This programme contains some strong language.
I'm Gordon Ramsay, Michelin-starred chef and CEO of a global business empire.
The food and drink industry has never been more exciting,
but it's also never been tougher to succeed.
So I want to catapult someone to the next level
and invest £150,000 of my own cash into their business.
Tonight, four contenders remain to battle it out
for a place in the final.
Valentina...
I'm the queen of vegan food.
I want you to be able to find my vegan cake mix everywhere.
Steph...
My business, it's aJapanese-inspired soft drink that's also
really edgy and cool. It's something that I think the market is missing.
Leah...
I run Norah's Brownies.
The dream is to have the capacity to get these £1,000 orders out daily.
And Victoria...
What I want is my healthy snack brand to be global.
With this funding, I know that it will skyrocket.
Who will be my Future Food Star?
The semifinal!
ALL TALK AT ONCE
Right, it's the last big push before the finale.
Next week, I get to choose my Future Food Star, the person
that I'm going to be investing £150,000 in.
I want to partner up with someone who is one step ahead, someone
who can make a noise, quite frankly, someone who knows how to go viral.
I'm a huge fan of social media.
It's a great way to connect with my followers and let people know
what's happening in my businesses.
You can see over the years, I've become an amazing tosser.
Today I've brought my contenders to Battersea, South London...
Oh, my God, this is so cute.
..to test them on this vital part of modern business.
Oh, hello! Is he going to say something?
Hey, guys, it's Gordon.
First of all, congratulations, You've made it to the semifinals.
Well done, but for the final four of you,
there's still a big challenge ahead.
Now, unless you've been living under a rock, you should know
by now that I am the most followed chef on social media.
Oh, yes, you are.
We're at 90 million followers now across all the channels.
Wow! And trust me, that hasn't happened by accident.
To gain traction, you need to keep ahead of the trends and know
how to capture new markets.
Today, I'd like all of you to create a 30-second social media video
on TikTok promoting my favourite subject...
Veganism!
Yes!
You only have a limited time to draw people in, so be smart.
I'll be judging your efforts later today and deciding
who best hits the brief.
The good news is you'll be in two teams of two.
Let's have Leah and Steph, you're in the red team.
That means Valentina and Victoria, you are the blue team.
Good luck, see you later.
EXCITED SCREAMS
I love social media.
And then you're vegan! What the heck?
My head's exploded, like... I'm so excited.
Shall we go?
Woo!
With over a billion active monthly users worldwide,
it's no surprise that this social media platform plays a key role
in many food and drink businesses.
You ready to win?
But it's a very, very crowded market.
Ooh, equipment.
You need to have impact.
You have to surprise your audience and stand out from the competition.
So first of all, my business was grounded on social media.
One of my videos got like 80,000 views.
You've got hundreds and thousands of views on your social media.
I do, but I think it's simply because...
..I'm a little bit silly.
I'm actually a bit nervous because, first of all,
I'm vegan and I'm the only vegan.
And second of all, I do lots of social media,
so I'd be so upset if I lose it, so upset.
I got this idea of, you have a can of chickpeas,
then you do, "Pip," and then you see a tuna sandwich.
You can make a tuna sandwich from chickpeas?
Yeah, exactly. That's amazing.
But that's how I mean, you're scrolling.
Urgh, pop! That sounds like one of those transition videos.
Yes, exactly that, that's what I was thinking.
What we could do is like food swaps, and then I'm being passed
or pick stuff up and be like... Yeah.
..bacon sandwich, try banana skins.
You want this? Let's do that. Want this, want that.
Make it snappy, lots of hacks. Yeah.
Are you happy running with the camera and then I'll present?
Yeah, obviously, I love being in front of the camera,
but I would like to be in control of how it visually looks.
When it comes to my own branding and my own social media,
I am the star of my own show.
And this I'm going to have to trust Steph that she brings
that liveliness, she brings that fun.
To help me judge the teams' videos, I've invited vegan social media
giants BOSH to share their expertise.
Gents. Oh, wow.
Good to see you both. Thank you so much for coming.
With over two billion views, three million followers and four
bestselling books to their name, what these guys don't know
about social media isn't worth putting online.
First of all, can I just say congratulations? Thank you.
Not only if you put vegan food on the map,
but the brand has become huge. Yes.
We're into the billions now of views -
what's been the secret to your success?
Consistency is key, like right from the get go,
we were all about one video every day, making sure that
you're always in people's heads, you've always got that attention.
Were you shocked that those viral hits went global within 24 hours?
Our first video was a watermelon Jagerbomb,
which never existed before.
We put it live, and we had a million views in an hour.
We had 50 million views within a few weeks.
And that shot us to the top of the charts.
And I think consistently trying to hunt for that next viral video
has helped us build this brand and it's the reason we're here today.
Yeah, amazing.
I've given the teams just 90 minutes to film and edit
their 30-second videos.
My whole vision is for there to be shots of the food
rolling across the table.
So we'll get all of those transitions.
I thought it would be fun to have a video where you have a simple,
basic ingredient disguised as a can of chickpeas.
One, two, three.
And... Poof! Before, you know, is a tuna sandwich.
Amazing. You got it?
Yeah. Let's do it one more time.
OK, cool. One more time, same.
So... More? Yeah. I can go?
Yeah, go.
Perfect.
Let's get a video of you rolling the lemon across the table.
OK, hold on, do it one more time.
One, two, three, go.
OK.
At the end, could you just, like, let it stay there?
One, two, three...go.
OK, one more time.
Oh, my gosh, this is taking so much longer than what I usually do.
My video very long and very silly because there is no editing.
It's going to be a long video, isn't it?
Now we know, lemon can be rolled.
Let's move on.
Perfect, let me get some more shots of it.
Stop scrolling. I've got a secret for you.
