Friday Final 4 Yes Chef

This week, four Michelin-starred chefs

selected their perfect partners from some exceptional home cooks.

Today, those four teams compete, but only one can win.

For the home cooks, it's a chance to prove themselves to their mentors.

Oh, not all at once!

For the professionals, their reputations are on the line...

This is intense.

..as they will ultimately be judged

by triple Michelin-starred chef Pierre Koffmann.

For me, there is only two types of cooking -

bad cooking and good cooking.

Just one minute left.

Four chefs...

four home cooks...

but only one team can win.

This is Yes Chef.

Hello and welcome to Yes Chef.

It's the Friday final,

and our four pro-am teams are back in the kitchen,

ready to go head-to-head.

So let's meet them.

On Monday, Nigel Haworth of Northcote Manor

chose Charlotte Davies,

a contract scheduler, as his team-mate.

The person to go through is...

Charlotte.

-Well done.

-Well done, Charlotte.

-Thanks.

Yeah, we're very confident.

We're really going to go out there and give our best and enjoy it.

I think we'll work really well together as a team,

so I'm not that worried because I've got him!

Atul Kochhar of Benares in London

picked model Chris Baber on Tuesday.

Ah! This, you've done such a good justice to the potatoes.

-I have to say that.

-When I found out it was you,

I thought, the pressure is now on, cooking curry!

You're sort of one of my heroes.

But the fact that you like that means so much to me.

I can't believe it.

I'm just really looking forward to it, and, yeah, bring it on.

-There's only one game plan.

-Yeah, we want to win.

-We're going to win.

-We're going to win.

-Yeah!

Wednesday saw Ryan Simpson of Orwell's

choose company director Simon Howatson.

So, when you come on Friday, make sure you keep focused

-and most of all, enjoy it.

-Yes, Chef.

We're going for taste and flavour, and just cooking from the heart.

Yeah.

Just making it look very appetising on the plate, very welcoming.

And yesterday Mary Ann Gilchrist of the Carlton Riverside

chose photographer Brendan MacNeill as her partner.

All right, you win.

Hey!

It's delicious.

My game plan is I tell him what to do and he gets on and does it.

Yeah. I have every confidence in Mary Ann

-to demo and then leave me to... get on with it.

-Get on with it.

So, this is it.

We're down to the final.

Four amazing chefs,

four talented home cooks, but only one winning team.

This is round one - Recreate the Recipe.

For this challenge,

our professional chefs have given their partners a masterclass

in how to deliver an exceptional dish.

Let's see how they got on.

The home cooks had just one hour to complete their masterclass

before their chefs will leave them completely alone

to recreate the exact same dish.

So, you bring to the boil, then you allow it to simmer

for approximately three minutes.

This is the technical part.

-That's important. You're burning off the alcohol, there.

-Yeah.

Each chef has chosen a demanding recipe for their home cook

in an attempt to showcase their skills and win the round.

Yeah, that's what you need. Very important.

On the Red Team, home cook Brendan

will be attempting chef Mary Ann's dish

of scallops and fresh crab lasagne, with a rich lobster veloute.

Tell you what, you could get drunk on the smell.

The key to this dish is perfect pasta...

Now you see, that's really gone beautiful now.

..and a well seasoned and balanced sauce.

-Whoa!

-So, you set light to it. Why are you setting light to it?

-Come on!

-I don't know. Come on.

-Erm...

-Tell me.

-Well, you're burning off the alcohol.

Exactly!

Next, to chef Ryan and his home cook, Simon, on the Blue Team.

Simon will be making spider steak with lobster, fennel,

shiitake mushrooms purple potatoes and sea herbs,

accompanied with a soy dressing.

Ryan is a perfectionist when it comes to presentation,

so paying attention to detail when plating up is key.

Less is more sometimes,

so, if you feel as though you have got too much lobster,

don't go mad with it.

-OK. Just use the best pieces, yeah?

-Yeah.

On the Green Team, chef Nigel and his partner, Charlotte,

will be making Nigel's dish of pig's cheeks,

dock pudding and roasted fennel in a liquorice sauce.

You could deem this to be a bit tricky, but it's not, really.

For this dish, the pig's cheeks must be carefully cooked

to ensure they are tender and succulent.

-OK.

-Yeah.

-We've got the pork in.

The pork went in at half past.

-OK.

-So we're going to leave it as long as is humanly possible, OK?

And, finally, on the Yellow Team,

home cook Chris will attempt to make

chef Atul's tandoori style chicken,

served with a salad of almonds, heritage carrots and a yoghurt.

Look at me. This is a very important part.

-All right.

-You cut in two.

