Episode 15 MasterChef

It's knockout week on MasterChef.

Last night, Chris, Julie and Mike went home,

leaving just the strongest 11 cooks.

Now, they've been split into two groups

and, tonight, the first five are back.

First...

-Oh, man.

-..they'll face the pressure of a professional kitchen...

It is just out of control.

..before cooking for one of the world's

most demanding and respected chefs.

I can't fault it. I think it's fabulous.

At the end, for one of them, their competition will be over.

Over the last 12 years...

First check on, two haddock special.

Yes, Chef.

..MasterChef has given hundreds of ambitious amateur cooks

their first taste of a professional kitchen.

You just need to be a little bit quicker.

-Yeah.

-Going to get a few more orders on.

For some, the experience has changed their lives.

I remember the first professional kitchen.

Right, chef, they're ready to go.

I loved every minute and that thrill made me realise

it was something that I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

Service, please.

Running the restaurant is intense and it's emotional...

..but it's also the dream come true,

so I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

If someone had told me that,

four and a half years down the line,

I would be the head chef of my own restaurant

and winning awards for my food, then there is no way

I would have believed them.

It's a crazy story.

Today, it's the turn of Billy, Natasha, Jack,

Juanita and Jacob to face the intense pressure

of their first pro kitchen,

here at Craft London on the Greenwich Peninsula.

We're going on a cauliflower and a porridge for table ten.

Heading up the pass, award-winning chef Stevie Parle.

I've been a chef for nearly 15 years.

I've worked in some incredible kitchens.

Service.

In service in my own kitchen, I have incredibly high expectations.

At 16, Stevie became the youngest ever chef

to work at the iconic River Cafe,

cooking under the legendary Rose Gray.

After being named Young Chef Of The Year, aged just 24,

he opened his first restaurant to wide acclaim.

In his latest venture, Stevie's home-grown, home-cured produce

takes centre stage.

So, the restaurant is right by the 02,

which seems like a bit of an odd place to have

beehives, a veg garden and a smokehouse.

One of the things I wanted to do with the space

was loads of production.

I wanted to make stuff.

I'm going to treat these guys like they're my chefs

and, if they don't deliver, then I'll be extremely disappointed.

I have no idea how I'm going to cope in a professional kitchen

with order and tidiness.

Probably when I get in there and we have to run the kitchen

it'll be absolute panic, but, for now, excitement, yeah.

You can read enough books, you can watch enough TV programmes,

but actually being in the heat of the battle during a service,

can't get that experience anywhere else.

-Hello.

-ALL:

-Hello.

We have got a big day.

We're doing a five-course tasting menu,

so each of you are going to cook one dish for every single guest.

We've got about 30, or maybe more, people coming.

We've got to work fast and clean.

We should get on with it, really.

The contestants have got three and a half hours

to prepare each of their dishes for service.

Juanita is in charge of the first dish

of the five-course tasting menu,

duck liver parfait served on a rye drop scone,

with pickled damsons and fennel tops.

-I want it to look a little bit rough.

-OK.

So, we're just going to get it...

-push it on.

-Nice.

These are the pickled damsons.

So, these are fresh fennel, they're going to give

a lovely lift, a lovely anise-y flavour to it.

-A little bit extra of this pickle juice.

-Beautiful.

You know how there are some recipes where you don't

really need to follow the recipe?

It's not one of them, so you've got to get it right.

Right, OK. No pressure(!)

Juanita starts on the parfait.

She needs to meticulously trim her duck livers,

working quickly so that it sets in time.

I'm setting the standard and it also means that I definitely

can't be late, because it means it will have

a knock-on impact on everyone else,

so, yeah, the pressure's on on this one, definitely.

I would expect a good chef to be able to make a decent parfait.

It's something that, if you cook it for too long

or too little, it's disgusting.

Mild panic, but it's fine.

Just got to keep ploughing through.

Jacob's making Stevie's four-grain - spelt, barley, quinoa and oat -

porridge, with scallops, clams, pickled mussels

and parsley sauce.

This is about consistency and texture.

So, you see that, just around that much.

As well as making the four-grain porridge

and pickling the mussels,

he'll need to cook the clams and scallops in service to order.

-This is part of a five-course meal.

-OK.

So, you know, portion size, it's important.

First thing you need to do is start cleaning these

-mussels and clams.

-OK, great.

-Get on with it.

Cheers.

This is a really important dish to me.

It's been on the menu since we opened.

It's a little bit like a risotto, I guess.

You have to cook the four different grains all perfectly.

We make a parsley sauce, but it has to be incredibly smooth.

Has to be the right consistency, not too thin, not too thick.

It's just completely different food to what I'd cook.

Really cool kitchen, new techniques, new ideas, new flavours,

so I'm loving it.

Billy is in charge of the fish course -

turbot cooked in brown butter, sauteed sea vegetables

and a picante horseradish cream.

