1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:05,880 It's the battle for the ultimate culinary prize. Ooh! 2 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:10,880 58 of the country's best home cooks... I need to stop shaking. 3 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:13,040 ..all with their hearts set... 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:15,600 Fingers crossed. Your sesame cracker's burning. 5 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:16,800 Oh, no. 6 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:19,200 ..on the coveted MasterChef trophy. 7 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:23,880 That's a cracker of a dish. 8 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:26,040 Absolutely ace! 9 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:28,520 I'm so happy, I just want to dance. 10 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:32,200 Each week, 12 extraordinary amateur talents... 11 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:33,680 Come on, come on, come on. 12 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:37,160 ..battle for a place in the quarterfinal. 13 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:40,600 I think it's exceptionally good. 14 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:42,080 I can't fault it. 15 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:45,840 But only the best can earn their passports... 16 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:48,840 I think we need to kick it up a little bit. 17 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,040 ..to the ultimate culinary showdown. 18 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:54,160 Upstairs, there is bow ties, 19 00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:57,880 there's ballgowns, and there are Michelin stars. 20 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:02,240 There is no doubt about it, 21 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:04,880 we are going to find some incredible talent. 22 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:09,400 Come in here, prove your worth and make your dreams come true. 23 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:22,480 The MasterChef heats continue, and six more passionate home cooks 24 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:26,280 all think they've got what it takes to become MasterChef champion. 25 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:31,680 But at the end of today's heat, only three of them will make it 26 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,560 through to this week's quarterfinal. 27 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:40,720 It's unbelievable to be in the MasterChef competition. 28 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:42,920 I'm still waiting for someone to actually wake me up. 29 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:44,800 Like, please don't pinch me. 30 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:48,640 I'm so excited to cook for John and Gregg. 31 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:51,480 Hopefully, I'm going to surprise them. Fingers crossed. 32 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:54,760 I'm very serious about this competition. 33 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:57,000 I'm definitely in it to win it, yeah. 34 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:02,840 Welcome, all six of you, to the MasterChef kitchen. 35 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:05,840 You're about to go on a great adventure. 36 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:11,400 This first round we call Basic to Brilliant, taking an everyday 37 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:14,560 item, something you'd find in your shopping basket, 38 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:18,760 and elevating it to something absolutely brilliant. 39 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:21,800 Your job today is to swap your apron 40 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:24,480 for a MasterChef apron. 41 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:28,160 We're looking forward to tasting your dishes, 42 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:31,640 and once we have, we will choose our favourite two. 43 00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:34,440 Those two will get an apron each and go straight 44 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:36,520 through to the next round. 45 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:38,880 Remaining four, you'll have to stay in this kitchen, 46 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:41,280 cook again for the last two aprons. 47 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:45,400 You have one hour and 20 minutes. 48 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:46,720 Let's cook! 49 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:59,360 42-year-old Charlotte became a vegan five years ago and enjoys creating 50 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:03,880 plant-based dishes inspired by her worldwide travels. 51 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:09,120 She injured herself in an earlier heat, but is back to try again. 52 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:12,880 I feel more nervous this time around and I don't know why... 53 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:14,600 SHE CHUCKLES 54 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:17,800 ..but now that I'm back, I do have something to prove, 55 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:19,760 I just want to show them what I'm all about. 56 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:23,120 Charlotte, good to see you. How are you? 57 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:26,240 I'm good, thanks. Healing well. I'm so happy to be back. 58 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:27,880 What is your ingredient, please? 59 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:30,320 My husband has chilli with everything. 60 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:31,880 SHE LAUGHS 61 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:34,840 So every time I cook something for him, he wants it hotter 62 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:36,120 and more spicy. 63 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:39,080 So chilli is a very basic ingredient in our house. 64 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:42,760 Brilliant. So I'm making charcoal pot sticker dumplings 65 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:44,400 with a fiery chilli sauce 66 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:46,320 and a Sichuan and green chilli oil, 67 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:48,400 and then some crispy chilli peanuts. 68 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:50,040 Why this Asian take? 69 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:52,080 This was inspired by a trip to Shanghai. 70 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:54,840 When you walk around that city, you just smell all these incredible 71 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:56,960 smells every five metres. 72 00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:00,560 And so, hopefully, this will be like a mouthful of Shanghai. 73 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:03,520 Inside that pot sticker, 74 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:07,480 we've got a mixture of cabbage, carrot, lots and lots of chilli, 75 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:11,600 Chinese wine, five spice and soy sauce. 76 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:15,080 That dumpling filling can't be too hot because we've got 77 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:17,280 chilli garnishes going with it. 78 00:04:17,280 --> 00:04:21,040 I think that's quite a difficult thing to get right. 79 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:27,280 38-year-old lawyer David, credits his nature enthusiast mum 80 00:04:27,280 --> 00:04:29,040 for his love of cooking. 81 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:31,360 What's your dish, David? 82 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:35,040 So it's a squash and seafood bisque with squash-filled ravioli 83 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:36,920 and a griddled and roasted squash. 84 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:38,040 Fabulous! 85 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:41,240 Yeah. A box of vegetables delivered from Mum every week, 86 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:43,680 and then we have to make things out of it. 87 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:46,320 So it's a Crown Prince squash from my mum's allotment. 88 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:48,280 So Mum grew that? Yeah, Mum grew that. 89 00:04:48,280 --> 00:04:51,560 She's very excited for you to see it as an ex-greengrocer. 90 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:55,560 I admire his ambition, I really do, 91 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:58,880 cos we are going to get lobster, prawn and crab bisque, 92 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:01,360 we're going to get ravioli filled with squash, 93 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,360 we're going to get a grilled piece of squash with lots of spices, 94 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:07,320 we're going to get a parsley oil across the top. Now, that's lots 95 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:08,400 of different things. 96 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:10,960 If he can do all those things and do them very, very well, 97 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:12,760 fantastic. 98 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:17,920 I'm not a quick cook. I'm known for serving a dinner about 10.30/11. 99 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:21,360 The timing is what I'm most worried about. 100 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:24,760 30 minutes gone, everybody. 30 minutes gone. 101 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:32,240 Retired software engineer James first competed on MasterChef 102 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:36,240 with Gary Rhodes in 2001, and reached the quarterfinal. 103 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:40,040 Are you preferring it now? No. GREGG LAUGHS 104 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:42,720 I'll tell you what, it was easier then, 105 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:44,520 and I was younger, Gregg. 106 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:48,000 This time, he's determined to prove he can go further 107 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,360 with his classic European cooking. 108 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:56,040 I've been holidaying in France for decades and I love French 109 00:05:56,040 --> 00:06:01,640 bistros, so my style of cooking is very much sort of French bistro, 110 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:05,440 which is simple ingredients, but cooked well. 111 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:08,800 James's ingredient of choice is a potato. 112 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:11,840 He's going to make Parmentier potatoes, little tiny cubes of 113 00:06:11,840 --> 00:06:15,200 potatoes, and then they're fried, and they should be nice and crispy. 114 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:19,280 We've got with our potatoes, peas, broad beans and little spring 115 00:06:19,280 --> 00:06:21,560 onions, a chicken breast and chicken sauce. 116 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:23,480 There's only a few ingredients on that plate, 117 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:25,080 and if this works, it's brilliant. 118 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:28,520 What got you into cookery? 119 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:31,960 When I was at work, a female colleague joined. 120 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:35,320 I invited her round to dinner, and must have done something right, 121 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:38,240 Gregg, we've been married 35 years next year. 122 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:39,920 Brilliant! 123 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:41,440 JAMES CHUCKLES 124 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:48,120 Born in Belgium to German parents, new mum-of-one Vera 125 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:51,800 spent her childhood living in Italy before studying in Paris 126 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:53,480 and the Far East. 127 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:55,640 So what style is your cookery, then? 128 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:59,480 Erm, to be honest, I like quite basic, good ingredients, 129 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:03,080 hearty food, I guess that's the German-Italian side kind 130 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:04,120 of coming out. 131 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:09,080 So my main ingredient is mushroom, cos, I mean, that's used a lot 132 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:12,200 in Germany. I grew up with, like, thick mushroom sauce, etc, so I 133 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:13,760 thought I'd honour that ingredient. 134 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:15,680 And I'm cooking it in three different forms, 135 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:18,480 so mushroom ravioli with a ricotta filling, 136 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:20,240 then, chestnut creamed 137 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:23,400 mushrooms and asparagus spears with mushroom crisps. 138 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:24,720 Good luck, Vera! 139 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:26,200 Thank you very much. 140 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:28,760 She says they're ravioli, but, 141 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:32,200 actually, it's more like a tortellini, it's round in shape 142 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:34,880 and she's folded it. Inside that pasta parcel, 143 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:38,000 we've got ricotta, cheese, parsley and wild mushrooms, 144 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:41,240 and then we're getting creamy mushroom sauce sitting underneath. 145 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:43,480 Well, that's fine, But with pasta, 146 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:46,360 you want a sauce which coats the whole thing. 147 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:51,600 I've followed MasterChef for a long time, and I would want to raise my 148 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:54,880 son to kind of pursue his dreams and be brave 149 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:59,040 and follow his passions, so I will definitely give it my best. 150 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:07,040 24-year-old Sami moved to the UK from Sardinia five years ago 151 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:11,680 and works as a cognitive behavioural therapist in Bristol. 152 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:14,600 My job is definitely stressful at times. 153 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:19,280 I help people managing symptoms of anxiety, depression, managing 154 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:21,040 lots of things at once. 155 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:23,760 I guess I can use all of these skills into the competition. 156 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:25,120 So, yeah. 157 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:29,960 Sami, you look ridiculously happy! Are you? 158 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:32,080 I'm very excited. Oh, give me a fist bump, come on. 159 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:33,680 SAMI CHUCKLES 160 00:08:33,680 --> 00:08:37,320 What is your dish? My main ingredient is pears. 161 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:38,640 I love pears, 162 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:41,480 my partner, Jack, he loves pears, 163 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:44,560 so I just wanted to take something as simple as pears and turn them 164 00:08:44,560 --> 00:08:46,040 into something special. 165 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:49,960 It's risotto with pears and gorgonzola cheese 166 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:52,520 and flambeed pears. 167 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:55,640 So is it a savoury dish or is it a sweet dish? 168 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:57,080 It's a bit of both, actually. 169 00:08:57,080 --> 00:08:59,200 We love this combo in Italy. 170 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:02,160 I'm hoping that you and John will fall in love as well. 171 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:06,560 That sounds to me like a clash. 172 00:09:06,560 --> 00:09:11,480 Risotto, lovely, creamy rice. Pears, very, very sweet. 173 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:14,040 Gorgonzola, quite salty. 174 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:19,320 We're also getting pears which are going to be flambeed in rum. 175 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,280 And, actually, I'm quite concerned about it. 176 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:24,000 We have 15 minutes left. 177 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:29,880 Mum-of-two Patricia was born in South Africa 178 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:33,000 and dreams of opening her own family-friendly 179 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:34,800 street food restaurant. 180 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:39,960 My basic ingredient is milk. 181 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:44,000 And today I'm cooking a milk tart inspired by my home. 182 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:46,560 It's made from condensed milk and milk. 183 00:09:46,560 --> 00:09:47,920 It's one of my favourites. 184 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:50,360 I actually cook it every week for the kids. 185 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:53,040 In English, it's milk tarts, and in Afrikaans, 186 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:56,560 it's a melktert. Just like a creamy custard. 187 00:09:56,560 --> 00:09:59,160 Stir it until it becomes quite smooth. 188 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:02,400 I'll place it into the fridge for it to set just in time. 189 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:04,760 So there's no pastry in this? No. 190 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:08,040 No, I'm going to make some ginger biscuits to go with that. 191 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:11,720 That's a brave thing to do, you're making a bowl of custard. 192 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:14,520 Hmm, it's milk tart. 193 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:14,520 SHE LAUGHS 194 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:17,000 This is cooked milk that's been thickened with flour. 195 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:20,440 What she's got to do now is elevate it so it's MasterChef-worthy. 196 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:24,880 You have just two minutes, everybody. 197 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:33,760 Be quick. Be quick. Be quick, quick, quick. 198 00:10:38,560 --> 00:10:40,440 Could have been better, for sure, 199 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:42,600 but could have been worse as well. 200 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:48,720 I think I did it. 201 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:55,440 That's it, stop. Everybody stop. And breathe. 202 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:04,160 First up is vegan Charlotte, 203 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:08,520 with a chilli-inspired dish. Charcoal pot sticker dumplings 204 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:11,480 filled with Savoy cabbage, carrot, chilli, 205 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:15,760 and shiitake mushrooms, with a fiery chilli sauce, 206 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:19,680 Sichuan pepper, spring onion and green chilli oil, 207 00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:21,560 and crispy chilli peanuts. 208 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:29,840 Charlotte, I think your use of the chilli is really good. 209 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:32,960 The chilli sauce on the bottom, that's quite ferocious. 210 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:34,080 Inside the dumpling, 211 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:36,200 you've got lots of fresh chilli as well. 212 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:38,480 The peanuts, they're salty with chilli. 213 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:40,560 So we've got a salty chilli, we got a sweet chilli, 214 00:11:40,560 --> 00:11:42,560 we've got a sour chilli with that sauce. 215 00:11:42,560 --> 00:11:45,360 And it all comes together really, really nicely. 216 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:47,320 Your dumplings are really well-made. 217 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:50,240 A little bit of sesame across the top, a little bit of nuttiness. 218 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:54,320 Love how brave you are with your flavours. That is hot! 219 00:11:56,960 --> 00:11:59,600 Everything I know about John and Gregg is that they love 220 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:03,120 lots of heat in things, so that's what I was going for. 221 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:09,600 Lawyer David's basic ingredient was his mum's Crown Prince squash. 222 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:14,360 He's made squash, ricotta and thyme ravioli in a shellfish and squash 223 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:19,440 bisque with a side of cayenne and paprika-spiced roasted squash, 224 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:23,160 and finished with a lemon, basil and parsley oil. 225 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:32,320 That's good ravioli, and they taste great. 226 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:35,480 Really lovely, sweet squash inside. 227 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:38,000 The major issue here is your bisque, 228 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:40,320 it's very, very watery, 229 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:44,560 and you haven't captured enough shellfish flavour. 230 00:12:44,560 --> 00:12:48,600 But the amount of work you've done here is extraordinary. 231 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:50,920 The flavour of your squash is absolutely delicious. 232 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:53,280 The piece of squash on the side's been cooked really well. 233 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:56,880 But it looks chaotic because what you're doing here is throwing 234 00:12:56,880 --> 00:12:58,280 so many different things at here 235 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:01,720 you're detracting from the beauty of the squash. 236 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:05,000 The timing's always going to be challenging. 237 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:08,160 Maybe focus on one thing rather than doing seven. 238 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:14,320 Retired software engineer James chose to highlight potatoes, 239 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:19,000 and has served them Parmentier-style with pan-roasted chicken, peas, 240 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:23,120 broad beans, spring onions and pancetta and a chicken jus. 241 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:31,800 The chicken's probably the star of the show, cooked beautifully, 242 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:35,080 but, actually, your sauce is really, really nicely seasoned. 243 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:37,800 I think that's great. Your potatoes are crisp, 244 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:40,800 they've got a really nice little bit of dry herb running through them 245 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:43,040 and a good amount of seasoning. 246 00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:45,320 You are showing a really good touch. 247 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:47,840 I think your choice of ingredients is absolutely classic. 248 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:48,920 Well done, you. 249 00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:54,320 I got some good comments, better comments than I was expecting 250 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:58,520 from John and Gregg, so I feel pretty good at the moment. 251 00:13:59,960 --> 00:14:04,560 Financial analyst Vera's dish features mushrooms three ways, 252 00:14:04,560 --> 00:14:08,320 Ricotta and mushroom-filled tortellini on a chanterelle 253 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:12,360 and chestnut mushroom puree, with roasted mushroom crisps, 254 00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:15,360 smoked pancetta, asparagus and hazelnuts, 255 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:18,680 and finished with a parsley and lemon oil. 256 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:26,400 This thick mushroom sauce underneath your pasta 257 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:27,800 is really, really delicious. 258 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:32,280 It's rich, smoky with mushrooms, slightly creamy. That's great. 259 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:35,760 The pasta's made beautifully. I don't think you need the asparagus 260 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:37,720 because there's lots of stuff going on here. 261 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:40,480 Your crisps are interesting. In cooking them in the oven, you've 262 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:43,440 actually made them slightly chewy and you've actually intensified 263 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:45,920 the flavour of the mushroom in there as well. I like. 264 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:48,960 The pasta - ricotta filling with the mushrooms, a little bland. Mm-hm. 265 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:51,800 Maybe a little bit of seasoning, maybe a little bit of nutmeg, 266 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:55,000 something to liven it up. And the lardons are overcooked. 267 00:14:57,240 --> 00:14:59,720 It could have gone worse, could have definitely gone better, 268 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:04,160 but I'm really dying to get that apron, to be honest. 269 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:06,560 Using pears as his basic ingredient, 270 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:11,880 therapist Sami has cooked a gorgonzola, saffron and pear risotto 271 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:15,960 topped with hazelnuts and pears flambeed in white rum, 272 00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:18,320 with shallots, thyme and chilli. 273 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:27,160 You've got lovely saffron and you've got the saltiness 274 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:29,560 of that lovely blue sticky cheese. 275 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:33,960 The pear has disappeared, and I think your risotto is too dry. 276 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:37,320 The pears in the rum are so sweet, 277 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:39,920 but at the same time they taste of 278 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:43,640 shallots, thyme and chilli, which is unusual. 279 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:47,440 And I don't feel the hazelnuts work at all with the whole dish. 280 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:52,080 What you're doing here is trying too many things all at once. 281 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:55,720 It hasn't completely worked for me. 282 00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:57,920 I think I've been disappointed. 283 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:01,400 Hopefully next time it will be better. 284 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:02,920 Just fingers crossed. 285 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:09,360 Finally, it's Patricia, who's made her family's favourite dessert, 286 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:13,400 a South African milk tart served with ginger biscuits, 287 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:15,400 fresh berries and cinnamon. 288 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:24,520 I love it. It's not too sweet, it's creamy, it's thick, 289 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:26,480 it's got a lovely bounce to it. 290 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:29,520 And it's got lovely, like, cinnamon across the top. 291 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:33,560 Where's the cookery skill? Where's the technique on show? 292 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:36,920 The custard is completely set, it's nice and cold. 293 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:38,760 These little ginger biscuits that you made, 294 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:42,240 lovely, but it's a bowl of custard and some fruit. 295 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:45,880 But I know very little about you as a cook. Oh! 296 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:50,120 I could have pushed myself a little bit more. 297 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:54,480 I'm feeling a bit nervous, stressed, everything. 298 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:58,480 Thank you very much for all your hard work. 299 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:01,640 At the start of this, we did say we would choose our two favourite 300 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:03,800 plates of food, and the people who cook them will get 301 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:06,640 themselves an apron. 302 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:10,520 Our first contestant getting a proper apron... 303 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:15,360 ..Charlotte. 304 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:19,920 OK. Well done, Charlotte. 305 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:21,880 Our second apron... 306 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:30,200 ..James. 307 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:34,800 Come on, come and get your aprons. 308 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:40,360 Well done, big Jim. 309 00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:51,040 Yeah, there was such a big build up to this, and it feels 310 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:54,280 really satisfying to have earned that apron, and I'm really happy. 311 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:58,560 22 years on, I've got another apron! 312 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:03,000 I feel great. Everything now is a bonus. 313 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:10,920 If you're feeling any disappointment right now, just shrug it off, OK? 314 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:15,400 You have a job to do, and that job is to get yourself an apron. 315 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:20,080 We've given each of you the same ingredient, a butternut squash. 316 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:23,920 There's a load of beautiful ingredients over there 317 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:25,920 to enhance that squash. 318 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:28,960 You do whatever you want. 319 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:30,760 You've got to think on your feet. 320 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:34,160 But we want the butternut squash to be the star of that show. 321 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:36,680 The reason you've got to think on your feet is you only 322 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:38,240 have 45 minutes. 323 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:41,000 You've got to make a plan. 324 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,600 This needs to be a delicious plate of food if you want 325 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:46,160 one of those two aprons. 326 00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:48,840 Let's cook! 327 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:55,000 Well, I didn't want to see a squash again for quite a long time 328 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:56,880 after the first round. 329 00:18:56,880 --> 00:18:59,200 I'm not sure what I'm going to go for, completely. 330 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:02,080 I'm just trying to get all the ingredients right. 331 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:04,680 Butternut squash is really versatile. 332 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:08,080 A big bowl of soup with some seeds across the top of it and a loaf 333 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:10,920 of soda bread will be absolutely perfect. 334 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:14,320 A little bit of nutmeg, some cinnamon, in a pie. 335 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:19,000 It's very stressful, but going to just do what I like. 336 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:21,760 You boil it too much, it goes all soggy and watery. 337 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:24,400 If you roast it too much, it ends up being quite bitter. 338 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:28,640 It's about understanding the textures and the flavours of it. 339 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:31,640 Not being able to prepare beforehand is a little bit 340 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:33,760 more daunting this time. 341 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:36,880 Why are you so nervous? Cos I'm trying something I've not tried 342 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:39,680 before, so it could be good, could be horrific. 