Episode 5 MasterChef

MasterChef is searching for the country's best amateur cook.

These ten have battled to stay in the competition.

Disaster.

-I'm sorry, I can't give it to him.

-Absolutely love it.

Tonight, things get even tougher

as they face their first mass challenge.

-Cooking in volume.

-You're going to have to...argh!

-Ow, watch out, watch out.

-I can smell burning.

For crying out loud.

These guests wanted literary drama, not real drama.

It's early morning and the ten contestants are travelling west.

This is the city of Bath,

synonymous with one of history's most famous authors, Jane Austen.

Born in 1775, she wrote only six complete novels

but her works have outsold all her contemporaries

and continue to find new readers.

It's the 200th anniversary

of the publication of Sense And Sensibility.

Hundreds of Austen fans are here in Bath for the eight-day festival to celebrate.

Good morning, welcome to the Royal Crescent

in the beautiful city of Bath.

Today, this city is going to be overtaken

with the Jane Austen Festival.

You are preparing lunch for the elegant hordes

that are going to descend on this crescent.

We are splitting you into two teams.

Ashvy to Jay, you're one team. Shelina to Aki, you are the other.

You will be feeding 100 people.

Be inspired by the occasion, think about the period.

Stand out, guys.

At the end of this,

we'll make a decision as to which team performs the best.

And that team will stay on here in Bath

and cook for a very important function

under the guidance of one of Britain's best chefs.

You have just three hours. Good luck.

I am so excited. Oh, my God.

I love Jane Austen. Love, love, love.

I'm more of a Steve Austin fan.

Knowing that there's a reward at the end of today

should we be victorious,

then I am even more competitive

and more determined to win.

The winning team today, from the sounds of it,

is in for a real treat

and I so want to be

in that winning team.

Who's team leader, guys?

-Me.

-You want to be team leader?

-I'm very happy to be team leader.

-Happy to be team leader?

-Yeah.

-Team leader.

-Yes.

-Sure?

-Yeah.

-Right.

All right, team.

Right.

-Does anyone want to be a leader?

-I think we've got our leader.

The person holding the paper and writing stuff down.

-You want me to be leader?

-I don't mind.

-It's up to you.

OK, I'll take, that's fine, I need a watch.

Perfect. OK.

Each team now has to come up with two main dishes,

one vegetarian option and a pudding.

Pastry, a staple of early 19th-century Regency cuisine,

must feature somewhere.

Who feels comfortable doing pastry?

OK.

Team Andrew has been given mackerel, chicken, chicken livers

and a selection of fruit,

vegetables and herbs, including gooseberries and beetroot.

Andrew, menu, menu, come on.

Right, vegetarian,

Savoy cabbage stuffed with mirepoix and cheese.

Tomatoes with mushrooms and star anise.

We're going to do a horseradish mackerel

-with gooseberry sauce.

-Yeah.

The chicken, we're going to stuff that with chestnuts and sage.

Cool. What's the vegetarian, again?

Savoy cabbage stuffed with mirepoix and cheese.

Dessert, baked spiced apples with a quince sponge

and a pineapple relish.

-Right.

-Right, let's go.

My idea, stuff whatever we can with whatever we have

and make it taste good and look really good.

In the other tent, their ingredients include duck, salmon,

cauliflower, blackberries and figs.

So, that's it, guys. What's your final menu?

-Duck is going to be with plum sauce.

-Right.

-Panna cotta with a fig spiced compote.

-Yum.

-Ravioli served with pumpkin in the inside.

-Interesting.

-With three different sauces.

Salmon en croute is going to be with the fennel, orange and spiced salad.

Beautiful, good.

Good luck, guys.

Just three hours, guys, and it's lunch.

It's not just the quality of the cooking, is it?

It's the organisation of a whole team and the preparation

and the serving of so many dishes.

They're going to have to use common, common sense. And sensibility.

-Andrew, do you need these chickens for anything?

-No, no.

Chicken's all yours.

What are you doing with the chickens?

I'm beating them out,

doing a stuffed chicken breast

with chicken livers, sage, chestnuts, poaching them

and then frying them off to colour in the last minute before serving.

OK.

The thing that worries me most is just getting it ready on time.

There's a lot of prep with this one. Got to do 40 portions.

So, it's 20 chickens. Time is of the essence today.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

Eamonn begins the mammoth task of filleting 40 mackerel.

We're Regencying it up by decorating it

with, like, a little puff pastry head, puff pastry tail.

I remember seeing in Regency pastry, starts and ends on creatures.

They try and build the animal back up again.

That's what we're doing today.

-What are you doing now, Andrew?

-I'm going to make pastry for you.

Lovely, thank you. Puff pastry, yeah?

Andrew, you see here, quantity-wise, literally enough for...