-Remember, this is quite strong.

-Yep.

I want a bit of height, I want a little bit of lift.

I want it to look natural.

I want it to be like it's kind of tumbled on.

It's a much freer way of cooking and way of plating than that.

Now, I've just got a little bit of this seaweed salt.

-OK?

-Yeah.

-You gonna do them all like that?

-Yeah.

-Great.

Firstly, you need to prep the turbot.

You know, these are big, wild-caught, line turbot.

They cost a fortune...and they are absolutely delicious.

I need about 110g portions.

-You need to get on with it.

-OK, cool.

I've never filleted a flat fish before, so something new.

I think, on this menu, this is probably

one of the more difficult dishes.

I think cooking that turbot perfectly is hard...

..and getting the balance on the plate is a challenge, for sure.

Certainly don't want to do disjustice

to such a great creature, especially one so expensive.

Jack's main is slow-grilled beef sirloin

with fermented green beans and a bone marrow bread sauce.

The sirloin must be cooked to exactly medium-rare

over a wood fire grill -

a tricky task even for a professional.

The dish is finished with a watercress sauce.

That looks amazing.

-I want it plated like that, in that kind of messy way.

-OK, yeah, nice.

You think you can do it?

Well up for it.

Thank you.

It is an absolutely stunning dish.

I've got to make sure that beef is perfectly cooked

and I've got to get that kind of effect on the plate.

Just makes me want to dive right in.

Jack's first job is to carefully remove the sirloin.

I've never done butchery before, so I've got to really take care

and really make the best of what we've got here.

Natasha's on dessert -

a warm chocolate cake,

topped with a chocolate nib caramel tuile,

served with oat crumb and burnt milk ice cream.

-They've all got to look like that.

-OK.

-OK?

-Yeah.

It looks very simple, but getting that to look elegant

on the plate, the rocher of the ice cream, is quite hard.

-You look too worried.

-OK, sorry.

-OK? It's fine. It's chocolate cake. OK?

-Yeah.

If you go into service feeling terrified,

you're going to go down.

-OK.

-OK?

OK, Thank you, Chef.

Against her instincts,

Natasha's first job is to burn some milk to flavour her ice cream.

The key thing to do, I get the ice cream made,

get the chocolate cake in,

make sure it's still soft, and get the lids done.

There's now just two and a half hours until service.

I literally do not have a clue what I'm doing now.

If I were hiring them as junior chefs that were just going to

clean the fridge for six months, I'd be feeling quite happy about that.

What they've actually got to do is jump straight on a section

and I'm a little bit worried.

Kind of conscious that I need to kind of get cracking

and it's got to be good.

I've got to get something like that, which looks so neat and amazing.

Hopefully, I'm doing it justice, but...

I don't really have a clue, to be honest!

Billy is also falling behind.

He's got three turbot to fillet,

but he's still struggling with the first fish.

-How you doing?

-I've not done that well getting this one off

-at the start.

-So, the portioning on this is very important.

If you go a lot over in a restaurant, then you lose money.

-Yeah.

-If you go a lot under, you upset the customer.

-Cheers, chef.

I've not done this one justice, but next one I'll do better.

I've burnt some milk on purpose...

..just so we're clear.

Scrape properly, you want all of that off.

All that is flavour, so you've got to get it.

That's it, that's it, that's it, like that.

You know, like you're getting the paint off a wall.

The milk scrapings will be used to give Natasha's ice cream

a burnt cream flavour.

It's right on the edge.

If you'd taken it any further, you'd have been in trouble.

It's good though, it's good.

-Don't have the arm strength.

-SHE LAUGHS

Guys, everyone, can you just listen to me for one second?

You've got to get on with it.

You've got two hours,

and it's got to be ready and it's got to be perfect.

I want to see you moving with some urgency, OK?

Juanita's struggling with the exacting pace of the pro kitchen.

She's only just finished prepping her duck livers...

..and now has to blend them with butter and eggs.

The parfait mixture will need to be sieved, cooked and chilled

so that it sets in time for service.

How are you doing? Parfait in?

-It's getting there.

-You've got to get it in.

-I know, I know.

-You've really got to get it in.

-Nearly, nearly, getting there.

If you don't get it in in the next five minutes,

-you're going to be screwed.

-OK.

-It's a technical term.

-Screwed, OK.

-Yeah.

-OK.

Apparently, I've got to get this in in the next five minutes.

-Yeah, you do.

-Yeah, OK.

Jacob's cooked the four separate grains

for his seafood porridge.

Whilst he's on time, Stevie's not happy with the mess he's making.

What you need to do is clean down.

OK. And the...

-No, I mean it, clean down.

-OK, OK.

Stop and clean.

Thanks.

Drop all that in the washer,

clean down, and then you'll be in a better position.

There's a bit of mess, so I'm just getting rid of the mess.

I don't know whose it is.

Is this MasterChef or MasterClean? I don't know.