Hungry for a hot dog?
Brine and bake a carrot.
Give it a go.
Follow four more Vegan Brain Blenders.
So we'll do it one more time but really more enthusiastically.
Yeah. Real energy. Yeah, a bit more energy.
Ready? Yeah, ready. Woo, woo, woo!
One, two, three.
Stop scrolling. I've got a secret for you.
Here are three Vegan Brain Blenders.
Bored of bacon?
You stopped. I fucked it up. Missing... Energy, energy!
You're a bit too serious.
Yeah, woo, woo, woo!
One, two, three.
Missing mayo?
Give an avocado a go.
I love social media,
but I think I'm possibly better behind the screen.
This is really hard.
Final touches to the team's 30-second videos.
We've got a lot of content. Shall we try to edit it together?
Do it in the red, in the stop scrolling sign.
We've got 15 minutes.
I really want to get all of this in.
No, load quickly, it's taking too long.
I hate that. It's not meant to be perfect.
There's a point in the video right at the beginning where my hands
are together and I'm not saying anything, and I'm worried
that people will scroll off because it looks stupid.
Yeah, cool, done.
I'm worried Gordon's going to be like, you had this big idea
and this big vision and you haven't put all your transitions in there.
I like it.
But we did have better shots.
Nice.
Thank you.
Back at the cinema...
Hi, guys. Hello.
Take a seat.
..and it's time to judge which team has created the most
viral-worthy video.
Let me introduce the BOSH, who have literally owned veganism
on social media for the last six years.
I'm such a fan.
Oh, wow.
Now, I brought Henry and Ian to help me judge your social videos.
Let's start with the red team, Steph and Leah.
Here we go.
Stop scrolling! I've got a secret for you.
Here are three Vegan Brain Blenders.
Bored of bacon? Brine and bake a banana peel.
Missing mayo?
Give an avocado a go.
Hungry for a hot dog?
Brine and bake a carrot.
Like and follow for more Vegan Brain Blenders.
OK. Well, gents, first thoughts, please?
The angle for hacks is amazing because hacks work so well
on social media - they get millions and millions of views.
So that approach was really, really good. Good point.
I think what we would have loved, though, we don't want to be told
to stop scrolling, we want to be made to stop scrolling
by the beautiful shots. Absolutely.
Right, blue team, Victoria and Valentina.
Shall we?
# Hundred racks, help me spend it, babe
# Light a match, get litty, babe
# That jet set, watch the sunset kinda, yeah, yeah
# Rollin' eyes back in my head, make my toes curl, yeah, yeah
# Yeah, you got that yummy-yum
# That yummy-yum, that yummy-yummy. #
OK, I really like the way the video starts with you're just,
like, loving that sandwich.
It kind of makes me want to think, I want to eat that.
Yeah. You may have been missing a middle.
You had the start, you had the end, but some of the process was missing.
Viewers can tell when you've edited bits out and left bits
out of a recipe, but the food was definitely there and beautiful.
Two good social posts.
Is there a winner?
So it's so close.
Yeah. But it's going to have to be...
..the blue team.
Yes!
Yes! Thank you guys so much.
Red team, it was a good video, it was funny.
We just wanted the beautiful, mouthwatering shots.
The blue team just get it, because it's like focusing on one
specific recipe, and the way that you were eating it and like,
obviously really enjoying it, it sort of like hooked us in
right from the get go. Victoria, Valentina, congratulations.
Well done. Thank you. Thank you.
Right. I'll see you all on the next challenge. Gents, shall we? Yeah.
That's was great. That was so good!
It feels so good to win the first challenge of the semifinal.
I'm going to jump around for maybe ten minutes.
I'd better get ready for tomorrow now.
I better go to bed now!
I'm seeing that goal at the end
and now I've just got this adrenaline in me and I've not
done this competition to go out this week.
I have to get to the final.
This week is all about being future facing.
To succeed in business, you have to move with the times
and constantly evolve.
And that's exactly what I want the contenders to do today.
How are you feeling?
Yesterday was tough.
Yeah, every day is tough.
I've asked the contenders to meet me
at London's largest Italian food hall, Eataly.
Wow. Oh, yes! I love this.
Oh, my gosh!
I'm making pasta since I was five years old.
I think you guys should all go home.
I need to know the person I invest in will be capable
of taking a simple idea and creating something incredible.
Right. Ladies, how are we?
Good, thank you. Good, good.
For your next challenge,
you'll be making Italy's most famous dish, pasta.
Today, I'd like you to create your own original filled pasta dish
for fresh pasta delivery company Pasta Evangelists.
Awesome. So cool.
As well as tasting amazing...
..customers need to be able to make this dish at home.
OK. OK.
So tomorrow you'll be demoing your dishes to students
at a local cookery school.
OK. Here's the final bit of good news.
They have agreed to sell their favourite dish
that you guys create on their website.
Wow! Yes!
Got it?
To get on their website, a dish needs to be eye-catching,
delicious, and have a very strong story.
Don't underestimate this challenge. Sure.
We'll stay in the same teams this week,
Leah and Steph and Valentina and Victoria.
Well, this morning you're in luck, because before you start,
I'm going to give you a quick masterclass on a pasta dish
that I've had in my restaurant for over 20 years.
My signature lobster tortellini and ravioli.
In there, I've got a puree of salmon.
Next to that, I've got langoustine, Dublin Bay prawns, lobster
and some chopped salmon.
Don't overmix it, otherwise it will sort of ruin the texture.
The mix is ready. Now, pasta.
Now it's really important when you start rolling pasta,
you don't over-flour.
Otherwise you're going to dry it out and that will crack.
So as you can see, I'm just lightly flouring the surface
and then we start the roll. Now, as you can see,
each time it goes through those machines,
it's just getting better and better and better.
Now, the length of it now coming out.
So...back up.
One more time through.
So impressive, isn't it? Oh, my gosh.
Let's start off with a little ravioli first.
Take your spoon.
Fill up the pasta so it doesn't look empty.
Up and over.
The essence here now is to squeeze all that air out.
Any air goes in there, then it's going to burst.
If I'm going to go down that tortellini route,
I go into the half moon crescent shape.
Little finger left to right. Right to left.
Push round, use your thumb, push in and up the tortellini
and literally slide that off.
So we've got this beautiful little tortellini.
Right, tortellini is in.
And when it comes to plating,
simple, elegant. The hero here is the pasta, right?
This is a lemon gel that's going to sit underneath
the tortellini, ravioli. Out with our tortellini.
Out with our ravioli. Yeah?
Just a little touch of our herbs.
Oh, wow.
And there we have two beautiful filled lobster tortellini
and ravioli.
Simple, humble, but elegant.
Right. We feeling good?
Yeah. Yes. Now I want something unique.
Restaurant quality served at home.
OK, all of you, good luck. Off you go.
Thank you.
Wow, this is so cool. Kitchen!
First time making pasta from scratch.
Obviously, I'm ITALIAN Italian.
Yeah. Real, the real deal.
I am not losing a challenge on pasta
with other British people.
It's not happening. Not today, not tomorrow.
I worked in a cookery school in central London. Mm-hm.
So it wasn't necessarily pasta,
but I am really confident talking in front of people
and do the demo at the same time.
I've never made pasta before.
It is the semifinal and it needs to be perfect.
And...
This is my first go.
I want to invest in a talented future food star.
Someone that's always one step ahead.
First job for the teams...
I know my cheeses, but that one is throwing me a little bit.
..come up with an original pasta recipe.
I would love to do this pasta dish which is amazing.
It's cacio e pepe. OK. Which is all about cheese and pepper.
And we can serve it with a super light tomato sauce.
Do you think maybe we can add something like beetroot
where it's, like, red?
I think that might be visually... I think I will keep it super simple.
What I learn growing up is that
often the simplest things are the nicest.
So I don't want to add too many elements to that.
I think if we do something like ravioli, we'd have to go for fish.
Have you ever had, like, squid ink pasta? Yes.
Black ink is so fun.
Yeah. It's a risk, but I'm...
Are you willing to take on...? It is risky. I'm 100% willing.
Squid ink is really risky, but
it's going to be really appealing to people who are at home.
They're possibly a little bit bored of kind of pasta
from the supermarket.
And so they want something that's really unique.
Gee... Oh, God, I hope we win. Oh, God.
The winning team's dish will be available to order
from Pasta Evangelists' website.
So I'm heading to meet one of the founders, Finn,
and their head chef Roberta,
to discover what they'll be looking for.
Oh, hello! Buongiorno, Gordon!
How are we? Nice to see you both.
This company started six years ago
selling portions of gnocchi to friends.
They now sell over 50,000 portions of pasta a week.
How do you stay ahead of the competition?
We have lots of Italians in the business
who make sure we stay authentic.
But we believe in, you know, going with the times.
New ingredients, innovation.
What do our contenders need to look for
and what should they stay away from?
The thickness of the pasta, it is very important.
If it's too thick, the pasta always expands when you cook.
And many people don't understand.
They need to be ambitious.
They need to be bold, you know. Dishes that aren't too basic.
We always say, we don't want any pasta
that you would find in a supermarket.
No. Roberta, I have a friend that's been, you know, a foodie
for the last 20 years.
And I'd love you to show him how to make authentic pasta.
Absolutely. From the heart. Yeah?
His name is Gino D'Acampo. THEY LAUGH
And...would you give him a lesson? Absolutely.
Grazie mille. Prego.
Recipes decided, the teams must be able to replicate
these dishes in their demo tomorrow.
So in terms of elements, we've got the pasta,
the puree, which is going to just be a pea puree.
We're going to sprinkle Parmesan on top.
I was going to put it standing up to give it a bit of height.
I think that'll look really striking.
We're going seafood ravioli
with your samphire, and then maybe, like, a Parmesan crisp.
It's a stretch. There is a risk that
people couldn't create every component in the dish.
So are you doing the filling now? Yes.
Pecorino, parmigiano.
And lots of pepper.
Right, I need you to taste as well.
Do you know what? Genuinely, I think it's too basic.
I'm thinking of adding... a salmon to it.
I'm making sure I listen to Valentina, who has experience.
She's told me it's a very traditional dish, but I'm just like,
it's a bit plain.
Why salmon?
When I think about Italy, I think about...
No. I tell you right now.
You're more likely to find kind of nice sea bass
to share with your family rather than a salmon. OK.
So I'm just a little bit concerned that Victoria come up constantly
with, "How about we add this? How about we add that?"
So, you know, I think I will need to make sure
that I keep her contained.
Is that the right colour?
The teams have to perfect their pasta dough recipe today...
Does that look like black or does that look like cack?
..so it can be upscaled overnight for tomorrow's demos.
All right. Moment of truth with this pasta.
Too thick or too sticky,
and it will be impossible to mass-produce.
It just doesn't like this machine.
Oh, shit a brick!
It is so unbelievably sticky.
Maybe add a bit more flour? Yeah.
Oh, this is stunning. This is good.
This is really good.
No holes. Nice and smooth.
Mother crusher!
Mother!
Oh! OK.
I am freaking out because the pasta, it's really sticky.
So every time I run it through, it gets stuck and then it rips it up.
Arses. Arses!
This is going to be fun, demoing this!
With less than an hour remaining to hone their recipes,
I'm heading in to see how they're doing.
Right. How are we doing?
Yeah, good. Good! Thank you.
Basically, we are doing a filling of almost like a cacio e pepe.
Cheese and pepper, very basic.