-Don't need very much.

-If you can imagine enough to make 80 of them.

Yup, yup.

I quite quickly opted for the vegetarian option

because I've cooked loads of vegetarian food in my life

whereas I think the boys are a bit like, "Vegetarian, what's that?

"That's not food."

Ashvy starts by chopping the vegetables for her mirepoix,

a combination of diced carrots, celery and onions.

Just blanched the cabbage leaves for stuffing.

Just about to get on with the stuffed tomatoes now.

And burn myself little bit.

I don't think there's a vegetarian in that tent

because stuffed cabbage with cheese and a stuffed tomato.

I hope there aren't many vegetarians and if there are,

they're not going to be in Andrew's tent.

I'm trying to core all these apples

because we are making baked apples.

I'm going to do, actually, 60 portions

so a lot of time to spend on prep.

It's going OK for the time being.

Ask me in half an hour and then I'm going to be panicking.

In the other tent,

Shelina's team are already starting to feel the pressure.

-Tom, how are you getting on with your panna cotta?

-Fine.

The panna cotta, obviously, needs to set so I'm happy

until the time comes when I've got to turn them out.

And if they've set, brilliant.

If they haven't, it would become a real disaster.

At the moment, I'm doing duck.

So, we have the leg in a, sort of, ragu-style sauce.

And then, roasted breast which we'll slice.

Quite a lot of duck to do, so just want to try and make sure

I can get this all on and cooking as soon as possible.

This is, like, monster portion of pasta.

Shelina's helping me with the pumpkin ravioli

and I'm doing three sauces for the pasta.

It's going to look beautiful.

The pasta's not going to be individually served either,

it's going to be served on a big platter.

-I don't want that.

-That's the way is going to be.

That's the way it's going to be.

Can't we have the sauces in separate pots?

I think we just do one sauce. I think we just do the tomato sauce.

Aki, let's just see how you get on.

The thing is, I'll do one sauce at a time. I'll do the tomato first.

-And if I have time, I'll do the other two. How's that?

-Sounds good.

Perfect.

-Andrew?

-Yup.

I need some serious help getting these bone and trimmed.

-I've only got three prepped at the moment. Three dishes-worth.

-OK.

This is when people realise cooking in volume is really difficult

because nobody really took into account how long it takes

to fillet 40 mackerel and then take all the bones out and trim it.

I'm the mackerel king! Ha-ha ha-ha!

-Right, Andrew?

-Yeah.

-How you doing on time?

-We're stretched.

I need to help Eamonn on these mackerel, there's so many of them.

-40 portions.

-80 fillets.

-40 portions.

And I need to help him get these done so we can relax a bit on this station.

Are you all right cutting the bones out?

-And we can get a little production line going.

-Yes.

Hour's gone, guys. You've got two hours left.

Meanwhile, in Shelina's tent,

they're running behind on prep for the 40 portions of salmon en croute.

-How many fish have we got left?

-Three.

And we need to get those prepped, stuffed, in the pastry

at least 45 minutes before service so I'm really pushed for time.

Emma, once you're done with the carrots,

do you mind coming and helping with the salmon?

Not at all. That's what I'm, I'm trying to get there.

Cos we've still got two big fishes to get done.

-What do you want me to do?

-Can you start pin-boning the fish? I'm going to start on the ravioli.

My pin-boning skills are not very good.

Was salmon on pastry a little ambitious for a tent in a field?

Potentially, but we want to win.

-That's fighting talk, well done.

-Thank you.

I don't normally do that, but I'll do it with you.

Come on, you slippery...

But the salmon is not Shelina's only problem.

-You going to be all right with that?

-Yeah.

-OK.

-How are you getting on, Shelina?

-Yeah, I think we're OK.

You think you're OK?

You've got to get that panna cotta set

and, right now, it's still hot.

I know that's what we're focusing, I'm trying do that now.

We're just filling up some cold water to bring it down to temperature.

-And then we're going to put it in the fridge to set.

-Good.

Good.

Carry on, carry on, enough.

Um.

We'll just go small on the portions. Portions were big anyway.

-You sure?

-Have to.

There's no choice, we haven't got time to make any more.

-What's happened?

-We lost half a jug of panna cotta.

So, if it doesn't set in time,

you're going to be serving figs with custard.

Potentially, but we need to get it in the fridge ASAP.

In Shelina's tent, they've lost about a quarter

of the panna cotta mix.

That means they won't be able to get all of those panna cottas out.

And no-one's doing a thing about making some more mix

or coming up with another plan.

They're just all running around the floor looking at it.

You only have one hour left.

Backs, backs, backs, backs, hot.

-Can I put this here?

-Yup.

Ashvy, how are we with the stuffed tomato?

I've got ten more to do. The stuffing is over there.

