All language subtitles for MasterChef.S21E14.1080p.WEBRiP.x264-DARKFLiX.x264-DARKFLiX

It's the battle
for the ultimate culinary prize.

Hmm!

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

I need to stop shaking.

..all with their hearts set...

Not really sure what I'm doing.

Flaming brilliant!

..on the coveted MasterChef trophy.

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

GREGG: That is a cracker of a job.

This is absolutely banging.
Yeah!

NARRATOR: Each week,
12 extraordinary amateur talents...

..battle for a place...

Yum, yum, yum.
Oh, wow, that's hot.

..in the quarterfinal.

I think it's delicious.

This is a revelation.
Congratulations.

But only the best can earn
their passports

to the ultimate cookery showdown.

A British culinary icon

is just about to enter the
MasterChef kitchen.

Are we ready for this?

Concentrate. I cannot send it.

I like it. I love it.

I think this year has been
an absolutely

brilliant competition.

We've found some amazing cooks
so far,

but we're looking for a few more.

It's the final heat
of this year's competition,

and the last six
passionate home cooks

are arriving
at the MasterChef kitchen.

But at the end of today,

only three will make it through
to this week's quarterfinal.

I've been watching the show
since I was a kid,

so it kind of feels a bit like
a dream

that I'm actually here now.

I may be very calm.

I may not be very calm.

We're here to find out.

I'm so excited to be here,
and it's my time to shine.

A very warm welcome
to the MasterChef kitchen.

You are our final six contestants
of this year's competition.

We may well have saved the best
till last.

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

We want you to take a basic,
everyday ingredient

and make it the star of the show.

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

And the people who've cooked those
will get themselves

a MasterChef apron

and go straight through
to the next round.

The rest of you will have
to cook again

for the last two aprons.

You will have 1 hour and 20 minutes,
ladies and gentlemen.

Make something truly brilliant.

Let's cook!

I'm feeling up for it.

We're practiced, ready to go.

And we're here.

NARRATOR: 46-year-old jeweller Zee,
from Lancashire,

has a love of Italian cuisine

and once made 300 ravioli
for her family

in an attempt to perfect
her culinary technique.

It's a bit of a running
family joke -

you should open a cafe,
you should open a restaurant,

you should bake for a living.

But never in a million years
did I think

I would be cooking in the
MasterChef kitchen.

And then, all of a sudden,
here we are.

Zee, welcome to MasterChef.

What prompted you,
or who prompted you,

to come into this competition?

My son made me promise
that I would apply.

And once you've promised
a ten-year-old,

you don't go back on that, do you?

No matter how difficult
and scary it is,

you just give it your best.

What's your little boy's name?
He's called William.

William. He is everything, yeah.

Of course he is.

What's your chosen ingredient?

It's mushroom.

I used to hate them growing up,
but when I went to Italy -

when I was working for an Italian
jewellery company -

they have a lot of mushrooms
and truffles and things.

I came back with a renewed interest
in the flavours.

What are you going to do with this
mushroom? What's the dish?

Mushroom and truffle
burrata tortellini

with a mushroom tuile and a shallot
brown butter and mushroom emulsion.

Whoa!

Zee's using four different types
of mushrooms.

Chestnut mushroom,

an oyster mushroom, a cep,
and also truffles.

This is a mushroom fest.

The only relief we've got from
this mushroom is burrata.

It's a bit fierce, this machine.

I like the idea.

There's lots of process going on,
huge amount of skill here.

Is it going to be mushroom overload?

NARRATOR: Head of fashion e-commerce
Gabriel's food

is heavily influenced
by his upbringing

in the south of Brazil.

GREGG: Gabriel, who taught you
to cook?

My mum, my aunties.

Everyone back home.

I'm always inspired by the ladies
in the kitchen.

What is your chosen ingredient?

Eggs. It is an essential ingredient
for lunch, breakfast and dinner.

You can use it in any way,
shape or form.

What's your dish, please?

A Brazilian flan called pudim.

In Brazil, on a Sunday,

we like to make this as a dessert.

So it is essentially just eggs,
milk, condensed milk.

Like a solid custard?

Yes, a solid custard -
with a brown top from the syrup.

Beautiful. So I grew up having this.
I'm very proud of it.

And I think it tastes amazing.

It is simply a creme caramel.

It's an upside-down pudding,
which is cooked inside a ramekin

with the caramel on the bottom of
it, and turned out.

And he's going to serve that
with some sugar garnish.

That's fantastic.

But he's got to make sure he's got
those puddings

in the oven at the right time,

they're out and they're cooled.

Because if they're not cooled,
he's not going to be

able to turn them out.

And if he doesn't turn them out,
he doesn't have a dessert.

It is a recipe I know well.

I've done this many, many times.

But, you know, under the pressure
of the MasterChef kitchen,

you never know
what's going to happen.

But I'm going to do whatever I can
to cook the best dish of the day.

20 minutes have gone, everybody.

20 minutes gone.

I'm having the best time!

I'm just having so much fun.

That's the only way to do it.

NARRATOR: 30-year-old Molly has been
cooking since the age of four.

Originally from Bristol,

she moved to Scotland six years ago

and works as an assistant
psychologist in Edinburgh.

Although I'm not vegetarian,

I definitely use vegetables
at the centre of all my dishes.

I get a veg box each week
from just a local farm

and then create the dish around it.

My basic ingredient is
a cauliflower,

so I'm doing it
in three different ways.

What is it that you find special
about the cauliflower?

I think, on its own, cauliflower can
be quite boring...

..but you can just absolutely
pack it full of flavour.

So I'd like to show that
and celebrate it.

What's your dish, please?

