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00:02it's the semi-finals of master chef the professionals after weeks of intense
00:08competition only the most talented eight remain tonight they cook off against each other for a
00:17place in the final six been a semi-final it feels unreal now we have to step up like big
00:25time do i
00:26really want to keep putting myself through this do i really want to have all this stress the answer
00:31is yes every time from the first day it's been a fight but it's fine i'm here
00:41eight fabulous chefs this is when they really have to dial it up we're not just looking for
00:48good anymore we need greatness and let the battle commence
01:09welcome back to the kitchen chefs and welcome to your semi-finals
01:13now is not the time to be complacent now you've really got to ramp it up
01:18we have set you a brief of no waste you're all chefs you all understand cost of the ingredients
01:28that we use and how important it is to use every vital part we want to see the best and
01:37the worst
01:37of these ingredients used be creative create something stunning at the same time
01:44there's a lot of steak here today huge at the end of this we are going to choose our best
01:51four plates
01:52and those four chefs will go straight through the remaining four chefs will stay and cook again
01:59and at the end of that cook two will be leaving the competition
02:05one hour 45 minutes to create your no waste dish off you go
02:16we want to see our chefs be creative with the bits that normally get wasted
02:20nothing should go to the bin the bones the skin the offal the leaves everything we want to see use
02:28make it different make it interesting show us what you can do
02:35former pro golfer and demi chef de party polly has been cooking for four years she has fought
02:42away to the semi-finals creating meaningful dishes inspired by family members and memories you've made
02:49this really exciting i think it's really good when i told people i was in the semi-finals i mean
02:55everyone screamed my girlfriend grace screamed my mum screamed they're the only two who know actually i don't
03:01trust my grandma she'll tell the whole village that's not happening she'll find out when she watches
03:11polly you've always coming in here with a certain kind of positivity about you feeling a bit more
03:16serious today i'm feeling a bit of a in a fighting mood so all right i want to highlight the
03:22longest
03:22thing my dish is a longestine tortellini longestine bisque and then on the side is chowamushi it's kind of like
03:29a
03:29sec custard which you steam which actually i first had when i came to london when i moved into chinatown
03:35literally right above the lanterns right that was my window finish work and then go just explore all
03:42the restaurants and and this is where i found this dish something i'd never ever heard of and actually
03:48i was like oh it's really good i love the inspiration behind this her time in london's chinatown
03:55so she picked up all those influences and she's bringing it here today it's great
04:00polly's using the langoustine in every way possible which i think is is great the shells the heads
04:05and of course the tail themselves i personally love langoustine not the easiest ingredient to work with
04:12because they're very delicate you've got to cook them just right
04:18langoustine biscuits should be rich in the flavors of the langoustine shells hopefully some kind of alcohol
04:24to cut through it as well on the side we have an egg shell holly has emptied out that she's
04:33doing a
04:33chowamushi which is a savory custard she's going to put some of that langoustine bisque into it and some
04:40little lemon pearls to cut through her custard pasta making the thinness of the tortellini is very
04:48imported don't normally help feeling nice today all the tortellinis as uniform as possible i'm just
04:57gonna leave them here under cling film so they don't get dry dublin-born mark has a passion for american
05:06barbecue and whole animal butchery so far in the competition he's delivered exciting dishes
05:14i love the bravery great flavors mark really good but has struggled with refinement absolutely
05:21feeling the pressure today yeah it's really on to to impress the judges i've had one cry in the
05:27competition so far but that was on the train home one day if i go in and i cook a
05:32beautiful dish and
05:33it really it sings there could be waterworks who's to say
05:40now that you are here in the semi-finals what was the family thinking they're all incredibly
05:44proud of me for getting this far they're very excited that i'm bringing some irish food to
05:47the competition now so today i'm going to make you a whole trout so i'm going to do your roast
05:51loin
05:51i'm going to cure the tail and confit the belly and the head and then also some irish seaweeds we've
05:57got
05:57some dillisk which is very similar to dulce and then we've got some sea lettuce and some laver and i'm
06:03going to use these to make a condiment that's very traditional in northern ireland called slope
06:06which is basically like a preserved seaweed and cultured cream and some uh beautiful irish stout
06:13soda bread as well i couldn't have an irish dish without giving you a beautiful piece of toasted
06:16soda bread it's probably the most irish dish we've ever going to have served in this kitchen i hope so
06:21anyone coming after me will have a high bar to clear i'm loving the sound of this and good luck
06:26thank you very much chef cheers mark we've got a lot to do but do love the little touches that
06:33he's bringing into his dish we've got some trout skins and he's dried those out and roasted them
06:39in the oven so they're nice and crispy trout sauce using the offal to enrich it i really like that
06:45idea
06:47i think they're talking about me he's got a little sort of potted trout dish with some clarified butter
06:52and herbs over the top of that everything is being used he's taking the best of violence bringing it
06:59together on one plate now living in london after growing up in brazil private chef caroline has had
07:11a faultless start to the competition magnificent is the word i'd use whilst ambitious and meticulous
07:19she has struggled with her timings go hurry up hurry up hurry up you were touch and go there for
07:26time
07:31caroline how are you feeling i am feeling good chef you got your clock on i have many
07:37what are you making for us today so instead of using one ingredient as a whole i chose the off
07:43cuts
07:43so i'll use um chicken wings on the sauce i'll use the chicken thigh as the main protein of the
07:50dish
07:50chicken livers i'll make a parfait and i also will do chicken feet chicken feet let me have a look
07:56at
07:56those things got a bit of meat on them i will cook them debone them and deep fry them debone
08:05yeah
08:05i hope i can do it i better let you crack on thank you chef
08:11caroline's dish is pretty ambitious chicken's feet which i know blew marcus's mind so that's always
08:19fun to see she's now got to debone the chicken's feet chicken's feet are this big i've got about 300
08:25something bones in my foot i don't know what a chicken's got but i think there's a lot and she
08:30hasn't
08:30got a lot of time my intention is to have something crispy on the dish that is not the usual
08:37chicken
08:37skin it's a bit of work but hopefully it's going to be worth the time she's got the chicken thigh
08:46personally i think that's probably the best cut uh it's got loads and loads of flavor she's going to
08:50comfy that garlic thyme and then she's going to sear it in a pan so it goes nice and crispy
08:55with that kind
08:55of meltingly tender meat that will be lovely she's putting chicken liver parfait in a little brick
09:01pastry cone like an ice cream bit of fun parfait it's got to be silky smooth not grainy otherwise
09:09that would be a disaster we've got charred sweet corn smoked sweet corn puree to go with it sweet corn
09:15and chicken match made in heaven i really hope my dish can surprise the judges and they can see skill
09:22but most of all i just wanted very very tasty plate of food hopefully i can make it worthy
09:31chefs 25 minutes have gone
09:37guatemalan-born sal has traveled and worked in over 24 countries he stood out in the competition with
09:44his creative and modern takes on dishes influenced by his latin american heritage this has flavor it has
09:53depth everything is perfectly balanced in every single way and i'm the semi-final so um yeah it's uh it's
10:01huge
10:03no waste is an ethos that you you stand by when you're kitchen yeah it's always good i think as
10:08a chef that you always try to you know to maximize the flavor of the of the ingredients that you
10:12use
10:13because that allows you to be creative in so many ways i'm seeing a very expensive ingredient on your
10:18bench tell me what you are not wasting i'm not wasting anything of the lobster i'm using everything
10:24the lobster today i'm gonna do a scallop and claw mousse with white chocolate and then also part of the
10:30claw
10:30i'm gonna use it to make a croquette and then i'm gonna have a white chocolate foam i've had caviar
10:35and white chocolate that's worked lobster and and white chocolate is um i have to admit a first for
10:42me has this been tried and tested i tried and tested yes on who um well my girlfriend was the
10:48one
10:48right and she's giving you the approval for white chocolate and lobster she has a
10:52actually a very good palette i love the ambition of of this dish this is the time you know to
10:57take risks
11:01sales got lobster tail which has got to get cooked just right he's putting the mousse over the top
11:06and then he's steaming that and then he's going to grate some white chocolate over the top and then
11:10just blow torch it so that the white chocolate melts which is a fascinating combination the white
11:16chocolate very very sweet where this sits with the lobster i'm not so sure i think my dish is inventive
11:25it's risky i really hope to deliver what is in my mind and the judges get what i'm trying to
11:30do my
11:32trials i made it work so let's hope today it works as well i love the sound of it it's
11:38adventurous
11:38it's brave it's bold and if he pulls it off he's going to go sailing for it
11:47junior sous chef georgia has impressed with her bold flavors and technical ability
11:53with dishes inspired by growing up in france and living and working in spain and italy
11:59sort of like that mediterranean dish that's just all dancing this is really good but when she pushes
12:06herself she has a tendency to panic this looks a little hectic
12:13so georgia i'm looking at your dish i've seen courgettes see a rabbit being taken apart there
12:18this is italian mediterranean yeah there's a lot of italian in this dish so i'm using the whole rabbit
12:24i'm going to stuff the saddle with the offal roll it up wrap it in parma ham with sage leaves
12:31that's kind
12:32to imitate a bit of a salt in boca la romana if you've ever had one yep cooking down the
12:37leg meat
12:38in the pressure cooker and mix it with some herbs and some preserved lemon and stuff a courgette flour
12:44with it okay i'm going to deep fry the eyeballs in tempura batter i can see them over the side
12:50there
12:50i mean you're you're fitting the brief have you ever eaten a deep fried rabbit eyeball to try it
12:55yeah and what what are they like crispy georgia's got quite a lot of technique and skill going through
13:04her dish but it's the amount of work that she's given herself once again it's going to be about
13:10timing there's no fat on a rabbit at all so you have to be very very careful and very delicate
13:15in
13:16the way you cook it i have never had a rabbit eye you know what i'll let the guys try
13:22this one first
13:25i hope that they see that i'm trying to be creative with the use of the whole ingredient
13:31and it will probably give people a laugh at home to watch the judges eat some eyeballs
13:39chefs you are halfway through don't waste a second
13:46so far in the competition head chef ismail has excelled with his dishes influenced by his
13:52bangladeshi heritage his lamb halim pop-up dish was voted most popular automatically earning him
13:59a semi-final place i would eat that all day long 10 out of 10. ismail's dish pan-fried pusan
14:07breast
14:08he's got a little pusan lollipop which is fun and he's taking the leg and he's boning out and
14:14stuffing it with the pusan liver there's a lot of work involved here got potato cake because it's
14:21spiced pusan going through it we've got wilted spinach and pusan and mushroom sauce he's also
14:28got a little chili jam which i'm really curious about chili jam with a mushroom sauce how's that
14:34going to work out today i'm going to give the judges the best pusan dish they ever try it's a
14:39little
14:39bit different than what i normally cook so far but i'm using all my technique to all the judges
14:46hey smile the brief how do you feel about i was very confident when i heard about the brief because
14:51growing up in bangladesh we didn't had unlimited source of food so no wastage it was one of the big
14:57part in my in my life so my mom had to do breakfast lunch dinner with a very minimum amount
15:02of supply my
15:03mom used to come up with this amazing dish with the potato skin or or leftover rice fabulous all of
15:09a story
15:15right chefs you've got about 40 minutes left okay yes chef 40 let's go
15:27private chef gareth from manchester has impressed with his playful takes on the classics
15:34he secured his place in the semi-finals with a creative fun but technically challenging crowd
15:41pleaser i thought that was absolutely fantastic great take on cheesy chips really elevated there
15:48there's nowhere to hide with it trying to get all the best bits out of one ingredient but so far
15:54i'm happy cauliflower is this a crown pleaser i wanted to show that you know the most humble
16:00things you can elevate and you can deliver something really tasty i'm looking around the
16:05room here i'm seeing lobsters and langoustines and i've got a cauliflower and we've got a cauliflower
16:11steak as the centerpiece that's going to be cooked almost like a protein then we've got
16:16caramelized cauliflower puree we've got pickled cauliflower it's going to be raw cauliflower i'm
16:21going to tempura the leaves and then anything that is left is going into a stock and then i'm
16:25going to monte some smoked butter through so how are you going to get the different dimensions you're
16:31dealing with just cauliflower that's what i want to show the skill in doing is trying to make each
16:37element different from each other so what's the what are the raisins hanging around here for so this
16:42is a caper and raisin puree it just adds that sort of acidity and depth of flavor i'm very excited
16:48about cauliflower thank you good night it's not a single thing has been wasted here and i like the
16:57addition of the caper and raisin puree for a bit of sweetness and of course smoked butter sauce
17:03it does need something different on this plate otherwise everything will taste the same
17:08i remember when we lived in newcastle there was a uh a busker who's singing a song about cauliflower
17:16cauliflower cauliflower cauliflower cheese no i don't like your cauliflower cheese
17:24oh well he hasn't tried my cauliflower chefs you have just 15 minutes left wait wait
17:36portsmouth born head chef luke has wowed with his precise cookery and range of technical skills
17:42so far he's delivered beautifully presented dishes with standout flavors it's a wonderful wonderful plate of
17:50food how good does that taste sublime i'm definitely always looking for the perfect round i want them to
17:59not be able to find any negatives and to love my dish when they don't it's sometimes quite hard to
18:03take
18:04i don't think that's necessarily a bad thing because that's what you need to focus on to become better
18:12i quite enjoyed doing this actually because i really had to think about it i took inspiration
18:17from things that were on my menu at the moment and thinking right how could i use that more i'm
18:23basing
18:23the dish around salmon i'm using the fillets the belly and the bones try to create the rest of the
18:29dish using byproducts from things that are not normally used in the kitchen or not used enough so
18:35the sauce is made from the milk that the burrata comes in i've used only the pancetta skins to flavor
18:42the sauce the puree is cauliflower stalks only okay yeah luke's approach i found really interesting
18:51he's curing the salmon fillet in cider it works nicely i can see that the sweetness going with the
18:57fish salmon belly which is glazing with a little bit of mustard belly is fattier than the main parts
19:05of the salmon itself bringing that lovely rich flavor to the dish what a cream sauce is going to be
19:11split
19:11with lovage oil he's using the brine that the burrata comes in quite unusual and so i'm interested to see
19:17how strong that flavor is once it's been reduced down he's got a cauliflower and pickled walnut puree
19:24pickled walnuts will blow your head off they are really really punchy this dish i think lives and
19:32dies on whether he can get that balance right
19:42chefs you have just two minutes left
19:49it's getting tight yeah but i think i'm gonna make it i just have to push it
20:02chefs last 60 seconds get in on the plate please i don't even know if i've done everything i wanted
20:08to do i've hardly looked at my my sheet i feel like i'm forgetting something
20:23all coming together nicely yes chef we're getting there yeah extra chicken feet for marcus please yes
20:35time's up stand back
20:45using the whole lobster private chef's cell has served lobster tail topped with a lobster scallop
20:52and white chocolate mousse caviar and potato skins lobster bisque lobster oil lobster claw and potato croquette
21:04and a coconut and white chocolate foam
21:18so i'm absolutely loving this this is wonderful the white chocolate when you read out the white
