Episode 11 Celebrity MasterChef

It's the last of the semifinals.

Over the past four weeks,

20 celebrities have been battling to stay in the competition.

Last time, JB and Millie went home.

Now only the best cooks remain.

It really is all-consuming

like some kind of bug.

It feels fantastic to be in the last six, who'd have ever thought it?

I'm very, very pleased that I'm hanging on in there,

but I feel like I'm hanging on in there at the moment.

Each time you think that you've done all you can

then you've got to go on and do it more and better.

I didn't expect to get this far

and it'd be lovely to get down to the last four.

Oh, I'm so close!

I can do it! Final push.

At the end of today,

two of them will be going home.

They're not celebrities any more.

They are contestants hungry for the MasterChef title.

This competition is hotting up to be the best celebrity MasterChef ever!

Welcome, you six, to the last semifinal.

Your first test is going to be an invention test.

This is an invention test like no other.

Because this...

is a relay invention test.

THEY LAUGH

-What's that?

-A relay invention test.

Oh!

You are going to have an hour to create a dish,

but you're going to be doing as a team.

Jodie, Biggins, Charley, one team.

Amanda, Sophie and Wayne, the other team.

Each of you will be cooking for 20 minutes

and then handing over to the next person.

During that process, there'll be no conferring.

You will not be allowed to talk to each other.

BIGGINS LAUGHS

Wow!

You'll have to work out from what is on the bench in front of you

when you walk to that door,

what the dish is meant to be.

OK, each team, please,

now make a decision -

who's going to invent the dish?

Who's going to be the workhorse

and who's going to finish it off?

I think you should go first.

I think Charley should do the body and I think I should finish it.

OK, yeah, go for it.

-Do you want me to?

-Yeah! Fine!

-I don't mind.

-I don't mind, either.

OK. Who's going first?

Biggins, you're going first and...

Amanda, you're going first.

OK. Decision made.

Team leader stays here.

The other four of you, off you go.

-Good luck, guys.

-Have fun.

-Enjoy it!

Have fun.

OK. You two have got a task in front of you.

You have 20 minutes to start the dish.

Off you go.

Amanda and Biggins now have to decide

what their team's dish will be.

They can choose from a range of ingredients

including chicken, black pudding, pancetta,

vermicelli noodles, a wide range of vegetables,

dried and fresh fruit,

as well as herbs and spices.

You're stealing my chicken.

-BIGGINS:

-Ha-ha!

The tactic is to get the meat on and the meat cooking.

And hopefully then we can start doing the things to go with her.

Biggins understands the importance of getting that chicken

in the oven cos it's going to take an hour to cook.

The simple food is his food.

He's not like going to do some Asian kind of twist, is he?

Oh, no, no, he won't do that.

I want to do something spicy with the chicken.

OK, so, erm, that's just what I'm going to put in place for them.

I wouldn't like to be the one responsible for it not working.

Working.

But all the elements should come together in a glorious finale.

That's what we hope! Mm.

Yeah.

Amanda, what are you making?

I am going to set the footprint for a spicy chicken...

..in stock, which hopefully they will turn into a broth of some kind

and be inspired up there.

You're not quite sure what the dish is going to turn into,

so tell me what you're doing.

OK. Well, I've made a paste of ginger and spices and garlic.

And what do you hope that they continue to do with it?

I hope they can turn it into a nice, noodle-y, kind of, broth

with ginger and chicken.

Do you think they'll easily be able to follow this?

Judging by the look on your face, no.

Amanda is making a kind of Asian paste to cook the chicken in.

She's hoping that who comes next

is going to turn it into a broth with noodles.

Wayne Sleep comes next.

(Obviously, a complete expert in the flavours and tastes of Asia.)

And the noodles are still here on the bench,

so how is he going to know that noodles need to go in the broth?

My worst nightmare would be that I don't quite understand

what she's been getting at.

It could all be very mysterious,

but I don't think she'd do that to me, would she?

Ah... We'll see.

HE LAUGHS

So, he's been in for 10 minutes.

So, another 10 minutes and you're going in.

Oh, I feel there is a...

I can't breathe. Is it hot?

It's quite hot. It'll be even hotter in there.

Biggins, big day?

Erm...

Yes.

I just wanted to get something on,

so I thought a roast chicken stuffed with lemons,

which is something which is really nice and tasty.

And I think that we can probably cook it in that hour.

So, now I'm preparing things like the asparagus,

which I'm just blanching at the moment,

so that they can do them in some nice oil or butter or what have you.

I'm going to prepare some potatoes

and then we can have some nice wilted spinach.

And then we can perhaps do some tomatoes like a...

roast them, perhaps, if they feel like it.

That's up to my fellow friends.

You aren't actually starting off a dish.

-You're just giving them bits and pieces...

-Exactly.

-..for which they are to create the dish.

-Yes.

-Is that right?

That is absolutely right, John.

So, you're starting off and then the evolution

-is going to happen later on.

-Hopefully, yes.

I hope they look in the oven...

to see there's a chicken in there!

B's started off with a roast chicken, peeled some potatoes,

cooked some asparagus

and then now he's trying to work out how to leave that message

for the next person to come along.

I think that's really sensible.

So, if you're following Biggins, what would you do now?

Me? The one thing you've got to do is make a sauce.

You have just three minutes till change over.

Having been with Biggins from the very beginning,

I know that he cooks quite simple dishes, but very tasty

and I'm hoping that he's going to start some dish that simple.

I've done everything that I think I can do.

And now I want them to come and change.

I mean, I've put a few clues

and I've got one major clue

that there's a chicken in the oven...

BIGGINS LAUGHS

..before I leave.

HE CACKLES

They'll think I've gone mad.

OK, guys, let's change over, please.

Oh, God! It's...

I was never good at relays at school.

HE LAUGHS

It wasn't one of my finer points.

Deep-fried...

asparagus.

Is that it?

Wow!

It was very tricky.

I didn't leave enough of a fingerprint trail

for Wayne to carry on.

I should have made it simpler.

Coconut cream.

I haven't got a clue.

Oh, breadcrumbs! Oh, of course!

Oh, we are roasting...chicken.

Ooh, fabulous!

OK.

Oh, we can't... Can we do roasties?

I'll do them really small.

20 minutes.

I've gone blank. I can't...

OK, so, he's got the roast...roast chicken on.

So, he's peeled some potatoes.

Do we need to do a little gravy for it or...?

Ah, yes, the gravy for here.

So, he's got these to do a sauce and stock.

Chicken stock. So, let's get that on.

It will be very interesting to see

if my two friends can actually be on my wavelength

and see where I'm going with this.

I think it's great that Charley's in the middle

because Charley will be able to finalise the things in my mind.

Let's just hope the bloody chicken cooks.

-Charley...

-Yeah.

-What's it feel like?

It's kind of a terrifying thought, really, but...but at the same time,

it's kind of exciting as well.

I must say when I first walked out the door I just thought,

"This is going to be a tough one,"

but then I love the breadcrumbs...

That's just wonderful.

..to the roast chicken. And I love roasts!

So, I'm delighted about that.

I'm hoping that's going to be ready within the hour.

-Erm...

-But you don't have to worry about that, do you,

cos that's Jodie's thing.

That's Jodie's thing... Oh, yeah, of course!

Who cares? But then I saw these...

This looks like black pudding and I was thinking,

"Ooh, maybe we could just get some little black pudding going

"and have that on the side with the chicken. It's not so bad."

Is there enough time to make a good sauce?

Yeah, I think so.

I mean, with a bit of luck it'll come up OK.

You know sometimes it needs...

It does need a bit of time, doesn't it?

Charley is playing to his strengths.

We know he makes a great sauce.

He's added to the dish.

His little bit is black pudding.

And now all he's got to do is leave the rest of the stuff

for Jodie to finish off.

Today I'm very confident

that my team are going to put us in a really nice direction

and I can come in, it's going to be pretty self-explanatory.

Do a little...

A little bit of Jodie-ness

and then get it looking beautiful.

Oh, that's...

ginger.

That's the main dish.

Ah! Now I've got to do something to go with it.

Like a vegetable or something.

Erm, right.

What am I going to do?

I'm going to do some potatoes.

It's quite spicy.

So, I'm going to do some potatoes

and black olives on the side to go with it.

What does it taste like to you?

Well, it taste sort of Oriental in some way.

So, what Oriental ingredients have you got to match it?

Ah!

Mashed potato and olives?

Well, the thing is what I thought is there's so much sauce here

you need something to soak it up with.

So, I thought the potatoes might help.

And what do you... What are you going to leave for Sophie?

Not a lot...

HE LAUGHS

..I'm afraid.

No, I think this one I'm really out of my depth on.

I'm going to put the stock in there.

The dish itself no longer knows what it's going to be.

That chicken has no idea what it is any more.

The one I feel mostly sorry for here

is Sophie who's going to have to come in and pick up the pieces.

Oh, come on! Wayne will have done something great.

I've just got to add to it.

SHE SIGHS WORRIEDLY

You have just three minutes to change over.

OK. So, we'll leave those there.

By the deep fat fryer.

Gravy's on. So, hopefully that will taste nice.

And then I'm just going to...

Leave this here for a bit of black pudding,

so hopefully she'll see that and she'll see the veg.

And then we're there.

This dish looks like a stew, so I've made...

Thickened it up with gravy.

Then I put potatoes on

because you need something to soak up all of this liquid.

She can see that the olives are going in the potatoes

and be olives are there.

I think of these going there as well.

Shall I, shan't I?

OK. Change over time. Let's go!

OK. Follow the crumbs.

Oh, OK. Got it.

Follow the crumbs. Chicken.

THEY LAUGH

I've left Gretel behind,

but Hansel found the breadcrumbs.

THEY LAUGH

Chicken.

OK. That's the chicken.

Roast chicken.

Gravy.

Asparagus.

Potatoes.

God, what a nightmare!

Oh!

Two nightmares.

Sophia has walked into an absolute disaster going on in different pots.

Ginger.

Ginger, lovely.

She's found in Asian-y flavoured dish

that has now apricots added to it,

so she doesn't really know whether she's North Africa or Asia.

So, what's going on on Sophie's bench right now is a rescue job.

That a dish and a half.

Now, we said invention test,

I don't know if we meant that sort of invention.

The potatoes are on

and I put black olives just by the side of the potatoes to give,

hopefully, a way forward and a masher to mash them up.

-And oil.

-Oh! OK.

-Sophie...

-Yes.

-..tell me what it is you think you found here cooking.

I found a lovely apricot and ginger chicken dish.

Quite spicy, quite ginger-y.

And we've got some potatoes going there.

And I thought maybe that Wayne was thinking mash

and as I came in, I thought, "Well, mash might be a bit..."

So, I took them off and I'm thinking I'll herb them up a bit.

Where do you think it's going to end up?

I think we'll have an Asian...

Asian, fruity, chicken...

stew.

-One of the classics.

-Ha-ha!

Yeah, it's one of my faves.

Sophie has completely disregarded the olives.

She's not going to mash the potatoes.

What she's going to do is put some herb through.

She's realised the chicken was overcooking,

poured a lot of the stock off and now she's desperately trying

to get some colour into what is otherwise a grey dish.

I think it'll end up looking a little bit like a stir-fry,

albeit a muddy one.

So, we've got potatoes, apricots, chicken, peppers and asparagus...

Wow!

You've got 10 minutes left.

10 minutes.

Did you have a look at the chicken?

I just left it cooking cos there was no point.

I was thinking to myself, "Will a chicken cook in an hour,"

but I think it will.

Yeah. Yeah, it will cook enough.

Cannot drop that. I'm going to rest that.

I've never used one of these to do some roastie things.

I think Charley actually did very, very well

to get that sauce out of the way

and actually I think Biggins started off really, really well

by saying there's a chicken and there's some ingredients for sauce.

What do they want me to do here?

Carrot, tomato...

I don't know what they want me to do.

This is quite horrible.

A little bed of spinach.

I know it's not what they want, but...

