- 7 hours ago
Celebrity MasterChef Season 20 Episode 2.
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FunTranscript
00:00MUSIC
00:15Welcome back, celebrities.
00:17We have certainly put you through your paces so far.
00:20But the learning curve is about to get so much steeper.
00:25For you to learn, you need an expert to learn with.
00:31And that's why today we've invited in a special guest.
00:35Wow.
00:36Somebody who's built a famous group of restaurants,
00:39celebrating and cooking the food of their childhood.
00:43Can I please introduce you to Karan Gokhani?
00:48Woo!
00:49Woo!
00:50Growing up in the vibrant city of Mumbai,
00:57Karan developed his love of food as a child.
01:00From the age of four or five,
01:03I started rolling my first chapatis in the kitchen.
01:06Family meals reflected his rich heritage of Gujarati cuisine,
01:10as well as diverse flavours from South Asia.
01:13Delicious array of different food from across the country
01:17that played such an important role in my childhood.
01:20Despite his passion for cooking,
01:22he moved to the UK in 2005 to study law at Cambridge University.
01:27After pursuing a brief career in the law in London,
01:30I then finally said this is the age I need to,
01:33you know, give it all up and pursue my dreams.
01:36In 2015, he opened the first of three Hoppers restaurants
01:40in London's Soho, quickly setting the culinary world alight
01:44with authentic South Indian and Sri Lankan dishes.
01:49You could easily represent Karan and Tamil cuisine from South India
01:52and Sri Lankan cuisine in the same space,
01:55and it just gave more depth to the menu.
01:58Food is so much more than what's on the plate
02:00because it connects you to a time,
02:02it connects you to a safe place
02:04and it teaches you so much about the culture as well.
02:07I've got five recipes for you to cook
02:12that I grew up cooking, that I absolutely love,
02:15that represent the four regions of India,
02:18North, South, East and West, and Sri Lanka.
02:21So I'm very excited to see how you get on with these recipes.
02:28You're about to cook restaurant-quality food
02:30and that's what it's got to be.
02:3290 minutes. Let's get cooking.
02:35Let's do it. Let's go.
02:37Oh, we're straight in, are we?
02:43I love Indian food.
02:45There's nothing like a good curry
02:47to warm you up in the North.
02:52I'm probably the most nervous man in the room
02:54because these are all recipes
02:56that put so much love and heart into writing.
02:59I'm excited to try a new thing.
03:01What could possibly go wrong?
03:05There is a huge element of intuitive cooking
03:07when it comes to Indian food.
03:09I want to see them taste,
03:10especially when you've got these complex dishes.
03:12It's going to be a challenge.
03:15I think I've got the most tonight to do.
03:17I've been stitched.
03:18I want to see them engaging with the ingredients
03:24and cook something delicious for us to eat afterwards
03:27because I'm starving.
03:28I've never really dealt with a full fish before.
03:38Katie is a star of Coronation Street.
03:42She's clearly a good home cook.
03:45That crumble she made, absolutely delicious.
03:48Timing is a little bit of an issue,
03:50but just a bit of confidence, Katie.
03:52That's all she needs.
03:54I'm proud of myself so far
03:56and the fact that my food's been edible
03:58and I've had a giggle,
04:00that's what it's all about, isn't it?
04:03Katie's been tasked with cooking
04:04one of Karen's favourite South Indian dishes.
04:08Banana leaf fish with okra and yoghurt.
04:11Cooking anything in a banana leaf
04:13gives it both theatre but a lot of flavour.
04:16It is just the most glorious dish
04:18because you bring it to the table, open it up
04:20and it's a celebration in itself.
04:22Katie's taking a whole bream.
04:24So I'm calling the fish burnt, burnt the bream.
04:27She has to cut it all the way through to the bone.
04:30Go for it. Come on, you can do this.
04:32Because then it's marinated with a mixture of spices
04:35which is turned to a paste.
04:37Then a masala paste is made.
04:39Oh, it's making my eyes water.
04:41With onions, curry leaves and tomatoes,
04:43a little bit of coconut milk.
04:45That's then put across the top
04:47and all that lovely spicing being enough to coat it
04:50but not to actually overpower the flavour of that fish.
04:56Don't know what I'm doing
04:58but I'm just happy I've got instructions.
05:00Make sure you cook the masala sauce
05:03that you're going to put on top of the fish.
05:04Nice and thick. It shouldn't be too watery.
05:06OK. I'm just excited to try it more than anything.
05:10It's exciting.
05:11What's your biggest worry right now?
05:13The timing again.
05:15But I've always wanted to learn how to cook a whole fish
05:18because I think it looks really cool
05:19and it's going to be tasty, I hope.
05:22Right, what's next?
05:26Cut the top.
05:27That must be the top.
05:29Ginger, our drag queen, gives herself a huge amount of work to do
05:32and delivers really delicious food.
05:34There's talent there.
05:35Whatever the circumstances, Ginger will deliver.
05:39Her first challenge is to tackle a whole green coconut
05:43for a prawn curry cooked and served inside the shell.
05:47Wow, it's a workout, isn't it?
05:50Each challenge is a new fresh hell in the kitchen.
05:54I don't cook a lot of South Asian cuisine.
05:56I do eat a lot of South Asian cuisine.
05:58So, who knows what today's going to bring?
06:00It's a dish from East India, specifically West Bengal.
06:05It's a light flavouring but has a beautiful aroma and smell.
06:10Inside that coconut, there's lots of clear coconut water.
06:14OK, in we go.
06:16Oh!
06:17Right in the face!
06:20She's going to hollow the whole thing out.
06:22Scoop out the flesh.
06:25That jelly-like white flesh with the coconut water
06:29is added to fresh prawns, garlic, ginger, cumin, poppy seeds.
06:36Ooh, this is scary.
06:46The coconut is then sealed with a dough around the outside
06:49like a pie top and then it's baked in the oven.
