Episode 9 Celebrity MasterChef

We've got 16 celebrities battling it out to win the MasterChef crown.

I'm loving being far more daring in the kitchen,

but I'm still terrified.

These celebrities have already made a name for themselves in their own professions.

But can they cut it in the kitchen?

I was competitive from day one.

There's no point in being in something if you're not competitive.

If I know I've done my best,

I know there's nothing more I could've done.

Cooking doesn't get tougher than this.

This week, these three celebrities have been competing

to become one of the final eight.

Now Emma, George and Laila

are heading to cook in their first restaurant kitchen.

I'm really excited

and obviously nervous,

but they're going to show us what to do, surely,

but whether we can follow their instructions, who knows.

I think the trick to

a professional kitchen is staying calm and organised.

And listening to the chef. >

-And... Oh, my God! We're going to get to say "Yes, Chef"!

-Yes, Chef!

This is their first taste of a proper professional kitchen.

John, they are very quickly going to find out

what life in the fast lane of cooking is all about.

This is Cafe Spice Namaste,

a landmark Indian restaurant housed in a former magistrates' court

near the Tower of London.

Overseeing service is Chef Patron Cyrus Todiwala.

So we've got a packed house today.

We've got about 75 people for lunch, which is more or less normal.

So there are about 65 regular customers there,

and they demand a high standard, so we make sure the standard,

the quality, the presentation, everything is maintained.

-One, two, three...

-ALL: Yes, Chef!

The contestants have just three hours to prep their dishes.

In service, Emma will be in charge of the tandoori-baked salmon,

marinated in a coriander, mint and chilli chutney.

You're going to be putting fish into the tandoor at 380 degrees Celsius.

Right.

-So that's not very hot, it just bakes your skin straightaway.

-OK.

Basically, any hair I've got on my arms, I can kiss goodbye to that.

-It's cheaper than going for a wax.

-Absolutely, what do you think?

And a perfect job every time.

And, of course, I guarantee it won't grow back for six months.

Oh, really? Oh, super.

You can pay me at the end of the day.

That fish is so amazing,

the thought of dropping any in the tandoori oven,

or wasting any, is actually making me feel ill.

We'll dice this up, except for the okra, which we'll keep separate.

Laila will be making the vegetable curry, containing spicy chickpea pakora fritters.

You want the vegetables to be slightly smaller,

because people will share it on the table.

There are about four more trays like that for us to do

because 75 people. OK?

I'm determined to do my absolute best,

so there is no room for mistakes. There's nothing.

It's focus. Focus all the way.

George. You are handling what is probably

one of the finest beefs in the country.

George will be cooking the turmeric and lime beef fillet,

stir-fried with onions and peppers.

You're going to clean that off and then shred it.

-Any mess and you're in trouble, sir.

-I can see that.

That bit of meat has cost £65.

How many fillets do you do in a service? Just one?

So it could be as many as four fillets,

and you don't have much time, sir.

-Hopefully, I don't have to shout at you.

-No, no.

Being an actor and writer, you're always working to deadlines,

so I'm used to pressure, but I think I respond to it.

I need a deadline to make me work at that rate.

So I think I'll be all right.

You've got to be so careful. This is such a beautiful piece of meat.

You could eat this raw. Beautiful!

Gorgeous.

-Not bad.

-Thank you.

But if you're a chef, you go bankrupt in six months.

Oh, why? What have I done?

Some of the pieces are too large, but the fish is so beautiful,

I'd much rather have them that size.

Oh, OK.

The other problem about Chef telling me that some of the salmon pieces

are a bit bigger is that that will affect cooking time, won't it?

In the tandoor oven from hell.

What's the worst that can happen? I could just ruin everything.

SHE GASPS

I've done it!

With her veg prep done, Laila is making the pakora fritters

that will go into her vegetable curry.

Is that cooked, Chef?

-Have you tasted it?

-No.

-There was a slight...

-Aftertaste.

-..raw taste to it.

So I think we need to cook it on a slow flame for a little longer.

OK. That's yum, though. I can't wait for lunch now.

There's only 50 minutes until service.

What are you doing here?

I was on my own, I finished the beef I had.

I thought I'd use my initiative - probably the wrong thing to do -

and get on with prepping some veg.

-But we've got lots more beef to do.

