Episode 4 Celebrity MasterChef

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

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

It feels like we're going to be totally thrown in the deep end.

They've filled stadiums.

They've smashed records.

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

But can they cook?

You guys can throw anything you want at me

and I'm ready for it.

I have no idea how tough these challenges are going to be.

So, I'm trying to stay calm.

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.

This week, the MasterChef heats have pitted five celebrities against each

-other.

-Why is it catching fire?

So far, so good. I don't want to speak too soon.

Really is not as easy as it looks.

Last time, despite his best efforts, actor Tyger Drew-Honey went home.

Good luck, everybody.

Now, the remaining four are back to fight for a place in the semifinals.

So good to be back. But I am so nervous.

I know they're going to ramp it up by ten notches and now it's just

going to be so, so tough.

I will give it my best shot.

It is getting tougher.

So, I'll probably get a bit tougher too.

That's all I'm saying.

I can't believe I'm still here.

I'm still a little bit in shock.

And I've been blagging, seriously.

There is still a bit of fight left in this reasonably young dog.

And I'm going to go out swinging.

We have four celebrities with talent, John.

But it's going to get tougher.

It's going to get harder.

Welcome back! Very good to see you back here in the MasterChef kitchen.

We have a new set of challenges for you,

kicking off with what we call a knowledge and skills test.

This is all about what you know about food,

and what skills you really have.

We're going to test you individually.

So, we're going to ask you to step outside.

And we'll call you back in one by one.

Oh!

Knowledge and skill!

-What the hell is that?

-Oh, my God!

-Oh, my goodness.

-It's going to highlight how much I don't know.

-I know, me too!

-This is going to be interesting.

Well, they came in very excited.

And now, they've gone a little bit nervous and quiet.

I just don't know what to expect and I hate the unknown.

So I so want to know.

My skills don't reach out in lots of, like an octopus,

in lots of different directions.

So, they could really catch me out today.

I've got three types of eggs and three types of mushrooms I'd like them to identify.

Now, this great beastie is an ostrich egg.

That is the equivalent of 24 hen's eggs.

You need some big soldiers.

These are duck eggs.

I don't think they're going to be able to tell the difference between that and a hen's egg.

This is a quail's egg.

Now, that is easily identifiable.

Easily identifiable and a real pain to have to peel when they've been

boiled.

I've also got three types of mushroom.

These are oyster mushrooms.

The only reason they're called an oyster is because they look like an

oyster shell. Not because they taste like an oyster.

This is a girolle or chanterelle.

Now, these are chestnut mushrooms.

That is one of the most common mushrooms on the shelves today.

I would expect them to get one of the eggs

and two of the mushrooms.

Skills, we're going to ask them to do crispy bacon,

make a hash brown and poach an egg.

-Breakfast?

-Breakfast!

And they've got about 12 minutes to do it in.

This is going to be fun.

Bacon, you start with a cold pan.

-No way!

-Yep, cold pan.

Streaky bacon's got lots of fat in it.

And you want the fat to render down.

And when it renders, it then becomes crispy.

Not one celeb is going to do that.

They are all going to heat up oil in a pan.

It doesn't look like it's quite crispy enough,

but that's when you take it out.

-Why?

-Because it keeps on cooking.

Otherwise, it becomes too dry and it goes burnt.

Onto a paper towel, I'll let it drain.

They won't do that. They'll cook it in the pan till it crisps.

Now, for the hash browns.

We've got a couple of cooked potatoes.

Hash browns are made with a peeled, precooked potato,

which is grated and mixed with finely chopped onion.

They really need to finely dice that onion.

Otherwise, they're going to have great big chunks of it.

It's then fried in the bacon fat.

Here is the big rule.

Oil for heat.

Butter for flavour.

The butter will make sure my hash browns are crispy.

Right, poaching an egg.

The secret to great poached eggs?

A big pot full of water.

The friend of poached eggs is vinegar.

And the enemy of poached eggs is salt.

Put salt into water to poach an egg and it will completely disintegrate.

Drop the egg in. Don't stir the water around.

Don't make any sort of whirlpools or anything like that.

-No whirlpool?

-Nope.

As the egg goes in, it goes down into the water.

And it sets and then it comes back up again before it hits the bottom.

If it hits the bottom, it goes flat and splays out.

Those eggs are going to take about two minutes.

So, now to plate everything up.

And then the egg comes out.

Poached eggs, crispy bacon and hash browns.

Mm!

Nice breakfast.

Fantastic challenge.

Let's hope we get a few as good as that.

Let's see what our celebrities can do.

Shall we get the first one in?

First up is Radio 1 DJ Dev.

So far in the competition, Dev's ambition has impressed.

But he can often take on too much.

Just take a bit of a reality check,

because you can achieve good food by not throwing so much at it.

Best-case scenario, I go in there,

John's, like, undone a couple of buttons,

he's nice and relaxed,

he's maybe got a little glass of red,

he's dimmed the lights a little bit, making it sort of sound like a date.

It's probably not going to be like that.

But just that whole scenario has made me feel a lot better.

Dev, underneath this cloth are six ingredients,

-and we would like you to try and identify them and write them down on that bit of paper.

-OK.

What is that? Like a Velociraptor egg.

I eat a lot of foods.

I don't know how well that translates into knowing about food.

I've a feeling that's about to become quite clear in the next couple of minutes.

You're a... You're a thingy mushroom, aren't you?

A... Ah! It's on the tip of my tongue!

OK, maybe if I...

It's like your listeners. You can't hear them.

A "C", maybe?

A...

-Keep going, keep going!

-Chest...

-Yes!

-Yeah!

-Chestnut mushroom?

No! No!

OK, I'm stuck.

I've never seen this before.

-OK.

-I don't know what that one is.

All right. I'll tell you what, Dev?

That's pretty good. You've got all of those eggs right.

Oh, have I? Oh, awesome!

-Chestnut.

-Oh, I did get it right!

Yes! OK, good.

-Happy?

-I am.

-I don't know what's happening in your life, Dev,

but I don't think you should get that happy over a mushroom.

I need a new hobby or something.

Right. You've got four out of six right, Dev.

That's a good score.

-All right.

-This next bit is the skills test.

And it's all about breakfast.

We would like you to make for us poached eggs,

crispy bacon and hash browns.

Dev, off you go.

-You've got 12 minutes.

-I have 12 minutes?

I've never made a hash brown before.

-No!

-So, the hash brown is going to be a guess.

I'm going to shred this potato and a bit of that onion.

Don't know how I'm going to bind it all together. Maybe with some egg?

Ah! Oh, my goodness. That was a total disaster.

Bacon.

Six minutes gone, Dev.

-Ah!

-Don't burn yourself.

Don't burn my finger either.

-We want poached egg, not poached Dev.

-Right.

OK. What are you doing that for?

I just want to drain off some of this oil.

I wouldn't do it at home. I'm only showing off in front of you guys.

I might not even use a plate at home.

Good morning.

That's a quite smart-looking plate.

Perfect egg.

Now, those hash browns that you cooked with an egg are light and fluffy

and really rather nice.

Unless you get a dirty great chunk of onion.

You know what, I think it's a good job.

I think you should be really happy with this.

-Thank you very much.

-Well done, Dev!

Cheers. Thank you very much, guys.

He did a good job on both tests.

Knowledge and skill.

-Good old Dev.

-There's definitely room for improvement.

My only regret is that I didn't get to eat any of it when I finished cooking.

Next is performer and radio presenter Debbie McGee.

Last time, she impressed with her flavours.

But her dishes sometimes lacked ambition.

I'm a little disappointed you didn't put more work and effort into your

-dessert.

-Show us a bit of skill.

I've been told there's no hiding behind this challenge

and I can't blag my way through.

I can usually do one or the other. So, well,

I don't know.

Ta-da!

-That's brilliant!

-With nothing moved, if you've noticed.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't make them disappear, all right?

-Just...

-Yeah.

-..identify them.

I mean... I don't know.

Ostrich is the only thing I can think of that can have a bottom that big!

If I spell it incorrectly, do I still get the point if it's right?

No, no.

You know, I feel like I've gone back to school.

My goodness, the headmaster's waiting there with his cane.

Quite frightening!

Do I get more points if my writing's neat?

-Yeah.

-OK.

-Yeah, you really do.

-Don't worry about the cooking.

-All right.

I just don't like the feel of that.

Squeaky. I will name it Big Fungi.

Hey!

You've got those three eggs absolutely right.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

-Now, these mushrooms.

-Right.

-Chanterelle or girolle. Correct.

Chestnut.

-Oh!

-Correct.

Big Fungi? Absolutely correct.

-No!

-No.

It's an oyster mushroom.

Oh, oyster. I have heard of an oyster one.

-That's five out of six.

-Yeah, hey! Good, eh?

Now, for a skills test.

We would like you to make for us crispy bacon,

poached eggs and hash browns.

Off you go. 12 minutes, Debbie.

I'm just going to quickly get as much of this peel off.

I'm not going to leave much of the potato left.

I'll just scrub it off.

-Feeling happy?

-Yep.

These are cooking OK.

Six minutes left.

I've never seen anybody turn a poached egg before.

I'm only doing it because they haven't cooked

and I know we haven't got time. Or otherwise, if I was at home,

I'd put a lid on and wait till I see them cooked.

They'll still taste as good.

It's OK. Hash brown's a little bit off-putting.

Oh, dear.

Love your bacon. Hash browns are a disaster.

Yep.

The name suggests something.

It should be brown. That's what's commonly known as black.

Mm. Sad.

There's onion in a hash brown.

-We left you an onion.

-Oh, is there?

-We put an onion up there.

Poached egg really needs to be cooked in quite a lot of water.

And because there wasn't enough water in the pan, it can't poach.

So it was never going to cook on top.

You did all right on your skills test.

You did amazingly well on your knowledge.

-Good effort!

-Thank you.

You know what? I am enthused by Debbie.

I think that's a decent round for Debbie.

I don't think I was a complete disaster in their eyes.

And they were quite impressed with my knowledge.

But I just feel a bit stupid,

that I really should have applied my brain.

They said poach.

I should have poached it in deep water.

Next up, it's S Club 7 singer Rachel Stevens.

After a shaky start...

You ran out of time. You got in a bit of a panic.

But you know what? At least you've got something up that is edible.

..she made amends.

I think the flavours are great, Rachel.

-How you doing, Rachel? You all right?

-I'm nervous!

-Well, you look a bit nervous.

-Yeah. It's the not knowing.

I think the fact that we're going in on our own,

spotlight totally on us, is just scary.

What we've got under this cloth are six ingredients we'd like you to try

-and identify...

-OK.

-..and write down.

What is that mushroom?

I just don't know what that is.

Knowledge and skill. Two really scary words when it comes to me and

cooking.

Who knows? I have no clue how I'm going to do.

What is that?

It's a mushroom.

-I don't know what mushroom.

-Right.

Right, are you happy to move on?

Yes.

Let me tell you something. You know your eggs.

-Yes?

-Do you know what you don't know?

You don't know your mushrooms.

No. No, I don't.

Our skills test is all about breakfast.

OK. I love my breakfasts.

Fabulous. So, we would like you to make for us, please, hash browns,

poached eggs and crispy bacon.

-Off you go.

-OK.

See, you do know what you're doing, Rachel.

My instinct was to grate it.

So I've just got to learn to trust my instincts.

I know it's got onion in it.

You've got five minutes, Rachel.

-OK.

-In that time, you've got to cook the bacon,

finish off your hash browns and poach some eggs.

Have you poached eggs before?

No, I haven't. But I know vinegar goes in with it.

Great.

Someone order one well done?

You've got 90 seconds, OK?

Going to get my eggs off.

Beautiful. Not.

Perfect.

I'm going to call you Ferocious Rachel from now on.

-OK.

-Because there's so much ferocious heat going on that you had no control.

And the ferocious heat has ended up with the outside of your hash

brown being dark and burnt.

-Yep.

-The outside of your bacon being dark and burnt.

But I have to say, I think your poached egg's fantastic.

I'm all right with your bacon. Love your poached eggs.

Your hash browns are awful.

-Sad.

-Awful.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Awful. Awful!

-Thanks, Rachel.

Thank you.

Hallelujah! Oh, my gosh!

-OK.

-I'm really impressed with her poached eggs.

Room for improvement, but she did OK.

I feel really relieved. I feel really happy.

I feel I've got a buzz from it.

And I'm definitely making breakfast tomorrow morning.

That's for sure. I'm going to make a good fry-up.

My husband's going to be very happy with that.

Finally, its Olympic gold medal swimmer Becky Adlington.

She has shown talent with some tasty dishes.

You may not have an eye for presentation,

but you have got a very sound palate.

Both your dishes taste very good.

I am competitive! Obviously, being an athlete.

But at the same time, I just don't have the confidence at cooking.

But I will always try my best.

I've no clue on these two.

It's a mushroom.

I don't have much knowledge and I really don't have much skill, so

I'm just trying to just survive, really.

What do I do if I have no clue?

So, you don't know the mushrooms at all?

Pointless even trying a guess, right?

OK, what about the eggs?

What's that big? Like,

that is, decent to push that out.

What bird?

An emu?

I'd say this is something little like a duck.

That's not great. You managed to get one.

-Yeah.

-Which is the chestnut mushroom, which is a little disappointing.

That's the quail's egg.

That was laid...

-..by an ostrich.

-Ah.

This bit, skills test.

We would like you to make for us hash browns...

..poached eggs

and crispy bacon.

12 minutes, Becky. Off you go.

Oh! Sorry.

What did you just put in that water?

I put a bit of salt because I don't like salt on my eggs at the end.

Guessing the hash brown's got onion in. No idea.

Add butter to everything.

Five minutes gone. You've got seven minutes left.

This I'm just going to put in the pan, because it's got fat on that it'll...

It should just crisp.

Time's up. Well done.

I have to tell you. The bacon you did, it's absolutely perfect.

Your poached eggs. Use a tiny bit of vinegar rather than salt.

Your bacon's crispy.

Your flavour in your hash browns, absolutely right.

The texture's not quite there.

I think you should be happy with yourself.

Bacon is absolutely perfect.

You've done OK with this skills test.

Your knowledge test was disappointing.

-Thank you very much, Becky.

-Thank you!

That definitely wasn't my cup of tea on challenge, that's for certain.

It was tough. But I did all I could.

I think they've all done OK.

No disasters.

We had two really good hash browns.

One from Dev, one from Becky.

We had one really good knowledge round and that was Debbie.

I think Rachel's got a little bit of work to do.

Her knowledge wasn't fantastic.

And her skills were lacking a little bit.

I believe these four are realising what this competition is all about and

that we are ramping up the pressure.

I really hope they're ready for what comes next.

Because what comes next, John, is big.

It's big. They're going to have to take off the handbrake,

change gear and put their foot flat to the floor.

It's early morning, and Debbie, Rachel,

Becky and Dev are travelling to Weybridge in Surrey to face their most

daunting challenge yet.

Ha-ha-ha-ha!

Aaargh!

Just brilliant!

Loved it!

-Come on, you.

-Oh, mate!

We've got work to do.

Right!

Welcome - while I get my breath back -

to the very historic, lovely Brooklands.

The site of the first motor racing circuit in 1907.

Also, home to the first ever British Grand Prix in 1926.

Now, it's the home of one of the oldest motorcar manufacturers in the

world. Mercedes-Benz.

Today, you have the honour of preparing lunch for the drivers,

mechanics and support staff here at Brooklands.

Your job today is huge.

Between you, you are going to be feeding 80 people for lunch.

Two teams today.

Dev and Becky, you guys are going to be working together.

Rachel and Debbie, you are also a team.

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

And it's all down to you.

Good luck! Off you go!

This is one of those days where our four are going to be truly tested.

We're going to test their ability to focus, to work together,

to plan ahead and to cook in volume.

It's whether they can make it work in pairs, in teams.

The celebrities will be working under head chef Sarah Everett.

-Hey!

-Hello.

-Hello!

-Good morning, guys!

-Hello. Morning!

-How are you all feeling? You feeling nervous?

-Yeah.

Good, good. I've got some lovely ingredients for you to choose from, all fresh today.

You've got ten minutes to think of your menu.

That's it, guys. Let's go!

-OK, thank you.

-Thank you. Thank you!

Each team will have two-and-a-half hours to create 40 meat or fish

and 20 vegetarian main courses as well as 50 portions of dessert.

The larder includes diced lamb, minced beef,

whole chickens, salmon,

a range of fruit and vegetables...

..and a selection of herbs and spices.

I thought we'd do a Thai vegetable curry. Because there's coconut milk.

They must have some curry paste and things like that we can use.

Yeah.

It's deciding on what the meat or fish...

-Now, I'm really...

-Casserole?

We could do a casserole.

I mean, I was trying to think of something to do with the salmon.

-Are you good with casseroles?

-Well...

-I'm good with salmon.

I don't know how we're going to do it in the time.

It's an awful lot to cook between two people.

-I don't know. What do you think?

-Quite a challenge today.

But, you know, it's going to make Christmas a doddle, right?

Oh, there is risotto rice so we could do mushroom risotto.

-Oh, OK.

-Today's challenge is just

crazy, to be honest!

Both me and Dev are a bit like, "Ah!"...

deer in headlights, not really knowing what to do.

I reckon we do an apple and blackberry crumble.

-Uh-huh.

-How do you feel about that?

Yeah, I've never made a crumble before.

You thinking of anything else with puddings?

I've made like a blueberry...

Not blueberry, sorry. Like a plum and apple pie before.

But, do you know, if you're confident making a crumble then that's...

I think we should do that. You know,

most amount of people I've ever cooked for, four, maybe five.

It's quite a big racetrack.

I reckon I could run quite far before anyone caught me.

Um...

All right, guys. What are your ideas?

Right, so for desserts we're thinking of doing a berry pavlova.

And you're going to get that done on time?

Well, I think we could, yeah. Because if we get...

We'll have to. For the vegetable option...

-Yeah.

-..we were thinking a vegetable curry.

-A Thai vegetable curry.

-And then for the main course,

we've just become a bit stumped.

