Episode 9 MasterChef

Just six talented cooks are left in the MasterChef competition.

They've survived some tough tests to get this far.

It's supposed to be 180. Who changed the oven?

Tonight, the battle continues

as the contestants enter the world of fine dining...

Masters of the Bench, dinner is served.

If you put that in the glasses and it doesn't set, it really is a disaster.

..and cook for culinary legend Michel Roux Jr.

Today is all about achieving perfection on a plate.

There's no point coming in here and not impressing. You've got to come in and give it your all.

I just don't want to let go at this stage because I've devoted so much to it.

I want this dream to carry on.

It's absolutely critical that I impress today

because one person is leaving and I don't want it to be me.

Middle Temple. One of the four Inns of Court

that form the backbone of the British legal system.

Since the 15th century, all barristers have had to train at one of these Inns

before they can practise.

At the centre of the Middle Temple is its 450-year-old hall,

and a tradition of formal dinners held regularly

to exchange knowledge between barristers and students.

Welcome to the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple.

Previous members have included Sir Francis Drake,

Sir Walter Raleigh, Charles Dickens.

Get some sense of the history and tradition.

Tonight, your task is mammoth.

Your job is to cook an elegant dinner for 230 barristers,

including two Supreme Court judges, three Lord Justices,

four High Court judges and 26 QCs.

Guys, it has to be perfect.

230 plates of perfection.

Yeah, challenging.

This has got to be the toughest, high-pressured thing that I've ever done.

It's like doing a parachute jump or something.

We've tested our six in many ways before

but this really is a combination of everything they've learnt so far.

Finesse today has to be key.

230 plates of exquisite, posh food.

It would be bad enough doing 230 shepherd's pies and trifles.

To get the job done, the contestants will work in pairs

and need a marathon eight hours' preparation.

We've got a lot of work to do. Eight hours is a long time for yourselves. Not for me.

Let's go and get started.

Aki and Eamonn are on the starter -

a fillet of sole rolled and filled with smoked salmon

and a fish and tarragon mousseline,

served with a champagne truffle veloute.

It sounds divine. There's a lot of components to the dish

so there's quite a lot to think about,

especially when we're doing 200 and I don't know how many.

It was meant to be 220 but they've just sprung on us -

this is another thing with banquets - it's now gone up to about 280.

Welcome to the world of banqueting.

I've cooked Dover sole before.

Certainly haven't done 230, 40, 50, 60, 70 - whatever it is.

How many have I done so far? I think I've done five.

-Are we neat and clean today, Aki?

-Yes, John.

-Good.

Tom and Andrew are on the main -

a tournedos of beef with confit of oxtail, potato amandine

and a vegetable parcel.

-How many dishes will you be sending out at a time? Is it just constant get them out, get them out?

-Yeah.

Put it on, put it on. That's the way!

First, they cook the oxtail with celery, carrot and onion

for the confit that will top their beef fillet.

-It will take four to five hours to get into a nice confit.

-OK.

-OK?

Then they make a start prepping 140 kilos of potatoes.

How have you decided to split the labour?

With each task taking so long, it's a case of both of us

just jump on, get one thing done and move on to the next thing.

Are you actually confident you'll get all this done or have you just got your head down and hoping?

-I'm confident.

-We're going to get it done.

40 minutes in, you're both grinning.

Let's see if that grin's still on your face come six o'clock.

You've now got the hardest job of the lot.

You've got three desserts to make on one plate.

Shelina and Jay's pudding is a chocolate and orange liqueur mousse,

spiced pear and a tropical fruit brulee.

I'm chopping a field of mangoes.

The pears are poached in a mixture of port, spices and citrus fruits.

That smells like Christmas.

-How heavy is this? Whoa!

-Leave it for me.

No.

As always, timings, with these tasks,

you're always looking at the clock, looking at the clock, you know what they mean?

Believe me, you think, "Don't worry about it, got a bit of time."

That clock goes quick.

Right, have a listen in, boys and girls.

You've got about six hours to go. Hope you're all on track.

With the fish filleted, Aki can make a start on the fish stock

that forms the base of the champagne veloute.

This is a marathon, but I'm sprinting it.

I'm going to keep sprinting my marathon.

I mean, whatever it was I just boiled potatoes in,

it is half the size of my bath. I've never seen anything like it.

The potatoes are ready for mashing.

Now Tom and Andrew can start on their veg prep -

peeling and chopping 40 kilos of carrots...

