Episode 20 MasterChef

It's the MasterChef semifinals.

Only the best five amateurs remain.

I can't imagine life without MasterChef, I just really

hope that it doesn't end today.

I started off, you know, steady upwards

and then it's been all over the place with no seat belts since then.

I must be doing something right.

I'm yet to have a real blunder, so, touch wood,

that won't be the case today.

I'm not competitive in every single aspect of my life

but when I want something, I really, really want to get out and get it.

In terms of winning it, I'd love to win it, but we're still a long

way away from there.

Go, go, go!

Tonight, their cooking will be taken to a level

they have never experienced before.

I think while I taste this, I've died and gone to heaven.

It was absolutely gorgeous!

Today is a day to pull out all the stops.

It's early morning in Kent

and the amateurs have arrived to face their next challenge.

They'll be taking over the kitchens of Hever Castle, built in the

13th century and best known as the grand Tudor home of Anne Boleyn...

..Henry VIII's ill-fated second wife.

Welcome to the picturesque and stunning Hever Castle,

here in Kent.

Henry VIII himself, with a fine reputation for a love of great food,

was a regular visitor here.

There is a very special dinner here tonight,

with three eminent historians.

Your job is to cook a five course tasting menu,

guided by one of Britain's top chefs.

You will have four hours to prepare the food.

Just four hours!

And I say "just four hours"

because you have a huge amount of work to do.

Good luck, we'll see you on the other side.

This is a beautiful, beautiful setting, so I don't suppose

we're cooking spaghetti bolognese and crumble here.

Tonight's menu has been designed by a chef who has held Michelin stars

at three different restaurants...

Service 52, please.

..John Campbell.

What I'd like the guys to take away today is new techniques.

We're taking it to a new level, I think.

And improve on that palate, cos this is priceless.

So, I'm quite excited to see what they can achieve

and I believe they can do it.

Under the expert gaze of John and his sous chef, Chris, each of

the amateurs must take sole charge of one of his intricate dishes.

Welcome to Hever Castle.

It's a great challenge today, I think it's exactly what I need.

I've had a couple of iffy rounds and I'm desperate to learn.

I'm going to learn a lot of new things,

things I've never done before.

Yeah, really, really looking forward to it.

So, are you ready for the challenge?

Let's go.

The bar, I think, has been set high enough for them to stretch for it.

And it will be a challenge for them all today.

So far, Ping's food has been going from strength to strength.

But tonight she'll have to prove herself to John with

the first dish of the evening.

-OK, Ping, you're on the pumpkin soup.

-OK.

But this is no ordinary soup starter.

The pumpkin will be prepared two ways, crushed and roasted

and as a velvety, truffled soup.

It will be served with a raviolo, filled with confit rabbit

and chicken mousse,

topped with a warm goat's cheese foam and drops of pumpkin oil.

They key to this dish is nothing should dominate.

So, you shouldn't have this big, loud noise of truffle oil,

or pumpkin, or goat's cheese.

It needs to be balanced.

Huge pressure, I think, to kick off the meal.

Cos, you know, pasta dough is really tricky and the mousse

and rabbit, I don't think it's simple at all!

Ping begins her complex dish by confit-ing

the rabbit for the ravioli stuffing.

The temperature has to be around 80 degrees,

so it's just trying to hold it at that temperature,

so that it cooks nicely and not overcook the rabbit.

Jack's food has shown talent beyond his years,

but there have been mistakes.

Hi, Jack. You're going to do the second starter.

He will not be able to make any with tonight's fish course -

flame-grilled mackerel with textures of beetroot.

He must prepare and cure mackerel fillets,

which will be flame-grilled right at the last minute.

These will be plated alongside different types of beetroot,

salt-baked, marinated and boiled...

..accompanied by an olive oil powder, pine nut puree

and a sweet maple dressing.

I'm guessing the cooking's done at the very last minute.

Last, last minute. This is all about timing.

Get the timing right and it'll be beautiful.

If your timings are out and your fish overcooks...we're gone.

It's not the day you want to mess up, it's really not.

So, I guess that just piles on a bit of additional pressure, really.

So, erm, yeah, it'll just be about coping with that extra stress

and hopefully still delivering his dish.

Before Jack makes a start on anything else,

he needs to make a clean job of filleting his mackerel.

I'm just on the fiddly bit now, which is

getting the pin bones out from the middle.

If Henry VIII got pin bones in his mouth, I think I'd probably

be decapitated, so probably best that I don't do that today.

Michael's last dish was almost his downfall.

He's been given the chance to redeem himself

with the venison main course.

There's a lot of intricate, small pieces of ingredient.

They need to be done properly, cos when you combine them

all together, they make an exceptional dish.

Not only does his venison loin need to be seared off

and slow-cooked in a water-bath,

his selection of six vegetables will be cooked in five different ways.

The dish will be finished with a bacon vinaigrette

and a complex venison sauce.

Sauce is key with any dish.

It's the foundation,

as you know - the foundation of all kitchens is the sauces and stocks.

First job is getting the sauce on, so the bones are already

roasting and I'm just going to sweat down the vegetables.

It's a familiar process,

I've made a few sauces throughout the competition

so far, but this one's got more ingredients, more aromatics,

there's a lot of depth of flavour in the sauce.

So, hence it being job number one, got to get on straightaway.

Angela's food has triumphed in flavour

but she struggles to make it look good.

She will be in charge of the first dessert.

That's delicious!

She must expertly execute a salt

and almond ice cream with aerated chocolate foam,

a cardamom caramel, chocolate cookie crumbs

and a chocolate, caramel pull.

Three or four, maybe, five elements onto the plate, that's all,

but each one of them is crucial to get right.

You know, the texture of the ice cream's important, the balance

-of cardamom in the caramel, erm, and the pull is important.

-Yeah.

-Really important.

-I don't even know where to start with that.

That's like, wow!

-I can help you with that.

-OK.

Angela's most pressing task is to start her salt and almond ice cream.

When you put salt into the ice cream,

make sure you taste it as it's infusing.

Cos it'll get stronger and stronger and stronger

and if you let it get too strong, it'll be too salty

and it'll over-dominate.

-OK.

-A bit like having too much salt on nuts. Yeah.

-Too much is not good.

-Yeah.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

Everything worries me, yeah, the whole thing.

You know, dessert is not my strength.

Luke's imagination can create standout dishes

but his last plate wasn't one of them!

OK, Luke, you're on our last dessert.

It's going to close the show, so quite an important dish.

It's a classic tatin flavour but not in preparation.

He's been given John's deconstructed apple tatin.

He will need to caramelise the apple topping

and create an ice cream perfectly infused with vanilla and bay leaf.

These sweet elements are balanced with roasted chestnuts

and a sauce gastrique, made from chardonnay vinegar and sugar.

That bay ice cream's important for flavour.

Too much, it's too perfumey.

Not enough, you're not going to taste it.

So, it's that balance.

Like Angela, Luke's first priority is to crack on with

the custard for his bay leaf ice cream,

so it will freeze in time for service.

I like to learn new things, you know,

that's exactly what I wanted today.

If I was cooking something that I cook all the time,

where's the fun in that?

Hever Castle has a centuries-old tradition of providing lavish

fare for royalty and important visitors.

And tonight's dinner will be hosted by the man

now in charge of this legacy.

In Tudor times, the countryside around here was a massive forest.

Henry VIII would have been associated with this area

because he loved to hunt.

And this was prime hunting country.

Not far from London, there were nice places to stay,

nice women to see on the way around.

And so they would have probably been feasting on game dishes,

you know, venison would have been right up there.

I dare say, in days gone past, it wouldn't be unheard of to cut

someone's head off if they didn't quite get it right.

Hopefully, we can avoid the gallows tonight,

maybe that's the incentive they need to deliver well.

With half an hour gone, Angela and Luke have got

the custard for both their ice creams thickening on the stove.

82's your ceiling.

-If it goes too much, you get scrambled egg.

-OK.

But in the rush to get it started, one of them

has missed a vital ingredient.

Where's Luke?

Luke!

-Yup.

-Did you need to put any vanilla in this?

-Yeah, I think I did.

You didn't, did you? Quick, quick, quick.

Just while I was separating my eggs,

my cream got to boil a bit quicker than I was expecting...erm,

it's difficult to keep an eye on it from here.

-Do three pods, Luke.

-Three pods?

I feel like Obi-Wan Kenobi.

While Luke rescues his ice cream...

..Ping is struggling with her pasta dough for the confit rabbit

and chicken mousse ravioli.

This is a good workout, this.

Do you think it's a bit too wet?

No, I just think it needs to be worked.

We're going to do it in the pasta machine.

So, we'll work it through the pasta machine

and it forces all that liquid into the flour,

opens up the gluten and the gluten can work properly.

-Right.

-OK?

-OK.

Cunning, haven't seen that one before.

Stop.

Jack's challenge is now to perfect the salt

and sugar curing of his mackerel fillets.

The most important thing is not to put too much on.

Too much salt on and you'll end up overpowering it and you'll end up

-with a salty piece of fish.

-OK.

He must now focus on the various preparations for his four

different types of beetroot, starting with boiling them.

You don't want to put red beetroots in with

yellow beetroots, otherwise the colours will dye each other.

The red being more dominant, it will dye the yellow.

