Episode 7 MasterChef: The Professionals

These eight chefs all want to become professional MasterChef champion.

They've been split into two teams.

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

to make it through to the next level.

I think I have a natural flair for getting flavours together

and making things work. It might be outrageous,

but once you taste it, it's a whole different world.

If I go home, nobody will remember me. People only get remembered

-if they get to the final.

-You've got to have everything right

from the word go to the final plate.

Pressure. There's a lot of pressure.

'You're here to win. You're not here just to meet friends.'

You can be friends, maybe, afterward, after when I win, but...

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

-Maria?

-Yes?

-Breathe! No-one's going to hurt you.

Yeah.

..before finally getting a chance to cook for Michel Roux Jr

in his classics challenge.

'Our chefs have realised they have got to pull their socks up.'

They have got a point to prove.

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

Right - the skills test. Always challenging.

What are you going to get 'em to do this time?

I would like them to make a gnocchi

with a garnish or sauce of their choice.

Come on. They've all got to be able to do that. I can do this!

Let's see you do it.

First thing I'm going to do is to mash my potato.

It's best to do this while the potato is still warm,

because you'll get a smoother consistency

and it won't get too lumpy.

Next step, I'm going to add some flour.

You can add eggs or semolina.

I just find, if you add too much eggs, it gets quite gluggy

and stodgy. It makes it quite heavy.

Interestingly, I make it exactly the same way as you do, without eggs,

-but that's unusual.

-You can flavour your gnocchi, if you want,

at this stage. Chop some herbs and put it through, for example,

or you can take a bit of basil. Don't overwork it,

cos it will make it quite tough.

And then shape. Just roll it over.

Right. You know when they're ready, because they float to the top.

Now we're going to give them a crispy edge.

And that's it. Nice, crispy, golden.

And I'm just going to let this lovely, soft goat's cheese melt.

-Oh, look at that!

-These have just been semi-dried in the oven.

There we go, Gregg! Gnocchi with tomatoes, basil and goat's cheese.

Yummy! Let me get at 'em.

Lovely light little potato dumplings,

and frying them to give them a crispy edge is inspired, Monica.

Right. I think a good plate of gnocchi

is not beyond the skills of any chefs.

-Get 'em in here.

-Let's see what they can do.

Stirling-based sous-chef Maria is up first.

In her first test, she overcomplicated her sardine dish

by adding pickled cucumber and a hollandaise sauce.

Definitely I haven't shown my best,

but it's another day, another challenge.

Hopefully today I'm much more relaxed and ready.

We'll see in a second.

-Hi, Maria.

-Hello.

What we want you to do is make us a bowl of potato gnocchi.

-Potato gnocchi. Yes.

-OK?

-OK.

-When you're ready, you have 12 minutes.

-Off you go.

-Maria?

-Yes?

-Breathe.

-Relax.

-OK.

-No-one's going to hurt you.

Yeah.

-You're halfway. You've got six minutes left, Maria.

-OK. Thank you.

You've only got a minute.

You've got 20 seconds. That's got to go on a plate, Maria.

-Your time's up. You can breathe again now.

-OK.

-How was that, Maria?

-Yeah, it was good. A bit nervous.

-A bit nervous?

-Yes. A lot.

Forgot to breathe for a second.

So, gnocchi. It's been a while since you made it?

Yes, it was a while.

Um, it's not the tidiest gnocchi,

but, you know, you've crisped it up in the pan,

and you've even put blue cheese through the mix.

Your gnocchi with the blue cheese inside them are really nice.

They're light enough, and they've got flavour,

and a blue-cheese tang. Maybe a touch too much blue cheese,

being in the gnocchi and as part of the sauce,

-and I don't think we need the butter.

-OK.

I like the gnocchi. I like the fact you've pan-fried it,

and with the basil and the blue cheese inside, it's lovely.

It's melted in there. I think, had you controlled your nerves

and moved like your backside was on fire,

-you could've done a lot more to make it look more presentable.

-Yeah. OK.

-Maria, thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Off you go.

She looked so scared. What did you do to her?

-Nothing. I just looked at her.

-That would explain it.

I feel good. I think again, too nervous.

I feel much better, definitely, after this dish.

