Episode 2 Celebrity MasterChef

Sharpen your knives, because we've got 20 great celebrities

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

Will you crash and burn, or will you rise to the challenge?

They've filled stadiums, they've smashed records,

they've performed in front of thousands of screaming fans.

But can they cook?

It's almost like being on trial, I would imagine.

I'm certainly not ready to go home yet.

Who's going to be the cherry on the cake,

who's going to be the rotten egg?

Get them in, we'll find out.

NARRATOR: This week, the MasterChef heats

have pitted five celebrities against each other.

So much pressure, you cannot believe what it is.

It's...

It's unbelievable.

Right, listen, I've got five on, I can't talk.

If I did this more than one day, I would probably die.

NARRATOR: Last time, despite his best efforts

to rise to the challenge,

snooker legend Stephen Hendry was sent home.

Now the remaining four are back

to fight for their place in the semifinals.

I cannot believe I'm back,

but looking forward to the next challenge

with a certain degree of trepidation, it has to be said.

It's just like the biggest weight on your shoulders.

Put it this way,

I don't need paracetamols when I'm cooking at home!

It hasn't been easy, but that feeling and that adrenaline rush

makes you want to keep coming back for more.

You don't know what's going to happen, you don't know anything.

I hope I will do well, I really hope.

Come on!

Who's got what it takes?

Who's got the tenacity, the drive and the talent?

Who can pick themselves up when it all starts to go wrong?

These four are good and they're going to need to be good.

At the end of this, we'll only have two of them left.

Welcome back to the MasterChef kitchen.

Good to see you again.

You've survived the early rounds,

we've pushed you, but we're going to push you a little bit more.

As you can see, I'm dressed for business.

This round we call the knowledge and skills round.

We're going to test your knowledge, what you know about food.

We're also going to test your skills.

We're going to send you out

and then we're going to call you back in one by one

and test you individually.

Ooh...

Off you go.

HENRI EXHALES

-I feel like I'm back at school!

-I know, I know.

Can I go back and play tennis, please?

-Then I know what I'm doing.

-Right, knowledge test.

I want them to identify, if they can,

three spices and three leafy vegetables.

I think two of these spices, John, are absolutely obvious.

I mean, what is that but a lump of ginger?

This one is much more difficult.

You find this in a lot of Indian cooking.

This is turmeric.

That vibrant orange colour.

Really quite distinctive.

And when it's used in its fresh state,

it's a lot more powerful than in its dried state.

Now, everybody knows what this is, it's vanilla.

Green in its natural state.

It's black because it's been steamed to preserve it.

Possibly the trendiest cabbage ever, this is cavolo nero, black cabbage.

It's also a kale.

A kale is a cabbage that sprouts out from its stem.

If you don't cook it properly, it can be really, really stringy.

You've got to cook the stalks and leaves separately.

Yes, you do.

This is one of my favourite vegetables.

Beautiful tender stem, even more tender leaves,

this is Swiss chard.

This particular type, with lots of colours, is known as rainbow chard.

This is a type of Chinese cabbage called choy sum.

I will accept a Chinese cabbage.

That's what they need to do at this end of the bench.

What have they got to do at that end of the bench?

Today's skill test is all about one of the best takeaways

in the whole world - kebab.

Make a lamb kofta, make hummus and cook a flatbread.

Well, that's...that's a lot. Hummus and a kebab.

The first thing I'm going to do is make these kofta.

Lamb mince and some spices.

NARRATOR: The lamb is flavoured with cumin, cardamom and seasoning,

and an egg binds the mixture.

And then a little bit of lemon juice.

If you just have that as it is now,

it won't hold together and it's very, very wet and sloppy.

You've got to keep on working that lamb.

As they whisk it up, they might realise it's getting firmer.

The meat needs to be cooked all the way through,

the meat needs to be seasoned.

When you eat it, it actually has texture and flavour,

that's what we're looking for.

Whilst they cook, they'll make the hummus.

The big secret is to warm the chickpeas just a little bit,

so you get a lovely smooth puree.

So even if they don't warm the chickpeas,

-they'll still get a hummus of sorts.

-They will.

Into the food-processor with some of the water, but not all of it.

NARRATOR: The chickpeas are blended with tahini, a ground sesame paste,

ground coriander, salt, lemon juice and olive oil.

And now to blend...

All they've got to do is trust themselves.

You know what it looks like, you must have eaten it,

just trust yourself.

A little bit of water.

You've got to keep on adding, tasting, adding, tasting,

and if they do that, that's half the battle.

There we are.

That's quite nice and thick.

Hummus.

Koftas are cooked and now resting.

Hummus is made and now ready to go.

And now the flatbread.

The celebs get the dough given to them.

All they've got to do is roll out the flatbread now.

If you make it thin enough, it will puff up.

The centre of it, you'll be able to open up like a pocket.

You can do these in the oven, you can do them in a frying pan,

you can do them on a griddle plate, whatever you wish.

No oil, no butter, nothing.

-Hummus?

-Oh, yeah.

A little sprinkling of sumac, a lovely spice from Lebanon.

Get in there!

And, of course, a kebab would not be a kebab without...

a couple of chillies.

So there you have it, hummus, flatbread and kofta.

That is actually superb.

I tell you, that's a great challenge, that's a great challenge.

The cooks amongst them will do very well.

The others...you can taste first.

NARRATOR: First up is TV presenter Julia Somerville,

who had a poor start to the competition,

but went on to show potential.

Right now, yummy is enough for me.

Good, thank you.

When anybody tells me it's all about knowledge and skill, I think,

"Ooh, have I got any knowledge, have I got any skill?"

And I'm sure there'll be a moment of panic

and then I've just got to pull myself together, head down,

aim for the finishing line.

Julia, a knowledge and skills test.

Don't worry, it won't hurt, I promise.

