Episode 12 MasterChef: The Professionals

It's the Professional MasterChef quarterfinal.

These six talented chefs excelled in their heats.

Tonight, they will face two more challenges,

designed to test them further.

I didn't enter this for a joke or to see if I could get on TV.

I'll be gutted if I go home.

OK, this is real now.

You're only as good as your last dish, so just focus today.

It's a competition.

Someone is always going to go home.

I'm just going to make sure that's not me today.

First, they will have to face an invention test.

You've really hit the nail on the head with this challenge.

Those that get through

will have to win the admiration of the country's

most discerning food critics.

Every single person watching this should be jealous of us right now.

Only the best will earn a place in knockout week.

These are our chosen six.

These are the chefs that we believe in.

We've seen them cook some wonderful dishes already.

I think we're in for a great battle.

Chefs, welcome back into the kitchen. This is your quarterfinal.

Today is a massive challenge.

This is for a chance for you to cook for our critics.

This is an invention test.

One of my favourite tests.

You have to create us one incredible plate of food,

using either herbs, citrus, or spices.

Or all three, if you want, in one dish.

We have a table of savoury ingredients

and a table of sweet ingredients.

You can make whatever you like. It's entirely up to you.

But the core point of this dish is citrus, spice, or herbs.

You have ten minutes to plan your dish, 70 minutes to cook and serve.

At the end of this, two of you are going to be leaving the competition.

Come and choose your ingredients, up you come.

Citrus, herbs, and spice.

Common ingredients in a kitchen,

but our chefs need to take them to a new level.

I want these flavours to really shine through.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to this invention test.

There's lots of prime ingredients here to choose from.

Just making up my mind what I'm going to do.

Should be good things going on.

Half the challenge is not trying to do too much.

You know, concentrating on making

sure that what you DO do is perfect, instead of trying to do everything.

Decided to go down the dessert route.

Spices, Indian or Thai food, that's not something that's kind of in my comfort zone.

I'm a bit more comfortable with desserts.

We know they have the skill to create.

This is the opportunity to do it.

Chefs, your ten minutes is now up.

Your 70 minutes starts now.

Good luck.

The signature dish received great feedback.

Probably couldn't have dreamed for a better start, to be honest.

It puts the pressure on a little bit more.

Because now the bar is, like, pretty high.

What have you decided to use?

I'm going to go to Thailand. Because I think that place is perfect for

citrus, herbs and spice.

So I'm doing breast of chicken, I'm making a Thai green curry butter.

Put it under the skin, and then poach it.

I've got a broth going on as well,

which is like a really cool, aromatic broth,

which I'm going to do as a drink on the side.

It's like a little sort of palate cleanser

as you keep going throughout the dish.

And then a really fresh, zingy, citrusy Thai salad.

Being a private chef, you get to travel a lot.

Has Thailand been one of your pit stops?

Yeah, actually, it was the first country

I went backpacking on my own.

I love Thai cuisine. Managed to have a cookery course there as well.

Thai food, I have a weakness for.

I have a very good Thai friend who makes me amazing Thai food, so...

-I'm looking forward to this dish.

-Oh...

-I hope I can deliver.

I love the sound of the Thai butter

that he's going to put underneath the skin of the chicken.

All those lovely flavours of the ginger and the coriander and

the spices, just soaking into the breast. Love the sound of that.

The broth has to be flavoursome.

I personally don't want it to be too hot.

I can take a hit of chilli,

but I want to be able to taste everything else.

Chefs, you've had 20 minutes. 20 minutes gone.

Emrah, spice, herbs, or citrus?

Citrus and spice.

-OK.

-Yeah...

So the dish is going to be a pork fillet,

with a charred savoy cabbage,

black pudding beignet,

preserved lemon, along with some crisped sage leaves

and a spiced jus,

with coriander, fennel and star anise.

Where does this dish come from, Emrah?

The jus I've tasted before with pigeon,

and I believe it will work very well with pork as well.

And I like lemon in everything,

I think lemon brings a freshness to any dish.

I like the sound of the lemon,

especially with the pork and cabbage.

Great combinations going on here.

Do like the sounds of the spices in the jus.

I'm curious if Emrah is able to get the balance right on this dish.

I like to think I'm a creative chef,

but I've got obviously quite a hard foundation of the classics.

It's good to have different influences from different places.

But, not too much on the same plate.

I don't think the judges have had a fair reflection of me yet so far.

The skills test was, like, nerve-racking,

and I just didn't cope with the pressure at all, really.

Tom, how are you feeling?

Yeah, I'm feeling quite good. I'm feeling a lot better than I did

-the other day.

-Thank goodness for that.

Yeah. I was like a man with a fork in a world of soup.

-What is it going to be?

-Duck with five spice, grapefruit and onion.

Duck with grapefruit?

-Yeah.

-Does it work?

-Yeah, I think it will work.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

At the restaurant, we've had duck and a grapefruit on before.

-What's in your sauce?