Right, OK. So you need a bit more time on thinking about that?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Just for the meat. Right.

Guys, what are your options?

So we're doing a mushroom risotto.

-Yep.

-And then we're going to do

probably a crumble with some custard for dessert.

What crumble are you doing?

We're thinking so far apple and blackberry.

-Nice.

-We're a little stuck on the meat dish.

Yeah, we could do lamb tagine with couscous.

Perfect.

They've got to get their heads down. They've got to roll their sleeves up.

The only way to succeed in this situation is to plan first and then graft.

And seriously graft.

Becky gets straight to work on their lamb tagine main.

Never used one of these.

But put some oil in.

I think it's just for cooking massive quantities of food.

It's hot. Really hot.

She mixes lamb, onions, tomatoes and spice

before it cooks for two hours.

It's a little pushy with time with the lamb.

It does take a good two hours to cook.

And they've got two-and-a-half hours to do it in.

So, it will be tight. Very, very tight.

I think the fact that this is cooking for a long time is a good thing.

It's going to be really tender.

Meanwhile, Dev is tackling their vegetarian dish.

I've taken up the job of prepping for our mushroom risotto.

Which means lots of mushrooms.

20 minutes have passed, and across the kitchen,

Debbie and Rachel still haven't decided on their main course.

So we could just do a salmon in like a creamy sauce with dill or something like that?

-Yeah.

-That type of thing with a mashed potato?

Right, OK. Then with the salmon, if this is OK with you...

-Yeah.

-If we do salmon,

put the tomato paste over it so it's soaking through.

And then do you have breadcrumbs?

-Yes.

-We could sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top.

-Yeah.

-And that's... It's actually easy.

But it's really tasty.

-And we could do that.

-Sounds different.

-OK.

Guys, if you don't start moving, we will run out of time.

With the salmon main finally decided,

Debbie's first job is to make the pavlova.

This is a task I could cope with if I had a couple of days to do it in.

I'm not frightened of what we are cooking or anything.

It's just the quantity and preparing it.

Meanwhile, Rachel is taking charge of the vegetarian dish,

chopping the veg and making a paste for the Thai green curry.

I've made like a Thai sauce, like a Thai dressing.

But I've never made a Thai curry.

Crazy!

And she's not feeling confident.

-Debbie?

-Yeah?

I just don't know the quantities of the chillies.

Obviously, I don't want to make it too...

Well, we're making 20 portions.

So think how much you'd put in if you were just cooking for two or four.

-Right.

-Debbie and Rachel are a little behind at the moment.

I think Debbie's taking control of the Debbie team.

Be interested to see what comes out for lunch.

Don't put the chillies in the paste, because we can't guarantee we'll get it right.

I'm just feeling my way through.

It's probably not the most sensible thing, to make something that you've never cooked before.

So, I'm totally out of my depth, really.

While Rachel carries on with the curry,

Debbie's almost finished making the dessert.

How are you going to get a 50-portion dessert out of those four trays of pavlova?

I was going to do five with ten portions.

-Yes.

-Out of each.

I'm really trying not to panic and think things through today.

But in my head - I haven't written it down -

it's getting the pavlova in the oven.

It seems, Debbie, like you may be in control of all this.

Only a little bit.

Sorry, I'm trying to think that I need to get back to my cooking.

On the other team, with the lamb tagine cooking down...

..Becky has moved on to stewing apples for the crumble.

I think I've just burned them.

While Dev is still chopping veg for the mushroom risotto.

I'm being 100% honest.

It's all I've done since we've started.

Dev, how are you feeling working with Becky?

I feel quite relaxed that Becky's in my corner.

She's used to performing under incredible pressure.

She seemed to sort of take the lead quite early on.

And so, I'm quite happy to just sit back a little bit.

So, she's doing 40 portions of tagine.

-Yeah.

-50 portions of dessert.

Which is 90 portions.

And you're doing 20 portions of risotto?

Yeah, but look who's chopping up all these beautiful onions.

I expected the Dev-Becky team to be both of them really,

really ferocious and really trying very, very hard.

It seems that Dev's taking a bit of a back seat

and just letting Becky take on responsibility.

With an hour gone,

Rachel's finished the prep and is making a start on cooking the curry.

I hope that's enough paste.

She adds sweet potato and coconut milk.

But team-mate Debbie has realised she hasn't made enough dessert.

I'm a bit up against it at the moment because I haven't done enough pavlova to feed that many people.

So by now, I would have wanted to have been doing the salmon.

Right, Rachel and Debbie, I'm really concerned about your section.

The salmon is still down the back of the kitchen.

Rachel, you're just purely working on the vegetarians.

We really need to speed up.

Chef is right now concerned about Debbie and Rachel.

In catering, being late is not an option.

It's never an option.

We're just, like, speeding it up now.

But I think we're all right. I don't know. I really don't know.

In addition to its premier motor racing history,

Brooklands also houses a replica of the world's first patented automobile.

The three-wheeled two-seater motor wagon was patented by Karl Benz in 1886

and gave birth to a new global industry.

Every day, up to 100 of the workforce eats lunch at the staff restaurant.

I think there's a lot of pressure on the contestants today.

I know the staff are very hungry and they're looking forward to

some really good food.

I'm just hoping it's going to be a big plateful.

Because I'm absolutely starving.

There's just one hour until service,

and Dev's ready to start cooking his risotto.

Because Becky's been smashing it with the other dishes,

it sort of feels like the pressure's on a little bit.

I just don't want to be the one that lets the side down.

This is more risotto than I think I'd make in a year.

-Dev!

-Hello.

-Hard, innit?

-Yeah,

and quite hot as well.

I don't want to jinx myself, but I think I'm on time.

Why's Becky got the bulk of the work, then?

Is it because she's fitter and stronger than you?

She certainly took the lead to begin with. I panicked a little bit.

I don't deal with pressure very well.

Becky was very focused, straight in there.

I'm sorry you don't like pressure. But here, have it!

-Because you've got it.

-All right, thank you.

On the other team, Debbie's pavlovas are out of the oven

while Rachel's Thai curry is almost cooked.

Oh! I think it needs more salt.

OK.

But they still haven't started their salmon main.

