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MasterChef: The Professionals - Season 18 - Episode 03
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00:01It's the professional MasterChef quarterfinal.
00:05These four chefs triumph to their heat.
00:10And tonight, they face two tough challenges designed to test them even further.
00:17Being at quarterfinal, it feels amazing.
00:20I'm pretty excited, yeah. Nervous as well, yeah, of course.
00:25Going through the competition, I definitely want to do better and better.
00:27I want to out my game.
00:30It's really nice to be back, and I'm happy to be back next week again. Hopefully.
00:35It feels amazing to be quarterfinalist, yeah. Let's see what's going to happen today.
00:41First, they will need to create a standout dish using the mystery ingredient.
00:47Today, it's huge. I want to do well.
00:50Then go on to cook for three of the country's top food critics.
00:55It's a cracking good dish.
00:58Only the very best will earn a place in knockout week.
01:03For these four chefs, it's out of the frying pan and into the fire.
01:07It's now time to shine.
01:27Chefs, welcome to your quarterfinal.
01:31We've got four fabulous chefs in this kitchen who all, without doubt, deserve to be here.
01:36Now, we want you to step it up one more notch.
01:40This is an invention test.
01:42It puts you on the spot to think of something right here, right now.
01:48Underneath the box in front of you is your key ingredient that we want you to use at the forefront
01:53of your dish.
01:54Please reveal your key ingredient.
02:01King prawns.
02:03An ingredient that I'm pretty certain each one of you have come across at some point.
02:08An ingredient that's probably giving you a sigh of relief because you recognize it.
02:13But it's also an ingredient that's very easy to get wrong.
02:18And just to remind you, we want to see something amazing, chefs.
02:23To help you create your king prawn dish, we are opening the MasterChef Lada for you.
02:35You have a selection of fruit and veg, pancetas, bacon, spices, different types of pastries, as well as alcohol.
02:45It is an Aladdin's cave of magic.
02:49That magic can only happen if you select the right ingredients.
02:55You have 10 minutes to come up and select your ingredients.
03:00And 70 minutes to cook and serve your dish.
03:06Chefs, we wish you the best of luck.
03:08Come up and choose your ingredients.
03:16A king prawn is packed full of flavour.
03:18So many different ways you can use it.
03:20You can use it as a ceviche, you can puree it, make a ravioli, you can pan fry them.
03:25It's so versatile.
03:27The key is what you put with it.
03:29What's the marriage that's going to make those king prawns stand out?
03:33When I lifted the box, yeah, I feel a big relief because, yeah, it's something that I know very well.
03:38So I'm very excited to cook now the prawns.
03:42Quite a few ideas have come to mind, but I'm sort of narrowing that down at the moment.
03:47The dishes are still coming together a little bit in my head.
03:52I was a bit concerned about the ingredients, but since we have this amazing product, I'm quite happy and confident
03:58now to be under control.
04:01Who's going to be brave? Who's going to be bold? Who's going to play it safe?
04:10Guatemala-born private chef, Sal, has traveled and worked in kitchens in 27 different countries.
04:18In his heat, he recovered from a disappointing skills test to impress with his signature dish, showcasing his inventive fusion
04:27style.
04:27it's fantastic honestly this has blown me away about the invention test I'm good on my feet so
04:37I think it's 50 50 let's see how it goes with the pressure in this kitchen again from the
04:42judges and the time which is I think is the biggest enemy so invention test all about the
04:49king prawns you're from Guatemala Guatemala yes are you bringing some of the inspiration into
04:54cooking today yes king prawns is a thing that I grew up with so I'm using the inspiration but
04:59I'm not going like fully traditional because I want to bring something different so my dish today
05:04is pan sear prawns pale ale sauce and ceviche prawns with a pineapple and mangoes Wow pale ale I really
05:13like pale ale is one of my favorite beers and one day by mistake I put a little bit of
05:19beer on my
05:20prawns and they tasted delicious I thought like maybe I cannot more so today is the day that I'm
05:24trying like all that definitely inventive prawns and beer possibly a master chef first I'm looking
05:30forward to this we have prawns done two different ways one is being seared off quickly pan frying king
05:38prawns is seconds don't want them overcooked so it becomes floury and then we have a prawn ceviche
05:48inspired from his Guatemalan root ceviche is raw prawn cured with lime with vinegars with flavors with
05:55seasonings but it's about when you add that mix onto the prawns themselves because if you do it too
06:01quickly will eventually overcook the prawn themselves it's making a sauce with pale ale and it's introducing
06:09mango skin and the pale ale is a bitter flavor when it's reduced and I am slightly concerned that it's
06:16going to be too strong too powerful for this dish I love a chef that takes the risk but the
06:21risk has
06:22got to pay off data for Luke is a head chef at a gastropub in Winchester after a strong start
06:35in the
06:35skills test the time itself a lovely he impressed again with his own food winning praise for his big
06:43bold flavors it's very tasty it really is I'm very determined to impress the judges I think they saw a
06:50little bit of what I can do in the last rounds but not completely I'm excited just trying to keep
06:56keep my
06:57nerves calm Luke past the dough got the shells in the sauce here you're on to a good start yeah
07:05so I'm
