And the battle for the title is almost over.
Failure, for me, is not an option.
Adapt or die. Yeah, you have to keep going.
You have to try harder.
The experience has been intense.
It has completely taken over my life.
Final four sounds amazing,
but obviously final three sounds even better.
I think the further you get into the competition,
the more you become consumed.
Love the adrenaline of it all.
I'm raring to go.
When I asked my husband, "Did you think I would get this far?"
The answer was, "Nope."
Now I'm here,
I'm going to go in there and wow John and Gregg.
Tonight, the four finalists cook off to secure a coveted place...
0h!
...in this year's MasterChef final...
Push, push, push, push.
...and face their most daunting challenge yet.
Working under world-renowned chef Gordon Ramsay...
The wheels have come off.
Let's get some energy in here.
...at Chef's Table.
That is brilliant.
You can't fault it.
Four extraordinary talents.
This right now is their biggest cook-off.
This is for a place in the MasterChef final.
This, without doubt, is your most important dish
of the whole competition.
The quality of your dish will decide which of you
make it through to the final three.
Don't leave here with any regrets.
You have one hour and 45 minutes for your interpretation
of a classic dish.
You have to deliver.
No two ways about it.
We wish you all the very, very best of luck.
Let's cook.
A classic dish is known all around the world,
eaten in homes and the best dining rooms.
It's been honed, it's beautiful.
It's comforting, it's exciting.
They've got to make this absolutely brilliant.
I never imagined that I would be good enough to get to this stage.
Just such an amazing feeling to be here right now in this moment.
Eddie's culinary heart is set in France.
He loves French classic food.
We also know that he has a love affair with Indian spicy.
So which way is he going to go today?
Eddie, what's with the bow tie?
Classic Dish Day, I've come dressed as Keith Floyd.
This is great. So who else do you dress up as, then?
I've done a Mr Bean before. Mr Bean's a good one. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You do impressions of people?
I can do one of you. Go on, then.
Cor, that's delicious.
I'll eat the whole plate.
Well, it's a bit Dick Van Dyke, but you're getting there.
Have we got a French classic in this, this round?
Well, we've got an Indian classic, dressed as a French classic dish.
OK. So it's a lamb rogan josh,
and a classic French potato gratin, pommes Anna.
So I really like to play and combine the two.
Floyd in pink. Good luck.
Thank you.
Eddie's got pommes Anna, crispy, sliced potatoes
and you've got a rump of lamb.
The lamb cookery needs to be perfect,
otherwise there'll be nowhere to hide.
And then he's bringing a rogan josh peppery spicy sauce to it.
We know that when we have Indian food, we have pickles with it.
Something which is really sharp and hot,
and he's going to use the pumpkin in the same way.
But, for me, this dish relies upon that sauce to make it stand out
because, if that sauce does not stand out,
we've got lamb and potatoes.
That's not a classic dish.
So if Keith Floyd was here, and the judges were tasting it,
and they didn't like it, he'd say,
"Well, I don't care, I'm bloody enjoying it,
"and I'm going to have a glass of wine with it as well."
I wouldn't do that. That's not my style,
but hopefully they will enjoy it.
Radha's had an incredible competition,
the youngest contestant here.
She's very good with Indian spicy.
She's got style and she is clever.
And her desserts are magical.
I'll tell you what, what Radha's going to do, I don't know,
but I hope it's exciting.
The more I've cooked in this competition,
the more confidence I've got.
You can do this, like, you're getting through the rounds.
I haven't practised this dish as many times as I wanted,
but all of the elements I know I can do.
So I've just got to stay focused
and hopefully they'll all work together on the plate.
Radha, you're doing a dessert. I am indeed.
Why? It's a place for the final three,
so I want to play to my strengths as much as I can.
So the classic is a Black Forest gateau.
Are you deconstructing a Black Forest gateau?
I am indeed. Deconstructing a Black Forest gateau.
You've got a law degree. Mm-hm.
Are you now considering possibly a career in food?
Being a lawyer was never my dream.
Being in the food industry, and having my own business
is definitely my dream now.
Radha's dish is inspired by a Black Forest gateau.
We've got a chocolate brownie going on the plate.
The cream element is going to be a mascarpone and Kirsch cream.
We've got cherry ice cream, which is flavoured with yoghurt,
so it's going to be quite sharp.
Hm, hm, hm.
And then we get a cherry cocktail as well at the end
with whisky in it.
Where did you learn to make cocktails?
At home with my dad during lockdown.
I think the real challenging one here is the chocolate shard.
We've got popping candy in there as well for an element of fun.
I like the idea of this.
I think all of the textures and the flavours
are going to work well and they should all come together as well.
I hope. But we'll just have to wait and see.
We'll have to wait and see.
An hour is gone.
You've got 45 minutes left, please.
I am shaking today.
We know that Sarah loves classic technique, we also know
that she loves to champion the fabulous produce of Scotland.
She's really focused on her food,
but, at times she puts herself under too much pressure.
I think it's curtains every single time I cook.
When we were in Ireland,
I didn't feel like I did my best there at all.
It's just falling to pieces.
It's a total mess. Oh, my life.
The last ten minutes, I tend to lose the plot, so I'm going to try
not to do that today.
What is your classic dish, please?
My classic dish is haggis, neeps and tatties.
Traditionally, it doesn't tend to look very fine dining,
so I want to kind of elevate it a little bit, and this one
really makes me happy.
Your time in Ireland, what was the biggest lesson?
Don't lose your head. I just lost my head.
Just had a stern word with myself today about staying focused
and staying calm and just to get it out there.
Sarah, I hope it's delicious.
So do I.
We're taking a classic haggis, neeps and tatties, and we're trying
to make it fine dining, not an easy thing to do.
We've got the haggis going inside brick pastry,
which is like filo.
Inside with that haggis,
she's got sausage meat to be able to give it more of a texture.
So it's a deep-fried sausage roll, in a way.
That cannon of lamb has got to be cooked perfectly
all the way through. It's got to be pink.
We've got a whisky sauce,
which she's going to finish off with some cream.
Potato scones.
We've got some cabbage, and we've got some kale.
There's a huge amount going on on that plate.
Oh, I've practised this one a fair few times
and managed to get it in the time every time.
When I'm really rude to you with ten minutes to go,
you'll know that it's all gone out the window.
They're no use. It's like pancakes. First one never works.
Pookie has Chinese and Thai influences in her food.
I've got no idea which classic dish she's going to do today,
but I find it hard to believe she's going to do it
without a little bit of Pookie magic.
I think that they probably get it now, that I'm not normal.
I don't think other people would be this bonkers.
Ah—ha—ha. Pookie.
Calm down, woman.
Today, probably more subtle in comparison to my other dishes.
But subtle can be so beautiful.
I'm doing something close to my heart.
If we go to the restaurant,
one of the dishes that I remember my mum order is snow fish.
Where does the term snow fish come from?
It's just a fancy term that the restaurant named their dish.
There's no such thing as snow fish.
So the fish that I choose today
is actually black cod with ginger, spring onion, sesame oil.
So, of course, it's going to be my touch to it.
Pookie style to it. By serving the fish over the dry ice,
so you have the visualise of the smoke, the steam.
Pookie's dish is based upon a classic Hong Kong dish,
which is steamed whole fish,
and it's sort of like a Saturday night comfort food.
That black cod should be velvety smooth.
Really, really beautiful.
That's going to be served on Pookie rice, which is bright green.
It's got the flavours of shiitake mushrooms and spring onions
and ginger going through it.
Ooh, yummy.
The fish is going to come on dry ice, and then Pookie
is going to sprinkle snow over it.
And the snow is little balls of white soy and cream.
So I need to check once it's set a little bit more.
WQW!
There's lots of theatre going on here...
My God. Yep, I've got quite a lot to do.
...but I hope it doesn't detract from the flavour.
Steamed fish with ginger and spring onions is glorious.
So how many minutes we got left, again?
You have ten minutes.
So much resting on this right now.
To have come so far and not make it to the final three
is heartbreaking.
Perfect.
Yes.
I'm shaking.
Come on, the Pooks.
I'm trying, Gregg, thank you.
Everything seems to be on track. No panic.
Agh.
Push, push, push, push.
Right, how much time have I got, do you think?
We have three minutes.
Right, thank you.
Oh. Come on, Pookie. Quick, quick, quick, quick.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
What have I done? What have I done?
That's it. Stop.
Well done.
My God.
Scary.
I'm not swearing or crying.
Fingers crossed.
Inspired by the Indian classic, lamb rogan josh,
Eddie's dish is rump of lamb
with savoy cabbage, spiced with cumin, ginger and green chilli,
pickled pumpkin, a pumpkin, fennel and coriander crumb,
served with a rogan josh sauce and pommes Anna.
Your lamb is crispy on the outside
with a little bit of fat cooked beautifully.
Your potatoes are buttery but crisp on the outside.
The cabbage you've cooked all the way through,
but there's still a little crack of mustard seed running through it,
which means that when you bite into it, there's a small explosion.
There's the sharpness that is inside that pickled pumpkin,
which I think is beautiful with the sweetness that comes from the lamb.
It's great, Eddie.
Thank you.
It's a gloriously-flavoured dish,
but what is really making it
is the quality, the flavour and the spiciness
of that creamy smoky sauce,
and the wonderful sharpness on those pumpkins.
It's just delicious.
Yeah, I'm feeling really happy, I think I did it justice.
I couldn't be more pleased with that.
Radha's dish is a deconstructed Black Forest gateau.
Chocolate brownie with chocolate soil, mascarpone cream, cherry gel,
a cherry yoghurt ice cream, popping candy chocolate shards,
cherries poached in cherry liqueur,
and a cherry and whisky cocktail.
I think at this stage of the competition with ice cream,
it needs to look like it's being served in a restaurant
rather than being served at home.
Yeah.
Little bits of detail will always make a difference.
