Episode 18 MasterChef: The Professionals

Only an elite group of chefs holds two Michelin stars.

Michel Roux Jr is one of them.

One lamb, two fish gone. ALL: Oui!

Now he, Gregg Wallace and Monica Galetti

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!

It's the semi-finals.

Over the last four weeks,

these six chefs

have proved themselves to be amongst the best in the country.

Now they're being split into pairs.

Each pair will go head-to-head

in some of the UK's most acclaimed Michelin-star restaurants.

This experience will tell us a lot about our semi-finalists.

If they've got it or not.

First up

are 21-year-old, Aaron,

and 22-year-old, Oli.

Today matters a lot now.

As you get further, you start to think, "Come on!"

HE LAUGHS

Like you want to get through now, d'you know what I mean?

Especially now it's one-on-one.

I sort of think, "I've got to beat that guy!"

I don't think I've peaked yet.

You're always learning, so there's always something else

you can bring to the table. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.

You know, best man win.

Only one of them

will become a finalist.

It's early morning.

Aaron and Oli

are in the heart of London's Knightsbridge.

Heading to the much-revered

Marcus Wareing At The Berkeley Hotel.

One tomato, one salmon, followed by a middle course of two Saint-Jacques...

Chef-patron Marcus Wareing

began his professional career in the kitchens of the Savoy,

aged 18.

He went on to hone his skills

alongside such luminaries

as Pierre Koffmann and the Roux dynasty.

Marcus is a supreme talent.

He is driven, he is focussed.

Let's put it this way. If I take this jacket off today,

and I never wore it ever again...

..as far as I'm concerned, I'm nothing.

I'm a nobody.

Being a chef is everything to me.

I sacrificed my friends...

my family.

I sacrificed my youth.

If you're going to make such a large sacrifice in life,

make sure you get something at the end of it.

Marcus was awarded his second Michelin star in 2007.

An accolade

held by only seven other London restaurants.

Marcus' style is a modern interpretation of classics.

It is elegant,

it is beautiful to the eye,

and it packs a real punchy flavour.

Wow! That guy is a perfectionist!

I run my kitchen with a sense of discipline, firmness,

but fairness.

But there is a line that you don't cross.

Because you're so passionate, so turned on by what you're doing,

you've worked so hard to get here, you don't want anyone around you

to abuse your creation or what you've provided.

There's only one direction for a cook that cuts corners

and that's the back door.

In a chef, I'm looking for someone who enters a kitchen

with a sense of understanding,

and someone who will meet me halfway,

who wants to take on board what I've got to offer.

It's another level. It's miles different to what I do at work.

I hope I don't have a bad day in the office, put it that way!

Two Michelin stars, there's two Michelin for a reason.

Obviously there's a lot expected from me

so I've got to reach that and just smash it out!

I've got no time for fools, I've got no time for idiots,

I've got no time for dreamers.

Life's too short.

Morning, guys. How are you? Nice to meet you.

-Welcome. Nervous?

-A little bit.

Never has a chef come straight into my kitchen

and cooked straight on the stove, it's never happened.

I never thought it ever would but today's a big day.

I've got a full restaurant today. Absolutely ram-packed full.

One of you will be cooking a meat dish,

one of you will cook a fish dish.

Memorise them, because at midday, you're on your own. OK?

Follow me.

During service, Oli will be responsible for the suckling lamb.

Served with crispy lamb belly, girolle mushrooms, hispi cabbage,

radicchio salad and a lamb, ginger and chilli consomme.

This is the lamb which has been sous vide'd with a little bit of lamb stock

and then cooked to 62 degrees so it is very, very, very delicate.

The stock.

The heat is already there, we're just looking for a nice glaze.

We spent so much time slow cooking the lamb.

If the chef takes that and boils it on the side of the stove,

all the preparation that was done has just been eradicated

and you've just ruined all that fantastic mise-en-place.

The other thing we have here is the lamb belly

and that beautifully sits under there.

Hispi cabbage here which is just in a little stock.

Sometimes chefs have this ability to put things on the stove

and cook and cook and cook them until they are knackered.

This is a very light touch I'm looking for,

almost a warming through of the garnishes,

rather than actually an intense heat.

