Episode 10 MasterChef

It's the final week of the MasterChef heats.

And so far, 10 exceptional cooks are through to the next round.

Bingo.

This week, the last group of new contestants

will battle for a place in Friday's quarterfinal.

It's rich, it's serious, it's fantastic.

Only the strongest will make it through to the final challenges.

Ah!

Can I just say, that's not frightening at all.

So clever. So brilliant.

We know how high the standard is this year.

Our expectations are sky-high.

These five amateurs all think they've got what it takes

to become MasterChef Champion.

It is going to be completely different

to anything that I've experienced before.

Very scared about John and Gregg testing my food.

I think cooking and food is probably

the most important thing in my life.

I'm all set to go. Let's go!

But at the end of today's heat,

only three will become quarterfinalists.

Welcome. Your first visit to the MasterChef kitchen.

This is your food that you're cooking.

What we call your Calling Card.

Right now in front of us

we could have our next MasterChef Champion.

You have one hour and 15 minutes to cook for us

one dish that tells Gregg and I something about you as a cook.

Ladies and gentlemen...

let's cook.

The last sort of 30-40 years of my life,

I have been to 70 different countries.

The more you travel around the world,

the more you realise the most beautiful dishes

is when they're cross cultural and cross flavours.

What is your job, Farshad?

I am a banking consultant in technology.

I get to travel around the world, but the main thing

I am interested in, what am I going to eat that night?

-What are you cooking?

-I like to bring different flavours,

so I'm going for a ceviche

and then a salmon sashimi with wasabi and honey

together with my own sort of orange sauce.

-Where are the prawns going?

-These are going to be infused.

This is a little bit of the Iranian culture.

This is going to be infused with saffron and butter.

-You're combining many different cultures.

-That's what I like to do

because there's no such thing as right or wrong.

I think it's a combination of hybrid cooking.

I think you're right, but the only right or wrong

you're going to come across here

is the right and wrong of John and Gregg.

I'm prepared for that!

Farshad is obviously an eclectic cook.

He picks up ideas.

The problem is he wants to put the whole lot onto one plate.

I am the cook amongst my friends.

I am kind of notorious for organising dinner parties

and forcing people to come and eat at my house

and try new things on them.

-What are you making?

-I'm making a pithivier.

-A pithivier is like a pie.

-Yes.

-Puff pastry pie.

-What's in it?

Stewed apple, a frangipane, which I'm making, as well,

hazelnuts, lemon thyme and then it gets encased in pastry.

-Excuse me one minute.

-Yes.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Right, I'm back in the room.

-Why this dish?

-It's for my dad.

My dad is French and so I've done an English custard

with a French pie because I love the flavours.

Annie, I'm very much looking forward to this.

-Very nice to have met you.

-Nice to meet you too.

Annie, to me, seems like a cook who loves technique.

That pithivier can be an absolute beautiful thing.

But the apples have to be cool

before they go in the frangipane mix,

or the frangipane melts.

If she can get this right, I'm going to be mightily impressed.

Calling card dish is lamb sweetbreads with breast of lamb.

I've been practising, but on an occasion, it's gone wrong,

which would be fine if I knew why.

Alec, you are working at a rate of knots,

-I mean, you are powering through.

-Trying to.

-Have you got a lot to do?

Quite a lot to do, yeah. The problem with lamb breast is that

you shouldn't really try and do it in an hour and 15 minutes,

so I'm having to use a pressure cooker, so that I can soften it.

So, once you tenderise it in the pressure cooker,

-what are you then going to do with it?

-I'm going to fry it off.

We've got pearl barley and I've got a pea puree as well. It should be big flavours.

-I'm looking forward to this, Alec. Good luck.

-Thank you very much.

A breast of lamb is a piece of lamb that hangs off the belly.

So it takes long, slow cooking.

It's got lots of fat in it, but done well, it's a wonderful thing,

but it takes a lot of work.

Most of the time, I'm cooking for my family,

or for my housemates at uni.

So when I'm at uni,

I'm sort of living off whatever's in the fridge, whereas

when I'm at home, I have the luxury of Mum filling up the fridge.

-How are you doing, Hope?

-Yeah, good. Excited.

Why are you here on MasterChef?

-Cos I'm a bit obsessed with cooking.

-Are you?

I'm studying food science and nutrition at uni.

-So I'm thinking about it all day.

-So, what are you? 20?

-Just turned 20 this week, yeah.

-That's young on MasterChef.

-Yeah, I know.

-What are you making for us?

I'm making a lemon tart with some nice raspberries

-and a raspberry coulis.

-We love a lemon tart here on MasterChef.

-Good luck.

-Thank you very much.

Hope has the confidence of youth in abundance

and she talks about making a lemon tart with complete ease,

as if it's something that happens on a Sunday afternoon.

