Episode 9 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.

Life is too short to be mediocre,

you've got to take risks in life.

I'm here and I'm going to do it.

We are putting so much on the line.

This is what we do for a living.

It is very personal.

I'm not taking anything for granted.

Just really want to push myself and see where it takes me.

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

There's a little bit of confusion with this dish.

Those who deliver will cook for

the country's most discerning food critics.

Well I'm baffled. Not by the dish,

but by anybody who could find fault in this.

Only the best will earn a place in Knockout Week.

I've seen some potential in our six chefs.

They've got to keep that momentum going.

It's an amazing opportunity,

and they're going to have to do something very special today.

Chefs, welcome back into the kitchen.

This is an invention test.

We would like you to cook and serve one plate of food using one or more

of citrus, herbs or spices.

You've done really well to get here.

But now, you've got to prove to us that you are good enough to cook for

our critics. You have some fantastic ingredients behind us.

Please, please, please cook your hearts out.

And at the end of this, two of you will be going home.

Come up and choose your ingredients.

The well-stocked larder also includes a range of proteins,

including seafood, chicken, duck.

Spices, herbs, and citrus - things that we are all familiar with in any

kitchen. Whatever they choose, we have to be able to taste.

So I've gone for all three.

Got a few mixed spices.

Limes, and some chives and some dill.

Just focus on clean flavours.

So hopefully I can get them right.

They've got to use them wisely.

They've got to use them cleverly.

I want these flavours to really shine through.

So I'm using lemons. I want use some lemon verbena.

And just some berries with it as well.

I'm getting nervous.

It could all go wrong.

I think I'm going to go with the herbs.

Keep it a bit more of the fresh notes.

Your mind wants to go a million different ways, but it can't.

It's trying to balance it.

HE CHUCKLES

Right, Chefs, your ten minutes are now up.

Your 70 minutes starts now.

As a chef, I love coming up with new ideas.

Sometimes you try things out and it doesn't work.

But when it does work, it is a good feeling.

I'm hoping that there'll be things that I can do that they might not

have seen before. And impress them.

Chris, what are you cooking?

So I'm actually going to go with citrus and spices.

I was thinking kind of Moroccan-y,

North African sort of flavours.

I'm going to marinate the chicken breasts

with a mixture of some preserved

lemon, some paprika and a bit of ginger in there as well.

Carrots, I'm going to cook in star anise,

and I'm going to make a crumble with some macadamia nuts.

I'm making a reduction which has got the cinnamon in, of chicken stock,

some honey, some orange juice in there.

Do you see yourself reaching for more ingredients

during the cooking time you have?

Possibly, I think, thinking about it now,

the dish could be too sweet. So,

I may have to go back and think of something else I could bring to it

to just balance the flavours out.

I've got an idea, hopefully it will all come together.

Well, good luck to you, Chris.

-Thank you.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

Chris has taken citrus and spices for his dish.

The chicken breast is being marinated in tahini.

There's also some carrots

which he is going to cook with some star anise.

He's got orange zest, he's got a macadamia crumble.

He's got a few bits and pieces going on here,

but this dish is without a doubt still developing.

Although it can be really fun to play with new flavours

and new products you find, I think, at the same time,

you always need to create a delicious plate of the food.

Style over substance, I try and avoid.

And not get carried away.

So I've decided to do a vegetarian dish.

Cauliflower is going to be the main element.

I'm cooking it in sous-vide, in a cumin butter.

I've got some aubergine baking in the oven, in the skin.

I'm going to scoop the flesh out,

and cook it down, finish it with a bit of tahini.

And I'm just going to do like

a roasted cauliflower crumble over the top.

A little curry oil dressing as well.

Are you quite comfortable cooking with spices?

Um... I mean, my mother was from Thailand,

so I do understand to use them in a subtle way, I suppose.

-I like subtle.

-Thank you.

-Really?

-You like hot, don't you?

-That's a first.

-Good luck, Peter.

-Thank you.

-See you.

I like the sound of Peter's dish.

I love the cauliflower idea

and I love adding curry flavour to it as well.

But I think this dish has room for some other elements.

Cauliflower can also work well with something sweet,

and there's a lot more on these tables for him to choose from.

You've had 15 minutes, you've got 55 minutes left.

I would say that developing dishes at work takes a lot longer.

It's a long process because you want to get it right,

so you are always looking for improvement.

But obviously today, you just kind of got to do it on the spot

and just get it right first time.

Louisa has taken citrus and herbs to focus on for her dish.

She's also using the chicken.

She's making a chicken mousse with remaining leg meat.

She's going to stuff a courgette with it.

There is a mushroom and bacon sauce, we also have a cauliflower puree.

Lemon and sage work very well with chicken.

I hope she can get the balance, that we want to taste the lemon,

we want to taste the sage coming through her dish.

Louisa! You have given yourself a lot of work to do.

Yes, I have. Yes, I have. I want to prove to you guys that I can do well

in this competition. I want to give you a really good plate of food

and I really want to go far.

I love your enthusiasm with food. It's incredible.

Do you think you can get all this done in 70 minutes?

-I hope so.

-I was going to say, "Are you going to revisit the table?"