I'm sad the ice cream doesn't have
a lovely sheen across the top of it because it tastes great.
The real flavour of cherries running all the way through it
and it's really creamy, and I like that a lot.
Your chocolate brownie is good. It's got a crispy outside.
It's soft and fudgy in the centre.
I think that's great, but that needs more cherry jam.
It needs more of that cream because that chocolate soil
dries your mouth out really quickly.
I love your flavours, though.
Nicely-flavoured ice cream.
Well made brownie.
The shard with the popping candy is a good idea.
I'd like to see you do more.
I'd like you to have used a stencil for your chocolate
so that we could get some leaf shapes.
But I have to say you've stayed true to the flavours
of Black Forest gateau, and they do work, don't they?
Cherry, chocolate, cream? You can't go wrong.
The shard, maybe doing that in the shape of a leaf,
which is annoying because my mum literally said that,
which is why I'm a little bit sort of upset.
The advice was there and I just ignored it.
Sarah's take on the classic haggis, neeps and tatties
is a cannon of lamb, deep-fried haggis,
wrapped in feuille de brick pastry...
...potato fondant, crispy kale, neep puree,
tattie scone, puffed pearl barley,
pickled shallot shells, roasted onion puree
and a whisky sauce.
I think your haggis inside the crisp brick pastry was a great idea.
Your potato fondant is really, really buttery.
It's absolutely delicious.
The neep puree, a little bit grainy, could be a bit smoother.
The problem I've got is the cookery of the lamb is too under for me.
I don't think the middle of this has seen very much heat at all.
My lamb is cooked OK.
Underneath that, a good sauce with whisky.
Love your haggis inside the crispy brick.
I think that's delicious.
The big problem I've got here is these little tattie scones.
That is what's commonly known as burnt.
Yeah, I'm not feeling great after that.
It didn't go as well as I'd hoped.
The tattie scone with the burning on the bottom,
that's just a case of me not flipping it over to check it,
which was really frustrating.
Finally, it's Pookie's Cantonese steamed snow fish.
Steamed black cod with spring onions, soy and ginger,
shiitake mushrooms, green rice,
ginger and yuzu foam with a white soy snow.
That's a lovely looking dish.
Oh, thank you.
It's got elegance, and it's interesting.
The fish is beautiful, flaking, and falling apart.
I've got subtle sesame, almost nuttiness.
I've got the beefiness of the mushrooms.
We've seen you give blue rice before.
You've now given us bright green rice, but it's very nicely cooked.
I love this foam.
Just the light touch of ginger.
This, for me, is one of the best dishes you've delivered.
I think there's such subtlety,
and such lightness and beauty.
Thank you so much. Thank you.
Those little pearls, which shouldn't taste of anything, are salty
with soy, but rich and creamy with soy milk.
You, I think for the first time, have got to the stage
where you understand how to have your fun,
but keep the heart, the soul and the flavour of a dish
true to what it should be.
And that's what this is.
They love it.
Just don't know what else to say.
I'm really, really happy-
Thank you.
Well done.
I miss home. That dish does send me into that zone.
One of the most important cook-offs in the whole competition,
and for you and I the most difficult judging decision
of the whole competition.
What comes up next is so massive
that we have to be absolutely confident
whoever goes through is going to be able to cope with the pressure.
It would just be such an unbelievable, brilliant feeling
to get into the final three.
It would be the greatest achievement yet.
It would be like a dream come true.
I can't wait to hear the result.
It's so, so close now to the final cook-off.
But it is a competition and someone has got to go home.
Yeah, just not feeling too confident.
This is probably the worst time to go home, really.
You know, you're so close to it there.
So, yeah, I think this is going to be a tough one.
Everyone here, no matter what happens,
we've all done the most fantastic job.
To be here to represent a different part of the world, every single one
of us... Yes. ..it's so great to see
and just wish everyone the best of luck.
# Oh, today, I'm just a drop of water
# And I'm running down a mountainside
# Come tomorrow I'll be in the ocean... #
There's no doubt about it that you four are really gifted.
But, as you know, we sadly have to say goodbye to one of you.
This has been a really tough decision.
# Maybe we could be the start of something
# Be together at the start of time. #
The contestant leaving the competition is...
# There's a ghost upon the moor tonight
# It's like the sun came out... #
...Sarah.
You have had an amazing competition.
You really have. Incredible.
Thank you so much for everything you've done.
Thanks very much.
Yeah, I'm devastated.
It has been really, really special.
It's been a life—changing experience.
I'll just miss the buzz of it all.
I'd say to anyone, take the chance because absolutely it's worth it.
The final three, very well done.
Oh, my God!
We are final three.
You two are still the same heat.
Yeah, yeah.
WQW!
One of you three is going to win this year's competition.
But first, we have an extraordinary challenge for you.
Now you will be cooking for a table of culinary legends
and guided by one of Britain's greatest chefs.
Oh, my God. I can't believe it.
Ladies and gentlemen, get yourselves ready
for an experience beyond belief.
Oh, my God. Well done.
Well done. Well done, guys.