In actual fact, a lemon tart is really difficult to get right.

Your lemon filling has to be sharp and sweet at the same time,

the pastry has to be soft and buttery and sweet.

If she makes this classic lemon tart with the ease

in which she talks about it, I'm going to be mightily impressed.

Listen, guys. You've got just 30 minutes left.

Ooh-la-la!

My calling card is a wild duck dish.

The legs are braised down in a pressure cooker and that's with

a butternut squash puree, pickled apple puree

with a little red wine and blueberry jus.

A few things going on!

-You've been a bit frantic over here, Billy.

-A lot to do, Gregg.

Why push yourself to do this many things?

What are you hoping to show us?

I want to wow you, Gregg, first up. Why not? This is calling card,

that's what it's here for, isn't it? To show you what I can do.

-It's dangerous.

-I know it's dangerous.

Everyone's told me, go simple. Play it simple.

But I can't play it simple. It's not in my nature.

Billy, I wish you the best of luck.

On that plate, we have duck, butternut squash, mushrooms,

pickled apples and port.

He's definitely ambitious, but I wonder if he's overambitious.

You have got just ten minutes left.

It's a disaster.

I can't even get the stuff off the bottom. Um...

Alec's lamb breast has caught on the bottom of his pressure cooker.

He's gone into a flat spin. The fact is,

in this sort of competition, you have to rescue it.

You've got to pull yourself back and go, right, OK, what shall I do?

I can smell it. I wouldn't serve that to you in a million years.

-If I was you, I would cook some.

-Right, and just see what it's like.

Calm under pressure, rescue it. OK?

You have just five minutes left.

You should be plating by now.

Stop! Your time's up!

Well done, everyone.

A bit manic!

I heard you had a bit of an issue with your pressure cooker.

-It burned straight through.

-That looks good.

Billy, up you come, please, sir.

Property surveyor Billy's calling card is roast duck breast

with a duck leg ragu spring roll,

butternut squash puree, mushrooms,

a pickled apple puree,

and a red wine, port and blueberry jus.

I think your duck is cooked beautifully.

The butternut squash, the mushrooms, the red wine, I think

are really, really lovely. I think you've got some great flavours.

I think it's too much on a plate.

In order to showcase skills,

it's not necessary to showcase all of them all at once.

-Great. Thanks, guys.

-Thanks, Billy.

-Cheers.

I just wanted to try and get across that I'm ambitious,

although in hindsight it looks like I've done a bit too much.

Nutrition student Hope has created a lemon tart with fresh raspberries,

a raspberry coulis and a basil cream.

That's very strong with lemon. There's sweetness as well.

-I love the flavours. However, it's not 100%.

-Yeah, I know.

The texture is almost mealy.

It's not a smooth finish.

It's a little softer than it should be inside and it's grainy.

Your filling mixture is overcooked.

And your eggs are just starting to scramble.

-And that's why, as Gregg says, it's gone mealy.

-Yeah.

What I really am impressed with is this.

Super fine, very delicious, really lovely bit of pastry.

But I tell you what - as a calling card, ambitious.

We've got the hope, we're a little bit short of the glory.

-Hope, thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thanks, Hope.

-Thanks.

Really happy it's over. It went so quickly.

And there were elements that I was really happy with,

but obviously, the texture just wasn't right in the tart.

Business consultant Alec has made lamb breast,

with lamb sweetbreads, served with deep-fried feta,

an onion puree, pearl barley, and a pea puree.

You had a disaster with your lamb breast and your pressure cooker.

It looked like you were just about to run out in tears.

You've pulled this back brilliantly well.

There's actually a fair bit here that I admire.

I love lamb, lamb sweetbreads and that sweet onion sauce.

I think that's a really lovely, quite comforting flavour.

Thank you.

I particularly like your breast of lamb, which is cooked really well.

It doesn't taste or taint of burnt at all.

Calm yourself down and don't show as much process.

-Not without fault.

-No.

-But an impressive start.

-Really kind. Thank you very much.

-Thanks, Alec.

Honestly, when I opened up that pressure cooker,

first immediate feeling was flight.

If I'd been at home, everything would have ended in the bin

and I would have been in a strop for the afternoon.

Banking consultant Farshad is serving his take

on an avocado and mango ceviche,

with salmon sashimi and wasabi,

topped with pan-fried tiger prawns

and served with an orange and saffron sauce.

With such an unusual mixture,

you probably won't be surprised to hear there are some things in there

I really like, and some things I like a lot less.

Interestingly, I really like prawn, saffron and orange juice.

I think that's incredible.

What I'm not at all sure about is salmon, wasabi and orange juice.

-That's a clash to me.