343 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:43,200 So I'm going to make a butternut squash and sweet potato soup 344 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:44,680 with Asian flavours. 345 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:47,320 I do make a lot of soups with pumpkin, but not 346 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:48,520 really Asian styles. 347 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:50,600 It's going to be a little bit of trial and error. 348 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:52,880 You'll be fine! Be confident, Vera. 349 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:59,880 Soup by itself is a comforting bowl of deliciousness. 350 00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:03,880 What Vera's got to do now is make that lovely spicy soup. 351 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:07,400 A touch of lemongrass, maybe a little bit of ginger 352 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:09,280 and a little bit of chilli. 353 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:13,080 The problem is going to be to get the flavours into the soup in time. 354 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:16,840 She's doing little vegetable fritters on the side. 355 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:19,600 That's showcasing some more cookery technique. 356 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:25,120 Guys, you've had 15 minutes, you've still got half an hour left. 357 00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:26,200 Plenty of time. 358 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:31,960 David, you actually look quite upbeat. 359 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:34,760 It's like riding a horse, I guess. Got to get back on, on the squash. 360 00:20:34,760 --> 00:20:37,680 So it's going to be a butternut squash curry. Are you going to serve 361 00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:39,520 it with rice? Serving it with rice, yeah. 362 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:42,400 How confident are you you'll be grabbing an apron? 363 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:44,560 50/50 at this point, isn't it? 364 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:47,560 David's sounds interesting. 365 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:51,240 He's got lentils and butternut squash in a pot with some spices. 366 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:55,240 So make that really spicy and then give us some things 367 00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:57,040 on the side we can mop it up with. 368 00:20:57,040 --> 00:20:58,920 I like the idea of that. 369 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:04,640 Sami, have you got a plan? 370 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:07,680 I think I do, yeah. I'm going to try to keep it simple 371 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:10,160 because my first dish was a bit too much. 372 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:13,000 So now I'm just going to make, like, a soup. 373 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,680 Do you cook with butternut squash very often? I do sometimes, 374 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:19,240 yeah. Sometimes I make a gnocchi out of it. 375 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:22,360 Do you make gnocchi out of butternut squash? Yes. Brilliant! 376 00:21:22,360 --> 00:21:24,680 OK, but we're going to get soup instead? Yes, 377 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:27,200 this time it's going to be soup. 378 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:28,640 Why don't you make gnocchi? 379 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:30,680 That would be so different. All he's got to do 380 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:33,280 is that squash into flour and he's got gnocchi. 381 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:38,400 It's a good soup. It reminds me of home. 382 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:40,360 I think it's going to be OK. 383 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:49,360 Patricia, what did you learn from the last round? 384 00:21:49,360 --> 00:21:52,920 Basically, just push myself a little bit more, but not a lot 385 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:55,680 of time to put something together. 386 00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:59,120 I actually really wanted to make some bread so it could turn out 387 00:21:59,120 --> 00:22:01,640 to be like a spicy butternut, almost bunny chow. 388 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,360 But I've hollowed out the end of the butternut, and hopefully 389 00:22:04,360 --> 00:22:06,880 it cooks well enough on the inside. 390 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:13,000 Patricia's doing a South African bunny chow, a curry served 391 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,880 inside a hollowed-out loaf of bread. But she hasn't got any bread, 392 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:18,680 so what she's doing is she's serving 393 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:20,680 it in a hollowed-out butternut squash. 394 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:22,600 Now, I like the idea of that. 395 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:25,440 It shows some creativity, some imagination. 396 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:30,560 How long do we have? 397 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:32,160 90 seconds, everybody! 398 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:54,560 That's it! Stop. Time's up. 399 00:22:57,120 --> 00:22:59,680 That really tested me to my limits. 400 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:06,400 Vera has made an Asian-inspired butternut squash, sweet potato 401 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:10,960 and coconut milk soup, with a coriander and chilli potato rosti. 402 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:19,960 Your soup is creamy with coconut, a little bit of spice 403 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:22,960 coming from chilli, you CAN taste the butternut squash. 404 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:25,160 It's quite nutty all the way through. 405 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:27,680 I'm pleased you made the rosti cos you wanted to show 406 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:29,360 off some more skill. 407 00:23:29,360 --> 00:23:31,040 This rosti is lovely. Thank you. 408 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:33,520 It's crispy on the outside, soft in the middle. 409 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:36,320 It's got the distinct flavour of coriander, chilli and a fair 410 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:39,560 bit of seasoning. Very much enjoying the flavour and the texture. 411 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:40,680 Well done, you. 412 00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:44,640 I hope I've done enough. 413 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:47,520 I definitely want it more than ever now. 414 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:52,640 David has cooked a butternut squash and lentil curry, topped 415 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:57,120 with walnuts, served with cumin rice and roasted cumin, 416 00:23:57,120 --> 00:24:00,400 coriander and chilli-spiced butternut squash. 417 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:06,880 It's not the prettiest plate of food in the world, but I'm really pleased 418 00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:09,400 you've cooked rice as well just to show off some more skill. 419 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:12,040 Lovely flavour of cumin running through it, that's great. 420 00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:14,440 The actual sauce on your curry I quite like. 421 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:16,720 There's a sort of freshness, almost, of lime in there, 422 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:19,960 some chilli heat, the lentils are cooked very, very well. 423 00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:23,520 You've got some interesting flavours running through here. 424 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:26,800 You have spiced up the roasted butternut really well, 425 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:29,920 and there's a smokiness to that and a slight bitterness. 426 00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:32,200 But you've got to work on your presentation. 427 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:36,960 I knew it wasn't going to look pretty, you know, 428 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:40,400 a curry on a plate, but that's something to work on. 429 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:45,840 Patricia has made her take on a South African bunny chow, 430 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:50,280 a spicy chilli butternut squash curry inside roasted butternut 431 00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:54,600 squash, flavoured with butter, sage, brown sugar and cinnamon. 432 00:24:57,720 --> 00:24:59,040 That's not cooked. 433 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:05,680 There is a sweetness, a creamy sweetness to it, 434 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:07,240 and a little bit of chilli, 435 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:11,080 I like your flavours, but even the bits that are stewed here, 436 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:13,680 there's still a thick skin on there 437 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:15,840 that's virtually inedible. 438 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:19,040 Oh, Patricia! 439 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:21,360 I'm sad the outside of that butternut squash 440 00:25:21,360 --> 00:25:22,800 isn't cooked all the way through, 441 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:25,040 cos it would have been really nice, actually. 442 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:27,080 There's almost a lime pickle flavour in there, 443 00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:29,440 sort of sweet coming from brown sugar. 444 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:32,160 Across the top, you put little flecks of chilli, 445 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:35,240 which are quite hot, and little bits of raw shallot which sort of burst 446 00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:37,640 in your mouth and give you a bit more flavour. 447 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:41,880 But it hasn't been a complete success, which is a shame. 448 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:43,880 The challenge was really tough. 449 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:47,440 I didn't want to overcook the squash because I wanted it to hold 450 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:50,760 the curry, but it came back to bite me. 451 00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:55,760 Sami's dish is a butternut squash, carrot and Parmesan cream soup, 452 00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:59,080 topped with Parmesan and black pepper-toasted croutons, 453 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:02,560 pan-fried garlic and chilli, pancetta and thyme. 