Episode 20 Celebrity MasterChef

'16 celebrities are battling it out to win the coveted MasterChef crown.'

I think the pressure today is going to be huge.

These celebrities have already reached the top of their profession.

But can they cut it in the kitchen?

I would like to do a really nice job today.

If it ended for me today, I'd be very, very disappointed.

Cooking doesn't get tougher than this.

'Throughout this week, these three celebrities have been through the toughest culinary challenges

'of their lives.

'But after today, only the best can become semi-finalists.'

I'm well aware that there is a heck of a lot more of a journey

that I could do,

and if I go today then I'm going to miss that journey and that's a real shame.

I've been thinking about cooking when I've been awake

and I've been thinking about cooking when I'm asleep.

So to say it is a prominent thing in my life now

would be a complete understatement.

I am not going home.

It's not happening.

You'll have to chuck me out. You'll have to call the police,

fire brigade. I don't want to go. Of course I don't want to go.

'Today there's just one challenge. The perfect three-course meal.'

Big day on MasterChef today. Three contestants

I consider to have real potential. Now we'll see.

Today I want them to show us what they've learnt throughout this competition

and how far they can truly go.

They do that, they stay.

If they don't do it, they go home.

Big day today. We want three very good courses of your own food.

Nowhere to hide. Deliver and deliver well, you go through.

You are cooking not just for Gregg and I, but you are also cooking for

three ladies from the WI.

These ladies know exactly what good food is all about.

And at the end of this, Gregg and I will make a decision of who stays and who goes.

One hour 45 minutes, your three courses, good luck.

'Today's three diners are expecting the best.

'Amy Willcock is one of the WI's national cookery judges,

'popularly known as the queen of aga cooking.

'Margaret Williams is a WI cookery tutor

'and contributes cookery features to Home And Country Magazine.

'And Jill Brand is one of the WI's top authors,

'specialising in the baking of breads, cakes and biscuits.'

Today I'm looking for some really exciting food.

I'm really looking for explosions of tastes.

'At the beginning of the week, ex-rugby captain Phil struggled with his confidence.'

Do you know, I've never felt so nervous for a long, long time, gents.

'But as his confidence grew,

'he impressed with some robust, flavoursome dishes.'

Really love the root veg with the red wine sauce. Really good.

I think your pigeon breast is cooked beautifully.

I really like the taste of that. I think it's a lovely flavour combination.

But at times, it can be a little bit too big.

You could work out with that, Phil.

It's D-Day today.

We're cooking to stay in this competition.

You know, we can't afford to get this wrong today.

Anything can go wrong in the MasterChef kitchen.

-What are your three dishes today?

-I'm doing a mackerel tartare,

fillet of Hertfordshire beef for my main, fondant potato and onion,

and then I'm going to finish off with a little lemon drizzle cake with some Chantilly thyme cream.

-We haven't seen any baking from you so far, Phil. A lemon drizzle cake? Really?

-Yep.

I've never done it before, so hopefully first time today and it'll be brilliant.

-You've never made the lemon drizzle cake before?

-No.

-Fantastic.

I'm not going to get through to the semi-finals being safe,

playing it easy. I'm putting all my cards on the table today.

There's a sense of purpose about this bench today.

I'm looking forward to it and determined to enjoy myself 100 percent.

The starter and main, yeah, that says Phil Vickery to me. I've never seen him bake before.

Apparently he's never done this recipe before and he's going to serve a cake to the WI.

If there's one group of people I don't want to be serving lemon drizzle cake to, it's the WI.

Phil has got his work cut out.

Kirsty Wark is a respected journalist.

I've had wonderful food from her.

You are becoming, in my mind, a really game, adventurous cook.

That lovely, beautifully-cooked piece of trout I think is wonderful.

-Thank you.

-Really wonderful.

The layers of flavour that come lapping onto my palate, that is cooking of the highest quality.

Kirsty is a great cook, there's no doubt about that.

She does, however, have a tendency to put too much on a plate.

I can't quite get lentils and mashed potato together. They do the same job.

-I agree. It's too much.

-And she continues to make elementary mistakes.

That puddle is doing more damage than you can possibly imagine.

It's just making everything slimy in your mouth.

There's a lot of oil down there.

And I find the crab meat just mashed up completely.

I'm pushing myself quite hard today. My legs are a little shaky today.

Hopefully I'll cope OK, as long as I haven't bitten off more than I can chew.

-Kirsty.

-Yep.

-How is today? Is it tough?

It's exciting, it's tough, I'm better now I've started.

I was very nervous. My legs were going.

What are you cooking to secure your place in the competition?