In the heart of London's fashionable Chelsea lies a restaurant
with a reputation unsurpassed in Britain today.
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Royal Hospital Road.
21 years at three-star Michelin, it's equivalent to winning
the Champions League every year.
It's a journey to get there.
Maintaining it is even harder.
And that's just done with drive,
passion and absolute attention to detail.
Classically—trained by some of the world's greatest chefs.
From the outset, Gordon was determined to be recognised.
I trained with the very best.
Marco Pierre White was a huge influence.
He gave me this level of finesse that I never thought I'd get.
Albert Roux, the magical foundation of French cuisine
and then Pierre Koffmann, the French flair.
Once you've captured their magic, it's a chance for you
to put everything you've learned on to your plate.
That was my style.
All that uniqueness brought into one.
This is food at the absolute top of its art.
I think this is the absolute pinnacle of fine dining.
It's going to test them.
It is going to push them to the very limit.
Deep down inside today, I'm somewhat nervous
because these may be prolific chefs in the making...
...but they're still amateurs,
and handing over the reins is scary.
I just hope they don't screw it up.
Good morning. Good morning.
Line up, please.
Today is a very significant day for us because today marks
our 21st anniversary retaining three Michelin stars.
And today you three are going to be running the lunch service.
And the guests, would you believe, were part of our dream team
when we won three Michelin stars 21 years ago.
Matt's going to be with you every step of the way in the prep.
And the good news is I'm going to be at the hot plate
conducting the service.
Do not send anything over that hot plate that's less than perfection.
Yes, Chef. Right. Follow me.
I never imagined we'd do something as big as this.
Walking in and seeing Gordon and Matt in the kitchen...
Wow! I was just, you know, completely starstruck.
My hands at the moment are really, really shaky.
I'm trying to keep them as still as possible,
but they are really shaking at the moment.
Butterflies in my stomach.
I mean butterfly from my toe up to my head, just everywhere now.
Pookie will be cooking a starter
that's so popular it's remained on the menu
since the restaurant opened.
Right. How are you feeling?
I'm very excited.
It's a beautiful ravioli of lobster with a truffle puree.
Finished with a stunning, beautiful shellfish bisque.
The ravioli of lobster is a hallmark here in Chelsea.
I learned how to master pasta with Marco.
I perfected it in Italy.
It's the putting together of that amazing mix
and binding that lobster with the salmon.
It's obviously really important that we seal the ravioli well.
The secret of this dish is to make sure it's poached beautifully.
It's the temperature of the lobster inside.
30 seconds under, it's ice cold,
30 seconds over, it's rubber.
Critical.
Please dig in and have a little taste.
Every time I eat this, I want to cry.
I am.
Oh. No, don't do that, we haven't done service yet.
Oh, my God! That is heaven in the mouth.
It may look one of the most simplest dishes on the planet,
but let me tell you, it's one of the most technical.
Just remember today, timing is everything.
You have a lot to get clone.
You need to get it started straight away. Right.
Start off with the pasta is the first job you need to get clone.
OK. Yes.
Never done ravioli before.
Ever. I hope that I can do it justice.
It's your only chance to make a good dough.
Right.
Eddie will be in charge of a technically challenging main course.
Fantastic, beautiful.
Roast chicken breast, filled with a chicken, bacon and thyme mousse,
served with a garden of seasonal vegetables
and a crystal clear chicken and Madeira consomme.
You keep on smiling, which I love the energy.
Will you bring that to the service today? Oh, 100%.
Well, I'm handing you the reins
and put a smile on my face at the end of the day
by perfecting this dish.
This is a beautifully, lightly stuffed roast chicken.
You need to massage the mousse, so it's nice and evenly covered.
The process of the roasted chicken is just incredible
because there's about five stages,
from the boning out, the stuffing, poaching,
the roasting, resting.
Coupled with that amazing little beautiful garden of vegetables
and the depth of flavour in that consomme,
it's on a different level.
Wheeler's got that on today,
trust me, is going to feel the heat.
That chicken's just melting.
The amount of skill that's cooked with, wow, the fuss. Unbelievable.
Roast chicken may sound simple, but trust me, it takes
a big pair of cahonas to execute it.
I'm a huge, huge fan of Gordon.
This dish...it's right up my street,
but it's going to be a huge challenge at the same time.
Radha is finishing today's event with a trademark Ramsay dessert.
How are you with desserts in general?
I think I'm quite good at desserts throughout the competition.
So, yeah, it should be OK.
Oh, my word.
Gordon's classic custard tart,
delicately light pastry filled with an orange custard
and calamansi gel topped with grapefruit and clementine
and a spiced mascarpone ice cream.
This is a citrus tart like no other.
But it's the finish of that dish that needs to be done rapidly.
Slow down on that,
and you're in trouble.
You've got to move, otherwise, within two minutes,
it's going to be this puddle.
And this whole thing can take you down in 90 seconds.
Visually, what do you think? It looks stunning.
It looks really, really beautiful. Really beautiful.
I know you've only been cooking for a mere 18 months
and you're the youngest in the final.
That puts you in a great position because you should be fearless.
It's your time to flourish.
My heart is honestly pounding
because I just want to impress myself and everyone out there today.
So, yeah, fingers crossed it will be... It'll be OK.
The finalists have just three hours to bring together
their iconic Ramsay dishes.
This is a proper workout.
With Pookie's pasta dough made for the ravioli...
Let's have a look. Yeah, looks really nice.
...her next job is to prepare all the elements...
Beautiful.
...for the filling.
Oh, my God.
Just have to make sure that I don't leave any shell on it.
Agh!
Now bone.
First course, Pookie's responsibility.
It's a ravioli, filled with lobster claws and lobster tail meat
and salmon, which has been chopped up small enough
that it should sit inside that ravioli and not puncture the skin.
I'll just stop you there for a second.
You might want to take your large pieces here,
cut them in half lengthways, and then you can go
through and dice them, OK?
Yes, Chef.
I mean, the finesse to this dish is extraordinary.
Guys, listen up.
You've got two and a half hours till the first course is due.
Yes, Chef.
Why it go down so quick?
I suggest you start to push and move a little bit faster. Ha!
Yes.
Eddie also has a mountain of prep to complete
for his roast chicken main.
So I'm just passing the chicken breast for my chicken mousse.
I'm going to add some cream, thyme, shallots and bacon to it,
and that's going to be the stuffing to go underneath the chicken skin.
Everything has to be done to the highest standard.
There's a lot to get through. So just got to work diligently.
There we go. That's it.
Right, Eddie, we need to go, mate. You need to hurry up on this one.
Yeah. Chicken is going to get too warm.
You're starting to fall behind a little bit. Yeah.
As well as making a perfectly smooth chicken and bacon mousse...
It's looking nice.
...Eddie must master the intricate butchery of two whole chickens,
which involves taking all the bones out without breaking the skin.
There's a huge mountain to climb here.
It's like going into an operating theatre.
That level of intricacy.
You need that skin to hold the mousse.
And just the breaking of the skin in the wrong area...
...can completely destroy the dish.
I'm just going to work as fast as I can.
Press on. Push as hard as I can.
On dessert, Radha also needs to push
to make sure her spiced mascarpone ice cream is set in time.
To give the ice cream its subtle flavour,
cinnamon, star anise and cardamom must be toasted
and then infused in milk.
There's a lot to do, and I've just got to follow the recipe exactly
and really, really read it precisely.
She also has to tackle the pastry dough for her tarts,
made from boiled egg yolks.
One of the most complicated pastries ever to nail.
This is eggs that are part boiled, then sieved through.
It's a beautiful French technique that enriches that amazing tartlet.
This pastry is quite delicate, very fragile,
so you need to work with it quite quickly.
You can't do it whilst it's warm.
I mean, I'm worried about everything because if one thing doesn't work,
then the entire dessert is not going to be as it's going to be.
You can feel the burn.
Yes. Your arm. Feeling strong.
Yeah. Don't need to go to the gym with this.
With half the cooking time gone,
Pookie's still working on her lobster and salmon ravioli filling.
The consistency of your mix is really important
because if it's too wet, you're going to really struggle
to make that nice shape. Mm.
But she's yet to make a start on the all-important lobster bisque.
Oh, YaY-
Let's give it a stir again.
Oh, no. Hot.
Once the alcohol is reduced down,
we're going to add our roasted lobster heads. Yeah.
And then you can add your chicken and your veal stock
to the pan. OK. OK, Chef.
We need to start to hurry up because you've got one hour left to go.
Oh, yes, Chef.
I'm trying.
Hi, Pooks, you all right?
Hi, yeah. You under pressure?
Yes, I am. I've got a lot to do yet.
Guys, time's running away. Let's go, guys, we need to hurry up.
Yes, Chef.
Time is a huge concern.
I need to pick up the pace now and get on really quickly.
Oh, definitely feeling the pressure.
It's definitely taking a lot longer than he thought it would take.
Just want to work a little bit more of this lump here,
across this side here.
I mean, Matt's done it hundreds of times, makes it look really easy.
It's a very difficult thing to get right.
Right, Eddie, you need to start to hurry up, mate.
You're about 45 minutes behind where I really think you should be.
Yeah, sure. Get this in the bath, and we need to get cracking
on this consomme.
Right, water bath for one hour.
Yep, place them in.
With his chicken consomme finally started...
...he still needs to prepare all of the root vegetables
to Gordon's exacting standards.
OK, Eddie, we've got to change gear now, get out of first gear.
I'm just peeling the celery.
OK. We're running behind.
Our guests are arriving 15 minutes from now. After the celery, what are you doing?
Then I'm going to blanch the vegetables.
So try and multitask. At the same time as you're peeling one veg,
blanch the other. Task. Multitask.
You can do two things at once? Yeah, definitely.
Because in about 20 minutes from now, you'll be doing five things at once.
Multitask. Speed up, please. Yes?
Yes. Yes, Chef.
