sweet and crumbly

and just a great texture.

'I think it went OK.'

But they said I just need a bit more sauce on the pear.

That's it, Round One done, and brilliant poached pears all round.

Thank you, off you go.

They said they liked the way I stacked it up

and I thought that was really good.

Did they like your presentation?

-Yeah.

-What did they say about yours?

They said it was perfect.

-They're good.

-They're REALLY good.

'They also decided to present the food the way THEY wanted to.'

And I like that. We've got some personality on a plate.

Next up, they're cooking their own dishes.

I am so excited to see what they come up with.

Welcome back.

You're going to be cooking two dishes for us to taste

so really make them delicious and have fun.

We have only one quarterfinal place.

One hour.

Let's cook.

Our cooks are working really hard

and whilst they're here they have us to call upon,

but if they're doing this at home

they'll need a responsible adult with them.

Sasha, tell us your two dishes.

Well, I'm making an asparagus risotto and a chocolate lasagne,

which is something I made up with my sister.

It's like lasagne except it's with chocolate cream and berries.

This sounds really exciting.

Who would be most proud of you if you got through to the next round?

My sister, probably, because, well, she was the one

who asked me to fill in the application form in the first place.

Chocolate lasagne!

With strawberries, raspberries and cream.

That's my sort of dessert!

I just hope Sasha leaves herself enough time to present it well.

Sophie, not a lot of ingredients here.

So can you let us know what you're going to cook for us?

-I'm going to cook a moules marinieres.

-Nice.

And then I decided to make an apple turnover

cos it's one of the dishes I like to make and is really tasty.

Why would it be so important to have a place in the quarterfinal?

I'd like to show my mum I can cook cos she's helped me

all the way through this.

Come on, come on!

Sophie's taking a bit of a risk washing her own mussels.

She has to make sure there's no grittiness

and that we have lovely, clean, cooked mussels.

That's it. A little bit more, a little bit more...

Her dessert, apple turnover.

It's got to be sweet but sharp, buttery pastry, lots of sugar on it.

If Sophie can get this right, we are in for a feast.

Time flies when you're having fun! You are halfway. 30 minutes gone!

Danielle, what two dishes are you cooking?

Salmon filled with soft cheese and bacon on the top,

and then for dessert, a mango, raspberry and ginger crumble.

Wow! This is very adventurous, isn't it?

Well, I really like raspberries and mangoes together,

so then I thought, "Ooh, a ginger crumble."

-We look forward to it.

-Absolutely.

Stuffed salmon with cream cheese.

I'm just hoping that combination really works for her.

For dessert, raspberry and mango crumble served with some cream. Yum!

Taste of the tropics and drop it straight into Great Britain.

A classic.

Nia, what are you going to cook for us?

I'm doing duck with pomegranate and mint

served with a side of potato and mushroom gratin.

And then warm honey pears with Gorgonzola and walnuts.

Hello!

Wow! What makes you want to put combinations like this together

which are a bit more daring than normal?

Well, I think it impresses.

And I think it's very unusual but the tastes really work together.

Duck with pomegranate and mint. Really interesting combination.

I'm just hoping they work.

For dessert, Nia has to balance the very sweet, ripe pear

with the saltiness of that Gorgonzola but one can't overpower the other.

You have only five minutes left,

you must think about getting your food on the plate.

60 seconds left, guys!

That's it, your time is up. Please step away from your benches.

Sasha has cooked a main course of asparagus risotto.

Sasha, I like the fact that your rice still has a bit of a chalky centre

and a lovely crunch to it.

It's a very sophisticated flavour

but for me, another big knob of butter at the end

just to make it really lovely and rich.

The great thing here is your asparagus is beautifully cooked.

You've kept the green colour, it's really vibrant and fresh.

Sasha's dessert is chocolate lasagne made with sheets of chocolate

filled with strawberries, raspberries and cream.

Got enough there?

Sasha, you've used four ingredients

and they are absolutely made to be with each other.

But, what I like the most, that milk chocolate,

it's really sweet. Great invention, very delicious, indeed. Well done.

I just want to dive into this dessert.

Creamy, chocolatey, sweet from the fruit... I'm loving the layers.

I love the way you're thinking about your dessert.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

It's an incredible feeling...

It's amazing. The judges liked something I made up.

Danielle's cooked a main course of cream cheese filled salmon,

topped with bacon and dill,

with courgettes, red onions and green beans.

You have the sweet, tender flesh of the salmon

and then you have layers of salty bacon on top.

Then those lovely vegetables, the courgettes and the onions,

which have caramelised. A very nice dish.

It's a really lovely sensation in texture and flavour.

If anything, I don't know if you need the beans.

Danielle's dessert is mango, raspberry and ginger crumble,

served with cream.

Those lovely raspberries,

it's got that girly pink around the sides. I'm loving this.

Underneath that layer of crumbly goodness

you have mangoes, raspberries and a whack of ginger in there.

Fantastic dessert.

Inside that crumble is this wonderful, thick mango

cooked down with those raspberries. I think it's really good.

