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MasterChef: The Professionals - Season 18 - Episode 05
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00:01From across the U.K., 32 up-and-coming chefs are heading to the MasterChef kitchen in Birmingham.
00:13In a battle to become professional MasterChef champion.
00:20Tonight, four new hopefuls compete to impress MasterChef judge Matt Tebert,
00:28renowned chef Monica Galletti, and culinary legend, Marcus Waring.
00:37Main goal, don't embarrass myself. Secondary goal, serve them a plate of food that I'm proud of, that I mean
00:43so much.
00:45I'm putting the MasterChef. Chef White's on, I feel like a million dollars.
00:48Queenie's White's I've had on for a while, so yeah, really excited.
00:52I'm super competitive about everything. I just need to smash it, do my best.
00:57I do want to win, come on.
01:00I feel like a smoothie of emotions inside me. So yeah, I look forward to it. I'm excited.
01:05But yeah, I'm trying to calm myself down and be ready for it.
01:09Who's got what it takes to set this competition alight?
01:13It's time to discover a new culinary superstar.
01:22So here we are, guys. We've got four new chefs waiting to show us their skills.
01:27First up, we've got the skills test. To lead us through that, we've got a past finalist.
01:32Should we get her in?
01:33Sounds great.
01:39Setting today's skills test is chef, social media content creator, and cookbook author, Philly Armitage-Mattin,
01:47who became a finalist in 2020 with her playful Asian-inspired creations.
01:53She can do things in terms of flavor that other chefs could not.
02:02Yeah. As a professional chef, the skills test is so daunting.
02:09You don't know what's going to be in front of you. You've got a 20-minute timer counting down with
02:15judges.
02:15You're just going over your every move.
02:19Monica's focusing on her very closely.
02:21Like, no. It's the worst part of the whole competition.
02:25That was an interesting watch.
02:26Never take me back. Never.
02:28Nervous energy. Nearly got the best review there.
02:30Yeah, a little bit. Yeah.
02:32Setting my own skills test versus performing the skills test is 1,000% better.
02:39It's going to be tough, but the contestants just need to take a breath and they'll be fine.
02:47Welcome, Philly. Nice to see you.
02:49Thanks for having me back.
02:50Now, Philly, you're setting two skills tests today. What's your first one?
02:54I would like the chefs to make chicken wings stuffed with a Thai-flavored pork mince and a soy caramel
02:59sauce.
03:00I love chicken wings. Great bar snack.
03:03Hope you're hungry.
03:04OK, Philly, we want to eat this, so why don't you crack on?
03:07So, I like to break the joints.
03:10It allows the bone to come out a little bit easier.
03:13Then I'm going to run my knife through and just release the chicken from the bone.
03:19I'm expecting our chefs to remove all three bones, just leaving the wing tip.
03:24And that's what you hold on to when you're eating it.
03:25Exactly. Yeah.
03:27And that comes out fairly easily.
03:29I would like the chefs to take their time doing this.
03:32You've just got to run your knife gently around the tendons without puncturing the skin.
03:37So, it can be a little bit tricky.
03:39If they puncture the skin, the filling will come out and it'll burst everywhere.
03:45These are the three bones that the chefs will need to remove.
03:49And you get a boneless chicken wing.
03:52I'd like to think chefs would be able to do this.
03:54Back in the days in the kitchens, we used to get them by the kilos.
03:57These always taste better when somebody else is doing them.
04:00Agreed.
04:00I've done my time with the chicken wing.
04:03There we have it, our two de-boned chicken wings.
04:06Now I'm going to make Thai-flavored pork mince.
04:08There's a load of ingredients here that the chefs can choose from.
04:12I want them to use their instincts.
04:13There's loads of herbs, limes, spring onions, chili.
04:16What's the key to a good filling to this dish?
04:18You want that filling to be bold and punchy.
04:21I'm actually going to be using a bit of fish sauce and soy sauce.
04:25To that, coriander, mint, anti-basil.
04:28To bring almost a little bit of lightness and freshness,
04:31as well as an egg white to bind the pork mince together.
04:37That's my pork mince done.
04:38Great.