-So I've got mushrooms, shallot, ginger,

star anise, a bit of five spice, duck bones.

You're cooking for a place to cook for our critics,

are you ready, and how much do you want it?

Yeah, I'm ready and I want it more than anything else.

So I'm going to just give it everything I've got.

-You know what it's going to take?

-Perfect cooking.

Five spice, if you overcook, can become quite bitter.

It's a burnt flavour, it's not nice.

But if done well, it can be beautiful.

I think the question mark really sits with the grapefruit.

Will it work?

Chefs, it's smelling amazing in this kitchen.

However, 40 minutes have already gone.

I'm quite comfortable with an invention test.

It's just really about

looking at the situation,

assessing it, and keeping your nerve and trying to hold it down

and not stressing out.

Tasso, tell us, what have you decided on using?

I'm going to use orange, a little bit of lime,

a little bit of vanilla,

-and some lemon as well.

-Citrus.

All citrus. Doing a baked cheesecake.

I'm just going to serve that on a base

with a little bit of treacle through it.

A little bit of burnt white chocolate and some baked figs.

Is desserts an area that you work on?

I've covered quite a lot of desserts.

I cover pastry as well at work when the pastry chef is off.

So I've done a fair bit of desserts.

-The citrus is your choice.

-Yep.

-It's got to come through strong.

-Yep.

-Good luck.

Tasso's baked cheesecake

has got to be smooth. It can become quite grainy if it's overcooked.

Love the sound of a baked cheesecake.

Add to that the figs and it's a match made in heaven.

Chefs, you've got 20 minutes left.

I think I definitely will have impressed with the creativity.

But there's no point in turning up

to a competition with one dish. It has to be about your ability

and your ability to translate that

constantly onto a plate of food.

I've gone for spice and citrus.

I think with Chinese cooking, you know,

it's a good type of balance that we aim for.

-Chinese dish?

-Yes.

Pan-fried lemon sole, Szechuan sauce,

and shellfish.

What else is going on in your dish, then?

Some leeks, which are getting slowly cooked, and they'll be charred.

I'll add some charred daikon on there.

And then I've got some clams as well,

which will be garnished around in the Szechuan.

On a day-to-day basis, this is my job,

is to create dishes with Chinese ingredients,

but using more of your British cooking methods.

Jon, in my opinion, is taking a massive gamble today.

He's making a Szechuan sauce to go with the sole.

Szechuan is quite a strong flavour.

We don't have Szechuan peppercorns here today.

So he's going to be using some chilies and some ginger,

tomatoes, some pepper.

I'm intrigued by this sauce.

I hope it works well with sole.

The sole is a very delicate fish.

It's been a really good experience so far.

There was a lot of positive feedback from the signature dish.

It was just the seasoning.

I've been cooking 16 years, so you would think you would be able to

season something correctly.

So, Chris, what's your dish?

It's a lemon and basil panna cotta

with strawberry, rhubarb and pistachio.

Hopefully the panna cotta itself

will be really zesty with lemon and have

the flavour of basil in it as well.

I've also got macerated strawberries and rhubarb, which are just raw,

with a bit of lemon juice and sugar.

-Are you nervous?

-Very.

You look very nervous today, Chris.

It's that kind of fear, unknown.

You know, I was a bit more comfortable with my signature dish,

because I practised it. I knew exactly what I was doing.

But with this one, it's, you know,

it's all off the top of the head, really.

Welcome to MasterChef!

Chris is using gelatine to set the panna cotta.

I hope he's got the balance right.

The panna cotta has got to have a stunning texture with it.

It's got to be like velvet.

The key thing here is the lemon and the basil.

I want to taste this in the dish.

Chefs, you've only got four minutes left.

You all right?

Yeah, it's just not set.

Tasso, just keep it together.

-Yep.

-Yeah, and do your best to get it on the plate.

-See what you can...

-It's fine, I'm going to change the dish.

OK, I'll leave you in peace. Go for it. Come on, Tasso.

Right, chefs, you've got two minutes left.

Your final two minutes, you've got to get that food on the plate.

That's it guys, step back.

Time's up.

First up is Tom.

He's served a five-spice duck breast, grapefruit segments,

roasted onion,

onion puree, roasted hispi cabbage, and spring onion.

And a duck sauce made with five spice

and star anise.

I like the way the duck is cooked.

It's nice and pink and you can get the five spice coming through it.

So it's very light. The cabbage, I like it charred.

Love the onion puree as well.

Some nice flavours on here.

I was a little bit unsure of the grapefruit with duck,

but it does work.

It refreshes the palate, actually, it refreshes the palate

through the whole dish. But what's really good about this dish is the sauce.

I think the sauce is excellent.

Because I can taste the five spice.

And this is a challenge of spice, herbs, and citrus.

I'm relieved.

I feel, definitely feel like a weight's gone off my shoulder now.

And, yeah, I just want to hopefully get through to the next round.

Cook more of my own food.

