All language subtitles for MasterChef.The.Professionals.S16E11.1080p.HDTV.H264-DARKFLiX

From across the UK...

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

...are putting their reputations
on the line...

...in a battle to become
Professional MasterChef Champion.

Tonight, the last four hopefuls
compete to impress...

...MasterChef judge Gregg Wallace,

renowned chef Monica Galetti,

and Michelin-starred Marcus Wareing.

I'm naturally very competitive and
I try and hide it a lot of the time,

but this is a place where I feel
it can come out in full.

I'm still nervous,
but I will be on fire later.

My sort of ethos is
hit and hope most of the time.

It usually lands on its feet,
so that's good, and that's

how I'm going to approach this.

Being here doesn't really feel
real yet.

Obviously, it'll be a bit more real

when the judges are staring
right at you.

Who has got the talent
to rise to the top?

It's time to discover
our next culinary superstar.

The last four chefs of this year's
competition. How about that?

First up, of course, Skills Test.

Monica, what are you going
to get them to do, please?

I would like our chefs to make us
a cavatelli pasta dish

with chicken oysters, some
cime di rapa and a chicken sauce.

Cavatelli is made by hand.

What shape is it, then?
Like a little shell, pasta shells.

It means little cave.

The chicken oysters,
that's the cook's little present,

because you only get two of them,
don't you?

Prise them out with your thumb
if you know where to find them.

Underneath the chicken,
just before the legs.

Right. Monica, 20 minutes.
Put it together, please.

The pasta dough is premade
for our chefs.

The first thing is to make
these little logs like this.

These are quite small,
and we want enough for a portion.

Cut the pasta the same size.

At the moment,
they look like little gnocchi.

You just sort of push it
away from you. Brilliant!

That looks like a little clams hell.

So, this board has little ridges
on it,

so if they can't do it
with the fingers,

they can just push it up there.

And that's an easier way to do it.

Yay!

I'm going to cook off my
chicken oysters.

There's always a fight
in our household

because there's three of us and
there's two oysters on the chicken!

Gently colour the chicken oysters,
seal them off.

I'm adding my chopped shallots.

A little bit of garlic,

and I've just deglazed it
with a touch of wine.

In goes my pasta.

Once the cookery starts,
it's not going to take long

to cook the oysters. It doesn't take
long to cook the pasta.

No, this will literally be minutes.

So, I've reduced the wine down.

Touch of Madeira on there, let that
reduce down as well.

Touch of stock.

Wow.

You'll see the pasta
starts to float to the top -

it means they've cooked.

I'm also making a little garnish
with the Parmesan,

just a little tuile
or a little crisp to go on my pasta.

They don't have to make that.

They'll probably just grate it
over the top.

Completely up to our chefs.

The last thing I'm going to do
is prepare our cime di rapa.

Rapeseed oil.
That is the top of the plant.

It's beautiful. It's bitter.

It's a cross between a light cabbage
and a chicory.

So, I'm just wilting the greens
into the sauce.

Beautiful.

It's a one-pot wonder, isn't it,
really? It's all about the process.

Flavour on top of flavour
on top of flavour,

but it's understanding
how to work them.

It's a bowl of pasta.

It's more than that!

Can't go wrong with a little bit
of Parmesan, I think, on your pasta.

Hey, look at that!

And there we have it, guys.

My cavatelli pasta
with chicken oysters,

cime di rapa and a chicken sauce
to go with it.

Well, you know me,
I love the food of Italy.

I think that's a beautiful dish.

I hope our chefs can work it out.

Pasta making, I think,
is essential skills.

I think what's interesting is
that there's no rolling pin.

Without the rolling pin,

it does sort of point towards
the method that you use.

Marcus, you are going to watch
the making of the cavatelli

from your own little telly
and we will have you back

here for the tasting. I'm going
to be watching this very closely.

Come on.
I'm looking forward to this.

Let's get them in. Let's do it.

Here we go, the last heat.

NARRATOR: First to face Monica's
Skills Test is 29-year-old Lindsay.

He grew up in Scotland
but is now chef patron

of a restaurant in Newcastle.

During lockdown, I started doing
some Sunday lunch

takeaways from home,

then proceeded to evolve into
doing pop-ups.

Got great traction,
kind of unexpected,

built up a little bit of money
and managed to find our own place

which we opened last year.

My food style is
definitely creative.

I'm trying to come up with something
I've never seen before,

to keep it interesting.

My dream is to try and get a star.

I'm hopeful for the next couple
of years, that's something

that could be attainable.

Hello, Lindsay. Hi.

This Skills Test was set
by this incredible chef, Monica.

Hi. I would like you to make
for us cavatelli pasta

served with chicken oysters and
sauce and a garnish of cime di rapa.

OK. Have you seen the shape
of cavatelli before?

I'll be honest with you,
I can't quite picture it in my head.

It's not filled pasta.

As long as you can make us
some little hollows

that will pick up the sauce. OK.

Right, Lindsay, 20 minutes.

Good luck. Thanks.

Where in Scotland
are you from, Lindsay?

A little village
just south of Edinburgh.

It's the middle of nowhere.

I lived up there until I was about
18 and then moved down to Newcastle.

Do you work in a restaurant? Yes.

So I was lucky enough to be able
to open my own place last year.

How old are you, Lindsay? I'm 29.

That's impressive, my friend.
Thank you.

Lindsay, what's the plan?

I need to get the sauce ready.
Going to do the pasta after that.

And then I'm going to fry off
the chicken. Brilliant.

Tell me what's in your sauce,
please.

I've got some garlic and shallots,
that I've lightly sweated off,

and I'm putting some wine in it
and reducing that down.