04:39Time for filling.
04:40Now, what's really important is the chefs don't want to overfill the chicken wings.
04:44If they overfill the chicken wings, they're going to burst when the filling expands in the dryer.
04:48Yeah.
04:49I'm going to be using some corn flour, just to dust over the top.
04:53This is going to help the chicken wings get a little bit more crispy.
04:57In they go.
05:01These chicken wings are going to take about six minutes,
05:03and that's time for me to get on my soy caramel sauce.
05:06Sugar?
05:07A vague comparison would be like a classic d'Aquil Orange,
05:11where you get that nice golden caramel, you stop it with the orange juice,
05:14a little bit of booze.
05:15So if our chefs haven't done something like this,
05:18if they thought along those lines, they'd be in the right ballpark.
05:21Exactly.
05:21So I've got a golden caramel.
05:23I'm going to be adding fish sauce and light soy sauce.
05:28I'm just going to add lime to balance that sweet and the sour.
05:33I like to add a bit of corn flour, just to give it a bit of thickening,
05:36and it's going to really coat the chicken wings a little bit better.
05:39Okay.
05:46You've now coated it.
05:47You've got that nice gloss, that lovely shine on there.
05:50Are you happy?
05:50Yeah, I'm happy.
05:52Good.
05:52Are you hungry?
05:53Very.
05:54Great.
05:56Sauce.
05:57There's more sauce.
05:58It's always good.
06:00And a few peanuts just on the top for crunch.
06:02And there we have it.
06:04Chicken wings stuffed with a Thai-flavored pork mince and a soy caramel sauce.
06:10The chicken wing is crisp, it's delicious.
06:13As soon as you put it in your mouth, everything comes alive.
06:15Love the filling.
06:16You can taste the pork.
06:17Love the spicy elements of it, the lovely sauce around the outside.
06:20You've got a ton of lime juice in there, and it has worked.
06:22It's an absolute treat.
06:23Philly, I think that's a great skills test to show the skill of boning it out the way
06:28that you've done it.
06:29I wish you had more time to make more than two,
06:31because you can see Marcus took the best bit, and we're still hungry.
06:36Philly, if you want to go and watch from the back room,
06:38then we'll call you back for the tasting.
06:40Thanks very much.
06:43Okay, so we've got two chefs raring to go.
06:46Let's get them in.
06:49First in is 29-year-old Dale.
06:52After 15 years in fine dining kitchens,
06:55he's now head chef at a deli cafe in Leeds.
06:59And he's been a private chef for five years.
07:03I'm a bit weird and wacky.
07:06So if I can put something fun and creative on a plate that gets you thinking,
07:10oh, my God, why has he done this?
07:12It creates a story and a memory, and I think that's forgotten about in food.
07:17I've always been, like, energetic, enthusiastic,
07:20so I played football at High Standard.
07:22I played for Leeds United for seven years.
07:24The world came crashing down at 14 when I got released
07:27and then fell straight into catering.
07:29Sweet.
07:29And then it was just, I'm all in.
07:32There's no other way to describe me.
07:33I'm all in.
07:35I just love cooking.
07:40Dale, welcome.
07:41How are you feeling?
07:42I'm very good, thank you.
07:43Thank you for asking.
07:44Proper Yorkshire accent.
07:47This skills test has been set by previous finalists,
07:50Philly Armitage Mattin.
07:52We would like you to make for us chicken wings
07:54stuffed with a Thai-flavoured pork mince
07:57and a soy caramel sauce.
07:59How does that sound?
08:00Yeah, I haven't stuffed chicken wings before,
08:03but I'll give it a go.
08:04Good attitude.
08:05You've got 20 minutes.
08:07Show us how it's done.
08:13How long since you've done anything like this?
08:16I work in a cafe,
08:18so I'm generally like eggs and toast kind of guy at the moment.
08:21We'll see.
08:22We'll see how it goes.
08:25First bone's out.
08:26Yes!
08:27I'm going to try and see if I can create a pocket
08:30where I can put my stuffing in.
08:34Oh, he's taking off the tip.
08:36Probably coming on the wrong end.
