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00:01From across the UK, 32 up-and-coming chefs are heading to the MasterChef kitchen in Birmingham in a battle
00:14to become professional MasterChef champion.
00:20Tonight, four new hopefuls compete to impress MasterChef judge Matt Tebert, renowned chef Monica Galletti and culinary legend Marcus Waring.
00:37This is real now and I think once I actually start cooking then it will really kick in.
00:42I don't really have a plan. I'm just going to see how it goes. I'm here now so I'm ready
00:46to go.
00:46Being here is a huge moment. It's showing to the judges what I can do, what I'm made of as
00:53a chef. It's time to do that.
00:55It's a big thing. A bit apprehensive, especially about the skills test. So I hope that under pressure I can
01:01perform and create the best I can.
01:04You really need to be on your A-game. You just don't get to bed. This chef fights every day.
01:09I am looking forward for it and bring it on. That's the thing.
01:13Who has got what it takes to set this competition alight?
01:17It's time to discover a new culinary superstar.
01:36So here we are, the last week of the heat. We've seen a lot of great chefs, a lot of
01:41nervous chefs and we've got four more waiting to come out here.
01:44We've got one last finalist joining us and setting the skills test. I'm really looking forward to this.
01:51Matthew Ryle made it to the final four in 2018 with his take on classic dishes.
02:00I did MasterChef The Professional eight years ago now. It was a really happy time of my life.
02:04Well done, Michelle.
02:05I do remember my skills test. Yeah, I was pretty nervous. And then, yeah, I just cracked on and it
02:11all went very, very well.
02:12It's an absolute delight, Matthew.
02:15When I was doing the competition, I really discovered who I was as a chef. I think classic French cookery
02:21is something that I'm very passionate about, which allowed me to go out and open two restaurants where I am
02:28really proud of the food I'm doing.
02:29We opened a French brasserie about five years ago, and now we've opened the second restaurant, which we opened last
02:35year. Service table 40, please.
02:37I started filming recipe videos online. This is a really fancy diet, so it's going to be like a brunoise,
02:44very even. And now we're well over sort of two million followers.
02:48That is the reason I've been able to write my first cookbook, having an audience of engaged people who would
02:54like to see more French classic food.
02:57It's been an incredible journey, and it feels great to come back to my chef setting skills tests. My advice,
03:03I think, don't be like in a rush to get started.
03:05Almost take a minute, just like completely focus your mind on, right, I'm going to do that, going to do
03:09that. I really hope that the guys do well, and I'll be cheering them on the whole way.
03:15Matthew, wonderful to have you back in our kitchen.
03:17Wonderful to be setting the skills tests rather than doing them.
03:20What's your first skills test?
03:21I'm going to ask our chefs to prep and cook a red mullet and serve it with a braised fennel,
03:26citrus salad and a sauce maltaise.
03:28So everyone, I'm assuming, would know how to make hollandaise, and then maltaise is just the addition of blood orange.
03:33Prep, sauce making, a simple salad and tons of flavour. Pretty much all the skills you need.
03:39OK, Matthew, 20 minutes. Show us where you begin.
03:43I'm going to start with my classic hollandaise reduction, so that's got thyme to infuse, which starts with shallots, thyme,
03:51white wine, white wine vinegar, and then reduce it by half.
03:56That adds the acidity to the hollandaise.
03:59We know where the reduction of the white wine and the vinegar goes into hollandaise at the beginning or during.
04:04When does the blood orange get added into it?
04:06At the end. So I'll completely finish the sauce, and then we'll finish it with some reduced blood orange juice
04:11to make it into a sauce maltaise.
04:13Oh, lovely.
04:15I'm going to reduce the blood orange. It just helps not only the flavour to intensify, but keeps our hollandaise
04:21nice and thick.
04:23Blood orange juice is reducing, and then I'm going to get the fennel on, because it's going to take about
04:2615 minutes to braise through.
04:31This skills test, there's four things, really, that need to go on.
04:34You've got your reductions, you've got your fennel, and then the butter for the hollandaise.
04:39I think if our chefs do these jobs one at a time, they're going to literally run out of time.
04:44100%, yeah.
04:48Brown butter, I'm going to take that off now and let that cool down.
04:51So that'll be a nice temperature. If you put that into the hollandaise when it's too hot, it's going to
04:55split.
04:56So really important that they get that on early.
04:59Hollandaise reduction is reduced by half, so we'll just let that infuse on the side.
05:05Fennel's ready now for the vermouth and our cartouche, and then just leave that to cook.
05:11Cartouche, basically a paper lid.
05:12Yeah.
05:14Butter's a nice temperature now. We're going to get on with the hollandaise.
05:18Egg yolk's in the bowl. We're going to add our reduction, which is cooled slightly.
05:22And then you've got a pan of gently simmering water, constantly whisking on the bain-marie.
05:28For three, four minutes, till the egg's cooked.
05:31It's so nice to watch someone else do the whisky.
05:34Slowly adding butter to the egg yolk, till we get a slightly thicker consistency.
05:40We'll also add our blood orange reduction, which has thickened up nicely now.
05:44Maltaise sauce is done.
05:47So I guess the main thing I'm looking for with a fish prep is that they're just working clean, organised.
05:53We'll start a small incision behind the head.
05:57And then along the back of the fish.
06:00Repeating on the other side.
06:03And this time the opposite, so tail to head end.
06:06We've got our two fillets off the fish.
06:08There's quite a lot of pin bones in a red mullet.
06:13This is vital, this bit. We don't want to be eating any bones.
06:17And then into a medium hot pan to cook for a few minutes.
06:22That's cooking. We'll get on with the citrus salad.
06:25The dressing I'm going to keep really simple. I'm just going to use the juice from the citrus.
06:29A little bit of olive oil. I'm going to chop some chilli and mint through there.
06:33The fish is ready to turn.
06:36It's got this sort of pinky flesh towards the top, so it's not going to take long at all.
06:40Beautiful.
06:42Grapefruit, blood orange, lime, piece of fish.
06:47Our fennel now is just nice and soft.
06:50And last thing to go on is the sauce maltese.
06:52So that's my red mullet, braised fennel, citrus salad and sauce maltese.
06:58Looks amazing.
07:03Mmm.
07:05Fabulous.
07:06Your little face lighter. I love it.