We've got some ingredients we'd like you to try and identify.

Take the cloth off, have a look.

OK.

Right...

OK.

-Some kind of weird what?

-Carrot.

Wow!

I think you might have done all right there.

Go through them.

Ginger.

Cavolo nero.

Erm...

Spinach.

Chard.

Weird carrot, yet to be identified.

And vanilla.

You got four out of the six.

-Did I?

-That's pretty good!

That weird carrot...

-Yes?

-..is turmeric.

Ah, OK.

And this is what, John?

-Choy sum.

-Yes, of course.

Chinese leaf.

You know, when I said spinach, I thought no, but anyway...

The next part of this is the skills test.

Right.

We want you to make us a kebab, which consists of lamb kofta,

some hummus and some flatbread,

of which we've made the dough for you.

We've assembled all the ingredients which belong to each recipe.

I have to tell you, I haven't got a clue.

But I'm going to do my best.

15 minutes. Off you go.

OK.

Oh, God Almighty.

This is horrible. Can there not be music playing?

-You've never made a kebab?

-Nope.

-You've eaten one?

-Yes.

There's a very nice Greek restaurant near me.

So you've got a point of reference here.

In theory.

Probably wrong.

Do I cook it in little blobs?

You cook it any way you want.

Yeah, OK.

This has got to go in there.

What's the next thing you've got to make?

The flatbread.

I have no idea how to make a flatbread.

Oh, it's nice and warm. It's like a brain!

-Your bread's rolled out, you're doing OK!

-Yeah.

If you've got a moment, spare a thought for the hummus.

Sizzle.

Right, this...

-You've got about five minutes left.

-OK.

I'm going to trust that you gave me that for a reason.

Oh, look at that! It looks like hummus.

Oh... Is it cooked?

Not really.

Quick, quick. Get it turned over. That's it.

It's a catastrophe.

It looks absolutely hellish!

-Finished?

-It's finished me!

I think that you have done better than you think you have done.

What I'm really impressed about, your lamb wasn't cooked,

you actually took it apart and made sure it was cooked.

This bread's not cooked on the inside.

If it was thinner, it would have gone through, wouldn't it?

Your meat's nicely seasoned.

The hummus is fine, your bread needs to be rolled out thinner.

It's OK, you know?

I'm glad you think it tastes all right.

Four ingredients in your knowledge test. Your skills test is good.

-I think you should be proud, Julia.

-Thank you very much.

-See you later.

-Yeah, bye.

It was verging on the nightmare.

But it's a learning process

and I'm trying very hard to improve as I go along.

But, oh, my goodness, presentation. That was not good.

NARRATOR: Comedian Jim Moir,

better known by his stage name Vic Reeves...

Here I am.

..has produced some tasty dishes,

but his experimental approach can miss the mark.

Orange and egg is the one that's...

-..a little weird.

-OK.

I know enough to get by, I think.

But the rest of it, I'll blag and bluff.

I might as well be stood there naked,

you know, for full humiliation.

Daunting.

We've got some ingredients here

-we'd like you to have a go at identifying.

-Right.

Do you want to take the cloth off, please?

OK.

Point them out for us.

-Ginger.

-Yeah.

Easy.

Vanilla pods.

Turmeric.

I think that's some kind of chard, isn't it?

Yes, that's exactly what it is.

Now, is it a kind of kale?

-Yes.

-It is?

That's a kale known as cavolo nero, black cabbage.

-But it's a kale.

-Right.

-But it's a kale.

-Yeah.

-And is that Chinese?

-It is.

-Yeah, choy sum.

-Right.

If you were mean here, you'd say you got four-and-a-half.

If you were generous, you'd say you got five-and-two-thirds.

Well, I'll take the latter.

THEY ALL CHUCKLE

Now, match it with your cookery skills, would you?

This is where it all collapses.

What we would like you to make for us is a kebab.

OK.

We would like a lamb kofta, some hummus

and a flatbread.

-Right.

-You've got 15 minutes, maximum amount of time.

OK.

Never like to put too much tahini in,

cos that can get claggy.

You're not concerned about how long the lamb's going to take to cook?

Yeah, I am...now!

I'll come back to that.

Right, my lamb.

-You like your spices, Jim.

-I do, yes.

Can you tell?

Hmm.

-How's that?

-It needs more lemon.

You've got just over seven minutes.

-Flatbread.

-Yeah.

-What's happening here?

-It's falling apart.

It is, isn't it?

Five minutes left, Jim.

-Are you happy with it?

-Yeah.

There we go.

This isn't right.

You can't have that like that, can you?

I'd rather that than nothing.

-You've got a minute.

-That's a lost cause, that one.

That'll do you very nicely.

HE LAUGHS

Your flatbread needs to be a bit thinner,

and if you use a pan without oil

they'll puff up and they won't burn on the outside.

And if you keep your hummus turning and pureeing,

you won't get those little granules that are in it.

But I love the way you've put loads of lemon juice in it.

-Right, your bread needs to be thinner, so it cooks.

-Yeah.

-It's a bit spongy in the middle.

-Yeah.

I like your hummus.

I think you've got a good flavour in that hummus.

I like the spicing that you've got in your kofta.

It's gone a bit dry because you kept on pressing it down

and if you press it down,

you're going to press all the moisture out of it, aren't you?

Yeah.

You're all right, mate. I think you did

an absolutely brilliant identification of the produce

and now I think you've made a pretty good fist of this.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

He did OK. I'm pleased for him.

I think it went really well.

Years and years of looking at cookery books

and getting things wrong

have amounted to this.

I've nearly got it right.

NARRATOR: In the first heat, TV presenter Angellica Bell

impressed in both the pro-kitchen and with her own food.

The taste is so good, I'd probably eat the whole lot.

I'm naturally competitive with myself.