21:25chocolate we were all a little bit in fear but you've used it really well you've used it sparingly i
21:31think
21:31every element you've executed brilliantly as a diner you're having to put your faith and your trust
21:38in the chef and you've pulled it off really well so you know you said you wanted to take a
21:43bit of a
21:43risk and you you certainly have lobster beautifully cooked the mousse is beautiful and smooth and it's
21:48so light someone's like you've pumped it up is that it's that light coconut and white chocolate foam
21:52not getting the coconut that much but the white chocolate element of it is is delicious and your
21:57little potato croquette on the side is lovely crunchy crispy and again light this is a beautifully
22:04accomplished plate of food from you the biscuits wonderful got great texture the sweetness of the
22:10lobster the tail itself is so tender so soft just cooked no waste is what we wanted you've used every
22:17part of the lobster that's really well put together
22:22it was such a race but then hearing their feedback and they actually loved it so i i just feel
22:28amazing
22:29especially at this stage of the competition
22:33demi-chef de parti polly's dish is langoustine tortellini grilled langoustine tail and a langoustine
22:41claw bisque served with chawanmushi a steamed savory custard flavored with langoustine bisque
22:48and topped with lemon pearls
22:58i think it's it's incredibly ambitious and very very creative what i've got here is beautiful use
23:04of langoustines and i think the langoustine tail that you've got and the way you've prepared it and
23:08and just slightly torched it is delicious your little tortellini is beautifully made fill them up a
23:13bit more i want to really get the the langoustine flavor your bisque it's light it's sweet i really
23:20enjoy the little egg custard here it's a bit of fun but i find there's too many of the lemon
23:26balls
23:26on there it just overtakes just this little custard in terms of hitting brief i think you've absolutely
23:33nailed it but i'm not really getting custard from this it's a little bit watery i'm expecting it to
23:40be a bit more set i'm not a hundred percent on board with this and it hasn't quite hit the
23:46mark
23:48i would literally pay you like 20 grand to not cook again i really don't want to
23:53enjoy it celebrating his homeland of ireland chef patron mark's dish is roasted trout loin
24:03grilled leeks topped with cured trout tail
24:07crispy trout skin and sea lettuce potato colcannon wrapped in cabbage seaweed sloak a condiment made
24:16with sour cream and lava seaweed trout sauce made from trout bones and trout roe and dillisk and irish
24:23seaweed served with potted trout and irish stout soda bread presentation wise there's a lot going on here
24:36so
24:41my trout it's lovely it hasn't dried out i like that it's a little bit crispy on on the top
24:47there
24:47so we've got the cured tail that that's nice the potatoes i think is just lost and all this cabbage
24:53and the cabbage especially where it's really dark and green you really have to cook that down
25:00and this condiment it's almost like the seaweed hasn't been rinsed through enough it's a bit gritty
25:06i love the potted trout i think that's brilliant the soda bread obviously is is delicious
25:12but there's lots of seaweed going on in this plate which obviously brings its own saltiness
25:17this little condiment which i was very excited about i can't i can't eat it it's too salty
25:23your sauce is delicious got lots of body i like that a lot
25:26completely understand what you're doing and using absolutely everything in many many different ways
25:31but there's just too much here for me too many flavors just banging around with each other
25:35and none of them are marrying together unfortunately
25:39i think i have a very high chance of cooking again i think it'd be miraculous to escape the gallows
25:47for his no waste dish head chef luca served cider cured salmon fillet english mustard glazed
25:55salmon belly topped with diced apple celery and pickled mustard seeds cauliflower stalk pickled walnut and raisin puree
26:04topped with toasted pumpkin seeds
26:07finished with a sauce made from burrata milk pancetta skins salmon bones and split with lovage oil
26:23milk salmon that's charred on there it's beautifully pink it's flaking away got a bit of saltiness
26:29that cuts through everything the mustard glazed belly has got a kick of the mustard i quite like that i
26:37love
26:37mustard i love the simplicity of the presentation i love your big bold strong flavors i did worry about the
26:45pickled walnut but you've used it sparingly this is one of the nicest dishes i've had from you i think
26:51this is just ace i could eat that all day long luke i looked at your plate i thought
26:59not very creative until i started eating it it's just delicious split sauce works well what i think is
27:06really clever using the liquid from the from the burrata because that is the one thing that you do see
27:12get
27:12thrown away it is buttery in a sauce and it's quite a different creamy flavor the use of no waste
27:19genius
27:21well done great job yeah i'm really happy after that yeah that's that's what i've been looking for
27:29i think this whole time and i've got it now so i'm happy sense of relief i think
27:35brazilian private chef caroline's dish is based around off cuts of chicken and sweet corn chicken thigh
27:42confit in garlic and thyme fried chicken feet charred sweet corn panels charred baby gem cooked in chicken
27:50stock smoked sweet corn puree chicken liver parfait served in a pastry cone and a sauce made from chicken wings
27:59and sweet corn cob you did remove the nails didn't you i did yes checking okay
28:15caroline the thigh you've confit it down charred it and it's beautiful it's crispy on the skin and then
28:22your little parfait cone on the side there it's smooth the brief we gave you was no waste the chicken