07:07With the French classics.
07:09I mean, absolutely.
07:10Beautifully cooked piece of red mullet.
07:13The lovely finish of the blood orange in the holidays is fabulous.
07:17Amazing skills here.
07:18This is what I want to see the chefs be able to deliver.
07:21Well done, Matthew.
07:23Matthew, why don't you go ahead and seat and join us for the tasting.
07:26See you in a minute. Thank you.
07:28Shall we get our chefs in and see what they make of it?
07:30Absolutely.
07:31I hope they're ready.
07:34First to tackle Matthew's skills test
07:38is 28-year-old Natasha from Kent,
07:41who's currently a senior chef de partie in a corporate restaurant in London's Financial District.
07:46We cook fine dining food.
07:49It's mainly British cuisine.
07:52We grow most of our ingredients on our rooftop, which is lovely, so it's very seasonal.
07:58So my food is mainly inspired by, like, my Ghanaian heritage.
08:01I love, like, trying to incorporate that in the food that I make.
08:04Food is a big thing in our culture.
08:06My family are all good cooks.
08:09I entered the competition because I feel like it'll be good for me.
08:13I think it's nice to see different cuisines that I could show that a bit
08:16and allow the judges to try different flavours, spices, just something a bit different.
08:23Natasha, good to see you.
08:24Welcome to MasterChef.
08:26Welcome to your skills test.
08:27How are you feeling?
08:28Nervous now.
08:29This skills test was set by a previous finalist, Matthew Ryle.
08:33Wow.
08:34OK.
08:34Yes.
08:35We would like you to prepare and cook the red mullet served with braised fennel,
08:42a sauce maltaise and a citrus salad.
08:45OK.
08:46Is there anything you're unsure about?
08:48The sauce maltaise.
08:49So sauce maltaise is derived from a hollandaise sauce.
08:54Hollandaise you've made before?
08:56Yes.
08:56Great that she knows how to make hollandaise.
08:58So it's a hollandaise base and then it's the orange that goes into it that makes it the maltaise.
09:03Natasha, 20 minutes.
09:04Take it away.
09:10She probably should have started with her hollandaise reduction and her braised fennel.
09:15She needs to move quickly now.
09:23Done much fish prep before?
09:25Yeah.
09:25I prefer doing fish prep to meat prep actually.
09:28You got that off pretty quickly.
09:30She literally did it in five seconds.
09:32There's a lot of flesh still left on that bone.
09:34And it looks like she's finished fish prep now.
09:37And her fish is full of pin bones.
09:41Natasha, how long have you been cooking?
09:43I've been cooking for about nine years now.
09:46Her knife skills are great.
09:47I mean, she's dicing that shallot really nicely.
09:51Talk me through your hollandaise for the maltaise sauce.
09:54So I'm just melting the butter slowly and then I'm going to add that into my egg yolks.
10:01Those egg yolks need to be cooking before she adds the melted butter.
10:07Has it been a while since you've made a hollandaise?
10:09It has been a while, yes.
10:11There's no hollandaise reduction.
10:13I'm not sure what we're going to get here.
10:17Natasha, you've had seven minutes.
10:19Don't forget you've also got a citrus salad and some braised fennel.
10:23Desperately need to get that fennel on.
10:27How are you going to braise your fennel?
10:29I'm going to just sweat off these shallots, add the fennel in and then add the vermouth.
10:34Right.
10:35Tell us about your food background, your food heritage.
10:37My mum is half Caribbean and my dad is from Ghana, but she's also half Ghanian as well.
10:43So how do you introduce those into your food?
10:45I host supper clubs with my friend outside of work.
10:48Because we're both Ghanian as well, so that's very important to us.
10:50She needs a lid, she needs a cartouche, she needs something to, you know, that fennel on the top isn't
10:55going to cook.
10:58How is that hollandaise looking?
11:00It's a bit thin.
11:02Egg yolk needs to be cooked.
11:04She needs to put a bain-marie pan on to cook her hollandaise.
11:07So Natasha, why MasterChef?
11:10I think I just wanted to take on a new challenge, just...
11:13What are you doing now?
11:16You've got that sitting on the bain-marie finally.
11:19It just clocked in my head.
11:21You got it, she remembered.
11:23Well done, well done.
11:29How long have I got now, Chef?
11:32Nine minutes.
11:33She needs to give the fish a bit of attention, she's running out of time.
11:40There's a lot of citrus on your board there.
11:42I think it's becoming a bit overwhelming now.
11:47Three minutes.
11:51Is that just fresh blood orange juice that went in there?
11:54We really want that to be reduced so that the sauce doesn't get any thinner when you add it.
11:58Natasha, you haven't got long now, you've got about 90 seconds.
12:01You're going to start thinking about bringing this together.
12:03Yes, Chef.
12:19Done?
12:20Yes.
12:21Well done, it's over.
12:22Thank God.
12:28Hi Natasha, how are you? How did you find that?
12:30Horrible.
12:40OK.
12:41Hang on.
12:42Bone.
12:45Um...
12:45It started off well, I have to say, with filleting.
12:48I mean...
12:48And then you forgot to pin bone it.
12:50I just didn't want to eat fish bones, you've got to remove them.
12:54Your citrus salad, full of chilli, full of flavour, like that, but there's skills here that you need to sort
12:59of tune in.
13:00I think you left your skills in the changing room.
13:03The hollandaise making, it does just taste off fatty butter.
13:06There's no sharpness from any reduction and it's not been seasoned.
13:10You drop a squeeze of the blood orange into it, but it's not enough to make the maltese sauce.
13:16And the braised fennel, not braised, but it tastes nice with the citrus salad.
13:21You can see that there's a chef in there and, you know, when I was watching you dice your shallot,
13:25your knife skills were good.
13:27It was just a little bit rushed, a little bit frantic, a little bit nervous.
13:31Natasha, go and take a breath. See you later.
13:37I think she just blacked out with nerves today.
13:40I agree with you. It happens.
13:43It didn't go well.
13:44Got a bit overwhelmed and made a silly mistake.
13:48I really wanted to impress the judges, but I don't think I've done that in this round.
13:51So, now on to the next one.
13:56Alright.
13:58Let's see what our next chef's got.
14:01Next up is Caroline, who grew up in Brazil but moved to the UK in 2008
14:07and has been working as a private chef for the last five years.