Emrah's citrus and spice dish is pork fillet,

served with preserved lemon,

black pudding beignet, sweet potato fondant, charred savoy cabbage,

crispy sage leaves, green beans,

and a spiced aromatic jus infused with coriander, fennel seeds,

and star anise.

The pork, for me, is a bit of a let-down.

It's slightly dry for my liking.

You're beignet is a nice addition

in there but the batter has not been made properly,

so it hasn't got that crispiness or golden colour it should have.

The preserved lemon, I think it's done very well.

I think you got the sweetness and the sour balance of that.

It's quite impressive.

I was really looking forward to the citrus element of this dish.

And I just thought there would be more than just a very thin slice of

the preserved lemon. Because I think

it's just a little garnish rather than

a key element of it. I think the spice in the sauce

is very much there but you've reduced the sauce down so far,

it's almost turned into molasses.

Love the little green beans and I like

the little deep-fried sage leaves on the top.

So, there's things I like about the dish.

There are things I don't like about the dish.

Mixed signals, really.

Some very good comments and then some not as good.

Jon served a pan-fried lemon sole with clams, charred leaks,

roast daikon radish, and a Szechuan-style sauce

made of chilli, tomatoes,

peppers and ginger.

I did have expectations of Chinese flavours.

I haven't got that.

But what I have got is a very nice tasting plate of food.

The sole is well cooked, there's not a lot of it.

And the sauce is good, it's a got a little bit of warmth to it.

So you've got the spice of the chilli and the tomato and pepper

coming through. But, it's not really a Szechuan pepper sauce,

because you don't actually have the main ingredient in it.

It's a chilli, tomato, pepper sauce.

I quite like the way you managed to give us a nice, hot, sweet sauce.

It's just not enough to really enjoy here.

Hopefully they see the skill in the fish cookery.

But maybe I didn't push myself as hard as I could have.

Matt's chicken breast has been poached

with a Thai green curry butter.

He's served it with crispy chicken skin,

a Thai green mango salad wrapped in green cabbage,

and topped with lime-pickled mango discs.

A tamarind chutney and a Thai broth

infused with basil, coriander, chilli,

and ginger.

You've got this chicken breast,

which is very delicate, and the green curry that's underneath it,

it's also very light. If I taste it separately,

I can taste the green curry mix and it is warm.

The green mango salad has got the sharpness and hotness

of the lemon grass,

the coriander coming through it.

It's wonderful, it's refreshing,

it's really strong and citrusy as well.

It's a great-tasting dish.

You really understand your spices and then the flavours of what you're

-going for here.

-Thank you very much.

They are all clean, fresh flavours.

Not only is the broth a palate cleanser,

the dish itself, actually, is a palate cleanser.

So, when you eat that salad,

it's just like this zing of freshness

just coming into your mouth and on your palate.

You've got sweet, you've got the sourness.

You've also got the lovely natural flavour of the mango.

It balances well.

You've really hit the nail on the head with this challenge.

Thank you very much.

Obviously, with an invention test, you have to think on the spot.

I'm happy with how I've done.

If it's not enough, then it's not enough.

Chris has served a lemon and basil panna cotta,

topped with a strawberry gel, lemon and pistachio crumb,

macerated strawberries and poached rhubarb.

The lemon flavour coming through in the panna cotta is great and

it's creamy. Just needed a touch more setting.

It's set around out the outside, but in the centre it's not.

I love the flavours of the lemon in the panna cotta.

It's delicious.

The rhubarb, I don't think needs to be on here.

It's very sharp.

Basil is only just coming through on the top where you've

got the diced strawberries.

It's not evident throughout the panna cotta.

The crumb has got lemon running through it,

which I think is quite clever.

I like that.

I wanted to show a combination of flavours and textures.

Obviously, the flavour was there, but the texture let it down.

Last up is Tasso.

So what exactly happened to the cheesecake, then?

-I just didn't have enough time to cool it.

-And was it cooked?

-Yes.

So it was cooked, it just didn't have time to seal.

He's served orange, lime and vanilla mascarpone mousse

on a crispy puff pastry base.

Caramelised white chocolate, baked figs, charred orange segments,

and an orange and fig syrup.

What you've tried to serve us is a mascarpone mousse.

So you've taken the actual cheesecake mix

and you've folded a bit of whipped cream through it.

You know, I really feel for you, Tasso,

I really do feel for you. You know that it hasn't worked.

I would have preferred obviously a cheesecake.

The figs are slightly on the over side as well,

I think you've just gone and taken them a little bit too far.

It was panic and I think that is very clear to see.

I knew it wasn't right.

I just, I know I'm so much better than that.

And I know I can do better than that.

It's pretty depressing when something doesn't work.

Not a bad day. There's always going to be some disappointment.

But I thought we also got some great possibilities in here.

Matt was the most outstanding chef in the kitchen today.

Well cooked chicken, loved the mango salad, and the broth was a delight.

Worked very well, great balance.

Great flavour, fabulous dish.

