Episode 13 MasterChef: The Professionals

It's knockout week on MasterChef: The Professionals.

After four weeks of intense competition...

..only the 12 most talented chefs remain.

There's no playing it safe any more.

You've got to stay at the front of the pack and come out fighting.

There's a certain degree of nerves still cooking about,

but it's certainly time to raise the bar.

To be into knockout week is just unreal.

I'm going to put up a fight. I'm not going to let it go.

Over the next three nights, the pressure intensifies.

Come on, guys, let's get a move on.

Only the best can make it through to the semifinals.

Now is the time for exceptional cooking.

It's going to get hot in here today.

The winner of this year's MasterChef is standing here in front of us.

Your first test is an invention test.

You have an amazing array of ingredients to work with.

We want you to create one spectacular plate of food.

We have taken your gadgets away.

There's no sous-vide machines and we've got no water baths.

Today is about real, good, classic cookery skills, plain and simple.

At the end of this, the best eight

will go straight through to the next round.

The four of you that are left will have to cook off against each other

for the remaining two places.

Two hours and 15 minutes.

Off you go.

The 12 chefs have ten minutes

to choose from a range of ingredients...

..including Jacob's Ladder short beef rib, pork belly, gurnard...

..oysters, langoustines...

..bone marrow, ox cheeks...

..mackerel, squid, chicken...

..and a wide range of fruit, vegetables, herbs,

and spices.

They have a table full of ingredients...

..and this is always going to be the biggest problem.

There's almost too much choice.

I want to see something creative.

We've given them the time to really show off.

So many ingredients to choose from, so it's a bit overwhelming,

but I think I've got an idea of what I'm going to do.

21-year-old sous-chef Craig has shone from the start

with his precise and well-seasoned dishes.

It's a big achievement. You hope to get this far, you hope, hope, hope.

So, yeah, just thrilled.

Obviously now I don't want anything bad to happen.

I've got to really stay consistent and keep doing what I'm doing.

Craig, how's the competition going for you?

Yeah, it's been tough, but I'm loving every minute of it so far.

-What are you making?

-I'm doing gurnard, a langoustine ravioli,

with sort of like a ratatouille,

and then I'm doing, like, a shellfish sauce.

You're the youngest chef in the competition,

is that a good thing or a bad thing?

-How do you feel about that?

-It sort of doesn't really faze me.

Obviously age is just age, really, at the end of the day.

It's obviously down to your experience.

Obviously there's a lot of chefs with good experience,

so, tough competition.

Craig, he's chosen gurnard as the main ingredient for his dish.

It's an unusual choice.

Gurnard is normally a fish that is used in the base of a soup.

I'm looking forward to trying the pan-fried gurnard,

and I expect that ravioli to be absolutely perfect.

This sounds wonderful.

There's some skill here on display.

I'm really hoping Craig gets it right again.

That's beautiful.

Just be careful, you've just got a little nip there.

Right. It's quite a trial, that.

37-year-old chef-patron Ryan showed early signs of promise,

but only just scraped through to knockout week.

I've been inconsistent.

I need to have a good round,

because I know if I can deal with the pressure,

I can deliver the food that could potentially make me a winner.

Ryan, what is it you're making for us?

I'm doing some langoustine, some braised pork cheeks, some carrots.

And then I'm also going to hopefully make a little langoustine stock

to serve on the side, but we'll see how that goes.

If I'm not happy with it, it won't be served, so...

Ryan, you look pretty OK to me.

You look almost relaxed.

I feel a lot more comfortable, yeah.

Come back in a couple of hours and I won't be, I'm certain.

Pork's cheek is a cut of meat that I absolutely love.

He wants to cook it in the oven, he wants to keep it

the classical style, which I actually quite like.

But he is going to be up against time constraints,

making sure that those pork cheeks are perfectly cooked.

There's a carrot and star anise, I think it's a puree,

which is going to bring the whole dish together.

But I'm a little bit surprised

that he may or may not serve the langoustine stock.

He's not sure whether it will actually work.

30 minutes have gone.

You've got a bin on the end of that station.

-Thank you.

-Save your legs.

22-year-old Louisa has made an impact with some

complex and creative ingredient combinations.

Louisa's using Jacob's Ladder, which she's braising down, and oyster.

The oyster she's going to make an emulsion with,

as well as a rich sauce that she's finishing with bone marrow.

With this dish, she's serving confit potatoes,

confit tomatoes, asparagus.

As always with Louisa, there's a lot going on with the plate.

I hope today that Louisa just puts in front of us

a great plate of food,

with all the lovely combinations working in harmony together.

I've given myself a lot to do because I really wanted

to push myself, and I really want to show people different skills

that I have learnt. That's what's got me here today

and that's what's hopefully going to get me further in the competition.

45 minutes have gone.

What's that? Hour and 15 left.

London-based sous-chef Stephen has been combining delicious flavours

with stunning presentation.

Yeah, I feel like I am developing as the competition's going along.

