MasterChef: The Professionals Uncovered MasterChef: The Professionals

'Over the past five years, MasterChef Professionals

'has grown into one of the country's most mouth-watering television events.

'Millions tune in to feast on the skill of extraordinary pro chefs

'pitting their talents against one another,

'until only the best is left standing.

'Tonight, we uncover the inside story of the competition,

'what it's like to put your professional reputation on the line...'

What sort of chefs apply for this competition? Very, very brave ones.

'..cook under the critical gaze of judges Michel...'

-Not right, is it?

-No, chef.

-You don't cut corners.

-'..Gregg...'

-Ooh, I like that!

-'..and Monica.'

-I hate watching you work.

It's disgusting. It's dirty. It's a disgrace.

A lot of people believe Monica never smiles. They're right.

Of course I feel for them.

LAUGHING: I'm not entirely heartless!

She's actually a real pussycat.

'And what it takes to win them over.'

That's not business class. That's first class.

-What are you up to?

-I'm basically making a quail chocolate cake.

'And claim the title of Professional MasterChef.'

'Every year, dozens of professional chefs decide

'the pressure in their own kitchens just isn't enough.

'They make their way to central London, home to the MasterChef studios.

'Even knowing the expectations of judges Michel Roux Jr,

'Gregg Wallace and Monica Galetti,

'they're still prepared to put their reputations on the line

'and enter the most demanding cookery contest in the land.'

The great thing about MasterChef Professionals

is that it doesn't matter what background you have.

You can be a mass caterer, working in a pub

or working in a fine dining environment.

What does matter is that you want to win this competition and that you have got skills.

What sort of chefs apply for this competition? Very, very brave ones.

Unlike any of the other MasterChef competitions, this can enhance, but also ruin reputations.

'Every chef entering has a different motivation.

'Some are young and want to prove they can cut it with the best,

'even if they are just starting out.'

I've never done a competition until now.

You get to cook your own food, so it's a real competition,

and get to show what you can do, it's quite a nice thing.

Service, please!

I know some fantastic female chefs.

They don't get the recognition they deserve. It's about time they did.

I wanted to prove to myself how good I could do. I thought, "I'm 30 years old.

"Nearly over. I'd better try and do something."

I love being a judge on MasterChef Professionals

because it's all about nurturing talent - sometimes young and sometimes not so young.

There's always the chance that you might be uncovering the next big deal in the culinary world.

MONICA: To enter this, you're either very prepared or you really are quite silly

to not realise how tough it's going to get,

and how high the standards are that myself, Gregg and Michel expect.

'Before any of the chefs can start dreaming of the title,

'they have to be passed fit by Gregg and Monica.'

Right, uncover your ingredients now.

'The first test, devising a dish on the spot from seven ingredients.'

I remember pulling the cloth off, seeing the ingredients

and thinking, "Uh-oh!"

MONICA: At the beginning of the series,

I'm always excited to see what kind of talent is going to come through.

Every year, I expect really good, confident, talented chefs.

I love the start of Professional MasterChef.

That is the point where you first meet the next winner.

You don't know who it is, but I imagine it to be like a gambler.

You see if you can use your judge's nose to sniff out the winner.

-How long have you been a chef?

-I've been a chef for 24 and a half years.

They don't let people in the kitchen when they're five years old!

ANTON: At work, you put your head down, no-one asks you questions.

You're cooking and there's people coming over, poking you, ten cameras in your face.

That's not the normal day at work!

Halfway!

OLI: It's not as easy as everyone thinks.

I used to criticise all the chefs when I watched it, be like...

You don't realise how short the time is, how hard it is working in that little kitchen,

having two people staring at every move you do.

-What do you hope to achieve on MasterChef?

-As much as I can.

I just want to get through this dish, to be honest!

Last 90 seconds!

The mystery ingredients test is a chance to show myself and Gregg

what level of cooking they're at.

That's it. Time's up.

The invention test, you never know which way it's going to go, what they're going to do.

You get absolute brilliance and other times think, "Are you really being paid to cook?"

Wow! Um...

I've never seen anything like that.

'Aubergines and mushroom roll on a sweet toasted brioche

'was something that had to be seen and tasted to be believed!'

What do they do it for, these guys? I blame Heston!

I'm really sorry. I don't like it.

I had lentils with peaches with the vegetable cheese gratin!

Can you imagine? Can you imagine?

What on earth is this?

It doesn't look very appealing.

I think the gratin looks more appealing than this plate here.

I had to taste it and I really didn't want to.

I REALLY didn't want to.

The top of my mouth is almost glued together by the glug on there.

I taste something like that and I hate my job that you make me eat something like this.

What was going through their mind? I know what was going through my digestive system.

'While this year's competition

'threw up its fair share of odd combinations,

'perhaps the most bizarre dish ever was for Michel and Gregg

'in a quarterfinal invention test two years ago.'

-What are you up to?

-I'm basically making a quail chocolate cake.

Right. Can I take your pulse? Feel your temperature?

-You seem OK, but you really are going to make us a quail chocolate cake?

-Yes.

I've never cooked quail in my life, but I know it's a gamey meat

and I love the whole game and chocolate thing. I love it.

Jason, is a MasterChef quarterfinal the right time to be experimenting?

Definitely! This is why I entered this competition.

Cos I had never the chance to show off my madness. Never.

'When you watch someone do a mad concoction you think, "You don't cook like this in your kitchen.'

"MasterChef has got to you straightaway."

'South African-born Jason has made quail on chocolate sponge cake

'served with creamed chilli cabbage

'and a red wine emulsified chocolate sauce.'

I want to take that chocolate cake and dunk it in a cup of tea,

not dunk it in a creamy chilli-flavoured cabbage sauce.

You could be a genius, but you are ahead of MY time.

'But occasionally in the invention test,

'the great chefs stand out immediately.'

When the food is good, I'm so happy.

I'm smiling and it's how it should be.

Keri, that's a lovely dessert. You can cook.

This tastes wonderful. I'd love for Michel to try that.

For a first-up invention test, you are good.

'KERI: I was extremely happy.'

Extremely happy that day!

Ash, lovely dessert. Flavours, they are what they should be.

- Well done. - Thank you.

I know Monica is tough, but that's a serious pat on the back.

That tastes fantastic.

I don't just want to eat that, I want to bath in it. That is lovely.

That is fantastic!

Great dessert, Anton. I'd happily let Michel try it.

'Harder still is what comes next -

'a one-on-one skills test devised by Monica and Michel.'

Before the series start, Monica and I always go through the skills tests together.

We think up what challenge we can give our chefs.

It's about using your chef instincts,

and to push the chefs to that place where they've never been before, to see how they react.

I want it to a point where it's almost set,

then I can press it and mould it to what I want.

If you want an indication of just how good Monica is,

watch Monica perform the skills tests before the other chefs do.

They're not mugs. They're good pros. Look how easy Monica makes it look.

There you have it, my lobster dish.

I can't remember seeing a lobster dish as pretty as that.

-It's lovely.

-Aw!

MONICA: 'When it comes to the skill test, there's nowhere to hide.'

And that's very nerve-racking.

All eyes are on you and you need to perform the skill we've set for you.

And I find that a lot of the lads that come through

'have imagined what situation they're going to get,

'what ingredients it's going to be, then walk through.'

It wasn't what they were thinking and they've gone blank.

What we want you to do is make a crepe souffle.

- Well, I've never done that. - Mm, you ever made a crepe?

Er, yeah.

Make that the best crepe you've ever made. Everything else, let's chance it.

Cool.

Can we start again?

-Yeah.

-You've only had 15 seconds.

Very few chefs come out of that skills test unscathed.

I can't remember.

The nerves got to us.

Cooking for Monica's going to be a nerve-racking experience.

She's going to pick up on everything I do wrong.

Hopefully, I'll not leave her with anything.

MONICA: 'They're just so nervous.'

Some are shaking, almost in tears.

I can't put my arm around you, send Gregg to hug you.

You just need to get on with it and do the best that you can.

ANTON: 'It's just a super amount of pressure on you.'

It's your job and you don't want to let yourself down on TV.

You don't want to make an idiot of yourself.

Didn't think I'd shake this much.

A lot of people think that the tests are too tough.

Remember, we are looking for a Professional MasterChef, OK?

We're here to help and to encourage but we need to find out what they know.