-Not piercing it on this side.

-Yeah.

Run the knife along there.

The correct blend of spices is crucial to the success of this dish.

This is the main thing for you.

-Yeah.

-You cannot make a mistake on this one.

-Yeah, yeah.

The chicken must be well marinated

and cooked on its back, not the breast.

-Get on with it, mate.

-Will do.

So, our cooks will have just one hour

to recreate their professional chef's dish.

They'll have to do it completely on their own,

whilst their mentors watch from the green room.

Chefs, you do have a lifeline.

If you see your partner heading for disaster, you can step in,

but for just two minutes.

Other than that, cooks, you're on your own.

So, chefs, please, can you leave the kitchen?

-OK. Off we go.

-Best of luck.

-Good luck. Do well.

-Will do.

So, our chefs take a seat backstage.

The cooks are on their own, and the pressure is on.

Can they recreate the incredibly high standards

of Michelin-starred food, all under the watchful eye of their chefs?

They'll be checking the home cooks' every move

to see if they're following their instructions to the letter.

Oh, not all at once!

On the Red Team, Mary Ann's partner Brendan

is already struggling with his pasta.

It's not mixing as well as it should.

I don't know why, that mixture looks awfully dry.

And it's getting warm.

I don't know whether he forgot to put the oil in, or what.

The amount of blending I've done in the blender

has started to cook the egg.

Which is a no-no.

On the Yellow Team, Atul's tandoori chicken

needs as much time as possible to marinade in the spices,

so Chris needs to work quickly if it's to be a success.

You don't need the skin. Get rid of it.

Throw it.

Come on, don't mess about. Attend to your garlic.

I'm really worried that he may not cook it properly,

so I just want him to marinade it,

because that's the essential part of the whole recipe.

I've just put the chicken in the oven.

I'm going to start the timer on that.

It's essential that I get my chicken absolutely perfect.

So I really need to keep an eye on the time.

Just going to check my carrots and start with my dressing now.

On the Green Team, the pressure's on for Nigel's partner, Charlotte,

and it's full steam ahead.

Was I not meant to do that?

That's what you should do, what she has done.

For the pig cheeks to be tender,

it's essential that Charlotte cooks them for long enough,

so timing is key.

Charlotte, get your pigs' cheeks in!

Still a bit to do, but...

I'm on schedule.

She needs to get that pan on the stove.

On the Blue Team, Ryan's partner Simon

has a lot of elements to juggle

and working with just two hobs is posing a few problems.

I'm just waiting for those to finish

and then I can put the beef in the pan.

I'm waiting for my potatoes to finish

so I've got another ring, so I can start my beef.

Come on. Don't vanish.

Come show me what you're doing.

With the pressure of making Atul's marinade,

Chris has forgotten a vital cooking tip.

He's kept the chicken on the breast

when it should be resting on its back,

to be honest, while cooking.

That's a very fatal mistake.

The chicken will not cook.

I need to take my two minutes out now.

So, Atul's the first chef to take his two minutes

and go in to rescue Chris's chicken for the Yellow Team.

Chris, you've got your chicken upside down.

Ooh! You've got two minutes.

-The chicken needs to rest...

-Right.

-on its back.

And you forgot the oil, also, in the marinade.

-Right.

-That needs to go in.

-OK.

-Get going, get going.

-Yeah.

The heat's been turned up in the kitchen.

-It has.

-It certainly has!

Brendan, that's enough!

Meanwhile, for the Reds,

having successfully rescued his pasta,

Brendan wants to transfer his ingredients into a new pan

which is concerning partner Mary Ann.

Can I get another pan?

I'm not sure what... I'm going to have to go through

and find out what the hell he's done. Sorry. Got to.

For some reason or other he's changing pans,

and I don't understand why.

Unable to see exactly what her partner is doing,

Mary Ann has no choice but to use her two minutes

to go in and check on Brendan's dish.

-What happened, sweetheart?

-It was...

-Two minutes starts now.

It was just catching. It was just starting to burn.

Right. You want to heat up. Top end.

-Brandy.

-Brandy's just about to go in there.

-Yeah.

Did you remember your mace in your scallop mousse?

-No.

-I did worry about that a bit.

Two teaspoons. Get that in.

Get them in. You'll do that on your own.

-Don't forget the mint in there.

-Yes.

-I think you're on the right path.

-Cool.

-Go, go.

-Time is up.

-Good luck.

-Out you go.

-That just needs a minute, doesn't it?

That's it.

So, Chris is back on track,

and over on the Blue Team things are ticking along nicely

for Ryan's partner, Simon.

Just following my instructions and ticking off my list.

Don't forget your spinach.