454 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:09,280 I like the thick creaminess of your soup. 455 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:12,000 I also like the flavour of thyme that you've got running through 456 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:14,440 there, but I think we could have actually done with some 457 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:17,320 more cheese, a little bit more Parmesan. 458 00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:21,040 I like the crunch of the croutons, the bits of pancetta across the top. 459 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:23,440 It still doesn't tell me a lot about you as a cook, 460 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:24,920 cos in the last round I saw 461 00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:27,400 you make a risotto, which was done in a pot. 462 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:29,920 Now I've got something quite similar here. 463 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:33,120 It's just trying to work out what other skills you have. 464 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:39,880 I could have done more, yes, but I feel like in 45 minutes, 465 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:41,960 there's only so much you can do. 466 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:47,520 Actually, I think they did pretty well. 467 00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:50,800 Vera made for us a really tasty bowl of soup. 468 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:54,720 Asian-inspired. Potato rosti, which was crispy on the outside, 469 00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:56,360 good amount of chilli in it. 470 00:26:56,360 --> 00:26:59,040 I think she's demonstrating a bit of skill, a bit of technique. 471 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:02,000 Let's put her through. Vera gets an apron. 472 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:03,520 Patricia made for us 473 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:06,440 her version of a bunny chow. It's usually a curry of some type 474 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:07,800 inside a piece of bread. 475 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:11,720 Although the flavours were good, that squash needed more cooking. 476 00:27:11,720 --> 00:27:13,800 Sami made a decent bowl of soup. 477 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:17,040 What made that soup good was the crispness of the pancetta 478 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:18,920 across the top and the bits of bread. 479 00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:23,600 But as far as technique's concerned, I'm a little bit worried. 480 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:26,680 David wanted to show off as much skill as he possibly could. 481 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:29,840 Rice flavoured with cumin seeds, and then the roasted squash 482 00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:31,480 on the side, great idea. 483 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:34,160 But it didn't look elegant in any way at all. 484 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:38,440 I really don't know whether I've done enough, but hopefully 485 00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:42,800 I've shown enough skill. To get an apron would be amazing. 486 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:45,560 Now that I've had a taste of the MasterChef kitchen, 487 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:48,360 I definitely need more and more and more. 488 00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:51,000 I want to prove myself, 489 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:53,920 I want to show what I can actually cook. 490 00:28:00,360 --> 00:28:02,680 Thank you so much for all your hard work. 491 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:05,840 Great day. Two good rounds, well done. 492 00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:08,520 Two aprons up for grabs. 493 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:12,960 The first person joining Charlotte and James is... 494 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:16,760 ..Vera. 495 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:18,280 Well done, you. 496 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:23,040 Second person getting an apron is... 497 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:32,400 ..David. 498 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:36,840 Patricia, Sami, thank you so much for all your hard work. 499 00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:39,640 You're leaving us. 500 00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:46,440 That was extremely challenging, 501 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:49,320 but at the same time it was so much fun. 502 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:51,000 I gave it my best shot. 503 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:54,400 I'm quite disappointed that I'm going home, 504 00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:56,960 but this experience taught me so much and inspired me 505 00:28:56,960 --> 00:28:58,400 to be a better cook. 506 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:03,320 Who knows? One day, you know, I might open a restaurant. We'll see. 507 00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:10,880 Vera, David, come and collect your aprons. 508 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:19,280 It feels amazing. Yeah. Much better, much better than the old one. 509 00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:20,600 HE CHUCKLES 510 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:21,960 I need a new apron. 511 00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:24,880 I'm feeling great, I'm really chuffed. 512 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:27,120 It's tough, but it's definitely enjoyable. 513 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:49,920 You are actually now cooking for a place in the quarterfinal. 514 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:52,560 You're going to have to present your food, not just to me and John, 515 00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:55,600 but to three past champions of MasterChef. 516 00:29:57,320 --> 00:29:59,320 Kenny Tutt, 517 00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:01,720 Natalie Coleman and Tom Rhodes. 518 00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:07,880 There are only three quarterfinal places. 519 00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:12,280 That does mean that one of you will be leaving the competition. 520 00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:15,360 Ladies and gentlemen, one hour, 15 minutes, two courses. 521 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:18,040 Deliver something delicious. 522 00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:19,320 Let's cook! 523 00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:27,280 I think I've still got stuff to prove. 524 00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:30,400 I really want to get two dishes up that look good. 525 00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:35,160 I wouldn't say I like pushing myself to the edge, but I always do it. 526 00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:38,200 That's my nature, so I'm going all in. 527 00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:43,440 Where did you learn to fillet a fish like that? 528 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:45,360 Erm, self-taught. 529 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:48,440 It's great to see you do that. 530 00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:50,040 What are your two dishes, please? 531 00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:53,640 So a tandoori rack of lamb to start, with a squash and chilli puree, 532 00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:57,920 mint, coriander and chilli sauce. How are you going to cook the lamb? 533 00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:00,600 It's going to be griddled on the top and then finished on the oven, 534 00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:04,320 just hopefully get it nice and pink, but cooked in the middle. 535 00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:11,920 The cookery of a lamb rack is now striking fear into my heart. 536 00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:15,880 There have been so many undercooked lamb racks. 537 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:18,360 He's got to get some serious heat in there, 538 00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:22,200 he's got to render that fat down, it's got to go crispy. 539 00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:27,080 Main course is? It's pan-fried spiced gurnard fillet 540 00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:30,720 with a coconut curry sauce and a fennel and lime salad, 541 00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:31,920 served with a side of rice. 542 00:31:31,920 --> 00:31:33,680 Why have you chosen gurnard? 543 00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:36,840 I think it's got a great taste. It's really under-appreciated. 544 00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:39,320 Good luck with it, David. Thank you. Cheers. 545 00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:43,840 Gurnard can be quite a difficult fish to cook. 546 00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:47,560 It's quite tough in the flesh, and pan-frying it, it's hard to get 547 00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:49,480 that absolutely right. 548 00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:52,640 With a coconut-flavoured curry sauce, 549 00:31:52,640 --> 00:31:54,960 that reminds me of the south of India. 550 00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:57,760 That will work really well, but we've got 551 00:31:57,760 --> 00:31:59,480 to have smart-looking dishes. 552 00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:10,800 For my main, I'm making squid ink tagliatelle with a prawn, saffron 553 00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:14,880 and cream sauce, topped with butter-poached prawns. 554 00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:19,440 Squid ink pasta, probably one of the most difficult pastas to make 555 00:32:19,440 --> 00:32:23,160 because the squid ink itself is actually really, really wet. 556 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:26,320 There has to be enough egg to bind it, otherwise it becomes a bit 557 00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:27,800 slippery and slimy. 558 00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:31,600 You want really lovely crispy pasta from that squid ink. 559 00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:36,720 What she IS showing here is lots and lots of technique. 560 00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:43,440 And for my dessert, I'm making a vanilla bean panna cotta 561 00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:45,960 with the pistachio creme anglaise 562 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:48,720 and a hazelnut caramel brittle on it. 563 00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:51,640 Pistachio creme anglaise with a vanilla panna cotta, 564 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:53,160 highly unusual. 565 00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:55,800 At its best, it's super, super rich and indulgent. 566 00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:59,880 At its worst, it's a complete clash of the creamy titans. 