06:52Bringing a whole green coconut to the table
06:56and opening it and scooping out a delicate prawn curry from inside.
07:01That lovely visual, sensory delight.
07:05OK.
07:07Junji, you look like you're having a ball.
07:08I am. I'm in a great time.
07:09I've never eaten a curry out of a coconut.
07:11That's really exciting.
07:13You're going to have to be careful about
07:14whether the prawns are cooked at the end or not.
07:16I think it's just going to be surprises all afternoon, really, isn't it?
07:18How are you feeling about the competition?
07:19I'm feeling good, you know.
07:20I'm trying not to think too much of it as a competition
07:23and Mars just like a really fun cooking holiday
07:25so that the pressure isn't on me.
07:27All the years I've done Mars Chef, I've never heard anybody
07:30describe it as a cooking holiday.
07:32You've never been on holiday with me.
07:34Get on with that. See you later.
07:35Thanks for you.
07:36Something's happening in there.
07:3920 minutes gone, everybody. An hour and 10 minutes left.
07:42Don't slow down. Keep it going.
07:46Anthony, pop star, an actor.
07:48His ideas are good, but I want a bit more oomph.
07:52I want a bit more showman than Anthony truly is.
07:55He's so lovable, but his nerves, I take him under.
07:59He's taking on a red chicken curry inspired by Karen's travels to Sri Lanka.
08:05This curry really blew my mind.
08:07It had a whole array of different flavours that we weren't used to.
08:10Things like lemongrass had pandan.
08:12And it's just such a warming, gorgeous curry.
08:17I love following a recipe because it's there step by step.
08:21It's like a script. Bang, bang, bang.
08:24If this goes wrong, it ain't my fault, mate. I've followed it.
08:30That Sri Lankan red chicken curry needs to be really spicy and hot.
08:36He's first marinated the chicken with a mixture of spices and garlic and ginger.
08:41The chicken goes in with onions, sweet coconut milk.
08:46He's got to make sure it's vibrant.
08:48He can't just rely upon the recipe.
08:50He's got to taste his food as well.
08:54Oh, mate, that's bonnet de douche, that.
08:57Do you like curry?
08:58Love, love a curry.
09:00I can cook it, but I can't cook it, do you know what I mean?
09:02Well, if anybody is going to teach you, it's this man.
09:06The way I always teach curries is layering curries.
09:09You're not just putting everything into a pan and boiling them.
09:11Imagine a great song.
09:13If everyone's not playing their bit perfectly, you'll have a terrible song.
09:17I get it, I get it.
09:18Told you it was a learning curve.
09:19It is.
09:20Umar, reality TV star, has amazing ideas about food.
09:30Putting the haggis onto the rosti, absolutely ingenious.
09:35And then cooking Nigerian food.
09:37She'd put her own spin on it.
09:39I really admire what she's doing.
09:41Umar's got paneer, takadal and pilau rice.
09:46Probably three of the most iconic and well-known Indian takeaways in all of Great Britain.
09:53But she has to make her own paneer.
09:56Paneer is Punjabi cheese from the north of India.
10:01There's nothing like good homemade paneer.
10:03My mum made it for us growing up.
10:05Never made paneer cheese before, so I think that would be a test.
10:12You split the milk and while it's hot, you get it into a cheesecloth.
10:16And then you want to tie it really nice and tight and then press it.
10:21I'm scared that it's going to burst.
10:23Did you add a little bit of salt?
10:24Yeah, I'd add some salt and just give it a quick mix.
10:26Yeah.
10:27And then squeeze it through.
10:28Okay.
10:30And that's going to be cooked in a spinach gravy,
10:32made with freshly sautéed spinach, a little bit of tomato and onion.
10:37If you were in Punjab, this is what you'd be eating for dinner.
10:40Oh, that's amazing.
10:41And you're doing it in 90 minutes.
10:42I am a bit worried that I'm going to not get this all done on time,
10:45but I'm trying my best.
10:47She's unflappable.
10:48Oh, I love that.
10:49Good luck, your mum.
10:50Thank you, guys.
10:52Not being able to prepare makes me a little bit nervous,
10:55but I am confident that I can pull it off.
10:58I'm trying to strain all the liquid out of it as much as I can,
11:01so I need to put some weight on top of it.
11:03Gaz, actor and Paralympian, he's vegan, and he wants to celebrate that food.
11:14He's proved himself to have an absolutely fantastic palate.
11:17He won the palate test.
11:19But now what I want from him is a coherent place of food without any mistakes.
11:24Gaz is making Karen's version of popular Indian street food, Bombay Frankie.
11:31This is a dish very close to my heart.
11:34We'd go off after school to one or two of these vendors who,
11:39you know, we always love to eat a chicken Frankie, a mutton Frankie,
11:43and on occasion a potato Frankie.
11:45This is a potato sandwich, crushed potatoes with loads and loads of spices.
11:52I think the potatoes, there's like a few large chunks that haven't cooked through.
11:57Pan-fried so it's nice and crispy on the outside.
12:01With that, he's got a classic Indian green chutney,
12:04and that means lots of mint, coriander, green chilies.
12:09But the big thing seems to be making this roti that's sitting underneath.
12:14A lovely thin bread, slightly flaky, a little bit of oil on the outside,
12:19because he needs to roll the whole thing up.
12:21Like the best Indian wrap you've ever had in your whole life.
12:29I messed up.
12:31I'll have to start again.
12:33As soon as I saw Karen I was like, oh, okay.
12:36In some ways I was excited because it's flavours that I know.
12:39In other ways I was like, I felt the weight of the entire subcontinent
12:43on my back.
12:46Where's your family from?
12:47Pakistan.
12:48So you understand spicing?
12:51Yes.
12:54That wasn't a convincing answer.
12:55That's why my mum doesn't let me in the kitchen,
12:57or didn't let me when I was growing up.
12:59So all the food that you grew up with,
13:00your mum and your grandmother used to cook for you?
13:02Yeah, pretty much.
