Episode 22 MasterChef: The Professionals

It's the final week of the competition.

Scott, Steven and Adam

are the last chefs standing.

I'm over the moon to be in the finals.

I know it's only going to get harder,

but I'm just going to give it my all and try my best.

I've got a close network of family,

and, hopefully, I've done them proud to get this far.

And I just want to go the extra mile now and win.

It's not really sunk in, how far I've got yet.

It's been a fantastic experience and I can't wait to see what happens now.

The finalists are about to reach the pinnacle

of the Professional MasterChef challenges.

Over the next three nights,

they will cook at one of the best restaurants in the world...

First table.

..and for the best chefs in the world...

30 seconds.

..before one of them is crowned Champion 2013.

Our MasterChef champion is...

ITALIAN OPERA MUSIC PLAYS

This is the city of Modena...

..in the Emilia Romagna region of northern Italy.

Famed for its produce, including Parmesan cheese,

balsamic vinegar and tortellini.

It is also home to one of the most

unique and creative restaurants in the world -

the three Michelin-starred Osteria Francescana...

HE SPEAKS ITALIAN

..recently judged the third best restaurant in the world,

in the San Pellegrino Top 50.

It is the brainchild of the brilliant and eccentric...

Massimo Bottura...

..a man who has let the traditional and modern collide,

to produce revolutionary plates of food.

I just shake Italy very hard,

letting... I drop my country into the floor

and, with consciousness, I brought all the pieces back,

rebuilt in a new way

and project these flavours into the future.

Essential to Massimo's philosophy is the belief that each dish

should tell a story and be a personal expression

of creativity and emotion.

This can be seen in dishes with names such as

"An Eel Swimming Up The Po River",

"Memories Of A Mortadella Sandwich"

and "The Five Ages Of Parmigiano-Reggiano".

Very good.

'In Osteria Francescana, we put all we know -'

our energy, our memory, our knowledge,

they get squeezed, everything, into every bite

of what we cook.

Food was at the heart of Massimo's childhood.

I grew up under the kitchen table of my grandmother,

so when she was rolling past,

flour fell on my knees, because I was escaping from my older brother.

That was the beginning, when, er,

when I felt the kitchen was my place.

HE SPEAKS ITALIAN

It was time spent outside of Italy,

training under the legendary Alain Ducasse,

and then Ferran Adria, of El Bulli fame,

that helped him arrive at the unique style he has today.

Beautiful.

I learn how to be free, how to express myself,

without all the rules of the international cuisine.

Very good.

Now, the finalists are on their way to spend two days

learning from this exceptional chef,

who has brought Italian food back into the culinary spotlight.

Our chefs are going to have to take away from this experience

everything that Massimo believes in.

His philosophy is all about letting yourself express your emotions

through your food.

It's unbelievable that we're here. I think

it's going to hit home, that I'm standing in a three-star kitchen.

I'm going to really, really push myself.

It's really important to make this opportunity count.

To be cooking in the third-best restaurant in the world,

it's phenomenal.

I don't know what to expect, I don't know what I'm going to have to do.

I'm a control freak - I need to know everything about everything.

Guys, welcome to Osteria Francescana, huh?

In Modena. Welcome to Modena!

-What is Modena?

-Good morning.

-The land of fast car and slow food.

You're going to explore the flavour of the region,

you're going to interpret it with your soul,

with your heart, huh?

And with your culture and imagination.

And we're going to have fun, OK?

Let's go inside. Come on.

Time to work. Time to think.

Time to think. OK...

To begin with, Massimo will give the finalists a masterclass.

First is an iconic dish he calls "Think Green" -

a tribute to the nearby countryside that is home to the famous

Parmesan-producing cows of the region.

Think Green came out from a trip in a field, in the spring,

an explosion of spring.

And the smell was AMAZING!

And I said, "We need to fix this moment in a dish."

OK, guys, let's go.

All the different vegetables...

The dish centres around the season and uses peas, asparagus,

runner beans and courgettes - cooked in their own juices.

And the purity of the flavours is like when you eat the nature.

All right?

So, we're going to start to dish.

Precise...

The vegetables are decorated with edible flowers

and served with a chlorophyll of herbs,

including tarragon, thyme and mint.

The frozen peas...

A snow of peas, frozen at minus 18 degrees and blended, is added...

And this is the milk from the morning.

..followed by milk curd from the Parmesan cows,

infused with Szechuan pepper.

We want some spices, we want long finish into the palate.

We're going to finish this like this, no?

That's it.

Get... Dig in, and get it.

It was like walking through a meadow

and eating a meadow at the same time - a really, really

strange, but really exhilarating, experience.

Massimo's great. I wish I had him doing the commentary

for everything that I ate, because it just, er, inspires you, really.

Pure flavours, that is how I do my food.

I'm pretty sure I've shown that,

but it's the other energy and the emotion -

I am zero-emotional when it comes to stuff like that.

Let's go. Let's move to another dish.

Next is Massimo's signature dessert.

Oops! I broke the lemon tart. I made a mistake.

The pastry chef dropped one of the two lemon tarts we had to serve.

And I said, "Isn't it beautiful? It's all broke!"

So we rebuilt with the same proportion the same thing

in a totally different way.

We put the yolk with the juice of the lemon. We add a little sugar.

The filling of the tart is zabaglione, or custard,

flavoured with lemon juice and limoncello.

We are going to put upside down all the elements

that could be on the top of the tart.

Despite being created by accident,

each of the dish's elements are carefully placed

on a specially-designed plate, beginning with bergamot gel cubes,

diced lemon and spiced apple confit.

That's it. You can create something that looks imperfect but is perfect.

Capers with honey, capers with salt.

For Massimo, the success of the dish is down to the unique

flavour combination in every mouthful.

We're going to go with oregano-infused pepper oil.

Your palate goes, "Wow, what's going on?"

This is a lemon oil, a little bit of mint...

The art comes in the final stages of plating.

Finishing with a hot zabaglione.

LAUGHTER

Whoops!

What's going on here?

Finish this like this.

Whoops! I dropped the lemon tart.

This is a gesture of "leave some space for the unexpected".

What an absolutely fantastic chef.

The amount you learn, the fun, the creativity, is just unreal.

He's just an absolute inspiration.

This is such a great experience for me.

I think it's a great opportunity to just feel free and do what you

love doing and just be a bit creative and a bit off the wall.

He has a fantastic name, fantastic restaurants,

and he can play around and be very adventurous, and that's

probably why he's different and why he got three stars. But it's...

Sometimes, different isn't always better, in my eyes.

Now, Scott, Steven and Adam have to show that they can

draw on their emotions and use them to tell a story through their food.

You just have to express yourself. Show me what is in your mind.

Using this process, they have an hour and 15 minutes

to produce one dish for Massimo.

Creation is like intuition, you catch that flash in the dark.

He just inspires you, really. There's a lot of emotion...

MASSIMO CLAP HIS HANDS

I want energy! I want energy. OK? Don't be shy.

Express yourself!

I couldn't have hoped for a worse scenario.

That emotional - terrible thing to say -

mumbo-jumbo stuff doesn't work with me.

I've been trained very strictly and that is the way I am now.

Our finalists are classically trained in kitchens where

it's all about rigidity and adhering to recipes.

He's going to want them to bare their soul

and tell a story on a plate! It's not what they are used to.

OK, let's move.

This is just totally different to what I've ever done before.

I picked some red mullet, mackerel, some clams

and loads of fresh herbs and some potatoes.

When we used to go on holiday to the seaside, we used to go fishing.

I'm trying to get the idea of a barbecue on the beach.

So that's the idea behind it.

He wants to know what we're about, I think.

He wants to see what we're really like.

Steven is using childhood memories of humble

home cooking as the starting point for his dish.

I didn't grow up eating ceps and truffles.

I grew up eating cheap offcuts or cheap fish, like mackerel,

so that's showing Massimo I want to take something humble and turn it

into something a bit more special and try and get the most out of it.