I don't think you can stay still, or else bye-bye, really, I think.

You need to evolve, definitely.

You need to do better every single round that you're in.

Stephen, you seem happy to be here.

I'm very happy to be here.

I don't think anybody wouldn't be happy to be here.

How do you up your game?

You've got to bring something new, something fresh, something exciting.

Do you know what? You fill me full of confidence, Chef.

You know why? You look absolutely joyful about cooking.

-Thank you very much.

-Go on, Chef!

-Cheers.

Stephen is using the sea trout,

which he's curing with a mix of salt and herbs.

If you're curing the fish

you're going to be drawing out all of that moisture,

so timing is even more important.

This fish can be too dry if you cure it for too long.

He's then going to serve it with clams, he's got some sea herbs,

then broad beans. Very light-sounding dish.

After a shaky start, 29-year-old junior sous-chef Tom

has begun to find his feet.

I feel that I've not quite performed as well as I can.

I mean, I just wanted to go and cook better.

I need to stop making silly mistakes

and just apply myself fully to everything.

-What are you making, Chef?

-I'm doing pan-fried sea trout

with gooseberries, cockles,

and then some vegetables with a cockle light sauce.

-Why this dish?

-I really like sea trout,

and I really like gooseberries, as well.

I think the two work together nicely.

Tom has always added an element of surprise to his cookery.

Gooseberries and sea trout, I'm not 100% sure.

I can't wait to see if it works.

Sous-chef Jamie has shown unique combinations,

inspired by flavours from around the world.

-What are you making today?

-A roast chicken breast,

and then I've confited some chicken legs in here with some chorizo,

thyme and garlic. We are going to Spain with the dish,

but I'm going to make a bhaji from the picked chicken legs.

We have some confit sliced heirloom tomatoes, Romesco,

on the grill are onions.

-So a little bit of Spain...

-Yeah.

-..a little bit of France and a little bit of India.

-Yeah.

-We're going on holiday, Gregg!

-Why Spanish food?

I've got quite a lot of Spanish influences in my life at the moment.

My girlfriend's Spanish. We travel there a few times a year,

and I really genuinely love the cuisine and the culture.

-What's your girlfriend's name?

-Maria.

-Would Maria like this?

-No, she's vegetarian!

Brilliant!

Jamie's always brought a little bit of an international flavour

into his cookery, and he's doing it again today.

I'm really looking forward to the chicken leg bhaji,

with the flavours of the chorizo sausage running through it.

Wonderful sounding ingredients.

I like the sounds of the dish.

It's a mix of areas he's bringing together,

but I can see the flavours working well.

27-year-old sous-chef Gareth has shown good skills under pressure.

I'm excited to be cooking

against the best chefs in the competition now.

I feel like I have to really stand out

and show the judges that I'm the real deal.

Gareth has chosen ox cheek as his main ingredient,

and he's cooking it down in ale.

You've always got to be very careful with the reduction of the ale,

because sometimes it tends to go bitter.

He's taking bone marrow and he's going to breadcrumb it, as well.

And he's made a fabulous sauce in the competition before,

and I hope he can do it again today.

24-year-old senior sous-chef Tom has shown potential from the start

with his original and modern style.

How are you with an invention test?

The last one went well for me,

so hopefully I can deliver that again today.

-What are you making now?

-Sea trout.

I'm curing the belly of it,

and then the main loin of the trout I'm just going to pan-fry simply.

And herb gnocchi, courgette veloute, and a little salad of broad beans.

I'll do everything I can to not have to cook again today.

I love sea trout, I love it when you cure the belly.

You don't want overcook it,

you want it to enhance the lovely fatty flavour

that comes through with the belly.

The garnish sounds great. Gnocchi -

got to be careful it's not too starchy.

I like the flavours, I hope it's going to come together for him.

45 minutes left.

45 minutes.

Oh, it's going to race, it's going to race!

Sous-chef Leo's interesting flavours and textures

have proved popular with the judges.

In my mind, at the beginning,

I never quite expected to get this far...

..and obviously now it's in my mind that I could go a bit further on

and could be in the final.

So it's exciting, I'm looking forward to it.

Leo, what are you making?

Today I'm doing a braised ox cheek

in a pressure cooker with courgettes,

polenta, sweet and sour tomatoes, and some pickled onion.

Now you've had a taste for the competition,

what do you feel about some more of it?

I've got a bit of a... It's like an addiction for it.

You get that feel for it, you get that buzz for it,

and it makes you want to push a bit harder

and carry on going to get to the end.

Oh, we're in, boys.

The key with the ox cheek is making sure that it's beautifully cooked

and served with a fabulous sauce.

The pickled onion brings a nice twist to this dish.

Everything sounds great about it.

I think we're in safe hands. Absolutely.

What a great idea.

Pickled onions, yes, please.

29-year-old Brett develops desserts for a supermarket,

and has excited the judges with his pastry skills.

