Episode 17 MasterChef: The Professionals

It is the Professional MasterChef semifinals.

This week the contestants are being

sent to cook for some of the most inspirational chefs in the country.

Happy food. Happy chefs. Happy customers.

Good start. Good solid start, I'm impressed.

So this is where it really hits.

Need to really knuckle down, yeah?

Last night, sous chef Mark

was the first to earn a place in finals week.

Tonight, the next three chefs will battle to stay in the competition.

Another interesting and intriguing dish.

It means so much to be cooking for a place in finals week.

Got butterflies in my stomach.

It's just amazing.

Because, honestly, everyone can have a bad day in the kitchen.

And that's it. You're out.

I just want to go in there, keep my smile,

keep doing well and do myself justice.

There's not one person who wants it more - to be in that final.

We want to see them be inspired by the chefs

they are going to spend time with.

I hope they bring some of that back into the MasterChef kitchen.

It's early morning...

and the contestants are in Edinburgh.

They are about to spend the next two days

under the guidance of one of the finest chefs in Britain.

Tom Kitchin.

Opened ten years ago,

The Kitchin received its first Michelin star within six months...

..and has gone on to win global acclaim.

The philosophy at the restaurant is called From Nature To Plate.

One of the most important things in my food

is knowing exactly where my produce comes from.

When you work with seasonality properly,

then your menu changes automatically.

As soon as something comes into season, then - bang! -

that's going straight on the menu.

We take the nature that inspires us,

the wonderful Scottish nature,

and bring it into the restaurant.

There is a complete passion.

I mean, I'm absolutely fanatical

about the restaurant, the food...

Every day off is about what we're going to have for lunch.

THEY EXCHANGE GREETINGS

How are we doing? All right?

-Good.

-Very well.

We've got 80 covers for lunch.

My food today is going to be prepared by you guys, as well,

so it HAS to be of the best, best quality.

I want you to enjoy what we're going to do today.

OK, I'm going to take you round, show you what's happening

then we'll get started. OK? Follow me.

All eyes will be on us. These guys in there will do it every day.

They know Tom's food, they know his style, they know what he likes.

The pressure's going to be immense.

While Nick is used to a busy service,

it'll be a challenge for both Darren, who is a development chef,

and Danilo, who cooks at the Italian embassy.

I am a little bit nervous.

Being, again, a line cook is going to be hard.

It's going to be a real push for me getting up to speed.

I'm not here to sit back, I am here to push.

I'm going to push hard as I can.

OK, Nick, main course, and I've deliberately done something

really special here, so we sell loads and loads and loads.

We're doing a lamb dish, OK?

Lamb is at its best at this time of year.

So we've got the rack of lamb.

Into the pan - sizzle...

Exactly what we're looking for.

We seal it all over.

A little bit of garlic and thyme.

And we'll just finish that in the oven. Get that in the oven.

Now for the shoulder of lamb.

We're going to baste that through.

So it's lovely and golden.

Really glassy.

That's what I'm looking for.

We've got the neck of lamb,

we've wrapped it in feuille de brick

and then we've wrapped it in potato spaghetti, as well.

Into the fryer.

OK?

Meanwhile we're going to get our garnish on.

We've got the potato terrine, cooked in clarified butter.

Heritage carrots - different colours, different varieties.

And we've got the tongue of the lamb, as well.

So, plates up... and we'll start to dress.

Potato terrine in the middle.

Beautiful braised shoulder sitting proudly.

You know, really lovely, glassy lamb. "I'm the king of this plate!"

-NICK CHUCKLES

-Carrots. Tongue.

Lovely pink lamb.

Then we've got our crispy neck...

So.

Lovely carrot puree, as well.

And then raw carrot, as well.

Lamb sauce, and we'll serve that on the side.

And that, for me, is a real selection of Scottish summer lamb

and beautiful heritage carrots.

-All right.

-Amazing, Chef.

-TOM CHUCKLES

-Confident we can do this one?

-Yes, Chef. Yeah.

-Excellent.

I mean, that "Yes, Chef" - I'm looking for, "Yes, Chef!"

-Oui, Chef.

-Yeah, come on!

It's absolutely blown me away, yeah.

The flavours are so clear.

It's so rich and light at the same time.

It's immense. I think I'll be a tad busy today.

Anyone that sees a rack of lamb, and four different varieties of lamb,

I think they're going to choose it.

So I'll be running around a bit, I reckon, but...

That's what I'm here for.

OK, Darren, so your dish today is a fish dish - a turbot dish.

Which I'm really excited about.

So imagine as a chef - I love to think like this -

the turbot is from the sea. The king of the sea.

You've got the seaweed - been foraged from the shores

of Scotland, you've got all the wonderful shellfish...

So first we're going to put our mussel stock in the pan there.

As that reduces, we're going to add butter to make an emulsion.

We drop our different shellfish in.

We just gently warm it, like that.

The secret to a lot of my cooking - that saltiness there -

a dash of lemon juice.

And that lemon juice

is just going to change the complexity of that completely.

-You can see that?

-Yes, it's amazing.

Lemon juice, vinegar...

It just opens up food so much.

Just looking at that pan,

it looks like a rock pool already.

Yeah.

The quenelle we put to warm gently in the water.

And then in another little pan...

in with the lovely seaweed.

I don't want to see that brown and dark,

it's got to be green and vibrant like that.

OK, so next up, Darren, we're going to cook the turbot.

In cooking the fish, Darren,

obviously, I'm looking for cooking to perfection.

I don't cook in a bag here, we're old school. We cook in a pan.

We cook on the stove.

That's what I want, that's what I love.

OK.

So that fish there, for me now, is perfect.

And we're up to the pass. OK?

OK. So, first of all, we've got this wonderful seaweed.

We're going to put that as the base of the plate.

We're trying to create...

like, essence of the sea.

Then we've got...

the different seaweeds.

OK.

Every single one's got to be the same.

-I'll give it my best shot.

-Good lad.

-Thank you.

Amazing. Just brilliant.

The dish is amazing.

The flavours, the depths, the textures...

I just can't wait to cook it.

OK, Danilo, we're going to do a cracking dessert today.

Something, really, which is the essence of the season that we're in.

Fittingly, it's a kind of take on a panna cotta, as well.

-So it should be right up your alley, you know?

-Yeah!

This dish is a layered strawberry panna cotta.

It's really celebrating the strawberries.

So you get that really striking,

-you know...

-It's really lovely.

Really beautiful, yeah?

So with the strawberries,

place these around like so.

Then we've got the beautiful meringue.

We've got some orange confit, which is the skin

which has been blanched and cooked in sugar syrup.

And some beautiful strawberry crisps, as well.

Importantly, we're going to keep one just on top.

Pastry is all about finesse.

All about attention to detail, Danilo.

There is no room for error with this.

Then we've got the lovely sorbet.

There's no additives in this - nothing else except strawberries.

Quenelle will sit just on top like that.

And then we've got some strawberry consomme.

It's really beautiful.

Danilo will not make the panna cotta from scratch,

he'll only plate it.

So Tom has another challenge for him.

One thing... You've got two dishes.

Thanks, Chef.

So, the other dish - souffle.

This is Chris, my pastry chef.

-Hello, Chris.

-All right?

Chris is the master of souffles.

OK, so we've got the egg whites, Chris?

We'll whisk the egg whites, OK?

Watch how they come up.

Look how it holds on to the whisk, there, you know?

Those egg whites aren't going anywhere -

-they're ready, they're firm.

-Yeah.

This is a really important stage of the souffle.

Just add a little bit of egg white then incorporate them with creme patissiere.

So, so crucial...

If you overwork it - beat it and beat it and beat it -

air's going to be out of the souffle and it's not gonnae rise.

And now we put a little secret compartment of gooseberry compote.

Push that measure in - make sure you're getting all the holes.

Now crumble.

And that is going to give it that wonderful crunch.

Let's get them in the oven.

Bang - it's in the oven, eight minutes on the timer.

You've got a table of two, a table of four - so you might have multiple going away.

So you have to time that with the panna cotta

so everything comes together on the pass.

-Yes, Chef.

-Have you got it?

-Yes, Chef.

Oh, look at that.

OK. Beautiful. You see the texture.

There we have it - gooseberry crumble souffle,

-elderflower ice cream.

-Yes, Chef.

-Mm-mm-mm!

That's fantastic.

Fantastico.

Fantastico, Chef!

I'm happy. And in a way terrified, as well.

Doing souffle is one of my nightmares.

It's really tricky.

But I love them.

The first customers are due in less than half an hour.

Let's not make any bones about this,

this is incredibly tough for these contestants, for me,

for any chef in the world -

just to be dropped into someone else's kitchen,

let alone a Michelin-starred kitchen.

Big... Great big step.

I'm excited. I just want to embrace it and get in there.

Get into service.

I don't want to let him down at all. I don't want to let the guys down.

And I want the customers to pay.

It's a massive step up in standard for me.

Let's just hope that my memory is good enough

and I don't forget how to cook during service.

Being here doing pastry,

you really take me out of my comfort zone.

It's going to be crazy.

You can really feel the heat coming up now.

Quarter past 12, first customers are sitting down.

Friday lunch. Full to the brim. Massive.

OK, listen up. When I call the checks on, there's a system that we have here, OK?

Remember, we live and die by the clock, OK?

If you're going to be late, hands up "I'm going to be late."

-Communicate! OK?

-ALL:

-Yes, Chef!

-Ca marche, one lamb, one turbot.

-ALL:

-Oui! Yes, Chef!

Ca marche, two covers - one sea trout, one ham.

Main course, two lamb.

Oui, Chef!

Six covers on the board, Nick.

-Oui.

-Five lamb.

-Oui, Chef!

First six out, yeah. All lamb.

It's all go, straight away. It's good. No waiting around. Straight in.

It's pretty relentless trying to keep the pace up.

People like lamb in Scotland, apparently.

As well is ensuring each rack is cooked to order,

Nick must perfectly glaze the lamb shoulder.

How are we doing? OK?

That's not glassy enough, Nick.

Get that in there, a bit of colour, look at that. Uh?

Bit of chicken stock...

Now baste that. Baste that and get a bit of colour in there.

Now we're talking, Chef. Look at the difference.

-Look at the difference.

-Oui!

Hello? If it's not good, it's coming back. Do you understand?

Oui, Chef.

Nick, don't let me down on the first shout.

-We still don't have the lamb.

-Oui!

Backs!

-That's very good. Well done.

-Oui, Chef!

OK. Service, please.

OK, good start, there, Nick.

-Good solid start, I'm impressed. I'm impressed.

-Yes, Chef!

Great start from Nick. Just looking for a little bit more finesse,

just to understand how the kitchen works.

I couldn't ask for a better start. He's really giving it his best shot.

Good. Erm... Yeah.

Another one away now.

Just carrying on.

Backs! Walking with lamb.

Meanwhile, Darren is still waiting

for his first service in three years to begin.

I'm laying out my ingredients just to try and get ahead of the game

so when Chef shouts, I'm ready to just turn and throw things in pans.

Being organised just means that when you have to go,

you're not in a mess.

-It's gone on four turbot, Darren. Yes?

-Yes, Chef.

-Darren.

-Yes, Chef?

That fish should be on by now, uh?

It's going, Chef, yeah.

Darren, first dish of the day.

OK? Make it a good one.

Yes, Chef!

-Seaweed, emulsion, turbot.

-Yeah.

OK, we should be coming up now.

Where's the seaweed, please?

Seaweed, Chef.

Where do you want it?

You're dressing, big man, eh?

-Yeah, aye.

-Come on, now.

-Come on, let's go.

-Yes, Chef.

-Seaweed, four plates here. OK, go.

You've got to be faster, you've got to be faster.

-I'm going, I'm going, I'm going.

-That back over there?

Turbot!

-Bring the needle with you. I want to check that fish.

-Yes.

Thank you. Dressing. We're going to be late, we're going to be late.

-The big one's not cooked.

-Yes, Chef.

-Get it back on.

You've got to go faster, Darren.

-Yes, Chef!

-I want you back here dressing.

-Yes, Chef!

We're late. We are officially late, Darren. Come on!

Put it down, put it down.

The sauce...

We're filling in the gaps, yeah?

-Yes, Chef.

-Think about what you're doing.

You're not making a mess. You're messy! You're messy!

Messy, messy, messy!

-Yeah.

-Service, please.

I just haven't hit the ground running

so it's got to be better from here on in.

As Darren tries to get to grips with the pace,

Danilo is also under pressure.

Juggling the plating of the panna cotta

while keeping an eye on his souffles.

Danilo, first desserts coming up.

-Make sure they're good, yeah?

-Yes, Chef.

The final touch is a perfect strawberry sorbet quenelle.

It's too big.

Concentrate, concentrate, OK?

-Stop!

-Ay-ay-ay...

-No!

Danilo, that's not good enough. Chris, do the quenelle, please?

Mind your back, it's coming out.

Danilo, the souffles, I want them straight!

Yes, Chef. Yes, Chef.

Could have gone better.

The souffle wasn't straight up

and I wasn't able to make a nice quenelle.

Nest time I want to do much better than this.

With the restaurant almost full, there is no respite in the kitchen.

Right, guys, let's keep going, keep busy. Stay focused.

-Darren, we need a wee bit more from you, yeah?

-Yes, Chef!

Fish is the name of your game, eh?

We're sending three turbot at the moment,

but I've got 11 on order now, so it's really hectic.

-How long on the two turbot, please?

-I'm working now, Chef!

-Come on, Chef! Hello! What are you doing?

-He's broken a...

-It didn't break, YOU broke it!

-Yeah, well...

-Yeah, well, what?

-Be careful with what you're doing!

-Yes, Chef.

One lamb, one turbot, straight away after - 08.

-Yes, Chef!

-It's not looking good.

It's 07 already, we haven't even got anything up yet.

Darren and Nick's next dishes are part of the same order.

If you're going to be late, what did I say to you, Chef?

Yes, Chef, seaweed is coming right now.

-No, what did I say to you, Chef?

-To tell you, Chef.

-Yes, so communicate with Nick!

-Nick, I'm going to be a minute late.

-So what time are we going on, Darren?

-09.

-09, OK.

You heard it - 09 now for that table - 09.

-Have you got everything, Nick?

-Oui.

It's completely nuts, but... Just never...never... There's no letup.

-You're carving too early.

-Sorry, Chef.

-Why are you not checking what he's doing?

-Yes, Chef.

-OK?

-So we're not going to use that.

-No, Chef.

Nick, Darren,

you've both got to communicate more here.

I understand things go wrong, I understand it's difficult.

We're all under pressure. If you're going to be late, communicate, OK?

-BOTH: Yes, Chef.

-It needs to be better.

Service, please!

Yeah, me and Darren have maybe got to talk a bit more.

You're just concentrating on your own thing but he's on a

dish as well and it's got to be out at the same time, so...

Yeah, we've got to work on that.

Danilo, two covers, two souffles from the lunch, straightaway.

Yes, Chef.

The customer's waiting for this. It's been 90 seconds already.

It's going to be eight minutes in the oven. You have to be faster.

Yes.

Souffles are coming, Danilo. Let's make it good, eh?

-Two covers, two panna cottas.

-Yes, Chef.

Danilo, it's all about the quenelles here, yeah?

With just seconds remaining, the pressure is on Danilo

to perfect his quenelles before the souffles overcook.

-The timer's going off on the souffle.

-The souffle!

-Come on, Danilo, we need to go fast! The souffle, Danilo!

-Yes, Chef.

The souffles are going to overcook!

Danilo, the souffle!

Chris, do the quenelles.

The souffle stays in the oven, it keeps rising and rising

and rising and then it falls over. You are going to nail this.

-Look me in the eyes. Tell me.

-I'm going to nail this.

-You're going to nail it.

-Thank you.

Oh, guys...

Aaaah!

And...

I'm overthinking it.

It's getting better.

Keep practising. It's getting better. You'll manage this, OK?

Yes, Chef.

Right, where are my three guys there?

We're going into the last part of the service now, OK?

-Let's really give it one last push, OK? Come on!

-Yes, Chef!

-Let's make this count. Three turbot coming up.

-Yes, Chef.

-This is your moment, Darren. Your very last turbot, yes?

-Yes, Chef!

-It has to be the best.

-Yes, Chef, it will be!

Darren and Nick's last orders will also be going out to the same table.

-One minute late on the next table.

-OK, Chef.

Last check, carving up, ready to go. Want to make it as good as my...

as my first, like the saying goes in the kitchen.

Come on, Nick! We're waiting on you, Nick!

Garnish up. Garnish up.

-Come on, Darren! Where's my turbot, Chef?

-Coming right now, Chef.

Here you go, Chef.

That's perfect, that's perfect, that's perfect.

OK, Chef.

OK, that's good. I like this - we're coming together as a team a bit now.

-Make sure that lamb is still hot, Nick, yeah?

-Yes, Chef.

Push, push, push.

That's it, on. Looking good, looking good. Service, please. Away!

-All right?

-Yes, Chef.

-Enjoy that?

-Brilliant, Chef.

Thank you very much. That was amazing.

Shaky start but you nailed it in the end. It was really good cooking.

-You should be really proud of yourself.

-Thank you very much, Chef. Thank you. Thank you so much.

I hope Tom was impressed in the end. I mean, I think...

He said to me as should be really proud so I assume

he was impressed, but I know he wasn't very impressed to start.

Look at that! Saved the best till last.

-Thank you, Chef.

-Whoo-hoo!

Service. Go!

-Well done, Chef. Did you enjoy that?

-I loved it.

-I loved every minute of it.

-You did some superb cooking, Nick.

-Thank you, Chef.

-Really, really impressed. Congratulations.

'It's been an amazing day.'

It's unbelievable what you learn from watching a chef like Tom,

and his whole brigade are so, so good. Yeah, it's inspiring.

It just makes you want to come back and still another service,

because it's addictive, you know?

As lunch draws to a close, Danilo has one more chance to deliver.

One panna cotta coming up, Danilo.

-We're looking for that perfect quenelle.

-Yes, Chef.

Yeah, you're expecting the perfect quenelle, he said.

I'm not relaxed at all.

Looking good, looking good. Well done, Danilo, well done.

Yes, Chef, thank you.

Now the souffle, go! Go! Go, go, go!

Yeah!

-Good. Well done, Danilo, well done.

-Yes, Chef, thank you.

Here, here, here.

Service, please!

Oh!

-Le Maestro! Allez! Go!

-Yes, Chef.

-WOMAN:

-Oh, wow!

Yeah, I'm feeling good right now.

Finally I get one panna cotta right from the start.

Much better than before.

Wow, that was a real service of emotions.

We had to dig deep but we got there.

I'm proud of them! I'm really proud of them!

It's day two in Edinburgh.

And the three chefs now have one more chance to impress Tom.

The dish I want the guys to cook is a dish called crispy sweetbreads

served with a potato risotto, ox tongue and seasonal girolles.

This is a new dish

and it really represents the style of where my cooking is today.

First stage with the dish is to sweat the onion gently

without burning.

And then we're going to add the blanched potatoes,

very al dente potatoes.

And then give a nice sprinkling of rice powder,

and this is what's really going to give that risotto effect.

Sweat that gently and add the white wine and reduce it,

and then little by little adding the chicken stock to cook

the potato. Beware, we cannot overcook that potato.

The potato should be al dente like a good risotto.

The secret to good sweetbreads is a lovely crispy

coating on the outside.

Once it's all nice and crispy and cooked,

then we put in the ox tongue and the butter and we baste it through.

It's a dish that involves precision of cooking and then,

most importantly, the seasoning.

The salt - the Parmesan is salty as well.

And then they've got to get the jus in there as well,

to give it a really rich potato risotto.

It's going to be tricky.

So, I've seen these guys in service.

Now let's see what they are really made of as individuals.

I've never made a potato risotto, so this is going to be interesting.

I've read a recipe a couple of times.

I think I know what I'm doing, so...

I really want this to be a success,

so I can leave here with my head held high.

Bit daunting, but...

I really want to get this sweetbread mice and crispy

because I think that is key.

The risotto bound together, not runny.

Make sure all the seasoning is right. That's massive, so...

I'm happy.

I haven't done potato risotto before.

It's something that sounds strange to me.

But it should be OK with risotto.

Thank you.

HE SNIFFS

-Wow! You all right?

-Yeah, good, Chef.

That looks like a serious plate of food. It looks fantastic, Darren.

That sweetbread is caramelised to perfection.

-I hope it tastes as good as it looks.

-So do I!

The sweetbread...is perfect.

Absolutely perfect.

The crispy tongue is beautifully caramelised.

The risotto's missing just a wee bit...of juice.

You get those potatoes a bit more stock, butter, Parmesan,

-just create a little bit more emulsion.

-Yeah.

But that is one awesome piece of cooking.

Thank you very much, Chef.

-Well done, Chef.

-Thank you, Chef.

-Take care.

-Thank you.

HE EXHALES DEEPLY

It was fantastic. I just...

I was confident that the dish was OK, you know, I tasted, I was happy with it,

I knew the sweetbread was cooked well,

but I just didn't expect that kind of feedback from...Tom Kitchin.

-TOM SNIFFS

-Smells fantastic.

Mm, I can smell the caramelisation of the sweetbreads,

the mushroom powder.

It's beautifully presented.

I mean, it's just perfection around the outside there.

Thank you.

The sweetbreads are caramelised to perfection,

the seasoning on the sweetbread is perfect.

And the potato...

..they're just cooked to that perfect al dent-iness.

It's so easy to overcook them, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-But you've really done that well.

Thank you.

Yesterday you were top-notch, and that is a top-notch plate of food.

-Thank you, Chef.

-Well done, boy.

-Thank you.

Thank you, Chef.

It's so surreal, just sitting there in front of Tom.

But the feedback was brilliant, it's just so exciting

that he's enjoying my cooking.

Really happy, I really enjoyed it and, er,

it's been a hell of an experience.

Hello, Chef.

Wow.

-That looks like an Italian risotto.

-Yeah.

-Eh?

It's like, soft and creamy, but with potatoes.

-Yeah...

-Eh?

-..it was a bit strange...

-TOM LAUGHS

-..but I enjoyed it.

That looks fantastic.

Thank you very much, Chef.

Oh...I'm going to tuck in, then.

-Buon appetito.

-Buon appetito, Chef.

The texture of the risotto...

..is very good.

Thank you, Chef.

The sweetbreads are caramelised.

I think they might be a little bit salty.

Shall we...can you taste?

-Yes, they are.

-Mm?

-A little bit salty, aren't they?

-A bit too much.

Which is a shame,

because it's cooked to perfection, the caramelisation.

-Just a few minor little things there.

-Yeah.

I hope you've enjoyed it. I mean...

-I enjoy so much...

-..just do me one thing, just believe in yourself, Chef.

Do you know what I mean? You're a good cook,

you wouldn't be here if you weren't a good cook.

Yes, Chef. Thank you.

-Great work.

-Thank you very much...

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

'I'm not disappointed. I mean, I was out of my comfort zone.

'Even though my dish here wasn't fantastic,'

I'm happy to receive feedback from Tom Kitchin.

Not everybody get, to do that, so...

..I'm happy, yeah.

Overall, this has been an unbelievable experience for me.

We had three cracking chefs there today.

I think they've all, each and every one of them

has got something great about them, they're cooking,

they're giving it their best shot and they're really good cooks.

I had some really good feedback, so I'm dead chuffed.

Bit tired, but dead chuffed.

Quite proud of how things went. I could've had a better start,

but I feel, in the end,

overall, I've done quite a good job here today.

'I knew it was going to be hard, but I really enjoy it.'

Yes, I'm going to go for it

and I've decided to have more confidence in myself.

Chefs, welcome back. Great to see you back in our kitchen.

There are two plates of food

between you and finals week.

One of you, at the end of today, is leaving the competition.

One main course, one dessert.

One hour, 45 minutes.

Off you go.

'Coming back from the kitchen has really energised me'

and just made me want it even more, I think, and,

yeah, if I can cook well in an alien kitchen,

then coming back here should be a, should be a doddle!

HE LAUGHS

Nick, how are you?

Good, thank you, yeah, very good.

Really happy to be back in here.

Had an amazing time in Edinburgh, it was absolutely mind-blowing.

Just learning so much, in such a short space of time, it was just phenomenal.

His philosophy on food is just amazing.

Really, really sings to me.

Nick, so, what are you going to be cooking for us today?

Today, I'm doing pan-fried John Dory with lettuce, peas, bacon,

and for dessert, I'm doing a nougat glace, er parfait,

with poached peach, honeycomb, honey jelly and raspberries.

I really like these dishes and I hope I do them justice for you,

but again, it's coming from Tom's,

it's pairing flavours you know go together,

just with perfect execution, and that's the key.

Thank you, Nick.

-Thank you, Chef.

-Good luck.

-Thank you, Chef, thank you.

Nick's menu, starting with the John Dory, pan-roasted

and then served with a garnish,

very similar to a petit pois a la Francaise,

which is peas, bacon, and braised lettuce.

But I love the sound of the pickled cockles, which is new to this plate.

The key here is always going to be in the detail

and the precision of Nick's work.

Nick's dessert is a nougatine

and he's serving it with honeycomb, raspberries,

poached peaches. There's quite a lot of sweetness going on in this plate

and I'm very interested to see how it's all going to work together.

Chefs, you've had 35 minutes. 35 minutes gone.

'I'm confident in my dishes that I'm cooking today.

'I've cooked them before and tasted them'

and I'm really happy and if I execute everything perfectly,

then I'm in with a chance, but I just can't make any mistakes.

I think it will come down to small mistakes today.

-Darren. Yes, Chef. How are you doing?

-Yeah, good, Chef.

I'm under pressure, but I'm getting there.

-You're always under pressure.

-I am, yes.

-How was the pressure in Tom's kitchen?

-I have to say,

my four years out of the kitchen showed at the start of the service.

-I mean, I got there in the end...

-Yeah.

-..but it was a real struggle,

-I didn't hit the ground running as I would've liked.

-Do you miss it?

Yeah, it kind of relit a fire I didn't know had been extinguished,

you know, I was just in my element, I absolutely loved it, it was

such a buzz. Well, I don't have to explain to you guys what it's like.

What are you going to be cooking for us today?

So, today I'm cooking halibut, with some confit chicken wings

and some lovely hand-picked Scottish girolles. I picked them myself.

-HE LAUGHS

-Wow.

-Brought them down in the aeroplane.

-And what about pudding?

I'm doing, this not easy to say,

I'm doing a peanut praline parfait.

I know, exactly!

And I'm serving that with caramelised bananas

and a chocolate mousse.

-You know, those flavours are made for each other.

-Yes.

-Um,

it's just something I really like, really happy with them both...

-..I hope you are as well.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Chicken with fish works very well. Bit like a surf and turf.

You want the chicken wings to still hold its form on the plate,

but literally just falling apart when you eat it.

I love the idea of braised leeks, onion rings as well,

beautifully pan-fried halibut.

It's the one fish that can sit very well with chicken wings.

This sounds like a delicious dish.

Peanuts, praline, bananas,

chocolate, yes, marriage definitely made in Heaven.

I love the sounds of the banana curd, I've never had a banana curd before,

so I think it's quite a neat take on it.

The two dishes sound delicious,

these are two dishes that I would choose off the menu.

Danilo, Darren and Nick - guys, you have one hour left to go.

I'm trying not to think about

that I'm competing for a place in the final week.

Because if you overthink it, then I get again more nervous

and nervous and nervous.

So, just forget about it, just go in the kitchen

and do a great plate of food.

Danilo, tell me, how did you find working with Tom?

It was hard, I can't lie.

I mean, backing up a Michelin-starred restaurant kitchen,

after a few years, was very hard.

Tom told me to be more confident.

-That is something...

-That sounds familiar.

He's not the only one who is keep on telling me that.

And then I realise all the details that is going through

a plate of food that comes out to a Michelin-starred restaurant kitchen.

I want to bring that attention to details on my plates as well.

The question we want to ask you is, what are you going to be cooking for us today?

Loin of lamb, served with a broad beans pesto

and braised green chicory.

I'm going to serve the lamb with a liquorice sauce.

And some little bread balls, which is something

really traditional in my own region in Italy.

-Danilo, and what is your dessert for us?

-I'm doing a tiramisu.

Ah, a tiramisu by an Italian!

-I wouldn't say it is a regular tiramisu.

-Oh, really?

It is my take on a tiramisu.

I call it chocolate tiramisu.

We've seen you put a twist in your Italian cooking throughout the competition.

And I think we're going to see a bit of that here today.

This is exciting!

I've been watching Danilo today,

you can definitely see he's a focused chef.

Lamb flavoured, or scented, with liquorice. I'm intrigued.

I like the sound of it. I love liquorice, I love lamb,

but I'm really interested to see how this is going to work.

The dessert is a tiramisu, but this is Danilo's modern take on it.

Danilo is breaking it down into different elements.

That's a very risky thing to do. A tiramisu is a classic dessert.

It almost shouldn't be changed.

Chefs, you've got 25 minutes left.

25.

The atmosphere in our kitchen today,

we have some serious chefs in the room.

Heads are down, and they are focused.

There's a professionalism in this kitchen that I love and admire.

When you see three chefs cooking like this, you know

you're going to be in for good food.

-Nick, Darren, Danilo - two minutes. That is it.

-Yes, Chef!

-Two minutes.

-Chef!

-Darren, you're going to have to move a bit quicker.

-Yes, Chef.

I've overcooked my chicken wings.

It's pretty chewy, so I don't think I'm going to serve them, which means

my dish isn't going to be complete, which is a bit disappointing.

I hope the rest of the dish is enough to get me through,

but at this point in time I kind of feel like

I've probably ruined my chances.

That is it. Time is up.

First up is Nick.

His main is pan-fried John Dory, with pickled cockles,

petit pois a la Francaise,

a pea puree,

samphire

and a vermouth sauce.

Nick, beautiful presentation of the plate. I really like the colours.

I always find it quite hard to dress a rectangle plate,

but you've done a really good job of that.

The cooking of the John Dory is great.

The lettuce and the petit pois a la Francaise.

And the vermouth sauce is a great flavour,

and works so well with fish.

And I really think you've made it fantastically well.

And then the little pickling of the cockles are fabulous.

-I like the dish a lot, and it's very good.

-Thanks, Chef.

The John Dory is cooked wonderfully, seasoned so well.

The bacon with the braised gem lettuce is so harmonious.

You married that with the puree, it's delicious.

I do love the dish, I would eat it all.

For dessert, Nick's made a nougat glace parfait,

with honey jelly cubes,

honeycomb,

raspberry gel

and poached peaches.

Can I say, that looks stunning.

That really does look stunning.

It's a beautifully plated dessert.

I love the colours, the way it's been put together.

-Really, really stunning.

-Thank you.

I love the parfait and the nuts coming through.

With the honeycomb, the texture of the peach brings

a bit of sharpness - which it needs, because it's very sweet.

The honey jelly I was worried would be something else that was

too sweet on the plate.

But it's very delicate, you can taste the honey.

A really, really enjoyable dessert, Nick.

-Well done, you.

-Thank you.

The peaches are beautiful balance,

the raspberries on the plate bring the freshness to it.

And the one thing I was concerned about - or we both were -

was the sweetness, with it being so honey-based.

No, this is absolutely on the button, it's great.

Your sugar content is absolutely just there. Perfect.

-Well done, great dessert. Again.

-Thank you, Chef.

-Good luck, man.

-Cheers, mate.

Well done, Nick.

I'm in a good place, I feel, at the moment.

Whether that will translate with the results, who knows?

But I'm happy, if I go home now, I've given it my all.

Doesn't mean I want to go, but I've not left anything behind.

That's what I've done again, so I'm quite happy.

Darren's up next.

He's made pan-fried halibut with white bean puree,

crispy shallots,

Scottish girolles,

artichokes and leeks,

served with a fish and chicken sauce.

I've got a little bit of a confession to make -

I bumped the oven when my confit chicken wings were in,

and they were overcooked, so I just haven't put them on the dish.

-I couldn't serve them to you the way they were.

-Yeah.

The halibut is cooked wonderfully.

I think it's nicely seasoned, still very moist on the inside.

The artichoke's nicely roasted off, and the girolles are delicious.

The sauce has got a bit of sharpness through it.

I think it's a real shame that the other element, which is

the chicken wings, are missing, because it would have been

nice to connect it with having some chicken on the plate.

Yep, absolutely.

The lemon juice in the sauce works very well.

It almost tastes nutty brown with the fish stock

and the chicken stock. It works very, very well with this dish.

Now, would the chicken wings have added anything extra to this dish?

The answer to that is yes, it would.

Because the sauce is a chicken base and a fish base,

this dish is crying out for those wings, unfortunately.

Darren's dessert is a peanut praline parfait

with a chocolate mousse,

caramelised bananas,

banana curd,

a nougatine tuile

and a toffee sauce.

The nougatine is delicious, it works very well with the dish.

And the chocolate mousse is so light and aerated, it's really good.

But the one thing that concerns me is the texture of the parfait -

it's little bit on the soft side.

And you've got the soft mousse as well.

I would just love that have been a little bit colder and a touch firmer.

But having said that, the flavours do work.

The idea works.

-I like the dish a lot.

-Thank you.

The parfait, yes, it hasn't really got the consistency

of a set parfait, but you definitely got it on the flavour.

It is a delicious dessert.

Obviously, I overcooked my chicken wings.

It's a really horrible feeling to think that

something as minor as that could be the difference between being

in finals week and going home.

So I'm a bit gutted about that.

Finally, it's Danilo.

His dish is based on an Italian regional classic of roast lamb

with fried bread and cheese balls.

It's served with a broad bean mint pesto,

green chicory with raisins,

pickled onions,

red pepper puree

and the liquorice sauce.

I really like the presentation of your dish.

I really like the way it looks.

Thank you very much, Chef, thank you.

The lamb has been cooked really well.

It's perfectly pink, it's how I would like it.

And the liquorice is very light in the background.

The bread balls, really interesting.

I really like the chicory with the raisins.

But I think a touch more cooking.

There's just a better bitterness coming through at the end of it.

That's very interesting plate of food, definitely tasty.

Thank you very much.

Your pepper puree has a great flavour.

The pickling of the onion is sharp

and smacks you around the mouth a little bit.

And the bean pesto is fabulous, the garlic coming through is great -

-a little hint of mint in there as well?

-Yeah.

-Very, very good.

Another interesting and intriguing dish. Very good.

Thank you, Chef. Thank you very much.

For dessert, Danilo is serving his take on tiramisu.

A chocolate biscuit base,

a chocolate and hazelnut ganache,

mascarpone mousse,

served with a coffee ice cream.

We all, as chefs, think of a tiramisu,

we know how it should look and how it should taste.

And I'm intrigued as to the flavour of this, and the texture.

Because a tiramisu texture is very important.

Yeah, I can't wait to tuck in.

I love the texture of the biscuit underneath,

and I love the crumb that you've put on the plate.

I think the ice cream is like velvet, it oozes coffee.

You've taken a very simple, classic Italian dessert

and brought it into the modern world.

-Well done.

-Thank you, Chef.

It's a really well-thought-out plate.

It's a confident move from you to take something

that the whole world knows - tiramisu -

and put your own stamp on it.

-I think you've done a great job, Danilo.

-Thanks.

Brilliant, well done.

Definitely, I did my best. I definitely give it my all.

I couldn't done better than this. There was no more.

Thank you so much for a great semifinal round.

You all came in here

and you delivered some great-tasting plates of food.

We do have a tough job to do now,

we can only take the strongest chefs through to the finals week.

Go and take a break. We'll call you back when we've made our decision.

-Thanks, chef.

-Thank you.

That was a great semifinal round.

Some great, confident cooking from our three chefs today.

They came back in this kitchen fighting,

and they delivered us some great food.

I thought it was a fabulous round from Nick - incredibly confident.

I liked both of his dishes.

-I thought the John Dory was beautifully cooked.

-It was delicious.

Now, his dessert.

This is what I'm talking about - it delivered on all levels.

The presentation on the plate was inventive, it was different,

it was a fabulous dessert.

Darren made us the halibut dish, perfectly cooked,

well-seasoned, everything on that plate was delicious.

Very good dish, beautifully executed,

but I feel like I've been cheated

because the chicken wings weren't there, and that is such a shame.

Darren's peanut praline parfait had all the makings of a great dessert.

The flavours worked well.

The parfait just wasn't set enough, it wasn't cold enough.

And I think the contrast of the coldness

and the soft, chocolate mousse would've been sublime.

Over all, I think Darren's cooked very well today,

but there were little points of error.

Danilo put together such a confident menu today.

His lamb dish,

which he served with that liquorice sauce,

worked so well.

It actually brought everything together.

What an unusual, unexpected combination of very clever cookery.

To take a tiramisu, flip it on its head, put his own take on it,

and actually it worked so well.

Really pleased for Danilo.

He took a classic dessert and made it incredibly modern.

It's really hard, but now we have to lose one of them.

We had three professional chefs in the kitchen today,

giving it their all.

This is the cutting-edge end of the competition, and we have no choice.

I'm not counting my chickens

but to get to the final this week would be...

It would be mind-blowing. It'd be amazing.

It means everything. It would be such a great feeling.

The experience of being here and the whole competition's been great

and to go home at this stage and miss out on the last week...

I'd be devastated.

Being a finalist would be great, it would be fantastic.

It's something that is so close but yet still so far,

so I would be really, really happy.

Guys, I'd like to thank you for a great semifinal round.

We asked you to come in here and give it your best

and I believe you did just that.

However, we will have to lose one of you today.

Monica and I have made our decision.

And the chef leaving the competition is...

..Darren.

-Good luck, boys. Well done.

-Cheers, mate.

Good luck, mate.

Thank you very... Aw!

Thank you.

-Thank you, Darren.

-Thank you very much.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

I'm disappointed but, you know what,

I've had such a great experience. It's been a brilliant.

I've had the time of my life.

I've got to the semifinals of MasterChef,

and I've cooked some great dishes

and had some amazing feedback from the judges,

so it's taught me to believe in myself a bit more

and have the confidence to go and do what I want to do.

So, yeah, I'm just really, really proud and I hope that

when my family see it, they'll be proud as well.

-Well done.

-Thank you, Chef.

-Well done. Chin-chin. Congratulations.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you very much. Thank you, Chef.

-Well done.

-Well done.

-Thank you very much.

-Fabulous day in the kitchen.

Thank you very much.

To get to the final is amazing

but the more the competition has gone on, the more you want it

and the more you want to win it, so, yeah.

I'm still in with a shot and that's all I can ask for, really.

I'm so happy to be in the finals week. It's brilliant.

Yeah, I'm really happy for myself and really sorry for Darren.

He's a great chef, a great guy and now that I am through,

I can't realise it, actually. It will take me a few hours, I think.

I'd love to celebrate now but, actually, I have to go back to work.

Next time, it's the last of the semifinals.

The remaining three chefs will be heading to the north-west of England

to cook for one of the country's most inspirational chefs.

You're on, big boy.

I'm just finding this dish quite difficult to naturally plate.

So this is where it really hits you.

You need to really knuckle down, yeah?

They'll then have to use what they've learnt

to seal their place in finals week.

-I think you've absolutely nailed that.

-I love it.