I like the fact you're playing with flavours.

It feels really good when the judges eat my food

because it means all the practising I've done is for the best.

Sophie's made a main course of moules marinieres,

a classic French dish of mussels in a cream and garlic sauce.

This is how mussels should be served,

clattered into a big bowl with lots of bread on the side

so you can mop up those wonderful juices.

You took on the task of cleaning the mussels yourself

and you've done a really good job.

You've got the saltiness coming from those mussels

which are all perfectly cooked.

For me it needs a bit of lemon, or something like that

just to round it all off. But it's a very, very delicious bowl of mussels.

For dessert, Sophie's made apple turnover

topped with apple puree and served with whipped cream.

Sophie, your pastry is so buttery, velvety soft and crumbly

going with those wonderful sharp, yet sweet apples.

I like that you have that little layer of tart apple in the interior

and you've got those lovely layers of light and buttery pastry.

I'm really liking this dessert.

I'm feeling really proud of myself.

I didn't think I was quite going to pull it off.

Nia's main course is seared duck,

with pomegranate, mint and rocket

and a layered potato and mushroom gratin, or bake.

You get a little bit of mint

and then you get the iron richness that comes from the duck,

and then a sweetness from those pomegranates.

I think it's really adventurous. I think it's very clever.

-Thanks very much.

-Well done.

It was a brave move to choose this dish

because there's so much going on here.

A really good dish and I really like all the flavours in my mouth.

Thank you.

Nia's second course is honey pears

with gorgonzola cheese, walnuts and a honey dressing.

Nia... Wow! The crumbly, salty texture from that blue cheese,

combined with an earthy, nuttiness

and that sweet pear, it's fantastic.

Thank you.

This is a surprise.

The walnuts with the salty cheese,

going with the sweet honey

and those wonderful, creamy delicious pears.

It's a great, great thing.

Your cooking is really original

and a little bit dangerous.

I like that.

I'm most proud of my daredeviling with my pears

and my Gorgonzola cheese

because they thought most people would be scared of trying it.

An exciting day in the MasterChef kitchen.

I'm really surprised by some of the food

and I'm now faced with the reality I've got to send three of them home.

Can you believe that only one person's going through.

Oh...

-We all did really well.

-Yeah.

Today, we've seen passionate cooks and they produced delicious food.

It's going to make for a very tough decision.

Danielle's main course was really interesting.

You had that layer of salty bacon on top with the dill.

I really didn't know if it needed the green beans. I agree with you.

Do you know what, as a mouthful, it was all good.

Then for dessert we had that wonderful tropical flavour

of mangoes, raspberries and ginger in a crumble.

It was a really good looking dessert and a really good tasting dessert.

I think I've shown the judges that I can combine flavours

to make them into a nice meal.

Sasha gave us risotto.

I really like the creaminess and the rice was cooked perfectly.

I could have done with more butter.

Dessert, as you well know, I have a sweet tooth

and I devoured that dessert.

Sasha used four ingredients,

chocolate, raspberry, strawberries and cream and it was cracking.

I'm really not sure what's going to happen

but it would just be really amazing to get through.

Nia is an adventurous cook.

Duck, pomegranate and mint and a potato and mushroom gratin.

For me, it worked. Nia's cheese course was a risky one

and I think it paid off.

That lovely, salty blue cheese, the wonderfully sweet pears

and that nutty walnut, very nice textures

and wonderful flavours.

We've made it very hard

because every person had amazing dishes.

I loved Sophie's dishes today.

She cooked her mussels perfectly.

Nice and plump and sweet as well.

I just think it needed to be a bit sharper

to be able to go with that rich and creamy, sweet sauce.

The apple turnover, Sophie got absolutely right.

The textures were wonderful.

It's just so nerve-racking thinking, "Could she go through, or could I."

We had some really adventurous and quite creative cooks today.

That's going to make for a difficult decision. Who's it going to be?

-It's really hard to just wait, isn't it?

-Yeah.

But the clock's just going now, tick-tock,

tick-tock...

You've showed us wonderful dishes today

and we're really impressed.

Tough decision. We've actually got to lose three very good cooks.

We only have one quarterfinal place.

Our quarterfinalist...

is Nia.

-Congratulations.

-Congratulations, Nia. Well done.

-Well done, Nia.

-Well done.

-Well done.

I want to jump up and down and reach the roof.

I'm really, really happy.

My day's been extraordinary today.

I'm definitely glad that I came on

and it's just so good that I've got this far.

I'm feeling a bit disappointed,

but still happy I've made it this far.

A little bit disappointed but I had tonnes of fun today.

It's been an incredible experience.

I hope Nia gets as far as she wants and I wish her good luck.

It feels amazing, you know, and I'm just so glad

that this has happened.

I'm really going to try my best.

Nia will be back for the quarterfinal

when she'll compete with three other heat winners

for the title of Junior MasterChef.

If you'd like to make John's masterclass dish,

visit CBBC's Junior MasterChef page for the recipe.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd