Original subtitles

It's the battle for the ultimate culinary prize.

60 of the country's best home cooks...

I need to stop shaking.

..all with their hearts set...

Not really sure what I'm doing.

Flaming brilliant.

..on the coveted MasterChef trophy.

This is the sort of stuff that dreams are made of.

That is a cracker of a job.

This is absolutely banging.

Yeah!

Each week, 12 extraordinary amateur talents...

..battle for a place...

Yum, yum, yum. Wow, that's hot.

..in the quarterfinal.

I think it's delicious.

This is a revelation. Congratulations.

But only the best can earn their passports

to the ultimate cookery showdown.

A British culinary icon is just

about to enter the MasterChef kitchen.

Are we ready for this?

Concentrate.

I cannot stand it.

I like it. I love it.

21 years of MasterChef

and every year our expectations get higher and higher.

Light the stoves, get yourself a clean apron.

Let's find some talent.

The MasterChef heats continue,

and these passionate home cooks all think they've got what it takes

to become MasterChef champion.

But at the end of today,

only three will make it through to the quarterfinal.

To actually be here is amazing.

Excited like a kid in a sweet shop.

I thrive on pressure.

I love the adrenaline rush.

It feeds me.

I am definitely a competitive person.

I don't want to lose!

Welcome to the MasterChef kitchen.

We want you to indulge in your passion for cookery.

For all we know,

this year's champion could be in front of us.

This, your first round, we call Basic to Brilliant.

We want you to cook for us an everyday basic ingredient

and elevate it to something truly majestic.

Make it the star of the show.

At the end of this, Gregg and I will choose our two favourite dishes

and the people who have cooked those will get themselves an apron

and go straight through the next round.

The rest of you will need to cook again.

One hour, 20 minutes. Give it everything you've got.

Let's cook.

Feeling good.

I'll say that now and it'll be, like, famous last words.

I just want to sort of show what I can do.

And hopefully John and Gregg will enjoy it.

Hong Kong-born Aileen ran weddings and events in luxury hotels

before moving to the UK two years ago,

and is passionate about an East meets West style of cooking.

I've lived in Canada, Beijing, Shanghai,

Hangzhou and Bangkok for a while and

that opened my door to all these cultures.

So I'm so excited for John and Gregg to try my food.

Aileen, why are you here on MasterChef?

Well, it's always my dream.

I love cooking and back home in Hong Kong,

we don't have MasterChef.

So now I'm in UK, like, yeah, of course I have to try.

What's your basic ingredient, please?

Short ribs. Because those are my kids' favourite.

I always cook beef once every week.

So my dish is braised short ribs with some soy sauce

and some chilli bean paste on top of a crispy rice cake.

And then confit tomato and fennel.

The fennel and the confit tomato seems

like European ingredients to me.

What does this say about you, this dish?

A fusion, not a confusion.

Brilliant.

We're getting braised short rib

cooking in a pressure cooker with soy sauce,

star anise, and lots and lots of cinnamon.

It needs to be lovely and soft, full of flavour.

With that, we're getting a bon bon made from our short rib.

We've got bok choy,

we've got little carrots

with this braised short rib and this little tiny rice cake.

Fascinating.

But does fennel and confit tomatoes

go together with these Asian flavours?

20 minutes gone.

20 minutes gone? It seems like it's only two minutes.

Project manager Trevor spent his childhood travelling

the world with his dad's job and has

a large repertoire of dishes

showcasing his international food knowledge.

It's always been a passion of mine,

serving great food for friends and family,

doing the entertaining

and just seeing everybody have a really great time.

I like to experiment a lot

and to sort of keep up with current trends.

Trevor, what is your basic ingredient?

The onion. Why the onion?

Well, it's so versatile.

You can have it in savoury, sweet dishes.

There's so many different varieties. OK.

Good for you, good for you. What's the dish, please?

So I'm doing a posh sausage casserole with onion three ways.

A shallot puree...

I'm doing onions with a red wine jus,

and then I'm doing baby onions

glazed with a little bit of masala vinegar.

What sort of cook are you, would you say?

I like the sort of the gastronomic side.

So the experiments and using sort of spherification...

You want to be like a fine dining cook?

I do, but I don't quite have the skills yet.

Struggling with fine dining plating with these big sausage fingers.

Wow, what a great idea.

Onions in three different ways.

So the sausage casserole,

dauphinoise potatoes and baby carrots.

I'm hoping the shallot puree doesn't get lost amongst

all those sausages and onion gravy.

32-year-old Hazel has fond memories

of cooking with her family as a child.

Formerly a creative producer in fashion,

she now runs the home and is a full-time mum

to her one-year-old daughter.

Since becoming a new mum,

I feel like I have been on repeat in the kitchen,

doing the same things, not being as inventive.

So I want to start doing things for myself again

and I want to start believing in myself again.

My basic ingredient is tinned cannellini beans.

I love cannellini beans. OK, great. Love them.

What's the dish, please?

So it is burnt leeks with creamy cannellini beans,

pan-fried cod with crispy bacon bits,

a leek vinaigrette and a Parmesan tuile.

How much does cooking mean to you?

Before having my baby, I was a lot more of an adventurous cook.

When you've got a little baby pulling at your ankles,

you don't have a lot of time to make something delicious.

So I want to get back to the passion that I had before.

Tinned cannellini beans are cooked already.

They are quite bland, so she needs to flavour them,

but she's using cream

in her mixture, which can become quite sweet.

With that, we've also got a leek vinaigrette which is quite sharp.

Balance is important.

I feel like maybe I've got the flavour of the beans

down a little bit better in practice,

but hopefully they like it.

You've got 30 minutes, everybody.

Looking good.

Vocational trainer Sam grew up in the north of Thailand

and has lived in the UK for nine years.

He dreams of one day showcasing

the spicy flavours of his heritage in his own Thai restaurant.

Sam's ingredient choice is a pork shoulder,

cooked in a pressure cooker with some fish sauce,

some soy sauce, star anise and cinnamon.

It needs to be almost falling off the bone,

but in quite big pieces, and a good amount of chilli heat.

This could be delicious.

I want to show John and Gregg some Thai twists in my food.

Many other country influenced with Thai food as well.

Like sometime Thai mix with Chinese.

So that's my strength, I believe.

It's a lovely sweet smell coming from that pool.

Where did you learn to cook?

With my grandma.

But half of it is me.

Self-taught when I was moving to the UK

because some of the Thai food, I cannot get it anywhere.

So I have to learn to cook it myself.

Why did you come to the UK?

Fell in love. I have a partner here.

Oh, good for you.

Global development director Marcella was born

to Persian and Mauritian parents

and wants to create a family cookbook,

capturing the multicultural recipes she grew up with.

My basic ingredient is rice

and I'm making a Persian tahchin.

It's a really special Persian rice dish.

It's so heavily influenced with

the spices of Iran and it's a real showstopper.

Smells good.

You'll see rice in three different ways.

The bottom should be crispy.

And then a layer of, like, baked rice

with, like, eggs and saffron.

And then you should have, like, traditional fluffy rice.

And it kind of looks like a cake.

Whoa! Yeah.

What's going with this rice?

A Persian chicken stew.

Who's Persian? Mum or Dad? Mum.

My mum is one of three sisters who are all ridiculously good cooks.

With this rice dish, she's got barberries,

almonds and pistachios, as well as

different spices like cumin and cardamom.

We cut into it, we should get definite layers.

Oh, she's looking good. Yeah.

I hope we get this whole tahchin on a plate and not broken apart.

Three minutes, everybody.

Three minutes.

This should be all right.

I just want to make sure that they're actually cooked,

which they are.

You've got 60 seconds to finish your plate.

I'd like to think I'm good for an apron, but we'll see.

Don't know what everyone else is doing.

That's it. Your time's up. Everybody stop.

Hong Kong-born Aileen is showcasing beef short ribs braised in a chilli,

soy and star anise sauce on a crispy rice cake

and boiled carrots, with a beef dripping crumb,

confit fennel and tomatoes, bok choy

and a short rib bon bon.

That short rib could do

a little bit more cooking so it falls apart.

You've got to chew it quite a bit,

but there's a really lovely flavour

of beef coming from those beef fat breadcrumbs.

They're really crispy and slightly salty.

And with that rice cake - delicious.

That sauce is lovely.

There's a sweet spiciness to it.

There's a hint of aniseed to it as well.

But the tomatoes and the fennel feel like Provence or Italy.

And then all of a sudden I'm in a part of China.

I'm struggling a little bit to marry them.

My confidence has been shattered a little.

But the judges' comments give me a good indication

of what type of fusion is actually confusion. So, yeah.

Project manager Trevor has served onion three ways

in a sausage casserole,

red onions braised in red wine,

glazed baby shallots in sherry vinegar,

and a shallot puree with dauphinoise potatoes,

baby carrots, parsnip crisps and a red wine sauce.

I think that shallot puree is fantastic.

It's lovely and creamy and rich.

It's velvety soft.

The sausages are cooked really well.

Red onions across the top - lovely and slippery.

This is for me what taking basic to brilliant is all about.

Good on you.

Your little onions cooked in sherry - got a bite to them.

Nicely made sauce.

And it is fruity.

Potatoes need to go a bit softer.

But I admire your ambition

and you're showing a fair bit of technical ability.

John and Gregg tasting my food was a dream come true.

Done everything I could, so I'm very happy.

Homemaker Hazel has cooked cannellini beans

in a burnt leek and cream sauce with

a leek vinaigrette topped with pan-fried cod,

crispy bacon and a Parmesan tuile.

Hazel, I think you've got some really lovely ideas here.

Really wonderful sharpness of that leek vinaigrette.

Little bits of salty bacon and the sweet leeks running through it.

But the cream I find very rich.

The beans are rich anyway.

I think probably a little bit less cream

so that it's not quite as rich.

I love cannellini beans.

You've cooked yours really well.

Just slightly over on my fish.

It's just got that little bit of chew to it.

I don't know if it's the validation that I need still,

but I'm going to persevere and just hope to do better.

Vocational trainer Sam has cooked his basic ingredient,

pork shoulder, in soy, star anise,

ginger and cinnamon, and served it with jasmine rice,

crispy shallots, pak choi and a chilli sauce.

The pork shoulder is melt in your mouth.

It has real saltiness from the soy,

the richness of that star anise and cinnamon

with a little bit of ginger and onions in there.

And then you get the surprise of your chilli sauce,

which is wonderful.

I think that's really fantastic.

Your rice is light and fluffy.

Those crispy shallots across the top

are giving a little bit of bitterness.

