Episode 2 MasterChef: The Professionals

These eight chefs all want to become professional MasterChef champion.

They've been split into two teams.

Today, the first group of four have to prove they're good enough

to make it through to the next level.

Cooking is what I do

and what I love.

Today I'm ready. I'm ready to go. I just want to get in there.

I'm a very capable chef.

I can work under pressure

and deal with whatever's put in front of me.

It's the hardest thing that I've ever done in my career.

I've not thought about winning it yet,

but I believe I can go far.

There's a lot more to come from me.

There's a lot more interesting plates of food

that I don't think many people will have seen before.

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

Don't panic.

Give me something. Make it abstract, whatever. Give me something.

What on earth...

is THAT?!

Then they finally get the chance to cook for Michel Roux Jr

in his classics challenge.

This is their chance to show me really what they're made of.

How much do they want this?

At the end of today,

one of them will be sent home.

Right, this is the skills test.

In my opinion, one of the toughest and most nerve-wracking tests

What is it you're going to get them to do?

Today I would like them to make some coconut tuiles.

Mmm! And then use those tuiles

to decorate three quenelles of Chantilly cream.

This is lovely!

Kicking right off with something sweet and sticky!

Come on, then, Chef - show me how it's done.

Let's do it.

Tuile mix is made up of desiccated coconut,

egg white and sugar.

Because they're very limited in time,

we've weighed the ingredients out for them.

How long have they got to do this? They've got 15 minutes.

Where they could go wrong is, because there's egg whites in there,

if they whisk that too much, it'll aerate it,

and then the tuile will tend to puff up quite a bit.

You just fold it through,

get everything combined, and then that's it.

Spread it out, pack it together.

Tell you what, this is ridiculously delicate.

They're going to have to create the shapes from nothing.

So they'll have to be as creative as possible.

Now they need to go in the oven for about eight minutes.

While that's cooking, I'm going to whisk up my Chantilly cream.

So I've got some cream in there,

some vanilla pod

and a bit of icing sugar.

So, Chantilly's done? Chantilly's done.

Aah!

Tuiles can be very finicky, especially with sugar.

They tend to go very solid very quickly.

There's a fine line when you need to get them out and work with them.

So if they do set, get them back in the oven for a few seconds.

Aye-aye, that's a clever trick.

I don't know whether our chefs are going to

think about bending them.

Can you hurry up so I can eat 'em?!

Very tricky. VERY tricky.

One-handed quenelle - how clever are you?

Ah!

Ohhh!

There you go, Gregg. Three different shapes of tuile

with quenelled Chantilly cream.

Beautiful...but very challenging.

They're going to have to have dextrous fingers and good timing.

I realise it's challenging,

but we can't make it too easy, can we?

Shall we get them in, let them have a go? Looking forward to it.

First up is 24-year-old head chef Marcus.

In his first test, his excellent strawberry and ginger cheesecake

was let down by some poor presentation.

Obviously, the first day, I was a little bit down.

I was thinking to myself, "Right, I need to pull my finger out a bit".

So today I'm ready. I'm ready to go.

Hello, Marcus. All right.

Make us three differently shaped coconut tuiles.

While they're in the oven,

make us some Chantilly cream,

three quenelles,

and then use your tuiles to decorate the quenelles.

You ready? Ready. OK.

15 minutes. You know what your job is.

Off you go, Chef.

How are they looking? Yeah, not too bad. Good.

Halfway, OK? Seven and a half minutes left.

Not crisp enough yet? No, a bit longer.

Another minute. You know what you're doing, don't you, Marcus? Yes.

Stick with it. You'll be all right.

Give me something. Make it abstract, whatever. Give me something.

You've got a minute to go.

You done?

Marcus, the skill was to make me three different shapes.

We definitely have three different shapes.

Not the kind of shapes I was hoping for, Marcus,

but I did enjoy watching you work.

Where you went wrong with your tuiles -

we both know they were too thick. Yeah.

And the piece here that is cooked is lovely - it's crunchy,

it's thin. This is how it should be.

Quenelles - lovely and sweet.

The vanilla comes through.

It's a smooth mix, it's not lumpy.

There's positives here.

All is not lost.

They're not quite crisp enough,

but I tell you what,

absolutely delicious, brilliant Chantilly. Lovely.