Got a plan. Hopefully.

Poured a lot of stock into that
saucepan.

He didn't really need to do that.

You've had 6 minutes,
so you've got 14 minutes left.

So, your own restaurant
before you're 30.

So what's the next stage
of your ambitious life plan?

Things changed slightly.

I had a little boy three months ago
now. Congratulations.

So now it's just a way of finding
a nice life balance

in between running a restaurant
and being able to spend some time

with my kid.

Work life balance...and
you've entered MasterChef?! Yeah.

It doesn't really quite compute,
does it?

Can you win the competition?

If I can work out how to do this
pasta, then...! One step at time.

He's getting a little dense, but
then he's sort of flattening them

out by touching it again afterwards.

He just needs to do it all
in one go, on the board.

They don't look like they've got
any uniformity whatsoever.

You must make pasta, don't you,
in your own restaurant?

Yeah, it's something | enjoy making.

I'm kicking myself now
for not making this before.

Your sauce is reducing,
your cime di rapa is on,

but you still need to cook
the oysters.

Yes, it should be OK. Should be OK.

Now, he needs to build the dish
around that pan

because that's where your
flavour is - right in there.

How's the pasta tasting?
Needs a little bit more salt.

Probably about a minute off now.
It's all coming together.

Fingers crossed.

Watch your oyster,
the butter's burning.

Ugh-ugh. One side have burnt
and the other side, they're fine.

That's not how you cook
a chicken oyster.

Right, you done?

Yeah.

Hi, Lindsay. How are you?
Good, thanks.

That was a good watch,
until the last five minutes. Yeah.

You got it done, though.
Well done. Thanks.

You didn't know
what the pasta shape was.

It's sort of chewy and thick.

Yeah. The making of your sauce...

You deglazed it, reduced it,
add garlic in there.

It was great to see.

It's a shame you took your eye off
in the last five minutes

because your chicken oysters
sort of cooked on one side,

raw on the other.

Stay focused.
Not a bad start, though.

Have a plan before you start
and try and stick to it,

because what you do have with
your pasta is there's no uniformity.

OK.

Your pasta is quite firm,
but looking at your processes,

I think you're OK.

I think you've proved you have
a certain amount of knowledge.

Well done. Thank you.

Could have gone better.

Didn't mess up too badly,

so I'm going to take that
as a positive.

Nothing seriously went wrong
and nothing seriously went good,

so in the middle is OK for now.

Next to put his skills to the test

is 26-year-old
private chef Tristan.

I work all around the world.

Some crazy places,
which is great fun.

Cooking so many different houses
for so many different clients.

It's one of the most rewarding jobs
you can have, I think.

My ethos behind every plate I do

is never really to use any dairy.

I'm allergic to it.

I may use it
in things that I have to.

I feel there are more delicate
flavours to be had

from not using any dairy.

The dream for me is to have my own
restaurant, cooking my own food,

hopefully back up in my home
in Norfolk.

I feel like MasterChef is the next
step, pushing towards my end goal.

How are you, Tristan?

Yeah, very, very well, thank you.
Heartbeat's going, as always.

I would like you to make for us
cavatelli pasta

with chicken oysters, cooked
with a sauce and some cime di rapa.

Perfect. Thank you.

How does cavatelli sound for you?

I've heard of it.
I've never made it before.

But I think I'll just use
an instinct

and hope that I can get there.

That's all we can hope for.

We are aware of your dairy
intolerance.

We've taken the butter
and the cheese away. Thank you.

That's very kind.
You've just got the olive oil.

Thank you.

Tristan, 20 minutes, good luck.

Good knife skills.

Ah, look at that.

Where are you from, Tristan?
Where were you brought up?

I'm from West Norfolk.

A little bit south of King's Lynn
if you know it.

Sort of seaside town.

We're farmers there.

Is this where your love of food
comes from? Yes, massively so.

I think all the produce up there,
the seafood especially,

it's definitely where my love
comes from, for sure.

So what's your ambition now?

Really, to have a restaurant
up in Norfolk.

So, Tristan, what's the plan?

Getting a sauce on. The chicken is
going to go in, deglaze it,

get some flavour into it.
Make sure it's cooked.

Move on to the pasta, get that cut.

Then I'm going to move
on to the last element,

just blanch that and toss it over
for a little garnish.

Tristan, that sounds like a very
decent plan to me.

I hope so!

I've brought my own cheese
to add later. Ha! Good.

It's just looking a bit rustic,
a bit rough.

This dish is more sophisticated
than that.

What you don't want to do is boil
the chicken. That is boiling.

Just reducing down that Madeira.

Going to add the stock now

and then just let them slowly
simmer in there.

You're coming up to halfway there.

If he leaves them in that pan
for another ten minutes,

then, they are definitely
going to be overcooked.

That's good.

Nice and thin.

So, what are you thinking
with your pasta there?

Well, I think I'm just going to roll
it onto the little tool there,

and hoping come out little small
bits which have nice curves

and it'll sop up all that sauce.

Not what Monica did,

but he's got unity there.

He's got uniformity, which is good.

You've got to think about bringing
this dish together.

You've got a minute. Yep.

He would have been better
getting it into the pan

and wrapping everything together.

That's what pasta cookery is
all about.

All done? All done.

That was going OK until
you started to plate up.

Oh, no!

I hope it tastes better
than it looks.

Tristan, I like that you tried to
keep this pasta as uniform

as possible in size.

The making of your sauce, you had
shallots in there, lots of garlic.

Quite rustic in the way
that you were making it

and that's fine.
You know, it tastes good. OK.