Nigel's worried his home cook, Charlotte,

has forgotten a key ingredient,

so he uses his two minutes to go in and get her spinach on.

I need to go, I need to go.

-Spinach.

-Oh, yeah, of course.

-You're bang on track, just get your spinach in.

-Yeah.

-OK? So get that in.

-OK, I'll do that now. Some hot water.

Do you want to...?

I'll get your bacon in.

-Did you only put one tomato in?

-Oh...

-Hello, mate. How are you getting on?

-Good, thank you.

How... What...? Ryan hasn't been in yet,

so you must be doing something right!

No, I reckon he's saving it to save it at the end.

So everything's going according to plan?

Well, my plan. I don't know whether it's his plan!

-We'll see.

-So do you think Ryan wants to come in and plate up?

-Well, he might not want to come at all.

-Oh!

-I don't know about that.

-I like your style.

-We'll see.

-OK, I'll let you carry on.

-OK, thank you.

Come on, turn your heat up.

-It is up.

-No, it's not.

No, 14 is top.

-You need that to reduce your brandy down.

-Yeah.

-OK.

-Lovely.

And don't forget your tomato puree.

-Right, Mary Ann.

-Yes?

-Time is up.

-Leave the kitchen again, I'm afraid.

-Yes.

Carry on, Brendan. You're doing fine.

No worries. Thank you.

Cooks, you have just ten minutes left.

Come on. Have you got a timer on that?

Yes, I've got a timer on this.

Nigel, time's up. Out of the kitchen.

-All right. Keep doing it.

-Cheers.

Come on, you. Get out. THEY LAUGH

Having watched Simon cook confidently all the way through,

Chef Ryan wants to ensure the results are perfectly presented

so goes in during the last few minutes.

I've got to go in now to make sure it's all good.

OK?

-Right, how are we getting on?

-All right, Chef.

-All good?

-Yeah.

-It's looking good back there.

-Right, two minutes.

-Fantastic.

You want to start thinking about getting your plate out.

Get it all together. It's all looking good.

-You've got your potatoes in.

-Just put them in, Chef.

-Beef cooked nice?

-I think so, yeah.

-Yeah, perfect.

Don't...

Try to use the centre, because it's slightly overcooked, OK?

Only use your centre bit.

Don't forget your lime in your lobster.

-That's essential, OK?

-OK.

Beautiful. Absolutely stunning.

-Hi, Charlotte.

-Hi.

-How are we getting on?

-Good.

Getting there. Yeah...

I think I'm on track.

It's hard to tell, really, because I've never cooked it before -

it's hard to tell if I'm ahead, on time, behind.

Nigel seemed pretty cool when he came in.

Did it throw you a bit when he came in?

I was like, "Oh, no! What have I done?"

-No, he was happy with everything I was doing...

-Oh, good.

So, that calmed me a bit.

-Good.

-Thank you. Cheers.

Go on, Charlotte.

Go on.

Only use one.

-Only use one.

-One big one, cut into three, on three pieces of beef.

-OK.

-Right, see you later.

-Cheers, Chef.

-Out you go.

Thank you.

One minute to go.

What are you doing?!

Take it out. Perfect.

Right, get rid of your pan.

If I bit my nails they'd be down to the quick by now.

Stop wiping the plate!

Ten, nine, eight,

seven, six, five,

four, three, two, one.

That's it. Stop cooking.

Step away from your plates.

Well done.

Well done.

First to be judged is the Red Team.

Mary Ann's dish is a scallop and fresh crab lasagne

with a rich lobster veloute.

This is Brendan's version - but will it impress the other chefs?

-Very nice, Brendan.

-That looks lovely.

It looks like an exact replica.

-It does.

-OK. Go in.

It's really nice. Very, very creamy.

If I was to give any kind of critique,

possibly a bit more acidity and possibly a bit more salt for me.

Very good. It would go well with a nice piece of bread.

-ATUL:

-Nice crusty bread.

-Yeah, it would.

Yes, I agree.

The mousse is lovely. I'd say a little bit more seasoning.

I get a little hint of the... of acidity of the wrong sort.

The sauce perhaps needed the wine reducing down a little bit more.

But it's very rich, it's very moreish, very yummy, very good.

Thank you.

-ATUL:

-I thought all the elements of that plate were just amazing,

to be honest. I loved the mousse.

The lobster has been cooked perfectly.

The sauce tastes really delicious.

Some lovely comments there.

Are you proud of him, Mary Ann?

-Of course I'm proud of him!

-Yeah.

Next is the Blue Team of Ryan and Simon.

