MasterChef is back...
Boom!
..with 45 of the country's most ambitious home cooks.
GROANS
Stressing.
Each week, nine will battle for a coveted place
in the quarterfinal.
GASPS Oh, my God.
Stress. Stress.
Oh!
Can't believe it!
Chronic!
I absolutely love it.
Dib dab, that's fab.
Only the strongest will make it to the final challenges
and the culinary adventure of a lifetime...
It's all about your speed now, OK?
It's a piece of art.
Cheers to the fair.
Oh.
We need to pick up the pace, please.
..as they compete for the title
of MasterChef Champion 2023.
We want passion, drive, ambition.
We want beautiful food.
Let the culinary battle commence.
It's week two of the MasterChef competition
and nine more home cooks are arriving for their audition.
I'm just a home cook and I love to cook.
I just love people being around me.
And that's what I've come to do today.
Really? I'm really doing this? Oh, my God.
Why? Why am I...
Why am I doing this to myself?
I've got apprehension in my stomach.
I want to get on with it, but I don't want to start.
Hello and welcome to the MasterChef kitchen.
Who knows?
We could right now be looking at this year's MasterChef champion.
JOHN:This is an audition round.
We've asked you to bring in your own ingredients and cook
for us a family favourite and make it MasterChef worthy.
Gregg and I will not be in the MasterChef kitchen
with you whilst you cook.
We'll be in the tasting room next door.
And the only way we'll be able to judge your plates of food
is what appears in front of us.
Once we've tasted every dish,
John and I will choose our three favourites.
And the cooks that cook those dishes, you will get yourself
an apron and you will be in the MasterChef competition.
The remaining six,
you have to cook again for four aprons.
Then, our floor manager here will be watching the clock
and keeping you to time.
We'll see you soon.
I want everyone to do well, but I am disgustingly competitive.
So, when it comes down to it, I'm going to do everything I can
to try and get one of the MasterChef aprons.
Well, how did they seem to you?
I love the fact they're all smiling,
and I think that's a really good sign.
It's beyond real.
It's just, like, so overwhelming to see
John and Gregg live in front of us.
I couldn't believe it that they are for real.
Of course, they're going to be nervous.
But I think that we're in for a treat.
This is what I've been looking forward to doing
for a long time now.
So, I'm ready.
I sound confident, but I'm not.
Usually, we're walking around the MasterChef kitchen,
watching what they're doing.
But the only way we're going to be able to judge their food
is by the finished plate.
I think this, in many ways, is like a restaurant experience.
You know, we're here as the diners and they're the chefs. That's it.
The contestants will audition in groups of three
and have 1 hour and 20 minutes to make their family favourite
MasterChef worthy.
Spice. Spice.
I love my spice.
Yeah. Spice keeps you alive, you know?
That's my personality.
You feel nervous for them.
First up is civil servant Nky.
Originally from Lagos, Nigeria, she now lives in Aberdeen
and has entered the competition to celebrate her 50th birthday.
I'm getting to that age in my life where it's...
..I'm still 21, somewhere in my head.
My birthday is next month and, for me, I had like a list
of what it is that I want to do for that milestone age.
It's like a birthday gift for myself.
First up, we've got Nky's chicken and fried rice.
I've got three lovely boys.
I tend to do this every other Sunday.
One of the favourite dish that they love.
Double cooked spicy chicken thighs,
steamed in oxtail broth and then pan fried,
served with fried rice and a salsa salad.
It's going to be a very spicy dish.
I am not holding back.
Nky can make my chicken thighs as spicy as she wants.
Double cooked is a really good way of doing it.
So, what you do is you steam it,
so all the steam penetrates the flesh.
Then fry it, so you get a crispy outside.
I think because the taste is kind of,
it takes us back to where I'm from originally.
We love fried rice, we love jollof rice.
They're such popular staple food that we tend to have.
I'm hoping that fried rice has got some vegetables running through it.
Could be great.
Going well?
Fingers crossed, yep. I hope.
34-year-old Adam is a bricklayer from Bristol.
My job, I just literally put down bricks.
Whereas this I need to think about timings, ingredients, taste.
This is definitely more stressful.
Adam's got pan-seared fillet steak, salsa verde,
pistachio-crusted carrots,
Pommes Anna and crispy shallots served with red wine jus.
There's a lot of work here.
We have a steak on a Friday night.
My wife's sick of it. I've cooked it quite a few times in a minute.
We had it for breakfast the other day.
Fillet steak doesn't have a huge amount of flavour.
That means it's got to be browned very, very well.
I don't want it to be under. I don't want it to be over.
Pommes Anna. Slice the potatoes, loads and loads of butter
and nice and crispy.
That itself is going to take at least an hour to get right.
I want those potatoes.
I never thought about doing them as rectangles. No.
It's pretty, pretty classic stuff.
So let's hope for Adam's sake, he has mastered those techniques.
Next up is 31-year-old toy developer Omar from Barnsley in Yorkshire,
who likes to experiment with Pan-Asian flavours.
I think there's definitely a bit of a uniqueness
and a difference to my food.
When my friends come over, it's always a bit of an occasion.
It's not a normal roast dinner or anything like that.
It's just nice to use the creative side of my brain a bit more.
Omar's dish is called Big Burger Dumplings.
Love that! Wow.
I don't know what a big burger dumpling is,
but I love the sound of it.
It's like a cheeseburger-filled dumpling.
I love making dumplings
and just putting my own spin on things.
I think you can pretty much put anything in a dumpling.
We've got smoked beef, cheese, gherkins and onions stuffed
in a home-made fried dumpling,
served with shoestring fries,
gherkin sauce and burger sauce.
I live with my fiance. We love a two-takeaway Sunday.
So you get a burger in the afternoon,
and then usually get a Chinese or we make something in the evening.
So I wanted to mash the two up and kind of ended up with this dish.
So he's going to smoke the beef himself?
I'm just smoking my dumpling mixture.
I leave it for about 15 minutes and then it has that smoky taste
that you usually have in a great burger.
Now it's just a fiddly bit, which I'm usually terrible at.
I am really, really fascinated by this whole process,
and I really hope it works.
Nky, you've got five minutes.
Five minutes. We're on track.
I cook with so much love.
That's why I brought my love heart,
to put the fried rice in! SHE LAUGHS
Nky, your time's up.
Let's get your plates out.
Oh, look at that.
We've got a heart.
Civil servant Nky's audition dish
is paprika and cayenne pepper spiced chicken thighs,
which have been double cooked,
first steamed in oxtail broth and then pan fried.
Served with fried rice and a salsa salad.
You have wonderful flavour on here, Nky, inside your rice
and on your chicken skin. I really like it.
The major, major problem I have here, I'm sorry to say,
is your chicken here is too pink for me to eat.
The flesh in my chicken is great.
It's falling off the bone. It's absolutely delicious.
I love the flavour you've got in there from cooking that chicken
with the oxtail broth.
It's a revelation to me. That's fantastic.
I had lots of time.
I don't know why his chicken had to be pink.
Nky, come on, come on. What a shame.
I really like her flavours, though, Gregg. I really do.
Oh, boy.
Adam, five minutes. We're going to need to start getting
some food on the plate. Lovely.
I'm happy with my potatoes.
My red wine sauce possibly could have been a little bit stickier,
but the flavour's in there.
Adam, that's time up.
Let's get these dishes out, please.
To win an apron,
bricklayer Adam is serving pan seared fillets steak
topped with crispy shallots, Pommes Anna,
salsa verde,
pistachio crusted carrots
and a red wine jus.
That is a nice bit of steak with good seasoning,
good colour on the outside. Love the crispy shallots. Really good.
I like your Pommes Anna. They're soft in the middle,
crispy around the outside. Very, very good.
Your sauce needs work.
You've got to get it reduced so it's thick and it's sticky.
Adam, I want to applaud you for your salsa verde.
It's absolutely delicious. I love it.
It's really, really fine.
Almost like green herb mustard.
Your carrots could probably be a bit softer,
but it's a nice foundation, nicely seasoned.
This means a lot to me.
I just wish I'd done those little better techniques and got it down,
but it is what it is now.
Omar, five minutes to get some food on the plate.
You're in the car.
You've just ordered your favourite burger.
You take your first bite. That's what that should taste like,
but...if you're in China.
Burger sauce is a bit too thick, so
I'm having to liberally put it on with the spoon,
but if I see anything that goes wrong, I'll be happy.
Omar, that's time up. Let's get them out, please.
Great. Thank you.
BOTH:Hey.
Omar's place in the competition
rests on his big burger dumplings.
Fried dumpling skins filled with smoked beef, cheese,
gherkins and onion,
topped with shoestring fries
and served with gherkin sauce and burger sauce.
I think this is a really clever idea.
Your dumplings are great.
Your dumpling skin is really good.
It's a lovely, thin consistency.
The filling inside is still wonderful and moist.
It's well seasoned.
I think it's a really good start.
Your burger relish across the top with the sesame seeds
is quite sharp,
and, of course, your gherkin sauce underneath by design is very sharp.
So, I'm finding the whole thing sharp.
It's almost as if I doused it in too much vinegar.
Love your shoestring fries.
Really heavily seasoned. That's great.
I feel like, finally, someone's let the top off the kettle
kind of thing after weeks of like getting ready for this one moment.
But no, I feel really happy with what I've done,
and, yeah, let's just see what happens.
Back in the kitchen,
the next three competitors are under way.
I love a whole range of food.
I love everything.
34-year-old Claire owns a cheese and wine shop in County Durham.
I'm what's called a super taster, so I don't just taste wine.
I can taste a little bit more
and I think that's what I get with food as well.
But I'm a council estate lass,
so whilst I do like the finer things, I also like, you know,
just a pie and chips.
I want to bring the comfort element to the MasterChef level.
Claire's doing Korean fried chicken
served with sticky jasmine rice
and pickled Asian slaw.
This dish, I'm quite confident,
there's not a lot of elements to it.
I want it really dark and crispy, quite spicy.