I reckon five minutes left.

Jodie. Come on, Jodie, you can do it, girl!

You left a wonderful thing for us.

Well, I don't know. We'll see. We'll see what happens.

Well, we'll see what happens...

It'll be interesting, won't it?

It is a relay and it will be fascinating

to see what happens with it.

Two minutes left.

Plate it up, please.

Your time's up. Stop!

CHEERING

Why are you shaking your head?

Cos you left me something and I couldn't... I couldn't get it.

-That's perfect!

-Is that...

-That exactly what we did. Yeah.

So, I did it on a bed of spinach.

Yeah, the black pudding with the roasties...

That's good! That looks very pretty.

-That spinach is a brilliant idea!

-Yes!

What did you do, darling?

Cos you had apricots in it.

So I thought, "Hang on, I sometimes make a thing called a tajine,

-"which is like..."

-Oh, tajine? Yeah.

-Ooh.

Gregg was up this end of the kitchen most of the day.

Can I ask what you've cooked for us?

It's a tajine with asparagus and roasted pepper

and a side of herbed potatoes with onion seeds, wasn't it?

Yeah, potatoes.

Amanda put lovely Asian spices around this

and then expected Wayne to come along,

add the stock and add noodles.

As it was, he went off and started making olive mashed potato

and added apricots to your dish.

Don't know how to cook, do I?

Sophie came in and looked about as confused

as a lady in a round room

told to stand in the corner.

Right. Come on then.

Because there's so much ginger in here and garlic,

it still tastes like a Thai dish to me.

An Asian dish, it was supposed to be.

The chicken's been overcooked.

It tastes like three people were making three different dishes.

I think, Sophie, to get something on a plate,

you've done really, really well.

The chicken is overcooked. It's a bit of a shame.

I like the potatoes. I like the potatoes a lot.

Thank you, darling.

-Well done.

-Well done.

-Well done.

I found this test the worst test of the whole competition.

I probably didn't leave enough of a trail for Wayne,

so he didn't know what I was thinking.

It did resemble...

I don't know what it resembled, really,

but it was its own thing

and it had elements from all over the place

and people are always saying fusion, aren't they?

Fusion all over the place. Oh, it's a fusion.

So, I think we did a bit of a fusion

and there's nothing wrong with that.

Next up are Charley, Jodie and Biggins.

They've made roast breast of chicken

with fried potatoes,

black pudding, asparagus,

sauteed spinach

and a chicken gravy.

That's a good-looking dish!

Team. That's a really good-looking dish.

What's quite incredible about this dish

is that you can see that Jodie's plated it.

And if it had have been you, Charley,

there would have been three times as many potatoes,

twice as much black pudding

and probably half as much chicken.

Yeah, all right.

You've made a Sunday roast with black pudding.

It's very nice.

You've got moist chicken with a seasoned, crispy skin,

crispy potatoes, a really lovely, quite deep gravy

and that lovely, deep, spicy flavour of the black pudding.

It's a perfect match for the whole lot.

I'm really impressed with the way you work.

Not just how you cooked,

but the way you worked in relays.

I think it was brilliant.

Absolutely brilliant!

THEY CONGRATULATE EACH OTHER

I love the flavours of the sauce,

the chicken and the spinach

and the roast potatoes.

I think the addition of the black pudding is brilliant

-cos it tastes like chicken with stuffing.

-Right. Yes.

It becomes really comforting and really warm.

I think it's presented very, very well.

I'd say to you three, congratulations.

-Well done, guys.

-Well done.

-Yes!

Today's challenge was unique,

was absolutely wonderful

and I think it went very, very well for our team

and I'm really pleased about that

because I think we work together as a team.

And that showed.

We chose very well today.

And looking in hindsight, we ended up being quite a strong team.

So, loved that.

Really, really pleased with the dish.

They did an amazing foundation,

so I couldn't really go wrong,

but it was great and they really liked it.

Yay!

What a brilliant test! What a fascinating test!

This really goes to show how important

planning and preparation is to making a great dish

and if they remember that,

it will hold them in good stead for what comes next.

Next up, it's afternoon tea.

That's as complicated as it gets.

It's 9am and the contestants are heading to Richmond upon Thames

for the ultimate pastry challenge.

Afternoon tea was originated by the lifelong friend of Queen Victoria,

Anna Maria Russell, the Duchess of Bedford.

The skills needed to perfect an afternoon tea

are a combination of precision, versatility

and a lightness of touch.

Today's task... My initial reaction is to throw up, basically.

-CHARLEY:

-Afternoon tea fills you with horror

and I can probably speak for all of us

that it's not a strong point.

-SOPHIE:

-I'm just going to dig out...

-SHE LAUGHS

-..from the depths of my soul,

some refinement.

Welcome to the Bigham Hotel

in the very pretty and genteel Richmond upon Thames.

We have invited leading members of the WI

and...

the mayor of Richmond.

Oh, wow!

Two and a half hours.

It may sound like a lot of time,

but it really isn't when you're making little fancies.

Ladies and gentlemen, we wish you good luck.

Go get them!

-AMANDA:

-Thank you.

-JODIE:

-Quick, run!

-AMANDA:

-Ha! It's going to be quite tricky pleasing the WI.

I made some scones the other day to test...

Actually could have broken a window with them,

so that could be interesting.

-BIGGINS:

-They are going to be a tough audience

because that's what they do is make cakes

and they make afternoon tea and they love it.

-JODIE:

-This is going to be quite tough for me,

but I'm, as I normally do, just going to get my head down

and try my heart out

and we'll see what happens in a couple of hours.

The six contestants will be working in two separate kitchens.

Sophie, Biggins and Charley are in one.

It's all going wrong already.

Amanda, Wayne and Jodie are upstairs in another.

Oh, right.

I need a big spoon.

Using their own recipes,

they've been asked to make one savoury

and two sweet items

and they will need to make 10 portions of each.

The thing about afternoon tea is it's got to be delicate,

but it's got to punch above its weight in terms of flavour.

For any of our six to truly impress today,

they're going to have to push themselves

and they're going to have to go up a skill level.

