Episode 26 Celebrity MasterChef

'16 celebrities have been battling to win the MasterChef crown.

'Now we're down to the final three.'

I don't like losing. I don't like coming second.

These celebrities have already reached the top of their profession.

But can they cut it in the kitchen?

I have to reach the standard of 150% and keep going up.

NEW SPEAKER I've got to concentrate

and put great food out.

Cooking doesn't get tougher than this.

'Nick, Kirsty and Phil are the Celebrity MasterChef finalists.

'They have given their all to get here.

'But only one of them can become MasterChef Champion.'

If anybody said I'd get in the final I'd say, "Don't be ridiculous!"

Now you're there, it's not good enough. You have to go all the way.

NICK: Being in the final three is just amazing.

It's taken a while to sink in. That is now it!

It's a great feeling, a right buzz.

PHIL: I'm probably the most stubborn person you would ever meet.

I refuse to give up

till the very end.

Kirsty, Nick and Phil are three exceptional finalists,

but who's got what it takes to lift the title?

Today, two tasks which are going to test their versatility.

We're going to understand

if their mind-set can change at the click of a finger.

I'm a little bit nervous but you want to be in it to win it,

and now I've got a chance to go on and go right to the end.

Consistency's not enough.

You really have to try something different and spectacular, special,

for the next few challenges.

I've just got to worry about how I get better,

be single-minded in my approach.

I don't want to come out of here just being a good cook.

I want to come out of here being MasterChef Champion.

You know, I want to win it.

You are our final three.

We know you're brilliant at dishes you've had a chance to practise.

We want to see how versatile you are.

In front of you, you have a chicken, the humble chicken.

Today, we would like you to create for us

two different dishes, along with these ingredients,

centred around that chicken.

We're going to give you ten minutes to collect your ingredients.

Think carefully.

-There is another tray, Kirsty.

-OK. It's not like Crackerjack?

NICK: There's enough ingredients to be getting on with.

Don't think too hard, Phil.

PHIL: Trying to think of two dishes.

It's tough for me.

You have one hour and 15 minutes.

Two absolutely stunning chicken dishes.

Ladies and gentlemen, let's cook.

Nick, he has worked really hard.

He huffs and he puffs but gets the job done.

I love it! It's a great dish.

Aromatic sauce with perfectly cooked lobster on top.

Stunning.

That is as close an attempt of traditional pie and mash I've seen.

Sometimes he gets himself into a bit of a fluster

and can't quite deliver his ideas.

-It needs more seasoning.

-Don't panic.

If Nick can just get hold of his nerve, he'll be brilliant.

I do worry about things a lot.

I'm most comfortable with stuff I've prepared.

I hate it when you do it for the first time.

That's when it goes wrong for me.

-What are you making for us?

-I'm doing a cream of chicken soup

and chicken and chips - or sauteed potatoes.

-Does it scare you, the chicken?

-Yeah. We're out of our comfort zone.

It's petrifying every time you come in here. It keeps you up at night.

-What expectations do you think we have?

-Quite high, I would imagine.

-What makes these two dishes special?

-Er... I don't really know.

LAUGHS They're just nice comfort foods.

-What's happened to you? You've never been this nervous.

-I don't know.

Just falling apart!

Oh, mate, I want to give you a big cuddle.

Not a cuddle, as such, but you know! Maybe a comforting pat on the back!

-Nick. Good luck, mate.

-Thank you.

Nick, cream of chicken soup, chicken and bacon. Great dishes.

-Classic concepts.

-Nick needs to hold his nerve.

He needs to add little touches to those dishes to make them special.

You've had 20 minutes.

20 minutes have gone.

Kirsty, she's a good cook, John, all-round very good performer.

-I think that looks lovely.

-Thank you.

It's like the filling of some dream bacon and egg pie.

Really first class work, Kirsty.

Thank you.

'But at times, she can play it too safe.'

With all the other people, the work they've put in, we have got a bowl of pasta.

