Episode 18 MasterChef: The Professionals

It's the Professional MasterChef semifinals.

This week, the contestants are being sent to cook

with some of the country's most inspirational chefs.

This is the last table with the tacos,

so let's make this one perfect, all right?

So you've got a lot of checks on here, you're doing well.

-Thank you.

-Everyone's loving the Dory today.

Last night, Elly and Arnaud's dishes

secured them places in the finals week.

I think that dish is absolutely knockout.

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

33-year-old Matt from Leeds...

..44-year-old Gary from Glasgow,

and 27-year-old London-based Brenton.

Every time you cook in the MasterChef kitchen,

you have to be at your absolute best.

So you have to risk everything.

I'm in touching distance.

It's like putting your hand down the back of the sofa

and reaching that pound that you can almost touch.

I'm hungry for this now.

I came in with the idea

that I wanted to get through to the semifinals.

I'm here and I'm not ready to go home. I want to win it.

This is the crunch time for our chefs.

They are going to have to do something special

if they're going to stay in the competition.

Our chefs might be nervous,

but I know they're also just as excited

to cook for that place in finals week.

It's early morning...

..and the three chefs are in Sussex.

They're on their way to one of the country's leading restaurants.

Excited about the prospect of doing a service

in a Michelin-star restaurant,

working with a Michelin-star chef.

To walk in and get a chance to do that, it's amazing, isn't it?

-Yeah, absolutely.

-Apprehensive a wee bit.

-Looking forward to it, though.

-Bit nervous.

Been a while since I've done a service.

For the next two days,

the chefs will be working at the exclusive Gravetye Manor.

Rising culinary star George Blogg is in charge of the restaurant here,

and within a year of taking over the kitchen,

he was awarded a Michelin star.

The most important thing about the food

is it reflects the surrounding it's in.

Presentation is very important,

but isn't anywhere near as important as the depth of flavour

and the textures on the plate.

George's fascination with food started in childhood,

but it wasn't until he had graduated with a degree in geology

that he decided to return to his first love and pursue a career.

I've been fortunate to work for some fantastic English chefs,

Phil Howard and David Everitt-Matthias.

They're huge figures within the industry, the levels of refinement,

the intensity of flavour, variations of texture,

and that definitely shapes you as a chef.

George's refined British food capitalises on

Gravetye's exceptional two-acre kitchen garden...

..designed by pioneering Victorian landscape gardener

William Robinson.

So the gardens here are probably the best example

of a kitchen garden in the country.

It's a joy to work with.

It drives the menu, it dictates to me

what should go on,

and that's really, really important to me, as a chef.

This is probably as far removed

from what I do for a living as it could possibly be.

I've never worked in a Michelin-star restaurant before,

so I'm really looking forward to the philosophy behind it,

and how they approach service.

Massive learning curve for me today.

Just listen, learn, watch.

If he asks me to jump, just ask him how high!

I've worked in Michelin-star restaurants before,

but, I mean, every time you walk into a new one, it's nerve-racking.

It's always quite an intense environment.

Feeling a little bit of pressure.

Good morning. Pleased to meet you.

-Pleased to meet you, guys.

-Nice to meet you.

Yeah, welcome to the kitchen.

Today, I've got high expectations of what I need you to do.

The food has to be of a certain quality,

also has to be cooked reasonably quickly.

We've got to get cracking

cos we've got a busy lunch service ahead of us. Let's go.

For today's service,

the semifinalists will each be responsible for one course

that will need to meet George's Michelin-star standards.

To produce the goods from the go

will be a great challenge and, hopefully,

one that they'll relish. I'm really looking forward to it.

Matt is a development chef for an oven company

and hasn't worked restaurant service for four years.

Keeping up with the pace will be his biggest challenge.

So, Matt, you're doing one of the starters today for lunch.

His complex dish is roast quail breast and confit thigh,

crispy quail's egg, radish, baby carrots,

carrot tops, and a carrot puree

with a wasabi mayonnaise and grated wasabi.

The quail dish is a lovely starter.

It has a number of elements.

It's not an easy starter to cook.

So we're looking for a lovely golden brown.

OK.

And on the leg, we're going to brush over some jus.

So this is ready for the oven now.

The quails are slightly different sizes

cos they are farmed locally,

so some might need a little bit more in the oven.

So the first item on the plate is a carrot puree.

Are the dots in any particular order?

No. We plate things up quite naturally here.

-OK.

-We've got a little bit of vinaigrette,

so we're just going to lightly dress the vegetables.

The vegetables have to be arranged beautifully on the plate

before the hot elements are ready. So timing is key.

OVEN-TIMER PLAYS FANFARE

While the quail is resting, we're going to cook the quail's egg.

A little bit of potato starch, put it into some thickened egg...

and then into dehydrated potato starch shavings.

So it's really important that this only is in the fryer for a minute.

-It looks amazing.

-It's a lovely crisp texture.

-Mmm.

So this is the cooking I'm looking for,

slightly pink inside.

And we're finishing it with some carrot tops, some radish cress.

