Episode 14 MasterChef: The Professionals

'These eight chefs want to become Professional MasterChef champion.'

Service, please.

'They've been split into two groups.

'Today, the first four have to prove they're good enough to make it through.'

I don't think Gregg and Monica have seen anything of me yet.

Hopefully, I'll get the opportunity to show them another side of me.

I would be honoured if I could progress.

I want to make it happen for myself.

I need to nail it,

or it's bye bye.

I love a challenge. Of course I'll take it on.

I'll kick myself harder than anybody if I fail.

'First, they will face Monica's infamous skills test.'

I wouldn't take the job of wrapping the Christmas presents, mate.

'Then, they finally get to face Michel Roux Jr

'and his classics challenge.'

This is their chance to show me what they're made of, how much they want this.

'At the end of today, one of them will be sent home.'

This is the skills test. What are you going to ask them to do?

We've got a lovely saddle of lamb, which I would like them to debone

and roll ready for roasting.

-Oh! I can do that!

-We're going to give them ten minutes.

Plenty of time! For those who don't know, show me.

BOTH LAUGH

All you want to do is slide that knife against the bone.

It's an expensive piece of meat. We don't want to see any wastage.

It's coming right off those ribs.

I'm going to take it to the end and you'll find everything comes off.

They need to remove this thick layer of the skin here

and also as much fat as possible, without cutting into the meat.

That should come off.

Then you repeat the same process on the other side.

Just going to remove the fillet and clean it, remove the sinew.

If you don't clean this little fillet up, it will get very tough.

You then firmly, keeping it together, roll it up.

-I'm taking the crepinette.

-What is crepinette?

The crepinette is the lining of a pig's stomach.

Just going to roll it over to hold it together.

Now it's ready to be tied.

So, over the top, round and tie a knot.

Firm, but not too tight.

What it does is it then evens out the shape,

so that it cooks at the same time.

These guys get nervous.

They're not going to be able to do this with shaking hands.

Very attractive!

There you have saddle of lamb, boned out and tied, ready to be roasted.

I want to see this skilfully deboned

without any wastage left on the bone.

I want to see them remove as much fat and thick skin off,

and to show the skills to be able to tie up the meat ready for roasting.

Well done. Let's get them in. I expect them to be able to do this.

'First up is 29-year-old head chef David.

'In his first test, he had a disaster

'when his butternut squash and gorgonzola tart fell apart.'

I need to go into today's test positive.

The other test was really poor. I've got to nail it today.

Right, David, what we'd like you to do with that piece of lamb

is bone it, roll it and tie it ready for roasting. That's it.

David, does that sound straightforward to you?

-I don't think so.

-Oh!

-Have you boned one out before?

-No.

You've got ten minutes. Off you go.

Once you have the saddle off, if it's too big, you can roll half.

No worries.

Can't roast it as well in ten minutes, can you, chef?

You're halfway. Five minutes left.

Ah, the other one's come undone.

-No so easy when you're shaking, is it?

-No. Not at all.

Just relax. Take a breath. You're doing fine. You're fine.

Remember to knot that so it doesn't come undone.

You've got 60 seconds left, chef.

That's it. Time's up. Stop.

Stop. OK.

GREGG SIGHS

You got the meat off the bone quite well.

Er...then you couldn't tie a bit of string!

GREGG CHUCKLES

David, in watching you perform the task of deboning the saddle of lamb,

you've taken everything possible off this

and I like that.

You trimmed the fillet, which is good,

but you need to take as much of this fat out. OK?

You attempted to tie. The nerves kicked in.

-I have never seen anyone shake so much trying to tie a knot.

-Yeah.

-I wouldn't take the job of wrapping the Christmas presents, mate.

-No. I don't!

-David, thank you.

-Thank you.

-Off you go.

-Cheers.

Crying out loud! If you're shaking too much to do up a piece of string!

I was very happy with the butchery. It could have been a lot worse.

The hard part was done in quick succession,

then the easy part was the harder part.

'Next up is 28-year-old self-taught head chef Nick.

'His first dish was the memorable sausage three ways.'

The best I could take from last time

was everything I cooked was cooked correctly.

There were no real technical errors.