Off you go.

Still shaking his head!

Bless him!

I'm actually gutted, because I do them a lot.

And I knew it was too thick.

If I tried it again, I'd probably nail it. I would.

So I'm kicking myself a bit but, you know...

there's positives there.

But the main skill, I didn't do right.

28-year-old sous chef Matt

works in a Sheffield hotel.

His first dish - an experimental strawberry and quinoa rice pudding -

was a disaster.

I'm coming in with the attitude of I need to smash it.

I need to show the judges I have got something,

I can go far in this competition.

Three different types of tuile shapes.

Use them to decorate three quenelles of Chantilly.

OK?

15 minutes. Off you go, Chef. OK.

Better than going to the gym!

How long have I got left? You've had less than five minutes, Matt.

Are you going to put more in? I'm going to try and make some more.

OK. You've still got some coconut and sugar there if you need it.

That was all weighed out for you.

You've got five minutes left, OK?

You're going to have to get a move on. Get them in.

Keep your cool, Matt. Yeah. Yeah?

If the ones in the oven don't cook in time,

do not waste the ones you've got out of the oven.

Two minutes.

Are you done? Yeah. Sorry.

Listen,

your plate could have a little bit more love and care.

Your quenelle here is not acceptable.

You would never serve that.

But the whole problem from you

starts from the beginning - your nerves.

You just could not get those under wraps. OK?

It's not so much the shape of the tuiles,

it's that there's white bits that aren't toasted.

The problem with your first tuiles

is that there's not enough coconut or sugar in there to hold,

so that they're very thin. Then the second attempt

would have been much better had you the time to then cook them.

However, you've given us something.

You've not completely given up.

I admire the fact you tried to get a second batch in the oven.

You did try again to save the situation.

Yeah.

Thank you, Matt. Off you go.

Not great, was it?

It's so frustrating.

Because I have made tuiles before.

And it's just the pressure

and the nerves that just take over.

It's like you're possessed and you do something that you can't control.

Next up is self-taught junior sous chef Lindsey.

Last round, her millefeuille in a strawberry soup

didn't meet Gregg and Monica's standards.

I understand my weaknesses, understand my strengths.

But if someone tells me "That's wrong",

I don't like to make the same mistake twice.

So I feel like I've made my first mistake and that's it.

I'm not allowing any more mistakes.

The ingredients are there for the coconut tuile.

They've been measured out for you.

You have the stuff here for your Chantilly. OK?

I'm trying to remember how to make a tuile.

So the same sort of technique. OK-doke.

You've got 15 minutes.

I want me tuiles. Off you go.

You've had five, Lindsey. Five minutes?

If you've got time. Get a move on.

You're halfway. You've got seven and a half minutes left.

Three quenelles? Yes.

60 seconds left.

Come on, Lindsey, give us anything.

Good.

All done? Yeah.

Lindsey, has it been a while since you worked in pastry? Yeah.

Quite a while. Quite a while.

Just looking at it,

it's all gone a bit wrong for you today, hasn't it?

I really don't get why you've cut this off and placed it on the cream.

Come on, Lindsey!

Your Chantilly quenelles are too sweet.

And I've got a very sweet tooth - I can handle it.

Most people wouldn't be able to.

And it's a shame about your tuiles,

because lovely, lovely toasty coconut flavour in there.

But there's no shapes. Mmm.

Tuiles haven't worked. Reason number one is

you're whisking it too much - it was aerating your mix.

OK? So it was puffing up.

If it was right, it would be lovely and crispy,

like you can see on the end there.

I'm a bit disappointed. Pastry's not the strongest section of mine.

Give me a bit of meat and fish and I'm all over it.

Lindsey, I believe that every professional chef

needs more time in the pastry section.

Now and then, it's essential. You need to get back in there

and get back with your basics.

Lindsey, thank you very much.

Off you go.

That's not good. I mean, what on earth was THAT?!

There were mistakes made. I could do them better.

A couple of bits where my mind just went

and I was like, "Chuck that on there!"

But, yeah...mixed emotions, really.

Last up is 23-year-old chef de partie Luke,

whose great love is Asian food.

with onion bhaji.

The skills test sends shivers down my back.

They're going to be scrutinising every move I make today

and that is daunting. Very daunting.

OK, Luke.

15 minutes, old son. Off you go.

Good lad.

You are halfway.

Seven and a half minutes left.

Three minutes.

Mmm!

90 seconds, Luke. I think you're going to have to try

and get them off the baking sheet. Yep.

Hoo!

Go on.

Put it on.

Time's up. That's it.

MONICA CHUCKLES

Luke, I have to say

your quenelles were wonderful.

I like the fact you went back

and changed the one you weren't happy with. OK.

I'd like some better-shaped tuiles with my dessert,

but apart from that, mate, that's my only complaint.

Listen, Luke, you know, I've seen four plates of these tuiles

and yours is not the worst, OK?

So it's a bit of a positive there, isn't it?

Not a bad effort.

Off you go, Luke.

I like him.

He's a good lad.

I feel that 15 minutes was the longest 15 minutes of my entire life.

Tough, nerve-wracking, but...

I'm over the moon. I'm very happy.

This is the skills test over.

And next, these four are going to have to face Michel

and his classic recipe test.

Gregg, if some of these chefs don't pick it up now,

they are going to struggle when they see Michel.

The classic recipe that I want the chefs to cook today

is a beer soup -

a soup made with beer

and served with choux buns

flavoured with cheese and ham.

This soup dates back hundreds of years.

In fact, sometimes it was even served as a breakfast.

It's bitter and sweet and invigorating.

The first job is to cook the onions for the beer soup.

Add some butter.

They have to be soft and sweet

with only a hint of colour.

If there's too much colour on the onion,

it's starting to go bitter.

And bitter onions with bitter beer

makes for a bitter soup.

Once the onions have softened, we add a little bit of brown sugar.

Seasoning is very important

and especially in this soup, we want a little bit of a kick,

so, salt, pepper and a bit of nutmeg.

We then add the beer.

You should always save a little bit for the chef.

Once the beer is in,

we add the breadcrumbs.

The breadcrumbs are there to thicken the soup.

So whilst that is cooking,

we can start on our choux pasty.

I learned how to make choux pastry when I was an apprentice.

I expect every chef

worth his pinch of salt

to know the recipe by heart.

The milk and the butter into the pan.

That melts with the sugar and the salt.

Bring that quickly to a boil.

And now the flour.

This is skills that all chefs should know.

It's classic skills.

It's a real workout - you've got to mix and mix and mix

and quickly.

You could do it by machine,

but I always think it's much better by hand.

You get a real feel for the choux pastry.

Into a piping bag.

Each one should be identical.

They've got to be round, perfectly formed

and dainty,

but big enough to fill,

because you want to get some nice filling in there.

And then just a little bit of French Gruyere cheese,

to add some more flavour.

Now into the oven.

We need to make a Mornay.

No colour - we want a white sauce.

Then whisk in the milk...

..quickly, to avoid lumps.

The cheese is what makes this a Mornay.

Otherwise it would be just a Bechamel.

Cheese and ham, for me, is the perfect accompaniment

for a beer soup.

Mmm!

I LOVE choux pastry!

but so easy to get wrong.

Now I need to fill the choux buns with the Mornay.

Fill them generously.

It's a tricky, delicate job.

They must be brimming with this lovely cream.

The soup has now been simmering away for about half an hour.

We now need to add the creme fraiche.

Final step for the soup -

it needs to be passed through a fine sieve,

just to make sure it's beautiful and silky smooth.

All that's left now is to plate up

and serve the soup.

I love to finish the soup off

with just a little hint of nutmeg and paprika,

just to add another dimension.

This is what I want the chefs to cook -

the perfect beer soup

and crispy, full choux buns.

It looks deceivingly simple.

I expect them to get it right.

You've all cooked for Monica and Gregg

and made an impression.

Now you have to make an impression on me.

For my classic recipe, I want you to cook

une soupe a la biere et petits choux au fromage.

That's a beer soup with choux buns filled with cheese.

I've given you all the ingredients for the recipe,

but not given you the measures.

I expect professional chefs

to know the quantities needed to make choux pastry.

You've got one hour to cook this beautiful dish.

Let's see what you really are made of.

Off you go.

LINDSEY: To cook for Michel Roux Jr is great.