Also tasting your stock, making sure you're seasoning it.

It's important you get that absolutely right.

Your lamb leg there. A very light colour there, very delicate.

It has not gone grey around the outside,

it has kept pink from the edge all the way through to the centre.

Now we're going to plate the dish up.

That's the loin.

I think it's placing the dish together

with a sense of a really beautiful appearance.

I want the dish to be exactly the way I demonstrated it to them.

It's got to look alive, the dish has to have beautiful colour,

a lovely aroma about it, just attention to detail.

The waiter then takes the consomme.

That dish doesn't change, it looks like that every single time we do it.

-OK, can you manage that?

-I'll do my best, chef.

Nervous about cooking the dish, obviously.

I'm worried about getting everything bang on and getting it correct,

keeping it clean.

I just want to do everything right, to be honest.

Aaron will be in charge of the fillet of sea bass.

Resting on a bed of fennel heart and fennel puree,

served with razor clams, pickled and dried fennel

and accompanied by a matelote sauce

made from smoked fish, brandy and red wine.

Sea bass down, just gently hold it down.

With fish cookery, you can't afford to sit and wait for 30 seconds or a minute,

it's got to be exactly on the nose, he has to get his timing right.

Razor clams? We'll cook these straight on the solid top.

-I'm just going to scorch them.

-OK.

A little scorch, turn them over. Take them out. Don't overcook them.

If you do, it just turns to rubber, it'll be like chewing on leather.

Keep checking so you have your fennel puree warming up on the side.

Then you've got your heart of fennel.

Then you've got your fennel salad.

They just go into this little sweet and sour stock,

it's like a pickling stock as well.

Get the razor clams.

A small splash of lemon.

A little bit of olive oil. It's a beautiful little garnish.

Yeah, OK.

Add a knob of butter into there.

Take out your fennel.

Fish, just bring it to the side.

I want the fish coming to the hot plate three-quarters,

almost cooked, but I don't want it completely cooked

because when it comes to the customer, it can be over-cooked.

What I'm looking for with the chef is not just putting the four elements

on the plate and that's job done.

It has to look like it's been beautifully dressed,

it has to look like it's got a love and care about it

and a freshness about the ingredients.

Or it could look very average. If the chef doesn't get it right.

That's your dish. Sauce on the side.

-Manage that?

-I think so, yeah.

-Piece of cake.

-Yeah.

-Good man.

I'm feeling quite confident. I've cooked sea bass before

so hopefully I'll come out quite strong with that.

Initially it's quite a simple dish but you know, under the pressure

and things like that, anything can happen.

It's almost midday, we'll be opening very, very shortly

and it's really down to them.

Are they going to cope? Only time will tell.

I'm really nervous.

Obviously working with Marcus is a little bit worrying.

Can't imagine he's going to let anything go or make it easy for us,

so have to be on it.

My expectations for these two guys is that they hit the standard

we hit, and nothing less will do.

I'm not going to accept anything less.

I don't care who they are, don't care where they're from.

They're here to hit my standards in my kitchen.

And that's non-compromise.

Thank you very much.

Main course, one bass, one lamb.

Yeah.

OK, it's your first dish, it's your first table.

OK, you need to work together. I'll start you off at five minutes.

You need to count yourselves down, one of you take the lead.

-All right?

-Yes, chef.

We're now four minutes.

-Oli.

-Yes, chef.

-Answer him.

-Sorry, chef. Yes, chef.

You've got to be quick with the cabbage. On and off.

-Cooked, seasoned. Straight out.

-OK.

Three and a half.

Skin's got to be crispier. Take the fish out.

Tip the pan out. Oil. And then fish back in.

-Coming up on the garnish?

-Yeah.

Give me an extra 30 seconds, please.

Yep. No problem.

You're slowing it down by 30 seconds, it needs to be just 30 seconds.

Come on. Let's go. It's a five minute count, you've got to keep it at five. All right?

You've got a little bit of rock salt on there.

Aaron, you should come to the pass with everything on the tray.

You're going back and forth, you need to keep it all together.

Yes, chef.

Aaron and Oli, I'm not seeing you guys doing much tasting.

-Yes, chef.

-That's what the spoons are for.