But I hope you don't.

I'm pretty happy with the ingredients I've got so far.

-I might add a bit of colour to my plate.

-No, you've got enough.

Don't do it.

As a private chef, I have to think on my feet.

I've had clients that have wanted one menu

and then half an hour before

they're due to sit down, they wanted something totally different.

So hopefully, in the invention test, that might help me.

I just hope that I don't panic

and that I really think about what I want to do.

Right, Lee, what have you chosen?

The spices, herbs, citrus, what is it?

So, I went for a little bit of all three.

I've got mackerel that I've salt-cured with some dill

and some lime zest.

I've compressed a beef tomato heart with a devilled spice mix -

paprika, coriander, a little bit of turmeric -

and then just compressed it.

And then I'm just doing a chorizo sort of sausage to go on the side.

And then an avocado puree,

just to kind of give it a bit of creaminess and freshness as well.

Is this the sort of food you would cook on a private yacht?

Yeah, it is. Yeah. The yacht I work on is in the Med at the moment,

so I try and base it around sort of where we are and what we're going to

do. So it's sort of based on sort of Spanish flavours,

which is where we were a few weeks ago.

Sure. That's what Marcus and I normally have on our yacht

-when we're in the Med, isn't it?

-Absolutely.

-Yeah!

I love the sound of this dish.

The Mediterranean spices and the flavours.

I really can't wait to see what it looks like

with those fabulous sauces -

they look so colourful.

I hope the spices come through nicely to complement

that beautiful mackerel.

I'd like to show Marcus and Monica today my creativity.

But at the same time, I don't want to stitch myself up.

I want to play it safe, to an extent -

what I know I can do within the time limit.

Yeah, it's just really trying to impress with what I can do.

Craig, what did you take away from the spice, herb and citrus table?

Mainly, I went with the thyme and the juniper.

Sort of like earthy flavours to go with the duck.

I've got some mushrooms, cabbage,

and then I'm doing a little crumb with the thyme and a little bit of

black pudding. And there's juniper going through the sauce.

Right, so you've got just juniper from the spice

and thyme from the herbs.

-That is it?

-Yeah, so I want to focus on those.

OK, good, wow.

Juniper, duck, thyme, wow.

Love the combination.

This is the type of dish I would choose on a menu.

When I first started... It's quite simple -

I like to let the main ingredient be the hero.

So everything else is just sort of complemented and to make that shine.

I've just got to do what I know I can do.

Hopefully, I'm better than everyone else,

or better than some others so that I just stay within the competition.

-Brett, how are you finding the challenge?

-Um...

Yeah, exciting. I'm doing a dessert.

It looks like everyone else went for savoury,

so I thought, "Let's do something a little bit different."

So I'm doing a lemon curd with Italian meringue.

Blueberries poached in a lemon verbena,

stock syrup, and it's got a little crumble of almonds and oats.

Are you using the lemon in any other ways?

-I've made a granita, hopefully...

-Ah!

-Yeah, and I made a lemon granita.

-Right.

I just want to keep everything simple.

I think if there's too much on there, there's too much to compete.

Brett is soaking his blueberries in lemon verbena syrup,

which is a wonderful thing to do.

I love the flavour of lemon in a curd.

Also in a granita.

I like the sounds of his dish.

Chefs, you've got three minutes left.

Wow, it smells extraordinary in here.

It is going to be an exciting tasting for us.

You have just 60 seconds.

Stop cooking, time's up!

Step back.

First up is Chris,

who marinated his chicken breast in preserved lemon, tahini, paprika

and ginger

and served it with star anise carrots, olives,

Macadamia nut and orange zest crumble,

and a chicken stock reduction made with cinnamon,

honey, and orange juice.

Wow, there's a lot going on there.

Great colours.

When we talked to you, you told me you were trying to get Moroccan

flavours here, on your dish.

And I think you've got a bit of that here.

The orange zest coming through with the warmth of the spices,

even with the hazelnuts.

There's something there I can relate to,

but when I've had these Moroccan dishes,

it's been with a stronger bird.

The chicken, it's lovely, it's been cooked well,

but it's lost in the sweetness of everything here.

Especially with that sauce.

There's a little bit of confusion with this dish, in my opinion.

The carrots aren't coming out and the leeks aren't coming out.

I'm not getting one thing singing out to me.

Apart from sweet honey.

A bit disappointed after that round.

I kind of knew some of those comments were coming.

I kind of changed my mind as I was making the dish

and didn't get things quite right.

Craig chose to focus on just one herb and one spice

for his dish of roast duck

with cauliflower puree, Hispi cabbage,

thyme and black pudding crumb,

served with a juniper sauce.

Craig, I love the presentation.

Really crisp and clean.

Well put together, very good.

The duck is perfect.

Absolutely delicious, the cauliflower puree is like silk.

The sauce and the juniper coming through, it's absolutely excellent.

It's got a nice body to it,

but then I was thinking, "Where is this juniper?"

And then just at the end, it starts to come through it.

It's very clever.

Yeah, yeah. Over the moon, obviously, yeah.

I stuck to what I knew, and, yeah, they really liked it, so...