I like to do well. Every time I stay in or do something else,

I want to do something more. I want to get better.

I'm like, "Bring it on! What's next?

"I can take you on, John and Gregg."

Right, OK.

Take this off, have a look.

Feel free to pick any of these things up, all right?

Have a scratch and sniff.

And then write down what you think they are, please.

-Can I...?

-Yeah.

Oh, don't break it! Only kidding.

SHE TUTS

Oh, these are, like, tricky.

I'm just going to put some stuff down. I know it's not right, but...

Smells lovely.

I think it's more of a herby thing, but...

Right, OK. So take us through what you've written down.

-So I've put ginger.

-Absolutely.

-Vanilla pods.

-Uh-huh

And this little... What did you think this was?

-I thought it was, like, a carrot.

-That's turmeric.

Oh. And now that you say that, I can smell it.

I put cabbage down, because this reminds me of...

..cabbage.

Well, it's a kale.

Oh, yes, yes, yes. Kale.

..called cavolo nero.

-What were these?

-What did you think they were?

-I said red leaf.

-That's rainbow chard.

And what did you think that was?

I said sort of like a fennel.

-Well, it's not. That's a Chinese cabbage.

-OK.

-Choy sum.

If we let you have cabbage as a half, two-and-a-half out of six.

-It's not a zero.

-It's not zero.

Now skills.

Lamb kofta, hummus and a flatbread.

You've got 15 minutes, Angellica.

-Off you go.

-Thank you.

I'm just going to do this.

Looks to me like you might have made these before.

I do like trying things and just seeing what happens.

-You've never made hummus?

-I've made it, like, a couple of times.

-Right.

-But you know what it looks like, what it tastes like, right?

-Yeah.

-I think that's tahini. Yeah, it is.

-All right!

Should have got you to identify the things for the hummus.

I know. I might have done a better job.

-You love to run around a kitchen, don't you?

-I know.

My husband says I need to slow down, but...I like it.

You've had five minutes, you've got ten left.

Think about your meat, Angellica.

I'm going to make one smaller, so it cooks.

OK, I'm just going to add a bit more olive oil.

Yeah!

Does it matter about presentation? Does it matter how big?

Yes, everything matters! Everything always matters, Angellica.

-I want these quite well cooked, don't I?

-Cooked would be nice!

Right, hummus needs to come out, right?

60 seconds.

Go on!

-Time's up.

-Well done.

I think it looks OK.

Erm...I think your flatbread is lovely and thin.

I'm really pleased about that.

I like your little koftas.

And I think you can serve a few more, if you wanted to.

Your hummus is pretty chunky.

-It does need to be a little bit more pureed.

-OK.

Let's get stuck in, shall we? Look at that.

Those koftas are moist, they're well seasoned.

Your flatbread is crispy, soft, cooked.

I think your balance of flavours are really, really, really quite good.

-You did it! Good job. Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

Angellica can cook.

I don't know how much shopping she does,

because identifying those veg wasn't great.

It wasn't the best start. I think I pulled it back.

Just.

NARRATOR: Last up is former tennis pro Henri Leconte...

-All right, Henri.

-Hello.

..who despite a tendency to panic...

Bye-bye, Henri! Bye-bye!

..still served up the dish of the day.

-Your cod's cooked beautifully.

-Thank you, Chef.

I remember seeing my mother cooking in the kitchen

and I really enjoyed it. It was taste and, you know, the smell.

I know that.

With all of the ingredients, I know a little bit, but not that much.

So if he's going to ask me all the details over there...

thank you for coming. I'm...

This is vanilla.

This is something that is maybe in Japan or China, something like that.

I have no idea.

-OK.

-Not even in French?

-No.

-No idea.

All right.

Well, you got two.

You got the ginger.

-Vanilla.

-And you got the vanilla.

Now the skills test.

We'd like you to make us a kebab.

-A kebab?

-A kebab.

You've got 15 minutes, Chef.

And we'll start now!

OK. I don't know.

I really...

I'm completely... I don't know. I have no idea.

Come on, Henri. You can do this.

An oeuf? Avec an oeuf?

Yes, with an egg.

We're on the way now, Henri.

-Yeah, I think we're working.

-Good.

And now we mix.

Right, think about how you're going to cook it

and how big they've got to be to cook them.

All right.

Five minutes gone.

Whilst those are cooking, do you think you can do something else?

HE SIGHS

Hummus.

Ah, maybe you can put a lot of things inside?

-Ah, oui!

-All right.

Voila...

Oh, mais oui!

Take the lid out.

It's inside the lid.

GREGG GUFFAWS

You're halfway, Henri.

-Good?

-No, something is missing.

Voila.

You've got five minutes left...

Oui, oui, monsieur.

..to get a bit of flatbread done.

Good.

Very good.

We're so getting there.

Last 30 seconds. Get it on a plate.

All done? Voila!

The one thing you need to do is consider your timings.

A big piece of meat is never going to cook quickly,

and a piece of thick bread is not going to cook

in a couple of minutes.

Not cooked.

I think you'd get away with it.

-Yeah.

-I would eat this one, but I can't eat that one.

Your bread's more of a doughnut.

Yeah, they should have been thinner.

I like your hummus. It's smooth.

Chickpea, tahini, it's what it should be.

This kofta is cooked, but it needs more seasoning.

Your bread is a disaster.

I agree. And you are very...

You can do better than this, I think.

I will try. Yeah.

-Thank you, mate.

-Thank you.

Embarrassing.

I know how to do it, but I put so much pressure on myself.

And it's...

It's...not normal.

Relax, enjoy it!

Life is good.

Cook, bing, boom, that's it!

Four people and four different degrees of success -

from pretty good to a bit ropey.

-You know what's coming next, don't you?

-I do.

And it's going to come at them harder, bigger,

a lot, lot faster.

And I'm very nervous.

