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00:00This week, five celebrities have taken on the challenge to become MasterChef champion.
00:09Oh, yes!
00:10Oh, dear.
00:13I literally struggle to get ready on time in the morning,
00:16so the fact that I've made anything is impressive to me.
00:19I'm right on the very edge of thriving and surviving.
00:22Who knows? It could go either way.
00:25Tonight, they're back to continue their quest
00:28as they face two demanding challenges.
00:32Wow, it's a workout, isn't it?
00:34I'm stressed now.
00:35Battling it out for a place in the quarterfinal.
00:39I'm not here to make up the numbers.
00:41I've done that for 24 years in a band, do you know what I mean?
00:43I want to be an Atlee Costa who can cook.
00:46I am really trying to push myself, but a lot can go wrong.
00:51We're always heading into the unknown.
00:54It's like the walk of doom when you go in there.
00:58We've seen these five celebrities blossom in quite a short time.
01:03Passionate cooks that want to succeed, but it's only the beginning.
01:07The competition continues, but now it's time to turn up the heat.
01:13Welcome back, celebrities.
01:34We have certainly put you through your paces so far.
01:37But the learning curve is about to get so much steeper.
01:42For you to learn, you need an expert to learn with.
01:47And that's why today we've invited in a special guest.
01:51Wow.
01:52Somebody who's built a famous group of restaurants,
01:56celebrating and cooking the food of their childhood.
02:00Can I please introduce you to Karan Gokhani?
02:05Woo!
02:11Growing up in the vibrant city of Mumbai, Karan developed his love of food as a child.
02:16From the age of four or five, I started rolling my first chapatis in the kitchen.
02:22Family meals reflected his rich heritage of Gujarati cuisine as well as diverse flavours from South Asia.
02:30Delicious array of different food from across the country that played such an important role in my childhood.
02:36Despite his passion for cooking, he moved to the UK in 2005 to study law at Cambridge University.
02:44After pursuing a brief career in the law in London, I then finally said,
02:48this is the age I need to, you know, give it all up and pursue my dreams.
02:53In 2015, he opened the first of three Hoppers restaurants in London's Soho,
02:59quickly setting the culinary world alight with authentic South Indian and Sri Lankan dishes.
03:05You could easily represent Karan and Tamil cuisine from South India and Sri Lankan cuisine in the same space.
03:12And it just gave more depth to the menu.
03:15Food is so much more than what's on the plate because it connects you to a time,
03:19it connects you to a safe place and it teaches you so much about the culture as well.
03:26I've got five recipes for you to cook that I grew up cooking,
03:30that I absolutely love, that represent the four regions of India.
03:34North, South, East and West and Sri Lanka.
03:38So I'm very excited to see how you get on with these recipes.
03:43You're about to cook restaurant quality food and that's what it's going to be.
03:4890 minutes. Let's get cooking.
03:52Let's do it.
03:53Let's go.
03:54Oh, we're straight in, are we?
03:55I love Indian food.
04:01There's nothing like a good curry to warm you up in the North.
04:08I'm probably the most nervous man in the room because these are all recipes I put so much love and heart into writing.
04:16I'm excited to try a new thing.
04:18What could possibly go wrong?
04:22There is a huge element of intuitive cooking when it comes to Indian food.
04:26I want to see them taste, especially when you've got these complex dishes.
04:29It's going to be a challenge.
04:32I think I've got the most tonight to do.
04:34I've been stitched.
04:35I want to see them engaging with the ingredients and cook something delicious for us to eat afterwards.
04:44Because I'm starving.
04:50Is that curry?
04:52I've never really dealt with a full fish before.
04:56Katie is a star of Coronation Street.
04:59She's clearly a good home cook.
05:02That crumble she made, absolutely delicious.
05:05Timing is a little bit of an issue, but just a bit of confidence, Katie.
05:09That's all she needs.
05:11I'm proud of myself so far.
05:12And the fact that my food's been edible and I've had a giggle, that's what it's all about, isn't it?
05:20Katie's been tasked with cooking one of Karen's favourite South Indian dishes.
05:25Banana leaf fish with okra and yoghurt.
05:28Cooking anything in a banana leaf gives it both theatre, but a lot of flavour.
05:33It is just the most glorious dish because you bring it to the table, open it up and it's a celebration in itself.
05:39Katie's taking a whole bream.
05:41So I'm calling the fish burnt, burnt the bream.
05:45She has to cut it all the way through to the bone.
05:48Go for it. Come on, you can do this.
05:50Because then it's marinated with a mixture of spices which is turned to a paste.
05:54Then a masala paste is made.
05:56Oh, it's making my eyes water.
05:58With onions, curry leaves and tomatoes, a little bit of coconut milk.
06:02That's then put across the top and all that lovely spicing being enough to coat it but not to actually overpower the flavour of that fish.
06:09Don't know what I'm doing, but I'm just happy I've got instructions.
06:14Make sure you cook the masala sauce that you're going to put on top of the fish.
06:21Nice and thick. It shouldn't be too watery.
06:23OK. I'm just excited to try it more than anything. It's exciting.
06:28What's your biggest worry right now?
06:30The timing again.
