Episode 14 MasterChef

It's the last MasterChef heat.

Out of 60 amateurs,

nine are already through to next week's knockout stage.

Guys, congratulations.

I can't believe it!

Is it wrong if I ask you to slap me right now?

I feel like I need a reality check.

To be here still is just the best.

I don't want to jump the gun and say that I can be in the final yet,

but, maybe, it will start to take over my mind a little bit.

Bring it on!

Here's to ravioli.

This year the standard is sky-high.

We've found some gems.

Tonight, the last new group

will start their battle to join them.

These six amateurs all think they've got what it takes to become

MasterChef.

But at the end of today's heat,

only the best will go through to the last quarterfinal.

Welcome to MasterChef.

This, your first test, is your calling card.

We're not expecting perfection,

but we are expecting a little bit of flair.

One hour. One dish.

Your calling card. Let's cook!

I cook. That's what I do.

And I haven't got enough of an audience for my cooking.

I've got my two little boys and I've got my husband

and, frankly, if he ate everything that I wanted to cook,

he'd be absolutely huge.

Sophie, what are you making?

I'm making fregola with clams.

Fregola being a toasted Sardinian couscous. It's a pasta.

Are you Italian?

No, I'm not, but my husband is from Naples.

-Does your Neapolitan husband think you're good cook?

-Yeah. He made me do this.

He filled in the application form.

I'm looking forward to this, "il Sophio".

Thank you.

Sophie is one of those great cooks who is cooking from the heart.

Her love is firmly in Italy and she is going exactly that way.

I'd say I probably was quite an experimental cook.

I've got hundreds of cookery books,

but I don't think I've followed one recipe from them.

I just put my own spin on things. My own inventions, really.

Rhys, what are you making for us?

I'm making a Welsh curry

because it's got no other origins apart from me.

I'm serving it with a tahdig rice, which is an Iranian, sort of, rice.

My wife is half Iranian.

So, I've got a lot of pressure to...

not only from you, but from her as well.

Rhys is making a Welsh curry cos it has no origin.

It's his own invention.

It has spices from India, flavours of Thailand

and if it tastes good, brilliant!

You are over halfway.

Dave has got more machinery,

more ingredients than anybody in the whole room.

Dave is a technical cook and you can see that. A real show-off.

David, it's impossible to ignore.

-You have got lots going on.

-Yeah.

What are you making?

You're going to end up with grouse, bread sauce,

game chips, and a few seasoned veg.

Why MasterChef?

I spent the first ten years of my life in the Army not cooking

and always wanting to cook.

And I served in Afghanistan, went to the Balkans.

Erm, so, this is a whole new world of pressure.

I'd rather have that than this, to be honest.

You'd rather be shot at than cook on MasterChef.

That's pretty much the way I'm feeling now. Yep. Exactly!

My biggest weakness in the kitchen is going to be

trying to do too much.

For me, I think I just need to focus on

not trying to cram too much into that time.

Just filling it

and not spilling over the edge.

The smells coming from Reena's bench are lamb masala,

roasted butternut squash

and then rice flavoured with cumin seeds.

I think her food is going to taste wonderful.

It's just whether all those things belong together.

Reena, how are you doing?

A bit nervous. A bit panicky.

What do you do right now?

I'm a Scout Beaver leader.

So, I look after five to 8-year-olds.

Right. OK. I have had loads of people pass through MasterChef,

never before had a Beaver leader.

Beaver leader, anybody?

No, you're the first.

Do Beaver leaders cook brilliantly?

-They do, yes.

-Brilliant!

I've run ten marathons.

I've run New York, London and Paris.

So, I know what it's like to set myself a challenge.

What do you do for...for a job?

I'm a full-time dad.

Looking after twins, five-year-old twins.

-Are you the cook in the family?

-Yeah. Yeah, very much so.

Wife barely sets foot in it.

So, yeah, I'm in charge of the stove.

Tell me what it is you're making for us.

A pan-fried duck breast with duck livers

and then I've got a fondant potato to go with that.

I've got a nice port jus.

Is an hour enough time to do jus and fondant?

I hope so.

Robin seems, to me, to be a technical and a very classic cook.

Onion and duck

and potato sounds fantastic.

It's just whether he's got the skill to do it.

Just 20 minutes left.

I'm really here to have an adventure.

Much like Bilbo Baggins apart from there's no dragons.

-Alex...

-Yes.

-..you're making a dessert.

-I am, yes.

-Brilliant!