I don't mind a little bit of sweetness
with moist chicken underneath.
So, this dish is something special to me and my wife, Katie,
and the dogs.
It was something that we loved
to get in during lockdown as a delivery,
and then when the restaurant got a bit busier and we couldn't get
deliveries, we just started making it ourselves and we love it.
Claire's really neat and tidy and organised.
This is intimidating levels of organisation.
Also competing for an apron is 40-year-old Anurag.
Here's my plan now - coming out with my Excel sheet!
Hopefully I got the right recipe.
Originally born in India,
he now works as a chartered accountant in Essex.
My love for cooking comes from India, especially from my mother.
Sadly, she passed away a couple of years ago, but she always
taught me how to cook and how to have passion and love for food.
I really miss her.
And I think it's a tribute to her - today I'm here just because of her.
Anurag has got a lot going on a plate.
Spiced loin of lamb
served with lamb curry sauce,
sweet potato mash, crushed peas,
mint yoghurt, cucumber ribbons, cranberry relish,
and paratha strips.
I'm sticking to the original Indian flavours, but I'm presenting
in a very modern way.
Hopefully John and Gregg will appreciate it.
Lamb loin, we know, has no fat on it whatsoever,
so that's got to be crusted and it should be served pink.
A lamb curry sauce - beautiful.
I like the thought of this.
My concern is cranberries.
Cranberries in a curry sauce together.
Cucumber ribbons, paratha strips.
Seems to be lots of things going on.
There's a high-end feel, honest cooking,
but presented in a very beautiful form.
This is torture, sitting here and looking at all this food
and not getting to eat it.
I try and cook every single day.
I love cooking.
62-year-old IT consultant Victor regularly cooks the food
of his Hungarian heritage for his family who live in Harrogate.
I'm here on the MasterChef because I've been doing things
for other people for so many years and this is something I've always
wanted to do, so I'm doing something for me.
What are you making today?
I'm going to make a Hungarian schnitzel.
What kind of schnitzel is it that you're making?
It's going to be a pork schnitzel. Oh, lovely.
My father came out from Hungary in 1956.
One of my early memories of this dish is actually sitting
around the family table with a great big pile of schnitzel in the middle.
I introduced my children to it and it's one of their favourites.
To the extent that when they come back from university, it's like,
"What would you like to eat?" "Oh, can we have schnitzel, please?"
Taking a piece of pork loin, batting it out.
Flour, egg, breadcrumb,
nice and crispy when it's been pan fried.
Slightly pink in the middle, I'm fine with.
You talk to people about Hungarian food.
They go, "Oh, goulash." Yeah, yeah, all right, goulash,
but it's more than just goulash.
Hungarian cucumber salad, that goes with a schnitzel.
And then another salad with potato and avocado.
Lemon gel and an apple crisp.
He's got a lot of work to do, and I don't necessarily believe
all these ingredients need to be on the plate.
I just need to get my head down
and make sure I remember everything.
QUIETLY:Perfect.
Claire, you've got five minutes.
Let's get something on a plate, please.
I'm popping the Asian pickled slaw on the top
with the biggest tongs in the world!
I think you eat with your eyes first, don't you?
If it looks good, that's half the battle.
Claire, that's time up. Let's get these plates out, please.
To secure her place,
cheesemonger Claire has made Korean fried chicken,
served with sticky jasmine rice
and pickled Asian slaw.
I am finding your chicken completely and utterly addictive.
Thank you.
The coating on that chicken, with the sesame seeds,
it's sweet and it's salty.
I've got a sweet tooth. I think that is lovely.
Rice is nicely cooked.
The coleslaw is really nice and sharp.
More of a pickled vegetables rather than being any slaw at all.
And then you've got the carrot going through it - that's great.
I actually really like the dish.
I'm impressed with Claire.
I'm impressed with the confidence.
It's relief now more than anything, I think.
It was a bit of excitement and nerves, and now it's just, "Pfff."
That's the first one done, thankfully.
Anurag, you've got five minutes left.
Pretty much everything is done now.
I just need to plate up.
I believe this is going to be the European style of plating
with the flavours maybe that Anurag grew up with.
That's how I like my lamb.
Thank you for the MasterChef heating gods!
It's all about the oven.
It's a very stylised plate.
Very modern. Lots of work in here.
Accountant Anurag has made garam masala, turmeric and garlic
spiced loin of lamb,
sweet potato mash, crushed peas,
mint yoghurt, cucumber ribbons,
cranberry relish
and paratha bread.
Served with a lamb curry sauce.
Your lamb is cooked perfectly pink and juicy, colour on the outside.
Your curry sauce, my friend,
I'd like to spoon that out of a bowl.
I like the sweet potato that you've made,
almost into a mousse.
It's really smooth.
I could do with some more bread.
Only because I want to get piggy with your sauce. Yeah.
I love it.
Thank you.
I think it's bangin'! Oh!
The peas with the little bits of cumin running through it,
it's really delicious.
The cucumber is slightly salty
and then the cranberry being sharp and sour.
