Episode 17 MasterChef: The Professionals

'Only an elite group of chefs holds two Michelin stars.

'Michel Roux Jr is one of them.'

-Two Saint Jacques, now!

-CHEERING

'Now he and MasterChef judge Gregg Wallace

'are on the hunt for Britain's next culinary superstar -

'a professional with the talent to cut it in the world's top kitchens.'

Perfect.

'After four weeks of heats, this is the MasterChef semifinals.'

To get this far is just amazing. Really, really good feeling.

I have to show exactly what I can do. There's no room for failure now.

Today is really judgement day.

You are our eight semifinalists.

You have shown incredible skill to get this far,

but we now believe this is where the competition really begins.

This is a big day,

so we have asked someone else to join us.

Your job now is to produce one outstanding plate of food.

I haven't seen you since the beginning.

Show me how far you have come.

At the end of this, two of you will be leaving the competition.

One hour and 45 minutes. Off you go.

The food's got to look beautiful. Everything's got to look perfect.

To get to the final is everything to me now.

Perry, tell me what your dish is.

We're going simple, strawberries and cream, but I'm going to put a twist on it.

Tell me exactly what's on the plate.

An edible sweet bag, mini sweets falling out of it which revolve round strawberries and cream.

-Are you trying to win MY vote?

-Everybody's vote!

Anything strawberry and cream, he's going to do it.

This plate has eight different elements.

If he can pull this off, we're going to eat well.

Can you hear me over the mixers? You've had 15.

This could be the last dish that I cook today.

I don't want to make silly mistakes and go out feeling disappointed.

Claire, what are you making?

I'm doing roasted loin of rabbit, langoustine and lardons

with apricot, fresh almond and samphire.

-How much would you like to go further?

-It means everything to me.

I'm worried because rabbit is a delicate flavour.

There's a lot going on. Samphire is salty, langoustine, apricot puree!

She has a lot of flavours. She needs to get the balance right.

I want everything to be perfect.

I want them to say, "That's a great dish!"

-What award-winning dish have you got, Matt?

-Strawberry mousse on a shortbread biscuit.

With a sugar tuile on top of that, champagne jellies, basil syrup

-and vanilla ice cream.

-How different is this from the quarterfinal?

This is a different ball game.

If you don't step it up, you're going home.

I don't know if he's tried this recipe before. I hope so.

There's so much work here.

He's got to make basil syrup, poppy seed tuiles, champagne jelly.

If I was making this dish, I'd be sure it worked 110%!

Chefs, 30 minutes gone.

I'm pushing myself very hard today.

If I can get everything correct, I have every confidence

this dish can get me through to the next stage.

Oli, what dish are you making?

Today, I'm cooking lamb three ways, fresh peas and sugar snaps.

-What's at stake here for you now?

-I want to go all the way. I don't want to stop here.

-You've given me a lot of confidence.

-Good to see you smiling.

-Thank you.

I love my lamb crisp,

so you get that intense flavour on the outside.

-It had better be good poached lamb to impress me.

-Poaching sounds like something Grandma used to make!

Guys, 40 minutes has gone.

A few pans going on here, Kim! What's your dish?

Pigeon supreme with confit leg, pate of the liver,

confit potatoes and a port wine sauce.

I'm going to keep pushing myself to give you guys the best dish ever.

Cor! Kim! I kind of believe it as well, mate.

I'm worried for Kim because this is just, to me, pigeon

on a piece of toast with the livers, red cabbage.

There are very little processes on her dish.

She might be playing it too safe.

You've had an hour.

You all got that? You've had an hour!

The judges are always looking for perfection.

Everything's going to have to be flawless from now on.

Have you got any energy left after the quarterfinal, Ash?

I've got a lot of energy today.

Must be that I had more than four hours' sleep!

-What is this dish?

-I'm doing seared fillet of beef with a jamon serrano and potato pave.

-What's a pave?

-It's the shape.

It's usually square but it's going to be rectangle.

Ash's menu today has got gutsy ingredients.

Wonderful cheese from the Basque region, beautiful onions

and a potato pave, he's calling, with serrano ham.

This should be wonderful!

Just under 20 minutes.

It's a huge achievement for me to get this far.

Can it get any tougher? I hope not. I'm sure it will!

-Alison.

-Hi.

-What are you making for us?

-I'm, er...

-I'm making...turbot and marrowbone.

-Served with what?

It's not really a marrowbone. It looks like a marrowbone.

So it's a "marrowbone".

Her marrowbone is not a marrowbone as we know,

but a cylinder of bread, crispy on the outside with a soft centre.

I like that idea.

-Steve, what are you making?

-Monkfish, roasted tail.

I'm going to slow-cook the cheek

and serve that with cauliflower, coconut, curry and crab fishcakes.

