Episode 18 MasterChef

After six weeks of the competition,

only the best eight amateur cooks remain.

Tonight, the only thing that stands between them

and a place in the semifinals

is one perfect plate of food.

I don't want the whole process to end.

It's incredibly stressful, but it's, you know,

so exhilarating at the same time.

You can get knocked out at any time,

so, you've got to keep your gloves up and you've got to box clever.

I'm not very competitive normally,

but I suppose I want to do it to prove to myself

yeah, you can do this!

I'm under no illusions that it's one dish

and it could be curtains at the end of that.

It's quite surreal for me

and at the same time it's quite terrifying to think

that these are the seven people I need to beat if I want to win.

Today, they've got a point to prove.

You can't play it safe here now.

You've got to absolutely go for it.

To get to the final eight of a MasterChef competition

is a serious achievement.

One dish, guys.

Six semifinal places.

One and a half hours.

You need to be at your absolute best today.

Good luck!

Let's cook!

Angela's proved herself to be a real generous cook producing food

with real flavour and food that people want to eat.

But the dish with Marcus she rushed.

Apart from it looking like a dog's dinner,

it has good flavour.

Give us some elegance as well as the flavour.

The way to cope is just to learn from your mistakes

and not dwell on them.

I really want to be in the semifinals

and put myself through a whole load more stress.

No Michelin-starred chef to serve today.

Does that make you feel better?

What a relief!

Tell me what it is you're making.

John Dory with pan-fried scallops and prawns,

a roasted shellfish and pastis sauce.

Can we make your dish look as beautiful as it tastes?

I just need to remain focused, not panic.

Just get on with it.

What I would love to see from Angela is

that piece of fish falling apart, soft from the olive oil.

The scallops have to be bouncing. The prawns crunchy.

Get all those textures right... It could be a wonderful dish.

David walked in the door and I saw real promise.

He's got to understand his strengths.

You're a master with sauces

and I was hoping today you would marvel Marcus with one of them.

Stay with the classics, David. And do me something delicious.

I think I'm really waiting for the dish

that really pushes me to the front of the queue.

I'm hoping it comes today,

but we'll see.

What are you cooking?

Pan roast chicken breast with a sage tortellini

with a cider, mustard cream sauce

and some aubergine puree.

Do you know there's an Australian chef at the other end of this room

who thinks your sauces are amazing, don't you?

Yeah, erm, you know, it's really nice to hear him say those things.

So... But it puts the pressure on to me. You know how it is.

Mustard, cider sauce... Yes. Aubergine puree... Yes.

Both of them together, we could end up with a aubergine,

mustard and cider sauce.

30 minutes gone.

Michael at his best is bold and confident

without being at all flash.

If Michael continues along this road, he's going to be fine.

Michael, what on earth is all the bits of space-age kit on your bench?

There's a Thermomix and an immersion circulator.

The one's essentially a blender

and the other one's a water-bath, I suppose.

Well, I know what a Thermomix is cos it blends things up

-as it cook's them.

-It does.

But what is the other thing? A thermonuclear what?

An immersion circulator.

It essentially turns things into a water bath,

but instead of water there's oil.

I have never seen one of those in my life.

Do you use one of those at home?

Yeah. That's mind. I use it at home.

Brilliant!

I'm cooking a confit of cod

with a low temperature egg yolk,

burnt leeks and cauliflower.

It does seem to be a bit of a trend for burnt ingredients in things.

You just have to make sure it's balanced.

But I have cooked it and I've eaten it and I think it really works.

I know the world's burning vegetables,

but why are you burning things?

Why burn it? If you want bitter flavour, use something that's bitter.

There's no doubt at all Ping can produce winning dishes.

Absolutely knockout issues.

It has to be brilliant today, John.

She's attempting to get into the final six.

I'm not going to lie, at times, I think,

"You know what? I've had enough,"

but you just want to get through.

You feel that you have to get through.

Hello, Ping. Where's your food going to take us today?

Malaysia, France, somewhere in between?

Oh, somewhere in between, I think.

We're having duck with plums, a spiced red wine jus

and also mushroom and ginger spring roll.

Can I ask you, cos you're a fantastic cook,

how ambitious are you?

Erm, I am quite ambitious,

but I try to keep it under wraps at the moment.