I've got sour, salty, hot, sweet notes all together on a plate
with a beautiful piece of bread.
It's great.
John, early days.
Only one dish, I know, but the young fellow's got talent.
John said this is bang on. It's a banger.
So I'm pretty delighted.
I couldn't be more happier from John and Gregg's comment about my dish.
Victor, you've got a minute. We need to finish this plating up.
OK, no problems.
The risk on this dish is moving it from being a family sharing dish
to a plated up dish.
I'm worried about all the components turning into a big blob
on the plate.
These lemon gels have come out absolutely perfectly,
just as I wanted to see them.
Hey, guys.
IT consultant Victor has served pork loin Hungarian schnitzel
with Hungarian cucumber salad,
potato and avocado salad with pesto mayonnaise,
garnished with lemon gel and apple crisps.
I like your schnitzel, the flavour of pork underneath a crisp
layer of breadcrumbs. Nicely seasoned - I like that.
Your cucumber salad, I like, with the smoky paprika,
but it's very salty.
Your lemon gel, I think that should just be wedges of lemon.
Avocado with pesto mayo is a new one on me, but that works.
The apple crisp is a nice idea.
I like all the things you've made.
I'm just not sure it makes
one whole plate.
It's inoffensive. It's all cooked OK.
I just don't know what it is.
It kind of defies description.
EXHALES
MasterChef kitchen, time really does run away from you.
And I think if I had that time again,
I'd put a nice wedge of lemon on it in a little bit muslin cloth
and save myself about ten minutes.
The spotlight is now on the last group of auditionees.
Where's my recipe?
Here it is.
Originally from Wales,
46-year-old mum of four Jo now lives in Scotland.
It actually feels nice to be cooking for somebody who isn't going
to ask me for a snack while I'm cooking.
That's going to be a novelty for me.
Jo's the first dessert out of the blocks.
We're being promised a cherry kirsch pudding,
served with custard - nice.
Salted almond brittle,
cherry tuille, and whipped cream.
I've cooked this cake for 20 years or more.
This cake has appeared in many mums and tots groups,
pretty much every birthday party I've ever thrown
and many other family occasions.
Yes, this cake has been there for it all.
Pudding nice and light, please.
Cherry kirsch running through it.
Kirsch being a cherry brandy.
I've added a lot of kirsch to make it a little bit more grown up.
You've got a fairly basic batter,
then some cherries soaked in kirsch.
I've just drizzled some of the kirsch on the batter so it soaks in
and makes it more pudding-y.
And then a crumble top.
Served with custard - fabulous.
Think we're on track so far, unless something goes horribly wrong.
I could collapse into my custard.
Hong Kong-born Forest
is a 34-year-old marketing director from Surrey.
As a cook I'm very messy,
although I do my best to try to clean up on my way.
However, if you speak to my boyfriend, he will say that I'm one
of the messiest cooks that he's ever seen.
So, hopefully, I won't embarrass myself too much in this competition.
Forest - Apples and Cream is the title of his dessert.
Warm apple cake, served with cinnamon and mascarpone ice cream
and an oat cookie crumb.
Come on! He's just making a list of heavenly ingredients.
So, the inspiration for this is that when I was younger,
me and my family liked going to fast food places where you sell chips
and burgers and apple pies.
One of the things that we really liked to order is apple pie
and ice cream,
so this is basically a version of that.
An elevated MasterChef version.
I would like a really lovely apple cake here with bits of apple
running through it, some spices, maybe cinnamon and nutmeg.
It needs to have some texture across the top.
And with that, an ice cream made from mascarpone,
that thick cheese, with cinnamon.
There's two things I need to do.
One is the cinnamon and mascarpone ice cream,
and the other one is a pastry cream.
I basically need to do both at the same time,
otherwise I'll run out of time.
VICTOR:Double handed - wow, that's impressive.
The final amateur to audition is 24-year-old personal trainer
Cliodhna from Lancashire.
She learned to cook at an early age along with her three sisters.
When we were younger, myself and my younger sister Alana
applied for our high school's kiddie version of MasterChef.
Alana ended up going on to win the competition,
whereas I got kicked out on the first round.
So, I'm here to set the record straight this time.
She's going to kill me for that!
Cliodhna - sticky toffee pudding.
Ooh, yum. I love a sticky toffee pudding.
I'm pretty sure it's a family favourite in most homes in the UK
cos it's amazing.
Served with rich toffee sauce, caramelised banana ice cream,
and peanut praline.
Whoa! This is going to be sweet, Gregg.
It's a very sweet dish, but not overly sweet.
Well balanced, I like to think,
but the judges will be the judge of that!
Sticky toffee pudding, the sweetness comes from dates.
It should be soft and spongy on the outside
and it should fall apart.
It should be really, really light.
Caramelised banana ice cream.
First, she's going to have to caramelise the bananas with sugar
and then into ice cream,
which is made from custard, which is sweet.
I don't put any extra sugar in the ice cream,
so then it's not overly sweet.
And then that adds a sort of creamy note to the whole dessert.
And then peanut praline, which is sugar.
