Knockout Week continues on MasterChef.
After five weeks of intense competition...
Sorry. Whoa!
..58 home cooks have been whittled down to the best 16.
I feel like my body is here, but my brain is elsewhere.
It just feels like a dream at the minute.
If you want to be the best, you have to compete against the best.
I want to go all the way.
I just don't think there's any room for errors now.
So everything needs to be done and nailed.
It's really daunting because people are going home
and I just really don't want to be one of them.
Last time, the first group of eight returned,
and Lee, Aaron and Vera
were knocked out of the competition.
Tonight, it's the turn of the second group, who will also cook off
for their chance to work in their first professional kitchen.
We need to push now and be focused, OK?
This is about cooking
like you want to win the competition.
It's time to sizzle. It's time to fry.
And it's time for it to boil over.
Welcome back, all of you.
And congratulations for making it through to the last 16,
making it through to Knockout Week.
Eight of you in here right now. At the end of today,
we will have just five.
Three of you will be leaving the competition.
This is a good old-fashioned MasterChef invention test.
We have opened up a larder, and we have packed it full
of incredible ingredients.
Meat, fish, poultry, fruit,
vegetables, tofu, jackfruit.
Anything you want to make something truly delicious.
Your dish could be sweet or it could be savoury.
All we ask is that it's delicious.
90 minutes to be at your absolute best.
Off you go.
I just have too many things going on in my head right now.
We've got to be on our A-game today.
I mean, it's definitely going to come from the heart with me
today with this one.
A bit overwhelmed. There's a lot of choice.
So I'm just going to see...see how it goes.
Olivia, a bartender from Birmingham, is cool as a cucumber.
Oh!
It's fine.
Olivia is very young, and she hasn't yet cemented a style,
but her cooking influences come from all over the world.
Being one of the youngest, it's a bit intimidating,
but I know I'm good.
I just hope I can, you know, be amongst them.
How did you feel when you found out it was an invention test?
My trousers were soiled.
You could say that.
Olivia's dish today was born out of an aubergine.
Baba ghanoush - flavour of the Middle East.
Absolutely wonderful.
I feel like as long as I've got aubergine, life is OK.
Then with that, a piece of lamb neck, which she's going to roast.
But it should be pink or it should be well done.
What do you want from this competition now?
I just want to make myself proud,
do things that I've never done before, and hopefully cook
a lamb neck successfully.
She's also got some stewed plums.
And also got crispy chickpeas.
Now, chickpeas, plums,
with some lamb. I'm a little bit concerned here.
I saw the plums and I thought, "Why not chuck them on?"
I'm hoping it'll be all right.
Brin, our vet from Bristol.
He loves big, banging flavours, but he has a tendency to try
and just be a bit overambitious.
Brin, you look remarkably relaxed. Are you?
No, definitely not remarkably relaxed.
But I think I've got a plan.
Brin is doing mackerel pan-fried, mussels, but he's going to do
a mussel sauce, and then he's going to do a tempura mussel
on the side of that.
We've also got a beetroot puree, a celeriac puree.
We have a charred piece of chicory and a charred leek.
Crispy cavolo nero.
There's a lot going on that plate.
The jury's out here.
Celeriac puree with a cream sauce.
Cream and mackerel.
I hope this works.
You've cooked mackerel in here before.
Yeah, it didn't go too well, so I wanted to show
that I can cook with it.
I think the standards are so high this year that if I don't try
and be really ambitious, I don't think I'm going to give
myself a chance of getting through.
20 minutes gone, everybody.
20 minutes gone.
Chris, our comeback contestant, is a fire-breathing circus performer
from Oxfordshire, and he is truly creative.
He takes basic ideas and reshapes them.
I'm at a point in my career where I can't fire-breathe forever.
So if I could fuse the two of food and performance all into one kind
of career, that would be amazing.
Chris, an invention test.
I mean, that's basically how you cook, isn't it?
Yes, I think most of my dishes are an invention.
It definitely comes from somewhere within.
So it's a little bit of creativity going into it.
Chris - he's doing lamb neck, which he's marinating in mustard.
That pan-fried mustard, I hope does not burn.
If the mustard burns, it will go bitter.
Have you cooked a lamb neck before? No.
Ah. But I've watched a lot of videos on it.
CHRIS LAUGHS
Therefore, I'm qualified, right?
He's serving that with a chimichurri sauce, vinegar and olive oil,
loads of different herbs, chopping them all together.
We're going to get crispy potato.
And then he's going to add to that a cauliflower puree.
It's almost classic, but I don't know if it's got the real sort
of fireworks that we're used to with Chris.
Haddy, from Gambia, loves the flavours she grew up with,
but she is versatile.
Are we going to see more flavours of The Gambia, or are we going to see
things like a mango pie or moussaka?
Seeing the judges like my food, it just
boost out my confidence so much.
I mean, MasterChef is really helping me grow more into, like, a much
stronger and confident woman.
There are lots of stressed cooks in here,
and you look completely relaxed.
You're smiling. Just faking it.