Well done, mate.

It's like, "Phew, done!"

Louisa chose to work with lemon and sage for her dish

of poached chicken breast

served with courgette stuffed with chicken and sage mousse...

..crispy chicken skin,

roasted cauliflower puree,

confit new potatoes, sugar snaps, baby turnips,

mushroom duxelles stuffing,

and a chicken sauce made with mushrooms,

bacon, lemon and sage.

First of all, I'm going to start with that sauce.

That, I think, is probably

one of the best chicken sauces I've ever tasted.

It really is good.

Love the little bit of acid just coming through, the lemon,

but you've got it bang on.

The chicken is so tender as well, so light, it's beautifully cooked.

But when you're going to go to the effort of making a mousse,

then make something out of it.

Make it a real part of this dish.

You actually don't need it.

There's no need to put yourself under that pressure

if it's not going to be something that's outstanding on this plate.

But I love your cooking, you had me at the sauce.

How you got that balance of the lemon and the sage

through it, it's just... Yeah, fantastic.

Although they said that the courgette and the mousse

didn't need to be there, I think I was just trying to push myself

and try to show them different skills I could do

within the time limit.

Lee's dish is salt-cured mackerel, flavoured with dill and lime,

served with compressed beef tomatoes

flavoured with paprika, turmeric, and coriander,

with a chorizo puree, pickled mushrooms, avocado puree,

and blowtorched baby gem.

I think the cooking of the mackerel is spot on.

Especially when you torch it like that, last moment,

and it's with the fish, with the fatty and the skin, it can take it.

The dill is not evident in the mackerel at all.

But because you got it on the top there,

it goes very well with the rest of the dish.

I'm definitely getting the spices in the tomato.

I love the chorizo sauce,

the avocado has got a great freshness about it.

I think it's a really good plate of food, Lee.

Thank you.

Yeah, I'm so happy.

After pretty much 100% positive marks on that dish,

I'm so, so happy.

That's what we like.

It's all I could've asked for, really.

Peter picked spice and citrus for his vegetarian dish

of cumin cauliflower,

served with aubergine crisps and an aubergine paste blended with tahini

and curry powder,

lemon zest roasted new potatoes,

roasted cauliflower crumb, raisins,

and a cumin and lemon zest vinaigrette.

I really like the cauliflower with the cumin. I think it's very subtle.

I love the sweetness that the raisins bring to it,

I think that goes very well with the cauliflower.

But I'm not sold on the lemon potatoes.

I like the ambition, Peter, of doing a vegetarian dish.

But you haven't brought the cumin and curry flavour into this dish

enough for my liking, cos I think the cauliflower could've taken it.

I definitely can cook a lot better than what I showed in that round.

Marcus said it was a little bit too subtle for him, so...

Yeah, I guess he was looking for more.

Finally, it's Brett...

..who decided to focus on the citrus and herbs for his dessert of lemon

curd and Italian meringue...

..served with blueberries, poached in lemon verbena...

...with an almond and oat honey crumb

and a lemon granita.

You got the sharpness from the lemon coming through the curd.

You've got the sweetness from the meringue,

and then the texture from your oats and almond crumble.

Really nice. Top that off with your lemon granita,

and it's the perfect dessert.

You're the only chef that's cooked a dessert in the kitchen today,

and I think you've absolutely nailed it.

When Marcus said I nailed it, I was really happy.

Excited. A lot of things could've gone wrong with that dish,

so I was really happy that I managed to nail it.

Congrats, bro. Looks good, man. It looked nice.

-MARCUS:

-What a fabulous round.

Some great cooking in this kitchen today.

You six should be proud.

You've done a great job, well done.

We've got a lot to discuss.

Go and put your feet up. We will see back soon.

Off you go.

Very happy with our six chefs.

They all came in this kitchen and rose to the challenge.

We do have a problem, we can only take four of them through.

Brett was the only chef that did a dessert today.

And what a great job he did!

For me, he was the chef of the day.

I thought Craig brought a lot of maturity into the kitchen today.

This chef knows how to cook.

Craig and Brett definitely go through.

As for the other four...

Oh, tough one.

Lee cooked a fabulous dish, a Mediterranean mackerel style dish.

But that dill didn't really come through in the flavour of the fish.

But luckily, you had the dill on top of it,

which really brought the dish together.

Louisa is a chef that comes to the kitchen with a lot of work to do.

But she delivered every element of her dish.

The only thing I did not think that belonged on this dish

was the courgette with the chicken mousse.

She could've gotten rid of that and it would have been

the perfect dish for me.

Peter decided to do a vegetarian dish today.

And I liked his ideas,

I just felt that the dish lacked just the strength of the spices

-that he'd used.

-I really didn't like those lemon potatoes, though.

Those could've just been left off the plate for me.

Chris's plate of food was about Moroccan flavours.

I just found it was a bit too sweet for me.

The chicken was beautifully cooked,

but I just felt that the dish was slightly muddled up.

There's been some outstanding cookery in the kitchen today.

It's a shame to lose two of our chefs.

The standard in there today has been fantastic.

Even one negative comment is, you know,

you run that risk of going home.