So we've got roasted cauliflower
with miso and turmeric,

a caramelised cauliflower puree,

pickled cauliflower -

and there'll be a soft boiled egg
on top as well.

How important is food to you
in your life?

Oh, it's so important.

I'm actually starting to study
nutritional therapy,

which I'm going to bring into the
mental health practice that I do.

Food is obviously vital
for our nourishment.

Good for you.

Cauliflower three different ways.

But she's going to use the
cauliflower flower itself

as well as the leaves, and
I'm really pleased about that.

But with that, we've also got
some cavolo nero,

a really hard cabbage.

And she's just going to pan-fry it.

Cavolo nero needs to be boiled first

so it goes really, really soft.

Otherwise it's very, very stringy
and quite strong.

NARRATOR: 62-year-old software
developer Mel

didn't start his cooking journey
until his late 40s,

but enjoys creating elegant plates
of food -

focusing on classic Mediterranean
flavours.

Mel, what sparked your interest
in cookery?

Basically, when I found myself
separated,

two small kids every other weekend,
and I needed to feed them.

So I started to cook.

I've spent the last 20 years

just trying to be better and better.

Now, what's your basic ingredient,
please?

Basic ingredient's egg.

Everywhere you go is egg,
you know?

So we're turning it into pasta.

I'm making a raviolo with chorizo,
some basil and some ricotta,

which is going to be sat on
a pecorino sauce

with a bacon tuile.

Right, OK. Why have you gone
Italian?

I love Italian food.

And I love the simplicity of that -
three ingredients cooked well.

Those ravioli need to be nice
and thin,

crimped around the outside,

lots and lots of filling in,
with a really good sauce.

Because we've got ricotta cheese,
we've got chorizo - that's great.

But it's going to need
something else

to make sure it's lovely and moist.

What cooking allows me to do
is to keep being creative

with flavours and textures,
but also with presentation.

I'll be honest, you know,
I love a pretty plate of food.

This dish should showcase process.

You are halfway, everybody. Halfway.

Time is going fast.

NARRATOR: Talent acquisitions
manager Olivia

was born in Naples
and taught to cook by her nonna.

She dreams of opening a restaurant
showcasing

the southern Italian flavours
of her heritage.

So, Naples is a city that
is all about food.

I had to block my mum from telling
the entire village -

like, she just wanted to go around
to all my neighbours,

knock at the door and say,

"Hey, you know my Liv in the UK?
She's on MasterChef!"

She's very proud of me
for being here.

How often do you cook? Always.

I was born cooking.

I cook all the time.

Food is our soul, it's in
our blood - it's everything to me.

And I hope I can show it to you.

What is your chosen ingredient,
please?

My chosen ingredient is pasta,
of course.

It's from Sardinia.

It's called fregula.

Then it will go with seafood.

We have mussels, clams,

we have Sicilian red prawns
cooked in a prawn bisque.

Just very Mediterranean flavours
from home, really.

I wanted to bring the seafood.

It doesn't really matter to me
to show you today

that I can make fresh pasta -
because of course I can.

I've always done it.

But I wanted the flavour
to be right,

to pair right,
and dry pasta is better.

Fantastic. Grazie!

The way that she's going to cook
the fregula

is the same as people make risotto.

It's taking the pasta

and then adding stock to it
very, very slowly

and until such time as all that
stock is absorbed.

She has to be really careful here.

If she boils the stock too much,

the outside of the fregula
starts to fall apart

and the inside doesn't cook
all the way through.

It's a real art to get it
absolutely right.

It's not cooked. It's not...

It's far from being cooked.

NARRATOR: Sociology professor Ali
teaches at Cambridge University,

and, with his rich cultural
upbringing,

is passionate about the fusion
of worldwide cuisines.

My parents both came from Kenya
to the UK,

so they're of Indian descent -
but also Shia Ismaili Muslims.

So a lot of the cooking
that we had at home

was kind of inspired by that.
It's got Arabic influences,

it's got East African influences,

it's got kind of West Indian
influences.

So I do like to bring a kind of
Indian twist

to a lot of different kind
of classical dishes.

My chosen ingredient is tomato.

We throw out over 700 million
tomatoes in the UK.

I'm trying to show you don't need
to throw out your tomatoes -

you can cook them in different ways.
OK, good on you.

What's your dish, please?

Matzo paneer tortellini,
which is an Indian dish.

So it's a rich tomato sauce
with lots of Indian spices.

And then the pasta itself is also
going to be filled

with sun-dried tomatoes,
paneer and potato.

And then I'm also going to do some
little tomato caviar

and spiced Bloody Mary jellies.

You have spent your life
in academia?

Yeah.
Why are you here on MasterChef?

Challenge myself to see how good
the food actually is.

Hopefully bringing
some exciting flavours.

I think that this dish in particular
is quite novel.

Italian pasta going with Indian
flavours.

This is really, really adventurous.

Ali's using tomatoes in many, many
different ways.

We've got sharp and sour,
we've got spicy,

we've got fruity, we've got smoky.

And lots of different processes.

He's got to be really careful here

how he balances
all these different flavours.

Go big or go home, I guess.
So... That's my plan.

You've got five minutes, everybody.

Yes!

Is your pasta cooked?

Very al dente, Gregg.

Finishing touches, please.

Triumph!

Your time is up.

NARRATOR: Showcasing her love
of mushrooms,

jeweller Zee has made chestnut
mushroom, truffle

and burrata-filled tortellini

topped with cep powder tweels,

with pan-fried
king oyster mushrooms,

a brown butter mushroom
and shallot emulsion,

and a Parmesan crisp.

GREGG: You're showing a lot of skill

and I really am enjoying
these flavours.

It's really well made
little pasta parcels.

I love the flavour of truffle
going inside there.

The way you've used those mushrooms,
it's almost beefy.

And then Parmesan and seasoning -
I think that's great.

You've got lovely oyster mushrooms,
pan-fried beautifully.

And then across the top of that,

that brown butter
with more mushrooms.

I really like what you've done here.

I think John and Gregg's comments
have given me

a bit more confidence.

It was nice to hear them say,
"I'm enjoying eating this,"

which, at the end of the day,
is why we cook.

Couldn't ask for anything more.

NARRATOR: Assistant psychologist
Molly

has served cauliflower three ways -

caramelised cauliflower puree,

roasted turmeric and miso
cauliflower,

and pickled cauliflower,
with a soft boiled egg,

brown butter hazelnuts,
capers and cavolo nero.

The use of cauliflower,
I think, is really clever.

Creamy, earthy, almost nutty
cauliflower as the base.

I really like that.
You've got miso saltiness.

You've got turmeric smokiness
on there.

Pickled cauliflower.

I really like the many different
textures and flavours.

I like the fact you've actually
taken a cauliflower

and used everything from it.

You've got these really lovely
cauliflower leaves,

which are wonderful and soft.
Your egg is cooked nicely.

But the cavolo nero doesn't need
to be here.

It's really tough.
It's just a bit chewy. Yeah.

Maybe I put too much on the plate,
but I had such a fun time cooking.

It was just a celebration
of the cauliflower,

which is all I wanted it to be.

NARRATOR: Software developer Mel's
basic ingredient was egg,

and he's made ricotta and chorizo
raviolo

served with pecorino cheese sauce
and a bacon tuile.

You make really good pasta.

I mean, it couldn't be any finer
if you tried.

Very, very well done.

But I think you're using
too much chorizo here. Right.

It's very powerful.

For me,
it overpowers the whole dish.

I've got a bit of a problem
with the pasta.

It's all a little bit too wet.

It's creased and it's wrinkled.

I think the water's got in the...
Yeah. Right.

But your flavours, I admire.

Pecorino being the flavour
of sheep's milk, cheese,

very strong and distinctive.

I really enjoy it with that ravioli
and the chorizo.

It's done. I feel great.

But it's the worst I've ever cooked
that dish.

I think the pressure of the timing
got to me.

But that's just life.

NARRATOR: Talent acquisitions
manager Olivia

chose to cook Sardinian
fregula pasta

in a prawn bisque with mussels,
prawns and clams,

topped with raw Sicilian prawns
and samphire,

finished with a chive oil.

I think your flavours are wonderful.

A little bit of sweetness
of tomato in there

and salty freshness from the sea.

And it's nicely seasoned. Well done.

But I think your pasta needs cooking
a little bit more.

It's just slightly too firm.

The mussels and the clams,
cooked nicely.

That's good. The wonderful flavour
of the prawns.

The chive oil - great for colour.

The fregula itself -

I like mine cooked a little bit
more than this.

It's a little bit TOO al dente.

I do know how to cook a pasta.

Like, this is what I've been doing
my entire life.

And I'm very annoyed

because I think that, like,
Italy could actually

take my passport for delivering
a raw pasta, you know?

NARRATOR: Using tomato
as his basic ingredient,

Professor Ali has made tortellini
filled with sun-dried tomato,

spiced potato and paneer,

served with tomato caviar,

chilli-spiced Bloody Mary jellies,

pickled cucumber and a chilli,
cumin, garam masala tomato sauce.

I like the creamy tomatoey,
almost cheesy sauce

that builds in layers of heat,

but the pasta's a little bit dry.
But I very much admire

the work you've done,
the knowledge you have

and the skill you have.

The little cubes of jelly are like
a spiced drink.

I think they're great.

They're really nicely done.

The little caviar are quite sharp.

You've got different textures and
flavours of spice and chilli,

but I don't taste tomato.

Not being able to taste the tomato
was pretty bad.

If I have to cook again, I'm going
to see it as a second chance,

a chance to redeem myself.

Because there's no third chance,
right?

NARRATOR: Fashion e-commerce manager
Gabriel

has made egg the hero
of his dessert -

with a Brazilian flan,

vanilla, cinnamon and brandy
set custard

with caramel syrup and a sugar dome.

I absolutely love that pudding.

Really creamy and soft.

And then the sugar is sweet,
of course,

but it's also got that bitterness.

You are showing that you can do
sugar work as well,

which is not easy.

Lovely golden top across there
from the caramel.

A little flavour of brandy
in the background,

and a touch of cinnamon as well.

To actually make sure this
is perfectly set

and perfectly cooked, and for it to
be as velvety smooth as that -

great use of the egg. Thank you.

Amazing!

Extremely happy with my performance.

I really want that apron so bad.

A great first round.

Some really good food.

Bit a fusion, a bit of adventure.

You have done very, very well
indeed.

We have picked our two
favourite dishes.

The first contestant getting
an apron is...

..Gabriel.

No way!

Thank you. Thank you so much.

Wow. Wow.

The second contestant getting
an apron is...

..Zee.

Please come and get your aprons.

Congratulations.

Thank you so much.

We did it! Oh, my God!

I am feeling on the top
of the world. Yes!

Sitting in the white MasterChef
apron feels official, OK.

It is happening.

To come out with an apron and
not have to cook again

is just wonderful.

And I can get it really dirty
next round.

LAUGHTER

There are two aprons there,

and they've got no names on them.

Keep pushing, keep fighting.

Get yourself an apron.

On your bench, you have a box.

And inside that box, there are three
common ingredients.

Please reveal your ingredients.

Bread, potatoes and bananas.

We want you to cook for us
a dish

using either one, two or three
of those ingredients

alongside anything you like from
the larder over there.

You will have to think on your feet.

You'll only have 45 minutes
to cook the dish.

OK, off to the larder.

The most thrown-away items
in British kitchens -

potatoes, bananas and bread.

It's the most random bunch
of ingredients I've ever seen.

This, more than anything,
tests their repertoire.

Because anybody that cooks a lot
is going to be able

to use these ingredients
in multiple ways.

My mind's kind of whirring
at the moment,

but I think I've got a loose plan.

For a potato - curry to a rosti,

all the way through to hash brown.

And bread is really versatile -

if it's used in a pudding or,
actually, as breadcrumbs.

If they're going to use bananas,

I hope it's something sweet
and not something savoury.

The challenge is always the time
and the pressure

and the surprise that you get.

What are you going to make, Mel?

So, I'm going to make
a mashed potato.

And on top of that is going to be
a piece of the cod

wrapped in Parma ham.

There's going to be
a heritage carrot

and white wine veloute sauce.

What's the secret to good mash?

Cream and elbow grease.

LAUGHTER

Very good.

Mel is taking the potato,

and he's making mash out of it.

But I'm not sure whether this makes
the potato

the centre of the dish.

We'll see.

However, I love mashed potato.

We want it lump-free.

I'm quite excited to cook again.

I always tell myself I'm excited
when I'm nervous.

I'm going to do a banana bread

with some chocolate chips in it.

And then I've also remilled
some of the bread to add as flour.

Have you got this recipe
in your head?

Yeah, I've made this several times
before.

It's a family favourite
in our house.

She's remilling her bread.

So she's blending it all up
so it's got the texture of flour,

and she's going to use that bread
alongside almonds

instead of using flour
to make her cake.

That's really clever.

I'll be even more impressed
if she can add a bit of custard.

Cinnamon custard? Yeah.

I don't know what that means!

You are halfway, everybody.

Halfway.

Ali, what ingredients have
you chosen from the box?

Er, mostly the potatoes.

So I'm going to make
a gnocchi with them.

It's going to be a bit like an
aloo tikki chaat gnocchi.

So spiced potatoes served
with a coriander bechamel.

And then I'm going to use
the bread a bit

to make some breadcrumbs
to go on top.

A ginger breadcrumb. Fascinating.

Gnocchi with the flavours
of aloo tikki -

aloo tikki being a street food
from India.

A spiced potato cake, garam masala,
chilli, coriander.

And a bechamel sauce.

That's milk. That sounds to me
a little bit unusual.

Olivia, what ingredients have
you chosen from the box?

I've chosen bread, John.

OK, so tell us, what are you going
to make with this bread?

Some meatballs with cod.

I'm adding a potato just to give
some texture to the meatballs.

Some fresh herbs, some raisins
and some pine nuts.

Have you made this dish before?

From Naples, where I'm from,
we do make some

fish meatballs with raisins,

with pine nuts in the tomato sauce.

But I haven't done it myself yet.

But it's the first time to try it.

OK. OK. So this is a bit of
an experiment?

Si. Yes.

Bread and fish together in a ball
with egg in it,

it's going to be quite dense.

I hope those little fish balls
are quite small

so they're cooked all the way
through.

She's from Napoli.

I would hope that she could make
an absolute wizard tomato sauce.

The only issue I've got is,

raisins and pine nuts added
to the fish

just sounds really odd to me.

You've got two minutes, everybody.

This is the moment of truth.

Never been so nervous
to cook a little banana cake.

Just finishing off the last touches.

I'm quite confident with the colour
and the way they're frying up.

Hey, look at that!

That's it. Your time's up.

I knew I should have done
a banana sandwich.

I've got chilli in my eyes.

NARRATOR: Choosing to use potatoes
from the mystery box,

Mel has served buttery mash

topped with cod in Parma ham

with heritage carrots, asparagus
and a cream and white wine sauce.

Your mashed potato's lovely!
It's really creamy and rich!

You've got a little bit of warmth
of mustard

running through there as well,
which is good. Yeah.

Got a bit of an issue
with that sauce.

It hasn't worked, has it, Mel?
Not at all.

Kind of pouring double cream
across the whole dish.

I like your technique.
Fish cooked nicely.

Salty ham around the outside.

Mashed potatoes smooth as silk.

The only thing letting this dish
down is the sauce.

I knew the sauce was horrible.

So there's no surprise there.

But the mash was nice and smooth,

so we just wait and see, don't we?

NARRATOR: Olivia has used bread
and potatoes

to make deep-fried fishcakes
filled with cod,

raisins and pine nuts,
in a tomato sauce with Parmesan.

I was really scared
of fish and raisins,

but I'm really impressed.

They are really good
little fishcakes.

They're really heavily seasoned.

There's a little bit of chilli
in there as well.

Sprinkling of cheese across the top
is giving it more saltiness.

I think this is really clever,
really inventive.

Your tomato sauce is lovely,

sharp with the white wine
in the background.

Good amount of garlic.

All my raisins seem to be
on the outside of that fishcake,

and they've gone crispy
with the breadcrumbs -

and they're slightly sweet.
And it tastes really good.

I tried to bring a bit of my culture
in the dish.

They loved it.

I mean...

LAUGHTER

Sorry! Sorry.

NARRATOR: Ali also chose the bread
and potatoes,

and has made garam masala,
turmeric and chilli spice gnocchi

in a coriander bechamel sauce

with broccoli
and crispy ginger breadcrumbs.

I don't get the garam masala
I think about with aloo tikki. Mm.

The main flavour within that potato
gnocchi is that of turmeric.

But bechamel sauce, nicely made.

The crumb across the top with
a little bit of ginger,

that's great. I think that's a great
use of the potato.

A classic potato gnocchi.

I mean, well done you.

You've got chilli in the bechamel.