-Mm-hm.

What you've presented here is a plate of food

which plays with your mind.

Your saffron prawns with the butter and the orange

and the pomegranate are just truly delicious.

The salmon sitting on top is delicious,

but they don't necessarily belong together.

Yeah, I think it was as good as it can get under that time,

so I'm really happy.

Actor Annie has baked an apple and frangipane pithivier.

It's served with a calvados cream and vanilla custard.

That, in my opinion, is delicious.

Absolutely delicious and shows a good balance of flavour

and a good balance of texture. It's a very, very good pud.

-Lovely.

-Thank you.

-Lovely.

-It always fills me with joy when Gregg gets his judging right.

-Once a week.

-Well done.

What I really adore about this is the additives.

Lemon thyme and hazelnuts with the almond frangipane

and you've got a pudding which is indulgent.

-It's a very, very good thing.

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you, Annie.

Yeah! Crazy!

They loved it!

Oh, my God! I am hopeful that I'll go straight through,

but, yeah, I don't want to be too ambitious,

so I'm just going to wait and see and hope for the best.

Well done. That's a decent standard.

John and I are going to pick our favourite cook of this round.

Can I say that my favourite dish was cooked by Annie?

My favourite...

..was cooked by Billy.

Billy, Annie, off you go.

-Wow!

-Are you all right?

-I am relieved.

Yeah, I know, right?

Great to have got through.

I put my heart and soul on a plate basically

and ran around like a madman.

I'm so pleased, I can't quite believe it.

You three now have to cook to keep your place in this competition.

This is a sweet or savoury invention test.

In front of you on your bench, there is a cloth.

Lift the cloth and reveal your ingredients.

Whoa!

The contestants must now choose

whether to make a savoury dish based around the trout...

..or a sweet one using the blackberries and blackberry liqueur.

You need to make the decision now,

whether you want to go sweet or savoury.

You have one hour to cook us one dish.

Let's cook.

I just really want to prove to John and Gregg

that there's more of me and hopefully, I'll be able to do that.

The thing is, I found that - don't complicate it, keep it simple,

keep the flavours. You've got to make sure you get it in the time.

From all the energy of the calling card round,

to now one of steely silence and complete concentration in this test,

I tell you what - the change of atmosphere is palpable.

-Farshad, you chose the blackberries.

-Yes cos I thought..

Really, I can't skin fish.

What are you going to make with the blackberries?

Well, one thing I love about English puddings

is bread and butter pudding. It's so simple.

I remember getting it at school.

Why would you be so complex in the first round

and then so relatively simple in this round?

Because I had more time to think about that one.

-And here, it's just at hoc.

-Sure.

And I'm going to stick to what I know and love.

-Farshad, best of luck.

-Thank you so much, cheers.

A great thing, a bread and butter pudding can be,

but it's tricky and it's got to have lots of custard,

it's got to be lovely and soft, it can't be too sweet

and it's got to have a crispy top.

Right, looks good.

15 minutes have gone already.

-How are you doing, Alec?

-Not too bad.

I'm just hoping I can put together a plate that is simpler.

I'm slightly concerned because I haven't cooked fish for a while.

-What are you planning on making?

-Trout, which will be pan-fried.

On top of the trout, there'll be a sauce and on top of the sauce,

there will be pasta.

In all honesty, I'm not having the best day I've ever had of cooking.

But let's see what we can do.

You're going to have to dig deep, you're going to have to rely on

-your cooking instincts.

-Yeah, all right. Thanks.

I know Alec wants to show off technique,

I know Alec wants to demonstrate lots of skill,

but I'm a bit baffled as to what Alec is making.

He needs to focus, I want to see that trout celebrated.

You've got 30 minutes left.

What are you making?

I'm going to make like a blackberry sponge pudding,

so I'm just making a sort of blackberry syrup at the moment

and then I think I'm going to do some custard as well.

-Are you feeling the pressure?

-I am, yes.

I feel like I let myself down a bit in the first round,

so I kind of want to redeem myself,

but I don't think it's going to happen.

I think right now, Hope has the nucleus of a great dessert.

As long as that sponge is cooked all the way through,

and a good sponge takes a bit of time in the oven.

You have three minutes left.

That's it. Stop, please. Thank you very much.

Well done. It's all over now.

It's all over.

-Well played.

-Group hugs?

Farshad chose the sweet option

and created a blackberry brioche bread and butter pudding,

with mango and a chocolate sauce.

It's a decently made bread and butter pudding.

It's got a bit of crispiness on the outside, it's moist in the middle.

I think you've got some nice ideas.

I don't think you actually know when to stop.

-That's true.

-You're constantly looking for another add on.

-That's true.

-Bread and butter pudding should be a light dessert.

