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00:00It's the battle for the ultimate culinary prize.
00:06Brand new competition, brand new judges.
00:10Grace, let's find some talent.
00:1348 of the country's best home cooks...
00:16Come on.
00:17...have their hearts set...
00:19Oh, my dear.
00:21It's fine, it's fine.
00:22Oh, no!
00:24Dropped it.
00:24...on the coveted MasterChef Trophy.
00:27It is an explosion of flavor.
00:31This is absolutely yummy.
00:33Fantastic.
00:34Each week, 12 extraordinary amateur talents...
00:38I think I'm struggling.
00:39...battle for a place in the quarterfinal.
00:42There's something quite Dracula about this dish.
00:45Oh, no.
00:46But only the best can earn their passport
00:49to the ultimate cookery showdown.
00:54The 100 guests are here!
00:57Keep going fast.
00:58Cheers.
01:00If this has been cooked by an amateur, we all need to watch out.
01:11It's the first week of the competition,
01:13and the next six passionate home cooks
01:16are arriving at the MasterChef kitchen.
01:19I feel like I'm sitting inside my TV right now,
01:22so it's surreal, but super exciting.
01:26Since I retired, my goals have been to challenge myself
01:30and do new things, and this is definitely something new
01:34and challenging.
01:36I, under pressure, either am really great
01:40and really, really calm, or I could fall down like salmon.
01:47Guys, welcome to the MasterChef kitchen.
01:50This is your chance to show us what you love about cooking.
01:58Your first challenge is to cook us your signature dish.
02:04This is a dish that you would serve to your family and friends
02:09to delight them.
02:11It's going to show us your passions, your technique,
02:15and above all, what you think is tasty.
02:20At the end of this round, two of you will be presented
02:24with one of our much coveted MasterChef aprons.
02:29The rest of you will have to cook again
02:32for the remaining two aprons.
02:36You have an hour and a half to show us what you're made of.
02:42Let's go.
02:51Now, you've got to do this.
02:54You've got to do it.
02:56Tattoo artist Maddie has run her own studio
02:59in Southampton for seven years.
03:01With a love for home comfort classics,
03:03she dreams of one day having her own food truck.
03:07My signature dish is based on the first dish I ever made
03:10that people requested I make again.
03:12It goes back to when I was, like, 13.
03:14So it's something I cook with a lot of love.
03:16This feels like who I am as a cook.
03:19Maddie, welcome to the MasterChef kitchen.
03:21Thank you so much.
03:23What's your signature dish?
03:24King prawn and scallop Alfredo with homemade tag-natelli.
03:28What's Alfredo?
03:29Like a cream-based sauce with parmesan and butter,
03:33which, like, just kind of sums me up as a person.
03:36Cream, butter and cheese, that's who I am.
03:38You're so zen to be around right now.
03:41What are you doing to stay so calm?
03:42I'm a single mum. I've got a three-year-old.
03:45So cooking is not normally this peaceful for me.
03:50Pan-fried prawns and scallops, two jewels from the sea.
03:55I don't want her to cook them for too long
03:57and then they become rubbery.
04:00Maddie's tagliatelle needs to be in beautiful,
04:03very thin, uniform strips.
04:06And with Maddie's Alfredo sauce, if it has too much cream,
04:11the whole dish will feel heavy and claggy.
04:13And we've all had a heavy, claggy pasta dish.
04:22Now settled in Hertfordshire,
04:24Italian-born Luca was inspired to take up cooking
04:27after travelling the world as a flight attendant
04:29and working on cruise ships.
04:32Mostly I taught myself and with my girlfriend,
04:35we'd like to do experiments and try new flavours
04:38and try new food.
04:40And not everything goes well.
04:41Many times I would eat things which are not very edible.
04:46So I didn't want to do a classic risotto.
04:50So I'm taking you, hopefully, to Morocco with it.
04:53I'm going to have a risotto that has got
04:56ras-hill anoud, which is a blend of spices in Morocco.
05:00And I'm going to serve that with the mint and lemon pesto
05:04and the side of beetroot sauce, beetroot cubes.
05:07You seem to have a real curious spirit.
05:11In Italy, you kind of grow up with the belief
05:13that we have the best food in the world.
05:15Don't get me wrong, I love it.
05:16But I think there's also a world of tastes and flavours
05:19that we don't know yet.
05:20And I like to play with those.
05:24Ras al-hamout in the risotto could be a stroke of genius
05:27because one of its base flavours is cinnamon.
05:31And cinnamon goes really well with beetroot.
05:34He's got the mint and lemon pesto.
05:38But he's already got some very big flavours in here.
05:42There is a lot going on on this dish.
05:46I hope they like it.
05:47Actually, I hope they love it.
05:50So that's half an hour gone.
05:52You have one hour left.
05:55I mean, it still doesn't feel real.
05:57I feel like this is probably one just really expensive prank.
06:00Once a competitive cheerleader,
06:02mum of two Maria grew up in a family of food lovers
06:06in West London
06:07and still shares recipes with her older sisters.
06:10Welcome to the kitchen, Maria.
06:12What are you cooking for us?
06:13It's a mix between my two sisters' favourite desserts.
06:17So one of my sisters loves my pineapple cake,
06:19the other one loves doughnuts.
06:21So I'm mashing them together to make a baked doughnut
06:25with a grilled pineapple marinated in lime and chilli
06:29with a ginger custard.
06:33When you hear doughnut, your expectation is kind of
06:36that it's going to be deep-fried.
06:38But this is a baked doughnut.
06:40And essentially, it's more similar to a cake.
06:42So you need to be careful because it has to be soft.
06:46You don't want a crunchy, you know, bite doughnut.
06:52Maria is marinating her pineapple in tamarind, lime zest and scotch bonnet.
