Episode 8 MasterChef: The Professionals

Only an elite group of chefs holds two Michelin stars.

Michel Roux Junior is one of them.

Two St Jacques au pass, now!

ALL CHEFS: Oui!

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.

These five chefs have made it through to the quarterfinals.

Now, they're battling to stay in the competition.

It's really important for me

to perform well today. There's no room for errors.

So I've got to just give it 110% and hopefully I can make it.

I'm just gonna prove that I'm good enough to be here

and cook my heart out and prove

and just show I'm good enough to go through.

You go through them doors, it's another world in there.

But I just think you've got to keep calm, concentrate

and just get it right.

I think the competition is getting very tough.

I don't see any weak links here.

I never thought that I would come so far in this competition.

There's no option for me to go home today.

First they must prove to Michel

and Gregg they've got what it takes with a dish of their own invention.

This is pressure. This is where it gets really tough.

They've got to cook for their MasterChef lives.

If they can't impress us today, they're not ready for what's next.

Only the best chefs will go on to showcase their food

for some of the country's toughest restaurant critics.

Too much going on. It's like someone's thrown up on the plate.

It's the best thing we've had in the dessert department today by 1,000 miles.

We have five talented chefs in front of us.

With all these ingredients, we want one plate of food,

a starter, a main or a dessert.

We have got artichokes, asparagus, mangoes,

lamb, racks of lamb, oysters, poussins.

As a chef, you can only be inspired by these wonderful ingredients.

You will have one hour to cook.

We are going to give you ten minutes to come and choose your ingredients.

Up you come. Choose well.

I'm buzzing, man. The ingredients are amazing.

I'm having a good look. There are some lovely bits here.

Hopefully, I can put it together in a nice dish.

I'm having a think... there's so many ingredients.

It's making the decision right.

All right, make your mind up. You've got a minute to go.

That's it.

You've got one hour to produce exciting food.

Off you go.

Claire is 22 years old. She is fresh out of college, Michel.

Last time Claire cooked, she delivered a beautiful plate of food.

Can she deliver the goods again today?

I'd really like to do well in this competition,

go a lot further, cos it's just so exciting.

Every day's a different challenge and it just keeps getting better and better.

-So what are you going to do?

-I'm going got do roast John Dory with a pine nut risotto.

What is it telling us about you?

Well, I'm trying to show some skill with the prepping of my fish. I wasn't going to do a risotto

but I decided it shows another skill level to it.

How good does your food have to be today?

My food's got be really good.

It's got to be up there today, otherwise I know...

You know what?

I'll be going home... and I don't want that.

Claire is presenting a roasted John Dory on top of a pine nut risotto.

To me that doesn't sound right.

Jonny is a 29-year-old head chef. He has got technical ability.

He was classically trained. He's an extremely knowledgeable chef.

Can he translate all that knowledge

and experience into beautiful food today?

-What dish are you cooking, Jonny?

-I'm doing a Mediterranean zarzuela,

a Spanish-style fish stew with John Dory, razor clam and oysters.

Do you think a fish stew is enough to get you through?

I'm hoping so.

With the sauce and the fresh ingredients

and the way I've done it, hopefully, yeah, I do.

Do you feel you've got a bit of a point to prove?

I feel like I'm 29 now, this is my time to really, really go for it.

It's a fish stew. How is that going to be presented with elegance?

It's an important stage of my life. I'm not getting any younger.

This is make or break, career-wise.

Lori, 27-year-old head chef in a seafood restaurant in Eastbourne.

For me, she's proved she's got a palette.

For me, she's proved she's got beautiful presentation.

Can she combine both of them today?

I think I need to prove I can cook something other than fish.

Just so I can show them I'm not just a seafood chef.

You need to kind of stand out to be safe.

Right, Lori, what dish are you cooking for us?

I'm going to do quail with the liver

and I'm going to make a nice fragrant reduction with it.

Where are you at now, do you think, in your career?

I'm at the stage now where I just really want to improve and learn, I think.

I've reached a certain plateau now

and I'm just trying to push myself forward.