My favourite round so far has been, I'd probably say the invention test.

Because everyone went straight over to, like, the savoury side,

like all the meats and all the fish,

so I literally just had all the pastry stuff to myself.

-What are you making for us, Brett?

-Rabbit saddle.

I'm going to bone out the saddle, and then fill it back

with its livers, and wrap that and roast it.

And then I've got some girolles,

which are going to be roasted with a little bit of pancetta,

and some baby gem just to keep it nice and fresh,

and then some quinoa which has been toasted in brown butter.

You're a development chef, as I remember?

-I am, yes.

-So how do you feel about this?

I don't normally develop meat products,

so it should be interesting!

When was the last time you worked with a piece of rabbit?

Maybe two years ago.

-Oh!

-So yeah, it's going to be a fun one.

I'm really surprised that today's the day he decides

to pick up the rabbit and cook us a dish.

OK, it's great, he's pushing himself.

The rabbit saddle's going to be boned,

he's going to be stuffing it with the offal, the liver and the heart.

And then he's going to pan-fry it.

He's got to be very careful with rabbit loin

that he doesn't dry it out.

Head chef Chris from Edinburgh got off to a flying start,

but failed to live up to expectation in the last invention test.

The competition is extremely difficult,

and every stage just gets harder and harder.

I don't think it's going to get any easier at this point, so...

But I'm absolutely loving it.

Chris has chosen mackerel for his dish.

He's going to cure some and blowtorch it,

and he also has a tartare to go with it.

We've also got a tomato jelly and a chorizo jam going with this dish.

I'm really excited to see how the chorizo works with the mackerel.

Chris has slightly struggled in our invention test before.

Today, he's got enough time to create a great plate of food.

Private chef Matt has wowed the judges with his unique, creative,

healthy approach to cooking.

You have a style all of your own.

What would you call that style?

I've been trying to think of a word to do it, I don't really know.

I think nutritionally-minded, gastronomic food.

Healthy food, healthy food but done with a bit more, yeah, design.

-What's the dish?

-I'm going to do a couple of different elements

with the mackerel. One is soused,

which is kind of like lightly pickled and blowtorched,

another tartare,

and then, like, a nice squid cracker that goes on top, looks really cool.

How do you make a squid cracker?

It's a secret recipe.

Yeah, not many people know how to do it.

Matt, you're going through, right?

Absolutely. I'm going to make it.

I like the sound of Matt's dish.

He's sousing one part of the mackerel

and then finishing it with a blowtorch.

And this very interesting squid cracker

that he's going to be making,

a sort of a secret recipe.

I like the selection of ingredients.

Yes, I like the sound of the dish.

Some great variety in our kitchen here.

All coming down to the final touches of their cooking.

The kitchen smells amazing.

Not one chef will want to go into that final cook-off today.

Chefs, five minutes.

Five minutes, please, chefs.

HE CHUCKLES

I think I'm going to be ready on time today.

A little bit stressed,

but it's fun.

That's it, time's up.

Well done, boys.

Well done, boys.

-How did it go?

-Sound.

It's all right.

First up is Tom.

He's served pan-fried sea trout and belly of sea trout, cured,

blowtorched, and glazed in sesame oil and soy, herb gnocchi,

pickled onions, broad beans, and a courgette veloute.

You've got a lovely cooked piece of fish there, it's absolutely perfect.

I like the little pickled onions that you've got with it.

The courgette sauce works well, as well, with the dish.

The gnocchi that's on the plate tastes good, it's light,

it's got a little bit of fluffiness to it, it's really good.

Nice flavours.

I find it absolutely lip-smackingly delicious.

Sweet peas, sharp pickled onions, beautiful flaking fish,

and then that beautiful cured belly.

I love that cured belly.

Nice food like that just makes me almost delirious, it makes me happy.

-Tom, I really like that.

-I, like Gregg, love the belly,

because you've got the hints of the soy coming through,

and very light, and sesame.

It's a lovely plate of food, Tom.

Yeah, there was some good feedback in there.

Cooked as best as I can today, so happy with myself,

so, yeah, it's OK.

Chris's dish is charred mackerel, a mackerel tartare...

..salad of heritage tomatoes,

tomato jelly, chorizo jam, pickled cucumber, and ricotta cheese.

Tomato, basil, ricotta - it just screams Italy.

The oily mackerel on it, as well, I think is a brilliant addition.

I don't think we need the tartare,

and I don't think you've got the look of your plate quite right.

It's a little bit muddled, it's a little bit messy.

The freshness of the tomato, with that tomato jelly,

and the basil coming through it - love it.

I'm finding the basil is too strong for the tartare,

and it's slightly under-seasoned, so it doesn't quite come together.

The dish is slightly confused.

I think it's a little bit on the simple side,

and I think you, as a chef -

I think you've done better in the competition.

I think you've cooked better in this competition.

Feeling a little bit, er, disappointed, really.

There were some good comments I can take away from it,

but it wasn't as good as I wanted it to be.

