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00:01It's the MasterChef The Professionals semifinals.
00:06And only the best six chefs remain.
00:11Tonight, their challenge is to impress one of Britain's rising culinary stars.
00:19Before battling it out for a place in the final five.
00:24The competition is really heating up, but I'm here for the whole ride and I'm not ready to let that
00:29go.
00:30I know it's going to get tougher, but I don't want to go home. I want to stay bit longer.
00:36There's going to be an incredibly tight, hot crucible of talent in there.
00:40All we can do is head down, do the best we can. It's not going to be easy.
00:44A faint heart has never won the competition. Our chefs have got to keep challenging and rising to the occasion.
00:50Show that you mean business. Show that you want to lift this trophy.
01:00All you can do is head down, do the best we can.
01:06Here we go.
01:16Welcome back to our kitchen.
01:19You six have set the semifinals on fire and you're going to have to continue that.
01:25we have got an amazing challenge for you guys today it's going to really enhance
01:30your food and your cooking style to the next level please welcome a very special
01:36guest chef one of the UK's rising talents the extraordinary John Chantrasak
01:45hi judges good morning how are you good thank you
01:52John Chantrasak is redefining modern Thai cuisine in the UK
02:00I was born in Liverpool my parents are from opposite sides of the world so my father was
02:05born in Bangkok each year my dad would take us to Bangkok and see our family my grand my aunties
02:12they would take us to the markets and I think not early food memory dictated my interest in Thai food
02:24in my teens I was in a band I went touring in America the ambition was to become an
02:31international rock star it didn't quite wash out that way but one of the takeaways of that
02:37six-month trip was I became interested in hospitality and how its connection was to everything in life on a
02:47whim
02:48John went on to train at the prestigious Le Coudon Bleu culinary school in the Thai capital I kind
02:55of felt like it might have been the last roll of the dice for me to do something creative with
02:58my life
02:59so I really poured everything I had into those 18 months and absolutely loved it after graduating John
03:06went on to work under renowned chef David Thompson at the legendary Thai restaurant Noam the restaurant
03:14was a number one restaurant in Asia at the time and David it was through his tuition and his guidance
03:20that I picked up Thai food in a fine dining way and that was kind of the beginning of the
03:25story for me
03:26having honed his craft for nearly two years in Thailand John headed back to the UK to showcase his food
03:34style through pop-ups in the capital in 2024 he opened Anglo Thai in London the ethos of the restaurant
03:46is
03:46heavily inspired by the cuisine of Thailand but the focus is to use predominantly British ingredients for
03:55example if we're cooking green curry we're only using it in the summer months because green chilies only grow
03:59in the UK in the summer months you would associate rice with the cuisine in Thailand we don't serve
04:06rice on our menu instead we reach for heritage ancient British grains citrus is very hard to come across so
04:14we look at rhubarb gooseberries sea buckthorn and in doing that there's some classic examples that have
04:21become main staples of our menu John's unique take on Thai British fusion instantly gained recognition and
04:32within three months he was awarded a Michelin star that for me was probably the most proud moment of my
04:42career and
04:44really cemented in me that if you drive for your goals and your success that you can get there hello
04:52chefs
04:52I'm really excited to give you the bold innovative flavors that I am passionate about with my restaurant
04:57in London so today I'm going to cook a couple of my dishes for you guys but to see those
05:01dishes you're
05:02going to have to follow me outside John's master class starts with one of his most popular restaurant
05:10dishes that centers around crab coconut and caviar this is actually a dish that first race pop-up menus
05:19about four years ago and I've been refining along the way and everyone seems to love it on the menu
05:24we
05:25take whole crabs and we cook them over a charcoal grill it's very traditional in Thai cooking and in
05:30Southeast Asian cooking to cook over charcoal and wood in the restaurant we also fresh press our
05:38own coconut cream having that ingredient set us apart from other restaurants in the UK the fresh
05:43coconut cream is combined with a marinade made from British green chilies galangal mandarin juice and
05:50honey from Glastonbury
05:57that is really really good the spicy sweet salty oh my god crabs at the temperature we want it to
06:03be now the delicately
06:05picked white crab meat is then combined with a spicy coconut cream dressing and we serve that with caviar from
06:14X more and then for the other half of the ramekin we're going to cover it with the red oxalis
06:20leaves and
06:21it has like sour flavor profile to it that again is just going to like balance out the dish Thai
06:27food is
06:27sweet salty spicy and sour and it's about balancing those four flavor profiles together to create something
06:34harmonious the final element is a coconut ash cracker chef they're looking beautiful thank you very much
06:48okay guys so this is the finished dish and I invite you to come taste it it's really delicious you
06:55could
06:55taste every individual ingredient and for such a small thing it packed such a big amount of flavor in that
07:01so tasty but also he's managed to keep that delicate crab in there as well it's just really
07:07balanced so well okay guys so we're going to cook our second dish so the main course is a lamb
07:14dish we're
07:15actually incredibly proud to focus on using lambs from a farm in Dorset we try and champion all cuts
07:20of the lamb we're actually using hoggett so like mature sheep I think has a much nicer more prominent
07:27flavor the hoggett is served alongside a lamb red curry sausage this is inspired by a sausage called
07:34saiyua in the north of Thailand we're just smoking all the meats now just to give them that like deeper
07:39like more complex flavor profile this is sheep's bellies that we've braised pressed together and
07:44that forms like this terrine we also take inspiration from a dish called ging om in Thailand which is a
