Episode 26 Celebrity MasterChef

'Emma, Danny and Michael

'are the Celebrity Masterchef finalists.'

It feels amazing to be in the final three

and it's funny that now you're here, things sort of change in your mind a bit

because now you're like, "I could win it. I could actually win this thing now."

I'm a very determined character.

Anything I want to achieve, you know, I believe I can.

Of course I'd love to win it. I want to do my best.

It is beyond my wildest dreams. Genuinely.

Never thought in a million years I would be here

about to commence the epic journey towards the final.

'Now they face a week of gruelling challenges.'

-OK, that's impressive.

-Wow!

Who actually is going to push themselves to take that title?

Today we're going to take you right back to the very start of this competition,

the first thing you did in here.

We are going to give you an invention test.

In front of you, you have a chicken

and we're going to ask you to cook for us one dish.

Using that chicken as the centrepiece

along with this wonderful array of ingredients,

you can cook whatever you like.

You have an opportunity now to show us how good you truly are.

Ladies and gentlemen, please come up and select your ingredients.

Thinking time.

Guys, everyone done? Everyone happy?

Yep? Fantastic.

One hour, one plate of food. Guys, impress us.

Let's cook.

Now, this is where the fun bit starts.

I'm really up for today, actually,

cos it's going to be just interesting.

If there's going to be any indication of the improvement from day one to here,

it's going to be today.

What are you going to cook for us, Emma?

I'm going to cook some chicken thighs in a creamy onion and fennel sauce

and then I'm going to chuck tarragon in at the last minute and serve it with a pomme puree.

What do you think our expectations of you now are?

Oh, quite high. I've got no doubt about that.

Emma's cooking for us a tarragon cream chicken on mashed potato,

which I think could be an absolutely delicious thing.

Well, that better be good, because there is no other accompaniment to that dish whatsoever.

You've had 20 minutes. Third of the way gone.

You know, the surprise challenges aren't easy.

You've got to crack on, put into practice everything you've learnt.

Right, Danny, what's your dish?

Chicken stuffed with some prunes and some pine nuts, some sauteed potatoes,

I might do a bit of sage sauce to go with it, depending on how that goes.

I'm going to see how it tastes. If I don't like it, you won't get it.

-Didn't you stuff a chicken breast before?

-I did something similar.

When you've done chicken before and it went well, it's hard not to try and replicate it.

-Showing progress?

-The flavour combinations will be progress.

The skill and technique haven't been so much of an issue. The flavours have been a problem.

Eureka.

The problem for Danny is he's done something very, very similar before,

so this dish from Danny has got to be magnificent.

Guys, you've got 25 minutes of cooking time left.

I think I need to show John and Gregg

that there can just be one plate of food that I can put in front of them

and they can be like, "This is perfect."

If I can hear those words, I'll be the happiest person in the room, without a doubt.

Michael, what are you going to cook for us?

A mushroom and leek stuffed chicken breast wrapped in ham and roasted.

I'm going to serve it with sort of a dauphinoise but not

and probably some carrots on the side, as well.

-Food that's got to be beautiful.

-That's the plan today, hopefully.

-How do you feel about invention now?

-I've got that nagging doubt in the back of my mind.

I messed it up first time. But I'm more confident

and I'm thinking about the mistakes I made back then

and I'm not going to reproduce those same mistakes.

Michael's chicken breast wrapped in that salty ham with the woody mushrooms inside,

love the idea of that, I think that will be absolutely delicious. But can he do it without a mistake?

Five minutes. Just five minutes, please.

That's it. Time's up. Stop.

'Emma has used the chicken thighs,

'roasted them and served them with braised fennel and mashed potato

'with a fennel and tarragon sauce.'

Your mashed potato is beautiful. Your chicken is wonderful and moist

with the crisp skin on top of it. I like the fennel with it.

But you promised us chicken with tarragon sauce.

It needs so much more tarragon in there to bring it alive.

It could do with a little more tarragon.

But I really like that.

You've got crispy skin on your chicken, it's really moist,

really buttery potatoes. I think it's really, really lovely.

I feel all right. I don't know if I agreed with John.

For me, that was the right amount of tarragon in that sauce.

