Episode 14 MasterChef: The Professionals

It's Knockout Week on MasterChef - The Professionals.

Last night, two more chefs were sent home...

..leaving the strongest ten.

Now, they will be split into two groups...

..cooking as a team for a VIP dinner...

Right, guys, let's go. Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on.

..before returning...

..to fight for their place in the competition.

That was sensational.

It's getting really, really intense now.

And each time the pressure gets more and more

but then you've got to, like, raise your game.

It would be a massive achievement to get through today.

Everyone's here for one reason.

Everyone wants to get to the semifinals,

and that's what I'm here to do.

This is Knockouts, like, this is no joke.

I'm not here to lose.

I don't want to go home.

They've cooked some fantastic food so far in the competition.

This now is for a place in the semifinal.

All of these chefs want that place, and we know how good they are.

It's going to be an exciting day.

Chefs, welcome to Twickenham,

the home of English rugby union.

So far in the competition,

you've all cooked some fabulous food...

..as individuals.

But today, you're going to have to cook as a team.

We would like you to create a three-course fine dining menu

for the legendary captain Will Carling

and five of his guests.

Will Carling's one of the best captains England's ever seen.

He knows his food - he's travelled the world.

He is expecting nothing but the best from you guys.

No pressure there.

You've got a lot of work to do.

Good luck, and off you go.

I do like rugby, yeah.

It's more interesting than football!

There's some strong characters in the kitchen today.

It'll be interesting to see everyone working together.

Teamwork today is the key.

Between us, we've all got amazing ideas.

That's how we've all got so far in the competition.

We just need to forget about our egos and just pull together.

I love this place.

Seen many a fantastic game here.

There's no better place than a rugby stadium when it comes to teamwork.

Rugby players, they love their food.

I know a few of them, and they can eat!

Maybe our portions just need to be a little bit bigger today.

The chefs' first task is to create a three-course fine dining menu from a

larder which includes venison,

lobster, girolle mushrooms,

artichokes,

radishes, fennel,

creme fraiche, hazelnuts,

chocolate and cherries.

Main course - venison, defo.

A little braised fennel and fresh peas.

We could bang in venison sauce.

I think every dish needs to be special.

We're excited about who we're cooking for,

and hopefully that'll come through in our food.

-The lobster?

-We could do a bisque with all the shells,

-and then use the tail.

-We've got pasta flour, so we could do...

Let's stay away from pasta,

try and keep it quite light and quite simple.

It's really important for us to focus on what we're doing

and not get carried away with too many ideas.

What about something sweet? Maybe you could do, like,

a caramelised celeriac, or something like that.

-Yeah, yeah.

-You've also got red cabbage.

You could do like a braised cabbage or something.

It's also hard to put a main together when you've got

five different-thinking people in a competition.

They're all very different.

Louisa is going to want to use half the table.

That's true, yeah. It'll be interesting.

Dessert-wise, we've got chocolate, cherries.

-Chocolate mousse, maybe?

-It's not every day we're going to get this

opportunity to cook for people like this,

so we really need to make an impact.

Hopefully it'll create a lasting memory.

-How are we going?

-Good.

-Yeah, we're OK.

-I think we're there, yeah.

-Well, let's hear it.

Me and Jamie are going to do the starters.

So we're going to use the lobster,

and we're just going to serve that quite simply with the radish,

the fennel and the peas.

Nice and light, nice and summery.

Bringing all of that together,

we're going to have a really aromatic lobster sauce.

-OK.

-Me and Louisa are going to be doing the main course.

We're going to use the venison, and we're going to do roasted loin,

artichokes, and we're going to do a venison sauce.

We're going to use some of the wild mushrooms.

Who's doing dessert, then?

I think I'm mainly taking care of the dessert.

OK, and what is it?

Ah, so we're going to do chocolate tonka bean mousse,

creme fraiche sorbet and some cherries.

I'll just try and keep it quite simple but big flavours.

Menu sounds good. Just remember how special we want this to be.

Two hours, it's going to go quick.

I think our rugby players are going to love this menu.

Lobster, venison, chocolate - who doesn't like that?

-Okey dokey.

-But it's still got to work.

They've got to show flair. They've got to give Will Carling

and his guests something to remember.

There's been a lot of great occasions in this stadium,

and today has to be another one.

Gareth and Jamie, who both currently work as sous-chefs,

are in charge of the lobster starter.

The first dish is really important. We really need to set the scene

and let the guys that are going to be eating in there know that they're

going to get a really special meal today.

Gareth's first job is to remove the tails and claws ready for poaching,

whilst Jamie is tasked with making the lobster sauce.

Ah, as soon as the lobsters are cooked, I can have the shells,

and I can get the lobster shells in there to simmer away.

I've got onions, chilli, ginger,

garlic, lemon grass, coriander seeds,

star anise. You can't beat a little bit of heat from the chilli,

I like that aromatic citrus that you get from fresh lemon grass.

And they all work really well with the lobster.

To make sure their lobster looks the part,

team-mate Gareth is using a tried-and-tested technique.

I put the forks through the tail,

just to keep the tail straight when they're cooking,

otherwise they'll curl up. So it just helps with the presentation.

It's so important to cook the lobster right.

If it's not right, then it's going

to ruin the rest of the meal for them.

Do you want me to leave these raw for you

or do you want these roasted off?

Are you going to roast them?

-I'll roast them, yeah.

-Yeah.

