Episode 15 MasterChef

'MasterChef's search for its champion has come to an end.

'From a determined group of 12,

'one by one the amateurs have fallen away...

'..leaving just three exceptional cooks.

'Tonight, one of them will become MasterChef Champion 2012.'

I was born in Darlington and then we moved to Redcar on the seaside near Middlesbrough.

I was there till I was 12 and that's when we moved down to Ilkley

and I've been here ever since.

-When did you dig these out?

-I was rooting through the attic.

Look at that one.

I've got an older brother and sister.

How old's Dad there? Cos his hair's quite thick.

Look at that smiley little boy.

Oh, my God.

I did really enjoy school, but once I got to sixth form,

really didn't do much. I did the first year.

Repeated it. Then sacked it off.

Then started plastering pretty much straight away.

I never intended to stay in it.

The weeks went by and I thought, "I don't know what else to do so I'll do this."

However good you are at a job, you'll be a million times better if it's something you want to do

and it's something you enjoy and you have got passion for it.

And that's how I feel about food.

Dad had caught five sea trout. I went, "Oh, I've got one, Dad!"

He didn't ever tell anyone about his interest in cooking and he's gone and done this all off his own back.

He's made it for himself, hasn't he? Yeah.

-I need some plastering.

-You're looking at the wrong brother.

The only other thing he's ever enjoyed as much

has been football and girls.

So for him to find something he is this good at,

it's just brilliant. So proud.

I want to work in a top kitchen.

To think that I might be able to one day make a career out of that is brilliant.

I know that, you know, given the chance, put me in a kitchen,

I'll live there, it's fine. I'm happy.

The first time that Tom cooked for us, I realised we had found somebody very special.

It's very, very clever.

Some of Tom's dishes are way out there.

It reminds me of a Thai pineapple curry but in dessert form. I think it's really exciting.

The idea of a pasta ravioli filled with something sweet is brilliant.

If you had that in a restaurant, you would want to write about it.

Your duck-egg fondue, it's small,

it's precise, it's elegant.

Some of his dishes are breathtaking. Who dreams up these sorts of dishes? Only a Tom.

The competition, it's so tough.

This dish smacks of one thing - running out of time.

-How long, Tom?

-I'd have said three minutes.

-You'll be lucky.

Has it all gone horribly wrong in the kitchen?

You ran out of time again, didn't you?

It was really difficult to get here. I've made so many mistakes.

Where's the sauce? Criminal.

Burnt.

Well-coloured, Gregg. Well-coloured.

That looks like somebody's made a tart and dropped it.

I really don't know where to start.

-It's almost sashimi, this fish.

-Bugger, Tom.

I've put the mistakes behind me now and I've learnt from every single one.

Really, really good. Well done.

I'm ten times a better chef than when I entered the competition.

You must be very, very, very proud. And I don't say that to very many people, I can assure you.

Thanks a lot. Thank you.

One day I want to have my own Michelin Star,

closely followed by my second and third.

I was born in Hereford.

There were three boys, me and my two younger brothers.

We used to spend our summers in France

on our bikes chasing insects and animals and collecting fruit in the lanes.

It is easy to fall in love with food when you're in France because you're surrounded by it.

-Hello!

-Dad!

-Daddy? Yes.

-Dad!

My father is Japanese.

My mum, she went to teach in Japan and that's how she met my father.

They got married and they ended up coming back here.

My mum, she's always loved food.

She taught me to cook, she taught my brothers to cook.

I left school

and I went to Oxford University and that's where I met Jemma.

We both played hockey and he was the hockey coach

and he was in the next-door college to me.

I worked away at Jemma and I think our first date, I invited her over

for a bottle of Pouilly-Fume, which was... Yeah, it was...

Well, it was £14. That's like 12 pints.

We started to think about life together, and I spent three years in denial before I popped the question.

It would mean a massive amount to us as a family if he were to win,

cos it would be the beginning of the next stage in our lives.

From the moment Andrew walked through the doors,

we realised we had a cook who was technically gifted.

