Episode 22 MasterChef

It's the MasterChef finals.

Over the next four nights,

the remaining contestants will be challenged to reach new heights.

Guys, the gamekeepers are arriving.

It's an incredible piece of cooking.

There's only five of us now.

One of us has got to win it, so why not me?

Sometimes I think to myself, "Oh, do I really deserve to be here?"

And then I sort of say it to my husband, and he's, like,

"Yes, you do, you do, OK?!"

To be the winner of MasterChef you have to push yourself

as hard as you can and create perfect food.

I haven't even allowed myself to think about getting through today.

It would just be an absolute dream come true.

It would be unreal.

When you get to this stage,

I think if you make a mistake or you mess something up,

that will be it.

Tonight, the competition intensifies.

Right, now go! Go!

Yes!

Thank you so much.

For one contestant, their MasterChef journey will come to an end.

It's early morning...

..and the finalists have arrived

at one of Central London's grandest private residences.

Good morning, and welcome to Winfield House.

This is the official residence of the US ambassador to the UK.

And he is holding a special lunch to celebrate his work here.

You have the incredible honour today of catering for that lunch.

Ten US Presidents have dined here,

countless British Prime Ministers,

and, I'd like to add, Her Majesty the Queen, Queen Elizabeth.

Today's task is enormous.

Each one of you will be cooking one course

for a five-course tasting menu.

You're going to be guided by one of Britain's best chefs,

Paul Ainsworth, who holds a Michelin star in his restaurant in Padstow.

Ladies and gentlemen, you have four hours to prepare and serve lunch.

I suggest you get on with it.

Hello, chefs. Welcome.

-How are you?

-Good.

-Very good.

Trained under Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing,

Cornwall-based Paul Ainsworth has held a Michelin star since 2012.

He's regarded as one of the country's most creative chefs.

All I want you to do is just listen to everything I tell you

but I'm not just going to stand back, we're in it together.

Let's get cracking.

The menu today is special

because it's got nods to America all the way through.

I'm putting loads of pressure on myself,

so I'm going to put a lot of pressure on those guys

and I want to make sure that we deliver

the most amazing experience today.

-OK, Alison, you have got a lot to do.

-OK.

Alison is in charge of the first of Paul's specially designed dishes.

A savoury take on an American sweet classic,

pumpkin pie with maple bacon and white truffle.

This is where we add that touch of America

with that lovely maple glaze, like so. OK? Smell that.

-Yum.

-OK? Incredible.

-Yeah.

Just be really natural with it.

Just let it fall on like so.

-Beautiful.

-Happy?

-Yeah. It looks stunning.

-All right?

You're going to smash this, OK? All right?

I know it looks daunting, but it's not.

We're going to do it together, we're got to get through it,

-it's going to be amazing. OK?

-Sure.

Alison starts on the maple honey and spice glaze for her bacon...

..which she needs to cook off in a pressure cooker

with vegetables and stock for 20 minutes.

There's quite a lot of elements to the dish.

Definitely not your standard pumpkin pie, no.

I think people are going to be really impressed.

Hopefully, if I pull it off!

Steve is taking charge of Paul's New England-inspired fish course.

A classic clam and corn chowder

with a Scotch egg of Maryland crab and a rich seafood bisque.

At the table,

you're just going to pour this amazing bisque.

-Are you happy with that?

-Yeah, it looks good.

-Good. Good.

That's really, really nice.

You can really taste the crab flavour.

The bisque, there's quite a lot of process in that.

It's pretty intense. I think it will be a busy few hours, definitely.

Before anything else,

Steve must carefully dice all the vegetables

that go into his clam chowder.

There's quite a lot to do, quite a lot of detail.

Obviously, you take that little bit of time, you can't rush it.

It's just about trying to get them as even as humanly possible.

Giovanna, you are in charge of steak and waffles.

-Great.

-Yeah, sounds great, doesn't it? It sounds fun.

-Sounds great.

This is really, really about amazing ingredients

and treating them with absolute respect.

-So we've got some amazing Cornish beef.

-Oh, wow!

All right? Look at that. Can you see the marbling?

-Yeah.

-That's how you want to eat rib of beef.

-Yeah.

OK, it has to be beautiful, blushing pink like that. OK?

As well as perfectly cooking the beef,

Giovanna will have to make a beurre noisette waffle,

topped with Paul's intricate take on a Caesar salad.

That's amazing.

There we have it, right? Steak and waffles, Caesar salad, sauce timur.

Let's just focus on the flavours.

-Yeah.

-All right?

-It looks amazing.

-Good girl.

-Thank you so much.

-All right. Nice one.

I like your passion. You are full of energy, you. Good!