14:10I cook mainly for clients around London, catering for intimate events, intimate dinners.
14:17I like the diversity of it.
14:18It makes me more creative maybe than working in a restaurant sometimes.
14:24I like when I can bring something from Brazil into the menus for my clients.
14:29Either an ingredient or texture or something that tells a story.
14:34I am very excited about the competition and I really hope I can bring a little bit more of a
14:40Brazilian influence to the menus as well.
14:44Caroline, welcome to MasterChef. Welcome to your skills test.
14:48We would like you to prepare and cook for us red mullet served with braised fennel, a sauce maltese and
14:55a citrus salad.
14:5720 minutes. Off you go.
14:59Thank you, chef.
15:03All the pans are coming up. This is a good start.
15:06So, I'm starting with my reduction for the hollandaise for the sauce maltese.
15:11Just get that going because it takes a while.
15:14Spot on, Caroline.
15:15Can I ask, where's your accent from?
15:18Um, I'm originally from Brazil.
15:21That's my reduction.
15:23Shallots and a little white wine vinegar and white wine.
15:27And I'll just let it reduce.
15:30I'll also make a reduction of the blood oranges.
15:35Oranges straight and in the pan. That's great for the hollandaise.
15:39Tell us about Brazilian food. What sort of food did you eat growing up?
15:42So, my part of the country, we do have a lot of barbecuing.
15:46So, it's big on red meat.
15:48But, funny enough, growing up, I was vegetarian for a few years,
15:52which always strikes people. They were very upset about it.
15:59Caroline, how are you going to braise this fennel?
16:01Going to add some vegetable stock and some vermouth.
16:05Simmer gently.
16:07She's literally doing it exactly as I did it.
16:09Right, Caroline, you are halfway.
16:11Yes, Chef.
16:12Really impressive.
16:14All four pans are on.
16:16And now I'll just do the salad and quickly move on to the fish.
16:20Well done.
16:24Why MasterChef, Caroline?
16:26I thought it was a good time to try something new,
16:30see how I behave on challenges, how do I react under pressure.
16:36Amazing knife skills.
16:39What's the next step for your sauce maltese?
16:41So, I am just separating my egg yolks.
16:46Is that your reduction?
16:47Yes, Chef.
16:51The speed is good, okay?
16:53Thank you, Chef.
16:53Keep going.
16:54With Chef.
16:54She's prepping it as you would from a textbook.
17:04Caroline, you've got three minutes to get that cooked and on a plate.
17:08Yes, Chef.
17:10It's going to be close.
17:12You can do this.
17:13I can do this.
17:18In goes the bar orange.
17:20It's a bit.
17:22Which looks good.
17:23Caroline, you've got under a minute.
17:25We shall.
17:28We'll just colour a little bit.
17:31She needs to get that on the plate.
17:33Right, let's go.
17:40That's it.
17:41Your time is up.
17:42Woo!
17:43Over.
17:44Done.
17:44Stop.
17:56Beautiful filleting.
17:57Pin boning beautifully.
17:59You used tweezers.
18:00Your hollandaise making great.
18:01Your reductions for your hollandaise, brilliant.
18:04Even just taking the braised fennel, under the pressure of seconds to finish,
18:08you still just dropped it in there, just that little bit of colour.
18:11Love that.
18:13Caroline, citrus salad.
18:15I like the mint, and I like the way the fish is being cooked.
18:17Possibly one of the best skills to test and watch a chef do.
18:20Thank you, Chef.
18:22All I can say is, wow, done honestly.
18:24I wish every chef in my kitchen worked exactly like you.
18:28Thank you so much.
18:29You absolutely smashed it.
18:31Please keep that going.
18:32Thanks very much.
18:39That was brilliant.
18:40You can see from the beginning, just the way she set things up.
18:43We knew we were in for a good skills test.
18:45It feels very special.
18:47No, I did not think I would get this sort of praise and feedback.
18:51It really means a lot to me.
18:56So, Matthew, another skills test.
18:58Two more chefs to take part.
19:00What are you going to make them do?
19:00I want our chefs to roast the poussan on the crown, serve it with a peppercorn sauce and a potato
19:05garnish.
19:06You've got a poussan there, it's a small chicken, easy to cook in the time.
19:10The key skills I'll be looking out for, butchery of the bird, cooking of the bird, sauce making, building those
19:15layers of flavour.
19:17So, any potato garnish that chefs can do?
19:19Yeah, I think I'd leave it up to them. I'm doing some game chips with mine.
19:23Okay, Matthew, take it away.
19:26Poussan is definitely what the chefs want to start with.
19:29Poussan was one of the first things I learnt how to prep at college.
19:32Remove the wings, which we'll cut down for the sauce.
19:35So we'll stick them to one side for now.
19:38And then we're just going to remove the bottom of the carcass.
19:41And there we go, that's the crown.
19:43Skin covering all of the flesh, ready to go in the pan.
19:46They need to take their time to colour the skin.
19:49Back to the sauce.
19:52We're going to roast those bones.
19:56Poussan is kind of slowly starting to take on some colour now, which is great.
20:00So we're going to cut some shallots to the peppercorn sauce, caramelise those as well.
20:06Peppercorns, white and black, we're going to toast at this stage.
20:09Everything in this pan will be passed off.
20:11The black and the white peppercorns are just for sort of adding flavour to the sauce.
20:15The green are a little bit softer and then much more nice to eat, so they will be chopped through
20:20the final sauce.
20:22Poussan, I'm pretty happy with all that colour now.
20:24It's a beautiful thing now, Matthew.
20:26Tons of butter, garlic, thyme, roasting on the crown.
20:30It's a chef's dream.
20:31It's like a jacuzzi of butter.
20:33Ooh, yes.
20:34So basically at this stage, we're pretty good to go into the oven.
20:38Probably give it about five to six minutes.
20:41Everything's nicely coloured in this pan now.
20:43I'm going to add a little bit of brandy, blombe.
20:49And then we're going to add a little bit of white wine and white wine vinegar.
20:53While we're finishing our sauce, we can get on with the potato garnish.
20:57Oh, Matthew, looking back at your time in the competition, did it give you more confidence?
21:02Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
21:03Every step, every stage you go and, you know, got you guys saying, delicious, great technique.