-What do you reckon to that, then?

-That's quite scary.

-Have you worked with kidneys before?

-I've seen them but never handled them.

-Do you like that?

-LAUGHING: Wow!

You and the kidney. Off you go.

There he is!

It just looked like something out of a Hammer Horror movie.

MONICA: 'In restaurants like the ones that I work in,'

they come in the fat, encased in it, cos chefs can use that fat.

We render it down and use it for cooking.

That's the scary thing, people didn't realise it looked like that.

I loved that. I like the big messy ones.

I'm there to make sure that the standards are met,

so Michel finds as least a problem as possible when he walks in that door.

Monica takes her job very, very seriously.

Especially that skills test. It's vital that she gets it right.

She doesn't want to put somebody through that I, then,

think is not good enough because I will give her an earful!

I've never, ever seen a salmon treated like that.

If you did this in my kitchen, I would slap you with it.

'There are fewer things more scary than Monica with the raving hump!'

If you come in there and you just cook stupidly,

or you ruin a lovely ingredient, you are going to get her on your back.

Simon, you've got a minute so, please, quickly.

-Done?

-Yep.

Simon, you used this cloth to wipe your board, to wipe your hands,

to wipe the bowl, to wipe the table. I hate watching you work.

It's disgusting. It's dirty. It's a disgrace.

'A lot of people believe that Monica never smiles.'

They're right!

-Don't know your own strength, chef.

-When there's nerves involved, no.

Monica has been working for me for about 14 years.

She is probably the most dedicated and focused chef

that I've ever had in my kitchens, and you can see that.

As soon as she puts her chef's whites on, she is 100% in her job.

That makes her look scary!

But she's actually a real pussycat.

Of course I feel for them.

LAUGHING: I'm not entirely heartless!

Of course I feel for them. I want them to do well.

'After the skills test, Gregg and Monica select the best chefs

'to go forward to cook for Michel.'

We can't take all of you through.

'For some, their MasterChef dream comes to an early end.'

Wasn't to be. Wasn't to be.

'For those fortune to progress,

'there are always a few encouraging words from Monica.'

You need to step up your game. You get to go through and cook for Michel.

And that makes me very anxious.

'Across town, in his London restaurant,

'Michel has been perfecting the next challenge -

'the classic recipes.'

I love French gastronomy.

For me, it's my life. It's what I was brought up on.

So when I cook the French classics, I just get immersed in it.

I love it! I'm sure you can see that on my face because I light up.

When I'm choosing the classic recipe test,

I'm looking for something that's really going to push and challenge the chef on all fronts,

be it presentation...

..skill...

..and palate.

Mm. Perfect!

'The chefs now not only have to impress the master,

'they need to grasp the basics of the French language.'

For this test, I want you to cook supreme de volaille agne sorrel.

I want you to cook a gratin cardon a la moelle and a crique Ardechoise.

My classic I want you to cook is beignets a la creme.

I can just about talk English.

So, yeah, when Michel says something in French, it goes over my head.

Un petit pate de pezenas.

I can just about say Bordeaux,

so when he says, "Gremie alley ben..." I can't even say it now!

The classic recipe I want you to cook is a canette aux cerises.

A lot of the classic recipes that I choose are French, obviously,

and they deserve to be presented en Francais.

Michel wants the whole lot.

Not only does he want quality food,

he wants a smart-looking chef who works in an ordered fashion.

First impressions are always important and telling -

how they work, how they approach the task.

Methodically, reading the recipe properly.

What choice of knife.

The state of their hands.

I even look at what kind of shoes they're wearing.

Little things like that tell me so much.

Halfway, guys.

Michel is tough, but fair.

You need to work for him to know he's not a shouty chef.

If you do make him shout, you'll remember for the rest of your life.

It's in the eyes. It's all in the eyes.

Step it up. 90 seconds to go.

That's it. Time's up.

'I give the chefs a recipe and I expect them,'

because they're professional chefs, to deliver.

For my classic test, I asked you to cook supreme de volaille agne sorrel.

This dish is a true French classic.

It should be beautiful and great to eat.

What's unbelievable is that we get a completely different end result.

'For the chefs, this round is a harsh reminder

'of the standard needed to impress a Michelin-starred legend.'

