Episode 16 MasterChef: The Professionals

It's the Professional MasterChef semifinals.

Last week, the knockouts reduced 12 chefs down to the best eight.

-Great cooking!

-Tonight, the pressure builds,

as the remaining chefs cook off against one another

for the chance to work with some of the most inspirational

culinary talents in the country.

The numbers are going down and down.

The days are getting harder. It's insane.

There's no room for error at all now.

You've got to just 110% cook your heart out.

I dreamt about getting here, you know, really wanted to get here,

and, obviously, now I'm here,

it's really surreal.

Yeah, 100%, this is the biggest thing I've ever achieved as a chef.

I can't wait to get started.

-MARCUS:

-Big tension in here today.

It's the first semifinal.

-MONICA:

-This is when I want to see the stars start to step forward.

Welcome to the MasterChef Professionals semifinals.

We've asked you to design a dish that is dedicated

to somebody that has inspired you.

This could be a mentor, a family member,

somebody that really means something to you.

-GREGG:

-At the end of the tasting, we will decide on the best two dishes.

And the chefs that cook those two dishes will go straight through.

That means there'll be six of you cooking again

for the remaining four places.

You've got one hour and 45 minutes to show us real passion.

Off you go.

We have some talent here today.

We've got different personalities,

quite a lot of different styles as well.

We're going to see some exciting food.

-MONICA:

-We know when it's this close there can be no errors.

It's got to be memorable.

This is the key to success today.

Sous-chef Steven works in corporate catering.

He won his place in the semifinals with a pigeon dish,

wowing the judges with its complexity and intense flavours.

This is a huge deal for me.

But my whole world could come crashing down within a split second,

so I'm just going to take it step-by-step.

Hopefully, we'll get there.

How are you doing, Steven?

Busy day today, busy day.

Busy but happy - you're still smiling.

Oh, yeah, well, you've got to smile through, haven't you, really?

What else are you going to do - cry?

-Don't cry!

-Oh, no - there's no crying I'm going to be doing.

Who's inspired you for your dish?

What's inspired you?

My dish is called Fish And Chips At Granny Audrey's.

So, obviously, that's my nana, very important woman in my life.

So, every Friday I used to finish school, used to go

to my nana's house, and then we all used to sit down and have

-fish and chips.

-We're not going to see just fish and chips

-on a piece of newspaper, are we?

-No, so I've refined it.

I'm using John Dory, I've made a batter crumb which I'm going to

roll it in, at the last minute. Pommes souffles,

and for the chips I'm using pate de brick,

and then filling it with pomme puree.

We've got Steven's mushy peas, and Steven's tartare sauce.

-It's a very stressful dish to cook.

-I'm sorry?

It's a very stressful dish to cook.

-Why?

-There's a lot of stuff that can go wrong in this dish.

I only did pommes souffles for the first time last week.

-Never done them before in my life.

-I'm guessing this fish and chips

might be a little bit posh for Granny Audrey?

Yeah, I don't think she would like it, but...

LAUGHTER

-You know...

-Ah, it sounds lovely, Steven.

-Good luck to you.

-Cheers.

Steven's fish is John Dory.

So, we're getting posh fish and chips.

Potato souffle - whoa, what a difficult thing to do.

Plus, he's only made them a few days ago so he really is putting himself

under a massive amount of pressure here.

The way that Steven is cooking it with the modern taste,

the different bits of potatoes, there's a pea oil that's going on.

A fish and chips dish I've never seen before...

..but I can't wait to try.

Birmingham-based sous-chef Leo has six years of experience

at Michelin star level,

and has impressed the judges with his solid classic cookery.

In my mind, I am thinking that I could go to the finals

but then it all depends on how I perform on the day.

You've got to just kind of crack on and deal with it, really.

So, what's the dish and who's inspired it?

It's a classic Greek dish, a combination of flavours.

We finally get some Greek food.

So, we've done... It's a classic on lamb, green beans, feta, chickpeas.

It's made traditionally as a stew, but just changed it with the times.

-Right, OK, and who inspired the dish?

-My family.

My mum, my dad, my grandparents. We used to sit round

the dinner table and kind of dig in to this.

-This is the kind of food we had.

-Is this dish good enough

-to be one of the top two dishes?

-Should be. Fingers crossed.

-Thank you.

-Thanks.

Leo has decided to draw upon his Greek heritage for inspiration.

Leo is using feta, he's adding a chickpea puree and a yogurt gel.

Flavours that all work very well with lamb.

The flavours are going to be there, it's how you dissect it

and make it refined. It's going to have to come

with something special if he's going to get into the top two.

Reading-based sous-chef Gareth has shown great technical skill

to earn his place in the semifinal.

The ambition of his last rabbit dish won approval from the judges.

Back of your mind, you're only saying to yourself,

you know you can get this far,

but the reality is a lot harder than just believing.

Gareth is doing a floating island.

This is a reinvention with gooseberries.

You want to get the essence of a classic floating island,

what, essentially, is a beautiful vanilla custard

with a poached meringue sitting on top with a caramel glaze

and some almonds.

Floating islands, I've made hundreds over the years,

it's got to be the perfect meringue.

Lovely and sweet, bit of texture in there and cooked right through.

So, my dish today, it's inspired by my mum.

Speaking to her a couple months ago and she said about gooseberries,

how they used to be so popular

and no-one really uses them that much any more.