Well, I've been practising a lot, and obviously I come
here to make Gambian dishes, but today I'm just going to switch it
and show off that I can do more things,
not only Gambian dishes.
We have got ourselves a piece of salmon, which she's poached in
white wine. Poaching it in white wine,
it could make it go a little bit tough.
Crispy salmon skin, a mushroom puree going underneath it,
and a fondant potato.
Now, this could be a really lovely dish.
So I'm happy. But I'm also a bit nervous now thinking,
"Have I played it too safe and not done much?"
Cliodhna, our comeback contestant, personal trainer from Lancashire.
Cracking dish after cracking dish.
Full of technical ability and always
with a little flavour of Lancashire.
I've done what I've come back to do. I've redeemed myself.
I've shown that I've done better than before.
So why not take it as far as I possibly can and maybe even take
it to the end? We'll just...we'll just have to wait and see.
At home, do you cook for Mum and your boyfriend?
Since coming back on the competition, it's been nonstop.
Everyone's been eating my food.
Sisters have been up and been ramming it down their necks as well.
My mum is my absolute biggest cheerleader, though,
so she's been loving it.
Cliodhna is cooking for us lamb neck, which is the main component
part of a Lancashire hotpot.
Hopefully I can cook the meat perfectly for you.
She's serving that with some baked goat's cheese and a potato fondant.
That's a nice little combination.
We have the pesto and a honey and balsamic reduction.
Both really, really strong flavours.
That worries me.
George. Dr George. Recently married.
I've never seen him flustered.
He's given us Italian dishes, Asian dishes and desserts.
I think he's a pretty decent all-rounder.
The invention test - does that hold fear for you?
My wife has been testing me with invention tests over the last
few weeks and I made some lovely food.
Her words, not mine.
We've only been married for a month, so we're really testing
the marriage out straight away.
George is really going for it.
And he's got lots of technique on show.
He's got a poached chicken breast.
I hope it's cooked all the way through.
Crispy skin, pommes Anna, slices of potatoes.
Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.
All served together with a side of butter sauce.
I hope the whole thing's not too greasy.
I do like competition. Very competitive, whatever it comes to,
board games, cooking, you name it, I am.
So I've got my game face on today.
Dinta is one of two doctors in this group of eight.
She is a vegetarian who understands the flavours of India, and she also
likes the techniques of Italy.
She is a fusion cook.
I'm very much a planner.
And when I got the brief that this was going to be an invention
challenge, I literally froze and thought, "Ah!"
It's like my worst nightmare.
It's the unknown.
Is this hard, juggling this and homework with being a doctor?
It's really weird. I go in and I do my clinics
and then in between my break,
so at lunch time, like, looking up recipes, like, "Right, back to
"clinic again. Right, back to recipe again."
SHE LAUGHS
Dinta's making for us dessert.
You've got a rich chocolate tart filling with a dry short
pastry sweet outside.
Now, that's going to make your mouth dry and be very, very rich.
Serving the whole thing with a berry coulis. Caramel is there
as a garnish, nice and sweet and sugary, showing some skill.
For me right now, this is crying out for a good amount of cream.
Seems like it needs moisture.
Hope, a project director from Milton Keynes.
And she's shown herself to be really creative.
She goes the extra mile. So much so, she makes her own plates.
And she even made her own lunchbox for that last round.
My game plan today in the invention test is to go in
with something in mind that I can adapt to whatever's given to me,
and I hope that will be the key to my success.
Doing choux craquelin...
The first batch hasn't gone particularly correct.
So I'm hoping the next batch will be fine.
..with a pineapple coulis
and ice cream, and an oil as well.
What flavour ice cream? It's lime ice cream.
The craquelin - that's like pastry with a kind of tiger skin
across the top. That's right.
Knowing that we had an invention challenge, I knew that I needed
to have vessels that could carry any flavour.
And choux craquelin does that.
This sounds great. Fingers crossed.
Thank you, Gregg.
Hope's ambitions are set around a choux pastry with a crust
across the top.
And as it bakes, it almost opens up like a tiger bread roll.
But the choux pastry first has to rise.
My choux - second choux - hasn't gone to plan.
They're still really flat.
Um...
But right now, Hope's made
two batches of choux pastry, and both of them haven't risen.
They'll know that it's not right, but hopefully I can serve something.
Three minutes. Three minutes, guys!
Come on. This is a big cook-off. Three minutes.
I need to hope and pray that it's cooked.
Thank God!
SHE LAUGHS
I don't necessarily feel fully happy about it, but I think it's there.
He made me nervous then by going, "Oh!"
30 seconds. Come on!
What are you doing?! Come on. Come on.
That's it! Stop.
Time's up.
I do this all the time and it never turns out like this.
Brin, if you wouldn't mind, please.
Veterinary surgeon Brin has made grilled mackerel on a celeriac
puree, served with tempura mussels,
beetroot puree, burnt-leek-emulsion-stuffed shallot,
pickled beetroot, orange cured mackerel and a mussel
and white wine sauce split with chive oil.
It's an unusual dish.
It's definitely an invention test, but it all somehow
or another works together.
I like your mackerel-beetroot combination.
Your mackerel's cooked beautifully.
I even like the earthiness of the celeriac.
It's lovely and smooth. I think that's really, really good.
That shallot with those deep-fried mussels,
I'd eat a bucket full of them. I like it, Brin.
I'm impressed by your amount of work. And that sauce,
it's creamy and it's rich and there's a slight sweetness to it.
Puree's really well made.
Thank you. Now, I'm not a huge fan of fruit and fish at all,
but you've turned me.
I think it would have been hard for me to do any more than I did
today, and I'm really proud of myself for that.
Bartender Olivia's dish is pan-seared lamb neck
served with baba ghanoush,
roasted plums, crispy chickpeas,
pomegranate seeds, toasted nuts
and a parsley and mint oil.
Nice lamb cookery. Well done.
It's pink and it's juicy.
Very, very good.
The most controversial part, which is the plum and the lamb,
I actually really like. Plum has got a slight sourness to it,
a little bit of sweetness to it.
I'm not a fan of the fried chickpeas.
Slightly oily, crunch...is not for me.
Baba ghanoush, for me, needs to be more aubergine than tahini.
And we don't get that flavour of the aubergine.
But the surprise, of course, is the lamb and the plums.
They do work together.
I have mixed feelings at the minute.
There was some positive feedback and some negative.
But what can you do now?
It's done. I can't...can't turn back time.
Full-time mum Haddy has served poached salmon
on a mushroom cream puree,
topped with samphire and crispy salmon skin with fondant potatoes
and a mushroom veloute sauce.
The fish itself is overcooked, and it's a little bit dry.
The mushroom puree, with a piece of salmon, I'm finding a bit unusual
because the mushroom is so dense and so woody. But the potato
is good, and the veloute is nicely made.
Thank you. That crispy skin is fantastic.
Your puree is smooth and creamy.
My issue is the fish.
It is overcooked.
I would prefer mine to be cooked more gently than that.
OK.
I thought it went to plan.
It's a bit concerning for me that my star of the dish is overcooked.
Circus performer Chris has cooked lamb neck, topped with chimichurri
herb sauce and carrots, charred shallots, crispy potatoes
and a cauliflower puree.
Lamb cooked really, really well.
Crispy fat across the top of that lamb neck.
The herb sauce across the top giving vibrancy.
Carrots soft as well.
The cauliflower puree.
You've really creamed it down, but it doesn't have any
seasoning in it.
But your cooking's sound.
Those shallots, really sweet with fennel seeds,
are absolutely delicious.
The cookery of your potatoes and your puree is perfect.
Just use a sprinkle of salt.
I'm just not a hugely salty person.
I don't like the taste of salt too much, so I resist putting
it in at home.
Personal trainer Cliodhna's dish is roasted lamb neck
with goat's cheese, mint and Parmesan pesto,
fondant potato,
caramelised shallots and a balsamic and honey reduction.
The lamb is cooked nicely, brown and pink,
and you've seasoned it very, very well.
You've got very, very salty cheese, and quite a strong, again,
seasoned herb there.
That sweetness of balsamic and honey is perfect
against the saltiness of the cheese and the herbs.
I really, really like it.
Goat's cheese, mint, lamb, balsamic and honey,
I think, was a really big gamble.
I think you've played your cards really well.
Oh, thank God. I think it's very, very good indeed.
Invention test - good dish.
I'm feeling good. I had some good feedback.
I'm really proud of how I've done and how it's turned out.
Dr George has served poached chicken topped with crispy chicken
skin, pommes Anna,
braised carrot, carrot puree and a cider sauce.
Is the carrot puree supposed to be found
under a microscope? Is this it under there?
Chicken's cooked nicely, but I would like to see that chicken
breast cut down. It's bulky.
Yeah. Love the pommes Anna.
Crispy on the top, not greasy.
Lots of seasoning.
The sauce - I love the sweet sharpness of it.
But I'd like it a little bit thicker.
You've done a lot of work here. You took a whole chicken, you boned
out the chicken, you used the skin, you're showing off a bit of style.
I think it's delicious.
I think there were a lot of positive comments, but you've got to put
a really good plate of food up there to get through.
So...
..I don't know. I'm not sure if I've done enough.
GP Dinta has made a chocolate and cinnamon ganache tart
topped with a sugar spiral,
served with a mixed berry compote.
That pastry is really good. Ganache is really good.
Your sugar work is light.
I mean, it's a perfect colour.
Looks great, tastes great. Showing really good touch.
Your berry coulis mixture, for me, doesn't quite work
with your chocolate tart. That needs cream, because you've got no respite
from the richness of the dish.
But I'm really impressed by the work.
I think I'm disheartened because I should have served
the cream and I didn't it.
So here we are.
Digital project director Hope has attempted a choux craquelin
filled with pineapple and cream, with a pineapple coulis,
thyme oil and crumb,
and a lime zest ice cream.
You know that your choux pastry hasn't worked.