28:28that you've used it's creative and very thoughtful thank you thank you thank you your little parfait
28:35is colossal in flavor your little chicken feet the texture of it and then the crunchy coating on the
28:41outside is great because it's fun the sauce is fabulous really lovely body got the chicken flavor in
28:47there there's a huge amount of skill on show here this is a fabulous dish i love the smokiness in
28:54the
28:54puree i think that's great sweet corn panels nice fresh flavors which sort of marry nicely with that
29:00beautifully intense sauce it looks like a simple plate of food but when you get into it blows you away
29:06amazing well done thanks so much you're welcome i'm so so so happy they enjoyed very happy
29:23highlighting the whole rabbit junior sous chef georgia's dish is awful stuffed rabbit saddle wrapped in sage and
29:31ham ham pan fried rabbit loin pea puree fried courgette flour stuffed with rabbit leg meat deep fried rabbit
29:42four leg topped with a fried rabbit eye finished with a rabbit sauce
29:50go
29:58how was that matt yeah it's delicious you can have my one no
30:10georgia you've got the belly with the offal and sage and of course the palmer ham around it i think
30:16that's beautifully made it hasn't dried out using bones to make your sauce it's creamy it's rich i
30:24just find that the sauce with the pea puree it sort of becomes one when i look at the play
30:30and i see
30:31the peas the courgettes the courgette flowers and the herbs it's almost like a rabbit sort of dancing
30:36around the kitchen garden nibbling all the things it shouldn't and it tastes great courgette flour with
30:43the stuffed leg in there is delicious the tempura is well made your pea puree has got sweetness to it
30:48your courgettes are fabulous i love the little crunchy front legs there beautifully cooked i like what
30:55you've done with all the different components you managed to make them all taste very different i mean
31:01the eye was a step too far but you knew that you can't taste this and i it's just a
31:05little nugget of
31:06something in batter but you know what you can run with a brief so well done you thank you
31:14my mum even said you should have a few raisins on the plate and pretend that you're using the
31:18droppings as well so i didn't go that far
31:27london-based head chef ismael's dish is sous vide poussin breast marinated in yogurt
31:32poussin legs stuffed with liver spiced potato cake filled with poussin thigh chili flakes and mustard oil
31:41poussin lollipop wilted spinach chili jam with ginger smoked paprika and garlic finished with a creamy mushroom sauce
31:58like the way you've used the poussin there's lovely notes of spice your sauce is mushroomy it's got herbs in
32:05there
32:05but the mushroom sauce and a chili jam just not coming together for me it doesn't work i like
32:12flavor of the potato cake but the bottom of my potato cake is slightly dark and burnt and charred
32:17and spinach is over seasoned i like the yogurt coating on the the little poussin breast it's very
32:23nicely cooked and the little stuffed leg as well it's great you have definitely used the poussin as
32:31much as possible to avoid any wastage the offer which you put in the pocket of the leg i really
32:36like that
32:37it's nice it hasn't dried out but the sweet chili jam and the creamy mushroom sauce they're fighting
32:44each other and no one's winning judges were right for sure the mushroom sauce was the problem but it's
32:52not good enough in this point of the competition for his no ways dish private chef gareth has served
32:59cauliflower six ways cauliflower steak caramelized cauliflower puree pickled cauliflower raw cauliflower
33:10tempura cauliflower leaf caper and raisin puree and a cauliflower sauce finished with smoked butter
33:27i find the actual main part the cauliflower here you could have really maybe basted it foaming butter to
33:35bring the nuttiness out of it the crispy texture of the leaves are great and the pickled cauliflower as
33:42well it's got a little bit of sharpness and and it needs it it's the only sort of point of
33:47difference
33:48but i do admire the way you've used everything on the cauliflower there's a lot of richness in this
33:54but with the puree and that incredibly rich sauce with all that smoked butter in there the balance is
34:00just a little bit off it's it's quite kind of monotone the two elements that really lift this dish
34:08is the caper and raisin puree and the pickled cauliflower eggnaldos did i think this is excellent i think it's
34:16real
34:17skill you've taken something really simple and elevated it and that's what we're looking for your
34:22puree is delicious your cauliflower is beautifully cooked the pickling the rawness great but the sauce
34:28they'll add in touch of smoky butter into it it's like you get a good roast dinner and you've got
34:33a great
34:33gravy it's absolutely brilliant look at you i know but i think that's just added another 10 minutes onto the
34:43judging
34:43i got some good comments but it was a mixed bag you know and it's those small details that really
34:49matter at this stage i really hope that marcus is fighting my corner
34:56this was brilliant absolutely brilliant what a fabulous start to our semi-finals huge amount of
35:01ambition a lot of bravery no waste cookery not easy shall we talk about our favorite chefs first luke
35:09in a plate of food that didn't look much but when it came to eating it was sensational i love
35:14the sauce
35:15the burrata brine great milky sort of flavor i thought it was the best plate of food we've had from
35:20luke
35:20it was outstanding so i think we all agree luke goes through super brave from sal putting white
35:27chocolate with uh lobster but he pulled it off yeah it's really really good i know it's amazing
35:33to come into this competition with a combination that none of us had tried before i like the fact
35:38that the white chocolate was very lightly in the dish sal did a great job i thought caroline