Rachel's still working on the vegetarian, which she has been working on all morning.

Debbie's still working on her pavlovas, which she's also been

working on all morning. And nobody's working on the main course.

Ah!

Right, guys, you've got 50 minutes. 5-0.

There should be service at 12:45. We really need to move now, please.

Yes, Chef.

Myself and my sous chef will have to jump in.

While Debbie and Rachel are running behind,

Becky's lamb tagine is almost ready.

Looks nice and cooked. Smells amazing.

So, yeah. I'm happy!

-You're in charge, Becky.

-I'm not! Not at all!

-He says you are.

-He's going to say that!

He's surrounded by three women!

Are you in front?

Crumble's made, it just needs going in the oven.

It's a lamb tagine, so that's cooking away.

That needs nothing done to it.

Between me and you, you might be on time.

But if I were you, I'd keep your eye on that risotto.

-OK.

-Not that Dev's slow or anything.

Yes, Dev! You've got this!

But you seem faster.

I am fast.

Across the kitchen and with the help of a sous chef,

Debbie's portioned 40 pieces of salmon and added a tomato paste topping.

This is breadcrumbs to just give it some crunch.

Right.

They'll take 12 minutes to cook.

But 80 hungry staff have already begun to gather outside the restaurant ready for lunch.

I hope people will like it.

Like when you bring your own dish to a barbecue or something?

Ah! Ah!

It's all right, it's fine!

You've got ten minutes left.

Food needs to be hot and on the pass in ten minutes.

I'll just concentrate on cooking now.

I'm not going to tell no more jokes.

-They definitely look cooked.

-Yeah.

Let's cut through one.

Because we know... No, it's not.

-No, no, no, no.

-No, it's not.

Becky, taste that and see what you think, please.

-Mmm.

-Yeah?

-Mmm.

I need some oven gloves to get that salmon out.

With just minutes to go before service,

Becky checks the rice to go with the tagine.

-Is it all right?

-It's hard.

Is it still a bit hard?

-Should we leave it longer?

-We've got to get it out.

Debbie and Rachel, you're not ready at all.

There's no dishes out.

-Are you going to be on time?

-We are, Chef.

You've got two minutes. There's a whole queue waiting for you guys.

Yes, Chef.

Ah, it's really heavy!

-Are you ready to go?

-Oh, my God!

Mm, smells delicious.

-Debbie, how long?

-Five minutes at the most.

Most of ours is out.

I've just got to get the salmon out.

Custard high five.

We are expecting very high standards.

They do a really good job in there usually

and a big array of choices and big smiles.

So, yeah. High expectations.

It's one o'clock, and the restaurant is open for service.

-Hello!

-Hello!

-Welcome to our kitchen.

Hi, guys, how's it going?

-Hiya!

-Can I have the lamb, please?

-Sure.

-Of course!

-You want lamb as well, mate?

Yes, lamb as well, please.

Becky's lamb tagine with chickpeas and rice is an instant hit with the

-diners.

-That's overflowing a little bit there.

Sorry!

-Can I have lamb, please?

-Of course.

Which one of you lot do I speak to if I wanted a free car?

This one!

-Becky, is that all the tagine you've got?

-No, we've got more.

-What you after?

-The lamb, please.

-You've got a big queue there, Dev.

-Oh, God. See, now you're making me nervous!

Don't mean to make you nervous.

Can I make you another one, please?

I went for the lamb tagine. Very nice.

The lamb's really tender. Very good food. Really happy.

The lamb's cooked really nicely. It's very soft.

Lovely with the chickpeas and some coriander.

It's beautiful.

The rice has all been mixed together, so there's half that's cooked, half that's not cooked.

Chickpeas in there a great idea.

She does graft, that Becky. I'll give her her due.

Hello, what would you like? Thai or salmon?

-I'll go for the salmon, please.

-Salmon?

You're quite a big chap so let's go for a bigger bit.

Debbie and Rachel's salmon with a tomato and breadcrumb topping served

with Cajun-spiced potatoes and vegetables is also proving popular.

There we are, Josh. Hope you enjoy it!

Anybody else for salmon?

Potato?

There we go.

I had the salmon. It was really good.

It was tasty. Well cooked. Yeah, it was nice.

It's as good as we would normally have, because it is a good catering unit.

-So, yeah.

-Yeah, I shouldn't tell you,

but it is my second portion.

Right, because I enjoyed the salmon so much I had to go up and get a second.

I like the salmon.

I like that crust. I really like that tomato fruitiness,

almost sweetness that goes with that salmon.

-It's very nice indeed.

-The salmon's cooked really nicely.

For me, the whole thing is a bit dry.

Needs a bit more of a sauce.

-Hiya.

-Can I have risotto, please?

Oh, someone wants the risotto!

For their vegetarian dish,

Becky and Dev are offering wild mushroom risotto.

I mean, I don't want to be biased, but I made the risotto.

It's pretty special.

I've got mushroom risotto here. Absolutely delicious.

I'm actually more of a meat eater

but this is absolutely delicious, very nice.

The risotto is lovely.

Had a really lovely flavour, really creamy as well.

The risotto tastes pretty good, actually. The rice is cooked.

There's a good flavour of the stock and seasoning.

You can clearly identify the deeper, almost beefy mushroom flavour.

Mushrooms are really tasty.

The rice itself is flavoured very well.

Not bad.

Rachel and Debbie are offering a vegetable Thai curry with rice.

-All looks very nice.

-Thank you very much!

-Thank you!

-The rice is sticky.

-It's meant to be.

-Yeah. It's meant to be sticky rice.

I went for the green Thai vegetable curry.

Yeah, it's up to the standards I'm used to, because this is the type

of food I eat. So, I'm pretty happy with my choice.

The veggies are cooked quite nicely.

You get the flavour of the coconut milk.

I've got lime leaf.

I've got a little bit of heat creeping up as well.

Very nice. That rice is stodgy.

It's thick and stodgy.

That's the only problem.

Nice! Look at that?

Do you want a slice of rice?

-Thanks.

-Ha-ha-ha-ha!

Right, that's it, guys. Well done. Clear down.

Desserts out.

-Thanks, Chef.

-Thank you.

