Episode 2 Celebrity MasterChef

Welcome back, Mr Wallace.

Celebrity MasterChef - and we've got ourselves 20 celebrities

who want to show us how good they are in the kitchen.

I'm way out of my comfort zone here.

Many of them can sing, dance, act. We don't care about that.

What we care about is whether they can cook.

I'm definitely not giving up.

I've just got to try and stay focused.

You're going to have to get better and better, otherwise you're out.

You know what they say, don't you?

Cooking doesn't get tougher than this.

It does - eating it.

This week's MasterChef heats continue.

Last time, the celebrities got their first sense

of the scale of the competition.

Try not to break it. You've scared me now.

Right, out she comes.

There's very little that would stop me finishing that one.

Thank you.

Singer Sinitta gave her all...

but it wasn't enough to prevent her from being sent home.

Now the remaining four are back to fight for their place

in the semifinals.

Inside, I thought, "I can't be the first one out.

"This is not acceptable," so, I'm really glad to be back.

For me it's like, "Look, you've done better than...

"everyone expected you to do."

My mum texted me and she's like, "I'm gobsmacked."

I was, like, "Oh, thanks, mum(!)"

I'm not the best cook in the world, but there's something inside me

that keeps saying, "You're better than you think."

I'm excited to be back.

I'm excited to be in the kitchen.

I can't wait to see what the next challenge is,

and it's just getting better and better.

Welcome back, you four.

Great to see you back in the MasterChef kitchen.

The next couple of challenges

are all about teamwork and communication.

You've already put yourselves in teams by the colour of your aprons,

so introduce yourselves to each other.

You are now paired up.

-Teamwork.

-(Teamwork.)

This, your first test,

is a good old-fashioned MasterChef relay-invention test.

You have to make us, in an hour and five minutes,

a main course and a pudding.

The first member of the team will take 25 minutes

to start both those dishes.

The second one will come in,

take over and continue. Then you'll both come together

for the final 15 minutes

to either finish it off or rescue the thing.

THEY LAUGH

And, during this task, there'll be no conferring.

You need to decide which team member's going to go first.

-You go first.

-Are you sure?

You're 100% going first!

-Really?

-But I'm not allowed to tell you what we're going to cook.

I know. That's the problem, I know.

Don't worry.

Blue Team, who's going first?

-Me.

-Donna, you're going first.

-Red Team, who's going first?

-Alexis.

-Alexis is going first.

Fantastic. Tommy and Marcus, you two can go.

Thanks very much. Off you go.

-Brilliant.

-Good luck.

-It's going to be fine.

-Oh, no!

-We're in trouble.

Donna, Alexis, please reveal your ingredients.

That's it?

Donna and Alexis must create a main course using guinea fowl

and a dessert using at least two of the three tropical fruits -

coconut, mango and passion fruit.

Your 25 minutes starts now.

OK.

I'm sure there's plenty for both.

No, no!

They can also choose from a larder which includes fruit,

veg and dairy products.

-I'm terrified.

-So am I.

I'm absolutely terrified.

I have a huge amount of faith in Alexis.

In the last challenge, he just absolutely bossed the whole thing.

So, I'm pretty happy to be partnered with him.

If we're relaying this with football, right,

I feel like I'm, like, bottom of the table,

Alexis top of the table, so that should hopefully, well...

..maybe bring me up a bit.

Knowing a little bit about Marcus and how he cooks,

I think his strongest point will be to do something with fruit.

So I'm kind of taking care of the main,

but I'm going to give him a clue

that the mango and the passion fruit should go together there.

Alexis has decided to get guinea fowl, which he's opened up,

splayed open, spatchcocked, put in the oven,

he's got a tray full of potatoes and onions which he's baking

with lots and lots of thyme. Now, that's a great start.

He's got some red wine and shallots to make a sauce.

Do not touch that, Marcus.

That's a clue for him not to go near that.

For the dessert, nobody knows what's going to happen.

OK.

I don't cook a lot of desserts ever.

I've made probably like a couple in my life.

So, walking in, and maybe it's not even started,

or Alexis is like, "Don't worry, buddy,

"I've done the first course, dessert's up to you."

I'll be like,

"We're in trouble."

I've made Donna captain.

I'm vice captain.

I think if there's something in the oven cooking, I'll be OK.

I'll know when it's done. I hope!

I'm roasting the guinea fowl.

-Yeah.

-I'm just going to do lots of roasted vegetables with some greens,

try and get some gravy going with some stock

and do a sort of very simple, traditional roast.

What's the dessert going to be?

I'm thinking of using the passion fruit, the mango

and whipping it up with some of the cream...

-Yeah.

-..to make, like, a fool.

-Fine.

-I'm going to leave the dessert.

I'm going to focus on the main for now.

Well, how will he know what to do?

Because I've left the cream and the fruit all near the blender.

Right.

She's got the guinea fowl in the oven, she's prepping parsnip,

she's prepping carrots.

What she's not doing is starting the dessert at all.

The worst scenario is walking back into that kitchen,

looking at what poor Donna's had to do,

and thinking, "What do I do from here?

"How do I carry it on? How do I finish it?"

I mean, it's just...

it's just crackers, it's crazy.

16 minutes have gone.

All right, you two. So you've got nine minutes left...

We've got nine minutes left, OK.

..to put things near things and put things near other things,

so the next one in can do the cooking.

Right, he's going to get the hint here.

But I'm going to point all the knives that I've got left.

Now, that's a big clue.

Guinea fowl is in.

Parsnips are in.

The potatoes just need to go on a roasting tray.

All the veg is on. He should be quite clear with that.

These are by the blender.

In two minutes' time,

your partners will come in and warmly thank you

for the work you've done.

That you can guarantee.

It's a roast. I mean, it's quite easy.

We've just got to get the gravy right.

The guinea fowl, it's got its timer set.

The potatoes and some onions are in the oven as well.

What I've done over here is left him the fruit,

and I know that he's a healthy eater, he's good,

so he'll know that that's what he needs to do.

My approach when I walk in there...

