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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 groundbreaking chefs.
00:31We've given them challenges beyond their expectations,
00:34but this is as big as it gets.
00:47Northern Italy, famed for its dramatic Donomite peaks
00:53and alpine meadows.
00:56In its northeastern reaches lies Brunica,
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 Musma.
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 have to think in a completely different way.
01:45Norbert was born in Letargo,
01:48a small Italian village nestled in the Donomite 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,
02:09and 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 at a culinary college in Germany,
02:35and after graduating, went on to travel the world.
02:40I went to Switzerland, and from Switzerland I went to US,
02:43Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Belize, and Honduras,
02:46and so I was working in UK.
02:49Kitchen helped me really to live my life.
02:53But I always had a lot of love for the mountains,
02:55and 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.
03:28I 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.
04:03You 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.
04:13And Cook the Mountain is still today the same philosophy.
04:17We build up in four pillars.
04:19One pillar is we are not using any olive oil.
04:21Everybody said, hey, you are crazy.
04:22You cannot do a restaurant without olive oil in Italy.
04:25Are you nuts?
04:26I said, no, you know.
04:27I look out of the window and 1,700 meters over the sea level,
04:30there is no olive trees.
04:31So 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 are 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.
04:54We 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 one,
05:10which is the no waste.
05:13After more than 30 years as a highly decorated chef,
05:18Norbert embarked on a new adventure,
05:20opening Atelier Musma that encompasses his cook, the Mountain Philosophy,
05:26which after just four months broke a world record becoming the fastest restaurant ever to achieve three Michelin stars.
05:35It's also ranked in the world's best 50 and holds a green star for outstanding commitment to ethical environmental practices.
05:44It's about food security.
05:46I 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 cooking in one of the best restaurants
06:01in 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 Atelier 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.
06:53Starting 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.
07:15The 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.
07:26We just dress 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.
07:36Then the third pillar is no citrus.
07:39And you know how much citrus you need in the kitchen to balance the dishes, so we had to find
07:44substitute for the citrus.
07:46Local apples.
07:48Green apple has a lot of acidity.
07:50It has to balance everything, what 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.
08:07But 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 beurre blanc.
08:21We really used everything.
08:25Absolutely stunning.
08:27So this is our white fish tartare. You want to try it?
08:29Yes, please.
08:33Normally, in most restaurants, we'd probably be very tempted to put a bit of citrus with that.
08:39Yeah.
08:39But you're still getting the macidity 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 done, I think, 2013.
09:02We wanted to recreate a beetroot garden. It's an iconic dish.
09:06We 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.
09:16So it's potatoes, it's daikon, it's horseradish, and it's beetroot.
09:22The centrepiece of the dish is potato gnocchi, flavoured with beetroot juice.
09:27We get the right thickness, which is, I think, one of the most difficult part of this dish.
09:32Inside the gnocchi is a horseradish-infused set cream.
09:37It's really intense. So the filling 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!
09:49Yeah.
09:50You need to close it properly. Otherwise, when you cook it, you put it in the water, it will open
09:54up. It's not close properly.
09:55You cook them, and then you finish with the beetroot glaze.
09:59It looks incredible, the glaze and the shine. They do look like perfectly turned beetroots.
10:05Then we created the soil. We have very traditional bread from this area.
10:10Fennell 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 colour of soil.
10:28So just mix it.
10:30When you add the beer, it's like when you take the 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.
11:05Yeah.
11:07The texture of the dough on the outside.
11:09It's soft but it still has the bite and the chew and the sweet earthiness of the beetroot.
11:14Horseradish, amazing.
11:15It's so beautiful.
11:17To think such a detailed dish has got such few ingredients.
11:20It's excellent.
11:23With an abundance of fresh water lakes and streams in the mountains, Norbert's final dish makes use of a common
11:32fish often overlooked in Western Europe.
11:39We call it catfish and kefir.
11:44Catfish usually is not a very prestigious fish.
11:47Because it lives in Matt and you know also the meat has always this maddy taste.
11:51But there's some local guys, they started to farm this fish with very clean water.
11:56So now the fish changes completely.
11:58The flesh of this fish is really beautiful, it's really firm.