06:32But I've always wanted to learn how to cook a whole fish because I think it looks really cool and it's going to be tasty, I hope.
06:38Right, what's next?
06:42Cut the top.
06:43The top. That must be the top.
06:46Ginger, our drag queen, gives herself a huge amount of work to do and delivers really delicious food. There's talent there.
06:52Whatever the circumstances, Ginger will deliver.
06:55Her first challenge is to tackle a whole green coconut for a prawn curry cooked and served inside the shell.
07:04Wow, it's a workout, isn't it?
07:06Each challenge is a new fresh hell in the kitchen.
07:11I don't cook a lot of South Asian cuisine. I do eat a lot of South Asian cuisine.
07:16So who knows what today's going to bring?
07:18It's a dish from East India, specifically West Bengal.
07:22It's a light flavoring, but it has a beautiful aroma and smell.
07:26Inside that coconut, there's lots of clear coconut water.
07:31Okay, in we go.
07:33Oh, right in the face.
07:37She's got to hollow the whole thing out.
07:40Scoop out the flesh.
07:42That jelly-like white flesh with the coconut water is added to fresh prawns, garlic, ginger, cumin, poppy seeds.
07:53Ooh, this is scary.
08:02The coconut is then sealed with a dough around the outside like a pie top and then it's baked in the oven.
08:10Bringing a whole green coconut to the table and opening it and scooping out a delicate prawn curry from inside.
08:18That lovely visual, sensory delight.
08:23Okay.
08:25Junji, you look like you're having a ball.
08:26I am, I'm having a great time.
08:27I've never eaten a curry out of a coconut, that's really exciting.
08:30You're going to have to be careful about whether the prawns are cooked at the end or not.
08:33I think it's just going to be surprises all afternoon, really, isn't it?
08:36How are you feeling about the competition?
08:37I'm feeling good, you know.
08:38I'm trying not to think too much of it as a competition and Mars just like a really fun cooking holiday so that the pressure isn't on me.
08:44All the years I've done Mars Chef, I've never heard anybody describe it as a cooking holiday.
08:50You've never been on holiday with me.
08:51Get on with that.
08:52See you later.
08:54Something's happening in there.
08:5620 minutes gone, everybody.
08:57An hour and 10 minutes left.
08:59Don't slow down.
09:00Keep it going.
09:03Anthony, pop star, an actor.
09:05His ideas are good, but I want a bit more oomph.
09:08I want a bit more showman that Anthony truly is.
09:12He's so lovable, but his nerves, I take him under.
09:16He's taking on a red chicken curry inspired by Karen's travels to Sri Lanka.
09:22This curry really blew my mind.
09:25It had a whole array of different flavours that we weren't used to.
09:28Things like lemongrass had pandan.
09:30And it's just such a warming, gorgeous curry.
09:32I love following a recipe because it's there step by step.
09:39It's like a script. Bang, bang, bang.
09:41If this goes wrong, it ain't my fault, mate. I've followed it.
09:47That Sri Lankan red chicken curry needs to be really spicy and hot.
09:53He's first marinated the chicken with a mixture of spices and garlic and ginger.
09:57The chicken goes in with onions, sweet coconut milk.
10:02He's got to make sure it's vibrant.
10:05He can't just rely upon the recipe.
10:07He's got to taste his food as well.
10:10Oh, mate, that's bonnet de douche, that.
10:13Do you like curry?
10:15Love, love a curry.
10:17I can cook it, but I can't cook it, do you know what I mean?
10:18Well, if anybody is going to teach you, it's this man.
10:22The way I always teach curries is layering curries.
10:25You're not just putting everything into a pan and boiling them.
10:28Imagine a great song.
10:30If everyone's not playing their bit perfectly, you'll have a terrible song.
10:33I get it, I get it.
10:35Told you it was a learning curve.
10:36It is.
10:42Uma, reality TV star, has amazing ideas about food.
10:48Putting the haggis onto the rosti, absolutely ingenious, and then cooking Nigerian food.
10:54She'd put her own spin on it.
10:56I really admire what she's doing.
10:58Uma's got paneer, tucker dal, and pilau rice.
11:03Probably three of the most iconic and well-known Indian takeaways in all of Great Britain.
11:10But she has to make her own paneer.
11:14Paneer is Punjabi cheese from the north of India.
11:18There's nothing like good homemade paneer.
11:20My mum made it for us growing up.
11:22Never made paneer cheese before, so I think that would be a test.
11:28You split the milk, and while it's hot, you get it into a cheesecloth.
11:32And then you want to tie it really nice and tight, and then press it.
11:38I'm scared that it's going to burst.
11:40Did you add a little bit of salt?
11:41Yeah, I'd add some salt and just give it a quick mix.
11:43Yeah.
11:44And then squeeze it through.
11:45Okay.
11:47And that's going to be cooked in a spinach gravy, made with freshly sautéed spinach.
11:52A little bit of tomato and onion.
11:54If you were in Punjab, this is what you'd be eating for dinner.
11:56Oh, that's amazing.
11:58And you're doing it in 90 minutes.
11:59I am a bit worried that I'm going to not get this all done on time, but I'm trying my best.
12:04She's unflappable.