07:05making a spiced prawn broth tomato based broth I'm going to do a tortellini with the prawn inside I'm
07:12going to serve that with some sourdough croutons filling I'm going to keep quite just sort of chunky
07:18prawn I'm going to lightly saute that in the pan chill it and then use that as the filling cooked
07:23prawn
07:23yeah in the filling yeah okay why I think if I did raw there's a potential that the pasta might
07:28overcook
07:29before the prawn is cooked all the way through there has to be a wow factor where is it hopefully
07:33in
07:33the skill and the flavor the dish works for me in my head Luke is using the prawn shells and
07:42the heads
07:42to make a sauce bit like a bisque but he's got gochujang in there so a bit of heat I
07:47like that I hope he
07:48reduces it enough this sauce will work wonders with his pasta I am concerned though because Luke says
07:56he's going to cook the filling before it goes into the pasta prawns cook very easily especially if the
08:02pasta is at the right thickness if it's cooked beforehand it can become overcooked and chewy
08:12chefs you're halfway through
08:18originally from Seville 38 year old head chef Mario has been cooking professionally for 15 years he
08:26started nervously in the skills test I'm not happy with the sauce but won over the judges with an
08:31ambitious Spanish inspired signature dish I love the turbot cookery the velout a brought all the dish
08:38together I think I'm very creative I think creativity something it's like a muscle that you train and the
08:46more you train the more creative you came and the more ideas you have so my muscle is like properly
08:52pumped
08:56Mario another challenge this one to invent how are you feeling I'm feeling great what I'm cooking
09:02today I'm gonna leave Spain behind I'm moving to Asia so I'm gonna do like a dashi broth with some
09:10vegetables inside some tempura prawns and then the only ones I'm gonna do like like just blanch lightly
09:16blanch and then I have some spring roll crackers so I'm gonna defry on the fryer why Asia I've been
09:21working a couple of Asian restaurants before I travel to Asia that's why I have all these Asian
09:25style tattoo here and I don't want to be stuck in the Spanish so I don't want to show that
09:30I can do
09:30something different than Spain you made it through to the quarter-final who did you share the good
09:33news with so I finally told my family now I feel confident to tell at least I went through the
09:38to
09:38the first stage and they were really happy and then I'm sure I'm gonna make it to the next challenge
09:43and I'm pretty sure too good attitude to have I have to be otherwise what I'm doing here
09:52Mario is a Spanish chef taking inspiration from Asia we've got some blanched prawns we've got tempura
09:57prawns dashi broth the tempura prawn is about a great batter comes nice and crunchy crispy and
10:04aerated feel crispy I was making a dashi broth he's got some kombu he's got mirin and putting some dry
10:11shiitake's through it great flavorsome stock it will be delicious and works beautifully in this dish
10:18but once you pour the liquid or the broth into the plate I'd be very careful all that crispiness
10:23and tempura prawn doesn't disappear and he's also now decided to add a confit egg yolk onto this dish
10:30but he's not confiting in an oil he's got a pan of water and the water's the boiling point and
10:36he's
10:36cracked about three or four eggs and it not worked by boiling it he can overcook it because he's just
10:42cooking in the wrong way confit is about slow cookery at low temperature now two more eggs please
10:5433 year old Bangladesh born Ismail is head chef of a gastropub in London he received mixed feedback for
11:02his efforts in the skills test the king oysters they're delicious yes we'll get a curry sauce but
11:08unfortunately it's not a catchy but the judges marveled at his use of spices in the second round it's
11:16delicious it's fantastic it's got all the flavors I want I love this coming up with the dish on the
11:25spot I'm not gonna say it's the easiest thing you know it's it's definitely hard but I've done this
11:32before in a professional kitchen you know my own kitchen and I know I can do this
11:40hey smile hello chef how are you feeling I feel great about the prawns because I grew up eating
11:45fresh prawn straight from the from the river to the fisherman and to our house my dad used to go
11:50to fish
11:50market every morning and he would bring you know all the fresh food and fresh prawns so I'm feeling great
11:56about this and you've got a plan I do have a plan I'm making prawn curry it's a very typical
12:02bangladesh
12:02shikari and then I'm serving with some rice and fresh naan bread you're making naan bread to go with
12:08this oh okay you've got me a naan bread and for the body of the sauce is it stock is
12:13it water is it
12:14cream so it's gonna be a little touch of coconut milk and little touch of a yogurt as well naan
12:20bread
12:21and coconut milk or prawn you're definitely I'm just gonna go set the table now this smells bench
12:29smells incredible we've got a basically a prawn curry which he's making from the shells and some
12:34coconut milk all the the prawn flavor to come into this I don't want it to be all about just
12:41spice
12:43really important the cooking of these pawns and the curry curries and when we stewed down to get all
12:47that flavor and he's doing that with the heads don't want them overcooked I know what a prawn curry
12:53tastes like but I want a prawn curry with a point of difference five minutes left it's smelling amazing
13:05in here exciting you know the best put them in oil in cell water and see that works better
13:16I'm pretty happy with them it could have been maybe a tiny bit neater but so how's your beer sauce
