Original subtitles

SARAH: How good is this view? It's amazing.

DEPINDER: It's just absolutely beautiful.

It kind of gives you, like,

like a desert vibe without being in the desert.

Yeah, exactly.

ALANA: I wonder what they've got in store for us today.

BEN: Yeah. Hopefully a nice sit-down meal.

Yeah, a sit-down meal. (LAUGHS) Massage.

Yeah.

Let's clap them in. Let's clap.

(APPLAUSE)

Hey.

Hello, beautiful people. CONTESTANTS: Hello.

They definitely haven't come to cook today, have they?

Morning, all. CONTESTANTS: Good morning.

Not a bad place to start the day, eh?

DEPINDER: Beautiful. BEN: Amazing.

Here we go with this.

Behind us is the Museum of Islamic Art.

Now, not only is this museum known for its history and heritage,

but a restaurant that is creating masterpieces of its own.

I'm talking about the stunning IDAM...

(CONTESTANTS EXCLAIM)

..created by legendary Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse.

IDAM has been setting the bar for innovative cuisine in Doha

for over a decade.

And you lucky lot,

you'll be getting the chance to cook in there for immunity.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Sarah, are you loving Qatar at the moment?

I really am. I think it's so beautiful.

You know, the buildings are so modern,

but have that kind of, you know, old-world charm, as well.

Really, like, understated and beautiful and really nice.

Bit like Jean-Christophe. (LAUGHTER)

SOFIA: Understated?

So, guys, I did say yesterday, more to come.

And today, you are going to be cooking in one

of the most awarded restaurants around the Middle East.

Whoa. ALANA: Wow.

You are so...and I mean SO fortunate.

My dream is to have a Michelin star

and to be cooking in a Michelin-star restaurant.

I feel like these kind of experiences

don't come along for many people.

To have that opportunity today,

I feel overwhelmed and really, really excited.

Wow.

For this challenge, you'll be cooking up

a delicious degustation-style menu

at IDAM, inspired by Doha.

(EXCLAIMING) OK.

We're giving you 90 minutes each.

There will be a staggered start. OK.

So your dishes will be sent out to us one after another.

You'll be allocated a course,

and you'll be making a plate for each of us.

Oh!

Alrighty. Let's decide who's doing what course now.

SOFIA: Alright, so once you've got your numbers,

just get in to order.

Five. I'm two.

BEN: I'm three. One!

In this degustation menu, I'm going first.

Degustation, it's an elegant menu,

and especially that we're cooking in a Michelin-star restaurant,

that freaks me out.

Pressure's on.

So, that means, Snez, Alana, Ben, Depinder, you're on savoury.

OK. Yep. Got it.

And, Sarah and Laura, you're on sweeties!

Nice.

Now, if cooking at IDAM wasn't exciting enough,

we're giving you the entire day to get out there amongst it

and be inspired by Doha. Ah!

ALANA: Yes! Yes! That's awesome. So good. BEN: Fun.

Explore. Use all your senses.

Really take it in.

This is a fantastic opportunity

for you to showcase the architecture, the culture,

the cuisine, the energy of Qatar's capital city.

We want to be as in awe of your dishes as we are this city.

Oh, so excited.

Oh, yeah. It's going to be fantastic. (SIGHS)

Alrighty. Go forth. We'll meet you back here tomorrow.

Make sure you are ready and raring to go.

SOFIA: Bye! Have the best day! (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BEN: Wow, it's gonna be wicked. LAURA: Let's go and explore!

SARAH: Some kind of tile?

DEPINDER: Yeah, beautiful.

This is all individual, like, tile work.

Yeah. Like mosaic. Really beautiful.

It's so inspiring, actually.

I think what I'm looking for is tradition.

And that's what I want to be inspired by.

When I'm walking through the spice market,

the colour of the spices is so unique.

Like, I'm just mesmerised.

Beautiful. Wow.

Look at how open it is!

Everywhere I look,

there's incredible architecture.

This is pretty amazing.

There's the smell of the beautiful spices and food.

Absolutely loving exploring.

And I'm already getting

so much inspiration from just being here.

SNEZ: I think locations can absolutely inspire cooking.

When you see the colours, the shapes

or monuments - can definitely reflect what's on your plate.

So I'm the first course,

so I'm going to look for something fresh.

Something that's going to fit the Michelin-star kitchen.

Oh, hi! Hi!

Hope you're feeling inspired, Snez. I'm feeling good. I'm feeling good.

There's no time to waste, though,

because your 90 minutes starts now. Come on, Snez!

Woo! I'm running.

Oh, my goodness. What are all these goodies?

Let's get shopping. Oh, my God, look at this!

Here I am, in top eight...

Hm!

..and I'm cooking in a Michelin-star kitchen.

I mean, come on.

Can you believe it? I mean, I just want my mum to see this.

This place is phenomenal.

