Episode 22 MasterChef

It's the MasterChef finals.

Over the next four nights, the finalists will be

pushed beyond anything they've experienced before.

They look hungry. I hope these guys are ready!

Sensational flavour.

I have put in so much work on this.

I so don't want to go home.

I'm having a ball. I'm having an absolute thrill.

It's an amazing feeling to be in Finals week.

I'm going to go out and I'm going to give my all

and I'm going to just thoroughly enjoy it.

Before now, it was kind of like a little distant dream. I'm so close.

To fall at the last hurdle would be pretty sad.

It's been stressful, it's been intense

but I have absolutely loved every minute of it.

Lifting a trophy would be staggering.

Think I've got to be at my best

and I've got to put out flawless dishes from now on.

-Tonight, the competition intensifies...

-Wow!

..when the final five's creativity is challenged by rising

Michelin star talent Michael O'Hare.

For one of them, their MasterChef competition will come to an end.

It's early morning and the finalists arrive at Britain's oldest

continuously working theatre - the Bristol Old Vic.

Opened in 1766, it has a rich history of performance

and training some of the world's leading actors.

Welcome to the beautiful Bristol Old Vic.

This year, it celebrates its 250th birthday.

There is a dinner this evening for actors that previously

trained in the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

You're cooking the dinner.

You will be working and guided by one of Britain's maverick chefs -

a Michelin star holder, Michael O'Hare. He's very interesting.

His food is really complex. Good luck. That way.

Michael O'Hare is a young chef currently sending shock waves

-through the culinary world.

-I started cooking at university.

I was studying aerospace engineering.

I had to cook for myself and really enjoyed it

and then just started working in restaurants.

So I dropped university and quit, much to my parents' misery!

Service, please.

Michael's trailblazing Leeds restaurant,

The Man Behind The Curtain,

was awarded a Michelin star within a year of opening.

Housed in a dark graffiti dining room,

the restaurant is renowned for Michael's uniquely creative dishes.

My approach to food is really simple.

It needs to look amazing and taste great

and it needs to be entertaining.

-Chefs, welcome.

-Hello.

-Hiya.

Today, you're going to be doing five dishes

from our menu for the six VIP guests.

It's a lot of work to do, a lot of pressure. Time's of the essence.

Let's get cracking. To your stations, please.

The contestants will now have four hours to master

Michael's complex recipes.

I'm apprehensive as to putting my cuisine into the hands of five

amateur chefs. There's a lot of trust and a lot of worry on that.

Just thrilled. Of all the chefs at the moment,

Michael is the one who's really pushing boundaries.

It's great to be actually cooking with the man himself!

I imagine I'll probably learn more in the next few hours than

I have done in 27 years of eating and cooking!

Jane is responsible for the first course -

raw Denia red prawn with a barbecue roasted head,

crispy rice noodles with flowers and sea herbs,

and a Bolognese sauce made from sea urchins.

The first dish, the Denia red prawn,

is really a celebration of that ingredient.

It's the most perfect prawn in the world.

The tail of the prawn is served raw, whilst the prawn heads

are roasted directly on top of barbecue embers.

You really want to char the outside.

You're going to get that roasted shell flavour

going through into the brains. You don't want to take it too far.

You want it to still be liquid inside.

You just want to warm the brains.

When you get table-side, you're going to encourage the guests to

take the prawn head and just squeeze all that juice out over the top.

Oh, wow. Yeah.

And the heat from those brains

will just warm that tail up nicely.

You'll then have the Bolognese sauce, the urchin Bolognese,

and you'll pour that hot over the noodles.

The Bolognese goes over the top so it looks a real mess

-when it's finished. But it'll taste delicious.

-Yeah, wow.

That's amazing. Yeah, thank you.

Very wacky but that's what we expected today.

I can't believe I'm sitting here, looking at this plate of food,

thinking, "I've got to cook it," to be honest!

Her first job is to prepare the delicate sea urchins.

The only edible part are the gonads,

which have to be carefully removed from the spiny shell.

I love working with new ingredients. I really do.

I get a buzz out of learning how to do new things.

Hopefully, I can do justice to it.

Juanita will be making Michael's interpretation of fish and chips.

-This is my signature dish of black cod.

-Wow, OK. No pressure(!)

HE LAUGHS

The dish begins with a barbecued gem lettuce followed by the cod,

which is cured in salt and sugar, and cooked in a water bath at 60 degrees.

And then the dashi sauce - this is just a real intense cod flavour.

So, with your sauce, pour a little over,

but treat it a bit like a soup.

-So you do want a well of sauce in the bottom.

-Yep.

On top of the fish, you prepare crispy potatoes and shallots.

You'll then season with ink and vinegar.

And then, finally, to finish, we have pea shoots,

which you'll just paint in a little bit of copper.