35:46played an absolute blinder today what looked like a very simplistic plate of food was utterly delicious
35:52i love that smokiness in the sweet corn the skill in boning out the little chicken's foot and that
35:59beautiful rich parfait i agree she's outstanding today caroline deserves to go through are there any
36:05chefs that we think should definitely be cooking again i think mark is a chef that had some issues with
36:10this trout dish i really admire the use of the trout but the puree with the seaweed and the sour
36:17cream it
36:18was gritty and just very salty for you wasn't it really salty really salty i didn't think ismael had a
36:24great day it was nice the mushroom sauce and that chili jam as well the two just didn't work i
36:32think ismael
36:32has to come back in and prove himself once more that leaves us a conversation to be had about polly's
36:38languestine dish georgia with the rabbit dish and gareth with his cauliflower dish this is all about
36:47those finer details of cooking just the little intricacies that separate them from going straight
36:52through to having to come back it's a tough one we asked you to come back into this kitchen and
37:02really
37:02up the ante and boy did you do that we've had some incredible plates of food in front of us
37:07we did say
37:09at the beginning that four of you will be going straight through and that four of you will be
37:13having to come back and cook again and we have made that decision there were three standout dishes
37:21cell caroline and luke chefs that was fantastic congratulations
37:33and the fourth and final chef going straight through is
37:40georgia
37:46georgia luke caroline cell you're through to the next round we'll see you there off you go thank you
38:01so we've made another round wow oh my god
38:11congratulations guys
38:18we realize not one of you wants to be cooking again but we know how good you are you know
38:25what
38:25it's going to take one outstanding dish for this next challenge we're opening up the masterchef lada
38:37we want you to create that one amazing dish using this array of wonderful ingredients but there is
38:44no meat or fish chefs you have one hour and 20 minutes to keep yourselves in this competition
38:52at the end of this cook-off two of you will be leaving wish you the best of luck off
38:58you go
39:07without meat and fish there's no real immediate center point to choose you've got to then think
39:12on your feet you've got to think differently and you've got to come up with something fast
39:16my wife is a vegetarian so i'm used to cooking a lot of vegetarian food or i think i can
39:21do something
39:22delicious i don't like those odds 50 50 is uh you know it's not particularly in my favor don't feel
39:30comfortable relaxed in any way i saw some beautiful mushrooms and things here that's generally the
39:36vibe we're going so far not ready to go home just yet so we're gonna go out fighting if going
39:41out at all
39:48i've got somewhat of a plan simple delicious i'm worried it's maybe a little bit too simple
40:00being a chef you've always got to make sure that like no one sees the panic that goes on underneath
40:04and no one sees the the freaking out that happens every day in these kind of extremely intense
40:09situations so one of my favorite dishes was uh shrimp and grits saw the mushrooms there and then i was
40:16like ferreting around for other things and then eventually saw the polenta i was like oh that could
40:20be oh grits shrimp and grits so i'm going to give you a shrooms and grits a nice selection of
40:24mushrooms
40:25a really nice cheesy polenta which is very similar to grits and then some nice fried duck eggs this is
40:30a dish you've had away somewhere presumably states yes it's a dish i've had in south carolina and it's
40:36right on the bay lots of like nice shrimp and things like that but you know you move a little
40:39bit more
40:39inland and there they would sub out the the kind of seafood for lots of like forest ingredients like
40:43mushrooms that i'm going to be doing here today so you're feeling okay about this a lot of the dish
40:47still to come together and a lot of uh refinement still to bring to it but um we'll see how
40:51we go
40:51you don't fancy giving us any more irish dishes no i felt like i embarrassed my homeland enough for
40:56one day i do eventually want to be able to make it back into the country
41:03mark's dish has been inspired from trips to america it's all about mushrooms and polenta
41:08we've got oyster and chanterelle mushrooms we've got a cheesy polenta going on
41:13fried kale and a green chili sauce but mark's gonna make sure he's gonna bring some texture to this plate
41:20it just could be the perfect brunch dish but it's refinement is what we're looking for it's got to
41:25get the mushrooms clean cooked beautifully seasoned we've got a polenta perfectly cooked and plenty of
41:32cheese in there so we can taste it probably one of the stumbling blocks that mark's going to face
41:36is the presentation how do you take such a homespun dish and elevate it chefs you've had 20 minutes 20
41:44minutes
41:51gone the invention test has been awful so far i've not liked them at all
41:58the last invention test i went in thinking i was cooking a thai curry and i came out with six
42:03plums
42:04who knows what's going to happen
42:12you've cooked things that you've enjoyed having with your family at home is this one of those dishes
42:16it's not particularly a family favorite of mine but i want to show that i can deliver big flavors
42:21and balance which i think is what i was missing in the last round and so i'm doing a thai
42:27red curry
42:27so that's going to be a sauce on the side it's going to be a burnt aubergine puree i'm going
42:32to char a
42:32hispi cabbage then there's going to be a little tempura aubergine disc i've traveled a lot through
42:37southeast asia thailand lao vietnam and it's a cuisine that i really enjoy eating if you pull this
42:43off that's a trip well spent i hope so
42:51gareth is whisking its way to thailand how nice of him he's making a thai red curry sauce