So as a first course,

I really want it to be kind of quite light and elegant

and kind of aromatic, as well.

I was pretty much, yesterday, inspired by every single site

I got to.

But as soon as I walked to the fish market,

I knew that's my place.

And that place just had every colour in the world you could imagine.

Lots of green, lots of white. Very vibrant, very fresh.

So, today, I'm making a dish, and I'm calling it Fish Market.

So I'll have a sea bass crudo,

poached baby squid noodles.

I have cucumber and mint consomme.

Today, I need to be careful not to overdo it like I always do.

My style of cooking is rustic and generous.

And I think, today, I wanted to kind of push myself

and go more elevated.

And that's what I want to do today to impress the judges.

OK.

Have a go at this place.

It's just on another level, isn't it? This is pretty special.

POH: Yeah, it's very arresting, this building.

I feel like this is where they're definitely going to feel

the weight of this challenge. Oh, yes.

Yeah. I'm keen to see

what's resonated with them. Yeah. Mm.

I'm really excited to see whether they've been inspired

by something as ephemeral as a cultural sensibility

or something more tangible,

like a piece of architecture.

I guarantee we'll get great food

because we're at that stage of the competition

where - I'm going to put it out there -

these are the best cooks I've seen in this competition, you know?

But the challenge here is who can convey that inspiration?

Yeah.

Who can convey that in a really smart and savvy way

and put that on a plate that we are going to remember

and they will remember for a very, very long time?

That's what it's going to take to win immunity today,

and it is big time now.

Where was that pantry?

Ah!

Oh!

Look at the size of that stove, huh? I know.

Alana, your 90 minutes starts now.

Allez, allez! Allez, Alana.

ALANA: Thank you.

Alana, how are you? Hello.

Hi. I'm well.

What is your source of inspiration today?

My inspiration is the amphitheatre at the Katara Cultural Village.

Uh, you know, amphitheatres, they kind of open up and have

these, you know, shows and theatre and performances in there.

So my idea is that I'm going to have this beautiful

smoked eel cream sort of... Ooh.

..enveloping all these beautiful little touches underneath, so...

Surprises. Little surprises underneath.

So you're kind of wanting a little

surprise performance on our palates? (LAUGHS)

It is. It's a little surprise performance on your palate.

That's exactly what it is going to be.

Today, I'm cooking smoked eel cream

with a muhammara jam and crispy chicken skin.

The muhammara jam and the little pickled jujube,

they are the little surprises underneath.

A lot to get done, um, in a very short amount of time.

SNEZ: Where are the spoons? Oh, here they are.

OK, I wish I saw that earlier. (CHUCKLES)

Ben, your 90 minutes starts now, mate.

Thank you.

So far, I already took the fillets of the fish for my sea bass crudo.

I started a little broth or stock,

so I'm going to use this to lightly poach my squid noodles.

I'm also working on my green consomme,

so I want this broth to be kind of super green and vibrant.

This dish, it's a first dish,

and it's going to set the tone for the whole menu.

So I'm thinking,

"How do I make this dish fit for this restaurant?"

Using the flavours of Doha,

I need to elevate everything.

This dish should be very vibrant,

like when you walk into that fish market,

you get all the colours - lots of green, lots of white.

OK, I'm going to add lemon gel,

and I'm going to use the saffron

as a little, lovely oil emulsion to go around.

And that's going to warm it up and make it super delicious.

And also, I have some fresh bits and pieces there.

I feel good. There's so much to do.

I feel like I'm doing this again - doing too many things.

I'm gonna get onto cleaning my squid now.

Look how delicious this looks.

BEN: Right, let's go.

Spending some time in Doha, you know,

there's just this sort of little journey you go on,

walking through the streets,

and that's what I think I want to replicate today.

Today, I'm making a braised octopus with camel lardo,

red pepper jus and curry oil.

Yesterday, I went to the Katara Cultural Village,

and walking down the red streets there

with these beautiful shade cloths over the top,

I just was really inspired to make this dish.

I'm going to use octopus to emulate that walkway,

and some camel lardo to sit over the top, like the sails.

And the potatoes will kind of be the buildings.

I'm going to put the lid straight on this.

First thing I've done is to get the octopus on.

Get that cooking. That takes about an hour. Quite a big octopus.

I'm toasting spices to make my own curry powder now.

To win today, I think you've got to nail absolutely everything.

There's nowhere to hide. Simple as that.

Oh! Which one is this?

This one is already on.

I have, like, everything to do and zero time.

Gel is in the fridge. Pretty happy with that.

I need to finish my saffron oil.

And I also need to finish my consomme.

So really, really need to punch on.

My stock is strained, and it's ready for the noodles to be poached,

but I'm still slicing my noodles.

Oh!

I'm literally focusing and kind of going one by one,

one by one, taking my time

because I know this is going to be that...