And that's how you finish the dish.

-That is so beautiful.

-Any questions?

-Not at the moment.

-I just hope I can do it justice. It's absolutely stunning.

-Me, too!

THEY LAUGH

Oh, wow, that's amazing. It actually tastes like fish and chips.

-I've got black teeth!

-Stick your tongue out, Juanita.

LAUGHTER

Billy has the main course...

..barbecued rib of beef, with edible eggshells,

sous-vide egg yolk,

smoked bread cinders,

anchovies, and an ajo blanco sauce.

-We have a lot to do.

-Sounds amazing!

There's quite a lot going on here.

They're going to have to dry their own eggshells out,

there's hairdryers involved.

So there's really, really unusual ways of working with this dish

but the real key is to get the beef exactly bang on.

-See all those flames?

-Yep.

-We want that, weirdly.

We want to render that fat down on the outside,

-want to keep it nice and pink on the inside.

-Got it, yep.

If that fire goes out, you can always add a little oil

-and really get that going.

-OK.

-You really want to char that. Yeah?

-Yeah.

You start with an ajo blanco sauce

that you make from garlic and almonds.

And really splash it out, yeah?

Don't be afraid to make a bit of a mess.

Something like that.

You'll then add to it your eggshell

and Boqueron anchovies.

We'll then add your rib, straight across there,

and then you'll just fill your eggshell.

The eggs have been poached slowly in a water bath

for an hour at 62 degrees.

And, then, to finish that, you'll make some cinders.

This is made from white bread that you'll smoke.

Make it look a little smashed.

OK? So that's your finished dish.

12-year-old retired Galician dairy cow

with egg, smoked cinders, ajo blanco and Boqueron anchovies.

-I've had a few egg traumas so far in this competition.

-Oh, really?

-Yeah.

-Why not take it head-on?

-Best of luck.

I have put a few weird and wonderful things together myself.

Nothing quite on the level of this, obviously!

Stuart is in charge of the pre-desert,

a hot and cold soup based on the flavours of Thailand.

At its centre is a chilli and lemon sorbet

which has to be made moments before service using liquid nitrogen.

So, the key to this is in the preparation,

-and everything's kind of last-minute for you.

-Mm-hm.

-It feels good.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

The fresh sorbet sits on top of a cold plum compote

and is topped with a plum jelly and fried coriander leaves,

before being finished with a warm Thai soup of cardamom, ginger,

kaffir lime leaf and lemon grass.

Oh, that smells amazing.

The balance here is the hot and cold.

It's really straightforward but last-minute work for you.

It just smacks you round the face with, like, cardamom and chilli.

The plating is relatively straightforward,

but I think to get that balance of flavours

there's a lot going on there.

Jack's dessert will finish the meal.

It features a rich milk chocolate, lavender, and honey mousse

added to beetroot vinegar puffed potatoes,

and served with violet ice cream.

And you'll top it with some chocolate,

that you'll temper into brittle.

There's really a lot going on with this dish,

and the tempering the chocolate's quite a technical craft.

So whoever's got that has really got the most to do today.

Jack will finish the dish table-side with an unusual custard

made out of baked potatoes and cream

and topped with more puffed potatoes in beetroot vinegar powder.

It's completely bonkers, but I love it!

-The key thing is the tempering the chocolate.

-OK.

-And getting things done in the right order.

-Absolutely.

-I have faith in you.

-It looks stunning.

-Thank you. Enjoy.

Dinner is now just three hours away.

Here we go!

Jane is working on her sea urchin sauce.

Whoops. I don't want to waste any of this.

-She's added the urchins to garlic and shallots...

-Wow.

..to form the base flavour.

Do you feel pressure kicking off the whole shooting match

-with the first course?

-Yeah.

I've got to get it out on time so I don't hold these guys up,

and it's got to be beautiful.

And what's the nearest you've ever got to cooking like this?

I've never got anywhere close to cooking like this.

This is...just off the scale, isn't it?

-Just bury them completely.

-Just cover them completely?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Juanita is curing the cod in equal quantities of sea salt

and caster sugar.

So that really firms up the texture of the fish

so it doesn't get all gelatinous when it's sous-vide.

The leftover cod skins need to be baked

and will be used to intensify the flavour of the dashi stock.

I didn't think I'd be blowing balloons up on MasterChef.

Billy's main challenge is to make the delicate edible eggshells

for his main course.

-So I've just got to test the batter mix...

-SQUEAK

Oh! ..make sure it's not too thin, not too thick.

To form an egg shape, the balloons are dipped

in a lactose milk powder batter.

It takes quite a long time to dry, I think.

-HE TUTS

-Oh, God!

Argh, too close together.

There's not many people I allow to use my own hairdryer,

do you know that?

