It's the last of the MasterChef quarterfinals.
These four talented chefs triumphed in their heats.
Tonight, they will face two tough challenges designed to push
them even further.
I feel like the pressure's definitely going up.
I just can't wait to get back in there and show what I've got.
I don't think anything can prepare you for being in that kitchen.
Every round is important.
I don't think there's going to be any rounds where you don't
have to show your best.
I do feel like I've got some stiff competition.
I also feel like an old grandma compared to some of them.
I mean, thank gosh I dyed my hair right before this.
First, they must face an invention test with a twist...
It's absolutely sensational.
...before going on to cook for three of the country's top food critics.
I'm slightly blown away by this.
You just can't stop eating it.
Only the best will make it through to knockout week.
We have four very talented chefs who've earned their way
into the quarterfinal.
Can they keep it going?
There's never a guarantee in this kitchen.
Only good cookery is going to get our chefs through to the next stage
of this competition.
Hey. Here you are in your quarterfinal.
You are here because you've shown us the skills,
the creativity that you have so far.
But we want to turn it up a notch.
Underneath that box in front of you is a clue to the dish
that we'd like you to cook for us.
Lift up the box and reveal your clue.
Own it. Yeah.
Hey, Ayesha! I don't think they're my shape.
We would like you to create a dish that is all about sunshine.
Think bright, think colourful, think light.
We want to feel like we've been transported to somewhere
sunny and warm.
You've got an amazing table of ingredients
for you to choose from.
You are going to have ten minutes to come up
and choose your ingredients,
70 minutes to cook and serve.
Come up and let's bring some sunshine into this kitchen.
The Chefs' Larder consists of a selection of seafood,
including red mullet, stone bass,
lobster and mussels,
along with a variety of tropical fruits,
summer vegetables, herbs and spices.
I'm thinking deep here.
What journey are our chefs going to take us on?
Are we going to be sitting by the beach?
Are we going to be in the Caribbean?
Or maybe even on Blackpool Pier?
It could be sweet or savoury,
as long as their dish sings of sunshine.
I think it's almost overwhelming how much stuff there is here,
but I've just got to try and not pick too much.
You want to show off what you can do, but at the same time you don't
want to over egg the pudding.
I want our chefs to be bold and to take a risk.
Don't be afraid to push the boundaries.
Show us some excitement in your food.
All right, actually, I think I'm just going with flavours
that remind me of being on holiday
and being somewhere tropical, and wishing I was there!
I quite like doing creative things and thinking on the fly,
so hopefully I can execute it.
I think I've got a few ideas, so fingers crossed.
Chefs, you now have 70 minutes to create a dish full of sunshine.
And off you go.
They suit you, you should keep them.
They suit me? You look very suave.
24-year-old Tom comes from a family of chefs and currently works
as a sous-chef under his dad at an exclusive hotel
in Horsham, West Sussex.
It's really hard to talk serious
when your glasses are going up and down.
He was a standout cook in his heat with an impeccable Skills Test...
...and he delighted the judges with his modern take
on classic flavours.
This is singing to me, this plate of food.
I absolutely love it.
I feel like I've done pretty well so far, but I'm quite self critical.
A bit of a perfectionist.
If something doesn't go exactly as I planned, it's not good in my eyes.
What's inspired your dish? Just I love lobster.
I think it's one of the nicest things to eat.
Lobster with what? A carrot puree
that's, like, slightly curried, a bisque that is flavoured
with lemongrass, a bit of lime and ginger.
And I'm also going to do a little sort of diced-up potato
mixed with mango and capers.
Potatoes with mango?
Yeah, well, I've done it before with Jerusalem artichokes,
and it was delicious. Just trying to sort of bring nice, bright,
vibrant colours into the dish.
I think that's probably the sort of main focus for this one.
When we mentioned sunshine, what were you thinking?
Me getting sun burnt, to be honest. As a ginger chef,
I can't spend too much time in the sun.
So I don't have too much to say about sunshine,
other than factor 50.
And that's it, really.
Poached lobster dish. Love poached lobster.
He's got the tail, he's got a skewer running through it,
so he wants to keep it nice and straight.
Oh, that's heavy.
Lobster, a very expensive ingredient.
He's going to poach it, it's got to be just cooked.
Ah, it's so hot.
Yeah, I am getting burnt, but by the heat of this lobster,
not the wretched sun.
Tom is making a lobster bisque, and I think he's going to put some
lovely ginger and chilli through that. Mm!
Got to get the bones crushed down.
He's got to get some brandy, some tomato puree, shallots
and herbs into that. I want that bisque really tasting delicious.
Right, cutters.
The lobster claws,
he's going to chop those up and put them with the potato,
a bit of mango. It's a fruit that always reminds you of the summer.
I'm not sure where a mango fits with potato.
Got to be balanced just right.
26-year-old Tristan grew up on his family farm in Norfolk
and now works as a private chef.
He cooks without the use of dairy due to an intolerance,
and earned himself a quarterfinal place with some knockout quail.
What can I say, Tristan? That's a great dish.
As a private chef, I think this challenge suits me.
The way I cook a lot of the time is going out and finding produce
and making up a dish from that.
So I hope that it's a good challenge for me,
but we'll see.
Tristan, what does sunshine evoke for you?
