Episode 20 MasterChef: The Professionals

It's the final week of Professional MasterChef.

Tonight, Scott, Nick, Mark and Danilo...

..will have to fight for the opportunity...

..to cook in one of the world's most unique restaurants.

Only the best of them will have that chance...

..as four becomes three.

It's going to be tough to take if you go out,

especially getting so far in the competition.

But, yeah, fingers crossed.

I can't worry about the other guys. Only I can mess it up for myself.

It's going to be a mammoth battle today.

Every year, we take our finalists

to one of the most inspiring restaurants in Europe.

However, we can only take three of you.

This is an invention test with a difference.

There is no fish, there's no meat and there's no poultry.

What we do have behind us are three tables of stunning ingredients.

One hour and 15 minutes. Off you go.

Yeah, it's a tough one but there's some lovely stuff on the bench.

So hopefully this dish is going to be a nice one.

Danilo, you look very, very focused.

Yes, I am focused.

A lot of things to do and I can't spare any minute.

What do you think of this challenge?

Why did we give you this challenge?

I think this challenge is really engaging.

It's not easy to make an outstanding dish only from vegetables.

To take the best chefs through

you need to understand who is capable to do...

You've come a long way. Has it been tough?

It's mentally, physically draining but, yeah, if you said,

"Start again tomorrow," I'd do it all again.

Are you creating a dish with very little cooking?

Yeah, there is, I suppose, very little cooking, yeah.

Ohh.

How brave is it to make a tomato salad at this stage?

Probably brave and stupid

but I don't know where I'm bordering.

Whoa!

I'm looking all right time-wise.

I just need to make sure everything's,

like, perfect seasoning.

Bit of a strange one going into a cooking competition

and just plating some veg but it's a beautiful dish.

That's it. Time's up, stop.

-All right?

-Yeah.

-What do they want?

-Exactly. You don't know, do you?

-No.

-It's got to be tasty.

-Hopefully that.

Nick, up you come, please, Chef.

Nick has made crispy polenta cannelloni

and Manchego cheese mousse coated in a pine nut crumble.

It's served with orange infused chicory leaves,

pickled radish and mushrooms

and a pumpkin and sage veloute.

Wow, I think it looks fantastic.

-Thank you.

-You've got an inventive brain, I'll give you that,

and a certain amount of artistry.

-Well done, Chef.

-Thank you very much.

I love the polenta with the crispiness.

I think your soup packs a lot of flavour as well.

It's a bit on the thick side

but I'd rather thick soup that tastes good

than one that was tasteless.

What I love is the little extra bits.

The salty Manchego mousse and that chicory is divine.

I think that's really clever.

I think it's very creative.

I've not had a dish like this before

and that's always what I'm looking for.

A dish I've never had before that tastes good.

-Good job.

-Thank you, Chef.

It was a tough test. I hope I've done enough.

I'm afraid I'm not the one that can tell you that.

Suppose we'll find out soon.

Scott. Please, up you come.

Scott has made a duck egg cooked in beurre noisette,

served with a wild mushroom and hazelnut fricassee,

sourdough toast and a sweetcorn veloute.

Scott, it's not the most refined plate of food I've seen from you.

What I do like about it is that yolk,

smack bang in the middle, the way it's been cooked.

The sweetcorn soup is just that.

It's a lovely, light soup.

And the egg makes the soup really rich.

-SCOTT:

-OK.

Scott, what I really like about your dish today

is the beautiful, rich egg,

the yolk is still beautiful and runny.

It's not burnt underneath.

If you'd have put beurre noisette into a pan and put the egg in,

-it would have been too hot.

-SCOTT:

-Exactly.

You've cooled it down, you've got the flavour

and you've stopped the egg from overcooking and that is very clever.

Thank you.

That's a chef thinking about what he's doing.

That's what I'm looking for in a chef.

Everything that I picked up on my spoon individually, I loved.

The egg, with the flavour of the butter around it,

the beautiful, buttery mushrooms and the seasoning on that,

the lovely sweet sweetcorn

and the texture you got on that sweetcorn.

I love it all.

I don't know what's going to happen, I'll just have to wait and see.

But I'm feeling all right. I'm happy with my dish.

Mark, please come and join us.

Mark has made a salad

with a tomato heart infused with basil oil,

sous-vide tomatoes and raw green tomatoes.

It's served with a smoked aubergine puree,

olive sourdough crouton and an olive crumb.

Mark, I am absolutely gobsmacked

that you have served a tomato salad today.

It tastes good. It's seasoned well.

The tomatoes are naturally beautiful

but with all those ingredients on the table,

the different things that you could have done

or even added into this.

I'm absolutely shocked.

Mark, it's tasty, I would finish it.

But if you're really going to show this off, then maybe a bit of jelly,

dehydrate something, lift it to the next level.

I find that absolutely delicious.

Absolutely delicious.

The bits that you've added

and the flavours that you've got bursting out of that plate

just transformed me to either Provence or the Italian Riviera.

I feel myself blessed

that I don't have to judge you from a technical ability.

GREGG LAUGHS

Right, I think what you've done

is probably stuck a couple of hours on the judging debate.

-Mark, thank you very much.

-Thank you. Thank you.

Danilo, come and join us, please.

Danilo's dish is aubergine baked with tomato

and topped with pistachio and basil pesto,

a smoked goat's curd and aubergine mousse

with a Parmesan tuile and an aubergine croquette.

They are served with griddled courgettes

and pappa al pomodoro - Italian bread and tomatoes.

Danilo, I quite like the look of your plate.

The aubergine mousse for me, the texture is not pleasant

and it's not been seasoned very well.

It's actually quite bland.

The pesto, that basil tang you've got with the smoky aubergine,

I think, is delightful.

I also really like the saltiness of your Parmigiano crisp.

However, I find the pappa pomodoro a little stodgy...

-OK.

-..or maybe it could do with a caper

or a bit of basil to sharpen it up.

Danilo, I was hoping for a little bit more from you today.

You drove hard but I really am soul-searching

for the things I think are really good on this plate

and I can't find one.

Not one. Sorry.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

Well, I am a little bit gutted by the feedbacks

but I knew something went wrong along the way.

Gentlemen, thank you very much.

Some ups and downs there.

This is the biggest decision of the competition so far.

Off you go, we'll get you back in as soon as we're ready.

Thank you.

Right, can I...just put a finger in the air for one chef

who I believe should stay?

And that's Nick. I thought his invention was superb.

I thought it tasted great, I thought it looked fantastic.

Nick was the best chef in the kitchen today. By far.

I'd like to talk about Scott, if that's all right?

Today, Scott's dish -

some great tasting elements on there.

I believe in Scott as a chef

and I've thoroughly enjoyed watching him develop as a cook

through the MasterChef kitchen.

Mark is the chef that throughout the competition

has been setting the bar

at a very high level

and his food has been absolutely faultless.

I understand his dish.

As a chef, I get the simplicity and the beauty of the plate.

I just thought that today we may see some of the brilliance,

just one thing.

One item that says, "This is Mark."

Danilo, for me, didn't give a finished dish.

However, some of those little bits where delightful.

The dish for me, though, was just so under-seasoned.

Do we think he's going to be strong enough to cope in the final round?

-DANILO:

-I would be really upset

if this is the end of the competition.

I think all of us hope to go through

but we also do picture the fact that some of us needs to go home

and that can be me,

the one that go home can be me.

So, yeah, I'd be really upset, yeah.

I'd feel absolutely devastated if this was the end.

It's taken a lot of time to get here and a lot of hard work and, yeah,

really devastated.

Really devastated.

Thank you for today.

No matter what happens, you've done yourselves proud.

We are proud to have you here.

But we can only take three of you through to the final.

The chef leaving the competition is...

..Danilo.

-Thank you very much.

-Take care and best of luck.

You're a good cook.

Well done, guys.

-Well done, mate. You did yourself proud.

-I'm sorry.

Good luck, yeah.

Thanks.

I am disappointed in myself for today but...

..I'm happy I did it.

Really happy that I did it, took this journey.

I am a changed chef from the competition.

So I'm pretty sure nothing will be the same from now on.

Well done. You are the final three.

We are taking you to Northern Italy.

You are going to be cooking

at the three-starred Piazza Duomo in Alba.

I can't speak Italian.

-Then speak English.

-Yeah.

This is the Piedmont region of Northern Italy,

the gastronomic heartland of the country.

Nestled amongst the vine-striped hills

is the medieval city of Alba...

..famed for its truffles, chocolate, hazelnuts and Barolo wine.

Lying in its narrow streets

is a restaurant that has revolutionised Italian food

more than any other -

Piazza Duomo.

And it's the vision of the enigmatic chef Enrico Crippa.

Enrico has taken the heart of traditional Italian food

and pushed it in a whole new direction.

The philosophy of vegetables taking centre stage

was realised with the creation of a biodynamic kitchen garden.

Ingredients are picked in the morning and served by lunch...

..creating a truly unique culinary experience.

In 2012, after just seven years...

..Enrico was awarded his third Michelin star.

To have the opportunity to go and work

in one of the best kitchens in the world and meet the chef

is an absolute honour.

To be able to see how the food is

and how his mind works would just be an incredible experience.

'To put it into perspective, I suppose, it would be like'

Georgie Best popping round and having a kick about with you

and teaching you how to score the perfect penalty, you know.

It doesn't happen.

Scott from South London is here in the Alba region of Italy,

I can't believe it.

It's going to be really daunting

walking into that kitchen.

But hopefully we can grab the bull by the horns

and enjoy it and crack on.

-Hi, guys.

-Hello.

-Hello, Chef.

-Nice to meet you.

-And you.

-I'm Enrico.

The first dish is salad 21...31...41.

The numbers refer to the amount of different ingredients in the dish,

and vary according to the season.

Yeah.

Today, the salad will contain 41 ingredients.

The base is some dashi - a Japanese broth.

He starts with dressed bitter leaves

and adds amaranth wafers for texture.

He builds up layer upon layer of salad leaves,

herbs and flowers to create a bouquet.

This looks amazing.

-It's not just a salad, is it?

-ENRICO LAUGHS

-It's the Piazza Duomo salad.

-It's amazing.

It's so...so intense.

It's like eating an allotment.

-SCOTT:

-It's unbelievable, isn't it?

I've never seen a salad like that before in my life.

It's absolutely amazing.

The next dish is lamb and camomile...

It's not big lamb.

-Right.

-OK.

..inspired by what's found in the pastures

where the local Sambucana lambs graze.

Its accompaniments -

a camomile reduction,

Swiss chard, wild rocket,

herbs and flowers.

When you have the fresh vegetable, look the colour.

-CONTESTANTS:

-Yeah.

Wow.

It's so clever, the way...you're eating

what the lamb would want to eat.

-Ah, you finish? Ah.

-Yes, Chef.

-You cleaned the dishes? Good. Good.

-Thank you.

The amount of respect he has for every ingredient

is mind-blowing and phenomenal and it's a pleasure to watch.

Good, guys. I cook for you, now you cook for me.

-Yes, Chef.

-Good luck. OK?

Thank you. We'll need it.

-Thank you, Chef. It's been a pleasure.

-Thank you.

-Good luck.

-Thank you, Chef.

The chefs are now going to be able to select from over 700 wild herbs

and ingredients that the restaurant grows.

We follow the moon and it depends if the moon is empty or not.

We decide to plant cress or fruit.

Now, if you want to taste it.

This is mizuna. Mizuna cress.

We have that in England and it's just nothing like that.

-That's proper nice, peppery.

-Yeah.

Oh, it's incredible. Just being able to go round, taste everything.

It's really inspiring.

It's like a vegetarian Wonka land or something, it's magical.

And they can grow whatever they want.

It's just stunning, absolutely stunning.

Gardener gave me his tools so I've got some nice little treats.

I'm picking me herbs and topping up me tan

so I can't really ask for much more than that.

They've also been given local ingredients...

Looks amazing, doesn't it?

..including Grana Padano, Castelmagno cheeses

and cinturello orvietano cured ham.

Have you tried the oil?

-It's what real olive oil tastes like.

-Mm.

Scott, Nick and Mark

must now create a dish that reflects Enrico's philosophy.

It's very funny to see someone working in our kitchen.

It's really scary.

You've got probably about ten people watching you...

with a lot of experience between them.

It's pretty daunting when you're taking the herbs

and then going to blend them all up in a Thermomix.

Mark's focus is on the freshly picked courgettes.

It's a natural choice to go for them.

They're really lovely. They're beautiful. So, use them.

He's using four different techniques -

sous-vide...

..charring...

..dressed raw courgettes...

and finally, he's stuffing a flower with olives

and cinturello orvietano ham.

It's all kind of coming along nicely.

Just a...just a bit nervous.

The main feature for Nick's dish is tomatoes.

So, I'm going to just infuse the core of the large tomato.

I'm just trying to get a bit

of the red wine vinegar flavour in there.

He's also making an anchovy, caper and olive butter.

-How's it going, big boy?

-All right, mate.

-Yeah?

Bit wacky. But, yeah, we're good.

I've got the fennel.

I've literally pulled it straight from the ground, given it a wash.

I'm just going to serve it nice and raw

so it's nice and natural.

I'm a little bit nervous what he's going to say about me salad.

But hopefully he likes the way

I've respected the produce again today

making sure everything's nice for him.

So, yeah, hopefully he's going to enjoy it.

Scott's last job is to deep-fry some cavolo nero.

Deep-frying - it goes really crispy just to give the dish

a little bit of texture.

This is completely out of my comfort zone.

Yeah, I'm enjoying it, yes.

I'm just sort of free handing it, I suppose so...

That's it, that's my salad inspired by Enrico.

It's a little bit way out there to what I normally do.

I want to keep it natural

and just let it sort of fall on the plate, little bit of height.

I've got a little bit of texture there so hopefully he'll enjoy it.

Scott is serving a salad of crispy cavolo nero,

pickled red onions and charred baby onions -

with baby fennel, beetroot, chicory and sorrel.

It is dressed with an anchovy, garlic and lemon mayonnaise.

I like the anchovy. It's a signature of Italy.

Anchovy, olive oil, garlic.

-You put maybe too much lemon.

-OK.

But it's good, I like.

I think you understand my philosophy, no?

It's clean, seasonal, fresh.

I enjoy. Good, very good. Bravo!

Thank you, Chef.

It's a bit surreal, really.

I just cooked for a three-Michelin-star chef.

I pretty much gave him a plate of salad leaves.

I suppose I got some balls doing that.

But he said I understood his philosophy.

So, yes, it was...

It was nice. Nice comments.

As far as plating goes,

I'm just trying to let it be as natural as it can be.

I've got no restraints

so I can really have a little play on how I present it.

It's really liberating.

It's really...it's such a sense of freedom, it's exciting.

Yeah, there's some eyes on me at the moment.

See if the big English guy can plate up.

That's it. Done.

Me trying to represent him on the plate is very nerve-racking.

I don't know if I've got it right, I don't know.

I've never done anything like this before so, yeah,

I've just played...I've just played, I've had fun and...

If the chef likes it then I'll be dead chuffed.

-Are you happy?

-Yes, Chef, yes.

-Now it's finished, yeah?

-It's finished now, yeah.

Nick has made a tomato heart infused with Barolo wine vinegar,

sous-vide tomatoes seasoned with red pepper essence

and Castelmagno cheese crumble soaked in Barolo wine vinegar.

The bitter salad leaves

are dressed with an anchovy, caper and olive butter.

It's generous like you.

With the cheese, butter.

The tomato acid clean the butter, anchovies, salt...

It's interesting.

-I like. I like.

-Thank you very much.

And I clean the plate. Good sign.

-Bravo.

-Thank you, Chef. Thank you very much.

It went really well, yeah. I keep pinching myself.

It doesn't feel like it's happening, you know?

Two days ago I was at home,

now I'm in Alba cooking for Enrico Crippa,

it's just unbelievable.

I would like to try and emulate

the sort of style he's doing

so it's obviously going to be a massive task and a massive ask...

..but if I can just show a little bit that I've learned today,

it's a good thing.

Good, good, good.

Mark has made sous-vide, charred, and raw shavings of courgette.

The courgette flower has been stuffed with olives

and cinturello orvietano ham.

It's garnished with mizuna, rocket and sorrel leaves

and served with a Parmesan herb mix and cured ham sauce.

Barbecue style make good taste with the vegetable.

In Italy, many people eat the zucchine alla griglia.

-Yeah.

-The Parmesan sauce is...I like..is not too much.

You make with water?

-Yeah.

-Water and Parmesan.

-Water and Parmesan.

Very good, very good.

You cook in the good way for my philosophy.

-Good job.

-Thank you.

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you, thank you for having me in your kitchen.

-No problem.

Thank you.

I'm just...I'm just a chef from...cooking in Worcester

and I've come to Italy and cooked for a three-star chef -

it's unbelievable.

I'm just so happy that I got some good feedback.

He said it tasted Italian

so can't get much more than that from an Italian chef, can I?

These guys, I'm very impressing.

Because the job is very good.

The taste is good, the philosophy of Enrico is...understand.

I'm happy.

It's day two in the medieval city of Alba...

..and the finalists are about to be pushed

to their professional limits...

..because in a few hours, they will be responsible for service

in this globally renowned restaurant.

Doing service in a three-star kitchen is just not things

that happen every day, especially to me, you know, at home.

Yeah, it's massive. It's such a great opportunity.

I am focused, yeah, but I am really nervous today

but I'm going to go in and just cook happy and enjoy meself.

I'm feeling pretty anxious about doing a three-star service.

You don't really know what to expect.

You don't really know what you're going to be plating yet.

So, it is pretty challenging.

-Hello, guys.

-Morning, Chef.

-Hello. Buongiorno.

-MARK:

-Morning, Chef.

-Are you ready for today?

-Yes, Chef.

-SCOTT:

-Yeah, looking forward to it.

-Yeah? Good luck and come on.

Today's lunch is a six-course tasting menu.

Mark will start it off with Enrico's salad 41.

-Yesterday you look with me.

-Yeah.

Is OK? Is OK in your...

Hm-mm.

Mark will also make the second course

based on the Italian classic cod and tomato sauce.

I suppose everybody in Italy has eaten cod and tomato sauce

in their lifetime and then when they come here

and see it at this level...

-It's totally different.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

The magic finish to this dish

is the sheet of intense dehydrated sauce

used to create the look of a cooked tomato.

-It's amazing.

-Yeah.

Basil-y flavour, tomato flavour, capers...

It's so light and then you get the saltiness of the caper

and the parsley.

-This is amazing.

-Good luck.

It's an honour to be able to do it but it's really nervous.

You're just trying to...just trying to do him proud.

Scott will follow with courgettes with salsa rusca...

..a sauce similar to Bearnaise

but made with olive oil and a saffron reduction.

-Inspiration for these dishes is my garden.

-Yeah.

Green with the flower. That's it.

-Nice, no?

-Beautiful.

It looks stunning, doesn't it? It does look like a garden.

His other dish will be riso rosa e gamberi -

pink risotto with prawns.

Maybe more difficult dish.

The risotto is coloured with a beetroot reduction

and pink cosmo-petal butter.

It's topped with shiso and pink peppercorn powder

and poached San Remo prawns.

Strawberry powder.

-And more colour.

-More pink.

-It's nice, no?

-It looks beautiful.

You made risotto before this?

-Never made a three-star risotto.

-Ah, yeah?

Very hard, eh?

Finally, Nick will make the last savoury dish on the tasting menu.

Fassone beef topped with a fennel seed,

hazelnut and pine nut gratin.

-Yeah, wow.

-It's OK.

The most important point is the cooked beef

because it's important not cook too much and not cook...

Wow.

It's served on a demi-glace tomato sauce.

-It's OK, no?

-Si.

Wow.

It doesn't need anything else.

It's absolutely amazing.

Nick will round off the meal with dessert.

The dessert you will make is the ricotta tart.

A corn biscuit with a buckwheat flavoured ricotta cheese cylinder...

..covered with a milk foam...

..and caramel powder.

The shine from the caramel after it's hit the cream

is just absolutely amazing.

It's finished with an orange sauce...

..sorrel, mint, primrose and valerian.

Wow.

That is amazing, absolutely amazing.

Now it is time...I take one piece.

-You go first, Chef.

-Thank you.

That's perfect. That's more than a cheesecake.

I like this recipe, yeah.

Nerves are kicking in now.

Little bit shaky.

But I'm going to give it me best shot.

It's a massive honour,

a massive privilege.

This opportunity doesn't come along every day,

it probably won't ever happen again

so I really want to make him proud.

It's massively intimidating.

They're obviously phenomenal chefs in the kitchen.

Got to step up

and be part of them today.

The specially invited guests

include some of the most important people in Enrico's life.

Hm? Hm.

Hey, guys.

Now is the time, eh?

Are you ready?

-Yes, Chef.

-Yes, Chef.

-Good luck.

-Mark, you are the first. Go.

-Yes, Chef.

-Now...

Mark kicks off service with salad 41.

I taste.

It's too much salted. A little more herbs inside.

That's it. OK.

-Like...tower.

-Yeah.

OK. It's nice.

It's really scary, obviously.

This is his signature

and you're trying to get it perfect

and how he designed the dish.

OK.

Good. Very good.

Via. L'insalata.

Tavolo cinque.

Wow.

What has that got?

Look at that. I've never seen a salad like that.

This is like a herbaceous border coming out of a bowl.

It's fantastic.

The flavour in the raw, undressed leaves is absolutely extraordinary.

I'm so pleased that Mark has now seen what it is he needs to do

when you want to use beautiful ingredients, how to elevate it.

What a sensation to eat.

I think that Enrico will be happy for this salad

because it's his salad.

-OK, Mark? Are you ready?

-Yes, Chef.

-Go, go.

The challenge of Mark's next dish is to perfectly execute

the delicate tomato sheet made out of the dehydrated sauce.

Be careful, eh? Not too much oil.

First it needs to be glazed

before being very gently shaped onto the cod.

OK, now you remember.

You take, you make the air.

Ah, OK. Fantastic. Very good, this.

-Very good. Good.

-Thanks, Chef.

Ale, via, qua.

It's nice. Good job, Mark.

Look at that. It's like a beautiful tomato cloak over that fish.

That's going to disintegrate as soon as we touch it.

The fish, it's like ice cream. Just melts in the mouth.

Very interesting dish.

So simple, so powerful, yet so, so delicate.

Good job, Mark.

What I particularly love about this is cod with tomatoes and olives

is a typical Italian combination of flavours

but this is refined, this is stunning.

Mark, who's cooked this, if anything, on both dishes

is going to give him such strength and knowledge

on how to get such intensity out of his ingredients.

Mark's had a cracking day.

I think that the chef is excellent.

The first in the world because he combine technique and quality.

It's traditional taste of Italy or this part of Italy

and it was very beautiful.

-You happy? Are you happy?

-Yeah.

Good, good, good. Bravo.

Thank you, Chef.

Thank you.

-Scott, are you ready?

-Si, Chef.

Is your time now.

All eyes are now on Scott and the courgettes.

-When you make this...

-Yeah.

-It's OK.

-Perfect.

Fantastic. Keep going.

Now the saffron.

-One, two, three, four.

-Si.

-One, two, three, four.

-One, two, three.

-Si.

-Looks nice.

-Si.

OK. Fantastic.

Good.

-OK, Chef.

-OK, yeah, good.

One, two.

The courgettes from the kitchen garden

are served on salsa rusca, topped with lardo

and dressed with a saffron reduction.

There is a garnish of watercress and flowers.

That is so pretty and I love the green of the plate.

It's just, you know, it fits everything from his garden.

It's so, so pretty.

It's almost a dish that could only be served here.

In this amazing climate.

Knowing that these ingredients were grown in Enrico's garden.

The cooking of it, it's only just cooked

and it's got so much texture still in it.

I love it. Absolutely love it.

This, I think, is going to blow Scott away. That's a lovely dish.

The aesthetic is beautiful. The presentation is very...

..fine and it's good.

With his first dish a hit...

OK.

..Scott now needs to balance all the colour elements

of the very pink risotto with the San Remo prawns.

It's a really beautiful dish and it's one of Chef's favourites

so I need to make sure it's right.

Very good. Al dente. OK.

-Risotto is very important in Italy, eh.

-Si.

More pink is added with prawns, rose petals,

shiso and strawberry powder.

-Now, you're painting.

-Si.

And a beetroot reduction.

OK, you look, you don't clean, go.

Look at that.

I was not expecting that. That looks beautiful.

It just looks so delicate.

Beautiful pink colour. I like pink.

It is brilliantly clever. Flavours - perfect.

I've eaten a lot of risottos and I've cooked a lot of risottos.

That is incredible.

And I can only imagine how excited Scott must be feeling

cooking a risotto in Italy in a three Michelin restaurant.

This chef is going to remember it forever.

I think I'm going to remember this risotto for many years to come.

It's very difficult to copy...to copy

the plate of Crippa.

But I eat a good, good, good plate.

-OK. Finished, eh?

-Thank you, Chef.

-Good, you were very, very good.

-Thank you.

-Good challenge.

-Thank you, I loved it. Thank you.

Good. Bravo.

That was well good fun.

Good day overall, yeah.

Good luck, big boy.

Finally, it's Nick.

He has to cook 14 portions of beef sirloin

to Enrico's exacting standards.

-Ready, Nick?

-Si, Chef, si.

Good. Now, looking good, yeah.

And...

Good. Looking good.

Good. Vai.

I like to eat this. You?

Very much so, Chef.

That is absolutely beautiful.

The sauce is thick, it's velvety,

it wraps your mouth with tomato.

It's quite extraordinary.

Nick's done a great job.

You just get blasted with flavours.

This is so far removed from his style.

Nick likes to show lots of different complex procedures.

This must have been hell for him.

It's a piece of beef on a sauce.

This is actually jaw-droppingly brilliant.

The fassone was extraordinary

because I think it's very difficult to cook it right.

Plus-plus from me.

-Nick.

-Yes, Chef.

-Ricotta tart. First table, five minutes.

-Yes, Chef.

Desserts at this level are demanding.

First, the ricotta cylinder is placed on the cornflour biscuit.

You like the pastry?

-Yeah. Yes, yes.

-You work in the pastry section?

-I do at the moment, yes, Chef.

-Ah, good.

Not pastry like this though.

And then it needs to be completely covered in the milk foam semifreddo.

Little more. I like caramel.

This is where it could all just go...

I like to eat this. You too?

So do I. Yes, Chef.

OK. Finish. Breathe.

-Yes, Chef.

-Here we go.

-Finish.

-Yes, Chef, thank you.

Good job, good job.

The ricotta and buckwheat custard cheesecake and milk foam

is topped with caramel powder...

..and garnished with sorrel, mint, primrose and valerian.

It's finished with an orange sauce.

I think that is absolute genius.

It's barely sweet.

The lightest thing I've ever tasted.

I can't recall having a cheesecake like this. Love it.

I think Nick's done a great job here.

Nick has completely taken his dessert making,

his puddings to a completely new place.

Wow.

It is presented in a perfect way. Yeah.

Both...it respected both the Italian and the restaurant point of view.

I could carry on, to be honest.

That was amazing. Absolutely loved it.

Three stars and the chef was very happy.

It's really surreal.

It was brilliant. The smile on our face will go long into the night.

Good job. Bravissimo.

Thanks for having us.

-Salute.

-OTHERS:

-Salute.

Thank you so much.

After this, I speak English very well.

-MONICA:

-What an exceptional experience

our three chefs have just had.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

And I've got goose bumps to see

how much of this they've taken on board

and how much of it is going to enhance their lives

and their cooking.

I feel like I've aged over the weekend.

But I've come out a better chef so that's all that matters.

-NICK:

-After this experience, I'm going to be full of beans,

full of energy and just be bouncing around that kitchen just thinking,

"Just respect." You know, respect for your produce.

-MARK:

-'I've loved being out here.

'Learning from amazing people and the best people as well.'

Being here in Italy has really, really changed

the kind of way I look at food.

They should be so proud.

I cannot wait for the final.

Cor.

Tomorrow night,

it's the Professional MasterChef final.

This is what they have been striving for.

So, what we're going to see today -

an absolute celebration of the best of culinary talent.

I feel myself very lucky to be sitting here

cos that is exceptional.

It leaves a really big smile on my face.

If you ever want to be a pastry chef,

you can come and work for me any time.

Our Professional MasterChef Champion is...