I feel more privileged than I am already.

Hopefully he's done those quick enough so they can dry out in time.

If not, he's going to be using that hairdryer an awful lot more.

He's still got his beef to prep and a lot more work to do.

There's nothing done on that dish yet apart from the eggshell.

Stuart's also at a crucial stage with his pre-dessert.

Yeah, a little bit more.

The plum jelly has to be wafer thin.

If he misjudges the consistency, the jelly will break up

when he tries to cut it into discs.

Obviously, they're expecting perfection today,

so I've got quite a challenge ahead of me, I think.

The showpiece of Jack's dessert is the silver chocolate foil.

I've never tempered chocolate before.

-It's always something I've thought, "What a faff."

-HE LAUGHS

So I kind of wish I had.

The chocolate needs to be tempered -

heated and cooled to exact temperatures -

before it can be moulded into abstract shapes.

So, with your tinfoil, all you're going to do is form a mould.

-Maybe something like this...

-Yep.

..so that then when your chocolate's tempered, you can kind of...see?

OK.

-He has to work quickly...

-As quick as you can.

-Yep.

..to shape the chocolate before it sets.

-Yeah, is that all right?

-Yeah.

-Perfect.

-Blast them last few out, mate.

-This is mad!

JACK CHUCKLES

So cool.

OK, chefs, you have two hours and 15 minutes

until the first course is served.

-Yes, Chef.

-Yes, Chef.

The Bristol Old Vic staged its first performance 250 years ago.

Back then, it was known as the most exquisitely designed theatre

in Europe, and it quickly gained a reputation

for staging daring and exciting productions.

Really, all of the greats have performed here.

It's rare to find a British stage actor that hasn't trodden

these very boards.

And that's a really important part of our heritage.

I think, in a way, a good meal is like a good production, because

every night we're trying to make a really brilliant live experience.

And sometimes going out for a good meal is sort of

like going out to the theatre.

There's now less than two hours til service.

I'm deveining the prawns,

because nobody wants to eat this bit of the prawn.

I think I've got all my elements coming together really well.

Hopefully, it'll all come together at the end.

I'm just frying off the potato straws,

so they've just got to be nice and crispy, but not too brown.

The striking black appearance of Juanita's cod dish...

Oh, wow.

..is created using another of Michael's unusual techniques.

So, it's an equal mix of vinegar powder

and black squid ink powder, and that's what goes on the top.

You can really smell the squid. Amazing.

On the main, Billy is getting through his long list of prep.

-Beef's ready to go in.

-Yeah.

-The eggshells are drying.

I'm just making the cinders now.

To create the charcoal cinders effect,

white bread is soaked in water and blended with squid ink powder.

This is seasoned with hickory smoke essence.

If that's too powerful, that'll be pretty much the only thing

you'll be able to taste in the whole dish, so...

I'd better make sure I get that right.

The mixture is then baked at 180C

before it can be smashed into cinders.

I'm preparing my coriander to deep fry it in the microwave.

I've never deep-fried anything in a microwave before,

but they go really nice and crispy, and delicious...

providing you don't set them on fire.

Some mad stuff's going on right now.

I'm confident with what they've done so far,

but service is going to be difficult.

It's an environment they're not used to

and they've never plated those dishes ever before.

It has to be bang on.

And I'm going to be watching them.

OK, chefs, one hour until the first course. That's one hour, Jane.

Tonight's diners are five leading actresses of stage and screen.

James Bond and Downton Abbey star, Samantha Bond,

Pippa Haywood, known for her comedy roles in the Brittas Empire

and Green Wing...

..Doc Martin and Open All Hours star, Stephanie Cole OBE,

Emmy award-winning Greta Scacchi,

and rising theatrical talent, Kezrena James.

I'm really thrilled to be hosting some of our most wonderful

leading ladies.

They've all trodden the boards here.

It's very rare that they all come together in this way.

So, I really want them to have a good time.

-Cheers!

-Lovely to be here.

The moment I got to the Vic School and the moment I stood

on this stage when I was 16, it truly was as if

I'd actually been born, I was where I was supposed to be.

'I love this theatre so much.'

Just being here again fills one with this warm glow.

Service is now just 30 minutes away.

-Oops.

-Oh!

-SHE LAUGHS

-I set light to my fingers!

Watch your back, watch your back.

Jack still has to finish his violet ice cream

and make Michael's signature potato custard,

mixing salt-baked potatoes with cream.

I feel like I've got a ton to do in quite a short amount of time.

It's not a recipe that you can just follow by instinct.

This is uncharted territory.

It's also the moment of truth for Stuart's plum jelly.

Right. Steady hand.

Ha! It's really awkward.

If they break, he won't have time to make them again.

That jelly's lovely.

