Original subtitles

I don't have enough time!

It's so nerve—wracking.

Did you burn it? Dead!

EMMA: 'Leaving the competition... Anton.'

I've loved every second of it.

We're in the semi-finals. Go big or go home.

# You can be cool, you can be shy

# Say what you want, Say what you like

# Cos your body talks... #

You are cooking for a place in the final.

Oh, God! Building sandcastles is not my forte.

Just in panic mode.

This is what I want to see in a semi-final.

That is a triumph.

# Ooh, your body talks. #

Here we go. GONG CLASHES

I'm in hell. I am stressed!

Panic is starting to set in. Time to up the game.

Yes, Josie!

We're getting so competitive now.

I'll never ever take on a dish this hard again.

APPLAUSE

Welcome to Cooking With The Stars.

Tonight the ultimate showbiz food fight could boil over completely

as our celebrities battle for a place

in next week's grand final. Oh, yes.

They'll have to be fully focused

on their most nerve—wracking night yet,

and sadly, one person will leave the competition.

This week our stars are taking us to Thailand.

Oh, great! Not literally, Tom.

LAUGHTER

So let's get going with our first battle of the night,

but whose Thai will be terrific and who will just satay away?

It's Josie versus joe.

APPLAUSE

French Week, I got too cocky. I got too confident.

A little bit of champagne.

But next week is my time to shine cos I've been to Thailand twice.

Tony Singh!

Smashed the French Week. Semi-final.

So yeah, we're going to do Thai. I know you like your Thai food.

I love Thai food. All the flavours just...

Ooh! They make love to your taste buds,

so I'm really happy about Thai Week.

We've got a fantastic dish of salt-baked Thai fish

with a sticky aubergine curry, jasmine rice

and then a hot dipping sauce.

The fish is gonna be wrapped in banana leaves with lemongrass,

ginger and garlic in between that'll perfume the flesh of the fish.

Oh, not too much then, Tone!

This dish is my most technical dish so far.

The dish is complex, challenging,

because we are baking the fish in a spice salt crust.

So you've got a bit that's not insulated by the salt.

It could overcook and dry out.

I've got to make sure there is no cracks in that crust.

If I don't, I've got a dry fish on my hands.

If she overcooks it or under cooks it,

she won't know until the judges get in front of them.

Surprise! Surprise!

The fish on his own is one dish.

We got four dishes going on here, so there's a lot to take on.

All you need to do is perfect the crust...

And we got a winning dish here.

The judges said that my French dish was too simple.

You got Judy in to roll the dough, which is all the skill.

I think you could have done more.

The person I'd like to face the Cook Off is Joe.

§0e_ he.

Ha

I just didn't want to do the Cook Off.

I've done too many Cook Offs. It's knackering.

Going through to next week is... Joe.

Oh! APPLAUSE

Well done.

Who's in the semi-finals! This guy. Yes.

What are we doing?

We're going to make a spicy Thai pork salad.

You know, just cooked to a nice pink and then sliced,

thrown on top of this really nice her by salad.

If you're thinking that's simple, simple's egg on toast.

There are a lot of spices and there are a lot of herbs

and he's got to balance all these things out.

Good? That's lovely, isn't it. Yeah.

Is that arrogant of me? Yeah, no, that's good!

I want that piece of meat to pick up as much flavour as possible

from that marinade.

He has to cook that pork at the very end.

Whoa!

I've got to get the outside sort of charred a little bit

and then the inside sort of moist. Just thinly slice it.

It looks amazing. It's rare you can get excited about salads.

I will give it my all.

Would be nice to get the final, wouldn't it? It would be.

It would be a bloody miracle. LAUGHTER

APPLAUSE

Josie and Joe, lovely to see you.

Joe, what's it like to be back in the kitchen?

You must be pretty pumped? Yep.

Really pumped. Are you all right, Jose?

Yeah. LAUGHTER

Yeah, I don't how we stay so calm.

Are you not calm?

I've got four dishes.

Joe, how many dishes have you got going on?

About seven or eight. LAUGHTER

Oh, yeah, couple of them come out on fire, so...

So Josie and Joe, as you know, you've got one hour on the clock

to prepare your dish to the best of your ability,

after which the six non-competing chefs will then judge your plates.