This dish is unlike anything I've ever cooked.

The whole experience is just...

It's just going to be incredible if I do it right.

OK, Lorna? How are you feeling?

-I'm feeling excited.

-Good.

I'm putting you in charge of monkey bread - childhood America.

-OK.

-All right?

Monkey bread, I had a lot of fun researching this dish.

It's basically a baked doughnut.

Very popular in America.

They've got to build this all the way around,

layering it with pecan nuts, all the way to the top.

And very gently...

Oh, wow!

A little bit more...

Accompanying the monkey bread are three different sides -

a popcorn and caramel crackerjack,

a raspberry and Florida Key lime curd,

and a Californian pistachio ice cream.

Now, they're going to get one of these each.

This is going to go right down in the middle of the table

and then they're just going to pick at it.

-All right?

-Great.

-Happy?

-Really, really happy, yeah.

-Yeah? Good.

The success of Lorna's dessert

rests on her making the perfect monkey bread dough.

I have made doughs before, nothing like this.

Looking at the recipe,

there's a lot of different proofs that need to happen,

which obviously all take a lot of time.

So, yeah, this is quite new to me.

-Saliha, welcome.

-Thank you.

-Excited?

-Yes, very excited.

The course I'm putting you in charge of is A Trifle American.

-OK.

-All right?

This dish is about balance. They've had some rich courses.

Now we need to clean the palate

and just end with, like, a nice high level of acidity.

Your custard, that will be our first job we do.

-That's going to take about three hours to set.

-OK.

All right? So you're right on the time limit -

you've only got four hours.

The blood orange custard base is topped with a puff pastry disc,

blueberry jam,

a yoghurt and buttermilk cream,

and served with a blueberry financier...

Look at that.

..shaped as a muffin.

That sits there.

And there we have it, all right? A Trifle American!

Beautiful. Fantastic.

I feel like I might be having a Nigella moment right now.

It's good. Mmm!

I've not made anything like this before.

We don't really have trifle in Indian food.

Today's special lunch is a celebration

of Ambassador Barzun's four years at Winfield House.

I've always known I'm going to leave when President Obama steps down.

But I've so enjoyed my time,

and my whole family's enjoyed our time here, so it's bittersweet.

Well known for his love of music and entertaining,

Ambassador Barzun has played host to many distinguished guests,

including President Obama and Her Majesty the Queen.

Oh, today's important to me. I hope it goes well. I'm a little...

I'm excited, which is also, by the way,

the same feeling as being nervous.

The finalists now have just over three-and-a-half hours until lunch.

Alison's moved on to making the challenging cheese pastry

which forms the base of her pumpkin pie.

This is not an easy pastry to work with

because it's equal quantities of cheese, butter and flour.

So you've got a high level of fat in there -

you've got to work quickly.

And if you've got hot hands, we're going to be in trouble,

because it's a pastry that will fall apart quickly.

Alison, you are kicking off the whole shooting match.

Your dish goes out first.

Yeah. It's a lot of pressure.

And I feel like I'm definitely against the clock at this point.

-Are you?

-Yeah.

So I'm guessing the last thing you want right now is me, right?

As much as I love your company, yeah!

On the next station,

Steve's having to get through a mountain of prep for his dish.

Steve is working with a lot of shellfish,

cooking crab, poaching off his quail eggs

so they're absolutely nice and runny inside.

For me, what wraps this whole dish up is the bisque soup,

which is over there in the pressure cooker.

So just getting that really intense crab flavour.

That's a tough course.

While his bisque cooks,

Steve gets on with picking the white meat from the crab claw.

Steve's got to get it absolutely right,

and there can't be any bones in that crab.

He might be able to give bones to you, Mr Wallace,

but there's no bones in the crab for the ambassador.

I'm quite confident with Steve

that he can get all the little bits and pieces done.

However, everything revolves around the quality of his bisque.

And if that bisque don't work, Steve's dish don't work.

Giovanna also has to make sure her beef and peppercorn sauce

is up to Paul's standards.

Yes! That is amazing, all right?

Cover it back over like that and the steam will then lift off that sugar

off the bottom of the pan, that's caramelised,

and that will make your sauce dark and shiny.

-OK?

-Yeah.

-Well done, that is amazing.

-Good.

Lorna's monkey bread dough has risen

and now needs to be knocked back for the first time.

Just trying to rattle through as quick as I can,

and I need to make an ice cream at some point as well.

While the dough proves for a second time,

she makes a start on the pistachio ice cream.

So she's got a lot going on,

but she's got a nice, kind of calming approach to her.

Saliha's trifle is also on track.

Her first layer, the blood orange custard, is made.

It is so complex,

there is like six or seven different elements to get onto this dish.