I'm not that keen on your presentation. It looks a bit messy.

Looks heavy-handed.

To be a great chef, the whole plate has to be perfect.

-I don't think you passed that through a sieve.

-I didn't.

-Why not?

-Forgot, chef.

-Forgot?

-Yeah.

-It's not right, is it?

-No, chef.

You don't cut corners.

I asked you to cook an epigram de sole.

The sauce is far too reduced. Very little lobster taste at all.

There are errors here.

I like the fact that you've kept a claw to put on top.

It adds another dimension. That's thinking like a chef should think.

Oli?

I have to stop myself.

Because I would very easily eat all of that.

That's very good, Oli.

Very yummy. You've got two sauces on there, which shows off skill.

Mingled together, they work very well.

The flavours are great.

It tastes perfect!

Thanks.

When he said he enjoyed it, I was, yeah, ecstatic.

'While many past finalists and champions got off on the right foot with chef Michel,

'2012 winner Anton faltered.'

Five minutes to go and I was like,

"There's no way I'm going to salvage this one!"

I served Michel Roux for the first time a bowl of scraps!

Anton, can you tell me what happened here?

We don't seem to have a beignet on the plate. We've got scraps.

And runny creme pat.

I will have a taste.

I'll taste the scraps.

'Anton was on his way out when he did my classic test.'

It really was... It was bad.

'I felt absolutely dead to the ground.'

I'd mucked up and I knew for a fact, whatever I did in the next round,

I really did think I was going home.

One of you has to go.

'It's the one part of MasterChef Professionals'

that I really dislike.

'That's having to face the chefs and actually tell them,'

"I'm afraid you are not going through."

Nicky.

'That's very difficult, because...'

it means so much to them.

'And they have to go back to their kitchens, to their day job.'

It's not as if they're the amateurs. They are professionals.

And that's very, very hard.

'Making it through to the final 16 in Professional MasterChef

'is no mean achievement.

'Their reward - to cook for some of the fiercest food critics in the country.'

'We need to be critiqued as chefs. It's very important.'

Food critics are a necessary evil.

What we're hoping for, always, is

that magic element which shows that someone knows what they're doing.

I like food to be a joy, rather than a piece of art.

20 minutes to go. We've got critics out there.

Often, the chefs that cook for us have never cooked for food critics.

It's another bit of pressure, added pressure.

-You've got the shakes, Alec.

-A little bit nervous, chef.

You really have got the shakes!

-Seven minutes!

-Really?

-Yeah. How are you getting on?

-Not too good.

It's just gone wrong.

It's an hour and 15 minutes, I think, two courses for four people.

That's eight plates of food. It's not easy!

-How are we doing, Oli?

-Not good, chef.

-What's up?

-I forgot to put curry in my curry stew.

-You've put it on the menu and forget to put it in the sauce?

-Yeah.

'While most of the chefs just manage to hold their nerve...'

Come on, James. Come on. Let's go, go, go, go!

'..over the years, some have buckled completely.'

-No good.

-We decide that.

-I know.

The beef obviously slightly over.

This is not the way that I should have done it!

The reason restaurants employ waiters

is to avoid chefs coming into the dining room

and saying their food is rubbish!

Tell you what, pressure does funny things to people.

'The pressure of the critics' table really does get to the chefs.'

Nothing in a professional life will prepare you for that kind of pressure.

Hey! Come on, big man!

All I've got is those two for my dessert.

My chocolate snapped. My sugar's not ready.

I'm not serving a dessert. I'm sorry.

I decide not to serve a dessert, as my dessert would look like rubbish.

It will taste like rubbish. I'm not doing it. I'm sorry.

The chefs, often, are far, far too ambitious.

-How late do you reckon you're going to be?

-A minute. Maybe two.

They tread in more than they can chew.

Sorry to keep you waiting.

TO HERSELF: They might be all right.

Souffles, when done well, are a thing of dreams.

-Oh!

-I have to do this again. I can't serve this.

Keri, 15 minutes.

I'm never going to do it.

I'm never going to do it. I'm sorry. I'm way, way, way behind.

-How long do you need?

-Another hour!

-Another hour?

-Yeah.

-You can't have another hour!

I didn't really need an hour. That was just me being sarcastic!