I'm feeling really hopeful that I've got through to the next round.

I'm so ready to go in again and try to impress more.

Don't quite want to go home just yet.

So, yeah, out of my hands now.

I'd be gutted if I went home,

but, you know, if that's the way it's got to be,

then that's fair enough.

They're just... They're better chefs than me.

I must say, you really did yourselves proud today.

We can only take the best of you through to cook for our critics.

The first chef leaving us today is...

-..Chris. I'm sorry, Chris.

-Good luck, guys.

The second chef leaving us is...

..Peter. Thank you, Peter.

-Well done, guys.

-Thank you, Peter.

-Thank you.

I would have liked to have stayed on a little bit longer and gone a lot

further, but at the end of the day,

I have no regrets about entering the competition.

Just wish I'd performed better on the day.

I know I could've done better,

but the standard of people in there today,

it was just... You couldn't make any mistakes.

Well done. You get to cook for our critics.

I hope you're ready.

This is a fabulous opportunity for you to be noticed

by some of the best critics within this country.

Cook well and you will also get a place in our Knockout Week.

And trust me, you want to be there.

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

Hour and 15 minutes, two courses, off you go.

I don't work for a restaurant. I'm a private chef,

so it's not like I really get critics criticising my food.

So, it'll be interesting to see what they say.

Hopefully, it's all nice and not too bad.

So, it looks like you've opened a few oysters in your time.

Yeah, I used to work at a seafood restaurant when I first started

training and I was an oyster shucker in Australia for a while as well.

-Cool.

-Have you brought some influence from your travels

-into this menu?

-I have.

-I lived in France for a little bit.

So I've got a few little classic French elements on the go.

I'm doing turbot with a beurre noisette emulsion.

Sort of like a hollandaise.

Just some nice poached white asparagus, tempura oyster,

and dessert is madeleines with compressed strawberries,

strawberry gel.

And I've got yoghurt sorbet, some black pepper tuile

and toasted hazelnuts.

Really liked the sound of your menu.

Listen, Lee, you cook on a yacht and I'm sure some of your customers on

there must be quite critical of your food.

Yeah, so I have to speak to my clients at every meal

to make sure it's all right. I have to go through menus every morning.

So literally, you have to go and face the music after every meal.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, yeah.

-This should be plain sailing, then, shouldn't it?

-Yeah, hopefully!

The turbot with the beurre noisette hollandaise,

white asparagus and that tempura oyster,

it may sound simple,

but this dish sounds delicious.

Lee is making some madeleines,

some little cakes which he is serving with a strawberry gel,

some fresh strawberries.

He's making a goat's yoghurt sorbet, which sounds really interesting.

And a pepper tuile.

Pepper and strawberries go very well.

I really like the sounds of Lee's dessert.

Craig, how are you feeling about cooking for the critics today?

Staying as focused as I can.

I've got a lot of jobs that need to get on early.

It's just getting them on, getting stuff set, getting stuff infusing.

-So what's your menu?

-Main course,

I've got John Dory with a octopus and chorizo broth.

And then so I'm doing squid cooked in a cauliflower puree.

And then my dessert, I'm doing a goat's cheese mousse

with sweet and sour veloute, and some compressed apple.

Great menu. And I love John Dory as well.

One of my favourite fish.

Your girlfriend is a chef?

-Yep.

-Have you tried these dishes on her?

No, I haven't had the time obviously, always busy at work.

So, I've only had the chance to practise this once.

-OK.

-So I'm comfortable with what I'm doing today,

it's back to my own food, so... Fingers crossed.

John Dory is a very delicate fish.

There's no fat on it at all,

so the cooking of it has to be just right.

Really like the sound of the broth,

especially with the octopus and chorizo.

Beautiful flavours.

I can't quite see how the cauliflower puree will work

once there's a broth being poured on top of it,

so I hope the cauliflower puree is a little bit on the thick side.

You don't want the puree to split into the broth.

I am really intrigued by this goat's cheese mousse that's going with it.

Getting the mousse to be smooth, with the cream, so it's not grainy.

And of course, the balance of the sharpness of the goat's cheese

to the sharpness of the apple and the sorrel.

It's very different. It's brave.

But this is what we are discovering of our young chef.

He does what he believes in, and he knows what's going to work.

And that confidence, it's kind of rubbing off on me.

I'm happy with what I've got so far.

I've just got to keep up with obviously my standards

and I can't let anything slip.

I've proved what I can do.

I don't want to fall behind in the pack.

I want to stay there, obviously leading.

Hopefully, I can do that.

I'm quite surprised, actually, when I'm in there

and I'm under pressure that

I've actually managed to cope with that pressure,

because that's something that usually I struggle with.

And that's something that I'm trying to improve on myself.

-How are you feeling?

-I'm feeling really nervous.

I've got a lot to do, as usual.

Surprise, surprise!

Yeah, hopefully I can get it done within the time limit.

For my main course,

I have poached halibut with black garlic and pasta sauce,

roasted cauliflower. I have apple, grapefruit, sugar snap peas,

asparagus on there as well as a garnish.

It's a very summery dish.

I also have some yuzu gel in there also.

Wow, Louisa...