A bit like putting your clothes in the, er, a black sock in with

the white washing.

-Mum won't like that.

-No, she won't be happy about that.

-Don't do it with your beetroots, then.

-All right.

Thanks, Chris.

On the other side of the kitchen,

Michael has spent a long time making the venison sauce for his main.

Now, the pressure's on to get his six different vegetables prepped.

It's just the volume of work, really.

The processes are - how do you say? - simple...they're not simple,

there's just a lot of them, there's a lot to get done.

Having infused her ice cream with almond and salt,

Angela now needs to get it cooled down as fast as possible.

In the chill blaster or the freezer?

In the freezer.

-I'm worried about putting it on something.

-Come on, I'll help you.

OK, guys, you've got two hours for service,

two hours for the first plate.

That's you, Ping. Yes, Chef!

Some are really making good headway into the mise en place,

the preparation.

Some, I think, are just a bit flustered.

With the ice cream, most important thing - needs to be in, cooked,

chilled and then churned to be ready for service.

So, I'd say they're 20-30 minutes behind on both ice creams.

Angela, have I seen a dessert from you?

I do like eating them, I just don't cook many of them, really.

-Yeah.

-Yeah!

-I do today.

-Well, you'd better!

-Or I know one chef who's going to be very angry with you.

-Yeah, yeah.

I...

It'll be all right.

With her pasta finally resting,

Ping starts work on the two pumpkin elements -

the roasted, crushed pumpkin that her ravioli will sit on,

and the pumpkin and truffle soup that will surround it.

How is that?

I don't want it to be too salty.

Beautiful.

Really, really beautiful.

Over at the stove,

Michael's next urgent job

is to get his venison loin centrepiece perfectly cooked.

You're done.

After sealing it in the pan, it has to be cooked in a water-bath

for an hour before service.

It's very process-heavy dish.

There's a lot of components

and each of those components have a lot of processes within them.

So it's a case of working through them as quickly as you can,

especially the ones that need time.

Jack is still prepping his beetroot.

-Are you panicking, Jack?

-Eh?

Are you panicking?

I'm not panicking, I've just got a lot to do, John.

-Looks like panic to me.

-JACK LAUGHS

He's two processes down,

but there's still another to go.

I'm currently doing the compressed beetroot,

which is basically beetroot discs,

which are then put into a vacuum pack and sealed and compressed

with a little bit of a vinaigrette.

I've got some roasted beets in there. Loads of little beetroot.

My fish is going to come out in five minutes, so...

Lots of things going on right now.

Over in the pastry section,

the pressure is just as intense.

I'm just starting to make my first apple tatin.

So, erm... Yeah.

Peeling and grating - manual task.

Just going to do everything as fast as I can

and, yeah, hopefully, we'll be OK.

Angela's salt and almond ice cream is finally churning,

but she now has to make the four other elements -

starting with the cardamom caramel.

So, cook to a light caramel.

-It's too light, isn't it? It's not caramel.

-Not caramel.

-No.

I know, a watched pot never boils, or whatever.

But you need to watch that.

-Yeah. I don't think want that to...

-Watch that one. Watch that one.

Angela is a great, great cook,

who just needs a large injection of confidence.

Because every stage of the recipe, she's turning around and asking,

is she doing something right?

May I ask a question? Another one?

It says a quantity in the recipe, and she's asking is it right?

A light toffee, or a light caramel,

and she's asking is that light enough or too dark?

I mean, Angela, trust your instincts.

After three hours, Ping's confit rabbit leg

is cooked, cooled and ready to chop for her ravioli stuffing.

Ping? How do you feel at the pressure of kicking the whole thing off?

Er...I try not to think about it.

I only have...an hour.

So, yes. Immense pressure, but I'm just going to crack on.

You see, the quality of your dish,

is going to be an indicator towards the rest of the evening.

Yes.

You're like a foodie cheerleader.

SHE CHUCKLES

I haven't got my pompoms today, though.

Tonight's guests have arrived.

All three have a deep passion for the past.

ALL: Cheers!

Eminent historian Mary Beard

is Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge.

If I was really powerful, I'd have six wives!

Author Terry Deary is best known for the gruesome detail

in his Horrible Histories tales.

Henry said, "I want him boiled alive."

To which they said, "Sorry, the law allows us to hang him,

the law doesn't allow us to boil anyone alive."

He said, "Change the law!" And he did.

And Dr Lucy Worsley is curator of Britain's historic royal palaces.

Her knowledge of the food served in Henry VIII's court

is second to none.

You don't want any vegetables,

because vegetables are for Tudor peasants.

They will be joining Duncan Lesley

and his wife Celine in Hever's grand dining room.

I don't know what the menu is, so...