08:37Don't worry.
08:41Oh, no.
08:42We're going to get nuggets.
08:44Where's the filling going to go?
08:46So, while you're doing that, Del,
08:48tell me, you're in a cafe.
08:50Yes.
08:50How long have you been doing that?
08:51So, I've been there about a year and a half.
08:53Basically, I've got two kids.
08:55I spent 15 years of my life working tirelessly
09:00and probably missed the best years of their life.
09:03Yeah.
09:03Trying to pursue a career
09:05and now I've found, like, a...
09:07A happy balance.
09:08A happy balance.
09:09Probably cooking the best I have.
09:10Probably not on the skills test right now,
09:13but I'm enjoying it.
09:14It's nice to see you guys.
09:18There's no care.
09:20He needs to be careful and gentle.
09:26Bitty little things, aren't they?
09:28Good thing we didn't give you a quail.
09:30Oh, God.
09:31I'd have been in real trouble then.
09:34Okay, you're halfway through.
09:36Yeah.
09:36Let's go on to this Thai stuffing, all right?
09:38Perfect.
09:45There's a lot of flavours going in that bowl.
09:46A lot of chilli, lime zest, garlic, just like mine.
09:51What about the other flavours here?
09:53I'm going to add a little bit of fish sauce, I think.
09:55Okay.
09:59He didn't use an egg to bind the pork mince.
10:01I'm nervous it's not going to hold together.
10:03Do you want quite heavy on the filling?
10:05It's completely up to you.
10:07Any hints I'll take at this point?
10:10My hint is there's an egg.
10:12Oh, good work.
10:17So he's going to coat the chicken and then deep fry it.
10:22So you've got seven minutes.
10:24That flies, right?
10:26I can see why people now struggle on their skills tests.
10:31Now it's time to make the caramel sauce.
10:42It's a lot of soy.
10:44I've got some lime that we've been using there.
10:46Yes, loads of juice, loads of juice.
10:48How are your wings looking, Dale?
10:51Yes.
10:52Are they holding?
10:52Yeah, they're holding.
10:53I don't know how, but we'll go with it.
10:56Egg.
10:57Egg, yeah.
10:58I'm proud of you.
10:58You can come again.
11:00You can come again, for sure.
11:02Dale, you've got 60 seconds.
11:05Not a problem.
11:06You're putting a wriggle on now, aren't you?
11:09Not half.
11:12I don't like the sauce to be a little bit thicker.
11:15A little bit of corn flour would have sorted that out.
11:18Why don't you put the rest of that sauce in one of those jugs that's behind you there?
11:21Let's not waste it.
11:22Well, Yorkshire minutes a lot.
11:23Aye.
11:24And we know what they're all about.
11:25Yeah.
11:30Dale, you're out of time.
11:31We need no more nuts.
11:33That's good.
11:34Just in time.
11:35That was an experience, wasn't it?
11:37Let's go taste it.
11:44Hello, Dale.
11:45Hi.
11:46How was that?
11:47Not great.
11:48The chicken wings were a bit of a challenge.
11:51Definitely showed you haven't practised your butchery skills in a while.
11:54Well, hope they taste good.
12:03I'm kind of blown away that we got anything at all.
12:08I mean, you muddled through that.
12:10Because you cut the chicken wings into little pieces, it didn't really have much of the
12:16pork mince.
12:16So, although you added some Thai flavours, it didn't really shine through.
12:21Your sauce, it has the flavours of the herbs, the Thai flavours that you put into it.
12:26But your coating for your chicken, it wasn't crisp enough.
12:30So, once you put it into the sauce, it's gone soggy.
12:33Look, Dale, we can see that you're disheartened.
12:35Having a knock from time to time is normal.
12:37We learn from these mistakes.
12:39Show us what you're made of in the next round, OK?
12:42I'm looking forward to trying your food.
12:43All right?
12:49We've seen chefs have this disaster and come back and blown us away.
12:54Absolutely.
12:54And Dale can still turn us around.
12:56100%.
12:59I think you've just got to take it on board.
13:01It just gives me more fire to light up in the second round.
13:05So, I'm not down and out yet.