The inside of that bun is still a little bit dense and a bit
sort of doughy in the middle.
The craquelin across the top,
it adds a sort of sugary top, but it also adds weight
to your choux pastry.
So if your choux pastry is not going to rise very much,
it holds it down even more.
Your lime ice cream,
I love the flavour of it, but it's grainy.
I really like the pineapple, the thyme.
I really like the introduction of thyme into the crumb
and into the pineapple.
Choux bun... It isn't exactly what you wanted, unfortunately.
I've done choux so many times before
and it's never been that flat.
So I'm really gutted that my cooking wasn't up to par.
On the whole, I thought the standard was amazing, and there are a couple
of star cooks in the room, I feel.
And the first person, for me, who absolutely nailed it was Brin.
Huge amount of technique on display.
I liked his fish cookery.
Really liked his sauce.
I thought Brin was exceptional.
Cliodhna's lamb, I thought, was brilliant.
She cooked it really, really well.
She made a great fondant potato.
It was a really good dish.
It was good. John, I loved eating it.
Brin and Cliodhna are through to the next round.
We've now got the other six to talk about.
George had a really simple-looking dish, but I like that.
But that chicken should have been trimmed down.
He demonstrated skill. Took the chicken apart,
he made the skin crispy.
He did the carrots in two different ways.
However, there should be more of that puree.
Olivia cooked that lamb really nicely.
And the plum, I thought, was a really nice addition. But the crispy
chickpeas on the side, a little bit bitter, and that baba ghanoush
didn't taste of aubergine.
Chris' dish, I think, for an invention test
was really, really clever.
Piece of lamb, herby sauce across the top.
Really good. If he had a fault at all, that was a lack of seasoning
on the puree and the potatoes.
Haddy made a lovely puree, those potatoes, they were so soft
they were like butter.
But the fish itself was overcooked.
Hope, I think, was really, really ambitious.
But the big problem was that that choux pastry bun didn't work,
and her ice cream was grainy.
Dinta made for us a perfect tart case and inside a ganache,
which was really rich, but there was no relief
from that chocolate at all.
Really loved the sugar work.
I just thought it was clever, clever work.
Putting a lot of heart, a lot of emotion, and a lot
of time into it.
Going home now will really break my heart.
There are some great cooks in there.
I think it'll be a close call today.
I am in really risky territory right now.
I hope the outcome is what I want it to be.
Well done. You know, there is not a bad cook in this room.
That was brilliant.
And this was a really tough job to judge.
As we said at the start of this, we only have five places
in the next round.
That does mean that three of you will be leaving us.
The first person leaving us is...
..Hope.
Thank you so much for the opportunity. Thanks for everything.
BRIN: I'll see you out there. Well done.
The second person leaving us...
..is Olivia.
Olivia, thanks so much. Sad to see you go.
Thank you. Thanks so much.
The last person leaving us is...
..is Haddy.
Haddy, thanks so much. Thank you, Haddy. Thank you.
Thank you.
I didn't want the journey to end so soon, but I came here
to showcase my Gambian cooking.
And I believe I've done that, because the only dishes
that let me down are the non-Gambian dishes.
OLIVIA: I'm a bit sad to be going home, to be honest.
I don't know if you can tell.
But I've made it this far
and I need to be grateful about that.
HOPE: It's so upsetting go home.
It's been a great experience.
I've really enjoyed my time here and I just could have wished
it would have lasted longer.
Well done, you five.
You can afford yourselves a small celebration.
You are now going to need every single ounce
of energy and concentration.
You are going in your first professional kitchen.
You are going to be doing a lunchtime service.
We'll see you there.
Oh, my God!
LAUGHTER
This is the pinnacle point for me, tomorrow. I cannot wait.
Well done!
It's early morning, and the five remaining contestants
are about to face the intense pressure of their first professional
restaurant service...
..at JOIA, located on the 14th floor of art'otel,
overlooking London's iconic Battersea Power Station.
Going into a kitchen is something that I never thought I'd ever do
in my life. It's almost too good to be true.
BRIN: It kind of symbolises what I want to do for the rest of my life.
I want to be cooking professionally.
GEORGE: It's a privilege. It's an honour.
And I really hope that I can do my best and prove that I deserve
to be there.
In charge is head chef Jose Jara.
Growing up in Spain, his passion for cooking was ignited at
an early age.
When I was a child, my uncle, he used to have a restaurant and I used
to help him.
Was there where I got the interest about the hospitality.
In 2023, a collaboration with two Michelin-starred Portuguese chef
Henrique Sa Pessoa and his shared passion for Iberian food
resulted in the opening of JOIA, where the menu focuses on modern
interpretations of classic Spanish and Portuguese dishes.
Iberian food is my roots. It's my food.
It's the food that I cook at home.
It's the food that I really... I really love and I really feel.
It's going to be a big challenge for them.
It's not easy to come to a kitchen for the first time.
It's very important for us to keep the standard.
Hello, guys.
You will be cooking today some of our signature dishes.
