Episode 17 MasterChef: The Professionals

It's the Professional MasterChef semifinals.

Last night, Rich and Wayne were sent home.

Now, the best six will be sent to cook

for some of the most inspirational chefs in the country.

You've got to move fast, but you've got to do it with grace and style.

We've got one check after the other. It's constant.

They will then have to cook off to secure their place in the final.

It's very simple, yet something that just makes you happy to eat.

I think I could eat it all over again, it's that good.

Tonight, the first three chefs do battle -

39-year-old London-based Arnaud,

24-year-old Elly from Dorset

and 33-year-old James from West Sussex.

I pinch myself daily. I can't believe I'm in the final six.

Anything can go wrong in the kitchen on the day,

but I'm just going to do what I do best and go for it.

If I make it through, I'm going to be very chuffed,

but I don't want to think about it too much

because if I do, I'm just going to panic.

This is a massive moment for our three chefs. This is it - do or die.

At this point, it's got to be extra special.

It's early morning and the chefs are in central London.

They're about to spend the next two days

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

There's The Westbury.

-Looks like we're here.

-Is this Alyn Williams?

Oh, my God! High five, I am so excited.

Opened five years ago, Alyn Williams at The Westbury

received a Michelin star and three AA rosettes

within his first year of opening.

A lot of my food, the inspiration and motivation behind the dishes

comes from the childhood thing.

My dad, he's a gardener, grew everything.

When my dad was cooking,

it was all very natural and he always made food taste really good,

but it was all about the ingredients

because he grew the ingredients so I think, as a history,

that's where it goes back to.

Alyn started out at 15 as a humble pot washer,

but, by the age of 21,

was a sous chef for David Everitt-Matthias

at Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham

and later at Gordon Ramsay's Petrus in London

under head chef Marcus Wareing.

I loved that. Really enjoyed working for the two of them.

It was that professional discipline, almost military. I thrived on it.

Alyn went on to spend five successful years

as head chef at The Berkeley for Marcus Wareing

before opening his own restaurant at the Westbury.

Our dishes are really usually sort of three,

four ingredients on a plate

cos we want to just focus on the individual meats

or fish or vegetables...

..and just keep it really simple, but delicious.

The chef, Alyn Williams, he is a big inspiration in the cooking industry.

To be honest, this is the next place where I wanted to come and work.

For me to cook here now is amazing.

The last time I worked as a restaurant chef,

that was ten years ago.

Wow, it's going to be a challenge to be back.

This is an absolute first for me.

To have the honour of cooking in a Michelin kitchen, it's massive.

-Welcome. You excited?

-Excited, yeah. A bit nervous.

-Good.

-Yeah, a little bit.

-I hope you're a little bit nervous.

It's going to be a good day.

We've got a very busy lunch service today - 45 covers, that's us full.

The dishes that I've chosen for you are all popular dishes

so I've done that intentionally

so that we can stretch you a little bit today.

-Shall we get started?

-Let's.

-Let's go.

For today's service, the chefs will be part of Alyn's brigade.

They will each have to execute one course

to his Michelin-star standards.

They've got to raise their game and they've really got to sort of

try and pull themselves up to the same standard that we work to.

French-born development chef Arnaud

will be making Alyn's playful starter, a lobster taco.

Grilled lobster tail served with guacamole,

green chilli gazpacho, a lobster claw taco

topped with edible flowers and a chimichurri sauce.

The lobster taco dish -

though it's fun, it's still quite technical.

If you overcook a lobster, it becomes chewy, not very nice.

It needs to be cooked just right.

So, this is kind of Michelin star meets street food -

really lovely dish, beautiful, just needs a lot of attention.

-OK.

-OK?

First of all, what we're going to do is we're going to cook the lobster.

-Just press it down lightly.

-Yep.

We want it to be nicely roasted on one side,

but we want it to be slightly pink on the middle, OK?

Don't take it too far cos I don't want a dry lobster

and I don't want a raw lobster so it has to be absolutely pinpoint.

So, the taco you take and you just put a little bit of oil

on the taco, just rub it in with your finger like that.

So that goes on the plancha there like that.

While that's all cooking, you're going to mix up your salad, OK?

Just a little bit of lettuce.

A sprinkle of corn, some lobster, the tail.

And then that mayonnaise.

You don't want too much in there,

-just so that it all binds together nicely.

-Yes.

-OK.

Your taco, you see how it just starts to get a few little spots?

-It's starting to curl a bit, yep.

-You don't want to cook it too long.

You've got to be able to curl it, OK?

So, put the lobster filling inside.

Dressing the plate,

we add the chimichurri sauce

so we need a nice quenelle of the guacamole.

Your taco is now going to get finished off

with a few flower petals.

-Gazpacho to that point of the glass, OK?

-Yep.

So, we just finish off with that taco seasoning

just on top of the lobster, a little bit on the taco.

-And that's it.

-I love it.

I'll do the best that I can to make your dish proud.

The thing is if you don't get it perfect,

if the tortillas are split, if the lobster's overcooked,

you have to do it again.

With a dish like this that's got a lot going on,

you don't want to have to do it twice.

It's a very technical dish. It's all about cooking the lobster perfectly.

I'm really excited about the dish. I think it's an amazing dish.

I can't wait to get stuck in.

Gastropub sous chef James will be in charge of the main course -

roasted pigeon breast and leg served with tarragon creme fraiche,

roasted field mushrooms,

wilted orach - which is similar to spinach -

baby pickled onions and radishes topped with toasted yeast.

It's a hard dish.

The person who cooks that really needs to be on their game.

They really need to be a strong cook

because it's going to be a popular dish, I know that.

This is now the precise part of the cooking.

We've got the colour and now we're getting it cooked.

So, you take your butter and you baste through that cavity.

-You see, you're cooking it inside and out.

-That smells lovely.

As well as cooking the pigeon to perfection,

James will have to pan-fry a garnish of wild mushroom in butter and yeast

and wilt the wild orach before precisely butchering the meat.

So, the first stroke is to go down the breast

and over the wishbone, OK?

Then you turn the bird away from you,

you push the breast out and you go to over the ribcage.

-Breast is off, OK?

-Wow!

And you just trim all that

so you've got a really nice natural-shaped breast, OK?

What I don't want to see is you butchering it

so you've got a sharp diamond.

I want to see a lovely beautiful natural curve to the breast, OK?

So, now we dress the plate, OK? This is probably the easiest bit.

Tarragon creme fraiche, just a nice spoonful in the middle of the plate.

We're just going to make a little pool like that.

That is perfect, in my opinion, because it's natural.

Then you've got your half-breasts and you've got the leg.

A few pieces of the fennel,

then we've got the sauce that's on the tray.

We're just going to drizzle a little bit of that over there.

So, there's your dish. It takes a great deal of precision.

-You really have to keep an eye on this.

-Thank you very much.

-Are you happy with that?

-Yeah. No, it's stunning, absolutely beautiful.

So now the real work starts!

HE LAUGHS

This is going to be probably the most technical bit of cooking

I think I've ever done in my career.

It's just making sure it's all on point.

I need to really pull my A-game out today.

Junior sous chef Elly will be making dessert.

She has five years' experience of cooking at Michelin-star level,

but very little in the pastry section.

I'm actually quite looking forward to being on the pastry.

Obviously, everything has to be so perfect and everything

has to be on point so, yeah, there's no errors.

She'll be preparing a dessert of hot ginger cake,

candied pineapple, fresh pineapple rolled in grated coconut,

served with a coconut and white miso puree and a pina colada sorbet.

You've got your ginger cake mix here. It's 25g.

Just with your spoon,

just push the mix down into the bottom of the mould.

It needs to be in the corners, though.

The cake takes seven minutes to bake before being rested for two,

during which time Elly must plate the dish.

This is pineapple that has been just very lightly roasted

-in white rum and muscovado sugar.

-Yeah.

So it's got that Caribbean flavour to it

and we've got two pieces of fresh pineapple.

We're just going to grate the fresh coconut on the top of there

so that's just like that, a little bit of coconut snow.

Gently take the sponge out of the mould

and this is brushed with a molasses ginger syrup

and it will soak in.

That then sits on the plate at that angle.

This is a wild herb, it's called pineapple weed.

It smells and tastes like pineapple.

A simple rocher, spoon in, up like that,

and that's going to sit

on top of that powder and so we're going to finish it off,

sprinkle a little bit of that gingerbread and lime.

-Really important that that cake is hot when it goes out.

-Yep.

Every time it comes up,

-I'm going to do that and I'm going to check and test, OK?

-So...

So if that's cold,

-it comes back and you've got to do the whole thing again.

-OK.

-That's another nine minutes on to your service.

-Yeah.

You can't reheat it.

Being taught by Alyn is amazing.

That dish is beautiful - every element is precise.

Yeah, I'm happy.

The restaurant's capacity is 45 covers.

And it is fully booked for lunch.

We have to get it right.

They're here to cook for our customers

so I can't allow food to go out that I wouldn't send out normally.

The last time I did service was about ten years ago.

I stopped working in restaurants because I just wanted

a more laidback lifestyle.

Today, I'm back into the madness.

For me, I have a little bit of leeway cos I've worked in

a Michelin restaurant before so I sort of know the standard

that they're looking for.

This is, you know, Chef's menu. It's his restaurant, it's his reputation.

I can't let him down.

Two covers, table seven.

One lobster, one scallop, to follow - two monkfish. Yes, Chef.

Let's go, put your lobster on now. Yes, Chef. OK.

