Episode 8 MasterChef

MasterChef is back! Hundreds auditioned.

And now the best 60 amateur cooks are through.

I'm not that mad. Wait until you hears what's in the 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 this soap up. 20 minutes I've been waiting.

-I love it.

-Ha-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 two will become quarterfinalists.

Right. This first round is your calling card

to show Gregg and I what sort of cook you are.

We do want to see a bit of flair and imagination.

Before we kick you off, just one plea.

Please, please make it edible.

Ladies and gentlemen, your calling card, one hour.

Let's cook!

I'm originally from Malaysia

and I come from a town

which is a foodie town.

Everyone in Malaysia travels to Ipoh, where I'm from.

So, you cannot not like food.

Ping, I don't mean to sound rude but you look terribly serious.

-I'm just concentrating.

-And what are you cooking for us today?

A Malaysian chicken curry called curry kapitan.

So, it's a fusion of Malay and Chinese cooking.

Sweet, sour, spicy. It's really nice with fluffy white rice.

And that's what I love to eat.

I know an Australian chef, a friend of mine not far away,

who may be quite excited by this.

Good! I'm glad that you are.

I'm not. I think it's rubbish. But he'll be very excited by it.

Ha! While, he should be here then.

Ping's calling card is a style of food that I love.

The Malaysian curries aren't wet, they're quite dry.

And to get those flavours right is a really difficult thing.

You've had 15 minutes. Wow! 15 minutes gone.

The bulk of the food in our house, the staple is Indian food.

Sundays in our house is curry Sundays.

We don't have a traditional Sunday dinner

and haven't for about four years.

Ben, loads of goodies on your bench.

What are you making?

Prawn and egg biryani with a prawn bisque.

And a fennel and mustard seed salad.

-A bisque is French.

-Yep.

-A biryani is from India.

-Yep.

I spent six months with my wife

volunteering on a project in South India.

We loved the food.

And I've really enjoyed trying to bring that cuisine together

with something a bit more usual to our palates, with a bisque.

Ben's giving us Indian food with a touch of France.

Wow!

I mean, he's got to be an eccentric cook because that's just outrageous.

Biryani on a bisque?

A bisque on a biryani?

As long as I can keep calm and relaxed, I'll be fine.

I'm really looking forward.

I can't wait, John and Gregg are going to be tasting my food. Ha!

My food!

I am excited. Ha-ha!

Carl, what are you making for us?

I'm doing a different take on a wiener schnitzel and a potato salad.

I'm using some old ingredients I learned in Austria

and I'm putting in a bit of a modern twist on it.

Were you born in Austria or...?

No, no. Me mum was from Austria. She came from a family of 14.

Eating together, cooking together, that's where the love came from.

Carl's potato salad has got chorizo sausage.

Then he's got pumpkin oil and pumpkin seeds.

I hope it doesn't take down

the wonderful freshness of that potato salad.

You're halfway. You got 30 minutes left.

Now, my family are grown-up.

They don't need me as much as me more.

And so, it feels like it's the right time

to do something for me.

Judy, what are you making?

I'm doing pan-fried sea bass with ratatouille,

a potato rosti and a poached egg.

OK. Where does the love of cooking come from?

My grandmother was a professional cook. My son is now a chef.

Do you want to work in the world of food, Judy?

I'd love to. I'd love to give it a go before it's too late.

A piece of sea bass which is oily served with ratatouille

and a potato rosti with a poached egg...

maybe a bit too much.

I'm cooking octopus.

Yes, it can go wrong. It can go really wrong.

But it's not going to today. It's going to go good.

Rebecca, what are you making?

Octopus.

I'm going to do panko bread crumbs with a winter salad

of Swedish mayonnaise called nobis sauce.

-Are you from Sweden?

-Yes. Erm, I've been here for 25 years now.

And what do you do now?

I'm a mum now. I've got five kids. So...

-Five kids!

-Yeah.

-Have you come on here for a rest?

-Yes. Yes.

Ah, it's really relaxing.

-How do I say bye-bye in Swedish?

-Adjo.

-Adjo.

-See you.

It's actually quite cool that Rebecca has walked in here with an octopus.

That shows real bravery. An eclectic cook but a brave cook.

I did some cooking. Yes, I cook for my family.

It's never gone wrong to date.

So, hopefully, today it will go the way it should.

-James, you seem to be really going for it.

-I'm trying, yeah.

-I'm trying my best.

-What are you making?

I'm making a roast and smoked salmon ravioli with a watercress sauce

and a smoked salmon crumb to go on the top as well.