It's strong with heat, but it's also
quite bitter. Mm-hm.

I'm not enjoying it.

It didn't go great, but, you know,
I gave it my all.

NARRATOR: Finally, it's Molly,
who remilled the bread into flour

and made banana and chocolate bread

with caramelised bananas and
a cinnamon custard.

I can get the essence
of the banana clearly,

but you haven't overdone it -

because bananas are very,
very sweet.

There's also the slight bitter cocoa
of the chocolate

running through there as well.

And the cinnamon custard
I think is a stroke of genius.

Thank you. It's really nice.

Bingo.

Great use of the bread -
and the bananas as well.

The bread, by taking it,
remilling it back into flour.

Lovely and moist.
Crispy on the outside.

I think it's a great dish.
Really clever indeed.

Thank you.

I feel really proud of myself
for how I handled that.

Yeah, thrilled.

I thought
it was a really strong round,

but we've only got two aprons
to give.

The last two aprons of this
year's competition.

I'm really impressed with Molly.

She made banana bread!

She did it really well!

I like her style. I think
she's a really good cook.

Molly's got herself an apron.

Ali has got cookery knowledge.

If he could just bring it together
in a pile of delicious,

he's an out-and-out winner.

I can't argue
with his technical ability,

but it doesn't necessarily mean
that you love eating their food.

Mel's mashed potato was fantastic.

Cod wrapped in ham, nice and salty,
crispy on the outside.

But the sauce wasn't right.

It was cream.

Olivia in this round
really surprised me.

She chose bread with fish, raisins,
pine nuts and a tomato sauce,

and it tasted great.

She made a mistake in
the first round -

that pasta wasn't cooked enough.

But she was very, very impressive
in this invention test

with the bread and the fish.

If I get an apron,
I'd be over the moon.

But I'm also a realist.

I don't think I did quite enough.

If my competition's over,

then I'm going to feel quite sad
about it.

I just want to cook
and keep learning.

Cooking is everything to me
and the place where I'm happy,

so I would like to showcase that.

We have a very, very difficult
decision.

We do sadly only have two aprons
to give.

That does mean
that two of you will be going home.

But, from me,
thank you very much indeed.

It was a real honour today.

Delicious food. Thank you.

The first contestant getting
an apron is...

..Molly.

Molly, congratulations.

Our second contestant getting
an apron is...

..Olivia.

Congratulations.
Very, very well done.

OLIVIA LAUGHS

Sorry, sorry!

OLIVIA SQUEALS

Mamma mia!

Sorry, sorry!

Ali, Mel,
I'm sorry you're leaving us.

It was great to meet you
and taste your food.

Thank you very much.

It's kind of bittersweet.

I'm happy that I tried my best.

It's bitter
because you don't get to stay.

I'm proud of what I've done.

I wish I'd done more.

But having John and Gregg taste
and eat my food

has been brilliant.

Molly, Olivia, congratulations.

Come and get your aprons.

I'm quite shocked, I think,
to get through.

But really, really pleased and
really proud of myself.

I think I need a cup of tea

and then I'll be ready
for the next round.

My apron -
I borrowed it from a friend.

She said,
"This is going to give you luck."

And it did. But I think
I look much better with this one.

Yes!

A brilliant opportunity now for you
to really showcase your talent.

We have invited some special guests
in the dining room

for you to present your food to.

The first-ever winner from 2005,
Thomasina Miers.

The runner-up from 2006,
Dean Edwards.

And the champion of 2014,
Ping Coombes.

This is a tough round -
no two ways about it.

And you are cooking for the last
three quarterfinal places

of this year's competition.

It does mean, at the end of this,
one of you is going home.

Two courses, 1 hour and 15 minutes,
and you've got to be on time.

Let's cook.

Eight plates of food
in an hour and 15 -

it's going to be a challenge.

But, yeah, let's give it a go
and see what happens.

I'm hoping to stand out
in this round

just by putting
excellent flavours together.

Get as many plants on the plate
as possible

and show that you can really make
vegetarian food

really, really delicious.

Molly, you are as cool
as a cucumber.

You don't get flustered at all,
do you?

I just channel my anxiety
into excitement, so, yeah. OK.

What are your two courses?

I'm doing a celeriac carbonara -

but replacing the pasta
with celeriac sheets.

And then we've got
hedgehog mushrooms,

which I'm going to fry off,
instead of the guanciale.

My friends and I are quite
into mushroom foraging,

and they can hold a lot of flavour.

You call it a hedgehog? Yes.

In France,
it's called a pied de mouton.

Yes. Mutton's foot.

Celeriac used as pasta is
a really good idea.

Root vegetables - that works.

I just want to see how thin
she actually slices

that celeriac.
Cos if it's too thick,

it won't be at all like pasta.

And then, for dessert,
I'm doing a dark chocolate

and olive oil mousse
with thyme creme fraiche.

And then there's some salt
and pepper balsamic strawberries.

I think they're two really
classic dishes

that I absolutely love,

and I've just changed them a little
bit to suit my type of eating.

Pepper, olive oil and thyme -
all going into a dessert.

It's brave. It's clever.

But she's got to get the balance
right.

My two dishes for this round
is a whole mixture

of my Italian and Brazilian
heritage.

My grandmother is from Italy,

so it's bringing that mixture
of childhood and hearty food.

And I cannot wait to slay it.

So we have polenta served
with chicken and chorizo stew.

In Brazil, free school meals were,
you know,

something we relied on.

And this would be a dish
that they would serve.

And my mum also made this at home
for us.

So it's a dish I'm very used to
and fond of.

A chicken and chorizo stew.
That's fantastic.

We want tender, lovely chicken,
rich with paprika.

