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00:01It's the professional MasterChef quarterfinal.
00:05These four chefs triumph to their heaps.
00:10And tonight, they face two tough challenges designed to test them even further.
00:17Being at quarterfinal feels amazing.
00:20I'm pretty excited, yeah. Nervous as well, yeah, of course.
00:25Going through the competition, I definitely want to do better and better.
00:28I want to up my game.
00:30It's really nice to be back, and I'm happy to be back next week again. Hopefully.
00:36It feels amazing to be quarterfinalist, yeah? Let's see what's gonna happen today.
00:41First, they will need to create a standout dish using the mystery ingredient.
00:47Today, it's huge. I want to do well.
00:51Then go on to cook for three of the country's top food critics.
00:55It's a cracking good dish.
00:57Only the very best will earn a place in knockout week.
01:03For these four chefs, it's out of the frying pan and into the fire.
01:07It's now time to shine.
01:09Chefs, welcome to your quarterfinal.
01:19We've got four fabulous chefs in this kitchen who all, without doubt, deserve to be here.
01:23Now, we want you to step it up one more notch.
01:39This is an invention test. It puts you on the spot to think of something right here, right now.
01:47Underneath the box in front of you is your key ingredient that we want you to use at the forefront of your dish.
01:55Please reveal your key ingredient.
02:01King prawns, an ingredient that I'm pretty certain each one of you have come across at some point.
02:09An ingredient that's probably giving you a sigh of relief because you recognize it.
02:13But it's also an ingredient that's very easy to get wrong.
02:17And just to remind you, we want to see something amazing, chefs.
02:23To help you create your king prawn dish, we are opening the MasterChef Lada for you.
02:35You have a selection of fruit and veg, pancettas, bacon, spices, different types of pastries, as well as alcohol.
02:45It is an Aladdin's cave of magic.
02:49And that magic can only happen if you select the right ingredients.
02:55You have 10 minutes to come up and select your ingredients and 70 minutes to cook and serve your dish.
03:06Chefs, we wish you the best of luck. Come up and choose your ingredients.
03:15A king prawn is packed full of flavor.
03:18So many different ways you can use it.
03:20You can use it as a ceviche, you can puree it, make a ravioli, you can pan fry them.
03:25It's so versatile.
03:27The key is what you put with it.
03:29What's the marriage that's going to make those king prawns stand out?
03:33When I lifted the box, yeah, I feel a big relief because, yeah, it's something that I know very well.
03:38So I'm very excited to cook now the prawns.
03:41Quite a few ideas have come to mind, but I'm sort of narrowing that down at the moment.
03:46The dishes are still coming together a little bit in my head.
03:52I was a bit concerned about the ingredient, but since we have this amazing product,
03:56I'm quite happy and confident now to be under control.
04:00Who's going to be brave? Who's going to be bold? Who's going to play it safe?
04:04Guatemalan-born private chef Sal has traveled and worked in kitchens in 27 different countries.
04:18In his heat, he recovered from a disappointing skills test to impress with his signature dish,
04:24showcasing his inventive fusion style.
04:27It's fantastic. Honestly, this has blown me away.
04:33About the invention test, I'm good on my feet, so I think it's 50-50.
04:39Let's see how it goes with the pressure in this kitchen, again, from the judges and the time,
04:43which I think is the biggest enemy.
04:46Sal, invention test, all about the king prawns. You're from Guatemala?
04:50From Guatemala, yes.
04:51Are you bringing some of the inspiration into your cooking today?
04:54Yes, king prawns is a thing that I grew up with.
04:57So I'm using the inspiration, but I'm not going, like, fully traditional,
05:01because I want to bring something different.
05:03So my dish today is pan-seer prawns, pale ale sauce,
05:07and ceviche prawns with pineapple and mangoes.
05:11Wow. Pale ale.
05:13I really like pale ale. It's one of my favorite beers.
05:15And one day, by mistake, I put a little bit of beer on my prawns,
05:20and they tasted delicious. I thought, like, maybe I can add more.
05:23So today is the day that I'm trying, like, all of that.
05:26Definitely inventive.
05:27Prawns and beer? Possibly a MasterChef first. I'm looking forward to this.
05:33We have prawns done two different ways.
05:35One is being seared off quickly.
05:38Pan-Frying King prawns is seconds.
05:41Don't want them overcooked, so it becomes floury.
05:44And then we have a prawn ceviche inspired from his Guatemalan root.
05:51Ceviche is raw prawn, cured with lime, with vinegars, with flavours, with seasonings.
05:56But it's about when you add that mix onto the prawns themselves,
06:00because if you do it too quickly, they'll eventually overcook the prawn themselves.
06:04It's making a sauce with pale ale and it's introducing mango skin.
06:11And the pale ale is a bitter flavour when it's reduced,
06:14and I am slightly concerned that it's going to be too strong, too powerful for this dish.
06:18I love a chef that takes the risk, but the risk has got to pay off.
06:29Dad of four, Luke, is a head chef at a gastropub in Winchester.
06:34After a strong start in the skills test...
06:37The tart itself is lovely.
06:39..he impressed again with his own food, winning praise for his big, bold flavours.
06:45It's very tasty, it really is.
06:48I'm very determined to impress the judges.
06:50I think they saw a little bit of what I can do in the last rounds,
06:52but not completely.
06:54I'm excited.
06:55Just trying to keep my nerves calm.
07:00Luke, past the dough.
07:02Got the shells and the sauce here. You're on to a good start.
07:05Yep.
07:06So I'm making a spiced prawn broth, tomato-based broth.
07:09I'm going to do a tortellini with the prawn inside.
07:12I'm going to serve that with some sourdough croutons.
07:15The filling, I'm going to keep quite just sort of chunky prawn.
07:19I'm going to lightly sauté that in the pan, chill it, and then use that as the filling.
07:22Cooked prawn?
07:23Yeah.
07:24In the filling?
07:25Yeah.
07:26OK, why?
07:27I think if I did raw, there's a potential that the pasta might overcook
07:29before the prawn is cooked all the way through.
07:31There has to be a wow factor. Where is it?
07:33Hopefully in the skill and the flavour. The dish works for me in my head.