Not quite what you expect from this stage in this competition.

Kirsty needs to take her food up just one more level.

For years, I've stuck in my comfort zone.

What this series has done is take me right out my comfort zone.

And I'll not go back to it, with a bit of luck.

Kirsty, you're not in black. You're always in black.

I'm celebrating a new season of MasterChef, being in the final.

Kirsty, did you ever dream that you'd make it to the final three?

Not in a moment!

I was taking part because I love cooking.

I never thought that I would actually get to this stage.

-What are you cooking for us?

-Chicken fricassee with white wine and cream.

And in the oven, paprika spiced chilli chicken, roast potatoes

and roasted pinenut stuffing meatballs to go on the side.

-Both these dishes are going to be difficult to assemble smartly on a plate.

-I've got plans.

-You haven't, have you?

-I've got rings.

-Are you creating as you go?

-Yes. Yes.

Kirsty Wark, MasterChef Champion. Was that a headline you thought you'd read?

It's still not a headline I think I'm going to read.

But I want to go for it.

Kirsty seems to be making dishes up as she goes along.

She seems to be winging it a bit.

She's doing a chicken fricassee, something from the 1970s,

chicken in a pot with cream boiled together.

It'd better taste good because it doesn't sound very nice.

Phil, we think the guy has a natural cooking ability.

That lamb is as soft a piece of lamb as I've ever eaten.

That pea puree with the chilli, it's really clever.

It is inspired. I think that is great.

He hasn't overdone it. It's nicely seasoned. What's not to like?

He has now defined his style.

It's robust in its flavour, but now it's becoming elegant.

I never expected something as pretty, as dainty and as tasty

-as a dish like that from you, ever. Good on you!

-Thank you.

Can he keep up that momentum?

When you've got a match to play,

you're focused on what your job is for that team to function.

I haven't got a team here. It's me. Food.

Got to make it work.

Phil, what are you cooking for us?

I'm going to do some chicken, put some bacon around it with some veg.

Proper grub.

Then I'm going to attempt to make a chicken curry, of a sort.

-How do you feel about the competition?

-It's stressful. It's hard.

Hopefully, I'll look back with great memories, which I already have.

But you've got to be pushed or else you stay in your comfort zone.

I want to leave this programme saying, "How on Earth did I manage that?"

-OK, Phil. Good luck.

-Thank you.

Five minutes to go.

Last 60 seconds.

Time's up. Stop.

'Kirsty has made a chicken fricassee with mushroom cream sauce

'served on a bed of rice.'

I do feel transported back to 1970s.

And it is that classic rice ring with stew on top.

I like the definition of flavours.

You have smokey mushrooms

with the sweetness of that cream, lots of garlic.

The whole thing needs a lot more sauce on the rice.

Chicken's going a little dry.

I like the sauce, I just find it a little homely.

'Kirsty's second dish is paprika chilli chicken

'on a bed of roasted potatoes, onion and pomegranate

'accompanied by pinenut, date and carrot meatballs.'

It's just a bit messy.

There are interesting flavours in there and they're pretty pleasant.

There's paprika heat.

There's a sweetness that must be coming from those pomegranates,

which I'm absolutely fine with.

There's also quite a bit of heat in these meatballs.

Interesting flavour combinations and relatively successful.

Although the dish is dry. It needs a sauce to make it one whole dish.

Your chicken's cooked really well.

I don't mind your little inventive meatballs, but this IS an inventive dish

and that will never come out perfect the first time you cook it.

There are lovely signs that you're starting to think very differently

than you've ever thought in the competition.

Disappointed that it wasn't perfect.

Overall, I tried to do something different,

so I'm pleased about that.

'Phil has served a chicken, pepper and tomato curry with rice.'

Everything in there is cooked really well.

The chicken is moist cos you've used thigh meat, soft sweet peppers

and the rich tomato.

I want to love it. It's not bad.

-I would just, you know, like a bit more spice in it.

-Yeah.

Hm.