The whole thing served with polenta.
I love polenta, but it's bland,

so it needs to be seasoned
really, really well.

And then the next course?

Will be a dessert - tiramisu.

Tiramisu? Yes.

So are you making your own
sponge fingers?

Yes, I am. Have you timed this?

Have you done this before? Yes.

And it works?

Once.

Great. That fills us with joy there.

Tiramisu - mascarpone cheese,

coffee soaked onto biscuits,

a little bit of chocolate
across the top.

Lovely. Usually made, then put
in the fridge and left to set.

But he's making
his own sponge fingers.

He's got to bake them,

then he's got to cool them
before he even starts to assemble.

Can he get it done in time?
That's the question from me.

I came here to show authentic
Italian food.

It has a modern twist.

It's definitely different than
the one that my nonna used to make.

But it's Italian food for real.

There's going to be a starter,

which is a deep-fried
Parmesan cheese ball

topped with a steak tartare.

And... Yes, that's something
that let's say I "invented".

And then the risotto is
a pumpkin risotto.

There is a taleggio sauce on top.

And a crumble with sausage,

Italian sausage
that has some fennel in it.

OK, how do you feel about serving
our guests in the dining room?

I'm very excited, but I'm...

I'm not panicking yet.

You've got to show them
how delicious your food can be.

Yes, yes.

The Parmesan cheese ball -

just Parmesan and egg yolk
mixed together,

then deep-fried.

That steak tartare can't be wet
at all

because it's going on a fried piece
of Parmesan cheese.

Otherwise, it's going to go soggy.

I'm hoping, as an Italian,
she can make a risotto.

Lots of stock added to that rice
slowly, with taleggio sauce.

That's a lovely salty cheese.

I'd like the risotto to be
not soupy,

but definitely not hard and firm.

Being one of the first people to get
an apron was just incredible.

It was a real sense of pride for me.

So it's just given me
a fire in my belly

to keep cooking and keep producing
food that people want to eat.

Zee, are you happy to be here?

Very happy to be here.

Just to get back into the kitchen
and be able to cook again

is just incredible.
What are your two dishes, please?

Katsu curry with jasmine rice.

For dessert, I've got a green
matcha tea creme brulee

with a snowy mountain shortbread.

What's a snowy mountain shortbread?

It's a piece of shortbread
in the shape of a mountain

with some white chocolate
on the top.

I was inspired to make both
of these dishes

by our trip to Japan
earlier this year.

And we eat katsu a lot at home
anyway.

It's William's favourite dish.

William is your son, who seems
to be your critique of choice?

Oh, he is.
We call him William Sitwell.

Do you?!
Yeah. That's his name at home!

Yeah. Fantastic! That's great!

Katsu curry - chicken, breadcrumbed,
fried, perfect.

And then the curry sauce.

Matcha tea creme brulee.

Matcha tea is slightly smoky -
very, very bitter.

So we need to make sure
it's sweet enough.

I'm feeling like I need about
another hour right now.

I always have high expectations
when I come into this room -

because I know
the standard of cookery

in the MasterChef kitchen,

it just gets bigger and better
every single year.

I'm looking forward
to some good food.

And most of all, I'm looking forward
to being surprised.

Winning MasterChef was incredible
for me.

It gave me the confidence
to really chase a career in food -

and do it wholeheartedly.

We've got 14 restaurants now.
It's been amazing.

Doing what you love is such
a privilege.

And I honestly think
every day I wake up

just feeling really lucky.

This challenge, you have to create
a menu that you're proud of.

You want to show off -

but making sure that you succeed
in every element

within the time limit, I think it's
really, really hard work.

Always a pleasure to be back...
Yay!

..at MasterChef.
Nice to see you guys.

Lovely to see you guys.

Molly, you've got ten minutes
on your first course.

Thank you. Are you all right? Yeah.

Molly is cooking us
celeriac carbonara,

hedgehog mushrooms, pickled celeriac
and pine nuts.

And I am loving the sound of this.

JOHN: Happy?

Yeah. I think the celeriac could
have been thinner.

DEAN: Very brave.

The fact that she's replaced
the pasta with celeriac.

Celeriac is a very, very strong
flavour.

MOLLY: There's a few more mushrooms
to just finish off the top.

I've got some pine nuts that have
just been tasted.

And a little bit of the pickled
celeriac.

What do you interpret as a perfect
carbonara sauce?

Because it seems to me
that the whole dish is vegetarian.

I think it needs
a bit of guanciale...

Mm, yeah.
..to give it that saltiness.

Let's go, go, go!

Hello! Hi.

I've made for you
celeriac carbonara,

hedgehog mushrooms, pickled celeriac
and some pine nuts as well.

Thank you. Amazing,
thank you so much. Smells good.

Thank you.

That celeriac needed to be thinner.

But I love the topping.

Brave to not have used the pancetta.

I'm really impressed by it.

We've got that kind of nice
cheesy sauce.

And there's a beautiful amount
of black pepper in there.

Flavour combination of the mushrooms
and the Parmesan

and the pine nuts, lovely.

The sauce is peppery
and it's cheesy.

And those mushrooms -
slightly woody.

There's great flavours.

Molly, you look as chilled
as you did when you first came in.

Well done, you. 15 minutes till
this chocolate mousse.

Yeah? Yep, let's do it.

I love a chocolate mousse.

It needs to be really smooth,
creamy at the same time.

And you have to balance
the bitterness

of the olive oils. It's not easy.

Do I need thyme in my creme fraiche?

I've already got balsamic
and olive oil and chocolate.

There's a lot going on here.

But there's already olive oil
in the mousse, right?

Yeah, there's a little bit
in the mousse.

I like this.

Chocolate?

Come on! I don't know.
Yeah, let's... Why not?

