Episode 17 Celebrity MasterChef

'This is the penultimate Celebrity MasterChef.

'And Ade,

'Les

'and Janet...

'only have a few challenges left to prove themselves.'

I never in a million years

thought I'd get as far as this.

I've got to believe that I can be that person

that can win Celebrity MasterChef.

I haven't won anything before.

My wife has won a load of things. Our mantelpiece is full of BAFTAS.

It'd be very nice just to get a little MasterChef trophy

and put it up there - maybe in the middle.

I'm pleased I've got this far.

If I wasn't here there'd be no women in the final and that'd be shocking.

From 16 celebrities we have whittled it down to these great three.

'Tomorrow, one of them will be crowned Champion.'

'Today, the three finalists will be entering the world of fine dining.

'They finally get to cook at this year's Chef's Table.'

When it comes to fine dining, you've got to have certain skill sets.

I hope that I can raise my game and accept that challenge.

'But first, they have to cook John Torode's rabbit three ways.

'An offal-stuffed loin, pan-fried fillets

'and ravioli stuffed with rabbit shoulder.'

This is about taking on a dish and understanding all the processes.

What ends up on the plate is flavour and rabbit.

We now have our final three. It's time for them to really step it up.

'First, they need to butcher the rabbit.

'Then braise the shoulder and legs in a pressure cooker.'

Drop your bouquet garni in and add to that a good amount of white wine.

Now, 500mls of stock.

Pig's trotter. That gives you viscosity, thickness to your sauce.

Add that into our pot.

-That's going to make meat for your ravioli, meat for your Swiss chard and the base for your sauce.

-Right.

-OK.

-Yeah.

'Next, the fillet has to be removed from the loin.'

That is tricky. Removing those little fillets,

-then taking that backbone out is tough.

-That's right.

-Really hard.

'Then the loin is stuffed with the liver and kidneys

'and wrapped in pancetta.'

Now, roll the whole thing.

I browned the loin in the pan and now it's going in the oven.

It's going to take 12 to 15 minutes to cook.

Now I'm going to make the parsnip puree.

Peeled parsnips. 100mls of olive oil.

100mls of milk.

Onto the heat and bring it to the boil.

There's loads here to do. It's really confusing.

I'm going to do some chopped chestnuts as a garnish.

This is simply chestnuts fried in lots and lots of butter

with chervil and black pepper.

We've got legs going on. We've got parsnip puree going on.

We've got the loin roasting. We've got chestnuts in butter.

-Now what?

-We're going to crumb the little fillets.

Roll them first in our seasoned chestnut flour.

Into egg.

And then breadcrumb.

-This is the most complicated recipe we've given them so far.

-It is.

Now the sauce. I'll strain off my stock that I've made with my rabbit.

Into a pot. Add to that red wine...

..and a half bottle of port.

If you reduce this sauce too much, it's had it.

Not enough and it's too thin.

-That rabbit is going to be drunk!

-Haha!

'While the sauce reduces,

'the braised shoulder meat is prepped for the ravioli filling.'

So a small amount of filling into each one.

Then we fold them over.

Ravioli in.

Whilst the ravioli's in, bring the rabbit out.

-Yeah! Look at that!

-There you go.

Now, we start to build the dish.

You have to have a clear vision of how this dish is going to look before you start.

Parsnips.

-And our chestnuts.

-Oh! Look at that!

John, that's beautiful, mate.

Mmm.

Aaargh!

Argh hahaha!

-Ah!

-There you go. Rabbit and chestnuts.

-That's beautiful.

Every single part of the rabbit's been used in that dish -

leg, shoulder, loin, liver, kidneys.

That is complicated, a real step up from what they've been doing.

It's technical, highly skilled and there's lots of process.

-This is going to be fascinating.

-Yeah.

-Let's get 'em in.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the world of fine dining.

Today, you have a job because we've given you a recipe

that incorporates many processes and many techniques.

It needs to be sharp, articulate, delicious.

One of you is going to be our champion.

Everything you now do is going to be under the closest scrutiny.

Good luck. Two hours. Let's cook.

It's confusing. I'll take it a stage at a time, see if we get there.

I don't understand what the end result is. Chestnuts on the pasta, then the red wine sauce...

I need a pen.

There's a massive amount to take in. Very daunted by it.

You feel the intensity of this task.

The silence in this kitchen is deafening.

Three rabbit dishes. Three celebrity chefs.

I promise you, three very different looking plates of food.

Now, the words "fine dining" seem to me to be some uptight experience.