12:01We take the fillers off, then we have to make a soya sauce glaze.
12:04So obviously we're not using soya sauce coming from Japan.
12:09So 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.
12:21It smells amazing.
12:23We 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.
12:33The glaze catfish is delicately cooked on an open fire grill.
12:38We are working on open fire because people from this area have always cooked on open fire.
12:43Especially when you were up in the mountains, there was no electricity, so there was just the open fire.
12:48Then smoked using pine tree stems from the Dolomites.
12:53And using the pine to smoke gives you a flavour of the pie.
12:57It's incredible.
13:01Now we are going to dress up the plate.
13:05To accompany the soy glazed and pie smoked catfish is a kefir based yogurt which substitutes citrus.
13:13We add the acidity of the kefir to cut off the fattiness of the fish.
13:18That is like really intense.
13:20And an oil made from grape seed which lends itself to any flavour.
13:26In grape seed oil there is no colour and there is no taste.
13:29So we take the green parts of the leek, which usually we don't use, and we make an oil out
13:35of it.
13:36The final element is a dry aged beef heart soaked in red wine and mountain herbs.
13:42You can smell the wine in there as well.
13:45That is finely grated over the catfish.
13:49So it's kind of like surf and turf using part of the ovals from another animal, adding a flavour to
13:55the catfish.
14:00The fish is so delicate.
14:01Catfish normally expect a very sort of heavy, muddy flavour, but like I say, it's so clean.
14:06I love soy sauce. Definitely get the smells from it, but slightly different, not just a classic soy sauce.
14:12It's very creative and clever.
14:15What do you think about Cook the Mountain?
14:18Fascinating. Absolutely incredible.
14:19It's such an interesting concept. I love it.
14:22Now we are looking forward to eating some of your dishes, which are inspired by our philosophies.
14:29Mauro is going to show you where we are doing foraging, asking questions. All the best. Have good luck.
14:35Let's go in the forest. Yes, Chef. Thank you so much.
14:38Okay.
14:47The finalists will now experience the majesty of what the Dolomites have to offer.
14:53Wow. Look at that. Whoa. Oh my God.
14:58And discover the abundance of produce in Norbert's larder.
15:07So as you can see, wild raspberries doesn't mean that it has to go on pastry.
15:11It can be fermented, it can be preserved. We use it a lot on the sauces.
15:17Over here we have oxalis. The leaves are really gentle. Acid.
15:21So this is something that we can use to replace, you know, no lemon, no citrus. This is a lifesaver
15:27sometimes.
15:29Like green apple. Like the skin off a green apple.
15:31Yeah, exactly.
15:32Up here in the mountains, the volume's turned up on all the flavours.
15:35I'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?
15:45Yes, this is what we have to.
15:48Oh, wow.
15:49This is like super powerful, spicy.
15:52We cannot find like chili on the mountains, right? So this is what we use like as a spiciness.
15:57Yeah, that's amazing.
16:00Absolutely 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 eyes.
16:08It's fantastic.
16:10Once you know what you're looking for, you can really see that there is stuff wherever you look.
16:15Every 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 philosophy.
16:29Combining their foraged produce with a larder of locally sourced ingredients.
16:35Whoa.
16:37Wow, it's incredible.
16:39Things 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.
16:48You think you know how to cook and then you just throw the curb on it.
16:52But it's a challenge.
16:54You have no classic ingredients.
16:56It's new, you don't know the taste, you don't know how things react when you cook them.
17:01My brain is fried right now.
17:04I think they have a lot of nerves, yes.
17:08This is a big task.
17:09You can go first.
17:13Mark is basing his dish around a prized cold water fish found in the lakes and rivers of the Dolomites.
17:20Arctic char.
17:21It's something I haven't really cooked with before so I wanted to try and push myself a little bit to
17:26try something new and different.
17:29I'm going to cure it with some salt and a little bit of sugar and the mountain moss.
17:34It'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.
17:54Now I'm just breaking them down with the watercress that we picked.
17:56This watercress is really strong, so I'm hoping to make like quite a punchy little dressing.
18:01Mark plans to highlight his understanding of Norbert's philosophy with his beurre blanc sauce, traditionally made with lemon juice.