He is, without a doubt, going through to critics' round.

I liked a lot of what was on Tom's dish.

I liked the cooking of the duck, it was nice and pink,

and I liked the sauce. I love that you could taste the five spice.

The pink grapefruit was quite a refreshing point of this dish and it

worked well with the duck.

I think Tom should go through to the next round.

I absolutely feel for Tasso, because what we had didn't work out.

But at the end of the day, we didn't get a dish.

We got figs with some cream.

That leaves us with Emrah, Jon and Chris.

One of these chefs has got to leave the competition.

Jon's dish was a bit of a surprise for me.

I was expecting more of a Chinese-style dish.

The fish was moist, it was cooked well.

Yeah, it was a small portion, but it was delicately put together.

The sauce was nice, it wasn't a Szechuan peppercorn sauce for me.

Nonetheless, it did complement the fish very well.

Emrah used spice and citrus for his pork dish.

I thought it was quite clever to use the preserved lemon,

I quite liked it. But I found the pork was a bit dry for my liking.

The sauce was just a little bit over-reduced.

It was definitely spicy, but almost too rich for this dish.

Chris chose to use citrus and herbs for his dessert.

The lemon was a delicious flavour in the panna cotta.

And it was set around the outside,

but it was just a little bit too liquid in the centre.

That crumb was delicious.

But the basil wasn't evident until you had some

that was on top with the strawberries.

If I was to go home now, I'd be really disappointed.

But there's a lot of talent in the kitchen today.

Be a great feeling, at the end of the day,

being able to walk out of here knowing you're going to cook for the

critics next time. But let's hope that's the case.

Obviously, I'd be disappointed to go home now.

But at least I've not gone out on a terrible dish.

I've not gone out on a mistake.

We can only take four chefs through.

And we've made our decision.

The first chef leaving the competition is...

..Tasso.

Thank you.

Wasn't my best at all. I feel like I've let myself down.

It's probably the worst I've ever cooked, to be honest.

And the second chef to leave the competition is...

..Emrah.

-Thank you.

-Thank you so much.

Well done.

My cooking wasn't up to standard today.

You have good days, you have bad days. And today was a bad day.

Chefs, congratulations.

You're now going to be cooking for our critics.

There is definitely no room for error.

Chefs, welcome back into the kitchen.

Today, you're going to be cooking for some of the top critics

in the country.

It's going to have to be special.

You're cooking for that place in knockout week.

We know you can do it, you wouldn't be here otherwise.

You will have 1 hour and 15 minutes to serve two courses,

eight plates of food.

One of you will leave us after this.

Good luck, off you go.

Chris, how are you doing?

Good, good. I've got a lot to do, but...

..hopefully I can get it all done in time.

So, what is your menu, then, Chris?

Scottish Wagyu beef with confit potatoes, burnt onion,

red wine, shallot and tarragon jus.

Wagyu is, you know, it's amazing quality beef.

And onion, mushroom, shallots, with the beef is quite classical.

And dessert, I'm doing a set custard with strawberries,

pistachio and a strawberry soda.

-Sounds familiar.

-Very familiar.

Is it going to set?

Yes, this one has been practised.

Confident?

Quietly, just need everything to go to plan.

The key to success with Wagyu beef is that you don't really need to do

a lot with it. It's perfect.

You've just got to bring it up to room temperature and then just

quickly flash it in a pan with a bit of caramelisation.

Job done.

The potatoes have got to be beautifully cooked.

The oyster mushrooms have got to have some seasoning on them.

Great sounding dish with perfect ingredients.

But he has to get it right.

Chris cannot afford to have any issues with his dessert.

The set custard has got to be set right.

The flavours of the strawberries have got to come through.

It's a lovely sounding dessert,

however there's nowhere to hide with it.

There's definitely a lot of pressure on the dessert today.

The inventions test, obviously I done a panna cotta,

which didn't set, and I'm setting a custard today,

so I didn't think that through very well!

Eight plates of food in an hour and 15,

it's a tough task for anyone.

The pressure is going to be quite high today, you know,

but this is a round I wanted to get to.

Today I'm cooking confited halibut,

with a cucumber and elderflower emulsion,

some charred cucumber, pak choi, a lightly poached oyster.

Dessert is going to be strawberries with an aerated yoghurt mousse and

a sorrel granita and some burnt white chocolate.

What is it about this menu that you think will hopefully get you through

-to knockout week?

-This menu is not like anything else I've cooked.

It's quite light and I've not cooked fish so far,

so it's the first bit of fish I've cooked as well.

But today, there are three other people you're cooking for.

We think you can cook, but you've really got to show it today,

you've really got to prove it.

Yeah, I want this more than anything, so...

-OK.

-I'm going to give it everything I've got, really.

This is possibly one of the more exciting dishes I've heard from Tom.

Halibut is a bit thin, he doesn't want to overcook it.

I love the addition of the oysters and the cucumber emulsion.

This could be a great dish.