We have a very busy service today, so it's important that you keep
focus, to listen and to really fully understand the recipes
and the process.
Are you ready?
Yeah. Follow me.
The contestants have three hours to prepare each
of their dishes for service.
Dinta is responsible for a vegetarian starter of leeks
cooked two different ways - roasted and crispy.
They're served with rocket, roasted hazelnuts and a romesco sauce.
So this is one of our most popular dishes.
Are you good at multitasking? I think so.
You will have to work very organised and quick to make sure you manage
the timing of the crispy leeks. To warm up properly the leeks.
Also, to warm up correctly the romesco.
The inspiration of this dish is from Catalonia in Spain.
It's called calcot.
So calcot are baby leeks that we normally cook in the barbecue
and we dip with romesco.
We place the rocket.
The crispy leeks on top, some roasted hazelnuts
that you previously need to roast in the oven.
You think you can do this?
I think I can... I can do this. There's lots of components.
I think there's lots of preparation to do. Good.
So the only Spanish food I've had is tapas.
So this is completely new to me.
So, lots of pressure.
SHE LAUGHS
Dinta's first job is to prep four kilos of leeks...
I've prepped three leeks so far, so I think we better get a move on.
SHE LAUGHS
..before roasting them in a charcoal Josper oven,
which can reach temperatures of up to 600 degrees.
They will have to completely burn the leeks in the Josper.
And after, they will have to peel, one by one.
And it's a big challenge because they will have a lot
of quantity of leeks to clean.
It's really hot.
Also on starters is George...
So, got a lot of things to do.
What fun.
...who is responsible for a take on the traditional Portuguese dish
bacalhau a bras, which is a mix of salt cod, egg and potato.
It's a very popular dish.
It's one of our signature dishes here in JOIA,
and it's famous dish in Portugal.
A little bit of pressure, then.
THEY LAUGH
During service, George will have just minutes to perfectly cook
batches of the salt cod and potato in an egg mix.
The role of eggs is very important because it will give all the smooth
to the dish. So we don't want to do a scrambled egg.
You have to make sure to manage three or four pan at the same time.
I need four hands. Yes.
THEY LAUGH
The dish is garnished with dried black olives.
And finish with a confit egg yolk.
The confit at around 60 degrees for ten minutes.
Putting the egg on top, cool water on that.
If they just break the egg, we cannot send it.
There you have it.
Bacalhau a bras with confit egg yolk.
Amazing.
Never cooked anything like this before.
It's really stepping up from what I usually cook at home.
So, really excited to get stuck in.
Probably got about 80 potatoes to peel,
so it's going to be a long morning of doing this.
Cliodhna is in charge of the catch of the day main course, a sharing
sea bass dish, which is also cooked in the intense heat
of the Josper oven.
It's a challenge to work with
the ovens. It's very important for the fish.
The temperature have to be high, but not too high.
So it's going to be around 300 degrees, ideally. Yeah.
And give around three, four minutes. Three or four minutes.
While the fish cooks, Cliodhna must prepare a broccoli
and piquillo pepper side.
So as you can see, very crispy skin.
Fish are slightly burnt on the side.
It's OK, but it's important
the skin need to be very, very crispy.
At the last minute,
she must warm up a traditional sauce from Bilbao made with chilli.
There are a lot of things going on on this dish.
The hardest thing of cooking the fish
is that Josper. OK? So don't overcook the fish.
Perfect.
I feel like I've got a lot of skill involved in my dish.
Controlling the Josper, which I've never even heard of before
I've set foot in the kitchen today.
But I'm going to try my best, give it my all anyway.
LAUGHTER Sorry!
I went pollock fishing with my auntie in St Ives
and googled how to fillet a fish,
and that was how I got the knowledge to do this.
Chris is on the meat main course, deboning 12 racks of pork
which have been sous-vide for 24 hours.
I've spent my whole career performing as a fire-breathing pig,
so to be prepping it is the dream in this restaurant.
Hi, Chris. So you're going to be in charge of suckling pig.
This is one of my favourite dishes here - is lovely. To roast the whole
suckling pig in Spain and Portugal is something very traditional.
You will have to cook until the skin becomes very crispy and this colour.
Chris will need to keep on top of orders
because the pork cooks slowly.
To make the skin very crispy,
it's going to take you around 25 minutes, more or less.
OK, it takes a long time.
It's served with a spinach puree...
If you heat too much, it's going to split.
..and black pepper sauce.
OK, Chris, there you have it. Our suckling pig.
Great. It looks absolutely amazing.
I can't wait to plate that food.
I know that is a prized delicacy.
So to be handed that to cook,
yeah, got to do it right.
Probably one of the busiest dishes in prep.
They need to work very quickly.
This is quite a time-consuming job, so need to get quick with this one.
For the first time in the competition, Brin
will be making a pudding.
Have you ever done dessert?
I'm not a huge fan of doing dessert, so it's such a good opportunity...
Are you excited? ..to learn by you guys. Absolutely.
Always excited, yeah. Good.
He's making Chef Jose's take on a traditional Portuguese dish
called Abade de Priscos.