The pressure is on because it's about momentum.
He's a master in the kitchen, and he expects everything to be done
at the same standard he expects his chefs to be.
So we need to really step up the pace. Yeah, yeah.
I don't want to get shouted at by Gordon.
With her ice cream churning, and pastry resting,
Radha still has to make her citrus gel,
and orange custard tart filling.
I think I'm OK, I'm just doing the elements, as I go through.
Both need time to set before service.
Right, Radha. Yes, Chef. How are we doing?
Where are we? Custard, that's done.
Where are the tartlets?
I've not actually done the tartlets yet.
OK, get that in and get them baked.
That's a big, big weight off our shoulders.
OK, nice and thin as well, OK.
Too thick, then it just destroys the texture.
Too thin, and it's going to be too brittle.
It'll collapse the minute that tart goes in there,
but we'll change gear now. Definitely, chef.
Our guests are arriving in literally ten minutes from now.
OK, thanks, chef. Yes, Chef. Let's go, guys.
The pressure has just gone up. Like, you can feel it.
Like everyone's just sort of heads down really, really focused again.
It's definitely stressful.
Pookie... Agh! We need you to start to hurry up.
We've got 30 minutes to go, OK. Yes, Chef.
Now you've got the pasta out cutting,
we need to move quickly, otherwise it's going to dry out.
Yes, Chef. If it gets dry,
you're not going to be able to make raviolis. Yes, Chef.
11. 12. We need lots.
We need plenty in case we break some.
I'm not feeling too good.
We just need to lift the energy up a little bit
and get our heads in the zone.
OK, let's speed up.
Um, right... Pookie, how are we doing?
Yes, I'm doing the ravioli now.
Yeah, I know what you're doing. I said, "How are you doing?"
No egg wash on there? Oh! We need egg wash on there.
Yeah, yeah.
Really important.
Nip together. Nip all that air out, then squeeze all that air out.
Oh, my God! Come on. Speed is the essence. Let's go.
So yours is a little bit wrinkled, so open it up and start again.
It's not good enough. No.
Quick as you can now, because the temperature
of the kitchen is drying out the pasta. OK.
She started putting it together without even egg wash.
The egg wash is the glue.
That's what seals the deal.
No egg wash in there,
you'll end up seeing the actual pasta separate in the pan.
£25 of lobster in each ravioli.
Yes. Don't screw it up.
Spread it all around.
Having poached in a water bath for an hour...
How far behind is the chicken? We're behind. OK.
This service is going to turn into the longest service in history.
...Eddie's chicken must be finished in the oven
until the skin is golden and crisp.
Urgh! Look at me.
Can we just change gear a little bit? Yes, Chef.
The wheels have come off. Speed up a little bit, please.
Let's get some energy in here.
He's also behind finishing his consomme,
which needs to be passed through
a raft made of egg whites and vegetables, which he hopes
will purify it and make it crystal clear.
So nice and gently, OK.
Take your time, so it falls through very slowly.
Empty the whole lot in. Yes, Chef.
Now just leave it to drip through.
You've got about half an hour till the dessert needs to be ready.
Yes, Chef.
Agh! I'm a bit pushed for time.
I need to get these pastry cases done.
Pressure's definitely on and time's catching up fast.
You've got about another ten minutes you can spend on these tart cases.
Then we need to really start to get them in the oven.
You need to start to move. Yes, Chef.
Otherwise, I may have to send one of my guys into give you a hand.
OK, Chef. Yes, Chef.
Radha, she might be falling a little bit behind.
She's still got to get these tarts in the oven.
Close the door, set the timer.
Still a lot to do,
but got to get moving.
Today's guests for Chef's Table all intimately understand
the standards required to succeed in Gordon Ramsay's kitchen.
We've got a table of heavyweights.
Clare Smyth is the first British female chef
to achieve three Michelin stars
and was Gordon's head chef for ten years.
I wanted to learn from the best when I came here
and that's certainly what I got.
This restaurant was on fire.
And I just knew that this is where I had to be.
Paul Ainsworth was part of Gordon's original three-star brigade.
It means a great deal to be here.
I spent a good part of my life here.
So much I owe to this restaurant, the grounding, the education.
And James Knappett, a rising star of the culinary world,
who started working in Gordon's kitchen as a 17-year-old.
100%. I wouldn't be where I am today with my restaurant
if I hadn't have ever come here.
The pressure's on. They're cooking for a guy
that has put his stamp on the culinary world, no question.
They are all joined by Gordon's mentor, The Bear, Pierre Koffmann,
who held three Michelin stars on the same site for 15 years.
Nice.
This is the man that gave me my first big break.
So this lunch today needs to be absolutely perfect
to help repay that debt of hon our.
I remember Gordon would tell us stories of when he was working
for you here. So much history in this building, it's unreal.
21 years, three stars, it's very, very hard, you know?
So I admire him for that, you know?
Wow. Cheers, everyone. Cheers.
The guests have sat down now. So let's make this count.
Yes, Chef. Yeah. We're in this together. OK.