There needs to be style,

but at the same time they've got to be realistic

about getting all that food up in two and a half hours.

Serious task today, Charley.

It's not somewhere where I'm particularly comfortable

in doing pastries and all that kind of stuff.

Your three items are?

Macaroons, which are going to be filled with, you know,

whipped cream and icing with rose water.

-Right.

-And then a little raspberry in the middle.

And then for the savoury, I'm doing crab with creme fraiche,

a little bit of chilli, a bit of Granny Smith apple

just to give it that crunch again

and just make like almost a half taco

just so they can pick them up easy

-and just pop them into their mouths.

-Right.

And then the other one is I'm making the ale cake with espresso ale.

So, how is this little cake going to look pretty?

That's one of my weak points, is presentation,

-but I'm going to do a little bit of dusting of icing sugar.

-OK.

And try to keep that little bit simple.

Hopefully, the macaroons will look shiny

and all the stuff it's supposed to be.

Cakes, it's all about precision, isn't it?

And so, anyway, there's a method.

So, I'm just going to try to crack on with it.

-You've got all of your ingredients weighed out?

-Yeah.

-You're going to make it all?

-Yeah.

-You've got your work cut out, Charley.

-I do, yeah. I do.

Charley's really surprised me with his ideas

because we know Charley is a big, gutsy cook

and we have got three really dainty, little dishes.

I love afternoon tea.

I think it's a great English tradition

and we are so good at it.

The very first thing my great Auntie Vi taught me was to make cakes.

So, Victoria sponge was the very first thing I ever cooked

as a child. I think I was about eight years old.

Biggins, I don't think I've ever seen you so quiet.

It's, erm...

It's pressure,

time

and three important dishes to prepare for the WI.

This is their main hobby in life,

so we've got to get it right.

So, what are the three things you're doing?

So, I'm doing a flourless tart with almond

and baking that with a pear, which I've poached on top.

I'm now starting on my walnut cake. A coffee and walnut cake.

And then I'm going to go onto my cheese scones.

What do you think is the hardest thing about today?

Funny enough, I think what I'm about to do now, the cake.

I've got to get that cake mixture right.

It's nice to see you this nervous.

-Thank you.

-HE LAUGHS

See you in a minute.

Sophie is well under way with the preparation

for her pistachio and creme brie Florentines.

I'm going in.

I love these ovens.

I want one. OK.

I've just put my Florentines in the oven.

They're a little, chewy, nutty, fruity thing

and then you have to put chocolate on the bottom.

You do have to keep an eye on them, though.

They spread.

Baking just seems to me such a fine art.

Sophie, afternoon tea, something you're used to doing?

No.

But you must have been to a few, you know, tea parties, mustn't you?

Well, I don't know if I have.

I don't know if tea is my thing,

but it's the WI thing that's freaking me out

because I know there's a lot of really fantastic, bake-y people

in the WI.

You feel like they're a formidable crew.

So, what three dishes? What are you doing?

I'm going to do a Florentine,

macaroon kisses.

A little sandwich macaroon with raspberries

and I'm going to do a savoury tart

which has got bacon, a little egg on the side.

This tea time thing it's something to be reckoned with

and I really take my hat off to people who do all that.

Well, you're about to do it.

-Well, I am going to...

-So, I take my hat off to you.

SHE LAUGHS Good luck, Soph.

All right, darling. Thank you, Mr T.

Better get on.

Sophie is looking a little bit like a rabbit in headlights.

She's confident in her dishes,

but she's so concerned about feeding the ladies from WI,

she's frightening herself.

And that could be her undoing.

It's broken, that one.

Maybe I could patch it up with this one...

the other broken one.

Meanwhile in the upstairs kitchen...

Baking powder, almond mix, in a big bowl, cracked eggs, whites...

Jodie is working on her pistachio financiers.

This is not my forte... is cake making,

but I'm going to give it my best.

-Jodie, you look remarkably calm.

-Do I? I don't know why.

I think I'm just getting a little bit more confidence,

but that's when I'm probably going to make a real mess up.

In MasterChef terms, you are Jodie,

"the push myself, stress-head kid."

-Yeah, pretty much.

-Yeah. What are your dishes?

Right, I am doing a pistachio financier

with a nice raspberry kind of coulis with a bit of pistachio.

What is it? Is it a biscuit? Is it a sponge? What is it?

It's like a little spongy thing.

Then, I'm doing a white chocolate mousse.

What's the savoury?

Puff pastry with olives, tomatoes, and goat's cheese.

Do you like an afternoon tea?

Not...not hugely.

Models aren't known for their love of cakes, are they?

No, exactly, so that's why I'm a little bit

fish out of water territory.

But I'm going for it, you know, that's my motto.

I do like Jodie Kidd's savoury dish.

It's like a puff pastry wafer,

and on there she's got goat's cheese, olives, and tomatoes.

That I get, as long as she can make it refined and slim.

What you don't want is half a pasty going up to the mayor.

It's nice.

Sweets have to be quite precise, really.

Just to get the right consistency and not too greasy.

What is your menu?

Savoury scones with

a red onion marmalade and Gorgonzola cheese.

My sweet thing, I'm making a little filo pastry lemon meringue pies,

followed by salt caramel truffles.

What is the essence of an afternoon tea, do you think?

Oh, an afternoon tea should be a pick me up,

and something which is just...

just titillates your senses when you've got a bit of a sugar low.

There's one of Amanda's dishes that bothers me.

It's a lemon meringue with filo pastry.

Now that sounds a little greasy to me.

I don't want to see the mayor wiping her fingers on her ceremonials,

you know what I'm saying?

Wayne is making a start on his raspberry jam to go with his scones.

This is what takes up all the time. Weighing everything out.

I was brought up with pounds and ounces, thank you very much.

I've suddenly got to go to grams

and I don't even know the sign for it.

So I got to a G. I can just about see it.

If you've got all day at home,

I mean, everybody would probably think this is a cinch.

But when you've got two and a half hours to produce 30 cakes each...

so there we are.

Wayne, you've got pages and pages of notes there.

