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MasterChef The Professionals Season 18 Episode 20
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00:00It's the penultimate master chef, the professionals.
00:05After six weeks of grueling competition,
00:10Mark, Gareth, and Luke are the last chefs standing.
00:18Tonight, in a remote town in northeast Italy,
00:24their culinary minds will be blown,
00:27cooking for one of the world's most ground-breaking chefs.
00:31We've given them challenges beyond their expectations,
00:35but this is as big as it gets.
00:47Northern Italy, famed for its dramatic Dolomite peaks
00:53and alpine meadows.
00:57In its north-eastern reaches lies Brunico,
01:00a small, picturesque town in the province of South Tyrol.
01:10And proud home to a 16th-century Manor House restaurant
01:14transforming the future of gastronomy.
01:19Atelier Mousman.
01:23At the helm is groundbreaking chef Norbert Niederkopfler.
01:29The philosophy of the restaurant is cook the mountain,
01:34which sounds very romantic, but it's very complex,
01:37because you're here to think in a completely different way.
01:45Norbert was born in Letargo,
01:48a small Italian village nestled in the Dolomite mountains.
01:52It was great for us as kids to grow up there,
01:55because, you know, you could play out in the fields,
01:57you could play out in the forest,
01:58and so there was absolutely no danger.
02:01We had a little shop where my mother was selling everything,
02:05what you needed, in a small village.
02:07So I grew up in this ambience, and I loved it all the time.
02:12Later, I wanted to explore,
02:14so I was doing a lot of mountain climbing
02:15to see how high you can go,
02:17and especially to see really what ingredients is there.
02:21There's lots of ingredients up on the mountain.
02:24This is one of the main reasons why I became a chef.
02:30At just 17, Norbert went to train
02:33at a culinary college in Germany.
02:36And after graduating, went on to travel the world.
02:40I went to Switzerland, and from Switzerland,
02:42I went to US, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua,
02:45Belize, and Honduras, and so I was working in UK.
02:49Kitchen helped me to really to live my life.
02:53But I always had a lot of love for the mountains,
02:56and the mountains, they had a great effect for me.
03:00Missing home, Norbert decided to return to Italy
03:05to run a kitchen in a hotel in the Dolomites.
03:10There, he would spend the next 29 years
03:13transforming the restaurant from a pizzeria
03:18to a three-Michelin-star fine-dining establishment.
03:22I brought techniques from Tokyo.
03:25I brought techniques from US.
03:26I brought techniques from London.
03:27I brought everything that I learned around the world.
03:31Norbert had successfully brought global cuisine to Italy.
03:35But then, his focus started to shift.
03:39They really started to talk to the guests.
03:41They said, hey, listen, why are you coming here?
03:43And the answer was always the same.
03:44We are coming here for the nature,
03:45and we are coming here for the food.
03:48Norbert realized he had everything he needed on his doorstep.
03:54And by substituting imported ingredients with what could be found on the mountain,
03:58he could contribute to the sustainability of the planet.
04:03We have to rethink gastronomy in a completely different way,
04:06because otherwise we are running out of products.
04:08We have to take care about nature.
04:11In 2008, I wrote Cook the Mountain.
04:14And Cook the Mountain is still today the same philosophy.
04:17We built up in four pillars.
04:19One pillar is we're not using any olive oil.
04:21Everybody said, hey, you're crazy.
04:22You can do a restaurant without olive oil in Italy.
04:25Are you nuts?
04:25I said, no, you know, I look out of the window and 1,700 meters over the sea level,
04:31there's no olive trees, so why should I use olive oil?
04:33We have to find a substitute for this.
04:35The second thing, which is very important, no citrus, was the same thing.
04:40You cannot do a Mediterranean cuisine without any citrus.
04:42I said, yes, we can.
04:44And the third pillar was we're not using any greenhouses.
04:48It's very complex because you have to think one year ahead.
04:51So two-thirds of the products, we preserve them.
04:53We work today with something between 400 to 500 different types of wild herbs,
04:59different types of mushrooms, different types of roots, different types of vegetables.
05:05And the fourth pillar was really, and it's still one of the most important ones,
05:10which is the no waste.
05:13After more than 30 years as a highly decorated chef,
05:18Norbert embarked on a new adventure, opening Atelier Musma,
05:22that encompasses his cook, the mountain philosophy,
05:27which, after just four months, broke a world record,
05:30becoming the fastest restaurant ever to achieve three Michelin stars.
05:35It's also ranked in the world's best 50,
05:38and holds a green star for outstanding commitment
05:40to ethical environmental practices.
05:44It's about food security.
05:45I want to be part of really thinking a different way.
05:49And so this is the future.
05:56Not for one minute thought I would be in Italy in the mountains,
05:59cooking in one of the best restaurants in the world.
06:02I can't imagine what possibilities around the corner in a place like this.
06:08There's definitely going to be a lot of ingredients and styles of cooking that I'm not used to,
06:12but I like to be challenged, and that's exactly what's going to be a challenge.
06:17There's so much about their philosophy of reducing waste,
06:20and I think that there's like a huge opportunity to bring so much of that into my own cooking.
06:25I'm really, really excited to roll up my sleeves and get to work.
06:40Gentlemen, I explain a little bit the philosophy of Cook the Mountain.
06:45To help the finalists understand Norbert's philosophy,
06:49they'll be given a masterclass in how it works.
06:53They'll be given a masterclass, starting with a dish that epitomizes his four pillars,
06:57a zero-waste tartare using local freshwater fish.
07:02We are not stopping until we use every part of the fish.
07:05So from the scales, to the skin, to the meat, to the bones, to the head, everything.
07:10And the dish, what Mauro shows you now, this is what came out.
07:14We have the fish tartare.
07:16The difference using the fishes from the lakes and the rivers is like huge.
07:20Of course, the taste, but also the flesh from the fish is really delicate.
07:25We just dressed it up with a little bit of grapeseed oil, which is really important for us.
07:31We're in Italy, and we're not using olive oil, so it's quite shocking.
07:36And the third pillar is no citrus. And you know how much citrus you need in the kitchen to balance
07:43the dishes,
07:43so we had to find a substitute for the citrus.
07:46Local apples.
07:48Green apple has a lot of acidity. It has to balance everything,
07:52what usually you would do with a lemon.
07:54We mix everything up, lay them down with a ring, with a spoon, just press it gently.
08:00The tartare is topped with a variety of foraged mountain herbs.
08:07And then on top, we have the scales, the skin.
08:10The scales, we wash them and then we deep fry them so they're really crunchy.
08:16And those are the bones in the head. We make a sauce out of it. It's like a bourbon.
08:21So you really use everything.
08:25Absolutely stunning.
08:27So this is our whitefish tata. You want to try it?
08:30Yes, please.
08:33Normally, in most restaurants, would probably be very tempted to put a bit of citrus with that.
08:39Yeah.
08:39But you're still getting the acidity notes.
08:41The sweet sharpness from the apple, really delicious.
08:48Norbert's second masterclass dish celebrates vegetables that flourish in the Dolomites.
08:55Beetroot gnocchi is one of our signature dishes. It was then, I think, 2013.
09:02We wanted to recreate a beetroot garden. It's an iconic dish.
09:07We tried to take it off the menu very often, but we didn't succeed because people are still asking.
09:13So we use products which is under the soil. So it's potatoes, it's daikon, it's horseradish,
09:20and it's beetroot.
09:22The centerpiece of the dish is potato gnocchi, flavored with beetroot juice.
09:27We get the right thickness, which is, I think, one of the most difficult part of this dish.
09:33Inside the gnocchi is a horseradish-infused set cream.
09:37It's really intense. So the feeling that we're going to put inside is popping up in the mouth.
09:43The stuffed potato gnocchi is then crafted to resemble a baby beetroot.
09:49Whoa!
09:49You need to close it properly. Otherwise, when you cook it, you put it in the water, it will open
09:54up.
09:54It's not a problem.
09:56You cook them and then you finish with a beetroot glaze.
09:59It looks incredible, the glaze and the shine. They do look like perfectly turned beetroots.
10:05And then we created the soil. We have very traditional bread from this area.
10:09Tenen seeds, cumin inside.
10:11The crumbs, you cannot use them in any way because they are too hard.
10:15So that's why we created the soil with this crumb.
10:17We dust it up. So we have this sand consistency.
10:22Finely ground-burned vegetables are then incorporated to replicate the color of soil.
10:28So just mix it.
10:30When you add the beer, it's like when you take a wet soil and you smell it. This is the
10:35effect of the beer.
10:37We have this glaze. Now we're going to kind of like paint the dish.
10:42We're going to put the soil on top of it.
10:45Those are the gnocchi, nice and glazed. And we put them on top of the soil.
10:52It's incredible how much they look like a perfectly cooked baby beetroot.
10:56Then we finish with the daikon cream. We do two small canals.
11:02It looks like it should be hanging in a gathering, I know.
11:07The texture of the dough on the outside, it's soft but it still has the bite and the chew
11:12and the sweet earthiness of the beetroot.
11:14Horse radish, amazing. It's so beautiful.
11:17To think such a detailed dish has got such few ingredients. It's excellent.
11:23With an abundance of freshwater lakes and streams in the mountains,
11:29Norbert's final dish makes use of a common fish often overlooked in Western Europe.
11:39We call it catfish and kefir. Catfish usually is not a very prestigious fish because it lives in
11:48mat and you know also the meat has always this maddy taste. But some local guys, they started to farm
11:54this fish with very clean water. So now the fish changes completely. The flesh of this fish is really
11:59beautiful. It's really firm. We take the fillers off. Then we have to make a soya sauce glaze. So obviously
12:05we're not
12:06using soya sauce coming from Japan. So I learned how to make a soya sauce out of mountain lentils.
12:12Also the glaze has local plump that we marinate a little bit with a mountain honey and local whiskey.
12:19And then we let it like grow and ferment a little bit. It smells amazing.
12:22We try always to learn to bring ideas back, to bring it here, but then using local products.
12:28So this is a Japanese technique of cooking fish, glazing up. The glazed catfish is delicately cooked
12:36on an open fire grill. We are working on open fire because people from this area have always cooked
12:42on open fire. Especially when you were up in the mountains, there was no electricity, so there was
12:47just the open fire. Then smoked using pine tree stems from the dolomites. And using the pine to smoke
12:56gives you a flavor of the pie. Yes. Incredible.
13:01Now we are going to dress up the plate. To accompany the soy glazed and pie smoked catfish
13:09is a kefir-based yogurt which substitutes citrus. We add the acidity of the kefir
13:15to cut off the fattiness of the fish that is like really intense. And an oil made from grape seed
13:23which lends itself to any flavor. In grape seed oil there's no color and there's no taste. So we take
13:30the green parts of the leek which usually we don't use and we make an oil out of it. The
13:37final element
13:37is a dry aged beef heart soaked in red wine and mountain herbs. You can smell the wine as well.
13:45Yeah. That is finely grated over the catfish. So it's kind of like surf and turf using part
13:51of the ovals from another animal adding a flavor to the catfish.
14:00The fish is so delicate. Catfish normally expect a very sort of heavy muddy flavor but like I'm saying
14:05it's so clean. I love soy sauce. Definitely get the smells from it but slightly different not just a
14:11classic soy sauce. It's very creative and clever. What do you think about Cook the Mountain?
14:18Fascinating. Absolutely incredible. It's such an interesting concept. I love it. Now we are looking
14:24forward to eat some of your dishes which are inspired by our philosophies. Mauro is going to
14:29show you where we are doing foraging, ask him questions. All the best. Have good luck.
14:35Let's go in the forest. Yes chef. Thank you so much. Okay.
14:48The finalists will now experience the majesty of what the Dolomites have to offer. Wow. Look at that.
14:55Whoa. Oh my god. And discover the abundance of produce in Norbert's larder.
15:07So as you can see, while the raspberries doesn't mean that has grown pastry, can be fermented,
15:11can be preserved. We use it a lot on the sauces. Over here we have oxalis. The leaves are really
15:19gentle. Acid. So this is something that we can use to replace, you know, no lemon, no citrus. This is
15:26a
15:26lifesaver sometimes. Like green apple. Like the skin off a green apple. Exactly. Up here in the mountains,
15:34the volume's turned up on all the flavors. I'm already thinking about where I could go with it. That's amazing.