It's nothing like just a trifle, it's completely different!

Hopefully it will go all right.

While it sets in the chiller, she moves on to the next layer,

a sweet and sticky blueberry compote.

Lovely, well done. Just cook it right down.

-Cook it right down. All right?

-OK.

-OK?

-You happy with everything?

-Yes.

-Know the recipe? Good girl.

-Thank you.

Our five are up against it.

Because Paul's menu, it might sound fun,

it might sound a little bit frivolous, even -

however, technically, it is extraordinary,

a huge amount of work for every single course.

On the starter...

..Alison's pumpkin has been roasting over charcoal for 90 minutes.

Chefs, in an hour-and-a-half,

-we serve the first course, which is you, Alison, OK?

-OK.

All right? Don't panic, stay controlled, keep pushing.

-OK.

-All right?

Her cheese pastry has had time to chill

and she can now make a start on the all-important pie cases.

It just sort of holds the whole dish together.

So, if it's not stable...

Yeah, I'm just... Yeah, I'm worried about this one.

She has to work quickly to avoid it melting.

Alison, how are you?

I'm OK. I just tried to do it and it was not working at all.

It breaks up on you. Just work nice and gentle, like that,

but make sure you've got that surface really well floured.

Cut your discs and get them chilled, all right?

-OK, all right.

-OK?

-Thank you.

I was really nervous about the cheese pastry.

You know what, she's rolled that pastry out -

that was really, really hard.

Back on the fish course, Steve is making the centrepiece of his dish -

the quail Scotch eggs encased in crab meat.

-Get a lovely shape on them, all right?

-Yeah.

A lovely shape.

Steve's doing really well.

He just attacked it like a bulldog, which was fantastic.

Now he's got make sure that wonderful bisque sauce

is ultra smooth but packed full of crab.

Tap with your hands.

See the colour? Lovely.

-Straight on the hob?

-Put it back on the stove.

-Bring it down.

-Yeah.

The bisque must now be left to gently reduce

until it's deep and rich in flavour.

Go on, in you go, it's fine.

Talking to Chef Paul,

and he is more nervous about Giovanna than any of the others.

Nothing to do with Giovanna,

just that she's got those very beautiful pieces of beef...

..and they have got to be cooked perfectly.

-Happy?

-Yeah.

-Good girl. Well done.

-It's all about that real, real, hard caramelised edge, OK?

-Yeah.

They're brilliant. Well done.

-Ooh!

-All right?

-Yep.

With lunch fast approaching...

..Lorna is proving the monkey bread dough for the third and final time.

This is lovely dough, by the way.

-Good. Thank you.

-Really, really nice. Well done.

Next, she has to make the crackerjack,

a mix of caramel, popcorn and roasted nuts.

And the raspberry and Key lime curd,

which must have a perfectly smooth consistency.

What's happened? It looks quite lumpy.

It got a skin on the top.

Pass it through and then we'll add lots of lime juice and lemon juice

so it's lovely and acidic, OK?

Saliha has moved on to the third layer of her trifle,

the sweet pastry discs.

Yeah, that's it. You want a real nice caramelised pastry.

That's what we're after, OK?

-We need to get them in the oven and cooled down, all right?

-Yep.

She can now turn her attention to the blueberry financier muffins.

-Saliha.

-Yes?

-How are you?

-I'm well, thank you.

It smells amazing in here.

-Shall I give you an update?

-Yes, please.

So I've got my compote ready there.

Yeah. Look at that. That's beautiful.

I've got my cake mixture going in.

That's a good sign. I can smell that beurre noisette, the toffee.

It's lovely. So you're looking pretty organised, OK.

-Don't get complacent, though, with time.

-OK.

-OK?

-Thank you.

-Well done, Saliha.

-Thank you.

Service is just 50 minutes away.

And Alison's falling behind making the cheese pastry cases.

I can't believe how quiet Alison is.

I know it's a lot of pressure on Alison,

but if she doesn't get her timings right,

it could actually bring about the downfall of the whole lunch.

With her dough now completely proved,

Lorna can finally start assembling the monkey bread.

There are a lot of balls of dough in that monkey bread,

and I've got no idea how many there are,

but I'd say that rolling them could take a while.

It now takes the time of lining that bun tin,

making sure she gets the right layer of fat,

the right layer of sugar and the pecan nuts.

Failure to assemble the monkey bread correctly

will mean it could fall apart coming out of the mould.

On the main...

..Giovanna's aged rib-eye steaks are cooked

and must now be rested before carving.

She moves on to making the anchovy mayonnaise.

There's a lot to do at the end, like cooking the waffles at the end,

so that's quite tricky.

But I think I'm OK. I think I'm getting on all right.