567 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:05,480 You've got a very Italian feel to your menu, haven't you? 568 00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:08,640 Erm, yeah, because I properly grew up in Venice and used to love 569 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:10,240 having squid ink pasta. 570 00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:12,520 And then pistachio was my ultimate favourite. 571 00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:15,680 I'm not a big dessert person, but I'll always have pistachio. 572 00:33:15,680 --> 00:33:18,080 It's obviously had a lasting impression on you, your time 573 00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:19,280 in Italy. Yeah, for sure. 574 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:24,800 With this menu, I'm hoping to demonstrate again my pasta skills, 575 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:28,040 and also desserts, I haven't done any desserts yet. 576 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:32,440 I am really trying my best to incorporate as many 577 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:34,040 techniques and flavours. 578 00:33:41,680 --> 00:33:44,560 I think these two dishes reflect the fact that I cherry-pick 579 00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:46,640 lots of different things from all over the world 580 00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:49,200 and don't stick to a certain style. 581 00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:54,200 You seem a bit frantic, Charlotte. 582 00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:57,200 I've got a lot to do. I feel like I might have overstretched myself. 583 00:33:57,200 --> 00:34:00,600 That's MasterChef - ambition is a fine thing. 584 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:04,120 What are you going to make for us? So I'm making torched butter style 585 00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:08,600 tofu with a butter sauce and baby parathas. 586 00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:11,080 So tell us about your butter sauce. So the butter sauce has got all 587 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:14,640 sorts of spice in it. It's got cloves, fenugreek, coriander, cumin, 588 00:34:14,640 --> 00:34:16,920 garlic, ginger, tomatoes. 589 00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:19,800 It's inspired by a street dish that I tried in Delhi, 590 00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:22,880 which was just straight from the tandoor - butter chicken, 591 00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:25,640 before I was vegan. And it was wonderful. 592 00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:29,320 Tofu, which has firstly been smoked, 593 00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:31,800 then covered in a plant based yoghurt 594 00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:34,120 marinade with lots and lots of spices. 595 00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:36,320 Because it's been smoked, it will give us the flavour 596 00:34:36,320 --> 00:34:39,240 as if it's been in a tandoor oven, which I think is very clever. 597 00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:43,120 Served with parathas, little tiny flatbreads, 598 00:34:43,120 --> 00:34:45,360 and they need to be lovely and soft, but cooked all the way 599 00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:47,080 through and not too thick. 600 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:53,080 My pudding is a bruleed lemon tart with a blackberry and bay sauce. 601 00:34:53,080 --> 00:34:56,560 My mum always used to make the most incredible lemon tart 602 00:34:56,560 --> 00:34:58,840 and then we've got blackberries where they live, 603 00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:02,360 so I'm trying to combine two huge loves of mine. 604 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:07,920 I love the sound of Charlotte's dessert. 605 00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:10,440 A very short sweetened pastry. 606 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:12,800 In that, she's going to put a lemon curd. 607 00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:17,840 Then she's going to put a sugar top across and fire it like a brulee. 608 00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:21,360 Technical and hopefully a little bit elegant. 609 00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:24,080 I'm just getting too stressed. I've got too much to do. 610 00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:33,520 Cooking for past champions of MasterChef is very daunting, 611 00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:39,240 but making it to the quarterfinal would be unbelievable. 612 00:35:39,240 --> 00:35:40,400 A big bonus. 613 00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:47,640 This is fish, chips and tomato ketchup, 614 00:35:47,640 --> 00:35:49,360 French bistro style. 615 00:35:49,360 --> 00:35:54,320 Pan-fried sea bream, sauteed potatoes, pancetta, 616 00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:57,600 spring onions with a sauce vierge. Ooh. 617 00:35:57,600 --> 00:35:59,000 Oil warmed? Yeah. 618 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:01,800 Shallots. Yeah. Tomatoes, parsley. Yeah. 619 00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:04,000 Classic sauce for a fish. Yes. 620 00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:05,840 And tell me about the dessert. 621 00:36:05,840 --> 00:36:10,360 Chocolate fondant... Ooh! ..with espresso syrup 622 00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:12,000 and Cornish clotted cream. 623 00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:14,440 Are you aware of how many failed fondants there's been? 624 00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:16,680 Yeah, I am. This is the kiss of death of desserts. 625 00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:18,120 Well, why do it, then? 626 00:36:18,120 --> 00:36:19,520 It's a challenge, isn't it? 627 00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:24,000 He's got to make sure everything is absolutely perfect 628 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:26,760 because we've all had things like this before. 629 00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:28,280 Crispy potatoes, please. 630 00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:31,560 Sauce vierge, nice and vibrant. Fish cooked all the way through. 631 00:36:34,720 --> 00:36:37,560 Chocolate fondant, we know what we want. 632 00:36:37,560 --> 00:36:41,360 You cut it and of course, the chocolate oozes out onto the plate. 633 00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:42,920 It's classic work. 634 00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:46,040 It's been done thousands of times before, but it's good. 635 00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:48,480 And if you can get it right, it's a crowd pleaser. 636 00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:55,680 It will either work brilliantly or be a disaster. 637 00:37:02,720 --> 00:37:06,040 So my life before MasterChef was finance and DJing, 638 00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:07,760 living the party lifestyle. 639 00:37:07,760 --> 00:37:11,200 But now it's like 60 hours in a kitchen. 640 00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:14,520 We won a Rosette, we won the Best Food Pub of the Year, 641 00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:17,600 won the Chef of the Year at the Great British Pub Awards. 642 00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:20,880 It is a good thing. It's really good. 643 00:37:20,880 --> 00:37:22,960 The advice I'd always give about this stage 644 00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:25,560 of the competition is do what you love. 645 00:37:25,560 --> 00:37:28,400 Can I see a little bit of you, a little bit of your character 646 00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:31,320 on the plate? And that's really important for me. 647 00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:32,520 Hi. 648 00:37:32,520 --> 00:37:35,360 We want to see ambition, but if you're too ambitious, 649 00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:38,640 you're going to run out of time and it's going to show on the plate. 650 00:37:40,240 --> 00:37:43,400 Cheers, guys. Cheers, guys. Lovely to see you. 651 00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:45,600 Always a pleasure. Cheers. Cheers. 652 00:37:49,240 --> 00:37:52,040 David, you've got five minutes on your first course. 653 00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:53,680 Great. 654 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:55,360 David's dish sounds delicious. 655 00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:57,960 Tandoori rack of lamb, mint and coriander. 656 00:37:57,960 --> 00:37:59,440 A classic combination. 657 00:38:00,720 --> 00:38:04,600 How's that lamb? As succulent as? Fingers crossed. 658 00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:08,400 I love anything with a little bit of spice, but as we know, lamb 659 00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:12,200 is a bit of a nemesis, especially on the bone, the rack. 660 00:38:12,200 --> 00:38:14,360 Very easy to not render the fat. 661 00:38:15,640 --> 00:38:17,200 The moment of truth. 662 00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:25,080 Is that how you wanted it? 663 00:38:25,080 --> 00:38:27,360 It is, yeah. It's warm through. 664 00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:30,760 The squash puree I hope is nice and smooth. 665 00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:33,120 It sounds delightful, you know, with the hint 666 00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:34,480 of chilli going through. 667 00:38:35,760 --> 00:38:37,000 Hi. 668 00:38:40,800 --> 00:38:43,000 So I've cooked for you a tandoori rack of lamb 669 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:47,520 on a lentil, chilli and squash puree with a side of green chilli, 670 00:38:47,520 --> 00:38:49,800 coriander and mint dressing. 671 00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:50,960 I hope you enjoy. 672 00:38:53,360 --> 00:38:54,960 Might just be a touch under. 673 00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:01,560 David's definitely mastered the spice on the outside of that lamb, 674 00:39:01,560 --> 00:39:03,920 but there's still quite a hefty chunk of fat 675 00:39:03,920 --> 00:39:07,080 on there that really needed to be rendered down. 676 00:39:07,080 --> 00:39:08,760 It is raw in places. 677 00:39:08,760 --> 00:39:11,800 This probably needs another sort of five to eight minutes. 678 00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:14,960 The puree could have been a little bit looser, but there's a lot 679 00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:16,800 of interesting flavours going on. 680 00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:21,520 And the mint and coriander sauce cools down those spices 681 00:39:21,520 --> 00:39:23,040 from the tandoori mix. 682 00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:26,560 That's raw. I'm so sad. 683 00:39:26,560 --> 00:39:30,000 All he had to do was cook that lamb and we had a perfect dish. 684 00:39:32,040 --> 00:39:34,760 OK, 15 minutes on your next course. 685 00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:36,080 Are you OK? Yeah, yeah, yeah. 686 00:39:36,080 --> 00:39:38,160 I just forgot to put my rice on. Just need to get that done. 687 00:39:38,160 --> 00:39:41,040 You haven't got rice on? No, not yet. Mate, you better move! 688 00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:43,360 Yeah. Come on, let's go. 689 00:39:43,360 --> 00:39:47,320 Spiced pan-fried gurnard with coconut curry sauce. 