Episode 19 MasterChef: The Professionals

It's the semi-finals.

Over the last four weeks, these six chefs have proved themselves to be amongst the best in the country.

Now they're being split into pairs

and sent to some of the UK's most acclaimed restaurants.

-Why are you putting all that stock in your mushrooms?

-Sorry, chef.

Then they'll return to cook for Michel Roux Junior and Monica Galetti.

Only those who impress will go through.

Last night, 24-year-old Adam and 26-year-old Steven

were both put through to the final week.

Now it's up to 25-year-old Tom and David

to prove they're good enough to make it.

The final's just around the corner. I entered it to win. I didn't enter this competition to lose.

The closer you get, the more you start wanting it

and you realise that you can actually do it.

It's early morning

and Tom and David are heading to the heart of Surrey.

Today, they'll be cooking at Michael Wignall at The Latymer in the Pennyhill Park Hotel

under the supervision of the acclaimed chef himself.

OK, go.

Michael is an unbelievable chef. He understands the classics.

But he's taken them to another level using modern cooking techniques.

He is precision personified. Everything is there for a reason.

I was a head chef really quite young at about 23,

but I think because I started so young, I've got my own style and my own taste

and I think that's what makes my food slightly different to a lot of other people.

Michael earned his first star in 2009

and a coveted second star in 2013.

It's definitely been worth the sacrifices, yeah, but it's the lifestyle. It's not just a job.

You've got to love what you do.

If you do it half-heartedly, you're not going to get to the top and you're not going to be successful.

-Let's go on a rabbit and a langoustine.

-Oui!

Michael is one of those chefs that is very demanding.

He expects everyone working for him to give 100% and more.

He will be watching our semi-finalists like a hawk.

Letting these chefs into my kitchen is a big risk.

People don't normally start cooking on day one at all.

Nothing's going to be let slip. He's got a reputation.

He's got two stars under his belt and that means the world to him

and it means the world to his brigade as well,

so the pressure is on, really.

I need to prove that I can do the job necessary,

I can do the standard that they want me to

and yeah, just prove it to myself as well.

I'm sure I'll be all right.

He will not accept any of our semi-finalists coming in there with a swagger.

So, in his kitchens, no egos permitted.

I'm firm, but fair, but if someone crosses the line, they're out of the kitchen.

-Morning, David.

-Morning, chef.

-Morning, Tom. Welcome to the restaurant.

We've got a full lunch service, so the pressure's on. It's really busy.

If you perform and listen to what we say, you'll do fine,

but as soon as you don't, we'll step in and take over,

so you need to be switched on and working clean and tidy and professionally.

If you do that, we'll get on fine.

Let's get your aprons on and let's get started.

During service, Tom will be in charge of the rabbit starter -

poached loin of rabbit topped with a potato and rabbit foam,

a confit hen's yolk on celeriac puree,

served with oyster mushrooms, sweetcorn, broad beans

and cured ham.

The dressing is a bois boudran with tarragon and chervil,

topped with a cabbage crisp.

OK, first off, we've got a rabbit loin that needs to go in the water bath for 14 minutes.

-14 minutes?

-14 minutes. As soon as it's in there, set your timer.

-Do you have a system for ordering them?

-Yeah, we've got little pegs.

You peg it and mark which table it is. When you've got five or six in there, you know which one's which.

Everything is all about the timing on that dish.

The loin is so easy to overcook.

If it goes over by 10, 15 seconds, the dish will be ruined.

With your eggs...

A confit egg yolk that's been water-bathed,

so take it out of the shell,

into your iced water

and rinse all the white off it.

-These are really, really fragile.

-Yeah.

In your emulsion.

This stove is really hot, so things like your egg,

put on the side of the stove. Don't put it directly on the heat.

So we're going for a light colour on the sweetcorn?

Just a tiny little bit, yeah.

OK, your broad beans in there.

At this stage, you want to be lifting your rabbit out.

Take the ends off and carve it into three.

And serve it.

A small amount of puree.

Really carefully lift your yolk out.

-Not too regimented?

-No.

It wants to look natural on the plate, not too orchestrated.

And then lastly...

your cabbage crisp.

-Do you think you can manage that?

-I hope so, yeah.

-So do I.

He made it look really simple and he explained it really clearly.

I've just got to keep focused and keep my head around it.

Hopefully, it'll be more than OK and it'll be up to his standard.

David will be responsible for the broccoli starter -

purple sprouting broccoli with white and green asparagus

on a courgette puree, served with garden peas,

poached morels, pine nuts

and a truffled Brillat cheese.

The foam is a pine nut veloute

and is all topped with a milk-skin crisp and truffle.

The essence of this dish is freshness and that's the most important thing in my cooking.

So we'll start off, you need to blanch your sprouting broccoli.

Straight into a chauffante pan and check it after one minute.

The same with your asparagus.

I think the dish itself has got the makings of catching somebody out.

A lot of chefs want to cook meat and fish and things like that. Vegetables are different.

All the flavours have got to sing for themselves.

The cooking and the process that's behind that dish is so important

and that's why we've put that dish on today to highlight their cooking skills.

Straight into your iced water.

When it's cold, take it out again, so it's still got the colour, but it's wilting and cooked properly.

And then on to the char-griller...

The last part of the dish to cook off is your morels.

You want to seal them off first in a tiny bit of olive oil.

Three spoonfuls of emulsion.

Let that reduce for about a minute and keep feeling them as well.

They want to be nice and soft, but not falling apart.

One of the final stages of the dish is milk skin.

We use Jersey milk as it's got a high fat content. It's got a slight yellow tinge and very rich flavour.

It just melts in your mouth.

The toughest element on the dish is plating it up because everything has got to come up together.

You can't go back to the stove to get the broccoli that's overcooking or the peas which are discolouring.

Everything has got to come up at the exact time or else the dish is ruined.

This is your char-grilled courgette puree.

When it comes to presentation,

my style is slightly rustic, but elegant as well.

-Do you think you can do that?

-Yeah.

OK, let's go.

It's clever. It's a clever dish.

Everything is there for a reason.

It's just all about the precision, the timings, perfect cooking.

It's going to be challenging, but I think I'm capable of doing that.

Yeah, hopefully, service will run nice and smooth.

You're going to feel pressure. You feel the pressure in any new kitchen, never mind somewhere like this.

This one will test my nerves, I guess.

Yeah, the dish is sort of in the back of my head,

so yeah, I think it should be fun.

Tom and David, I don't think they realise how difficult it's going to be today for lunch service.

I think they're slightly over-confident, but everything has got to be spot-on.

It's my reputation, so we just won't let any rubbish go out.

They've got to be on the ball today or else they'll go down.

Rabbit and cod.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

The tasting menu costs nearly £100, so every plate that leaves the kitchen must be perfect.

Let's go on three broccoli, two rabbit and two piglet.

Yes, chef!

Come on, Tom. You haven't even got your rabbit in yet. You need to speed it up.

David, make sure you're tasting everything, all your emulsions, and you're not over-reducing anything.

-Are you coming up on your broccoli, David?

-Oui, chef.

-Come on, I'm dressing now.

Wait, calm down. Your puree's... Your puree's rubbish.

Just do it again.

Remember what I said to you. Put everything nice and neat on your plate.

Watch, I'll show you.

Just a swipe and just a swipe.

Then wipe your palette knife and put it back in, so you're not putting mess everywhere. Come on, let's go.

-Nice and neat.

-Oui, chef.

-Not thrown all over the place.

OK, go.

My first plate...

It wasn't smooth enough.

It's all right. I need to nail the next one.

David's dressed quick, but it's really brasserie style. He needs to brush his skills up dressing

or else we'll just have to dress it for him and that's embarrassing.

Now the spotlight is on Tom's rabbit and confit egg.

Be really careful when you lift them out.

-If you burst them, you do the dish again. It's another 14 minutes.

-Yes, chef.

-This is taking you too long, Tom.

-Yes, chef. Sorry.

-They're nice, but you want to do them twice as fast as that.

-Yes, chef. Oui.

-OK, set menu - broccoli, rabbit, cod, piglet on order.

-Yes, chef!

It's going OK for the moment.

I've got to concentrate and keep on top of it, you know.

The restaurant is full today

and Tom's rabbit starter is very popular,

but he's only using one timer to co-ordinate all his orders.

Let's go - three broccoli, three rabbit now. Won't be long on one rabbit, followed by two rabbit.

That's right, yeah?

That one's got four minutes after that, so that's going to have four minutes after that.

That means an extra eight, yeah?

What are you worried about? Why are you asking about times?

-It's just the adding on and subtracting. I'm not great at that, chef.

-Get another timer.

The numbers are getting to me a little bit, to be honest, but...

Just struggling.

We're going on one of each first, Tom. One rabbit...

Am I to ask for someone to crack me three yolks, chef?

-One rabbit. Three rabbits straight after.

-Yes, chef.

While the rabbit cooks in the water bath,

Tom has to prepare the corn, broad beans, mushrooms and finish the confit egg.

Your sweetcorn's had it. When you've got stuff on the stove, you need to watch it.

-If it's out of sight, it's out of mind and it's overcooking.

-Oui, chef.

-Sort it out.

-Clean your pan out and start again.

-Oui, chef.

It's a fast service, but he's got to think about what he's doing and he's got to stop panicking.

-How long on the broccoli, chef?

-Tom, that's you. How long?

Garnish up in two minutes, please.

-Two minutes means two minutes, Tom, yeah?

-Yes, chef.

OK, two minutes, we're going on three broccoli and three rabbit.

Sorry, chef.

I thought we were talking about the one rabbit. Sorry.

-It'll be up in four and a half.

-No, it's too long.

Come on, Tom. Stop panicking. Wipe the mess off the stove.

Cameron, you're going to have to jump on with him. Sort him out.

-You start plating the stuff up.

-Thank you.

I've just had to put one of my lads on there because he's just... Yeah, he's going down.

-I want three broccoli and three rabbit up now.

-Yes, chef.

With Tom now on track,

David is under pressure to get his dishes plated up to two Michelin star standard.

Chef!

-OK, go on it.

-Thank you, chef.

-Is that all right, chef?

-When you do them,

-be more assertive with what you're doing.

-Oui, chef.

Go. Wipe your plate. Wipe all your mess. Clean your microplaner.

I just want to do better. I want to send it without him saying anything.

I think I know what I'm doing wrong, so I'll just take a deep breath and keep going.

OK, Tom, I'm waiting on three rabbit. Where are they? How long on them now?

Three rabbit will be up in one and a half minutes, dressed in three and a half minutes.

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

Sorry, chef.

Pretty tough, to be honest with you.

It's quite hard to get everything all together on time, but yeah, we'll get there.

-Come on, let's get on this three rabbit now.

-Yes, chef.

-Start plating up.

-Thank you.

Come on, Tom. We're taking it out of the bath for you, we're carving it, I'm half-dressing it for you.

-Sorry, chef.

-Don't be sorry. Just do it properly.

-Oui, chef.

Remember what I said about dressing.

It needs to look rustic, not orchestrated, but nice on the plate.

Yes, chef.

Remember, everything all the same way, yeah? OK, go.

-Right, two rabbit.

-That's better.

-Thank you, chef.

It was slightly better, but we helped him quite a bit.

It's a difficult dish to do, but he needs to... He's just panicking.

You've got to be focused all the time or else you can see what happens.

But in a two Michelin-starred restaurant, there's no let-up

and the orders keep coming.

-Let's go - two rabbit, two broccoli. Two minutes and be on the pass now.

-Oui!

