Episode 5 MasterChef: The Professionals

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

'Michel Roux Jr is one of them.'

-One lamb, two fish.

-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!

'These chefs believe they've got the skill to cook at the highest level.'

Service!

It's the chance of a lifetime and I never, in a million years,

thought that I would have this opportunity, so everything goes into this.

Everyone else in this competition, I don't care what they're doing.

It's what I do that matters.

I'll do whatever it takes.

I'll push myself through pain barriers to hopefully win it.

BELL RINGS Service, please.

'But first, they'll have to impress Michel's sous chef, Monica,

'who has set them two tests to prove that they're good enough

'to cook for Michel.'

Ten chefs about to walk into this kitchen and show us what they are made of.

Someone from a small cafe to someone from a Michelin kitchen, it doesn't matter.

Have the hunger to be better than anyone else,

and you have the right to be here.

We are gonna find some serious talent, you know that, don't you?

Welcome to Professional MasterChef -

your chance to prove you are a chef with skill, ambition, determination.

Your chance to make a mark.

I have very high expectations of you, and so does Michel.

You have got seven different ingredients.

What we want from you is one dish in one hour.

Uncover your ingredients.

In front of you you have goat's cheese, puy lentils,

white wine, thyme, walnuts,

tomatoes and peaches.

You also have a limited larder that you can use.

Ten minutes to consider and design your dish.

Your ten minutes start now.

You need to move yourselves away from the pack.

You need to be different.

Your ten minutes is up.

One hour to show us what you are made of.

Off you go.

They haven't got any meat or fish,

so they need to dig into a chef's repertoire and be creative.

They can make a walnut brittle, layer it over those peaches.

Make a lovely goat's cheese tart with a lentil puree.

There's lots of options. They need to know how to use the produce.

'I would rank myself in the world of professional chefs as quite high.'

I'm very passionate and I think that comes across

in the food that I put on the plate.

Martin is making a tomato and goat's cheese roulade.

The roulade, depending on how tight it's rolled together,

can look really stunning.

It should have beautiful red and white contrasting colours. That plate should look wonderful.

-What position do you hold right now?

-I'm a head chef in a hotel.

-You're responsible for everything? Breakfast, room service?

-Yeah. Lunch, dinner.

-That's a lot of work.

-It is. Very hands-on.

-How long have you been a chef?

-17 years.

-17 years?

-Yes, soon as I left school.

-Have you got the hang of it?

-Hopefully!

Being a chef's fantastic. The hours are long.

The satisfaction of cooking for people more than makes up for it.

I'm doing a roast goat's cheese with a walnut crust and peach marmalade.

-How long you been in pro kitchens?

-Five years. I'm head chef now.

-It's a big restaurant.

-How many seater restaurant?

-112.

-Whoa!

-Yeah, it's big.

-What style of food?

-It says modern British, but it's a French twist.

-Do you think you've done amazingly well to get head chef in five years?

-Not really, no.

I'm quite modest. There's so much left to learn.

-Tell you what, if you don't big yourself up, no-one will.

-True!

'I like to take classical things and put a modern twist to it.'

Sometimes, my style can be a bit whacky, but...

I'm trying not to let my imagination take control of me.

-Oliver, this bench smells great.

-Thank you.

-What are you making?

Goat's cheese and tomato concasse ravioli with caramelised walnuts.

-What style of food have you got in your restaurant?

-It's mainly classics.

-What's the best dish on the menu?

-Three little pigs.

Pork cheek, pork belly and pork fillet.

Three little pigs and you want me to wolf it down!

Ollie is making a goat's cheese and tomato filled ravioli.

Let's hope he manages to get that pasta rolled out thinly enough.

One thing I can't stand, Michel can't stand - thick, uncooked pasta.

Listen, chefs, you've had 20 minutes.

I think my first head chef was the biggest influence.

In the two years, he pushed me on every section in the kitchen

to make me into a strong chef at a young age.

-What are you cooking, Lee?

-I'm doing a walnut and thyme tart.

I've got tomato and the peach together into a puree.

Inventive, creative... Is that the way you cook at the moment?

I like to try something a little bit different.

-How old are you, Lee?

-20.

-Young for MasterChef.

-You must believe you've got something special.

-I have a good eye for taste.

-And a good tongue for vision?

-Yeah.

-Brilliant.

I've travelled all over the place since I started to cook.

On yachts in the Caribbean, shooting lodges in Scotland.

I've worked in Russia on a fishing camp so, yeah, quite a variety.

I'm making a peach tart with some lemon sweet pastry.

-What sort of chef are you?

-Most of my work's freelance, so I cover a huge range of different food.

-I also teach as well.

-Who do you teach?

16 to 18-year-olds at a school in Cheltenham. I teach basic skills.

-What did you do before that?

-I worked for investment companies.

-No wonder you went into cooking!

Coming from a hotel I've got a bit of an advantage

because I do everything from brasserie to fine dining.

I've been taught everything over the years.

-What are you making for us, Ross?

-Some cheese tortellinis

served with lentil vinaigrette with a bit of peach to it.