-I distinctly remember Michel telling you...

-To rein it in.

Yeah. Watch your timing and don't attempt too much.

-That ain't gonna be a problem!

-Sure?

-LAUGHING: Yeah!

Steve is trying to show us that he has more to his repertoire than just classic cooking.

You've got to know what you're doing if you're cooking that kind of food.

Chefs, listen. You're in your last ten minutes.

You have got just two minutes.

Last 20 seconds. It goes on a plate now or it doesn't go on.

Time's up. Stop.

'First up is 30-year-old sous-chef Kim,

'who has made pigeon supreme with confit leg,

'pate en croute, braised red cabbage puree, confit potatoes

'and a port wine sauce.'

Kim, this is full of skill.

The only let-down for me is your presentation.

It does not do justice to the skill that you've put on this plate.

The pigeon is beautifully seasoned. I love the mushroom in the middle.

I've never seen braised cabbage pureed like this. It's a good idea.

I like it but...the potatoes are not cooked enough.

Who'd believe red cabbage could taste like that? Sharp and really sweet. That's delicious.

Thank you.

I thought I did something that was quite beautiful, quite pretty.

It showed the elements I wanted to express.

The potatoes were a let-down. I can't say if it's enough.

'Freelance chef Ash has cooked a fillet of beef

'with potato and jamon serrano pave, French beans,

'white onion and idiazabal cheese puree and girolles.'

The beef is rare, well seasoned, well cooked.

The potato cake I also like, love the depth of flavour in there.

This Basque cheese is sweet and sour.

I think it works great with the beef,

but I was expecting presentation that was going to blow my mind.

I'm disappointed Michel doesn't like the look. I think it looks lovely.

Sorry, mate!

There's flavours I know and love.

But cheese? Mellow cheese and onion on top of that is the surprise.

I think that's lovely.

Faultless seasoning. Everything goes well.

-I'm very happy to have put you through, Ash.

-Nice, Ash. Thank you.

'25-year-old sous-chef Oli has cooked lamb three ways -

'poached loin, roasted chop and fried sweetbread

'with wild mushroom fricassee, peas,

'broad beans, sugar snaps and a red wine reduction.'

Oli, when I see a plate like this, I'm completely bowled over.

This makes this competition so worthwhile.

-Can it taste as good as it looks?

-I hope so.

The vegetables are beautiful.

I like the fact that the sugar snaps snap. It adds texture and contrast.

Your sauce, the reduction is well reduced.

It's sweet, but the poached lamb and lamb chop, for me, is undercooked.

No doubt you've undercooked two bits of that lamb, but crying out loud!

That is beautiful flavoured food. Beautiful tasting food!

Thank you, Oli.

Thank you very much.

'22-year-old Claire has made roasted loin of rabbit

'with langoustine, lardons,

'potato twirls, asparagus, samphire, a squid ink sauce

'and champagne bubbles.'

Where's the apricot puree?

I couldn't put it on because the time had gone.

That's a shame.

The langoustine have been roasted and they've got a lovely sweet

caramelised flavour and texture.

The rabbit loin, wrapped in ham, has got a lovely play of textures.

It's such a shame you didn't get that apricot puree on there.

That would have given us sharpness and acidity that would have worked.

It's an amazing mixture of flavours that takes a lot of technique.

You're a very talented little chef, Claire. You should be proud.

CLAIRE: 'I'm really happy with the comments.

'I'm honestly shocked'

about how much they enjoyed it.

'Matt has made a strawberry bavarois on a shortbread biscuit,

'champagne jelly, a tuile, vanilla ice cream and basil syrup.'

The bavarois, ever so slightly too much gelatine.

It's a little bit bouncy.

And the champagne jelly, unfortunately, has melted.

I love the biscuit base with the strawberries. It just misses the extra wow factor.

I would not be disappointed if this came up. I'd eat it and enjoy it.

But it would not list as some of my most memorable desserts.

'25-year-old sous-chef Steve's dish is roasted monkfish cheek and tail

'with crab fishcake and a curry, lime and coconut cauliflower.'

I like that because it wasn't what I expected.

My eyes say Europe. My mouth says Asia. Very nice!

The monkfish tail is beautifully cooked. It's very tender and moist.

Your little crabcakes are very good as well.

Everything on this plate goes well.

-Well done.

-Thanks very much.

That went really well. Over the moon. Very, very happy.

'Perry has made his version of the classic strawberries and cream

'by making a white chocolate cup with strawberry ice cream,

'a terrine of strawberries and cream, a strawberry delice,

'chocolate croquant and an edible chocolate bag.'

Perry, first off, I know you've been clever, but my biggest issue is

there's not a strawberry on the plate!

For me, the star is this lovely ice cream.

