Episode 20 MasterChef: The Professionals

Only an elite group of chefs holds two Michelin stars.

Michel Roux Jr is one of them.

-One lamb, two fish.

-Away!

Now he, Gregg Wallace and Monica Galetti

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

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

Perfect.

It's the last of the semifinals.

These professionals have been going head-to-head

in some of the UK's top Michelin star restaurants.

Bring it up, please, or it doesn't come up at all.

Yes, chef.

Oli and James have already made it through to the finals.

Tonight, 40-year-old Keri and 30-year-old Anton

will be battling it out for the final place.

Massive, massive amount of pressure today.

Absolutely immense.

To get through to the final, it means everything.

I'd love it to be my name at the end of the day.

I really would. I would be grinning forever.

Keri and Anton are heading to the historic town of Marlow

in Buckinghamshire.

Today, they will be cooking at the internationally-acclaimed pub,

The Hand And Flowers.

Run by chef patron, Tom Kerridge.

-Service, please. Canapes, table three.

-Two duck on, one lamb in.

Opened in 2005 by Tom and his wife,

The Hand And Flowers gained its first Michelin star in less than a year.

In 2012, it was awarded its second.

We're the first pub ever, in the whole, wide world

to win two Michelin stars, which is amazing.

The fact that Tom has achieved two Michelin-starred status

in a pub speaks for itself.

That is down to Tom's beautiful cooking

and his interpretation of pub grub.

We haven't got a sommelier or people always topping up your wine.

And if you want that sort of thing, that's cool.

But we're not that sort of place.

If you want to come here and have steak and chips and a pint of beer, that's amazing.

And there isn't many, or any, two-star other places

in the country, I don't think, you can do that.

My philosophy is great food, treat it simply with love and respect.

That's it.

Someone once described it as French with a British accent.

Or British with a French accent. Either one, I'm not really sure.

Table ten.

I started cooking when I was 14 or 15.

I grew up as a single-parent family, it was just my mum,

so she would end up having two jobs,

so I would cook for myself and my brother,

so that's basically where the first love of cooking came from.

I went into a kitchen when I was about 18.

And the moment I walked into a kitchen, it felt like home.

It's not even a job, it's a way of life. It's the best job in the world.

I mean, you deal with food and booze. What's better than that?

The pressure they're under today is pretty immense.

I wouldn't want to do it.

There's no way I'd walk into somebody else's kitchen,

be given a dish to do and be told, "You're doing that tonight. That's it".

I take my hat off to them. It's not something I'd want to do.

It's extremely daunting, thinking that I'm about to start cooking

in one of the best restaurants in the UK.

It's...yeah, pretty nerve-wracking.

-ANTON:

-I never thought I'd be cooking here.

Tom Kerridge is a bit of a legend in my eyes.

He's shown that you can serve fish and chips at lunch

and have two Michelin stars.

And, for me, that's absolutely amazing.

-How are you doing, guys? Hello.

-Good.

-Good.

You both look terrified.

It's all right, you're in safe hands. Don't worry.

We are a pub, but it's a two Michelin-star pub.

So it's about getting it right, precision, every single time.

So back of house, this kitchen part runs like most two-star restaurants.

The front of house, it's a lot more chilled out.

OK, guys. Well, we've got quite a lot to get on with

so if you want to follow me.

During service, Keri will be making loin of venison and ox tongue...

..with a king oyster mushroom and a red wine sauce.

First, we've got a loin of venison. We're going to portion the venison.

About that sort of size, OK?

Then the first thing we do with that is we put it into a vac bag,

stick it into the vac pack machine.

Soon as it's sealed, we drop it into a water bath.

This is at 60 degrees.

Into the bath it goes.

And it'll be in there for 15 minutes.

We serve the venison with one of these.

This is a king oyster mushroom.

We're going to give a nice portion of this.

We have little gem lettuce.

These are the hearts we've cut it in half.

Take some of the leaves off

cos we'll wilt the leaves down to go with it.

So this is going to go onto the plancher

and we're going to slowly cook it.

We're going to get a lovely charred flavour.

So that's what we're looking for here.

Serving with that, we have some of this, which is an ox tongue.

Ox tongue has got a beautiful,

very rich, meaty, beefy flavour to go with the venison.

And then we slice it into portions. You get a nice, brown butter

and the ox tongue goes into the pan.

We're just going to get a nice caramelisation on that, OK?

I'm just taking it all in.

I don't want to forget anything.

Put the three gem leaves into here.

We're just gently going to wilt these down.

So the mushroom here is almost ready.