Look at that, that's better.

3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27.

Jack's beef is finally prepped.

Good. We're alight, are we? OK.

With his wood fire going,

he now needs to make a rich bone marrow bread sauce.

I've toasted off the breadcrumbs and the bone marrow,

and now we're just adding beef stock, slowly,

so it thickens into a nice, thick bread sauce, basically.

I'm learning loads, just, like, little, simple steps.

How to use a load of amazing maniac kit, as well,

so, yeah, it's really good.

-How you doing?

-All right, just trying to get it through.

That needed to be in the oven ten minutes ago, basically.

-Yeah, sorry.

-It's the first dish in the service,

-it's the first dish to go out.

-OK.

Speed up.

Guys, first table comes in 45 minutes.

You need all your mise en place ready, please.

With Natasha's ice cream in the blast freezer,

she's moved on to the chocolate nib caramel for her cake lids.

I'm absolutely out of my comfort zone.

This is, like, next level desserts,

so I just want to make sure I get it right.

Her cocoa caramel needs to be broken down and reheated

so it sets in a perfect circle.

I really need to get the chocolate cake on and it's not on yet,

so I'm a bit panicked at the moment.

Chef?

-You've done an all right job.

-All right.

I mean, you'd hope so, it took you long enough.

I know, sorry. First time.

With the clock ticking, Jacob moves on to making

his all-important parsley sauce,

but it's too thin.

-You've got too much liquid in here too soon.

-Right.

So the blade can't hit the parsley,

-do you know what I mean?

-OK, yeah, yeah.

It's all sloshing around instead of grinding.

Juanita's parfait is finally in the oven.

She's now up against it to make her rye drop scones.

I haven't made anything like this before now, so pressure is on.

And I think Stevie thinks I'm a bit slow, so I need to speed up.

With service fast approaching,

Billy's cracking on with his horseradish cream.

Still feeling the pressure somewhat, but making horseradish cream.

I've never used fresh horseradish.

It is pungent, so I've got to watch out with the balance for this.

Not to be too strong, but needs to be punchy still,

so still a lot to do.

So, you're going to go fat-side down, three along

-and then three along, all right?

-OK, Chef.

So, we've got the beef on, smelling amazing,

so I've just got keep an eye on that

and make sure it's and nice medium-rare.

Getting that beef cooked really nicely over wood is not easy.

You know, you can't say three minutes on that side,

three minutes on the other.

We've got this grill that goes up and down

and you've got to move the coals to get just the right temperature.

You have to be able to cook intuitively.

So, I think Jack, Billy and Jacob are doing OK.

I'm still a bit worried, but they seem more or less on top of it.

Juanita and Natasha...

I'm worried about.

We're definitely behind.

If you miss your first tables, they all get stuck together

and then you get slammed.

With 30 minutes until service, Juanita checks on her parfait.

It's quite touch-and-go whether I'll be ready for the first service.

-Can we have a look at your parfait?

-Yes, yes, it's just

-in the blast chiller.

-Is it ready?

-No.

-It's now 20 to 12 and it's not ready.

I'm going to start with some of mine that I've already got.

Hopefully, by the time the customers are here, we'll use yours.

OK, brilliant, thank you.

I'll be really disappointed if the first few dishes go out

without my parfait on, yeah.

Juanita's not the only one concerning Stevie.

Natasha, is your cake not...? You haven't finished?

Natasha is a bit behind. In service, she's got quite a lot to do.

Those chocolate cakes are cooked to order.

If she approaches that in the same way she has her prep,

we're going to have a problem.

With the first guests in, the amateurs are now

solely responsible for lunchtime service.

I'm a bit worried about service, if I'm honest.

This restaurant is very precious to me.

It's got to be good. Hopefully, we'll get through it.

Ooh, I say. Very nice.

Smart restaurant, very smart, modern food.

They have got to be on their toes, ready to go.

Service is about to start and the most important thing, for me,

is they've got the preparation right.

Should one of those little items not be done properly

and they start service, it's going to go completely Pete Tong.

Are you ready for service?

I think so, maybe.

-Juanita, how's your parfait?

-Ready.

It's a table of two - two scone, two four-grain, two turbot, two beef.

Juanita's up first with her duck liver parfait.

With just three elements to the dish, each one has to be faultless.

Come on, Juanita, you're slow on the first table,

-so you're stitched up for the whole service.

-Just coming, chef.

-It's no good.

-No?

It's just too soft.

It's a bit soft, the mousse.

You have to use mine.

Yeah, shall I put the other one back in the blast chiller or...?

Yeah, quickly, please.

My mousse was too soft, so it just looked really gross on the plate.

Completely my fault.

I just need to be quicker.

Service, please.

Mmm, I just had a bit of aniseed.

The scone was delicious, it was quite crisp on the outside

and then really soft in the middle,

and it went really well with the really smooth parfait.