Yeah. It's the semifinal.
Put your best foot forward.
Yeah. Think how we elevate this. So you've sort of...
Cheese and pepper, it's been done a million times, so lift that.
My idea is to put some smoked salmon in there.
I think you're panicking that what we're doing is not enough.
Yeah, it's a bit basic. Yes.
But we're not starting adding stuff because salmon would not work.
No? I don't think so. OK. Personally.
I can't decide for you.
I just need you both to come up with one amazing dish. Yes. OK.
Restaurant quality. Yes. OK.
Easy to demonstrate. Yes. OK.
And something you can eat at home.
That's what I need. Yes. OK.
Yeah? Yes. Yeah.
Cheese and pepper.
It's been done a million times.
If you're going to be that simple, then you need to be perfect.
But right now, it's almost like Valentina
is road blocking Victoria.
They're not on the same page. It's the dish that's going to suffer.
We have to have something that's going to take it to that next level.
Right, OK, let's just step back.
So that's...that's our ravioli. Yeah.
Ladies, describe me the dish. What is it?
So it's got crab and it's got samphire.
Crispy Parmesan. And it's got squid ink.
What's the sauce? Pea and... Lemon.
Right, so that's... And parsley.
Super ambitious idea. Yeah. OK?
A lot of stages that you can trip up on.
Remember, it's a 45-minute masterclass.
Can you deliver it to a bunch of students?
OK. Good luck. Thank you. Thank you, Gordon.
Red team. The dish sounds amazing.
Squid ink ravioli, mascarpone crab filling.
Finished with almost like a Parmesan tuile. Extraordinary.
That's a lot to execute.
One issue across that demo and the whole thing can be tumbling down.
It is ambitious, but it's about the execution.
So we need to kind of break it down into really easy steps.
In the demonstration, I think it's really important to get across that
this is simple and you can make this.
And so it will just be like, boil the peas, add a lemon, add parsley.
We'll definitely have to do that together.
I'm absolutely freaking out about doing the school tomorrow.
Because usually I'm an expert at what I'm going to be teaching.
I'm not an expert pasta maker.
SIGHS This is actually quite stressful.
I just want another couple of days to practise before I show students.
I know I can teach, but if that pasta's wrong,
then how do you come back from that?
While the red team still struggle with their pasta dough...
I just need to understand precisely what we're doing.
What would it be?
..it's back to the drawing board for the blue team.
How about we do a completely vegan one? OK.
Because it's not something that you would normally buy. Yes.
It's something that you're keen to try.
And if we nail it... Yes.
..it's so tasty that you would not expect it.
We have a dough which is beetroot-based,
so it's colourful, it's catching, it's wow.
We should have gone for beetroot at the beginning.
It has stressed me out having to do a 180 in the semifinal.
Have to get stuck in and make sure we deliver.
Get in the game.
The teams need to finalise their methods and create a recipe card,
complete with clear cookalong instructions, for their demos.
I'm making a soffritto. Because we're doing this for people,
let's make sure we've got all the measurements.
Now, let's have a little play.
Do you want me to write down some of the... No, I got it all in my head.
OK. The quantities?
You know, Victoria, she's very different from me.
She's very, like, number and precision and calculation.
It doesn't really matter, at the end of the day,
if you don't do a recipe correctly.
You want to experiment and to have fun.
I'll write down the recipe. So, half carrot...
Can we do it like in grams?
But do we want to? We'll measure it. We'll measure it. Fine, yeah.
So Valentina and I have been working really differently in the kitchen.
So let me measure the mushrooms.
Yeah. I think you're looking at maybe 30g.
OK, because we have to be really precise.
I get it. I get it.
I'm very precise with what we put in there, because I know
this is a recipe we need to allow people
to be able to make it at home.
With time running out for the red team...
This has been in the fridge.
..they have one last chance to nail their pasta dough recipe.
Ahhhh! Has it done it? It did, it did it!
Honestly, I... Are you good?
I feel quite emotional!
Like this. Oh! I love it.
Yes! High five. Yes!
Yes! I'm so relieved.
We took a bold step.
It's paid off.
Now we just have to focus on tomorrow.
We just need to make it accessible to people at the demo
so that they don't get intimidated by things.
Final job of the day...
OK, I'm going to go for this now.
Mmm... No. That doesn't look very nice.
..plate up for photos of their dishes.
Can I take some of this parsley out?
No. I need it for the background.
Can we do a few with no background just...
to get...so that we have an option?
It's just, if we got... I'm...
OK. I'm not going to agree with you on that one. That's fine.
And sign off their recipe cards.
OK. So the...the dish name is Vicino.
It's the Italian word for, to come near. OK.
It's called Rockpool Ravioli.
You happy with the name? Yeah, I like it.
"To bring the sea to you,
"this dish is served with salty samphire and a Parmesan crisp
"brought together with a refreshing pea and lemon puree."
Yeah? Yeah.
So we need to get these instructions done.
Tomato sauce to dress plate.
So passata, one tin, half a carrot...
Would it not be easy if I do this, because I made that sauce
and stuff a bit quicker?
I'll just get it done. OK.
Two fingers of celery.
Two fingers of celery... What does that mean, two fingers?
That's what you said. Yeah, but does it make sense?
I said it because I'm Italian.
Let me just put it down. I think...
We can't keep on going back and forth.
We need to get this done.
I think we've got a great description,
we've got a great set of instructions.
I could follow that and... Yeah. You happy? Yeah.
This is what I do for a living.
I make beautiful food
and I'm presenting and teaching people how to make it.
I mean, if I don't do well in this, I may as well just go home now.
We need to get this done. Right. Look. Just...
What are you doing? No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Victoria...
Victoria, Victoria, this is what I was telling you before.
This is the time when you need to understand that...
OK, I'm going to get it done.