Does it matter if you go out today?

It matters a lot if I go out today, yeah.

I want to succeed. I want to do my best, I want to just prove myself.

Liver and quail are two very different things.

It's not easy to pull them together. I'll be really impressed if she does.

You are half way.

Half way!

# Ready...

# Set...

# GO! #

Steve is a 25-year-old sous chef in Cornwall.

That is one of the best young talents I've ever seen.

He is bubbling with enthusiasm and we know he can deliver the goods.

We just want to see more of that.

I think I've got a lot more to offer and to show them really.

I think I've got a lot more to give.

Hopefully they'll sort of see that in me anyway.

-Steve, what have you created for us?

-I'm creating a little quail dish,

using the quail in a few different ways.

I basically just took the breasts off, made a little farce.

I'm going to poach that. Then another bird I'm going to roast off from the crown.

Then I've got in here the leg, just confiting slowly.

Convince me that you can actually do justice to three different ways of cooking in an hour.

Wouldn't you be better off focusing on one?

No, cos that wouldn't be me.

I'm not going to just cook one bit of quail, cos we're all here.

What's the point in playing simple? Go for it and just be myself and that's what I'm doing.

Steve is attempting four times more work than any other chef in the quarterfinal.

I'm exhausted talking about it. I don't know how he's feeling about it.

I really think it's a bit of a long shot in 60 minutes.

Swami, 27-year-old sous chef originally from India.

He's had no classical training he says. That doesn't matter today.

He doesn't need it. What he needs is creativity and style.

OK, Swami, what does this competition mean to you?

It means a lot to me. I'm striving,

I'm working every single day to go to that level of perfection.

-What are you cooking for us?

-I'm cooking a baked John Dory with sauteed mushroom, shallots

and peas and topped with oysters.

Wow! Swami, why so much?

This is the time I can, sort of a chance for me,

to show what else I can do apart from the regular cooking.

Good luck, Swami.

I believe that when it comes to cooking,

I don't want to restrict myself.

I don't go by too many set rules.

Swami seems to have a lot of different things

that he's trying to bring together onto one plate.

I'm not sure about the identity of this dish.

Last ten minutes!

Three minutes, guys. Your last three minutes.

Plates, plates, plates!

Time is up. Stop.

Sous chef Steve has made quail three ways - roasted, confit and ballotine,

served with celeriac puree, braised shallots and asparagus

with a red wine sauce and girolle mushrooms.

Beautiful presentation.

The little crispy confit of leg is really nice.

You've got different textures going on here,

three different ways of cooking the quail.

You're showing off and showing off your skills. Which I like.

It's delicious. Everything is soft. Everything is flavourful.

It's moreish.

I'd take everything off the plate and then lick the plate.

I'm feeling really good. Yeah, delighted. Good comments.

I'm pretty happy, really.

22-year-old Claire is serving roasted John Dory

with pistachio and rocket risotto, braised shallot and braised fennel.

Scruffy. We are looking for something elegant.

Claire, I'm pleasantly surprised.

Because this looks very scruffy.

But the taste is very good.

The fish has got a beautiful colour.

I like my fish this colour. It means you can eat the skin.

The fennel is delicious, well seasoned.

But the risotto is a little bit too creamy, too rich, too heavy.

I so, so wish that risotto wasn't there. That fish is lovely.

Absolutely lovely.

There is nothing wrong with that dish that tipping the risotto away

wouldn't cure instantly.

It's really frustrating.

I was shocked that they gave me good feedback on the flavours.

Head chef Jonny has made Spanish zarzuela fish stew

with pan-fried John Dory, oysters, roasted baby potatoes, clams,

fennel and asparagus.

The idea of cooking fish stew in a quarterfinal is a risky one, I believe.

I think it looks really nice.

I think it's delicious.

You've got the tomato, the saffron, the garlic, the onion,

and you've cooked the John Dory really well.

-Well seasoned. It is good, very good.

-Thank you very much.

Yeah, it's lovely. That is lovely. It's rich, deep and sweet.

Nice cooking, chef.

