Episode 4 MasterChef

'24 amateurs have fought to earn a MasterChef apron.

'The best 12 have now made it through.

'Tonight they face each other for the first time.'

Are we ready for showtime?

'And they will have to cook for their toughest audience yet.'

Disaster!

Are we really going to be able to serve this dessert?

No, I can't give it to you. I'm sorry, I can't give it to you.

12 really talented amateur cooks,

and it's about to be their baptism of fire.

Comes down from thousands of people, thousands,

down to 12.

And I'm one of them. What can you say about that?

It's a lot more real now that, you know

you've got an apron on,

and they don't give those out for free.

Now that I've got a taster of getting to a certain level,

I just need to go all the way, now.

Coming in this morning

was just incredible thinking, "I'm going to work today."

Today, nervous, very excited.

Very proud to have this apron on.

And long may it last.

The competition is hotting up,

I mean, it's do or die here, right now.

Fantastic!

Welcome.

This is the first time we've had you 12 here together, cooking.

And my mate Torode, as you can see, is dressed for business.

Today, we are going to have a proper restaurant service,

with John Torode calling the pass.

I am going to be hosting the dinner.

A dinner for some of the best talent MasterChef has ever produced.

Seven amateur champions, three professional champions.

Your job is to impress them, and they have been in your shoes.

OK.

Time for you to get dressed for business as well.

Go and get your chef's whites on.

I think we're going to have some really extraordinary food.

They've just got to perform.

If they don't, I might lose my rag.

Really excited, but really nervous. I'm wondering

if they're going to have any mercy on us,

because they were once in our shoes. But I doubt it.

I don't think there's any room for messing around.

I mean, they'll be, like, serious. Like, Terminator-serious.

Well, it's a bit different with John at the pass

rather than somebody you've never met. That's...

I think he's going to be scary.

I think it's really exciting.

If this goes well, I should be full up with fantastic food,

and you should be close to a near-death experience.

Thank you very much!

You're full, and I'm about to have a nervous breakdown.

Thanks!

This is it.

You will have one hour and 30 minutes to prepare your dish.

And then once I call the order,

you'll have 30 minutes to get the food onto that pass.

It's got to be on time, and it's got to be impressive.

Because at the end of this, two of you will be leaving us.

Ladies and gentlemen, let's cook.

The 12 contestants were each asked to design a dish

for today's three-course menu.

The four starters are being made by Jonathan,

Jay,

Eamonn and Aki.

Where do you start with Aki?!

She's studying for a PhD in quantum physics,

she can't keep still, she's got so much energy

she bounces around all over the place, but she does beautiful food.

Every single cell in my body is dedicated to MasterChef, right now.

I'm giving it my all.

-Aki, a pile of beautiful lobsters.

-Yes.

-An expensive-looking dish.

What are you cooking for us?

-I'm doing a Japanese savoury custard with lobster.

-Called?

-Chawanmushi.

-Chawanmushi.

There's going to be chicken in it, fresh asparagus,

shitake mushrooms,

and it's all going to be concentrated because it's steamed,

and none of the flavour's going to escape.

-You're nervous today, Aki, aren't you?

-I am a bit, yes.

I've never cooked for so many people,

so I'm a little bit on edge, yeah, but I'm really excited.

-I can see the excitement, I can see the apprehension.

-Yes!

-It sounds delicious.

-Thank you.

Eamonn. He is delivering beautiful, big-bowl flavours.

Luxurious food.

To be pursuing a dream in your 40s I think's a wonderful thing.

I think it's a great little lesson for me to teach my kids.

My passion's this, and I wish I'd had this passion when I was 11.

Eamonn, what's your dish?

Oven-baked mackerel with a prosciutto net on the top,

served with oyster cream.

Explain the oyster cream to me.

Shucked oysters, white wine vinegar, some cream,

whizz them up, serve it cold.

-You confident?

-Very, yeah.

-Are you?!

-Yeah.

-Good.

Eamonn's mackerel dish, I really like the sound of.

But then he's serving it with cold oyster cream.

I don't know. I think it's dangerous.

I definitely still feel like

I've got something to prove, because I still haven't put up

a perfect dish yet.

The pigeon was good, they really liked that.

But there was, you know, a semi-raw potato on the plate.

Jonathan cannot afford silly mistakes like raw potatoes.

Not today, not with the sort of guests we've got.

-You have a woodland feast, by the looks of it.

-Yup.

What are you going to cook for us?

Some mushroom ravioli, which'll have ceps and morels in it,

with a cep puree, and chanterelles around the side.

