All language subtitles for MasterChef.S21E09.1080p.WEBRiP.x264-DARKFLiX

NARRATOR: It's the
MasterChef quarterfinal,

and this week's six best cooks
are back.

HANNAH: I can't believe
I'm in the quarterfinal.

I feel like someone's going
to wake me up in a minute

and I'll have to start
the whole thing all over again.

NAOMI: It is relentless.

From the moment you start cooking,
it is just go, go, go.

I have to step up my game even more

to go further in the competition.

SOPHIE: I feel like
I'm coping with the pressure.

I'm trying to stay positive.

I'm trying to, like,
boogie through it.

MICHAEL: I'm an all-or-nothing
kind of person,

so it's just nice to be
in a scenario where I can go all in.

I actually don't know
what I'm capable of

when I'm put under pressure,
so to me, yeah, bring it on.

Tonight, they face
just one challenge -

to cook an exceptional dish
from a brief

set by top restaurant critic
Jimi Famurewa.

GREGG: Quarterfinalists,
all impressed us before.

Will they impress us again?

JOHN: They have to be brilliant.
They've got to be great.

Everyday, ordinary is just not
good enough from here on in.

Welcome to
our MasterChef quarterfinal.

You have been set a brief
by a very special guest -

food writer, journalist and
incredible restaurant critic

Jimi Famurewa.

Ah, welcome back, Jimi.

I would really love you all

to make me a dish inspired
by modern American cuisine.

It's a big, broad brief.

It's a big country.

And I really,
really want you to deliver

in terms of unbelievable flavours.

JOHN: At the end of this, three of
you will go through Knockout Week,

three of you will be going home.

You've got 90 minutes.

Bring on America.

Let's cook.

Uh-oh.

It's really exciting
cooking for Jimi,

to see what he thinks
about my food today.

I just love American food

and it's been a lifelong love
of mine.

I've got family in the States.
I'd go out there.

It really sparked my imagination.

We all feel like
we know American food,

but I think there's
a world beyond junk food,

whether that's kind of Deep South
barbecue and soul food

or maybe a bit of Tex-Mex.

I love American puddings as well.

There's such boldness of flavour,
there's indulgence.

It's just a real
tantalising prospect.

SOPHIE: I feel like I look
way more serious this time.

I'm like this.

Sophie, we know
as a plant-based cook,

some great food so far.

Everything is full of flavour.

GREGG: Really well made pasta

and it's showing a fair amount
of process and skill.

Plant-based? USA?

I'm fascinated to see what
she's going to come up with.

I think I'm certainly pushing myself
with this dish.

I'm going all out,
cooking with something

that I'm not used to
cooking or eating.

It's going to be fine.

Sophie, it's smelling good.

What are you making for us?

So, I am making
a cola-braised short rib taco.

Wow.
But I am a plant-based cook.

I'm vegetarian, but for my friends
and family, I cook meat.

I mean, people are going to
eat meat either way.

I might as well cook it
nicely for them.

That's quite a bold call, right?

A little bit. I've got to get it
right and I can't taste it, so...

Yeah. ..hopefully you can taste it
and enjoy it.

We've got a really interesting taco
from Sophie.

A cola and bourbon flavoured
beef short rib taco

with crispy bits of corn,
whipped avocado,

and then we've got
a chard salsa verde.

She's cooking that short rib
in a pressure cooker.

That should then fall apart,
come off the bone,

almost be shredded like pulled pork.

Hopefully we're going to get
a lovely dipping sauce

from all the juices out of
that pressure cooker.

I love the idea
of cooking meat and cola.

It screams Americana.

But the fact that
she cannot taste the dish

that she's making
is a little concerning.

It's fine. It's cool. It's all good.

Hannah's food has been really tasty

and she got her apron
straight off.

I'm really, really enjoying this.

She really understands flavours.
She's got a great palate.

Really nice, with every element
executed perfectly.

The inspiration behind this dish
is my favourite American snacks.

When I was at school, a friend
of mine used to go to America

and brought back once
chocolate-covered pretzels,

and they just blew my mind.

Hannah's making us
a chocolate and caramel tart

inside a salted pretzel
buttery base,

served with popcorn ice cream.

She's taking the pretzels,
she's grinding them down,

adding butter to it.

She's going to line
a tart case with that.

Then she's making a caramel.

And then that's got to set
inside the tart case.

Across the top of that tart case,

then she's making
a chocolate ganache,

which she's going
to get those tarts out.

And those tarts are going
to be really fragile.

I want it to be like, you know
when you go to an American diner

and they have all the pies
in the fridge?

I love that, cos America
doesn't really have tarts.

They call them pies.

So it's just like
an American pie, really.

"Bye-bye, Miss American tart"
would never have worked, would it?

THEY LAUGH

JIMI: Yeah.

Hannah absolutely had me
at chocolate pretzels.

I was that kid waiting for,
you know,

relatives to smuggle over
those snacks from the US

and just loving them.

I think it's a really
appealing idea.

35 minutes gone. 55 minutes left.

Just under an hour.

Still dead nerve-racking.

Victoria's ambition
is quite extraordinary.

She gives herself
a huge amount of work to do.

I am gobsmacked that she's managed
to get all this done.

She does really big flavours.

The jus is fantastic.

It's got great flavour, great body.

American food is not something

that I would traditionally cook.

Who-oa!

That said, I'm always on the lookout
for new recipes,

different way to present things,

and I'm not afraid of a challenge.

Right, Victoria,
what are you making us?

So, I'm making
a smoked duck taco

with tempura spring onions,

a miso and lime mayonnaise

and an umeboshi plum sauce
with skinny fries.

This seems to be coming
from a lot of places.

I like the Chinese duck
and spring onion wraps,

and I thought to try
and kind of fusion that

into an American dish
would just make it a bit more fun.

JOHN: Victoria is making us
a flour-based tortilla shell

for a taco, but she's using flavours
from all around the world.

She's cooking the duck
in a pressure cooker

with five-spice,
lots and lots of stock

so the duck legs become
lovely and tender

and she can pull them off the bun.

Umeboshi, dried plums, quietly salty,

and she's turning that
into a sauce to imitate

the Chinese plum sauce
or hoisin sauce.

There needs to be
some good spice in that.

And then she's making Japanese-style
tempura spring onions,

little bits of spring onions
which are being fried with

a really crystal light batter
across the outside.

With that,
we're getting skinny fries.

I wonder if it's slightly
a bit too kitchen sink,

like she's thrown everything
at that's it.

But, look, I think in spirit,
there's a freeness,

there's a fusion
that does feel very much like

what I associate with
modern American cuisine.

JOHN: Elisha's really surprised us.

I mean, we have seen combinations
that maybe not quite work together,

but his skills are incredible.

An egg yolk raviolo,
we had a deconstructed cheesecake.

GREGG: He was the dining room
cook of the day in the last round.

This guy is not scared of flavour
and I am a fan.

ELISHA: I love American cuisine.
They love gluttony, so...

I like to be gluttonous
myself sometimes.

I've got a sweet tooth,
so it's right in my wheelhouse.

Elisha, what are you making?

I'm making for you guys
a cheesecake mound.

I don't know what that is.

It's just a big dollop
and then little dots around.

This is the second time you've
given us a theme on a cheesecake.

Mate, you like your cheesecakes,
don't you?

I love it. I love it.
But they love cheesecake in America.

Elisha is making for us
mounds of things.

We've got a cream cheese,
which is flavoured with vanilla,

he's making blondies,

which are a white chocolate version
of a brownie.

So we want it crispy on the outside
and fudge-y in the centre.

We've got a white chocolate
biscuit crumb,

passion fruit creme patissiere.

With that, we've got a mango,
passion fruit and lime sorbet.

This is, like, one of
the main elements of my dish.

So hopefully it churns on time.

It sounds really fun.

But he will have a battle, I think,
with just making it look impressive.

30 minutes to go.
30 minutes!

MICHAEL EXHALES FORCEFULLY
Should be OK.

Michael fascinates me.

He's drawing on his love
of Asian food.

I'm really enjoying
this kind of omelette overcoat

to the sticky rice.

He has got an exciting style.

That butter miso sauce over the beef
is really, really lovely.

MICHAEL: I go to America quite often
to see my close friends.

Every time I go,

I always gorge myself on tacos

and it's just something
that we always share together,

and they've kind of opened my eyes
up to that world.

Michael, you're
the third contestant, so far,

that's doing tacos.
What have you got going?

So, I'm making you
two types of tacos.

I'm making you a fish taco
and a chicken taco.

And the chicken taco
will be a super taco,

with the chicken and the pickled
radishes and chicken skin on top.

What's a super taco?

So, I'm making corn tortillas

and one of them will have, like,
cheese melted into the taco.

Mmm. So you get, like, a nice little
crust to make it more American

and, you know, just chubby.

CHUCKLING: Mmm, yeah.
Chubby? Yeah.

JOHN: Michael is making a fish taco
with coleslaw and garlic mayonnaise.

He's taking his fish,
then he's making a batter from beer,

cornflour and plain flour.