07:51rural style curry that actually doesn't have coconut cream running through it curries that are cooked
07:56with stock rather than coconut cream makes them a little bit more light and a little bit more
08:00aromatic this looks amazing I can't wait to get started eating this this looks absolutely incredible
08:09hopefully it's quite like big bold flavors quite rich in itself as well that was delicious thank you
08:14very much chef thank you so much the challenge next you are set to cook from a larder of my
08:23ingredients that I have chosen and what I'll be looking for in your food is big bold flavors that's
08:28what I really find attractive about Thai cooking and I hope you'll find like inspiration from the food
08:33that we've had today off you go thank you thank you the contestants now have 90 minutes to create a
08:42Thai
08:42inspired dish that showcases British ingredients chosen by John and embraces traditional Thai cooking
08:50methods over coals there's a real spectrum of ingredients there's chicken pork John Dory sea bass crab oysters we've got
09:02beef
09:03heart barley's and spelt lemongrass galangals fresh chilies and I really hope that they'll be able to reach deep
09:10into their repertoire and think about how they're gonna best showcase their flavors hopefully we can make chef
09:16John proud you know come up with good ideas be worried but after seeing chef John I'm gonna try
09:22to use what we have learned in master class and try to put that on a plate finally getting to
09:35use the
09:35barbecue today so hopefully going to make some really strong use out of it Dublin-born chef patron Mark has
09:43a
09:43passion for American barbecue and has shown versatility with dishes and flavors from all over
09:48the world when I came into the competition I probably hadn't intended to cook as widely as I have but
09:55has
09:55struggled with refinement I think after the first couple of challenges I realized how intense it was
10:01going to be how much I was have to push myself today I'm just going to make sure that everything
10:05that goes
10:06on the plate is like there for maximum impact maximum taste Mark Thai flavors are these ingredients
10:12that you're used to using no not at all I've never really cooked Thai food before so really excited
10:17today to try and bring a little bit of spin to it so what dish are you cooking today Mark
10:20we're
10:20going to be grilling chicken and then I'm going to make an infused crab oil that I can baste the
10:24chicken
10:24with jasmine rice a little pickle salad of mooli and potato with lots of herbs through there I'm also
10:30going to do a green curry sauce sounds adventurous for sure you're going to get that all done I'm
10:33going to work my butt off to try and get it all done in time love the idea of the
10:40crab oil which
10:41is infused with basil mint and some lemongrass is going to be buttering that over the top of the
10:45chicken but I really want to taste that crab flavor the green curry sauce is about a great curry paste
10:52hopefully some ginger and garlic in there with some chilies and some lime leaves and coconut cream
10:57a walnut curry sauce it just really embraces those beautiful flavors of Thailand chefs 20 minutes of
11:04cooking time has gone yeah I've got a lot going on it's quite a bit daring but if I can
11:10pull it off it
11:10should be tasty private chef Gareth has made it this far with playful takes on classic dishes showing
11:19impressive technique I've definitely developed as a chef the further I get through the competition
11:27the more confident I'm becoming in myself I really want to be in the final just have to get over
11:33a few
11:33difficult challenges before that it looks like you've got some pretty adventurous ingredients in front of you
11:41right here yes chef I'm gonna do ox heart and cook that over the fire I'm gonna glaze that with
11:46black garlic
11:47glaze then I've got some farro that I'm cooking in beef stock I'm doing a Thai sauce similar to how
11:55you
11:55showed us today so I'm cooking that with stock as opposed to with coconut milk and there's gonna be
12:00some pickled daikon in there for acidity you asked us to give you some big bold flavors and that's what
12:05I'm
12:05gonna try and do Gareth he's making ox heart skewers but the ox heart was a very big muscle can
12:14be tough
12:15so he needs to be very careful when it cooks on the grill Farrow is a grain and he's going
12:21to finish
12:22it off with some beef fat which he's rendering from the fat of the heart his sauce is a rustic
12:28style
12:29sauce with lots of galangal running through it so it's gonna have a little heat and sweetness to it
12:32he's made a Thai curry sauce before in the competition it's absolutely delicious Junior
12:38Sioux chef Georgia has shown her strengths line classic French techniques and Mediterranean flavors
12:45but she struggles when she doesn't have a plan this looks a little hectic yes I'm sorry you're right
12:51oh gosh I've been trying to take each challenge as it comes because otherwise I do get quite overwhelmed
12:58doing an invention test that is what I'm finding most daunting hopefully won't be running around
13:03like a headless chicken in this challenge so where are you going with this dish I am gonna do a
13:09take on
13:10some of my favorite Thai food I really love chicken satay skewers and I really love prawn sesame toast so
13:17I'm going to attempt to make chicken satay skewers and chicken liver sesame toast don't think I've ever
13:23encountered that before like a cut like liver and then trying to introduce it into a very well
13:27recognized dish yeah I'm still kind of working out the elements of my dish it's a bit all over the
13:32place yeah okay should we stop talking sorry okay no worries Georgia is definitely looking a little
13:40bit flustered in the kitchen I don't think she's got a real clear picture just yet of the dish she's
13:46chosen the chicken and she's doing a satay style skewers the chicken liver toast it's inventive none of us
13:52have had that before but this is not about taking just little bits that Georgia enjoys about Thai
13:57food she has to create a cohesive dish here chefs you're halfway okay halfway dad of four and head
14:07chef Luke's bold flavors and stylish plates have stood out in the competition I think I've had quite good
14:17feedback but I want to keep learning and I'm hoping that they can see that as well Luke how are
14:26you a
14:27little bit stressed right now I love to eat Thai food but it's not something I've cooked much with so