You watered your cime di rapa
in one pan, and then the pasta

went on top of that.

Yet it would have been great
to see it all fold into the pan

that you had the chicken oysters in.

But not a bad start, though,
Tristan.

I don't think it's a good idea
to drop the chicken oyster

into the pan with the sauce
and just let it cook.

It's such a delicate thing.

You've got to really nurture them.

But there were some lovely
knife skills on show,

lovely pasta work on show,

and you've got a lovely manner
around the kitchen.

That's a pretty good start.

Let's hope for better presentation
in the next round.

Thank you, Tristan. Thank you very
much indeed. Thank you.

I think there's a lot more to come
from him.

We may have found the non-dairy
cream of the crop.

TRISTAN EXHALES

In hindsight, I definitely
would have plated differently,

but everything else seemed to go OK
and Gregg said it was a good start,

so I'll take that.

The last Skills Test of
this year's competition.

Make it a good 'un, Marcus.
What have we got?

I'd like our chefs to make a poached
pineapple served with a sabayon

and a garnish of toffee popcorn.

Brilliant. I love that.

I think two out of three,
they might manage.

20 minutes - not a lot of time.

Marcus, please, off you go.

Before we start to prep
the pineapple, it's important

to get the cooking liquid on.

The reason for poaching it
is to incorporate

some of these fabulous flavours.

In here we've got water,
some brown sugar.

We've got our rum - lots of it.

Got some cinnamon sticks,

pink peppercorns - just crush
those up in your hands.

And some star anise.

But they can use whatever it is
that they want?

As long as it's poached

and as long as there is some
added flavour, added value.

So, now I'm going to get
to our pineapple, cut that down.

Taking off the skin.

I'm taking out the little eyes.

How they serve it and how much
pineapple is entirely up to them.

Juicy pineapple is just so good.

Do you like pina colada?

Love pina colada.

Our stock syrup
has come up to the boil

and then just drop in the pineapple.

That pineapple is just going to soak
up all those flavours.

You're make a cartouche.
Why not a saucepan lid?

That just helps the stock
just roll underneath and just coat

any pineapple
that's sticking up there.

Now, our sabayon,
which is three egg yolks,

and just a couple of spoons
of sugar.

Sabayon, is it a standard bit
of the curriculum for a chef?

I think it's a little bit
more specialist because a sabayon

lends itself to the base of quite
a few desserts,

various different parfaits,
different glazes, different dishes.

I agree.

It can be folded into mousses
or into ganache, for example.

Sabayon can be any flavour,
can't it? Absolutely.

You can add whatever liqueur
you want to it.

Some almond liqueur there.

You can see Marcus
is controlling the heat.

It's really important.

And if they walk away from that,
it will start to scramble.

Right, ribbon stage.

You know when you get to the ribbon
stage, just lift up your whisk

and you get a little ribbon
sitting on top. Hey!

Now, popcorn.

I'm just going to put some
of these kernels into the dry pan.

Lid on. Every now and again
just give them a shake.

You don't want to catch too much
on the bottom.

I love this,
when you're showing kids.

It just makes you laugh.

Marcus, I've never seen you
so happy.

When you say the kids enjoy it,
Marcus,

did you mean kids with beards?
Look at him!

THEY LAUGH

Now on to the toffee,

which the popcorn will go into,

which is butter, brown sugar...

...and a very good, generous glug
of golden syrup.

Wow. Look at that.

You don't probe the temperature
there, you just do it by eye?

Yep, that's it.

You're looking for the caramel
to look really thick.

The colour's not going to change
much unless it's burnt.

You should keep whisking it
cos you don't want it to split.

You can start to see it's getting
thicker, thicker, thicker.

We just put in our popcorn.

And there we have toffee popcorn.

Lovely.

And then we're pretty much ready
to go.

Pineapple, rum, sugar.

That's the Caribbean.

Love the glaze of the sabayon.

It's an extra treat, isn't it?
Hmm. A bit of fun on the plate.

Then we've got some little
popcorn shoots here, too.

Poached pineapple,
served with a sabayon

and a garnish of toffee popcorn.

That's fabulous. Come on!

That looks amazing.

Cor blimey!
That is one boozy pineapple.

Not 'alf!
Yeah, it's for mums and dads.

Wow. It's always good to end up
on a bit of fun.

It's a beautiful, beautiful dessert,
but it's going to take quite a bit

of skill to put that together,
though.

I think the poaching, they can do.

The sabayon, they might not know
so well, but they can try

and figure it out that it needs to
be cooked on a bain-Marie.

And popcorn, it might not be exactly
like you've made it,

but they could do a caramel and put
the popcorn

through that as well. Yeah.

Monica, you're off
to the observation room. All right,

we'll have you back in
for the tasting.

Brilliant. We'll see you soon.

The last group of chefs, Marcus.
Come on, let's get them in.

Yep. Let's do it.

NARRATOR: First to tackle
Marcus's Skills Test is Tom...

Hello.

...a 24-year-old sous-chef who works
in a luxury hotel in Sussex.

You all right? I'M all right.

You? Slightly terrified.
CHUCKLES

I'm 24, so I'm still quite new
into cooking.

I'm classically trained. I went
to Westminster Kingsway in London.

I'm from a cooking background.

Sort of through my blood.

My mum works as a pastry chef.

My dad is an exec chef at a hotel.

Hopefully in a few years
I'll be the better chef,

but it's definitely still him
for now.

He's got a couple of hundred years
on me.

So the best thing about being a chef
is just the sort of constant

creativity you can sort of showcase.

My style is traditional food
done well.

It'd be nice to cook for the judges.