Potatoes out. You've got asparagus to do now.

..35 kilos of asparagus...

..and 30 kilos of shallots.

At least three per person so...700.

I've done two in the time I was talking to you,

so about 10, 15 seconds each?

It's a lot of time, yeah.

I don't want to worry about anything at the moment.

I've decided to be calm today. Calm, stress-free.

Ah! I knew that was going to happen.

Shelina and Jay are on track

and are getting their 280 individual creme brulees ready for the oven.

You know what?

I don't mind the mass element, it's the fine bit that I'm not so good at.

I don't have a steady hand so this is why it's a little bit tricky.

You've got a steady man with you, that's what it is, darling.

-Go. Go.

-Careful.

-Nice and steady.

-Gosh.

Up a bit, Jay.

-Go back, go back.

-It's jammed now. It's jammed.

-Is it going in?

-It's OK.

-Yeah? OK.

OK, let's get out of here.

Formal dinner at Middle Temple dates back to the 16th century

when Queen Elizabeth I donated the 29-foot table

that forms the centrepiece of the hall.

It was here that barristers would pass on their practices and procedures.

Today, to be called to the Bar,

pupils must attend 12 qualifying discussions, many of which occur across the dinner table.

We have high expectations.

We have a wonderful kitchen, we have a very good wine cellar

and these meals are important to all of us.

We have a history of making sure

that everything is spot on every time and have done for centuries.

If the food is not up to scratch, I think the people who will be dining here this evening

will be quite willing to give a frank opinion.

There are less than four hours until service.

Aki starts filling the sole with a layer of smoked salmon

and the tarragon and fish mousse...

..while Eamonn rolls them into a roulade.

-I reckon we're

-sole-mates

-for today.

-Exactly!

How do you feel about 280 perfectly-cooked paupiettes of fish

being served all at the same time?

Right now, a little terrified, John, to be honest with you.

You're putting your elbow into the mousse, Aki.

Come here, sweetheart, come here.

-You are mucky again, aren't you?

-Oh!

You can't help yourself.

Across the kitchen, Andrew and Tom are still peeling their veg.

I've been peeling shallots for an hour and that's all I've got. We've got another one of these.

Everything we do, we've got to make 280 portions.

Even if you do, like, three a minute, we're not going to get it done.

-That's no good. Take that off. Take that off.

-Yeah.

So that's set me back already.

That takes, you know, a couple of seconds, each one.

And when you're doing 600 of them, that's a lot of minutes.

-Come on, lads, it's getting tight. I know you've got a lot to do.

-Yeah.

The problem with Andrew and Tom is, in my opinion,

they're not getting stuck in.

They need to put their heads down and absolutely graft, really move.

OK, you need to do 600. Then do them really fast.

Don't do them like you're at home peeling an onion!

Get on with it, boys. Get on with it.

There's just over three hours until service.

Shelina and Jay's pears are poached...

..and Aki and Eamonn's teamwork is paying off.

Their fish course is prepped,

except for the pastry fleurons that will garnish the dish.

Egg them up.

-Different sizes, different shapes. Some are getting very small.

-Yeah.

These ones are good.

-Oh!

-JAY LAUGHS

With their veg finally peeled,

Andrew and Tom can now move on to rolling 280 individual vegetable parcels.

Yeah, I am worried,

cos we've got three hours to go and we've only done 20 vegetable parcels.

The simple fact is, you're going to have to start to work like in a professional kitchen

rather than actually just doing one plate of food.

-Next one you roll, leave it on the bench, don't move it.

-Yeah.

-OK?

Tight, pull it back. Leave it on the bench. OK?

Go again. Roll the whole lot and then tray, one, two, three, four, five, six.

Suddenly you've got a system going. OK? Push, push, push, guys.

It's very obvious that Tom and Andrew are in the caca -

culinary expression meaning not doing very well,

not really keeping up, probably not going to be on time for dinner.

We still got everything to do.

We need to get the sauce reducing down more,

we need to finish the oxtail, Tom's still working on these vegetables.

Nothing is finished yet.

Those main course boys need either a big hug or a kick up the bottom.

I'm going to figure out which one and deliver it.

The fact is, we're not going to get it out without some help?

-Is that right?

-Yeah.

Don't worry, it's only the leading law brains of the country. We'll be all right.

-What's next, chef?

-Next is pomme amandine.

-What's that?

-Pomme amandine. Wh...?