I love it. I mean, I absolutely love it.

The amount of procedure, the method, the technique,

the presentation in his dishes, John, is awe-inspiring.

That's a really technically gifted chef that's prepared this.

Mm! The macaroons. They're so sharp, as well. It's beautiful.

It's vibrant, it's exciting, it's fun. It is Spain on a plate.

I think this may be the best cooking you've done so far, Andrew.

Olive, chocolate and rosemary ice cream.

That is genius!

Andrew, I'm really impressed with this.

-Thank you.

-That's cooking from a professional chef, not an amateur chef.

For Michel Roux Jr to say that, it makes your whole day.

It was just great, you know? You could just keep stuffing them in.

That is proper cooking.

Lots of ingredients, lots of hard work, on a plate in a sophisticated manner.

You have to continue to deliver at this level cos now we know how good you can truly cook.

I always try and do as much as I possibly can.

In so doing, I ran out of time.

-You're supposed to serve in two minutes.

-I'm running behind.

-Go and tell them you'll be late.

Yep. I'm running a few minutes late, I'm afraid.

Keep on working!

-Five minutes. The guests are waiting! Yeah?

-OK. OK.

-Come on.

Running a bit tight. I'm going to give you a little bit of help, just to get some jobs done.

I always try and do as much as I possibly can.

I've been so guilty of over-complicating my dishes.

This, for me, is a classic example of somebody trying too hard.

When you put them all together, it just doesn't work for me.

In my mouth now I've got a floral, sweet, oaty, fish biscuit.

There's too many flavours for me. It's just not right.

But the amount I've learnt, I feel a massive step closer to cooking professionally.

Hot! Hot!

Tonight, you have gone the full circle. Unbelievable cooking. Really fantastic.

ALL CLAP

That's going to take a long time to sink in.

I've had the greatest few months of my life ever

and not only was it really brilliant for me...

..but it will be brilliant for us in the future, I hope.

I was born in Southampton and grew up in Southampton.

Both parents are from Mauritius.

I was 13 when my dad passed away, so I was quite young.

It was a sudden thing, so it was a real shock,

and my mum had to... She had to just get really strong very, very quickly

and look after three kids.

When I was 14, we had to choose work experience and I wanted to choose catering.

My mum wanted me to do something more academic.

Me and my husband always said to her, "No, you can't do catering,

"you have to be a graduate first," because education comes first in our family.

At college, I did a degree in psychology

and then moved to London when I was about 18.

I met Andrea in a bar.

I told her I was from Italy.

She was like, "I can cook gnocchi from scratch!"

I was like, "Oh, that's good for me!"

She's caring, passionate, she's funny, she's beautiful.

Good girl.

Hello!

My knife needs sharpening.

My mum's a brilliant cook. I've learnt everything from her. I'm basically her sous chef.

She's a very good cook.

That's OK.

-I won't tell her to her face, but she is.

-SHE LAUGHS

Yummy, yummy! What you having?

My mum and dad came to this country for a reason.

They wanted us to do well and be successful.

I know that I'm doing something that I genuinely believe in.

To follow my dream and do something in food would mean so much.

It's not just me now, it's everyone who's supported me along the way, my family, my husband.

You know, I want to do everyone proud, not just myself.

Shelina sets my taste buds on fire.

It's from the Indian Ocean, it's unique to her. John, it's beautiful.

The flavours of that dish I think are simply stunning.

That may well be one of the best desserts I've had ever.

I think your chestnut pasta is beautifully made.

Absolutely perfect. You're on a roll, sugarplum.

You've combined skill and real understanding of cooking, but also the marriage of flavours,

and so many chefs don't understand that.

There's serious cookery skill here. This woman knows what she's doing.

Beautifully cooked fish and coriander seeds and cumin.

You've come home. I'm really, really proud of you.

Thank you.

Shelina quite simply has served me some of the best dishes I have ever eaten on MasterChef ever.

-Right, I'm ready to go.

-The girl is a star.

It is actually ridiculous, the challenges we've been put through.