Got to put the lids on and in the oven.

-And the stuffed cabbage with cheese and mirepoix?

-Everything's ready. Just got to stuff it now

and then sear it off nicely in the pan.

-You've got to stuff all the cabbage?

-Yeah. And make my beetroot sauce but that won't take long.

-It's cooked, it's cooling.

-And stuff these tomatoes.

-Won't take long.

-Stuff all the cabbage?

-Yes.

-And make a sauce?

-Yes.

Miss Optimistic, Ashvy. All I've got to do is stuff the cabbage.

And all I've got to do is stuff the tomatoes.

And all I've got to do is make the beetroot sauce.

That sounds like quite a bit to me, Ashvy.

-Is that it?

-We're nearly there.

-Nearly there.

Do you know, two hours, almost two hours on this mackerel.

-Are you still doing it with the pastry?

-Yes.

When this is off, we'll get those cut out.

-You're never going to want to see another piece of mackerel.

-Blast, mackerel.

The mackerel just took a ridiculous amount of time

and they're making pastry tails and heads for every single one.

OK, and that's going on now. That's only just been started.

-Do you need to egg wash them as well?

-Yeah, yeah.

Jay's chicken fillets are ready to be flattened and stuffed.

I'm good to go.

-Have you got a meat mallet you're not using?

-If we're not using it, you can definitely use it.

-No, meat mallet, you know.

-That's all we have.

-A little hammer?

No, sorry.

There's no meat mallet, not here or next door.

So, I'm kind of stuck with what I've got.

-I need a meat mallet.

-OK, we're going to have to re-think this, OK.

-Can you do it another way - slice it?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Not a problem, mate. Walking on sunshine.

-Aki, what are you on now?

-Sauce number two.

-No.

The panna cotta is the priority right now.

So don't do any more sauces.

-Fine.

-Whisk it up cos all the vanilla beans are at the bottom.

We're only doing half because it needs to set in time, yeah?

-Aki, you OK with that, yeah?

-Yeah, trust me, babes.

I think I'm just a little bit worried about the panna cotta,

I'm worried about the salmon, still.

Yeah, pressure is on now. And there we go. Look.

-How long did we say for the salmon in the oven?

-I'd put it in for 35 minutes.

-It's going to take 45 minutes in the oven.

-35 minutes.

-Put three in one oven in the next five minutes.

-I reckon we put it in now.

No-one in there seems quite sure how long that salmon en croute is going to take to cook.

I think the way it's going now, we'd be lucky to get a corned beef salad.

-The salmon are in.

-How long do you need it in?

-I thought we were arguing over that.

-Shall we...

I reckon we do 20 minutes.

-Let's have a look at them after 20 minutes. Set a timer.

-Right.

Guys, we've got 30 minutes.

-Yup, yup.

-I need to get my mackerel in in five.

-Hello, who's using the oven?

-We have got sponges, apples,

completely full oven.

I know you've got a lot on, Andrew.

Any space for my pastry at the moment?

Yes, there will be, yes.

Can you give us a shout as soon as there is? Thank you.

I'm going to take my apples out so you can use those.

-I'm going to serve those in there.

-We're going to... hang on a sec, let me think.

Apples are coming out, can the sponge come out? No.

-And the apples are stuck in there.

-Yeah.

-Oh, for crying out loud.

You're supposed to stuff the apples, not stuff the oven.

Ready to go now if I've got some space.

-You will when the apples come out.

-Can somebody help me get this out?

-On top of where?

-Just there.

-On top of here.

-Yes. The oven is free.

-Can somebody open a door for me, please?

-Yes.

OK, everything for the mackerel dish is now in, Andrew.

Could someone check the salmon?

-Careful.

-Wow.

I can smell burning.

The pastry's burning underneath, or something.

-Why? Is that...?

-You can smell it.

It's cos it's on the...

I put it on top of the thing, not realising the stove was on.

We can't serve the bottom base of pastry because it is burnt.

-Ashvy, where's the beetroot sauce?

-Here.

-That's a sauce, is it?

-How many beetroots have you used?

-Three.

Beetroot sauce for 40 people has got three beetroots.

-Well, yeah.

-A bit scarce this time of year are they, beetroots?

Maybe put some beetroot in it. Grate it in or something, rather than chopping it.

You've got 12 minutes and that means the food out, ready to serve.

Guys, just so you know, your guests are arriving.

D-E-S-E-R-T. That's desert.

-Five minutes, guys.

-You're going to have to... argh!

Such a shame, isn't it?

Bottom burned, all that work.

Aki, put all your sauce on that, you need it on now, OK?

-We've said a trio of sauces, what's the third sauce?

-Calm down, I'm doing it.

-What's the third sauce?

These guests wanted literary drama, not real drama.

