Episode 5 Celebrity MasterChef

16 celebrities are battling it out

to win the coveted MasterChef crown.

If you don't impress today you're on your bike.

These celebrities have reached the top of their profession.

But can they cut it in the kitchen?

I would love to go through, of course I would.

It just sucks you in. The pressure is on today.

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 enjoying it so much.

We know what's on the line. We've got to get our heads down and cook.

I just think about food all the time.

I've not had a normal dream

since I started this show. It's crazy.

It would be such an achievement

to get to the semi-finals! Me?

I'm not even going to think about it.

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

This is it - the day of reckoning.

Do they have what it takes to continue on MasterChef?

Let's see what they've learnt. Let's see them deliver

three exceptional plates of food.

At the end of this only the strong will survive.

Ladies and gentlemen,

this has been a very big week.

Everything comes down to these three courses now.

Served up not just to John and I, but to three formidable cookery judges from the WI.

These ladies know their stuff.

This is your chance to secure your place in the competition.

Let's cook.

The contestants have just one hour and 45 minutes

to cook a three-course meal of their own design.

Today's three diners are all prominent cookery judges from the Women's Institute.

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

popularly known as the "Queen of Aga cooking".

Ruth Bond is the Chair of the WI and has been a member for over 30 years.

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

specialising in the baking of breads, cakes and biscuits.

These three ladies will take no prisoners at all.

They'll be brutally honest. They want to taste great food.

Throughout the competition entrepreneur Michelle has struggled.

Ooh!

-You're in safe hands. Don't worry.

-Oh!

Overcooked tomatoes, undercooked vegetables. It's not very good.

And at times has tried too hard to impress.

I don't want that many flavours with my scallop.

The cream in those potatoes is misplaced.

Don't try to be too ambitious.

But certain dishes have shown promise.

It looks like a dish that should come out of a restaurant.

I think it's delightful.

And have got her through the first elimination.

I feel like I'm waiting for an execution.

It's just so important that John and Gregg don't think I'm an idiot.

-Big day today.

-Yeah, very big.

-And how are you feeling?

Erm... I'm OK now I've started. I'm getting into my zone.

-Yeah.

-Michelle...

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

Scottish smoked salmon with tiger prawns in a seafood ragout

with cucumber - hot cucumber.

-OK. Main course?

-Scottish lamb, roasted parsnips,

potato fondant in a rosemary jus.

-And dessert?

-Chocolate fondant.

-Chocolate fondant?

-With Chantilly cream.

-Ooh!

-And a warm chocolate sauce.

Are you taking on more than you should have?

Yeah, massively. Yeah.

I did the chocolate fondant last night and it was awful.

I'm nervous for her for the chocolate fondant.

-90% of them fail here.

-If Michelle achieves her goal,

I tell you what, I'll be truly impressed.

Half an hour already gone.

So far, some of Linda's dishes have had strange combinations.

Never before in my life have I had

spaghetti, toast and mashed potato all together.

Neither have I!

It's like a smoked fish porridge.

-I don't think many people would order that.

-No, they wouldn't!

Really heavy, salty bacon with smoked salmon is ghastly.

-Really?

-Absolutely ghastly.

But in between the chaos there's been real skill.

-Dah-nah!

-Is that a good "dah-nah!"

There's no such thing as a bad "dah-nah"!

That is a very, very moreish, well-balanced pud.

I'm really pleased. Thank you.

I've learnt to believe in myself

and that food isn't a thing to be frightened of.

Tackle the things that might work, because nine times out of ten they probably will.

Just cook from your heart and go for it.

Linda, it's a big day. Pressure's on, but you've got a smile.

So far, so good, but it's early days yet.

Tell us your three courses today.

Linguine with mascarpone and mushrooms to start.

Then stuffed sardines with pine nuts and anchovies on mashed potato and carrots,

followed by a lemon posset and I'm doing some biscuits for the side.

-Linda, what's at stake today?

-Everything's at stake today.

It's all been a waste if I don't go through.

-Are you worried at all about the WI ladies?

-Yeah, of course.

I like to cook for my man and he likes his food.

But whether it's a ladies' kind of dish I don't know.

