Episode 1 Celebrity MasterChef

Brand-new celebs, in this kitchen.

We are about to find out whether they can cook.

I love to entertain. I think I'm a bit of a feeder.

Some of them think they can cook, some of them know they can't cook.

Some of them are just delusional.

It's kind of like stepping off into the unknown for me.

All we want is just a little bit of promise, a glimmer of hope.

I'm up for a bit of adventure.

You can act, you can sing, but can you cook?

These five celebrities are taking on the challenge

to become the next MasterChef Champion.

But at the end of today, only the best cooks will make it through.

I don't know what I'm going to be like under pressure.

I don't know what I'm going to be like thinking on my feet.

God knows what's going to happen, but I'm really looking forward to it.

I don't know how I'm going to handle the stress and tension.

I don't know how big the kitchen is.

Give me a dance floor, give me a band, give me Flavia Cacace

and I will be as happy as Larry.

So, I don't know, I don't know if John or Gregg dance.

I have done some preparation but where do you start?

That's the problem.

I was thinking, I must learn to do X and Y

and then I thought, "Sod it!" You know,

I've just got to go in there and wing it and hope for the best.

The biggest reason for me coming onto MasterChef

is definitely to improve my cooking at home,

become a little bit more adventurous instead of the traditional fare

that my kids and my family are used to and, who knows,

watch this space. Fingers crossed.

I hope that I can move forward with my cooking

so I can be proud and hold my wooden spoon high

and know what a coulis is.

They may be stars of the screen and stage

but today only one thing counts - how good their food tastes.

Good to see you and a warm welcome to the MasterChef kitchen.

This is your opportunity to prove to John, me,

and the whole nation how good you are cooking.

This is your first task. The mystery box round.

In that box you have all the ingredients to make for Gregg and I

two different types of spring rolls and dipping sauce.

You will have 50 minutes to do it in.

Be adventurous.

Be creative.

Let's cook.

To fill their spring rolls, the contestants have been given

a selection of ingredients including

pork mince, cooked duck,

tofu, shiitake mushrooms,

bean sprouts, cucumber,

and chillies.

They've also been given a choice of wrappers including traditional

spring roll pastry,

iceberg lettuce, paper tofu,

and rice paper wrappers.

They will have to make the dipping sauces from a larder

which has a range of oriental oils, soy and vinegars.

Oh.

Five celebrities completely thrown by one of the greatest

takeaway foods in the whole world - a spring roll.

I haven't a clue what I'm doing here.

SHE SIGHS

After years of travelling for the catwalk...

Relax, you're fine. Breathe.

..supermodel Jodie Kidd's life now centres around her family.

Jodie, can I ask you, the career you had,

what was your relationship like with food?

Well, I was very good at making salads.

Cooking was not part of my life at all so it is only since

I've had my son, who is a two-year-old, that I've started

really embracing cooking, so I'm very new and it is all exciting.

I'm not very good at experimenting.

I'm freaking out here.

Take me outside of that box and it's complete meltdown territory.

I've got to say, Jodie's knife skills are amazing.

Everything she cuts is beautiful.

Jodie is looking OK.

Former EastEnders actor Todd Carty grew up on his mum's Irish stew

and now carries on the tradition.

I am the main cook in the house at the moment.

I've kept them out of A&E so far, so we'll wait and see.

So, tell me how you are going about this.

Well, I'm doing two different types of rolls.

One a more meaty one and one a more birdy one. Simple as that, really.

And, the competition, how far can you go? With a fair wind behind?

With a fair wind, I reckon I could be out by Thursday.

Todd is slowly working through

trying to understand the flavours, and now

he's experimenting with different wrappers and different fillings.

I think it's a voyage of discovery for Todd.

I just hope that on that voyage we end up with something delicious.

20 minutes have gone.

Wow!

-That does go quick.

-Right.

TV fashionista, Susannah Constantine, is normally happy

cooking in the comfort and privacy of her home kitchen.

This is torture, I've discovered. I'm so scared.

I've got no idea what I am doing.

I'm just literally putting ingredients in here.

If you are so stressed, why are you here on MasterChef?

Because I love to cook.

And I want to learn.

But I'm not being taught at the moment,

I'm having to use everything with my own devices. Do we have plates?

I'm hoping at some stage you might calm down a bit

because you look like you are doing OK to me.

Really? Please don't set me up for disaster!

-Do you know what I think you need right now?

-What?

You need me to go away.

I just need, I need, I need

a Valium is what I need right now.

-I wish you best of luck, Susannah.

-Thank you for your kind words.

I hope I don't let you down.

I am feeling more nervous

than I think I've ever felt in my entire life.

Susannah may be able to dress herself but presently she's

-finding it pretty difficult to even dress a salad.

-I cut my finger!

She's wrapping up some vegetables in a lettuce roll

that she's made with some sauce and she has got herself a little

bean curd skin which she has put some duck inside and she has pan-fried it.

I think Susannah's might be all right although they

don't look very tight, they look as though they're all a bit flimsy

and they might all fall apart.

We've only got 20 minutes left.

Astrologer Russell Grant's repertoire revolves around

very traditional meat and two veg cooking.

For a lot of people, going in the kitchen is something where

they can get away the stress of the day.

For me, a kitchen probably brings me tension and stress.

I love Chinese food but I like to go and get it cooked for me.

But, if you've eaten it, you can make this and taste it as you go.

I've been doing a bit of that,

so I put ginger and garlic together with that and chilli,

which always seems to be the three staples of Chinese cooking.

-Russell, you're a genius!

-I don't know about that.

-Keep going, mate.

I will.

Russell is understanding things because he loves Asian food.

However, the issue for Russell right now is that dipping sauce.

He's not quite sure what he's doing but he's giving it a go.

It was horrible.

Whatever that was I made, it was vile.

I don't really know what I'm doing yet.

Four Weddings And A Funeral and Gosford Park actor

Sophie Thompson does most of the cooking for her family.

-Have you got kids?

-Yes, two boys.

-What do they think of Mum's cooking?

Sometimes it's, you know, it's all right, and sometimes it's...

"Shall we go out to the chippy?"

Sophie is definitely the most impressive cook in the room.

She has taken the rice paper, she's soaked it

and inside it she's got a mixture of tofu and vegetables.

And then she's got herself a deep-fried one

which is full of duck with bean shoots.

The girl obviously understands Asian food.

But the way in which she works is frightening.

There is mess from one end of the bench to the other.

I've set myself alight now.

I am utterly excited/extremely nervous.

I'm just hoping I don't pass out with excitement.

You've got just three minutes left.

Time for something on a plate, I think.

Five seconds.

That's it. Your time's up.

Stop.

Todd, stop.

Oh! Wasn't that exhausting?

-That was intense!

-I know!

Supermodel Jodie's first spring roll is lettuce-wrapped pork

which she's chosen to serve with the hoisin sauce.

-I like the pork.

-Right.

The hoisin-based sauce you've got, is it just hoisin?

I really want to say no and that I've added a few bits in but, yes, it is.

Right. I admire the way you've emptied a bottle of hoisin!

For her second roll, Jodie has made a rice paper-wrapped

duck and ginger spring roll and served it with a dipping sauce

made from sesame oil and rice vinegar.

I made the sauce, which is just horrific, because I thought

-I'd have to try, but I highly advise you using the hoisin.

-Right.

Oh, no! That's a lot of sauce.

You got some really nice ideas.

Your duck one flavoured with ginger I really like but your sauce

-on there is completely non-descript, it's just oily vinegar.

-Yes.

Three parts rice vinegar, one part soy sauce,

you can add a bit of ginger to that or a bit of lime juice,

-that's your classic dipping sauce.

-That's it?

Three and one, that's all you've got to do.

Your knowledge of Asian flavours is not there, I can tell because there

is not the background of ginger and garlic, but your presentation

is extraordinary at this early round and your knife skills

are amazing and I think right now we might have a very special cook.

Wow.

It was edible and they didn't spit it straight back out,

so I suppose that's quite good for my first task.

So, I'm just so relieved that's over.

EastEnders actor Todd has chosen to deep fry both his spring rolls.

His duck roll is cooked with cucumber and black pepper

and his pork mince spring roll with chilli.

There is one sesame oil dipping sauce to accompany both rolls.

-These are a little scruffy and it's because you ran out of time.

-Yes.

I like the flavours in both of them.

I like the pork with the chilli

and I love the duck with the cucumber but they are both greasy.

The reason they are greasy, Todd, is that you left both the ends open.

-Right.

-That is why you seal it, so when you seal it, deep-fry it,

you're deep-frying the outside crust so it seals it

and inside everything steams and stays lovely and moist

and that's how the cooking process works.

With two minutes to go, you got something on the plate, Todd,

probably not the best round in the world but all to play for.

I'm determined to do better next time.

I'll give it a damn good try.

TV fashionista Susannah has made lettuce wrapped around stir fried ginger pork.

Her dipping sauce is soy, ginger, lime and chilli.

Good luck, boys.

Susannah, what you've got here is a result of nerves.

Because you were so tense and when you relaxed, eventually,

you thought, "Oh, I can do this."

And the result of that is this little wrapping of lettuce

and spiced pork which I think is delicious.

Susannah's second roll is filled with duck and mango.

This crispy spring roll, you pan-fried it

and what's happened is it sat in the pan far too long

and it's just gone too hard. Oh, sorry!

Oh, look, I can drop it on the floor and actually it didn't break.

-It's still intact.

-Can drop it all the way on the floor...

In fact, you drop it on the bench, and it is still intact.

-Oh, that's so humiliating!

-It's overcooked and it's dry.

-And it's very, very salty.

-I'm going to cry.

Cooking for John and Greg was a bit like being hung, drawn and quartered.

How they managed to find some good words to say about my dish,

I don't know, but they did.