I'm making a ginger and lime banoffee pie.

What do you do for a job?

I play in a band. So, we play across Europe and everything.

So, I kind of travel a little bit.

I'm also a wrestler as well.

So, there's that.

Of course, rock music, wrestling and food go hand in hand.

Everybody knows that.

Finally we got a dessert in the calling card. Brilliant!

A wrestling rock star banoffee pie.

And if he can actually make us get excited by that dessert,

then maybe we're in for a winner.

You've only got ten minutes left.

OK. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.

I just want to get the skin nice and crispy.

If you keep on lifting it up, it won't get crispy.

You've got two and a half minutes.

Time's up! Stop.

-Rhys, pack it in, son.

-Sorry.

Full-time dad Robin's calling card

is pan-fried duck breast and liver

with fondant potato,

onion puree, onion crisps

and a port jus.

-Well...

-Without even wondering what he's going to say,

the things that we both love are

the livers, the onions,

the gravy and the onion puree.

That's just delicious.

The other side of the plate is a little bit scary,

in the fact that the duck's not quite cooked enough

and your fondant is also underdone.

If you'd have given me the liver, the onion, the port sauce,

I'd have me arms around you giving you a hug.

Cardiff-born Rhys has cooked sea bream

with his own Welsh curry

and tahdig rice.

Fish is cooked well.

Your curry sauce is nice not too thick not too watery.

The rice...nice light and fluffy.

Your fish is beautiful.

And underneath it there's a sort of sweet, savoury smokiness

from your Welsh curry.

It's not something I've ever tasted before.

I don't know if I'd order it again,

but the fish and rice are absolutely wonderful.

Ex-soldier David has cooked grouse breast and heart

with game chips,

fondant potatoes,

baby turnips

and pickled blackberries.

He's served it on top of bread sauce

with a red wine jus.

I really admire the hard work. I really admire the machinery.

I really admire what goes on.

But with all the process, we've sort of lost the love, David.

Your fondants aren't cooked. Your sauce needs to be a bit thicker.

You don't have to show us everything you know in an hour.

We'd be much more impressed with something that tastes delicious.

I think I was very keen to show off lots of things

and that was my downfall.

But then, at the same time, I have showed lots of things.

So, that could also be... Work in my favour.

So, I don't know, to be honest.

Beaver Scout leader Reena from Birmingham has made

baked butternut squash and masala lamb

with cumin rice

and cucumber ribbons and roasted cherry tomatoes.

Love that presentation of serving the masala inside the squash.

I think that's lovely.

However, I have no idea what the tomato and cucumber

is doing on the side of that. I don't know what it brings.

There's some nice things on here, Reena.

Love the spice and the heat.

You've got a garam masala in there in that lamb

with the sweetness of the squash.

I think it's a wonderful combination.

But for me, it's overseasoned.

Heavy metal musician and amateur wrestler

Alex has made the only dessert.

A ginger and lime banoffee pie

with chocolate ginger shards.

Oh!

The base of it is not too buttery, but very, very nice.

But in between there we've got this really solid,

chewy toffee like you get in a bag of sweets

-and to chew through that is a little bit of hard work.

-OK.

Good flavour combination, Alex.

But I don't know from this

what cookery knowledge and skill you have.

OK.

It's a good start, yeah.

I mean, it could have been better,

but I didn't want to walk in and just put the most perfect thing

on the plate cos then where do you go from there?

Finally, mum-of-two Sophie has made

an Italian inspired calling card

of fregola pasta with clams and red bream.

Your fish is just cooked brilliantly.

The pasta has got just the right amount of give.

It's a lovely looking dish. It tastes delicious.

What I love about it is not just the smell, not just the flavour

-and the texture, but the noise.

-Yeah.

Cos the rattle of the shells is just really lovely and musical.

-Thank you very much.

-Wow!

-I think it's absolutely wonderful.

I'm absolutely delighted that I've done it.

I got it out on time.

It looked good.

They both liked it.

At least that's one down.

The calling card.

That's a great introduction to you as a cook.

When we bring you back in,

we're going to properly start the competition.

Off you go.

Now, look.

In the blue box are the ingredients for a sweet dish.

And in the green box, the ingredients for a savoury dish.

You get to choose.

A savoury dish.

Oh, fantastic!

A rabbit loin with these livers in.

This is brilliant!

The box also contains smoked haddock,

bacon rashers,

curly kale,

vine tomatoes,

dried morels,

baby turnips,

leeks,

cayenne pepper,

polenta

and sage.