But yeah, it was very tight.

'But it's when the food finally reaches the critics' table

'that the knives really come out.'

The sun very rarely shines in a critic's heart.

You know why? Cos they're there to spot mistakes. That's what they do.

The duck is woefully underdone. That is still quacking.

It's a calamity, even without tasting it.

I've got a chisel in my bag.

You can jiggle this for an hour and it wouldn't show any wobble.

It would stubbornly resist your endeavours.

They can't let any mistakes past otherwise people won't trust their credentials.

But it makes cooking for them a miserable, miserable job.

This is one of those ideas that probably looked OK on paper,

but on the plate, it just looks a bit of a mess.

The idea of foraging is that you go and snuffle out delicious things.

Can't see the point of snuffling out something

that really does taste like a rotting carrot.

It's so sweet my pancreas is about to resign and find employment elsewhere.

I would no more match tortellini with pork fillet

than have a scone with a steak.

This isn't an inviting looking dish, is it?

This looks like the kind of dessert that a tacky hotel on a ringroad

would serve at a cheap wedding full of regret.

Oh! I'm actually really hungry and I really want a decent plate of food.

'Despite many chefs coming under fire,

'winning over the critics at this stage can also be a stepping stone

'to going all the way to the final.'

It really is a massive, MASSIVE test.

I think it's the defining test in MasterChef Professionals.

That moment where you really do see the calibre of the chef.

This has the wow factor.

It's an unbelievably good-looking dish.

This is a dish you would talk about. It is stunning.

That's a highly accomplished plate of food. Do I need to say any more?

Every single ingredient, separately, has been cooked to perfection.

Sorry, gents, for being late.

This is food made by someone who wants to feed you.

When the chefs do well for the critics, I love it. It just lightens my heart.

Anton's carrot cake in the pot had everybody in raptures.

Me included.

-Can we go?

-Yeah.

-We can go?

They could have really hated that dish cos it's quirky.

And critics don't really like quirky.

-It's making a noise.

-I like it when my dessert talks to me!

It's full of surprises and full of interest.

-I could carry on eating it for ever.

-This is witty, smart and it works.

It really works.

I like the cleverness. I like the fun of it. I like the inventiveness.

Gregg and puddings! He must have been born in a pudding, this man!

His face lights up even before the plate's reached us. LAUGHS

MUSIC: "Perfect Day" by Lou Reed

He just needs to walk around the room and see dessert in process

and it's made his day.

'Me with puddings...'

All kids have got a sweet tooth. Anyone who's worked with me knows

I'm still a kid and I've still got me sweet tooth.

# Oh, it's such a perfect day... #

-It's like a fairy's garden.

-# I'm glad I spent it with you... #

Ooh, I like that!

# Oh, such a perfect day

# You just keep me hanging on

# You just keep me hanging on... #

Can you hurry up so I can taste it?

I look down at that and all I can hear is, "Gregg, eat me!"

That's a sort of dessert I'd have by the bucket full!

What can I say? You had me hooked on the custard.

'Just give him a plate of something sweet and sticky'

with a creme chantilly on the top and he'll eat it and be happy.

Gregg's face is just a treasure.

Oh!

It's that pudding face!

I think that's absolutely delightful. That's LOVELY!

Mmmm!

I am pleased that you've made me a nice chocolate tart.

Cor! Mate, that is fantastic!

That's incredible!

That's divine!

-LAUGHING:

-That's lovely!

I think I love desserts because they're so unnecessary.

They're just a present to ourselves. They're a complete indulgence.

We need to eat to live, but we don't need to eat

great big spongy soft wet sticky things with sparklers in 'em!

LAUGHS

'The MasterChef semifinals are when the competition begins in earnest.

'After four weeks of heats,

'it's the first time the best chefs come together in the same kitchen,

'and their first opportunity to size up their opposition.'

When we're left with eight truly good chefs,

that's when the competition not only gets exciting,

but gets to be more than just fun.

Two of you will be going.

Because you are then regularly tasting,

nay, eating quality food from quality chefs.

I feel very fortunate because every series of MasterChef Professionals

I've learnt something! I've taken away a little recipe.

Said, "Hey, I love that! I want that recipe!"

That is probably the best compliment

that any of the chefs coming in here can get.

