All language subtitles for MasterChef.The.Professionals.S16E07.1080p.HDTV.H264-DARKFLiX

From across the UK...

...32 up-and-coming chefs...

...are putting their reputations
on the line in a battle to become

Professional MasterChef champion.

Tonight, four new hopefuls compete

to impress
MasterChef judge Gregg Wallace,

renowned chef Monica Galetti

and Michelin-starred Marcus Wareing.

I didn't come here all the way
from the Isle of Skye to go

straight back home.

I'm very competitive.
I don't like losing.

I spend a lot of time preparing
myself mentally, physically.

I'm feeling good. I'm ready to go
to the competition and smash it.

I want fireworks in this kitchen.

I want a battle.

I can't wait to see what talent is
waiting outside this kitchen door.

Do you know we're halfway through?
We've seen 16 chefs,

we've got 16 more to see.

Four of them are waiting right now
to do the Skills Test.

First up, Monica, your Skills Test.
What is it, please?

Gregg, I would like our chefs
to prepare and cook us a piece

of this pork loin,
served with a Bramley apple puree

with a charred baby gem
and a cognac sauce.

Very nice. I'm partial
to a pork loin, me, Chef.

So 20 minutes. Go on, Chef.

First thing I want to do
is prepare the pork.

You've just got a try and bone

along the back,
so all they have to do

is follow the natural joint
along the bone.

MARCUS: Butcher skills,

there's not a great deal of work
there to do, but there's enough

to show us what type of chef
we've got in front of us.

I think the most important thing

is you don't need to throw the rind
away cos it's crackling.

You don't need to throw away
the trimmings

because they can be confited and
used for canapes.

Nothing of the pig you can't eat.

So I want a nice piece
of the loin there.

It doesn't matter to you
how thick or thin they cut it?

It's completely up to our chefs.

The thicker it is, the longer
it's going to take to cook.

Hot pan, some oil.

I want to sear the fat.

To crisp it up?

It's rendering the fat down.

If you don't, all you're going to
get is just white fat on there,

it's not going to cook properly.

I've seared my pork all over,
and then I'll add a bit of garlic

into the pan, some butter as well.

Lovely, lovely, lovely.

So, colour not just on the fat,
then, colour on both sides?

All over. All over.

You have to be very careful on the
sides, cos there's no fat on it,

it can dry out pretty quickly.

There's nothing to protect it.

Right, so that's in the oven.

it'll take about four or five
minutes.

But what I want to do is to cook it
and use the juices in the pan

for my sauce and also for my gem
lettuce.

What's the caramel for, please?

I'm making an apple puree,
but I'm using Bramley apple.

Great cooking apple,

but it's very sour, as you know.

So what I'm going to do is
I'm going to make a caramel

and then add the apples into that,
cook it down in the caramel,

and then add some cognac to it
and then blend it up.

The idea of caramelising it

just gives it a sort
of a molasses flavour as well,

so it's taking the flavour up
another notch.

So there's not too much liquid
in there. Oh, yeah!

That's surprised me. But it's got
the caramel flavour.

Pork's come out of the oven.

Still got a bit of bounce to it,
you can feel it,

but it's going to continue
to cook as it's resting.

So you're using the same pan

with all those lovely pork juices

and that pork fat rendered down,

adding that flavour into the lovely

little gem lettuce there.

So I've taken the gem out,

and I'm going to start off
my cognac sauce.

And I've just added some cognac into
the pan, just to release

all the flavour that's been left
in that pan. Yummy!

I'm adding some reduced stock

to it, and then just slowly adding

the butter and let it emulsify

just by shaking the pan gently.

To use all the pan juices and all
the flavours of the ingredients

that have gone before is always

a lovely way of doing it,

so the flavour's just continuously
running through the dish.

I'm just going to finish it
with a touch of creme fraiche.

SHE SUCKS TEETH

You're happy with that sauce,
aren't you?

I AM happy with the sauce.

And now we're ready to plate.

Oh...!

well, | say.

Here we have it, my pork

with apple puree, charred baby gem

and cognac sauce.

Absolutely fabulous.

Bit of old-fashioned cookery there,
I would say.

It's something our chefs should have
done, but it's the detail,

it's the love and care that you put
in every element of it

which I think counts. I really want

to see what the chefs can do with
this as well,

because I'm more than happy to eat
this a number of times.

HE CHUCKLES

Marcus, you are going to watch
the chefs perform from the back room

on the monitor. I will. we'll see
you back

here for notes and tastings,
of course.

Let's get our chefs in.
I want to see them perform well.

No negativity here,
pozzy vibes, pozzy vibes.

CHANTS: Ah!

NARRATOR: First to tackle
Monica's Skills Test

is 32-year-old chef patron Verity,

who runs a catering business
with her wife

in the Scottish Highlands.

I'm very inspired by the landscape
that I'm in.

Produce is fantastic. And then

there's also the wild larder
side of things as well,

so we're getting wild garlic,
mushrooms, and all of it super-fresh

and amazing here.

So one day I might be out foraging
and prepping for a dinner,

the other day I might be packing up
my van and then serving people

a nine-course tasting menu.

The Skills Test,

I'm not going to know every single
recipe, so all I need to do is take

a deep breath...
SHE CHUCKLES

...and calmly move my way
through whatever comes my way.

Verity, welcome to MasterChef.

Thank you. Relax as best you can.

This Skills Test was set by Monica.