We're here to give the ambassador an amazing night.

And they're all working really hard, and I can't ask for more than that.

They've given it everything they've got.

For today's lunch, Ambassador Barzun has invited five special guests.

Jimmy Wales,

founder of the non-profit online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia.

Chancellor of the University of Warwick, Baroness Catherine Ashton.

Music industry entrepreneur Jamal Edwards, MBE.

Author and journalist Rachel Johnson.

And Jeremy King, creator of iconic restaurants

the Ivy and the Wolseley.

My hope is that the group today,

if we asked them on the way out, "How was it?"

I hope they would say, "What a joy!"

-Here's to you, Matthew.

-Cheers.

-To you.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

There's just ten minutes...

..until Alison is due to serve her pumpkin pies.

We're running a bit behind, aren't we?

-Yeah.

-Yeah? OK. What are we waiting for?

We just need to take these out.

They just need, like, literally two minutes.

They're going to need a bit longer than that, more like ten. All right?

-OK.

-OK?

-Yeah.

-We'll be all right.

-We'll be good.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

While the cases bake,

Alison must finish the barbecue pumpkin filling

and glaze the confit bacon.

I'd rather serve it brilliant than serve it rubbish.

-OK?

-Yeah.

-All right?

That's no excuse, but as long as it's brilliant, I'm fine.

-OK.

-OK?

-Yeah.

Is that golden?

-Yeah. OK.

-We're ready.

Nice and steady, do not drop them.

As fast as you can, OK?

I'm a bit worried about having a lot of pastry first

on a five-course meal.

Piling on the calories, team!

I'm willing to do that for my country!

We're going to plate, all right. Go, go, go!

OK.

Now, this is about flavour, OK?

It will naturally look good, I promise.

Yes! Beautiful!

You're nearly there. Get your green oil on, start sending these, OK?

That's it. Go.

-Well done. Done! Well done!

-Thank you so much!

-Well done. Well done.

-All right?

-Yeah.

-Look at that! You made that.

Oh, that was so cool.

This is exciting, guys.

Wow!

It was very cool. Very, very cool.

Alison's dish is pumpkin pie

with maple-glazed bacon and white truffle.

Oh, that's an amazing smell, isn't it?

Wow!

I think it's delicious.

I love the pumpkin pie because it's one of my favourites.

This pastry is excellent.

I wouldn't eat truffle by itself,

but mixing it together with the pumpkin pie and the bacon,

it all goes together. Yeah, it's nice.

I'm going to be the first to finish. This is very undiplomatic of me.

I thought it was great.

That is a brilliant, brilliant combination of sweet and savoury.

That's delightful.

I think Alison's done a great job.

Steve, I need to catch up.

-Yep.

-We're going to go in ten minutes, is that OK?

-That's not a problem.

-Good boy.

With the first course late,

Steve must now quickly bring his dish together.

He has to fry off the crab Scotch eggs

and char the sweetcorn for the chowder.

Into there.

Fold it round nicely. One more taste.

A bit more lime, a bit more lemon, and that is lovely.

Well done. Go. Go, go, go.

Right, now, go. Go. Now, eggs.

Go on, go on, go on.

Good man. Good man.

Off you go. Off you go.

All right. Look at those.

-Oh, mate, that's beautiful.

-Done well.

I'm so proud of you, it looks amazing. Well done.

OK. Right, no, you don't stop.

Go. Blitz your sauce.

-Into one jug.

-So, how much?

-Yep...

-One, two?

Lovely.

-One...two.

-Lovely.

Right, away you go.

-Oh, look at this.

-Hello!

Thank you so much.

This looks absolutely spectacular.

'That was actually really enjoyable.'

The most nerve-racking bit

is pouring the sauce on their plate, I think!

Steve's dish is a Maryland crab Scotch egg,

on top of a clam chowder,

served with a crab bisque.

Scotch eggs are relatively new in my life.

To have the delicious crab around the egg...

I will use words such as "yummy"!

THEY LAUGH

The bisque, I think it's been very, very well done.

It's kind of ruined me for any other Scotch egg - that's the shame of it.

It's delicious to have that very tangy crab meat.

The sweetness of the crab comes through. Lovely, crispy Scotch egg.

-That's lovely.

-Beautifully executed by Steve.

The sauce, that bisque, is fantastic.

-Show time!

-Great.

-Yeah?

-Yep.

Oh, look at those.

-OK?

-Yeah.

-Break them on your board.

Go. Go, go, go.

-This is great.

-All right?

-I'm having a lovely time!

THEY CHUCKLE

Go, go, go, go, go.

Giovanna must now precisely assemble

all the components of Paul's Caesar salad

onto the brown butter waffles.