Russell has also used pork, chilli and ginger for his roll

and served it with a hoisin dipping sauce.

I don't know if you need as much decoration.

No, no, there was a lot, wasn't there?

But it was such a pretty pineapple, I thought, "It needs to be used,"

so I cut it up.

GREGG CHUCKLES

Your pork one with the chilli I like. I like the free-flowing pork.

I'd like some more mixture. Not a bad job.

For his second roll,

Russell has filled a won ton skin with garlic-ginger duck

and has made a dipping sauce from soy, chilli and caster sugar.

The duck and the bean shoot I like but I think it's very, very sweet.

-I don't think it needs to be sweet at all.

-Well, I've got a sweet tooth.

I really like them.

I find one of your dipping sauces - the one with the chilli -

a perfect foil for both your spring rolls.

-I find the one that's the hoisin too sweet...

-Yeah.

-..with an already sweet roll.

-Last-minute job, that was.

-Was it?

-Yeah.

-In my mind, you can identify and put together good flavours.

Thank you very much.

Not bad, actually.

Actress Sophie has cooked duck with rice noodles,

wrapped in the traditional spring roll pastry.

And a second roll of tofu,

carrots and bean sprouts in a rice-paper wrapper.

It's accompanied by

a rice vinegar, lime, chilli and coriander dipping sauce.

Sophie, these look great. I like your rolls, Sophie.

-SHE CHUCKLES

-Brilliant!

-Good work, Sophie.

-Really?

Yeah, really good work.

Your crispy deep-fried duck one hasn't got an enormous amount

-of flavour because you packed it full of noodles.

-Noodles!

Which are bland.

But once you stick it into your dipping sauce, which is

as tangy as you like and rather saucy, it's very good.

But I really admire your tofu one.

-Full of flavour.

-Oh, wow!

-It's great, Sophie.

-Ah!

-Considering the way you work -

I've seen pigs that have worked cleaner -

what you have done is, your flavours are good. High hopes for you, Sophie.

Whoa!

Thank you, sirs.

Oh, I honestly...

I really felt a bit actressy,

like I'm going to weep,

when they said they liked it.

"Wah, they liked it!"

That wasn't a bad start at all.

It always impresses me what people can achieve when they're pushed.

From no idea to some really good food.

Thank you very much indeed.

-We'll see you again soon. Off you go.

-Thank you.

-RUSSELL:

-End of. Closure.

A couple here did a damn fine job.

And there were one, maybe two,

with the odd mistake.

There's a few need to battle their nerves but I tell you what -

what a wonderful start to the competition.

PLAYFUL SOBBING

We all smell of Chinese!

Well, if they thought this was tough, next up we are throwing them

straight at a professional kitchen - straight in the deep end.

John, they are either going to sink or swim.

The celebrities have been split into two groups

and are on their way to work in their first restaurant.

Really looking forward to another challenge.

Hope I can stand the heat.

Todd, Sophie and Susannah will be working at Aqua,

on the 31st floor of Europe's tallest building, the Shard.

They will be under the watchful eye of head chef Anthony Garlando.

Today we've got a very busy service. We've got about 125 booked.

-125?!

-125, so it's extremely busy.

We're not going to drop the standard so I want everything spot-on, OK?

-Put us to work.

-So, let's get to it.

-Thanks very much.

You need to concentrate on the cooking of the venison, OK?

Medium-rare, medium-well, well done. OK.

Susannah is in charge of the roasted venison saddle with a parsnip puree,

glazed carrots, braised red cabbage and a venison jus.

-On the grill. For medium-rare, I wouldn't put it in the oven.

-OK.

Medium, we put it in the oven

-for probably three minutes.

-Three minutes.

We let it rest over here.

You should let it rest for half the time you cook it for.

-I didn't know that. That's great.

-And then we heat up our garnish.

-So it's a lot to think of.

-A hell of a lot to think of.

A little bit of jam in the middle.

Three dots of the parsnip puree.

-We've got our nice venison here.

-Perfect!

-Just on the side.

Nice venison jus.

Carrots.

Gently around the plate like that.

God, I hope no-one orders venison today. They will!

The thought of cooking in a restaurant like this is scary

but exhilarating and, you know, we all have a big responsibility.

This is a business - it's not our own kitchens.

There are people that we don't want to poison out there.

Little bit of salt.

You just want to warm the monkfish.

It's already been steamed for three minutes.

Sophie is cooking monkfish with steamed razor clams,

a champagne and vanilla sauce

and a nori seaweed garnish with pea shoots and edible flowers.

This is the shell of the razor clam. Put it in the oven.

When the fish is just about cooked,

we put the razor clams into the pan,

just to warm 'em through.

So then you bring it across to the pass like this and just put three, like that. Take your shell...

Buzz the sauce nicely.

-A little bit on the bottom.

-It's amazing!

-Salad on the top.

-It's so beautiful.

Dry nori. And there you have it.

-Can you manage that?

-I really hope so, Chef, yeah.

-Well, you have to.

-Yes, I can!

-We have no choice!