21:08Confidence builds and builds and builds, all the way to the final when you're sent home packing.
21:20The Poussans hit about 60 degrees, so I'm just going to leave it to rest in the pan.
21:24So sauce is ready. We'll strain that off now.
21:27I'll add the green peppercorns and the double cream.
21:32Give it a couple of seconds till we've got the right consistency, and then that's ready to go.
21:38I'm going to carve the bird and we'll plate up.
21:42You're hoping that the chefs have left themselves time to carve the Poussans and not rush through it and damage
21:48it in the end.
21:51So I'm going to be generous with the peppercorn sauce.
21:53For me, this is the star of this dish.
21:59And we're just going to do a nice stack of game chips.
22:03And there we go.
22:05My Poussang cooked on the crown, peppercorn sauce and potato garnish.
22:09Beautiful.
22:10That looks wonderful.
22:19Absolutely beautiful.
22:20I wouldn't expect anything else.
22:22Classic cookery at its very, very best.
22:24The Poussans is delicious.
22:26It's beautifully cooked.
22:27But that rich, unctuous sauce, that's what it's all about.
22:31I wish our chefs a lot of luck.
22:33Matthew, go and take a well-deserved sit-down and join us back here for the tasting later.
22:39Great skills test.
22:40Let's see what our chefs can do.
22:42Let's get them in.
22:46First to attempt Matthew's second skills test is Gokul from Kerala in India.
22:53He moved to London a year ago and is the head chef of a fine dining Indian restaurant in Marlow.
22:59Life as a chef is amazing.
23:01It's something that I've always wanted.
23:03I love to eat, so I get to try a lot of different foods and put that out on a
23:09plate.
23:11In the restaurant, it's all about avant-garde South Indian cuisine.
23:17So I would love to use the philosophies from my roots and I introduce it into our dishes.
23:24Master Chef, why?
23:27I guess the answer would be, why not?
23:30To get positive or negative feedback, it all means a really good thing for me.
23:38Welcome to Master Chef.
23:39We'd like you to cook for us.
23:41Roast the Poussin on the crown.
23:44Serve it with a peppercorn sauce and a potato garnish of your choice.
23:48Of my choice. All right.
23:49Are you feeling okay about this?
23:51Yes, I am okay about it.
23:5220 minutes. Gokul, take it away.
23:57I'm just going to season it with salt, black pepper, a little bit of olive oil.
24:01And then I'm going to put it in the oven.
24:06There's been absolutely no prep on that Poussin.
24:09And put seasoning and oil on it.
24:11So Gokul, when did you start cooking?
24:13So I started my cooking almost a decade now.
24:16But however, my cuisine is majorly into Indian cuisine that I've been following.
24:20It's a nicely massaged foot hurt.
24:23What are you going to do with this Poussin?
24:24I was thinking to cut it, basically do it like a spatchcock and then put it in the oven.
24:28Whatever you do, do it quickly.
24:29Yeah.
24:31Not what I expected to see today when I was setting a crown.
24:34Skills test.
24:36Gokul, you've had five minutes already.
24:38Done.
24:38Think about getting that in.
24:43So Gokul, tell us about growing up in Kerala.
24:46What sort of foods were you eating?
24:48I definitely loved eating seafood and definitely cooking with it as well.
24:54And now you're starting your potato garnish.
24:56Just going to butter toss the potatoes.
24:58And I'm going to use a little bit of black pepper, salt and garlic as well in it.
25:03OK.
25:05So what brings you to MasterChef?
25:07I just wanted to get a hang of what I could cook, what I could learn from different chefs.
25:13It's nice to see that he's cutting his potatoes nice and small so that they cook quickly.
25:20You've had 11 minutes.
25:21Done.
25:22How's it looking?
25:24It looks fine.
25:26You can see that the skin's scorched.
25:29I just need to get it in the oven.
25:30OK.
25:32You're now going on to your sauce, yeah?
25:34Yes.
25:35He's got no trimmings.
25:36There's going to be no depth of flavour in that sauce.
25:41We're fine-dicing some shallots, some garlic.
25:45I'll put on some whole peppers.
25:47Black peppercorns will be almost inedible if he puts them in whole.
25:52I'm hoping that he passes this sauce with the peppercorns in there.
25:57I have made the sauce before.
25:59You have for a while?
26:00Yes, I have.
26:01But my cuisine does not involve much of me involving into these kind of sauces.
26:07No, sure.
26:07But I think I can definitely try and make a really good sauce.
26:14Done.
26:15Perfect.
26:21Gokul, you have a minute to put this on the plate.
26:24Done.
26:27It looks like we're getting some chicken on the bone.
26:30Does it look cooked?
26:31Yes, it is cooked.
26:33Gokul, that's it.
26:34Time's up.
26:36Done.
26:37Relax.
26:50Gokul, we wanted you to cook the pousseau on the crown, but you managed to cook it spatchcocked on the
26:56bone.
26:57It's not what we wanted, but it's cooked through.
26:59I was eating that sauce with a little bit of fear.
27:02You bite down on a peppercorn not knowing it's there, and you can seriously damage your teeth.
27:06Your potatoes, they've got a lovely flavour to them.
27:09They've got a bit of butteriness around them.
27:10So there are some skills in there.
27:14Gokul, it was a slow start.
27:16I was in there watching you sort of massage a bird for at least five minutes.
27:20But there is a plate of food.
27:22It is edible.
27:23But it wasn't quite what we were looking for.
27:25Understood.
27:26Gokul, come back fighting in the next round,
27:28because we're all excited to see what you've got for us, okay?
27:30Definitely.
27:36It's tricky getting skills tests that you're not trained in.
27:39Hats off to him for getting something up.
27:43It was okay.
27:44It was not that excellent.
27:46I will definitely come on to the next round and do what I can do at its best.
27:56The last chef into the kitchen is 38-year-old Italian, Giuseppe, who's lived in the UK for ten years,
28:02and is a banqueting head chef of a five-star hotel.
28:09I'm in charge of a team of ten.
28:11We do weddings and corporate events.
28:14We cook for three to four hundred people.
28:16This comes with a lot of pressure, but I love it.
28:20I'm originally from Salerno, down in southern Italy.
28:23So I've been a chef for 23 years.
28:26If I was 15 when I started to train, I wouldn't change anything about it.
28:29Literally, I love any single minute of it.