06:57If she uses the scotch bonnet correctly, it should give a lovely little kick.
07:06Wolverhampton-born Michael learned to cook watching videos online.
07:10In 2014, he catered for his own wedding.
07:14And now, as a stay-at-home dad, he cooks daily for his wife and family.
07:19So I've got three kids.
07:21They're all under five, so they're a bit of a handful.
07:25Yeah, I think trading children for judges, we'll see which is the better scenario.
07:34So today I'm doing a Parmigiano risotto with short rib braised in a pressure cooker with dandelion and burdock,
07:43which is one of my childhood favourites.
07:45Mine too.
07:46See, dandelion and burdock to me is caravan holidays.
07:49Yeah, absolutely, yeah.
07:52What's very difficult about a pressure cooker is that you don't really know what's going on in your pot until
07:57you open it.
07:57So there's a gamble on will the meat be actually tender enough to serve.
08:03I love that Michael is taking this sweet drink, dandelion and burdock, and braising ribs in it.
08:11But on a Parmesan risotto, will that work?
08:16Guys, loving the smells in the kitchen, but you've only got 40 minutes left.
08:23Originally from Massachusetts, humanist wedding celebrant Amy spent 20 years as a US diplomat living and working in the Middle
08:32East and Africa.
08:34When you live somewhere, you need to understand the culture, and a huge part of that is diving into the
08:41food.
08:42So my dish is a pistachio Persian love cake with Persian rose water and saffron ice cream.
08:51My first assignment was in Turkey and I worked with Iranians, and Persian food is spectacular.
08:58And so I sort of thought that would be a nice place to start.
09:02What makes a Persian love cake?
09:05Almost like a glorified cookie, I guess.
09:08But it's lovely and moist and flavoursome, I think.
09:12I just felt myself drool.
09:13I love that.
09:17Amy's got some really bold flavours in her pistachio cake.
09:21I love green cardamom, but if you use too much of it, it's really quite dominant.
09:26She's got mahleb powder going in there.
09:29Mahleb is like a ground seed and it's got a lovely aromatic smell, but it's got quite a bitter flavour,
09:35so a little bit goes a long way.
09:39She's putting saffron and rose water in her ice cream.
09:44Rose water divides the crowd.
09:47It needs a deft hand when you're adding it to a meal.
09:51OK.
09:53Over his 20-year career, music producer Jim has worked with artists including Donny Osmond and Spice Girl Jerry Halliwell
10:01Horner.
10:02Cooking is my wind down, basically.
10:04I can do a long, long day in a studio and I come back and I just think nothing of
10:09spending like a couple of hours in the kitchen.
10:12Jim, what's your signature dish?
10:14I'm going to do some pan-seared Iberico pork with a nice little manchego croquette and some romesco sauce.
10:21This is my wife's favourite dish.
10:23Any time that we don't know what's for dinner, she goes, oh, can we have romesco sauce?
10:27And she is the one that pushed me to apply, so it's a bit of a tribute to her today.
10:32What's her name? Esther.
10:33This is all Esther's fault.
10:36Absolutely, yeah, yeah, yeah.
10:41Iberico is a type of pork that has been fed a specific diet of acorns.
10:47So it's extremely tender, the marbling in it is excellent and you should serve it pink.
10:54Romesco sauce, smoky paprika, and tomatoes, onion, red pepper, and a lot of chopped almonds.
11:01And when you blitz them together, you make a delicious, vibrant piquant sauce.
11:06Romesco is on the thick side of sauces.
11:09I don't want it loose and thin and runny.
11:13OK, we're in the closing stages now, that's ten minutes left.
11:22Come on, pork.
11:27I still feel chilled, but I do recognise the fact that I'm a little bit behind time.
11:36Love cake is out, just letting it cool a bit.
11:39It's lovely, the love cake.
11:42OK, guys, you've only three minutes left.
11:46Oh, my lord.
11:49Come on.
11:53Come on.
11:54So that's 60 seconds.
12:02Shaky hints.
12:07All right, that's it.
12:09Step away from your benches, it's time to serve your food.
12:16Maddy, come on up.
12:19First up is tattoo artist Maddy, whose signature dish is scallop and prawn tagliatelle
12:26in an Alfredo cream butter and Parmesan sauce, with a breadcrumb and herb topping.
12:37Your pasta is lovely and thin, and it's perfectly cooked.
12:43Your prawns and your scallops are just cooked.
12:46You've managed to keep your sauce light and not claggy.
12:50Really, really delicious.
12:52The thing I love most about this is your commitment to garlic in the Alfredo sauce.
13:00The garlic is soft, yielding, it's not bitter.
13:04I really like this.
13:05Wow, thanks, guys.
13:09I'm in shock.
13:10I did not expect that kind of compliments from people I admire so much.
13:15That was so good.
13:16That's wild.
13:18For his signature dish, stay-at-home dad Michael
13:22is serving beef short rib fast braised in dandelion and burdock
13:26with Parmesan risotto and fried sweet potato strings.
13:32Michael, what I'm gathering about dinner at your house is that no one leaves hungry.
13:37We like big portions in our house.
13:44I think you've timed the short rib really well.
13:48It's gelatinous and soft when you eat it.
13:51But dandelion and burdock, a sweet, herbal, nostalgic taste,
13:57I think if that's what the dish is promising, it needs to deliver it.
14:01The risotto is just cooked and it's still wet, which is excellent.
14:06The sweet potato, I was like, shh, shh, what's the point of that?
14:10And then I ate it and I went, oh, it's quite delicious with the beef.
14:13So I think you have given us a plate of skill, just needs a little refinement.
14:23I'm not good at scaling down, but there's more in the pan.
14:28The presentation is not one of my strong points.
14:31Music producer Jim's dish is pan-roasted Iberico pork with romesco sauce,
14:37a manchego cheese croquette, charred fennel, pork jus and a chive oil.
14:48Jim, your Iberico pork, it is amazing.
14:52It's so tender.
14:54You're croquette, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside.
14:58An absolute perfect example of somebody who has passion and skills.
15:04Well done, Jim. Wow, thank you very much.
15:07You said your wife asks for this romesco.
15:11I can tell why.
15:13Smoky paprika, toasted almonds.
15:17Fabulous.
15:18Thank you very much. Well done.
15:20I'm super proud.
15:22I cannot wait to tell my wife because that's one of her favourite things that I cook.
15:25So, you know, she's obviously got a good palate.
15:29Flight operations controller Luca is serving Moroccan spiced risotto with mint and lemon pesto on beetroot sauce with a courgette
15:39and almond crumble and diced beetroot.
15:47I think that your risotto has got good structure. The cinnamon and the heat of the ras el hanout is
15:56lovely, but I think that the lemon and mint pesto was always going to be a bully on this plate.
16:03It's making me lose all the other great flavours.
16:06OK.
16:07The spices perhaps could have been cooked out a little bit more.
16:11The beetroot on top, there isn't a huge flavour coming off that.
16:14All in all, I think you've given us visually a stunning dish, but it just needs a few little tweaks.
16:22A lot of mixed fillings, but it's not over yet, so let's see what happens. Let's enjoy the journey.
16:33Advertising executive Maria has made a baked doughnut topped with caramelised pineapple spiced with scotch bonnet, tamarind and lime on
16:43ginger custard with a pistachio crumb.
16:51So this baked doughnut just feels a bit heavy. It's a little bit dry.
16:57But your pineapple has got loads of flavour in it. There's a kick from the scotch bonnet.
17:01The custard's really, really delicious. There's nice, elegant notes of ginger off it.
17:07The main event here is perhaps letting it down. This would definitely have benefited from having a big, fat, deep
17:18-fried doughnut.
17:19Donut.
17:22Most people like fried doughnuts, so it was a bit of a gamble going for baked, which didn't seem to
17:27pay off.
17:28Finally, retired US diplomat Amy has made a pistachio and cardamom Persian love cake with pomegranate gel, candied pistachios, a
17:39rosewater and saffron ice cream and pomegranate caramel sauce.
17:50I think the cake is so rich in cardamom. I love the denseness of it. I love the moistness of
17:57it.
17:58For me, I think there's too much mahlep in that cake. There is a tang off it that is too
18:05bitter.
18:06OK.
18:07Your ice cream is absolutely silky smooth, but there is too much rosewater in it and it tastes quite soapy.
18:16It didn't go great, but I'm still here. You know, there's another shot.
18:25Thank you so much. One thing's for sure, we know you all a little bit better now.
18:33We've chosen our two favourite dishes.
18:38The first apron goes to... Jim.
18:46Well done, Jim.
18:48The second apron goes to...
18:54Maddie.
18:58Super pasta skills.
19:00Come up and collect your aprons.
19:06Well done. Absolutely great round.
19:08Thank you so, so, so, so much.
19:15I feel elated. I can't believe it. I'm going to wear it to bed tonight.
19:22I'm so happy. I'm so happy with my apron.
19:24But also, the FOMO part of me is so curious about what they're going to do. So, can't wait for
19:29the gossip.
19:31Now, guys, don't be disappointed. There's two more aprons still up for grabs.
19:40This is the classic recipe test.
19:44In front of you, you have all of the ingredients to make us.
19:49Chicken breast, green beans, creamy mash, and a red wine sauce.
19:55Sounds delicious.
19:57You do have a recipe.
20:00It doesn't have the measurements or the timings.
20:05So, you'll have to rely on your instincts.
20:09You have 45 minutes.
20:12Remember, two of you will be going home today.
20:18Start cooking.
20:23Even though it's a brief recipe, I'm happy we have one.
20:27It's kind of a fancy Friday night dinner.
20:30They should be able to handle it.
20:33Pleasantly pleased to see some chicken.
20:36I don't mind how they cook their chicken breast.
20:39I just want it to be juicy.
20:41I generally don't cook meat.
20:45This is a challenge.
20:48Sauce making, we really want that red wine sauce to have depth of flavour and a beautiful shine.
20:55Everybody makes mash, but not everybody makes good mash.
21:00What we're looking for is a cook who elevates this.
21:04Every element becoming something magical.
21:08Amy, we gave you half a chicken.
21:10How did that feel?
21:12It's a little scary.
21:13I eat meat, but my partner is vegetarian, so that's what I cook.
21:18You've been a diplomat.
21:20Surely that means you can handle pressure.
21:22You know, what's the worst that can happen?
21:24Amy, you're unflappable.
21:29Amy did a great job deboning her chicken.
21:32She has got the chicken in early enough so that it will be cooked.
21:36Amy caramelised off her chicken bones for her sauce.
21:39She's got lardons, mushrooms, shallots, garlic.
21:44So I'm really hoping that we're going to get a lot of flavour.
21:49I think it's creative, I think.
21:53Since Easy Peasy, getting it right I think is going to be the real challenge.
21:59I'm putting it right on the skin and then I'm going to finish it cooking in the chicken stuff to
22:03give a bit of juiciness.
22:05Are you a mashed potato fan?
22:06Yeah, I like mashed potatoes.
22:09Mashed potato is where so many of these cooks come across.
22:13A little bit of milk, a little bit of cream.
22:16We want silky smooth, buttery, creamy mashed potato.
22:20I think my mash is a bit too liquid, so I have to use some thickening agent like flour.
22:28Luca has added far too much milk to his mash and as a result it has turned into a potato
22:34soup.
22:35In a desperate effort to fix it, he's added flour.
22:40I think it's just gone from bad to worse there.