Have you got faith in your team-mates?

Yeah, I think as a team the hardest part is getting

the direction for the dishes.

I think everyone knows how to cook the elements,

so I'm not too worried about the cooking of it.

It's just the bringing it all together

and everyone sticking with the ideas we came with

because that's very crucial to the balance of the dish.

-MARCUS:

-The starter's in good hands - Jamie and Gareth.

They've got a few ideas.

We have radish, we've got peas, we've got fennel,

we've got a lobster dressing.

Great sounding dish,

but they do need to remember that were looking for something

just a little bit hearty.

I don't want to see just little salady bits.

I do want to see a bit of body in this dish.

I want it to sort of really lead into the main course.

I'll work here, yeah?

The venison main is being run by corporate catering chef Steven

and Birmingham-based senior chef de partie Louisa.

I know that to make a nice sauce that you really need to get

your bones fully roasted, erm,

to get the maximum flavour out of the sauce.

You look at home butchering the venison here.

-You do it quite a bit?

-Yeah, I love butchering meat.

I think, as a woman, I like to get on the meat and hot side of the

kitchen. It's my favourite thing to do, you know,

and I love proving that I can do it.

And when I get good feedback about it,

it makes me want to do better and do more.

How is it having someone to work with?

I mean, you're working with Steven.

I think we're all sticking to our strengths, which is good.

He's taking control of more of the garnishes that needed to get done

first, then we're going to come together as a team

and finish off the sauce and the meat.

I think Louisa's just taking a little bit of control of this dish.

Good to see a chef who works on a sauce section take a beautiful,

big loin of venison and not to fear it at all.

Steven is doing the garnish.

We've got carrots, we've got girolles, we've got celeriac.

All the bits to accompany the dish, really,

which is also very important.

Obviously, we've got a basic of a dish.

We just need to build on that as well, like,

we need to take a look and see what else we can do to improve it.

There's always somewhere where you can improve.

With less than two hours to make a deep, rich sauce,

Louisa gets the venison bones on to roast,

while Steven must work quickly prepping the base.

-So we've got carrots, celery...

-Carrots, celery.

-Fennel.

-We've got a bit of fennel in there as well.

We'll get some tomatoes in there as well.

Yeah, so the sauce has to go on first because you need to get

maximum flavour from there, but also it needs to reduce as well.

You need to pass it off at least three times,

so it's got a lot of stages before it's finished.

Sorry, one sec.

Right, we need to get the sauce on

because otherwise it's not going to be ready in time.

On the pastry section,

London-based senior sous-chef Tom is working alone.

Yeah, I really enjoy working the pastry.

I've not had a huge amount of experience,

but it's something that I really enjoy doing.

I like the creativity. Best thing is the peace and quiet!

He's already made a start on the creme fraiche sorbet that will

accompany his chocolate tonka bean mousse and cherries.

The most important thing for me is just getting everything set quickly.

So at the start, I've got a sorbet to set, I've got mousses to set,

I've got things I need to cool down,

so the first kind of hour is really crucial for me.

Tom is on his own on the desserts, but I think he'll be fine.

Tom is very confident working in a dessert area.

-I'll be back with that pan of water, All right?

-No worries, man.

The team are very clever, keeping him on that side

while they focus on the savouries.

Tonka bean chocolate mousse - delicious.

But I do want to taste the tonka bean coming through that mousse.

It's got a lovely perfumed flavour, too,

and I really would love to taste it coming through

that lovely bit of chocolate.

Finding the balance of the tonka bean is really important.

It can be really, really overused and make things really unpleasant,

but at the same time, balanced nicely,

it's going to be really good.

-Is there more, or is that all we've got?

-We've got three bowls.

-Do you want more than that?

-Yes.

So far, all five of the chefs are working very well.

-They've all got their heads down.

-Well, if you're standing here doing

-this, do you want to just char them off?

-Yeah.

There doesn't seem to be one at the moment

who's really pushing a lot harder than the other,

but I think as time goes on we're going to start to see a bit

of nerves coming through and we'll start to see

a leader shining through.

Twickenham Stadium was built in 1907 on a patch of land formerly used to

grow cabbages.

Over a century of historic rugby clashes have been played here.

Will Carling was the youngest ever player to become England's captain,

and led his team to the 1991 World Cup final.

From an England player, this is your home ground.

This is your sort of spiritual base.

Trying to win here, or not lose here, that's what it's all about.

It is a great stadium and, you know, I love the place.

The stadium can now host 82,000 spectators

and is the largest dedicated rugby union venue in the world.

In terms of our catering, we'll cater

for about 12,000 hospitality guests.

We've got 28 different kitchens

servicing 32 different restaurants,

as well as the players' catering.

It can be a daunting task sometimes, but we thrive off it here.

I love my food. I like good, honest,

fairly basic food.

And quite a lot of it!

Chefs! You've got 55 minutes left.

Hey!

With half the cooking time gone,

Gareth has managed to get his lobsters poached,

and he's using the shells to enhance the dish.

I'm happy with how the lobster's cooked.

Kept their shape nicely, and they're not overcooked as well,

which is the most important part of it.

As well as adding flavour to the sauce,

some are being blitzed to create a lobster oil.

The lobster's cooked nice.

I'm eating all the trimmings you've got here.

-Yeah.

-Don't tell Marcus.

I'm not sharing.

Team-mate Jamie is juggling all the other jobs.

With one eye on the lobster sauce,

he gets on with braising the charred fennel.