Yeah, a lot to do. And then for my dessert,

I'm doing strawberries in a set custard.

And a granola, and a tarragon granita.

And this electric sauce I'm making.

-Say that again.

-Making an electric sauce.

-Electric sauce?

-Yes.

So, I've made it with Szechuan buttons.

Back in the day, they were used as a natural toothache painkiller.

So they actually numb the mouth, so they're very strong on their own.

But when you put them into sauces and into meringues, for example,

they bring that real tingliness to your mouth.

So it could numb your mouth?

It could, if I put too much in, yes.

It would be very funny if you could numb the mouths of those critics,

-wouldn't it?

-Oh, you should put a whole lot more in!

-Put as much as you like in.

-Oh, no, I don't think I'll be doing that.

-Where's the bottle?

-Not today.

THEY LAUGH

Electric glazed strawberries.

I've never heard that on a menu in my life before.

She's very ambitious, but I love that about her.

I do like the sound of the main course,

although there does sound to be a lot going on.

Halibut, roasted cauliflower, we've got grapefruit.

There's some asparagus.

And some green beans going through her main course.

I just hope that she's not trying too hard and it all comes together.

-Brett, what is your menu?

-So, I'm doing pan-roasted brill

with pickled clams, kohlrabi, apple and seaweed.

And then a prosecco sauce and sea vegetables.

And then for dessert, we've got a chocolate cremeux,

praline parfait, sweet and saucy hazelnuts,

and then a chocolate and coffee crumble.

Your last dish was a fab dessert.

I still remember the lemon curd, the meringue and the granita on top.

You've got to equal it, if not better it, with this dessert.

Hopefully, this is better!

Working in a development kitchen,

is this the closest that you've come to doing a service in a long time?

Yeah, actually, yeah, about good 12 months.

-So...

-No wonder you're stressing out.

-Yeah.

Brett's main course, it sounds like a very light dish.

With the pan-fried brill,

the kohlrabi - quite a neutral vegetable,

a little bit on the bitter side.

He's also finishing his sauce with a little bit of cayenne pepper.

So this is going to bring a little bit of heat to this dish.

He's got to really get the fine balance of flavours coming through.

This could be a very bland dish,

but it could also be a very exciting dish if he gets it all just right.

Brett's dessert does sound delicious.

A good parfait has got to be set properly.

You want to be able to cut into it and it still holds.

It's got to be creamy, lovely texture.

And you want to taste the praline coming through it.

I'm hoping just to focus on the flavour, on freshness.

I want to give them a pretty good dish where they've got nothing bad

to say about it. I'm not that kind of chef who wants to wow them

and make them go, "Oh, how has he done this?"

Yeah, I'm just going for good solid cooking today.

The food critics are some of the first customers you get in any

restaurant. They are there to judge your food and to put it out there to

-the wider world.

-This could be the making of some of our chefs.

I really hope they grab this opportunity with both hands

and try and impress.

What I'm hoping to meet is the good taste of a brilliant cook.

And you kind of know it when you see it,

because they haven't decided

to take out blowtorches

or electrocute half the ingredients.

They've put together a bunch of things that they would

like to eat and that they think you would like to eat too.

Sometimes we come here and we get plate after a plate of perfectly

competent, slightly unmemorable food.

Don't play it safe.

You're here to dazzle us, you're here to show off.

So don't play it safe.

The key thing about MasterChef - The Professionals

is that the food that we are tasting

is food that we would pay for.

Make us happy.

Give us texture, give us flavour.

Don't screw with Mother Nature.

Cheers, guys. I'm quite hungry.

Lee, 15 minutes to your main course.

-Are we going to be OK?

-Yeah, touch and go, I think.

-But hopefully it should be all right.

-Go, Lee, go!

There's lots of things going on here.

He can't just cook a piece of fish - obviously he can, he thinks -

but also he can do an emulsion, he can make an oil of parsley.

You know, even that tempura of oyster,

if the batter isn't good enough,

if it is not fresh enough, it could really destroy the whole dish.

Turbot, it's a fine, fine fish.

I want him to cook it perfectly.

And if he ruins it, I will not be happy.

-Lee?

-Yeah.

-You've got four minutes.

Thanks. Are we going to be on time?

Just, I think.

-Are you happy with that turbot?

-A little bit under.

-It's a little bit under?

-Yeah.

You've got to get going soon.

Finish them off nicely. Ready?

-Yeah.

-Off you go.

-Nice.

-Good lad.

-Hello.

-Hi.

Today, you've got turbot that's been poached and then slightly torched

with a celeriac puree, poached asparagus,

beurre noisette hollandaise, a tempura oyster,

and just a bit of parsley oil and some...

-Oyster leaf?

-Oyster leaf, thank you!

Sorry! Sorry!

And some oyster leaf.

-Thank you.

-Thanks.

-Enjoy.

That's a really expensive bit of fish.

And I don't think it's been shown the best of times.

The texture is all wrong.

It's kind of clinging onto itself for dear life.

The asparagus, a bit tough.

The one thing I did like was the tempura oyster.

I think there's lots of good stuff on this plate.

I just think there's something missing,

which is something that would galvanise it all.