..the crucial element on my plate.

Hello, Snez. Snez.

Chefs, how are you?

Yeah, I still have so much to do, so...

Yep, OK, so you've got 10 minutes left.

Oh, my God. Not enough time.

10 minutes to go, and I'm actually dying on the inside.

Um...

Nothing is finished.

You look a little bit stressed.

I am, actually, because I didn't realise the time,

and I still need to cook my squid noodles.

I'm really behind.

At this point, I'm really not sure

how I'm gonna make four perfect plates.

Oh, my God, Snez, let's go. Oh, my God.

SNEZ: Oh, my God.

10 minutes ago, and I'm still prepping all my elements

for my sea bass crudo,

poached baby squid noodles and cucumber and mint consomme.

Far out.

I haven't even plated a single thing on those plates.

And I need four perfect plates.

So I'm really, really struggling here.

Oh, my God, I'm so behind.

I need to poach these noodles.

To poach my noodles, I quickly bring the temperature of my broth

to 65 degrees,

and I'm poaching my noodles in it for a minute and a half.

I taste it. It's perfect.

Now I need to finish off the consomme

because that's going to be sitting all around my dish,

and it needs to be perfect.

BEN: Beautiful.

I've check the octopus. It's looking good.

Now I need to start working on the red pepper jus.

Today, I'm making a braised octopus with camel lardo,

red pepper jus and curry oil.

I'm planning to mimic the sort of red street

with this red jus on top,

the piece of octopus,

and these sails with this camel lardo,

which is basically cured camel meat.

Spending some time in Doha has let me experience

some great ingredients and some great spices.

I'm trying to sort of mimic those flavours

and those thoughts into this dish.

This is a Michelin-starred kitchen,

probably the nicest kitchen I've ever cooked in.

I haven't been cooking professionally

for a couple of years.

Family life versus restaurant life -

you know, the two things don't exactly line up.

Now I'm running a software business

so I can spend more time with my two girls.

Right, I need to get that boiling.

I really miss the excitement and the thrill

of cooking in a kitchen.

Look at the colour of it. It's beautiful.

The opportunity to come back,

it's like having a second chance at a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

And also, I don't want to disappoint my children,

who are so excited about me being here.

Alright, Ben? How are we travelling?

Yeah, well, well. Look at the colour of it.

It's pretty bloody nice.

So it's all about visuals and colour, especially, for you?

It's important, but obviously flavour is top.

Yeah. It's got to taste amazing.

So, what is the main protein?

Main protein, octopus. Right.

And how are you going to be cooking your octopus?

So, I'm braising it in its own juice.

So, big octopus, probably take almost an hour to cook.

So you don't want the octopus to be too chewy, yeah?

Definitely not chewy, but definitely not mushy, so...

It's not the easiest protein to get looking immaculate.

I feel like there's going to have to be a lot of finesse

in the cooking of the octopus, just to get it to a place

where it's fitting for that dining room.

Yeah.

Good luck, mate. Cheers.

Good luck, mate. Thanks.

If the octopus isn't perfect, I've got no chance of winning.

I think it's as simple as that.

Snez, we need those plates leaving the pass in one minute.

Come on, let's go. (CLAPS)

I'm feeling really frazzled.

I'm really feeling, like, a little bit of panic mode here.

Oh, my God.

Pull my cucumbers out. I kind of swirl them a little bit

so they look delicate.

I plate my sea bass crudo around my cucumbers...

..then my squid noodles in the middle.

I pipe some beautiful lemon gel around

and the other fresh garnishes,

and I finish it off with a beautiful broth.

And I'm dropping that saffron oil on top of it.

Snez, your time is up. We'll see you outside at the tasting table.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Alright. Good luck.

I'm absolutely exhausted.

(SIGHS)

It was a mad house.

But I'm pretty happy with my dish now.

Here she is. SOFIA: Hello, Snez.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Wow.

SNEZ: It definitely reflects that market.

It's fresh, it's colourful, it's beautiful, it's a seafood.

So, I hope they're gonna like it.

Snez, you were inspired by that stunning fish market.

What's your dish?

So, my dish is actual Fish Market.

So there's a seabass crudo,

lightly poached squid noodles, and also cucumber and mint consomme.

There's also lemon gel, and I have a touch of saffron oil, as well.

Snez, you might have been pushed for time, but this looks incredible.

Does it? Thank you. JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Oh, yes.

It matches your outfit.

We're gonna taste it. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

(SNEZ SIGHS)

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: I mean, look, just the presentation is sublime.

I mean, it's so attractive.

I can't wait to test it.

It's very fine-dining.

This is my first time trying one of these little guys.

A BlinQ Blossom.

Oh, they're so delicious!

Oh!

I'm so happy right now.

I feel like a little mermaid swimming through a sea garden.

You look a bit like a little mermaid.