-With Anne Boleyn, it's got to be a chop.

-It could be a chop.

It could be a chop.

What time is it?

45 minutes to go, and as service rapidly approaches,

the pressure is beginning to show.

This is more stress than ever!

In the rush to get everything done,

Michael has left a vital component next to the washing-up.

Michael, your sauce, I believe.

Yes.

With the dirty pans.

This is two hours in the making.

Yeah.

Don't let her throw it away.

Thanks, Chef.

-So, you're in infusion mode, now.

-OK.

Having succeeded in making her caramel,

Angela must carefully infuse it with cardamom.

-He said to keep tasting it before I pass it...

-That's it.

-..to make sure the cardamom flavour gets in.

-Put your cream in?

-I put the cream in.

-Perfect.

Across the bench,

Luke is preparing the puff pastry bottom for his tatin...

Luke?

..but he's forgotten to check the grated apple,

caramelising in the oven.

-What d'you think?

-It is, erm...

-It's looking quite dry.

-OK... It's scorched.

That...is five minutes away from getting ruined.

You ruin this, it's over.

Really, you have not got time to do this again.

-And I am deadly serious.

-Yes.

-All right?

-I'll put it into another tray.

-It's all right.

-I'll just get the pastry in.

-How does it feel to have me as your commis?

-It's great!

The apple slipped my mind.

I was having to concentrate on a lot of things.

Yeah, it was a mistake.

Hopefully, I won't make any more.

-Wow.

-Smells amazing.

Brilliant. Wah-hey! We've got ice cream!

Come this way.

Just need to do this ravioli and then we are...we're good.

Ping now has 25 minutes till service.

This is the silkiest I've ever had it, ever!

-While we're doing that, walk me through - soup?

-Soup done.

-Foam, done.

-Done.

-Crushed pumpkin?

-Done.

-Pan on for these ravioli?

-Er, pan on... Yes.

Perfect.

-This is beautiful.

-Thank you.

-This looks great.

Well done.

The first course is pumpkin soup, raviolo of rabbit,

and goat's cheese foam.

-So you have the six ravioli.

-Yeah.

-None of them can break.

-Yeah.

All right.

-OK, here goes.

-Go. Go.

-Are you confident?

-Yep.

-You should be.

-Yep.

Raviolo is very posh.

It's the singular of ravioli.

You just get the one.

Just case you're hoping for more.

Way-hey-hey!

-Happy?

-Yes.

Happy.

Really, really happy.

-What's next now?

-Goat's cheese foam.

-Argh!

-Sorry...!

Do you know, Ping?

Before this, I had to you earmarked for a place in the next round.

Stop.

Stop. Pumpkin oil, quickly.

Pumpkin oil. Pumpkin oil.

GREGG LAUGHS

Last one!

-Well done.

-Good job, Ping.

Well done. How did you find it?

It was good.

It was very good.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

Pumpkin's a beautiful colour.

Presentation seems to be everything these days,

and this one they've got absolutely right, I think.

My soup has got drops of blood in it, I think.

Do you think that's the blood of Anne Boleyn?

I think it's very yummy. Mm.

Well, I haven't eaten rabbit for 60 years,

because my dad used to sell them in his butcher's shop

and I just think of rabbits and bones - endless bones.

This is perfection.

I'm converted to eating rabbits again.

The goat's cheese foam is quite salty,

but I think it's very clever the way it's been balanced

with other flavours, like very-sweet with the pumpkin...

Well, I think this is jolly good.

The thing you can do with ravioli, is you can have the outside

pasta being a complete mush

and actually it still had a bit of texture,

it was still very nice.

If I'd cooked this, I would be delighted.

Absolutely awesome.

I'll do it again.

Do it again now!

You know, it's that great, so...

Great, great, great. Great day.

Next up is Jack.

Quick as you can, Jack.

Oop.

He has just minutes to get all eight elements on the plate.

We've got flamed-grilled mackerel,

textures of beetroot,

and maple dressing.

Maple dressing. Sounds a bit sweet, but I shall look forward to it.

You're four minutes.

-That's going to take three.

-Yeah.

So, this needs to be dressed for that to come out.

-What goes first?

-Puree.

-Beautiful!

-Is that all right?

Beautiful. You've got to be quick, eh? In.

Put your olive oil powder on.

Beautiful.

Perfect.

I can smell that, Jack. It's lovely.

It's looking good, Jack.

-Yep.

-Nice, Jack.

GREGG LAUGHS Oh!

-I can breathe now.

-Well done.

-How was that?

-Yeah, it was good.

-Well done.

-Cheers.

-Tasty. Really tasty.

-Thank you.

"Textures of beetroot" - they look like sweets, almost, some of them.