28:34I bring to my competition my passionate Italian style.
28:37How far can I go? I just want to win.
28:41Giuseppe, welcome.
28:43We'd like you to make for us roasted Poussin on the crown, served with a peppercorn sauce and a potato
28:48garnish.
28:49Okay.
28:5020 minutes, Giuseppe. 3, 2, 1, go.
28:53Great.
28:58Looks like he knows what a crown is.
29:01Okay.
29:02Giuseppe, that was very quick.
29:04Clearly, you've done that before.
29:06Uh, yes, chef.
29:08Would have been nice to see some butter in there, some garlic, some thyme.
29:12So I'll slide the shallot and start the peppercorn.
29:16Giuseppe, where did you grow up?
29:17I was born in southern Italy.
29:20Whereabouts?
29:20In Salerno.
29:23Moves fast.
29:24Some great food, great produce.
29:27Mm-hmm.
29:27Yeah, grew up with my grandma food, which is, I think, is one of the best way to grow up
29:33with.
29:35There's not enough colour on that bird yet.
29:37So your grandmother was a good cook?
29:39Yeah, that was my inspiration, let's say.
29:42She wasn't a cooker, but obviously, she was an Italian grandma.
29:46Nonna.
29:46Nonna.
29:47Nonna.
29:47Yeah, that's correct.
29:48One of my things I remember is making pasta with her.
29:54Put some shallots and some peppers.
29:57Just gonna give a little bit of a brandy taste.
30:00I mean, there's no caramelisation on those shallots yet.
30:03You've had eight minutes, Giuseppe.
30:05Oh, wow.
30:07That goes fast.
30:10So, potatoes.
30:11Yes, I'm gonna peel my potatoes, and then I'm gonna slice them.
30:15He's moving at a million miles an hour, but he just needs to take a breather, slow down.
30:20So, what are we thinking with the potato garnish?
30:22I'm gonna fry the potatoes, slice them thinly.
30:26Looks like he's making little matchstick potatoes, which is nice.
30:30Giuseppe, you've got seven minutes left.
30:33Okay, chef, thank you.
30:34Wow.
30:34Doing well.
30:36Cleaning around in order to nicely.
30:39I can't believe he's got seven minutes left.
30:41Okay.
30:42It really could have taken a bit more time and cut up the chicken trimmings,
30:45got them roasting through the sauce first, reducing everything down properly.
30:50It's been too much of a rush.
30:54Giuseppe, are you enjoying yourself there?
30:55Obviously, there's a lot of emotions.
30:58A little bit of stress.
30:59I don't know any Italian that doesn't go through a lot of emotions.
31:03Yeah.
31:03The DNA, Giuseppe.
31:06Everything's go, go, go with Giuseppe.
31:07I just wanna make sure this is cooked as it should.
31:13You do only have a minute though, and you need to take that bird apart.
31:17Yes, of course.
31:19How's that croissant looking?
31:21Looks, uh, fine.
31:24Well, you need to plate up now, Giuseppe.
31:26I'm doing it.
31:26Yes.
31:27Okay.
31:28A little croissant here.
31:30You've got this lovely sauce on the side.
31:33And the fries on top.
31:34Make it nice and sexy.
31:38Giuseppe, that's it.
31:39Stand back.
31:40Hands up.
31:40Done.
31:41Yeah.
31:52Giuseppe, your approach to the little baby puissant was lovely.
31:56You got the back and the legs off pretty much within seconds.
32:00The breasts are up there nicely, but the potatoes could have had a bit more time and a bit better
32:05cutting and a bit neater.
32:07Thank you, Chef.
32:07The sauce making.
32:08I like the layers.
32:09You crush the peppercorns through it.
32:11You use the green peppercorns.
32:12You've got some brandy and that in there.
32:14Just take a minute.
32:15Take it slow.
32:16Just a little bit.
32:17Not too slow.
32:18You move like the speed of light.
32:20You had about seven minutes left and you were kind of almost done.
32:23But you could have used that time to get a bit more flavour into your sauce.
32:27What you put up is not a million miles away from what I wanted, but maybe just a little bit
32:30rough around the edges.
32:32That's good.
32:33Giuseppe, well done.
32:35Thanks very much.
32:35Sure.
32:42I feel I do work quite fast, generally.
32:46Going forward, I think I will need to take a breath and focus more on flavour and I just look
32:55forward for the next challenge.
33:00Two fantastic tests.
33:02How did you find it?
33:03There's one chef who really stood out for me today, it was Caroline.
33:06It was a real pleasure watching her work.
33:09And we've got Giuseppe, Natasha and Gokul.
33:15They're going to be passionate about their own food, so I really want to see that.
33:19Matthew, it's been fantastic having you back in the MasterChef kitchen.
33:22Thank you very much indeed.
33:23Good to see you, Matthew.
33:24Thanks, Matt.
33:26Skills tests are done.
33:27Next round, they're cooking their own food.
33:30That's when it gets really interesting.
33:45Chefs, this is your signature dish round.
33:48A dish that's going to show off what you are all about.
33:52At the end of this, two of you will be leaving us and two will go forward to our quarter
33:57-finals.
33:58You have one hour, 30 minutes. Take it away.
34:03Like now. Go.
34:04OK.
34:12I can't afford to make any mistakes now, especially after the skills test, so I really need to put my
34:17all into this one.
34:18Bringing in my Ghanaian roots and my African heritage and everything is just really important to me.
34:24It is the dish that is going to showcase me as a chef.
34:29Natasha, tell us about this dish.
34:31So I'm actually making a suya spice, which that's what the roasted peanuts are for.
34:35Is it a Ghanaian spice?
34:36West African. West African.
34:37In Ghana, we actually call it chichinka, but it's suya's more common name for it.
34:42My signature dish is suya lamb rack with yam and sweet potato croquette, cavlo nero and carrot crisp with a
34:50wild garlic powder and then a lamb sauce.
34:53Do you still have family in Ghana?
34:55My granddad's over there.
34:57Aunties and uncles are still there at the moment.
34:59Do you ever think about possibly going to do something over there with food and restauranting?
35:03That is a dream of mine to hopefully open something quite small, maybe 10, 20-seater restaurant in my dad's
35:09old family house.
35:10Does he know that?
35:11He does.