Finally, we've got the grated frozen English wasabi root.

That's the dish ready.

It looks amazing. Just different textures of potatoes,

and lovely quail. And then the carrots and the herbs.

It's just wow. Absolutely blown away.

Today is not going to be easy at all.

There's a lot of tricky elements to it.

-Yeah, yeah.

-But I'm really looking forward to cooking it.

So, Gary, you're responsible for the main course today.

You're going to be serving some John Dory.

Beautiful fish.

College lecturer Gary, like Matt, has never cooked at this level.

His dish is pan-fried John Dory

with courgette three ways,

heritage tomatoes and razor clam,

finished with a razor-clam foam.

So this dish has to be cooked, plated, in five or six minutes.

In the other pan, we're going to sear off the baby courgettes,

and also the heritage tomato.

Everything that goes on the plate needs to be cooked properly.

The fish is the most important thing.

If the fish is overcooked, I can't send it to a customer.

Flip the fish and let it cook through in that foaming butter.

So we are looking for a nice little bit of colour

on the vegetables, like that.

First thing that's going on the plate is the green courgette puree.

-You made that look easy.

-Thanks.

Then we've got the centre of the courgette,

which is baked and crushed.

You need to be swift,

you need to be accurate,

because there are a lot of elements to go on there.

That will be a challenge.

Next one is the razor-clam foam.

This is from all the liquor that's released

while we steam the razor clams.

We don't want to waste any flavour.

And then, finally, some purple basil cress.

And that's the John Dory dish you'll be cooking at lunchtime.

HE LAUGHS

Stunning. Absolutely stunning.

If I can recreate that, I will be one happy man.

It's not every day you get to work in a Michelin-star restaurant.

You know, you've always said to yourself, are you to that standard,

can you do it? Well, today we're going to find out.

Australian-born sous-chef Brenton is in charge of the dessert...

..a caramel fondant with cherry sorbet...

..poached cherries,

and a gel made from the poaching liquor.

It's garnished with marigold leaves, petals, and a caramel sauce.

So the first thing we need to do

is pipe the fondant mix into the moulds.

It's pastry, it's a different skill set

and they're cooking a fondant,

which has the potential to go horribly wrong.

We want the guests to break it open and the middle to ooze out.

So we need to make sure the cooking of it is perfect.

We're going to start with a caramel puree.

This is a fluid gel made with cherry poaching liquor.

We have some poached cherries,

making sure we leave enough space for the sorbet

and also for the fondant.

Some marigold petals.

And also some of the marigold tips.

So this is perfect. We've got a little bit of colour.

We're just going to leave it there for about a minute,

just to cool, so we can take it out more easily.

If it breaks, that's another 11 minutes

before you can serve the next table, which can't happen,

because they're waiting too long.

So the final element is a lovely vibrant cherry sorbet.

Have a taste, tell me what you think.

That's a delicious dish.

The flavour combinations on that I think are fantastic.

-I'm in awe.

-Thank you.

It's his reputation on the line, and I have to make sure that it's right,

otherwise, he's going to give me a kick up the backside

and tell me that it's wrong. I don't want to get embarrassed like that.

I want to make sure I do this right.

Gravetye Manor is a destination restaurant

which draws diners from around the country,

eager to sample George's food.

We're not a shouty, sweary kitchen.

But things will have to be right.

You know, if it's not right, it doesn't leave the kitchen.

First out of the traps. I've got to make sure it's on point.

If it's not right, it stalls the whole service.

So, of course I'm nervous.

So, I'm just practising the puree.

The cooking elements, it's going to come back to my experience,

but this here might be my Achilles heel,

so I'm just going to practise it and try and get it as neat as I can.

So I'm a bit anxious to get in there, really.

I'm going to do it. I'm going to not only make myself proud

but hopefully make George a bit proud.

So, Matt, you're first up. You've got three quail.

Yes, Chef. And, Gary, you've got two John Dory on this order.

Yes, Chef.

With lunch service underway,

Matt begins his first restaurant service in four years.

Every minute detail of his quail cookery must pass George's scrutiny.

So you've got three quail on?

-Yeah.

-So use these three breasts,

because you can see you've broken the skin here.

-Yeah.

-Also with the legs,

just try and make them look as identical as possible.

-OK.

-Similar size and, obviously, the same side of the bird.

Lovely. So brush that one, that's ready to go.

I've cooked a lot of quail,

but never had to focus on the superfine details.

So, Matt, we're looking at five minutes on three quail.

-Five minutes? Lovely.

-Yes, Chef.

We work at a very fast pace,

but we also have to work with a great deal of refinement,

and balancing those two together

can be a struggle sometimes.

Right, so let's get them on the pass quickly, because the quail's ready.

So we've got one more quail away now, Matt.

So hurry up with these three, get them out so we can do the next one.

Yes, Chef.

Let's get the eggs on and the legs on.

The first plates are looking lovely,

but we just need to move a bit faster

because, otherwise, we're going to get a lot on

in a very short space of time and we're not going to be able

-to push them out of the kitchen fast enough.

