Original subtitles

It's the professional MasterChef quarterfinal.

These five chefs triumphed in their heats, and tonight,

they face two tough challenges designed to test them even further.

It's nerve-racking.

I thought I'd feel a lot better than last time.

I actually feel ten times worse, which is delightful.

No-one comes in this competition to take it easy.

So, yeah, I'm definitely going to go for it.

The most important thing to walk in that kitchen

and just do your absolute best and nail it.

One mistake costs you the competition,

and I don't want that to be me.

First, they will need to create a standout dish

using a mystery ingredient.

Gone blank again.

Those who impress will go on to cook

for three of the country's top food critics.

This main is outrageously good.

Only the very best will earn a place in knockout week.

This is when the pressure really starts to build up for our chefs.

They've got to keep the momentum going.

If not, they're going home.

Chefs, welcome back.

Welcome to your quarterfinal.

This is an invention test.

In front of you, under this box,

is a key ingredient that has to be the star of your cooking today.

Chefs, reveal the ingredient.

Offal.

See some smiles.

I've seen a look of fear on one or two faces as well.

We are giving you such a variety of offal to create from.

Don't be fearful. Be brave.

There are five of you in the kitchen.

We can only take four of you through to cook for the critics,

so at the end of this, one of you will be leaving the competition.

Chefs, you have ten minutes to choose your ingredients

and come up with a plan.

Good luck.

The offal the chefs have to choose from to create their dish

include chicken livers, sweetbreads,

calves' liver, chicken hearts,

tripe, and tongue.

They also have a selection of vegetables, fruits,

herbs, and spices.

Offal can be used in so many different ways.

It can be used to flavour a sauce.

It can be put through a tureen so you can make mousses from it.

The choice is limitless.

I saw it, and my mind went to many different places,

and then now I'm stood here, I'm, uh, gone blank again.

I was already nervous walking in, but definitely I'm now more nervous.

I've not worked with offal for a while, so just kind of

trying to look around and see what I can come up with.

In this invention test, offal has got to be the star of the show.

I don't want to see it, just sprinkling on the side.

It's got to be the main attraction.

I've gone for chicken hearts as a complete impulsive decision,

for the sheer fact that they're all equally daunting to me.

Yeah, I'm kind of looking forward to it.

I mean, I like to cook with it.

Fingers crossed it pays off, really.

You can't fluff your way through an offal dish.

There's a very fine line with offal of getting it right,

getting it delicious, or it being a disaster.

Chefs, your ten minutes is up.

You've got 70 minutes to cook and serve your offal dish. Good luck.

31-year-old freelance chef Pippa, from Sheffield,

struggled in the skills test but impressed in the signature round

with her unique use of sustainable foraged herbs and weeds.

My brain does work differently.

Thinking outside the box is what I do 24/7

so I'm hoping this is my forte

and the kind of challenge that suits the way I operate, for once.

Pippa, when you lifted the box up,

there was a look of fear on your face.

It was a smile, but there was fear.

These aren't the ingredients I'm comfortable with, used to.

It's kind of a cool opportunity.

I'm going to experiment a bit, but it is what it is.

So, Pippa, what are you cooking?

So, erm, I have gone for chicken hearts,

but then I also saw some chicken of the woods mushroom,

so I thought I could make a play on wild and not.

Some pickled mushrooms as well.

Different vegetable crisps and textures,

a sauce that's herby and buttermilky and light,

and just have a play of textures, light flavours.

It's summer.

Unfortunately, chicken hearts are completely new to me.

Kind of could be a blessing and a curse.

It's new, so I'm going to have to taste it and try it.

Good luck, Pippa.

I quite like the little play on the chicken of the wood mushroom

and the chicken hearts. I think that's great.

Really good to hear that Pippa wants to cook one of the hearts

and then test it to understand it.

If she tests that chicken heart and gets it right,

this could be delicious.

Definitely under, so now I know, but the flavour's nice.

We've also got a herby buttermilk style sauce

and some vegetable crisps.

She needs to remember how good she is as a cook,

and dig into that experience,

and stop focusing on the difficulty of offal.

Yorkshire based 26-year-old senior sous-chef George was another

to struggle in the skills test, but won the judges over with two

technically challenging and elegant dishes in the signature round.