It's something I've dreamed of for years.

Now I'm here doing it,

I'm not going to balls it up!

Hi, Lindsey. How are you doing?

So where are you from? I'm from Chesterfield.

And do they make beer soup in Chesterfield?

They don't, but I'm sure they will after today!

Have you understood the method behind it?

Yeah, I think I'm all right with it.

And what about classics in general?

Never cooked a lot of classics, but I had a lot of classic methods

drilled into me from when I started out.

This particular dish requires a Mornay sauce and a choux pastry.

Are you all right with that? Yep.

You know those recipes? Yeah, I'm good with it.

So you want to prove yourself? Oh, yeah!

Lindsey seems confident. I like what I'm seeing.

I just hope the confidence is going to translate into

a perfect beer soup and some beautiful little choux buns.

You've had 15 minutes. Come on, keep it going.

MATT: I'm not worried at all about the recipe.

I've followed recipes before

doing French classics.

They've turned out all right,

so hopefully, I can pull it off today as well.

All right, Matt? Hiya.

Well versed in the classics? To be honest,

I think I'm an amateur to the French classics,

but hopefully today I can pull it off.

How many years' experience have you got? 12.

12 years?! My God, you don't look old enough!

That's cos I had a shave!

Excellent! Good.

You're here because you're ambitious, Matt, I'm sure.

What really floats your boat?

I see myself winning MasterChef and getting my own restaurant from that.

Good on you.

But first, you're going to have to impress me

with a beer soup, choux pastry and a good Mornay.

Yes.

That's my plan, anyway!

Matt is portraying a very confident chef look

and he says he wants to win this.

Matt's choux pastry

looks dreadful!

Halfway, guys.

Your choux pastry should be in the oven by now.

30 minutes to go.

The French classics don't scare me. I think I'll be all right.

If you don't know how to do it, think of something you've done similar

or just use your brain a little bit and I think you'll be all right.

Marcus, what about this recipe?

Have you ever come across beer soup before?

It's something I haven't done before,

but I feel quite confident with it.

Fantastic! So I'm going to have perfection here?

I hope so. I hope so!

You hope so? Yeah? I hope so!

I like the way Marcus is cooking.

Got his head down

and really focused.

Crispy. They look light.

Beautiful.

He knows that I'm looking for refinement.

They are lovely to look at.

Lindsey said that she knew how to make choux pastry,

but thrown away her first batch. They were dreadful!

Lindsey has got 20 minutes to make another batch.

That is going to be cutting it very fine.

I've been classically trained, but as I've got a little bit older,

it's not the route I've continued down.

I like to think of myself as a bit of a spice man,

something a bit different.

Luke. Nice to meet you, Chef. Nice to meet you.

You're looking very confident. I'm looking very confident.

I'm not feeling very confident.

I'd be lying to you if I said I knew the recipe off by heart.

You're honest and you're using your chef's instincts. Yeah.

Good. Do you know what I'm looking for in this beer soup?

I think you're looking for a strong beer flavour - it's got to be beery.

The paprika, little bit of a kick, which is right up my alley. Yeah?

I like to think of myself as a bit of a spice man.

That's where my heart lies now and that's where I'm pushing towards.

You reckon you've got what it takes? I'm absolutely up for this.

Focused, and I want this more than anything. Love it.

Excellent!

I like the look of Luke. He looks like a true professional

and he understands the classics.

But Luke loves spicy food.

Today is not about spice or strong flavours.

It's about subtlety.

10 minutes, guys.

10 minutes. Focus.

Five minutes left.

I asked you to cook une soupe a la biere

et des petits choux au fromage.

This soup has to be light and elegant,

with the right balance of bitterness and sweetness.

The choux buns should be light and airy,

crispy on the outside and soft inside,

with a beautiful, silky Mornay sauce.

Right, Luke, you're first.

I like the fact that you've given me a little cheesy toast to go with it.

But the worry for me is that it's red!

Which tells me that you've really overdone it on the paprika.

Yes, Chef. Er...yeah.

Cor!

Hoo! Yes, you do like spice, but let's not forget

that the majority of customers may not like spice.

So you've got to rein back on that.

Yes, Chef.

However, the balance of bitter and sweetness

is right.