The great thing about battered fish?

Lovely, crispy outside,
the fish steams in the centre,

keeping the fish lovely and moist.

Oh, yeah.

JIMI: And then on the other end
of the spectrum,

he's giving us a super taco,

which feels so American,
you know,

foot to the floor,
real, real indulgence.

And I'm very excited.

OK. Ah!
NAOMI INHALES SHARPLY

Naomi, schoolteacher from
up in the Highlands.

She loves Scottish produce,
but she also loves puddings.

Mate, get in there.
That's delicious.

She gives us crowd pleasers.

I can't remember eating
a sticky toffee pudding,

honestly, as good as that.

Today, I'm making you
a lime tart with

a sweet shortcrust pastry
and Italian meringue on top,

some coffee ice cream and
a wee honey tuile to finish off.

Wow. So, I was actually
really excited when I saw the brief

because I just had a holiday
to Miami last summer,

and one day, we made a stop
at the Key Lime Pie Factory.

So that's what's inspired
this dish today.

Key lime pie, classically,
is a biscuit base,

almost like cheesecake,

but Naomi's making
a pastry tart base

which is flavoured with ginger,

filled with a lime
set custard mixture.

With that, we've got
Italian meringue -

egg whites first whipped up
and then sugar poured in

very, very slowly, so the actual
egg whites are cooked there and then.

Coffee ice cream
is an interesting accompaniment.

Coffee and lime feels like
quite a combative pairing,

on the face of it.

Let's hope that it's one that works.

I'm used to doing this at home.

I have a few cups of tea
in between each different element.

It's very relaxed,

whereas, here, I've got no time
to breathe today.

I really need
to get everything perfect.

QUIETLY: Stressed.

GREGG: Eight minutes, everybody.
You got eight minutes.

I think we're all right.
I think we're all right.

Oh, if this comes out of the tin,

we could be golden.

Oh. Oh, Jesus. I can't watch. No.

SOPHIE: Oh, God,
I'm so nervous about this.

ELISHA: Didn't all go quite to plan,
but we'll see.

HANNAH: It's all right.

EXHALES SHAKILY

I wanted it to fall off the bone

and it's fallen off the bone.

VICTORIA WHISPERING: Look at that,
look at that, look at that.

Happy, yep, happy, happy, happy.

Guys, listen,
you have three minutes.

NAOMI INHALES SHARPLY

No stress!

One minute left.

Just 60 seconds, please.

Get it on a plate now.

Oh!

Time's up! That's it, stop!

Lots of hard work.
Well done, you lot.

Oh, I hope that's enough.

HANNAH SIGHS

NAOMI CHUCKLES

Sophie, please?

NARRATOR: First up is
assistant film colourist Sophie...

SOPHIE EXHALES SHARPLY
Hello.

..whose take on
modern American cuisine

is beef short rib tacos,

flour tortillas filled with cola
and bourbon braised beef,

salsa verde, whipped avocado,

pickled red onions with chillies
and charred corn,

and a dipping sauce made from
the braising liquors.

You don't eat meat...

..but you've cooked this short rib
absolutely perfectly.

It falls apart, it's lovely,
slightly gelatinous.

I could probably ask
for a little bit more seasoning.

Your sauce, you get
a little bit of sweetness from

that bourbon in there, you get
a little sweetness from the cola,

and I think it's
a really lovely consistency.

You have got well-made tacos.

I love your whipped avocado,
giving it a real creaminess,

but I particularly like
the bits of red onion

because they are hot
and they are sharp.

The only slight wrinkle for me

is you couldn't sort of
test the seasoning,

so that's slightly lacking.

Everything else around it, dynamite.

SOPHIE: I knew that
it needed more seasoning.

I knew it.

So I'm a little bit gutted
on that front.

But everything else was good

and they were happy with
how the meat was cooked,

so I am... Relieved
is definitely the word.

And breathe!

Inspired by his love of tacos,

web developer Michael is serving
two different kinds,

fish tacos - paprika and
beer battered cod

with garlic aioli
in a corn tortilla -

and super tacos -

melted cheese-topped corn tortillas
with marinated chilli chicken,

pickled red onion and radishes

and crispy chicken skin,
with coleslaw on the side.

JIMI: Ooh!

I think your chicken taco is great.

Your chicken's cooked really nicely,

there's a really lovely
bit of spice in there,

the pickle coming
from those radishes,

which are really lovely,

the actual tortilla itself
made nicely,

it's still lovely and flexible.

It's my first time
having a super taco.

Love the fried cheese.

It's kind of indulgent,
it's playful,

but it does add texture
and flavour.