You can only look forward. There's no point looking back.

-How good are your butchery skills?

-Not too bad.

Right. What we want you to do is bone then roll that piece of lamb.

-And tie it ready for roasting.

-OK.

-Ten minutes. When you're ready.

You've had two and a half minutes. You've got seven and a half left.

You're halfway. You've got five minutes left.

GREGG CHUCKLES

-Bit short, chef.

-Just a bit.

You're OK. Take a breath.

-You done?

-Done.

And breathe.

You had 90 seconds left, Nick, so not bad at all.

-Nick, it was your first time to bone out a saddle of lamb?

-Yeah.

OK. Great skills, but remember to take more of the lamb fat off.

The reason being it does not render down very well.

As to tying, I see the method that you were trying to do,

but you need to pull the string tighter, so it holds this together.

-You also want to get that string more uniform.

-Mm-hm.

That would be fine for me, if I got that from the butcher. Well done.

-Off you go, mate.

-Thank you.

He did OK. Some of these chefs are just SO poker-faced.

-Don't you ever smile, you lot?

-No.

I feel a lot happier now that I've got through that test.

Cos this is MasterChef, at the end of the day. Nothing's easy.

'Next is 26-year-old sous chef Alex.

'In the last round,

'her butternut squash veloute with sausage dumplings

'did not go down well.'

Going into the skills test, I feel I've got everything to prove.

I've got more skill to show Gregg and Monica and I feel that I'll be able to do that.

-How are your butchery skills?

-I would say average.

Good, good. We aim for average on MasterChef(!)

-Have you boned out a saddle of lamb before?

-Yes.

Excellent! Well then, expectations have shot up!

Ten minutes. Off you go.

-Once it's off, Alex, you only need to roll and tie half of it.

-OK.

You're halfway, Alex. Five minutes left.

Two and a half minutes left, Alex.

-All done?

-Yes.

I'd be a little disappointed if I got that from the butcher.

I would wonder where the rest of it was.

You obviously know what you're doing when it comes to boning out the saddle of lamb.

However, rolling it up and tying it ready to roast

is something that seems alien to you.

I have actually never seen it done this way. Hm.

-Interesting.

-Oh, well! You did half of it VERY well.

The other bit was guesswork.

Alex, thank you. Off you go, mate.

How did she learn to bone, but not learn to roll and tie?

What? She work in an abattoir?

I felt that I let myself down by not knowing how to finish off a joint for roasting.

Obviously, you want to have a nice end product.

'Finally, it's 24-year-old head chef Adam.

'His butternut squash panna cotta was the stand-out dish of the day.'

Invention test went well, yeah.

It went really good. That made me feel fantastic.

You've only got ten minutes, Adam.

It's just you, the boning and the rolling. Off you go, mate.

This is something I've not done in a while.

-Do you want me to do the other side?

-Yeah. If you want.

-Can't stop shaking.

-You're not the only one, Adam.

-I hope so.

You've got two and a half minutes, Adam. Good.

-All done?

-All done.

Adam, you looked very comfortable in boning out the saddle of lamb.

You took your time trimming away the back fat, which was good to see.

It's a great job. You've done yourself proud.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

Watching the second test, I think there's a bit of quality about you.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Off you go.

I still really like him.

I tell you what - quality! I think Michel's going to love him.

I think the skills test went very well.

I'm still nervous.

It's over. What's wrong with me?

But yeah, yeah. It was... I should be all right in about an hour.

All four chefs showed great skill in boning out the saddle of lamb.

However, there were issues when it came to using a bit of string!

I like these.

I think it's a decent calibre of chef. Michel's going to be pleased.

For my classic recipe,

I'm going to be cooking a tartelette de maquereau et beurre blanc a la ciboulette.

That's a mackerel tartlet served with a classic chive beurre blanc.

I came across this recipe as an apprentice.

It's going to test our chefs' skills in pastry work,

fish prep and, of course, making a great classic French sauce.

The mackerel, I'm going to cook whole. Take the head off.

Fins off.

Now to put the mackerel into a court bouillon.

The reason why I'm cooking the mackerel whole

is that I want it to stay very moist.

If it's filleted, it will tend to go very dry.