We've got a little bit of parsley oil,

but it seems to be there more for colour than for a flavour.

You really are very nice, aren't you?

I'm not sure everything there is good.

I think it's lacking a real push and punch.

It's a very nice dish, you know. And I think not everyone wants to be

challenged and smacked around the face.

You know, he's kind of delivered what he promised.

I think that's fair enough.

I come here for slaps around the face.

That's why I'm here!

The oyster beignet is a little stark.

It's crispy and it has a lovely texture.

The asparagus for me, slightly under,

but it goes very well with the fish.

But the dish all over is crying out for a little bit more seasoning.

Listen, Lee - you've just got dessert to go.

-You've got 15 minutes.

-Thank you.

I'm glad to see that he's actually baking something in the form

of these little madeleines.

Strawberry gel and compressed strawberries, you know,

it sounds like it could tick all the boxes.

But there's a lot of work to do.

Goat's yoghurt sorbet, I hope it doesn't taste too much of goat.

There is a particular stench to goat.

I'm not sure I want that on my dessert.

-Lee? You've got five minutes left.

-Yeah.

-Are we going to be all right?

The ice cream machine has packed up, so I've had to put the sorbet

in the blast chiller, hopefully it will work.

But I'm not 100% sure.

So, the sorbet, are you going to go with it?

Yeah. I think it'll be...

-It's more like a granita, so I'll just say that.

-OK.

That's pressure.

Shame about the sorbet, though.

Thank you.

Today, you've got madeleines with a compressed

strawberry puree underneath,

Black pepper tuile and goat's yoghurt sorbet.

Unfortunately, the ice cream machine broke,

so I had to put it into the blast freezer.

So it's more like a sort of frozen semi-mousse.

Hopefully it still adds to the dish.

-BOTH:

-Thank you.

-Don't worry!

Madeleines are supposed to almost float.

The sponge isn't quite cooked.

And the outside is just a bit too hard.

I quite liked the strawberry sauce.

Though the goat's cheese whatever is really savoury and salty,

it's just not very nice.

-Ooh, ow.

-Are you all right?

Black pepper tuile, it's got a bit of bite to it!

It feels like there's things on the plate that are there for cleverness

rather than for flavour.

The madeleines haven't really risen as best as they could.

-It's a shame.

-It's nice.

It's not great. I'm a little bit deflated for him.

Not good, to be honest.

I just wasn't happy with the food.

Time does go real quick.

There are so many elements to think about and stuff.

Yeah, it's not great.

Craig, you've got a few minutes left.

-How are you looking?

-Yeah, the fish

is in the pan, so I'm just going to start plating.

-Good. Are we on time?

-Yeah.

It looks like macaroni cheese.

John Dory, octopus broth, roasted cauliflower and chorizo,

I think this is good menu writing

because it gives you a whiff of professional capability.

-How's that looking?

-Yeah, not too bad.

Not too bad? It looks amazing!

I'm not sure how you make a broth out of an octopus.

But I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

Roasted cauliflower and chorizo, they work together.

The only issue is will it all overwhelm that lovely delicate fish?

I hope not.

Looking good, smells great, Craig.

Right, your time is up.

There you go.

A little star.

Thank you.

Craig's John Dory has been served with roasted cauliflower,

squid cooked in a cauliflower puree,

baby gem, radish, sea purslane and chorizo, with an octopus broth.

The fish is cooked well.

That little caramelised cauliflower is great.

Lovely sort of nutty bite to it.

And that squid in a cauliflower puree is sensational.

With the seasoning of the chorizo, fantastic.

And I quite like these bits of little gem lettuce

that's there as well,

as well as a little sliver of radish.

What this doesn't need and what doesn't work is the octopus broth.

-But it doesn't need it.

-But on the whole, it's really interesting.

And squid with cauliflower puree is something I'm probably going to nick

as a brilliant idea.

All the flavours that you're looking for, they're all there.

I didn't think the broth would work with the cauliflower puree

on the plate. But it does because he's got quite a lot of squid going

through that puree. To deliver such clarity and flavour under this

pressure is quite something for a 21-year-old.

Now I am really looking forward to the dessert.

Come on Craig, bring it on.

There's a lot of non-sweet, sharp, acidic flavours combined here.

Goat's cheese mousse can be on the acidic side.

Granny Smith apple could be sharp.

Sorrel has an acidic edge to it.

A sweet sorrel veloute?

No. Never been there.

Doesn't mean it's a terrible thing, it's just I have no experience.

I don't want you to rush it, but I really don't want this melting.

Are you all done?

-Yeah.

-Go on.

Thank you.

What you have is a goat's cheese mousse with some compressed apple.

A little white chocolate aero.

Poached apples in elderflower.

And then just on the side, a little apple and sorrel veloute.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

It's a pretty technically clever-looking thing.

I was worried that on paper it looked like Craig's dessert

wasn't going to be sweet enough.

Actually, it's perfectly sweet enough.

You have to eat the white chocolate to sort of temper

the slightly acidic notes of the apple and the goat's cheese.

But it grew on me as I ate it.

It's sweet.

It's delicate.

It's almost a fete, but in a good way.