That tells me that you understand what a beer soup is all about.

The choux bun's cakey, like cake texture.

Whilst the texture is not of a choux bun,

the taste really is.

And the filling is really smooth and delicate.

Good attempt. I think you're a good chef, Luke.

I'm just a little bit worried

about your love affair with spicing.

I'm a little bit disappointed. Bit heavy-handed.

Let it down a bit.

But a solid round, a solid round.

But a silly mistake, really.

Right, Matt, you're next.

Matt, I asked for choux buns.

Are they choux buns?

No, they're not. So what have we got?

It looks like a cheese sandwich.

I just wanted to give you something, Chef.

Your beer soup is ever so slightly too sweet.

You've over-compensated with the sugar.

But saying that,

it's not unpleasant.

I actually quite like it.

Thank you. Your failed choux buns look terrible,

but you've turned out something that is actually edible -

a cheesy pancake filled with a very good Mornay sauce.

I think you're a very lucky chef.

Thank you. Off you go.

I'm feeling a bit disappointed

with the turn-out of my choux buns.

I knew they weren't bang-on,

but I didn't feel I had time to make some more,

so I basically used my initiative

and made something else.

Right, Marcus, up you come.

First off, Marcus,

choux buns...

They look lovely.

They're crispy on the outside, golden.

They've risen. They're the right size,

so you can just pop them in your mouth. Very nice.

Yes, Marcus!

Choux buns are beautiful.

The Mornay sauce inside, silky smooth,

well seasoned, delicious.

The beer soup is perfectly balanced with bitterness and sweetness.

Well seasoned,

smooth.

Just a little bit too much bread there,

which makes it quite cloying,

but that's a very good attempt, Marcus.

Thank you, Chef.

You were cooking with a big smile on your face.

You've got an even bigger smile now! I have indeed!

Off you go.

Yeah, I'm happy today so far.

A little bit of weight's been lifted off my shoulders.

The soup was a little bit too thick,

but that's just me.

So, hopefully, this afternoon I'll...

..nail it 100%.

Lindsey, your turn.

Lindsey, first off - no choux buns.

No. What went wrong?

Not enough experience in making choux pastry.

I didn't serve them to you because they weren't good enough.

The Mornay sauce, instead of putting it in the choux bun,

I can see you've put a big spoon of it in the soup,

with a few bits of the ham on top there.

I think it works. It looks nice.

It's just a shame there's no choux buns to go with it.

The consistency of the soup is right.

It's smooth, it's not too rich or cloying.

It's well seasoned - there's enough salt and pepper.

The Mornay sauce is really good. It's silky smooth,

it's seasoned properly

and the addition of paprika on the top is really good.

There are great things here.

But...

it's a little bit too beery.

So you've not put quite enough sugar and too much of the beer.

I defy anybody to finish off that plate,

because it's far, far too strong in beer.

It's not a bad effort, Lindsey.

But is not bad good enough?

Thank you.

I tried to blag it, wing it.

Made it up.

It didn't work.

You are now going to cook

your own classic recipe.

I'm expecting perfection.

Tried and tested.

Showing off your skills.

After this, Monica and I will be deciding

which one of you goes home.

This is your last chance.

One hour to cook the classic recipe of your choice.

Off you go.

A couple of our chefs have got a lot to prove.

A lot.

Lindsey looked confident at first,

but she just fell apart.

She's got it all to play for in the next.

I've chosen my classic dish

because it was something different.

I wanted to take one thing and interpret it into another.

I wanted to show all the skills

that are involved in being a great chef on one plate.

Right, Lindsey. Hi. What classic dish are you cooking?

I'm doing my take on a surf and turf.

I'm doing a pan-fried fillet of beef

with a tempura oyster,

pickled girolle mushrooms,

roasted Jerusalem artichoke puree

and a port and Madeira red wine sauce.

Is this a tried and tested dish? Have you done it before? No.

Not done it before. Never? Never.

I'm the guinea pig? You are!

That doesn't really fill me with joy or confidence!

I'm confident. Yeah?

I'm confident in the flavours,

I'm confident in my ability to deliver it.

And I think it'll work.

Well, I'm a fan of beef and oyster together, so hopefully,

this will work for you. Fingers crossed.

Lindsey's classic is a play on surf and turf.