At this point, we bring it out of the pan.

As soon as there's a bit of colour on that butter, the venison goes in.

So just trying to get a nice colour

all the way around the venison, OK?

We finish with a little bit of lemon juice.

Roll it around, take on as much flavour as possible.

It's a lot of pan juggling.

Where something seemed relatively simple

at the start, it now becomes all at last minute

trying to get it all ready, becomes quite an issue.

Then what we'll do with the mushroom to dress.

Diced salami will go on top of the mushroom.

So this is all last minute.

Then onto that we have some deep-fried,

dehydrated pork skin.

So it gives it a nice crunch.

Then on top of that, we'll put some chopped chives.

Because there are so many little, small elements,

if one of them is wrong, you know, the dish is ruined.

OK, we have a sauce.

It's like a reduced venison stock. Right at the end of the dish,

we put into that a splash of raw red wine.

So that way you get the full, full-on flavour and intensity

that you get from red wine.

So if you have a little taste of that,

that's the flavour we're looking for.

So it's powerful, gamey, venisony,

but it's also got rawness in the wine that comes through.

Butter sauce made with sherry.

Follows the pattern of the plate.

Then onto that we put the gem lettuce. The mushroom.

Going to put the ox tongue.

Then the venison sits on top of that.

So you've got everything quite tight on the plate,

and then a little bit of red wine sauce

just goes over the top of the venison.

That is it. That's the dish ready for sending.

And it has to be like that every time.

It has to look like that every time.

The problem with her dish is that it's normally three guys

that do the bits for her.

The mushroom is cooked by somebody,

the venison is cooked by another person,

the building it together is done by somebody else.

She's doing it all on her own.

She's got her work cut out.

It's an amazing dish.

I think the timing sequence is going to be the hardest part,

making sure I get everything at the right time in the right place.

I'm feeling excited, actually. A little bit nervous.

Well, quite a lot nervous. But very excited.

Yeah, I can't wait.

OK, Anton. You're going to be in charge of the scallop dish

with beef jelly and truffles.

We sell a lot of this. It comes on hard and fast because it's on a starter section.

This is the section that pushes service, drives it on.

First thing we've got here, this is beef jelly.

Now this is a jelly that has been set with a seaweed alginate,

so it actually sets when it's warm.

So the first thing you do when the check comes on

is get that in a pan, onto the stove.

And we'll bring that up to the boil.

In here, we've got very good soy sauce.

That adds an umami flavour coming through your mouth, and also salt.

Taste the difference in that now?

-Yeah.

-That's the flavour we're looking for. OK?

So then this gets poured into your bowl,

and this will slowly begin to set.

It comes down to about 60 degrees, it sets.

As it's setting on top of that, you grate truffle onto the top.

Truffle goes on pretty much straight away.

That way, it sits on top of the liquid,

but it sets into it and gives it loads of flavour.

OK. Granny Smith apple.

Now, we use Granny Smith apple because it's really high in acidity.

So this is something, as opposed to using lemon,

we're actually going to use apple.

So this is your chance to show us your mad knife skills. OK?

-So we're looking for perfect dice, OK?

-Yep.

This is an apple caramel. You're just going to drizzle

little bits on top of the gel.

That's going to give another appley flavour.

We're almost there. Just as it's beginning to set, we're fine.

If you think that's only been, what, three minutes.

OK, so that's one on. The diced apple goes on top of the gel.

And onto that, we have a mayonnaise

made with truffle oil and blitzed-up truffles.

About five or six blobs.

On a cocktail stick, we have some poached bone marrow. OK.

So the bone marrow goes in some flour

and into the batter,

and then goes into the fryer.

You want to hold it in there until it starts to float,

making a crispy bone marrow fritter, OK?

Whilst that's frying, this is the exciting part, cooking the scallops.

We cook them with a blowtorch.

Nice caramelisation on these scallops.

So what we're doing here is hitting them with a really intense heat

so that they'll crisp up, get a nice, charred flavour.

But still be just, just cooked in the middle.

And then onto the gel.

We sit the scallops on the truffle. We have here the bone marrow.

Nice and crispy.

That gives texture, crunch.

-So it's important that we get that right.

-Yeah.

We dress that with some nasturtium leaves.

So these are from our garden.

And these, they taste very peppery.

It's almost like rocket.

And then on top of that we grate more truffle.

This is a dish and it's looking very pretty.

And it's all about the flavour. And then that's the dish.

-Happy?

-Yeah.

-Think we can do this?

-Yeah.

It's a doddle, isn't it? Walk in the park.

Well, tell me that after service.