It comes out and you are supposed to fall down in ecstasy at what it looks like,

photograph it and tell all your friends it cost 120 quid.

But I'm not going to do something unless I do it 100%.

I take everything seriously and you don't mess with me.

Janet, you already cooked rabbit for us at the mediaeval banquet.

Yeah, I had to bone 16 rabbits in a very short space of time.

I think that the way John's asking me to bone it

is far more fiddly than I would normally do.

But now we're doing the "high end" version.

-Do you understand the recipe?

-I'll give it a go.

If the whole thing at the end of it tastes brilliant, it's worth it.

-Which bit are you most worried about?

-I make pasta but not ravioli.

I'm assuming I'll just remember from some crevice of my pensioner brain.

Janet may say that she doesn't approve of fine dining,

but she's going to give this task everything she's got.

I'm not sure about her with a classic sauce.

I'm also not sure about her with ravioli.

We are really testing Janet.

30 minutes have gone. Hour and a half left.

I'm slightly worried about the idea that we have to step it up

to another level of gastronomic brilliance.

The tricky bit is not just kind of making food tastier

by throwing a load of stuff in - throwing exactly the right stuff in.

-How do you feel about this, Ade?

-I've never done THAT to a rabbit!

You shouldn't be able to go very badly wrong if you follow a recipe.

You've got to make ravioli and also a very good classic red wine sauce.

-Have I?

-Yeah.

-I hadn't read that far ahead. That sounds interesting.

-Have you made ravioli?

-Well, I've made sheets of pasta.

-Right.

-So ravioli's just putting two sheets together with something in the middle.

Did you expect to make it to the final three?

-Of course I did.

-You did, didn't you?

-Are you better than the other two?

-Janet's a worry.

Er...not just as a chef.

Les is...finding it hard to breathe.

I think I'm running up along the rail.

Ade's starting to realise how much he's got to get together to get everything on the plate.

As calm as he was, I think now the pressure has got to him.

One hour to go. Seems a fair amount of work still to do.

It hasn't been an easy journey.

It starts off so badly for me, and then to be here,

to produce food that I didn't think I could produce,

has been a real thrill.

-SIGHS

-Are you going to get this done?

-I really don't know.

-How do you feel about it?

-First, I was in a blind panic - butchery, fine dining, those skills.

Now I'm with some vegetables and stuff seems a bit friendlier, but I don't know about timings.

-What's been the most difficult part?

-Just seeing that rabbit there,

knowing that it had to be butchered.

Did you expect to be in the final three?

-LAUGHING:

-Not in a million years. You know that I didn't.

Just that kind of, "Oh! Do I deserve to be here?"

That's always the way I am.

It means that I'm feeling the fear and doing it anyway,

but it doesn't mean it isn't fearful.

-Well done, Les.

-Thanks, guys. Thank you.

Les has gone back to old Les who can't breathe.

SIGHS

I want him to breathe because, in fact, Les is more ahead than anybody else in the room.

He is more ahead than he thinks he is.

Guys, right now, you should be doing your last job.

It's going to take about six minutes to put this plate together.

Three minutes left, please. Get this stuff on your plates.

You've got just two minutes. You've got to get it on a plate!

Rabbit! Veg! Ravioli!

Sauces! On you go!

Final touches!

That's it! Your time's up!

OK, bring your plates up.

The recipe I gave you was rabbit three ways with chestnuts.

You had a loin of rabbit filled with its offal and wrapped in bacon,

parsnip puree, a ravioli filled with rabbit shoulder.

Then you had chestnuts themselves scattered round the outside

with pumpkin and a red wine sauce with Swiss chard and bit of the leg.

I think you three have done amazing jobs, I really do.

All right, Ade, let John have a look at yours first.

I quite like your presentation. Not bad at all. Nice.

You've got an issue with the sauce.

It smells like burnt onions, which is a shame.

But what I do love is the inside of that ravioli.

Heady with sage, sweet with carrot

and that lovely rabbit meat, really very nice indeed.

Everything accomplished in the time. Really pleased for you.

-Good job. Shame about your sauce.

-Yeah.

It tastes good. Every bit of it tastes good.

I don't mind the sauce with that bitterness at the end.

Really love your rabbit with the offal in the middle.

There's a real hint of garlic in there as well. Good job. Good job.

Thank you.

As we were walking up with our three plates,

I looked at the other two and thought, "I think I've won this round.

"They might forgive the sauce and crown me the winner immediately!"

Janet.