I really, really like the sound of an invention test.

I like being creative.

If it's something which I can hit the ground running with

and the juices start flowing,

then hopefully put up a really nice plate of food.

George, invention test with offal.

You seemed quite excited about it.

Yeah, it's something which I do use a lot of at work.

Where I work is like a restaurant on a farm,

so we have all cattle, sheep, pigs.

So, yeah, we try and use as much of it as possible.

What have you chosen?

I'm going to do crispy veal sweetbreads, pickled walnut ketchup,

then I'm going to do a soy pickled maitake mushroom

roasted in loads of foamy butter,

and then roast garlic emulsion on the side.

George, we know you like to work with offal.

Do you actually enjoy eating it?

I'm not a massive offal fan myself.

I had the fear of it put in me as a kid with, like,

liver and onions not cooked very well.

Do you know what? That was a dish in our house too.

Mm. Very badly cooked liver with onions.

We actually called it leather and onions growing up.

George is going for veal sweetbreads.

The veal sweetbread is delicious.

It's about taking off the membrane, and again, cooking it gently.

Soft in the centre.

A crunchy coating on the outside.

Soy pickled maitake mushroom sounds wonderful.

The pickling has got to be just right.

We've also got pickled walnut ketchup as well,

which is going to be umami-esque.

It's going to be vinegary.

Veal sweetbreads can take those flavours of something being pickled.

With that soy and the pickling and the walnuts,

we've got the makings of a very interesting dish.

Chefs, half an hour has gone. 40 minutes remaining, all right?

32-year-old Manchester-based chef patron Dani

got off to a strong start, impressing all the judges

with ambitious dishes and adventurous flavour pairings,

including using wasabi on a dessert.

I'm going to try and really push myself today.

Might take a bit of a risk.

I think nobody comes on this show just to do the same thing.

I'm definitely going to go for it.

How are you feeling, Dani?

Nervous? I don't really get a lot of chance to cook offal,

because the area where my restaurant is, offal doesn't really sell well,

so I tend to not really do it on the menu that much, to be honest.

So for the past few years, I've not really worked with it much.

Even though you don't work with a lot of offal,

what are you going to do?

So it's a chicken liver cream stuffed in a filo pastry tart

with chicken hearts, a red onion jam,

and some toasted hazelnuts and asparagus.

So you've made a little tartlet? Yeah. I like the sound of that.

Dani doesn't had a lot of experience with cooking offal,

but I like the sound of her dish.

She's making a tart with some filo pastry.

As long as it's nicely cooked, beautiful and crispy.

Of course, the chicken liver cream,

it's got to be beautiful and smooth and perfectly seasoned.

I love the sound of the onion marmalade,

works so well with the livers.

There's a sweetness to cut through that.

The heart, you certainly do not want to overcook it.

It will be incredibly chewy.

Dani is the only one who's used two different types of offal here,

and I like that.

33-year-old head chef Ian had mixed feedback in the skills test,

but impressed more with his brasserie style signature dishes,

doing enough to advance through to the quarterfinal.

I don't thrive on the individual element of trying to create a dish.

I'm quite a collaborative chef,

so trying to pull out some show stoppers without much time to think

might be a bit of a challenge,

but I'm going to... I'm going to give it my all.

What are you putting together, Ian?

So I'm basically making a style of a risotto, but I only used

diced celeriac, and I cook it down low and slow like a risotto.

And I'm going to serve a crispy sweetbread on top

with blanched asparagus, Parmesan tuile,

and then probably some sort of gremolata with pine nuts in it

just drizzled over the top.

What does it mean to you to get through to cook for our critics?

I've got two other dishes that I really want to bring to the table,

so I'm really hoping this pays off and I get through, really.

First, let's see this one. Yes.

Sweetbreads - want it crispy on the outside

and just lovely and soft in the middle.

I love the idea of a celeriac risotto.

Good earthy celeriac perfectly chopped up with a few shallots,

and he's going to be making it just like a risotto.

It's going to have a bit of sweetness with the raisins,

and that actually can work very well with the sweetbreads.

I like the way he's thinking.

We don't want too many raisins in this risotto, though.