It's very difficult to comment on the parfait itself

because this is the chef's parfait.

Juanita's parfait hasn't worked.

All you can say for Juanita is she's managed to make the scone

and she's opened up the jar of preserved damsons.

It's a disaster for Juanita,

especially somebody with her skill.

It would have been a fabulous dish.

You've got four four-grain away. Let's go.

Jacob's up next with his four-grain seafood porridge.

Lots of things going on.

Clams, mussels have to be pickled and warm,

scallops have to be cooked,

the porridge warm and not too overcooked,

got a parsley sauce around the outside, all going at the same time.

Is that for a five-course meal?

Take a tablespoon off each plate, please.

Right now, I think Jacob's probably up to his elbows

in sauce and porridge.

-They look nice.

-Thank you.

What did you do to the sauce? You changed it.

There's another one in the drawer.

You've used someone else's!

That is outrageous.

It was delicious.

I really liked all the flavour combinations.

I thought it was very rich and creamy, and that was very nice.

And I liked the different texture of the grains in the porridge.

Everything cooked incredibly well.

When you consider he's got three different shellfish on here,

I think it's job very, very well done.

OK, you've got turbot away, table 31.

Yes, Chef.

This is when it matters, and a lot of expensive fish that

I'm cooking today, so I can't make any errors.

Billy's wild turbot fillets are the star of his dish

and they each have to be poached with absolute precision.

Come on, I really want this turbot.

Poaching a piece of turbot in service 30 times...

Oh, wow, that is tough.

Horseradish and turbot,

not one I've seen before, and pickled vegetables.

Billy's got a balance of big, big flavours there.

Not the best of...

Too much horseradish. Re-plate.

Oh, there is on that one. All right.

Come on!

Argh!

-They don't look nice, like mine did.

-No, they're not...

-No.

Service.

The turbot was just perfectly cooked, really nice.

-Just delicious.

-A lot of strong flavours with the horseradish.

-HOARSE VOICE:

-There's a lot of horseradish in the sauce, beware.

That is great. I love that.

Hot horseradish and sweet, sharp pickled vegetables,

I think it's lovely,

with that beautifully soft, meaty turbot.

Jack, two beef away. Yes, Chef.

It's the moment of truth for Jack's slow-cooked sirloin.

Nice medium-rare is really important.

Each slice has to be a perfect medium-rare.

-That's good. Are you pleased with that?

-It's really good.

Come on, Jack, if you plate too slow, then it all gets cold.

Two beef.

When you do that green sauce, you've got to do it more confidently.

-OK.

-Cos it mustn't look like an accident.

So when you do something messy, if you do it half-heartedly...

-Gotta be intentional.

-..it looks like you've made a mistake, OK?

-So just more confidence.

-Yes, Chef, Yes, Chef.

-This looks delicious.

-It does.

I love the beans. I think the beans go really, really well.

And the change of texture is really good with the beef.

The bone marrow bread sauce is good,

beef is cooked nicely.

I would like just a bit more seasoning on my beef, please.

But, otherwise, I think it's a very good dish.

Two scone, two four-grain, two turbot, two beef.

Yes, Chef.

Service is now in full swing.

I've got the first dessert check coming on order in one minute.

Natasha's first batch of warm chocolate cakes have to be

baked to order.

Come on, I really want to get going with this, please.

Her burnt milk ice cream must also be perfectly rochered.

It looks easy, it's actually really difficult.

You just want it smooth, you don't want a tail.

You want to make sure it looks nice...

not like that.

Have you got the two chocolate on order over there?

Is she doing them?

Nice. More ice cream on the next one.

Oh, I like this.

Oh, I like this a lot.

Beautiful, smooth ice cream.

That's a well-made dessert.

I've got table 15, table 24 and table 20

all waiting for turbot. Have you got them all in the pan?

I've got three in. Four's coming and there's two.

-They're not in?

-No. It's going to be eight minutes, chef.

Billy, you can't just be plating,

you have to be plating and cooking, OK? Yes, Chef.

Billy's getting behind on his cooking,

he's not cooking ahead, he's not thinking like a chef.

But I'm pretty sure they're delicious.

I'm not getting the fish in quick enough. I keep forgetting,

once I'm plating up, that I need to get fish in.

Four away, Jack, by the way, sorry.

I'm just not quite with it.

Oh, man.

-So, Juanita?

-Yeah?

Your parfait, it's not ready,

-it's not going to set, we're going to have to carry on with mine.

-OK.

-Don't worry about it, we all mess things up.

-OK.

But now let's go. Go, go, go, go.

OK, Yes, Chef.

Hey, don't put the plates up here.

If you don't think it's good enough, and you put it up here...

-They'll take it.

-..they'll take it.

I think my plates are a bit untidy, no surprises there.

Let's see how this one goes.

I think he's relatively happy. I need to be a bit more delicate.

Happy with that?