22:44I'm most stressed with our thoughts.
22:46Okay, you've got 25 minutes left.
22:51Oh my lord.
22:53I did notice that Maria was the first to get her chicken on cooking and she's already had it resting.
22:59So the timing is crucial.
23:01I don't want any dry chicken and I certainly don't want any raw chicken.
23:06Send help.
23:08So your chicken's cooked.
23:10So I've seared it on both sides.
23:12I wanted some of the juices to go into the sauce.
23:15So I'm going to finish it off.
23:16It's all going to meet back together again.
23:19So Maria has decided to cook the vegetables for the sauce and the actual liquid of the sauce separately.
23:25Now I understand that might be good for speeding it up, but she's likely to miss out on the layered
23:31flavours you get when you actually cook them together.
23:3515 minutes to go.
23:39Chicken's done and can just sit and rest.
23:42Mash is just a few minutes away and the sauce is just sourcing.
23:47How do I make this look pretty is the question.
23:50So the first dish, we can both admit, lacked a little bit of refinement.
23:55Are we going to improve on that?
23:56Hopefully we're going to go for something a bit more polished.
24:00La-di-da is what we're looking for.
24:01Yes, la-di-da.
24:04Not too sure how to make this look fancy.
24:07I would expect Michael to be able to produce tasty plated food, but can he produce a beautiful plated food?
24:15I think that counts as fancier.
24:18So we've got six minutes left.
24:21This is when food should really be moving towards your plate.
24:24This is make or break time.
24:31Beans have just gone on, chicken I'm just finishing off in the sauce.
24:35So I'm hoping it's okay.
24:40You have about 60 seconds.
24:43We're going to have to do this very quickly.
24:46And then that can catch the sauce.
24:51That's it, time's up.
24:53Stand back from your benches.
24:55Everybody happy?
24:57No.
25:00I don't think this chicken's cooked enough.
25:05Bring up your dishes.
25:14What we asked you to cook was chicken breast with creamy mashed potato, green beans and a red wine sauce.
25:23Maria, you're up first.
25:28Maria, this chicken, we've got a bit of a problem here in that it is undercooked.
25:35I know.
25:36Sorry.
25:43It's hard to taste the mash because the chicken is sitting on top so I've only had a little bit
25:47of the mash.
25:47It just needed a bit more butter and a bit more seasoning.
25:50Your sauce is nice but it's missing some layers of flavour.
25:55I think that you suffered from a bit of panic.
25:58You completely underjudged the chicken.
26:04Oh, my gosh.
26:05I don't think it could have gone any worse, to be honest.
26:11Right.
26:11Michael, you're up next.
26:15We asked you for more refinement in this course.
26:19Did that refinement come in the bringing of the fork through the potato?
26:30Michael, I think your chicken is nicely cooked, still moist, there's a good colour on it.
26:37I think your sauce is great, your potato is smooth and creamy.
26:42You have the potential to do really great food but you need to refine your presentation.
26:51What I put on the plate, I'd be more than happy to serve to family and friends.
26:54But it needs to go up an extra level.
27:00Amy, the moment of truth.
27:07Your chicken is perfectly cooked, so it's not dry.
27:11Your mash is buttery and lovely.
27:14You absolutely have come back fighting.
27:18The comeback queen, I would say.
27:20I like the way that you've taken the pan juices and the wine and the vegetables
27:28and made a sauce that feels like it's somebody standing in a restaurant that's done it for five or six
27:34years.
27:35I have no faults with this.
27:39I think I've redeemed myself in this round.
27:42I am thrilled with those comments.
27:45Luca.
27:49I've never seen anybody pour potatoes onto a plate like custard before.
28:00So, Luca, what we have now is not mash.
28:03All I can taste is, like, raw flour.
28:07Your sauce is quite salty, but your chicken is juicy-loosey.
28:13This is a great piece of chicken.
28:16Thanks.
28:17Beautifully brown, moist in the middle.
28:19Well, there are big issues with other parts of this plate there.
28:27Big mistakes.
28:29Flour and mashed potato.
28:31Probably going to be banned from the UK for this.
28:35But I'm happy about the chicken.
28:40Anna, that was difficult to watch at times.
28:43Some things happened there that I watched through my fingers.
28:47I don't think they're ever going to eat chicken again.
28:49Could you imagine my chicken with your mash?
28:51It would have fully ended them.
28:53There was a classic, understated elegance about Amy's cooking that really impressed me.
28:59Amy cooked the chicken nicely.
29:01She made a delicious sauce.
29:03Amy gets an apron.
29:07Michael mightn't have the finesse of presentation yet, but I think he definitely has a good command for flavour.
29:14His chicken was perfectly moist.
29:17He clearly cares about his food.
29:20Who would ever add flour to a runny mash?
29:24I would have said nobody.
29:25But now I can say Luca.
29:27His one saving grace was that his chicken was beautifully cooked.
29:33Maria's chicken was uncooked to a level that we really couldn't get round it.
29:39MasterChef is like a magnifying glass, and you can't hide raw chicken.
29:46I mean, it would be great to stay in the competition, but I think I'd feel pretty bad to go
29:51through on raw chicken.
29:54I think I've done a good job with what I presented, and I think I've got a decent chance. I'm
29:59in the running.
30:01I just want one more chance to show what I can do. One more chance to show my passion for
30:05cooking.
30:15Thank you so much for all of your hard work that you've put into today.
30:20But you can see there's only two aprons left.
30:26Our first apron goes to...
30:30Amy.
30:32Come back Queen.
30:36And our second apron goes to...
30:43Michael.
30:45Well done, Michael.
30:47Well done, Michael.
30:49Luca.
30:50Maria.
30:51Thank you for your effort.
30:53But you are leaving us.
30:58I mean, it's been a day.
31:00It's been a rollercoaster.
