Episode 7 MasterChef

MasterChef is back.

Hundreds auditioned and now the best 60 amateur cooks are through.

I'm not that mad, wait till you hear what's in me dish.

-It's burnt.

-No! We call that enthusiastically crisp.

Each week, 12 new contestants battle

for just four places in Friday's quarterfinal.

So raw.

Only the strongest will make it to the final challenges.

I wish they'd liven theirself up, 20 minutes I've been waiting.

-I love it.

-A-ha!

They want to survive this competition,

they're going to have to be good.

Cooking doesn't get tougher than this.

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 become quarterfinalists.

-Welcome to MasterChef.

-So, first up...

this is what we call your calling card.

We're going to get you to cook one dish

and we want to see a little bit of flair, a bit of imagination.

Ladies and gentlemen, one hour. Let's cook.

When I make something really delicious,

I have to cook really extra.

Cos it comes out so well that I end up eating most of the dish.

How much cooking do you do?

I've been married for ten years, so I do cooking every single day.

-Where in India were you born?

-Well, I was born in Mumbai.

-Big, big city with wonderful food.

-Absolutely, gorgeous food.

-Are we going to get a little taste of that now?

-Well, it is just under way.

Nothing is getting cooked yet.

Rani has a smile in her voice.

The energy she's got is fantastic

but Rani's going to cook for us, a biryani.

Simply, it's a pot of rice with chicken cooked together

and all the flavours become one.

I love the sound of Rani's food,

but I just hope everything's perfectly done.

It's been a dream of mine to open a restaurant one day

and have my own restaurant and work in the kitchens.

Hopefully, this will give me experience and the push I need.

Terry, why would you put yourself through this much pressure?

The wife pushing me.

She kept on about entering, entering, entering.

-So I finally did it one year.

-What are you making for us?

Scallops two way with black pudding and beetroot, celeriac puree,

raspberry and balsamic vinaigrette.

-What does your good lady wife think of your cooking?

-She loves this dish,

so, if it's good enough for her I think it's good enough for you.

So we're not just criticising your cooking,

-we're criticising the taste buds of your...

-Of the wife as well.

As a calling card, Terry wants to show me that he's

an adventurous cook, an experimental cook. Great.

Scallops and black pudding with celeriac

is a marriage made in heaven.

Putting a raspberry with a scallop and black pudding together

is a sin.

But you know me, I'll give it a go.

Once.

Nearly 20 minutes gone,

so you've got 40 minutes left to produce your masterpiece.

The meal I'm doing today is based on a 17th-century recipe.

But I'm not afraid to try new techniques either.

I actually cooked salmon in my dishwasher the other day,

I figured I could set it to 70 degrees and use it like a sous vide.

So that came out quite well.

Dawn, your bench smells really good.

-Ah, fantastic. Yay, that's what I want to hear.

-Can you tell me what it is you're making?

I'm making you a Devon squab pie,

which is apple and lamb.

Which sounds bizarre, but don't worry,

I've rebooted it for the 21st century.

So it, erm, should be a bit more sort of in keeping with our tastes.

-Who do you cook for?

-Friends, family, some of the local bikers.

-Are you a biker?

-I'm learning to ride my trike at the moment.

-You've got a trike?

-Yeah.

If you cook for bikers, does this mean you cook big, hearty boy dishes?

Yeah, definitely, but also you have to be very careful what you're doing

because they're not backwards coming forwards if they don't like it.

So you've got to make sure the flavour's right each time for them.

Dawn says she's rebooting a 17th-century dish

and bringing it to the 21st century. Well, that's fantastic.

We've got lamb, we've got cider, we've got clotted cream.

It sounds fun, I just hope that she's got the skill to pull it off.

30 minutes gone. You're halfway.

Jack, what are you doing?

I'm doing a lobster and scallop ravioli with a lobster sauce -

which is made from the shells - served on a bed of spinach,

roasted lobster claw and a slightly foamed sauce.

Whoa, Jack.

-How ambitious are YOU?

-I'm giving it all that I've got, Gregg, I'm, er...

-I'm really going for it today.

-How old are you, Jack?

-21.

Jack's being very technical, making his own pasta, lobster sauce,

cooking lobsters, doing scallops.

This dish would usually take a very experienced chef

a number of hours to get right, Jack's attempting it in one hour.

Good luck to him.

It's quite a technically difficult dish, so it's...

It could... It could be a little bit challenging.

Hopefully, it should be OK.

You've got just over 20 minutes left.

I've got a big family.

I'm one of five girls, so big sister, a part of that loving,

nurturing sort of aspect meant that I would cook for them

and just generally play around with food.

-Hello, Jess.

-Hello.

-Are you happy? You've got a big smile.

Very happy to be here.

You know, nearly turning 30, some people run a marathon,

I come on MasterChef.

And what do you want from MasterChef, Jess?