12:05Oh, I love that.
12:06Good luck, your mum.
12:07Thank you, guys.
12:09Not being able to prepare makes me a little bit nervous, but I am confident that I can pull it off.
12:15I'm trying to strain all the liquid out of it as much as I can, so I need to put some weight on top of it.
12:20I'll try to make a little bit easier for you.
12:21I'll try to make a little risk for the little bit of damage to the meat.
12:22I can call it that I can take a little bit in my bag.
12:23It's just a little bit of damage to my bag.
12:24I'm trying to tell you that I can give it to my bag.
12:25I just need to be a little bit more fun.
12:26That's right.
12:28I've got a little bit of a bit of a bit of a book that I can give you, so I can give it a bit of a bit of a visi?
12:30wants to celebrate that food he's proved himself to have an absolutely fantastic part he won the
12:35palate test but now what i want from him is a coherent plate of food without any mistakes
12:42gaz is making karen's version of popular indian street food bombay frankie this is a dish very
12:50close to my heart we'd go off after school to one or two of these vendors who you know we always love
12:57and eat a chicken frankie a mutton frankie and on occasion a potato frankie this is a potato
13:04sandwich crushed potatoes with loads and loads of spices i think the potatoes there's like a few
13:11large chunks that haven't cooked through pan fried so it's nice and crispy on the outside
13:18with that he's got a classic indian green chutney and that means lots of mint coriander green chilies
13:26but the big thing seems to be making this roti that's sitting underneath a lovely thin bread
13:33slightly flaky a little bit of oil on the outsides because he needs to roll the whole thing up
13:38like the best indian wrap you've ever had in your whole life
13:41i messed up enough to start again as soon as i saw karen i was like oh okay in some ways i was excited
13:54because it's flavors that i know in other ways i was like i felt the weight of the entire subcontinent on
14:00my back where's your family from pakistan so you understand spicing yes yeah it wasn't a convincing
14:11answer that's why my mom doesn't let me in the kitchen or didn't let me when i was growing up
14:15so all the food that you grew up with your mom and your grandmother used to cook for you yeah pretty
14:19much have you ever had a bombay frankie no not at all first time roti's not going to be easy but i'm sure
14:24you'll do well i can't wait for mine no pressure you're over halfway
14:35katie's bream is marinating in turmeric chili and lime
14:39but there's a question mark over the consistency of her masala sauce is that cooked down yeah you
14:46cooked it yeah i would just cook it for a little bit longer all right thank you i can see she's
14:51panicking a little bit right now i went and checked the paste that she made was a little thinner than i
14:56wanted it so i've got her to cook it again this just needs to reduce down needs to go to like a paste
15:02but she needs to act quickly now it's a big fish it needs to bake through so she'll need at least 18
15:09minutes from the looks of that fish she also needs to get going on her vegetable garnish
15:16make sure you're cutting them to the right size because otherwise they cook unevenly okay
15:23okra is one of my favorite vegetables but it's got to be cooked properly biting into crunchy okra
15:28in this particular dish i don't want it ginger's prawn and coconut curry is in the oven she's now
15:36rolling out dough for a bengali flatbread to accompany it lucis are these lovely delicate fried breads
15:44they puff up like magic if you're making them for the first time need a little bit of technique you
15:49need to roll it out perfectly that's kind of supposed to be a circle and then deep fried making sure
15:56it puffs up fully it's nice and crispy newsflash something is happening is it about is it going
16:04to do it ginger what's happening what's happening is these things are supposed to turn into balls after
16:0810 seconds when i put them in the fryer it's not done it's a ball the thickness of that dough is all
16:15important too thick they won't puff up at all oh oh oh right i've rolled it out too thick that's what it is
16:22because this guy's going straight away i've got to get it as thin as i can you want to get the edges
16:29even oh okay if you want that puff this is the only way to get it fine let's try another one
16:36i all the time in the world about five minutes ago and now suddenly it's feeling quite desperate
16:42also challenged with the dough is anthony his red curry is accompanied by a sri lankan staple string
16:56hoppers you take this rice flour mix it with a little bit of oil water salt until it comes together
17:04you then put through a lovely string hopper press a bit like rolling out fresh pasta
17:11making string hoppers in front of the person that's formed a whole business around making
17:16string hoppers do you feel the pressure very much so effectively you're making spaghetti it's delicious
17:21and it's a great way to enjoy that curry
17:23i hope so last thing you want is these things to get all crumbly and just break apart
17:34wow it's a bit like play-doh you know like my kids have these toys then you get these lovely
17:40little rice flour discs steam them for a few minutes not too stodgy light
17:44that you can just mop up your sambals and chicken curry with as you do in sri lanka
17:49it's just like these lovely squidgy things coming out of the uh out of this machine here so i'm loving
17:54it he's doing it they're steaming a revelation across the kitchen uma's full focus has been on just
18:03one of her three main components look at that panu does it look good it's amazing yeah look at that
18:10that's perfect and is only just getting the lentils on for the next element the taka dal just trying to
18:16get the lentils soft enough so a tadka dal is simply a stewed lentil and then the tadka is really