It's just such an elegant dish to start off with,

and very befitting of IDAM. Mm.

Every mouthful was a little surprise pop in my mouth,

from the beautifully, perfectly poached squid noodles

to the tiny little cubes of sea bass.

Everything was just so melt-in-your-mouth.

And then, there was just that gorgeous crunch

from the cucumber.

So fresh, so inviting.

I kind of didn't want it to stop. I loved it.

And I think that's also what the first dish

in a degustation should do - make you want more.

Yes, yes! Yes, absolutely.

This is a symphony of the sea.

It's fresh, it's light, it's powerful,

and it's super well done.

One minute...

SOFIA: Depinder, welcome to the kitchen.

Your 90 minutes starts now.

DEPINDER: Oh, my God. I'm gonna run.

Oh, what was I doing?

I am definitely feeling under the pump right now.

Seeing Snez leave made me put the...you know, the pedal down.

So, I've got my beautiful smoked eel cream.

It's tasting really delicious so I'm really happy with that.

My chicken skin's in the oven.

I'm on to my, um, muhammara at the moment.

My muhammara getting beautiful and jammy,

and it has that lovely, sweet capsicum flavour, as well.

This is a great second course.

For me, a second course is really that perfect entree to have,

leading into your sort of bigger, you know, more meatier-style mains.

Alana, we want your four perfect plates to leave the pass

in one minute.

Go, Alana!

Got my chicken skins out of the oven.

They're beautiful and crispy.

To plate up, I add a little scoop

of the muhammara jam on the bottom of the plate.

Then, I top that with the pickled jujube,

a little crumble of those roasted walnuts.

That'll sit underneath the smoked eel cream

that I'm siphoning on top of that.

Then, on top,

the last little finishing touch

is that crispy chicken skin with the bay leaf za'atar.

Alana, your time is up.

Thank you. We'll see you at the tasting table. OK.

Hi, Alana. Hey, Alana. Here we go.

Hello, Alana. Thanks, Chef. Oh, wow.

For you, Sofia. Thank you so much. There we go.

Wow. OK.

Alana, your inspiration was the amphitheatre.

Yes. So tell us what your dish is.

So it is smoked eel cream with muhammara

and a bay leaf za'atar chicken skin.

Mm! JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: OK.

Thank you so much, Alana. We're going to taste the dish now.

Thanks, Alana. Thank you. Enjoy. Well done. Thank you.

Her whole idea was about something that has a shell on...

..and then when you go inside it,

there's all these layers and it comes alive.

Longbow for me, guys. Very long bow.

Really? Yeah, I'm just not...

I'm just not picking up what she was putting down.

So the surprise inside was definitely that muhammara.

It was super powerful.

Although the smoked eel cream was lovely,

it just didn't really stand a chance

against how powerful that muhammara was.

Mm.

We're in such a luxurious setting, and everything was quite like,

"Whoa!" in this bowl.

That muhammara is definitely the dominant flavour.

I really thought there was going to be

a lot more of that eel in there, but I did love the chicken skin.

She did a wonderful job of making that super crispy.

If I have to compare with the first dish,

it looked like this one is missing a bit of ooh-la-la.

Mm.

DEPINDER: I could use an extra pair of hands today, that's for sure.

I feel like Doha is kind of like a melting pot of, like,

so many different cultures and cuisines,

and that's exactly what I'm channelling today.

I got inspired by the spice market. Loved the vibe there.

I've never been to a market like that before.

I'm thinking of a dish like biryani,

which uses spices in so many different ways,

and I think that would be a perfect celebration

of those spices that I saw in the spice market.

As much as India is known for its biryani,

it actually is a dish that travelled from the Middle East to India.

So I think it's a perfect dish to create for the judges today.

Being in this beautiful city,

I'm drawing inspiration from the two beautiful cultures,

the Middle East as well as the Indian culture,

using all these spices.

BEN: Trying to get everything done.

So we've got the red pepper jus reducing,

potatos poached,

and then cut everything up and get it on the plate.

Time is running out fast.

Time for me to take a look at this octopus.

It's full-on, man.

I've definitely taken a risk today with this dish.

Octopus is not easy to cook.

I don't have time to do anything else if it hasn't worked.

Everything is riding on this.

Cross your fingers.

BEN: 12 minutes to go in this degustation challenge.

The cook on the octopus has to be perfect

in order to have a chance at immunity today.

I can feel with my fingers that it's feeling pretty good,

pretty well cooked.

I slice it...

..taste it.

So happy. I think it's going to be a winner here.

I'm going to let it rest in the juices a bit so it doesn't dry out,

and then let it cool down a bit before I finish it on the hibachi.

Time is running out fast, so I need to get everything else sorted

or it's not going to be on the plate - simple as that.

Sarah, welcome.

You are course five, our first sweet course.

Your 90 minutes starts now.