With Tom and Andrew so far behind,

the chef calls Eamonn and Aki to help prepare their amandine potatoes.

Well, if we're here twiddling our thumbs waiting for something to cook,

we may as well be getting on with something. Simple as that.

-How do you feel about all the lumps in it?

-I'll be honest with you, I haven't come across any lumps yet.

-That's definitely a lump.

-Yeah. Lots of them.

-You're joking?

I don't want it to be lumpy so through a ricer it goes.

This is going to take like an hour.

Well, it's an hour we haven't got, so let's get going.

Ah, this is going to take for ever.

The guys on the starters, Eamonn and Aki,

I know you're helping out, please keep your eyes on the prize.

Don't help out so much that you actually let yourselves down.

I feel like a little ant climbing up a Mount Everest of potatoes.

-Take them out, chef.

-Yeah, let's just make sure...

-They're lovely.

-I'm impressed. Well done.

-Thanks, chef.

The creme brulees are set.

Shelina now turns her attention to the third dessert -

the chocolate mousse.

She starts by making an egg custard sabayon,

which will be mixed with chocolate and egg whites to make the mousse.

If there's not enough air in it,

it's going to end up being some dense lump of chocolate, so this bit is crucial.

Actually, to be fair, all of it is really crucial for a mousse.

I think every single stage means something.

It's really quite thick, actually. I don't know if this feels right.

This isn't right. It's gone really hard on me. That's not right, is it?

-It's solidified.

-Can I salvage it at all?

No, it's gone.

-Do you know what you've done wrong?

-The chocolate cooled down.

-Wrong.

-Oh.

Your sugar's not cooked out in your sabayon. Your sabayon's not cooked out enough.

If it's not cooked out enough, what happens is you have raw alcohol hitting chocolate

and that makes the whole thing go solid.

You're going to add in some double cream.

-That will get that chocolate moving again.

-Yeah.

I've got to somehow get a chocolate mousse.

I've got no more chocolate in the building, so this has got to work.

Toes, legs, everything crossed.

This doesn't look like it's going to turn into a mousse.

It looks like soup.

Stop for a sec. Stop.

You've got to be confident this is going to set.

Put some in a small tray,

put it in the blast chiller before you put all of it in the glasses.

Cos if you put that in the glasses and it doesn't set, it really is a disaster.

-That's the height.

-Yeah.

-We'll just double check using that, then.

-Is it going to set?

-We've got to find out now.

-OK.

How long do we wait?

Five minutes. It's all right.

Jay and Shelina may have to have a rethink here.

We're going to say to our legal minds that we're giving them a slimming dessert.

"We've taken the chocolate off, we're worried about your health, have a pear."

It's seven o'clock.

Before dining, the barristers must put on the gowns worn in court.

Master Treasurer, Masters of the Bench, dinner is served.

Go, go, go. Next one, next one.

Aki and Eamonn now have minutes to get their sole and the samphire steamed before service.

Agh! That's how I feel right now.

We are behind schedule. We need to make a move, please.

-Do you want the starter people upstairs now?

-Move the tray.

We go upstairs, yeah?

-All right?

-Yeah, we're OK.

A temporary plating station has been set up next to the dining hall

and they will need Jay and Shelina's help to get the starters out hot.

Good Lord, bless us and these, thy good gifts,

which we receive of thy bounteous liberality. Amen.

ALL: Amen.

There are lots of judges sitting here on high table

and if they're not pleased, goodness knows what might happen.

What's going to happen now is the staff will come in,

two plates at a time, go out that door and serve the customers. Let's move on.

These are already coming at me all sorts of different ways.

Folks, we've done four plates in one minute.

We normally do 200 plates in ten minutes. We cannot go this slowly.

Bring it a little lower. Thank you. Next. A little bit lower. Keep going.

There you go. Nearer me, please. Nearer me, please.

Come on, guys, don't slow down, not now.

Last one, last one.

-Well done, chef. Well done, chef.

-Thank you.

-OK? Just?

-Just.

Aki and Eamonn have served a fillet of sole Balmoral,

samphire, a pastry fleuron,

and a champagne sauce with shaved truffle.

It's a nice firm fish, which I like. And it was nice. Good.

I thought it was delicious. And just the right quantity of stuffed fish.

I thought it was delicious.

The fish was perfectly cooked.

The samphire was lovely. I really enjoyed it.

The food was substantial but also tasty, very happy.

The fish was beautifully cooked. Not over-cooked so all in all very good.