Wild mushroom soup with fresh chicken stock, which is my mother's recipe

which we've cooked for many years. And wholemeal bread to go with it.

And then I'm cooking a gentle spice pork dish.

-And then for pudding I'm making ice cream with rhubarb crumble.

-You don't have time to do all this.

-If I work it well and I work it properly, I will.

-Hm.

-You're actually making chicken stock from scratch...

-Yes.

-..in an hour?

-Yes.

I actually think I can make chicken stock in an hour.

Look, I'll tell you what, it sounds fantastic.

The question for us, of course, is are you going to pull it off?

That is a question for me. I worried about it all night. I'm determined to give it a go.

-I think you have fallen in love completely with this competition.

-I have.

-It's terrible.

-You have, haven't you?

-Yes! How did that happen?

I'm a little bit concerned about the amount of work that Kirsty's got on that bench.

If Kirsty does this, I will be hugely impressed.

Ruth is a historian and she draws on the history of food

to be able to give her inspiration. Her food is really, really exciting.

I find it really intriguing that you can cook something like that, which I have never seen before in my life.

-I really like it.

-Phew!

It's a bit like stewed apple meets cheesecake and it's very, very nice indeed.

Never had it before but I truly, absolutely, wholeheartedly love it.

She also loves great big flavours.

But those big flavours often clash.

This accompaniment is sweet, it's going pickley and there's almonds in there. It's not at all pleasant.

Once you start to take a piece of meat

and you put it with a piece of fruit, you are in dangerous territory. The plum sauce scares me.

'And under pressure, Ruth can get flustered.'

-Cream your butter and sugar first.

-RUTH GASPS

You've got serious MasterChef ambitions

-and yet we're failing to boil an egg.

-I'm really cross with myself for that.

These are three favourite dishes of mine. I really like them.

They do all have historical precedent. I can't help myself.

At this stage, I'm feeling reasonably confident that I can cook those dishes quite well.

What they'll think of them is another matter.

When you last tasted a dish I made, you were both a bit worried that my tastes were a bit extreme,

so I've tried to choose things that are a little bit more mainstream.

I'm making liver toasts from the 16th century.

The main meal is an escalope, but the old word is allo,

so they're sort of a beef allo stuffed with currants and capers and egg.

There's quite a lot of flavour in there.

But I think that they'll temper nicely.

I think you'll find them a little bit more...subtle.

And then a figgy pudding for afters and I do love this figgy pudding.

-What's at stake here for you today, Ruth?

-Oh, loads. I feel I haven't done myself justice so far.

I've made so many mistakes at different points, silly things, just stupid things to make mistakes on.

So I feel that this is a moment to shine a bit better.

-Today is about nailing it, yeah?

-Today is about nailing it.

It's food which is extremely interesting and people will either love it or they will not like it.

I think she handles flavourings and spices with big, heavy boots on.

Today let's see if she's got a lighter touch.

'First to face the critics is Phil.'

Seven minutes. Seven minutes and the first courses go out.

-Phil, up to pace?

-No.

-Behind?

-Yep.

Mackerel tartare. Ooh, that sounds interesting.

Let's hope he gets a balance with the oils and puts sharpness in there, perhaps the dressing.

I'm interested to see how this rugby player treats his mackerel tartare.

Phil, this is really good-looking food, mate.

Well done. Brilliant. That looks brilliant. Give them a smile. Brilliant.

Well done.

-There you go.

-Thank you.

Hope you enjoy it and I look forward to seeing you a bit later. Thank you.

'Phil's starter is mackerel tartare topped with pea shoots and avocado

'and served with harissa oil and melba toasts.'

Well, I'm really surprised by the look of this.

Maybe just rugby player, massive bloke, I wasn't expecting something as good as this.

I think it's just lovely. It's really fresh flavours, almost like sitting at the seaside.

I can't find anything I don't like about this dish.

I just want to eat the whole plate full.

Excellent starter for us WI ladies.

It's really light, it's really refreshing, it's got a little bite of onion, a little heat of chilli.

-I like it.

-Very good.

-Good. You should be pleased. You've got 15 for the mains. You all right?

-Yep.

-Good.

Well, it's very clear that Phil likes protein. Fondant potato,

roasted onion, sounds pretty classic, sounds good to me.

The biggest mistake Phil could make is overcooking his beef.

Literally, for me, I want it to be just plopped in the pan, nice and rare.

Come on, you have to move. You've got a minute and a half. Don't burn yourself.

Right.

Whoa.

Good.

-Done?

-Happy? Looks fantastic.

-Go on.

-Well done.