It's quite surreal that I'm here now in one of the eight.

So, I feel very lucky and very privileged.

Time is ticking by.

45 minutes left.

Through this competition Jack has cooked some really delicious food.

With youth comes confidence.

What...what are you making for us today?

Spiced pork cheek croquette.

That's going to be paired with a nice piece of tenderloin.

It's going on an onion puree.

We're going to have a crispy bit of crackling

and some caramelized apples and sweet risotto.

So, it's quite a vibrant dish.

Do you reckon you could win this?

I'd love to win it. Do I reckon I can win it?

I'll... We'll have to see how it goes today, Gregg,

and then, maybe, I'll be able to give you more of a definite answer.

Some of the methods that I'm using in this dish are quite...

you could call them risky because I've never used a water bath.

Never used a blast chiller

and I've only used a pressure cooker once.

So, I just hope that I can use them and it will go to plan, really.

The Robert we know is a flamboyant cook.

As he's come up through the competition,

he's honed his skills.

He really stamped his place.

Do notice how we're all going back for more?

The dish I've got in store is a little bit quirky.

It's basically smoked and superheated piece of salmon

on quinoa beach...

..with a mint and pea ocean

and oyster foam...

..and then I've got some horseradish pearls.

Not only are you going to give us the flavours of the sea,

you're going to give us a visual impression of the sea as well.

I hope a little snapshot of the sea.

It's one of these dishes that if I do it at a dinner party,

it's kind of...it's kind of a real...erm, bit of theatre.

It all belongs together. Not an issue there.

But this promise of its decoration,

I hope doesn't outweigh the flavour.

You have 25 minutes to go.

Dani is one of those cooks who comes into MasterChef

and wants to show you and I everything he can do.

And with an invention test from Marcus, almost fell on his face.

Too many things on a plate.

Too many processes and trying too hard.

We know how much you can do. You've proved that.

Just cook us a delicious plate of food.

After my knockback the other day, I'm really not confident.

It's proper thrown me back.

You've just got to take it and learn by it

and hopefully, with my plate today... Well, it won't...

It's not "hopefully". It will just have two or three things on it.

It's not going to have ten.

Dani, you look decidedly stressed again.

I'm all right. It's just my pasta, it's not really coming together,

-but I'm getting there.

-What are you making?

I'm doing a ravioli stuffed with a crab filling and a scallop.

And I'm making a focaccia.

The last comments weren't that good

and I'm just going to give it my all today. I don't want to go out.

I don't want to get this far and go home now. It'd be devastating.

Ravioli and bread...

together on the same plate?

Wow!

You've got ten minutes left.

Ten minutes.

Luke is one of the cleverest, most inventive,

most exciting cooks I've seen on MasterChef.

And the last time he cooked, he messed it up.

There are glaring errors there.

I think it's a little safe and basic.

I knew the dish was terrible.

So, it wasn't like I was going up there, going,

"This is great! This is going to be amazing!"

I knew it was bad and it was really bad.

It was worse than I thought, actually.

Confidence is slightly knocked,

but I'm just going to learn from it

and hopefully move on.

He cannot afford to mess up again.

He's got to recover that brilliance today, John, or it could be over.

I'm so glad you've given me this, you know, chance to redeem myself.

And what I'm doing today is to try and show you

that you were right to put me through.

What are you making?

So, I'm doing a dim sum sharing platter for three.

That's you two and me.

So, there better not be a guest judge.

But, erm... I'm doing pork gyoza...

..prawn toast, whole prawn toast

and then I'm doing cumin lamb, pancakes.

-You do love a finger plate, don't you, mate?

-Oh, yeah, yeah.

-Definitely.

-Why?

-You know, when you go into a restaurant and you...

And there's all these things you want to pick.

If you pick finger food, you can have them all.

Are you going to get it done in time?

Just.

This is like... I don't know what!

I mean, it's like a final with eight people in it.

It's incredible what's going on in here.

Bang on!

Just 60 seconds. Come on. Move yourselves.

Last touches to your plate.

Time's up. That's it!

First up is Angela's dish of John Dory,

topped with a slice of crispy fennel

and served with scallops, prawns and two sauces.

Fennel and pastis vierge

and roasted shellfish.

Ah!

Ah!

I'll tell you what. Now John's poured that sauce on,

that dish has come alive. Look at that!