13:03Have you ever had a Bombay Frankie?
13:04No, not at all, first time.
13:06Rotis not going to be easy, but I'm sure you'll do well.
13:08I can't wait for mine.
13:09No pressure.
13:13You're over halfway.
13:18Katie's bream is marinating in turmeric, chilli and lime.
13:23But there's a question mark over the consistency of her masala sauce.
13:27Is that cooked down?
13:28Yeah.
13:29You cooked it?
13:30Yeah.
13:31I will just cook it for a little while longer.
13:32Alright, thank you.
13:34I can see she's panicking a little bit right now.
13:37I went and checked the paste that she made.
13:38It was a little thinner than I wanted it,
13:40so I've got her to cook it again.
13:41This just needs to reduce down.
13:44Needs to go to, like, a paste.
13:47But she needs to act quickly now.
13:49It's a big fish.
13:50It needs to bake through.
13:51So she'll need at least 18 minutes from the looks of that fish.
13:55She also needs to get going on her vegetable garnish.
13:59Make sure you're cutting them to the right size,
14:01because otherwise they cook unevenly.
14:03OK.
14:06Okra is one of my favourite vegetables,
14:08but it's got to be cooked properly.
14:11Biting into crunchy okra in this particular dish,
14:12I don't want it.
14:15Ginger's prawn and coconut curry is in the oven.
14:19She's now rolling out dough for a Bengali flatbread to accompany it.
14:24Luchis are these lovely, delicate fried breads.
14:28They puff up like magic.
14:30If you're making them for the first time,
14:31you need a little bit of technique.
14:33You need to roll it out perfectly.
14:35That's kind of supposed to be a circle.
14:38And then deep fried, making sure it puffs up fully.
14:42It's nice and crispy.
14:44Newsflash, something is happening.
14:46Is it about...
14:47Is it going to do it?
14:48Ginger, what's happening?
14:49What's happening is these things are supposed to turn into balls
14:51after ten seconds when I put them in the fryer.
14:54It's not turning into balls.
14:57The thickness of that dough is all important.
15:00Too thick, they won't puff up at all.
15:02Oh, oh, oh!
15:03Right, I've rolled it out too thick.
15:04That's what it is.
15:06Because this guy is going straight away.
15:08I've got to get it as thin as I can.
15:11You want to get the edges even.
15:13Oh, okay.
15:14If you want that puff, this is the only way to get it.
15:16Fine.
15:18Let's try another one.
15:20All the time in the world about five minutes ago,
15:23and now suddenly it's feeling quite desperate.
15:33Also challenged with the dough is Anthony.
15:36His red curry is accompanied by a Sri Lankan staple, string hoppers.
15:40You take this rice flour, mix it with a little bit of oil, water, salt,
15:46until it comes together.
15:48You then put through a lovely string hopper press.
15:52A bit like rolling out fresh pasta.
15:54Making string hoppers in front of the person that's formed a whole business
15:59around making string hoppers.
16:00Do you feel the pressure?
16:01Very much so.
16:03Effectively, you're making spaghetti.
16:04It's delicious.
16:05And it's a great way to enjoy that curry.
16:06I hope so.
16:11Last thing you want is these things to get all crumbly and just break apart.
16:17Wow.
16:18It's a bit like Play-Doh.
16:19Yeah.
16:20You know, like my kids have these toys.
16:22Then you get these lovely little rice flour discs.
16:25Steam them for a few minutes, not too stodgy, light,
16:28that you can just mop up your sambals and chicken curry with,
16:31as you do in Sri Lanka.
16:32It's just like these lovely squidgy things coming out of this machine here.
16:37So I'm loving it.
16:39He's doing it.
16:40They're steaming.
16:41A revelation.
16:43Across the kitchen, Uma's full focus has been on just one of her three main components.
16:49Look at that panu.
16:50Does it look good?
16:51It's amazing.
16:52Yay!
16:53Look at that.
16:54That's perfect.
16:55We're only just getting the lentils on for the next element, the taka dal.
16:59Just trying to get the lentils soft enough.
17:02So a tadka dal is simply a skewed lentil.
17:05And then a tadka is really the spicing you add to the boiled lentils.
17:09Some whole spices, garam masalas, you feel the warmth coming through.
17:12She's got to resist the urge to rush.
17:15She's got to make sure that she cooks those lentils all the way through in spiced water
17:19before she adds it to the taka.
17:23Is this something you might do at home?
17:25No, not really.
17:26I don't actually eat lentils at home.
17:28But I have been to a restaurant where they had lentil sort of dal, is it called?
17:34Yeah.
17:35So I'm quite excited to taste these, actually.
17:37You're boiling them.
17:38Don't need to stir them so much.
17:39They will take their time.
17:44Gaz has got his potato filling prepped for his Bombay Frankie.
17:48But now he needs to tackle cooking the all-important wrap.
17:52Oh, no, I'm burning.
17:53I'm burning the roti.
17:55It's all going off.
17:57Keep going.
17:58That was a trial.
17:59Gaz is the only bench so far where there's actually been what felt like a buyer.
18:05This is a hard task.
18:06We have piled on the pressure.
18:08But I do worry for Gaz right now.
18:11Yeah, it didn't work out.
18:13Roll that out a little thing.
18:16It's the thickness and the right heat.
18:19So that's what I'm struggling with.
18:21Try attempt number four.
18:22It's the roti that it all comes down to.
18:24If it's not a soft, supple roti,
18:28I'm not having it.
18:29The worst part of all of this is that when my mum and my grandma see this,
18:33they're going to be so ashamed of me.
18:37Ten minutes.
18:41Don't hate me.
18:46They do hate me.
18:48The chicken curry's doing nice.
18:50String hoppers are on.
18:52And now about to start the sambal.
18:54Get the pepper, get the chilli, get some salt in there.
18:57And then give that a blitz.
18:58I don't think the prawns are cooked.
19:00No?
19:01Put it back in the oven then.