NARRATOR: It's 9am, and Julia, Angellica, Jim and Henri

are travelling across London to face their biggest challenge yet.

I don't know where we're going to go. I've no idea at all.

I'm feeling sorry for the poor people

-that we're going to be cooking for.

-Why?

They got up this morning expecting it to be a normal day,

eating normal food,

and they're going to get food cooked by me!

Good morning, and welcome

to the very, very smart Francis Crick Institute,

the biggest biomedical research facility in Europe.

Biologists, chemists, physicists.

If it's got an ist-ist-ist, it's in here!

They research everything from genetics to cancer.

They are looking after our future.

Today, you are looking after their lunch.

THEY ALL LAUGH

Two teams today.

Girls versus boys.

Angellica and Julia, you are one team.

Jim and Henri, you are another team.

You are serving today 100 people.

100.

Ladies and gentlemen, get to work.

You've got two-and-a-half hours before lunch is served.

-JULIE:

-We'll be fine.

-JIM:

-So have we got to design it, as well?

-HENRI:

-Yeah, it's good.

NARRATOR: The celebrities will be working under

head chef Leonardo Martins.

-Hello.

-Hi.

Today, we have some beautiful ingredients

for you guys to play with.

Please have a look and really think about it.

-Good?

-JIM:

-OK.

NARRATOR: They now have ten minutes to come up with a menu

from a larder which includes diced and minced beef,

salmon, chicken, pasta,

rice, a range of fruit and vegetables,

and a selection of herbs and spices.

Each team will have to cook 45 meat and 25 vegetarian mains,

along with 50 portions of dessert.

We're thinking, lunchtime, people like comfort food.

-You know, they want something nice to eat.

-That's what we're hoping.

What are you thinking for vegetarian, then?

A ratatouille sort of thing.

-Ratatouille, that might take quite a lot of time.

-Preparation.

What suggestion have you got?

Nothing.

I think cauliflower cheese is a really good idea!

-Chicken... Chicken breast.

-That fennel will go nice with it.

-I've no idea how to make puddings.

-Me, too.

So I prefer to go, like, nice fruit salad.

Do a fruit salad!

-Right, ladies.

-Hi, yes.

-We need the menu.

OK, so what we were thinking, we were thinking of doing a chilli.

Oh, chilli is a bit simple, right?

-We're here to prove that you guys can cook.

-Right.

So let's come up with something more interesting maybe.

-I love chilli.

-I love chilli, too.

But I do it at home.

But you want something...

Yeah, maybe come up with some burrito or quesadilla,

or something more interesting, more challenging.

-OK.

-We've got to go back to the drawing board.

Right, boys, do we have the menu?

We're going to go for chicken, chicken breast.

So the chicken breast, mushroom and fennel.

Present that on top of some puy lentils.

-That sounds good.

-And what are the vegetarian...?

-The vegetarian is Thai.

-Thai vegetables with noodles.

Dessert, we're just... Well...

We went for fruit salad at the beginning.

Neither of us can make a dessert.

Fruit salad is not going to happen. Not going to happen.

Chocolate sauce and some fruits.

-Is that OK?

-Yeah, that's good to me.

-Merci!

NARRATOR: Not to be outdone,

Angellica and Julia have upped the ante.

Right!

-So we could do pan-fried salmon with a parsley sauce.

-Yes.

-We could serve that with rice.

-We can do some nice creamy leeks.

So that's what I had, cheesy leeks.

-Yeah. You can.

-But... OK, so, cheesy leeks.

So I've got that down. But what about...?

So the idea about burrito...

-Do you have the burrito?

-Yes, we have the wraps.

-So what we could do... We could do a vegetarian burrito...

-Right.

-So do a sauce.

-Use the peppers, chillies, yes.

Desserts, do you guys have the menu?

-We were just doing that now.

-Yes.

We were thinking about a meringue with fruit to go with...

OK, yeah, that would be nice.

-Yes.

-But we don't have more time, so let's please hurry up.

-Perfect.

I am getting everything we need now, before it goes.

-Julia, what are you doing?

-I've got these.

-Right, how much are we going to need?

-It's 25. So...

For 25.

If it's too much, it's OK.

-We need some more...

-I'm worried about doing too little.

We want a lot of this.

They need to push. It's not easy.

Work hard, sweat, run.

OK, let's go.

So it's possible, it's doable.

It's not easy.

We have a lot of things to cut, huh?

NARRATOR: Prep is underway,

and Angellica and Julia have both started working on their salmon main

and their first challenge is to prepare 45 equally sized portions.

I've never cooked a fish this big.

No, me, neither.

I just think it's a totally different skill,

to cook for a lot of people.

And I'm just trying to get my head round that.

-They need to be roughly the same size.

-I know.

-Julia, have you seasoned that fish?

-No, I will do.

-Are both of you guys doing the same thing?

-Yes.

So you're not working in the best way to get the food on time.

-Really?

-So one side, the other one.

Think about what will take longer to cook.

So if your vegetables need to be chopped...

-Let me carry on doing this.

-Just optimise your time.

-Well, let me finish doing this.

-All right, then.

No, no, no, just do it from the end.

-Cut from this end and then...

-Let me just do it, OK?

NARRATOR: While Julia carries on portioning salmon,

Angellica moves on to prep the veg for both their mains.

JOHN: Both of you right now are concentrating on savoury dishes,

your main courses. What's happened to dessert?

-We're doing Pavlova.

-You're making Pavlovas from scratch?

-Yeah.

OK, how long are they going to take to cook?

-We're going to do mini ones...

-Yeah.

So 20 minutes, maybe, in the oven.

So I'm going to chop as much vegetables...

Once she's finished the salmon,

Julia's going to get on the vegetables

and then we'll start thinking about meringues and desserts,

so we're all moving around.