Well done, the Molly.

I have cooked for you
a dark chocolate

and olive oil mousse, with
a thyme creme fraiche, balsamic,

salt and pepper strawberries.

DEAN: Thank you very much.

Turning classic dishes
into something

that's a little bit different,

the pressure's really on
to make sure I nail it.

And I'm...
Yeah, I'm not sure whether

that's happened or not.

I really love the texture
of this chocolate mousse.

It's so airy and so silky.

With the olive oil,
it's not heavy at all.

This is absolutely banging.

The strawberry's cutting through
that richness

and bitterness of the chocolate.

And the thyme creme fraiche
adds a lovely herbiness,

and I think she's really nailed it.

There's not a lot of sugar
in that mousse.

That could almost be a savoury dish.

I do like the unusual nature of it.

You've got three minutes, Gabriel.
Thank you.

Chicken, chorizo and okra stew.
When you're using chorizo,

I really want to actually taste
the paprika,

the smokiness.

Polenta with a good stew
can be delicious.

Happy? Very happy.

Hopefully it tastes as good
as it looks.

What's left to go on here?

Just the okra
and the crispy chicken skin.

Crispy chicken skin,
everyone loves that.

So you're on to a winner
with that one.

I've cooked for you
a Brazilian dish.

Polenta chicken chorizo stew
with okra,

some fried okra on top,
and crispy chicken skin.

Thank you, Gabriel.
Thank you so much.

Brazilian sunshine on a plate.

I just want to dive in.

This polenta is really,
really banging.

It's soft, it's creamy.

I love the chicken thigh.

There's so much flavour.

It's beautiful and tender.

Even though he's using chorizo,

I don't get any smoky paprika.

But I loved crispy chicken skin.

That was perfectly executed.

Polenta is creamy.

The sauce has absorbed
all the flavours

of the paprika coming out
the chorizo.

I mean, that is a really great dish.

I love tiramisu. It needs to be
balanced properly.

If there's too much coffee
and alcohol in there,

it might be a bit too overpowering.

My double cream was warm,
so it curdled.

Panicking? Yes.

You can get there. You can do this.

It'll be interesting to see
whether he will attempt

to make his own sponge fingers.

You know, that is a big ask,
isn't it?

But if he does, hats off to him.

We've got sponge fingers.

You need to think about assembling,
otherwise you're going to

run out of time.

What's to happen here now?
What's going on?

I just need to grate the cheese.
The cheese?!

Sorry, grate the chocolate.

GABRIEL LAUGHS

You've got a couple of minutes.

Why not go for another layer?

GREGG LAUGHS
I've never seen anything like it!

Come on, Gabriel!

Oh-ho! That's one way to do it.

Brilliant.

Well done, Gabriel. Thank you.

Good on you. Well done.

I have cooked the classic
and never boring tiramisu.

It's obviously not the usual,

classic tiramisu presentation.

It's all going to be in the taste.

There's more coffee flavour in there
than I was expecting.

I needed that bitter cocoa
on the top,

but I think
this is quite a good effort.

The fact that he made
his own sponge fingers -

I have utmost respect for that,
given the time constraint.

It's really yummy.

And those sponge fingers have got
that soak of booze and coffee.

He's done a really good job.

He basically assembled it
in front of our eyes!

But that is a tiramisu!

It tastes absolutely fantastic!

I'm feeling exhausted,

but so proud of how it turned out.

Honestly, there were times there
that I thought,

"OK, I'm going to give up."

I just had to pump myself up

and make sure that I got across
the finish line.

So, Olivia is cooking us
deep-fried Parmesan cheese balls

topped with steak tartare.

I love anything deep-fried.

You've got three minutes.
OK, fantastic.

Thank you. Great.

Parmesan cheese -
very strong, very salty.

And then the steak tartare has
to be really well seasoned

separately.

It almost reads
as two separate dishes.

I'm really hoping that Olivia can
bring these two together.

They look fantastic. Grazie.
Really good.

Hello, ciao. Hello. Hello. Hi, guys.

So this is a deep-fried
Parmesan cheese ball.

And on the top,
you have a steak tartare.

I hope you enjoy. Thank you.
Thank you so much.

The cheese ball is really good.

Richly flavoured with Parmesan.

For a tartare, you want the bite,
the Tabasco,

that lovely hit of chilli.

And it's got all that.

So I think
she knows how to season food.

This would be a perfect
little canape.

Like a flavour bomb. Like one hit,

and you're like,
"Oh, that's amazing."

It's a crazy dish to me
because it shouldn't work,

but I've really enjoyed it.

I think that cheese ball
is really inspired.

Then a really nicely chopped
steak tartare.

I think that's really clever.

15 minutes on your next course.
Si, si. Is that OK?

I hope so, yes. So we're going
to find out.

Are you all right? Yes, I think so.
We're going to find out. Good.

I love my risotto still a little bit
al dente.

I don't like it too stodgy.

Cooked enough? Yes.

100%.

Cheesy sauce? Si.

I love her use
of a fennel sausage crumble

to kind of offset the sweetness
of the pumpkin.

But it lives or dies
by the cooking of that rice.

Well done, you. Grazie.
Well done, you.

I like it. Yeah, so do I.

I made a pumpkin risotto.

There is a taleggio sauce on top.

And you have, let's say, a crumble

of Italian sausage
that is seasoned with sea salt,

pepper and fennel. And I hope
you enjoy. Buon appetito.

Bellissima!

I'm feeling super great.

Everything went smooth.

I hope that they taste my passion,
because I am an authentic Italian.

Olivia can absolutely cook
a risotto,

and she knows how to season food.

I love butter. I love cheese.

Lovely bits of sausage meat.

But I would prefer chunks of pumpkin
in that risotto.