This is your weak point - presentation.

Do you know what, Gregg? For the first time in my life, I'm going to agree with you.

-I don't believe YOU could eat all that as a main course.

-I eat a lot.

A huge amount!

Oh! You cook SO well, Janet, I wish I lived next door to you.

Actually, I almost do!

I tell you what, some of this stuff on there is absolutely peachy lovely - peachy lovely.

The rabbit with the offal and the bacon, that's good.

The rabbit's still soft. I like that iron richness from the offal.

The ravioli with the bits of chestnut on the top

are just heavenly!

They're sweet, nicely seasoned. They're soft. They're moist.

Your puree's as creamy as you like! You could spread it on a carrot cake!

You've got crunch in your chard. Your sauce is rich and fruity.

Janet, for crying out loud,

stop telling us off and make it look pretty!

-I know, I know, I know.

-I agree with Gregg.

It's a great job. It's a great job.

If I could eat it from underneath a cloth so I didn't have to look at it, I'd be really happy.

LAUGHS

-How are you feeling, Janet?

-OK. I agree with a lot of what you said.

I put too much food on a plate so, yeah, I have actually said, "Sorry I agree with you."

-Cor, I bet that hurt.

-But I said it quickly.

And she kept her fingers crossed.

One meat, three different ways - only a chef would think of that.

Any challenge I'm up for. As long as I have the last word.

LAUGHS

Right, Les, let's move on to you.

Mr Dennis, don't dribble the sauce over your rabbit.

It's a beautiful cylinder of rabbit all there on show.

You chuck the sauce over the top and it looks like it's bleeding.

Les, your sauce is nothing short of marvellous.

-Thank you.

-Absolutely marvellous.

Spicy, sweet, berry-rich with that wonderful rabbit.

The ravioli is delicious and sweet.

I love the crispiness from the fried chestnuts alongside the ravioli.

-Your rabbit's a little bit under.

-Right.

And your Swiss chard needs a lot more seasoning.

You can do this, you know, Les.

-You've got to have a big injection of confidence.

-Yes.

-You're in the final three.

-I know.

-You've got to believe it, mate.

-We don't put you through to make up the numbers. Remember, we've got to eat your food.

-Yeah.

We know you can do it really well.

You have the best flavoured rabbit wrapped in bacon I've tasted,

the best sauce, by far, out of the three.

It's got a sheen to it that's incredible.

At your best, you can take on anyone.

But you've got to believe you can take on anyone.

Funny that there are schoolboy errors AND some of the best cooking in the room.

Which may sum you up completely, Les.

We asked 100 people

the least likely finalist in Celebrity MasterChef.

Our survey said, "If he's there, I'll give you the money meself!"

-Thank you, guys.

-Cheers, Les.

At my best, I have the ability to win this.

Did I just say that? Yes, I did. I've got to start believing it.

They said it. I've got to start believing it.

Well done. Thank you very much.

They're good, John.

Tell you what, they are very, very good, all three of them.

Now I've left there, I've remembered the last time I did something like that.

It was in about 1974!

-LAUGHING:

-I cooked a partridge three ways!

I think this is the toughest we've been on a group of celebs and they've risen to every challenge.

That was really complicated and they all got stuck in.

At one stage, there was just steely silence.

They had their heads down. All you could hear was their hearts thumping.

HEARTBEAT

Nothing else.

Janet knows what she's got to do. She was disappointed today.

She realised that she could have done a little bit better.

Ade is a good cook. Shame about his sauce, but he ends up with a decent dish.

There is nothing wrong with Les Dennis that a spoonful of confidence wouldn't cure.

More than a spoonful of confidence.

-A bucket of confidence!

-A bucket of confidence. Absolutely.

-An articulated lorry full of confidence.

-Maybe.

The next challenge is massive, but I believe our three are up to it.

'It's the morning of the chefs' table.

'Ade, Les and Janet are heading to Roux at Parliament Square...

'..where in just over three hours, they will be serving lunch

'to four of Britain's most respected Michelin-starred chefs.

'The chef in charge today is 2009 Professional MasterChef Champion,

'Steve Groves.'

The style of food's modern European.

We have very classical foundations to our cooking,

but we like to have a modern interpretation of that.

Our contestants are cooking Steve Grove's menu

for four invited Michelin-starred chefs.

Doesn't get bigger, most certainly doesn't get tougher.

Cooking for Michelin-starred chefs?

-I'm rather worried!

-LAUGHS

It takes a lot to throw me.