So, yeah, I'm proud of myself, definitely.

27-year-old Liam is a sous-chef at an award-winning restaurant

in Wales.

His sardine dish was let down by a huge cheese-and-potato cake.

'I need to impress Monica today.'

Not "want to". I need to do it, after the first round.

Liam, what we want you to do is make us potato gnocchi.

-I'll give it a go.

-Off you go.

Three minutes gone, Liam. Nine minutes left.

-You look very focussed.

-I try.

You've got 90 seconds. It doesn't look like you need it.

-Finished?

-Finished.

Liam, you seemed pretty comfortable with what you were doing.

-Yeah, it was OK.

-You've obviously made gnocchi before.

You've used the tomatoes and the basil as a garnish,

but, er, I think you had so much time up your sleeve,

I'm sure you could've done this gnocchi a bit more credit

than just putting it on the plate like this.

That's lovely gnocchi!

Really light, crispy finish.

OK, I get the tang of basil and a little bit of sweet tomato.

Where's my sauce? Where's my sauce, chef?

Come on! Go the extra mile.

Liam, look - if you want to progress in this competition,

you know, you need to stand out for the right reasons.

Yes, you can make a gnocchi, but it's got to be a plate of gnocchi

that's going to wow this guy sitting out front.

-You got to step up and meet the challenge head-on, every time.

-Yeah.

-Liam, thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Off you go, chef.

Come on, Liam!

I'd say that they seemed a lot more impressed this round,

so it was a lot better than the first one.

I relaxed a bit more. Didn't mess around.

But, yeah, I'm happy.

Pastry chef Sean works for an events catering company.

His dessert in the last round was well presented,

but his thyme-infused panna cotta was too firm.

The next test, without a doubt I can... I'll make it work.

What we'd like you to do is make us potato gnocchi.

That's good. I've never made gnocchi before, but...

-You've never made gnocchi before?

-No.

It's one of those things that never really came up to me.

12 minutes, my friend. You ready?

-Yeah.

-Right. Let's go.

You're halfway, Sean. Six minutes left.

You've got three minutes left, if you need 'em, Sean.

-All done?

-Yes. Stressful, and, er...

You're a pastry chef.

You know you should never overwork anything with flour, yes?

The worry I have is, there was so much flour in there,

that's probably all we're going to taste.

That's, er... That's a rough old plate there, Sean, isn't it?

Look at it. Mate, I don't think I'd accept that in a canteen.

No. They're really heavy.

They're... They're... Ooh!

Try it!

Mate, that's a write-off. I wouldn't accept that.

I'm not sure you would, either.

Off you go.

That was really terrible. Horrible.

What a disaster!

'I just went blank, absolutely blank.'

Absolutely terrible.

Last up is 23-year-old Daniel,

who lives and works in the Scottish Borders.

Gregg and Monica enjoyed the flavours of his sardine dish,

but not the presentation.

It's key that I progress through each round,

and hopefully I'll walk in with an open mind

and I'll see what's in front of me and I'll go for it.

-What we want you to do is to make potato gnocchi.

-All right.

Off you go.

You're halfway, chef. You got six minutes left.

Time's up. Just put it on. Put it on, put it on, put it on! Stop.

HE SIGHS

I think the idea of the melted goat's cheese

as the centre of a sundial where bits of gnocchi come out are great,

but there's nowhere near enough gnocchi to complete it.

You've got light, soft little basil-tanged gnocchi,

and I really like them. I also love the idea

of the goat's cheese and the tomato. It's salty, tangy, sweet...

But you got to give yourself enough time and work fast enough

to finish a plate.

Daniel, I like your gnocchi, but it needs more love.

It needs a chef that gives a damn

at how it's being served to the people out front. OK?

Do yourself some justice, and put something on the plate

-that you'd be proud to eat yourself.

-That's what I should have done.

Daniel, thank you. Off you go.

He's a young chef,

but he's got some good touches. He's got some nice ideas.

Rushed it at the end.

HE SIGHS

That's it.

HE LAUGHS

We've now found out quite a bit about these chefs.

I've seen some good work. I've tasted some good stuff.

They're now going to do the classics with Michel,

and I hope the couple that I do like

will be the ones that shine when they cook for Michel.