I'm feeling really good. I got the chance to do what I wanted to do,

and I feel I pulled it off. I'm really pleased.

Seafood chef Lori has roasted quail with liver

served with berries and bacon with a fragrant red wine reduction.

-Roasted means to me...

-Crispy, yeah.

-Crispy, colourful, yeah?

Especially bacon. This looks poached.

I think the quail and the liver and the bacon

and the fruit inside works.

You just needed to get that bacon crispy on the outside.

I think there are some errors on here. And the biggest error,

I think, is staining all of the meat with the sauce.

You've made everything the same Ribena colour.

Mm.

I didn't like your presentation,

but your meat is soft, and I also like

that liver iron that you give it.

But chewing on the bacon that's not crisped up

isn't right.

I think I've proved to them

the last three rounds that I have something, you know?

I just need to round it off now. I just need to get it more accurate.

27-year-old Swami has made baked John Dory

on a bed of Jerusalem artichoke puree, served with sauteed shallots,

mushrooms, peas, baked tomatoes and an orange and basil dust.

There are bits and pieces on this plate, as a diner,

that make me slightly nervous.

The oysters look like they've been in a fight.

And if the skin isn't crispy, I would remove it or I'd want it removed for me,

because I don't want to eat the soft, almost flabby skin.

Hm...

I really don't like the oyster with it at all.

A nicely cooked fish with the Jerusalem artichoke puree,

peas and wild mushrooms, I love.

The fish is well-cooked. I'm finding it a little bit under-seasoned.

I like, however, the little kick of the dried orange

and a little bit of fresh orange zest on top of there, as well.

The charred tomato quarters are superfluous

and are bringing nothing to this dish.

'Not happy at all.'

Not happy.

Five very different cooks with very different cooking styles,

but we only have four places.

Right now, we're going to have to make a decision, so off you go.

I love these days!

You can see five very different cooking styles there today.

I think the invention test brings out the best in chefs.

It's a chance for them to really shine and express themselves

and we saw that today.

Can I put my favourite forward here? Young Steve. I'm just...

Mate, I love his food!

I am falling in love with his food. That was delicious.

I agree.

He showed a lot of precision in his cooking.

He works like a true chef and his food tasted great.

There's got to be a place in the next round for that lad.

The one I want to mention next is Jonny, because I wondered,

we both did, how Jonny was going to make a stew look smart.

It didn't actually look smart. What it did look was completely inviting.

It tasted great.

Jonny may not understand how to dress food elegantly,

but he does pack a punch when it comes to taste and flavour.

Jonny's through. Let's talk about Claire. Although young, I think she's got flair.

Her plate of food I thought looked a mess, but it was sound cooking.

I'd like to see Claire cook for the critics.

We are left with Lori or Swami.

One of those two has got to go.

Lori does have skills, but I don't think today she properly brought it together.

I thought the liver with the quail was a nice idea, actually.

But she didn't manage to fry or crisp the bacon around the outside,

so the bacon was a little bit flabby.

I agree.

I think I might not have done enough and I'm going home

because of myself and my mistakes.

I don't want to. I just don't want to. I just want to go through again.

The only good points I can say about Swami's John Dory dish

was that the fish was cooked properly,

the girolles and the peas were well done,

and I really enjoyed the dried orange and basil on top,

but the concept of that dish was wrong. It was muddled.

There were far too many elements

coming and fighting each other on that plate.

If I go home today, it's absolutely a disastrous thing.

That's all I can...

Unfortunately, only four places in the next round.

And the chef leaving us today is...

..Swami.

I'm hugely disappointed. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

It hurts, definitely. That's all I can say.

Now you are cooking your food, not just for Michel and I,

but for restaurant critics.

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

Off you go, guys. Do yourselves proud.

The chefs have an hour and a quarter to prepare and serve a two-course critics' menu

which reflects the very best of their cooking.

These critics do not take prisoners. They eat for a living.

Woe betide anyone who gets it wrong.

Steve I think is a class act.

I really like Steve and his style of cooking. I just hope he can turn it on again today.