19:03Uma's also starting to feel pressured.
19:06She's done the lentils, but she's skipped a step.
19:09She's forgotten to make the tarka that she's supposed to combine and flavour the cooked lentils with.
19:15But I want a simple tarka of ginger, garlic, red chilli.
19:21I'm stressed now.
19:22Celebrities, you've only got five minutes left.
19:24You really need to push.
19:25Nearly there.
19:30I like it.
19:32Tastes slightly better than it looks.
19:33There's some wonderful smells coming from ginger, and it's not hairspray.
19:41Ow.
19:42It's hot now.
19:43We've got 60 seconds, everybody.
19:44Just 60 seconds left.
19:46All good in hood.
19:59We've got coconut in the curry.
20:00It's served like that.
20:01A fish banana parcel.
20:02That's it, guys.
20:03Time's up, please.
20:04Time is up.
20:05Uma.
20:06Hello.
20:07.
20:08We've got coconut in the curry.
20:10We've got coconut in the curry.
20:12It's served like that.
20:14A fish banana parcel.
20:15That's it, guys.
20:16Time's up, please.
20:17Time is up.
20:18Uma.
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20:35Uma has cooked a trio of classic Punjabi dishes.
20:38Paneer cheese in a spinach gravy with pilau rice and a tarka dal.
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20:52That paneer is just stand out.
20:55It's cheesy.
20:56It's rich.
20:57The colour of that sauce is great.
20:59Simple spinach.
21:00It all shines through.
21:02But the tarka dal.
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23:14Pop star Antony has served Karen's Sri Lankan-inspired red chicken curry
23:19with string hopper noodles and a coconut and chilli sambal.
23:26Oh, it's got a nice little chilli cake.
23:31The curry itself, it's bold, it's gutsy,
23:35layering of ginger and garlic and all those dried spices
23:39to lots and lots of heat.
23:41I think it looks great, it shows care,
23:44you've tasted on the way and it's really paid off.
23:46Thank you. Wow, thank you so much.
23:48You nailed the string hoppers.
23:49What?
23:50They're not the easiest thing to get right.
23:52They're light, they're separate, steam them perfectly
23:55and I think you did a really good job.
23:57Wow, thank you.
23:59Wow.
23:59I love that you've made sambal so vibrant.
24:02It's got a real kick, you haven't held back.
24:06Your cooking in this round has gone to a new level.
24:10Wow.
24:10Yeah.
24:11Wow, thank you.
24:14I'm just speechless.
24:15I've done string hoppers in front of Mr. Hopperman.
24:19So good.
24:20He's offered me a job.
24:21I've said I can't come at the moment,
24:22make someone talk.
24:24No, I'm joking.
24:26Paralympian Gaz has cooked Karen's version
24:29of the popular Indian street food Bombay Frankie.
24:33Potatoes pan-fried in garlic, ginger, chilli and cumin
24:36on a coriander, chilli, mint and lime chutney
24:40wrapped in a roti.
24:50The potatoes for me could have definitely been spicier,
24:54could have had a little more seasoning.
24:55The bread, it's a little dry, I wanted this a little more golden,
24:59a little more fried for that extra sort of richness when you wrap it up.
25:04This is one of the funkiest potato sandwiches I've ever had in my life.
25:08Your chutney rich with mint and coriander, a really good punch of chilli.
25:13I think that's lovely.
25:14I love the vibrancy, the colour.
25:16I think that I did get the best deal with the bread.
25:19Mm-hm.
25:20Yes, it could be perhaps a little thinner and less dry,
25:24but as you can see, once I'd rolled it up, I've eaten half of it.
25:30Definitely didn't do Karen proud.
25:32As the only Asian contestant in this heat,
25:35I think he had high hopes for me,
25:36and I definitely feel like I let him down.
25:38Drag artist Ginger has cooked a Bengali prawn and coconut curry,
25:45served inside the shell of a green coconut,
25:47with deep-fried luchi breads.
25:51Oh, look at that.
25:59That sauce, it's coconutty, but the back note of mustard,
26:03just subtle, just enough,
26:05that just clings round these soft, buttery prawns.
26:10That is restaurant-quality food.
26:12Absolutely wild.
26:13LAUGHTER
26:14That lovely bit of bread there, puffed up beautifully,
26:19with that sweet sauce and the prawns, it's fantastic.
26:23That prawn could not be more perfect.
26:26It complements the butteriness of that fresh coconut,
26:30with a fresh spice from a green chilli.
26:32It tastes amazing.
26:33You've really nailed both dishes.
26:36Great.
26:39I've basically decapitated my way through the challenge.
26:42LAUGHTER
26:43With the coconut and the prawns.
26:45I'm learning so much.
26:48I'm so proud of you,
26:49and you should be very, very proud of yourselves.
26:51I think you did so well.
26:55Thank you very much indeed.
26:56We'll see you soon.
26:58Off you go.
27:02Karen, thank you very much indeed for showing our five some fantastic food
27:09and nurturing along the way.
27:11It was absolutely brilliant.
27:12They learned a lot, definitely.
27:13I learned a lot.
27:15For me, the highlight really was that they embraced the challenge.
27:19I've loved being here.
27:20See you later.
27:22We're alive.
27:24Yes.
27:24That's something.
27:25It's hard work, this cooking malarkey, isn't it?
27:28Wow.
27:30Thrown in a deep end, but that, I really enjoyed it.
27:34Right now, all to play for.
27:36Next time, one of them's going home.
27:38Every single one of them wants to stay.
27:40This is going to be tough.
27:41You've just cooked someone else's food, but now we want to taste yours.
28:05Your brief is to cook us your two dinner party favourites, a main course and a dessert.
28:12And it's time for you to show off, because we are looking for quarterfinalists, and we
28:18only have four quarterfinal places.
28:22At the end of this, one of you will be going home.
28:26One hour.
28:28Let's cook.
28:28Dinner parties sound like a lot of fun, but you really do have to deliver something delicious
28:39that the person wouldn't have on any normal night.