Then turn that off.

It's just a gentle poach.

Next step, we make the fish mousse.

Whiting.

Put a little bit of egg white in it. The egg white is there to bind.

Then we puree it in a blender.

The fish puree, I need to pass through a fine sieve.

It's very important.

That makes sure that the mousse will be without any sinew or bones.

To this, we add some double cream.

Then beat it in to make this lovely light mousse.

Seasoning is so, so important.

I expect chefs to know how to make a fish mousse

and to know when to stop adding the cream.

Now we have our fish mousse. Looks just about right.

Next, I need to line the tartlet mould with the pastry.

So, rolling out the pastry to the right thickness.

Not too thick, otherwise it's going to be heavy and have no finesse.

But too thin and it won't hold the fish in.

The tartlet needs to be baked blind, so as to cook the pastry.

If you try to cook it with all the garnish inside,

the pastry will be soggy and not cooked properly.

Next step, we have to make a tomato fondue.

This is made with chopped shallots, a little bit of garlic.

Once the shallot and the garlic has sweated off, we add a little bit of tomato paste.

Very important to de-seed and to remove the skins of the tomato.

A proper tomato fondue will never have any seeds or skin.

It's that attention to detail which will make the difference.

Seasoning.

I like pepper, especially with the tomato. It brings it all together.

I can now flake the fish, making sure that there are no bones.

Tartlet has blind baked. Now we need to trim the edges.

That's lovely and thin - really delicate.

Now we can fill it up with the mousse...

..followed by the lovely succulent mackerel.

Finally, a little bit of tomato fondue on top.

Not too much, just enough to cover it.

Then back in the oven to bake.

So, next stage, the beurre blanc.

Every chef worth his pinch of salt should know how to make a beurre blanc.

We add a touch of cream.

Then we add the butter.

If you add too much butter, it will split.

If you boil it too hard, it will split.

Beurre blanc is perfect like that. Chives in the beurre blanc.

Tartlet should be cooked now.

Oh, yes!

Mm! Oh, it smells lovely!

Now, all we need to do is plate up.

There you have it,

tartelette de maquereau au beurre blanc de ciboulette.

This is going to be a challenge for the chefs,

a challenge of all their skills, all their knowledge

and their methodology.

Welcome back to the MasterChef kitchen.

My classic dish today

is a tartelette au maquereau et beurre blanc ciboulette.

A mackerel tartlet with chive butter sauce.

In front of you, you have a basic recipe.

There are no weights and measures on there.

You are professional chefs.

You shouldn't even need a list of ingredients, let alone the method.

You've got one hour to deliver the perfect mackerel tart.

Off you go.

I'm not from a French classical background.

You don't really get it in Scotland.

There's not many French restaurants up in Scotland.

We don't kind of pride ourselves on other nations' food.

We kind of do our own style. We just do full-on Scottish!

Morning, David. Are you au fait with the classics?

No.

To be honest, when I revealed what it was, you did look a bit worried.

A wee bit puzzled. There's quite a lot of ingredients.

Now I've got a rough idea what you want, sort of thing.

-We'll see!

-Good. So your style, in a nutshell, is...?

Scottish. It's all Scottish.

-Scottish cuisine!

-Scottish through and through.

-Obviously, there's a lot of French influence in food.

-Yeah.

-There's certain things we do that the French do as well.

-Yeah.

-We put a stamp on certain things.

-The French have learnt a lot from the Scottish.

-And vice versa.

David, a young chef who's passionate about Scottish cuisine and all that is Scotland.

I hope David's passion translates into great-tasting mackerel tartlet.

Guys, 15 minutes gone. 45 left.

Seriously - move, move, move! Keep it going.

I haven't worked with any French chefs.

I know basic French culinary terms

so, hopefully, I should know enough to be able to understand!

-Hi, Alex. How are we doing here?

-Not too bad.

Just working all the elements together.

-There's a lot to do, isn't there?

-There is.

-In the time given, it's going to be a tough one.

-It is.

-You going to manage?

-Certainly. It's going to be an interpretation.

-Am I going to like it?

-Yes.

-I hope so.

-MICHEL LAUGHS

-Have you done competitions before?

-I have done some competitions.