And what's that for?

It comes with slices of roasted chicken breast, as well.

This is hopefully a match made in heaven.

And which part of your dish is not going to be cooked properly?

I'm really hoping that it's all going to be cooked properly.

-Good luck, Jonathan.

-Thanks very much.

Jay runs a security company in Southport.

He does classic cooking

with hardly ever a fault.

MasterChef as an experience...

You know, you go through everything from self-doubt,

to being over the moon the next.

It's a completely surreal thing.

And I never thought you'd go through that many emotions in one day.

Today, you are looking "undecidably" unsettled.

What's happened?

I've never took oysters out their shell.

That's cos it's a scallop.

Sorry, yeah. See what I mean? Nervous.

What is the dish?

It's scallops on parsnip cream puree,

with pistachios and prosciutto on top.

Are you going to be able to hold your nerve

-so that you can get it on the plate, and it does look beautiful?

-Yep.

-Be confident, OK?

-Yep. I'll, I'll be fine.

-You'll have to be fine. Good luck.

-Thank you. Appreciate that.

The contestants all dream of one day joining

the exclusive MasterChef hall of fame.

This elite group will be dining here today.

Since winning last year, Tim Anderson has worked

at Michelin-starred restaurants The Fat Duck and Le Gavroche.

At this point last year I was still really cocky,

so I wasn't feeling the pressure that much.

But looking back on it,

I probably should've felt a bit more nervous than I did.

Mat Follas and new mum Thomasina Miers

are both still running successful restaurants.

It'd be terrifying cooking for this crowd. Really, terrifying.

We've all been through it, though, so I think there is that comradeship.

We're not out to slay them alive. We're willing them to win.

Having worked with Rick Stein,

James Nathan is now setting up a catering business.

Dhruv Baker is on track to open his own restaurant this year.

Very different, very new, for a home cook

to be thrust into virtually a professional environment. It's terrifying.

Steven Wallis and Peter Bayless both continue to work

as private chefs and food writers.

To deliver great food in the MasterChef kitchen,

you have to cook from the heart.

It's an enormous challenge for them, today.

45 minutes gone, guys.

45 minutes gone.

Charlie, Afsaneh,

Tom and Shelina have each created a main course for the menu.

Shelina from London has really impressed us with her Mauritian food

And she's worked really hard to make her dishes look restaurant standard.

I'm confident with this dish, and I think it reflects me as a cook,

because it's got Mauritius in it, all the way through.

I want them just to have a flavour of my island on a plate,

just to see what it's like.

Shelina, you are looking very concentrated and quite focused.

-I am.

-Good, I'm pleased. That gives me confidence.

I'm shocked that I'm here, but it's an amazing blessing to be here,

so I need to just make sure I get through.

And your dish today is?

It's kalia lamb, which is a Mauritian spiced lamb,

bringing the spices into my food again,

with a tamarind jus with some broad beans with cumin.

Tom, our plasterer from Bradford, has really surprised me,

cos that fella has got real skill and real creativity.

I'd like to say that MasterChef

hasn't affected relationships around me.

And actually it hasn't cos I don't seem to have any at the moment.

I've got a relationship with food, and that's about it.

Uh, Tom. I thought you were making sandwiches for a moment.

-Could if you wanted.

-No, I don't want sandwiches, not at this stage of the competition.

Nor do they. What are you going to cook for us?

I'm doing a pan-roasted duck breast, a potato croquette infused with truffle oil,

and a fig and port sauce.

Tom, how's it feel?

It's nerve-racking, obviously,

knowing there's 12 very talented chefs in the next room that'll be trying my food.

-Not all of them'll be trying it.

-Well, those that pick the best thing on the menu will.

Mmm! Tom, I like your confidence. It's good. It's good.

Being on MasterChef has been really tough.

Watching it on TV,

it doesn't look that difficult.

That's probably why I thought

I'd have a crack at getting on the programme.

Rich vanilla, a little bit of pear, venison,

and the peppery, hot haggis.

I'm struggling to like it all together.

What are you doing for us?

I'm doing a pan-fried Asian sea bass,

oven roasted asparagus with some deep-fried baby squid.

So, a main course dish with three different cooking techniques,

all having to come together at exactly the same time,

to go on a plate and get to that pass.

It's risky, but I've taken risks so far.

-Good luck, Charlie.

-Thanks.

Guys, you have just 25 minutes of preparation time left.

Afsaneh is a mother of three grown-up boys,

and we've really fallen in love with her food.

Honestly? Delicious.