So, Verity, I would like

you to remove a portion of the pork
loin and cook it

served with an apple pie,
charred baby gem and a cognac sauce.

Great. You have 20 minutes,
off you go.

So I want to take the loin out here.

So she's removing the bone,

which is a good start.

So for me, the loin is this lovely

bit in the centre.

You can leave some of the fat on,
but the way she's cut

that, it's fine.

She's made that look easy.

I'm going to get my pork on first,

and I'm going to render down some

of that fat in there.

That's a great idea. If I was her,

I'd get that pork in now.

Ah! She must have heard me!

And I'd push the pork into the fat

just to give it a bit of protection.

There we go.

She IS listening to me!

What's the plan for your apple puree

now that your pork loin is on,
Verity?

I'm just going to sweat down
the apples with some butter,

a little, tiny bit of salt,

Sugar? Just puree that down.

Sugar? If it needs a bit of sugar,
I'll add it.

That pork's beautifully caramelised.

Nicely coloured.

In the oven.

So, halfway, you've browned your
pork, it's now in the oven. Yep.

We're going to move on
to the cognac sauce.

She's put the pan on the back.

That's the pan you need to make
that cognac sauce.

What I'm going to do is use some
of the pork trim just to get a bit

of colour and flavour in the pan.

You're got a pan there already with
your flavour in.

Did you always plan to be a chef,
Verity?

No, I originally studied guitar
building in college.

Guitar building?! Yeah.

Too many strings attached,
or didn't strike a chord?!

Oh, my God!

So it takes nine months
to build a guitar,

whereas cooking food, it hopefully
takes 20 minutes.

She put a little bit of butter
into the apple.

These apples are nice and soft now.

I'd prefer her to just put a drop
of sugar into those apples

cos it's going to be
incredibly tart.

Nicely seared baby gem lettuce.

You've got just over two minutes
to finish this off, please.

Wow, that time goes fast,
doesn't it? Mm. Mm.

Pork should have come out a bit
earlier,

it's not having much time to rest.

It looks nice, though.

What did you just drop
in your sauce there?

Some of this creme fraiche
into the sauce.

Right now she needs
to start dressing.

Done?

Done. Right, just in the nick
of time.

Let's go and taste it.

How are you, Verity? Very good.
How are you, Marcus?

Good, good, good.

Verity, good start
with your butchery skills.

Removed the loin, trimmed
off all the fat.

It's also nice to keep some
of the fat there.

However, I really like that you took
some of that to cook the pork in.

You've made a sauce, you used
some of the pork trim,

but you had a great pan there
that had so much flavour

in it from the cooking of the pork
that you could have used.

I'm curious to see what the next
round is with your signature dishes.

All the processes you did
beautifully well.

I feel that the pork could have done
with just a little bit more resting.

The apple puree's very tart.

I think there's more to come
from you, though,

because you've got skill,

I can see that. It was a good watch.
Well done.

You know, Verity, let me tell you,
that is not a bad start

to the competition,
that is not a bad Skills Test.

You got it all done
and you clearly know the processes.

Well done.
See you in the next round.

I'm pretty relieved that that's
finished. It went OK.

There was some things that I didn't
get right and other things

I did, and I'm all right with it.

Hey. Hey, guys.

Next in is Ukrainian-born
sous-chef, Dimi,

who ran his own cleaning

business before deciding on a career
in cooking five years ago.

From my childhood, my mum,
she told me that,

"You will be a chef,
you are talented."

I said, like, "No, I want
to have my own business,

"be a big boss."

At some point, I decided
that maybe my mum was right.

Yeah, I just changed everything.

I start from education,
and I became a chef.

When I'm cooking,
I just feel happiness,

I just feel that I'm doing
what I SHOULD do.

One year ago, I start thinking,
OK, I feel that I can smash it

and I can win the show.

So this is the goal for me now.

Dimi, are you ready?

Erm...
HE LAUGHS

...I don't know.
Maybe ten more seconds, please.

He does look a bit terrified,
I must say.

Dimi, you've got this.
Just relax, OK? Deep breath.

20 minutes, Dimi?

Yeah. Off you go.

Where are you from?
I'm from Ukraine originally. OK.

I moved to London two years ago,
and I met my wife.

She was living in London.

I decided that I need to be
with her.

It's just a bit rough,
the way he's doing that.

He's cut right into the meat, look.

What sort of kitchen
are you working in now?

Now I'm working in
an Indian-inspired restaurant.

Indian? It's quite interesting
to learn more about spices.

He's got his apples going
into the little pan.

A splash of water.

You don't need too much water.

Oh, it looks a little bit too much.

Be nice if he puts a bit of sugar
in there.

He's put some sage into the apple.

That's nice!
Are you feeling better?

How's your nerves? Yeah, now better.

Got a nice colour on the pork.

I really hope he doesn't
overcook it, though.

It's not a thick piece,
So you can get away

with it just by pan-frying it.

It's going OK. You're halfway.
You've got ten minutes left.

He's taken the pork out,
that's good. In the oven.

No, no, no, no, it doesn't need
to go in the oven.

It's cooked.

That's going to overcook.

So, Dimi, what's going on
with your sauce?

A reduced cognac with some stock,

and we're going to put butter in.

Add some mustard, maybe.

And you need to cook
your gem lettuce.

What's the word in Ukraine
for lettuce?

Erm, lettuce!

We call it lettuce!

Dimi, you've got five minutes left.

That's interesting, he's putting
the sugar in at the end.

He'd have been better
cooking the sugar.