There isn't an array of ingredients in there

to make a great curry - but it's not bad.

Not bad at all.

'Phil's second dish is chicken breast wrapped in bacon

'with potatoes, carrots and peppers, served with a red wine reduction.'

You're trying to pare it down that bit too much.

-It makes it look a bit sparse.

-Yeah.

The chicken breast is just starting to dry out a little bit.

I like the rich red wine sauce and I love the rosemary in the background.

Great flavour combination.

I like it. I'd just like it to be a bit bigger and generous.

The sweetness with peppers and carrots, a hint of rosemary

and strength of the wine is good - not bad.

Not bad.

I was really pleased with my dishes.

Two different dishes, different skills.

I appreciate what they said. I've got to learn from it.

'Nick's first dish is cream of chicken soup.'

Never puree cooked chicken.

Because it's fibrous.

That's what's floating in your soup and it's starting to split.

What you have in there is the taste of cooked chicken,

which has been pureed, with lemon thyme.

Maybe some onions and leeks,

and it's all coming together to become a sort of soupy thing,

but the texture's wrong because of that fibrous chicken.

I'm pleased that you attempted it. You'll learn from it very quickly.

You cannot puree cooked chicken. Well, you can for babies.

It's a strange texture, Nick.

No, I don't like it.

It's creamy and it's watery

and there's a taste I can't quite discern, which is almost soapy.

But slightly lemony. I'm really sorry.

I love a lot of your food but I don't like that at all.

'Nick has also made breast of chicken

'with mushroom and pinenut sauce and parmentier potatoes.'

Now we're on safer ground.

You're cooking something you know how to cook. Good.

Good crispy potatoes.

Very nice sauce - mushrooms, cream.

Chicken's still moist. Salty bacon, crispy. This, I like.

Your chicken wrapped inside your bacon is lovely and moist.

I really like the potatoes with rosemary and garlic.

I like the mushroom sauce and chalky pinenuts. It's a good dish.

It is frustrating to be making mistakes at this stage.

You don't want to start going backwards.

You want to get to a level and keep going up and up, not go back down.

Lessons that you need to learn, and you need to learn them fast

if you're going to cope with what's coming next. Off you go.

I thought today would be tough for them because it's their first round as finalists.

NICK: Oh, dear. It doesn't get any easier, does it, the old pressure?

They got a little bit keyed-up.

I think the natural flow and rhythm they cook in went missing.

Nick started in a real flap, and we know what happens when he does that.

He goes to pot, and today, that soup, pureed chicken meat!

In a very, very dull liquid.

That was not good at all. I've never seen anything like it.

But when he was cooking stuff he knew,

the chicken breast with the bacon was lovely, very good.

Not my finest hour, no, today.

I think this competition deserves a lot better. Hopefully, I can do it.

Interesting invention from Kirsty.

Chicken and cream and mushroom is a lovely thing,

but on a bed of rice, it is very retro.

The other dish, the chicken, potatoes, pomegranate and chilli,

it would have been lovely with couscous instead of potatoes.

Then great big heavy meatballs, and it needed something wet.

In this test, I took a step back on my presentation.

I think my presentation has improved a lot.

It went backwards today. I have to up that game.

We feel Phil has got a natural ability.

Today, his food tasted good but it was a bit confused.

The curry with rice was a good idea,

but if you don't have the ingredients you can't cook it.

His main course I think did get lost

somewhere between a restaurant style dish and home cooking.

A nice sauce he made but his chicken breast was going dry.

He has a style which is robust yet elegant, but he tried to pare it down a bit too much.

Can we never make them happy?

I don't think they'll EVER be happy!

It was always going to be tough.

I don't think anybody came out with flying colours.

They are going to have to dig deep cos we need a step up from this.

As long as they've learned from this they'll be all right.

The next task is going to be harrowing.

'It's day two.

'With everything to prove, the finalists travel to their next challenge.'

Goblin Events. That means it's a circus.

KIRSTY Please not let it be outside. I haven't got the right shoes.

