It's the MasterChef semi-finals
and only the best eight cooks remain.
The competition is taking over every part of my life, including at home.
I'm cooking non-stop and my partner says, "Oh, stop it!"
I've surprised myself that I am here,
but every cook that I do, I put everything that I've got into it.
Now I'm starting to think, what's going to happen when I leave?
What am I going to do the next day?
And that's already terrifying.
Tonight, the pressure is on...
How many minutes left now?
..as they battle for the opportunity to cook for a Michelin-starred chef
at a celebratory dinner 100 years in the making.
It's a work of art, isn't it? It's just beautiful.
Now we're about to put them to task.
Today, they've got to hold their nerve.
They're going to have to really go for it.
Bring it on! We ain't seen nothing yet.
This is a MasterChef invention test.
You will have 90 minutes to cook for us a dish featuring...
..the chicken.
Or the egg!
We have opened the market again
and we have stacked it full of many different types of eggs
and a couple of different types of chickens.
It's up to you what you do.
At the end of this, two of you will be going home.
Ten minutes to choose your ingredients.
Off to the market.
An exciting challenge, I love to cook with chicken.
I've got a plan.
Just got to put that into action.
Chicken's something that I cook a lot with,
but it's then just a case of, what do we go with?
Do we go with something that's spicy or a bit different?
The chicken is cooked in cultures throughout the world.
It could be spiced, it can be fried,
it can be grilled, it can be boiled, it could be steamed,
it can be battened out, it could be breadcrumbed.
If they choose the egg, they can give us desserts.
From meringues to pavlovas to lemon meringue pies.
Think I'm going to carry on Pookie style,
do something that probably they don't expect.
Decided to use the chicken and the egg in mine,
so small elements of both.
But, yeah, it's still forming.
You have 90 minutes to showcase your talent,
grab yourself a place in the final six.
Let's go.
James, of course, is our pro golfer.
I don't know about his technique with his swing,
but his technique with his dishes is superb.
However, in that last round, James had a wobble.
He got his timings wrong.
What are you going to make for us now?
I'm going to do you a chicken katsu curry.
So, yeah, a little bit off, perhaps, what I've delivered to you before.
Why have you decided to all of a sudden bring in
some Asian flavours to your cooking? I like the Asian flavours, Gregg.
It's something that I like to eat. I do it at home a lot, so...
Yeah, far as I'm concerned, today, stay focused,
give you guys something that tastes good on a plate.
Chicken katsu curry - that's great.
It's a piece of crumb chicken and it's a curry sauce.
Slightly sweet - it's not really hot but it's very, very smooth,
so the trick for James is to make sure that sauce
is blended really, really well.
Ioan from Wales, very ambitious cook.
Plenty of technique,
but often brings a twist and a fun element to his food.
Today, I'm going to make a chorizo and bean stew
with poussin and some patatas bravas as well.
Why no twist?
There might be a twist! I've just not thought of it yet.
It's something that I would normally cook at home, but I've elevated it.
Hopefully, John and Gregg see that.
Half an hour gone means you've got an hour left.
Boop, boop - come on!
Olayemi wowed us with her Nigerian flavours
and her big, family portions of food,
but now she's bringing sophistication
to those beautiful flavours.
The one thing that I'm learning from this whole journey is just
the resilience that we all have inside of us
and the ability to go deeper than we ever thought.
Sometimes, I come out of the MasterChef kitchen
and I feel like a superhuman person because I'm thinking,
"How did I just do that?"
I love chicken. Probably one of my favourite proteins.
I think initially I was thinking of doing you a roast chicken dinner.
And then I thought, "No - bring in some spice."
She's going to serve that with some couscous,
and she's making us a tomato-based chutney with a scotch bonnet.
Fantastic.
Eddie's got an extraordinary repertoire,
and has showed real skill and real potential.
And he loves to take a classic idea
and put into it the Indian spice he grew up with.
I'm going to serve the roasted chicken breast.
It's going to be cooked on the crown, roasted in the oven,
and then we're going to have a very classic French accompaniment to it.
We're going to have a tarragon and cream and white wine sauce
and sauteed potatoes.
Food that I love - food from France, food from the streets in Delhi
and sometimes a combination of the two.
On the side of that, we've got a little pie, a Charlotte,
which is bread around the outside, which should be crispy,
and in the middle of it, he's got minced chicken with Madeira sauce.
Fascinating.
Like a savoury summer pudding? Something like that, yeah.
You're halfway!
You are halfway.
Pookie's adventurous, Pookie's exciting.
She thinks outside the box and she does things very, very differently,
and they work.
Pookie, are you making fish? I'm making fish, yeah.
So, the brief is the chicken and egg,
and I'm just thinking, what else can I do with it,
that's not going to come out just looking like chicken and egg?
So I thought, I'll do fish.
Pookie's making for us a Chinese dumpling in the shape of a goldfish.
She's made a chicken mixture with some spices -
that's the filling for the dumpling -
and she's going to put it inside tom yum hot, sour soup.
It's not for the faint-hearted.
