Episode 5 MasterChef: The Professionals

48 chefs from across the UK are putting their reputations on the line...

..in a bid to become...

Professional MasterChef Champion.

Tonight, six more hopefuls compete to impress

judge Gregg Wallace,

renowned chef Monica Galetti,

and two Michelin-starred Marcus Wareing.

The competition is one of the best in the country,

so it's definitely great to be a part of it.

Every single person that entered into this competition wants to win it,

and it's something that I'd definitely love to

be able to achieve.

I don't like losing.

There's no point in taking part if you're not in it to win.

This is a massive opportunity.

I can't wait to see what they're going to produce.

They're going to have to come in here and show us something special.

Six chefs outside that door,

-waiting to find out what you're going to throw at them.

-Yup.

This is the 20-minute test, what are you going to get them to do?

I'm going to get them to make us any pasta dish.

They've got to prep and use these prawns...

..and I would like them to use some of the ingredients off the larder,

to make us a fabulous sauce.

The key skills I am looking for is going to be the pasta rolling.

The other skill is going to be the preparation and the cooking of these prawns.

I hope that they keep it classic and simple.

It's all right, classic and simple,

but it's also nice to push the boat out a bit.

-Ooh.

-A little bit.

-Really?

-Yeah, absolutely.

-Yeah.

-You guys push the boat out if you want,

I'll have a paddle by the seashore, OK?

MONICA LAUGHS

-Show us how it's done.

-Right. OK, so,

first we are going to prep tiger prawns.

I am going to make a sauce using the heads and the shells.

So, I've only got 20 minutes, but I want a really deep, rich sauce.

One of the best lessons I learnt from you two,

is use the trimmings to enhance flavour.

So now, a little bit of chopped shallot.

Garlic.

This, now, is just all about getting as much flavour out of these ingredients as possible.

SIZZLING

A little touch more salt, because I've added more ingredients.

-Twist of pepper.

-I'm really enjoying watching this.

A little piece of chilli, tomato paste.

Now I'm going to have some brandy.

You'll nearly end up with a haircut like mine, Chef.

Oh!

It's very important that you burn off that raw alcohol flavour.

That is immediately giving off a strong aroma, it's really powerful.

Take the tiger prawns, score down the outside...

We'd expect all our chefs to be able to prepare prawns and, of course, remove the intestinal shoot from it.

You don't want to be eating that when you're eating your pasta dish.

I'm now going to start making the pasta.

I mean, we're giving them the pasta dough here.

Every chef should be able to roll it out and give us some kind of pasta.

-You'd hope so, wouldn't you?

-You would.

So, what I'm going to be making is a tagliatelle.

Our chefs could make pieces of pasta, they could cut it out, they could make a ravioli,

they could make tagliatelle, thick tagliatelle,

they could even cut it into all different shapes if they wished.

The reason why I've chosen tagliatelle is because

I want a pasta dish where the sauce is going to wrap around the pasta.

The other skill is going to be the cooking of these prawns.

I don't want them overcooked, they are going to turn to rubber.

They can't be undercooked either.

So, just looking, just to colour them.

That is a very pretty, pink pan.

And those little prawns, they're a-calling to me.

My sauce has got a really great consistency to it now, so I'm just going to pass that out.

It's a beautiful - it's almost bronze-colour, look at it.

Just into the prawns, a little bit of chilli.

Sage, a touch of preserved lemon.

And a little bit of sauce.

You want it to be nice and sticky.

You are making me very hungry.

It's really nice al dente.

So, I just put a little bit of sauce into the pan.

Just going to drop my pasta into there.

The most important thing with the pasta now

is you want it really coated in the sauce.

-That's it, it's good to go. There's no posh way of serving this, this is just straight in the bowl.

-No.

-No.

There we are. There we are.

There we go.

Yum!

Tagliatelle of pasta, with prawns and prawn sauce.

-Nice.

-It certainly is, Chef.

It certainly is.

And I know that you like your Italian food.

Oh, yeah, I really do.

-Have I got a big enough bit, Chef?

-Yeah.

Mmm!

The prawns, of course, have that natural sweetness.

The pasta has got just the right amount of give,

but the quality and strength and depth of that sauce is beautiful.

I do love the lemon coming through, the preserved lemon.

And, of course, the cooking of the prawns, they are just perfect.

It looks like a simple plate of food,

but it does take a lot of skill to get it right.

I think, actually,

the real challenge here is for them to take a simple bowl of pasta,

as you've done, and elevate it to smart restaurant level.

That's the challenge.

Let's get the chefs in,

I'm fascinated to see what they're going to make of this, fascinated.

Me too.

The first to face the Skills Test, is South African-born Neil...

..who is currently a head chef at a hotel restaurant in West Sussex.

I started cooking when I was 15, and I've never done any other jobs,

it's what I love to do, it's what I'm passionate about doing.

I first started my career in the Ritz Hotel and then went to Claridge's Hotel.

It's sort of instilled into me

the absolute discipline that is needed in the kitchen.

I'm really looking forward to cooking for the masters of our industry.

Service, please.

They'll give their honest feedback, so, yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

-Neil, welcome.

-Thank you very much.

-How are you feeling?

A little bit apprehensive, a little bit nervous,

I'm not going to lie, but, yeah, looking forward to it.

-This is a 20-minute skills test.

-Mm-hmm.

-Neil, the dish I'd like you to cook is a pasta dish using those tiger prawns.

-Yep.

And I'd like you to make a sauce, as well, to go with it,

using some of the ingredients behind you.

-No problem.

-You know what you're doing?

-I hope so, yeah.

-Over to you, Chef.

20 minutes, start now.

So, Neil, work with pasta a lot?

Not a great deal, I have a little bit of experience.

Obviously worked with a lot of Italian chefs,

and sort of picked up the trade from them, really, to be honest.

I'm really looking forward to cooking for them today,

and just showcasing what I'm capable of.

So, Neil, what type of dish are you making?

I'm just going to do, like, a little,

simple tagliatelle pasta with some fresh prawns,

little bit of speck lard on, cherry tomatoes, and sort of like, a creamy,

creamy-style sauce.

I like a prawn with my brandy.

NEIL LAUGHS

-You've had eight minutes, Neil.

-Eight minutes, lovely.

Where are you?

Probably about four minutes from starting to cook my pasta

and then it's just a last-minute put everything together.

Going to slowly start cooking my prawns now, as well.

You've got just three minutes.

-You doing OK?

-Yeah, I'm getting there.

Just finishing cooking the pasta now.

Other one, other one.

You've got a minute, all right, you need to get it in a bowl, finish it up.

-Listen, time's up, so wipe your plate, that's it, that's the end, you're done.

-Yep.

-OK?

-Excellent.

Neil has cooked prawn and tomato tagliatelle.

Served with lardons, lime zest and a shellfish and brandy sauce.

I like your sauce-making.

Your working was good, your attitude was good.

Your dressing of the plate is something else.

A bowl of pasta is a bowl of pasta.

You can't really dress it up with a fork.

The preparing of the prawns, you can leave the tails on.

But you didn't remove the intestinal shoot on the back.

I like the process of what you are trying to do with the sauce

but I thought the method was a bit backward.

The herbs going in later, the chopped shallots

going in afterwards.

But I like what you were trying to put together here.

-GREGG:

-There's a little bit of sweetness of shallot.

There's good seasoning and there's a slight hint of garlic.

The pasta is cooked.

I like your flavours.

I like the texture of your pasta.

Neil, you've got a great approach to the kitchen.

I'm actually quite looking forward to seeing you cook again.

-I think you have potential, Neil. We'll find out later.

-We sure will.

-See you in the next round.

-Thank you very much. Thank you.

He's OK. He's comfortable.

I felt quite happy, to be honest.

It was really a privilege for Marcus to say,

"I like the way you work in the kitchen."

That means more than anything, so I'm quite happy with that.

Yeah.

Next is 27-year-old head chef Richard...

..who works at a hotel restaurant in Ayrshire, Scotland.

My father and my two uncles are chefs.

I learnt a lot from my uncle David. I was a kitchen porter.

It turned out I wasn't very good at being a kitchen porter.

And I got a choice. "Do you want to be a trainee chef, son?"

So I did. It's a lot of hard work.

But it really did come natural.

I think I'm capable of winning.

I think I've got a good plan in my head,

the right skills, the right basic training and the right habits.

So, I'm hoping, you know, if I can get by that quarterfinal stage,

you know, I'll get my teeth right into it.

Richard, I would like you to make a pasta dish using prawns,

garnish and a sauce of your choosing.

-Excellent.

-20 minutes. Do you understand the test?

-Yes.

-Off you go, chef.

-Thank you.

-Do you make lots of pasta?

-Occasionally we do.

From raviolis to fresh tagliatelle.

Could you tell me exactly what it is you're making, please?

King prawn tagliatelle with a fish veloute, cherry tomatoes and basil.

You're halfway, Richard.

Ten minutes left. Plenty of time, right?

Yeah, well, yeah!

Why are you hand cutting it and not cutting it through the machine?

I'm actually just - I'll be honest with you,

I never even noticed there was a ribbon attachment. Sorry.

-Stuck together, right?

-Yes.

You've got just five minutes to finish the prawns,

to finish the pasta and get it all together.

-Come on. Get a move on, chef, please.

-Sorry, guys. Yeah.

You've got just two minutes left, Richard.

-You're going to have to shift.

-Yeah. Come on.

Whatever you want it to be, it's got to be served now.

You're out of time.

-Can't believe it!

-You can't serve it?

I need just a wee quick boil with that sauce.