13:23going I really like it I just hope you like it as much as I do oh I thought rice
13:33was burning there
13:33because that seemed coming but it's not burning thank God chefs 60 seconds left if it's gonna make it
13:44on the plate do it now I think they're gonna go bitter alrighty chefs time's up stop cooking
14:05chef that's on man how are you chef I don't happy yeah got it up the world wanted us the
14:14first up is
14:15private chef Sal he's serving his prawns two ways pan seared and in a ceviche with mango and pineapple
14:24baby gem lettuce samphire and a pale ale and mango skin sauce presentation wise it all comes together once the
14:34sauce hits the plate you have a ceviche which sits on top of prawn it's got the mango and pineapple
14:49through it I like that it's not too sweet fine it's like a seasoning to the cooked prawns underneath
14:55I'm enjoying that together I like the garnish the samphire and the baby gem and then you have this
15:03sauce which you made with the pale ale for the bitterness I'm actually enjoying it but I wouldn't
15:09want it any stronger than this I think the prawns beautifully cooks underneath I like the ceviche I would
15:14have liked more of it I like the mango running through it the pale ale sauce is lingering on
15:19my palate and I'm not getting the true flavor of the prawns through the dish yes sir the judges thought
15:28well 50 50 it makes me upset yeah definitely but it's done now so I just have to look forward
15:35in the future
15:36and be better head chef Luke is serving prawn tortellini in prawn butter and a pan roasted prawn with sourdough
15:46croutons compressed tomatoes and a prawn bisque when that bisque went into that bowl that certainly did
15:54come to life love the look of that sauce it absolutely tastes delicious I questioned whether or not you
16:12needed to cook the prawn before you put it into the tortellini you didn't really need to but it's okay
16:18it's worked the sauce it's got body I can taste the sweet prawns I can taste a little bit of
16:24chili and
16:25heat you've got going through it and it's velvety it's fabulous your pasta making beautiful thickness
16:33on that dough the filling though you've cooked it before I went into that it hasn't overcooked that prawn
16:40just one prawn on the side beautifully seasoned it's been enriched by the butter and the flavors of
16:45the prawn heads running through that really well done it's delicious
16:53wasn't expecting that sort of feedback from the judges yeah I'm really happy I'm I'm happy I'm glad
16:59I got prawns head chef Mario has cooked his prawns in two ways blanched and in a tempura batter served
17:13with rainbow chard courgette a deep-fried rice cracker and confit egg yolk finished with a dashi broth
17:22and prawn oil the confit egg yolk I saw you do them in water boiling them they weren't working you've
17:30gone on to confit but I think on mine you've got the oil just a little tad too hot and
17:34it's created a
17:34sort of its own little crust around the outside Mario that really does need the broth to complete
17:49it we have two different prawns the one that's been blanched this is just a very simply cooked
17:55prawn the tempura could be a bit more crispier on the outside as well the prawn oil is where I'm
18:02getting most of the prawn flavor for the brief of this which is prawns it only comes together because
18:10we have it in this oil not a great tempura brato if I'm if I'm honest with you fresh tomatoes
18:16bring
18:16freshness courgettes a little bit on the bland side I like Monica love the dashi love the oil delicious
18:22great flavors there and you've really captured the true flavor of the problem within the oil and it's
18:26great but I don't necessarily want to eat just oil where the true flavor is it's not what I normally
18:34do
18:34it and this kind of Asian food so I kind of take a risk in there so hopefully for the
18:38next one we
18:39prove them that can I can do much better finally it's head chef Ismail he's made a Bangladeshi inspired
18:48king prawn curry with heritage tomato and tempura broccoli all served on top of a naan bread with a side
18:56of garlic rice
19:07flavors fabulous but really difficult to eat this on top of the naan bread for me a naan bread is
19:12about tearing it and sort of dipping it around
19:15and it's very difficult to sort of eat the dish that doesn't say that it's a bad dish love your
19:20prawn
19:20cookery your broccoli is crunchy the naan bread is good the curry sauce is good the salad are good but
19:27please don't put them all together on the same plate the curry with the coconut milk and the prawn head
19:35it's like a depth of rich prawn head flavor through that I don't normally eat a lot of rice but
19:43when
19:44someone that knows how to make rice that works with dishes like this I'll eat it by the bowl full
19:49I love
19:50the flavors of the prawn it's delicious judges like the flavor yes I could have done better with the with
19:58the plating up and I'm gonna work on it and I'll do better next round chefs well done fabulous fabulous
20:05start that was just the warm-up for what is coming next go and take a break and we'll see
20:12you back thank
20:20you I thought that was a great start to the quarterfinals from our chefs good skills on show
20:24some great ideas and some things that some of our chefs need to just work on for me Isma is
20:30a chef
20:31who who's very confident in his style of cooking and I'm enjoying the uses of the spices but it was
20:35difficult to eat with the with the bread being at the bottom flavor wise five pillars look my goodness
20:41delicious plate of food he packs so much flavor into it that's what we want when you poured the
20:48bisque onto the plate it was like someone had just turned the light on in a room it just lit