-Yes, Chef!

Yes, Chef!

I'm just really excited. I hope somebody orders it!

-SHE CHUCKLES

-I would!

These are very expensive. We can't have any overcooked.

We can't have any wastage. So you really need to pay attention.

Todd is responsible for the Scottish langoustines

with white beetroot cream, baby beets, crispy cauliflower salad,

langoustine syrup and a garnish of lemon balm.

You don't want to cook them all the way through.

They just want to be just warmed. A little bit of lemon juice.

White beetroot cream.

A few dots.

Some crispy cauliflower.

Take your langoustine, in the middle,

put your other langoustines around.

This is a beetroot.

Langoustine syrup.

-Nice lemon balm. And there you have it.

-OK.

No pressure. Thank you, Chef.

Across town, Jodie and Russell have arrived at Babbo,

in the heart of London's busy Mayfair.

They'll be working under head chef Carlo Scotto.

-Hello, guys. Got a lot of jobs to do.

-OK.

-We've got paying customers coming in, so a very busy service.

-OK.

The most important thing - my kitchen, my rules. Let's go to it.

-King Carlo.

-King Carlo.

Off we go.

Pan nice and hot. Little bit of oil.

Russell will be cooking sea bass fillet with a lemon crust

and sauteed mussels, clams, broad beans and peas.

The pan shouldn't be in the centre, just on the side,

so we're going to cook gently.

Second thing we're going to do - six mussels and five clams.

A splash of white wine.

And cover it.

The steam is going to open the mussels.

Take from the shell.

Now we're going to put the lemon crust.

It just needs ten seconds under the salamander to make the butter melt.

Put back in the pan our clam,

add some peas and now we're going to plate up.

Like this. Broad beans and peas, some mussels.

We're going to go straight in line

and we're going to finish the dish with some lovely red amaranth.

-It's very beautiful.

-Thank you very much.

-It is.

Really, really worried.

I've never done anything like this before in my life!

I've done scrambled eggs for Marco Pierre White. Enough already!

We're going to put in the pan a little bit of butter.

Jodie is in charge of the blended saffron risotto,

dusted with hazelnut powder and garnished with a goat's cheese snow.

We add a cup and a half of risotto.

You need to be very generous with the saffron.

We give five to ten minutes, then we're going to cover up with a plate,

and we let it rest.

Eight minutes, you add a little bit more water.

Off the stove, season it with Parmesan cheese.

Some fresh herbs.

We put in the blender.

You put it in the middle of the plate.

The colour is beautiful.

Toasted hazelnuts on top.

Pea shoots and frozen goat's cheese.

That gives the snow effect.

-You feel confident with this dish?

-I think so.

I think you've got to do it one or two times and then you get more and more confident.

You don't have one or two times - you just have service time - so...

I know! I'll be amazing by the end of service.

It's midday and around the city,

everyone's preparing for lunch service.

I'll pull out the tickets, I want everyone to listen

and everyone to say, "Yes, Chef".

-We're not serving any substandard food, OK?

-Yes, Chef.

First service is coming up, so no pressure. Here we go.

I hope I get it right. I'll give it a go.

OK, let's go - first order.

One monkfish, one langoustine, one venison, medium.

-ALL:

-Yes, Chef.

On the meat section, Susannah needs to ensure that her venison saddle

is cooked to the correct temperature.

Oh, I'm shaking!

-Susannah, let's go!

-Yes, Chef!

-I hope that's OK, Chef.

-Yeah.

-More hot, Susannah.

-What?

-It's cold, uh?

-Heat it up. It's too cold.

-Yes, Chef. Replating it.

It needs to be hot, it needs to be ready straightaway. That's it.

-Is that it? OK. Back it goes.

-On the pass, quickly.

Now Head Chef is waiting for Sophie's monkfish dish,

which needs to be presented perfectly.

-A bit too many?

-It is too many.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Where's the sauce? You need more sauce.

Sauce. More sauce.

-Come on, more, more, more.

-More?

-More sauce.

-More sauce.

-OK, new salad. You're not going to use that one again.

-No.

Nicely. Put it down as well.

-You put it down. You use two hands to plate up.

-OK.

-OK? You can't use one.

-No.

-So you put everything down and you put it nicely.

-Yes.

Now, let's go. The nori.

We need to go faster.

-That's it. Good. Now clean up your section, Sophie. It's too messy.

-Yes.

Keep these salads outside. You can't work from the fridge.

-Keep them outside?

-Keep them outside.

-OK, next we're doing four venison.

-Yes, Chef.

-Two monkfish, Sophie.

-Yes, Chef.

-Let's go, Todd. Too slow.

-Come on, two monkfish, Sophie.

-Yes, Chef.

While Sophie and Susannah move on to their next orders,

Chef is still waiting for Todd's first plate on the pass.

Lemon juice.

OK, let's go. As soon as you finish this one, you make two more.

Come on, out you come.

-You need to be faster, uh?

-Yes, Chef.

-Faster and hot.