Wow! Absolutely outstanding.

That is so, so clever.

It's just so light.

It's so easy to eat.

It's a triumph.

For that challenge, it's like asking for the impossible.

It's, like, so demanding.

And obviously, I gave myself a lot to do.

I got it on the plate at the end of the day, so I'm happy.

Brett, you've got about four minutes left.

-What have you got left to do?

-Cook the fish, cook the garnish.

You look like you're a little bit close to the wire here?

I'm very close to the wire. A little bit too close to the wire.

Was that raw kohlrabi that just went in there?

It was, yeah. But I just want a bit of a bite to it,

-so it shouldn't take too long to cook.

-Good luck, Brett.

-Thank you.

I like brill. I cook with brill myself.

It's a really good, firm white fish.

You just have to know when to stop.

Using the clams to add a bit of seasoning, saltiness,

some texture from the kohlrabi and the apple, adding a kind of healthy

note to it. The foraged sea vegetables...

I don't know, something like samphire.

And then the sweetness of the prosecco sauce.

If I was in a restaurant, of course, we'd ask for chips on the side.

THEY LAUGH

We're going to have to get a move on now, Brett.

You're five over now, Brett.

-Are you all done? Good to go?

-Yeah.

-Hurry up.

Thank you. Thanks.

So I cooked for you pan-roasted brill,

with pickled clams,

kohlrabi and apple and sea vegetables.

And a prosecco sauce.

-Enjoy.

-Thank you.

I'm afraid I really don't like this.

And I think what ruins it is the kohlrabi.

If it was softer little bits of potato,

it would have really warmed and sweetened the dish.

The texture of the kohlrabi gives the fish

a sort of rather hard nature.

And I just don't think it works.

What rescues this from just being another dish

is that really gorgeous veloute.

You get a beautiful white wine warmth coming through

-and it's holding everything together.

-Well, I'm baffled.

Not by the dish, but by anybody who could find fault in this.

It's fabulous!

I want Brett scrubbed and brought to my villa by the seaside

just as soon as I can afford one.

HE LAUGHS

It's nicely cooked and I like the way he's cooked his garnish.

A nice, acidic flavour coming from the prosecco,

but I'm not getting as much of the cayenne as I thought.

Just misses the wow factor.

Brett is quite proud of his capabilities as a pastry chef.

You know, he can do a parfait.

He can make a cremeux.

He can turn chocolate and coffee into a crumby thing.

He can not just get hazelnuts, but he can salt and sweet them.

You know?

He's obviously someone who really enjoys and plays with texture.

So it sounds like it could be something that's quite a great,

you know, eating experience.

Happy with the parfait?

It's a little bit softer than what it has been.

Well, that means you're going to have to move a little bit quicker

because it's warm in here, and your plates are not cold.

-That is?

-It's the chocolate cremeux.

You're going to have to move quick, Brett, if you're going to get that

into the critics. That is melting literally as we're looking at it.

-Is that the last bit?

-That's a last bit.

-All right.

Go, go, go!

Oh, dear.

Why put a parfait that's come from a freezer on a warm plate?

Why?

Brett's dessert is a praline parfait served with a dark chocolate

cremeux - a rich, dense set cream -

alongside sweet and salty hazelnuts and a chocolate coffee crumb.

I mean, there's nothing you can't like about this.

You got the lovely saltiness of the nuts.

You've got the crumb, the chocolate.

You've got the ice cream in the middle.

The chocolate mousse is absolutely sensational.

-It's delicious.

-And it's not hugely ambitious, it just tastes excellent.

-You've left a bit, Tracy.

-Oh, here. Go have at it.

Thanks very much. OK.

Hang on!

-You didn't want it, did you?

-No.

-Apparently not.

-Join in, would you?

Mm...

If this was cold, this would be great.

Absolutely love the flavours, love the combinations, love the idea.

It just needed to be colder.

Yeah, it's a pressure of a service.

He's out of practice.

Oh, it's horrible. It's tough, eh?

But, eh... No, you know, I had a go

and just things didn't seem to fall my way.

Lisa is poaching the halibut, she's turning the yuzu into a gel.

She's roasting the cauliflower.

She's got a sauce to make.

And heaven knows what she's doing to the apple and the grapefruit.

Maybe they retain their virtues.

There's a lot here to get done.

These are not things that are traditional accompaniments for fish.

The sauce will need to hold the dish together.

You have three minutes, Louisa.

-How's it going?

-I think I'm going to be on time.

I'm not going to serve the yuzu gel because it's grainy.

I think the plate has enough acidity on it anyway,

so I think it'll be OK without it.

-Let's finish the dish off.

-Yep.

-Is that it?

-No. 30 seconds.

Come on.

You done?

-Yes.

-Right, Louisa.

-Nice, big deep breath.

-Off you go.

I'm so pleased, if something's not right, she leaves it off.

-Yeah, I like that.

-That's good confidence.

-Absolutely.

- Thank you. - Here you go.

I've got for you today some poached halibut,

some roasted cauliflower, parsley and black garlic sauce,

compressed apple, grapefruit...

..crispy pork crackling, asparagus, sugar snaps.