Ow, watch out, watch out.

0h, for...

How much time we got left, guys?

Three minutes.

We kind of need to go.

As far as Jane Austen was concerned, it was fairly, sort of,

plain fare, nicely, sort of, prepared.

Ladies, of course, could not help themselves.

So, if you didn't have a gentleman next to you

who was attending to your needs, you might go very hungry indeed.

Having seen what's on the menu here, I'm hugely excited.

May I escort you?

Ladies and gentlemen,

please step forward for the best food you will taste in Bath.

If you know people over there, get them

to come over here and take a look before they make their decision

cos the best food is here.

Shelina's team have made salmon en croute with spinach

and a fennel and a spiced orange salad.

Roast duck with a cauliflower puree and a duck leg ragu.

And vegetarian pumpkin ravioli with a tomato,

basil and bechamel sauce.

-Can I have some salmon, please?

-Yes. There we go.

-Salmon, yeah? No problem.

-There we go.

That salmon is proving to be an absolute winner.

I need some salmon over here. I've only got six more portions.

Some of the salmon's got burnt bits on it, though.

That's cos they burnt it.

It has lovely flavour, very moist.

The crust is very nice.

It's black, but only bits of it are black.

I just left the burnt bit and the rest, it was really gorgeous, really yummy.

The pastry's got a really lovely texture. Those herbs round the outside, is great.

It's a very ambitious dish

and I love the salmon inside the pastry, that's yummy.

Is anyone waiting for ravioli at all?

Here you go.

I had the pumpkin ravioli. It was very, very tasty. Delicious.

The sweet filling of the pumpkin inside is actually quite tasty.

I like the tomatoes with the chunks of onion and garlic and the basil.

Not bad. Not bad.

I should have the duck.

-That's the ragu.

-OK, duck, was it?

I think it's all about the duck right now. How many?

Jonathan's duck, it started off slowly but it's coming up really, really well.

It's succulent and absolutely as duck should be.

The duck was perfectly cooked for me. I could have eaten twice as much.

Really nicely cooked. Saltiness in the skin, the ragu is deep,

the cauliflower puree is earthy and a little bit sweet. I love it.

It's a really lovely dish.

Considering the volume of people they've served, it's extraordinary.

If you want to come over this way.

Andrew's team have made chicken stuffed with chestnuts

and chicken livers served with a pumpkin puree.

The second main is mackerel with pastry heads and tails,

a gooseberry and basil sauce and a samphire concasse.

And the vegetarian option is Savoy cabbage parcels stuffed with

mirepoix and cheese

and mushroom-stuffed tomatoes with a beetroot cream.

-I'll have the chicken, please.

-The chicken.

-It looks good.

-What do you think?

-It does, it does.

Thank you.

-Chicken.

-Chicken, certainly.

-The chicken? Chicken?

-All chickens, OK, let's go.

The chicken is flying out of that table, absolutely flying.

-Jay, could I have some more chicken please?

-Chicken, two minutes.

Thank you very much.

The chicken is really succulent and the stuffing goes really well, it complements the chicken.

I had the chicken and I thought it was really lovely.

Chicken's nice and moist. Sweetness coming from the pumpkin, little bit of star anise. Not bad.

Everyone's going for the chicken but I can assure you the mackerel is stunning.

-Mackerel.

-Thank you very much indeed, sir. You won't regret it. I promise you.

-It's the little Regency touches, you see.

-Oh, brilliant!

-Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.

-You're welcome. It's been a pleasure. Enjoy yourself.

In a true Georgian fashion, he put a beautiful pastry head and a tail on it.

-And it looks really, really pretty.

-So, I went for the mackerel.

It's very, very nice. Haven't come across any bones, which is always good.

Pretty looking dish, nice idea with the pastry head and tail. I love that. Love that mackerel.

I'm just going to do a vegetarian for that lady over there.

And that's like a creme fraiche and beetroot.

It was a bit cold and I wasn't too keen on the cabbage leaf round it.

I thought it was a bit rubbery. I don't think I would have it again.

-The vegetarian dish doesn't work.

-That beetroot cream is horrendous.

It's over-worked, over-whisked, salty cream with beetroot in it. Urgh.

Come on, guys, clear everything down, ready for dessert.

-They're not quite set, are they?

-No, they're not...

So, what we going to do?

Is it set?

Vanilla custard with a blackberry sauce.

-So, we're going to use that as like a cold custard?

-Yeah.

We've had to adapt it a little bit. The presentation is everything now.

We need to make this look every bit as good as it tastes.

Guys, they're plating up next door.

We need to get something on a plate and looking pretty to get them over here.

Guys, we're in control, just don't panic, OK?

-Sieve it.

-What's happened to it?

-Just get the sieve and sieve it.

-OK.

-Just have a look at it.