Thank you, Chef.

I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming. OK, big boy in the middle first.

OK, big boy in the middle.

-Make sure it's hot, eh? We need to go faster, otherwise it's cold.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-Let's go. Garnish.

-Langoustine ready.

-Clean the plates.

A few issues with speed and plating which doesn't...

-OK, new order.

-Doesn't surprise me in the slightest.

We got a few right and a few wrong but, you know, we're getting there.

-We need to go faster, uh?

-Yes, Chef.

-Yes, Chef.

Back at Babbo, Russell and Jodie are in the middle of service.

And Russell is struggling to remember

all the elements on his sea bass dish.

-Russell. Pick it up, eh?

-I never want to see a kitchen again.

It's a lot to remember because it all comes at you

and because I'm out of my comfort zone,

I don't know what to do next and I get very confused.

-Calm down. You're shaking.

-I am.

-Are you nervous?

-Yeah, course.

I can't remember where to put the mussels.

Right. Can't remember what to do now.

Oh, some beans.

I've got that in, Carlo. What's next?

OK, just put a little bit of stock.

And the herbs in now?

Yeah, but I need to make sure that the garnish... This is cold.

We need to make sure that it's hot to go on the pass, OK?

-OK.

-Calm down, Russell.

You need to concentrate and you need to be focused. That's all you need to do. OK?

-Yeah.

-OK, Russell?

-Yeah.

Are the garnishes hot?

-Yes, should be.

-Go. Let's go.

-Jodie?

-Yeah?

-You've got six blended risottos on order, OK?

-Yep.

Four of them resting - you need to put two on, OK?

It's amazing, it's wicked, but it's...

You know, it's the first time.

Burning my hands, no idea what's going on.

It's a rush.

It's really cool but it's full-on.

BLENDER WHIRS

What's going on?

It's very thick, Chef.

Yeah, because you need to add some water. So what you're doing here is,

-you put the same pan back.

-Yeah.

-OK?

-A few ladles of water.

-Yep.

Put the water in it and start to blend it, OK?

-You've got exactly a minute and a half.

-All that water, Chef? Yes, all that water.

-BLENDER GRINDS TO A STOP

-Sorry.

The first time in the kitchen is very hard,

especially with this kind of standard.

Jodie is focused and she's doing great. Let's see how it goes.

-Oh, the oil.

-Yeah, but, Jodie, I need a little bit more goat's cheese.

-More goat's cheese?

-A little bit more goat cheese.

Argh!

It's, er, full-on and you've got to get it so right.

And I'm not yet but I'm going to get there.

Across town at Aqua Shard, Susannah's venison section

is under real pressure as she tries to keep up.

Three venison, medium, one langoustine, one monkfish.

It's relentless.

I'm trying to get those hot, cos I got ticked off about that,

and now the problem is I've got one, two, three, four, five,

six, seven on the go, so it's a bit hectic.

-Two minutes, Chef.

-Two minutes? Let's go.

You told me "two minutes" two minutes ago.

No, it was three minutes two minutes ago.

-Don't argue - just give me the venison, uh?

-OK, Chef.

-Let's go.

-Make sure it's hot, Susannah.

-Yep.

God!

I'm just dying for a "well done" but it's not going to happen.

-Come on, I need those venison rare.

-Yes, Chef, and hot, Chef.

And hot - exactly.

I hope this is hot enough, Chef.

-Careful of the plate.

-So do I.

-Is it hot enough?

-Come on, we're good.

-Yeah? Good.

I got a "good". I got a "good". Whoo!

I am chuffed to bits that I got a "good". I mean, crumbs!

I'll take anything! Any praise.

Sophie's orders are also piling up.

-Make it perfect.

-I'll try, Chef. Yes, Chef.

Good. Great job. Good.

While Sophie is keeping on top of her last orders...

..Todd is finding it hard to remember each step of his dish.

Let's go. You don't just chuck them in the pan, uh?

You've already made ten. You put them nicely on their back. OK, let's go.

-Where's the rest of them?

-I need another two. They're here.

-They're just beside me.

-They seasoned? No? No seasoning?

You don't season them, you don't cook them.

-In the middle. There she goes.

-Now season your garnish.

-What have you forgotten?

-Er...

You've forgotten something which is...

-Crumble, crumble.

-Exactly.

-Where's the crumble?

You forgot something else, as well. What comes next? The syrup.

-Yeah, I've got it out.

-Let's go.

Langoustine is good, Todd. It's good when you can remember everything.

Thank you, Chef. All right, that's ready.

OK, that's the end of service. Well done.

-Todd, Sophie, Susannah, thank you very much. Well done.

-Thank you.

-Thank you, Chef.

-Thank you!

Thank you so much. I wanted to kill you at one point.

That was like doing Formula One without any wheels, backwards.

And beating the world record.

There is double the people tonight, he said. You know, we had it easy.

And I'm like, "Oh, my Lord!"

You know, how do they do that?

It's incredible what they do.

Across town, service is also drawing to a close.