-Go on, then.

-Sorry, guys.

Do you want to give that plate a quick wipe?

-There we go. You done?

-Yep.

Richard has cooked prawn and tomato tagliatelle...

..with a creamy lemon and fish sauce.

The working method started off OK and then, again,

I think the dish just got the better of you, I think.

-Yep, I would agree.

-A little bit of confusion in areas,

form rolling out the pasta to making your sauce.

It's not really an accomplished dish, and that's without tasting,

-Richard.

-Mm.

Pasta's cooked OK for me. It's got the right amount of give,

that's absolutely fine. Prawns are OK. Got a bit of give to them.

The sauce, I don't like, Richard, I'm really sorry.

-MONICA:

-The sauce is not right.

It's so sharp in lemon, it's all you can taste.

I think the best thing would have been just a bowl of pasta.

It's nicely cooked, it's been cooked well.

Everything else doesn't fit on this dish.

-GREGG:

-Plenty of chefs are disappointed at this stage and then go on

to do really good dishes in the next stage.

That's down to you, of course. Richard, we'll see you

-in the next round.

-Thank you. Thank you.

It never went as well as I'd hoped.

I would do it completely differently, had I started again,

if I'm honest. And get in the right mindframe and go there

and do what I know I can do.

Italian-born junior sous-chef Claudia...

..has been a professional cook for just six years.

I stopped my career as a journalist six years ago

and I start my new career as a chef.

Because I've always been passionate about food.

I grew up in Umbria, so it's at the heart of Italy,

a kind of deep passion to do food.

When I create a dish, I use everything - art, music, emotion,

and a touch of romanticism.

Serve this, please. That way, we can put some love inside the plate.

This is a 20-minute skills test, all right?

Remember to breathe, all right?

-I will. I will.

-Claudia, I'd like you to make us a pasta dish...

-OK.

-..of your choosing, with those prawns,

a sauce and garnish of your choice

-from some of the ingredients behind you.

-Off you go.

You've made pasta before, Claudia?

-Yes.

-OK.

-Deep breath, OK?

Be a chef, yeah? You know how to make pasta...

-Yes, I know.

-Yeah, so, you know.

-GREGG:

-You probably made pasta before you were a chef, right?

I made pasta with my grandma and, probably,

she's going to kill me if I do something wrong.

That's for sure!

-Nine minutes left.

-Wow.

-Did your grandmother teach you to cook?

-Er, yeah.

-Was she a good cook?

-She was.

Claudia, you have three minutes left.

One minute.

Right, come on, finish now.

-Yes.

-Finish.

Chilli on. Time's up.

-Done?

-Yes.

-Finished?

-Yeah, finished.

-OK.

Phew, wow.

Claudia has made hand-cut tagliatelle, with chopped prawns,

tomatoes and chilli,

topped with two whole prawns.

Claudia, the pasta's not been rolled down properly,

so it's still quite thick in parts.

And you cut it by hand, which is fine - I cut pasta by hand as well -

but they've all got to still be even.

I like the prawns. I like the prawns and the sweetness of the tomato,

I do, but where's the pepper?

Where's the chilli? Where's the more flavour?

There is no sauce. The flavour is just fish stock.

You struggled, didn't you?

-Yeah.

-Chin up, eh?

-And come back fighting later, all right?

-Yes, I will.

Off you go.

Ooh!

That's not good.

That's not good.

Wow.

Erm... I was really nervous.

I can't believe...

I can't believe I mistake pasta, which is my DNA.

I really can't believe that.

Probably, my grandma, she's going to kill me, to mistake pasta.

That's for sure.

Next up is Steven...

..a 25-year-old sous-chef...

..working for a private catering firm in London.

I've been a chef for ten years now.

It's a long time.

Yeah, I always wanted to be a chef since I was young.

First got into it when I used to cook for my mum.

I used to love it. And then I went to school.

Obviously, I loved doing it there.

It's the only GCSE I got!

I want to prove to myself that I'm able to be up there with the best...

..and I can cook with the best.

I'm up for a fight. I'm going to take it to them.

How do you feel about this challenge, Steven?

A bit nervous, now that I'm here.

But, yeah, hopefully I can do it and smash it out.

20 minutes, Steven - pasta, prawn. Off you go.

-Right, Stevie, what's the plan?

-I'm going to make a ravioli

and I'm going to put some fresh herbs in there.

And I'm going to make a sauce. I'm going to put the shells in.

-A prawn ravioli?

-Indeed.

What made you enter MasterChef, then, Steven?

Erm, my girlfriend, actually.

-Oh.

-She's the one that was pushing me to do it.

How do you feel about that now?

-Yeah.

-Right now?

-Is she still going to be

-your girlfriend after this?

-Yeah, I think so.

You're halfway, you're going to have to shift if you want

to make ravioli. You've got ten minutes left.