I'm going to do an angry dish, because I'm so frustrated.

I don't understand any of this, so I'm going to make an angry one.

INDISTINCT

I can't understand his philosophy.

It's just not me, so I'm going to make a chocolate dessert

where you start at the top and it's quite nice.

The further you go down it gets more and more intense and that will

give him the portraying and understanding

of how frustrated I am. It's not me at all.

Burnt my sugar again. I'm all over the place today.

Scott is the first to serve his story-inspired dish to Massimo.

Today, I've more understood the point of plating,

so every mouthful is different, which I think is a brilliant idea.

MATTHEW TAPS HIS GLASS

Come on! I want to see what's going on down there.

Scott's dish is inspired by memories of the seaside.

Pan-fried red mullet topped with smoked salt,

cured mackerel, mussels and clams, potato cubes, diced lemon

and lime, capers, radish and floral herbs.

The story is me and my father used to do a lot of fishing on the beach.

We'd catch the fish and barbecue. That is the beach to me.

I like that. I like that.

The mullet is just a little overcooked.

This is very good.

This is like...

I keep eating different bites, and one is totally acidic,

one is totally bitter, the other one is sweet

and everything gets into the balance in my palate.

I think this is really well done.

-Bravo. Bravo, Scott.

-Thank you, Chef.

A lot of cooking is really professional.

I've never gone to the level that he wanted us to go.

You know, I think I went there he was really happy with it.

I'm not an emotional person and I'm trying to make an emotional dish.

If this is what he's getting at, my God, his head must hurt.

Because I am totally mind-boggled by all this business.

That's it now.

It's not my style, so, no, I'm not happy with it. At all.

Adam's angry dessert is a broken tempered chocolate pyramid

filled with layers of cherry, salt and pepper chocolate

and served with cherry puree, cherry foam, bitter honeycomb,

sugar-coated radish, truffle and burnt lemon.

Please. Adam.

Well, from seeing your food, I was trying to understand it

and still I don't.

So this is my take on anger

and frustration, using a chocolate that, starting from the top

is really nice and sweet and goes down and it's a little bit

well, more fiery.

And the idea was that you have tempered chocolate,

so you have to break into me,

representing that I always put a wall up from my emotion.

I don't know...

I like that.

In your frustration, you find the way to express yourself,

and that's amazing.

I'm really excited to try this.

Hm...

Hm!

HE CHUCKLES

You know what I feel?

I don't know where you're going to take me with this.

It's, like, very intriguing, because at the end

I have a clean palate with a very clean flavour of chocolate.

You have a good technique, eh?

And that kind of expression

is the kind of expression I want in a plate.

And you did it.

That's good. That's good.

-Thank you very much, Chef.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Today's been very stressful.

For somebody who is not an emotional person to try

and dig deep in the matter of a couple of hours

and produce a dish from an emotion is, kind of, weird.

But, apparently, I pulled it off!

Completely different plating up for Massimo.

He likes creativity, he likes...

..wackiness, basically.

Steven's starter reflects his journey

from humble beginnings to becoming a top chef.

A rustic side, of torn cured mackerel, roast beetroot puree,

baby lime and foraged leaves.

And a precise side, with diced mackerel,

pickled beetroot rounds, burnt beetroot skin,

horseradish mascarpone, fresh dill and a lemon foam.

I grew up not eating fine foods

and I like to create dishes from everyday foods,

but use the technique to try and make it a bit wow.

The plate looks very good.

The horseradish is giving a very long finish

and the mascarpone is fixing all the flavour in the palate.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Also, this beetroot, very good. Really well made.

This is exactly what I want.

I'm really enjoying the plate.

It's really refreshing to come and see your passion

and it made me realise that it's OK to express myself more.

Bravo!

That's a great lesson.

You have to be yourself. You have to be yourself.

You don't have to be someone else,

some approach that was, like, 30 years ago. Just be yourself.

And I want to eat your emotion.

