Episode 9 Celebrity MasterChef

It's Celebrity MasterChef.

We've got 16 celebs all hoping to show off their cooking talent.

It's a pretty scary experience, I have to say.

They've proved themselves in their own profession,

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

I never expected to get this far. I'd love to go forward.

I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not joking around any more.

This is serious.

Cooking doesn't get tougher than this.

Throughout this week, these three celebrities have been through

some exceptionally tough culinary challenges.

But after today, only the best can go through.

They make the grade, they stay.

They don't cut the mustard, they're out the door.

Let me tell you what's happening today.

You are not just presenting your food to John and I.

We have invited three special guest judges.

Three people who truly understand what this competition is all about,

because they won it.

Today's a celebration, a celebration of your food, the food that you love.

And, of course, you've got to step it up a level.

At the end of this, one of you will be leaving the competition.

Let's cook!

The contestants have just one hour and fifteen minutes

to cook a two-course meal.

And they're going to have to impress three exceptional champions

who have come before them.

I remember very clearly what I was like at this stage.

I'm prepared to be quite forgiving, but only on some things.

For me, they've got to step it up,

and they've got to do a good job and prove that they want to be here.

Is it cooked? Does it taste nice? And if it does that, I'm happy.

Those three past winners know what it takes to win this competition.

No excuses. You have to deliver quality dishes.

This is one of those days.

Cheers. Up yours.

It feels absolutely fantastic

to make it to the MasterChef quarterfinals,

because I really didn't expect to come this far.

The challenges that I've done in the past have been a surprise.

Cooking my own food today,

I'm happier about, without a shadow of a doubt.

It should be a little bit easier, however, it still has to be good.

Shane is making a starter

of scallops with minted pea puree and black pudding.

For his main, he'll be serving steak

from one of the world's most exclusive breeds of beef, Wagyu,

famed for its exceptional quality and the way the cows are reared.

So, Wagyu, huge amount of fat running through it. No pressure, Shane!

I've never done it before and this is the best of the beef,

the best of the situation, this is the best I'm about to give you,

and hopefully I can pull it off.

To be fair, I have never seen you so animated.

How up for this are you?

I'm... Flat-out, full-on, let's have it, all or nothing.

Let's have it - all or nothing.

That's like a war cry, that is, mate.

Well, it is a war cry, this is a war, you know?

I know we're a kitchen, but to be honest,

-there's plenty of knives around.

-Shane... Good luck.

-Thank you.

If Shane can cook us beautiful scallops and black pudding

and a fantastically-cooked piece of Wagyu beef

with some nice accompaniments, John, they are winning dishes.

The sort of stuff people will order and demolish.

We know he's got a touch. Today he's got to prove it to our three guests.

The big thing is the Wagyu beef,

because it's such a delicate beef to cook.

If you get it wrong, you'll destroy it,

and I think only the top chefs are really meant to cook it,

so, I ain't no top chef, but I'm going to give it a good go.

20 minutes gone! Did you get that, Shane? You've had 20 minutes, mate.

I think my performance in the competition

has been quite flappy, quite panicked...

But it was really when I was cooking my own dish

that I felt on it.

I feel really delighted I'm cooking my own food today,

because I know what it's meant to taste like.

Mmm! Love it.

My worry is time, time, time. Time!

Shappi! Tell us what the food is today.

Well, for my starter, it's called kotlet,

it's a lamb and potato kind of patty-type thing.

I'm making a Shirazi salad.

It's very simple, finely diced onion, cucumber,

and tomato in a lemon, olive oil sauce.

And for your main course?

Main course is saffron rice with barberries

and herb and spice slow-cooked chicken.

To be honest, I thought you'd be leaving this competition

until you cooked your own food.

Did you think I'd leave?

I mean, when you cooked your own food,

something quite magical happened.

I was all at sea for much of the competition

before I cooked my own food.

To say that I was out of my comfort zone is to put it very, very mildly.

I was on another planet.

I think, for me, the star at the moment is that starter.

The main course, I'm a little bit concerned

about it being big and ugly.

It's Persian banquet food that she's cooking, John.

It doesn't necessarily lend itself to pretty European presentation.

So the flavours and textures have got to be bang on.

My performance in the competition so far has, I think, been erratic.

Up and down, one might say.

Producing four plates today is the biggest challenge,

because, time-wise, it's added a lot of added pressure.

This competition means so much more to me than I ever thought.

Brian, you look like a man under a bit of pressure.

-Yes, I am.

-What are you going to cook us?

It's roast cod on a bed of leeks in a clam sauce.

That's the first course.

