Episode 9 The Big Family Cooking Showdown

We're searching for Britain's best family of home cooks.

Go, go, go.

The people who make ordinary food extraordinary.

You've never seen anything like it in your life.

From teenagers and grandparents...

That is delicious.

..to brothers and sisters

and sons and daughters.

Get in! Get in!

16 families have served up their best dishes,

hoping to impress the judges.

Wow.

That is very, very, very competent.

Now it's the semifinals.

-Oh, my God!

-Best think up some new recipes.

This is where it gets serious.

Nine families remain to face three demanding new challenges.

This is going to put the cat amongst the pigeons.

-Let's get cooking.

-Can you stop panicking?

Because they're going to have to think on the hoof...

We don't have to use everything.

..one of the most important things is teamwork.

-Have you tasted that?

-I'm too nervous to eat.

This is difficult, isn't it?

And tonight, the first three families will go head-to-head.

-Anything you're worried about?

-All of it.

Confusing. I can't get to grips with it.

It's fine, we can do this.

They're all a little bit out of their comfort zone.

Yes, I'm going to follow the recipe!

-Stay calm.

-Yes.

Oh, Archie!

But only one can go through to the final.

The choice has been agonising, but they have come to a decision.

This is The Big Family Cooking Showdown.

We're back in the Kent countryside for the semifinals.

Three families have made it this far

and over the next couple of days, they will be undergoing a series of

new challenges to determine who makes it through to the final.

First to arrive, the Charles family from Yorkshire.

We've got our new, intimidating nicknames sorted.

So I'm Dream Crusher,

Dan's Skull Crusher

and Mum's Garlic Crusher!

That's me!

-Hi!

-Hi!

They're joined by the Karim family from West London.

-How are you feeling?

-Terrified.

Just the word semifinal is just nerve-racking on its own.

When someone says semifinal, you think, "Oh, my God!"

I slept for two hours last night.

-Two hours.

-I slept for about four hours.

I slept like a baby!

And finally, the Herberts, from Gloucestershire.

I'm Archie, nice to meet you.

During the heats, the Herbert family were pipped to the post.

The family staying in the competition are...

the Ayoubis.

Owing to personal reasons,

the Ayoubi family have withdrawn from the show

and the Herberts have taken their place.

-Pretty in blue.

-Bring it on.

We're excited to be back. We didn't think we'd be back, but, yeah, no.

We've only got two to beat this time... Oh, wait!

We can't beat one and now we've got two! OK.

-NADIYA:

-Today, they have two challenges ahead of them

and, unlike previous challenges, they don't know what's in store.

Hello, families, it's great to have you

back in the barn for the semifinals.

Of course, you realise things are going to have to step up a gear now.

It's time for your first challenge - What's In The Fridge? -

testing your creativity as home cooks.

The judges have provided a limited range of ingredients.

You have one hour to plan and cook a main course for four people,

and your time starts now.

Each of the families have access to the same ingredients.

-Wow.

-Oh, my God.

In addition to store-cupboard essentials,

they've been given prawns,

salmon and goat's cheese...

-I'm so scared.

-Salmon?!

-We have to use the prawns.

..vegetables including squash, beetroot and cauliflower...

Could do cauliflower rice,

but do you want to do cauliflower rice, or not really?

..and dry ingredients such as polenta, rice and lentils.

We could do the polenta, you could maybe cook the polenta,

cool it and then chop it, maybe then you can fry it?

-ROSEMARY:

-Up until now, they've been able to practise their dishes.

Not on this one.

They've got loads of flavours there to choose from.

Oh, my...

Whatever they choose, I want it to be exciting, interesting, different.

It's, it's fine. It's fine.

It's fine, we can do this.

With this challenge, they're going to have to use their creativity

in order to produce something fantastic.

And this is beetroot, what do you want to do with it?

-We don't have potatoes.

-You don't have to use everything.

So, what are you going to cook?

It's not about how many of the ingredients

you can pick from that store cupboard,

it's how many are you going to leave there?

That's going to show us how good a cook you are.

I don't know. This is...

What kind of stuff would you have in YOUR fridge?

In my fridge, yeah, I'd probably have...often a bit of salmon.

Maybe an old bit of halloumi.

Perhaps some marmalade.

What would you do with all three?

I'd probably order in, actually, to be honest with you.

-We have to start doing something.

-OK, prawns.

What do you like with prawns?

It's... Honestly, I don't know.

The Charleses, have you ever seen them this quiet?

No. Everybody's having a little think.

Dan looks concerned.

And I'm sure Jean will be chopping lots of vegetables.

She is Queen Chopper.

Why don't we do the roasted beets, with...

like a big, salady thing.

-Right, OK.

-We're not going to use the salmon.

What are we doing with the prawns, then, Betty?

I don't know if we need them.

I'm thinking if we keep it veggie, because the polenta

and the goat's cheese are going to be so lovely. Yeah.

From the ingredients available to them,

the Charleses have decided to make a vegetarian lentil salad

with beetroot, broccoli and butternut squash.

My job is chopping.

As is so often the case.

They're the bosses.

I'm the help!

Newlyweds Betty and Dan have been together for 12 years.

They live in East Yorkshire, not far from Betty's mum, Jean.

-The bay-sil...

-Stop calling it "bay-sil"! It's basil!

-The BASIL will need to be kept in the greenhouse all year.

-Yeah.

We make an event of pretty much every meal we do,

whether it's at Mum's or here or...

Yeah, you're like the family cook.

Yes, that's what I am, yeah.