-And the blackberries in this dish have made it very heavy.

-Mm.

And it's a combination of things.

-Mango, chocolate, blackberry, pistachio nuts and cinnamon?

-Mm.

It's a bit out there, I've got to say.

God, I didn't realise what hard work it is cooking under pressure!

Next time I order food from a restaurant,

I'll be much more sympathetic towards the chefs.

Alec took the savoury route and made his own pasta,

served with pan-fried trout

and a spinach, chilli and Parmesan cream sauce.

Hm.

I find this really rather interesting.

Because I love all the flavours of that pasta,

apart from the trout, that I find the odd one out.

Your pasta is really light and really well made.

You've got a little bit of citrus in there,

you've got chilli in there as well. Trout is out of place on there.

You demonstrate quite a lot of technique -

made your own pasta, filleted the trout.

I like the pasta with the spinach, chilli and the little bit of cream,

but trout and pasta doesn't quite work.

Pretty disappointed.

I found it difficult to make sensible decisions clearly.

Yeah, I mean, generally, just a bit disappointed.

Hope also went for the sweet ingredients

and baked a blackberry and almond sponge pudding,

served with toasted almonds,

crushed amaretti biscuits and a vanilla custard.

You've got a light sponge.

The sponge has very little flavour, that's fine

because all the flavour is in your sweet and sharp blackberries.

The whole thing is made immensely soggy and sweet

by a well-made custard.

-That's a huge success.

-Thank you very much.

I like that you put the fruit at the bottom and that became

the sort of self saucing pudding mix when you turned it out.

-Very successful indeed.

-Thank you very much.

I'm just pleased that I've managed

to produce something that I'm happy with.

Yeah, I'm just really over the moon and just really exhausted.

Thank you very much indeed. We need to make a decision.

Please step outside whilst we have a little chat. Thanks very much.

I tell you what, those three today put themselves under pressure.

This competition obviously means a lot to all three of them

because they looked stressed.

There was one dish today which was outstanding.

Hope's pudding was a lovely thing.

Soft sponge, almonds around the outside with some amaretto biscuits

and it was a celebration of the blackberry.

Hope goes through, she joins Annie and Billy in the next round.

We now have to decide who we're going to have

out of Farshad and Alec.

I liked Farshad's bread and butter pudding.

However, he dressed the plate, for reasons best known to himself,

with mango and chocolate.

He's got great invention, he's got really interesting ideas.

However, he's got to understand when to stop adding.

If it was me, I would probably let myself continue!

We shall see. We shall see what they think.

Alec really put himself under pressure.

He filleted his trout, he made pasta, he made a little sauce.

As much as we enjoyed that bowl of pasta,

it wasn't a celebration of the trout.

It was a bowl of pasta with some trout on top.

Alec has got knowledge and a decent touch,

yet Alec gets really, really flustered.

I think there's probably a 50-50 chance of going home.

It certainly wouldn't be unfair if I did.

I very much hope I get given another chance.

Out of these two gentlemen, Alec and Farshad,

who do you believe can cope with what comes next?

You did very well. Obviously, there were a few nerves.

We expect that.

We can't, as much as we'd like to, take three of you through.

The person leaving us...

..is Farshad.

Thank you very much, sir.

You deserve it, well done.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

I think it was probably a fair enough decision.

I did my best and the other two were well deserved.

Hopefully, I've done my family proud and all my friends. I'm really glad.

Well done, you two. Congratulations.

Thank you.

Today has been...mad,

just a real mix of emotions,

but I'm really, really pleased.

I'm delighted and I feel very lucky

to have got through to the next round.

Welcome back. You've really impressed with your food so far.

That's why you're here.

You are cooking for a place in the quarterfinal.

You're not just cooking for me and John.

You are cooking for three very special guests,

past champions and finalists of MasterChef -

Hannah Miles,

Tim Anderson

and James Nathan.

Big round, this. No denying it. Tough round.

Your two courses, one hour and 15 minutes.

At the end of this, one of you is going home.

Ladies and gentlemen, let's cook.

This is a dish that I've rolled out for dinner parties.

I know it can be done in the time,

so I'm feeling quite confident about it.

What I don't feel confident about is my capabilities in that kitchen.

-You've got two courses.

-I do.

-And they are?

So, it's Iberican pork pluma, it's from...part of the shoulder joint.

And that's coming with some potatoes, some onions,

-some curly kale.

-Our dessert is?

-Dessert is an apple pud.

And with that, there's going to be a toffee sauce and lemon cream.

If this goes well, it should work.

If I do what I did last time, it won't.

-What did you do last time?

-I seemed to lose my sense of taste,

my reasoning and my cooking skills.

So, as long as, let's say two of those three things stay in me,

we might be in with a shout.