Ryan's dish is spider steak and lobster with fennel,

shiitake mushrooms and sea herbs,

accompanied with purple potatoes and a soya dressing.

But how will Simon's version fare with the other chefs?

-Tuck in, guys.

-Fantastic presentation.

It's beautiful.

Tuck in... Can I bring it a little bit closer?

Really can't find any fault with it, because it is what it is -

apart from, perhaps, I'd like a little bit more sauce.

But I do love the soya coming through there

and how it works with the lobster and the meat. It's great.

-ATUL:

-The flavours from the sea to grass.

It's just amazing.

Beautiful transformation.

Beautifully cooked beef.

Congratulations. Really, really good.

I think it's visually stunning.

The flavours all work together incredibly well.

That is perfection on a plate.

-Wow! Simon, well done.

-Thank you very much.

Time for Nigel and Charlotte on the Green Team.

Nigel chose a dish of pig cheeks with dock pudding and roasted fennel

in a liquorice sauce.

This is Charlotte's version - but will it meet Nigel's high standards?

I want to try the sauce first.

I'm interested in this pudding, actually.

This is my kind of thing.

-I love this sort of stuff.

-Oh, yeah.

This sauce is beautiful.

-Did you enjoy cooking?

-Yeah.

-Oh, God, it's delicious!

It was so good.

Oh, that's beltingly full of flavour.

Pudding's lovely.

Excellent flavour. Excellent.

The liquorice is stunning, isn't it?

You can go really wrong with liquorice.

You can go over the top and all you can taste is liquorice -

but you've got that aniseed and then that liquorice just at the end.

I must confess the idea of liquorice like this

was beginning to bother me slightly until I tasted it.

But I think that is fab.

It does coat the mouth quite well.

Charlotte, this is very accomplished cooking.

-Well done.

-Thank you very much.

That means a lot to me.

- Has Nigel offered you a job yet? - No!

Early days yet. Early days.

And finally, it's the Yellows of Atul and Chris.

Atul's dish is a classic tandoori style chicken

with a heritage carrot and almond salad and a mint yoghurt.

This is Chris's interpretation of the dish -

but will it live up to his idol's expectations?

-Looks impressive.

-It does.

It looks very pretty.

That marinade is so inviting, isn't it?

-Mm.

-You just want to get stuck in.

So, shall we?!

Yes!

-Do you want me to turn the plate round?

-Yes, please.

Thank you very much, Nigel.

That's it. Just rip it off, Mary Ann.

Going to. Don't you worry.

Mm.

Very fresh, that. Very, very fresh.

Yes, that's absolutely beautiful.

I love the level of spice.

Very warming. But you got a lovely level of acidity on there.

-Which - is it lime?

-Yeah, we've got lime in the marinade.

Yeah, lime's lovely on there.

I love this style of food.

Chicken is perfect.

It just really works for me.

And with the sauce, it's uplifting. It's great.

Really good.

-This is just refreshing everything up, as well.

-That's right.

-It's really refreshing.

-Yeah. I love it.

-Thank you very much.

-I think it's delicious.

-Fantastic.

-I really do.

-I love the carrots.

-Yeah.

-I love that salad.

-Uh-huh. Thank you.

I love the watercress,

-and it's a nice counterpoint...

-Yeah.

-..to the chicken. So, yeah.

Fantastic. Thank you.

The four home cooks must now wait

while the chefs award a score out of ten for each dish.

These marks will be added together

to give a maximum possible score of 30 points for round one.

So, teams, you've completed your first challenge

and the scores are in.

Currently in fourth place...

it's Mary Ann and Brendan.

In third place...

it's Atul and Chris.

And currently in the lead...

..it's Nigel and Charlotte.

But it's still all to play for.

So, Nigel and Charlotte

are the ones to beat on 27,

and Mary Ann and Brendan

are trailing behind on 22 -

but there's just five points in it.

Everyone's fantastic cooks.

I just didn't expect to come first place.

-Yeah.

-It's just amazing, isn't it?

I expected to come first!

I bang on about seasoning all the time, and there's a reason for it.

And if we lost out because of a small lack of salt and lemon juice,

I could, quite frankly, right now, I could throttle you.

-OK.

-OK?

-OK.

-So let's not do it second time around.

-Sorry.

-It's all about you.

-Thanks, chef.

I'm not the home cook. I'll give you a few tips, but that's about it.

We haven't turned the heat on, let's put it this way.

Once we get going, I think we'll be unstoppable.

We'll get there.

Right, this is it.

The last chance for our professional chefs and their home cooks

to prove they have what it takes to be crowned this week's champions.

And this time they need to impress more than each other,

as they'll be cooking for culinary royalty - Pierre Koffmann.