-Yes, chef.

-Start tasting your food.

-Yeah.

Right, guys. That's your first dish gone. You know what to do know, yeah?

Yes, chef.

Bit of a rough start but hopefully I can pull it back.

I just want to get it all perfect to be honest. Get everything right.

(I don't know!)

Can I please have the lamb?

-Two more lamb.

-Yes, chef.

I think there's another four on order, was it?

Five on order. Five.

OK, let's go. Five minutes, two lamb.

Yes, chef.

-Oli, just watch the heat in that pan, OK?

-Yes, chef.

I don't want the food going into red-hot pans, sizzling.

Oli. I need you to get up here.

Yes, chef.

-Come on, Oli.

-Yep.

-Keep up.

Yes, chef.

Put some more on.

There we are. Seasoning's fine, just slightly wilted too far.

Take your tray, back to your section, get a clean tray.

Do your garnishes over there on your section,

-and then bring it here.

-Yes, chef.

-Go on. Hurry up.

I just need the cabbage to be less cooked and look a bit fresher.

All right, you bring it up clean or it doesn't come up at all.

Yes, chef.

-Get me some fresh herbs. They're dead. Hurry up.

-Yes, chef!

Service, please.

-Main course - one pork and one bass.

-Right.

You've got to concentrate with all the garnishes,

make sure everything comes up at once and taste, taste, taste.

Yeah, you need to settle in quickly.

-How long for this table?

-Two minutes.

Four minutes has just gone. Two bass and two lamb.

It's not quite cooked enough, that, Aaron. Back in the pan.

The clock's ticking, OK, so let's step it up.

Please don't...don't... Aaron, don't just put the food on the plate

because it's supposed be on the plate.

Put the food on the plate with a sense of what you're supposed be doing -

making perfectly cooked food into a beautifully cooked dish.

-Yes, Chef.

-I'm not into food just being put there because this is what I want you to do.

-You just go through the motion.

-Right.

-Do you understand?

-Yes, Chef.

-Let's go.

Like I showed you there...

Then you put your sea bass onto the plate...like so.

-Place them around. Place them around.

-Yes, Chef.

-Aaron?

-Yes, Chef?

You have to put the food on the plate with some passion. Every plate.

-Yes, Chef.

-Table two.

I'll just learn from that and listen to what Marcus says

and just concentrate and get everything spot on.

-I'm not liking what I'm seeing there. Oli?

-Yes, Chef?

-Look at all the scum on the side of the pan.

-Sorry. Yes, Chef.

-Take it off, change the pan.

-Yes, Chef. Sorry.

-Keep it going, keep it fresh, keep the food alive. OK?

-Yes, Chef.

-Don't make the same mistake as what he's just made.

-Yes, Chef.

-What's wrong with that?

-Not enough cabbage.

-So why are you here?

-Yeah.

You just identified what was wrong with it, so what are you doing here?

-Yes, Chef. 30 seconds, please, Chef.

-Go.

OK, coming, two lamb.

Where's the radicchio?

-Come on!

-Yes, Chef.

-I can't tell you every step of the way.

-Yes, Chef.

-You done?

-Yes, Chef.

10.

Yeah, Oli's just been a little bit hit and miss.

I think it's more panic, really, than anything else.

Every single plate needs to have the same level of garnish, cooked to the same standard,

and I think he's found that very difficult at the moment.

-Two bass, two lamb.

-Yes, Chef.

Take it back. Do it again. It's overcooked. It's broken on the sides.

-Stall that table. Stall that table, Oli. Start it again.

-Yes, Chef.

There are standards, and the food's not going to go if it's not good enough, so...

I understand and agree with his comments,

but I've just got to move on and go forward and do some nice food.

You must be very careful what you do with the sea bass.

I'm not going to do it a third time, Aaron.

-If you do it a third time, right, you won't be cooking.

-Right.

-How long, Aaron?

-Something like 30 seconds?

-Yeah.

-Aaron, let's go. Let's go. Start to dress, boys. Let's go.

-Yeah, coming now, Chef.

Remember what I said, Oli, about the importance of dressing it properly,

-not just throwing ingredients onto the plate.

-Yes, Chef.

Let's go. You've got to go with it. Let's go.