07:40Luke is using the prawn shells and the heads to make a sauce a bit like a bisque,
07:44but he's got gotchu cheng in there, so a bit of heat. I like that.
07:48I hope he reduces it enough.
07:50This sauce will work wonders with his pasta.
07:53I am concerned though, because Luke says he's going to cook the filling before it goes into the pasta.
07:59Prawns cook very easily, especially if the pasta is at the right thickness.
08:04If it's cooked beforehand, it can become overcooked and chewy.
08:12Chefs, you're halfway through.
08:15Originally from Seville, 38-year-old head chef Mario has been cooking professionally for 15 years.
08:25He started nervously in the skills test.
08:28I'm not happy with the sauce.
08:30But won over the judges with an ambitious Spanish-inspired signature dish.
08:34I love the turbot cookery.
08:36The velouté brought all the dish together.
08:41I think I'm very creative.
08:43I think creativity is something, it's like a muscle that you train,
08:46and the more you train, the more creative you came and the more ideas you have.
08:50So, my muscle is like properly pumped.
08:56Mario, another challenge, this one, to invent.
08:59How are you feeling?
09:00I'm feeling great.
09:02What I'm cooking today, I'm going to leave Spain behind.
09:05I'm moving to Asia.
09:07So I'm going to do like a dashi broth with some vegetables inside,
09:11some tempura prawns.
09:13And then the only ones I'm going to do like just blanch, lightly blanched.
09:17And then I have some spin roll crackers, so I'm going to defry it on the fryer.
09:20Why Asia?
09:21I've been working in a couple of Asian restaurants before.
09:23I travelled to Asia, that's why I have all these Asian style tattoos here.
09:27And I don't want to be stuck in Spanish, so I want to show that I can do something different than Spain.
09:31You made it through to the quarterfinal, who did you share the good news with?
09:34So I finally told my family, now I feel confident to tell them that at least I went through the first stage.
09:39And they were really happy.
09:41Then I'm sure I'm going to make it to the next challenge, and I'm pretty sure too.
09:45Good attitude to have.
09:46I have to be, otherwise what I'm doing here.
09:52Mario is a Spanish chef taking inspiration from Asia.
09:55We've got some blanched prawns, we've got tempura prawns, dashi broth.
09:58The tempura prawn is about a great batter, it comes nice and crunchy and crispy and aerated.
10:04Feel crispy.
10:06Mario's making dashi broth, he's got some kombu, he's got mirin, he's putting some dry shiitake through it.
10:12Great flavoursome stock, it will be delicious and works beautifully in this dish.
10:17But once you pour the liquid or the broth into the plate,
10:21be very careful that all that crispiness and tempura prawns doesn't disappear.
10:25He's also now decided to add a confit egg yolk onto this dish.
10:29But he's not confiting in an oil, he's got a pan of water,
10:33and the water's the boiling point, and he's cracked about three or four eggs and it's not worked.
10:38By boiling it, he can overcook it, because he's just cooking them the wrong way.
10:43Confit is about slow cookery at low temperature.
10:46Now two more eggs please.
10:4833-year-old Bangladesh-born Ismail is head chef of a gastropub in London.
11:00He received mixed feedback for his efforts in the skills test.
11:04The king oysters, they're delicious.
11:06Yes, we'll get a curry sauce, but unfortunately it's not akatsu.
11:09But the judges marveled at his use of spices in the second round.
11:15It's delicious, it's fantastic, it's got all the flavours that I want.
11:19I love this.
11:24Coming up with the dish on the spot,
11:26I'm not going to say it's the easiest thing, you know, it's definitely hard.
11:30But I've done this before in a professional kitchen, you know, my own kitchen.
11:37And I know I can do this.
11:40Ismail.
11:41Hello, Chef.
11:42How are you feeling?
11:43I feel great about the prawns, because I grew up eating fresh prawns,
11:46straight from the river to the fisherman and to our house.
11:49My dad used to go to the fish market every morning,
11:52and he would bring, you know, all the fresh food and fresh prawns.
11:55So I'm feeling great about this.
11:57And you've got a plan?
11:58I do have a plan.
11:59I'm making prawn curry.
12:00It's a very typical Bangladeshi curry.
12:03And then I'm serving with some rice and fresh naan bread.
12:06You're making naan bread to go with this?
12:08Yeah.
12:09Oh, okay.
12:10You've got me a naan bread.
12:11And for the body of the sauce, is it stock, is it water, is it cream?
12:15So it's going to be a little touch of coconut milk
12:17and a little touch of yogurt as well.
12:20Naan bread and coconut milk or prawn.
12:22You're definitely happy.
12:23I'm just going to go set the table now.
12:28Ismael's bench smells incredible.
12:30We've got basically a prawn curry, which he's making from the shells
12:34and some coconut milk.
12:36I want the prawn flavour to come into this.
12:39I don't want it to be all about just spice.
12:43Really important, the cooking of these prawns in a curry.
12:46Curries are normally stewed down to get all that flavour,
12:48and he's doing that with the heads.
12:49You don't want them overcooked.
12:51I know what a prawn curry tastes like, but I want a prawn curry
12:54with a point of difference.
13:02Five minutes left.
13:04It's smelling amazing in here.
13:06Exciting.
13:07You know the best, put them in oil instead of water,
13:12and see if that works better.
13:17I'm pretty happy with them.
13:18Could have been maybe a tiny bit neater, but...
13:22Sal, how's your beer sauce going?
13:24I really like it.
13:25I just hope you like it as much as I do.
13:29Oh.
13:30I thought rice was burning there because it had steam coming,
13:34but it's not burning.
13:35Thank God.
13:39Chefs, 60 seconds left.
13:43If it's going to make it on the plate, do it now.
13:45I think they're going to have all bitter.
14:00Alrighty, chefs, time's up.
14:01Stop cooking.
14:05Chef.
14:06Nice one, man.
14:07How are you, Chef?
14:08How you doing?
14:09Happy?
14:10Yeah.
14:11Got it out.
14:12Got what I wanted out.
14:14First up is private chef, Sal.
14:17He's serving his prawns two ways.
14:20Pan seared and in a ceviche with mango and pineapple.
14:25Baby gem lettuce, samphire,
14:28and a pale ale and mango skin sauce.
14:32Presentation-wise, it all comes together
14:34once the sauce hits the plate.