I want to see how good I actually am, I want to do this for myself.

You know, I love food, I've always been part of the food industry.

-I was a waitress.

-Were you a waitress?

-I was, yes.

One of those naughty girls that, you know, stand behind the paths

and annoy the chefs.

-Try not to annoy our chefs, could you?

-OK.

Jess's calling card says to me she's a very confident cook.

She really has got four component parts to her dish.

Scallop, cauliflower, apple and bacon.

I love the combination, but she's got to get it absolutely perfect.

My father's Italian and so I've always cooked

but what really sort of

drove me to want to cook more is I just can't stand roast dinners.

Everyone I... Everyone I know just does roast dinners.

Roast this, roast that, so if you want to change it,

do something else yourself.

-Tell me what it is you're making?

-I'm doing a duo of courgette flowers.

So the first one's going to be stuffed with potato, Parma ham.

The second one's being stuffed with tapioca, with wild mushroom

and sugar snap peas dipped in a light tempura batter.

Deep-fried, served with a green-and-white asparagus

served with a warm hollandaise sauce.

Wow!

All that work. Can it be done in an hour?

I'm finding out.

OK, this is where it gets serious.

Peter's in panic mode and right now he needs to calm himself down

and get himself sorted out or he's not going to complete any of it.

OK. Dead.

You've only got five minutes,

so you've got to start plating up, please.

Come on, baby.

Stop!

Step away. Step away! Oi!

For her calling card,

HR specialist Jess has served scallops with cauliflower puree,

pancetta crumbs, apple batons and an apple and maple syrup puree.

Nicely cooked scallops.

I really like the salty bacon crumb bit on the top, I think

that's lovely and I like the sweetness of the celeriac as well.

-It's a nicely made dish.

-Nice.

-Nice.

-Hmm.

-But it's better than rubbish.

I really like your flavours, I even like your little apple sauce

but you have not really shown a huge amount of endeavour.

My plate of food was nice.

I don't want to be nice, I want to be fantastic,

I want to be wonderful.

Graduate Jack's dish is lobster and scallop ravioli served

with lobster claw, spinach, lobster sauce and micro parsley.

Really pretty looking little dish, Jack.

Thank you.

The pasta's made nicely, it's lovely and thin.

I like that little claw on top and I like the little bit

of richness and spice I get in the sauce, but the sauce is grainy.

And I know what it is, you put shells into a blender,

you blended it and then you tried to put it through a Tammy cloth

and then it all came out the end.

And it's like I'm eating my own teeth.

But flavour wise, Jack, I'm really impressed.

Jack, you have to stand up

and applaud this sort of adventure to make your own pasta, well done.

I'm quite relieved to have cooked the first one,

I got some quite nice comments, which was really pleasing,

but there was definitely some areas for improvement.

Teaching assistant Rani's dish is chicken biryani served with

hard boiled eggs and chaat masala roast potatoes.

You obviously know how to make a biryani, Rani. Ha-ha!

The chicken is moist, the rice is fluffy

and like all good cooks from India that I've met,

there's these waves of flavour that come in one after the other.

So you start off sweet and then you move into spices like caraway

and you finish with heat.

Wonderful.

I love the flavours of the chicken biryani.

The eggs I like with it, but the potatoes,

I feel like I'm having lasagne and chips.

Cos rice and potatoes,

just an interesting combination.

It didn't go exactly as I planned,

but it was a really fun experience and I would do it again.

Mechanic Terry has served scallops.

Crumbed and deep-fried and pan fried,

served with black pudding and beetroot, celeriac puree,

watercress and a raspberry and balsamic vinaigrette.

I'm pleasantly surprised. Let me start there.

Celeriac puree, black pudding and the scallop together, delicious.

Scallop and raspberries,

no.

Sorry, Terry but a raspberry should stay in a bowl with cream

and be served after your scallops.

Love your scallop in the breadcrumbs.

Really well made puree and black pudding is a tried and tested combo

for a scallop as well, very, very good.

I agree with my Aussie mate here,

there is no place at all for the sweet sharpness of a raspberry.

But you can cook. You've definitely got skill.

Yeah, I'm happy with the feedback.

I think I tried too many flavours, tried to impress too much

on the first go and it can only get better from here, really.

Witchcraft merchant Dawn has made

Devon squab pie filled with lamb and apples.

Served with celeriac mash, samphire and a cider and clotted cream sauce.

-Right, this sauce intrigues me.

-I think it's a bit too thin.

It's all highly unusual.

On railway stations now,

there are pasties of all different sorts of flavours and I feel like

I've gone to one of those stands and made the wrong choice.

Well, that's good cos that means that there's more left for me,

cos I love it.

I absolutely love it.

It is unusual, but in a really interesting way.

The sauce on the outside is warm with cider,

salty bits of samphire which seem a bit strange.