I wasn't very excited about the idea of beetroot,

but that's about as good as beetroot gets.

I'm finding the pickled beetroot goes wonderfully with the mackerel.

Absolutely delicious.

I think I could, to be honest, do without the maple.

It is very, very, very sticky.

I think it probably sings on its own.

-"Sings"?

-Sings on its own, Terry.

My overriding emotion is probably a bit of a relief.

That was incredibly tough.

but do you know what? I am so pleased

because I feel like I've learned a massive amount.

And that's what I wanted to get out of today.

Venison saddle? We're in good shape. Sauce? We're in good shape.

-Purple carrots...

-They're on over there.

-They're on.

-Bacon vinaigrette?

-Done.

-Done.

What's your problem? What are you flapping for?

-What are you flapping for?

-Because I want to get it right.

The next course is roast saddle of venison with parsnip,

purple carrot and bacon vinaigrette.

Oh, yes! This is proper Tudor meats, this is!

And it's very good to serve venison

because it implies that you have your own deer park.

I suspect that Duncan maybe went out earlier today and hunted for it.

Of course, the servants would get the guts.

They were called umbles.

-U-M-B-L-E-S. Umbles.

-Right.

And they made it into a pie - hence "umble" pie. And that is true.

Come on, mate. It's your time now. Time to shine.

Beautiful.

Sauce. Over the top. One around.

Nice.

Go.

Michael, well done, son.

Top that.

-It's a good job.

-Chef.

Good job.

Great smell.

I think it looks beautiful.

Some lovely colours.

The venison looks pretty rare.

Tudor style?

Uncooked, bleeding meat.

That is the best Brussels sprout I have ever tasted.

And the venison is pretty good, too.

I'm flagging with this one, just a bit.

Because it's so rich.

-Pass the port.

-Yes!

Pass the port and harden the arteries.

It is very filling and it's very rich,

but it's actually a very modest, 21st-century kind of small portion.

Oh, what an idiot.

HE SNIFFS

Kind of mixed emotions, really.

And I'm not really sure why, because...

what went out was pretty good.

But it was just...

Hard push,

a lot to do, a lot to plate up.

So...

We're all tired.

And elated at the same time.

So, yeah, tough day.

Angela has never made a dessert with so many components before.

Creating the caramel pulls will be her biggest challenge.

-Ready?

-Yeah.

Go on, keep going.

-It's a bit thick.

-No, it's fine.

I've never done anything like this before. It's amazing.

Yep, that's fine.

Salt and almond ice cream. Yummy.

With aerated chocolate and cardamom caramel. Yummy.

Cookie crumbs. Sounds promising.

OK, righto.

Come on, what's the matter with you?

We've seen you do beautiful presentation before, haven't we?

-No.

-No.

-Bit more, bit more. Good, stop.

-Mm.

-Yep. I love a bit of goo.

HISSING

JOHN: Sounds like an angry pirate.

Look at that.

-Done?

-Done.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

This reminds me of a Salvador Dali work of art.

I'm almost reluctant to eat it.

I want to eat it cos it looks very tasty.

I was dubious. I was slightly full

and I thought this was going to be a heavy nut to crack.

But it wasn't. It was absolutely gorgeous.

It sounds a bit pretentious to use the word regarding food,

but it was quite exciting.

The more that I think about it, now that I've finished it, sadly,

I rather wish there was some more.

I've eaten wonderfully tonight.

But this is the one that I want the recipe for.

I think while I taste this I've died and gone to heaven. Gorgeous.

Absolutely gorgeous.

I was way out of my comfort zone. Way out of it.

So it feels like an enormous achievement,

and I feel like I've learnt heaps.

Last up is Luke with the second dessert.

Tatin of apples with chestnuts and vanilla

and bay leaf ice cream.

Bay leaf ice cream. That's savoury, isn't it?

Savoury and sweet.

The ice cream tastes good. Mm, yeah.

I think that looks dodgy to me.

It's probably the only thing I'm slightly concerned about on the menu.

That's it. Back...down.

Ice cream.

Quick. You've got to be quick. That ice cream is going to melt.

That's lovely, Luke. That is so nice. Come on, mate. Go on.

-Oooh.

-Ah.

Just dress that one.

-Yep.

-Quick, quick, quick.

OK. Good.

HE SIGHS

How do you feel?

Yeah, exhausted. But it was exhilarating.

-Absolutely exhilarating.

-Good.

-Thanks so much.

-My pleasure, buddy. My pleasure.

-Thanks a lot. Thanks a lot.

Mine looks absolutely gorgeous. Terry's...

Mine's died.

It's died.

Actually you don't get the bay leaf until towards the end, I think.

-It's almost like an aftertaste.