14:44You have a ceviche which sits on top of prawn.
14:46It's got the mango and pineapple through it.
14:49I like that it's not too sweet.
14:51I find it's like a seasoning to the cooked prawns underneath.
14:56I'm enjoying that together.
14:58I like the garnish, the samphire and the baby gem.
15:02And then you have the sauce which you've made with the pale ale
15:05for the bitterness.
15:06I'm actually enjoying it, but I wouldn't want it any stronger than this.
15:11I think the prawn's beautifully cooked underneath.
15:13I like the ceviche.
15:14I would have liked more of it.
15:15I like the mango running through it.
15:18The pale ale sauce is lingering on my palate.
15:20And I'm not getting the true flavour of the prawns through the dish.
15:23Yes, Chef.
15:24The judges thought, well, 50-50.
15:30It makes me upset, yeah, definitely.
15:33But it's done now, so I just have to look forward in the future
15:36and be better.
15:39Head chef Luke is serving prawn tortellini in prawn butter
15:44and a pan-roasted prawn with sourdough croutons,
15:48compressed tomatoes and a prawn bisque.
15:51When that bisque went into that bowl, that certainly did come to life.
15:55Love the look of that sauce.
16:06It absolutely tastes delicious.
16:11I questioned whether or not you needed to cook the prawn
16:14before you put it into the tortellini.
16:16You didn't really need to, but it's OK, it's worked.
16:19The sauce has got body.
16:22I can taste the sweet prawns.
16:23I can taste a little bit of chilli and the heat you've got going through it.
16:27And it's velvety.
16:29It's fabulous.
16:31Your pasta-making, beautiful thickness on that dough.
16:35The filling, though you've cooked it before I went into that,
16:38it hasn't overcooked.
16:40That prawn, just one prawn on the side, beautifully seasoned.
16:43It's been enriched by the butter and the flavours of the prawn heads running through there.
16:47Really well done.
16:49It's delicious.
16:53I wasn't expecting that sort of feedback from the judges.
16:57Yeah, I'm really happy.
16:58I'm happy.
16:59I'm glad I got prawns.
17:05Head chef Mario has cooked his prawns in two ways.
17:09Blanched and in a tempura batter.
17:13Served with rainbow chard, courgette, a deep-fried rice cracker and confit egg yolk.
17:20Finished with a dashi broth and prawn oil.
17:25The confit egg yolk, I saw you do them in water, boiling them.
17:28They weren't working.
17:30You've gone on to confit, but I think on mine you've got the oil just a little tad too hot.
17:34And it's created a sort of its own little crust around the outside.
17:36Mario, that really does need the broth to complete it.
17:50We have two different prawns.
17:52The one that's been blanched is just a very simply cooked prawn.
17:56The tempura could be a bit more crispier on the outside as well.
18:01The prawn oil is where I'm getting most of the prawn flavour.
18:04For the brief of this, which is prawns, it only comes together because we have it in this oil.
18:12Not a great tempura batter, if I'm honest with you.
18:16Fresh tomatoes bring freshness, courgettes, a little bit on the bland side.
18:19I, like Monica, love the dashi, love the oil, delicious, great flavours there.
18:24And you've really captured the true flavour of the prawn within the oil and it's great.
18:28But I don't necessarily want to eat just oil where the true flavour is.
18:31It's not what I normally do with this kind of Asian food, so I kind of take a risk in there.
18:38So hopefully for the next one, I will prove that I can do much better.
18:40Finally, it's head chef Ismail. He's made a Bangladeshi inspired king prawn curry with heritage tomato and tempura broccoli, all served on top of a naan bread with a side of garlic rice.
18:57Flavours, fabulous, but really difficult to eat this on top of the naan bread.
19:12For me, a naan bread is about tearing it and sort of dipping it around.
19:15And it's very difficult to sort of eat the dish. That doesn't say that it's a bad dish. Love your prawn cookery. Your broccoli is crunchy.
19:23The naan bread is good. The curry sauce is good. The salads are good. But please don't put them all together on the same plate.
19:29The curry with the coconut milk and the prawn heads, it's like a depth of rich prawn head flavour through that.
19:42I don't normally eat a lot of rice, but when someone that knows how to make rice that works with dishes like this, I'll eat it by the bowl full.
19:49I love the flavours of the prawn. It's delicious.
19:54Judges like the flavour. Yes, I could have done better with the plating up and I'm going to work on it and I'll do better next round.
20:02Chefs, well done. Fabulous, fabulous start. That was just the warm up for what is coming next.
20:10Go and take a break and we'll see you back. Thank you.
20:13I thought that was a great start to the quarter-finals from our chefs.
20:24Good skills on show, some great ideas and some things that some of our chefs need to just work on.
20:29For me, Ismael is a chef who's very confident in his style of cooking and I'm enjoying the uses of the spices.
20:36But it was difficult to eat with the bread being at the bottom. Flavour-wise, fabulous.
20:39Look, my goodness. Delicious plate of food. He packed so much flavour into it. That's what we want.
20:47When you poured the biscuit onto the plate, it was like someone had just turned the light on in a room. It just lit the plate up.
20:53Mario, so much going on with his dish. He had a great idea. I just feel like Mario could have packed this dish with so much more flavours.
21:01Why not give us some of that lovely Spanish-style cuisine? In the next round, he's cooking for the critics and I really want to see him let himself go.
21:07Sal is a well-travelled chef from Guatemala. He's bringing a bit of that fusion of different flavours into his food and not quite nailing it.
21:17I don't think Sal has found his style yet. I think he's still working it out and I quite like that about him as a chef.
21:23And I hope that when he's cooking for the critics, he can really start to show off just a little bit more.
21:27As challenging as this test was for our chefs, it's about to go up a whole nother level.
21:34It's about to get very hot and stressful in here.
21:37Chefs, welcome back to the kitchen. This is your critics round.
21:48You are going to be cooking for Leila Kazim, Jimmy Famarewa and Tom Parker Bowles.
21:56Without doubt, an opportunity to shine. Show them what you're made of.
22:00This is when you have got to cook and impress with the two best courses that you've created in your career so far.
22:09That's what it's going to take to keep you in this competition.