I want to stay in this competition. It's for myself.

And for my sons.

They always told me, "Mum, if this is what you want to do, go for it."

Afsaneh. Little birds, lots of herbs. What are you going to cook for us?

I'm going to cook poussin served with herb rice,

with saffron and lemon jus.

-How much do you want to go through to the next round?

-This is my life.

For the rest of my life, I want to be cooking.

-Yeah, but you can do that at home.

-No, not the way I do it here,

because I like to go in the professional kitchen.

Because I cannot simply see myself doing anything else

for the rest of my life. This is my life.

-Good luck.

-OK, thank you.

The MasterChef title isn't just for amateur cooks.

Also dining today

are three of the outstanding professional MasterChef champions.

I can remember cooking in the studio very well.

It was one of the most nerve-racking experiences of my life.

I don't think it ever leaves you.

To win MasterChef, you've got to be exceptional,

and push the boundaries a little bit.

But above all, have that standard

where you won't send anything unless you're completely happy with it.

Big pressure, you didn't want to let people down, let yourself down.

There's nothing worse than cooking for other chefs.

Guys, 25 minutes before the atmosphere in this room

changes completely...

..and we hit service.

Finally, the puddings are being cooked by Matthew,

Emma,

Andrew and Ashvy.

Ashvy is a GP from London,

and she's proved she can do big, bold flavours,

and she can cook meat to absolute perfection.

I absolutely do not like puddings.

I've made three puddings in my life.

They were for special occasions. I'm not a pudding person.

-Ashvy.

-Hello.

Your dish that's going to blow their socks off today is?

It's a fig tarte tatin, with a salted pine nut praline ice cream.

That sounds interesting, quite delicious.

What's the risk with that?

The risk I've found when I've been cooking it,

is that the figs release quite a lot of water. So it's been a little bit runny.

But I'm hoping to combat it by making a little bit less caramel,

and just trying to drain it off.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

Emma's food can be controversial.

For me, it's all too sweet.

Perfectly delightful.

And she has had a struggle to keep her place.

Last two again! I've got to sort that out.

SHE LAUGHS

What are you cooking for us?

I'm cooking a chocolate cylinder filled with raspberries,

and a raspberry and beetroot sorbet on chocolate crumbs.

-So are you tempering your chocolate first?

-Yes.

-You got a thermometer?

-No.

-Have you ever tempered chocolate before?

No, I just normally do it in a bain marie.

-And what happens if the cylinders don't work?

-And if the cylinders don't work. Em...

They will work! They'll work.

John's scary.

He's a good scary, though.

Yeah, but hopefully I won't get shouted at.

Andrew. Huge amounts of processes, fantastic presentation.

That man is half-human, half food library.

Cooking for MasterChef winners is going to be tough,

cos the on one hand they will be a little bit sympathetic

to what we're going through, but they'll also be

hyper-critical, cos they're a club now.

And it's like you're cooking to enter their club.

Andrew, what are you cooking for us?

Poached pears with different spices. Chocolate sauce with cardamom through it.

Coffee macaroons, praline.

So, once again, we have lots of different things going on a plate.

Hopefully I'll manage to balance it

so nothing comes through too strongly, but it all goes nicely together.

I'm going to ask you, from now on, that you stop using the word

"hopefully."

-OK.

-OK?

If you say "Yes, it's difficult, I understand", that's fine.

-But "hopefully, fingers-crossed" cooking just doesn't work.

-OK.

I'm hopefully going to have some dessert today.

You're DEFINITELY going to have some dessert from me.

And it's going to look beautiful.

I don't think I've put a plate in front of them

that I've been, personally, fully happy with.

It's time to show them that what they have seen in me

is actually there,

and that I was worth putting through.

What are you going to cook for us, Matthew?

It's a Black Forest gateau in a cup.

Why have you chosen Black Forest gateau?

It's one of my favourites. I haven't got a really sweet tooth,

and I love the sourness, I love cherries.

Try and sort of bring an old favourite of mine,

and try and change it about, put my mark on it, and hopefully...

..serve it.

Three minutes of preparation time left, that is it.

-Come on, come on, come on. Seriously.

-Takes 20 minutes to cook. I've got 30 minutes.

I know how long ravioli takes to make,

but you've got to make 12 of those, fill them up, get yourself ready to go.

-You've got three minutes of prep time left and that's it.

-Chef.

Completing the guest list are last year's finalists Tom Whitaker,

James Perry, Jackie Kearney,

Sara Danesin Medio, and Annie Assheton.