42:58ginger and garlic is cooking it out with a selection of spices some chili as well
43:07he's got an aubergine puree with some miso in it so lots and lots of strong umami flavors
43:12so he's got to get that right he's got an aubergine tempura so you need nice and light crisp
43:18batter soft cooked aubergine he's using hispi cabbage which is charring and then semi-braising it
43:26has got a little bit of bite a bit of texture fabulous and a perfect ingredient for a dish like
43:31this please it's going to be the thai curry sauce that's going to bring it all together
43:36chefs you're halfway through
43:42done a lot of competitions and you learn how to forget about the judges no offense forget about the
43:48other contestants but just get in your zone now have a little sing song in your head just cook
44:05it's just an inside to a chef's brain you know i started out with something with the mushrooms and
44:13the potatoes and the blue cheese but then it wasn't like a whole dish i'm actually doing one of the
44:20dishes which my head chef first kind of taught me caramelized onion tartar tan so then i was like
44:26all right caramelized onions i was like cheese board cheese board sort of flavors yeah amazing
44:35there's a wow factor with the tartar tan but is it just going to be onion and caramel
44:40you could possibly put in some spices into it it's got to be seasoned and i want the pastry to
44:45be
44:45perfectly cooked it's got a goat's cheese mousse creamy silky smooth hopefully we've got a fig style
44:52chutney she's pickling the figs down so you're gonna get any sweet and sour and you don't want to be
44:56too
44:57sour she's also got some candied pecans as well i'm really excited about polly's dish she's got all
45:01those flavors in the cheese board and hopefully if she does this right this is seafood
45:07chefs you have 20 minutes left yes chef in master chef kitchen and when you are cooking in front of
45:17marcus and monica sometime my brain stopped working so my aim would be to do what i do in a
45:24normal life
45:25and come up with the best dish i can ismail are you comfortable cooking without meat and fish i'm very
45:33comfortable i love vegetarian food back home veggie is quite big thing when we eat we always have some
45:37side dish which is veggie also i do cook a lot of vegetarian curries tell us about this dish i'm
45:42making butternut squash mango and chickpea curry so i want to bring back a lot of flavor so a little
45:48taste of home here a little taste of home today great what i want to show now that i deserve
45:53my place
45:53in the semi-final good luck thank you ismail is back to taking inspiration from bangladesh
46:01i'm excited about the button-up mango chickpea curry we've got spiced rice and lentils it's called a
46:07kichuwi then he's giving us a bhaji-esque fritter using courgettes more spices and some sweet corn
46:18on top of that we've got this cooling tamarind yogurt which would be lovely loads of spice everywhere
46:25this dish which is good it's what we're looking for i'm expecting this to be good
46:32this is your final two minutes great
46:37i've got my old dream puree ready i've got my thai sauce we're getting there
46:53final touches on the plate they're definitely winning
47:01spicy is good that is it time's up
47:13inspired by the classic southern states dish shrimp and grits mark has made shrooms and grits
47:22sauteed mushrooms with nigella seeds grits a corn dish made with cheesy polenta and topped with a
47:28poached duck egg and pine nuts pickled apple and a green chili sauce flavored with kale hazelnuts and sour cream
47:44so
47:49mark i think you've done very well here this is very inventive i've had uh shrimp and grits in louisiana
47:56before it's always coming with chili or some sort of sort of hot a compliment which is what you're
48:02bringing in this little sauce you've got the kale in the sauce you've got a little bit of chili
48:06got that back note of the hazelnuts all in all it builds to a very nice plate of food
48:13thank you i like how your dishes has been served it looks good i feel like i'm having a wonderful
48:18brunch dish here beautifully poached egg which cracks into the polenta i'm enjoying all the textures of the
48:25pine nuts as i'm eating this which is very much needed because it is very soft the apple does bring
48:31freshness to the dish and the mushrooms as well beautifully cooked love the little pea shoots on
48:36top i think there's this one thing missing for me here a piece of bread or something like a fried
48:41sourdough would just really help elevate the whole dish a little bit further because it's soft on top of
48:46soft on top of soft that was probably one of the hardest cooks of the competition so far thank you
48:54very
48:54much thank you it's really hard to tell now if that's enough if that wasn't then at least i can
48:59go
48:59out with some pretty respectable feedback inspired by the flavors of a cheese board poly served caramelized
49:08onion tartata topped with blue cheese and candied pecans goat's cheese mousse and lightly pickled figs
49:18nice presentation but you should maybe move it a bit more to the center
49:26your onions are beautifully caramelized i like the pecans they're bringing a lovely little nutty
49:30sweetness to it problem i'm having with this is your pastry it's not cooked enough it's really really
49:36soft and i think you could have done a little bit more of adding flavor into the caramel to make
49:40it a
49:41little bit more exciting than just elaborate on your skill my tart looks like it is cooked uh more
49:48than marcus's i love the addition of the blue cheese that was a bit of out the blue curveball gives
49:53you
49:53that nice kind of saltiness and to go with the sweetness of the onions the pickled fig really works
49:59and again offsets the sweetness i wish you had put more of that goat's cheese mousse because it's
50:06delicious and it is needed it's a lot of onion you need that mousse to finish this tart