Right, that's your time up now. Two rabbit, two broccoli.

Tray up, please. Service.

What are you missing off there?

Truffle.

Yeah, go.

Oh, look at this!

Service is coming to a close

and it's the last chance for Tom and David to show they can cut it in a Michelin-starred kitchen.

Let's go now on three broccoli and a rabbit. I want this broccoli dressed spot-on.

-Take your time. Do everything properly.

-Oui, chef.

-Tom, do everything yourself on this one.

-Yes, chef.

-Is your yolk all right?

-Yes, there's one in the emulsion.

- How long on three broccoli now? - Two and a half.

Right, garnish going on.

-OK, you two, you're up now. Let's go. Three broccoli and a rabbit now.

-Yes, chef.

David, let's go. Neat dressing, everything cooked beautifully, everything seasoned up properly.

-That's you two done now. I want you to be cleaned down because we've got all the mains to go.

-Oui, chef.

Hmm!

I had the sprouting broccoli. The broccoli had a bit of a crunch to it.

The asparagus the same. Beautiful, beautiful.

The presentation of the dish was beautiful.

It was something I've not had before and it would make me eat broccoli every day.

I ordered the rabbit as my starter, yes.

It was brilliant. Very tasty, very succulent and quite intense in flavours. Beautiful.

It was absolutely gorgeous.

I have ordered the dish before

and as far as I'm concerned, as brilliant as it was the last time.

The speed of service was pretty rapid at lunchtime, so I think it took them by surprise a little bit.

It's probably brought them down to earth a touch.

Not that that was intentional.

If you're doing fantastic, great, we'll praise them to high heaven.

If not, they've got to be told. That's the only way to learn. We all learn every day.

I think that's important, especially as youngsters.

Don't have your head in the clouds. Have your feet firmly grounded and you'll learn a lot.

Yeah, it was pretty hard. It's just completely different.

You want to do it how he likes it sort of thing.

That was pretty intense.

It was like a maths lesson, having to add up timers, write down numbers for different bags.

It's a learning curve, I guess. He's very particular, he's a very particular sort of guy.

He knows what he wants and, evidently, he gets it.

Now Tom and David have one more chance to redeem themselves.

They'll have to cook one of Michael Wignall's signature dishes -

quail breast with a confit quail leg, braised tongue,

sweetbreads and cockscomb in a port glaze,

served with roasted salsify,

wilted wild garlic, roast ceps,

a Pink Fir potato and truffle mousseline

and poached onions.

It's my personality in the dish, so it's important that they put that personality across.

There's quite a lot of elements. Everything's got to match together.

Light flavours, but all the flavours pack a punch.

I think the most challenging part is the sealing of the quail.

Put a nice, light, golden brown on the skin.

Napped with butter properly, so you get all the lovely flavour of the beurre noisette into the quail

and the same with the salsify.

It's important that you get the right amount of caramelisation on it,

so it doesn't overpower such a light-flavoured vegetable.

To replicate that within half an hour is a pretty tall order.

It will really separate the men from the boys.

They have only been given a basic recipe with no guide on presentation.

I mean, a two-star kitchen, I've never been before. Of course, there's going to be quite a bit of pressure.

I'm cooking his dish for him.

You know, I'm sure he's going to find faults no matter what happens.

I just hope it goes well.

The comment with the plating, it did hit a nerve in a way because I do like plating.

So, this afternoon, I'm just going to show him what I'm made of.

The presentation is really good.

I'd let that go out across my pass.

-Thank you.

-Really good.

The quail breast was cooked perfectly.

Really nice coloration on the skin. All the vegetables cooked really well. The confit leg, perfect.

Personally, I'd have taken the second bone out of it, but that's just my preference.

The sweetbreads were a little bit overcooked, but a really nice colour on them.

The ceps could do with a little bit more colour, a nice, golden brown, to really get that flavour out.

But apart from that, a really strong dish. You should be very proud. Really good, David.

