All language subtitles for MasterChef.S19E08.1080p.HDTV.H264-DARKFLiX

It's week three
of the MasterChef heats.

Last time,
nine enthusiastic home cooks

auditioned for a place
in the competition.

It's a bit stressful.

It's modern and it's smart.

My duck is cooked really,
really well.

It's just not punchy enough.

Only seven earned themselves
a MasterChef apron.

Only seven earned themselves
a MasterChef apron.

After the first round,
I did feel relief.

I mean, I cried like a baby.

I'm hungry for this now. There's
a bug in me that's got to carry on.

It's hitting the dopamine.

Everything is hanging
in the balance here, so we'll see.

Tonight, they face
two tough challenges.

First, they will have
to cook a dish

to a brief set by one of
the country's top food critics...

Ah!

This is totally restaurant-level.

..before cooking off for a place
in this week's quarterfinal.

..before cooking off for a place
in this week's quarterfinal.

Dip Dab, that's fab.

Only the best will make it through.

We've got our seven best cooks,

and they've now got themselves
a MasterChef apron.

Now they have
a fantastic opportunity

to show us what they're all about.

Welcome back, and congratulations
for winning your aprons.

Now you're here in the competition,

we want to know
how great you can become.

You have been set a brief.

That brief wasn't actually
set by us.

The person that set that brief
is one of the most travelled

and knowledgeable food writers
I have ever met.

Ladies and gentlemen, Leyla Kazim.

Hello. Welcome. Hi, everyone.

They look a bit terrified,
don't they?

LAUGHTER
We'll warm them up.

So, the brief I have set you today
is to create a dish

that showcases
either sour or bitterness.

that showcases
either sour or bitterness.

Out of the five tastes,

which are salty, sweet, umami,
sour and bitter,

sour and bitterness,
I feel like they get lost.

Bitterness is, like,
quite a sophisticated taste.

Sourness is personally my favourite,

so I just want to see how you manage
to showcase one of these,

but also keep a good balance
in the dish, which is key.

You'll have one hour and 30 minutes

to produce for us
an extraordinary plate of food

that cements your place
in the competition.

At the end of this, we will only
take the best cooks with us.

Let's cook. Hey, yeah! How exciting!

The possibilities are endless
with bitter and sour.

Those two tastes can show up

in either a sweet dish
or a savoury dish.

I like the brief.
I think it's exciting.

I don't want to cook
something I cook all the time.

I want to be challenged, so...

Bitter things include
coffee, chocolate,

Bitter things include
coffee, chocolate,

you get a lot of
bitter salad leaves.

Sour, we're talking vinegars,
pickles,

things that are fermented,
citrus family.

Acid is good.

It's going to make
this bit of my cheeks tingle.

She knows her stuff,
so, yeah, it's nerve-racking.

With bitter and sour,
if you overdo either of them,

a dish can quite quickly
and easily become inedible.

a dish can quite quickly
and easily become inedible.

It's always risky using
these really strong flavours.

Piano teacher Thuy learned to cook
from her mother and grandmother

in her native Vietnam.

She hit all the right notes
in the audition round

with her bold
Southeast Asian flavours.

Your dish is absolutely delightful.
Thank you.

What I've learned
about myself is that

I cope quite well under stress, much
more surprisingly than I thought.

I thought I'd be
that person in the corner

rocking forward and backward
and silently crying,

but that hasn't happened...yet.

Thuy, please tell me
what you are rustling up today.

I'm going to make you a brownie,

but I'm hoping it's going
to be dark and unctuous.

And I'm going to put some raspberry
to get the tartness into it. OK.

And I'm going to attempt to make
a raspberry sorbet at the same time.

OK. So, please like it. Yeah!
Please, please like it.

Can I bribe you with something?
Would you like some chocolate?

I mean... Yeah.
Absolutely up for bribes.

A disappointing brownie
is a dry brownie,

but I think the key thing here
is raspberry,

how that's bringing
the sour element.

She's adding lemon juice
to the sorbet.

That will certainly bring
the required acidity,

but I don't want it to end up
tasting like a lemon sorbet.

Lemon and chocolate,
for me, don't really go.

"Fingers crossed she will love it,"
she said.

JOHN:The thing is,
does this really hit the brief?

Cos I think Leyla's looking for
properly sour,

not apologetically sour.

I mean properly sour -
slap-you-round-the-face sour.

South African-born Owen

works as a hotel supervisor
and speaks five languages.

After holding back on spicing
in his audition...

Have you toned this down
for Gregg and I? I did indeed.

..he proved he could pack a punch
with his lamb dish.

I like the spice. I like the amount
of chilli in it. Well done.

OWEN COUGHS

There's a bit of chilli
in there, of course.

Owen, you look like
you're having fun

and you're really happy.

I don't know if this is how
you actually feel inside!

I'm usually a happy person,
a happy-go-lucky person,

but this is the first time ever
I do feel a bit of the tension.

I would love to know
what you're cooking for us, please.

Yes. Today, I'm going to be cooking
a cod tamarind curry sauce

with coconut rice and pickled veg.

I've got the radish.
Am I going to get a hit of sourness?

Yes. Yes, I'm hoping so.

It did hit me. It's something
different for me altogether.

Owen is making a cod tamarind curry.

I mean, it sounds good because

tamarind is a great source
of sourness.

And I love the fact that
there's pickled veg on the plate

because I'm a big pickle fan.

On the side of this cod dish,
we've got coconut rice.