Wow. I hope there's a little bit of cream on the side to be able to take
up some of the sugar.
I've done praline once, but when I've tasted it all together,
it's worth the risk.
It tastes unreal.
The proof of the pudding, of course,
is in the amount of sugar.
Jo, one minute - you need to get everything on the plate, please.
That looks like it's cooked, as long as it's not dry.
My cherry pudding is basically my old cherry cake
with some nice shoes and a bit of lipstick,
and hopefully it'll appeal to John and Gregg's
sensibilities a little bit.
That was supposed to be a nice, elegant drizzle of cherry sauce
rather than a squirt, but it'll do.
I can live with that.
Jo, time's up.
Let's go. Thank you.
Welsh-born Jo has made cherry kirsch pudding,
served with custard,
a salted almond brittle,
cherry tuille,
and whipped cream.
Wonderful, wonderful flavours.
Not too sweet.
The cake is a little bit...
..damp. It could be a little drier.
Right.
You are showing a number of things here.
You can make a sponge,
you can make a tuille, you can make a brittle.
You make really good custard and a cherry sauce.
You obviously do a fair bit of cooking.
I love your custard, but then I've got whipped cream as well.
I don't think I really need whipped cream and custard and cherry sauce
with a soggy sponge.
It's gone too wet. Yep.
By doing so many things,
you're detracting from the beauty of the centre of that dish.
I think that lady can cook.
I think she can, too, but this is just too much.
I'm kicking myself a little bit cos I could have just made my life
so much easier and just did a really good cake
and some lovely custard.
But I've done it, it was good. I'm happy.
Forest, mate, you've got three minutes.
You need to get this plated up, please. OK. Sounds good.
This is the oat cookie.
It's really crispy. Really nice.
What I try not to do is to push everything onto a plate
and swamp it.
I only have a few elements on it,
but do each element very, very well.
This is decent. Yes, I'm happy with this.
OK, Forest, it's time to go now.
Marketing director Forest has made warm apple cake,
served with cinnamon and mascarpone ice cream,
oat cookie crumb,
and an oat cookie biscuit.
I think it's professional quality.
Your cake is absolutely fantastic.
It's light, it's soft, it's delicious.
On the side, bits of apple, which are lovely, rich in caramel,
and then added texture from an oat biscuit.
I think it's great.
I'm loving that ice cream.
Mascarpone, of course, is slightly sour, almost like yoghurt.
You've got tons of cinnamon in there which is a classic combination.
I'm very, very much enjoying that.
One of the best dishes today.
I am exhausted,
but, yeah, I think it went as well as I could hope.
NKY:One more to go.
I'm really happy with how the pudding's turned out and the sauce.
They both taste amazing.
Cliodhna, I know you've got something in the blast chiller,
but you've only got three minutes. Be right back!
SHE LAUGHS
Perfect.
Good to go.
Whoa!
Personal trainer Cliodhna's dish is sticky toffee pudding
served with toffee sauce,
caramelised banana ice cream,
and a peanut praline.
That's quite a thick, big piece of peanut brittle.
As for the rest of it,
it's delightful.
Your pudding itself is really nicely spiced.
It's not too sweet.
And across the top of it,
we have a really lovely thick toffee sauce made with molasses.
I wrote it off as going to be too sweet.
I was wrong.
Your sponge is moist and really light.
That is brilliant ice cream.
Oh, thank you.
That is shiny and smooth and creamy,
and you get a trace, a hint of banana,
as you're finishing each mouthful.
That's really, really well made.
I almost want to let you go back in there
and have another go at the praline.
That praline is a problem. It's not perfect.
But she's good. She's got real promise.
My heart is in my throat right now after that!
I'm on a high vibe and I'm staying on it because they really liked it
and it's the first time I've ever cooked for them,
so I'm absolutely chuffed.
A mixed bag of skill and technical ability.
And I've got to tell you,
a couple of absolutely outstanding bits of talent.
There are two people who will definitely get an apron.
Forest with his apple cake,
and Anurag with his spiced lamb.
Those two dishes were stand-out and beautiful.
We know that mistakes have been made
and who'll definitely have to cook again.
Nky made chicken and yours wasn't cooked enough.
Adam did a steak.
However, the red wine sauce wasn't good enough
and the carrots weren't cooked.
Victor's schnitzel was great, but it was more like a buffet
than it was a finished dinner.
Omar's going to cook again because you're not sure.
Jo's going to cook again because I'm not sure.
So that means the final apron
is between Claire with the Korean fried chicken
or Cliodhna with the sticky toffee pudding.
What a fantastic problem to have, when you've got
that much choice.
Who do we want to see cook again?
What an incredible audition round.
We loved tasting your food.
So thank you.
We have made a decision.
We do have our three favourite dishes.
Our first apron...
..goes to Anurag.
Congratulations, my friend.
Thank you.
Second person getting an apron...
Forest.
Beautiful.
Thank you.
The third apron caused us a bit of a problem as judges
because there were two contestants that we thought both deserved it.
Claire, Cliodhna, we both really liked your dishes.