Yeah, just, you know, on the plating,

if you take five seconds more plating,

they're going to look better.

Cool, thanks.

With everyone under pressure...

Don't put a sliced bit of meat on the grill like that.

..Jack's swamped with orders for his beef.

Doing six plates takes a while.

If you're too slow, they will be cold. Yes, Chef.

Coming right now, chef.

These look nice.

There's a fine line between interesting and kind of messy

and cool and just looks rubbish,

but I think... Thank you, Chef! ..this is on the right side.

Oh, my God.

It's incredible, such a rush.

High-pressure, but the plates of food look great.

Billy, come on then, let's plate.

I don't want to be still waiting for these turbot, come on.

Neither do I, chef.

Oh, it's done. You've done it.

This one is perfect, really nice.

-Too much salad.

-This one's a little bit bigger, isn't it?

It is. I did think that when I put it up there.

I don't know why I didn't change it.

If you look at something and you think it's not quite right,

-will you please change it?

-Yes, Chef.

The fish have been nicely cooked, I think.

His plating is a little off, but he's doing OK.

It is just out of control.

On the pastry section, Natasha has mastered her ice cream rochers.

Look at those! Nice!

But she's struggling with the timing of her chocolate cakes.

These are too wet.

How do I get that back in?

Back in, ring on, pull it in, back in the oven.

Natasha, where are those last three desserts, please?

-Chef, they're coming, chef.

-How long?

-Two minutes, chef.

-Why are we having to wait for them?

They were a little bit wet, still, chef,

so I put them back in the oven for an extra minute.

Don't let them go over.

Nice!

The burnt ice cream, I've never tasted anything like that before.

That, together with the gooey chocolate fondant,

absolutely stunning. I loved it.

Service is coming to an end

-and Juanita has still not found her feet.

-Come on.

Parfait, faster. Come on!

It's easy, you're just putting it on the plate.

-How many are you waiting on?

-Going on table 33.

None. Clean down.

-Jacob's also not meeting Stevie's high expectations.

-Jacob?

I just told you, two minutes ago, not to put plates straight up there.

Billy, you've got the last two, best ones of the day.

I'll try, chef.

Billy, these last two turbot look beautiful.

-A shame they weren't all like that.

-I know, sorry.

Come on, last two beef. Let's not spend all day on it.

Two last beef, chef.

-Nice. Thanks.

-Thank you very much.

-Clean down.

-Last two look great.

-Thank you.

Nice, clean plates.

Beautiful ice cream.

-Thank you.

-Service!

-So glad it's over! Thank you.

-Thank you.

Service is finally over.

Not one of our five cooks in there found that easy.

It shows you what a major step up it is...

..from your home kitchen into a professional kitchen.

That was so awful. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong.

I was too slow, I lost the ability to plate up.

My hands turned to sausages. It was just...the worst.

It's an eye-opener, that's for sure.

I knew life in a professional kitchen was tough,

but this sort of really rams it home how tough it is.

I enjoyed the stress. It's very different to how I normally work.

If I can cook like that back in the MasterChef kitchen,

I think my dishes might come out very differently.

It was incredible. It was a complete rush.

Being next to that fire for the last two hours,

I am exhausted.

I want to do it again. It was brilliant. I love it now.

I can do the ice cream rocher. I burnt my finger, but I'm all right.

For me, it was hard. It was a struggle.

There were some long waits, but by the end of it they were

getting into it and they were doing a pretty good job.

I think there's some good cooks in there.

We sincerely hope that you've learned a lot.

We're also hoping that you've been inspired.

This is an invention test.

What we want from you is a restaurant-worthy plate of food.

Sweet or savoury? Up to you.

Ladies and gentlemen, remember, at the end of this,

one of you is going home.

One hour, 20 minutes. Let's cook.

The contestants' larder includes a selection of game birds,

partridge and pigeon,

seafood, oysters, freshwater prawns,

red mullet and Dover sole,

as well as an array of tropical fruit.

Do you know what's interesting, is, out of these five,

the only person that's done an invention test yet is Jacob.

An invention test is unnerving.

I'll tell you what, this is going to be a great, great round.

I like to know what I'm cooking and I like to plan.

I don't have the widest repertoire of dishes.

There's loads of stuff I've never cooked before.

Yeah, I'm in the wild for this one.

What are you making?

I'm going to do roast partridge with Jerusalem artichoke puree,

salsify, braised cabbage, bacon, I'm going to do the leg with

some wild mushrooms and kind of

deep-fry it in a sort of little fitter thing.

See, me and John, we know that you can do brilliant dishes

-if you've had a chance to plan it and think about it.

-Yeah.

This is a different kettle of fish, mate.

It's totally different, to be honest, yeah.

-I'm just hoping that I can deliver.

-Good luck!

-Appreciate it, cheers!

Jack is firing on all cylinders.

He's using two of my favourite vegetables in the whole land,

Jerusalem artichoke and the salsify, on the same plate.