..you need to step down... We don't have time. Victoria, please.
You really need to stop.
You're deleting what we already had on the page, ready, done.
I'm not doing this.
MUTTERS ANGRILY
Shit! Mushroom, pine nuts, garlic.
Ohhhh! OK.
Recipe...
So frustrated.
I'm so frustrated, I can't even tell you.
What am I supposed to do, to take that computer and take it away?
At that point, I have to leave.
If I start thinking about everything that could be wrong,
it's a plethora of wrong things.
It's like, no ending.
OK, I'm going to have to send this off.
Yeah, it's been a very stressful day.
Tomorrow we're going to be doing a demo live.
So we can't argue. We can't walk out.
I know it's going to be intense, so that's on my mind going home.
Tomorrow they're demonstrating those pasta dishes
live in front of students.
And that's...that's a big ask.
On top of that, it's the semifinal.
Whoever comes out on top tomorrow goes straight into the final.
Today I've arranged for the teams to host their pasta demos
at Sauce by The Langham in London.
Ohh! Look at this hotel!
This cookery school hosts over 1,500 students every year.
I'm excited about our presentation.
Before they start their demos,
a chance to check out their recipe cards.
I love that picture. Yay!
I think it looks great. It's got the peas.
It's got a knife and fork. Do you like parsley on the side now?
I do like it on the side. Yeah. I take it back.
So we've got cooking time.
This is so clear.
This is definitely on their website worthy.
Cook time and serving time?
We didn't put that there.
Did you forget... No! ..or was like a lack of time?
What was that? It was definitely lack of time.
Is the pasta supposed to be there?
Absolutely, it is.
But we don't have it. We don't have it on there.
So you didn't even make the pasta there. OK, I see.
I feel uncomfortable on putting my name in this.
This text, it's what you wrote. No, no! It's your work. No.
You literally took the laptop... OK, honestly, we need to move on.
The recipe card is full of mistake,
and she will not take responsibility for that.
Obviously, you wanted to go solo.
I didn't go solo. You stormed off.
Every time, she's either angry,
upset, huffing and puffing.
But we have to present something.
So I'm going to have to find a way to work around it.
Let's talk about how we're going to do this demo.
Definitely don't think it's a one-man show.
You've actually got a really key point, you're going to be doing
the puree and the Parmesan.
You're not worried, are you?
I am a little bit for the demo.
It's all live, and it's kind of, it has to go right first time.
I was hoping Leah would take charge of the demonstration a little bit.
I feel like she knows what she wants to do for the pasta,
but she's left it to me for everything else.
So we need to get our tray ready for our demo.
So exactly as it's on here.
I can't do it exactly as it's there. Those are wrong.
You see, that's what I said to you, we needed to measure.
No, no, no. You didn't let me do that.
OK. I could not do that. I did.
So what I would like you to do is cut them according to the card.
You mean half of this? Yeah.
If I have to listen to you, I have to put this.
You're saying "Listen to me." You told me... OK, to ask...
You need to take ownership of you telling me that. Sure.
If I need to listen to this,
they're going to die. They're not going to be able to eat it.
So why did you tell me to write down half... I didn't!
You did... So I came up with it myself? Yes!
You didn't let me do this. This is all you, full stop.
OK, all right. Own it.
The pasta delivery people are going to think that I'm an idiot.
OK. Do you know what?
Do whatever you want to do,
because there's no getting through to you.
I'm not following the card.
I can't.
It's teamwork. You can't run a business on your own.
But clearly, Valentina, that's what she wants to do.
Oh, no!
Time for the demos.
Oh, this is lovely. Cool!
In just a matter of minutes, the students will arrive
to try out their pasta dishes.
I am, like, shitting myself. I'm not going to lie.
When they come in, it's go time.
And once we get over this, that's it.
That's it. Yeah, literally.
Thank God for that. Yeah.
Great.
Right.
Do we have a plan? Yes. We're on the same page.
Promise? Yes. Yes.
I've invited Roberta and Finn to sign up as students...
Hello! Hello!
..and help me assess the recipes.
Grazie! Thank you, thank you.
Hello, my name's Leah.
It's nice to meet you. And this is Steph. Steph.
Hopefully you'll be excited about what we have today.
We've got rockpool ravioli.
So you've got crab, we've got squid ink.
We've got some cutters that make it look a little bit like sea urchins
in a rockpool.
So we had some little trouble with the recipe card yesterday.
Nothing major, just a few things that we had to change.
The main change we made is that on the chilli,
we're just going to use a little bit of chilli and not half of the chilli.
With the sauce, Valentina's going to demonstrate
to you it's lovely to add a little bit of sugar to that.
Unfortunately, we forgot to write that into the recipe card.
So that's why you don't have it. Yeah?
Let's crack on. With just 45 minutes to demonstrate the recipes...
We're going to start off by just preparing the crab.
..their instructions need to be clear, precise and engaging.
Add our mascarpone and our ricotta.
Let's squeeze the lemon all in now.
So it should start to look like a mousse.
So we're going to now work on the other elements,
which is the lemon puree and the Parmesan crisp.
Let's crack on. So we're taking our pan
and then we're going to add the onions.
Then we're going to put our carrots and we're putting our celery.
It's very important we don't rush this, like when we're cooking,
the most important things is the love is the passion we put
in the food. You have to have fun.
Steph's going to show you the steps of how to make this Parmesan crisp.
Off you go. Steph. Oh.
Um, we need to, um...
..fill your pans halfway to the top with water.
Take our frozen peas. And we're going to put those in the water.
Smile. OK?
Remember, we're here to enlighten them, OK? Not frighten them.
So we're just going to strain those peas.
And then, once they've been strained, let's get them straight
into that...blender.
Of course, you can't have Italian food without pasta.
And this is a vegan pasta, so we don't have any eggs in here.
And when this comes together, it's this amazing beetroot colour.
The blue team's demo is in full swing, but I've just noticed
a problem with their card.
Where's the method? This is the method for the sauce
and the filling. No, but where's the method for rolling the pasta?
It's not on there. Why not?
Without a written method, there's absolutely no room for error
with their instructions to the class.
OK, so now you've got your pasta.
It's going great.
The only things I can see is that you need a little bit
of flour... Fantastico. ..because you don't want that to stick.
OK, so you should be on a one now. I'm going to help you with that.
We're just going to... Passing it through.
Valentina needs to be quiet so they can hear you.
Where are you from in Italy? I'm from Rome.
Valentina? Yeah, but I'm also from Sardinia and Emilia-Romagna.
Valentina?
How can anyone hear you? Valentina? Yes? Victoria, Victoria,
we're talking over each other.
They've got no idea what the actual point is.
When you talk over each other, they're not learning anything.
The red team are two-thirds of the way through their 45-minute demo...
..and they've only just started rolling out their dough.
Right, we're going to really crack on because we want to make sure
that we get something for you to eat. Go for it!
Good! Excellent.
See, that'? Just try to catch it at the bottom. Let's go down two.
So we want to roll it out.
Shall we end it with a one?
What are you on now?
Go down two. So let's go three.
So we're going to three?
I'm at six, and now you want me to go to one?
Yeah, so we're going down to three.
So, are you happy with three? Let's go six to three.
Get your filling and you just place that right in the middle.
A teaspoon in the middle. Actually, what we're going to do now,
sorry, I think Victoria got a little bit too excited because obviously
this is so exciting. Oh, my God.
I want you to put these into a bowl
because we need to add our cream cheese.
Valentina? Yes? Put that down.
Come here. Just stand over there.
I don't know.
If you do six and then you'll know that you have something
on your plate.
The reason I'm speeding up a bit is because the clock...
How are we doing? 55 minutes in.
OK, so if we've all got three raviolis in front of us, we're now
going to put it in our boiling water.
And while that's boiling, we're going to prepare our plates.
Now for the final stage of the demo.
The presentations.
So it should be a nice, wet, creamy sauce.
Our one's a little bit dry, but no worries.
What I'd like to ask both of you, is this your best? No. No.
Absolutely not.
There were lots of things that didn't go as planned.
I might not be the best communicator on the planet.
However, it's very hard to communicate with someone
that doesn't want to listen.
So you put some in the middle, you put some around the edges,
and then, the next thing you want to do...
Is put it in the bin.
And then there you go.
This is your Vicino tortellini dish.
I'm very disappointed in how it went.
It was very difficult working with Valentina
while she's talking over me.
Thank you. Oh, my Lord.
1 hour into the 45-minute class... Clear down, presentation,
now, this is the end, this is the finale,
this is the wow factor. What's exactly on the cards, guys,
come on, let's go. Speed up.
The red team are finally ready to plate up.
I don't know whether you can sense it, but there's a sense of urgency.
I was hoping that Leah would realise the time constraints
on a 45-minute class,
having taught in a school. I think she fell a bit short
of what I was hoping for.
OK, guys, finish those plates. One at a time, please come
and place your raviolis at the front here, please. Thank you.
We ran out of time, yes. The plates were not perfect.
Jesus, what happened there?
Burst. They've all burst.
It was a lot harder than I definitely thought,
but I'm still proud of what we did.
Leah, Steph, well done.
Thank you. Thank you very much.
Whew!
OK. Oh, my God, I can't believe that!
That, for me, was like chaos.
Like, next to me going, "You've got 45 seconds."
And then I was like, "The samphire! Agh!"
Yeah, cos I was meant to do the samphire.
We took a risk, we knew we were, we were making it fancy.
We had maybe too many elements.
I feel like we did fine, but it's the semifinal, and is "fine" OK?
That didn't go great. I think we did well,
however, there were some obvious things that Gordon picked up on.
Our tomato sauce, it was too dry.
We didn't want to add the extra passata at the end.
You think that the problem we had is the passata?
You are unbelievable! OK...
I love how you're creating your own narrative... OK, this...
..to make it sound that it's my fault!
For her to tell me all the things that went wrong for her were
all the things I did! We didn't have instruction.
We missed, like half of the recipe wasn't there.
There was so much wrong there. We fail to work well as a team.
Full stop. That's the end of it. Now it's done.
It's been hard to work with her. It's been very hard.
Demos over,
I want to find out what Finn and Roberta think of the team's
recipes and presentations.
Right, let's start off with Leah and Steph.
Well, it was way too long. They've given themselves
a real challenge here. Yeah. Real challenge.
My worry at the top of this was it was too complicated.
Yeah. It started off well and then the wheels fell off halfway through.
It was informative,
but the big question for me was it didn't feel
very entertaining because it just went on forever. No. Yeah.
It was very instructional,
it was very functional, but it lacked warmth.
Yeah. It felt very much that I was at a, you know,
in a technology class back at school.
They just got too stressed.
And so they couldn't really give me the feeling of being relaxed.
Shall we dig in, have in a little taste? Absolutely. Let's have a go.
Roberta, let's taste yours.
I can't...I can't really taste the lemon into the crab.
It was just a little bit too complex.
And the hero was the pasta - that got lost in translation.
Yeah. I like the flavour of the crab. I love the squid ink.
The big question is, have they sort of overcomplicated this dish?
Are there elements it could have done without in order to make
the hero become more apparent?
It was a classic case of biting off more than one could chew.
I mean, there are some elements on the plate that could
have been forgotten so we could have gotten everything done
in a more calm way. Absolutely. Mm.
Right, shall we talk about Valentina and Victoria?
I got excited about the beetroot pasta. Yes.