21-year-old Birmingham based junior sous-chef Evan

got off to a very shaky start, but won favour with his own food,

demonstrating stunning presentation and a great palate.

The first round was quite terrifying,

but I think I'm easing into it now,

sort of finding my feet a bit more.

So coming into this invention test is that...it's quite exciting.

Do you work with offal? No, not at all.

Do you eat it? No, not really.

What do you think of our challenge? It surprised me.

Yeah. I'm very out of my comfort zone, but I still think I can

bring up a dish what you'll enjoy.

I'm going to do a crispy sweetbread with cauliflower puree,

a crispy cauliflower floret,

green asparagus with a mustard sauce.

Very limited, the ingredients you have here,

but I remember your style being very clean. Yeah.

So make sure you deliver those great flavours again.

What are you getting out of this competition?

What are you discovering about you as a chef?

So I'm just trying to find my style of food.

It's a journey.

Evan has chosen sweetbread.

He's nervous.

He has no experience in any offal cookery pretty much at all.

But really classic cauliflower going with sweetbread.

Cauliflower is in two different ways.

Depending on the volume of cauliflower on the plate,

Evan needs to be careful that it doesn't become a cauliflower dish.

Evan's mustard sauce shouldn't be too hot.

It needs to complement the sweetbread.

Chefs, you've got ten minutes left.

I've basically just got to fry up my sweetbreads

and then start plating, really.

So I'm in a really good position.

Fingers crossed.

Right, chefs, you've got 90 seconds left.

Pippa, you need to get some food on those plates.

Pippa, you've got 20 seconds left.

Thank you. Last touches.

Done. That's it. Time's up.

Are you OK, Pip? Oh, awful.

No. Well done. No. Not good.

Not good. What about you?

Senior sous-chef George has cooked crispy sweetbreads with pickled

walnut ketchup, pickled maitake mushroom

and a roasted garlic emulsion.

Nice presentation. I like the look of that.

I want to get in there, and give it a try.

I'm really enjoying this beautifully cooked veal sweetbread.

Ketchup with the pickled walnuts.

It's got a lovely, lovely amount of acidity in there.

This mushroom is fabulous.

That's delicious.

The sweetbread, you've retained the crispiness

on the outside and the inside is just so soft.

Beautiful seasoning on that.

The texture of the emulsion is holding, you're dipping into it,

and it's delightful.

Sweetbread - star of the dish. Tick.

Thank you very much, Chef.

I don't know how to take it.

I went all fuzzy in there,

then, when they were speaking to me.

I don't know if it's even gone in yet.

Well done. That's really good.

I'm ecstatic about them comments.

Freelance chef Pippa has cooked deep-fried crispy chicken hearts

with chicken of the woods wild mushroom.

Pickled shiitake mushrooms,

crispy leeks,

and a buttermilk and parsley dressing.

There's always going to be a preference

with hearts and livers and offal.

Everyone has a slightly different way of eating it. This one for me

could have been cooked a touch more.

The chicken of the wood is very nice.

I'm really enjoying your little sauce,

the buttermilk in here. Got a really nice, interesting

plate of food.

Interesting combinations.

I love the idea. I like the little story, the little,

the two little chicken things -

chicken of the mushroom, chicken of the heart.

Your chicken heart - mine was fine.

And then the coating around is crispy.

Your buttermilk dressing has got a freshness and a sharpness to it,

which I really like.

I love the idea of the chicken in the woods and the batter as well.

You're full of great ideas.

I'm proud of myself that I didn't, like, give up.

I really want to keep learning more from this experience.

I just hope I get to have another go.

Chef patron Dani has made a filo tart

filled with an onion jam

and chicken liver cream,

and topped with chicken hearts

and fried asparagus.

The fact that you've used two types of offal, I think, is brave,

because no-one else in this room did that.

You've used both the liver and the hearts of the chicken.

You've got the crispy pastry, the sweetness of your red onion

chutney on the bottom, and then a layer of the liver cream.

It's actually really delightful.

WHISPERS: Oh.

It's delicious.

It tastes like a proper country-style pate that you'd get

in a good restaurant, with big flavour.

I'd question your pastry cookery, though, a little bit.

That is... That's overcooked.

But that's the only negative thing about the dish.

The heart and the liver of the chicken, two delicate

little pieces of offal, yet are punching way

above their weight here.

I'm happy with the feedback.

Obviously there was one thing about the tart, but the rest

of the stuff made up for it, so that's a relief.

Head chef Ian has made a celeriac and raisin risotto topped

with crispy sweetbreads, served with gremolata, torched asparagus,

and a Parmesan tuile.

Your sweetbread is beautifully golden, nicely cooked on the inside.

The gremolata is not evident at all. The risotto - loving the idea

of using celeriac this way, but my fear from the onset

was the fact that there could be too many raisins.

And there is. It's just too sweet.

The asparagus is beautifully cooked. Parmesan -

a little bit on the soft side that could have been cooked

a little bit further, but I just think that you've lost

the earthiness of the celeriac.

And I have to say I'm not enjoying this with those raisins.

There's too many of them in there. It's too sweet.

I'm slightly gutted.

I wanted the flavours and ingredients to sing,

and they didn't.

21-year-old junior sous-chef Evan has cooked sweetbread

with a cauliflower puree, cauliflower floret and asparagus,

finished with a mustard sauce.

The veal sweetbreads -

the first time you've cooked it.

Mine is cooked perfectly.

It's just melting in the mouth.

Your cauliflower puree -

that is the silkiest, smoothest cauliflower puree I've ever had.

Delightful.

Thank you.

Clean, sharp presentation.

And I love the little touch of mustard seed in the sauce

as well, which is just pop in your mouth.

Not too hot. They absolutely work.

It is a very, very good dish. Beautifully executed.

And for someone who's never cooked sweetbread before,

that's not half bad.

Thank you. Well done.

I'm feeling good.

I've never cooked sweetbread before or any offal,

but I think it went well.

Good challenge. We ate well.

A couple of things I think we need to discuss,

but that was excellent.

For me, the standout chef of the day is George with the crispy

sweetbread, with the pickled walnut ketchup.

Just delightful plate of food from George.

George for me is definitely the chef of the day.

Straight through to the critics?

Absolutely.

I enjoyed Dani's dish.

I really enjoyed that sort of creamy chicken liver parfait-style tart.

Love the texture.

Love the little hearts that she just cut up on top.

Dani did a great dish today.

I think Dani deserves to go through as well.

I agree.

I thought Evan today cooked a beautiful dish - clean. Never

cooked a sweetbread, or prepped a sweetbread in his life,

and did a very, very good job of it too.

And the smoothest, silkiest cauliflower puree I've ever had.

I think this young chef deserves to be cooking his food

for the critics.

And that leaves us with Pippa and Ian.

Ian's dish, for me,

slightly lost and confusing.

I loved the texture of the celeriac that he used.

The biggest issue we both had with Ian's dish

was just that it was too sweet.

The raisins killed it for me.

Just too many of them in the dish.

Pippa, I liked the style of her dish.

I liked like the idea.

She'd never cooked with offal before.

The hearts for me could have been cooked just a little bit more.

Mine was cooked beautifully.

The coating around the outside was delicious, and I also liked

that buttermilk sauce as well.

She has exciting ideas, there were some great flavours on that plate.

I'd really love to get through to the critics

because I really do have a lot more to show.

I guess I just feel like it's not finished.

I'm not done.

I'd be gutted to go home today, but the other chefs have done some

really decent dishes, so I'm not too sure.

Chefs, welcome back.

Offal - one of the toughest ingredients to cook with.

And we saw some fabulous skills on show today and some

fabulous dishes too.

Only four chefs can go through to cook for our critics.

One of you is leaving the competition.

The chef leaving us is...

..Ian.

Thank you. Thank you, Ian.

Thank you, Ian. Cheers. Thank you. Thank you so much. Good luck, all.

I'm feeling weirdly relieved and gutted at the same time.

I've enjoyed the experience, but putting yourself

under the microscope like that is very daunting.

My goal was to get through the first round and I'm very happy I did.

Congratulations,

you four are cooking for our critics.

Make sure you're on your A-game.

Well done. Well done. Well done. well done.

Well done, well done, well done. Well done.