My brother Charlie, he loves
watching clips of Gregg reacting

to nice puddings, so if I could make
one of them,

then, that'd be absolutely ideal.

I hope for the best,

but expect the worst.

Tom, welcome to MasterChef.
Thanks for having me.

This Skills Test was set
by the incomparable Marcus Wareing.

OK.

This is a dessert. Nice.

How's that? Yeah, sounds good.

You're good with pudding?
I love pastry, so... Good man.

Nice one, Tom. I think that's
the first one who's ever said that,

walking into pastry.

Poached pineapple, serve it
with a sabayon, toffee popcorn.

20 minutes. Let's go.

Tom, what's your plan?

I'm just getting the poaching
liquid on. OK.

Muscovado sugar.

Nice mix of rum, spices in there.

I'm just going to get the pineapple
in, cos I think that'll probably

take the longest.
Sabayon, I know what that is -

it's just whipped-up egg yolks,
sugar, and then a bit of alcohol.

I assume you want it glazed because
you've got a blowtorch there.

Good man.
Tom knows what a sabayon is.

I'm really liking
the sound of his plan.

His pineapple is poaching.

Pineapple's under way. Yeah.
Poaching liquor is done.

You've got everything in there?
Yeah. Tom, you're doing very well.

Now, a lot of chefs really hate
pastry challenges.

I just think it's great to sort
of know a bit of everything.

I'm not going to lie, I've not made
popcorn in a pan

in quite a long time.
I always use Chef Mike.

Who's Chef Mike?

Microwave.
THEY LAUGH

I've never heard it called that
before!

You've never heard that? Chef Mike!

There's not many chefs making us
laugh like that.

Come on.

It will pop,
I'm just being impatient.

You've got 12 minutes left.

Your sabayon's now under way,

your pineapple's poaching,
popcorn's cooking. Yeah.

Popping now.

Sabayon's thickening up nicely.

Why have you come onto MasterChef?

My grandad passed away a few months
ago, and my grandma quite likes

the show and I think she would love
to see me on it.

Did Grandad manage to eat your food
in the restaurant?

He was a pie and mash man, so
it's not really his thing, you know?

How's it going, Tom? A bit behind
this toffee popcorn, to be honest.

I should've got this on sooner.
That's my mistake.

There was some syrup or some honey
that he can put into it.

I didn't see that. There we go.

Finally got there.

Start to think about
your presentation, OK?

Oh, his pineapple looks nice.

I've got the jitters here.
Look at this.

Got about a minute.

It looks good, Tom.

Hey!

All done? Yeah. Sorry.
I'm not quite happy with that.

It's sort of oozing out
a little bit.

WE'LL tell you
if it's right or wrong.

MARCUS LAUGHS

Hello.

Tom.

That was a good start.

You think? It didn't feel it.

Yeah, you need to be a little bit
kinder to yourself. OK.

We'll tell you when it's going bad.
OK, yeah.

Tom, that was a really good start.

Very calm, a really professional
approach to the kitchen,

which I do like. I love the way
you cut down the pineapple.

Poaching liquid -
absolutely delicious.

Your sabayon - the reason why it is
thin like that is because you didn't

cook it enough. Yeah. But this was
a fantastic Skills Test to watch.

Poaching of your pineapple -
beautifully done.

And also understood that
with a cartouche over the top,

it was going to gently continue
to poach.

And you got a good kick of rum
in that. Fantastic.

Loved your working methods.

Tidy, under control.

And I'm excited to see what
you've got in store for us.

Pastry challenges have a lot
of chefs in big wobbles

and you knew exactly
what you were doing.

See in the next round. Thank you.
Thank you very much.

Considering it's my first time
in there, like, cooking,

and I had all those eyes over me,

I'm pretty happy. Like, 70% happy.

NARRATOR: Last to face Marcus's
Skills Test...

Hello, Chefs.

...is 29-year-old I-Lin.

She's a chef de partie
in a central London restaurant.

I'm from Taiwan.

My hometown is the oldest city,
and with a lot

of lovely street foods.

I work in the restaurant
in a five-star luxury hotel.

We focus on British classics
such as handmade pies.

We do all the dough by ourselves.

I majored in biology,
but I've found my

passion in cooking and baking,

so I like my life now.

I love to cook contemporary cuisine
inspired by my hometown in Taiwan,

and also some Western
cuisine techniques.

I'm doing MasterChef
because I can show my family

how I learned from my work
in Europe.

I hope there's a good Skills Test
for me, and I will try my best.

I-Lin, welcome to MasterChef.

Thank you. How are you with pastry?

I have some experience in pastry.

I would like you to make poached
pineapple served with a sabayon

and toffee popcorn.

Yeah, it sounds delicious!

20 minutes, over to you.

She's rushing, and she has cut off
a lot of that pineapple.

You're comfortable with
this challenge?

Erm, I hope so. I will do my best.

Can you tell me what your plans are?

Poach the pineapple first and do
the sabayon and do the popcorn.

Great!

She's got everything going on
at the same time.

You made a sabayon before?

Yeah, it was a long time ago.

What have you got in there,
just egg yolks?

Yeah, egg yolk, and whisk until
ribbon stage.

She hasn't got any sugar

in those egg yolks,
they're going to scramble.

She's used the wrong pan.

She'll have to put a tray
or something on that popcorn.

Erm, the lid's for this?

Yeah, the pan for the popcorn

was the one that you've got
your poaching liquid in,

that's what the lid was for.

There. Yes. Seven minutes gone,

you're whisking up the yolk
for your sabayon,

you got the pineapple poaching,

you got your popcorn on.

And this is for sabayons?

No. Basically, you've used
the butter for your toffee...

Yeah, yeah. ..in with your kernels.
Yes, yes. We're going to grab you

some more butter
for your toffee sauce, OK?

OK. Thank you.

You OK? Yeah.

Feeling the pressure? Yes.

Did you always want to be a chef?

Before, I was majoring in biology
and studied with cancer research.

What? You were studying medicine?

Yes, yes. You're amazing! So
how long have you been a chef?

Two years. Just two years? Yes.

I graduated from culinary school
in 2019.

What does your family think
of you becoming a chef

when you've studied biology
and you've worked in medicine?

My mum always supports me,
and my father,

he changed a lot. At the beginning,

he didn't like me to do this,

but now he's very proud of me.

Good. Aw!

All right, we're under way.

Well, the toffee looks good, but
the popcorn needs to be ready now.

Just remember,
it's toffee popcorn, OK? Yes.

So you've got to wrap
the popcorn with toffee.

OK.

Sabayon, I'm not sure
it's cooked through.

Are you finished? Yes.

Well done. Thank you.

MONICA SIGHS

My message to you is slow down.
Yes, OK.

You're rushing at such a speed,
you're making really big mistakes.

Yes. First of all, we as chefs
will always look at this.

Yeah, the trimmings.

There's quite a lot of the pineapple
still left over.

Look, that's not good.

Yes, yes. Your sabayon is not
cooked, your popcorn is burnt.

Yes. You've got it up,
but you've not got it done well.

Yeah.

Sabayon-making,
it needed sugar in there.

The alcohol didn't even make it in,

it went into the caramel,

the butter ended up in the popcorn.

Allow yourself time to breathe
and think

about what you're presenting.

No more waste.

Yes.

It seems to me that you understand
how to do these processes,

but you won't be able to do them
properly if you keep racing.

Yes, OK.

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

It was quite challenging.

Everything just came in to my mind
at the same time.

I need to slow down and calm
down, to be more organised.

That was a really good Skills Test.

Tom was my pick of the bunch.

I agree. I think we've got some
good chefs in today.

I think we're in for a good round.

You are our last batch of chefs
in this year's competition,

and we don't know, we may well have
saved the best till last.

This year's champion may well be
standing in front of us right now.

Here we are, the exciting part of

the competition when you get to cook
your own food.

It's your Signature
two-course menu.

One main, one dessert

to absolutely wow.

At the end of this,
two of you go through,

two of you leave the competition.

Chefs, an hour and a half,
over to you.

I think I've started
with a good base.

Wasn't amazing,
but it wasn't rubbish.

I think the judges' impression of me

is I'm a slightly uncut diamond,
almost, where you've

just got something that's not quite
there yet,

which I agree with completely.

Tristan, you got off
to a good start.

What's your menu, please, Chef?

My menu today is wild garlic-wrapped
quail breast with charred

pear, a little quail bone jus.

And for pudding, I've got
a twice-risen doughnut,

some elderflower-poached
strawberries

which are in a St-Germain liquor,

with a basil and lime
meringue sorbet.

Why do you want to do a doughnut?

Cos I love them.
HE LAUGHS

I think they're slightly underrated.
I think you can really do something

really cool with doughnuts,
and they're slightly sort of

underrated in the fine dining scene,
is my view on it.

Talk to me about your sorbet.
You said basil and lime meringue?

So it's a French meringue, which is
whipped really, really stiff,

basil and lime juice all whipped
through it,

and it's served, basically, frozen.

I don't know if you've heard of it.

I believe I sort of randomly
made it up.

Tristan's menu sounds delicious.

Wild garlic quail ballotine.

So he's taking the breast,

wrapping that in garlic leaves,
gently poached,

so it's going to be very, very
delicate in flavour.

Quail egg yolk that he's curing
with the salt

has to be timed just right,

you don't want the quail eggs
to be over-seasoned.

The garnish is asparagus and morels,

ingredients that work wonderfully
together.

These are charred pears, do with
a little bit of sherry vinegar.

I'm just going to blowtorch them
ever so slightly.

It sounds like a great dish,
but it's all about getting

the balance and, of course,
the execution of the different parts

of the quail that he's using.

Yeah, just searing them off
and then popping them in the oven,

just to get a little bit of colour
on the bottom.

His dessert, he's doing doughnuts
because he wants to serve

something that he enjoys.

You can't not love a doughnut.

He's making a dough,

he's rising it, knocking it back
and then letting it rise again.

I actually look at a doughnut
as a piece of batter.

I think it's what you put
with it that counts.

An elderflower liqueur, which
he's poaching the strawberries in,

that will be delicious.

We have a basil and lime French
meringue, which he's freezing.

I can't see much lime zest in there.

He's calling it a sorbet,
but it's not really a sorbet.

There's no syrup going in this.

I don't think I've had that before.

Getting there.

In the Signature round, I would like

to show the judges that
I'm a very organised person,

but I'm too nervous,

so maybe I need to calm down,

and then I can present the best
side of myself.

I-Lin, a bit more settled,
now you're cooking your own menu?

Yeah, more confidence now.
Good to see. Tell us,

what are your two dishes?

So the main course is Taiwanese
beef noodle consomme.

So this is my favourite dish
in my life,

and it's from my family recipe,

and I make it into the French
traditional style,

so it's consomme, clear soup.
That is exciting.

I have to say, this is the first
time I've had a take

on Taiwanese food
the way you're doing it.

Yes. And what is your dessert?

The dessert is a strawberry-based
dessert.

So fresh strawberry
and balsamic-compressed strawberry

with lemon thyme
and pink peppercorn.

And also there's a pistachio
and match a sponge cake,

a round, with jellies on top
of the cake.

Have you got time to do
all of these things?

Yes. I will bring it to you.

I can't wait to try it, and I hope
you manage to do it all.

Yeah, thank you.

I hope the judges will like my main
course because this is my favourite

dish in my life and it reminds me
of all the memories in my life.

I can't wait to taste this dish.

She's making her handmade
egg noodles.

I'm excited about your menu,
I won't lie.

So please, please, make sure
you get it all done.

Yes, yes.

Got compressed leek and spring
onions, she's got beef fillet

and Taiwanese beef consomme.

In that, we've got different spices,

got a little bit of liquorice
in there.

She's bringing all those ingredients
together with the egg whites

and just allowing that liquid
to clarify.

It's got to be packed full
of flavour, and crystal-clear.

Dessert, we've got a pistachio and
match a cake, which she's cooked

in the microwave, so it's going
to be incredibly light.

We have honey and lemon Chantilly,

fresh and balsamic-marinated
strawberries,

and a tuile decoration
which is going to sit

on the top, and on the bottom

of all this is an elderflower
and lemon gel.

This sounds very complex.

There's a lot of different parts
going on this dessert.

I just hope she manages
to deliver everything on time.

I don't think the judges have seen
me at my best yet,

but the motivation is now there

to show them in the Signature dish
that I can do a lot better.

Lindsay, how are you feeling? The
Skills Test is out of the way now,

so I'm feeling a lot more
comfortable and relaxed.

Right, what are you cooking? For the
main course,

stone bass with asparagus,
mussel sauce, dill oil.

And then for dessert, I'm doing
a set custard with poached rhubarb,

macerated rhubarb,
shortbread on the side,

and a rhubarb consomme as well,
split with a tangerine marigold oil.

Set custard. So is it literally
custard?

Literally custard. Did you say
tangerine marigold?

Yeah. It's got like a really nice
citrus, orangey taste to it.

For me, it works really well
with rhubarb.

What are you hoping to demonstrate
through these dishes?

Just to get through this round,

that's all I'm seeing it as. Just
want to take one round at a time.

And, yeah, hopefully not mess
anything up.

Lindsay, still looking very calm
and under control.

His main course is pan-fried
stone bass.

Beautiful fish.

The skin, if he's keeping it on,
lovely and crispy.

Cooking the mussels - make sure
they're nice and clean.

Using that stock to make
that lovely mussel sauce.

It's going to be split
with dill oil.

Dill oil, beautiful and flavoursome,
nice and green.

There's nothing here that we haven't
had before.

This dish has to be completely
on point for us to be wowed.

It's definitely not the most wild

| could go with the food,
so I've kind of tamed myself

in a little bit here.

Dessert, it's a bit of a fun take on
rhubarb and custard, which is one

of my favourite flavour
combinations.

Lindsay says it's a set custard, but
it's thickened with egg yolks only,

so he needs a high ratio of egg yolk
to make sure this is thick enough.

We've got some poached macerated
rhubarb, and we've also got

a tangerine marigold.

He's need to be careful of how much
of the green of that he puts

on this dish. The flower is
delicious.

The green is just a little bit
too grassy for my liking.

Shortbread has got
to be perfectly made,

nice and delicate and beautiful
and light.

It's short. It's supposed to melt
in the mouth.

Chefs, you're halfway!

You have half an hour left.

I think the Skills Test went
pretty good.

I think the judges might think
I slightly know what I'm doing.

I mean, obviously I'm young
and I don't know everything,

but I feel like I showed them
a nice bit of me.

Tom, how are we doing?

I'm good, thanks. Just a little...a
little nervous, because obviously

I want to give the best to you guys.

You got off to a good start
in the Skills.

It's nice to hear
that you think that.

Tom, tell us about your menu.

So I've got a seared lamb loin
with lamb tartare, broccoli puree,

a lamb sauce, sheep's curd,
and then strawberry tart with, like,

a cream cheese base.

And then I'm just finishing it
with a yoghurt parfait on top.

Whoa!

Tom, why are you a chef?

Mainly because my dad was trying
to make me not be a chef,

I'd say is probably the biggest
reason.

Because he's a chef himself.
Is he still a chef, your dad?

Yeah. We're currently working
at the same place.

Does Mum forbid any chef talk
around the kitchen table?

No, because she's a chef as well.
That's amazing!

Tom, if you go on to win,
will your dad give you a promotion?

No.

Tom... Main course, seared
lamb loin and lamb tartare.

Beautiful saddle of lamb. He's left
the fat on, which is always

a good thing.

I love a lamb tartare.

I'm curious if it'll be served
separately, on its own, on the side,

as opposed to on a plate
with a hot lamb loin.

Tom is putting sheep's curd
with his dish

so it'll have some sharpness
through it. I like this.

We've got broccoli three
different ways. We've got a puree.

We've got sprouting purple
broccoli.

And we've also got some broccoli
stalks, which he's pickling

for acidity and for bite.

Tom's got some red wine
going into his lamb jus.

But you've got to use it sparingly.

You don't want a deep red wine
sauce with such beautiful,

delicate, light ingredients.

Watch your backs.

We've got a strawberry
and mascarpone tart.

I just love a tart dish.

Anything to do with a tart,
I'm all over it.

The mascarpone, of course,
can actually soften the pastry case.

So Tom's got to make sure
he just gets the right

cooking on this.

We've got beautifully sliced
strawberries.

We've got a yoghurt and honey
parfait.

He's going to rocher it
and sit that on top.

This dessert needs to be executed
to perfection for it to work.