18:23the spicing you add to the boiled lentils some whole spices garam masala so you feel the warmth coming
18:28through she's got to resist the urge to rush she's got to make sure that she cooks those lentils all
18:34the way through in spiced water before she adds it to the taka is this something you might do at home
18:42no not really i don't actually eat lentils at home but i have been to a restaurant where they had lentil
18:49sort of dal is it called yeah so i'm quite excited straight taste these actually you're boiling them
18:55don't need to stir them so much they will take their time
19:01gaz has got his potato filling prepped for his bombay frankie but now he needs to tackle cooking the
19:07all-important rav oh no i'm burning i'm burning the roti it's all going off keep going that was a trial
19:17gaz is the only bench so far where there's actually been what felt like a buyer this is a hard task we
19:23have piled on the pressure but i do worry for guys right now yeah it didn't work out roll that out a
19:31little thinner it's the thickness and the right heat so that's what i'm struggling with try attempt
19:38number four it's the roti that it all comes down to if it's not a soft supple roti i'm not having it
19:46the worst part of all of this is that when my mom and my grandma see this they're going to be so ashamed
19:51of me 10 minutes don't hate me
20:03they do hate me chicken curry's doing nice string hoppers are on and now about to start the uh sambal
20:10get the pepper get the chili get some salt in there and then give that a bit i don't think the prawns are
20:16cooked no put it back in the oven then uma's also starting to feel pressured she's done the lentils but
20:24she skipped a step she's forgotten to make the tarka that she's supposed to combine and flavor the cooked
20:31lentils with but i want a simple tarka of ginger garlic red chili i'm stressed now celebrities you've
20:39only got five minutes left you really need to push nearly there
20:46i like it tastes slightly better than it looks
20:52there's some wonderful smells coming from ginger and it's not hairspray
20:57ow it's hot now we got 60 seconds everybody just 60 seconds left
21:10all good in the hood
21:24hey we got coconut in the curry
21:28what's it served like that a fish banana parcel that's it guys time's up please time is up
21:47uma hello reality star uma has cooked a trio of classic punjabi dishes paneer cheese and a spinach gravy
21:57with pilau rice and a tarka dal
22:08that paneer is just stand out it's cheesy it's rich the color of that sauce is great simple spinach
22:17it all shines through but the tarka dal you forgot to do that the base masala so we missed out the onions
22:24we missed out the tomato and we had to do something really quick for me that dish is not complete
22:28okay i order paneer whenever it's available and i've never tasted it like that it's soft and it's
22:35creamy you've knocked that out of the park yay rice free-flowing but the lentils sadly are letting
22:44everything else down they're not cooked enough they should be a lot softer there needs to be that rich
22:49tomato through the background it would have been wonderful when you can cook something like paneer
22:54that well everything else should be the same level i didn't even really know what paneer was i thought
23:00it was a bread so i'm really happy actor katie has made karen's favorite south indian fish dish
23:08turmeric and lime marinated sea bream topped with a masala spiced paste and baked in a banana leaf
23:14it definitely looks the part the sauce has clung on it's not watery served with okra stir-fried with
23:22coconut chili mustard seeds and yogurt
23:30the fish shouldn't stick to the bone like that these thinner bits are cooked perfectly yeah it's just
23:36the bits in the middle could be cooked a little more yeah and the seasoning i think a little more
23:40seasoning when you marinated it a little more in the masala as well the fish a little bit longer in
23:46the oven it's all about timing here but your lovely smokiness that comes from that banana leaf love the
23:51sweet coconut going through that okra the richness of the curry leaves all the mustard seeds that's
23:57wonderful just to bring them alive a sprinkle of salt it will bring the flavor right up the fish is
24:04certainly a little undercooked however that was the first time you'd ever worked with a whole fish
24:11and to cook it inside the leaves i'm impressed i think you've made a very good effort thank you
24:20yes the fish was slightly under but i'm working with food i've never cooked with before
24:25and it's edible so yeah i'm quite proud of myself
24:29pop star anthony has served karen's sri lankan inspired red chicken curry
24:36with string hopper noodles and a coconut and chili sambal
24:43oh it's got a nice little chili cake
24:48the curry itself it's bold it's gutsy layering of ginger and garlic and all those dried spices
24:56to lots and lots of heat i think it looks great it shows care you've tasted on the way and it's
25:02really paid off thank you wow thank you so much you nailed the string hoppers what they're not the
25:07easiest thing to get right they're light they're separate steam them perfectly and i think you did a
25:13really good job wow thank you wow i love that you've made a sambal so vibrant it's got a real kick you
25:21haven't held back your cooking in this round has gone to a new level wow yeah wow thank you
25:30i'm just speechless i've done string hoppers in front of mr hopper man
25:37he's offered me a job i've said i can't come at the moment make someone talk
25:40no i'm joking
25:43paralympian gaz has cooked karen's version of the popular indian street food bombay frankie
25:49potatoes pan fried in garlic ginger chili and cumin on a coriander chili mint and lime chutney
25:57wrapped in a roti
26:07the potatoes for me could have definitely been spicier could have had a little more seasoning
26:12the bread it's a little dry i wanted this a little more golden a little more fried
26:18for that extra sort of richness when you wrap it up this is one of the the funkiest potato