22:12Three of you will be going through to Knockouts Week at the end of this.
22:16One of you is going to be leaving us.
22:17One hour and 15 minutes. Off you go.
22:30I am very excited, Jess, as well as be worried about the times because the time is against us today.
22:37At this stage in the competition, if we don't take risks, like, we're going to fall in the mistake of you're not going to stay.
22:44Hopefully they pay off.
22:49For the critics today, I'm going to be cooking a starter, which is called esquites.
22:53It is inspiring street food in Guatemala.
22:56So it's just basically charred corn on the cob.
22:59But in this case, I'm not going to do that.
23:02I'm going to take it from the cob.
23:03I'm going to put, like, cream, langoustines, also scallops.
23:07I'm going to put a chipotle through it and mezcal as well to give some smokiness.
23:10My second dish is fillet of beef, grill up onions.
23:15Also, I'm going to do the dill sauce.
23:17I'm also going to have a sauce, like, which is from Guatemala as well, which is pepion.
23:21The base is, like, from romesco, but done in a different way.
23:25I'm going to add chipotle and chili oil as well and coriander to give a different flavor.
23:29So that's the idea with that sauce.
23:31Some of your heritage, some of the fusion that you love.
23:32Yes, I always try to do that, like, to showcase what I have learned, like, through the years.
23:37So I think this is the perfect opportunity.
23:39So that's what I'm doing. I'm doing it right now.
23:41Yeah. Good luck.
23:42Thank you very much.
23:47The first course is influenced by street food from Guatemala and, of course, in Mexico.
23:54The sweet corn is going to be cooked and then charred.
23:58Sal is folding the sweet corn through his cream that's going to bind and bring the sweet corn together.
24:06He's chopping up the longosteen flesh.
24:08It's also a cream nose with the chipotle cream.
24:11Be very careful that it doesn't camouflage the flavor of the longosteen.
24:15You know, beautiful, natural sweet scallop sitting on top.
24:18Sweet corn itself, love these flavors, and they certainly do work together.
24:21Sal's main course, beef, is pretty much a nod to here in the UK.
24:26Fillet the beef.
24:27Beautiful piece of meat with a beef fillet.
24:29There is no fat, so it's going to be beautifully caramelized around the outside.
24:35Pepiani's sauce is pretty much like in the style of romesco.
24:39So we've got bell pepper, we've got tomatoes, garlic, paprika, and coriander,
24:43but a lot of almonds going into it, so it's going to have a really lovely, nutty texture.
24:48He's not got too much to do, he's not gone crazy, which I think is a very wise thing.
24:54Less is more, but do it well.
25:07Ismail, welcome to the critics, how are you feeling?
25:10I've got lots of things to do, so I'm a little bit nervous.
25:13What are you making?
25:14So I'm making a spiced lamb chop, pulled aubergine and herb crust.
25:19I roast the aubergine, when it's nice and soft, I mix with all the spice and everything.
25:23And wild garlic and anchovy salsa, asparagus, and coel egg scotch egg.
25:27Tell us about the sauce that's going with this.
25:30There's a turmeric sauce.
25:31With the scotch egg and the turmeric sauce, I think it takes the dish to the next level.
25:36Ooh, we've got a lot to do.
25:37Sure.
25:38Dare I ask what dessert is?
25:39Mango, passion fruit and coconut cheesecake.
25:42I'm serving that with the mint crumb.
25:45So have you got your cheesecake mix done?
25:47Not yet, that's next in my list.
25:49What is it about these dishes you'd like to show the critics?
25:52In the last round in the kitchen, I cooked the food I grew up with.
25:56But this dish is what I grew up eating, plus what I do day-to-day life in my gastropub.
26:02Sounds nice, sounds exciting, sounds like you've got a lot of work to do.
26:05Yes, Chef.
26:11A lamb chop is about great butchery, beautifully seared and just gently cooked.
26:16You want to break down the fat, so you want it to be pink but flavoursome.
26:21The scotch egg takes a lot of time and it's a lot of skill.
26:24It does a huge amount of work, but the key and the most important thing
26:27is that the lamb mince is cooked, it's crispy on the outside
26:31and the centre of the scotch egg is running.
26:35The tamarind sauce, he believes this will work wonders with the lamb chop.
26:39You won't need very much of this because tamarind is quite a strong flavour.
26:45We want a cheesecake, it's got a wow factor.
26:47It needs to have a point of interest.
26:49It's going to set it apart from what we're all so familiar with.
26:52I have to push myself and keep the schedule in my head to just go and no stop.
27:04It's huge, I want to do well.
27:11Luke, cooking for the critics, how are you feeling?
27:14Right now, I'm feeling OK.
27:16But at the moment, everything is going to plan.
27:18What are you making?
27:19So I've got halibut of confit in duck fat
27:22and I'm serving it with a caviar hollandaise.
27:25A ballatin of gem lettuce, which has got anchovies, parmesan and parma ham in it.
27:32And crispy potato and a little bit of caviar on top of the potato as well.
27:37Wow.
27:38In the next course, I've got a salted caramel cremo with toasted hazelnuts.
27:44I'm serving that with a bourbon cream, orange and a little wasabi leaf garnish.
27:50I love the sounding menu.
27:52Really love it.
27:53You had great feedback eating the last round.
27:55Well, it's great feedback,
27:57but it also fills with a bit more pressure in this round
27:59because I need to keep that up.
28:00I don't want to take a step backwards.
28:02How's the balance between MasterChef, four kids and a full-time job?
28:05There is no balance.
28:07There's no balance at all.
28:09Yeah.
28:10I haven't had a day off in about three weeks.
28:11That's the sacrifice champions make.
28:13Exactly.
28:14All or nothing.
28:15Yeah.
28:20His main dish is a halibut.
28:22It's going to be confiting those in duck fat, nice and gently.
28:25You don't want that duck fat to be too hot.
28:27If it is, then that skin will curl up
28:29and you're going to have it's almost like a piece of fish
28:31that's the shape of a banana, which is not going to be good.
28:34His baby gem is almost like a Caesar salad.
28:37Baby gem that's sort of slightly wilted down
28:39and then rolled up into a ballantin
28:41and then wrapped in slices of Parma ham.
28:43Sounds great.