What is intimidating is achieving

this pinnacle of perfection in the presentation.

-LES:

-This is such an experience

that we are being given, so I'm looking forward to it.

These are my dishes, so I want them to be executed perfectly.

It's daunting for me, let alone for them.

Morning. We've got some really big industry leaders in for lunch.

I really hope you guys can do me proud.

I want you guys to step up to the mark. Follow me, we'll get started.

-Ade, you're going to be in charge of the starter.

-Mm-hm.

It's a roasted langoustine consomme with beautiful Welsh prawns,

coastal vegetables and a prawn boudin.

-Prawn boudin? What's that?

-Prawn boudin's a sausage, essentially.

-It's a white sausage made of prawn.

-Sounds complicated.

When it comes time to serve, you need to roast your langoustine.

Just arrange the langoustines.

The prawns have just been peeled. They go on raw.

-Raw?

-Yeah.

-When we pour the hot consomme in at the table...

-That cooks them?

That'll just lightly poach them.

Then you start arranging some of your sea vegetables.

This one's called stonecrop. This one's called monk's beard.

Try and get them kind of coming up, as if they're growing.

Over here, this is an oil made from the langoustine shells.

We use a modified tapioca starch which absorbs the oil so it turns into a powder.

Oh, wow!

It's like space dust, like sea-flavoured space dust.

It will dissolve when the consomme goes on.

These are the crackers, which are made from a prawn stock,

some tapioca, which you cook out, dehydrate and then fry.

That's how your dish will go to the table.

-Then the waiting staff will pour the consomme on.

-Right.

It's quite a challenging dish.

You've got to make a beautifully clear consomme.

-We don't want tough langoustines.

-It looks quite complex to me!

All the information you need is in here. You've got three hours.

It's going to be difficult, but it is definitely do-able.

-Good luck.

-Thank you. See you in three hours.

-Yes.

I've never made a consomme. I've never made a mousseline.

So there's some learning to be done and some effort to be put in.

First of all, I'm going to have another little taste.

Mmm! Nice.

Right.

Janet, you're in charge of the main course,

which is Herdwick lamb in three ways.

We've got some courgettes, some black garlic and rosemary on there.

-Lamb three different ways?

-It is.

-All right. I'm on message now.

Lamb three different ways. Have you got a photo of what it looks like?

I'm going to make one of the dishes then you'll see how it looks.

Cos at the moment, you know what this looks like? Origami.

When you come to plating, the black garlic puree

gets brushed along the plate.

Then your belly piece goes on.

Your lamb and courgette ball comes out.

-Should be very delicate with this.

-Yeah.

-It's popped on the end.

The vegetables just kind of run through the middle.

Your loin piece just sits on the edge there.

And then, just before it goes, a little bit of the lamb sauce.

And that's your finished dish.

So, we need five portions of this

perfectly replicated.

I have faith.

I've cooked all the elements.

Obviously, I haven't made the origami ping-pong ball.

I speak English and that's talking to me in Urdu.

You've got the main course, the centrepiece of the whole meal.

-Yes.

-How do you feel about that?

Well, assembling it is the tricky thing.

-Right at the last minute, at pace.

-I've only got to do five.

-It's not like 105.

-With a smile.

LAUGHS

'Les is in charge of Steve's dessert,

'chocolate delice filled with a liquid caramel centre,

'decorated with chocolate shards.'

It's all about the preparation.

-If you get all the elements right, when it gets to the end, it's just a case of assembling it.

-OK.

It is quite fiddly.

-It takes a bit of time.

-Beautiful.

Once you've filled the top, a little crumb around the outside.

This one is aerated chocolate.

That will be your finished dessert.

-When they cut into it, the liquid centre should ooze out.

-OK.

Very important that you get organised.

We've had to freeze it to get the shape and to dress it.

-It needs to defrost before it's eaten.

-It's beautiful.

-Thank you very much. You confident?

-Uh... Yes, chef. I am.

That is beautiful, really stunning.

I've got a lot of elements, which I'm going to have to get on with.

Clearly. So here we go.

'Ade's first job is to make the seafood consomme for his starter.'

Many chefs will mess up a consomme.

So for an amateur chef to do that, it's very difficult.

They have to make sure it's perfectly clear.

If not, it will just look murky and disgusting.

There's a process in the consomme which involves egg white.

The egg white makes it go clear. I don't know how.

-And I don't know the method. So...

-SIZZLING

..that's just a little worry up ahead.

Smells nice. Smells lovely!