Absolutely beautiful. Well done.

-Giovanna.

-Yeah?

-I'm going to start carving your beef.

-OK.

-It is beautifully cooked.

-Good.

-Well done.

Thank you.

You're nearly there. You're nearly there. You're home and dry.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Go, guys.

-Yes!

-Thank you so much!

-That was amazing.

-Amazing. Amazing. Well done.

-Thank you, thank you.

-Smashed it. Yes!

Oh!

Incredible, it was so exhilarating.

Hard work, but just so worth it to see plates like that going out.

I hope they really enjoy it. I hope it makes them smile.

Giovanna has cooked aged rib-eye steak and brown butter waffles,

topped with a Caesar salad,

and a beef and peppercorn sauce.

-The steak is melt-in-your-mouth steak, I think.

-Mm.

I love the waffle and the little ingredients are painstakingly

put into the squares of the waffle.

A lot of love and precision in that.

This is wonderful.

I never thought I would have a waffle

with Caesar salad on top of it, but it's amazing.

It works well, so I'm loving it.

That's a proper big, beefy, meaty dish.

The steak is cooked really, really well.

Giovanna will have learned a huge amount.

It's the critical moment for Lorna's monkey bread.

So, Lorna. You're going to get your pan,

put it over the top and then, one fell swoop, turn it over.

All right?

Oh!

OK.

Have you felt it drop?

No.

-OK. Grab a blowtorch.

-Yeah?

Now it's going to be hot!

Right, turn it off and have another go.

Oh, my God!

Good?

-Thank you.

-Go on. Off you go.

That is amazing. Look at that.

There's your ice cream.

-I've tasted it, it's delicious. All right?

-Thank you.

Service, please.

Well done, girl. Well done.

-That's amazing.

-Oh, thank you. Thank you.

-Good on you.

-I've had such a good day.

That's absolutely incredible.

-All right? Well done.

-Good.

-Good on you.

-Monkey bread!

-What?!

-OK!

-Is that one between all of us?!

Lorna's made monkey bread -

balls of dough caramelised in sugar and cinnamon,

served with pistachio ice cream,

raspberry and lime curd,

and popcorn and caramel crackerjack.

-Cathy.

-Yes?

-Can I get you some of this?

-There you go.

-Thank you.

I'm thinking, "Where has monkey bread been all my life?"

Being able to dip it is really nice.

It's a sweeter monkey bread than I've had before,

but it doesn't mean to say it's not good.

I think it's excellent.

I picked the wrong week to quit carbs!

Anything bready, I'm in there.

I really enjoyed it, I'm just trying to hold back

from inhaling the rest of it before Jamal finishes it.

-Mmm!

-The monkey bread itself is fantastic.

It's soft on the inside but still crispy on the outside.

This is bang on.

The last course is Saliha's trifle.

OK. Ready? You going?

-Ready. Yep.

-OK. Go for it.

-Ouch!

-GREGG GASPS

We all right here? You need to be a little bit over that way.

There you go. There you go.

Quick as you can on that one.

You've got a limited time now, Saliha.

Well done. Keep going.

-I'm turning them out for you, you brush them. OK?

-Thank you.

-Lovely.

-Service. Those three.

-They look amazing. Well done.

One more and you're home and dry.

-Trifle America.

-Yeah, Trifle America!

-Well done.

Service.

Wow! Well done.

Phew!

Saliha has made A Trifle American -

a blood orange custard, puff pastry disc, blueberry compote,

a yoghurt and buttermilk cream,

served with a blueberry financier muffin.

Mmm.

Mmm!

What's not to like? I like the custardy bits,

the little surprise at the bottom.

Fantastic. Can't go wrong with blueberries.

The muffin is actually terrific.

I think it's extraordinarily well done.

Really delicious.

I thought the best bit was the custard, very silky

but also very light.

A wonderful texture.

The blueberries, I think, are wonderful.

Different textures and different forms.

Saliha pushed herself,

and it's resulted in an absolutely delicious dessert.

I think she's done very, very well.

APPLAUSE

On behalf of this whole group,

this experience and your wonderful cooking

is something that we will never forget and always treasure.

Thank you.

Today, the guys, they wanted it to be amazing

and they cared and they absolutely nailed it.

I could not be prouder of all of them.

It's absolutely, like, beyond anything I could have imagined

doing in this competition.

And it's just... It's just been the most amazing experience today.

It was something completely different for me.

I've learned a lot.

I'll always remember this day.

I love getting to work with someone like Paul,

who's just so experienced.

It's a huge, huge opportunity.

It's just great.

It's been so much fun.

If there's more days like today, then, yeah, I want to stay around.