-You are so clever to do all this.

-It might be clever or crazy, we don't know which one yet.

-The first time I've made doughnuts.

-Look at those bad boys.

I can't believe I just took some mango tarts on a golf buggy to a blast chiller.

Nuts.

There's been quite a few low points.

It's not very smart looking.

It's all a little bit sloppy. Texture's a little bit wet.

Your lamb's not cooked. Nowhere near.

I don't know if this feels right. That's not right, is it?

But I think I've learnt so much.

It's starting to look really good. Perfect. Well done. You OK?

I'd happily sit in a Michelin Star restaurant and pay money for that.

You've absolutely nailed it.

ALL CLAP

It's been crazy, but I'd love to win. I'd absolutely love to win.

But I'm just nervous.

It's scary as hell.

-SHE LAUGHS

-It's really scary.

Today is up there with the biggest days of my life.

I'm thinking about, "What if I win? What if I don't win?"

All I can do is do my best.

Today is massive. I'm well-prepared, I'm well-practised

and I know what I've got to do.

You should be very proud of yourselves.

There are now three plates of food between you

and the title of MasterChef Champion.

You have to prove to us that you are the best.

Three hours, and at the end of this, one champion.

Ladies and gentlemen, let's cook.

This is it. This is what we've been waiting for for months.

The culmination of all the tasks that we've done.

And I've got to turn out the best food I've ever cooked in my life.

Shelina, how exciting is this?

Erm, it's sickeningly exciting.

I haven't slept for about a week.

Erm, but yeah, it's just literally the best thing I've ever done.

What are you going to cook, Shelina, that's going to put a big smile on our face?

My starter is basically my kind of version of a Mauritian octopus salad

with brown shrimp jelly, mango and apple vinegar

and lots of other flavours going through it.

My main is a mutton curry with marinated bone marrow,

Swiss chard and a green banana pickle.

And for dessert, it's going to be a mango cannelloni with lime zest curd through it,

a coconut and rum blancmange and a white chocolate and coconut samosa.

You have given yourself a huge amount of work to do.

I absolutely love these dishes. I think what I would like to happen is when you taste it,

you kind of feel that you're sitting on a beach and just having the best time of your life.

So that's what I'm hoping to achieve today.

What I'm actually cooking are things that my family love. But it's on a completely different level.

I've waited to do these for the final. These are dishes I didn't want to show off until the end.

Her first course, a Mauritian octopus salad...

..with an apple and mango vinaigrette and a brown shrimp jelly.

That is marvellous. That's my sort of food.

Her risk is the octopus. It can't be chewy and it can't be dry.

It is the hardest piece of seafood to cook, so that is the biggest challenge.

I just hope it's lovely and succulent.

Shelina's main course is a mutton curry...

..a green banana pickle...

..and a celebratory rice dish, a biryani.

Mutton, a big piece of old lamb, strong in flavour,

quite tough, she has to make sure that's cooked down really well, long and slow,

so it falls apart and melts in your mouth,

otherwise we'll just end up with big, tough bits of lamb.

I love a curry and I've got a feeling I may be tasting the best mutton curry I've ever tasted today.

But how do you make that look smart and turn it into a MasterChef-winning dish?

I have to say, I think Shelina's dessert sounds fantastic.

I get a tingle when I think about it.

She's got a mango and lime cannelloni.

A white chocolate and pistachio samosa.

And she's got a rum and coconut blancmange.

I don't think she's just trying to win MasterChef, I think she's trying to marry me.

There's so much that can go wrong.

The most important thing is that everything is set properly.

Blancmange not setting, you end up with coconut cream. The samosas being all runny rather than sticky.

Shelina wants us to be sitting on a beach in the sunshine eating our food.

I think that's fantastic. Evocative food is the best type of food. It makes you smile.

I pray she gets everything done, because her menu sounds brilliant.

There's no turning back now. There's only one winner today.

I'm going to do everything that I can to win this.

Finalists, one hour has gone.

You've had your first 60 minutes.