28:43A lot of pressure, man, and the heat, excuse the pun, is being turned up.
28:47What do they feed their friends?
28:49What do they feed to their loved ones?
28:51What do they feed people to impress?
28:54I mean, right now, these five could just blow our minds.
28:58I don't want to be too confident, but cool, calm, and collected.
29:03It's go big, I'll go home, or go big, absolutely ruin it, and go home.
29:10Ginger, do you ever have the other drag queens round for a dinner party?
29:13Oh, drag queens don't really eat that much.
29:16It's more about talking than eating.
29:17More of a liquid meeting when you get together.
29:21So, tell us the inspiration for your dishes.
29:23I used to play rugby every Sunday, and I would come home from rugby, freezing cold, covered
29:27in mud, get in the bath, and then come down and have Sunday dinner, and that would often
29:31be fish pie.
29:32So, I'm making a fish pie.
29:33It's really creamy, really unctuous, delicious.
29:38Ginger's absolutely going for it.
29:41I'm absolutely melting.
29:43Never mind the butter, I'm melting.
29:45She's poaching her fish with fennel, and then she's making a cream sauce out of that poaching
29:52liquid.
29:53Mash the potatoes right now.
29:55We want a golden, crispy top on that potato.
29:59The smokiness of the fish running through the whole dish.
30:01Served with peas and samphire.
30:04Lovely bit of green.
30:05And then poached pears with rum snaps and ginger cream.
30:09This is what I would cook for my family if I had the chance to cook them Sunday afternoon
30:12dinner if we were all there.
30:14But can you actually see what you're doing?
30:16I mean, you're grating with, like, basically two tarantulas fighting.
30:21You can't half do drag, can you?
30:23From a woman who loves makeup, you're an inspiration here.
30:27Thank you so much.
30:28Good luck.
30:28The pear has to be cooked all the way through.
30:32It can't be in any way hard.
30:35And she's poaching it in orange juice, which is a lovely idea with lots of cinnamon.
30:40The ginger cream needs to be full of ginger, because that snap biscuit made from rum is going
30:45to be really sweet.
30:48I am loving the ambition.
30:51There's a lot to do, and it all has to happen at the same time.
30:54So hopefully we don't end up with fishy pears.
30:58OK.
31:08And he's got chicken thighs cooked in a Greek style with lots of sauce, rice firmer chili,
31:13tomatoes, and lemon.
31:15He's going to serve that with yogurt and feta cheese with chili.
31:19Wonderful.
31:20But he's using chicken thighs with a bone in.
31:23He's going to make sure they get a nice bit of color on them first, seasoned really, really
31:27well before they go into the pot with rice firmer chili.
31:32I'm just happy to be here and learning from these guys is amazing.
31:36Especially John, because he's got a soft spot for me.
31:38What's the blue dinner party like?
31:46The lads are good cooks, actually.
31:48When I told them I was coming on this, they literally laughed in my face.
31:52I can see why.
31:53My main is inspired by a traditional Greek dish called tava.
32:00I loved eating it as a kid because I love my chicken, love my rice, I love my tomatoes,
32:06I love the whole thing being cooked together and you soak all the juices up.
32:10Comfort food.
32:11For dessert, a lemon cheesecake.
32:15I love a lemon cheesecake.
32:17I know you do.
32:19Want a biscuity base, which is not too hard.
32:22We want a creamy filling across the top, which is zingy with lemon.
32:26But at the same time, I want a bit of oomph, I want a bit of style.
32:29I want a little bit of something that makes me stand up and go, wow.
32:32I am playing it safe with the lemon cheesecake, I ain't going to lie, but I'm going to throw myself into it.
32:39Just feed them.
32:43You are halfway, 30 minutes gone, 30 minutes left.
32:50I do like a lot of flavours in my food and I like my dishes to be quite complex.
32:56I do feel quite determined to prove to myself and prove to the judges that I am a good cook.
33:02Uma's got a piece of pan-fried sea bass sitting on a spiced Thai-flavoured sauce.
33:10Lemongrass, lime leaf, turmeric, coconut milk, all going there and there's even some chilli.
33:17My mum used to make a dish when we were younger and she called it coconut chicken, but I prefer fish.
33:22Even though she's not Thai, she's Australian, she likes to be experimental with her cooking.
33:27Uma is promising us rice.
33:28And then we've got salad, which is being made from samphire and spray onions.
33:34If there's too much samphire, it's going to become really salty.
33:37What's for dessert?
33:38It's a chocolate mousse.
33:39I'm going to put hazelnuts on top, cherries and then a chantilly cream.
33:43A little bit of Black Forest going on.
33:45Exactly, I love Black Forest.
33:46She's making a water ganache, which is really clever.
33:52I was trying to find out like a way that you can make a chocolate mousse quickly and I found out basically that if you melt it in water and then blend it over an ice bath, it forms a mousse texture.
34:05Hopefully that mousse is lovely and smooth and then the sweetness of the cream, it could be wonderful.
34:10Gazz is cooking food inspired by his Pakistani upbringing.
34:23Nahari, which is the national dish of Pakistan, usually a beef stew cooked really, really slow with lots of onions and spices, enriched usually with bone marrow.
34:33I'm trying to make a plant-based version.
34:35I've never seen a plant-based version before, so I'm rolling the dice and see how it works out.
34:41He's using a plant-based steak and then a sauce that's going to be enriched with lots and lots of spices and nutritional yeast.
34:48It's almost a smokiness, but should fill our mouths with flavour.
34:52I love nahari.
34:53My mum is like famous for making her nahari.
34:56The legend is that it was a working class food for labourers while they were building the Taj Mahal.
35:01They would feed the labourers in the morning in the ahari and they would basically be able to work all day.
35:08With that, we're being promised bread, naan.
35:11He's made the dough.
35:13I just hope he's got enough time to make sure that that bread is cooked all the way through.