There's a regional Grampian competition.

-I managed to prove myself by winning it.

-Well done. Congratulations!

-This is just another competition. It's easy.

-It's another competition.

But it's a whole new level I've never been before.

Alex knows what to expect when it comes to standards in competitions.

But Alex didn't peel her tomatoes for the tomato fondue.

It's going to be full of pips and skin - not nice.

Halfway, chefs. That should ring alarm bells.

-You understand the recipe?

-Yeah. A lot of elements.

-Everything's got to be right.

-That's a confident, "Yeah!" and nod of the head.

-Why not?

-You look like a confident chef with a few years under your belt.

-Yeah.

-How old are you, Nick?

-28. Not that many years!

MICHEL LAUGHS

-What's your background?

-I spent six years in Spain. We had a family restaurant.

-I'm a head chef.

-Where?

-Boutiquey hotel in London.

This recipe, do you think you can get your head round it?

I believe so, yeah. I know what I make of it, anyway.

Hopefully, that adds up to what you make of it as well!

I'm sure, with the experience I've got, the level I work at now,

my experience will take me to the finish line today, hopefully.

Nick has got bags of experience.

Hopefully, he'll be able to nail this mackerel tartlet.

He has gone around it in a strange way.

He's cut up the mackerel into strips.

Once they're poached, they may be a little bit dry.

I feel very strong on classical cooking.

I think chefs that don't understand it are a wee bit lazy.

If you don't know the classics, you can't really progress anywhere.

-Adam, how are we doing here?

-Very good.

-You look very calm.

-That's on the outside.

-Bit nervous about this?

-Of course.

Anything with "classical" in, there's no room for errors.

Why do you think I'm testing you on the classics?

-A chef shouldn't be a chef who doesn't know the classics.

-True! I believe so.

-What are you doing?

-I'm head chef at a hotel.

-You've been there a while?

No. I took a year out last year and went travelling round the world.

-I learned culinary skills in all the countries I went to.

-Ah!

It was about progressing myself in different cultures.

French is the only thing I've trained in

and I've always had a passion for Asian food, Japanese, the way they're disciplined.

-What better way to do it than go and do it?

-It wasn't a holiday?

-No.

-You weren't bumming around?

-Some parts, you were sitting on a beach!

-Other than that, it was a food holiday.

-Research and development.

-Exactly.

Adam is the only chef that's got the pastry cooking very quickly.

Within 15 minutes, he'd rolled out his pastry and it was in the oven.

Adam's is the only tartlet that may be cooked all the way through.

Five minutes to go.

Time's up. Finished. That's it.

I asked you to cook a tartelette de maquereau au beurre blanc.

The mackerel tartlet should be light and delicate,

the pastry cooked all the way through.

The fish mousse should be light, not rubbery.

The beurre blanc should be sharp, but not too sharp.

David, let's have a look at your plate.

Presentation - it's...all right.

It's not super-delicate or light.

There was a little fish bone there in the mackerel.

The mackerel itself is lacking in seasoning.

The puff pastry is cooked all the way through, which is good.

But the bottom is soggy.

The fish mousse is like a rubber ball.

It's bouncy, it's chewy, it's not light.

The tomato fondue is grainy.

-Did you take the skin off?

-No.

-Ah. That's what I can feel.

Little details, yeah?

The beurre blanc is the right consistency, right level of acidity,

well seasoned.

Ugh!

David! There are errors here.

There are errors of judgment and lacking in finesse.

I was a wee bit disappointed that I left a bone.

I actually went through the fish, double-checked it twice, so...

bit of a sore one, that.

Nick, let's see what you've done.

I actually like this presentation, Nick. It's really nice.

Pastry is cooked all the way through. It's crunchy, it's thin.

Very neat and tidy. I like that a lot.

The mackerel, you've folded into this mousse, which is a shame.

Normally, you should have a layer of fish mousse, a layer of mackerel.

It's also lacking in seasoning.

The tomato fondue has been cooked out thoroughly and you're left with intense, sweet tomato flavour.

The beurre blanc, lovely texture, not too much acidity.

-Just enough to go with the mackerel. You know what? I enjoyed that!

-Thank you.

There are some really good points there.