28:44Luke's dessert is a salted caramel chocolate creme.
28:49Once I've got these setting, then I should be in an OK space.
28:54I do need to get them on quite quick.
28:56The creme is almost like in between a chocolate mousse and a ganache.
29:01So one's firm, one's soft.
29:03It sort of sits in the middle.
29:04I've also got a little bit of orange, which is seasoned or flavoured with whisky.
29:09So there's a little bit of boozy oranges going on there.
29:12These are lovely marriages.
29:13Loving the ambition, loving the determination
29:16and I'm just loving that this chef is really, really starting to come to life.
29:20With these dishes, I think there's not really anywhere to hide
29:24because I'm not doing anything too crazy.
29:27So it needs to be clean and precise.
29:30If it's not, then I might be upset.
29:39From my last challenge, I think I'm in the worst position.
29:42I'm going to be honest.
29:44It's a lot of pressure, but I love this pressure.
29:47Mario, cooking for the critics.
29:50This is getting to a serious business now.
29:53And hopefully I can please their tummies.
29:55And how do you aim to do that?
29:56What's your two dishes?
29:57I'm doing a classic sandwich I would call Serranito.
30:00It's made of pork, tomato, Iberico ham, peppers and alioli.
30:04So I'm breaking down everything and I'm going to do it into a beautiful place.
30:07So I've got pork tenderloin, I've got some Iberico ham, I've got guacali puree.
30:11That's going to be my favorite dish.
30:13I've got a guacali puree.
30:14I've got a guacali puree, that's going to be my garlic emulsion.
30:18I've got whiskey sauce.
30:19Whiskey is not Spanish, but in Sevilla we have a really famous dish called salomilla whiskey,
30:23which is pork tenderloin with whiskey sauce.
30:25So I bring this sauce into this dish.
30:27I will have some shoestring potato, which is going to be my fries on the side.
30:30I can go more civilian than that.
30:32So if you're lucky, I just go back to Spain.
30:34Now you're talking.
30:35Yes.
30:36That's what we've been waiting for.
30:37Yes.
30:38I really need you to be happy.
30:39I want you on my side, on my team, team Sevilla.
30:42And then what's your second dish?
30:44So my dessert, again, we stay in Sevilla, we stay called torija.
30:47So it's quite similar to pan perdu in France.
30:50So like eggy bread or like French toast, pan frying it?
30:53Exactly.
30:54I'm going to pan fry in a bit of boiling butter, slowly, nice color.
30:57And then I'm going to do on the side a bay leaf ice cream, which I love.
31:00And then I will have a nut crumb, a few orange segments, and then lemon verbena.
31:04So I say I'm going full Sevilla, full background, full story.
31:08The story is wonderful, and we can't wait to taste the food of Sevilla.
31:12Thank you, chef. Thank you.
31:16Mario's dish has been inspired by a famous sandwich that he enjoys back in Sevilla.
31:21We've got the Iberico pork, which is a delicious pork.
31:25It's almost royal-esque in a sense, delicious.
31:28Gently pan fried, a little bit of butter, but don't overheat it,
31:32because it could dry out very quickly.
31:33And the key is always give it a really good resting before you serve it.
31:38Shoestring potatoes, they've got to be crunchy and perfectly crisp.
31:42This pork sauce is going to have a nice reduction to it as well.
31:45I'll obviously finish with some of the pork fat, if not some butter,
31:48and a hint of that whiskey just to finish it off.
31:53Mario's dessert, the eggy bread, is going to make sure that it's beautiful
31:56and crispy when he sees it.
31:59Bay leaf ice cream, just make sure he doesn't over-churn it.
32:02And I want to taste the herbal flavours of that bay leaf running through it.
32:07Chefs, you have 20 minutes left before your first course is served.
32:16Sal, that means you.
32:26We don't want mediocre, we want exceptional.
32:29I want real flavours.
32:30I want to be able to see and taste the character
32:34and the background of the chef in his or her food.
32:38The restaurant industry at the minute is a difficult place.
32:41In order to stand out, you've got to have something special.
32:46And, you know, this could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
32:49for these guys, being on MasterChef.
32:51If you're going to be bold, you've got to do it today.
32:55Every year, they raise the bar, they give us more creativity, more technique.
33:01And, obviously, the flip side of that is that things can go wrong.
33:06Bring it on.
33:07Anyway, cheers.
33:08Cheers.
33:09What an absolute thrill.
33:13Sal, you've got seven minutes left.
33:15Scallops are coming out of the pan.
33:16What else have you got left to do?
33:17I just have to plate it off now, Chef.
33:19Everything else done?
33:20Yeah, everything else is done.
33:22Sal's starter.
33:27Esquites.
33:28Blackened sweet corn, chipotle cream, longostine, pan-fried scallops,
33:34longostine oil and toasted coconut.
33:39So it's all about getting that shellfish right.
33:43Right, Sal, you've got two minutes.
33:45We shall.
33:46What's left?
33:47I've just finished with the micro herbs now and it's ready.
33:51There's a real chance of the inherent sweetness of the shellfish
33:57being overcome by too strong a heat or too smoky a flavour.
34:05Looks good, smells good.
34:06I can't wait to try this.
34:08Right, that's it.
34:09That's it.
34:11Right, off you go.
34:12Good luck. Thank you.
34:13Hello, good afternoon.
34:18Hi.
34:19Hi, Sal. How are you doing?
34:20I'm going to go behind you.
34:22Today I cook for you something called esquites.
34:24It's corn that has been blackened, chipotle cream,
34:27touch of mezcal with langoustines and I also pan-fried scallop
34:32and toasted coconut seeds and langoustine oil.
34:35Hope you enjoy it.
34:36Thank you, Sal.
34:37Thanks, Sal.
34:39I'm completely mesmerised and blown away by how gorgeous this looks.
34:49The heat from the chipotle is just right.
34:52The smokiness is just right.
34:55The scallop is beautifully cooked.
34:57Those chunks of langoustine are like little prizes swimming in that fiery chipotle cream.
35:03The char he gets on those little popping fresh kernels of corn, it's gorgeous.
35:09This has flavour, it has depth, it has texture, it has heat.
35:14Everything is perfectly balanced in every single way.
35:20Well, I love that creamy sauce and spice running through it.