-Everything smells nice over here.

-LAUGHING:

-It really does!

'Ade looks like he's enjoying himself.'

But he lives and dies by the clarity and quality of the consomme.

-Consomme looks a bit thick!

-LAUGHS

'Janet begins by braising the diced lamb shanks,

'which will be used as stuffing for the intricate courgette balls.'

Janet and presentation are not happy bed fellows!

John, this thing today has not only got to look as sexy as,

it's got to be precise - does that sound like Janet?

My buttocks are clenched. My lips are pursed.

I'm under control.

'She then starts to prep the lamb loin.'

-I've butchered it?

-Yeah, you've butchered it.

-Oh, no.

Isn't there enough of it that's all right?

I'm sure we can get the portions out from the ends.

I've cut it off the bone, scored it.

Apparently, I've scored it a little bit too deeply, but you know what?

For someone who's doing it for the first time, it was...OK.

Roll it as thin as you can, yeah?

If it's too thick, it'll set hard.

'With so many elements to the dessert,

'Les starts by rolling out the chocolate paste for the base.'

I'm getting ready to make these feuilletine discs.

I've got to roll this as thinly as possible, cut it in two

and place in the chiller until set, which will be about two minutes.

I don't know whether it's a good or bad thing

to give the responsibility of dessert to Les Dennis.

He has had triumphs with his desserts.

He's also had dishes bordering on nightmares when it comes to sweet stuff.

To ask him to put a chocolate dessert together filled with caramel

is really, really hard.

-Chef, is that thin enough?

-You want to go as thin as you possibly can.

-Even thinner than that?

-Yeah.

It's amazing how you think you've got it thin enough

and there's still a way to go.

'Back on starters, Ade now has the challenging task

'of making the unique nori and langoustine powder.'

I'm roasting these for that strange powdery oil stuff that goes on top.

It transforms into flavour when you put liquid on it.

'Ade takes the oil and slowly adds tapioca starch.

'It will absorb to form the finished powder.'

-What are you making?

-I'm making that kind of weird powder.

-Interesting. It's like prawn cloud.

-Yeah.

-Cloud of prawn.

-Steve?

-Yeah.

-Is that what you're looking for?

That's it.

Ade, you're on starters, so you kick off the whole shooting match.

Very important job.

-Have you attempted food at anywhere near this level of complexity?

-No.

-I've never done, for example... That.

-What is it?

It's a kind of powder that when you pour the consomme on it it instantly melts.

It's fish space dust, that's what I'm calling it.

-Has he bought it in or does he make it?

-I made it! I made it!

-Out of what?

-Took me bloody ages.

-This is even more complicated than I thought, Ade.

-Oh, yes.

-How sure are you that you can pull it off?

-I'm pretty sure it'll happen.

Does Ade "MasterChef Champion" Edmondson sound good to you?

It's nice of you to say so soon.

-There's me, John and a few Michelin-starred chefs to get past first.

-All right.

'With 90 minutes gone, Janet's peeling the black garlic for her puree.'

You could get prisoners in to do this.

I'm just in a black hole of a work area

where you've got to peel eight heads of black stinking garlic.

I don't know what time or what day it is.

'Back on dessert, Les is making the chocolate delice

'that will encase the caramel.

'He has to slowly emulsify egg yolk with olive oil.'

Apparently, this is the trickiest bit so far.

I'm sure there'll be trickier bits yet. The measurements are crucial.

If you get too much of one thing, it's not going to be right.

It's split. Didn't drizzle in too little at a time.

Got a bit, um...ahead of myself.

JOHN: 'Les has got to calm down.'

He starts to panic then he rushes things and that's where it goes wrong.

Just, basically, repeat the process.

Imagine that's your oil, that's your new egg yolk

and it should come together.

So now we're rescuing it by adding the mixture that I've made

to some more egg yolks.

In 45 minutes, the first course has to leave the kitchen, OK?

'With his langoustine powder made and the consomme clarifying,

'Ade now starts to make the tricky prawn boudin.'

It has to be like a smooth sausage...of flavour.

Rather than the recognisable constituent parts.

It's a question of hiding where it came from.

That's an incredible amount of effort for a small amount of stuff!

SIGHS

'He then adds cream and egg whites to the prawn mix.'

That is done.

'And pipes it onto clingfilm, ready to be poached.'

Now you're getting the shaping, it's going to give you a nice even neat piece.

'Having braised the diced lamb shank,

'Janet wraps it in garlic leaves.'

Janet, you've got one hour.

