Episode 6 MasterChef: The Professionals

It's the professional MasterChef quarterfinal.

These six talented chefs stood out in their heats.

Tonight, they'll face two more challenges

to test them even further.

The quarterfinals is a whole 'nother ball game.

Didn't get much sleep last night, anyway!

Didn't expect it to be this tough. It's relentless.

You've got to be on your toes all the time.

I think you've got to go for it all guns blazing.

First, they'll have to invent a dish from scratch.

It's a little bit of genius.

Those who deliver will cook for the country's

most discerning food critics.

It's a real bobby-dazzler. It looks gorgeous.

Only the best will earn a place in Knockout Week.

These are the six best chefs from our heats.

They are going to have to deliver something really good today.

They've got to come here wanting to win

and wanting to fight for that place.

Chefs, welcome back into the kitchen and welcome to your quarterfinal.

This is an invention test.

At the heart of it,

there's a beautiful abundance of fresh herbs.

There is everything behind us, from nettles to lavender.

There's mint, there's lemon balm, lemon grass.

You name it, it is here.

We would like you to make us one fantastic dish.

It can be sweet or savoury, but what is important here

is the herbs that you use in your dish.

We don't just want to see the herbs

sprinkled over your dish to finish it.

We want it to be the core ingredient

that's going to bring your dish together.

What you need to do now is prove to us

that you're good enough to cook for our critics.

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

Guys, come up and get your ingredients.

Herbs are a joy to work with.

They can be used in rubs, in marinades, in oils, in sauces.

Using herbs sounds easy, but it's not.

It's about choosing the right herb and the right flavour

and balancing everything with it.

I'm pretty excited about it, yeah.

We use a lot of fresh herbs at the restaurant

and we've got massive herb boxes, so I feel pretty good about it.

There's some beautiful herbs. I might use some lemon grass.

Something in my mind is coming up.

Good challenge. There's a lot of fresh ingredients here.

Some lovely stuff to use and make a good dish, so, yeah...

Yeah, I've got a plan. Yeah.

Now that I'm starting to think,

starting to be a bit more aware of what's going on,

I'm a bit more comfortable.

Right, 70 minutes to cook and serve your dish. Off you go.

To be a quarterfinalist? Relieved.

The worst part was the skills test.

Then pulled it out of the bag for the signature dish.

So, yeah, happy to be here.

The invention test is like a bigger skills test.

It's just a longer period of time to mess something up.

So, hopefully, I just need to take my time

and breathe and think properly.

-Ben, how do you like the challenge?

-Really good.

Makes you use your brain a bit,

and think about all the classic herb...

Different flavour combinations that herbs go with, so...

Well, it's good to hear. And what combination have you gone with, Ben?

I've tried to elevate a few herbs. I've got pork and sage.

So, I'm just marinating the pork with a sage polenta.

I'm going to do some poached apricots

with a bit of lemon thyme.

And I'm going to make a sherry creme fraiche sauce

with a bit of parsley and tarragon through it, as well.

What makes you think this is good enough

to get you through to the critics?

Hopefully, I can get through just by cooking a perfectly tasty dish.

Try and elevate as many herbs in there as possible.

Well, you certainly did that with your signature dish.

-Let's hope you can deliver again with the pork.

-Fingers crossed.

Sage with the pork,

apricots with lemon thyme - I love the sound of his dish.

If it's as good as the lamb dish he cooked

in the signature-dish round, I'm really excited.

I've scraped into the quarterfinals,

so I'm hoping to make amends for that

and try and prove that I'm good enough to be here.

So I have to be on top form today

and impress the judges as much as possible.

What type of dish are you going to be cooking for us?

I'm doing a stuffed chicken leg

with a thyme stuffing, burnt-onion stock,

which I'm going to be then infusing with thyme.

Turnip with some thyme butter, and a nice herb oil, as well,

with chive and parsley.

Just imagine, if you get through to the critics,

-they could discover you and your restaurant.

-I can't wait.

You know, we're a small restaurant in the middle of nowhere,

so don't really get the opportunity very often.

It would be an honour to do it,

so I really want to get to that stage.

Good luck and I hope that this dish gets you through.

-Thank you very much.

-Thanks, Alexander.

-Good luck.

Chicken and thyme - it's a classic.

I just hope that this stuffing with the herbs in

will enhance that lovely flavour of that stuffed chicken leg.

Alexander is then serving this chicken

with a burnt-onion-and-mushroom broth.

These are quite strong flavours in itself,

and I hope we'll be able to taste the herbs through this dish.

It is out of my comfort zone a little bit, being inventive.

I like to be organised.

I'm not a "do it last minute" kind of person.

I like to make sure I'm ready to go more than spontaneous.

Tell me, Leo, what are the herbs you're using in your dish?

Using lovage. Lovage. Not a utilised herb enough,

so I'm going to be making a lovage emulsion.

Cooked eggs, blitzed up, and then making an oil,

and turning the lovage oil into a thick emulsion.

I'm going to make a tomato salad,

dress oil in, some wild mushrooms.

OK. So, you're not sure about protein?

Focusing on the actual...

The herb and the garnish.

Chefs, 35 minutes have gone. You are halfway.

Bit of a mare. My emulsion, it split.

It won't re-emulsify.

Have to go a bit of a different route now.

Leo has had to abandon his emulsion cos it's split,

so I think we're going to get a completely different dish than what we thought.

So, now I'm going to go crab, tomato, basil.

Just classic, proper, good, fresh salad.

Things go wrong in kitchens all the time.

The key to this is having the knowledge to come back fighting

and being able to fix it.

Competition so far has been great.

A bit of a roller-coaster at the start.

With the invention test, I think it kind of highlights

one of my skills as a chef - I'm quite creative on the spot.

So, hopefully, use all my skills and produce something good.

-What herbs did you go for, Tom?

-Tarragon and chives.

So, I've gone for chicken, sweetcorn, leeks,

and a little vinaigrette with some confit shallot.

Going to finish that with tarragon and the sweetcorn.

And then I've got a chive... All that I made there.

I'm going to make an emulsion for the dish.

Tom, you seem a bit nervous.

-Yeah.

-It's a great opportunity.

-Yeah.

-You know, grab it with both hands.

-And, you know, really get into it.

-Yeah.

-OK?

-Thank you.

Well, you've given us a great dish before,

so you've got to do the same again, this time, with the herbs.

-Fantastic. Thank you.

-Thanks, Tom.

-OK?

This dish has got the makings of a really good dish,

but I want that tarragon to come shining through.

It's a lovely flavour, tarragon,

and it'll work beautifully well with the chicken and the sweetcorn.

I'm hoping that they're excited about me from

my signature dish cos I showed what I can do.

There is a lot of pressure to come up with something,

but you've got to do it.

I've won competitions in the past thinking on my feet,

so, hopefully, I can do it this time.

I'm going to do a salad.

-Mm.

-I'm going to do some dressed crab.

I've used chives, dill. I'm using dandelion.

I've made a chive oil, which I'm going to make a mayonnaise from.

A nice vibrant green.

Some compressed, pickled turnip discs.

Then I'm also going to do some charred spring onions.

And, you know, hopefully you're going to like it.

-Are you telling me you're actually just going to make a bowl of salad?

-It's what herbs scream to me.

They scream fresh, nice salad. Summertime.

This salad has got to be good enough

to get you through to cook for our critics.

It does, it does. And I hope it is.

I know it's a simple dish - it's a gamble -

but I've gone with freshness, and, hopefully,

my flavours come through and it's good enough for you two guys.

-Wow. You're a brave boy, Steven.

-Indeed.

Steven has taken chives and dill as his key herbs.

It seems very straightforward,

but I want something amazing about this salad.

He can't just go through on a salad. Can he?

I find it really hard, competition.

So, it's very high-level.

My friends, they call me "last minute",

because everything I decide is on the last minute.

Instinct is beautiful in a chef. It makes you more creative.

Claudia, tell me, what is your dish?

My idea is to do a veg dish.

Cabbage with some crushed potato

with some ratatouille and a sauce

that's made with cardamom, lemon grass, and turmeric.

Why vegetarian?

I think it's a good challenge.

Find a veg dish. Why not?

And I hope you're going to like it. I don't know.

How good is your ratatouille?

It's Italian ratatouille, so... No, it's French.

-I hope it's good, so...

-All right. Good luck.

Thank you.

Claudia's going for really fragrant herbs.

She's got the lemon grass. She's got the lemon balm.

I think the question is, is that the type of herb

that's going to work with the cabbage leaf and potato?

My main concern is that I hope that cabbage leaf has been cooked enough.

I'm kind of not sure why you'd poach

potato in a cabbage leaf.

I'm not 100% convinced,

but I can't wait to see the combination.

Chefs, you have just four minutes left.

Final two minutes.

That is it. Time's up. Step back.

Royally messed up. Oh, everything split on me.

-Oh, really?

-And then I just had to scrap my whole dish

and completely start again.

First up is Ben.

He's cooked pork fillet with sage polenta,

morel mushrooms,

lemon-and-thyme-poached apricots,

crispy sage leaves and roasted spring onions

with a tarragon and parsley creme fraiche sauce.

Ben, a very nice-presented plate of food. Really nice colours.

The pork is beautifully cooked.

It looks a little bit on the pink side,

but it's actually perfect for that particular cut of meat.

The sauce is great.

Polenta is another creamy aspect of the dish, as well.

The flavour is sage.

It's the flavour that I recognise with pork.

The dish is very, very well put together.

The pork is cooked nicely, it's pink,

and the sweetness of the apricot goes very well with this dish.

I could eat this dish without a problem. I could finish it.

I wanted to do flavours that I'm comfortable with,

and that I know, so... Happy.

Alexander chose to use thyme, chives and parsley in his dish.

He has made thyme-stuffed poached chicken leg,

thyme-infused turnip fondants,

a chive-and-parsley emulsion, burnt onions,

thyme and parsley oil,

girolles and spring onions

with a mushroom and burnt-onion broth.

I have to say, there's a lot more

going on on that plate than I was expecting.

-Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

-I don't want to tell you yet!

-OK.

You don't really need two big, white turnip fondants.

And the girolle mushrooms haven't really been

prepped down well enough.