For my classic recipe I am cooking un filet de St-Pierre

artichokes barigoule - a fillet of John Dory,

pan-seared, with artichokes barigoule.

Artichokes barigoule are a classic way of preparing

the small baby artichokes in Provence.

First job, to fillet the John Dory.

Just run the knife along the backbone.

Follow it very closely, making sure not to leave any flesh on the bone.

If you fillet the John Dory properly,

there shouldn't be any small bones to remove.

Just score the skin slightly, which will help keep it flat,

stop the fish from curling up.

So, the fillet now I can put aside.

Next we need to prepare all the garnish for the artichokes barigoule.

Some lovely diced carrot,

a little bit of fennel,

a bit of onion, and it's just these wonderful flavours

that make the dish.

A little bit of ham. This is going to give a depth

and a little bit of saltiness

to enhance the flavour of the artichoke.

Next, these beautiful little artichokes

need to be prepared with care.

It's important to take off all the dark-green leaves,

that are inedible,

very hard and bitter, and need to come off.

Hence this choke here is really not good to eat.

Rub it in a little bit of lemon juice, so it keeps it nice and white,

stops it from oxidising.

We're going to sear these in a little bit of olive oil.

And then we add our garnish.

With a little bit of rosemary... That's just going to infuse.

Thyme leaves...

and white wine.

This is a wonderful recipe from Provence.

Its origins lie in the hills above Nice.

It's the kind of dish that you would find in every restaurant,

especially in summer time.

Little cartouche on top, which helps keep that steam in there,

and cook the artichokes very gently.

Mmm! That is beautiful.

Lovely crisp skin, golden colour.

That is absolutely magical.

Mmm!

Basil goes in at the last second, to retain its freshness.

Delicious. All that's left to do is dress the plate.

And there we have it - filet de St-Pierre barigoule,

a fillet of John Dory, pan-seared, with artichokes barigoule.

Simplicity, singing of Provence.

This is a deceivingly challenging dish,

quite simple on the offset,

but there's a lot of process that the chefs will have to get right.

You've had a chance to cook for Monica.

You're now cooking for me.

For my classic recipe, I want you to cook a St-Pierre roti,

et artichokes a la barigoule,

a great French classic dish.

You have got one hour to cook this dish.

If you want this, nail it. Simple as that.

Off you go.

'I think my approach is much better than last time.'

I feel much more confident, and I feel really good about it today,

so hopefully it'll stay this way.

-Hello, Maria.

-Hello.

-Are you classically trained?

Yes. I was at college for four years.

-This recipe, do you understand it?

-Yes, I do.

I have cooked before barigoule flavours,

-so yes, I understand the recipe.

-Why MasterChef?

-Why put yourself through this?

-I can do the best dishes in my kitchen,

but can I do the same, the best dishes,

for you or Monica or Gregg?

-How did it go with Monica?

-Well, it didn't go that bad!

-Yeah?

-She didn't give you the look?

-I think she did at some point.

Oh, well, today fresh start.

Hopefully I can just do my best

-and just show that I deserved a place in here.

-Good!

Maria has got classical training,

and she has worked her way through college.

She understands this recipe. She's done it before.

She understand the flavours, she says.

So, yeah, I've got very, very high hopes for Maria.

15 minutes gone...already.

'Cooking for Michel is quite a daunting task.'

The skills test was...terrible.

So, you know, it doesn't really show that I can cook,

so today I have loads and loads to prove.

-Hello, Sean.

-Hiya.

-How are you?

-I'm all right.

-Yeah? You looked a little bit nervous.

I am a little bit, yeah. I don't really have much classical training.

-No?

-I am a pastry chef by trade.

Whoo! So, yes, this is going to be a bit of a test for you.

-I noticed you were struggling with the John Dory, to fillet it.

-Yeah.

-I've never come across John Dory before.

-What about the barigoule?

-I think I've heard of it before.

-Mm-hm?

-I'm just going to cook with my heart.

-Your love is pastry.

-Yes.

-So I'm going to expect a beautiful finished plate.

You will get it, yeah. That's my strong point, making it look good.

-Get cracking!

-Cheers. Thank you.

Sean has got skills, obviously, cos he's turned artichokes before,

but he is struggling with the fish.