It's a bit wet.

Whoa!

Dimi, you're going to have to think
about plating up soon. Yep.

How is it, Dimi?

Erm, maybe a bit overcooked.

Right, sauce on, and then that's it,
we're out of time.

All done. Well done. Well done.

Whew! Whoa!

You looked very relieved
when that was over.

Dimi, the butchery was a bit
of concern, the way

that you were trying to remove
the fat.

You were very tense.

The cooking of the pork,

the piece I had was lovely,
but do remember to gently render

that fat down.

The sauce-making, would have been
great to see you use the pan

that you cooked the pork in,
but you have given us sauce.

You need to relax into your cooking,
especially in the next round,

OK, Dimi?

It tastes better
than I thought it would.

Your pork is overcooked,
but it's still really nice.

Your apple puree's too wet,

but I do like the element
of the sage going through it,

it's got sweetness there. Thank you.

Actually, you presented

a decent-looking plate,
and this tastes nice.

I think you know what you're doing,

you just have to believe
in yourself. Dimi, see you soon.

Thank you very much.

It's definitely not my best one
because of pressure and nerves,

but I would like to show more
cooking my own food.

Fingers crossed.

Right, we've seen two chefs already,
done your test,

two chefs ready
to do your Skills Test, Marcus.

What do you want them to do
with that lovely crab?

I would like our chefs to make a
crab bisque, serve it with the crab

claw meat and a portion
of John Dory.

What defines a bisque, please?

It's a cream soup with stock using
the bones of the main ingredient.

Delicious! I love a bisque,

especially if it's got a bit
of brandy going through it.

20 minutes, Marcus. Please, show me.

I'm going to start off with
the bisque,

we need to get that on
straight away.

So the crab meat in the claws,
we're going to take that out later,

so we just need to take those off.

Generally, in kitchens, it takes
hours to make a good bisque.

Normally, you'd roast off your
shells in the oven.

We're going to do it a different
way, going to do it in the pan,

we're going to make it
nice and quick. Wow!

I'm hoping our chefs will be able
to understand what a bisque

is all about and get some
really good flavour.

So the head, this is cooked crab,
so you just push

the body out of the head.

It just pops out like that.

Scrape out
all of the brown crab meat.

We're using absolutely everything,

apart from one thing.
What would that be, Gregg?

Dead man's fingers.
Oh, you're getting good!

The dead man's fingers are
the gills of the crab.

Those, you need to throw away.

They won't kill you,
but they will upset you,

most certainly.
So smash up the shells.

That's not bone, that's cartilage,

so it will cut through. Yeah.

Look at all that lovely stuff.

So we're going to get the brown meat
and the head of the crab, the shell

as well, all the flavour into that
and just get those nicely

caramelising down. You're roasting
them, you want intense heat,

so the hotter the pan, the better.

Shallots and two cloves of garlic.

We've got dill,

we've got star anise.

Now the bones and all the
ingredients

are all starting to caramelise.

Good spoon of tomato paste
in there, so cook that out.

Now we're going to flame it
with our brandy. Whoa!

Good glug of that.

Burn off the alcohol and then

we're going to add
the aniseed liqueur.

Aniseed really works well
in a bisque,

it's a perfect marriage.

Smells great. Now we're going to put

in some fish stock...

...seasoning,

and then just a splash of cream.

Smelling that beautiful aroma

from the pan, you can do this in
about ten minutes.

It IS doable, Gregg, but we've seen
that Marcus has gone nonstop

for the ten minutes,
to get that to where it is now.

They need to move, the chefs.

Beautiful! Look at that colour.

And just leave that there
just to drip through.

So that's the bisque done.

With the back of a knife, you just
want to give them a gentle hit.

What you don't want to do is smash
the shell into the meat

so that you have to then pick
through it cos it just takes

even more time.

The crab prep is vital.

We used to have to pick through
kilos of the stuff, right, Marcus,

you know those kitchens?

To remove as much
of the shells as possible.

Just going to pull a little bit
of chopped chilli in there, too.

Just a little bit of extra virgin
olive oil,

a little bit of chopped dill.

My pan is warming up for my
John Dory. I've given them the fish

filleted because I really want them

to focus on the bisque, and it's
up to them how they serve this.

I'm going to take the skin off.

But if you do cook it with the skin
on, you do need to score it,

because as soon as it hits
the pan, it will tense

up and it'll curl the fish up.

So I'm just looking for a nice sear
on the outside,

I want it to be lovely and soft.

Flip it over.
PAN SIZZLES

We're good to go,
we're ready to dress.

Crab meat.

I would definitely order that.

That looks like a portion
just for me, Gregg.

Pour the soup in. And if
you weren't so tough, I'd wrestle

you for it.
MONICA LAUGHS

Just finish with a little oil.

Crab bisque,
crab claw meat and John Dory.

Wow!

I am amazed. Saltiness,
natural sweetness of crab,

absolutely delightful.

I can't believe you can get
that sort of depth

in, what, ten minutes?

Brilliant Skills Test.

They really need to come in here,
focus on the bisque and deliver us

beautiful cookery,
especially that John Dory

at the end. The crab is the star,
the crab itself is the flavour.

It's what you do with it is the key.

Monica, I know you're going
to be fascinated by this.

You watch from the other room.
Oh, absolutely.

This is skilful, and this is fine,

and it's what this competition's all
about. Come on, let's get them in.