-I wouldn't serve it.

-No, OK.

-Custard's not on.

-Custard's not on?

-We've balls it. It just curdled. Scrambled egg.

-Guys, where's the custard? Oh.

-It was absolutely fine. When we sieved it just turned like that.

-You're trying to tell me the sieve has curdled the custard?

-Oh, no, no, I did.

-I might start again but I think it's too late.

-You haven't got time.

-See those people?

-Yeah.

-They're already here.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's dessert time.

Andrew's team's dessert is a baked spiced apple

with quince syrup sponge

and basil-infused pineapple.

With the custard curdled,

they're now serving it with a Chantilly cream.

Would you care for some cream, sir?

-Enjoy.

-Thank you.

-No problem. Enjoy.

Shelina's team is serving baked fig with vanilla custard

and a spiced blackberry sauce.

Oh, it's scrumptious. You are so clever to do all this.

We might be clever or crazy. We don't know which one yet.

It's lovely, thank you.

-Thank you. Looks good.

-Isn't it exciting?

There we go. Enjoy.

With no more customers to serve, Shelina decides to try a new tactic.

Want to go and collar some people on that queue?

Shall we go and see if they would like it?

Go and get some people from that queue.

Go and take the puddings over there.

Figs and blackberries. Absolutely gorgeous.

Do you want some? You've got some already.

Maybe you'd like some better dessert?

We're committed to the apple, absolutely.

-More apples, please, guys.

-More apples, please.

-Enjoy.

-Perfect, thank you.

I had the baked apple

and I thought the sponge was absolutely delicious on its own.

And I thought the apple was delicious on its own

but I think together, it doesn't work.

It was lovely until I got to the bottom of the sponge,

it was on the burnt side.

It's not one dessert, it's loads of desserts, loads of bits in a bowl.

The sponge, the pineapple and the cream, delicious.

Why there's an apple on there as well, I'm not quite sure.

I've got the figs with the vanilla custard

and the custard tastes very nice but it's very runny.

Yes, it could have set, perhaps, a little bit, little bit more.

A little longer. But otherwise, no, it was delicious.

This is supposed to be a panna cotta but it's not set.

So, it's custard with berries and figs. It's a shame, actually.

It was a good promise of a decent dessert.

It tastes fine but it's not right. Look at that, look.

# Voi che sapete

# Che cosa e amor

# Donne... #

That was intense on a Regency scale.

I just want to go and find the Roman Baths and jump in and shout yippee.

I don't think words can describe how shattered I am.

Every single bone in my body is aching.

I just made salmon en croute for a whole load of people dressed up as Jane Austen.

That's absolutely bonkers, I love it, it's brilliant.

Under really difficult circumstances, in a marquee in a field,

both of our teams, I think, rose to the challenge.

They provided really interesting food, really elegant food

and they worked really, really hard.

Andrew's team was very ambitious.

And, actually, they did get the food out just about on time.

Jay just grafted all day, would not stop. He's so persistent.

The chicken sold like wildfire.

The mackerel was absolutely superb. The dessert, I thought, was absolutely lovely.

However, the apple was unnecessary.

There was quite a lot of sponge which was burnt and sent out, which is a shame.

The vegetarian option, I thought, was absolutely awful.

Everything on that plate was either badly seasoned

or not cooked enough and it just didn't work.

From my point of view,

I think Shelina's team did themselves justice.

I think they worked really hard, I think Shelina was well organised.

She took control.

The best dish today was that duck. I mean, beautiful dish.

It would've been good in the studio, let alone in a tent in Bath.

Probably the most skilful dish being that salmon en croute

with all the work went into it.

The ravioli for the vegetarian course was decent.

But they did let themselves down with their dessert.

That panna cotta which wasn't set became a bowl of custard

with a baked fig and some blackberries.

Such a shame.

I want to win this today. No doubt about it.

Everyone worked really well.

Yeah, let's see.

If I'm not on the winning team, I'll be, I'll be very disappointed.

See, this where the difficulty is, both teams delivered

some very, very good food.

But both of them had one dish which was disappointing.

John, but there is a very big, special dinner coming up next.

Which team is capable of pulling it off?

It has to be said that the quality of the food and the ambition

from both teams, today, was way above expectation and that is brilliant.

The winning team is going to prepare a special dinner

with a chef at the absolute top of his game - the amazingly talented Jason Atherton.

We felt, today, the best team...

is Shelina's.

-Yes!

-Yes!

-Wahoo!

Congratulations.

Jason Atherton, Jason Atherton.

He's a big difference on me and my cooking.

And I cannot believe that I'm not going to get that.

What an opportunity missed.

We worked very, very hard today

and we didn't get the results we wanted.

But good luck to the other team.

I'm happy for them but disappointed for us.