You OK? You OK?

OK. Well done.

Chefs, this is when you get to cook for some of the best critics

in the country.

We have Jimi Famurewa,

Grace Dent,

and Tom Parker Bowles.

Cook your best.

Show them what you can do.

This is when the competition does start to heat up.

At the end of the day, one of you is going to be leaving the competition.

The remaining three chefs will go through to knockout week.

We wish you the best of luck.

One hour, 15 minutes, two courses.

Let's get cooking.

It's massive today, to show off

my food to the critics and the judges again.

Evan. Quiet nerves, is it?

Yeah, a little bit, yeah.

Evan, you're a junior sous-chef, so you must have some confidence,

you know, because you're actually guiding and leading

chefs underneath you. Yeah.

So our kitchen, most of the brigade is actually younger than me.

I am the third oldest in the kitchen.

Wow. Wow.

I mean, he'd be, like, great-grandpa, Marcus!

God, I feel old! My goodness.

Yeah. When I was 16, first started in the kitchen,

I had to wear a badge

because I looked even younger than what I do now,

saying that I am 16, I'm allowed to work here.

What are your dishes, Evan?

For the starter, you're going to have scallop with carrot sauce,

fermented carrots, black pudding, and black garlic puree.

And then for the main,

chicken with a green peppercorn sauce, cooked

baby gem lettuce, asparagus and a potato fondant.

Evan, I like the sound of what you're doing.

And good luck. Cheers. Thank you.

I chose the classical dishes because I know they work well

together and I know the flavour combinations work.

I've always been taught that if you can go simpler,

go simpler, but make them taste nicer.

Less is more, at the end of the day.

Scallops and black pudding.

We've had that many, many times.

But when it's done well, it's absolutely delicious.

No room to hide with scallops.

You've got to cook them absolutely spot-on.

He's got to make sure he really packs the flavour

into that carrot sauce.

The garlic puree is as smooth as possible, and I'm expecting

a knockout-looking plate from Evan.

Roast chicken on the crown is something that I absolutely love.

Cooking it on the crown stops the chicken from drying out.

Green peppercorn sauce.

Normally, I love that with steak. With the chicken? Yes.

I've not had it with the chicken before.

The biggest danger for Evan is going to be the familiar

not done well.

I've set myself a very, very, very big task.

And in all of my practising, I've only ever just made it,

with 20 seconds to spare.

But I'm hopefully just going to run and by some magic reason,

get it all done in time.

Dani, cooking for the critics.

How are you feeling? It's definitely a big moment for me.

This was always my main goal to get to this round.

So, yeah, I'm buzzing to be here but nervous to do it well

and to go further. What are you doing?

So I'm doing a beef tartare dressed in beef-fat emulsion with a caper

and pickled walnut jam, and shaved chocolate on top.

OK, wow, I've had many a tartare -

I've never had one with chocolate.

I'm also dressing the beef in some coal oil, to give it that touch

of an element of it being cooked.

However, it's obviously not.

I understand where you're going, but I'm looking forward

to trying that.

Dani is starting with a beef tartare using a salt-aged sirloin,

so it's going to be more intense in flavour.

Dani is making a beef-fat emulsion, so she's basically

using the beef fat to make like a mayonnaise, which you would

get through the dressing of a beef tartare.

Very clever, I like that. Shaved chocolate?

I've not had shaved chocolate on a beef tartare before,

and I'm willing this to work.

What's your, your main course?

So I've got brill with some scallops dusted in some scallop roe first

and then cooked, with a roasted tomato fish sauce and some rainbow

chard with a chard stem chutney made from the stems,

so I don't throw them away.

What is it that you want

the critics, and us of course, to see about your two dishes today?

I want them to see hopefully the skill and the execution

of the dishes, but most importantly, the flavour combinations

and how it all comes together.

If you impress them today,

they'll be queuing up to get to your restaurant.

That's the hope, yeah.

Brill is a very light, mild white fish with a great flavour,

lovely texture, but it needs delicate hands.

Dani's taking a scallop and she's taking the roe,

which she's dried, and she's going to grate it over the scallop

before she pan-fries it.

So that will really intensify the seasoning of the scallop.

I like the idea of this roasted tomato sauce.