And that pork is nothing short of majestic, Sam.

Thank you.

I was very nervous, but hearing that feedback,

I was wanting to cry.

They're loving my food, so super happy and really chuffed.

Using rice, global development director Marcella

has cooked a Persian tahchin.

Layers of crispy baked and fluffy saffron rice

with caramelised onions,

pistachios, almonds and barberries

served with a chicken and tomato stew

and a cucumber and mint yoghurt dip.

Your tahchin, it's all collapsed, which is a shame,

but let's see how it tastes.

You've really captured the flavours of Persia here.

Sour, sharp barberries, nuttiness of the pistachios.

And then this almost rice pudding mixture

with rich saffron

that whacks you right in the back of your head.

You've used rice very, very well.

I think your rice is lovely.

Oh, thank you.

It's properly crispy as well.

Your chicken's cooked really nicely.

There's almost a citrus of sumac running through there.

And then the neutral yoghurt on the side.

I think it's a good dish.

Obviously my rice collapsed,

but I'm glad that they like the flavours

and that came through

and that I managed to get a crispy bottom.

Quite proud of that!

Well done, all of you.

That was a pretty good standard, and lots to admire.

However, we have to pick just two favourites,

which we have done.

The first person getting a MasterChef apron

and going through to the next round is...

..Sam.

Yes!

Congratulations. Thank you.

Very good indeed.

The second person getting an apron...

..Trevor.

Oh, wow.

Good on you.

Come and collect your aprons, please.

Well done.

Thank you. Well done.

Thanks very much. Well done, you.

Yes!

Well done. Brilliant work.

Thank you. Amazing. You too.

I cannot believe I got through the first round.

It was a big surprise and a big shock.

But it's just the best day of my life at the moment.

It's just unbelievable.

I actually got my apron!

So, so happy.

Making me believe in my food more.

So, hopefully I will go far in this competition.

You may be disappointed, but you have got a job to do.

You've got to cook your way into a MasterChef apron.

In front of you all there is a box,

and inside that box, there are three common ingredients.

Could you please reveal your ingredients?

Oh!

Tin of sweetcorn,

a tin of ham

and a tin of pineapple.

And we would like you, please,

to cook for us a dish using either one, two,

or all three of those ingredients

alongside anything you want from the larder over there.

Sweet or savoury.

You'll have 45 minutes to cook us a dish.

Two aprons up for grabs.

Off you go.

It's a bit nerve-racking, but I hope I could make it work.

This will tell us a lot more about our cooks. Mm.

Can they think on their feet?

Are they able to take a tin from the cupboard

and cook something truly delicious?

Chicken and sweetcorn soup.

Pineapple fritters and pineapple chips

and a fried egg and I'd be really happy.

I feel like I have a clear idea, so I'm going to run with it.

Yeah. Hopefully it pays off.

I'm going to try and use all three ingredients.

I'm going to make a ham and sweetcorn mushroom pie,

and maybe use some of the pineapple to make,

like, a sour-y sweet cabbage.

Have you had pineapple and cabbage before?

No. OK. Interesting.

But I love a pie.

And then going to do a white sauce with it.

Like a creamy, cheesy white sauce.

And then put some puff pastry over the top.

Wow. How determined are you to get yourself an apron?

Yeah. Pretty determined.

Everyone's very good, so it's hard to tell,

but excited to give it another shot.

A ham and sweetcorn pie. I think that's a nice idea.

I'm not at all convinced about cabbage and pineapple.

It's slightly scaring me.

But she's cooking the cabbage down

like red cabbage you'd get at Christmas.

So pineapple should work OK for a little bit of sweetness.

Just a complete experiment.

Just got to hope that it works.

We are halfway.

Hazel, in the last round,

your basic ingredient was a tin. Yes.

A tin of cannellini beans.

Are you a cook at home who uses tins quite a lot?

I suppose so. I suppose I am, yeah. They are a good staple.

My brother actually used to eat Tin Town quite a lot, to my horror.

Why to your horror? It doesn't look appealing to me.

But I'm going to make spiced ham with egg fried rice,

smashed cucumber salad and some soy mushrooms.

I'm going for a little bit of an Asian influence.

Yeah, little donburi bowl, sort of.

Egg fried rice is something I make at home quite a lot.

If I don't have a lot of time and I need a quick, easy meal,

that's one of my go-tos.

And then I will just add whatever I've got in the fridge to that,

for a little bit of variation. Oh, great.

The donburi bowl, a rice bowl eaten around Asia

with lots and lots of different toppings across the top.

I think that's a really good idea.

Tinned ham's got quite a bit of fat in it,

and it should go crispy, like minced pork.

More ginger.

It's better than I thought.

Aileen, what ingredients have you chosen from the box?

Tinned ham and pineapple,

so I'm making something along the line of a sweet and sour pork.

Are you using the juice from the pineapple tin?

Yes, for my sauce, and also raspberry.

Have you used raspberry in a sweet and sour sauce before?

Never, but I think the taste makes sense

to be in a sweet and sour sauce. But I've used tinned ham before.

My kids actually love it. But usually I make it

in, like, a Korean way, because in Korea,

this kind of luncheon meat is huge.

We're going to get that tinned ham with a batter around the outside,

which she's going to deep fry, so it goes nice and crispy,

with a sweet and sour sauce and rice.