Good morning. You are on the set of the BAFTA winning television series Spooks.

There are 75 crew and actors here today.

You are responsible for their lunch.

These are very busy people on a tight schedule.

When that director calls "cut", they need their lunch ready.

There will be no hanging around.

You guys have to work cleverly and cleanly.

You have a confined space. You've got a huge amount of work to do.

Good luck.

'The finalists have just three hours to prepare lunch

'in the challenging confines of a mobile catering truck.'

They've got to deliver on time.

They've got to deliver food which we're proud of and they're proud of.

You are the biggest person. We've got less space.

Being captain, we should move around you.

As much as we want to experiment and do great things,

it's about having enough meals, keeping it simple, tasty.

And warm, it's not a good day. Shall we look at the larder?

'The celebrities must now come up with a menu which includes

'three main dishes, three sides and two desserts.'

I can do caramelised pineapples.

NICK: Got bananas. KIRSTY: Banana cake?

Oh, look!

KIRSTY: Belly of pork. Brilliant.

PHIL: Belly of pork has got to go in right now.

-What have you found to cook?

-Belly of pork.

-Fantastic.

Remember to dry the skins. Get it in straightaway.

We're 9.30 now. It needs a minimum of three hours.

-What else?

-KIRSTY: Cod in white sauce.

I don't want to do the cod early.

-Vegetarian?

-What I thought we could do is a north African curry?

-Yeah.

-With couscous.

-Yeah.

-For pudding, I thought I'd do caramelised pineapple rings.

-You can.

-What about banana bread?

-You can do that.

I'm going to let you get on with it. But get these pork bellies in.

Lunch is at 12.30.

'In just three hours, the Spooks crew will break for lunch.'

He must be heading to the west side. That's his only way out.

'Currently filming its tenth series,

'today is the last of three long days on location.'

You've got a crew working six, seven hours and they expect something really, really nice.

If they haven't got anything nice on their plate they won't be happy.

It's a very important part of the day for them.

'The first task is to get the three slabs of pork belly

'ready for roasting.'

We've got to get these on cos these take three hours.

'With time against them, Kirsty prepares an onion, tarragon and thyme bed.

'While Phil and Nick score and salt the skin to create the crackling.'

Get these in the oven - quick.

Are they all going to go in there?

Means we've got no oven space for anything else.

There's no oven space for anything. Is that right?

Is there no way of getting three in that one?

Have to get two on one tray? Right. OK.

Grab that out of there.

There we go.

'The pork belly's on. Now the rest of the workload has to be divided.'

Nicholas. Yes, boss. What are we up to?

What do we need to do to get out of the way?

Get my curry on. We need to do loads of potatoes.

These need to be peeled, diced,

chucked in the oven to roast before I put them in the curry.

PHIL: Kirst, how much do you want this cut up?

KIRSTY: Like that.

Chuck them in olive oil and in a hot oven to caramelise.

'As Phil cubes the squash for the veggie curry,

'Kirsty takes charge dry-roasting the spices.'

KIRSTY CHOKES DRAMATICALLY

Had a bit of turmeric down my neck! GREGG CHOKES

What have you got in there? Is that stuff all right?

NICK CHOKES

KIRSTY LAUGHS

Is he all right?

Mayday!

'On set, filming is running to schedule.

'With almost half the cooking time gone, the celebrities are behind.

'They've only started their pork and vegetable curry dishes.'

KIRSTY: Tell me if it's too hot.

Too hot?

No. You can always add more. It's much better to add.

'With the curry simmering,

'Phil and Nick start on the mountain of carrots and potatoes needed to accompany the mains.'

I've done a lot of location work in my life.

I know what the food's like on these things.

We've got a decent enough menu. Hopefully, the crew will like it.

I'm on the old spud duty. It's quite therapeutic.

They're all a little bit calm. I don't think they realise how much work they've got to do.

Kirst, just check these potatoes, babe.