-Jamie, what have you got there?

-Ah,

so this is the sauce that's going

to bring the whole lobster dish together, basically.

Loads of fragrances going on, loads of flavours,

-really nice depth in there.

-So that's the stock.

It's going to be reduced, and then we're just going to mellow

it down with a touch of cream at the end.

Exactly, just to make it nice and silky.

Gareth, these lobster shells no good for your sauce?

Erm, we don't need any more.

You've got enough flavour?

-Hope so now, yeah.

-I hope your sauce tastes good.

-Yeah.

-LOUISA:

-How long till the first course, guys? Does anyone know?

Ah, yeah, it's in half an hour.

Louisa and Steven's venison main course is also reliant

on the power of its sauce,

which has been reducing for over an hour

with the roasted bones, red wine and shiitake mushrooms.

For your sauce?

Yeah, so I've just strained the bones off,

and I'm just putting the trimmings off, just to finish the sauce off.

I'm going to season it, and then I'm going to strain it again.

Backs, please!

Just getting the garnishes finished off now.

The meat is in the water bath.

But I'm thinking we're going to sear that off.

We'll drain it and then we'll sear it off later, closer to the time.

I think Louisa and Steven are working together quite well.

Louisa's made a beautiful sauce.

It's rich, it's deep and it'll work very, very well with the venison.

The garnishes, they all seem in hand.

I think they really do know what it is they're doing.

Hey, Louisa, I'm going to turn that sauce down.

Ah, yeah, no, it's fine - I've just literally checked it.

These are ready to go in the fryer.

Yeah, OK, cool.

On the pastry section, Tom's tonka bean mousse is ready,

but to have any chance of setting,

he needs to quickly get them into the blast chiller.

So what've we got on the bottom?

It's a mix of feuilletine, toasted hazelnuts,

and I put a little bit of the hazelnut praline in there as well.

-Right.

-Just mixed with melted chocolate.

-So where's the tonka bean?

-The tonka bean's in the mousse.

In the mousse. And how have you done that, have you infused it?

Oh, no - I just grated, lightly grated, some in there.

Yeah, and also a bit of the tonka

in the cherries, so I'm making like a stock syrup.

Well, Tom, you've got the last dish of the day, you're the big finale.

It's like that drop-kick, isn't it?

Just right at the very end of a game.

You can't miss the posts!

Dining with Will Carling

and Twickenham's head of catering Thomas Rhodes..

..are current England women's captain Sarah Hunter,

England women's full-back Emily Scarratt...

..England Sevens captain

and Olympic silver medallist Tom Mitchell...

Thank you. Thanks very much.

..and rising England rugby star Ellis Genge.

Starter, main or dessert?

What's your... What are you looking forward to most?

I'm expecting some small portions, I think.

Intricate, well thought-out little plates.

I'm easy. I'm starving, man.

I'm starving - I just want some food, like.

I just want to follow you after you leave here to see how much you eat

when you're on the way home.

Our guests have arrived, and they're having their first glass of champagne.

Jealous.

Jamie and Gareth's lobster will be the first to leave the kitchen.

Slice these now, then warm it for a bit in the bisque, or...

Get everything at room temperature.

And their lobster oil made from the blitzed shells is almost ready.

Are you all right, you two - you need anything?

Literally, oil's good, all the garnishes are almost ready.

We're going to clean down and get our plates laid out really soon.

It will be added to the sauce just before service.

Put the cream in there now, a touch of salt,

again, just reducing it, give it that body.

Quite a few of the lobster shells are in the bin, and I think

the question is, is that strong enough in lobster flavour?

Yeah, it will be once it all goes in there.

All right.

Louisa's venison sauce is also almost ready.

-That's got some punch.

-Yeah, it's strong, nice and strong.

-It's got a bit of kick.

-Backs, please.

-It's nice.

Over at the blast chiller,

Tom's checking in on his creme fraiche sorbet.

Basically just waiting on the blast chiller to freeze, if that...

If the blast chiller works, then we're all good.

While he waits, he adds vanilla and tonka to his stock syrup,

which will be used to marinade his cherries.

Tom has just being left to his own accord,

and he's just getting on with it.

He doesn't have to check in with anyone on what he's making,

he's got his own little area, and he's just focused.

The other guys have got to always double-check how one is doing.

"Have you made the sauce right?" "Not sure."

I'm thinking I've put this in a little bit too early, but it's OK...

It should be all right.

I think we'll leave the claws, leave them whole.

-I'd keep them as it is.

-It's more natural like this, isn't it?

-They've got knives and forks.

-Yeah.

This is the bit now where it could quite easily fall apart.

Service is imminent...

Me, I'm pretty much free now.

-Yeah.

-Do you guys need a hand dressing, finishing off?

..and the teams have come together to form a plan of attack.

You guys, if you just get all your elements together now,

when it comes to plating, one element each.

Whoever wants to take the lead on it doing the first presentation,

we can see the first plate,

-and then we can all do the plates after together.

-Yeah.

Something I heard there, "Let's one of us dress the plate first,

-"and then we'll follow."

-Yeah, yeah.

-You need to know what that plate's

going to look like before you put anything on the plate.

-They have to.

-Yeah.

Jamie. Gareth.

You've got seven minutes left.

Waiting staff are here, waiting to go.

In seven minutes, the food needs to leave the kitchen.

Oui.

-Thank you very much.

-Is it good?

Yeah.

-What's left to do?

-Just glazing up the lobster now in a little bit of

the bisque. It's the first thing on the plate,

then we're going to build up the rest of the dish around that.

-Ready?

-Yeah.

-Let's go.

-Cooking lobster's extremely difficult,

cos if you undercook it, it's going to be raw,

and if you overcook it, it's going to be rubbery.

I'd like to think that the chefs in the kitchen will actually be able to

cook this perfectly.

A nice piece of the claw coming across.

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

I don't eat a lot of lobster,

so this will be something a bit different.

It'll be interesting to see the combination of radish and fennel

and peas, and how that complements the lobster.

Are you all good?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, all good.

-Yeah?

It's a very light, refreshing dish, I think.

Maybe less fennel, I think it's going to be quite overpowering.

-Do you not agree?

-No, it needs nice and green, nice and fresh,

nice and light, summery.

I'm quite looking forward to it.

-Nearly there?

-Yeah, just pouring the sauce into the jugs now.

The finishing touch is the lobster oil,

which is added to the aromatic bisque sauce.

Right, guys, food's got to go.

-You all good?

-Yes. Let's go. Service, please!

OK, guys, when you pour the sauce, just give it a little shake around,

and then pour from the head of the lobster to the tail,

-and then bring it back over the garnish.

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-Happy?

-It's a nice plate of food, you know, I'm happy with how it is.

But whether they're going to

appreciate it as rugby players as much,

I'm not 100% convinced.

-Let's hope they enjoy it.

-Yeah, let's clean down.

Gareth and Jamie's starter is poached lobster tail and claw

served with roasted and pickled fennel

with radish, peas,

and a lobster dressing mixed with a lobster oil.

I think it looks beautiful.

There's an array of colours on there and a lot of freshness.

For a starter, it's nice and light.

There's a really nice sweet taste coming through with the lobster,

and I think it's cooked really well.

Yeah, and I think the sauce really finishes it off nicely.

It just gives it that bit of extra, sort of, punch to the flavour.

A few more peas would have done the job, but, yeah,

it's a lovely bit of food.

I'd have liked the sauce to have been a little bit more intense,

but that's a personal preference.

I can see myself...

..cooking this. Maybe not, no.

Giving it a go, it wouldn't be quite the same, would it?

The lobster is cooked wonderfully. I love the radish and the peas.

I don't see where a braised fennel fits on such a light dish.

But the sauce has more flavour than I expected.

I think the oil has really complemented it,

and I love the way it's split onto the plate.

I'm really happy with this.

Is that tray on the pass for draining garnish?

That is for my meat. We need one for the garnish, that would be perfect.

Oui, Chef.

Louisa and Steven's venison main is up next.

Three little celeriacs, kind of like...scattered like that.

So...

-MARCUS:

-It looks like Louisa's now got a pen and paper out,

and she's putting a plan together.

She's quite clear she doesn't want to fail at this main course,

and she's going to take Steven with her.

-LOUISA:

-Looking good. Just getting the meat seared off now,

getting a nice bit of caramelisation on it.

Steven's looking after the girolles.

Gareth's looking after the artichokes and celeriac.

And they've called on Tom to make some parsnip crisps

to give the dish more texture.

We have seven minutes, Steven, are we going to be on time?

We are definitely going to be on time.

It looks very smart.

I do like venison. It's quite healthy, which will be rare for me!

I think, for an athlete, it's a good red meat - it's lean -

so when it's on a menu, I often go for the venison.

Coming up with the meat in about 30 seconds.

-Two pieces each?

-Yes, Chef.

Right let's go, you've got five minutes.

I've never had carrot puree,

and I thought it was "guirol" not "jirol", so that'll

be new to me as well.

I haven't had anything on this menu, have I, really?

THEY LAUGH

Watch your backs.

Is there enough for three each?

-I don't know.

-They are rugby players.

Three, we're going to go three per portion.

Nice big lads need their meat.

What are you doing, Louisa? Are you dressing the first plate?

Yeah, I'm just showing the guys how I want it plated up.

So, three celeriacs, two artichokes,

-four girolles.

-Sauce on the plate?

So exactly like that, then we'll sauce it just before it leaves.

Try and get a little bit more height with them parsnip crisps, please.

-What else is left to go on?

-Girolles missing off that one, that one,

and that one. Four per portion.

Service, please.

Thank you.

-Looks good. Well done.

-Well done, mate.

-You two happy with that?

-Yeah, I think so.

I think two pieces of meat wasn't enough,

so in the end we've come to the decision of three pieces,

especially...they're going to be hungry.

MONICA LAUGHS

Oh, it looks good.

Louisa and Steven's main course is roasted venison loin served with a

carrot puree, girolles,

caramelised celeriac, artichokes,

parsnip crisps and a venison sauce.

I love the venison.

I just think, you know, you never have the confidence,

or I don't, you know, to leave meat cooked, sort of, that rare.

You always just overdo it.

-But it's beautiful.

-For me, the sauce is a little bit acidic,

and I do have a sweet tooth, but I mean, it's still very, very nice.

The artichokes have been braised down perfectly.

You can't fault them. The texture of the carrot puree just cuts through.

Maybe a potato or something, a little bit more for us athletes,

need a bit of a carbohydrate to balance the dish out.

But no, can't complain, really.

My first girolle.

-Lovely little number, a girolle, isn't it?

-THEY LAUGH

-A few more, maybe.

-Yeah, a few more girolles.

But I think less is more with the girolles, so...

-THEY LAUGH

-Shut up!

That venison is cooked perfectly.

The carrot puree brings a little sweetness to the dish.

And the sauce is a delight.

It works so well.

There is a sharpness to it, but it complements the dish.

It's very, very, very good.

It's now down to Tom to finish service on a high.

I'm really happy with how these have come out.

They're good, set in time, which is the main thing.

It's a big weight off my mind.

At least they've got something for dessert.

I am a big fan of dessert, particularly chocolate,

so I was pretty relieved to see that there was some chocolate on the

dessert portion of the menu.

It looks very nice. I don't know

what tonka bean is, I've never had it.

Tonka bean, it's got a strong flavour,

it's almost like a bit stronger than vanilla,

and I think the cherries being in there to follow on

from the venison dish is extremely well worked.

Dress them off the plate.

-So five cherries on top, some fresh tonka.

-Cool.

Creme fraiche, I'm not usually a big fan of,

so it'll be interesting to see how they work that into a sorbet and how

they all come together. But, yeah, looking forward to it.

Tom, you have six minutes before you need to send your desserts.

-How's it going?

-Just the last finishing touches now.

-Everybody happy?

-Yeah.

-Very happy.

-All right, let's go, then.

Right, who wants to lift

them on? Who's got a steady hand?

I've got a steady hand, if you want me to do that.

Yeah, go for it. I don't mind.

-How many have you made?

-I've made seven.

I only had seven moulds, so I had to roll with it.

Let's hope the waiter doesn't drop one!

-Yeah, let's hope.

-Or Louisa!

Come on, guys. Well done, it looks great.

Service, please.

-Well done, everyone!

-Well done!

-Woo!

-Happy?

-Yeah, yeah, it looks nice.

-Thank you.

-For dessert,

Tom has made a chocolate and tonka bean mousse with a hazelnut base

blended with feuilletine wafer flakes,

served with creme fraiche sorbet on a hazelnut crumb,

and cherries cooked in a tonka stock syrup.

Yeah, I think the mousse was nice.

Definitely had some tonka bean coming through there.

It worked well with the chocolate.

I thought the base was a bit hard,

but it gave a nice substance to go along with the mousse as well.

The nut element to the dish was really good,

and cherry and chocolate is a perfect combination,

so I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I also quite like the flavour of the sorbet.

Maybe a little bit grainy and it was quite plain,

but I've got a clean plate, so I think I liked it.

Tonka bean for me is just the right amount.

I can't handle too much of what is, like, a strong perfume,

-where you love that.

-Yeah.

The sorbet brings a freshness to this dish.

A lovely way to finish this meal.

I agree. I think too much tonka bean, and it's not nice,

I wouldn't like it. But I think he's got that absolutely just right.

Thank you, guys, for a fantastic meal.

I think it's an incredible job what you've done,

to be given a set of ingredients and to come up with a menu that is

obviously well thought out, really well-balanced,

and we certainly had a lot of empty plates at the end.

So a huge congratulations to you all.

I just want you to know that I enjoyed it more than anyone else.

-THEY LAUGH

-I loved it!

Really great day.

I'm so proud of what our chefs have achieved.

Well done, guys. Well done, man.

Today was amazing. It was a big push.

Really good feedback.

I feel like we did OK.

As a team today, we've absolutely smashed it.

I learnt a lot in the kitchen today.

Watching our chefs cook was very interesting.

Who was the creative chef...

..who was the leader...

..who was bringing the team together.

It's fascinating watching them work.

But teamwork is now over.

Our chefs are going to come back into our kitchen.

It'll be one chef against the other for that place in the next round.

If anything, it's going to be harder seeing people leave

because we've started to get on now, and we worked well as a team.

But hopefully it won't be myself.

We are competing against each other, at the end of the day,

so when you want something that bad,

you're going to have to get your game face back on

and you're going to have to do as best you can.

It's now every man for himself, so game on.

Chefs, welcome back.

I thought you worked together really well at Twickenham.

But now you're working alone.

This is a show-stopper dish

that's got to get you through to the semifinal.

One dish that has got to be the best that you've cooked so far.

You have 90 minutes, off you go.

Gareth has definitely grown through the competition,

and I think we've got the makings of a really good chef here.

He's done great food, now he's got to be outstanding.

I think with all the dishes I've done so far,

they've been critical of maybe a couple of elements,

whether it be one judge really enjoyed it

and the other one wasn't too convinced.

I think today I have to prove to them that, you know,

I can do faultless cooking.

I feel like I've progressed,

and now it's time to really show them that I have,

and I'm getting stronger as the rounds go by.

Gareth, are you feeling nervous?

No, I'm feeling quite confident today, actually.

I've been taking on board the comments. I think my food's

simplified slightly as I've gone on in the competition.

So my show-stopper dish, I've got rabbit.

So I'm using ribs, I'm just going to water bath them,

then make a tarragon crumb.

The loins, I'm going to roll those in pancetta, sous-vide them.

The kidneys, I'm just going to cook old-school in a pan.

I've got the legs, I'm pressure cooking them,

it's going to be with the sauce.

And then the livers, I'm going to do like liver en croute.

And garnish wise, onion puree, pickled mushrooms

and white cabbage.

-Got all that?

-Well, I was...

Two things crossed my mind.

One is, is this you paring it down?

And secondly, have you got the time to do it, Gareth?

Yeah, I've got the time.

There's some good cooks in this kitchen, are you better than them?

If I know I nail my dish and cook it,

then I've got enough to see me through.

I don't feel like I have to wait for people to slip up to get me through.

I don't want to go through the competition like that.

You know, if I go through, I want to go through with flying colours.

Good luck.

The key to getting rabbit right is perfect timing.

Literally, seconds too long in the pan,

and the rabbit loin will be overcooked.

The rabbit leg needs to be braised beautifully so it's not too dry.

The kidneys just need to be flashed through the pan.

You can go on all day talking about how you cook a rabbit,

but it's about timing, skill and execution.

Rabbit's one of those meats that's not forgiving.

You know, it's one little mistake and that's it, ruined.

Tom is another one of our young chefs who's doing exciting things

within the competition.

He's an all-rounder, he's a strong chef.

If he can do that again today,

for sure he will deliver us a show-stopper.

Getting into the semifinals for me would be amazing, I'd be so happy.

I set myself a challenge of getting to there when I entered the

competition, so it means everything to me to get there.

I've got suckling pig.

I'm just going to roast it on the rack, nice and simple.

I made a pommes Anna with golden turnips, potatoes,

dressed in Iberico fat.

Then a little salad with some pickled golden turnips,

some Pink Lady apple,

finished with a sauce made from the trimmings of the pork.

Oh, sounds great.

Why this dish for your show-stopper?

This dish is, in essence, very simple,

but there's a lot of technique and different ingredients going on that

just comes together in perfect harmony for me, so...

What's the toughest bit of this competition, Tom?

Just coming up with all the dishes in the time that we get, you know,

trying to balance the work-life as well is pretty tough, but...

Explain to me, if you can, how you do that.

Luckily, I've got a very understanding boss, so...

And what sort of reaction do you want from us?

A happy one.

Suckling pig is just so tender, it's delicious.

It's one that you have to mind the cooking.

I like it just pink.

It can dry out if it's left too long.

He's making a potatoes, like a pommes Anna,

which is going to have turnips running through it as well.

He's also got a turnip puree.

Turnip can be quite bitter,

so you want the flavour to be beautifully matched

with a very delicate suckling pig,

and I hope with a very good sauce, too.

Chefs, you have one hour to go.

Jamie gets influences for his cooking from all around the world,

and he likes to sort of add bits and pieces.

You can see his style starting to develop.

We've enjoyed some great food from Jamie.

Today has got to be another one of those fantastic dishes.

-GREGG:

-Your show-stopper dish, what is it?

So I have some stone bass.

It's going to be cooked in the pan.

It's going to go with a risotto of plankton, roasted ceps,

crispy sweet potato skins and oyster leaf.

Did you say plankton?

-Yeah.

-The things that whales swallow by the tonne?

Yeah, most fish. Most fish eat it.

-Chef, have you eaten plankton before? Because...

-No, no.

-No, me neither.

-There's a first today.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-Show me the plankton, where is it?

So I have the dried version here.

It smells just of, like, the essence of the sea.

-Wow.

-And before you use it, you have to rehydrate it,

-so it's like a paste.

-Eh!

-Right.

-The nearest I can think of that is...

That's like in a port somewhere, isn't it?

It's walking round a fish market.

Yeah. This sounds quite an unusual dish, especially coming from you.

Maybe I've been cagey in the previous rounds,

not been so adventurous,

and maybe just trying to keep it a little bit safe.

So now you're about to explode with all this culinary excitement.

Give it all I've got this round.

Love stone bass, with ceps and some Iberico ham and a nice sauce,

it's wonderful. But what's caught my attention is this plankton risotto.

I can't wait to try it.

I'm putting quite a lot on the line with this dish today.

They could completely understand it and love where I've gone with it,

or they could just think,

"Why has he got ham with fish and some weird green risotto,

"all on the same plate?"

Steven is a very, very good chef.

He comes into the kitchen with a smile on his face,

and he's a chef that enjoys his cookery.

Ah! No, I'm joking.

I believe that shows on the plate at the end of the day.

He's using squab pigeon for his show-stopper,

and he's got quite a few elements that's going with it.

You've got beetroot three, four different ways.

You've got nettles.

There's also a horseradish creme fraiche.

It better not be too hot!

And there's also a seeded cracker.

I also believe there's a hazelnut crumb.

Steven's got a lot going on.

If this dish works, and everything comes together,

this will be a show-stopper to look out for.

Do you know how much I love pigeon?

I just love pigeon.

I don't think there's ever been a pigeon on a menu

that I haven't ordered.

Well, hopefully I can do you justice today and you'll enjoy it.

Is this your most ambitious dish so far?

Yeah, most definitely. As the rounds are going on,

you need to push yourself in each round,

and this is definitely one of the hardest.

But also, I just need to make sure that I don't do too much,

don't overcomplicate it. The balance of flavours needs to be perfect with

-this dish.

-Absolutely right there.

Right. Get it done, because I really want to get stuck into this!

Cheers.

There's a lot of things that could go wrong today.

I could overpower the creme fraiche,

I could leave the horseradish in there too long.

Salt bake, could overcook it -

you can't see it when you're cooking it.

Cracker, could over bake it, it could just crumble in my hands.

The sauce could go wrong, it could be weak.

Yeah, there's a lot of stuff that could go wrong today.

Why am I doing it?!

HE LAUGHS

35 minutes left.