You're on the borderline, Aaron.

Your co-ordination's all over the place at the moment.

You're really ruining your own... my dish.

Do you understand what I'm saying? One more chance. Do you understand?

-Yes, Chef.

-Because I can't send out like that.

-Oui.

I just need to concentrate and just get organised.

Keep clean, organised, focused...

and just get the cooking right.

We're going to be going four bass, three lamb.

We're not going to screw this one up, OK?

-Please, guys, don't make me send back four bass, three lamb.

-Yes, Chef.

-Please, please. OK? Aaron?

-Yes, Chef.

I don't want to see one single garnish suffer.

I don't want to see one single bit of complacency.

As far as I'm concerned,

nothing's over until these lights are switched off.

Four bass, three lamb!

OK, guys. This is the biggest table we're going on, OK?

We can't afford to mess it up. Let's get it right.

-Make sure, Oli, you've got enough garnishes.

-Yes, Chef.

-Don't mess it up.

-Yes, Chef.

I just want to get these last checks out. Get it done right.

I just need to focus.

Right, your timing is crucial now.

-Three minutes has gone, Oli. Can we have two-and-a-half?

-OK, good.

-Oli?

-Yes, Chef?

-You're only as good as your last dish!

-Yes, Chef.

-You've still got quite a bit of cookery to go with that fish.

-Yes, Chef.

20 seconds, fish.

-OLI:

-Yeah, one minute, please, Aaron.

Aaron doesn't have one minute.

Yes, Chef.

-Oli, let's go.

-Yes, Chef?

-Don't slow him up now.

-Thank you.

Right, guys, this is it. We cannot afford to be redoing this.

Perfect. See?

Good.

That's better. That's nice roast, Aaron. Very nice.

Excellent. This is looking really nice, guys, yeah?

Now you can start to enjoy dressing these plates,

because you've got all your garnishes looking great.

-What do you think, Aaron?

-I got there in the end.

-Good. It looks great.

It looks fresh. OK. You got your timing. It's all about the timing.

-Yes, Chef.

-You get that? Good. Go. It's all about the timing, guys.

-Co-ordination. Good. Go. Table 16. Well done, Oli.

-Chef.

All about the timing.

Good.

It feels pretty good to get a compliment from him.

Whether he means it or not, I don't know!

Brilliant. Thank you.

The lamb was very tender and it was all very clean, fresh flavours,

so, yeah, it was very nice.

I had the sea bass.

It's definitely something I would expect in a two Michelin Star restaurant.

It looked beautiful. I am a very happy customer!

I had the lamb. It was absolutely fantastic, the way it was built up together, the flavours.

There was a bit of excitement with every bite.

The sea bass was delicious. Well cooked, well presented.

It definitely lived up to the expectations,

in comparison to other restaurants in London and around the world. It was amazing.

Service was rough.

I didn't start all that great, and then started going downhill.

I think I just pulled it back.

You know, it's all a learning curve.

It wasn't, I imagine, the smooth services that he normally has -

having two new people in his kitchen is going to be difficult -

but I think it generally went OK... to bad!

Now Oli and Aaron have one more task to perform.

They will have to recreate one of Marcus Wareing's favourite dishes.

Roast lobster, smoked egg yolk, and broccoli prepared four ways...

..poached florets, pureed trim,

wafer-thin crudites and crispy shavings.

The dish is dressed with two sauces -

a hollandaise and a lobster reduction.

One of the key processes, for me, is how you treat the lobster tail.

It's so easy to overcook lobster.

It's like eating leather.

But when it's done correct, it is absolutely mind blowing.

The other key elements to the dish are the broccoli cookery.

We're taking the broccoli and we're using it in different ways -

pureed to poached, to a little salad.

I'm looking for a little bit of imagination from the chefs.

Also, I want to see a little bit of them.

I'd like to see some of what I talked to them about all day,

and what they've learnt from me, on that plate.

Can I grab another egg and some more vinegar?

Cos I've just split my hollandaise.

I just got the eggs too hot and it split out.

I'm definitely not serving that.

-Happy with that?

-Yep.

As far as the presentation is, you're not a million miles away.

You've got the great elements of the ingredients here.