14:31I'm gonna do a John Dory which I'm gonna lightly smoke on the grill I'm gonna serve that with Thai
14:36green
14:36curry sauce pickled daikon a little daikon that I'm gonna cook on the char grill just trying to use the
14:43flavors as well as he did John Dory is one of my favorite fish hope you're gonna do it justice
14:47probably not a good time to tell you I've never cooked on before Luke is using a fish he's never
14:55filleted before so he needs to be very careful I feel it plenty of fish before so I'm hoping that
15:01I
15:01can just use my knowledge from that Luke wants to smoke it this is why he's gonna cook it on
15:06the
15:06higher tier of the barbecue I like this daikon is the radish what it'll do is it'll bring freshness to
15:12the plate we've got some pickled daikon and then he's also got another one that he's cut into thin
15:16slices and he's rolled it up and he's gonna put down to the barbecue and then just baste it with
15:21that lovely seaweed butter I'm gonna attempt to make coconut milk to have John done I'm gonna use
15:27that as the base of a Thai green curry sauce Thai green curry sauce it's got to have a huge
15:32amount of heat
15:32running through its coconut flavor lemongrass ginger galangal it's got to have big big big flavors
15:38Brazilian-born private chef Caroline has wowed with meticulous and ambitious classics but often pushes
15:46herself right to the wire I'm aware that pressure for me is always timing but you really want to go
15:55into that kitchen and give it your best so I'm doing a wild sea bass that's gonna be cooked in
16:03the barbecue I'm doing a pea puree with Thai basil and coconut cream my intention is to pick up the
16:09white crab meat and to make it into a croquette with like chili going through it okay how are you
16:15gonna bind the crab together for the croquette filling it's a good question I'll have to figure
16:19that out I didn't get there yet and the sauce will be red curry sauce okay Caroline there's a lot
16:25going
16:26on in this dish and you always cut it fine are you gonna be able to pull this off I
16:31hope I hope I'll do
16:32my best I love the sound of this she's gone for the sea bass she's cured it with kombu seaweed
16:39so I
16:40hope we get to taste some of those flavors of the kombu running through it she's making a crab croquette
16:45but she hasn't decided how she's going to bind this croquette which is the key thing about holding
16:51this together we've also got pea and Thai basil puree looking for big flavor great color nice and
16:57smooth achieving a great Thai red curry sauce is about getting the spices cooked off there's red
17:03peppers and some tomatoes and then coconut milk to bring it together it's not sauce you want to rush
17:08in the last 10 minutes Guatemalan-born private chef Sal has delivered with his innovative and often daring
17:17combinations showcasing flavors deeply rooted in his heritage the competition definitely has gone well
17:25but we have to push ourselves more get more creative how does the cooking from Guatemala compare with the
17:34stuff that I was showing you today we can use the same flavors like coconut is something that you
17:38just drink also I have never really cooked Thai food before so this is for me so first so I'm
17:43trying
17:43to refer to what I learned from today pretty intrigued to see how like everything's gonna come together for
17:48sure next two of us yeah so not really cook Thai style flavors before but he's taking the pork and
17:58he's
17:58gonna cut those into chops and just finish those on the grill I'm really surprised that he's not gonna add
18:03any Thai flavors onto those pork chops at all which I find quite incredible because pork could carry
18:08those flavors beautifully well we've got white asparagus coconut basil puree quite an unusual
18:13combination especially the white asparagus can be quite stringy get a little bit on the bitter side as
18:18well we have grilled broccoli and a coconut sauce that's got chilies the limes and galangal ginger so he
18:26is trying to infuse Thai flavors through his cooking but I just see a lot of different things here and
18:35I
18:35hope he's thought about how he's going to put this all together chefs you've got 30 minutes until the
18:43first dish is served John and I are going to head out to the dining room very much look forward
18:48to trying
18:55the dish it's a pretty big ask I think isn't it to take chefs out of their comfort zone if
19:01I was in
19:01their shoes I would be quite intimidated by it but I've encouraged them to try and be really bold with
19:06the flavors that they're working with from looking at everyone's benches they do have a set of
19:11ingredients that they'll be able to achieve that with if they go down the right avenues with them just
19:16starting to do my chicken mark is first up yeah and he's in familiar ground because mark does a lot
19:21of American barbecue the great thing about charcoal grilling is it's a really really dry heat so you
19:25can get really really crispy skin I love the thought of that smoky barbecue chicken spiced crab oil could
19:33be inspired yeah depending on how he carries it off what's this so that is a herb brush with spiced
19:40crab
19:40oil I'm gonna put it into the pizza oven now for a few minutes just to make sure that it's
19:44cooked all
19:45the way through and then we're done oh sizzle sizzle and he's got a sort of pickled daikon salad I
19:54think he was gonna make mark you got five minutes left happy with the chicken yes very happy with the
20:02chicken Thai green curry is what one of the spiciest so I don't know whether he knows that or not
20:07but I'll
20:08be looking out to see whether he's like gone down that kind of authentic route do you think it's gonna
20:12be
20:12hitting the big bowl flavors that John's looking for yeah I think so yeah thank you good luck thank
20:18you chef chef chef chef how are you very well thank you very much enjoy thank you very much take
20:27a break
20:28thank you chef looks very appealing very fresh so I'm quite excited to try this I think it went
20:36pretty well I'm trying to pack a lot into the time limit so yeah I hope it's done enough to
20:40stand out
20:42the chicken of mine's like nice and moist and juicy still that crispy smoky skin is delicious I do
20:49think the crab oil does add something like in the background something umami this green curry it's not
20:55adventurous with the chili heat it feels a little bit more Sri Lankan with that like rich coconut
21:00flavor but I do like it the pickled daikon salad I think is delicious for me it's the nicest thing
