Episode 17 MasterChef: The Professionals

It's the semifinals...

and only the most talented eight chefs remain.

But at the end of today,

two of them will be sent home.

I like to think I could be the best out of these guys.

I do want to go all the way, and I do think I can do it.

I'm going to go in there all guns blazing.

These are pressures which normal chefs

don't really get to experience.

I think I need to have self-belief and then from that comes...victory.

Over the past four weeks, Chef Monica Galetti

and two-Michelin-starred Michel Roux Jr

have tested their technique and flare.

But today they have one challenge -

to impress the diner.

I really don't give a hoot about the technical ability.

All of that will count for nothing

if they can't set a customer's taste buds on fire.

We put you here because we know you can cook.

But today's the day that you have to excel.

I am expecting a proper high-end posh restaurant feast.

I want to be so full up with good food

that I have to be carried out of that dining room.

MONICA: Chefs, you have only two hours.

Cook a plate of food that will impress my friend Gregg.

Do not let us down.

Let's go.

I'm good at being different.

I'm going to bring my style and keep trying to wow the judges,

and keep trying to put my personality across, really.

Luke, I remember you very, very clearly.

What are you making for me, then? Fillet of beef.

I'm going to poach it very slightly in coconut milk. Whoa!

I want to show you something you've never tasted before -

a flavour sensation that you might never have had.

I say, mate, you are as passionate right now as you

were the first minute you walked in.

It's even more so than it was when I walked in.

I walked in a little scared child.

I'm growing as this competition gets on,

and I want more and more and more and more.

Luke is poaching a fillet of beef in coconut milk.

So I can understand the coconut milk penetrating into the fillet of beef,

that should give it a lovely creamy texture and sweetness.

I love coconut milk.

Even I haven't had this mix.

Fingers crossed for him,

cos I don't think this is the time to be sort of playing Willy Wonka.

The first two rounds I cooked for Gregg and he really loved it.

I think it was pretty much flawless.

Hopefully he's not got too big an expectation.

Scott is making a dessert using the flavours of a summer punch.

He's got cucumber, strawberries and ice tea, orange marshmallow.

It's a very interesting sounding dish.

Lots and lots of classic skills, for sure,

but how is this going to come together

as a dessert and a show stopper?

So what have we got there, Chef?

It's called Summer Punch in the Park.

If I was dining at your place, Chez Scott's,

what would you want me to remember?

I think starters and mains should be quite serious,

but desserts should be fun.

You finish with your dessert and you should leave really happy,

you know, a nice talking point at the table as well.

How will it look?

Colourful. It'll look like summer on a plate.

You've had 20 minutes.

I feel like I've had mistakes in every round.

Nothing's been absolutely perfect,

but today there isn't really any room for any mistakes in my dish.

So you made it, Tom. I did.

What are you going to make for us today?

Deconstruction of cherry Bakewell tart.

I'm making an almond biscuit crumb, a cherry gel,

some white chocolate and almond liquor ganache...

Oh, my word!

That's a lot of work, why push yourself that hard?

I just want to elaborate on two flavours - almond and cherry,

so I can show you guys what I can do.

Have you given thought to how this will look on a plate?

Absolutely, yeah.

It's going to be like a little path of ingredients across the plate.

Listen, I'm impressed...as long as you can pull it off.

I hope so.

MONICA: Deconstruction of a dish means taking it apart

and then putting it back in quite a funky sort of way,

but it should still taste of a Bakewell tart

and of the cherries that he's got on there.

If he gets this right and he's generous enough,

Gregg will like this.

The competition's getting harder. That last challenge was crazy.

I've never experienced anything like that before in my life.

I have to deliver, I have to be on the same level or go even higher.

Adam, mate, I'm pleased you made it through.

Thank you very much.

What are you going to make?

I'm going to do like a little popcorn mousse encased in sugar,

burnt butter and hazelnut cake.

It's just served with a dark-chocolate ganache

and some candied popcorn and some nougat.

Does it put you under more pressure if I say I love the sound of this?

It does, actually, yeah.

Well, actually, I'm kind of glad you do rather than you don't, so, yeah.

Adam is making tempered chocolate tubes.

He is seriously showing off some pastry skills.

Some serious pastry skills.