Anton, his dish isn't maybe as complicated

when it comes to actually plating up.

But I think we will sell more scallops tonight than we do venison.

So he will probably get caught out in the pace of the service, maybe.

We'll wait and see.

When service kicks off, by 7.30 there's a lot going on,

loads of people running around.

Don't worry about everybody else. They'll work around you.

You concentrate on what you've got to do.

Look at that. That's proper lush, that.

That's very nice, chef, that. Very nice.

I just want to get in and do it, and show them that I can do it.

Before I have my nervous breakdown in five minutes.

With service approaching, Anton prepares the bone marrow.

OK, Anton, how many have we got left?

-Nearly done?

-Nearly. A couple more.

When you've done that, we need to go outside and pick nasturtium leaves, OK?

-Yes, chef.

-Cool.

I'm ready to rock and roll now. It's absolutely terrifying.

Just got to crack on, put my head down and do what I do best.

Keri, Anton. OK, listen, guys.

Tonight, we're all part of a team here.

It's all about teamwork and communication, talking and listening.

We're here to make sure that the food you do tonight

is the standard that we reach every single day.

-Yes, chef.

-Have a good service, guys.

-Thanks, chef.

-We'll see you on the other side.

-Thank you.

-No worries.

OK, here we go, guys. First check of the night.

Check on one mussels, one pig's head to follow.

-One duck, one venison.

-Away, chef.

-Got your mushroom ready to go on?

-Yep.

Have you got venison ready to sear?

-MAN:

-Yes, chef.

One venison, one duck, how long, please?

-Five minutes, chef.

-Thank you.

Right now, I'm really nervous

and I've owned this place for seven years.

What Keri must feel right now must be awful.

Just relax a little. Just relax a little, just leave it. That's cool.

One and a half minutes, guys.

The venison, chef.

-Ah, what have we forgot?

-Oh, what have we forgot?

Oh, the skin.

That's it, rock and roll. Well done, girl.

Let's go, let's plate this up.

OK, mushroom across there. Go careful nothing falls off.

A bit more central. Perfect.

Slight more angle. Lovely, OK?

Gem lettuce. Ox tongue.

That's it. Then the wilted gem leaves.

A little bit tighter in. Push in just a little closer.

-OK.

-OK, the three pieces of venison on the top.

OK, lovely. Get back to section, finish the sauce.

-Maybe a little bit more.

-Could do with a bit more, you're right.

Let's get another splash of wine in.

Lovely.

Always taste everything, OK?

Let's go then, please. Table six, venison, duck.

So far so good. Haven't burnt anything yet. Not yet.

Check on three covers.

One scallops, one terrine, one no starter.

Away!

How are we doing with the jelly?

-It's nearly there.

-OK, no problem.

The mayo straight on. Don't be shy with the mayo, yeah.

-A few little shakes on there, Anton.

-Yeah. Yeah, little shaky hands.

OK, if you just stop, stop, stop. If you put one on at a time.

-Yeah.

-That way you can spread them.

The next one can be further... down there. Further down.

-It looks freer, it looks more open, exactly.

-Is it all right, there?

Yeah, beautiful. Nasturtium leaves on.

-Get a new nasturtium leaf, check everything.

-OK, chef.

You don't want to eat that one.

-OK, let's go then, chief.

-Backs.

Nice scallops, nice scallops.

Try and get that mayonnaise a little bit less shaky on,

-a little bit tighter, yeah?

-Yes, chef.

OK, we're away then, please. One duck, one venison.

-One duck, one venison. MAN:

-Away!

Check on three covers. Steak, duck, venison.

I've got one venison.

-Keri, can I plate this up?

-30 seconds, chef. 30 seconds.

Little bit tighter in.

Nice and tight in, that's it. Venison on top.

-Sorted, Keri.

-OK, chef.

-Tasted it?

-I have, chef?

-It tastes all right?

-It tastes great.

-OK.

-Thank you.

A little bit of sauce on top of the venison. That's ready to go.

-Perfect, thank you Keri.

-Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Keri.

Keri. Well done, well done, well done.

We do it like that all night long, I'll be very, very happy, yeah?

Service, please.

Excellent. Really good. Really good.

I just want to crack on now and continue.

Hopefully they'll all be the same.

Check on five covers. One pig's head, one scallop,

-one parfait, one omelette, one no starter.

-Away.

Get that jelly on first.

With Anton, what he needs to look out for is the timings.

He's working very closely with the guys with him.

Because there's seven or eight starters on.

So he's very much becoming an integral part of the team straight away.

That's what Anton needs to be.