One more chance to cook for John and Gregg.

I want to take it out of their hands and give them the food I've been aiming for the whole way through

and actually execute everything how I want to, and hopefully that'll be enough.

How far away are you from a building site now, Tom?

-I'm never far enough. Never.

-HE LAUGHS

Today is massive. You know, I'm a very competitive person.

I've always said that I want to win. I feel like today I'm going to peak

and hopefully give you three plates of food that I'm happy with.

If I do that then I'm very confident.

-What are you cooking for us?

-I'm doing a sort of Thai-influenced langoustine consomme

followed by a ballotine of quail stuffed with chicken livers,

morels, truffles and Madeira sauce. And for dessert

I'm going to do the rhubarb amuse-bouche that I did for you.

-Rhubarb spaghetti?

-Yep.

-Ha-ha-ha!

-With a raspberry tuile basket filled with an aerated basil panna cotta

and I'm doing some white chocolate and olive oil dressing

as a full-on a la carte dessert as it would be in my restaurant.

-Do you feel like it could be yours today?

-I definitely feel like I've got what it takes to win today.

I need to beat the other two.

His first course,

a langoustine consomme with Thai flavours and coconut noodles.

I really, honestly cannot wait! That is beautiful!

Now, the coconut noodles are the dangerous thing.

He is taking a setting agent

and he is making with coconut milk

thin jelly bits of coconut...

..and dropping them into the consomme itself.

His issue is that consomme has to be sparkling and crystal clear.

If that consomme is cloudy in any way and those noodles don't work...

..we're going to have a coconut and langoustine soup.

Tom's main, I'm almost in heaven!

He's got a ballotine of quail that he's stuffing with liver,

serving with morels, Madeira sauce and truffles.

That's beautiful food!

The quail has to be cooked all the way through but not dry at any part,

and that liver stuffing has to be wonderful and sweet

but still hold together and not be grainy.

And then his little piece de resistance,

ravioli which is going to be filled with mushrooms and ricotta.

I just hope he gets it absolutely right, cos that's the sort of dish you fall in love with.

I love the idea of spaghetti and rhubarb.

But he's also making a basil panna cotta.

And he's also making a raspberry tuile.

He's not making one dessert.

It sounds to me like he's making three.

That boy is absolutely going for it.

I've got to this point. It does make me feel really proud.

There's still two in between me and that trophy.

It is, for me, all about winning now.

Second or third isn't good enough.

You are halfway to one of you being our champion.

I am enormously up for it. I know what I'm here for. I'm here to win.

So far, it's all about not being eliminated.

Today there's three of us. It's not about not being eliminated, it's about being the best.

Three courses. What are you going to cook for us?

First course is pork belly with lobster and a strawberry salad.

The salad is kohlrabi and nashi pear.

Are you erring on the wild side again, Andrew?

-Yeah, there's a few things in here that are slightly unusual.

-Right, OK. Next course?

The next course is a loin of lamb crusted with dehydrated soya beans,

lamb sweetbreads, there's a broad bean and mint foam

and there's roasted aubergine with miso and leeks.

-Wow!

-Dessert?

-Dessert is acorn panna cotta

with a millefeuille of poached pears

-and a sort of chocolate hazelnut cream.

-Whoa.

-With toffee popcorn.

Andrew, I think your food sounds really exciting.

Are you going to pull it off today?

I really hope so. Now that I'm here, now that I'm in the final,

it will just be the crowning moment of this whole journey for me just to win it. That would be fabulous.

I'm starting to get to grips with realising that less is more.

I just hope that I'll get to grips with it in the final

because I don't want John and Gregg to think I've ruined a dish by over-complicating it.

I shouldn't be surprised at Andrew's sense of adventure.

I should've expected it. He wants to make an enormous splash.

Andrew's first course, beautiful lobster being cooked and poached

so it's lovely and soft but not dry.

The pork belly, melt in your mouth,

with the crackling all crunchy on top.

Nashi pear to add the sweetness to the pork and cut through the fat.