One hour, then.

What dish are you serving?

It's going to be my little, sort of, rabbit in the wood.

Rabbit filled with its own livers wrapped in bacon

served with mustard sauce

and morels cooked in red wine sauce

dotted around the outside of it.

That's loads and loads of stuff.

Contestants are always doing more than they need to.

It's a continual problem on MasterChef,

but not one I expect of a chef like John Torode to succumb to.

-Do you think I'm doing too much?

-No.

JOHN LAUGHS DEVILISHLY

How difficult is it to cook

the rabbit all the way through without it going dry?

Well, unless you do it something like this

where you're protecting it and steaming it

at the same time as roasting it,

it's quite hard because rabbit has no fat.

That's why you got bacon.

You've only got seven minutes.

John, you're, actually, pushing it a little bit, mate.

Absolutely super.

Oh!

There we are.

From the savoury box,

John has made bacon wrapped rabbit stuffed with liver.

He's served it with the baby turnips, morels, kale,

and potatoes

and a mustard sauce.

That is a flavour and texture

concerto going on in a bowl.

Let's get them in.

Welcome back!

This is an invention test.

You have to decide right now

whether you're going to cook sweet or savoury.

The green savoury boxes contain the same ingredients that John

cooked with.

-What's the meat here?

-Rabbit.

-Rabbit.

Yeah.

Robin and David have chosen the sweet box,

which contains

pineapple,

white chocolate,

digestive biscuits,

pecan nuts,

creme fraiche,

sherry,

and Szechuan pepper.

I haven't done pudding yet.

So, I thought I'd show them

that I'm not afraid of pastry or something sweet.

So, yeah, fingers crossed.

Never cooked rabbit before.

Scary.

So, ladies and gentlemen, you have made your decision.

Your own dish. One hour.

At the end of this, two of you are going home.

Let's cook.

-Are you enjoying this competition now?

-Yeah!

So far, it's actually fun.

We'll see if we can put a stop to that straightaway, Sophie.

So, what Welsh wonders are we going to have from your savoury box, Rhys?

Welsh rabbit.

Very good.

So, I'm making a pappardelle with the loin of rabbit.

You haven't got a pasta machine.

-No.

-So, you're going to be rolling like a thing possessed.

As the old women do in Italy.

You are halfway.

You've made your own pastry.

Yeah, I'm going to make some, like, gyoza dumplings.

How many times in your life have you made gyoza, Alex?

Erm, four times.

Great.

I see you're using orange and tomato.

I'm making baked rabbit on a bed of polenta

and turnips with chillies and tomato.

That's proper invention test, that is, isn't it?

15 minutes left.

-You're going to make a panna cotta?

-Hopefully.

You won't know if you done it right, until you get it out of the mould.

It's a gamble.

Erm, fingers crossed.

I love a bit of fingers crossed cooking, me.

David, are you going to attempt lots of inappropriate technique?

No. No, I've gone for five different elements.

You're only going for a five elements to a dish?

-You just can't stop yourself, mate, can you?

-I can.

Five minutes.

You've got one minute.

Stop!

Sophie chose the savoury box

and has served roast rabbit loin

on wet polenta with a rabbit sauce topped with sage.

-Most people try to change the way, Italian food looks...

-Oh, OK.

..and try and make it look really pretty.

And what you're actually doing is being honest about it.

-It looks great.

-Thank you.

Your rabbit, I don't mind the way it's been cooked

and I love the sage.

Your polenta could do with a bit more seasoning in it

and could be a little bit softer.

I think you've made a decent attempt.

I know that I can do better. And that's the frustration.

It's hard.

Rhys also roasted the rabbit

and has served it with tagliatelle,

morels and bacon.

Nice-looking little dish. The rabbit's not dry. Well done.

The pasta is too thick,

but your flavours are very nice.

Rhys, as an invention test, I'm really pleased.

Not just because you made pasta, which I think is great

and admirable without a machine.

I think it's a tasty thing. I'd eat the whole lot

and I'm really pleased for you in invention test.

I'm, sort of ,addicted to it now. I don't really want to go home at all.

I definitely want to go through to the next round

and see how I get on from there.

Reena has cooked rabbit filled with mustard and topped with onions.

It's served on a kale and polenta mash

with an orange, tomato and turnip relish.

For me, the dish has got this, sort of, clash going on

between the tomato, turnip, orange, kale, polenta, rabbit and mustard.