690 00:39:47,320 --> 00:39:49,280 Gurnard is one of my favourite fish. 691 00:39:49,280 --> 00:39:51,800 Hopefully he won't overcook it. 692 00:39:51,800 --> 00:39:53,960 Fennel and onion salad sounds delicious. 693 00:39:53,960 --> 00:39:56,320 That's going to bring some freshness to the plate. 694 00:39:56,320 --> 00:39:59,040 It's a really good contrast to those spices as well. 695 00:40:00,360 --> 00:40:02,960 Where's the rice? The rice is in the pan. 696 00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:04,320 Three minutes, please. 697 00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:07,800 Rice can make it or break it. 698 00:40:07,800 --> 00:40:09,920 So hopefully he's got his down to a T. 699 00:40:09,920 --> 00:40:13,280 Fish ready? The fish is ready. Yeah. 700 00:40:13,280 --> 00:40:14,600 Lovely fish. 701 00:40:16,720 --> 00:40:18,400 We've got to be going now, David. 702 00:40:26,960 --> 00:40:31,040 David's main course is spiced pan-fried gurnard 703 00:40:31,040 --> 00:40:34,920 with aromatic rice and a fennel and onion salad, 704 00:40:34,920 --> 00:40:37,360 served with a coconut curry sauce. 705 00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:43,040 The fish was cooked perfect. 706 00:40:43,040 --> 00:40:45,920 But that sauce, that sauce is amazing. 707 00:40:45,920 --> 00:40:48,640 Like, it's almost got a fruitiness going through it. 708 00:40:48,640 --> 00:40:51,600 So I'd quite happily eat that all day long. 709 00:40:51,600 --> 00:40:54,040 The rice, it's a touch al dente, 710 00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:57,080 but I'd rather it be a touch al dente than the other way, 711 00:40:57,080 --> 00:40:58,800 so I'm happy with that. 712 00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:01,360 There's like a lovely freshness running through it all 713 00:41:01,360 --> 00:41:03,200 with the salad, it's really pleasant. 714 00:41:03,200 --> 00:41:05,240 The only thing, if I was being really super critical, 715 00:41:05,240 --> 00:41:08,320 is just a tiny bit more seasoning throughout. 716 00:41:08,320 --> 00:41:10,160 That fish is cooked beautifully. 717 00:41:10,160 --> 00:41:12,200 That sauce, I think, is absolutely delicious. 718 00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:14,600 Smoky with curry leaves. But I like that a lot. 719 00:41:16,160 --> 00:41:18,160 The guest judges are such good cooks. 720 00:41:18,160 --> 00:41:21,800 I hope they kind of see what I'm about and can see some potential. 721 00:41:26,040 --> 00:41:28,480 Vera, four minutes. OK. Thank you. 722 00:41:28,480 --> 00:41:31,120 Are you happy? Yeah. 723 00:41:31,120 --> 00:41:33,480 Charred prawns with squid ink tagliatelle, 724 00:41:33,480 --> 00:41:35,560 saffron and prawn sauce. 725 00:41:35,560 --> 00:41:38,120 This is right up my street. 726 00:41:38,120 --> 00:41:41,120 With charred prawns, she's got to get them just right. 727 00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:45,000 If you overcook it, it becomes quite rubbery and tough. 728 00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:47,560 Tagliatelle, I mean, look, we've made pasta many times, 729 00:41:47,560 --> 00:41:50,880 and if you don't get it quite right, it's difficult to work with. 730 00:41:50,880 --> 00:41:52,600 Right, what's to go on here, Vera? 731 00:41:52,600 --> 00:41:56,440 I'm going to add the prawn sauce on top. 732 00:41:56,440 --> 00:41:59,080 Got to be careful with the saffron here because it can go 733 00:41:59,080 --> 00:42:01,920 from being a really nice flavour to kind of 734 00:42:01,920 --> 00:42:03,360 tasting like perfume. 735 00:42:04,920 --> 00:42:07,960 This, I have to confess, looks better than I thought it would. 736 00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:09,880 Thank you. Well done, you. 737 00:42:09,880 --> 00:42:11,440 Go, go, go, go, go, go! 738 00:42:14,320 --> 00:42:15,800 Hello. Hello. Hello. 739 00:42:20,520 --> 00:42:24,040 So I've cooked you some squid ink tagliatelle with a prawn and saffron 740 00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:27,920 sauce, and a butter poached prawn on top with some salmon roe. 741 00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:29,360 I hope you enjoy. 742 00:42:29,360 --> 00:42:31,720 Thank you. Thank you very much. 743 00:42:31,720 --> 00:42:35,320 This would grace the tables of any fine dining restaurant. 744 00:42:35,320 --> 00:42:36,680 It's so pretty. 745 00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:44,960 I think you can say that Vera absolutely smashed that one. 746 00:42:44,960 --> 00:42:46,920 That is proper peng. 747 00:42:46,920 --> 00:42:51,560 The sauce is so rich, the prawn has been poached well. 748 00:42:51,560 --> 00:42:55,120 It's still got a bit of bite to it. The pasta is, for me, 749 00:42:55,120 --> 00:42:59,120 perfect, like a bit al dente, lovely and silky. 750 00:42:59,120 --> 00:43:01,400 Everything's spot-on. Ten out of ten. 751 00:43:01,400 --> 00:43:03,120 Eleven out of ten. 752 00:43:03,120 --> 00:43:05,240 I'd be happy to eat this in a restaurant and pay for it, 753 00:43:05,240 --> 00:43:06,280 that's for sure. 754 00:43:07,600 --> 00:43:10,120 Absolutely stunningly good pasta. 755 00:43:10,120 --> 00:43:13,240 It's a very good dish indeed. She showed off lots of skill. 756 00:43:13,240 --> 00:43:14,280 Lots of skill. 757 00:43:18,120 --> 00:43:21,440 For dessert Vera's cooking us a vanilla panna cotta. 758 00:43:21,440 --> 00:43:26,320 Very classic, but it all depends on how the panna cotta has set. 759 00:43:27,680 --> 00:43:30,080 You've been very brave with this. It's just set, hasn't it? 760 00:43:30,080 --> 00:43:32,040 Yeah, yeah. Good for you. 761 00:43:32,040 --> 00:43:34,960 But you're going to have to move quick now. Yeah, for sure. 762 00:43:36,880 --> 00:43:38,600 To make a creme anglaise as well, 763 00:43:38,600 --> 00:43:40,840 she's really pushing the boat out here. 764 00:43:40,840 --> 00:43:43,720 I just hope that she pulls it off. 765 00:43:43,720 --> 00:43:47,160 Hopefully it's not a disaster, but at least it's not curdled. 766 00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:51,680 Vera, you're doing fine. You've still got three and a half minutes. 767 00:43:51,680 --> 00:43:53,040 You're doing fine. Thank you. 768 00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:58,560 That nut brittle crumb is just going to add that nice bit of texture 769 00:43:58,560 --> 00:44:01,760 so that everything isn't too kind of soft and wobbly. 770 00:44:11,800 --> 00:44:16,080 So I've made you a vanilla bean panna cotta with a caramel 771 00:44:16,080 --> 00:44:20,320 and nut brittle crumb, and a pistachio creme anglaise. 772 00:44:20,320 --> 00:44:22,400 Thank you so much. Enjoy! 773 00:44:23,520 --> 00:44:25,920 Well, there it is. There it is. 774 00:44:31,840 --> 00:44:35,080 I think my plate says it all. It's completely empty. 775 00:44:35,080 --> 00:44:38,520 It was really fresh, like the vanilla-y panna cotta. 776 00:44:38,520 --> 00:44:40,040 If she wants a job, 777 00:44:40,040 --> 00:44:43,960 I hope she taps me up after this because her cookery is amazing. 778 00:44:43,960 --> 00:44:48,360 We've got a perfectly silky creme anglaise, beautiful pistachio 779 00:44:48,360 --> 00:44:51,200 flavour running through it, and then that little crumb, 780 00:44:51,200 --> 00:44:52,920 which adds some texture. 781 00:44:52,920 --> 00:44:55,000 Technically, she's nailed it. 782 00:44:55,000 --> 00:44:57,160 Here's to Vera. Cheers to that. 783 00:44:59,440 --> 00:45:02,440 There's some really good pastry skills in there. 784 00:45:02,440 --> 00:45:03,760 Really nicely made. 785 00:45:03,760 --> 00:45:05,760 Two very successful courses from Vera. 786 00:45:07,560 --> 00:45:09,520 It's an amazing experience. High adrenaline, 787 00:45:09,520 --> 00:45:13,840 so still feeling quite buzzed now, to be honest. 788 00:45:13,840 --> 00:45:16,160 I did the best that I could have possibly done. 789 00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:23,320 You have about four minutes, Charlotte. Thank you. 790 00:45:26,640 --> 00:45:29,680 Torched spiced tofu with a butter curry sauce. 791 00:45:29,680 --> 00:45:33,200 If I was to go to the curry house, butter chicken was my favourite. 792 00:45:33,200 --> 00:45:36,680 So I'm looking forward to tofu with butter sauce. 793 00:45:38,440 --> 00:45:42,640 Tofu is quite bland by itself, but you can add so many flavours 794 00:45:42,640 --> 00:45:46,120 to it, and I really hope Charlotte manages to achieve that today. 795 00:45:46,120 --> 00:45:47,280 Nice. 796 00:45:48,920 --> 00:45:52,120 Freshly made paratha is just such a beautiful thing, 797 00:45:52,120 --> 00:45:53,400 but it's got to be cooked well, 798 00:45:53,400 --> 00:45:55,400 so it's not still sort of like raw dough. 799 00:45:58,520 --> 00:46:01,120 What leaves are they? Curry leaves. 800 00:46:03,120 --> 00:46:05,960 Well done, Charlotte. It looks great. Thank you. I really like this. 801 00:46:08,920 --> 00:46:10,200 Great smell. 802 00:46:10,200 --> 00:46:12,520 It looks really good. It looks nice as well. 803 00:46:12,520 --> 00:46:16,520 Charlotte has served torched tandoori spiced tofu, 804 00:46:16,520 --> 00:46:20,280 topped with crispy curry leaves on a butter sauce 805 00:46:20,280 --> 00:46:24,160 flavoured with tomato, coriander, fenugreek and ginger, 806 00:46:24,160 --> 00:46:26,200 with home-made paratha bread. 807 00:46:31,600 --> 00:46:34,040 There's some good spicing in there, but it hasn't 808 00:46:34,040 --> 00:46:35,400 really penetrated the tofu. 809 00:46:35,400 --> 00:46:38,480 So you've got a bit on the outside, but, you know, really that 810 00:46:38,480 --> 00:46:41,320 would need marinating 24 hours, 48 hours, 811 00:46:41,320 --> 00:46:43,200 to really pick up that spice. 812 00:46:43,200 --> 00:46:46,080 I don't know how she's made the sauce, but what I'm getting 813 00:46:46,080 --> 00:46:49,480 is quite a lot of raw spice flavour and quite a bit of bitterness. 814 00:46:49,480 --> 00:46:53,840 The parathas taste still quite raw with the flour. 815 00:46:53,840 --> 00:46:57,520 It was a beautiful looking dish and it promised a lot, 816 00:46:57,520 --> 00:47:00,040 but for me it just didn't quite hit the mark. 817 00:47:01,800 --> 00:47:04,160 The sauce is very, very thick. 818 00:47:04,160 --> 00:47:06,800 I was expecting layers of spicing. 819 00:47:06,800 --> 00:47:09,120 It definitely needs more seasoning in there. 820 00:47:10,680 --> 00:47:15,760 Bruleed lemon curd tart with a blackberry and bay leaf sauce. 821 00:47:15,760 --> 00:47:17,560 I love those woody herbs. 822 00:47:17,560 --> 00:47:19,480 But the bay leaf, if left in there too long, 823 00:47:19,480 --> 00:47:22,520 could really sort of almost overpower it. 824 00:47:22,520 --> 00:47:25,120 It's got just the right amount of bay that I wanted. 825 00:47:26,440 --> 00:47:30,840 With pastry, obviously, you expect it to be nice and buttery and flaky. 826 00:47:30,840 --> 00:47:32,240 No soggy bottoms. 827 00:47:34,160 --> 00:47:37,200 How she's going to make a lemon curd without eggs, I'm not quite sure, 828 00:47:37,200 --> 00:47:38,560 but I'm interested to see. 829 00:47:40,920 --> 00:47:43,040 I like the colours here. Good. 830 00:47:43,040 --> 00:47:44,080 So do I. 831 00:47:47,280 --> 00:47:49,480 Let's go, Charlotte. Let's go. 832 00:47:56,720 --> 00:48:01,160 Charlotte's dessert is a brulee lemon curd tart, topped with fresh 833 00:48:01,160 --> 00:48:04,880 blackberries, on a blackberry and bay leaf sauce. 834 00:48:04,880 --> 00:48:07,160 It is absolutely beautiful. 835 00:48:12,280 --> 00:48:13,720 It's fantastic. 836 00:48:13,720 --> 00:48:15,560 It is sort of lip-smackingly sweet. 837 00:48:15,560 --> 00:48:19,840 But there's also this lovely zing and freshness to the lemon curd. 838 00:48:19,840 --> 00:48:21,800 The pastry was quite crumbly. 839 00:48:21,800 --> 00:48:25,720 It dissolved in the mouth and it was a really, really, 840 00:48:25,720 --> 00:48:27,520 really well done dessert. 841 00:48:27,520 --> 00:48:29,640 I would certainly eat the whole thing. 842 00:48:29,640 --> 00:48:31,280 The blackberry and bay leaf sauce 843 00:48:31,280 --> 00:48:34,200 works fantastically with the flavours of lemon. 