John, it's not an easy job to cook a lobster properly...

..let alone serve it with a salad, and that's a salad flavoured with strawberries.

Unusual.

If Andrew's going to do it in the final of MasterChef, it must work.

Mustn't it?

Andrew's main course is a loin of lamb...

..coated with soya beans which have been dried first...

..roasted cauliflower sauce,

a broad bean and mint foam on the side.

He's got to make sure that lamb actually comes out and is proud on the plate.

The dessert, I think, is absolutely fantastic.

Acorn panna cotta.

I've never had one. I'm really looking forward to it.

Bit of millefeuille.

Toffee popcorn? Absolutely superb.

And a sauce made from chocolate and hazelnut? That is beautiful!

I think it sounds like a dessert that's going to make you smile.

When they taste my food, I don't want John and Gregg to say anything.

I want them to taste it, look at each other and be absolutely speechless.

That's what I'm aiming to deliver.

There's 30 minutes between you and a MasterChef title.

-Tom, how much more have you got to do?

-I've got to make my ravioli, cook the quail,

I've got the dressing, a couple of garnishes to do.

I'm very behind on time.

I'm trying to pull it back now

by doing more than what I wanted to do at once.

Tom has still got ravioli to do, he's still got to finish with his quail and get his food on his plates.

-Under control, Andrew?

-Still loads to do. Lots and lots to do.

-Give yourself enough time to plate up.

-It's looking like I'll only just get the cooking done in time.

I don't want them to run out of time. I want to taste that amazing food.

-Shelina?

-Yes.

-How much more have you got to do?

-Everything's pretty much done now. I just have to start plating up.

-Good.

Shelina seems under control. She seems to know what she's doing.

We've got just ten minutes. Please!

You've got to really start thinking about your plate. You really have to.

Mate, honestly, OK?

-Andrew, you've got to start thinking about your plates, mate.

-Yep.

-Really, really, really have to.

Andrew.

There are dishes I'm desperate to try. They've got to get them up.

My heart is thumping.

You have got just five minutes.

That's it! Stop!

Tom, you're first.

Tom, these dishes

look absolutely incredible.

They're beautiful, they're elegant, they're refined, they're sophisticated,

they are just absolutely stunning.

'Tom's starter is a Thai chilli and coriander consomme

'served with langoustines and coconut milk noodles.'

Wow, wow, wow.

Those little coconut noodles are really clever because they taste of just coconut milk.

There is that wonderful richness that's coming from the langoustine,

the real clean crispness that's coming from the consomme

and just at the back of your palate, you've got those wonderful, faint flavours of Thailand,

and I think that is just brilliant.

It's just beautiful. Beautiful. I love it.

That's a very, very good consomme.

And the Asian flavours in the background is something new to me

and it matches the sweetness of the langoustine beautifully. That's elegant, it's smart

and it's the great big kiss off a langoustine that's been on holiday to Thailand.

Very good. Very, very good.

'Tom's main is liver-stuffed ballotine of quail

'topped with crispy chicken tuiles,

'a confit quail leg

'and morel and ricotta filled ravioli,

'all served with a beetroot puree, a Madeira jus and shaved truffle.'

You just taste the quail and the liver

and then you've got the bounding bit of salty chicken skin in the background.

The pasta is beautiful. The sweetness of the onion, the garlic,

the Madeira, the smokiness coming from the morels,

and then on top of it, a man's dream, a bit of grated truffle.

It is beautifully cooked, it's sophisticated,

it's skilled, it's balanced.

Tom, I'm not allowed to swear and I wish I could,

because it is fantastic.

-Thank you.

-Absolutely fantastic.

I mean, the ballotine of the bird with the liver inside,

rich, lovely, cooked beautifully, that's one thing.

Cutting open that ravioli and getting a big smash of truffle and the deepness of that morel mushroom

and picking up sweetness from the sauce, that is a balancing act that only a real craftsman can do.

I'm blown away by what you've achieved there, I really am.

-That is right up there with the best of them.