It's really spicy, it's really strong.
Before I eat that, do I have to get it on a rod with a line?
Yeah, you need to catch it.
Thomas, born in Singapore, travelled the world,
interior designer - he loves presentation.
He loves great big flavours of Asian food,
and he's delivered some beauties throughout this competition.
So, what are you making today?
I'm making a Spanish chicken.
I have to show you a little bit of other international flavour
that I know how to create, because at this point of the competition,
I need to push harder.
He has got in a pot some chicken thighs and chicken legs,
which he's boned, apricots, raisins, tomatoes,
chorizo sausage and chillies, with some orange rind.
He's going to serve the whole lot on top of some crispy noodles
with some chicken wings, which have got chorizo sausage inside.
Unusual combination.
Sarah brings style to her plate.
She also loves to champion the flavours of Scotland.
I am making sweetcorn custard, savoury custard.
I had something similar to it once,
and I just thought it was really, really tasty
with crispy chicken skin, chanterelles, pickled shallot,
and some deep-fried crispy shallots.
All floating on the top of your custard? Yeah.
Are you featuring the chicken here, do you think?
The chicken skin is the best part of the chicken.
I just hope the custard works,
because if it doesn't, I've got nothing.
You have just 15 minutes left, guys, please.
Radha, the youngest contender in this year's competition,
and we're seeing somebody get some confidence
and growing as a great cook.
The food that I've cooked throughout the competition
so far has been what I was brought up on, as a kid growing up,
and I think that's why I get so emotional,
because everything I cook means something to me.
Radha's making for us her father's favourite dish.
We've got an egg curry - boiled eggs in a mixture made from tomato,
ginger, garlic and spices, brought together as a curry sauce.
With that, we've got bhatura, which is a deep-fried yoghurt bread
with onion seeds running through it, and onion bhaji.
It sounds like a great Indian feast.
Have you made this curry before? No.
My mum's made this curry for my dad,
but I've never made it. I mean, I've eaten it,
but...just trying to remember what my mum puts in.
How many minute left now?
You have six minutes left!
Chicken was a little bit under, so just finishing it off in the pan.
Skin's crispy, though.
Got halfway through and was thinking,
should I have picked another dish to do?
But if they like it, it was a great choice, all right?
Two minutes, guys!
The custard's looking OK. It just needs to firm up, just a little bit.
Right, time's up! Please stop.
Lap of the gods now.
WHISPERING: It looks really good!
My knees are...like this.
James, please.
For a place in the final six, pro golfer James has made
a chicken katsu curry, made from carrot, apple and ginger
and served with basmati rice.
Your rice is sticking together a little bit.
It's gone a little bit gloopy.
It just went a little bit over on me.
Your chicken is starting to dry out,
and that crumb hasn't got any texture on it.
It's not crunchy.
And, sauce like this, you need to blend it and make it fine,
so you can't see that veg.
You want the flavour of it, but you don't want to see it.
Your sauce is mildly spiced. I like that.
But I think once you give yourself a slice of rice,
you know you've got a problem.
Marketing manager Ioan is serving his roasted poussin
with a cannellini, butter bean and chorizo cassoulet
with crispy shallots,
patatas bravas
and an egg mayonnaise.
I really like the flavour in your stew.
You've got the flavour of paprika running through there,
and sweet tomatoes. I like that - it's well seasoned.
Your chicken breast is going a little bit dry. OK.
The patatas bravas, I think, are really nicely made.
Slightly peppery-hot on the back of your throat.
Your mayonnaise with a richness of garlic in there,
is good as well and it's nice and creamy.
That's a tasty dish. Thank you.
I'm feeling good.
There was lots of elements to it.
It packed flavour.
I think I've done...pretty well.
Project manager Olayemi has made roast chicken leg,
spiced with harissa and Kashmiri chilli,
and served with couscous packed with aubergine,
peppers, apricots and raisins and a tomato-chilli chutney.
You chicken's cooked all the way through.
I like the spice mix around the outside.
There's a lovely flavour of allspice, bit of clove and chilli.
That's good.
The couscous definitely needs more flavour in there
to make that really come to life.
My big issue is this skin. Yeah. The skin needs more cookery.
I don't mind removing it, that's fine,
but you've got so much spicing and herbs on the skin,
it seems a shame now that I can't taste it.
It's just a shame that I couldn't give them crispy chicken skin.
So, yeah, I'm definitely concerned.
Marine pilot Eddie's dish is roasted chicken with a tarragon cream sauce
served with a Charlotte bread pudding
filled with chicken and Madeira,
white asparagus, baby carrots,
wild mushrooms and sauteed potatoes.
You have done a huge amount of work
and this plate deserves to look better.
Your tarragon sauce is fantastic.
Absolutely fantastic.
Enough aniseed coming from the tarragon, which is wonderful,
dancing with that piece of chicken - that's great.
This Charlotte, I think, is inspired.
It's got a crispy outside, it's got a fluffy inside
and lovely, lovely, moist chicken with a sweet hint of Madeira.
Really, really good.