I can definitely walk away from this, and think,

"Yeah, really, really enjoyed that."

Once in a lifetime, definitely.

Well, hopefully not! Maybe more. You never know.

What a brilliant, brilliant start to Finals Week.

The food that came out of that kitchen

to the Ambassador's table was superb.

Definitely a step up from anything our contestants have done so far.

But the fact is they're now back to the MasterChef kitchen

and one of them goes home.

This round is about creativity, flair and imagination.

But, more importantly, it's about a place in the final four.

Your job today is to cook one great plate of food

which has been inspired by someone or something that you admire.

Let your imagination run wild but make sure it tastes great!

Two hours.

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

Let's cook.

What's your dish today?

I'm doing a dish based around Anthony Hopkins,

Silence Of The Lambs. It's a film I loved as a young teenager.

It's probably got one of the most famous food quotes...

"I ate his liver with a nice Chianti."

Yep, some fava beans.

You're not doing liver and fava beans?

I'm not, no. I'm doing fava beans, or broad beans, and I'm doing lamb.

I'm doing the Chianti, a red wine and port reduction.

So just little nods here and there to the film.

Inspired by Anthony Hopkins,

and today we want your lamb to shout, is that right?

It won't be silent!

Steve has made a lattice with carrots,

he's going to fill it with lamb shoulder, almost like a pasty mix.

He's got a little cannon of lamb, he's got some sweetbreads.

But Steve's got lots of technical things going on.

I hope he's got enough time to get it done properly.

You've had 15 minutes, guys, 15 minutes gone.

It is a great brief. Really, really fun.

The inspiration's Roald Dahl.

I read all his books growing up.

More specifically, Fantastic Mr Fox.

I've used basically different elements from the story

to make the dish.

Alison, what's your dish today?

It's a duck breast with a duck liver doughnut,

um, smoked potato,

carrot puree, a cashew crumb, coriander oil...

Fabulous! Duck doughnut.

-I've never had one of them!

-Cool.

Alison's promising us a duck doughnut

but there's no dough in it whatsoever -

actually, it's just a duck liver parfait,

which has been crumbed and then deep-fried.

Now, that actually is really clever.

However, it's also risky, because if those crumb open up,

then the liver parfait is just going to fall out and blow apart.

Today's going to be really tough.

I've got to give it everything I've got.

My inspiration is Giacomo Puccini, which was an Italian opera composer.

He was such a character.

He used to spend all his money on food,

and he was constantly running out of money.

Apparently, he was a bit of a ladies' man

and he used to go gallivanting around with other women

and his wife used to cook him meals with loads of garlic in it.

So I've got a big whack of garlic in there as well.

You've come such a long way.

There's one more hurdle to climb before the final four?

Yeah. I think it would be such a shame to go out today.

I had such an amazing day yesterday.

And I know it's only going to get more exciting, more challenging.

Just have to cook food that I love

and just make sure that I do the best I possibly can.

So, we've got ourselves osso bucco - veal shin -

which she's going to turn into a croquette and be crispy

with loads of bone marrow. Opulent and delicious.

She's got a cheek, which she's braising

going to be served on top of a saffron mashed potato.

Opera is all about performance.

How's she going to make it look sensational?

The inspiration that I took for this dish is The Secret Garden.

When I was little,

I used to watch the film over and over and over again

and that was something that I wanted to bring into my cooking.

Lorna is doing scallop ceviche,

an avocado mousse, with bits of crab and brown crab meat.

On top of the whole thing,

flowers and various bits and pieces to look like a garden

and even sticks made out of crispbread cracker.

I think it's really, really clever.

There isn't a huge amount of cooking going on,

so it's going to have to taste beautiful.

This is a big day.

A place in the final four. How do you feel about that?

It's terrifying.

Everyone wants to be in the final four

but you just have to, I think, harness the pressure,

and work with your nerves and hope that it doesn't overwhelm you.

You have just 30 minutes.

30 minutes left.

What's inspired this dish?

Growing up, we were always surrounded by talk about poetry.

There's a very famous Iranian poet called Ferdowsi.

He wrote a lovely poem about how there was a Zoroastrian king

who was a vegetarian.

Essentially, his evil cook made him into a meat lover

by gradually introducing meat, particularly lamb, into his food,

so much so that this man became a glutton and lost his kingdom.

While I don't want you to become a glutton and lose your kingdom,

I do want you to be convinced by the power

of how delicious a piece of lamb shank will be.

I can't wait. Will it rhyme?

Er...not sure about that!

Roses are red, violets are blue...

Lamb is lovely and I hope you like it too!

Hey-hey!

I can't believe I said that!

Saliha's love for Persian food, I think, is intoxicating.

We have got a lamb shank.