Ryan's dish is braised pork cheek, topped with puffed wild rice,

diced apples and chives...

..served with roasted langoustines, roasted carrot,

carrot and star anise puree,

and a langoustine, peppercorn and fennel cream sauce.

Personally, Ryan, I think it's fantastic.

Your cheek is cooked perfectly.

It's slightly sticky on the outside, it's very soft.

Your sauce, I could drink.

I just love the sweetness that you've got into that sauce.

The taste of the shellfish, really quite deep, for me, and I love it.

-I love it all.

-I'm really pleased that you braised the cheek

the old-fashioned way, sort of, in the oven -

and that shows, because there's like a little coating

around the outside of it. And then it's lovely and moist

in the centre of the pork cheek.

The carrot puree with the aniseed,

I'm loving the flavours of this dish.

I think it's a fabulous plate of food, Ryan.

I think it's probably one of the best plates of food

you've cooked so far.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

The langoustines are cooked perfectly.

There's one carrot, but it's the perfect garnish for this dish!

I think the dish on the whole, it's just wonderful to eat.

- Well done, you. - Thank you very much.

Is it a relief?

Yeah, so it's good - it's nice to be...

Was an old chef like you not in the mood for cooking again today?

No... Well, you don't know, yet.

I'll cook if you want me to.

-Well done, mate.

-Cheers, bud.

Brett has made roasted loin of rabbit, wrapped in pancetta.

Served with blowtorched liver, macadamia quinoa, roasted carrots,

gem lettuce,

girolles, and a rabbit sauce.

I like the girolles, and the carrot.

Unfortunately, for me, the piece of rabbit that I had

was like the Dead Sea -

it was so salty and bitter in part.

I couldn't enjoy anything else once I ate that.

Nice texture of rabbit.

I like your sauce.

It's meaty, it's sticky, it's got a little bit of sharpness to it.

I also got a big mouthful of salty rabbit,

however the texture of the rabbit is nice.

The last invention test you did was a dessert - that lemon curd dessert

I thought was absolutely outstanding.

Your strength is pastry,

and today you've come into the kitchen and you've done a savoury.

Great for challenging yourself, but it just hasn't worked out today.

I wasn't happy with the dish at all,

so, yeah, I was sort of expecting to get ripped apart, which I did, so...

Yeah.

Always a second chance, today anyway.

Leo's dish is braised ox cheek, on a courgette puree,

served with crispy polenta, tomatoes, girolles,

pickled onions

and a bone marrow sauce.

Your beef, it's soft, it's gooey, it's lovely.

Your sauce is strong, and I love those little cubes of polenta.

Soft inside, little bit of crunch on the outside.

I think the whole dish is an absolute delight.

Leo, beautiful looking plate.

It looks lovely, and with the sauce even better.

It's a good tasting plate of food.

The beef just melts.

The courgette puree has got a nice body to it,

you can taste the courgette -

and the sauce is quite light, and I like that.

It's a beautiful pretty picture on a plate,

but with a braised beef dish for me,

I want to be hit hard with big flavour,

and I find it very delicate, very light.

It's a good plate of food, but it's very, very delicate.

I would have liked to impress all three,

but I guess I got positives out of all of them,

so that was the main thing.

I'm happy with that.

Jamie has served roast chicken breast with crispy chicken skin,

confit leg and chorizo bhajis,

Romesco pepper sauce, barbecued grelots,

and a chicken jus.

Jamie, nice presentation.

I like the presentation of your dish.

Clever, clever boy.

You have got takeaway fried chicken

meets Sunday roast, meets barbecue,

meets Indian takeaway on here.

It is just lovely.

Your bhaji, with this chorizo in it, giving pepperiness,

and pepperiness from the Romesco sauce, but also gives sweetness,

is delicious. It's just delicious.

Mate, take a bow, because that's clever, clever, clever.

Double chicken skin - absolutely, all day long.

Crispy chicken skin, on top of chicken skin,

plus the beautiful moist chicken underneath - yes, please!

Chef's delight. The chicken leg bhaji that's cooked in fat

with the chorizo - love it, absolutely really enjoyed the bhaji.

And the sauce is absolutely delicious.

Lovely dish.

It's a nice roast chicken dish.

I really like it. It's not heavy, I think the sauce is right.

Yeah, I've enjoyed it.

I'm feeling completely shocked to the core, to be honest.

To hear those comments is great, it's a great confidence boost.

Craig has made pan-roast gurnard, served with langoustine ravioli,

ratatouille, confit cherry tomatoes, pickled fennel,

and a shellfish cream sauce.

Craig, I have to say,

I don't think it's your best plate of food.

Your ravioli's beautifully made, your ratatouille is well made,

your sauce is well made -

but the dish, for me, just doesn't really work as one.

Because you've got this little piece of fish just sitting on the side,

that's not very well filleted,

and it's all sort of shrivelled up and overcooked on the edges.