For dessert, Becky and Dev have made apple and blackberry crumble served with custard.

It was very nice.

-Oh, thank you very much!

-Oh, I didn't even ask. Sorry.

-Custard?

-Amazing, thank you.

-Custard? Stop laughing at me!

-I can't help it.

-It's your new catchphrase.

-Custard?

-Thanks a lot.

-Thank you.

I ordered the crumble. It was lovely.

It was very tasty.

Everything blended together lovely.

There wasn't anything that was lacking.

Even the custard was lovely.

The fruit was really chunky inside.

Really sweet, soft enough, but it's not stodgy and mushy.

So, the consistency is really, really good.

I'm happy with that.

You know me, I love vanilla custard.

The sweetness of that against the natural, juicy, sweet fruit.

I love that. However, I'd like a little bit more crumble.

I want more of that buttery, oaty top.

That dessert is the best thing that Dev and Becky made today.

Lovely fruit which is hot.

All the juice of the blackberries running through it.

The custard, which is all smooth across it.

And the crumble has got lots of vanilla and sugar.

And sort of biscuit and butter.

That's great.

Debbie and Rachel have made raspberry and blueberry pavlova.

-Extra cream?

-Yes, please.

Have a nice time!

Decided to go for the pavlova today.

And it's delicious! I would definitely have the pudding again.

It was lovely.

It was really good. This is my second lot.

Meringue's really good, really chewy.

Marshmallowy. So, I'm going to have seconds.

Lovely, really good.

Not bad. The base of that pavlova has a nice crunch.

You've still got a little bit of chew in the middle.

The cream is perfectly whipped and perfectly seasoned.

I love the sharpness of those berries against the cream and the pavlova.

I'm really pleased for Debbie and Rachel because they've got a dessert which is tasty.

And some left over for us as well. That's for the car journey home.

Woohoo! We got there!

Brilliant, we got there.

I think they've had a good day. I think they've had a bit of a wake-up call.

Our four have come into this and they've realised that doing stuff in volume is never going to be easy.

Debbie and Rachel needed help.

Professional help they got there.

They would never have got this done on their own.

In saying, Debbie had some very,

very nice menu ideas and that salmon was good.

I enjoyed 80% of it. And the only bits I didn't enjoy were when I was really getting

worried that we wouldn't get everything prepared.

I really wouldn't want to have to cook for that many people every day.

I think it's very, very hard.

That was a crazy experience, really.

We were quite late on a lot of things,

but it all came together in the end.

Becky and Dev worked hard. Certainly driven by Becky.

I mean, Becky is an absolute dynamo in the kitchen.

I am so proud of me and Dev. I think we just did so well.

We cracked on, we got it done, we got it served,

everything we planned to make, we made.

The fact that we have now just fed 80 people is unbelievable.

Pretty exhausted after all of that.

It's so high octane, so intense.

But, no, we got through, we got our dishes up there.

The next round is really tough.

It is all to play for, and they know it as well.

With every round, with every different challenge,

comes another twist and turn in this competition.

Two of them will be going home. I can't call it.

After two days of competition,

these four celebrities now face one final challenge to decide who stays.

Two of them will be going home.

It is a competition, and I do want to get through.

If it means that I have to kick over one of Rachel's dishes in order to get through, so be it, man.

Maybe it is time to get a little bit ruthless.

Oh, I would be really sad if I had to leave.

I'm going to give it everything.

I'm really loving it, and I want to go on in the competition.

I really, really want to go through.

I was a very nervous competitor in the Olympics.

I can remember feeling so sick before I raced,

I had to lie on the floor because I thought I was going to pass out.

So, yeah, I'm bound to get nervous for this.

My competitive spirit has come out, I have to say.

I'll be really annoyed if I get kicked out today!

Good to see you back. You are cooking for a place in the semifinal.

You are presenting your food, not just to me and John,

but for three invited guests,

who understand this competition perfectly well,

because they were all Celebrity MasterChef finalists.

Reverend Richard Coles...

..Rylan Clark-Neal...

..and winner Kimberly Wyatt.

Oh, you're going to have to be good to impress them, you really are.

At the end of today, two of you will be semifinalists,

which means that two of you will go home.

Your own two courses, one hour and 15 minutes, let's cook.

Previous Celebrity MasterChef finalists make brilliant judges,

because they understand what it takes to succeed.

Those three are demanding. Really demanding.

They are not going to pull any punches. They are going to go for it.

I would be overjoyed if I get through to the semifinals.

It is just kind of a bit like going back to my old days of dancing competitions.

And you've worked hard for it,

so I do not want to fall off this stool.

I want to go a bit higher!

How do you feel about cooking for people that have done well in this competition?

Well, today, I'm just trying to think of this as if, oh,

I've got some friends coming over for lunch,

and it would be like it would be at home,

except I've got to do it quickly because they've all got to rush to work afterwards, or something.

That's how I'm mentally attacking it.

What are you making, Debbie?

I'm making chicken with mushrooms in Marsala sauce with some mashed

potato, carrots and broccoli. I'm doing bananas that I am going to cook in a rum sauce and tuck them

-into a little crepe.

-One of the things that we have said to you along the

way is a bit of sparkle, a bit of zhuzh. Can you do that today?

I think so, yeah.

I'm going to do the mashed potatoes in little circles,

and the broccoli, I thought instead of doing big florets,

do some little ones.

So I'm going to do my best for you boys, that's all I can say.

-Little florets.

-Yes.

-You're our little floret.

I think Debbie's idea of chicken breasts on mashed potato with a sweet Marsala sauce

and herb-flavoured mushrooms is lovely.

The fact is, she has got quite a lot to do.

She has got to make a great Marsala sauce,

good mashed potato, cook the chicken absolutely perfectly,

make a decent, lovely, thin paper crepe.

It is food that I think could be really tasty.

As soon as I step into that kitchen, I go like

this little schoolgirl in the playground that's like, urgh! And I go, like,

just scared, and I just do stupid things.

Ah!

I've cut my finger.

I kind of overthink everything and overplay it,

I don't just stay calm and breathe and just go, "I know what I'm doing."

How important is this round for you?

I've not got much confidence in my cooking ability, as you guys know,

so for me, it is just about trying to do something that I do cook at home.