15:40As you can see, guys, over here we have white watercress. Have you tried this?
15:44No. Can we try now? Yes. This is what we have to.
15:48Oh wow. This is like super powerful, spicy. We cannot find like chili on the mountain, right? So
15:55this is what we use like as a spiciness. Yeah. That's amazing. Absolutely incredible out here.
16:01There's so much that you would walk over without noticing it and to see it all through the chef's
16:08eyes. It's fantastic. Once you know what you're looking for, you can really see that there is
16:14stuff wherever you look. Every footstep you find something different.
16:20The finalists now have just one hour to produce a dish that shows they understand the cook the mountain
16:27philosophy. Combining their forage produce with a larder of locally sourced ingredients.
16:37Whoa. Wow. It's incredible. Things I've never seen before, you know.
16:42For this now, you need instinct, you need taste, and you need creativity.
16:47A bit daunting. You think you know how to cook, and then you just throw the curb, but no.
16:53But it's a challenge. You have no classic ingredients. It's new, you don't know the taste,
16:58you don't know how things react when you cook them. My brain is fried right now.
17:04I think they have a lot of nerves, yes. This is a big task. You can go first.
17:13Mark is basing his dish around a prized cold water fish found in the lakes and rivers of the
17:19Dolomites. Arctic char. It's something I haven't really cooked with before, so I wanted to try and
17:25push myself a little bit to try something new and different. I'm going to cure it with some salt and
17:31a
17:32mountain moss. It's just a very, like, evergreen, mossy kind of flavour.
17:39Alongside the moss-cured char, Mark plans to serve vegetables grown in the mountain's rich soil.
17:46I've cooked kohlrabi like this a couple of times before. It's, like, steamed from the inside.
17:51And then I've just toasted some pumpkin seeds over the coals. Now I'm just breaking them down with
17:55the watercress that we picked. This watercress is really strong, so I'm hoping to make, like,
17:59quite a punchy little dressing. Mark plans to highlight his understanding of Norbert's philosophy
18:04with his beurre blanc sauce, traditionally made with lemon juice.
18:10So this is the sorrel stems that we picked earlier. Really citrusy, really fresh, really vibrant,
18:16so this will hopefully add some acidity to the dish. Definitely feeling nervous,
18:21but I want to make sure that I'm bringing something quite delicious and quite fun to the plate.
18:28Luke is hoping to replicate an ingredient substitute he saw in the masterclass,
18:33in a dish centred around mountain mushrooms. To be honest, I've never seen anyone make their own soy
18:40before. That's a first for me. Chef Norbert used it in the catfish dish, so hopefully I'll have, like,
18:45a sticky glaze, so I haven't got the exact recipe. Sort of going for a similar flavour profile.
18:51For Luke's take on the soy glaze, he's experimenting by adding preserved baby pine cones.
18:59They've got quite an earthy taste. They do taste quite familiar, but I've never used them.
19:05To bring citrus acidity to his creamy white wine sauce, Luke's using another of Norbert's ideas.
19:14I've just added a little bit of the cafe to it for citrus.
19:19I hope I'm press chef Norbert, but this definitely isn't my cooking. I'm sort of going on a whim a
19:24little bit. Gareth is attempting to reversion Norbert's fish tartare using meat. I've got a
19:32nice piece of aged lamb here, so it's going to do a lamb tartare. The loin I've taken off and
19:37I've just
19:37diced it up. The leeks are on the barbecue. I want to get those nice and charred.
19:41Do a similar burnt leek oil that we're shown today to bind tartare with. He also intends to season
19:48the lamb tartare with finely chopped preserved leeks. They taste just like a pickled onion monster
19:54munch. It's amazing. And fermented baby daikon. It gives you both texture and acidity.
20:02As Norbert used every part of the white fish in his tartare, Gareth plans to do the same with a
20:08lamb.
20:10I want to make a lamb and wild watercress sauce.
20:15I've roasted the bones on the barbecue to get that smoky flavor to bring it to a stock.
20:20Just trying to have zero waste.
20:23I think that they really got the idea of what cook the monta is. They've been inspired like a lot
20:28of what they've seen. And they are like also trying to change it a little bit with their style.
20:33They're not playing safe somehow, but I like them.
20:46Mark will be first to serve with his optic char creation.
20:50Very nervous. Very, very nervous about serving this up.
20:53I'm just hoping it's taken on a lot of the flavors of the moss that I put through it.
20:56He intends to bring the dish together by channeling his professional experience of cooking
21:01over flame. So basically I get coals and then I blow through them to like basically inject heat
21:07onto the skin. And it's quite a delicate way of just cooking the skin and not really affecting the
21:14flesh itself. Very happy with my kohlrabi. I've just dressed the smoked kohlrabi with a little of
21:21strawberry preserving liquid. This is a watercress dressing.
21:28It's very challenging to come up with a dish like this in one hour and to have it all come
21:32together in the way that you want it to. But I think trying to take a lot of what he's
21:35shown
21:35us today in the kitchen and try and do my best with it.
21:44So Mark, how do you feel? I feel like I've tried to engage with
21:48everything you've been teaching us today and bring you a lovely dish.
21:52Mark served arctic char in a mountain moss cure on a foraged watercress and roasted pumpkin seed
21:59dressing with kohlrabi cooked under coals and a beurre blanc flavored with sorrel stems.
22:06Wow, great idea.
22:13Mark served arctic char in a mountainous
22:13Fish, I love it in this way. It's really nice, it's really clear, but I would have given more
22:19smoked crunchiness to the skin because this is a little bit chewy. The combination with the beurre blanc
22:25and with sorrel, which is really good. The acidity, a little bit of fatness of the beurre blanc is great.
22:30And the watercress gives a lot of freshness. It's a great dish. Thank you very much.
22:37I can't thank you enough for bringing us into your kitchen, for sharing your knowledge.
22:41It's wonderful to see the work and the dedication and rigor that goes into that
22:45process here. Thank you very much, Chef. Thanks a lot. Thank you.
22:48Thank you. Very relieved, obviously a huge pressure.