We're talking about refinement now.

When it comes to the herbs, the flavours of them

are coming through in areas but not in others.

The stuffing is good.

I like the flavour of the herbs coming through there.

I would have loved the broth to have

so much more flavour going through it.

There's one item of this dish

that you could've really made fragrant, full of herbs,

and you missed it out.

The stuffed thigh has been seasoned nicely,

but I think you need to get it

to nice and crispy all the way around.

I quite like the stuffing that you've got there.

I think the presentation, I need some work on it.

It isn't as wow as the last dish.

Yeah, I suppose it's mixed emotions. I think I did enough,

but I'm not sure the judges think I did enough.

So, it's just hard to judge and gauge their reaction.

Leo has made a heritage tomato salad...

..with mayonnaise and parsley-dressed crab,

pickled shallot rings, girolles with parsley,

dandelion leaves, cannellini beans, aubergine,

basil pesto and a thyme tomato water.

So, we've got rid of the lovage and the parsley

and we've gone to thyme, basil and dandelion.

And parsley through the crab salad.

-There's parsley in it, as well?

-Yeah.

-Right.

First of all, Leo, I'm really pleased you've changed your dish

cos I wasn't too sure where you were going first time round.

I think the water - tomato water - is really tasty.

I love the freshness of this dish.

The basil, the little dandelion leaves

and the chives running through the dish

and the touch of parsley - they're all very delicate flavours.

I like the tomatoes. You've made them taste really good.

Crab is delicious.

I like your idea. I like the flavour.

And at the end of the day, it tastes good.

I like the dish because crab is seasoned nicely.

It goes very well with the herbs that you've chosen.

I love the tomatoes,

and I really like this tomato broth that you have to go with it.

You know, it's just things that are a bit strange -

to have then a cooked aubergine.

You've got beans and girolles, as well as a pesto.

It's a bit confused, Leo.

The judges' comments - obviously, I was...

I couldn't have been any happier with what Marcus Wareing said.

And, again, with Monica, it wasn't necessarily all bad.

It was positives and negatives.

I took a massive risk, and I did it, and it worked, so...

For his herb-inspired dish,

Tom has made tarragon-stuffed chicken ballotine,

charred leek heart,

girolles and sweetcorn in a tarragon vinaigrette,

and a chive emulsion.

Looks lovely. I like your eye for presentation.

The chicken is beautifully cooked and I like what you've done with it.

It's great. And I like the emulsion on the plate,

and I love the sweetcorn,

and I love the leek.

Everything about this dish has been

executed beautifully well.

Its presentation, your skill,

and your eye for detail is absolutely excellent.

But I'm a little bit surprised that it's missing

the essence of a key herb coming through.

-Tarragon, wasn't it?

-Yes. And chive, yeah.

Tarragon and chives. I'm asking you because I can't taste it.

I think it took great skill to be able to make a ballotine

the way you did with the breast

and cook it perfectly and not dry it out.

The vinaigrette with the sweetcorn and the girolles

brings a nice element to the dish,

as well as the roasted leek heart.

I can taste the tarragon in there,

but I want more of it.

Yeah, I was relatively happy with the dish I gave up.

I didn't want to overdo it, so I kind of maybe played

a little bit too safe, but it's OK.

Claudia's dish is blanched cabbage leaves

with a potato and herb filling,

made with lemon balm, dill, parsley and mint,

with ratatouille,

finished with a turmeric and lemon grass cream.

The potato is still quite moist inside,

and you can taste the lemon balm

that you've put through.

For me, I'm enjoying your ratatouille

more than the potato filling.

I kind of wish you had that inside the cabbage leaf.

I have to be honest with you - the cabbage that's wrapped

around the potato, for me, doesn't really work.

I'd have preferred that to be almost like a croquette

rather than wrapping it in an undercooked cabbage leaf

that really doesn't have a great deal of flavour.

The sauce is quite strong, but it just tastes of turmeric.

So I'm not really getting the fresh herbs.

A bit let down.

I knew that dish could be a nice dish,

but I knew, as soon as I finished, it wasn't that great flavour.

Steven's made a dressed crab salad

in a chive oil mayonnaise topped with dill and dandelion,

pickled turnip and crispy potato strands,

served with charred spring onions, compressed tomatoes and fennel.

I think your presentation's absolutely excellent. Really is.

Very clean-looking, fresh, "ready to dive in" type of dish.

I think the herb content in this is absolutely on the button.

I can taste the dill on my palate, and the crab freshness.

I think the mayonnaise idea is brilliant,

and it works a treat with this

and the little green tomatoes that you've got on the plate.

You've exactly done what we asked, which was give us a dish with herbs.

-And that's what we got.

-Thank you very much.

-Great job. Well done, you.

-Thank you. Thank you.

You've got the dill coming through and the chives,

and then you've got this really lovely surprise

of when you're eating tomatoes

that have been compressed in the chive oil,

and it's just delicious.

It's wonderful, it's refreshing.

It's a little bit of genius.

I don't think words can explain.

I really don't. It's amazing.

You never think, in your wildest imagination,

that you're ever going to get feedback like that.

Yeah, it's out of this world.