35:11He's actually on board with the ideas, getting the rest of the family on board.
35:17That could be complex.
35:19Natasha, I've never tried suya before, so I look forward to trying it a bit later.
35:22Thank you, chef.
35:23Good luck with it.
35:23Good luck.
35:27Great to see Natasha more comfortable now she's cooking her own dish.
35:32Natasha's making a suya marinade for her lamb.
35:34It's peanuts that have been roasted and she's blending it with selection of spice.
35:38And then she's going to rub that around the lamb and let it marinate in before she cooks it off
35:43in a pan and finished in the oven.
35:45I'm hoping the suya spice on the lamb really comes through.
35:49That will be really important because that is the main thing on the dish.
35:55Just rendering the fat, some of the spices keep coming off this, so...
36:00I'm worried about the lamb. You never know. It might be over, it might be under.
36:03I'm just hoping that it comes out well.
36:07I love the idea of Natasha's lamb fat sauce.
36:11She's rendering a lot of that fat down from the lamb rack.
36:14Rather than just putting them on the side, she's going to whisk it in.
36:16She's going to try and emulsify the sauce with that lamb fat, so a lot of flavour.
36:20What she's got to be careful of is making that jus too fatty.
36:26The croquette is a sweet potato. There's yam in there as well.
36:32I feel a bit crumbed and a beautiful bread crumbed and crispy on the outside.
36:37I'm looking forward to this.
36:43Chefs, you've had 20 minutes already. Oui, chef.
36:48I would definitely take the judges' suggestion of taking a bread.
36:54Speed can be my dark side.
36:58I think I push myself quite a lot on this dish.
37:01That's what we're here for.
37:05Giuseppe, looks like you're still going at a rapid speed there.
37:08I just want to get things done ahead of time, and then I will slow down.
37:12What are you cooking?
37:13Today I will be cooking a Dover sole balloting stuffed with fish and herb muslin,
37:18with pickle grapes, blanched asparagus and asparagus puree,
37:22white wine sauce sprayed with green oil and citrus bread crumb.
37:26So fish from the UK waters and flavours of home, which are?
37:31Asparagus, herbs, lemon. I will put some lemon through the muslin.
37:35How much does this competition mean to you now that you're here?
37:37I feel it's the right place to be. It's the right moment of my career.
37:41I want to put the cherry on the cake, which will be winning, obviously.
37:45For the moment, I'm having the cake. Let's see if I manage to put the cherry on.
37:48Let's take it one cake at a time.
37:50One slice at a time, for sure.
37:55Giuseppe has taken the fillets off the Dover sole.
37:57I imagine he's going to line them up next to each other, maybe batter them down just to make it
38:02a little bit thinner.
38:06In the balatini, he's also making a mousse from the same fish, the sole itself.
38:12I'm using the trimmings and the sides to make the fish mousse, which I will blend double cream with some
38:18herbs and some eggs and a touch of lemon juice and lemon zest.
38:26So he's going to roll that up.
38:32It's going to be beautifully poached.
38:35That filling cannot be grainy. It cannot be overcooked.
38:40He's going to be serving those with some black grapes, which is pickling.
38:45Just going to place them on top of the fish to make them look like the scale of the fish,
38:50basically.
38:51It'll take a while.
38:55He's serving it with blanched asparagus.
38:58Giuseppe is making white wine sauce.
39:00He's got fennel running through there. He's got lots of herbs, shallots, gently cooked, and, of course, adding some white
39:05wine as well.
39:07All I can see is that he's whipping around the kitchen with his usual kind of enthusiasm and energy.
39:12Oh, come on.
39:14I just hope that he takes a beat.
39:17What's a sister here?
39:18We as judges can spot where a chef is rushing and cutting corners.
39:25Chefs, you're halfway.
39:26Thank you, Chef.
39:27Halfway. Let's go. Come on.
39:31In the previous round, I did not perform well, but my signature dish round will be where I'll be showing
39:37my true culture, my heritage, and my roots of what I cook.
39:43There's an awful lot of ingredients behind you.
39:45Yes. So, while I was cooking back in India, and while I was studying, while I was travelling for a
39:50job, from all those parts, there is something that I've cherished, which I would love to bring onto my plate.
39:55For example, I've chosen chitternut masala, which is a blend of 16 spices that I'm using to marinate my beef.
40:02What's the name of the dish you're doing?
40:04So, it's a chitternut beef, a chitternut sauce, and it has coconut-glazed carrots, mash, which is spiced and flavoured
40:10with bone marrow, and it has chutney gel.
40:13So, this is a real combination, a real diary of your travels?
40:17Yes, it is. It's a replica of what I've learnt.
40:20Very much looking forward to trying it.
40:25This dish has a few elements from different parts of India.
40:29So, I want to combine that with the British local produce.
40:35Wow, wow, wow. Lots going on. Lots of ingredients on his bench.
40:39He's got 16 spices going over his beef.
40:43So, the flavours of chitternut are from the southern part of India, starting with cumin, coriander, curry leaf, dry red
40:51chilli.
40:51I mean, I'm not sure I could name 16 spices.
40:54Black cardamom, green cardamom, clove, star anise.
40:57So, I can't wait to try it.
40:59Sirloin steak that he's got on his bench, he has just cut them into some of, like, some of those
41:05little wedges to do.
41:06He's going to sear both sides, and then he's going to have to just be very careful, because it will
41:11overcook very, very quickly.
41:14That sauce takes at least an hour to make, and then it'll be tempered down with some coconut milk.
41:22We've got chatanad beef sauce, which I've just tasted, and it's absolutely delicious.
41:26It's like a big beef gravy, but it's full of flavour.
41:33He's roasting off an awful lot of bone marrow, and he's going to fold it through his mash.
41:39And do you know what? If it's too much in there, it could be just too rich for that dish.
41:46Coconut glazed carrots. Yes, please. Tick.
41:52We have a tamarind coriander gel. Sharp, sweet, with the coriander running through it. I like the sound of that.
42:00I hope Goku gets this all done, because it sounds delicious.
42:03Chefs, you have just 25 minutes remaining.
42:06We share.
42:10The next challenge really means a lot, because I'll be sharing a dish that I created. I hope I can
42:17reproduce the same way as I practice it.
42:20You work for private families. Who's the most famous person you've worked for?
42:24So I did cook for George Lucas.