I think your sauce is majestic.

Absolutely perfect, both in texture and in flavour.

What you have is this wonderful richness of the sea

and you have a wonderful caramel sweetness

that's come from the shells that have all cooked together.

And sitting amongst that we have a piece of John Dory,

which is absolutely delicious,

a prawn which by itself is a wonderful thing

and the scallop which is soft and really well cooked.

So good in so many bits. So good!

SHE SIGHS

Really, really happy.

I'm really happy. Sorry.

I can't believe it. That was just amazing.

I didn't really expect those comments.

So, I'm pleased.

Robert's smoked salmon has been served

with roasted and boiled quinoa, pureed peas with mint,

oyster foam,

roasted kelp,

samphire and pearls of horseradish.

Fancy!

That smoked salmon is absolutely heavenly.

It's smoky. It's delicious.

It's addictive and with a little bit of horseradish,

it's a wonderful, wonderful thing.

The pea puree I really like with the seaweed.

The quinoa is still a little bit hard. It could be a lot softer.

I don't like the quinoa because I just find it very, very bland

and a bit...a bit wet.

But the other stuff that's on there is bordering, I think, genius.

Well, thank you.

Overall, I'm really, really pleased and, you know...

And the bits that they did like, they were effusive about,

which is...which is fantastic.

David's roast chicken breast has been served with tortellini

filled with the prosciutto, leek and black pudding

accompanied by a cider, mustard sauce

and an aubergine puree.

I do think you're trying to cram too much on a small plate.

Your chicken you cooked really well. I love your pasta parcels.

I love the flavour in there.

Black pudding in there, sage as well.

I mean, that's big, powerful. That matches chicken brilliantly.

Don't like that grain mustard sauce.

It's acidic.

-That sauce is so overbearing.

-Yeah.

It's not just sharp with vinegar.

It's salty.

There is an irony here.

That it's the quality of your sauces

that made us notice you in the first place.

I probably executed it slightly better when I practised it,

but, you know, I did the best I could across the 90 minutes

I had in the kitchen.

Michael's confit of cod has been served with burnt leeks,

cauliflower couscous and puree,

egg yolk and a rapeseed lemon mayonnaise.

Is that cod cooked to your liking

cos I'm a little bit nervous that it might not be. Is it cooked?

Yeah, I checked with the probe.

It hit the core temperature that I was looking for. So...

That cod is really, really well cooked. It flakes apart.

And it's slippery. It's perfect, for me.

I get a really nice, strong, but nice flavour of cauliflower

with cod, which is an unusual combination for me, but I like it.

However, apart from the little bit of bitterness on the burnt leek,

which I like, I'm left with no other flavour dimension at all.

And I want something else as well.

I agree with Gregg. It seems to lack dimension.

I've got a piece of cod and a vegetable.

Not the best feedback I've had in the competition.

So, yeah, a little bit concerned about whether it's good enough.

Ping's duck breast has been served with a spring roll

filled with shiitake mushrooms and glass noodles

accompanied by pickled yellow and green cucumber,

baby pak choi, caramelized plums

and a red wine jus.

There is bags and bags of flavour in this dish.

That red wine sauce with the plums is extraordinary.

It's sweet at the same time slightly sour.

It's got a warmth in the back of it.

I love that with the plums and the duck.

I think that's absolutely wonderful.

Your duck is cooked as moist as you like.

There's also sweetness in that crispy spring roll that I love.

And then when I got a little bit of sharp pickled vegetable as well,

I loved that as well. That was just something else.

I'm just going from...tripping from flavour sensation

to flavour sensation to flavour sensation.

You've shown a very clever ability to blend East and West.

We're talking about fusion here, which is extremely difficult.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

So good!

I'm so pleased.

Jack's dish is pork cheek croquettes

served with pork tenderloin,

sweet potato quenelles,

spinach, onion puree,

caramelized apples, crackling,

sage, and a pork jus.

I really like the presentation.

That bit of crackling there... you're going to look at it

and think it looks like a pig's tail.

I love the crispy, crackly on the pork.

I love the fact

that your piece of pork tenderloin is wonderfully cooked.

I like the sauce around the outside of it.

And I like your onion puree that sits under it,

-but the whole thing lacks seasoning.

-OK.