It's not the easiest thing I've ever done, I'm not going to lie.

Oh!

Billy's also anxious to see if his edible eggshells have dried in time.

No, maybe not.

-It's not working, is it?

-I tried one, it was just too soft.

As soon as you try and take the balloon off

it rips the batter. Fingers crossed they'll be dry in time.

Fortunately, I'm not first up.

If I was first up, I think we'd be struggling.

Billy, I never thought I'd be this nervous over a pretend egg.

Me neither!

-Well, I've never had any of these dishes before.

-Quite excited.

-It sounds a wonderful mixture.

-It's a bit of an adventure, actually.

-Yes.

-I like a bit of an adventure.

-OK, Jane, I think we can get ready to go.

-Yep.

The last thing we'll do is roast the heads so we don't overcook them.

-Lovely, thank you very much.

-Good luck.

Denia red prawn, served raw with roasted brains

and sea urchin Bolognese.

I'm feeling quite nervous now.

-Ow.

-Cool?

-Yep. Just drop them all in.

Jane now needs to perfectly roast the prawn brains

on top of burning hot coals.

The cooking of that head,

there's really precise timing they need to get right

so that all that juice stays fresh in the head and doesn't dry it out.

-They done?

-No, longer.

But also so that they don't take it under and serve a raw head.

OK, go.

-They smell good, right?

-They smell amazing.

-You're brave, Bond, you can do it.

-LAUGHTER

Roasted brains, bring 'em on.

-Jane, you really need to pick up the pace on this.

-Right, OK.

OK, service, please.

Jane's starter is Denia red prawn

served with crispy rice noodles,

sea herbs and a sea urchin Bolognese.

The chef requests that you pick up your prawn heads

and squeeze them over your raw tail, please.

-Oh, no!

-Ooh!

-Ooh, look!

-Wow.

Oh, my goodness me.

If you'd like to put your noodles on top of the prawn

and you can eat the whole dish.

-Here we go, tipping away.

-I'm a bit covered in stuff already.

-Well, it just looks delicious, does it not?

-And extraordinary.

-Are we going to go for this? OK.

-LAUGHTER

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

Well, I've never tasted urchin before,

but urchin Bolognese is fantastic.

It looks like you're just diving into the sea, doesn't it?

And then a real explosion of fishiness.

To have something that looks so good and tastes so good is amazing.

That's very flavoursome. That's quite special.

And Jane has done incredibly well.

Wow.

That was just incredible, it was absolutely amazing.

I've never done anything like that,

dealt with those sorts of ingredients.

And to do that was really thrilling.

I'm just... I feel so honoured, actually.

Ooh, it's hot. Ah!

Juanita's cod dish is up next.

Ow, ow, ow!

Like Jane, she has to master the barbecue to char

the baby gem lettuce.

I think that's good.

-Can we plate?

-We can plate, I think we're ready to go.

Black cod, crispy potatoes, dashi toasted skin, ink and vinegar.

-Are you happy with that fish?

-Yes, I'm very happy.

OK, quickly, let's get the herbs on, get it sent, yeah?

Perfect, that's enough.

Look at that. That is unbelievable.

-Well done.

-Thank you, Michael.

-HE CLAPS

Thank you. It's been such a pleasure.

-I think it looks really intriguing.

-It does.

I think it's like fairytale food, something for the Wicked Queen!

LAUGHTER

I actually think this is the best fish I have ever tasted.

It is beautifully cooked. It is unbelievable.

It's a bit like a very delicious but rather evil-looking fish and chips.

Yeah, I like the texture in this one.

I like the crunchiness, and I really DO like salt and vinegar.

It's visually challenging whilst being absolutely delicious.

It's great. I love it. I think it's really, really interesting.

Juanita seems to have understood this and executed it

very, very well indeed.

'It's just been a fairytale, really.'

I never thought that I would ever be cooking with Michael.

It's just... Yeah, unbelievable. Really happy.

I can't see anything. This is absolutely nuts.

Oh, no, don't tell me he's gone out.

Nope, there he is.

The attention is now on Billy and his beef main.

Phew!

It's his last chance to see if his eggshells have worked.

The shells have held their shape.

But he still has to plate them with the confit egg yolk inside.

Billy, stop shaking. You haven't got time.

-Balls.

-Whoa!

-I've burst it, haven't I?

It's gone, yeah?

Gentle, but fast.

-They're going to make us eat eggshells and ash!

-Yes.

Service, please.

-Well done, Billy.

-Pleasure.

-Proud of that?

-Yeah.

It was always going to be tough to plate up, that one.

The bloody egg.

The eggs got me again!

I don't know what is with them. I just struggle.

I think I've done... Yeah, a reasonable effort.

Yeah, pretty pleased.