Pookie, what's the dish called?
It's called A Chicken In The Pond.
Beauty salon owner Pookie
has served chicken-filled chilli goldfish dumplings
with salmon, caviar and flying fish roe,
served in tom yum - a chilli, galangal and lemongrass broth.
That is ridiculously clever.
This soup's really bold.
It's sharp and clean with lots of citrus, lots of lime.
It's salty. It's also hot with the chilli.
It's absolutely delightful.
Your dumpling, the skin on the outside, lovely and thin.
The actual mince filling is soft and wonderful
and the whole thing looking like some fish in a pond.
For an invention test, I take my hat off to you.
Oh, my God. I am absolutely ecstatic.
I just couldn't believe it, that they loved that flavour so much.
WHISPERING: Well done! Well done.
Thank you.
Retired interior designer Thomas
has served Spanish-style chicken thigh and drumsticks,
flavoured with paprika, garlic and chilli,
with chicken wings stuffed with chorizo,
crispy noodles,
courgette ribbons, red peppers,
artichokes, cherry tomatoes
and a sauce made from apricots, raisins and orange juice.
The crunch of the noodles is good, the chicken leg is cooked nicely,
but strong orange citrus with chicken and dried apricots
and raisins together?
It's an odd combination.
Everything is cooked well.
I like the crispy noodles, but I agree with John.
I'm not getting on with this sauce at all.
Maybe I went a little bit too far.
Unfortunately, I can't reverse that!
Law graduate Radha has showcased the eggs
in a tomato-based curry, flavoured with cumin and garam masala,
served with rice spiced with cinnamon and cloves,
onion, cumin and chilli pakoras,
bhatura bread
and a cumin-seed yoghurt.
You've got sweetness of tomato here.
You've got a little bit of ginger flavour.
You've got a bit of the smoky cumin.
I like these flavours.
I really like your bread. I think that's great - lovely and light.
Your bhaji's crispy on the outside, like it should be.
But your sauce could just do with a bit more oomph.
Last up is marketing consultant Sarah,
who crisped up the chicken skin,
which was used as a topping for her egg-based sweetcorn custard,
along with pan-fried chanterelles and crispy and pickled shallots.
Your sweetcorn custard is a really nice texture.
You've taken away quite a bit of the husk,
which means you've got the lovely flavour of the sweetcorn -
and it is sweet.
Your chicken skin, you have purposely over-salted it
and it's almost the saltiness of a potato crisp.
I think that's really, really clever. Thank you.
Lovely little sweet pickling on the shallot.
Really nice accompaniments to this.
Very, very clever sweet-savoury custard. Well done.
Thank you. Good work.
That went better than I could ever have hoped,
but I'm not counting my chickens.
We got an incredible variety amongst those two ingredients, didn't we?
Now, let's be fair - a few of them really impressed.
A few of them, I'm sure, are very worried right now.
Big round, and we got a decision to make.
Two of them are leaving us.
I would love a spot in the final six,
but I can't see it happening after today.
I hope they take me forward,
because then I would do everything in my power not to fail them.
I'd be very disappointed if I leave today.
But in terms of taste, maybe it's not to their liking.
An invention test is always a tough challenge.
The first contestant leaving us is...
..James.
Sad to see you go.
Thanks, James. Thanks, John.
The second contestant leaving the competition is...
..Thomas.
You should be very proud of what you've achieved.
Thank you very much indeed. Thanks, Thomas. Good luck.
It has been challenging, but yet...
..who could get this kind of experience?
So, no regrets.
I think I'll look back at my time on MasterChef very fondly.
Been this amazing experience.
Loved every minute of it, but that's where the journey ends for me.
But I'm happy.
You are through to our final six.
It's only six now!
Get some well-earned rest
because we're going to send you out into the real world
and you'll need your wits about you.
Every year, scores of volunteers around the country
raise money for the Poppy Appeal
to fund the work of the Royal British Legion.
Founded 100 years ago,
the charity was formed at the end of the First World War
to support and fight for the rights
of those who had given so much and come back to so little.
Tonight, at London's historic Middle Temple,
the six semi-finalists will have the honour of catering
a Michelin-star dinner to celebrate the centenary of the RBL.
I feel so privileged to be able to have this opportunity,
but it's also really nerve-racking.
The sacrifices that many of them have made
and the sacrifices that their families have made.
For me, the focus is giving the people a great meal,
because they deserve it.
To add to the sense of occasion,
today's kitchen will be run by Michelin-starred chef Glynn Purnell.
In you come, guys.
You can smile if you want!
Not too much.
Glynn Purnell is one of the country's most celebrated chefs.
A proud born-and-bred Brummie, Glynn was one of the first chefs
from Birmingham to achieve a coveted Michelin star,
which his restaurant Purnell's has held since 2007.
I'm from a council estate in Birmingham,
and food was very, sort of, precious
and when food was on the table, you were never late for it.
You ate everything on the plate.
Glynn's dishes celebrate his city's rich cultural diversity
and push culinary ambition to the limit.
This is a massive step up for these guys.