-Well done.

-What a great dish.

-Well done, mate. Smashed it.

Some great ideas in there today and some fabulous plates of food. Well done.

The next round means cooking for our critics.

We can only take through the strongest of you.

Two of you will have to leave us today.

I thought, today, we had some good dishes

and some really interesting ideas.

Some of the ideas worked and some of them didn't.

There was a chef in this kitchen today that made a dish

that I thought just made me happy, and that was Steven.

Every mouthful had flavour of herb running through it.

It was fresh, it was light, it was delicious.

Steven cooking for our critics?

Absolutely. Can't wait to see what he cooks for them.

We've got one chef that definitely goes through to the next round.

We have to choose three more.

Ben made us a pork and sage dish.

He cooked the pork loin well, he cooked the garnish well,

and he made a good sauce to go with it.

Sage and pork - we know it works.

He cooked a very good dish today. Ben goes through.

Tom's chosen herb was tarragon.

Lovely-looking plate of food, tasted great,

but I just thought it needed more of that lovely tarragon flavour.

You know, we can praise Tom for cooking a great dish,

but what I want Tom to think about is that if we want herbs,

then that's what we want.

Leo had a bit of a disaster today in the kitchen.

His emulsion wasn't working, but he changed the dish on the spot,

and that shows a very competent chef.

The dish was full of herbs and it had lots of great flavours.

I thought Leo gave us a dish that I thought tasted good,

but there was a lot of ingredients.

I liked the ideas that Claudia was bringing to her dish,

but I don't think she put it together properly.

The potatoes with the cabbage that was undercooked...

I was hoping Claudia was going to wow me with this vegetable dish,

and she didn't quite deliver.

I didn't see refinement from Alexander today.

Quite liked his idea - it was creative -

it just lacked standout herb flavour.

I am a bit disappointed, to be honest,

cos I've seen what Alexander can do.

The broth didn't bring much to it.

If I have to go home today, I'll be pretty devastated.

But to get through to cook for the critics would be amazing.

I'm feeling confident, but then again,

I'm up against five other chefs.

I'll be disappointed with myself if I don't get through.

I hope they're going to choose to give me another chance.

I was happy with my dish. It was the best I could do.

The competition is just getting started now,

so I'd really like to carry on.

Really good day in the kitchen today, chefs,

but the next challenge is cooking for our critics.

We can only take our strongest chefs through.

Two of you will have to leave us.

The first chef leaving the competition is...

..Claudia. Thank you, Claudia.

The second chef leaving us is...

..Alexander.

I think my cooking today was not at its best, maybe.

Did one dish on the day and mine wasn't quite good enough, so...

It's a competition. You play - you can win, you can lose.

So, back to real life.

Buono.

Well done, chefs. But don't get too comfortable.

You've got the critics in the next round.

You have the most wonderful opportunity before you -

to serve your food

to some of the best critics within this country.

You're going to really need to raise the bar if you're going to impress these guys.

You have one hour and 15 minutes to cook eight plates of food.

At the end of today, we're going to be losing one of you.

The three of you left are going to be through to Knockout Week.

Off you go.

There's nothing easy about the challenge for me.

We had an hour and 15 to do our signature dish.

And now we've got the same amount of time to do seven more dishes.

I have to really put my head down, dig my heels in, and get on with it.

How do you feel about cooking for critics?

Nervous! I've cooked for critics before,

but I don't think I've ever cooked for critics this big.

They are top, top, top-end critics.

-All right, tell me what's on the menu.

-You've got sea bass

with cauliflower puree, pickled cauliflower,

cauliflower fondant, some rock samphire with some chorizo,

and then a nice, fresh gremolata just to finish.

Dessert - we've got chocolate delice with poached cherries, cherry puree,

mascarpone mousse and pistachios.

We've talked about pushing yourself. Are you doing this today?

I feel like I'm pushing myself.

I've only tried this dish once and I really hit it hard.

So, fingers crossed I can do it again

and make it as nice as I did the first time.

Ben has got to make sure his sea bass is cooked to perfection.

You want it lovely, soft, succulent.

The skin should be lovely and golden.

I'm expecting a wow factor. That's what I'd like to see.

Ben's dessert is a chocolate delice. Got to get the balance right.

He's got to have that fabulous chocolate flavour coming through from the bitter chocolate,

and then the beautiful cherries to complement them.

This is a great-sounding dessert, but it's all about precision.

This is the quarterfinals, man. You've got to push yourself.

I know I've got two strong dishes, but this is the MasterChef kitchen.

Anything can go wrong!

-Steven, it's looking a bit frantic over here. What's going on?

-Yeah.

-I'm having a little bit of a problem.

-What's happened?

So, I've over-caramelised my white chocolate,

which has never happened before when I've been practising,

but it has today of all days.

So I'm going to have to push on and get through this.

What are you making, Steven?

My main course, you're going to get salted cod with wild garlic,

which I'm going to do a couple of different ways.

Baby gem, some crispy shallots, confit tomatoes.

Quite a rich dessert. Dark chocolate cremeux -

but I'm going to infuse the milk and the cream with a bit of rosemary -

aerated white chocolate, passion fruit curd and some apricot,

which is going to be fresh, compressed in a stock syrup.