MUSIC: "O Sole Mio"

I love the theatre of it Aaron. Then the reveal...

Then we see what's on the plate and I like what I see.

I love the look of this plate.

I love that you've made your egg look like an apple. It looks fun.

When you get a piece of ham with that fish - wa-hay!

The whole plate comes alive.

I'm completely bowled over.

This makes this competition for me SO worthwhile.

That's not business class. That's first class.

You had me at the first bite, Ross.

It looks like the dessert is trying to win the Turner Prize.

But it's delicious!

'With the standard of food so high,

'the difference between success and failure is minute,

'making it all the more heartbreaking for those who fall just short.'

Carl.

-Alec.

-Thank you.

Well done! That was fab!

This is nothing in comparison to what's coming up next.

The experiences that a chef will get by coming through MasterChef Professionals is unbelievable.

And then, of course, if they do get to the semifinals and the finals,

it's immense - the challenges and where we take them.

'For those chefs good enough to make it to the final six,

'their baptism of fire begins at a leading British Michelin-starred restaurant.'

The food scene in Britain is changing at an incredible pace.

To be able to take our finalists to the best restaurants in Britain

is just an amazing experience.

'Over five years, almost every leading restaurant in the country

'has opened up their kitchens to allow the semifinalists

'to experience the intensity of a working service.'

I feel overwhelmed by the thought of being here.

It's fantastic.

Very nice asparagus there, Ben. Well done.

-I'm going to be two and a half minutes.

-Excellent!

-C'est bon, ca?

-C'est bon!

OK, let's go. Eight hog. Beautiful. Well done.

Another perfect one. You're a dark horse, I'm telling you. Eh?

'The pressure they're going to be under is pretty immense.'

There's no way I'd want to walk into somebody else's kitchen,

be given a dish to do and be told to do that.

Few little shakes on there, Anton. Shaky hands!

Beautiful! Very, very well done!

Well done tonight, girl. Rock 'n' roll.

Thank you very much. I had a great time. Thank you.

You take an ordinary player, get him to play in a quality team,

his standard will rise.

You take good chefs, put them with great chefs, they will start to emulate the great chefs.

A small kitchen. Bringing someone in who doesn't know how it works,

it's a risk.

-You're confident with the lamb?

-Yes.

-If you carve one and it isn't right, we're in trouble.

-Right.

Yes, I think I've over-cooked it.

-That's terrible.

-I'm embarrassed at that.

-Me too. It's ruined.

We've got to start the table again. Let's start this table again!

It's a wonderful opportunity to go into a Michelin-starred restaurant

and get that experience.

Never stop. You don't think just cos you sent the scallops you stop?

But it really pushes them, really takes them somewhere they've never been before.

I don't care who they are, they're here to hit my standards.

That's non-compromise.

< I'm not liking what I'm seeing there, Oli. Look at the scum.

Sorry. Yes, chef. < Take it off. Change the pan.

Yes, chef. Sorry. >

'I can see that people would think he's quite tough.'

That's how kitchens are.

Keep it going, keep it fresh, keep it alive.

Don't make the same mistake as what he's just made.

'He's an intense character.'

He's got two stars, why would he want two kids to come and ruin that for him?

I wouldn't, put it that way!

What's wrong with that? Not enough cabbage.

So why are you here?

You just identified what was wrong, so what are you doing here? 30 seconds please, chef.

OLI: 'If a chef's tough on you, you don't feel annoyed at him.'

You feel bad on yourself and you want to get it right for him.

Where's the radicchio?

Come on! Yes, chef!

'The further you progress on MasterChef Professionals,

'the higher the culinary mountain you're expected to climb.

'For the final three, the greatest honour has come

'with a trip to Europe where, in consecutive years,

'the world's number one...'

If I was starting my career as a young chef,

this is where I would want to work.

'..and number two ranked restaurants

'have opened their kitchens and shared their knowledge,

'allowing outsiders for the first time to cook in service.'

Taking our finalists to these great restaurants

gives them a little insight of what it takes...

..to be at the very, very top.

You have to work with the plate.

If you put like this, you're covering this one completely.

You can't do that. You have to see a bit of everything.

Every single plate has to be perfection.