-I didn't know where the beef was.

Since you have started that, I'll get the others to help you now.

Because you're not going to finish on time. But, sir,

we don't want peppers like that. It's a fine julienne.

Oh, I didn't realise.

-But you're causing me grief.

-The last thing I wanted to do, Chef.

My concern with George is, he is just not quick enough, yeah?

He spends a lot more time trying to investigate what it's all about,

rather than getting on with the job,

and I fear that he might fall behind. I feel he'll fall behind.

That is beautifully thin.

If he doesn't like that... What can I do?

It's 12 o'clock and the first customers have started to arrive.

I have high expectations.

When food comes to my pass, it's my responsibility.

From here onwards, it's my name, so I will not be very comfortable

if anything goes wrong there.

So they have to deliver.

George!

Order now, yeah? Two beef chilli fry, George!

Yes, Chef!

This is it!

Not too much oil.

Not too much oil, I know that, I know that.

Woah! Too ambitious!

Ay, ya, ya! Please try and keep it clean, sir.

I tried to toss it, but it didn't quite work.

You've got to be careful, sir,

you're going to fall down if you're not careful.

OK.

I need George to calm down and I need him to think.

I've been tossing for God knows how many years. He thought he could copy what I'm doing.

No, don't put... I'll put the coriander, you don't put it!

He told me to put the coriander on!

You mix it when you're finishing it, that's all.

-Laila!

-Yes, Chef.

You've got one direct order. No starters.

This is the one, this is where we're going to show if we can handle all of this.

Come, come, come.

Good. Good. Keep it up.

Laila's done a great job because what I was looking for

is the smoothness of the dish - she's got it right.

My first dish has just gone out.

Chef was happy with it, so I've just got to keep that up, keep it going.

22.

One chutney salmon starter after that, yeah?

Yes, Chef!

-29 has gone.

-In with the first order.

Salmon's in the tandoori oven.

Can't take my eyes off it for a second.

Do you think this is ready to come out? I do. No?

Yeah?

I feel like Zorro, with canapes!

Oh, my word!

So, we try and get the skin side up.

I see.

It's perfect.

Chef said it was perfect!

Turalu! Get me!

I'd like the beef chilli fry as a main course. Thank you.

And then I'm going to have the beef chilli fry, please.

Two beef chilli fry, George!

Yes, Chef!

Excuse me.

Spread it out so it looks the same.

That's it. Perfect.

-Thank you, Angelo.

-George?

-You've got four more beef chilli fry.

-Four?

George has got loads of orders today. Here, one more.

I'm worried about this guy.

The word is buzzing round the restaurant, you've got to try this.

-One beef chilli fry to follow, please.

-Coming, Chef!

People are talking about it, it's going all round the city.

It's so delicious.

Chef. Service.

How did it get so good?

I don't know, it's just happening. It's your tuition. It's delicious.

Stop buttering me up, it doesn't get you anywhere.

I've done well, but there's still a long way to go,

so I'm not getting too confident.

Oh, sugar! I forgot to do the pakora!

Laila, don't let the pressure get at you.

Yes, Chef.

Ah, brilliant! How good is that?!

-Well done.

-Thank you.

Ow! I keep touching that thing and it's hot!

Emma, I want two pieces now. Please, no messing up. No messing up, Emma!

No need to panic!

There's a bend in that one!

-Take it out carefully.

-I see. I see.

Not the edge, the back. Only the back of the knife!

-SHE LAUGHS

-All the pieces are broken...

..so we've got to camouflage it a bit. OK?

Emma's problem is the fish is breaking

because she's panicking, right? Nothing else.

It's really tough to just keep going, honestly.

I feel like I need to just put my feet up and have a cup of tea.

The vegetable pakora curry was very light, very delicate.

The vegetables were very crisp. Almost perfect.

One chutney salmon starter!

I want two starters chutney salmon, two starter portions.

What have you got there?

I don't think that's done.

Don't worry. You're shaking, look at that! You're shaking!

Don't worry.

Chef. Chef.

27... 32 is ready.

32 and 35 follow.

Two beef chilli fry with rice.

Sorry, Chef.

Chef!

It's tricky, what can I say? It's still edible.

But it's not perfect.

You can still taste all the salmon,

but there's this real elegance in the sauce. It's beautiful.