I appreciate the work that's gone into this,

but it's crying out for something fresh in there as well.

They're all different techniques, yet all the flavours are the same,

except for the crunch of that bag.

I see it from a customer's view.

That coming out to anybody is amazing!

It's like a bag of sweets made out of ice cream and stuff!

I would like to say, "Don't worry about them." But I can't, can I?

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

All I needed was one fresh strawberry and the dish would have been perfect!

'Last up is Alison. She has cooked turbot with baby leeks,

'a pomme puree with a cognac jus, a chicken mousseline,

'langoustine, ceps and a pancetta wrap

'made to look like a marrowbone.'

Alison, the colours are not inspiring.

It's lacking visual excitement, but what does excite me

is this marrowbone - a play on words and it's fun.

The turbot is beautifully seasoned and very well cooked.

The mashed potato is divine.

It's buttery and creamy and works really well.

The marrowbone tastes, in a strange way, like a toasted sandwich.

Not sure it works on this plate of food.

I'm not convinced by the marrowbone replica, but turbot,

seasoned buttery mashed potato is my idea of heaven.

This take on a marrowbone, I love it.

Maybe a few slices of it. This is a lot to eat.

-Thank you, Alison.

-Thanks.

The comments were quite positive.

I just wanted it to be perfect and it wasn't.

I have eaten brilliant food today.

It's days like this when I realise how lucky I am to be a judge on MasterChef. Thank you.

Go and take a well-earned rest.

Right, guys. You know what I think, but I'm going to leave it up to you.

If that is the future of food in Britain, we are in safe hands.

-And you'd better watch your back!

-They wanted it today, you could see.

It was great cooking.

I really enjoyed Oli's plate of food. I thought it was exceptional.

Oli's lamb was undercooked, but it tasted great!

Lamb and truffle and that beautifully made jus? Ah!

Claire's rabbit and langoustine dish was heavenly!

She is getting better and stronger every round.

I really don't want to go out. It means a lot to me now.

Steve gave us monkfish tail, roasted, and the cheek slow-cooked.

-A modern technique which worked superbly.

-It had levels of taste.

It was a European looking dish and it was an Asian flavour.

I think he wanted to make a point of difference. That was brave.

Ash was so strong in the last few rounds,

today, I was a little bit let down.

It didn't have that precision that we're used to seeing from Ash.

But the food he cooked was lovely!

That sweet white onion puree that he blended with that Basque cheese.

Oh! That was good!

Hopefully, I'll be here for the next challenge, but someone's got to go.

We've got to lose two. We can only have six in the next round.

I thought Kim's pigeon was cooked to perfection.

Boy! Did it deliver on flavour!

But there was a cardinal sin! The potatoes were raw.

I think I'm on the fence right now.

I'm hoping and praying it was enough to keep me in the game.

I love Perry. I know you didn't like his strawberries and cream.

I loved it, loved it, loved it. Really good fun and it tasted good.

I enjoyed the ice cream, but everything on that plate

tasted of strawberries and cream that had been blended together.

That's right! That's what was brilliant about it!

Huh!

If I go home because there's no strawberry on the plate I'll be devastated.

Matt did a strawberry bavarois. Loads of good fruity tastes.

But the champagne jelly hadn't set.

And the bavarois was too bouncy.

To go out now would be, yeah, a kick in the teeth, really.

I like Alison's food. I always have done.

Today, I thought her turbot on the baby leeks

with the mushroom in the mashed potato was REALLY good.

It was a great plate of food, but these marrowbone bread rolls

I thought were out of place. They didn't belong to that dish.

What are we going to do here?

We can only put the chefs through that we know are going to shine

in very demanding environments.

We have to be brave and realistic with our choice.

That was a fabulous day,

packed full of really good food.

If you are the future, then the future is fantastic.

I've seen some beautiful work today,

some great food.

And I'm sad because we are going to lose two very talented chefs.

The chefs leaving the competition...

..are...

Matt...

and Alison.

MATT: 'Obviously feeling a bit down but, on the whole,'

got to the semifinals and I'm really happy.

I had a bad feeling about today. It was just one step away.

I just messed it all up.

Well done! That was fab!

It's everything now. I've got to carry on, carry on. It's getting harder and harder.

KIM: This is great. I was convinced I was gone.

This is really good.

ASH: Yeah, I'm stoked. Amazing!

I'll sleep well tonight.

But this is nothing in comparison to what's coming up next!

'Over the next three nights, the semifinalists go head-to-head

'in some of the UK's top Michelin-starred restaurants.'

This is going to be a revelation.

Go, go, go!

They are in for a shock.

-This is taking too long.

-You have to be perfect!

Fast as you can.

The restaurant's asking for the main course. That doesn't happen here.

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