Why push yourself that hard?

You don't get to come here every day. So, let's...

Death or glory!

That dish smacks of the classics.

That watercress sauce should be bright green and glistening.

The little ravioli all plump and beautiful.

And as long as he doesn't overwork that pasta,

it should be a lovely, lovely thing.

This is your last ten minutes.

You have ten minutes left.

There you go, baby. Yes.

Last 60 seconds. Honestly, it's got to go on a plate.

That's it, guys. Time's up.

Times up.

Salesman Ben's calling card is an Indian prawn and egg biryani

with a French prawn bisque

served with a fennel and mustard seed salad.

I like lots of things on this plate.

Love the crunch of those raw vegetables. Love your bisque.

But I think the biryani is suffering in flavour because of the bisque.

-Here's where fusion is difficult, isn't it?

-Yup.

Cos which should start? Should it be the biryani?

Should it be the bisque? Erm, ah!

Just concentrate on one thing because as a calling card it tells me

you've got skill, you've got adventure,

-but you just need to be able to believe in one dish.

-OK.

There's a lot more to my repertoire than what they've seen.

But hopefully that's been a good start.

And something that will give them a bit of confidence in me as a cook.

Mum of five, Rebecca, has made deep-fried octopus

with a courgette mint and Parmesan salad

served with a nobis sauce -

a Swedish mayonnaise made with soft boiled eggs.

Your octopus is cooked fine for me.

And I love the crunch round the outside. I like your salad.

You flavoured that with a little bit of cheese.

-Yeah.

-But I find the cheese and octopus an odd combination.

Rebecca, I think it takes a very, very brave cook to come

into MasterChef and as a calling card present a dish like this.

Crispy outside of the octopus, all sweet and tasting of the sea.

And then the salad is really indulgent with cheese.

I think it's really interesting.

Oh!

Overall, I think they kind of liked it. So... They didn't hate it.

That's good.

Carer Carl has made chicken schnitzel flavoured with thyme,

lemon and pumpkin seed oil.

And a warm potato, chorizo and pumpkin seed salad.

The texture of your chicken I find wonderful.

But your oil wasn't hot enough.

And I'm getting the flavour of oil on there.

OK.

-I, I think potato salad is a bit messed up.

-OK.

It's a bit confused.

But, Carl, a really interesting calling card.

It tells me a lot about you as a cook.

Well, brilliant. Thank you.

I'm so relieved that I've done it and it's over.

And, you know, that kind of anxiety and the nervousness,

it's really gone.

A bit of confusion going on with some of the flavours

but some good points with some of the other flavours.

So, hopefully, they can see a bit of potential from me.

Fingers crossed.

Phew!

Malaysian-born Ping has made curry kapitan,

a chicken curry with lime rice.

-A good-looking dish.

-Thanks.

Ping, I like your flavours because I get that smokiness.

And I get the sweetness, the sharpness and the bitterness

that goes with classic Malay cooking.

For me, in my opinion, there's not enough chilli in this dish.

OK. Noted.

Cos you think that me and him are like softies or something, eh?

No, absolutely not.

It's a little bit Anglicised, if I'm fair with you.

-OK.

-OK.

From somebody who is from birth completely Anglicised, I have

to say I find it adorable.

Thank you.

That chicken flavour, to me, starts off smoky sweet

and it's like a barbecue and ends in warmth.

In a warmth that grows. I find that sort of food very, very addictive.

I like your cooking, Ping.

Thank you.

More chillies next time. Hotter, I think.

Personnel consultant Judy has served pan-fried sea bass

with ratatouille and a potato rosti

topped with a poached egg.

You have cooked your sea bass really well.

You have made a rosti really well and you've poached an egg perfectly.

But I don't agree with your flavour combination

of poached egg, fish and ratatouille.

And I believe you've been too heavy-handed with the salt pot.

OK.

I think that you just need to simplify a little bit, Judy.

-Because I think it's some interesting ideas.

-OK. Thank you.

I'm pleased that I've been able to show them some of my skills.

And, yeah, there was a lot of positive feedback in there.

So, it was good to hear.

Business support manager James has made roasted and smoked

salmon ravioli topped with capers and a crispy salmon and lemon crumb

served with asparagus and a watercress vermouth sauce.

We got lovely asparagus sitting inside a watercress sauce

with wonderful soft pasta and then around the outside of that

I've got bits of crispy breadcrumb and bits of smoked salmon.

And then really salty capers.

There's just too much going on in that plate.

Let it speak for itself.