-Sure.

Lovely. Now shout for service.

-Service.

-Perfect.

-Right, one more quail straight in.

-Yeah.

-Lovely.

It's just so hard keeping up with food

that's this good and trying to have any rhythm,

you know, when it's a bit alien to you.

With Matt's starters sent to the diners,

the spotlight is now on Gary and his complicated main course.

So you're up with two Dory?

-Yes, Chef. We are looking at about four minutes.

-Yeah.

It's just good getting into the service.

Absolutely love it.

Every element of Gary's John Dory dish has to be cooked to order,

leaving no room for error.

You're going to be up in two minutes?

-Yes.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-Lovely.

So this veg is right on the edge, yep.

-Next time, we have to have it a little bit lighter.

-Yes, Chef.

-So let's just start that plate again.

-Yeah.

This was always going to be the tricky bit.

-Do you want me to do the first ones?

-Yeah, just a wee reminder.

We're going on three Dory straight after this,

so you can do the next ones, yep.

These want to be more in the centre of the plate

-so when you put the Dory on, it's also in the centre.

-Yeah.

Those are two lovely-looking John Dory dishes.

-Thanks very much.

-We need three more up straightaway.

Yes, Chef.

First plates I think were good, the fish was good.

Just need to get this puree sorted.

I didn't get that right.

With the starters and mains away, the first order for dessert is in.

So, Brenton, you're up. We've got four fondants on order.

-Yes, Chef. 11 minutes.

-Good job.

As well as piping and cooking each caramel fondant to order...

..he must assemble the rest of the dessert

in the nine minutes it takes the fondant to cook.

So next time, Brenton,

we're just going to go a little bit less caramel sauce, yeah.

Yes, Chef.

We've got four fondants on for the first check,

and another check straight on afterwards,

so you've got two more minutes before the first fondants come out.

Yes, Chef. It's quite crucial that I get all the garnish on the plate

before the fondants are cooked. I've got a small pass here,

so getting everything done,

and mixing and matching, getting all the checks together,

yeah, it might prove challenging,

but for the moment, I'm pretty confident.

Right, lovely, so just in time.

You want to start getting the fondants out now.

So just be very careful, yeah?

You do not want one of these to break now.

-Definitely not.

-So these have got to be perfect rochers, yeah.

So let's get these on the pass.

Send that, yeah. Thank you.

Service, please.

So, one more straightaway, yep.

-Yes, Chef.

-Brenton's first dish is looking good.

As long as he's getting them out, opening them delicately,

putting them on the plate without them exploding,

it's a pretty good job.

The 50-cover restaurant is now full,

and Matt's quail starter is proving popular.

Check on two covers, two bouches followed by two quail.

So, straight after this, Matt, you've got another two quail. Yeah?

Yes, Chef.

With so many orders, Matt can't afford to lose concentration.

So, slightly pink around the leg.

So just flash that in the oven for 20 seconds, I would say.

It's looking good there.

You want to spread the herbs out a little bit more.

-What's missing?

-Ah.

Make sure every ingredient is on the plate, yeah?

Yeah.

Perfect. Right, send it.

-Service, please.

-Table seven, two quail.

Yes, Chef. I think my nervousness is just making...

Cos I'm plating up like this, all bunched over the plate,

and I just need to spread out a little bit.

I learned this dish this morning. So, it's a lot of pressure.

On mains, Gary's John Dory is in high demand.

Three covers, three bouches, followed by two Dory, one pork.

Yeah, so you've got a lot of checks on here, you're doing well, yeah.

-Thank you.

-Everyone's loving the Dory today.

So, two beautifully plated-up, efficient John Dory.

-Take a few breaths.

-This is the worst bit!

Not bad, you just need to be faster.

-Yeah.

-Smooth on, yeah?

So I'm going to change the puree.

We're not going to bother with the swipe,

just do five dots along the plate, yeah?

It's a busy kitchen, it's quite fast-paced,

so we're just changing it slightly.

That's what I'd do if there was another chef

who was struggling with a swipe in a similar circumstance.

So we still need to be a bit more definite

-in where we're placing ingredients here.

-Yes, Chef.

You've got the skill, you just need to be more confident.

I think it's one of those things that you just...

It's just a natural swipe.

But I'm not getting it, so...

I don't think I would've got it.

I'll be practising at home.

Just a gorgeous mix of the fresh heritage tomatoes,

the John Dory, very, very soft and gentle texture.

Magical dish.

With service in full swing,

all three chefs are feeling the pressure of cooking at this level.

Service, pastry!

They're all looking fine, they just need to speed up.

Speed seems to be an issue with all the guys here,

so it's just getting that speed and refinement together.

Yeah, I've now got three checks on, all different timings.

So far, I've sent about 12 fondants.

I haven't had any real negative feedback,

so I'm pretty happy with myself, yeah.

So three minutes until the sorbet needs to go on the plate, yeah?

Yes, Chef.

No. Are you kidding me?