35:17After the disaster of making the roti in the last challenge, I really want to know if I can get it right.
35:22For dessert, we're getting halver, carrot halver.
35:33Carrots cooked with plant-based milk, brown sugar, lots and lots of cardamom.
35:38That carrot mixture all cooks down together to become almost like a jam.
35:43It's 100% completely plant-based, which I think is brilliant.
35:49You are so passionate about plant-based.
35:52I kind of just like to just explore cooking.
35:54Just see where it takes you.
35:56All the best.
35:56Thank you, Grace.
36:00Katie from Corrie.
36:02Hello, Grace.
36:03What are you making?
36:04I am making place fillets with potatoes and fennel in a white wine sauce.
36:10This kind of reminds me of home.
36:12I used to cook a lot of fish and potatoes with my granddad.
36:15Which character from Corrie would have loved this food?
36:19Ken Barlow, 100%.
36:21He loves a bit of white wine.
36:25He likes a little bit of white wine?
36:26Yeah.
36:27As I do.
36:30Katie right now seems really, really confident.
36:33Place fillets, she's going to cook underneath the grill.
36:36Well, that's great.
36:37That only takes three or four minutes.
36:40Buttery, soft fennel, and it needs to be soft.
36:43We don't want crunchy, hard fennel.
36:45She's laboring over a white wine sauce.
36:48White wine, cream, some lemon juice, lots of seasoning.
36:51Lovely.
36:53I love lemon.
36:54I love thyme.
36:55I love garlic.
36:56I love the creaminess of this dish.
37:00It's very indulgent.
37:03I need to know the pudding.
37:04The pudding is a citrus posset with a shortbread crunch.
37:10I love lemon desserts.
37:13Yeah.
37:13Like, when I was younger, we used to love pancake day.
37:16So I used to race home and have lemon and sugar pancakes until I was sick.
37:19I don't want that near the heat.
37:26A citrus posset, it should be silky, like a cross between a mousse and a cheesecake.
37:32Then with that, we've also got shortbread and grapefruit gel.
37:36I need to bash my shortbread, which I love.
37:39Katie seems to be transformed into somebody who's suddenly come out of a professional kitchen.
37:43You have to improvise when you've already used your rolling pin.
37:48I have added a bit of pizzazz because it's MasterChef.
37:52Especially the dessert.
37:54It's very tangy, but sweet, with a bit of crunch.
37:57And we like that.
37:58I've put on about a stone and a sharpbread.
38:03So this is the final ten minutes.
38:10Oh, yeah.
38:11There we go.
38:12It's the rice.
38:15It seems right now that Uma's got a problem with her rice.
38:18It's horrible.
38:19It doesn't look like it's cooked.
38:20I wonder if she's going to serve it or not.
38:22If it's not cooked, I hope she doesn't.
38:25Good, it worked out.
38:28Please don't tear.
38:31Please don't tear.
38:33Please don't tear.
38:35Go on.
38:36Go on.
38:36Yes, yes, yes.
38:36Oh, yeah.
38:39Ow, that's hot.
38:43You've got just 60 seconds.
38:4560 seconds, everybody.
38:49What the hell is going on today?
38:54Lovely pear with a lovely cream.
38:58Oh, it just looks so pretty.
39:09I think it does anyway.
39:14That's the dessert out of the way.
39:16Don't drop the pies.
39:17Don't drop the pies.
39:18OK.
39:25That's it.
39:25Time's up, everybody.
39:28I'm pretty happy with it.
39:30Yeah.
39:31Yeah, really happy with it, actually.
39:33I'm just so happy we've done it now.
39:35Oh, my God.
39:36Oh, my God.
39:36Can they drag artist Ginger Johnson, please approach the judges?
39:40Hello.
39:45Hello.
39:46Ginger's dinner party main is a smoked haddock salmon and prawn fish pie in a creamy tarragon and fennel sauce,
39:54with buttery samphire and peas dressed in garlic and lemon.
39:57You like a big portion, don't you?
40:01Yeah.
40:02Yeah, I do.
40:04I would eat that in five minutes.
40:05I love the mashed potato, free of any lumps, crispy across the top.
40:18Crunch still in the prawns, smokiness coming from the smoked haddock is wonderful.
40:23And the fennel dancing around that fish pie, it's ice.
40:26Great.
40:28Great.
40:29Fresh tarragon going through that gorgeous sauce.
40:31I love the buttery, soft samphire, and so garlicky, but that shot of lemon just really brings it out.
40:40It's absolutely fantastic.
40:42Good.
40:43For dessert, Ginger has served poached pears in orange and cinnamon with ginger cream in a rum snap basket.
40:58This is a rum snap.
40:59It doesn't snap.
41:00However, that pear is so delicious, and I wasn't expecting that whack of ginger.
41:07The way that you've added flavour into the cream is so lovely.
41:11Inventive, complex, and ambitious.
41:16I've got some crunchy, crispy bits on the outside of my snap.
41:20In here, I've got almost the flavours of Christmas.
41:23Orange and cinnamon with that pear, which is wonderful, and sticky and sweet, poached well.
41:28I think it's great.
41:29I think it's great.
41:30Thank you so much.
41:33I can feel all of the energy and adrenaline draining from my body now.
41:38But I am having the time of my life.
41:41Uma has pan-fried sea bass and topped it with a raw samphire spring onion Thai basil and lime salad,
41:50served in a spicy Thai coconut curry sauce.
41:53Everything go to plan?
41:55No.
41:55So, I'm missing the rice.
41:59So, this is for people who are trying to avoid carbs today.
42:02LAUGHTER
42:03That's really hot.
42:09That's so hot.
42:12The fish, that skin, so inviting, so crunchy and crisp, but then the fish itself, still tender.
42:20The heat in that sauce is really quite something, but it's still delicious.
42:25This little salad of yours, I like it, because the Thai basil's anisee, the spraying is quite sharp and oniony,
42:34samphire being salty, which I think's great.