That's a Chinese takeaway. That's absolutely fantastic.

Gosh, it's sticking! OK.

The juice from a tin of pineapple, reduced with some tomato,

makes a brilliant sweet and sour sauce.

I don't know about adding raspberries.

Two minutes. Food on plates, please.

Very stodgy. It's not the best, but it'll have to do.

We've got a pie!

That's it, stop! Everybody stop! Well done.

NARRATOR: Using all three ingredients,

Marcella has made a tinned ham, mushroom and sweetcorn pie

with braised red cabbage and pineapple on buttery mash.

That's a really good pie. It's really thick and gooey,

and I can clearly get the saltiness of that tinned ham you used

and the crunchy sweet of sweetcorn.

I understand where the pineapple and red cabbage came from.

It's not outrageous, but I probably wouldn't finish it.

A rich, warming pie, creamy bechamel sauce,

the crispy pastry across the top being buttery and soft,

all really well seasoned,

and the taste of winter with red cabbage and pineapple.

It's sort of a bit unusual, but the cabbage is cooked very, very well.

I think that's great.

Really happy with the comments on the pie.

But next time, leave pineapple well alone from cabbage.

Choosing the tinned ham and pineapple,

Aileen has served deep-fried battered ham in a pineapple

and raspberry sweet and sour sauce with boiled rice and wild mushrooms.

The use of the ham is great,

with a light batter around the outside of it,

so you get that texture of sweet and sour pork.

But we've got boiled rice here,

which needs more seasoning, and slightly soggy,

which is a bit of a shame.

Very good use of the pineapple to make the sweet and sour. Well done.

It is sweet and it is vinegary sharp as well.

I wouldn't know there's raspberries in there.

You can just about taste it.

But I have no idea why all the wild mushrooms are in there.

Again, it feels like we're adding something European.

Feels very odd to me.

Immediately, I went into, like, this creative execution mode.

But then, I learned that possibly less is more.

Hazel has made her version of a donburi bowl

and minced the tinned ham in soy, chilli and honey with mushrooms,

egg fried rice and a cucumber salad with toasted sesame seeds.

To crush that ham up and turn it into minced pork,

that's fantastic. Salty with soy,

sweet, but also spicy from chilli.

Egg fried rice underneath, well seasoned.

It's a little bit stuck together, but I think it's a pretty good dish.

I really like your cucumber

with some toasted sesame on it as well.

I'm tasting some chilli. Honestly, I think that's a really,

really good invention.

Thinking on my feet was actually quite good.

I just went straight in there. Somehow, I knew what to do.

I thought that was a great round.

Three different tins, three staples from the cupboard.

There was some great food, some really good ideas.

We have, however, only got two aprons.

Marcella - we had a ham, mushroom and sweetcorn pie

and then red cabbage flavoured with pineapple.

Red cabbage with pineapple - it didn't quite work,

but it wasn't unpleasant. We understood why she did it.

She tried to use all three ingredients in the box,

but it was a really good pie, John.

Aileen decided to use the tinned ham and the pineapple,

and she made us a ham sweet and sour.

Light batter around the outside of the ham.

I thought that was quite incredible.

And I really like the inventiveness of the sweet and sour.

I thought that was great.

It's a shame the whole dish didn't work because of the rice

and the mushrooms and combinations that don't belong together.

Hazel's use of that tinned ham was really clever.

It resembled pork mince.

The rice could have been cooked a little bit better,

but that ham just tasted absolutely fantastic.

I've never felt emotions like I've felt today.

If I get through, it would be a testament to myself.

I hope I've done enough. I think it all depends on how much Gregg

and John hate pineapple and cabbage.

I did have a lot of fun today, so if I do leave the competition,

it would be devastating.

Tough competition, MasterChef, and it does come down to detail.

Two of you are going to be joining Sam and Trevor in the next round

and, sadly, one of you is leaving the competition.

The first person getting their MasterChef apron is...

..Marcella.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

The second person getting an apron is...

..Hazel.

Really, very, very clever indeed.

Aileen, it's been a pleasure having you.

Thanks for all your hard work. Sorry you're leaving us.

Thank you. Well done.

A little bit sad,

but that's OK, yeah.

I stayed true to myself

and I stayed true to who I am as a cook.

I've enjoyed it. It's a great experience.

Marcella, Hazel, come and get your MasterChef aprons.

Good cookery, you guys. Really well done.

Keep it up, please.

It feels fresh, clean apron, and the one that I was after,

so, yeah, pleased to have got it.

I don't think I'll be able to wipe this smile off my face

for the rest of the day, so I'm very happy.

Let's go all the way. All the way, baby!

You have now got a big challenge in front of you.

You are going to be presenting your food not just to John and I,

but to three very special guests in the dining room -

champion from 2011 Tim Anderson

and champion and runner-up from 2013, Natalie Coleman and Larkin Cen.

There are just three quarterfinal places.

That does mean, at the end of this, one of you will be going home.

Ladies and gentlemen, one hour, 15 minutes, two courses.

Make it fantastic. Let's cook!

I think this competition is helping me figure out not only

who I am as a cook, but also who I am as a person.

I'm passionate and I do cook with intent,

and the intent is to please.

Hazel. Yes. You've got three guests in the dining room

and you need to cook for us two courses.

What are you going to cook for us?