-Thank you.

-Really good.

Mainly the thing I needed to prove was the presentation

because that sort of hits a nerve in a way.

I'm really happy with all your comments.

Well done.

He's a great chef

and if he can say something about my food that good, sort of thing,

then yeah, I mean, it's an accomplishment.

OK, Tom.

The presentation is really good.

Really neat, but not too placed or anything.

-A really, really good-looking dish.

-Thank you.

First off, well done on your quail leg.

Really nice, crisp skin. You've taken the bone out as well like we do here, so well done on that.

The salsify, the wild garlic, all of it's cooked perfectly.

Apart from the sweetbread.

You've just got a little bit too much colour on that which has just made it go slightly rubbery.

-Other than that, a really strong dish.

-Thank you.

Receiving any compliment from someone like Michael Wignall is going to put any chef in a good mood.

To get several on the presentation and the execution, that's awesome.

That's one of the biggest compliments I've had so far.

It's a tall order to be asked to go into any kitchen that you don't know blind, especially a two-star one.

It's tough, but, you know, they've come through it

and they did really well and their dishes shone through at the end,

so they should be proud of what they've done.

David, I think he needs to slow it down a little bit. He's a little bit of a bull at a gate.

But other than that, you know, a really strong lad.

He expects a lot from all the guys.

He's got a reputation to keep.

A bit daunting sometimes and quite full-on,

but that's why we do what we do.

Just a great day, I think. Really good.

I think Tom needs to concentrate on his organisation and his timings a little bit.

He just needs to take a step back, think about what he's doing and be a bit more calculated.

To work somewhere like this, you're going to have a stressful day,

but the sense of achievement, going home knowing what food you've helped produce,

it's nice to see and I think I'll definitely take a lot away from today.

They've both shown improvement today over the duration of the day,

so if they're going to improve over a day, what will they be like in a few years?

You know, they'll be great.

TOM: Today, there can't be any mistakes.

There's no room for error. We're both making sacrifices left, right and centre for this.

That's my place in final week and I'm going to do my best to take it as mine.

I think my food today needs to be the best food I can do. It's my last chance.

Yeah, I will be devastated if I go out today.

Welcome back.

This is it.

Can you cook well enough to deserve a place in the final?

We've given you the chance to work in a two Michelin-starred restaurant

to give you a little bit of polish.

I want to see that polish on the two plates of food. I want to taste it.

Two hours. Two outstanding plates of food. Off you go.

We have two chefs who are very similar.

They're the same age, holding the same position.

They're both only 25 years old, but they are hungry for this.

David has delivered some absolutely outstanding food.

Delicious, beautifully presented.

His plates have always been full of flavour.

A little bit of issues in the last plates, but he is a good chef and he deserves to be here.

We have to say with Tom, there is a lot of love and care in the plates that he's made for us.

Tom is always prepared to go that little step further to show off all his skills.

He's got a bit of a swagger, yes, but that's quite good for a chef.

It shows a bit of confidence.

We are going to see great techniques. We expect fantastic food.

If they do that, then they will deserve their place in the finals. It's as simple as that.

Yeah, in these dishes today, I'm sticking true to my style.

Big, bold flavours. I've just got to let the food speak for itself.

-Right, Tom, how are you doing?

-Good.

-Getting there.

-What are you preparing for us?

-Iberico pork loin, wrapped in Parma ham, a pig cheek,

a pea puree, some langoustines in a langoustine sauce.

So, basically, prawns, pork and peas.

And for dessert, we're doing peach melba.

Rather than with classic Chantilly cream with raspberry and peaches,

we're doing a cheesecake mousse and then I'm making a biscuit crumb

and some peaches poached in a vanilla and thyme syrup.

Dame Nellie will be turning in her grave.

It's flavours that go. I thought I'd make a dish out of it.

What about your experience at Michael's?

It was a bit crazy, to say the least.

-That's good.

-A good "crazy", wasn't it?

-Yeah.

