Episode 12 MasterChef: The Professionals

It's the last of the Professional MasterChef quarterfinals.

These six talented chefs all want to join the nine

who have already made it through to knockout week.

'My emotions are a bit all over the place.'

I'm nervous, I'm excited, I'm...scared!

'It's very testing.'

But I've enjoyed it.

I've enjoyed it so far, so let's keep the journey going.

It is a worry, the fact that you could go home at any minute,

but...hopefully I'll stay till the end.

To earn the last three places,

they will have to face two challenges.

First, it's the invention test...

It's very beautifully executed.

Everything about this dish works.

..then the best

will have to cook for the country's most discerning food critics.

That is just...sensational.

Only the strongest will earn a place in knockout week.

We have our six chefs

who've battled their way to get into this kitchen today.

This is where the competition really heats up.

We want them to drive themselves.

We're looking for something really special.

Chefs, welcome to the quarterfinals.

This is a pastry invention test.

We're looking for the all-round chef

and pastry is very much part of it.

Please reveal your ingredients.

You have some champagne,

dark chocolate, pecans

some pudding rice, green tea powder,

ground coffee, ricotta cheese,

blackberries, peaches and lemon thyme.

You also have, to the side, a limited larder.

You're going to have ten minutes to plan your dish,

1 hour and 15 to cook it.

And at the end of it, two of you are going to be leaving the competition.

You're really going to need to fight for your place in the next round.

Give it your best shot.

Off you go.

'It's spun me out a little bit, of course.'

I've got a kind of an idea. I think I'll be OK.

Feeling slightly nervous.

Head's gone blank.

I've done a little bit on the pastry, so I should be all right.

I hope I'm all right.

OK, chefs, your ten minutes are now up.

Cooking time starts now.

Off you go.

27-year-old head chef Mark has been impressing from the start.

This is a very serious chef and I'm expecting big things from him today.

'After the heat, I have put myself into a good position.'

Now, going forward, I've got to keep up that standard

and keep pushing myself.

Mark, what are you going to do for us?

So, I'm going to do a vanilla parfait

and then a blackberry thyme and champagne jelly.

Something you've done before?

I've done a few of the elements, so...

-Is the dish going to evolve?

-Hopefully!

-As I'm thinking about it.

-How ambitious are you, Mark?

I am very ambitious to keep cooking for you

and kind of showcase what I can do.

-And do you see yourself in that final?

-Not yet.

-No? Not yet?

-Let's get this one out first.

-Fair enough.

MONICA LAUGHS

Mark smiles when he talks about his food

and that continues here today.

His dessert is a vanilla parfait.

He's making a champagne jelly

flavoured with blackberries to go with it.

But I think this is going to be more than just parfait and champagne jelly.

Mark is not a chef that does things by half.

I'm really looking forward to this dish. It's intriguing.

Jamie, our 26-year-old senior sous chef from Devon.

Wow, what an amazing plate of food he delivered in the last round.

I want Jamie to come back in here today and to grow in confidence.

'To be in the quarterfinal of MasterChef feels pretty awesome.'

Now I've done the first round of the competition,

I'm feeling more competitive

and I want to get in there and show them what I can do.

Hey, Jamie.

-How did you feel once you revealed the ingredients?

-Not great.

-Not great?

-I've done quite a bit of pastry before,

but no recipes, nothing, makes it quite difficult and for some reason, I've gone blank.

This is not a good time to go blank.

-JAMIE LAUGHS

-What are you going to cook for us?

I'm going to do a warm, green tea rice pudding with poached pears,

er poached peaches, sorry and a custard espuma.

You look a bit uncertain about this today.

I'm a planner, one of them people who likes to plan,

an organised neat freak, I like to know what I'm doing.

You don't want to go home now, do you?

I don't want to go, I didn't enter just to play, I entered to win.

-That's the spirit.

-Good man.

-Fight for it.

Jamie looks really unnerved and we both know

that if you're comfortable for your cooking, it flows.

If you've got uncertainties and questions marks, it will show.

He's got to believe in himself.

Interesting, I've not had rice pudding

with green tea and lime before.

The key here is consistency.

The bite on the rice has to be just right, just cooked.

You do not want it over and you certainly don't want it under.

Scott, he's our 33-year-old sous chef in Hertfordshire.

He was not without issues in the last round.

So, Scott has got to stand out for the right reason.

There's a huge amount of potential in Scott, I can see that.

After the first round you get a little bit more comfortable,

you know your surroundings, and you start to enjoy it a little bit more.

'But coming back in today,'

the nerves are starting to kick in again.

Scott, here we are, quarterfinal.

-Did you think you were going to be here?

-I was hoping I was.

I think I just managed to scrape through, so...

hopefully you'll enjoy my dishes today.

What are you making for us, Scott?

I'm going to do a chilled lemon thyme rice pudding,

with compressed peaches,

I'm going to do them in the champagne.

I'm going to make an Anglaise foam as well. Rice pudding is the same

what we all ate as a kid, so let's bring back that memory.

Got to be an outstanding rice pudding.