26:23sandwiches i've ever had in my life your chutney rich with mint and coriander a really good punch
26:29of chili i think that's lovely i love the vibrancy of the color i think that i did get the best deal
26:35with the bread yes it could be perhaps a little thinner and less dry but as you can see once i'd
26:42rolled it up i've eaten half of it definitely didn't do karam proud as the only asian contestant in this
26:50heat i think he had high hopes for me and i definitely feel like i let him down
26:55drag artist ginger has cooked a bengali prawn and coconut curry served inside the shell of a green
27:03coconut with deep fried lucci breads oh look at that
27:09that sauce it's coconutty but the back note of mustard just subtle just enough that just clings
27:23around these soft buttery prawns that is restaurant quality food absolutely wild
27:32that lovely bit of bread there puffed up beautifully with that sweet sauce and the prawns
27:37it's fantastic that prawn could not be more perfect it complements the butteriness of that fresh
27:46coconut with a fresh spice from a green chili it tastes amazing you've really nailed both dishes great
27:56i basically decapitated my way through the challenge with the coconut and the prawns i'm learning so much
28:05i'm so proud of you and you should be very very proud of yourselves i think you did so well
28:11thank you very much indeed we'll see you soon off you go thank you thank you thank you
28:21karen thank you very much indeed for showing our five some fantastic food and and nurturing along the
28:27way it was absolutely brilliant they learned a lot definitely i learned a lot for me the highlight
28:33really was that they embraced the challenge of love being here see you later we're alive yes that's
28:41something hard work it's cooking malarkey isn't it wow thrown in the deep end but that i've really
28:49enjoyed it right now all to play for next time one of them's going home every single one of them wants
28:56to stay this is going to be tough you've just cooked someone else's food but now we want to taste yours
29:22your brief is to cook us your two dinner party favorites a main course and a dessert and it's
29:29time for you to show off because we are looking for quarter finalists and we only have four quarter
29:37final places at the end of this one of you will be going home one hour let's cook
29:45dinner parties sound like a lot of fun but you really do have to deliver something delicious that
29:57the person wouldn't have on any normal night a lot of pressure man and and the heat excuse the pun is
30:02being turned up what do they feed their friends what do they feed to their loved ones what do they feed
30:09people to impress i mean right now these five could just blow our minds i don't want to be too confident
30:18but cool calm and collected it's go big i'll go home or go big absolutely ruin it and go home
30:26ginger do you ever have the other drag queens around for a dinner party oh drag queens don't really
30:31eat that much it's all it's more about talking than eating more of a liquid yeah so tell us the
30:39inspiration for your dishes i used to play rugby every sunday and i would come home from rugby
30:43freezing cold covered in mud get in the bath and then come down and have sunday dinner and that would
30:47often be fish pie so i'm making a fish pie it's really creamy really unctuous delicious
30:52ginger's absolutely going for it i'm absolutely melting never mind the butter i'm melting she's
31:04poaching her fish with fennel and then she's making a cream sauce out of that poaching liquid mash the
31:10potatoes right now we want a golden crispy top on that potato the smokiness of the fish running through
31:17the whole dish served with peas and samphire lovely bit of green and then poached pears with rum snaps
31:25and ginger cream this is what i would cook for my family if i had the chance to cook them
31:28sunday afternoon dinner if we were all there but can you actually see what you're doing i mean you're
31:34great in with like basically two tarantulas fighting you can't half do drag can you from a woman who loves
31:41makeup you're an inspiration thank you so much good luck the pear has to be cooked all the way through
31:49it can't be in any way hard and she's poaching in orange juice which is a lovely idea with lots of
31:55cinnamon the ginger cream needs to be full of ginger because that snap biscuit made from rum is going to
32:02be really sweet i am loving the ambition there's a lot to do and it all has to happen at the same time
32:11so hopefully we don't end up with fishy pears
32:18okay
32:25auntie's got chicken thighs cooked in a greek style with lots of sauce rice firmer chili tomatoes
32:30and lemon he's going to serve that with yogurt and feta cheese with chili wonderful but he's using
32:37chicken thighs with the bone in he's going to make sure they get a nice bit of color on them first
32:43seasoned really really well before they go into the pot with rice vermicelli
32:49i'm just happy to be here and learning from these guys amazing
32:53especially john because he's got a soft spot for me
32:55what's the blue dinner party like the lads are good cooks actually when i told them i was coming
33:06on this they literally laughed in my face i can see why my main is inspired by a traditional greek
33:16dish called tava i loved eating it as a kid because i love my chicken love my rice
33:22i love my tomatoes i love the whole thing being cooked together and you soak all the juices up comfort
33:27food
33:28for dessert a lemon cheesecake i love a lemon cheesecake i know you do
33:36want a biscuity base which is not too hard we want a creamy filling across the top which is zingy
33:42with lemon but at the same time i want a bit of oomph i want a bit of style i want a little bit
33:46of something that makes me stand up and go wow
33:48i am playing it safe with the lemon cheesecake i ain't gonna lie but i'm gonna throw myself into
33:55it just feed them