She's going to flavour that with loads of Iranian spices,

including pomegranate molasses, which is just fantastic.

And then we've got yoghurt mixed with lots and lots of spinach

which she's then straining and it becomes more like a paste.

It sounds fantastic,

but a lamb shank is not the most attractive thing on a plate.

Now it depends on how the plating goes.

So I'm just going to try and do that properly now.

You have nine minutes left.

Only nine minutes.

I still need to cut into my duck. I just hope that that's cooked.

It's definitely not under. Hopefully.

I feel good. Everything, touch wood, has gone to plan.

Your time is up now.

Stop. Stop.

Thank you.

-HE PUFFS

-There you go.

Oh, my goodness.

It looks beaut.

Aww.

Inspired by Fedowsi's Persian poem

about a gluttonous king's temptation for meat,

Saliha's made honey and saffron-infused lamb shank,

served with a fesenjan of aubergine, walnut and pomegranate,

aubergine couscous,

a set spinach yoghurt and a lamb and date syrup sauce.

I think you've done a great job of presentation.

I really do. A really pretty-looking dish.

Thank you.

Your lamb shank is cooked really, really well.

It's completely falling off that bone.

I absolutely love the smokiness of that aubergine

that actually translates itself from smoky to creamy

to actually quite spicy,

and I love it that it's cooled down with the yoghurt.

I find that sauce a little sweet.

That's my only criticism.

I think your aubergine and meat are absolutely divine.

The aubergine with the walnuts, the fesenjan, is just beautiful.

Absolutely love that.

A little tiny pearl of pomegranate seed

that explodes in your mouth, put all together, I think it's great.

The meat and the sauce I find a little bit too rich.

But I suppose that's the dish.

It's supposed to be rich, it's supposed to be opulent.

But you got the presentation absolutely right, that's for sure.

Yeah.

In an ideal world, you know, things go absolutely perfectly

but let's just hope that that's good enough.

If it's not, then it wasn't meant to be.

If it is good enough, then I'll be delighted.

In celebration of the colourful life

led by the Italian composer Puccini,

Giovanna has made braised veal cheek

with a crispy veal shin croquette,

saffron potato puree,

confit fennel,

garlic and white bean puree,

gremolata and a veal reduction.

What you have here is a rustic dish that you're trying to posh up,

and I don't think you've got the presentation right on that at all.

However, the flavour of that dish is superb.

Your touch on that cheek is incredible.

It is absolutely melting.

Saffron in your mashed potato is a perfect accompaniment.

That bean puree is delightful and it deserves more than half a teaspoon.

OK. Yeah.

However, everything on that plate tastes divine.

Gregg really likes it.

-I concur.

-Good!

I think it's fantastic.

I love your croquette enriched with the bone marrow.

The fennel underneath is just fantastic.

The sauce is great.

You can cook, that's for sure.

Getting it on to a plate, grrr.

Yeah, it's not my best.

Definitely concerned about the presentation comments

but I feel like my flavours are spot on,

which is exactly what I wanted to do.

Based on his favourite film, Silence Of The Lambs,

Steve has cooked a cannon of Welsh lamb on a broad bean puree,

with braised lamb shoulder wrapped in a carrot lattice,

crispy sweetbreads,

potato and leek gratin,

a lamb gravy and a Chianti and port reduction.

Steve, you've splashed this on, right?

-Yeah.

-And...

STEVE LAUGHS

I know, I know. It's a bit of blood splatter!

I like your attempt at presentation but I don't think you got it right.

I think this side of the plate with the red splatter is fun,

-and then the other side's getting a bit serious.

-Yeah.

Your inspiration may have been a horror film

but there's nothing horrific about that, that's for sure.

This has got all the flavours.

Your little mixture inside the carrot is heavily seasoned

and rich and peppery. I think it's delicious.

Your bean puree is sweet and mellow.

Your leek and potato is cooked beautifully,

and it's really, really well seasoned

and your lamb's cooked beautifully.

That red wine sauce is far too strong for a sweetbread,

on an otherwise absolutely outstanding flavoured dish -

that is absolutely lovely.

That lamb in there with all that pepper and carrot

just reminds me of the inside of a really good pasty.

And it tastes really good.

A little bit mixed.

I suppose the main part was the cooking, which they seemed to like.

I was a bit annoyed about the presentation.

I actually thought it was quite good.

Can't win them all.

Inspired by her favourite film as a child, The Secret Garden,

Lorna has made crab beignets with scallop ceviche,

avocado mousse topped with a crab, chilli, apple and coriander salad,

rye cracker twigs, mayonnaise and parsley oil.

A very pretty little plate, that is.

And it absolutely does remind me of a garden.