Oh, it looks amazing!

That's a work of art, isn't it?

Billy's dish is rib of beef with edible eggshells,

an ajo blanco sauce,

smoked bread cinders, anchovies and a sous-vide egg yolk.

Look at that.

A perfectly cooked poached egg.

I love the way, when you dive into the egg yolk, that all that

gorgeous golden yellow seeps out against the black and white.

I thought the colours were really beautiful.

-I didn't knows cinders could taste so good.

-LAUGHTER

I thought the meat was absolutely delicious.

I think each of the elements on their own are quite confusing

to look at and to taste,

but, actually, it's when you put them all together,

that then it's truly delicious.

-OK, Stuart, five minutes and we're up. Let's get started.

-OK.

With the plum jelly ready to go,

Stuart's final test is to make his chilli and lemon sorbet

using liquid nitrogen,

which, at -200 degrees, freezes the mixture in seconds.

Wey!

The real danger with that sorbet is to overdo it, add too much nitrogen.

Make it too cold, you'll end up with a grainy, horrible mess.

I'm hoping he can just take his time with it

and make sure it's absolutely perfect.

-How's that?

-Yes, that's OK. Get it in the freezer.

Jelly next, yeah?

-Pear ice cream.

-Ice cream.

Soup of lemon grass and cardamom...

..chilli and lime sorbet, plum and coriander.

Wonderful combination. It sounds really cleansing.

-What is that?

-That is milk soup.

Service, please.

-Happy?

-Yeah, happy.

-Well done.

Thank you, thank you.

Phew!

It's just such a mind-blowing plate of food.

I'm so lucky to have been able to cook something like that.

It's really opened my eyes.

-Oh!

-That's the plum.

-It smells like a really, really expensive bathroom.

Ooh!

Chilli can be overwhelming but, in this, it's absolutely beautiful.

It doesn't kill the other flavours at all.

You get that nice kick at the back of the throat

but it's nice and cooling.

The zingy lemon grass and the heat from the chilli

and the luscious sweet plum, it was really...

Another one please?

Just absolutely one of the most extraordinary,

delicious things I've ever tasted in my life.

OK, Jack, last dish, we need to get this out as soon as possible.

Yes, Chef.

A bit more, a bit more. You're there, that's it. Perfect.

You'll have to cover that in chocolate

cos it looks quite rude.

Finally, we have milk chocolate, lavender and honey mousse...

A bit quicker, mate, fire it out.

..violet ice cream...

..and baked potato custard and beetroot! I wasn't expecting that!

We haven't got much time on this cos the ice cream will melt.

-Perfect. Right, two pans.

-Just squeeze it?

-Yeah.

Oh, nice and gentle!

-OK, that's enough.

-Service please.

-Well done.

-Thank you so much.

-Really good. Really good work.

-It's been amazing.

-You know your spiel?

-I do indeed.

Nail it!

-Hello!

-Hi!

So, I've made for you milk chocolate and honey lavender mousse,

a violet ice cream, a chocolate shard,

beetroot and malt vinegar potato puffs, and a baked potato custard.

-I will leave you now so you can enjoy.

-Thank you very much.

-Oh, violet ice cream is stunning.

-Delicious.

I think this chocolate mousse is just perfect.

I'm ashamed to say what I now want to do is lick the plate!

I've thoroughly enjoyed it. Lots of firsts.

Tempering chocolate, baked potato cream.

It's just been brilliant, actually. Brilliant.

APPLAUSE

Bravo! More! More!

Encore!

Thank you so much.

I think for all of the great productions created on this stage,

this meal must rank among the best we've had in here.

It's been a menu of true theatricality

and it's been completely delicious.

Thank you very much. We feel truly spoilt.

Michael put our guys to task. He opened up their culinary brains.

The food that came out of there from our five was absolutely stunning.

Today's just been, like, the best day. Yeah, it's just mind-blowing.

This experience has been incredibly inspirational.

It was just amazing, and beautiful, and so different,

so, yeah, it was a great day.

Definitely take some things forward

and see if my creations can get a little crazier!

I absolutely feel on cloud nine. Loved it, loved it, loved it!

After today, the bar has been raised.

The stuff we put out in the next challenge has got to be

pretty mind-blowing.

Bring it on, bring it on!

You know what happens next?

We go back to the MasterChef kitchen

and we have to say goodbye to one of these.

This round now is all about creativity, flair,

imagination, but, more importantly,

a place in the final four.

Your job today is to cook us

one dish, inspired by something in your life.

Something that stimulates, something that excites you.

At the end of this, one of you is leaving the competition.

Ladies and gentlemen, two hours.

As creative as you like.

Let's cook!

There is a lot riding on this dish.

I hope it shows the judges

that I've really been inspired by my time with Michael.