42:37There's only one thing missing.
42:38Rice.
42:39Rice.
42:40Because I've now got a bowl of soup, but I really admire your flavours.
42:46To dessert.
42:47Uma's dessert is a Black Forest mousse.
42:51Layers of chocolate mousse, sweet cherry syrup and whipped Chantilly cream,
42:55topped with whole cherries and hazelnuts.
43:02This is death by Black Forest dessert.
43:07Because the chocolate is so, so rich.
43:10And then you've got the huge, full cherries bursting with the juice.
43:15And then loads of cream.
43:18I could quite easily sit and finish the whole bowl.
43:21I would probably need to lie down afterwards.
43:25You've made what's called a water ganache.
43:27Cleverly, you've whipped it up.
43:29It's not light like a mousse.
43:30It's quite dense.
43:31And I don't mind that.
43:32Almost like a truffle flavour, like you get inside a chocolate truffle.
43:35Yeah.
43:36The cherries across the top are inspired because you get that lovely, rich flavour of cherries.
43:41It's almost like cherry liqueur.
43:42Again, inside a chocolate.
43:44I like it.
43:46Thanks, Uma.
43:49I feel a bit disappointed because the rice didn't go to plan.
43:53If I had just had like an extra 15 minutes, then things would have gone a lot better.
43:58So yeah, it was really stressful.
44:00Hello, hello, hello.
44:01Anthony's Greek-inspired main course is chicken thighs, rice and vermicelli cooked in tomatoes, chicken stock and lemon with a side of whipped feta and red chilli.
44:12It's cooked.
44:13It's cooked.
44:14It's cooked.
44:15Oh, phew.
44:16It's cooked.
44:17It's cooked.
44:18Oh, phew.
44:19Why did you do that?
44:20Why did you do that, John?
44:22The vermicelli and rice, beautifully seasoned.
44:29Your chicken is tender, but I would have either got rid of this skin or made sure that it was crispy because it's really flabby and wobbly and actually a little bit hairy.
44:41Exactly.
44:42Sorry.
44:43But apart from that skin, I could clear this plate. This is comfort food.
44:49Yeah, that's the vibe that I wanted to give. Yeah. Give it to me, John.
44:54Anthony, this doesn't make me blue.
44:57I love you, mate.
44:59It makes me really happy.
45:00Oh, yes, come on!
45:02Natural flavoured chicken thigh, sweet tomato, but what it absolutely needed was that feta cheese to really bring up the seasoning.
45:12Slightly salty and rich, a little bit of chilli heat. It's really addictive.
45:17Oh, mate, thank you, thank you.
45:19Anthony's dessert is a set lemon cheesecake topped with fresh berries.
45:30It's lemon, but it could have benefited from maybe a little bit of zest. However, it's a lovely Moorish cheesecake.
45:39I know you're trying to butter up the judges, Anthony, but there's so much butter with those biscuits in the base, it's almost like it's the texture of thick peanut butter.
45:48It needs more of the topping with that sharp lemon, but I like the addition of the fruit across the top.
45:54You're trying it with presentation. Good on you.
45:59Got some nice comments. Good constructive criticisms here and there, but listen, it's what I'm here for.
46:05Well, hello. Hello.
46:07Katie has served a fillet of place with braised fennel and crispy potatoes in a white wine and cream sauce with caviar and salmon roe.
46:18This is the nicest plating I've seen from you so far.
46:21Oh, thank you.
46:22I'm amazed. Where'd you come from?
46:24I knew you were a quiet assassin. These ones down here, they had no idea, did they?
46:29It was all an act. No, I'm joking.
46:38Fish is cooked beautifully, lovely and soft and falls apart.
46:43Wonderful, rich, creamy sauce.
46:45Got a little sort of zing of the white wine in the back of the throat.
46:48Salty bits of caviar and that salmon roe running through the whole thing.
46:52And I've got to say I love it. It's great.
46:56The fennel is under, but then that's when my list of complaints begins to run slightly dry.
47:02Fish is bang on.
47:05Potatoes, lovely and crispy, lovely flavoursome, salty.
47:08This is a really good plate of food.
47:10This is the best that you have cooked so far.
47:14I mean, I say thank you.
47:16Shall we go for dessert?
47:17Oh, yes, please.
47:18Katie has made a lemon and lime posset topped with a grapefruit gel and a shortbread crumble.
47:28It's a good citrus face, it's OK.
47:31It's all right.
47:32You all right there, John?
47:33Oh, yeah.
47:34It's a bit sharp, isn't it?
47:36Aye?
47:37You can only see how it won't I.
47:43Your posset, it's a lot creamier and runnier than I might have expected,
47:46but very good flavours.
47:48Yes, citrusy, doesn't hold back.
47:51It's so sharp.
47:53This is not for the timid posset eater.
47:58I love the fact you've made your own shortbread.
48:01The grapefruit gel is delicious because rather than being sharp like lemon,
48:04it's slightly bitter, so you get sweet, biscuity shortbread,
48:07the bitterness of that grapefruit, and then that sharpness of the lemon underneath.
48:12I think you're showing a huge amount of skill.
48:14Thank you very much.
48:16Yes!
48:19That was so good!
48:21I smashed it, so I'm so happy.
48:25I just wanted to put my heart and soul into the cooking like I do at home,
48:30and that's what I did.
48:33Last up is Gaz, with a plant-based nihari stew.
48:37Pan-fried soy protein steak served in a sauce spiced with cinnamon,
48:42fennel, cardamom, ginger and chilli, served with naan breads.
48:46I've never eaten a plant-based steak before.
48:57The plant-based meat's interesting
49:00because it's actually quite a strong flavour.
49:02It's almost the sort of flavour of salt beef,
49:06slightly taking over the beauty of the sauce
49:09because I really like that sauce of the breads.
49:11I like the pepperiness in the background, I like the ginger.
49:13I just find that plant-based meat very, very strong with the sauce.