Have you done all you can do in this competition?

Oh, I want to do more. Of course I want to do more.

The further you get on, the more hungry you get for it,

especially the comments I got on the last task boosted me up.

-You're very confident.

-I'm not.

Inside I'm like jelly. Look at that.

-It normally shakes.

-It is shaking. That's shaking for me.

Linguine, mushrooms and mascarpone? OK.

Sardines on mashed potato and carrots? A bit weird.

But the dessert could be an absolute triumph.

The lemon posset with the berries and the biscuit.

If there was a set of people I'd not want to be making biscuits for,

it's the WI ladies.

Right from the start, Hollyoaks star Nick has shown great potential.

Crispy outside, soft on the inside. Your crab cakes are really good.

Your fish is absolutely perfectly cooked.

Brilliant.

But at times becomes flustered...

Damn!

..And makes silly mistakes.

It is like eating raw cake mix.

Bother!

It is a weird combination. For me, it doesn't quite work.

I've never sweated so much in all my life doing this programme.

I'd say I'm pushing myself as far as I can be pushed today.

I expect them to be shouting at me to get it out.

Nick, what a pace.

Honestly, do you work better at this pace?

I don't know. Running round like a headless chicken again.

I think I'm on course for the timings I set myself,

but I don't know, we'll see.

-What are your three courses?

-Herb-roasted scallops with a pea and lemon risotto.

And I'm doing rack of lamb with Chantenay carrots,

dauphinoise potatoes and a blackberry jus.

-And dessert?

-A vanilla panna cotta with balsamic strawberries.

Woah! Wee-oh!

The problem with the panna cotta is, what are you going to do if they haven't set?

-Well, just cry probably.

-Serve a puddle?

-Something like that.

-Silly mistakes in the last couple of rounds, Nick.

-Yeah.

If it goes wrong today how are you going to stop losing your head?

Let's just hope something don't go wrong.

I really love Nick's menu. I think it's great, but scallops on a risotto?

Everything's got to be cooked properly. We can't have crunchy rice and spongy scallops.

It's whether he can get that main course to work. Lamb and dauphinoise, really tricky.

First to face the critics is Michelle.

-Not long now to your first course. Where is your first course?

-Here.

-You've got 15 minutes.

-How long?

-15 until that ragout goes out.

That's fine.

So what do we think about Michelle's menu?

It sounds interesting but actually I'm not sure about that.

Smoked salmon hot is nice. It could add another dimension.

It sounds surprising. We need an element of surprise.

60 seconds, Michelle.

60 seconds!

You're on time. You're all right. Well done.

Well done.

Good.

She's still got a lot to do.

The parsnips are there. She's got 15 minutes to get those in.

-The lamb's in the oven. There's no spinach, no mushrooms, no sauce started.

-Ah!

The chocolate fondant is nowhere to be seen.

-And the starter's gone.

-Ah!

-Hello, guys.

-Hello.

Hello. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Michelle's starter is a ragout of tiger prawns,

smoked salmon and cucumber.

Presentation could have been done in a more dainty manner, I think.

It's all very, well, pinkish.

I think it's all overcooked. My tiger prawn's rubbery.

The salmon is a bit like the sole of my shoe.

It is very tough and the prawn is definitely chewy.

There's some really lovely ingredients here.

Cooked simply, quickly and cleanly they would have been delicious.

This dish just has no wow factor for me.

I like the smokiness of that salmon against the richness of the prawn.

Sweet tomato and the freshness of the cucumber.

I think it's really well flavoured.

I think the broth is a bit thin.

Do I eat it with a knife and a fork and a spoon?

-But I like the base flavour of it.

-I like the broth with the fish.

The broth on its own is too strong.

This is the first course. Can she get a main course and a dessert on a plate?

-What are you going to do?

-What do you mean?

-You have 15 minutes.

Your parsnips aren't done. Your sauce hasn't been started and you haven't started your fondant.

You've got to make a decision now. You've got 15 minutes to go.

-I don't think you can carry on regardless.

-Oh, man! Why is it going so wrong?

Roast rack of lamb is one of my favourite meats. From a menu, this is the one I'd choose.

This sounds like a REALLY good dish.