So she's cooking a fillet of beef.

Serving it with oysters, deep-fried in a beignet.

Beef and oysters can work really well,

but they should be complementing each other.

But she says she's never actually cooked this dish before

and that really does worry me.

Now is not the time to try a new dish.

If you want that place in the next round,

it should be a tried and tested dish,

a dish that you've done before.

If I get this right, I think the dish is going to be great.

You've had 20 minutes.

I'm not sure about Matt.

He was just lucky.

We shall see when he cooks his classic recipe.

My classic dish is a take on a British classic.

Hopefully, Michel will be impressed the way I deliver it.

And hopefully the execution will really impress him.

Matt, what are you smoking? Smells lovely.

I'm smoking some feta in some peppermint tea.

Peppermint tea? Yeah.

So you're burning the peppermint tea and that's...

Yes, just taking a slight smoke on.

Wonderful. So what is the dish?

I'm doing a take on a British classic, lamb and mint,

also with some pane anchovies.

Do some mint jus and some mint oil as well.

Mint oil and mint jus, so...

Also some pommes puree to go with that. Pommes puree?

Let me guess - mint as well? No, no, no!

Thank goodness!

I can understand the classic combination.

Little bit lost when we get to the feta and the anchovy.

It's always had mixed reviews, but, um...

I'm quite confident.

It's had mixed reviews but you're quite confident?

That doesn't inspire me, Matt.

I think it's risky doing a take on a British classic

with a twist to it,

but that's my style. I'm not going to come here

and do someone else's style. I've got to be honest with myself.

I don't get the anchovy with lamb and mint.

It just doesn't sound right.

And if it doesn't sound right...

it usually doesn't work.

What's worrying is that Matt has said this dish is tried and tested,

but has had mixed reviews.

So he's trying it out on ME?!

Matt has to nail this dish,

because HE'S really had mixed reviews.

Wow! Halfway, guys.

30 minutes gone.

I like what I'm seeing with Luke.

He's a passionate chef

and I can see skills in there.

But I think Luke has got to be a little bit careful with his spicing.

Maybe his love of spices will be his downfall.

My classic dish

was the first dish that I used a lot of spices

and went a bit outside the box.

And I'll be gutted if I don't do it justice.

Right, Luke. Some lovely aromatic flavours wafting around

in your little part of the kitchen here. Yes, Chef.

What are you cooking?

I am doing my take on a classic North African dish - tagine.

A tagine? Yeah.

Mmm.

Wow!

I'm hoping it's going to set your tastebuds on fire.

Not literally, I hope! No, no, no.

And I've got to adapt to other people's palates rather than my own.

This is genuinely what you love doing?

This...this...is everything.

Luke is roasting a rack of lamb,

which he butchered himself really well and cleaned the bones nicely.

He's using a lot of aromatic spices from North Africa,

including the ras el hanout...

..which can include up to 14 different spices!

Luke has used the ras el hanout

with a little bit of honey to baste the lamb.

And I think that's a great idea,

just to add a little bit of sweetness and fragrance.

He's even making a "couscous" out of the cauliflower,

which is wonderful!

It's all about balancing spices.

If I get this right, he'll remember me.

20 minutes to go.

Marcus shone. He really did well.

Yes! He can cook, that boy.

I just hope he can carry that on.

I've just done this dish for this competition, actually.

I've practised it in the kitchen, just to see what it tastes like.

I've tweaked it.

It's taken a lot of work to get it right.

What's your classic?

I'm going to do a twist on a beef bourguignon.

I get worried when I hear "twist"!

No, no...it's quite classic,

but with a few little tweaks.

Just a little bit different.

So I do a little poached beef fillet, classic pommes Anna

and a shallot puree.

What sauce is going with this?

I'm going to do a jus diable.

Smoked bacon, cracked black pepper,

shallot, sherry vinegar, reduced.

Then I'm going to use the red wine poaching liquor

and reduce that to the sauce.

Jus diable - the Devil's jus.

So automatically means it's going to be quite hot.

Is this a dish that's tried and tested? I've tried it once.

But what better stage to show it off?

Beef bourguignon is a great French classic.

It's normally made from a cheap cut of meat.

and poaching it and infusing it in red wine

and then searing it.