22:51Cooking with such unfamiliar ingredients in front of one of the most highly decorated
22:55three Michelin star chefs in the world was just fantastic, absolutely amazing.
23:03Luke is next to serve. I'm using a glaze, a similar glaze to what was used on the catfish dish,
23:08obviously mine's nowhere near as good. Have you been used to cook with fire, Chef?
23:12I've not cooked with fire very much, no, and this is my second time doing it.
23:17Obviously, you know, with the open fire, you have to know how it works with the temperature,
23:21with the timing, so it's very difficult. I think the glaze is quite nice. It's sort of
23:27burning onto it a little bit on the barbecue, but that's sort of what I was looking for. Keep
23:30layering the glaze. I'm sort of using the very dry end piece of the spec, sort of a pancetta,
23:37but it's way, way firmer. Trying to use it in a similar way to Chef did with the heart,
23:41so I'm going to grate it. You're enjoying yourself. I feel quite nervous, to be honest,
23:44and I don't normally, but it's because it's so different to what I'm used to. I don't know if
23:48I'm onto something or whether I'm doing something completely wrong here that's not going to work
23:53at all. I'm hoping he sees the philosophy. I'm using ingredients I've never used. I'm
23:59taking inspiration from the sauce, from what I've literally just watched, the glaze,
24:03what I literally just watched, the herbs that we've literally just got and picked. So yeah,
24:08that's what I'm hoping he sort of sees that.
24:14Look. Welcome. Wow.
24:16I wanted it to look like it was sort of mushrooms still growing on the forest floor.
24:20Looks great. Thank you.
24:23Luke's dish is a trio of mushrooms in a lentil soy, honey and preserved pine cone glaze,
24:31topped with speck shavings and a creamy white wine and leek sauce,
24:35flavoured with speck and kefir, split with watercress and sorrel oil.
24:45I love really that you used all the mushrooms, that you play around a little bit what we are
24:51doing. Glaze with the soy sauce, a little bit too liquid, so making the glaze a little bit thicker.
24:56But otherwise, I like the sauce a lot. It's a great idea. Yeah, with the speck, it's fantastic.
25:00For one hour time, it's a great dish.
25:06So how do you feel using those products?
25:08Yeah, I'm definitely starting to feel like I want to get into foraging a little bit.
25:12I quite enjoy that. It's quite a nice feeling.
25:14Cool. All the best for you.
25:16Thank you for your feedback.
25:18Thanks a lot. Thank you.
25:21It was a good experience. I feel like I was on to quite a good idea.
25:27To be honest, I'd like a second shot on it. I'd like to take some of the feedback he gave
25:31me and
25:31do it again, I think.
25:35Last to serve is Gareth.
25:37I need to start plating.
25:39Who's ready to add his mountain flavourings to his tartare.
25:43So that's some of the burnt leek oil that's going in.
25:47And then I've got preserved leeks and preserved baby daikon.
25:50And a few of the flowering buds of the horseradish plant.
25:53But I just want to go easy with all the things I'm adding in.
25:57It has to be balanced. I don't want anything to overpower.
26:05Some wild flowers.
26:07A lot more difficult doing this when you are shaking.
26:11How have you made this sauce?
26:12I've roasted the bones on the barbecue made up of stock.
26:15A lot of I wouldn't be heavy.
26:16I hope so.
26:18Putting a plate of food up to a three Michelin star chef is no mean feat.
26:23Definitely nervous, but I'm going with my head high and confident and serving my dish.
26:27Hello, chef.
26:28Hello, Gareth. How's it going?
26:29Sir, I think I'll be better after this has been tasted.
26:35Gareth's dish is lamb tartare flavoured with burnt leek oil.
26:39Preserved leeks, daikon and horseradish buds, topped with fennel pollen and wild flowers.
26:46Serve with a lamb bone leek potato and watercress sauce.
26:50I think the plate looks really good.
26:57From the meat side, it's good that you don't cut it too small.
27:00You have to bite a little bit of lamb and then you taste the lamb.
27:04So it's great.
27:05The flavours in the sauce is quite interesting because it's a little bit of sweetness in there.
27:08But then in the end, you have the freshness.
27:10You have the little bit like the horseradish coming through from the watercress.
27:13And so it's a great balance. It's a very nice dish. Congratulations.
27:17Thank you, chef.
27:20I see that you really have cooked the mountain in your soul.
27:24Thank you very much, chef. Cheers.
27:25Thank you very much. Thank you.
27:30I feel great. It was positive feedback.
27:33He seemed to enjoy the dish. He seemed to understand where I was going with it.
27:36And that I followed his philosophy of cooking the mountain.
27:42Couldn't have been happier, really.
27:47I think the challenge went really well.
27:50They really understand the philosophy of cooking the mountain.
27:54They were very interested. You could see it.
27:57I'm really looking forward to tomorrow.
28:01Today has been one of the most incredible days of my career so far.
28:04Some techniques and wisdom and information here I'll take with me for the rest of my career.
28:10Absolutely.
28:11It's been a huge learning experience.
28:15To get to spend some close quality time with such a high level chef.
28:21When you think about it and you list everything that has happened in one day, it's amazing.
28:27It's, you know, more than some chefs do in their lifetime.
28:46The three finalists are about to join Norbert's elite brigade of chefs for a once in a lifetime service.
28:58The prospect of going to cook a full service in the three Michelin star restaurant is weighing over me quite
29:04heavily.
29:06I've been waking up through the night thinking about it.
29:09It's one of the biggest things any chef can aspire to do.
29:15It's definitely a long way from being in my pub kitchen in Winchester.
29:19Based on what I've seen of the team so far, I think they're going to be very, very organized.
29:24I definitely don't want to be falling behind.
29:29Perfection is kind of table stakes.
29:31At this stage, you know, what you need is a whole other level of accuracy, artistic integrity, and rigor brought
29:36to the dishes that I just hope I can get close to achieving.
29:46Today, you'll be in charge of two dishes.
29:49Luke will be responsible for the fish tartare from Norbert's masterclass.
29:55But we'll also have the challenge of making the restaurant's version of an Italian staple,
29:59which celebrates one of the Dolomites' most prominent species.