18:10So this is the sorrel stems that we picked earlier.
18:14Really citrusy, really fresh, really vibrant, so this will hopefully add some acidity to the dish.
18:20Definitely feeling nervous, but I want to make sure that I'm bringing something quite delicious and quite fun to the
18:25plate.
18:28Luke is hoping to replicate an ingredient substitute he saw in the masterclass,
18:33in a dish centred around mountain mushrooms.
18:37To be honest, I've never seen anyone make their own soy before, and that's a first for me.
18:42Chef Norbert used it in the catfish dish, so hopefully I'll have like a sticky glaze, so I haven't got
18:46the exact recipe.
18:47Sort 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.
19:13I've just added a little bit of the cathedral to it for citrus.
19:18I 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.
19:26Gareth is attempting to re-version Norbert's fish tartare using meat.
19:31I've got a nice piece of aged lamb here, so it's going to do a lamb tartare.
19:35The loin I've taken off and I've just diced it up.
19:38The leeks are on the barbecue, I want to get those nice and charred.
19:41Do a similar burnt leek oil that we're showing today to bind tartare with.
19:46He also intends to season the lamb tartare with finely chopped, preserved leeks.
19:51The taste is like a pickled onion monster munch, it's amazing.
19:56And fermented baby daikon.
19:58It 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 flavour 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.
20:27They've been inspired, like, a lot of what they've seen.
20:29And they are, like, also trying to change it a little bit with their style.
20:33They're not playing safe somehow, so 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 taking on a lot of the flavours of the moss that I put through it.
20:56He intends to bring the dish together by channelling his professional experience of cooking over flame.
21:02So, basically, I get coals, and then I blow through them to, like, basically inject heat onto the skin.
21:09I mean, it's quite a delicate way of just cooking the skin and not really affecting the flesh itself.
21:16Very happy with my kohlrabi.
21:19I've just dressed the smoked kohlrabi with a little of the strawberry-preserving liquid.
21:23This is a watercress dressing.
21:28Very challenging to come up with a dish like this in one hour, and to have it all come together
21:32in the way that you want it to.
21:33But I think trying to take a lot of what he's shown us today in the kitchen and try and
21:37do my best with it.
21:44So, Mark, how do you feel?
21:46I feel like I've tried to engage with everything 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 dressing,
22:00with kohlrabi cooked under coals and a beurre blanc, flavoured with sorrel stems.
22:06Wow. Great idea.
22:13Fish, I love it in this way. It's really nice, it's really clear, but I would have given more smoked
22:20crunchiness to the skin,
22:21because this is a little bit chewy.
22:23The combination with the beurre blanc and with sorrel is really good.
22:26Acidity, 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.
22:33Thank 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 rigour that goes into that process here.
22:46Thank you very much, chef.
22:47Thanks a lot. Thank you.
22:49Very relieved, obviously a huge pressure.
22:51Cooking with such unfamiliar ingredients in front of one of the most highly decorated three Michelin star chefs in the
22:56world.
22:56It was just fantastic, absolutely amazing.
23:03Luke is next to serve.
23:04I'm using a glaze, a similar glaze to what was used on the catfish dish.
23:08Obviously mine's nowhere near as good.
23:10Have you been used to cook with a fire chef?
23:12I've not cooked with fire very much, no.
23:14I mean, 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, with the timing.
23:23So it's very difficult.
23:24I think the glaze is quite nice.
23:26It's sort of burning onto it a little bit on the barbecue, but that's sort of what I was looking
23:30for.
23:30Keep layering the glaze.
23:33I'm sort of using the very dry end piece of the spec, sort of a pancetta, but it's way, way
23:38firmer.
23:38I'm trying to use it in a similar way to chef did with the heart, so I'm going to grate
23:41it.
23:42You've been enjoying yourself.
23:42I feel quite nervous, to be honest, and I don't normally, but it's because it's so different to what I'm
23:47used to.
23:47I don't know if I'm onto something or whether I'm doing something completely wrong here that's not going to work
23:53at all.
23:55I'm hoping he sees the philosophy.
23:57I'm using ingredients I've never used.