I am making Moroccan spice rack of lamb with a parsnip puree

and a fig and red wine sauce. Been to Marrakech a few times

and I love their food over there.

So I've taken classics like cumin, ginger, paprika,

mixed them all together into a nice rub.

Figs and red wine. Why figs?

My mum grows figs at home

and they're one of my favourite fruits.

And Moroccan cuisine - there's usually quite a lot of,

like, dates and sultanas and things like that in their cooking.

So I wanted a sweet element,

and they were to hand in the garden, so...

I love a rack of lamb, but it scares me.

Don't want it underdone -

I want beautifully browned

and crispy on the outside and pink in the middle.

Sweet figs and lamb, I think, work very, very nicely.

But that red wine sauce needs to be reduced down

so it goes nice and sticky.

Otherwise we've got almost like a red wine and fruit puree.

One of my favourite desserts is a creme brulee.

But to give some continuity,

I'm adding some cardamom and vanilla into it.

Wow! You're up against it, aren't you?

I am, yeah, but isn't that what I'm here to do -

push myself, take a risk?

You've got to rely upon that one singular item

in a mould with a crispy top... Yes. ..to deliver absolutely -

otherwise, you've got no dish. Yeah.

I've never faulted so far, so...

..let's hope I don't fault now!

Cardamom and vanilla spiced creme brulee. What a beautiful thing.

As long as you actually can infuse that milk with the cardamom flavour.

She's going to have to bake that custard really gently

so that she gets that custard to set properly.

We don't want liquid custard -

we want firm custard we put our spoon through.

Sam's first course is a Thai-style beef salad.

He's got a ribeye.

And then mixed with that ground roast rice

to make a really rich dressing.

Roasting rice, grinding it down

will get the flavour almost of peanut.

He's got fish sauce, he's got palm sugar,

he's got some chillies, he's got chilli oil.

Sweet, sour, salty and hot.

He's got to get that balance absolutely right.

For my main course I'm doing

a chicken khao soi with chicken thighs,

coconut broth and my own noodles.

Some big exciting flavours here. Yeah. You've got three guests

in the dining room who know nothing about you. Yeah.

What sort of impression do you want to make on them?

I want to take you around Thailand with my food styles.

So, with the last round, I did the southern dish.

This one is northeast, which is where I grew up, where I came from.

Thai food is not just tom yum, green curry or red curry,

so there's so many different Thai foods out there

that hopefully they will be able to see that through my food

that I'm serving them today.

You got off to a very good start. Thank you.

Has that put you under pressure? How do you feel?

I'm super happy,

but the pressure is definitely on, and hopefully I can continue.

Khao soi. This noodle dish is so famous in northern Thailand.

Noodles in a broth made from coconut,

red chillies and chicken all cooked together.

Then on top of that,

there should be raw shallots and crispy noodles.

15 dried red chillies.

Seeds in, seeds out?

Seed in. Seeds in?! Yeah.

Whoa-ho!

Going to be spicy.

In an hour and 15 minutes, he's got a lot of work to do.

I practised the dish at home.

I'd gone slightly over time, but hopefully I can manage it today.

My style of cooking

is always quite, like, large and wholesome and hearty,

but I really want to show in this next round

that I can finesse my food.

Marcella, what are you making for us, please?

Roasted lamb with a Middle Eastern spice rub.

So cumin, coriander, a little bit of cinnamon and sumac.

Buttery mash, bejewelled cabbage and a pomegranate juice.

What's bejewelling the cabbage? Tell me it's not pineapple.

It's definitely not pineapple! It's pomegranate. What is dessert?

A lemon basil posset

with a raspberry coulis

and a pistachio brittle.

What is it about these two courses?

I love a Sunday lunch.

And for me, like, it just brings everyone together

and it's a chance for everyone to just, you know,

have some good time over some good food.

And I love anything where I can

put some sort of extra oomph of flavour into it.

And I thought maybe after having some lamb,

might need something a little bit...

..lemony and zesty to sort of digest everything.

This is Persia meets Britain.

Well, that is Marcella's story herself, isn't it?

Spiced Middle Eastern lamb leg, which she's roasting

with pomegranate and pomegranate molasses.

Pomegranate, see, when you bite into it, releases a huge

amount of juice into your mouth.

With mashed potato, that's a little bit odd.

You have got a great big smile on your face.

You seem really at home here. Yeah.

You've cooked for us twice before. Nerves?

Any nerves at all? Oh, yeah. There's nerves.

Um, for me, a big part of it is getting that lamb cooked

because I'm worried it's a big bit of meat,

um, but hopefully it will.

Dessert is a basil and lemon posset.

Basil going through it - that's fine by me - a little bit of aniseed.

But it can't be too much that it becomes

almost like antiseptic on our tongue.

Going straight through was a great feeling, and then

all the nerves start to build back up again.

But John and Gregg have probably seen a competent cook...

..a cook that knows his food,

and hopefully they'll continue to see that in the rounds to come.

So are you happy to be here? I'm ecstatic to be here.

It's a dream come true. We loved your last round.

Sausages, onions, potatoes - gave us a glorious-tasting dish.

To me, that sounds like you're quite a classic cook.

Are we going classic in these two courses?

Yes, we are, yes. Fantastic, Trevor, what are your two courses?

What are you making for us?

So I'm doing sous-vide venison with a treacle and balsamic glaze,

wild mushrooms and cream, fondant potatoes and Madeira jus.