I love parsnips. They're one of my favourite vegetables.

I'll have them for anything. So we'll wait and see.

The only thing I've not got is my parsnips.

And I'm raging. I practised them till four o'clock this morning.

You should have practised till five.

You've got four minutes. Do you think you'll be on time?

-Yeah.

-What are you going to do about your chocolate fondant?

-I don't know.

-They should actually be out now.

-Oh, really?

-Really, yeah.

-OK.

I've lost it.

Push, push now.

Well, mate, finish the other two and let's go.

-Yeah? Done? Is that it? Good.

-Well done, you.

-Don't run!

Don't run with hot plates.

-Knock them dead.

-Straight back here to get your fondant done.

We have still got fondant in its little containers.

-That's the pudding, right?

-That's the pudding there.

Smile.

Thank you.

This is Scottish rack of lamb with potato fondant, rosemary jus

and my cranberries that have been soaked.

It's not perfect but...

Oh, dear!

-You can really smell those...

-The rosemary's really coming out, isn't it?

But I can't see any parsnips, can you?

No, and that's what we were looking forward to.

Unless they're hiding under a cutlet.

-What do we think the cranberries are soaked in?

-Well, let's have a try.

I don't think that these are cranberries.

I think that these are probably cherries.

The flavour of the meat is very good. The Scottish lamb is delicious.

What I'm concerned about is the fat on the meat.

It hasn't been rendered. It's almost raw, the fat.

The potato is not adequately cooked. It should be creamier.

John, she was very late taking this to the ladies.

There are splashes of sauce all over the plate.

And there aren't any parsnips on there.

Hey, fondant time, yeah?

I hate this mess!

Look at the mess.

At this stage,

Michelle doesn't have a hope of getting up her dessert on time.

Your dessert is supposed to be on that table in seven minutes.

I'm not going to do it.

-Soon as it's in the oven will you tell me?

-Do you know this brush?

-I've never met it before.

As soon as your fondants are in the oven

-you need to tell me, cos you're going to have to tell the ladies you're running late.

-OK, fine.

Chocolate fondant with chocolate sauce. Mm, yummy!

If it's done right, it will be good, but I would never choose to do something like that. It's risky.

It's all about timing. Chocolate fondants have to be timed to perfection.

If you don't have that wonderful, unctuous, gooey centre, it's just a sponge.

-Michelle.

-Yes.

-You're five minutes late on your desserts. They're not in the oven yet.

By the time you get them cooked, you're going to be 20 minutes late.

-The least you can do is tell the ladies you'll be 20 minutes late. OK?

-Yeah.

I'm so sorry. I'm going to be 20 minutes late.

-20?

-20, yeah.

-That's quite a lot of time to be late.

It is a lot of time. I'm sorry.

Can I just ask you - these are cranberries?

Erm... Cranberries?

No, they are my cherries.

Do you know what? They're my cherries from my dessert.

I'm sorry.

OK, you know what? Take a deep breath.

-If you were at home, you'd be pouring us champagne and we wouldn't notice a thing.

-Really?

You just feel for her. I just want to cuddle her.

I'm just so passionate about getting it right

and I'm so angry with myself.

I can't believe I'm crying. How pathetic. Over food?

I don't cry in the hardest board meetings. This is pathetic. It's taken over my life.

I need to do my dessert. OK?

Michelle, look.

-You're 25 minutes over. I need to know how long you're going to be.

-Not long.

-What's that mean? How long?

-Like five minutes.

-So you'll end up being half an hour late?

-I'm sorry.

All right.

All right! Happy?

You really have to go, Michelle, OK? Got to go now.

I'm more exhausted than she is.

Half an hour late.

It's chocolate fondant.

-Thank you.

-There you go. Sorry.

Michelle's dessert is warm chocolate fondant with chocolate sauce

and Chantilly cream.

This is what I've been looking forward to. It looks interesting.

That looks really good, yeah.

Well, mine was a proper fondant. It oozed beautifully.

It tastes delicious and the cream with it is just spot on, I think.

I think the flavour is excellent.

Yes, we did have to wait, but I think she's nailed it.

It tastes great, really good.