Yeah, I have, but I've got tonnes and tonnes to do.

I've got to do three different dishes

and I've got to do ten of each, that's the problem.

What are you going to feed our Lady?

I'm going to feed her vol-au-vents with chicken,

chives, and quails eggs.

Wow.

Then I'm going to do tropical custard

in little cases with a strawberry jelly on top.

-All right.

-Then, I'm doing scones...with jam and cream.

I am proud you're pushing yourself.

I'm also nervous of your timing.

-I won't get it done in time.

-Well, there's optimism for you.

Well, I'm sorry if I just think that I can take my time, get it done.

And, uh... That'll be that.

You're the only person I know to look on defeatism

as something positive.

Well, thank you very much.

Wayne... I don't know whether to be fearful or just love him

because the ambition...

I mean, this is pushing it to the absolute limit.

With their first hour gone,

the contestants have just 90 minutes before service begins.

I think I'm about 20 minutes behind at the moment.

But who knows?

Back downstairs, Biggins has finished his pear and almond tarts.

Those look amazing!

Wow, beautiful!

And is already putting the finishing touches

to his coffee and walnut cake.

I think my cream is a bit thin.

I just need to decorate it with some walnuts.

There's a nice colour.

Meanwhile, Sophie and Charley are both working on their macaroons.

This is supposed to be my macaroon mix.

Very pink, isn't it?

Sophie and I are both doing macaroons,

but both of us have different cooking times.

That kind of worries me that hers is longer than mine and...

Oh, I just... I'm not sure.

This is not soft enough, this. See the peaks, the nipples...

They are not going down, the nipples.

But I'm too scared to do it again.

I don't think they look right, to be honest.

These look a bit wet to me.

The macaroons look a bit wet.

They're just ploppy.

I think I'm going to put a bit more almonds in that mixture.

They've not done that before, you see?

Every time something different.

-They look lovely, darling.

-Oh, they look a funny colour.

They're supposed to have a really nice sheen to them which they don't.

And they're not supposed to have these little nipples here...

Which they do.

So I don't know where the colour went. There just...

They were quite pink in the bag.

And they've just gone a bit, um... Not pink.

-Well, they look better.

-They look better, don't they?

Well, a bit better.

-They're still different, Charley.

-I know.

I'm not going to risk doing another set. I'm going to...

Just going to back off and let them. I'm not going to try again.

They're quite emotional, aren't they?

Someone told me it took them almost 100...almost 100 times to get it.

Really? Flipping hell!

-Almost 100 times.

-Three, six, nine, 12.

They're going in now, this first lot.

In the upstairs kitchen, Jodie's pistachio financiers need to cool

while she moves onto her white chocolate mousse

with cherries and crumble.

Crumble looks all right.

Yes, it was put in for exactly the right amount of time,

but in a different oven,

and I think that one kind of nuked them a little bit but...

Anyway, there we go.

I'm very happy to get my mousses in.

I've got my financiers setting.

I've got my coulis... Where the hell is the coulis? Coulis is there.

All right, I'm good. I'm set. I'm rocking.

While Jodie seems under control,

Amanda needs to get her savoury cheese and bacon scones in the oven.

I'm just about to turn them out onto a flat surface now.

It's just about getting the right height.

If you cut them too short they're like bullets.

So here we go.

-How are we getting on, Amanda?

-Yes, I'm good. Thank you, John.

-OK, scones, were you at?

-Just popped those in the oven.

Made the red onion marmalade.

Made the lemon curd,

and then I've just got to whip up the meringues now,

so I'm literally moving on to the filo tops now.

OK, so you are feeling quite confident?

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

-Enjoying it. It's grand.

-Good.

Despite being almost two hours into prep,

Wayne is yet to complete anything.

He's only just starting on the filling

for his chicken vol-au-vents.

Right, how are you doing, Wayne?

Well, I feel I'm running out of time.

-It feels like it's going faster and faster.

-OK.

So what have you got done?

Well, I've got the jam done,

I've got the jelly for the tops of my cakes.

I've got to do the pastry for the cake.

Are the vol-au-vents cooked?

No. I've got to do those as well, now.

-Do you think the quail eggs are going to make it?

-No.

-No?

-No, I doubt it.

Maybe it's worth while to think about getting at least two of these done.

Yes, OK... And maybe not do the scones?

Well, do what you've got to do. Let's see how you go. OK?

Yeah, OK. Thank you.

It's 2:00pm and the guests are beginning to arrive.

MUSIC PLAYS: "The Imperial March" by John Williams

I've got a very wide repertoire myself.

I know how most cakes should be made

and technically how they should be.

Well, they're a very fair crowd, but they won't pull their punches.

So they'll have their work cut out for them in the kitchen.

In our family, afternoon tea was very much part of our lives.

It was a very additional household

so I have very happy memories of afternoon tea.

We can't wait! We don't know what to expect.

Just 30 minutes, guys.

Downstairs, all Biggins has left to do is bake his cheese scones.

Whilst Charley needs to assemble his crab filled tacos.

-Those are gorgeous! These are crab, are they?

-Crab, apple.

Absolutely delicious.

Sophie's savoury tartlets are baked.

But she still has to build her macaroons.

Oh, they are really awkward.

I took them out, I was so pleased with myself thinking,

"Oh, they've kept their colour."

Try to get them off the dinky-doo, and they were blinking stuck!

They weren't cooked at all.

So I've put them in quickly just for time.

I should get it out if these come off the doodah.

And if they don't, the good people of Richmond will be spared my macaroons.

HE WHIMPERS

They don't look like they're supposed to.

That's just so sad.

They're not coming off this thing.

When I decided to do macaroons,

I didn't realise that they were potentially...

That they're supposed to be really, really hard to make.

I didn't really think about that.

Again, they're a bit...

and if I put the mascarpone in and let them cool...

..they should still taste all right

cos it's kind of nice and gooey, this filling.

-Don't get in a pickle.

-Disappointed with them.

OK, well, just keep on going.

I hope they'll taste all right.

-Yes, they'll need to.

-Yeah.

But these are the worst I've done, in fact.