When you look at that sort of burgeoning sort of sector
of the vegan... Absolutely right. ..pasta. It's a huge market.
Smart move. But when they talk over each other,
how can the class get educated?
But the two unfortunately didn't work together in a cohesive way
and they didn't show any sort of team spirit.
Could you feel that? You could feel it.
That's when it became uncomfortable.
What we were missing was half the method.
And of course, when you start off a demo like that,
"This is on, this is off, sugar here, no pepper there,"
it just got confusing. Yeah.
They were both vying to control the class.
They weren't helping each other with the guests.
And that was palpable.
Shall we dig in?
Mm. Mm!
That is obliterated.
So, the veg is raw.
You don't cook the soffritto in 45 minutes.
Soffritto is something that you do for hours.
Can you taste the smoked paprika? Yeah.
Why so much? Not in a pleasant way.
If you're going to use smoked paprika, it needs
to go in early to burn off. I know that was difficult for both of you
across both demos, but you've been amazing students. Thank you.
Grazie mille. Grazie mille. Thank you for having us. Grazie.
It's been a tough few days, and there's nothing more
anyone can do.
Tomorrow, I'll decide who will be in my finale.
OK...
Ladies, how are we feeling?
Good, thank you. Semifinal week, a big week.
Now, this week was all about being future facing.
You need to prove to me every week that you can constantly evolve
and stay ahead of trends. For your first challenge,
I asked all of you to create an amazing social-media video
promoting veganism.
Now, two good videos.
Both teams impressed the judges, but in this instance, they went
for Valentina and Victoria's efforts. So, ladies, well done.
For your second challenge, I asked you to come up with a dish
for the pasta delivery company that could go on their website.
Right, let's start off with Leah and Steph.
What stood out was the fact there were so many elements. Yeah. Mm-hm.
It felt intimidating.
It needed to be simple enough
for individuals to replicate at home. Yeah.
Yes.
The live masterclass,
it was too complicated.
Sure. Steph, you seem visibly nervous. Um, at times
you were like the sort of deer in headlights.
Um, I felt like there were a lot of people to get around and...
But, yeah, probably too ambitious.
Both of you missed the element of having fun with this.
We need the personality to shine.
I did feel like I was fun
and there was lots of banter and there was lots of joy.
And personally, in my head, I felt like I was trying to be fun.
Let's be honest... But clearly I wasn't. There was
so much to get through.
Right,
Valentina and Victoria, the vegan take on that pasta dish.
Talking at length with the experts,
they said that there are insufficient vegan recipes,
and whenever a hit comes up, it goes gangbusters.
They thought that niche in the market was a smart move.
Mm-hm. OK? Yes.
Right, shall we talk about the card?
The card I read, it was full of inconsistencies, ingredients
that shouldn't have been on there, no timings, no methods,
and most importantly, you were missing the pasta cooking step.
How is that possible?
We were sat writing the recipe card,
and every time she would not let me do,
so at some point I was physically on the laptop
and she took the laptop...
Yes, I did. ..out of my hands, and she will completely ignore me
and just go solo. Yep.
So at some point I just left. A team of two became a team of one.
She started deleting what I had wrote,
so I had to take the thing from her.
She stormed off and then decided not to come back,
so I was left doing it all on my own.
Let's move on. Let's talk about the demo.
I felt it difficult.
We lost momentum and our students disengaged.
But the one big issue we had is that you both were talking
over one another.
If you two aren't connected like that,
what the hell do you think that experience is like
for our students? Absolutely. Yeah.
I didn't ask you to become best friends.
I asked to become the best team.
I said so many times, "Let's be professional.
"Try to make business-like professional decisions."
But genuinely, I felt as though I was working with someone
who was just irrational.
OK, results.
After a lot of deliberation...
..the team that they felt produced the best masterclass,
the best recipe, and will be featured on their website...
..and the team going into my final...
Leah and Steph.
CLAPPING
Oof!
Well done.
Incredible. Pasta company said
we'll pare back that recipe slightly,
but they love the ambition, the story.
The good news is that rockpool ravioli is going live
on their website. Congratulations.
CHUCKLING
Oh! Leah, how are you feeling?
Oh, just...this relief.
I felt like it was a risk.
I'm just very happy that it paid off.
Valentina and Victoria.
Victoria, you summed it up.
A team of two became one.
Mm-hm.
Only one of you will be progressing to the final next week. Yeah.
But before I decide who that is, I want to give both of you a chance
to tell me why that should be you.
I'll see you in the restaurant. Steph, Leah, well done.
Thank you very much.
Oh, thank God. To not get into the final at this point was
just like something that I did not want to happen.
And now I'm already thinking, well, now I've got to win it.
What a relief, man, like...
I've taken massive risks, I've turned down promotion,
and now I'm here at the final.
A big well done to Leah and Steph.
They took a gamble, and in the semifinal of all times,
but it paid off.
As for Valentina and Victoria, I'm afraid they lost this challenge
the moment they split.
I only have one space left in the final,
so they're going to have to really prove to me why they deserve it.
It means the world to me to get into the final.
I'm going to fight for it. I'm so passionate. I know I deserve it.
My performance has shown that I deserve it,
throughout the weeks, I've been consistent
and I need to show Gordon that.
I'm going to stand up tall,
I'm going to look him in the eye and I'm just going to tell him,
"What do you want? Do you want someone that you can rely to,
"someone honest, someone you can trust, someone hard working?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Well, then I'm your guy.
I came here to win, and if he send me home,
it's going to be a huge mistake for him.
Victoria, take a seat, please.
Valentina, sit down, please. Thank you. Right...
What a week. Yesterday. Yes.
How did that go so pear-shaped?
I was working with Valentina, who is very irrational.