NARRATOR: First to face
Marcus's Skills Test is Dan,

currently senior sous-chef

at a luxury boutique hotel
in his home county of Norfolk.

So I grew up in Cromer, by the sea,
so it's a big tourist trap.

I worked in a cafe in Cromer for six
years, so that was kind of my first

foray into kitchens, and from there
I really kind of got the bug

about it and I'm really passionate
about food.

My food is probably influenced
by classical cooking,

but having never really worked
anywhere that's done classical

cooking, I'd say it's probably
more in the modern spectrum.

As a chef, you get to be creative,

you get to put it on a plate for
other people to kind of, generally,

tell you how much they love it...

...or not.

Dan, hello, welcome to MasterChef.

You looked quite happy when
you saw that crab.

I'm from Cromer. Which, of course,
is famous for its beautiful crabs.

So it makes a little bit
of a difference, I suppose.

OK. I would like you to make for us
a crab bisque served with white crab

meat and John Dory.

OK. 20 minutes, over to you.

Yes, Chef.

You've done a lot of crab work?

I haven't prepped a whole crab
in a little while.

Good, great, grand, terrific.

So I'm going to take the claws
for the white meat,

and I'm just breaking down the other
parts of the body so I can get them

into the stock pan and get
the bisque made.

Perfect. He's got a plan.

What are you sticking in there?

A couple of star anise.

That's for some classic flavours.

A classic French bisque, for me,
doesn't excite me as much

as the modern way that I've done
it before.

My modern way would generally be
adding things like

ras el hanout,
a little bit of hibiscus.

Your way is just adding
other ingredients?

My way is probably ingredients
in a slightly different

order as well. You can add whatever
spices you want to at the end,

but at the heart of it,
you've got to have a good base.

Chefs, eight minutes gone, so you've
got 12 minutes left.

I'm now going to go in
with the brandy.

Just cook off the alcohol on that.

That's a lot of stock.

Adding too much stock will just wash
out the flavours.

When you poured the stock
into your pan,

you looked disappointed. What's
wrong? I saw the tomato paste

on the side, and I forgot to add

to the bisque. For me, when
I normally make a bisque,

I don't normally add it,

but obviously, we're going
down the classic route.

GASPS: Ah!

Dan's now added a whole bottle
of cream.

He'll need to reduce that
quite a bit.

Dan, you've got six minutes.

Are you going to put anything
into the white crab?

So I'll use a little bit of
olive oil, a little bit of salt,

and then we'll garnish
with coriander shoots.

The pan, I've got warming on
for the John Dory,

cos they're pan-fried so you get
a nice crisp on that skin.

He'll need to score the skin
if he's going to cook the whole side

like that because it will tend
to curl up.

How's the bisque?

I am going to add the brown meat
just to give it a real kick of crab

as I pass it.

Your time is almost up,
so you need to get a move on,

especially with that fish.

Just finish the fish
under the grill.

That fish needs at least another
three, four minutes to cook.

Is it going to be ready?

30 seconds, please, Chef.

Yep. You need to start putting
some food on the plate.

Are they cooked? No, Chef.

That's it, Dan.

Unfortunately, you are out of time.

Oui, Chef.

Dan, that was tough watching.

It was tough doing it.

Your breaking down of the crab,
you got off to an OK start.

The most important thing
about making a bisque

is that you roast all the bones
down, you bring out the flavour,

you reduce it, you bring in your
stock, you reduce it, you add

in your cream,
you then gently reduce it.

It's very wishy washy.
Very wishy-washy.

Dan, you took the whole side
of the John Dory, which is fine,

but keeping the skin on, you'll need
to score it so it doesn't

curl up that way, and then it's not
cooked.

The crab meat, it's nicely picked.

I like the dill through that,
but it is heavily seasoned.

I'd like you to come back in here,

show us what you're about.
Thank you, Chef.

Dan, there's another round.
I think you've got a point to prove,

not just to the judges,
I think to yourself.

All right? We'll see you then.

That didn't go very well at all.

HE EXHALES

It's easy to sit here and say
I would never do that normally,

but it's true.
I messed that up royally.

Like, what was I thinking?

Finally, it's 33-year-old private
chef Philippe, who moved to London

in 2019 after a decade
of working in Paris kitchens.

I was born in France and my parents

are from Benin
in the west of Africa,

so I like to combine French
technique with Beninese ingredients.

I came to London to learn English,
and I think London people

are very open to new cuisine.

And I think for a chef
it's the right city to experiment.

I'm confident to my skills,

and I really want to enjoy
this competition as well.

But if I can enjoy and go far,
it will be very nice for me.

20 minutes, Philippe. Yep.
Over to you.

When was the last time you made
a bisque? A long time ago.

You've prepped crab before?
Not that much.

Philippe... Yes.
..to make the bisque,

you're going to use the head
and what else?

I will use the head,

and how would you call this? Shell.

And the shell, yeah.

Philippe's not preparing
a crab in the right way.

He needs to remove
the dead man's fingers.

Philippe... Yes.
..you've got the gills there,

the dead man's fingers. Yeah.

They need to come off. You know
which bit? Yeah, yeah, there.

That's it, tear them out.
OK, well done.

He's going to have to get
those shells in the pan very soon.

So I'm going to roast the shell.

Come on, Philippe.

After, I'm going to add the shallots
and the garlic, and then I'm going

to put the tomato paste.

Yes! He knows what he's doing now.

How many time I have, please?
12 minutes left.

You were a bit slow with the crab,

but you know how to make a bisque,
my friend.