Louisa is an exciting young chef.

She's always walked into this kitchen with a point to prove,

to show us how hungry she is to be in this competition.

I'm up against a lot of competition.

I mean, I think I'm the youngest in the group,

and that's a little bit worrying for me,

cos I don't have as much experience as them.

But, at the end of the day,

I'm really excited and I'm really up for it.

I just want to go in there with all my passion that I have as a chef,

and just do my best.

It's a dessert, by the looks of it.

Yes, it is a dessert.

As well as my favourite section being sauce,

I just wanted to show off another part of me.

-What is it?

-We have poached bananas in yuzu juice,

banana and yuzu sorbet,

salted caramel custard, a pretzel,

peanut and sesame crumb and a chocolate tuile.

Where does it come from, this European-Asian fusion of yours?

For me, yuzu juice is one of my favourite ingredients.

It's like grapefruit juice and lime juice,

and it's like the best flavour ever.

And I think when you use that kind of, like,

acidity in a dessert with bananas and caramel,

it really complements each other really well.

You talk about food like I do.

"It's the best flavour ever!"

-MARCUS:

-Yuzu is quite a strong citrus flavour.

I hope I can still taste the lovely flavour of banana.

If you smother it with too much yuzu,

it could just be a little bit too powerful.

A lot of skill in this dish, and Louisa, as always,

is running around in the kitchen.

There she goes again. This chef always pushes herself.

15 minutes left.

As lovely as the dish may be, it's got to be done in 15.

All five chefs have different styles of cooking in the kitchen today.

It's really exciting.

They all seem very focused.

It's exactly how they want to be.

I'm curious what's going to happen when they start plating.

You have three minutes for this show-stopper dish.

Final touches.

Stop, your time's up!

-Happy?

-Yeah, yours?

-Yeah, it's all right.

I don't think it's perfect. Yours?

-Happy?

-Yeah...

Gareth used every part of the rabbit for his show-stopper

and has served the loin wrapped in pancetta,

the rack in a tarragon crumb,

the livers en croute,

pan-fried kidneys and the braised leg meat rolled in cabbage,

together with a garnish of pickled mushrooms,

onion puree, baby turnips,

charred spring onions and a rabbit jus.

Gareth, the cooking of the rabbit is delicious.

I like the flavours of the loin wrapped in the bacon.

I love the leg that's been braised down

and wrapped in a crunchy cabbage leaf.

It's still got a touch of bite to it.

And I really love the little rack.

I love the tarragon crumb that you have running over the top.

But, if you notice, none of us have eaten that spring onion.

It just looks undercooked.

That's a small criticism, Gareth.

I like the dish a lot.

I think you have put together here a really lovely combination of

sweetness, slight bitterness, saltiness and, more importantly,

there is tarragon, that mild aniseed flavour, running through so much.

That's lovely.

I thoroughly enjoyed that little croute with the offal on top.

That was a nice little treat, and a shame I had to cut it into three.

I've got to agree, the spring onion, there's no place for it.

But that's fine, because everything else on this plate is delicious.

-Well done.

-Well done, mate. Great feedback.

If I go out because of a spring onion,

it's going to be so upsetting, but, you know...

Jamie's show-stopper is roasted stone bass cooked in Iberico ham...

..served with a plankton risotto, roast sweet potato puree,

roasted and raw ceps, crispy sweet potato skins,

and finished with oyster leaf and oyster flowers,

with a chicken and thyme sauce.

My first-ever taste of plankton.

Yeah, it's a lovely, salty seafood seasoning.

Yeah, bring it on. I'm wondering

what else I might be able to sprinkle it on!

I love the soft fish, I like the saltiness that you've got on top.

But what I particularly love are the sweet notes that come singing out.

There's sweetness in the puree,

there's sweetness in that potato skin that you've fried.

I find the whole thing light yet packed full of flavour,

and actually knocking on the door of delicious, mate.

I love it when someone brings something new to the table.

The plankton, something that I was curious about.

Does it work with this dish? For me, it definitely does.

The sweetness of the sweet potato

and using the skin for a bit of texture,

the Iberico ham as well.

I've enjoyed it, I really have.

I think you've really raised your bar.

You are discovering new flavours and new ideas.

I think that's an exceptional dish, Jamie. I'm really pleased for you.

Well done. Really pleased, great dish.

Relieved! Relieved and, yeah, really happy with the feedback.

Really happy with the dish, so we'll see what happens.

Steven's dish is squab pigeon...

..served with crisp potatoes, salt-baked purple beetroot,

pickled and hazelnut-coated golden beetroot...

..crispy and raw candied beetroot discs...

..horseradish creme fraiche with nettle oil emulsion

and a pigeon sauce...

..served alongside a seeded cracker

topped with cubed beetroot and offal,

and crispy nettles.

-It's so pretty.

-Unbelievable!

That looks like you've fished it out of a rock pool!

Your pigeon is cooked perfectly for me.

It's beautiful and pink.

It's just right. I really like the beetroot with the hazelnut crumb.

That is just something different I wasn't expecting,

and it's really tasty.

Those little cubes of golden beetroot with that offal

on that cracker is absolutely divine.

It is properly, properly lovely.

I think it's really, really clever cooking.

Really clever. I think your use of beetroot is inspired.

My biggest concern was the horseradish, and is it too hot.

What you have got here is absolutely spot on.

This is a pigeon dish of delight and cleverness and lovely execution.