So, yeah, we're going to have to get another one in for that.

With his fondant bursting,

the diners must now wait another 11 minutes for their dessert.

I have no idea how that split open.

It's just... Yeah, that's really disappointing,

I can't believe that happened.

When it comes out of the oven, we just need to make sure it rests

for about a minute. Maybe that was just a bit too soon, pulling it out.

The chefs now have been in service for over three hours,

and Matt has one last chance to deliver his quail starter on time.

So, Matt, you're up with your last check, four quail, yeah?

-Oui, Chef, coming up.

-Five minutes, yes.

-Oui!

-Brilliant.

You can see how precise he is with all his dishes,

and he runs a tight ship,

so it's about mixing speed and precision.

You don't get a Michelin star for doing beans on toast.

-Nice and neat, all looking the same, yeah?

-Oui.

You want to make this perfect.

Oui, chef.

Yeah, that's better, we're going full steam ahead now.

-Service, please.

-Service, please.

-Let's go.

-That was hard work.

It was absolutely delicious.

What tempted me to order it was the concept of the crispy egg,

which I couldn't imagine, and it was absolutely delicious.

-Good job, Matt.

-Thank you, Chef.

-Thank you very much.

-Bit slow at the beginning, but you stepped it up at the end.

-Good.

-Good job, yeah?

-Thank you very much.

-Cheers, thanks for letting me cook in your kitchen.

-No problem.

Service is now drawing to a close.

Last two plates.

I just want to make sure this is the best that I can make it.

Lovely experience working with this type of produce.

You're doing really well so far, Brenton, yeah?

-Thank you.

-Really good desserts. Final push.

It's Gary's last opportunity

to plate up to George's exacting standards.

Try and hold the bottle vertical so you get a nice round dot.

So, every piece of fish you've cooked today has been perfect.

Really good job, Gary, yeah?

Thank you.

So just the basil cress and you can send.

Lovely, so service, table ten, two Dory, one pork.

You look a bit red, it's a bit hot over there.

Just a wee bit! Thanks for having us.

This one's looking good so far,

I'm just nervous about getting it onto the plate OK.

I don't this one to stuff up again.

Perfect, last two desserts going out, looking beautiful.

-Thank you very much.

-Well done, Brenton, good job.

-Service, please! Good job, Brenton.

-Thank you very much.

-Well done.

Thank you for the experience. Thank you.

There was just that one hiccup in the middle. I did move on,

and every single dish that went out since has been fantastic, so...

Yeah, I've been really happy with it.

The cherry sorbet was divine.

It went really well with the fondant.

Absolutely sublime. In fact, it was probably the star of the show,

and I'm not a dessert person, but that blew me away,

it was just amazing.

They've done really well,

a few little minor elements at the beginning,

but, you know, by the end of it, all three of them were smashing it out.

They've all got the passion, the ambition, and they want to do well,

and that's the most important thing.

Really proud of all three of them, happy to have them in my kitchen.

Considering I've not done a service for four years,

I think I put a good shift in in the end. I think he was happy.

It was hard, though. Just hard to try and get the speed and the timing

and the plating. There's so much to go into it,

so you've got to take your hat off to these guys.

It was a good service. Busy, hot, but very much enjoyable.

It's given us quite a lift, and given us a little think about

what I'm going to do in the next challenge.

It's day two in Sussex,

and Brenton, Matt and Gary have one more chance to impress George.

His entire food philosophy

is closely linked to the bountiful Victorian kitchen garden.

So the reason you're here in the garden today

is to cook one of my dishes

that represents Gravetye the most, and that dish, for me,

is the garden salad.

All of the elements that go on to that plate

come from this kitchen garden, so it's an ever-changing concept.

It's just whatever is being brought down to the kitchen,

and we put it together on the plate and serve it to the guests.

The challenge is all about understanding each component

to the dish, and using some simple process to bring the best out of it

to improve their textural variation,

the acidity or sweetness that really brings that dish to life.

So the dish is a confit egg yolk with root vegetables

that might be caramelised, charred, roasted.

And then, as you move up through the salad, you add your delicate leaves,

you add the cresses, you add the flowers.

Its seasonality is dictated by what's being grown.

The semifinalists must now create their own version

of George's signature dish,

using some of the 500 varieties of fruits, vegetables,

herbs and flowers found in the two-acre garden.

-That's epic.

-Very creamy, innit?

-Mmm.

-Really creamy, yeah.

I'm just picking things, and I'm getting a wee bit more confident with it,

and everything's just absolutely bursting with flavour.

Straight out of the ground, yeah, yeah, amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Yeah, if you had a garden like this,

you don't have to worry or think about what is in season.

You know what's in season just by walking out your doorstep.

This is not a concept I'm familiar with, this is new,

picking all the food and then taking it straight to the kitchen

just 200 feet away, which is incredible.

Cooking for George is quite daunting, to be honest.

I mean, these experiences just don't happen to college lecturers.

Although we only had a short amount of time with him,

you pick up some little things.