-You've got a lot going on there, Steven.

-Yes.

I have got a lot to do. I've been practising.

ALARM PLAYS A TUNE

-SHE LAUGHS

-I need to push on.

-Mm.

Steven's under a huge amount of pressure at the moment.

One of his elements of his dessert has gone completely wrong.

He's had to start melting chocolate all over again.

I love the sound of his menus.

I like the idea of salting the cod before you cook it.

It just draws out a little bit of that moisture

and gives it a fabulous, firm texture.

He's also got crispy shallot rings and potato discs.

Everything has to be spot-on.

The dark chocolate cremeux, which is like a set, rich ganache.

He's making a passion fruit curd. He's aerating white chocolate.

Espuma into an aerating chamber, then into a vac-pack machine,

and then he's got to get that set.

If he gets that done, this will be a wonderful, wonderful dessert.

Definitely got a point to prove,

so the most important thing for me to stay in today is to stay focused,

just think methodically, and deliver a knockout dish.

Tom, tell me about your menu. What are you cooking?

Cod wrapped in pancetta.

Serving that with a romesco sauce, roasted green onions,

Jersey Royal potatoes and some little baby gem lettuce leaves.

Dessert, I'm doing chocolate cremoso.

I'm making a peanut sponge.

I'm glazing that sponge with a miso caramel

and topping that with a toasted peanut praline

and a yoghurt cream on the side.

-Do you like making desserts, Tom?

-Yeah, I love the pastry section.

I really enjoy the satisfaction of making something from scratch,

which is something you don't really get from the other sections

-in the kitchen.

-Do you think your food could get past our critics?

On a good day, these dishes are, for me, really good,

so, hopefully, yeah.

Tom's got his head down at the moment

with a very interesting menu.

He's making a romesco sauce, which is roasted peppers and tomato,

almonds and garlic running through it.

The balance of that has to work very well

with the cod and the pancetta.

Tom's dessert is a peanut sponge.

He's also got miso in this dish, as well,

which is an unusual thing, I think, to put with a dessert,

so I'm really interested to see whether or not it works or not.

I am taking a bit of a gamble.

Definitely. Especially with the main course.

I think it shows a lot in a chef

to be able to push three or four different ingredients

and showcase those ingredients really, really well.

-How are you doing, Leo?

-Yeah, good. Under pressure, but positive.

-Feeling positive.

-What have you got on the menu for us?

A roasted pollock wrapped in burnt cabbage

with a seaweed and smoked caviar sauce,

finished off with some sea herbs.

And then for dessert, I'm doing a buttermilk panna cotta

with some vanilla, and then textures of strawberry.

How much do you want to be in that Knockout Week?

Desperate kind of thing. It's...

I never thought it would be such an adrenaline rush.

It's relentless, but it's exciting. It's why you want to be a chef.

Leo's main course - he's cooking pollock,

and then he's going to wrap it in a hispi cabbage leaf.

I like the fact he's putting dashi through the sauce.

That'll give it a really good, pungent flavour.

For me, you want that cabbage cooked properly.

There's nothing worse than eating undercooked cabbage.

Interesting-sounding dish. Sounds very simple.

There's nowhere to hide on this dish.

For dessert, we have a buttermilk panna cotta

with textures of strawberry.

Buttermilk has a citrus sort of sharpness to it,

which I quite enjoy.

I think it'll go very well with the strawberries.

Hoping he'll pull off some good cookery today

and really impress our critics.

Now, I love MasterChef - The Professionals

because it gives you a snapshot as to what's actually happening

at the coalface in real restaurants up and down the country.

These are professional chefs,

so they'll be judged as if I was judging a restaurant.

Does it taste good? Does it look good?

This is proper, proper cooking at the highest level.

Be brave, be bold, be original.

Do something that really tells me something about you.

-Ben, how are we?

-Good, Chef.

-We've got 15 minutes left to go.

-Yeah.

-Are you on time?

-I think I'm on time.

Just got to pick my samphire, blitz my puree.

Fondant's done. Start pan-frying everything, make it tasty.

So, we've got pan-fried sea bass, cauliflower, chorizo, gremolata.

The chorizo is key to this

cos, otherwise, it's quite one-note and bland.

I think the chorizo will bring that spicy fat to it.

Gremolata is a very punchy, Italian sauce.

The thing that worries me slightly is that

there's nothing there to absorb those strong flavours.

-Ben, you've got four minutes left.

-Yes, Chef.

Are you still going to be on time?

Two, three minutes, Chef. Definitely.

-Final touches?

-Yes, Chef.

Saffron cauliflower, and then dressing. I'm done.

-Done?

-I'm done, Chef.

-Off you go.

Hello. Sorry for the delay.

Thank you.

Today, we've got pan-fried sea bass

with rock samphire chorizo and cauliflower and a gremolata.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

The fish is cooked well. Nice, crisp skin.

The samphire is exceedingly salty.

It's quite brusque, the gremolata.

Even more than usual.

The problem is, for me,

there's nothing that draws this plate together.

I love that creamy, indulgent cauliflower puree.

Also, the cauliflower fondant

just brings out all the nuttiness of the cauliflower.