Yes, Chef. Yes, Chef. Fall behind, speak up.
Good luck, all of you. Thank you, Chef. Let's go, guys.
Yeah? Oh, my God.
Pookie's first to face the pressure of a three-star service.
Pookie... Yes, Chef.
Drop four raviolis in.
Yes, Chef. Good.
I mean, I've made tens of thousands of these.
If there's any little fracture at all in it, when it goes
into the water, it will just fall to pieces.
Let's go, Pookie.
Let's get into second gear.
Let's go, let's go. Let's go. We're live now.
The black truffle's a powerful flavour.
Making sure that they've got the dish balanced is the key.
Put your sauce on. Yes, Chef.
The lobster bisque is a very powerful sauce.
You want to be able to taste the roasted shellfish.
Just over 80 seconds raviolis, yes?
Bring them over. Nice and carefully.
Sit them in the middle.
Just touch that. Touch it.
It's ice cold.
Was the water boiling? Hmm.
It's got to be a generous boil, yes. Yeah.
Back in the water. Go on. Quick.
Quick. Quick, quick. Back in.
Gently. Come on. Quickly.
Right, there we go.
Ravioli's out, let's go. Thank you.
Nice and gently.
Can't drop them now, £100 worth of lobster there.
Spoon. Ooh. Here.
Come on, let's go.
Right in the middle.
They look deceptively simple, but they're not.
The work that goes into this is phenomenal.
That's it. Just spoon once. Good. Go all the way round.
Just let it fall off the spoon.
Yep. Let it fall off.
You happy with those? Yes, Chef.
Let's go.
Pookie... Yes, Chef.
We've got our first table out, now we speed up a little bit more,
get momentum going now. Let's go. Yes, Chef.
Three raviolis in, please, let's go.
Second time around, moving a lot faster, yes?
Yes, Chef. A lot faster, well done.
Yep. Good. 90 seconds.
Every 30 seconds, there's a count in the kitchen.
Now when it comes to zero,
that leaves the kitchen, and it's down to the second.
Let's go. Restaurant quality, guys.
Oh, no. Don't worry. Hands are shaking, don't worry.
Good. Service, please. Well done. Yes. Thank you.
They've put the pasta around the filling.
There's no air pockets in mine.
Yeah, looks great.
Slight bump at the beginning. Yes.
We can't serve ice cold ravioli.
You have to check those things.
Slow start, strong finish.
Clear down. Well done.
I never hold my breath this long before in my entire life.
The pressure pressing down on me, like when you try to go
up and then the liquid kept coming down, that tide of pressure like,
oh, yeah, immense.
I've got to say it's beautiful.
It's very good. You can taste the lobster is very nice.
It's not too much salmon mousse. Just enough to keep
all the shellfish together. It's a top dish.
The thickness of the pasta, I mean, that's not an easy thing to do.
And whoever has done that, I mean, that is a glorious plate of food.
Delicious to eat.
We can pick little faults, but I've done it 10,000 times.
This person has approached it for the first time.
I think they've done a phenomenal job.
Mate, feast your eyes on that. The individual textures are defined,
but they all sort of come together in this lovely marriage.
It's absolutely beautiful. Well done, Pookie.
OK, starters clear. Five minutes the window, yes?
Yes, Chef.
Get organised, young man. Let's go.
Yes, Chef.
Eddie is next to face service.
He'll now need to lightly blanch his root vegetables.
Water salted? Yeah. Good. Let's go.
And carefully carve the chicken breasts
without damaging the skin.
We've got to do a four first, followed by a three, yes?
Four followed by three. Yes. Good. Let's go. Multitask now, let's go.
Show me what you got. Let's go.
Speed up now. Come on, let's go.
Try to drain those vegetables.
Yes, Chef. Start again, please.
No, not good enough. Start again.
Remember, we drain that off so we haven't got that mess.
Beautiful consomme goes on there. We've got to go now.
This is not a joke. It's 21 years in the making. Let's go.
Right, over, slice the chicken.
I want them nicely sliced and evenly, show some consistency, OK?
It's a very complicated dish.
You've got to be super careful not to tear the skin on it.
We can't stuff that skin and then break it,
so be very, very careful.
It's very, very skilled, high level stuff and they're going
to have their work cut out.
Right, bring the first two portions over, please.
Earth to Eddie? Yes, Chef.
Earth to Eddie, bring the first two portions over, please! Yes, Chef.
Let's go!
Thank you. Three on there. Watch me.
So you've torn it, OK? I've got everything sort of ragged.
You've got to let the knife do the work. Jesus Christ.
Come on. Time is of the essence now.
I've got no more chicken like that.
It's going to take at least 90 minutes to prep,
so I can't afford to screw any more like this. Really focus.
And remember the essence of draining those vegetables.
Yes, Chef. Make a stunning consomme like that. Make them taste it.
Not your leftover dregs from your veg.
OK? Let's go. Four and a half minutes to the window.
It's intense, definitely intense. Right.
Right, Eddie, let's go.
Sharpen that knife, please.