I don't know who's more tense, me or him.

Hi, ladies.

Thank you.

-That's just beautiful.

-There's a little bit of protein on this, isn't there?

-Don't feel that you have to finish the plate.

-THEY LAUGH

-You'll finish it.

-I'm rather a large fella, so I do enjoy my meat.

'Phil's main course is Hertfordshire fillet of beef served with spinach leaves,

'fondant potato and onion

'with a bay leaf and thyme reduction and horseradish cream.'

-Oh, wow.

-Hunk of beef, hunk of man.

Mm! Mm!

This meat is delicious. Delicious.

The potato, fluffy inside, beautifully cooked.

And the lovely subtle flavour of the jus with the meat is delicious!

I love this. It's a superb main course.

Scrummy.

Whoa! Lovely.

I love the flavours, I love the way he's cooked his food.

-I'm really, really impressed.

-This is a job very well done.

Five minutes for your next course, please.

Yummy lemon drizzle cake with thyme Chantilly cream. Sounds really good to me.

Let's hope he doesn't over-flavour the cream, because to me,

thyme should be a very delicate flavour.

What I'm looking for is that the lemon drizzle,

the flavour has gone right the way through the whole cake.

-Right, done?

-Yeah.

Here is your cake.

It looks really nice.

'For dessert, Phil has made lemon drizzle cake

'served with thyme-infused Chantilly cream and berries.'

It's very light and it does look pretty. I do want to eat this.

The very top of the cake has got lots of lemon in it, but it doesn't work right through.

-He needed to put a bit more syrup through it for me.

-The cream is delicious.

Just that hint of thyme through the Chantilly, it's lovely.

I'm really enjoying this.

Mm! Mm! Mm! Scrummy! Great!

I love the flavours. I think it's a really good dish.

-I like the presentation.

-His sponge is glorious.

I really enjoyed the experience and just serving up the last plate of the dessert,

I just couldn't stop smiling because it's kind of, you know you've got to the end

and you know you've produced the food on time. So I'm really pleased.

I've put my heart and soul into today so I'm a happy man and let's hope John and Gregg

are happy with it and I can stay in this competition, because that's what I want.

15 your first course, please, Kirsty.

So wild mushroom soup. I think that will be really good providing she gets her stock A1.

Irish soda bread can be so heavy if it's wrong,

-so let's hope she hasn't got a heavy hand.

-Lightness of touch is what we're looking for.

-You've got time to check your seasoning.

-Yes, I have.

-Time for those little extra touches.

You happy? Checked your seasoning?

-I put more salt in.

-Good.

Ooh, that smells good!

Brilliant. Come on, come on, come on.

-All right?

-I'm off.

-Good luck, mate.

-Thank you.

Thank you very much.

-There we are.

-Lovely. Thank you.

'Kirsty's starter is wild mushroom soup

'drizzled with truffle oil and served with homemade soda bread and salted butter.'

I think this is very brown. Just a brown plate, really.

I think the presentation could've been improved.

I think the bread is beautiful. It's lovely. It's got a nice crust on it.

It's really light. And with the butter on it, very delicious.

This, for me, is very disappointing. Totally lacking in any seasoning

and when I actually came to taste it, it's bland.

I don't like the texture. It's a bit like frogspawn, I'm afraid.

I really don't like that texture. It's all slimy.

That bread is fantastic. Really like it.

You've got to push. Five minutes now.

Pork with spices, that sounds really delicious, actually.

And the wild garlic leaves, I pick those in my friend's wood,

so I really like using those now.

The only thing that I'm a little concerned about is sesame,

because sometimes, if you put too much sesame oil or too many sesame seeds it can really overpower a dish.

Yes!

Let's go. Let's give it to them.

Well done!

-Brilliant.

-Well done.

'Kirsty's main course is fillet of pork with a gently-spiced sauce,

'brown rice with wild garlic leaves, and sesame-infused pak choi.'

The best thing for me on this plate is the brown rice.

I like the touch of wild garlic leaves through, seasoned nicely.

The sesame is just so overpowering.

She seemed to have an almost heavy hand with it.

There are some really nice elements in it, and I do like her light touch with the spices with the pork.

Lot of work there. Well seasoned. Interesting flavours.

I love the idea of those spices running through it.

OK.

-You good?

-I'm good.

-Right. All set for your crumble and ice cream?

All right?

Rhubarb crumble with orange ice cream on rhubarb. Yum-yum!

One of my favourite puddings. But, again, too heavy a hand with rubbing in,

and it can go to a real thick, claggy mess, which we don't want.

Nice little individual crumbles. Good touch.