Yes, but remember, you do have a lifeline.

You can bang your golden frying pans

and your mentors will come in and help you for two minutes.

Very best of luck. You are cooking for a place in the final.

Stars, get cooking.

APPLAUSE

Hi, I'm ginger. I'm in one of Anton's dishes.

Come on, Jose!

Judy said don't balls this up.

She's been very supportive the whole way through.

She's a lovely lady.

I'm pretty sure we're gonna stay in touch.

I need to get my seasoning for the fish done ASAP.

Everything that I'm doing today has got to be done perfect timing,

because if it's not done perfect timing, whole dish is out.

Four dishes here. You know, we are in the semi-finals now.

It's time to up the game.

You look like you know your way around that knife, Jose. Thanks.

Very quickly, you know you are doing four things... Yeah.

Joe is just making a salad. Joe?

Emma just said you're making a salad?

Joe is making rice, a salad, pork, marinade, a sauce... Am I?

And a dressing. I love it!

Now I'm making my marinade,

which I call the soaky-soaky.

Right, six cloves of garlic.

God! Exhausting, this.

'Joe is cooking Judy's spicy grilled pork salad recipe,

'served with a fragrant dressing, coconut rice and coriander crisps.

'The success of this seemingly simple dish relies

'predominately on the pork.

'It must be rich in flavour from the marinade

'and be perfectly pink on the inside.'

BLENDER WHIRS

I'm wasting my own time, but that was good fun.

He really has to get the pork marinating,

because he has got to get that flavour in there.

This marinade will become my sauce, as well. There we go.

Look at that.

For me, this dish is similar to what these guys have done

the whole way through. It's simple, it's safe.

If they nail every element, they'll be OK.

But they have to nail every element.

I'm really challenging his knife skills here,

so, yeah, hopefully he's gonna show off today.

I just...

Oh, God! SHE LAUGHS

I've got to get this fish on because I got to have 12 minutes to cook it

in its cement and if I don't, the fish is not cooked properly.

'Josie is attempting Tony's aromatic salt-baked sea bass

'accompanied by three side dishes.

'The key to this technically difficult dish is correctly wrapping

'the fish and spices in the banana leaves and salt crust,

'so that the sea bass cooks to perfection.'

So I'm laying up this fish with lemongrass, ginger, garlic,

and I'm gonna put that head to top

and then I've got to wrap this in this banana leaf perfectly.

Oh, no, what's happened?

The banana leaf is not big enough for my fish.

I need a bigger banana leaf.

They're very fragile, these banana leaves, and we don't want any gaps,

if there's any gaps, the salt mix gets into the fish.

As long as she covers the fish and the salt's not there,

it doesn't need to be a fantastic kind of parcel.

I'm going to have to double-wrap it.

I'm meant to fold it at the ends, but the ends aren't big enough.

Gong. Here we go.

GONG SOUNDS

The banana leaves aren't big enough! Look!

The banana leaves aren't big enough! I'll do it.

They aren't big enough, are they? No, no, they're fine.

Remember, as long as it goes into...

They are breaking apart. It's OK.

Oh, my God, I didn't put the tarragon and basil on that one.

Oh, my God! Yeah, you carry on. All right.

Good job you are here, Tone. That's OK.

20 seconds, Tony. 20 seconds. Yeah.

Right, Jose, that's your fish done. OK.

Just careful when you pack it down, OK.

Tony, get out of the kitchen. Your time's up. OK.

Tony, get out of the kitchen!

Just about holding this together.

I'll never, ever take on a dish this hard again. I mean that.

Welcome back to Cooking With The Stars,

where it's Josie Gibson versus joe Wilkinson.

They're taking on tricky Thai dishes for a place in next week's final.

Pressure's coming through now on both of them.

How are you getting on, Jose?

I'm just making my meringue salt crust

while you're busy with your salad.

Well, I'll be having a lovely cook-off later.

20 minutes, you stars.

Both of them are behind.

To be fair, building sandcastles is not my forte.

She needs to put the fish in, she's not done the fish.

She's got to put the fish that's wrapped in the banana leaf

to protect it from all that salt

and then cover it with the salt crust and bake it.