It feels really good to be in the last eight.

I just want to be in the final.

It just seems so much more achievable now,

it's not so far away.

You name it, if you can make it with a cherry, Steven's doing it.

He's making a cherry parfait, cherry gel, cherry dust,

cherries that are stuffed with a cherry panna cotta.

What is your dish, Steven?

My dish is called Chocolate and Cherries.

If I was turning up at your restaurant,

what do you want me to take away from this dish?

I want you to think..."I want to go back to this restaurant,

"I want to see another dish from this chef."

Well, that is it, isn't it, mate?

That is the Holy Grail of any chef, isn't it? It is.

Steven, you've gone from looking at me to looking terrified,

what's happened?

I'm just worried about timings a bit.

Are you going to be OK?

At the moment I'm a bit calm, but I'm like a duck on the water.

Good luck with these cherries, mate, you've got a lot to do. Thank you.

You've had one hour, chefs, that's halfway.

David, what are you doing for me today?

Traditional tiramisu but just done a bit differently.

How differently? Cos if you do a normal tiramisu,

serve it up in a great big bowl, you're going out of the competition.

I'm making a sphere and I'm putting everything in there,

so it's going to have, like, little layers.

Then you just crack it open and that's your tiramisu.

This, for me, is a little bit like "desserts meets NASA".

Is it?

It really is a classical dish.

Some people don't like it.

I'm hoping they do.

MONICA: David wants to take the tiramisu

and elevate it to another level.

Knowing this chef though, he wants to show off.

He's going to have elements in here that's going to really stand out.

It's a lot of pressure that comes with cooking a dessert for Gregg.

Lots of cream, lots of sugar and I should be fine.

David, what are you making today?

Lemon tart with pistachio and strawberry macaroons.

Strawberry gel.

Quite simple, but a lot of technical ability.

The flavour's going to be there as well.

What do you need to do, do you think?

I've struggled with pastry in previous rounds,

which is why I chose to do pastry now - just to show that I can do it.

It shows that I've progressed with the competition.

You've got a pastry point to prove, have you, Chef?

Yeah, definitely.

Good luck. Thank you.

David is making more macaroons there.

He's obviously seen that the first batch he made

was not good enough, so...

He's going to have problems.

I'm definitely starting to use my own style a lot more.

It's semi-improvised.

I've got a basic outline and then I'm just messing around on that.

Adam is cooking a turbot with a scallop mousse,

and he's got a classic beurre blanc.

He's always liked to put in a little twist, though, something different.

He's baking potatoes in a clay that has got squid ink in it.

It'll be interesting to see what the potatoes taste like or look like.

Adam, what sort of a competition have you had?

Up and down, to be honest.

I'm feeling a lot more confident now.

What was tougher - the rounds with Michel or the rounds with Monica?

I think the rounds with Monica, to be honest.

I got a little bit flustered, a little bit scared.

I think I'm kind of coming out of it.

Lots of desserts going on here today,

you're not going down that road.

No, I'm going down the seafood route today.

How much am I going to enjoy this today?

Hopefully with every taste bud that you've got.

Lads, you've got 15 minutes left. Not much time.

Let's get a move on.

Six desserts, two savoury dishes,

you can feel the stress mounting in this kitchen.

There could be a few things, cos I have seen a few mistakes here.

These guys are perfectionists, they want to impress.

I don't think the lemon tart's going to be ready in time.

Very, very worried.

If that's not set, I've got no dish.

One minute left. Come on.

On the plate. You cannot be late.

That's it. Time's up.

Stand behind your benches. That's it, finished.

First up is Luke.

Sit down, Luke.

He has poached his fillet of beef in coconut milk

and served it with shallot crumb-braised short rib,

a tempura oyster, charred leeks,

shallot puree and ketjap manis,

an Indonesian sweet chilli sauce.

Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Your fillet of beef is as soft as you like

and it's just a hint of coconut.

That short rib - tangy, another little bit of sweetness,

excellent seasoning.

Then tempura oyster is a work of genius.

Clever, clever boy.

For me, that fillet of beef has really worked.

It's got some lovely spicings going through it here.

Other than, I've just chewed on a whole Szechuan pepper

and it's like...

It's quite intense.

Incredible.