But for Russell, someone else has had to step in.

So what happened, Russell?

I put my finger on the big, round oven and then it sizzled.

So you could serve my finger.

I was just going to say, this is really good to serve, you know?

-THEY CHUCKLE

-With a nice sauce.

-Are you all right to carry on, or...?

-No, it's a bit painful.

-OK, no worries.

-Just stand down and then we'll keep going on with service, OK?

-OK.

The concentration I'm having to use right now is...

outrageous.

-Jodie?

-Yes. It's not...

I know, it's messy.

-I think you've done a good job.

-Really? Thank you.

-Service!

I'm really buzzing.

It's really hot, it's furious,

it's fast, it's exhilarating.

It's actually all the things I really love!

Service may be over but for the celebrities,

it's straight back to the kitchen for their next challenge.

It actually does give me pleasure in welcoming you back to the MasterChef kitchen.

This is a chance for you to cook your own food.

Ladies and gentlemen, at the end of this, one of you is going home.

Your two courses, one hour and 15 minutes. Let's cook.

God, I'm shaking. My hands are shaking.

-RUSSELL:

-Not again!

-They are!

They're all at it.

I love this bit, cos it tells you so much about them as cooks.

The element of not wanting to let yourself down is huge and,

of course, the boys at home were going, "Good luck, Mummy,"

this morning. "Good luck, Mummy".

I want to be able to go home and go, "I'm through, boys." But we'll see.

Hopefully.

Sophie's going quite classic, quite modern.

She's done herself a piece of pork wrapped in pancetta,

served with a mustard mash,

and then the whole lot is going to be served with an apple-wine sauce.

That pork can go really dry very, very quickly.

She needs to seal it really well, put it in the oven for about ten minutes. That's it.

White chocolate mousse in an hour and 15 minutes, served with blueberries and almond.

It sounds delicious, as long as it sets.

-How are you feeling?

-Dessert is what really worries me.

-How long does a mousse take to set?

-Not too long, I hope.

I don't want to go. I want to stay.

Susannah has the most extraordinary main course I've heard of

in a very, very long time. Duck with couscous.

In the couscous there's capers, which is strange.

Couscous with gravy, which is even stranger,

and roasted broccoli stems inside the couscous with the capers and the gravy.

Wow!

Susannah's dessert sounds delicious -

almond, ginger and honey cake served with stewed rhubarb.

Yum!

-Susannah...

-Yes?

-..I'm not going to ask you if you're nervous -

I'm just going to ask you how nervous you are.

I'm calming down a bit, you'll be glad to hear.

I'm just getting my beurre noisette sorted right now.

You seem to me to have a very ambitious menu.

It is quite ambitious. There's a lot of ingredients.

-But I think it's good to push yourself.

-I'll tell you what...

That's why I've gone over the edge slightly.

-My respect for you is growing with every word.

-Oh, thank you.

-Good luck, mate.

-Thank you so much.

I'm determined.

I really, really, really want to get through to the next round

so desperately.

I never thought I was competitive

but I do realise that about myself now.

I think I'm even competitive with my children, which is pathetic.

You've got 45 minutes left.

How am I feeling about today? I really don't know - I don't know what to expect.

It's like the cup final today, isn't it?

You've either got to shine or...

be on your way.

Todd's cooking food from his childhood - I love the idea of that.

But honey gammon with chips and green beans - where's the sauce,

where's the mash, where's the cabbage?

Todd's dessert is a sundae - meringues and berries

crushed together with some yoghurt and some cream.

There's not a lot of cooking going on, here, Todd, is there?

You could have made these, you lazy Herbert.

This is called MasterChef, not MasterAssemble.

Todd, why are these dishes close to your heart?

Because I'm from an Irish family and it was always gammon,

bacon, cabbage and spuds. It just brings me back to the old days.

What reaction do you want from me and John?

A good one would be good and I'll grease your palm.

-But apart from that, I just want you to enjoy it.

-All right. Enjoy.

When you go into the MasterChef kitchen,

it's as silent as the grave.

There's nothing going on except you panicking inside.

-You've got 30 minutes left.

-HE SIGHS

It's a bit like, "The bells, the bells!"

When's it one hour and 15 minutes? When does this all end?

-Russell, you look remarkably calm.

-Do I?

What's going on underneath is that old swan job -

paddling but serene on top.

Trying to do fish and chips like me old nan taught me.

So this is Nanny Lily.

In the oven is Nanny Alice - not literally, just her pudding.

So she...

I used watch her make the bread-and-butter pudding.

With lots of spice, cos I'm cinnamon and nutmeg crazy.

It's almost like a hot cross bun

disguised as a bread-and-butter pudding.

-So both of these dishes are old family favourites.

-My nans'.

Yeah. Nanny Lily and Nanny Alice. They're up there.

I love Russell's menu.

Fish and chips - his grandmother's recipe.

They look overcooked. Oh, well.

The follow-on sounds the most delicious bread-and-butter pudding

I've heard of in a really long time.