'Danny's taken the breast off the chicken and stuffed it with prune and pine nuts,

'topped with crispy Parma ham,

'served with vegetables, sauteed potatoes and a sage sauce.'

I really like the look of this. I think it looks great.

It's very, very good indeed. Soft, buttery potatoes,

moist chicken, salty bacon. I mean, lovely combination.

Wonderful. And that sweet, deep sauce, as well.

But there's not enough sauce on that plate. I've had one mouthful, it's nearly all gone.

Everything's seasoned really well, everything's cooked really well.

I like the presentation. But I just want a little bit more sauce.

I should've made loads more sauce. Again, that's easy to rectify.

Put it in a jug on the side and I think they would've been very, very happy.

'Michael has also used the chicken breast

'and stuffed it with leeks and mushrooms wrapped in Parma ham

'with garlic potatoes and rosemary carrots.'

You've got some whacking big flavours in that chicken.

That woodiness coming from those dried mushrooms, the sweetness of the leeks.

Underneath is that rich potato with cream, which I really like.

But you have a problem with your chicken, because it's gone dry.

And that's a bit of a shame.

The flavours are absolutely fantastic.

So mellow and so deep.

It's a real shame that that chicken's a little dry.

I'm pleased with what I did. I feel it's good... but could be better.

Next time we see you, we're going to throw you into the deep end.

Thank you very much. See you soon.

The first task in our finals week and we're off to a flying start.

I think they took the chicken today and actually did it proud.

There is no doubt about it,

our three celebs have come on leaps and bounds since the first time we saw them cook.

And this task has set them up for what comes next.

Good morning and welcome to the film set of New Tricks.

Top-rating BBC drama.

You are making lunch today for 90 of the stars and crew.

It's got to be exemplary, but more importantly than ever before,

it simply must be on time.

The simple fact is that that there... is your kitchen.

It's tight in there. You're going to have to be very organised because you've got a lot of work to do.

-You have just three hours. Ladies and gentlemen, I suggest you get a move on.

-Thank you.

-This place is cramped!

-OK.

'The celebrities must now come up with a menu

'which includes three main dishes and two desserts.'

Three Celebrity MasterChef finalists. It's a very, very small kitchen,

but not the first time they've done a mass-catering challenge. So my expectations are really high.

I want something really exciting, something which really demonstrates skill and ambition.

OK.

Well, we could make lemon drizzle cake.

I've got loads of different ideas flying through my mind, cos there's so much we've got to do.

So, yeah, this is going to be a tricky one today.

What about baked cod? Well, OK, look, we've got stuff definitely to make a ratatouille.

-Yeah, leeks, carrots.

-Aubergine. Can we have a pen and paper?

-Lunch is at one o'clock.

-I know.

-That leaves you two hours and 45 minutes left.

-You need to shift.

-Yeah.

-OK.

Cod in a creamy leek sauce.

Moroccan lamb. Erm... and couscous.

We can't let the ball drop today.

We've just got to concentrate and be methodical.

And if we can do that and we don't lose our heads,

then we'll be fine.

Right, what are the dishes, Emma?

We are doing a butternut squash curry,

cod in a creamy leek sauce with new potatoes and broccoli and carrots,

and Moroccan lamb with a spicy ragout and couscous.

And then for pudding, we're doing a pineapple upside-down cake and an apple crumble.

It's half past ten. Lunch is when?

-One o'clock.

-One o'clock.

-Two and a half hours.

-Yep.

-Chop-chop, yeah? Best of luck.

-Thank you.

-Cheers, Gregg.

'In a field a mile away from the catering van,

'filming is about to start.

'With a tight schedule to get through, when they break for lunch, it must be ready.'

Lunch, it's all we talk about all morning.

We arrive, we have breakfast, and we immediately start to speak about

what we're having for lunch. It is incredibly important.

We've had a couple of companies that weren't quite up to it

and it was really quite disturbing.

We work all day. It wouldn't go down well if the food was late, no.

I think that when we turn up, I'm expecting it to be ready.

Here we go, then. Rehearsing.

And action!

Let's get everything prepped

and then it's just a question of cooking it.

'As Emma cubes the squash for the veg curry,

'Danny is filleting all the fish for the cod and leek bake.'

We've got three hours to feed 90 people.