30:04Following up our philosophy of cook the mountain is a risotto.
30:08We made it with buttermilk, infused with some pine trees, full of trees all around here, all pines.
30:16To further enhance the flavor, a pine-needled butter is incorporated.
30:21You add slowly the butter, so you get the green color in.
30:24It's really powerful, so it has to be balanced really, really well.
30:30Risotto must be al dente.
30:31When you bite it, you can still feel the crunchiness.
30:34That's almost the finished consistency there.
30:36Exactly.
30:38Then you have to add some cheese, so to make it creamy.
30:42The grey cheese cream is made from the milk of mountain-grazing cows,
30:47once a wasted resource due to their remote location.
30:51One of the lowest fat cheeses in the world.
30:53The final garnish is a smoked fish roe.
30:56Not that much, not too strong, otherwise it will cover up all the delicate taste from the risotto.
31:02And the pine oil.
31:07Definitely fits in with all the style that we've shown yesterday.
31:13Luke, are you fine with your dishes, with the risotto and also with the tartar?
31:16I hope so.
31:19You look pretty confident.
31:20You give your best and you will do fine.
31:24It's going to be a challenge because it takes 20 minutes to cook.
31:28If I cook it incorrectly and it's time to come up, there's going to be a big problem.
31:32I wouldn't cook it to order from raw in my restaurant.
31:36Luke's first job is to tackle the risotto's unique flavouring.
31:41This is the pine I'm preparing for the oil in the risotto.
31:47We need 200 grams of just the needles.
31:50I've only really ever used pine in smoking, not in eating.
31:55I think the pine around here is a lot better than it is at home.
31:58Mark is busy prepping beetroot for chef's garden-inspired starter.
32:06I'm just going to get these peeled and broken down to start making my beetroot reduction.
32:10My horseradish cream is simmering for the filling
32:14and then my potatoes are cooking for the actual gnocchi dough.
32:18He also needs to perfect a main dish that centres around Norbert's no-waste philosophy,
32:24using a lesser-known cut of beef.
32:27The diaphragm.
32:28We are not buying the parts, we are buying the whole animal.
32:31I'm thinking what I'm going to do with the rest.
32:33So we had to learn to work all the interiors.
32:36We had to learn all the not-so-expensive parts.
32:39The beef diaphragm, you need to burn leek oil before you're cooking it.
32:43So the nice flavour, the caramelisation will just help.
32:46Temperature, if you cook it too hard, then it's getting really tough.
32:50Then it's like a soul of the chute.
32:51It's really delicate, doesn't need much to cook.
32:54Flip it over many, many, many, many times.
32:57Before it finishes cooking, the beef must be seasoned in a beer and smoked hay rub.
33:02We want, you know, the nice smoky flavour from it, but not like to be over-powerful.
33:08Then she will give the last time on the fire.
33:11The only thing that you need really to consider is the timing over here.
33:14And then after we carve it straight away, not too thick, not too thin.
33:18The plating starts with a smoked leek and shallot pesto.
33:22Just a spoon in the middle.
33:24And a yoghurt and fermented barley sauce for citrus.
33:28We don't want it like too hot, not too cold.
33:30The bitterness really important when you make the cream.
33:36This is the beef diaphragm.
33:39It was absolutely beautiful.
33:40Incredible to see fire used with such a delicate touch with that little, uh,
33:44diaphragm to get that, like, perfume of smoke through.
33:46It's absolutely fascinating.
33:47Mr. Open Fire.
33:49Yeah.
33:50You got your, the right dish for you, right?
33:52Absolutely.
33:53Are you ready?
33:54As ready as I'll ever be.
33:55Have a great service.
33:56Thank you very much.
33:57Cheers.
33:59Mark now has a lot to juggle.
34:02Yeah, a lot of prep to do.
34:03The beetroot gnocchi for the first course needs to be made.
34:06Nearly forgot the beetroot, so wouldn't have gotten far without that.
34:09On top of this, he also needs to tackle the horseradish filling.
34:13We've got to make sure it's all exact in each of the little moulds.
34:17And make a smoked leek and shallot pesto for the beef dish.
34:21All new techniques and everything, so full on.
34:24There's not a lot of time to do it.
34:26Gareth, for the first time, is tackling the catfish.
34:30I don't even know where to begin with this.
34:32To create Norbert's third masterclass dish.
34:36It's a different shaped fish, you know, and the skin's very thick.
34:39But just trying to follow the bones, trying not to waste any meat.
34:43But he'll be finishing off the meal with a unique take on the famous Italian dessert.
34:49Affogato.
34:51Well, affogato, you know, is one of the classic things in Italy.
34:54Normally, you do it with vanilla ice cream and with an espresso on the top.
34:59But this is made out of lupini. It's a grain from this area.
35:03It's one of the only products you can get coffee out of it.
35:06Lupini was a substitute for the coffee in the old days.
35:09It was too expensive for the people here, because people were poor.
35:11So that's why they used lupini.
35:13Very simple ingredient, but it's a lot of different techniques.
35:16Next.
35:17During service, Gareth's trickiest challenge will be to plate four lupini elements,
35:23beginning with a crumble.
35:26It's about reusing the grain, not creating any waste.
35:30This is the mindset. You use things up to 100%.
35:32To follow is a lupini powder, which Gareth will need to grind down to a fine consistency.
35:38It's coming through.
35:40Yeah, it smells like toasted coffee beans.
35:42Toasted coffee beans, right.
35:45Another part we create an ice cream from.
35:48You see the consistency. You just mix it to make it creamy a little bit.
35:55In the center, you press down a little bit.
35:58It made the rocher look very easy.
36:00We do a lupini infusion.
36:03We reduce it until it gets a glaze.
36:06I've never seen anything like it.
36:08The dish is finished with a burnt Italian meringue sauce.
36:12You burn the meringue, and then it gets used to make the sauce.
36:16Yeah, so you give this nice creamy and nutty taste.
36:19Amazing.
36:25It tastes just like affogato.
36:27You get the bitterness and the sweetness and the creaminess.
36:30All the elements are there.
36:32It's a huge challenge and a big responsibility.
36:35I don't want to be the one who lets the team down.
36:38I'm going to make them proud.