As service draws to a close,

George is preparing his 18th portion of beef stir-fry.

Loving it. I don't want it to be over. Loving it.

The beef stir-fry needed a bit more spicing.

I thought it was rather bland.

Hey, George! You have a complaint!

-The beef was not seasoned properly!

-Yes, Chef!

-Sorry?

-The customer says the beef was not seasoned properly.

-Not seasoned properly?

-No.

Proper seasoning.

It's gone from good to bad, I'm telling you.

Here, Chef.

You wanted more seasoning, or less seasoning?

You want to go talk to the customer?

Yeah.

Seriously. He must like salt.

Shall we taste this before it goes?

How many have you done so far? Have you counted?

About ten, I think.

-18.

-Fantastic.

And one complaint so far.

-You think that's good?

-No, it's horrible!

-I want no complaints.

-Thank you.

-OK.

18 portions, one complaint - what the hell.

It matters to us.

It does matter.

-George! Laila! Emma! Service is over, you may go!

-Thanks, Chef!

Thank you, give us a hug!

I don't know what Chef makes of me and I'm not sure what I make of him.

I don't know if he's pleased or not pleased. I can't tell.

But I enjoyed it anyway. I might apply for a job, actually.

It was amazing, honestly, I loved every second of it,

and I'm pleased with what I've done.

I wouldn't go so far as to say I've impressed Chef,

but I certainly didn't make Chef want to scream and shout at me,

so, you know, that's something.

A tough service is over,

but the celebrities now face another challenge.

To cook one of Chef Cyrus's signature dishes.

The delicately spiced green chicken curry.

In goes the onion.

We want them to sweat, we want them to get soft,

we don't want them brown.

That's cassia bark. That's the same family as cinnamon,

but it's sweeter.

This is the most critical part.

If you add your powders directly into the pan

when the onions are sauteing, you're going to burn them.

You're going to make your food bitter.

So ideally, you want to put water and then put them in.

I need the colours to be right,

because they could put too much turmeric in it,

and they could make it dirty yellow, instead of a light pale green.

Coconut milk.

And now I've got cashew nut paste, yeah?

Not too much, because cashew nut paste will thicken very quickly.

They'll be judged on any lumps in the curry.

We want it smooth as silk.

They're going to have to saute the breast of chicken very nicely.

I want good colour on the skin.

I want the breast just simmering gently into the curry,

once it's been sauteed, so it cooks through.

This is a silly question -

-how do you know when it's cooked?

-Feel it.

So when it is that spongy,

there's lots of liquid inside at the moment, so it's not cooked.

The expectations for this dish will be high.

So as soon as the plate is presented to me, I'll look for marks.

I want the sauce to look perfect, and then I want the lushness,

the creaminess, everything must come through on me.

And that's what I'm looking for.

-EMMA:

-Very good!

Yeah? You can do that?

-Try!

-It's a bit of a memory test, isn't it?

I'm not entirely sure

of the precise order of some of it.

I think there might be a bit of making it up as I'm going along,

but, you know, it'll be curry jazz.

We'll just go with it.

This is the other problem, of course.

I don't know how to operate this oven.

Oh, I've turned it off.

The light's gone.

Thank you. I've forgotten the first thing.

That's fine. I can just... No, better take that with me.

Right, I'm going to check my oil.

So now, I do believe, it's...onions in.

So that's sweated out. So actually...

Oh, hang on! Chillies!

SHE GASPS

Oh, chillies!

Gee whizz!

Oh, and the ginger paste!

Blighty, how easy it is to forget!

I mean, I can barely remember a shopping list. For me, actually,

managing to leave the house with socks AND pants is a triumph.

OK.

I think that's fine to cook in there now.

It's not far off. It's not far off.

OK, I'm ready.

-There you go, Chef.

-Thank you.

Emma, looks good.

-If it came to me like that, I'd want to eat it.

-Thank you, Chef.

-Chewy.

-Bit chewy.

-You put too much oil in the pan when you were sauteing...

-Right.

..so the chicken ballooned.

From there, you steep it into your curry,

it will bob up, rather than stay down and simmer.

-Oh, I see.

-As far as the sauce goes, I think you've done a great job.

And the one thing I'll pick up,

the aftertaste of excess turmeric is coming through.

It's not a nice flavour. OK?

But for the first time you've ever made it,

I think you've done a brilliant job.

Thank you, Chef!

I think I did all right.

I was pleased with the sauce.

I put a touch too much turmeric in it.

But he seemed pleased.

I'm... I'm happy with that!

I think the secret to this dish is the taste, because it's spicy,

but it was quite subtle.

So I hope I haven't made it too spicy.

I don't know if I'm doing this right!

Really don't want to disappoint Chef.

He seemed quite pleased with what I'd done today.

-There you go, Chef.

-Thank you.

-Little bit uncooked there. You can see it?

-Yeah, I can see it.

-It's raw.

-Yeah.

That, actually, for many people, is not cooked.

For me, I like it that way.

But then, chefs are different.

They're mad. So it's OK.

-Your sauce actually has a very nice, lush taste in it.

-Thank you.

It's rich, it's creamy, it's good.

A little bit soft, in the sense that...

you're a bit afraid of maybe overpowering it.

Over-seasoning it. Over-spicing it.

But, all in all, I think it's a job well done, really.

Thank you, Chef.

I'm happy I got good comments. It means a lot.

-Thank you very much.

-See you. Bye-bye.

-Bye.

I feel pretty darn good!

Beautiful!

I want to leave today

with Chef Cyrus wanting even more from me.

Even more, because he's going to be so thrilled when he tastes this.

Hitting the back of the throat a bit too much.

So I'm hoping coconut milk is just going to give it

that soothing, beautiful quality that the chef had.

That chicken's coming on very nicely.

That's lovely.

I've really got high hopes of this.

But I'm slightly concerned...

about the chicken, because it's got to be done.

I don't want to be serving a raw bloody chicken, do I?!

There you are, Chef Cyrus.

Thank you.

You have made an effort to garnish it, which is very good.

And I think your sauce actually looks pretty cool.

It looks nice.

It falls very nicely on the plate. It looks nice and velvety.

There's a liquid oozing out there.

-From the chicken?

-From the chicken. It could be a bit raw.

There we go.

Well, that's unforgivable.

Well, no, actually...

I'll tell you what, it could be unforgivable

if it's a professional doing it.

Very nice indeed!

-I'm so pleased!

-When looking at it, I thought so.

That brings memories back to me of flavours, OK?

Which is a very good sign.

If you can reach a person's heart with the right flavour, taste...

-And bring back the memories.

-..and bring back the memories,

-you might strike a good deal there. Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

It's been a wonderful day.

I've really enjoyed it, and I'll be coming back as a paying customer.

I'll look forward to that, actually!

Credit card or cash?

I will take anything,

-so long as it's your money!

-HE LAUGHS

Thank you, George. All the best. Good luck. Goodbye.

-It's been a pleasure and an honour.

-Thank you.

'Chef said it brought back memories for him.

'I didn't like to ask what,'

but that's a lovely thing to say. That's HIS signature dish.

He must've tasted that sauce hundreds of thousands of times,

but he said it brought back memories.

Maybe I'll catch him before I go and say, "What memories?"

Today has been a mixture of emotions, trauma,

and a mixture of achievements.

Laila's performance today was very good.

I saw a person who was very focused

and tried to deliver as close,

or as good a product as you demanded out of her.

Those are good qualities for a chef.

If these people can work in a kitchen under that pressure,

then I should be able to do that

with John and Gregg watching over me.

So if they can do it, I think I can do it too.

I think Emma impressed me today

by way of being ready to take the challenge.

And I think she grabbed every opportunity to maximise

what she wanted to present to me.

I've loved today.

I've really loved working in the professional kitchen,

and I hope I get the opportunity to do it again.

George had to be curbed and controlled.

Yes, there were mistakes,

but George had the most difficult task of all today,

and his dish sold the most as well.

Hats off to the man. He performed well.

I've enjoyed it so much.

It's made me more determined to stay in the competition,

because there'll be other days like this. I want more of this,

and I want it badly. I really do.

Tomorrow night,

the battle for a place in the final eight reaches its climax...

-Are they ready?

-No.

..as the celebrities face their toughest critics yet.

Yours looks more bloody than mine.

I've got a swimming pool going on at the bottom here!

-Yeah, me too!

-THEY LAUGH

There's pink in there. You need a little bit more cooking on that.

The person leaving us is...

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