But we only have one more apron to give.
Our third and final apron...
Claire.
Congratulations. Thank you.
Sorry.
The three of you, come on, get your aprons.
Congratulations. Up you come.
Well done. Congratulations. Thank you.
See you soon.
Yeah! You got it!
Well done, guys. Well done.
My aim with MasterChef is just
not to get kicked out in the first round, so I think I'm done now.
You can go home.
Baby steps, day by day.
Hip-hip... Hooray! Hooray!
Three cheers, guys.
Now, look - put any disappointment behind you.
This is not the end of the road.
Your MasterChef journey has only just begun.
This is a MasterChef invention test...
..and your job is to cook for Gregg and I
an amazing dish in 1 hour and 15 minutes.
It can be whatever you want it to be,
an influence from anywhere in the world,
because, behind us, there are an amazing set
of ingredients to allow you to cook whatever you want.
We have just four more aprons to give.
That does mean, at the end of this, two of you will be going home.
Ten minutes to select your ingredients.
Up you come.
I'm still deciphering the ingredients
and struggling a little bit.
If you are a good cook and you cook all the time,
you will love an invention test.
If you're winging it, this will scare you.
Think I'm going tapas-y, kind of Spanish.
It's all churning in my head but it'll be good.
We'll be fine.
There's guinea fowl, racks of lamb, sea bass, salmon.
There's chocolates, there's syrups, spices, herbs.
Make us something great.
I was really nervous about it to start with, but now I've seen
what I've got to work with I'm quite excited.
Hour and 15 minutes -
off you go.
MasterChef has been on my bucket list for years and years and years,
and the fact that I'm actually here and doing it
and being in the kitchen is a big, big tick for me.
I really would like to stay.
Victor, how are you in our kitchen?
You feeling comfortable?
I'm a lot happier than I was in the last round.
I've got some ingredients I love,
so I think I can get something quite good out today.
What are you making us, Victor?
I'm going to bone out the guinea fowl,
stuff the legs with some mushrooms, chorizo and shallot,
cook the breast, do a fondant potato, a bit of mushroom, leek,
do a stock reduction and a fennel puree.
Victor, are you sure you can get all this done in just over an hour?
No.
Victor's given himself a huge amount of work to do.
He took the guinea fowl, guinea fowl being very, very similar
to a chicken.
It doesn't have very much fat on it,
so it does cook really quick and he's got to be careful
it doesn't go dry.
I'm really going to try and put my personality into my food.
That's what I want them to see today,
my personality, my cheekiness, my confidence, my skills.
I'm going to get an apron today and I'm going to win,
end of.
What are you going to make for us?
I'm going to make you a cappelletti pasta.
It's basically a tortellini -
so you circle it, fold it, tuck it at the back -
filled with a lemon and mascarpone filling,
white wine sauce and a dill oil.
Wow! Where did your passion for cookery begin?
From my dad, from a young age.
My dad was a builder, but he was always making random things.
Are there other cookery builders in the industry,
or do you stand out on your own?
I do stand out a lot. A lot of people talk about football
and I talk about famous chefs, and I do get a lot of stick.
The issue with stuffed pasta is you've got to make sure
there's no air inside the actual pasta when you fold it over,
because air expands in heat and it blows open.
But I think it's a really nice idea.
Cliodhna confidently got to the bench and picked up a sea bass.
She filleted that sea bass absolutely beautifully.
It's going to be served with a bowl of pasta and pesto,
made with pistachio nuts.
Pistachio nuts are quite rich.
They're quite a strong flavour, almost flavour of dessert.
So hopefully that works.
Cheese, basil, pistachios and fish with pasta?
Yeah.
Do you have a style, do you think?
I just do, like, mood food, really.
Whatever I'm in the mood for, I'll cook it, so...
I love "mood food". I'm using it.
What's mood food? Whatever food I'm in the mood for. Brilliant!
I'm very, very hungry for it now.
I'm going to absolutely go down fighting to try and get one
of those aprons today, 100%.
Is it all right if 25 minutes have gone?
No!
25 minutes have gone.
As a mum of four, it tends to be a bit,
"Right, what's in the freezer, what's in the cupboards,
"what can I make out of that that's going to make everybody happy?"
Because one doesn't like this, one doesn't like the other.
That's my danger.
I have a tendency to add lots of bits to everything.
Who do you cook for? Who's at home?
My husband, Chris, and three of my four kids are still at home.
And the other one comes for dinner two or three nights a week, yeah.
Wow! You cook dinner every night?
Yeah.
What are you making? I'm making you some tapas.
I've got you a chicken and chorizo stew, some Spanish pickled carrots,
a Spanish tortilla,
some green beans with roasted garlic and almonds
and some crispy, hopefully, garlicky crushed new potatoes.
Why have you done this? Why not a complete dinner?
This is how we'd eat it at home. We'd eat it family-style.
The stew is the wet dish. I get that.
But, for me, there needs to be something else with this.
Something like aioli with the chicken stew - delicious.
Something like aioli with the tortilla - delicious.
But it needs something to join it together.
I've given myself a talk this morning.