21:05on
21:05the plate it's a nice plate of food it's just lacking that extra punch that I expect with Thai food
21:11need to throw a bit of chopped chili on there maybe yeah
21:17Mark's chicken has definitely got the flavors of the barbecue running through the chicken but that
21:24crab oil is slightly lost and I think his Thai green curry could have had a much bigger kick in
21:28it
21:32Gareth's ox heart skewers for me sounds very very exciting this is a first for me beef heart on a
21:40barbecue on a lemongrass stick he's gonna quickly flash it over the charcoal which is exactly the
21:46kind of cooking that ox heart benefits from really I'm gonna glaze them with black garlic and then they
21:53should get a nice amazing caramelized glaze on by when they go back on the barbecue I like the idea
21:59of the farro with the beef fat running through it I think like the beef fat and the ox heart
22:03there's a
22:03good sort of synergy in the dish Gareth's a minute or two left what is that pickled daikon so Gareth
22:13is
22:13doing a chili and galangal rural style curry sauce I think everyone else was reaching for coconut cream
22:19but he's kept it quite clean and using animal stock like the version I did today you're done yes chef
22:27good stuff off you go take your two plates well done thank you that's definitely him pushing really
22:34hard yeah that looks great yeah smells good thank you very much thank you chef I don't know about you
22:45but I think it just looks like a very accomplished plate of foods it was a tough cook but I
22:51was pushing
22:51myself but I think that's what the challenge was about and I loved that I've got to say this ox
22:58heart
22:58cooking is sublime it's super tender the black garlic I'm picking up that little bit of sweetness
23:04that's picked up all the smoke I think that's really enhanced this the sauce for me there is a nice
23:09roundness to it I'm really a fan of the ancient grain as well it's like beefy it's got nice like
23:15chewy
23:15texture to it I love the little bit of pickled daikon with it as well it's just beautiful I can't
23:20really
23:23fault that plate the ox heart is beautifully caused the sauce is big and rich you've got a lovely heat
23:27behind it if you're talking about big bowl flavors this is it in a bowl this is fabulous for me
23:33it's
23:33one of Garris's top dishes I'm really enjoying it I don't get on the barbecue very often anymore but I
23:41do really enjoy it usually Georgia's got barbecue satay skewers which sounds delicious yep I'm going
23:52to face these skewers with my satay sauce with some of my curry paste in it I'm gonna finish this
23:58off
23:58inside I think Georgia you've got about four minutes left the chicken liver inspired by prawn toast not
24:08sure how that's gonna come together I hope it's gonna work on the brioche if she pulls that one
24:11off could be delicious okay Georgia so you've got about 30 seconds left you want to think about
24:18sending your plate soon she's got an Asian slaw I've kind of muddled through this so God knows what
24:25it's gonna be like I think it's a bit rushed off you go thank you she looked unhappy she looked
24:33confused
24:33that was not great for her she didn't enjoy that and it shows on the plate I think I just
24:39really
24:40struggled to control my nerves I'm just not very good when I don't have a plan and I'm kind of
24:45winging it
24:46I just hope that the flavors are there and that they enjoy the taste of the dish the chicken skewer
24:53is
24:54pretty tasty and it has got nice flavor but unfortunately I think one of my pieces of
24:58chicken here is actually not quite cooked through the salads it doesn't really bring anything it's not
25:03really pickly enough and the curry sauce is quite nice it feels a little bit like a peanut satay it
25:09does
25:09have a little kick in the background I quite like that the toast the bread has got really oily and
25:15wet
25:15I don't think it's quite worked out for her the sauteed chicken skewer mine is slightly undercooked
25:24the sweet brioche and then the chicken liver that's weird is a combination that doesn't work not enjoying
25:30that so Luke was faced with this magnificent John Dory he's never cooked before he's never
25:38filleted before first time cooking fish like this on a barbecue as well the coconut on the flames is to
25:44get it smoking yeah lovely flavor get some smoky flavor through the fish Luke's never filleted the
25:51John Dory before and I have to take my hat off to him he did it really well I like
25:55the fact that he
25:56is gonna baste the John Dory with seaweed butter which I think will really enhance the flavor the barbecue
26:03daikon actually I've done it before and it gets quite sweet and it loses some of its bitterness so I
26:19have to say it looks good thank you thanks very much thank you thank you I think Luke's done a
26:32really
26:32good job here looks really appealing quite minimalist but I like that it was tough I was out of my
26:39comfort
26:39zone but under the circumstances I am happy with what I put up the John Dory is flaking apart really
26:46moist still I think the seaweed butter that he's basted it in has like a sort of smoky barbecue flavor
26:52to it which is nice I really like the green curry sauce actually I think it's very vibrant has nice
26:57acidity to it and the fact that he's made his own coconut cream that's impressive given the time frame
27:02the fish the two types of daikon and that delicious sauce there's a lot of positives there I have to
27:11say for a chef that's never filleted or cooked John Dory before that's perfectly cooked it's brilliant
27:16there's a little bit of heat and the Thai green curry too which I like he's taken on the challenge
27:20and delivered a great dish oh smoky Caroline she's wrapping her wild sea bass in kombu she's
27:31only going to take that off and barbecue it it should impart that sort of seaweed saline flavor into the
27:37fish
27:37I really want the skin to be charred but it also needs to be cooked nicely and not over she's
27:45got
27:45grilled vegetables tomatoes for some freshness asparagus are not fire which is good how's it
27:52looking I'm very worried about my crab why I won't be able to do croquettes like I wanted to you've
27:59got six minutes still so you might be able to break the crap I want to have something we chef
28:05we've got jasmine rice she's got a puree I think you missed out the fried enoki mushrooms and I missed