So, to cook at a Michelin star level,
everything you think about food has to be at the top of what it is.
Anything else isn't acceptable.
For today, and today only, you will be part of the Purnell's Brigade.
OK?
And I want us to serve some of the best food you've ever served before,
so I want to know, are you in it? Yes. Yes, chef.
Are you in it? Yes, chef! Follow me, yeah?
The final six now have three hours to prepare for tonight's banquet,
and they'll be paired up to manage the huge workload.
On the starter, marketing expert Ioan and project manager Olayemi
will combine forces to cook Glynn's signature spiced scallops,
served with vegetable pakoras,
a lentil dhal and a coriander sauce.
What we don't want to do is, we don't want to burn the spice,
because then that would become quite bitter
and it would just completely ruin the whole balance of the dish.
For me, this is a fantastic dish. This makes me smile.
It's got explosive colours.
It's got that British days of the Raj sort of feel to it
with the British Royal Legion, and I think this really is
a typical British-infused dish
from all of the fantastic cultures we've got in this country.
Little bit of curry oil.
Oh, wow. That looks amazing.
Just makes it pop on the plate.
That's how it's got to look.
Well, you'd better crack on,
because there's 100 scallops with your names on, yeah?
Let's get going, yeah? Thank you, chef. Off you go. Let's go.
It's a complex dish.
Precision is the name of the game at this level, so, yeah, excited.
This is my first time getting scallops out.
Usually I'll buy them all done and ready for cooking.
I don't want to waste anything. Today is a great honour.
Both my father and my brother were both in the RAF,
so this has a massive resonance to me.
I just want to make sure that I do it justice today.
Are you going to wash them afterwards, Olayemi? Yeah.
Beauty salon owner Pookie and marine pilot Eddie
are in charge of the venison,
which will require them to butcher and perfectly sear 30 fillets.
Now, venison has got no fat, so we don't want to overcook the meat,
and we certainly don't want to dry it out. Got to treat it delicately.
Most definitely, yeah.
So, we want to get a quick, nice sear on the outside.
The venison will be served with a pea salad...
And it's just... OK. HE MIMICS BLENDER
Just a pulp, yeah? Yeah. We're not looking for mushy peas.
We'll save them for the fish and chips, yeah?
..as well as tamarind and liquorice purees.
We've got five or six technical things that need to be right.
Some are simple, some a little bit more difficult,
some a little bit time-consuming,
but they all need to be nailed to get this dish right.
Then we've got the venison, which is a medium rare,
the red wine sauce.
And there you go. Wow.
The final accompaniment is a pommes boulangere -
intricate layers of potato and onion.
So, it needs to be on the money and just really go for it, yeah?
Time is of the essence. Good luck, guys, eh?
Looking forward to it. Thank you.
I'm a bit nervous.
I tried cooking venison before, once or twice,
but this is in the proper, professional kitchen
and for lots of people, so a lot of preparation.
It's going to be a challenge, but this is achievable.
Otherwise...
Otherwise, what's the point of being here?
Prioritising jobs is key, so Eddie and Pookie joined forces to prep
the 80 potatoes and 20 onions required for the pommes boulangere.
The onions needs to be caramelised for quite a long time,
so we're going to get those on first. Done first.
Huge, isn't it? Look! They're the biggest onions I've ever seen. Yeah.
Over on pastry...
3.5kg of strawberries!
It just seems so many. That's going to take a wee while.
Marketing consultant Sara and law graduate Radha
are trying to get to grips with a complex recipe
for a show-stopping finale -
Glynn's take on a creme brulee,
served in a fragile eggshell.
Don't be impatient.
Let the sugar caramelise.
Can you see how nice and golden it is, yeah? There's no black bits.
This is quintessentially British.
It's burnt English custard and it's a taste of the fairground.
When I was a kid, we used to go to the fair
and just get a bag of what they call cinder toffee, which is honeycomb.
So, emotions and passion are 100% on that dish.
The dish is finished with a perfect oval of strawberry sorbet.
Looks beautiful. Yeah, it does. Really, really beautiful. Amazing.
Any questions?
It might be silly, but how do we get the, like, the shell?
Oh, the shell? See, they're already done for you. Oh.
Oh, thank God for that! Oh, OK. Right, OK.
I'm comfortable doing the honeycomb, for sure. Yep.
Do you want to do the brulee as well?
I'm worried about all of it, really!
Because it's, I mean, it's Michelin-starred food,
which is obviously not anything I've done before.
I've done sorbet before,
so we're just basically playing to each other's strengths
with everything that we've got to do.
It's just the sheer mass or quantity that I've got to cook for.
I need a calculator. I mean, me and my maths are not friends.
Can I have my phone?
For the last 100 years,
the Royal British Legion has provided a lifeline for war veterans
and their families.
The demand is still there, and increasingly, now,
we are understanding more about the consequences
of what veterans have seen and done on their mental health.
Each year, the tens of millions of pounds raised from the Poppy Appeal
is used to help rebuild lives at centres like The Battle Back,
opened in 2012,
which proved to be a life-saver to Royal Air Force veteran Naomi Hall,
who struggled to adjust to civilian life after serving in Afghanistan.