It's all a little bit of a mishmash.

Orange and turnip terrified me, but, actually, it's not unpleasant.

There are flavour combinations there

that I've never, ever had before,

but you can pack a load of flavour into a plate.

I'll give you that.

I feel much better cos I've used ingredients I've never used.

I've never cooked.

Alex's has made gyoza dumplings filled with boiled turnip,

with curly kale and morels.

You make gyoza you either deep fry them in oil,

you steam them.

What we've got is pan-fried bit of dough

encasing a sour, sharp turnip interior.

The sauce or glaze that you made started to burn

and that's why we've got the black on the outside.

I'm sorry I don't like them. I really don't like them at all.

These little dumplings, I'll tell you honestly,

they're getting close to inedible.

-OK.

-Sorry, mate.

Sorry? I'm sorry.

It wasn't good.

I knew it wasn't good beforehand.

So, I'm going home. I'm going to be the first one out the door.

From the sweet box, Robin has made a vanilla panna cotta,

caramelised pineapple with chilli and ginger syrup,

honeycomb and caramel pecans.

At least your panna cotta is a bit wobbly.

There's wonderful flavours on there.

I want some more of the honeycomb, which is absolutely delicious.

I want some more of that pecan brittle

because I think it's absolutely delicious as well.

We're a wobble away from a triumph,

but we've puddled our way into a bit of a disappointment.

Happy with the flavours I got in,

but let down by, as Gregg said,

a panna cotta puddle.

Gutted.

Finally, David has deconstructed a cheesecake

using Chantilly cream and creme fraiche

with the crumb biscuit side,

pineapple and honeycomb.

You can't create a dish if you don't have all the ingredients.

-And for cheesecake, one of the ingredients you need is cheese.

-Yeah.

You've got technique, David,

but I prefer my sweets or my desserts to be sweet.

There's nowhere near enough sweetness in this plate for me.

And if there's not enough sweetness in here for me,

gosh all knows, what's going to happen with him next to me.

This isn't nice because those biscuits need sweetening.

Those fritters are greasy.

The honeycomb is bitter.

I think you need to focus on fewer things to do

and make sure you've got them absolutely right.

Thank you.

I thought I'd done a good dish.

I thought it was sweet enough.

Interesting day, Gregg.

Well, I think we've got some good cooks.

I do think also there's...

there's some people here who shouldn't be here.

Alex made a banoffee pie. We said we needed to see more from him.

And tell you what, John, those dumplings were just not good.

I've got the constitution of an ox

and there's no way I could eat those. He's got to go home.

Yeah, Alex is done. Gone.

You must have a favourite cook, though.

I have. I have. My Italian mate Sophie.

Sophie's good. I like her.

I like the honesty of her food.

Sophie's calling card said lots about her.

Then in the invention test - rabbit, wet polenta,

some issues with flavours, but Sophie's through.

-I think she's great.

-Good enough for me, mate.

Erm, I need to put my hand up for one other person.

I think he's really good. It's Rhys.

From the early rounds, I knew Rhys had a good touch

and a fair amount of knowledge.

Now, I believe that Rhys has got a decent palate.

I see no reason why Rhys can't go through.

He's doing food that he likes to eat

and I think that's great at this stage of the competition.

So, we need to have a discussion about Robin, David and Reena.

I like Robin. I like Robin.

Gregg he made us pineapple chips with a panna cotta dipping sauce.

In the first round, his duck wasn't cooked. His fondant was undercooked.

I want to give him a chance.

You and I both loved the liver, the onions and the port sauce.

Loved it.

If I was to leave at this point having done what I've done

and knowing how much better I could have done it,

I think I'd just be kicking myself big-time.

But then you've got somebody like David

who's doing all these processes, showing huge amount of skill.

I think the fact that David has showed us umpteen

different processes is quite damning because out of all of those,

he, as yet, hasn't delivered anything that I really want to eat.

Reena is a bit of an enigma as well, huh?

We liked Reena's opening dish.

And, actually, I liked a lot of the flavours

she delivered in the invention test.

She can pack flavour. That's for sure.

But Reena's invention test was very, very confused.

Really confused.

I don't want to go home.

Not now.

Two of them I think deserve another chance.

Right. Two of you are leaving.

The first person leaving us...

..is Alex.

Thank you, my friend.

Cheers, guys.

It feels like I've just been dropkicked

in the chest, but I knew it was coming after what I served up.

I can cook, guys!

Second contestant to leave us...

..is David.

You'd like to stay further, wouldn't you? But it's what they've decided.

So, I'll go home with my head held high

and know that getting here is an achievement as it is.

Congratulations, guys.

Let me tell you, the next time you come back in here,

the heat's really on.

It's a tough day.

You are cooking for a place in the MasterChef quarterfinals.

What you've got to do now is prove it.

And prove it not just to Gregg and I

but to three champions and finalists of MasterChef.

Mat Follas,

Tom Whitaker

and Andy Oliver.

Ladies and gentlemen, your main course in one hour.

At the end of this two stay, two go home.

Let's cook.

I'm looking forward to cooking for the ex-contestants.

I've watched them succeed. I've seen their dishes

and admired their dishes.

So, I hope I can impress with what I'm going to do today.

No time to have your own packed lunch, son. Cooking to do.

That's just a snack before.

What are you making, Rhys?

Marinated and then seared fillet of beef with an oriental salad

followed by a tiffin base with a chocolate mousse cake.

What's a tiffin base? I thought tiffin was afternoon tea.

Typically it is. My grandmother makes a mean tiffin,

buttery biscuit with coconut,

-raisins and the bitter chocolate mousse at the top.

-Oo!

So, there's a bit of contrast.

Bring it on, Rhys. Better make sure it's delicious.

Better make sure it looks good because it's not the most

complicated cooking I've seen in the competition.

I'm really enjoying it. It's like being on a playground again.

Being a four-year-old, five-year-old.

-Reena...

-Yes.

-..are you making food from India today?

-Erm, yes.

-Hurray!

-Indochinese.

-Indochina?

-Yes.

It's very famous in India.

This is vegetable Manchurian sauce with rice.

I'm also doing choux pastry with cardamom cream.

Why did you choose these two dishes to cook for us?

Because Manchurian is one of my favourites.

And I love giving food out that I like and I like to eat.

Brilliant. A little bit of Reena love in a bowl, is it today?

It is, yeah. All the love and care.

Reena is cooking us pakoras, deep-fried with vegetables in it.

She's serving it with a sauce Manchurian with soy sauce and chilli.

Her food sounds very, very interesting.

Reena is so nervous. So, so very nervous.

You've had 15 minutes.

I can't imagine being in the quarterfinals of MasterChef.

It fills me with utter dread, but it's really exciting.

Bonkers, though. Mad.

-Sophie...

-Hello.

-..looks to me like you've left the Italian behind.

I have. Today I have. I thought I needed to.

What are you going to cook us, Sophie?

I'm going to cook you some Moroccan spiced lamb cutlets,

rose harissa roasted butternut squash

followed by a spiced fig mille feuille.

Right, Sophie. Get amongst it, love.

Crack on!

Thank you.

A lot of work in an hour.

mille feuille figs, 1,000 layers that's what it means.

Sounds wonderful. It's just whether she can get it all done in time.

In the previous dishes, some of the components have let me down.

I'm confident in my menu. I think the key thing is the timing.

Then I'll be happy.

What are you going to cook for us?

Roasted cod with a walnut gremolata crust, crispy bacon slice,

a garlic pomme puree.

Dessert is an apple and pear crumble with a Chantilly cream.

Can you crumble your way into a quarterfinal?

Erm, wait until you see my crumble discs.

I like the dishes I just don't think he's being realistic.

He's being over ambitious and I'm worried for him.

It's only 20 minutes before the mains go out, guys.

The first of today's guest critics is 2009 finalist Andy Oliver.

After the series finished, I quit my job.

I had always really intended to become a professional chef

and this was the perfect moment to do it.

But it was time spent working with Thai cooking guru,

David Thompson, that revealed his real calling.

That place absolutely inspired me.

In my first few months, the stress would, you know...

I find myself rubbing my temples in the middle of service

and going to bed seeing...

thinking there's a check still on the board.

That was really, really intense.

And it took me six months just for the level where I felt,

yeah, I'm going to be able to do a career that I think I could do.

After spending time in Thailand,

he returned to work at The Begging Bowl

serving Thai street food in London's Peckham

and has recently been listed as one of the five top young chefs

to watch out for.

There's been a real push to get to the level where I'm happy with,

where I can work alongside really good chefs

and feel I am holding my own.

Next to join the critic's table is Tom Whitaker,

who was a finalist in 2011.

It was an amazing experience.

We went to some amazing places. I got to work with some amazing chefs.

There's people who would kill for the experience.