Travels around the world and a honeymoon in Italy

have had a big influence on their cooking.

We did cooking courses and...

Learned how to make our own ravioli.

Yeah, that's where, like,

our absolute passion for Italian food really kicked off.

In the previous round, they proved to be masters of flavour.

The flavours really complement each other.

That is bellissimo!

Get the sauce on, go, go, go.

But on occasion, their attention to detail has let them down.

The sauce is split and it makes everything a bit greasy.

No seasoning. It's just bland.

I want this to be thick and then it will set.

Looks lovely and thick.

Betty is using an Italian cornmeal, polenta,

to create the centrepiece for their dish.

I'm loving your polenta skills.

-Thanks.

-What are you going to do with it?

So, I'm going to put it on a baking tray and chill it,

then I'm going to grill... I'm going to char it

with some goat's cheese on top.

It's about getting lots of different textures, flavours into the dish.

That sounds amazing!

Spiced Puy lentils with onions, garlic,

a bit of stock, so almost like a dhal.

The Herberts do great experimental cooking,

they really push the boat out.

But obviously, here, they've got no time to plan,

they've got to just get on with it.

Charlie, do you want to cut up some garlic and ginger?

-Yeah.

-Can you grate it, actually?

-Grate it? Yeah.

What it might be quite good to do...

Charlie, give them just...

It's painful watching him peel.

-NADIYA:

-Using the prawns, lentils and beetroot,

the Herberts intend to make a curry with all the side dishes.

We're going to do like a lentil dhal curry,

a beetroot raita and then we're probably just

going to pan fry the prawns really quickly at the end.

Are we going to do cauliflower rice or not?

-Yeah.

-Oh, and we're going to try to make some chapattis as well.

But that's not ambitious!

Brothers Charlie and Archie, along with elder sister-in-law Anna...

-You're not wasting those bits!

-I didn't mean to put that in there.

Can't waste all those good bits.

-Yeah, no, I wasn't.

-..are part of a BIG family.

We can't actually remember how many there is any more.

-27.

-27 with your parents.

-Yeah.

-Is that right?

-Yeah.

-And four dogs.

So a lot of children, a lot of adults, a lot of pets.

-A lot of food.

-And a lot of food.

In our family, you're not judged on how successful you are in life,

you're judged on the quality your food.

-NADIYA:

-So far they've chosen some clever and ambitious creations.

Cauliflower in Marmite.

That sounds crazy, I love it!

Our bloody Mary, we make it with a bit of a twist,

we're going to make it hot and smoky. Smoke it up.

And though, on occasion, they've wowed the judges...

The tortilla is really velvet, really, really nice.

..a failure to deliver some of their ideas

initially cost them a place in the semifinal.

The Marmite flavour disappears completely. It does nothing.

There's something that doesn't bring it together to me as a dish.

Maybe it's a bit too clever.

I quite often just go home and use just whatever my mum's got around.

Don't tell everyone I live at home!

He's an eligible bachelor!

The Herberts are the only family who've decided to use the prawns.

We only want to do the prawns right at the end, I think, don't we?

Are we not going to peel the prawns?

-No, we pan fry them.

-OK.

I hope they're going to peel the prawns, take the skin off.

I hope they all peel the prawns, because I have to tell you,

I don't want to have to peel prawns.

We could peel them. They are huge.

No, just pan fry them. They're nicer cooked in the shells.

Slippery lemon!

So you're just going to roast the butternut squash, then?

-Yeah.

-We will, we will.

It'll be interesting to see with the Karims because, Zakila,

-you can tell she's the leader of the group.

-Yeah.

"I'm going to do this, then I'm going to do that."

So what we're going to do is. we're going to make salmon.

What are you going to marinade?

Fish, as we usually do?

With some spices?

The Karims plan to make spiced roast salmon

served with rice and roasted butternut squash.

My role is to take care of all the vegetables.

I can even do my own thing if I want to as well,

so I might put beetroot in there.

I might. I've never had beetroot before.

It's up to you. Decide.

Come on, we need to put the vegetables in the oven.

For Zakila, her sister-in-law Rizwana

and their 17-year-old niece Sumiya,

food plays a big part in their lives.

It's a very big thing for us, being Pakistani, is food.

I like cooking Moroccan food.

I like cooking English food.

I can cook anything, actually. You tell me what to cook and I'll just do it. I'm so good!

I'm definitely proud of the way my family can cook,

because I know that I can learn from them.

Can you do your harira, stop worrying about my chicken?

With Zakila taking the lead,

their clever use of spice and flavour

went down well in the previous round.

This is my spices that I make,

which was the winning ingredient for the first challenge.

The flavour's coming through on everything.

I'm tasting all those lovely spices that I saw you give.

But at times they've been guilty of not being adventurous enough.

-What are you putting into your rice?

-Nothing.

-Nothing?

It's just plain, boiled rice?

It looks as if you've played it quite safe, but it looks simple.

Grate that in there for me.

Zakila is creating a marinade for the salmon.

What I'm going to do is put some fresh parsley,

chop that up with some lemon juice, put some cumin powder,

put some paprika, mix it all in with some olive oil,

spread it all on and bung it in the oven.

I always cook salmon at home. I love it.

Who's being the boss today? Zakila, is it still your kitchen?

It's still my kitchen. Zoe, come on, it's still my kitchen!

I know, and normally you're incredibly confident, and with this,

obviously, you've had no time to plan.

How do you feel? Does it feel different?

-Does it feel scary?