SARAH: OK. Come on, let's go. (CLAPS)

Honestly, this is the most incredible feeling

to be cooking in IDAM kitchen.

But I have to say, it's making me very nervous

because I definitely want to do a really good job today.

I fell in love with the National Museum,

the Desert Rose,

So, the shape of the Desert Rose is absolutely gorgeous.

It's very grand,

and it has this beautiful disc that really showcases

the architecture of the place.

It feels kind of powerful, but very feminine at the same time.

Oh, that is super hot, isn't it?

My idea is to replicate the essence of the Desert Rose,

not only the structure, but also from things

that you would get in a cheese platter,

but turned into sort of a salty-sweet version of that,

that'll bridge from savoury to dessert.

So, basically,

the base of my dish is going to be the aloo bukhara compote,

the little apricot things.

OK.

Then I'm going to layer on a namelaka,

so, like a chocolate layer over the top,

and then I'm going to add on top my camel milk mousse.

Just everything you would find in the desert.

And I'm turning that into a beautiful sculpture

that is the Desert Rose.

It's going to be very tough to do in 90 minutes,

but I think most of all I really need to finesse this,

so I think that's going to be the hardest part.

DEPINDER: Oh, my God, this saffron.

Depinder! Hello, guys. Hey, Depinder.

How are you going? Good. How are you guys?

Tell us what you took your inspiration from and what's your dish.

Um, so I took inspiration from the spice market at Souq Waqif. Mm-hm.

I am going to do a layered chicken biryani, raita,

and I've got the salan.

How are you going to make biryani, like, appropriate for where we are?

I'm going to try and make it finessed,

but at the same time, I promise to deliver it with flavour.

That is your challenge today... I agree.

..is like, how do you make biryani fit

in a degustation menu?

Because if you can achieve this with finesse and class,

it would be an absolute game-changer.

Yeah. I hope so, I hope so.

I'm aiming for that today. OK. Make it elegant.

Yes. Thank you. Appreciate it.

Are you done with this, babe? Yeah, done.

Ben, you've got one minute.

Perfect. We're good.

I'm starting to plate up.

I'm really happy with the cook on the octopus.

Is that how the judges like it? I don't know.

But the red octopus looks great on the plate.

The jus on top just falling off the sides,

being held by the yoghurt, just like the street.

I'm really happy with how this looks.

Put these triangles of the camel lardo on each of the pieces of octopus.

I give it a quick blowtorch.

It starts to melt. It looks translucent.

It really takes me back to that street with the sails above.

Perfect.

The colours are there, the shapes are there,

and I hope I've nailed it.

Ben, your time is up. We'll see you in the dining room.

Ooh! Good luck. Let's go!

Thank you.

Beny. Hi, Ben. Hello.

Hello, Ben. Wow.

Looks like you've been working hard. Uh, yeah, I hadn't noticed.

Oh, my goodness. Thought it was white. Thank you.

So if this was course three on a degustation menu,

what would the dish name be?

This name would be charred octopus with red pepper jus,

camel lardo and curried potato.

How's the cook on that octopus?

It's... I'm really happy with the octopus.

It's not a way people normally cook it,

but that's how I like octopus. I hope you do as well.

Mate, I'm looking forward to digging into this one.

Mm. JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Absolutely.

Thanks, guys. Thank you, Ben.

This is looking delicious.

I'm getting a visual representation,

even looking at that photo there,

just how he's cut that camel lardo into,

like, sail shapes, and then also that beautiful red pepper sauce

is just stained over that octopus.

I'm picking up what he's putting down.

Mm. I think it looks stunning, and it smells terrific!

SOFIA: It smells so good. Let's hope it tastes as good as it looks.

Yeah.

OK, I am loving what's going on here.

The octopus is cooked so perfectly.

Like, just has the tiniest bit of bite,

but is so beautiful and succulent

and has the most light wisp of smoke.

I'm so impressed by that.

The red pepper sauce versus the yoghurt was a great play,

because that red pepper sauce is quite sweet and really vibrant,

but then the yoghurt just gives it this beautiful fat,

but also acidity

that went with every single component on the dish.

For me, it is working. Mm. Yeah.

The way he has cooked that ocky

is probably one of the best examples I've ever tasted.

It is sensational.

Like, buttery, but still a bite to it.

The smokiness of the curry leaves,

the crispiness of them against the buttery, smoky lardo.

I just think everything belongs on the plate,

and I think it's one of his best cooks.

Ben has done a fantastic job. Yeah. Ah!

Very self-controlled.

Guys, we're only in course three! Oh, my God, what a dish!

I'm so anxious about how we're going to judge this. Anxious?

I'm excited. Yeah.

Mm. You don't mind, do you?

You can have... Of course, yeah. Save yourself.

Save yourself for the next one. It might be hearty.

DEPINDER: OK. This is going to be cooking until the last minute.

Three out of four of my elements are done for the biryani.