I'm ready to go.
Go on, Nky, let's go.
Nky went straight for the salmon, which she has dusted
with some curry powder, some smoked paprika and cinnamon.
Cinnamon on salmon?
It's a very strong spice.
The vegetables are all together in a pan with Scotch bonnet,
a whole Scotch bonnet.
Then through that mix she's also put some mint.
It's an interesting combination.
I saw you grab the Scotch bonnet chilli.
I was told not to hold back, so I'm trying not to hold back.
But you know what? I've got something to cool you guys off.
I've made some kind of... It's very like milkshake.
If you can't handle the heat, you go with the milkshake.
Where did you learn to cook?
Oh, back in Lagos.
I went to boarding school
and, when you go to boarding school where I come from in Nigeria
and you come back home, you have to be a good cook
because the food is not that great in boarding school.
That was how I developed a love of cooking.
I love people. You know when you love people, a people-pleaser,
you just love to make people happy.
And I should imagine people love you, don't they? People try.
People try, yeah.
You've only got 25 minutes left!
Omar honed in on the sea bass.
But when he went to fillet that sea bass, he seemed to have no idea
what he was doing. He has got some fish off the bone.
He's taken all the rest of the fish which is still on the bone
and, thankfully, made a fish stock out of it.
Omar, you really made us smile with your invention
in the last round. I'm glad, Gregg. What are you making for us?
I've done a fish broth.
I've got some of the sea bass that'll go on top,
some crispy peanuts, some mushrooms, some pickled chillies
and the vermicelli noodles.
How would you define your style?
Probably Asian. Like, Asian fusion.
I love taking dishes that I've eaten when I've been travelling.
I've been to China quite a lot, Hong Kong, Philippines. Wow.
Yeah, I travelled quite a lot with work, which was brilliant.
You're a lucky boy. Managed to
travel and eat... Yeah, I've been very lucky.
That fish stock needs to be lovely and clear cos he's making
a broth, which is going to go with some noodles, and then
a piece of fish across the top. I just hope he doesn't
then boil it cos you boil a stock which has had lemongrass
and lime leaves in it, and all those flavours disappear
and they become bitter.
Three minutes, everybody, please. Just three minutes.
Food on plates, right now.
You have 90 seconds!
You've got to get stuff on plates now!
Final touches.
And we're done. Stop!
Looks good.
Adam, please, come and join us.
To secure one of the last four aprons,
bricklayer Adam has served cappelletti pasta filled with
mascarpone and lemon,
served with a butter and white wine sauce,
and a dill oil.
Making any filled pasta is the hardest pasta to make
and you've done really, really well. Inside there,
you've got mascarpone, which is slightly sour, and you've got lemon
flavour, which is nice.
You have fantastic dill oil running through a cream sauce,
which has the faintest hint of white wine about it.
Adam, I'm liking it.
I'm just over the moon.
I'm feeling absolutely buzzing.
Toy developer Omar's dish is pan-fried sea bass
on vermicelli noodles,
with mushrooms, pickled chillies, crispy peanuts and coriander,
served with a lemongrass, chilli and lime leaf broth.
You selected the sea bass, having probably never filleted
a sea bass before, by the looks of the way in which you went about it.
Yeah.
Your sea bass, although butchered within an inch of its life,
it's actually cooked nicely
and it suits that broth. Noodles are cooked.
Yeah, I'm really enjoying it. Tastes good.
Your broth is really good.
It's lovely and clear. You've got the warmth of the chilli,
get woodiness of mushrooms, which I like, the freshness
of that coriander running through the whole thing,
and a small faint flavour of that fish stock.
That's good. I hope you're going to walk away from here and learn
how to fillet a fish.
Feeling really good. I think they really liked it.
They loved the broth.
So, there's definitely good... good stuff to take from it.
Personal trainer Cliodhna has served pan-fried sea bass
on dill, parsley, pistachio and pesto pasta,
and buttered green beans.
You filleted your sea bass very well.
My fish is cooked beautifully.
Your pasta's made really, really nicely.
Your pesto is really rich with basil, but not too much.
The pistachio nuts I can't taste, which I'm pleased about.
Your beans are cooked very, very nicely.
I've got to say, I'm really impressed with what you've done.
I CAN taste the pistachio and my pasta is a little sweet
because of the pistachio.
But wouldn't send it back.
I would eat it.
I'm not disheartened.
I do think I probably could have done a little bit better,
but I'm just feeling really nervous, to be honest.
Mum-of-four Jo is serving her version of tapas -
Spanish-inspired chicken and chorizo stew,
s Spanish tortilla and roasted garlic potatoes,
served with a side of almond and garlic green beans,
and pickled carrots with paprika.
This little pot of chicken stew here, sweet with tomatoes
and really smoky with paprika, is lovely.
Your little tortilla - perfectly cooked, really nice.
Your crushed roasted potatoes - really lovely.
You've got some really lovely ideas.
I'd like to see this joined up
and that needs, for me, a big whack of aioli going through your stew,
on your bread, with your potatoes, with your tortilla.