-Yeah, it feels scary, it feels different.

But then, you know, you work with what you've got, haven't you?

OK.

-Good luck, girls.

-Thank you.

Figures crossed.

How long will the vegetables take?

I don't know, Sumiya!

Why do you ask me really silly questions?

I think there's a tremendous buzz in this room.

-I love it.

-Watch out, watch out, watch out, watch out.

You can come up with sometimes the best things by doing it this way.

-Yeah, just experimenting.

-Yes.

What's that? What have you made there?

-That is...

-Polenta.

Just chilling it, so we can cube it and fry it.

-Yeah, that's it.

-My polenta is set.

Anything you're worried about?

-All of it!

-No, you mustn't!

No, that's what I meant, no, none of it. Not all of it!

-You'll be fine. Have faith.

-Thank you, I will.

So, my grilled polenta and goat's cheese has just gone into the oven,

so hopefully that'll bubble up nicely.

Archie? Yeah? Careful that just

-doesn't stick at the bottom.

-Yeah, yeah.

To serve with their curry,

the Herberts are making rice from grated cauliflower.

Ready to hold the other end? Let's give it a twist.

-What's in there, what's in there?

-We're making some cauliflower rice.

Give it a pull as well.

And that's how you dry it out?

-Put it in a tea towel...?

-Apparently.

-Beautiful!

-Teamwork.

-Teamwork!

-Makes the dream work.

-Good work, Herberts. Keep it up.

Don't burn it, Charles.

-Wow.

-It looks really good.

It smells really nice. It's cooked nicely, yes. Happy with that.

The Karims are cooking rice to serve with their roast salmon.

Rosemary might say to us, "Oh, you played safe again."

I really wish we could give rice some colour.

-Add a bit of broccoli or something.

-Broccoli. Shall we just do that?

-Let's just give it some colour.

-Why not?

Guys, you've got 15 minutes left.

15 minutes.

Right, get those prawns on, Arch, cos that is critical.

Hey, look at me! I'm on assembling duties!

-I'm not sure about the squash.

-Is it not going to be done?

What did you say there, Dan? It's not going to be done?

LAUGHTER

-Ohh!

-Rookie error!

-Mind your business, Archie!

-LAUGHTER

We're nearly done.

We've only got like, one pot on the thing.

We're literally doing nothing.

Somebody help me!

There we go.

Your chapattis, your chapatti!

Charlie!

-I think put it around.

-No, you're not putting it around.

-Just put it in one corner.

-That looks really, really nice.

There we go. Done.

-They're done.

-Don't look at theirs! Don't...

I can't stop looking at their station!

-How long have we got?

-About five minutes.

That looks lovely!

Look at their prawns!

Yeah, I know.

Time's up!

That's it. Pans down.

Well done! Woohoo!

The families were challenged

to produce a main course for four people

using only the ingredients provided by the judges.

Wow.

Bold decision to go for a vegetarian thing.

-Yep.

-Let's have a look if it pays off.

The Charles' vegetarian meal is a herb and lentil salad with butternut

squash, beetroot and broccoli

topped with grilled polenta and goat's cheese.

Each of the individual elements that you have in this salad really comes

with a good kick of flavour and a very different consistency.

The beetroot is beautifully cooked.

I love that al dente, because it's vegetarian,

and it's got something to bite into, and that's good texture.

It's very important.

What was really incredible was to think about that polenta and the

cheese straightaway like that.

And not to add another element at that point that would distract

from that flavour.

Family food is all about satisfaction, and I'm not a

vegetarian, but yet I'm satisfied.

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you.

First of all, I want to say I'm a little worried

that you've played it too safe.

The Karims are serving salmon marinated in Zakila's special mix of

parsley, lemon, cumin and paprika.

Served with broccoli rice and roasted butternut squash and beetroot.

You achieved really, really highly on the flavour of the salmon.

The marinade is brilliant.

It's really juicy. It's flaking.

That fish is perfect.

The flavour of that marinade, you've got everything coming through,

and it's absolutely spot-on.

All the flavours are showing themselves.

As far as your vegetables are concerned,

I think they're nicely cooked.

The little broccoli on the rice, that looked like an afterthought.

They could have screamed green out at us, couldn't they?

And be really a presence in there.

But they were a little bit like shy in there, "Do I want to be here?

"I don't know." It could've delivered better as a whole dish.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

The Herberts have made a prawn and lentil curry served with cauliflower

rice, chapatis and a beetroot raita.

I think it's very clever what you've done.

But I'm really disappointed.

The texture is wrong.

I do not like that cauliflower.

There's no flavour at all.

Unfortunately, it hasn't turned out to be a dish.

The combination of very nice flavour,

but using so many ingredients coming together,

I think you ruin what you really wanted to do.

The prawn, why did you keep the shell on?

This is not a dish where you keep the shell on.

Somebody was, I heard, was going to take it off.

You should've listened to each other, what you were saying,

cos it's really important.

What is interesting is, you understand flavour,

but it's too fragmented.

I think the thing is that we said on the way here today that we needed to

keep it simple, and, yeah, we made a lot of dishes.

We've got to take the criticism and try to walk forward.

Just carry on, focus on cooking and that's it.

Not playing safe any more.

Well done, guys. Well done, you two.

What a team!

The families move straight on to the next stage of the semifinal,

and once again, they don't know what the judges have in store for them.

Lovely people, are you ready for the next challenge?

Well, it's perfect puddings.

Each judge has carefully selected

a classic pud they would like you to make.