It's just the time constraints that make it real pressure.

'And Michael trims the lamb for the Moroccan stew.'

When you've done one of the things on the list, just cross it off

-and then just pick something else on the list do to.

-OK.

It's nice to have Emma as the central voice today.

She's making the notes and getting us in check.

She is in charge and we are following her to the letter.

-Yes, ma'am!

-SHE LAUGHS

They've put me in charge.

These boys are setting me up right and proper, aren't they?

The fish is done, boss.

-OK. Can you be in charge of the cooking on the stove area?

-Yes, chef.

'Danny begins cooking the veg for the curry and the lamb for the stew.

'And Michael and Emma make a start on preparing the desserts.'

We're concentrating on getting the puddings up and running now.

Which are more complicated than you think cos we haven't got scales.

A spoonful of this, spoonful of that, you're just guessing.

It's really, really difficult.

Hello, John.

-What are you doing, Michael?

-I've just finished prepping the lamb, I'm now prepping the pineapples,

then moving on to the next thing, so sort of dogsbodying and getting all the prep done.

-OK. What are you cooking, Emma?

-I'm preparing the apples for the apple crumble.

HE YAWNS

-Apple crumble.

-Crews love apple crumble!

As well you know. Even though you're trying to be mean to us!

Look, you guys as finalists, I think it should be something more exciting,

like, you know, maybe a baked apple custard type thing.

-Let's do that.

-Apple croustade.

-It's funny you said that,

-because just before you came in we were discussing doing that.

-Exactly.

SHE LAUGHS Frightening.

-Time-wise, you have just two hours, actually, under two hours left.

-Yeah.

-And lots of work to do.

Goodbye, John Torode.

Today, my concern is,

as finalists, it doesn't seem to me like the menu is exciting enough.

It would've be nice to have surprised the crew here at New Tricks.

Some new tricks, that's what we needed, some new tricks!

Take two.

'Meanwhile on set, the morning's filming is in full swing.'

Really good.

'Back at base, they have just 45 minutes left until service.'

Brilliant. Brilliant.

Right. Now thicken.

I think we're on schedule. I'm...

Apples are done. I'm just waiting for this custard to thicken.

The crumble is done, so that will be one dish away.

Right. Right, right, right, right.

-Are you ready for an update?

-Yeah.

-Where's the curry?

-On.

-Where's the lamb?

-On.

-Fine. Fish?

-On.

-You're not going to cook... How long you going to cook the fish?

-20, 25 minutes.

-Right. Fine. Desserts?

-On.

-Both of them in the oven?

-In.

-So it looks like it may all come out in time.

-It might.

-Is it going to taste good?

-I don't know yet.

-Oh, Emma.

-We hope it will.

-Emma!

-It will!

There seems to be a sense of calm in that kitchen.

But the simple fact is they've got to get all the food in those dishes to serve properly,

make sure their plates are hot, write their menu, present everything well

and make sure everything's cooked.

And we know anything can happen in the last 30 minutes.

We've got everything, I hope, under control,

so let's concentrate on making things look lovely as well as taste lovely, yes?

-Yes.

-Yes, chef.

-Whoa!

-Ohh!

-Oh, no!

-Oh, my...

Oh, no!

It's slightly hot but it's fine.

OK. Erm...

I need a mop.

We've got 15 minutes, we can get more custard on, let's go! It'll have to be custard powder.

CLATTERING

-All right, leave it!

-Ow!

-Leave it! I'll sort it. I'll sort it.

-I'll sort it.

-Everything's boiling hot!

-There's not enough carrots there, son. How many more carrots have you got?

-That's about it.

That's not 30 portions. Show me the broccoli.

That's not 30 portions of veg! Are you giving them one piece of broccoli, two carrots?

It's not enough. We defo need more veg.

-If people arrive and they don't want carrots...

-And broccoli.

..I shall be having words with Mr Wallace,

the greengrocer with an unnatural obsession with vegetables.

CLATTERING

And there's the call of distress. As lunchtime is called,

the custard hits the ground and things are starting to crumble.

They're going to have to get it together quick.

And cut it there, please.

Thank you very much, guys. That's lunch, everybody.

'With the morning shoot wrapped,

'New Tricks cast and crew begin their ten-minute journey back to base for lunch.'