Do you have a water bath at home? Yes, I do.

I thought you might. What's the appeal?

It's another way of cooking, really. That's the key thing for me.

It's just...

It's another string to your bow that, if you've got it...

I'm no expert in it - that's why I'm here -

but it's just something else that can add

a different dimension to a way of cooking

that is not normally available to you.

Trevor's going through some quite complex technique,

but he has put balsamic vinegar

and treacle over that meat.

That is intense sweetness.

Hopefully, because it's only on the outside of the venison,

it's just a little touch of it.

Dessert, I'm making a panna cotta with ginger and lemongrass,

with a passion fruit and mango gel,

served with a biscuit crumb.

Wow! Water baths, gels.

Yeah. I love the fact you've got this enthusiasm.

Who at home has been tasting these dishes as you're cooking?

My wife, Jo. What's Jo think of these dishes?

She loves them, and we've eaten a lot of them,

and she's a great believer in these.

We've only got three quarterfinal places.

How do you feel about that?

May the best people win.

Panna cotta with the flavour of ginger and lemongrass.

Ginger - yeah, I get that.

Lemongrass is far more subtle.

In a short space of time, he's got to be able to infuse

that sweet lemon flavour into that cream - that's not easy.

You've got ten minutes. Hazel...

..you doing well on time?

I'm doing OK. Good.

I was running a terrible, dirty pub before MasterChef,

and now I'm travelling to Japan, writing cookbooks for a living.

It's been something I've wanted to do my whole life,

and MasterChef has really made that happen.

I know I was crying my eyes out when I was at this round.

It's quite nerve-racking.

Being ambitious is good because it pushes you,

but not too complicated

because otherwise it could end in tears.

Every year, the standard just keeps getting better and better.

I'm expecting big flavours,

great presentation, and a lot of their personality on the plate.

Cheers. To the contestants!

TIM CHUCKLES

Nice. Nutty.

You got three minutes on this now, Hazel... Yes. ..please.

So Hazel's cooking a Moroccan spiced lamb rack.

OK, I'm going to start with this one.

I want it very, very nicely pink. Mmm.

Eeeh... The way you want it? Not exactly, but...

Is the sauce going on the plate or just in the jug?

Sauce is going in the jugs. OK. We should be going now, Hazel.

Yeah.

This fig and red wine sauce sounds delicious,

but I'm curious about how it's going to be texturally.

It is going to have bits of fig seed in it?

Is it going to be nice and smooth and well reduced?

Right, so you've just left the figs in and then strain it off?

OK. Yes. Right. Correct.

I'm impressed.

Well done. Thank you. Good job.

Hi! Hello. Hello.

Hazel's main course is a rack of lamb

spiced with cumin, ginger and paprika

on parsnip puree

with grilled baby courgettes,

pea and mint puree,

and a fig and red wine sauce.

Thank you. Thank you.

She's cooked the lamb really well.

You get a nice sort of after-warmth,

like, spicing.

And her mint and pea puree is definitely minty. Mmm.

I think, for this level of the composition,

she's absolutely smashed that out of the park.

The sauce, really nice and glossy and is perfect thickness.

I was worried about this being a little bit too sweet,

um, and a bit too rich,

but actually it's really well balanced.

The fig is subtle, but it's definitely there.

It really eats well.

I find that nothing short of superb.

That's one of the best cooked racks of lamb I've seen

in this kitchen for a long, long time.

Bingo. Mm. Absolutely fantastic.

Oh, my gosh.

Creme brulee is one of my all-time favourite desserts.

I want it perfectly set, not too loose,

even coating of crunchy sugar on top.

We're bruleed. We got enough sugar on there?

Um, I hope so.

BEEPING

Cardamom, not too much so it becomes a little bit too soapy.

If they get the balance right, it's going to be absolutely delicious.

That's a good looking brulee. Thank you very much. Good on you.

Happy with the texture of the custard?

It had the wobble in the middle when it came out,

so it should have set perfectly.

Hello, again. Hello.

I have made for you a cardamom creme brulee.

It's one of my favourite desserts, so I hope you enjoy.

It smells great. Thank you.

Thanks. Cheers.

It's a little bit looser than I would prefer a creme brulee,

but for the most part, it's a great texture.

There's vanilla as well. Delicious.

I've really enjoyed eating this.

I think the amount of cardamom is just about right.

I think she's done really well.

It's really comforting.

Like, you could just sort of drink

bucket-loads of the custard. HE LAUGHS

It's beautifully flavoured with that cardamom.

It's giving a real sweet scent to it.

Hazel's done a good job, hasn't she?

I feel great.

SHE LAUGHS

I really enjoyed that.

It went better than I could have imagined.

It was probably the best version of those two dishes that I've done,

so couldn't have happened at a better time.

Sam's starter is a Thai-style beef salad

with a ground roasted rice dressing.

With ribeye, obviously, you need to keep it nice and pink and juicy.

It's just slightly over for me, but tastes good,

so hopefully they'll like it.

I'm really looking forward to the roasted rice dressing.

I think that's going to be quite a nutty sort of flavour,

and I'm quite intrigued by it.

What else is going with that beef salad? Is it cucumbers...?

So, cucumbers, uh, minced on top and salad on the side.

I'm thinking lashings of fish sauce, lime, garlic, chilli -

all those big, big, fresh flavours.