What two dishes are you cooking for the journalists?

The two dishes I'm doing, the first dish is a duo of rabbit.

The leg and the loin.

And for my dessert, a white chocolate pannacotta

with raspberry mousse, lemon jelly and honeycomb.

-Ooh!

-What's it like in your own words being a chef?

-I love it.

It's my passion, it's my dream. It's everything.

-I just love being a chef.

-What are the downsides of being a chef?

Obviously, we all know, the hours.

I'm quite lucky because my fiancee, she's the head pastry chef, so...

Oh! So, is this dessert her recipe or yours?

Not at all! None of this is her. It's me.

There's no point coming in here and being her.

She's the biggest critic in my eyes and the feedback I got from her was bang on.

I'm pretty confident I will get it done in the time.

Mistakes, in my opinion, should never happen.

If you make mistakes, you've a good chance of going home.

Steve's menu sounds a delight, but there is so much work involved here.

I know he pushes himself. I just hope he hasn't pushed himself too far.

Michel gave him an hour and 15 minutes, not a day and a half!

Jonny really knows how to capture flavour.

If he does that today, that will impress the critics.

I'm massively determined.

You know, you only get one chance, I've said that before.

If you mess something up in there, that's it.

-What are you making?

-For today I'm going to do a luxury fish pie with cod,

smoked haddock, scallop, mussel and lobster.

And my dessert today is going to be a lime tart topped with an Italian-style meringue.

How can you elevate this pie, fish pie,

to the standards that the food critics are going to be looking for?

Hopefully, I'll be able to pull it off today.

I think it could be quite a nice dish.

It's got some lovely bits going into it, and I hope that if I do it well and do it right,

-I'll be OK and they should be happy with it.

-Let's see if you can reach the heights you've reached before.

Is he sure, Jonny? He's going for a semifinal and he's making a fish pie.

Claire's the baby of the bunch. I believe she's got natural ability.

She's going to have to pull it all out today.

Claire's shown an awesome talent for her age.

I just hope the pressure of today doesn't affect her.

I think I'm pushing myself a lot.

I mean, I've made little mistakes throughout the competition,

so my food's got to be excellent.

And if it's any less than that,

I'm definitely going to be going home today.

What two dishes are you cooking today?

I'm doing roasted Cornish sea bass with pickled cauliflower, cucumber, elderflower and lemon puree.

Lovely. And your dessert?

My dessert is lime cheesecake with chocolate sorbet.

I'm going for it today.

I'm focused, I'm just going to keep focused,

I'm nervous as anything, but I'm just going to go for it, do my best.

-Can you do this?

-Yes, definitely.

-Are you sure?

-I'm sure.

I'm just... I'm just happy to be here, and I'm focused and just want to do my best.

Argh!

-Good. Look. We're going to leave you.

-Thank you.

Whoa, Claire is really going for it. Oh, my word!

I didn't realise she had that much ambition. She wants this competition.

If she gets it right, it will blow the critics' minds.

I've seen Lori do beautiful presentation.

I've also tasted some heavenly food from her. Today, she has to bring both of those things together.

I think Lori has got so much promise,

but we really need to see her push herself.

I think they're expecting more from us, more accuracy,

more skill, more invention,

and I don't want this challenge to send me home

and I never got to reach my full potential in the competition.

Lori, what are your two dishes?

I'm doing salmon ballotine with pan-fried scallops,

tiger prawns and a clam tartare.

Dessert is a white chocolate bavarois with vodka-soaked raspberries.

Presentation in these two dishes is everything.

I've got an idea in my head of what I'm going to do.

But I'm definitely aware of the fact that that is something I need to work on today.

-Vitally important today.

-Timings, Lori? What could go wrong?

Er, quite a lot, actually.

I've got a lot I have to do, but I need to get moving.

It's so much work.

Can she deliver the food on time, with beautiful presentation?

You've got 15 minutes now.

These three iconic food critics have tasted hundreds of dishes on Masterchef.

They have seen it all and can spot talent a mile away.

What I'm expecting to see and what I'm hoping to see are possibly two different things.

I don't see the point of cutting them slack. That's...

I'm here to, you know, judge a plate of food honestly.

What we're hoping for is something which really shows off

their skill and something which will really excite us, as critics.

What I don't want to see today are dishes which cross the line

between having that original twist and being novel for the sake of novelty.

We've put the chefs here in this quarterfinal. It's up to them, now, to deliver.

And it better be good. They have to satisfy you, I and some very harsh critics.

Steve, look at the state of this!

You've got seven minutes before you serve the critics.

-You going to be all right?

-What, plated and finished?

-Yeah.

-Probably not, no.

I'm just doing it at speed, now. I'm going at it full tong.

-If I give you ten minutes, are you going to get it out?

-Yeah.

That's going to make you five minutes over. All right.

So, first up is Steve.

He's got a main course of rabbit, roasted loin,

ballotine of leg, carrot puree, confit carrot, broad beans,

fondant potato and morel cream.

I think with rabbit, it can very easily dry out. Interesting to me if it's moist enough.

There's a lot of stages involved. It's a very confident chef

who'd serve a dish like this to food critics.

Lovely work.

-You all right?

-Yeah.

-That's it, cool, well done. Well done!

For his main, Steve has made a ballotine of rabbit on a carrot puree, with roasted loin of rabbit.

It's served with a fondant potato, confit carrots, broad beans

and a morel cream.

There's far too much going on.

It looks like someone's thrown up on the plate.

If you're going for this Morse code style of presentation,

lots of dots and dashes, it's got to look perfect.

Mine is slightly sloppy.

So, the rabbit loin is...not dry,

but not perfectly moist.

I find the fondant potato undercooked.

I had huge expectations on the menu.

When it was delivered, I was disappointed.

Certainly, when I've eaten it, I've been disappointed.

I think you're both being a bit harsh.

I think there's a nice balance of flavours on this plate.

I think the ballotine of leg meat is beautifully done.

There's someone here who knows how to balance flavours really well.

I love this dish as a concept. Beautiful seasoning.

-Shame about pomme fondant, could've done with five minutes more. Not quite cooked.

-Bit much in an hour.

Well done, Steve. Come on, you have got 15 minutes now for your dessert.

So, Steve's dessert is white chocolate pannacotta,

raspberry mousse and honeycomb with lemon jelly.

Looks good to me!

Well, all individually lovely things.

It'll just be completely in how he puts it together on the plate.

Let's have a little butcher's.

Bloody hell, I'm wondering if it's going to actually set.

You're going to have to make a call. Give it another few minutes.

-You've got all your garnish ready?

-Yeah, just need to put it all on.

He's going to have to make a decision.

And I think he's got to serve it,

regardless of the fact that it hasn't set properly.

That's a panna-slurper!

Quick, quick, quick. Motor, motor.

OK, come on, that's it.

Nice, clean plates.

We done?

-Yep.

-Well done.

Good, good, good, good, good.

-Um, I'm not 100% happy with it.

-Thank you.

-I apologise.

Steve's dessert is a white chocolate pannacotta,

topped with raspberry mousse, white chocolate crumbs and honeycomb with lemon jelly.

I imagine he planned an exquisite, round pannacotta, rather than what we have here,

which is basically a plate of jelly and custard.

Maybe it'll taste OK.

You've seen a really basic technical error in that the whole point

of pannacotta is that it's supposed to be set. And it's not.

It may not be what he intended, but I think it's really delicious.

As with Steve's first course, we have a really nice balance of flavours here.

This is someone who understands how to make flavours work together.

I think Steve knows what he's doing, but is having an off day.

Ah, it's a shame. I don't think he's got the look right.

I think there's too many primary colours.

And it hasn't set, but it still tastes very good.

Not very good. Not good at all. Dessert just wouldn't set.

I don't know why, it just wouldn't set.

Jonny, you've got two minutes.

-Thanks, Chef.

-Are you all right, Chef?

-I think so.

-I don't want to send it out mucky, you know?

-No, that's cool, that's attention to detail that we want.