After spending time in several kitchens,

in 2013 he helped launch a gastro-pub in South West London.

For me, I think there was never really any turning back afterwards.

It was kind of like, all right, well, you know, let's just do it now.

I...I think there's one absolute in MasterChef.

Your food should always say something about who you are

and what you are.

He now has plans for a second launch.

I'm still really loving cooking.

I'm still really enjoying being in the kitchen.

And, you know, I'm hoping that's only going to get better.

The final guest judge today is 2009 champion Mat Follas.

After winning, he opened The Wild Garlic in Dorset.

It was exciting having my own place.

It's the satisfaction of hand crafting something

and then sending it out and seeing the delight on somebody's face.

Over five years, the business was booming.

So much so, he located to a bigger venue,

but over expansion forced him to shut up shop months later.

It wasn't viable. I made a mistake in the move that I made.

But he's now back in business.

After launching a new fine dining restaurant in Dorset.

I love cooking and I love the buzz of being in the kitchen.

You know, talk to any chef

who's stayed in that trade more than a few years.

They do it because they love the job.

-Are you organised?

-Yep. Should be on time.

-Should be on time?

-I am going to be on time.

-Beautiful. Good to hear it.

So, first up is Rhys seared marinated fillet steak

with Oriental salad.

That has to be spectacular,

otherwise it's a pretty simple thing.

Hopefully, he's understating it a little bit and he'll overdeliver.

-Are you slicing that steak?

-I am, yes.

You'd better hurry up then, mate.

You've got three minutes.

Pink, pink, pink. Well done, chef.

You've got one minute left now, Rhys.

Stir your dressing up.

Stir the dressing up. Good to go. Go.

Good lad.

Afternoon.

Hiya.

So, gentlemen, you've got a seared marinated fillet steak

with an oriental salad.

-Enjoy.

-Thank you.

It looks quite colourful.

He's gone hard-core on the coriander for me.

He knows how to cook a steak.

Very good job on the steak.

The salad's the main part that needs a bit of work.

We've got a lot of greens here.

It's not bad. It's just not...

You know, it's a steak and a salad, essentially.

That's not a salad. That's a bunch of basil.

Considering the amount of time he had, an hour, to cut a steak

and marinate it and make a nice noodle salad

it doesn't seem like it's that accomplished.

-15 minutes now before your tiffin goes out, yeah?

-Yeah.

Grandmother's tiffin. Let's go.

Bitter chocolate mousse cake with a tiffin base and a raspberry coulis.

Erm, no idea.

I'm quite looking forward to it, though.

Those are my sort of flavours.

Three minutes. Would nan like it?

Let's hope so.

Go on, son.

-All done?

-Yep.

-Yeah. Go on!

Hello again.

Thank you.

This is a tiffin base, bitter mousse chocolate cake.

Hope you enjoy.

It's kind of a dish of two halves for me. The base is good.

It's got a nice, sort of, texture and flavour and stuff,

but I have to say the chocolate on top is just not good.

Erm, you can't really taste it. It doesn't really taste of anything.

The chocolate on top is kind of melting and taste of water

and cocoa powder rather than anything else. No sweet to it.

Pretty underwhelming, really.

I don't care for the chocolate on the top.

It was made with water and it actually tastes like it.

I just think I'm just in limbo, at the moment.

You don't want to be happy that it's over because, you know,

it might stop here the whole journey.

So, you just have to hope that they like it.

There's nothing else you can do.

You've done everything you can now. So...

Reena's main is vegetable kofta Manchurian and rice.

Vegetarian food needs to be full of flavour if it's going to be good.

So, the challenge is there.

It's all about the spicing in the end.

If you get your spicing right, then you're in good shape.

And if you get it wrong, then there's not really

a lot there to talk about.

All right, Reena, you've got three minutes, love. Yeah?

You're panicking. You're panicking, Reena.

Like buttons down a jacket.

It's going all over the plate.

It's not supposed to.

Got a minute left, Reena.

Off you go.

Hello, guys.

Thank you.

I've cooked vegetable Manchurian with lime rice

and I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you.

Thank you. I'm a bit frightened by it.

Yeah, I'm scared.

Where to start?

Like there's way too much sauce on my plate

and the sauce is strangely bland as well.

It's a little bit under seasoned on the rice.

The balls should have been crispy.

Not convinced she's tasted it.

It just doesn't really do anything.

In MasterChef, we will have to taste a lot of plates like that,

but we will find our champion.

Erm, you've got 15 minutes now. OK, Reena?

