Episode 11 Celebrity MasterChef

It's Celebrity MasterChef.

We've got 16 celebs,

all hoping to show off their cooking talent.

I am ready to rumble.

They've proved themselves in their own profession,

now let's see if they can cut it in the kitchen.

My aim was to at least be a finalist. That's where I'm trying to get to.

I would hate to go home today. With a passion.

Cooking doesn't get tougher than this.

'These four celebrities

'are competing to become MasterChef Champion.'

My performance so far

has been up and down,

but I'm really determined today to fight.

Of course I'd like to stay in longer.

I think it's a good kick up the backside.

I'll carry on cooking.

No more takeaways. Except for weekends, maybe.

I'm very much enjoying the competition.

It's a way of me saying,

"This is what I'm about when it comes to food."

I was brought up having to win,

so to go home at the first hurdle,

I would consider that a failure.

Joe's back in the fight,

and we are going to send our four off to a professional kitchen -

their first chance to understand

what it's like on the other side of the restaurant door.

'Today, the celebrities are being sent out in pairs

'to two London restaurants.'

I'm feeling a mixture of nerves and excitement.

When I'm outside my comfort zone, the nerves can get on top of me

so I'm hoping to keep the nerves at bay.

In the chef whites again!

Hopefully, we can do the whites justice today.

I think my biggest fear is that the standard is going to be high.

The fact that people are paying for the food,

that definitely makes it a lot more scarier.

This is like jumping into deep water, you know?

Somebody with my experience going into a top restaurant,

that is nerve-racking.

'Les and Matthew are heading to Boisdale in Canary Wharf,

'a restaurant renowned for its traditional Scottish cuisine.

'They will be working under the supervision of head chef

'Andy Rose.'

200 covers for lunch.

We've got absolutely loads to do so we better get started.

-Absolutely.

-I think we better.

'Comedian Les is in charge of the roasted loin of wild venison,

'served with garlic snails, morels, mushroom puree

'and finished with marinated Douglas fir and a venison gravy.'

-We're cooking the venison in a water bath.

-Right.

-12 minutes.

Then we're finishing in the pan with all the garnish. OK?

-Here's your timer, or we use the clock over there.

-OK.

-All right?

-Yes.

-OK.

-So, that's 12 minutes from now?

-Exactly.

Or probably 11 and a half, because it's been in there for 30 seconds!

-Got it.

-OK. The venison today is with snails and Douglas fir.

-Douglas fir is this.

-Oh, wow.

-All right?

-Right.

-And then we have some snails. OK?

-Yes. OK.

-We want a very hot pan. We want it really smoky.

-OK.

The venison is cooked. OK?

We're going to do about 30 seconds on each side

so it's just starting to get up to caramelisation. It doesn't take long at all.

Just baste it. It's cooked, we don't need to do anything else.

Now our morels

and three of our snails.

We're just warming these up.

Don't overcook them. The snails will be all rubbery. Morels are beautiful at the moment.

-OK?

-Yep.

Freshly chopped parsley.

Let's plate up.

-This is where we slow down, in a way.

-Yes.

-We don't want to rush the plating.

-No.

Take our venison,

arrange it around the spinach...

..and finish it with a little bit of our Douglas fir. All right?

That's how I expect it from the boys

-and that's how I expect it from you.

-OK.

My worry would be if I got four venison at one time, making sure they're all ready,

-but it's just not panicking when it comes to the presentation.

-Exactly that.

-If you go like that, it's going to be off-centre.

-OK.

-Put it in, move it and take it off.

-Shall I try another plate?

-Absolutely.

Use your arm, OK?

Here we go. One more.

-I'm using the spoon to make that.

-That's better.

-All right.

There's a lot to get right. Hopefully, there's not a lot that can go wrong.

As long as I remember how long the venison's been in the bath,

keep watching the clock, watch the timer, and make sure my timings are right.

-That's all the ingredients that we separated for you.

-Yep.

'Cricketer Matthew has been put in charge of the organic lamb cutlets,

'topped with wild garlic mousse,

'served with a potato galette and a classic Reform sauce,

'made with port and redcurrant jelly.'

You don't need too much heat here, otherwise it'll explode.

Take two cutlets. It's wrapped in a little bit of crepinette to hold it all together.

The crepinette will explode if we overheat this. All we're doing is sealing it in.

Little bit of salt, little bit of pepper.

-Can you see that's sort of all melted together lovely?

-Yes.

-That's all we want, OK?

If these start going off-colour, we've got to start again.

So, you know, every plate has to be...

-Ba-boom.

-Absolutely.

Eight minutes exactly.

Have I got a stopwatch or a timer?

You've got to look at the clock when you put stuff in.

-But if I plonk it on...

-Yes.

..and then write down "18 minutes", so when that goes to 18 I take it out,

then I write 26, I know when 26...

Whatever works with you, Matthew.

-I would just look at that...

-Or just write it down and...

-Yes.

-OK. Eight and three.

-All right?

-Yep.

So, eight minutes, the lamb is ready. A nice three minutes to rest.

It's all about timing today.

While the meat's resting, I can start plating up.

By the time I've finished plating up, the meat's rested.

-We'll plate once the meat's rested.

-Once the plate...

-So, I don't plate up while the meat's resting?

-No.

-OK.

Lovely warm galette.

Try and keep things central.

That's it. OK?

Lovely. Looks beautiful.

It's reasonably straightforward, but it is all about timing, as you've seen.

-Good luck.

-Thank you very much, Chef.

Job's a good 'un.

It's all about the timings, as he's said.

My wife knows that timing is not my strong suit.

I'm very much live-by-the-seat-of-my-pants, not being that organised,

hence making notes!

Hopefully, something will sink in and I can do the dish justice.

'Across town, Speech and Joe have arrived at Spice Market,

'a restaurant inspired by the street food of Southeast Asia,

'in the heart of London's Chinatown.'

-Good morning, Speech.

-Morning.

-Morning, Joe.

-How are you?

-Welcome to Spice Market.

I'm Peter Lloyd, the executive chef.

I've got a busy lunch service today, 60 to 80 covers, so a real challenge for you.

Let's crack on. Follow me.

'Boxer Joe's dish is grilled rib-eye steak in a soy marinade,

'served with garlic and sesame wilted bok choi

'and a coriander dressing.'

So, Joe, have you cooked steak before?

I've cooked steak, but not with these ingredients.

-And for 80 people at the same time?!

-Of course not!

All different degrees - medium, rare, well-done.

-You're going to have a lot to think about during service.

-I'll do my best.

We're going to be brushing it constantly with this marinade, OK?

Sounds good.

When we turn it over, it's going to give us a beautiful crossbar mark.

As soon as we've turned it over, I want you basting it again.

See there, we've got that beautiful bar mark, OK?

-I don't want to see tramlines. I want to see criss-cross.

-Quite confusing!

I want you to marinade each steak twice,

-on both sides, OK?

-OK.

Ah, it smells good! I'm hungry!

I want them to rest for at least two to three minutes, OK?

-It makes it much more tender for the customer.

-OK.

It's a lot to take in. It's not just about getting the steak right,

it's making sure it's presented well and looking pretty.

If I'm cooking at home, even if something's really nice, I slap it on the plate!

We just want a nice little line of the bok choi.

I want you to cut the steak into slices,

put it onto the plate, like so.

I want a nice line going straight down the middle.

The main bit that you could get wrong is not cooking that steak properly.

You need to make sure it's cooked the way the guest wants it.

If they don't like it, they'll send it back.

-There's a lot of pressure on you.

-OK.

'Rapper Speech will be in charge of the Nonya seafood laksa,

'served with scallop and gulf shrimp,

'finished with a coconut foam.'

Are you familiar with this type of cuisine?

I do noodle-based soup but I've never done this.

I don't think I've eaten this particular dish before.

We're starting with a complex one, then, if this is your first one.

-It's going to be a challenge for you today.

-OK.

This is a hand-caught diver scallop.

We've got all of these to prepare.

You prise the shell open,

using the knife, you're going to scrape down

to reveal where the scallop is,

and then we can open the scallop.

Then just pull up and around,

and that is what I want ready for the laksa.

You've got 20 of these to prepare.

I'm trusting you to do this.

Ugh! I just felt it!

Whoo!

Again, we've left a little bit of the scallop on there, OK?

-You've got a little bit of work to do.

-Yes.

-OK.

Be confident when you do it. Don't hesitate. Just up and around.

My hands are shaking!

All or nothing.

Look at that! Well done. SHE CHUCKLES

We've got some halibut,

we've got the scallop that you prepared, and a tiger prawn.

Don't shake the pan to start off with because I want some caramelisation on there.

-While that fish is cooking, you're going to be heating up your laksa broth.

-Yep.

The noodles go into the boiling water.

Then I want you to put that in the oven

and that's going to cook for about a minute.

Pour over the laksa.

OK. And then we're going to put in our fish,

our scallop, our halibut and our prawn, like so.

We've got some mint, some Thai basil, some coriander,

and then coconut foam.

-And then we just finish off, like so.

-It looks great.

That's what I need you to recreate for the lunch service.

It's quite straightforward when we do one,

but when it comes to doing service and you're hearing all the commotion,

it's all about your co-ordination, OK?

I'm starting to get a little bit nervous now.

If I stick to those rules and get the things right, in the right order, I'll be all right.

-Nice!

-It's beautiful, right? Nice and sweet.

-Mm!

'It's midday. Over at Canary Wharf,

'for Les and Matthew it's time for service.'

-OK! Listen up! Two venison and three lamb.

-Three lamb, Chef!

How long do you both need, just you two guys?

-Five minutes, Chef.

-What about you, Matt?

-Er...

-Five minutes, Chef.

-Brilliant. Five minutes, everyone on the pass!

'It's crucial that Les's venison and Matthew's lamb dishes

'are ready at the same time.'

-Two minutes left!

-Yes, Chef!

-You gave me five.

-Yes, Chef!

I want everything on the pass, just you two.

-One minute, Les. Come on.

-One minute?

-Yes.

-Right.

Matthew's nearly here. You did say five.

Matthew's here, Les. Come. Let's go.

It's your first check, I've nothing here. Not good enough.

It's going to be another five minutes. Sorry.

-This is all going to be ruined.

-Sorry, Chef.

Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick!

-Come on, Les, we're well behind.

-Sorry.

-You just said five minutes to me.

-I know. I'm sorry.

It's now ten and you're still not done.

Come on, let's go. Over here.

Keep it nice and central.

-Come on, Les. We've got to push it.

-I'm coming. I'm coming.

That's too much sauce. We have to re-plate.

OK.

OK, go. Right, come on. It's really, really slow.

You could tell it hadn't been done by a chef,

however, the meat itself was cooked absolutely perfectly.

It's quite tough. It's just the rush of it and then trying to get the presentation.

Look at me, I'm sweating like a pig.

'Over in Chinatown,

'service is about to start for Speech and Joe.'

-OK, boys and girls, are we ready? One laksa, one rib-eye - well-done.

-Yes, Chef.

Make sure we get these first ones right.

If we get it wrong now, it'll get worse later.

Joe is going to have a lot of steaks coming on at the same time.

He's got to think about all of those different cooking degrees.

It's key that he gets that right.

-This is well-done. It's going to take a good 10 to 12 minutes, OK?

-OK, yes.

Speech has got a lot of different components going into her dish.

She's going to be cooking three types of fish, reheating the noodles.

There's a lot more going on there for her to think about.

Be a little bit more delicate when you take that fish out.

I don't want to see it break up on you.

Nice colour on the fish. Beautiful presentation.

-Keep them like that, you'll do a great job, OK?

-Yes, Chef.

It feels good, Chef said it looked good,

so, er, I've just got to keep it like that.

It's only the start of the service,

but she's shown really good times in the beginning.

Joe, how long for your rib-eye?

-About two minutes.

-Two minutes, yes?

New order! Three rib-eye - medium! Yes? Joe?

Yo!

-Did you hear me?

-Sorry. Yes, Chef.

Get the marinade on that beef first, please.

I put loads on.

-Loads of it on there.

-No, no, Joe! Not on the one that's cooked,

-the ones that are on the stove.

-Sorry.

Joe, let's make sure that bok choi is a nice line.

The steak can go. Service, please!

OK, rib-eye, well done, 94.

I'm waiting for three rib-eye and two laksa.

Yes, Chef.

Good girl. Two at the same time, huh?

-Great job, Speech, really good.

-Thank you, Chef.

I ordered the laksa. Very rich flavour.

I enjoyed it very much.

Come on, man. We've got butter melting on the pass,

chopping boards all a mess.

How are those three rib-eyes cooked?

-They're nearly done.

-No. I'm asking you HOW are they cooked?

-Medium.

-Two medium.

We need to move on these rib-eyes. They've been on a while. Customers are waiting.

OK, ready to go, three medium steaks.

Happy with those, Joe?

-Yes. I could -

-It's not a trick question.

-Yes.

OK, service!

'Back at Canary Wharf, Les has more orders than he can handle...'

New order. One oyster. 76 is away.

-Four venison! Can I have a time, please!

-Yes,

-Chef! Can I have a time?

Is this from start?

-No.

-Er...

-There's four you've got in.

-Six minutes.

-This time, Les, six minutes, not longer.

-OK.

'..while Matthew continues to impress.'

Here, Chef.

Matthew, the lamb is superb. Well done.

-Really good.

-Thank you, Chef.

The atmosphere's gone from nice, calm, banter, friendly...

..to frantic.

-New order. One venison on order!

-Yes, Chef.

Let's get one more in.

-All right, Les, we're bang in it now. I've got six coming up.

-OK.

-I've got two more on order.

'Les is now juggling eight orders of venison.'

-OK, Les, three minutes left, mate. Three minutes left.

-OK.

You want to start plating soon. Come on, come on.

-I think I need a hand, Chef.

-OK. Ben, could you come and give Les a hand, please?

-Right.

-Can I get a plate, please?

-New plate.

-OK. OK. Right, OK.

Thank you, Chef.

OK.

OK. Right. Great. Thank you.

-That's was a bit of a disaster.

-I know.

-All right.

That was tough. It all came at once.

I was thinking, "We'll get two out,

-"then we'll have another four 12 minutes later..."

-OK, listen up!

Two lamb, one venison! Away when ready! New order!

I want, in six minutes,

one venison, two lamb.

-Right. One venison.

-All right?

That's going to be the last one... of the service.

-Yes, Chef!

-Yes, Chef.

-Three minutes!

-Right.

There you go, Chef.

-Very good. Er, Matthew...

-Yes, Chef?

-Really good service today from you.

-Cheers.

Les, we're nearly there. You've got one plate to do.

OK, plate...

Let's make this one count, come on.

Much better, mate. Much better.

Right, let's sauce it and we can send it. Come on.

Much better.

OK, Les, again,

-not one plate made it today on time.

-Really?

-Not one plate.

All right, go. OK, guys, thanks very much. Service is over.

Thanks, Chef!

It's the first time in a professional kitchen

and we're doing big numbers here, so, yes, big wake-up call.

I think Les panicked today.

He certainly did get slammed at one point. Behind on every table.

But saying that, everything was cooked perfectly.

This is a steep learning curve,

and that was the steepest part of the hill that I've been on.

I thought Matthew did a great job.

He's been composed all day. He's been writing notes.

His timing was good. Everything was spot on. I didn't have to get involved.

I really enjoyed today. I think I've learned a lot of valuable lessons

and I'm ready for the next challenge.

'Back in Chinatown, the restaurant is at capacity.'

We're reaching the peak now of lunch. You're going to start getting a lot more orders.

-That was your warm-up. This is the real deal now, yes?

-Yes, Chef.

Joe! HE STUTTERS

I don't know what's happening!

You're giving me one medium-rare. After that, you've got two mediums and one more medium-rare.

-That's four steaks, yes?

-Yes, Chef.

-JOE MUMBLES

He's not listening. If he doesn't listen, he's going to go down.

We've got to keep an eye on him.

OK. Steak.

-Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe...

-Has it fallen apart?

It's not that. Look, it's not cooked.

It's too rare, my friend.

-We can't use that.

-OK.

-It's sliced. Once you make that first cut,

-you've got to make that call.

-OK. So...

We've waited ten minutes for this. We now need to wait for another one.

-I need to get that one out first for that customer.

-OK.

I don't think I've impressed him. I find it difficult to remember everything.

I think it's getting on top of me, doing all this stuff.

-Speech.

-Yes?

-You're doing a very, very good job.

Everything's consistent, the food's coming out nice and hot, your fish is perfectly cooked.

-Well done.

-Thank you, Chef.

Chef says I'm doing well, so it's good to hear.

I've just got to keep it.

Joe, what are you giving me next? I'm not trying to be arrogant,

but if you don't answer me, I don't know you've heard me

-and then you're not doing what I want you to do.

-Sorry, Chef.

Give me a time now on your two rib-eyes, well-done.

-Two minutes, Chef!

-Every time I ask you for a time, you say two minutes.

-I need the truth.

-OK, maybe four.

Is this next one medium-rare, or medium, or well-done?

-You're giving me two well-dones.

-OK.

I'm not sure if this is well-done, actually. No, it's not.

Joe, that's been on 20 minutes now for those two well-dones.

-We should be seeing them now, yes?

-Yep.

'As Joe struggles to cook his steaks to order,

'the customers are being kept waiting.'

Joe, you're currently running at 28 minutes for two rib-eyes.

-OK, two rib-eyes. Joe, we got there in the end, yes?

-Yes.

It was a struggle. Let's go. It's been over half an hour. Send our apologies.

Please don't tell me no more steaks.

OK, last order! We've got one laksa, one rib-eye!

BOTH: Yes, Chef!

OK, Speech, I'm really impressed.

-You're doing a great job.

-Thank you, Chef.

-Medium-rare to go.

-Hallelujah, Joe! We did it!

-Thank you, Chef!

-It makes such a difference when you get it right.

It was a bit of a roller coaster. Joe really struggled.

He was all over the place. He lost his co-ordination.

On what looks like quite a simple dish,

that seemed to be a lot for him to engage with.

Today was really tough. I was a bit flustered and confused sometimes.

What I've learned from today is, never work in a kitchen!

I think Speech has impressed me the most.

The fact that she kept her calm, which was the most important thing,

consistently, she delivered the better food.

I have a new-found respect for chefs.

It's hot in there! It's hot.

It's a lot of pressure, but I think you can tell that they love it, you know?

The food is cooked out of love.

'Service may be over

'but there's no let-up for the celebrities,

'who now return to MasterChef Headquarters.'

Cooking in the competition is so different from at home,

but you have to rise to that challenge.

The professional kitchen was an experience.

It's something I've never done before.

The thing is, I'm an ex-boxer, not a cook,

so I think I put too much pressure on myself.

I'm happy to be back in the MasterChef kitchen.

I feel a lot more comfortable here.

There's no chefs shouting.

This is like my second home at the moment.

Right here, right now, I am feeling quietly scared and nervous,

and also quietly confident that I've practised enough to get it right.

Welcome back.

You have had quite a few tests now,

quite a few lessons.

We want to see progress.

Now it's time for a team challenge.

Two teams -

Joe and Speech...

..Les and Matthew.

This is an invention test.

From the set of ingredients you have in front of you,

we would like one main course and one dessert.

You can sing it, rap it, bat it, punch it,

we don't care how you do it, just get us up some decent food.

We're going to give you ten minutes to think about it.

Make us something delicious.

Wow! OK...

-We've got streaky bacon.

-We've got some quail's eggs.

'The ingredients include mussels, clams,

'razor clams, smoked haddock,

'long-stemmed broccoli, quail's eggs,

'strawberries, dark chocolate, cream cheese and ginger biscuits.'

-What are we doing for the main course?

-What do you think?

-Smoked haddock...

-Yes.

-Clams.

-Clams.

-Cook them off, put them in a fish pie.

-Yes.

This has got to be a seafood thing.

Vongole clams.

Clams, mussels... These are really nice.

It's got to be with something else. Is there rice or something?

You can make pastries and things like that.

You can do whatever you want to.

-Where's the pasta?

-Where's the pasta?

Flour, eggs, you know, things...!

-Do you know how to make pasta?

-I think so. I think I can make it.

What can we serve the fish with to decorate it nicely?

-Would you use the quail's eggs?

-I've done a recipe using boiled eggs.

How long would you boil a quail egg for?

It's smaller than an egg, so a couple of minutes.

-What about dessert?

-I haven't got a clue.

..the cheese, mixed with some caster sugar...

We can caramelise the fruits.

-Oh, cheesecake! I could make a cheesecake!

-OK.

Let's do a cheesecake.

-Try and make it easier for your dessert.

-No, cheesecake is easy.

-Is it?

-Yes.

You've had your ten minutes. You have one hour.

Ladies and gentlemen, let's cook.

-Shall I start cleaning these things first?

-No, let's do the pasta first.

I'm not sure how much flour to how many eggs.

-This is what I can't remember.

-Erm...

-We can just have a guess.

When you're working in a team, you kind of feel like you have a common goal.

You put the flour down like that and you make a hole in the middle.

I'm just not doing this for me. We're doing it for us.

Crack an egg in the middle, then mix it all together,

-and do you know...?

-Knead it.

-Yes!

I've never used one of these before!

My grandfather was a chef for 50 years,

my dad's a great cook, my uncles can cook,

and I'm just the lazy one!

Aye-aye!

Joe!

-What's the plan today?

-There's some clams and mussels.

We'll attempt to do like a pasta or linguine vongole,

or frutti di mare, as they say.

And for dessert?

Strawberry cheesecake.

Strawberry cheesecake. How are we going to make that sexy, Speech?

By having the strawberries on the top in a sexy pattern.

-So cheesecake with some strawberries.

-Yes.

-You're not looking that happy about this today, Speech.

-I'm OK. I'm cool.

It's the south London face. It's kind of just set that way.

I'm happy inside.

You've been round the room with some hard men. Anything as tough as this?

I'm outside my comfort zone a bit, I'm not going to lie, but I do love food.

I actually feel quite embarrassed that I don't know how to do a dish that I've eaten for years.

Your granddad, although he's a good cook, I've heard he's a rubbish boxer,

-so you're all right!

-Exactly!

We don't need all that. We need about a handful.

Joe has been eating shellfish pasta all his life and he's having a go at making it!

It's whether he can take the memories of eating

and make it into a juicy dish.

-Speech.

-Yes?

-Two secs...

-Do you need me to hold it?

-Yes, please.

He's got a sculpture that resembles something out of the Royal Academy,

but otherwise, he's got himself some decent pasta.

I think Speech,

with all her talent and all her experience,

is playing it a little safe!

I'd like to see Speech just push it a little bit further.

We're halfway. You've got 30 minutes left!

-Matthew.

-Yes?

-Do you need butter? Because there's only one...

I'll need a little bit. Big enough for a single portion of fish pie?

Er, yes, I would think so.

So we use that as your fish pie portions.

I like to challenge myself. I'll give 100 percent,

because you can't give any more than 100 percent,

not even if you try.

-How's it going, Matthew?

-Not too bad. Not too bad. Yourself?

Yes, fine, I think.

The challenges are very tough.

I have a lot to prove, especially in the pudding area.

'Yesterday, in the mass catering challenge,

'Les messed up his bread and butter pudding

'and John had to step in.'

Can you imagine that food being served to these guys? No way!

What do you think we expect of you now, Les?

I think you expect us to improve quite a lot, basically.

I'm weirdly going for dessert again

and hoping to put my bread-and- butter-pudding disaster behind me

and prove that I can cook a dessert,

so I'm making soft fruit cheesecake

and a raspberry and chocolate sauce on the side.

Nice. Fish pie?

Yes.

How good can a fish pie be?

We'll see! I think it should be very tasty and very delicious,

but I'm sure you'll tell me when you taste it.

-What are you going to serve with it?

-Some buttered vegetables.

-Not a lot of time left.

-No, Chef.

-And a cheesecake to be set.

-Yes.

-You know they're doing a cheesecake, as well?

-Yes.

It is indeed a battle of the cheesecakes!

Les is doing a dessert.

They say get back on your horse if you fall off, don't they?

I mean, his bread and butter pudding was a disaster!

Let's just hope his cheesecake's a lot better.

Matthew's mashing away his potatoes,

he's made his fish sauce, cooked some mussels and some clams.

My big concern with the fish pie - the whole thing looks really glunky.

-How long do we have left?

-It's your last ten minutes.

-Shall I get the pasta on?

-Yes, yes, yes.

Put the pasta in there...

Are we good? Oh, that looks good.

Go on, boy! Go on, son!

Time's up.

Well done.

Nice!

-Boom!

-Hey!

'Speech and Joe's main is a seafood linguine,

'made with clams, mussels and bacon lardons

'in a cream sauce.'

I like the look of it, mate, I really do.

You can't make a bowl of pasta look smart and elegant, it's not supposed to,

but that's fine.

Your pasta's lovely. It's got a little bit of firmness to it,

the cream is coating everything,

that sweet saltiness you get from shellfish that tastes of the sea.

My only complaint is, those clams are a little gritty.

-OK.

-I'm getting a little bit of a sandy texture in my teeth.

But, Joe, stick with the Italian because you can do it.

Thank you. I'll take that.

Really well-made pasta. The seafood's cooked very well.

I like the addition of the splash of cream to coat the seafood.

-I think it's a really good dish.

-I'm very happy. Thanks a lot.

This is your dish, really, isn't it?

Inspiration from your family, with a bit of guidance and confidence-boosting from Speech.

She's a much better cook than myself,

and I do take a bit of confidence from her, so that's great,

-so thank you.

-That's all right, Joe.

'For dessert, they've made a strawberry cheesecake,

'served with a hazelnut praline and a strawberry coulis.'

He likes it. Do you know how I can tell?

He starts to dance on one leg and wander around.

He starts to do his dad dance. He does dad dancing!

Cowabunga! I just love a cheesecake. All the flavours are there.

You do have a buttery biscuit base. Also, the cream,

there's almost a tartness that's coming from it,

but the whole thing is set on fire

by that lovely strength of the strawberry coulis.

-Fabulous flavour you've got in there!

-Thank you.

It has about as much elegance and finesse as a car-boot sale,

but the textures are wonderful, the flavours are really good.

'Matthew and Les's main course is fish pie,

'served with mussels and clams,

'buttered leeks, long-stemmed broccoli

'and a tomato salsa.'

Right, let's go! Mr Wallace, what do you reckon?

I'm pleased, because very few people realise how dangerous sprouting broccoli is,

and you've managed to keep it fenced in

because you don't want that running all over the plate, so well done, Matthew!

OK, let's get stuck in.

The flavours are really good - smoky haddock, the saltiness of the clams.

I like the richness of the sauce with that smoky bacon,

and I like your well-seasoned potato across the top.

I like your salsa with cayenne pepper, it's quite hot and spicy,

to add something else to your pie.

The flavours are brilliant, the textures are a bit mushy.

Whoa! I really like it.

The texture's absolutely fine with me.

I love the flavours. I really like the saltiness of the seafood

and the smoky flavour with the haddock, as well.

Job well done. I'd scoff that, Matthew.

Thank you.

'To follow, they've made a strawberry cheesecake,

'served with a raspberry compote, hazelnut dust

'and a chocolate and hazelnut sauce.'

Les, well done, mate. I'm so pleased for you. It's the best thing you've cooked.

Your cheesecake is fabulous. Strawberry flavour, with the almost sour cream.

Your little compote, keeping some of the raspberries whole, is lovely. That's delightful.

-I'm a happy boy, Les.

-Thank you.

I love the little stewed raspberries. I like your chocolate sauce.

I think your cheesecake's made really, really well. Not a fault to be found, Les!

-Brilliant!

-Thank you very much!

Well done, you two!

-Good job.

-Thank you.

-Cheers.

Thanks very much indeed. Well done, all of you.

Now you take a break. When you come back

you'll be cooking your own food.

Off you go.

MATTHEW: Well done, boys and girls!

We've learnt summet!

I am really pleased because we had four good dishes.

I'm particularly pleased for Joe,

who presented a stunningly good pasta dish.

Italian is the way for Joe to go.

Whatever we do in life, it's always nice to get good comments.

I'm used to comments in fighting,

but I've never had that many good comments when it comes to my cooking.

Speech's cheesecake was very tasty, but it really wasn't that elegant.

But, John, it's her own food next

and we know what a class act she can be.

I think my confidence has been knocked

because I got used to Gregg and John saying nice things.

I guess it's a reality check. There's still work to do and it's still a competition.

As for Les's cheesecake, I'm really surprised and very pleased indeed.

Well done, Les, for getting a dessert out, and a good dessert!

That's good news, because he's now up for it.

To have Gregg - who loves his puddings -

love my pudding was just fantastic!

And John, as well. He said it was well-presented

and I think he said faultless!

I can't wish for better than that. That's fantastic.

Matthew's a Yorkshire cricketer. I don't want to stereotype anyone,

but he gave us a good hearty dish and I really enjoyed his fish pie.

I think that challenge went very well.

We all got very positive comments,

so it's even-stevens going into the final hurdle.

'Over the last two days,

'these celebrities have faced some extreme challenges.

'Now only one test stands between them

'and a place in the quarterfinal.'

The next round is their own dishes,

so anything could happen, John. Anything.

I need to show that I know what I'm doing

and I can present it and that it is perfectly cooked.

No challenge at all, is there?!

When I need to show to John and Gregg next challenge

is just, erm, I can cook.

I need to produce a plate of food that looks good,

doesn't look like a car crash,

and tastes banging.

Knowing that somebody's going home, you don't have a clue who it is.

You don't want the stigma to be kicked off now,

and I really do want to progress.

This is the first time we get to see the cook you really are,

the food that you love, the food you practised,

so we've got high expectations.

One dish, one hour...

At the end of this, one of you is going home.

Ladies and gentlemen, let's cook.

Today, I'm cooking a family recipe.

I've cooked it a few times over the last few weeks.

My children have been pretty happy with it. They've eaten it. They haven't spat it out!

Hopefully, I'll bring it together, you know?

Joe, tell us what you're going to cook for us.

It's a sort of chicken cacciatore-style,

with tomatoes, a bit of red wine and red peppers.

-Hopefully, it'll be all right!

-You like to use the word "hopefully".

What's this about "hopefully"?

I don't know. I'm not talking about hopefully. It's going to be good.

What is it that you particularly like about this dish?

-I just like the taste of it!

-That'll do!

What do your kids think about you being on MasterChef, mate?

My one boy said, "Dad, I'm a better cook than you are" and he's only 18!

-So your son, who's 18, reckons he's a better cook than you?

-Yes.

-You've got to prove a point to him.

-Of course I've got to prove a point!

-And deliver a knockout blow?

-Hopefully!

Joe's got about 400 chicken legs covered in three tons of sauce,

including peppers and capers and onions and tomatoes and allsorts of wonderful things!

It smells wonderful.

How's he going to make it look beautiful?

He's a brave man, our Les.

Les, another dessert!

Another dessert. And quite an ambitious one, as well.

-What are you doing?

-A fondant,

with a cherry compote

and cream, caster sugar and Greek yoghurt.

I have done it before. I've just got to not let the nerves bubble over

on top of the excitement.

How much do you now want to stay in this competition?

After that cheesecake round, I want to stay in.

-And we look forward to a fondant.

-Yes.

-A fondant fancy.

-Absolutely!

-A Family Fortunes fondant fancy. There you go.

-Wow.

What has happened to Les?

He's got one good cheesecake and the whole competition's come alive for him!

But what he's attempting here is really complicated -

a chocolate fondant that's got to be perfect, otherwise it's going to be a puddle.

I'm nervous for him.

I made three last night for my wife, my mother-in-law and myself

while we sat and watched a movie.

I was watching like an expectant father as they were in the oven,

waiting for this baby to be born.

If they're right, you jump up in the air and you feel really elated about it,

but if there's no sign of gooey chocolate in the middle,

I'm finished!

Hear the word! The word is halfway!

I'm excited about cooking my own food.

If it's cooked from the heart, it should taste good.

I'd like John and Gregg to eat this and be like,

"Speech, you're a dope chef,

"and that's what I'm going to call you from now on - dope chef."

You've got an incredible array of different flavours here, Speech. What is your dish?

It is tamarind and molasses fillet of beef,

with buttered spinach, and potato and celeriac mash.

This is a clash of cultures. Where has the inspiration from this come from?

I've got British culture, I've grown up with Jamaican culture,

and also from south London, a lot of other cultures, as well.

-Sure.

-You obviously love to cook. What is this competition starting to mean to you?

I think this competition is like... I feel like I'm supposed to be here.

Do you think you've got a talent that you didn't know about?

I think it's a talent.

I kinda knew about it.

Cor! Speech is right out there with some of the flavours she's playing with here!

She's got beef, she's got tamarind,

she's got chilli, she's got jam on the side!

I've never had beef and jam, John, so it's a culinary mystery tour.

She wants elegance, she wants sophistication,

but she wants it to stay true to the flavours of the Caribbean.

Brilliant!

You've got 20 minutes left!

You might see that I laugh and joke and everything else,

but crunch time and when it's time to perform,

I get on and do it.

I am quite serious. I want to win.

Matthew, as you go further and further in this competition, the more intense you become.

I'm a serious character when I have to be.

-I need to be now, so I'm intense.

-I quite like the attitude.

-Thank you.

What are you cooking today?

A pork fillet, crusted with herbs, poached,

with a black pudding mash, baby vegetables

and a beetroot and apple balsamic reduction.

You really are going for it!

It's a bit of a challenge. Hopefully, I can to put it out within the hour.

How much do you now want to stay in this competition?

I'd love to stay. I want to learn, progress and I want to eat good food.

I really want to be able to cook it, as well.

-What do you want to demonstrate now?

-I want to demonstrate how rude I can be

and tell you to go away so I can concentrate on my cooking, if I'm being honest!

Righto, big man! That's one of the best answers I ever had!

-Thanks, Matthew. Good luck.

-Cheers.

-We're off!

Matthew is really pushing himself. He is cooking herbed pork...

..he is making black pudding mash

and beetroot with balsamic vinegar.

John, that is a lot of work in one hour

and lots of processes.

This guy is really going for it. I have just begun to realise how ambitious Matthew really is

and how competitive.

I just hope he hasn't bitten off more than he can chew.

You have just five minutes!

Time's up!

'Joe has made chicken cacciatore,

'with smoked bacon, capers and olives,

'served with parsley-buttered potatoes.'

Joe, your food delivers like you do in the ring - with a massive punch!

Very sweet with tomatoes, sharp with the capers and salty with the olives.

I like the richness of your potatoes. I think it's a lovely-tasting dish.

It's not very pretty but it tastes really good.

That is typical of so many Italian dishes -

lovely flavours of sweetness, smokiness, chilli heat, garlic,

the potatoes are soft, the chicken's soft, the vegetables are all falling apart.

The issue is the simplicity of it.

Thank you. Thanks, guys.

John said it packed a punch.

Pun intended, it was a compliment for me.

I just hope I stay in!

'Les has made a chocolate fondant, topped with a quenelle of cream with Greek yoghurt,

'and a cherry and kirsch compote.'

Mate, you've done it. You've got a firm outside and a runny middle.

Loads have failed where you've succeeded.

Putting the yoghurt in the cream to make it sour was a stroke of genius

because it offsets that sweetness of the cocoa and the chocolate.

You have made a very successful fondant.

You've got really lovely sweet-but-sour cream,

you've got soft cherries,

a very bitter-but-sweet chocolate fondant with an oozy centre.

I like it a lot, but I'd like it to be a bit more grown up.

A bit more booze in those cherries would make it a bit more exciting.

But it's a very, very good pudding.