-Thank you.

'For dessert, Tom has made his spaghetti rhubarb

'and served it with a dried raspberry tuile basket

'filled with aerated basil panna cotta,

'dressed with white chocolate and olive oil.'

You have daring things there, like the fizz of that dried fruit inside your basket.

You have the real richness coming from the panna cotta.

I have one tiny thing which I have a worry about

-and that is, is it white chocolate that's sitting on the plate?

-It's white chocolate and olive oil.

White chocolate and olive oil. And the flavour of it is just not quite gelling together

with the rest of the things that are coming together. But a really clever dessert, massive technique.

It's a very elegant-looking dessert, and there's lots of surprises in there.

Raspberry flavour, almost honey flavour coming from that cream.

There is a fizz, almost like space dust, dancing on my tongue.

But I would like my rhubarb slightly more cooked.

Slightly softer.

Thank you.

That is sensational.

I've delivered three plates of food today which aren't perfect,

but are very close to something that I've aimed to achieve, so I'm happy.

Shelina, your turn.

I think they look incredible. I think they look beautiful.

Thank you very much.

'Shelina's starter is octopus

'served on top of marinated fennel,

'pickled ginger, sliced baby beetroot and carrots

'and concasse tomatoes,

'served with mango and apple vinegar,

'brown shrimp jelly and tobiko - flying fish roe.'

I think all those wonderful raw, crisp flavours of the vegetables,

the real saltiness coming from that wonderful shrimp jelly -

which is not even really jelly, it just dissolves in your mouth -

the tobiko, that wonderful flying fish roe, running through the back, giving a salty background,

the sweetness of mango, the sourness of the apple and vinegar,

and then the real big, strong flavour of that octopus sitting on top.

I will have to say that it is absolutely delicious.

Shelina, honestly, I want to weep for you, it's so fantastic. I really do. I think it's great.

You go slightly fruit-sharp,

you get fresh vegetables, you get saltiness, you get a little bit of a kick.

I love it.

-It's beautiful. It's a plate of sunshine.

-HE LAUGHS

'Her main is a mutton curry, served with a mustard seed and turmeric-marinated bone marrow,

'a biryani rice,

'Swiss chard roulade stuffed with green banana pickle

'and a chilli-pumpkin quenelle.'

It just looks stunning.

It better taste the same.

Inside your pot of curry here, we've got sweet mutton meat

that just comes in flavour waves, building as they go.

I love bone marrow, but it is a one-flavour dimension.

Not any more. What you've got around it

tastes a little bit like lemon, and a little sharp,

and then inside the leaves

we've got something that looks very simple yet delivers real meatiness.

You should be very, very pleased with yourself. You've absolutely nailed it.

You have I don't know how many different spices and seasonings in this dish

but I would probably say close on 20.

Your mutton - got a little bit of a bite to it, but not chewy, it still melts in your mouth,

and it's wrapped around this almost jam of a curry paste

that just is fragrant and delicious.

The sweetness from your rice at the same time as the heat going with it beautifully.

And sitting on the side, a little cigar of iron-rich chard, and then again spicy inside.

Shelina, it looks fantastic.

It tastes fantastic.

Honestly, my heart is thumping, probably because of the amount of adrenalin from all the chilli,

but that is beautiful.

'Shelina's dessert is a mango cannelloni filled with lime curd,

'a coconut and rum blancmange

'a white chocolate, creme fraiche and pistachio samosa

'and mango jelly squares.'

Shelina, it's just rounding off a trio of stunning-looking plates.

Beautiful. Beautiful, beautiful plates.

Oh!

A perfect blend of mellow notes and sharper notes.

Mellow coconut, mellow chocolate

and then sweeter mango

and then sweeter but sharper pineapple and then sharp lime.

Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

It's really, really sweet and there's a reason for it, and I know why.

Because after the heady spice in your main course,

you need something clean and sweet and crisp to be able to clear your palate.

It makes me smile, Shelina, it makes me laugh, it makes me feel happy.

Absolutely bang on the money.