Rosemary has chosen sticky toffee pudding.

Giorgio, profiteroles.

Yeah. Both firm family favourites.

You have one hour and 20 minutes.

They've provided you with recipes,

ingredients and all the kit that you'll need.

The rest is up to you.

Preheat the oven to 160.

-Who's doing what, then?

-Who's doing what?

Is that one way simpler, Charlie?

Um, yeah. Um, dunno.

-Are you on the choux?

-Yeah, I'm going to do choux.

-OK.

-See you in a bit, guys.

I'll do the toffee sauce. Do you want to make the custard?

They've all got recipes on their tables,

but that element of following that recipe to a T,

-that is quite frightening.

-There are people who will follow a recipe,

people like me, I have to stick to the recipe and even then,

it doesn't always work for me.

Right, really, really, really...

Yes, I'm going to follow the recipe! As if I wouldn't!

If they miss one step...

I'm going to start on this, OK?

You know what? This is a challenge,

cos this is what people have to do every day.

Communication is absolutely everything,

cos if you don't communicate, it's not going to happen.

The sticky toffee pudding takes 50 minutes.

We need to get it on now.

I want them to work as a family, and to listen to each other.

Cream butter and salt together.

Zakila and Rizwana start by making

the sponge for the sticky toffee pudding.

I'm just so...stressed!

It's so confusing.

I can't get to grips with it. It doesn't say add the cream.

It says cream the butter and sugar together.

-It doesn't say add it to it, does it?

-No, no, no.

So, how are you getting on with your sticky toffee pudding?

I've never made this before, Rosemary.

Stay calm.

-Yes.

-Don't get nervous about it?

Zakila isn't used to working from a recipe.

She tends to use her instinct when cooking.

-So you've no timer?

-I don't have a timer on my cake,

I just have a smell.

I go, "Oh, it's done." And I go and get it and it's perfect.

Do you think that's a good strategy for a competition?

-I don't know!

-I mean, what do I know?!

LAUGHTER

OK, OK.

Don't panic.

Sumiya wants to do the profiteroles cos she said she's

done them before and you said, "OK."

-Ages ago.

-Ages ago, so let's see.

This is hard, I never realised how hard this was!

They all look a bit panicked.

-Yes.

-Down there especially, more than anybody.

This is not giving them direction and they're a bit lost.

And they're lost without it, yes.

I've done it wrong.

Ugh!

-Where are them scales at?

-In the Herberts' kitchen,

Charlie is cracking on with the sticky toffee pudding.

Beat the eggs in, one at a time until fluffy.

The profiteroles are going to be interesting.

I'm married to a baker, so I tend to stray away from profiteroles.

I have made them, but they're not my go-to special,

so it's going to be interesting!

-This doesn't seem right.

-Have you not added enough flour?

It should be more flour.

Anna has tasked brother-in-law Archie with the profiteroles.

Shall we start again, real quick?

Yes. Leave that and just get another saucepan and do it again.

I'm not a massive pudding person but it's fine,

I can do pudding stuff.

I must take direction from Anna,

just following the instructions really clearly.

Following a recipe isn't exactly the Herberts' style.

So, I'm just putting the curd on top.

In the previous around,

they even turned a classic cheesecake on its head.

That's a very modern idea as well,

to serve like a cheesecake in this way.

I think you smashed it.

How are you getting on?

Yeah, we should be better at making profiteroles.

We're going to disgrace our family name.

-Anna?

-So, there's no going off piste on the recipe?

No way! There is no way we're going off piste.

Oh, Archie!

With the Charleses, Dan is on sticky toffee pudding duties...

Place water, caster sugar and butter in a saucepan.

..and Betty, the profiteroles.

Jean's sort of filling in the gaps and doing what she can to help

-both of us.

-Right, we need the piping bag.

I am definitely not a confident pudding creator.

I'm way out of my depth!

It's not the first time Betty has felt intimidated by a pudding.

I'm not a big dessert person, so this is a big deal for me.

Right, go on. Please set!

But she surprised herself...

-Yes!

-I can't hear anything.

..and the judges with the results.

You got it perfect.

-Would you like me to beat the eggs?

-Yes.

-That would help.

-Thanks, Mum.

It's fine, you're doing really well.

Normally, Jean does what she's told, pretty much.

But today, she's leading the pack.

Oh, I've knocked a few cakes together in my time,

what with four kids and plenty of birthdays.

Just proves that we need our mum!

We're in.

All three families have got their sticky toffee sponge in the oven.

I can say categorically, none of these teams are dessert people.

-No.

-I think they're all a little bit out of their comfort zone,

all of them.

For the profiteroles, they all need to make sure their choux pastry

is at the perfect consistency.

We're looking for it to get a reluctant drop.

So, as it falls, it takes five to seven seconds.

One, two...

Three, four...

I think it's perfect, just do it.

-Seven, that's it.

-That's reluctant.

You've got it. That is a reluctant drop, right.

Arch, careful!

Used to taking direction from her aunt,

17-year-old Sumiya is making the profiteroles by herself.

My profiteroles are not round!

They're just a kind of swirl, and they're tiny.

So, therefore, the cream's not going to go in

and everything is going to be a disaster.

The next step for the profiteroles is a chocolate sauce.

Could somebody get a pan of simmering water on, please?

Enough to do a bain Marie on?

They melt chocolate with butter and cream.

I should've broken up the chocolate.

You should've broken up chocolate, Archie!

-Get it out and break it up, I don't care if you burn your fingers.

-Lazy!