Arnaud's first orders are in.

His challenge is to assemble the entire dish

in the four and a half minutes it takes to cook the lobster tail.

-Nice little rub, not too much.

-Yes.

-Did it break?

-Yes.

-When you do this, just be gentle as you pick it up.

-Yes.

Right, get me another plate.

Get me another plate.

Take it easy, take it easy.

Right, chimichurri, this is all in the middle. You need it...

A little bit on the end of your spoon like that, OK? Yes, Chef.

Just like that, not like that. That's a pool, OK?

That's a nice line. Just a few little leaves on there.

For these guys to come into the kitchen and work to the beat

of our drum instantly is really tricky.

But, you know, you have to get on with it.

-A touch more of the spice on top.

-Yes, Chef.

-Good. OK.

-Service.

-Are you happy with that?

-I'm happy with it, Chef.

-Good first go.

-Thank you.

-Let's go, table seven.

I'm comfortable.

The chef has explained very clearly what he is looking for.

I just need to really focus.

Right, James, you get your pigeon straight on, OK?

-Nicely seasoned, your pan's on, oil in the pan.

-Oui, Chef.

James has two orders on for his pigeon dish.

It's amazing. I'm loving every minute.

He has just 30 seconds to sculpt the pigeon breast

to Alyn's precise requirements.

-You...

-Hacking a little bit.

You're using a lot of knife movements.

You see, when you do it with one or two, it comes off so cleanly.

Oui, Chef.

That looks like a diamond.

-Nice natural lines, James, not a diamond.

-Oui, Chef.

-With James taking too long with the butchery...

-Aaah!

..Chef has to step in and cook the garnish.

I don't want to be helping you here, James, so you need to really...

Oui, Chef.

I've let myself down here. It's a joke.

You'll be all right. There's time to redeem yourself.

James's cooking is really nice,

all the pigeons are cooked beautifully so far,

but then it's just a bit of coordination.

He's falling behind a little bit with the cooking

of the mushrooms and the butchering of the pigeons. He'll be fine.

Cooking at Michelin-star level is all about speed and precision.

In the pastry section,

Elly has to perfectly time her hot and cold dessert.

Make sure it's all over. I don't want any dry patches.

That's it. That's it, yeah, OK. Take your time.

Dip your spoon into the sorbet first, OK?

She also needs to perfectly rocher the pina colada sorbet.

Rub the spoon with your hand, OK?

Make sure that it comes off cleanly and you've got no loose bits.

If you rub the spoon, it warms it up and it'll slide straight off.

Can you do that one again? Take that one off and put another one on.

Just try and get it a little bit more even, OK? Yes, Chef.

OK? Yeah, OK, not bad.

-That's your first one.

-Yep.

-But that's just one.

I don't want to be getting rid of cakes, OK? Yes, Chef.

Yeah, I need practice on rochering.

I think that's the only thing that I feel a bit nervous about.

The rest of it, I feel happy.

With the restaurant now full...

James, you've got four pigeon on there.

Oui, Chef.

..there's no respite in the kitchen.

Dress the plate and then you get one more lobster ready. Yes, Chef. Good.

And working his first service for ten years,

Arnaud is feeling the pressure.

Bring the guacamole next to the plate, rather than... Yes, Chef.

Calm yourself down.

You've got to move fast, Arnaud,

but you've got to do it with grace and style.

This is a very difficult dish.

I need to be confident, I need to get on with it

and make sure I don't let the team down.

We need one more. That's broken. This is broken, OK? Yes, Chef.

With Arnaud replating,

the pressure is on James to pick up the pace with his pigeon dish.

Remember what I said - 30 seconds to butcher a pigeon.

If you cut it badly and it's gashed and we can't use it,

we have to cook another pigeon.

Getting it right is so important.

It's so intense. It's precision or nothing. Hard, very hard.

First time in a Michelin kitchen.

-Keep it a little bit tighter in, OK?

-Oui, Chef.

-That all right, Chef?

-Not bad.

-Thank you.

That goes on the tray. Service.

James, that was your first one on your own there.

-Well done, that was really good.

-Oui, Chef.

Another main successfully sent for service,

but one of Elly's desserts is coming back.

Elly, have a look at your plate. That's not...

-Have you got another one?

-No.

-Let's get another one in.

You've got to make sure that they're pushed down, Elly.

Yes, Chef. You've got to make sure that the mix is right in the mould.

Redress the whole thing, OK, get another cake in.

Table three, we've got to do the dessert again, OK,

so it's going to be another ten minutes, OK? Just let them know, OK?

Can you apologise for me? Yes, Chef. Thank you.

I need to do it again, the whole dish and the whole table

and Lewis needs to do his dessert again

so, yeah, I messed up a little bit there.

The three-hour service is winding down,

but the last table of six have all just ordered the lobster taco.