I'm feeling really good with all of my elements at the moment.

The chicken tastes amazing. The rice is so fragrant.

The salan is coming together, the raita is already in the fridge, chilling.

I want to make sure I pack this biryani full of flavour.

This is looking good.

In terms of the course number, I'm number four,

so it's the last savoury course,

which is technically, like, the heaviest course.

You want them to be, like, satisfied,

and it kind of ties it all together.

So I'm hoping biryani does just that.

Biryani is usually like a massive plate of food.

Because it's not used to being really elegant,

I kind of have to really think about my plating

and not let them down.

This biryani, it needs to be

a dish fitted for a degustation menu.

Stressed. I'm feeling stressed.

Laura, welcome. You're the final cook.

Your 90 minutes starts now.

LAURA: Oh, my Gosh.

Two minutes, Depinder. Got it. Yeah, thank you.

To plate up this biryani, I'm going to do it

in a layered structure to make it look elegant.

I start with placing a mould in the centre.

I add some rice, some of that fried onions, some herbs,

some of that biryani masala.

I layer it with some chicken.

Yep, yep, yep.

I top it off with some more rice and I lift off the mould.

Oh, yes!

I've definitely translated the spice market

onto my plate today.

I've used spices in every single element,

so I think it's a perfect celebration of spice.

Depinder, your plates are leaving the pass now.

I'll see you in the dining room. Yeah.

Hi, Depinder. Hey, guys.

Hello, Depinder. How are you?

Thank you.

Depinder. Hey, guys.

Hello. Hello.

You were inspired by the spice stalls at Souq Waqif.

So tell us what you made today.

So I've made a layered chicken biryani

with a salan,

and then I've got a mint and a pomegranate raita.

And do you think that you have nailed a dish

that is fitting for a fourth course of a degustation menu?

Do you think that you have nailed a dish

that is fitting for a fourth course of a degustation menu?

I think so, yes, because it's like...it's satisfying.

Well, we look forward to tasting the spice market in this dish.

Oh, thanks, guys. Enjoy. Thanks, Depinder.

Cheers, Depinder. Thank you, Depinder, thank you.

It's not screaming fine dining for me.

No, not even remotely.

There has to be consideration

as to how it sits amongst all the other dishes,

and compared to what we've seen so far,

it's definitely sitting out as a clanger. Yeah.

I am going to say it's delicious, because it is! Mm.

Taking the inspiration from the spice market

and putting it into this dish, that box is well and truly ticked...

..but I just feel like it doesn't belong here.

It doesn't belong here, and I wanted it to so bad.

In a fine-dining setting,

the main course before dessert needs to be an absolute showstopper.

Yeah.

I think she's kind of excluded herself

from winning immunity as a result of that,

despite it being delicious.

I'm going alright at the moment, but the time is definitely flying.

Um, I've got a lot I want to get through still,

but there's a lot of highly technical elements here,

so, um, I also need to be really precise as well.

My idea is that it should look a little bit like the National Museum,

the Desert Rose,

and it will be a savoury-sweet bridging course,

with a dessert kind of based around a cheese platter.

20 minutes? Shit!

That went so quickly.

I have finished my date and olive compote

and finishing off my chocolate blue cheese namelaka,

and I'm working on my creme pat.

So this is camel milk

and I'm steeping it with the Turkish bread.

But I am experimenting a bit with my ratios,

trying to increase the fat levels in this,

because camel milk has a lot less fat

than what a regular cow's milk would.

Oh, God. I'm not going to be able to do this.

I'm just not really happy with the consistency of this one.

Oh!

I don't have time to experiment further.

I'm already behind.

I need to get it chilling, ready to serve.

The pressure, I'm feeling it.

LAURA: Come on, Toddy. Please work.

Shit.

Oh, my God.

Hold that thought, Andy.

I went to the gym this morning. Settle down.

(LAUGHS)

How was that inspiration? Like, through the roof, or what?

Oh, pretty incredible. Yeah? Like, so much to see.

It actually really made my job quite hard.

What did you zone in on?

The Golden Mosque in Katara Cultural Centre.

Oh, cool. Yeah.

Yeah, it's just, like...

I think for a place that's, like, so sacred and holy

and everything's quite neutral,

and then to have this, like, incredible gold mosque

just, like, sticking out, I was just so drawn to it.

Yeah. How is that going to translate to your dish?

Uh, so I'm going to make a golden mosque with...

Sorry, what? Hang on. One more time. (GIGGLES)

I'm going to make a golden mosque...

OK! ..with golden tiles.

Um, so, basically, once the dish hits the table,

all you're going to see is golden tiles,

and the dessert is hidden inside of that.

Right. That sounds like a lot of work.

Yeah, it's so much work. What's the dish made up of?

Pistachio financier, some stewed blood orange,

fresh blood orange, karak tea gelato on top.

And then you're going to have the honey golden tuiles

covering the whole dish.

Wow. Yeah.

OK. I'm going really conceptual.

How many tiles you got to do?

So I think that each dish may need 15 tiles,

and that means I need to make 60 tiles.

60 tiles? Yeah.

That's a lot of tiles.

60 tiles? Yeah. Oh, my God.

I regret all my decisions right now so much.

Good luck! Bye.

Sarah, how's it travelling?

Um, I am...

I have run out of time. Run out of time?

Yeah, literally. Like, you've got six and a half minutes to go.

Are we getting any desserts? Oh, my God.

No.

It's not frozen enough. Shit.

I don't really have a dessert.

I've let the wheels fall off the wagon.

You need to think about what you can actually achieve in these three minutes.

Oh! Come on, Sarah.

I'm definitely panicking.

Is that the second element? Yeah.

Is there anything else going on the plate?

I don't know. It's like ice-cream.

The tuile's not set.

Yeah, this is a very horrible feeling right now.

You've got a 1 minute 40.

What can I do? I've got nothing.

SARAH: Oh, I haven't got anything. Shit.

ANDY: You got 1 minute 40. What can I do?

I've got nothing.

Yeah. Shame.

Shit. It's not gonna happen.

This is the worst feeling, to see a dish

that could be so amazing and not have a finished plate.

60 seconds, Sarah.

Thankfully, I've got a few tuiles that are ready to go.

Alright.

I've got my date and olive chutney,

I've got my namelaka, I've got my tuiles,

but I'm worried it won't be balanced.

Sarah, you've got 20 seconds.

OK, I just... Something to sprinkle.

Just... 10 seconds.

Five, four, three, two, one.

Whoa. OK. Time's up, Sarah. I'm so sorry.

Oh, my God, no!

What the hell? Shit!

Goddamn!

(GROANS)

LAURA: That's stressing me out so much now.

Like, I need to motor.

I'm sure it's going to taste delicious.

Today I want to create a dessert

that is completely covered with golden tiles.

I am so inspired by the golden tiles of the Golden Mosque.

I don't know if they're going to get 60 tiles.

I think I take that all back.

These golden tiles are taking me so long to make,

but without these tiles I do not have the concept.

And this dish is all about a visual concept.

I just need to get one batch in the oven and it is what it is.

So what's that?

They'll get maybe 10 each.

If they're lucky.

Don't know if I can...

If I can give them that many tuiles,

I've definitely sacrificed that

to make sure I've got enough time to plate.

And I think that's the smartest decision here.

It will definitely still scream of gold.

It's going to look exactly how I want it to.

Maybe a few little less tiles.

OK. Tuile - done.

SARAH: I feel devastated walking up to the judges with a dish

that I know has not hit the mark.

I'm sorry. Sarah.

I'm sorry. POH: Oh, Sarah!

I'm sorry. JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Oh, please.

Thank you. Thank you.

I feel frustrated

that I haven't served a dish that I'm proud of.

Serving in such a grand and beautiful restaurant like IDAM.

Sarah, what was your inspiration?

So my inspiration was the National Museum -

The Desert Rose.

So I wanted it to be a bridging course,

so I did that play on a cheese plate.

So on the base we have that aloo bukhara

and olive chutney.

And then we have the namelaka,

which is a blue cheese and sheep's cheese chocolate.

And then we have our tuile on top.

So where did it go wrong?

Um, I think it was everything.

It's this restaurant. It's grand, it's beautiful.

It's a, um, incredible kitchen and...

Yeah, just...

Yeah. Pretty disappointed.

Yeah.

Don't make me cry.

Sarah, we're all heartbroken for you.

It was a tough cook. Yeah.

But we'll taste now.

Thank you. Thanks.

Thanks, Sarah, Thank you so much, Sarah.

What a shame, eh? Yeah. Pressure can do, like,

crazy things to people at different times.

And unfortunately, it wasn't her day today.

I feel so sorry for her.

Shall we try what made it on the plate?

Yeah.

That's strong. Wow!

Whoa! Whoa!

Oh!

That's intense. (WHISTLES)

That does not taste how it looks.

You know Sarah, she's at this stage in her career and her skill set

where she can actually come up with a dish idea conceptually,

and it translates really well.

And most of the time, she's so solid.

But today she just pushed it way too far.

There's so many hardcore flavours on the plate.

They are such intense flavours.

Like, I could literally eat

just tiniest dot of that mousse on the outside.

It was so intense with the blue cheese

and then the bitter almonds on top,

again, another intense flavour.

I can actually see where this was going,

but it was like she needed to take it

way to the other end of the spectrum

in terms of how much she had of those really intense ingredients.

I really love the concept.

I love the idea of the bridging course.

She's such an intelligent cook,

but I think this time she did get into her own head.

When you look at this dish, yeah,

you can see someone is quite genius behind it.