I've got three scallops on. We've got a pig's head, parfait, omelette.

We're doing all three checks at the same time.

Working with him, making sure that the time's are right.

About three and a half, chef.

-Apple on all three?

-Apple on all three, yeah.

We're going to be waiting on that. Yeah.

-Start with these, chef?

-Just wait 20 seconds, chef.

Yeah, no worries. Shall I start with this?

-Get rid of all this, wipe it down and start again.

-Yeah.

They've got other things cooking. If the omelette's on,

the broth and mussels can overcook really quickly

and that could ruin their timing.

So it's all about timing and working as a team over here.

-Two minutes, chef.

-Thank you.

30 seconds on the scallops.

Chef, can I start plating these scallops onto there? OK, chef.

-Ready to go, Anton?

-Ready to rock and roll, chef.

Beauty, let's go.

-Nice scallops, Anton. Let's go. Plate please, Sam.

-Thank you, chef.

We're away, please. One venison, one duck,

-one side of pomme, yes?

-Away!

One scallops, one terrine, two venison, three pork.

Straight behind that I want to go scallop, pig's head,

-followed pork, venison.

-Away, chef.

Service is fairly hard tonight.

A lot of checks have come in,

including a lot of the dishes that these two guys have got on.

How long are we talking, please? Two venison, one duck.

-Three minutes on the venison.

-Thank you very much, Keri.

We're doing very well, thank you.

Yeah, nearly got my smile back.

At the end of the night, I'll definitely have it back.

It's just a great buzz. The guys are amazing.

It's just all going like clockwork.

It's been a very long time since I've done a normal service.

I think I might re-evaluate my plans.

I'm loving it, put it like that. Sorry. Hot pan.

Last venison of the night, yeah?

-Let's make it the best one.

-Agreed, chef.

That's delicious.

-Drizzle over the top and then we'll go, yeah?

-Yeah.

-Beautiful. Very, very well done.

-Thank you.

Let's go. Venison, duck, table B2, please, Sam.

-Well done tonight, girl.

-Thank you very much.

-Rock and roll.

-All them nerves paid off.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

-Thank you very much, it was great.

-I had a great time, thank you.

Check on two covers. One scallop, one pig's head to follow.

-One duck, one lamb.

-Away, chef!

-Anton. Last scallop of the night, chief.

-Yes, chef.

OK, let's go.

Thank you very much, Anton. Thank you.

Lovely food tonight, chef, well done. Well done.

-Yeah, I enjoyed it.

-Really, really happy, yeah.

A lot better than I expected.

I think I doubt myself all the time,

underestimate whether I can do things.

A bit more self-confidence I think I need to adapt with.

I had the scallops and they were absolutely perfect. Delicious.

Really nice, really rich, really creamy. Really enjoyed it.

I had the venison and it was lovely.

I think it's the best venison I've ever had, actually.

All the elements went together really well

and it was just absolutely beautiful.

Genuinely, I thought both of them were absolutely great.

I truly thought they were both great.

Anton got to grips with it to very well.

Everything that came out could have been done

by myself or my sous chef or one of the chef de parties on the section,

so I was very happy with everything that came out from Anton.

Keri looked absolutely terrified when she came through the door.

But you know what? She smashed it. She did so well.

She achieved a great deal tonight. Well done, girl.

Tomorrow's another day. Tomorrow they're more on their own

and tomorrow they're actually showing their raw cooking skills.

So we'll see what happens tomorrow.

-Morning, guys. How are you feeling?

-Yeah, really good.

-Yeah, good.

-Happy to be back in this lovely space?

-Very happy.

-Yeah.

-Brilliant.

Yesterday, you did really, really well.

You should have gone to bed last night being really proud of yourselves.

Today it's a signature dish challenge.

This is one of our best-selling dishes,

a dish that's very close to my heart.

The recipe's here. The ingredients are here.

You're on your own, guys. Good luck.

The signature dish today, this is a duck dish

with duck fat chips and gravy.

I think this dish represents The Hand And Flowers massively.

A lot of people come here just for this dish.

It's a beautiful, posh duck dish.

Made simple, rustic, charming and very, very English.

Little bit apprehensive. It's his dish.

I want to get it absolutely perfect.

It looks quite simple, but there's a few little methods

and there's quite a bit to get done actually.

It's all about timing. I really want to impress the chef.

So hopefully I'll be able to pull it off.

There's three or four elements on the dish

that we'll be looking for it being perfect.

It's about these guys absolutely understanding

how to cook a piece of meat, touch and feel.