Do you know, I'm with your mum cos I don't think people use enough

-gooseberries.

-No.

-It's beautiful fruit.

-Yeah.

-What's Mum's name?

-Belinda.

-Belinda?

-Yeah.

-Belinda's Floating Islands.

-Thank you, Gareth.

-Thank you.

Chefs! You've had 20 minutes!

Cumbrian-based private chef Matt

has consistently produced memorable, creative dishes,

showcasing his passion for healthy ingredients.

This is a good opportunity to sort of let your mind run free

and just go a bit wild.

If I get this right, if I pull it off, it'll be really impressive.

What's the dish today, Matt?

Basically doing a stuffed sea bream dish.

I'm going to halfway cut down the sea bream,

fill it with a morel and wild boar pancetta duxelles.

I'm making a dashi with wild boar pancetta and moss.

And, yeah, the dish is inspired by my father

and his love for the ocean and the Lake District waterfalls.

Fond of a bit of running water, was he, your dad?

Yeah, that's all we did, spend our time in the ocean.

Kite surfing, climbing waterfalls. I mean, that's the brief, isn't it?

It's inspired by... My dad inspired me,

he's the most influential man in my life.

Unfortunately, he passed away last year.

I just want to honour my dad, just want to do it...

I want to be happy with it, make him happy, make my family proud.

Matt, I think he'd be proud of you already, son.

Thank you very much.

-MONICA:

-Matt's dish is intriguing, but that's always Matt for me.

He does things to food that makes you sort of sit up

and pay attention.

This time, it's moss-infused sea bream. Never had that before.

Moss is the flavour of earth, it's almost like a stale smell.

When it's in situ, it smells divine.

The question is, will it work with this dish?

22-year-old senior chef de partie Louisa

has stood out with her work rate

and intensely flavoured sauces.

She secured her semifinal place with a standout dessert.

So, my last round was probably one of the best rounds so far.

It's just crazy to hear them kind of comments,

and it just really boosts you to do better.

Kept my dish quite classical today.

I've got lamb - lamb cannon.

I'm making dauphinoise potato,

fresh peas, I'm also going to make a lamb sauce.

OK, why classical today, then?

I started off doing very classical dishes when I first became a chef.

When I met my partner,

I met him in my first job that I had with him -

this dish is dedicated to him a little bit.

When we went on our first date in Bournemouth, we had lamb.

First-ever potato dish I ever learned how to cook as a chef

is dauphinoise potato, so that's why I'm cooking that.

-This is very personal.

-Yeah. I'm going to really enjoy doing it

as well cos it's some really nice things on the plate

-and some of my favourite things to eat as well as cook.

-Nice dish.

-Thank you, Louisa.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

I love the sound of this.

Lamb, with garlic, dauphinoise potatoes.

A dream made in heaven.

Dauphinoise potatoes is one of the first things

we learn at catering school.

Done well - sensational.

You want the potatoes to be lightly cooked,

the cream to be beautifully reduced.

And of course you want the flavour of garlic and a little bit of nutmeg

just running through it as well.

Can't wait.

Chefs, you have just 30 minutes left, please.

21-year-old sous-chef Craig is the youngest semifinalist.

Right from the start, he's demonstrated focus

and flavourful cooking.

We're down to the final eight chefs now,

so the competition has just stepped up another gear.

Hopefully, fingers crossed, I've got a few tricks in the bag

that I can sort of pull out, and see me through.

Today, Craig is making flapjack.

Craig's going to be dissecting it and breaking it down

into all types of different areas.

We've got a biscuit, we've got a cake,

we've got a traditional flapjack.

There's an oat caramel ice-cream, and we've got a gel as well.

I've no idea what it's going to look like, but I like the sound of it.

Churning my ice cream.

A bit of dry ice, so it'll freeze really, really quickly.

You having fun, Chef?

Ah, it's another day at the office.

GREGG LAUGHS

Brilliant!

-MONICA:

-There's going to be a bit of skill in this dish.

I expect nothing less from Craig.

He is one talented chef in this kitchen.

Why is this so special to you?

It's inspired by my mum.

Flapjack was, like, one of the first things I remember cooking.

It must have been probably when I was about five years old,

I remember sat on top of the counter,

mum had a big green sort of saucepan, all the butter

and the syrup melting in there, and it was sort of

-a vivid memory, almost.

-Is that one of your earliest memories?

-Probably, yeah.

-Lovely story, lovely recipe.

-Thank you.

Yeah, I've got a bit of a mission on today. I've got loads to do.

Originally from Hull,

27-year-old sous-chef Jamie has excelled

with his daring flavour combinations from around the world.

Marcus said to me,

after the show-stopper, that I've raised the bar.

I just need to make sure that my cooking stays consistent,

but interesting at the same time.

What are you making, Jamie?

A Spanish fried fish dish, so pescaito frito,

using the special dusting flour that they use in Andalusia to coat fish.

The fish I'm going to use is plaice,

and that's going to be served with a courgette and basil puree,

and then a little potato salad.

It has jasmine running through the dish.

If you ever go to Seville in the summer,

it's like searingly hot heat, and then the streets are just perfumed

with this really strong smell of jasmine flowers.

Who's the dish inspired by, Jamie?

So, it's inspired by my girlfriend, Maria.

-How?