35:23Sweet corn, that lovely langoustine oil, sweet langoustine flesh.
35:27It's all mixed in there too.
35:29Such beautiful attention to detail.
35:31It's delicious.
35:33Fabulous cooking.
35:34Fabulous dish.
35:37Sal, main course, how's that looking?
35:40I still have things to do, so I hope to be on time, definitely.
35:47Sal's second dish is fillet of beef, beef fat and thyme grellet onions,
35:51pepion, king oyster and shiitake mushroom and veal sauce.
35:57I love that he's continuing with the Latin American theme here
36:00because he's got pepion in there.
36:02I'm wondering how that is going to sit alongside a fillet of beef.
36:07Fillet of beef, which is the main thing, right?
36:09Well rested, blushing pink, nicely cooked and rare.
36:13Happy with the beef?
36:14Let's see now.
36:16Yes, I'm happy with it.
36:17So what's left to go?
36:24Just the sauce and I'm done, chef.
36:27All right, let's see. Go, go, go.
36:30Well done. Well done.
36:34Hello, guys.
36:39For your main, I have cooked fillet of beef,
36:41a lot of onions infused in beef fat, mushrooms two ways.
36:44One of them is cooked with butter and thyme
36:47and the other one is with soy, honey and a little bit of vinegar.
36:51Pepion is made of nuts, peppers and tomatoes, garlic.
36:56And also then spilled sauce.
36:59Thank you. Thanks.
37:00Thanks, sir.
37:03That was brutal.
37:06The pressure was immense.
37:10One of the craziest things I have done in my life.
37:16This is probably the most beautiful beef, onions and mushrooms I've ever seen.
37:19The fillet, gorgeously cooked, beautifully seasoned, soft, buttery tender, well rested, great char on the outside of it.
37:33And the peppercorn sauce, bright, herbal, complex, thick.
37:38I could just drink a pint of it.
37:41The mushrooms with soy, they've got this really juicy, meaty texture, so full of flavours, adding that umami element with the beef.
37:53And then the pepion, which is just wild because you've got nuts and you've got this garlic and you've got this heat in there.
38:01Just so good.
38:03That pepion sauce, it's like a romesco that's gone off to Guatemala and got better.
38:09Technically brilliant, but more than that, it has its soul in it.
38:13It's a cracking good dish.
38:16That beef is just beautifully cooked.
38:19That took a lot of skill and I love, there's still a hint of his personality coming through in this cooking.
38:26Two fabulous courses.
38:28To cook that quality in that kitchen for those critics is exceptional.
38:40Ismail's starting with spiced lamb chop with an aubergine and herb crust, lamb scotch egg, anchovy and wild garlic salsa, asparagus and a tamarind sauce.
38:51So, Ismail, you've got three minutes, we're going to have to start plating up soon.
38:58Yes, Chef.
39:00I absolutely love the combination of lamb and aubergine.
39:04They go together so well.
39:07We almost there?
39:08Yes, Chef, almost there, I just need to do a slice of the scotch egg.
39:11Lamb scotch egg is giving me slight pause, but I'm hoping that there'll be some spice running through the lamb mint.
39:17And then the other issue I have, or potential worry, is just there's a lot of very big, bullish, quite contrasting flavours, and I'm really hoping that Ismail can get them to harmonise.
39:30Yes, Chef.
39:31Right.
39:32Breathe.
39:33Off you go.
39:34Good luck.
39:35Thank you, Chef.
39:36Hello.
39:37Hello.
39:38Hi.
39:39Wow, thank you.
39:40You're welcome.
39:41I cooked today a spiced lamb chop topped with aubergine and herb crust, lamb scotch egg made with coiled eggs, wild garlic and anchovy salsa, asparagus and turmeric sauce.
39:55I hope you enjoy it.
39:57Thank you, Ismail.
39:58Thank you, Ismail.
40:00Thank you, Ismail.
40:02Well, it looked big and generous on the plate, and that's what it tastes like.
40:07It's well spiced.
40:08I think the scotch egg, the lamb scotch egg, is beautifully done.
40:14It is a big and lovely plate of food.
40:17The lamb chops are just so beautifully cooked, and I'm adoring the spicing around it as well.
40:24The aubergine, on its own, is kind of really salty, but when you have a little bit of the lamb, it's a little bit of the lamb, it's a little bit of the lamb, it's a little bit of the lamb.
40:32It works really nicely.
40:33Love the bright acidity of that tamarind sauce.
40:35It needs that.
40:36I just love how Ismail has just absolutely gone for it.
40:40It's full-ball flavour.
40:41It's foot down on the accelerator.
40:42It's a lovely plate of food.
40:43It's a lovely plate of food.
40:44The lamb chops are just so beautifully cooked, and I'm adoring the spicing around it as well.
40:49The aubergine, on its own, is kind of really salty, but when you have a little bit of the lamb, it works really nicely.
40:54Love the bright acidity of that tamarind sauce.
40:56It needs that.
40:57I just love how Ismail has just absolutely gone for it.
41:01It's a little bit of the accelerator, and it's a lot of fun.
41:05My goodness, that was delicious.
41:07The lamb cutlet beautifully cooked, the spices wrapped around it, the aubergines on top, it worked a treat.
41:14Beautifully cooked quail egg.
41:16The tamarind sauce is sweet and fabulous, and it may not look the pretty picture, but it does and half taste good.
41:25Right, Chef, you've got 15 minutes.
41:27Sure.
41:28Clear down and let's crack on.
41:29Yes, Chef.
41:30Let's go.
41:33Ismail's dessert is mango, coconut, and passion fruit cheesecake.
41:39He has the absolute confidence to just give us five words.
41:43It's kind of like, there's something coming, you're not going to know exactly what it is, but I think you're going to enjoy it.
41:49And I like that conviction.
41:50What else have we got left to go on this dish?
41:54I just need to grate some coconut on top.
41:55Are you happy with it?
41:56I'm happy with it, Chef.
41:57Off you go.
41:58Good luck.
41:59Good luck.
42:00I have here mango passion fruit and fresh coconut cheesecake with mint crumb, raspberry, and fresh mango.
42:14With fresh coconut grated on top.
42:15I hope you enjoy it.
42:29Perfect.