I thought the bottom of my world was falling out
when I was leaving the military and it was the support that I received
at The Battle Back Centre that allowed me to draw a line under it
and say, "No, I have still got purpose, I have got meaning."
But Naomi's road to recovery was hindered further
by a life-threatening car crash.
The injuries were quite catastrophic.
On a bad day, I'd look at myself and think, "I shouldn't be here."
But, again, the Royal British Legion was there to help.
See, in my mind, I class the RBL as the most important charity.
I wouldn't be who I am now, where I am today without it.
It's just someone reaching out who cares
and who's got some compassion and also identifies and understands
with struggles they're going through, balances them,
and then they know that we're always there for them.
Back in the kitchen...
OK, Team Purnell's!
We are one hour into prep, one hour into prep.
With all of their 60 scallops opened and cleaned,
Ioan and Olayemi move on to the garnishes,
which includes the dehydrated coconut.
So you're looking for a really thin thickness.
It's making sure that they all cook evenly and that
it gives the same experience for each and every guest on the dish.
The finer details are also a concern for team-mate Olayemi,
who needs to prepare enough mustard-chilli pickling liquor
for 3.5kg of carrots.
I'm trying to follow the recipe to the nth gram,
so even though they said 1kg, there's, like, a few grains left
and I'm not risking putting them!
Yemi, do you want me to crack on with any more jobs with pickling?
I think we should actually get on to the next thing. OK.
Have you finished with the coconut? Yes. Check the lentil recipe.
Teamwork is essential.
If you finish first, you jump straight on.
It doesn't necessarily mean you stand and watch.
You jump in. You've got to come together as a team,
just like a proper professional brigade.
Look at the detail of the lentil stirring!
Yeah. You have to keep all the lentils slightly within the pot
so they all cook.
Over on the venison main, Pookie and Eddie have also had to divide jobs.
With over an hour gone,
they're still working on their potato boulangere.
It takes a lot to get these going, doesn't it?
As well as keeping an eye on the caramelised onions,
Eddie needs to pick 60 sprigs of marjoram herb
needed to flavour the 30 individual portions.
Me and Pookie need to keep our heads down
and make sure we get all the prep sorted fast.
Once we've got this on and we start to get these onions caramelised,
then we'll feel like we're starting to get somewhere.
I'm thinking I'm worried about the timing.
You have to clean - you have to prep it, peel it,
wash it and then slice it and then cut it into the little round coins.
So, yeah, it's a lot of work.
Next thing, I have to prep the venison,
so I need to, like, get a move on!
On pastry, Radha's in charge of the strawberry elements
for Glynn's brulee showpiece.
How we getting on, Radha? Sorbet, I've done. That's on.
OK. I can hear that churning, which is music to my ears.
Yeah, so I just keep, obviously, watching that,
making sure it's not going to over-churn or anything. Yeah.
Just got to prep these strawberries for, obviously, to be marinaded
because they need to be soaking for an hour.
Is the marinade on? No.
Right.
Right, where's that hob? I need to use that, so just...
As Radha races to get her red wine marinade on
for her strawberries...
"Bring to the boil over a medium heat."
Right, medium.
..team-mate Sarah is working her way through
four batches of vanilla custard.
Like, the creme brulee custard needs to be chilled.
Obviously, it's served chilled, so it needs to cook first
and then be chilled down.
I definitely think things are taking longer.
Feeling a little bit up against it, actually,
but we're just going to need to head down, crack on. Yep.
I didn't realise how long this takes. Yeah.
So we're going to need to hustle.
You can't take your foot off the gas, yeah?
Three hours, it's gone like that.
Fridge, fridge, fridge. You can't daydream,
you can't talk about the weather.
You've got to put your foot down and get it done.
I can't get it out.
I've not got much muscle power so I'm just scooping it out.
I'd like to be a little bit further on at this stage,
but it's a professional kitchen. They've never been here before.
The venison's still in the fridge. The custard isn't made.
We've got guests arriving very soon and they need to step up.
Never cooking for 30 people in my life again.
It's too stressful.
Upstairs in the dining room, final preparations are under way
for the centenary dinner.
One of the key aspects of military life is food.
I think Napoleon said the army marches on its stomach
and it remains the case,
and if the food's not good enough, morale plummets very quickly.
Olayemi, Ioan!
We have got one hour before the starter is served. No problem.
So I suggest we start moving a little bit quicker than we are.
Yes, Chef. Excellent.
I am definitely worried about timing
because I still have one big job to do.
I've got to get the coriander sauce,
and for me, it's got to be bang-on in terms of the flavour,
the consistency, and it needs me to reduce down the coconut milk,
and that's going to take some time.
Ioan has started the pakoras.
He's getting the potatoes ready, so that's another big job.
I'm hoping I can finish this so I can give him a hand.
It's going to be a push.
Just hope we can do it. I think we can.
Ioan? Yes. You need to keep an eye on these. OK.