Coconut rice is sweet,
so I hope that sweetness

doesn't wash away
the sharpness and sourness.

I'm not the greatest
at cooking sour dishes.

I did try it once.

It gave a nice kind of
smack on the lips...

The crunch!

..so I was like, "Wow,
why didn't I ever think of this?"

So, I've opened my taste buds
to more things.

Ah!
HE CLEARS HIS THROAT

You've had 20 minutes, guys.
20 minutes gone.

Oncology nurse Ngoneh is passionate
about Gambian flavours

and caught the judges' attention
with her spicy red mullet dish.

Ooh! Fairly spicy. Excuse me.
I've got chilli hiccups.

I like that.

I think what Ngoneh's doing

is probably the most risky dish
in the whole room

because Ngoneh is making
one large lemon tart.

She's got to make pastry.
It needs to be blind-baked,

which takes between 20
and 30 minutes.

She then has to make
the lemon filling.

She's got to get it into
that tart case

and she'll let it cool down enough

so she can actually cut it
into a perfect wedge.

This is really,
really difficult to get right.

I mean really difficult
to get right.

How's it going?
NGONEH:Hmm. To plan?

Yeah, it's all fine.
You seem very chilled.

Staying calm. Calm. Yeah.

Why a lemon tart?

Well, you know,
my cooking is inspired by

what my family like to eat,

so if we are doing dessert,
it's definitely lemon tart,

so why not do it today?

Who is at home? My husband
and my two little girls. OK. Yes.

Is the lemon tart going
to make me go...around here?

I hope so.

It's a bit stressful because

baking is not my forte, so, yeah...

You just put it in the oven
and you're not in control of it,

so you don't know
how it's going to come out.

I'm hoping I'm not going
to have a soggy bottom.

SHE LAUGHS

Lemon tart is the dessert

that I will always order
if I see it on a menu.

I hope it's really lemony

because there is
nothing more disappointing

than biting into a lemon tart and
not feeling the presence of lemon.

Hairdresser Mirel
was born in Romania

and is passionate about
both cooking and modern art,

which he demonstrated to the judges
with an impressive vegan dessert.

I love the presentation.
I think it looks quite contemporary.

The feeling is slightly daunting,

knowing that a food critic
is going to taste my dish

and I'm not a professional chef.

We'll wait and see
what's the opinion

because I don't think they've ever
tasted a dish like this.

What Mirel is making is completely
out of his own imagination,

and it sounds quite fascinating.

He's making a clear vegetable soup.

He has got some beetroot,

some orange, some red chicory
and some bitter melon.

It's very bitter. It's one of...

I think it's one of the most
bitter ingredients on the earth.

In the bottom,
we're getting little bits of tofu.

How do you cook the tofu?
I'm not cooking.

Pickled ginger, wakame,

which is a seaweed
which is quite salty,

and wasabi, which is horseradish.

Horseradish and beetroot
we know belong together,

so there's no reason
why this can't work.

So, this is a vegan dish?
Yes, it's vegan. It's 100% vegan.

Who else has tasted it?
Quite a few of my friends.

What was the verdict?
They really liked it, surprisingly.

Were you surprised?
LAUGHTER

Well, I know it's really hard,
it's very difficult

to balance the bitter melon,
but I balanced it quite well.

I like how he's balancing
the bitterness with the sweetness

and earthiness of the beetroot.

Pickled ginger - great.
Acidity. A little bit of heat.

It's just whether
he has the right amounts

of each of those elements.

JOHN:You guys are halfway.
45 minutes gone.

Just 45 minutes left.

Classroom assistant Michelle

loves cooking for
her three daughters

back home near Belfast

and enjoys making
hearty Irish dishes.

Your champ is superb.

I mean, enough butter in there
to sink a battleship.

I'm relieved to have the first round
out of the way.

Yeah, I'm relieved
I've got an apron.

So, today, I just want them to say,

"That's lovely, Michelle."

And then I'll just go home then!

So, what are you making
for us today?

I'm making a spiced ale cake
with roast plum and whisky cream.

What ale are you using?
It's pale ale. Interesting.

Now, that's bitter.
Are you a beer girl?

I'm actually not that much
of a beer girl... Yeah?

..but the fact that
it's in this dish,

I'm quite excited about.

So, what's inspired this?

This is a recipe that
my granny would have done.

So, I've tried to bring the ale
and stuff into the recipe,

along with the Irish whisky,
to get the bitter, sweet

and spicy sort of flavour.

I'm looking forward to getting
stuck into the boozy cake.

Whisky and beer -
can't be all bad, can it?

It's win-win!

I'm excited about this.

I love the fact that
she's gone with ale and whisky

for the bitter element.

Ooh!

Graphic designer Miles
loves to experiment

and create original dishes
in the kitchen.

He showed his potential
in the audition round

with an innovative dumpling dish.

If this is your own invention,
I am amazed and so excited for you.

If this is your own invention,
I am amazed and so excited for you.

My style is forever changing,
like the tides.

HE LAUGHS

I just like throwing myself
in the deep end,

so if it's something
that's technically challenging,

I would want to have a go at it.

I just don't like the comfort zone.
Not one for comfort zones.

Miles is making
a really interesting dessert,

all of his own design.

Panna cotta -
cooked cream set with some gelatine,

but he's not using cream,
he's using kefir,

which is a cultured milk drink,
and it's got lots of acid in it.

Then we've got
a basil and lime sorbet.

Lime is really sharp
and really acidic.

Love that as a sorbet.
There's our sour.

With that, we've got strawberries
in balsamic vinegar,

but we've also got
the addition of soy sauce,

soy sauce being really salty.

I hope the strawberry
can actually stand up to that.

So, we've got sour
appearing a lot, right?

In balanced doses, though.

So, is this the kind of food
you would cook at home

or are you pulling out the stops
for MasterChef?

When I'm at home,
I do stuff like this all the time.

It doesn't always work out, though.
You don't see the failures.

Very excited about
the inclusion of kefir, firstly,

because it's a fermented food,
one of my favourite groups of food,

because it's a fermented food,
one of my favourite groups of food,

a perfect source of sourness,

and quite an inventive way
to make a panna cotta.

And he had lots of
other interesting elements.

To me, I felt like
he was taking on a lot.

What are you most worried about
potentially going wrong?

It's the panna cotta.
It gives me great anxiety.

It's so temperamental.

Medical secretary Linda
is inspired by North African cuisine

that she cooks
for her Moroccan husband.

She also showed a flair for pastry
with a fantastic fondant.

Oh, look at that!

That right there
is a thing of absolute beauty.

I hope it works out
as good as the other day,

but it's asking a lot,
that, isn't it?

So, I'm doing a lemon tart

with lime sorbet
and raspberry sherbet.

All right! Two lemon tarts!
I know. Oh, my goodness!

I just thought it was a good one
to go with for sour,

and I was thinking about,
with the sherbet,

sour reminds me of when you're kids
and you'd have, like, the...

Dabbing the lollipop in the sherbet.
A sherbet dab! Yeah!

The second lemon tart in the room.

However, Linda is doing individual,
small lemon tarts.

Probably nowhere near as risky.

A little bit longer.

Lime sorbet - lovely and sharp.
She's making her own sherbet.

Say the word "sherbet"
to a sour-lover like me

and I'm, like, already very excited.

Do us the face, when you were a kid,

when you first got your first hit
of sherbet off the dab.

Go on. Do the face. Do the face.

I never thought I'd be serving food
to a food critic.

I can only make it
and hope for the best

and just hope that
it's not a disaster on the day,

cos I think that would be hard,

to have them look at it and think,
"Oh, my God. What is that?"

Five minutes!

Going to put it back
for another minute.

Just want to get it out in time.

How many minutes? 90 seconds.
That's what you have.

Just need to make it look beautiful.

I think I might have overcooked
the brownie.

It's really hard to... It was
a hard cook. I'm hoping it's OK.

That's it! Time's up! Stop.

So, that's it. That's me done.

Right.

Owen, please, up you come.

Hotel supervisor Owen
has served cod loin

poached in tamarind curry sauce,

with coconut rice, pickled radish,

fresh chilli,
spring onion and coriander.

Your fish is cooked really nicely

and your sauce
has definitely captured sour -

a sharp sourness
coming from tamarind.

Really fragrant,
and I like it a lot.

What I love is that
your tamarind sauce

has a level of sourness,

but then you've got,
like, the extra sour hits

of the pickled radish on top.

The brief was
to showcase sour or bitter.

This definitely showcases sour,
so well done, Owen.

Owen, I'm really enjoying this dish.

I'm really happy
that you nailed the brief,

and I'm really happy
because this tastes great.

What great feedback! Oh!

That's going to be playing back
on my...

I won't say VCR, but it's going
to be playing back on something.

Delighted.

Hairdresser Mirel
has served beetroot with raw tofu,

pickled ginger, wakame seaweed,

wasabi, toasted hazelnuts,

sesame seeds and caraway seeds,

with a bitter melon,
beetroot and chicory broth.

There's a lovely sweetness
coming from that beetroot,

and then the bitterness
that comes from the melon.

And this blandness of the tofu
actually then gives you

a bit of relief from the bitterness
and the sweetness.

I marvel at anybody
who can get those notes

to flow the way you have.
It's extraordinary. Thank you.

What I love is that

there's bitterness in the broth
on its own.

All of the elements
are well balanced.

You've got it just right.
You've just got it right.

I am getting bitter notes.

It's a slightly sweet broth.

There is saltiness,
of course, of the seaweed.

I'm enjoying this,
but in a cookery competition,

I'm looking down at
not very much cooking.

Got mixed feelings, mixed emotions

because the judges said
I could have cooked more.

I was just really focusing
on the balance of the flavours.

Medical secretary Linda's dish
is a lemon tart

with fresh raspberries,
raspberry sherbet and a lime sorbet.

Come on, sour! Yes!

Linda, this has got
all of this going.

That is what I want
when I'm eating a lemon tart.

I'm getting a good amount
of sourness from the lemon filling,

and then
I'm dipping that into sherbet

and I'm, like, getting a double hit,
which is excellent.

You have got sourness
through everything here.

You've produced sour hour.
Well done. Well done.

Dip Dab, that's fab.

LAUGHTER
I think that's great.

Fizzy bits of sherbet,
sharp bits of lemon,

then the coolness
that comes from that lime sorbet.

It makes me smile,
it is reminiscent of my childhood,

and I think that good food always
takes you back to a good place,

and that's taking me
to a good place.

May I add I've finished mine?

The feedback from Leyla -
I wasn't expecting that.

She ate it all, as well,
so that's a bonus!

Graphic designer Miles

has served a kefir,
yoghurt and honey panna cotta

with a walnut,
fennel and black pepper crumb,

pickled strawberries,

and a balsamic
and soy sauce vinaigrette,

with lime and basil sorbet
and a tequila cocktail.