-Do you cook in an Italian restaurant?

-No!

I cook in a Scottish restaurant.

I started when I was 16. My granddad was a chef. My mum was a chef.

-So it runs in the blood.

-There was nowhere else for you to go.

They could have told me about the hours when I started!

You're halfway. 30 minutes left.

I've been trained by some very classical chefs,

but there was no forward thinking.

For me, the best are Michel Roux, the Roux brothers.

They are the idols. They're my Superman, my Spiderman.

-Anton, what are you making for me?

-I'm doing a roasted sweet and sour peach.

I'm doing a thyme and walnut crumble.

I've got a little goat's cheese and lemon mousse setting.

What sort of food are you cooking now?

We'll arrange a dish around what's in season.

We've got a rabbit dish that's on, a little selection of rabbit,

little rabbit and mushroom pie.

We're fully booked lunch and dinner, so we're doing something right.

My whole family got me into cooking. My uncle's a butcher.

My dad's a chef. I started cooking professionally from the age of 14.

-What are you going to make for me?

-I'm doing a walnut-crusted cheesecake.

-Is dessert your thing?

-Yeah, it's a big favourite of mine.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

-So, where are you now?

-I'm head chef now.

-I'm running a kitchen in Essex.

-Charlie, forgive me, how old are you?

-20.

-Head chef at 20?

-Yeah. It's been hard work but I've got there.

Are you better than the head chefs you had?

I'm a lot friendlier than the ones I had.

Wouldn't want to be like that.

You've got 20 minutes.

Six years ago, I'd never cooked before.

I didn't know how to chop an onion.

There's a lot of things I haven't come across. That can be a weakness.

Thomas, tell me what you're making me.

I'm making a potato and tomato and walnut gratin.

Lentils pureed. I'm pickling some peaches as well.

What do you want from this experience?

I just want to see, you know, my style of food, how far it can get me. That's a test.

-Where you work, do they think you're amazing?

-Yeah, they like me there.

-Now we've got to like you here.

-Hopefully.

-Thank you, Thomas.

I'm really not sure what Thomas is going to give us.

He's going to pan-fry that cheese and serve it with a gratin.

Very confusing. I'm curious what he comes up with.

Growing up, I wanted to be a shepherd. That sounds stupid!

I wanted to be a shepherd, but I got coaxed out of that by my nana.

She saw the potential of my Sunday dinners.

I'm going to make a goat's cheese ravioli

and a lemon and walnut dressing.

-What position do you hold now?

-Head chef.

It's a private house that does private dinners.

-What do you want from the competition?

-I think it will give me recognition that I can cook.

-How much recognition do you want?

-The world's your oyster!

-If it was, you'd put a lemon dressing on it.

-A nice lemon dressing.

You've got five minutes left.

I thought that with these ingredients,

we were going to get a huge variety of plates.

We've got three or four desserts, three or four pasta dishes going on.

I hope that they manage to hold their nerve and deliver at the end.

That's it. Time's up.

'These ten chefs were given goat's cheese,

'puy lentils, white wine, thyme,

'some walnuts, three tomatoes and two peaches.

'Martin used the goat's cheese and tomato to make a roulade,

'topped with pickled onions and thyme,

'served on lentils and roasted walnuts with a tomato coulis.'

I like the acidity coming through that. I like the pickled onions.

The lentils, the walnuts all work well with the thyme, goat's cheese and tomato.

Your biggest let-down today is your presentation.

Big slices of onions. It needs more finesse.

It looks like you've chucked it all together,

but it tastes like it's been designed.

I don't know whether you've got the makings of a genius or you just got very lucky.

-LAUGHING:

-I don't know, Martin!

-Thank you.

'Simon roasted his goat's cheese

'and served it in a walnut and thyme crust with caramelised walnuts,

'pickled lentils and a peach marmalade.'

I can't see a great deal of cooking.

As a judge, I want to be impressed by technique and process.

I really like sticky, slightly acidic goat's cheese

with sweet flavours, caramel and little bit of fruit.

I love the honey, sweet juicy peach.

I love the little bit of vinegary spiciness with the lentils.

You're a chef who understands taste and has a very good palate.

Skills-wise, I need to see more of you to make my mind up.

'Oliver's ravioli is filled with tomato concasse and goat's cheese,

'served on lentils and accompanied by caramelised walnuts

'and baked tomato petals.'

The pasta, for me, is too thick.

The tomato skins that you have are very, very salty.

The lentils, there is just no seasoning in there.

This piece of walnut half covered in caramel I'm not going to try,

cos I WILL lose a tooth on that.

It doesn't work as a whole dish.

There is no place in pasta and lentils for caramel.

But...

I really like the filling in your pasta.

I feel you should focus on less things and do them properly.

OK. Thanks.

OLIVER: 'I was rubbish today.'

Just have to move on from it and come back stronger.

'Charlie's made a walnut-crusted cheesecake,

'served with lemon and thyme glazed peaches,

'caramelised walnuts with a peach emulsion and sprinkles of thyme.'

I like the look of that.

-You like that, don't you?

-I do like that.