I don't want to be too crushing about Jonny, but surely the words,

"luxury fish pie" should only be seen in a supermarket finest range.

It's not something we normally see on a menu.

I get the whiff of the amateur with the word "luxury".

I think that's for us to judge, whether or not it's luxurious.

Where's your veg?

-Just here.

-Fine.

-I've got it.

-Well done, Jonny.

Bit quicker, Jonny, they're waiting. I like that, come on, mate!

-OK, no accidents?

-No.

-Um...

-Hmm...

Jonny's fish pie contains cod, haddock, scallop and lobster

and it's topped with nutmeg mash.

He's served it with asparagus and wilted spinach.

It's a little bit wet in there, Chef.

He's trying to keep the fish alive!

I'm not sure the critics will be impressed with this. I'm certainly not.

Well, this isn't really a very inviting looking dish, is it?

The presentation of this is catastrophic.

The contrast between this so-called luxury fish pie,

which, on the menu, suggests an element of sophistication,

and it's completely unsophisticated.

I finally found a piece of lobster and, yes,

the piece of lobster was overcooked and stringy.

I think it's a really terrible dish.

If "luxury" is too cheesy, completely gooey, totally liquid,

then that's what this is, but, to be honest, this is a complete disaster.

-Couple of minutes to go now, Jonny, come on.

-Chef.

'So, Jonny's given us a bit of a twist on lemon meringue pie -'

lime meringue pie.

There's nowhere to hide with this one,

so we'll see how good a pie he can make.

-We need to crack on now.

-OK.

-Nearly there.

That's set, that's lovely, that meringue, beautiful, look at it!

Top notch, come on, let's go!

Well done, Jonny.

-That does look good, I must say.

-Mmm!

-Good piping, well done.

We should be serving now, Jonny, so quick, quick, quick.

-Go on!

-Don't drop 'em. Be careful!

Nice.

Nice, nice! Good lad.

So, Jonny's slightly burned his meringue.

But, apart from that, I think this is the business.

It's really inviting.

It says, "Come on, food critic, you naughty man, eat me up."

I'm quite keen to get in there!

This is a decently made dish. The pastry's good, I like the lime pie.

-Meringue is slightly over sweet, but it's fine.

-Better than the fish pie, that's for sure.

That's worth getting a bigger belly for. That's the stuff!

-It's really nice and sweet, but it's sharp as well, with lime.

-Mm!

That was hard, hard work. Really hard.

That's the hardest thing I've had to do yet.

Lori, you have seven minutes. Tell me how long you'll be and what you've got to do.

-Seven minutes till plate up the mains?

-Yeah.

-Are you joking?

-No. No, that's what you've got. Why, what's the problem?

Um, then I'm very behind.

Lori's main course is ballotine of salmon, pan seared prawns,

scallops with horseradish and clam tartare.

-I'm looking forward to this. If it was on a menu, I'd happily order it.

-I haven't done my clams yet.

-I haven't done my pea puree yet, so yeah, pretty much not ready.

-How...?

Give me an ETA.

-What, how much time I need?

-Yeah. Realistically.

-I can do it in 17.

Whoa! Ten minutes over?

-No-one's ten minutes over.

-You've got your work cut out.

You've got your timings well off there, Lori.

Lori, how are we looking?

-Um...

-SHE MUMBLES

The food's due out now.

Come on, Lori, push yourself.

Come on!

Lori, you are seven minutes over.

I would recommend you say sorry when you go in.

Yes, Chef, definitely.

Going, are we going? Are we going?

Um... Ooh, a little bit messy.

Well done.

Oh, wow.

I'm so sorry, it's a little bit late.

There you go.

For her main course, Lori has made ballotine of salmon,

stuffed with asparagus, served with pan seared prawns,

scallops with horseradish and clam tartare.

This is a good-looking main course.

This, to me, is the most successful dish we've seen so far,

for presentation.

It's a pretty thing. I just hope it tastes as good as it looks.

The salmon is slightly dried out and overcooked.

I haven't had a prawn that overcooked for a while, actually.