Phwoar, mate!

You've got a mildly sour panna cotta

with a hint of strawberry that then
goes almost into vinegar sharpness.

Around this
is a really delicious sauce

that's got
that intense sweetness of balsamic

that ends in sharpness,
with saltiness from the soy.

I'm really, really enjoying this.

Your basil and lime sorbet,

that sort of
slight aniseed sweetness,

is fantastic.

It's vibrant. It's sharp.
It's refreshing.

I'm not necessarily
getting the sourness

from the kefir coming through,
but I don't think it's a problem.

Loving the pepper in the crumb!

This basil and lime sorbet
is incredible. It's so sharp.

This basil and lime sorbet
is incredible. It's so sharp.

This is totally restaurant-level.

I hit the brief
and I nailed everything

I wanted to do, and they said that,
so I can't lie - I'm happy I'm here.

Piano teacher Thuy has made
a raspberry and chocolate brownie

Piano teacher Thuy has made
a raspberry and chocolate brownie

with a chocolate soil,
chocolate sauce,

a raspberry coulis,

and a raspberry sorbet
topped with spun sugar.

I really like your raspberry coulis.

That's where
I'm getting sourness from.

It kind of ends there for me. OK.

The brownie, for me,
it's too dense and it's too dry.

It's heavy.
I know what you were trying to do.

You were trying to get the
bitter element with the chocolate.

Actually, what I'm getting instead
is just a lot of sweetness.

Your raspberry sorbet's ace.
Love it.

Nice and sharp with lemon-flavoured
raspberry going through it.

Really cooling.
That's really, really good.

But your brownie itself
is not that moist.

It's still quite dry.

Yeah. It should be crispy on the top
and gooey in the middle,

and it's not quite there.
Nice, sweetened crumb.

Nice chocolate sauce, as well.

However, the sweetness means

you're not getting enough bitterness
through that chocolate.

It's funny cos
I really love this dish.

You know, generally,
my brownies are really good at home.

It just... I don't know
what happened today.

It just didn't go my way.
But you know what?

That's just the way it is,

and I've just got to learn
to deal with it.

It's fine. It's all good.

Classroom assistant Michelle

has served a ginger
and nutmeg-spiced pale ale cake

with roasted plums,
a whisky cream and a plum sauce.

with roasted plums,
a whisky cream and a plum sauce.

That is a really nice cake.

You were going for bitterness,
which you have, very subtly.

I reckon you could have gone
slightly bolder with it.

But you've got sourness, as well.

This plum sauce - I love it.

And it's working with the sweetness
from the cake, and the spices.

In there, you've got lots of nutmeg,

you've got spice,
you've got ginger -

all those things in there -

and that there is giving you
your bitter note inside the cake.

There's nothing majorly sour.
There's nothing majorly bitter.

And it's, for me,
a little bit subtle.

You have a really nicely made cake.

I've got the unmistakable bitterness
of hoppy beer.

You could up the sourness.
You could up the bitterness.

But I'm getting it
and I'm really enjoying it,

mainly, I think, because
you've got whisky and beer,

which are two flavours
I really like a lot.

Whisky, beer and cake?
There's a Wallace!

I think you've pretty much
summed up my weekends.

LAUGHTER

Some good comments,
some not so good,

with, you know, being a bit subtle
with the flavours.

Maybe next time I'll put a bit more
alcohol in it. Seems to work!

Finally, it's Ngoneh.

She has served lemon tart,

mixed berries in a chocolate bowl,
and a vanilla ice cream.

mixed berries in a chocolate bowl,
and a vanilla ice cream.

Your ice cream, what, didn't set?
No, it didn't set the way I like it.

You've got a good amount of acidity
in your lemon tart filling.

However, that base is very thick.

The ice cream, which didn't set,
is grainy, lumpy.

The ice cream, which didn't set,
is grainy, lumpy.

You used double cream,
which you whipped,

so I think it's starting
to turn to butter.

The pastry's too thick.
It hasn't been cut properly,

so it's all oozing
all over the place.

Your lemon is most certainly
sharp enough,

but the two glaring issues for me...

One is the ice cream
that just hasn't worked at all.

The other one is
the thickness of this pastry.

So, it hasn't quite worked out.

Ngoneh, thank you very much.
Thank you. Thank you.

I am very disappointed
because I did put a lot of effort

I am very disappointed
because I did put a lot of effort

in the kitchen today,
but it is what it is.

It didn't come out the way
I planned it to be, so, yeah...

I really appreciate
the amount of work

you guys put into your dishes.

I love that there was
so much creativity.

Really, I think you did well.

As we said at the start of this,

we can only take
the best cooks with us.

Thank you very much indeed.
We'll call you back in as soon as

we've made our decision.
Thanks a lot. Off you go.

We set a brief cos we want
to be able to push our contestants,

and I've got to say, I think
that brief really pushed them.

This is a difficult conversation
because they're all stepping it up.

Owen and his cod
poached with that tamarind sauce

was just delicious -
sharp and sour, nice and spicy.

There was nothing apologetic
about it at all.

It was delicious!
All three of us loved it.

Owen has had a really strong round.
Good for him.

Miles came with a dessert -
a panna cotta made from kefir.

He hit the brief, absolutely.
Leyla loved it.

You delighted in it.
I mean, what's not to like?

There was sour in his sorbet,
sour in his sauce,

sour on the pickled strawberry.
He's good!

Linda - she had nailed the brief.

We had a sour curd.
We had sweet-sour sherbet.

She smashed it, John. Mm.
I think it was delicious.

Michelle made an ale cake,

the whisky giving smokiness
and a slight bit of bitterness.

Then we had that lovely sourness
coming from the plums.

For me, it was a little bit subtle.

However, there was nothing wrong
with the dish.

I really enjoyed Michelle's dish,
but then she used whisky and beer,

which are two of
my favourite flavours.

Right, we know who's going through.

Now we have to discuss who's staying

out of Mirel, Ngoneh and Thuy.

Thuy - we had a chocolate brownie.

The raspberry sorbet,
I thought, was sharp enough,

but the chocolate brownie was dry.
It didn't really give us bitter.

But well-made soil,

nice chocolate ganache
across the base.

I found a lot to admire there
with Thuy.

Ngoneh - we had a lemon tart.
Lovely lemon tart filling.

But the pastry -
a little bit too thick.

The ice cream didn't work.
It looked a little rough.

Ngoneh has not had her finest dish.

Now we need to talk about Mirel.

We had an amazing broth,
which was bitter,

with that bitter melon
and chicory going through it.

It was an extraordinary creation
of his own mind.

I really liked it. It was delicious.

But when you looked down
at the dish,

there wasn't a great deal
of cookery going on.

Right now, Ngoneh, Mirel and Thuy,
they are all at risk.

Right now, Ngoneh, Mirel and Thuy,
they are all at risk.

Who stays in the competition?
Who's leaving?

I think I'm going today

because everybody else had
beautiful dishes.

Today wasn't my day,
didn't go my way,

and that's just the way it is.

I'm feeling extremely nervous,
actually.

I was a bit more confident
before the tasting,

and now, not really.

Things didn't go according to plan.

I hope that's good enough
to get me through to the next round.

We'll see. Fingers crossed.

Congratulations, all of you,

because we think that was
a particularly tricky brief.

We said, at the start of this,

we could only take
the best cooks with us,

and we've made a decision.

One of you is leaving
the competition.

The person leaving us is...

..Ngoneh.

Thanks very much for everything.
Thank you.

I am disappointed
that I'm going home,

but I did enjoy every minute of it.

It was more stressful
than I anticipated,

but, yeah, it was lovely.

I would do it again all over.

Congratulations. You guys
are through to the next round.

I'm just pleased to be here.
Really pleased.

Oh, my God! I'm never going
to make brownies again.

I was very worried.
No time for celebrations.

I am going to show
a lot more technique.

I'll cook more!

I'm buzzing after that round, yeah.

I was a lot calmer today
in the kitchen.

I'm so happy still to be here.

Best ever feeling.

I think I can keep
the momentum going,

but I've got
some strong competition, as well.

There's another round to come,
so we're going to see what happens.

We've got our best six cooks,
and right now,

I just want to see
a little bit more.

They got this far, but they can't
rest on their laurels.

They need to keep pushing.
They need to keep growing.

I'm hoping that I will get a place
for the quarterfinal,

but it depends on
how good I cook today!

So, fingers crossed.
Keep them crossed for me, please.

I'm feeling great. I'm really happy
and excited to be here again.

I have another chance
to show off my cooking skills.

Most definitely,
I have to prove myself.

Yeah, quarterfinals coming up.
I can see it now. It's just...

It's within reach, so I'm going
to do everything I can to get it.

Welcome back here
to the MasterChef kitchen.

I have to tell you, these rounds
aren't going to get any easier.

Right now, John and I are looking
for four quarterfinalists,

Right now, John and I are looking
for four quarterfinalists,

which means, of course,

two of you will be leaving
the competition.

You've been given a brief,

and that brief is to celebrate
stuffings and fillings.

From ballotines to sausages,

from dumplings to empanadas,
from cannoli to doughnuts -

whatever you like,
it's got to be fantastic.

There are just four
quarterfinal places up for grabs.

You'll have one hour and 30 minutes.
Let's cook.

So far, so good.
I got the first thing done.

I'm looking forward to
this challenge, very much so,

so it's going to be a good day.

We eat dumplings for dim sum
on Sundays -

my father's favourite Sunday lunch -
so I'm very excited about the brief.

I'm going to make ha cao dumplings,
which are prawn dumplings,

I'm going to make ha cao dumplings,
which are prawn dumplings,

on a bed of egg noodles
in a chicken and pork stock

and a spicy chilli oil dipping sauce
with some black vinegar.

The ha cao is my favourite dumpling.

And then I discovered,
not long ago,

that when my mother was pregnant,
she ate a lot of ha cao dumpling.

When we go out for dim sum,

it's the only thing
that I really love eating.

Thuy is promising us a really,
really complicated dish,

especially in
one hour and 30 minutes.

The dumplings, they're made from a
dough of tapioca and potato starch.

It has to be lovely and thin.

That flavour inside of that ha cao
should be prawn

and a little bit of sesame oil,

spring onions
to give it a small bite.

If she gets this right, fantastic.
I'd be very, very happy indeed.

If this competition was
a piece of work on the piano,

what would it be? I think a classic,
so I would say something like Bach.

what would it be? I think a classic,
so I would say something like Bach.

Any other bit of the tree?

THEY LAUGH

Come on, Thuy. You can do this.

I'm feeling excited for today.
This is a dish close to my heart.

I'm wanting to showcase
the flavours of Northern Ireland,

so I'm hoping it all works out.