Probably the best comments I've ever had off a plate of my food before.

I'm almost in tears. It was...

..amazing.

Hello, Adam.

Adam has prepared a fillet of turbot coated in scallop mousse...

..served with a roast leek stuffed with baby vegetables

and clay-baked potatoes,

with a beurre blanc bisque.

Let's have a look.

This fish is barely cooked. Is that how you wanted it? Yeah.

That fish isn't cooked enough.

It's bordering on raw

and I'm really not a fan of those clay-baked potatoes.

Really chalky and horrible texture.

That's highly unusual.

It makes those potatoes very dry.

Mm, your bisque is lovely, mate.

The dish isn't working 100%,

but you've got some exceptional flavour

going on in your bisque here,

and some really interesting, lovely textures in that leek.

I don't think that dish lived up to its potential

to be the show stopper it was supposed to be.

I feel like it was OK, but not where it should have been. Definitely.

Steven has made a chocolate fondant,

accompanied by panna cotta-filled cherries poached in syrup...

..cherry gel and cherry tuiles,

served on a chocolate crumb with a cherryade on the side.

I think that is a glorious dessert work of art.

That's beautiful.

Oh, look at that.

This fondant is the centrepiece that's holding all of it together.

It's yummy, it's sticky, it's a pudding lover's delight.

You get a cherry juice, which is lovely.

There's almost like a strawberry, cherry jam flavour in there as well.

It's very skilful. I like it a lot.

Cherries, I think are delicious.

I love the cherry crisps as well - it's adding texture.

The cherry gel's adding another dimension.

This is one of the nicest plates we've had from him.

He's done well today.

I feel really happy after Gregg's comments.

I think I've upped my game, definitely.

I hope it's enough to get me through.

Next up is Scott.

GREGG LAUGHS

The idea is that it's a picnic blanket, so...

Scott has served a summer punch cheesecake wrapped in cucumber,

strawberry soup jelly, lemonade foam and orange marshmallow...

..with ice tea.

The citrusy marshmallow is almost sharp.

Mate, they are great!

That cheesecake you've got with the cucumber wrapped round it

actually tastes like a jug of summer punch.

There is some real light touches in there.

But a wonderful palate.

I am so impressed by this.

MONICA: It's a very original plate that Scott's made here.

Lots that I like.

The colours are stunning.

He brought his own bit of tartan cloth

to make it look like a picnic, which I thought was fun.

It actually added to the whole experience, the whole dessert.

Yeah, absolutely ecstatic. Not one single...

Nothing wrong with this, just really pleased for that.

Really feeling good right now, so it's good.

Sit down.

Adam's dish is a popcorn mousse encased in a sugar cylinder,

with burnt butter cake on salted caramel...

garnished with chocolate soil, dark chocolate praline ganache,

nougat, candied popcorn,

and decorated with a chocolate tuiles.

What a beautiful, delicious, intriguing plate that is.

That cake is buttery, it's caramel, you get a creaminess on the top.

You also get a little crack of sugar.

Then you go into the sticky, dark, bitter chocolate,

you come out into popcorn that tastes almost salty.

This is varying degrees of chocolate and butter cuddles.

The burnt butter cake is good!

Some of that bitter chocolate...

SHE SIGHS This is a very impressive dessert.

It is beautiful, it has elegance, it has style, it has panache.

For me, though, it's far too sweet.

Gregg's comments were tremendous.

I couldn't have hoped for anything better than that.

That was very, very good.

Hello, David.

David has made a tiramisu -

layers of coffee-flavoured sponge,

amaretto jelly and a mascarpone mousse

served in a sugar sphere.

There's real skill gone into this, but for a pudding man like me,

I find it a little small.

David, this is a skilful and clever thing to do...

..but in eating it you have still only got a tiramisu

with a crispy sugar coating.

It is not delivering an explosion of textures and flavours.

That's my kind of tiramisu.

I've had lots of really bad ones in the past,

this rates as one of the good ones.

It's a nice dessert, but it's not wowing me.

It's not a show stopper, so to speak.

Hmm.

I agree on some parts, I disagree on others.

He just said that he needed more or something else.

I don't know, for me, I disagree.