My only complaint was it was too big.

It's now Andrew and Tom's turn to deliver a faultless main course.

But Andrew still has to sear the 280 fillets of beef while

Tom fries off the amandine potatoes.

That's raw, mate. They're not going to eat that, it's cold in the middle.

-OK, leave...

-Look, that's cold.

You know who we're feeding up there.

Important people.

I mean, we could all end up being sued here, Andrew.

Tom, you've got to make sure that beef is cooked, buddy.

If it's not cooked, chef is going to kill you.

Nice one, good mate, in you go.

I think we've got everything.

I haven't got my licence for driving one of these.

Right, folks, next course needs to be served in the next three minutes.

We need to start and it needs to take 12 minutes this time, please.

Andrew or Tom, which one of you is going to run the service?

-We're going to put different...

-No, who's going to be in charge?

-I am.

-You are?

-Yeah.

OK, so try and get the plate with the cross at the top, yeah?

-Andrew.

-Yes.

-Show them. You got one over there finished.

So Tom will put that there at 2 o'clock.

-You're going to put that at 10 o'clock.

-Yep.

Service time, please.

We can't wait any longer now. We need to move.

Right, guys you've done two so far, you've only got 236 to go.

It's looking good, let's just get faster, OK?

We're getting there. We're over half way.

We need to make sure we move a bit faster,

we've still got more than half, I'm afraid, to go.

Look at this...it's like a machine!

Don't slow down, guys, come on. You're almost there.

Come on, guys, last 30 plates, let's go.

-That's it mate, get rid of them.

-That's it.

Stop, stop.

Phew.

Well done. Well done, mate.

I never thought you could do that.

That whole day is full on, it's eight hours of non-stop work.

Tom and Andrew's main is a tournedos of beef topped with oxtail confit,

potato amandine,

vegetable parcel, woodland mushrooms

and a red wine jus.

I thought the beef was absolutely superb and I'm actually amazed

that cooking for so many people, he can get it so perfect.

It's nice and tender.

It's lovely and I like the fact that it's slightly rare.

It's quite big, but then there are lots of men here

and they have larger capacities than women, I think.

The crust of the potato is excellent.

I mean, the whole thing is as... as good as you can get.

The meat was really excellently well done,

so ten out of ten for that one I suppose.

I could gush forever about it.

It was really quite knock out, I have to say, really stellar.

Finally it's Shelina and Jay's dessert trio.

SHE LAUGHS

That was a very, very close call.

We'll start bringing out the trolleys. We have to get all this upstairs and on the plates.

Yes, Chef.

We're ready to go.

Me and Andrew are doing the pears, Thomas is on the strawberries,

Eamonn, can you follow up with the chocolate mousse,

-Aki, can you put the creme brulee on, please.

-Yep.

OK, boys? Pear, pear, pear. Let's go, go, go.

How's our mousse, Shelina?

The mousse is a mousse, which is always helpful.

Come on, we're almost there, keep it going.

All done?

Lovely!

I absolutely love it! I've never seen a hallway full of desserts.

It's brilliant.

-Service, please.

-Service, please.

That's it, nice and steady.

-Last plate.

-Thank you.

I'm too tired.

Shelina and Jay's pudding is a chocolate and orange liqueur mousse,

autumn spiced pear with a port syrup

and tropical fruit brulee.

The brulee - absolutely delicious

and I loved that crunchy feel

and the lovely, fruity, mouth-filling flavours that emerged.

The creme brulee, meant to be passion fruit and mango,

I didn't detect the mango and there wasn't enough passion.

The pear was delicious.

Well, everything was delicious...

-The creme brulee... >

-Yes, we're all creme brulee fans.

This mousse wasn't really a mousse, it was too runny

and more drinkable than eatable.

The pudding was a big ask.

They didn't quite pull it off,

but hey, who cares?

The taste was good.

I ate it all, you know, come on.

Oh, we don't do this up North, do we?!

We pushed them to the absolute edge, John, today.

I mean that was a huge test.

To feed that many people in that sort of surroundings

with food that complex is MASSIVE.

-Well done...beer?

-Beer.

I'm trying to think of a part of me that doesn't ache.

I think just here. This isn't hurting, just here.

I'm really relieved but I'm also really chuffed.

Chuffed that all six of us managed to feed the masses

in such an amazing building.

It might be hard, it might be mentally exhausting but it's,

you know, an absolute dream compared to real life.