-So, I've not really travelled very much to Spain,

but since I met Maria I've really been indulged in their culture,

their way of life, everything about the country, really,

I've just sort of absorbed it

and I've really taken to it, I really love it.

Breaded plaice is something that we're very familiar with.

Especially in this country.

And it's a very simple thing to do.

-MONICA:

-But it's also very easy to overcook fish

that's cooked this way.

Jasmine - this is the intriguing part about this dish.

The jasmine flower - some of them can be poisonous

and give you food poisoning, and there are others that are edible.

Gloucestershire-based junior sous-chef Tom

has fought hard throughout the competition,

and earned his semifinal place with a well-executed veal

and sweetbread dish.

I think that you have to have a sense of self-belief.

If you don't try and win, then you're not going to win,

so you've got to believe that you can win.

Who has inspired your dish today?

So, my dish is inspired by my grandad.

He was a great man and always helped everyone,

and he helped bring up me and my sister for a while.

OK, so what's the dish, then, Tom?

So, my grandad's favourite food was fish,

so I've decided to cook turbot,

cos I think that's the best fish in the sea, for me.

And my grandad used to grow lots of veg in the garden

and used to always go picking leeks out and stuff,

so I thought leeks would be a great thing to use.

Well, you know, we absolutely loved your last plate of food, the veal.

For me, the presentation was something that needs working on.

-Have you taken that on board for this?

-Yes, definitely.

I know exactly in my head how I want it to look, and I'm going to

stick to that and I think it's going to look quite smart.

-GREGG:

-How important is it that you do Grandad proud with this?

It's massive. I really want to do him proud.

I mean, he's no longer with us, but for my grandma,

who still is with us, it'll be great for her to see.

-All right, then. Get cracking, Tom.

-GREGG:

-Good on Grandad.

-MONICA:

-Fish like turbot is beautiful,

especially cooked on the bone.

He does have to be sure, though,

when he removes the fillets off the bone to serve,

that none of those bones are still stuck in it.

This sounds like a very simple-sounding dish,

but I like the ideas of all the different types of leek.

Leek puree, smoked leeks, and a leek fondant as well.

It could look really interesting,

as long as he gets that presentation perfect.

Guys, last five minutes!

-Tom, you've got about 90 seconds.

-Yeah.

-You've got nothing on a plate.

Stop! Time's up.

Thank you.

Boy, that was a hard one, mate.

I swear to God, that was hard.

Inspired by his Spanish girlfriend Maria,

Jamie has cooked pescaito frito - plaice fried in Spanish flour -

a courgette and basil puree...

..served with potato, crab and jasmine-pickled apple salad,

plaice crackling, fried courgette flowers

and a dressing of basil oil, fresh apple juice and gin.

To present, he's using jasmine water over dry ice.

-GREGG:

-Aha!

Steaming bull!

I love the look of the dish, and I like this - this theatre,

this sort of meadow with the bull in it,

and the jasmine smell coming through. I like that.

This alcoholic dressing you've got here, that's very unusual.

It's practically raw gin with some oil sitting through it.

But I like your cookery. I like what you've done,

I like the crumb that goes around the fish -

it's got a nice, crunchy texture to it. Puree's lovely,

and the crab meat is a lovely little surprise.

I love this fish!

With basil and bits of apple, and fried courgette flower -

I think it's beautiful.

I think this is a really crackingly clever dish, full of inventiveness,

full of creativity, and it's delicious.

Well done, Maria.

Jamie, I love the way your fish dish looks.

Basil and courgette puree is one of my favourites.

Oh, it sings on the plate with this fish.

It's a wonderful, light plate of food.

Thoroughly enjoyed your main course, Jamie.

Yeah, I'd love to get straight through today.

Everything that I could do has been done,

so I just need somebody else to seriously mess up, or...

Leo, inspired by his Greek-Cypriot heritage,

has cooked roasted rump of lamb, served with green bean,

lovage and feta salad,

a cumin and garlic chickpea puree,

and finished with a lamb sauce.

I think the lamb is wonderfully cooked - love it.

And the sauce is also fabulous.

The feta goes very well, and that Greek yoghurt underneath it

is very light - I'd like a bit more of that.

But when you tell me it's about your heritage

of Greece, which is a place I love,

you have amazing products coming from Greece.

I just don't find I'm having the heart of Greece here in this plate

of food - and why have you held back? I think there's so much more

that you could have brought to this plate of food.

The dish lacks punch for me.

And I find it very simple.

I just wanted at this stage in the semifinal a little bit more oomph,

a bit more energy in the dish.

And some more surprises, Leo.

It's a beautifully flavoured dish. I particularly like

what you've done to those chickpeas. I'd like you to play some more.

I really would. I'd like you to let your imagination

go a little bit wild.

I like his cooking but he's not quite getting the grasp of this...

-It's too safe.

-Yeah.

-It's too safe.

No, I didn't impress them as much as I thought.

I really don't want to cook again today. I don't think any of us

want to cook again today. It's been a long day.

Inspired by his grandad, Tom has cooked turbot on the bone,

served with a leek puree, confit leeks, smoked leeks and hazelnuts,

finished with a seaweed-infused fish sauce.

I'm really pleased, Tom,

that you've worked on the presentation of your food day.

That is a lovely plate of food, beautifully presented.

Turbot cooked on the bone, beautifully done.

Great leek cookery. There's a lovely sharpness and acidity

that comes through your sauce as well. I would be really happy

to have this served to me in a restaurant.

I'd thoroughly enjoy it.

That's a good bit of cookery, that, Tom.

I think it's a tasty plate of food.

Love the puree, the leek puree you have underneath the fish.

Also enjoying the sauce and the creamy little bit of sharpness.

And the hazelnuts. There's not too many.

But it brings a nice texture to it.

I think the plate looks OK.

It tastes great. I love the flavours that you've brought to your dish.

Turbot's a big, meaty fish, and yours is beautiful.

It's soft, it's almost buttery, it's lovely.

I love that sauce.

I'm still not sold on the presentation,

Tom, I'm really sorry.

It looks a little tossed across the top.

And I'm not convinced that's the best way to serve it.

That's secondary because the flavours, however, are great.

I'm happy with the dish I put out. Whether or not it gets me through,

I don't know because there's great dishes out there, so...

Steven's fish and chips,

inspired by his nana, consists of John Dory rolled in batter scraps,

mushy peas, pea puree,

pastry cigars filled with a preserved lemon pomme puree...

..pomme souffle, and a herb oil tartare sauce,

topped with crispy shallots.

The dish is finished with a pea juice and herb oil dressing.

Before I dig into this,

can I just say I think this is an absolutely lovely looking dish?

-It's so pretty.

-Thank you very much.

That is a fantastic fish and chips.

-Thank you very much.

-That is great.

The fish in a batter crumb, I think, is inspired.

You've got the crisp of chip going on in your pomme souffle,

tang of tartare sauce, sweetness of pea, crisp of potato chips,

softness of chips, I love it.

-Can you tell?

-Yeah, thank you very much. Cheers.

It's not fish and chips, in the term of fish and chips.

But I LOVE it.

It is beautiful.

It really is very clever.

You're taking a traditional dish

and you've turned it into a fine-dining plate of food.

You've got a lovely pea puree on the side.

You've got mushy peas the way they should be.

Badly coloured but taste great.

Fish is beautifully cooked.

A tartare sauce that is completely unusual but tastes of tartare sauce.

Very clever, very, very nice.

-I love it.

-Thank you very much.

The scraps and batter that you've covered the fish in,

I love the crunch of it.

I think it's very cool

and a really great way to sort of honour your granny.

I want to be in the top two more than anything.

Smashed it.

But two out of eight's quite slim, like,

you need to produce something amazing.

I feel like I did that.

So, we'll see. See how it goes.

-He's so happy.

-It's going to be hard work picking two out of this lot.

Louisa has made lamb cannon,

served with dauphinoise potato,

caramelised onion puree,

fresh peas, crispy onion rings and sauce vierge,

finished with garlic flowers and a lamb sauce.

Louisa, this is possibly the most restrained dish I've seen from you.

Like the presentation, very pretty.

I do find the portion of the dauphinoise is very big,

compared to the protein that's on here.

The lamb is perfectly cooked, nicely seasoned.

That sauce, another fab sauce from you.

I think the dauphinoise is cooked well.

I'd like it to be a bit more creamy.

I think it needs just a touch more seasoning.

There's a lot of potato,

and not a great deal of lamb,

which slightly disappoints me and, I'll tell you why,

because that is absolutely delicious.

The sauce is rich and deep.

Your dauphinoise has got the hint of garlic.

I would like a little bit more lamb, please!

That dauphinoise is not good. In fact, it's quite average.

The rest of the plate is excellent.

The lamb is cooked beautifully. The peas are delicious.

The puree on the plate has a big flavour.

Classical food comes with big power flavour.

That was my memory of cooking classical food,

and you've done that.

I did it as well as I could.

The dauphinoise just let me down, really gutted about that.

But... You know, chin up.

Carry on.

-Good?

-Yeah. Better start planning the next dish.

SHE SIGHS

Inspired by his father and his love of the Lake District,

Matt has cooked sea bream stuffed with a morel

and wild boar pancetta duxelles,

a wild boar dashi gel,

cavolo nero stems,

sauteed morels,

potato pebbles, edible moss,

Finished with a chicken jus and a moss reduction.

The plate is served with a moss dashi, poured over dry ice.

I like it, I love it. I think the idea is the mist

coming off the waterfall with the perfume of the moss

that sits on the rocks.

I assume that's what you're trying to achieve here. Impressive.

I can sum this up in one word.

And that's outstanding.

That is a stunning, stunning piece of work.

In every way. The wild boar inside the fish works a delight.

It really does enhance that lovely flavour of the fish.

And the kombu being poured over it and giving you that smell

is clever, interesting,

and I think you've hit the nail on the head.

Thank you so much. It means a lot. Thank you.

The sea bream is well-cooked. The sauce is nice.

I quite like the texture of this moss.

It's almost like it's been sort of deep-fried.

Yeah? Quite crispy.

Everything's been cooked nicely.

Delicious plate of food.

-It's very clever.

-Thank you.

Once you start bringing up mist from a waterfall around your dish,

you've got to make sure you deliver and, for me, personally,

I think you absolutely deliver on this.

The fish is cooked brilliantly.

It's flaking, as well.

That gel starts off sweet and ends up smoky.

I think they're brilliant flavours, I think it looks fantastic.

Flavours that I have never experienced before.

You've got great imagination.

I am really, really taken by that.

You can't get better than that. That was amazing.

I hope he's proud.

I just wish he was here to see it.

It's really good, just to sort of honour his legacy.

Gareth's dish, inspired by his mother,

is gooseberry floating islands,

topped with gooseberry chutney, granola, fresh gooseberries,

a yoghurt tuile, on an elderflower creme anglaise

and served with a gooseberry ice lolly.

I really like the gooseberry ice lolly that you have there.

I like the idea of the granola on top for the texture.

I just find this is a really poor

anglaise you have, your custard.

It's almost, look... It's wishy-washy.

It's like water.

And that's why your floating islands aren't floating.

I'm a massive fan of gooseberries. I like the sweet sharpness of them.

I think that's very nice indeed.

I think you have created here a very different sort of dessert.

Not the most delicate of floating island desserts I've ever seen.

Could be smarter. Your flavour combinations, though,

I think are lovely. I kind of agree with Mum.

I think it's about time we resurrected the gooseberry.

The idea's good but the execution is poor.

I've got a thin custard, first of all, and, secondly,

it's never going to float with all that granola and chutney

sitting on top of it. I think this could have been better, Gareth.

I think the story is great but I think your dish

could have been a lot better.

I feel quite gutted, actually. Quite deflated

cos I know how good that dish could be.

Next time round, I have to show them I can execute dishes perfectly.

Inspired by childhood memories of baking with his mother,

Craig has made a deconstructed flapjack, sauteed oat biscuit,

roasted oat ice cream in a butter tuile, date sponge, date puree,

and a golden syrup gel.

You've got all the flavours, the oats,

the maple syrup coming through,

even the dates. It's just a bit of indulgence

and to have the underlying

flavours of the flapjack is fab.

I like brown desserts.

They are my favourite. That is a beautiful beige and brown dessert.

And it's made me very, very happy indeed.

You've elevated this dish

to a height that is way beyond the flapjack.

The ice cream is great in the centre.

The oat ice cream, because it just brings the freshness

and the lightness to the dish. Because it is very rich.

But we like that. I really, really like this dish.

It's a very difficult thing to get right

and you've absolutely nailed it.

Thank you.

I'd be absolutely devastated if I had to cook again.

Friday, two chefs to go through next, it's brutal.

-Told you you'd do it.

-There's only two of us, isn't there?

But, yeah, I don't know if I'm going to get through.

Hopefully that was enough.

I realise that we've chosen

a fantastic eight chefs for our semifinal.

And the people that you dedicated those dishes to, I think,

would be extremely proud.

Thank you, chefs.

Thank you.

I know four I would like to put through.

Well, we've got brilliant semifinalists.

But two... Just two?

Best dishes from these eight? That's tough.

This is not going to be easy.

I have definitely four chefs that I really like.

I think they have done great today.

-GREGG:

-I loved Steven's fish and chips.

-MARCUS:

-Yes.

I thought it was brilliant. Brilliant concept.

Familiar fish and chips

in the poshest style you've ever seen. I thought it was brilliant.

-MONICA:

-I really enjoyed this dish.

And I just love Steven, the way he cooks and he just smiles.

He's a great chef. I think he did great today.

Great piece of fish cookery.

With a classic dish of fish and chips.

Beautifully executed, great ideas.

Diverse, different and very much close to his heart.

Who else did you like?

-MONICA:

-I liked Matt's dish.

Matt, with the waterfall and the ocean.

To be able to capture that in this plate of food,

I thought, was genius. It was a great plate of food.

-GREGG:

-It was just one of the most stunning dishes I have ever seen.

The whole thing was a presentation of brilliance.

That's the Matt I've been waiting for.

Absolutely outstanding.

I love Craig's desserts.

Flapjack reinvented.

What a fabulous chef.

-GREGG:

-Every single one of those aspects was delicious on its own,

delicious combined,

and just brilliant.

-MONICA:

-Very artistic, very clever.

A lot of thought went into creating this dessert.

Craig really impressed me today.

-GREGG:

-Jamie is a class act.

I thought the flavour combinations, the look of the dish, it was new,

it was different, it was vibrant.

And I found it very, very exciting.

I agree. Jamie's dish was great fun.

Lovely textures, great ideas.

And Jamie always comes to the kitchen with a surprise,

when he puts a dish on the table.

He hasn't failed yet.

And he's still delivering it.

-MONICA:

-The cooking of the fish was perfect.

And the fish itself with that flour for the coating was wonderful.

-GREGG:

-We all agree on who our favourite four chefs are...

Who is going to be our favourite two?

It doesn't get any easier, this, does it?

No.

It has been hard making a decision.

It's been a tough day and it's been an even tougher judging.

One of our favourite dishes...

..was Matt's.

-Thank you.

-Very well done.

The other of our favourite dishes...

..cooked by Steven.

Fish and chips in a semifinal.

We found judging just two dishes out of so many good chefs really hard.

In fact, TOO hard.

We've got a third favourite.

Well done, Craig.

CHEERING AND LAUGHTER

Matt, Steven, Craig, go on, hop it.

-We'll see you in the next round.

-Thank you very much.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

Good job, guys.

Wow! I was not expecting that.

I was not expecting that at all.

I was shocked. I was absolutely shocked. Yeah.

Boom.

HE LAUGHS

So happy. And to have that dish get me through

is just an added bonus, like. It's crazy.

It was probably the most emotional dish I've ever cooked.

So many emotions. Mental, it's mental.

None of you need to be despondent, having to cook again.

You've now got another chance to prove yourself

and get yourself through to the next round.

We've already tasted eight plates of food.

What we want from you now is something light and vibrant.

In fact, we've taken away all the meat and all the fish.

Two of you at the end of this will be going home.

You have 1 hour and 15 minutes to create, cook and serve your dish.

Come up and get your ingredients.

As well as the wide range of fruit and vegetables,

the chefs also have herbs, spices, and dairy products.

I think this is a cracking challenge.

Personally, I love fruit and veg.

Being a greengrocer for many, many years, I would do.

You have to work harder, you have to be far more creative

to make brilliant dishes with no meat and fish.

Working with fruit and veg is obviously exciting.

It gets you going and gets you thinking.

So, puts you on the spot.

Obviously, disappointed to be here

but I've just got to pick myself up and cook good food.

I'm absolutely exhausted but I'm just going to give it my all

and proper go for it.

We've asked our chefs to cook something light and fresh

and of the moment.

That doesn't mean boring.

A lot of our customers in restaurants,

they are looking for something light and fresh.

It shouldn't be difficult.

But when you've got so much to choose from,

it does play with your mind.

Louisa, I almost don't want to ask you how you are feeling.

You disappointed or...?

Yeah, I'm really upset, actually.

It's really, really stressful, but I'm going to fight for it.

-I'm not going down without a fight.

-So, what are you going to make?

I'm thinking I'm going to use some asparagus,

pan roast the green asparagus in butter.

And the white asparagus, I'm going to do crispy in the panko.

I'm going to make an egg yolk puree.

I've got poached duck egg, roasted mushrooms,

and some pickled shallots.

This obviously means a lot to you. Can I ask you why it means so much?

I want to further my career, I want to do well,

I want to be the best that I can.

-It hurts you when you're not, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

Asparagus with egg and mushrooms is a classic mix.

Knowing Louisa, there is going to be some little surprises in there.

The pickled shallots and the olives are going to be the integral part of

this dish. That's what's going to give it a little bit of edge,

a different flavour.

This is a lovely Mediterranean-sounding dish.

Vegetarian food should be a specialty for me, really,

because my girlfriend is vegetarian.

On my days off, whenever I cook at home, I never cook meat.

I don't cook two meals. I just eat vegetarian food.

Jamie has decided to go down the Mediterranean road

and base his dish around carrots.

He's got a carrot puree, and then he's going to make a slaw.

But the bit that caught our eye was this carrot steak.

And he's going to cook it gently and then he's going to colour it to

a beautiful caramelisation in the pan.

A carrot steak.

-Yeah.

-That's it?

-The body of the dish.

So I'm going to have some nicely whipped up seasoned mascarpone.

And for texture, I'm going to puff up some of the giant wild rice.

Right, so there's always more with you.

There's always more.

Jamie surprised us before in the competition.

I'd like to see him give us another one of those great dishes

we know he can do.

40 minutes left.

-So, what have you come up with?

-I'm going to do a crispy duck egg.

And I'm going to serve it with a classic combination of asparagus,

wild mushrooms, truffle and a pea veloute.

So, Leo, what are the surprises in your dish?

It's not necessarily surprises.

It's all about using these simple ingredients

and bringing out as much flavour as you can out of them.

-Are you going through, Leo?

-I want to. Definitely.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

Leo is going classic with his dish.

I want to see him give us some surprises now.

This is when it counts.

The pea veloute needs to be vibrant and full of colour.

He's got to be very careful with this

that he doesn't overcook that egg yolk.

-What are you cooking for us, Tom?

-Confit duck egg,

which I'm doing in the water-bath.

Asparagus, mushrooms, a walnut dressing and truffle.

That sounds just like Leo's dish.

Yeah, it does. So I am just going to have to be better, then.

Does this type of challenge, taking away the meat and fish, worry you?

Does it concern you? Because it's of the moment,

you've got to think on your feet

and you've got to come up with something pretty quick.

No, not really. I feel I'm quite good at thinking on my feet

and quite relishing the challenge, actually, to be honest with you.

So you are a fast mover?

In the mind, not necessarily in the physical department.

-Nothing wrong with that!

-I like that. I like that.

Some of us have faster minds than others.

Tom is cooking the duck egg in the water-bath.

Timing has to be right and the temperature of that water-bath

has to be spot on.

As soon as you crack open that egg and it's not cooked right,

it's going to be a disaster.

The dish I did this morning wasn't good enough, so if anything,

I feel lucky I've got that second chance to prove, you know,

I know what I'm doing and I can cook.

I know it needs to be light, so I'm going to do kind of like a risotto

but it's going to be potato instead of risotto rice.

And I'm going to put through...

There's going to be feta, peas and sweetcorn as well.

That's going to be in an onion.

The rest is kind of work in progress as well.

-A risotto...

-Yeah.

But you're not using rice, you're going to use potato?

-Yeah, so, kind of...

-How? How are you going to do that?

I'm not going to wash it. I'm going to keep the starch in the potato.

I'm going to use that to work it to help thicken it up a bit.

I like the sound of your dish, Gareth.

-You got a lot of work to do.

-Yes.

Gareth is using potatoes to make something very similar to a risotto.

He is also using a stock from sweetcorn,

which will give it a lovely corn flavour running through it.

He's taking the simplest of ingredients

and he's making something that sounds delicious.

Inventive and creative at the same time.

I think it's going to be quite a simple presentation.

Have a little play around, see how it comes out.

You guys have got five minutes. Five minutes to finish your dish.

Five minutes to stay in the competition.

Two minutes. Just two minutes.

That's it. Time is up.

Well done, everybody. Well done.

-Looking good. Yeah.

-It's fresh, simple, fresh.

-Happy?

-Yeah.

Louisa has made poached duck egg

served with crispy white asparagus in panko crumb,

grilled green asparagus, fried mushroom, egg yolk emulsion,

pickled shallots, finished with a truffle and mushroom powder.

-Looks good.

-Thank you.

Looks good, looks pretty. Let's try it.

Really enjoying the white asparagus that's been paned and made crispy.

I absolutely love it.

The egg brings a richness to it.

And then you've got these little surprises.

Pickled shallots. It's the sharpness that needs to cut through the

richness of the egg, and refreshes the palate.

-You've given us a great plate of food.

-Thank you.

I don't know who told you to put crispy breadcrumbs around asparagus,

but that, I think, is inspired.

Having the little rings of pink pickled shallot

gives another flavour, one of sharpness.

We've all dipped asparagus into egg yolk.

It's a tried and tested combination, however

you've done more and in my opinion, you have raised this dish.

I can't fault your cookery. I can't fault your idea.

And the combination's worked beautifully.

Well done, you. Good job, Louisa.

-Nice to see a smile back on your face.

-Thank you.

-Sigh of relief?

-Relief. Yeah.

Gareth has cooked potato risotto with peas,

sweetcorn and feta in a burnt onion cup,

roasted baby aubergine, roast peppers, pickled asparagus,

roasted tomatoes, and a chive oil.

I think your risotto of potatoes is an inspired idea.

I do like that with the sweetcorn as well.

The aubergine with soy on it, that's salty.

Feta, tomato and pepper.

It seems like that's the making of a salad.

I liked the idea of making a risotto with the potatoes and you've used

feta in there, and the sweetcorn as well.

The other bits of the garnish,

especially the sharpness of the tomatoes,

for me, it doesn't work together.

There are lovely elements about it.

I love the freshness of the sweetcorn, I love the peppers,

the freshness of the tomato,

the lovely slices of asparagus and the onion.

You know, you've done some really nice work here.

But I feel like I've just gone to a buffet with a plate and I've taken

some things off it and I've just put them on my plate,

cos I want to eat them.

I wouldn't say when I finished the dish I was 100% happy with it.

I tried as hard as I could.

It just wasn't... It's just one of those days

where things didn't come together for me.

One of those days in the office.

Leo's dish is crispy duck egg topped with truffle,

served with asparagus, broad beans, courgette,

pickled asparagus, and finished with a pea veloute.

Leo, I can see where you're going with your idea,

but I just feel that the plate is just a little bit all squashed in.

I just expected that veloute to have a much more vibrant colour.

The egg is nicely cooked and you've got a lovely runny centre to it,

but you just don't get a sense of the dish,

because it's just cramped into this little tiny bowl.

So nothing really stands out.

Leo, I love the crispiness of the egg.

It's cooked perfectly.

When you cut into it, you can see how beautiful it is.

It tastes nice.

The way it looks is just because of the wrong plate here.

I love your pea veloute.

I think it's sweet, I love the flavour of that.

Love the crispy egg and the egg yolk.

I'm disappointed I don't pick up truffle and the pickled asparagus.

I'm feeling all right. A little bit on the fence again.

I just can't do right at the moment.

I just can't please all three of them.

Tom has made confit duck yolk,

grilled white and green asparagus,

raw white quite asparagus, girolles,

sliced raw mushrooms, pickled shallots,

broad beans, walnuts,

finished with parsley oil and truffle.

I loved the rich egg yolk going all over the dish.

That I like. I like the pickled shallot,

that gives a little sharp sweetness as well.

That's really it for me.

The mushrooms, raw, don't give a great deal, just texture.

I find the broad beans a little too dry, I'm afraid.

There isn't a great deal to it.

I quite like it, Tom. I do. I think it's got freshness to it.

It's light, I like the walnuts on the plate.

The asparagus is cooked well, the egg is cooked well.

I like the broad beans and I like the peas.

I like everything on the plate, to be honest with you.

If anything, my criticism would be

just a touch of seasoning but, overall,

I find the dish... I find it very enjoyable.

It looks light, it looks refreshing,

which is what we've asked you to deliver.

If anything, be careful.

I ate a lot of the giroles on here. One or two of them were a bit sandy.

OK? That's me finding fault, because those things can cost you, Tom.

But I like the way your plate is looking, and I have enjoyed it.

Well, I wasn't sure, Tom, but the chefs either side of me

seem more than satisfied.

Hopefully done enough.

Finally, it's Jamie, who's made carrot steak,

served with carrot slaw with orange segments,

carrot puree, fresh ricotta,

ricotta fritters and crispy wild rice.

Jamie, a very interesting idea,

when you talk about a carrot as a steak, cos it does work.

I have to say, quite a surprise.

But it did work. I love the flavour of the carrot steak,

puree's delicious, the ricotta cheese works a treat, piped on.

You've got the crunchy ricotta as well.

And what's really good about this is the refreshing slaw.

Because there's a little bit of orange running through there

that just lifts and zings the palate.

Great combination, great ideas, great textures, a lovely dish.

Well done, Jamie.

I've believed for a while now that you are a very, very clever cook

who thinks slightly differently to most.

And I think this emphasises it here.

Cleverness, creativity, and bags of flavour.

Very good. Very, very good.

For me, I've enjoyed everything on here,

from your take on a carrot steak.

The ricotta which has been deep-fried,

it just comes together really nicely.

Really good to see you come back focused on the challenge and really

deliver what we've asked you to do.

Thank you.

I feel so, so happy.

I don't know where these things keep coming from.

I'm just staring at a table.

I saw carrots, I was, like, "Does anybody else need carrots?

"cos I'm going to take all of these carrots."

Everyone was like, "No, it's fine. You can have them."

-Well done, man.

-Cheers, guys.

Thank you so much for the enormous effort you've put into this today,

and we've tasted some fantastic food.

Two of you unfortunately are leaving us.

Thank you for your hard work. Let us now do some judging.

Off you go.

-Wow! What a day.

-Yeah.

Well, three are going to go through to the next round.

Two of them we've got to send home.

I don't know who that two's going to be.

When it comes to the final, no-one wants to go.

You could feel the disappointment oozing off our final five chefs

that had to cook again, and I absolutely feel for them.

Louisa was close to tears at the start of this cook.

I mean, that's how much it means to her.

She was so disappointed.

I really enjoyed the dish she gave us.

She nailed the brief. It was an invention test with lightness and

freshness and creativity and good cookery, and she did all of that.

I loved the texture of the white asparagus that had been crumbed.

She always has little surprises coming through her cooking,

and that was back in the kitchen this afternoon.

All three of us absolutely demolished Jamie's dish

of carrot steak, carrot slaw and the ricotta fritter.

We loved it. We absolutely loved it. All of us.

I really think that Jamie's carrot dish

was the dish of the invention test for me.

Fabulous dish, especially using such a humble ingredient such as a carrot

to create something wonderful.

-GREGG:

-I really liked Leo's breadcrumbed egg,

and I really liked the pea veloute.

There were some good things on the plate.

The egg was beautifully coated, the chive oil was delicious,

and the egg was lovely and runny in the centre.

But I was slightly underwhelmed by the dish.

We keep telling Leo he needs to push himself.

We know he's a good cook, but there's got to be something extra,

and I still haven't found it.

-GREGG:

-I was slightly disappointed by Tom.

There was bits of Tom's I enjoyed and bits of Tom's that, frankly,

I felt a little disappointed by it.

-MONICA:

-I quite enjoyed it. I thought the plate looked nice.

I thought it was a tasty plate of food. Yeah.

I thought Tom did a really good job. I quite liked his dish.

I liked the lightness of it, the freshness of it.

I thought that Tom had delivered more

than actually the visual aspect of his dish.

I don't think Gareth knew really

what he was going to cook completely.

I just don't think he did the risotto justice

and that, for me, was the main element of this dish.

That was the bit I was so looking forward to.

I did enjoy the feta and potato and sweetcorn.

That was my favourite part on the plate.

I didn't enjoy eating that with the tomatoes and the peppers.

Quite disappointed, because I actually was quite excited

to try this dish.

Yeah, I'd be gutted if I left the competition now.

A little dip in form and, you know, that puts you in serious trouble.

I'm not too sure whether I've done enough yet.

Fingers crossed I have, but I'm not 100% sure.

To go out any time would be gutting, but, you know, I'm hopeful.

Put out a plate of food I wanted to cook, so I'm happy.

I need to remind myself that we're actually,

the decision we're making here, will result in our final six.

It's a big call.

As we said, three of you will be going forward and joining

Matt, Stephen and Craig.

Two of you, unfortunately, are leaving us.

The first chef going through is...

..Jamie.

Louisa, you're also staying with us.

And the final chef we're taking through is...

..Tom.

-Sorry, mate.

-It's all right. Well done.

Well done. You should be proud of yourselves.

Gentlemen, we'll say goodbye to you. Thank you very much.

It's been a brilliant experience.

It's been one of the best experiences anyone could ask for.

I'm gutted, but I'm happy at the same time

cos of what I've achieved here.

After all this, I'll come out stronger.

When you think it's tough in the kitchen,

you'll think back to moments in this kitchen and you realise, you know,

life's not so tough.

You are in the final six.

It's a tough day. Every day is going to be a tough day from now on in,

but I am absolutely delighted, happy and elated to be in the next round.

I'm lost for words right now. Feeling emotional.

One minute I want to cry cos I'm sad

and the next minute I want to cry cos I'm happy.

It feels mega. Yeah, it feels so good, such a big day, today.

Incredibly happy, like over the moon to be in the top six.

Yeah, and then slightly nervous for what's round the corner.

Tomorrow night, the semifinals continue

as the first three chefs take on

one of the country's most inspiring kitchens.

Absolutely amazed. You know, it looks exactly the way that we do it.

Only the best will go through to finals week.

There is nothing I don't like.

You've cooked food here that I would consider to be at two-star level.