And that pressure is just there. It's palpable.

You don't want to make a mistake.

You don't want to be the one that goes down in service.

It was only two of them called. >

Take it easy. You're freaking out and we've just started.

Good.

That is smashing for the first go, I must say.

So many people would love to be in this position right now.

I'm just one of the lucky ones that got to live it.

We want them to be in the company of great talent.

We want a little bit of that chef's magic dust,

pixie dust, if you like, to rub off on our contestants.

I don't think there's any chef in the world...

They would all want to swap places with us today.

Two oysters, and two and two. Six dishes.

Si, chef.

It's OK.

Mmm! Mmmmm!

Immense amount of pressure, but I'm up for the challenge. I'm excited.

Smoke. Yeah.

Claire, thank you. It's good. Thank you.

This is very clever, Michel.

Yeah, it's very exciting. Feel like a little kid at Christmas.

Quickly. Quickly. Quickly.

'Over the five years of the competition,

'the judges have tasted well over 1,000 dishes.

'And each year, they reflect the changing food trends of the nation.'

I think this year the food trend has been to be a little bit simpler.

And more classic.

Maybe even more homely and fulfilling.

The chefs were looking at nose-to-tail eating,

so there was a lot more offal, which is great, and cheaper cuts.

Anybody can do a great meal with caviar and a lobster.

You don't need anything else.

Try to make something special out of something quite ordinary. That's real skill.

'But some trends never die,

'especially when it comes to presentation.'

Clever presentation is important.

But sometimes there are too many smears, shmears and splodges.

I fear a smear on a plate coming on.

Smears.

Shmears.

Splodges.

Drags. That's another word for them.

I don't know what to call them, but they're all over the place.

What I don't particularly like is this swipe.

One thing I don't like - your smear of sauce across the plate.

I'm not too keen on the paintbrush of chocolate sauce.

It doesn't look too hygienic to me.

If any of those elements were wrong, then it would be a disaster.

I can safely say that none of them are wrong.

Other than...that smear.

'Every year, the three finalists face a challenge

'that even the most seasoned professionals would fear -

'cooking dinner for the largest gathering of Michelin-starred chefs in the world.'

That is probably the toughest, toughest of all evenings

that our finalists will ever have to face.

Everyone who's anyone comes to this dinner. It's a massive event.

Huge expectations.

This is their moment to produce the dishes to set them on the road

for the rest of their career.

If they can impress these guys, they can impress anybody.

'They have just six hours to prepare a complex and demanding fine dining menu.

'Each of them has to cook 30 portions -

'all of them identical, and every one perfect.'

It's taken me ten minutes to just do those.

The fish has been there for a while

because these are taking a nightmare of time to get done.

It's just one of those jobs.

I'm doing the job of a whole kitchen brigade on my own.

Going to be a stressful few hours.

'It's a task that has often taken them to the edge.

'2010 champion Claire Lara was in charge of a main course

'based on a Paul Bocuse red mullet classic,

'which involved creating delicate scales using circles of potato.'

Each fillet must have about 30 fish scales. Multiply that by 30.

She's got a lot of work to do.

I've got a hell of a lot to do and not really that much time.

She's normally very calm and in control.

Not today.

Just needed to get some fresh air.

It's the hardest thing I've ever done. I feel physically sick.

Cast your mind back to when you've done fabulous stuff,

-how it makes you feel, just focus on that, OK?

-Yeah.

-All right.

Don't worry. I won't let you down.

'For 2011 winner, Ash, the 30 portions of his Basque-inspired guinea fowl

'pushed him to his limit.'

-Ash, you're feeling the pressure, aren't you?

-Yeah, definitely.

-I'm going to be in trouble.

-You haven't, yet, not delivered on time.

First time for everything!

You'd better put the turbo on.

LAUGHING: I'm not blind, so I'm all right!

'For the 2012 finalists, the pressure was no less intense,

'as they prepared their own dishes for the prestigious guests.'

I was absolutely petrified, but all I thought was, "There's 30 customers

"and I've got to serve them the best food I can serve."

Oh!

To cook for one of the chefs, that's an honour in itself.

But to cook for 30 of them, just blows you away.

You'd never do a party of 30 by yourself. It's craziness!

Especially when you're trying to do nice food.