-How do you click it in?

-It's clicking out.

-Yeah, it's just...

-Oh, it's going that way.

-OK, now, Steven?

-Yeah.

-How many are you making?

-Sorry.

You've only got three minutes.

Probably got less than a minute now, Steve.

-Is it cooked, Steven?

-Probably about a minute off.

You've run out of time, but we can give you another minute.

-Shall we have it on a plate, please?

-Yeah.

-OK, all done?

-Yep.

Sorry.

Steven has cooked a raviolo with a prawn, parsley,

lemon and lime zest filling...

..served with spring onion and a brandy and cream shellfish sauce.

-That wasn't great, Steven, watching you roll pasta. It was...

-Yeah.

I felt for you there. Is that how you normally make it?

Definitely not. It's just nerves, I guess.

You've got to get rid of nerves...

-Yeah.

-You've got to put them to one side.

-Yeah.

The ravioli filling, yeah, it's cooked, but it's not right.

It needs to be broken down a bit more.

And the sauce is nondescript.

The pasta's good. It's perfectly sealed.

And the pasta's good enough for me.

But the taste is weird. It's far too salty.

And it's got lime in it, so it tastes like it's Asian, Thai.

But, of course, there's cream then, which you wouldn't find with Thai.

-Yeah.

-Steven, I'm really willing to accept that this isn't how you work,

just by the look of such utter disappointment on your face.

You've still got the next round. But, wow,

you're going to have to leave your nerves in that changing room.

Yep.

-Steven, off you go.

-Thank you.

I think he's much better than this, I really do. I really do.

I wasn't nervous up until the point when I walked through that door,

and then - boom!

Your mind goes completely blank.

I just need to impress them in the next round and, hopefully,

they like my food and my cooking - eventually!

-Hello.

-Hi, David.

-Next is 26-year-old David,

from South Wales...

..currently working as a development chef, devising restaurant menus.

I basically go into people's kitchens,

help them with menu developments,

and anything to make their kitchen a success.

It's different to your normal chef's job.

You get to, you know, explore,

you know, different dishes, different...new ingredients,

create different recipes,

and you implement them in different restaurants.

I feel that I've got enough knowledge

and I can deal with pressure,

so this is why I've put myself into this.

Welcome, David. This is a 20-minute skills test.

-OK.

-Off you go.

-Yeah.

What pasta are you thinking of making, David?

-Erm, I'm just thinking of a tagliatelle.

-Oh, OK.

-Are you Welsh?

-Er, half-Welsh, half-Italian.

Who's Italian - your mum or your father?

My dad is from the southern region, Naples.

-You have got nine minutes left, David.

-Yeah.

David, can I ask you why you hand-cut it and not machine-cut it?

I'm trying to bring on, like, a sort of like a pappardelle.

Righto.

-You've got four minutes.

-Yep.

-Finito?

-Yeah. Si.

Thank you.

David has made a pappardelle pasta...

..with prawns, courgettes, lardons and chilli.

Nice to see you actually cut pasta, which was good.

Prawns prepped nice - shells off, heads off, and you took out

-the intestine tube as well, which is always a good sign.

-Yes, Chef.

Like your pasta, like the flavour, love the little bit of chilli in

there, love the good seasoning. However, this is

MasterChef: The Professionals and you've got to cook

like you're going to send it out to customers,

and I don't believe you'd send it out as scruffy as this.

-No.

-Not a good dish, David, unfortunately.

The prawns are overcooked. The pasta is not cooked very well either.

It is something you would make at home, which is fine,

but you've got to bring it to another level here for us.

-OK.

-OK?

Don't beat yourself up too much.

-See you in the next round.

-Thank you very much.

I hope he's cooking something Italian in the next round.

Definitely a bit annoyed I didn't, er, execute it properly.

I'm going to come back strong in the next round.

Last up is 33-year-old Ben...

..who's been a head chef at a two-Rosette brasserie

in Oxfordshire for the past three years.

The style of food I like to cook is quite rustic.

Very homely. Modern British classics, with a bit of a twist.

What I love about food is everything, really.

It's making people happy with your food.

It's a social event, it brings people together.

It's a competition I never thought I'd enter and...

Service, please! ..after a few years,

I think I've finally built the confidence up to

give it a go, really. Only time will tell!

Hello.

-Big smiley face, Ben. You're obviously happy.

-Yeah, very.

-Very happy.

-Off you go.

Much pasta on where you work?

Er, yeah, we like to use as much fresh pasta as possible.

Nice squid-ink linguini and stuff like that.

That's encouraging.

Tell me what it is that you're going to make for us.

I'm going to make a creamy prawn, chilli and ginger, garlic sauce.

-Right, OK.

-With fresh tagliatelle.

OK.

You know you've only had five minutes? You're doing fine.

Thank you.

So, why MasterChef, Ben?