What makes a great chef is first to be passionate and very hard work.

Pierre Koffmann has been at the heart of high-end cuisine

for 50 years.

Two trotter, one turbot, one cod, one steak.

His proteges, including Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre White,

Tom Kitchin, Jason Atherton and Tom Aikens,

have amassed more than 20 Michelin stars between them.

I was the head chef. They followed me and that's it, you know?

He's one of only a handful of chefs in the UK

to have been awarded three Michelin stars -

an accolade he upheld for a ground-breaking 15 years.

With such a wealth of respect and experience,

Pierre's expertise is second to none.

Hello? Hello?

I've got one ingredient I don't want to see in the kitchen - red chilli.

I'm completely against red chilli.

Should be ready by now.

Welcome, Pierre. It's an absolute pleasure to have you here today.

Thank you.

Now, as our teams will be cooking just for you,

we've asked you to choose two key ingredients.

Can you please reveal what those ingredients are?

The first of the ingredients will be a potato.

It is a wide choice of potatoes.

-It will be up to them to decide the one they want to use.

-OK.

And the second one will be different but it will be a rabbit.

-Mm!

-Yeah.

The only advice I've got to give for the rabbit

is do not do rabbit a la moutarde

because they will never beat my mother!

LAUGHTER

OK, teams. You have one hour

to prepare a mouthwatering menu for Pierre.

Your time...

starts now.

At the start of the challenge the teams have five minutes together

-to plan their menu.

-Lemon, lime.

What else do you want, boy?

You want everything, do you?

To make their two courses,

they can choose as much food from the larder as they wish -

but they must include Pierre's two key ingredients.

So, we've got...Jersey.

I tell you what, we're going to put asparagus with the starter...

-OK, so how...

-And then...

That needs - the fennel needs peeling.

No, the fennel doesn't need peeling.

So, you can imagine all these potatoes everywhere. Fantastic.

-Yeah.

-Then you've got your asparagus and your little sauce vierge on top.

-Wicked. Perfect.

-Beautiful.

-And seal it on top...

-Yeah.

..and put it in the oven, yeah?

So you need 15 minutes for that.

-12 to 15 minutes.

-Right, home cooks, it's time to leave the kitchen.

The professional chefs will have a strict 15 minutes

to prep the dishes alone

whilst their cooks watch and gather their thoughts in the back room.

-CHARLOTTE:

-Have you ever cooked rabbit before?

-No.

-Nor have I.

Once their time is up,

the chefs must leave the kitchen

and hand complete control over to their home cooks.

Mary Ann and Brendan know they need to pull off something special

to move up from the bottom of the leaderboard.

We're starting with gnocchi,

and, for the main, we're doing a bread-crusted saddle of rabbit

in a...reducing the sauce,

not 100% sure what Mary Ann called it.

It's very rustic.

Despite taking the rustic approach,

Mary Ann knows Brendan will have lots to do to pull off this dish,

so she goes full steam ahead to get as much done for her team-mate.

This is intense.

The Blue Team, Ryan and Simon, are currently in second place,

trailing behind the Greens by just one point.

We making a potato salad

and then we're doing rabbit with a sauce

and some potatoes and leeks, and... Yeah, I'm not giving it all away!

He said I've got to freestyle.

So, we'll see!

The Green Team of Nigel and Charlotte

are currently top of the leaderboard -

but what's the plan to hold on to first place?

So, today we're going to do, for starters,

mashed potato with some asparagus,

a black pudding crumb

and then for main we're going to do a rabbit loin wrapped in bacon

with a sauce and just some radishes, as well,

just you dress it, so it's exciting.

I'm definitely feeling it now,

and I definitely need to up my game to make sure I can do my best.

Come on, come on, move.

The Yellow Team of Atul and Chris are currently in third place,

but there's only two points between them and the current leaders.

We're going to be making potato cakes with a tomato chutney

and a salad for the starter,

and for the main course we're doing a rabbit biryani.

We're going to serve that with a raita.

So, despite Pierre's dislike of chilli,

the Yellows are taking a gamble with a spicy dish.

I mean, obviously there's a lot of pressure here,

and the nerves are there,

so we've got a game plan, we just need to stick to it.

OK, chefs you have one more minute before the home cooks return.

One minute to go.

The professional chefs have never worked so hard

to make their 15 minutes prep time count.

When time's up, the chefs will have a strict handover period

in which to tell their cooks what still needs to be done.

It is crucial the cooks play close attention,

because for the remaining 45 minutes they're completely on their own.

Five, four, three, two, one.

Right, bring in the home cooks.

Teams, you have two minutes.

-No, that's fine.