There's a lot that can go wrong with beef fillet.

It can overcook. No-one likes an over-cooked beef fillet.

It'd be disastrous.

With that, he's got some wonderful, classic combinations of flavours.

He's using ceps - wild mushrooms -

some carrots,

serving a pommes Anna,

which is thin layers of crispy potatoes. Sounds delicious!

He's serving a jus diable,

which is the Devil's sauce, so it's quite fiery.

It's all flavours that can work together.

Five minutes! Come on, chefs, get it together.

This is all still up for grabs.

I mean, I think I'm going to get some good dishes.

We've got four good chefs here.

One minute to go. 60 seconds.

Finished.

Marcus has made his version of beef bourguignon

with jus diable.

onion croquettes,

sauteed ceps,

shallot puree,

a pommes Anna

and ginger and thyme-glazed carrots.

Beef is beautifully cooked. It's lovely and rare.

And the fact that you've poached it first

and you have managed to sear it well -

it's got a lovely crisp edge to it -

so it's got the texture and it's got the full flavour.

The crispy onions are really a good idea.

I can't say I've come across onions cooked that way before.

Braising the onions and then deep-frying them like that.

The pommes Anna - crispy on the outside,

lovely and soft on the inside. Well seasoned.

For me, the let-down on this dish is the sauce.

It's not quite reduced enough.

It's got that fieriness from the cracked pepper.

It's got the devil-ness in it,

which is right,

but it's not quite syrupy enough.

Nonetheless, there's some very strong classic skills on show here.

The sauce - I knew it.

I had positive comments. He said there's a lot of skill there.

I'm happy with what I've done.

I just hope he sees enough to...

you know, put me through to the next round.

Matt has served his lamb with breaded anchovies

and mint tea smoked feta...

..a pea and mint salad, pommes puree,

pea puree

and a red wine and mint jus.

I love the colour. The colours are beautiful. They're vibrant.

You can see the white of the plate and it brings the food out.

Nice touch.

Then we've got moments of madness.

Mint leaf? Yes.

But the stalk? No.

The lamb has been beautifully cooked -

lovely and crisp on the outside and well seasoned.

The peas, again, well seasoned, well cooked

and the odd leaf of mint in there just brings it all together.

Works wonderfully.

The red wine sauce is a little bit thin,

but it's got the right balance of sweetness and sourness to it

and actually works really well with this dish. All of that works.

Then, for me, we've got mistakes.

Big mistakes.

That anchovy

really does not work. Doesn't work with the mint,

doesn't work with the pea, doesn't work with the lamb.

It clashes with it and clashes badly.

The feta cheese, smoked, is very acrid.

As soon as you take a tiny piece into your mouth,

the rest of the beautiful, delicate flavours on this dish...

are gone.

The over-smokiness of the feta kind of ruined the dish.

But I've got a lot of positive feedback,

so all in all, I think I might have just done enough to show Michel

that I have got what it takes.

I just need to reel it in a little bit.

Lindsey has cooked a fillet of beef topped with a tempura oyster...

..accompanied with Jerusalem artichoke puree,

shallot rings,

baby carrots,

pickled girolle mushrooms

and a red wine jus.

Everything on this plate is beautifully seasoned.

The beef is well cooked -

it's lovely and rare. It's good.

Good cooking, good skills.

Red wine sauce is really good.

It's got the perfect balance of sweetness to it.

Jerusalem artichoke puree

is a lovely accompaniment with the beef.

But the artichokes were not roasted enough.

It's a little bit grainy.

It's not as smooth as it should be.

The pickled girolles could have been a little bit sharper,

because of the oyster.

The oyster needs a bit of acidity.

The surf and turf aspect of this classic

is not quite there.

The oyster beignet is good, yes,

but what's it bringing to this plate?

It's almost disjointed.

The oyster beignet is almost as an afterthought.

It's not showing off the surf and turf to its best effect.

I feel a lot better after he's tasted my classic dish.

I've done myself a bit of justice

after the past couple of rounds.

He said it all worked well together, apart from the oyster,

which I can live with.

Luke's ras el hanout lamb

is served with a cauliflower apricot couscous,

charred courgette,

apricot puree,

confit griottes

and a harissa jus.

First off, I think it looks great.