I love the fact that you've used the stem of the broccoli.

Great to see that. It is usually thrown away sometimes.

And probably just a little less sauce on the plate,

because that can always be added later.

But generally, as a whole, it looks really good.

How long was the lobster in the pan for?

It was in the pan for, like, a minute-and-a-half, two minutes.

It's lovely and tender.

Absolutely delicious. It melts in the mouth.

The cooking of the broccoli was excellent,

and you've hit practically all the elements on the nose there.

The only thing that's not on the plate that I'd put on more of

is the reduction,

but that's just a small, fine detail.

-Well done. Excellent dish.

-Thank you.

I think I definitely made up some ground after that service.

I'm really happy that I've actually managed to prove myself

and that I can cook to his standards, as well.

So it's just great. It really is.

Happy?

It's just hard cooking for you, to be honest.

How have you done your lobster?

I just roasted it on the pink side and then cut it in half.

As far as the presentation, Oli, it looks fantastic.

It looks clean, fresh, light.

The cutting of the lobster is exactly the same way as I did it in my dish.

But, as always, the proof is always in the eating.

I really like that you put the sauce on the side.

Sometimes, putting these sauces on can ruin a dish

when it has to travel through from the kitchen.

A really nice touch. Something I do myself a lot. Great.

The execution of what you've done is good.

My only one criticism is, actually,

the lobster is not as tender as it should be.

You've slightly overcooked it

and it's made it a little bit chewier than it should be.

But I'm being very critical here. I like the dish a lot.

Thank you very much indeed. Well done.

He genuinely liked it. I didn't expect to blow it out the water.

I just expected to come here and hopefully not look like an idiot and try and get stuck in a bit.

Which hopefully I did.

Aaron came in today,

and I saw a little bit of sort of chink in his armour.

His ability to overcook fish, and also bring it to the pass,

and dress his plates with a sense of the brasserie-ness about him, in a certain way...

so I was looking for more from him.

He's really listened, I think, to what I said to him during the service,

and I think that he's used it in the signature dish.

Absolutely nailed that one.

I wasn't happy during service, but I'm certainly happy now.

I've learnt a lot today from Marcus.

To be able to cook his dishes

and be involved in his kitchen is just fantastic.

From here, just onwards and upwards.

Oli sold a lot more lamb than Aaron sold fish.

He probably had a lot more work to do and I felt that, at the end,

he was almost getting a little bit tired.

What I wanted to see at the end was a little bit of strength.

Even though he's had a really tough day,

he really work hard on that signature dish.

It was clean, it looked great.

It's a dish that could have come out of my kitchen.

Has he got a great future? Absolutely. Of course he has.

I wouldn't say I did myself justice completely today.

It's such a tough situation. I don't think anyone is expected to walk in there

and just ease past service and cook the perfect dish for him.

In the next round, I'll just push as hard as I can

and hopefully it'll be enough to take me through.

I need to pull everything out the bag today.

I've got Aaron. He's pretty good.

So I need to cook my socks off, to be honest, to go through.

I just want to get into the final. It'd be wicked.

To go home today and know that someone else has filled my spot

would be just so disappointing.

A place in the final - I can see it and I want it.

We've given you the chance to rub shoulders with one of the most exacting chefs in Britain.

We now want to see how you have been inspired by that experience.

I know how good you can be.

Realise that potential, turn it on today,

win yourself a place in the MasterChef finals.

One hour, 45 minutes. One main course, one dessert.

Off you go, chefs.

Aaron is a young chef, full of enthusiasm, full of fire

and real spirit, and he has got a real desire to be different.

He wants to make his mark.

He takes risks in his cuisine.

Sometimes it is on the edge, but if it works, it's heavenly.

Oli is a great student of the French art of gastronomy.

His food is unashamedly French classic, and I love it.

It's always beautifully presented. All the flavour.

The sauces reduced down to the right consistency every time.

Two young but very, very different sorts of chefs here.

We've got one doing classical music and the other one reinventing punk rock.

Very exciting. Real clash of styles.

But who can do fault free?

-Days don't get much bigger than this, do they?

-No, they don't. A big day today.

Do your dishes match the occasion?

Again, they're different.

You surprise me(!)