Er, I thought I would try and push myself a little bit further,

to see where I'm at as a chef personally.

I've never entered a competition before, so I thought, hopefully...

-And you thought this would be the one?!

-Er, yeah, if you're

going to do it, I think try and push yourself in at the deep end a bit.

-Wow!

-Although I'm regretting it a little bit now.

Yeah. Try and enjoy what you're doing, though, Ben.

-Thank you.

-You know? You're saying it's not as nice as you thought it

would be, that's because you're nervous.

-Yeah. Very.

-We've never met before.

If we'd known each other, you'd be a bit more relaxed, wouldn't you?

-I think so.

-OK. Well, now we know each other, can you relax?

Yeah! Yes, Chef!

Great advice!

Good?

Lovely pasta. Perfect.

You've got five minutes left.

-Thank you.

-What's that, fish sauce?

-Yeah, just a little.

Er, you had your raw prawns on that. Ben, you've just put your cooked

-prawns back on the tray with the...

-Yeah.

-..where the raw prawns were.

Yeah. Silly, schoolboy mistake.

-Can you put them back in the pan, then, yeah?

-Yes, Chef.

You've got 90 seconds to get this out, on and in.

Yes.

-All done?

-Yep.

Ben has made prawn tagliatelle...

..with a chilli, ginger, lime and cream sauce, topped with basil.

It's not a pasta that's coated in sauce.

It needed all to come together as one in a pan.

-Mm-hm.

-At least, anyway.

Prawns are cooked OK. Pasta's cooked OK.

It's a very unusual combination of East meets West.

Because I'm getting fish sauce, ginger, chilli -

all the flavours I would expect from an Asian noodle dish.

But then I've got cream, olive oil, basil -

all the things that I would expect to find in an Italian pasta dish.

And, er, it's a bit of a clash, Ben.

Ben, you've got to come back fighting in the next round

-and show us that you mean business.

-Fingers crossed I can do it.

-See you, then.

-Thank you.

Yeah, I don't know what he was thinking.

I don't know what he was thinking.

Awful!

Terrible. Such a bad round.

Not a great start.

I've done a fair few pasta dishes before, definitely,

but I think the nerves and I just went...

completely blank.

Right, six bowls of pasta.

One particularly good pasta, I think, and that was Neil,

our South African.

And then we had one attempt at ravioli, which was more ambitious.

After that, I think it may well be a case of a fair amount of nerves.

-MONICA:

-We are disappointed. We want them to come into this kitchen

-and impress us and do themselves proud.

-They need to

pull their socks up, they need to get their head together.

If this competition has taught me anything,

-it's that things can change.

-Mm.

Now you're cooking your own food and you should fall

into your own comfort zone -

with confidence, clarity and a little bit of flair.

Your cooking now is all about your signature dish.

You really do have to cook from the heart and excite us

with what you've got planned for today.

An hour and 15 minutes to prove just how talented you are.

At the end of this, three of you will be going home.

Off you go.

The judges definitely haven't seen me at my best, no doubt about that.

I just want to prove that I can cook and I can do it under pressure.

Ben, you looked a bit lost at the end of the last round.

How are you feeling now?

Er, a bit more comfortable cooking my own food, I think.

-I hope, yeah.

-MONICA:

-It's good to hear. What's the dish?

Loin of lamb, with pea and mint fregola, charred baby gem lettuce,

lamb sauce and asparagus.

What is it about this dish that I've not seen or tasted before?

Nothing, really, I think you've tasted and seen a lot.

But I'm just hoping to cook the lamb perfectly and make sure that

everything tastes as it should and is absolutely delicious.

OK.

Ben is cooking a saddle of lamb and he's serving it

with peas and mint fregola.

So, it's sort of small, little pieces of pasta,

and he's going to cook as if it was a risotto,

which is an interesting idea.

Ben is making a lamb sauce from all of the bones,

the trimmings, the fat, and he's also using white wine.

Fantastic! That is the wine I want to see in a lamb sauce.

Ben had a tough round in your skills test,

but he does look much more comfortable cooking his own food.

The skills test was a good wake-up call that we're here to actually

compete in a competition.

One more chance to cook for them,

and I need to make sure it's spot-on, or else I'm going home.

-So, what are you making?

-So, I'm doing whole lobster with potatoes,

apples, in a rich shellfish sauce.

There's no... No gigs, no, no...

big machines, no kit, no... It's just simple, honest cooking,

and I'm hoping that I impress youse today.

Where do the apples come into play, please, Richard?

I like apples with shellfish,

so that's really my influence for today's effort.

And make sure they marry well together and they're balanced well.

What do you want to happen today?

I hope youse enjoy what I cook for youse.

And maybe be invited back again.

-Well, that's the key, and that's down to you.

-Yeah, very much so.

Richard, he's got apple gel, confit apples,

there's also an apple puree going with this lobster dish.

Does it work? I have no idea.