-Shelina, thank you.

-Thanks very much.

-Thank you.

Crikey. Just brilliant.

-I loved it all.

-I loved it all, too.

Andrew, your turn.

What you have undertaken in just three hours

I think is extraordinary. And I take my hat off to you.

'For his starter, Andrew has made lobster

'with caramelised pork belly and crackling,

'served with a salad of nashi pear, kohlrabi and strawberry.'

Your presentation is fantastic.

The wonderful pork with the spike of that black pepper round the outside,

the crunch of the crackling being really salty,

the sweetness of the pear with that lobster is wonderful.

But my first mouthful, I felt like I was in Wimbledon

at a tennis match and all I could taste was strawberry,

and it took 30 seconds for that strawberry flavour to disappear.

I'm really sorry, I think it takes away from the absolute beauty of the dish.

I love pork belly. I love the crackling. Wonderful.

I love it with the sweetened lobster.

I even love the nashi pear.

But I don't like the strawberry on there, Andrew, I'm really sorry. I'm really sorry.

'Andrew's main is loin of lamb

'crusted with dehydrated broad bean and miso,

'served with lamb sweetbreads,

'leeks on top of roasted miso aubergine,

'cauliflower florets on a garlic puree,

'and two sauces, a tarragon lamb jus

'and a broad bean mint foam.'

There are salty flavours coming from that miso, there is a real woodiness coming from the aubergine,

the wonderful sweetness coming from the lamb and the crunch coming from the outside of the sweetbreads.

The cauliflower itself is delicious, binding the whole thing together.

I think it is a really beautiful-looking dish.

It is delivering on many, many levels.

HE LAUGHS

Whichever way you come at this, it's beautiful.

It could be the garlic through here or the sweetness of cauliflower,

the sweetness in the jus, meatiness of lamb.

This is Andrew at his absolute best.

'Andrew's dessert is a hazelnut chocolate pear millefeuille

'served with acorn panna cotta

'topped with a mocha tuile, and toffee popcorn.'

I know I like desserts but that's beside the point.

-That's stunning, Andrew. Look at it.

-How you don't have your spoon in your hand already I don't know.

Because it's one of those dishes I don't want to touch. It's so pretty I don't want to smash it up.

I love that absolute woodiness coming from that beautifully set panna cotta, creamy and silky.

The crunch of the millefeuille and the little bits of pear.

The hazelnut, the toffee, the popcorn,

everything coming together in absolute harmony and it is superb.

Spine-tingling superb.

I've never before tasted an acorn panna cotta. And it's wonderful.

It tastes almost like toffee, which matches brilliantly your toffee popcorn. This is fantastic.

That millefeuille is incredible.

The pear is giving juice and a hazelnutty flavour and a little bit of cocoa flavour.

Mate, this is exceptionally good, exceptionally brilliant,

because it is punching like a heavyweight and dancing like a featherweight.

-Andrew, you should be very proud. Thank you very much.

-Thanks.

-Mm.

-I know. I know. I know.

That is absolutely sensational. Sensational.

I'm devastated they didn't like the strawberries.

But I put out what I did today and to get some of the comments is just fantastic.

I do hit record and play them back to myself

because it lifts your soul.

At the start of today, we knew that you three were incredible cooks.

What you've achieved in three hours has been remarkable.

But now our job starts.

Thank you very much indeed.

Off you go.

So proud of them. So, so proud of them.

THEY SIGH

They did well, didn't they, those three? Really well.

You go out to a restaurant and eat food like that

and you will walk away one very happy person.

Now you and I have to work out from these three...

..who's the champion.

Tom, unbelievable food!

Yeah. First course from Tom, stunning.

A consomme is a very difficult thing to make, beautiful when it's done properly.

Majestic, beautiful, clean and crisp. Wonderful.

And that quail dish was beautiful.

Absolute precision in its flavour, in its texture, in its presentation,

an absolute star main course.

Decent dessert, nowhere near as magical as his starter and main.

White chocolate and olive oil. And rhubarb slightly undercooked.