-Good luck.

-Thank you very much.

These new cuts of Spanish pork are very different

from our classic British pork.

They are big strips of pork with lots and lots of fat in them.

They're rich and almost buttery soft.

So they're cooked quite differently.

It's not like grilling a pork chop or roasting a leg of pork,

it's more like cooking a steak.

I'm very pleased to be here right now.

I sort of know what to expect a bit more.

I've written myself a little plan,

so hopefully I'll be able to stick to that.

You've got some lovely bits and pieces on your bench.

What are you going to cook for us?

I'm going to do loin of pork with a truffle and Parmesan risotto.

-And then I'm doing a sea salt and fudge chocolate brownie.

-Right.

With some Chantilly cream and a few hazelnuts as well.

How do you feel about cooking for people that won MasterChef?

I'm scared, but I'm also hoping they'll have been in my position

and so they can sympathise a bit maybe.

-Hannah Miles is known for her desserts.

-I know.

And she's especially known for her fudge and for her brownies.

-Yeah, I didn't know that, but...worried now.

-SHE LAUGHS

I'm concerned about Hope's main course

because risotto is normally in a bowl, that's the dish in itself.

Yet this is an accompaniment to pork.

I don't know how it going to look,

and I'm not sure how it's even going to taste together.

I've practised a lot.

I haven't actually done it in the time before, but only by 90 seconds.

And I did have to stop and do some washing up halfway through,

so I think I'll be all right today.

-Hi, Annie.

-Hi.

What are you making?

I'm making pan roasted venison with braised cabbage,

mashed potato, glazed chestnuts, a chocolate sauce,

and a lemongrass souffle with mango sorbet.

Is it not dangerous to do two very tricky things -

a souffle and a sorbet?

Probably, but I felt so great about the first challenge,

that I kind of just wanted to carry on and show you what I can do

in terms of technique, and hopefully I'll be able to pull it off.

-Good luck, Annie.

-Thank you.

A souffle at this stage of the competition, a good idea.

It demonstrates skill, it shows adventure,

it shows that you really want to push the boat out.

She's just got to make sure it works.

First round, I was like a cat on a hot tin roof,

I didn't know what to expect.

Definitely don't want to be leaving the competition today.

Quite a few things that can go wrong, so you just never know.

-How ambitious are your two dishes for this round?

-Fairly ambitious.

I'd probably say not as ambitious as the first one.

So, pan-fried sea bass fillet with crispy baby squid tentacles.

Wild mushroom risotto, cauliflower puree and a parsley oil.

And dessert?

Is chocolate brownie with salted caramel ice cream

and hazelnut praline and some passion fruit.

Are you not in danger of doing too much here?

Only time will tell, I guess, that's how I cook.

What bit of this cooking bothers you most?

Probably getting the ice cream set.

Your ice cream hasn't even started yet,

-then you've got to get it frozen and done.

-Yes.

-Billy, good luck.

-Thanks.

I'm quickly adding up all the things that Billy has to do.

And I will be absolutely amazed

if he manages to get all these things done.

MasterChef really changed my life, I've written 28 cookbooks now.

If you'd told me that at the time, when I competed on the programme,

I wouldn't have believed it.

-What happened to the biscuits?

-They're not quite right.

Uh-oh.

I think, if I was going to give some advice today,

it would be, don't panic and believe in yourself,

cos I know when I was on the programme,

there were times when I completely fell apart and cried.

My life's changed completely and awesomely since winning MasterChef.

I've opened a restaurant, and it's going well.

When I did this round, I was struggling.

Get your sorbet out of your freezer, get ready to go,

-get the rest of your plates ready to rock and roll.

-OK.

And I think when that happened, some of the food quality slipped.

This bizarre fishy porridge.

That looks like something a seagull would deliver

into its baby's mouth, doesn't it?

It's such an intense short amount of time,

that you come out very exhausted on the other side.

Now that I'm cooking in a restaurant,

you just have to get used to that if this is what you want to do

because every day is kind of like that.

Since winning MasterChef,

I've worked in lots of high-end kitchens,

worked my way up through the ranks

and now I'm running my own kitchen in Cornwall.

The most important thing for competitors

going into the competition

is to really just focus on their strengths.

And try and do the simple things well.

Very impressed by this, really am.

-It's nice, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Yeah, really, really well judged pudding.

I know they're under pressure, but it's also exciting for them.

I'm really looking forward to tasting the food today.

-How exciting.

-It's really nice to be back.

Right, you've got five minutes. Can we get this up and out?

Hope's main is pork loin with Parmesan risotto,

roasted shallots, spinach and wild mushrooms.

I think this dish sounds a bit safe.

There's a lot that can go wrong with the risotto, though.

-All cooked?

