Episode 13 MasterChef: The Professionals

It's knockout week on MasterChef The Professionals.

Over the past four weeks, 48 chefs put their reputations on the line...

..and only the most talented remain.

I'm last 12 in MasterChef Professionals.

If you're not up for this, you shouldn't be here.

Fight, fight, fight. This is where I've got to step my end game up.

Don't like losing.

Anticipation of what's going to be behind those swinging doors

is terrifying.

Over the next three nights, the pressure intensifies.

Only the best can make it through to the semifinals.

There's going to be a battle, a fight.

It's going to get hot in this kitchen.

Welcome back to the MasterChef kitchen.

You are our final 12.

Can I remind you that the winner

of this year's Professional MasterChef

is standing in front of us right now?

This test is an invention test.

You've got an amazing array of ingredients

right here in front of you

to cook us one spectacular plate of food.

The cooking today has got to be absolutely exceptional

to get you through to the next round.

-GREGG:

-At the end of this, the best eight will go straight through.

The remaining four of you will have to cook off again

for the final two places.

One incredible dish, two hours and 15 minutes. Off you go.

The 12 chefs have 10 minutes to choose from a range of ingredients,

including guinea fowl,

pigeon, rabbit,

tuna, sea trout,

mackerel, plaice,

clams, langoustine,

squid, brown crab,

and a wide range of mushrooms, vegetables,

herbs and spices.

With so many ingredients to choose from,

it can get a little bit overwhelming.

They just need to think clearly before they start cooking.

We've seen some talent in these 12 chefs already,

but now we want to see their star quality start to emerge.

44-year-old Gary has been lecturing

at a college in Glasgow for 15 years.

I really feel I have got better. You can teach an old dog new tricks.

I think that's really one of the reasons

why I'm still in the competition.

-Gary, you did it!

-Yay!

THEY LAUGH

-It's mad, isn't it?

-Are you happy?

-Yeah, yeah.

I should be teaching a class right now. That's how mad this is.

What an experience! I'm absolutely buzzing, absolutely buzzing.

I'm just going to really work hard to try and stay in the competition.

Gary's opted to use the beautiful crab in his dish

and it's all about this wonderful ingredient.

He's taken the white crab meat

and he's bound it with mayonnaise and mustard.

He's shaved strips of asparagus and he's blanched them

and he's weaving them like plaits into a beautiful basket.

He's going to put his crab meat down the centre and fold it over.

He's also got a bisque that he's made from the crab shells as well.

I love the different elements that Gary has on this dish.

I just wonder how this is all going to come together

to make one uniform dish.

Matt is a 33-year-old development chef, working in York.

I think you can see the way I've come along

and taken the criticism from my first dish,

through to cooking for the critics.

I was really pleased with that dish.

My food's sort of evolved through the competition

and, hopefully, only to get better.

-What's your dish, Chef?

-I'm not too sure just yet,

but I'm going to do something with plaice.

I'm going to make a stock out of langoustines,

get real intense flavour in that and stick to my guns.

Simple cooking but with really strong flavours and a good palate.

Now you've got to the final 12, where can you go?

Got to be in it to win it. You've got to be a bear, be a grizzly.

I'm not here to make the numbers up.

Matt's taken a lot of focus on his sauce.

He's used the plaice head and bones

and the heads of the langoustines to get maximum flavour.

It seems like a very light dish.

He's got to get everything perfectly cooked,

if he's got a chance of going through to the next round.

Just got to rely on my cooking skills and palate and...

30 minutes gone. Hour and 45 left.

Head chef Wayne has been honing his cooking skills

for the last 20 years.

One thing I think I've got on my side is my experience.

There's some younger guys out there. They may be still taking advice.

Zoe.

Yeah, that's fine. Thanks, Wayne.

Whereas, it's my experience that I'm putting onto the plate.

What are you going to make for us?

Today, I'm doing roasted squab pigeon on the bone

with a pistachio couscous, a stuffed courgette flower with offal mousse,

some char-grilled vegetables and a pigeon sauce.

-What do you have to do now, do you think?

-I've got to prove

-to you guys that I'm better than everybody else here.

-Good man.

Wayne is taking a lot of time and focussing on his squab pigeon sauce.

He wants to show to us that he really can nail it

and give us the perfect sauce to go with his dish today.

That's great, isn't it? Nice.

I love the idea of the beautiful courgette flower

stuffed with chicken livers. Sounds delicious.

31-year-old development chef Rich has intrigued the judges

by creating unique and daring dishes.

I'd say I'm probably one of the most flamboyant cooks,

as far as experimentation is concerned.

I don't want to do classic food because it doesn't excite me

as much as the modern and pushing the boundary stuff does.

Rich, has the competition got under your skin?

I'm really enjoying myself, I really am.

I'm cooking with some great chefs,

so it's making me push the boundaries a little bit.

I'm a wild card, as it were, I think, yeah.

Yeah, I think there's a bit of a wild card about you, actually, yes.

Rich has always been an interesting chef.

Today, he's making a tuna dish. A beautiful fish.

For me, the cooking is very important.

I'd like it medium rare,

still red in the middle and seared on the outside.

One of the things on his dish today that I've never had before

and that's a tuna mousse stuffed inside a courgette.

Again, very interesting combination of ingredients.

I'm not 100% sure whether they'll work together.

Bit nervous, so who knows what's going to come out?

Zoe is a 23-year-old junior development chef,

who has delighted the judges with her pastry skills.

In this competition,

I have got to do so many things that I didn't think I'd be able to do.

Just spurs you on massively, and I don't want to go out yet.

-Zoe, you know there's loads of good chefs in here, right?

-Yes.

-You're one of them.

-Wow! I'm not at home any more. I'm here.

-What are you making?

-I am going to try and go a bit classicy-ish.

-Um...

-Classicy-ish.

-Yeah, that's an Essex-ism for you.

Um, I am going to do a leg of rabbit

with some pancetta, some cabbage,

a stuffed mushroom and Parmesan courgette flower,

which I'm going to deep-fry.

And the rest, at the moment, is slightly unknown.

-Do you know how much I like rabbit, Zoe?

-A lot?

-Really a lot.

-Oh, no pressure then(!)

Zoe really is thinking on her feet at the moment.

She's not 100% certain of what this dish is right now.

I just hope that she can gather her thoughts together

and really cook us a great tasting plate of food.

One hour left!

Sorry, James, shouting in your ear. One hour left!

33-year-old James works as a sous-chef at a gastro-pub in Hove.

It's like a door has opened in my culinary mind

and everything's starting to flow out now.

So, it's now getting that onto the plate

and getting everything spot-on.

Just need to push it forwards

and see if I can come out of my shell properly.

Today, I'm doing a seared bit of trout.

I've done a trout mousseline,

which has got some dried shrimp in it, wrapped in chard leaf as well.

I've got some samphire, some sea aster,

bit of crispy quinoa, just to give it a bit of texture.

Got a few clams that I'm going to do in cider as well.

-You did well to get here.

-Thank you.

-Are you going to keep on going?

It's going to be like an Anthony Joshua fight.

I'm going to take this lot on and win.

James is making a mousseline with some of the sea trout.

When you make a mousseline,

you also have to be very careful it's not too grainy.

Clams in a sauce is a beautiful accompaniment for this fish

but James is also adding a bit of cider into it

which is going to bring a sharpness into this sauce. This can work.

27-year-old sous-chef Brenton impressed early on

with an exceptional lamb signature dish.

I think I'm developing a bit.

I'm getting to have my creative juices going constantly

at the moment, and I'm disagreeing with myself, agreeing with myself,

having arguments in my own head and I'm developing

as far as being able to come up with better dishes.

Brenton is using the pigeon for his main course.

It's got to be cooked wonderfully, still pink. He needs to rest it.

We don't want this bleeding on the plate.

Bringing flavours of ratatouille and a beautiful sauce,

just to round it all off.

I love morel sauce.

When you get it right, wow,

that can certainly complement a pigeon with ratatouille.

Andrew is a 24-year-old junior sous-chef,

working in high-end sports hospitality.

So far in the competition, obviously, I started on a real low

in the invention test, but I'd like to think that, since then,

I've sort of grown and got stronger and stronger

so, hopefully, that can carry on.

Andrew's dish today is mackerel and crab.

He's got to get that mackerel perfectly cooked.

Andrew's also got a crab croquette.

Crab is a wonderful, delicate flavour,

so you've got to make sure you've got enough of it to really taste it.

He's also making a tartare.

Too much lemon in that tartare

and it's going to overcure that mackerel

before we get a chance to eat it.

Just 30 minutes to complete your masterpiece.

Rosanna is a junior sous-chef in a Michelin kitchen.

One of the youngest competitors,

she wowed the critics with her halibut dish.

I think the competitors might look at me,

I'm a 21-year-old girl, and they might think,

"She's a bit weak, she might crumble under the pressure,"

but I've been working in a very high-pressure job now

and, hopefully, that'll stand me in good stead.

Rosanna, what's your dish today?

So, I'm going to cook the rabbit leg.

I'm going to make an orange puree,

I'm going to make a rabbit sauce, finish it with cream and mustard.

Tell me about the combination of rabbit and orange.

You always need acidity in a dish, I think,

and it just brings it a little bit alive.

-It's daring. It's daring.

-Only a tiny, tiny bit.

Rosanna's chosen rabbit, but rabbit with orange.

This is a combination I've never had before.

Rosanna's using the whole orange.

She's making a puree, including the peel as well,

so there's going to be a bittersweet flavour

going on with this particular dish.

I have had rabbit stewed with a little bit of orange zest.

With an actual puree on the plate,

Rosanna's going to have to get that balance right.

39-year-old food development manager Arnaud

has fought hard to impress throughout the competition.

I still remember the skill test. This has bruised me.

It's like having a bad experience as a child. You always remember it.

If I can keep my nerve together, I think I'll be absolutely fine.

Arnaud, are you enjoying it?

Yeah, I'm really enjoying it. I'm quite relaxed, actually.

I'm starting to worry that I'll forget something.

There are loads of nice food to cook. Couldn't get any better.

I like your approach, Arnaud. I like your approach. What are you making?

So, I'm going to be roasting a pigeon.

I'm making a Madeira sauce, which I'm going to thicken

with some of the inside of the pigeon, potatoes.

I'm going to do little toasts with some of the liver,

-mixed with chorizo, herbs.

-Love it!

There's a lovely French element about this dish that I love.

Beautiful pigeon Madeira sauce, which he's going to finish

with the liver and the heart of the pigeon itself.

A great traditional way of finishing off a sauce.

I love the sound of this dish, I really do.

37-year-old Max is head chef at a gastro-pub in London.

Max, so far in the competition,

is a chef that's had to try and refine his food.

He's getting there.

Max is cooking the guinea fowl on the bone.

This is a great way to cook this beautiful bird

because it keeps it from drying out.

He's serving it with port sauce with polenta chips. Fantastic!

Perfect accompaniment to this type of dish.

It's got to deliver the flavours and it's got to look good too.

Max, do you feel you have a point to prove with your food?

Yeah, definitely. I seem to always deliver flavour,

so that's not really something I'm concentrating on.

-It's presentation.

-It's presentation, yeah.

24-year-old Elly has impressed right from the start

with her refined, precise cooking.

I haven't really had a social life. It's been constantly kitchen.

Days off don't consist any more,

but then you have to do that if you want to get to where you are today.

-What are you making?

-Poached and roasted guinea fowl.

I've made a guinea fowl faggot.

I've got a mushroom puree and I've made a guinea fowl terrine,

so I'm using the whole bird. I've made the sauce with the carcass

and I'm going to add a dash of cream at the end.

What response do you want from the judges when they taste your food?

I would like another ten out of ten from Marcus.

That would go down nicely.

I love the sound of the dish.

Love the way Elly's working at the moment. She looks really focussed.

There is faggot on the plate, you've got the breast,

plus a terrine as well.

She really does want to impress today

and I really hope, for her, it works.

You have five minutes left, just five minutes.

I can't decide how to present it.

These are the crucial parts.

Just waiting on my fish, but touch wood...

Yeah, good I think. Just making it look nice now.

Feeling a bit nervous, obviously.

I hope I've produced a dish that they understand today.

Time's up. Stop. Stop.

That was horrible.

Wow, that looks amazing.

Sexy dishes, guys, seriously.

Yeah, there's some great food out there, man. It's awesome.

I'm worried.

Max has made roasted guinea fowl,

a croquette,

parsnip puree,

parsnip crisps,

polenta chips and morel mushrooms,

served with a port and prune jus.

I love the polenta chips.

The little texture you get with polenta adds a really nice crunch.

I love the cookery of your guinea fowl.

I love the parsnips and I love the parsnip puree.

I love the sauce, I like the fact

you've got prunes running through it. I actually quite like that.

I really like your flavours. I've got an issue with texture.

I find it all too dry and cloying.

Parsnip puree, by design, is really thick and sticky.

And then I've got a dry polenta chip. My mouth is just clogging up.

I'm just desperate for either something sharp

or a sauce that's less thick, that's a little wetter.

Max, what you've done is make a good plate of food.

There's just nothing exciting about it.

When I'm eating it, I know exactly what I'm going to get.

I'd like to have won all three of them over but, hopefully,

I've done enough to progress, but we'll just have to see.

Andrew's dish is mackerel two ways -

pan-fried fillet and a mackerel tartare -

with a crab croquette, brown crab emulsion,

pickled shallots, radish,

samphire and a lemon foam.

The best thing I like on this is the croquette

with the flavours of the crab coming through it.

The mackerel, for me, is slightly over.

The tartare's fine.

It's a bit on the small side, from the cutting point of view.

There's hardly any dressing or sauce on the plate

and not enough for this dish.

I've got no qualms about it

but it's not elevating me to the world of "Wow".

It hasn't gone according to plan. Just annoyed at myself really.

But I'll be all right.

Elly has served guinea fowl three ways - a braised breast,

terrine and faggot -

alongside a fricassee of cabbage,

asparagus, morel mushrooms

and mushroom puree,

finished with a pancetta jus.

Sitting in a restaurant, any dish coming up to my table

looking like that just fills me with absolute delight.

The guinea fowl is wonderful and moist.

The skin is lovely and crispy.

The mushroom puree is well-made and the garnish is also well cooked.

The faggot is outstanding, the terrine is beautiful,

the cooking of the guinea fowl is delicious, the sauce is exceptional.

-I love this dish.

-Thank you very much.

-This is happy, happy food. I like this a lot!

-OK.

SHE LAUGHS

I'm extremely happy.

For them to give me the feedback like that is really, it's amazing.

-You nailed that.

-Yes.

-I'm on edge now.

Brenton's dish is pan-fried pigeon breast and leg

with ratatouille,

Romero pepper puree,

tomatoes, infused with garlic and cherry vinegar,

finished with a morel sauce.

This plate is full of sunshine. Big colour, lovely presentation.

The pigeon, wonderfully crisp on the outside. It's perfectly cooked.

What, actually, for me, brings this together

and the flavours of the ratatouille, is the pepper puree underneath it.

It really does remind you of what you are eating.

That sauce is powerful. I like it. I think you're a chef to watch.

When you cook, you get the best out of the ingredients.

Thank you very much, Monica.

The whole thing reminds me of Mediterranean sunshine.

It reminds me of Provence and I love it!

It's big, it's bold, it's got depth of flavour, it's got freshness

and it's got that lovely touch of acid at the end there.

I think the technique and skill is excellent here, Brenton. Great job.

I'm a lot happier than I was before walking up to the judges.

I'm just glad that I got the feedback that I was hoping for.

Wayne has roasted his squab pigeon breast and leg

and served it with a pistachio couscous,

a courgette flower, stuffed with offal mousse,

asparagus, charred leeks and morel mushrooms,

finished with a pigeon sauce.

Your pigeon is cooked beautifully, for me. I absolutely love that.

It's tender. I like your couscous, that has a slight bitter finish.

I like your sauce, for me, that goes rich, deep, sweet, slightly sharp.

That also finishes in bitter as well.

I find the farce in the courgette flower is very smooth,

which is very well done, yet it's very bland. It's underseasoned.

I find the dish underseasoned, until I have some of that sauce.

-And the cooking of the pigeon is spot-on for me.

-Thank you.

What I'm getting with this dish

is a sense of the pigeon being on the ground.

I look at the couscous and it's almost like feed.

I get that, and I find this rusticness of that claw, this top...

I almost see a pigeon in a farm. When I eat this dish,

I feel like I'm eating in a fine dining restaurant.

-Thank you, Chef.

-Good dish.

-On a farm.

-Don't cloud my vision here.

-LAUGHTER

Right, farmer Wayne, well done.

I'm feeling quietly confident, which, I think, is the first time

in this competition that I've said that.

Rich has cooked tuna steak, served with a courgette flower,

stuffed with tuna, galangal and garlic mousse,

sweet potato puree,

pickled vegetables,

char-grilled leeks and pomegranate,

finished with a clam stock.

Great presentation. Really like your presentation a lot.

For me, the cooking of the tuna is wonderful.

Picking up a bit of sweetness from the pomegranate,

the sweetness of the sweet potato as well.

It's only a little bit and it goes very well with the dish.

I love the sauce but it's too rich for such a light dish.

I love the sweet bits that I get from the pomegranate. I love that.

I like the sweet bits that I get from the sweet potato.

I'm not convinced that clam sauce is the perfect match for the tuna.

This dish is full of good cookery, good seasoning,

creative thinking, new ideas.

-I really like this dish, Rich, a lot.

-Thank you, Chef.

I have divided opinions, but, wow,

Marcus Wareing - tuna cooked perfectly,

vegetables cooked perfectly, lovely flavours on the plate, great sauce.

I couldn't ask for any more than that, really.

Rosanna's dish is rabbit loin, wrapped in bacon,

rabbit leg,

orange puree,

black pudding, carrots,

asparagus and morel mushrooms,

finished with a rabbit and mustard sauce.

All the elements of your dish you've cooked very, very well.

There's one thing I was looking for in this dish

that I'm struggling to find

and it's the orange puree. Where is it?

-Is it the little dots I see here?

-Yeah, the little dots, yeah.

They don't really bring anything to this dish

and I was concerned about what it would do to the dish,

but they're actually really not there.

I find the dish is just a bit flat for me.

The legs braised the way they have are beautiful.

They're succulent, they haven't dried out.

The vegetables are well cooked,

but I thought a little bit more orange puree on here

would have really lifted your dish.

I hate to disagree with my colleagues,

I really do, but I love this.

That is moist, there is the deep, rich flavour of sauce.

You've pickled the bit of the carrot there, giving sharpness.

I think there's just bounds of loveliness wherever I turn.

I just wish I had a little bit more confidence in myself

to actually be able to put stuff on the plate and not worry about it.

Arnaud has served roast pigeon breast and a whole leg,

with potatoes in a creamed mushroom sauce,

a crouton, topped with pigeon offal and pureed roasted tomatoes,

and asparagus, all finished with an offal and Madeira sauce.

I have no idea what the cream is doing over the potatoes

and that is my only negative comment.

Apart from that, I think your dish is delicious.

There's sweet flavours here, there's bitter flavours here,

there's a real strength of offal.

-I think that's delightful.

-Thank you.

I think the sauce is wonderful,

especially with the offal coming through it.

The cooking of the pigeon is spot-on.

I think I can see the level of skill that you put into this dish.

Everything on the plate I quite like. It's all cooked very well.

I love the flavours,

-I love the tradition of France that I find on this plate.

-Thank you.

I'm feeling really chilled. I don't know whether I'm deluded or...

I've done what I could. If it's not enough, then it's not enough.

If it's enough, then great. Either way, I'm very happy.

James has pan-fried sea trout and served it

with a ballotine of sea trout mousseline, wrapped in a chard leaf,

cockles, gnocchi,

crispy quinoa, and sea vegetables,

along with a cider and lemon sauce.

I love the clams, how you've managed to keep them still juicy.

They're not overcooked, they've not shrunk.

The chard and sea trout ballotine, for me, is grainy in texture,

and it's also very, very salty.

The sea trout itself, for me, personally,

I would like it a little less with the cooking.

I would like it a bit more pink than it is.

Because the gnocchi, you rolled it out, made it quite firm and tough.

I think the quinoa is a big mistake.

Do you know what they remind me of, when I had them in my mouth?

What I mistook them for was a bit of grit that would come out the clams.

That's what it feels like. That's a big mistake.

If you just take away mousseline and the gnocchi

and you focused on the execution of everything else,

you would have nailed this dish.

I got a bit above my station, I think,

and I've just been a bit overzealous

and it may cost me or it may not. I don't know yet.

Matt's dish is pan-fried plaice,

served with poached langoustine,

pickled asparagus and samphire,

finished with a langoustine sauce.

Very simple presentation that, personally, I admire,

-I like.

-Thank you.

The fish is perfect and it's just moist and lovely.

I love the sharp pickle that you've got in there, the pickled veg.

What you've done to those langoustines, I don't know,

but they are buttery and they're really sweet.

What makes this dish work, more than anything else,

is that extraordinary flavoured sauce. It's absolutely incredible.

It's big but delicate at the same time.

But I'm not going to forgive you for the simplicity of your dish.

I want a little bit more.

Yes, you've kept it simple and it does work,

but I'm wondering what you spent the other hour and 15 minutes doing.

I'm feeling nervous and apprehensive now.

I don't want to cook again today.

I'm absolutely exhausted, but, you know,

it's a competition and if I have to then I have to.

I'll have to raise the bar again.

Zoe has served deboned rabbit legs,

a courgette flower, stuffed with a mushroom duxelles,

mustard-flavoured pearl barley,

cabbage, braised with pancetta lardons,

and a tarragon cream sauce.

A rabbit is not a highly flavoured meat

and pearl barley, by design, is bland,

so a lot is relying on this sauce

and I'm not sure the sauce actually completes it.

When you use a rabbit leg,

it's a cut of meat that will dry out very quick.

You've taken the bone out,

which has actually dried it out even more.

The sauce I like, cos I love the tarragon flavour,

I love the creaminess of it.

The cabbage is quite coarse and has a sort of bitter aftertaste

cos you haven't really cooked it enough.

The dish can work.

I don't think you've executed it as well as you could have done.

Yeah, I mean, it was really hard, a hard test

but, ultimately, it wasn't my day.

Gary has wrapped white crab, mustard and dill mayonnaise

in a lattice of asparagus

and served it with brown crab salad,

seared squid and tempura squid,

finished with a crab bisque.

I absolutely love that asparagus parcel

with the crab mayonnaise inside it.

I think that's light, it's full of crab flavour,

you get a little bit of crunch from the asparagus. I think that's great.

I think your bisque, it's a heady concoction.

It's real deep and it's almost got a sweetness to it, it's so good.

I can't remember tasting a better bisque than that, I honestly can't.

The squid has been cooked wonderfully

and that brown crab meat in the bottom

is also something extra I wasn't expecting.

The bisque is lovely.

You have brought a natural sweetness into it

and that's a very, very skilful thing to do.

It's just naturally brilliant and beautiful.

I was happy with the feedback.

I feel I've showed them, you know,

that I'm not your typical college lecturer.

We now have a big decision to make...

..cos eight of you are going straight through...

..and four of you are going to have to come back in here

and cook again. Off you go. Thank you very much.

Well done, everyone, anyway. Good cooking, guys, good cooking.

That was a good standard of cooking, very, very good standard,

and we've got a lot of contestants here to discuss.

Out of the 12 chefs, to me, there was one outstanding chef

in the kitchen today, one outstanding plate of food,

-and that was Elly.

-GREGG:

-I think Elly just nailed it.

Flavour, texture, visually, it was as pretty as a picture.

-Elly had the best dish in the room, sails through.

-Yeah.

-MONICA:

-Brenton is another chef that did well.

-GREGG:

-The red pepper sauce was wonderful.

He captured the flavours of the French Mediterranean. It was lovely.

Rich is different. His food is challenging.

However, he shows a great deal of skill and it's never dull.

I liked Wayne's pigeon dish. That was cooked perfectly for me.

The couscous with the pistachio and that sauce

really brought it together. Wayne's got to go through.

I think Arnaud is a very strong contender in the competition.

I loved the flavours and the way that pigeon was cooked.

-GREGG:

-Gary gave us the most delicious bisque.

I mean, it was just beautiful.

You can't deny the execution

and the flavours of what he'd done were absolutely exceptional.

So, we're all agreed.

We have six chefs that we consider good enough

to sail through to the next round.

-We do.

-That leaves us with Andrew...

..Rosanna...

..Zoe...

..Max...

..Matt...

..and James.

Out of those chefs, which four cook again,

which two do we throw a lifeline?

What a fantastic start to knockout week!

That was a fabulous cook-off. Well done to all of you.

-GREGG:

-Eight of you did well enough to go straight through.

Four of you are going to have to prove yourselves

and cook off again for the remaining two places.

The first person we would like to see cook again...

..is Andrew.

The second chef we'd like to see cook again...

..is Zoe.

The third chef we want to cook again...

..is James.

The fourth and final chef in our cook-off...

..is Rosanna.

To the eight chefs who are going straight through, congratulations.

Off you go.

Wow! Oh, my days! Well done, brother.

I honestly thought I would have to cook again.

To be down to the final ten now is incredible.

I knew YOU were going through.

'Gobsmacked, relieved,'

knackered, need a pint.

I am so happy I don't have to cook again today. So happy.

That would have been the worst thing in the world.

Now, you've got to put the last round behind you.

We're going to ask you to invent another wonderful dish,

using the ingredients still here from the last invention test.

Only this time, you've got one hour.

As we said at the start of the day,

two of you will be leaving the competition.

Let's see you do it. Come on.

An hour's not a lot of time to put up a really nice dish,

so I'm just going to have to try my best.

I was probably a bit too cocky in the last round

and it's bit me on the backside

and I'm not going to let that happen again.

Feeling a lot better than I did coming into the first test.

Hopefully, I can get that across with what I produce.

The last round wasn't great. There's no point dwelling on it.

It happened. Been given a lifeline

and I'm just going to try and take full advantage of it.

It's got to be absolutely spot-on. There can be no more errors now.

They've got to prove to us

that they really deserve to be in the next round.

Zoe, when we made the announcement, you looked so sad.

Of course you're sad.

You're standing in a room

that you've put so much hard work and effort into getting into

and then suddenly, you know, it's really close to the end

and it's not a great feeling.

-Is it close to the end?

-I really hope not.

Um, I haven't gone too wild. I'm trying to keep it simple,

but I just want to execute everything right this time.

-What are you going to make?

-A katsu curry with char-grilled aubergines,

a sweet potato puree, a coriander drizzle and some onion bhaji scraps.

Fine, fine, why the curry?

I love curry, I love Asian food and I love spice as well,

so I hope that I can show that part because I don't think I've shown

that side of me yet in the competition.

Zoe has taken a huge veal chop and she's battered it out

and turned it into a schnitzel. Wow, I wasn't expecting that!

A breaded veal with a katsu sauce and onion bhaji.

I really quite like the sound of this dish. I'm intrigued.

It's got to be good.

I'm just going to try and do all the elements really well. Um, yeah.

20 minutes gone. 40 minutes left.

Come on, guys.

-Andrew, you picked yourself up?

-I think so, yeah.

I definitely played it too safe and that's not me,

that's not what I do, so hopefully, in this round,

-I can give you a good plate of food.

-What have you decided to cook?

Just a pan-fried piece of trout,

then I'm going to confit down some of the rest of it

and make that into like a warm terrine with yellow courgette,

a green courgette and basil puree

and I'm going to an asparagus and orange salad.

Andrew, lots to do in one hour, brother.

Definitely, but I've got a lot to prove.

I love the fact that he's pushing himself and driving.

There are lots of lovely flavours going on here.

You've got the zest of the orange, you've got the trout,

you've got the courgette on the griddle pan,

so you get a lovely alternative flavour. This dish can work.

There's a lot going on. I just hope it's going to be a harmonious dish.

Obviously, there can't be any mistakes this time.

You've got to put up a perfect dish.

I've got one hour to do what is perfection,

take on board everything's that's been said to me.

Here's to the future.

Hopefully, I'll still be here at the end of today.

-There doesn't seem to be any meat or fish on your dish.

-There's not.

-What are you going to make?

-I've got some heritage tomatoes

that I'm doing different ways. I'm doing a pepper puree.

I've got some aubergines roasting

that I'm going to do like a baba ganoush sort of style.

Some feta that I'm going to blowtorch.

Crispy croutons to go with it as well.

Hopefully, it's going to show to you guys

all the flavours coming together, all those combinations working well.

-Mate, that's a bold move, doing a dish of veg at this stage.

-It is.

Go home or go hard.

The question is, can James take these ingredients

to a level that's going to impress us

way beyond a plate of tomato with feta cheese?

Vegetarian option is tricky but it can be done.

He's got to get every element on this dish spot-on.

You've got 20 minutes left, please. 20 minutes.

Rosanna, how do you feel being here, cooking off again?

Um, I'm a little bit gutted but, hopefully, I can come back.

What is it you've got to do, do you think? What have you got to show?

I've just got to be a bit more confident in what I'm cooking.

I think I'm probably a bit nervous and that's showing in my cooking.

-What are you going to make for us?

-So, I've made some pasta.

I'm going to make an open ravioli.

I've got tomato sauce going in there.

Got loads of courgettes, got some crispy leeks for the top.

-What else?

-Um, I'm working that out as I go.

-No meat, no fish?

Yeah, I'm not doing mackerel. It's on my bench but I'm not using it.

Great to see her making her own pasta.

I want to see how great this tomato sauce is she's making,

but I don't think Rosanna is completely sure

where this dish is going.

There is time left.

She can go back to the table and choose some ingredients.

She can put the mackerel back on the dish.

I just hope that this dish can continue evolving.

I don't think it's complete.

-So, you're going to use the mackerel?

-Yeah.

-Great.

-You're incredibly nervous, aren't you? Calm your nerves down.

-Yeah.

-Just give us a great plate of food, OK.

-OK.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-Come on.

Six minutes. Six minutes.

Everything's coming together, so I think I'll be ready in time, yeah.

All good. Not getting it done on time is not an option today.

Everything seems to have worked out as I thought, fingers crossed.

That's it. Stop. Stop. Well done.

Well done group hug. Ooh...

That was hard.

That was very hard.

James has cooked heritage tomatoes three ways -

confit,

pickled

and roasted -

served with rosemary potatoes,

charred feta,

aubergine puree,

charred asparagus,

basil leaves and crouton.

James, when I heard you were going to do

a tomato dish with feta cheese,

I was first of all surprised and a little bit scared.

You've actually produced something better

than what I was thinking of in my head.

I think you've elevated the ingredients.

I like the textures of tomato,

the soft, subtle flavours coming through.

The feta cheese is a delight cos it just breaks all that acid down.

To create this dish with so much flavour and so much variety,

I think it's an absolute delight.

What I do like is the different flavours you have in the tomatoes.

I was looking for something else, a bit more texture,

-and I finally found it in the crouton.

-Thank you.

The eating quality of that plate, I think, is delicious.

I think you cooked the veg really well.

I really like your aubergine puree. It's peppery.

It's fresh, it's juicy,

it's colourful and I'm really enjoying it.

Wow, thank you so much. Thank you.

I can't believe it. I... Pff.

I wasn't expecting that.

'But you never know. There's still guys out there'

that could do better than me. I don't know.

Rosanna has served open ravioli,

along with grilled mackerel,

basil mayonnaise,

a tomato fondue,

courgettes and crispy leeks.

The pasta's lovely and thin. You made that without a machine.

I think that was a great thing to be able to do within the timeframe.

The courgettes with the tomatoes and the basil,

they work very well, and I think the whole thing has been seasoned well.

I just find it's all gone very watery

cos it's just seeping out from the tomatoes.

I like the flavours of tomato and basil.

It's the flavour of Italy.

Mackerel, oily fish,

on top of...pasta with tomato and basil

leaves me a little confused.

There's some really fresh, vibrant flavours going through this dish.

The courgettes are cooked well,

the tomatoes add a nice tang to the dish.

I just don't think the dish has been very well executed

in its presentation.

I think if you'd have cemented an idea down right from the get-go,

you'd have cooked a lot better than this.

I feel like I've let myself down a bit.

I wasn't really sure what I was going into

and I don't think I showed my best there.

Andrew's dish is pan-fried sea trout,

confit trout, wrapped in charred yellow courgette,

clams, asparagus,

a courgette and basil puree

and char-grilled orange,

finished with an orange butter sauce.

I like the way you've cooked the fish,

love the saltiness of the clams.

I'm really enjoying the fresh orange segments.

That really gives it a nice, vibrant, zingy lift for me.

I don't particularly enjoy the orange juice in the buttery sauce.

The creaminess with the undertone of sweet orange

I'm struggling with. I don't particularly like that.

The confit trout, wrapped in the aubergine,

I don't know why it's there and I don't think it's needed.

The sauce is too intense in the orange,

because it's raw orange juice in there, so it's very strong

and very sweet and literally takes over everything that you're eating.

It's not a well-balanced dish, I'm sorry to say, Andrew.

Your asparagus is nicely cooked,

your clams are beautifully cooked and presented in their shells,

which is great. You've got a nice, crisp skin,

but the fish has started to slightly curl.

You've given the base of the fish just a little bit too much heat.

You should have taken away some of the ingredients

and focussed more on the main ingredients

and you'd have a good dish.

For me, there's just too much going on.

Definitely say I put everything into it and really went for it

but, like they said, maybe I tried to do too much.

I'm not upset, I'm more wound up with myself for...

..not producing what I know I can do.

Finally, Zoe has cooked British rose veal schnitzel

with onion bhajis,

sweet potato puree,

char-grilled aubergine,

coriander drizzle

and a Japanese katsu curry sauce.

The flavour, I think, is exceptional.

The sweet potato puree alongside that stunning sauce,

veal breaded, crispy, beautiful and tender, aubergine...

-I think that dish is absolutely delicious.

-Thank you, Marcus.

The flavours on the plate are delightful.

You've got a smokiness

and a little bit of harshness on your aubergine,

you've got slight sweetness and a little bit of heat

running through your katsu curry sauce.

I'd like some more chilli.

I think that burning heat on your tongue

just highlights the sweetness.

However, I think you've got a very pretty dish here

-with lots of very good flavour.

-Thank you.

The sweet potato and the sweetness that brings through

really goes so well with the curry here. This is a delight to eat.

-For want of a better word, yummy!

-Thank you very much.

I feel a lot more confident after those comments

but, ultimately, I really messed the last round up. I know that.

You know...you never know what's going to happen in this competition.

It takes a lot of courage to come in here, pick yourself up,

come in, do it over again. Well done, all four of you.

Please, off you go. Give us a chance to make a decision.

I've got to hand it to them, especially these final four.

-They're fighters, aren't they?

-They did a great job.

When we announced which four

were going to have to come back and cook again, Zoe looked so upset.

I wondered whether she'd actually be able to pick herself up again.

However, what she produced was lovely!

To produce a curry sauce like that with so much good flavour...

What a fabulous plate of food.

I'm so pleased that she really came back fighting.

-GREGG:

-Rosanna, I liked the flavours she presented.

Tomato and basil is tried and tested.

And I thought the pasta was wonderfully thin

but she lost track of what that dish was going to be.

It didn't quite come together as it should have.

I don't think I've shown my best today

and, unfortunately, I think it's going to cost me.

James's risk of a vegetarian dish

was probably one of the biggest risks he's taken in the competition.

That could only go one of two ways.

I felt the dish was an absolute triumph.

I think, under that sort of pressure in here today,

I think he did amazingly well.

Let's hope this vegetarian dish has done me proud.

-GREGG:

-I really admire Andrew.

The amount of effort that he put into that dish.

-MONICA:

-There was just so much on the plate

and, for me, the sauce overpowered everything else.

But I love the enthusiasm.

Obviously, I'd absolutely love to still be here afterwards

but it all comes down to how you perform on the day

and, today, I don't think what I did was good enough.

I think all three of us know who deserves to stay

and I think they've proved a real point in this cook-off.

Chefs, you showed fantastic courage today,

to come back in here and have an amazing cook-off.

You're a credit to the kitchen. All four of you, well done.

Unfortunately, we can only take another two of you through.

The first chef through to the next round is...

..Zoe.

The second chef through to the next round is...

..James.

Well done, well done.

Rosanna, Andrew, absolute pleasure to have met the pair of you.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

I guess, obviously, rubbish to be going home. No-one wants to go home.

But I never would have dreamt where I'd have got to,

the final 12 in the whole competition,

so it's been absolutely unbelievable.

It's been really amazing. I've really, really enjoyed myself.

I am 21, so I've got a future ahead of me.

This is just the beginning of my career

and, hopefully, yeah, I think I've done pretty well.

Yes, come on!

I am so, so relieved, so happy.

Final ten.

I'll have that.

It feels absolutely astounding.

I've got a thirst for this now

and I want to get through to that final three.

Bit emosh, bit emosh. Oh, God.

-You've done it, mate, you've done it.

-That's crazy.

Tomorrow, knockout week continues

and the contestants will be split into two teams.

For the first time, they will have to work together

to create a VIP dinner...

-I'm going to plate it.

-You're plating?

I thought I had Arnaud plating.

..and then cook a standout dish to stay in the competition.

Wow, what a punch of flavour!