This is the last table with the tacos, OK,

so let's make this one perfect.

I know we've got six here and it's a lot of plates to dress,

but it's still important that they're all the same, yeah?

-Yes, Chef. You're doing a good job so far.

-Thank you.

-Good.

OK, let's get that last one on.

-You go behind me with the seasoning, OK?

-Yes.

Very good, well done.

-Good. That's really nice, Arnaud.

-Thank you, Chef.

-I'm very proud of you for that.

-Thank you.

-Good.

OK, that's the Wine Room.

-Well done!

-Thank you, Chef.

-OK? How does that feel now, to be finished?

I'm glad it's finished.

Service was very impressive. The standard was so high.

I can't remember it being as hard as that. I'm sure it was.

I quickly realised that I was very rusty.

My starter was lobster, which was beautifully poached,

beautifully presented with a taco, very tasty,

very colourful and I really enjoyed it.

It was lovely.

The presentation was very, very attractive and appealing.

This table's now waited nearly 20 minutes for this dessert.

Yes, Chef, sorry.

You understand how important it is, just packing in your moulds,

getting everything absolutely perfect.

You're doing a really good job, Elly,

-but make this a really nice one.

-Yes, Chef.

Pressure!

SHE LAUGHS

OK, good.

That's it, good. OK? Service.

There was a few errors, but I think, to be honest,

I'm not a pastry chef so I didn't do a bad job.

The ginger cake was excellent.

The texture of the cake was very good, the glazed pineapple

and the coconut miso complemented it very, very well.

With one pigeon left to serve...

HE SIGHS

..James is almost over the finish line.

-You need to be really on form now, OK?

-Oui, Chef.

-Finish this off strong, OK?

-Oui, Chef.

-Good.

-Watch your fingers. You OK with five minutes, yeah?

-Oui, Chef.

I've never done a service like this before in my life.

Up against it all the time, I'm really happy with my cooking.

It's the best one yet. Well done.

-OK, well done.

-Thank you so much, Chef.

Really good job, well done.

-I loved every minute.

-Good.

-Thank you so much, guys.

That was an absolute experience.

Would you like to come back tonight, yeah?

-Would you like to do that again?

-Don't tempt me, I'd love to.

No plate sort of didn't leave the pass so, in my eyes,

I think I've done well.

HE CHUCKLES

The pigeon was absolutely fantastic. It was so succulent.

It went really well with the accompaniments on the dish.

Beautifully presented, really refined - lovely.

I don't think there was enough of it.

The pigeon was cooked to perfection. I love my pigeon pink.

It's hard for us to have three cooks in the kitchen

on a busy service, but I'm really impressed.

Arnaud was good,

but I felt like he wasn't in his comfort zone whatsoever.

He seemed really nervous all the way through.

I think, towards the end, he got better.

I think James did a great job today. Really tough dish, that.

Lots going on.

I have to say that every pigeon that he cooked was really good.

Elly finished off very well. Her sorbet ended up looking pretty good.

It's day two in central London

and the chefs have one final chance to impress Alyn.

They have to cook one of his signature dishes -

pan-fried Cornish turbot, served with ratatouille,

aerated bouillabaisse,

rouille and an amaretto and black olive crumb.

So, the signature dish is a dish

that I've had on the menu for some time.

I really, really like it. It's a lovely dish.

The dish is an interpretation of French fish soup so bouillabaisse.

We make a stock with red mullet bones and we add that

into a hollandaise sauce,

but then we put it into a siphon and that turns it into more of a mousse.

A rouille is classically mayonnaise, but made with potatoes

and then you spread it on croutons with Parmesan cheese

sprinkled on the top, but what we do is we take all of that

and put it together.

The rouille and the bouillabaisse

could have a tendency to separate and split.

Turbot only takes a few minutes to cook.

Cook it until it's still slightly pink in the middle.

Number one - I'm going to look at the aesthetic.

I'm going to see how they've put the food on the plate.

I want to see some finesse in the way they've dressed the dish.

Definitely, the key to getting the dish right

is to get the textures perfect on the bouillabaisse mousse.

It's really important. I want it to be silky

and I want it to be nice and moussey.

I love bouillabaisse and the rouille mayonnaise,

I've never made that personally before.

That will be a challenge today.

I'm not quietly confident, as I may be usually, but we shall see.

Only time will tell.

Obviously, I've made ratatouille hundreds of times being French,

but there's ratatouille and then there's Alyn ratatouille!

The way that I make my ratatouille is that I cut everything into a dice

and it's all exactly the same size.

And so it's really important that you can see all these little squares

of the vegetables and they're all uniform.

It could go wrong, really, at any point,

but the ultimate challenge, of course, is the cooking of the fish.

I'm ready.

-How was that?

-A bit nerve-racking.