Hopefully what I deliver to him he'll be happy with.

George is a fantastic chef, so I have to impress him, really.

I have to show him that I can make

something really nice out of what I've got.

So it's a real challenge,

because it's something that they will probably be unfamiliar with.

I'm going to give the chefs the flexibility

to cook those ingredients in the best way they think possible

and serve them on the dish so when you look at it, it's a joy,

and when you eat it, it's a joy as well.

Each of the elements in their own right look amazing, so...

hopefully I can put them together and they still look like that.

The main thing is, is to try and make it look as natural as possible.

It's got to look almost as if it's just been picked.

There's a couple of raw elements here, there's a couple of cooked,

some crispy deep-frieds.

We've got the really vibrant carrot puree.

It's knowing when to stop, I think.

No, looking good, quite happy with it.

Gary's interpretation of the garden salad

includes pan-roasted cauliflower,

deep-fried fennel fronds, and nasturtium leaves.

It looks quite different to the one I did,

but there's flexibility within this,

it's about you as a chef

and what do you think the garden should represent to you.

-Nice plate of food.

-Thank you.

Everything's very well seasoned, very well cooked.

The cauliflower is delicious, the caramelisation on that.

-There's a bit too much carrot puree on.

-Yeah.

I think that can overpower the other vegetables.

I would like to have seen a few more of the delicate herbs.

-Yeah.

-And some of the flowers.

But, no, it's a really lovely plate of food,

and I'm going to finish it off now.

He finished it off, which is the biggest compliment a chef can get.

A couple of pointers on maybe some of the little more delicate touches

might have helped it along, but all in all,

I think it was, er... It was some good feedback.

I'm pan-roasting some onions, I'm blanching some carrots,

pickling the beetroots and the fennel.

I'm going to deep-fry some kale and some sage.

There's lots of different flavours,

different sort of textures in there, which is what I'm going to go for.

The food that we did the other day, it was dotted,

so I'm just going to go on how I...

I don't know, I'm not even thinking, I'm just doing it.

Before I came here two days ago,

I wouldn't have thought of doing anything like this.

Hopefully that looks nice enough to present to a one-star Michelin chef.

Matt's version of George's salad has roast kohlrabi,

crispy fried sage leaf, and pickled candied beetroot.

Looks lovely, the textures on the plate look great.

Fantastic, looking forward to tasting it.

You've got a great cross-section of all the vegetables.

The crispy sage leaf, I thought, might have been quite strong,

cos sage is such a strong herb,

but it's actually very delicate like that.

The onions were nice and soft, maybe a little bit large.

But I think you've done a great job.

It looks like summer on a plate, very good job.

It's been an absolute privilege to cook in your kitchen,

and I really like the way that you plate the food, it's quite natural,

and that's what I tried to do on there.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

HE SIGHS

I think he was happy, he had a smile on his face,

and there was a few oohs and aahs while he was eating,

so I was happy with that.

I don't think George likes food to be too complicated.

He likes just to be really making sure

that the food is speaking for itself.

I'm doing a bit of roasting,

a bit of pickling, a bit of fresh vegetables.

Just a number of different things

to really help accentuate flavours on the plate.

I've just tried to put it in a way that I liked it,

take some influences from the dishes that we saw yesterday.

You know, he's a Michelin star chef, so,

er, I can...I only try to impress.

Brenton's take on the garden salad includes pickled carrot ribbons,

borage flowers, and garden peas in a puree, presented in the pod.

I think the dish looks fantastic, lots of colours, lots of textures.

It all looks delicious.

The vegetables are seasoned very well.

I think there could be more seasoning on the yolk in the centre.

The pea puree and the pea is lovely, especially with the marigold tops.

It's too large for a starter, but everything is prepared very well,

and everything tastes lovely.

Thank you very much, that's very kind of you to say.

That was a lot tougher than I thought, that challenge.

Unfortunately, there was too much on the plate,

but the chef had nice things to say about it,

apart from the portion size.

It's been incredible, brilliant experience, having those guys here.

The passion and enthusiasm all of them have is fantastic.

Having them in the kitchen garden picking the food

and being part of the team,

they've really understood what we're all about.

Very proud of them.

You can't come to a place like this and not be inspired,

especially with the ethos.

It's been great.

This is an experience that I'll remember for a long time.

These last two days have been a fantastic experience.

Really learnt about fresh produce - straight from the garden,

into the kitchen and onto the customer's plate.

It changes the game, really.

Really in awe over this whole experience.

Definitely proud of what I've achieved.

Coming into a Michelin-star kitchen, during a busy service,

and getting some of the feedback and some of the praise has been amazing.

You know, it really gives you a big lift.

Our chefs are back.

And I hope they feel revitalised and have been able to take

some of that creativity that George has within his kitchen and

apply it into their own cooking.

This is it.

At the end of today, one of them's going home.

I can't wait to see what our chefs can cook today.

It's a difficult challenge, to go up against Matt and Gary.

There's no denying that they WILL put out fantastic food.

I just need to make sure that mine's better.