I hope it shows them a little bit more about myself.

So, another side to me.

So, the inspiration today is my love of horror movies

and it's to celebrate the good old-fashioned slasher movies,

like Psycho, and The Shining, and Carrie.

So, it's a big blood splat on a plate, really.

-The dish today inspired by slasher movies?

-Yes.

-What we don't want is a horror story.

-Exactly.

-Enjoy!

Thank you very much.

At its heart, Juanita's dish is extremely classic.

It is a wood pigeon, a pigeon sauce.

But that classic is being embellished

with extraordinary things.

Pickled blackberries, pickled onions to give it sharpness.

Beetroot, four different ways.

I think it's a great-sounding dish.

If Juanita gets it right, it could be one of her masterpieces.

I really want to show them how I'm changing as a cook.

And how I'm taking on board the stuff they're showing us.

And trying to push my boundaries. And, hopefully, they like it.

What are you making?

I'm doing a chilli pineapple, coconut rum dish today.

Inspired by what?

-Inspired by Eleanor Roosevelt.

-Excuse me?

-I know.

She was a lady who advocated equal rights

and she was on the board that started the United Nations.

This is in the '40s and she worked from behind her husband's shadow.

So, I wanted to do something that looked soft

and lovely on the plate but when you eat it, it packs a real punch.

-Does that sum you up, do you think?

-I think it does.

I think people quite often underestimate me.

They just look at the mum.

For me, this is one of the most personal dishes I've put up.

OK, I love that.

Her dessert is all about the tropics.

Coconut and rum semifreddos.

She's serving that with a macadamia nut crumb...

pineapple and mango.

We've got coconut snow, half a bottle of rum and five chillies.

Oh, yeah, yeah, it's going to pack a punch.

15 minutes have gone, ladies and gentlemen. 15 minutes gone.

I don't think it gets any easier.

There's only four other contestants.

Any errors or mistakes are really shown up,

so really don't want to have any mistakes on the plate today.

I should imagine you enjoyed your time with Mr O'Hare?

Absolute loved it.

Literally, words can't describe how much I enjoyed it.

-What are you making?

-Pork with leek and piccalilli.

There's a braised pork belly and that's going to be with a ham hock

and trotter, sort of a croquette,

and then there's going to be a piccalilli puree,

a leek puree, confit leeks, a leek ash,

pickled cauliflower with some clams.

What's the inspiration for the dish?

So, it's actually for my quarterfinal.

My apron was completely yellow and Jay Rayner pointed out

that it was similar to a Jackson Pollock,

so, having looked into Jackson Pollock, it looks like he's

spraying things about but actually

there's structure behind the madness.

Billy, good luck with the 6,000 things you're attempting today!

Cheers, Gregg, thank you.

It's an adventure, it's unusual.

It's interesting

but Billy says there is structure behind the madness.

I hope everything works for him cos timing's an issue.

I'm pushing myself.

It's something a little bit different.

It's certainly something unexpected.

But with a view that it's good enough and distinct enough

to get me through to that final four.

It's a steak tartare, really, in form, without any steak.

It's a dessert, so I'm doing a blood orange mousse

with a flourless spiced Italian chocolate cake,

pig's blood and chocolate sauce,

white chocolate eggshell, orange syrup-infused egg yolk,

white chocolate cream, triple sec jelly, tuiles,

orange gel, and an olive oil and orange powder.

-OK. I nearly ran out at the pig's blood and chocolate.

-Yeah.

-Does this look like a steak tartare on a plate?

-Yes.

It's inspired by an artist called Marcel Duchamp.

He's really the grandfather of contemporary art, really,

famous for putting a urinal in a French Gallery in 1917

and calling it The Fountain.

Fine art is my background. I trained as an artist.

This dish is very classic but then I'm reimagining it as a dessert.

-It's getting weirder by the second.

-Oh, yeah, absolutely.

-Just wait til you eat it.

-Thank you, Jack.

-Cheers, Gregg.

Jack is making for us, steak tartare re-imagined.

But, in actual fact, there is no meat whatsoever.

If Jack's dessert works, it's going to be fantastic.

Cos it's quite hot, the chocolate is melting on me.

This is very delicate right now.

There's a lot of stuff to do on this dish today.

Come on!

If something doesn't set, like a house of cards,

it could just come tumbling down.

It's hotting up in here and you have 30 minutes left.

I think my science background, particularly with today's dish,

just seemed a no-brainer for me,

to bring a bit of the lab to the kitchen and go down that route.

I think that will stand me in really good stead today.

Your dish please, Stuart, what is it?

I've transformed my favourite cocktail, which is an Old Fashioned.

Basically it's whisky, orange and cherry,

so, today we've got an orange panna cotta, candied orange peel,

cherry gels, some whisky and bitter spheres

and the whole thing is being cased in a sugar glass dome.