You'll be amazed just the right amount of salt, seasoning

and flavour will permeate the banana leaf into the fish.

So she needs to get the fish in very shortly.

I might do a little fish design on it, see how I go,

but I'm running out of time. Put the fish in.

HE GROANS Get the fish in!

And now she's got the dish in, it's in the lap of the food gods.

SOFTLY: Oh, my God!

SIZZLING

We got a sizzle, OK!

I'm now taking some marinade off the pork

so it doesn't... COUGHING: ..burn! Ah!

Judy, you've been working with Joe, obviously.

Last week, he was criticised for doing something too simple.

What's he got to do to get in the final?

He's really got to cook that pork perfectly.

You know, we're in the semi—finals now

so everybody is looking for perfection.

The slightest mistakes, you'll get knocked down for. Mm.

Anything that is overcooked,

anything that is underdone is going to get marked down.

The pork, I want the skillet marks on the bottom

so that looks pretty,

and I want it to be not too cooked in the middle.

0h!

I think that's done. I'm going for it.

Yes, Josie!

55.

YES!

0h!

0h!

She needs to take the plate to the fish.

Take the plate to the fish.

Take the plate to the fish.

Oh, it's the fish to the plate.

EXHALES

Five minutes, stars, five minutes.

SPECTATORS: Go on, Josie! Come on, Josie, come on!

How does it look inside? Perfect, I think.

Oh, God, put it in the oven. Put it in the oven.

What? It's... It's too raw, put it in the oven.

JOE GROANS

I'm in hell.

He's put that back in the pan, he's put that back in the pan.

Er, they need a bit more time.

This is too pink.

Gonna make a big difference now that it's cut.

Absolutely. It'll dry it out.

SIZZLING

Stars, two minutes now, two minutes.

YELLS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

APPLAUSE

Yes, Josie!

One minute left, just one minute!

CHEERING, APPLAUSE

Take your time, take your time. I've got a lot to put out, Tone.

Yeah, I know, come on. Keep going, Josie.

Ten, nine... Josie, get the other one!

...seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.

APPLAUSE

Well done.

Oh, looks good. Oh, well done.

TOM: Joe has cooked a spicy grilled pork salad,

but has he managed to pull off that perfectly cooked pork

in order to avoid the cook-off?

I do think it was undercooked because it was very, very pink.

It was the colour of uncooked pork.

I'd like to get to the final, but I don't want to do a cook-off.

EMMA: Josie has prepared aromatic salt-baked M&S sea bass.

Having taken on a very difficult recipe,

will she have done enough to go through to the final?

I thought that was the most stressful period of my whole life,

honestly. That was more stressful than lab our!

My salt-baked sea bass doesn't probably look like it should do.

If I went out today, I would be really upset. Really gutted.

With the six non-competing chefs at the judges' table,

it's time to taste the dishes.

Right, chefs, first up we've got Joe's Thai pork salad.

All right, let's hear your opinions.

Rosemary, why don't we start with you?

Right. Joe, first of all, sauce, delicious.

I love that lime, all those flavours coming through.

Absolutely yummy.

But the pork, the bit I had...

was tough. Was tough?

Oh, balls. It was really chewy.

You got the flavour, but unfortunately,

the sort of chewiness took away what I was enjoying with flavour.

Thank you. And Jean-Chris top he.

OK, it might not be the most sexy dish on the planet,

but I noticed that the only thing I can smell from very far back

was your pork.

Was very dominant and I loved it.

Therefore, in all, it was a good try

and I would like to congratulate you.

Well done. Mike.

It's a good plate of food. It's not a semi—final plate of food.

I don't think the ambition of the dish suits this week.

I want you to be challenged more.

You have the makings of a winner of this competition.

You just need to push yourself that little bit more.

OK, chefs, next up, it's josie's Thai salt-baked fish.

Exciting.

Right, chefs, let's get your thoughts. jack?

Over to you first.

When you can't see what's happening in the oven,

I was really nervous about that. I really was.

I thought, that's not gonna work.

And honestly, that sea bass is perfect. Perfectly cooked.

I can't believe how you've done it, it's mind-boggling. Well done.

Well done.

Clodagh, what do you think?

This was one of the best sea bass dishes I have had

in a long, long time. And I genuinely mean that.

It was so perfect.

There was no fault at all in her cooking

and that's what we're looking for at this stage of the competition.

Congratulations to both of you. Yeah.

Mike.

Josie, this, for me, is what I want to see in a semi—final.

Tony, well clone. You have pushed her to the max.

You've got four beautiful plates of food out.

The sea bass?

There's no way you should have been able to execute this fish.

In the banana leaf is enough.

To then pack a salt crust on top and cook it like that,

well done. APPLAUSE

Well done.

OK, chefs, it's now time to make your decision.

The winner of this battle will go straight through to the grand final.

Right, Mike, we'll come to you first.

Who do you think prepared the best Thai dish?

My favourite dish...

...was josie's.

Ronnie? Whose dish did it for you?

Tough one this week, but my favourite dish was Josie.

Rosemary.

My favourite dish today was Josie.

So at the minute, it's three votes for Josie.

Jack, if you also pick Josie,

then she will be through to the final next week.

My favourite dish...

was Josie.

APPLAUSE, CHEERING

You're in the final. What? What?!

No way!

Oh, thank you. That's so hard.

Josie, you're in the final, you're in the final. Final!

Whoa, final!

Oh, Joe, commiserations. It was so close as well.

Oh, well, lovely little cook-off. LAUGHTER

I think that's your happy place, joe.

Oh, it's been ages since I've done a cook—off(!)

LAUGHTER

We'll soon know who joe is going to face in the cook-off

because it's time for our second battle of the night.

Yes, two stars, two mentors, two dishes, too much!

It's Maura versus Dr Ranj.

APPLAUSE

French Week has been an absolute roller-coaster.

Looks beautiful, really stunning.

You've pushed yourself, so well done.

I've come out of it thinking, "I think I can do this."

Ta-da! Semi-finals, baby! Yes!

I can't believe it.

So this week, it's Thai Week. Yes!

That's my favourite, favourite food.

Thai food contains all the kinds of flavours I love.

We are going to make a Thai green curry,

coconut rice and a pickled cucumber Thai salad.

Where the tricky part of it is is the balance of flavours. Yeah.

The making of the Thai green paste is really important.

It's basically every flavour of Thailand compressed together.

Coconut cream goes in first. Yep. Then next,

we are putting in the coconut milk. Ohh, look at that!

Balancing the spices is tricky, but I feel like I've learnt a lot.

Do you want to put a little bit more spice in there? Yeah. Can I?

Mm! The confidence is kicking in.

He is using his instinct and that is really exciting to see.

This smells amazing!

Do you know what, it's a winning dish.

Maura, you'd better bring your A game.

French Week was difficult.

I don't have enough time!

I got so stressed!

Next week is gonna be even tougher.

Semi-finals, though, this is a tough dish,

there's a lot of things to remember, lots of spices.

The judges will be looking for perfection

and they'll be looking for authenticity. It's Thai Week.

We're doing khao soi, which is a curried noodle soup with chicken.

0h!

With the cooking of the chicken,

she just needs to make sure she gives the time in the pan

to get that lovely golden-brown colour.

We need to make sure that it's cooked to perfection.

We need to make our curry paste from scratch.

So you've got your wet ingredients here for your pestle and mortar. OK.

We could just put it into a blender,

but that's not what they do in Thailand.

Oh! In your eye?

Oh, my God!

Honestly, I felt this lump hit my eye.

Oh, it's burning! Oh!

Just lean your head back.

I just need to be more careful.

I came in and I said I hope I don't get chilli in my eye today. Bang.

If that happens on the day,

I'm gonna definitely lose about ten minutes of time.

So it can't happen.

And now I'm this far, it's like, yeah, I just wanna win now.

CHEERING

Maura and Ranj, welcome back to the kitchen.

Maura, Dr Ranj, how much do you want to be in the final?

I really, really want to.

I'm sorry, I really, really want to.

It's when you get this close as well, just want to get there.

Yeah. We're getting so competitive now!

LAUGHTER

We“, Maura and Dr Ran

you have an hour to prepare your dish.

As you know, you have a lifeline. If you bang your golden frying pan,

your mentor will come to your assistance.

OK, I feel a battle coming on.

This is for a place in the final.

Stop giving me evils! I'm not!