23:59I'm taking inspiration from the sauce, from what I've literally just watched, the glaze, what I literally just watched,
24:05the herbs that we've literally just got and picked.
24:07So, yeah, that's what I'm hoping he sort of sees that.
24:13Look. 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, topped with speck
24:31shavings,
24:32and a creamy white wine and leek sauce, flavoured 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 doing.
24:51Glazed 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.
24:59Yeah, with the speck, it's fantastic. For 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.
25:11I 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.
25:29I'd like to take some of the feedback he gave me and do it again, I think.
25:35Last to serve is Gareth.
25:37Need to start plating.
25:38Who's ready to add his mountain flavourings to his tartare.
25:43So that's some of the burnt leek oil that's going in.
25:46And 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.
25:56It 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 the sauce?
26:12I've roasted the bones on the barbecue, made it stock.
26:15A lot of it will be heavy.
26:16I hope so.
26:18Putting a plate of food up to a three Michelin star chef is no mean feat.
26:22Definitely nervous, but I'm going with my head high and confident
26:25and serving my dish.
26:27Hello, chef.
26:28Hello, Gareth. How's it going?
26:29Yes.
26:30I 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,
26:43topped with fennel pollen and wild flowers,
26:46served with a lamb bone leek potato and watercress sauce.
26:51I think the plate looks really good.
26:57The meat side is 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.
27:03So it's great.
27:04The flavor 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, you have the little bit like the horseradish coming through from
27:13the watercress.
27:14And so it's a great balance.
27:15It's a very nice dish.
27:16Congratulations.
27:16Thank you, chef.
27:20I see that you really have cooked the mountain in your soul.
27:24Thank you very much, chef.
27:25Cheers.
27:25Thank you very much.
27:30I feel great.
27:31It was positive feedback.
27:33He seemed to enjoy the dish.
27:34He seemed to understand where I was going with it.
27:36And that followed his philosophy of cooking the mountain.
27:41Couldn't have been happier, really.
27:47I think the challenge went really well.
27:49They really understand the philosophy of cooking the mountain.
27:54They were very interested.
27:56You 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.
28:09Absolutely.
28:11It's been a huge learning experience to 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.
28:28It's, you know, more than some chefs do in their lifetime.
28:42It's day two in Brunico.
28:46And the 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 a 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.
29:30At 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 will also have the challenge of making the restaurant's version of an Italian staple, which celebrates one of the
30:01Dolomites' most prominent species.
30:04Following up our philosophy of cook the mountain is a risotto.
30:08We made with a buttermilk, infused with some pine trees, full of trees all around here, all pines.
30:16To further enhance the flavor, a pine needle 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 then.
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, once a wasted resource due to their
30:49remote location.
30:51One of the lowest fed 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 a pine oil.
31:07Definitely fits in with all the style that we've shown yesterday.
31:12Luke, are you fine with your dishes, with the risotto and also with the tartar?
31:16I hope so.
31:17So.
31:19You look pretty confident.
31:20Yeah.
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.
31:31I 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 and 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 using a lesser-known cut
32:25of beef, the 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 add burnt 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 sole of the chute.
32:51It's really delicate, doesn't need much to cook.
32:54Flip it over many, many, many times.
32:57Before it finishes cooking, the beef must be seasoned in a beer and smoked hay rum.
33:03We 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.
33:16Not too thick, not too thin.
33:17The 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 is 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 diaphragm
33:44to get that, like, perfume of smoke through.
33:45So it's absolutely fascinating.
33:47Mr. Open Fire.
33:49Yeah.
33:50You got 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 a horseradish filling.
34:13You've got to make sure it's all exact in each of the little molds.
34:17And make a smoked leek and shallot pesto for the beef dish.
34:21All new techniques and everything, so full on.
34:23Not 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.
35:01It'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, so that's why they used lupini.
35:13Very simple ingredient, but it's a lot of different techniques.
35:18During service, Gareth's trickiest challenge will be to plate four lupini elements, beginning 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 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.
35:47You see the consistency?
35:49You 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 an 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, and 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 match on your fingers.
36:56Made quite a mess of that one.
36:59For a freshwater 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, like, 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 any time 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.