Everything is cooked perfectly,

but it does lack a sort of extraordinary piece of finesse.

Will I remember this dish in a year?

Probably not. But today, for lunch - very nice.

The combinations, we know, are a given that they work.

There's not really any excitement in this plate of food.

I think he's done a very safe dish.

Way too much lemon juice, for me, in parts.

Let's hope the dessert's got the wow factor we're looking for.

Ben, you've got 15 minutes now for your dessert.

-Yeah.

-Are you going to be on time?

-Yeah.

-Brilliant.

-Thank you.

-Good luck.

Ben's doing a chocolate delice with cherries, mascarpone and pistachios.

This is a pretty classic dessert.

The chocolate delice is quite a complex little thing.

It's a sort of work of patisserie.

It isn't just a bog-standard baked chocolate pudding.

The cherries come in. It reminds me slightly of Black Forest gateau.

-Ben, you've got two minutes left.

-Yes, Chef.

-You'll be on time?

-Yes.

-Are you happy with your dessert so far?

-Yes.

The delice is set. Happy.

-Looking good.

-Thank you, Chef.

Here, we've got chocolate delice with poached cherries, cherry puree,

pistachio and a mascarpone mousse.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

I think Ben's dessert looks absolutely gorgeous.

That lovely, glossy little delice.

HE LAUGHS

Yeah, it's a real bobby-dazzler. It looks gorgeous.

It looked very subtle and sophisticated.

But, actually, the delice,

we're really struggling to get down through the biscuit.

We're almost having to bring out the hammer and chisel to get down there.

The cherry puree is slightly under-sweet.

It's just all a little bit one-note.

It lacks the wow factor.

It lacks that one ingredient or that one technique

that makes you want to jump on the table and howl at the moon.

It's competent,

but in MasterChef Professionals, that's not good enough.

He hasn't raised the bar enough.

The chocolate delice -

it's rich, it's smooth, it's creamy.

And he's definitely got a crunchy base underneath that.

There's nothing surprising on this dish,

but it is executed very well.

-HE EXHALES

-That was a push. That was a push.

I think I've definitely shown a good skill level of cooking.

Nothing about this competition is easy.

It's all hard. It's all hard.

HE EXHALES

Right, Steven, you've got 15 minutes left.

-15 minutes till your main course. All good?

-All good. All good.

Steven's fish dish - cod,

confit tomatoes, spring baby gem, baby leeks and wild garlic.

It lives or dies, this dish,

on whether he can cook that cod loin to perfection.

The thing that does excite me is the wild garlic emulsion -

a vivid, green pool which will bring all these other things together.

That could really make the dish.

It's looking good.

-Nice and green.

-Smells amazing.

-Ready to go through?

-Yes.

-OK.

-Nice.

-Looks good. Love the smell of that sauce.

-Yeah.

-Good afternoon.

-Hi.

There you go.

Today, guys, we've got a salted cod, wild garlic -

different variations of that - confit tomatoes.

You've got a little potato disc, charred baby leeks and gem.

Hope you enjoy.

-CRITICS:

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

There's nice elements about it.

I like that charred lettuce. I like the little chargrilled leek.

The wild garlic sauce is actually good, subtle,

and just that very gentle, warm breath of garlic through it.

I like that.

The potato is just literally a sliced piece of boiled potato.

The confit tomatoes just taste like rather soft, raw tomatoes.

It promises so much,

but it tastes of almost nothing.

The one thing I can say is the fish is cooked well.

The cod is absolutely delicious, seasoned to perfection.

The wild garlic sauce has a lovely tang and zing running through it

with the potato fondant, the burnt leak, the lettuce leaf.

Steven has done a fantastic job with that dish. Wow.

I could go over there and hug Steven right now,

but first I'm going to finish the rest of it.

Dark chocolate cremeux, passion fruit curd,

aerated white chocolate, apricot and rosemary.

Unless he gets the exact right sweetness and denseness

and richness to that chocolate cremeux,

it's not going to work.

There's a danger here because that rosemary may seem clever,

but could completely destroy that dish if he's not careful.

-What's happened, Steven?

-So, I've aerated my chocolate.

I go to put it in the freezer and it's not set.

If you do it again, how long will it take?

Probably about 15, 20 minutes.

Well, you ain't got 15, 20 minutes, unfortunately.

-I'll have to leave it off the dish, then.

-Leave it off?

-Yeah, leave it off.

-OK.

-OK.

Steven, you've got three minutes,

so you've got quite enough time to get that done, OK?

I think it looks great.

It's become a habit of yours - leaving things off your dishes.

-It has indeed, yeah.

-It worked last time.

-I hope it works this time.

-THEY LAUGH

Well done.

Sorry about the little delay.

OK, so, today, you have a chocolate cremeux,

compressed apricots, passion fruit curd,

crystallised rosemary, and, also,

you were meant to have aerated chocolate,

but there was a technical error,

so, instead, I've given you a little pistachio crumb,

-just for a bit of texture.

-Thank you.

-Cheers.

I'm hoping that it was enough.

It would have been nice to have my aerated white chocolate in there.

What can you do?