LAUGHTER

Stars, get cooking!

WHOOPING, APPLAUSE

Do you know what, I've said many times I cook a lot.

I don't, I literally cook like once a week, but obviously,

everything was from the jar, so literally,

to be doing stuff like this is... actually crazy.

Jack has taught me so much.

I wanna do well, I wanna do jack proud.

I know he really wants to get to the final

so I want to make that happen.

Maura is awesome!

Her dish is from northern Thailand.

Mine is southern Thailand, but they're very similar,

so I feel like we're literally going head-to-head in this.

They're gonna get judged pretty closely,

but I keep telling myself it'll be fine, just keep my head down.

For me, it's gonna be down to the flavour of those curries

is going to be the decider in all of this.

Guess what week it is?

Welcome back to Cooking With The Stars

where Maura Higgins and Dr Ranj are giving us a taste of Thailand

because it's...

Well, you might be ahead of me here, but it's actually Thai Week.

They are battling for a place in the grand final.

There will be a winner AND a loser.

And somehow, there will still be a tie.

How you doing, Maura?

Erm... I'm stressed.

You don't need to be, you're awesome.

This is very important.

I have to turn all this dry ingredient into a paste.

TOM: 'For Thai Week, Maura is tackling

'a Chiang Mai curried noodle soup.

'The success of this very traditional recipe

'hangs on an authentically bounded curry paste

'and perfectly cooked chicken.'

Is that half? I think it is.

All right? ls everyone breathing still? Oh, still breathing.

I am worried though because in training,

in this pestle and mortar, she got a big bit of chilli in her eye.

She was really upset.

As in, she was like, "I'm not doing this."

I mean business.

CHEERING AND LAUGHTER

Basically, I nearly lost an eye the last time I did this

so it ain't happening again.

It's a grind off.

Oh, he's got a smaller one.

It's not about size, Maura, it's what you do with it.

LAUGHTER

God, I'm sweating.

Moving on.

It's all about pounding the paste,

so the crushing of things like ginger and garlic,

and chilli, to get the oils out.

You cannot do this in the machine.

It's this far in the competition,

I wanted to show her to show the skill

to get all that flavour out cos it's such an important part

of the dish.

Perfect.

Just on time, just on time.

30 minutes left! 30 minutes!

Add a bit of lemon grass... on top.

EMMA: 'Dr Ranj's dish is an authentic Thai green prawn curry

'with coconut rice and cucumber salad.

'He must combine all the ingredients correctly

'to create the perfect balance of spice and flavour.'

He's got his rice on.

We're doing water and coconut cream together. Yeah.

Don't want to stirring it, don't want him taking off that lid.

It's really difficult because you've got to get the water

and the amount of rice ratio just right

otherwise it all goes wrong.

So the minute that all of that moisture is absorbed

is when the rice is ready, otherwise it'll burn

or, if there's still too much liquid left,

it'll be a little bit undercooked and a little bit soggy.

Stop, stop, stop stirring it. Stop stirring it.

That's enough. That's enough.

The rice is cooked, so it's just resting.

20 minutes left, you stars!

He looks so in control, everything just feels calmer. Mmm.

He's good. He knows what he's looking for.

I like the way he's got a tea towel on his shoulder, like a chef.

Nice. It's good.

SIZZLING

Arghg

I have to make sure this chicken is brown.

Very important.

SIZZLING

Ah, look at that!

I'm afraid to leave it because it's, erm... pretty brown.

Can't burn it, can't burn it.

I won't be in the final, will I, if I burn it?

She needs to sear it off at a really high heat,

she just wants that caramelisation because that's what the judges

will be looking for.

Then she can use the oven to finish it off.

SIZZLING

Do you know what?

I double-check my ingredients a million times

just in case I miss something out.

Onion, onion.

Do you know what, I totally forgot about the pickled onion.

Have I lost my mind?

Ah. I've cut it wrong. I've cut it wrong.

Where's my other onion gone?

Can I have another red onion, please?

Where's my tablespoon?

She looks flustered.

Why is it not simmering?

Panic is starting to set in. Yeah.

You can see it on her face.

Simmer, please. We just need a light bubble.

I need to check.

GONG

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

jack, try this sauce.