-It's great to learn.

Yeah, absolutely. We're always going to keep learning. Not all of us know everything.

I don't. I'm learning every day of the year.

Aren't we all?

Tom is taking a fillet of pork and wrapping it in Parma ham,

water-bathing it and then roasting it.

He's serving it with langoustines.

He's making a sauce really intense with the heads of the langoustines.

I do like the sound of Tom's dish,

but if I have any worries, it's getting that balance of the flavours right.

Iberico ham is quite salty, quite strong on the pork, then you've got the spices going through the cheeks,

as well as a very strong-flavoured, reduced bisque sauce.

We know he delivers good food, good tasting food, but what we want here is the right balance.

Tom's dessert is a take on peach melba. Peach melba is all about the wonderful flavours of the peach.

He's making a cheesecake mousse to go with it. It sounds rich and heavy to me.

I hope he whisks up that cheesecake mousse light enough.

I try to stick to established combinations of flavours.

I'm not here to reinvent the wheel.

Everything's got to come together nicely and be balanced properly.

It's got to be spot-on.

PAN HISSES

It's odd that it's belching out so much steam.

How are we doing, Tom?

I had a bit of a hiccup with my braised pig cheeks.

All the liquid has come out of the pressure cooker.

I've burnt... I'm no longer doing pork cheeks.

I can't cook them in the time again now. I could try. I could try, couldn't I?

I'll cut them smaller.

I hope he'll have enough time to cook the second batch of cheeks.

He's not using the pressure cooker, just classically braising them.

I hope they'll be ready on time because shredded up with that lovely flavour, it'll make this dish.

You are halfway. You've had an hour.

I think I am a good chef.

I think I can do the job.

Yeah, it should be good. It should be a home run.

-Right, David, are you up for this challenge?

-I think I could give it a good go.

What is it you're cooking then?

I'm making a quail nicoise. It's my first dish that got put on the menu,

so it's one of the dishes that I'm proud of.

-I've got a funny feeling this quail nicoise won't just be an old salad.

-It will be a salad, but different.

He's got a little bit of a smile, a wry smile on his face there.

Dessert, I'm making a pina colada.

-Hmm!

-It's a white chocolate and coconut ganache,

salt-baked pineapple and a pina colada shot as well to get you guys drunk(!)

MICHEL LAUGHS

-I'm looking forward to it.

-Thank you, chef.

-Most definitely.

David is his typical self, focused 100% on the job.

When he tells us he's cooking a quail salade nicoise,

it's not going to be just a nicoise salad with a bit of quail on top, for sure.

I hope it's something special.

Quail is a great bird and all the flavours are nice and vibrant.

For me, it's a really good dish. I think it's a strong dish.

He's got all the elements of a nicoise salad - the French beans, potatoes, eggs, olives.

All of that, but with a quail that's been stuffed with forcemeat,

then cooked in a water bath and then crisped up.

He'll confit the legs in oil as well, so that will be another texture, another flavour.

I do hope he cooks those beans properly as well because I cannot abide crunchy beans.

For his dessert, a take on pina colada,

so he's got the rum there, he's using white chocolate and coconut as well,

but David is baking the pineapple in a salt crust which is very interesting.

I understand that using a little bit of salt can enhance the food,

but a whole salt crust could be very strong.

I do like pineapple if it's very, very sweet. With a hint of spice, it really does work.

I don't know how he'll incorporate that into his pina colada.

I'm to be convinced.

Pina colada is one of those drinks that people sort of know.

I'm taking a few risks.

There's a few elements that if they go wrong, then they could go really wrong.

So, fingers crossed, it's not going to happen.

30 minutes, chefs.

30 minutes to go.

Hmm, smells good.

-How's it going?

-Not too bad. Just starting to get everything together.

I had a couple of hiccups here and there, but pretty much fixed most of it.

How are we doing, Tom?

It won't be as tender as I wanted, but it'll be all right.

-Everything else will be on time?