Dani's got the fish bone.

She's making an intense stock.

I hope there's some butter to really bring this sauce together.

That's all that's missing.

I gave myself plenty to do today.

I got a lot on.

It's achievable, but I really need to move with this one.

George is starting with a herb ricotta agnolotti.

The ricotta has got nasturtium.

It has a pepperiness to it.

Dill and tarragon.

Strong flavours in there, but they work very well with ricotta.

I hope he's pinched the size of those little pillows firmly

so they don't pop open and take on water when he cooks them off.

Beurre blanc - looking for a lovely,

rich, buttery sauce with a lovely shine,

beautifully seasoned.

But you have to be very careful that you don't overheat it

because it will split.

George's main course - quail with spices from Morocco.

Quail - delicate bird, needs a delicate touch.

He's taking the bird and crisping it up in the pan.

And that skin will go really crispy.

Got crispy fried quail leg, as well, to sit on the side.

We've also got quail and raisin sauce.

We've also got ras el hanout carrot puree.

Key standout here is the ras el hanout.

It's a variety of spices that have come together to create

a beautiful big flavour.

Fabulous.

I get the feeling we've come at a bit of a bad time here, George.

It's perfect timing, Chef.

Is it? A lot of work. A lot of work, Chef.

But I'm getting there.

Why two styles here? Why pasta

and then sort of a completely different flavour dish here?

I wanted to show that I can cook with different flavours

and achieve it.

I think pasta is a real skill.

If I can achieve this, I've shown I can do that.

And then the Moroccan spiced quail is a dish from a recent holiday

I went on with my partner.

And Moroccan food is something which I've never really touched on,

but I ate it.

It was fruity, sweet, spicy, meaty, all the things

I really love in food.

So I was just, I just draw a little bit of influence from that,

and I just wanted to create a nice dish out of it.

I like the sound of your dishes. I like the skill on show as well.

I mean, the key is going to be getting it done.

There's a lot of last-minute cookery going on here.

There is indeed, Chef.

Pippa, how are you feeling?

I'm feeling excited to show you some weird ingredients

and enjoy the platform.

My first course, firecrackers carrot.

Carrots in chilli,

fermented magnolia.

Hogweed, which I kind of use instead of cardamom.

Lots of foraged herbs.

So, taste of the wild meets Pippa's back garden.

Yes.

Small and orange and spicy and different.

Pippa's first course -

a firecracker carrot. Cooking carrot in a hogweed?

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

The hogweed - it's got a ginger background flavour, so it's going

to be a little bit hot.

We've got a chilli emulsion, so basically a chilli mayonnaise.

A rose jam - going to be sweet, quite floral.

Magnolia, which is a flower when you ferment it,

so there should be a saltiness running through that.

You can't deny that her combination of ingredients are fascinating.

What is your next course?

A biodiverse surf and turf.

The surf element is scallops and cockles.

A bit more British.

The turf element is a lamb jus.

I've been on the Isle of Man for a long time, and lamb is

the main heritage thing there, and you've got to eat it

to keep it going, in my opinion.

So they're having a wood blewit, which is a mushroom pancake

with home-made seaweed butter.

It brings the land and the sea together,

but with weird ingredients.

So my cooking's really clearly influenced by nature.

So the starter is kind of fire and ice.

And then the main is earth and the sea.

Pippa's main course is a take on surf and turf.

We have cockles that are being cooked in pine.

I hope you can taste the woody flavours and aromatic

essence of pine.

The rich lamb sauce with scallop and cockles.

I've never had that before.

Does it work? Could it work?

I'm yet to be convinced.

I don't have any concerns with my dishes being lost

amongst the crowd.

They're definitely going to be weird, wacky, wonderful.

They'll definitely remember the dishes, but they are

very, very risky.

I am always excited when I sit at this table.

It means that good things are hopefully about to happen.

You get a lot of promises on these menus and they often

can't deliver them.

We don't want excuses, we're restaurant critics.

I'm not just looking for technical precision,

what I want is to be able to go back and say, "Wow, this chef

"really blew my mind today."

So here's to some magnificent food. Cheers.

Raise a glass to that. Cheers.

Evan, you've got about three minutes.