-Great. What else has got to go on there?

-Nothing.

-Brilliant. Looks lovely.

'Kirsty's dessert is champagne rhubarb crumble

'and Seville orange ice cream.'

The ice cream just tastes of cream. There's no flavour coming through this cream at all.

But ten out of ten for cooking this rhubarb beautifully.

The rhubarb is pink champagne rhubarb and it's beautifully flavoured.

When the cream with a bit of sweetness coats the rhubarb

and the crumble, I find the whole thing a delight.

It's like having a rhubarb cheesecake.

-You are so clever. That's exactly what I can taste, a rhubarb cheesecake.

-Mm.

Overall I'm happy, but totally exhausted.

Totally exhausted.

If I haven't done enough, I'm not sure what else I could have done.

I just think I probably, at this stage in the competition,

I pushed myself as hard as I could go.

So let's hope. I hope for the best.

-15 minutes for your first course.

-Thank you.

-Are you a little bit behind?

-Er, yeah, I am slightly.

-Will you make the time up?

-Yes.

Savoury toast. Well, they could have fish, could be cheese, could be like a Welsh rarebit.

It will be interesting to see the choice that she actually puts on the savoury toast.

Did they not do that as starters in the 18th century?

I think it goes as far back as that in food history.

You got two minutes, Ruth, and those starters have got to go.

-We going to be out on time?

-Might be a bit close, but I think we will.

-Right, happy?

-Yep.

-Ready? Let's go! Let's go. Well done.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Savoury toasts.

-Thank you.

'Ruth's starter is a 16th century recipe of savoury toasts,

'lamb's liver sauteed in fennel and served on toast.'

The smell is very good, but the presentation, no. It's not great.

The lamb's liver is very dry.

And the toast, it's just impossible.

The fennel is just so overpowering, which is such a shame.

This dish does nothing for me. No. Sorry. It's just...

For my palate, it's lovely. I like the strength of the dish.

It's whether the ladies in the WI actually like it or not, because it is big, bold and brash.

Now you've got 15 minutes for your main.

Alloes of beef. Do you think they're going to be thin slices of beef? I've never heard of alloes.

Perhaps they maybe come rolled. Rather like we know beef olives today. That could be perhaps it.

-Ruth, you've only got about five minutes.

-Yeah. I'm a bit behind.

-Your beef is just going on now.

-Yes.

-Honestly, how long will it take to cook that beef?

-It's going to be a good ten minutes, it really is.

So ten minutes before it's ready to be put on a plate. So we're going to be about 12 minutes late.

-Yeah.

-Get your beef on, mate.

-I'll go in and tell them now, shall I?

-OK, go and tell them. Go and tell them you're going to be late.

Excuse me, ladies. I'm terribly sorry, I'm running about seven minutes late on the beef.

I'd rather it was done properly, if you don't mind waiting, if that's all right.

-How long are you going to be now, Ruth?

-Three minutes, something along those lines.

-Somewhere along the lines of three minutes.

-Yeah.

-You're six minutes over at the moment, Ruth.

-Right-oh, thank you.

Oh, come on, come on, come on. Nearly there.

-You done?

-Yeah.

'Ruth's main is a 17th century recipe

'of alloes of beef stuffed with egg, capers and currants,

'and served with sauteed potatoes and broccoli spears.'

I like the flavour of the outside of the potato. It's actually quite sweet.

The meat, for me, is very tough.

It just tastes like tough shoe leather.

Taste the stuffing. It's all fighting against each other.

It's just almost a confusion of flavours.

I think there's a reason why this sort of food died out.

Interesting-looking dish. Interesting.

Crikey! I think, for the modern person,

the meat is a bit chewy and the stuffing inside is a bit unusual.

If they really did eat food like that 500 years ago,

they'd probably welcome the black death.

Right! Pud, Ruth!

Those puddings, how long have they been in for?

They've been in for one hour. So hopefully, they should be perfect.

-Please don't say "hopefully" at this stage.

-I can't help it. I've always got my fingers crossed.

Figgy pudding, to me, comes back to the 1800s, 1900s,

where they would have had these really heavy puddings,

so I'm hoping that that's going to be a lovely light pudding.

-Right, Ruth, what have we got to go? Can we go?

-Yep. I'm just going to plate it up.

I like that.

Well done! You caught up a bit of time there, as well.

'For her dessert, Ruth has used a 17th century recipe

'to make figgy pudding with a fig sauce and cream.'

-This presentation looks very nice.

-It really does smell wonderful.

It's very nice. Very light.

The figgy pudding is really flavoursome. And that syrup, it's beautiful.