Can you scrape that off into there or just leave it?

It's like cooking with a toddler!

-Wash your hands!

-You said do it with your fingers!

My chocolate's not looking too...

-What's happened, then?

-I don't know! Damn it.

Come here, stop a minute.

-Don't... It's absolutely fine.

-Yeah, it's fine.

Seriously, you'll be absolutely fine.

-You won't even see it.

-It's horrible.

-Shall we say that's done?

-Oh, it's gone grainy.

I don't know what you've DONE to this, Archie.

I'm just going to try and heat the cream up,

then add some of that chocolate in.

Then it might go more ganache-like, but I'm not holding out much hope.

The final stage for all the families is making the custard

for the sticky toffee pudding.

I just have to heat the cream with the milk.

They have to cook the custard mixture on a low heat

to stop it from splitting.

"Whisking constantly."

Do not let a bubble appear boiling.

Well, it's no wonder people buy custard!

-Jeez!

-Do you want me to do it for a bit? Here, let me have a go.

It's not looking too good.

You've ruined it. You've just done it too long, now you've curdled it.

-Look, you ruined it.

-Oh.

-How long have we got?

-Ten minutes.

Ten, ten minutes.

Right, OK.

It's cooked very nicely. The sponge is lovely and soft.

Oh, yeah, Anna! It's supposed to be upside down.

-Ta-dah!

-It's beautiful.

You'd never know.

So, you know what you're looking for?

Oh, I know what I'm looking for.

-And that is not it.

-Pocket sized.

Hide everything!

-Good idea.

-No!

I kid you not. I actually want to cry right now.

-Do you?

-I could cry.

I think we've done well with the toffee pudding.

Not sure about the custard.

-The custard is a disaster, what are you talking about?

-A disaster, yes.

We have got two puddings that look edible,

which are quite a few points I thought we weren't going to have!

So, I'm really happy!

It's the chocolate that's let us down. I'm sorry, guys.

Hey, it's not let anyone down.

Well done.

The judges will now try each of the puddings the families have created

by following a recipe.

First, it's the Herberts and their sticky toffee pudding.

First of all, I want to ask you what possessed you putting that square

cake on that small plate?

Um, we originally put it on the square plate,

but it was put up the wrong way round, so, we had to turn it over.

That's a generous portion.

I want to do that cos I want to see the middle. Don't be cheeky!

The actual cake I think is a really good cake,

BUT just very slightly undercooked.

It could've done for a couple of minutes more.

Mm. And it just needed to go onto a bigger plate.

-She's never going to forgive you for this plate.

-No, I know.

Now for the Karims.

OK...

Just look at it first, it's sunk in the middle.

It's not quite there, unfortunately.

It's too dry.

It's a shame, because the flavour is lovely.

Oh!

Oh.

That's uneatable.

That's not custard. Sweet scrambled eggs, unfortunately.

And finally, the Charles family.

That's very good. That actually is delicious.

In fact...

-Thanks, Rosemary.

-I'll have a little bit more.

I like the cake, I like the custard.

And I even like the toffee.

Thanks.

The judges will now try the profiteroles.

So, the recipe was foolproof.

You just needed to read it properly, don't rush through.

First are the Charles family.

Consistency of the pastry is perfect.

It's well cooked.

That blob of chocolate on top, that's a little bit scary.

But the flavour is very good.

You know, I like it.

-Thank you.

-Well done, you!

Next, the Herberts.

You weren't as passionate as usual.

Yeah. I've got a bit of a headache

and I was just a bit out of my depth,

so I couldn't really engage with it.

So we'll call them the profiteroles with the headaches,

-this one? OK?

-Mini profiteroles.

-OK, let's taste one.

There's a problem with the choux paste.

It's very soft.

I think the ganache on the top, because it is a ganache, isn't it?

-Yes.

-It's delicious.

The glaze is exceptional and really saves the day.

Finally, the Karims.

Don't look so bad!

You don't have to eat it, you know.

This is not a profiterole.

But these are very tasty little things!

Yeah?

-It's like a wafer.

-Oh!

Whoops!

We lost some.

Whoops, well... Sorry,

it went all the way through.

It's not a complete disaster, but what shocks me,

-is the fact you've done this before.

-Yeah.

I would've expected you to have got this right.

-Exactly.

-I'm sure that anywhere you put them, with some kids there,

they'll polish it in a minute without any shadow of doubt.

It is amazing how the same recipe comes out with three different

things like that.

At least you made some for the children.

-Exactly.

-So, for the birthday parties now!

They're bang on.

-I'd eat them.

-Yeah, I'd eat them, too.

Just one challenge stands between our families

and a place in the final.

Well, I think we messed up the second challenge.

Then the first one. We just have to be really good at the next one now.

Up to now, the Karims have played it very safe.

Simple salmon, but really tasty.

You two need to step it up, don't leave everything to me.

-What do you mean, you two?

-No, really.

We can't afford any mistakes today.

I think with the other two challenges, we've had some wins,

we've definitely had some slight disasters.

In their usual style,

the Herberts have used too many ingredients for the first challenge,

and it didn't turn out to be a dish.

I think today's the real opportunity to pick up the pieces

and really smash it.

I think we're going to nail it.

I'm surprised with how well we did with the last challenge, honestly.

The first challenge, that was...

That was terrifying!

That WAS terrifying!

It was very brave of the Charleses to leave that salmon and prawns out.

But they delivered the perfect vegetarian dish.

This could be the last time we cook for the judges.

Families, this is it.