We're at the business end of the competition now,

so that makes me really want it.

I'm excited to get in there and cook.

It's probably the most nervous I've ever felt.

I'm up against two exceptional chefs

and I'm going to have to be at the top of my game to get through it.

Today, you are cooking for Marcus and I two of your best dishes.

The two dishes are going to show if you are good enough to be

our MasterChef finalists.

One hour, 45 minutes.

Off you go.

It's hard that one of us has got to go today, but it's a competition.

My menu again is quite simple.

There's a few technical elements in there.

I've just got to make sure my timings are on point

and I give myself enough time to plate

and think about what I'm going to do.

-How are you, Matt?

-Yeah, a bit nervous today, Chef.

That's normal, there's a lot to fight for.

Yeah, there is today, definitely.

How did you find working at Gravetye Manor with George?

Oh, it's brilliant. What an amazing chef.

I've got a buzz back for food. It was good, really good,

-really enjoyed it.

-Tell us about your plates of food today.

OK, so, for main, I'm doing bavette steak with trompette mushrooms.

I'm doing a fondant potato and a scallop.

I'm going to sort of melt some jamon iberico over the top of it,

so it's like a bit of a take on a surf and turf, if you like.

Dessert is a lemon tart

with an Italian meringue on top,

and then I'm making a fromage frais and vanilla sorbet.

Pastry's not my strong point.

I've always struggled with pastry, so...

I love lemon tart. I'm sure...

-I'm sure you do.

-Yeah.

-Especially where you and I have worked.

Well, another famous chef from my home town is Marco,

and he said any chef worth his salt has a lemon tart on the menu.

Now I've said that, I hope I can do it justice.

HE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY

I really do like the sound of Matt's menu.

The bavette steak needs cooking, but it also needs resting as well.

The twist here is putting the scallop with the ham on top.

Scallop cookery is last minute.

I think Matt needs to be very careful with his timings here.

But with the right presentation, this dish could be outstanding.

The dessert, a lemon tart, the skills need to be there,

both in the cooking of the pastry and the filling.

It needs to set like a custard, and has a beautiful glossy shine to it.

Wow. Matt, for someone who's not confident in dessert,

is taking one of the king of desserts

and putting it on his menu today.

Chefs, 40 minutes gone.

Time flies! 40 minutes gone.

As you go forward in the competition,

you do have too really stretch yourself

and I think today's menu is risky.

I don't think I would've attempted

a number of elements at the start of the competition.

Definitely pushing myself today.

-Gary, how are you doing?

-Brilliant, yeah.

Really happy to be here.

Loads and loads and loads to do.

Think there's about 15 different actual recipes I have to get done.

-That's surprising for Gary(!)

-Yeah.

HE LAUGHS

Erm, so we're doing roast lamb, a herb crumb over the top of that.

Braised neck, Anna potatoes, roasted roots.

We've got a pear chutney with that as well,

just to help cut through the dish.

Dessert is a wild strawberry sorbet, which is then wrapped in chocolate.

So it's almost like a little ice lolly.

It's going with honeycomb strawberry tuille, and chocolate sauce.

Gary, has there been any inspiration from George's kitchen?

Yes, there's been absolutely loads.

I think just the whole style of what they do.

We're all taught to treat the lamb, the pork, the chicken

with total respect. Very rarely do we get to see fennel coming out the

-ground and baby carrots coming out the ground.

-Very true.

They're due the exact same respect, and that's what I got.

You know, amazing.

Gary's cooking a loin of lamb.

That herb crust has got to be lovely and green.

It needs to hold together. The lamb needs to be cooked wonderfully

and rested in time.

The braised neck needs to be just falling apart.

A lot of work to do within the short time allowed.

I'm quite intrigued by Gary's dessert.

The key here is making sure that he gets this sorbet beautifully frozen.

The thickness of the chocolate around the outside

has to be correct, and that's all down to the temperature.

There's a lot of skill in this dessert,

and Gary has to stay focused

and get all of his recipes working to perfection.

Chefs, you are now halfway.

Just 40 minutes remaining.

I definitely feel like today is make or break.

I feel so close, I feel like it's at my fingertips.

If I get these two dishes right,

Monica and Marcus are going to be mind-blown as far as flavour goes.

-How are you, Brenton?

-I'm definitely feeling the pressure today. Oh...

-More than normal?

-A lot more than normal.

This is make or break time, I think.

Tell us about your two dishes.

So for my main course, I'm doing a fillet of hake,

served with linguine and pesto trapanese,

which is a pesto made out of tomato, almonds and basil,

burnt sweetcorn and some datterini tomatoes, and some clams.

And then dessert is a yuzu posset,

served with a little thing from back home in Australia, a lamington,

it's a sponge cake, having a blueberry jam through it,

blueberry glaze, and then tossed in shredded coconut.

Brenton, you look incredibly tense.

Is this because it is a place in the finals week?

Now I'm here, I want to keep going to the end.

The biggest thing is, I love these two guys.

I don't want to see them go either.