Altogether, it's a really delicious pudding. This works really, really well.

The flavours are wonderful.

The fig is deep, not too sweet, there's booze in there, as well.

I find that very, very nice indeed.

I'm very pleased with the pudding.

I never know whether I'm going to impress or not.

I find it nigh impossible to second guess what other people's opinion of my food is.

So I just have to wait and see.

These three have pushed themselves very hard, but now, at the end of this week,

after a tough, hard week, they knew they had to turn it on where it counted.

Phil 'Raging Bull' Vickery. John, he scared me at one point.

He was so focused, I was scared to go near him.

He had a look on his face that I haven't seen since he ran out onto the turf at Twickenham.

-And he had three very, very good courses.

-The impressive thing for Phil was not just the actual cooking,

which was done really well, but the presentation of the dishes.

Mackerel tartare, wonderful, lovely, fresh, clean.

Steak, really well cooked, soft, on top of spinach with garlic. Big, meaty, lovely.

I still think cooking lemon drizzle cake for the WI was always going to be a challenge.

I think he smashed it. No timing issues. Three very good plates of food. John, he smashed it.

The feeling of adulation when it actually comes off,

it makes it all worthwhile and I feel...

..deep inside that I want to go that next level.

Phil has done enough in my mind to stay, stay in the competition.

-Phil goes through. Outstanding.

-Well, that now leaves us with a conversation between Kirsty and Ruth.

Kirsty got through an enormous amount of work. I didn't think she would.

Kirsty's first dish, her mushroom soup, I think the bread was brilliant,

it was a little bit slimy, a little bit slippery in texture,

I didn't fall in love with Kirsty's main. Pak choi, too watery,

too heavy with sesame seeds, I found it a little bit confusing.

I liked the crumble with the orange ice cream.

But only when I put them all together.

At the moment, I'm tired but reasonably happy.

Organisationally, I think I just about pulled it off.

And so I'd love to get through.

I'm sort of slightly confused by Kirsty today because I expected her to cook a little bit better.

Her presentation, she's got that down pat. And she finished absolutely on time.

But it was the detail of each dish which I thought was not quite right.

I still find Ruth fascinating, but I'm not sure that I always want to eat her food.

And that's the problem.

The livers on toast, erm, yeah, I liked it but I looked down at it and I thought,

"Whoa, this is a big meaty dish. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea."

The WI ladies really didn't like it.

The main course, I'm not quite sure.

Inside that roll of beef was egg,

currant and capers. It was pretty hard work.

It probably is authentic, I don't doubt her. But it's challenging for a modern palate.

-What about the figgy pudding?

-Liked the figgy pudding.

For me, that figgy pudding I thought was lovely.

With the cream on the side, really wonderful.

It was light, it was sweet and it was delicious. I really liked the pudding.

It's such a learning curve, and it is. It's like going on this intensive cookery course.

I would adore being able to carry on that sort of journey, that sort of learning.

I think, at times, she is so challenging, and I find that intriguing, really interesting,

but some things do work and some things don't quite work.

I think, for me, right now,

one of these ladies deserves to stay and be given another chance.

For us today, and for the ladies of the WI,

there was one person here who cooked exceptionally.

Phil, congratulations, you are straight through to the next round.

-Hey!

-Fantastic! Well done!

-Well done!

-Well done.

-Well done.

-That's good.

Ruth...and Kirsty.

It's been a really, really hard decision.

And I'm sorry...

..but Ruth, you're leaving us.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

It's never nice to be chucked off something, but I have enjoyed it.

SHE SINGS

It's been an enormous kaleidoscope of different sorts of experiences coming at me.

THEY LAUGH

And it has been fun, too. It has been fun.

Congratulations, you two. You are through to the next round.

-Well done you!

-Thank you very much.

-Exceptional cooking!

-Well done you.

It's done.

I'm delighted to be going through.

I put everything I had into that three course meal. And I'm delighted we're both still in the competition.

I mean, it's going to be great, it's going to be fantastic going through

and I think, "Goodness, what is the next challenge going to be?"

Really enjoyed today. Fantastic to be going through.

Suddenly the expectations of you are higher. So I've got to keep raising my game.

And I said my dream was to be here at the end,

listening to John and Gregg calling out the name of the winner.

So we have a long way to go, but I'm on the road.

-Exceptional cooking. Exceptional cooking.

-Well done you.

'Next week, Kirsty and Phil are back for the semi-finals,

'where they'll join Nick, Linda,

'Danny, Sharon, Aggie and Tim...

'..to battle it out for the coveted MasterChef crown.'

It's brutal. They live and die by one dish today.

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