Your third and final challenge.

After this, one team will progress to the final and two teams will

sadly have to hang up their aprons for good.

In this challenge, Rosemary and Giorgio want to see your unique

family take on a British classic -

the roast dinner.

You've got two hours, let's get cooking.

Thanks.

The roast dinner is an iconic family meal

and Rosemary and Giorgio want to see how our families tackle some

classic techniques.

But also, if they can make the ordinary extraordinary.

I mean, Rosemary is a classic cook.

What do you think she's going to think of it?

I'm not sure if she'd be so happy if they did something wonky with the potato.

But who knows what we're going to get?

It's very exciting.

Unlike the previous two challenges,

the families will be cooking a meal

they've had a chance to practise at home.

Let's get some fat off this. I don't like it when it's too fatty.

The Karims are making a roast leg of lamb

served with Yorkshire puddings,

roast potatoes and vegetables.

They're adding their twist with a tamarind gravy,

aubergine and tomato salsa and crispy leeks.

I was hoping somebody would do a leg of lamb.

What I think they're doing is putting their own spices in,

so I'm hoping we're going to have something interesting there.

So, ladies, how are you feeling?

Good. We love a Sunday roast in our house.

On a Sunday, it's a traditional thing, actually.

One of the comments the judges made was that you hadn't delegated enough

and you were the leader of the pack.

Do you feel like that's what you're doing today?

Yeah, today I was like,

"You'd better listen to what I tell you to do!"

Did you have a debrief after the last two challenges?

-Oh, my days.

-Were words had?

-I gave them a

-BLEEP!

-You're the one...

-Go on, girls.

-Leave you to it.

A typical Herbert family roast is hectic.

We tend to probably do roast dinners in a slightly different way because

there's so many of us. This is a bit of an exceptional luxury roast

dinner we would cook for a few people.

The Herberts have gone for a classic rib of beef, roast potatoes,

asparagus, carrots and Yorkshire puddings.

Their unique twist to the roast dinner is an oxtail

and bone marrow gravy.

The Herberts, a little bit more sensible today.

As long as they don't overdo the whole thing,

this should be a really good dish, that one.

Rather than a steak, where you're going to leave it on for ages,

we're going to keep moving it, so it doesn't dry the meat out.

-So, this is you paring it down?

-Mm.

Kind of. Some of the feedback we've had has been we've gone too out there.

So, actually, this was kind of like a way of just saying we can do stuff

-really well.

-Nice.

-Nice!

-Good shot. Oh!

-Archie, how embarrassing.

Right, that's the pastry in the fridge, that needs to cool for about

20 minutes.

Rather than a straightforward roast,

the Charleses are serving pork Wellington -

tenderloin of pork wrapped in rough puff pastry.

Served with Hasselback potatoes and polenta with balsamic glazed

Brussels sprouts, crackling and salsa verde.

Wellington is very technical.

You have to have the cooking of the pastry absolutely perfect,

not wet on the inside but absolutely crispy on the outside.

And you know, all the ingredients must work together.

-Dan, the man!

-Yes?

-How are we going?

-Yeah, OK.

What's that twist on your roast dinner?

It's all pretty twisty, really.

So, instead of a traditional beef Wellington,

we're doing a pork Wellington.

But we're doing it with Italian flavours, so fennel,

chilli flake, rosemary.

ZOE: To make their Wellington,

seared pork tenderloin is coated in herb and mushroom mixture,

inspired by their favourite part of the world.

It just reminds me of when we were in Italy and brings back

really fond memories.

I proposed in Rome.

She woke up on her birthday and I told her we were going to Leeds,

when really I'd booked some tickets to Rome.

He came and asked me first.

Not asked me to marry him first!

-She said no!

-I said, "No, you'll have to marry Betty!"

I've got my standards.

I'll go over and then you come over.

-Well done, you two.

-I feel nervous for you.

Clear off, Charlie!

Bit of a twist.

Good work!

-Well done, you two.

-Ah, thank you.

I mean, what they've chosen is actually quite a tricky thing to do.

It can be done, but two hours, I'm not sure.

I'm concerned about getting that pastry crispy underneath,

as well as all round, because that's the trick.

If they have it undercooked slightly underneath,

it actually ruins the whole thing.

It's in, that's it.

Hope for the best.

NADIYA: To serve with the Karims' roast lamb,

Rizwana is making an aubergine and tomato salsa.

Aubergine goes really, really well with lamb.

I really hope the judges love the twist and the flavour of aubergine

with the tomatoes and different flavours of cumin and the rest.

But we've tried it at home with our roast and everyone loves it.

I'm actually looking forward to this aubergine salsa,

because they are good at these flavours.

These strong, spicy flavours.

Meanwhile, Zakila is in charge of their special gravy.

We're using tamarind today,

which we're going to put in our gravy, which is going to give it

a sweet bitterness taste to it. I don't know exactly where it's from

-or what is it...?

-It's actually a root.

It is a root, yeah. But is it a vegetable or a fruit?

Tamarind is in fact a pod-like fruit which grows on trees.

It's the pulp from the fruit which is used in cooking.

You can see the seeds are still in there.

People use it all around the world,

but mostly Asian type, Bangladeshis,

Pakistanis, Indians, in their cooking.

So, it's a really lovely bitter sweetness taste to it.

You had a more stronger taste at home, of tamarind.

Do you think I should put more tamarind in it?

Maybe another spoon.

Another spoon, definitely.

I'm not putting more than that, that's enough.

-I'm done with that.