-Oli, are you going to be on time?

-Yeah, I'm going to be on time.

-You don't believe me!

-It wasn't a convincing, "Yep."

-No, I-I am going to be on time. I'm just concentrating.

-Get going! 40 minutes on the pass.

'Despite the demands to serve up 30 plates of perfection,

'the MasterChef finalists have never failed to deliver.'

Yes! Let's have them all like that!

That's a LOT of potato scales! LAUGHTER

I would say it was a perfect dish.

It's incredible what you've achieved.

If I never see a potato scale again it will be too soon, I tell you!

-Two-handed!

-If I had two more hands, I'd be using those as well.

Beautifully cooked.

It was very, very tasty food.

If you cooked food like that you'd be busy every day.

I really wanted to impress you guys tonight and I hope I have.

Congratulations. I think that every single person in this dining room

-really enjoyed eating it, so well done.

-Thank you.

Six plates away to rock 'n' roll, please.

Main course today, absolutely stunning. You've done yourself very proud. Well done, chef.

This is an honour. You don't get to see your heroes every day.

So, for me, this is unbelievable.

-Keri, it looks great!

-Six can go now, please.

It is a perfect dessert. Well done, Keri.

- Thank you very much. - You can be proud.

I'm SO happy that you all enjoyed it. I feel extremely proud.

Thank you.

I find myself... I try not to show how proud I am of them.

'But I am so proud of them when I see my final three there.

'They deserve the applause that they get at the end of their night.'

'That really does fill me with joy, because it proves that I've chosen'

the right three for the final and that they've delivered the goods.

Final day is one of those days where I get out of bed

with a bound and with a big smile on my face and say, "Yes!"

Three hours. Three plates of food.

Let's go out with a bang.

Yummy! Yummy, yummy!

I think it's beautiful. It is as near perfection as you can get it.

It's quite simply delicious.

The talent that we uncover is just unbelievable.

'Coming into the 2012 final, the competition was tighter than ever.'

'On the day, anything can happen, the slightest mistake,'

and you can be out of the running.

Oo-ee!

I left it in the fridge, not the freezer.

The parfait melted.

Get it in the freezer! You've got two minutes. It's on full blast.

One thing that went wrong. What can you do about it?

For Oli to cook as well as he did

and then to slip up in the final was heartbreaking - heartbreaking.

So this is not, obviously, how you wanted it.

It's such a shame it's not the finished dish!

It happens. You've got to get it right, especially in a final.

Anton and Keri's food on the day of the final,

I think, was absolutely sublime.

I love this, absolutely love it.

You have now elevated your cuisine to something very, very special.

That is an absolutely amazingly brilliant taste sensation.

-It's a beautiful plate of art.

-Thank you very much.

'With Keri and Anton both cooking faultless food,

'it made for one of the toughest judging decisions in MasterChef history.'

Anton is an exceptional talent. Had a brilliant competition.

But for me,

I want to eat Keri's food more than anybody I've met in a long time.

We both liked either of them, but if anything, I was in the Keri camp, he was in the Anton camp.

Keri is an exceptional chef, but you can't get away from the fact

that Anton has got the knowledge, he's got the skills in abundance.

You don't see it on telly cos we haven't got time to show you it all,

but we sat there arguing the toss for hours.

Now, what do we do?

We sat on those chairs for the best part of two hours,

'to-ing and fro-ing with this decision.

'Who could we choose as a winner?'

The title of Professional MasterChef Champion...

..goes to...

..both Anton AND Keri.

We couldn't separate you. We've never been able to separate you.

That's right, both of you.

Well done, mate.

-Very deserved.

-ANTON AND KERI: Cheers.

-Well done.

-Brilliant.

ANTON: 'For me, Me and Keri both being winners is the best result.'

To share it with someone is lovely.

KERI: 'I was extremely happy.'

To share it with Anton just... You know.

He's like my best bud.

I think that we got it right.

When you think about the quality of the champions we've had

through the Professional MasterChefs

it's guaranteed

that these are the future big names.

The reaction has been phenomenal to MasterChef Professionals.

We've unearthed some fantastic chefs on the way.

Every year, we think, "How are we going to top this? It can't get any better."

So I'm really looking forward to the next series.

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