I'm really proud of myself, I'm proud of what we managed to achieve.

I'm, yeah, over the moon. Yeah.

I've been trying to get a reservation at his restaurant for, like, three months, without success.

Now, I'm just going straight into the kitchen with him.

It's, you know, it's a dream come true. It's brilliant.

The winning team arrive at the Royal Crescent Hotel

which will be hosting a dinner

to celebrate the end of the Jane Austen Festival.

Tonight, they'll be cooking under the tutelage

of one of Britain's most illuminating culinary talents.

Jason Atherton.

Jason has trained and worked

with some of the greatest chefs alive today.

Including Ferran Adria and Pierre Koffmann.

I remember getting told by a freestyle chef once that

"I can train to be a head chef, I can't train you to be a great chef.

"That's either inside you or it's not."

His modern interpretation of classic cuisine

has won his London restaurant a Michelin star

less than a year after opening.

Let's go, 36.

Those guys, if they've got their ears open, will learn a huge amount.

I think this is brilliant but the pressure is seriously on.

Hi, guys. Welcome to the kitchen.

We've got a really important dinner.

We've got five courses off my menu

and I expect you to treat my food with the same respect I treat it.

So, please, follow me.

They now have just two hours to prepare and cook a menu

specifically designed by Jason for this exclusive event.

Aki will be making the starter.

A Cornish crab salad with a cauliflower puree,

cauliflower florets and Nashi pear.

Pitfalls for this dish are making sure

we cook the crab correctly cos that's the star of the dish.

If it's overpowered by all the rest of the flavours,

-the dish is history.

-Yes, chef.

-Cooked a crab from fresh before?

-Yes.

-Good.

-We've got a head start then.

-A tiny one.

It looks really daunting but I'm sure if I break it down,

same as in physics, there's something really complicated but you tackle it bit by bit and you get there.

That's what I'm going to try and do today. And get it done on time.

There's no more crabs here so if I overcook them, that's it.

Jonathan will be making roasted Cornish cod with pearl barley and squid and a sea cockle emulsion.

I haven't cooked fish before

so there's no kind of experience or instinct here that I can call on.

This is the nightmare scenario, definitely. So, I'm concerned.

-So, Jonathan, this dish, how do you feel?

-Not especially confident, no.

-Fish is not a strong point for me. Don't generally cook seafood.

-Do you not?

-No. So, slightly nervous.

You'll be fine, right. Be fine.

I'm not touching that thing.

I know how to do a mirepoix, so, I'm starting with the mirepoix.

Emma is in charge of the meat course.

Irish ox cheeks braised in stout, horseradish pomme puree

and heritage carrots.

This is a dish traditionally rooted in the past.

It's really important for me that you guys learn about food like this

because you can't go forward

until you understand the traditional basics.

Brilliant.

It's such an amazing opportunity to work with Jason.

But I know he's going to have extremely high standards

and I've got to make sure that I can deliver it.

There's a lot of pressure on.

Great opportunity but a lot of pressure.

I'm going to have to pick up the pace.

In the pastry kitchen,

Shelina is responsible for the first dessert course.

A complex apple trifle.

Served with a cinnamon doughnut.

What can really trip you up is if we don't get the layers done

in the exact amount of time, it won't set.

That's most important, is getting that jelly set.

-That needs to be done first.

-OK.

-Good.

-Uh-huh.

-Good luck.

-Thank you very much.

There's five elements. There's a lot that could go wrong.

I need to remain organised, pen and paper, brain. See how things go.

-Is that a fridge or freezer?

-Fridge.

Tom will be finishing off the meal with a bitter chocolate pave,

mango sorbet and tempered chocolate tuiles.

The chocolate tuiles are quite difficult to do. Cos they shatter really, really easily.

So, you're going to have your work cut out with these. OK.

-Have you cooked anything like this before?

-No.

-No. Well, today's the day, Tom.

-Yeah.

I'm feeling really nervous. There's things that are going to have to set, freeze, you know,

and decoration that, you know, can melt.

So...there's a lot of things that can go wrong.

Tom's first job is to make a sponge for the base of his chocolate pave.

It's like being back at work, this is all I do all day.

It's really important that they don't think

they're going to have an easy ride here because it's got to be perfection.

No food's leaving that pass unless it's absolutely right.

Because it's my standards, my reputation.

And my name on the menu.

30 minutes into prep, Jonathan is still avoiding filleting the cod.

Hi, Jonathan, because the cod, it's going to be a little bit tricky, let's get the cod prepped first.

-Then we can get it all nicely portioned and then crack on with the vegetables.

-OK.

-Yeah.

-Pretty straightforward stuff. Can you feel its backbone, there?

-Yes.

So, basically, all we want to do is follow that line.