20:51the plate
20:52up Mario so much going on with his dish he a great idea I just feel like Mario could have
20:59packed this
20:59dish with so much more flavors why not give us some of that lovely Spanish style cuisine in the next
21:04round he's cooking for the critics and I really want to see him let himself go Sal is a well
21:09-traveled
21:10chef from Guatemala he's bringing a bit of that fusion of different flavors into his food and not
21:16quite nailing it I don't think Sal has found his style yet I think he's still working it out and
21:21I
21:21quite like that about him as a chef and I hope that when he's cooking for the critics he can
21:25really start
21:26to show off just a little bit more as challenging as this test was for our chefs it's about to
21:32go up a
21:33whole nother level it's about to get very hot and stressful in here chefs welcome back to the
21:45kitchen this is your critics round you are going to be cooking for Leila Kazim Jimmy Famarewa and Tom
21:54Parker Bowles without doubt an opportunity to shine show them what you're made of this is when you
22:02have got to cook and impress with the two best courses that you've created in your career so far
22:08that's what it's going to take to keep you in this competition three of you will be going through to
22:14knockouts week at the end of this one of you is going to be leaving us one hour and 15
22:19minutes off you go
22:31I am very excited Jess as well as be worried about the times because the time is against us today
22:37at
22:39this stage in the competition if we don't take risk like we gonna fall in the mistake of you're not
22:44gonna
22:44stay hopefully they pay off for the critics today I'm gonna be cooking for a starter which is called
22:53skitas it is inspiring street food in Guatemala so it's just basically charred corn on the cob but
23:00in this case I'm not gonna do that I'm gonna take it from the cob I'm gonna put like cream
23:04langoustines
23:05also as scallops I'm gonna put the chipotle through it and mezcal as well to give some smokiness my
23:11second dish is fillet of beef grill up onions also I'm gonna do the dill sauce I'm also gonna have
23:17a
23:17sauce like which is from Guatemala as well which is pepion the base is like from romesco but done
23:23in a different ways I'm gonna add chipotle and chili oil as well and coriander to give a different flavor
23:28so that's the idea with us all some of your heritage some of the fusion that you love yes I
23:33always try
23:34to do that like to showcase what I have learned like through the years so I think this is the
23:38perfect
23:38opportunity so that's what I'm doing I'm doing it right now yeah good luck thank you very much the
23:47first course is influenced by street food from Guatemala and of course in Mexico the sweet corn
23:54is going to be cooked and then charred Sal is folding the sweet corn through his cream that's going to
24:02to
24:02abide and bring the sweet corn together he's chopping up the longestine flesh it's also clean nose with
24:09the chipotle cream to be very careful that it doesn't camouflage the flavor of the longestine in a
24:14beautiful natural sweet scallop sitting on top sweet corn itself love these flavors then they
24:20certainly do work together the cells make course beef is pretty much a nod to here in the UK fillet
24:27the
24:27beef beautiful piece of meat or the beef fillet there is no fat so it's gonna be beautifully caramelized
24:31around the outside pepiani's sauce is pretty much like a in the style of romesco so we've got bell
24:39pepper look tomatoes garlic paprika and coriander but a lot of almonds going into it so it's gonna have
24:46a really lovely nutty texture not got too much to do he's not gone crazy which I think is a
24:52very wise
24:53thing less is more but do it well
25:07ismail welcome to the critics how are you feeling I got lots of things to do so I'm a little
25:12bit
25:12nervous what are you making so I'm making a spiced lamb chop pulled over gin and herb crust I roast
25:19the
25:19over gin when it's the nice and soft I mix with all the spice and everything and wild garlic and
25:24anchovy
25:24salsa asparagus and coelic scotch egg tell us about the sauce that that's going with this there's a
25:30turmeric sauce with the the scotch egg and then turmeric sauce I think it takes the the dish to
25:35the next level we got a lot to do sure there I ask what dessert is mango passion fruit and
25:41coconut
25:41cheesecake I'm serving that with the mint mint crumb so have you got your cheesecake mix done no not yet
25:48that's next in my list what is it about these dishes you'd like to show the critics in the last
25:53last round in the kitchen I cook the food I grew up with but this dish is what I grew
25:58up eating plus
25:59what I do day-to-day life in my gastropub sounds nice sounds exciting sounds like you've got a lot
26:05of work to do yes sir a lamb chop is about great butchery beautifully seared and just gently cooked
26:16you want to break down the fat so you want it to be pink or flavoursome the scotch egg takes
26:22a lot
26:22of time and it's a lot of skill there's a huge amount of work but the key and the most
26:26important
26:27thing is that the lamb mince is cooked it's crispy on the outside and the center of the scotch egg
26:33is
26:33running the tamarind sauce he believes this will work wonders with the lamb chop you won't need
26:40very much of this because tamarind is quite a strong flavor we want a cheesecake it's got a
26:46wow factor it needs to have a point of interest it's gonna set it apart from what we're all so
26:51familiar
26:51with I have to push myself and keep the schedule in my head to to just go and no no
26:59stop
27:04today it's it's huge I want to do well