It seems unfair to say it, I know they've just got through a huge task. John,

but pretty soon one of these guys is going to have to leave the competition.

For me there is not a cigarette paper between them.

I just simply can't wait to see what happens next.

Welcome back, your last task was mammoth.

But now we want you to step it up one more time.

We want you to cook for us

two elegant courses that would proudly sit on any fine dining menu.

It is time to impress, guys

because at the end of this one of you will be leaving us.

Right, we have a very special guest joining us.

Without doubt one of the finest and most respected chefs in the country....

Michel Roux Jr.

Today's all about fine dining, achieving standards.

Perfection on a plate.

I've been told you're pretty good. Now's the time to prove it.

1½ hours, ladies and gentlemen, two courses

and it has to impress.

Let's cook.

This is where we see if they have the finesse.

Do they have the ability to take their food that one more step forward?

Now is about finding out who has got the real makings of a pro.

I think the longer I've stayed in the competition I've realised

I could potentially be a professional chef.

And that makes me really excited.

You've combine skills and real understanding of cooking, well done.

-Shelina, your menu you is?

-A lobster curry with potato bhajia

which is like a deep fried spicy potato.

And the dessert is my idea of key lime pie.

It's all the flavours of key lime pie.

You've got a curry

and an experimental dessert to serve up to Michel Roux.

Er, that's pretty scary,

Yeah, I had a real big look of shock on my face when he walked through

the door but I really want to impress all three of you today.

I really, really want this.

Sweet lobster, spicy curry - heaven.

But it has to be presented beautifully.

How can a lobster curry be presented beautifully?

'I think that some of the plates I've put out have already been fine dining.'

The smoked herring is absolutely delicious.

I think he's really nailed it.

I haven't always got the flavours right.

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

It's just a bit weird.

Whisky, honey, for me it doesn't belong in this dish.

I've got a point to prove in this kitchen today and my dish is,

well, you could call it an apology to Tom Kitchin.

I'm cooking roast grouse, a Scottish dish, I'm half Scottish.

I'm going to do it with a whisky, honey and heather...

Yeah, whisky, honey with blackberries

and I'm doing it with neeps and a Savoy sausage.

Once again, two ingredients which really are your nemesis,

honey and whisky with red mullet. Today we're serving it with grouse.

-With grouse it works. With fish it doesn't, with grouse it works.

-And dessert?

Chocolate and black olive caramel tart with a rosemary ice cream.

A what...a what?

Chocolate and black olive caramel tart

with rosemary ice cream.

Cor.

Dessert, what an extraordinary risk.

Chocolate and black olive tart with rosemary ice cream. I don't know.

It's a little bit of a strange combination.

I don't know. I can understand. Something inside me here says, "Yes, maybe."

A little bit of the salty taste with the chocolate can work,

but it's a very fine line. Very, very fine line.

50 minutes gone, over half way.

I've had a few ups and downs.

Your cooking - not in question,

but, at what stage are you going to stand up and go,

"Look at me!"

They want to see more,

they want to see a bit of an edgy attitude from me.

So that's basically what I'm doing today.

-Fine dining today, Jay.

-Yep.

Pan-fried halibut on a bed of chorizo-braised plum tomatoes

with a crab and new potato salad underneath

with some smoked, shaved marrow bone.

-Woah. That's one dish?

-Yep.

What's the next dish?

Chocolate hazelnut torte with Cointreau cream.

-You are absolutely going for it.

-You told me to. You thought I was being too safe.

I don't want you thinking that so I'm pushing the boundaries.

So what do you want us to think of you?

I don't know, just think that I'm a good cook, that'll do.

Look around the room. There's only five others, mate.

You've got to be a pretty good cook to be here.

Yeah, I know and I appreciate that.

Could you honestly balance halibut, tomato,

chorizo, bone marrow and crab?

Cor...that's a tough call.

Jay's dessert, a torte, can be beautiful, can be fine dining

but it's down to presentation, and lightness of touch.

I've had quite a few highs and one particular low.

This dish isn't right. You've overdone it.

You've broken my heart here today.

But I'm still here.

Yeah, I had a blip but hopefully after today they'll be just saying,

"Wow, look what Eamonn can do."

Eamonn, what are your two dishes?

Rib of pork and tenderloin of pork with a celeriac puree and a Guinness and cider sauce.

The dessert is a liquorice poached pear, blackberry sorbet,

a sable biscuit and a little bit of lime Chantilly.

Not just cooking for me and John today.