-Really?

-Yes.

The famous French chemist from the 18th-century, a guy called

Lavoisier, he said nothing is created or destroyed,

only transformed.

Transformation is from a cocktail into a dessert.

In the competition, you've had your ups and downs, your fair share.

I think you learn a lot more when things go horribly wrong,

which is certainly true in science

and it's definitely been true in cooking as well.

-Thanks, mate.

-Thanks, Gregg.

I'm trying to make a glass dome.

I've just got the really tricky bit of getting it off the mould

without breaking it.

We've seen two worlds come together here from Stuart.

One about science and one about food.

Very good, very good.

The thought process is that you smash into the dome...

Ah!

..and then you get this lovely surprise inside.

Oh!

-I have to plate it.

-Did it completely shatter?

You have ten minutes.

Good, it's looking suitably gruesome.

You've got one minute, please.

Oh, no. It's too hot, the yolk's broken.

HE SIGHS

Your time is up!

Juanita's dish, inspired by her love of horror movies,

is roasted wood pigeon on a potato rosti with pickled blackberries,

girolles, black pudding puree, pickled onions, salsify,

beetroot puree, and a pigeon jus.

I think your presentation is wonderful, splendid.

If I think of it as modern instead of gore and blood,

it's very appealing.

Your pigeon is perfect, your rosti is crispy on the outside,

soft in the middle.

I love the sweet, earthy notes of fruit, beetroot, quality sauce.

It's just quality all over the plate.

Best slasher movie I've ever tasted!

LAUGHTER

Pigeon's cooked beautifully. Love it.

It's lovely and soft, still meaty, almost like liver.

Your little bits of beetroot, be they crispy, be they smoked,

be they puree, are lovely.

As far as creativity's concerned, inspiration,

-I think that's fantastic.

-Thank you.

Yeah, I'm feeling really, really pleased. Got really good feedback.

I'm really glad that they got the concept

and they weren't too horrified by what I presented them with.

Taking inspiration from the artist Jackson Pollock, Billy has

served pressed and roasted pork belly,

a ham hock crubeen flavoured with wholegrain mustard,

pickled cauliflower, baby leeks, clams, leek ash, leek puree,

piccalilli puree, and a pork and red wine sauce.

I really love your presentation.

I really admire the work, the skill, that's gone into this.

I'm very taken with this dish. Very, very taken.

Those baby leeks I think are divine.

Love what you've done to the pork belly.

It's bold, it's daring, there is so much on that plate to admire.

Thanks, Gregg. Cheers.

If I was to say to you, ham and piccalilli sandwich

and a pint of Guinness, how would that make you feel?

Pretty good cos they're two things that I love!

Well, that's what I get. Your mind is crazy! Crazy!

I just think it's great.

I love that sort of maltiness that's coming from the sauce

and I really like your piece of belly pork with the piccalilli.

Cheers, guys. Thanks.

Yeah, really enjoyed the brief.

Sort of, I guess, fell inside my comfort zone.

Yeah, really pleased that they liked it.

Research scientist Stuart's dish is based on the flavours

of an Old Fashioned cocktail - orange panna cotta, sour cherry gel,

bourbon and bitter spheres, dark chocolate crumb,

orange oil powder and sugar shards.

Forgive me - was that supposed to be a dome?

Yes, it was supposed to be a dome.

It was a little bit too brittle so it shattered

when it came off the mould.

I've never had an Old Fashioned.

I'm guessing, from this, it must be a combination of whisky

and orange cos they're the flavours I get.

Little bit of cherry inside your bubble.

That is...full of surprises.

What I feel as though it's lacking is the whisky.

An Old Fashioned is a cocktail

and you get that lovely warmth of whisky.

For me, I've got an orange-flavoured dessert with some cherries.

It's well made but I want whisky.

Teetotal is Old Fashioned - that's what I've got.

Bit more booze next time, then.

After the disaster that was the sphere, I've done my best.

-More booze!

-Yeah, you can never go wrong with more booze!

Just put some more whisky in it next time.

Jack's steak tartare dessert is inspired by his time studying

fine art - blood orange mousse with spiced chocolate cake,

blood chocolate sauce, triple sec jelly, and an orange gel,

topped with a white chocolate eggshell

and an orange syrup egg yolk.

What you've got here, Jack, is something extremely

sophisticated with a huge amount of work and a huge amount of skill.

I love the textures, I love the spice in the background, I love the

bitterness of the orange, I like the sweetness of the white chocolate.

I wish the egg hadn't have failed.

However, I think your work is extraordinary.

There's some nice flavours there - the blood orange,

and the chocolate, and the white chocolate on top.