Really well executed.

Really interesting concept. But go for the seasoning.

OK. Thank you.

I've got really good cooking and really good touch and purees

and moist pork, but I don't actually have the filling flavour of pork.

I don't know. You definitely do need a twist of seasoning, but...but..

Grr!

Not seasoning well enough is quite a cardinal sin.

And that's really let me down.

I'm really quite disappointed about that.

Dani has made crab and scallop ravioli

in a prawn and clam sauce

with spinach and asparagus

served with tomato and olive focaccia.

Dani, your pasta is made really, really nicely,

but the natural texture of crab is a wonderful, wonderful thing

and now it's been pureed up to a breadcrumb

and as you've cooked it, it's become dry.

That prawn sauce is watery with little tiny bits of clam

which is making it very, very salty.

The asparagus doesn't belong there at all.

Making focaccia in the amount of time you had is...

impossible. And what you've got now still,

if you smell that, is the smell of yeast.

And that smell of yeast should never appear in bread.

I've got to say it to you again and I know you think that this is less,

but it's too much on a plate.

-Have you added Parmesan cheese to that?

-Yeah.

I don't actually see a place for Parmesan cheese with shellfish.

I think John's getting frustrated with me. That's the thing.

I just think it works, you know? It's... I don't know. It's just...

I mean, God, John knows best.

You know, John says then, you know, then he's right, you know?

Luke's sharing plate comprises gyoza filled with pork and fennel

topped with crispy onions, sesame prawn toast

and cumin lamb with cucumber pickle

to be wrapped in pancakes

and eaten with a soy balsamic sauce.

I like the little bit of chilli heat on those prawns.

Your little pork dumplings, mate, they are just an absolute winner.

John makes them. Yours are as good as John's.

If not maybe even a bit better.

Bursting full of flavour, I like the...

like the spiciness on that lamb.

The lamb is sweet and then you've got a little bit of subtle,

subtle and still sweet acidity with the salad. Mate, you're back.

You're back. Thank the Lord. Thank the Lord.

I was worried for you.

Great looking dish. Fantastic flavours.

You're very good. I'm very happy.

Thank you.

Erm, I think it's all conceived very well.

I think it's technically brilliant.

I think it's all really tasty.

I think it's all beautifully seasoned.

And good on you!

Good on you, indeed! Very, very good. Very, very clever.

And I like your style.

It's possibly the best feedback I've had so far in the competition.

And after what happened last time, I really needed that.

So, yeah, I feel really good at the moment.

(Oh, my God! You didn't see the disaster I had the other day.

(Cheers, guys. Oh, thank you.)

Thank you very much for all your effort.

Unbelievable!

We have a really difficult decision to make. Off you go.

I'm really enthused by eight amateur cooks who are trying so hard.

Who all really care.

All got different styles, different dishes, different techniques

and different outcomes.

This is a tough one to call.

They are just on the edge of a massive adventure

and they've worked so hard to get here.

This... It's a real hard, hard choice this.

Well done, all eight of you. You've come such a long way.

You've given so much to this competition.

You've worked really hard.

We only have six semifinal places.

The first person leaving us...

..is Dani.

Thank you very much, guys.

The second person leaving us...

..is David.

-Thanks, David.

-Yeah.

Maybe, I could have pushed myself more today,

but you know, coulda, woulda, shoulda.

It's... I've done... what's done is done

and, you know, I got to the last eight.

I've just got to be proud of that, I guess.

To get this far and that close...

But, you know it doesn't take away the massive achievement I've done.

And I know my family will be proud

and I'm pretty proud of myself.

Well done! Get you!

You are our semifinalists.

Yeah, I just have to focus now.

I've got to throw everything at this now or kick myself forever.

This is what I wanted to do.

I'm just really surprised I've managed to do it.

This is so brilliant.

This is a dream come true, really.

I'm petrified, to be honest with you.

I'm petrified what's round the corner.

Next week, it's the start of the MasterChef semifinals.

Over the next three nights,

they will be pushed beyond anything they have experienced before.

Come on! Just do it! Just put it on. Honestly, trust me!

You're going to have to just go.

I wish they'd liven this up, you know what I mean?

20 minutes I've been waiting.

All right. This is the most fabulous dish I've ever seen!

At the end of the week, only four will remain.