What's your dish, Michelle?

I'm making home-made
Irish potato bread

stuffed with devilled lamb kidneys,
lardons and some spring onions.

Why this dish? Well, kidneys was
one of my dad's favourites,

and, also, I love potato bread.

You're just going to have the bread
with the kidneys inside?

Yeah, I'm just going to roll it up.

Devilled kidneys
should be quite spicy.

They're called devilled
cos they're hot.

The potato bread is mashed potato

mixed with a little bit
of plain flour and then bacon.

But then, somehow or another,
once it's cooked,

she's got to roll
that potato bread up

so that she can actually put
the kidneys inside.

Otherwise, she doesn't really
fulfil the brief.

I don't know why I'm doing this.
I should have just done a pie!

This dish, I chose
because it has a wow factor.

I did make it once.
I was like, "Wow!"

So, I'm hoping to bring that "wow"
to John and Gregg.

Owen's making for us
a stuffed pork loin.

It's got no fat,
so the only way of keeping it moist

is to actually wrap it in something
or to stuff it with something.

He's made a stuffing from spinach,
cream cheese and mushrooms.

We've got a cream of mushroom sauce.
With it, he's serving mashed potato.

There has to be
an even amount of pork

around the outside of that stuffing.

If the pork is thin at one side
and then thick at the other side,

we're going to have
dry pork on one side

and pork that's not cooked
on the other side.

How do you feel
about the competition now?

I feel good. I'm like...
I'm floating.

At this moment, I'm floating,

but I just want to go
one step higher to impress.

One step higher than floating? Yeah.

What could that be? Flying!

Guys, you are halfway -
halfway to a quarterfinal.

Guys, you are halfway -
halfway to a quarterfinal.

Today's dish is
Thai-inspired sausage and mash.

Oh, man, that onion and chilli
is really getting in my eye.

I'm trying to show some versatility.

I want to show that I can just do
really nice comfort food,

really rich, bang full of flavour,
loads of chilli, loads of aromatics.

really rich, bang full of flavour,
loads of chilli, loads of aromatics.

Yeah, good, hearty food.

He's making
a Thai-flavoured sausage,

which he's filled with galangal,
lemongrass, lots and lots of pork.

Making a sausage -
this is brilliant.

It's a lot of work in a sausage.

It's showing
a huge amount of technique.

Served on sweet potato mash.

He's got a red curry paste
going through the mashed potato,

with a green curry gravy.

Green chillies -
really, really fragrant.

A little bit of coconut milk.

As long as I can
stuff my meat on time...

HE LAUGHS

..then everything else
should fall in place.

Do you make sausages at home?
I do, yeah.

I make a lot of salamis, chorizos.
Mate, get you!

So, what is it about making sausages
that appeals to you?

Personally, the thing
I love the most about them is that

you can make whatever kind
of fillings that you want.

You can really customise it
when you know the process.

Linda is making for us arancini.

Arancini is born
out of leftover risotto.

The rice mixture which is made
and lovely and creamy and rich.

The rice mixture which is made
and lovely and creamy and rich.

And with an arriabbata sauce.

Arrabbiata? Arrabbiata.

I prefer your one!
I'm surprised I remembered it!

Arrabbiata really is
a spicy tomato sauce.

Linda's got a huge amount of process
going on here because, first of all,

she's got to make risotto,
then she's got to cool it down.

Once it's cooled,
she's got to fill it,

and what she's filling it with
is mozzarella.

Then they are crumbed
and then they are deep-fried.

I feel like I have something
to prove with this dish

because I do want a place
in the quarterfinals,

but the pressure in there
is immense.

It can make you feel, like,
hysterical one minute

and then laughing the next,
and, yeah, crying!

Are you enjoying this competition?
I am, yeah.

Yeah, I'm loving it.
I think it's great.

Everybody else is stressed and
you're having the time of your life.

SHE LAUGHS
It's that wine over there!

THEY LAUGH

Have you...?

Ooh!
SHE GASPS

Oh, my God. Oh, my God!

That's your fault!

There's enough sauce in there
to serve, you know? Yeah.

Yeah, there is. Are you OK?
Yeah, I'll be fine.

Disasters happen,
and I'm usually in it!

Guys, you have
20 minutes left, please.

Phew! Oh, my God!

My stuffed dish
is going to be sarmale,

which is a traditional
Romanian dish.

He's making a stuffed cabbage roll.

He's taking white cabbage

and he's cooking that in a broth
which he's got some beetroot in.

Inside the cabbage roll,
he's making a mixture with rice,

mushrooms, spices and herbs.

I'm using this Romanian spice
which is called yeni bahar.

And then he's going to bake
those cabbage rolls in the oven

with tomato sauce.

It's quite tricky, the folding.

The important thing is

that cabbage
has to be lovely and tender,

and a cabbage leaf,
to be tender, takes a long time.

I need to prove that
I've got some technique

and I need to do more cooking.

Did you know this dish,
growing up? Yes, yes,

and it reminds me of Transylvania
and the forest and the gardens

and all my childhood.

The challenge with this dish
is to make it look appealing

because it's very rustic,

so I've got to up my game
on the design with this one.

How long's left?
You have just eight minutes.

The dumplings are
not cooking fast enough.

MICHELLE:It's not sticking.

You have just 90 seconds left
to finish off your plates.

I'm just literally panicking

and throwing everything together
in a rush right now.

Yeah, this is all mad. Right.