I love the acidity of the peaches.

I like the crunch of the caramel and the walnuts.

And that cheesecake is perfect, spot-on for me.

This, for me, is a plate of heaven.

It's just delightful. Absolutely lovely.

That's the sort of dessert I'd have by the bucketful.

I've got no complaints, chef.

CHARLIE: 'I feel amazing. It's a real confidence boost.'

People like Monica and Gregg love my food. It makes everything worthwhile.

'Lee's walnut and thyme tart is accompanied by caramelised walnuts,

'creamy goat's cheese sauce and a tomato peach puree.'

The candied walnuts are set solid on the plate.

For me, an onion tart should have caramelised onions with a hint of the walnuts.

Unfortunately, it's not pleasant eating because it's very creamy,

sickly sweet.

But a good thing is, your pastry is wonderfully made and cooked.

I'm really sorry, Lee. I don't like that tart.

It's got the texture of chopped liver or a liver sausage.

I like your sauces, but they're both dessert sauces.

Your pastry's good, so you've got a good touch, but the ideas are wrong.

'Nicky's pudding is a peach and lemon tart

'with roasted walnuts and a peach puree.'

It's a very yellow plate.

At this level of cooking,

I want to see a plate that's going to jump out and wow me.

I think it looks lovely.

Nicky, that is a delicious lemon and peach tart.

I think you've got the right amount of lemon in that.

I love the goat's cheese coming through and the peach on top.

I'd easily devour the rest of that.

I agree. I think that's absolutely delightful.

Your pastry is light. The goat's cheese is mellow.

It's flavoured beautifully with lemon.

Then in comes really ripe, sweet juicy peach. That's lovely!

Good effort.

I'm chuffed to bits. Went well. LAUGHS

I need to work on presentation, but they really liked the flavours.

It was a huge relief. It was brilliant.

'Ross's dish is goat's cheese tortellini

'topped with toasted walnuts,

'accompanied by sliced peach and a lentil and peach vinaigrette.'

You've taken all that energy and skill and effort

to make those beautiful tortellini, and put two slices of raw peach on.

For me, that doesn't add anything extra.

If anything, it takes away from the presentation of your plate.

You obviously know how to make pasta.

It has been rolled out very thinly. The tortellinis are wonderful.

And that vinaigrette is inspired. It's sharp and also slightly fruity.

It's a real big flavour palate filler.

And it goes really well with the goat's cheese.

-Thank you.

-Thanks very much.

'Anton's made a deconstructed peach crumble -

'a roasted peach, peach skin filled with goat's cheese and lemon mousse,

'thyme and walnut crumble,

'caramelised sugar and a peach puree.'

That is a lovely plate, Anton.

I look at this plate and I want to know more about you.

Oh!

Peach juice and the thyme in the goat's cheese

with a really soft peach and some walnuts

is just delicious.

There's crunchy texture on there. It's really, really lovely.

It looked wonderful and tasted just as good.

Great dessert, Anton. I'd happily let Michel try it.

Wow.

Really pleased with what the judges said.

To hear Monica say that she'd serve it to Michel Roux is absolutely amazing.

'Thomas pan-fried the goat's cheese,

'topped it with peaches poached in white wine

'and served it in a creamy lentil puree.

'He also made a tomato and potato gratin topped with toasted walnuts.'

What on earth is this?

It doesn't look very appealing.

The gratin looks more appealing than this plate here.

The... The top of my mouth is almost glued together

by the glug that you put on there.

I taste something like that and I actually hate my job that you make me eat something like this.

I wouldn't even dream of giving that to Michel.

Do you know what I honestly believe, Thomas? I really believe that you are a much better cook than this.

And today, you just cooked lots and lots of things,

and weren't really sure how they were going to come together.

THOMAS: 'Disappointed, you know. Really disappointed.'

You take a risk and sometimes you just lose.

'Rob has made goat's cheese ravioli in a tomato sauce

'with a lemon and walnut dressing.'

I love it! I think it looks great!

Mm!

Perfectly made ravioli.

Goat's cheese, wonderful. I love the lemon coming through.

The tomato sauce is perfect.

It's a very simply presented plate, but it packs a lot of flavour.

-Thank you.

-The pasta is really light.

Good seasoning. Sweet tomato sauce. It's absolutely delightful.

-Not a single criticism on that.

-Thank you.

Thank you very much.

ROB: 'It feels absolutely fantastic having two judges like that'

say that the food was fantastic that I cooked today, so really big pat on the back for myself, I think.

That was your first taste of Professional MasterChef.

No-one said it was easy.

However, there was some cracking cooking going on in here today.

Some really exciting stuff.

Some of you need to wake up and realise how serious this competition is.

You have another chance to prove yourselves,

but do not relax too much because it does get harder.

Off you go.

'Now, the ten chefs will be split into two groups.

'Tomorrow night, five of them return to face the final test...'

You and the lobster, off you go.

I hate watching you work.

It's disgusting. It's dirty. It's a disgrace.

'..before Monica decides who will go through to cook for Michel Roux Jr.'

Prove to me that you HAVE got what it takes.

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