13:12Next to face Philly's skills test is 28-year-old Anandji.
13:16Born in Delhi, India, he's now a senior sous chef in a modern British restaurant in Manchester.
13:24For me, food growing up was a very, very big part of my life.
13:29I grew up in a lot of cities.
13:31I lived in Delhi, Bombay, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Dharadun, exposing me to so many flavors, ways of cooking and types of
13:41food indulgences.
13:43Life as a chef is definitely a continuous rowing boat.
13:47It's going on and on.
13:49You can't stop.
13:49And it's a push every day.
13:51So, yeah.
13:52It's fun.
13:54I don't say I'm the best in the world, but I will always strive to be the best.
13:59That's my aim.
14:00That's my goal.
14:00Nothing below that.
14:03Anandji, we would like you to make for us chicken wings stuffed with a Thai-flavored pork mince, served with
14:10a soy caramel sauce.
14:11All right.
14:12Done some chicken wing preparation before?
14:14Yes, chef.
14:14We should be okay, then.
14:16Well, listen, you've got 20 minutes.
14:18Show us how you do this.
14:19Come on.
14:20Let's go.
14:22What are you starting with here?
14:23What's your plan?
14:24I prefer to get my wedge prepped for the first thing.
14:29I'm not too sure what he's doing here.
14:31What is this for?
14:32You've got oil in there.
14:32You've got chilies, garlic.
14:34I'm just trying to saute this off so that I have the pork cooked.
14:37I don't want to put the pork raw.
14:38So you're going to cook the pork and then stuff it into the chicken wing?
14:41Yeah.
14:42I'm a bit unsure if I'm cooking the pork.
14:44It's going to be a bit dry.
14:48I'm nervous for Dananji.
14:53So have you ever eaten anything like this?
14:55I love chicken wings, but I'm not a big fan of them being stuffed.
14:59Okay.
15:00He's taken out the meat from the drumlet quite nicely.
15:05He needs to take the second bone out now.
15:07He needs to be really careful.
15:09Dananji, tell us about the food growing up.
15:11When did you first get excited about cooking?
15:13Kitchen's been somewhere, like, I've just chilled a lot with my mum, with my dad, with my grandmom.
15:18And is it very different cooking professionally than it was cooking with friends and family?
15:23Yeah, chef, definitely.
15:24There's a lot more on the line here.
15:27They're happy that you have food on the plate.
15:29It's more like, yeah, I'm cooking for you.
15:31Now be quiet and eat.
15:33Damn right.
15:34Thank you, chef.
15:35I feel happy now you're on my side.
15:38How are you going on there?
15:40Done with the first wing, chef.
15:41One done, one to go.
15:44Breaking the wing joints.
15:45Now we've got it, Dananji.
15:46You are now halfway.
15:48You've had ten minutes.
15:49Oh, chef.
15:51Why did you come on to MasterChef?
15:52When I was a kid in India, I used to watch a lot of MasterChef India.
15:55Okay.
15:56At that time, I did think about it, and now I'm here, so.
15:59And when did you come over to the UK?
16:01I moved here in September 2022, so not very long.
16:06This one's looking all right.
16:07I think he's getting the hang of it.
16:09He's taking the bones out quite cleanly.
16:11Yep.
16:12Hopefully that skin is all intact.
16:15You've got seven minutes left.
16:18So you've got your caramel sauce started?
16:20Yes, chef.
16:20What about those wings?
16:21Because they're going to take time to cook.
16:23I'm going to start them off now.
16:33OK, we're stuffing the wing.
16:36Is it holding?
16:37Yes, chef.
16:40Ugh, the wing skin is not intact.
16:43Right, you're going to have to get those chicken wings into the fire.
16:47Yes, chef.
16:47Otherwise, you're going to have nothing to serve here.
16:49We should.
16:49You're seriously running out of time.
16:55What are you doing now?
16:57Because I know my chicken wings are not the perfect prep,
17:00so I'm just making sure that the flour covers it up
17:02and the stuffing stays inside.
17:05He's lightly panning the chicken wings,
17:08hoping that the mix is going to stay inside.