Do you know what? Time's lost...all meaning in here.

'She now has to tackle the dreaded courgette lattice

'that will go around them.'

STEVE: I don't think Janet realises how much she's got left to do.

The courgette ball could be really infuriating and take time.

If you use the stick, you can lift them all up at once.

-Is that near enough?

-Yeah.

Come on! Push yourself!

Tidy it up.

And I put the ball...

-Round side down. Perfect.

-Then I cut that?

-Yeah.

Pull up your corners.

Keep it nice and tight. Squeeze out as much air as you can.

Now use that clingfilm to tie it.

-Lovely.

-Is that all right?

-Yeah.

-So now you just need another...

-Three.

-Three more.

We're serving the first course in half an hour.

We need to pick up the pace.

'With time running out, Ade begins to portion his poached boudin.'

It's a little bit under-cooked.

It's not quite holding together.

-Is that whole one ruined?

-Re-roll that bit and pop it back in.

I think you'll have enough.

Ade's had a bit of a problem. His prawn boudin wasn't quite cooked.

So we've got that back in to cook.

He seems on top of it. He's got most of the things he needs.

He just needs to get organised.

'Meanwhile, Les begins to construct his dessert.

'First, he cuts the feuilletine base.'

Come on!

'Then he needs to quickly get the frozen caramel out of the moulds.'

-You need to work quickly now.

-OK. While they're still frozen?

-Yeah.

-OK.

-One in the centre of each.

JOHN: Come on, Les!

STEVE: Les seems to be working quite nervously.

When it all comes together, you have to work very quickly

because the liquid centre melts so quickly.

'Next, he pipes the chocolate delice around it, encasing the caramel.'

Step up the pace a little bit.

'He only has seconds to do it before the caramel melts and leaks out.'

If you don't get it into the moulds, levelled off very quickly,

it's going to start to leak out and that has started to happen.

-You can see where it's come through.

-Right.

Once you get to that point, there's no going back.

You have to start the whole dish again.

-Maybe give up on that one? Squeeze a bit more into these.

-OK.

Seal them off, otherwise you won't have the five that you need.

So, smooth them off very quickly.

-The longer they're out, the more it's going to melt.

-Sorry, chef.

In the fridge!

We think it's possibly salvageable.

I won't know until we are very close to service.

Am I expecting restaurant-standard food?

Absolutely! Of course!

It's all going to be about the detail.

The devil's in the detail today.

When you're cooking for a chef and you're not a chef,

it's always a challenge.

I'm hungry. I haven't had breakfast, so I'm really looking forward to it.

My food has to be spot-on.

Ade, you are ten minutes until the starter has to go.

Your consomme should be warming up.

You should be ready to roast your langoustine.

STEVE: Cooking for chefs of the calibre today,

there's no hiding place.

They know what they're looking for when they taste food.

They'll spot any mistake.

-JOHN: How are you doing, Ade?

-I'm under pressure!

-But you're loving it, aren't you?

-Not at this precise minute.

-It's a bit scary.

-It is a bit scary.

Moment of truth.

The hardest thing in the starter, whenever somebody puts consomme

and prawn boudin to go with that, they really pushed the boat out.

-GASPS:

-Look at that!

So while those are in heating up, come up to the pass

and start plating what you've got.

Fast and precise, Ade. Come on.

It's looking good.

Keep going. Nearly there.

That's lovely! Look at that!

-Beautiful.

-Consomme into a jug.

Looks amazing, Ade.

STEVE: That's perfect. Just off centre, to the edge of the plate.

As soon as you've got the powder on, give the plates a wipe.

-Then we'll send it.

-Ready to go?

Perfect.

Service!

-Thank you very much.

-Well done.

-That was fun.

-It's a tough dish.

-Done very well.

-I enjoyed that.

I've always appreciated what goes on in restaurants,

but I appreciate it just a little bit more today.

'Ade has made roasted langoustine consomme served with a prawn boudin,

'langoustine and nori powder, tapioca crackers

'and coastal vegetables.'

Presentation-wise, it's absolutely stunning.

Very simple, very clean. The consomme's very clear.

Beautiful smell of shellfish.

You know those flavours are going to come through.

The langoustine's a touch over-cooked for me.

The boudin's really nice and soft.

The flavour of shellfish in the consomme was just amazing.

- Spot-on. I loved it. - I would be happy to pay for that.

I haven't been able to eat it because of my shellfish allergy. It looks stunning.

- I hope you guys enjoyed it! - Nice one, Tom. We'll have that!