-Radishes, you've still got to do.

-Black pudding and crumb you've still got to do.

-Yeah.

So get that warming up by the time I get back, OK?

-As soon as they float, take them out.

-Yes.

-Don't worry about the garlic, garlic I am done with.

-Yeah.

Oh, God, what's happened to this?

Oh, God, it's rock-hard.

We're going to be in trouble.

Could you give it another ten minutes or so?

Don't write anything down, just instinct.

So as soon as the potatoes are done, get the rice on.

Right, that's it.

Time's up. Professional chefs, please leave the kitchen.

It's time to get out.

Cheers.

-And season, season, season checking.

-Thank you.

-Come on, Nigel.

-Eight minutes on the rabbit.

-12.

-12 minutes.

-12.

-12 minutes, OK.

That way.

The chefs will be allowed to return to the kitchen

for the final minutes of the round to finish and plate up,

but until then all they can do is watch.

That 15 minutes was really pressured, wasn't it?

Yeah, very pressured.

-MARY ANN:

-I've never known time fly so fast in all my life.

I thought I'd only had five.

-ATUL:

-It felt like I was getting my first trade test.

-Yeah!

Mary Ann's partner, Brendan, starts the huge task

of making gnocchi for the very first time -

and she's definitely pushing him out of his comfort zone.

I am nervous.

I haven't done any of these before.

More!

Come on...!

Ow!

On the Blue Team, Ryan's partner Simon

is getting ahead with his sauce vierge.

I think he's all good.

As long as he don't expect me

to do everything in two minutes at the end!

It's coriander, we used it the other day in our sauce vierge

but he didn't say to put it in,

so I'll leave it out and if he wants it in,

he'll put it in afterwards.

The pressure is certainly on for current leaders

Nigel and his home cook, Charlotte,

who needs to hold her nerve and remain focused.

I've lost where I am. I'm just a bit puzzled.

There's just so much to do.

It's just trying to remember everything at the moment.

Nerve-racking, isn't it? It's nerve-racking.

Right, what I need Charlotte to do now is to put the water pan on.

Come on, Charlotte.

Just remembered - radishes!

However, Atul's partner, Chris, on the Yellows,

is hoping he has everything in hand.

I've got the curry actually cooking,

the potatoes are on for the potato cakes.

So I've got a lot on my plate, essentially.

He keeps adding salt, salt, salt.

But Atul's not so convinced.

OK, remove the chutney away.

It's done.

With perfect timing,

Judge Pierre decides to catch up with the cooks in the kitchen.

First it's Ryan's partner, Simon.

-How is it going there?

-I'm a bit of a mess, Chef, but I'm OK.

He didn't give you too much work to do?

No, he got me a really good start,

-so, fingers crossed, I can do what he wants me to do.

-Yeah.

Having told his partner to use his instinct, Ryan is now a little edgy.

Yeah, fingers crossed - but sitting here, and you're thinking

"Ooh, this is a little bit difficult!"

Next for Pierre is Mary Ann's partner Brendan,

who has managed to make his gnocchi despite its unusual appearance.

-Good afternoon, chef.

-How are you?

Everything is fine. Well done.

Your gnocchi look beautiful.

Their...shape is not my...

No, it's good. It's different from the classical,

but it looks nice on the plate.

It will do fantastic, yes.

So, Pierre is happy, but Mary Ann is starting to worry

about Brendan's workload.

I'm not quite sure whether I'd given Brendan too much to do or not.

-Carry on.

-Thank you very much.

Like a cat on a hot tin roof when it comes to cooking

for somebody like Pierre Koffmann.

He's way out of my stratosphere -

but I'm hoping that between us we can present a decent dish.

Next are current leaders Nigel and Charlotte.

-Hello.

-Hi, Charlotte.

It looks good, your rabbit. Your sauce looks perfect.

-Oh, thank you.

-You can do that at home quite easily.

-Obviously!

-For your family.

Always, always.

-Yes. So...

-Carry on.

-Thank you.

So, despite having to live up to Nigel's high standards,

Charlotte still has a smile on her face.

It's manic, this, isn't it?

The last sort of 15 minutes are crucial,

so if she keeps it together, I'm pretty confident we'll get

95% to... you know, we'll get there.

It's a tough one for her, but we'll get there.

And, finally, Pierre checks in with the Yellows of Atul and Chris.

-Hi, Chris.

-How you doing?

Your favourite, favourite dish?

Your favourite type of cooking?

Indian food, yeah. Yeah, that's right.

I think you're doing a good job there.

-Thank you very much.

-It looks very beautiful.

-Thank you.

-Thanks. Carry on.