But...as it is, it's not quite right.

-Thank you, Nick.

-Thank you.

It wasn't perfect, but he liked my presentation. That was good.

The pastry was cooked - always good when you're cooking pastry!

Yeah, the flavours were basically right.

A couple of technical errors, but no disasters. Good.

Alex, your turn.

It's got a little elegant style to it, which I really like.

However, the pastry work doesn't look right.

It looks thick and it looks rough.

Tomato fondue, great big chunks of tomato.

There's seeds and skin, which is wrong.

The mackerel, beautifully cooked and lovely big chunks, which I like.

It is, after all, a mackerel tart.

The fish mousse is quite light. It's not rubbery, not bouncy.

And the right amount of cream in there.

The sauce is a bit too heavy.

It's got a little too much vinegar and wine in it.

Quite sharp as well.

A bit of a mixed plate, Alex. Thank you.

It was the small things that cost me the most.

If I had just taken a little bit more care,

things that I would normally do in everyday work - but just didn't.

Didn't happen.

Adam, now for you.

Very minimalist and sparse on the plate!

It's incredibly neat.

It's bold, that's for sure.

The pastry, beautifully lined tartlet, cooked all the way through.

Precision work.

The mackerel has been flaked properly, nice big pieces.

The fish mousse is a little bit too light!

You put just a touch too much cream in it.

It is holding, though. Just. Just!

Tomato fondue is intense, sweet, salty.

You blanched and de-seeded the tomatoes, as it should be done.

A lovely beurre blanc, light, the right level of acidity.

Lots and lots of chives in it - that's a chive beurre blanc.

Whor!

-You're not far off the mackerel tartlet that

-I

-made!

Thank you, Adam.

I feel tremendous, that I've succeeded

and that I've shown the people that trained me - that boy remembers.

I feel great.

It's now your turn to cook a classic dish that showcases your skills.

Show me a bit more about YOU, the chef.

One mistake and you could be out of here. It's as simple as that.

You have one hour. Off you go.

Thankfully, no major disasters... but there were mistakes.

I'm a bit concerned about Alex and David. They have the most to prove.

It was disappointing that David didn't season enough.

The whole dish was cumbersome, heavy-handed.

I need convincing about David.

I've chosen my classic dish because it's not very common

when you go into restaurants and eat.

It's classical in its own right.

I don't know whether it's a French classic, but we'll see.

But it's definitely a classic in my eyes.

David, I'm intrigued. What are you cooking?

I'm doing a whole baked Dover sole on the bone, slip it off the bone and put it back together.

-If the fish is over or under cooked one minute, it won't come off the bone.

-Yeah.

-Then a wee stovie.

-MIMICS ACCENT: "Stovie"?

It's a potato dish that's usually got everything chucked into it.

-So it's Scottish?

-Ah, it's a peasant food.

Usually, the leftovers from Sunday roast you'll get on a Monday.

Your gran will stick it all together and you get a wee tattie dish.

It works well if it's done properly, obviously not slapped on a plate.

We're going to reintroduce this to society in a much more modern way!

I love the idea of things when it's leftovers

that are made into something new, a new dish.

-What have you got to prove?

-Everything.

-More than everybody in here put together.

-You think so?

-Yes.

-Most of my stuff happens in the last 15 minutes.

-Oh-ho!

-All to prove today, for me.

-David, I can't wait to taste this.

-Especially the "stovie".

-You're going to have loads of fans up in Scotland now!

He is cooking a variation of a dish that's very close to his heart

and that is a stovie or... SCOTTISH ACCENT: "Stovie".

I love sole cooked on the bone. For me, it's the only way. Very tricky.

A real skill set to cook fish properly on the bone.

When it comes to my dish, everything works together.

When he tastes it, it will taste as good as anything he's tried before.

That's the plan, anyway!

-LAUGHING:

-Whether it all goes to plan's another story.

15 minutes gone, guys. That's 45 minutes left.

Adam's tartlet was as near as it got to mine. It was very good.

I like what I'm seeing in Adam the chef.

Just hope he impresses me as much again.

It's taken me a long time to develop this dish itself.

Now that it's finally complete, I think its ready to go forward

and be scrutinised by Michel.