I would imagine they're pretty nervous

but hopefully just concentrating on the job at hand, at the moment.

I remember being out there and thinking to myself

"Why have I put myself through this?"

Having John have a little shout at you, which was a bit,

"Ooh, this is what it's like to be shouted at by a head chef!"

It was quite exciting, really, wasn't it?

SHE LAUGHS

OK, you guys. The orders are about to come in, you are now on your own.

I'm going to the pass.

Hi, guys. Can I take your orders for starters?

I'd like to start with the mackerel fillet, please.

Could I have the ravioli, please?

I'm going to have the chawanmushi,.

Can I have the scallops, please,

and can I have that without the prosciutto?

Somage! First order. One mackerel, two ravioli, one scallop.

The scallop, no ham.

Second order! One mackerel, two mushi, one scallop, one ravioli.

-COOKS:

-Yes, chef!

And Jonathan's still making ravioli.

-How many have you got made?

-Two.

-Two?!

-Yep.

SHOUTS: Come on!

You got water on for them, to cook them in?

-Not yet, chef.

-You mean "no."

-No, chef.

Come on, mate. Come on, come on. Get some water on, and then get the rest of that pasta done.

The chawanmushi,, the first time I had it I really did not like it,

I didn't like it at all. But it became an acquired taste for me.

Now I absolutely love it.

It can go wrong, it's easy to overcook, it's easy to split.

So I think that'll be a good test of skill,

and just something that, if it's good, I'll absolutely love it.

-How long are they going to take?

-15 minutes.

You've got 30 minutes before they hit the pass. So, 15 minutes to cook, 15 minutes to rest?

They get REALLY hot, so it's fine, they need to cool down a bit.

-Are you your sister today?

-Sorry?

-Ah, there you are, you're back!

Back in the room, Aki. Nice to see you.

-How many ravioli now, Jonathan.

-Still two, chef.

-Two?!

-Yes, chef.

I'm very intrigued by the oyster cream.

Could go either way, I think.

Something that'll either be very good, or perhaps not.

Really curious to see scallops, pistachio and parsnip together on a plate.

Hopefully that works.

-Your first scallop dish, no ham.

-Yep, got that.

Will it work without ham?

Personally, I don't think so.

But if it's their choice, it's their choice.

You've got to give them what they want.

OK.

One minute, the pass, please, the first table of starters.

Are we ready for showtime?

Yes, chef.

OK, let's go, come on. On the pass. Come on, quick, let's go. Good, thank you very much.

SHOUTS: Come on, Jonathan!

Coming, chef!

So is Christmas, son! Let's go.

Oh!

Oh, well done, you!

Next table, two mushi, one scallop, one ravioli, one mackerel.

-COOKS:

-Chef!

Three minutes the pass, please.

Very nice, very nice.

-Is that ravioli going to be ready, Jonathan?

-Yes, Chef!

Talk to me, tell the guys. Jonathan, how long?

One minute, Chef!

-Eamonn?

-Ready in ten seconds, Chef.

-Good.

I want you to look at each other and bring your plates up together, please.

OK.

Back again. Next one, please. Quick, I need two. Quick, quick.

Head of mackerel toward the customer, please, Chef.

Thank you. Wow! That's a portion, isn't it?

Crikey! Thank you, Jay.

Thank you.

Well done, guys. Good job.

Thank you.

This could be an interesting dining experience.

JAY SHUDDERS

LAUGHTER

Is he not scarier, when he's calling out your orders, than usual?

"How many ravioli, Jonathan? Two, Chef.

"How many ravioli? Two, Chef."

LAUGHTER

Jonathan served up four orders of his

Mushroom ravioli with cep puree crispy chicken skin,

and roast chicken breast.

These are people I've been impressed with when I've watched them,

so, yeah, it would be good for them to like the food.

Really good.

I'm really, really impressed with the dish.

The pasta is beautifully thin.

There's a really rich, earthy flavour from those mushrooms.

All in all, that's an excellent dish,

and I'd actually happily pay my own money for that.

The pasta is quite lovely.

The chicken is very nicely made.

Well done, for whoever's made it.

Very nice.

It's nicely seasoned, chicken breast is soft.

Sweetness and strength coming from the cep, and beautiful pasta.

That's a GOOD dish. That's a really good dish.

Aki served the most starters, with six orders of chawanmushi,,

which is a steamed custard with lobster and chicken,

served with duck-stuffed shitake mushrooms.

It's a traditional Japanese dish,

so it represents everything about me!

So I'd LOVE it if they liked my dish.

Mmm! Wow!