Yep. Oh, ha-ha-ha.

When am I putting the noodles in?

Just right... You know... Ow, argh!

Is the sauce perfect? Why did you do that?

Ooh, that just came out the oven... Oh, no.

...and he picked it up with his hand and carried it across.

Is that boiling enough? Yeah. You got salt in there?

30 seconds now, jack. 30 seconds.

So, I'm basically putting them on a boil, one minute...

One minute and then in there... And then off the heat.

And don't forget to reheat it before you serve it.

Wait, wait, jack, Jack... jack, out the kitchen!

What else? Take them out.

Drain them. Drain them! Drain them.

Well done, jack.

You all right?

Yeah, I burnt my hand a little bit, but other than that...

Star, five minutes, five minutes now.

Oh, my God. I just don't wanna watch.

It needs to be a perfect presentation.

APPLAUSE

Well done!

Come on, Maura!

CHEERING

She needs to just get everything on there.

Come on, Maura, pickled onions.

30 seconds, Maura.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Oh, my God.

ALL: Five... four... three... two... one!

CHEERING

I'm shaking!

APPLAUSE

EMMA: 'Will Maura's Chiang Mai noodle soup

'have moist chicken and the perfect blend

'of herbs and spices to keep her out of the Cook Off?'

It's a panic again.

I literally just got it out on time.

The standard is so high, we're in the semi-finals so...

honestly, you just note know. I hope they fall in love with it.

TOM: 'Or will Dr Ranj's authentic Thai green curry

'with M&S prawns and coconut rice

'be the dish that packs the punch and propels him to the final?'

Well, I followed every single instruction

that Clodagh has given me to the T.

It's a complicated dish.

I know that I couldn't have done better in the time, I couldn't have.

Yeah, I just hope they like it.

OK, chefs, first up, we've got Ranj's authentic Thai green curry,

coconut rice and cucumber salad.

Dig in.

OK, chefs, let's get your thoughts.

Mike?

Dr Ran}...

HE EXHALES

...| love it.

Yay!

The curry... gorgeous flavour.

It's beautiful. Yay! Thank you.

Well done.

Judy, what you think?

You should be really, really proud of yourself.

The curry, it is punchy, it is vibrant, it's nice.

But the rice, it's over.

Rice is kind of sacred in this culture

so I would have loved to have seen that rice been cooked... less.

And Rosemary?

I love the green Thai curry.

I got the kick at the back, which was absolutely lovely.

Now, the rice, I don't mean to be rude,

it's a little bit rice pudding-ish.

I'm just being super critical cos we're going through to the final.

Well done, honestly.

OK, chefs, next up it's Maura's Chiang Mai curried noodle soup.

Rosemary, what you think?

I can't believe how far you've come.

This is amazing.

I thought the flavour was delicious.

But the spices weren't cooked off, you could... they were grainy.

The chicken was beautiful, the chicken was really good.

But it lacked... an oomph, it lacked the seasoning. OK.

Judy?

Beautiful plate of food, Maura.

You are going from strength to strength, honestly.

The curry is really nice, maybe a little bit more heat.

Chicken, perfectly cooked. Well done.

To keep chicken breast moist is a nearly impossible task,

so bravo. Thank you.

EMMA: Tony?

The chicken, cooked perfectly. The sauce was lovely.

The critique I would say is the spices weren't cooked out.

You still had that raw spice on your teeth and your tongue.

Right, is decision time now.

The winner of this battle will join Josie in the grand final.

The loser will face tonight's Cook Off with Joe.

So, Mike, let's start with you.

Who's Thai dish impressed you the most?

It's dishes were outstanding.

Unfortunately, I can only choose one.

And the dish...

that I love the most...

was Maura's.

Thank you.

Jean-Chris top he?

I really enjoyed both of them.

The one I prefer the most is Dr Ranj.

Thank you.

Judy, whose dish wins it for you?

They're both excellent.

My favourite dish is Maura's.

Thank you.

Ronnie?

Tricky, tricky.

But my favourite dish, Dr Ranj.

Yes. Yes.

Tony?

So difficult to choose.

As by the smallest margin,

my favourite dish was cooked by Dr Ranj.

Yes.

Now we come to Rosemary.

