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