A little bit of stock, not too much.

What do you call that fish
in France?

St Pierre. St Pierre.

He hasn't scored the skin,
but he's holding that down.

He needs to be careful. As soon
as he takes his hand off,

that will curl. Right, you've got
five minutes.

Yeah. Let's just start
to speed up now. Yeah.

Start thinking
about your presentation.

Mm!

Happy? Yeah.

We've got a bisque. He's slicing
the St Pierre, the John Dory.

Oh, not cooked enough? No.

That's gone back in the pan.
Crab meat's done.

We've only got the fish to go.
You've got about a minute.

Good? Yeah.

Let's get that fish on a plate.
Let's go, let's go.

That's it, time's up. Stop.

Fini.

You OK? I'm good, I'm good.
GREGG LAUGHS

I'm good, yeah.

Hello, Chef. Hello, Philippe.

You started off to prepare
your crab,

you smashed through the shell,

and that's not the way,
you need to pop the head open

and then break up the shell
from there.

But you have a very good
understanding of what a bisque is.

Your bisque is very, very good.
Very good.

The John Dory, the St Pierre,
you could have skinned that,

cut it into little pieces, and
it'd have been much quicker to cook,

but overall,
that's a very good attempt.

That bisque is superb.

LAUGHS: It's rich and it's creamy,
and I can pick out star anise,

a little bit of chilli.
I'm really enjoying that.

Philippe, all in all, you got
the gist of what we wanted

from the Skills Test.
That's a good bisque.

This is a good start.
Thank you, Chef.

Thank you. Thank you. Au revoir.
Au revoir.

I like him. He stands out, he does.

To get that flavour in 20 minutes,

that took some doing. Good start.

20 minutes to do a bisque

is not easy with the pressure,

and I think it went well.

HE LAUGHS

Do you know, all in all, a pretty
good standard. I think,

out of the four, there's only one

of them that's going to be kicking
themselves,

and that is Dan with the bisque.

Yeah, I think Verity and Dimi
showed great potential.

Philippe, great bisque, great
flavours and also great potential.

We've got a good bunch here.
We've got a very good bunch.

It's their own dishes next,
it's dishes they've practised,

so I'm looking forward
to the next round.

Let's see what they're all about.
Mm.

Chefs, welcome back to our kitchen.

Were so excited to see
what you've got planned for us.

This is your signature
two-course menu.

It's the food that you love, right?

Your golden opportunity to showcase
your talent, your passion.

You have an hour and 30 minutes
to cook one main, one dessert.

At the end of this, two of you
will be leaving the competition.

Nail it! Chefs, off you go.

I want to bring something unusual
in terms of taste and flavour.

It's a bit dangerous, but I really
believe in these dishes.

So, Dimi, tell us about your menu.

For the main course, I cook for you

pan-fried hake with the con fit
carrot, carrot oil, carrot puree

and a creamy caviar sauce.

You've got orange liqueur
on your bench. Yeah.

Where does that feature?

I want to marinate my fish
in Cointreau with the orange zest,

salt, sugar. So it will be like a
brine.

And for the dessert, I'm going
to have a blue cheese cheesecake

with the rhubarb gel
and the poached rhubarb.

Why blue cheese in a cheesecake?

It's not the usual thing,
to put the blue cheese.

That's why I decided to put
it in there.

And it works really well.

So you have tried and tested
these recipes? Yeah.

I did five, six times yesterday
at home,

just to practise, practise,
practise.

And, yeah, I can't eat cheesecake
with blue cheese any more!

Orange and fish.
Blue cheese cheesecake.

You are different.

Thank you.
HE SNIGGERS

Dimi is taking a hake fillet. He
says he's using the orange liqueur

to make a brine.

So he's going to cure it first
before he pan-fries it.

Hopefully it's going to seep
through and you can taste

the orange liqueur.

Carrots in three different ways.
Got a carrot puree.

Nice and smooth.

Got a con fit carrot.

And, of course, the carrot oil
should be nice and vibrant.

I love the addition of caviar sauce.

He's got cream in it,

some yoghurt and some caviar
running through it.

Very unusual dessert from Dimi.

A blue cheese cheesecake.
We've got cream cheese.

We've got whipped cream.

We've also got condensed
milk for sweetness.

This is going to be all
about the balance.

I have been practising these
dishes.

I've had my wife asking me
lots of questions, pretending

to be Gregg, trying to distract me
as I'm working.

I hope that that's put me
in good stead for today.

Verity, why are you here
on MasterChef, please?

I felt like I was getting to a place
where my food felt like my own.

And I thought it would be nice
to come and see what you guys

thought of it. To what end?

I'd love to have a restaurant
on the Isle of Skye.

That'd be amazing.
Verity, what are your two courses?

Pan-fried hake with mussels
and a mussel sauce.

Salsify. I'm doing crispy salsify,
a salsify puree,

and parsley oil and wild garlic.

Mm, all right. And for pudding?

Sheep's yoghurt mousse
with elderflower, strawberry

and shortbread. A bit of Scotland

down here in the MasterChef kitchen.

Hake is all about the timing,
the cooking,

and just a gentle pan-fry.
You don't want to stress the fish,

you don't want to hit it with too
much heat because it will dry out

very easily.

She's got some mussels served
in the shell, and then the rest,

she's going to crispen them up
by deep-frying them.

For the mussel sauce, she's going to
use some of that cooking liquor.

That can provide so much
flavour in this sauce.