Currently, the score is 3-2 to Dr Ranj.

If you vote for Ranj, he'll go through to the final.

Both excellent. Love them both.

But the one today which was my favourite...

"Dr Ran}.

Yes. Oh!

Congratulations, Dr Ranj.

APPLAUSE

My God! What?! In the final!

APPLAUSE

Dr Ranj, how are you feeling about going through to the final?

I'm over the moon. I can't...

It's not sunk in yet, it really hasn't.

I can't believe it. I really can't. Thank you.

Maura, how do you feel about facing up to joe now

in the Cook Off?

He's had a lot of Cook Offs so he's used to it. I've not.

You've not cos you're really good at cooking.

Pardon?

LAUGHTER

Right, we don't have long to wait

because coming up it is the Cook Off.

Yes, Joe and Maura face a recipe they've never even seen

for a place in the final.

So don't go away now!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Welcome back to Cooking With The Stars

where Joe Wilkinson and Maura Higgins

are about to face a Cook Off for a place in next week's grand final.

Joe and Maura, you will have to follow a recipe

you've never seen before.

It'll be judged by all eight chefs,

they've currently been sent to the judging room

so they will not know who has cooked which dish.

We can now reveal your Cook Off dish is...

...Thai spring rolls with a sweet chilli sauce.

How you feeling about that?

Shall we just walk out now? Yeah.

I don't think we're gonna bother. TOM LAUGHS

Thai spring rolls with a sweet chilli sauce.

There are so many things where they can go wrong with this,

I cannot tell you.

First up, they need to make the filling.

The filling has to be cut neatly and full of flavour.

They've gotta get that pork cooked off as well.

Then, they need to make the spring roll wrappers.

A spring roll wrapper? Are you kidding me?

They're going to have to make a really fine batter.

They have to be so thin, paper-thin, translucent.

If it's too thick, it won't fold right.

They also have to make sure that they seal the spring roll.

If they don't, the entire thing's just gonna bust open.

They they've gotta fry the spring rolls.

It should be golden and crispy on the outside.

With the sweet chilli sauce, we're looking for sweetness,

acidity, but that chilli kick.

We are looking for perfection.

APPLAUSE

OK, so, joe, Maura, you've got the recipe in front of you

and this time you've got 50 minutes on the clock.

Only one thing left to say, and that's, stars, get cooking!

APPLAUSE

This is a super tough challenge, as it should be for the semi-finals.

Hopefully, they'll make six fantastic spring rolls.

So, this is for the inside of the spring roll.

The filling, right, all those vegetables

have to be prepped perfectly.

I actually love spring rolls,

but I've never cooked spring rolls before.

So that's making me a little nervous.

You want them seasoned perfectly.

RAN]: Ooh, I love a little drizzle of salt.

ANTON: Oh, no.

There's a lot going into the pan.

It shouldn't be overpowering,

it should be just there to elevate the filling.

This is so salty. I think I went overboard, way too much.

Oh, God, I'm just...

...in panic mode.

Just add the soy sauce.

The Cook Offs are an absolute delight. I love it.

Couldn't be happier.

Keep it going, joe. That looks great.

I'm really confused how he is literally done.

Right, what am I doing now?

The hardest part, they have to make the wrapper.

That is hard.

Chefs would struggle with that.

The consistency of that batter is all—important.

120 of flour.

Three tablespoons of cornflour.

125 grams of water.

I started this again cos I think all my measurements were wrong.

I don't know if this is...

completely wrong.

Oh, my God. It's a workout.

When it goes into the pan, it has to be thin,

it should almost be translucent.

That pancake is hard. That is treacherous, in fact.

And they have to make six of them.

I don't know if this is the right consistency.

Oh, let's... Genuinely no idea.

I've no idea if this is any good or not.

To wrap it itself, when they come to wrap the whole thing,

this is really tricky.

Not sticking there.

Why do I think they're sticking? Cos I've never made them before.

If those wrappers don't stick,

get a tiny little bit of flour, a little bit of water,

and just use that very, very sparingly

and that will keep it stuck.

You know, that little glue.

Because that will work way better than water. Yeah.

How skinny is that?

This is a very small one.

This one feels bad.

I'm very stressed.

Oh, my God, what's happened?