From these two, a great menu, and dessert, I think it's clever.

Little tiny Pavlovas

with the vanilla cream on top and strawberries.

I think it's really cool.

-God, why did we do meringues?

-Well, you don't have to.

You could just do, like, a coulis

with, you know, some chopped actual fruit on top.

I think we've committed now, that's the problem.

-We've committed.

-Yeah.

NARRATOR: Across the kitchen,

Jim and Henri are ploughing through their veg prep,

which will accompany their chicken and stir-fry mains.

There's some kind of method to this.

It's as much planned as you can have

with having such little time to work it out.

I feel like I'm in charge.

But I'm not!

I'm bluffing myself.

-How are you doing over there, Henri?

-I'm good.

You know the problem? When you cook, we don't...

realise how the preparation is, all the time, you know?

Well, not this amount, for 100 people. Now you can say...

"What's the biggest dinner party you've ever had?"

"100 people."

The strategy now, we have to make it ready, all the veggies,

cut it nice and simple.

I hope it's going to be...

I don't hope, it will be!

Oh, come on, Henri. Don't hope, just do it!

Main course of chicken with fennel, tarragon and mushrooms

sounds fantastic, with some lentils.

Curried vegetables with the noodles, absolutely fantastic,

as long as those vegetables aren't overcooked

and there's lots and lots of noodles. Wonderful.

What's dessert?

Ah! Now, we're both...

Chocolate...

Well, right, so, neither of us...

-Hot chocolate.

-We're going to do berries.

So we're going to do a chocolate sauce on the berries.

On the berries, yes.

You can't do chocolate sauce on berries!

It's not a dessert.

What do you do when neither of us have ever made a dessert before?

-Both of you have never made a dessert before?

-No, never.

-That's why we are struggling.

-Do you know what I'd do, then?

-Tell me.

-Panic!

We'll go back to the berries.

We go back to the berries.

I was convinced you'd have made a dessert.

I bet you do know something, don't you, Henri?

You've got to know something.

You come from the land of great...puddings.

Oh, my God.

NARRATOR: Throughout the Institute,

1,200 scientists are hard at work,

conducting ground-breaking research

and striving for breakthroughs in medical science.

We do a lot of work in cancer, in infectious diseases like TB,

malaria and heart disease,

and we pursue the basic understanding - how the cells work,

how the innards of the cells work.

NARRATOR: The Institute spans a million square feet

and takes its name from Sir Francis Crick who,

along with colleague James Watson,

went on to discover the structure of DNA.

Lunch is important, in terms of keeping our scientists fed.

We sometimes call them scientific athletes.

Like athletes, they need to be properly fed so they can think well.

NARRATOR: An hour of cooking time has gone.

I'm a little bit worried they're not going to make it on time.

So far, no-one is cooking nothing.

They're just chopping.

-Girls, let's get cooking, yeah?

-Yeah.

Things on the stoves, please, pans...

We've got... I've already put the olive oil with...

We're starting the vegetables now.

I'm just going to start on the meringue.

Angellica, can you give me a sense of just how difficult this is?

My mind's all over the place.

You've got to focus on one thing at a time

to make sure it's done properly.

So I know there's things I could be doing and should be doing,

but I've got to finish this first.

So I'm separating the whites from the yolks,

because we're making a meringue, little meringues for dessert.

I thought that you may have meringue nests...

Why did you set yourself something so tricky?

-You know what I'm like.

-Well, I'm beginning to realise!

Are you regretting it?

You never regret anything.

You learn from it.

I don't know.

I just want to make sure everyone eats.

NARRATOR: Having separated the whites for her meringues,

Angellica moves on to the cheesy leeks and cauliflower

that will accompany the salmon.

Right, I'm putting this on there

and I'm going to make the white sauce now, Julia.

NARRATOR: Meanwhile, team-mate Julia has taken charge of a tomato sauce

that will fill their veggie burritos.

I'm trying to make this taste more Mexican

and I've been told to add a little bit of chocolate,

which is very exciting.

And this thing is called Cajun spice and that's got to be all right.

That's got to be a good thing, hasn't it?

It seems impossible, to me, that we're going to be ready but...

apparently we are.

Are you aware that, in less than an hour-and-a-half,

this food needs to be out?

Yes, it's a sort of abstract notion and I'm aware of it.

-How are you holding up, mate?

-I don't know!

It's a bit of a blur right now, isn't it?

I think, once you've given birth, you're beyond embarrassment.

That goes without saying.

And, er... I don't know, it'll be what it is.

Right, have you got the burrito wraps?

No, but I know what to do with them, so don't worry.

NARRATOR: Across the kitchen,

Jim and Henri have had an epiphany about their dessert.

Henri has revealed that he does know how to make an apple tart.

He's dredged it up from his past somewhere.

So now the dessert is in Henri's hands.

And very capable hands they are, too.

Apple tart caramel.

Caramel, easy.

That's the first time I'm going to do it, so I hope it'll be...

you know, it will be good.

Are you taking over the dessert completely?

-Is this your baby?

-Yes.

It's OK, I love to take a risk.

I always take a risk in my life, even in tennis.

I was, like, going for the shot!

An apple tart is great and, actually, it's very, very clever.

Puff pastry cooked properly, apples across the top,

lots and lots of sugar, a crowd-pleaser.

NARRATOR: While Henri ploughs on with his tart,

team-mate Jim is taking care of everything else.

And having steamed the veg for the stir-fry,

he then needs to dice the fennel...

That's probably enough. It can be a bit overpowering.

..and cook the lentils to accompany the chicken.

Fighting for space. It's a battle for space, I think.

Can I move that over there?

-I don't know, it's Julia's.

-All right, OK. Erm...

Right, guys, one hour.

We really need to push now.

Julia, are we rolling these burritos?

-What's happening?

-What? Don't...