-You asked for a roast dinner with a twist.

Do you think that's a big enough twist?

You know, a sauce could make or break a dish.

-Mm-hm.

-Until I taste it, I don't know.

ZOE: The Herberts are also going all-out with their gravy.

So, I am just starting off the oxtail that's going to go

in our pressure cooker for the gravy.

Hoping to extract as much flavour as possible,

the Herberts have chosen to cook their gravy in a pressure cooker.

Gravy is my domain now.

This is a really important, we don't want them to stick.

The moment you get any burn at the bottom, with the oxtail,

it literally ruins the whole gravy and adds a real bitter taste to it.

Get that lid on, Charlie.

-One second.

-Get it on, get it on!

NADIYA: To serve with the Charles' pork Wellington,

Dan is making crackling from pork rind...

..while Jean focuses on the salsa verde.

The secret to a good salsa is the music, clearly!

But I've got parsley, I've got capers, I've got anchovies.

I've got garlic, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, olive oil to go in.

And then I'm there, good to go, I hope.

ZOE: Betty is making Hasselback potatoes to serve with their roast.

A Swedish version of a jacket potato,

scored and baked in the oven.

-Right, Hasselbacks done.

-Good.

The Herberts and Karims are going for the classic roast potato.

First of all, to cook a roast potato,

blanch it properly and cook it in that fat

and make sure the fat is hot.

There's a lot of little tricks with that.

We've put the potatoes into the freezer because it dries them out,

so it means we can cook the inside fluffier

and they're not going to fall to bits when we shake them

and fluff them up later.

I will be doing the Yorkshire puddings by myself.

So, I just hope that that goes so much better

than the profiteroles did.

I'm just scared of what Rosemary is going to say!

Because she's kind of the Queen of Yorkshire puddings, I guess.

They've got to rise, they've got to be gorgeous, they're golden.

They've got to be everything. To me, I'm looking forward

to Yorkshire puddings. Two lots of Yorkshire puddings, too!

That's even better.

So, I've just finished making the Yorkshire pudding batter.

It's got eggs, sparkling water, milk.

What we found is it just gives it a lighter, airier texture,

so hopefully that will be the case today.

They must get them absolutely spot-on.

Otherwise, Rosemary's not going to be happy.

I'm just going to tip it and then once you see it come to the end,

then that's the perfect mark.

Oh, yeah. Oh, I like that!

Watch out, he might do something to it.

-Like, pour salt.

-Oh, knocked the salt in! And what's that?

-"I didn't mean to." Yorkshire pudding.

-Oh, oh!

Shush, don't mention the Yorkshire puddings!

-No sharing secrets. Well, good luck, enjoy.

-And you, too.

This isn't how it was at home. So, this is going to turn out wrong.

Sumiya, I don't know what you're doing. Can you hurry up?

Oh, gosh.

Oh, it's done a slop.

Right, good luck.

Dear Father...

Guys, you have got half an hour left.

-Pardon?

-Half an hour.

Charlie, I think we should get the gravy off now, please.

Oh!

Smoke signals.

The Herberts. This looks like it's coming together rather beautifully.

So, this is them with it kind of simplified a little bit.

-But still with a twist.

-And see, the meat is standing there

with a thermometer in.

So, they're very technical in what they do.

They're not guessing things.

Oh, no, Anna, I was going to use rock salt.

Yeah, but it takes longer to dissolve, so you don't taste it.

OK. Less than that.

There's a bit of a disagreement over the salt!

Anna, you tell him! You tell him, Anna.

We know our place. There's a pecking order.

-Hello!

-Oh, Jean!

How's the Yorkshires going? Oh! That looks lovely.

-What?

-That little one there.

Families, you have just ten minutes left.

Just ten minutes.

-It's working.

-Jean, get back here!

-OK.

-Get chopping, Jean.

I like to rest it for a while before you carve it.

It's done, it's done.

My Yorkshires might be so big that they're going to

-stick to the tin above.

-Wow, they're incredible.

How are THEY Yorkshire puddings?

In the middle.

They're huge, it's so funny!

They look so nice.

Right, let's get that up, because that's not doing anything at all.

Just frying up the leeks now.

We'll spread them out.

OK. Don't let them burn.

And don't take your eyes off it.

Do you think this gravy's all right?

Tiny bit of Worcester sauce.

I think I actually have a bead of sweat dripping down my forehead.

-You do!

-Mop my brow.

Poor baby!

Once you've finished the gravy off, the flavours in there

is amazing now, so with the lamb and the contrast, it will be superb.

-And then, the roasties.

-Just on there.

That's everything, isn't it? Well, how long have we got?

-Cos I want to do this...

-Yeah, do it, do it.

No, I don't want to do it last-minute.

Do it. We've got one minute, Charles.

Get that Wellie on that board.

-She's on.

-She's on!

Oh, that is gorgeous, I like that.

Charlie, just do it.

Flipping heck! Well done, us.

Right, crackling in the middle.

Time up. You do it.

-No, you do it, you've got a nerve for this!

-No, you do it. Oh, now?

Time up, families!

Well done, guys.

Well done, everyone!

Come here. Well done, Anna.

Is that your Yorkshires?

Yeah! Sumiya's Yorkshires.

Concentrate on ours!

Look at what we've just done!

It does look great. Well done.

-Well done, us.

-I'm just so proud of us all, I really am.

The Charleses have made a pork Wellington,

filled with a special Italian herb mix.

It's served with Hasselback potatoes,

Brussels sprouts with polenta, leeks and crackling.