Really, really good job, Steven.

Thank you very much.

To get comments like that at such an important part of the competition,

like... That's where I wanted... I wanted to be in that semifinal,

and hopefully with those comments,

it looks like I might be on my way there, so, oh, wow...

Tom's suckling pig has been served

with a salad of pickled turnips, apple,

bacon and charred baby leeks, golden turnip puree,

together with a pork sauce

and a layered golden turnip and potato pommes Anna.

It's a tasty plate of food,

and I think the apple brings the sharpness that really does cut

through it for me.

I only got a little bit of the puree, cos Marcus ate it all.

You've made a lovely puree, put it on the plate.

I like your pork, it's nice.

I really do. There's not a great deal of contrasts going on.

Potato isn't a great flavour, turnip cooked isn't a huge flavour,

so the flavour is the sauce.

But it's a good sauce.

I find a lot of different flavours here balancing this dish beautifully

well. I want to taste the pig, and that's what you've done.

You've bought the flavour of the suckling pig to the plate,

and you've harmonised it with lovely, delicate flavours.

That Anna is sensational.

The sauce is delicious.

There's always the negative things

that you take away with you at this stage, so it's really hard to,

you know, kind of be happy with yourself.

I cooked as well as I could have done.

You can't ask for more than that, really.

Last up is Louisa's show-stopping dessert of bananas poached in yuzu

juice, served with caramel custard, chocolate tuile...

..pretzel, peanut and sesame crumb,

and a banana and yuzu sorbet

served on chocolate soil with a cognac foam.

It's so light-looking, it's delicate, it's intricate.

Just by looking at it, you can see the skill.

Louisa, I think that says it all.

Look at that!

That was sensational.

Absolutely, wow.

Where do I begin? The banana, the yuzu, the peanuts, the pretzel,

they just work together beautifully.

The salted caramel custard, wow.

Absolutely perfect!

Thank you.

That's the best banana dessert I've ever, ever tasted.

When I got sweet banana, sharp yuzu,

cognac foam and toasty nuts,

that was it, I was gone.

I was just floating away on banana heaven.

That is divine.

Fabulous.

You had a point to prove cos desserts, you said,

is not one of your strengths.

And you've come here with a show-stopper dish

like this and just blew us away.

Thank you for giving us one of the greatest desserts

we've had in this round.

-Smashed it.

-Welcome back from banana heaven!

Good Lord.

I can't stop smiling, it's like my face is just stuck like that!

Let me tell you, right now,

we don't have many tastings as successful and as happy as that.

It doesn't happen very, very often.

That's the great news.

The tough news is, of course,

this is going to make for really hard judging.

When you get five chefs cooking as well as that,

this judging is going to come down to the finest of margins.

The problem is, a chef is going to leave the competition

who cooked a good plate of food today.

Shall we start off with our favourite dishes?

-Who was yours?

-Come on, Louisa's banana was incredible.

Look, we taste, we enjoy,

but rarely do the three of us just wipe a plate clean!

-It was beautiful!

-I really enjoyed Steven's cooking today.

And he should be smiling, cos he's enjoying what he's doing,

and he believes in his cooking, and that's what we wanted,

his confidence to grow.

Really happy with what he's delivered today.

What about Jamie today?

He brought in plankton.

I thought that was great.

It just gave the whole dish a sense of the ocean, the sea,

and the real depth of flavour that you get with it,

and it complemented the bass so well.

Now, if it comes down to finding the nitty-gritty,

the issues we have here,

then for me it would come down to our rabbit and our pork dish.

I liked Tom's dish.

The pork itself was cooked nicely.

However, I found Tom's dish a little on the safe side.

I disagree. I don't think for one minute that Tom's dish was anywhere

below or above any of the other chefs in the kitchen today.

Gareth used pretty much every part of the rabbit in his dish,

which takes some doing in an hour and 15 minutes.

I love that crouton with the offal on top.

It was just that spring onion.

But, wow, did he cooked well!

This bit, waiting, is horrible.

It's the worst bit.

The cooking bit just gets over and done with really quickly.

But this, it's...

You just don't know, do you?

From the competition I've seen this year, it's really intense,

really tough, so it's one of those, you know,

a spring onion can be the difference.

It's with great regret that we have to send one

of these chefs home today.

Chefs, wow. Outstanding cookery today.

It's been a tough decision.

The chef...

..leaving us...

..is Tom.

-Thank you, Tom.

-Take care, Tom.

-Well done.

It's a shame to not reach the semifinals, but, you know,

it's been a great journey.

The competition pushes you as a chef to great new lengths that you've not

seen in yourself before.

Unfortunately, it's got to end, but there we go.

You are MasterChef semifinalists, well done!

-Well done.

-I'm feeling so, so relieved.

Toughest day by far, but the most rewarding.

Yeah, relieved and elated, to be honest, yeah.

Really pleased to be stood in this position now as a semifinalist.

Congratulations!

I'm so happy I've got here.

It's through hard work, though.

Hard work does pay off. So, yeah, I'm over the moon.

I'm feeling absolutely amazing.

This has gone straight to my head, so...

Yeah, I'm really excited!

Tomorrow night, the second group of chefs battle it out

for a place in the semifinals.

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

Waiters are waiting, guests are waiting.

Your time is nearly up.

Well, this is fantastic.

Wow. That's impressive.

I think this is an excellent dish.

In fact, I think it's probably one of your best dishes so far.