And I think there's a little bit too much ratatouille on the dish.

Love your sauce. There's a natural sweetness to it, it's really creamy.

Love the ratatouille -

you've got a smokiness in there and a slight bitterness as well.

Your ravioli, the pasta is really thin and it's cooked beautifully.

I find it a little too salty, and I'm losing the langoustine.

You have been a chef that's been so outstanding

throughout the competition.

You've had a bit of a falter here, you know,

you've sort of tripped a little bit here.

Well, not the best day in the kitchen so far.

Frustrating. It's like, I could've done that, I could've done that,

it's like...

Oops.

Tom has pan-fried sea trout and served it with gooseberry jam,

pickled cockles, girolles, asparagus, samphire,

and a creamy cockle and dill sauce.

I love the cockle sauce.

It's got a fabulous creamy texture to it,

and it complements the sea trout very well.

I love the cooking of your fish,

you've got to be very careful when you're cooking the fish on the skin,

make sure you don't burn it,

and you're on the borderline of it being just overcooked,

but it's nicely done.

But why do we have to have almost a jam on the plate, of gooseberry?

That doesn't work for me.

Enjoying the sauce, the vegetables, everything comes together nicely.

Now, this gooseberry jam,

I'd prefer it with some pate and a piece of bread.

I don't love it on here,

but I do like the little bits of gooseberry that you have.

As far as the gooseberry goes, I really enjoyed it.

I like to get a little bit of sweetness on the end of that fish,

I thought it was very nice. We've got to listen to these guys,

they don't like it. Me? I'm happy with it.

I think it went OK.

The fish was a bit iffy, and obviously the gooseberry jam

divided opinion, but reasonably happy, I suppose.

Louisa's dish is braised Jacob's Ladder short beef rib,

served with lime oysters, tempura oyster mushrooms,

purple potatoes, confit cherry tomatoes, carrot, asparagus,

and a bone marrow sauce.

The cooking of the Jacob's Ladder is really good,

and the sauce is thick and rich and complements it very well.

It's the rest of the plate that doesn't work with it for me.

The purple potatoes, the asparagus, the confit tomato.

None of those are actually done very well at all.

I like the sauce because it's beefy,

and there's also a little bit of sharpness,

and that sharpness is matched brilliantly by a little bit of lime

on the oyster.

I'm with Marcus with the rest of it.

Tempura isn't crispy.

Asparagus, we've only really served a tiny little bit,

just kind of like as a whisker of decoration.

A little disappointing, I'm afraid.

The oyster with the lime and then the soy with the beef,

that's a first for me, and I quite enjoyed it.

I have to agree with the guys, the purple potatoes are very salty,

and the garnish, it's almost like you're just adding everything

for the sake of it.

I'm feeling really exhausted.

Something is telling me that I probably will have to cook again,

just to prove that I can do better than that.

Stephen has pan-fried trout

and served it with Jersey Royal potatoes,

pickled cucumber, baby cucumber, sea herbs, a sourdough crouton,

and a clam liquor sauce.

The fish is just cooked nicely.

You've got a nice colourisation on top, as well.

I like the little cucumber underneath.

You've executed this dish very, very well.

It's a nice dish, it's not mind-blowing.

It's a good plate of food.

The sauce is wonderful with the clam juices.

Clams are cooked nicely, and it is a lovely garnish,

the sea herbs work a treat.

Not a fan of the crouton,

but everything else that's on here has been very good.

Thank you.

That is a perfectly put together light, summery dish

of really well-cooked fish matched with some great flavours.

Nothing would stop me completely polishing it off, Chef.

So I'm feeling happy-ish.

I got good comments, I didn't really get any bad ones,

but, yeah, it's not the comments that I was looking for.

I wanted more.

Oh, well, I don't know, we'll see.

Gareth's dish is braised ox cheek served with a bone marrow beignet,

roasted carrot, roasted garlic pomme puree,

pickled girolles, and a beef sauce.

I think the ox cheek has been cooked perfectly.

It's still succulent.

I love the bone marrow beignet,

we've actually got a decent amount of bone marrow,

and then the crispiness that it brings to the dish.

Some strong flavours.

When you eat it all together, it does work.

I love the surprise of the bone marrow,

because there's so much of it in those little parcels.

They complement the richness of the beef.

I like the sauce a lot.

You've actually cooked this beautifully well,

and it's not bitter at all,

the sauce, it's incredibly rich.

I like this dish. Really good job.

For me, it's just mouthful after mouthful

of beautiful, sticky beefiness.

Delicious.

Feeling good after that.

Overall, that's probably the best feedback I've had from the judges.

I'm happy with how it went and the feedback I got.

Matt's dish is soused and torched mackerel

served with a mackerel and oyster tartare,

squid ink cracker, pickled apple, gooseberries,

and nasturtium and purslane oil.

I love your tartare, I really like that.

It's got oyster running through it, so it's really, like, salty.