This is exquisite!

It's funny, it's split a bit.

I think it's gone a little bit overcooked

because the egg is separated out from the dashi.

But the texture is still really nice.

It melts in the mouth, it's silky.

It's my kind of food. I really like it.

You've got a load of depth of flavour

from all the little different elements,

but also, you get bored of that flavour,

and you've got lovely crispy mushroom here, with duck. Really enjoying it.

Eamonn cooked five mackerel fillets,

served with a fisherman's net of prosciutto,

breadcrumbs to represent sand,

rocket to look like seaweed,

and a cold oyster cream.

Raw oysters and cream. Yeah, it's a bit risky, isn't it?

You don't go far in MasterChef by doing egg and chips.

I really wasn't sure how an oyster cream would fit with already

an oily fish, but actually the combination is really stunning.

It's like tasting a mouth of fresh sea. It's really, really wonderful.

The oyster cream is absolutely sensational.

Really nicely cooked mackerel,

and the ham around it is really crispy,

and that's a very clever oyster sauce.

Unfortunately, I don't like all three of them together.

Jay has served four starters of

scallops with pistachio parsnip cream

and crispy prosciutto.

I loved it. I really did. I wanted some more dishes, to be honest.

A couple of surprises, you know, here's a curveball.

You know what I mean?

For me, the presentation is first-class.

It looks very inviting, it looks fresh. It shows a lot of respect for scallops, which are first class.

That parsnip cream is absolutely smooth.

I would not have thought pistachio would work in there, but it does.

A beautifully cooked scallop, then you get a mild curry flavour,

then you get heat. That's nice. That's lovely.

Main courses, you've got a hard act to follow,

because the starters are looking great.

-What would you like for the main?

-I'm going to go for the kalia of lamb.

The poussin, please.

-I'll have the sea bass.

-I'm going to have the duck breast.

OK, main courses.

-First table, one lamb, one bass, two duck, one poussin.

-Yes, chef.

-Second table, one duck, two lamb, one poussin, one bass.

-Yes, chef.

The duck breasts, I think there's a lovely combination of flavours,

but it'll be really interesting to see if it's as simple on the plate

as it reads on the menu, because it does look almost dangerously simple.

I think the sea bass dish sounds quite hard to cook,

because you have three very time sensitive elements

that could go horribly wrong.

Asparagus is very easy to destroy, essentially, if you overcook it.

Calamari can be chewy in seconds,

and overcooked sea bass isn't pleasant.

Ready? Let's go.

It's not cooked. Your lamb is not cooked. Nowhere near it.

The lamb's been in now for 18 minutes.

Good. It will probably take about 20-25. A big rump of lamb.

It takes 12 minutes at home, the same size.

You can't serve raw lamb, you cannot serve raw lamb.

You need to make a decision now, you can do one of two things,

you can take the lamb, and cut off the ends, you know,

whatever you want to do it...

Come on guys, main courses, I want to see them, please.

-Shelina, are you happy?

-Yes, chef.

Thank you. Really good.

Nice, Charlie.

-OK. Interesting. You happy with that?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

I don't have time to reduce the sauce any more.

Yeah, OK.

Woah, okey doke.

-< Are you a little hungry there?

-Yes, I am.

OK, guys, 60 seconds, please. Lamb, bass, duck, poussin.

Let's go Charlie, come on, mate.

One up now, and the next fish on, please. Is your next fish on?

Uh, not right now, but...

Mate, I tell you, right now we are too slow.

Too slow.

-Put the next two fish on, please.

-There on.

Three fish on, please.

-I need somewhere else to plate.

-No, you don't.

-Clean your bench down. Move your asparagus out of the way.

-I got so many things.

No, you've just got too many things to finish at the last minute,

next time, think about the dish and service,

not just about one plate of food, but lots of plates of food.

Yes, chef.

It's not just me, it's the other guys,

their food is starting to suffer,

because it's been sitting around too long.

Come on Charlie, let's go.

-Let's go, next table, please.

-Straight away, is it?

-We're sitting, waiting on you.

-Yes, straight away.

-How long for the next plates?

-Two minutes.

-Two minutes?

I thought you said straight away? Two minutes, or straight away, Charlie?

-Two minutes.

-Two minutes, please, guys.

-Two minutes.

I just remembered that I forgot to take these things off.

Oh, no! Disaster.

OK, guys. Let's go. One minute, at the pass, please.

-Shelina, let's go.

-Yes, chef.

-Tom, let's go. Afsaneh, let's go.

-Charlie, how long, again?