-Yeah.

-That's good.

-Keep it up. Don't go overcooking anything now.

-Oh, no.

The mousses weren't very neat. It's not going to be in the cylinder. It'll just be piped.

It'll be fine. It's exactly the same.

Tom is looking a little bit flustered. Only ten minutes to go.

David's cooking up tuiles. He's done them again two times. The third batch is going in the oven now.

He doesn't look 100% pleased.

These two chefs so far have shown nerves of steel.

I think the nerves have got the better of them today.

That's how much it means to them.

Five minutes to go, chefs. Come on. Get it on the plates.

We've got jelly, we've got jelly.

Final touches.

Time's up, guys.

-David...?

-Yeah.

-Done?

-Yeah.

David's main is quail nicoise -

a ballotine of quail breast stuffed with pork and black truffles.

They're served with confit new potatoes,

thyme and garlic dehydrated tomatoes,

green beans, olives,

sliced truffle and a quail's egg.

The dressing is a quail jus.

The legs didn't make it?

No. They were cooked, they were there.

So...

Hmm...

I do like the taste that's going through this plate of ballotine of quail.

It's really flavourful, flavoursome.

The vinaigrette or dressing you've made with the quail jus is bringing the dish together.

The potatoes have got a lovely depth of flavour, intensified by confiting them.

The French beans are cooked properly, not ridiculously crunchy, al dente as they should be.

The truffle, I don't get it. It's not bringing anything to the plate.

Those legs would have been nice!

Yeah.

Lots of skill on your plate here, David.

The way you've treated the separate ingredients have come together really well.

The way you've made the ballotine is very clever. It's not too dry. That's very important.

For me, for an actual salad, you could do with more beans in this.

But in saying that, I do like the dish.

David's dessert is a pina colada -

a white chocolate ganache strip with salt-baked and caramelised pineapple,

topped by pineapple gel ribbons,

passion fruit jelly, coconut tuiles

and fennel cress.

It's served with a coconut, rum and pineapple shot.

Hmm!

Just need an umbrella.

I like your pina colada shot. It's lovely and creamy, rich. It's got a good kick of rum to it.

It's a nice way to start the dessert, I think.

The white chocolate ganache, though, I find far too sweet. It's sickly, sticky sweet.

Your coconut tuiles are nice and crispy. The fennel cress works really well with the pineapple.

But it doesn't really work with the rest of the dish.

And there's not enough of that really delicious salt-baked pineapple.

That is absolutely splendid.

David, the star of your plate is that salt-baked pineapple.

I love learning new things.

It's a shame because, for me, the white chocolate ganache is very sweet

and then the fennel fronds I'm not keen on.

I do like the passion fruit jelly that you have on here,

but it's not the dessert I was expecting to come together to carry off a pina colada.

After all the comments, I'm sort of doubting a little bit.

I'm kicking myself already.

I mean, I did forget the legs.

Yeah, I'm not sure. It could go either way.

We'll see.

Tom has made pork tenderloin wrapped in Parma ham,

braised, spiced pork cheeks and langoustines

on a pea puree with peas and broad beans.

It's served with a langoustine bisque, chorizo oil and a pork jus.

The presentation, I like it. There are some lovely colours - the chorizo oil and the langoustines.

It's appetising and very pretty to look at, I must say.

Thank you.

It is a stunning-looking plate, Tom. It's your kind of plate.

Beautiful langoustine, perfectly cooked,

crispy on the outside, intense sweetness of the sea.

Pea puree, you get the full flavour of the peas which is wonderful.

The langoustine sauce intensifies the flavours of the langoustine.

The pork cheek is cooked. It is.

It's tender. Just, just!

The pork loin is overcooked, it is a bit dry,

but great balance of flavours.

It's a beautiful-looking dish. Some great skills,

let down by the cooking of the loin.

You are a young chef that really does impress on the flavours that you deliver.

Had you kept that pork loin nice and pink, as it should have been, this would have been the perfect dish.