Created in the 19th century,
it's a set pudding made with egg yolk, cinnamon and port,
topped with caramel.
Very difficult to get it right. OK.
Brin will need to work fast during prep to get his pudding mix
made with enough time to set.
We put a bit of crumble.
This is fresh orange that you will need to be peeling
during the service.
Brin also has the challenge of forming a perfect quenelle
of mandarin sorbet.
Have you ever done a quenelle?
I've tried. It's not worked out that well.
THEY LAUGH
There we go.
It's a beautiful dish.
I'm very excited to do it.
It's got a lot of precise elements that I need to get right
and on time.
So, kind of straight in at the deep end now.
Brin gets to work on the main component, the pudding mix.
He must first accurately heat a sugar syrup with cinnamon
and lemon peel.
We're almost there. Just need to get it bang on 117.
To cook the pudding,
for that they need to make sure they mix properly the egg yolk
with the port wine and the sugar in the right way to make sure
they get the consistency and the flavour.
Being in a professional kitchen, completely different
for me. It's just a day of just complete firsts,
and I'm loving it.
There's 90 minutes prep time left.
On the vegetarian starter,
Dinta's been julienning her crispy leek component ready for deep-frying
during service, while also making sure she roasts enough whole leeks
for the second main element of the dish.
It's really hot.
SHE LAUGHS
And she now needs to work on her sauce.
I've never made a romesco sauce before, and so we're just going
with what I've been taught today.
We've got the garlic, the almonds,
we've got the tomatoes, the vinegar.
It's good, but you need to put a bit more olive oil.
OK. Perfect. Thank you.
I think it's going OK.
There's lots to do, but it's quite fun.
And it's hot in here. SHE LAUGHS
Across the kitchen, George has only just finished prepping
all the potatoes, which will make up part of the bacalhau mix.
I think I've got a love-hate relationship with potatoes right now.
And he's moving on to separating 20 egg yolks, which need to confit
in time for service.
So, confit... I've never done it myself before.
If they confit a bit higher temperature that they should,
the egg straight away is going to be overcook.
And that's what we don't want.
What happened?
I just overcooked the egg, Chef, in all honesty. All right.
We need to be very careful with that, because we cannot do
that kind of wastage.
So I just left the oil on the plancha for too long.
All 20 again,
so it's really... It's put me behind quite a lot now.
So, just got to crack on, really.
It's halfway through prep,
but Cliodhna is still filleting
sea bass.
So the next one you will do better. Yes.
I'd like to think I could be quicker, but I want to be thorough.
It needs to be perfect.
I don't want anything being sent back with bones in it or anything.
Not too bad. I can feel some of the spine here.
Cliodhna, I think she's a bit behind.
She need to...
She'll need to work quick to make sure she's in a good place.
Chris also needs to speed up.
He's only just finished deboning his 12 racks of pork.
I have put the pork in the chiller to be compressed and squashed down,
ready for service.
And he needs to get going on his garnishes,
a black pepper jus...
I just hope I'm doing each step correctly.
..and the spinach puree.
It's this list. Just get through this list at the moment.
On dessert, Brin's racing to get his Portuguese pudding mix
ready to cook as it needs to go in to chill well before service.
This is the set custard caramel that's going to be
kind of the star of the show.
Timing is also critical on the pudding's accompaniment,
a mandarin sorbet, which will need to freeze in time.
Currently, I'm just blending the mix of the sorbet with this ridiculously
large blender.
Can mow the lawn with this!
OK, guys. So it's almost one hour for service.
All right?
Dinta's romesco sauce is ready, and she's managed to get
all her leeks charred in the Josper.
But she still has a lot to do.
I've got to get all the black bits off and then chop them
into the right size so that they're ready to be cooked
in the butter.
George is also under pressure.
Feeling massively out of my depth.
I've still got a lot to do.
He's redone the confit egg yolks.
Won't be making that mistake again.
But he's still deboning another key component for the bacalhau -
the salt cod. I've got to finish my fish.
Got to chop the parsley, get the olives ready.
Make sure my onions are nicely caramelised, but not
overcooked and burnt. So a lot to do still.
Just half an hour left to start the service.
So I'm a bit worried that they are not going to have on time.
They are going to be very tight.
It's all sped up slightly.
Cliodhna's finally finished prepping her sea bass, but she's only
just started work on the broccoli side.
So I'm just going to do my confit pepper.
So it is all systems go at the moment.
OK, guys, I don't see you are taking this seriously now.
I really hope you push, OK, and get ready.
Yes, Chef.
Meanwhile, on the meat main, Chris is still working
through his extensive prep list.
The pressure is on.
I've still got some fine details to tune.
Including portioning his pork.
You need to trim to make it beautiful, but at the same
time to avoid to have too many wastage.
Yes, Chef.
Yeah, a little bit nervous about this now.
I'm not going to lie.
On dessert, Brin's pudding mix is set.
Yeah, looks great.
Oosh!
It's just folded in on itself.
Hopefully I can make do with that.