The blood makes it rich, the orange powder is clever.

But it looks a little messy, it tastes a little muddled to me, Jack.

Really annoyed about the presentation.

I'm feeling pretty gutted right now, yeah.

Finally, it's Jane and her dessert inspired by Eleanor Roosevelt -

pineapple in a chilli rum syrup, rum and coconut semifreddo,

spiced blood orange jelly,

ginger and macadamia nut crumble,

mango and lime puree, a chilli praline, and a coconut snow.

That rum and coconut ice cream is awesome! It's awesome.

I have to say awesome very, very fast cos I've had so much

of the rum, very soon, I won't be able to say anything properly!

I think the macadamia nut crumble across the top is a wonderful,

wonderful thing.

I love your work and I look down at this plate and think,

that's Jane's work. And the presentation - wow!

-You wanted it, like Eleanor Roosevelt, to pack a punch.

-Yep.

That packs a chilli and booze punch.

It's got tropical sunshine flavours, it makes you smile,

but the jelly's not particularly firm.

-I know.

-And I don't think the snow works.

I was really pleased with the presentation.

I pushed the boat out on that.

They loved it. They loved it.

I put everything I had into it.

I did my best but I think it certainly didn't hit the highs

that some of the others hit today.

-Fascinating day. Five brilliant cooks.

-They really did go for it.

There's no doubt about that.

The whole room was awash with creativity, wasn't it?

I have got two people today that I thought were exceptional.

That is Juanita and Billy.

Billy - big splash of colour across that plate.

It was smart, it was different, it was colourful,

it made you think, but it tasted good.

For me, the star of the whole thing was that turmeric-rich

piccalilli and the pork together. They made the dish.

They were delicious.

Juanita's pigeon dish had its foundation

firmly in the classics and that's why I loved it.

For me, Juanita's dish was the star of the day.

The flavours were divine!

I think Juanita should go through and I think Billy should go through.

I agree with you.

I really loved Jane's dessert

in the flavours of rum, pineapple and coconut.

I mean, that's tropical sunshine. It was lovely.

However, what I didn't think worked at all was the coconut snow.

That was actually lacking in coconut flavour.

However, everything else on the plate was delicious.

You can't deny the amount of skill

and work that Jack put into that dessert.

You know, we had a white chocolate eggshell, different types

of jelly, we had crumbs, all sorts of things happening all together.

And a load, a load of work.

He had some great ideas, some very artistic ideas.

However, it looked slightly muddled and it tastes quite muddled.

Stuart - I liked his flavours. You weren't too sure, actually.

And there was one issue with Stuart's dish,

and that is the whole thing was supposed to be covered with

a see-through dome, and it didn't work. It broke up.

I thought it was clever. Clever without being spectacular.

I got the sense that you were a little disappointed.

Call me old-fashioned

but an Old Fashioned is a whisky-based cocktail.

I wanted more whisky.

We are now talking about saying goodbye to Jack,

Stuart,

or Jane.

I think that it's very close. I don't know. I've just got a feeling.

Maybe today's not my day.

It's tough to say if I've done enough today.

I mean, I've done as much as I can

and we'll just have to wait for the verdict now.

I've never been in this position before.

You take a chance,

and sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesn't, so...

We've come a long way with these three.

I find this very, very difficult.

I look down the line and I can't help

but smile at the incredible cooking talent in front of us.

It isn't at all easy to say goodbye at this stage.

The person leaving us...

..is Stuart. I'm sorry, Stuart.

-It's OK.

-I'm so sorry.

-Oh, Stuart.

-Come here.

Thanks, Stuart.

I'm massively disappointed to be going home,

especially at this stage.

To be fair, it has been a pretty amazing run.

I've done things I never thought that I would,

cooked dishes I never thought I had in me.

I'm going to look back on this with a lot of pride.

I am actually shaking. It is such a wonderful feeling.

I am so ecstatic, so happy.

Really pleased to be through.

Have had an up-and-down rollercoaster ride in this

competition, so, hopefully, it will mainly be ups from now on.

Amazing day. Now I'm here on MasterChef in the final four.

It's just...mind-blowing!

I can't imagine not doing this now, and to do it and continue

and fight again is going to be the most incredible experience.

Right, the next time we see you will be at the airport.

We are going to take you to Mexico City.

THEY LAUGH AND CLAP

Oh, amazing!

Oh, my God!

Oh, wow!

Tomorrow night,

the four finalists embark on their greatest culinary adventure.

This is actually really inspiring.

Wow! That's incredible.

Not what I'm used to. I like all the hi-tech gizmos.

I'm not quite sure what they're supposed to look like.

The crowds are gathering. They want their lunch.

I hope these guys are ready!

Keep going, my love. Nearly there.

This is properly exciting. My heart's thumping!