If he didn't like the dish, I would be gutted. I would take it to heart.

It's just a career, but when you're this passionate about food

every criticism is taken to heart.

I wouldn't like it at all.

So, Adam, what's your classic recipe?

I'm doing a take on classic flavours and combinations together.

Muntjac venison with a blackcurrant fluid gel,

compressed plums and confit potatoes,

and I'm going to encase it into cherry wood smoke.

-Pwar! My word! You've got some work there!

-Tell me about it.

You are going to use new techniques, water-bath cooking

and some smoking involved as well?

-Is this the style that you're cooking at the moment?

-Yeah. It's the style of food that I do.

In all the dishes on the menu, there is a fundamental part of classical cooking

in a modern way, without taking the Mick.

-Sometimes, modern ways are too much.

-Excellent. I love that.

Stick to your guns. I like that.

-You did very well in my round, but you're only as good as your last plate of food.

-Exactly.

-Let's hope this one is equally as good.

-Yeah.

Adam is using a lot of modern cooking methods,

a lot of different techniques on show.

That's good. That's what I want to see from a young chef.

SIZZLING

Adam has put a lot of garlic in with his muntjac deer.

I hope that doesn't overpower the taste.

Adam is seriously going for it - seriously going for it.

If I do succeed in impressing him with this dish,

it will be...a tremendous feeling.

25 minutes to go, guys.

I'm a bit concerned about Alex.

That tomato fondue with the mackerel tartlet was not right.

It was just raw tomato, hacked up and chopped.

Attention to detail. That's what's going to win this competition.

Alex has seriously got to impress me.

I still feel that I've got a lot to prove, to show.

I mean, I didn't have a good last round.

I feel as though I have to prove myself even further now.

WHIZZING

Alex, what's going to be your special dish?

It is a twist on a classic of tomato consomme

with sole timbale and seared scallop, peas and asparagus.

Whoa! Let me get this right.

-A tomato consomme, so a clear tomato soup?

-Yes.

-A sole mousse in the shape of a timbale with scallops.

-Yeah.

Wow! You've got a lot of work to do!

-How are you going to clarify the stock?

-Classic egg whites.

-Wow!

-Cold water.

-MICHEL WHISTLES

So you really are showing off incredible classic skills.

And a lot to do. Where do you see yourself in a few years?

Hopefully, working down in London in a few years' time.

There's a lot of nice places out there

and I think that I owe it to myself to be the best that I can.

Hm.

Alex is preparing a tomato consomme.

To clarify a consomme, you need to add egg whites.

That lifts out the impurities and you should be left with a crystal clear soup.

Alex is up against it, because to cook and clarify a stock in an hour

is a tall, tall ask.

If Michel really likes my food, it would mean the world to me.

And I feel that I'm confident that I can go in and...do it!

15 minutes to go, guys.

Now's your chance.

Nick didn't quite understand what I was looking for in the mackerel tartlet. However, it was good.

Presentation was good.

I can't wait to see what Nick's going to come up with in his dish.

To do well in this competition

and to get recognition from chefs like Michel Roux Jr and Monica,

it means everything, what I've worked hard for all my career.

This is a recipe that's developed over a few years.

It's built and it's built to where we are today.

Yeah, yeah. I really like it.

Right, Nick. Pastry, dessert. What is it you're doing?

It's a play on a Black Forest gateau.

I've basically made a chocolate pave and a cherry panna cotta,

chocolate wine jelly and a red wine syrup.

-Nice little play on the flavours.

-I love cherries and chocolate, myself.

-I think it's a lovely combination. Are you a pastry chef?

-No.

But I have got steadily into pastry over the last few years.

I really enjoy working with it.

-You look like an ambitious young man, Nick.

-I'm really ambitious.

I'd like to own my own restaurant again, in the future,

and hopefully go towards the Michelin-star level.

-That's what I want to work towards.

-You've had a taste of owning your own restaurant.

-Yeah.

-What makes you want to go back?

-Knowing what I know now, I'd do it so much differently.

I think I could have a really good shot at it now.

-I'm looking forward to eating in your place.

-You're always welcome.

-Thank you, Nick.

Black Forest gateau is really classic.