42:30Thanks, Ismail.
42:31Thanks, Ismail.
42:32Thank you, Ismail.
42:35I think today's food went well for me, but of course that's the hardest part.
42:39I don't know what critics think about it yet or what judges think about it yet.
42:44So, let's see.
42:50The cheesecake is really nice.
42:52It's kind of fresh and zingy.
42:55I like the bits of mango.
42:58For me, it's just a little bit too sweet.
43:01The sweetness of the coconut creamy cheesecake, the sweetness of the puree.
43:07I was kind of searching for more tartness.
43:11The sweetness level was fine for me, actually.
43:14I'm very conscious of when puddings are too sweet.
43:18And I think you can overdo it, but I think Ismail got it pretty right.
43:24What I love about this is the generosity.
43:27But this is someone who wants to feed you and make you happy.
43:30It's fresh.
43:31It's light.
43:32He's not flavoured the cheesecake with the passion fruit.
43:34He's just put the passion fruit on top, so it's so fresh.
43:37Mango around the outside.
43:38Love that crumb.
43:39It's crunchy.
43:40It's got texture.
43:41It's got fresh fruit.
43:42It's not what I was expecting, but it's absolutely delicious.
43:46Overall from Ismail.
43:47Great flavours.
43:48He just needs to tidy up in areas.
43:53Fish OK?
43:54Yeah.
43:55Just the tops were ever so slightly out of the oil, so the skin's a little bit stuck,
43:59but I just didn't want to force it off.
44:01I'm just going to give it a minute.
44:03Cool.
44:06So Luke's first course is duck fat confit halibut, crispy potato, gem lettuce and parma ham balatine, caviar hollandaise sauce.
44:18Wow. I mean, halibut, the king of fish, you really do not want to be mucking up. That's an expensive bit of fish.
44:23You happy with that now, Luke?
44:25Yes, I'm happy with the cooking on that now.
44:28And then I'm sort of focusing in on this balatine.
44:33What I'm not understanding is where the gem lettuce is going to come into this.
44:37I'm completely very interested in what's going to turn up.
44:44It's one of those dishes that every single element has to be perfect.
44:49You ready?
44:50Yeah.
44:51Lots of confidence.
44:52Look them in the eye.
44:59Oh, wow.
45:05I've cooked for you a duck fat confit halibut with a caviar hollandaise.
45:10I've got crispy potato and caviar.
45:12And I've got a charred gem lettuce balatine with anchovy, parmesan and parma ham.
45:19Enjoy.
45:26The halibut is just gorgeously cooked.
45:29There's a beautifully made hollandaise with the pop of caviar.
45:34You don't taste the duck fat and the halibut.
45:36It's beautifully cooked.
45:38And the crisp potato's great.
45:40This balatine, which I had real qualms about, I think it's actually really good.
45:46Because the lettuce inside has been charred but remains crunchy.
45:54I actually really love it.
45:55It's a wonderful, wonderful plate of food.
46:01Oh, my goodness me.
46:03Wow.
46:04How good does that taste?
46:05It's sublime.
46:07The cooking of the halibut, when it's comfy like this, it's like butter.
46:11It just melts.
46:12The hollandaise, it's like a blanket.
46:15It's just wrapping around this beautiful piece of fish.
46:17So then, all together, it's divine.
46:23You feeling good?
46:24Yeah, I've just got a little bit to do, not too much.
46:26Just going to compress my oranges.
46:31Luke's dessert.
46:32Salted caramel chocolate cremeux, toasted hazelnut, whiskey oranges, bourbon cream, wasabi rockets.
46:41Silky cremeux is a gorgeous thing.
46:44The consistency and texture there has got to be bang on.
46:47And then the whiskey oranges and the bourbon cream.
46:50He needs to make sure he doesn't overdo it.
46:53Wasabi rockets.
46:55It's a powerful root.
46:57Quite where that fits into that dessert, I don't know.
47:02Is that it? Perfect.
47:03That's it. Done.
47:04That looks great.
47:05Wow.
47:06Happy?
47:07I'm happy. I'm ready.
47:08Okay. Off you go. Well done.
47:22Got a caramel chocolate cremeux with toasted hazelnuts, bourbon orange and a bourbon cream.
47:29And I've garnished that with some rocket wasabi leaves to add a little bit of heat to the dish.
47:34I hope you enjoy it.
47:35Thank you. Thank you.
47:40I'm happy. I think, to be honest, everything went as I wanted it to.
47:44But I'm feeling good. I'm feeling confident after that round.
47:48I mean, I just want to try it. It looks good.
47:50The cremeux is nicely caramelised and there's a real whack of salt in there.
47:59I think it's beautifully put together.
48:01That bottom layer of nuts that you clunge into is really gorgeous.
48:06That orange gives you a nice big whack. It's very boozy.
48:09This has kind of, like, sent me for a loop. Like, I might sort of need, like, someone to call me a cab and get me a kebab.
48:16The wasabi rocket is actually really nice.
48:20Who knew? A very, very slight undercurrent of heat just adds another bit of interest.
48:27I would happily, I would happily finish it. I probably will.
48:30Chocolate caramel cremeux with hazelnuts.
48:34Oh, wonderful. Just the right amount of setting.
48:38And then the freshness and the sweetness of the oranges. Delightful.
48:42You've got that bourbon cream in it. It certainly has got a punch.
48:46Clean, precise, executed to perfection. It's delicious.
48:51This is tenderloin. The idea is to serve it, like, medium well.
48:55I will see when I open it. It's looking good, though.
48:57It's looking good, though.
48:59Mario, three minutes. Are we good to go?
49:02Yes, really good to go.
49:04Now, this serenito is a sort of Andalusian sandwich, and that makes me very happy indeed.
49:10The serenito is in inverted quotation marks, which makes me think it's not going to be what we initially think it is.
49:20This is MasterChef, the professionals, surprise us.
49:22I hope beautifully cooked Iberico pork tenderloin.
49:27How's it look?
49:29Perfect.
49:31Wild garlic is full on. Like, you know, chefs love it. People love it.
49:37But if that just swamps everything, it will be doubly disappointing.
49:43That's it. Ready?
49:44Yes.
49:51Hello.
49:52Hi.
49:53How are you doing, guys?