And I thought that some of the ones I had done before were bad.

For something like this, where you really want perfection,

you want the very best, then, yes,

I think I'm going to be a very harsh judge.

With 20 minutes to go,

Wayne has only just started his fruit tart cases.

I think I might have just made one or two dishes in time.

So I'm looking on the bright side of life.

There we are.

Amanda is building her filo pastry lemon curd meringues.

I'd really like to see something you know, quite ambitious.

Something that I couldn't do.

And Jodie still has to finish her savoury tarts.

I hope this works.

I've never done it before.

This could be disastrous.

John, if you want to scare yourself, go into the kitchen upstairs

and look at those three contestants, Jodie, Amanda, and Wayne.

With 15 minutes to go, if that afternoon tea

doesn't look refined and on time, I'm out of here.

I'm on a dingy, and I'm gone, mate.

I am not going to stand there and face the WI

if this thing goes to pot.

Finishing touches, guys. You got just ten minutes left.

I can't believe you're ready, Big. Have you done all your items?

Course I have, darling.

Right, that's me, done.

I didn't think I'd get though today.

I think they look quite amusing.

I think if they were people, they'd tell a joke.

They're a bit music hall-y.

Like little boobies.

Guys, all done? Finishing touches all sorted?

-Yes, done, sir. All sorted.

-Wonderful.

-Service, please.

Upstairs, Jodie and Amanda are ready to plate up.

But Wayne is still well behind.

-Are we ready? Are ready to go?

-We are ready.

That, Jodie, looks an absolute picture.

-Are you ready, Amanda?

-I'm ready.

Well done. Spiffing.

Service!

I've always wanted to say that. Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

-You're welcome.

-Wayne, how are you getting on?

-Um, miserable.

-Why?

Well, I've only managed to get two dishes out

and I'm already half an hour over time.

OK, so what do you going to do?

I've got to fill these with my tropical custard

-and add the jelly toppings.

-And then what?

And the vol-au-vents are just finishing cooking.

And that's the fillings for the vol-au-vents.

-OK. Do you think you've taken on too much today?

-Yes.

I think if there was no time limit and I had all day,

I might just make it.

Biggins has made coffee and walnut cake...

Cheese scones...

..and a no pastry pear tart.

I loved it! I thought it was a great challenge.

I hope they will be pleased. I mean, I was pleased.

And I certainly would have eaten everything there and enjoyed it.

And paid for it.

Mm...very good.

The no pastry pear tart is really lovely. It's light.

The pear is really nicely cooked in that, and I really like the cream.

Quite a large portion but delicious all the same.

The coffee walnut cake looks a little bit ugly

but it was quite nice and moist, and it tasted much nicer than it looked.

The cheese scones are nice and light,

but I think they're just slightly undercooked.

The cheese scone, it's a bit unusual that it's not served with butter

because you open it and it just looks a bit too bland.

The look of it fails, I think.

Charley has served espresso ale cakes,

Raspberry macaroons with a rose-water cream,

and crab meat on Parmesan tacos.

Lovely, thank you.

All in all, I think I'm kind of glad it's over.

Maybe middle of the road.

If I can get middle of the road,

not get too many vicious comments then, you know, it'll be OK.

Cheese. Lots of melted cheese.

This is actually a cheese crisp, then? Not an actual taco.

The crab meat tacos were inspired because it had a bit of paprika,

I think, in it which really brought the flavour of the crab out.

I'm going for my macaroons.

And a surprise raspberry in the middle.

-Yeah, rose-water.

-That's nice.

The macaroons were divine.

They were very nice and to have a little treat

of a fresh raspberry in the middle was lovely.

The macaroon, I thought, was absolutely lovely.

I mean, technically not quite right cos it was too bumpy.

It should've been smooth, but flavour-wise it was brilliant.

The ale cake... Couldn't taste much ale in it.

A bit dry for me.

Generally, I think good cooking

but a couple of technical issues more than anything else.

Amanda has served filo pastry lemon curd meringues,

salted caramel chocolate truffles,

and cheese and bacon scones with red onion marmalade and Gorgonzola.

I enjoyed today so much. Yeah, I really did, actually. It was great.

It was just a hoot.

Smells delicious!

The bacon scone with the little bits that go with it

I found absolutely delicious. I really like that.

That's filo pastry lemon curd meringue and salted caramels.

That looks really good, doesn't it?

The lemon meringue filo tart... The lemon is gorgeous.

Really lovely flavour.

The lemon was the absolute star of the show.

Delicious.

The meringue, I think, could have been

a little crunchier on the outside.

Not quite cooked enough.

The chocolate truffle was too moist and sticky

and could've done with being in the freezer.

Chocolate truffles for afternoon tea? No.

Not what you have for afternoon tea.

That looks delicious. Which is this one?

Jodie has served a white chocolate mousse with cherries and crumble...

..pistachio and raspberry financiers...

..and an olive, goat's cheese, and tomato tart.

That two and half hours was probably the quickest

two and a half hours I've ever had in my whole entire life.

I just hope that they all like it because I had a really,

really good time doing it.

Yep, nicely risen.

I enjoyed the tart. It's quite heavy.

I think it needs to be bite-size, it was a bit too much, I think, for me.

I found the pistachio financier a bit stodgy.

A bit, sort of, not very light at all, I'm afraid.

It's a bit squeezy.

Yes, it is, isn't it?

Chocolate mousse...

Very sweet, very difficult to get to the crunchy bits in the bottom

so had it been in a flatter container,

that might have been more effective.

And quite a shockingly alcoholic cherry.

I lead a sheltered life.

Sophie has made raspberry and almond macaroons...

..pistachio, pine nut, and cranberry Florentines,

and spinach, bacon, and cheddar tartlets with quails eggs.

Splendid!

I felt I did a clumsy job.

So I hope the women of the WI won't judge me too harshly.

And I hope they've had macaroon experiences in their time.

I'm sure they have, they're women of the world.

Oh, cream in here.

The almond kisses, I'm afraid, were undercooked...

and consequently fell apart.

But, still, tasted quite good,

but didn't have top marks for presentation.