-All cooked.

-Then can we start plating?

-Yeah, I'm just getting the plates.

-What about your shallots?

I don't think my shallots are going to be done.

I like this, Hope.

Ooh, we like, we like, we like.

Well done, Hope. Keep going, mate.

There's no sauce going on there, is there?

-I'm just going to put a bit of juice from the pan, from the pork.

-Good.

-Happy?

-Yeah, we can go.

-Well done, Hope.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Hi.

So, I've cooked loin of pork with a truffle and Parmesan risotto,

with some spinach and wild mushrooms.

-I hope you enjoy it. Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

I think the pork is cooked really well.

It's just that right side of pink for pork.

For me, the dish didn't even need the pork.

I thought that the risotto and the mushrooms

were so nice that I kind of stopped eating the pork

and then just carried on with what was underneath it.

I'm impressed. It's a nice-tasting dish.

That risotto is perfect.

-Delicious.

-I think it's a good plate of food.

-15 minutes, brownie?

-Yeah.

-OK?

-In control, Hope?

-Yes.

-Yes.

So gooey.

Hope's dessert, I'm really looking forward to.

For me, a good brownie is one that is still slightly gooey,

but you have to be really careful not to undercook it,

so they'll need to get the timing just right.

Here we go.

-Ooh, is that how we wanted it?

-Yeah.

-Yeah!

-Two minutes.

-Come on, Hope.

Nice dessert.

Well done, Hope.

That's lovely.

I've made a fudge and sea salt chocolate brownie

with some vanilla cream and some caramelised hazelnuts.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

That's good.

I think this brownie is pretty much perfect.

It's chocolaty and rich and lovely and sort of melts in your mouth.

I don't think it benefits from the other things on the plate,

but I don't care about those things cos I'm enjoying the brownie so much

and I'm going to eat all of it.

This is a stunning dessert

and if I had this in a restaurant I'd be really pleased.

Billy's brownie has got a hard act to follow.

Lovely. Absolutely lovely.

For me, salt in desserts is not usually my favourite thing,

but I think that's really good. A good dish.

I'm really, really pleased with everything I put out.

It wasn't, you know, perfect, but I'm really, really happy.

Billy's main - pan-fried sea bass, crispy squid,

cauliflower puree and we've got another risotto. Hm.

Billy has got to cook the bass nicely, get the skin crispy.

-Would you serve it with a risotto?

-I don't know.

Yeah, that's the big question for me.

I'm not sure I'd put risotto with all these other things.

You've got four minutes, Billy.

Um, I reckon I might be slightly over.

Billy! Grr!

I'm worried.

I'm cooking the fish now.

-How long is the fish going to take to cook?

-Four minutes.

Here we go. There's posh.

-Nice.

-How interesting.

-Very nice.

-60 seconds, young man.

Watch your fish.

Argh!

Burnt Fish, table five! Burnt Fish!

Right, Billy. Calm, breathe.

Fish cookery has gone to pot today.

-Where's the oil?

-The oil? It's there.

-Shake it.

-What else is going on the plate?

-That's it.

-Look at that.

-Listen, you are three minutes over.

-Yeah.

Between me and you, we can live with that. Let's go. Let's go.

-Come on, come on, come on.

-Well done, Billy.

-Good boy.

-He's burnt the fish, look.

-Burnt the fish skin.

That's what comes with giving yourself too much to do.

-Guys, sorry for the delay.

-That's all right.

Slightly over-burnt fish skin, but I do apologise now.

Thank you.

Right, guys, you have a pan-fried sea bass with porcini risotto,

crispy squid tentacles, cauliflower puree and parsley oil.

Cheers.

He said the fish skin was burnt but actually it's really good

and crispy and I almost wish he hadn't said it.

All the individual elements are really well cooked.

Puree is brilliant, the crispy squid, lovely,

the fish is cooked beautifully as well.

It's just not coming together brilliantly.

It's good but it really needs seasoning

and maybe the risotto needs rethinking, I don't know.

Wonderful flavour from the risotto.

And as long as you take the bit of burnt skin off the fish,

that's cooked nicely.

This is going to happen if he puts himself under that much pressure.

It's obvious, isn't it?

Listen, 15 minutes now till dessert, yeah?

-Are you OK?

-Yeah.

Let's do it, let's do it.

That ain't never going to set.

Billy has come back from serving his main course to find out

that his ice cream has not churned and therefore not frozen.

So being clever and inventive, he is turning

his salted caramel ice-cream mixture into a foam or a mousse.

It could work, but I'll tell you what - it's risky business.

-Well, this is a gooey number.

-It's a gooey number?

-My brain is like goo, I'll tell you.

-Well, I'm not surprised, Billy.

-What's happened with the ice cream?