It's of the sea. I love the mackerel itself

with that little burnt bit on the top. The apple isn't sharp at all,

it's got a really mellow sweetness.

I like the flavours, I just find it all a little busy.

I'm an old-fashioned man, it may be a bit too modern for me.

I love the tartare, it goes very well with your squid ink tuile.

I think the mackerel is cooked nicely.

Mackerel can take being charred like this, because of all the oil.

It is a tasty plate of food, no doubt.

I think your presentation is absolutely outstanding.

The apple salad has retained a lovely touch of bite.

The little gooseberries is the sharpness that really delivers

and lifts this dish all the way through.

I love the little herbs.

I think it's forward-thinking, and I think it's modern,

unlike this old dinosaur here.

So, I divided the judges.

That's kind of fine by me.

I'm in a happy place at the moment, I think it's OK.

Very big day, this.

Lots of good cooking.

Lots for us three now to discuss.

Four of you will have to cook again,

eight of you are going straight through to next round.

Thank you.

Oh, man. It's so nice to be outside.

It's all done.

You've got 12 really good chefs here.

Really good chefs. We had some great dishes.

I was really impressed with some of our chefs today.

There were a couple that really did stand out.

I liked the creativity of Matt's dish, I liked the thinking,

and I loved that little cracker that he put with the dish.

Best presentation for me today.

My favourite dish was Tom.

That was delightful, really good flavours, really light.

Proper lovely, lovely dish.

I liked Jamie's plate, with the chicken.

It was very light, I thought it was a wonderful-looking plate of food.

Ryan's langoustine and pork cheek, that was brilliant.

It looked great, tasted even better.

Can I put a hand up for Leo,

who gave us the ox cheek with the little cubes of polenta?

It's hard to make a braised dish look refined,

and I thought Leo did a really good job of doing that today.

Gareth gave us a wonderful plate of food.

I absolutely loved the bone marrow croquettes in there,

and how much of the bone marrow was still in it when you cut into it.

They're our six going straight through.

So that leaves Stephen...

..Tom...

..Brett...

..Louisa...

..Chris...

..and Craig.

Who do we want to see cook again?

Who do we have concerns about?

Now that was a great, intense, fabulous cook-off

from all 12 of you.

However, only eight of you are going to sail through.

Four of you will have to cook off again.

The first person we want to see cook again...

..is Brett.

The second person we want to see cook again...

..is Louisa.

The third person cooking again...

..is Chris.

The fourth chef we want to see cook again...

..is Craig.

The rest of you eight, congratulations.

Well done.

Well done, mate, nice one.

Good work, mate.

I'm absolutely delighted to get through.

I thought there was a chance I might have to cook again,

but luckily I don't have to.

Yeah, it's a massive relief I don't have to cook again.

That's what I was most scared of.

It's hard enough just doing it once,

but to have to do it again and turn round, it's going to be hard.

Each of you need to put the disappointment behind you.

Now, you have to create one dish

with the remaining ingredients in front of you,

but this time you only have one hour.

At the end of this, two of you will be leaving us.

Off you go.

It's not the best of feelings, but I've just got to stay focused,

I've got an idea of what I want to do.

I've just got to hopefully nail it this time.

I'm exhausted, but I'm really excited.

I've got my game face on,

and I'm ready to try my best to give a really good dish.

I'm confident and I'm worried.

You know, we're in the bottom four,

but there's good chefs in this kitchen.

But, you know, I've just got to concentrate on what I'm doing

and try and get it right.

I was very disappointed.

This cook-off right now is very, very important.

Really pleased to see our four chefs really attack a second cook-off.

Heads down, focused, fighting for that place in the knockout round.

Craig, are you surprised to find yourself in this position?

After cooking, no, I'm not.

Obviously, I knew I messed up,

so, obviously I've got to rectify that.

-What are you making, Craig?

-I'm doing sort of, like,

a caramel within a chocolate mousse,

and then with a pistachio sponge and some caramelised pear and some lime.

In an hour?

-Hopefully.

-You're under more pressure now, right?

Yeah, I don't want to be going home today, so, immense pressure.

Love the dessert.

Pears go perfectly well with the chocolate and caramel mousse.

Craig has only got one hour, and that mousse has to set just right.

He knows he's got a lot of work to do.

He looks on fire at the moment.

Craig is going at a speed.

I've got to work really fast,

and obviously I've got to get everything done.

I really want to get through to the next round.

Guys, you have had 15 minutes.

Brett, it looks like you're doing a dessert.

Yes. I'm doing a tonka bean custard.

-Oh!

-I'm doing poached gooseberry, raw gooseberry, gooseberry ice,

and then a brown butter and almond crumble.

You did an invention test and did a dessert before.

-Yes.

-And Marcus loved it.

-Yes.

-So what's your plan now?

That I do an invention test and Marcus loves it!

I think it's a good idea that Brett makes a dessert.

He's really playing to his strengths.

I'm loving the ideas of gooseberries three different ways.

Brett's custard has got to be set just right.