The pie itself is beautifully made, I'm really excited by this, Dawn.

-Thank you.

-This is a...

This is a dawning for me.

Thank you.

I don't mind dividing the judges,

the fact that John really liked it, that means the world.

I nearly burst into tears I was so happy.

50-year-old Peter has made battered courgette flowers.

The first is stuffed with tapioca, wild mushrooms

and sugar snap peas

and the second with potato, egg and prosciutto.

Anything missing from this plate, Peter?

Erm, yeah, hollandaise sauce.

I call this a classic example of masterchefanitis.

You're attempting far too much, Peter.

I like the courgette flower with the potato, the ham and the cheese.

The one with the tapioca, I'm finding a little odd.

Both those flowers are a little bit greasy

but, as you know, the whole thing needs a sauce.

That's singularly the toughest gig I've had in my life.

I'm desperately keen to...

..impress and make amends for that catastrophe.

I think the standard was OK, but I'm impressed by two of them.

Some interesting combinations...

..some very strange combinations...

..and some nice food.

There were quite a few mistakes in the room.

But I've got to say, I need to see a lot more

to feel as though I know them as a cook.

This is a sweet and savoury invention test.

They get to choose, you chose.

-I'll go savoury.

-Good.

Ah! Nice set of ingredients.

John will now have one hour to create a dish from duck breast,

mussels, rainbow chard, beetroot,

spring onion, plums,

coriander, thyme and coconut milk,

lentils and goat's cheese.

One hour. Let's cook.

One hour, let's go.

What are you making?

I'm doing duck, country style lentils, pickled beetroot

and beignets of goat's cheese and thyme.

Now for the magic of duck. Cold pan...

That's the only way I cook my duck now.

It works every time.

What they for, your beignets? What they flavoured with?

-Mustard powder.

-Oooh!

-Happy?

-Yeah.

Splendid!

That is my sort of food.

From the savoury box, John has made pan fried duck breast topped with

goat's cheese beignet, served on lentils

and rainbow chard with cubes of soused beetroot.

Mmm!

That is proper big boy's food.

-Oh, thank you. I'm glad you like it.

-Oh, mate, I love it.

Let's get them in.

Got ten minutes to decide whether you are going to make a sweet

or a savoury dish, do it now.

The green savoury boxes contain the same ingredients

that John cooked with.

Only two contestants have chosen the sweet box,

which contains apples, chestnuts,

cloves, sweet wine,

amaretto, cinnamon sticks

and brioche.

I was slightly concerned when I chose the sweet box

cos, thinking about it, probably better suited to savoury.

So hopefully it'll be OK.

One hour to cook your invention and, at the end of this,

two of you are leaving the competition.

Ladies and gentleman, let's cook.

Are you well paced, do you think, to go through to the next round?

If this works, yeah. If it doesn't, I'll get my coat.

You've got high expectations for a pudding, I know you do. So I'm...

I did have a bit of a risk picking the dessert,

cos it's you that I want to impress.

Obviously you as well, John.

22 minutes gone.

Terry, how's this dish going to be right now?

Simple, elegant, tasty.

Whoa! That's a brave promise.

Rani, on the bench, you have no Indian spices.

How are you going to bring your food to life?

It won't be necessarily hot and spicy,

but I promise you there will be flavour there.

I can see in your eyes,

-you desperately want to stay in this competition.

-Absolutely, yeah.

Yeah, this is the biggest opportunity I've ever had and...

I don't want to waste it. I really don't.

Four minutes, just four minutes.

Not long, but it's enough.

Stop!

Time's up.

From the savoury box,

Rani has made a baida roti stuffed with chilli

and ginger potatoes served with goat's cheese dumplings,

puy lentil salad with fried garlic and shallots

and a balsamic and honey sauce.

Rani...

I'm surprised.

I'm pleasantly surprised.

What I really love is that thing that looks like an omelette,

cos that egg is covering bread and inside there is spiced potato

-and it's really nice.

-Sure.

I love those little goat's cheese dumplings.

I think they're wonderful. Sharp, sour, you know what, Rani?

-As the inventing test goes, pretty good.

-Thank you.

You made my day.

They brought a big smile on my face,

because Gregg was really, really happy with the dish.

I had no idea they were going to like it so much, actually.

Dawn's dish is pan-fried duck breast with plum sauce

served with baked beetroot and ginger

and a chilli and coriander puy lentil salsa.

Dawn, you've got an issue with your duck,

-because your skin is still a bit fatty.

-Right.

But I do like the flavours in your beetroot and lentils.

Fiery ginger with that beetroot, which is woody and earthy.

And those lentils are crunchy with chilli and coriander

and spring onion. Really like them.

You play with flavours a lot.

Beetroot and ginger feels to me like a health smoothie.

It doesn't make me want to go flying in with another forkful.

I'm not all about unusual flavour combinations, it just so happened

that the roll of the dice today, that's how it's played out.