-Very, very well done. Thank you, Steven.

-Thank you.

Getting praise off Massimo is phenomenal.

I'm just up there...on cloud nine.

It's been a big day, eh?

But I'm very happy.

I've seen your mind is working and it's moving

and it's a very great feeling.

A very happy two-hour period.

-Very happy.

-Thank you very much, Chef.

Good.

It's day two in Modena.

Massimo is handing over the restaurant kitchen

to Adam, Scott and Steven.

Today, they must cook a six-course tasting menu

for a group of specially-invited guests.

He's going to have the highest expectations.

I don't want to let him down now.

Buonissimo. Buonissimo.

I can't wait to learn more dishes. It's a big challenge,

but I think it'll be really enjoyable at the same time.

I think I've got to prove that yesterday was frustration,

today is poetry.

And I just need to make sure I execute my dishes perfectly well.

Adam will be in charge of the meal's opening two courses.

I have great expectations.

I want to see you in a different condition than yesterday

and how you were.

First on the menu is a dish Massimo calls Snails Under The Vines.

I want the feeling of the vineyard. Like you imagine...

digging in earth, getting everything. I need it.

Whoa!

This homage to nature is made with snails from the vineyards

of north-west Italy, cooked in a white wine,

garlic and olive oil bourguignon sauce.

At the base is the grass.

The cooked snails are placed on a circle of green sauce

made using parsley, spinach and three local herbs.

We're going to cover the snails with all the herbs,

because most of the time they're like in camouflage under there.

The vines are delicately constructed from herb leaves,

strips of black truffle and thinly sliced porcini mushrooms.

Then, we have two sauces.

One is the coffee sauce, because coffee is part of the earth's taste.

And a little bit of beet sauce.

So, this kind of plate you finish everything at the last second

with all these elements, so you have to have the right

sensibility in your hand to put the right proportion on everything.

-OK?

-Yep.

So this is the dish.

It's a crazy, crazy concept, but it's amazing.

Let's see what we have now.

Adam's second dish is a tribute

to one of the most famous ingredients of the region.

Five different aged parmigiano, five different textures.

Each of the five elements are made from Parmesan at different

stages of ageing, with their own distinct flavours.

And separate cooking processes capture each one for the diner.

At the base is a quenelle, a demi-souffle,

made from the youngest Parmesan, aged for 24 months.

This is the sauce.

The sauce is made with water, that means that you have

a pure flavour of Parmigiano into your palate.

This is followed by a cream,

a Parmesan air and, finally,

a Parmesan crisp made from the Parmesan aged 50 months.

So the key is going to be clear flavour on each ageing process

and the proportion into the plate.

I'm just going to have to get my head around how old...

They were done perfectly well.

-But no, I'm looking forward to it.

-Just do it.

OK. All right. ADAM CHUCKLES

So this is going to be your first dish.

-We are going to cook some pasta! Are you happy?

-I am happy, Chef.

Scott's first course is a meeting of two cultures,

with influences from Massimo's Italian grandmother

and his training under French legend Alain Ducasse.

The name of the recipe is

The Dream Of A French Chef To Cook Pasta As An Italian.

OK?

The ravioli is filled with cured French pate, leek puree and truffle.

For Massimo there is one thing essential

to the success of this dish.

The old grandmothers, they were always saying,

"If you have warm hands, you can make pasta.

"If you have cold hands, you cannot."

You have warm hands, that's perfect.

The cooked pasta is tossed in a sauce of burnt leek,

beef stock and truffle juice.

And then served with truffle buerre blanc

made with an acidic white wine.

Some truffle on the top.

We are going to finish the ravioli like this.

It's an absolutely stunning dish.

Cooking for Italians and I'm making a pasta, a Welsh boy,

so see what happens!

Scott's second dish is the menu's fish course,

made with black cod to look like a piano key.

It is a playful tribute to Thelonious Monk.

Monk was one of the most brilliant, incredible jazz players in history.

One night I played the Monk record.