I'm not as fancy, I struggle with my presentation,

but I will try and do my best.

What are you making, Becky, that's going to get you a semifinal place?

So, today I'm making lamb koftas with flatbread, and for pudding,

I'm making rhubarb crumble and vanilla custard.

-Whay! Are you going to make your own flatbreads?

-I am, yes.

Wow, and are you going to make proper custard?

I am, yes.

Do you know what I think is really good today?

-You have got a smile on your face!

-Oh, thank you.

Good, enjoy it!

Becky's food sounds good.

Koftas have got to have a nice colour on the outside, be crispy on the outside,

and still cooked all the way through but still be moist,

and lots and lots of spices.

Flatbreads have got to be puffed up a little bit,

and coloured all the way through, not too thick,

and cooked all the way so they are not stodgy.

That is my absolute favourite pudding in the whole wide world,

a rhubarb crumble and custard.

I absolutely love it.

It is food you want to eat,

but how do you bring any presentation to those two things?

I want to prove to John and Gregg that I can deliver really delicious food,

but there is always things that can go wrong with cooking.

I have just got to remember to just stay in control and breathe.

What are your two dishes that are going to get you through to the semifinal?

So, I'm making a pea soup to start,

and I'm making a salmon with a wasabi mayonnaise and pistachio crust,

cauliflower puree and green beans and leek.

Rachel, are you enjoying the competition?

I'm really enjoying it.

The nerves really get to me, so I don't love that part of it.

You performed live in front of how many people?

I know, but it's so different.

When you are doing something that you are so out of your comfort zone with and you don't do...

You know, you know, so, yeah.

I'll tell you what, this is really ambitious from Rachel.

A pea soup, which has got to be green and vibrant, with celery,

loads of seasoning and stock, so it has got a good flavour.

Rachel's main course is a piece of salmon with mayonnaise across the top,

wasabi and pistachio nuts.

Odd combination. Pistachio nuts and cauliflower I get,

but cauliflower and wasabi

and salmon together with pistachio nuts and mayonnaise?

I'm not quite sure.

I'm a competitor, you know,

throw me in at the deep end and I'll doggie paddle.

I'll make it to the side somehow.

I want to show them I'm a good all-rounder,

I'm not just good at one or two aspects of cooking,

I'm fairly decent at most of them.

What are you making?

I'm going to do a lamb bhuna with rice and also a chocolate brownie cake

-with chocolate ganache.

-Why have you chosen that dessert?

I guess it's a little bit like me, just sort of laid on a bit too thick,

a bit over the top, it's chocolate on top of chocolate. But, yeah,

I quite like it, I've tried it at home, I think it's quite delicious.

You have got a lot of stuff here, Dev.

I took on board what you guys said last time that perhaps my last dish was

maybe a little bit too ambitious, but I feel like I've been realistic with this one,

I want to give our guests today something quite fancy,

something that shows off my skill a little bit.

Wow, OK. Well, that sounds like lessons learned.

-Yeah, I don't want to go home today. I really don't.

-Thanks, Dev.

Thanks, guys.

I think Dev's being really, really clever with his menu.

Who doesn't like a curry?

Who doesn't like chocolate brownie with chocolate sauce and cream?

But the thing is that curry, the lamb's got to be melt-in-your-mouth,

it's got to be really well spiced. The rice has to be cooked properly.

All the spices he's pounding and toasting himself, which gives him a huge amount of work to do.

And the brownie is not easy.

Well, this is my first time as poacher turned gamekeeper, I guess.

I do remember cooking this round. I thought I had rather a triumph.

Although my brownie turned out to be rather moister

than it might have been.

And I had to kind of find a way of bluffing that.

But they liked it.

You have a deconstructed brownie.

Do you mean undercooked?

No. No, not undercooked at all.

That would be quite wrong.

It has become a bit of a joke

in my household whenever I try and cook something

and it doesn't go to plan.

It's "Oh, MasterChef finalist!"

It's like...yeah, I was a finalist.

I was known for presentation and that is a massive thing to me.

It could be the best food in the world,

but if it doesn't look nice, I don't want it.

So, I'm not alone today.

I've got Richard and Rylan.

Rylan and a vicar.

What could go wrong, right?

This round is tough.

Not only are you wanting to impress your judges,

it's also getting the timings right, because you've got two courses

to prepare to perfection. So it's a really tough one.

-Debbie.

-Yeah.

-Five minutes.

-OK.

First dish is up, yeah?

First up we've got Debbie

and she's doing chicken and mushrooms with a Marsala sauce

accompanied by mashed potatoes, broccoli and carrots.

Mashed potatoes done properly

you can't really beat.

Broccoli I'm sort of addicted to.

That'll be nice.

-Oh!

-Oh! Oh!

I think it's all riding on just how yummy

that Marsala sauce is.

If done well, great.

Otherwise, maybe a bit safe.

We should be going now, Debbie.

-Right.

-We need to move.

Come on, Debbie. Let's go, go, go, go, go, go, go.

He...

Hello!

Who's going to go first?

I thought maybe the lady.

-Ta-da!

-Yes! Yes, Debbie McGee!

I've done chicken breast in Marsala with mushrooms.

You've got my creamy mashed potato, broccoli and carrots.

-Thank you.

-Thank you, Debbie.

-Enjoy!

-Thank you. Well done.

What an entrance. Loved that.

And I think part of that has made up

for the presentation at the moment.

I can see she's tried to really separate this.

But it doesn't look the most appetising thing

that's ever been in front of me on a plate.

I've got to be honest. It's moist, it's not dry.

And she's seasoned that chicken really, really well.

I couldn't agree more.

The chicken is lovely.

The broccoli has good flavour.

I just wish there was more of it.

And I think it really did need that Marsala sauce

to just make it have a bit of oomph.

Actually, I'm getting the Marsala sauce.

I'd like a lot more of it, but it is coming through.

But not entirely successful.

I like it, but not a lot.

Debbie continues to produce really tasty food.

It's a little bit messy.

The sauce is a bit thin.

The mashed potato needs to be seasoned.

I like the mushrooms and the herbs.

I think the chicken's cooked beautifully.