And there was meant to be a yuzu gel,

but I'm not happy to serve it because it's too grainy.

-That's fine.

-Thank you.

Cheers!

I thought, when I looked at it,

she's put these things together for appearances' sake.

You know, there's no real reason to have little bits

of pink grapefruit on a fish dish,

but it's surprisingly successful.

Everything sort of matches, all these tones,

all these textures work together,

and then the parsley sauce is the one thing that brings it together.

I love it, it's really interesting.

Louisa, I think, has that thing we're always looking for - taste.

Really love the flavours, great combinations.

I love the tangy, sweet pink grapefruit that's on the plate.

Yeah, she does really push herself,

but she's given us a good plate of food.

Are we going to be all right for dessert?

-I hope so.

-You've got 15 minutes.

As far as I'm aware, electric glazing is not

a conventional culinary term.

I'm imagining maybe popping candy, that sort of thing,

something that makes the mouth feel electric.

The cool of the granita cut through with the herb

and then, yeah, a bit of crunch.

I mean, I'd order it, I'd give it a go.

I'm worried.

Louisa, how is this electric sauce going on?

Well, would you like to try some?

-Absolutely.

-Yeah?

I'm starting to numb up a little bit, my tongue is swelling.

I might not be able to talk later.

Ah, thank goodness, have some more!

THEY LAUGH

I'm starting to sweat!

You're going to have to be quick.

-OK. Ready?

-Yep.

-Off you go, then.

That electric sauce is a bit weird.

So today, we've got electric glazed strawberries.

We have a white chocolate set custard,

tarragon granita, freeze dried strawberries and a granola.

-Thank you.

-OK. Thank you, you enjoy.

-CRUNCHING

-Oh, my!

I really hope that they get the idea of why I've used Sichuan.

It's quirky, it's different, and I hope they see that.

Are you getting electrified?

-No.

-No.

It sounded like it was going to be something that we'd never had before

that was going to absolutely turn our worlds upside down.

And, in fact, I'm not getting the advertised mouth-numbing

electrified effect from the strawberries.

I'm not mad about that combination

of the tarragon with the strawberries.

There's way too much going on.

She needs to have the confidence in some of these singular ideas

and not throw everything at it at the same time.

Now, this electric sauce, when I tasted it at the bench,

it slowly started to come to life on your palate,

and I'm not getting it when the sauce is mixed onto the dish.

I don't know, overthought maybe,

trying to throw too much at it, and it hasn't worked out

as well as her main course has.

It was a little workout for me.

Exhausting, but it was worth it.

We had a good day in the kitchen - our four chefs came in here,

brought some great energy.

Some ups and downs, as always,

but I thought overall they did themselves proud.

It's going to be a shame to lose one of these chefs.

Craig, for me, is my chef of the day.

I agree. Here's a chef that really understands good flavours,

great ingredients.

He just absolutely inspires you.

Our other three chefs, they all cooked well, I believe,

but there have been issues.

Louisa always puts herself under huge amounts of pressure

with the amount of work she does.

She did a great main course.

I thoroughly enjoyed the flavours.

Her dessert, however, was completely different.

A real shame I didn't get to taste what this electric sauce was about

because that was the real excitement,

the wow factor about her dish that I didn't get.

Lee made us the turbot main course.

It was a nice-looking plate.

But it just needed a touch of salt here and there

just to lift the dish up to a different level.

It's really hard when you take a sponge cake like a madeleine

and try and turn it into a dessert,

and I don't think Lee did that today.

We were both slightly disappointed, and so were the critics.

I really liked the choice of ingredients in Brett's menu.

I loved the ideas,

it just needed to have a little bit more cayenne pepper in the sauce and

it would have lifted the dish.

Brett's dessert didn't look the best,

but it was definitely delicious,

that he got right.

This is close.

You could put any of these three chefs through quite happily

into Knockout Week, but we do need to lose one.

Chefs, thank you for a fab round.

Our critics ate well, we ate well.

It's sad we're going to have to lose one of you today.

The chef leaving the competition is...

-..Lee.

-Thank you.

-Good luck, guys.

-Thank you, Lee.

-Well done, Lee.

-Cheers.

I should have done better, and I could have done better.

Some chefs have a bad day, and today was my day.

Chefs, congratulations, you're through to Knockout Week.

Well done today, great job.

Yeah, final 12, I didn't expect to get this far.

I think the hard work really...

I wouldn't say it starts, I think it just continues.

-Congratulations.

-Congratulations.

-Cheers.

-Well done, guys.

-Yeah, well done.

-Great day in the kitchen, well done.

To get this far, it makes me want to do better.

I'm feeling ecstatic.

Yeah, it's up there, totally.

To get through to the final 12, it's such an achievement in itself.

So, yeah, thrilled to bits.

-You are old enough to drink, aren't you?

-Yeah, yeah, I am.

THEY LAUGH

-Cheers.

-Well done, guys.

Next week, another six professionals...

..fight for a place in the quarterfinal.

Don't worry, absolutely everybody does that.

You are halfway, Chef.

Oh-la-la!

This is absolutely exquisite.

It's a plate of excellence, it really is.