For me, this is what the final three should be,

-but unfortunately...

-THEY LAUGH

..we can't have that, so...

What I love about Brenton's menu today,

it's a combination of different flavours that I've never had before.

Roasted hake, quite meaty, fabulous fish to cook.

Linguine may look simple, but it's a very skilful thing to get right.

Great flavours, great ideas.

This is a dish of balance, fine cookery and great execution.

For dessert, Brenton is making us a yuzu posset.

It's got to be set wonderfully.

You want to be able to taste the cream and that yuzu lime.

The lamington, the sponge has got to be light.

I like the sounds of Brenton's menu,

though he does seem to feel the pressure in this kitchen today.

Chefs, you have just 15 minutes left.

Now's your time to make this count.

Your two best dishes for that place in the finals week.

This is it, gents.

Gary, are you going to make it on time?

Yeah, I'm going to do it, yeah.

That's it. Time is up.

Step back from your benches, guys.

HE EXHALES

For a place in finals week, Matt has cooked bavette steak...

..with lyonnaise onions,

trompette mushrooms,

grilled asparagus, and fondant potato.

Topped with a scallop and charred iberico ham,

it's finished with a red wine sauce.

Matt, I think the presentation of your two dishes

-is very clean and very crisp. It looks good.

-Thank you.

The bavette steak is cooked perfectly,

it's how I would have it.

The red wine sauce has got a lovely body and texture to it.

You can see a nice shine to it

when you poured it onto your plate of food.

You've always given us a great sauce, Matt,

-and this, no doubt, is another one.

-Thank you.

There's one thing on this plate

that I don't think really needs to be with this dish,

and that's the scallop, at all.

Cos it's lost in the flavours of the other ingredients,

the big sauce that you've got, the flavoursome meat.

The dish works in harmony.

Every element of this plate is very, very well executed.

For dessert, Matt has made a lemon tart with Italian meringue

served with a fromage frais sorbet and raspberries.

This is how, for me, it should be served -

quite simply as it is. It's all in the eating.

It's not quite there.

Eating this...

is like eating a lemon meringue pie.

-Mmm.

-I think there's a heaviness about it,

there's too much egg in it.

And what's quite clear to see here is the pastry

isn't quite cooked enough.

But, having said that,

it is still a very refreshing, lovely dessert to eat

that actually complements your beef so well.

You know, they really do work together.

I think your tart has got

beautiful flavour of the lemon.

With your fromage frais sorbet, it's a match made in heaven.

However, Marcus and I have made many a lemon tart.

Yes, the pastry's not quite cooked enough.

I like it, but it's not my best lemon tart that I've had.

Yeah.

Just a couple of the things that I bit off were probably

a little bit more than I could chew, to be honest.

Ah, it is what it is.

Next, it's Brenton.

He's serving pan-roasted hake fillet on linguine,

with a pesto trapanese,

accompanied by girolles,

charred sweetcorn,

pickled datterini tomatoes, and clams.

It's finished with basil oil.

The linguine has been really well made.

It's just perfectly cooked,

and, for me, it's my favourite thing on this plate,

with that pesto sauce going through it.

You've marinated those tomatoes,

so there's an unexpected burst of flavour

with the garlic coming through it.

It's a lovely and light dish.

I just think...you made other elements on here, like that pesto,

maybe a bit more of that around the plate,

the girolles as well, to sort of lift it.

But I think it's a good plate.

Without a doubt, Brenton,

the combination of ingredients work beautifully well together.

The hake, pasta,

the sweet and sour flavour of the tomatoes and the sweetcorn...

I just feel, for this stage of the competition,

you've very much kept it very safe and a little bit even keeled for me.

Brenton's dessert is a yuzu posset with blueberry compote,

coconut foam, and an almond and coconut crumb

served with a lamington,

a sponge cake coated in blueberry jam and coconut.

I think the dessert looks like great fun.

Beautifully presented in that glass.

I can't wait to try that Aussie cake.

I love the flavours of the yuzu.

That with the coconut foam, the textures of the biscuit as well.

Your cake, the lamington, I like that texture that you get

from the desiccated coconut on there.

It's very sweet, it's very indulgent.

I think Gregg could eat all of that, though. I can't.

The lamington brings a bit of fun to it.

I like the fact you've brought something from back home

onto this dish - I think it's a really great idea.

I'm just not liking this wet posset.

I want to be able to go through it and not find a liquid underneath.

Feeling a bit flat.

Yeah, I'm definitely not filled with joy right now.

I just hope that they liked it enough to send me through.

Finally, it's Gary.

His main course is loin of lamb with a brioche herb crust

and panko-coated braised lamb neck,

with roasted celeriac,

carrots, peas,

pommes Anna, and a pear chutney,

finished with a lamb jus.

Beautiful vibrant colour of green,

and the sauce, the shine looks amazing.

Everything on this plate I like, apart from one thing,

that I'm really asking myself, "Why is it there?"

and that's the chutney.

It's quite bitter, it's almost over-stewed slightly

and really doesn't have a place on this plate.