I imagine myself in fluffy socks.

Fire burning, glass of wine,
bowl of this, on the sofa.

We've had lots of risottos.

That's one of the best
we've ever had on MasterChef.

Every now and again,
you get a little bit

of an aniseed hit
off of that fennel sausage,

and it's delightful.

I'm really excited
to try Zee's katsu chicken.

I'm thinking crispy chicken,

a beautifully seasoned,
spice-laden sauce.

It could be sensational.

You've got two minutes, please.
OK, it's fine.

It's fine. Rice?

The rice needs to be fluffy,
with the herbal coriander.

Ooh, nice.

OK.

Biscuits OK? Biscuits OK.

Can we go with the curry, then,
please?

Let's go.
Let's go, let's go, let's go.

Well done. Great, Zee. Thank you.

Back for your dessert, please.

Hello. Hello.

So I've cooked for you today
a family favourite of ours.

It's katsu chicken curry
with jasmine rice and coriander,

with cucumber salad
and some sesame-dressed broccoli.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

I like the chicken.
I think it's been cooked well

and it's got a lovely crispy skin.

But just Tenderstem -
it's not seasoned.

That katsu sauce is lush.

Sweetness and spiciness
coming through.

But we were promised
a coriander and jasmine rice.

I mean, there's not a lot
of coriander going on in there.

I am a self-proclaimed rice queen.

Unfortunately, it is undercooked.

I feel so frustrated for her.

Chicken with the sauce works
really, really nicely

with the cucumber and the chilli.

The rice is not cooked enough,
which is a real shame.

Right, 15 minutes till dessert.
Yeah. Yeah?

Classic creme brulee.

Beautifully rich and sweet
and creamy.

Matcha - too heavy a hand,
it's very bitter and overpowering.

JOHN: Very green.
Yeah, very green.

Hopefully it's sugary enough.

Lovely.

Brulee, shortbread - winning combo.

Matcha brulee. Do not drop.

I've made a matcha green tea
creme brulee

with a snowy mountain shortbread
on the side.

Thank you very much.
I hope you enjoy.

If you say matcha, it really needs
to deliver on that bitterness.

There isn't much of it there,
apart from it being green.

And unfortunately,
it's a little bit runny.

Even though the creme brulee
hasn't set,

I love the playfulness
of that shortbread -

which is beautifully cooked.

It's a really good
shortbread biscuit.

The execution just wasn't there.

And that is all
down to time restraints.

Slightly bitter from matcha,

but it's not quite set enough.
That is far too wet.

ZEE SIGHS

Tired and emotional and stressed.

That was a big deal.
That was a lot of food

in a very short space of time.

But, hey, it's MasterChef -

you've got to give it a go, right?

The last three quarterfinal places
of this year's competition -

that's all we have left.

There were ups and downs
in this round,

as there always is.

Because it's a tough round.

The dining room have
a Cook of the Day,

and their Cook of the Day is Molly.

She's actually
a very, very daring cook.

To have a bowl of pasta made
out of celeriac,

and then a dessert
that was almost savoury.

We also like Molly's point
of difference.

She's going through
to a quarterfinal.

I have to say,
I've got somebody I felt cooked

really, really well today -
and that's Olivia. Mm.

A Parmesan cheese ball,

and on top of that, a steak tartare.

Something I've never seen before.

I really, really enjoyed it.

That risotto was absolutely
delicious.

Great consistency, great flavours.

Olivia's got herself
a place in the quarterfinal.

Gabriel's got some lovely ideas.
I do like his style.

That chicken and chorizo stew
that he made

was absolutely delicious.

Tiramisu from scratch
in an hour and 15 minutes.

It may have not been the way
he wanted it presented,

but it tasted really, really good.

Zee's first course -
chicken was good,

I liked the curry sauce.
The rice wasn't cooked.

We know it, the dining room
knows it, she knows it.

Matcha tea creme brulee.

The creme brulee was still runny,

but the shortbread biscuits
tasted good.

It would be sad
if the competition ended today,

but I have to be proud.

I've given it my best shot
and I've come out smiling.

I definitely want a place
in the quarterfinals.

I can feel it in my heart
that it belongs to me.

From us, a big, big well done.

Good cooking in here today.

We have just three quarterfinal
places.

Sadly, one of you is leaving
the competition.

The dining room has named
their Cook of the Day,

and their Cook of the Day is going
through to a quarterfinal.

Molly.

Congratulations.

They loved your innovation.

Gregg and I also have somebody
we feel has really excelled

in this round.

Olivia.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

Our third quarterfinalist...

..is Gabriel.

APPLAUSE

Well done.

Zee, it's been great
having you here.

Thank you so very much indeed.
Thank you very much.

Good luck, guys. It's been amazing.
Good luck. See you. Well done.

I'm feeling a little bit deflated,

but it's been a cracking experience.

I've really enjoyed myself.

I'm sure William, my son,
will be really proud.

And it will stay with me forever.

Can I jump? Yeah.

Congratulations, you three.

You are MasterChef quarterfinalists.

It makes me very, very happy.

Some celebration,
some Italian celebration is needed.

Oh, so much emotion today!

Just happiness to be able
to go to the next round.

For sure, I want to cook my way
to the top.

MasterChef quarterfinalist sounds
like a pretty good title.

I just want to keep going
in this competition.

I'm having such a great time.

Next time, it's the last
of this year's quarterfinals,

and Molly, Gabriel and Olivia

will be joining Kayleigh... Sorry.

..Fareeda and Paddy

cooking for one of the UK's
top restaurant critics.

Careful, careful, careful, careful.
Oh, no!

That's it! Stop, your time is up!

Your flavours are unbelievable.

Can I have the recipe?