Chocolate, not too rich, not too sweet.

I like the cream. I like the way it tastes. Flowing with liquid chocolate.

I'm late and that's not good.

So I'm gutted.

You know, I couldn't have done any more in my planning.

But somehow I did take on too much.

-Linda.

-Yeah.

-11 minutes till your starter goes out.

-I know. I want to get these in the oven quick.

Cos they won't be ready for the main otherwise.

Wow! This is a bit of a menu, isn't it?

This is very different. A lot to get right on this menu.

She's going to have her work cut out, that's for sure.

-You've got five minutes till that starter goes out.

-OK.

It will be interesting to see if the linguine is homemade. I suspect it won't be.

She's got to get the texture of that pasta right from the start.

When it's good, it's very good.

Come on, come on! It's going cold the more you mess around with it.

-Cheese on top?

-Yeah.

-Is that the last bit?

-Yeah.

OK, mate. Got to go.

-Hello.

-Hello. Here you are, girls.

Thank you.

Linda's starter is linguine with mushrooms and mascarpone sauce.

-Well, this looks very interesting.

-It does, doesn't it?

It's not quite right, the linguine.

There isn't nearly enough seasoning in this.

It's pretty tough as well.

Presentation was good, there's no doubt about that.

But the lack of mushrooms doesn't add to it.

One, two, three little slivers of mushroom. I think that's really mean.

It's a bit bland and it's a bit stodgy.

The pasta's not cooked enough.

The sauce needs to be more liquid. The mushrooms are seasoned nicely. But it's all a bit gluggy.

Don't run!

Right! Give me that.

What we got? Quickly. List it. Tell me what we got?

-I've got to do the carrots.

-One minute. Tell me!

-What?

No, you're using up the time!

The sardines with the pine nuts and the anchovies.

-I feel it could be Mediterranean, but I'm not sure.

-How's she cooking them?

I like them barbecued! That's my favourite. If she's griddling them,

it would be interesting to see.

Let's get this main up. You've got two minutes to get it out.

Come on, Linda.

-What's got to go on the plate?

-Carrots... That's it.

-Great. Let's go. Well done.

-Well done.

-There you go.

-Thank you.

For her main, Linda has made fresh sardines

with pine nuts, raisins and anchovies on a bed of mash

with carrots.

I have to say this reminds me of my mum's portions.

It's not that delicate, is it?

The fish is beautifully cooked and the flavour of that filling. You can taste the anchovies.

The pine nuts give crunch to it

-and the whole texture blends together really well.

-Classic dish.

But HUGE! And bearing in mind we've had pasta to start with,

I mean, there's no way that one could finish this.

If it was just a smaller portion of potatoes,

we'd have been much more positive because the flavours are very good.

You've got Mediterranean sardines with pine nuts.

It's lovely. Then you've got buttery, smooth mash with carrots.

Those two shouldn't combine, BUT she's managed to make them work OK.

Everything on the plate is cooked very well. It's very homely. I feel like I'm at home.

-Linda, ready to go desserts. Let's go, please.

-OK.

'Posset is quite straightforward to make.'

But it can curdle quite quickly.

I've had that happen to me.

-I can't believe you curdled your posset!

-This is some time ago.

You need MY recipe for lemon posset because my lemon posset never curdles.

-Is it set?

-It looks like it is, yeah.

-Shall I go?

-Well, if you're ready.

-Yeah.

I'm a little slower with this one. Oh!

It's a long way!

-Thank you.

-Oh, that looks pretty.

Linda's dessert is a lemon posset with fresh berries

and shortbread biscuits.

The posset isn't set.

You can see how runny it is. It needs longer in the fridge.

But the flavour's good. Nice, sharp lemon flavour and very pleasing to the eye.

Biscuits need to be crisper, but they look very good, don't they?

She's thought about this. The biscuit with the lemon posset. Classic combination.

Mmm!

Creamy, sharp with lemon. Enough sweetness in there. Good shortbread biscuit. That's good!

I'm pleased she's done the biscuit. I like the posset.

It's presented well.

That's a good pud, John.

I did really well. I got the dishes out on time.

If I go out today, I will go out with my head held high

because I did the very best I could today.