And he's serving those with a roast partridge breast.

Jack is going to have to make sure the salsify is cooked properly

and it goes well with the Jerusalem artichoke,

and that that partridge is cooked absolutely beautifully.

I've never cooked partridge before, so I'm not entirely sure

how it's, you know, perfectly cooked,

so I'm just taking an educated guess that it's slightly pink.

I just want to make sure it's not too raw.

I almost prefer the invention to planning a dish. It is tricky.

You want to stand out.

I think you've got to take a risk to do well,

but you just might end up falling on your face.

What are you making for us now?

I think I'm going to do a chraime,

which is like a Middle Eastern fish dish, with red mullet

with some brick pastry, brick a l'oeuf,

with eggs in and some of the shrimp and anchovies and parsley.

I'm going to try foaming tahini, but I don't know if it will work.

So, egg and shellfish, have you done that before?

Em...probably not.

Jacob...it's been interesting!

I'm trying to make brick pastry,

but, um, it's full of holes, so we'll see what happens.

We've got ourselves a tomato-y fish stew and we've got an egg pie.

With that, we have got all sorts of stuff going on.

We might have artichokes, we might have carrots,

we might have foam made from tahini.

He's not quite sure, he's still inventing as he's going along.

-What are these, Jacob?

-They look like a artichokes.

-They were artichokes. Where's the rest of it?

-They're small ones.

Right. And the rest of it's in here, is it?

-In my notebook, yeah.

-Nice.

Jacob!

Half an hour gone!

You've got 50 minutes left.

It's all about me today...

..because I've been panicking about how good everyone is,

so I'm just going to make something yummy and see how it goes.

-A big smile on your face - I didn't expect that.

-No!

-Why are you so happy?

-I don't know, I'm just quite enjoying it today.

It's all going to go wrong soon, so I might as well enjoy it now!

Well, there's the spirit that won MasterChef(!)

What are you making?

-I'm making a trifle.

-How posh can you make a trifle?

I can make it tasty, I don't know if I can make it posh,

-but I'm going to try and tart it up a bit.

-I love that.

-I think it's terribly bold.

-Oh, really?

We got ourselves a pear jelly, she's making a ginger and cinnamon sponge,

she's making ginger custard.

It's really difficult in the amount of time she's got.

It's a huge challenge.

Looking forward to it purely as

a test of my own ability, really, I think.

It's going to be a tough day, a tough task for everyone.

So I can't rely on what's gone previously,

so I've got to put up a good plate.

I'm doing a partridge dish, so I'm going to roast

the partridge on the crown and the legs and wings

are in the pressure cooker.

I'm going to put the braised meat into a ravioli

and do it with some parmentier potatoes, some artichoke puree.

Wow, Billy! You do like to push it, son.

Hour and 20, you've got, not a day and a half!

-I know, Greg, but, yeah, pushing it as always.

-Good luck, sunshine!

Cheers.

Billy is cooking us partridge on the crown.

He's braising the legs.

He's making a port sauce.

He is then going to make a ravioli filled with the braised leg.

I think that sounds delightful, but then suddenly we've got ourselves

parmentier potatoes, pasta and potatoes, and an artichoke puree.

I just hope it's not too wet and I hope it's not too confused.

My ravioli, sadly, came open. It's now going to be an open ravioli.

It's going to have a pasta sheet laid on top of it.

You've got 20 minutes left.

-How are you doing, Juanita?

-I'm OK.

Pulling myself up after the professional kitchen experience.

I just went into a bit of a panic and got myself into a bit of a

downward spin and didn't recover, really.

So, I need to pull my socks up and get back in the game.

Is that what you've learned from the experience, resilience and fight?

Yes, definitely.

Well, it's fair to say,

-this now needs to be good, doesn't it?

-Yes. Really good.

Juanita has got a roast partridge breast and roast partridge legs.

She's serving that with lentils,

a creamy mushroom sauce and some carrots.

It doesn't sound that exciting,

but we know when she delivers food which is cooked very well,

it's simply delicious.

I can't afford another blip.

I've just got to...

stay focused and just try and get something decent up on the plate.

Just ten minutes left. Ten minutes.

I'm really, really excited to be back in the MasterChef kitchen,

judging the amateur chefs.

The invention test,

when you've got such a large larder of ingredients,

it can almost become confusing.

What they need to do is gather their thoughts,

look at the main ingredient

and then work all the other ingredients around them.

I'm a tough judge, of course I am.

I'm going to be firm, but fair.

30 seconds.

That's it. Stop, please. Stop.

-Oh, mate, that looks delightful.

-Yeah.

-So which bird did you go for in the end?

-Who knows?

Because this is such an important part of the competition,

we've invited somebody else in to test your food.

Somebody who has incredible cooking credentials.

Ladies and gentlemen, please say hello

to two-star Michelin chef Marcus Wareing.

-Oh!