JAZZ PIANO PLAYS

And I turned off the light and I said,

"Eat with your palate, don't eat with your eyes."

JAZZ PIANO CONTINUES

In the dark room in that night, I catch the flash.

-You understand what I mean?

-I understand.

-All right.

The base of the dish is a Japanese katsuobushi broth,

made from dried tuna, squid ink and finely sliced vegetables.

The broth is very intense but not as intense as you imagine,

because it's very light with a little bit of ink of the squid.

You look good!

You look Frankenstein.

The key of the dish is like the way you cook the cod.

The skin of the black cod is crisped up before

it's poached in the light broth.

The temperature is around 55 degrees poached,

so the surface has to be crunchy.

It's not going to be easy.

So, the plate is going to be like this.

Some confit...ginger,

Then a little bit of the roots on the top.

Perfect.

Then the broth.

The fish.

He's going to put a little bit of olive oil.

Then he's going to put the crust.

The crust is a mix of powdered seaweed and powdered sea urchin.

And the crust is going to be... the flavour. Very intense.

It's also a piano key, you know?

Because Monk was playing piano.

Incredible. Incredible that it's a black and white dish.

Yet we've still got all the different flavours going on in it.

Absolutely amazing.

-You can make it, right?

-Yes.

-You can make it?

-Yes, Chef.

-All right.

This is a beautiful piece of meat that has been wrapped in ashes.

So, it's, like... Tastes grilled but it's not grilled.

Steven will be in charge of the meat course.

And Massimo's tribute to his obsession with modern art.

Beautiful psychedelic beef.

A little touch of the charcoal oil,

some smoked salt.

There are four different sauces.

A dark cherry vinegar.

A concentration of beef stock.

and 50-years old balsamic vinegar. Look.

This is from my family.

This is creamy potato and extra virgin olive oil.

This is an extraction of arugula.

So, we're going to finish the plate like this.

Here we go.

It's like a spinned painting of Damien Hirst.

Every dish is different from the other.

But the quantity and the flavour are exactly the same.

And, so, I try to create

the experience that is unique for each customer.

Here we go.

You can make it, you can do it.

Yeah, but it's going to be completely different to, you know,

the way I've been trained to dress a plate and that's exciting.

That's very good.

It is nerve-racking to pull a dish like this off.

But Massimo believes in us. I just need to convince myself now.

Steven will finish with the only sweet of the meal.

We're going to close the dinner with "It's just a dessert."

Because it's just a dessert.

It's nothing special.

But exactly when you don't have any expectation,

you find the right way to create the perfection.

This final dish is Massimo's tribute

to the most famous of all Italian desserts -

tiramisu.

Put the film at the bottom of the plate - coffee.

Then, mascarpone.

Crunchy meringue of coffee.

Mix it with some of the Amaretto.

Mascarpone and vanilla.

A quenelle of ice cream.

The yellow cream has to be big

because the yellow creamy part

is going to disappear in your palate because it's a foam.

It's very, very light.

The tricky part is to create the perfect foam with the balance,

cos I don't want to feel the yolk in the palate.

You feel the yolk, you missed the dessert.

-You understand?

-I understand.

I need this dish to be perfect.

It's a lasting memory of the meal,

so if this is wrong, then Massimo's going to kill me.

Be alert.

-Steven, did you already prepare the beef?

-Not yet, no.

-OK, it's time to do it.

-OK.

Thank you, do it.

Pasta, pasta, pasta, pasta.

-Adam, how is it with the snails?

-Almost ready.

-Very good.

With preparation in full swing,

the specially-invited guests start to arrive.

Including Osteria Francescana regulars.

And the judges.

They're going to be cooking some of Massimo's signature dishes,

dishes he has taken 20 years to create.

If they can somehow embrace this opportunity

and let go of those fears, they will be able to do this.

Among the diners is also Massimo's biggest critic, his wife, Lara.

I'm picky. I know what the food should taste like. So...we'll see.

Wow.

-Grazie.

-Grazie.

-No more jokes. Go on, snails. OK?