The only thing that I do have issues
with is that piece of fish.

The size of it is a real challenge,

and I don't think the seasoning
has really penetrated.

You want a little bit more.

That fish is cooked wonderfully -
nice and flaky inside.

I'd like some more garlic
in that aioli,

but I think this is a good job.

MICHAEL: It's not every day
that you get to see

a famous food critic
come and eat your food,

so, you know, it was really great
to hear the positive feedback.

And, yeah, I'll definitely work
on my portion sizing.

I mean, that's

a Michael-sized portion.

MICHAEL CHUCKLES QUIETLY

Lawyer Victoria's
American fusion tacos

are flour tortillas
with smoked duck,

Japanese umeboshi plum sauce

and tempura spring onions
with French fries

and miso lime mayonnaise
with grated ginger.

You've really thrown everything
at it, Victoria.

Like, the flavours are big,
they're enticing.

The sweetness of that umeboshi plum
sauce works so well with the duck.

I like the touch
of the stars and stripes.

It's a real fun dish to eat.
Thank you.

I've got a really nice,
almost flatbread taco -

bouncy flatbread taco.

I like your fries.
They are crispy.

I also like your miso mayo
with the bits of ginger.

I think it's great. Thank you.

You have taken the classic idea
of a Chinese duck pancake,

and you've turned it into
a Tex-Mex-cum-bar-food

before the baseball feast.

I think it's a really good example
of what's happening with fusion,

and I really like it.
Thank you for your comments.

Thank you.

I feel really good.

The feedback from the duck
was absolutely brilliant.

The judges really got
what I was trying to do.

QUIETLY: I'm really happy with that.

NARRATOR: Delivery dispatcher
Elisha's take

on the American cheesecake
is a vanilla cheesecake mound

with mango and passion fruit,

white chocolate blondie pieces,

a white chocolate crumb,

passion fruit creme pat custard

and a mango and lime sorbet.

JOHN: I do like your passion fruit
creme pat.

That's really lovely.

Your mango sorbet
is creamy and rich.

The rest of it, I've got issue with.
I'm really sorry.

The actual cheesecake mixture
is split.

The blondie doesn't have
the texture you need for a blondie.

That's a white chocolate sponge,
and it doesn't have that sweetness.

You have shown
you can make a creme pat,

a white chocolate crumb

and a sorbet all to
a pretty decent standard.

It needs a much smarter appearance
than this.

I'm so, so impressed
by your flavours.

It just feels an enormous shame
that you couldn't

quite bring it together
how you wanted.

ELISHA: A little bit deflated.

I promised them a cheesecake mound

and it kind of became
like a sandpit,

which isn't exactly
what I planned for.

Based on her favourite American
chocolate-covered pretzel snack,

mortgage broker Hannah has made
a caramel chocolate ganache tart

in a pretzel base

served with toffee popcorn,

popcorn ice cream
and caramel sauce.

You've got chocolate going down
into a really, really sweet,

sticky caramel inside
that pretzel base.

It's very sweet. It's very rich.

You couldn't eat much of it.

The sweetness is quite full-on.

It just is unrelenting.

But that popcorn ice cream
is amazing,

taking a traditional taste
that's associated with America

and turning it into something else,

and I really enjoyed it. Thank you.

I love the thought of using pretzels
as a base,

but I've got a soggy bottom.

What's happened
is the caramel has oozed

and soaked into your pretzel,

and then we don't have
a clear biscuit base

to give us any respite from
that sweet of chocolate

and the sweeter caramel.

But I like what you've done.
I like the work you've done.

HANNAH: The feedback was fair.

I mean, it IS very sweet
and I knew that going into it.

But I just... It's, like,
my favourite dessert.

And I'm really proud of everything
that I've put on a plate.

NARRATOR: Finally, inspired
by the classic key lime pie,

teacher Naomi's dessert
is a shortcrust ginger pastry case

with a set lime filling,

topped with Italian meringue,

served with a coffee ice cream

and a honey tuile.

JOHN: The key lime filling
inside of there

is slightly sweet,
but sharp with lime.

It's set absolutely perfectly.

Across the top your Italian meringue
has got the bounce of marshmallow.

That's really very,
very nicely done indeed.

I love the fact
the pastry is completely short,

it's crumbly and breaks apart.

You've done a great job here.

That coffee ice cream is
an absolute knockout.

Really, really creamy.

And that's got
a proper hit of coffee.

Thank you. Well done.

I just love your balance
with flavours.

I was quite sceptical about
the kind of coffee on the side.

It's almost like some other
dessert has wandered in

and is intruding on
the key lime pie party.