31:03Then the second round.
31:04Yeah, it just all went a bit...
31:06Pete told me.
31:09A little bit disappointed, but I made some unforgivable mistakes.
31:15That's part of life.
31:16And then tomorrow is a brand new day.
31:20Amy.
31:22Michael.
31:25Congratulations.
31:25Come take your aprons.
31:27Thank you so much.
31:30You live to fight another day.
31:32Well done.
31:33Here we go.
31:39Things turned around, didn't they?
31:41I think I'm getting a t-shirt made with the Comeback Queen on it,
31:45because I love that.
31:48I don't think it's sunken yet.
31:50I'm just really glad I wasn't completely petrified and useless.
31:54It's fantastic.
32:12If you thought the other challenges were hard,
32:14well, buckle up.
32:16It's about to get a lot harder.
32:20There are four of you here now,
32:22but only three of you can go through to the quarter-final.
32:26Today we've invited three incredibly discerning guests
32:33to help us judge.
32:35Former finalist, Alexina Anatoly,
32:39and two previous winners,
32:42Eddie Scott and Jane Devonshire.
32:46Two courses, four plates of each,
32:50one hour, 15 minutes.
32:54Let's go.
32:59Pans, pans, pans.
33:03Yeah, I'm really excited to be cooking this.
33:05The starter especially, it's a bit of a weird one,
33:07so I'm hoping it all comes together.
33:10So my starter is pan-seared scallops
33:14with some cinnamon and some black pudding foam.
33:19It's inspired by two authors that I love.
33:21H.P. Lovecraft, who writes really great Gothic horror stories.
33:25There's a passage that's stuck with me
33:26where Lovecraft's describing unknown horrors of the deep,
33:31inky and unguent and thick.
33:34So that's where the black pudding foam came from.
33:37The other one is Dune by Frank Herbert,
33:39where the spice in that is said to taste like cinnamon.
33:43Cinnamon on hot cross buns.
33:45Cinnamon on porridge.
33:47I love it.
33:49Cinnamon on scallops.
33:52I'm a little concerned about the black pudding foam.
33:57There is cinnamon, squid ink,
33:59Worcestershire sauce, black pudding,
34:02cranberry, cream.
34:05Have we got a genius, or have we got a nutty professor?
34:09So the main dish is a bit of a twist on a classic.
34:12It's a Diane sauce,
34:14but it's with venison loin instead of steak,
34:16and some rosemary potatoes,
34:18and some sprouts done with cranberry.
34:21But I'm going to try and make it look good.
34:24Diane sauce is a punchy, robust flavoured sauce
34:28with garlic, shallots, a bit of brandy in there,
34:32mustard, Worcestershire sauce.
34:35And it complements beef steak so well.
34:39Will it complement venison?
34:40I don't know.
34:48Jim, how are you feeling?
34:50I'm cooking the food that I grew up tasting,
34:52so hopefully it'll be all right.
34:54You grew up in Yorkshire?
34:56Half Yorkshire, very proud.
34:58Half Sri Lankan, very proud as well.
35:00All my summers were spent in Sri Lanka
35:02playing cricket with cousins
35:03and eating mangoes fresh from the tree.
35:05So my starter is a panseared scallop
35:07with a little mango relish
35:09and a little tamarind sauce.
35:11And then my main is my grandma's fish curry
35:14with some fragrant rice,
35:16a little coconut sambal.
35:17My grandma's passed the love down to me,
35:19and I'm hopefully going to pass that to you today.
35:25Jim's starter.
35:26He's serving these scallops with the mango relish
35:29and a tamarind sauce.
35:31A tamarind sauce, however, has dates in it,
35:34so that could be sweet too.
35:36If he doesn't balance that sweet and sour,
35:39we're just getting scallops with sweet.
35:45Sri Lankan curries are complex,
35:48and Jim's bringing 18 different spices to this.
35:53I think mugfish was a very clever fish to choose.
35:57It goes so well in a curry because it's more meaty.
36:01You can cook it for longer,
36:03resulting in the flavour being absorbed by the fish.
36:09Oh, I don't want to check the time.
36:11Time management, as a general rule,
36:13is something I struggle with in life, I think.
36:16Obviously, an hour and 15 minutes to get out two courses
36:19is actually insanity.
36:21Oh!
36:24Maddy's first course.
36:26Duck breast,
36:28confitouc bonbon,
36:30blackberry jus, star anise carrots.
36:32I love the sound of this.
36:35So what's the inspiration behind the dish?
36:38It's kind of the first, like, big girl dish
36:41that I cooked for someone where I felt like I was being a bit fancy.
36:45Duck breast is not a meat that benefits from airing on rare.
36:51Too much, and it's tough.
36:53Under, and it feels like it should be quacking.
36:57A bonbon has to have a bread-grunt crutch.
37:01And a lovely succulent inside.
37:05For dessert, I'm doing a lavender and lemon posse
37:08with, like, a little buttery shortbread biscuit.
37:11I didn't like lemon desserts at all.
37:14And then when I was pregnant with my son,
37:16I started intensely craving lemon desserts.
37:20So I still get that same, like, satisfaction of eating a lemony dessert
37:24like I'm satisfying a craving.
37:27There's a balancing act with a good posset.
37:29You want it sweet and tart at the same time.
37:33The addition of lavender is quite good,
37:35but you need to have a very precise and delicate touch with that.
37:42My menu today, I feel like it's got a really nice combination of exotic and homey,
37:49and so I'm hoping that the judges find that that all works well together.
37:54First, I'm doing poached salmon with passion fruit sauce on a parsnip puree.
38:00Where did you first try passion fruit and fish together?
38:04My husband and I went to Peru, and I saw it on the menu in a number of places,
38:08and I thought it was amazing.
38:11Passion fruits, parsnip, salmon.