And now, you can see, I've exposed its backbone now, can you see?

-All right, Jonathan. Let's crack on.

-Thanks, chef.

Jonathan needs to approach the fish course

with a little bit more confidence.

You can see that he's never cooked with fish before

because he's absolutely terrified of it.

Tom, can you say back when you're near me?

Back.

-Can I put these in the...?

-Back.

Back.

Shelina has just finished her granita,

a cider-flavoured ice that will make up the top layer of her trifle.

I'm just about to make the mix for the doughnuts.

I've never made doughnuts before. So, this is my first attempt.

Bit scared about these. So, let's see.

And I've, actually, never used one of these before

and I've dreamt about it. So... Struggling.

I'll do my best.

Shelina.

Not quite set.

They're not going to be set in time. We'd better do that jelly again.

Whoa.

Just a bit miffed about the reasons why the gelatine didn't set.

It's thrown me off guard. I was kind of focused and now, I'm a bit... A little bit upset about it, actually.

On the other side of the pastry kitchen,

Tom is tempering the chocolate for his tuiles...

before making his mango sorbet.

But there's a problem with his sponge.

Oh, my God. Are you serious? They're burnt.

Obviously, it's the varying, different equipment. Or maybe it was something I did. I don't know.

Either way, I've got to start it all over again. So, I'd best crack on.

I've got a ridiculous amount of work to do. The one job I didn't want have to do again and it's this one.

Just, basically, the worst possible scenario.

A group of special guests linked to the author

have been invited to tonight's exclusive dinner.

Amongst those attending

are Richard Knight,

direct descendant of Jane's brother Edward Austen Knight.

Adrian Lukis,

who played Wickham in the BBC's 1995 adaptation

of Pride And Prejudice.

And John Cullum, the High Sheriff of Somerset.

The guests at tonight's dinner are rather exciting.

The festival has just finished.

We are really looking forward

to sitting down and toasting Jane.

20 minutes away from the first course.

And we're looking a little bit behind, I've got to say.

If I'm perfectly honest, we're struggling a little bit.

It's crucial, now, that these guys step it up a gear.

We've got to hit that mark.

Aki's dish will be the first to leave the kitchen.

But she still has to pick the crab.

And also make her cauliflower puree and slice her Nashi pears.

I have about 2,000 things to do and about, er, five minutes.

Right, team, the first dish is supposed to be leaving the kitchen in 11 minutes.

Once one person's late, the whole brigade's late. OK?

Uh-huh.

-Let's crack on.

-OK.

Argh.

-Aki, four minutes' time then we should be serving this.

-Yes, chef.

I am particularly excited by the Cornish crab salad.

Nashi pear. Fantastic.

Fast as you can, Aki, now, yeah.

Aki's starter should be leaving the kitchen now.

All right, Aki, we're going to help you get this dish ready.

-So, it's quarter past six we're ready to serve. Yeah?

-Yes.

-I'm feeling really hungry, now.

-LAUGHTER

We need to move a little bit, please. Let's go, hurry up.

It's all about precision and speed.

Fast as you can, Aki, yeah.

I'm starving.

I know it was late but it's the first time I've made such a refined dish.

I'm still overwhelmed.

Aki has made a Cornish crab salad with a cauliflower puree,

cauliflower florets and Nashi pear.

Magnificent presentation. It's almost like a Damien Hirst.

-I just love crab and the freshness.

-So do I.

And the taste, the strong taste of this coming through.

It's wonderful.

It just whets the appetite. I'm just, it's absolutely delicious.

To slice that pear so very thinly

and the little tiny bits of cauliflower.

It's been very well put together, I think.

This is a wonderful dish

and, er, it just makes me want to see what's going to happen next.

-Six minutes, Jonathan, I want this out, yeah?

-OK.

I love cod but I think it's very difficult to cook right. Cos it has to be very moist.

I think it's very easy for it to be too dry.

-You're going to start plating, Jonathan, yeah?

-OK.

The thing is with cod, you've got to work quick.

If not, the cod will be overcooked, the squid'll go rubbery and the whole dish is ruined.

That's enough, stop. Otherwise we won't have enough sauce left.

OK, we need to re-froth that now.

Go, go, go.

That was a baptism of fire for me.

Would have preferred my first fish dish to be

in the comfort of my own home, with not quite such a public audience.

But you don't get to choose your battles in MasterChef.

It was hard work but it was exhilarating, certainly.

Jonathan has served roasted Cornish cod with pearl barley

and squid and a sea cockle emulsion.

I've got the whole, foamy effect. Yours looks a little bit lame.

-Leave it alone, it's going to be great.

-OK.

Although the cod was nicely moist, I thought it was under-seasoned.

I found it a bit gloopy, the whole shebang.

All the tastes work really well, just too much liquid.