-Yep.

-Let's go.

Adam, come on, go.

I'm just keeping relaxed.

Channelling my inner Italian.

No, it's OK.

Not too much, not too much.

You're heavy with your hand in the sauces.

Delicate, delicate.

That's it, that's it.

-Ready? Ready, Adam?

-Yes, Chef.

-OK. Fine.

Mm.

Beautifully light.

You could eat that and not realise you've eaten anything. Very good.

-MONICA:

-I think Adam has executed really well.

And it tastes earthy to me.

It's what you'd expect with snail.

LARA: I think the plating just seemed slightly more constructed,

so didn't have that sort of natural feeling, you could tell there was

a little bit of tension in the chef's hands and he wanted to get it right.

But I'm an insider, so I can be his worst critic.

Now you have the five different Parmigiano, OK?

Adam has already prepped the five different textures.

But the key lies in judging the right amount of each one

to put on every dish.

Proportion, proportion.

-Heat, everything goes up, OK?

-Everything goes up.

This is beautiful.

Right proportion, not too big. Right proportion.

Fine.

Good. Very good.

LARA: It's perfect.

MICHEL: I think it looks exquisite. I can't wait to dive in. Beautiful!

Oh!

-GREGG:

-That is fantastic!

I know this plate for many years,

so I think that, tonight, it's good.

Serious skills on something which is just Parmesan.

One of the best dishes I have ever eaten in my life.

Bravo.

Bravo.

Bravo.

I feel proud of myself.

That was stressful. I need a siesta now.

-Who is the next one?

-Yes, Chef.

-Go.

I've never cooked fish like this. I've never sealed it and poached it.

It's either been one or the other.

The most difficult thing on that dish is cooking the fish.

It has to melt in the palate, the cod.

It's not easy.

Take your time, OK?

Some more.

It is very important when you pour the broth,

just go very slowly in the centre.

Yes, Chef.

One more, one more.

It's not proportion, do you understand what I mean?

-Yes, Chef.

-Go.

Perfect.

HE PRAISES HIM IN ITALIAN

Homage to the piano player.

Visually, I think it's stunning and it works.

Mmm!

Oh, get amongst it. That is just lovely.

Oh, yeah. Oh-ho-ho!

I think Scott has cooked this fish beautifully well.

Slightly under, and the sauce is well judged.

I love Monk's music, so I was very, very curious.

It was a very good tribute, I think.

With this dish, we have fallen into a dark, deep, beautiful dream

and now we can't get out.

Really, really good.

Really good, really good.

-Scott, plate for the ravioli immediately.

-Right, chef.

Do your best!

Cook it in a perfect way.

Scott must now do justice

to Massimo's French-Italian ravioli dish.

OK, perfect.

A little thin in the middle. Just go in the middle.

It's OK, it's OK. You go dripping.

OK, perfect. OK, let's go, let's go.

Let's go, let's go.

This course is called

The Dream of a French Chef to Cook Pasta as an Italian.

JUDGES: Oh! Bravo, bravo!

It looks stunning yet again. I love this presentation.

That is beautiful!

I think Scott's executed the flavours on this dish very well.

Everything is so intense and there's not a lot on this plate.

I thought it was a little too French.

I thought that the sauce got a bit heavy.

I think when it comes out of Massimo's kitchen,

it has a bit of a lighter touch, that's all.

Scott made this dish, and wow,

there's a lot of French skills in here, a lot of French flavours, too.

But adapting it with Italian cuisine, mmm.

MASSIMO: Bravo, Scott. Bravo!

I actually really enjoyed it.

Obviously, really nervous going into the service,

but his passion for food and just the pure excitement he puts into

doing service makes you want to just do better and really push yourself.

Now it's your turn, ah?

Finally, it's Steven...

-Do you want to practise?

-Yeah, one practice.

-One practice, please.

-..who has to forget years of chef discipline

if his beautiful, psychedelic beef is going to be a success.

This is good, but you can also go like this.

Yeah, yeah, OK.

-No, just go like this.