It has to hold, because he's going to pipe it onto the plate.

I do love the sound of the brown butter crumble.

Nervous, but I just want to make sure it's right.

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

You've gone in a completely different direction, Louisa.

Yeah. I have to show you that I'm capable of doing desserts, as well.

I'm trying to not overcomplicate it like I did in the last round.

-Are you now?

-Trying to.

-What's the dish?

-A deconstructed cheesecake.

I'm going to do a ginger crumb,

I've got a ginger granita in the freezer now,

I'm going to do some brandy apples, and I'm going to do a caramel sauce,

and I might do some crispy ginger.

You're doing less, but you're still doing quite a bit.

Yeah. In the time that I have, I think I've got to make it possible.

Louisa has decided to create a deconstructed cheesecake.

She's making different components of it,

and putting it together in a very modern presentation.

She's got brandy apples.

That'll impart a fabulous flavour.

The cheesecake flavour has to come through.

As always with Louisa, there's a million things to do,

and I hope she gets it right.

15 minutes left, guys.

15 minutes.

What's your dish, Chris?

I'm doing roasted quail on the crown, I'm going to carve it.

I've got a sauce working with the wings and the bones from the quail.

I'll do a parsnip puree, some girolle mushrooms,

and some sauteed potatoes.

What do you say to yourself after a disappointment like that?

You've just got to pick yourself up.

I mean, you've got to believe in yourself and what you do,

so, if you don't, then that will show in your food.

I think the quail is a perfect choice,

because quail you can cook perfectly within an hour.

A great choice of ingredients.

Parsnips, girolles, potatoes work with quail,

and then a beautiful sherry sauce to go with it.

My question is what else is going to lift this quail breast?

What's going to make it sort of stand out?

I've got to make sure everything's right,

so I don't want to make any silly mistakes with it right at the end.

Five minutes left, guys.

Just five minutes.

These last four minutes are pretty big, pretty important.

Double-checking everything,

making sure everything's right and I'm happy with everything.

It's gone as good as I can hope for, you know.

It's just dressing the plate and making it look as best I can.

I think it's going to be a nice dish.

Hopefully the judges will think that, as well.

Time's up!

Well done, everybody.

Time's up.

How did it go?

-All right, I think.

-Yeah?

-We'll see, it's all in the taste.

Good luck. Yeah.

-And you managed a cake.

-Fair play.

Craig has made a chocolate and caramel mousse

served with poached pear,

pear cubes in lime,

pistachio cake, granola clusters, and a chocolate crumb.

I'm amazed that you got all of this done in an hour!

The pistachio cake is like a financier, it's like an almond cake.

It's moist, it's got a lovely texture to it.

I love the roasted pears, and then the fresh pears with a hint of lime.

It's a wonderfully thought out dessert.

You've got a lovely flavoured mousse with a good flavour of chocolate

running through it, and the cake is a delight,

because it just adds a completely different texture to this dish,

and then you've got these crunchy clusters of nuts.

How you've achieved all of that in an hour I've absolutely no idea,

to be really honest with you.

I'm really pleased with that. I enjoyed that very much.

It looks lovely and it all works perfectly well.

Chocolate mousse with the pear, it's beautiful.

You've got a sponge that tastes of pistachio, lovely.

It's all very, very moreish.

Well done.

A lot happier, obviously, after that test

than the first one, obviously, yes.

Fingers crossed, I just don't want to go home.

-You nailed it, buddy, you nailed it.

-Well done. You must be happy.

I can smile now.

Chris's dish is roast quail breast served with saute potatoes,

parsnip puree, roasted parsnip and onions, girolles,

and a quail Pedro Ximenez sherry sauce.

The cooking of the quail breast is beautifully done,

and the Pedro Ximenez sauce is just an absolute delight.

It works so well with this dish, it really does bring it together.

It's got a lovely shine to it and it's got a lovely splitness about it

that I really enjoy. My criticism is there's far too much garnish

on this plate for that one breast of quail.

I think you'd have been better having two breasts of quail,

a touch more puree, and a touch less garnish.

I do agree with Marcus in that I would like more quail on that plate.

However, I find that perfectly yummy.

You've got a mellow sweetness in your parsnip puree.

All your veg is nicely seasoned.

Your potatoes are crispy on the outside, soft in the middle.

I mean, it's a really good flavoured dish.

The quail is pink, it's perfect,

it's how I would like my quail cooked,

and everything's been cooked wonderfully.

I just think you should have put more of the quail on the plate.

It's obviously a silly mistake.

You should use the whole bird.

Yeah, hopefully they won't have penalised me too much for it.

Brett's dish is a set tonka bean custard,

brown butter and almond crumble,

poached gooseberries, raw gooseberries,

and a gooseberry granita.

The tonka bean custard, the tonka bean's very light

but you still get it.

It's set well, and I like the textures of your crumb.

It's needed, because there's a lot of custard on here.

I really like the gooseberry granita, because it's so refreshing.