No, I know. Wow.

It's a big thrill and I hope I don't go on to disappoint yet another top chef.

I won't today, I promise you guys.

I'm not too sure about Eamonn's pork with ale.

It sounds like a straightforward dish that you may cook at home.

You're supposed to be pushing the boat out today.

That's going to have to be super-refined to impress me.

Just 30 minutes left.

I love fine dining and it's the sort of food I love to eat.

I think your cooking today is great.

It would almost be a little bit embarrassing if I went out today.

It's sort of like losing at home.

Tom, what are you making? You've got stuff everywhere.

I'm doing crusted sirloin of beef, liver, smoked bacon and onions

with a beetroot puree and a roasted garlic cream sauce.

-Dessert, I'm doing a ravioli of cherries and chocolate.

-Pasta with cherries and what?

Chocolate, yeah.

Lack of time is a major issue.

I've given myself a lot of work if it'll be brilliant,

if I don't it'll be disappointing.

Pushing yourself, mate. Really going for it. Why?

Because I want to win and it's the end of the competition today

and I've got to make sure mine's not the worst dish of the day.

I am confident with food, like I say it's just

whether I can get it done in the time.

The onion, the liver - we know that works together

but he's got beetroot AND garlic.

I don't know, there's a lot of flavours.

There's a lot of process going on there. There's a lot of work.

I try and be different and I think that's what's kept me in.

I don't believe this, it actually works for me in a strange

and crazy way.

-And sometimes I get told off.

-It doesn't work.

And considering the mess that she was working in, I'm not surprised it doesn't work.

But I like it. I'm going to keep being different, a bit weird,

to keep John and Gregg on their toes.

What's going on? What are your two dishes?

I'm doing some tea-smoked chicken oysters, on some dashi noodle jelly.

And for my dessert I'm doing a bit of a fusion dish

of sticky toffee pudding with miso nitrogen ice cream.

-Ho-ho-ho-hoo!

-And the inspiration is what, Aki?

I've been working with cryogenics in my lab

and I realised that it freezes things really quickly which

means the crystals in the ice cream will be very, very smooth.

I said to John that I didn't want a scientific experiment from you today.

SHE LAUGHS

Fingers crossed I don't freeze my finger off with the nitrogen.

Liquid nitrogen, miso, into beautiful ice cream.

She's pushing out the boat cos she's got a lot to prove.

I'm intrigued by that one.

I love miso as it is, I love it as a flavour and as a texture

but as an ice cream I've never come across that

and with sticky toffee pudding, for me...I don't know.

Four minutes, guys. Four minutes to finish your plates.

You have just two minutes.

Whoa, some of these guys are pushing it.

It should be just the finishing touches now.

That's it! Time's up, stop!

Andrew's first course is a crusted roast grouse

on pureed neeps with Savoy-wrapped sausage, blackberries,

bacon crumb and whisky honey sauce.

Followed by a chocolate and black olive tart with rosemary ice cream.

The combination of honey and whisky but this time with grouse

and not with red mullet.

I think it's really well balanced. Very, very daring indeed.

Beautifully seasoned and beautifully cooked.

The sauce is LOVELY,

it has sweetness, sharpness, it has the fruit in there, the honey,

and I really, really love your bacon crumb here.

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

-Andrew, I'm really impressed with this.

-Thank you.

Olive, chocolate, and rosemary ice cream.

That is genius!

It's chocolate, minty liquorice.

It's genius!

I had this written off in my mind completely as something obscure

and ridiculous but I commend you for it, well done.

Andrew, I love the combinations. Chocolate with black olive works.

It gives a little saltiness to the chocolate which works beautifully.

The ice cream's lovely. Heavenly.

You're not far off.

That's amazing...to hear this gentleman say that.

I don't think I've ever received praise like that for anything I've done so...

Jay's first course is pan-fried halibut with chorizo-braised tomatoes,

crab and potato salad and smoked bone marrow.

His dessert is a dark chocolate and hazelnut torte

with candied orange peel and orange liqueur cream.

Jay, that is a huge portion.

It doesn't look dainty, which is such a shame.

The bone marrow is over-smoked.

If it was a little less smoked,

I really do think that the flavour combination would work.

You've shown an unbelievable skill in cooking fish.

You've got it, you've got that touch.

Just think about the flavour combinations.

I actually like the bone marrow with the halibut.

What I'm disappointed about is losing the crab.

Ups and downs.