We've started plating, so you're under control?

Yeah.

Scallops and black pudding.

We are in familiar

or maybe even cliched territory.

Obviously, it goes without saying,

the scallops have got to be perfectly cooked.

Black garlic puree.

It's a lot softer.

Not so stringent as normal garlic.

I think there's a carrot overload.

Fermented carrots, carrot sauce.

It's either complete genius or absolute folly.

The dining room is ready for you.

So, you got this. Yeah.

Here you have pan-fried scallop with fermented carrots,

a carrot sauce and black garlic puree,

and some black pudding on there as well.

Cheers. Cheers, Evan. Thank you.

I must say, this is beautiful-looking.

I'll take it all back. It didn't read well.

It read like a cliche.

I think this dish is absolutely wonderful.

The scallops are perfectly cooked.

I love that black garlic puree.

Not too strong, not too strident.

For me, the highlight is the sauce.

It's just gorgeous.

Carroty, buttery, sweet,

well-seasoned sauce.

It's drinkable.

Evan can clearly cook.

The scallops are beautifully cooked.

The fermented carrot has a saltiness.

And then the surprise of black garlic underneath.

I'm loving this.

How was that? Yeah. Good. I think it was all perfect.

So we'll just find out and see.

15 minutes.

Let's make sure everything is hot.

Yep.

Evan's main is chicken.

Evan has not given us much to go on.

Is it going to be poached?

Is it going to be pan-fried?

What are we getting there?

Braised baby gem lettuce.

I do love a sweet, crisp, charred piece of baby gem lettuce.

Potato fondant.

Nobody wants a hard potato.

Green peppercorn sauce.

Now, that's quite a strong flavour.

You'd have that with steak, but you're putting it with chicken.

It just seems like two different menus.

That is looking delicious.

I hope it tastes as good as it looks.

Thank you. Are you happy?

Yeah. Very happy.

Full of confidence. Big smile. Well done, Evan. Well done.

Here you have your chicken with a potato fondant,

cooked baby gem, asparagus, and a green peppercorn sauce.

ALL: Thank you.

It was a bit nerve-racking going in there.

I think the plates of food looked really good and I'm sure

they taste really well,

the flavour combinations.

I'm quite proud of myself.

At this standard of cooking,

we shouldn't be getting a dry piece of chicken breast.

The lettuce is probably the best part.

And it's soft and it's sweet.

The asparagus was nicely cooked.

That fondant potato was pretty nice.

The green peppercorn sauce brings everything together, adds moisture,

which is much needed.

My chicken breast wasn't too dry,

actually. The lettuce is delicious.

It looks pretty.

There is a bit of technique, but I think

he should have been a bit more adventurous, Evan, on this one.

Beautifully cooked chicken on the crown.

Give me more of that sauce.

Lovely flavour of the peppercorns.

Not too strong, so it complements the chicken.

The beautifully braised gems, and then the fondant as it should be,

just melting through.

I'm impressed.

You've got five minutes left. Are we going to be all right? Yes, Chef.

What's left to do? This is my last job.

Is this for your tartare? Yes. OK. Let's go. Don't be late. Yes, Chef.

Dani's starter is sirloin beef tartare with beef-fat emulsion.

Beef-fat emulsion. Wonderful.

Add a bit more richness.

And coal oil.

What is the point of coal oil? You burn coal.

Why do you want a flavour of coal on your food?

Are you happy? Yes, Chef.

Caper and pickled walnut jam.

So that's kind of vinegary and spicy and funky.

And pickled walnuts.

And then crispy kale.

Right. You've got two minutes left. Yes, Chef.

Shaving a little bit of chocolate underneath.

That's the word I was looking for.

And then the kale and then a little bit more chocolate over the top.

I'm slightly concerned about shaved chocolate.

I worry that if Dani doesn't use that sparingly, that it could

just all topple over.

Is that the final touch? Yes, Chef.

Let's show them no fear.

Thank you.

It's a sirloin beef tartare

dressed in a coal oil with beef-fat emulsion,

topped with a caper and pickled walnut jam, some roasted celeriac,

crispy kale leaves and some shaved chocolate over the top.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Enjoy. Thank you.