17:14You've got about two, three minutes left.
17:16Are we getting there?
17:17Yes, chef.
17:22What's in the sauce?
17:23There's some soy, there's caramel, there's salt,
17:25there's some chili, because it gets a nice hit.
17:28I want a lot of lime juice.
17:29It really needs to offset the flavor of the chicken.
17:35Did the chicken wings hold?
17:37Let me have a look, chef.
17:40Oui.
17:41Fantastic.
17:41I'm loving your positive attitude.
17:44Thank you, chef.
17:45I think Dinadje's just turned this around.
17:49Come on.
17:50You've got 90 seconds left.
17:52Three.
17:58Really hope those chicken wings are cooked.
18:06That's amazing that they stayed whole.
18:08They actually look quite good.
18:10Quick, quick, quick, quick.
18:11Come on, come on, come on.
18:11Let's go.
18:14Well done.
18:15Time's up.
18:15Take a breath.
18:18I didn't think you were going to get there.
18:20Well done.
18:20Thank you, chef.
18:21Stressful to watch.
18:22Yeah.
18:24Let's go see if they're cooked.
18:29Dinadje, how was that?
18:31Quite nerve-wracking.
18:32It was definitely a rollercoaster.
18:34It wasn't really the method that I used, but I guess it's your interpretation of it.
18:39Fingers crossed.
18:54I was nervous the chicken wasn't going to be cooked because it only had a few minutes in the fryer.
18:58The chicken is cooked, so well done.
19:01Your chicken wings, clearly you're out of practice.
19:05The way they've been boned out, they weren't going to seal, and straight away you grabbed an egg or some
19:10of the flour there.
19:11Good thinking.
19:12Your pork filling, I love that hit of the chilli through that.
19:16It's delicious.
19:17Thank you, chef.
19:18I'm impressed with what you put on the plate, but the sauce, there's not enough sweetness in there.
19:23There's not enough lime juice in there to balance it.
19:25It's not great.
19:27You cooked the pork mints, but in hindsight, if you hadn't, we wouldn't be eating this right now.
19:32It'd be raw, because you didn't put them in the fryer for long enough.
19:34I'm not sure whether that was just luck or your chef's head, but you got away with that one.
19:40Yes, chef.
19:46All I can say is he's a lucky cat.
19:48One life gone.
19:49Eight to go.
19:53I'm all right with what I put out.
19:54I'm happy that the chicken was cooked, because even I was scared a little.
20:00So, Philly, two more chefs waiting.
20:02One more skills test for you.
20:04What have we got?
20:05I'm going to ask the chefs to make Japanese souffle pancakes with sake poached plums.
20:10So, souffle pancakes, those nice, big, cloud-like pancakes.
20:15It's going to be interesting to know whether our chefs actually know what that is.
20:18And is this literally as simple as a souffle and a pancake sort of put together?
20:21Is that the concept?
20:22Yeah. So, you make a meringue, like in a souffle, make a pancake batter base, and literally whip and fold
20:29the two together.
20:30I think a lot of people come across and become quite trendy, I think, on social media.
20:35I'm really intrigued by this. So, 20 minutes. Show us.
20:38Let's get going.
20:39First up, I'm going to make the meringue.
20:41I'm going to be doing a classic French meringue, which is egg white sugar, and just whip that up lightly
20:47until stiff peaks.
20:52And I'm going to be using cream of tartar. It's just going to stabilise it a bit.
20:57While that's whipping away, I'm going to make the rest of my pancake batter.
21:01I've added the egg yolks and the milk, and just whisk those together. And I'm lightly dusting the flour in,
21:08so it aerates the flour and gets a really nice, light, fluffy batter.
21:12Matt, you spent much time in pastry kitchens?
21:14I doubt it.
21:15Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I did a year and a half.
21:19Okay.
21:19I mean, it's a great skill to have. It's a must.
21:23Yeah.
21:24Smooth batter.
21:28My meringue is super thick. It's a stiff piece. I'm going to now fold the two together.
21:34Okay.
21:35So, Philly, this is the crucial bit, right? You're just folding in gently.