It's more Michelin tyre than Michelin star.

It's a real shame when Lori was late bringing this dish out to us

and nearly every element of it is overcooked.

The clam tartare, a real innovation. Never had that before.

It's beautiful presentation, first class, top drawer.

We knew she could do that, but there are some very good combos on that plate.

The salmon, for me, is slightly overcooked and under-seasoned.

I like the sound of Lori's dessert - white chocolate bavarois,

a real test of her technical ability,

to produce that cream and get it to hold.

-You don't look too happy.

-No, I've made a mistake.

-What's up?

My shortbread is undercooked.

-I misjudged it, I don't know why.

-If it's not right, don't serve it.

-The bavarois and the boozy raspberries should be enough.

-OK.

That chocolate looks a bit grainy.

Yeah, it's not a good... Forget it. Not worth it.

-That's not going to work, is it?

-No.

OK.

Ah! Not that one.

Come on, Lori, we're over time now.

-Mm-hm.

-Over time, over time. Let's go.

OK, go. Off you go.

-Sorry.

-Well done, go, go, go, Lori, go.

Sorry again for the wait.

For dessert, Lori has made white chocolate bavarois

with vodka-soaked raspberries.

It looks good. I'm excited to eat it.

I didn't know what a bavarois was, I'm still not sure,

but what it is is fantastically delicious!

It's creamy, the white chocolate thing, it's fantastic.

It's rich, the texture is perfect.

I think the raspberries,

the raspberry vodka combo is really good.

This is a more successful dish, I think, altogether.

Vanilla vodka raspberries are inspired.

And a bit of white chocolate mousse as well? Very nice combination.

There should be shortbread biscuits on this, but it didn't work.

Lori ran out of time and she was flustered and you can see that on the plate.

I made a lot of mistakes. Timing was the biggest one.

-Claire, you now have ten minutes.

-Ten minutes, right.

Claire's giving us roasted Cornish sea bass, pickled cauliflower,

cucumber, lemon puree and elderflower.

It could be one of these things which sounds strange,

but completely blows us away.

I hope that'll happen.

You nutty professor. I hope you have done this before.

SHE MUTTERS

-Right, how are we doing, young lady?

-I'm just ready to plate up now.

-OK, OK.

-You're breathing like you've just done a 100-metre sprint!

It's this feeling I've never felt before. It's just so hard.

-Slow down.

-I know! I can't help it.

Whoa, nice! Come on, you're all right.

-Go, go, go, go!

-That's it!

Claire has made a main course of roasted Cornish sea bass,

pickled cauliflower, cucumber, lemon puree and elderflower.

This really has the wow factor, doesn't it?

It's an absolutely unbelievably good-looking dish.

It's the sort of level of presentation you'd see in a really high end restaurant.

Clever old Claire.

Generally speaking, the fish is perfectly cooked.

I love this light little pickled cauliflower.

-I think it's absolutely superb.

-It's the sort of dish you'd go and talk about.

Absolutely stunning.

I think this shows a great understanding

of balance of flavours and taste and freshness.

It's difficult for me to believe

that sort of work has come out of a chef so young.

Claire's dessert, we've got lime and vanilla cheesecake with bitter chocolate sorbet.

Again, it's quite a bold flavour combination from Claire.

-Happy so far?

-Yep.

They're ready whenever you are now, come on.

Waiting on you. That's it.

Come on, that's it, you're all right.

Very nice, very nice.

For dessert, Claire has made lime and vanilla cheesecake,

with bitter chocolate sorbet.

Well, it looks lovely.

She's really got a great visual eye, to go with a great palate,

as far as we can tell.

I think it's pretty hard to improve on something like this.

Um...cheesecake is spot on.

And the crunchiness of the biscuit is just right.

And the sorbet is a real technical achievement,

because it's very hard to do this right,

without making it super bitter and getting a grainy texture.

It's the best thing that we've had in the dessert department today by 1,000 miles.

The main course was astonishing. This is just as good.

I'm slightly blown away. It is sensationally good.

That's very good. If you weren't here, I'd have the rest of that.