And then something which I've kind of made up,

called "apples and pears, stairs".

It's an apple and a pear, and the pear is poached,

the apple is briefly poached and has butterscotch on it.

You decided to give yourself a huge amount of work to do,

a huge amount of pressure,

because you want to stay in the competition.

Because I love being in it.

Despite everything, despite the scariness and the pressure.

If I cooked the cod perfectly and kind of got the dish together,

even if I went out, I'd feel I did that right.

Look, I know it's really important to you, but if you can calm down

-and enjoy it, you'll produce better food.

-All right.

-Can you do this?

-Yes.

-Go for it.

Do you think Brian's been a little bit too ambitious?

There's a lot going on in his main

and so much going on with his dessert.

Yes, but if he pulls it off, it'll be brilliant!

He's not only just got to pull it off,

he's got to finish it on time and it's got to be cooked to perfection,

and it's got to be presented well.

I think that may be a tough call for Brian right now.

Shane, there's five minutes to go, mate.

-EXHALES DEEPLY

-Nothing easy about it.

So, Shane's starter, scallops with black pudding and a minted pea puree.

That's a MasterChef classic, isn't it?

It's compulsory to do that dish.

Those scallops have to be beautiful and browned on the outside

and soft on the inside, otherwise he's had it.

He's actually put a load of pressure on himself

by doing a really simple dish.

You've got two minutes left, young man.

60 seconds, Shane.

Come on! Come on, let's go. You sure you're happy with them?

Yeah! I'm happy.

-Good-looking dish, lots of colour.

-Thank you.

You've still got a lot to do with your main course when you come back.

-I do. I'm under pressure, lads.

-Right, good.

Hiya, hello.

How you doing? You all right?

We have a mint pea puree with some black pudding and scallops.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Enjoy.

The scallops, at first sight,

they're nice and caramelised on the outside,

we'll wait and see if they're cooked on the inside.

It smells nice. I'm looking forward to eating it.

The good is, my scallop's cooked perfectly. I really like the glaze.

I think the pea puree, it could be a bit silkier.

The black pudding could be half the size,

and he hasn't taken the skin off.

I'm not a fan of black pudding, but I think he's done a good job.

Yes, a few little issues, skin on the black pudding,

scallops are cooked beautifully. I'm happy, well done, Shane.

Shane's scallops are cooked absolutely beautifully,

well seasoned,

fried for long enough, crispy on the outside, cooked all the way through.

The black pudding needs to have that skin removed from the outside.

I like the pea puree. I'd like it to be a bit looser.

That could so easily have been a dull dish,

but, in fact, it's absolutely beautiful.

-Shane?

-Yes.

-You've only got 15 minutes now to do that.

-You've got mash to make, you've got steak to cook.

-I do indeed.

-You going to do it?

-I AM going to do it.

-Get your steaks on.

-Shane's Wagyu steak dinner.

-Yeah.

-I'm really looking forward to this.

I love steak.

Accompaniments can be whatever.

The king has to be the meat.

About six minutes on that main course, please.

Two minutes.

Where's that beef?

My word.

Look at that. Beautiful, beautiful!

-Decent-looking grub, and on time.

-Yeah, it's a bit basic.

But it should taste good.

-Right.

-Thank you.

You have a Wagyu beef with some garlic mash and greens. Enjoy!

GUEST JUDGES: Thank you!

Well. It's...man food, isn't it?

There's your steak, there's your potato, and we've got some beans.

Get stuck in. I can't wait.

That steak is delicious!

That...

Is the best bit of meat I've eaten for a long, long time.

Is there actually any mash in the garlic mash?

There's much too much garlic in that mash,

and my vegetables are undercooked,

but I'd rather have them under than over.

I don't actually mind the garlic in the potato,

but then there's no need to have the roasted garlic on the plate.

There are technical issues.

He hasn't quite balanced the flavours, but hats off for the steak,

-it's unbelievable.

-The fact that he's done the steak so well

-gives me hope.

-Yeah, it's beautiful.

This dish highlights to me exactly Shane's lack of technical ability.

The vegetables should be buttery and peppery and should be soft,

the mashed potato should be a little bit more fluffy

rather than being so glue-like, but, somehow or another,

he's got that beautiful piece of beef and cooked it perfectly.

I felt I gave myself quite a bit to do, with the two dishes.

It was ambitious, but you know what, go hard or go home now.

-Shappi, about six minutes on your starter.

-OK.

So, Shappi's starter is a kotlet...

No idea what that is.

With a Shirazi salad. No idea what that is!

Thrilling!

You've got 30 seconds, which is bang on time. Well done.

-Hello!