There is another side to me and I'd love to be able to show that.

Terry's duck has been served with honey and mustard mash,

plum sauce and beetroot crisps.

Your beetroot crisps...

Are a little bit burnt.

-If it's burnt, Terry, don't serve it.

-Right.

Duck cooked nicely. Mashed potato differently nice.

-Plum sauce and mashed potato I don't believe works.

-Right.

Your duck is cooked really, really well,

your plum sauce is spiced really, really well.

But, like your calling card, they don't belong together on one plate.

Right.

I do question, Terry,

your ability to understand how flavours come together.

Thanks. The flavours I think go together well.

Obviously, John doesn't and he knows best, he knows better than me so...

Peter's duck has been marinated in soy sauce then pan-fried

and served with plum, coriander and chilli salsa and a mustard mash.

-It's a bit burnt, old Peter, isn't it?

-Yes.

The flavour of that soy duck with your plums is lovely.

But as for the mashed potato as well on the plate, it doesn't work.

If you are going to do Asian flavours,

-stay away from mashed potato.

-Yeah.

The skin on that duck, because it's so burned,

it actually is feeling gravelly now between my teeth.

-OK.

-Charcoaly.

HE EXHALES

Deflated. I think I've blown it. Still.

From the sweet box, Jess has made a cinnamon

and chestnut apple crumble with creme anglaise.

The chestnuts add a nice, woody flavour to it,

the apples are warming.

Your custard is nice enough. It's just... Nice.

You've obviously got some technique. I just want you to spread your wings.

-I just want to see you soar.

-OK.

I think I played it too safe this time.

If I do get through, then I need to just show them, actually,

I have some interesting flavours and interesting ideas.

Jack's dessert is apple cinnamon tart filled with creme patisserie,

served with a salted caramel sauce and Chantilly cream.

I like the cleanliness of it, Jack, I think it's really,

really well done. Shame about the burnt round the outside.

There's another fundamental error though.

I left the tartlet case on the bottom.

-Oh.

-I tell you what, made, thanks for letting us know.

-You keep that.

HE LAUGHS SHEEPISHLY

Really nice short, sweet pastry, really good butterscotch sauce.

We got creme pat inside the tart, flooded with vanilla.

Mate, you are just lining up flavours that I love and knocking them down.

I've got to say, Jack,

at this stage of the competition with the invention test,

I'm talking really fast, because I got really excited by it.

-Thank you very much.

-I'm really pleased for you.

Good job, buddy.

I was very pleased to be able to show John I can make pastry,

as well as just mains and starters.

-It's been a real day of ups and downs.

-I liked Jack.

Jack is really good.

He's by far the most skilful and knowledgeable cook,

-which is amazing, cos he's by far the youngest cook.

-I'm with you.

Best cook of the day by far is Jack.

-Anybody else stand out as a cook today?

-Yeah, Rani. Love her.

Love the biryani that she did in the first round.

She packs masses of flavour into her food.

-I think she's got a lot of work to do, but I like.

-Absolutely.

So Rani and Jack stay. There is one person who needs to go.

-Peter. I think Peter's competition is over.

-He's done.

I'd like to talk about Jess.

I don't think Jess has been very ambitious.

However, she has made food without error.

Terry's combination of flavours are not necessarily right,

but I think he can cook parts of a dish but he can't compile a dish.

There's a lot more I can do.

Different dishes I can do better than that so...

I just want to hopefully scrape through this one and go from there.

Dawn, her calling card, we completely disagree upon.

That was this squab pie.

I really liked it, I thought it was really interesting.

But I've got no point of reference for what she's doing.

It's just coming at me very unusually.

I hope I've done enough, because I've got a lot more to give.

I feel like such a baby now!

Who is the...? Well, is it the greater risk or the lesser risk?

It's been a day of skilful food and some unusual food.

We have made a decision.

The first person leaving us...

..is Peter.

Thanks very much, Peter, thank you very much indeed.

Not good enough on the day. That's it.

It's been a really fun journey.

The second person leaving the competition is...

..Terry.

Thanks very much, Terry.

Devastated I'm leaving now,

but I've had some good, positive feedback from John.

I will take that and go away, carry on cooking

and I'll still have a restaurant one day.

Congratulations.

This test is not for the faint-hearted.

You are going to be cooking for three champions

and finalists of MasterChef.

Peter Bayless, Andrew Kojima and Jackie Kearney.

Today it's going to be like a service.

Four main course orders in one hour.

15 minutes after that, your four dessert orders.

Just bear in mind, at the end of this, we will be losing two of you.

Ladies and gentlemen, we wish you the best of luck.

Let's cook.

I'm more nervous for this test than any other test,

because I've got a lot at stake.

What are you going to tantalise our taste buds with?