28:13yeah they're looking good just need to finish something here I love the idea of the crab
28:20croquette but how she's going to bind this crab croquette together she had no idea yet that's a
28:25mystery up until this point really I did pick the crab meat and I'm serving it fresh with some chili
28:33and radishes I'd like it to be different but well you did have a lot to do surprise surprise red
28:40curry
28:41sauce what are you looking for in that there needs to be that chili heat running through it to balance
28:45out the fact that it's got coconut cream in Caroline how's it looking final touches now
28:50this is pea and Thai basil puree we're gonna have to go a bit quicker now with chef it is
28:56a lot I
28:57definitely feel like she's bitten off more than she can chew you're over time now yes so you're not
29:03to hurry up Caroline you're done three minutes over yes let's explain what you've done with the
29:10crab meat okay indeed chef Caroline was up against it yeah a lot more work than she needs to do
29:17as
29:18usual again just always doing too much I wanted to do a croquette but I did pick some of the
29:25claw meat
29:26with some fresh chili through it go take a break thank you it was very intense obviously I was very
29:35annoyed not to be able to have the crab croquettes the way I wanted them but I'm pleased with the
29:41flavors I tasted overall I'm happy I think the sea bass is beautifully cooked I'm definitely getting
29:49that salty seaweed combo taste to it I'm loving the red curry sauce it's got a bit of kick to
29:54it I do
29:55really like that little crab salad I think it's delicious with the fish I feel like those elements
30:00work really well together and I wish you'd just maybe pulled back a little bit on some of these
30:04extra garnish which aren't really that necessary the fish is nicely cooked all but you've just got the
30:11barbecue flavor on there the Thai sauce is lovely it's got good heat to it right spices it's a dish
30:16that has great things on it but it's just too much so he's giving us a very simple no frills
30:31pork chop I'm
30:33just trying to get some caramelization I would probably have liked to have seen him marinate it
30:38or at least talk about basting that or something while it's on the grill what about a white asparagus
30:44coconut and basil puree I actually love white asparagus pairing it with coconut cream you can
30:49bring out a nice sweetness from it as well remind us what we've got here on the side we've got
30:53black
30:54rice which I finish a little bit of cash notes and then I put some enoki motion on top I
30:58feel like
30:59it's quite busy if I'm honest I don't necessarily see why he needs all of these different vegetable
31:06garnishes but he might present us with something that's really outstanding what's in that sauce the
31:11base is coconut and some chilies happy yeah I mean with the time given I think I'm sad that they
31:17can
31:17be choose the best place and off you go there's a lot going on a bit rough around the edges
31:24isn't
31:24it I just keep looking at the broccoli and think why is it there me too go and take a
31:30break thank you
31:31put your feet up for a bit thank you sir I try to catch as much as I could earlier
31:38in the masterclass
31:40I just did the best I could with this dish the pork I think is actually cooked quite well I
31:47do feel
31:47like it could have had more char on the barbecue to get that kind of caramelization but all of the
31:53garnishes just don't really make any sense to me we've got a bit of broccoli that just tastes like a
31:58bit
31:59of broccoli and this white asparagus and basil puree with the coconut it's neither sweet nor bitter
32:05the coconut sauce has no real depth it's got a very kind of muted flavor to it almost like Thai
32:12flavors
32:12for beginners there is not much about this plate of food that I am enjoying it's a bit rough bit
32:22rustic
32:22just not quite hitting the mark I think it's been a great day in the kitchen some people really took
32:30it in their stride and produce some really amazing cooking and others I think they just had a little
32:34bit of an off day in the kitchen but you can clearly see that they push themselves to be outside
32:39of their
32:39comfort zone and for that I really applaud all of them for doing it our chefs have got one more
32:44opportunity to prove themselves and keep themselves in this competition it's all to play for
32:59chefs I hope you enjoyed your time with John there was some outstanding food on show today well done
33:05you are now back in here to fight to stay in our semi-finals we have set you a brief
33:12and that is to
33:13create one spectacular dessert something that is going to wow us blow us away at the end of this one
33:21of you will be leaving the competition make this count you have one hour and 45 minutes give it
33:29everything you got the pressure of today's challenge is huge everything's riding on this
33:43dessert but I want it to be one that you talk about for years after that's what I'm going for
33:52my family my mum my dad both my sisters lived in Trinidad and Tobago for a long time they came
33:58back to
33:58sunny Carlisle before I was born but we visited and those flavors and that culture has always sort
34:04of been around in our lives so I'm cooking for you a Cumbrian classic with a Caribbean twist
34:11Gareth's dessert is about elevating the sticky toffee pudding and he's going to serve it with
34:16flavors of the Caribbean we have a banana creme diplomat which is like a whipped up mousse I'm
34:21going to whip up some cream with a bit of rum and fold it through to make like a light
34:25banana and rum
34:25cream Gareth is making a rum and lime gel but he has to be careful we've had a gel from
34:31Gareth before it
34:32was a very smoky whiskey gel and it was just too strong we've also got a twill which is making
34:38out
34:38of pecans banana sherbet just for a little bit of sugary finish then we got a fig leaf ice cream
34:45it's actually my first ice cream I've ever made fig leaf just the most beautiful pungent aroma the
34:51fig leaves have come from my mum's garden and my mum she always cooks the best sticky toffee puddings so
34:58hopefully I can deliver something as good as what she would do the pressure will be back on now need
35:06to get everything perfect because obviously pastry there's not much room for error but I'm feeling a
35:12little more comfortable doing this dish there's something that I've managed to practice a little
35:16bit we haven't seen many desserts from you so far in the competition how do you feel about this I'm