As a mentor, I'm just putting pressure, looking at the screens,

but I want him to do well. That's the only reason.

-So, let's start with Mary Ann and Brendan.

-Yeah.

They're making gnocchi.

Gnocchi is something so hard to make.

Gnocchi is so simple, yet so hard.

If it is good, I will be surprised.

OK.

Now, I have a reputation for breaking potato ricers.

-So, let's talk about Ryan and Simon.

-Yeah.

Ryan spent many years in France.

You can see when he works, he's got the French technique of breaking the

muscle of the rabbit, and so on, but I think the young boy,

maybe hasn't got the same technique, so we'll see the end product.

OK. That's fine enough for me.

So, Atul and Chris.

To be honest, I don't really enjoy Indian food because

I don't like chilli, but his dish, when you passed there,

his dish smelled beautiful.

-It smells lovely.

-Yeah.

'With Pierre's dislike of spicy food,

'Atul and Chris have got their work cut out to try and impress him.'

So, Nigel and Charlotte.

Well, same again there.

En croute is maybe flaky. I suppose that will be a problem there.

Not flaky enough, I suppose.

-Right, OK.

-It will be a bit hard.

We'll see, but the proof is in the pudding so we'll see what is inside.

Of course. Oh, it's very exciting.

Yeah.

Right, cooks, you have two minutes until your chefs come back in.

Two minutes to go.

No, don't, leave it.

Working at speed,

Chris makes the error of cutting down his pastry too early,

which means, once risen, the pastry lid could be too small.

I think watching my son get beaten up in a rugby match was easier!

Meanwhile, Ryan's worried team-mate Simon's not working fast enough.

He's spending like ten minutes chopping bloody garlic.

Come on.

I can't watch this.

On the Reds, Mary Ann watches in horror as Brendan

takes an unconventional approach to cooking his carrots.

And over on the Greens,

Charlotte makes a mistake with Nigel's black pudding crumb.

No, why are you doing that?

-You've done a black pudding crumb?

-Yeah.

Why is she putting it in the...?

-It's going to be a black pudding flour!

-Powder!

Let's bring the chefs back in.

Start getting it plated up.

-All right, sorry, chef.

-Right, chefs, you have three minutes.

Three minutes.

Get the carrots into the sauce.

No. I have had them in the sauce.

-I know you have.

-Which was stupid of me, because they didn't cook.

Not necessarily.

Have you got leeks? Leeks, leeks, leeks.

Yes, they're in here.

You shouldn't have cut the crust.

Leave it, always. Once it's baked, then you cut it.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-It looks nice. What's done is done.

Yeah, yeah.

OK, get that jus over. Let's taste it. Taste, taste, taste.

Ten, nine, eight...

-Get the rabbit.

-..seven, six, five, four, three, two,

one. That's it, stop cooking.

Well done.

Step away from your plates.

Well done, Charlotte. You did brilliantly.

Whatever happens, you did brilliantly.

Sorry, it looks like a dog's dinner.

After challenge one,

Mary Ann and Brendan were in fourth place on 22 points,

and Nigel and Charlotte were at the top on 27.

But with only five points between first and last place,

Pierre's scores for challenge two could make all the difference.

First to be judged are Mary Ann and Brendan.

They've made a starter of gnocchi with a sage and brown butter,

followed by a herb-crusted saddle of rabbit with French style lettuce,

peas, and baby carrots.

How was the challenge for you both?

It was tough. I've never made gnocchi before.

-Did you enjoy it?

-Listen, could I do anything other than enjoy it?

-Aww!

-That's good.

-Talk about buttering up.

-No, no, no, no.

It looks very nice.

-So, we'll see the taste now.

-Yes.

Very good. I was a bit scared about the gnocchi.

-So was I.

-Yeah.

-They're done quite well.

-They're actually better than mine!

-There you go.

-You've done very well, yeah.

Thank you very much.

The rabbit is nicely cooked.

There's no problem with that.

Your sauce is nice, the jus.

Everything is nice on the dish. Yes.

Oh, these are so good.

-Absolutely beautiful.

-Oh, wow.

See what I mean about light? So, there you are,

-you taught me something today. Not too much flour.

-OK.

Gnocchi was not too bad.

I was surprised with the gnocchi.

I was going like that for the gnocchi, but it was good.

-Yeah.

-Nice gnocchi, he did very well.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Next into the tasting room are Atul and Chris,

currently sitting in third place.

They've made cumin potato cakes with a tomato chutney and a green salad,

and for the main course, they've made a rabbit biryani,

with an onion raita.

How was the challenge for you both?

It was difficult, but it was fun, to be honest, and I believed in him.