The rest I really do like.

The fact that the carrots and the celeriac, I can taste them,

you've left them without any messing around.

Love the little peas on the plate, the sauce is big and bold.

For me, this dish is delicious...

without the chutney.

Your pommes Anna has been cooked wonderfully, it's nicely seasoned.

Now, I do find that the lamb,

both of them, are very under seasoned

and I think when you've got a beautiful crumb like that,

especially when you use brioche,

if you just finish it in the grill or in the oven,

that it brings that butter out of the bread that you're using,

and it's missing that.

I appreciate the skill you've taken to make this plate of food.

It's just a bit hit and miss for me.

For dessert, Gary is serving

white chocolate-coated strawberry sorbet,

with a honeycomb tuile,

chocolate sauce, redcurrants and strawberries,

finished with a puff candy powder and basil cress.

The dessert is interesting.

It's like we're missing half a plate.

This is the type of dessert that you could have left

little chocolate spheres on the sticks and had a bit of fun.

It was almost served with the sticks.

-That's only cos you couldn't get them off.

-Couldn't get them off!

The berries bring a freshness to the plate,

the ice cream is crunchy,

and inside you've got that lovely sorbet running through.

The little basil just adds a touch of earthiness,

a great complement towards the strawberries as well.

This is another good dessert from you.

The sorbet is well made, and also the chocolate sauce.

Personally, I would have more chocolate sauce

and more crumb on there, cos it's just a lot of sorbet.

In saying that, it is a good-tasting dessert.

I plated my sweet on half a plate, and I know Marcus hates it,

but the things you do under pressure in that kitchen,

it just goes to show.

I am never plating half a plate of food in my life, ever,

regardless of what happens today. Ever!

Chefs, thank you very much.

There's some tension in this kitchen today.

Well done. Well done, all of you.

We can only take the best chefs through.

Marcus and I have a lot to discuss. See you back here soon.

We have three chefs which have given it their all

and given us a great battle.

I have no idea which chef I want to send home.

If there's one thing that Matt can deliver, it's great-tasting food.

He did produce two fabulous plates. I thoroughly enjoyed them.

The beef, for me, was perfectly cooked how I would like it.

That was a lovely red wine sauce to finish the dish.

The scallop, though nicely cooked,

I don't think had any place on that plate of food.

Matt's lemon tart just looked so simple.

When you're brave enough to serve something that looks so simple,

you've got to get it right on every point.

This dish could have been taken just a little bit further

by the pastry being cooked better.

It had to be a little bit lighter and a little bit more refined.

Gary really pushed himself today

and, again, brought a lot of skill into his cookery.

He sets the bar very high for himself, Gary.

I felt there was a level of classical cookery

in Gary's food today. I like the freshness of the ingredients.

The pear chutney on the dish, for me, was the one point of

this dish that didn't need to be there.

I thought Gary was quite clever,

bringing a fun element to his dessert.

The dessert hit it just right for me.

I loved the sorbet. It had a zing to it.

I just wish that Gary would have just focused a little bit more

on his presentation.

Brenton - his main course was delicious, wonderful flavours.

The fish was well cooked, and I really enjoyed the pesto.

But I thought there needed to be more around the plate.

He's a very good cook and he knows how to use ingredients.

I just felt he was playing it a little bit too safe today.

Brenton's dessert had lovely flavour combinations.

That beautiful little Aussie cake on the side.

I just felt the yuzu posset just let him down today.

Marcus, we have three chefs here

who are all on a very even, very level playing field.

Question is, who do we want to take through?

Who can we see in the finals?

To go home today, I would be absolutely gutted.

This is probably the worst moment ever to go - ever.

Maybe I didn't have enough technical elements,

and that might be my downfall.

I want to keep going. Not ready to go.

I don't think it's going to be enough today.

There's two other fantastic cooks in there.

I want to stay in, but I think the small mistakes will cost me.

You should all be incredibly proud of what you've achieved

so far in this competition.

We can only take two of you through to finals week.

The chef leaving us is...

..Brenton.

Thank you very much for everything.

Thank you for a fabulous competition.

-It's been great.

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you.

Definitely didn't want to be leaving today.

I know I'm feeling a bit down right now,

but I know that when I look back on it,

I'm going to remember a good time. It's been a fantastic experience.

Really, really tough for Brenton today,

you know? Cos I think any one of us could have been going home today.

The dream continues!

I need to start thinking about the possibility of going all the way.

It was obviously enough, just, by the skin of my teeth.

I'm just chuffed. I'm chuffed to bits. Really am.

-Well done.

-Thank you very much.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Next week, Matt and Gary

join Elly and Arnaud

in the Professional MasterChef finals,

and the fight for the title is on.

They will have to cook for some of the country's greatest chefs...

I'd be nervous if I was cooking for these people.

That was a banging dish.

..and survive in one of the world's most groundbreaking restaurants.

I expect them to give everything,

like we do every single day.

Only one of them can be crowned

Professional MasterChef Champion 2016.