The crackling is sensational.

I cannot hide my disappointment.

There is one overpowering herbs in there.

Can't even tell what they are.

I'm disappointed because you usually hit the flavours so well.

The only thing that really stands up

to the standard that you produce usually...

..is the polenta with the...

..with the Brussels sprouts and the onions.

That is, that is your...

..usual flavours hitting.

-Rosemary?

-The pastry's not cooked properly.

It's not actually quite golden enough,

so it is a huge disappointment.

OK.

-WHISPERS:

-Don't get upset, don't get upset. Don't get upset.

Don't, don't go...

Don't hug me, then!

-Come on.

-Don't, cos you're going to make ME cry!

Well, I'm not going to cry.

The Karims have made roast leg of lamb,

served with roast potatoes and vegetables,

and the all-important Yorkshire puddings.

They've added their twist with an aubergine salsa,

crispy leeks and a tamarind gravy.

I'll go straight into your Yorkshire pudding first.

OK.

I think the Yorkshire pudding are very nice.

Thank you. That means a lot.

The aubergine with the tomatoes, really nice.

The spices, it's really coming through.

The sauce, the tamarind sauce...

..I'm tasting a strong, powdery sauce.

Doesn't do anything for me at all.

The lamb, for me, is cooked absolutely perfectly.

The tamarind disappears in the sauce, I agree with Rosemary.

Completely disappears, the acidity, it just cancels it completely.

But the perfection is achieved...

..with your Yorkshire pudding!

-I can't believe it.

-Absolutely.

They're the best. It's such a nice Yorkshire pudding.

Overall, I think you did deliver a very lovely...

..Sunday roast with a little twist.

-Thank you.

-So thank you very much.

The most classic of the three roasts is the Herberts' rib of beef,

served with roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings,

carrots and asparagus.

To finish, their twist - oxtail and bone marrow gravy.

I really don't know what to say.

I'm actually speechless.

I cannot fault the beef.

I cannot fault the carrots.

I cannot fault the asparagus.

My gosh.

I cannot fault...

..the sauce, which is sensational.

I cannot fault the Yorkshire puddings.

I salute you.

We can go home happy!

I know that I've always been a bit critical of your style sometimes...

..and dishes didn't come together as one dish

because there were too many components in that.

Well, in this case, you proved me wrong.

There seems to be a harmony between the flavours.

The perfect seasoning, the beautiful colours.

The perfect consistency.

The beautiful cooking of the meat

with the resting, with the thermometer in.

You've done a fantastic dish.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very, very much.

This has been quite a marathon today, hasn't it?

I mean, we have to look through these three challenges.

Think of the Karims - they have

introduced some really good flavours.

They've produced one or two very good things.

No matter what happens,

I've had so much fun and I've learnt so much along the way.

And we worked really, really hard and this has brought us together as

well, as sisters, and Sumiya has come closer to us as well.

We'll be so gutted to go home.

I think they've gone as far as they can go.

They've been outmanoeuvred.

-I think so.

-The other two, they're superior.

-So, I see it, it's against two families...

-Yes.

..which is going to be an extremely difficult decision

because, in a way, they're quite equal.

I think our downfall is the roast.

That would be the reason we go.

The other two challenges I thought we did well.

I'm so proud of you two and I think it's been a great...

-We're proud of you, too.

-We are of you, Mum.

One family yesterday delivered very well in both challenges.

The other family today delivered a fantastic dish.

After the first two challenges, we weren't feeling hugely confident,

but we knew what we had in store for today and we knew it was good.

Whether we've done enough, who knows?

I think we're really equal run at the moment.

It's very, very tight between these ones.

I know, it's so fine.

It's a shame we can't get them both through, isn't it?

Home cooks, congratulations on getting this far.

You have had three really tough challenges,

but we've loved every minute of having you here.

The moment has come.

Only one family can stay in the competition.

The judges have taken all three challenges into consideration.

May I add, the choice has been agonising,

but they have come to a decision.

The family going through to the final are...

..the Charles.

My God!

APPLAUSE

No way! No way!

Well done.

Ahh.

This has been a really amazing experience.

All the way through, we enjoyed every single moment of it.

-Really proud as well.

-Yeah.

-Really proud of ourselves.

We came this far.

I'm really proud of what we've achieved

-and I'm just so pleased that we got it right today.

-We're a risky team,

erm...but, you know, when you take risks, sometimes it works,

sometimes it doesn't.

I must admit that today,

the Herberts made it very, very difficult to choose,

but we have to keep in consideration three challenges,

and that's why we decided to put the Charles family through to the final.

We have had the most difficult decision to make.

It's been so close.

We feel that the Charleses have delivered

on the other two challenges and they delivered a lot better

than the Herberts.

You deserve it!

Mum!

I actually feel like I'm floating.

I literally feel like I'm floating.

Honestly, it's so hard to put into words.

It... It's a dream. It's a dream.

-We're in the final!

-Yes.

-We're such a team.

-Such a team.

-It's fantastic. I can't believe... It's marvellous.

I'm honestly gobsmacked.

Welcome, families, to the semifinals.

It's all about timing.

We've got 20 minutes left, guys.

OK?

-Who made the jam?

-I did.

-You made the jam?

The key to this challenge is not to panic.

-I mean, try it!

-I want you to try it. I'm too nervous to eat.

Why on earth did you take the challenge on?

Dave likes to stretch us.

Go hard or go home.

Is there a team hug?

-No, huddle.

-Huddle?

Team hug!