49:54Yeah, very good. Thank you.
49:55Sorry.
49:56So this is my take on the serenito. It's a civilian sandwich that has pork, Iberico ham, peppers, garlic, alioli, and some chips on the side, some fries.
50:11The pepper rat, so with the peppers on the sandwich, and then you have some white garlic leaves and the whiskey sauce. So I hope you enjoy.
50:17Well, I suppose it is a bit deconstructed. There's no bread, which I'm very sad about. Yeah, it looks like a pretty plate of food.
50:31The meat cooked well. I love the pepper rat that had the right amount of acidity, crunch.
50:36The potatoes are very interesting because they look pale and possibly undercooked, but they're not. They're very crispy.
50:44I quite like the whiskey sauce, which has just a kind of back note of bitterness rather than a great whack of booze.
50:52Mario's clearly a cook with real visual flair, real high technique.
50:57The meat.
51:00Beautifully presented. Lovely colour. The pork is lovely and tender. The peppers are delicious. The puree on the plate is good. It's a good plate of food.
51:09Iberico pork doesn't get any better than that. It's beautifully cooked. The sauce. I can taste the whiskey. And of course, the shoestring fries. Delicious.
51:21Hello.
51:22Hello, Chef.
51:24Keep it going.
51:25Thank you, Chef.
51:28So, Mario's second dish is orange blossom torija, bay leaf ice cream, caramelised pistachios, and blood orange.
51:38Torrija is a kind of Andalusian pan perdu, like a beautifully custardy, thick, fried piece of bread. I'm already salivating.
51:51Bay ice cream.
51:54Now, bay is a background note to so many dishes, both sweet and savoury, but if you go too far on it, you can overwhelm.
52:01Too much bay in the ice cream might ruin the whole dish.
52:04That's it? All done?
52:07All done, Chef.
52:08Good, good, good.
52:10Right. Good luck. Hope they like it.
52:11Thank you, Chef.
52:12Well done.
52:13Hello again.
52:14Hello.
52:15Hello.
52:16Hey Mario.
52:17How about Jermaine?
52:19Oh, we couldn't possibly say.
52:21This is my dessert. It's torija. It's a dessert that we do in Seville, similar to Alpine perdu.
52:30So I infuse it with orange blossom water. I got a nutcrumb on top, orange segment, lemon verbena. Then on the side you go a bay leaf ice cream.
52:38I hope you enjoy it. Thank you.
52:41Thank you, Mario.
52:42Thank you so much.
52:43You're welcome.
52:46The flavours are there. Everything was cooked as I wanted. Everything tasted as I wanted.
52:50Hope they can understand what I wanted to express through my dish.
52:55I enjoy it very much, yeah. I'm really happy.
52:57It is a squidgy bit of sweet bread topped with really nicely toasted nuts with a really nice milky ice cream with the delicate flavour of bay.
53:14Those little segments of oranges on top have a very slight hint of bitterness which actually works nicely with all of this.
53:20I really worried about the bay ice cream being overwhelming, and it's a really, really subtle, elegant ice cream.
53:27It's another really, really impressive dish.
53:31That bread's fabulous. It's really hitting the light notes, but I just love that bay leaf ice cream.
53:38Together, it's a simple, tasty dessert.
53:44I've got to say, they all delivered great food.
53:47That was a celebration of fabulous cookery for our critics, and this is going to be a tough judging.
53:54I'm disappointed to have to lose one of these chefs.
53:57Sel's first course, the sweet corn, was fabulous.
54:00Looked good, smelt good, and tasted absolutely delicious.
54:04He showed the colours of South America.
54:07Followed by a main course inspired by his time working in the UK.
54:11I thought, two very strong dishes here from Sel.
54:14Ismail's menu, really rustic presentation, but both dishes, delicious.
54:22He's given us such beautiful flavour combinations, it was an absolute treat.
54:27Two dishes from Luke today were flawless.
54:30The halibut was just stunning.
54:33The caramel chocolate creme of hazelnuts, delicious, finished with that powerful kick of bourbon cream on top.
54:38Absolutely sensational.
54:41Mario came in full of energy and excitement, talking about the food of Seville.
54:47Main course was delicious, the pork was beautifully cooked.
54:50The dessert, that fabulous bay leaf ice cream.
54:54A lovely dessert.
54:55Oh, like all in, I want to say in for sure, definitely.
55:00I don't want to go, so please sit me here.
55:05I feel my dishes were strong, so if I didn't make it through them, then my other contestants must be very good.
55:10It would be absolutely amazing if I can go through the knockout round.
55:16I have a couple of more dishes in my sleeve, and I want to push to absolute limit.
55:23I love to go to knockout wigs at semi-finals, finals.
55:27I want it all, so I just hope what I have done today is enough to get me there.
55:30We have just eaten four great menus.
55:35We've got four fabulous cooks.
55:38Who are we going to send home?
55:51That was an outstanding cook-off from all four of you.
55:55I'd say probably the strongest food critics round I have ever judged.
56:01That's how good today was.
56:04Chefs, we have made a decision.
56:08And we have decided that all four of you are going through to knockout week.
56:17It just feels amazing, yeah, to make it like with all of them to the next round, so yeah, epic.
56:28I feel very happy and very excited.
56:31I can't wait to call my wife and tell her I made it to the next round.
56:36I wanted to stay here in the competition as far as possible, and obviously I'm thrilled about it.
56:41I'm 100% ready for what's coming next.
56:43I joked in there saying, oh, we're all going to go through, and then it actually happened, and I was like, wow, that's crazy.
56:50Yeah!
56:52That's, that's...
56:54Next time, four new hopefuls fight for their place...
57:01...in the quarter-final.
57:04Right, chefs, you've got five minutes left.
57:07If you haven't started plating up now, you need to get a move on.
57:12Oh!
57:15It's fabulous, it's delicious.
57:16I absolutely love this.
57:17I absolutely love this.
57:18You can see it.
57:19I'll talk to you soon, folks.
57:20Bye.
57:22Bye.
57:24Bye.
57:26Bye.
57:28Bye.
57:29Bye.
57:30Bye.
57:32Bye.
57:36Bye.
57:38Bye.
57:41Bye.
57:45Bye.
57:46Bye.
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