Maybe turn the heat up a touch and work it
rather than just standing there, leaving and coming back,
coming back, coming back, yeah? Yeah.
Cos they you will overcook very quickly. Yeah.
Have you done both sides? So quick. Yep.
I'm a butcher now, Eddie!
With just 45 minutes until service,
Eddie and Pookie have paused their other prep
to focus on the all-important butchery
of four whole saddles of venison.
It takes a lot of time. You want to get rid of all this sinew,
because otherwise it will kind of clog up the diners' mouths.
Once we get this done, we're going to get... Tamarind sauce.
Tamarind sauce and the pea puree done.
Then we've got to put the potatoes together.
We'll get those in the oven.
We're just trying to get the job done.
I'm just a bit concerned about the tamarinds on the side.
I'm going to get the tamarind on now, yeah. We need to get these on.
While we're doing that... You do that, I'll do this.
..that can be on the side. Yep. I'm going to wash my hands,
get the tamarinds in. OK, cool, yeah.
Multi-tasking is also key on the pastry section.
See how the smell's starting to change, yeah?
Yeah, yeah! Little bit further. OK.
It says cool until set.
The endless list of technical jobs includes the brown butter crumble.
Every process needs to be done and it needs to be fully executed,
otherwise, the dish isn't going to be how it's meant to be.
Sarah's also feeling the pressure. Her brulee mix is in to chill,
but she now has to master making the special caramel powder,
which will top her egg-filled brulee.
Doesn't seem to be like making a proper caramel. It's really pale.
The quantities are crazy - you know,
it's just way beyond anything I've done before.
You've got to do it four times to get enough for 30 people, so, yeah,
it's mad. I just don't want to take that too far
cos I'll have to start it again.
I've got the honeycomb to do once I've done this.
I've got to go, sorry.
They've literally got lots of little jobs to do.
Very technical, very precise, very delicate.
Am I confident they're going to do it?
I can't say that at this moment.
Outside, the Royal British Legion VIP guests have started to arrive,
including serving members of the Armed Forces,
veterans and fundraisers.
100 years, it's a proud moment for the Legion.
I'm blessed to be part of it.
Remembering those colleagues and friends who paid the ultimate price
to give us the freedom that most of us enjoy now.
I served in the Falkland Islands
aboard HMS Sheffield.
Unfortunately, we were hit by an Exocet missile,
which killed 20 of my friends.
I suffered from PTSD,
and if it wasn't for the British Legion, I don't know what I'd do.
The Royal British Legion. ALL: The Royal British Legion.
When you're serving, it's quite easy,
because you've got the military family beyond you.
And when you leave, which I've not yet,
the RBL is that family and have got the big hug around people
and it changes people's lives.
What an audience.
They're celebrating the centenary
of an astonishing organisation
that's part of the fabric of British society.
I've looked at the menu.
Those guys have really set themselves a challenge in there.
The pressure they must be under in that kitchen is immense.
I know what it's like. You know, deadlines,
got to get your food out on time, it's got to be hot and ready.
It's going to be a nightmare for them. I feel really, really sorry.
I'm just glad I'm not there doing it with them.
For starters, you have 20 minutes before we have to start to serve.
OK? Yes, Chef. Listening? Yes, Chef!
Just running off a pakora.
Going to check it for seasoning and then hopefully the mix is right.
Yemi, are you OK?
Yes, I'm just finishing the spice blend for our scallops.
I'm really trying to move as fast as I can cos I'm running out of time.
Eddie, what do you think of the texture now?
Yeah, they're perfect. Perfect, perfect. Yeah?
Nearly finished the boulangere potatoes.
It's not just throwing things in a pan -
we're making Michelin-starred food, so it's a bit more involved,
and it's quite stressful.
Where's the oven?
I'm just helping Sarah out
because I think she's got to redo her honeycomb.
What's happened, it hasn't cooled down and it's continued to cook.
So, if you can smell it, it's almost slightly bitter. Yeah.
I don't think it's completely unusable... OK.
..but what I suggest is we make another one... Right.
..then we've got a choice. OK. OK? Perfect, right. I'll do that.
Yeah, brilliant. OK, cool. OK.
I'm sure it's now going to get a little bit, you know? Intense.
Yeah, we haven't done any plating yet.
OK, guys, so we have got ten minutes
and the starters need to be on the pass, yeah? Yes, Chef.
It's the moment of truth for Olayemi and Ioan,
who must now deliver 30 portions of their Michelin-standard starter.
Let's go, yeah?
So, the first course is scallop masala with red lentils.
I love spicy food and I think this will be very interesting.
I would think right now they're starting to sweat a little bit.
Pans will be rattling, the deep fryer will be frying,
and they've got all those component parts.
Both the scallops and the pakoras must be cooked in batches to order.
I'm just starting to fry up my first batch.
Just need to make sure that they don't stick
and cook six at a time.
I've cooked scallops a few times,
but never in this...to this magnitude.
Well, bearing in mind the setting, yeah, I would say, you know,
my expectations are quite up here.