35:22quite excited the whole dish is based around pistachios and what is about this dessert that you find so
35:27spectacular the cake element in particular is what I did for my first ever chef competition about 12
35:32years ago I won that it must have been a good cake Luke yeah well Pierre Kaufman thought so he
35:39was
35:39judging the competition and by the time I plated up he'd eaten all of my trimmings of my cake
35:45guessing the best out of pistachios is very difficult we've got a pistachio and olive oil cake
35:50it's the slowest olive oil ever let's get out the cake is got to be light I want the nutty
35:57flavor of
35:57pistachio to come through but also the flavor of oil despite the balance and we've also got an ice cream
36:03made from pistachio as well we've got Italian meringue Italian meringue is about cooking the
36:09sugar and pouring it onto the egg whites getting it to the right temperature and that's got to be nice
36:13and firm I'm pretty confident of them right I've done it many times but you know this is the place
36:17that I'm gonna screw it up so Luke's got a raspberry and rose water jelly rose water that has got
36:25to be
36:25really really carefully used otherwise it is just too perfumed and it's completely overpowering Luke's
36:32got a lot of jeopardy going on with his pistachio twills so you need to mold them whilst they're hot
36:36and it's gonna wrap around the cake I'll be quite quick for these ones because as they cool they
36:40literally go to brittle my concern is the dryness of this dessert you got a twill it looks quite thick
36:46and you also got a cake as well so I'm a little bit worried for Luke oh my hand is
36:55so sweaty I have
36:56done a dessert as my signature dish at the beginning and I had a very very good feedback so I
37:03think I
37:03have very big shoes to fill Caroline you looking as busy as ever yes chef a lot to do the
37:13main
37:13element of dessert is the fig leaf and white chocolate parfait which is then spraying with
37:17white chocolate but the frozen parfait is obviously going to heat up so she needs to do that really
37:22really quick if I don't move fast is the danger that you know it might just melt too quickly and
37:27I
37:27don't I don't want that Caroline's using a version which is made from grapes to marinate her peaches so
37:35there'll be a bit of sweetness in it we also have a peach consomme I blitzed some fresh peaches mm
37:43-hmm
37:43with a little bit of sugar and froze it down and I'll just let it very slowly drip
37:57so what's inspired this peaches are one of my favorite fruits and blackberries when I was a
38:03kid my mom used to take me and my brother for a walk then she let us just go and
38:07pick them and
38:08have them fresh and we would come home like covered so it's fun memory for me she's doing an awful
38:14lot
38:15but if she gets it right it'll look incredible chefs 45 minutes cooking time has gone it's definitely
38:23gonna be pretty busy today I've got a lot of stuff to get on and moving for this yeah show
38:27-stopping
38:27dessert a lot of work to live up to it demands ambition and I think I've tried to bring as
38:32much
38:33ambition to this dish as I possibly can mark what are you putting together here so a peanut butter and
38:40jelly sandwich it's like one of the first things a lot of kids learn to make I want to like
38:43take those kind
38:44of flavors and like elevate it into like a really amazing dessert so I'm making for you today a
38:48peanut butter and jelly cheesecake what part is the jam the jam is gonna be bourbon cherry gel some
38:53poached cherries that's gonna bring that kind of sweetness that little bit of acidity to us we've
38:57got a salted pretzel base and then some burnt honey meringue over the top peanut butter and jelly
39:05cheesecake it sounds delicious it's got a little bit of goat's cheese in there for the acidity I love
39:12the pretzel base but peanut butter being strong quite cloying flavor so he's gonna need enough of
39:20that cherry gel to really cut through it all we've got peanut brittle twill a burnt honey meringue basically
39:28making Italian meringue but instead of using a normal sugar syrup I'm using burnt honey and then piping
39:32that into beautiful little matchstick strips he's also giving us a caramelized puff pastry ice cream which
39:40is a new one on me I've caramelized puff pastry and infused it into an anglaise base okay and then
39:46going to turn that into ice cream interesting the ice cream we don't want to overturned and grainy and I
39:52want to taste the caramelization of the pastry this is a great idea but this food can be rustic on
39:59the eye I'd like
40:01to see mark refine that today with his dessert I want it to look good as well as taste good
40:06but
40:07this is about pushing the boundaries today so I'm really push the boundaries with the flavors I'm
40:13confident on my dish because it's very unusual but I know it works the most important thing here is just
40:20to keep focus today I took inspiration actually in a forest as a kid we used to wander around like
40:27with
40:27the dogs and you know like just collecting stuff in this case I'm trying to recreate like a fallen tree
40:32like a log what is the log the log is filled with a matcha mousse and then on top I'm
40:38gonna add a
40:38chocolate cremeu to create like the bark of the log then I have a white purple ice cream big flavors
40:43wow big very big flavors okay adventurous it's just time to take risks
40:52we've got a frozen matcha mousse which is inside a chocolate shell they're frozen that was my biggest
40:56worry with this if they wouldn't freeze on time then he's making a chocolate cremeux and he's putting
41:02that on the outside trying to make them look like little logs we also have a matcha moss so it's
41:09a cake
41:10batter that's been cooked in the microwave it puffs up it just makes it very light and fluffy yes ha
41:17we've got
41:18truffle ice cream I have to say of everything that's on this plate truffle is the one thing
41:22that concerns me the most it's big and bold and sometimes can be slightly overpowering I just hope
41:28that the truffle ice cream is mellow enough to complement everything else Sel is throwing
41:34himself out there because his flavors are slightly mad I'm taking you to the sunny Amalfi Coast today I've
41:42got my bandana in my hair wishing I was on holiday rather than in the kitchen I didn't feel like
41:49myself in
41:50the last round I felt so nervous but I feel a lot more confident I know what I'm doing I