Tom's dessert is compressed strawberries

with aerated sheep's yoghurt mousse.

You don't want it to sink,

you want it to be aerated and then set and be beautiful and light.

Sorrel granita is going to have a lovely bittersweet flavour behind

it, it's going to be icy cold.

This dish sounds delicious.

I think I'm in a good place going into this round.

I'm looking forward to it, cooking for the critics today.

I think it's a good opportunity for getting my food out there.

It will hopefully blow their socks off a little bit.

Doing a duck with plum sauce, so, I'm using plum sake for the sauce,

and some caramelised plums on there as well,

with some sesame spring onions and daikon fondant.

And the dessert, I'm doing

orange blossom panna cotta,

and then you'll have a 3D tree built out of the panna cotta, using

white chocolate and orange bitters candyfloss.

What did you just say? Did you just...

A 3D tree?

Yeah. So, I'm building a tree today.

It's horticulture in cooking.

Why are you putting a tree in your dessert?

Erm, I think it was memories of a holiday for my fiance,

and sort of in Morocco and the orange blossom

and just the freshness, the fragrance.

It's adventurous, Jon, it sounds like great fun.

I can't wait to try it.

Jon's dessert,

this could be so exciting.

I've never heard of a tree trunk coming out of a panna cotta before.

It sounds very technical.

I hope he's taken into consideration how warm it gets in here,

the humidity in this kitchen can kill any chocolate work.

Duck breasts, I would really expect the skin to be beautifully rendered

down and, hopefully, crispy.

You've got to rest it. If you don't,

the blood is going to pour away all over the dish.

Jon's going to really need to make sure that the balance of his plum

sauce is right. Sake is a very powerful alcohol.

It packs a real punch.

Hopefully, this freezes now.

I'm doing arctic char three ways.

One, poached, and then I'm also doing a char tartare.

And then I've got dirt-smoked arctic char as well.

Dirt-smoked?

So, it's an old technique that they use in Iceland.

When the sheep go into their barn for the winter,

they'll produce dung.

They use that as a fuel source,

and it just gives it a really incredible aroma.

That's great. You've smoked our fish in pooh!

Yeah! I thought it would be something different

for you guys to try.

I've never had any food smoked in dung before.

No, no, I don't think I have.

This is a first.

I love Matt's ideas.

I think they're very creative, they're inventive,

and some really interesting approaches.

Matt's dessert is a caramelised miso souffle.

Very, very unusual.

I quite enjoy miso in desserts.

In the right hands, it can be something amazing.

I decided to do this menu because it tastes amazing.

It's interesting, it brings something slightly different

to the table.

I'm probably taking a bit of a risk.

But who doesn't love a risk?

At this point in the competition,

what I'm really looking for is good taste and skill.

I mean, I don't mind inventiveness

but get the good taste and skill going first,

before you start letting off the fireworks.

I'm looking for technical competence.

But I'm also looking for a bit of something special.

It's that creative flair that tells you you're in the company

of a special chef.

You can absolutely spot the chefs that have spark.

And it's like this enormous buzz

that goes over us when we can see that,

that's why we keep coming back,

even though it's really bad for our waistlines!

-Cheers, guys.

-Cheers, guys, good to see you.

Right, Chris.

You have four minutes left.

Are you going to be all right?

Yes. The beef's resting,

the potatoes are just finishing a little bit in the oven.

The sauce is ready.

Everything hangs on getting that Wagyu absolutely perfect.

-Is it good?

-Yes.

Burnt onion, it has to have a lovely depth of caramelisation.

It can't be a burnt onion.

The confit potato, any potato, I'm quite happy to see.

He's kind of trying to satisfy, rather than impress here.

What have you got to do? Onions on?

-Onions on.

-Puree?

-Puree.

-Then?

-Then, just the watercress.

Chris's main course is Scottish Wagyu sirloin

served with confit potatoes, burnt onion, king oyster mushroom,

mushroom puree, and a red wine and shallot tarragon jus.

The key thing was to make sure that, technically,

the beef was cooked to perfection,

and he hasn't actually got that wrong.

It's quite tender, but he's made use of the marbling.

There's a lovely flavour to it. I think the tarragon jus is superb.

It's got real depth.

The onions are actually perfectly cooked.

They are burnt in a way that brings out some of the caramel flavour,

but they don't overpower the whole dish.

He's cooked some beef well, give him credit for that.

He's made a nice jus.

He's done some potatoes.

But that's it.

It's not ambitious, but it's good.

The beef is amazing.

It just melts in the mouth.

The sauce has got a lovely consistency to it.

The tarragon coming through.

Everything on the plate's been cooked wonderfully.

But there's no surprises with this dish.

HISSING

Chris, you've got five minutes left.

-Yes, Chef.

-What's in there?

My soda.

-Is your custard set?

-I think so.

-Yeah? You think so?

-I think so.

There's nowhere to hide with a vanilla set custard.

We all know what we're looking for,

and we know when we'll see it done badly.