-It didn't set in time, Gregg.

Righto.

You've got two and a half minutes.

-Have you used one of those soda siphons before?

-Yes.

Moment of truth.

-Whoa, look at that!

-There you go, mate!

We can live with that.

I'll tell you what, you've done well to retrieve that.

-All right, you ready to go?

-Yeah.

-Well done.

So you have got a dark chocolate brownie with some chopped hazelnuts,

passion fruit and a salted caramel foam rather than an ice cream.

Sadly it didn't set in time,

so I thought I would serve you something rather than a soup.

-Thanks.

-Thanks, Billy.

-It's a damn good brownie.

-Yeah, it really is.

-Maybe better than Hope's.

-Oh!

Controversial.

I'd say they are equally good.

I have to say, I'm not quite sure about the salted caramel mousse

and the passion fruit.

Maybe if the ice cream had worked, it would have been perfect.

The brownie is excellent. Excellent.

And it's been ruined by its mates who've joined the party,

Mr Passion Fruit and Mr Salty, Warm Foam.

Unfortunately, it's a weird texture.

It's not sweet, it doesn't work with the passion fruit,

it doesn't really work with the brownie either.

It was tough because I gave myself too much to do.

I'm just annoyed at myself for not cooking the fish correctly.

That final push has just got to me, really.

Annie's main is roast venison with braised red cabbage,

glazed chestnuts, mashed potato and a chocolate sauce.

I actually did roast venison and braised red cabbage in the finals,

so for me it's a winner.

-You should be serving in about four minutes, please.

-OK.

Nice.

-OK, breathe.

-Yeah.

-SHE EXHALES

Lovely, lovely. What's got to go on there?

Cabbage and sauce.

-Done?

-Yeah.

-Come on, Annie!

-Well done, Annie.

-There we go.

-Thank you very much.

So, I have made for you pan-roasted venison with mashed potato,

a braised red cabbage, glazed chestnuts

and a red wine, port and chocolate sauce.

Thank you.

The cabbage, the venison and the mash together, they're beautiful.

Loving all those things.

But the glazed chestnuts are too caramelly,

the chocolate sauce is too chocolaty

and they're very desserty.

I mean, they really are that sweet.

I think she's got signs of being a really good cook,

she just needs to learn to balance the flavours better.

That's a cold, wintry day yummy dish to come home to, isn't it?

It's hearty, it's good.

The venison is cooked very, very well.

I think it's a great dish. A great dish.

-15 minutes for this pudding, yeah?

-Yep.

Annie's dessert is lemongrass souffle with mango sorbet,

which I think sounds fantastic,

but it's a souffle and a sorbet and there's a lot of room for error.

-Are you all right, Annie?

-Yeah, I'm OK.

-Where's your sorbet, Annie?

-It's in the freezer.

-OK, and how long have the souffles got?

-One and a half minutes.

-OK.

-Yeah! Happy, Annie?

-I am.

They don't look very pretty, but anyway.

Nice!

Let's go.

-Mmm.

-Come on, Annie.

-I like that.

-If you don't mind, you can have that one.

-All right, I don't mind.

-Go, Annie, quick.

-Come on, Annie.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

For dessert, I've made you a lemongrass souffle

and mango sorbet. Hope you enjoy. Thank you.

I am so impressed with her.

I mean, to get a hot souffle out and a frozen sorbet is,

you know, amazing.

The souffle texture is great.

It's soft and pillowy.

Unfortunately, it doesn't really taste of lemongrass.

You know, I can get hints of the lemongrass

if you eat it without the mango sorbet,

but hats off to her for executing two very difficult things,

especially under time pressure.

I've never had souffle and sorbet together before

and I really like it.

That souffle isn't cooked properly for me. It's still wet inside.

However, I love the mango sorbet. Absolutely love it.

It was the fastest hour and 15 minutes of all time.

I think I really pushed myself.

I kind of threw a lot of love at it and hopefully that came across.

-Alec, you've got ten minutes. Are you going to be all right?

-Yes.

I really like the look of Alec's menu.

I think it's probably the most adventurous of all of them

and he's the one that's not playing it safe,

so I've got high hopes.

-Four minutes, Alec.

-Thank you.

Nice pork.

-That's how you wanted it?

-Yes.

Delish!

-You OK?

-Yeah, I'm just really disappointed with the potatoes.

Well done.

-Hello.

-Hi, there.

-There you are.

-Thank you.

-Pleasure.

So, this is pluma.

It's served with crispy kale and shallots and a mustard sauce.

-I really hope you enjoy it.

-Thank you.

The meat could do with a bit more seasoning

but as a complete dish, it's really lovely.

The apples and the kale I can kind of take or leave,

but that pork really needs to be more the star of the show

and all this stuff needs to be subdued.