I chose to use hake and mussels
because coming from

the Isle of Skye, I love these
ingredients so much.

They're something that I use a lot.

I'm hoping that the flavours
of the ingredients will

really stand out.

Verity's dessert

is going to be
elderflower-infused strawberries.

She's putting the sheep's yoghurt
mousse into an espuma,

so when she serves,
it's nice and fluffy and light.

But she does need to make sure
that it sets.

You want a bit of body to it.

We all like shortbread.
We all know what it should be.

Short, full of butter.

Nice and light. Delicious.

Perfect accompaniment with a dish
like this.

Chefs, you are halfway!

Come on, Chefs. Let's go.

Philippe is cooking grilled turbot.

We've got plantain and a moyo sauce.

So I'm from Benin, is in the west
of Africa, and we have a sauce

called moyo, and it's a half-cooked
tomato sauce

with pepper, red onion,

garlic and scotch bonnet.

Oh! Yeah.

I'm excited about Philippe's menu.

He's taking his French roots
and bringing in his West African

flavours into it too,
things I haven't had before.

He's got a cornmeal, which he's put
some spinach through.

A bit like a potato cake.

And then he's coating it
in the garri, which is a cassava

powder or flour.

And then he's going to pan-fry that
to crisp it up.

The turbot. You've got a
trancon of fish cooked on the bone.

It's the best way to cook turbot.

It is quite a skill.

99 chefs out of 100 would fillet
the fish and cook the piece of fish

off the bone.
But we've got the 1% here today,

and I'm looking forward
to trying it.

Philippe's dessert is
a lemon thyme financier.

The financier is a classic French
cake with a lot of butter.

I remember making financiers
first thing in the morning, working

in pastry, and it's about getting
that nutty butter in it.

Has to have a little bit
of a bite on the edges.

Mm! Beautiful served warm.

He's also got a tonka bean
sheep yoghurt mousse.

Oh! Love tonka bean.

You've got the sharpness
of the yoghurt, and then you've got

the vanilla-y flavour of
the tonka bean coming through.

Delicious.

We've also got caramelised
cashew nuts and mango

flavoured with hibiscus.

With hibiscus, you've got
to be careful with it.

It is a very, very strong flavour.

Two lovely dishes from Philippe.
Really piqued my imagination.

Who was cooking
when you were a child?

My mother.

She was cooking French dishes
and African dishes.

Naturally, I was in the kitchen
tasting different ingredients,

and I think because of this,
it gave me the sense

to become a chef.

So your mother is a big inspiration
with your cookery. Yeah.

Is she very proud of you?

For sure.
LAUGHTER

She proud of me.

Chefs, you have 25 minutes left.

These are some dishes that I've made
plenty of times before.

I've been practising.

I really hope that I can redeem
myself with this.

Dan, how are you feeling now?

I'm...I'm OK. I'm better
now I'm doing my food.

Tell us what your two dishes are.

So we've got a little bit of roasted
lamb loin, asparagus, a salsa verde,

an anchovy cream, and a little bit
of sauce that I've made

with the lamb bones.

I think Dan's got a point to prove,
and I think he really wants

to showcase his food.

Roast loin of lamb.

Need to be very careful that
there's no fat on the lamb.

He can't afford to overcook it.

There's no room for error.

Dan's making salsa verde,
which is going to have fresh

sharpness because he's got green
herbs,

there's parsley and mint in there,

and he's also got capers
running through it.

I think this will work wonders
with the roast lamb.

I love the addition
of the anchovy cream as well.

Tell me, what is your dessert?

My dessert, which is a bit daunting
telling you, is a baked egg custard.

Egg custard tart? Egg custard tart.
wow.

You know a thing or two
about custard tarts, Chef.

Many years we've been baking that,
and it's been a very popular dessert

ever since I cooked it
for the Queen.

You're brave. Not because it's me.

Because of the time constraints.
Well, fingers crossed.

I've made my pastry.
I've blind-baked my pastry.

Beautiful.
So you're making a big one

and we're going to get slices from?
That's the theory.

Success with a custard tart is
all about the technique.

Crunchy pastry, the custard itself,
and nutmeg.

They're the three key things
that you look

for in a great custard tart.

Trust me, I know.

Getting the egg custard made, set,
cooled enough to be able to cut

and then put on the plate
is the big challenge for me.

If I smash this, I'll be ecstatic.

Chefs, you now have 12 minutes left.

12 minutes.

I think I'm looking all right.

Hopefully not forgotten anything.
CHUCKLES

Dimi, just calm down!

I know time's against you,
but you're actually

ruining your own dish.

You've got five minutes.

Are you going to be all right,
Dan? Tart's not ready.

How far off is that cooked?

Not close.

HE GROANS

Oh, my God. No, no, no, please!
Please!

Listen, everybody,
you've got two minutes.

Right, where are we? Is it done?

No, not quite yet, Chef.
Time's nearly up.

It's almost set.

What you also know as well,
to cut it, it needs to cool.

Chefs, time's up. Stop.

No.

You happy, man? Yeah. Yeah? Yeah.

What about you?

Dessert's not ready.

Oh, yeah.

First up is senior sous-chef Dan,
whose signature main course is roast

lamb loin with pea puree,

salsa verde, asparagus,
anchovy cream,

fresh peas and lamb sauce.

Dan, my lamb is nicely cooked.

It's pink.

My asparagus is perfectly cooked.

I wish there was more of
that anchovy cream on the plate.

That was delightful.