I really do.

Very nice. Thank you. Beautiful colours.

Vibrant. It's been placed well on the plate.

Very light touch for a big fella!

Thanks, Chef!

Good. OK.

Beautiful, sweet, succulent lamb.

Well roasted.

Well basted.

And it's got a little kick to it.

Lacking in seasoning, though.

You've confited them and then grilled them.

Lacking in seasoning.

You get away with it because...

the sauce is great.

It's aromatic and it carries the lamb and it carries the onions.

Wonderful!

The couscous made of cauliflower is cooked with just a little crunch.

Perfect. And the seasoning of that

is just right.

I told you in the first round,

beware of spices.

They can overpower, they can kill a dish.

This has given me faith in Luke the spice master.

If you carry on cooking and using spices like this,

I will be a happy diner.

That's very good cooking.

I can honestly say I was stood there with a little lump in my throat.

But it was good.

Thank you, Chefs.

I've learned a lot from the two tests.

I've learned a lot about your level of skills,

your palate

and about you.

Monica and I are going to sit down and discuss

what you have served to us.

And, sadly, one of you will be leaving us.

So...

thank you.

How did it go today?

The day was really good. I really enjoyed it, Monica.

For me, the two stand-out chefs today

were Marcus and Luke.

There we go. They were, for me, the two that I had on the top.

Luke cooked a tagine kind of roast lamb,

and it looked beautiful on the plate.

It just had elegance, really, really bang-on flavours,

and the use of spice, very clever.

For a big guy, he's got a very light touch.

When it came to doing the skills test,

he worked methodically, like a chef.

I really liked his attitude and his approach.

You and I know that he should go through to the next round.

Without a doubt.

I've definitely got more to show.

There's plenty more of the world out there that I haven't spiced up yet.

What really caught me with Marcus on the skills test

was...he just has that attitude of "I'm not going to give up -

"I'm going to give it my best shot. I'm going to die trying!"

And he did it.

I like Marcus's style,

He shows a lot of potential and promise, doesn't he?

I think so.

What an experience to come and do.

You've cooked for Michel Roux Jr, cooked for Monica,

cooked for Gregg. Not many people can say they've done that.

So we definitely agree that Marcus and Luke

should go through to the next round.

That leaves us with Lindsey and Matt.

So how was Matt?

Matt...Matt...

He was so nervous when it came to doing the skills test.

I really was not impressed.

For my classic recipe test,

he didn't know how to make a choux pastry

and he ended up with cheesy pancakes.

But...

the cheesy pancakes actually tasted rather nice!

You're shaking your head there, I know!

But it was good.

Matt's classic dish was to take lamb with flavours of mint.

To that he added feta cheese,

smoked with peppermint tea.

Yes.

Wow!

Complete misjudgement of flavours.

But it looked so elegant and classy.

I feel like I might have pulled it back after my bad start.

The fact that Michel and Monica are going to be judging me...

Hopefully, Michel has seen something today.

How did Lindsey do in the skills test?

Lindsey walked in and said

she hadn't been in pastry for a very long time

and couldn't remember how to make a tuile.

Lindsey tried choux pastry twice.

It didn't work, so she didn't serve it, which was a disappointment.

Lindsey wanted to showcase surf and turf,

but I asked her about this particular dish

and her answer was that she'd never done this before.

No.

It should be tried and tested. Yeah!

Hmm.

I don't know if I've done enough to stay.

I really don't.

It's so hard to judge it.

Which one of those two has the most potential?

The chef that is leaving us today...

I feel proud that I'm here in the first place,

that I've got this far.

And obviously, I'll take things away from what I've learned on MasterChef

and that will help me along in my career as well.

Well done, guys.

I feel over the moon at the moment,

because I was so sure it was going to be myself.

After having such a bad start,

I didn't think there was any coming back from that.

It was great just getting here,

but getting to the quarterfinal is brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

It feels good. I'm proud of myself. I worked hard today.

I won't sit back and relax now.

I'll work even harder now to get to the next stage.

THEY LAUGH

Tomorrow night,

the remaining four will battle to impress Monica and Gregg...

It looks messy.

It is very chewy - almost impossible to eat.

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

You're shaking your head. It's not right.

Great classic skills on show here.

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

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