Well, I feel for Steven, because, obviously, he'd planned a slightly different dish,

which involved the aerated white chocolate.

I'm amazed by the rosemary.

I thought the rosemary - that much of it - would overwhelm,

and you just get a whisper of rosemary.

So, the rosemary's just about judged right.

The technique in the chocolate is fine,

and I like the idea of compressed apricot.

I don't mind the texture of the apricot. It's not bad.

There's one great thing on this dish,

and that's those little dots of passion fruit curd.

My goodness! He's coaxed some lovely flavour out of that.

I like the rosemary.

I am actually a fan of the combination of rosemary

and chocolate together, and I think that actually works quite well.

This is the makings of a stunning dessert.

The passion fruit curd is delicious.

The rosemary - great addition to this dish.

I know he's disappointed that there's been a technical issue,

which has cost him the aerated white chocolate,

but it's still a good-tasting dessert.

-Hi, Leo.

-Hi, Chef.

-How are we doing?

-Nearly there.

My fish is about a minute off.

Going to wrap it in the cabbage and then finish it off in the pan.

So, Leo's a bit trendy, isn't he? Roasted pollock, hispi cabbage,

sea herbs, seaweed.

We have a seaweed and caviar sauce.

I worry if it's going to be too rich and too salty,

so he has to show his skill by holding back

the overwhelming nature of both those ingredients.

It's an interesting dish and I really hope he pulls it off.

-Oh, thanks.

-You're welcome.

This is roasted pollock wrapped in hispi cabbage, sea herbs,

and a seaweed and caviar sauce.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

It looks like the sort of modern Scandinavian or Nordic-style dish

that you might get in any number of fashionable restaurants.

With this style of cooking,

where you're doing something absolutely simple,

everything has to be perfect.

And I'm afraid that this is not perfect.

The main problems - the veins on this cabbage, you want to get out,

cos it's very chewy, you can't cut through it.

He talked about a seaweed and caviar sauce. There was no sauce.

There was a bit of water from the cabbage.

I've got raw cabbage

that's wrapping a piece of fish - I think, slightly undercooked.

I would send this back if I was in a restaurant.

The piece of fish I took was nicely cooked,

but I can see where it was slightly under.

When you cut through the cabbage, you need to really saw through it,

which then damages the fish itself.

If the sauce would have been what I was expecting,

it really could have made the simplicity of this dish brilliant,

but it was just a little bit wishy-washy.

-First time cooking for critics - what was it like?

-Nerve-racking.

-Are you going to be on time with dessert?

-Fingers crossed.

I'm just going to double-check one thing and I should be ready.

A panna cotta, strawberries, and a strawberry sorbet.

This is like Henley in a straw hat.

You know, the sun has got its hat on.

Hip, hip, hooray. I hope!

What have we got left to do, Leo?

Just got to finish off some granola, freeze-dried strawberry gel,

and then sorbet just to finish.

All right, you've got four minutes left to go.

-You done?

-Yeah. Yes, Chef.

-Off you go, Leo.

The dessert's a vanilla buttermilk panna cotta

with textures of strawberry.

So, we've got sorbet, a gel, some freeze-dried and some fresh,

-finished off with some granola just over the top.

-Thank you.

Brutal, brutal, brutal. I wasn't happy with the main course.

Nowhere near happy with it. I was disappointed in myself.

They might like the flavours, so...

..fingers crossed, eh?

This looks very nice and competent. I think it looks like a decent pud.

It's kind of like a really lovely play on strawberries and cream.

That crunchy granola just adds lovely interest and texture to it.

-It's absolutely delicious.

-There are some great elements here.

The panna cotta is actually faultless,

the sorbet is delicious and it's still got a bit of tanginess to it -

it's not over-sweetened, and often sorbet is too sugary.

This is a riot of textures.

The panna cotta wobbles, just as it should.

That sorbet is intense and everything a sorbet should be.

It captures the very essence of a strawberry.

It's a really, really good dessert.

The star of this plate, for me, is that beautiful strawberry sorbet.

It's absolutely delicious.

Just to get that flavour from fresh strawberries is outstanding.

Really good to see.

It's a really lovely dessert.

Really simple. Happily eat the rest of it.

-Tom, you've got ten minutes left.

-OK.

-You going to be OK?

-Yeah.

-Good.

Tom has given us cod, pancetta, Jersey Royals, and romesco sauce.

I love the fact there's Jersey Royals in Tom's menu

because I think they're one of the great British ingredients.

A good romesco sauce should have the sweetness of the red peppers.

It should be vivid, it should be exciting,

it should lift the whole dish up.

Tom, you've got a minute to go.

-You happy with how the cod's cooked, Tom?

-Yeah, it's cooked nicely.

Hey, guys.

Today, I've cooked for you cod wrapped in pancetta,

with a romesco sauce, green onions, and Jersey Royal potatoes.

-Thank you.

-Enjoy.

I like this. There's a sort of... A certain finesse about it.

It's attractive. It's professional. I like it.

Everything on the plate is lovely.

You know, the romesco sauce - kind of warming, nutty,

creamy notes to the whole thing.

The cod hasn't dried out. Jersey Royals.

Everything about it is good.