-Hello, Shappi!

-Hello, everybody.

-Hi.

This is a very popular Persian side dish,

it's called kotlet, and it's made with lamb and potatoes

and the salad is called a Shirazi salad, because it's from Shiraz.

-Enjoy.

-Thank you!

-Thank you very much.

I think it looks lovely.

The smell of it's gorgeous, isn't it?

I'm intrigued by these kotlets.

They're flavoursome, they're light, they make a great starter.

I love this little salad, I find it very refreshing.

The dish is lovely, the salad is lovely.

-I love the crispiness of the coating.

-I like it...

I don't know if I was expecting something slightly more.

Something with a bit more oomph, bit more punch.

It's got some nice flavours, with the cinnamon

and the grated onion with that minced lamb, and the crispy outside

from the breadcrumbs, but there's no finesse about this dish.

It seems a bit rushed and put together at the last minute.

I've got a crispy meat patty

and a salad that's very, very basic indeed.

I'm not impressed, John.

-Shappi, you've got 15 minutes on your main course. Happy?

-Yep. Happy.

Shappi's main is so Zereshk polo.

I've no idea what that's going to be either.

-Really looking forward to it.

-I wonder if polo is chicken.

-OK, you've got three minutes left, Shappi.

-Right. OK.

Oh, yeah.

So, what berries are they?

-They're barberries, which used to be native to the British Isles.

-Lovely!

Absolutely lovely. Right, where's this chicken?

-OK.

-Well done, you.

-Hello!

-Hi there.

OK.

OK, so, this is saffron fluffy rice, Persian-style,

with barberries, which is a sweet and sour berry,

and slow-cooked chicken with various herbs, and I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you very much!

It's a big portion. She's not shy.

I've never had barberries before, I have no idea what they taste like.

It's definitely inviting.

I definitely want to give this a go.

A really interesting plate of food. I've never had that before.

The rice, it's OK.

The chicken, it's nice, it's not singing out anything to me.

It doesn't make me think, "Wow!"

These barberries are quite sour, and that works,

I like how sour they are. But I want some sauce.

I want some sauce with this.

It just feels like it's all a bit too dry.

Everything on this plate from Shappi is cooked really, really well.

The rice is wonderful and puffy, sweet with saffron,

barberries on top - lovely, and soft.

The chicken, cooked beautifully all the way through

with that bitter outside from the lemon.

I don't mind it, but I'm not excited by it.

I think there's some great flavours there, and some good cooking,

but there's no presentation, and it's a little dry.

Oh!

I'm slightly shell-shocked.

I'm not sure if pride is the right word,

but I feel like I've done myself justice, whatever the outcome.

Quick, quick, quick, come on, you can do this.

Brian's main, fillet of cod, shallot and clam sauce,

with Parisien potatoes, on a bed of leeks, topped with bacon.

For me, if he cooks this right, this will be my favourite dish.

Things that I'll be looking out for here

is the quality of the sauce, actually,

to see whether it's sufficiently thick.

I don't want a watery sauce.

Three minutes, Brian.

Think about what your presentation is, Brian, come on.

-You've done all this work, finish it off nicely.

-Look at that.

Good work, mate. You've gone through a lot of work here.

OK. Finishing touches now. Bit of bacon.

-Anything else to go on?

-No.

You've got all your veg, leeks, sauce, cod, potatoes?

Oh, no! Yes, yes!

Dressing. Cockles.

-Should be serving now. Is that the last bit?

-This is it.

It looks great, Brian!

I'm really impressed with your presentation, mate.

For the first time.

-Done then?

-Yes.

-Good. You happy?

-Yep.

-Let's go.

-Where is it?

Through those doors over there.

Should be all right, should be OK. Fingers crossed.

GUEST JUDGES: Hello! Hiya!

Hello!

It's roasted cod on a bed of leeks, with clam and shallot sauce,

and Parisien potatoes topped with American bacon.

-Thank you very much, Brian.

-Thank you.

Thank you. It's a pleasure, thank you.

There's aspirations to elegance here.

Out of all the plates we've seen so far,

this is the one that looks most like something you'd have in a restaurant.

I think he's cooked the fish beautifully. It's soft, it's moist.

You know, well done.

There are things I'd like to be done better. I'd like my bacon crispy,

I want some texture with it, because it's all a bit soft.

The clam sauce is beautiful.

If the leek water hadn't bled into it, then it would be even better,

but the taste is still there and really delicious.

I really like that. That's my favourite dish so far.

The cod's very well cooked, it's very soft.

I like it with the salty bacon.

I also like the taste of the sea from that clam sauce.