A rack of lamb with a carrot and pea puree,

fondant potato and I'm going to make a reduction of the lamb bones

into a jus with lots and lots of herbs.

Dessert is a bread-and-butter pudding

with marmalade and cardamom custard.

So it's really flavoursome, really floral as well.

Your food going to be more than just nice today?

It's definitely going to be more than nice.

I haven't seen either of you smile yet so...

I can't knock Jess' effort right now,

she is attempting a hell of a lot.

No more safe Jess. She's going for it.

Ah! May I?

Please do, please do.

HE GASPS

Jack, tell us what you're going to make for us.

I'm making a venison with parsnip puree, parsnip crisps,

a fricassee of wild mushrooms and a chocolate and red wine sauce.

For pudding, a vanilla cheesecake,

but I'm going to do it slightly differently.

It's a deconstructed cheesecake,

so I'm going to separate out the elements of each.

John is a huge fan of deconstructed stuff,

as you can tell by the look on his face.

I was unsure whether to deconstruct it or not, John,

but I wanted to try and spice it up a little bit, make it more exciting.

On such an important day,

do you think you could have done your hair better? HE LAUGHS

Taken a leaf out of your book? No.

They call it fashion these days, apparently.

HE SPLUTTERS

He's making venison and parsnip.

I think it sounds absolutely wonderful.

We've seen him already do pasta, we've seen him do pastry

and now he's showing he can get his timing is right

and deliver to us a really classic, robust dish.

I just wanted to challenge myself to see what I could achieve.

Touch wood, it should be all right.

Rani is making a vegetable kadai, like a vegetable curry.

For dessert, she's making semolina pudding,

which she's flavouring with a strawberry coulis.

There's nothing technically difficult in this food.

It's all about the love and the flavour she can stack into it.

I'm going to blow their minds off with my cooking today.

They are going to say "wow" after having the food that they eat today.

I want it to be finger licking good!

SHE LAUGHS

-Rani...

-Yeah?

-Rani, I think you're lovely.

-Thank you.

-Really lovely.

-Thank you very much.

-How do you feel about cooking for the three people in the other room?

I'm really excited about it, because gone there and done that

and more new guys over is just an amazing feeling, you know.

I just can't express it in words.

I think you just have, Rani.

-Rani, if you cook as well as you're animated today...

-Yeah.

-..it's going to be delicious.

-Give me five.

I don't do things like that, thanks very much.

THEY LAUGH

Look at that, stirring and whisking all at the same time.

That's impressive.

Obviously, the first dish that I did of my own was a bit controversial.

I think this one's a bit more classic.

It's a bit more down to earth.

Hopefully, I'll pull it off perfectly today.

-How are you feeling?

-Good.

Yeah, this is a dish that I love.

I'm doing a pan-fried loin of venison

with baked beetroot and green pea pottage

and a port and waterberry reduction.

The waterberries are wild blueberries

and they grow on the moors in Devon.

-And dessert?

-I'm doing a chocolate orange fondant

with a cardamom creme anglaise.

-It's going to be soggy in the centre?

-Oh, absolutely!

I think you've got some really good skills, Dawn,

-but today, somehow, you've got to join us in our opinion.

-Yes.

I really hope that this dish will do that.

I saw her as a cook who was bold with flavours

and erring on the side of dangerous.

Today, I feel like we've gone to safesville.

I'm personally pleased about that.

30 minutes gone, you're half way.

In 2011, Jackie Kearney just missed out on becoming a finalist.

After MasterChef, it's like this intensive training school

that catapults you, like springboards you into it.

In the three years since, she has followed her dream

and turned her skill with Asian food into a thriving business.

I think my cooking's got better, it's more accomplished.

When you get hit by problems, it's hard to keep going.

You think it would just be easier to go back to my comfortable,

management job in the NHS.

But being in MasterChef changed me at a fundamental level

to make me believe that I can do this, I'm good at it.

Andrew Kojima made it to the final in 2012.

Since then, he's become a private chef

and continues to develop his food.

Making the transition has definitely been hard work.

You have to put the hours in.

On the other hand, I've never worked so hard

and been so fulfilled in my professional life.

Aged 59, Peter Bayless became MasterChef's

second champion in 2006.

It didn't catapult me into stardom and financial success.

What it did do was give me the confidence to think,

"Well, yes, I can do it."

The first thing I did after the programme

was to go and get some life experience,

amongst all the teenagers, which was fun.

After honing his skills...

..he went on to unearth a real passion for teaching.

I have to say it's just so rewarding, it's fantastic.

I am still not 100% convinced, in the back of my mind,

that I'm a professional chef.

When I'm asked, "What do you do for a living," and I say,

"I'm a chef," it's still a bit exciting and a bit edgy.

And, erm, I like it.

So, perhaps, I am really.

15 minutes, Jess. Happy?

You're dancing around there like a ballerina.

Jess's main course of lamb with fondant potato...