34:00you are halfway 30 minutes gone 30 minutes left
34:07i do like a lot of flavors in my food and i like my dishes to be quite complex
34:13i do feel quite determined to prove to myself and prove to the judges that i am a good cook
34:18i am a good cook
34:20boomers got a piece of pan fried sea bass sitting on a spiced thai flavored sauce
34:27lemongrass lime leaf turmeric coconut milk all going there and there's even some chili
34:34my mum used to make a dish when we were younger and she called it coconut chicken but i prefer fish
34:39even though she's not thai she's australian she likes to be experimental with her cooking
34:43umo is promising us rice and then we've got salad which has been made from samphire and spray onions
34:50if there's too much samphire it's going to become really salty
34:54what's for dessert it's a chocolate mousse i'm gonna put hazelnuts on top
34:58cherries and then a chantilly cream a little bit of black forest going on exactly i love black forest
35:03she's making a water ganache which is really clever i was trying to find out like a way that
35:11you can make a chocolate mousse quickly and i found out basically that if you melt it in water and
35:16then blend it over a nice bath it forms a mousse texture hopefully that mousse is lovely and smooth
35:24and then the sweetness of the cream it could be wonderful
35:35gaz is cooking food inspired by his pakistani upbringing nahari which is the national dish of
35:42pakistan usually a beef stew cooked really really slow with lots of onions and spices enriched usually
35:48with bone marrow i'm trying to make a plant-based version i've never seen a plant-based version before
35:53so i'm rolling the dice and see how it works out he's using a plant-based steak and then a sauce
36:01which is going to be enriched with lots and lots of spices and nutritional yeast it's almost a smokiness
36:06but should fill our mouths with flavor i love nihari my mom is like famous for making her nihari the legend
36:14is that was a working class food for laborers while they were building the Taj Mahal they would feed the
36:19laborers in the morning and they would basically be be able to work all day with that we're being
36:26promised bread naan he's made the dough i just hope he's got enough time to make sure that bread is cooked
36:32all the way through after the disaster of making the roti in the last challenge i really want to know if
36:38i can get it right for dessert we're getting halva carrot halva carrots cooked with plant-based milk brown
36:52sugar lots and lots of cardamom that carrot mixture all cooks down together to become almost like a jam
37:00it's 100 completely plant-based which i think is brilliant you are so passionate about plant-based
37:08i kind of just like to just explore cooking just see where it takes you all the best thank you grace
37:17katie from corrig hello grace what are you making i am making place fillets with potatoes and fennel in a
37:26white wine sauce this kind of reminds me of home i used to cook a lot of fish and potatoes with my
37:31granddad which character from cory would have loved this food ken barlow 100 percent um he loves a bit
37:40of white wine likes a little bit of white wine yeah as i do katie right now seems really really confident
37:50place philip she's going to cook underneath the grill well that's great that only takes three or four
37:54minutes buttery soft fennel and it needs to be soft we don't want crunchy hard fennel she's laboring
38:03over a white wine sauce white wine cream some lemon juice lots of seasoning lovely i love lemon i love
38:11thyme i love garlic i love the creaminess of this dish i'll just it's very indulgent i need to know
38:20the pudding the pudding is a citrus posset with a shortbread crunch i love lemon desserts yeah like
38:30when i was younger we used to love pancake day so i used to race home and have lemon and sugar pancakes
38:35until i was sick don't want that near the heat a citrus posset it should be silky like a cross between
38:46a mousse and a cheesecake then with that we've also got shortbread and grapefruit gel i need to bash my
38:54shortbread which i love okay you seem to be transformed into somebody who's suddenly come out of a
38:59professional kitchen you have to improvise when you've already used your rolling pin i have added
39:05a bit of pizzazz because it's master chef especially the dessert it's very tangy but sweet with a bit of
39:13crunch and we like that i've put on about a stone and shortbread so this is the final 10 minutes
39:22oh yeah there we go it's the rice it seems right now that umi's got a problem with her rice horrible
39:35doesn't look like it's cooked i wonder she's gonna serve it or not if it's not cooked i hope she doesn't
39:42good it worked out
39:45please don't tear please don't tear please don't tear please don't tear go on go on oh yeah
39:56ow that's hot
40:00you've got just 60 seconds 60 seconds everybody
40:06what the hell is going on today
40:11lovely pear with the lovely cream
40:15oh it just looks so pretty i think it does anyway
40:31that's the dessert out of the way don't drop the pies don't drop the pies
40:35okay that's it time's up everybody
40:45i'm pretty happy with it yeah yeah i'm really happy with it actually i'm just so happy we've done
40:51it now oh my god can they drag artiste ginger johnson please approach the judges
40:57hello hello ginger's dinner party main is a smoked haddock salmon and prawn fish pie in a creamy tarragon
41:09and fennel sauce with buttery samphire and peas dressed in garlic and lemon
41:14you like a big portion don't you yeah yeah i do i would eat that in five minutes
41:22i love the mashed potato free of any lumps crispy across the top
41:35crunch still in the prawns smokiness coming from the smoked haddock it's wonderful and the fennel
41:40dancing around that fish pie it's it's ice great great fresh tarragon going through that gorgeous sauce
41:48i love the buttery soft samphire and so garlicky but that shot of lemon just really brings it out