It's wonderful and moist.

I would like the Marsala sauce to be thicker.

However, in terms of flavour, I love that sweet sauce.

This is pretty accomplished.

But not perfect.

Now, you've got just 15 minutes to cook those bananas

-and make those crepes.

-OK.

Debbie's dessert. We've got crepe

filled with bananas in a rum sauce served with cream.

You can come to grief with a crepe very easily.

If you don't get your batter right and if you don't get

the thickness right, it could be a very doughy disappointment.

And we don't want that at this level.

We don't want...

BOTH: A doughy disappointment.

Amazing!

You are 90 seconds away, Debbie.

You're just about going to do it.

That's good!

Like that. Can it go?

-Yes.

-Go bananas!

Here I am again. Is this deja vu?

My dessert is bananas cooked in a rum sauce

tucked in a crepe with some cream.

Enjoy!

I think the bananas look lovely.

-Yeah.

-I think that looks like they could possibly have

some really good flavour in there.

I'm not sure this has worked entirely.

This sort of looks like a splatter pattern from a murder, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

-It's not quite right.

I'm loving the banana. Really good.

Works really well with the rum sauce, which is beautifully balanced.

The cream gives it just a little bit of silkiness, which is good.

My problem really is with the crepe.

It's a bit anaemic and I wanted something that would be thinner

and crispier and lighter.

I love the flavour of the bananas.

The crepe is a bit underdone.

Pancakes are a tough one because they do take so much time to cook.

And you can only do one at a time.

I don't really not like this crepe.

I think it's not too bad, my one.

I don't know if mine's been on slightly longer than yours.

But it's quite good. I will happily eat all of that.

I like that.

I could do with a little bit more colour on my crepe.

But I like it.

The crepe could be cooked a little bit more.

It's a bit stodgy. With the cream, I think it's tasty.

I'd like a little bit more of that sauce,

because I think that rum and that sugar on the bananas is delicious.

And I'd like to see that put on there with a ladle.

That's not bad.

Oh!

Well, I'm just totally relieved that it's all done.

Yeah. It's harder than you think.

And I've never been so untidy in a kitchen.

I was putting things here, there and everywhere,

then I couldn't find the utensils.

Yeah, I felt like I was juggling.

But anyway, I got there in the end.

So Becky's doing lamb koftas, flatbread and tzatziki.

Lamb koftas is just about how it's cooked, really.

You just have to nail that meat and make sure that it's just lovely

and amazing in your mouth.

The flatbread I think's going to be the tell here.

Because that's quite a skill to have.

And flatbread is quite tough to make.

As long as it's flat and bread...

-And bready.

-..we might be all right here!

We're off to a good start!

Go, go, go!

So you have got lamb koftas with some salad,

home-made flatbread and tzatziki.

This looks good, Becky.

Thank you.

I love an Olympian because you can always tell

that determination comes through.

I mean, it looks absolutely brilliant.

-This smells like a restaurant.

-Mm-hm. It does.

This smells like a good Greek restaurant.

Oh!

The salad, the bread, the meat, the spices she's used in the kofta...

the tzatziki...

it is bang on.

Everything on this plate is gorgeous!

Every element. The flatbread is just done to perfection.

It's so yummy.

And I love the taste of any home-made bread.

So it's gorgeous.

I really like the detail.

The onion's sliced thinly.

The cucumber and the tomatoes have had the seedy bits removed.

It's very good.

She has done swimmingly.

Oh, come on!

She's got nice spices like cumin inside those meatballs.

And a nice, tangy tzatziki.

Lots of fresh veg.

It's got colour, it's got presentation, it's got flavour.

The flatbreads are great.

You can still fold them up,

but they've got texture and they're cooked all the way through.

Go Becky!

So for dessert, Becky is doing a rhubarb and ginger crumble

with vanilla custard.

You love a bit of rhubarb.

I love all of these flavours.

I'm excited for this dessert.

That's a wish list pudding for me as well.

Rhubarb and ginger, classic combination.

Crumble and custard.

Get that right, that's high marks, I think.

Mm-hm.

They look good. And your food is looking good.

-Thank you.

-Let's go!

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

So, you have a rhubarb and ginger crumble with vanilla custard.

I'm so glad that's over!

I love a crumble that's got a seepage issue.

And there is a major seep.

I love the bit where the juices started bubbling up underneath.

-And I'm looking forward to exploring that on intimate terms.

-Mm!

You're going to make me blush, Vicar.

I'm very sorry about that!

I think this is absolutely gorgeous.

I love the tartness of the rhubarb.

The lovely vanilla custard just brings it all together.

My crumble is nice and crumbly.

It's just lovely.

I just want to eat all of it now.

Becky's not scared of big flavours.

I mean, there's plenty of ginger in here.

Almost at first I thought too much,

but it's kind of balanced when you put the custard on it.

And also not scared of the tartness of the rhubarb either.

But I think it's delicious, actually.

I think she's produced two really, really good courses

at this stage of the game.

-Well done, Becky.

-Well done, Becky.

-Well done.

Oh, no lumps.

Mmm!

It's a perfect balance of sharp and sweet.

And she has nailed that flavour combo brilliantly.

That is a classic British pud and she has nailed it.

That was just intense!

It was like, go, go, go.

But everything was cooked.

Everything was plated.

I was on time.

So, that I'm really, really proud of.

You've got about five-and-a-half minutes, Rachel.

So, Rachel's starter,

pea soup with a Gruyere crisp.

Now, that's working for me in two significant ways.

Pea soup and Gruyere crisp, both of them lovely.

You know you're running out of time?

Yes.

Pea soup can go really bland if you don't season it really well.

So I think it will be riding on seasoning for that, for me.

And I love S Club 7.

So I will have a fan girl moment.

That is pretty!

-Thank you.

-Go get them, Rachel!

Hi, guys!

-Hi!

-Hi!

-Hi there.

So, I've made you a pea soup with creme fraiche

and a Gru-y-ere cheese...crisp.

Hope you enjoy.

-Thank you!

-Thank you!

-Oh...!

-She's so nervous! Bless her.

This looks really, really good.

I think she's had a bit of a nightmare with the Gruyere crisp.