I love your tonka bean custard.

To me, it tastes like a mixture of vanilla and kind of coconut,

and it's really mellow.

Got a bit of an issue with the gooseberries.

Really quite sharp, and a little bit too sharp for me.

Brett, I don't get custard here.

What I feel I'm eating

is a slightly whipped cream with tonka bean flavour.

I love the little gooseberries dotted around,

I love the little granita that is really sharp and tangy,

and it cleanses the palate -

but I think there's just something else missing on the plate.

It needs another addition.

A little bit better than earlier.

Maybe I haven't done enough, but we shall see.

Louisa has made a deconstructed cheesecake,

with sweet vanilla cream cheese

topped with crispy ginger, brandy apples,

caramelised peanuts, ginger crumb, toffee sauce, and a ginger granita.

Louisa, a classic cheesecake is a very boring-looking dessert,

but I think that looks absolutely sensational.

That granita is magnificent.

You go from frozen to itchy heat.

It's delicious. Love the flavours on this.

Toffee, ginger, cream slightly sour, bit of vanilla.

My one issue with it is texture.

There's a lot of soft here,

and not a lot of crunch or firm to hold the soft.

Enjoying the toffee sauce.

I especially like the little deep-fried ginger bits on the top.

There's so much caramel sauce, though,

that I am wanting more of that biscuit base.

I love the toffee sauce,

I love the sharpness of the cheesecake that breaks through it,

I like the apples that you cooked in brandy,

I like the little deep-fried ginger,

and then just to refresh the palate you've got the granita,

and I like that on the side.

I think this dessert is an absolute treat,

and, actually, to do that in an hour, that takes a lot of going.

Thank you.

I got some positive comments,

which has really cheered me up a bit, actually.

I'm feeling really tired, but really happy.

That was a fabulous cook-off.

You four have done yourself proud.

You really have just made our job very, very hard.

It's going to be sad to see two of you leave today.

For the second time today, I'm going to ask you to step out,

while we come to some sort of decision.

Thank you very much.

I think that's remarkable.

I think they cooked better in this round

than they did in the last round.

Can I put forward one chef I'd like to see through? Craig.

-I agree.

-Of course.

What a great comeback, to cook at such a high level.

The best dish, without doubt, was Craig's.

He's really just ticked a big box for me. Craig sails through.

Yeah.

Brett's dish was definitely better than the first one.

I expected a strong dessert from him.

It was nice, I just felt there could have been so much more

that this dessert could have brought.

I thought it was a really good concept, and a great idea.

I felt that it was just missing maybe another type of fruit.

I'd love to stay in this competition,

and, you know, I'd love to be able to cook again

for the judges and prove myself.

Chris's quail dish was interesting.

Great cookery of quail on the bone.

I just felt that he needed to slightly pull back on the garnish,

and put that other breast of quail on the plate.

I agree Chris's dish needed some more quail.

But it tasted great.

I would be gutted if I went home now,

but I'm really proud of myself that I've come this far

and that I managed to go out fighting.

I really enjoyed Louisa's dessert.

It looked sensational.

I actually thought it was brilliant.

I thought it was a very smart take on a cheesecake from Louisa.

I just think, with Louisa's dessert, she was a texture missing.

Hopefully it's enough to get me through to the next round

where I'm going to be fighting even more,

and I'm going to be bringing out some even better dishes.

This is the tightest call in the competition so far -

but, right now, a decision has got to be made.

I know it's been a long day.

I know it's been a tough day in the kitchen.

The two of you that are going to be leaving the competition,

you must go with your heads held high.

You should all be very proud.

We've made a decision.

The first chef that we are putting through to the next round...

..is Craig.

-Well done, Chef.

-Thank you.

Well done.

The second chef we're putting through...

..is Louisa.

Congratulations.

- Thank you. - Well done.

- Well done. - Well done.

Well done, guys. Thank you very much indeed.

Thank you.

I'm absolutely gutted, you know, I wanted to stay here longer.

I'm really proud that I managed to get to knockout week.

I've had a lot of fun and I've met a lot of good people,

so it's been an experience.

I've had some good rounds, but today it just didn't go my way.

I've learned that I can push myself.

I've learned that I can work under pressure.

It's been fun. I'm not ashamed to lose to any of those guys,

there's some real good cooks in there today.

Can I have a hug?

It's a massive achievement, getting into the final ten.

I'm feeling so, so happy.

I just want to jump around,

I want to jump onto all the sides in the room.

I'm really, really happy.

I wasn't expecting that.

Blimey. It's up there with one of the toughest days.

So, so stressful.

But I can't wait for what's to come now.

So happy.

Tomorrow night, knockout week continues...

..as the contestants are split into two teams.

The first five will have to work together...

Guys, you've got five minutes.

Coming up with the meat in about 30 seconds.

..to create a VIP dinner,

and then return to cook a show-stopping dish

to stay in the competition.

Wow. Absolutely perfect.