Jay, for me this is afternoon tea.

Very good afternoon tea, I must say.

But you need to refine. On both dishes you've presented to me.

Now, I don't drink as much as I did any more

and I'm getting high on that.

I LOVE that.

It's not got Roux elegance stamped all over it

but it's definitely got "fat bloke licking his lips"

stamped all over it, that's for sure.

I tried to refine my food today.

If I did in their eyes or not, I don't know.

Shelina's main dish is a lobster curry with spiced peas,

a potato bhajia and a coriander foam.

Her dessert is a deconstructed key lime pie,

consisting of lime mousse, chocolate ganache,

ginger jelly and a chocolate coconut crumb.

I think you've judged it really well. I think it's not too spicy.

Has it achieved the standard...?

I think you have.

Well-cooked lobster. Love the peas with it.

I think the sauce is wonderful and rich.

It's really soothing, really spicy. A lovely, lovely dish for me.

To your dessert.

First thing I see are little flowers and petals scattered all over which

makes me think you've tried to hide deficiencies maybe in presentation.

I think that's absolutely right.

Hmm, I love the crunch, I love the fact there's a jelly in there as well.

It plays great music in my mouth, it's lovely.

-However, I don't like the lime with the chocolate.

-OK.

I think the presentation is God-awful.

But the flavours are delicious. Love them.

I don't like the chocolate with the lime.

I don't think you've pulled this off at all.

I don't like the look of it. It looks confused.

To me it tastes and even feels a bit confused.

Erm, yeah.

It's just really tough

when you're out there having your food critiqued.

You put your heart on your plate, essentially,

that's what it feels like.

So, yeah, tough, really tough.

Aki has made tea-smoked chicken oysters

on a dashi and somen noodle jelly

with clam broth, shrimp and seafood vegetables.

Her dessert is a sticky toffee pudding with miso ice cream

and deep fried spaghetti dusted with clove and icing sugar.

Aki, I'm not too sure about this dish.

The sweet shrimp are so delicate in flavour, the broth as well,

the enoki mushrooms and the little vegetables are so delicate

and light that they can't take this heavy smoke that

you've put on the chicken oysters.

It's filling my mouth with a rather unpleasant, acrid smoke flavour.

The most prominent thing is basically like chewing on a cigarette butt.

It's so strong from the smoke.

So overpowering, that I feel sort of slightly heartbroken by it

cos it's such a beautiful-looking thing and it really is like eating a bonfire.

That does it for me. It really does.

It's the first time I've ever had a miso ice cream...

it's delicious.

To me it tastes like a very sweet banana.

Very, very nice indeed.

As for the sticky toffee pudding, it's crumbly,

it doesn't seem like it's cooked quite enough for me

and it doesn't really hold together as a pudding.

But for me that dessert is kept alive by the beautiful ice cream

that's sitting on the side.

I didn't think the smoking would be such an issue.

That just went badly wrong and I thought everything was OK, but...

it turned out it wasn't right.

Eamonn has cooked rib and tenderloin of pork with celeriac mash

and a stout and cider sauce.

His second course is a liquorice poached pear

with a blackberry sorbet,

sable biscuit and a lime Chantilly.

Eamonn, I like your presentation.

The little stacks of the ribs, bordering on naff, but...

Was it?

But I understand why you've done it.

I like the sauce. I like the combination of the celeriac puree.

-I think you've done a good job.

-Thank you.

I think it's a very well conceived dish, well thought out, well executed

and I really, really like it.

Thank you very much. Can we stop there?(!)

To your dessert.

I was worried that the pear was going to be overpowered by the liquorice,

it hasn't, they actually work.

The ripe, juicy pear

with liquorice and lime cream is divine.

Absolutely divine.

-Thanks, Eamonn, very much.

-Thank you, guys.

I want to have a dance!

Michel Roux Jr...

Yeah...I'll have some more of that, please.

Tom's main is a crusted sirloin of beef with a beetroot puree,

calves' liver and smoked bacon, and a garlic cream.

His pudding is a sweet cherry

and chocolate ravioli

with pistachio ice cream and a chocolate tuile.

Tom, I think the combination of ingredients is absolutely right,

but for me this dish smacks of one thing...

running out of time.

Your centrepiece of beef is not cooked properly

and it's taking away from the rest of the work you put into it.

You've got great textures in there.

That lovely crispy bacon and crunchy pickled onion.

It would be great to have a smooth beetroot puree underneath.