-Thanks, Les.

-Thank you.

-He's done all right with his puds towards the end.

-He has.

John and Gregg have nicknamed me Les "Two Puds" Dennis, so I'm quite happy with that!

'Speech's dish is a fillet of beef,

'marinated in tamarind and molasses,

'served on a bed of lime and butter spinach,

'accompanied by potato and celeriac mash,

'with a beef, garlic and thyme sauce.'

I love the colours. I like it a lot.

I really like that, Speech. I think you've got some really good flavours going on there.

I like the sweet nuttiness of the celeriac in your mashed potato,

I love the sweet-sourness of your sauce,

but I love the flavours you've got into that spinach.

It's buttery and it's slightly spicy.

-What did you put in that spinach?

-Garlic, salt and lime juice.

-I love that!

You've got some very interesting, different

and very good flavours in there.

What you deliver is something really elegant and sophisticated.

Your sauce is a wonder!

I love that wonderful all-spice flavour, with thyme and richness coming through it.

It's all really well-balanced, delicious and very, very moreish.

In fact, it's so good, if you look at the plate right now,

between Gregg and I there's very little left!

I'm feeling relieved, erm, that it's done.

I think my dish worked in terms of taste and inventiveness.

I think I did well.

'Matthew has made poached herb pork fillet,

'served on a black pudding and potato mash,

'with baby vegetables

'and an apple and beetroot balsamic reduction.'

Unfortunately, all the sauces ran into each other

as soon as you stuck it on the plate.

I like the way you've cooked everything,

I like the way you cooked the pork, the way you've made the mash, it's creamy, it's lump-free,

I love the freshness and the crunch on the vegetables,

but the combination of balsamic vinegar, tarragon and beetroot is so strong

it's overpowering everything.

Your tarragon is wonderful with the pork.

Your black pudding and mashed potato is lovely.

Your beetroot, apple and balsamic is absolutely delicious,

but all of them are too much.

Thank you.

-Those flavours were too big.

-They were too big. But he's got a nice little touch.

Hopefully, I've shown them enough, that I've got ambition, I've got a lot of ideas,

and, hopefully, it was good enough to move forward.

Wow. I'm really impressed by today's work.

Two really good rounds. The competition's really come alive.

Unfortunately now, we've got a judging decision to make and one of you will be leaving us.

We'll get you back in as soon as we can.

Off you go.

I've really enjoyed today. Some seriously good cooking when they did their own food.

Some tasty food, some ambitious food,

some colourful food, some unusual food!

My favourite cook today is Speech.

I love the beef, love the sauce that she made with tamarind.

The flavour in the spinach, I thought it was delightful!

I'm impressed by Speech today for two reasons -

one, her dish was quite surprising in the way it delivered,

the other thing I like was her teamwork.

She pushed Joe and that team came out trumps.

I'd be gutted if I went home. I want to be in this for the long run.

I think the universe has told me

this is what I'm supposed to be doing.

Matthew's an ambitious cook.

He probably did three times as much work as any other contestant.

He showed skills, ambition, he showed that he likes big, bold flavours.

His issue was just too many flavours on a plate,

too many big flavours.

I play to win and I'm in it to win it,

so I'll be absolutely gutted if I go out first.

I was surprised by Joe. As a team member today in here, he's done really well.

He listened to what Speech had to say.

He got some confidence. His food today has been really tasty.

-His presentation's got a lot to be desired.

-But he's got a good palate

and he knows what Italian food should taste like.

I'd like to stay in MasterChef. It's a journey.

I know I have a good palate. Given the opportunity, I can progress a lot.

Les, just all of a sudden, found his feet.

He made a dessert that really worked,

and then went for a fondant that actually proved completely successful!

I think Les has got a decent touch.

I'd love to get to cook another day, but I've had a great time and I've learnt so much.

I feel I haven't made "a show of meself",

as my mum would've said!

The issue we've got is, they've all cooked very well today,

all of them.

We're going to send one of those cooks home.

Which one?

When you all cook well,

it makes the judging extremely difficult, so well done.

The person leaving us...

..is Joe.

-Joe, thanks very much indeed.

-Thank you.

-Thanks, Joe, very much.

-Thank you, guys.

I found the competition tough.

I'm a bit disappointed to go out first,

but somebody had to go and, er, it's me.

Congratulations, guys, you are quarterfinalists.

Well done!

-Well done.

-Well done.

-Well done.

Keep it going.

Keep it up!

I'm absolutely thrilled.

I'm finally beginning to believe in myself as a decent cook.

I thought, "I'm a home cook"

but I'm proving to be better than that, which is great.

Knowing that I've got through gives me confidence.

It makes me want to cement myself...

..as a dope chef.

Chuffed to bits! Through to the next round.

Tomorrow's a knockout round, so no rest for the wicked.

It's one hurdle overcome, another obstacle in the way,

and, hopefully, you can perform tomorrow.

Hey!

'Tomorrow night, the battle for a place in the next round reaches its climax

'as the celebrities face their toughest critics yet.'

I'm worried.

Strawberries and prawns? Are you nuts?

It's like edible wallpaper. It's just background.

The whole thing is just a bit "Bleugh"!

-It's lovely.

-It's really lovely.

The contestant leaving us is...

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