But it totally works.

It's gorgeous. Well done. Thank you.

I feel tired,
but I feel really good.

It's like the adrenaline wears off
and it's, like...

MAKES WHOOSHING SOUND

..hits you.

But... Yeah, I'm proud of
what I did today.

I am.

Jimi, as always, a fantastic brief.

You bring out the best
of our contestants.

I love setting these briefs,
but they really delivered.

Thanks, Jimi. Good luck, guys.

We did have one half of the room
doing tacos,

the other half of the room
doing desserts.

Lots of conversations to be had here

because we've only got three places
in Knockout Week.

Goodness. Well done, everyone.

The standard today was insane.

Someone's dish I thought
was really, really yummy.

That was Victoria's.

That was me going to a bar
in America,

getting this sort of fusion food
of tacos from Mexico,

the Asian influence from China
and fries.

I think Victoria deserves a place
in Knockout Week.

Naomi made for us
a key lime pie

with Italian meringue across the top.

Her pastry was lovely and short,

and it crumbled very, very nicely.

Brilliant coffee ice cream.
John, Naomi's got to go through.

I think Elisha, his cheesecake,

presentation was nonexistent

and the cream was splitting.

It didn't all work out.

Sadly, Elisha goes home.

Hannah made for us a chocolate
and caramel tart

with a salty pretzel base.

But that tart ended up
with a soggy bottom.

It's very rich, very sweet.

Jimi thought that
Hannah's tart was unrelenting.

I think Hannah's competition's over.

OK. That now leaves us
Michael and Sophie.

Oh, mate, there's
two really good cooks there.

Michael made his own corn tortillas.

The chicken was just fabulous.

The fish one, there wasn't
very much garlic in the aioli,

and the fish was massive

and didn't have very much seasoning
on it.

Sophie's tacos, I thought she cooked
that beef really well

for someone that doesn't
actually eat meat.

And it had a bit of cola sweetness
going through it.

But the beef itself could have done
with a bit more seasoning.

SOPHIE: I'm feeling very nervous
about the decision ahead.

I feel like I've done
everything I can.

I went all out.

Hopefully the judges see that.

MICHAEL: Absolutely don't want
to go home.

I'd like to keep going,
get more satisfying moments

of getting food on the table,
watching them eat it and enjoy it.

And that's what I...
That's what my life is about.

Good luck.

Well done, all six of you.

We expect a lot from you
and you didn't disappoint.

Three places in Knockout Week.

That does mean that three of you
are leaving the competition.

There were two people
who really impressed today,

and they are going through
to Knockout Week.

Victoria...

..Naomi, congratulations.

It doesn't always go to plan.

And sometimes the detail
just doesn't quite happen.

Elisha...

..Hannah...

..sorry, guys. You're leaving us.

Thank you very much indeed.

Thank you.

HANNAH CLEARS THROAT

HANNAH: I'm a bit gutted.

Part of me is a bit relieved
that I don't

ever have to do it again.

HANNAH LAUGHS

It's very, very stressful.

But it's been the most
amazing experience I've ever had.

This competition has definitely
increased my love

for food and my passion.

It's put a fire under my belly,

so it's just about getting back
in the kitchen,

sharpening my skills
and getting better.

Sophie, Michael,
one place left in Knockout Week,

which does mean that one of you
is leaving the competition.

And this decision really did
come down to the finest of details.

The final person going through
to Knockout Week is...

..Sophie.

Sophie, congratulations.

Michael, thank you very much indeed.

It's been a fantastic journey.
We've loved your food.

Well done, guys. Thank you.
Well done.

I'm feeling disappointed, but proud.

I couldn't have done
anything different,

so it's just the way it is.

But I'm happy to have
been able to experience it.

I don't think
my food career ends here.

Ladies, congratulations. You three
are through to Knockout Week.

Yay! Oh...
Oh, gosh.

That is unbelievable.
Oh, my gosh.

I can't... I can't believe it.

When I heard my name,
my soul left my body.

SOPHIE LAUGHS

I still don't think
I've come back yet.

Yeah, I'm so proud of myself.

I never thought I was capable
of doing this.

Everybody is amazing,

so it just comes down to
who's the best on the day, I think.

I'm absolutely terrified
of Knockout Week.

CHUCKLING: I just don't know
what's going to happen next.

I just don't know. I've got no idea.

I'd better pull something
out of the bag.

Next time...

SIGHS

..six more contestants compete

for the right to wear
a MasterChef apron...

And I'm already burning something.

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

..before battling for a place
in the quarterfinal.

I love it!

The flavours are absolutely amazing.