49:18Your challenge was always going to be with this,
49:22that traditionally this is a slow-cooked stew
49:26that takes pieces of beef and stewing it all slowly in the sauce,
49:32and you haven't been able to do that,
49:34so the sauce is never going to have a ton of depth.
49:37However, aren't these great breads?
49:40Gaz has made a sweet Indian dessert called halva,
49:45carrot cooked in brown sugar and cardamom,
49:50and topped with pistachios, served with a vegan pistachio cream.
49:54I love the carrot and the scattering of nuts across the top.
50:07I don't even like cardamom,
50:09but somehow I've just eaten quite a lot of this.
50:12Very nice dessert.
50:13Mm-hm.
50:15I love cardamom, I reckon you could do with some more.
50:18That carrot's really sticky with all that sugar,
50:21with the nuts and the cream becomes really quite rich.
50:24Your food always has some great flavours,
50:27but you can give this one a little bit more spice.
50:29Sounds good.
50:30It was a risky menu, but I wanted to show that it was possible to make a plant-based nihari,
50:38which is quite unusual.
50:40There's no point in coming to a cooking show and not pushing yourself or pushing the boundaries.
50:46Thank you so much for all of your hard work there.
50:50You've all cooked your absolute hearts out.
50:53We're going to ask you to step outside and we'll call you back in as soon as we possibly can.
50:57But for me, a fantastic start to this year's competition.
51:01You've set the bar really high. Thank you.
51:04Thank you, celebrities.
51:12Ugh!
51:15I am spent.
51:17I don't know about you guys, but I'm so proud of all of us.
51:20Yeah.
51:21Yeah.
51:22Bring it in.
51:24Class of 2025.
51:26Class of 2025!
51:27Get in!
51:29Come on.
51:31Five great celebrities, but we only have four places in the quarter-final.
51:36I usually get to pirouette off at this point and leave this to you.
51:39They've had their ups and downs all the way through.
51:42But do you have a favourite today?
51:44Ginger doesn't just bring joy and glamour.
51:47She brings ambition.
51:48Fish pie, great mashed potato top with a poached pear, the ginger cream.
51:53Ginger's got herself a quarter-final place.
51:55She's not going anywhere.
51:57Katie in this round.
51:59Place with that lovely white wine sauce.
52:01And then we had that posset.
52:03It's sort of reminiscent of that first round, isn't it?
52:05Of the joy of that apple crumble and custard.
52:08And it was just what we needed to see.
52:10A different level of Katie.
52:12Are we happy that Katie's got a quarter-final place?
52:14Uma understands flavour.
52:17That fish curry is so hot it nearly knocked my boots off, but I enjoyed it.
52:22She didn't get the rice right, but there is ambition.
52:25Taking chocolate and hot water to make a mousse, I mean, good on her.
52:30Yeah.
52:31Anthony's dished chicken, vermicelli, rice, well-flavoured.
52:35I loved that fetter on the side.
52:36I thought that really helped the dish come alive.
52:39Cheesecake.
52:40Flavour of lemon, yes.
52:41Too much of the base, but there was a bit of ambition.
52:44He made a cheesecake, and I admire the fact he did do that.
52:47And his food is a little bit haphazard at times, but I love his passion and his enthusiasm.
52:51I enjoyed Gaz's Nahari, but I just don't feel like there was enough depth of that sauce.
52:59That steak overpowered the sauce.
53:00Yeah.
53:01The dessert.
53:02Carrot halva, grating carrots, some sugar, cardamom in a pot.
53:06That's lovely, but I felt the whole thing just needed more spice.
53:10This competition allows you to push yourself in a way that you'd never do.
53:21So I'd love to stay to continue to explore just what I'm capable of.
53:27I want to learn.
53:28I want John and Grace to push me and push me and push me.
53:31And if I'm still here, the next challenge, I'll be happy.
53:35I hope I've done enough so far to keep my place, but I'm, like, a bit worried.
53:42I really, really do want to stay in the competition.
53:44We have to make a decision.
53:45Yeah.
53:46Whoever goes through to a quarter-final, they're going to have to continue to step up.
53:50Thank you so much for the passion.
54:08You've really, really tried your best.
54:10Above all that, you've given us some delicious food.
54:16There are only four quarter-final places.
54:18The celebrity leaving us is...
54:31Gaz.
54:34Gaz, thank you very much.
54:35A fantastic competition.
54:36It's been brilliant having you.
54:37Thank you so much indeed.
54:38Thank you, Gaz.
54:39You're leaving us.
54:40Thanks so much indeed, Gaz.
54:41Thank you, Gaz.
54:42Thank you, Gaz.
54:43Guys, good luck.
54:45I'm a little bit disappointed, obviously.
54:47I would have liked to stay in the competition, but it's really made me realize just what it is that I love about cooking and food and how it can bring people together.
54:55So I've really enjoyed that.
54:57You are Celebrity MasterChef quarter-finalists.
55:05Yay!
55:10Wow.
55:11I've never won anything on my own in my life.
55:12I've never even won pass the parcel.
55:14Do you know what I mean?
55:16So to even get through to the next round in Celebrity MasterChef, I'm just gobsmacked.
55:23I'm going to be celebrating tonight like you wouldn't believe.
55:26When I first started in this competition, I thought it was just going to be a disaster.
55:31So the fact that I've got through is unbelievable.
55:34I am just over the moon and beyond proud of myself.
55:39Every day is another amazing surprise and it's so different to what I do with the rest of my life.
55:44The fact that I'm a quarter-finalist is crazy.
55:47I'm excited to come back and see what's in store for us next.
55:51I want to go as far as I can.
55:57Next time...
55:59Please help the grass.
56:01It's the quarter-final.
56:03What could go wrong?
56:04What's this space?
56:06And Ginger, Anthony, Uma and Katie are back.
56:12Cheers.
56:15Cheers.
56:16To battle for their place.
56:18Stress.
56:19In the semi-finals.
56:21It tastes amazing.
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