Come in, David. Oh.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

David has served a pistachio macaroon, some strawberries,

a lemon foam and a biscuit crumb.

David, what's happened?

Everything went wrong.

It was supposed to be lemon tart.

It didn't set in time.

Oh, the pressures of MasterChef.

It's like a jam sponge feel to the macaroon.

Not too sweet, lovely flavour of strawberry.

That's where it finishes. Yeah.

Mate, I'm really sorry for you.

That's a no-show pudding, innit?

Mm-hmm. Oh, mate.

I'm feeling really bad for David.

This is showing what happens

when the pressure is on and you get your timings wrong.

I knew it was a risk and if I didn't get it right

I don't really deserve to be here,

so that's just confirmed it.

Finally, it's Tom.

Hello, Tom. Stick it down, mate.

His dish is a deconstructed cherry Bakewell tart,

an almond financier

topped with a cherry parfait with poached cherries,

cherry gel, cherry vinaigrette

and an amaretto and white chocolate ganache.

There is the taste of cherry, there's a taste of jam.

That mousse parfait is just beautiful.

It's all the flavours of a Bakewell tart

delivered to you in different textures.

It's very, very clever.

For me, the financier cake and that mousse -

really good. Really enjoyed that.

And the cherry gel. I think the cherry gel is delicious.

Getting good feedback after working my socks off,

yeah, it's good. It makes it worth the while.

Good day. Really good day. Well done.

After our judgment, two of you will be leaving us.

Thank you. Off you go.

I forgot just how good the standard is when you get to this stage.

There were some unbelievable dishes presented to me.

Some of the mistakes were... Well, you couldn't ignore.

Your heart goes out to them,

but generally the standard is incredible.

David's lemon tart wasn't just a big mistake, there was no lemon tart.

MONICA: That's what happens when you don't get your timings right.

Pastry is that precise.

It's over for David, I'm afraid.

There's no chance.

There's no chance that at this level of the competition if you say that

you're going to put up a lemon tart and there's no lemon tart,

there's no chance you're going through. So that's it.

I would really like to keep Luke...

..Adam...

..Scott...

..and Tom.

I think to that four, we can definitely add Steven.

So that leaves us then with Adam and David.

Oh-ho-ho.

David, for me, was going to elevate the tiramisu to another level.

It was too small, and once you broke into it, you got tiramisu.

But it was a good tiramisu.

Well, I would hope it would be, last eight of MasterChef for pros.

Yeah, I'm not sure if I've done enough to stay in.

Yeah. Doubt it, myself.

I said to Adam, "Is this turbot cooked how you wanted it?"

"That's exactly how I wanted it, I just poach it." I thought, "Mm?"

All the effort seemed to go into a leek window box

that had loads of veg sprouting out of it.

I need to get through to the next round. I have to.

It's everything I've been thinking about and losing sleep over.

It might just be enough.

The competition is really seriously about to kick off from now.

I'm very impressed.

The quality, the skill

and the passion from you guys is to be applauded.

MONICA: Having to lose two of you is not easy.

The first chef that is leaving us today is...

..David G.

The second chef leaving us is...

..Adam.

I feel really gutted. I feel like I got so close.

I've never done anything like this before

and it just kind of got pulled away, but it is my own fault.

Definitely improved my self-esteem as a chef

and as a person in general, I think.

I feel a lot better about everything.

It's a shame to go,

but I'd definitely do it again.

It was amazing.

What I've learned from this is going to carry me on

to the next level of my career and throughout my career now.

Congratulations, guys.

I'm massively proud of myself.

Hard work's paid off again.

Being down to the last six, it's an amazing feeling.

One step closer.

Over the next three nights,

these six chefs face their toughest challenge yet.

They will be cooking in some of the UK's most acclaimed restaurants...

Faster, faster, faster, faster! Let's go!

I'm going to have to start giving free drinks out.

Trust me...I don't like giving free drinks out. Oui, Chef.

Why are you putting all that stock in your mushrooms? You're boiling them.

Sorry, Chef.

You've got to concentrate, all right. Just take your time.

Get it right.

..before returning to cook for Michel and Monica.

That is a good plate. I'd be happy if I got this out in a restaurant.

Heavenly.

Absolutely divine.

Only the very best chefs will secure their place in the final.

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