37:37Bit of a challenge, but just going through each one, one by one, to make sure they're exactly what they
37:42need to be.
37:43I think you're doing really well.
37:45Just, like, be a little bit faster, because otherwise it's going to be soggy all 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 hearts 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 that sits on top of the ice cream at the
38:25end.
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 dish's 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.
39:00With service fast approaching, the guests arrive.
39:04What 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.
39:14This is no time now to drop the baton. This is serious.
39:18Our chefs have got to take on Chef Norbert's philosophy.
39:21The importance of the mountains, 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 the 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 up to you.
40:08I think so. I think that's how it's supposed to be, yes.
40:10So now it's time to plate.
40:12I think plating is going to be a long dish to plate with all the fine elements.
40:17We think it's just got to be so precise.
40:19Make sure that you go all around the edges, press it down properly,
40:23but 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 that we need to do again.
40:35Not all the other ones, it's just this one I'm struggling with.
40:38Now we 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 pieces each.
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.
41:04Service is getting closer.
41:05Go, go.
41:06Full, full.
41:07Go, go, go, go.
41:09All good?
41:10Are you happy with it?
41:11I'm happy with it, chef.
41:12Okay, service.
41:16I hope chef's happy with the dishes that I've put out so far.
41:20It's very intricate.
41:21It takes a long time to plate up, and 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 to make
41:38it look like earth.
41:39For the beetroot gnocchi dish.
41:41Very excited.
41:42Get them all blanched and glazed.
41:44You can put them all in one basket.
41:46Yep.
41:48Move them gently, maybe, so they're not going to get stuck.
41:51Stuck.
41:55They look incredible.
41:57There's such an interesting preparation.
41:58I've never seen anything like this before.
42:00It's fascinating.
42:01But at every stage, Mark's timing will be crucial.
42:05Got to keep the pan moving, because they start to stick very easily.
42:07In seconds, they start to catch as the sauce reduces.
42:12Now we dress the blade, and there we go.
42:14Yes, chef.
42:14He needs to quickly master the plating before the beetroot gnocchi cool down and lose their liquid horseradish centre.
42:21Yeah.
42:22You are like a painter, huh?
42:24Like a painter, not a painter.
42:29Just be careful if it goes all around with a brush.
42:32Just 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.
42:40Beautiful.
42:42They look great.
42:44Thank you, chef.
42:52For the next table, we need to do the same, but just faster.
42:54Yes.
42:55Okay, 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 over 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.
43:17Be careful when you cook it.
43:18The glaze doesn't have to caramelise that much.
43:20We don't want the bitter taste.
43:22They've come out to rest.
43:23They've been glazed again.
43:24Then 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.
43:49You can feel the temper, too.
43:50It was, like, not enough cooked.
43:51And also, it's, like, still a little bit chewy inside, so it means that it's raw.
43:55Now running late.
43:56It'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.
44:10Yes.
44:10A little bit of garlic oil, salt, and then the half on top.
44:13Need to be really fast, otherwise the temper will drop down.
44:17Now come to the pass with the tray.
44:23You have to go faster, because otherwise the fish is cold, so...
44:26Yes, 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.
44:48Now we have to push, OK, because otherwise the service gets too long.
44:53On the fish starter,
44:57Luke's still trying to balance speed with the meticulous plating.
45:03Be careful on this.
45:04See, the scales are out.
45:05Yes, chef.
45:06It's not done.
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.
45:53They're citrus notes from apple.
45:55Fantastic.
45:56The sauce, I think, is wonderful.
45:58And 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 flavours that you associate with the
46:10tartar.
46:10I think it's very, very clever.
46:14Back in the kitchen, Mark is overrun with beetroot orders.
46:18Keep, like, glazing them.
46:20And you keep moving them.
46:23Andy's struggling with the pace.
46:26We do the plating together here.
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.
46:40Beetroots.
46:44We did this for 400 people, so it was fun.
46:48Yeah, I'm sure.
46:51The last one.
46:51Come on.
46:55Service.
46:57Thank you very much.
46:58Thank you, chef.
46:59Back 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 skinny things and everything has to be done just on time.
47:10So, he was a little bit nervous.
47:12But, no.
47:13He 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 centre before.