-30 seconds.

I got to send at this table, mate. Poussin, duck, lamb.

Table's gone, Charlie.

Charlie, Charlie, Charlie, have you got any more sauce?

And that's only five, imagine if you had sold 12?

I just wanted to impress.

-I know you're trying to impress, but at the same time...

-Yeah, I understand.

Charlie has cooked five plates of pan-fried Asian sea bass,

sesame asparagus, lemon chilli calamari

and Chinese cabbage.

I definitely gave myself too much to do

at the last minute, but, hopefully they like the food in there.

The fish is cooked really nice, the skin's crispy,

and it's nice and moist. It's lacking a tiny bit of seasoning.

I don't quite get what the asparagus brings.

It seems to clash with the fish.

For me, this just tastes of soy and ginger.

It seems, almost to me, to be a collection of

three different things on a plate, and none of them really sing,

there's nothing in there that you eat and go

"wow, I can really, really taste that."

Afsaneh had four orders for her poussin in lemon and saffron jus.

It is served with dill and broad bean rice, a herb frittata

and Greek yoghurt.

You see, this is the problem, I don't know where to start.

I want them to love my food, because I cook from my heart,

and I hope they see it on my plate.

I think there is a lot of potential in this dish,

I think the depth of flavour's there,

the cooking techniques are there, it's just a case of refinement.

-That comes with experience.

-The rice by itself is brilliant, and the herb flavouring is very good.

I LOVE yoghurt, sour yoghurt, and tingy saffron with the rice

with dill. Love it, love it, love it!

I'm amazed John's let this come out with string on it,

because John goes crazy with a bit of string on the meat.

Tom served six orders of pan roasted duck breast,

with a white truffle croquette, carrots and a port and fig sauce.

I went into service confident with my dish, but little elements

weren't quite right, so, I've just got to

try and not beat myself up about the little mistakes I've made,

and hope that, as a whole, it was good enough.

I think that with a dish that's

so simple they really need to get every element spot-on.

I don't really feel they've done that.

You want a sauce that is nice and sticky,

if you have got to fig and port it, it should be nice and shiny, glossy, and coat the meat.

In terms of the balance of ingredients,

the duck's cooked really well, the potatoes are really beautiful,

with a hint of white truffle oil,

but the carrots are a real afterthought,

these are really disappointing, personally, irritating.

Where's the sauce? Where is it?

Is there somebody out there with a jug of sauce under their bench?

Criminal.

Shelina has served four orders of kalia lamb on pumpkin puree,

surrounded by broad beans and a tamarind jus,

topped with plantain crisps.

I've never undercooked lamb in my life,

I hope this doesn't hinder my chances,

because the meat was cooked in the end,

obviously, in the kitchen there was a bit of mayhem.

The lamb dish, I really like the flavours,

the presentation is quite naive,

it's a huge slab of meat straight down the middle of the plate.

I love this type of food, it's really nicely spiced,

a lot of flavour in there.

The lamb is good, but it's also kind of uneven,

there are parts that are quite rare, parts that are well done.

It's all a little bit sloppy, the texture is a little bit wet.

Can I take your orders for puddings, ladies and gents?

I'm going to go for the raspberry filled chocolate cylinder,

with beetroot sorbet!

-I'll have the fig tart tartin.

-The praline and chocolate pear.

I'll have the Black Forest gateaux, please.

I'm probably the only one here old enough to remember it

first time around!

OK, dessert, orders, check on.

First table, one a tarte tatin, one Black Forest, one chopped pear,

one cylinder.

Second table, one pear, one tarte tatin, one cylinder,

one Black Forest gateaux.

Yes, chef.

The desserts today have to be stunning.

They've got to be elegant, sophisticated, interesting,

exciting, all of those things, and still make everyone smile.

Tough gig.

It sounds lovely, doesn't it?

It's the cylinder I'm more interested in.

I want to see how they hold their cylinder.

The person I'm most worried about cooking

Poire belle Helene for is Stephen Wallace,

because I've just found out that he won the final in 2007 with that dish.

It will be great to see how the chocolate,

the coffee and the blackberry work together.

It will be really amazing, sounds very intriguing.

He will be the toughest critic, I'm sure.

How much time have we got?

-Matthew, you know you've only got 15 minutes for that first dessert to go out?

-Just one.

It doesn't matter just one, mate, they should be ready to go.

15 minutes. After that it's 16 minutes, then 17 minutes.

You haven't even started to compile them.

Matthew, Black Forest gateaux in a glass.