-LAUGHTER

-Welcome.

-Chef.

-Good to see you.

Jack, please. Up you come.

Jack's made roast partridge, with a Jerusalem artichoke puree,

salsify, cabbage and bacon,

wild mushroom and partridge leg fritters

and Jerusalem artichoke crisps.

I think the choice of your ingredients

that you've put with this bird is perfect. It's fantastic.

I love the fact you've taken something like salsify,

which is not an easy thing to do, and cook it well.

I think the bird is beautifully cooked.

Your croquettes, there's too many, but, at the end of the day, so what?

-Well done, you.

-Thank you so much.

-Great dish, Jack.

-Thank you.

The thing about this dish, Jack, is you don't have to eat a lot of it

to taste the quality.

Your creamy smoky, artichoke puree, I like that.

Your partridge is still moist, but cooked very, very well

and I love the woodiness of your partridge balls with the mushrooms.

For an invention test, Jack, I think it is very, very good indeed.

You've delivered a very, very good dish, Jack. Just great flavour!

Great flavour, helped along the way by some very good texture.

That's all you can hope for. It tastes really good!

-Well done.

-That's the plan.

-Well done.

-Good job, Jack.

-Cheers.

HE SIGHS

I'm really happy.

Words cannot describe what that's like.

-Well done.

-Mm!

I'm sorry, I should've said well done before I tucked into the balls!

I cooked for Marcus Wareing.

Yeah, but I can't quite fathom it right now. Yeah, ridiculous.

Jacob's dish is inspired by his Middle Eastern heritage.

Red mullet chraime, with a brick a l'oeuf -

a crisp pastry parcel filled with an egg and freshwater prawns -

served with cumin, roasted beetroot and baby artichokes.

You know it looks a bit shabby.

It doesn't look like it's got a place, does it?

But, Jacob, you are out there.

You present food that is sometimes a bit out there,

but it always tastes good.

My problem right now is your red mullet.

With this tomato sauce, I don't think it's very nice.

The sauce has been over-reduced and it's gone all bitter and tinny.

It's just a bit flat and a bit muddy and a bit cluggy.

It does look a bit...sort of a bit of a dog's dinner, really,

but it tastes a lot better than it looks

and there's a couple of things in here that I really like.

There's a lovely warmth on my palate at the moment.

I can taste the red mullet and I love the fact, this egg yolk,

you've still kept it nice and moist.

I can admire the work you do.

I think, if you invent as you go, like you do,

you're going to struggle to get everybody to like everything,

and I think that's what's happened here.

It was almost overwhelming, having all those ingredients.

There is, like, too many.

THEY TALK

But, yeah, very disappointed with what I actually cooked in the end.

I don't know if it was too risky, it was just...

I don't think I thought it all through properly.

Billy has roasted the partridge

and served it with an open-top ravioli of partridge leg ragout

on roast cubed potatoes, braised lettuce and carrots,

Jerusalem artichoke puree and a port reduction.

It's very daring presentation for an amateur cook.

-Very professional-looking plate of food.

-Thanks.

Works very well for me, Billy.

Works very, very well indeed for me.

That bird is soft, tender and moist.

The sauce is superb.

I like that a lot.

Billy, I don't like the dish as much as Gregg.

First of all, the ravioli, obviously, hasn't worked

and it's just become a small ragout with a bit of pasta on top,

which is pretty much meaningless.

Your sauce is big and bold.

The cooking of the partridge is very nice,

but I would like to have seen a bit of colour on the skin

and the skin is where all the flavour is, Billy.

-Not a bad effort.

-Thanks.

I, like Marcus, would like a bit of colour on that skin.

And that skin needs to be seasoned

and that partridge itself also needs to be seasoned all the way through.

What I love - the sauce. I think you're almost there.

Almost there, Billy.

Pretty chuffed. Got something out on the plate that looked nice

and one out of three really liked it, and the other two...

They didn't hate it, so, yeah, pretty happy.

Juanita has made roasted partridge with lentils,

a wild mushroom sauce, baby roasted beetroot,

baby carrots and beetroot leaves.

I'm loving the look of this dish.

And it's really nice to see the partridge leg there,

with the little bone sticking out at the top.

If everything is cooked beautifully well...

It's going to be a good dish.

I really like this dish. You know, I really do.

I love the sauce that you've got.

The lentils could do with just a touch more cookery,

but I really love that flavour that you've got underneath.

It's a good, warm, rustic, hearty dish

that I just want to pick up and eat.

-Great job.

-Thank you.

Your flavours are good, your cooking is good.

You've just got to be able to remember how good a cook you are.

OK.

I, controversially, don't like the mushroom sauce with the lentils.

But the beetroot gives you colour, as well as a sweet flavour, as well,

especially using the leaves.

I think that's very, very good indeed.

Ah, I'm so pleased!

It was good just to put up a plate that they liked.