38:13I can't wait to taste this.
38:16I don't know if I believe you, though, Grace.
38:20I'm a little bit worried about poaching her salmon in passion fruit and serving it with a passion fruit sauce.
38:27If the passion fruit is supposed to replace lemon, there's only so much lemon you could have on a dish,
38:33so she needs to be very cautious with that passion fruit.
38:37My second course is a chocolate fondant with a peanut butter center and strawberry cream.
38:45It was inspired by my childhood, really, because I was a fan of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, as most
38:52American kids are.
38:54It takes a brave soul to do a chocolate fondant in the MasterChef kitchen.
38:58An extra minute or two in the oven, and it's just chocolate sponge.
39:08It's really difficult for the contestants this round, because they want to impress.
39:12They get caught up in this fine dining game, where they think they have to have gels, purees, foams,
39:17and they lose sight of the fact that they just have to cook a plate of food, which is truly
39:21delicious.
39:22I think the main thing is time management.
39:25It's the first time you're cooking multiple dishes, and they've all got to be identical,
39:30and you're really showing off your cooking skills.
39:33This was actually one of my favorite rounds.
39:35It's really important that you just focus on delivering a great flavor, clean, elegant presentation, and then you'll be golden.
39:42Cheers, guys. Cheers.
39:44Cheers.
39:47So these are our cinnamon scallops?
39:49Yep.
39:50And seasoning?
39:51I'm counting on the cinnamon to do most of the heavy lifting.
39:55So I'm a little bit nervous of cinnamon and scallops.
39:59That's a combination I've not tried before.
40:01I always think scallops have a sweetness to them, so I'm wondering if there's going to be enough balance.
40:07Is this our black pudding foam?
40:09That is, yes.
40:10Is it supposed to be that dense?
40:12Not quite. It's meant to be a bit foamier.
40:14So the black pudding foam, how much black pudding flavor are we going to get from that?
40:19Michael, have you made an octopus?
40:21So there's a very famous monster in Lovecraft law called Cthulhu, and lives very deep at the bottom of the
40:26ocean, and he's very scary.
40:27Let's hope it doesn't scare them too much next door, right? Hopefully.
40:31Right, come on, Michael, time to serve.
40:36Cthulhu looks a little bit like me if I've come in after a night out and just rubbed my eyes.
40:43Hi, Michael.
40:43Hi, hello.
40:44I think this one's for you.
40:46Thank you, Michael.
40:49So today I've cooked for you some panseer scallops with cinnamon, a black pudding foam, and some pickled radishes.
40:59Hope you enjoy.
41:01Thank you. Thank you, Michael.
41:03This is an interesting presentation, isn't it? It's almost like an octopus or something.
41:11The cooking of the scallop is fine. That shows ability. My biggest problem with this dish is that foam.
41:18The black pudding hasn't broken down, so you've still got the grittiness of the black pudding going through it.
41:23These very strong kind of pudding-flavoured squid ink, black pudding, cinnamon, they're not all balancing and they're overpowering that
41:31scallop.
41:31It's such a classic combination of the scallop with black pudding.
41:35He should have just kept it a bit more simple.
41:38Does cinnamon go with scallops? No.
41:42The black pudding foam, it's just sludgy and it's dominating any finesse from a scallop.
41:51You've got 15 minutes left on your main course. What's left to do?
41:55Pan sauce, venison check.
41:58I like a steak Diane. I've never had a venison Diane.
42:02You need to get that crust on a venison because it's got no fat in it and without the crust
42:06it isn't a very nice meat treat.
42:09You need that to add the flavour.
42:11That looks nice.
42:12This is my rosemary potato, which usually I would do really big chunks, but I wanted to try and layer
42:18it in.
42:20Now it's our sprouts.
42:21Venison traditionally is done with a kind of game sauce.
42:25The mustard Diane sauce with the brandy and venison might not be a great match.
42:30Happy?
42:31I think so, yes.
42:34Hiya.
42:35Hello again.
42:38So, today I've prepared for your main some venison steak Diane with rosemary potatoes and some cranberry sprouts. Enjoy.
42:48Thank you very much.
42:53The venison has been cooked really, really nicely, but I've run out of potatoes after a few bites of my
42:59venison.
43:00I was crying out for a big bowl of spuds.
43:02I actually really enjoyed the flavours in this dish.
43:05The sauce could be a little more glossy, but it tastes nice.
43:09I'd happily finish the whole lot.
43:10The brussel sprouts were delicious. I ate them all.
43:13I think this was a really great improvement on the first dish, so I'm really happy for Michael.
43:19I think of venison spot.
43:21I really like the sprouts.
43:23I think that's delicious.
43:25And one thing's for sure, he's really trying to show us some refinement with that presentation.
43:32I'm feeling conflicted.
43:34I think some things went well.
43:35Other things, I think if I would have given myself a bit more time, I could have done better.
43:42Right, Jim.
43:4315 minutes until your first course needs to be served.
43:46How are you looking?
43:47I've got to cook the scallops.
43:48I've got to finish the mango salsa.
43:49The tamarind sauce is done, so...
43:52You've got to kick into fifth gear now, Jim.
43:53Yeah, I will.
43:54This dish will live and die on how Jim cooks the scallop.
43:58It's got to be slightly under inside and quite a good crust and char around the outside.
44:03Mango, herb and chilli relish.
44:05Really spicy and tangy with the tamarind, which should be sharp but well-balanced.
44:13Are you happy with your scallops?
44:14Could have got a bit more caramelisation, I think.
44:17I think they'll be okay.
44:18It's the moment of truth, Jim.
44:19Yeah.
44:20Let's do it, let's do it.
44:22Hi, Jim.
44:23Hello.
44:26For his first course, Jim is serving pan-seared scallops with mango relish and a tamarind and date sauce.