It may just be it's a little bit too simple

but if Russell gets these two dishes right, I will be very happy indeed.

Ooh, sorry!

I'm absolutely loving this.

It's almost like the night before Christmas. I'm like that...

"Oh, God!" You know, all excited, nervous.

And, you know, just can't wait to sleep

and wake up in the morning, you know, with my stocking.

-Jodie...

-Yes?

-You look focused to the point of stressed.

-Oh, yeah,

but it IS stressful. You know, cooking is quite a stressful thing.

But, to me, it's fun, it's a test and I'm going for it.

What are you making?

I am making a twist on a roast,

so I've got a chicken breast that I've stuffed with onion and sage,

and then I'm going to do some raspberries steeped in whisky,

a pistachio crunch and then a chocolate mousse on top.

-I hope you get this done.

-Yeah, I know!

-How long is that chicken going to take?

-I know, I'm going in next.

-Come on, Jodie. Keep it together.

-Yep, I'm going in, babe.

Jodie's properly gunning for it.

Her little mini roast I think is a lovely idea.

Juicy, sweet chicken, crispy potatoes and soft vegetables.

You want salty gravy. All those things coming together on one plate

in just an hour and 15 minutes - it's a lot of work.

It's getting a bit tense, this. You've got five minutes left.

If she gets this done on time, I'm going to be mightily impressed.

It hasn't set, Gregg.

Ladies and gentlemen, 60 seconds.

Oh, I'm shaky.

That's it. Time's up.

SHE SIGHS

HE SIGHS

Crikey!

Sophie, yes, please.

Wow!

-Ah.

-Ah.

-You've made us a cocktail.

Yeah, I made you a cocktail, babes.

That was meant to be a mousse.

For her main course,

Sophie has cooked a pork tenderloin wrapped in pancetta,

with a mustard mash, oven-baked garlic-and-thyme carrots

with an apple, white wine and chicken stock reduction.

-I don't know how I feel about these twigs on top - you can't eat 'em.

-No.

I mean, you can probably light a fire later on,

-keep you warm whilst you're having your dinner, but...

-Yeah.

Really good cooking in here.

Carrots are cooked lovely with the flavour of thyme.

That pork is delicious. That thing there is cooked like a pro.

Potato with mustard is slightly sweet.

Of course, the sauce is really flavoursome and slightly sweet.

You put everything together, it's getting a little over-sweet.

-I'm with Gregg - it's going a little bit sweet.

-Yeah.

-But I think your cooking's really, really good.

-Wow, thank you.

-Which is lucky, cos your dessert's a bit of a disaster.

-Yep.

For dessert, Sophie has attempted a white chocolate mousse

with almonds and blueberries.

Ohhh...

That's a lovely, malty, white-chocolate, sweet drink.

-It would have made an even better dessert.

-Yeah.

-Ohhh!

The flavours are absolutely right that that is now a drink,

-not a mousse.

-Ha! Yeah.

But I've got to say your eye for presentation is amazing.

Wow, thank you.

The pudding was really disappointing,

but Gregg did like the flavour and that gave me hope.

I thought, well, there's hope

if Greg is having another mouthful of the drink.

SHE LAUGHS

The drink.

Jodie's sage and onion stuffed chicken breast is served with

roasted potatoes, baby carrots, leeks and broccoli,

with a chicken gravy.

-I think that looks very appetising.

-Thank you.

-As long as it is cooked.

-Yeah.

-I didn't think you were going to cook that chicken.

-Nor did I!

That thing still had its feathers on and was ready to lay an egg

about six minutes before the end.

It was clucking, indeed.

-Your stuffing could do with a little more cooking.

-Right.

Apart from that, you've got crispy skin, moist chicken,

little roast potatoes.

Well done.

The chicken is cooked really well, thankfully.

It's showing a lot of skill and actually a lot of potential.

Can I faint now?

For dessert, Jodie has made chocolate mousse layered

with raspberries steeped in whisky and a pistachio crunch.

It tastes as busy as it looks,

with the booze you've got there and the crunchy nuts

and the sweet raspberries and then the cocoa chocolate.

-It's not at all unpleasant, but it's rather busy.

-Got it.

-I think you're chucking too much at it.

-Yeah.

Which I don't blame you at this stage,

-because you want to impress.

-Yeah.

-You're very ambitious, which I like.

-And you managed to pull it off. I feared for you.

-Yeah!

I feared for myself.

I'm really pleased. He said I could cook at the end of it, so that's it.

I'm leaving now. I've had enough. I can cook, finally! Ahh!

For her main course, Susannah is serving duck breast

and couscous, with lemon zest feta, capers and pine nuts, steamed

broccoli florets and char-grilled broccoli stem with a red wine sauce.

I don't know where this dish has come from.

If you made it up, you are bordering on genius.

You have got, successfully, red wine sauce, capers, pine nuts,

salty cheese and couscous on a plate to work. Wow!

Do you know what this reminds me of? He's a friend of MasterChef.