Yes, thank you.

Caramel crunch.

I'm hoping this is textures of caramel when beautifully presented.

Caramel is quite...

I mean, it's a tricky thing to get right for a start.

-Two and a half minutes left, Reena.

-OK.

OK?

Yes, I'm just worried about my caramel not getting done in time.

Just let it sit for a second. It will come up. It won't take long.

Reena, we've got to go now. Well done.

Thank you.

You've got profiterole with cardamom cream and a nut crunch.

And I hope you enjoy it. Thank you.

Do you know what? I think on presentation,

actually, she's done all right.

Best thing with this is that cardamom flavour through the cream.

The rest of it, I have to say, is not very good.

There's obvious errors here.

You know, the choux pastry isn't perfect

and calling this dish caramel crunch, maybe, is a little bit misleading.

Like, it's not actually that crunchy

and the caramel isn't really isn't a main part of the dish.

The profiteroles are overcooked and it's not sweet enough.

Not been a good round for Reena. Let's be fair about it.

Wow.

That was tough.

Nerves were so high up, they were going to hit the roof at one point.

Sophie, you've got eight minutes, yeah?

Sophie is cooking grilled lamb, roast butternut squash

and flatbread.

I mean, it's just interesting to see how it's all going to come together.

It definitely does suggest Middle Eastern flavours.

And a flatbread is not an easy thing.

Oh! Look at you!

Good work.

What's the matter?

I don't know if it's a bit overcooked.

Well, you've done it now. It's got to go.

-90 seconds.

-I can do it.

-Good.

-I need sumac.

-Come on.

-That's it.

You've got Moroccan spiced lamb cutlets

with rose harissa roast butternut squash,

tahini dressing,

a yogurt dressing and flatbread.

Enjoy.

-It looks quite good. Yeah.

-I want to eat this. So, yeah.

Lamb's quite difficult to cook sometimes.

You know, mine's cooked really nicely.

No, it's a good dish. I like it.

The flavours are absolutely bang on.

The bread's good. The lamb's perfectly cooked.

If I got this and I paid money for it, I'd be happy.

What I really like is the sweet butternut with the fiery harissa.

There's nothing that would stop me eating all of this. Yeah!

-All right, Sophs?

-I've got so much to do.

-15 minutes.

Are you going to do it?

-Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I'm going to do it.

-Good.

Where did I put everything?

Dessert black fig, crema di mascarpone mille feuille.

It's about getting the balance of those flavours right.

There's textures in there.

It's a dessert that I would probably order, actually.

-I'm a bit worried about you.

-Yeah.

-You know you got about three minutes.

-I know. I know.

-Is the cream thick enough?

-No.

So, what are going to do about that, then?

Don't really know.

You're going to be late.

I'm going to be late.

-Is that it?

-Yeah, I want to put more sauce on.

Go on. Go.

You've got poached figs and crema di mascarpone mille feuille

with crystallised orange and rose petals.

-It's just a bit scruffy around the edges but...

-Yeah.

But it looks like it might be tasty.

Tastes good, huh?

I'm really liking this.

A good mix of flavours.

Again, standout dish, I think.

Mille feuille's nice and crisp.

It's definitely the best pudding we've had

and I would happily eat the whole thing.

I think it's really good.

The proof's in the eating. I've got a clean plate in front of me.

As have I.

It's like eating on the lightest cake

while getting the essence of a rose garden.

Those flavours are regal.

Regal.

SHE SQUEALS WITH DELIGHT

That was insane.

That was really intense. It was...

Oh, I don't know if it was OK.

In comparison to the others, Robin's given us

a long menu description.

Roasted cod, walnut gremolata crust, garlic pomme puree, girolles,

crispy bacon, wilted spinach and butter sauce.

Wow!

He's got some challenges in there, though.

I mean, I think the pomme puree is not easy.

Oh, my word. Robin...

-Yeah?

-..you've got five minutes, you know.

You're not going to be able to get it all out, are you?

-I don't think you've got time to do that.

-OK.

-You got to start plating up, mate.

-OK.

You can't cook anything else.

I'm just went to pick out a few quickly for garnish.

They need to be out in 30 seconds.

So, I really would start putting stuff on plates if I were you.

Go get your bacon.

OK, ready?

Go, go.

Good afternoon.

I've cooked for you roasted cod with a walnut gremolata crust,

crispy bacon, garlic pomme puree, butter sauce

and a few girolles as a garnish.

Thank you.