I think this way of doing it is a really cool way of doing it.

There's quite a few different elements in the dessert.

If one of the elements isn't right or perfect,

it will ruin the whole dish.

Beautiful!

Nick is making cherry spheres using a spherification method,

dropping the cherry puree into a solution

that makes it into a lovely little globule.

When they're done properly, they are truly delicious.

When they're not done properly,

the gelling agent will solidify the exterior and it will be like chewing on a piece of rubber!

Beautiful flavours of a Black Forest gateau.

Just hope it's not too sweet. There has to be acidity from the cherry.

Three minutes to go, guys. Come on. On the plates, now.

Finish. Stop. That's it.

'David cooked his Dover sole on the bone

'and has served it with a chorizo stovie,

'pickled baby carrots and asparagus

'and a lemon butter sauce.'

It's a massive portion! That is a true plateful of food there!

-A Scottish dinner!

-BOTH LAUGH

I think that you can cook fish. Absolutely bang-on the cooking.

The seasoning as well.

The pickles work really well with the sole.

Lovely, bringing a bit of sharpness and sweetness as well.

Well balanced. I like that. The butter with lemon and dill.

Delicious. That, for me, is one dish.

You have added to this dish some roasted carrots and a stovie.

For me, that's one step too far.

I'm not saying that I dislike the stovie. I love it!

I think it's delicious, but it doesn't work as an accompaniment

for a very delicate dish, which is the sole, the pickles and the lemon butter.

They're fighting each other.

It's... Hm!

Not quite as refined as I was expecting or wanting from you.

He was very happy with the technique of cooking on the bone.

He liked it, just thought that the stovie was one step too far.

If he ever comes to my restaurant, he'll not get a big plate of food.

I'll be keeping it very refined for him.

'Adam has cooked muntjac venison served with confit potato,

'a roast blackcurrant gel,

'compressed plums, pan-fried girolle mushrooms,

'charred radicchio,

'a venison sauce and cherry wood smoke.'

Mmm.

It smells lovely and it looks beautiful.

You've got height in it, colour - very nice!

Very clever, because you just get a hint of smokiness.

The smokiness works beautifully well with that venison.

Venison slightly over-cooked for me. I like mine a bit rarer.

But it is tender.

All the fruit work perfectly with the venison.

The little girolles haven't been over-cooked.

Confit potato is delicious.

Really, really lovely buttery flavour.

And a good sauce - a good classic sauce.

A very good classic sauce.

Wow!

It's clever cooking. Very clever!

Because you're using tried and tested flavour combinations,

tried and tested cooking techniques, even though some of them are modern,

and bringing it all together in harmony.

Cor! You're a clever chef.

It feels fantastic that I impressed him. I feel on top of the world.

I've not had any major negative feedback.

Yeah! So, the ne... Hopefully, the next round, you'll see more of me.

'Alex has made a sole mousse timbale served with scallop,

'blanched peas, asparagus and a tomato consomme.'

First off, Alex, it's a very pretty plate of food, very summery.

Mm! You certainly know how to make a fish mousse.

Creamy, smooth. That's a very good fish mousse. VERY good.

Scallop cooked bang-on.

The peas, broad beans and asparagus are slightly underdone.

They're a little bit too crunchy.

The consomme is crystal clear,

but it's lacking a hint of seasoning - just a hint.

It's just a little bit flat.

As a dish, as a concept, I think it actually works. It's good.

There are a couple of things that are not quite right.

Not quite right and a bit of a disappointment.

I'm definitely happier this time. I was concerned about my consomme.

He said it could do with a little more seasoning,

which is...maybe a personal opinion. I thought it was nice enough.

I'll take all the criticism and apply it to the next dish or the next round.

'Nick has brought together Black Forest flavours.

'He's made a chocolate truffle mousse topped with liquid cherries,

'a cherry panna cotta,

'chocolate wine jelly and a red wine syrup.'

Nick, as far as puddings go, it looks really nice, very elegant.

Very well dressed.

The chocolate wine jelly is really delicious. Lovely texture.

Not too rubbery or bouncy.

Chocolate mousse, very rich and dense.

It's got that lovely kick of rum at the end, which is really nice.