Every event, as you know, is made better by sunshine.
And with our wonderful British weather, we don't get much of it.
So I'm trying to really push into the whole dish barbecue.
OK. I see red mullet there.
Red mullet is one of my favourite fish to barbecue and then make
a dairy-free sauce, which is made mainly of oat creme fraiche,
and some vermouth.
And then I've got a little courgette flower and I love barbecuing
them, as well. And I'm going to stuff that with a little avocado
sort of mousse almost.
When we're eating it, are we going to think summer barbecue?
I hope so. Love a barbecue.
I hope you brought your Speedos.
Tristan is cooking a roasted red mullet.
He's removed the centre bone.
He's filleted it and opened it up, which is a great idea.
Very skilful.
Red mullet is a delicate fish, and it can be overcooked.
So he's got to be careful.
He's going to be putting the radish and the courgette slices
on the inside to recreate the scales.
HE SIGHS
He's adding to that some oat creme fraiche and vermouth
to make his sauce. I like the sound of that.
We've also got some mussels.
He's just put them into a bowl with some smoke.
That's an interesting combination.
The flower of the courgette always reminds me of the sunshine.
Filled with the avocado, delicious.
It's going to be fresh and vibrant.
And I think this will work really well with the red mullet.
30 minutes have gone. You have 40 minutes left.
32-year-old Ayesha owns her own restaurant in Glastonbury,
where she serves food inspired by her Jordanian background.
Although her dishes were rustic in appearance, the judges
were enchanted by her Middle Eastern flavours.
You are going to be bad for my waistline.
I know I had a good first heat, but I don't think that means
I can rest on my laurels in any way whatsoever.
Sorry, mate. That's all right. I'll only be a second.
So I'm really hoping I can continue on this trajectory.
Really hoping!
You gave us wonderful flavours of your Middle Eastern pantry
in the last round.
Are we expecting more of that today?
I mean, I've seen my sumac, I've seen my tahini.
I'm in my happy place. So, yeah, I don't feel horrendously panicked,
but obviously there's still some slight terror.
Is it with you - as a chef,
is it sort of one step at a time, no expectations on yourself?
You just have a good time, enjoy yourself and just cook food
that you enjoy doing? Yes and no. OK.
I'm incredibly ambitious. I want everything.
I want the world. But equally, I love food.
I love what I'm doing. If I stopped having fun with it,
I'd be doing the wrong thing. How do you feel about the challenge?
Sunshine. Sunshine. I mean, I love sunshine.
I'm feeling all the vitamin D, all the joy,
and I'm like, "Let's put that into the food.
"Let's get some serotonin in our food today."
I love that.
And there is absolutely nothing wrong with a bit of ambition.
Go get it. Thank you.
Ayesha is cooking a stone bass dish, and we've got various different
flavours of courgette. We've got pickled courgette, charred
courgette puree on the dish.
We've also got a tempura courgette flower.
So I am stuffing it with a ricotta mixed with mint,
dill, sumac, a bit of garlic,
lots of lemon zest, and some chopped pistachios,
just to add a bit of texture to it.
I mean, any excuse to get pistachios into something, really.
We've got these beautiful little nests of kataifi pastry
and we've got a little bit of sumac butter running through those.
She's put those into a ring and she's baked them in the oven
until they're nice and crunchy and crispy.
That'll bring a lovely textural bite to this dish.
Oh.
# This is not doing what I wanted it to. #
She has a dressing of olives and fresh herbs. So not quite sure
how this dish is going to look, but knowing Ayesha,
it will taste amazing.
So there's lots of lemon and courgette.
That's kind of the focus of it.
And then a lovely piece of hopefully perfectly cooked fish.
Do they suit me? Yeah. I'll go with those. Yeah, yeah.
Imagine your hair blowing in the wind.
SHE IMITATES REVVING
# Go, greased lightnin'... #
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
30-year-old Cecily lives in London, working as a private chef.
After a nervous start to the competition...
You were so unsure.
You just didn't believe in yourself.
...she impressed the judges with a beautifully
presented signature menu.
I don't think the last heat was a reflection
of how well I can cook.
I think nerves held me back a little bit.
I think I'm looking forward to being able to show
a little bit more excitement.
Italian meringue, just waiting to get to 120.
I get the feeling we're having a pudding.
We are. A tropical pudding.
So I'm doing, like, a choux pastry with a coconut creme pat,
a mango mousse, a lime, ginger and tequila granita.
You're a private chef, so you obviously cook on the go,
and this must feel slightly familiar.
Yeah, things change quite easily and quite quickly,
so I have to be on the ball.
What inspired this dessert for you?
I've travelled to the Caribbean a few times.
You know, if I'm thinking of a tropical island, I think mango,
I think coconut. And, yeah, just trying to make it fun.
I am looking forward to this and I love how excited
you are to make a dessert.
The only dessert in the kitchen today. Oh.
No pressure.
Thanks. Good luck. Thank you.
Choux pastry, beautiful and golden on the outside,
and nice and soft throughout.
Ooh! You all right?
Yep.
It's got to be cooked through.
Otherwise the inside of that choux pastry will be heavy, doughy,
and it can collapse.
And in there she's got coconut creme patissiere,
she's also got a mango mousse.
What is that? It's the mango mousse.