47:27It's earthy, but light.
47:28Full of big spicy horseradish flavour and that little soil.
47:31This will have no doubt pushed Mark to the maximum.
47:34I love the daikon cream.
47:36Again, that'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
47:44through the soil.
47:44I'm so impressed for Mark.
47:49Gareth.
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 OK?
48:01Yeah, it's a nice way to put caramelisation and then let them rest and then bring the smoke
48:06and the flavour and to service.
48:10Yeah, let's go.
48:10Spread them out.
48:12Salt, oil, beef arm.
48:15Really want to serve like hot fish now.
48:18Yes, chef.
48:21Let's go on the pass.
48:28Service.
48:31It took me a little while to sort of get into the flow of it and understand cooking
48:35on the fire.
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.
48:59And of course, finished with smoky flavours of a leek oil.
49:03Delicious.
49:04I'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 flavour.
49:10And then just put in the grating of the heart, it's on top.
49:12It's almost sort of like the best truffle you'd ever eat.
49:15I love the acidity from that yoghurt and the kefir.
49:19This is my favourite dish so far.
49:20I think this is wonderful and I think Gareth has done a brilliant job.
49:26It's halfway through service and Luke is working multiple orders of his pine tree risotto.
49:32Oh, on different timings.
49:35Trying to check the bite on the rice and the seasoning and the temperatures are up and down.
49:40Quite a lot to keep your eye on.
49:42How long do you have for the risotto?
49:44Six minutes.
49:45It still needs a little longer.
49:47Okay.
49:48Meanwhile, Mark has moved across to the charcoal grill.
49:51So 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.
50:04When you overcook it then it's completed up.
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.
50:27Dimple.
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.
50:50Tastes 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.
51:06Yeah.
51:06I don't know.
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.
51:13Try it all together.
51:14Then you can say, okay, this is good or this is not good.
51:22Yes, chef.
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.
51:36It'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.
51:47Thank you very much for letting us in and teaching us some new styles and new dishes.
51:51Yeah, 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 would be happy.
52:00OK.
52:04It's almost unrecognisable to the sort of cooking that I'm used to doing.
52:08I think I did OK.
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.
52:23The 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 flavour 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 flavours of risotto that are always kind of in associations.
52:43You know, good stock, bit of acidity.
52:45We've got those flavours, 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,
52:57Mark 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.
53:22Come on.
53:22It's all good.
53:23It's all good.
53:23I like to shake.
53:23It helps my nerves.
53:24It helps my nerves.
53:25So shake it.
53:32Service.
53:37I've had such a great time.
53:38Just 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.
53:50It's not often I get to serve alongside a three Michelin star chef in the 20th best restaurant in the
53:54world.
53:59This is really clever because in another form you could imagine a big hanger steak which is being barbecued.
54:05Got a bit of a rub on it.
54:07But this is super refined.
54:08Beef has got real big strength through it.
54:10It's beautifully cooked.
54:11It's soft.
54:11It'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.
54:29Warm it up a little bit.
54:35It's way better.
54:39Not much?
54:40Okay, okay.
54:40Better and better.
54:41Yeah.
54:42I 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.
54:49I put a little bit of 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.
55:04Thank you so much.
55:05It's been a pleasure.
55:06I'm here.
55:08I don't want to go home.
55:09No.
55:10I mean, I'm pretty sure there's something I have to do in the next couple of days, but...
55:15I love it.
55:22These lupin beans taste of coffee.
55:26So clever.
55:27And the meringue that's been burnt and then put through the sauce, that's got a slight bitterness to it.
55:33Affogato.
55:34One of my favourite desserts.
55:36It's so intense.
55:38That coffee flavour without being coffee.
55:39So 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.
55:47What 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.
56:11Thank 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 I've
56:33learned 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 work 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, then
56:51I 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 to show our last final
56:58dishes and to end this life-changing experience on a high.
57:08Next 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, it's going to be a struggle to get everything done.
57:25Whatever you do, don't panic.
57:28Give him the trophy now.
57:33You are doing something quite special.
57:37Wow.
57:38I'm struggling to find fault here.
57:51All right.
58:12What has this done?
58:14Theığons have basically answered all of us.
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