I am expecting a beautiful plate of food.

Presentation is vital, and as a pastry chef,

he should understand that.

30 minutes gone. That's halfway, guys, yeah?

'Working in the restaurants that I have

'has prepared me today for working in front of Michel.'

Monica's comments have definitely inspired me

to think about things more.

I mean, she gives hints to what Michel wants,

so it makes me think more about what I should be delivering.

-Hi, Liam. Have you come across this recipe before?

-Never.

Never been classical trained at all,

so it'll be my interpretation of the dish.

-So, what is your background?

-Basically I worked in pubs.

By the age of 20 I'd moved up to London, did three years in London,

and then I travelled to Australia for a year, moved back to Wales,

and work in a gastropub now.

-So, college, obviously.

-No college.

-Oh, wow!

-I did some kind of fine dining in London...

-Yeah?

-..a couple of Michelin-starred restaurants.

Ah! A couple of Michelin-starred restaurants. Right.

I was going to say. Gosh!

Regardless of the fact that you haven't got classical background,

-how far do you think you can go?

-Don't enter a competition

-not to win it, do you?

-That's the spirit. Absolutely right.

Liam has never come across this recipe before,

and he hasn't got any classical training.

Ooh, this is going to be difficult for him, very difficult.

He's boiled the artichokes. Hasn't prepared them very well, either,

left a lot of the outer leaves.

Just hope he picks them off before he serves them to me,

because I'm not going to eat them.

15 minutes left.

Bring it all together now. 15 to go.

'There was one French guy who taught me a lot about French cooking.

'He gave me the chance to develop my skills.'

Without him, I probably wouldn't be where I am today,

so it's going to put a smile back on his face

if I can do him justice as well today.

-All right, Daniel?

-Hi, chef.

-So, what is your background, exactly?

-I worked in a pub for 18 months,

then in a hotel for three years with a French chef who taught me a lot.

-Has he got a name?

-Jerome Cognier. He's worked for Michel Trama.

-Ooh! My word, I know that name.

-He's a good guy.

He showed me a lot of stuff and gave me confidence.

-So, where are you working now?

-I'm not. This is the problem.

-You're not working?

-I was, but I left my job to come here.

-You... Good Lord!

-I'm young enough. I can get another job.

I wanted to come here and prove myself.

-You've got ambition, haven't you?

-Hopefully it shows on my plate.

-Good! I like what I'm hearing from you, Daniel.

-Thank you.

Daniel is a young chef, only 23, but full of enthusiasm.

He doesn't seem too fazed by the ingredients,

so I think we're going to get a good plate of food from Daniel.

An interesting brigade of chefs today,

some with experience, some with classical training.

It'll be interesting to see what they come up with.

OK, five minutes. Five minutes to go, chefs.

60 seconds. Come on.

That's it! Over.

I asked you to cook a St-Pierre et artichokes barigoule.

The John Dory should be seasoned and cooked to perfection,

the artichokes sweet and tender,

without any choke and without any outer leaves.

This is a simple dish, but it requires elegance

when it comes to presentation.

Sean, you're first.

You said you were a pastry chef and you were going to present a really elegant plate of food.

You have. I do like this.

You haven't got much experience in filleting fish,

but you've cooked the John Dory really well.

The little artichokes are beautifully prepared.

The chopped-up garnish of carrot and fennel is not quite fine enough.

I would've liked it smaller, finer.

The only thing for me that's missing on this plate

is the cooking liquid of the artichokes.

I noticed when you were plating up,

you drained all the wonderful cooking juices.

That's the flavour. That's the essence of this dish.

And you've left that on the J-cloth.

That's the only thing.

You've done a really good job.

-I'm quite proud, actually.

-You should be, Sean, I tell you.

Well cooked fish, everything seasoned well.

Looks very elegant. It's just missing probably the most important part.

-The sauce.

-Exactly.

Thank you, Sean.

'Absolutely blown away.'

It was better than I expected, and I feel amazing.

Wow! To get comments from Michel like that is unbelievable.

Daniel, let's see your John Dory.

Daniel, a certain style to this that I like.

It's not exactly artichokes barigoule as I would envisage it,

but good effort. I do like the colour on the fish.