They're going to roast it in a pan, and they need to know

at which point to take the duck breast out of the pan

and just leave it to relax.

Chips. It just depends on if they get them crunchy enough,

they don't come up all greasy, and seasoning.

Serving with peas with duck leg and shallots and wilted gem lettuce,

they're all mixed in together, served in a little pot.

There's a quite complicated sauce that comes with it,

that gets emulsified with butter.

If they take it too far, the butter will split,

and if they don't take it enough, it will be watery.

So these are all complicated little things

that they'll have to work out on their own.

And, hopefully, they will.

-It looks very simple on the plate

-.

If the flavours are wrong

and they haven't got it right, it's all over the place.

It looks absolutely stunning. The test is in the eating.

The duck may be...

may be a little overcooked.

The skin is fantastic though.

The flavour comes through beautifully.

The gravy, the sauce, the flavour is fantastic.

The peas are cooked beautifully. Very, very tasty.

The chips.

These are fantastic.

Keri, overall,

last night and today, absolutely brilliant. Well done, chef.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

I knew that I'd made a mistake with that duck.

It was in the back of my mind.

And it was just marginally over.

It means an awful lot to get good comments from Tom.

He's just amazing.

And for him to compliment me on my sauce and, you know, the chips.

He said he loved the chips and it's just bang on.

I'm so happy. Yeah, really happy.

OK, Anton. My initial reaction is it looks great.

A lovely glaze on top of the duck.

Looks like you've rendered the fat out nicely.

And the chips look great.

Really good skin. You've worked on that really, really well.

Sauce is nice and emulsified. Quite thick.

Maybe reduced down, maybe a little bit too far.

And the chips.

Still crunchy, still crispy, even though we've been sat here for a while.

Your peas and the mint.

Although I think there's too much in the pot, tastes beautiful.

Seasoned very nicely. You can get the mint coming through.

For me, this is a really, really, really good first attempt.

I would have no problem with you being here.

We sell 250 of these a week. This is your first one.

By the second one, you'd know exactly what to do.

To be honest and straight with you, Anton,

on last night's service and today's duck dish,

I think you've done really, really well.

Thank you very much, chef.

Getting good feedback from Tom Kerridge is absolutely amazing.

He's an idol of mine. This is the style of food I love to cook.

This is me, this is where I want to be in the next five years.

Yeah, I'm absolutely over the moon.

I would, without a shadow of a doubt,

give both of those guys a job.

If they came to me and did a trial like they did last night,

and cooked this dish for me this morning,

I would give them both a job, without hesitation.

I was very nervous in some of the rounds before

and I think I've got my confidence.

I need to show that to Michel and Gregg,

that I can push on and cook some amazing food.

I'm going head-to-head with Keri. I've seen her cook today

really close up and, yeah, that lady can cook.

This experience has really inspired me.

It's just given me a new lease on how I think about cooking.

I'm relishing what lies ahead.

I think it's going to be a battle and a half.

I do want to make the final and, you know, if I've got to beat Anton,

that's what I've got to do. And I'm aiming to beat him.

You should have been inspired by your time with Tom.

You should now realise what it takes to become a great chef.

This is it, one against one. Best food gets through to the finals.

You have to cook out of your skins.

Raise your game, show us what you've got.

One hour 45 minutes. Main course and dessert. Off you go.

Keri has got a gift. She just loves what she does.

Every plate of food is full of her own identity.

That's what makes her food so good.

That girl could never have done anything else in her life.

This is what she was born to do. I love her food. I love her style.

I love the way she works. Are you getting this?

I kind of like her.

Anton has a real inventive streak in him.

With Anton, you've always got to expect the unexpected.

He is a true innovator.

When I get one of Anton's plates,

it's just full of little treasures, full of little surprises.

I do like his style, I really do.

We've got two fantastic chefs today,

chefs that have got palate, that have got flair and imagination.

This is culinary combat.

I want them to cook like they've never cooked before.

We are talking about a place in the MasterChef finals.

-All right, Keri?

-Hello, chef.

-How are you feeling?

-I'm feeling good.

Yeah, really food. Scarily.

-So what are you cooking?

-Today I am cooking lamb.

I've got cannon and rack.

It's with a white onion puree

and a wild mushroom and white bean cassoulet.

-You've got two different cuts of lamb.

-Yes, two different cuts.

But they are both being water-bathed.

Presentation is going to be different for the two.

I love spring lamb.

We used to eat a lot of lamb when I was a child.

So yeah, it is a firm favourite.

Keri, this all sounds terribly simple.

It's not that simple. There's a few little surprises in there.