-Yeah?

-Yeah. I think I did OK.

It looks nice. The fish looks nicely cooked.

The bouillabaisse is a little bit flat, though.

We'll see how it tastes.

Really good.

It's really nice.

Good balance, nice seasoning -

-you've really seasoned the fish well.

-Thank you.

The fish is cooked lovely.

Maybe another 30 seconds or so less, but that's really splitting hairs.

The rouille is really good, really nice and the ratatouille is nice.

It's got a little bite to it. That's good,

-that's really well judged.

-Thank you.

The only thing that is different

to how I would do it is the bouillabaisse.

-It's slightly underseasoned and just to mousse it up a bit more.

-OK.

Cos it's kind of gone flat as a sauce, but flavour-wise,

really comes together nicely. I'm really impressed.

-Well done, thank you.

-Thank you, Chef.

I'm really, really proud of myself.

It was really nice to see him smiling

and that's a good thing for me so he must have enjoyed it.

To be honest with you, it's quite hard for me.

A ratatouille, in that standard, pretty difficult,

but I'm going to try to give it justice.

I think the way the chef would make it look

would be very different, I'm sure.

That's why he's got a Michelin star, that's why I haven't!

Initially...

it looks a little bit messy.

It's not as I expected it to come on the plate,

I expected the ratatouille to all be together.

The fish is slightly overcooked.

The ratatouille is a little bit underseasoned.

The rouille is less apparent.

It's not adding anything to the dish

-because you haven't put enough on.

-OK.

The bouillabaisse - really nice.

You've really captured that and you've got the consistency

just right so it's nice and moussey.

You've been very shy with the crumb as well

and the crumb gives it nice texture.

You've done a pretty good job there, though, and I'm really pleased.

Generally, if I give you a word of advice,

it would be breathe and just compose yourself, just be a bit calmer.

Be more confident in yourself because you can cook.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much, Chef. Thank you.

-Well done.

The feedback from the chef - totally spot on.

I need to feel more confident, but I think I did it justice today

and I can't wait to get back and cook more.

Having seen what I saw on the pass yesterday,

it's trying to sort of take on board what I was overseeing

and watching and trying to bring that

to my dish today, really, I think.

There's a few bits in there that I haven't done before as a chef

and I didn't truly understand

so I've done the best I can do, I think.

The fish is perfectly cooked.

From the way you cooked your pigeon yesterday,

I expected you to do a similar job today.

So, the bouillabaisse needs more shaking when it's in that gun.

The more you shake it, the thicker it gets

and what I'm looking for is more like a mousse.

I'd like to have had the aubergine through the ratatouille as well.

One thing you're lacking in the dish is seasoning.

Some of the other elements,

you could have just tasted a bit more, maybe.

That's a running theme for me!

If you've been told that before, then you should take that on board.

-OK?

-I can't thank you enough, Chef.

This has been an absolute joy for me

and it's going to stay with me to my dying day.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you, Chef.

-Well done, cheers.

-Thank you very much.

I do feel a bit annoyed.

I feel that having that lack of knowledge has let me down.

It's always the same. I seem to be hit and miss.

I'm not getting it right.

But maybe that's how it's meant to be, I don't know.

It's been good having them here, I enjoyed it.

It's nice to have three different personalities

come in to the kitchen.

They all showed some strengths and some weaknesses.

To see them respond and work the way they did,

I think, was really encouraging.

Today was brilliant.

I feel like I'm back in the game and, yeah,

I can't wait to do more and, yeah, brilliant.

I'm really happy.

For the last two days, I've worked hard.

To get into the finals, I want it quite bad now

so I'm going to bring my A-game

and make sure that the next two courses are perfect.

I've really enjoyed myself working for Alyn,

really privileged and what an amazing person.

He really was a good guy.

Having worked with a chef like Alyn Williams, I would really love

our three chefs to try and elevate their food to a whole new level.

The pressure is on.

They have got to fight it out for that place in finals week.

Today has got to be exceptional.

Today is all about your food

and cooking for that place in the finals week.

This is it. Two of your best plates of food.

You have an hour and 45 minutes.

We can only take two of you,

one of you will be leaving the competition today.

Off you go.

Hopefully I've got enough fight in me

to blow these guys out the water today.

Friendship stays at the door as soon as I walk in, unfortunately.

It's all about me and my food when I get in there

and making sure I make this lot look silly, you know?

-How are you, James?

-Stressed, nervous. This is massive for me.

You know, I'm a little boy from down south, nothing like this happens.

Do you know what I mean? I'm blown away.

How did you find your time in Alyn's kitchen?

I have never done any form of Michelin star cooking at all,

but to walk away feeling like I smashed it

and that I owned the section, I felt so great about myself, I really did.

What are the two dishes?

So, I've got a halibut bourguignon for the main course.

So, a nice piece of halibut with all the bourguignon garnish

and a nice, rich jus to go with it,

with some savoy and samphire and some salt-baked Jerseys.

And then for the dessert, I've got a baked calvados custard,

burnt apple puree, crumble, apple beignets,

and some little caramelised apple balls.

So, sort of a play with an apple crumble, really.

Where's the inspiration come from?

These dishes, I'll eat at home, I'll make them at home.

And it's just bringing that everyday food into the next level.

It's going to be packed with presentation, flavour,

and hopefully you guys are going to get it and understand it.

-OK. Good luck.

-Thank you very much.

James is going to have to be very careful that all these big,

rich flavours don't overtake that fabulous flavour of the halibut.

At the end of the day, the halibut is the main event.

He's already been picked up in the competition for his seasoning,

and again in Alyn Williams' kitchen also.

James now needs to be very careful he doesn't go too far

and season things too much, because the dish will be inedible.

James' custard dessert,

he's cooked it and set it in a large serving bowl.

It looks quite a big portion.

What he can do to really make us an outstanding plate of food

is how he's going to dress it in the end,

all the little garnishes along the top.

This could look quite stunning if he gets it right.

Chefs, you've had 35 minutes gone, one hour and ten minutes left.

Well, you know, I'd love to make it through to the final.

I really would.

-To be honest, I didn't sleep very much last night.

-HE LAUGHS

I've got to nail it today. If I don't nail it, I'll probably go.

-Arnaud, how are you?

-Yeah, very happy, a lot more relaxed.

How was your time at Alyn Williams' restaurant?

I hadn't been in a kitchen like that for a very long time.

The chef sort of said that I should be more confident, relaxed

and really enjoy the food, which is what I'm doing today.

Everything is going to be done but I need to really enjoy it.

-What's your menu?

-Roast squab pigeon with a samosa,

carrot puree, goat curd,

seasoned with chermoula, a North African condiment.

What a very, very different plate of food from you, wow.

I love Morocco.

People of this country like to have a curry.

In France, we have couscous and tagine.

-That's where it's coming from.

-What about the dessert?

Limoncello and sultana sponge cake and a Sicilian lemon curd.

This is going to be really interesting to see,

I'm really looking forward to your menu.

-And I'm really looking forward to these new flavours.

-Thank you.

Very exciting. Very exciting menu, too.

I like the sound of Arnaud's cooking.

All of that great balance of these amazing spices and flavours

of Morocco and North Africa.

Arnaud's dish is all about getting that cooking of the pigeon right.

We want it lovely and pink.

The samosas, they need to be cooked well.

Lovely and crispy, yet still moist on the inside.

Arnaud's dessert is a sponge of limoncello and sultanas.

You can get it wrong and you can get it right.

It's a very simple thing to make.

Any mistakes, it's going to get spotted.

I've got quite a lot of stuff to do still.

So... Yeah, need to speed up a bit.

Chefs, you've got 30 minutes remaining.

Everything relies on these two dishes today.

I'm going to cook my heart out.

For me, it's all about consistency and precision,

and if I can nail that, then the two dishes are going to be beautiful.

For my main course today, I'm doing sea bass

with creamed summer sweetcorn and crab through it.

And I'm using sweetcorn juice as the thickener,

so it's almost like a risotto.

And I'm doing a chorizo bombon, crab vinaigrette,

-so I'm making a crab and shellfish stock.

-What about the dessert?

Honey roast peach with pickled cherries, roasted peach puree,

-Sauternes ice cream and almond financier.

-Wow.

-Oh, a lot of work there, Elly.

-Yes.

At the moment, so far, so good.

-Elly, you can just about see the finals from here.

-Yes.

-How does that feel?

-I'm quite nervous, to be honest,

but if I can nail these two dishes, I'm really...

Well, it would be an amazing achievement to get into the finals.

I like the sound of Elly's main course a lot.

They're ingredients I know work together

and would certainly choose if I saw them on a menu.

The arancini's got to be beautifully deep-fried

and a crunchy coating.

You want to be able to taste the rice with the chorizo sausage.

And the crispy skin of the sea bass is also quite important.

It's got to be beautifully coloured and nice and crispy.

Elly is using peaches.

I hope she's tasted the peaches

to see how sweet and how ripe they are.

If they're naturally sweet,

too much honey could overtake this beautiful fruit.

The flavours of these ingredients, honey roasted peach,

Sauternes ice cream.

This dish sounds absolutely divine.

Chefs, you've got five minutes left.

Game time now, so got to get focused.

You have just two minutes left.

You get to a point where it's crunch time.

-Chefs, you've got 60 seconds.

-It's crunch time now.

Time's up. That is it.

Well done.

Guys, we've done the best that we can, all right? Well done.

-Are you all right?

-This is tough.

-That was hard.

Arnaud has cooked a North African-inspired dish

of roast pigeon in chermoula marinade,

served with carrot puree,

pigeon offal samosa dipped in pistachio crumb,

garnished with goat curd,

fresh almonds and dried rose petals,

finished with a red wine glaze.

Your main course has a beautiful refinement to it.

-That looks fantastic.

-Thank you, Chef.

I think that dish is absolutely knockout.

I love the flavour.

I love the cooking, I love the decoration.

I never thought I'd see a dish like that from you.

The carrot puree is great. The cooking of the pigeon is delicious.

The sauce is huge in flavour.

The samosa has got a lovely texture to it,

I love the spice going through it.

You know, Arnaud, for me, this is probably the best dish

you've cooked in this competition. I really do.

I think it's an absolute triumph.

Really tasty plate of food,

really impressed in how you could balance such strong flavours.

Very well done. Impressed.

For dessert, Arnaud has made limoncello and sultana cake

with mascarpone sorbet,

sultana puree, lemon curd

and a pine nut praline.

Presentation could be better.

But having sad that, I do really like the flavour of the dish,

I love the cake, it's lovely and light, which is great.

And the lemon curd on the plate, I'm a big fan of lemon curd,

I think it's fabulous.

The sorbet works very well, it's refreshing and creamy.

I think you've got it done very, very well.

I like cake. That's a good cake.

SHE LAUGHS

And then you've got the lemon curd,

you've got the praline on it, which just breaks away.

Really tasty plate of food.

It's very simple, yet something that just makes you happy to eat.

The feeling of getting such feedback, amazing,

especially at this stage of the competition.

They are very hard to impress, so it feels great.

Elly's main is roast sea bass,

served with sweetcorn and crab risotto,

spring onions, chorizo arancini,

and finished with a crab vinaigrette.

Elly, I really like the presentation.

It's very neat, very precise.

For me, I think the fish has been cooked perfectly.

My disappointment is you've left off

the crab reduction that you've made into a dressing.

There's only a little bit sprinkled on the plate,

you're not getting that wonderful flavour through it.

It was so good, you took a lot of time to make it,

don't leave it off, serve it.

But I think it's a good dish.

It's actually very delicious.

The fish is really nicely cooked, Elly. It's got a lovely crisp skin,

it's lovely and soft and moist in the centre.

It complements the sweetcorn crab risotto underneath.

And I love the fact you've still retained the bite

of the sweetcorn as well.

The arancini is beautifully cooked, it's nice and brown.

The flavour, though, of the chorizo

is just not coming through strong enough.

It would have worked so much better

if there was more of it on this dish.

Elly's honey roast peach is topped with almond crumb,

and served with roasted peach puree,

a warm almond financier,

pickled cherries

and Sauternes ice cream.

I really like your presentation.

Again, it's just absolutely nice and delicately put together.

I would have liked another peach, though.

MARCUS LAUGHS

The roasted peach is wonderful. It's sweet, but still quite sharp,

and I like that there's still a bit of body to the actual peach.

I wish you had put another slice on there.

I think the ice cream, the peach,

the burnt peach puree, the pickled cherry

and the crunchiness of the almond on the plate -

these just work so well, all in harmony together.

It's the type of dish I would eat in a restaurant and I think

I could eat in all over again. It's that good.

Thank you very much.

-Well done.

-Thanks.

-All right?

-Yeah, I feel much better now. They loved my dessert.

When they give you amazing comments, you know, you just have

shivers through your body and you think,

"Oh, you know, what I have done today is really good."

'But you just don't know what is going to happen.'

So, hopefully, fingers crossed, but we'll see.

Finally, James has made pan-fried halibut,

served with port-poached salsify,

cep puree,

confit Jersey Royals,

Savoy cabbage, with samphire,

garnished with fresh girolles

and finished with red wine Bourguignon sauce.

The fish has been cooked wonderfully

and that sauce... My goodness.

The flavour in your Bourguignon sauce is delicious.

The bacon brings that saltiness, that is very much needed,

cos I find the fish is actually quite bland.

The cep puree has got a lovely texture to it,

but I find it under-seasoned.

These are the finer things that we still need

to fine-tune with you, like when you are using the lardons,

you need to trim the end bits off.

But, in saying that, it is a good eating plate of food, James.

Thank you very much.

What we have here is a fabulously tasting plate of food.

Really good, big flavours.

The red wine sauce is absolutely a delight. It is divine.

I think, though, there is one point I am going to have to stress to you.

You need to start refining your finishing touch. That is the

finishing of the mushrooms, the finishing of the potatoes,

the little hint of seasoning, here and there. We are looking for

very precise finishing touches in ALL the fine details here.

A few little errors on this plate, but it does taste good, though.

Thank you, Chef. Thank you very much.

For dessert, James has served Calvados custard,

with burnt apple puree,

caramelised apple balls,

apple beignet, topped with cinnamon oat crumble.

James, that is the biggest bowl of custard I have ever had.

SHE LAUGHS

Even Gregg would struggle eating that, Jim. Bloody hell!

Actually, I'd like to see him try!

LAUGHTER

The custard itself is very creamy

and I like that you can taste the Calvados through it.

Now, on its own, I find it very rich.

What I do like is when you get a spoonful of the custard with

the cinnamon oat, the burnt apple puree

and then some of that beignet.

It's delicious together.

I just think it's such a big portion.

I really do like the Calvados custard.

The beignet is fantastic.

The fresh apple that is around the dish just brings a little bit

of acid to cut through the richness of the dish itself.

The crumble gives it a really good texture as well.

I have got to say, though, James, you couldn't eat all that, mate.

Gosh, that is one big, rich dessert.

You'd need a bucket of Calvados to drink with it!

You know what, at the end of the day, it's a big portion. So what?

It tastes great.

Fantastic. Thank you so much. Thank you.

I feel absolutely exhausted now.

I have put everything that I could into those two dishes.

'But, if I make it through to the next round,'

then I really need to, sort of, polish my act a little bit, I think.

You should be proud of what you have done today.

We have eaten well.

You have given us a lot to discuss.

Go and take a break. We will see you back here in a while.

Great cooking today by our chefs.

They have all come in here,

great attitude and great focus.

Very, very happy.

And really good to see our chefs stepping up to the mark.

Really enjoyed Arnaud's pigeon dish.

Those beautiful Moroccan spices were just absolutely divine.

The little bits of curd that he had around the plate just mellowed

this dish out beautifully well. A very well accomplished dish

from a chef who has just really come into his own right now.

Dish of the day, for me.

I thought Arnaud's dessert was not so appealing in the presentation,

but, boy, was it delicious.

Very simple, but for me, just so great to eat.

I've enjoyed both these dishes from Arnaud today.

-ARNAUD:

-I'd love to carry on, I really would. I really want it.

But there is nothing else I can do now. This is it.

This is crunch time, so...we'll know shortly.

Ellie's cooking is fabulous at the moment.

She is doing very, very well.

Two great dishes and a great choice of ingredients, also.

The combination of flavours today, the little sweetcorn risotto

with the crab running through it - absolutely divine.

But this dish was crying out for a few little...

More chorizo, more crab and more of that fabulous dressing.

Ellie's dessert - another lovely presented plate of food from her.

Again, very well thought out.

The peach was perfect. It was beautifully cooked.

The Sauternes ice cream was fantastic.

I would have just liked a little bit more peach on the plate.

My concern with Ellie is, she just has so much restraint.

She is worried so much about how perfect it looks,

she sort of forgets about the eating of it and how much

should be on the plate.

-ELLIE:

-For what I've done today,

I think I should be able to get through to the finals.

But it was the hardest round, by far.

James' food today, again,

very delicious.

The halibut main course, with the Bourguignon sauce,

was divine.

I just found it, again, a big portion of food.

The only elements he really needs to work on are just a touch

of refinement and just a little pinch of salt, here and there,

it's not such a bad thing. The pudding was massive.

The flavours were fantastic.

Beautiful autumnal-flavoured dish here. Just too big.

-JAMES:

-I am on the cusp of really, sort of, getting to somewhere that

I never expected to be. I am quietly confident,

but I could be wrong. You know, there is two others in there

that have cooked superbly today as well.

This is a really tough decision.

All three of our chefs today have delivered.

Wow. Not an easy choice.

We can see how much this means to all three of you.

I'm really sorry to have to say that we can only take

two of our best chefs through.

The chef leaving the competition is...

..James.

James, thank you so much. Really, really sorry to lose you.

SIGHING

'Yeah, I'm gutted.'

So close, but yet, so far, as they say.

I think the whole experience

is going to stay with me for a long time.

It has changed me.

I feel like I have evolved.

And I feel like I've learnt a hell of a lot as well.

I've loved every minute of it.

But, hey, that's it. Job is done.

Ellie, Arnaud, you are through to finals week. Congratulations.

-ELLIE:

-I am speechless, to be honest.

I can't believe that I am still the only girl in the competition left

and now I am in the finals week.

-ARNAUD:

-Made it through. Brilliant. Really happy.

Really chuffed. Can't wait till we come back and get stuck in.

-Thank you.

-Well done!

-Congratulations.

Tomorrow night,

the semifinals continue...

..as the second group of three chefs

take on one of the country's most-inspiring kitchens -

Gravetye Manor.

You have got a lot of checks on here. You are doing well.

-Everyone's loving the dory today.

-They will then have to showcase

their own talents, if they want to stay in the competition.

Now is your time to make this count. This is it, gents.