-It is, yeah.

I think there's an absolutely fantastic taste here of the apple

and the chestnut together. I think it's heavenly.

But the ice cream is pretty sweet. Pretty sweet.

But the apple is so perfect with the chestnut.

The ice cream balances it.

If you have the apple cream and the ice cream together,

then it sort of works.

-Yes, it's when you go into them separately.

-Yes.

It's a well-balanced sweet. And I could eat another portion.

So if Lucy's going to leave hers...

That was... Yeah, it was amazing.

It was, like, a really intense experience.

There was urgency, there was excitement, there's terror.

But in the end it was just wholly satisfying.

It was a very pleasing day.

I came in here tonight saying,

"I'm a food Philistine." I thought I had no taste buds.

But you lot somehow awoke taste buds I didn't even know I had.

I have to say by about course three, I thought,

"Mm, can I eat any more?"

But actually, I got my second appetite and I did.

I really enjoyed every single course.

Hats off to you. It's an incredible effort.

You're all so talented. I hope you all win.

Five courses with so many processes, with so much skill.

John was brilliant with them.

Hugely impressed with all of them today.

Really great to see all five of them grow.

To replicate that food, the flavours from scratch,

I am super impressed.

Super impressed.

Today, I'm really feeling the pressure.

The next challenge is always the biggest you've had so far,

but it really feels like that today.

I don't know what's in store for us,

but whatever it is,

I'm going to give it my absolute everything.

Welcome back.

You had a fabulous experience with John Campbell.

Now we've got for you an invention test.

An invention test like no other.

Have a look, please, at your ingredients.

HE LAUGHS

What you have in front of you are leftovers and some scraps.

To be a great cook, it's not just about a prime piece of meat

and a truffle, or a fillet steak or a lobster,

it's about everything -

utilising the bones, the textures, the skin, the flavours.

That makes a great cook.

So you'll have one hour and ten minutes to cook for us one dish.

In the meantime, we're going to give you 15 minutes...

SHE MOUTHS ..to gather your thoughts,

work out what you're going to cook.

Your time starts now.

The scraps include a meat tray with venison and rabbit trimmings,

a chicken's giblets and its skin, stock bones,

pork fat and a pig's ear.

It's delicious, isn't it?

And fish trimmings, including cod and salmon heads, bones

and skin, and scallop roe.

Obviously it's a... It's a mixed bag.

The vegetables include potato peelings, fennel tops,

and offcuts of pumpkin, cauliflower, mushrooms and tomatoes.

I am quite daunted about it, because at this point I'm like,

"Mm, I'm not sure."

There is leftover rice, stale bread and croissant, Parmesan rind,

overripe fruit, apple cores and orange peel.

This is crazy.

They also have a limited larder to help create their dishes,

and a small selection of spices.

I think it'll be all right as long

as you don't make a pig's ear out of it.

HE CHUCKLES

One dish, one hour and ten minutes. Good luck, guys. Let's cook.

I think I've reached this stage in the competition

because I've been quite solid throughout, I feel.

But it's so easy to panic, and when you panic, you make mistakes.

So I think staying calm

and level-headed is really quite a key thing.

Is this the way you shopped and cooked at university, Jack?

-Sober up and think, "What have I got left?"

-Yeah, pretty much.

You have to think on your feet at uni a bit.

Using scraps is something that I have done.

I'm going to use the cod cheeks, just pan roasted.

I'm going to make a ravioli of pumpkin with fennel,

and I'm serving it with a chicken jus.

-Mm.

-And crispy chicken skin.

Have you got enough hair gel to go further in the competition?

I hope so. I'm running low at the moment, though.

Do you mind if I borrow some of yours?

Make a note of that, could you, John?

Jack's going out in the next round.

As clever as he is and as natural cook as he is, I'm not convinced by

a tortellini, a pasta, with squash and cod cheek in a chicken sauce.

But I love the fact that he's never taken a cod head apart before

and he's bold enough to do it. He's using his skills.

We know he can make great pasta. He's making a really good sauce.

Before I went in for the previous invention test,

I was a nervous wreck.

I'm a woman, I cannot make up my mind.

I cannot go in and just choose one thing.

So...I'll do my best.

I'm going to attempt noodles with a spicy beef broth,

with pickled giblets, crispy chicken skin and roast pumpkins.

Whoa, Ping!

That is not a spice that I would normally use,

but I'll roast some cinnamon off with some fennel seeds,

crush them, make a spice bag and infuse the flavours in the broth.

Are you used to cooking like this, with bits and pieces?

I am used to it, but not as bits and pieces as this.

It's a lot of bits and pieces.

I've never seen you anything else but calm. Do you ever get flustered?

Now.