Tom's dessert is his take on peach melba -

a vanilla and lemon cheesecake mousse,

peaches poached in vanilla and thyme,

a raspberry jelly,

lemon and thyme oat biscuit crumb

with fresh and dried raspberries.

Tom, I'm not really bowled over by this plate of dessert here, not bowled over by it at all.

I mean, you billed it as a peach melba. I was expecting far more peach.

Yeah, I've seen better desserts from you, Tom. I really have.

The cheesecake mousse is absolutely delicious. It is as light as a feather.

And lemon coming through, not too sweet. It's very refreshing. Lovely. Really enjoyed it.

The raspberry jelly is really nice as well and that's only just set, just the right texture.

That little piece of peach was really nice.

It had a lovely flavour, vanilla and thyme. That worked really well. A shame there wasn't more of it!

I really like your cheesecake mousse and the jelly.

It's so flavoursome and you get the hits of the lemon through that.

Again the peach, it's just... It needs more peach on here.

In saying that, I really liked it.

Yeah, there were some good comments, but for me, I'm always going to work on the negatives, you know.

I'm not one to bite off more than I can chew, but maybe that's what I did today.

I pushed it that little bit too far.

As Michel said, he likes ambition,

but I'm sure he prefers perfect execution over ambition.

Well, that was interesting. Very ambitious cooking.

Possibly even too ambitious.

Little mistakes from both of you.

This is definitely not going to be easy.

Off you go.

It's great to see two chefs who are quite obviously talented,

have got a good palate and wanting to show off.

But the errors,

the mistakes, no matter how small they were, will cost them.

In saying that, for me, the star dish today was the pork dish from Tom.

That was delicious. The only mistake on that dish was the pork was overcooked.

That was a very good dish.

The pork cheeks, he burnt the first lot, yet he persevered and cooked them again.

I like a chef who has an attitude like that, who doesn't just throw in the towel and he keeps on going.

I liked the cheesecake mousse a lot. That was really well judged.

It was very light, not too sweet. It had a nice tang of cheesiness to it and lemon.

But it looked awful on the plate and two token little squares of peaches!

Come on, boy, give me some peach if you're going to say "peach melba"!

For me, the mousse and the jelly were very good.

Presentation-wise, no. Tom, go back and start again.

But I know this chef can cook. We've seen such good plates from him before.

Whether I'm going or staying, it's hard to say.

I overcooked my pork loin, the main part of my dish,

but with the pig cheeks, they both saw it as an accomplishment to get them done.

Whether that's enough to get me through to the final, I don't know.

David's dish, the quail nicoise - the quail was beautifully cooked.

It was moist, tender, well seasoned.

The tomatoes which he dried and confited some as well and those potatoes were stunning.

But he didn't put the legs on. That dish was far from being complete.

I thought the pineapple baked in a salt crust was absolutely exquisite.

That was stunning, really delicious.

But that chocolate ganache was just sickly sweet.

I hope I've shown enough.

I mean, I can still walk out and still be quite proud of myself.

Yeah, I still don't want it to end.

They're both talented chefs. There are some massive challenges coming up.

I mean, to win MasterChef Professionals, you have got to be la creme de la creme.

I am sorry that one of you will be leaving us.

Our finalist is...

..Tom.

Congratulations, Tom.

Disappointed, but...

A good experience.

It sort of opened my eyes a little bit.

I came here to see what I can change.

If I just keep improving,

keep evolving...

Awesome. That's the goal, really - get yourself in the final.

There's a chance for me to win it.

It's a lot to take in.

I'm going to have to get my thinking cap on

and get a good night's sleep, I think. After a party tonight, of course!

Tomorrow night, Scott and Luke return for the last of the semi-finals.

I cannot allow anything mediocre to go out of that kitchen.

Table three away, please... Let's not mess around.

If they can reach our standard, they can have a place in the final.

It's as simple as that.

We have made a decision.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd