Original subtitles

It's finals week on MasterChef...

..and the battle for the title is almost over.

Tonight, the four finalists cook off to secure a coveted place...

You've got to go fancy.

..in this year's MasterChef final three...

Flaming brilliant!

This is adventurous. This is brave. I think it's beautiful.

..and face their most daunting challenge yet...

Get it out, get it out! Oui.

..cooking for culinary legend Alain Ducasse at Chef's Table.

Everything is high level. That's incredible.

I've thrown my whole heart and soul into this.

It's just taken over every fibre of my being.

I just really want it now.

Everything has to be spot on.

We're only a few cooks away from lifting that trophy.

Just got to dig in for that last stretch.

I would love to be able to tell my children I made it

all the way through the journey.

It's a little bit like reading them a bedtime story

and not reading them the last chapter.

I'm determined. I'm not scared of anything anymore.

You've just got to keep fighting and believe in yourself.

I want that trophy.

I want to win!

Welcome back to the MasterChef kitchen, you four.

What an extraordinary adventure you have been on!

This is a massive round.

Only three of you will get a chance to cook for the trophy

and, because this is the most important cook

of the competition so far,

I simply cannot make that decision on my own.

So, today, joining me is chef, restaurateur

and MasterChef: The Professionals judge...

..Anna Haugh.

Hi.

Hi.

John. Anna, lovely to see you.

It's very nice to be here.

The brief has been set for you today.

You need to do a classic dish,

but what's so important is that you put your twist on it.

My bread-and-butter is taking classic Irish dishes

and putting my twist on it.

To get this far,

you must be four fabulous cooks.

So, my expectations today are pretty high.

You know what you've got to do. At the end of this,

one of you will be leaving the competition.

Ladies and gentlemen - one hour, 45 minutes. Let's cook!

Nerves are still there a little bit,

she says, whilst trying to put the lid back on.

Sophie - her love is all about plant-based food.

There's been some extraordinary dishes from her.

She's very, very clever.

She makes the diner believe there might be meat in there,

but there's not.

I hope, in this round, she absolutely goes for it.

Today, I want the judges to see that you can take something

that is traditionally very meaty and dairy-heavy,

and you can have that same level of greasy goodness

with some good old-fashioned plant-based ingredients.

I am going to do a Chinese takeaway-inspired fry-up.

So, what inspired you to go with

an Asian version of this classic dish?

My sister kind of inspired me with this one.

We love a Chinese takeaway. Can't beat it.

You know, you get Chinese takeaway, wake up in the morning,

and then you're like, "Oh, I really fancy a fry-up right now,

"but I've got loads of leftovers in the fridge."

And it almost hits the spot

but, you know, what's better than combining the two

and having a Chinese-style fry-up?

I think what she's doing is quite incredible.

Right.

She is actually going to make for us bacon, which is not bacon.

I'm going to make a wheat-starch bacon.

You say that like that's a normal thing.

"I'm just going to make my own bacon."

She's using smoked water, wheat starch,

tomato ketchup, all together with mushroom powder

and steaming it, so she'll actually have the thinness of bacon,

and then she's going to cut it and she's going to fry it,

and she's going to cover it with a char siu marinade,

for that lovely Chinese barbecued pork flavour.

Scrambled eggs are tofu,

but they're going to be flavoured with sesame oil.

But it needs to have that lovely creamy texture to it.

Is that the size of prawn toast or is that too big?

Sesame prawn toast, using tofu,

so she's got to get a flavour of the sea into that,

and she's going to use nori with more sesame seeds across the top.

Oh, oh!

I've got sweet-and-sour-style beans,

salt-and-pepper hash browns. Very clever.

And then I'm doing oyster sauce-glazed mushrooms.

Wow!

If she gets the presentation right, and if she gets the balance right,

it could be amazing. Muchas gracias.

But, on paper, it sounds a little terrifying.

How much have you practised this? Well, not very much.

Oh, don't say that!

I'm just trying to do what I usually do,

just do something fun and playful and have a nice time doing it,

and hopefully that comes out in my food.

55 minutes left. What? Nearly halfway.

I have to give it my all because

I don't want to regret leaving the kitchen, not trying my best.

Sam was born and grew up in Thailand.

We've had incredible Thai dishes.

He pushes himself but, along the way,

he's fallen in love with fusion. He's happy to take a risk,

showing himself to be adaptable and actually quite exciting.

This experience definitely has been life-changing for me.

I'm determined. I don't want to play safe.

I just want to push my boundaries

and I'm going to continue to do that.

I'm doing a roast dinner but, instead of gravy,

I'm using the classic Thai, which is the massaman curry sauce.

The what?

My boyfriend said that I can't do the roast dinner

because I managed to burn the chicken.

So, I'm just being me, stubborn, and saying,

"I can do roast dinner", so I'll show him in MasterChef kitchen.

He's going to cook us roast beef.

He'll vac-pack his beef fillets with onions and garlic,

and then he's going to cook them in a water bath.

Have you ever used a water bath before?

No, first time.

Sam! Got to give it my all.

Served with a massaman curry sauce...

..coconut milk, red chilli and lots and lots of dry spices.

It should be nice and hot.

Go for one more.

I don't want John to say it's not spicy enough.

That will go with romanesco,

broccoli, baby carrot, deep-fried potato in beef fat.

His beef-dripping potatoes,

I'm expecting them to be crunchy and golden brown.

Thinly slice them and stack them up, so they should have the layers.

You've got to go fancy.

Little baby carrots on the side.

He's blanching some shallots,

but I hope there's enough difference to this,

and it's not just a piece of beef fillet

with a Thai curry sauce across the top.

A lot of pressure on today,

because this one's quite close to my heart,

so I want to do it justice.

Harry, as a young man, changed his career

from working in the City to become a fishmonger.

He's proved himself to be a great all-rounder.

His ability to be able to cook fish well is incredible.

Great with meat, amazing with desserts,

shows off skill, and his attention to detail is great.

One cook between me and the final three.

It's within touching distance now, so you have to be perfect.

There's no other solution.

I've really got to bring my A-game, at the end of the day.

So the classic dish that I'm doing a twist on

is classic beef Wellington.

I grew up in Edinburgh and spent the subsequent 17 years there,

so I wanted to put a Scottish twist on it.

He's going to give us venison and haggis Wellington.

The haggis is going to replace the traditional duxelles

that you use in a Wellington, so that's the Scottish twist.

I think that's very, very clever.

He's doing a single layer of pastry, wrapping around the whole thing.

And then he's doing lattice across the top.

Going to take at least 25, if not 30 minutes to cook.

The Wellington went in a little bit later than I would have hoped,

so it's just about whether we have time to rest it.

We've got a turnip gratin, so layers of turnip with nutmeg and cream.

OK.

White turnip, they do release an awful lot of water.

Sometimes, they will cook lickety-quick

and other times they take forever to cook,

so hopefully he's gotten that on early enough.

That's going to be served with a carrot puree

and then a whisky and blackberry sauce.

Wahey! Flaming brilliant, that is.

Three places left in the competition. Do you want one?

I didn't expect to be here but, now I am, yes,

I've never wanted something so much.

CLAIRE: Really, really matters today. It feels enormous.

Claire's food influences come from Denmark.

Her husband's Danish.

But she also lived in Canada for a long time.

So, we've got this American-Danish influence coming together.

Claire is truly creative.

By her own admission,

she never cooks the same dish twice.

Now, in this round, I hope there has been a bit of practice.

Classic with a twist is really difficult.

Classics are a classic for a reason,

and you don't mess with them because they're called classics.

So, trying to find something that you have to improve upon,

I found it quite a difficult brief.

So, Claire, what's your classic dish?

Risalamande,

which is Danish rice pudding with cherry sauce.

It's really just a very homely dish served at Christmas.

It means a lot to my family.

What's so important about your family and Christmas?

Everything - feasting, celebrating, being together.

So, what's your twist? What's your mark?

So, rather than just doing the risalamande as a big bowl of rice,

I am taking meringue and I'm going to incorporate

the rice pudding into a roulade, another of my Christmas traditions.

Claire's taking two very, very classic recipes

and bringing them together.

She's taking a Danish rice pudding with cherry sauce.

I'm just going to fish out the bits that have caught on the bottom.

Wonderful, as long as that rice is cooked all the way through

and not too chalky.

She's making a meringue roulade.

Shiny, isn't it?

She's got to bake it, let it cool enough that, when she rolls it up

with the rice pudding inside, it doesn't crack.

Now, that, I think, is going to be quite difficult.

If they don't chill to the right temperature,

they won't stick to each other and it will all fall apart,

so my concern is that I'll end up with a festive puddle.

The cherry sauce -

you need to be able to get the right balance of sugar.

Sour cherries - they are really sour.

You have to add your sugar in gradually.

You have to cook it through.

So, it is actually much harder to do than people would imagine.

I'm going to serve that with an almond ice cream.

Get up to 85, guys, come on.

Please cook properly because, if you do,

you're a really good ice cream.

Have you made this rice pudding before? Oh, lots of times, yes.

Have you made the meringue before? Yes.

So, first time in the competition,

you've actually made something you're cooking before?

I've never made the ice cream before. Claire, no!

At least there's something. There's something.

Fortune favours the brave. Believe, believe, believe.

Just 15 minutes, everybody. 15 minutes.

Where does the time go? I do not know.

It's like that.

Welly in? Yeah, it's still not to temperature,

and it needs at least ten minutes to rest, so it's going to be tight.

Really under pressure now. Pan-fry my beef,

but that's going to take me some time.

Oh, no, no, no! It's not going to roll, is it?

Absolutely going to make it work.

Finishing touches, please. Five minutes left.

Final push. Come on, Sophie.

It's just letting that Wellington rest.

I'm going to cut that with about 15 seconds to go.

Happy with that, Sam? Yes, John.

Rolling.

Don't collapse. Aargh!

Looks like Wellington.

Let's hope it tastes like Wellington.

Go, go, quick!

That's it. Time is up.

Come on up, Harry.

Harry has cooked a Scottish twist on the classic beef Wellington -

a venison and haggis Wellington,

served with turnip gratin, flavoured with nutmeg and thyme,

topped with a broccoli and green bean salad

in a vinaigrette dressing, with carrot puree,

blackberries and a whisky and blackberry sauce.

I think it looks really, really gorgeous.

Your Wellington - you've baked your pastry really well

and managed to keep the temperature of your venison in the centre.

I love the play with haggis.

I think it's a real homage to beautiful Scottish cuisine.

I think that's great.

When you taste your sauce on its own,

you get a big smack in the face of Scotch whisky.

When I eat the venison and the sauce together,

I think it's beautiful.

You showed an awful lot of skill here,

so well done. Thank you.

Beautifully pressed gratin with that turnip, inspired...

It is a radish after all, so you get that pepperiness.

Crispy pastry, venison cooked all the way through,

sweet carrot puree,

little sharp blackberries on the side,

just kissed with a little bit of heat so they're soft enough.

Harry, you've absolutely nailed the brief.

Thank you.

I'm really happy that they saw a firm connection

to Scottish cuisine in the dish.

It's a fine line with classics.

You don't want to mess with them too much.

But, at the same time, I think I got that balance right today.

Inspired by her love of Chinese takeaways

and a traditional breakfast fry-up,

Sophie has cooked char siu bacon -

fried wheat starch flavoured with soy, red bean curd and paprika -

salt-and-pepper hash browns, flavoured with Chinese five-spice,

nori seaweed toast, scrambled tofu with sesame seeds,

sweet-and-sour beans in a ketchup, soy and black vinegar sauce,

oyster-glazed mushrooms, and a chilli tomato ketchup.

I'm fascinated by all this.

I think it's amazing. I can smell the Chinese takeaway.

I admire the fact that you have done all this plant-based.

The bacon is the star of the show to me -

tastes like bacon, texture of bacon -

and that char siu sauce across the top,

slightly sharp and a little bit spiced.

Mushrooms - great, nice and slippery.

Hash browns - fantastic. The cinnamon and allspice,

it's like Chinese chips.

The only thing I'm not a fan of is those beans.

I find them too sharp and tomato-ey. I don't get sweet-and-sour.

The rest of the things, I think, are really clever.

It makes me smile.

I think the prawn toast is really lovely.

The seaweed element is very clever, giving it that trickery of it,

feeling like there is prawns in there, which is great.

You've done a very good job. Thank you so much.

I'm feeling good.

I'm just happy that the dish did what I set out for it to do,

which was just put a smile on their faces.

Sam has cooked a Thai twist on a traditional roast dinner -

roasted tenderloin of beef, served with beef-fat-fried potatoes,

baby carrots, caramelised shallots,

romanesco broccoli and a Thai massaman sauce.

I like what you've done with the beef.

I think you've cooked it nicely.

I love the crispness of the potatoes,

with the beef fat going through. That's really good.

Onions cooked nicely, got a little bit of bite to them.

I love the warmth of that sauce.

I love the creeping heat of the sauce,

but feel the potatoes could do with more seasoning.

I feel the romanesco could have been rolled in butter

and seasoned really well.

You can be more generous here with seasoning.

Your sauce is delicious.

The beautiful floral notes

that are coming from the galangal and the kaffir lime zest,

they are really elegant and they're really beautiful.

Your carrots, although they are so tiny, teeny-tiny,

they're almost newborn baby carrots,

but they still have a lovely al dente bite in them.

The potatoes are definitely under-seasoned.

You must taste as you go,

but I think, all in all, you have done a really good job.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

I think you're showing to your boyfriend

what you're capable of doing here.

Nothing else I can do now. Oh!

Mixed feeling at the moment, I'm happy with the cook of the beef.

I just wanted to kick myself with the seasoning.

We'll see.

Claire has made a twist on risalamande,

a Danish Christmas rice-pudding dessert,

a meringue roulade that's filled with the risalamande,

topped with cherries soaked in port and edible gold leaf,

served with an almond ice cream,

roasted almonds, fresh mint and a cherry and port sauce.

It could be a lot neater, but good on you.

A lot of hard work in here.

Beautifully cooked rice pudding, lovely and soft.

The meringue on the outside -

little bits of crispiness as well as sweetness.

It's like a marshmallow-encased rice pudding.

Your cherry sauce, I could drink it.

It's so good - slightly sharp, slightly sour. It's fan-tas-tic.

I think that's going to become a Christmas classic from now on.

I think that's wonderful.

What's so nice is that almond marzipan flavour of the ice cream,

which is really good.

Taking rice pudding and wrapping it in meringue -

for me, this is adventurous, this is brave.

It's taking a gamble, and I think it's paid off.

I am feeling elated.

SAM: Well done.

Great job.

I've waited a long time to get something really right.

I felt like I got it really right today.

I think today we saw some real passion, real personality,

some real skill.

We've got a decision to make.

There's only three places left in the competition,

so that does mean that someone's going home.

Harry - amazing job. Venison Wellington,

haggis, whisky sauce.

It had great flavours that came together.

It was a harmonious plate of food. We've got to agree, don't we?

Yeah, honestly, I think Harry nailed it today.

Harry's got himself a place in the final three.

I think Claire nailed it as well today.

Who in their right mind would come on MasterChef and go,

"You know what I'm going to do?

"Stuff a meringue roulade with rice pudding"?

And that's Claire. Balanced out by that beautiful cherry sauce,

and the whole thing did actually taste of Christmas.

So Claire's going through to the final three. Yes, yeah.

One more place left.

We've got Sophie and Sam to talk about.

Sam's take on a classic Thai massaman sauce with a roast dinner.

Nicely cooked beef, great sauce, little potatoes, wonderful.

But seasoning was a problem.

It didn't have the flavour the dish deserved.

Sophie is almost unbelievable,

that she can mimic meat with plant-based ingredients.

There was that sort of flavour and aroma

of a leftover Chinese takeaway. Yeah.

The beans I wasn't a fan of.

They were a bit acidic, they were a bit sharp.

But the rest of it - magical. I thought that was wonderful.

It's so close. It would be so frustrating

if I went out at this point,

but I think I've done all I can.

I'm not too sure if I have done enough for the final three.

I'm 50-50% at the moment, but I really hope.

Guys, you cooked your socks off today.

But sadly,

only three of you can go through to the next round.

The first person going through to the final three is...

Harry.

Good job.

The second person going through is...

Claire.

Sam, Sophie...

Sadly, one of you is going to be leaving the competition.

The third person going through to the final three is...

..Sophie.

Well done, darling.

Sam, thank you very much for all that you've shared,

for all your emotion, your heart, your laughter,

the joy you brought to the competition.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Sometimes it's just not your day in the kitchen.

And that was just my day today.

But honestly, what an incredible journey.

So, so happy and so grateful

for everything that MasterChef has given me.

This is just the start of Sam.

So wait and see!

HE LAUGHS

Congratulations. You are our final three.

Yay!

THEY CHEER

Well done, guys! Well done.

You three now have earned the right to cook at Chef's Table.

But it's not going to be without a huge amount of pressure,

because you will be cooking at three-Michelin-star

Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester.

HE LAUGHS

There's going to be about 50 Michelin stars kicking about!

Yeah. Oh, my God!

Over the last four decades...

..legendary French chef Alain Ducasse

has built a global empire of acclaimed restaurants

and holds a staggering 21 Michelin stars to his name,

making him one of the most celebrated chefs in the world.

In 2007, he opened Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester,

setting the standards for modern French haute cuisine,

and within three years was awarded three Michelin stars,

an accolade it's held for 15 years.

ALL SHOUT IN UNISON

Running today's Chef's Table

is Alain's protege and executive chef,

Jean-Philippe Blondet.

Alain Ducasse, for more than 20 years, I'm working for him.

He's got a vision not everybody can have.

In order to be at the level of the three stars,

you need to have a lot of creativity.

You have to go more and more and more.

Table 2. Oui, Chef.

It's one of the best restaurants in London.

So I think the pressure will be very, very high for the contestants.

But we are going to make sure that we'll be at the level on the day.

Good morning and welcome to the restaurant

Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester.

So my name is Jean-Philippe Blondet.

I'm the chef patron of the restaurant here.

By my side, you have the chef, Alain Ducasse.

Bonjour. Bonjour. Bonjour, monsieur.

So the chefs are Clare Smyth,

Alex Dilling,

Claude Bosi

and Tom Kitchin.

Now, let me tell you that the pressure is quite high,

but I'm sure we are going to make it.

So now, if you are ready, please follow me in the kitchen.

Right now, our three are up for one of the toughest challenges

we've ever seen on MasterChef,

a challenge that would put a chill down the spine

of many professional chefs.

Chef's Table in the hallowed halls of Alain Ducasse,

where there's not even a single crease in the tablecloth.

This is all about presentation, aroma, texture, flavour -

every single one personified.

It is an incredible opportunity for our three.

But right now, I'm sure they're very, very nervous.

Absolutely no pressure(!) You know, we're only at the Dorchester

cooking for Alain Ducasse and his proteges. It's fine(!)

SHE INHALES SHARPLY

I can't feel anything from the waist down,

because my stomach's just left me.

So hopefully my legs will still be there to move me around a kitchen!

Don't want to let Alain Ducasse down,

so, yeah, hopefully I've got it in me.

Are you OK? Yeah, I'm OK!

SHE LAUGHS

Sophie will be in charge of a fish starter

that contains just four key ingredients.

Watercress, hazelnuts, potatoes and fish.

But every single one of those elements

done in many different ways.

It looks a very simple dish,

but there is a lot of different levels of intensity of taste.

The plating starts with a potato, watercress and hazelnut puree.

What is very important here is the texture.

Mm-hm. You know, if it's still a bit of fibre inside... Yeah, OK.

You are going to put three different condiments.

So you have one which is based on the creme cru.

Creme cru. Creme cru. Creme cru. Yeah.

So it is the cream which is not pasteurised at all. Mmm.

To follow is a puree made from toasted hazelnuts,

hazelnut vinegar and yeast powder.

This, you don't want to put too much.

Three like that is enough.

You've just put some blobs on a plate and it looks lovely!

SHE LAUGHS

A few watercress leaves.

I don't like things when it's very symmetric.

And after you will have watercress being dry,

mix it with the fresh one.

We want to feel the watercress, the bitter acidity taste.

The final garnishes are a caramelised creme cru crumb

..a la!

..and watercress powder.

Do you understand all single steps so far? Yes, I think so.

During service, Sophie will have the challenge of cooking

one of the most expensive pieces of fish.

A Dover sole is a gift from nature.

Sophie has to make sure it's absolutely perfect.

And how do you feel about cooking the fish?

A little bit of pressure. Yeah?

I don't cook very much fish, because I don't eat meat or fish.

OK.

There's also a potato baked inside a salt crust.

There's potatoes in there? Yes.

SHE LAUGHS

OK!

You have to smash it. Oh!

Smashed open so that it lets out a huge amount of aroma.

And then it's served with more watercress.

Three-Michelin-star restaurant...

How can we make a potato sexy?

The plating is finished with a creamy fish sauce,

split with more watercress in the form of an oil.

I can smell that. It smells amazing.

Voila! Stunning.

There's quite a lot of small things to do.

You will have to work with organisation.

I'm sure I can do it.

You're sure about that? Yeah. HE LAUGHS

First impressions... Wow.

There's just so much thought and detail that's gone into this.

I really think it is like a work of art.

It's not going to be easy,

but I'm really excited to give it my best shot.

I have no idea how to prep a fish.

Where's the instructions manual?

To prep the fish, the skin could be the difficult part.

SHE STRAINS WITH EFFORT

Sometimes it's coming easy, sometimes not.

Take a sole out of the sea, you have to respect it.

It's not even about price. It's about life.

Eurgh!

Oh, my God. I don't know if I'm doing this right.

Don't ask me if it's so far, so good yet, because I don't know.

Let me finish it and then I'll tell you.

And then we've got to do it again!

Welcome to the kitchen.

Today you are going to do the meat dish. OK.

Claire will be responsible for

a three-Michelin-star-level surf and turf.

For me, this course is very important,

because it was one of the first courses I made Mr Ducasse,

and I want to see the same smile that he used to have,

like, eight years back when he tried my dish.

The dish is based around rack and saddle of venison

with a venison and razor clam sauce.

It's not everywhere you are going to eat venison mixed with other clams.

So what we want to do here is to bring the sea in the dish

and to find the link and connection in between.

So we have this beautiful pumpkin roll.

Around, you will have nori.

So the shape is very important,

because it looks a bit like a razor clam. OK.

It's because the chef Alain Ducasse

doesn't like much salt on the dishes.

OK. So we love using products from the sea.

The pumpkin and nori roll

is topped with pumpkin and marigold leaf pesto...

..pumpkin seeds...

You have five plates to do.

You need to go quite fast,

but you need to look pretty as well. Yeah.

..and fresh marigold leaves...

Marigold!

..flowers and a marigold leaf powder.

Oh, it's beautiful!

It looks like you might find it in nature.

That is incredible.

The garnish for me is the most important part,

because you need to be right.

Claire will have to prep and cook two different cuts of the venison,

the saddle and the rack.

So, the meat here... you have two pieces of meat.

You see, the bones is totally clean. Neatly cleaned.

Meat attached... OK, Chef!

This is very important later on. Yeah. That's not easy.

The venison, we are looking to have the cooking medium rare,

so if you don't make it rest,

it will be too tough.

After you bring this beautiful cutlet...

..it's very important to have enough sauce, eh? Yes.

Incredible.

The razor clam is extraordinary!

I would never think "razor clam and venison".

It is exquisite. But this makes me nervous.

We have no choice. I've looked for every exit.

They won't let me out...

HE LAUGHS

..and so I may as well just get on with it.

I have never butchered a piece of meat

this big and this beautiful.

What a responsibility.

They don't have a full day to prep everything,

so they need to be very efficient about the butchery.

They are going to spend the two hours to debone the venison.

Time out.

I must not waste any of this, so I need to do a good job.

SHE GASPS

Harry is in the pastry section.

So for the desserts, we'll have something a bit crazy

based on kombu, seaweed, citrus and olive oil.

The inspiration - the south of France and Brittany.

Brittany, you will find, is very close to the sea,

a lot of seaweed.

South of France, there is a lot of olive oil,

so it's hard to mix the two regions together

and find the right balance with the citrus.

I don't want to make you stress... Yeah.

..but it's a favourite of Alain Ducasse.

He loves citrus. OK? OK.

The dish has ten technically challenging components.

There is a lot of steps going on and a lot of cooking. OK.

The first of his demanding components

are confit lemon, orange and grapefruit,

kombu seaweed puree

and lemon paste.

You have a mayonnaise based on olive oil and citrus. Yeah. OK.

Lovely shimmer to it.

To follow is a clementine jelly...

It's quite important for the texture...

..citrus caviar...

..you're going just to put like that on the top of it.

Voila.

..orange, grapefruit and lemon segments

and black lemon and kombu seaweed gavottes.

Gavotte is a kind of a small tuile.

Mmm! Delicious.

Easy to break. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you have to be very delicate.

Wow.

Desserts and pastry work - an exact science.

He's got to make sure that whatever he does has the time

to either set, to bake, to cool, or to even freeze.

The dish is finished with a delicate bergamot orange sorbet...

The shape of the sorbet is not an easy one.

We want to have, like, a nice whole and perfect.

Oh, wow. OK?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

..and a citrus and olive oil sauce.

You made that look easy.

The sauce is what brings it all together.

I never thought to put olive oil on dessert.

It's absolutely beautiful.

How do you feel about it when you see it?

Yeah, it's scary. Lots of components.

You know, in service, when you've got to work quickly

but you're very delicate.

It's like the touch of a surgeon you need.

You have a lot of prep to do.

Good luck. Thank you. I'll need it!

So it begins!

Just making the lemon paste.

So the first thing I've got to do is peel these lemons,

and then these need to be blanched three times.

So the idea is that you remove some of the acidity.

After that, we need to boil the syrup

and then add the peel to it. It's a lot to do.

I'm feeling terrified, yeah!

The finalists have just three hours...

..to bring together Alain and Jean-Philippe's

award-winning dishes.

Sophie's Dover sole prepped...

Whoa!

Huh? Hey?

EXCLAIMS IN FRENCH

..and fish stock for her creamy Dover sole sauce on the go...

Season, taste that, make sure that's all good.

..she now has the complex job of encasing her potatoes

in a rock salt and hazelnut mix...

Never salt-crusted potato before, but love the idea of it.

..so that it has enough time to bake in the oven.

Making the crust all around now. All around, yeah.

Yeah, needs to be totally full of crust. Thank you.

Sophie won't know if that potato's cooked all the way through

until she smashes it open. That's a gamble.

No stress.

No stress.

Also with an extensive prep list is Claire,

who's still butchering venison.

I will just show you a bit the technique.

You go in the middle of the bone... Right.

..it will be very easy to remove. Put your finger here...

Yes...

That's incredible.

And you see, the deboning is perfect.

That's genius!

You should be a Michelin-starred chef.

Thank you very much.

HE LAUGHS

Claire is a bit more running late with the timing.

You made this look so easy!

Let's go!

Mamma Mia!

But she never did venison,

the full carcase, which was not an easy task.

So go up around...

It's good, it's good. Next. OK.

Over on pastry,

Harry is juggling several different types of citrus fruits.

Now I'm just peeling orange, lemon and grapefruit,

and that's going in to make our citrus paste.

Oh, I thought I was done with oranges after Greece!

The surprise here will be the complexity of the flavours.

Harry's got to get his head around all these different citrus flavours

and citrus done in so many different ways.

I've got a huge amount to do.

I think I was behind on time about five minutes after I started,

to be perfectly honest.

But what I can do is keep going, right?

So, guys, listen,

we have just one hour and a half left before the first course.

Yes, Chef. Yes, Chef.

Yes, Chef. I think you should go a bit faster.

Yeah, me too.

Sophie's only just started

the first of the four watercress garnishes

to go with the Dover sole.

I'm working 100mph.

I'm using every inch of muscle in my body to get this...

I've got loads to do. There's so much on this recipe list.

So how are we? I feel good. Do you think you are on time?

I hope so. I've got a lot of things going at one time.

Let's go! Oooh!

SHE LAUGHS

Yes, Chef!

I've got a lot to do.

I don't know if you've seen that recipe, but it's not short!

On the meat main, Claire's finally finished her butchery.

She's managed to get the bones on

for her venison and razor clam sauce,

which will take time to reduce,

but now has to get her butternut squash garnish precisely prepped.

Claire is slightly behind because the butchery has taken so long.

She just wants to make sure everything is absolutely right.

The rolling of it, I'm using a Japanese mandolin,

which I've never used before,

so I'm going to have to be really delicate and careful.

Yay!

That's fantastic. Look at that! SHE LAUGHS

Wow.

Claire now has the fiddly job of cutting the squash sheets

into exactly eight-centimetre-square sections.

It just shows you how precise the vegetable has to be.

You need two pieces per order. Two pieces? OK.

OK. Two pieces.

A roasted pumpkin, marigold leaf and pumpkin seed pesto

must then be added...

As you can imagine, they're extremely fragile.

..before being carefully rolled into a razor clam shape.

This is not correct. It's not enough tight.

It has to be super-tight. OK.

Because when you are going to cook it, it will be all moving.

OK. So tight as much as you can.

They just have to go into the oven long enough.

They've got to hold their shape, and then I put the nori around it.

Then I have to dress them,

which I thankfully can do ahead of service.

So in less than one hour, all the prep done,

focus for the service.

Yes, Chef. OK?

Feel nervous now!

Over on dessert... Delicious.

..Harry's racing to get his bergamot orange sorbet in to freeze.

Hope it freezes in time.

His next technical challenge is a type of classic French biscuit.

I had no idea what a gavotte was until about an hour ago.

It looks like a very, very thin, delicate tuile.

We've got seaweed and lemon gavotte, making a paste like a pancake.

And it should be really crispy and really, really crunchy.

So you spread the mixture out, bake it,

and then I've got to form them as well. So, very delicate work.

Feeling the pressure big time.

It's just so very precise, this type of cooking.

I think there is a lot of stamina, excitement,

but we need to push a bit faster to make sure we can deliver on time.

Alain Ducasse is never late. Not by a minute, not by a second.

They have to be on time.

With 45 minutes to go, the guests are arriving.

Having each been mentored by their host,

they all understand the standards required to succeed

at the highest level.

As a young chef, I worked with Monsieur Ducasse

in the iconic Louis XV in Monte Carlo.

It blew my mind. It was gastronomy at its absolute finest.

Today's massive. Even being in his presence, I'm trembling.

I spent five years in New York with Mr Ducasse. I think for any chef,

if they start their career working for someone like Ducasse,

it really paves the way for your success.

And being able to do that consistently year after year,

with so many restaurants, training so many chefs,

it's just...no-one does it like him. Yeah.

Working with Monsieur Ducasse opened my eyes

to what conviviality, a restaurant is about.

I would not be where we are now if we didn't go through

that journey with him. I would not want to be them today.

Let's put it this way.

It's going to be a huge challenge for them.

Very, very difficult to recreate the chef's food.

I mean, we're talking about one of the greatest chefs,

not only in the world, but I think in history.

Contestants, just to let you know,

your guests, they are seated.

Oui, Chef! OK. 40 minutes left.

With service fast approaching,

Sophie is yet to finish making her creamy Dover sole sauce.

It's kind of like making a mayo.

Sophie's going right to the wire.

She's got a couple of last minute jobs to do. She has to be on time.

Sophie, the first course, you have ten minutes to finish all your prep.

Yes, Chef. Good.

Obviously, I'm a little bit nervous. It's a very high standard out there.

I just want to do a good job. Just going to keep my head down

and try and smash this the best I can.

The time is running.

Claire's also up against it.

The base for the venison sauce reducing,

she must now tackle the dish's seafood element.

I have never cooked razor clams in my life before.

The razor clam is a really difficult thing to get right.

They're going to take literally seconds to cook.

Oh, oh!

It's like they parachute out of their shells.

I have never been this nervous in a professional kitchen,

not in everything we've ever done.

And I feel slightly sick to my stomach.

A bit thinner, a bit thinner. Thinner. Yeah. OK.

I've just got to keep going.

Harry's about to find out if his lemon and kombu seaweed gavottes

have been successful.

It turned out quite well, actually. I've not broken any yet,

but still plenty of time for that, I suppose.

What do you all have to do? Finish cutting up the fresh segments.

Let's go!

This might seem quite simple, but I've been told that Alain Ducasse

will not be very happy if there's even the smallest bit

of white pith on it.

So even something as simple as this that, looks really straightforward,

needs a lot of care and attention.

Pressure is going up!

Harry has underestimated how long it's going to take him

to get those segments done.

Harry's got to get a move on.

With service moments away...

We start to set up all the plates in seven minutes.

..all three finalists are motoring to finish their prep.

Are you ready? Yes, Chef. Confident? Yeah.

Ah! Super, super confident.

Argh!

In the five minutes you can cook the fish.

Absolutely not intimidating whatsoever.

Let's go. Trembling.

Ah! Should I do all condiment, then all seeds?

Compact them, more closer to each other.

I've still got to cook that venison in two different ways.

The pressure is unlike anything else we've done.

I can't quite verbalise it.

Harry, are you OK? Definitely not sleeping, that's for sure.

Citrus caviar. Just removing the seeds.

So you've got all the lovely juicy bits

without any of the nasty seed bits.

There's about 3,000 of them, and I'm taking them out one by one.

God help me if I serve Alain Ducasse a seed.

Yeah, up against it now.

Sophie is the first to face the pressure

of a three Michelin-starred service.

Sophie, you have four minutes. Go a bit faster now.

I've got to set the standard high.

Oh, my God!

I've never cooked a Dover sole before. I'm so nervous.

You can do this.

Dover sole, it's such a treat. It's really going to be about

the cooking of that fish to really show it off.

Don't overcook it. Yeah.

Dover sole cooked on the bone.

If it's too cooked, I cannot send it. We need to restart again.

I think this is done. Yeah, let's go.

Then, Sophie's going to have to carve it off the bone.

This is a huge task for Sophie.

It's not perfect, but it's not bad. Not bad, not perfect.

It's pretty good, right? Let's go. The watercress.

Ooh!

Watercress is such a beautiful flavour,

but it's got to be captured in its freshness.

Concentration mode.

Let's go, the cream.

Give everything. Everything! Let's go. Be generous.

You got strong flavour in between the watercress,

the hazelnut, be able to balance everything together,

to make sure the sole still shine at the end

and still, the queen of the plate.

Serving the guests in one minute. What do you think about that?

Eh, yes. Because I don't want to get fired because of you.

I do not want you to get fired because of me either.

Potatoes, now - you have the potatoes? Potatoes. Let's go.

I'm not going to send it late.

Potatoes, we crush.

Last push, boss, come on.

Oooh! Looks amazing.

Go!

I'm intrigued. It sounds so, so simple. But it won't be.

It has to be precise. And it has to be gastronomy at its finest.

Allez, let's go, service, please.

Sophie, well done. Thank you! You make it!

Yeah, very good to have you today.

I feel amazing. You're feeling amazing?

Yeah, but we have to see what they say!

Wow.

The dish looks so beautiful. But most importantly,

I feel it looks really yummy and you want to eat it.

If they say it's OK, I can sleep tonight.

I mean, obviously brilliant, outstanding, would be fantastic.

But, you know, you've got to take what you can get.

The sole was perfectly cooked. It was really well seasoned.

The watercress was delicious with the sole, but the hazelnut,

the crumb on the plate and the balance was excellent.

The acidity was the cream and the watercress, it's delicious.

I mean, she can start with me next week. I have no problem with that.

For me, the start of the show was the potatoes.

They were warm, they were just crushed.

And then they had this incredible watercress

that was just melting into the potatoes. It was perfection.

Yes, perfectly cooked. Perfect seasoning. Beautiful.

I like it.

Considering Sophie's a vegetarian,

she's cooked that fish absolutely beautifully.

There's lovely sharp notes going through that sauce.

That potato roasted in salt.

Sophie has to be really pleased with that.

Claire? Yes, Chef. You're on the pass.

OK, Chef. And you are doing your plate.

Let's go.

The main course, the star of the show, venison,

butternut squash and razor clams.

Some of the finest ingredients that we have here in the British Isles.

So nervous. I like when you are nervous. Ah!

The cooking of the venison is huge.

It can't be overcooked. It can't be too rare.

There's no other way to do it than get your hand in.

It has to be pink. It has to be perfect.

Aye, ah! Aye, ah!

Don't forget to put the butter inside.

Oh! A bit of gourmandise, you know. Caramelisation, you know.

Voila! Look at that.

I love it!

Don't forget to remove the string. Yes.

Strings, don't ruin the... OK? And in two minutes, we go.

Don't come off! Don't come off!

Breathe. Yeah. Breathe. You're fine. Aah!

Look at this cooking, uh? Wow! Look at that!

More or less you did better than me.

The marigold will give you this citrusy...

It will go very well with venison.

You can dance with it.

Let's go, let's go.

Sauce with a razor clam is not something you would expect to see.

Aye, aye, aye, ah, yah!

But I'm sure it can balance themselves very well.

There's lots of things going on. It's a delicate balance,

but ultimately, beautiful ingredients.

Service.

Yeah, we did it, uh?! Congratulations.

Well done. Thank you very much. Very good.

I'm very happy for you. Why am I always crying?!

Wow. It looks amazing. Wow. Is that an amateur who's did this?

I will never forget that. It was epic. I loved it.

I hope that they can see a huge amount of effort and respect.

I'm just so honoured to have cooked it.

This dish is absolutely delicious.

The venison is cooked exactly how I like it.

To think that an amateur chef has managed to get the bone

as clean as this... Yes!

And then to have the little nugget at the end.

And when we cut into the little cutlet,

it was perfectly pink. That was exceptional.

The squash was interesting, but what was the most interesting

was the seaweed on the outside of it. When you bite towards it

with the venison, it just gives you some freshness.

The sauce is just delicious.

The razor clams are texturally beautiful.

It's such a difficult skill to master,

particularly for an amateur chef.

The perfect cooking, the perfect seasoning, the perfect harmony.

Everything is high level. That's incredible.

Claire's learned some extraordinary techniques here,

the flavour of the sea, the flavour of the land, all coming together.

It's delicious. Absolutely delicious.

Last to serve is Harry...

We are five minutes away to plate. Yes, Chef.

..who has to bring all ten components together.

Just breaking up the jelly.

You have all the mise en place ready, so it should be no problem.

Oui, Chef.

So the dessert is fascinating. There's so many different elements

that the chef has to execute properly.

Don't put too much. Be focused, concentrate.

If you press a bit more, it will be more efficient. Bam!

The seaweed coming to add a bit of saltiness.

Citrus and salt do go well together.

Put it a bit up. Higher, yeah? To give some volume, you know, like.

Oui.

HE EXHALES

Caviar. Right.

So now is the sorbet time. Come on.

Yep. Citrus sorbet set. Perfect.

It's your time now.

So here is where you are going to show your skill.

You need to be quite fast, otherwise it's going to melt.

It's a beautiful modern dish.

Presentation is obviously incredibly important.

Allez, not bad. There we go.

We need to go a bit faster. The sauce ready?

You put the olive oil on it? I love olive oil,

I like the way it coats the palate and carries that flavour.

There's a lot of balance to be achieved with that.

Bit more, bit more, a bit more. Yeah, it can be tricky.

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

So how do you feel about this? Good!

I think it looked good. I think you did well.

You did well, you did well. Yeah, yeah.

Wow.

Another amateur I want to employ in my kitchen.

I really, really enjoy this. Citrus together,

they was balancing each other. It was amazing.

I could have licked the plate.

Lots and lots of technique and texture as well in the dish.

There's the little crunchy tuile thing that's going on there.

The sauce, lovely. And you've got that olive oil

that then just makes everything else coat the tongue.

And it's beautiful.

The sorbet was fresh. The way that they did that quenelle,

as a chef, even I don't think I could do that, you know.

It was incredible.

I have to say, this is one of the best desserts I've ever had.

I like it. I love it.

Whoa!

Oh, yeah!

There is this extraordinary complexity

of different types of citrus.

Plus, all that lovely sauce rich with olive oil.

The detail is extraordinary.

I've got to say, that's fantastic.

APPLAUSE

On behalf of all of us here on the table, I just want to say

three dishes which were absolutely outstanding.

You should be so proud.

What an exceptional menu. So, congratulations, well done.

And I hope you're going to take this with you for the rest of your lives.

Overall, it's a happy day.

Well done, guys. Well done. What an amazing experience.

To see three amateur chefs, who have never cooked

within a three Michelin-starred restaurant.

They really wanted to make it happen, so I wish them

very good luck for the final.

That experience was absolutely phenomenal.

I will never forget that for as long as I live.

It's been amazing.

If you told me this morning that I'm going to be cooking

Dover sole and it's going to go well,

I would have laughed at you.

I feel so inspired and never want to roll another butternut squash

mandolin slice ever again,

but I've pulled so much knowledge out of today.

It's blown me away. That was unreal.

It does feel like a milestone in my cooking journey.

For the first time, I feel like I can do this.

I feel like I've got what it takes to win.

Yeah, I've never wanted anything more.

Now everything they've learnt, they now have to put together.

It's all to play for.

They're going to have to cook like they've never cooked before.

Next time, it's the MasterChef final.

Whoa! They're not frozen.

You've got 90 seconds, everybody.

Everything about this dish is chic and gorgeous and delicious.

You should be very proud.

It looks absolutely fantastic.

Our MasterChef champion 2025 is...