-We had a plan...

-And stuck to it.

..of what we wanted to do, and we stuck to it.

-Lovely.

-OK, so, we'll taste it.

-Please.

It is very nice.

I like the chutney. I was a bit scared at the beginning,

if you had used too much chilli, you know...

-It is not good for me.

-Chef, the moment I saw you,

-I threw the chilli away!

-ALL LAUGH

It's very nice.

No comments, you know, is a good sign.

-Yeah, yeah, you've gone for a second mouthful.

-Yeah.

It's a very nice dish.

I think I will take the leftovers home for tonight!

Wow!

Brilliant. Well done, both of you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you so much.

-Really happy with that.

-Yeah, I think sitting there,

it became a bit dry, but, actually, it's nice.

Yeah, very nice.

I was a bit scared if he was

using too much red chilli, but he didn't use it at all.

No, it was very mild.

You got the spice, beautiful spice.

-I really enjoyed the dish.

-Yeah.

I know Chris will be over the moon, because Atul is his hero.

He's been smiling nonstop.

The rabbit was properly cooked, the presentation was very nice,

appetising presentation. It was nice.

Time for Ryan and Simon,

who are currently in second position on the scoreboard.

They've made a starter of potato salad with pickled carrot,

asparagus, and a sauce vierge, and for their main,

rabbit loin with bacon, black pudding, radishes, peas, and leeks.

-There we go.

-There you go.

Fantastic.

How was the challenge for you both?

-Tough, weren't it?

-Yeah, there was a lot to do in a short time.

-Yeah, and he chose quite difficult dishes, too.

-Exactly.

OK. Here we go.

-Looks very pretty.

-Yeah, the plates look beautiful.

Asparagus are very, very well cooked, yeah.

It is a very nice salad.

Your dish looks beautiful.

I would have added maybe a bit more sauce.

The sauce is a bit washy-washy.

But the taste is good.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much.

You can't go wrong with these potatoes.

No, they're really gorgeous.

And the asparagus is nice.

That asparagus is cooked perfect.

I didn't show you how to cook asparagus, you knew that.

The rabbit was nice, but it needed a bit more sauce on

the rabbit to make it, you know, you need a bit of jus with rabbit.

Yeah. The rabbit was cooked lovely, though.

-It was very tender.

-Yeah, maybe slightly overcooked, a touch,

but he's a young boy, and you cannot be too hard on him.

-No.

-He's done very well.

-Very well.

And, finally, the current leaders, Nigel and Charlotte,

have made a starter of chive mash topped with a black pudding crumb,

and served with asparagus. For their main course,

they've made rabbit en croute, rabbit livers, spinach, bacon,

and baby leeks, served in a sherry sauce.

There you go.

Wonderful. How did you find the challenge?

-Challenging!

-Yeah!

Well, you've done very well.

I appreciate you used a different part of the rabbit,

the liver or the kidneys.

-It looks nice.

-Very good.

I hope it will taste as good as it looks.

Who knows? Only you will tell.

That is nice. I like the black pudding contrasted with...

With the mash. The mash is nice.

-The rabbit is very moist. It is nice.

-Thank you very much.

Well done.

-How is it?

-It's beautiful.

-Is it all right?

-It's really nice.

-Even if you say so yourself!

-Exactly!

-The best rabbit of the...

-Yeah, it was delicious.

-The best rabbit.

-And the liver,

-as well, was very tasty.

-Yeah.

-And the mash was delicious.

The mash was good. But it's a mash at the end, you know?

Yeah.

Pierre must now give each dish a mark out of 30.

These points will be added to the scores from challenge one,

giving a total score out of a possible 60 points.

And are you impressed with today?

Yes, it was four different types of cooking.

It was interesting. We went from family orientated food

to Indian food and more star Michelin food, or something,

so all different, some better than others, but all nice, yes.

-OK.

-They've done very well.

-Well, let's go and reveal the results.

-Yeah.

I'd just like to say, firstly, a massive well done to all of you.

It's been a fantastic week, and I know, cooks,

your chefs are extremely proud of you.

The scores are in. Unfortunately, there can only be one winner,

and I'm now going to reveal the results.

In fourth place, with 40 points,

it's Mary Ann and Brendan.

We have a joint second place with two teams on 49 points,

but the winners, with 53 points, are...

-..Atul and Chris.

-Yes!

I am over the moon.

-Yeah.

-Absolutely over the moon.

You nailed it.

-Thank you so much.

-You absolutely nailed it.

-Yeah.

-Look, I'm ready for party!

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

So, this week's champions are Atul and Chris.

A huge congratulations to them.

We'll see you next time.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.