-Ottolenghi's food.

-Yes.

-The Israeli food is magpie-like.

It's my favourite food in the world, Israeli food. I love it.

-You should be very, very pleased with yourself.

-Thank you.

I'm going to burst into tears.

Susanna's dessert is a honey and ginger cake

with a pistachio powder, yoghurt and stewed rhubarb.

This is stunningly, stunningly lovely.

That cake is as light and as moist as you could possibly make it.

A bit of sharp but sweet rhubarb on the top

gives it another complete dimension.

It's just clever.

-Thank you.

-I can't help but agree with Mr Wallace.

-I hope you haven't played your trump card.

-That's the only problem.

I'm worrying that maybe I have.

I don't think I've ever been praised so highly about anything

in my life before.

It's made me feel very emotional.

Yeah.

-Nanny Lil, Nanny Alice.

-That's it, you've got it.

Russell has cooked his Nanny Lily's recipe for fried plaice and chips.

A little bit of tartar sauce or some peas on here...

-I was thinking that.

-..would have smartened this up.

-Yeah.

Your fish is cooked beautifully.

The chips are cooked nicely. I do think you could have done a bit more,

whether it be tartare sauce or mushy peas or just something.

It's good and I'd love to eat the whole thing

and I'd be very happy to be served it. However...

what does trouble me is it's not as ambitious as the other contestants.

Russell's dessert of spicy bread-and-butter pudding

is served with clotted cream and apricot conserve.

-You wanted good old-fashioned flavour of hot cross buns.

-Yeah.

Cinnamon, nutmeg, the warmth, the softness that goes with that,

and a crunch once you toast them. And that's exactly what we have here.

Well done, Nanny Alice! That's yummy.

-But you understand the issue here is ambition.

-Oh, yeah.

-If you go further, you need a bit more of a push.

-I know.

I was traditional and played safe.

If I do go through, then I've got to definitely...

..set the bar a little bit higher.

Ohhh!

I'll get there in a minute! One of those.

-Whoops-a-daisy! One of those. And...

-One of them!

-..one of those.

Todd's honey-basted gammon is served with chunky chips

and French green beans.

Everything is really well cooked, Todd.

I love the chips because they are crispy on the outside

and soft on the inside. I love gammon.

It's soft and salty and rich and warm,

and with a honey sauce it's a decent thing.

The issue for me is honey and chips.

Honey and chips is not something I get on well with.

It's a really strange thing.

I'd have preferred it with mashed potato and parsley sauce,

-pretty much how your mum would have done it, your grandad.

-Of course.

-Yeah.

-I don't feel I've got a complete dish.

-OK.

For dessert, Todd has served his version of a classic fruit sundae

with fruit and cream-filled meringue nests.

Mmmm!

-What booze have you put in there, Todd?

-Half a bottle of brandy.

-Brandy, yeah. It's a little rich for me.

-That's a lot of cream, mate!

That's almost a heart attack in a bowl.

But you wouldn't worry about it because you'd be half drunk.

HE CHUCKLES

For me, as a judge on MasterChef, it's about ambition.

And I've got some whipped cream, some berries and some booze.

Now, as good as that is, it's hard for me to say, you know, wow.

I'm pleased with what I chose today.

It's the first step for me on the cooking rung,

so we'll see if I can get to step two or three.

This was really good! You have made me happy! Great standard of cooking.

Now we have the unenviable task of deciding which of you goes home.

-Thank you very, very much for your efforts.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Well done, guys.

-Good?

-It was all right.

I think so, yeah. Flipping heck!

Well, I think the girls today were amazing.

The girls left the boys in the shade.

If there were two going home, the boys would be leaving us.

But we are only sending one of them home.

We've got Todd, who's got some flavours,

but is not very ambitious, and we've got Russell,

who is very generous, but it's not that complicated.

The only way I would want to stay is if I deserve to.

I would definitely like to stay and carry on learning.

If they said, "Todd, do you fancy staying on a bit longer

"and showing us your culinary skills?" I'd love to.

Decision time. Who stays, who goes?

Never an easy job for us, this.

We have...made a decision.

The celebrity leaving us...

-..is Todd.

-Thanks very much. Thanks for having me.

-Thanks, Todd.

-See ya.

-See you later on. See you, me old son. Take care.

-Well done, darling.

-See you, gorgeous.

-See you.

I've loved doing MasterChef. It's been wonderful.

I've got a lot to learn but it's inspired me

to get me knives out and get my pinny on and start cooking.

Congratulations! ALL LAUGH

I cannot believe it. I cannot believe I'm still in the competition.

I can only put it down to my two old nans looking down at me

and helping me along.

Really, really delighted

and now I'm getting nervous about the next one.

-Tomorrow night...

-Ugh!

..the four celebrities are back

to fight for their place in the semifinals.

I don't think anything they've done ever before can prepare them

for what comes next.

We are cutting it fine. It is to the wire.

How are your bananas going, you two?

That's the best dish I've ever tasted on MasterChef.

Death becomes me.