My mind is sort of saying, "No, don't do that to the lobster!"

The key to lobster cookery is, when you're blanching it,

you've got to make sure you don't overdo it.

You still almost want it sort of half-cooked,

so you can finish off the cooking just before you serve the lobster.

Lobster overcooks, it's tough and chewy.

The dish will be ruined. No matter what garnishes you put with it,

it will not come back together.

Guys, you've had 15 minutes, you've got an hour left.

My dish is raw, from start to finish.

I'm definitely taking a risk, erm...

And, yeah, time will tell. Yeah.

Neil, you didn't have a bad first round, did you?

You showed a bit of potential, I think.

Er, yeah, I'd like to think so, a little bit there. So, yeah.

-So, what are you going to do now?

-A ceviche of scallop,

with compressed apples, a little bit of apple gel,

and a little bit of orange in the dish as well there,

with some edible garlic chive flowers and red-veined sorrel.

So there's going to be no cooking today?

It's just going to be raw ingredients, treated in the best,

most natural form and...

I know, I know... I know what you mean, I know what a ceviche is,

-I'm just quite surprised.

-Yeah.

-I...I would liken it

to one of the best things I could eat...

-Mm-hmm.

-..for dessert ever...

-Yep.

-..would be a bowl

-of ripe strawberries in the sunshine.

-There you go.

But it would not demonstrate any cookery skill on my part.

-Mm. I understand.

-There's the risk.

-There is the risk, yes, definitely.

Brave lad, Neil!

I am really surprised at this because there's no cooking.

He's used his scallops for his ceviche and it's just a marinade.

From adding the marinade onto the scallop to serving it to us,

timing has to be perfect.

If it's too soon, the scallops will be cooked and won't be edible.

I am a huge fan of ceviches.

I want something absolutely knockout.

It's got to be THE most stunning ceviche we've ever seen.

-If you make a mess, you've got to clear it up.

-I will do.

My signature dish, it's the dish that's always cooked

with my grandma every Sunday.

What I really wish, if some of the judge said, like,

"I can feel your region, I can feel your heart,

"I can feel where you're coming from."

This is probably the best compliment that I can have.

-What is this dish, please?

-It's going to be pigeon breast,

-with pan bagnato, and salt-baked beetroot.

-What's pan bagnato?

Er, pan bagnato is, er, bread,

basically - soaks the juice of the pigeon.

That sounds delicious.

Um, this dish is inspired by cooking with your grandma?

-Yeah.

-That's very sweet.

Does she also serve the raspberry sauce as well with the pigeon?

No, it's my idea.

Grandmother is just pigeon cooked like this.

Do you think Grandma would like your interpretation of her dish?

I think so. Er, if the pigeon is cooked well, yes.

I'm a big fan of pigeon.

She's got salt-baked beetroot, which I love as well.

Goes very, very well with pigeon.

And she's also got raspberry sauce going with it.

Raspberry sauce does work, if it's not too strong.

Personally, I'd enjoy this dish without the raspberry sauce,

I don't think it needs it. But, you know, it's her take, I'm curious.

Guys, you're around halfway.

You've got 35 minutes left, OK?

Yeah, I'm feeling confident about the dish.

I think they're going to like it and it's something I've practised

on a regular basis.

The only pressure is going to be on myself to produce the best dish

of my capability.

-What are you cooking today?

-I'm cooking, er, pan-fried sea bass,

with a chorizo and bean cassoulet, and a crispy hen's egg,

-and some asparagus.

-Why is this your signature dish?

It's just something that...I've developed over the last few years,

and it's based on flavour and there are some different textures.

So, I think you'll like it.

I like the sound of David's dish because when I hear the ingredients,

I want to eat it. But I also want to be wowed by how this dish

-is going to look.

-It's very important that he gets a really,

really good deep flavour with the cassoulet,

and making sure the beans are beautifully cooked.

The dish could be amazing.

I think it's a great balance of flavour.

You've got acidity, freshness, fattiness, you've got everything.

It's going to... It's going to be an explosion on the palate!

-Steven, how do you feel now?

-Hot. And stressed.

But I think we're getting there.

-You're a chef, you're supposed to be hot and stressed.

-Exactly.

-So what are you going to do?

-I've got a lamb loin,

which I've sous-vide, and I'm going to finish off in a pan.

Lamb belly, which I've just crisped up in the oven.

We've got asparagus veloute, to keep it light.

Erm, we've also got stuffed courgette flower,

which we've got with goat's cheese. Then we've got lamb sauce.

And then I'm going to make a morel emulsion.

What?! You've got, like, three different sauces going on here.

-Yeah.

-You've got a lot of work to do here.

-I have indeed.

You may well have come a cropper in the last round because

you may have attempted too much.

-Yeah.

-Are you attempting too much again?

-I've been trying it out

and everything comes together really nice.