The chilli itself is starting to rob the dish of its natural flavours

and natural beauty cos on there you have some gems from land and sea

which are just stunning.

The little tiny slivers of scallops which are sweet but yet sharp

because they've just been pickled.

I love the ceviche,

with the little bit of chilli I'm getting

and the lime freshness as well.

For me, there's a little too much chilli on that crab.

And I'd like a little less avocado,

because that's really thick, sticky texture, that avocado,

in an otherwise really fresh and light, zingy, tasty dish.

It was a mixed bag, wasn't it?

So I don't know if a mixed bag's kind of good enough at the minute.

Alison has cooked a dish based on Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr Fox.

Duck breast with a cider reduction,

duck liver doughnuts,

smoked mashed potato,

carrot and apple puree, braised carrot,

coriander oil and a cashew nut crumb.

It's very, very smart.

What I'm absolutely in love with is that doughnut.

That is duck liver inside the mildest of crispy coatings,

and it is rich and it's deep.

-That's a very lovely dish.

-Thank you.

I can't really taste the smoke in the potato,

and the reason I can't taste it

is because everything else on the plate is absolutely glorious.

It's like...

I mean... I am stunned.

It's... I mean, really...

Not very often in a competition I get like this - that's fantastic.

Your duck's cooked beautifully, your sauce is amazing,

the crumb gives it texture. It's ace, Alison, ace.

Good on you.

I was so anxious today and I was so nervous,

and I was so worried, and I just...

I really wanted it to go well and I'm so happy.

A great, wonderful, surprising, fantastic round.

I'm so proud of you five.

It's sensational.

The sad bit is, one of you is going to leave the competition.

Thank you.

-What a round.

-Oh, they're good.

They are so, so good.

Are you ready for this? We're going to lose one.

-Yeah, that's not good.

-No, it's not good.

I believe Alison today just shone.

It was truly special. It stirred emotion.

I loved it, it was delicious.

Alison is going straight through.

Steve today wanted to present something to us which was different.

It didn't look right.

But, wow, did it taste right.

I didn't like Giovanna's presentation at all.

I didn't understand why it had gremolata

scattered all over the plate.

However, what she did with that meat, the touch she showed,

the understanding of flavour, I thought was majestic.

Saliha's dish looked fantastic.

She got the presentation absolutely right.

The only criticism we've got is the sauce was a little bit too sweet.

However, it was absolutely delicious.

Lorna's dish today was a joy to look at.

I mean, what a brilliantly, brilliantly clever idea.

And her ceviche, I thought, was stunning.

But, I found that there was too much chilli for me

and it got a little bit thick and sticky with the amount of avocado.

I feel nervous, scared.

Who knows what's going to happen? Um...

Yeah, it's just a waiting game.

I just hope that I've done enough...

..because everyone's done exceptionally well today and...

Oh, I don't know. It's hard, isn't it? Really hard.

It's horrible, you know. This is the worst part, the waiting.

Hopefully, there's only five of us, though, so it won't be too long.

It was very hard today.

Very hard.

I feel really sad. I'd feel sad for myself if I went home.

I'd feel sad for anybody going home.

-GREGG:

-Really difficult right now.

To watch a contestant grow through the competition,

to then have to say goodbye to them...

Not good. Not nice.

It's time to make a decision.

To lose somebody at this stage of the competition is always difficult.

But when everything is so fantastic, it makes it doubly difficult.

The person leaving us...

..is Lorna.

Oh, don't!

Aww.

-SHE LAUGHS TEARFULLY

-Come here.

-Final five. Final five. Well done.

-Been really proud of you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much for everything, fantastic.

-Thank you.

Bye-bye.

Yeah, it's quite emotional.

Oh!

I'm so proud to have come this far.

To be 22 years old and the final five.

Hoo!

SHE LAUGHS AND SNIFFS

I'm so proud of myself. Yeah.

Congratulations, final four, and what an amazing four as well!

I really thought it might be the end of the road for me.

If there was some sort of emotion, it would just be, "Argh!" like that.

It's amazing, I never thought I'd get this far.

To get chosen to be in the last four is like, "Yeah, mate!"

You know what I mean? Last man standing.

I genuinely cannot get my head around it. It is absolutely insane.

This is by far one of the greatest experiences of my life.

And your adventure is about to get a lot bigger.

The next time we see you...

it'll be in Cape Town.

-Ah!

-Cape Town?!

South Africa?!

-Happy flying!

-No way!

Next time, the final four

embark on their greatest culinary adventure yet.

Guys, the gamekeepers are arriving.

We can't wait any more. We've got to put that food on to those trays.

If you see me pass out, you know what it is -

Steve died making mayonnaise.

Whoa!