It'd be lovely.
I always make aioli with my tapas and I didn't do it today,
so I'm a little bit annoyed at myself about that.
Other than that, yeah, I'm pretty happy with how it went. I'm happy.
IT consultant Victor has made a mushroom and chorizo-stuffed
guinea fowl leg,
and roasted guinea fowl breast,
served with fondant potato, leeks, fennel puree,
king oyster mushroom, and finished with a Madeira sauce.
I think we've got a bit of an issue with this leg.
You can see how pink that is.
Victor, your fondant is absolutely fantastic. I love it.
It's nice and buttery and cooked really, really well.
I've got an issue with my breast of my guinea fowl.
It's still pink. My leg is actually cooked, but the skin
on the outside of it needs to be at least crispy
or take it away.
You obviously know how to cook.
I like your puree. That's well made, smooth. lovely sauce.
But I think what you were attempting in the time was unrealistic,
bordering foolhardy-brave.
I'm absolutely gutted, to be honest with you.
I thought it was cooked. It looked cooked and then it wasn't.
It's one of those days.
Finally, it's civil servant Nky,
whose dish is cinnamon and curry-spiced grilled salmon,
stir-fried vegetables with mint and Scotch bonnet chilli,
and noodles,
served with a vanilla milkshake.
Whoa.
That's where the Scotch bonnet went, right?
Cinnamon's an unusual flavour with the salmon,
but I don't mind that at all.
Your salmon itself is going a little bit dry.
Your vegetables have been cooked for a really long time.
It's all just been cooked a little bit too long. OK.
Stir-fry has gone a little bit greasy across the noodles,
but I love the amount of chilli in there.
And thanks for the milkshake.
It's delicious.
Oh, I feel relieved.
I'm not dwelling on the negative.
I think they still were able to see some positives in it as well.
So, overall, I'm quite happy.
A MasterChef invention test, the chance of the last four
remaining aprons, of course, they're under pressure,
but I think we've got some good cooks. I really do.
I really liked what Adam did.
Those little pastas filled with the mascarpone and the lemon,
with the white wine sauce and the dill oil,
I thought it was really well made
and it had really good flavour to it.
I'm really happy for Adam to get an apron.
Cliodhna, she made her own pasta, cut it,
cooked it really, really well. Sea bass cooked pretty well.
So, Cliodhna's shown that she's got the skill.
Omar didn't fillet his fish very well at all,
but I'm really pleased he made a broth.
The broth was sparklingly clear.
The sea bass fillet, as small as it was, was cooked perfectly.
So, Adam, Omar and Cliodhna get an apron.
I totally agree with you.
We have got one cook today who, I'm sorry to say, their time
in the MasterChef kitchen is over
and that's Victor.
Victor had a really good potato fondant, which is rare
in this kitchen. But there are some mistakes
that are impossible to ignore.
Victor's going home.
So, out of Nky and Jo, somebody else is going.
I really don't know what to make of Jo.
We had a chicken stew flavoured with tomato,
a tortilla, potatoes and onions, nicely made.
The food tastes nice, but what is it?
I think Jo's a good cook, but it needed something moist
to bring it all together.
Nky's dish was salmon with stir-fried veg.
That's a nice idea.
Noodles were nicely done, but the salmon going slightly dry,
stir-fried veg overcooked.
Who has got errors that you are finding difficult to overlook?
Because that's the one who's got to go.
I just hope that the flavours will pull me through and get me
an apron cos I really don't want to go home.
Given another chance,
I would love to have an apron and to cook again, yes.
Let me tell you, a MasterChef invention test is one of
the toughest tests on MasterChef, no matter what stage you're at.
We thought you all did really, really well.
In front of us are just four aprons.
That does mean two of you will be leaving us.
First person leaving us...
..is Victor.
Victor, thank you very much indeed for all your hard work.
Your fondant potato was delicious.
Thanks a lot, everyone.
It's not unexpected.
Disappointed not to get through, but it's not going to change my love
for cooking, and I've had a great experience,
so I can't ask for anything more.
OK.
The second person leaving us is...
..Nky. Thank you very much.
We've loved all your spicing, all your seasoning.
You're leaving us. Thanks very much indeed. Thank you.
Nice to meet you. Thank you.
Being on MasterChef makes you understand yourself better.
Things you could improve, yes, but, like, I'm taking the positive,
so I will take that with me.
OK, you four, you are now officially in this year's competition.
Oh, my God. That was so close.
Come and grab your aprons.
Really good day. I'm super happy to be wearing the apron
and finally actually part of the competition,
past the audition round.
Squeaky bum, definitely - I was really nervous.
But, no, really happy to get through. Really excited.
I got my apron.
I'm absolutely chuffed to bits.
There's no words to describe just how pleased I am.
Can't believe it.
Today has massively boosted my confidence.
It's taught me to believe in myself.
So, yeah, the sky's the limit.
Next time, this week's best cooks return to face
two demanding challenges...
Calm down, dear.
Can't breathe!
..as they fight for a place in the quarterfinal.
I absolutely love it.
This is remarkable.