Really interesting idea, but with all those variables,

anything can go wrong.

And by the looks of Matthew, and the way he's panicking right now,

it's starting to go wrong already.

It's quite a technical dish, tarte tatin, you can ruin it

really easily, there's always that thing, you can't see underneath it,

so, you kind of got to judge it without knowing what it looks like.

I need your advice, it's gone a bit soggy. I'm thinking of putting it back in the oven for a bit.

All it's going to do is cook things more.

But would it not make the pastry that's been sitting underneath all that juicy caramel...

Probably not, because once that sog gets into the pastry, that's it.

Two minutes on the first table, guys. Two minutes.

-Matthew, are we really going to be able to serve this dessert?

-No.

I can't give it to you. I can't give it to you.

The mousse has not set properly, the glace is too watery.

Can you not at least get a plate and make a slice of cake,

and some chocolate mousse, or do something? Something!

No, there's nothing... I'm sorry. I really am so sorry.

You've got to serve something for dessert.

-Yeah, we have to find something.

-So, do me a favour,

clear this stuff away, and let's grab a plate, and try something.

I'm so sorry to let you down.

-You haven't let me down, you've let yourself down.

-I know I have.

(WHISPERS) I didn't deserve this, I'm better than this.

-What's the nicest part of a Black Forest gateaux?

-The cherries.

-Good.

Cherries in the bottom of the glass, then maybe a layer of this between your cherries, and your cake?

-Yeah.

-OK? Then crumble your cake in. Do whatever you like to do,

-but the fact is, you got to serve a dessert.

-Yeah, yeah.

OK, guys. I need the first table on the pass in 60 seconds, please.

Good.

-Right, Matthew.

-Yeah.

-Have we saved it?

-Oh, my God.

Good.

Hold on.

-What's happened, Emma?

-They broke.

-So, you've got one, have you?

-No, but it broke.

-So, what are we going to do?

-I've got these ones. Argh!

SHE MUTTERS

I'm going to have to serve this table, at some stage.

-Right, I've got one.

-OK, next table, please.

-You got three there, Matthew?

-Yes, chef.

-You got enough cream whipped?

Oh, cream.

OK guys, let's go, I'm going to make this decision. Let's go, please.

The rest of the table's up.

Thank you guys. Service is over, many thanks, indeed.

Last year was tough.

This year was a lot, lot tougher.

There's been some ups, some downs,

and there's been a couple of merry-go-rounds.

Matthew has managed to deliver five portions of Black Forest gateaux.

With a bit of help from John, we managed to get a pudding out,

but it just didn't go at all, didn't work.

It's served in a glass,

it's not a wedge as I remember from the '70s,

but all the flavour is there, and that little touch of booze.

it's really good.

I wish it was a little bit richer with the chocolate,

and the sort of, fruity cherry, boozy bit at the bottom

is a little watery, but other than that, it's great.

Fairly simple, but if you get it right, it's a winner,

and I'm happy with the end of that meal, now.

Emma has served five chocolate cylinders,

filled with raspberry and rosewater,

with beetroot and raspberry sorbet, and chocolate crumbs.

It was a real nightmare, actually.

I remember thinking halfway through, "Oh my goodness, I can't do this.

"The cylinders aren't going to work."

And I just had to go, "No, just keep going. Just keep going."

I love the fact that they were brave enough to pair beetroot in a sorbet,

because you can actually taste the beetroot,

it's like a nice bridge between the chocolate and the berries.

The sharpness and the sweetness of that raspberry

coming out of that chocolate tube is quite incredible.

Very good palate, really quite impressed.

For me, this is definitely the nicest thing that I'd eaten today.

I think it's absolutely fantastic.

Ashvy had five orders for her fig tarte tatin,

with salted pine nut praline ice cream.

I messed up a little bit with the timing,

possibly didn't let the pastry cook for as long as it could of,

but other than that I'm actually really happy.

The pastry is a tiny bit thin, but it's a very minor quibble

because I think the flavours are balanced properly,

and all or it, for the most part, it's executed really, really well.

This pine nut praline ice cream is absolutely delicious.

The only sadness is that I'm a total pastry nut,

I can eat pastry on its own, and this one was a tiny bit soggy.

Andrew had four orders for his praline and chocolate pear,

with coffee and blackberry macaroons.

Those little macaroons there, they're like cute as buttons,

you could have them as buttons, but I'm going to eat them.

If I could do it again,

I might do the presentation slightly differently.

John said there were some nice colours on it, but I thought

it looked a bit '80s, but I think it all tasted nice, so...