41:56it's absolutely fantastic good for dessert ginger has served poached pears in orange and cinnamon
42:05with ginger cream in a rum snap basket
42:08this is a rum snap it doesn't snap however that pear is so delicious and i wasn't expecting that
42:22whack of ginger the way that you've added flavor into the cream is so lovely inventive complex
42:30and ambitious thank you i've got some crunchy crispy bits on the outside of my snap
42:37in here i've got almost the flavors of christmas orange and cinnamon with that pear which is
42:42wonderful and sticky and sweet poached well i think it's great thank you so much
42:50i can feel all of the energy and adrenaline draining from my body now but i am having the time of my life
42:57umma has pan fried sea bass and topped it with a raw samphire spring onion thai basil and lime salad
43:07served in a spicy thai coconut curry sauce
43:10everything go to plan no so i'm missing the rice
43:14um so this is for people who are trying to avoid carbs today
43:25that's really hot
43:26that's so hot
43:29the fish that skin so inviting so crunchy and crisp but then the fish itself still tender the heat in
43:38that sauce is really quite something but it's still delicious this little salad of yours i like it
43:46because the thai basil's anise the spraying is quite sharp and oniony samphire being salty which i think's
43:53great there's only one thing missing rice rice because i've now got a bowl of soup but i really admire
44:01your flavors thank you to dessert umma's dessert is a black forest mousse layers of chocolate mousse
44:09sweet cherry syrup and whipped chantilly cream topped with whole cherries and hazelnuts
44:19this is death by black forest dessert because the chocolate is so so rich and then you've got the
44:28huge full cherries bursting with the juice and then loads of cream i could quite easily sit and finish
44:37the whole bowl i would probably need to lie down afterwards you've made what's called a water ganache
44:44cleverly you've whipped it up it's not light like a mousse it's quite dense and i don't mind that almost
44:49like a truffle flavor like you get inside a chocolate truffle yeah the cherries across the top are inspired
44:55because you get that lovely rich flavor of cherry it's almost like cherry liqueur again inside a
45:00chocolate i like it thanks thank you i feel a bit disappointed because the rice didn't go to plan
45:10if i just had like an extra 15 minutes then things would have gone a lot better so yeah it was really
45:15stressful hello hello hello anthony's greek inspired main course is chicken thighs rice and vermicelli
45:24cooked in tomatoes chicken stock and lemon with a side of whipped feta and red chili
45:33cooked it's cooked oh why'd you do that john
45:43the vermicelli and rice beautifully seasoned your chicken is tanned up but i would have either
45:50got rid of this skin or made sure that it was crispy because it's really flabby and wobbly and
45:56actually a little bit hairy exactly sorry but apart from that skin i could clear this plate
46:03this is comfort food yeah that's that's the vibe that i wanted to give yeah give it to me john anthony
46:12this doesn't make me blue i love you mate it makes me really happy oh yes come on natural flavor of
46:20chicken thigh sweet tomato but what it absolutely needed was that feta cheese to really bring up the
46:28seasoning slightly salty and rich a little bit of chili heat it's really addictive oh mate thank you thank you
46:35anthony's dessert is a set lemon cheesecake topped with fresh berries
46:47it's lemon but it could have benefited from maybe a little bit of zest however it's a lovely moorish
46:54cheesecake i know you're trying to butter up the judges anthony but there's so much butter with those
47:00biscuits in the base it's almost like it's the texture of thick peanut butter it needs more of
47:07the topping with that sharp lemon but i like the addition of the fruit across the top you're trying
47:11with presentation good on you got some nice comments good constructive criticisms here and there but
47:20listen it's what i'm here for well hello hello katie has served a fillet of place with braised fennel
47:29and crispy potatoes in a white wine and cream sauce with caviar and salmon roe this is the nicest
47:36plating i've seen from you so far oh thank you i'm amazed where'd you come from i knew you were the
47:43quiet assassin these ones down here they had no idea did they it was all an axe no i'm joking
47:49fish is cooked beautifully lovely and soft and falls apart wonderful rich creamy sauce got a little
48:02sort of zing of the white wine in the back of the throat salty bits of caviar and that salmon
48:07roe running through the whole thing and i've got to say i love it it's great the fennel is under but then
48:15that's when my list of complaints begins to run slightly dry fish is bang on potatoes lovely and
48:22crispy lovely flavorsome salty this is a really good plate of food this is the best that you have cooked
48:29so far i'm gonna say thank you should we go for dessert oh yes please katie has made a lemon and
48:38lime posset topped with a grapefruit gel and a shortbread crumble it's a good citrus face it's okay
48:48it's all right you're all right there john oh yeah it's a bit sharp enough hi i can only see how one i
49:00your posit it's a lot creamier and runnier than i might have expected but very good flavors yes citrusy
49:06doesn't hold back it's so sharp this is not for the timid posset eater
49:15i love the fact you've made your own shortbread the grapefruit gel is delicious because it's rather
49:20than being sharp like lemon it's slightly bitter so you get sweet biscuity shortbread the bitterness
49:25of that grapefruit and then that sharpness the lemon underneath i think you're showing a huge amount
49:29of school thank you very much i smashed it so i'm so happy i just wanted to put my heart and soul
49:44into the cooking like i do at home and that's what i did last up is gaz with a plant-based nihari stew