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

HE EXHALES DEEPLY
That is so stressful.

Oh, my God!
SHE LAUGHS

Linda, please, would you?

For her stuffed dish,
Linda has made arancini -

deep-fried balls of risotto
with a mozzarella centre -

and an arrabbiata sauce.

I like the fact that you battled on,

despite the fact of sending a pot
of red-hot sauce over your arm.

They are really well-made arancini.

I'm enjoying the creamy mozzarella

in with the well-seasoned,
well-cooked risotto.

You've breadcrumbed them
and fried them perfectly.

They are a lovely, light tan colour.

Your risotto's cooked beautifully.
I really like it,

mozzarella cheese running
all the way through it.

I like the crust on the outside.
It's not too thick, nice and crispy.

Your sauce is ferocious.

Really like the chilli heat
in there.

I think that's really, really good.
You've really hit the brief.

You've got something
which is stuffed and filled.

Linda, thanks very much. Thank you.

Feeling good, really,
after the disaster of

knocking my pan over
and burning myself.

John and Gregg seem to like
what I'm giving them and I'm like...

Yeah, I can't believe it, actually.
It's amazing.

Thuy has made ha cao -
prawn fried dumplings -

and served them with egg noodles
and pak choi

in a chicken and pork broth

with a black vinegar
and chilli dipping sauce.

Your ha cao are made really,
really nicely.

I love the fact that every single
one of them is properly pleated.

Inside there, you've got
a small amount of seasoning

of sesame oil
and a little bit of ginger.

The actual broth itself,
it's very subtle.

Nicely made,
and, I think, a real challenge,

in an hour and a half,
to get that right. Thank you.

I have to confess to you,
I'm really, really enjoying this.

Your dumplings are gorgeous.

Inside are sweet prawns,
slightly salty.

And your dip -
it's a sharp, like, vinegar,

finishing with a little bit
of chilli, and almost salted.

It's like black bean.

As far as the brief goes,
we asked you for stuffed or filled.

You've given us really lovely,
light dumplings. Well done.

I feel great!

No crying. It's good. It's all good.

Much better than the last brief,
so I'm really pleased.

Miles has made
a Thai-inspired bangers and mash -

sausage filled with minced pork,
lemongrass and chilli,

steamed morning glory -
a Southeast Asian vegetable -

a Thai green curry sauce,

and sweet potato mash
flavoured with red Thai curry paste.

and sweet potato mash
flavoured with red Thai curry paste.

I never expected to find those big
Thai flavours inside a sausage.

You've definitely fulfilled
the brief.

I can't think of a more classic
filled food than a sausage.

I can't think of a more classic
filled food than a sausage.

That sauce is so powerful -
citrusy with lime.

And then in comes
the salt and the chilli.

The flavour of that sauce
makes it difficult

to discern the flavours
in the sausage.

Your mash has got lumps in it,

but your sausage -
I think it's a great idea.

As a man who makes sausages at home,

I'm going to implore you
to not grind your meat so much

because your filling has gone dry.

It didn't come out
the way I wanted it to,

but they did give me
some good feedback.

They liked the flavours.

I think I need to stop
being so hard on myself.

Michelle's dish is devilled
lamb's kidneys and oyster mushrooms

in a creme fraiche
and mustard sauce,

wrapped in Irish potato bread,

flavoured with pancetta
and spring onion.

It's more of a wrap, isn't it?

Your kidneys are cooked really well.

You've got a little bit
of pink in there.

They are devilled.

There is definitely the heat coming,
the background.

Your potato bread is lovely -
really soft, smooth, salty

because you've got little bits
of bacon in there, as well.

It doesn't look right
and I'm not sure it works

as a stuffed or filled dish.

I find your sauce
a little bit too thick.

Your potato bread - I've got
some scorched bits on there.

Gregg and I both agree
it doesn't look right.

And, actually, wrapping something
in potato bread is really difficult.

I know! Why did
I do it on MasterChef?

Well, at least you gave it a go.
And I like your bravery.

I'm feeling OK. The judges were
very fair with their comments.

I think it was maybe a risk
doing the kidneys.

Maybe it just wasn't
what they were looking for.

But you know what? I gave it a go.

Owen has stuffed his pork tenderloin
with mushrooms,

cream cheese and spinach,

and served it with mashed potatoes
and pea shoots

and a mushroom cream sauce.

Your pork wrapped around
that filling is lovely and moist.

The crunch of the pine nuts,
I think,

is really, really lovely
with the mushrooms.

I think that's wonderful.

The mushroom sauce is fantastic,

and it's rich with woodiness
and mushrooms

and lots and lots of pepper.

I'm impressed with this, Owen.
I'm really impressed.

I am really enjoying this.

Beautifully cooked, moist pork,
really well done.

I like the cream cheese in there,
giving saltiness. It tastes great.

We wanted stuffed or filled.
You did exactly that.

Are you all right? Yes,
just a bit emotional.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

I'm stunned. I'm amazed.

This means so much to me.
So much to me.

My dad would be so proud of me.

Wherever he is,
he'll be looking down.

Mirel has served a vegan version

of the traditional
Romanian dish sarmale -

white cabbage leaves
stuffed with rice, mushrooms,

carrots and yeni bahar,
a Romanian spice,

all baked in a tomato sauce

on saffron polenta and vegan cheese
and a vegan sour cream.

on saffron polenta and vegan cheese
and a vegan sour cream.

It was always going to be difficult
to make this look pretty.

I feel it doesn't look pretty.