I thought as much. I thought as much. And desert?

Desert today is gooseberry crumble.

-Gooseberry crumble.

-Gooseberry crumble, yes.

The actual dish itself, it's a creme brulee

as your custard, which is quenellable.

And then, quite a heavy gooseberry compote.

With the juice, with a bit of elderflower,

I'm going to set a jelly.

And the crumble, it's ginger and almond.

And that will sit across.

And then to add some extra sweetness, there's some honey cress

that will just give you a burst of moisture and sweetness once you eat.

Mmm.

-Soft and rich.

-Yes.

How up for this are you today?

The competition's stiff.

Anton is an amazing chef and he's done some amazing food.

So it's, you know, going to be hard. I'm so up for it.

Keri has chosen two cuts of lamb.

A classic rack and a cannon, the loin.

Both in the water bath.

Hopefully after that she will roast them to get a nice, crisp skin.

Because that's where all the flavour is.

I like the idea of beans making a little mini cassoulet

with wild mushrooms included. That should be creamy, rich,

and it should be perfect for that nice, fatty lamb.

If I take my eye off the ball, I could split the cassoulet

and overcook the lamb. Yeah.

That would cost me the competition.

Knowing Keri as I do,

I am convinced that lamb dish is going to be delicious.

I just don't know how elegant it's going to be.

I do hope she manages to jazz it up and make it look beautiful.

Half an hour gone.

Dessert. Keri's preparing a crumble,

but not a crumble like you and I know.

It's almost a deconstructed crumble.

She's got a separate custard, gooseberry compote.

She's also got a jelly and then she's going to put a crumble

across the top that she's going to flavour with ginger.

Which I think is a great addition, especially to go with gooseberries.

I've always had this dessert in my mind and how I wanted to plate it,

but it's just been refined a little bit

from what I saw with Tom Kerridge.

45 minutes have gone. You have one hour.

Anton. What are you cooking for us?

I'm doing pigeon breast in filo pastry with cep, spinach

and a little bit of the pigeon liver sliced through the middle.

My kind of take on Wellington.

What are you serving with your pigeon Wellington?

I'm doing a cauliflower puree.

I've got some asparaguses dressed in truffle oil.

Some freshly-shaved truffle, tiny little bit of cauliflower in with that

and some spinach sauteed down with the legs and the wing meat picked off.

And that's from Tom.

So, yeah, lots of influence from other chefs

but my own interpretation.

And then, for dessert I'm doing a take on when I went to New York for my honeymoon.

So I'm doing peanut butter and jam macaroons

with textures of raspberries.

I think that's where food comes from, where you go and what you see.

Jam and peanut butter, jam and jelly as the Americans say, macaroons.

Yeah. And clotted cream. That's the butter element to it for me.

You know, the fatness, the richness.

And I'm from Devon, so you have to have clotted cream with everything.

And how much of yourself have you put into this competition so far?

Everything. Nearly getting divorced before I even got married.

I've given my heart and soul to this competition.

And, hopefully, today, with my plates of food, I can show that.

I'm not too sure about Anton's.

I do like the idea of the pigeon with the liver.

What's worrying me, and I probably wouldn't order, is the filo pastry.

Cos it's going to have to be very thin.

and that's in danger of getting greasy.

Anton is using morels, truffle, truffle oil, asparagus, pigeon.

All very flavourful ingredients.

I just hope he gets it right. I hope he gets the balance right

of all these strong flavours.

He is really cooking on the edge there.

The filo pastry, when you seal it, can go too dark

if you don't get the timings right.

Cauliflower puree can go over and won't be bang on fresh.

I could over-reduce the sauce and that would ruin it.

There's loads of elements in that time that can go wrong.

I am very much looking forward to macaroons

flavoured with peanut butter and jam.

That could be a winning combination.

The perfect macaroon should have a really shiny exterior.

Cooked just right so that it's crisp on the outside

but gooey inside.

Macaroons are very, very difficult to get right.

I spent two years just learning the art of the macaroon.

The major worry for me is the desert.

The macaroons are a very hard dish to get right.

They're near enough on balance, I'd say, with making a souffle,

in complexity of getting them absolutely perfect.

But I've spent nearly seven months

making these macaroons bang on, so hopefully.

It could go one way or the other. If the mix goes wrong,

I've got to make it again. And that takes 20 minutes.

I'm expecting Anton to fill his plates full of tiny little morsels,

little surprise morsels. Little bits of treasure.

Anton is pushing himself, as usual.

But we know that he always delivers on time.

He'd better be on time again today.

That place in the final feels really close

but it also feels a million miles away.