He's worked really well on the presentation,

but it actually looks a bit undercooked to me.

Mine's got a lot of water leaking out of it as well.

I've got a little puddle forming in the corner my plate.

The crust is a bit soggy. It isn't, actually, full of flavour, either.

The bacon's a bit dry, but probably the worst thing is

the potatoes, which are quite grainy and a bit bland.

Fish should have buckets of flavour and it really has no flavour.

It's very disappointing.

Bacon and cod absolutely delicious. The cooking of the whole dish...

JOHN SIGHS

..pretty bad.

OK, Robin, 15 minutes and we need dessert, yeah?

Yeah.

Is it going to take 15 minutes for your desert, Robin?

Erm, I think I might just about to be able to do it.

So, Robin's dessert is an apple and pear crumble with Chantilly cream.

I like my crumble served simply.

A big bowl of anxious flavours

and I kind of hope that this isn't one of those deconstructed ones.

-OK. You going to plate up now?

-Yep.

ROBIN SIGHS

-You all right, Robin?

-Yeah.

-What's next?

-Just a tiny bit of the sauce.

-OK. Then we've got to go.

-You're a couple minutes over.

Good job, Robin.

OK. For dessert, I've cooked an apple

and pear crumble with a Chantilly cream.

I hope you enjoy it. Thank you.

Erm... It is looking dangerously deconstructed.

It should... I mean, a crumble should be hot and oozing.

And you should have, you know,

caramelised dripping down the sides of it.

That's a mile away from what we've got in front of us.

That's...that's really disappointing.

It's kind of like he's made sort of like a disc of crumble,

but kind of pressed it down so, it's kind of almost chewy underneath.

It's a pretty depressing crumble really.

Crikey!

Oh, dear!

Erm, that biscuit's not cooked.

Why take apart a beautiful crumble

and try to do something to it that doesn't... It's not...

JOHN SIGHS FRUSTRATINGLY

I wish I could just go back in there and do it the way

that I would have done it at home without making the mistakes.

Erm, we haven't had the best round. Let's be honest about it.

I've got one contestant

I think actually deserves a quarterfinal shot.

Sophie.

Sophie's cooking me food I like.

I really liked her food today especially the dessert.

She's not technically the most proficient person in the world,

but the first bit - food you want to eat.

-Good job.

-Good.

-Sophie stays.

Let's talk right now about Reena.

Reena's food today had issues.

Left a lot to be desired.

Reena also gets very nervous.

I think sometimes the pressure just gets to you,

but I still have much more to show

than just what I've done here.

Rhys' food tastes all right,

but it's not at all challenging.

Rhys did for us a piece of steak with a bunch herb salad.

Not very much refinement at all and not a huge amount of cooking.

And then the dessert, he made his grandmother's tiffin,

but that watery chocolate ganache across the top,

I actually scraped off.

It wasn't great.

I just hope I've done enough. I don't want to go home yet.

So, you know, fingers crossed we'll have.

Robin is trying to be technical, but doesn't deliver.

We had lumpy mash with bits of garlic.

There was one or two girolles on the plate and there was no spinach.

The dessert... That just didn't work. He promised them a crumble.

It wasn't a crumble.

I just hope they'll see that I've got the potential to...

erm, to do some more stuff in the competition,

which is what I want to do.

Who deserves it? And who may go on and accomplish good stuff?

I feel I know the answer to that

and I think you do, too.

It needs to be said,

that this year's competition is ferocious.

The cooks that are going through are incredible.

In times like this, we find ourselves making really tough decisions.

Our decision

is that only one of you is going to be a quarterfinalist.

Our quarterfinalist...

..is Sophie.

Congratulations.

You stay where you are.

Blimey! Shocked, yeah.

I didn't expect to see three of us going out of the room.

So, erm...

yeah, gutted. A bit disappointed.

It's been a steep learning curve.

It's disappointing, but, you know, it's not the end of the world.

Oh, this'll stick with me forever.

Definitely, it will.

I'm like in a dream, yeah. You aren't really here.

So, yeah, I'm going to take back good memories.

Definitely.

Oh, God!

I'm really proud.

I'm really proud of myself.

Oh, my goodness. MasterChef quarterfinalist.

It's insane.

Tomorrow night, it's the last of the quarterfinals

and the for heat winners come face to face

with one of the country's most fierce food critics.

That's one of the most ill-judged dishes

I've eaten in a long, long time.

You've got some really lovely little dancing flavours. I think it's lovely.