-OK.

-Don't worry about this.

-OK?

-Yep.

-That's it.

I'm feeling a bit daunted, really,

because it's not natural just to put food on the plate like that.

Your turn, my friend!

OPERA MUSIC

And now it's too much.

Good.

Go there.

That's it, that's it.

Bravo, bravo.

Very good, perfect.

For me, that is shocking, but that's the point.

-It would be fun to dress that.

-Oh, yeah.

It's beautiful. I understand we are not into a restaurant.

I understand we are into a contemporary art exhibition.

The flavours of this are extraordinary. Well done, Steven.

You look at it and you think, "Oh, my God, where am I going to begin?",

but in the end, all the flavours come together,

so it was done very well.

I think it was the best dish of the evening. Just perfect, really good.

-Last dish. Don't miss one little thing, OK?

-Yeah.

To deliver the perfect finale,

Steven will have only minutes

to plate up Massimo's unique version of tiramisu,

-called It's Just a Dessert.

-I can't afford to get this one wrong.

I'm confident I can nail it.

Perfect.

Go!

-Oh, wow.

-Goodness.

Look at that, that's beautiful.

Oh!

Mmm!

Oh...

I'm finishing this. You can't have any, Gregg.

This is a completely different version of a tiramisu,

but it was a great dessert.

Not "just a dessert."

Mmm.

There's skill in there.

Skill.

Steven has now learned how to make the lightest

and most delicious tiramisu I have ever tasted.

Perfect. Beautiful.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Bravo!

Bravo! Bravi, bravi!

The first two chefs laid down the gauntlet

and I wanted to do everyone proud.

I'm just glad that everything went well.

I'm very proud of you guys.

They did the service in a perfect way.

Adam is the most focused on cuisine and today did incredible.

The food was extremely good. I'm very happy.

Thank you very much.

I'm going away in a completely different frame of mind,

about, actually, everything. I didn't think I ever would,

but, yeah, emotionally, food-wise, a lot of stuff.

He's a clever, crazy genius.

Scott is like the bloody one, you know?

Really, you know, "Hah!

"Yeah, I can do it, I can make it!", and he did it.

The pasta was superb today.

I think there's a lot I'm going to take away from this.

I've never really had the confidence to do the food I really believe in,

so now it's going to be a real opportunity

and I'm going to go all guns blazing.

Steven is the more open and is the one who really

puts his mind in his dishes and he thinks a lot.

Very impressed.

The experience has been absolutely mind-blowing.

Massimo has taught me to be yourself, to express yourself

and enjoy what you do.

I just want to do my best

and give myself every opportunity there is to win this competition.

We have given you the chance to work

with one of the most acclaimed chefs in the world.

What we want now

is for you to deliver

one plate of food inspired by your time in Italy.

Off you go.

-So, Scott, how did you enjoy your time in Italy?

-Inspiring.

A total inspiration.

So I'm doing today my garden salad,

so everything you find in your garden at home and, obviously,

you always get irritating little pigeons

flying in your garden, as well,

so I'm doing a little bit of wood pigeon as well.

Did you take a pot-shot at it and bring it in?

I had a little catapult when I was younger, so I would take them out.

Hopefully, it just all works together

and you get the nice story behind it

-and it should be quite exciting on the palate.

-Great, Scott.

The title is called Fight and Love of a Terracotta Warrior.

-Say that again.

-Fight and Love of a Terracotta Warrior.

It's a very old Chinese book.

It's like a love story, so the dish is going to be two different styles.

My career in a bowl, so it should be precision and nicely cooked,

nicely seasoned, and then there is a second one,

which is actually where my passion and my heart lies,

which is Asian food.

So, the two dishes will be eaten in a love of both together.

So emotional.

I love it.

30 minutes to go, chefs.

Steven, how did you find the time with Massimo?

Has he got the influence on the food that you're doing here today?

Definitely.

The dish is called caponata al la Damien Hirst

with influence from an Italian chef called Massimo, so a nice big title.