Number one is just going to be not to mess anything up.

I'd be most annoyed at myself if Alexis comes back in

for the last 15 minutes

and he's like, "Dude, you've ruined my creation.

"What have you done?"

That's it. Teams, swap over.

Out. Out you go.

-My God, that was so exciting!

-That was amazing.

-That was quite fun, wasn't it?

-I loved it.

Oh, God...

what is it?

Oh. I have no idea.

I have got no idea what this is.

I think it was wise just to keep it really simple and go for a roast.

Boiling water, great.

I really hope he does the right thing.

And, I mean, how is he to know?

You've got the timer on something. Oh, has he done...? Oh, amazing.

Is that roast chicken legs? OK.

Is he going to take it out? Does he know when it's done?

It could be a disaster. I could go back and find...

sort of a big lump of charcoal in the oven.

What have we got in here?

That is... I don't know.

Am I using that?

OK, so we've got some veg to boil.

This is exactly what I didn't want to happen.

He's left the dessert for me.

Oh, crikey. Erm...

I don't know what that is.

If you're too inventive, then how on earth will Tommy know...

..what I had in my mind?

I got no idea.

No idea.

But a roast is a roast.

He can come up and pick that up pretty easily.

I don't know what that is.

I think it's a chicken.

We've got some roasted spuds and a chicken.

But what about the sweet?

-Tommy.

-Yeah?

-What can you see, mate?

I can see everything that I don't know.

I can see...I can see

cabbage, carrots, chicken,

duck or whatever with the roasted veggies in there

-and that's virtually done.

-And do you think that plays any part in it?

-That pot?

-This?

-Yeah.

-No. I think... I don't know what...

Unless that's the...

-gravy. I don't know.

-That's not a bad idea.

Might be gravy, see.

Right, now, so with... The main course is underway...

-Yeah.

-So what have you got to do?

I've got to make a pudding.

You've got to use the mango and passion fruit.

Mango and passion fruit.

I left things where they should be, so he knows what

he should be doing.

I think Donna thought that she was leaving cream for Tommy.

What she actually left was a bowl of mascarpone.

For all we know, Tommy is on his way to combining cheese and mango.

Have you tasted...

-that cream?

-Yeah.

-Is it all right?

-Yeah, it's lovely.

-What is it?

-What is it?

-It's cream.

-All right.

It's either double cream that's been whipped...

-Yeah.

-..and I think that's what it is.

We could walk into that kitchen, anything could be going on.

Cor!

That's not happening, is it?

OK, so we've got mango, we've got passion fruit

and this.

Absolutely tactical to give Marcus the dessert.

Absolutely. I knew that when it comes to the main course...

he doesn't... I don't think he's ever roasted a chicken.

-So what are you going to concentrate on?

-Well,

just putting that in there...

and then this, but I'm also, like,

I've got 15 minutes with Alexis at the end,

so I don't want to go for it and mess it up.

Please don't tell me your plan's to spend the next 25 minutes

boiling chard. Please.

Oh, what is he trying to make here?

Marcus has been in the kitchen for ten minutes and has done nothing.

Nothing at all. He's opened the door three times.

Can't quite work it out. There's a bit of passion fruit,

looked at a bit of mango, can't work it out, doesn't know what to do.

Looking at the cream as if it's some sort of devil.

Oh.

OK. Perfect.

Fresh coconut.

As soon as I saw that open, I thought,

"Do you know what might be quite cool?

"Is to serve some kind of creamy yoghurt inside of there."

That... It's not what Alexis was going with.

I'm sure it's not, but that's all I could think of doing, really.

15 minutes gone. Just 10 minutes left.

TIMER BEEPS Right, timer's off.

Does that mean the potatoes? Let's have a little look.

Mm! It's good, that.

I've got cabbage done.

I've got carrots, I've got the chicken in the oven

and with the vegetables. That's all done.

And I've got the two puddings done.

I'm just waiting for Donna to come and join me and we'll plate it up.

And I think... I think we're done.

Oh, that's gone all over me. Great(!)

You've only got one minute until your mate comes back in

and helps you out.

I'm creating this kind of quirky... Not really sure what it is.

..dessert. The main,

I'm waiting for Alexis to come back in and sort of maybe plate it up

and leave me to carry on with this, but I don't want Alexis to come in

and be like, "What on earth is that?"

Right, your mates are coming in to finish it off.

Here we go. Oh, you're on the dessert, you star!

I don't really know what I've done with it but...

That's fine, it's good.

Main, I was... I've left the potatoes in.

OK, so have you taken the bird out?

-The bird out, yeah.

-What have you done with this?

-Did you mix or blend it?

-No.

-Did you blend it in there?

Didn't do anything. Just pulled it out of that pot,

put them into there,

put on lemon and the two biscuits and that was it.

Do you want to carry on on your dessert?

I'll carry on. I'm not far off finished, so as soon I'm finished

-I can help.

-Then you can start plating up.

I'm going to make a red wine sauce.

You've done a fantastic job here.

-You have. You have.

-Can we just blend that a little bit?

-If you want.

-Shall we just stick it in there and see what happens?

-Shall we do one?

-Go on. Do one, then.

-How's the gravy?

-Good.

-What have you put in it?

-I haven't put anything in it.

I've left it. What do you want me to put in?

You might want to put SOMETHING in it, Tommy.

Like what? Tell me.

-It's gorgeous.

-Have you put any wine in it?

That's just stock.

Both teams are reunited, and the bosses are obvious.

Alexis has come in, seen what Marcus has done,

very, very happy he's done the dessert.

Leaving the dessert for me was my worst nightmare, by the way.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-I thought kind of healthy...

Yeah, well, this is. This is...

Healthy, fresh stuff,

whereas I thought you'd have looked at the guinea fowl

thinking, "What the hell do I do with that?"

And I have to say, Donna's walked in here something like a whirlwind.

No, no, you need it to do that to thicken up to reduce a bit.

She seems to have taken over completely.

Which one of these did you use?

-What, love?

-Oh, sorry.

-This one. This one.