Let's go! Both of you on the pass, please, to dress.
Cooking at this level requires each of the 30 plates
to be identical to Glynn's design.
No, no, it wasn't like that. One either side. One either side.
One either side. Two scallops per plate.
One pakora per plate. Nice spoon of lentils.
Let's start to move.
Carrots, carrots, carrots, carrots, let's go, yeah?
Walk down the line, go behind, walk down the line.
When you're ready, call service. Service!
Another six, guys. Go, go, go, let's go!
The presentation is outstanding.
It looks lovely, and I suppose you haven't got Smell-O-Vision,
but it smells phenomenal.
With the first six plates gone,
the starter team now need to up the pace
to get the rest of the dining room served.
A little bit stressed, but I'm loving it.
I want to get the job done right.
It's frenetic but fun.
Definitely getting a buzz of adrenaline in this. It's intense.
Guys, come on, guys! Yes, chef. Chef is pushing us.
Lovely, perfect. Let's go.
Keep going, keep going, yeah? Yes, chef.
Service!
It's a work of art, isn't it? It's just beautiful.
OK, starters are nearly finished now, guys.
Start thinking about putting the meat on for the main course, yeah?
OK, let's go.
These are the last plates, so let's make them absolutely perfect, yeah?
Yes. Yes, chef. You can't stop now. Yes, chef. Finish the job off, eh?
Yes, chef. Thank you. Let's go.
Excellent.
Brilliant stuff. Service!
Oh, very nice.
Well done, guys. You should be really proud of yourselves.
You've done an extremely great job. Thank you, chef.
And on that note, for a bonus, go and clean down. Yay! Wahey!
Off you go.
To start, Olayemi and Ioan are serving masala spiced scallops
with pickled carrots, dehydrated coconut,
curried red lentils,
potato pakoras spiced with ginger, turmeric and cumin,
coriander sauce and a curry oil.
That is amazing.
It was very, very frenetic,
but the buzz, the adrenaline, the heat of the kitchen,
it was just brilliant.
Every part of me is literally aching!
And I really hope the flavours hit the spot for the diners.
What I learned from this dish was that every scallop I ever had
was overcooked, because that was...
It's just so much more delicate than I was expecting.
I really enjoyed it!
It had a really, really deep curry flavour. Yeah, no, it was lovely.
The pakora wasn't greasy.
It was light and fluffy. It was really, really nice.
The mix of what was on the plate,
when you bring it all together, I was just like, "Wow."
I enjoyed it - a lot.
I'd eat it again. It was gorgeous.
That dish is very, very good. Sophisticated.
A lot of work in that.
The lentils are smoky, the pakora is really crisp and mildly spiced.
It's a great-flavoured dish.
The spotlight is now on Eddie and Pookie's main.
Their labour-intensive potatoes are cooked...
Looking good!
..but they must now hurriedly sear off
the last of their venison fillets.
They're looking absolutely gorgeous.
Fabulous!
Venison is very difficult to cook.
To do a meal like that with venison for everyone
is going to be a really tricky situation.
Only takes a minute and you've ruined it.
I'm quite fascinated with the combination
of tamarind and liquorice,
because I'm not a huge fan of liquorice,
but we'll see what they do with it.
Right, let's go.
Plating at speed is crucial, or the diners' food will get cold.
Once you've stopped quenelle-ing, straight onto the meat.
Pookie, you start the meat. Start the meat, yeah? Yeah.
The venison fillets are cooked,
but now need to be carved to chef's exacting standards.
I want five out of each.
How's that meat cooked, Pookie? It's cooked perfect, chef!
I'll be the judge of that.
Perfect.
Where's the sauce, Eddie? Around the corner. I'll go and get it.
Potatoes on the trays. Let's go.
Just arrange them nicely.
Right. Service, please.
Thank you!
Well done, Eddie. First lap.
Venison looks perfectly cooked to me.
I love medium-rare venison.
Let's get that meat on the plate.
Venison coming behind you.
OK, you go. Start from this side.
And you follow.
We're getting into the rhythm now.
This is rock and roll for you.
Service, please. Service, please.
Potatoes look a bit dry at the moment,
but waiting for the sauce to turn up.
Hopefully that'll bring it all together.
Right, let's go. Another 12, yeah?
Come on, Pookie - one last push.
Service, please!
Very good. Done.
Eh! Yes, yes, Pookie! SHE HUMS
They look amazing. Look fantastic. Yeah.
Thank you, guru. I didn't cook it, you did!
Pookie and Eddie's main course is fillet of venison,
served with tamarind and liquorice purees,
crushed pea salad,
pommes boulangere
and a red wine sauce.
It's a good-looking dish.
They made... There's a bit of work in here.
It was intense,
and, yeah, it's a monumental task. It was like a marathon.
To be honest, I enjoyed it so much and I want more.
I'm really happy.
I'm really, sort of, like, feeling butterflies in my stomach.
I am very proud of the food that we presented today.
Venison was like... It was like butter.
It just melted away. Really tasty.