36:41There's 30 minutes until service.
36:44And Luke is filleting the fish for his tartar dish.
36:48The most delicate fish I've ever worked with.
36:52The flesh on it, you just touch it and it will just turn to mush in your fingers.
36:56Made quite a mess of that one.
36:59For a fresh water fish, try to touch less as you can the flesh.
37:08Silly job, isn't it?
37:10It's about 500 bones in this one fillet, I think.
37:13They're so small, I can't even feel them through the gloves.
37:16I tell you what, I won't be putting fresh water fish on my menu anytime soon.
37:19Too many bones.
37:22Mark now faces the daunting challenge of creating 45 gnocchi that must all perfectly resemble a baby beetroot.
37:31Putting the little horseradish cream inside the dough, you have to move very quickly or else the filling starts to
37:36melt.
37:37A bit of a challenge, but just going through each one, one by one, to make sure they're exactly what
37:42they need to be.
37:43I think you're doing really well, just like be a little bit faster because otherwise it's going to be soggy
37:48all the dough.
37:49And when you're going to put them inside the boiling water, you will see the gnocchi disappear inside the water.
37:53Right.
37:56Gareth's also got his hands full.
37:58Of all of the jobs that I had on the list, this wasn't the one that I thought was going
38:03to take the most amount of time, but like solid.
38:07As well as having to grate enough beef heart for the catfish garnish, he's also got four lupini elements to
38:15manage.
38:17It's infused in the ice cream.
38:21So this is going to be used for the gel.
38:23That sits on top of the ice cream at the end.
38:26This is an infusion that's very precise.
38:28The water has been 93 degrees.
38:32Really clever the way they're using the lupini beans in all these different ways.
38:37Adding to his workload is the dishes burnt meringue sauce.
38:41Do it as fast as you can, otherwise the temperature will drop down.
38:46The meringue goes in the thermal with the sunflower seeds and milk.
38:52The thought that goes behind every single element is amazing.
39:05What an incredible location for our three finalists to come and learn from a three Michelin star chef.
39:11This is an opportunity of a lifetime.
39:15This is no time now to drop the baton.
39:17This is serious.
39:18Our chefs have got to take on Chef Norbert's philosophy.
39:21The importance of the mountains and the way he tells that story through his food.
39:25There's no doubt about it, I think they are feeling pretty nervous.
39:28But they're going to have to put that behind them, focus on the dishes and really deliver.
39:33While the guests settle, Luke is preparing himself for the fish tartare dish.
39:39I'm just frying off the fish scales that I dehydrated, ready for service.
39:45So they've got a real nice texture and crunch.
39:49But he's struggling with a freshwater fish's delicate consistency.
39:54If I push the back of my spoon against it, it would just turn to like, you know, mush.
39:58So you want to obviously keep the bite and the texture in there for when the guests are eating it.
40:04Are you happy with that?
40:05Are you happy with it?
40:07I'm asking you.
40:08I think so. I think that's how it's supposed to be, yes.
40:11So now it's time to plate.
40:12I think the plating is going to be a long dish to plate with all the fine elements.
40:18We think it's just got to be so precise.
40:19Make sure that you go all around the edges.
40:22Press it down properly, but not too much.
40:25Everything's got to be perfectly flat and round up to the edge.
40:29This one you can see straight away.
40:31There is like much more tartare on this side than we need to do again.
40:35Not all the other ones, it's just this one I'm struggling with.
40:38Now you have to hurry up a little bit because people are already waiting.
40:42Yes, Chef.
40:43Time against him.
40:44Luke still has the challenge of carefully dressing the tartare with five mountain garnishes.
40:50Go maximum eight.
40:51Yeah, that's what I'm going to tell you.
40:53I'm getting the hang of it.
40:54I just think with these sort of dishes, they take a lot of practice, a lot of time.
40:58How much time do you need?
40:59I just need to put the scales on now, Chef.
41:01Push, push.
41:03Time is getting closer. Service is getting closer.
41:05Go, go, full, full.
41:09All good? Are you happy with it?
41:11I'm happy with it, Chef.
41:12OK, service.
41:16Hope Chef's happy with the dishes that I've put out so far.
41:20It's very intricate, takes a long time to plate up,
41:23and they've got a very specific way they want it to look.
41:28It was a scary bit just before service.
41:31Mark is getting ready.
41:34You're just looking for the right amount of beer to the powder to kind of clump it together
41:37to make it look like earth.
41:40For the beetroot gnocchi dish.
41:41I'm very excited to get them all blanched and glazed.
41:44You can put them all in one basket.
41:48Move them gently, like this, so they're not going to get stuck.
41:55They look incredible. There's such an interesting preparation. I've never seen anything like this
41:59before. It's fascinating.
42:01But at every stage, Mark's timing will be crucial.
42:05You've got to keep the pan moving because they start to stick very easily.
42:08In seconds, they start to catch as the sauce reduces.
42:12Now we dress the blade and now we go.
42:14Yes, Chef.
42:14He needs to quickly master the plating before the beetroot gnocchi cool down
42:18and lose their liquid horseradish centre.
42:22You are like a painter, huh?
42:25Like a painter, not a painter.
42:29Just be careful. If it goes all around with a brush, put it inside and on a line.
42:35You must have to dry one to see if it's nice, hot and liquid.
42:40Hot.
42:41Beautiful.
42:42They look great.
42:44Thank you, Chef.
42:52For the next table, we need to do the same, but just faster.
42:54Yes.
42:55OK, service.
42:59Yes, first table down.
43:01Very real.
43:03Starting to feel it.
43:04Gareth now needs to master the Japanese technique of cooking the lentil soy glazed catfish
43:09over the intense charcoal grill.
43:12There's so much work that's gone into it, you know?
43:14You want to look after it and take care with it.
43:16Be careful when you cook it, the glaze doesn't have to caramelise that much.
43:20We don't want the bitter taste.
43:22They've come up to rest.
43:23They've been glazed again.
43:25Then we're going to put them back on the heat, but with pine smoke.
43:34Well, they look good to me.
43:42I think that you might need more than that.
43:44A little bit more?
43:45Yes, Chef.