-What is it?

-It's Italian.

-OK, cool.

-Masca-po-pone or something.

-Mascarpone.

-Masca-pa-pone.

-Mascarpone.

-Do you know if we've got any more mango?

Yeah. Do you want more mango?

-No. It's fine.

-Are you sure?

It should be just nice, that.

Let's put a little bit of honey in it.

Do you think I'm a bit of a control freak?

Guys, you've got eight minutes left to serve up two plates, yeah?

That sauce is barely going to make it.

-What do you want me to do, Alexis?

-Chop up some herbs.

Find me herbs. Oh, the potatoes!

-Still got eight minutes.

-Yeah, but I do love a panic, though.

Come on.

Oh, look, I can put that juice in the gravy, hang on.

Yeah, good one. Good one. Go on. Wait.

-Hold the bird. Hold it.

-Wait.

Go.

Right. Perfect. Hold on!

Come back, birdie. Come back.

-OK. Thanks.

-Put it on there, look.

-How fine do you want it, Alexis? This is pretty fine.

-Pretty fine.

We're going to shove it in at the end in this sauce.

Where's that stock?

You've got about five minutes left, guys.

Food on plates, please.

Dessert's basically done.

OK. Let's plate this bad boy up.

Right, Tommy, just pop a little bit on the top,

a nice cooked bit. Yeah.

-Just added a bit of olive oil.

-Nice.

OK. Do you want to get a sprig of thyme?

Which one's thyme?

Teams, 90 seconds and we're finished.

You've got 90 seconds.

-90 seconds!

-90 seconds?

-Right, quick, go get the gravy.

SHE LAUGHS

Looks awful! Looks like a smiley face.

Do you know what? Actually, Tommy, this gravy's turned out quite nice.

I know it has. I can smell it.

Do you know what? Shall we get a biscuit?

This looks all right, no?

30 seconds! Come on!

-That's lovely, that, Donna.

-Do you know what?

-Yes!

That's it. Stop.

(Come on!)

Alexis and Marcus have made roasted leg and breast of guinea fowl

with sauteed potatoes and onions,

buttered rainbow chard and a red wine sauce.

As teamwork goes, it was interesting

cos you didn't really work as a team, did you?

One of you did the main course, the other one did dessert.

But what you're doing along the way is you're learning each other's

strengths and weaknesses. And that's good.

That's what teamwork's all about.

That's not a good face.

That sauce is atrocious.

Guinea fowl is cooked really nicely.

Crispy potatoes, they've got seasoning,

you've got naturally sweet onions on there, as well.

Chard's cooked but has no seasoning.

Sauce is far too bitter.

This is very much your work, Alexis, wasn't it?

Although you did manage to turn the heat under the pan of chard.

-Yeah.

-So, well done with that.

Your sauce, you actually thickened red wine with flour,

and that's why it tastes like booze, cos that's what you've got.

But I don't think it's bad.

I think you got to be a bit more daring, Marcus.

-Yeah.

-And what you've got here, Alexis, is great basics.

Marcus has made their dessert -

whipped cream with mango, passion fruit and sultanas,

topped with dark chocolate, honey and popping candy,

served inside a coconut shell.

That's presented nicely.

I mean, that is... I've got to give you 10 out of 10 for a little bit

of inspired presentation inside the coconut.

I am kind of waiting for the umbrella and the curly straw.

Creamy with bits of tropical mango in and then it finishes

with a bitterness of chocolate.

I don't mind that at all - but there's nothing to dislike about it.

You'd question the skill that went into it.

I like the fact you've got mango and passion fruit.

They're tropical flavours.

The lightness of cream, you started with the coconut,

you thought about cocktails, you thought about holiday,

-that makes you smile and that's good. That's good.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Got 10 out of 10 for presentation.

Donna and Tommy have also roasted the guinea fowl

and served it with roast potatoes and parsnips, carrots,

rainbow chard and a gravy made with red wine and the meat juices.

The breast meat is lovely.

It's still moist, it's cooked really well.

I like your sauce, it's rich and dark and tastes of poultry.

Nicely cooked carrots and parsnips,

potatoes could probably be a little bit crispier,

but you've got yourself what I call a roast dinner.

I think this is a good little number.

All your veg is cooked really nicely and you have seasoned

the dish which is great. Your sauce is a knockout.

Absolute knockout.

That gravy is deep, fruity and rich.

It's lovely.

Well done. It's a nice roast dinner.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

-Thanks.

For their dessert,

Donna and Tommy have served two variations of a tropical fool,

containing mango, passion fruit and mascarpone cheese

with amaretti biscuits.

Which one of these sculptures do think we're going to indulge in?

Well, you have the safer one at the back,

I'll have the one that looks more processed in front.

LAUGHTER

All right.

That's good. It's holding.

ALL CHUCKLE

I know, but it's all down to taste buds.

The thing is, it's mascarpone cheese.

It's mango and cheese.

It needs sweetening.

It needs to be luxurious.

It needs to be light, it needs to be fluffy.

This reminds me of, like, a Bircher muesli.

This reminds me of a breakfast.

It's, like, slightly tart because you used mascarpone.

And with that wonderful tropical sunshine of the passion fruit.

You don't like it?

That one doesn't work.

-No.

-Because the mascarpone has no sweetening in it.

-Right.

Whereas the one that's had the mascarpone

-with the mango pulped up in it...

-We put honey in that, as well.

-You put honey in there?

-To sweeten it.

Yeah, we put a drop of honey in.

-That's why it tastes like a breakfast bowl of cereal.

-Yeah.

-That wasn't so bad.

-It was good fun!

Both teams, I hope, have been inspired,

because the next test, you'll be staying in your teams,

but it'll be a little bit more exciting than this.

When John says exciting, maybe scary.

Thanks a lot, we'll see you very soon.

-Off you go.

-Off you go.

-Thank you all.

-Thanks.

-Bye.

-Goodbye.

It's 8am and Marcus, Donna, Tommy and Alexis

are heading to North London

to face their most daunting outside challenge yet.