844 00:48:34,200 --> 00:48:37,640 She's really executed it really, really well. 845 00:48:37,640 --> 00:48:41,120 What's not to like? That dessert has delivered on both 846 00:48:41,120 --> 00:48:42,400 appearance and flavour. 847 00:48:44,400 --> 00:48:46,600 I'm feeling relieved that that's over. 848 00:48:46,600 --> 00:48:49,080 My dishes weren't perfect and I wanted them to be perfect. 849 00:48:49,080 --> 00:48:52,720 But I hope the guest judges will see that I really tried to be ambitious. 850 00:49:01,720 --> 00:49:04,600 Some real classic, classic flavours on the plate. 851 00:49:04,600 --> 00:49:07,160 Pan-fried sea bream and a sauce vierge. 852 00:49:09,560 --> 00:49:12,240 It's quite a simple dish, essentially, but there's 853 00:49:12,240 --> 00:49:15,800 nowhere to hide. And it's all about fish cookery. 854 00:49:15,800 --> 00:49:17,800 That's lovely, my friend. Good job. 855 00:49:20,880 --> 00:49:24,560 I hope that sauce vierge adds a nice pop of freshness to the dish. 856 00:49:24,560 --> 00:49:28,720 I want enough acidity in there to kind of really make it sing. 857 00:49:28,720 --> 00:49:31,080 This is so hard. So hard. 858 00:49:32,400 --> 00:49:34,320 Anything else to go on the plate after this? No. 859 00:49:34,320 --> 00:49:36,600 You need to get that out and then come back for your fondant. 860 00:49:36,600 --> 00:49:37,920 This is where I drop the plate. 861 00:49:37,920 --> 00:49:40,000 Don't do that. Beautiful dish, my friend. 862 00:49:40,000 --> 00:49:41,400 Thank you. Well done, James. 863 00:49:46,200 --> 00:49:48,080 Hello. Hello. Hello. 864 00:49:51,280 --> 00:49:52,440 I'm James. 865 00:49:52,440 --> 00:49:57,320 I've cooked you pan-fried sea bream with sauteed potatoes, 866 00:49:57,320 --> 00:50:02,000 pancetta and spring onions, with a sauce vierge. 867 00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:03,560 Right. I hope you enjoy it. 868 00:50:03,560 --> 00:50:06,360 It smells lovely, James. Thank you. Thank you. Lovely. 869 00:50:11,560 --> 00:50:14,520 It's absolutely stunning. 870 00:50:14,520 --> 00:50:18,760 I love the acid that comes from the sauce vierge, and the fish 871 00:50:18,760 --> 00:50:20,160 cookery is just perfect. 872 00:50:20,160 --> 00:50:24,440 It's so juicy and it just falls to pieces. 873 00:50:24,440 --> 00:50:27,520 I love that taste of the spring onions, bacon and the potatoes. 874 00:50:27,520 --> 00:50:29,360 I think that really works well together. 875 00:50:29,360 --> 00:50:32,440 And then these little darts of tomato just, you know, giving 876 00:50:32,440 --> 00:50:34,080 you a bit of freshness in there. 877 00:50:34,080 --> 00:50:36,840 It's all seasoned perfectly. 878 00:50:36,840 --> 00:50:38,080 I can't fault it. 879 00:50:39,120 --> 00:50:40,880 Mm. 880 00:50:40,880 --> 00:50:42,360 Mm! 881 00:50:42,360 --> 00:50:45,240 This is fantastic! 882 00:50:45,240 --> 00:50:46,760 Well done, James. 883 00:50:46,760 --> 00:50:48,520 I've got no complaint whatsoever. 884 00:50:49,960 --> 00:50:51,920 Right, James. 885 00:50:51,920 --> 00:50:54,080 Chocolate fondant. Yeah. All good? 886 00:50:54,080 --> 00:50:56,160 All good at the moment. OK, brilliant. 887 00:50:57,720 --> 00:51:01,120 Chocolate fondant, as we know, can make you or break 888 00:51:01,120 --> 00:51:02,720 you on MasterChef. 889 00:51:02,720 --> 00:51:06,960 It wants to be sort of set on the outside, but then really gooey 890 00:51:06,960 --> 00:51:09,560 and like a chocolate river inside. 891 00:51:11,920 --> 00:51:14,800 Espresso syrup, that's going to add a nice little bitterness 892 00:51:14,800 --> 00:51:18,760 to the dish, I think, which I always kind of crave in a sweet. 893 00:51:18,760 --> 00:51:21,760 I mean, I just say "put clotted cream on everything." 894 00:51:21,760 --> 00:51:25,840 I just hope that James absolutely smashes that fondant. 895 00:51:25,840 --> 00:51:27,000 Not literally. 896 00:51:30,120 --> 00:51:32,440 If they're overcooked, they're overcooked. 897 00:51:33,920 --> 00:51:35,080 Ah! 898 00:51:37,200 --> 00:51:39,560 Hey! Hey! 899 00:51:39,560 --> 00:51:42,400 Well done, Big Jim. Proud of you. 900 00:51:42,400 --> 00:51:44,200 I think this looks really smart. 901 00:51:44,200 --> 00:51:46,040 That is fantastic. 902 00:51:46,040 --> 00:51:47,160 Thank you. 903 00:51:52,640 --> 00:51:54,240 Hello again. Hello. 904 00:51:58,080 --> 00:52:03,240 This is chocolate fondant with a coffee syrup, 905 00:52:03,240 --> 00:52:07,480 Cornish clotted cream and crushed pistachios. 906 00:52:10,480 --> 00:52:14,480 A little over, the old fondant, but let's give it a taste. 907 00:52:17,520 --> 00:52:19,880 Oh, James! 908 00:52:19,880 --> 00:52:22,120 Oh, chocolate fondant, 909 00:52:22,120 --> 00:52:25,880 it just always sets you up with so much anticipation for that kind 910 00:52:25,880 --> 00:52:28,960 of gooey centre. And he's just not pulled it off. 911 00:52:28,960 --> 00:52:31,360 But one thing I will say is the flavours 912 00:52:31,360 --> 00:52:33,960 in this dish are fantastic. 913 00:52:33,960 --> 00:52:36,520 Got loads of rich cocoa and the syrup's lovely. 914 00:52:36,520 --> 00:52:38,480 A lovely coffee flavour coming through. 915 00:52:38,480 --> 00:52:40,560 I love the little bits of nut running through it as well 916 00:52:40,560 --> 00:52:42,080 for that bit of texture. 917 00:52:42,080 --> 00:52:44,160 It doesn't matter whether it's cake or fondant, 918 00:52:44,160 --> 00:52:46,080 I'd happily polish it off. 919 00:52:46,080 --> 00:52:48,200 And the touch of the clotted cream 920 00:52:48,200 --> 00:52:50,800 is just genius because it's proper smooth. 921 00:52:50,800 --> 00:52:52,440 It brings everything together. 922 00:52:53,880 --> 00:52:57,480 That is not a fondant. That's more the texture of a chocolate brownie. 923 00:52:57,480 --> 00:53:00,000 However, I find it utterly delicious. 924 00:53:02,520 --> 00:53:06,440 That was the most stressful cook I've ever done. 925 00:53:06,440 --> 00:53:12,480 But I also feel quite elated that I got both dishes out in time. 926 00:53:12,480 --> 00:53:15,280 I don't know what I'm going to do tonight other than sleep. 927 00:53:16,920 --> 00:53:19,680 All of the cooks should be so proud of themselves today because I think 928 00:53:19,680 --> 00:53:22,080 we've had some delicious food. 929 00:53:22,080 --> 00:53:25,520 I think the real standout for me has got to be Vera. 930 00:53:25,520 --> 00:53:27,320 She's so accomplished as a cook. 931 00:53:27,320 --> 00:53:30,200 You would have thought that she's been a chef for years. 932 00:53:31,800 --> 00:53:34,560 We've got ourselves four absolutely brilliant cooks. 933 00:53:34,560 --> 00:53:37,160 There were some ups and downs. A few things didn't quite work out, 934 00:53:37,160 --> 00:53:40,280 but the standard I thought today was sky-high. 935 00:53:40,280 --> 00:53:43,400 There is a cook of the day and that cook of the day is Vera. 936 00:53:43,400 --> 00:53:45,200 Lots of skill on show. 937 00:53:45,200 --> 00:53:48,680 Really beautifully presented. So good, in fact, Natalie in 938 00:53:48,680 --> 00:53:51,960 the dining room today said that she would give her a job now. 939 00:53:51,960 --> 00:53:53,280 Vera's going through, right? 940 00:53:53,280 --> 00:53:55,960 She's got herself a quarterfinal place. I'm really, really pleased. 941 00:53:55,960 --> 00:53:58,760 There's somebody else, I think, in the room today who did 942 00:53:58,760 --> 00:54:00,720 a great job. And that was James. 943 00:54:00,720 --> 00:54:03,160 It was classic food at its best. 944 00:54:03,160 --> 00:54:04,320 Delicious. 945 00:54:04,320 --> 00:54:06,320 Yes, the fondant didn't quite work out. 946 00:54:06,320 --> 00:54:07,920 However, the flavours were fantastic. 947 00:54:07,920 --> 00:54:11,120 John, I like his style. He's going through. 948 00:54:11,120 --> 00:54:15,320 We've got to make a decision now between David and Charlotte. 949 00:54:15,320 --> 00:54:19,320 And both of them have delivered one really good course, 950 00:54:19,320 --> 00:54:22,040 and both of them have disappointed in the other. 951 00:54:22,040 --> 00:54:24,280 David had lovely spicing on his lamb. 952 00:54:24,280 --> 00:54:26,400 The flavours were good, no doubt about it. 953 00:54:26,400 --> 00:54:28,560 It just wasn't cooked enough, as simple as that. 954 00:54:28,560 --> 00:54:32,120 The main course, however, the gurnard was delicious. 955 00:54:32,120 --> 00:54:35,680 Charlotte gave us a dish inspired by the street food of Delhi. 956 00:54:35,680 --> 00:54:37,520 Tofu still on the skewer, 957 00:54:37,520 --> 00:54:40,920 I thought the dish looked fantastic, but actually I found it quite 958 00:54:40,920 --> 00:54:43,600 disappointing in its flavours. 959 00:54:43,600 --> 00:54:45,280 Her dessert was wonderful. 960 00:54:45,280 --> 00:54:48,120 It was stunning in looks and it was stunning in flavour. 961 00:54:48,120 --> 00:54:50,000 I think it was a great, great dessert. 962 00:54:52,040 --> 00:54:54,400 It was tougher than I thought it was going to be. 963 00:54:54,400 --> 00:54:57,360 But I've worked really hard to get here 964 00:54:57,360 --> 00:54:59,200 and really, really would love 965 00:54:59,200 --> 00:55:01,680 a place in that quarterfinal more than anything. 966 00:55:03,680 --> 00:55:06,000 Cooking in there today, it's been such an enjoyable process 967 00:55:06,000 --> 00:55:08,400 and I've learnt a lot and I'd love to do it again. 968 00:55:18,560 --> 00:55:20,040 Thank you very much indeed. 969 00:55:20,040 --> 00:55:23,560 It's a hard round, but you were truly impressive. 970 00:55:25,600 --> 00:55:26,920 Three quarterfinal places. 971 00:55:26,920 --> 00:55:30,480 That does mean, sadly, one of you is leaving us. 972 00:55:34,560 --> 00:55:37,760 Our first quarterfinalist is Vera. 973 00:55:39,400 --> 00:55:41,040 Thank you very much. 974 00:55:41,040 --> 00:55:42,640 Very, very well done. 975 00:55:44,080 --> 00:55:48,560 Our second quarterfinalist is James. 976 00:55:50,280 --> 00:55:51,520 WHISPERED: Well done. 977 00:55:54,480 --> 00:55:55,800 Lovely cookery, mate. 978 00:55:55,800 --> 00:55:57,240 Thank you very much. 979 00:55:59,280 --> 00:56:03,440 Our third and final quarterfinalist is... 980 00:56:10,440 --> 00:56:12,120 ..Charlotte. 981 00:56:12,120 --> 00:56:13,640 Congratulations. Well done. 982 00:56:15,600 --> 00:56:17,680 David, sorry to see you go, mate. 983 00:56:17,680 --> 00:56:19,640 Thank you very much indeed. 984 00:56:19,640 --> 00:56:21,360 Thanks, David. Thanks. 985 00:56:24,240 --> 00:56:27,760 I'm pretty deflated right now to be going home, but I've tested myself 986 00:56:27,760 --> 00:56:31,280 and I've learned some new skills, and I'll take those with me. 987 00:56:33,120 --> 00:56:34,600 Congratulations. 988 00:56:34,600 --> 00:56:36,640 You are MasterChef quarterfinalists. 989 00:56:38,960 --> 00:56:42,240 I think I'm in shock, honestly! 990 00:56:42,240 --> 00:56:45,720 There's nothing in life that I've experienced that gives 991 00:56:45,720 --> 00:56:48,200 you this much of a high and this much of a low, 992 00:56:48,200 --> 00:56:50,720 all in the space of about four hours. 993 00:56:52,240 --> 00:56:56,600 MasterChef quarterfinalist, it sounds OK. 994 00:56:56,600 --> 00:57:00,240 I think there might be a glass of red tonight. 995 00:57:01,760 --> 00:57:03,960 I'm super happy. I still can't quite believe it. 996 00:57:03,960 --> 00:57:06,160 I think it needs a little bit to sink in. 997 00:57:06,160 --> 00:57:09,560 Now that I've made it this far, I want to make it all the way. 998 00:57:15,520 --> 00:57:18,360 Next time - it's the quarterfinal, 999 00:57:18,360 --> 00:57:22,680 and Vera, James and Louise will be joining 1000 00:57:22,680 --> 00:57:25,720 Charlotte, Ecrin and George to fight 1001 00:57:25,720 --> 00:57:30,640 for their place, cooking for one of the UK's hottest culinary talents. 1002 00:57:32,040 --> 00:57:36,240 We have 90 seconds. Very, very last touches. 1003 00:57:36,240 --> 00:57:38,280 I think you're demonstrating lots of skill here. 1004 00:57:38,280 --> 00:57:41,200 Strawberry and cheese, who knew? 1005 00:57:41,200 --> 00:57:43,600 You have done a really, really good job.