Last to face the cookery judges is Nick.

Nick, ten minutes for your first course.

So Nick's menu looks great!

-Every course sounds just superb.

-Can he pull it off?

Herb-roasted scallops with sweet pea and lemon risotto. Yum!

The big danger in this first course - the scallops.

If you cook them for too long, you've had it. Like rubber.

We want to see a really nice, creamy risotto.

-I don't want any stodge on the plate.

-I do hope he can manage it.

If those scallops are cooked well, mate, you're on to a winner.

-Cooked OK? Soft, no crunch in the rice?

-Good.

-Are you happy with that?

-It's not going out yet.

-Can we go with this?

-Yep.

-Let's do it.

Give them a big smile, mate.

-Good afternoon, ladies.

-Hello.

-Are you all right?

-There you go.

-Thank you.

Enjoy.

Nick's starter is herb-roasted scallops

with sweet pea and lemon risotto.

Smells wonderful.

The scallops are done to perfection. Well, at least two of the three that I've tried are.

The flavour of the rice is lovely.

It's really well cooked, which is good for a risotto.

I don't think the risotto is very well cooked.

I think the rice is very stodgy. It's not creamy, as it should be.

I'm afraid I don't agree with you. I think it's lovely.

I've been to Italy on a cookery course where we were taught by Italian chefs to cook risotto.

That's how they would present it.

It's OK. I like it.

-We can beg to differ.

-I think so.

I think it's quite nicely cooked.

It's a nicely designed dish. It's almost there.

The risotto is lovely. It's light and sweet with the pea and fragrant with herbs.

A big "Mm!" for the risotto.

Right, Nick, main courses, please.

Nick covers his lamb in Dijon mustard.

Rolls them in breadcrumbs

and places them under the grill to crisp.

-What haven't you done for your main course?

-Got to get the carrots on.

-So your carrots aren't on yet?

-No.

The lamb, well, I just think that sounds lovely.

Long as it's the right colour and not overcooked or undercooked.

-How's that lamb?

-Overdone, to be honest.

Getting flustered and you're making mistakes. Calm down. That's it.

You've got about three minutes left, Nick, please.

Let's go!

Oh, my God!

Here you go, ladies.

Oh, wow! Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

-There you go.

Nick's main is roast rack of lamb,

dauphinoise potatoes, Chantenay carrots

and a blackberry jus.

This has got real eye appeal. It's really lovely.

The interesting thing on my plate

is I have hardly any crust, but you do.

The lamb - one is more well cooked than the other.

I would have liked it a bit less pink.

It's the inconsistency. This would have been good for you.

And I would have preferred mine to be pink.

The edges are fine, but just inside.

The potatoes are cooked and the cream hasn't separated out.

So that's really good. And the carrots are really lovely carrots.

They have a wonderful sheen, really nice glaze.

But I think the sauce - I'm not really getting the blackberry.

And it's a bit salty. I think he's tried really hard with this dish.

It just hasn't quite come off. That's all.

Sweet carrots.

Lovely, creamy dauphinoise. I don't mind the sauce, although it's very sweet.

Some of the lamb is cooked really nicely, but some is not.

That lamb's too rare.

Dessert, Nick. That's it, yeah?

They look all right, Nick.

Whey!

'Vanilla panna cotta. Too much gelatine...'

..and it will be standing upright and won't move.

Too little and it will just fall apart.

And balsamic strawberries at the end. Well, to die for, really!

Go! Let's do it.

Let's do it.

Hi, ladies. Are you all right?

Sorry, I'm in such a tiz.

There you go.

-There's a nice wobble on that.

-See you later.

-We think he's probably fun in the kitchen.

-I wouldn't be surprised.

For his dessert,

Nick has made vanilla panna cotta with balsamic strawberries.

Really good consistency. Very nice wobble. That's a good sign for me.

Delicious.

Just enough vanilla.

And the balsamic just helps it nicely, doesn't it?

-Simple, but perfect.

-This is my dish of the whole day.

The flavour, the consistency. The balsamic... The strawberries are just perfect.

Making a panna cotta is not something you go into lightly

because so many elements can go wrong.

-Really, really good dish. Ten out of ten.