-Emma!

-Yeah?

-Is this ready, yeah?

-Yeah.

Yeah, that's fine. Get that up there and... Lovely.

Mind your backs. Boiling water.

-Your custard is thickening.

-I've thickened your custard, Emma.

-Yeah!

-Hi. What would you like?

-Er, fish, please.

-The fish.

'For main course, there's a choice of cod and leeks in a creamy sauce,

'Moroccan lamb with a spicy ragout and couscous,

'or vegetable curry with rice.

'The side dishes are roast potatoes, carrots and steamed broccoli.'

-There you go, sir.

-Cheers, guys.

-Cod, please.

-Ooh, blimey!

-Very popular.

I had the cod and it was absolutely delicious.

The cod was cooked perfectly for my liking.

I did try the cod. But I wasn't crazy about it.

It seemed a little bit chewy. I wasn't really taken with that.

The sauce is actually mild leek and there's a slight sweetness to it.

It's nice. It coats that cod brilliantly well.

However, the cod is overcooked.

It's OK. But at this stage of the competition, we would expect something a little bit more exciting.

Hello, young man. What would you like?

-The Moroccan lamb, please.

-Yes.

-There you go.

-Thank you.

-No worries.

-There you go.

-Thank you very much.

-No worries.

-Hello there.

-Hello, sir.

-I'm very well, thank you. The Moroccan lamb.

I thought the lamb was really good.

Very interesting mix of spices.

Very subtle. Yeah, deliciously cooked.

Actually, the lamb was OK. There wasn't much of it.

Apart from that, it was fine.

The lamb is still soft and moist and spicy.

The couscous is nicely seasoned. The flavour's good.

-Hello there.

-Can I have the butternut squash, please?

-Of course you may.

I had the butternut squash curry.

Nice little bite to it, little sting in the tail. It's quite spicy.

It's nice. I like it.

I chose the butternut squash.

Lovely. I mean, we're normally spoilt but not spoilt like this. It's great.

It's fruity and it's hot. That's more flavour than I expected from that butternut squash curry.

The flavour of this curry is good but I think it could be easily a lot better.

Make that sauce a little bit looser. It is a little bit of a slop in a pot.

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

'They've got a choice of apple and pear crumble with custard

'or upside-down pineapple cake with Chantilly cream.'

-Can I have the upside-down cake, please?

-Ooh, yes, you can.

The pineapple upside-down is very tasty. Very nicely cooked.

It was delicious, absolutely delicious. Thank you very much.

Not bad. Good flavours. It's sweet.

It either needs more cream or it needs more pineapple.

There's a lot of sponge, it tends to get sticky in your mouth.

You know what I really like? Michael didn't have a recipe or scales,

and used his brain to make a sponge, and I think that's a revelation. Good on you, Michael.

-A little bit longer.

-Custard?

I had the apple and pear crumble

and it was really nice but very filling. I'm very full now.

The apple and pear crumble was so finely balanced

and, er, the fruit was cooked in a very subtle way. I thought it was sensational.

-Mm!

-This is something I want to eat.

It's tasty, it's got texture, and I think that's really delicious.

That's great that dessert, and considering they were really up against it

after dropping the custard, that's some real achievement.

A tough day for our three celebrities and this competition seems to just get hotter and hotter.

I think our three worked extremely hard.

The food was decent, it got out on time.

After a great big gallon of custard went over the floor, I thought we were going to have chaos.

They actually picked themselves back up and delivered good puddings.

Today's been incredible for loads of different reasons.

It was a manic day, really busy. I think we're just pleased to get it over and done with.

I'm absolutely cream-crackered now. That was really full on.

Honestly, when this is finished, I think I'm going to sleep for about three years.

Today, I think, is an introduction to what it's going to be like.

Challenges are going to get tougher.

You've just got to be ready for it and just go for it.

It was very much a team task today,

but from now on in, they're on their own.

'Tomorrow night, the celebrities enter the world of pastry.'

I want to go to heaven on a spoon.

This is an incredibly intimidating challenge.

One slip-up and you ruin the whole thing.

I've only cooked one cake in my life.

That was back in 1985.

It's got disaster written all over it, hasn't it?

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