27:11Luke cooking for the critics how are you feeling right now I'm feeling okay but at the moment
27:17everything is going to plan what are you making so I've got halibut of confit in duck fat and I'm
27:23serving it with a caviar hollandaise a balloting of gem lettuce which has got anchovies parmesan and
27:30parma ham in it and crispy potato and a little bit of caviar on top of the potato as well
27:37wow the
27:38next course I've got a salted caramel cremo with toasted hazelnuts I'm serving out with a bourbon cream
27:46orange and a little wasabi leaf garnish I love the sandy menu really love it yeah great feedback
27:54in the last round well it's great feedback but it's also feels a bit more pressure in this round
27:59because I need to keep that up I don't want to take a step backwards how's the balance between
28:03masterchef four kids and a full-time job there is no balance there's no balance at all yeah I haven't
28:10had a day off in about three weeks that's the sacrifice champions make all or nothing yeah his
28:20main dish is halibut it's going to be confitting those in duck fat nice and gently you don't want that
28:25duck fat to be too hot if it is then that skin will curl up and you're gonna have someone's
28:30like
28:30a piece of fish that's the shape of a banana which is not going to be good with baby gem
28:36he's almost
28:36like a Caesar salad baby gem that's sort of slightly wilted down and then rolled up into
28:40a balancing and then wrapped in slices of Parma ham sounds great Luke's dessert is a salted caramel
28:48chocolate cremo but once I've got these setting then I should be in an okay space I do need to
28:55get
28:55them on quite quick the cremo is almost like in between a chocolate mousse and a ganache so once firm
29:02one soft it sort of sits in the middle I've also got a little bit of orange which is seasoned
29:09or
29:09flavored with whiskey so there were boozy oranges going on now these are lovely marriages loving the
29:14ambition loving the determination and I'm just loving that this chef is really really starting
29:19to come to life with these dishes I think there's there's not really anywhere to hide because I'm not
29:25doing anything too crazy so it needs to be clean and precise if it's not then I might be upset
29:39well my last challenge I think I'm in the worst position I'm gonna be honest
29:44it's a lot of pressure but I love this pressure
29:52Mario cooking for the critics this is getting to a serious business now and hopefully I can please
29:58their tummies and and how do you aim to do that what's what's your two dishes I'm doing a classic
30:02sandwich I will call serranito it's made of pork tomato Iberical ham peppers and alioli so I'm
30:09breaking down everything and I'm gonna go into a beautiful place so I go pork tenderloin I go
30:13some Iberical ham I got guacali puree that's gonna be my a garlic emulsion I got whiskey sauce
30:19whiskey is not Spanish but in Sevilla we have a really famous dish called solomilla whiskey which
30:23is pork tenderloin with whiskey sauce so I bring this sauce into this dish I will have some
30:27shoestring potato which is gonna be my fries on the side but I can go more civilian than that so
30:32you're lucky I just go back Spain now you're talking yes that's what we've been waiting for yes so I
30:38really need you to be happy I want you on my side or my team team Sevilla and then what's
30:43your
30:43second dish somebody said again we stay in Sevilla with the col to Rija so it's a quite similar to
30:48pamper do in France so like eggy bread or like French toast pan frying exactly I'm gonna pan fry in
30:54a
30:54bit of boiling butter slowly nice color and then I'm gonna do on the side a belly of ice cream
30:59which
31:00I love and then I will have a nut crumb a few orange segments and then lemon verbena so I'd
31:05say I'm
31:05going full Seville full background full story the story is wonderful and we can't wait to taste the
31:11food of Seville thank you chef thank you Mario's dish has been inspired by a famous sandwich that he
31:19enjoys back in Seville we've got the Iberico pork which is a delicious pork it's almost royal-esque in a
31:26sense delicious gently pan fried a little bit of butter but don't overheat it because it could dry out
31:33very quickly and the key is always give it a really good resting before you serve it shoestring potatoes
31:39they've got to be crunchy and perfectly crisp this pork sauce gonna have a nice reduction to it as
31:45well obviously finish with some of the pork fat if not some butter and a hint of that whiskey just
31:51to
31:51finish it off Mario's dessert that eggy bread is gonna make sure that it's beautiful and crispy when
31:57he sees it Bailey for ice creams make sure he doesn't overturn it and I want to taste the herbal
32:03flavors of that Bailey for any threat chefs you have 20 minutes left before your first course is served
32:25we don't want mediocre we want exceptional I want real flavors I want to be able to see and taste
32:33the
32:33character and the background of the chef in his or her food the restaurant industry at the minute is a
32:39difficult place in order to stand out you've got to have something special and you know this is this
32:47could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these guys being a master chef if you're gonna be bold
32:52you've
32:52got to do today every year they raise the bar they give us more creativity more technique and obviously the
33:02flip side of that is that things can go wrong bring it on hey cheers cheers what an absolute thrill
33:13sell you got seven minutes left um scallops are coming out of the pound what else have you got left
33:17to do I just have to plate it off now chef everything else done yeah everything else is done
33:26sell starter esquites blackened sweet corn chipotle cream longostine pan fried scallops longostine oil