50:11at like this level you need all three then this is amazing if you have one who doesn't no
50:24yeah gareth has served charred hispy cabbage flavored with lime and ginger aubergine tempura
50:31with a lime glaze burnt aubergine and miso puree and a thai red curry sauce flavored with lemongrass
50:40galangal and chili
50:48the cabbage is perfectly cooked it really is when i cut into it i can see the butter just in
50:53there i can
50:53see the shine of it coming through and then just to really bring the whole thing together you've got this
50:58beautiful thai sauce here with the right level of heat you've got the right balance of the
51:02lemongrass in there and it's a beautiful dish thank you chef the charred hispy just drowned in this
51:08red curry sauce for me is delightful and even the aubergine it doesn't look like much but the fact
51:17you've got you know a bit of citrus through that tempura it sort of cuts through the richness it's
51:22delicious i really like this thank you i love the miso and the burnt aubergine puree you basted the
51:29tempura aubergine with a little glaze quite heavy on the lime but it really is needed against the
51:35richness of that sauce and it just brightens the whole dish i think it's very clever i like it a
51:40lot well done
51:43i'm feeling happy i mean it couldn't have been better feedback the feeling of relief is outrageous
51:56to secure his place in the competition ismail's made butternut squash cashew and chickpea curry
52:03rice with lentils spiced with chili flakes crispy kale and chili served with a courgette and sweet corn
52:11fritter topped with tamarind yogurt ismail i like your presentation it looks great
52:23i like the curry you've got the sweetness of the butternut squash in there i really like the fritter
52:29there's the sweet corn you've used chickpea flour to bind it the yogurt on the top's got a bit of
52:35sharpness on there so citrus-like and yeah it's it's a nice little treat on the side
52:40the curry's delicious you've got a fantastic level of heat just right lots and lots of flavor
52:46in there without being overpowering so well done you for that i'm finding the rice a bit on the soft
52:51side if i'm honest with you your curry and your your squash are very soft as well the kale crispy
52:56kale
52:57it's lost its crispiness that's really soft where's that next level cookery that i was looking for
53:04a mixed comment i cooked with my heart and the flavor was there but i don't know if it's good
53:11enough
53:11to keep me in the competition
53:19these chefs came back in fighting and they created something wonderful not one of them wants to go
53:26home at this stage gareth gave us the hispy cabbage chard and they glazed of wonderful garlic and butter
53:33the red curry sauce has a lemongrass and spice and that and it was delicious i loved that little
53:40lick of sweetness with the lime over the tempura which was super light the cabbage was fantastic
53:47i thought it was wonderful i agree i think out of the four chefs gareth's dish was the best that
53:53leaves
53:53us in discussion with mark polly and ishmael ismael gave us a butternut squash cashew nut curry
54:01i love that little fritter that sharp addition with the yogurt and the tamarinds you can't deny it
54:06had great flavor but it's just a little bit too soft polly gave us her red onion tart
54:13to tan love the goat's cheese but i thought she should put more on the plate marcus your pastry was
54:18slightly undercut compared to ours tart to tan the pastry it's got to be crispy caramelized and delicious
54:23it didn't quite hit that i really liked mark's dish i think it was very inventive the
54:30polenta it was rich with the parmesan running through it i quite liked the sauce with the
54:35the green chili i just thought personally i would have preferred a little bit of sourdough on the
54:39side this is a difficult decision there's not a lot that's separating these three chefs
54:46i would be very upset if that was the end of my competition but on the flip side i've done
54:49what i came here to do i feel like i've cooked lots of things that mean a lot to me
54:55of course i want to stay but everyone here is incredible chefs you can go home doing good dishes
55:03i'm worried i don't want to go home but that's the part of the competition
55:06sometimes you win and sometimes you lose
55:21we did say earlier on that two of you will be going home we have made that decision
55:30the first chef staying in the competition
55:37is gareth well done thank you the second chef staying in the competition
55:51is mark
55:56well done
55:57polly you've been great to have in the competition and every step of the way no matter how tough it's
56:01got
56:02you've done it with an amazing smile on your face which is quite a rare thing in kitchens
56:09ismail your flavors your passion outstanding you two have been amazing unfortunately it is the
56:16end of the road thank you very much indeed thank you
56:22i'm a little bit sad but made it to the semi-final i think it's a big achievement so i'm
56:27happy about that
56:29i can't put into words how difficult this competition is but i'm super proud of myself watch this space
56:40gareth mark congratulations you live to fight another day thank you thank you
56:47i feel really good today was the toughest day in the kitchen so far it's getting to that stage where
56:52everyone's pushing themselves everyone's going above and beyond and it's just becoming a real real strong
56:57head race i'm i'm really really happy bring it on final six baby
57:10next time the six remaining chefs oh smoky are challenged to impress one of britain's rising
57:18culinary stars john dory is one of my favorite fish probably not a good time to tell you i've never
57:23cooked one before before fighting for a place in the final five my parfait has defrosted
57:33and it's not nice this is a cracking dessert in every way for me you've done it very very well
57:39so
57:54so
57:55so
58:10Transcription by CastingWords
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