I don't want a repeat of that. Yes, Chef.
OK, Eddie, veg is getting cold, please. Let's go.
Slicing better this time. That's your job. Let's go. On you go.
Service, please.
Good.
Wonderful. Mm.
Gently, and stop.
You got much faster, but it's all about the precision. OK?
You know, slow start, strong finish. Clear down. Yes, Chef.
Not easy at all, it was a steep learning curve.
You have to be so fast, you have to multitask,
you have to have so many things on the go.
The chicken's super moist, the elegance of the Madeira
and the broth. The vegetables have been really well
prepared and cooked. I mean, you can't fault it at all.
The consomme is a ten out of ten.
A lot of chefs cannot do it as well as that, you know? Perfect.
For somebody who this isn't their job to achieve that with Gordon
and Matt watching them, whoever that person is, they should be very,
very proud and giving themselves a huge pat on the back,
because that is brilliant.
I mean, seriously, and when you think about a chicken breast
and how dry they can be and how absolutely perfect that is,
that is beautiful.
The chicken mousse is almost indistinguishable from the actual
chicken breast itself.
It's just gorgeous.
Last to face service is Radha.
If there's anywhere that does the best custard tart in London,
it's definitely here at Royal Hospital Road.
The pastry is very important. It should be thin, but not too thin.
You've made this super, super thin, which is good but bad.
And properly cooked.
You know, you don't want to have soggy pastry at the bottom.
Very important.
OK, now, carefully lift it. Try not to press it, yeah. Gently.
And you want to take the brush and very lightly brush out the crumb.
So a few of these aren't going to make it, for sure.
This one I'm not very happy with. See how it's become very fragile?
Because you just worked the pastry too much, made it too thin.
I'm probably going to have to give you a couple of ones we've done.
Having failed to produce enough cases...
Radha? Yes, Chef? Ingredients.
Left, right, left, right. Work with both hands.
Four tarts. Yes, Chef.
...it's now down to Rada to master the custard tarts'
intricate, precise presentation.
Watch those sides. Nice.
Touch more in this one here. So nice and even. Yes, Chef.
Four very prolific chefs, all with amazing eyes.
Every dish has to be exactly the same.
Watch those shells. They could break at any time, OK?
That's the fragile thing about this casing,
so you have to be super careful about the pressure put in there.
The big moment — the sorbet. Don't hang around with that.
OK? Yes, Chef.
In the last round, john, she gave us a splodge of ice cream.
That simply ain't going to cut it in the kitchen of Gordon Ramsay.
Try not to dump it on there. Start again. Not good enough.
Think positive, OK? Going to go in and out.
Otherwise it'll break the tartlet.
0h!
Try and go a touch smaller, yeah? Got to be quick now, there you go.
Well done, that's much better. Timing, refinement and just making
sure that the spice mascarpone is a nice, perfect rocher.
Yes, Chef. Go, please. Go, go, go, go. Go! Go, go, go, go!
So those four weren't perfect. They were good. I know you can do better.
OK. Let's go. Three more away, please. Yes, Chef.
When you pipe that,
I don't want to see anything over the side this time. Yes, Chef.
Right. I want to see perfect quenelles.
Lasting impression.
Right. That's it. Palm of hand.
Much, much better.
The size is perfect.
There you go.
Final one.
Oh, well done.
Go. Go, go, go, go.
Wow.
Those last three were beautiful.
Well done. Clear down. Yes, Chef. Thank you. Good job. All right.
The first four getting those quenelles perfect,
they were a little bit rough around the edges, but I hope
I did it justice.
The pastry case is very good.
They done a good job. It's fine and crunchy,
and it's very, very nice.
I'm enjoying the mascarpone ice cream. I think it has great texture.
The spice level in it is really pleasant.
It's not very refined, but it is really tasty and delicious.
Mm!
Have you seen how fine that is?
It's as thin as a spring roll.
Look at it. Unbelievable.
I tell you what, the juice of that clementine coming out
into that custard is absolutely superb.
The pastry's gorgeous.
It's a great dessert.
Some beautiful dish. I would have been pleased to employ you.
The fact that, you know, you don't do this for a living,
there was some outstanding cooking there today.
And you should all be very, very proud.
So well clone.
Feedback from my guests has been extraordinary.
We're celebrating three Michelin star over 21 years.
It's taken decades to carve out that perfection.
These kids had hours.
The three chefs in here today
have got potential. There's no two ways about that.
It's an experience like nothing else.
The most exciting thing I've ever done. Full stop.
Nothing is ever going to top that.
Wow. I just feel so honoured to have cooked in Gordon Ramsay's kitchen.
I will treasure this moment for the rest of my life now.
I can't put it into words how incredible that experience was.
I'm excited to get back into the MasterChef kitchen.
Obviously, I'm going to do everything I can to hold that trophy at the end.
Next time, it's the MasterChef final.
Main cour... Uh-oh, where's my...?
Oh! Come on!
Come on!
It's great. It's fantastic.
Fascinating. Magical. Stupendous. Delightful. Boom.