I'm pretty sure we're going to be cooking

for a lot of people somewhere.

I think everybody's a little bit apprehensive,

but once we get there, it's, "Hey, lads, hey."

-We're in it together.

-We're in it together.

-Yes.

-Kind of.

Oh, hello.

Welcome to the massive Emirates Stadium,

home, of course, of Arsenal football club.

This stadium holds over 60,000 people.

More importantly, however,

is the fact that there are over 500 permanent staff here.

Today, you are making lunch for 110 of them.

-I told you.

-Is everybody in today?

I told you it would be that.

Man, has anyone ever made food for more than four people?

-No.

-Me neither.

10. 10, that's it. 10.

Lunch is in three hours, ladies and gentlemen.

I suggest you get to it.

Off you go.

It's an enormous challenge, because our four would have never cooked

for this number of people before.

If you think of those dishes that you've cooked

and try and times that by 10, 20, 30 portions...

I'd be there like 12 hours.

If I told you, you know, boil me 50 eggs, that's pretty tricky.

Right. Even though it's something simple, when you upscale something,

it's going to get tricky.

They've got to draw on every experience they've had so far.

Every lesson they've learned

and they've got to work together as a team.

I'll take Alexis down if you take Marcus!

Back of the knees!

Today, the teams will be working under the stadium chef,

Derek Tinsley.

Get in there first.

OK. Good, good, good.

Good morning, chefs.

In front of you you've got the produce, so I'll give you 10 minutes

to come up with a menu, and then we crack on.

-OK. Thank you.

-Carry on.

-Thank you.

-Right.

-Mince.

Each team will have two and a half hours to devise and cook

60 meat or fish and 20 vegetarian main courses,

as well as 60 desserts.

Their larder includes chicken, side of salmon and minced beef.

Mince.

-Chilli.

-Chilli.

-Yeah.

-Chilli con carne with rice.

They also have a wide range of fruit and vegetables

and a selection of dairy products.

Rice pudding for dessert.

-Cool.

-We'll make individual portions with a bit of fruit.

Well, they can't make it now.

-We're taking the rice.

-What?

Wait a second. Wait a second.

If you want something, what, you take it off?

-Wait, wait, wait.

-No, no, no.

-Wait, wait. Toss for the rice.

-You boys sort it out. I'm going to cook.

-Tossing for the rice.

-Tossing for the rice.

-Heads we take it, tails you take it.

-OK.

-Heads.

-Heads. Oh!

Right. Come on, we're going to put stuff aside.

Do we start grabbing stuff?

-TOMMY:

-We lost it, pal.

-Grab that.

-DONNA:

-Moving on.

Right, what are we going to do then for a pudding?

-Tell me what you decided to cook.

-Chilli con carne.

-Yep.

-We feel we're quite confident with that.

-With rice.

-Yes.

-It's going to be served with rice. Vegetable pasta bake.

-Yes.

Dessert's rice pudding served in individual ramekins with fresh

strawberries and a strawberry jam.

Very nice, good. So I suggest you start, guys,

cos we're running out of time.

-OK.

-Yeah, cut the veg for the pasta bake.

For the pasta bake, yeah.

Alexis, I'm more confident with the chilli then the pasta bake

-just as a heads up.

-OK.

All right, mate. Yeah. You can cook the chilli.

I cook chilli at home.

It's delicious, it's quite simple

and it's easy and manageable to scale up.

I've never done it. That's just my thought process.

I'm really pleased with the choices that we've made.

I think they're all deliverable and doable.

It's just that, you know, the MasterChef rush.

You know. You can't do anything leisurely with a glass of wine

and the radio playing, no, you've got to run around.

Looking at Alexis and Marcus,

they seem to be in control of what they're doing.

They're prepping together well,

they've got a clear idea of what they're going to produce.

All in all, I think they've come up with a good menu.

On the other side of the kitchen,

Donna and Tommy are still discussing their menu.

Jacket potatoes in the oven.

-Yeah.

-Chicken in the oven.

-Yeah.

-We need...

-Come on, chefs.

-I need to know exactly what you're doing.

-Right. Jacket potatoes.

-Jacket potatoes.

-Yes.

-Roast chicken.

-Yes.

-Cauliflower cheese.

-Yes.

-And then some courgette and roasted red peppers.

Fine. You're not sure on the dessert, are you?

What would you do?

I would do some sort of sponge, if I was you.

Sponge is quick.

-So you've got chocolate there.

-Chocolate sponge.

-Custard, yeah.

-Yeah.

-You need to start prepping, getting stuff on the stove, cooking.

-Right, we've got to get busy now.

-Yeah, I know.

I think I'd rather take the time... to figure out what we're doing,

which I sort of now think I know what I'm doing.

I think they're still finding their feet a bit in the kitchen.

Tommy, do you think I could have a pan?

-A pan?

-A big pan.

We'll steam this and I'll make a white sauce

and then we can get that prepared. Right.

Donna's the boss. I think she's the...

So she tells Tommy what to do. He's a doer.

-Do you know what I think we could actually do?

-What?

Put the jacket potatoes in.

-OK.

-Because they're going to take at least two hours.

We've got salt in the bottom, we're putting olive oil on top

and we're going to put them in the oven now

because they can stop in the oven forever, a baked potato.

-Thanks, chef.

-You're welcome.

Can't get it open.

Is there a trick?

Open.

Oh!

Oh. Sorry.

Sorry, Chef.

Should I do that?

Oh. That is hot.

That is now hot oil.

Don't know what is going on right now.

On the blue team,

Donna has changed her mind about making a chocolate sponge.

I'm not baking a cake.

I don't do cakes, so I'm going to make a fruit tart,

like an apple tart...

and just do that with cream,

because we can't have chocolate cakes

not rising, and all that nonsense.

So, I understand, you are cooking roast chicken breast,

cauliflower cheese,

you're doing baked potatoes and you're doing roasted vegetables?

Which one's the vegetarian, which one's the main course?

With the meat main course?

Cauliflower cheese is the vegetarian option.