Dan, you've worked very hard
on your presentation, but I think

this dish lacks refinement.

Your verde sauce there is so coarse
because there's all stringy bits

of the herb running through. Your
pea puree's

very nice on the side, but yet,
not a lot of it.

Your sauce lacks body.

You've basically got
three sauces on here,

if you think the sauce, the salsa
verde and the puree. And I don't

think the sauce was ever going
to live with the salsa verde.

The salsa verde is too strong.

Right, dessert.

We called time on you.

Your custard tart wasn't
out of the oven.

All right? It's been a few minutes.

Is it ready now? It's set,

what I would argue with, as perfect.

Personally, I'd like a slice of
custard tart, if that's all right?

Not set within the cooking time,

Dan's signature dessert is egg
custard tart topped with nutmeg.

You know why that tastes so good?

Because that's my recipe.

And I recognise that anywhere.

Mm!

We're all eating it,
we're all enjoying it.

It's a shame you didn't get it done
on time.

Dan, thank you very much, Chef.
Thank you very much.

A bad day in the kitchen.

I tried to push as hard
as I could for dishes

that I believed in.

Didn't execute them quite right.

So it is what it is at this point.

Chef patron Verity's
Scottish-Highlands-inspired

main course is pan-fried hake
with steamed mussels,

breadcrumbed crispy mussels,

salsify, salsify puree,

wild garlic, and a mussel sauce

split with parsley oil.

Your fish is cooked beautifully.

It's just flaking apart
in really nice, soft chunks.

Your salsify pieces are cooked
all the way through.

To put a crunch of breadcrumbs
around the outside, I think,

is inspired. Well done.

Crispy things on top of wet purees
is always going to be a tough call

because everything's going soft
underneath.

But the puree at the bottom
is nice and smooth.

Love the sauce.

Great flavour with the parsley oil
running through it.

Um, this dish is a very tasty plate
of food,

and it's been executed well.
Just need to dress it differently.

Hake, it's beautiful.

Love the mussel that have
been breadcrumbed.

Salsify, the wild garlic...

You know, they're all things
that work wonderfully together.

All in all, great flavours.

Thank you.

Verity's dessert is sheep's yoghurt
mousse with elderflower-infused

strawberries and crumbed shortbread.

It's interesting, by putting
the yoghurt into an espuma,

it's obviously aerated it
and made it incredibly light.

And so when you put everything else
on top of it, it sort

of disintegrates and disappears
a little bit.

Still tastes good. Great flavours,
shortbread's beautifully cooked.

I like the idea of keeping them
on the side and just sprinkle them

over the top.

Strawberries are fantastic
with the elderflower and, of course,

the crumb there.

If you had more of that mousse,
and a little bit firmer,

this would be great.

I'm very much enjoying your dish,
Verity.

I think you've got some great
textures and some lovely flavours.

Well done.

Right now, I'm feeling pretty
relieved.

Well done.

It was good feedback,
so I'm very chuffed.

Sous-chef Dimi is serving
pan-fried hake

that has been brined in orange
liqueur, on carrot con fit,

with carrot puree, carrot oil,

crispy fish skin

and a cream caviar sauce.

Dimi, I'm not a fan of the
presentation with the grey sauce

that we pour on it.

It doesn't look very appealing.

My hake is cooked nicely.

You sort of brined the fish a bit
in Cointreau.

It only just comes through.
The carrot puree...

There's a lot of it,
and it's very sweet.

The texture is quite coarse.

And I'm not enjoy eating all that
together.

Sadly.

Your caviar sauce,

the way you've thought about it
is the more caviar,

the more luxurious it is.
It's all about balance.

Too much caviar turned it all grey.

And the crispy skin...

It's not crispy enough.
You need to dry it out, deep-fry it.

That's too chewy. And it's not
cooked, unfortunately.

I love the flavour of your puree,

the sweet carrot with the carrot
oil, but not the texture.

And it wouldn't matter
what you did with that sauce.

Once that goes grey,
it's off-putting.

It's not quite there.

Dimi's signature dessert is
blue cheese cheesecake with a brown

butter crumble base,

poached rhubarb in ginger syrup
and rhubarb gel.

It didn't set well.

Dimi, you've got more of a mousse
that's set rather than a cheesecake.

The cheesecake is something
that has a little bit

more body to it.

There's not enough blue cheese
in here

for it to be a blue cheese
cheesecake. I'm not tasting it.

It's not worked, unfortunately.

Dimi, I like the flavours
of your dessert.

Rhubarb, ginger.

It's a shame that the cheesecake
hasn't turned out the way

that you had hoped to.

Thank you.

I like the flavours.
I like the buttery biscuit base.

Funny enough, I do.

I love sour rhubarb across the top.

I think this is lovely.

Your points of difference
are great and they're interesting.

But the technical side
of your cooking, you've got to get

absolutely bang-on, A1. Yeah.

After a Skill Test,
I was really proud of myself.

Like, yeah, I can do this.

And now I'm a bit upset.

Bad day.

Yeah, definitely could do better.

Finally, inspired by both his French
and West African heritage,

private chef Philippe is serving
grilled turbot,

with fried plantain, a corn meal
and spinach slice

with a garri - or cassava flour -
crust,

and both a chunky and smooth
Beninese moyo

sauce made from tomato, red onion,

peppers and scotch bonnet chilli.

Philippe,
I think this is a fantastic dish.

You have a corn cake here
full of spinach.

The garri - that's
made from cassava flour, right?