Look!

Well done, Sam. Thank you. Well done, Sam.

Back for your khao soi. Thank you.

Hi. Hiya. Hello.

Thank you.

NARRATOR: Sam's starter is a Thai-style beef salad,

grilled ribeye steak with ground rice, spring onions,

lemongrass, lime and chilli dressing,

garnished with fresh leaves and cucumber.

Thank you.

I think that's a delicious plate of food.

The beef is really well cooked. It's really well rested.

It's perfect.

Wow, spicy.

The ground rice dressing is delicious.

Really fresh. You really get that lemongrass.

Every bite is a little bit different.

It kind of takes you on a journey.

In one bite you get more shallots, some more chilli and lime.

This, and, like, a bowl of jasmine rice,

and I could die happy.

I love it.

Mmm.

It's a lovely, nutty, spicy, sweet, sharp, sour beef salad.

It might look quite simple, but it's very accomplished.

"Khao soi chicken with a home-made noodle and chilli oil."

Home-made noodles. I mean, wow!

Just two minutes. Thank you.

Noodles? Yep. Just cooked.

Those noodles, I want a crunch, I want a chew

so you get that textural difference.

GREGG: Mmm.

Crispy noodles done? They look good.

I'm hoping the chilli oil is not too hot

because I'm a bit of a delicate flower.

I hope he doesn't hold back with that chilli oil.

It's going to be right up my street.

Well done, you. Thank you.

Hey. Hey. Hello, again.

For my main course, I've made for you

a khao soi with chicken thighs,

home-made noodles,

and you've got crispy noodles on there, as well. Hope you enjoy.

It looks stunning. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

That was intense. Just, like, the experience of that,

the pressure.

The idea of them having my food is crazy.

Fingers crossed they like it. It's up to them now.

Good handmade noodles are a thing of beauty.

And these are really good noodles.

They're delicate and smooth and silky,

but they also have texture, they have bite.

The khao soi -

I'm getting a lot of lime, I'm getting a lot of chilli.

I love these cooked chicken on the bone.

Gives it a natural bit of flavour through it.

He's nailed the noodles. He's absolutely nailed the noodles.

I was a bit sceptical he could do it in the time.

Delicious.

You can tell that it's food that he knows, that he loves cooking.

Got a coconut-milk creaminess,

nuttiness and the heat of the chilli.

The crispy noodles across the top, done beautifully.

Marcella, you've got ten minutes on your first course, please. OK.

Perfect.

"Roasted lamb in a Middle Eastern spice rub

"with jewelled cabbage and buttery mash,

"served with a pomegranate molasses jus."

Sounds good, but I'm not quite understanding

from the description how it comes together as a dish.

Oh! Happy with that?

Yes. I'm really happy with that.

The buttery mash feels a little bit jarred

with the Middle Eastern flavours.

OK, you have to be fast now. Go, go, go.

This is right up my street. I love these flavours.

Expect to see, like, loads of pomegranate, loads of sumac.

So I'm really excited.

Is that it now? Yeah. OK, well done.

Ooh.

I've cooked for you guys a roasted leg of lamb

in a Middle Eastern rub, with a bejewelled cabbage,

which has pomegranate and some bacon lardons through it,

and a creamy, buttery mash

and a pomegranate jus.

Thank you. Thanks.

When I get a bit of everything together,

there's a really nice balance to it.

But having said that,

each individual element has quite clear issues.

The potato has bits of undercooked potato in it.

For me, the cabbage is completely undercooked.

The sauce is a little bit thin and needs to be punchier.

I don't mind leg of lamb at all, but it's a little bit dry.

And the mash,

I'm struggling to see how it pairs up with the cabbage.

Pomegranate molasses, it's definitely sweet,

but I just think it needs to be richer.

It's just lacking.

I think it tastes good.

I just think it could be a lot more special.

The mashed potato is nicely seasoned

and it's creamy, but I've got tiny lumps in it.

I think the posset's a smart move, you know,

because it's quite a quick dessert to do.

I'm interested to see what she does with the basil.

Is there going to be an oil on the top,

or is she going to fold it through?

GREGG: Do you think you've managed to infuse the milk

with the...with the basil? I hope so.

Pistachio brittle. That can be a little bit tricky.

Not crunchy enough, or it can be burnt.

That's sunshine in a bowl you've got there.

Well done. OK, thank you. Thank you, Marcella. Well done.

Well done, Marcella.

I've cooked you a lemon-basil posset

with a raspberry coulis and a pistachio brittle.

Thank you very much.

I'm not really getting much of the basil flavour,

but I'm definitely getting the lemon,

which I'm not complaining.

I finished the whole thing.

It's just a beautiful, silky texture.

And especially with that pistachio brittle,

you get that crunchy caramel, as well, to offset the creaminess.

I feel like I've had two plates of food from two different chefs.

I think she's nailed this.

TIM CHUCKLES

I don't get any basil in that posset at all.

That is seriously sweet.

That could do with more lemon for me.

MARCELLA: I think it was OK.

I got everything done,

just maybe not in the way that I've done it before at home.

We've got a nice classic dish here.

I think sous vide is a good way of cooking the venison,

but I want some caramelisation on it as well.

Looking perfect.

Absolutely perfect.

NATALIE: The treacle, though, you don't want it too overpowering.

And obviously, the balsamic,

you don't want too much acid going through it.