Now, James, not all is lost because you can make pasta

and you can make a sauce. So, you can cook.

I'm really frustrated cos I had it very simple

when I first came up with the dish

but I added too many bits.

So, definitely back to basics for the rest of the competition, now.

A really great round. Really interesting insight to you as cooks.

You're going to have a little break now.

And when we call you back in, the competition will properly start.

Thank you very much, indeed. Off you go.

This is the sweet and savoury invention test.

You've got to decide.

-Savoury.

-OK.

Get rid of your sweet box.

Well, that's heavier than last time.

-Oi!

-Oh, sorry. I was just looking.

Too late now. Have a look at the ingredients.

Ah! Nice!

John will now have an hour to create a dish from trout,

a pork chop, baby red peppers, mushrooms, butter beans,

carrots, coriander, samphire,

thyme, rocket and an apple.

Have you decided fish or pork?

Yeah, I've decided on the fish.

-Trout, samphire, classic beurre blanc.

-Ah!

Little potato crisps.

John, I'll get me fork ready.

You do that.

-You said you were doing the fish.

-I am.

-I'm just nicking a bit of the rind off the pork.

-What for?

For seasoning on the top of the fish.

Halfway, mate.

-And your potatoes are on. Your samphire is ready.

-Yep.

How's your beurre blanc?

Beurre blanc's ready.

Beautiful fish.

I'm really looking forward to this.

Yes!

There you go.

From the savoury box,

John has made trout topped with pork crackling,

potato chips, samphire with chilli

and a beurre blanc.

-My mouth's watering.

-Good luck.

Lovely dish.

John, it's cooked by a good chef and it tastes like it,

and it looks like it.

Well, thank you. Let's get them in.

This is the sweet and savoury invention test.

You have to decide which of those boxes you are going to use.

We're going to give you 10 minutes to decide on

what it is you're going to cook.

Like John, four of the contestants have chosen the savoury box.

I'm really racking my brains.

I was really excited about doing this challenge,

but now I've had a complete blank.

Judy and Carl have gone for the sweet box,

which contains a coconut, passion fruit,

white rum, limes, pudding rice,

freeze-dried raspberries, mints,

and mascarpone.

I'm nervous about this one.

So, I need to think really carefully about what I'm going to do.

You've got a great set of ingredients there.

One hour, one dish to keep you in the competition.

At the end of this, two of you are leaving.

Ladies and gentlemen,

let's cook.

It's a bit of experimentation for me today.

I've never cooked with samphire before.

-So, we here today are your culinary guinea pigs.

-Absolutely, yeah.

So, I'm keeping both fingers tightly crossed.

How far do you think you might be able to go?

I'll be very grateful if I get through today, to be honest.

You've had 18 minutes.

18 minutes gone. Very close to 20 minutes gone.

Why the sweet invention test for you?

Erm, I used to do a thing at school called ickle, uckle,

chocolate buckle and I did that in my head and that is what it was.

It was basically tossing a coin.

Ucklit, chocolate, buck...

Ickle, uckle, chocolate buckle, ickle, uckle, out.

Carl, it's been lovely talking to you.

-Hope you've enjoyed the competition.

-Honest, I'm not that mad.

Wait till you hear what's in me dish.

I prefer cooking savoury food.

I'm not a big dessert person, unfortunately.

-Such a shame, James. I was beginning to like you as well.

-Yeah.

Rebecca, would your children eat this?

This? Some of it. Yeah, my daughter would.

She's good. The boys are fussy.

You've got 15 minutes left.

You've only got 15 minutes.

I'm making a lemon tart with a raspberry coulis.

Is your pastry good?

Well, I'll wait for you to be the judge of that.

With just six minutes to go we are on operation rescue from Judy.

You've got just three minutes left. Get it on a plate.

That's your lot. Time's up.

James chose to use the pork chop from the savoury box.

And has served it with boulangere potatoes,

honey glazed carrots

and a red wine sauce.

-Whoa!

-Oh, yeah. It's like a brown sauce.

You cooked your pork quite well.

Unfortunately, your red wine sauce is far too watery.

And it won't coat the meat.

So, you're left feeling the pork's a little dry.

I do love your potatoes.

Soft and lovely and seasoned really well with lashings of butter.

And that's great!

What you've got here is some really nice component parts

but it hasn't quite come together as a majestic dish.

It was amazing to do an invention test.

You don't really appreciate how hard it actually is.

Ben went for the trout, which he baked whole

and stuffed with samphire, chilli and lemon.

He served it with butter bean puree

and honey glazed carrots.

Oh!

You haven't done samphire before. It tastes ghastly.

But I'll forgive you.

You've never cooked it before,

however, you cooked the fish very nicely and I like your puree.

Just so you know from now on,

treat samphire the same way you would asparagus.

-Right.

-So, blanch it first, run it through some butter

and it's a wonderful thing.

Your trout is cooked really, really nicely,

but you see when I peeled back that skin, how much more beautiful it was.

If you just take the time to present it.

Better than I thought after I had finished cooking the dish.

I wasn't sure what to make of it. Could I have done better?

Definitely.

Rebecca has cured her trout in lemon juice

and served it with fried mushrooms and samphire,

roasted carrots and a soy dressing.

I was going to make trout fillets with garlic and thyme mash

and then I changed my plan halfway through.

But in a competition like this, you've got to a firm plan.

Work out what you're going to do and then have the courage

-and conviction to stick to it.

-OK.

I'm hoping it will taste nice.

No, he doesn't like it.

No.

I like the garlic with the mushrooms.

I'm nervous of the fish

cos it doesn't feel like a cured fish to me.

It just feels like a partly cured, part raw one.

-And we've got parsley with veg.

-Yeah.

If you change nearly all of the dish halfway through,

it's unlikely to result in something splendid.

Yep.

It's a bit of a mishmash

and for all the work,

it doesn't really deliver on flavour.

Yeah. Oh, well. What a shame.

-Thanks, Rebecca thank you.

-I'm really sorry.

No, it's OK.

Terrible. It went awful. I changed my plan halfway through.

So, it was all a bit of a mess. Ugh!

Ping has made soy glazed, garlic pork chop

with mash, ginger glazed carrots

and a sweet red pepper and coriander sauce.

I quite like it for a sort of fusion-y, pork chop Asian-y thing.

Your mashed potato is lovely and buttery and cream.

Your pork chop is wonderful and moist

and the crackling around the outside is crispy.

Your carrots are beautifully cooked and glazed well with ginger

but mashed potato doesn't go with soy sauce.

I don't think you got the flavours absolutely right on that dish.

But that doesn't stop me thinking

that you are probably a decent cook, a very decent cook.

My aim is to actually put everything together

and put a smile on their face.

But I'm quite pleased it wasn't total disastrous.

Carl chose the sweet box.

And has made lime and ginger rice pudding

with a sweet breadcrumb topping.

Cor, blimey, Carl.

You've got about four kilos of rice pudding in there.

I like me portions, don't I?

I really like the sweetened breadcrumbs across the top.

It gives me a flavour of almost like a coconut biscuit.

The actual rice pudding itself needs to be a lot sweeter.

And it's a bit thick.

-OK.

-Erm...

Oh, cracker!

That's a thick, old rice pudding, son. Look at that.

Oh, dear.

I'm feeling a bit...just a little bit down, really.

Because from the look of it and how it turned out,

it wasn't just what I wanted really.

Righto. What do we have here?

Well, it was meant to be a lemon tart with a raspberry coulis.

But, unfortunately, the pastry was too fragile

when I took it out of the tin and the sides gave way.

I feel for you. I really do.

Do you know what? It looks a fright,

but all the flavours are absolutely there.

But look at it.

The flavours are good but it is a disaster.

-And you know it's a disaster.

-I do.

The thing is can we look beyond that disaster?

-Thanks, Judy.

-Thank you.

I'm really disappointed with the way my dish turned out.

I don't know what I did wrong.

But obviously something fairly significant.

Yeah, I'm just annoyed with myself.

Lots of mistakes in this round. Is it nerves, John?

Some of them excelled in their calling card

and didn't do so well in their invention test.

But all in all, I don't know.

I think there's some potential in this room.

Ping at the moment is the standout cook in this heat.

Her first dish was great.

Her pork chop and mashed potato was also good in the invention test.

That pork chop in the invention test wasn't quite right

but there's lovely bits to her cooking.

Ben is an inventive cook, that's for sure.

Biryani and a bisque in the calling card.

I thought Ben cooked that trout brilliantly.

He didn't know how to cook samphire, that's for sure,

but I believe Ben's got a decent touch.

James has had an interesting two rounds

cos his calling card we have a ravioli,

which should've been sophisticated and quite elegant

but it was just bombarded in flavours that overpowered it.

He came back in here on the invention test

and took on that advice.

I've seen enough of James to want to see some more of James.

-Does that make sense?

-It does.

We need to talk about Judy.

Judy's invention test was a disaster on a monumental scale.

Judy actually cooked OK in the first round,

but the idea of poached egg and rosti

on top of the sea bass was wrong.

It's hard to find the good in Judy's cooking.

I think we've actually got to let her go.

I agree. I think Judy has got to go.

If I was to be sent home at this stage,

I don't think I'd be surprised, but I'd be really disappointed.

I really want to go further.

That leaves now a conversation about Rebecca and Carl.

Rebecca cooked that octopus and that was all right, actually.

But she went to pieces in the invention test.

The invention test is really hard.

I thought they would say something good, but they didn't.

Not one thing. So... I think I'll be going home.

Carl's calling card, it was a strange combination.

I liked the idea of his schnitzel. I thought that was lovely.

The rice pudding, however, was thick.

I mean, so thick I could tip it upside down.

If I was to leave now, I'd be absolutely gutted.

I do have a lot more to give.

I just hope that John and Gregg can see that.

Who would you rather have cook for you, Carl or Rebecca?

We have now made a decision.

Two of you, unfortunately, have to leave us.

The first person leaving us...

..is Judy.

I'm really disappointed, but not altogether surprised.

It's a shame, but that's how it is.

The second cook leaving us...

is Rebecca.

It was really fun to put myself out there and try something.

And it's a shame it didn't work out.

This is a very, very tough test.

There are only two quarterfinal places today.

Your job today is to impress.

Impress not just Gregg and I,

but, also, champions and finalists of Masterchef.

People who have been here before.

Dean Edwards, Shelina Permalloo and Steven Wallis.

Your four main course orders out in one hour

and 15 minutes later four dessert orders.

Ladies and gentlemen, let's cook.

I think I've coped pretty well with the pressure, actually.

You know, those who can handle the pressure

are going to stand the best chance.

So, I'm hopeful that that can be me today.

Ben! An important day today.

Massively, yeah. I really want to show

some strong flavours in the main component of my dish,

which is Vietnamese pho today.

It's a noodle soup, essentially.

I'm serving with mackerel fish balls and a herb salad.

And for dessert, Ben?

I'm doing a passion fruit panna cotta and mango coulis.

Oh, yum!

The pho's world is all about the stock.

And a good stock takes between eight and 10 hours to make.

He's got an hour.

One hour and 15 minutes to cook two courses, four portions of it.

And to cook it perfectly, it's going to be tough.

Ping, what are you cooking?

Today we're going to have pan-fried supreme of chicken,

girolles with butter spring greens and buttered potatoes

in a cream of corn.

And dessert, we're going to have a warm pear frangipane

with lavender cream and salted almond brittle.

Why not Malaysian today? I loved your curry.

Why, why move from Malaysian?

I just want to do something different. And I want to show you

that I can cook different dishes as well as Malaysian.

But if I get through today, then I'll be able to cook Malaysian dish

in the next round and I'm really looking forward to cooking that.

Ping as a cook excites me.

She's got a lot of work to do there, Gregg.

A lot of work to do. And I hope she doesn't trip up.

15 minutes gone. 45 minutes left.

The timing is definitively going to be an issue

cos it's a lot of peeling, a lot of chopping.

I'm just hoping that with the pressure on I can deliver it.

James, not a huge amount of ingredients on your bench.

No, I've kind of taken the feedback on board.

And there was a few bits I was going to add which I have taken away.

I'm going to make steak bavettes with three cooked chips

with an English mustard and tarragon mayonnaise

and a raw mushroom salad.

OK, and dessert?

An apple calvados stack with a vanilla biscuit base.

Tell me, why these two dishes?

It's my brother's wedding coming up very soon and we used to go

to a restaurant in Manchester where we would get steak bavette.

Yeah, it's like, kind of an homage to him.

I like James' menu. It sounds classy and it's got direction.

What I really think is very clever,

having a mustard tarragon mayonnaise.

I've never had it before and I'm looking forward to it.

Of course I'm concerned.

I'm using different ingredients for different things.

I enjoy it. I think the tastes work.

But they're the professionals out there.

They might taste it and say,

"You know what? This is proper rank."

Carl, the heat's on today, isn't it?

Just a little bit, eh?

Tell me about it.

What are you making, Carl?

I'm doing beans on toast with sausage,

but I'm doing a different concept.

I'm doing a garlic toast with cannellini beans.

I've got some sausages marinating away.

If the diners survive that, is there a dessert?

Yeah, I'm doing a plum dumpling.

And basically I'm doing a potato dough.

My gran used to give them to me as a child

and I never really kind of liked it.

So, I've just come up with the idea to put these kind of cinnamon

and nutmeg flavours through the potato dough.

Why potato dough? Why not a sponge or something? What...

It just gives it a better consistency, I think.

And it holds everything in,

especially when I'm going to rapidly boil it as well.

Wow!

I'm going to let you taste first.

Dean Edwards was 26 years old

when he became a MasterChef finalist.

He immediately left his job as a digger driver

and over the last nine years has become a caterer, a writer,

and is now a regular chef on ITV's Lorraine.

My life's changed absolutely, dramatically, 100%.

To, obviously, find myself from being the old digger Dean

to doing what I'm doing today, it's just crazy.

Now this is a lovely one.

-The humble leak.

-The humble leak.

-All right. It's absolutely perfect.

-I'll show you a quick way of prepping a leak.

-Go on, then.

MasterChef was so worthwhile.

I really, really learned a lot about myself

and how I can handle pressure.

Without that experience, I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing today.

You know, it literally led me to the fact that,

you know, I can do anything now.

Steven Wallis became the third winner of MasterChef in 2007.

Winning was a great accolade

and what was fantastic was all the support.

Suddenly wherever I went, there were cabbies and people going,

"Hey, we watched you. You're amazing. Well done."

He now has his own business

and works as a flavour consultant for major brands and food companies.

A lot of my work involves looking at restaurant trends

and then translating that to bigger food businesses.

But cooking remains his main passion.

The big thing I took away by winning was that it made me

trust my intuition, my creative instincts.

And that actually I can cook

and I can cook damn well.

Two years ago, Shelina's Mauritian food won her the MasterChef crown.

I suppose the thing that made me win

in the end was staying true to my roots.

It looks fantastic.

It tastes fantastic.

I'm going to show you how to make two dishes.

Since then, she's been doing live cookery demonstrations

across the country and written her first book.

So, at the moment I'm working on some really exciting plans to open

my restaurant next year.

It's going to be Mauritian food.

So, my life has completely changed. It's not the nine-to-five office

project management that I was doing before.

It's really different.

James, 15 minutes.

James is doing a steak bavette, raw mushroom salad,

chips coated in polenta crisp

with English mustard and tarragon mayonnaise.

That's the sort of food I like, you know?

Steak bavette needs to be either flash cooked

really, really quickly or slow-cooked.

Anything in between and it's like an old flip-flop.

3 1/2 minutes to go, James.

Are your steaks cooked?

This is how I like to eat it.

I hope everybody else likes rare steak.

-Done?

-Done. Yeah.

Let's go.

Straight back and clean up, huh?

Hi there. I'm really sorry.

-I'm over, I think.

-That's OK.

Thank you.

I've made you a steak bavette, chips with a raw mushroom salad,

bacon and also an English mustard and tarragon mayonnaise.

-I hope you enjoy it.

-Lovely.

-Thank you.

-Thanks a lot.

Thank you so much.

My steak is pretty much still thumping.

It hasn't been cooked. But then I'm looking at your plate

and yours looks really nice, Dean, actually.

It looks like it's cooked really well.

So, I think the cooking is slightly inconsistent.

I'm happy with the cooking of my steak.

It's got a great flavour to it.

There's not enough of the mustard mayonnaise.

Apart from that, I've quite enjoyed it, actually.

The meat is undercooked for me.

-And I suspect for many people.

-Yeah.

But there are some nice ideas on here.

As far as steak and chips go, it's a nice thing.

Ten minutes, James.

James' dessert - apples in calvados, vanilla biscuit base,

toasted almonds, toffee sauce, vanilla cream.

I can see Gregg in there doing cartwheels already.

And you know, for me, as well, that sounds really nice.

A lot is going on. Let's see if he cracks it.

Just two minutes now, James. Raisins on, toffee on, cream on.

Go on, mate. Are we done?

-Oh, what the hell did I do?

-Breathe out, James.

-Hello.

-Hi.

-Thank you.

I've made a vanilla biscuit base with apples in calvados,

a toffee sauce, toasted almonds and a vanilla cream.

OK? Enjoy! Thank you.

That toffee sauce is fantastic. And I love the raisins.

They've been soaked in calvados.

The flavours are so beautiful.

I don't really like over sweet puddings, as well.

And I think he's judged this perfectly.

The base is what's really lovely.

It's kind of really delicate and yummy and fluffy.

It's really delicious.

That dessert tastes lovely. It deserves to look a lot better.

Knackered. Erm, it's really tiring doing two courses for four people.

There's so many things that can just go wrong.