42:26Yes.
42:27The creator of Star Wars.
42:29Yes.
42:29And now you're here.
42:30Cooking for us.
42:31Cooking for us.
42:32I know. It's even more precious.
42:33More exciting.
42:34So tell us, what are you doing in this round?
42:37So I am doing a dessert. It's going to be a set of honey custard with poached apricots in elderflower
42:44cordial, elderflower gel, vanilla creme fraiche, and a honey twill to go on top.
42:50So it's a classic set cooked custard in the oven.
42:54Any hints of Brazil in this at all?
42:57Not just yet. Just a memory.
42:59So while thinking about the plating of my dessert, it's going to resemble a little bit of sunflower, which was
43:07my dad's favourite flower.
43:09I lost my dad a few years ago.
43:12So it's a way to remember him.
43:15Fantastic.
43:16Listen, we wish you luck. I look forward to seeing it and tasting it later.
43:19OK.
43:19Thank you very much. Thanks, Caroline.
43:24My dish has got a lot of components that need to be very precise.
43:30She's going for a custard, but it's a set custard.
43:34Cream with sugar, or maybe milk added into it, and obviously eggs as well.
43:39The moulds are very small. She's cooking them inside a bain-marie, and the oven temperature has to be spot
43:45on.
43:45Too hot, and it'll curdle too low in temperature, and they're just not going to set.
43:52You've just got to get the cooking perfect, because it needs a slight wobble in it.
43:57We've also got some elderflower cordial, which is also going into the poaching liquid for the apricots.
44:03The apricots don't need a lot of poaching. They're already a soft fruit.
44:06They've got a lovely texture, so just a real gentle poaching.
44:10You don't want to boil them, because then they'll just break down.
44:15Caroline's making elderflower gel. Elderflower gel will bring some floral sweet notes to this.
44:21There's an almond sablee.
44:23It's a little bit missing.
44:24Which will be the base of her dessert. The sablee's got to be beautiful, golden.
44:31She's just made the tuile mix, and she's just spread that mix just over the top.
44:35So it's going to be very, very, very delicate.
44:41Caroline, they've just come out the oven.
44:43Still got a little wobble inside. It's what you want.
44:46Yes, but I still want them to be set.
44:49Set, set, set. Yes, Chef.
44:53Chefs, you've got ten minutes left.
44:55Natasha, are you going to think about getting that lamb cooked at some point?
44:58Yes, Chef.
45:02How's the fish looking?
45:03It looks absolutely fine.
45:04Yeah, absolutely fine. Nice and soft.
45:06Great.
45:10So I just need to finish off the beef, and then I'm good to go.
45:17Very, very happy. I was a bit worried.
45:25Nice. Very under. So I'm going to give it a quick flush.
45:37Chefs, you have five minutes remaining, and not one of you started plating.
45:46Come on, baby.
45:47Yeah, I'm literally just putting things on a plate.
45:50Chefs, you've got two minutes left, and if you're not going to get any food on a plate,
45:53we're going to have nothing to taste. Two minutes. Come on.
45:58What's happened?
45:59Do you not have a pan just to leave on here, or some butter or something?
46:02Yeah, I have a few.
46:03Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on.
46:08I can't believe it.
46:09I'm not sure if my custard is okay.
46:11In the hands of the gods.
46:17Last touches, whatever it is, it's now, or it ain't going on.
46:22Chefs, stop cooking. Wow, that was to the wire.
46:27Very close.
46:29Just going to have to go with that.
46:31Giuseppe, come on up.
46:34First to face the judges is head chef Giuseppe,
46:37who's made a Dover sole balatine filled with a fish and herb mousseline,
46:42topped with pickled grapes and a citrus crumb.
46:45Green and white asparagus with asparagus puree,
46:50and a white wine sauce split with herb oil.
46:53Beautiful presentation, nice, very, very clean, incredibly precise,
46:57which is good to see.
47:04Giuseppe, the cooking of the sole is wonderful.
47:07The fish itself is beautiful.
47:09The filling inside I find very disappointing.
47:12It's split, it's grainy, you know, so that is a shame.
47:16It hasn't quite worked out.
47:17The asparagus is nicely cooked on the side,
47:20although maybe more style of a substance, we could do a bit more.
47:23It looks amazing, it tastes fantastic.
47:26The first thing I smelled was the vinegar coming off the grapes.
47:30But with the rest of the sauce, it's really needed,
47:33because that sauce is rich.
47:35What you've got here is a beautiful sauce.
47:37It's a lovely white wine reduction.
47:39It just feels smooth and delicate and delicious.
47:44And lots of it which I like.
47:46Thank you, Giuseppe.
47:47Giuseppe, thank you very much for that.
47:58I really pushed it to the limit.
48:00They did mention about the muslin, it was a bit grainy.
48:04I agree with that.
48:06But overall, I think it was positive, yeah, happy with it.
48:09Natasha, come forward.
48:12Senior chef de partie Natasha's signature dish
48:15is a suya-marinated lamb rack
48:17with yam and sweet potato croquettes.
48:20Cavallonero and carrot crisps with powdered wild garlic.
48:23Finished with a lamb fat jus.
48:31Natasha, I'm enjoying the flavours of your jus.
48:34You also added back some of the lamb fat
48:36to emulsify the jus with, that is nice.
48:39But my lamb is all right in parts,
48:42but closer to the bone, it's still slightly undercooked.
48:46Carrots are nice, bit of texture.
48:48I was very excited about the marinade.
48:51Unfortunately, it was all lost.
48:53Was there not enough marinade?
48:55I think it just got lost in the pan
48:56when I was colouring off the lamb.
48:58It's a shame.
48:59It is a shame.
49:00I agree.
49:01There are bits I like.
49:03I've got the last chop.
49:04It is cooked.
49:06Your croquettes, beautiful and crispy.
49:08Nice lamb sauce.
49:10But it was the spicy flavours that you talked about
49:12that are so important to this dish.
49:15It's just not there.
49:17Natasha, thanks for that.
49:18Thank you, chefs. Thank you.
49:26I'm really disappointed that the suya spice
49:29didn't come from the lamb.
49:30Today, I think just the pressure, nerves,
49:33not doing well in the skills test.
49:35I think that all just came in.
49:37Oh, dear.
49:39Yeah.