But, you know, if I can really do this dish justice today,

I know for a fact that it's an outstanding dish.

You've got just 15 minutes left.

Whoa, look at them go, Gregg.

They are giving it 100%. I'm loving this.

We knew we had two good chefs. This is what it's all about.

It smells fantastic, the plates are coming together,

but the pace has now gone frantic, absolutely frantic.

You've got just five minutes. Please, come on, guys. Five minutes.

Only three minutes left. Hurry up. Three minutes.

That's it! That's it, times up.

Keri has made a main course of roasted cannon and rack of lamb,

on a sweet onion puree with wilted rocket...

..accompanied by a mixed wild mushroom and white bean cassoulet...

..and a white wine, vegetable and lamb reduction.

Lovely colours. The black of the slate. The pink meat.

Very, very pleasing to the eye.

That lovely reduction of white wine,

vegetables, lamb trimmings and stock.

Lamby, sweet and flavourful.

The cooking of the lamb, I think, is bang on.

Beautiful and pink.

The chop, some people may find a little under. But not for me.

The sweet onion puree is sweet, as it should be,

and brings a lovely roundness to this dish.

That little cassoulet of white beans,

cream, herbs and mixed wild mushrooms

has got bags and bags of flavour. It's a great idea.

And it's a perfect accompaniment, I feel, for a light dish.

My only issue is it could have done with a pinch more seasoning.

But, if I'm honest, this is a very, very fine dish.

And it shows a great eye for presentation.

-I think you've got it.

-Thank you.

I love the mushrooms and the beans in that pot.

That is creamy, it's mealy. It gives texture.

And the white onion sauce and the jus that you've made

just brings out the lamb's sweetness,

just emphasises it completely. I just love it.

Beautiful, pink lamb, with a jus, sweet onions

and a pot of beans and wild mushrooms. Job done.

Keri's desert is a deconstructed gooseberry crumble,

made up of gooseberry compote, gooseberry jelly

and a ginger and almond crumble.

And is served with quenelle of creme brulee custard.

Deconstructing that crumble and putting jelly on there,

you've managed to be traditional,

clever and fun at the same time.

As a dessert, it's lovely. It's good to eat. It's not too sweet.

It's got the right level of sharpness.

You can taste the gooseberry. You can taste the elderflower.

The jelly there is really yummy. Really, really good.

Your set cream, or creme brulee is hitting the right notes of vanilla.

It's rich and it's a perfect combination,

a perfect foil for that quite tart, sharp gooseberry.

You've judged it just right.

Seriously, Keri, this is very, very good.

I'm very happy for you. Very happy.

That's a fine blend of flavours.

It doesn't matter what angle you come at that at, its lovely.

You get toasty and a little bit of ginger,

vanilla out of the cream, sweet sharpness from the gooseberry

and that jelly is divine. This is magnificent. Magnificent food.

I'm feeling really good right now. Yeah. Really, really good.

You know, there were some amazing comments

and I'm really proud of what I put out.

Those two dishes, I love those two dishes.

So yeah, very happy. Very happy.

For his main course,

Anton has made pigeon Wellington, stuffed with pigeon liver duxelles,

cep, Parma ham, spinach

and wrapped in filo pastry.

This is served with a pan-fried pigeon breast,

asparagus-stuffed morels with truffle oil,

a cauliflower puree and a sweet sauce.

This looks like proper, fine dining, restaurant presentation.

Very precise. Beautiful cooking of the pigeon.

You can see that, nice and pink. The filo looks crispy.

And I like the fact that you've used the pigeon in its entirety.

Stunning looking plate. Look at the work in there.

I mean, if that came out to me,

I'd have such confidence in the kitchen.

Look at it, it's fantastic.

You cut into that soft, gamey meat.

That's beautiful, beautiful cooking.

I didn't think I'd like the filo pastry. I was worried about that.

But there's a bit of crunch in it. It holds all the other ingredients together.

It's a delightful little parcel.

Throughout it all, you've got that beautiful,

sweet sauce going through everything.

That is a delight.

That is an indulgent, opulent, absolute delight.

There are times when I sit in restaurants

and I have dishes like this,

where I consider giving myself over completely to gluttony.

And that's one of them. Mate, that is beautiful food.

Great, great flavours going throughout this dish.

The seasoning is just perfect.

Pigeon is cooked beautifully and I love the little cylinder of Parma ham

with the offal going through it.

My only remark, and it really is my only one,

is that you should not have put any truffle oil

on the morel and asparagus.

It was one tiny step, but I mean tiny step, too far.