Yeah. Get in there!

I'll swap that for a lamb main course!

LAUGHTER

No chance!

Ah! Ade Edmondson - Michelin-starred chef!

That's really delicious. What I love is the fragrance of it.

That powder is amazing. It's enhanced it. Incredible!

And the consomme, crystal clear. Bang on the money, Mr Ade.

-Hello, chaps.

-CHEFS: Hello.

-Enjoying your tea?

-LAUGHTER

That was a very difficult dish to do.

I have to say that I really enjoyed that.

If I know you can cook like that, knowing you live up the road,

I might need to call on you on a Saturday night!

These guys say that the langoustine was slightly over-cooked.

-For me, it was perfectly cooked. I really enjoyed it.

-I like you.

LAUGHTER

I was very impressed. You should be very proud of yourself. Well done. I enjoyed it.

Thank you.

I'm feeling rather elated.

Feeling quite high. It's quite nice.

I think they genuinely seemed to like it.

And they should have done. It was bloomin' tasty!

OK, Janet, we're meant to be up in five minutes.

These take eight minutes to cook and we haven't made them all.

I'd say we're going to be around 15 minutes late.

Timing's caught up with Janet. We need to get this food out. People are waiting.

The main course is going to be delayed for ten minutes.

OK. Thank you. Tell him I've got a train to catch.

-Yes, no problem.

-LAUGHTER

'With Janet running late, Steve steps in to finish the courgette balls.'

JOHN: Are we serving lunch today, Janet, or dinner?

Don't even start gobbing at me, OK? Hurry up.

-This dish is the equivalent..

-Ssh!

-..of building the Eiffel Tower!

MICHAEL: I love lamb. It's one of my favourite meats.

There might be several little compositions going on here.

Can they get each one right and execute it well?

TOM: Technically, again, difficult.

It's pushing them to the limits, I would have thought.

That's lovely.

-How long, Janet?

-I've got to start assembling in a minute.

-She's late, isn't she?

-She's really late.

She's 20 minutes late now. Just lost sight of time.

She's got to put it on a plate yet.

Let's get everything up and we'll come back for the sauce.

First thing's to brush it in a nice line.

Let's try and make it perfect.

Get the rest of them done.

It goes at right-angles!

Just hurry up.

We need to go a bit faster, yeah?

Big push now, it'll be over in a couple of minutes.

-Lovely.

-Look at that!

-Come on!

-Stop it! I'm trying to get it right! Don't put me off!

WHISPERS: Hurry up.

It's a stunning dish.

Splendid! Look at that!

-Now what?

-Sauce.

OK. Service.

Well done, Janet. We took our time but it looked all right.

It looks lovely. I'd be happy to serve that.

It took a bit longer than they expected.

You would hardly expect me to be able to build a Roll's-Royce in five minutes, would you?

'Janet's dish is Herdwick lamb three ways -

'belly, loin and lamb shank stuffed courgette balls

'served with broad beans, baby courgettes and black garlic puree.'

Visually, this looks brilliant.

It looks absolutely fantastic.

The smells coming from the plate are beautiful.

You're just saying that cos this is something you can eat!

How cool is the courgette thing? I'm looking at it going, "That is cool."

I thought the dish was phenomenal. Incredible bit of cookery.

All the flavours married together. Looked really good.

Beautiful vegetable cookery really enhanced the dish.

For me, I thought that was an incredible dish. Brilliant.

The best thing was that courgette was not over-cooked.

- I really loved it. - That is very, very nice.

I didn't talk too much when I was eating that.

I'm a big lamb fan. All three bits of lamb are cooked beautifully,

but the star of the show is that belly

that is soft and sticky and salty.

Well done, Janet, BUT timekeeping all over the place - it has to be noted.

This dish is done by Janet. Look at the presentation!

She finally got the presentation right!

-Hello.

-Hi, Janet.

-Hello! You ate it all!

-TOM: Yeah.

MICHAEL: As you can see, we didn't like it(!)

Did you eat it cos you were so starving cos you had to wait?

It was a wonderful dish.

The attention to detail in the vegetable, the quality of your cooking was just a delight.

-It was worth waiting for. Well done.

-Thanks very much.

This was a dish that I would happily eat in any Michelin-star restaurant.

-You really have done yourself proud. Phenomenal bit of cooking.

-Thank you.

-Bye.

-Thank you.

Oh!

Well, I'm glad that's over!

'It's now time for Les to plate his dessert, but there's a problem.