49:40Next up is head chef Gokul,
49:42who's presented an Indian-inspired dish
49:44of spiced Chetanad beef with bone marrow mash,
49:48coconut glazed carrots, tamarind and coriander chutney,
49:52and a Chetanad spiced beef sauce.
50:01The sauce is incredible.
50:02Full of flavour.
50:03Full of spice.
50:04It's really well made.
50:06You can feel that the spices are working.
50:07They're full of energy.
50:09But your beef's not cooked well.
50:11I can see it's been flashed back in the pan
50:12by the fact that it's all sealed on one side over here.
50:14And the carrots aren't cooked.
50:15They're rock hard.
50:16And I can't get the coconut within them.
50:18You've spent so much time making this delicious sauce,
50:21everything else has suffered in the structure.
50:26Gokul, my beef, it's all right.
50:28I think it's probably the best cooked of the three here.
50:30I'm really enjoying spice rub around it.
50:33The coriander and tamarind's chutney is delicious
50:37because you're getting that sharpness.
50:39The bone marrow mash is nice,
50:41but I think it's not quite tying in for me.
50:44What I've got is a crossover
50:46between your travels in India
50:48and what you are cooking now.
50:51And they're just not coming together brilliantly.
50:54Yes.
50:55But thank you very much.
50:56Appreciate it.
51:03It was not that great.
51:06I completed the dish,
51:07but it was not up to the way that I was thinking it should be.
51:10The sauce can't save me, I guess.
51:13Private chef Caroline has created a sunflower-shaped dessert
51:17of honey-set custard
51:18on top of an almond sablé biscuit base
51:20with poached apricots
51:22surrounded by a honey tuile with elderflower gel
51:25and a vanilla creme fraiche.
51:27I don't want to eat it.
51:28It's too pretty.
51:43I don't want to eat it.
51:45It's too pretty.
51:56Thank you, chef.
51:57Well done.
51:59Honestly, hands down,
52:00this is one of the nicest desserts I've eaten.
52:03The elderflower has got that sharpness
52:05and it gives you a little sort of kick, a flavour.
52:08It's incredible.
52:09Thank you so much.
52:11Caroline, from the sablé with the hints of salt in it,
52:14with the beautiful design,
52:15every little dot on there,
52:17this clearly means a lot to you.
52:18It was an ode to your dad.
52:21I think your dad would be very proud
52:23of you standing here and giving us this.
52:28Sorry, chef.
52:32Phew.
52:33OK, that's good.
52:35Caroline, thank you so much for that.
52:48Today was the day to take a risk.
52:50I think to have a feedback like this,
52:53it really means a lot.
52:57What a great day.
52:59Full of passion, full of emotion,
53:00some wonderful cooking.
53:02Two of these chefs will become quarter-finalists.
53:05That means two of them are going home.
53:08I think Caroline delivered an almost perfect skills test,
53:12came back with a beautiful dessert.
53:14I can't remember a chef having such a strong start
53:18to this competition.
53:19So she's through to the next round.
53:21Without a doubt.
53:22That leaves us with Natasha, Giuseppe and Goku.
53:26Natasha's dish sounded fantastic.
53:28The suya marinade, peanut and spice going on that lamb.
53:31I thought the lamb sauce was well made.
53:32My lamb was undercooked.
53:34The croquette was beautiful and crunchy.
53:36But it was the spice I was really excited about.
53:39It just wasn't there on the plate.
53:40Such a shame.
53:41Giuseppe, he's a real mix.
53:43We saw him in the skills test and he's lively, he's fun,
53:47slightly chaotic.
53:49And then we saw him in the signature rounds.
53:51I was very impressed.
53:52Once you poured the sauce onto the plate, it really did lift it.
53:55It was lovely.
53:55For me, the mousse of that fish was grainy,
53:57and that was a disappointment.
53:59But there was a lot that Giuseppe got right.
54:02Gokul, what a sauce.
54:03Deep and rich.
54:04It was delicious.
54:05It was so complex and wonderful.
54:08There's clearly a very good cook in Gokul.
54:11Sadly, the rest of that dish didn't live up to the quality of that sauce.
54:15I just think with that small piece of beef,
54:17you could have cooked it better and it would have worked.
54:21For sure, Caroline is through to the next round.
54:24Who's going to join her?
54:26If I get an opportunity to stay,
54:28they will see what I can actually cook as a chef.
54:33I want to be a quarter finalist 300%, honestly.
54:38I would love to stay in the competition.
54:39I feel like that would be a great chance for me to redeem myself,
54:42just show the judges that I can do it.
54:54Chefs, welcome back for the last time today.
54:57However you felt you've done, you all did yourselves proud.
55:03As we said earlier, we can only take two of you through to our quarter final.
55:08And we have made a decision.
55:11One chef here that had an exceptional day in our MasterChef kitchen.
55:16The first chef through to the next round is...
55:21Caroline.
55:22Well done.
55:24Thank you so much.
55:24Congratulations.
55:27The second chef through to the next round is...
55:44Giuseppe.
55:46Giuseppe.
55:47Well done.
55:47Congratulations.
55:49Goku.
55:50Natasha.
55:51Thank you so much.
55:52I'm sorry it's the end of the road for you two.
55:56Thank you guys.
55:57Thank you so much.
55:58Take care.
56:04It's a shame to leave this early on, but I just didn't perform as well today.
56:08But I'm happy regardless that I've been able to have this opportunity.
56:14I do not feel very bad about it.
56:17I gave it a shot.
56:19I at least gave this thing my 100%.
56:23Caroline, Giuseppe, congratulations.
56:26You're through.
56:27One out.
56:28For now.
56:33Thrilled.
56:33It's like no way to describe.
56:35It's a great feeling.
56:36And to have that feedback really is very meaningful.
56:39I'll take that with me for life.
56:41Am I ready for the next dish?
56:43I will definitely make myself ready for it.
56:45At the moment I just want to get a warm shower and a cold beer would be nice.
56:53Next time, the last four hopefuls fight for their place in the quarter final.
57:01You're cutting it fine.
57:03Have you just broken the egg goat?
57:05Just broken the egg goat, Chef, yeah.
57:07It's rather large.
57:12You've made it really gutsy.
57:13I really like that.
57:19Yeah.
57:43I was sick and different.
57:48I gotta go 5000 pounds then.
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