49:54pan-fried soy protein steak served in a sauce spiced with cinnamon fennel cardamom ginger and chili
50:01served with naan breads i've never eaten a plant-based steak before
50:04the plant-based meat's interesting because it's actually quite a strong flavor it's almost the sort
50:19of flavor of of salt beef slightly taking over the beauty of the sauce because i really like that sauce
50:26of the breads i like the pepperness in the background i like the ginger i just find that plant-based meat
50:32very very strong with the sauce your challenge was always going to be with this that traditionally
50:40this is a slow cooked stew that takes pieces of beef and stewing it all slowly in the sauce and you
50:48haven't been able to do that so the sauce is never going to have a ton of depth however aren't these great
50:57breads gaz has made a sweet indian dessert called halva carrot cooked in brown sugar and cardamom and
51:07topped with pistachios served with a vegan pistachio cream
51:11i love the carrot and the scattering of nuts across the top i don't even like cardamom but
51:26somehow i've just eaten quite a lot of this very nice dessert i love cardamom i reckon you could do
51:33with some more that carrot really sticky with all that sugar with the nuts and the cream becomes
51:39really quite rich your food always has some great flavors but you can give this one a little bit
51:44more spice sounds good it was a risky menu but i wanted to show that it was possible to make a
51:54plant-based nihari which is quite unusual there's no point in coming to a cooking show and not pushing
52:00yourself or pushing the boundaries thank you so much for all of your hard work there
52:06you've all cooked your absolute hearts out we're going to ask you to step outside and we'll call
52:12you back in as soon as we possibly can but for me a fantastic start to this year's competition
52:17you've set the bar really high thank you thank you celebrities thank you
52:23i am spent i don't know about you guys but i'm so proud of all of us yeah yeah bring it in
52:41class of 2025 class of 2025 get in come on five great celebrities but we only have four places in the
52:51quarter final i usually get to pirouette off at this point and leave this to you they've had their
52:56ups and downs all the way through but do you have a favorite today ginger doesn't just bring joy and
53:03glamour she brings ambition fish pie great mashed potato top with a poached pear the ginger cream
53:10ginger's got herself a quarter final place she's not going anywhere kate in this round place with that
53:16lovely white wine sauce and then we had that posset it's sort of reminiscent of that first round isn't
53:21it of the joy of that apple crumble and custard and it was just what we needed to see a different
53:27level of katie are we happy that kate's got a quarter final place uma understands flavor that fish
53:35curry so hot it nearly knocked my boots off but i enjoyed it she didn't get the rice right but there
53:41is ambition taking chocolate and hot water to make a mousse i mean good on her yeah anthony's dish
53:48chicken vermicelli rice well flavored i love that fetal on the side i thought that really helped the
53:54dish come alive cheesecake flavor of lemon yes too much of the base but there was a bit of ambition
54:00he made a cheesecake and i admire the fact he did do that and his food is a little bit haphazard at times
54:06but i love his passion his enthusiasm i enjoyed gaz's nahari but i just don't feel like there was
54:13enough depth of that sauce that steak overpowered the sauce the dessert carrot however gradient carrots
54:20some sugar cardamom in a pot that's lovely but i felt the whole thing just needed more spice
54:26this competition allows you to push yourself in a way that you never do so i'd love to stay to
54:39continue to explore just what i'm capable of i want to learn i want john and grace to push me and push me
54:47and push me and if i'm still here the next challenge i'll be happy i hope i've done enough so far to to keep
54:56my place but i'm like a bit worried i really really do want to stay in the competition we have to
55:01make a decision yeah whoever goes through to a quarter final they're going to have to continue to step up
55:16thank you so much for the passion you've really really tried your best above all that you've given
55:28us some delicious food there are only four quarter final places
55:35the celebrity leaving us is
55:49gaz gaz thank you very much a fantastic competition it's been brilliant having you thank you so much
55:55indeed thank you for leaving us thanks so much to you guys thank you guys a little bit disappointed
56:03obviously i would have liked to stay in the competition but it's really made me realize
56:07just what it is that i love about cooking and food and how it can bring people together so i've really
56:13enjoyed that you are celebrity master chef quarter finalist wow i've never won anything on my own in
56:29my life i've never even won past the parcel do you know what i mean so to even get through to the next
56:35round in celebrity master chef i'm just gobsmacked i'm going to be celebrating tonight like you wouldn't
56:42believe when i first started in this competition i thought it was just going to be a disaster
56:48so the fact that i've got through is unbelievable i am just over the moon and beyond proud of myself
56:55every day is another amazing surprise and it's so different to what i do with the rest of my life
57:01the fact that i'm a quarter finalist is crazy i'm excited to come back and see what's in store for us
57:06next i want to go as far as i can
57:12next time please help the grass it's the quarter final what could go wrong what's this space
57:23and ginger anthony umma and katie are back
57:29peace
57:31cheers
57:32to battle for their place the stress in the semi-finals it tastes amazing
57:39Transcription by CastingWords
58:09CastingWords
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