THEY WHISPER

And to meet Marcus Wareing is just...

I love him!

I was going really red.

(He's got such a nice eyes!)

'It's just...'

Mind-blowing.

-Ah, well done.

-Thank you.

-Oh, it's intense, isn't it?

-It's really intense.

Natasha, dessert time. Up you come, please.

Natasha's made a trifle of pear jelly, cinnamon sponge

topped with vanilla custard, whipped cream, toasted pistachios

and almonds, popping candy, cinnamon and ginger.

Oh, my word!

-Did you make that custard?

-Yeah.

-Wow, that's good.

-Do you like it?

That is good custard.

I need a minute. Sorry. Do you like it?

It's like a lovely piece of ginger cake, with cream and almonds.

The pear jelly, I think that's delicious.

I like your sponge and your custard is fabulous!

Thanks!

I find your sponge in there far too dense, too heavy,

and that's my only complaint. That tastes fantastic.

For me, personally...

..I think you've absolutely nailed this trifle.

That there has just taken me back to being a young boy again.

That's what my mum used to make and she used to make it just like that.

-Thank you.

-Perfect. I can't fault it. I think it's fabulous.

Thank you so much. I'm so glad you liked it.

-Good job, Natasha.

-Thank you.

I'm really happy. Ten out of ten happy.

Yeah, thrilled.

Marcus Wareing just said you made a perfect trifle.

I know! I can't believe it.

-I can't believe I served him...

-LAUGHTER

A two Michelin star chef!

Trifle? Obvs.

Now, we're going to have a quick chat.

I have to remind you that one of you will be leaving the competition.

Thank you. Off you go.

You enjoyed that, Marcus, didn't you?

I really, really did. I think the standard is very high.

The last time I was judging on the amateurs...

This is a completely different level.

It puts a smile on my face. I've had a great day.

-Thanks, Marcus.

-Thank you.

-Thank you, my friend. See you soon.

-Thank you.

I think there's a couple of stars and I'm going to

put my hand up for Jack.

I think Jack's dish was without fault.

Marcus liked it.

Really good partridge, really good flavours.

He had possibly the best dish out of the group.

I really enjoyed eating Natasha's trifle, so did you, so did Marcus.

She had delicious combinations.

Lovely vanilla custard, a hint of ginger.

What's not to like?

Juanita looked a little bashed up after her restaurant experience.

She needed a big round today. I thought she cooked very well.

I thought she presented very well.

The great thing about Juanita is Juanita cooks food

that you do want to eat and,

in there, amongst the mushrooms and the lentils

and the cream sauce, were some really tasty bits and pieces.

'I just want to keep going, just keep pushing'

and proving myself to John and Gregg.

So, yeah, I don't want to stop.

Jacob intrigues me because he works in a very different way.

He likes to make it up as he goes along.

He's a bit of a food alchemist.

That brick, that kind of filo pastry,

anchovy and prawns and a poached egg, I thought was not great.

I marvel at his technique, I have to say.

Making your own brick in an invention test is a really big push.

However, we end up with a dish that none of us actually loved.

Yeah, very annoyed with myself, but you can't go back and change it.

Hopefully, something miraculous happens and I stay in.

I liked Billy's dish, I really liked it.

However, you had criticism. Marcus, most certainly, had criticism.

Marcus picked up on the fact that the skin

on Billy's bird wasn't browned at all.

Billy attempts a load of work and what we see, as a result of that,

is the ravioli failing.

And I still question, why would you put potatoes with ravioli?

Obviously, I'd prefer not to have just done enough,

but to have actually nailed it.

I just let myself down on the cooking part.

We've got to make a decision. You've got five cooks in here.

Who is taking on the lessons?

Who is learning and progressing?

And who isn't?

You guys are good.

And Marcus doesn't give praise easily.

He was impressed.

One of you is leaving the competition.

The person leaving us...

..is Jacob.

Thanks, Jacob.

Obviously, I'm very disappointed to be going,

but I kind of expected it after what I cooked today.

It has been fun, it has been good to get this far.

I definitely refined my cooking a bit.

It's just a shame that I couldn't pull it off today.

Congratulations, you guys.

Another step closer to the final.

THEY SIGH

THEY TALK

My cheeks are actually hurting from all the smiling,

so it's just a bit awkward. But, yeah, no, amazing.

Elated, really, to be here.

I got through the first invention test of the competition,

so positives to take.

The final nine. What a day.

It's so strange.

The further we get on in this competition,

the more nerve-racking it gets. It's all to play for.

It's just insane. Absolutely crazy.

Getting my confidence back, so really pleased, yeah.

Tomorrow night, the remaining six face their first experience

in a professional kitchen...

-We are going to get slammed in a minute. Come on!

-Oh, no!

Stuart, how long on the cod?

..before Marcus Wareing returns.

Oh, my God!

I would thoroughly enjoy eating both of these dishes

if I was in a restaurant.