It's all right. Don't worry about the burritos.

I need another spoon. Hold on.

Julia's getting a bit stressed.

I've asked her what's happening with the burritos and she's like,

"I know what I'm doing with the burritos."

I'm like, "Julia, we've still got to do our fish

"and our rice and our dessert!"

NARRATOR: The other team also has a lot to do.

So Henri has stalled dessert prep to join Jim on mains.

We're going to get there.

We are 55 minutes away and the chicken's about to go in.

That's going to take 25 minutes.

The puy lentils, I'm still waiting for them to boil.

That's a bit of a worry because they haven't even started yet.

Why did we do this menu? I wanted to just do a chilli.

I need somewhere to cook.

Is there anywhere?

I think I need two places to cook.

Oh, no...!

HE STRAINS

They're starting to panic a little bit.

Urgh...!

They're not coping with the amount of food.

They're not used to this quantity of food.

# You shall have a fishy

# On a little dishy... #

Guys, we have a time to serve.

This is really important that we make it.

Oh! Oh, my God!

I really hope they like pepper.

Far too much. God...

Never mind.

NARRATOR: In 45 minutes,

these hard-working scientists

will be expecting to have their brains refuelled.

If the food is late,

it'll impact the scientific experiments that are going on.

So, in the worst-case scenario,

that will be perhaps a day or so's of science ruined.

NARRATOR: With the clock ticking,

Chef Leonardo decides to take action.

Right, guys, because the time is short,

I will bring my team to give you guys a hand.

NARRATOR: Henri is first to make use of the cavalry,

as his apple tarts are far from ready.

We need to put the caramel on this one and then put it in the oven.

Mm...! Smell the caramel.

-Whoa!

-It's good, no?

-That's nice.

That will be my first apple tart, Jim!

We're going to do it!

NARRATOR: Angellica is also in need of help,

as she's still got to pipe 50 meringues.

That is just terrible.

There's a bit too much air in there.

Start from the middle, go round and then come up.

Yeah, don't leave too much space between them

because you need 15 there.

Argh!

NARRATOR: Team-mate Julia still has to roll 25 burritos.

but, first, she has to cook the rice for the filling.

Another five minutes.

So, five minutes. So, you're going to have half an hour

-to get everything together.

-Yeah.

So, she's working on the dessert. You're doing the burrito?

-Yes.

-The fish, ten minutes in your oven.

Angellica and Julia, they are more behind than the boys.

They're better, more organised. They are almost there.

The vegetarian's done.

Now, these lentils...

-are really salty.

-The lentils?

Actually, it's all right.

Well done, Jim. Good job.

The chicken is cooked. Just one more minute and it will be ready.

And then I'm looking also at my apple tart.

France, apple tart...

I hope it works!

Chicken done. Chicken done.

Come on!

Be careful. Coming...

NARRATOR: Lunch service starts in 15 minutes.

And with her rice finally cooked,

Julia can at last start building her burritos,

which are filled with kidney beans, peppers and her Cajun sauce.

I think they should be told to look at the menu,

have a drink and generally chill,

because the chef is having a crisis.

And it ain't pretty.

Hello, hello, listen up! Ten minutes, yeah?

-Oui, Chef!

-Is it just the boys' team working today?

Girls?

-They're not here, they're not listening any more.

-I'm listening.

NARRATOR: Jim and Henri are on track to meet the deadline.

-Come on, give me five. Yes!

-It's not over yet.

NARRATOR: But, with minutes to go, Angellica's discovered a problem.

They're not cooked. They're not cooked.

You're not happy with that?

-I mean, I wouldn't eat that.

-OK, so put it back.

I've been running round the lab doing some cell culture and bits

and got a whole afternoon of experiment planning ahead.

Lots of brainpower is required.

Unfortunately, I'm at the back of the queue cos I was at a seminar,

so I'm really hoping they've made enough.

Are you going to cut these into 16 pieces? Even?

BUZZER

What does that mean?

I hope that's not the fire alarm.

We need to start to put the food out.

OK, clingfilm.

Oh...!

I'm never happy with my clingfilm skills.

We're nearly there. Three to go.

Right, guys, we are late already.

So, please, let's put this food out now!

I'm hoping that it's going to be well worth the wait

because we're really hungry.

Yes, ready. Ready, ready.

We don't want undercooked salmon.

We want cooked salmon!

I've spent ages just putting this clingfilm on.

-That's better, isn't it?

-Now we're talking.

I can't believe we've done all this.

Well done.

Come on, partner. It's OK.

Thanks. That's good.

NARRATOR: Lunch service is finally under way...

God, I hope they've had their injections!

-Bonjour!

-Chicken? OK.

The chicken.

NARRATOR: The diners are immediately drawn to Jim and Henri's chicken,

which they've served with puy lentils,

alongside fennel, mushrooms and onion.

-You've made all this?

-We made it all, yeah.

Me and him. Me and the Frenchman.

Bon appetit.

The chicken's popular, isn't it?

The seasoning on the chicken skin was really nice.

And also you can taste the butter in the mushroom and onion mix.

Really nice.

I quite like the combination with the fennel and the puy lentils.

It's pretty good.

The chicken skin is crispy and really well-seasoned,

loads of pepper.

The lentils are full of flavour and cooked all the way through.

I think that's a really, really lovely plate of food.

John, that, in numbers, at speed...

that's good cooking.

NARRATOR: Proving just as popular

is Julia and Angellica's salmon with rice,

cheesy leeks and cauliflower and parsley sauce.

The fish is cooked beautifully, seasoned nicely.

A nice sauce, as well.

It really was lovely.

The salmon's cooked really nicely.

I like the rice and the parsley sauce with it,

but that cauliflower cheese is really rich

with a very, very strong cheese, as well.

Not with a piece of salmon.

It's too strong for a piece of salmon.