How long have we got?
How long have I got?

Chefs,
you've got 15 minutes left. 15.

Lindsay, what is that? Shortbread.

Is it supposed to be
that flat? Not at all.

So I'm currently going to remake it.

You're from Scotland, aren't you?
LINDSAY CHUCKLES

And your shortbread recipe is not
working? Apparently not.

Good beef. I love beef. I love beef.

I've got the shakes a bit, but
I'm all right. Are you all right?

Just got to carve the meat.

But I'm going to try and leave that
as last minute as I can.

This is the last minute. OK.
All right?

How long have we got? You've got
about six or seven minutes left.

Yeah.

Yeah, tight, tight.

Make sure you don't run out of
time, OK? Come on!

Sorbet to plate up.

Lindsay, did we get to make
some more shortbread?

I had to decide to leave it and
just focus on everything else.

Use it as a tuile.
Make something. Don't give up.

How many minutes left, Chef?
You've got a minute.

That's it. Time's up.

Stop.

For his Signature main,

private chef Tristan has cooked
quail breast wrapped

in wild garlic, poached asparagus
tips, sauteed morel mushrooms,

charred pear, crispy quail skin
and a quail bone jus.

That looks like an autumnal walk
through a forest. I love that.

Quail, I love that idea.
Taking the breast off, wrapping

it in the garlic leaf. Great idea.
I've not seen that before.

I really enjoyed that.

Thank you.

Tristan, the pear, the way
you've used it and cleverly sat

the con fit quail yolk on it.

So you have the saltiness
with the slight sweetness

of that pear,
and it's just going off.

Good start, Tristan. Thank you.

Looks really smart.

And there are little, elegant,
beautiful pieces of deliciousness

across this plate.

Your sauce has got meatiness
and a little bit of saltiness,

and it feels like half a ton
of butter has been put in there.

It's absolutely delightful.

What can I say, Tristan?

That's a great dish.

Thank you.

Tristan's dessert is a twice-risen
doughnut, elderflower-marinated

strawberries, salted pistachio
crumb, basil cress

and a basil and lime
meringue sorbet.

It's got a lovely, rich flavour.

But your doughnut, it's very tight.
It's not aerated enough.

I don't think you've given it
enough time to rise.

That's a shame, because I was
really looking forward to this.

What we have here is cold
meringue.

It's just whipped-up egg whites
with some basil and lime chopped

through it, and it's unpleasant.
I'm not enjoying it.

The pistachio, you've salted these,
haven't you?

And I just can't get on with
the salted nuts and doughnut.

It shocked me.

I'm loving having the macerated
strawberry with the doughnut,

but the meringue and the salted nut
is not helping at all.

It was a bit of a tale
of two halves.

Obviously, the main was very well
received...

...and the pudding was not.

I think we've still got a chance,
but who knows?

Chef de partie I-Lin has cooked
roast beef fillets, served with

grilled bok choy, compressed spring
onion and leeks,

five-spiced egg noodles,

and a Taiwanese-beef-flavoured
consomme.

The beef is lovely and pink,
with a little bit of seasoning.

And because you've charred the bok
choy, there's a slight bitterness

that comes with all that crunch.

I'm really enjoying this.

I think these noodles, this beef
and this bok choy need a much

bigger-flavoured broth.

It's just a little bit flat,
if I'm really honest with you.

I'm looking for a bigger flavour
with all those spices in it.

I think this dish would come
to life. OK.

I would like to taste more
of the spices that were used in it.

Also more of the wonderful
spring onion that you've compressed

on the top.

You know, loads of spring onion
and a broth like this, for me,

and I'm in consomme heaven.

For her Signature dessert, I-Lin has
made a match a and pistachio

sponge cake, balsamic vinegar
compressed strawberries,

Chantilly cream with mascarpone,
honey and lemon,

elderflower and lemon gel,

pink peppercorns and a tuile.

I-Lin, I like the ideas that you're
trying to bring

to your dessert, but I think

the issue is the execution.

A sponge cake like this,
when it's done in the microwave,

it should aerate.

So something's happened
and it's become dense.

And so the bitterness of the match a
has intensified, and some

of the strawberries have diluted
with the balsamic and become watery

because of that ice you sat
on top of it.

The elderflower and lime jelly,
I like the flavours of it.

However, the texture is too thick.

It's too dense.

You haven't got the texture
of the sponge right.

You haven't got the texture
of the jelly right.

It's a shame, because I like all
your thinking.

But there's just another idea
and another idea

and another idea and another idea,

and it just keeps going
on and on and on.

Until you don't really know
what it is.

I'm sorry, I'm not enjoying this.

They like my ideas.

But I can do better, to be honest.

Chef patron Lindsay's Signature main
is pan-fried stone bass

with asparagus, potatoes
cooked in lemon and pine oil,

a mussel sauce and dill oil.

You have a good touch.
Everything is nicely cooked.

The Jersey potato is cooked
all the way through.

The mussels are sweet.

The asparagus still has a little bit
of give to it. It's a very small

dish, for me, but I can't question

your cooking, and it tastes great.

Thank you.

The sauce is beautifully made.
Really nice.

Love the flavour of the mussel.
Love the dill oil.

Everything about this dish is cooked
just right, and very, very tasty.

It's a good start,
it's a solid start,

but I am going to need
some bells and whistles somewhere

down the line. Cool.

The stone bass has been cooked
beautifully.

The little pieces of potato
and the mussels are well executed.

What it shows to me is a strong chef
who hasn't overcomplicated anything.

What else you have up your sleeve...

Well, if you go through,
we'll find out, won't we?

Thank you.