You know, I feel confident in doing something

that I wouldn't normally do.

I thought I'd go a little bit wild today, just because I can.

Our three chefs have come back from Italy

and they have blossomed into chefs that are cooking

with a glint in their eye and a big, big smile and a heart that's pumping.

Massimo has really reached into their souls and that passion

is not only felt - they're ready to actually put it in their food.

You have just five minutes left.

That's it, time's up.

Scott's British garden salad is made up of pickled red beetroot,

roasted golden beetroot,

baby courgettes and carrots,

peas, broad beans and potato cubes,

served on a spinach, parsley and olive oil puree

with quail egg yolk and a slow-cooked pigeon breast.

Scott, that is beautiful. That really is wonderful.

I love the colours. It looks almost too beautiful to eat.

It's a stunning plate of food.

It is just so delicate

and, oh, I'd be so happy to receive this in any restaurant.

Mmm, that beautiful green puree on the bottom, there,

and that brings the dish together

and the vegetables all cooked individually,

all packed with flavour.

For me, maybe just a little bit of acidity, maybe a little bit

of lemon zest of something, just to freshen it up a bit more.

But, saying that, wow.

The elements are all cooked to their best,

to bring all that flavour together.

The pigeon is cooked perfectly, lovely and pink, still moist.

It was really good. The whole dish was more than good. Stunning.

Thank you.

Really happy.

Great inspiration behind the dish and really enjoyed it.

Everything was cooked really well.

I hope I did Massimo justice.

Adam's Fight and Love of a Terracotta Warrior

is water bath lobster,

roast chicken oysters,

a burnt aubergine puree,

confit potatoes,

a salmon-skin crisp,

served with a Thai yellow curry sauce.

I love the look of this, I really do. It's so inviting.

I don't want to share a dish like this.

The lobster is cooked really, really well,

and then you've got the chicken oyster,

which you've cooked and you've still kept it just under,

it's not overcooked, but for me the star is that sauce.

The spice and the chilli that's coming through -

it's good eating.

No other word will describe that other than quite simply delicious.

It really is. Everything on this dish is cooked faultlessly.

What that experience in Italy has done

is made you feel brave enough

to show off, in part, the real you.

I don't think we'll ever get to know the real you.

You've been inspired. Brilliant.

Absolutely brilliant.

The comments were tremendous. Absolutely amazing.

I couldn't even have hoped for anything better.

Very happy with that. That was amazing.

Steven's dish is caponata a la Damien Hirst,

with inspiration from an Italian chef called Massimo.

It's made up of a caponata, or aubergine and tomato stew,

with baby artichokes, tomatoes, red pepper, roasted celery,

olives, capers, toasted pine nuts, a black olive crumb,

and four different purees of red pepper,

parsley, artichoke and aubergine.

It looks great.

You really have embraced the Massimo style there

of just letting your feelings flow on the plate.

Actually, I really wanted to throw it on the plate

but I just couldn't go that far.

Mmm.

That is delicious.

Fresh, vibrant.

It's got an intensity of flavour that you wouldn't have thought

you'd be able to get with vegetables.

Really, really delicious.

What you've picked up really well in your time with Massimo

is getting the different hits of the flavours and in every mouthful

and it ties together beautifully. It's a work of art.

-You should be very proud.

-Fantastic.

Oh!

I'm really happy with the comments off Michel and Monica.

They loved it from start to finish

and I was a bit thrown back by it, to be honest.

We're getting closer to the final showdown.

The other two chefs are talented

and I have to do something pretty special to have a chance of winning.

This is building up to be an unbelievable finals week.

Can't wait to taste some more food.

Thank you.

Tomorrow night, it's the biggest challenge of the competition...

You just cannot afford to get it wrong today.

..a full restaurant service...

Right.

..with the country's greatest chefs as guests...

To have every table full of chefs of this calibre? That's a big ask.

..and it's the hottest day of the year.

My apple sorbet's in the blast chiller.

It's not setting.

Are we ready?

No, chef!

Was that a "no"?

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