NARRATOR: Despite success with their chicken,

Jim and Henri's stir-fry is failing to grab attention.

We have a lot of noodles.

You've sold out of chicken, but no-one wants your noodles.

-Exactly, yeah.

-No, nobody wants the noodles.

Come on, veggies!

It's good for your health!

You know, it's good for your body!

It's very healthy!

NARRATOR: But, finally, there are some takers

for their Thai noodles with peppers, mushrooms and carrots.

There you are, sir. It's nice!

Nice!

-No?

-Yeah.

The noodles were a bit tasteless.

I don't know if it was exactly worth the wait,

but I was quite hungry, so just happy to be eating something.

That is bland. That's almost a non-event.

It's a shame, really. No sauce.

Even just a sprinkle of some sesame seeds across the top.

Just something to give it a bit of wow.

NARRATOR: Most of the vegetarians have opted for Julia's burritos,

stuffed with kidney beans, peppers, mushrooms and rice

and served with a Cajun tomato sauce.

I can't believe a human being is going to eat this, but...

It's substantial, which is great, because I'm really hungry.

It's spicy and I like the filling.

I can't really fault it.

The portion size is really good.

Almost full.

Room for dessert, though!

Rice is cooked and soft,

it's well-seasoned, there's sweetness of tomato,

there's a hint of chilli on the back of your tongue.

That's not bad.

NARRATOR: With mains cleared,

Angellica's Pavlovas with cream and berries

are being lined up ready to go.

Look at theirs!

Girls, girls, that looks unbelievable.

-Thank you.

-Quite girlie, I think.

Listen, it's all about the taste.

NARRATOR: Also on offer is Henri's apple tart,

served with cream with raisins.

You can choose. If you're very hungry, the big one.

-Yeah!

-You see?

Take it.

They came in like crows on a carcass at the side of the road.

The apple tart was quite tasty.

I like that. He's rolled out the pastry really, really thin,

which means it's cooked, which is great.

The apples, of course, give that little bit of sharpness.

Cream on it with raisins, giving more depth.

"Sacre bleu!" as they say. Good tart!

They're going like cold cakes!

It was really good, actually.

A bit soggy, but the cream and the berries were awesome.

I don't normally eat Pavlova,

so I can't really compare it to anything that I've had before,

but I thought it was quite nice.

Fruit, cream, sugar, a little hint of vanilla.

Nothing wrong with that.

Nothing wrong with that. That's a decent little pud.

-Oh...! That was brilliant.

-Well done, you.

Our staff looked happy and, most importantly,

they got back to the labs on time to crack on with making discoveries.

Well done. Yeah?

It's just so satisfying when you do it

and everyone's just going,

"Thank you for their food." It's just really nice."

It's like all the effort's worth it.

Well, I kept my head. I didn't go hysterical.

And it feels fantastic that it's all over.

If you know what I mean.

Oh...!

I really need a cup of tea!

It was a great day.

I learnt...I learnt a lot today.

And it's, er...

It reminds me of when I used to play tennis,

for the Davis Cup or something, team spirit.

You know, be confident about your partner.

Honestly, hand on heart, I'm very proud of myself.

I feel good!

And we've fed people.

I don't know what they think.

There was some pretty smart-looking plates of food

going out of that kitchen.

More importantly, they have learned a very, very valuable lesson

about teamwork, about catering and about scaling up.

All four are turning out to be great talents.

Strengths in different areas, ideas in different ways.

I think we're in for a treat the next round.

Can you believe it actually happened?

NARRATOR: After two days of intense competition,

these four celebrities still have to face one last challenge.

At the end, two of them will be going home.

Of course when you started you just said, "OK, I'll do the best I can."

But, then, now... Hm...

You really want to go through.

As the challenges keep coming,

I just feel like I'm getting better equipped to handle them.

I'm testing myself in a way that I couldn't possibly have imagined.

And I'd love to see what's round the next corner.

I'm nervous, tense, worried

and a big pot of bubbling confusion.

Welcome back to the MasterChef kitchen.

Big day today. You're not just cooking for John and me,

you are cooking for three specially invited guests...

..three past winners of Celebrity MasterChef.

Emma Kennedy,

Ade Edmondson,

and big Phil Vickery.

Today is the game-changer.

Two courses, one hour and 15 minutes.

Two semifinal places up for grabs.

Ladies and gentlemen, let's cook.

These four have had some great experiences on MasterChef

and they've had lots of very good lessons.

They have to learn from those lessons.

Their food right now, John, it's got to get sexy.

So, previous Celebrity MasterChef winners...

That's too much pressure, that!

Well, I'm going to do what I can do and just hope they like offal.

I'm doing kidneys in red wine.

I've taken your advice and I'm going to try and make it look prettier.

So, I'm going to pipe some mashed potato.

And your next course?

It's going to be, erm...

roasted figs

with, erm...honey and orange and yoghurt.

Jim, where's the weird thing on the side of each of these?

Well, there isn't, is there? Do you think there should be?

I could put a little choux on there or something,

filled with...with cream.

I like Jim's dishes, up to a point.

Kidneys aren't easy to cook.

A nice sauce, good-quality creamy, mashed potato...

..it could be delicious and it also shows skill.

But putting figs in the oven is not the most creative,

inventive or skilful thing you can do.

So, those figs better be delicious.

If I'm in the MasterChef semifinal...

Oh...!

..that would be unbelievable!

I'm not here just to say, "I'm leaving today."

You have to do it.

My dishes, to start, is a scallop

with a cauliflower puree with lemon oil.

Mm... And main course?

The main course is the lamb with a little red pepper piperade

with some shallots and balsamic.

As far as I know, our three guests were all brought up in the UK.

They may like their lamb

cooked a little bit more than you do in France.

Oh, really? Are you sure?

No, I'm going to stay on my...the way I cook.