Nah! What's happened?

It's come undone.

Are you kidding? What the hell?

The most important thing with a spring roll,

you have to seal them cos when they go into the deep fat fryer

any air bubbles, any moisture, will burst them.

Oh, they're ruined now anyway, aren't they?

Oh, man, this is a disastrous.

Ay, J06, what's happening?

I tell you what's happening, it's all going terribly wrong. Why?

Do you like your spring rolls puffed up?

SHE LAUGHS

No, I'm not happy with them at all.

EMMA: Ooh, Maura.

I've only got three done. I've only got three.

Huh? I've only got three.

But they look great. They look really good.

Do they? Yes.

Urghg

How long have we got?

Two minutes now, stars, two minutes.

Oh, my God. I've not done my sauce.

Right, that feels like it's wrong.

(lame on, be'. Come on, Maura! Come on, Maura!

That's not even thickening.

KELLY: Be calm. just think about it.

EMMA: One minute left, stars. One minute.

They're all getting one.

Just keep going and get something out.

Ten seconds. Ten seconds.

Nine...

BOTH: Eight... seven... six... five... four...

I'm done. ..three... two... one.

APPLAUSE

How did you make all them?

Oh, my God. Mine all fell apart.

Oh, no. That looks really good.

That was the most stressed I've been in a long time.

There was meant to be two spring rolls on each plate,

I got one on each plate.

I do think they might be slightly over-seasoned.

Turns out pancakes are really hard.

Filling was fine, the pancakes were all over the shop.

I did produce more, and as the old saying goes, more is more.

This is exciting.

Ooh, wow.

That one looks great.

EMMA: 'The gold plate belongs to Jack's star — Maura.'

The gold plate, they're missing one,

but they got the roll and the fold perfectly.

For me, on the gold plate, the spring roll was so salty.

It was unbelievable.

The gold plate looked the part, fantastic shape,

but that filling in there really failed for me.

Far too salty.

TOM: 'The green plate belongs to Judy's star — Joe.'

I'm so impressed that spring rolls and sweet chilli sauce came out

on both plates, but the green plate, they actually produced two of them,

which was what was asked.

The green plate did not look like the spring roll,

but I believe the filling was perfectly cooked.

It's really oily. It's so oily.

They didn't seal it properly, let the fat in,

but the flavours were on point. Superb.

Well, I think we're all spring rolled out

and I think now we should just vote.

EMMA: 'Whose spring rolls will reign supreme?

'Maura's gold plate or Joe's green plate?'

APPLAUSE

Joe and Maura have done all they can,

but only one of them will have a place in the grand final.

The chefs have been deliberating and they've come to a decision.

But before we find out who's safe and who's leaving the competition,

we need to know whether Judy or jack have voted to eliminate

their own star.

So, jack, which plate did you vote for as your favourite?

My favourite plate was the gold.

I can tell you, as she is telling you,

the gold plate was Maura's.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Well, Judy, which plate did you vote for?

Green.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Well, that's a relief, isn't it?

But, as always, there are six more votes

that make up the final result and I can reveal,

the winner of the Cook Off and going through to the final, is...

"Joe.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

See, I told ya. Aw, well done.

APPLAUSE

joe, well done. Your face was an absolute picture.

I think it's fair to say,

you did not expect that at all, did you?

No, I didn't.

I thought Maura's looked amazing.

I thought she'd done me there, I really did.

Maura, it is such a shame to lose you at this point

because every step of the competition

you have gone from strength to strength.

And you've made an amazing team, it's been really lovely to watch.

Have you had a good time?

Yeah, it was a lot of fun, to be fair. It was.

JACK CHUCKLES He's not saying anything, but...

LAUGHTER

Maura's been an amazing student. We've just had a great time.

And well done, Joe.

And also, really well done, Judy, you're a great mentor.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

That's it from us, make sure you join us next week

for the grand final.

Yes, either Josie Gibson, Dr Ranj, or Joe Wilkinson

will be crowned Cooking With The Stars champion.

But, to do it, they'll need to use every skill

they've learnt here in our kitchen.

I can't wait, it's gonna be a good 'un!

It's gonna be huge! We will see you then.

Good night. Good bye.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Subtitles by accessibility@itv.com

GONG