It's just not very exciting.

The romesco has quite a good whack of chilli in it. I like that.

The fish is well cooked. The pancetta's well crisped.

Tom can cook.

The dish does tastes good. The bacon comes through really well.

The cod's got a lovely moisture to it.

It's a nice-eating plate of food,

but I was expecting a little bit more from Tom today.

-So, you've got 15 minutes now for your dessert.

-OK.

-Is it going to be on time?

-Yeah, hopefully.

Chocolate cremoso, peanut, miso, and yoghurt.

This is a sort of dessert you would see in a high-end restaurant.

The idea of mixing miso and chocolate is interesting.

I think it could work.

Tom, you've got two minutes left to go.

-So, what's left to go on?

-Just the chocolate cremoso,

bit more of the caramel sauce, and that's it.

-You're done?

-Yeah.

-Off you go.

So, the dessert today is chocolate cremoso

with peanut sponge, miso caramel, and a bit of yoghurt on there.

-Thank you.

-Cheers. Enjoy.

-Thank you.

I like the crunch of the peanuts.

I like that lactic sharpness to the yoghurt.

The chocolate is fine. The cake's just odd.

I don't mind mixing sweet and savoury,

but all these discordant flavours are coming together and clashing.

My taste buds are perplexed and worried.

They might have to go to counselling. This is traumatising.

The peanut brittle is really good.

And that, with the chocolate and the yoghurt,

is a nice combination.

There's just something odd about that peanut cake.

The texture has become heavy and dense,

and the miso has added a weird flavour to it.

I can taste the miso coming through.

I'd like a little bit more to offset the sweetness,

but I think it's divine.

Very simple. Very easy to eat.

I really like it. It's a twist, it's different, it's creative,

and that's what we want from our chefs.

That was extremely tough. Time just disappeared straightaway.

All the other rounds we have done so far,

I kind of felt like I did everything I wanted to do,

and there, I didn't, so, yeah, I'm not particularly happy.

I don't think there was one perfect, standout chef.

They all had issues, but it was still a good day in the kitchen.

It's going to be a tough judging.

Steven's main course was exceptional.

Beautifully presented, great colours,

freshness, vibrant flavours coming through.

The critics didn't enjoy Steven's main course as much as we do.

I thought this was a great main course.

Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Steven's dessert - a shame there was an issue,

cos I thought that the aerated chocolate

would have brought the extra sweetness to this.

It wasn't the complete dish - we know that -

but I've really enjoyed Steven's cookery today.

I really want to be in Knockout Week.

I think it'd be the pinnacle of my career so far.

Just have to wait and see now. It's a waiting game, isn't it?

I really liked the way Tom's menu sounded -

cod wrapped in pancetta.

It was tasty, but a little bit safe and not very adventurous.

Our critics didn't like Tom's peanut sponge cake,

but I quite enjoyed it. It had great potential.

I think the miso - it was an interesting combination.

Nice to see a little bit of edge from this young chef.

I'm feeling very average right now. I'm not sure if I've done enough.

Ben gave us the sea bass dish.

Good cooking, tasted nice,

but there's just nothing special about it.

Ben's chocolate delice - the dish did work.

It all sort of came together, but there was no excitement in there.

Such a shame. I wanted Ben to really give us something extra today.

I want to feel confident,

but I don't want to be overconfident about it, so...

I don't want to go home just yet. I'm not ready to.

Leo - his menu sounded really interesting.

The pollock wrapped in hispi cabbage,

served with caviar, but the sauce just lacked flavour.

And it didn't work when you were trying

to cut through the cabbage leaf.

I'm disappointed for Leo because the idea was very good.

But Leo's dessert - that was something else.

Great flavours, great textures, and beautifully executed.

The critics absolutely loved Leo's dessert.

Simplicity done well.

When you nail it, you please everyone.

I've got to the quarterfinal, so it's kind of like,

you want to push yourself and get to that next stage,

and then push a bit further.

I think we have a bit of a dilemma.

Not one chef gave us both dishes done perfectly,

which is what we wanted here.

Who do we take through? Who's our strongest chefs?

What a tough day in the kitchen. Never easy, cooking for our critics.

We can only take three of you through to Knockout Week,

and we've made our decision.

And the chef leaving the competition is...

..Ben.

Gutted, but I'm proud of getting this far

with the calibre of chefs that I was cooking against.

Just going to get back in the kitchen and get on with it!

Chefs, congratulations.

You're through to the Knockout Week. Well done.

Couldn't be happier. I didn't expect it.

I don't know whether to start crying now,

to be nervous, or look forward to it, so...

Really wasn't expecting that result, so, yeah, really pleased. Yeah.

I'm very happy. Over the moon.

It's probably the best thing that's happened so far in my career.

I'm here to win, so I've got to keep my head down,

stay focused, and cook some good food.

-Well done, chefs.

-Thank you very much. Cheers.

-Chin-chin. Congratulations.

-Well done. Well done.

Next week, another six chefs...

..compete for a place in the quarterfinal.

-Is it burnt?

-Yes. Going to start again.

This is all about your food. Really show us what you're made of.

I don't know where you're going to end up,

but I'd like to book a table cos that is lovely.