Oh, it needs to come right up. To the top? Right, darling.

If they've got a battle plan, you can't see it.

It's in somebody's head, hopefully.

I would like to see Phil, if he's in charge, or Kirsty, if she's in charge,

make a list and tick it off as they go.

'There's an hour and a quarter until service.

'Kirsty takes charge of the desserts.

'Her first job is to caramelise the pineapple.'

This is going to caramelise up.

Come on, boys and girls, brown!

Shall I start the banana bread?

I'm just conscious of the bread, the oven's slow.

That bread needs to be... ..in there. Right. Banana bread.

I make a lot of banana bread but not for 75 people!

Whisk. I need a whisk.

There you go. Calm down.

Let's be calm. This is not a whisk.

When you get a minute, Nick, could you melt four packs of butter?

Sitting on the cooker will do it.

Four packs?

'Nick's prepped all the potatoes and is finally free

'to help Kirsty with the puddings.'

They can come off now, actually.

Shall we chuck it up here, Nick?

Kirsty decided Phil was in charge.

Nobody's in charge except for Kirsty barking orders at the boys.

I want lovely chocolate chips. < Right.

Think of it as being John and Gregg's head.

KIRSTY LAUGHS

It's quite good, this!

PHIL: Being captain of anything, in my experience,

doesn't mean anything, just that you've got responsibility and when it goes wrong you're blamed.

Say when.

-How long is that going to take to cook?

-An hour.

-Have you got an hour?

-Yes.

'The banana bread in the oven...'

Put it on there and I'll get it ready.

'..Nick prepares tomato and fennel bake...

'..while Kirsty portions out the cod for grilling.'

I'm doing slightly different portion sizes.

We might have some gaffers. We might have some very tiny, thin,

beautiful actresses that don't want big wads of cod.

I'm doing a bit of portion control.

-How long have you been stuck with a mountain of carrots?

-I don't know.

-Don't clock watch.

-You don't know how long you've been doing carrots.

-Which dish is causing you concern?

-No dish. I'm happy with everything.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-So, in half an hour's time I'll ask you this again.

-How are you going to feel if it's not OK?

-It'll be fine.

'There's just 40 minutes until service.'

We're not going to have sauce. I can make sauce quickly.

We need to do it now, then.

Two and a half hours in and our three are realising the enormity of the task.

NICK: Is this enough for you?

NICK: We need that gravy as well.

They have still got a load to do and lunch is just around the corner.

That looks so lovely.

The banana cake's not ready yet. There's custard to make.

The pork's got to be boned. They've got to make a sauce.

There is a huge amount of work to do.

This is where it's going to show how good our three really are.

-Is that the only one you've got?

-No.

-I'd put that back in for 15 minutes.

Chris!

I can't find anything, that's the problem.

I think now they're panicking slightly.

-NICK: Chris!

-Bear with me. They're calling. Yeah?

NICK: Where are these plates, then? KIRSTY: I can't deal with that now.

-The plates are to the left.

-The little ones?

-Nine-inch plates.

I think it's panic stations, really.

They want another rehearsal for camera. OK.

Quiet, please.

Action. >

'On set, they're filming the final scene.'

We get our hour for lunch.

If the food isn't ready to go, there's a lot of angry faces.

They'll let them know if the food isn't up to scratch.

Let me check my banana bread. I'm terrified it's not ready.

No. That's wet in the middle.

'With moments until service, the banana bread will have to cook while the main course is served.'

Scene complete. That's lunch.

They have just called lunch. They'll be here in three minutes.

No more time left.

One curry. One pork. Two curries, one pork, please.

'For main course, there is a choice of roast pork,

'cod in parsley sauce or vegetable curry with couscous.

'The side dishes are mash, new potatoes,

'carrots and a tomato and fennel bake.'

What would you like? Pork, pork.

< Four pork bellies coming.

It's a little bit tough, the belly pork, but not too bad.

It's absolutely delicious.

This is one of the nicest meals I've had on this job.