An outstanding rice pudding, yes, it has.

How confident are you with pastry without the recipe book?

Without the recipe book, not very confident,

but I'm not here for the numbers

-and...I'm going to give it a good go, Marcus.

-Good man.

Cheers.

Scott is doing a chilled lemon thyme rice pudding,

serving it with pecan nuts,

poached peaches and a custard foam as well.

But cold rice pudding has to be right.

You're going to have to possibly add more sugar.

The temperature affects the sweetness of dessert.

But Scott loves pastry, something he's trained in.

This dessert's in safe hands with Scott.

Chefs, you've got 30 minutes left.

Ryan, our 25-year-old sous chef from Dundee.

Wow, here's a chef who is a bag of nerves at the moment.

The skills test was a bit of a disaster

and I was really pleased that he could pull it back

and he did pull it back.

Ryan, for me, has still got a bit to prove here.

He's got to control those nerves and focus,

especially when it comes to dessert.

'After the first day, I think I need to just up my game'

and focus on cooking instead of panicking and...

flapping a bit, so hopefully I can do that today.

Hey, Ryan.

-All right?

-How are you?

-I'm...calm.

-Cool, calm.

-Really?

-I look, I'm...

-No, you're not.

-RYAN LAUGHS

You're not hopping from foot to foot yet.

I don't know that a chef can stand still, so...

-Go on, try it.

-Yeah.

THEY LAUGH

Ryan, what are you making for us?

I'm going to do a vanilla panna cotta, lemon curd,

praline, and I'm going to poach the blackberries.

I think for a chef, you've got to try and wing it, not wing it, but...

adapt.

-"Wing it", I like that.

-No! Not wing it, no...

You knew the minute that came out of your mouth it was wrong, didn't you?

Yeah, exactly, wrong, yeah.

And are you fighting, Ryan? Are you up for this?

I'm Scottish, we always fight, you know, so, yeah.

MARCUS LAUGHS

Ryan's making us a vanilla panna cotta.

Lemon curd, blackberries,

and textures of pecan.

Sounds delicious.

If they all come together,

I think we could have a great dessert here from Ryan.

Tom, our 25-year-old senior chef de partie in Berkshire.

We've got another chef who's been quite nervous.

In the signature round, he got quite stressed, got a bit flustered,

and left out the lovely faggots on his duck dish.

Now I've cooked for the judges, I just know what they expect

and what they want, so hopefully I can make them happy this time.

How are you, Tom?

A bit nervous, pastry's not my strongest side.

-I haven't done a lot of pastry work.

-You must have known it was coming somewhere down the line?

I knew it was coming, and I've been doing a bit of research,

reading up on a few things over the last couple of days.

-How's your timing today?

-Yeah.

-My timing's good, I'm running with a timer.

-Yeah.

-Stay in front of the timer, Tom.

-Yeah.

You can't afford to leave anything off this plate, right? So, be ahead.

-Thank you very much.

-All right, Tom.

-Thank you.

-Crack on, Tom.

Tom is another one of our chefs who's out of his comfort zone.

Tom's dish is sabayon...

..poached peaches...

and a shortbread biscuit.

Three beautiful elements could come together

and make one great dish.

The question is going to be, is it going to be enough?

Bobby, our 32-year-old head chef here in London.

What a character, cooking the food from his motherland.

Bobby comes in here and just makes us all smile.

I'm really, really curious about Bobby's cooking.

'I learned to play around with my roots, you know, where I grew up.'

You are where you're born.

That's in your root, in your blood.

I think this is what I'm born for.

What are you cooking for us, Bobby?

It's rice pudding with vanilla flavour

and on the side, I am serving

matcha tea powder and ricotta cream with a touch of champagne and thyme.

How did you feel when you revealed the ingredients, Bobby?

When I see the rice, like back at home, you know?

My wife's favourite dessert is rice pudding.

-How much do you want this, Bobby?

-I want very much, Chef.

It's like the opportunity, you know, what you look for, go get it.

If I don't do it now, when am I going to do it?

Bobby's making us rice pudding

and serving it with small dices of poached peach...

and blackberry.

In a glass on the side, he's serving ricotta

with green tea powder.

Ricotta and green tea?

What is it? Monica, help me out.

Surely it just can't be ricotta with green tea

folded through it, could it?

But he's definitely got my attention.

Chefs, you've got four minutes left.

Start bringing your dishes together.

Oh, a disaster.

I really do struggle on the pastry.

My shortbread biscuit didn't work out

and my sabayon hasn't come off the best,

so I'm going to have to do a Chantilly cream instead.

Tom's having a tough time in the kitchen.

Tom's having to change his dish at the last minute.

Not great.

Chefs, you've got 30 seconds left.

Guys, that is it.

Time's up.

I had a disaster.

Just pulled my shortbread out and it just went, pff!

That's me going home, so you're going through!

From the ten ingredients they were given,

Jamie has made a warm green tea and lime rice pudding,

with roast peaches, a custard espuma,

and a pecan brittle.

What catches my eye is a green rice pudding.

That, I'm sort of struggling to deal with.

I hope it's all in the flavour.

I do get the flavour of the tea coming through,

you've used a lot of it, but the rice isn't quite cooked enough.

It's still got bite to it,

and that's what sort of lets the dish down.

So close.

The roast peach, I love it

and maybe more of it to bring more of that sharpness.

Pff... But I have to say, like Marcus,

because that rice is not cooked, that's all you can dwell on.

Don't be too disheartened.

There were some really good ideas here.

They JUST haven't been quite executed

the way they could've been.

I'm not feeling that great after that,

I messed up a few little elements,

but at least they understood the flavour I was going for.

Mark's dessert is a vanilla parfait,

covered with a champagne, blackberry and lemon thyme jelly,

with burnt honey, blackberry puree,

a brown sugar crumb,

fresh blackberries and a lemon thyme meringue.

Mark, it's a very neat and well-presented dessert there.

I agree, it looks beautiful.

Very clear and very crisp-looking dessert, well done.

Thank you.

The parfait is creamy and rich with a hint of vanilla,

that lovely blackberry jelly that coats it

brings a freshness, a sharpness.

This is a fantastic, fantastic dessert

and I just hope you continue to grow from strength to strength.

The balance with the brown sugar crumb

and the blackberry sauce, with the thyme

and the little shards of meringue,

you've really covered a huge amount of skill

in a very small, intricate little dessert.

Everything about this dish works.

-Great job.

-Thanks so much.

-Really good job, well done.

Well done, mate.

Sure.

Scott served a chilled lemon thyme rice pudding

with a champagne jelly and a peach syrup puree

that is topped with a green tea creme Anglaise foam.

It's garnished with compressed peaches

and a candied pecan nut crunch.

I like everything on this plate, except for the green blob,

that looks a bit messy in the middle.

Did the foam come out of the gun a little bit unexpected?

-Yeah, it did, it come out a bit urgent.

-Yeah.

-Urgent.

-Come in a bit urgent.

-MONICA LAUGHS

Scott, I like that the peaches are quite firm,

cos it's all very soft in there, with the crumb, it's lovely

and then the hints of thyme come back into it.

Coupled that with the rice, which I have to say is perfectly cooked,

this is a great rice pudding.

Thank you.

What I like about this

is the surprise of the peach underneath,

the jelly as well, which was an unexpected thing,

it's almost sort of the...

jam and rice pudding you had when you were at school.

And that's the bit that just lifts this dish to a new height.

-Good job.

-Thank you.

'Yeah, good, I enjoyed that.'

Yeah, Monica didn't like the green blob, but...

the flavour was there, so that's the main thing.

Cheers, boys. Cheers.

-Cheers.

-Well done.

It's very difficult to do pastry recipes off the top of your head,

but today I pulled it off.

Bobby's the third chef to make a rice pudding.

His is the vanilla, topped with salted pecan nuts,

diced, poached peaches, blackberries and lime zest.

He's also made a ricotta cream flavoured with champagne,

matcha green tea and lemon thyme,

topped with a brown sugar caramel.

-The intriguing point for me is how the two work together.

-Chef.

The rice, for me, has been cooked properly.

I don't taste a lot of vanilla in it,

but I do like the zesty lime that you've put on the top.

Ricotta cream...

I find it really odd.

-And I would prefer possibly just the pudding on its own.

-Sure.

Bobby, I understand what you're doing here,

but it doesn't work for me.

This ricotta cheese has no place there.

A soft and a soft don't really work together.

And it's such a shame. You have such beautiful fruit on your bench,

don't chop it up into incy-wincy little pieces

for what, a point of decoration?

It has no relevance, it has no flavour, you cannot taste them

and that's such a disappointing thing when they're so beautiful.

Not very great because it didn't go very well with, er,

Chef Marcus, so...a bit down.

Ryan has made the only panna cotta,

which he's served with roast peaches,

blackberry sauce, pecan praline

and a sugar tuile.

The question's going to be, does your panna cotta have any wobble?

Not quite wobbling, that one, Ryan.

Ooh...

The panna cotta is the main attraction on this plate.

However, it's too set, there's too much gelatine in there.

The peaches, I like the flavours that are coming through that,

but it's still a bit on the firm side.

The coulis is well made,

but the main thing here is the panna cotta has not worked,

which for me then lets down the plate of food.

The main event here, Ryan, is not great.

This is a recipe that has gone wrong.

'I'm feeling pretty disappointed here.

'I knew the panna cotta was a difficult one to do.'

To be honest, I was winging it

and I even said that at the start, I was winging that dish.

Finally, it's Tom.

Poached peaches in Chantilly cream? That's it?

I had a disaster.

I ruined my sabayon and my shortbread biscuit.

Not a good day in the kitchen for you, then, is it, Tom?

No, not at all. And I'm really disappointed.

What a shame.

I mean, presentation point of view,

-not a lot I can say, really.

-No.

-Tell me there's more than one peach in here.

-There's two.

Well, the peaches are nice.

And it's whipped cream.

-That is it.

-Mm-hm.

-I don't even think that's nice.

I think the peaches are too sweet, would be nice if we could taste some champagne.

I wish you'd have pushed yourself.

Even a lot of these ingredients you could use last-minute,

you should've used and you didn't use.

THAT is such a shame.

HE TUTS

Doesn't...

I know.

They put me through for a reason, they've seen something in me, but...

I've let them down.

Pastry invention test is always one

that we find really challenges our chefs.

For me, Marcus, there was one real standout dessert today

and that came from Mark.

He's starting to lead away from the pack.

There were so many elements today on his plate

and he didn't even have any recipes.

To pull them all off and get all of them right

is a very clever thing to do.

I am really excited about Mark.

He has to cook for our critics.

I can't wait to see what he does next.

Scott is another chef that's done well on today's challenge.

It wasn't just a plain, cold rice pudding.

What I liked about the dish was those hidden surprises

that we weren't expecting, and I like that.

So, you agree? Scott should go through?

Definitely deserves to cook for our critics.

Tom has had a disaster of a day.

All we got was peaches and cream.

We cannot put him through to the critics round,

cos under that level of pressure if you crack,

you need to know how to deal with it.

That leaves us another three chefs.

We've got Ryan...

..Bobby...

..and Jamie.

We can only take two of these chefs through.

Who do we think is going to be able to step up

and really take on the next challenge?

This competition means a lot to me.

Hopefully they can see I've got potential.

People make mistakes. I blame myself for it but I'm kicking myself now.

I feel I've let myself down.

Hopefully I've done enough to pull it through, but we'll see.

I want to be in the competition, but...

end of the day they should only take the best forward.

It's their call.

A pastry invention test is never an easy test.

But Monica and I needed to see

what type of chef we've got in the kitchen.

The first chef that is going to leave us today is...

..Tom.

Mixed emotions. I've really enjoyed my time,

I've learned a lot about myself.

And I think it's rounded me off as a person.

One thing I need to do now is knuckle down on the old pastry.

The second chef that is leaving us today...

..Ryan.

Obviously I'm gutted about leaving but

I made a basic error, and to be honest I got punished for it.

It's been hard, but it's been rewarding.

Really enjoyed it. Wouldn't change it for the world.

Congratulations, chefs. You're through to cook for our critics.

It's not going to be easy.

Good luck.

This is a tough, tough round.

It's not every day you get a chance to cook

for some of the biggest critics in the country.

This is YOUR food,

your chance to shine, and to show them how good you are.

We can only take three of you through to knockout week,

At the end of today one of you is going to be leaving the competition.

So fight hard in there, guys.

1 hour and 15 minutes,

two courses -

do us proud, make YOURSELVES proud.

I wish you the best of luck.

Off you go.

My dishes are to the wire,

an hour on the money.

No talking, head down.

I think if I get everything right on the money,

today's going to be a good day.

-Mark, how you doing?

-Nervous, I've a lot to do in a short amount of time,

so it's going to be a push.

What ARE you going to make for us and the critics today?

Pan-fried turbot with some maple-glazed chicken wings,

and then for my dessert I've got an olive oil and lemon cake.

-Have you had time to practise the dish?

-I've practised twice.

-OK.

-Once I was five minutes under, the last time

when I plated up before I was dead on the money, so...

Why turbot?

It's a beautiful fish. As you can see, it's a fair size.

You haven't skimped, have you, on the quality?

I wasn't expecting it to be that big, but I did request a big one.

Mark's main course is pan-fried turbot, chicken wings...

Great combination.

Confiting the chicken wings and then glazing them in maple syrup.

You've got chicken skin...

..you've got asparagus,

served with a sauce made from the chicken bones.

That sounds amazing.

For his dessert, Mark is going to make an olive oil and lemon cake.

That is going to be served with fresh strawberries,

strawberry sauce...

He's serving meringue with it...

..and a vanilla creme fraiche.

This dessert sounds wonderful.

I think Mark is a very capable chef,

and if he can deliver and execute

these dishes well,

not only will WE be happy, he'll impress our critics.

It does worry me, what the critics are going to say about my food.

But food is so personal to people,

they can either love it or hate it.

So let's hope they enjoy it.

Scott, how does it feel to be cooking for the critics?

It's brilliant, I'm really looking forward to this.

I like that. "Looking forward to it."

-I am looking forward to it, Marcus.

-That's great news.

So tell me, what are you going to be cooking for them?

So, for my main course, I'm going to do cod, with prawns,

cauliflower, sea herbs and a smoked bacon dashi.

And then for my dessert I'm going to do a dark chocolate ganache

with passion fruit and banana and a cocoa nib tuile.

-Tried and tested, all of this?

-Yeah, tried and tested.

Timings are OK, but I've not had judges talking to me, so...

-You telling us to shut up, then(?)

-No. Course not.

All right, just live with it for a second. Tell me about the dashi.

The inspiration for the dish

is from a trip to Japan which my wife surprised me with.

Your wife is the main one that's supporting you through this now?

She's supported me all the way through my career, so,

yeah, I'm very lucky. She's a good girl.

Scott is cooking a cod in a water bath.

He's going to serve it with a dashi stock...

which has been made from kombu seaweed...

..with a garnish - prawns,

roasted and pickled cauliflower.

He's also adding pancetta bacon into the dashi stock.

He needs to be very careful here of the quantity of salty

ingredients that he's using - the balance has to be just right.

For dessert, Scott is making us a dark chocolate ganache...

..which he's serving with a passion fruit and banana sorbet,

a white chocolate/banana panna cotta.

He's also making coco nib tuiles.

A ganache, a panna cotta a passion fruit/banana sorbet -

those are not the three sort of things I would put together.

I'm really interested to see if this dish works.

I believe I'm pushing myself today with this menu.

It's a lot to get done in the timescale.

So I'm going to have to really, really go for it.

When I was a child, my food wasn't great.

I had a single parent.

We used to get a lot of tinned and a lot of frozen food.

A lot of my influences take cheaper cuts like faggots,

and elevate it to the sort of food I get to play with now

and eat as a chef.

-Jamie. How are you?

-I'm excited. I'm happy I'm here.

Just want to show what I can do now,

and get you back on side completely.

-What are you cooking for us today?

-My main course is cannon of lamb

with lamb faggot, peas, pea puree.

What's your dessert?

Poached strawberries with rose water and vodka,

a white chocolate ice cream,

a short breadcrumb and then a rose water and vodka gel.

Your last round wasn't a good round,

and it was, ooh... Touch and go.

-Yeah.

-Please deliver us something that's good today.

I'm happy with what I'm cooking, so hopefully you'll be.

I love lamb,

and I think by adding the faggots to this dish it's going to be great.

Big, bold flavour,

using the offal of the lamb itself.

And then beautifully caramelising them and cooking them in a lamb stock.

That sounds delicious.

His dessert is all about strawberries.

Jamie has still got a bit to prove to us

on the pastry department.

I hope he can do that now.

You all right, Bobby?

Can feel the heat! But it's good.

What are you cooking?

I'm cooking a lamb rack, lamb neck,

with a goat curd beetroot.

Dessert is a souffle, a banana souffle,

with a touch of lime, peanut butter and a bitter chocolate sauce.

Oh!

Souffle, really, at this time in the competition?

You're taking a huge risk here.

If I don't take it today, I don't know when I can take it.

Are you hungry?

I am, but I think I'll eat something in breaks.

Bobby, when I ask you, "Are you hungry?",

I mean, "Are you hungry for success?"

Oh, yes, sure!

Bobby today is cooking us a lamb main course...

..and he's using both the neck and the rack.

He's going to serve his lamb dish with Jersey Royals,

asparagus...

and a beetroot goat curd.

What underlies this simple explanation are spices -

ginger, chilli, curry leaf. Stuff I can't even pronounce.

I want to try Bobby's food. I hope he's not pushing it too far, though.

Banana souffle is delicious.

Add the peanut butter, the rum... Wow.

This is a dessert of pure indulgence.

If Bobby gets this one right, the last dish of the day,

they're going to go home and remember Bobby for ever.

It's a great opportunity to cook for the critics.

I need to impress them. I know at least they'll think, "Who is Bobby?"

Every time I sit down in this judging table what I'm hoping for is

a bunch of plates I absolutely want to clean.

That's what I'm hoping for.

We want the technical side but that's not enough.

The other thing we want is passion and excitement and a surprise.

A GOOD surprise, or two.

This competition is very challenging for the professionals.

We won't cut them any slack.

We want that menu to be delivered on the plate simply...

..but with a little bit of magic.

-You've got 15 minutes to your first course.

-Thanks, Chef.

-Are you going to be on time?

-Yes, Chef.

So Mark's main course, turbot, chicken wings, charred onions.

I'm expecting this to little, boned-out chicken wings,

not the sort that you'd pick up at some Peckham chicken shop.

This dish will only work

if he has the ability to cook his fish perfectly.

Mark, it's looking good, here.

Everything is ready. Just got to plate, I think.

-Mark, you don't look very flustered.

-I feel it inside.

-Do you?

We normally see panic and fear and scared chefs right now

but you look very calm.

It looks good.

-Hello.

-Hi.

-Good day.

Mark's main course is turbot,

with chicken wings glazed in maple syrup,

fried porcini mushrooms, charred onions, mushroom puree,

confit potatoes, asparagus, crispy chicken skin...

and a chicken jus.

To find a big lump of chicken skin which has been fried to crisp -

I mean, you can hear that one tapping on the plate -

that makes me very happy.

Well, this is impressive.

There isn't a single item on this dish

that he hasn't got absolutely perfect.

This is one hell of a start. I think it's absolutely terrific.

The fish, I think, is cooked absolutely perfectly.

An amazing amount of work has gone into the chicken wings.

Lovely mushroom puree. It's terrific.

It's a plate of food you will really want to get your face into.

All the elements are very good. They pull together as a team.

This is pretty good cooking.

It's a very nicely, well executed, plate of food.

I would absolutely eat this whole dish without a problem.

-That was scary.

-How was that, then?

-I told you it was scary.

-Yeah!

-Are you all right?

-Yeah.

Right, you've got 15 minutes for your dessert.

Mark's dessert - he's doing a bit of baking.

Olive oil and lemon cake, which does actually fill my...

overfed heart with a little bit of joy.

Mark, you've got five minutes left. How are you doing?

Yeah, I'm doing really well, thanks.

Are you always this cool, calm, in control?

No! This is a... You should see it on Saturday night.

On time as well.

For dessert, Mark has served an olive oil and lemon cake,

with vanilla creme fraiche, fresh strawberries, strawberry jelly,

meringue with strawberry powder and a strawberry sauce.

-Hope you enjoy it.

-ALL: Thank you.

Technically, there's nothing wrong with this.

It's a really perfectly done cake, the cream is really nice and soft,

but it's a bit like a dainty English tea without

really sweet jam and lovely, lush, unnecessary Cornish clotted cream.

All of it is basically fine. It's very light, very fresh.

It doesn't quite grab me in the way the main course did.

I think the idea of the cake

and strawberries with cream is very simple, but the way that Mark

has executed it, he's really lifted the whole dessert.

It reminds me of eating afternoon teacake.

He's done a great, great job,

but I think this dish could go even further.

It went a lot better than I anticipated.

I was a little bit stressed beforehand.

I'm hoping that the critics will be raving about it.

All I know is that I've produced food that I would like to eat

and, hopefully, they'll understand and get it.

Scott, eight minutes before you serve your first course.

-How are you feeling?

-Yeah, I'm feeling OK.

-How are we doing, more importantly?

-We're getting there!

-Are you in front, behind?

-I'd probably say I'm all right.

-I'm looking on time.

-OK.

-We're looking good.

-All right, keep going.

Scott's main course is a poached cod, prawns, sea herbs -

maybe it's just seaweed? - cauliflower, smoked bacon dashi.

This could be the greatest smoked bacon dashi I've ever eaten.

It'll certainly be the first. Will it work with cod?

-Come on, Scott.

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-Ready.

Come on.

Thank you.

We have a poached cod with prawns, cauliflower, coastal herbs

and a smoked bacon dashi.

-Right, thank you.

-OK?

-Thanks.

-Thank you.

It looks quite stylish, quite an accomplished thing.

I'm intrigued to eat it.

What Scott's done, um, that I quite like,

he has played games with all the different textures,

so you've got a bit of samphire there that's got a bite to it,

you've got prawns that's cooked till it's crunchy,

and then, there's the softness of the cod.

All of it seasoned by the dashi.

I like the prawn, actually. A nice caramelised sweetness to it.

But after that, there's just a hit of salt.

You know, bacon is salty stuff

and that has overwhelmed sort of the delicacy of the cod, I'm afraid.

I think you're being unduly harsh, because I think this is

one of the more intriguing dishes I've tasted in this competition.

I love the saltiness.

This dish is different, it's challenging,

it's got a bit of salt, but you know, I really like it.

Wow, does that pack a punch.

It's absolutely delicious.

It works so, so well. I think that is great.

It's a joy to eat. This is a delicious plate of food.

-Right, you've got 15 minutes for your dessert.

-OK.

Scott's dessert - dark chocolate ganache, passion fruit, banana,

cocoa nib tuile - it needs cream.

It needs a big dollop of something to calm it all down,

otherwise it's going to be very rich indeed.

You know, I am a man who's done rich in his time. Even I have my limits!

Really, William!

Great.

-Scott, three minutes left.

-Yeah.

-What have you got left to do?

Just put the ice cream on and the tuile on, then I'm ready to go.

-It's good.

-I like it.

-Happy?

-Done, yeah.

-Off we go!

The chocolate ganache, passion fruit and banana sorbet and then,

there's a little white chocolate and banana, like, cream

and a cocoa nib tuile.

-Brilliant. Thank you.

-Thank you.

-SCOTT:

-Thank you.

I don't know about you, but I like the look of this.

Mmm!

I like this. There's balance, there's texture.

You've got the thick, very well-made ganache at the bottom.

It's really rich. I mean, it sticks to the roof of your mouth

in the tried-honoured fashion.

The sorbet cuts through it.

You've got the little creamy bits, little biscuity bits.

It's really, really nice!

I love moments like this on this show,

when someone delivers a pudding that isn't just beautifully done

in all of its components, but it's sophisticated.

I'd love to know where he cooks,

cos I'd like to eat more of his food, I think he's fantastic.

I think Scott's had a good day today.

This dessert is absolutely delicious.

We have got a very serious contender on our hands here

and I'm absolutely delighted for him. Two great dishes.

I'm feeling very happy with that.

Um, I've got this far now, I want to keep going.

I'm starting to sort of settle down a little bit.

Hopefully, the journey carries on.

How are we doing, Jamie?

-Um, nearly there.

-4½ minutes. Are we going to be on time?

Er, we may be a minute over, but other than that, we should be...

-A minute over?

-Yeah.

Jamie's is one of those MasterChef Pro menus which has

hiding in it something, which is either a gift or a disaster,

which is a faggot!

You would never serve faggots with lamb jus, you'd serve them with...

BOTH: Gravy!

-Right, Jamie, you've now got two minutes left.

-Yeah.

-Doesn't seem to bother you, does it?

-Um...

-Ha!

-WILLIAM:

-'I'm worried that he's going to take'

this brilliantly old-fashioned, almost Victorian plate,

and drag it kicking and screaming into the 21st century,

where it doesn't actually want to be.

You're coming up to almost a minute now, Jamie.

-Oh!

-It really would be good if you could step it up a little bit.

-Yeah.

The critics want their food and they also want it on time.

Your time's up, really got to get a move on now.

Come on, let's go, you've got to get it onto the plate.

Jamie, you're now three minutes over.

-Yeah.

-Off you go.

-Thank you.

-Cheers.

So, there you've got lamb cannon, with lamb faggot,

peas, mint and girolle mushrooms.

Can I just ask you - the lamb faggot recipe, is it yours? A family one?

It's not a family one, cos no-one in my family can cook,

but it's one I've used and adapted to how I like it.

-Hope you enjoy it.

-Brilliant, thank you.

-Thanks.

-Thank you.

The so-called faggot was everything I feared it might be.

It's a fancy version, which isn't better!

When I'm geared up for a faggot and I get something like this -

closely ground, hard as a bullet, not very tasty - er, I get upset.

When I first saw this dish on the menu,

I remember thinking rustic, big chunky plate of food!

And then, along comes this politically-correct faggot...

It's disappointing. But he makes incredible gravy.

I'm really, really disappointed with that faggot.

It's dry, it's not cooked very well.

Such a shame.

It's just not an outstanding dish.

Fingers crossed that dessert's better.

-All right, Jamie, you have 15 minutes.

-Yeah.

We can't be late.

Jamie's dessert description is one of those

that hides more than it explains.

There are strawberries, there is white chocolate,

there is rose water, but in what form, we do not know.

When you're going to order a pudding,

you want to know what it is.

You've got three minutes left. How are we doing?

Um, I'll be about two minutes behind.

My ice cream's slightly unset, so just finishing off.

You're going to be two minutes behind?

Everything's ready, except the ice cream,

-it's just still a bit too wet.

-Hmm!

-Where's the ice cream?

-Er, slightly still on the...

I'll run and get it the last second after I'm ready to go.

Are we going to use it or not?

I'll put a bit on, more of a sauce,

cos I want the flavour of white chocolate on there.

Listen, we've gotta go.

You've got poached strawberries in rose water

with strawberries, shortbread, rose water jelly and

what was meant to be white chocolate ice cream, but it hasn't set,

but I wanted the flavour of it, so I've served it to give the flavour.

Argh!

This is a dessert made by someone

who didn't have any ideas for a dessert.

Right in the middle of it is the kind of thing you put on a burn!

Eugh!

I'm pretty sure I had a piano teacher

who smelled like this tastes.

That kind of old lady, rose water thing.

Just "Bleurgh!"

Really! Bleurgh!

That's what it comes down to now. I'm left with nothing else.

Bleurgh!

Wine!

I feel for the strawberry that...

had the dishonour of turning up in this dish.

At this level, in this competition, it should be better than this.

This is not a good dessert. It doesn't look great.

Jamie, for me, just didn't come to the kitchen today.

I didn't see the energy that I've seen in him before.

It's not been a good day.

That was one of the toughest things and hardest things I've ever done.

It was worse than doing a 200-cover service in a kitchen with no chefs.

-Bobby, 10 minutes left before you serve your main course.

-Chef.

-Are we looking good?

-Yes, Chef.

Bobby's main course is lamb neck, lamb cutlet,

Jersey Royals, asparagus and goat's curd.

That's marvellous.

I mean, that's just about the best bits of everything.

If I had a menu with a large amount of choice on, I would order that.

Bobby, you're almost out of time. What's going on?

I'm still getting there. I should be finishing.

You're getting there, you should be finishing? Yes, that's right!

-You need to start stepping it up.

-Yes, Chef.

-Colourful.

-Very colourful!

-Are you done?

-Done?

-Yeah.

-OK, off you go.

-Go on.

-Thank you.

On the plate, you've got lamb rack, or lamb cutlet, with lamb neck and

goat curd, beetroot with a touch of curried leaf as well,

like we cook at home.

-Where's your family from?

-Um, Kerala, south of India.

-Thank you.

-Thanks.

-Hope you enjoy, thank you.

It is very pretty and, in a sort of bizarre way,

it's the bright colours of South India.

-HE COUGHS:

-Whoa!

-Fantastic!

-Ha-ha, wah-ha!

This is full-on! This is serious!

And the thing that's actually binding it all altogether

and pushing it towards you is that brilliant beetroot.

It's not just a brilliant bash of colour on the plate.

It's a massively wonderful flavour.

A sweet with a bit of acidity in it, beautifully flavourful.

It looks unique, it's got original tastes.

It's a resounding success.

There's a cheerfulness about it.

And he's got the guts to have given us some spice

and not worry about that and as it happens, we all love that.

It a very, very accomplished dish.

It's so, so vivid, the pink and the greens,

but it's a tidy-looking plate of food.

I think it's a very, very brave dish

and I'm glad Bobby's stuck to his roots. It's great.

Bobby, you've got 15 minutes for four perfect souffles.

Banana souffle, banana, peanut butter, rum and lime.

I'm worried that he's trying to make that a bit too complicated.

His little twists on the banana souffle is a sort of twist too far.

You know, he might sort of wrap himself around a lamppost.

-The souffle mix is ready.

-The souffle mix is ready, chef.

How long will it take to cook them?

-Um, chef, eight to nine minutes.

-Eight to nine minutes?

-Chef.

You have four minutes left before they're due.

-Bobby, you need to get them in the oven.

-I'm just putting them in right now.

No, you're not putting in right now, you're cleaning the sides.

Go for it. In the oven. Now, now, now, now, now, now.

This better be a damn good souffle there, Bobby.

-We're six minutes over, Bobby, they better be worth the wait.

-Chef.

-When this starts coming up to ten minutes, we are going to have to go.

-Chef.

-Beyond 10 minutes we have to call it a day.

-Chef.

-Remember to apologise when you're out there, Bobby.

-Yes, Chef.

-And apologise.

-Yes, Chef.

They're not going to be happy about the time, no way.

I hope that's a good souffle, for his sake.

Oh, look at that.

I'm extremely sorry for the wait.

You've got a banana souffle with lime

and there is a rum and caramelised banana there

and, on the side, the sauce is peanut butter

and dark chocolate.

-That was worth waiting for.

-It looks very nice.

Mm!

Oh.

I've had some of the worst food in my life

on MasterChef: The Professionals.

But I've also had some of the best

and this is one of those dishes that is just sensational.

I never thought a souffle could be exciting.

This is exciting.

And then this sauce which is slightly bitter and dark

and caramelised and you throw it in there and it just makes the

-whole damn thing sing.

-It's perfectly cooked.

It tastes very nice. It's not over sweet.

This is an A-star souffle.

I don't care that we had to wait a few extra minutes.

It's just SO good.

This guy could write a book on souffles

and he'd become a star overnight.

Oh, this is the great souffle and for me, worth the wait.

It was good.

I was running around.

But I believe the food is tasting great.

If they were in the restaurant they would pay for it,

even not minding the delay,

and maybe they'll give the tip also, so...

That was a good round.

This has been a great day all round.

Some interesting surprises as well

and it's always nice to see our chefs push themselves

for the critics. Good day.

Scott, for me, was the chef of the day.

Delivered two fabulous plates of food.

I thought he did himself proud today

and absolutely a chef that deserves to go through.

Mark is another chef that stood out and had a great day.

Mark's turbot dish today was beautifully executed.

Olive oil and lemon cake. This was a delight.

Overall I thought Mark cooked very, very well today.

Jamie had a tough day in the kitchen starting with his lamb dish.

The execution was all wrong.

That, followed by the dessert, it was a disaster.

I just felt his shoulders drop today and I could see that on his plate.

I don't know what happened today.

I've practised that dish a few times now. I feel maybe just nerves

and the pressure of the kitchen got the better of me.

And then we have Bobby.

We get this amazing array of colours and flavours

and spices that oddly seem to work and then we had this dessert.

Boy, I have to say, Marcus,

it's got to be one of the best souffles that I have had.

That was worth waiting for.

That, for me, was the best souffle

I've ever eaten in the MasterChef kitchen.

It was fantastic. My only worry with Bobby is that he was late.

And that is a massive warning sign to me.

The competition for me, every time I say it, this means a lot.

It will be challenging.

I really want that place.

I'm absolutely here to win.

It's been a great day today and our chefs really rose to the challenge.

We've got some pretty impressed critics

in the room next door. We're happy.

I think it's pretty obvious which chefs we're going to take through

to Knockout Week, isn't it?

There have been some ups and downs but overall it's been a great day.

Unfortunately we can only take three of you through to Knockout Week.

Our chef leaving the competition is...

Jamie.

I'm gutted. Disappointed in myself. I know I can do better than that.

There were some good plates of food today but I feel

that my dishes just didn't live up to the mark of everyone else.

I'm absolutely over the moon with today. I can't grumble.

I've just got past the quarterfinals in MasterChef.

So, I'm going to have a little tipple when I get home, I think!

Yeah, pretty ecstatic. A really hard day.

Pastry challenge was difficult

and then cooking for the critics was another level.

Yeah, glad I made it through.

Feeling good. It's been a long day but it's a good day anyway.

Thank you.

-We've got to do it all over again!

-THEY LAUGH

Next on Professional MasterChef...

it's Knockout Week.

The best 12 chefs return as the battle for the title heats up.

Absolutely incredible.

What an explosion on the tongue.

Looking good, guys.

If I had that in a restaurant, I would eat all of it.

It's just delicious.

Mate, this one needs reinventing.

This means everything to these chefs.

They are going to have to fight to stay in the competition.