41:59want to show
42:00the judges that I can keep my cool a little bit more we're seeing lemons limoncello basil this seems
42:08like your happy place it is lemon is my favorite thing and it's in all of my cooking basically so
42:14I'm
42:14doing a classic French lemon tart some Italian meringue on the side and lemon sorbet is this
42:20worthy of keeping you in our semi-finals I hope so this is me on a plate so I had
42:25to do it
42:29Georgia's a chef who's very happy when she's cooking desserts but there's a lot riding on
42:34this for Georgia because a simple lemon tart is a very complicated thing to do you need it to be
42:41just set if she overcooks it it's gonna crack if she undercooks it it's just gonna be soft and it'll
42:48melt away onto the plate it's got to be perfect a lemon cello curd cream is about the curd being
42:55cooked out just right of course the lemon cello being quite strong vibrant the cure so that in
43:00the cream should be delicious always looking okay so far we've got lemon sorbet I'm just filling my
43:07little lemon shells with my lemon sorbet now that it's ready we have basil and lemon curd but there's
43:14a lot of lemon going on in Georgia's dessert I think where you've got to balance this dish is the
43:19acidity of the lemons running through everything but also the sweetness as well chefs you have just
43:27seven minutes left I've got a lot going on I need to start moving so why are they not connected
43:37so maybe
43:37I could have measured them differently so they look gorgeous really happy with the top my cafe has
43:46defrosted I don't know what to do chefs this is your last two minutes I've managed to put everything in
43:56the
43:56plate I'm really not happy with my cake the mix was too wet it's dense it's dropped oh chef it's
44:03all
44:03melting it's all melting melting and it's not nice which is not ideal okay chefs you got 60 seconds left
44:12come on let's get it on a plate it looks like a donut on the plate it's horrible oh no
44:17plate what
44:19you can and ask to keep these maybe in the freezer until it's time to serve or don't give up
44:24chefs that
44:29is it time is up step back Gareth
44:43Gareth's show-stopping dessert is a Caribbean inspired sticky toffee pudding with a miso caramel
44:48sauce served with a pecan tuile dusted with banana sherbet caramelized banana lime and rum gel
44:56banana and rum creme diplomat and a fig leaf ice cream smoked in a cherry wood aroma
45:11the sticky toffee pudding sponge it's not lifted to the heights it should have done the mix wasn't
45:16quite right you can see that little thickness at the bottom but having said that it's still
45:19delicious I like the diplomat cream that's very nice and of course the gel big kick of alcohol
45:24it's lovely the fig leaf ice cream is absolutely delicious and when you eat that with the ever so
45:32slightly salty miso caramel it works perfectly that pecan twill also has a hint of banana running
45:39through it I think it's very clever you did a banana sherbet and and dusted that with it it's a
45:44delicious dessert and I'm loving that fig leaf ice cream thank you I had bad juju with the sponge
45:52the mix didn't seem right but overall I think it was pretty positive if it's enough to get me through
45:58that'd be great Luke's dessert is a pistachio and olive oil cake wrapped in a pistachio tuile topped
46:08with an Italian meringue and rose water and raspberry jellies and a pistachio and olive oil ice cream
46:19the pistachio sponge is lovely I love the lightness of the meringue sitting on top your twill around the
46:24outside it is slightly overcooked I question why you cut the length of it's shorter than it needed to be
46:29they should be connected they should be together the sponge is delicious it's got a really good flavor
46:35of pistachio but for me there's not enough sharpness of raspberry I really want more of that if you're
46:40dealing with something like pistachio which is oily you need something to cut it a bit the ice cream
46:49flavors of pistachio yes I definitely have that but when you're using something like pistachio like Matt
46:54is saying you know having pistachio pistachio pistachio where's the point of difference and it has to be
47:04there I was terrible and it's definitely my worst round so far and at the stage in the competition
47:09this it's not a good place to have it Caroline intended to serve a fig leaf and white chocolate
47:16parfait what went wrong temperature chef by the time I sprayed it started melting quite instantly it's
47:23accompanied by compressed peaches in version an almond sablay caramelized white chocolate
47:29peach gel blackberry and lemon verbena sorbet and a peach consomme with fig leaf oil
47:42the parfait it hasn't set we all know that you know that but the peaches or the verdure it's got
47:48a
47:48freshness to it it's sharp it's delicious and with the white chocolate flavors of this parfait it's really
47:55wonderful your sablay biscuit is slightly overcooked but your blackberry sorbet I love the flavor of that
48:01the lemon coming through there and your little peach water with the oil running through it is lovely and
48:05I think what you do have is the makings of a really good idea but it's quite obvious to see
48:10what's really
48:10wrong here the peach consomme with the fig oil I think is a showstopper and I know you're disheartened
48:18but you like Marcus said have got the makings here of a fantastic dessert
48:26is the way I wanted it to be no it's not but at the same time I'm happy the flavors
48:33worked together
48:35like it made sense inspired by a peanut butter jelly sandwich Marcus made a whipped peanut butter and
48:44goat's cheese cheesecake with a salted pretzel biscuit base topped with poached cherries and
48:51cherry bourbon gel peanut brittle burnt honey meringues and a caramelized puff pastry ice cream
49:02I don't like your presentation I think it's messy in your piping peanut butter cheesecake it doesn't
49:08even taste of cheesecake to me I can't get that cheesy sourness with the goat's cheese that's in
49:13there but I love your burnt honey meringue I think that's fabulous I love the pretzel base as well
49:18there are things in here that I do like and there's bits that I'm looking for that aren't there it's
49:23not
49:23your best plate there is so much richness and so much sweetness going on in your cheesecake I love
49:29that toasted sort of caramelized puff pastry ice cream oh that's really clever I've never heard of that