Wow. The bitter chocolate sorbet is beautiful.

I want the recipe.

God, that is the hardest thing ever.

I'm happy, though. Almost happy.

I've just cooked for food critics. Wow!

I love these days.

I'm really impressed, really, really impressed with little Claire.

'What a performance from Claire! Absolutely fantastic, I'm so happy.'

I'm thrilled for her.

That was really, really good food. And the critics loved it.

I thought her sea bass dish was hitting the right notes.

Claire's dessert were two masterful desserts in my view.

Cheesecake can be banal, but this was glorious!

And on the same plate, the bitter chocolate sorbet.

I'm going to ask her for the recipe.

That was definitely the best chocolate sorbet I have ever tasted.

I think I've done myself justice today, I really do.

I couldn't have done any more.

Claire is going through to the semifinal.

She has exceeded everybody's expectations today,

perhaps even her own.

The most disappointing chef today was Jonny.

Even if he'd made a brilliant fish pie,

I still don't know how you would've served a stylish fish pie to the critics.

And it wasn't very good, Michel.

That's harsh...but true.

I think he rallied with the tart, but it was too little, too late for him.

He'd kind of... He was out. That fish pie was... What was going on?!

It's going to be sad to see Jonny go,

because some of the food he's dished up has been very, very good.

We've put Claire through, we've knocked Jonny out.

Now we need to decide between Lori or Steve.

My summary of Steve is this.

Undoubtedly very, very skilful cook. Didn't manage to pull it all together today,

because he attempted far too much in an hour and 15 minutes.

It was an inspired choice of ingredients for his main course,

great flavours, great taste, well seasoned.

The pomme fondant was undercooked, yes,

but, nonetheless, that was very good. Good food. I thought Steve's dessert had a really good balance.

The lemon jelly set it off really well.

His pannacotta didn't set quite right,

but he's got all the basic skills, all the basic knowledge.

He just needs to rein back a tiny bit.

It's my first bad mistake I've done in the competition so far,

but it's come at the wrong time. Fingers crossed I get through.

Just fingers crossed, big time.

I liked the look of Lori's fish dish, I really did. She was late.

She did overcook her salmon.

That salmon also needed seasoning. Apart from that, good tasting dish.

I really enjoyed Lori's dessert,

the combination of raspberries steeped in vodka

and the fresh coulis and that lovely white chocolate bavarois was delicious.

She wanted to serve some shortbread biscuits, they didn't work.

It is a shame that it didn't quite work as Lori wanted.

I think I deserve a place because I think I'm talented enough

and I've got enough skill to be there.

Enough drive, enough passion.

But my performance today did not reflect that at all.

This is a big decision.

This is pushing one of these into the semifinal.

Great food today. Very, very good. Tough judging decision.

Two of you, unfortunately, will be leaving us.

But two of you will become semifinalists.

We have made a decision.

And the first chef leaving us is...

..Jonny.

Thank you.

I'm disappointed. I can only blame myself. That's it, you know?

I let myself down a little bit and, yeah, I'm pretty gutted,

but, you know, life moves on.

And the second chef leaving us is...

..Lori.

My performance wasn't good enough today.

They made the right choice.

Definitely made the right choice.

Well done. Brilliant. Fantastic!

I can't believe it!

I really can't believe it.

I can't believe it.

Standing here now, I'm not sure it's actually true,

that I'm in the semifinals of Masterchef.

It's such an amazing feeling.

'Ah, speechless, over the moon. I just didn't expect it.'

I just can't believe it.

It's amazing, like, I thought I was going home. Just delighted!

Steve and Claire will be back for the semifinals.

I can't believe it! I didn't think I would be standing here.

Neither did I.

Next week, ten more chefs are back, to try and impress Monica and Gregg.

This is it, your first test on Professional Masterchef.

-Competitive?

-Yes, very competitive. I want to win.

It's a life-changing opportunity here, you've just got to take it.

Monica? She doesn't scare me. I've worked with scarier people.

Good cake, good cake.

I can't fault this dish and I'd love to give that to Michel.

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