I'm flustered now because I'm running out of time.

-All right, Ping.

-Thanks, Ping.

Ping is promising me a bowl of noodles in a beef flavoured broth

with little delights like pickled giblet and crispy chicken skin.

Happy days.

I'll bet it's delicious.

You've got 30 minutes left.

30 minutes.

Angela, how are you doing?

I'm good, thank you.

What scraps and leftovers are you going to use?

The venison and the rabbit.

I'm going to make a game pie with straw fries.

-Pie and chips.

-Basically.

-Brilliant!

-Are we getting tomato sauce?

-No.

-Ah!

-Sorry.

-Bottom.

-Sorry.

If I could pick anyone in the world to make me a quick game pie,

it would be Angela.

I've no doubt if she gets a nice, thick, rich sauce

underneath that pastry, it'll be beautiful.

The issue is going to be getting that real depth of flavour into that pie

and making sure it looks wonderful rather than

looking like a pub pie and chips.

I'm really going to try

and make my plate look good as well as taste good.

If I can make it look like John Campbell's food, I'll be OK.

Oh, God, please don't watch me.

Luke, which pasta did you...?

The one on the top shelf was mine, definitely.

-I put it right in the top corner.

-That's where I put mine.

I've got enough if you want to use the rest of this one.

Oh, pasta wars, did you see that?

This is really a lot more liquid-y than mine,

-was that rolling out all right?

-Yeah, it's rolling out fine.

-Could I have a little bit more? Well, I've got enough.

-Here you go.

-Between the two of them...

-Yeah, we'll sort it out.

-Michael, have you figured out who's stolen your pasta?

-Pastagate. Erm...

I think we resolved the issue. I've got mine, Luke's got his.

We're back on speaking terms.

What are you making out of our leftovers?

I'm making a rabbit and venison ragout with tagliatelle.

Tell us how special can a ragout be.

Despite the fact that they were scraps,

they're pretty good ingredients.

There's venison there, there's rabbit there, there's red wine.

I think when you love that kind of food,

you look at it and you see it, it's there.

I think that's an amazing set of ingredients and if you can't make

-a dish out of them, you don't belong on MasterChef.

-No, I agree.

-Thanks, mate.

-Shall I crack on? Thanks, guys.

Michael is making a ragout -

a meaty sauce that he's going to serve with his own

tagliatelle that he's making.

It needs to be delicious because as the competition goes

and skill level goes, it's not the most daring.

My invention test, so far, has been pretty good.

If you can look at a bunch of ingredients

and things jump out at you, then that really helps.

-Luke.

-Yes.

-What are you going to cook for us?

I'm making tortellini with a pumpkin puree with croutons garnished

with fennel tips.

And what's your filling for your tortellini?

It is mushroom and bacon trimmings.

What about the rest of your competition here, these guys?

They're good, aren't they?

-HE CHUCKLES

-Really good.

I knew it was going to be tough but, yeah,

these guys are absolutely fantastic. Everybody's got their sort of niche.

If you put us all together, you might just about have a chef.

-Yes, but it would have 12 arms.

-Yeah.

12 arms? Your maths is terrible. It's ten arms, they're five of them!

-Five twos are ten.

-That's right.

-Unbelievable. There you go. Good luck, Luke.

-Thank you.

Luke is looking very energetic but also a little excitable

and when he gets excitable, we normally get a mistake.

Fingers crossed, Luke. Deep breath, calm down.

So far, I've had one brilliant invention test and one awful

one, so I'm due a brilliant one so let's hope that's the case.

There are 15 minutes left.

A real sense of excitement in here today

and I'm really pleased about it.

All five cooks have risen to the challenge,

they're being inventive, they're drawing on their past experiences.

I have one disappointment and that is we don't have any dessert.

But saying it, I think in here today, it's great.

Don't break it.

-I know, I know!

-JOHN LAUGHS

60 seconds left to make your scraps look beautiful.

Time's up.

Jack.

Jack has made roasted pumpkin

and fennel ravioli with pan-roasted cod cheeks,

crispy chicken skin and a red wine jus made from the chicken carcass.

I hope that tastes great

because that is a really good-looking plate of food.

Thanks, John.

Light-as-you-like ravioli. Love the filling.

Sweet pumpkin and then is that a little bit of fennel in there?

-Yeah, fennel seeds.

-Really lovely.

You may have been a little heavy-handed with the seasoning.

Right.

Cod cheeks cooked perfectly but they need a little seasoning.

I like that rich red wine sauce made with the chicken,

I think that's wonderful.

I really like the crispy chicken skin on the outside,

that gives a lovely texture.

You've done a really good job here, really impressed.

I'm always going to be worried going into an invention test.