I do like that a lot. The spherification works really well.

I like that it's quite sour. It cuts through the richness of chocolate.

The panna cotta, little bit hard.

Strangely, I find it's lacking in sugar. It's not quite sweet enough.

This whole dessert is showing skills, it's showing elegance,

style, but I don't find it complete.

I would have loved a bit of crumble on there or a bit of biscuit.

Another dimension.

It's nonetheless showing me that you understand desserts

and that you know how to dress a beautiful plate of food.

He said it was a very good dish.

He gave me a few pointers where he thought it could be better,

which I thought was fair, but I was happy with it, to be honest.

There was some seriously good cooking - I enjoyed that -

which makes it more difficult for me, because I have to make a decision.

Monica will be joining me and we are going to get our heads together

and try and sort this one out, but it's not going to be easy.

Thank you. Off you go.

There is one chef that really stood out for me.

I'm hoping he stood out for you. I'd really be disappointed if he didn't.

His name's Adam. He really impressed me,

both in the skills and the invention tests.

I'm pleased he did well for you. He did exceptionally well for me.

His tartlet was the best cooked. His classic dish was venison with fruit.

Then he smoked it. There was the theatre and it wasn't overly smoked.

Just that little hint. Very, very clever cooking.

He's got so much potential. I want to see him cook.

And I want to see him cook again!

Next, I'd like to talk about Nick. I like Nick.

Nick in the invention test decided to show off his skills

using the sausages three ways.

So we had a sausage, a boudin

and then a meat patty.

I'm sorry, at this level of cooking, sausage three ways I don't think is going to win it!

His mackerel tart may not have been the best one

but it looked great on the plate!

For his classic recipe, he showed off skills,

made a panna cotta, a bit of caramel,

made some spheres out of cherry puree.

He's proved to me that he has got all-round skills.

I think Nick should go through. I'd like to see him cook some more.

That leaves us with Alex and David.

There's an interesting character, who is passionate and loves what he does.

In the invention test, David made us a butternut squash tart.

The pastry was so heavy on the sides and had not cooked properly.

-This plate was enormous and, uh...

-Lacking in refinement.

-Lacking in refinement.

-For his classic, he did step up.

That sole cooked on the bone was absolutely perfect.

But that stovie dish with the delicate sole just didn't work.

Did not work.

If I was to go home today, I would probably be quite gutted.

I didn't come down here to go home at the first stage. It was a long-term thing for me.

In the invention test, Alex made us a butternut squash soup.

Lovely vibrant colour to it. It was seasoned very well.

But the dumplings didn't have a nice texture to them.

It wasn't the kind of cooking I was looking for.

I don't know about Alex. Her pastry work was not very good.

Her tartlet looked a bit of a disaster. The fish mousse was good.

Then she decided to make a tomato consomme

and clarify it in the classic method using egg whites.

So, a lot of skills involved and it was crystal clear.

It was severely lacking in seasoning.

I've seen moments which I really like,

but Alex is definitely not the finished article.

I hope that I've shown enough skill and promise that I can make it through to the next round

and show that I've got more talent to showcase.

We know who we've put through already and we know what's to come.

One of these chefs is going to be out of their depth.

I like what I've seen today.

I've seen passion, commitment and talented chefs.

We have, however, made our decision.

The chef leaving us today is...

-..David. I'm sorry, David.

-Nay worries.

That was very disappointing, my performance overall.

I've let myself down.

I need to concentrate on my actual job 110% now.

I'm looking forward to getting back home and into my kitchen.

MICHEL CHUCKLES

Congratulations.

I thought it might have been myself that was going to get knocked out.

I'm glad that I've shown enough skill to get through to the next round.

It means a lot to be here. It'll mean even more if I get through to the next one.

That's the challenge and that's what I'll do.

It feels really good to be a quarterfinalist in Professional MasterChef.

It's a good position to move on and do even better, I hope.

'Tomorrow night, the remaining four will battle to impress Monica and Gregg...'

A bit of a tester! There we go!

Get in, son! Back of the net!

'..before facing Michel Roux Jr for the first time.'

This recipe will tell me all about you, the chef.

'At the end, one of them will be going home.'

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