21:39Exactly. You want to be super careful at this stage. I'm using a metal spoon just to try and not
21:45knock the air out as much.
21:47Mm-hmm.
21:49So, that's what I'm looking for, a light, firm batter.
21:55If you're making small ones like this, you don't want to put too much in at once, otherwise the heaviness
22:00can actually deflate the pancakes.
22:02Add a lid. I've got it on quite a low heat. It's quite a gentle batter. You want to gently
22:07steam it.
22:08These pancakes take about four minutes, and then I'm going to add another spoonful of batter, and that's going to
22:13take another four minutes.
22:13That's an interesting technique.
22:14While those pancakes are cooking, I'm going to start on my sake poached plums.
22:19Sake can be quite natural in flavour. It's a rice-based alcohol. Is it flavoured, the one that you're using?
22:25Yeah. So, this sake is flavoured with sakura, which is the flower of the cherry tree.
22:29It's going to be quite a sweet sake, so it's adding that extra added sweetness to it.
22:33I'm going to add a couple more spoonfuls of pancake batter onto my pancakes.
22:41I'm going to add a few drops of water. That's going to help steam the pancakes.
22:45Too much water in at once can actually deflate the pancakes.
22:48Plums can go into the pan.
22:51Philly, when you came on to MasterChef, how did you prepare for your skills test?
22:55I watched every episode of the skills test.
23:00That's a lot of selly.
23:00It's a lot.
23:03So, what have you got in the pan with the plums?
23:04So, I've got a bit of sugar, the sweet sake, and some lemon zest, just to give it a bit
23:08of freshness as well.
23:09That's going to lightly poach the plums, and then reduce it into a nice syrupy liquid.
23:15It's time to flip.
23:18Happy?
23:19Yes! Winner.
23:21I mean, they look lovely and light.
23:23Yeah. You poke it, and it, like, literally wobbles like a jellyfish.
23:26This is the magic that I want the chefs to create.
23:30Can you see the wobble?
23:32Oh, I see it, yeah. Very cool.
23:34A few poached plums.
23:43And there you have it, Japanese souffle pancakes with sake poached plums.
23:47Brilliant.
23:52Wonderful.
23:53You know, it takes the lovely pancake to the next level.
23:55The texture is how it's soft, it's delicious.
23:58The plums and the sake, nice kind of sweetness to that as well.
24:02It's a great combination.
24:03Thanks so much.
24:04You've made that look incredibly easy, but that's a lot of skill.
24:08Let's see what our chefs make of it.
24:11Thirty-four-year-old Dublin-born Mark's fascination with meat cookery
24:16led him to the kitchens in the USA,
24:18and he's used his experience of barbecue cookery in Texas and Mississippi
24:22to launch his own venture in Margate.
24:25The food we're serving here is whole animal barbecue.
24:28We get in local animals, we do all the butchery, sausage making and everything.
24:32There's so many techniques and process to butchery,
24:35and, like, live-fire cookery is just adding this extra level of seasoning and taste.
24:42It does have its drawbacks in terms of exhaustion,
24:46going home smelling like a bonfire.
24:49It hasn't done wonders for my relationship with my wife.
24:55I think I could go pretty far.
24:57The goal would be getting into the top six.
24:59I think I could definitely see myself doing really well up until then.
25:05Mark, welcome to MasterChef.
25:07Thank you very much.
25:08What we would like you to do is to make Japanese souffle pancakes
25:13served with sake poached plums.
25:16Interesting.
25:16Have you seen souffle pancakes?
25:18Yes, yeah, I've had them, yeah, I've had them before.
25:21They're huge, big, beautiful things.
25:23If he's eaten a souffle pancake, he knows what they taste like,
25:26he knows what they look like.
25:27Let's hope for a souffle pancake.
25:29All right, we've got 20 minutes.
25:30Take it away.
25:31Great.
25:31OK, well, I'm going to start on my meringue first.
25:34Egg whites in.
25:36Sugar.
25:37Tiny bit of cream of tartar for stability.
25:44I'm going to get my pancake batter going.
25:47So, Mark, tell us where you've eaten these before.