-What are they?

-I'm doing, like, a chaud froid of scallops,

so ceviche, pan-fried scallops,

with textures of strawberry,

a strawberry gel, strawberry compote with pine nuts

and black-olive puree. A little black-olive crumb.

Strawberries, black olives and scallops?

Yeah, you know, it's all quite sweet, but there are some pine nuts

in there, the black olives are quite savoury anyway,

so it's going to marry together and all work together in harmony, so hopefully it goes well.

-Right-o.

-And my dessert is a toast parfait

with thyme-poached cherries and balsamic jelly.

You just infuse a milk with toast

and then set that in the freezer, yeah. I think it works.

It's not being completely crazy.

It's tried and tested.

It's a lot to risk, isn't it, going into a final? To be so dangerous?

Yeah, I think that...

to get to a place in the final, you've got to demonstrate...

I don't know. ..demonstrate your style, I guess. And your personality.

So that's what I'm here for. I'm going to really put myself out there and hopefully wow you.

-Good luck with that, mate.

-Cheers, guys.

-Excellent.

What is Aaron doing? Unless my ears are deceiving me,

he is cooking scallops, and serving them with strawberries and olives.

Is it a combination you've had before? It's not a combination I've had before.

You never know, it might work. I mean, this is proper, brave cooking.

A step into the unknown.

I don't really know where the idea came from, but I tried it out and it works.

So, for me, I think it's a good combination of food.

But I don't want the sweetness of the strawberries and the sweetness of the scallops

to completely ruin the dish. But hopefully it pays off.

Aaron is making a toast-flavoured parfait. A parfait is frozen.

It's almost like an ice cream.

And he's flavoured this with melba toast.

I've never come across this before, but I must say,

I can understand it, because toast has that nutty taste

and it really is a lovely aroma,

so if he can capture that in a parfait,

I think that could be really nice.

A toast parfait needs to be frozen, but needs to be soft.

The cherries can't be over poached

and the balsamic jelly can't be too strong

or it'll just ruin the whole dish, so there's a lot of balance of flavours.

You have one hour left.

-Oli, what are you cooking?

-I'm cooking a fillet of beef,

and I'm trying to get to a bit more flavour into it,

so I'm cooking it in rendered beef fat, thyme, garlic, and I'm larding it with bacon fat -

just trying to get it tender and flavoursome -

with cepes, grelot onion,

and wood sorrel salad.

Lots of very strong, powerful flavours. How are you cooking the beef?

I'm going to sous-vide it at 50 degrees

-and then I'm going to give it a good roast afterwards.

-Great. Dessert?

Dessert, I'm doing classic palais d'or.

What's a palais d'or?

It's basically a ganache set on some feuilletine.

-What's feuilletine?!

-Sorry.

-Feuilletine is like crispy cornflakes...

-I know!

-..to give it that lovely texture.

So crispy bottom, a ganache with a runny centre, with some poached cherries.

Yeah. Hopefully bitter and sweet, is the aim.

What is it that you've got to prove today?

I've just got prove that I can put a perfect plate of food up. No mistakes.

If I nail it, I feel confident that it's good enough, but do I nail it?

-Good luck, mate.

-Thank you very much.

Oli is cooking a fillet of beef that has been larded with pork fat,

so he's going to stud this fillet of beef with strips of pork fat

that should melt and render down

and therefore make this fillet of beef really tender and juicy.

However, he's serving a wild sorrel salad to go with it!

Do we really want a salad with a fillet of beef?

Beef, mushrooms, sorrel, onions - I just think it's classic.

The flavours are simple, and I know it goes, so all I have to do is cook it properly.

This is the one that, hopefully, I should nail quite quickly.

I think it'll be the dessert I'll screw up, to be honest!

Classic palais d'or. A palais d'or is normally served as a chocolate,

just a single chocolate that you pop in the mouth, and it melts,

but it's a very bitter chocolate.

It normally has a soft centre.

It's a classic ganache, and it's decorated with gold leaf.

Chocolate work is never easy.

Getting it to set properly, nice and smooth,

nice shiny, shiny chocolate finish.

That's skilful. That's skilful cooking.

The whole point of the dessert, it's a really heavy ganache, basically.