Mmmn! Good. The macaroons are so sharp as well, it's beautiful.

I think the pear has been cooked extremely well,

I like the surprise when you cut into it, the chocolate spills out.

That was wonderful.

I think it's a very technically gifted chef that's prepared this.

It was good fun in here. There were some absolutely knockout dishes,

and a few I absolutely fell in love with.

By the looks of your face, it was probably harder work in the kitchen!

It was really hard work, but I've got to say that I'm proud of all of them for continuing to push and push.

I think they did all right, but there were some star dishes.

I'll tell you a beautiful dish, that ravioli, my choice of the starters.

What are you grinning at? What happened?

Our friend Jonathan almost sent me in a flat spin, but he persisted,

and he delivered one of the best dishes in that room.

Andrew's poached pear with chocolate and macaroons.

You know me and my weakness for a juicy pear, then to find chocolate oozing out of it, fantastic.

Everybody, without doubt, loved the chocolate

with the raspberry and the beetroot.

The filling with the raspberry puree and the rosewater,

I thought was delicious. It was a good dessert.

Jay's scallops were cooked beautifully.

A bit of curry heat in there, and slivers of bacon, I thought that was lovely.

You know, to stay, would be like euphoria, you know what I mean?

It would be awesome.

You would have to shoot me with a rhino sedator to calm me down!

Ayman made the mackerel with the oyster cream.

I expected that dish to go one of two ways - to be loved or not.

Well, it went both of those ways!

Everybody enjoyed the flavour of that chawanmushi.

And then those mushrooms with the duck, gorgeous.

Afsaneh today, that poussin was cooked beautifully.

She braised it first, with all the saffron, but she left the string on.

John, you hate string!

You go mad over string, everyone came out with string on it.

I'm sorry.

So, at the moment there are five people at risk -

Ashvy, Charlie,

Shelina, Tom

and then Matthew.

Ashvy, with her fig tarte tatin.

She made that ice cream which was lovely and creamy,

but the pastry underneath, just went to sog.

Had I just put it in a little bit later,

it would have been really good.

Charlie, with his Asian sea bass.

A few people thought that it wasn't bold enough in its flavour.

And he held everybody else up, everybody.

If I'm going to win MasterChef I need to seriously think

whether I can survive what I'm planning to do.

If I did any more than I did today, I probably would have passed out.

Shelina, her spiced lamb.

It just didn't quite come together for her.

People had irregularly cooked lamb. Just a sloppy dish.

I think I would be absolutely mortified if I left today.

I don't actually want to think about it at this stage.

-Tom?

-The duck really annoyed me, and annoyed a lot of people,

because I loved the flavour of it, but what happened to the sauce?

No-one had any sauce.

It's critical that I go through today,

just so I can, hopefully, develop the way I want to.

Today there was only one person that I had to step in and help,

and that was Matthew, because he fell apart completely.

-So, without you helping him, Matthew wouldn't have got it out?

-No.

Just nothing worked today,

I messed up on the oven, the ganache mousse didn't set.

I hope they let me stay in there,

because I am so much better than that.

Look, who do we throw a lifeline to?

Who do we think actually has got what it takes,

and who really is not cut out for this at all?

Yes, that's the question.

Well done you 12. Well done. That was a very difficult test.

Each and every one of you proved that you had the right to be here.

Some FANTASTIC dishes.

But for us, there were people today who simply stood out.

They are -

Jonathan,

Andrew,

and Jay.

Eamonn,

Emma,

Aki,

Afsaneh.

The two contestants leaving us...

..are Charlie

and Matthew.

I'm sorry guys. I'm sorry.

I'm so glad with how far I got,

it's been an amazing experience, the whole thing.

So, thank you, basically to MasterChef

for improving my cooking, and giving me the chance.

I am glad I applied.

The dessert didn't work, I should have...

I couldn't do nothing different.

It's cost me the competition.

I just feel really overwhelmed. I thought I was going home.

It's just making me realise how tough this competition is getting.

It was a real challenge today.

Very nerve-wracking to be standing here in the final five,

but happy to be through, nevertheless.

I'm so relieved to have got through, but it's just made me so determined

not to be in that situation again, my heart won't take it.

I will say to all 10 of you, if you think today was tough,

just wait to what comes up next.

Tomorrow night - the pressure is on, as the 10 remaining contestants

face their first mass catering challenge.

You're going to have to... Argh!

-Ouch! Watch out! Watch out!

-I can smell burning.

Oh, for crying out loud.

These guests wanted literary drama, not real drama!

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