49:35before the peanut butter cheesecake you do need more of the cheese running through it it is a little bit
49:42too sweet I like the cherry with the alcohol running through it but I want more of that so there
49:47are
49:47issues here the feedback was pretty mixed it felt like it kind of all over the place and I really
49:56didn't
49:56have time to really plate to the level that I would have liked to have plated so yeah tough cells
50:03dessert
50:03is a dark chocolate log filled with matcha mousse and coated in a milk chocolate cremeau sat on a cherry
50:10puree served white truffle ice cream matcha moss raspberry and blackberry compote chocolate walnut soil and a
50:19chocolate twill the matcha mousse I like the bitterness of this because of the cherry puree
50:31underneath that works very nice however this truffle ice cream once I had that I could not taste anything
50:38else on the plate it is so strong it is overpowering so the balance of this overtakes the whole dessert
50:45so I've
50:47just taken a slither of the matcha mousse I've taken ever so tiny amount of the truffle weirdly that
50:54combination it's not unpleasant it's the amounts of white truffle in that ice cream and the sheer
50:59amount of that ice cream on the plate which is just offsetting the balance of everything here
51:06the cremeau I like that the cherry works very well with dark chocolate but white truffle oil is such a
51:11big big big big big big flavor it's an essence and it's very strong I know you love unusual
51:16combinations but it's too big for me on a plate like this
51:25upset I knew I was taking a bit risk sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't
51:33last up is Georgia she's made a lemon tart served with torched Italian meringue lemon and basil curd
51:41limoncello cream amaretti biscuits and a lemon and basil sorbet served inside a frozen lemon skin
51:51presentation great thank you
51:58brave thing to do a lemon tart the simplicity and the purity of a lemon tart but you've nailed it
52:04the
52:04lemon tart mix is wonderful I love the basil and lemon curd I'm really sort of getting that basil
52:11I like the meringue it's very sweet these amaretti biscuits are cute and actually it's needed if
52:17you're going to have that much meringue on there that sorbet is a star it's just got a lovely hit
52:21of
52:22citrus in it I love this the tart is beautifully lined the lemon itself I love the texture of it
52:28and if
52:29you've got too much sweetness going on you just go into your little lemon and basil sorbet on the side
52:34here and you just freshen up the palate this is a cracking dessert Georgia in every way for me you've
52:39done it very very well thank you thank you
52:45I felt a lot more confident going into that round
52:51I'm just much better if I've been able to practice and prepare and plan so I'm really really happy with
52:58that really happy that was a horrendously difficult challenge for sure it was not an easy round I think
53:10some of our chefs struggled today who in this room really stood out I say Georgia for me I thought
53:18her dessert was the best of the six chefs today it was full of flavor full of life it was
53:22vibrant
53:23delicious and what a turnaround from the last challenge she's come back fighting Gareth gave
53:29us the sticky toffee pudding with the miso caramel sauce sponge he just didn't quite get it right but
53:35overall it's hitting the right notes and that ice cream was fabulous that's Georgia and Gareth through
53:41after that it gets a little bit trickier Luke I think the pistachio cake with olive oil was good I
53:47was
53:47quite surprised at how light the salé meringue was on top but there wasn't enough pop from the raspberries
53:52just to take it from just being pistachio the twill we all know there are issues with it and I
53:57think
53:57Luke knows that as well Mark's presentation was a little bit clumsy I didn't think the cheesecake had
54:05the cheesiness flavor that I was expecting for the pretzel crumb at the bottom was good loved the ice
54:10cream I really enjoyed the cherries I wanted more of it so the matcha mousse I didn't mind but once
54:17I
54:17got into the truffle ice cream I could not taste anything else it was just overpowering and had no place
54:24on being on this plate he does come up with different ideas he's made them work before but
54:28with this dessert it didn't work Caroline the peaches marinated in Verge you were really lovely
54:36blackberry sorbet was sharp not too sweet that peach consomme with the fig oil was good it would
54:42have all been wonderful had it not been for the parfait not setting such a shame it'd be very sad
54:50to go home
54:51well I've struggled with the challenges today so let's see if it was the end of the competition
54:57I'd be guide but I didn't do great so it's what it is isn't it honestly at the moment I
55:03don't know
55:03where I stand but I might still have a bit of chance I think I'm on thin ice do they
55:13have too much
55:13white truffle for me to go home we will say
55:30chefs two massive rounds we have made a decision we can only take our strongest five chefs through
55:41the chef leaving the competition today
56:01it's Sal sorry Sal Sal your time in the kitchen has been fabulous you've brought some great stories
56:07some fabulous dishes and of course some very different combinations thank you so much indeed thank you
56:14sir it's not a nice feeling it's competition so I understand but this has been a great experience
56:25it's the end of the road for master chef but it's not the end of the road for me as
56:28a chef
56:34chef's massive congratulations you are our final five
56:41I don't even really know what to say I can't believe I'm still standing
56:45I need to let it sink in I think final five is a big deal
56:50definitely feel the pressure racking up you've got to be better practiced and then really just hope for
56:54the best honestly I thought it was going to be me going home but it really feels very special I'm
57:02very glad to be here I was super proud of myself I never imagined myself in the final five but
57:08now
57:08I'm here yeah I'm in it let's go
57:16next time it's the last of the semi-finals and the remaining five face the heat of a two Michelin
57:26star
57:27kitchen yeah it's tough you need to start going like the clappers now all right okay before battling
57:32it out for a place in finals week I think it's really out there and I think it's really brave
57:38when we talk about next level cookery this is it
58:09you
58:10you
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