If you serve it too cold, it's just stodgy and, like, pointless, really.

If you get air into it, it's like a mousse.

If you serve it too warm, it'll just melt.

So yeah, it's a big risk.

Ohhh!

-What's going on, Oli?

-I forgot to whisk butter...

-You forgot to whisk the butter in?

The butter is an integral part of this ganache. It gives it richness.

He's had to start again. He's only got about 15 minutes to go.

If you get it in the blast chiller now, you should have just about time. Come on.

Only ten minutes, guys.

Stop! Time's up.

Oli has made a main course of sous-vide fillet of beef

accompanied by cepes, grelot onion,

deep-fried shallot, wood sorrel salad, cepe puree,

and a madeira-and-cepe reduction.

I like your presentation.

I like the cepe puree - three lovely little drags.

It's a well-dressed plate.

Mmm...

I like that a great deal. I like the strength and crunch you get when you bite down on that onion ring.

I also love the sauce, the cepes. I love the salad with it.

It is a light but still big-tasting beef dish.

The beef is cooked rare, which is really nice.

It's soft, it's tender, but it could have been caramelised a bit more

to give it intense flavour.

Cepe puree - really delicious, smooth and sweet.

The sauce is very intense, full of flavour, again, of cepe.

I wasn't too sure about this little salad of sorrel leaves with the beef

but, actually, I think, in this instance, it does work.

It works because the sorrel leaf is quite sour and citrus-y.

It works well with the sweetness of the wild mushroom, the cepe puree.

You've got some great cooking here, Oli.

For dessert, Oli has made a palais d'or

with a crispy feuilletine base,

topped with white-chocolate cream,

accompanied by Kirsch-poached cherries,

and a dark-chocolate paint.

This looks very understated.

This looks minimalist, and I like it.

I look down at that and all I can hear is, "Gregg, eat me!"

That's all I hear!

Oh, my word.

I've ate lots of palais d'or and I've made lots of palais d'or...

and the exterior of this palais d'or is perfect.

It's rich, it's smooth,

it's intense, with the dark, bitter chocolate.

The centre is a little too runny.

You meant this to be runny, but not as wet as this.

It tastes so good, though.

It really does. It tastes wonderful!

That is the pudding of a king.

The juice coming out of that cherry,

the wine and the Kirsch and the spices,

it's like really enhanced cherry juice.

It's really refreshing against loads of really rich, sticky chocolate,

but it's not too sweet. It's just luxury.

Honestly, from the first mouthful, you had me.

I feel really happy. I feel like I did two nice plates of food

and got some really good feedback. It's cool.

Aaron's main is a scallop ceviche

topped with a film of strawberry jelly

and a black-olive crumb...

and pan-fried scallops served with strawberry, pine nut and chive compote,

and topped with pickled cucumber slices.

The plate is decorated with pata negra ham, olive puree,

basil leaves and wild strawberries.

I'm not sure about this presentation.

I don't mind a bit of food on the edge of the plate,

but this is bordering on jumping off the side of the plate.

What I really like, and I appreciate, is a beautifully cooked scallop.

Perfectly seasoned, and it goes wonderfully with that ham

and the black olive.

That really is scrumptious. A perfect match.

Your ceviche, or raw scallop,

and it's got that strawberry jelly on top, almost works.

It really does. That strawberry isn't shocking,

because it's there as a little bit of a perfume

and adds a bit of...

a bit of extra sweetness.

The cooked scallop with the strawberry salad...I hate.

I really do dislike that.

-Hit and miss for me.

-I think you've got to accept with this, and cooking like this,

that you aren't going to win as many fans as you are critics.

Everything is beautifully cooked. There are some flavour combinations on there that I really like,

there are some I don't.

If you had said to me, strawberry and scallop,

I would have probably run a mile, but it doesn't repel.

Maybe you've got something.

For dessert, Aaron has made a toast parfait,

topped with port-and-thyme poached cherries,

and a caramelised Melba toast,

served with a hazelnut sugar shard,

balsamic jelly squares and toasted hazelnuts with thyme.

It looks great. It looks classy.

That lovely hazelnut with the pulled sugar work, and it's neat...

It's got a certain style to it.