I mean, if she managed to nail this, not just visually, textures,

but also the balance of acidity, saltiness,

sweetness and so on, she would have been

probably producing the best cheese course,

including chocolate in a Michelin star restaurant,

but sadly, it's entirely unbalanced.

LAURA: They're good, they're good, they're good.

OK. Hey.

While the tuiles are in the oven,

it's time to start plating up.

I've got the pistachio financier on the bottom of the plate.

Sitting on top of that

is the pistachio creme fraiche cream.

I've got the fresh and macerated blood orange

on top of that.

A really nice, generous scoop of the karak tea gelato.

And now it's time

to start covering this dish with our tiles.

So nervous.

My tiles are baked.

I'm going to brush them with a gold lustre powder

so they're really vibrant,

and replicate those golden tiles on the mosque.

She gold.

The whole concept of today's challenge

is the visual representation of our inspiration.

And if my dish doesn't look like the Katara Golden Mosque,

then there's no chance I'm going to win immunity today.

And I think I'm only going to have 20 golden tiles to use.

I just need one... I'm just one short.

It's OK, it's OK.

Laura, you got to get that ice-cream on.

You've got one minute.

SOFIA: Come on, Laura, bring it home.

Stay, stay, stay.

I'm gonna try and use some gold leaf to add it to the dish,

but this just needs to scream Gold Mosque.

10...

BOTH: ..nine, eight,

seven, six, five,

four, three,

two, one.

That's it, Laura.

Time's up. We'll see you at the tasting table.

Oh, my gosh.

It looks fantastic. It's shimmering with gold.

And even though it's not what I set out to do

and have a completely covered dish with those golden tiles,

it looks pretty goddamn special.

Here she is. Hello.

Shiny, shiny. (GASPS)

Thank you. Wow!

Wow! What an incredible effect.

Big sigh? Yeah.

That was huge.

We're in a Michelin star restaurant today.

The pressure is absolutely insane.

Wow.

Immunity is on the line, and I want it so bad.

Big sigh? Yeah.

That was huge.

(SIGHS)

So you were inspired by the Golden Mosque

in the Cultural Village.

Tell us the name of your dish?

So this is Golden Katara.

So we've got a pistachio financier,

a little pistachio creme fraiche,

blood orange, a karak tea gelato,

and then you've got the gold tiles.

I think the flavours are there, and it looks pretty good.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: Thank you so much. We're going to taste now, Laura.

Good. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you so much, Laura.

Jean-Christophe, can you do me a favour

and pass that thing down, please? Absolutely.

'Cause I just want to do something.

This is as legit as it gets, right?

Oh, yeah. It's... That's incredible. Look at that!

That really appeals...

'Cause she's used that texture on the silpat

to make it look similar to the tiles.

Yeah. Let's do it.

Allez. Mmm.

Wow.

(EXCLAIMS)

This is such an exquisite expression of everything I've tasted in Doha.

But pared back, refined.

Absolutely suited to this gorgeous setting.

I loved it.

That financier in the middle,

which was nice and sort of chewy, squidgy, fudgy.

And it's got that beautiful hum of cardamom,

all those warm spices.

But the execution of what she was inspired by

was just, I think, flawless.

Like, I look around and this dessert could be on the menu

and you would not blink an eye.

Yeah.

For me, the beauty of the cardamom in the karak tea ice-cream or gelato

versus that real sharpness

of those slightly caramelised blood oranges,

and then the pistachio financier,

that was like...

That is Doha right there. Yeah. Yeah.

She's gone to another level

and now she has made our decision so tough.

So much harder. Yeah.

And this is what it's all about.

I mean, it is dramatic.

It's not a mirage.

It's an assemblage of Arabian treasure.

With a challenge like this,

we were expecting something extra special.

And what you gave us, that was absolutely unforgettable.

The standard of cooking today, it was exceptionally high.

If we could pick two winners, then our decision would be easy.

Laura...

..and Ben.

ALL: Oooh!

Guys, your dishes...

..they were unbelievable.

Both of you should be so proud of what you put up today,

but one of your dishes,

it ticked all our boxes.

It embodied the depth of this city,

the sophistication of this restaurant,

and the skills of a MasterChef veteran

who is back to win.

It was made by...

..Ben.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Well done!

Well done. Good job.

(SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)

CALLUM: Congratulations, mate.

ANNOUNCER: Tomorrow night...

SOFIA: Bring us a business class-worthy dish

to win a business class seat for the flight home.

..the stakes are sky-high...

DEPINDER: I would love to win this immunity

And it would be amazing to fly business class back home.

..for their last chance at immunity in Doha.

You do realise

that whoever doesn't win this challenge

is going into a cook with only four people in it,

which means we're going to lose one of the girls.

SARAH: I'm so stressed, I don't know what to do.

Captions by Red Bee Media