-How is it?

-It's set.

-Yay!

Nearly too cold.

The technical challenge is going to be getting that tuile

absolutely right.

-Go, go, go.

-Come on.

Let's go.

Dessert today is a set vanilla custard with a pistachio tuile,

and strawberries, with a strawberry sauce,

and a strawberry soda on the side.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you so much.

Please will you husk your strawberries?

I shouldn't be pulling green bits off the top of a strawberry.

The pistachio tuile does really taste of pistachio.

There's a decent flavour there.

And it's cooked reasonably well, there's a nice crunch.

The raw strawberries at the top are just cold strawberries,

I could've got them from a supermarket.

I can't fault him for flavour.

I just think that it's unambitious,

and it needs a little bit more finesse in places.

I find myself liking this a little bit more than I expected to because

it's very, very edible.

I like the two textures together but, if you look closely,

like we always do, you can see that the custard has not got that lovely

smoothness that it should have when you cut into it.

He left it in the blast chiller just a little bit too long.

The strawberries should have had a little bit more care.

They're just cut strawberries on top.

But he was under pressure. I think the dish has potential.

I like the idea.

That was so hard.

You forget how short an hour and 15 minutes is.

Ah. Oh, dear.

Tom, you have got eight minutes left.

-Yeah.

-Are we good?

-Yeah, we're good.

-Where's the fish?

-In the water bath.

-OK, garnish done?

-Yeah, garnish is done.

Just got to cook my pak choi.

Halibut's a pretty delicate fish.

It's very easy to overcook.

I hope that when it comes through, it's that perfect, muscular,

flaky texture, without being translucent and undercooked.

-You happy with the cooking of the fish?

-Yeah.

I've seen a lot of charred cucumber.

I've seen a lot of poached oysters.

If you can get it right, then, great, brilliant.

But I've got a whole bunch of benchmarks for this,

and I know what I'm looking for.

-What is that?

-It's puffed rice and cucumber and nori.

Looking good.

-Done?

-Yeah, done.

Hello.

For his main, Tom is serving confit halibut with a poached oyster,

burnt and pickled cucumber, pak choi,

puffed rice with nori and cucumber,

and a cucumber and elderflower emulsion.

It's clean and it's bright.

The fish is perfectly cooked.

The oyster is perfectly cooked.

There's a bright, livid quality.

It's one of those dishes that makes you feel better as a human being

for having eaten it than not.

It's lots and lots of textures of good things,

cooked in a beautiful way.

There's a lot of cucumber going on.

Cucumber in a few different ways.

And it's got to be a flavour that you're into.

But that halibut, wow!

The basic task at this level of MasterChef

is you've got to show you can do something a bit special.

I think Tom has done that in style.

There's very good cooking here.

The fish is cooked well, the cucumber is cooked well.

I'm quite pleased for Tom.

Why has it not set?

Tom's dessert.

There's an awful lot of words here which, to the untrained eye,

look impressive. But we are trained eyes,

and we know that this is a pile of creamy things with some fruit in it.

-Tom, what's wrong?

-The door wasn't shut on the blast freezer so,

my granita's still liquid, and I don't dare open the mousse just yet.

You've got two minutes.

-What's the deal?

-I'm going to go check it in a minute.

So, the sorrel granita's not going on there at all.

So, that's not going on at all?

-No.

-How about serving it on the side, maybe, as a drink?

-Yes, that could work.

-So, let's rock and roll, let's go, come on, off you go.

HE HUMS

Is he singing?

-How's the aerated mousse?

-It's just not set.

Not set at all. Because, obviously, the door was open, so it's not set.

And you have to be really quick serving this now, Tom.

-So, herbs on?

-Yeah.

-And that's it?

-Yeah.

-Let's go.

-He's given us a dessert.

-Well, he's given us something.

So, today, I've done for you macerated strawberries with

an aerated sheep's yoghurt mousse, burnt white chocolate

and sorrel granita.

Unfortunately, I've had a bit of a problem where the door was still

open on the blast freezer, so my mousse hasn't set,

and my granita obviously hasn't set.

-OK.

-Thanks.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Thanks.

I can sense the agony that he went through in the last 15 minutes.

I feel sorry for Tom. He's clearly someone that we know from his first

main course can cook.

But, the fact is, this has gone wrong at every single stage.

The caramelised white chocolate with the sheep's yoghurt go very well

together. The strawberries have got hints of the balsamic compressed

into it. And, had this granita with the sorrel worked,

this would have been a wonderful tasting dessert.

Ah!

Right, Jon, you've only got a couple of minutes left.

Are you ready to go?

Probably needs two more minutes on this duck.

I do get a little bit excited when I see a MasterChef Professionals

contestant come away from the western tradition,

and that's what Jon seems to be doing.

It's a kind of Chinese-Japanese mashup.

I really, really hope he can do this well.

I love the idea of duck breast done with plum and sake sauce.

The idea of sweetness and meat going together sounds incredibly exciting.

-How is it?

-A little bit under, to be honest.

I would have gone a little bit further.

Definitely would have preferred to have rested it.

I'm not happy with this sauce at all.

I wanted it thick and glossy, and it's a bit runny and not glossy.

-Are you ready?

-OK.

Today, we've got a duck breast, roasted,

we've got some sesame confit spring onions, daikon fondant,

pak choi in sesame oil, and a plum and sake sauce.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Thank you, Jon.

The duck is cooked nicely.

But I wish that there was some big flavour coming through.

There is no big flavour.

The plum and sake sauce, which I was hugely excited about,

it tastes like a sort of indulgent, creamy, buttery distraction.

It doesn't really add much to the dish as a whole, and the daikon,

ultimately, if it wasn't there, you wouldn't mind at all.

Jon can write a menu.

But I don't think he can execute the menu he can write.

The duck was in the oven right up until the last minute.

It should have been out earlier, it should have been resting

for about four, five minutes.

And then the blood all runs out when you cut it straight away.

It's not enjoyable to eat.

The sauce also hasn't worked.

Jon's got his timings all wrong here today.

I am quite interested in bitter orange candyfloss -

has he really got a candyfloss machine out there?

All that training in the fairground paying off!

I want the candyfloss to be sweet and to stick to the back of my teeth

and make me feel like I'm at Carlisle Fair in 1988,

and give me a rush of sugar.

Right, OK, so, that's your tree trunk?

Yep. So, it's caramelised white chocolate, just set.

Are you done? Easy, this cooking, isn't it?

For some people!

Thank you very much.

You've got today an orange blossom tree.

So, we've got an orange blossom panna cotta,

orange-bitters flavoured candyfloss, burnt orange,

caramelised white chocolate, and we've got roasted pistachio nuts.

-Well done, Jon.

-Thanks.

-Thank you.

At base, he's done two technical things.

One, he's made candyfloss. I quite like the candyfloss.

But the other one is this panna cotta.

It is so solid, got way too much gelatine in it.

It's really punchy, orange, candied and sweet,

but it's just the kind of middle ground between a delicious,

eccentric pudding,

and falling asleep in a big bowl of pot pourri.

This dish has got a lovely, strong, orange blossom flavour,

which I think comes through nicely.

I think the pistachios aren't overdone.

I like it. And if you guys don't want yours, I'll have them.

It's yours, Amol.

-Thanks, mate.

-Knock yourself out.

Ha!

Panna cotta is far too firm.

The chocolate is melting.

And the candyfloss, there's not quite enough of it.

I admire his ambition, his creativity and imagination.

I just don't think he's executed it well.

This is our third dessert that hasn't done well.

I've got a mixture of emotions.

I wasn't really happy with the main,

I think I let myself down a bit on the main.

The dessert wasn't exactly how I wanted it,

but I think it was fun and hopefully there's enough good elements that

will see me through.

Arctic char, pink-flesh fish, three ways, poached, dirt-smoked,

then served as a tartare.

It's Nordic cooking bingo.

If you're going to deliver the same fish three ways on the same plate,

you've got to really know what you're doing.

It does suggest that Matt's pretty confident about his technique.

There's buttermilk on there?

Buttermilk and pine vinegar, yeah.

You've got two minutes still.

Phew.

These are the pickled pine shoots, fermented pine shoots.

Right, your time's up now, Matt.

-Start finishing it off.

-This is the last touch.

Oh, here we go, this is the smoke?

-Yeah.

-Are you happy with it?

Yes, I am.

OK, let's go.

That's the best smelling dung I'VE ever smelt!

I've prepared for you this afternoon, arctic char three ways.

So, the first, on your left-hand side,

is poached in buttermilk and a pine vinegar.

And then, in a little lettuce taco,

there's an arctic char tartare.

The sauce is a buttermilk sauce.

And then the golden crumb is a crispy char

which has been dirt-smoked.

So, essentially, this is covered in a sheep dung?

-Yes.

-You can't believe the number of people who've probably wanted you to do this to me over the years!

Metaphorically, metaphorically.

Thanks.

It's got a really fantastic and strong aroma.

Whether it tastes as good, I guess we'll soon find out.

If this is what happens when sheep dung gets involved in cooking,

I want more of it. The poached fish has a brilliant texture but it's not

bland. A little acidity in there.

The tartare is fresh and vibrant and lively.

There's a lot of clever cooking going on here.

But it's not for showing off's sake,

it's in the service of producing really tasty things.

Every mouthful is something that you may not have tasted before.

Some of it is challenging, I'm not going to lie.

Some of it is challenging.

But I'm thrilled to have tasted this.

This has knocked my socks off.

He's tried something hard and ambitious and bold,

and he's pulled it off.

The poached char in buttermilk has got a lovely texture.

I think the tartare is absolutely delicious with that little bit of

lettuce leaf that is slightly blanched.

It's intriguing, it's different.