-Yeah.

Lovely fresh, summery fruit. Beautiful, well-set, vanilla-rich panna cotta. Delicious.

I love it! It's a great dish.

I've never been under so much pressure in all my life.

I know my lamb was under, which is annoying. I had time to throw it back in the oven.

I gave it all in there and if it just wasn't good enough, it wasn't good enough.

We said at the start of this,

"The strong stay, the weak go home."

I think today,

the pressure was enormous.

The food they cooked was a huge amount to be done in a short period of time.

Nick today was ambitious.

Three pretty good courses. A lot of work in there.

Our first course, the lemon risotto. Nicely made, good tang, fresh with herbs.

I wanted more colour on the scallops, but loved the sweetness.

The main course, the lamb. Not a bad effort.

Dauphinoise was nice. I liked his sauce, but the lamb was underdone.

And he had five or six minutes left over.

He could have put that lamb back in the oven to make sure it WAS cooked.

The dessert, the vanilla panna cotta, great!

It was a good pudding.

'If I did get knocked out I can't say I didn't do my best.'

I'm really enjoying it. I don't want to go.

I think even Michelle would admit she had a lot to prove today. This is why she pushed herself so hard.

And she needed a stand-out round.

She messed up, John. She messed up again.

The first course with the prawns and the salmon -

I didn't mind it. You didn't like it, nor did the WI ladies.

Seafood - bit overcooked. The broth was too strong and too watery.

The lamb we all thought was very good. There was a question mark over the potatoes.

She got so flustered. She served the alcoholic cherries for the pudding with her lamb.

She was in a state.

Michelle came back from serving her main course

and had not started making that chocolate fondant.

You can't have a pudding turn up half an hour late.

Even if they love it. 30 minutes late is unacceptable anywhere.

Her timing went awry, little mistakes all over the place.

John, she was close to the edge. I thought any moment now she's going to start sobbing.

This has been the toughest challenge of my life.

But I've just loved every minute of it.

It's been amazing.

Linda today, her linguine with mushrooms and mascarpone

wasn't quite right.

It was too stodgy and too bland.

Sardines, raisins, pine nuts, garlic, breadcrumbs on mashed potato with carrots.

Actually, it was pretty good.

But, John, that's crazy. It shouldn't work.

BUT it actually tasted all right.

I thought the posset was an absolute knockout.

Really good blend of sweetness and sharpness.

And really good little shortbread biscuits.

At least she pushed today, Linda pushed today.

Her food looked a bit homey, but, as always, she delivered food that tastes good.

What are we going to do with her? She's frustrating.

I'd be gutted to go home today. I've given the show a lot of me.

I'd be disappointed because I want to experience other things to come.

-Who goes?

-Oh, God!

-Who stays?

-I've been here so many times. It never gets any easier.

There's chinks in all their armour, but at the end of the day,

I think you know, like I do, who should stay and who should go.

Great effort today and I just want you to realise

how far you've come in a short space of time.

Incredible.

But, as you know, we can only take the strong cooks with us.

The first person to leave us...

..is Michelle.

Thank you.

Disappointed cos I've had such an amazing time and learnt so much.

I've put everything into it, but obviously I'm not good to go on in the competition.

That's life.

So...

Nick.

Linda.

For you two, a tough decision.

You both have your strengths and your weaknesses.

Because of that...

..you're both staying in the competition.

Oh, my God!

Don't cry! Don't cry!

-Oh, thank you so much!

-That's brilliant. Thank you.

Very well done. We'll see you both in the next round.

Oh, I can't believe it. Oh, my God!

My heart was going so fast then. I thought I was out the door.

I'm over the moon. Semi-final! Me? What's that about?

Oh! These are tears of joy now.

I pushed myself to the limit today. Hopefully, I can go on and win it.

I'm buzzing. I'm really happy. Definitely have a drink tonight.

Next week, the pressure is on for four new celebrities.

What's that?

I'm a little apprehensive here.

To become MasterChef champion

they'll have to prove they've got what it takes.

You are looking shocked.

Oh, my word!

You wouldn't want to serve this up.

Give it a little bit of decoration.

Aw, God!

Sorry!

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