'The caramel has leaked out, ruining the chocolate delice.'

I'm not happy to serve these two. There's a big hole in this one.

This one, where the chocolate's sunk I can see the liquid's run out.

Three of these desserts might be salvageable.

It's difficult to say until we de-mould it.

The liquid centre might run out. Could mean failure for the dessert.

Les has really messed up.

Chef reckons he might rescue two, possibly three.

There is not going to be four and definitely not one for us to taste. That's a disaster.

Let's make them as good as we can

-and let's see if we can get three perfect desserts out.

-OK.

I should have piped quicker and had the confidence to pipe quicker.

And I didn't.

That's one!

That's another one that's worked.

Yeah, that's three.

The dessert is going to be served in five minutes,

but unfortunately it's going to be just three plates because they have a problem in the kitchen.

Chocolate's a difficult thing to work with, guys.

That all needs to be beautifully presented. Timing's crucial.

Take your time and get it right.

Maybe start using the tweezers.

-Calm yourself down. Take your time.

-Yeah.

Make sure it's immaculate, yeah?

-Chef, is that OK?

-Get your wiping cloth.

-Are we done?

-Yeah.

-Well done!

-Well done, Les.

-Well done!

-Thank you, chef. Thank you so much.

-That was a tough challenge.

You got three desserts up and they look great.

Thank you, chef.

Stick one here. Me and Michael will share.

MICHAEL: Ooh! Thank you.

Gregg said to me the other day, "the odd schoolboy error".

It lets me down. That's what's happened here.

So, you know, yeah - absolutely gutted.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

'Les's dessert is a chocolate delice with a liquid caramel centre

'topped with chocolate water ganache

'and decorated with aerated chocolate.'

What do you think was the problem? >

Liquid centre. One burst.

It's very liquid. One burst.

What I like is there's plenty of chocolate,

but I think it was a challenge for the person who has made it.

There's lots of things going on! It's not a simple affair, is it?

TOM: For somebody who's an amateur,

he's done an incredible job.

NATHAN: The dish is called "chocolate variations".

It says, "Six or seven different types of preparation."

Most pastry chefs would struggle, so I think Les has done very well.

-Hello.

-CHEFS: Hello.

I'm sorry that you got to share dessert rather than get one each.

-So sorry about that.

-TOM: It's perfectly OK.

-This is a technical dessert.

-Yes.

-It is really hard to get done.

You nailed it with the techniques. It's very advanced cookery.

You should be very proud of yourself.

What you can take from today for the final is that disaster tests you more.

You need to show character in the rest of the tasks and learn from this.

You've got to take positives away. Don't go away with your head down.

-Go away with your head up, knowing that we are impressed.

-Thank you very much.

APPLAUSE

Wow!

SIGHS

I thought I'd had a failure, but it seems not.

I've said this all the way along, I don't believe I've got here.

But I have. What the guys said in there makes me realise

that I deserve to be here.

-Hello. It's us again!

-TOM: Hello, chefs!

MICHAEL: Ade, Janet and Les, thank you for a wonderful experience today.

I think all of you were challenged with Steve's menu

and, technically, you did a really good job.

TOM: The food was first class.

We've eaten a Michelin-starred meal.

It's been absolutely fantastic. Such good cooking.

And I don't mean this in any way detrimental or rude,

but surprisingly brilliant!

LAUGHTER Well done.

-LES:

-Thank you very much.

I was surprised at the standard of the celebrities.

The level which they cooked and the food they delivered was excellent.

They really cared about the results.

Ade on the starter was fantastic. He followed the recipes really well.

He was very methodical in the way he worked and the dish he put up was fantastic.

With the main course and Janet, although she would only work at her own pace,

the food she put up was perfect - but she WAS late.

With the dessert, we had a bit of a disaster.

Les could have given up.

He put up three desserts I think he can be proud of.

Great day, great food!

All three of these celebs now go into the final cook-off

having learned a great deal about fine cuisine and about themselves.

Now they've got to think about all they've learned through the competition.

That's got to culminate in their last three dishes, their final cook-off.

I tell you what, it's going to be a ferocious fight!

'Tomorrow night, it's the final.

-'Either Janet...'

-I'm glad I've got this far, yeah.

-It proves I was right!

-LAUGHS

'..Ade...'

I'm ready with my magnanimous loser face,

um, but I don't want to display it. Yeah.

'..or Les...'

You should never say "try". Always believe that you can do it.

'..will be crowned Celebrity MasterChef Champion.'

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