There is nothing to hide behind on that.

She's got to deliver all those components really, really well.

Sauces are one of those things, as an amateur,

you've often not been taught properly how to make a sauce.

You need to get some heat underneath that sauce.

Under the time pressure, things can go wrong.

-What's the matter?

-It's just it's not very cooked.

-There is not a lot you can do now, is there?

-No, not a lot I can do now.

Right, I'm going to start plating up.

One minute left, Jess.

Sauce to go on and then what?

And just a little bit of garnish and that's it.

-Your lamb's wearing a wig.

-It is.

All right, off we go.

Thank you, Jess.

I have cooked you lamb cutlet with pommes fondant,

pea puree, a carrot puree and carrots.

Thanks, guys.

I'd say it is a beautifully presented dish.

It's a dish where I want to eat it all,

-but I'm not sure where to attack.

-Yeah.

Well, guys, I think there are a number of issues with this dish.

The lamb, it's not been properly cooked.

The fat hasn't been rendered at all.

There's no crispness to the outside.

The purees are not really purees, they're a bit sloppy.

I'm afraid we've got a real disaster with the sauce.

It's just a sort of watery offering.

The main thing, for me,

is it could do with a pinch of salt on everything.

On a positive note, that's a lovely fondant.

It's lovely and soft, it's nice and crisp on the outside.

-JOHN:

-I like the potato fondant.

As for the rest of it, it's really badly executed.

I'm really sorry for Jess, but that hasn't worked at all.

OK. Are you all right with your dessert, now?

Yeah? Good job.

I remember my mum's bread and butter pudding which was

the best I've ever eaten. Of course it was.

What we don't want is something that's solid

and that really needs to be cut through.

We want something soft and melting.

That said, it doesn't want to be sloppy.

And then there is the cardamom custard.

I love my spice, but I'm not sure whether I want that

with my marmalade bread and butter pudding.

You've got two minutes, Jess.

I'm a big fan, Jess.

The crowd are on their feet in anticipation.

Well done.

Thanks, Jess. Oh...

I've made for you a marmalade bread and butter pudding

-with cardamom custard. I hope you enjoy it.

-Thank you.

-Thanks.

-It's smelling really very, very good.

-Mmm.

I think it looks a bit basic, doesn't it?

I'm not the biggest fan of bread and butter puddings

and this really hasn't convinced me otherwise.

It's a little bit bland just here.

-Just taste the raisin.

-Mmm.

-It's properly burnt...

-Burnt.

-Aren't they?

I've got a really bitter taste in my mouth.

What we have really is approaching a comedy of errors.

The creme anglaise is well over the top, it's almost scrambled egg.

And it doesn't taste of cardamom,

but I'm not actually disappointed by that.

A better day, another day, perhaps. I hope so for her.

This is what a bread and butter pudding and custard looks like.

-It's burnt!

-No, we call that enthusiastically crisp.

It's black!

I'm sorry, it hasn't been a good day for Jess.

Cooking those two courses, it was hard.

But...

I did my best, that's all I can do.

-You've got ten minutes, Jack.

-Thank you.

-Jack, are you under control?

-Yeah, good to go.

I think it sounds like a very balanced and logical

assembly of traditional pairings with venison.

Chocolate and red wine sauce, the chocolate is a tricky one.

If the chocolate is added while the sauce is still on the heat,

it will split and we will get oil and granules of the solids in there,

it will be disgusting.

-You're not doing a smear?

-No.

-Oh, Jack.

-I'm so pleased.

You're moving like a chef, Jack.

Happy with the dish, are you, Jack?

Yeah, I am happy, yeah.

Go on, son. Good job.

I hope it taste the same as it looks. It looks good.

Good lad.

-Jackie...

-Oh, thank you.

So you've got a pan roasted loin of venison with parsnip puree,

parsnip crisps, a fricassee of wild mushrooms

and a chocolate and red wine sauce.

Thank you very much, I hope you enjoy it.

This is beautiful. It's got colour, it's got emotion on the plate.

It's got texture coming right up with those parsnip crisps.

It's a very appetising plate of food.

I have to come straight in and comment on the sauce,

which really hasn't worked.

Although his sauce is split, there is actually

a very nice flavour in there.

I think he's made a masterly job of this puree.

It's absolutely silky smooth, isn't it?

It's utterly, utterly delicious.

I think the spinach is really nice the way he's cooked it

and it's not watery.

It's packed with flavour with those mushrooms, delicious.

It's spectacular. This could be in a restaurant. It's quality cooking.

Of course, there's things he can tighten up and everything else,

but I'm hugely impressed.

With the exception of the sauce, which I think

he just tried too hard on, it's a very accomplished dish.

I know technically there are issues on this plate,

but the confidence in his dishes is really exciting.

This is the third time we've seen him cook and he is 21.

We have found a talent.