He now has the fiddly task of portioning the puddings to Chef's
exacting standards.
So, everything has to be cut to 2.7cm.
If they don't cut right and they are not looking
all the same, we wouldn't serve.
Yeah, fairly pleased with that, to be honest with you.
They look great. I'd eat them. So...
It's 12:30 and the diners are arriving.
This place is buzzing.
It's an incredible view.
The expectation is going to be sky-high.
I love the pressure of a professional kitchen,
every single dish looking exactly the same.
Consistency is paramount.
Thank you. Thank you so much. Thanks. Thanks.
The first orders are in...
Guys, check on. Two leeks, bacalhau. Yes, Chef.
Yes, Chef!
..for both the vegetarian and salted cod starters.
Five minutes to send the leeks and the bacalhau, OK?
GEORGE: Yes, Chef.
Dinta to needs to keep an eye on her deep-fried leeks while basting
the roasted ones in butter.
I've got to be careful they don't burn.
Dinta. Come on, come on. We need to push, eh?
Leeks cooked, she now needs to get her first two orders plated.
Dinta, you need to glaze the leeks a little bit
more next time.
It's a little bit stressful, but actually I'm really enjoying it.
Meanwhile, George is juggling multiple pans of his cod,
potato and egg bacalhau.
Feel a little bit under pressure now.
Got six on.
Really don't want to cook those eggs.
George, I need two bacalhau now, please.
Yes, Chef. Coming.
He's got his first two cooked without scrambling the eggs.
George, no.
This is not what we plate before. OK? OK.
So the cod need to be in the middle of the plate.
OK. You need to make it completely flat.
OK. So can you plate again, please? Yes, Chef.
Sorry, Chef.
Stressful. Chef just wants this to be completely precise.
I know that I've got to work on my presentation today.
Dinta is also struggling to present her dish perfectly.
Dinta, can you, please, a bit more volume when you plate?
A bit more height, OK? OK.
Thank you.
Service, please.
Those leeks are absolutely perfect.
They are buttery soft. They're just falling apart.
They taste absolutely delicious.
I think Dinta has done a really good job.
George has quickly replated his first two bacalhau.
So, I really got to just try and nail it, really.
But if he breaks the confit egg yolks, they will be ruined again.
Much happier with these ones.
Much better. Thank you. Thanks, Chef.
I think Dr George has understood this perfectly.
I've got a perfect confit egg yolk. You had a perfect confit egg yolk.
That salt cod with that almost creamy sauce made from the egg yolk.
The potatoes have been fried, but then they've become soft
with all the mixture. He's done a great job, George.
Cliodhna and Chris are up next with main courses.
I feel a bit shaky.
Check on. Leeks, bacalhau, finish with suckling pig
and catch of the day, please.
CHRIS: Yes, Chef. GEORGE: Yes, Chef.
Cliodhna must take care
each sea bass doesn't burn in the intense heat
of the Josper...
Hell fire, that's hot.
..while keeping up with several checks.
Please, so we have a check on two leeks, bacalhau,
finish with suckling pig and catch of the day.
It's tough to listen to the chef calling out the tickets and hearing
the right thing.
Check on. Two catch of the day and suckling pig, please.
Guys, we are getting busier, OK, so we need to push now
and be focused, OK?
This is intense and I've already got eight orders
on for the catch of the day.
Chris is also straight in at the deep end,
crisping up the skin on multiple pork orders.
You want it like a sheet of glass.
I feel on top of it, but I mean, who knows?
Cliodhna, how long you need for the catch of the day?
30 seconds. Let's go.
This is my first plate.
So, well done.
Next time, you need your piquillo pepper a bit less cooked, OK.
Right. Right. No worries. Sorry, Chef.
Whoa.
Nice.
Cliodhna has taken a lot of care over that fish.
That is beautiful.
It's cooked absolutely beautifully.
And that piquillo smoky pepper underneath is fantastic.
So it's hot, hot, hot.
After 25 minutes of skin-crisping, Chris' first pork
is ready to plate.
Chris, the next time, please, the quenelle is too big.
You need to make it smaller, OK? Slightly smaller.
The crispy skin is really good. Right. Well done.
Thanks, Chef.
Hey! So I've got the suckling pig belly.
Really lovely, moist meat.
And that crackling is wonderful.
Lovely, smooth spinach puree. Everything seasoned very, very well.
Chris is on his way.
Brin is now up with dessert.
Just trying my best to not tear anything,
make sure I plate it really steadily.
I'm a bit nervous about the quenelles.
Under pressure, they're going to be difficult.
I think not under pressure, they're going to be difficult.
Brin, it's your first pudding.
The quenelles need to be a bit more refined.
OK. Yes, Chef.
Perfect.
The quenelle could be a bit better. Considering that it's the first
time that he's doing a quenelle, it's well done.
JOHN: It looks fantastic.
Look at that.
Mm! Oh!
Sharp mandarin.
Sweet, sweet pudding. That crumb is almost like shortbread biscuit.
That is really, really good.