Some really good cooking. Some really good flavour combinations.

The only problem is he hasn't drained the leeks

and the water is running out into his sauce.

Apples and Pears, Stairs.

Red-wine poached pear with mascarpone filling.

Poached butterscotch-coated apples with pistachio stairs.

Now, that screams ambition to me.

I haven't seen the word custard or cream anywhere.

That doesn't seem to bring it home to me.

At the moment Brian, I am falling in love with your pudding.

When he said, "Apple and pears, stairs"

I didn't really think we were going to get stairs on the plate!

30 seconds, mate. Look at that! I'm loving it, Brian!

-Well done!

-Are you done?

-Yes.

-Are going to go now, please?

-Yes.

-Go on, mate.

-Oh, no!

-What?

-I've forgotten to do one thing.

I just need to put the reduced...

Some of that reduced stuff...

HE LAUGHS

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

This sweet is called "Apple and Pears" as a bit of a joke!

Rhyming slang of stairs.

What it is is poached pear

and a butterscotch sauce

over poached apple, with a dusting making the stairs

to try and connect the two together.

-Thank you, Brian.

-Thank you.

I really like that. I really, really like it.

I think he's poached the pear to perfection,

-you can taste the spices.

-The apple,

I love it, with the pistachio and that butterscotch.

It's beautiful. I'm really impressed.

Perhaps didn't look as beautiful as it tastes.

But for me, it tastes great. I love it. Well done, Brian. Fantastic.

-First dessert of the day and he did a great job.

-Yep.

His cooking's really good. His pears are beautifully poached.

The apple's wonderful because it's all caramel,

sweet, with the bitter caramel and the praline.

As far as I'm concerned, that is beautiful.

It's the best thing I've eaten all day.

I absolutely love it,

could look a little better, but it tastes divine, John.

I'm looking at Brian through different spectacles today.

I was pleased, in the time, to get it done, I really was so frightened.

It was terrifying, I have to say.

I've got to say, all in all, not a bad day.

No timing issues, no cooking disasters.

Hasn't been a bad day at all.

It has to be said that Brian was the most ambitious cook in the room.

That fish was cooked perfectly. He took the care to take the skin off.

The clam sauce all creamy.

The leeks - maybe drained a bit more. But not a bad job.

I completely fell in love with Brian's dessert.

I think it could have looked better

but I thought it tasted absolutely divine.

Beautiful, beautiful. Well done, Brian.

He's my chef of the day.

-So, we agree, Brian stays in the competition.

-Yeah.

Now, we need to make a decision. Do we keep either Shappi or Shane?

I very much liked his scallop dish.

He should have taken the skin off the black pudding,

but cooked very well and I really enjoyed the flavour combinations.

Shane's steak dinner left a bit to be desired

in that the accompanying bits weren't great.

Sloppy mash and the veg weren't buttered

and the garlic wasn't cooked properly,

but the steak was beautiful.

I have given them my best

and if they think I've run out of steam and it's time to go home

because my best has now passed, then fine.

If they think my best can be improved

in what they're about to show me or give me, then wonderful.

Shappi, I don't think she quite managed it today with her starter.

That little patty thing, that kotlet, was sweet,

but didn't work for me.

-The salad was uninspiring.

-The main course, chicken.

Lovely and soft with those almonds

and the bitterness of that orange peel across the top.

The saffron rice all fluffy and flavoured with saffron

and those berries, sweet but sour.

But it needed something much wetter.

I'd like to have seen what was covering that chicken

by the ladleful, because the dish was dry.

I was pretty confident last time...

I'm not as confident, I'm totally at a loss.

If I get through, I will be so delighted.

You guys did well today.

Good food, the guest judges were impressed,

made our judging decision even more difficult.

Unfortunately, this is a competition

and that means that one of you is leaving us.

The contestant leaving us is...

Shappi.

-Bad luck, sweetheart.

-Thanks, guys. Good luck.

It would have been lovely to have gone on.

My mum's going to be disappointed that I'm out this soon.

She might be marching round to John and Gregg's house going,

"What is wrong with my daughter's cooking?"

I'm not disappointed in myself, so I'm good.

Very impressive, well done. Well done!

'I'm delighted, I am absolutely delighted.

'I feel fantastic,'

fantastic about moving forward.

-Good job!

-Well done!

I'm very proud that my dishes impressed the judges. It's fantastic.

I really want to carry on. I really want to go for this now.

My wife won't believe it.

She won't believe it.

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

To become MasterChef champion,

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

-Get on my knees.

-You can still save it.

You're rocking. You are rocking.

Don't make plastic bags like they used to!

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

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