I like the balsamic jelly. There's just too much of it. It's SO sharp.

I don't mind a little hint of sharpness in with all that luxury,

but there's too much sharpness. But those nuts and the melba toast you put through the parfait,

it's toastiness on top of toastiness. Very, very nice indeed.

You're bringing a little bit of the unusual in with the familiar,

and I think that's brilliantly clever.

It's the first time I've tasted a toast parfait.

I like that, Aaron.

I love the fact that you have caramelised a superfine Melba toast on there,

which adds crunch and sweetness.

The morello cherries work perfectly with it.

My only issue is the parfait texture. It feels like sort of...soggy bread.

I think I stand by the plates of food.

I believed in them before, I still believe in them now.

All I can do is hope for the best

and hope that I'm worth the place in the final.

We couldn't have asked more from you two. Fantastic. Well done.

You've put us in the unenviable position of choosing between you.

There's only one place in the final up for grabs.

Gentlemen, thank you so much. Off you go.

OK?

-We've seen some terrific cooking today, Gregg.

-I've eaten well.

I've eaten really well. I've probably eaten a bit too much.

That went beyond tasting!

There's no doubt that Aaron has got the complete skill set,

but I honestly don't know how to feel about his inventiveness.

I mean, scallop and strawberries and pata negra ham and olives,

but, actually, bits of it were delightful.

I loved the fact that that scallop was beautifully cooked,

but it certainly didn't go well with that strawberry compote.

In fact, I thought it was horrible.

I really enjoyed Aaron's dessert.

I thought that toasty parfait was absolutely delicious!

Those toasty nuts with the actual toast in the parfait was a lovely match.

It was toasty squared, wasn't it? It was great!

My only issue with it was the texture.

It was grainy, and it felt like wet toast in the mouth,

which was not a particularly nice feeling.

Do you not question why he wants to be different?

We shouldn't stop him from being inventive, because that, I think,

is his forte, and one day he will settle

and he will have his own style.

Oli strives and strives and strives for actual perfection.

He knows which road he wants to go down. It's the road of classics.

I really enjoyed Oli's main.

The cepe puree that he made was just delicious.

His sauce was just delicious!

I wasn't too sure about sorrel leaves as a salad on top of the beef

-but, actually, it worked.

-But his chocolate dessert,

with those cherries, Michel that was, you know...

You just wanted to go for a paddle in it.

You know, opulence, class

just filled your senses with just luxury.

It wasn't fault free,

but that is the kind of chocolate that I live for.

It was just right. The texture was right and the flavour was right.

Who's going to be able to not just hold their own

but challenge in the finals?

If I got into the finals, obviously it would help my career a lot.

I'm just going to see more, learn more...

Why wouldn't you want to be there?

To come so far in the competition and know that you might slip up at the last hurdle...

It's going to be... It'd be dreadful, it'd be heartbreaking.

I can see great potential in both of them...

HE SIGHS

..but I think I know who should go through.

I REALLY enjoyed today. Two great chefs, fantastic young talent.

You should be very, very proud of your achievements in this competition.

You really should.

One of you goes through to a final, one of you goes home.

And our finalist is...

..Oli.

Sorry, Aaron.

Ah, it's so annoying.

I put myself out there, didn't quite pull it off.

There's no point in looking back and, "Should have done this, should have done that," you know?

Just look forward and it drives you on to do bigger and better things.

I'm happy for Oli. I want him to go out and smash it now, I really do.

-I can't believe it. It's wicked.

-Well done, Ollie. Fantastic.

Thank you so much.

I'm so shocked.

I'm a bit speechless, to be honest. Um...so happy.

Definitely a big confidence booster. I would like to go all the way, obviously,

but it's just good to be in the final. Wicked.

Next time, James and Ross will battle it out

to join Oli in the finals.

-Three scallops, three quail.

-Yes, Chef.

-Yes, Chef.

I'm going to be like a hawk.

I'm going to be their worst nightmare today.

Right, come on let's pick this up now. There's 12 checks on the board.

This is killing me - very slowly - but killing me.

If one thing is wrong, it won't go out. It's that simple.

You've got to start to work cleaner. Do it again, yeah?

Only the best will make it through.

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