Do you know, I really, really enjoyed the almond raspberry kisses.

I thought they were beautifully presented

and they were delicious, absolutely delicious.

That's a little quail's egg with a little tartlet.

That was good. I loved the tartlets. I think they were delicious,

and they were bite size which is perfect.

The cheddar came through, the pastry was good, they were lovely.

Tasty. Really nice.

The Florentine looked delightful.

The delicate drizzling of the chocolate was really nice.

I just didn't realise there was a solid layer of chocolate underneath

as well which just made it a tad too sweet.

Well done, Wayne. You've done it.

You're over 30 minutes late, but you've done it.

Sorry I'm late! You could've gone to the pictures.

Oh!

-I say!

-We're missing something.

Oh...

I was very close to in tears about that shambles of a display of mine.

And I thought, "Oh, I could just leave now."

But I didn't. And I got them out.

Tenacity, staying power... That's what I was born with

and I must never let it go.

Wayne has served vol-au-vents filled with chicken cream,

and tropical custard tarts with a strawberry jelly top.

We're missing...the scones.

The pastry feels like it might be a little bit solid.

I think what they've done is they've overworked it so it's gone hard.

But the taste...the taste is nice.

It's quite flavoursome.

The vol-au-vents look a nice size,

but the filling seems to have run down the side.

Mm, very tasty! That was nice.

That was very nice.

The pastry is absolutely perfect.

The filling, if you wanted to be just slightly picky,

is a bit runny,

but actually, otherwise, the taste overrides everything.

It's delicious. Absolutely delicious.

Afternoon tea is over.

But the contestants now face one more challenge

before two of them will be sent home.

All six did really, really well. What a task.

Afternoon tea for all those people in a great setting like this.

Well done, them.

They are all working hard

and fighting for their place in the final.

And next challenge, we're going to find out who our final four are.

Today is all about going from six to four,

and we are all hoping that we're going to be that four.

It would mean a lot to be in the finals, my giddy aunt.

I always get a bit emotional when people leave.

It'd be marvellous to go down to the last four,

but, you know, one can only do one's best.

Welcome back.

This is the last challenge in the semifinal.

We firmly believe that the best food in the world

is made not just with technical skill but with emotion.

With heart.

That's what we want from you, a dish that you really care about.

Inspired by somebody that you love.

Ladies and gentlemen, one dish.

One hour and 20 minutes.

At the end of this, four of you will be finalists,

and two of you will be going home.

Good luck!

Let's cook.

It's really important that you do well today

because otherwise you're going home.

The competition is suddenly...really gone to a whole different level.

So, yeah, I've got to nail it.

-Jodie.

-Yes.

-You have a mass of gorgeous ingredients.

-Yes.

-What are we going to have?

-Going to go very, very fishy today.

Basically, I'm going to do a crab and spring onion risotto with some

salmon on top and then a lobster bisque around the outside.

Wow! Wow.

It's all from my mum, basically, who is a pescatarian.

And has always been forcing me my whole life to eat lots of fish.

And of course, I've always been just meat and potatoes

and pizzas as, you know, children are.

So this is kind of like an homage to her to say,

"Look, I can do fish and I can do grown-up."

So hopefully, I make her proud.

Jodie's pushing herself, she wants to demonstrate skill and style.

My issue is, we are throwing three things on the plate - bisque,

risotto and salmon.

They are big, big flavours, it has got to be harmonious.

I think I have definitely changed as a cook.

I have a better flow with my cooking now, definitely,

and I really, really enjoy... I'm loving that.

Amanda, what are you going to make for us?

I'm going to make some duck with cavolo nero.

And there's going to be a little juice of shallots

and blood oranges, some puree of cauliflower cooked with star anise.

And then on top of that, I'm going to have some beetroot crisps.

Why this dish?

This dish is for my mum because when she went to live in Ireland

with my father, after the war, she was very sophisticated

never lived in the country before.

And she asked a farmer if she could have some ducks

because she wanted to have a party.

She thought he would turn up with the ducks, ready, done.

No, they were live.

And she spent the afternoon chasing them round the garden.

Had to get them, kill them with my father, pluck them

and then threw this mad party for all the people who

lived in our very rural district, in the middle of nowhere of Ireland.

And she served crispy duck.

So this is for my mum, who inspired me hugely in my life.

Now that is the story.

She was very inspirational like that, my mother.

Just against all the odds, just keep going and, you know,

get on with your life and challenge yourself.

So she was an amazing woman, actually, yeah.

Amanda is doing a duck dish inspired by her mother

and their time in rural Ireland.

Wonderful, but Amanda is attempting so much, maybe too much.

You've had 20 minutes, you've got one hour left. One hour.

I would like to show John and Gregg today that I am a fighter.

I am still here and still trying with all my heart.

-Wayne.

-Yes.

-What you making for us?

-Paella.

-Are you?

-Yes.

Inspired by whom?

-My partner, Jose.

-You've got a Spanish partner?

-Yes, yes, definitely.

-So, how long have you and Jose been an item?

-20 years.

-Good God Almighty!

-Yeah.

-Has he not taught you some Spanish foods?

-No.

-So this dish, Wayne, is 20 years in the making.

-Yes, that's right, yes.

I've watched him do it, but I usually just decant the wine

and lay the table.

I'm really pleased that I'm doing it at last

and I just feel on top of the world.

And I want him to be able to sit at home and watch me do it properly.

-Wayne, good luck to you, mate.

-Thank you very much.

A beautiful rice dish, rich with seafood, loads of saffron

and tomato, garlic, onions.

It has got to be powerful, it has got to be bold

and it has got to be a statement.

Wayne has not had a great semi-final so far.

That is going to have to be one of the best paellas

we have tasted in this competition.

It could be. Knowing Wayne, it could be, but it's going to have to be.

You are halfway, ladies and gentlemen. 40 minutes left.

My strategy today is to just try and cook

and present the best that I can, that's all you can do.

If you put your whole life into it at that moment, then, with

a bit of luck, it will come through at the other end

and they might like it.

There's a lot of pans going on.

This looks to me a bit like a pro kitchen, Charley.