I don't have any problem with it. I think it's absolutely delicious.

I think the pearl barley's terribly good.

Emma, five-minute call I've been given from the dining room.

-So, we're ready in five minutes, yeah?

-OK.

Irish ox cheek braised in stout with horseradish pomme puree

and heritage carrots.

Not too much.

That's it, perfect.

And very gentle without making a mess.

I think the ox cheek sounds terribly good.

The rather obscure parts of cows are usually much the best.

-So, I'm looking forward to it.

-LAUGHTER

Very nice.

Last but not least, put a little bit of your red wine sauce on.

-Right, and you're ready, let's go, let's go.

-Service, please.

-Let's go, service.

-Ooh.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

-Thank you very much. Thank you.

It looked good. And it tasted good. I think chef was pleased.

Which makes me very proud.

Emma has made Irish ox cheeks braised in stout,

horseradish pomme puree and heritage carrots.

I'm looking forward to this. It looks fantastic.

-Absolutely delicious.

-Hmmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm.

This is absolutely delicious.

The meat is wonderful, this is really just so.

-Beautiful, beautiful.

-The meat is so tender, it melts in the mouth.

I think this is as close to a religious experience

that I'd ever get.

It's absolutely divine.

Shelina now has just ten minutes to assemble her trifle.

You can see all those beautiful layers.

We don't want those to separate.

Oh, my God, this is like the most delicate thing

I've ever done in my life.

This is really, really, really dainty work.

And I'm very clumsy.

Boom, away we go, yeah.

This is the first time I've made doughnuts.

There you go, see, look at those bad boys.

Right, bring them over.

-Quick as you can.

-Yes, chef.

Quick, quick, quick, quick.

Put a little doughnut on the side of it.

Service, please.

I'm really shocked I managed to deliver that.

It did look really pretty. The layers were all there.

Fingers crossed. I'm hoping they'll like it. I'm hoping the guests will love it, actually.

Shelina's dessert is an apple trifle with Calvados cream,

cider granita and a cinnamon doughnut.

-Wow.

-Gosh, that's good.

-Just like...

-That is good.

-I know.

-That's not what I expected. At all.

-That's delicious.

-Hmm. Just try that doughnut. That is delicious.

-It's absolutely wonderful.

The doughnut, I have to agree, is wonderful, it's great. Lovely.

Tom's the one who's going to take us over the finishing line.

But if he doesn't get this pave absolutely perfect...

..the whole thing will fall apart.

This is really, Tom, where we find out, once we lift it off, if it's going to hold.

We've got, literally, ten minutes to serve.

If it doesn't hold, we've had it, we're going to have to quenelle chocolate mouse.

Here's the moment of truth, Tom. You want to lift it off? Very, very careful, yeah.

Well done - not bad for a plasterer, Tom.

Tom's final task is to delicately separate the fragile chocolate tuiles.

Support it underneath, very gently, that's it, keep pulling.

Very carefully. Perfect. That's it. We've got our little chocolate tuiles.

Obviously, working as fast as possible so the chocolate doesn't melt.

Service.

I'm a little surprised that I managed to get it out.

It certainly wasn't all plain sailing, you know, it was hard

but, you know, it feels brilliant.

For the final course, Tom has made a bitter chocolate pave

with mango sorbet, chocolate soil and chocolate tuiles.

This is an absolute visual masterpiece.

The chocolate decoration looks like slivers of ribbon,

it's very impressive.

I think that this chocolate pudding is to die for.

It's completely wonderful.

I thought it was absolutely delicious. Velvety, rich.

I would defy anybody not want to eat it.

I thought the combination of the chocolate with the mango, just delightful.

The soil was gorgeous. I think it's absolutely delicious.

For these guys, being amateur cooks, and just walk

into a professional kitchen and cook at Michelin level

is extremely difficult.

And these guys showed real skill to pull that off.

They've done me proud and they've done themselves justice.

I am absolutely exhausted. But what an incredible high to finish on.

It was very, very intense

but I can't imagine anything that could be more fun.

Well done. 'This has been my biggest highlight so far.

'If I have more opportunities like this, I'm not going home.'

Never, ever, ever, ever.

'Today's given me a hunger.

'It just shows me that I could definitely do this as a career.'

There's no reason why, one day,

I can't strive for the same sort of standards that Jason does.

After the challenge in Bath, for personal reasons,

Jonathan made the difficult decision to withdraw from the competition.

Next week, Andrew's losing team are sent back

to the mass catering trenches to redeem themselves.

This is just beyond the scale of most people's comprehension.

Onion, onions!

-Time to stop panicking, he's panicking everybody.

-This needs to be a sauce, not a watery mess.

You've got an hour and a half to go and you are making me nervous.

Can I just say - argh!

Move, move, move!

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