Right. Just cauliflower cheese?

With roasted tomatoes.

See, I wouldn't eat cauliflower cheese if I was just vegetarian.

It is a bit of an afterthought, yeah.

It is an afterthought, though, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Well, the thing is, you got time to rescue it.

-I think you can do better.

-OK.

Could you do a roasted broccoli?

Me? I can do. I don't think we've got enough veg there.

This cheese sauce on the cauliflower isn't really a meal.

So we're having to mix something else up now

-and Donna's on the process of doing it now.

-Oh, man.

I'm not a magician like Alexis.

Hey, this is my trick for getting garlic cloves cleaned up.

It might work.

You got a clean garlic clove.

Very impressed with that. I quite like that. Very good.

Right. Garlic, peppers and onions are ready for the chilli, mate.

I'll take care of the veggie bake.

Oh, hot steam.

So much meat.

There's more red meat in this pan

than I think I've eaten in my entire life.

It's a flipping arm workout. Good job I go to the gym.

Your menu is chilli con carne, vegetable bake,

pasta bake and rice pudding with jam and fruit.

-Yeah.

-I need to tell you, I like two of them.

You don't like the veggie pasta bake?

Why do the poor vegetarians have to suffer

with pasta and chopped up bits of veg?

-Ask them that. I don't know.

-And cheese.

-And cheese?

-Yeah. It could be... It might be nice.

OK. I'll do you a deal.

If it's not dry, if there's lots of lovely vegetables,

if it's seasoned really well, there's loads of sauce

and it's creamy, I'm really fine about it.

-OK.

-But make this delicious.

-OK, I'll try.

-Surprise us.

-OK, I'll try. I'll try.

-Yeah?

I think this has got about 20 more minutes focus on it

and then we can leave it to simmer away,

then we've got to do the rice.

I'm not sure. Ask Alexis on the pasta bake.

Yeah, we're good.

The pasta bake is almost done.

The rice pudding, we've started that.

-Oh, we've started. Oh.

-Yeah, it's here.

There it is. Look at that.

Team captain over there.

No, no, no.

We're sharing this, cos if we're going to go down...

We'll go down together.

Listen up, chefs. An hour to go,

so you need to start thinking about getting items to the oven.

An hour will soon go.

With time ticking away, Donna has finally decided

on an aubergine, tomato and goat's cheese bake

for their vegetarian option.

There is so much to do, I can't tell you.

I mean, just so much to do.

Let's just hope that we've got the number of a good delivery service.

And Tommy has only just started prepping their fruit pie dessert.

I've got to peel 24 apples

and we've still got a lot to do, so an hour is not a long time.

Arsenal football club was founded 130 years ago

by workers at the Woolwich munitions factory.

It's gone on to become one of the country's

most successful football clubs,

being crowned league champions 13 times

and winning the FA Cup 12 times.

In 2006,

the club moved to its new home,

which draws visitors from around the globe for matches,

concerts and other events.

To keep things running smoothly, a large team of tour guides,

ground keepers, ticketing officials

and merchandising staff work behind the scenes.

Across the three sites here at Arsenal,

there's over 500 staff that work here.

On a daily basis, we serve anything up to 250 people.

Arsenal are playing away,

so a lot of the team want to make sure they leave on time

so they can support the teams playing this evening.

The contestants need to be on time today.

Chefs, listen up. You've got 15 minutes to service time.

With service looming,

Donna and Tommy are still well behind,

with none of their three dishes in the oven.

That oil is insane.

The chicken's not going to cook, you know.

-Jackets are done.

-Right, well, we need...

-We don't need to take them out.

-We can keep them in, can't we?

Well, do you want to put them in a colder or cooler oven?

It took them ages to actually decide what it was they were going to cook

and now they are under severe, severe pressure.

Man!

The chicken's in. The potatoes are in the oven.

-They're done.

-The aubergine is about to go in.

The pie needs to go in now and the vegetables.

-Get at it.

-Come on, then.

-OK.

-Last round. Let's do it.

-Let's just do this.

Right, shall I leave you to do this?

Whilst the blue team race to get everything cooked in time,

Alexis and Marcus are on track with both their vegetable pasta bake

and their chilli con carne.

I think that's coming on nicely, I must say.

Marcus, give the rice pudding a stir, mate.

Yep.

The bottom's a bit sticking.

OK. Stir it up.

Oh. That needs to come off.

Marcus, you got a problem there, or is everything all right?

I'm not sure. This is sticking on the bottom too much.

-Alex said to give it a stir but...

-That's fine.

-Are you sure?

It's quite stuck on the bottom, though.

Alexis, do you want to taste this rice?

-If you're happy with it?

-No, it needs more cooking.

OK. So get it back on the heat, a lower heat then.

Now, you got 25 minutes.

You need to start getting stuff in the hotplates

to take out into the restaurant.

With less than half an hour until service,

Donna has decided to add another element to the vegetarian main...

Do you want to put a big huge pan of rice on to go with this aubergine?

..but their chicken is still not cooked

and the veg is yet to go in the oven.

Oh, the vegetables need to go in.

How long is that chicken going to take, Donna?

30 minutes if I stop opening the oven.

OK, if we keep this shut now for 25 minutes...

-The rice is on.

-Well done.

OK.

We've got 25 minutes,

and we've decided now to do some rice

and at this moment, it's... Arrrgh!

That's not going to cook.

Everything has now gone in the oven.

But the problem is, they keep opening the oven door

to put more trays in.

You can't put things in the oven without opening the oven door.

Every time you open the oven door, you lose the heat.

Tommy, don't open the oven!

No, no, no.

-64.

-You can't open the door.

-Why not?

-Cos it lets all the heat out.

Oh, right, I've got to check it

otherwise we won't know whether it's cooked.

I can guarantee it's not going to overcook!

-Just don't touch the door.

-I'm not touching it.

-Don't even look at it.

-I'm not doing, I'm not doing.

-Listen up...

15 minutes to service, so you need to start plating up.

With their rice pudding cooked,

Alexis and Marcus decide to fill individual ramekins

for speed of service.