There you go. We've got some mushroom in with the cream.

We've got butter coming from the fondant potatoes,

and we've got sweetness.

This is my sort of food, Trevor.

All of us probably have an idea of what this dish is going

to look like and taste like.

So, his cooking's got to be really on point.

Sauce.

OK, good, Trevor.

Can we go? Yeah.

Back for your panna cotta, please? Yes.

Today, I've served you a sous vide venison

cooked with a treacle and balsamic glaze...

..wild mushrooms with a cream sauce,

fondant potatoes and a Madeira and veal jus.

Thank you.

It looks like a restaurant-quality plate of food.

The venison is perfect. Beautiful texture and flavour.

Good colour on the outside as well.

Sauce is glossy and thick enough.

The treacle, the balsamic glaze -

I think it's really well balanced

and works well with the mushrooms, as well.

My only criticism is some of my potato is slightly undercooked.

The guy does love his classic cookery,

and he's shown a fair bit of technique.

And I love his sweet flavours.

Yeah. They're set.

The ginger and lemongrass panna cotta.

Lemongrass is delicious

in pretty much anything I have it in.

You know, he's trying to show us a lot of technique,

but the gel could go really wrong.

It might not set, or he might overset it

and it ends up like a fruit pastille.

How's your wobble there, Trevor? You got wobble? Wobble's perfect.

Yeah.

That's an eight out of ten there.

Did you manage to get both flavours into the cream?

Yeah, I did, yeah. It's exactly how I wanted it.

Well done, you. Thank you very much.

For dessert, I've served you a lemongrass and ginger panna cotta

with a mango and passion fruit coulis gel

and a biscuit crumb.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Cheers.

The panna cotta itself has a good wobble.

Passes the wobble test.

I'm not getting a massive amount of ginger through that.

I think it might have been better off just putting a few pieces,

just folded through.

I feel like it needs to deliver a bit more lemongrass,

but the crumb is delicious.

It kind of almost melts in your mouth.

It's...it's got just the right amount of crunch.

The gel is more like a puree,

but definitely getting those flavours of the mango

and the passion fruit.

I love the texture on this panna cotta.

That is what you want.

He's got the ginger. He hasn't got the lemongrass.

Because the ginger is far more powerful than the lemongrass.

The cook's gone well.

A surreal experience, and it's just something

that you just don't normally go through.

But I don't think my heart can take it if I get through

to the quarterfinals,

because the stress is really bad already.

Four really good cooks, I think.

And some really interesting food.

The dining room's cook of the day was Sam.

That beef I thought was exceptional,

and the flavours were singing.

The noodle dish was a big bowl of creamy coconut broth.

He cooked the chicken very, very well. Made his own noodles.

That really gives him the right to a quarterfinal place.

The cook of the day, as far as I'm concerned, is Hazel.

Rack of lamb with spices on the outside,

and after that, a creme brulee with a lovely crispy top.

She delivered everything.

I can't fault what she cooked.

We loved Hazel. The dining room really loved Hazel.

That's it. John, she's a quarterfinalist.

She's going through.

Trevor is showing a fair bit of technique here.

He really is. Venison in a water bath,

fondant potatoes, Madeira sauce.

I mean, the guy is absolutely going for it.

Dessert was lovely.

I didn't get the lemongrass through the panna cotta.

Marcella cooked a whole leg of lamb, on the outside,

lots and lots of spices with that pomegranate molasses.

Nice idea, but she just needs to up the flavour.

And that mashed potato was lumpy.

I liked Marcella's posset.

So did the dining room.

But you couldn't taste the basil in the dessert.

Oh, I'd love to stay in the competition.

It's really high-pressured,

but it's also a little bit addictive.

Every stage is just like a dream come true.

Getting a place in a quarterfinal

would be like the dream that just keeps on giving.

So much obvious passion and skill in this kitchen today.

Well done, you.

The dining room has named their cook of the day.

Sam, congratulations.

You're a quarterfinalist.

Thank you. Well done. Wow.

Well done. Thank you.

We do, however, have somebody we believe

to have really surpassed expectation.

Our second quarterfinalist...

..is Hazel.

Oh, my gosh.

Hazel, great job. Thanks.

Honestly, absolutely fantastic.

Really very well done. Thank you.

Thank you.

Our third quarterfinalist is...

..Trevor.

Well done. Congratulations, Trevor.

Thank you. Very good. Very good indeed.

Marcella, thank you very much indeed.

Sadly, you're leaving us.

I feel that this experience

has taught me how to be brave and not to be afraid of failure,

and how that can be a good thing.

I have really, really enjoyed the experience.

I'm really glad that I've done it.

Sam, Hazel, Trevor,

you're MasterChef quarterfinalists.

SHE LAUGHS

Whoo! Yes!

Happy. Really, really happy.

All...

All the hard work that I have done.

It boosts my confidence massively.

My cup is filled with happiness.

To be here is just the best thing ever.

Now I've got to prepare for the quarterfinals,

which is unbelievable.

NARRATOR: Next time...

Let's go. Let's do this.

..six new hopefuls compete for the right...

We will get everything on the plate.

..to wear a MasterChef apron...

I think this is quite extraordinary.

Whoa!

GREGG LAUGHS

You are the messiest cook!

..before battling for a place in the quarterfinal.

This has made me quite emotional.

It's just an inspired plate of food.