33:36and toasted coconut so it's all about getting that shellfish right myself you've got two minutes
33:45which have what's left I'm just finishing with the micro herbs now and it's ready there's a real
33:52chance of the inherent sweetness of the shellfish being overcome by too strong a heat or too smoky a
34:03flavor looks good it smells good I can't wait to try this all right that's it all right off you
34:11go
34:11good luck thank you good luck how you doing today I cook for you something called esquites is corn
34:25that it has been blackened chipotle cream touch of mescal with langoustines and I also a pan
34:31fry scallop and toasted coconut seeds and lang langoustine oil hope you enjoy it thank you
34:37thanks Phil I'm completely mesmerized and blown away by how gorgeous this looks
34:48the heat from the chipotle is just right the smokiness is just right the scallop is beautifully
34:56cooked those chunks of longostine are like little prizes swimming in that fiery chipotle cream the char he
35:04gets on those little popping fresh kernels of corn it's gorgeous this has flavor it has depth it has
35:12texture it has heat everything is perfectly balanced in every single way well I love that creamy sauce and
35:21spice running through it sweet corn that lovely longostine oil sweet longostine flesh that's all mixed in
35:28there too such beautiful attention to detail it's delicious fabulous cooking fabulous dish
35:36so main course how's that lucky um I still have things to do so I hope to be on time
35:43definitely
35:46cells second dish is fillet of beef beef fat and thyme grellet onions pepillon king oyster and shiitake
35:54mushroom and veal sauce I love that he's continuing with the latin-american theme here because he's got pepillon
36:01in there I'm wondering how that is gonna sit alongside a fillet of beef fillet of beef which is the
36:07main
36:08thing right well rested blushing pink nicely cooked and rare happy with the beef let's see now yes I'm happy
36:17with it
36:23so what's left to go just the sauce and I'm done chef all right let's go go go thank you
36:30well done well done
36:39for your main I have cooked fillet of beef a lot onions infusing beef fat mushrooms two ways one of
36:45them is cooked with butter and on time and the other one is with soy honey and a little bit
36:50of vinegar
36:51pepillon is made of nuts peppers and tomatoes garlic and also then spill sauce thank you thanks thanks sir
37:00thank you that was brutal the pressure was immense one of the craziest things I have done in my life
37:16this is probably the most beautiful beef onions and mushrooms I've ever seen
37:23the fillet gorgeously cooked beautifully seasoned soft buttery tender well rested great char on the
37:31outside of it and the peppercorn sauce bright herbal complex thick I could just drink a pint of it
37:40the mushrooms with soy they've got this really juicy meaty texture so full of flavors
37:49adding that umami element with the beef and then the pepillon which is just wild because you've got
37:57nuts and you've got this garlic and you've got this heat in there just so good that pepillon sauce
38:04it's like a romesco that's gone off to Guatemala and got better technically brilliant but more than that
38:10it has his soul in it it's a cracking good dish that beef is just beautifully cooked that took a
38:19lot of skill and I love and still a hint of his personality coming through in this cooking
38:26two fabulous courses to cook that quality in that kitchen for those critics is exceptional
38:39is well starting with spiced lamb chop with an aubergine and herb crust lamb scotch egg anchovy and wild
38:47garlic salsa asparagus and a tamarind sauce
38:53so ismail you've got three minutes we're gonna have to start plating up soon yes chef i absolutely
39:00love the combination of lamb and aubergine they go together so well we almost there yes chef almost
39:09there i just need to slide the scotch egg lamb scotch egg is giving me slight pause but i'm hoping
39:14that
39:14there'll be some spice running through the lamb mint and then the other issue i have or potential worry
39:22is just there's a lot of very big bullish quite contrasting flavors and i'm really hoping that ishmael
39:29can get them to harmonize yes chef right breathe off you go good luck thank you chef
39:47hello hello hello hi wow thank you
39:55i cooked today a spiced lamb chop topped with aubergine and herb crust lamb scotch egg
40:02made with the coil eggs wild garlic and anchovy salsa asparagus and turmeric sauce i hope you enjoy it
40:10thank you thank you thank you thank you well it looked big and generous on the plate and that's
40:22what it tastes like it's well spiced i think the scotch egg the lamb scotch egg is beautifully done
40:30it is a big and lovely plate of food
40:33the lamb chops are just so beautifully cooked and i'm adoring the spicing around it as well
40:41the aubergine on its own is kind of really salty but when you have a little bit of the lamb
40:46it works really nicely love the bright acidity of that tamarind sauce it needs that i just love
40:54how ismael has just absolutely gone for it it's full ball flavor it's foot down on the accelerator and it's
41:02a lot
41:04fun my goodness that was delicious the lamb cutlet beautifully cooked the spices wrapped around it
41:10the aubergine's on top it worked a treat beautifully cooked quail egg the tamarind sauce is sweet and
41:17fabulous and it may not look the pretty picture but it does enough taste good
41:25right chef you've got 15 minutes sure clear down and let's crack on yes let's go ismael's dessert is
41:34mango coconut and passion fruit cheesecake he has the absolute confidence to just give us five words
41:42it's kind of like there's something coming you're not going to know exactly what it is but i think you're