Yeah. And it's lovely.

It's crispy,
like crispy breadcrumbs.

Philippe, the plantain is divine.
The way you've cooked it,

almost like a fondant, the way
you were roasting it, with a slight

hint of sweetness.
And it works so well.

The moyo sauce -
sweetness of pepper.

There's only a slight hint of warmth
from the chilli in there.

I could do with a little bit more.

If you're making something so
lovely, give us a little extra pot

on the side. Yeah.

I think your fish cookery is
the star of the plate here.

It's very difficult to take
any fish off the bone and make

it look really refined.

But you've done a really good job
of that.

You've cooked it on the bone,

you've removed it beautifully
and put it back together.

Good flavours, very colourful.

It's a really good start
in the kitchen.

Thank you, Chef.

Philippe's dessert is lemon thyme
financier cake topped with tonka

beans, sheep's yoghurt mousse,

hibiscus-flowers-infused mango,
caramelised cashew nuts

and edible flowers.

Philippe, the presentation of your
financier dessert is lovely.

It's delicate.

Financier, for me, is one
of my favourite things.

It's all about that butter, a bit of
crispiness on the edge of it.

You've got it spot-on.

Thank you.

That is fantastic.

A quite sour mousse, but with tonka,

which is like vanilla plus.

But what I'm loving here is the
little bits of candied cashew.

Very sweet and a crunch to them.

I'm finding that an absolute
delight.

Take a mango, which I think
is the most incredible, perfect

fruit on its own,

and just give it a little flavour
of the hibiscus flower is very,

very bold, but it actually
really does work.

It brightens up the mango
and it gives

it a completely different dimension.

I'm really enjoying this dish,
and I'm really enjoying your menu.

Thank you, Chef.

I think the chefs was happy.

So I'm really happy to start
the competition like that.

Throughout the whole day,
there was some good cookery,

but it was nervy in parts,
wasn't it? Yeah.

Tough day for some of our chefs
today, but some great flavours,

some great plates of food.

I actually felt for Dan.

I thought we had a really good menu
in here, but he didn't get

his custard tart out.
Right, we can't judge it.

It wasn't up on time.

It was brave. A brave attempt.

It's a shame, because I love
the flavours of his lamb dish.

Disappointed for him.

If I got through today, like, one,
I think it would be a minor miracle.

And two, it's almost that second
chance, and I'd have to grab

it with both hands and then really
kind of up what I'm doing

in the kitchen.

Philippe, I did enjoy his cookery.
I really did.

He gave us French cookery technique
with the flavours of West Africa.

I thought it was just a really
clever, lovely plate.

His dessert - flawless.

Beautiful combination, lovely floral
notes just running through it.

Texturally beautiful and absolutely
delicious.

I think this is the goal
of the competition, is to show

what we can do and stay as much
as I can.

And I want to stay.

HE LAUGHS

Verity gave us a nice hake dish.

Great puree of the salsify,

lovely and crispy mussels,
crispy salsify as well.

Fish was beautifully cooked.
It was very nice.

The dessert. For me, I found
the mousse was a bit too light,

but overall, delicious plate
of food.

I'd love to cook again
in the MasterChef kitchen.

Nice adrenaline rush.

I'm hoping that I've done enough
to get through.

It was a tough day today for Dimi.

Brining the hake in alcohol
didn't really have any effect.

Dimi's sauce turned grey
because of the amount

of the caviar he had through it.

A blue cheese cheesecake
with ginger and rhubarb

is a really good idea, but there
wasn't enough blue cheese in it.

Dimi had great intention
and great ideas.

He just didn't execute it well
today.

I made a lot of mistakes.

I'm realising all of them
while I'm making a presentation.

It's like, "Oh, this is not right.
This is not right."

But it's done already,
so I should take it.

Two of these chefs go through
to the next round.

Two of them leave the competition.

We need to make the call.

Chefs, we know what this means
to you.

And we also know how difficult it is
to come into the MasterChef

kitchen and showcase your food.

That was a challenging day.

It always is, the first day
in the MasterChef kitchen.

We can only take our strongest two
chefs through to the next round.

And we've made our decision.

The first chef leaving
the competition is...

...Dan.

Thank you, Dan. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Dan.

The second chef leaving
the competition is...

...Dimi.

Thank you. Thank you so much, Dimi.

Thank you very much indeed.
Best of luck.

Leaving at this stage is difficult
because obviously I wanted to do

as well as I could.
Falling at the first hurdle,

I am just a little bit disappointed.

DIMI: Tomorrow, back to work.
Keep working on myself.

I know I can't be the part of the
MasterChef Professional again,

in the UK, but still I have

around, like, 190 countries

in the world,
so I can try all of them!

Verity, Philippe,
you're through to the next round.

Congratulations.

Well done. Well done.

Good job. That's not a high five,
that's a low five!

LAUGHTER

Ah, go on.

Yeah!

The pressure's high.
It's...it's hot in here.

Time goes fast.

I'm totally thrilled.

PHILIPPE: I have more to show.
I have more to show.

And I'm really happy to be part
of the next stage.

And I can't wait to see what's
happened and to see what I can do.

Next time...

...four new hopefuls fight for their
place in the quarterfinal.

Wow. Yeah. You've done that before.

A few times, Chef.

Either that or you play the drums.

You've got a couple of minutes,
guys. Are we plating?

Yes, Chef.

Nice pockets of surprises in there.

That's fantastic.

You've delivered an absolute
stunning dessert here.