-All right?

-Yeah, good.

-Deep breath, 15 minutes for that cheesecake.

-Yep, thank you.

-Let's have it.

Dessert does sound very simple.

So, it's going to have to be perfect.

I'm sincerely hoping the presentation of the cake is

not a wedge.

One-handed quenelle. Who taught you to do a one-handed quenelle?

-Practice.

-Have you been practising in a pro kitchen, Jack?

-Never.

Couldn't be here if I had, could I?

-Two minutes, Jack.

-Thank you.

Absolutely love it. Go on, son.

-Popping candy?

-It's popping away. Don't want it to have lost its...

Popability.

Thank you.

I've made you a vanilla cheesecake with a buttery biscuit base

and a fruit compote.

-Hope you enjoy it.

-ALL: Thank you.

Wow! That is a very pretty plate of food.

And it's quite a noisy plate of food, isn't it?

Jack's a natural. I mean, his texture, colour.

That silky vanilla cream cheese and the acid of the berries is

-so natural, but so well done.

-The base is absolutely delicious.

It's a rich biscuit with plenty of butteriness in there.

It's gorgeous, isn't it?

And then you get this after effect of the popping candy.

Adds another dimension to eating.

Suddenly becomes fun, as well as being delicious.

I think it's a beautiful looking plate of food.

I think technically it's very, very good.

I just think it lacks the beauty of a cheesecake.

'I'm pretty drained, actually.'

That was incredibly difficult, I have to say.

'I hope I've impressed them enough to get through but you never know.'

-You've got just under ten minutes left.

-Ten minutes?

-Just under, yeah.

Rani's dish I'm very excited about.

The shahi vegetable kadhi is one of my favourite curries, actually.

And she's serving it with bhatura, which is an unleavened bread that is

fried and is meant to puff up like a little balloon.

I've no doubt it's going to be packed with flavour,

but I do worry about how she is going to make it look appetising.

It's really comfort food, but this is MasterChef.

Rani, you've got three minutes left. You've got to move.

It is quite a lot going on at the same time, you know?

I'm really struggling to finish off everything on time.

-Is that it? Anything else to go with it?

-Just the garnish.

-Go!

-Thank you.

-Careful, careful.

There's enough here for another nine bowls full. Do you know what?

We should save this and microwave it tomorrow for lunch.

-Hello, I'm Rani.

-Hi, Rani.

-Hello.

It is a mixed vegetable khadi

and it's served with bhatura which is a leavened fried bread.

-I hope you like it. Enjoy.

-Thank you.

I am quite delighted to see it.

I was even more delighted to smell it as it came through the door.

Fantastic. I'm not quite sure what happened to the bread.

It should have been puffed.

Oh, hello!

SHE LAUGHS

There is certainly a hit in there, isn't there?

It's also a good combination of spices.

Yeah, the ajwain seeds in the bread are delicious.

I know they might have been a little bit of an issue

-with the cooking of the bread.

-A little raw.

It's a little raw, but the flavour is delicious.

-I'm going to eat all this.

-I think it's a very, very successful dish.

She's made a simple bread and a simple pot of vegetable stew.

The problem is, it's downright delicious.

15 minutes for your dessert. You've got 15 minutes, haven't you?

Rani's dessert is a semolina pudding.

I'm open-minded and this is an Indian version of it, so I'm sure

they perfected it more than my dinner ladies back in the '80s.

I'll be interested to see whether there's any other spice in there

because that sounds very simple.

-Rani, what else to go?

-That's it. A pistachio on top as a garnish.

Stick a nut on top.

-Rani, got to go now. Thank you.

-Come on, Rani.

-Well done, you.

-Hello, guys. Ladies first this time.

-Thank you.

-I'll be back in a tick.

I've served you a semolina pudding which is served with

a strawberry sauce.

-Enjoy.

-Thank you.

That's a little bit lacking.

It actually doesn't deliver on the flavour.

I'm sort of getting a hint of cardamom.

-And not too much else.

-I'm pleasantly surprised at the texture.

But there's no way I could eat the whole of it.

I'm looking at it thinking, "Is there a surprise

"lurking in the middle to break up the monotony of it?"

Probably doesn't demonstrate enough

in terms of technique and creativity.

It's nice. It's not as dry as I thought it was going to be.

It's very sweet. It's quite sticky. Her food tastes delicious.

But look how simple it is.

'It was quite exhausting, actually.'

So glad that it was over.

As much as I enjoyed it, I'm glad that it is over.

-Dawn, we've got to get this main out in seven.

-Should be fine.

Dawn's main sounds really interesting, I think.

She's got a loin of venison with a port and water bread sauce

with baked beetroot, parsnip, green pea pottage.

It sounds like a lot of things going on. Possibly too many.

-30 seconds before it's due to go out.

-Yep.

-What have you got to do?