41:48to enjoy it and i like that conviction what else we got left to go on this dish i just
41:58need to grate
41:58some coconut on top are you happy with it i'm happy with it chef off you go good luck
42:19i have here mango passion fruit and fresh coconut cheesecake with mint crumb raspberry and fresh
42:25mango with fresh coconut grated on top i hope you enjoy it thanks thank you smile
42:34i think today's food went well for me but of course that's the hardest part i don't know
42:40what critic think about it yet or what judges think about it yet so let's see
42:49the cheesecake is really nice it's kind of fresh and zingy i like the bits of mango for me it's
43:00just a
43:00little bit too sweet the sweetness of the coconut creamy cheesecake the sweetness of the puree i was kind
43:08of searching for more tartness the sweetness level was fine for me actually i'm very conscious of when
43:17puddings are too sweet and i think you can overdo it but i think ismail got it pretty right
43:24what i love about this is the generosity but this is someone who wants to feed you and make you
43:29happy
43:30it's fresh it's light he's not flavoring the cheesecake with the with the passion fruit he's
43:35just put the passion fruit on top so it's so fresh mango around the outside love that crumb
43:39it's crunchy it's got texture it's got fresh fruit it's not what i was expecting but it's
43:44absolutely delicious overall from ismail great flavors you just need to tidy up in areas
43:53uh fish okay yeah just the tops were ever so slightly out of the oil so the skin's a little
43:59bit stuck but it's i just didn't want to force it off i'm just going to give it a minute
44:06so luke's first course is duck fat confit halibut crispy potato gem lettuce and parma ham balatine
44:15caviar hollandaise sauce wow i mean halibut the king of fish you really do not want to be mucking
44:22up that's an expensive bit of fish you're happy with that now luke yes i'm happy with the cooking on
44:27that now and then i'm sort of focusing in on this balatine what i'm not understanding is where
44:35the gem lettuce is going to come into this i'm completely very interested in what's going to turn
44:41up it's one of those dishes that every single element has to be perfect you ready yeah lots of
44:51confidence look them in the eye oh wow thank you i've cooked for you a duck fat confit halibut with
45:08a caviar hollandaise i've got crispy potato and caviar and i've got a charred gem lettuce balatine with
45:14anchovy parmesan and parma ham enjoy thank you the halibut is just gorgeously cooked there's a
45:29beautifully made hollandaise with the pop of caviar you don't taste the duck fat and the halibut is
45:36beautifully cooked and the crisp potatoes great this balatine which i had real qualms about
45:43i think it's actually really good because the lettuce inside has been charred but remains crunchy
45:53i actually really love it it's a wonderful wonderful plate of food oh my goodness me wow how good does
46:04that taste it's super lime the cooking of the halibut when it's comfy like this it's like butter it just
46:11melts the hollandaise it's like a blanket it's just wrapping around this beautiful piece of fish
46:17so then all together it's divine
46:22you feeling good yeah i've just got a little bit to do not too much just going to compress my
46:27oranges
46:31luke's dessert salted caramel chocolate cremeux toasted hazelnut
46:35whiskey oranges bourbon cream wasabi rockets silky cremeux is a gorgeous thing so the consistency and
46:45texture there has got to be bang on and then the whiskey oranges and the bourbon cream
46:50he needs to make sure he doesn't overdo it wasabi rocket it's a powerful root quite where that fits
46:57into that dessert i don't know
47:02is that it perfect that's it that was great wow happy i'm happy i'm ready okay off you go well
47:08done
47:21i've got a caramel chocolate cremeux with toasted hazelnuts bourbon orange and a bourbon cream and
47:29i've garnished that with some rocket wasabi leaves to add a little bit of heat to the dish i hope
47:34you
47:34enjoy it thank you thank you i'm happy i think to be honest everything went as i wanted it to
47:43but i'm feeling good i'm feeling confident after that round so i mean i just want to try it looks
47:49good
47:53the cremeux is nicely caramelized and there's a real whack of salt in there
47:58i think it's beautifully put together that bottom layer of nuts that you clunge into is really gorgeous
48:06that orange gives you a nice big whack it's very boozy this is kind of like sent me for a
48:11loop like
48:11i might sort of need like something to call me a cab and get me a kebab the wasabi rocket
48:17it is actually
48:18really nice who knew a very very slight undercurrent of heat just adds another bit of interest i would
48:26happily i would happily finish it i probably will chocolate caramel creme with hazelnuts wonderful
48:35just the right amount of setting and then the freshness and the sweetness of the oranges delightful
48:42you've got that bourbon cream and it certainly has got a punch clean precise executed to perfection
48:48it's delicious this is a tenderloin that he has to serve it like medium well i will see when i
48:55open it
48:56it's looking good though mario three minutes are we good to go yes really good to go
49:04now this serenito is a sort of andalusian sandwich and that makes me very happy indeed
49:10the serenito is in inverted quotation marks which makes me think it's not going to be what we
49:18initially think it is this is master chef the professionals surprise us i hope beautifully cooked
49:24iberico pork tenderloin how's it look perfect
49:31wild garlic is full-on like you know chefs love it people love it but if that just swamps everything