44:36The scallop is translucent in the middle.
44:39It's quite lovely, but I think it needs a more aggressive say on it.
44:42The tamarind chutney and the mango relish have quite a lot of chilli, fresh flavours, but it's just that they
44:49completely overtake the scallop.
44:50There's some promising flavours here, but I think it needs a bit more balance.
44:55The mango relish is delicious and a nicely roasted scallop.
45:00The tamarind sauce for me is too sweet.
45:04The tamarind sauce for me is too sweet.
45:04Okay, Jim.
45:05Time to get that curry going.
45:07The Sri Lankan fish curry.
45:09That is the food of dreams.
45:11I'm really looking forward to this.
45:14Monk fish really stands up well to spice, but you don't want to overcook it because it can quickly become
45:19a bit dry.
45:21You brought 18 spices.
45:23Have you got them all in?
45:24Yeah, pretty much.
45:25I think the sauce has balanced quite nicely.
45:29Okay.
45:29Ready to go?
45:30I think we're ready to go, yeah.
45:31Off you go.
45:35Hi, Jim.
45:35Hello again.
45:36Oh, wow, the smell is good.
45:39For your main course today, I've cooked you my Archie, which is the Sri Lankan word for grandma.
45:43My Archie's fish curry with fragrant rice and a little coconut sambal.
45:48Thank you. Thank you so much.
45:53I hope the guest judges feel the love that I felt from my grandma through these dishes.
45:58I'm hoping she'll be proud.
45:59I'm hoping she sends me some luck.
46:03Hats off to Jim.
46:04I love this.
46:05I think the depth of flavour he's got in that curry in a short space of time is impressive.
46:10The monkfish is well cooked.
46:12The rice is fragrant, buttery.
46:15And the sambal gives you that little bit of kind of coconutty chilli hit.
46:19The flavours are delicious.
46:21This is really hitting the spot.
46:23I think this monkfish is cooked beautifully and it's soaking up that sauce.
46:28It's really Moorish.
46:29This is a good example of a Sri Lankan curry.
46:34Maddie, have we got a flood happening here.
46:36It's not my first of the day.
46:38We've got 15 minutes left on your main course.
46:44There is a lot on this plate.
46:46Maddie has set herself a tall task and I'm nervous for her.
46:50The whole joy of a duck breast is pink perfect meat and crispy duck skin.
46:54So why did you decide to sear your duck on a tray instead of a frying pan?
46:59I did not decide to, but it did happen.
47:03Oh!
47:04I think I left the heat on.
47:06Comfy duck leg bonbon.
47:07I don't want it fatty.
47:08It needs to be lovely and crisp.
47:10Pomp puree, how much batter can we get in there, please?
47:14Pleased with that?
47:16Honestly, it's rarer than I wanted it.
47:18But I'm happy to be putting something on a plate right now.
47:24So we're over time, but we're going to get some sauce into jugs.
47:27I'm so sorry.
47:28And now I pray.
47:32Hi, Maddie.
47:34Maddie's first course is pan-seared duck breast with pom puree,
47:39a comfy duck leg bonbon, star anise-glazed carrots
47:43and a blackberry and port jus.
47:48I find my duck is lovely and pink and the meat is juicy,
47:53but the bonbon, it's a shame that it's not crispy.
47:56The glazed carrots are gorgeous.
47:58They've got a delicate hint of the star anise,
48:00but the sauce needs way more depth of flavour
48:03and the mash needs to be a little bit smoother.
48:06I think it's all very rushed.
48:07It's just about detail and continually tasting.
48:11I think the duck is cooked perfectly.
48:13But mashed potato needs more butter, it needs to be smoother.
48:17This feels like a dish where time got away from her.
48:21OK, biscuits, please happen.
48:24Lemon and lavender posset, the problem with using lavender
48:27is it can veer into Nanny's nickel drawer very quickly
48:30in that overpowering, soapy way.
48:32If she balances it, the two flavours work beautifully.
48:36The buttery shortbread biscuit, you want it to snap,
48:39you want it to melt in your mouth.
48:41How long do you think the biscuits need?
48:43Oh, longer than I have.
48:46OK, so that's time up.
48:49The question is, do you serve a raw shortbread or not?
48:53I feel it would be better without.
48:55Right.
48:57And then there's laid back and there's laid back.
49:00And Maddy's horizontal.
49:05So I've served you a lavender and lemon posset
49:08without shortbread biscuit.
49:11Enjoy.
49:12Thank you so much. Thank you.
49:17It's set beautifully.
49:19It's got a lovely silky texture.
49:21That's very well executed.
49:23I'm not getting any lavender in that,
49:26which I'm not sure I'm upset about.
49:27I can taste the lemon,
49:29but we are missing the shortbread biscuit.
49:32This is a silky, smooth, lemony, sweet posset,
49:37but the lavender is barely there.
49:40I can't get away from the fact that it needs shortbread.
49:45I don't know if anything went to plan,
49:49but I'm pleased that I actually got eight plates of food out.
49:56So, Amy,
49:57poached salmon in passion fruit sauce with a parsnip puree.
50:00Completely new flavour combination for me.
50:04Passion fruit is very sharp and can be overpowering.
50:08There's nothing on the plates.
50:09You've got one minute to go.
50:11Not a problem.
50:11It's an interesting choice to also go
50:14for one of the sweetest vegetables,
50:16parsnip puree.
50:17I feel nervous,
50:18but I'm hoping Amy's going to surprise us.
50:21Now, what's next?
50:22Just the sauce.
50:23You're out of time.
50:25Good. I'm finished.
50:28I just can't imagine how passion fruit...
50:31You don't have to imagine.
50:32It's going to be in your mouth soon.
50:36I've cooked for you a poached salmon
50:38with passion fruit sauce
50:41on a parsnip puree
50:42with some parsnip crisps.