Oh, you know, you are always just trying to push the bar a little bit.

And so I am just trying this.

In fact, this dish is really because of a mate of mine,

a guy called Angus Jones, opened up a restaurant.

I was so proud of Angus.

Angus is one of my oldest, oldest mates.

So this is one of his dishes that I am doing.

-He'll probably never talk to me again after this.

-What is the dish?

Well, it is supposed to be sirloin steak with snails,

and then it will have like a crumb and Parmesan and parsley top to it.

And then there is going to be, like, a really buttery potato

with a red wine port sauce.

-You've put quite a bit of yourself into this competition.

-Yeah.

Like anything. Anything that you enjoy, you put your heart into.

When I am riding motorbikes or racing dirt bikes or whatever,

I get a real adrenaline rush.

And when you are doing some pressured stuff like this,

you get that same rush.

Charley is really going for it.

What he is attempting there is a professional chef's dish.

That steak needs to be lovely and moist and well rested.

The snails need to melt in your mouth.

And that mash has to be wonderful and creamy.

You've got just 30 minutes left.

30 minutes between you and a finals place.

-Biggins, big day?

-Huge day.

-What are you going to make for us?

Well, my inspiration is my great auntie Vy, my mother's auntie Vy.

And she was an incredible woman, a real snob.

And as a child, I used to go and stay with her and she would teach me

how to do all different foods.

A trifle, which I am going to do for you today.

So it is Auntie Vy's sherry trifle.

She was so inspirational that...

I come from Wiltshire, all my family, we all talk like that.

And she insisted I have elocution lessons.

It was because I had elocution lessons that

I then was interested in theatre.

And it was from there, I went to Salisbury Rep and then

to Bristol Old Vic and started my career.

So everything is down to Aunty Vy.

-Biggins, seriously, I love a trifle.

-Yeah.

-But is a trifle going to get you into the final?

-I don't know.

My thing on this was inspiration, and the most inspirational person

in my life as far as cooking,

the early days of cooking, was my Auntie Vy.

So I had to do it for her.

And if that doesn't get me through, then that's fine,

but, I mean, it had to be Auntie Vy because she was...

She made me what I am today.

Auntie Vy's trifle is not hugely ambitious from Biggins because you

are basically layering up sponge, custard, some fruit and nuts.

I mean, it doesn't show a great deal of cookery skill.

But we have seen him do simple before and create delicious,

so possibly...

It is simple, but I think simple is good.

I am just anxious that it is going to set in time.

So I am in the lap of the gods today.

Because this dish doesn't have many components,

you've got to get each one just right.

It's the kind of dish you want them to go,

"I want to lick my plate clean."

-What is your dish, Sophie?

-Fillet steak with snails.

-Oh!

-It's a bit weird. I thought it was weird,

because Charley is doing it, I couldn't believe it.

And some horseradish mash and carrots.

Where does the dish comes from?

Well, one weekend, Richard and me took the boys away to this hotel

in Cornwall and we didn't realise...

It was very snaz and we didn't realize it was quite so snaz.

And we went down to the restaurant and it was quite tense.

The menu was like, "What are the boys going to eat?"

Because they were about six. And I saw steak.

And I went, "Steak, we'll have four of those, please."

But then I saw it came with snails and I thought...

And they got it and they went, "There are snails on this,

"Mummy, and that is really bad."

And we went, "No, they're lovely, eat it." And, "Yummy, lovely."

And they ate it and they loved it.

Before that, the waitress, she brought this

cup of like cappuccino-looking thing and we said, "Oh, thank you."

And she said, "That's mushroom cappuccino."

And Waldo, who was about six, he went, "Oh, that's my favourite."

And I just was so proud of him.

Snails, steak, horseradish mash and a red wine sauce

actually speaks to my inner depths.

The dish was inspired from a night that was actually quite funny.

And if it can be delicious and put a smile on my face,

she has done the job.

You've got just 15 minutes left, guys, 15 minutes.

Lots of ambition going on, but however, there is one person

wandering around the kitchen, tasting everyone else's food

because he hasn't done very much, and that's Biggins.

Perfect!

It is your five-minute call. Finishing touches, please.

Stop! Time's up.

Time's up.

Jodie, please.

Mm.

Jodie's dish is inspired by her mother.

She has cooked pan-roasted salmon fillet on a crab risotto

with a lobster bisque.

Beautiful colours.

Love the look of that bisque.

I love your bisque.

A good lobster bisque like that tastes almost like caramel sweet.

Really lovely. Your rice is soft but not sloppy.

Your salmon...maybe a little bit over.

My complaint is here I completely lose the crab.

-Because have you put Parmesan in there as well?

-Mm-hm.

A lobster bisque and a salmon

and Parmesan is far too much for the poor little crab.

In saying, that is a good-looking dish with very,

very good technique.

I'll tell you, I agree with him.

I love that freshness of lemon from the lemon zest flowing

through the whole thing. Your rice is cooked absolutely beautifully.

Your bisque is rich as you like and on that edge of salty

and tasting of the sea.

The salmon... It's here nor there for me.

Saying that, I watched you work today, Jodie,

you are demonstrating skill, style, elegance and finesse.

And flavour in abundance.

-Very, very good indeed.

-Thank you.

They were complementary. So I was really pleased.

I am really proud of it. I think my mum would love it.

And so that's what my aim was for the day.

Amanda's dish, inspired by her mother's move to rural Ireland,

is duck breast served with cavolo nero,

cauliflower puree flavoured with star anise,

beetroot crisps, blood orange sauce and a red wine jus.

A huge amount of work, Amanda.

Huge amount of work.

Really juicy, pink duck, with a crispy, well-seasoned skin.

Lovely!

Absolutely adore the blood orange sauce.

I don't like the puree.

I find it too weak.

I particularly dislike the sauce you have made from the cooking juices.

I find that sharp.

Far, far too sharp.

The way I feel about this dish,

I had this sort of earthy farmyard that comes with that

beautifully cooked duck,

the rich smokiness that comes from your cauliflower

and then that real earthiness that comes from your cavolo nero.