The French way? What, shear it and slice it?

Yeah, because this is my personality! That's the way I am!

OK?

He's given himself a huge amount of work to do.

He's got to clean all of those scallops.

I can't open it.

He's got to make the cauliflower puree.

He's got to be able to get that lamb sorted out.

He's got to do all those peppers and shallots

and he's got to try and get the whole lot on the plate

with only a short amount of time.

If Henri gets in a flap, it's game, set and match.

Heavy!

Julia's taking some of the prizes of the sea

and using that just to make a stock,

which she's then going to make a risotto.

It's going to taste of smoked haddock and prawns

without having smoked haddock or prawns going through it.

That's very, very clever indeed.

And then she's doing segments of apple

cooked in sugar and butter and Calvados.

Ah... Look, she did this before with the strawberries.

A biscuit or something, Julia!

We need something more with that dessert.

-Julia, why these two dishes?

-It's all about subtlety of flavour.

It's not about dramatic and different ingredients.

That will be quite rich

and this will be rich in a different way

because it'll have a sort of sweet-and-sour thing going on

and I just think they'll go together well.

-I love the sound of this, Julia.

-Good.

Oh, well, that gives me confidence. Thank you.

I'm not an elaborate cook.

I'm not a dramatic cook.

My food is not going to look sensational.

I just hope it'll say

that this is food prepared with love and attention.

Angellica, I think, has put a really nice menu together.

Lamb cutlets. She's got panko breadcrumbs over it.

It should be nice and crusty and crispy,

as long as they stay on the lamb.

Her mashed potato with a pea puree - wonderful.

And then a strawberry cheesecake.

If she executes it perfectly, that's a nice, crowd-pleasing menu.

-What about feeding people that've won the competition?

-That's scary.

That's scary, especially because Emma Kennedy won it

when Michael was in the final.

So... And I know how good her cooking is.

Phil Vickery, everyone knows about him and how well he did.

And Ade, you know, he's a brilliant cook.

So, yeah, it's scary, and I'm nervous.

Why?

Because I want them to like what I cook and what I produce.

I care about that.

So I've practised this serving, you know, one other,

but not four people.

So, you have to allow that time, and I haven't done that.

I don't want to be plating up four plates of my dish

to invisible people at home!

So, I'm just sort of winging it today.

You're halfway. 30 minutes gone, 30 minutes on your first course.

OK. You can't stop the clocks, can you, as they say in that poem?

I remember doing this round very well.

It was...

I think it was the worst round I had

in the whole competition.

I served up a duck breast, which I'd never cooked before,

and I sliced into it, and then just plonked it on the plate!

And it just... Doughnut of blood!

-Got a little swimming pool going on at the bottom here.

-Yeah, me, too!

I mean, it couldn't have been more disgusting.

You are cooking for people that you vaguely know.

And they're all people who've done it before you, so you're thinking,

"Well, you know, if Christine Hamilton can do it, surely I can!"

You've got to prove to them that you're worth it.

I will just have another spoonful.

Mm! Ah! Mm...!

I'm privileged to have won this competition.

And the standards have to be there.

And if someone's serious about this show

and going through to the semifinals, it needs to be right.

-Jim.

-Yeah?

-You're serving in seven minutes.

I'm ready.

How do you like your kidneys cooked?

Not under, not over, they've just got to be...

-A little hint of pink in the middle?

-Yes, a little hint.

-Yeah.

You can get mashed potato really wrong.

It's got to be buttery, hasn't it?

I might upset the apple cart. I don't like it too buttery.

PHIL CHOKES

Jim, you've had a go at presentation, you're on the way.

Right, so, I'm ready to deliver.

-Go!

-OK...

Are you bringing them?

THEY ALL CHEER

-Hello, Jim.

-Hello, Ade.

-How're you doing?

-I'm very well.

-That looks delicious.

-That'll sort your gout out!

NARRATOR: Jim's made a main course of kidneys and bacon

in a red wine sauce, served with garlic mash.

I'm slightly disappointed.

The kidneys are overcooked, the bacon is really undercooked.

I can't taste any red wine and the potato's a bit grainy.

I actually quite enjoyed that.

If I was eating that in a pub,

I would tuck right into that and be very happy about it.

It just lacks a little bit of crunch.

You're absolutely correct about that.

To make this sophisticated,

if you had some strips of crispy pancetta,

it would have really lifted it.

The kidneys and the red wine sauce are lovely.

The mashed potato's smooth, but it has no seasoning,

no seasoning at all.

It needs a sprinkle of salt, but this is really tasty.

15 minutes on your dessert, Jim.

Right, OK.

There may be a disaster going on, but...

I don't think I've ever had a roast fig.

I don't know why I haven't, it's a brilliant idea.

Oh, they're lovely.

-I'm forever roasting my figs.

-Yes, I thought you were!

What's this called, Jim?

Fig starfish.

Starfig.

Starfig, yeah.

-How is it in there?

-It's very, very tense.

-Is it?

-Thank you!

-I've just been down to the seashore!

Thank you, Jim!

Here we have roasted starfish!

But, actually, the figs, to look like starfish,

with an orange dressing and a bit of yoghurt

-and some pistachio nuts on them.

-Oh, get you!

Exactly!

Thank you for your time and attention.

Oh, no, thank you!

The figs are really bland.

And I'm getting no sense of stickiness or fruitiness

or anything, really.

Even the sauce is a little bit watery.

I'm very underwhelmed, if I'm honest.

I think I had a little more of the sauce on my plate than you did.

I think you get a hint of what he was going for.

And what he was going for was actually quite nice.

It does what it says, it's a fig and it's tasty.

However, there's not a great deal of work been done to it,

and the work he did do to it didn't work cos the fig collapsed.

I think I've probably done enough for a high-end cafe.

And that's about as good as I can get.