If not, then I'll look like an idiot, won't I? So...

There are amazing ingredients on Steven's table

and they all work well for lamb, but all on one plate?

I'm not so sure about.

For Steven to come back with such an adventurous dish in the signature

round is ambitious, it's brave,

and it's exactly what we're looking for from our chefs.

Listen up, you have five minutes, just five minutes!

Agh, it's burst. I left it on the fire too long.

I'm going to leave it off.

That's it! Time's up!

First up is Ben, who's served a loin of lamb,

with a pea and mint fregola...

..charred baby gem lettuce...

..asparagus, pickled ewes' cheese and a lamb sauce.

Your sauce is lovely, sticky, slight sweetness.

The little cubes of ewes' cheese

give it a little bit of saltiness and sourness to it as well.

That's a yummy, yummy dish.

That is a fabulous plate of food.

Beautifully cooked, well executed.

I love the fregola. Complements the lamb,

which is also very well cooked.

You have risen out of the ashes.

-Well done, you.

-Thank you, thank you.

There is nothing different on this plate that I don't recognise,

but what I appreciate is the wonderful cooking

that you've brought to the table.

And achieving that for us is all we ask for.

Great cooking. And I thank you for that.

That's amazing. It's like being dumped and getting back

together with a girlfriend in one day!

Richard's cooked lobster, with confit potatoes,

apple gel, apple balls,

pak choi, samphire, pastry shards, and a lobster bisque.

Richard, you've done a lot and you've put a lot

onto a pretty small plate.

The lobster itself is too chewy, it's overcooked.

And the pak choi doesn't belong on this dish.

The apple certainly doesn't belong on the dish at all.

It's just not quite coming together.

The sauce, for me, is the best thing on this plate.

It's lovely, it's not too heavy on the cream.

It's just too much and, you know,

you need to be able to show restraint.

I'm not enjoying that, I'm afraid to say.

There's far too much going on, for me,

to blend all of those flavours and textures together.

I feel like I'm tripping over one and into another one.

I've had a bad day. Erm, I know I can do better than that.

So, we'll just see how it goes.

Neil has made scallop ceviche...

..marinated in orange, lemon and lime, served with compressed apple,

apple gel,

radish and shaved fennel.

Neil, really like the presentation.

The ceviche, the scallops are very fresh, you get that.

But I'm not getting enough of the marinade.

It's also, for me, very bland.

I don't think it's quite there.

OK.

What concerns me is that the scallop does not taste like it's marinated.

It just feels like you've cut up some scallop and you've put it

onto the plate beautifully dressed,

with some fabulous, fresh, vibrant garnishes. It's not paid off.

-OK.

-Unfortunately.

-Mm-hm.

You've had a pretty good skills test.

With this dish, I think you've actually posed more questions

than you've actually answered.

A little bit deflated. I would have liked to have sort of,

er, wowed all of them with the signature dish.

But, hopefully, they invite me back,

so I can actually showcase some real cooking.

Claudia is serving roasted pigeon breast...

..confit legs,

pan bagnato - a bread soaked in pigeon juice -

topped with offal, baby carrots,

salt-baked and pickled beetroot,

and a raspberry pigeon sauce.

Claudia, I think the pigeon itself,

the breasts are beautifully cooked and tender.

And that is a real knockout sauce.

Works beautifully well with that pigeon.

And I love the idea of the offal on the bread.

But the bread is just a little bit too fatty and oily,

which is a shame because the pigeon and the offal are just so good.

I love everything on this plate, apart from that bread.

That bread has soaked up so much fat, it's greasy.

Your pigeon breasts are soft and beautiful, your beetroot are lovely.

One of them is salty and earthy, the other one is sharp with pickling.

If we could take the bread away, I'd give you a big hug.

-Cos I love it.

-MONICA:

-Claudia,

it's a delicious plate of food, I think you've done your Nana proud.

I'd love to see her sit down and enjoy this.

Thanks.

The compliment of the judge was like, wow.

This is beautiful.

This is what I wanted, so...

..I'm really happy.

David's dish is a pan-seared sea bass

with a chorizo and bean cassoulet...

..served with white asparagus,

topped with a crispy hen's egg and micro herb salad.

The fish is cooked nicely, but, chorizo, tomato, egg yolk, fish,

asparagus... Too much from me.

-MONICA:

-The cassoulet is lacking a bit of seasoning, for me.

It's a cassoulet that's missing a bit of love and care,

and you need to taste that a bit more.

There is really nothing here that's making you go, "Wow!"

The cassoulet needs to be wetter, it's too stodgy,

almost sort of overcooked, and the dish is lacking in flavour.

The fish is beautifully cooked, though.

It's kept its moisture, you've got a nice crispiness to it,

but it's just not hitting all the marks to make it

a really balanced dish, which is such a shame

because I like your idea.

OK, thank you.