Mm. Almost there.

When you're sat in front of John and Gregg, it's terrifying.

But it was wonderful to hear those comments about my food, it really was.

Ah, Shelina.

John, incredible. Just wonderful.

The starter of octopus, beautiful vegetables,

the saltiness of that flying fish roe, tobiko, underneath.

Absolutely beautiful with the vegetables.

A main course of a mutton curry should not look as beautiful as that.

The mutton itself just having a little bit of a bite,

but the jam around the outside of it,

the rice with a little horn of chilli saying, "I'm really seriously hot."

That main course of that mutton curry I thought was sensational.

Shelina just made the most fabulous dessert.

Mango jelly, the coconut blancmange sitting on the side,

the little roll of fresh mango with lime curd through the middle of it.

Brilliant. Breathtakingly brilliant.

I think Shelina's food is a restaurant waiting to happen.

I feel really proud of myself.

This is as close to perfection that I've been to so far in this competition.

It feels incredible. It feels amazing.

Andrew needs a pat on the back for his endeavour and bravery because he's always really pushed it.

But strawberry does not belong with pork belly, neither does it belong with lobster.

All that marvellous cookery skill

and then adding a strawberry where it doesn't belong can just ruin things.

I liked Andrew's main course. That was Andrew cooking at his best.

-Lots of different flavours, combinations that actually gelled together.

-Lamb cooked beautifully,

lovely sauces, dancing flavours all over the place. He should be really proud of what he's done.

I'd walk barefoot over coals for a dessert as good as Andrew served today.

I've never had an acorn panna cotta before. Absolutely lovely.

Little tiny pearls of pear in that millefeuille with the hazelnut and the chocolate.

-It was a stunning dessert.

-That was beautiful!

-Yeah.

-Beautiful food!

Today it's about being the best.

And today is the time you need to pull things out that they haven't seen before and I've done it.

I want it so badly and I want them to say my name.

It's all done now so I've just got to wait.

We have three people who came out of their own kitchens.

I've got to say, the standard of cooking they've achieved today, so proud of them.

Andrew has always tried to push the boundaries.

He's always been daring. He's always tried to be different.

Andrew has persisted with his style. I think that is admirable.

I want to win it so badly.

Yeah, I really want it. I want to be MasterChef Champion.

I just think what Shelina's done throughout this competition has been outstanding.

Shelina came in with sunshine in her heart and food that she grew up with.

And we've just watched it develop into smarter and smarter and sexier food as she's gone on.

And it is mind-blowing.

Whatever happens today, I'm proud of all three of us.

And I know they feel the same way, as well.

For me, the great thing about Tom,

he's using his imagination with classic technique to produce absolutely beautiful food.

Winning would be brilliant.

I am competitive.

If I did win, it would be a real, real compliment

because I know how good these two are.

Three cooks who have put everything into this competition.

And now we've got that difficult choice.

We need to choose one as our champion.

-Do you know who you want?

-Yeah.

-I know who I want.

You have to know that the food you have just presented in front of us

we don't believe you can find in many restaurants.

Absolutely exceptional.

Our MasterChef Champion is...

..Shelina.

Well done. Well done!

# They made a statue of us

# And put it on a mountain top

# New tourists come and stare at us

# Blow bubbles with their gum

# Take photographs, have fun... #

I'm just going to take away wonderful memories of MasterChef. It's been brilliant for me.

Shelina's won. She deserves it, and I'm really chuffed for her.

-That's yours!

-GREGG CHUCKLES

Are you serious?!

It's first trophy I've ever got.

And red is my favourite colour!

You are a brilliant, brilliant MasterChef winner.

-Thank you very much.

-Fantastic.

I think if my dad was around, he would have just been the proudest person ever.

My mum is going to be so proud of me. My family.

-Sensational.

-Thank you.

-Sensational.

# They made a statue of us

# And put it on a mountain top

# The tourists come and stare at us

# Blow bubbles with their gum

# Take photographs, have fun

# Have fun! #

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