Lindsay's dessert is a set custard,
served with poached rhubarb,

a shortbread tuile
and a rhubarb consomme split

with tangerine marigold oil.

Is this supposed to be set?

Yeah, it is looking a bit runny.

Look, it's not set,
but it does taste good.

It's rich, it's full of vanilla,
but it needs more rhubarb in there.

The consomme is a really nice, sharp
rhubarb flavour, but I don't get

any of the flavour of the herb.

I'm not sure what it's showing me
about you, other than you can

make great custard.

I'm a bit disappointed. I didn't
think you were going to come

and show off on a Signature round
a bowl of custard.

And it's not a set custard.

The shortbread didn't work out,
and you kind of just lost

all your energy after that.

It threw you.

And for me, I just find that
you should not give up so soon.

You came here
to fight for something.

It starts right now.

Quite disappointed with myself.

The dessert could have been
a lot better.

I just didn't execute it properly,
and I'm sure that's going to haunt

me for a very long time.

Finally, it's sous-chef Tom.

His Signature main is seared
lamb loin,

lamb tartare wrapped in pickled
broccoli stem,

broccoli puree,

purple-sprouting broccoli,
sheep curd,

and a lamb sauce.

GREGG: I think this looks great.

Very smart. Thank you.

There's some lovely skill here.

You have cooked your lamb
very, very well.

You've got a beautiful puree.

I love the fact you've taken
the stem of the broccoli.

You haven't thrown it away.
You've pickled it.

That brings a bit of freshness
to the dish.

That really does give us
a reflection of what you're all

about right now, Tom. Very good.

I love the tartare.
I could have more of that.

Slippery, nicely diced bits of meat.

But you've got that pickled crunch
of that broccoli around it.

This is singing to me,
this plate of food.

I absolutely love it.

Thank you.

You get a little sharpness from
the sheep's curd, and it's a nice

surprise that cuts
through this dish.

It's a delightful plate of food.

Good start for you, Tom.

Thank you.

Tom's dessert is a strawberry tart,
white balsamic strawberries,

mascarpone cream and
a honey and yoghurt parfait.

Tom, the tart case is
beautifully made.

It's crisp. It's just falling apart.

I like that it hasn't gone too soggy
with the mix of strawberries

that you have in there,
and then the mascarpone

cream as well.

That is a lovely, lovely tart.

You've got macerated strawberries
on the bottom that are almost sharp,

and then you've got that lovely
mascarpone, which is slightly sour,

but it's packed full of vanilla.

And then you've got fresh
cut strawberries across the top.

That's a lovely, lovely tart.

The quantity of cream and indulgence
on this is perfect for me.

Your pastry making is spot-on.

The jam at the bottom is fresh
and tangy.

Thank you. I think this is great.

Thank you.

Well done, mate.

That was good. Really good. Thank
you.

Yeah, I'm feeling pretty good after
that.

It would be quite nice to carry on
through this competition and keep

getting good feedback.

We had a good Skills Test. OK?

Our expectation was high.

We were expecting great dishes,
and we did get great dishes.

There was one standout chef,
wasn't there?

A complete standout chef.
And that's Tom. Hmm.

Absolutely smashed the main.

Came in here and gave a very,
very good dessert as well.

I think he definitely deserves
a place in our next round.

Absolutely. Tom is the strongest
chef of the four.

On reading I-Lin's menu,
it sounded really exciting.

It just didn't pack the excitement
that I'd hoped it would deliver.

The take on her Taiwanese dish...
The beef was beautifully pink.

But I would have enjoyed
a bigger flavour of spice

through that beef broth.

Now, the dessert, for me,
just didn't work on all fronts.

It was lots of individual things
that just weren't singing

with each other.
So I-Lin leaves the competition.

That means we've now got
a really tough decision, I think,

between Lindsay and Tristan.

We've got two chefs here who have
got real talent and skill.

Both their savoury dishes were
fantastic.

But BOTH their desserts
were very disappointing.

It's the main hurdle
of the competition.

Anything past this kind
of feels like a bit of a weight

off your shoulders, so, yeah,
I would be gutted

if I went out at this point.

Yeah, it's hard to know
whether you've done enough.

The other chefs are so brilliant.

So if I have, then I'd be proud,

if I haven't,
then, good luck to them.

The first chef
leaving the competition

is I-Lin.

Nice to have met you. Thank you.
Thank you.

It's maybe the toughest day
in my career so far.

Disappointed, but I thought I can do
better, but maybe I need

some more experience.

Tristan, Lindsay,
one of you is leaving us.

The chef leaving...

...is Lindsay.

Lindsay, that was the tightest
of margins. You can leave

here with your head held high, mate.
Cheers.

I'm disappointed, obviously.

I didn't push myself enough. Yeah,
I just came at this with the wrong

approach and, yeah,

just got myself to blame.

When I go home, I'm looking forward
to seeing my wee boy.

I've missed him
the last couple of days.

Well done, the pair of you.
All right? That was quality.

It was nerve-racking, awesome,
and just relief in the end.

I know I didn't produce my best,
so I think I need to understand

the judges' comments a bit,
learn on them and not produce

that pudding again.

Cooking under this sort
of pressure is tough.

I'm still feeling a little bit
nervous going into future rounds,

but I signed up for this.

I just want to sort of get
as far as I can, give it my best.

Next time, it's the last
of the quarterfinals.

Come on!

And this week's strongest chefs
return to face two tough challenges.

There's nothing about this dish
that I can fault.

Mm-mm-mm!

Only the best will make it through
to knockout week.

This is so freaking clever.

You just can't stop eating it.

Oow!
SIGHS