43:47Put the skewer in, you can feel the temperature was like not enough cooked and also it's like
43:52still a little bit chewy inside, so it means that it's raw.
43:55Now running late.
43:57It's nothing like the barbecue at home.
43:59It's crucial Gareth makes no more errors.
44:01How long for the next dish?
44:03One minute for the three top and then a five top will be two minutes after that.
44:09Take out the skewers.
44:10A little bit of garlic oil and salt and then the heart on top.
44:13Need to be really fast, otherwise the temper will drop down.
44:17Now come to the pass with the tray.
44:24You have to go faster, because otherwise the fish is cold, so.
44:27Yes, Chef.
44:32Service.
44:33Get ready with the other catfish, please.
44:35Yes, Chef.
44:37First fish, there was one part was done, the other part was not done.
44:40And you have one fish cold, the other fish is warm.
44:43The difficult part, you know, because you have to have everything just in time.
44:46I need to find the rhythm.
44:49Now we have to push, okay, because otherwise the service gets too loud.
44:53On the fish starter,
44:57Luke's still trying to balance speed with the meticulous plating.
45:03Just be careful on this. See, the scales are out.
45:09One of the scales was like around the edge a little bit there.
45:12One of them jobs you can't try and do it fast, but you know, that does take time, this plating.
45:17It's not so easy.
45:19Ready, Chef?
45:20This looks good.
45:21Thank you, Chef.
45:22Good job, good job.
45:25Started off a little bit slow, but I definitely started to speed up.
45:28First service in this kitchen, you know.
45:30I'm feeling good.
45:32I imagine Luke was stressed in trying to plate this dish, like, because it's so delicate.
45:42All of the fish is being used.
45:44Tartar's a lovely herbal note that just sings in the background.
45:47Beautifully seasoned.
45:48We've got the little pickled elderflower berries, the little garlic flowers, so delicate.
45:53There's citrus notes from apple.
45:55Fantastic.
45:56The sauce, I think, is wonderful, and those little crispy scales.
46:00I mean, how have they stayed crisp under that sauce?
46:02Nothing about this dish is missing any citrus or olive oil and all those flavors that you
46:09associate with the tartar.
46:10I think it's very, very clever.
46:14Back in the kitchen, Mark is overrun with beetroot orders.
46:19Keep, like, glazing them, and you keep moving them.
46:24Andy's struggling with the pace.
46:26We do the plating together.
46:28Yes.
46:28So, you do this?
46:29Yes, Chef.
46:31There's a lot of things to do.
46:33You know, do this and understand this in two days, three days.
46:36It's not so easy.
46:39Back, back, back.
46:39Hot, hot, hot, hot.
46:40Beetroots.
46:44We did this for 400 people, so it was fun.
46:47Yeah, I'm sure.
46:51The last one.
46:52Come on.
46:55Service.
46:57Thank you very much.
46:59Thank you, Chef.
47:00Back to work.
47:02He did a good job, you know, but this needs a lot of hands to plate,
47:06because you have a lot of thingy things and everything has to be done just on time.
47:11So, he was a little bit nervous, but no, he went out well.
47:16It's a piece of art.
47:18It literally is a pitcher on a plate.
47:22Wow.
47:24I've never had gnocchi with a liquid center before.
47:27It's earthy, but light, full of big spicy horseradish flavor and that little soil.
47:31This will have no doubt pushed Mark to the maximum.
47:34I love the daikon cream.
47:36Again, it's another kind of earthy tone.
47:38The fact that they've formed the gnocchi to look like beetroot and the story of it coming through the soil.
47:44I'm so impressed for Mark.
47:50Gareth.
47:50I'm getting there.
47:52Is still trying to get to grips with the cooking of the catfish on the charcoal grill.
47:57Make sure that the glaze goes all over the fish, please.
47:59Yes, Chef.
48:00Cooking is okay.
48:02Yeah, it's a nice way to put caramelization and then let them rest and then bring the smoke and the
48:07flavor and to service.
48:28It took me a little while to sort of get into the flow of it and understand cooking on the
48:36fire.
48:36But yeah, I was happy I got the plates out.
48:40I think it wouldn't be going out the kitchen if it wasn't good enough.
48:43So yeah, I'm happy.
48:51Oh wow.
48:53That is really good.
48:54The catfish is quite meaty.
48:56I love the lentil soy glaze over it and of course finished with smoky flavors of a leek oil.
49:03Delicious.
49:03I've never eaten catfish before and I have to say this is incredible.
49:07It's earthy in a sense as it's big in flavor and then just put in the grating of the hardest
49:12on top.
49:12It's almost sort of like the best truffle you'd ever eat.
49:15I love the acidity from that yogurt and the kefir.
49:19This is my favorite dish so far.
49:20I think this is wonderful and I think Gareth has done a brilliant job.
49:25It's halfway through service and Luke is working multiple orders of his pine tree risotto.
49:32Oh, on different timings, trying to check the bite on the rice and the seasoning and the temperatures up and
49:39down.
49:40But a lot to keep your eye on.
49:43How long do we have for the risotto?
49:44Six minutes.
49:45Today it still needs a little longer.
49:47Okay.
49:48Meanwhile, Mark has moved across to the charcoal grill.
49:52So we go with a four diaphragm then we follow by a four.
49:54In an effort to master the cooking of the beef diaphragm.
49:59Keeping it moving constantly so you never get like too much heat from any one direction.
50:03You have to be very careful.
50:05When you overcook it then it's completed on.
50:07Gareth is now faced with the pressure of plating the lupini dessert.
50:13So let me see your shaking hand.
50:16Hopefully at the end of this you will be shaking my hand, chef.
50:23Straight on the top.
50:27And dimple.
50:29Here we go.
50:30Yes.
50:32Just like that.
50:34Almost.
50:35That was my practice here.
50:37Yeah.
50:38To be honest, it's always something that I've struggled with doing a rocher.
50:41It's like a real skill.
50:43Luke is also feeling the pressure.
50:46In a race to serve, his timings are off on the risotto.
50:50It tastes good but it's a bit too loose.
50:52Just like cream it out a little bit.
50:54Yeah.
50:54Take out a bit of liquid.
50:56Mix it, mix it.
50:58Keep pushing, keep pushing.