For me, personally, the venison, I'd probably have mine a bit less rare,
but the pea salad and the liquorice was really lovely.
It's the liquorice puree I can still taste,
and I wasn't quite sure how that was going to be, but it was really nice.
Although I thought the potato a bit dry initially,
when they actually went on the plate, they were OK.
No problems with them at all and the sauce was absolutely brilliant.
They can come and cook for us any time -
but don't quote me on that!
That's fantastic. That's a real feat, I think.
I like this dish and I love, love, love the liquorice.
I think the liquorice is absolutely brilliant.
It's now down to Radha and Sarah to end service on a high.
Oh, these are so delicate. It's just, like, terrifying.
I'm going to take these out, yeah? I'm going to do it one at a time.
Yeah, be careful.
The egg surprise is interesting as a dessert, isn't it?
So it will be interesting to see what sort of surprise that comes as.
Is that like a Portuguese tart? It could well be.
I'm really intrigued to see how this is going to be presented
and how it's being cooked.
This one's looking a bit better, yeah.
What we'll do is, we'll put it in the freezing cold room... Yeah?
..and it'll cool down quicker. Right, tip-top.
Lay all of the plates out... Right. ..and start dressing, yeah?
Let's start going.
I would do the, obviously, the sorbet last.
Yeah. I'm going to put the crumb on, though,
cos that's the basis for everything.
I'm going on with the puree. Is that all right?
How do you work this?
The finishing touches require Sarah to torch the caramel topping...
Perfect, excellent.
..while Radha rochers perfect ovals of sorbet.
I can't do this!
No, I don't... No, it's not going to work.
Use a baller. Yes, chef. Think that'll be easier. OK, that's fine.
Roll it up. There you go, that's it. Go, go!
Lovely, excellent. Service, please!
OK, two more. Let's go.
I wasn't expecting an egg. It's definitely a surprise.
I kind of feel like I'm just missing some soldiers
and maybe some brown sauce.
Sarah, how are you doing? I'm all right. Yeah?
This is good stuff, team pastry. BOTH: Thank you, chef.
This is the bit they're all going to be talking about in the taxi, yeah?
Service, please!
Phew! Well done. Well done, well done, well done.
Look at that. Isn't that really clever?
It was tough.
It was tough, yeah. There's no getting away from that!
But it was great. I loved that. I would do that every day.
First time being in a professional kitchen,
it is nothing like what I expected it to be.
Speed is definitely of the essence,
and we just hope that we did chef proud today,
which, you know, I think we did.
That was really good.
To finish the celebration meal,
Radha and Sarah have served an eggshell
filled with strawberry gel and creme brulee,
together with a burnt butter crumb, red wine-marinated strawberries,
tarragon and black pepper honeycomb,
strawberry puree and a strawberry sorbet.
Ooh - a little crack.
There's lots of really good technical work here.
A really good fusion of flavours.
The creme brulee is set really, really beautifully.
Well executed.
For me, it could have been made in an ostrich egg!
I could just continue to eat that.
It was absolutely beautiful.
The custard was just fantastic texture,
the honeycomb...my brain, my mind was waiting for something sweet
and it wasn't sweet.
I was genuinely surprised that it was a real shell.
I didn't try and eat it.
Yeah, it's quite nice with the jam at the bottom, as well.
We were just saying, the taste of each part, it was all really good.
Sorbet, same as the strawberries, it was all really nice.
Finished it. It's all gone.
This feels right for this event, this does.
This is the Legion at 100 years.
This is celebrating the amazing commitment and achievement
of all these people in this room. This is the one.
APPLAUSE
Chefs, could I just say my name is James Bashall.
I'm the president of the Royal British Legion.
Could I thank all of you for some wonderful, unique,
different, exciting food.
Thank you so much for everything you've provided for us tonight.
GLYNN: What an experience that was.
Woo!
They did me proud,
they did the whole of the people eating proud, as well,
so I'm chuffed to bits.
Feeling absolutely fantastic.
That was just the best experience ever.
Today was a whirlwind.
It was just non-stop.
I think the dish was banquet-worthy, for sure.
Every single moment has been a highlight for me,
and so it's my privilege to be here.
JOHN: Our guys have done themselves proud
and our heroes around these tables absolutely loved it.
I'm really, really chuffed with myself.
I am definitely going to be taking away the confidence
that I had in that kitchen and just the belief that I have in myself.
Hopefully today I've demonstrated that, actually,
I am really passionate about my food
and I really want to continue within the process.
For the first time since I've been in the MasterChef kitchen,
I actually feel like a professional -
or like I could be a professional chef -
and I want to, kind of, bottle that emotion and that feeling
and take it forward.
This was a massive event.
We have one more challenge.
One more huge challenge till we decide
who is going to be in our finals.
Next time, it's the last of the semifinals.
Just one unique challenge stands between these six exceptional cooks
and a place in finals week.
Go, go, go.
I do like the base there, the biscuit base.
Where the hecky-gecky did you get this idea from?
They can't have a wobble, wobble, wobble.
I am gobsmacked.
We demand a buttery biscuit base!