50:45A little unusual, but I hope you enjoy it.
50:47Thank you, Amy. Thank you very much.
50:53It's not that the passion fruit sauce isn't nice,
50:56and the salmon's quite nice,
50:57but when you eat them together,
50:59it was like a flavour profile I'd never experienced before.
51:03And I don't think I would like to repeat it.
51:05That parsnip puree is really thick and claggy.
51:10I'm not enjoying eating it.
51:12And that doesn't blend with the salmon,
51:14which doesn't blend with the passion fruit,
51:16and unfortunately this is just lacking any kind of balance.
51:21The salmon is really nicely cooked,
51:22but the passion fruit sauce is too strong.
51:26I applaud Amy for thinking outside the box,
51:29but these things don't go together.
51:33So I'm just going to make some strawberry cream,
51:36and I'm just waiting for my fondants to cook.
51:38For a dessert, Amy is making a chocolate fondant
51:41with a peanut butter centre and strawberry cream.
51:44I think there's like a play on peanut butter and jelly going on.
51:48Hopefully this chocolate fondant's going to be oozing in the middle
51:51and delicious.
51:52We have one minute left to get these babies out of the tin.
51:56Oh, it's hard with you guys watching so closely.
51:58Oh! It's all right.
52:01Three out of four. No disasters yet.
52:03Let's go.
52:06I'll just be quiet.
52:09There we go.
52:11Sprinkle of the strawberry powder.
52:13Happy?
52:14Not unhappy.
52:16What more can we ask for?
52:19Alrighty then.
52:22For her dessert, Amy is serving a chocolate fondant
52:26with peanut butter filling, strawberry cream and fresh strawberries.
52:32She's nailed as an oozy centre there.
52:35It's peanut butter.
52:37So it's quite playful and reminiscent of sort of almost childhood, like, treats.
52:43But the peanut butter is very cloying and claggy,
52:47and then that's in a quite dry chocolate sponge.
52:50Technically, it's got a molten middle and it looks nice,
52:54but I think the star of the show should taste of chocolate and peanut,
52:58and I don't think the flavour's there enough.
53:00For me, the fundamental problem with this is that the chocolate
53:04and the strawberry combination and peanut butter, it clashes.
53:08The lovely, hot, oozy peanut butter centre is excellent.
53:14But for me, that strawberry cream doesn't go with it.
53:18They just clash with each other.
53:20With this challenge, I took some risks.
53:23I'm satisfied with what I did.
53:26I had a goal, I achieved it, so I'm happy.
53:34That was a very challenging ground.
53:37I did eat some good things there.
53:39There were some highs, but there were some lows.
53:42Yeah.
53:44The dining room had a cook of the day, and that was Jim.
53:47I think we agree.
53:49I thought the mango and yoghurt relish
53:52was delicious with the scallops,
53:53and Jim's monkfish curry was probably the best thing I ate today.
53:57It had lots of layers of flavour and lots of complexity.
54:00So Jim bags himself a quarter-final place.
54:05I will never forget Michael's plating of those scallops.
54:09He served as a sea monster.
54:11For me, the cinnamon was too strong on the scallops.
54:14That black pudding foam was not nice.
54:18But you can't deny his venison was really rather good.
54:23It showed us a lot of skill.
54:25There was a lot of chaos at Maddie's bench today.
54:29She was in such a rush to get things done.
54:32She served her posset without a biscuit,
54:35or really any garnish whatsoever.
54:37But I thought the duck was excellently cooked.
54:41Amy's flavour combinations can be a little bit out there.
54:46The passion fruit sauce did not match with the salmon.
54:51I liked the peanut butter and chocolate fondant.
54:54But for me, that strawberry cream was a clash of flavours.
55:01Now that I've been through all these three challenges, it gets more important.
55:08So, yeah, I'd love to keep going.
55:11Obviously it would be fantastic if I got through to the next round.
55:15I've got a lot of stuff up here that I'd like to put on a plate.
55:18I love cooking and I love food more than anything.
55:21So, I would love a place in the quarter-final.
55:32Contestants, thank you for all of your efforts.
55:35But we always knew that there were only three quarter-final places on offer.
55:42And we have made our decision.
55:47So, the person who will be going home today is...
55:55Amy.
55:58You can be so proud of yourself that you cooked from your heart.
56:08It doesn't feel great to be going home, but I've had a great time.
56:12And I think that I will continue to push the envelope where flavours are concerned.
56:18And sometimes they won't work.
56:21And sometimes they will.
56:25Jim.
56:26Maddy.
56:28Michael.
56:28You're in the quarter-final.
56:31Congratulations.
56:34Well done, everyone.
56:36I cannot believe that I'm going to be a quarter-finalist.
56:40I'm so shocked.
56:43Now, I really want to prove that I am not completely chaotic.
56:49Lots of little things that I need to work on.
56:51And I'm glad to have an opportunity to try again.
56:55I'm loving the experience.
56:57I'm loving learning.
56:58I'm loving hearing the judges' thoughts.
57:00I'll come back stronger than ever, hopefully, in the quarter-final.
57:05Next time, it's the quarter-final.
57:08And Jim.
57:10Michael and Maddy.
57:12Slay me where I stand.
57:14Join Sabina.
57:16My legs are shaking.
57:18Janae and Rose Dip.
57:20You've showed tons of skill here.
57:22As they return to face two tough challenges and battle it out for a place in knockout week.
57:29This is exactly what I was hoping for.
57:36More exotic flavours from Sicily to Mongolia get on board the new Race Across the World on BBC iPlayer.
57:44New comedy, Hugh Bonneville from W1A to World Cup organiser.
57:492026 over on BBC Two now.
57:54New comedy, Nick
58:01The National Anthem
58:01You
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