There's... There's a strong flavour
in there, like mace.

What's that spice called?
Yeni bahar.

That's really quite strong.

I mean, it's almost
numbing the palate.

Polenta's nicely cooked.

I like the filling
of the rice and the vegetables.

I'd like those cabbage leaves
a little bit softer.

You need to cook them some more.

I feel this whole thing
could do with more seasoning.

I think the tomato needs
to be richer and cooked down.

The actual cabbage leaves themselves
are tough.

They just need more time
in the oven.

Cooking traditional Romanian food
doesn't suit me.

Perhaps I should have stayed
with my bold flavours

and my extravagant style.

By and large, I think,
a decent standard.

Some things that really made me
sit up and take notice

and obviously - obviously -
things that didn't quite turn out.

Four quarterfinal places
up for grabs.

That does mean that two of them

are sadly going
to leave the competition.

We've now got
a big decision to make.

I am going
to sing the praises of Owen.

He delivers flavour. He's learning.

He's getting better and better
and more and more confident.

Really well-cooked pork,
really nicely made mashed potato,

and a really, really good
mushroom sauce.

I'd very much like to see Owen
in the quarterfinal.

I was really pleased today that Thuy
gave us some Vietnamese flavours

cos I think she does it
brilliantly well.

Nicely cooked noodles and
those really good prawn dumplings

across the top.
Lovely dipping sauce, as well.

I found myself
munching the living daylights

out of that bowl.
I'd like to see her go further.

She hit the brief, that's for sure.
Those ha cao were really beautiful.

I thought Linda did a good job today
with the arancini, and in adversity,

because she knocked
the pan of sauce over.

But she still gave us
really well-made arancini -

nicely cooked rice inside,

some gooey, salty,
creamy mozzarella.

Nice crust around the outside.
Well-made risotto.

That's a really difficult thing
to do. I think she did a good job.

We've got Owen, Thuy and Linda
going through.

That means now we've got to discuss
Miles, Mirel and Michelle.

That means now we've got to discuss
Miles, Mirel and Michelle.

Michelle made for us
a classic Irish dish

she turned into a wrap,
and it didn't work,

potato bread,
which was slightly scorched,

with the kidneys inside.

The kidneys were cooked beautifully
with a mushroom sauce.

But was that a complete dish?

And did she actually
fulfil the brief?

Miles rushed today.

It's the first time we've seen him
really under pressure,

and there were errors.

But the idea of bringing
Thai flavours together

in sausage and mash and gravy,
I thought, was brilliantly clever.

The sweet potato mash
had lumps in it.

However, that green curry sauce -
delicious.

We actually really liked
the flavour inside that sausage.

Mirel today didn't manage to capture
the elegance of previous dishes.

That cabbage was hard.
They needed more cooking.

There wasn't quite enough flavour
in there.

It wasn't really a plate of food
for a quarterfinal place.

We've got issues with Miles,
Michelle and Mirel.

Who's just had a wobble

and who's really at the end
of their journey?

To stay in the competition, I want
to cook into the quarterfinals.

To stay in the competition, I want
to cook into the quarterfinals.

I can only hope. Om!
I'm praying in every culture!

I can only hope. Om!
I'm praying in every culture!

I might need to light a candle
or something.

I knew it was risky doing the dish.

So, yeah, I've done it now.
You can't turn back time.

Let's just wait and see
what the judges say,

and hope for the best.

I think I've done the brief
in each challenge.

I'm feeling hopeful
that I've got this in the bag

to move on to the quarterfinal.

Thank you very much
for all your hard work.

Some great food,
some inventive food,

and dishes we've never seen before
on MasterChef.

As hard as you've all worked,

we have only four
quarterfinal places.

The first contestant
leaving us is...

..Michelle.

Sorry to see you go. Thank you.
Thank you. Cheers, guys.

The second person
leaving the competition is...

..Mirel.

Thank you very much.
Thank you very much. Thanks, Mirel.

Thank you.

I definitely feel disappointed,
but this is a competition,

so you've got to be ready
for everything.

I would have loved
to have stayed longer,

but I'm going to look at it
as a great experience.

It was fun.

I'm feeling sad it's over,
I'm not coming back tomorrow.

It's definitely had
its ups and downs,

but, yeah,
I think it's my time to go.

I got an apron. I didn't make
a complete fool of myself, so...!

Well done, you four!

You can call yourselves
MasterChef quarterfinalists.

It's a relief, actually.
My heart is still probably up here.

But, yeah,
it's more than a dream now.

The reality of it is kicking in

and it's becoming more serious
and it just feels really exciting.

It's amazing.

I feel emotional right now,
but I'm so happy.

I feel emotional right now,
but I'm so happy.

I'm really so happy to be here.

It's been an amazing day. It's
beyond what I would have expected.

I'm super delighted.

I got one cloud higher, and I'm not
sure if I can reach the next one,

so fingers crossed I can do it.

I've got a place
in the quarterfinal!

Oh, my gosh! I'm beyond excited.
Beyond excited.

I'm just so, so chuffed.

If I could kiss you, I would,
but I think you're married.

You might not...
Your wife might not like it!

Next time, it's the quarterfinal,

and Miles, Thuy,
Owen and Linda return

and Miles, Thuy,
Owen and Linda return

to face
their toughest challenge yet...

You need to roll and fry
as fast as you can.

..as they battle for a place...

Just to relax you even further,
you're supposed to be serving now.

..in knockout week.

It's really quite delicious.