Smoking it the way he's done, fine, but if no-one told me,

I wouldn't know there's anything special

about the smoking agent here.

Matt, how long are your souffles going to take to cook?

Er, they're going to take about seven minutes.

-Seven?

-Yes.

-You've got just under nine.

-OK, great.

Again, Matt's just travelling the world.

It's like he's been on a backpacking holiday and he's come back

with a few things he's learnt. Caramelised miso?

Yeah, now, that could work.

Any time anyone does a souffle,

I get a little kind of like a burr of excitement

because I just love a souffle.

Matt, you've got three minutes left, how long for your souffles?

Er, they've got about 1 minute 10 left.

Yeah. How are they looking?

Yeah, they're rising, they're looking good.

TIMER BEEPS

They are pretty much there.

Nice! Happy?

Yeah, happy.

-You all ready to go?

-All ready, yeah.

So, I've prepared for you this afternoon

a caramelised miso souffle with a soured cream and kefir sorbet.

- Bon appetit. - Thank you.

Well, we've got three perfectly risen souffles,

and that is not an easy thing to do.

Wowzer.

That's off the charts, mate.

Mmm.

Every single person watching this should be jealous of us right now.

Rich umami caramel flavours of the miso in the souffle,

and then a zinger with a kind of buttermilk lactic thing

going on at the back of the sorbet. Oh, my!

I don't like sorbet normally,

I think that's it's either something or nothing,

and a bit of a cop-out in a pudding.

But that is perfect.

I think that the amount of lime in the sorbet is absolutely ideal,

it's not over-empowering.

And, though it doesn't look like there's much going on on the plate,

this is a stunning, stunning, stunning dessert.

The souffle is sweet but when you add the sorbet into it,

it really brings a tang to it and refreshes it.

There's a harmony, it's a match, it works.

That, for me, is a joy to eat.

When do you normally cook for the biggest critics in the UK?

I'm happy with it.

There was tension, pressure, there was stress.

It was a tough day in the kitchen for our chefs.

Some interesting techniques from Matt today.

Some new flavours, new combinations.

Even sheep's dung.

That miso souffle with the sorbet was fantastic.

I really enjoyed that.

Matt definitely deserves to go through,

and I am pleased the critics enjoyed his food today.

-Me, too.

-Our other three chefs, however,

all had issues with their cooking.

Chris cooked for us that beautiful Wagyu beef.

Everything on that plate was lovely.

It was delicious. There was just nothing that stood out about it.

Chris's dessert, the custard was slightly frozen,

the strawberries were just fresh strawberries,

they hadn't been marinated in anything.

The tuile had a lovely crunch to it.

Our critics thought Chris had cooked well,

but it just wasn't adventurous enough for them.

Tom's main course today was halibut that he'd poached.

It was incredibly light and fresh,

and it was a beautiful plate of food.

The dessert, I was really looking forward to.

Unfortunately, he left the door of the blast chiller open.

I think the pressure really got to Tom today.

But I've got to say the flavours were there.

We just didn't get the dessert that was planned.

Jon, some very interesting ideas.

Unfortunately, the duck just wasn't quite right.

He left it a little bit too long in the oven,

and he didn't have enough time to rest.

The real disappointment was that lovely sauce that I was so looking

-forward to.

-He hadn't reduced it enough.

It then added more of a puddle once it was poured onto it.

His dessert, when he described it to us, got me so excited.

We got a tree, we got a chocolate.

However, I found the panna cotta,

the texture was just too much of gelatine.

I wasn't flawless today.

It's going to take a bit of luck or kindness to get through to

the next round, I think.

I really want to stay in and cook again, cook more.

I pushed myself as hard as I could.

It's not all went to plan but I think I've still got

a lot more to give.

We did say it wouldn't be easy cooking for the critics.

Ooh, there were a few nerves in here today,

and I think it did show a little.

We have nine great chefs already through,

and we can only take the strongest three to join them.

We have to lose one of you today.

And we have made our decision.

The chef that is leaving us is...

..Jon. I'm sorry, Jon.

-Thank you.

-Thanks, Jon.

It's frustrating to go out at this point.

I don't think you've seen the best of me,

but when I look back, you know,

the last 16, it's OK.

I'm disappointed, but it's all right.

Chefs, congratulations, you now complete our final 12.

Yeah, I do feel like I've been given another chance.

I'm just delighted to get through,

and look forward to coming back to cook again.

That was an awesome day.

It was a challenge, it was a real challenge, but I'm proud of myself.

Feeling great, absolutely ecstatic.

It's a dream come true. So, I'd like to see how far I can go.

Well done, guys.

-Congratulations.

-Congratulations.

-Well done.

-Yeah, knockout week.

Congratulations, guys.

Next week,

the 12 best chefs from the heats return

for the start of the knockouts.

Come on, chefs, remember who you're cooking for.

Now is the time for exceptional cooking.

I find it absolutely lip-smackingly delicious.

Only the best can make it through to the semifinals.

The chef leaving us...