-How many of these, dude?

-We need 60.

-One more in here.

-Yeah, yeah.

Alexis and Marcus are working really well together.

Alexis is the obvious boss,

but Marcus is really pulling his weight,

and he's a very willing worker.

They are on time, which is a great thing.

Chilli's done, your favourite, the one that you're looking forward to,

the pasta bake is in the hot thing, whatever.

-Cabinet.

-That's the one.

This is good to...go somewhere.

It's just a waiting game. Are things going to cook in time?

-Don't open the door, Tommy.

-No!

We've literally just made all that food.

-And that.

-And everything else.

The ramekin thing.

Tommy, your chicken looks ready, I'd get it out of the oven.

-Right.

-The aubergine as well, it looks nicely glazed.

Cloth, cloth, cloth, cloth.

It's 12:50pm and the stadium workers begin to line up for lunch.

There's 120 hungry people waiting out there.

So when you're ready, let's go.

Veggies, veggies, where can I put them?

Everybody's starving, especially the lads.

They can't wait to taste their food.

Come on, guys.

-You can finish this.

-Chicken looks amazing.

-Thank you.

I have faith that the celebrities will cook to a high standard.

I mean, it's a bit crispy, but...!

I like crispy.

-Oops-a-daisy.

-We forgot the rice.

-Yeah.

-Shall I get the rice?

Aye, get the rice, go on.

Perfect.

I don't know how long we've been at it.

That was next level, wasn't it?

-That was crazy.

-It's just seemed crazy.

All we've got to do now is hope that they like it.

For their meat main course,

Donna and Tommy are serving roast chicken breast,

baked potato and cauliflower cheese.

Their vegetarian option

is an aubergine, goat's cheese and tomato bake served with rice.

They're also serving roasted courgettes and red peppers.

It's OK. There's nothing wrong with all that, I'll tell you.

Alexis and Marcus's meat main course is chilli con carne and rice,

served with creme fraiche, spring onions and coriander.

Their vegetarian main is a cheesy vegetable pasta bake

with courgettes, mushrooms and peppers.

Chilli con carne or vegetable pasta bake?

Chilli con carne.

Thought you might say that.

Enjoy your lunch.

Chicken?

Can I try a bit of each?

Hey, you're the boss. Customer's always right.

The quicker it goes,

the quicker we can get out of here.

Alexis and Marcus's chilli

is proving to be an early favourite amongst customers.

But there's an even bigger queue forming

for Donna and Tommy's chicken dish.

Chicken?

No problem.

What would you like with it?

Baked potato or cauliflower cheese?

-Can I have a bit of cauliflower cheese, please?

-Yeah.

-There you go, sir.

-That's great.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much.

-One chicken.

-Enormous potatoes.

-They are rather big, aren't they?!

I've had the roast chicken.

For me, it's been lovely.

Better than my girlfriend's roast dinner. Definitely.

Could've done with a little bit of gravy, I think.

It was a little bit dry, but everything was cooked well.

Potato a little excessive.

I think the chicken is flavoured brilliantly and cooked really well.

I love that rosemary flavour across the chicken.

I like the creamy, cheesy cauliflower cheese. Wonderful.

What on earth is a dirty great big, boring jacket potato doing on there?

The baked potato doesn't quite work with it, which is a real shame.

And the other thing I like is a little bit of gravy.

With service only halfway through,

Donna and Tommy are running out of mains.

That's your last chicken, yeah.

Oh, right. OK.

No veg. You've got chicken and jacket potatoes.

Chicken and jacket potatoes. That's not good.

Marcus and Alexis spot an opportunity.

For your chilli con carne, you can come to the other side.

-Hiya. You've been waiting long over there?

-Ages.

I know. It's terrible, isn't it?

I've had the chilli con carne.

It's really nice.

Nice bit of heat, but not too much.

Very easy to make an average chilli,

but that had a little bit of spice, little bit of a kick to it.

And, yeah, full marks.

Very good.

Can't complain about that, can you?

That is a chilli as we all know.

Smoky paprika, a little bit of chilli, crunch from beans,

good meat, sweet tomato sauce, lots and lots of rice.

It's a good, good thing.

With the chilli selling well,

there's also plenty of takers for the vegetarian pasta bake.

We need one more pasta bake and one more chilli.

The pasta has gone down well.

There's a pasta for this guy.

It's simple but it's tasty enough.

It's the Cheddar that's giving it the tang and the seasoning,

and there's the sweetness of vegetables.

Alexis promised me a pasta bake that I would like.

He hasn't quite done what he promised.

I mean, it's not bad.

We've got seconds for pasta.

Where's John? John gave me such a hard time,

and this is what people are coming back for.

Was it good? It was good.

Vegetarian?

Yeah. Thank you very much.

Thanks.

Donna and Tommy's vegetarian option

has also proved popular.

Is there another aubergine?

I'm eating the aubergine with the grilled goat's cheese and tomatoes.

The taste is great,

but maybe not enough goat's cheese in this particular portion.

The rice is hard.

It's supposed to be an aubergine bake with goat's cheese,

and I thought, "What a great idea,"

but the aubergine's gone to mush.

It's not very good.

With the mains served, focus is now on the desserts.

What about dessert? We've got to do it all over again.

Make way, make way.

I thought we were done.

Coming through, coming through.

Alexis and Marcus's dessert

is rice pudding topped with fresh strawberries and cinnamon.

Donna and Tommy have made an apple and blackberry fruit pie with cream.

Give him a bit more. He's a big lad.

Lovely, that'll do.

-Thank you very much. Cheers.

-You're welcome, pal.

-It's a nice colour, isn't it?

-It is a nice colour that, yeah.

-Which bit did you make? Did you make the pastry?

-No.

-Team effort.

-Team effort?

-All the way through.

-Team effort, all the way through.

She's brilliant.

She's brilliant.

Good job I'm with her, I'll tell you.

-Thank you very much.

-Thanks, love.

Alexis and Marcus's individual rice puddings are moving quickly.

Happy customer. Interview!