49:38it will be doubly disappointing that's it ready yes
49:50hello hello how you doing guys yeah very good sorry
49:59so this is my take on the serenito it's a civilian sandwich that has pork iberico ham peppers
50:07garlic alioli and some chips on the side some fries the pepper rat so with the the peppers on the
50:13sandwich and then you have some white garlic leaves and the whiskey sauce so i hope you enjoy
50:21well i suppose it is a bit deconstructed there's no bread which i'm very sad about
50:24yeah it looks like a pretty plate of food
50:31the meat cooked well i love the pepper rat that had the right amount of acidity crunch the potatoes are
50:37very interesting because they look pale and possibly undercooked but they're not they're they're very
50:43crispy i quite like the whiskey sauce which has just the kind of back note of bitterness rather than a
50:50great whack of booze mario's clearly a cook with real visual flair real high technique
50:59beautifully presented lovely color the pork is lovely and tender the peppers are delicious the
51:05puree on the plate is good a little plate of food iberico pork doesn't get any better than that
51:10it's beautifully cooked the sauce i can taste the whiskey and of course the shoestring fries delicious
51:20hello hello chef keep it going thank you chef
51:27so mario's second dish is orange blossom torija bay leaf ice cream caramelized pistachios and blood
51:36orange torija is a kind of andalusian pamperdo like a beautifully custardy thick fried piece of bread
51:48bread i'm already salivating bay ice cream now bay it's a background note to so many dishes both sweet
51:57and savory but if you go too far on it you can overwhelm too much bay in the ice cream
52:03might ruin the
52:04whole dish that's it all done all done chef good good good right good luck hope they like it thank
52:11you
52:12well done chef well done hello hey mario how about your main oh we couldn't possibly say
52:23this is my dessert it's torija it's a dessert that we're doing seville similar to a pamperdo
52:29so i'm infusing with orange blossom water i've got a nutcrumb on top orange segment lemon verbena
52:36then on the side you go up bay leaf ice cream i hope you enjoy it thank you thank you
52:41thank you
52:46the flavors are there everything was cooked as i wanted everything tastes as i wanted
52:50hope they can understand what i what i wanted to to express over through my dish i enjoy very much
52:55yeah
52:56i'm really happy
53:01it is a squidgy bit of sweet bread topped with really nicely toasted nuts with a really nice milky
53:10ice cream with the delicate flavor of bay those little segments of oranges on top have a very slight
53:16hint of bitterness which actually works nicely with all of this i really worried about the bay ice cream
53:22being overwhelming and it's a really really subtle elegant ice cream it's another really really
53:28impressive dish that bread's fabulous it's really hitting the light notes but i just love that bay leaf
53:36ice cream together it's a simple tasty dessert
53:43i've got to say they all delivered great food
53:48that was a celebration of fabulous cookery for our critics and this is going to be a tough judging
53:53i'm disappointed to have to lose one of these chefs
53:57sales first course the sweet corn was fabulous looked good smelt good and tasted absolutely delicious
54:03he showed the colors of of south america followed by a main course inspired by his time working in the
54:09uk
54:09i thought two very strong dishes here from sal ismail's menu really rustic presentation but both dishes
54:20delicious he's given us such beautiful flavor combinations it was an absolute treat
54:27two dishes from luke today were flawless the halibut was just stunning the caramel chocolate creme of
54:34hazelnuts delicious finished with that powerful kick of bourbon cream on top
54:39absolutely sensational mario came in full of energy and excitement talking about the food of seville
54:46main course was delicious the pork was beautifully cooked the dessert that fabulous bay leaf ice cream
54:54a lovely dessert oh like all in i want to say even for sure definitely i don't want to go
55:00so please
55:01to me here i feel my dishes were strong so if i didn't make it through them them other contestants
55:08must
55:09be very good it would be absolutely amazing if i can go through the knockout round um i have a
55:17couple
55:17of more dish in my sleeve and i want to push to absolute limit i'd love to go to knockout
55:25wigs at
55:25semifinals finals yeah i want it all so i just hope like what i have done today is enough to
55:29get me there
55:32we have just eaten four great menus we've got four fabulous cooks who are we going to send home
55:50that was an outstanding cook-off from all four of you i'd say probably the strongest food critics round
55:59i've ever judged that's how good today was chefs we have made a decision and we have decided that
56:13all four of you are going through to knock out week
56:20it just feels amazing yeah to make it like with all of them to the the next round so yeah
56:25epic
56:28i feel very happy and very excited i can't wait to call my wife and tell her i made it
56:33to the next
56:33round i wanted to stay here in the competition as far as possible and obviously i'm thrilled about
56:40i'm 100 ready for what's coming next i joked in there saying oh we're all going to go through and
56:46then
56:46it actually happened i was like wow that's that's crazy next time four new hopefuls fight for their
57:00place in the quarterfinal right chefs you've got five minutes left if you haven't started plating up
57:08now you need to get a move on oh it's fabulous it's delicious i absolutely love this
57:39so
57:41so
57:46so
57:48you
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