The sauce across the pork, the fennel and the tomatoes are lovely.

The pork itself is a little bit chewy, a little bit under-done.

A little bit of sweetness in there. Nicely seasoned. I like that.

What do you want? The curry, please, with mash.

Just a cod with mashed potato?

I'm enjoying it now. I like service. It's the stress before I don't like.

Cod, mash and carrots, please. One cod, mash and carrots.

There you go, darling.

A lovely piece of fish. I could have done with a bigger piece.

That's my only complaint, but there was a rush on the cod.

The cod's lovely but the fennel is a bit tough.

The other bits were really lovely.

Max was going to have the pork belly but Max can't have the pork belly

because he's got to get his kit off in the next episode.

He's on a strictly high-protein diet from now on.

The carrots and the cod are good but they all need more seasoning.

That parsley sauce should be rich with herbs, but it's not.

It's floury and milky and doesn't have any real background taste.

The mashed potato,

I'm getting more lumps with every mouthful. There's lumps in it.

'While the pork belly and cod prove most popular,

'orders are also picking up for the vegetable curry.'

The curry's delicious.

About up to standard, yeah. It's pretty good.

Mm, the curry is sweet and spicy. There's real warmth there.

Flavours are good, just a little bit over-cooked.

What are you having? Are we getting a dessert? > Give us five minutes.

Anyone else for main course?

'With the mains finished, the crew line up for the pudding.'

NICK STRAINS

Ow! Ow! Ow! That might just be ready!

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

It's not ready in the middle. Take it from the sides.

It's not even on the edges, babe.

I'm sorry, guys.

NICK: It's fine at the top.

Mm!

'With only some of the banana bread cooked, they serve what's edible.'

Chocolate chip banana bread. >

What would you like?

Chocolate banana cake. Custard? Yes, please.

Lovely.

Pineapple?

Just what you need on a chilly day like today.

Great. There's not much left.

A bit of spice, a crusty top

and it's heavy with good flavour of banana.

The chocolate chips make it very sweet, the custard making it hot.

Actually, not a bad pudding.

'Also for pudding, there's the option

'of caramelised pineapple with yoghurt.'

Would you like yoghurt with it? Yes, please.

I think it's a really nice idea.

It's refreshing after all that very heavy rich food.

Well done.

You know what? We didn't have a cross word!

There were times when I didn't think they'd get it done but they did.

They fed 75 people. Good work.

It wasn't the finest food we've seen in MasterChef, but not a bad job.

The pork belly could have done with a little bit more time in the oven

so it was really soft and lovely.

The mashed potato could have done without the lumps!

The parsley sauce and cod could have done with more seasoning.

That banana pudding was in danger

of becoming a complete disaster, but they did save it.

Kirsty was in charge. She stood in front, like the point of the arrow,

and made sure the boys behind her did what she told them to do.

And those boys truly grafted.

That was full-on today. Three and a half hours of intense activity.

We wanted to get that food out on time. Then serving it all up.

I'm absolutely up for it.

I think we're probably all neck-and-neck.

I just hope it's a photo finish.

It's been a fantastic experience.

If anything, probably makes you want to do even better.

I want John and Gregg talking about me when they're thinking about

who could potentially win Celebrity MasterChef.

A lot of team work. I don't think team work's going to get me any further.

It's going to be about me now.

Obviously, I want to win. Everyone wants to win.

I'll be able to raise my game. No worries.

These three, they're sucking up every single thing we throw at them.

They're loving it, but we are looking for a champion.

They'll have to get stuck right in if they want to win.

When the pressure's on, these guys dig deep.

They're three very talented cooks. That should give them a lift.

They're going to need it because they've got tough stuff coming up.

'Tomorrow, the fight to become MasterChef Champion intensifies...'

-Back to four minutes.

-We're on fire!

'..as Kirsty, Phil and Nick face their toughest challenge yet.'

Season! Season!

Hectic. Crazy.

This is the last pork. Make sure it's perfection.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]