But Donna and Tommy's fruit pie is taking longer to serve.

With us, literally, we were like donk, donk, donk, donk...

It was as if we thought this through.

-We haven't.

-Oh, no, we have.

We definitely have.

Thank you very much.

-Massive queue!

-Where do they keep coming from?

There's millions of people.

I know.

If you've waited too long over there, come over here,

-get your rice pudding.

-Do you want a rice pudding as well?

-There you go, sir.

-Thank you.

Rice pudding. You want one? There you go.

Anyone else? Rice pudding?

Anyone else want a rice pudding?

Want one over here?

I went for the rice pudding.

I'm enjoying it. It's nice and moist.

Erm, nice touch with the cinnamon.

It's quite heavy having the rice

after the rice with the chilli con carne as well, so...

It's a bit of a heavy lunch.

It's the champion of rice puddings, in my opinion.

It's not over-sweetened and that cinnamon is divine.

Who made this, out of the pair of them?

This is a joint effort between Marcus and Alexis.

It's not too sweet and it's not too gluggy.

It's actually light for rice pudding.

Yes. Wonderful, wonderful.

-There we go. How's that now, sweetheart?

-Perfect.

-Thank you very much.

-Can you put a top on this one?

Lovely. That's it.

-There you go, sweetheart.

-Thank you.

I've got a really sweet tooth,

so I could have done with it being a bit more sweeter, but not bad.

The pastry was nice and crispy.

The fruit's nice and sour.

-It's perfect.

-Really enjoyed it.

You're not quite sure, are you?

It's not sweet enough.

It's quite sharp, isn't it?

You've got apple,

which is sweet but sharp.

You've got blackberries, which are most certainly sharp.

You can taste a hint of cinnamon in there, but there's not enough sugar.

I like the sharpness of the fruit inside.

What I would like is a lovely crust of sugar

across the top of that pastry.

It's a bit bland.

There you go, pal. Cheers, mate.

Do you like the crust, Tommy?

Oh, yeah. Well done.

Well done. Well done.

-That was hard work, wasn't it?

-It was hard work, kid, but we did it.

-We've got there.

-Well done, guys.

-Well done.

-Well done.

Tommy.

-Well done, pal.

-That was really good.

The worst moment, I think, was the panic of thinking,

"Oh, no! Nothing's going to be cooked."

Our chicken did go in quite late,

but actually it was the thing that turned out the best.

Donna and Tommy worked really, really hard,

but they should have a proper plan in place before you start.

Then, you're going to be in trouble.

All I could hear were Donna saying, "I'm doing this, I'm doing that.

"You peel that, you do that, you get the rice, you put the water in..."

And it was just all go,

all the way through.

Alexis and Marcus worked really well together,

with Alexis taking the lead, but Marcus most certainly doing his bit.

It's literally mental to think

that we have fed 120 people between four of us.

People come up for seconds,

people leaving saying, "Oh, you did really well."

Today was like a freight train

hitting you at 100mph.

But I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it.

So much fun.

I'm looking forward to the next challenge.

After two days of competition,

these four celebrities will now face one last challenge

to decide who is worthy of a place in the semifinals.

When you stop and think that, today,

you're cooking for a place in the semifinals,

it just makes me want to cry a little bit.

I'd love to stay longer.

It would be pretty cool to be like

"Ooh, I made the semifinals of MasterChef once."

A part of me thinks,

"Oh, have I got it in me to do it all again?

And then the other half thinks,

"Oh, you could do it. Keep going."

If I go through, it'll be fantastic.

I'll be over the moon.

But this is going to be something I'll remember the rest of my life.

Welcome back to the MasterChef kitchen.

You have been working extremely hard.

The last couple of tests, of course, have been about teamwork.

Today, you are working as individuals.

And you need to step it up.

You are going to cook lunch today

for three previous winners

and finalists of Celebrity MasterChef.

Emma Kennedy,

Sophie Thompson,

and Wayne Sleep.

One hour and 15 minutes.

Two courses.

Four plates of each course.

Your main course in one hour.

15 minutes later, your desserts.

Let's cook.

What I hope Marcus has got from the competition is a broader repertoire.

I think Marcus has a chance now

to show us what he's learned so far.

What are your two courses?

My main course is a tuna steak

on a bed of peppers and onions with lots of nice spices,

topped with mango salsa.

And dessert is a healthy twist on a chocolate brownie

with a salted caramel sauce.

How do you make the brownie healthy?

So, there's no, like, butter in it.

Erm, it's also got coconut sugar

rather than, like, refined white sugar.

Is it still a sponge? Is it still a chocolaty sponge?

Yeah, yeah, it's still a chocolaty sponge.

Hopefully, if it's cooked right,

it should still be fluffy and nice. I think it tastes amazing.

And how do you feel about cooking for the people

that have been where you are now?

I feel like there's probably a bit of pressure. A bit more pressure.

Like, you guys, I feel like, you know,

I've kind of warmed to you guys a bit,

and these people I've never met, and they're just going to be, like,

judging my food.

-You've warmed to us?

-Yeah.

-Oh, thanks, Marcus.

Tuna steak I think's a fabulous thing,

but it's got to be cooked so it's got a lovely crust

on the outside of it.

It's got to be pink through the middle when it breaks apart.

A mango salsa with lots of chilli.

There's got to be lots and lots of spice in it.

The combination might sound a bit weird,

but if Marcus likes it, who knows?

It could work.

I'm very, very intrigued about a healthy brownie.

Because to get sweet and sticky and delicious and get healthy...

Is that possible?

If it is, a whole new world may have opened up to me.

I practised my dessert about three times in the last week or so

and it's only gone right one of those times.

Oh, that's a bit liquidy.

I like Alexis.

I like his Greek food heritage.

I like the dishes he puts together.

I'm hoping that this'll be a chance for him to shine.

My main course is pan-fried sea bream

with asparagus, peas, potatoes and a dill and caviar sauce.

And the dessert is a berry millefeuille.

You've got cream and berries and a lovely coulis on it.

I'm hoping that that's enough to see me through.

-Alexis, you have...

-Yeah, hi.

..that standard look of panic.

Panic, fear and madness.

Yeah, there it is.

Panic, fear and madness. Look at you.

It's fine. Everything's going to be fine.

Why do you work in such a manic way?

Maybe the panic way is how I...

I don't know, how I express myself. I don't know.

I'd like it to be chilled, but...

..it isn't. Look, I mean, this isn't chilled.

It can't be chilled. It'll never be chilled.

Well, it's good to be able to have this lovely

calm, quiet, relaxed chat with you, Alexis(!)

-Sorry!

-We are really looking forward...

-I'm so sorry.

-It's been so exciting.

-Let's do it like this.

Right, Alexis, I'm really pleased we've talked to you now.

OK, thank you. Right, come on, me and John have got to go.

Bye, Alexis. Bye-bye, bye-bye...

So glad they stopped by.

Alexis is not just pushing for flavour,

but he's trying to demonstrate skill.

His filleted his fish,

he's making sauces,

he's doing pastry work.

Good on him.

It could be exciting.

Donna has really begun to impress me.

I don't think she had an amazing start,

but she has got stronger and stronger

as the competition has developed

and I'm not sure what we'll get from her today,

but I'll guarantee you'll get a lot of hard work from Donna.

How are you doing, Donna?

Not bad. I'm enjoying it.

-Are you enjoying it?

-Mmm, loving it.

You love to work really, really hard. You love to push yourself.

-Yeah.

-Are you naturally competitive person?

Erm, it's funny, because I was having this conversation

with my daughter the other day, cos don't think I am.

And she just looked at me and went...

So, she seems to think I am a little bit competitive.

I think everyone's so focused on what they're doing,

not what everybody else is doing at this stage.

What are your two courses, Donna?

I'm doing spring lamb in a herb crust,

pan-fried in a rosemary jus,

with vegetables and a cauliflower puree.

And then, a pink pudding surprise.

What's the surprise about it?

It's actually from beetroot.

And the reason is?

Because it tastes delicious.

Whoa.

Donna's pink pudding surprise -

which is a rice pudding - really, really intrigues me.

A rice pudding with strawberry or a strawberry jam, I think, "Yeah."

The mixture of beetroot and strawberries? John, come on.

It's highly unusual,

but it could just work.

Today is probably the biggest day in the competition.

There's lots of things I'm sure that could go wrong.

It's very easy to overcook the lamb.

It's very easy to burn the rice pudding.

But it can't be worse than cooking for over 100 people.

Tommy's been the surprise of the competition for me.

His food might be rough round the edges, but it's really tasty

and he's learning and he wants to cook better and better.

My favourite moment was when Gregg, when I did my salmon,

he said to me, "You might go far in this,"

and that was absolutely fantastic.

In fact, if I'd have gone out then, it wouldn't have bothered me.

That mass-catering, Tommy, was a big challenge.

Oh, I'll say it was.

I think... Well, I'm sure I ran a marathon.

We got on the train to go home, I fell asleep.

Dunk. Gone. And I've been like that ever since.

JOHN CHUCKLES

What are you making today?

Breast of chicken in a cream sauce and it's a port sauce.

What are you serving with it?

I'm serving with it mangetout,

which is what I do when I do it at home.

And are you making a dessert?

Yes. Lemon posset.

I think it's interesting watching you cook that piece of chicken.

You put a whole block of butter and then you've got cream.

-Yeah.

-And then you're going to put a pound of blue cheese in there.

Yes.

-Wow.

-You got your own cow at home, Tommy?

-Well, I used to have.

-Did you?

-You didn't, did you?

-I did, yeah. I used to have sheep as well.

He's butter poaching a piece of chicken...

bringing the cream down to the right level

before he puts the port and the cheese in and it doesn't split.

On the outside, it looks really, really simple, but actually,

to get these dishes right, he's got to work quite hard.

25 minutes gone.

35 minutes left.

Actor Sophie Thompson won Celebrity MasterChef in 2014.

I'm really feeling for them, because I just remember this day

was particularly nerve-racking.

It's these strangers who also have done the show

and maybe even won it and you're thinking, "Crikey."

It's a real challenge,

but I'm sure they'll all be rising to it magnificently.

Author and actor Emma Kennedy

was the Celebrity MasterChef Champion in 2012.

If they get through this round,

the prizes are endless from here on in,

because the experiences are absolutely wonderful.

We thought we were going to Paris,

cos we'd been driven to Dover and we thought,

"Yay! We're going to France, we're going to cook somewhere amazing!"

Then, someone says, "No, you're cooking lunch

"on a cross-Channel ferry." We didn't even see France.

It was the worst experience of my life.

And against all the odds, dancer Wayne Sleep was a finalist in 2014.

What I am looking for is very tasty food that I can really enjoy eating,

some element of surprise, maybe,

something a little bit different than the norm.

And you can't keep the judges waiting.

That is not a good idea.

-Ooh, looks interesting.

-Oh, yeah.

-Mm.

-Marcus.

-Yep.

-Six minutes on your main course, please.

-Yep.

-Are you on time?

No idea.

-Are your brownies in?

-Yeah. I think I'm worried about the brownie.

I haven't even started my sauce yet, but I'm very stressed right now.

Tuna steak with mango salsa and spicy peppers.

I'd choose that on any menu.

The tricky thing for him is going to be

cooking that tuna steak to perfection.

That's three minutes, my friend. Are you ready to serve up?

I think so. Well...

-Are you all right, Marcus?

-No, I'm so... Honestly, I'm so stressed.

-Why?

-It's just time management, you know.

-Your main's ready, yeah?

-Yeah, main's ready.

So, what's suffering, your dessert?

Yeah. I think so.

Are we nervous we're not going to get a dessert?

You'll have a dessert.

My sauce didn't go on on the right time.

What else has got to go on this plate?

The mango salsa I'm about to get out of the fridge.

Good, good, good. Lovely colour in that salsa. Lovely.

-Good.

-Good.