I'm feeling a bit deflated. I thought, in my head,

it would have gone down a lot better than what it did.

You know, if it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be.

Last up is Steven who has cooked lamb loin...

..and roasted belly,

potato fondant, asparagus,

pickled baby turnips, pea shoots,

morel mushrooms in a Madeira sauce,

a lamb sauce and asparagus veloute.

Weren't you stuffing a courgette flower at some stage?

I left it in the fryer for a little bit too long.

-I think it's a good thing it's not on there.

-GREGG:

-Yup, I agree.

I think messing it up might be the best thing for the dish.

I don't really like what you've done to those morels, actually,

putting them in the Madeira sauce,

however, everything else on that plate, I absolutely adore,

from your buttery, soft, little,

mini fondant potatoes to those lovely,

highly seasoned bits of belly,

to the turnip that's slightly sour and salty, really great-flavoured.

And a beautiful-looking dish.

-Thank you.

-MONICA:

-It looks lovely.

The lamb is nicely cooked.

The green sauce looks wonderful and, actually,

it's very light and very different from having a lamb jus.

There are pockets of cleverness that I absolutely love as a chef.

I think the belly is clever and delicious.

I love the morels, because you've made something that is a dry,

quite bland ingredient become knockout.

And asparagus veloute shouldn't really live on this dish

but it absolutely does because it just brings everything in harmony.

A great plate of food. I'm really, really pleased for you.

That was a lot better than this morning.

Wow, I'm overwhelmed.

-Well done, mate. You've got to be happy with that!

-Yeah. Definitely.

You never think in your wildest imagination that you're going to get

some feedback like that from Marcus Wareing.

It's amazing, so I'm chuffed.

I don't mind telling you, I feared the worst.

We had some fantastic food, I'm really happy.

Today, there was two standout chefs. Ben and Steven.

Steven's lamb dish looked beautiful,

and to have so many ingredients,

to have something looking so delicate and balanced

was a great surprise from him.

-GREGG:

-He's a clever cook.

-MONICA:

-Ben cooked a great lamb dish.

There was nothing fancy about it, he wanted to give us good cookery,

and that's exactly what he did.

-GREGG:

-He appears to me to be an extremely competent chef,

with a really brilliant understanding of flavour.

-MONICA:

-Richard's plate was very confused.

It was just a lot of different flavours that did not belong

-with a lobster dish.

-The lobster itself, was tough.

It's such a shame, you know, lobster being such an amazing ingredient.

I don't think David was good enough today.

His fish was brilliantly cooked.

The egg, he did perfectly well.

I just don't really see the point of it all together.

-I didn't enjoy it.

-The dish didn't come together.

I'm going to ask you guys, as chefs, about Neil.

He gave us a really beautiful ring of scallop ceviche,

but he didn't cook anything.

-MONICA:

-There was just nothing special about the ceviche.

The flavours didn't come through. It was raw scallop.

-GREGG:

-However, he was the standout from the skills test.

-MONICA:

-Claudia really had a tough round in the skills test.

Her signature round, the real Claudia showed up.

Her pigeon dish, which was a bit of an ode to her grandma,

who taught her how to cook, I thought was lovely.

The presentation was wonderful.

I thought the cooking of the pigeon was spot-on.

The bread was too oily, but I really enjoyed the beetroot.

And then you've got the knockout sauce that sits with it.

-CLAUDIA:

-Well, everybody wants a ride to the final.

What I can say,

I can go better and better and better, that's for sure.

If I happen to come back in the next round,

I'll definitely wow them with a few more intense flavours etc, so, yeah.

Neil had the better first round.

Claudia had better second round.

Your call.

Great signature round.

Well done, you. Well done.

We said earlier that three of you would be going home.

We've made that decision.

David.

Richard.

I'm afraid you are leaving us.

-Sorry, gentlemen.

-Thank you.

-MONICA:

-Thank you.

There is one more chef leaving us.

The third and final chef leaving us is...

-..Neil.

-Thank you very much. Thank you.

Definitely frustrating,

and definitely didn't see sort of my full potential, what I'm capable of.

But it's an excellent overall experience.

Massively disappointing.

Er, however, it's a reflection on how today's went for me, so,

it's a good learning curve.

Definitely a bit gutted to go out now.

Would have liked to get through the first round,

but it is what it is, I suppose.

That was great.

Mamma mia! Wow.

It was a good day because I fell down and then I just came back and

that's made me...really strong.

Gone from the worst day to the best day of my life so far.

It's... What a... What a dream.

It's an unusual feeling.

I'm so happy. But I know there's a lot of hard work to come.

And I'm ready for it.

Ready for the next challenge.

Tomorrow night, it's the quarterfinal.

And this week's best chefs return to prove they have what it takes.

A little bit of genius.

Those who deliver will earn the right to cook for the critics.

My taste buds, they might have to go to counselling.

This is traumatising.