Just got to blitz my peas and carve the meat and plate up,

-so I'm so sorry.

-You're in a panic, but just do it, OK?

I'll do that while you plate up. We can't be any more late.

Quick, quick, quick.

That's lovely. Thank you so much.

Nearly five minutes over now. You've got to sauce.

-Go on, mate. Let's go, shall we?

-Yeah.

Hello. I'm ever so sorry I'm late.

-Here you go.

-Thank you.

I've got for you a loin of venison with a port and water bread sauce

on a parsnip fondant with baked beetroot and green pea potage.

-Enjoy.

-Thank you.

-It's beautifully presented.

-Yes.

I'm actually getting quite disappointed now.

The meat hasn't been rested enough so it's far too chewy.

The parsnip is not cooked.

So, there are quite a few issues there. The sauce is split, as well.

Hasn't been reduced down.

I'm a bit disappointed by the beetroot, if I'm honest.

-It feels a little bit dry and a bit bland.

-It's lacking in flavour.

Very lacking.

I just think she's had timing issues

and that is completely understandable at this stage,

because you don't learn about timing in your own kitchen.

For me, the whole thing needs a good push on seasoning. I mean,

not just a little bit of seasoning, it needs a lot of seasoning.

Right, Dawn, you've got just over ten minutes

-to get these fondants out.

-Yep.

The idea of a chocolate orange fondant.

They're doing a fondant at this stage of the competition. Do you know what?

Really good luck to them.

And cardamom creme anglaise.

SHE MAKES A KISSING SOUND

-Two minutes to go. Don't be late again, Dawn.

-No.

-Happy?

-Yes, I am.

-Anything else to go on there?

-No, that's it.

I've got for you a chocolate orange fondant

with a cardamom creme anglaise.

-I hope you enjoy. Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

-Look at that.

-Nice and soft and gooey in the middle.

Lovely warm flavour from the cardamom.

She's got that spicing of the cardamom perfect.

The flavour of the orange is really coming through with the chocolate.

I think that is a very well executed dessert.

Dawn can come home and cook desserts for me any time she wants to.

I think it is a sheer delight.

If she could throw a bit of that presentation magic

from the venison dish to this dish, that would be spectacular.

My only tiny, tiny criticism is

I would like my custard a little thicker.

Apart from that, that is lovely.

It's a well-made chocolate fondant, I'll give her that.

The custard is rich with vanilla and cardamom.

Whew!

I was five minutes over with the first course.

But I'd rather get it right.

And the fondants came out really well.

They didn't disintegrate on the plate or anything,

so whatever happens today, I'm pretty happy with what I've put up.

You know what? Bar the odd timing issue, not a bad day at all.

Without any doubt, the best cook in the room was young Jack.

I'm really excited about Jack.

Not because of where he is now, but where he can go.

I had really big hopes for Jess today, but it was just,

I'm sorry to say this, wrong.

The mistakes on her lamb dish were incredible.

We can't let Jess go any further, I'm afraid. She's got to go.

We now have a discussion to be had between Dawn and Rani.

I love the taste of Rani's food. I think she spices like a magician.

But it's like one pot cooking.

She makes me smile,

but it's a risk taking her further in the competition.

Cos I don't know what skills she's got.

The suspense is killing, actually. You are nail biting.

What's going to happen? What's going to happen?

That is really, really stressful. You know?

I'm still scared of some of Dawn's odd concoctions.

I know some of it thrills you, but some of it puts me off.

Dawn was way behind today.

I had to go and do the peas for her

otherwise those peas wouldn't be on the plate.

The pressure got to her, really got to her.

And this competition is just going to get more and more stressful.

I'd love to be able to get through to the next round, because

I do have a lot more to show and it's just such great fun to be here.

Which of those two ladies is likely to succeed in the quarterfinal?

I think we know the answer to that.

We have just two quarterfinal places to give.

Our first quarterfinalist.....

..is Jack.

Our second quarterfinalist...

..is Rani.

Well done.

'I think I regret playing it too safe.'

I'm a bit gutted about that, actually.

Bit gutted that I've not shown my full potential.

'I'm glad I got to cook my two-course meal.'

And, you know what?

I've had the best time and I can't feel sad at losing out to those two.

They're absolutely brilliant.

I feel absolutely incredible. It's such a great feeling.

It's an honour to get through.

It really is and it means so much to me. I'm overwhelmed.

It really is a fantastic feeling.

I'm a bit cold and numb with excitement at the moment.

I'm not going to forget it for the rest of my life. I'm elated.

Really elated.

Tomorrow night, six new hopefuls will battle for a place

in Friday's quarterfinal.

That is lush.

It is a disaster.

As soon as it hits my stomach, it goes...

HE MAKES THE SOUND OF AN EXPLOSION

-It's like the worst thing I've ever tasted.

-Don't put it in your mouth.

It's horrendous.