It's a bit lumpier than I thought, but maybe the texture might be nice.
What's in it? Italian meringue, mango puree.
And I'm going to put a bit of whipped cream through it, as well.
She's also making a lime and lemon granita that she's going
to flavour with tequila.
Her job is about inventing and creating ideas on the spot,
so this is not unusual for her.
And she looks very, very comfortable.
Right, chefs, you've got five minutes left.
Come on, don't stick to the fryer.
Oh, crap.
Everything's done. Just need to put it all together.
Chefs, 30 seconds left.
Final touches.
Oh, my hands. Oh, my God.
Right, chefs. That's it. Time's up.
Yeah. Done.
You all right? Hot. Yeah.
Sorry I didn't yell the fryer was free. Yeah, that's all right.
You didn't stitch me up.
Private chef Tristan's dish, inspired by his favourite
ingredients to cook on a barbecue,
is red mullet filled with yellow courgette
and radish scales,
smoked mussels in an oat creme fraiche and vermouth sauce,
and a courgette flower filled with avocado.
I like the red mullet prepared
this way, but I think it's a shame that you hid the scales
that I saw you place on the inside.
You took your time to make something so lovely and then covered it up.
I like the cookery of the fish. Beautifully cooked.
Your courgette flower with the avocado
is delicious, beautifully seasoned.
I love the mussels. Vermouth and oat creme fraiche -
because you can't eat dairy - that's delicious.
But the sunshine element of your dish comes in the form
of a barbecue.
You could have put some charring on your fish.
Sunshine?
Bit of a cloudy day.
So I liked the idea of what you're doing.
You've definitely shown some skill on here,
but you've not quite sold us the sunshine barbecue.
Thank you.
I slightly missed the summery element of it.
Apart from that, I was fairly happy with everything
and I did it in the time, so that's all you can really hope for.
24-year-old sous-chef Tom has served brown butter poached lobster tail
on a salad of new potatoes, diced mango,
lobster claw meat and capers,
with a curried carrot puree, baby carrots,
tomato and mango dressed in a lime vinaigrette,
and a lobster bisque.
That's lovely. Beautiful and colourful. Thank you.
Very colourful. I think I'll have to take those sunglasses back.
Perfectly cooked lobster. Beautiful potatoes with the claw meat
running through it. Got a little, little hint of mango.
Just a touch through there. It works a treat.
The bisque is delicious. Chilli, lemongrass, ginger. Beautiful.
It's absolutely sensational.
You've nailed this brief. Thank you.
While Monica gives her verdict, I'm going to continue eating.
Thank you very much. In fact, she's not finishing.
I was hoping... I'd just carry on talking. ..you'd keep talking.
What it is is beautifully cooked lobster.
Your curried carrot puree is so smooth.
It's light, it's bright, it's making me happy.
I feel like you've hit us with a plate of sunshine.
There was barely any negative comments.
It was just amazing to hear how they felt about that dish.
I really wanted to eat it.
I was watching them two eating it so jealous.
Cos I know it all tastes really good. I was like, "Grr!"
Glastonbury-based chef patron Ayesha has served stone bass
on a courgette and tahini puree,
with a kataifi pastry nest soaked in sumac beurre noisette,
charred courgettes dressed in lemon,
tempura courgette flowers stuffed with ricotta, pistachio
and lemon zest,
and a salsa verde of coriander, mint and Kalamata olives.
Your stone bass, perfectly cooked.
Your verde, got the lovely little olives running through there
for saltiness. We've got lemon, we've got citrus.
It's rough, it's rustic, but it packs flavour.
And then that lovely little pastry nest, it's great.
It all works together.
I'm smiling.
Thank you so much. Well done.
The courgette flower with the ricotta mix I really like,
but I just want the courgette flower to be more crispy.
The courgette you've charred underneath of that,
it's so juicy. And the sumac,
it brings more of the citrus flavours
that evoke sunshine, lemon trees.
It is no doubt delicious.
I think it could look much nicer.
Thank you. Well done. Thank you very much.
Oh!
Ah, my eyeliner.
I'm really happy.
I'm frustrated with myself because I kind of produced something
that wasn't the prettiest, but they see something
in me, and that's... That's a great start.
Yeah.
Oh, gosh, my eyeliner was neater than my plate of food, though.
Last up is private chef Cecily.
She's made a choux bun filled with coconut creme pat,
and topped with Italian meringue,
with a mango mousse, a mango and passion fruit salsa,
and on the side, a lime, ginger and tequila granita.
The choux bun with the coconut creme pat -
I do like it, but it is needing more flavours
of coconut. The mango mousse, it is very sweet.
I do like the salsa of mango and passion fruit on top.
The granita on the side of a Margarita -
that is like my ultimate holiday starter.
That hits the spot.
Love the choux pastry bun, beautifully made.
If anything, it needed some coconut punch.
It's that creme patissiere.
There was two coconuts on that table behind me earlier.
Why didn't you use them?
I was just worried about breaking them open.
Don't ever be afraid of anything in here. Smash it up.
Do whatever you need to do, just get what you need.
But I do love this little sort of granita ice here
that's just flavoured full of tequila.
In the sunshine, yeah, I'd really enjoy eating this dessert.
I'm very happy with this. It's a good job. Well done.
I am quite proud that I did a dessert.
I think it's one of the things that I'm quite strong at.
So, yes, not too bad.
Well done, chefs. That was just the warm-up round.
That was just to get you ready for what's coming next.
So just go and have a quick break, we'll see you shortly.
That was good. Very good.
No real errors. No real errors at all.
Every time they come in this kitchen, we're seeing new things
and I think they're really starting to open up and shine.
I think they're more than ready. Mm. I do, too.
You four so far have shown incredible skill.
But now there's a task in front of you that is a lot tougher.
You're cooking for three of the leading food writers
and critics in the country.
Leyla Kazim, Grace Dent
and Jimi Famurewa.
At the end of this, three of you will complete our final 12,
and one of you will be leaving the competition.
Chefs, two courses in one hour and 15 minutes.
Good luck. Off you go.
I think the two dishes I've chosen are a really good representation
of my cooking and where I'm at now.
Yeah. I am taking a chance.
There's some really interesting flavour combinations in there,
and I just hope it's received really well.
How are you doing, Tristan?
Good, thank you. Yeah, I'm doing well.
I suppose in your line of work as a private chef, you probably
have never cooked for critics.
No, not in private cheffing.
I mean, your clients are quite harsh critics sometimes.
Tristan, tell us about your menu.
I'm going to start off with some seared turbot.
It's going to be in a sort of creamy oat sauce
with some broad beans running through it.
And then for my second dish, I'm going to be cooking wood pigeon
with a lavender jus, some charred rhubarb
and a little bit of citrus pearl barley.
Obviously, I'd love to be in that final 12, and that's
where we're aiming with these dishes. I've got nothing to lose,
so I'm going to go out there and give it my best.
His menu is starting with turbot.
He's making a black garlic mayonnaise to go with it.
Black garlic, a molasses flavour. Sweet, but also rich in umami.
He's got cucumber ribbons that are being pickled
in chardonnay vinegar.
He's making a lemon zest cracker.
It's almost like a very thin tuile which is going to sit on top,
and served with a broad bean sauce made from oat milk.
Tristan's second dish is seared wood pigeon.
So he's taken the breasts off the bone.
He's going to be cooking those in the water bath.
We've also got a lavender pigeon sauce.
You have to use lavender very sparingly.
If it's overused, it can overpower a dish.
He's got citrus pearl barley with charred, poached rhubarb.
Tristan's got to make sure he gets the balance right from the citrus
flavours, from the rhubarb sharpness and, of course, the lavender.
I think I'm pushing myself with these dishes.
They definitely have a lot more elements in them.
I want to try and show a little bit more skill.
I think I'm going to be going like the clappers.
Cecily, what have you got planned for the critics?
White asparagus that I'm poaching in some butter.
I'm doing a crispy, like, panne duck egg, bacon crumb,
and a whipped Parmesan cream.
And then for the main course, I have pan-fried hake
with a smoked dulse beurre blanc,
con fit potatoes, and some trout roe, as well.
You look like you've got a bit of a smile on your face.
I do feel more confident as I'm getting through the competition.
I'm trying to believe in myself a little bit more, and I'm really,
really enjoying it, actually.
Cecily's got a spring in her step,
and that's what you want to see.
She's starting her menu with butter-poached white asparagus.
White asparagus needs a bit more cooking compared
to the green asparagus.
And this is quite important, the texture of it.
QUIETLY: Oh, God.
The duck eggs have been boiled gently, and then she's paneed them -
flour, egg wash and breadcrumbs.
They're going to go into the deep fat fryer.
Very, very careful that you don't overcook them.
You want the yolk to be nice and runny.
Cecily, I think you've hit your 10,000 steps
in the last half an hour. I know, I've got a sweat on.
We just see this blur back and forwards in the kitchen.
I know, I'm trying to get it all done.
Her main course is pan-fried hake.
Hake is a fish that can be very fragile and can flake
apart very easily.
Smoked dulse seaweed beurre blanc.
So we've got two types of butter.
We've got a smoked butter and we've also got a butter that's
got the dulse seaweed going through.
You're going to monte the two butters into the sauce
to get that lovely flavour from both
the seaweed and the smokiness of the other butter.
Ooh. I hope she nails this. I quite like the sound of that.
I feel ready to attack today.
I'm obviously anxious and nervous as always, but hopefully
I'll nail it.
There's like a monkey with a...
With a...
What do you call it?
Cymbals, that's it.
Right, what are you cooking?
A poached turbot topped with, like, a fish mousse.
New potatoes with that, and some caviar.
Obviously, all critics and chefs love caviar, so...
Dessert is a chocolate mousse on top of a feuilletine base,
mascarpone Chantilly,
and then a banana caramel, just with some torched bananas
on the side. Sounding delicious.
What does it mean to you to have a place in our final 127
It would just mean everything to me. I think this competition
is just really addictive, and I love
using all my brain power to come up with dishes.
So it's really nice to sort of have something to really focus on.
Your mum and dad are chefs. So what's worse, cooking for critics
or cooking for your dad? I think we'll soon find out.
Excellent.
He is bringing solid, classic cooking skills to the forefront.
First up from Tom is a poached turbot and fish mousse.
Come on, Tom.
He has taken some of the turbot meat,
he's blitzed it down.
Added cream, lemon juice, seasoning, put that on top.
Now that mousse cannot afford to be grainy or overcooked.
Just trying to get it done, but my timings are a bit out of whack.
OK, that's not meant to be on.
Come on!
The only dessert in the kitchen today is from Tom.
So you want the dark chocolate mousse to be rich and delicious.
Mascarpone will bring a little bit of acidity to the plate.
A banana and miso caramel.
I love everything about this.
You've got a lot to do. I've got a lot to do. A lot to do.
But sounding delicious.
My word, I hope Tom nails this dessert and executes it perfectly
because I want to try it.
I have made no room for error today.
I have to get everything on the plate.
But otherwise I do think it will have a detrimental effect
to the overall finish of my dishes.
So no stress, no pressure!
Tell us about your menu.
So, of course, I don't like to make my life easy,
so I'm doing a trout crudo, an orange blossom dressing,
a preserved lemon labneh, a miso egg yolk gel,
with brik pastry dusted with sumac.
That sounds wonderful.
Followed by? Followed by a shawarma spiced loin of venison.
Got some lovely mushrooms today. Dusted with jameed,
which is a dried fermented sheep's yoghurt from Jordan,
a date and caramelised onion puree
and some Persian lemon buttered radishes.
Goodness me! I told you, I don't make my life easy.
I mean, my main concern is not dropping the food on the critics.
I am phenomenally clumsy, so I'm praying I don't just
throw it at them.
Last but not least, we have Ayesha in the kitchen.
And, my, have we got
a selection and a half of ingredients going into her menu.
What am I doing?
First course, we have a trout crudo, so a trout cured
and served mostly raw.
Ayesha's making a miso egg yolk gel,
so she'll be cooking the egg yolks very gently
and then adding some miso to it.
Ayesha's making her own labneh,
so she's taken the yoghurt and pressed it
to remove as much liquid as possible.
And then she's going to chop up some preserved lemon
and fold that through.
Oh, my God, lady. It's such good yoghurt, isn't it?
Mm-mm-mm!
I'd be happy with a bowl of that!
You know, go hard or go home. You only get this opportunity once.
Right, let's try this.
The venison is cooked in the water bath and she's using
a spice mix, which is a shawarma spice mix,
a Middle Eastern spice mix.
So it's got cardamom, whole spice, cloves, just to name a few.
And hen-of-the-wood mushrooms. We've also got a bit of grated jameed
going over the hen-of-the-wood.
Jameed is a fermented dried yoghurt. Quite unusual.
I've never tried that before.
I'm really looking forward to it, though.
OK.
Chefs, you've got 15 minutes for the first course to be served.
It's always so exciting to be here, especially
this far on in the competition, because this is such
a crucial point.
One mistake, they're on their way home.
I want to see something a little bit different on the plate.
I want to get that essence of the person behind it who cooked it.
I have sat in this room many a time
obsessed with a chef, telling everyone that I meet
about how great they are.
One of these chefs can grab that opportunity
and be that person that we can't shut up about.
Right, Tristan, how are we doing? I think we're OK.
We've got the sauce on for the first course, that's just reducing.
And then I've got the crackers, which I'm just making at the moment.
Tristan is making for his starter wild turbot
with black garlic mayonnaise,
chardonnay cucumber, lemon zest cracker,
with a broad bean sauce.
It sounds very luxurious, doesn't it?
I've given myself probably the hardest task I possibly could have,
but we can't be going safe in this round,
so it's all-out today.
I do love turbot.
It's a very expensive fish.
It has to be cooked just right. The minute it's over,
it's as tough as old boots.
I'm liking that there's going to be citrus with the lemon zest cracker,
and a bit of texture there.
Is this the finishing touch? This is the finishing touch, yep.
Are you happy? I think so, yep.
You think so? I know so. Right. Off you go.
Hello. Hiya. Hi.
Thank you.
This is pan-seared turbot with a broad bean and oat milk sauce,
black garlic mayonnaise, some pickled cucumbers
and a lemon zest cracker.
I have allergies to dairy,
so everything you see is dairy free. OK. Thank you. Thank you.
I'm slightly blown away by this. It's absolutely gorgeous.
Beautiful piece of fish.
It was just sweet and delicious.
And then this lovely, buttery sauce
full of all these fresh broad beans,
all swim in, like, a little pool.
He's cooking without dairy,
you would never know.
That's a really good dish.
That black garlic mayonnaise,
the sweetness from it brings out the sweetness in the fish.
And then we've got lovely notes of lemon.
It's actually a really just nice accent to the whole dish.
It's fresh and light, and you just can't stop eating it.
The cooking of the turbot is perfect,
and it's a very delicate plate.
It's balanced very well.
Love the little crunchy tuile that sits on top.
I'm really enjoying this dish.
How'd it go?
I think it was good. Under control? Mm. I think.
For mains, Tristan is giving us seared wood pigeon.
That pigeon looks like it's cooked to perfection. I hope so.
With charred poached rhubarb,
citrus pearl barley, and a lavender pigeon jus.
Lavender is quite floral.
I don't want to be eating pigeon and feel like I'm taking a bath
at the same time.
Are these pigeons dairy intolerant, as well?
I don't think I've ever seen pigeons drinking milk, so I'd say yes.
It's a lot to balance.
I'm hoping that he can do it.
It's intriguing.
I've got to ask you, pigeon, rhubarb and lavender -
where's that from? They grow in the same season, I find,
for a reason.
And hopefully that reason is because they go really well together.
Pigeon and rhubarb is not a classic combo.
I hope that it works, but he's got us talking.
We're not going to forget Tristan.
All done? All done.
Good luck. Thank you.
Hi.
Thanks, Tristan.
For his main course, Tristan has served wood pigeon
with poached and charred rhubarb,
citrus pearl barley, and a pigeon and lavender jus.
I hope you enjoy. Thank you. See you. Thank you. Well done.
I was happy with what I produced.
I hope that they get it and I hope it's nice, but we'll see.
Oh, my goodness. Wow.
The pigeon is beautifully done.
A real depth to that jus.
And the lavender is bang-on, isn't it?
It's subtle, but it's there.
I love that Tristan has used rhubarb in this savoury dish,
and it is perfect here.
There is all sorts of sourness in this dish.
This is so freaking clever.
There's such depth.
There's such kind of command of flavour.
It's sort of astounding, to be honest.
The pigeon is delicious, beautifully cooked.
I can taste very, very sharp rhubarb.
Beautifully cooked barley, too. The sauce,
there's only a slight hint of lavender in there.
It could have done with a bit more.
I've done what I can to be in the next round and my dishes,
I feel, are good enough. Whether the critics agree,
whether Marcus and Monica agree, I don't know.
Are you happy with how your starter's going?
Yeah, it looks good. I've got to finish off the asparagus.
I love asparagus poached in butter. So decadent.
The duck egg, I'm going to guess that she wants a runny yolk.
So that will be key.
You look like you've got your egg yolk just right. Yes.
There's real technical skill at each turn
and I think to do it in this time is going to be quite a thing
to pull off.
There goes another ten steps. Sorry.
You're jogging on the spot now!
Cecily, I think they're ready for you.
Hello. Hi, there. Hi.
Thanks very much.
You have poached white asparagus with a bacon crumb,
Parmesan cream with hazelnuts,
and a crispy duck egg.
Enjoy! Thanks so much. Thank you.
Mm!
That bacon crumb's fantastic.
You've got that perfect oozing duck egg.
The whipped Parmesan cream is light and airy.
It's so much fun and it's the perfect starter for me.
The asparagus is just perfectly poached.
It's crunchy and buttery
and fatty and cheesy, and you just can't stop
going from one bit to another.
So she should be proud of herself.
The crispy duck egg, it's beautifully cooked,
it's got lovely texture to it.
There's nothing on this dish that we haven't tried before, but
this is a very flavoursome plate of food. It's tasty.
I'm enjoying it.
OK!
I'm exhausted.
Are you going to be OK for the next course, Cecily?
I think so.
Cecily's main, it sounds absolutely gorgeous.
I want a perfectly judged piece of pan-fried hake that isn't over.
And the little plump, fat mussels that soak up
smoked dulse beurre blanc.
Right. You've got four minutes left.
God, my hands are so shaky.
I get the sense that we'll be getting the essence of the sea.
I like the colours of green and orange. Thank you.
You're welcome.
So, yeah, bring it. I'm looking forward to eating that.
You're done? Yes. Good. Off you go. Well done.
Thank you very much.
Thanks very much.
We have pan-fried hake with a smoked dulse beurre blanc,
con fit potatoes, mussels, chive oil and some trout roe.
Enjoy. Thanks so much. Thank you.
The fish is perfectly cooked.
You know, that crisp skin belies an amazingly soft fillet of hake.
But for me, the real star of the show and the thing
that kept me coming back is that sauce.
It's just hypnotic.
The dulse in the beurre blanc, next to the sweetness of the mussels,
and together it's just so joyous.
I'm kind of taken aback by how much I'm enjoying this dish.
It's kind of the world's greatest fish pie.
But then it's something a bit more. Gorgeous.
The hake is just flaking away.
Got the potatoes, the mussels, and all nicely cooked.
The sauce is rich and buttery with the saltiness of the dulse.
She's done a great job.
I enjoyed that.
I think maybe just cos I'm used to the kitchen a little bit more
and I realise you just don't have time to stop.
You just have to keep going.
Even when you think you can breathe, you can't breathe.
Tom, you've got 15 minutes to go before your first course is served.
Where is your fish? In the bath, water bath.
In the bath. The fish is still bathing.
From Tom, we are getting poached turbot topped with a fish mousse.
How's it looking? It feels really good.
Just got to be really delicate, cos I don't want to ruin it.
Oh, that's not what I wanted to do. What's wrong?
I just gave it a nudge. I didn't mean to do that.
It's just heart-stopping stuff, this.
Poaching turbot against the clock when you've got lots of other things
going on is actually a bit of a nightmare.
Oh, no. Is that sharp? It's OK.
Why don't you sharpen it?
There's a sharpener there. Oh, is there?
Fish mousse, is he going to get that set and will it taste of fish?
Better? Yeah. Much better. Thanks, Marcus.
Phew.
Got the shakes again.
You've got a minute left.
It will be no surprise to you that I love caviar.
I absolutely love caviar.
I'll fill these right up.
I hope that there's a huge whack of caviar in that beurre blanc.
That's it. Happy? 50-50.
Well, it's too late to call a friend now, so let's hope they enjoy it.
Good luck. Thank you.
Hello. Hi.
Sorry, I'm a little bit shaky. No, don't worry. Thank you.
Tom's main is poached turbot, topped with a fish mousse,
charred baby leek and crispy potato,
with asparagus, new potatoes,
and a beurre blanc flavoured with gherkin and caviar.
Very nicely cooked piece of turbot.
You've got that absolutely fantastic golden fried nest
of, like, shoestring potato.
The sauce is perfect and creamy, and it's delicious and it has depth.
The chef clearly is a fan of classic French cooking.
The mousse has a lot of flavour and it's got a lot of lemon in it,
and I think he's actually executed it well.
This fish is beautifully cooked.
Thick, creamy, buttery
beurre blanc to go with it,
with the saltiness of caviar.
Really well made.
There's nothing about this dish that I can fault.
It's traditional, it's classical. It's fabulous.
What's wrong? I'm not happy with it. It's not perfect.
You look upset. I'm a bit of a perfectionist.
You've still got a dessert to deliver, OK? Of course, yeah.
Tom's dessert sounds fantastic.
A dark chocolate mousse on a feuilletine base, which I imagine
he's going to construct it almost like a cheesecake
with crunch underneath.
Has it worked? That's the question.
Yes!
GRACE: Dark chocolate mousse is a perilous thing to get right.
He's making caramel with banana and miso,
which is utterly delicious, but has to be balanced.
It's looking very sharp, Tom. Thank you, Chef.
If he can pull all of this off, I'm going to be such a happy girl.
Tom, use a pastry brush.
Use the edge of it. Yeah, that's it.
Cos you want it blowing in the wind.
I would normally use a toothpick, and it goes everywhere.
That's pretty cool. Thank you.
So excited about having a dessert.
Oh, my gosh.
So here we have a dark chocolate mousse on top of a feuilletine base.
On top of that is a peanut tuile, mascarpone Chantilly,
and then on the side, we have torched bananas and a banana
and miso caramel. Thanks, Tom.
The crisp edge and smoothness
of this mousse is just inviting me to breach it.
Oh, my word.
Beneath the silky, rich, beautiful mousse,
there's this little crisp feuilletine crumb.
It's outrageously good.
Then you've got this chewy, crunchy, sweet, nutty brittle.
And then we've got the kind of savoury umami miso
with the sweetness of the banana.
And it's like I'm just travelling through all these different bits
and just enjoying the journey to all of these destinations.
That is the best dessert I've had on MasterChef
in all the years I've been here.
Tom's clearly a talented cook, but when it comes to puddings,
he's in a class of his own.
Do you know the flavours of a comforting dessert like this,
when you've had such a rubbish day and you get this in front
of you, have a spoonful, and then all is right with the world again.
That's how I feel.
It's absolutely sensational.
Hopefully the critics can see that I can use a few different
techniques and try and execute them well.
I just hope they enjoyed their food, and if I ever open a place
would come and visit me.
How are we doing? Just starting our plating now.
Ayesha's starter is like a list of some of my favourite things.
Trout is actually possibly my favourite fish.
At the moment, you're just seeing the bare bones.
I promise it will look prettier.
And then we've got all these fantastic kind of Middle Eastern
kind of interruptions, like a preserved lemon labneh,
miso egg yolk jam.
It's coming out looking grainier than I'd hoped. Hit me.
So it's not exactly the prettiest of things. OK.
But I'm happy with the flavour. I just don't love the appearance.
Sumac brik pastry tuile.
It sounds so much fun.
How am I on timing?
You've still got a minute to go. Oh, dear.
I feel like Ayesha is cooking things that make her happy,
and she knows well, and it just sounds exciting.
Are you happy with your presentation?
Much happier than my last one.
Right. Off you go.
Oh, Lord, let's just pray I don't throw it.
These are nice critics. Don't throw it on anyone.
Look at where you're going! Oh!
Hello! Hi. Hi! Hey.
Right, this was the bit I was dreading,
actually putting the plates down. Don't worry, you're here,
you're doing it. Thank you.
Today we have a trout with a preserved lemon labneh,
with a miso egg yolk gel,
pickled onions, and brik pastry with sumac.
Fab. Thank you. Oh, and some Iranian pistachios for luck, as well.
Excellent.
I hope you enjoy. Thank you very much. Thanks so much. Thank you.
Oh, what's that?
The trout, there's a lack of kind of delicacy to the way
that it's been cut.
It hasn't been kind of diced into cubes.
It's these thick, almost sashimi-ish slices,
and it is not really working
with the various seasonings for me.
My favourite thing, honestly, is the labneh with the fish.
It's so citrusy, that preserved lemon comes through so much.
The miso yolk, tasted in isolation
it's actually unpleasant.
There's some things that just aren't working.
The labneh is delicious, but I'm not enjoying the miso
egg gel. It's split. It doesn't work.
It's not the flavours I was expecting.
I find this a little disappointing.
Are we going to be on time with the next course?
I think so, as long as I get a bit of a hustle on.
Right, hustle away. Hustle away.
Thank you very much.
I'm very excited about shawarma spiced venison.
We've got some roasted radish, date and onion puree,
which will bring some sweetness,
mushrooms, hazelnuts.
These are all things that I reckon would work together.
But, gosh, she's given herself a lot to do.
So this is jameed.
It's particularly typical to Jordan, where this one came from. Really?
It's awesome.
Grated jameed, is that going to have some funk, some cheesiness,
and, like, a lovely ripe contrast to it?
These are huge flavours.
Right. Moment of truth. Please!
Yeah, I'm happy with that.
You done? I think so. Happy?
I think as happy as I'm going to be, yeah.
All right. Off you go. Good luck.
Well done, Ayesha.
Today I've done for you a shawarma spiced loin of venison
with a date and caramelised onion puree,
Persian lemon spiced radish,
hen-of-the-wood mushrooms with jameed and hazelnuts,
and some wild garlic oil.
Well, thank you so much, and I hope you enjoy.
Thanks so much. It was nice to meet you all. See you!
The date and onion puree is fantastic,
and it's such a good foil for the venison,
which has got this almost dry spice rub.
It just feels like it's firing on all cylinders.
I've never eaten jameed before. This is a complete education.
It's got a real base note of deliciousness,
that if that was just a normal mushroom, it wouldn't have it.
Because the meat is dry,
you need to have a little bit of the date and onion paste with each
bite, and for me it's just a bit too sweet.
So there are certain elements I like more than others, but I do
also think it's better than her first dish.
I feel slightly underwhelmed.
There's a spice that's wrapped around the venison,
I want more of it.
I wish she'd put more of that jameed on top of these
hen-of-the-wood mushrooms.
It's cooked well, but she shouldn't be shy on bringing
those flavours to the forefront.
I really didn't think I could manage that.
I thought I'd given myself way too much to do,
but I got everything out. I think it went well.
I really hope it did!
I am really proud of what our four chefs delivered today.
I think our critics, without doubt, had a little flavour
of something new.
But one of them is going home.
For me, there was definitely a chef in the kitchen today that I thought
really did stand out,
and that was Chef Tom.
I loved his main course.
And I loved his dessert. Great chef.
And I think Tom deserves a place in our final 12.
Let's talk about Tristan.
Great fish cookery. Inventive, creative.
And it looked good and tasted good, too.
Tristan's main course was the wood pigeon.
We had sharp rhubarb on there, the pigeon sauce with the lavender,
I didn't quite get enough lavender through that.
Cecily came back in this kitchen so full of energy.
Her first course, the white asparagus with a beautiful
crispy duck's egg.
It didn't have the bells and whistles that you would expect
at this round of the competition, but it was cooked
technically perfect.
There was no real errors.
Cecily's main course was the hake
with that wonderful dulse beurre blanc.
The hake was really cooked well. The butter sauce
was full of flavour. Everything married and worked together.
It was beautifully cooked.
Ayesha's been a chef that's been coming into this kitchen
and impressing me every time with her Middle Eastern flavours
and I was expecting more of that today.
I felt, sadly, a bit disappointed with the trout dish.
The miso egg yolk didn't work, but the labneh was delicious -
love the flavour of that.
Ayesha's main course,
we had the venison that she had rubbed with the shawarma.
Lovely and pink.
I really liked the date and shallot puree that was on the plate.
Yes, it may have had little surprises.
It had that Middle Eastern flavours.
They just weren't big enough and they weren't packing a punch.
There are little bits | wish I'd done differently.
I think there always are. And I know the people
I'm up against are also incredibly talented.
I'm really hoping my best was enough.
I've done what I can to be in the next round. And my dishes,
I feel, are good enough, I hope.
Whether the critics agree, whether Marcus and Monica agree,
I don't know.
I think I've done as well as I could have done.
If it's not enough to get through, then at least I feel
like I'm pleased with my dishes and I'm happy.
Hopefully it is enough, but you never know.
You four, what a round.
There's always going to be issues of the added pressure
of having the critics here.
But overall, honestly, I am really proud of the quality of food
you served today.
We've taken what the critics have said on board
and we have made our decision.
The chef leaving the competition is...
...Ayesha.
You have been a ray of sunshine in the MasterChef kitchen,
and we will miss you.
Ayesha, thank you.
Thank you.
Oh, I'm gutted. I'm really gutted.
Look, I knew that it wasn't perfect, but I was proud
of the improvements I'd made.
I'm just...
I'm so disappointed in myself.
I really wanted to do more and show more.
But it wasn't good enough today.
Guys, you three complete our final 12.
Give yourself a congratulations,
because that was a great day in the kitchen.
Well done.
I always do just doubt myself quite a lot.
So it's such a confidence boost.
Yeah, I'm really proud of myself.
I can't believe I'm here.
It's an awesome feeling. To get through to the final 12,
is just, yeah, a dream come true. It's so cool
and I'm just looking forward to more of it.
I'd say this is probably the best achievement so far in my career.
I can't wait to tell Mum and Dad. They're going to be very impressed
and I'm sure I'll have a few drinks tonight.
Next time it's Knockout Week...
...and the 12 best chefs from the heats are back...
I'm just freaking out.
...cooking off against each other for the first time...
This is sublime.
...as they fight for their place...
Go, go.
...in the competition.
That is glorious. Love it.
Another cracking dish.