JOSE: We are getting very busy, so they need to hurry up and push
to make sure that we are on time.
Service is in full swing, but George's bacalhau
is so popular, he has multiple checks backed up.
George, you have eight bacalhau in total. You really need to push, OK?
Yes, Chef.
Juggling so many orders, he's taken his eye off one
of his cod mix batches.
George, please. Can you smell burn?
Let's make a new one.
Just had to start cooking it again.
George is being...struggling a little bit more with the cod,
so I need to make sure they work quick.
George, how long you need?
Two minutes, Chef.
Guys, check on two leeks, two bacalhau,
finished with two suckling pig and two catch of the day, please.
Yes, Chef.
Dinta's starter is also proving popular, and as the orders flood in,
she's hit a major problem.
I don't have enough food.
How many more leeks do we need?
So leeks... Because we're running out of leeks.
So you need to burn more quick, OK?
You need to go quick, burn more quick and peel them, OK?
So I need to make some more leeks, which is going
to take some time.
George is still trying to catch up,
plating his new batch of bacalhau.
Is that OK, Chef?
OK. Much better, George.
But you need to keep going, OK? Yes, Chef.
Cliodhna, you have six catch of the day with broccoli.
Yes, Chef.
Cliodhna is still trying to keep on top of sea bass orders.
SHE EXHALES
Jesus!
I just burnt the inside of my fingers and my hand.
SOBBING: And it just hurts.
Sorry, Chef. Cliodhna, don't worry, OK?
Don't worry. You want to take five minutes?
Yeah. Just... Sorry.
You can take five minutes, and then we carry on
with the service. Thanks, Chef.
On pork, Chris is having more success.
Chris, how long you need? One minute, Chef. One minute?
Yeah.
I've got to do a better quenelle of spinach, smaller.
That's already better.
Chris, good. Thank you.
Service, please.
On dessert, Brin's still trying to perfect his quenelles.
It's a bit harder when there's quite a lot to do in one go.
But he's not giving up.
OK, Brin. It's much better, that quenelle, OK?
Much more beautiful. Thank you. Well done.
Service is drawing to a close.
Four leeks, but I need one right now, please. OK?
Yes, Chef.
And while having to keep on top of her checks...
Here you go, Chef.
..Dinta has managed to burn and peel more whole leeks
for the last remaining orders.
OK, Dinta, we are almost there. OK, this is the last two leeks.
Make them perfect.
Thanks, Chef.
Got my last two on now, so I've got to make sure these are perfect
to make sure I impress Chef.
DINTA: There you go. Last two, Chef.
OK, Dinta...
Well done. So you are done with the leeks. I am.
So you did very well. Thank you. Yes, Chef. Thank you.
That was super stressful.
We've run out of food, but I'm hoping he was happy
with what I served.
Last two bacalhau, Chef. OK, George, you did it.
OK? A bit challenging at the beginning, but now
they are looking good. Thank you, Chef. Well done.
Congratulations. Thank you.
Three hours of absolute chaos, but got through it.
A lot of hard work, but what a pleasure to be here.
Chris, last two suckling pig away, please.
Yes, Chef.
I wish I was out there eating it, to be honest.
OK. Thanks, Chef.
Well done. You must be proud of yourself, because what you did
is not easy. You did it really well.
Well done. Thank you. Thanks so much.
It's been really intense, but I've learned a lot today.
Despite burning herself, Cliodhna is determined to finish service.
Giving up is not an option.
Never, ever.
Cliodhna, I think you did really well.
Thank you. Well done. Thank you so much.
Cheers. Service, please.
I really enjoyed it. Like, it were all going really well.
And I'm so proud of myself for carrying on.
I'm definitely earned a drink or five now, I think.
It's now down to Brin to finish service on a high.
OK, Brin, so last two dessert away for table 28, please.
Yes, Chef.
Perfect. Not easy to make...to make the pudding,
especially to make the quenelle. And you did it, so well done.
Thank you very much, Chef. Thank you. Thank you.
Absolutely loved that today. Loads of fun.
Table 28.
I hope I made him proud because I really did enjoy it.
Did my best.
The amateurs' first restaurant service is finally at an end.
At the beginning I was concerned because they were a bit behind.
It's not easy, but they did really well at the end.
I'm feeling absolutely worn out after my experience in the kitchen.
It's a completely different world in there.
But you can tell by the smile on my face
that I absolutely enjoyed my time in there.
I felt like it was a very, very challenging environment
to be in, but I managed to pull it off somehow.
So, yeah, I'm very proud of myself.
I'm super buzzed.
It was such a rush, and it was really pressured.
But, yeah, just totally enjoyed it.
That was their first ever taste of a professional kitchen.
And they were amazing!
The remaining contestants in Knockout Week will be back
to the MasterChef kitchen, and it's time to fight it out.
Next time, the remaining cooks are back.
Oh-oh-oh!
Oh! Just one challenge...
HE EXHALES stands between them... Ah!
..and a place in the semifinals.
Oh, my God.
You could quite easily just demolish about six kilo of that.
I think it's ace.