So, I'm just really hoping that they liked what I cooked.

So, Ben's main is Vietnamese pho with mackerel fish balls

and a mixed herb salad.

That sounds really delicious.

If there's not enough chilli in there,

I'm going to be absolutely devastated.

-Just two minutes, Ben.

-OK.

How's your fish ball?

Ugh, pretty awful.

It's somewhat of a car crash.

Right! Let's go! Go on, boy!

-Hi.

-All: Hi.

Today we've got Vietnamese pho with mackerel fish balls

and a herb salad.

-ALL: Thank you.

-OK. Enjoy.

This smells great, actually.

It's really, really fragrant.

The fish balls are just disintegrating even though

they've got a really delicious flavour, actually.

It's not an intense mackerel flavour as I was kind of anticipating.

The broth is beautiful.

It could probably do with a tiny bit more punch.

And the noodles are a tad undercooked.

It's refreshing. The problem I've got is

it just doesn't sing to me

like any Asian dish I've had before.

It's just a bit watery.

Ben, dessert, you've got 15 minutes.

Ben's dessert, passion fruit panna cotta with a mango coulis.

Sounds good. Sounds nice and refreshing.

I just really hope the panna cotta is wonderfully luscious and wobbly.

-Just over three minutes, Ben.

-Thank you.

Good.

-What have you got left to go on?

-Passion fruit pulp and mint.

Right. Come on. 60 seconds.

-Very pretty.

-Well done.

-Good job.

-It looks very good.

-Hi.

-Thank you.

For dessert, we've got passion fruit panna cotta with a mango coulis.

-Thank you very much.

-Thanks.

You know what? If someone gives me some mango and some passion fruit,

I'm pretty happy.

I think the shame is that it's just been over set

with a bit too much gelatine.

It's just too hard. It's way too hard.

Lovely flavours of mango, passion fruit and cream,

but it set solid, solid like modelling clay.

It's just not executed properly.

One mistake and it's... It could just be all over.

It just might not be enough.

Ping, you've got under three minutes, please.

Ping is doing a pan-fried corn fed supreme of chicken,

cream of corn, pancetta, girolles and butter spring greens.

This sounds really delicious.

There isn't too many things that concerns me.

I say that now though.

Smells great.

-Well done, Ping.

-Thank you.

Happy?

-Happy.

-Good.

Hi.

Thank you.

Today we have supreme of chicken with girolles,

pancetta with a cream of corn with a buttered spring greens.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

-Enjoy.

It smells really good.

A very attractive plate of food.

The chicken's really well seasoned. The skin's lovely and crispy.

It's nice and burnished and the girolles are done beautifully.

I think it's really, really delicious.

I probably would have liked to have seen less sweetcorn

because, actually, it ends up making everything sort of over sweet.

Everything nicely made.

Half the amount of sweet corn and it'll be lovely.

Really, really lovely.

-Ping.

-Yep?

-15 minutes and your desserts go out, yeah?

15.

Ping's dessert really excites me.

It's a warm pear frangipane with salted almond brittle

and lavender cream.

The thing I'm worried about is the lavender cream.

It could be perfume-y.

She's putting it out there. So, hopefully, it will work.

Well done. Well done.

Let's go!

-Hi.

-Thank you.

Look at that!

Today we have warm pear frangipane with a salted almond brittle

and lavender cream.

Lovely, thank you so much.

That...is lush.

That is really, really good.

That almond brittle is heavenly.

Like properly delicious.

That is really, really, really good.

And the lavender really works.

Flavour-wise, Ping's got it down. I think she knows her flavours.

Pears are nice and soft. I like the brittle as well.

I think the lavender in the cream is a nice idea.

I'll tell you what, I had 15 hours of child labour.

I think I'd rather do the child labour again.

15 minutes on your main course, half an hour on your dessert, yeah?

OK. Thanks.

Carl's menu - the main course of sausage and beans.

Carl really hasn't given much detail on his menu.

Either it's going to be super simple or super complex.

-Two minutes, Carl.

-OK.

Anything else to go on the plate?

Just the onions now, John.

Happy?

That's it. Well, I have to be, Chef.

ALL: Hello!

-You're all right?

-Yeah, good.

-You?

-Yeah, well, you know.

-You OK?

-Erm, getting there. A bit stressed.

-OK.

I've tried to do a different take on sausage and beans. OK?

So, we've got a little bit of garlic bread going underneath.

We've got some cannellini beans

and then we've got some chilli sausages

with some onions going on the top.

Hopefully, you enjoy.