Genuinely, I ended up being a team on my own
because every time I asserted myself
to let Valentina know we need to refocus,
she would just storm off. Other times
she would just flare up all of a sudden.
So I had to manage her.
It was genuinely like dealing with a toddler.
I expected you yesterday to take control of that.
We're heading south. It wasn't going well. Yeah.
You're a passionate individual. Why not regroup, refocus... Right.
..and grab hold of a situation that was going south quickly?
It's a building up of an emotion.
It's a building up of, like... What is? ..not working together well
with the other person. Right. Did you give up?
I didn't. Even like three minutes before the demo,
I said to her, "Valentina, we have to get it together.
"Let's get on the same page."
She's argued with everybody in this competition.
I'm just slightly concerned that there's a thread about
your sort of working relationship. Why is that,
that other team members have been sort of less excited
to be part of your team?
Obviously, like, you know, I'm not an easy person to deal with
all the time. I'm sometimes faisty...feisty,
but I am incredibly honest.
I'm a super-hard worker.
I'm not just looking at your performance in this challenge.
I'm taking into account what's happened over the last seven weeks.
What I want to know is who's the real Victoria?
During the whole process, I have made sure
that I have been the person who brings ideas and takes the lead
to make sure that we win each challenge.
Let's talk about some of those wins.
Mm-hm. The majority of those wins were in teams.
Yes. There's certain times I've questioned,
have you just done enough to get through these challenges?
I definitely have more to show you, I know that for a fact.
In some challenges, I may have coasted.
I have also led and made us win.
And I've been critical in our decision making, making sure
we understand the task, making sure we have a clear vision,
delivering that vision.
And that has won it for a lot of the challenges
that I've won as well. I definitely
am not someone who's just going to hide.
I've been with you every step of the way of this journey,
and it's been a sort of tempestuous seven weeks.
I've seen you cry, I've seen you laugh.
But I am concerned to why that conflict is there.
Getting a point across is one thing, but alienating yourself
from the challenge is another.
I can get from one to ten in like in zero seconds.
Communication is definitely something that I need to improve
and I hope that you can walk me through that journey.
I'm not investing in a one-man band.
I'm not looking for a tiny business.
I'm looking to propel a business. Absolutely.
How many individuals are working alongside you now in your business?
So we have a team of four, and we are growing this business
to be a multinational brand, ahead of the trends.
But I've watched you perform in teams of two, four, six. Yes.
What I'm worried about, how the hell are you going to sit there in a team
of 40, 50, 60 individuals... Yeah. ..when you're not that assertive?
The secret behind any business is in your team. Yeah.
The foundation. Yes. I do employ nine people
that they...very, very happy.
I don't look at any of you in a business with four, six, nine.
I understand. I look at all four of you in a business with 90, 150, 200.
I understand. That's where I'm going.
That's how big this investment is. Yeah.
I'm looking for a leader.
I'm looking for someone with a prolific business
that I can invest in. The speed that we're growing at,
this is definitely a market that will grow.
It's a multimillion-pound market, if not billion.
I just can't wait for you to really come and see what the business is
because the business is sound,
I'm a sound person and, like, if you want, what you want
to have is someone which is honest, that you can rely on,
I'm that person. I appreciate that.
And if I had to work harder, I will work much harder.
You have won nearly all the challenges... Yeah.
..and you've been very business-like. Mm.
But I'm trying to understand if you really want this,
because the three women standing behind you really want it. Yeah.
I don't feel that hunger.
I do keep it calm, but I keep it calm
cos I know I need to stay focused and deliver.
I take your investment so seriously and I really do
want to work with you.
I'm just concerned that you, in amongst a big, powerful group,
could disappear, and businesses need leadership. Mm-hm.
Thank you, Victoria. Thank you, Gordon.
This was your week.
You should have absolutely stood head and shoulders
above because of your knowledge.
And you're sat here opposite me, and it was a failure,
and I'm trying to figure out why.
Thank you, Valentina. Thank you.
Hello.
Now, Valentina and Victoria, I've made my decision.
This has not been easy.
One of you will be joining Leah and Steph in the final.
And sadly for one of you, your journey will end.
The last person in the final - congratulations goes to...
..Victoria.
Thank you, Gordon. Thank you so much.
I really appreciate it. Thank you so much.
Valentina, don't you dare ever lose that passion, that drive.
But I'm sorry, I will not be investing in you.
Right, Leah, Steph, Victoria, go away,
get some rest because you've got the biggest week of your lives
coming up. Well done.
Thank you. Thank you, Gordon.
I could literally scream.
I'm so happy to be in the final.
I love that Gordon has seen that I deserve to be here.
I'm ready to show that I deserve to win.
Well done.
I learned so much from this experience.
Of course, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to win,
like I wanted to win ever so much. So, so, so much.
You did so well. I'm just speechless.
Valentina really did give it her all.
And to get this far just shows how strong a contender she was.
But if I'm investing in a business at this level, then, trust me,
they need to be the full package.
I now have three amazing finalists
and they have one shot at a life-changing investment from me.
I didn't come this far to lose the final.
I've put all my eggs in one basket with my business,
and to now have Gordon Ramsay...
..interrogating it for investment is just blowing my mind.
I need his investment. I want his investment.
I came into this competition to get Gordon Ramsay's investment
to help my business grow.
Um, so it's life-changing.
Next time, it's the final...
Tomorrow, you'll all be hosting a launch event to promote
your brand and you.
..and everything is on the line... Hey! Konichiwa.
This is our concept space.
Dip it in and then you need to decorate it. Wow!
..as they have one last chance to win my £150,000 investment.
How many products are you selling?
50 boxes. I'm thinking of 5,000.
How would you miss something like that off?
Ten years it took them. It won't take me ten years, Gordon.
I'll do it in five. Five years.
This has been a very, very tough decision.
The person who I'll be investing in is...