25:49There's a place on Shaftesbury Avenue.
25:52That's so, so good.
25:53I've had them with my wife before when you're eating out around there.
25:55Right.
25:58So, my plan is I've made up a little pancake batter.
26:01I'm letting my meringues whip up.
26:03I'm going to gently fold them together.
26:05And then once they're folded together, I'm maybe going to try and cook two.
26:09He seems like he knows the method.
26:12Looks like a stiff meringue.
26:14Yeah, that's looking pretty good.
26:16You've done that in record time.
26:17Yeah, so hopefully that's gone.
26:19Batter's done.
26:20I've got to get my sake poached plums on now.
26:23Great.
26:24Very quick.
26:24Mark, tell me, what's your style of food?
26:26My main style of food is, like, a lot of open fire, a lot of barbecue, a whole animal butchery.
26:31So, with that, I kind of knew my skills test was going to be pastry.
26:34So, that's the kind of stuff that I tried to plan for.
26:37Look at the Irish.
26:37Yeah, exactly, yeah, so.
26:41Can you tell me what's going on to your poaching liquid so far?
26:44I've got some sake, some lemon juice, and I'm just going to put in a little extra sugar.
26:52And then as they've poached, I'll reduce that down to a little bit of a glaze.
26:56Yeah, that's exactly what I did.
26:58All right, so I'm going to combine my pancake and the meringue here.
27:04So, I'm just folding in the meringue bit by bit so as not to lose all the nice air I've
27:10created.
27:10It's looking good.
27:13I think he knows what he's doing.
27:16All right, batter's in the pan.
27:20No going back now.
27:21You know, it's a winner.
27:27Put the lid on the pancakes, they need to steam.
27:30Mark, you've had 11 minutes so far.
27:32Great.
27:34So, I'm just going to give it a little water to have steam.
27:37Oh, lid's on.
27:38Lid's on.
27:39Mark, have you got any passions outside of cooking?
27:41I'm a big reader, and then I also do a little bit of writing on the sides.
27:44What sort of genre?
27:45A lot of, like, 18th century sci-fi fantasy kind of stuff.
27:49Have you got anything you're working on currently?
27:51Yeah, I've been working on a little pirate book for a long time.
27:54Really?
27:54I think it's a long way off.
27:56Now you're here.
27:57And now I'm here, worrying about these souffle pancakes,
28:00which seem to be souffle-ing and pancake-y.
28:05Pancaking and souffle-ing.
28:07I like that technical term.
28:09Mark hasn't added extra batter on to make the pancakes really tall,
28:12but they do look fluffy.
28:15So, Mark, the previous skills test was boning out chicken wings.
28:19Oh, no.
28:20Oh, you shouldn't have told me that.
28:22Why did you tell me that?
28:23In the middle of trying to flip these pancakes.
28:25Good heavens, sir.
28:26What are you doing to me?
28:28How are they looking, Mark?
28:30They're looking pretty good.
28:31Maybe a little more colour than I would have liked,
28:33so I'm just going to remove them from the heap.
28:34Just caught in time.
28:36We've got three minutes left.
28:37I'm just going to take these.
28:39I'm reducing my poaching liquid to make a nice little glaze.
28:44They're not as tall as I would like,
28:46but they're looking quite good.
28:48Jiggling.
28:57Finished.
28:58Finished.
28:59Very good.
28:59Well done.
29:01Relax.
29:10Hi, Mark.
29:10How was that?
29:11Yeah, OK, I think.
29:21Mark, I love the way you approach the batter.
29:25Making the meringue, folding it nicely together,
29:28adding a little bit more pancake batter later on
29:30gives it that real height.
29:31But absolutely tasty, tasty dish.
29:34Smash the skills test.
29:35I love it.
29:38I love the plums.
29:39I love that sort of sour notes.
29:40You haven't over-sweetened them.
29:41You look like you knew what you were doing.
29:43I'm very impressed.
29:45Your approach, your attitude,
29:47your attention to the key skills on show
29:50were exemplary.
29:51Really good.
29:52Well done.
29:54I now have my eye on you for good reasons.
29:57Expectations are high.
30:05When I heard he was into American barbecue,
30:07I thought, there's not a hope here
30:09with the gentle finesse of pastry.
30:12But look what we got.
30:13Getting that kind of incredible feedback
30:15this early in the competition is absolutely wild.
30:17However, that does ramp up the pressure
30:19in a huge way.
30:24Last in is 28-year-old junior sous chef,
30:28Alex, who grew up in Paris
30:30and has been cooking at Michelin level
30:32for three years.
30:34When I'm cooking, I'm feeling alive.
30:37I just forget everything.
30:40And, yeah, it's just like
30:42an infinite possibility of things
30:44that we can do.
30:46I think my cuisine is definitely French.
30:49But I really like to travel
30:51to bring one element
30:54from another country.
30:55It could be a spice.
30:56It could be a technique.
30:57There is so many ideas
30:59that I have in my mind.
31:00And this is what I love about cooking
31:02because it's never the same every day.
31:05I come to win.
31:08I think we don't really remember
31:10number two.
31:10This is what we say, right?
31:14Alex, welcome to MasterChef.
31:16This is your skills test.
31:17We would like you to make for us
31:19a Japanese souffle pancake
31:21served with sake-poached plums.
31:24I've never made souffle before.
31:25Okay.
31:26This is possibly not the best place
31:27to start that.
31:28Um, you've made pancakes.
31:30I've made pancakes before.
31:31Okay.
31:32So, Alex, 20 minutes.
31:34Take it away.
31:37Okay.
31:38Egg whites going in.
31:40Sugar's going in.
31:41Cream of tartare.
31:42Let's make a meringue.
31:46By your accent,
31:47we can tell that you're French.
31:48Which part of France are you from?
31:49I'm from Paris.
31:51I did my study in Lyon
31:5311 years ago
31:54and went straight to
31:56Michelin stories in Paris.
32:01Quite happy about that meringue.
32:02Stiff-peaked meringue.
32:04Well done.
32:06Alex, where does your love of food come from?
32:08So, my love of food is coming from my dad.
32:10We used to travel quite a lot
32:12when I was a kid
32:13in quite far countries
32:15and discovering different cultures.
32:18Sark is going in.
32:22Don't hold back on the sake.
32:24So, in the poaching liquid,
32:25I've got water, sugar, lemon skin
32:28and a little bit of sake.
32:30I'm just going to try
32:32to see if we can feel the sake.
32:34But not too much.
32:39That's good.
32:40The plums are sake-poached plums.
32:43I really want to taste the sake in the plums.
32:47So, now you're just folding the meringue
32:48into the pancake mix.
32:49Yes.
32:51She needs to make sure
32:52that she doesn't over-beat the meringue
32:54and knock out all the air.
32:55So, do you always want to be a chef?
32:57Yes, I started to cook from a very young age
32:59and when I couldn't cook when I was a kid,
33:02I was just reading recipes
33:03from my grandmother's book.
33:05Does your grandmother know
33:06that you're in the competition?
33:07Yes, she cried and she knew.
33:10She's very proud
33:11and she knows that I'm going to do some of her dishes,
33:16but kind of my way.
33:18If I go through...
33:19She's got the lid on quick.
33:20Well done, Alex.
33:22All right, plum now.
33:31How are they looking?
33:32They're not great.
33:34There are a bit too much colour on the bottom.
33:36OK.
33:40Don't lose it now, Alex.
33:44Got five minutes left.
33:48That pan looks a bit hot.
33:50Oh, gosh, Alex.
33:53Oh, no.
33:56There's too much water.
34:00Are they all right?
34:02Let's see.
34:08That was an interesting look.
34:11You don't look too happy.
34:12That's my best pancake card, definitely.
34:16Come on, Alex.
34:23I decided to not start the other one.
34:25There is too much colouration on it.
34:27I'd rather not put it on a plate.
34:28I'm sorry for getting only one pancake.
34:30You've got a minute to go, Alex.
34:31Let's get this finished, OK?
34:32OK.
34:32We'll get it.
34:33Next time.
34:33I'm sorry to get this.
34:33I'm sorry to get this on it.
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