When you bite into that filo pastry,

there's a hint of thyme there as well, which explodes in the mouth.

It's really paying homage to this pigeon.

It's great cooking.

Great cooking and great balance of flavours.

Anton's dessert is a vanilla macaroon,

filled with peanut butter and raspberry jam...

..served with a mocha mousse, salted peanuts, raspberry jelly,

Devonshire clotted cream

and marinated and freeze-dried raspberries.

I sometimes put macaroons on as a desert and not as a petit four.

And that's exactly how I present it. Exactly.

Standing up like that, I think it looks great.

I love the amount of work that you've put into this and your ingenuity.

The flavour's great.

I love that peanut butter and jelly, or jam, in there.

I really like those raspberries. They're delicious.

The ones that you've steeped in raspberry vinegar, especially.

And it's delicious with the clotted cream.

That's a great addition to the plate.

The macaroon with jam, peanut butter and coffee

is a sensational flavour that I've never had before.

Chocolate, coffee, macaroon, peanut butter, jam,

raspberry, cream, salted peanut. You read it out, it shouldn't work.

It's absolutely delightful.

Absolutely delightful. Very clever.

I feel absolutely amazing. Yeah, I'm really over the moon.

Today I cooked to the best of my ability.

Oh, that was so, so close to perfection.

That's what we wanted. Well done.

Absolutely brilliant.

You have cooked so well today,

you have put us in such a difficult position.

Thank you so, so much. Off you go.

The way they cooked today was just uplifting.

When you are faced with food of that calibre

by two such passionate and skilful chefs,

I honestly don't know what you do there.

It was brilliant. Great cooking, from both of them.

We knew Anton was skilful and a knowledgeable chef.

But he nailed it today.

I thought that pigeon dish was superb.

Anton's dish has got to be right up there

with some of the favourite dishes I've ever tasted.

Sweet sauce, pigeon cooked perfectly and a hint of truffle.

Oh, my word.

Skilful cooking and great presentation.

My only little negative would have been

to not put the truffle oil on top of the morels.

Do you know what? Who cares?

We're talking about building Buckingham Palace

and moaning that a bit of the paint's peeling.

That was a beautiful dish.

The peanut butter and jelly combination

worked beautifully inside the macaroon.

It was soft, gooey, sweet, salty. It had everything.

The jelly. The raspberry jelly and the cream.

And a salted peanut. Just brilliant.

Anton is the real deal.

He is a great chef.

If they're the last two plates of food that I cook on MasterChef,

then they're the best two plates of food that I'm going to cook.

We've tasted some great food cooked by Keri

but now she's brought finesse to her cooking.

She did it, Michel. She did it. The lamb on the black slate.

That black background just brought every single natural colour

out of that food, just glowing!

That lamb was beautiful and pink, moist.

It was very good cooking. Beautifully seasoned.

The little cassoulet of beans and wild mushrooms was delicious.

I thought it could have done with a touch more seasoning.

But I'm really looking for fault.

That crumble of hers. Me and you both put that jelly in our mouths,

looked at each other, went, "Oooh".

That was really, really good.

She got the balance of sweetness and sourness

of that gooseberry just right.

The crumble was delicious, the compote was superb,

but the highlight for me as well was that lovely jelly

that was flavoured with elderflower cordial.

Oh, gosh, that was good.

Only someone that really loves desserts

can make a desert as triumphant as that.

I'd be gutted if they were my last two dishes

that I cooked on MasterChef.

The problem I've got is there isn't very much in this kitchen today

that I didn't love.

A fantastic day's work.

The eye for style,

the flavour combinations,

the textures were great.

Two fantastic chefs cooking their hearts out.

We have made a decision.

Both of you are going through to the finals.

Thank you so, so much.

There's no way we could have split you. You two were too good.

Ha ha!

Brilliant.

Happy days.

I'm just blown away. I can't tell you how happy I am.

I'm in shock.

That was tough. But I'm so ecstatic about the result.

Absolutely over the moon.

I thought I was going.

But, actually, I'm a finalist in MasterChef.

It's probably the biggest achievement I'll ever have in my life.

Inside, my body's screaming, yeah. Very emotional about this.

Very emotional. I put my heart and soul into those two dishes.

Next week, Keri, James,

Anton and Oli

face one last challenge to earn a place in the final three.

Today is an invention test... but with a difference.

No fish, no meat, no poultry.

That's banging on the door of divine, that is.

Your eye is drawn to the burnt bit.

For me, there's too much white chocolate cream on there.

That's for me. Not for him.

And the chef leaving us is...

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