That was the idea.

That was the idea, you ran out of time.

It's such a shame.

Sorry, I've got to get in there, absolutely got to get in there.

We'll just both stand back, shall we?

Hmm!

Oh, sorry!

-You go first!

-No, come on.

-No, go!

You're so enthusiastic, please go for it, I'd like you to.

I don't know about these two but I love that.

The idea of a pasta ravioli filled with something sweet

I think is absolutely brilliant.

And chocolate and then sharp and sweet cherry, absolutely perfect. I just love it.

It's your inventiveness and creativity at its best.

The combination of ingredients, perfect for me.

A marriage made in heaven.

The ravioli, nice and thin, but it's dry.

I did bite off more than I could chew today, quite considerably.

I could've made my main course much simpler,

and probably pulled it off but I didn't.

One of you unfortunately has to leave us.

Please, off you go.

-Thanks, Michel. Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

I've seen some great cooking. You guys have got your work cut out.

-Good luck.

-Thanks, mate.

Oooh.

-My absolute best cook of the day was Andrew.

-Oh, yeah.

He did something different, he dared, but he got it right,

John, and how right did he get it?!

The grouse was beautiful. The tart, I didn't expect it. It blew me away.

Unfortunately it isn't good enough to think, "If I'm not the worst..."

You do have to be the best

and hopefully I'll be in among the top performers today.

Eamonn had two different types of pork, a really good dish.

But that pear with liquorice and cream flavoured with lime.

John, it nearly had me on my knees, it was stunning.

That round has now set my competition on track or whatever you want to call it.

I'm a contender now.

Two stand-out contestants today, Andrew and Eamonn.

Agreed.

That leaves us Shelina, Jay, Aki and Tom.

Shelina, that lobster curry was beautifully spiced

and I know that you guys didn't necessarily like the dessert

but there's technique coming together and that gives me

thought there's a huge amount of potential going on with Shelina.

I know my curry was good but, you now,

is that enough at this stage of the competition, is it enough, really?

I don't know.

Jay said today he wanted to be bolder and braver.

And his fish, I mean,

even Michel said his touch was extraordinary as a cook.

Jay's dessert, I mean, one of those things that just tastes heavenly.

But did it have the finesse? Did it have that edge of fine dining?

Was it brave enough?

You know, I'd love to be in the final five.

I really, really would because I want to push it further.

I want to see how far I can push myself with it.

Tom gave himself lots to do

and didn't quite have enough time to do it properly.

Now, you got to expect him be able to cook the main part of his dish.

But he still managed a brilliant dessert.

Tom's got great ideas.

He needs to be able to execute those ideas and on time.

I'll seriously have to think about what is realistic to achieve

and not just do as much as you can.

But it's a lesson, and if I go through it's a lesson learned.

Aki, dessert, brilliant idea.

Miso ice cream I thought was just amazing.

But that chicken was just way over-smoked.

-And really, really harsh at the back of your throat.

-It was like charcoal, so bitter.

How badly has she let herself down today?

You never know. I've been surprised more than once, you know.

You don't know until the decision is announced by John and Gregg.

Although our decision today is quite a difficult decision, for me there

is one cook who is not quite moving fast enough to keep up with the pack.

We've come a long way, a long way.

Not easy to lose one of you now at this stage.

Andrew,

Eamonn,

you two had a point to prove today

and you did it with gusto.

Gentlemen, you're staying with us.

Take a step over there, gentlemen.

There's one other person who's done enough to join Andrew and Eamonn.

Congratulations, Shelina, you're staying with us.

So that leave us with you three.

The person leaving us...

..is Aki.

Thank you, Aki, very much indeed.

Thank you.

It's sad. I think there's going to be a lot ahead

that I'm going to be missing out on.

But I've had a tremendous experience.

I think it's just taught me

that I can do things that I never thought would be possible

so I think it's taught me to have more faith in myself.

Not that I didn't have a big enough head already!

Final five and all. My God.

It won't sink in yet.

I'll probably sit bolt upright at 3 o'clock in the morning. Huh!

Gasping... "I'm in the final five!" You know?

But, erm, it's an amazing feeling.

I've got to look on the bright side,

I got through and I'm over the moon.

Next week, the final five take on the most infamous challenge of all.

How long have I got?

Restaurant critics are intimidating.

You start pushing the boat out and you get it wrong,

they'll have your guts for garters.

Come on!

Your mouth surrenders immediately.

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

Keep on working!

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