For all the work that's gone into this dish, it's not very nice.

I like the flavour of that soft pork and the sweet and tangy apple sauce,

however, the whole dish is greasy

and I've no idea why I've got a raw cabbage burnt round the edge.

OK, Alec? Right, you've got 15 minutes, OK?

-Imagine you're at home.

-Yes.

So, Alec's dessert - Apple pudding with a toffee sauce

and a lemon cream.

In my head, immediately I just sort of jar with lemon cream

and toffee sauce.

They just seem like they're going to fight a little bit.

What do we need now? A bit of colour on these apples and that's it?

Yeah, we just need to get some oomph into them, you know?

You've got two to go.

Oh, interesting.

Nice. Well done, mate.

Come on, Alec. Let's go, let's go. Well done.

Thank you.

It's an apple pudding with toffee sauce and a lemon cream. Thanks.

It kind of tastes just like sponge and apples,

which I know is what it is,

but I have a feeling the toffee sauce hasn't been taken far enough.

It's not got enough caramelised flavour from that.

I don't really like the lemon cream.

Lemon and cream, acid and fat,

they sort of fight each other a little bit.

I like the doughnut type of affair, I like that.

That's sweet and it's soaking up all the caramel and apple juices.

I find those apples far too sharp

and of course, lemon cream is just making the whole thing sharper.

There's no ingredient looking after the other ingredient in the dish.

They're all fighting with each other.

The last time I remember feeling like this

was before exams at school,

and that's 20-odd years ago.

It feels like turning up to an A-level

that you haven't really revised for.

Do you know what? We had some really good food in here today,

with some very good contestants.

And our three guests in the dining room

pretty much enjoyed the food across the board.

Annie was great today, I thought.

Venison, spiced red cabbage, mashed potato -

a really, really good thing.

Dessert, absolutely loved her mango sorbet.

I could have bathed in that, it was absolutely delicious.

I found a lot to admire about Annie's cooking today.

I hope I've done enough today.

I think there's enough technique in there to show that...

Yeah, what I'm made of. I think.

I really liked Hope's cooking today.

I wasn't sure that I was going to like the risotto with the pork

but very, very much enjoyed it.

Yeah, I think Hope did very well.

The flavour of truffles, mushrooms, spinach and pork,

it was a good thing.

Very good cooking from a very young contestant.

I've definitely done the best that I could have done

but, you know, the others are pretty amazing,

so I really don't know if I've done enough.

I think the two ladies cooked really, really well

and deserve to go through.

I think this is a decision about the two gentlemen.

Interestingly, our guests today seemed to enjoy Alec's food

more than we did.

I thought there were flavours on his main course

that were very good indeed. I liked the pork.

I did question the cabbage

and also, I found the potatoes a little greasy.

My dessert from Alec looked good.

It didn't quite deliver what I wanted it to deliver.

I'd love to have an opportunity to cook again.

I, and I hope my friends around me, know that I can cook

and I'm not sure I've proven that properly.

Billy, I believe to be a decent cook, but today,

his display was not without issue.

He had so much to do that he actually burnt the fish skin,

which was a shame.

His chocolate brownie was supposed to be served with

salted caramel ice cream.

Although that caramel foam wasn't very successful,

at least he was clever enough to think on his feet

and rescue the dish.

But he actually turned that into a warm splodge

and that I didn't like at all.

I'd be absolutely devastated to go, but I can't change it now.

I've done what I've done and I'll see what happens.

Billy and Alec both had question marks

over the way they work, the way they cook. This isn't easy.

Right now, I think they are both diamonds in the rough,

and I think we've got to make a decision.

When you came in, I said you were going to have to cook

really well to impress the three guests we had coming in

to taste your food, and let me tell you, you did impress them...

..which of course made our judging job even harder.

Three quarterfinal places up for grabs...

..means one of you is leaving.

The person leaving us...

..is Alec.

-Thanks, Alec.

-Good to have met you, Alec.

Yeah, I'm a little bit disappointed

about not getting through to the next round.

Of course I'd love to cook more, but, you know, c'est la vie.

-Well done, guys, congratulations. Good job.

-Thank you!

-Oh, God.

I feel monumentally relieved.

I mean, I knew I let myself down on a couple of things

and I'm glad to still be here.

It sounds very nice to be in the quarterfinals, yeah.

I'm really looking forward to the next challenge.

It's so surreal.

I'm just in so much shock still.

I've just got to do it again now, I guess.

Tomorrow, five more cooks battle for a place in the last quarterfinal.

I don't know where you've come from but you are a hell of a cook.

A crowd-pleasing dish, that's what it is.

-Crispy skin, yay!

-Crispy skin.

Argh...