When you're using scraps and bits and bobs, it makes it even

harder, so to get those sort of comments, over the moon, so happy.

Angela.

Angela has made a game pie by braising rabbit and venison

trimmings in a stock made from the beef bone and chicken carcass.

It's flavoured with orange peel, cinnamon and mushrooms,

topped with shortcrust pastry,

and served with broccoli and straw fries made from potato peelings.

What do you think of the presentation, Angela?

-Er...

-SHE EXHALES

It's not my most artistic piece of work.

-I think it's a bit shabby.

-OK.

The flavour in that pie,

with that gravy that you've made around it, is beautiful.

It's everything I thought it would be.

It's deep, it's rich, it's almost sweet.

I'm with Gregg all the way, Angela. Love the flavours.

I love the buttery pastry on top, I think it's wonderful

and it's a lovely accompaniment to that rich venison and rabbit pie.

-It is a bit like a pub lunch.

-Yeah, I know.

But... Hold on, Angela.

Angela. You had some scraps and leftovers.

I'm not expecting Michelin star at this stage,

but I do want you to start to think about the end product.

-Just make it a little bit more pretty.

-Yep.

I've obviously got no eye.

I felt like I was getting there and then I took a step back.

But I think I can do it because what I'll do is just swallow

a book of pretty pictures and hope that some of them stick.

Ping, please.

Ping has made a spicy noodle broth from the venison

and beef bones and poached the giblets in a stock

made from the chicken carcass before pickling them.

She has garnished the dish with shaved cauliflower florets

and roasted pumpkin, strips of crispy chicken skin

and topped it with an egg yolk.

I think it's a great invention, Ping.

I hope it tastes as clever as it looks.

Your noodles are soft, your broth is meaty and there's pepper in there

and I love that but it's the little treats,

it's the crispy chicken skin that's salted which is just lovely.

The pickled giblet I love because although it's pickled,

it's sweet pickled so it's not sharp.

-Very good, Ping.

-Thank you.

I love that cinnamon richness

and the aniseed in the background of the stock,

the little egg yolk on top to thicken the sauce at the end is clever.

Pickled giblets, they're soft, they're smoky.

I think with what you had in an invention test,

that is about as cool as they come, Ping.

Really, I'm seriously impressed.

Yeah, really pleased.

It's joyful tears because I wanted it to be good.

Probably, my mascara's running but, no, I don't care about that.

As long as you liked that.

Wow.

Mr Luke.

Luke has made bacon and mushroom tortellini with a pumpkin puree and

croutons fried in bacon fat, topped with fennel tops and a vinaigrette.

-I think it's a great-looking plate of food, Luke.

-Oh, thank you.

Exhibit A.

I love that tortellini.

I love the filling, I think it's wonderful because it's sweet,

it's sharp and it's addictive

and all I want to do is eat loads more of them.

I feel like there should be 12 ravioli on that plate

and I want loads more of them.

The vinaigrette has given it sharp acidity the dish just didn't need.

-The rest of it is solidly, solidly good.

-Thank you.

I almost nailed it. The balance of flavours bar the vinaigrette.

If I'd left that out, I would have pretty much got faultless

comments so, yeah, I'm really pleased.

Michael.

Michael has made tagliatelle

and a ragout by mincing the offcuts of venison and rabbit,

flavoured with pork rind, butternut squash, tomatoes and bone marrow.

It's served with garlic bread.

These bits of bread, this stale bread turned into garlic bread,

-I sort of understand the concept but unnecessary.

-Yeah.

A good ragout can take half a day to cook so if you've got some

powerful flavour in there, I'm going to be very impressed.

The flavours are dense, are gamey, are peppery, are sweet.

The pasta is light and lovely. Very, very well done.

I like it cos you like it.

And I can tell you like it, you've got a spring in your step

-that's been lacking for the last couple of challenges.

-Yeah.

I love the flavour of this dish, I really do.

I think it's sharp with red wine, I think it's sweet with the meat,

I think your pasta's made really well.

I think it's a wonderful thing.

-And it's nice to see you're back. Welcome back, Michael.

-Thank you.

-I really enjoyed today.

-Good on you.

I haven't felt like this for a good few rounds.

Each time, I've come out thinking, "Oh, I wish I hadn't done this."

I was really pleased with today.

It's been an incredible couple of days.

And we do push you hard because we want you to learn.

Today, no-one is going home.

However, the next time you cook for us,

you'll be fighting for your place in finals week.

-Thank you very much indeed, we'll see you soon.

-Cheers.

Tomorrow, the battle to stay in the competition continues when the five

amateurs are pushed to the level they've never experienced before.

You have absolutely nailed it.

Who would want to go home at this stage in the competition?

It's a long way to come to go home now.