The fish is well seasoned, lovely and golden and crispy,

which adds texture. The artichokes are very well prepared,

and just lacking in seasoning.

The actual barigoule mix,

which is the carrot and fennel and the ham there, is dry.

There's no cooking liquor. OK.

There are a few little errors,

but I think we're going in the right direction.

Thank you, Daniel.

Better than I expected, so... No, it was good.

He was happy. Well, I think he's happy, anyway.

It's a move in the right direction, so I feel happier now,

that he's given me some confidence to go into the next round.

Liam, it's a little bit crowded.

You've piled everything on top of each other there.

I like to see more of the white of the plate.

It makes the food more appetising.

Mmm... The fish is well seasoned,

and ever so, ever so slightly overcooked,

but ever so slightly.

The artichokes you boiled first and then fried them, which is wrong.

You've left some of the outer leaves there.

They're just about edible, just about.

It's borderline, it really is.

You've turned the potatoes really small, but they're well cooked.

You've even turned the carrots, actually, really well.

Er, no liquor. No cooking liquor there,

-so this whole dish is a bit dry.

-Er, I've never done it before,

so it was always going to be my own interpretation of the dish,

-but now I know.

-Good. So we're learning. Excellent.

-Thank you, Liam.

-Thank you.

'I feel OK about it.'

For a dish that I've never, ever cooked before,

I was happy, the way that it looked.

Just...me and Michel don't have the same views

on how everything was going to be plated.

Then, we're two different chefs.

Maria, let's see your John Dory.

-Maria!

-Yes?

-You've given me lots of liquid,

lots of sauce. Possibly too much.

The fish has got little black specks on it.

It's not as visually striking as it could be,

or should be.

The fish is well cooked, well seasoned,

-but the skin could've been a bit crispier.

-OK.

-You used the bones of the fish to make a fish stock...

-Yes.

..which is not part of the recipe.

However, you are the only chef here today

that's actually given me a bit of a sauce.

SHE LAUGHS

But all the fish stock and the juices of the artichoke

are lacking in a squeeze of lemon juice, a dash of white wine,

and seasoning. Good! Thank you, Maria.

I think I'm proud of what I put up in front of Michel Roux.

I know there was little mistakes there,

but I hope I showed him enough skill,

-but I don't know what he's thinking.

-SHE LAUGHS

Now you have to cook your own interpretation of a classic recipe.

One of you will be leaving.

This really is your last chance.

One hour to impress me! Off you go.

They didn't seem to grasp the spirit of the artichokes barigoule.

But I can see four chefs, four chefs that really want to prove themselves,

and still have one more chance. Hmm!

I don't know about Maria. I can see some skills there,

but I need to see more.

She still has a lot to prove.

I would love Michel Roux to compliment my dish...

-..and I...I think he will.

-SHE LAUGHS

Right, Maria. What's your classic recipe?

I am going to do roast pigeon with a stuffed leg with black pudding.

-Mmm!

-Pearl barley,

and tarragon jus with some fresh, new-season turnips.

Lot of work there. Love the idea of pearl barley.

-That's your Scottish influence.

-Yes, it is.

-Fantastic.

-From Polish person.

-SHE LAUGHS

Yeah! What made you come to Britain?

Actually, my husband brought me over to Scotland.

-Scotland's beautiful.

-It is.

-They have such wonderful ingredients.

There are, because we've got so much rain. That's why.

-Yes. A bit too much rain.

-Sometimes.

-Maria, I love your attitude. Fantastic.

-OK. Thank you.

Maria has got her work cut out, taking a wood pigeon, roasting it,

stuffing the leg with chicken mousse and black pudding.

Lovely, strong, robust flavours.

In my round, Maria's dish was lacking in flavour.

It wasn't robust enough.

With this wood-pigeon dish, it might be the complete opposite.

It might be too strong a flavours.

Just hope she gets it right.

20 minutes gone already.

Liam's not classically trained, and it really showed

on that artichokes barigoule.

I just hope that his interpretation of a classic

shines through for the right reasons.

I'm confident I can deliver.

It'd be amazing to receive any compliment off Michel Roux.

This dish will be a nicely balanced dish.

-Liam, what's your classic recipe?

-I'm going to do pork and apple,

so I'm going to do pork fillet wrapped in Parma ham.

I'll do some carrot puree, some baby carrots,

some apple beignets and a fondant potato.

-Why this particular recipe?

-Kind of a bit of a failsafe,

because I'm really comfortable with it.

-I just don't want to try too much...

-Yeah.

-..yet not succeed.

And you're making little beignets, you said, with it?

Yeah. Apple compote. Going to chill it down.

Going to roll them into beignets and deep fry,

-so they'll be slightly warm, as well.

-Oh, lovely. Great.

I can't wait to taste that. I think it's an all-round favourite.

You can't go wrong with pork and apple - at least I hope not.

Let's see. Don't want to be the first, do I?

HE LAUGHS

Liam is cooking a fillet of pork wrapped in Parma ham,

and serving cider-cream sauce and apple beignets.

All of that I think sounds delicious!

Sounding possibly a little bit too safe,

but he says it's a tried-and-tested recipe,

one that he's very confident in.

30 minutes gone. Halfway.

I like Daniel. He's a young chef with gumption.

He really does want this.

I want to see that determination that Daniel's got

translated onto the plate.

I think the dish definitely reflects me as a whole.

It's classical cooking with a bit of fun technique in there.

'It's scary cooking for Michel, but at the same time it's exciting.'

I want to leave the kitchen today making sure I've left the best impression possible.

-Daniel, what are you cooking?

-Er, saddle of lamb,

some dauphinois potatoes, wild garlic, pea puree, some fresh peas,

-and a nice sauce to go with it.

-Roasting the saddle?

I'm going to pan-roast it, finish it off in the oven.

-This means a lot to you.

-A hell of a lot.

I want to be one of the best, and I won't stop till I get that.

-Got to think bigger.

-Yeah. Brilliant.

Daniel, in England it's bangers and mash.

In France, it's roast lamb and gratin dauphinois.

-You can't get much more traditional and classic than that.

-Yep.

I'm really looking forward to this garlicky piece of lamb.

Daniel is cooking a saddle of lamb flavoured with garlic,

and he's opened up the saddle and put basil leaves and chopped garlic,

and then rolled it in crepinette, in caul fat,

to roast it the traditional way in the oven.

He's serving it with a gratin dauphinois,

flavoured again with more garlic.

He's also got garlic leaf, as well,

wild garlic, which is adding more pungency to this dish.

Just hope he hasn't overdone it on the garlic,

because it could overpower this lovely delicate lamb.

Twenty minutes, chefs. Twenty minutes to go.

Sean cooked his fish really well, and it was well seasoned,

and he delivered a beautiful plate of food,

but there was no sauce. It was so dry!

I have proved to Michel that I can cook and my flavours are great.

I don't know what to make of Sean.

My next dish is going to blow him away,

and I don't think he has any doubts about me.

Sean, what classic recipe are you cooking?

-I'm cooking a steak au poivre and sauce.

-Steak au poivre?

-Exactly.

-That really is a great French classic.

-But incredibly simple.

-It is. It is simple,

but I can make it look really beautiful,

and taste... It's all about taste, anyway.

So, where do you see yourself in five years' time, Sean?

I will be opening the first Michelin-starred cafe.

-"I will"?

-I will, yeah.

-Where do you see this cafe opening?

-In Poland.

-In Poland!

-Yes.

My fiancee's Polish. We'll be married soon, I hope.

You said to me that you considered yourself more of a pastry chef.

Why are you not showcasing a pastry or a dessert now?

-I don't really want to be looked at as only a pastry chef.

-Mm-hm.

I want to show people I can cook, so I've taken the challenge on.

-Not foolish?

-No. To challenge myself.

-Thank you, Sean.

-No problem.

Steak au poivre? Steak, brandy sauce, flavoured with peppercorns.

There's nothing much to it.

I just hope that his mashed potato that goes with it

and his little vegetables are cooked perfectly,

because there's no place to hide.

Three minutes! Three minutes, guys. Come on!

I think our chefs have realised that, after the last round,

they have definitely got to pull their socks up.

They have got a point to prove.

60 seconds. Come on.

Time's up.

Liam's classic dish is pork and apple,

pork fillet wrapped in Parma ham,

apple-compote beignets,

potato fondant, baby carrots,

carrot puree, and a creamy cider-and-chive sauce.

First off, presentation... It's beautiful.

Really, really nice.

Very vibrant colours, and bright orange, bright green.

Nothing on that plate is there that shouldn't be there. Really nice.

I really do like it.

Lovely piece of pork. Pink, moist, tender.

Parma ham around it, nice and crisp. Lots and lots of flavour.

Very good. Good skills.

These little beignets, or deep-fried apple compote, are really good -

sharp, sweet, perfect accompaniment for the pork.

Two little things - the pomme fondant,

and your cider-cream chive sauce, not quite seasoned enough.

Couple of tiny things there.

But it's a simple dish,

yet you've made it into a complex dish,

-and you've proved a point.

-Thank you.

Most definitely. I'm happy.

-You happy?

-Very happy.

-What happens normally when you're happy?

-I smile.

'Amazing. He loved it.'

I'm feeling really relieved. That was...

In my head, how I wanted it to look, it looked better than that,

so I'm very happy.

Daniel's classic is saddle of lamb with basil and garlic,

wild garlic,

pea puree, pea shoots,

morel mushrooms, gratin dauphinois and a basil-and-garlic sauce.

I like the symmetry. I like the pea shoots, I like the morels.

I like the colour. Very nice indeed.

The one thing that is striking, though, that I can see,

-and you know it...

-Yeah, I know. It's the lamb.

-It's the lamb.

-It's undercooked.

-It is undercooked.

Most people would look at that and go, "No, thank you very much."

-Yeah?

-Yep.

Mmm.

You're actually not that far off. Rest it a little bit longer,

you could've got away with it.

Morels are lovely. They're not overcooked.

The pea puree's lovely and silky smooth, delicious.

You didn't give me a sauce in the first round.

You've given me a very good sauce there.

I will say it's just a little bit too strong in garlic.

Garlic in the potato -

the last thing you wanted was garlic in the sauce.

You needed a contrast. The potato gratin is creamy

and just melt-in-the-mouth. A really good gratin.

It's just the lamb. Two or three more minutes in the oven,

I'd be saying that's a damn-near-perfect dish.

'Didn't cook the lamb enough, so...'

Everything else he said was nice, but it's just not good enough.

Maria has served roasted wood pigeon -

pigeon leg stuffed with chicken mousse and black pudding,

pearl barley flavoured with mustard,

turnips, crispy Parma ham,

golden-sultana and caper puree,

and a tarragon jus.

Maria, I like your presentation. I really do.

I think it's very elegant and has a certain style

and a certain class. Rich colours, as well,

which normally translates in rich flavours.

-The pigeon, slightly underdone.

-Mm-hm.

The breast and the leg, surprisingly, as well.

It's, um... It's a bit wobbly in the mouth,

and chewy, actually.

The turnips are almost raw. They're really very crunchy.

They're hardly cooked.

The pearl barley, only just cooked enough, you know?

It's... It's difficult to cook barley in that time constraint.

Um, I do like pearl barley with game. They go so well together,

and that addition of mustard really works.

The caper-and-sultana puree, for me, is too strong -

too sweet, too sharp, too contrasting for this.

It's a mixed plate for me, Maria.

Very mixed plate. You have put in a heck of a lot of work

to get this plate up in an hour.

A lot of good things, but there's stuff on there which I don't like.

Feel quite good, to be honest with you. I know what went wrong with it.

Er, but he still admired the hard work,

but again, maybe I just made one too many mistakes,

and I could be out.

Sean has cooked steak au poivre -

fillet steak with potato puree, baby vegetables,

and a peppercorn sauce.

First off, Sean, um...

I'm a little bit disappointed with the presentation.

Three little splodges of mashed potato,

and what's happened to all the meat?

You had a beautiful big chunk of fillet steak,

the most expensive cut, and I end up with two little slivers!

If this was your restaurant,

your cafe,

you'd be losing money.

-Not good, is it?

-No.

And, to be honest, it actually doesn't look that nice, either.

The fillet steak is medium rare. Fine.

Your vegetables are well cooked. Cooked all the way through,

but still got a bit of a bite to it, which is nice.

Um, the sauce is lacking in depth of flavour.

To make a really good pepper sauce, you pan-roast the steak,

and use the sugars that have been stuck, that are stuck to the pan,

to make your sauce. You barely, barely seared the steak,

so there were hardly any sugars in the pan, hardly any flavour.

I'm a little bit disappointed. You can probably hear that from me.

You know.

'Bit disappointed, actually.'

A simple dish, when cooked, has to be perfect,

or else you have nothing. There's nothing to hide behind,

so I'm not sure.

Some good food today, but there were some errors.

Thankfully Monica will be joining me to help me make a decision,

because one of you will be leaving us.

Right. Off you go.

Do you know what? Daniel's an interesting young man.

He's only 23 years old,

but he has got the enthusiasm of a young 23 year old

-that I want to see in my kitchen.

-He is very eager,

very eager young guy, and there's a lot of potential in him.

I think we agree. Daniel should go through.

For sure.

I've done what I've done, I haven't done my best,

but I hope that he sees enough in me to put me through.

But only time will tell.

Liam - interesting character!

Definite potential there, definitely skills.

But he wasn't showcasing them enough to stand out for the right reasons.

He needs to know what is going on the plate,

and respect what he's plating up.

Well, I can safely say that you would've been impressed

with Liam's pork dish. It had everything there

that you think was missing in the first round.

If he's taken what I said on board, I'd like to see him cook again.

It's hard to tell if I've done enough.

I've given it the best shot to stay in the competition.

Just whether that covers the little mistakes I made earlier on.

That leaves us with Sean and Maria. We've got some passionate chefs,

and they've got the skills, but...

little bit of a let-down.

Let me start with Sean.

Ooh! Just the name "Sean" brings a little smile to your face

-that I recognise.

-Yes. I remember Sean clearly.

On the first invention test, he made a dessert,

which looked lovely. However, the panna cotta was too hard.

It was like rubber.

His skills test, the gnocchi, it was horrible.

I actually had to go and spit it in the bin.

It was not pleasant to eat at all.

For his classic recipe, Sean chose to cook a steak au poivre,

which I love! The one thing that shocked me

was that he had a beautiful piece of fillet of beef.

That wasn't what ended up on the plate.

I ended up with two finger pieces. I mean, you can imagine,

if that was served to Gregg, he would've gone bonkers!

SHE LAUGHS

I did take a risk with this dish. I hope it's paid off.

The feeling I have in my heart is 50-50, so...

it's going to be a tough one.

Right. Maria. She's the only one who gave me a sauce

for the classic test. It was a nice plate of food,

but there was a general lacking of flavour to the whole dish.

For her classic dish, she decided to cook wood pigeon.

The pigeon breast itself was undercooked,

and there was a caper-berry and sultana puree,

which was very sharp and very sweet... Brr-rr!

Maria, on the invention test, went a step too far.

It wasn't a pretty dish, and it just did not make sense.

The skills test - she made a good gnocchi flavoured with blue cheese,

then she went on to make a sauce with blue cheese,

-and then added butter!

-She's still making the same mistakes,

adding too much.

I hope I will have another chance to prove to Michel, Michel Roux,

that actually I am good enough for the competition.

-So, who's it going to be, Monica?

-It's a tough one. Sean or Maria.

I'm not sure here. I'm really not sure.

-There's one chef here who's making too many errors.

-Boo...

The chef that is leaving us today...

..is Sean.

I feel quite disappointed being the first one to leave,

but I've learnt a lot about myself,

so, you know, pick yourself up and carry on.

'Great. Relieved. Happy.'

All of the above.

I wasn't so sure, but I deserve another chance,

so I'm pleased that I can cook again for them.

So it's a good feeling.

-'Definitely doing homework tonight!'

-SHE LAUGHS

I'm absolutely chuffed that I'm actually through next round,

so, yeah, it's great.

Tomorrow it's the quarterfinals.

Six chefs must impress Michel and Monica

with a dish of their own design.

I expected a lot from you, and you've nailed it.

I like what I see, and I like where you are going.

But only four will get the chance to prove that they can cut it with the critics.

It's an unbelievable misfire, isn't it?

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