-Lovely, thank you.

-OK. Take care.

The first thing when this came through the door

was the overwhelming pong of burger van onions

outside a nightclub at four in the morning.

I'm a bit baffled.

I genuinely thought it was going to be molecular gastronomy.

-That's what I thought.

-No!

OK... Let's go in.

Oh!

It's really greasy.

That's quite unpalatable. Sorry.

I don't know what's happened here.

I don't know if Carl's just really nervous.

But the flavours don't work

and it's just not something that

I would even eat.

As soon as it hits my stomach it just goes like, BOOM!

John, it feels like an over spiced heart attack.

-Dessert in 15 minutes, yeah?

-OK.

Dessert, plum dumplings.

I'm just praying that the dessert lifts it up another level

because if the dessert is on a par with this,

I'll be struggling to eat it, to be honest.

Oh, this is going rubbish now.

Oh! Three minutes now, Carl.

JOHN PRETENDS TO CRY

-Snow-capped mountain you've got there, mate.

-That's it.

-CARL SIGHS LOUDLY

-OK.

Are you happy with that, Carl?

Yes, I am.

-Can I do two and come back for one?

-Yes, Carl, absolutely.

-Hiya! You all right? I'll just come and serve this.

-Thank you.

I've done a plum dumpling in which it's got a plum in the middle.

The dough is a mashed potato dough.

-I've also added a little plum sauce and a clotted cream.

-Lovely.

-OK.

-ALL: Thank you.

-Nice to meet you all.

-You too.

-Bye-bye.

See you later.

It looks like a couple of things.

But the first thing it looks like is a giant scotch egg.

I mean, it's just... I mean, who does dessert like this?

I'm a bit worried about the mashed potato in the dessert.

How do you get through it?

It tastes as good as it looks.

What did you think?

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

There's no sweeteners.

The plum is hard as a rock.

It looks horrible.

This is really awful.

It looks like a giant scotch egg that's been dropped out of a window.

What the flippy, dickie is that?

Where's the plum?

You find the plum...

Oh! There he is!

OK, I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. I'm going to...

-Don't put it in your mouth.

-Really?

Don't put any of that pastry in your mouth.

It's soggy, undercooked pastry that tastes of potato.

It's horrendous.

Oh, sorry!

I'm so frustrated it's untrue.

Because I know I can do 100 times better.

I'm fuming. Absolutely.

HE GRUNTS ANGRILY

This was a day of real ups and downs.

There were some mistakes and there was some downright silly cooking.

-Carl's cooking today was shocking.

-Yes!

-Absolutely shocking.

You know what? I think he's a really nice guy.

I think he's generous of spirit,

but I think that Carl's food is not for the masses.

You know, I took a gamble.

They might decide to take a gamble on me.

Who knows? You never know.

Who's your favourite cook today?

-Ping.

-Because?

Even cooking food that she wasn't brought up with,

European food, it was still some of the best cooking in the room.

I guess that means she stays in the competition.

The decision now is between Ben and James.

James had some nice ideas today.

He's got some skill and I like his palate.

However, that beef, for me, was undercooked.

Erm, the dessert, nice but messy. I mean, really messy.

I don't know if I have done enough to get through.

I think what I cooked might have been a bit too simple.

Ben made what he called a 'fer', erm, what we know and our champions

know is a 'fo' with mackerel fish balls that fell apart slightly.

That panna cotta, it was rubbery.

It was the texture of a sink plug.

So, ups and downs with Ben.

Do I think I've done enough to stay in? I don't know.

Which one of these guys, Ben or James,

stands a chance in the quarterfinal?

It's only one of those guys that can go through.

Our first quarterfinalist...

..is Ping.

Our second quarterfinalist...

..is James.

Seriously?

Ben, Carl, nice to have met you. Thanks very much.

I'm bitterly disappointed.

I know I didn't do enough in that round.

I made a couple of crucial errors and it's cost me. Yeah.

It would have been great to be in the quarterfinals of MasterChef.

But I've only got myself to blame. Just let myself down big time.

It's not meant to be. So...

I'm so shocked. I just didn't think my name was going to be said there.

I was walking out the door. I cannot believe it.

I can't breathe. I can't breathe.

I didn't expect it. It's quite emotional.

Quarterfinalist. Who would have thought?

But I'm really happy.

Really, really happy. OK.

Tomorrow night it's the quarterfinal.

The four heat winners return to cook for just one critic,

face to face.

I want to applaud you on those sweet breads. Those are super good.

Oh!

Shish kebab!