50:59If you don't push now, you're going to fall down.
51:02Tasting it now.
51:05More salt, yeah.
51:07We have to say, you have to say.
51:09What kind of goes on?
51:10The cheese goes on?
51:11The cheese.
51:12What else?
51:12The oil and the smoke.
51:14So try it all together.
51:14Then you can say, okay, this is good or this is not good.
51:21Let's go.
51:21If you're happy, let's go.
51:24A little bit more here.
51:25Yes, Chef.
51:27Go with the cheese.
51:28Cream.
51:32Are you enjoying yourself or are you sweating yourself?
51:35I'm enjoying it.
51:37It's a different sort of service to what I'm used to.
51:39But that's the whole point of the experience, right?
51:42Service, please.
51:45You have done a great job.
51:46Thank you very much for letting us in and teaching us some new styles and new dishes.
51:51And yeah, just handing over your restaurant and your kitchen to us.
51:54It's been an honor.
51:55So you want to join the brigade here?
51:57Yes, Chef.
51:59I don't know if my wife will be happy.
52:00Okay.
52:04It's almost unrecognizable to the sort of cooking that I'm used to doing.
52:08I think I did okay.
52:10Hopefully it was up to Chef Norbert's standards and the guests as well.
52:19This is a risotto with a serious point of difference with quite unusual ingredients.
52:23And the rice has got bites, but the buttermilk, it's sharp and it's lighter.
52:26It's not as rich, it's not as heavy.
52:28Of course, the pine flavor running through as well.
52:30We have the green from the pine oil.
52:32We have sort of creaminess that you would expect of the risotto, but with buttermilk.
52:37This is like no risotto I've ever eaten.
52:39There's flavors of risotto that are always kind of in associations, you know, good stock,
52:44bit of acidity.
52:45We've got those flavors, but in different forms.
52:47We've got the buttermilk for acidity.
52:49We've got that cheese as well.
52:51It's all very interesting.
52:54After struggling earlier with the pace of service, Mark is more at home with a beef dish.
53:03The beef looks good.
53:04He got like two different pieces, so he was like able also to cook them in the right way.
53:0830 seconds.
53:10This one in the middle of the plate.
53:13Use two spoons.
53:14It's going to be easier for you.
53:17Adding the cream on top and then the beef.
53:21You don't have to shake, come on.
53:23I like to shake.
53:23It helps my nerves.
53:25So shake it with you.
53:32Service.
53:37I've had such a great time.
53:38I've just learned so, so much.
53:39I can't thank you and your team enough.
53:40Thank you very much.
53:42It's been amazing.
53:43Thank you, chef.
53:43Thanks a lot.
53:46I've taken more from this experience than I ever thought I would.
53:49Hugely, hugely inspirational.
53:51It's not often I get to serve alongside the three Michelin star chef in the 20th best restaurant in the
53:55world.
53:59This is really clever because in another form, you could imagine a big hanger steak,
54:04which has been barbecued, got a bit of a rub on it.
54:07But this is super refined.
54:08Beef has got real big strength, so it's beautifully cooked.
54:11It's soft, it's juicy and flavoursome.
54:13Mark's passion is to cook on a barbecue.
54:15But at this level, it's just added another notch to Mark's belt.
54:21For Gareth...
54:22Whenever you're ready, four persons.
54:24Four tops, sweet.
54:25It's the last chance to prove he's nailed the plating.
54:35It's way better.
54:39No much?
54:40Oh, okay, okay.
54:40Better and better.
54:41Yeah, I got it.
54:43You put a little bit extra love in this one.
54:47I couldn't possibly fit any more love into it, chef.
54:50I put love into everything.
54:52Service, please.
54:55What do you think about the idea of Cook the Mountain?
54:57I love it.
54:58I really appreciate all the values and the thought and the love and passion that you have for everything.
55:03I think it's great.
55:04Thanks a lot.
55:05Thank you so much.
55:05It's been a pleasure.
55:08I don't want to go home.
55:10I mean, I'm pretty sure there's something I have to do in the next couple of days.
55:14But these lupin beans taste of coffee, so clever.
55:27And the meringue that's been burnt and then put through the sauce, it's got a slight bitterness to it.
55:33Affogato, one of my favorite desserts.
55:36It's so intense.
55:37That coffee flavor without being coffee.
55:40So this has blown me away.
55:41It's quite extraordinary.
55:42This is cookery, but this is cookery with a point of difference.
55:44I can only imagine how excited Gareth would have been learning this.
55:48What an experience.
55:52Thank you guys.
55:53It was like really amazing to have you here.
55:54I really hope that you are taking with you something of the experience that you had here.
55:59All the best for the finals.
56:01Maybe you had some new ways of thinking from cook the mountain in your dishes.
56:05Best luck to you.
56:06Cheers.
56:07Cheers.
56:08Cheers.
56:09Thank you for being here.
56:11Thank you so much.
56:12I can honestly say that was one of the best things I've ever done.
56:17It's been one of the most eye-opening, inspiring experiences.
56:21I've loved it from beginning to end.
56:24Norbert is a culinary genius and it shows him what he's doing.
56:28And it's given me a lot to think about and hopefully try and put a little bit of what
56:33I've learned into some of my own cooking.
56:36What a journey.
56:37Giving our three chefs the opportunity to do something very different, quite unique and
56:41work with somebody very, very special.
56:43If they can bring back just one ounce, one smidgen of the knowledge that these guys have shown them,
56:50then I think we're in for a real treat in this final.
56:54I think all three of us are just really excited to get in there and
56:57to show our last final dishes and to end this life-changing experience on a high.
57:07Next time, it's the final of MasterChef The Professionals.
57:18Yeah, you can feel it in the air, it's going to be a big cook for all of us.
57:21This is very intense.
57:23It's going to be a struggle to get everything done.
57:26Whatever you do, don't panic.
57:28Give him the trophy now.
57:33You are doing something quite special.
57:37Wow.
57:37I'm struggling to find the fault here.
57:48I'm struggling to find the field.
57:50Thank you, ma'am.
57:51Bye.
57:58Bye.
58:00Bye.
58:00Bye.
58:03Bye.
58:05Bye.
58:07Bye.
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