The coal oil that I banged on about

actually works, it does give a sort of smoky... It's subtle.

I like the texture of the kale.

It's a really well-cut, beautifully made tartare.

What an absolutely amazing beef tartare.

It is rich and decadent.

I love the celeriac on the top.

I love the jammy bits.

I was sceptical about the chocolate.

I felt like maybe that was just someone trying to be clever,

but it totally works.

If this was a restaurant and this was on the menu,

I would go back again and again.

But I just love that beef-fat emulsion packed full of flavour.

And now the chocolate,

a little bit of bitterness - it's definitely unusual and it works.

I'm really enjoying this.

More nervous then than when I cooked for you.

15 minutes for main course.

Are you going to be on time?

I should be, yeah.

So Dani's main is brill.

A beautiful fish -

needs to be kind of really respected and looked after,

not overcooked.

Scallop alongside that, I love that idea of mixing seafood.

Roasted tomato sauce sounds delightful, but I'm worried

about the charred stem chutney.

There's something of The Good Life about that, isn't there?!

How's the cooking of the scallops?

Perfect, Chef, in my opinion, obviously.

Let's get going. Yes, Chef.

Are you happy? Yes, Chef.

OK. Off you go. Good.

Good luck. Thank you very much.

So, it's pan-fried brill with rainbow chard,

chard stemmed chutney.

And then we've got some peeled baby tomatoes on top

and elderflower vinegar reduction,

some scallops dressed in some scallop roe powder,

and a roasted tomato and fish bone sauce.

It was definitely crazier than I thought it was going to be.

I'm hoping that the critics are saying that,

obviously, it's delicious -

that's always your main aim.

I hope that they can see the passion and the work

that's gone into the dishes. So, yeah...fingers crossed.

This main...

..is outrageously good.

That fish.

She's cooked that flawlessly.

It's beautifully flaking and soft.

The sauce with those fish bones in it has richness,

but lightness and creaminess as well.

Wonderful scallops.

I love the powder that's on them.

Lovely, buttery, wilted chard, but still with crunch.

Covered in jam!

Hm!

This is one of the nicest plates, I think, that I've ever eaten.

This really is a dish of quiet majesty.

It is a world-class dish, that.

The fish is beautifully cooked, the sauce with the fish bones.

And that's really adding some delicious flavours.

I love the way she's used it, the chutney.

I think it's a delicious plate of food from Dani yet again.

Right, you have got 15 minutes, OK? Chef. 15 minutes to first plate.

I'm really excited about the ricotta agnolotti.

They need to have sort of a bit of robustness,

a bit of bite still,

but really delicately put together.

And then beurre blanc sauce.

Who puts beurre blanc sauce on pasta?

Genius.

You look like you're feeling the pressure of the critics' round.

Chef, big time.

If George can pull it off

and get those details right,

I think it'll be a really impressive starter.

They're ready for you, George. Are you happy with your plates?

I'm ready now, Chef. Off you go. Chef.

For yourself. Thank you.

I've got herb-filled ricotta agnolotti, a beurre blanc sauce,

crispy sage, some wilted spinach

and then finished with a little rocket salad,

a little bit of Parmesan over the top

and some lemon zest as well to finish.

Enjoy, guys. Thanks, George.

It looks divine.

It's just comfort food.

With bells on.

I love thin pasta, but also retaining its bite.

The filling is like a herbal breath of spring air.

It's really, really creamy and gorgeous.

It is home-made pasta in an emulsified sauce

and very, very fine, it is, too.

Beautiful butter sauce.

Agnolotti deliciously made.

The light, delicious, zingy filling of the cheese as well.

The pasta filling - got the hits of dill and nasturtium

running through it.

It is delicious.

Very skilful from George here.

15 minutes. Good luck. Chef.

George's main is Moroccan spiced quail.

I love quail when it's cooked well.

Obviously, it's a small bird, you need to treat it carefully.

Yeah, I'm happy, I'm happy.

It can just so easily be dry and a bit of a disappointment.

Crispy fried quail leg.

Ras el hanout carrot puree.

That needs to be silky soft.

Really deeply spiced and with a flowing heat.

And then a quail and raisin sauce.

I want it to be rich, I want that sweetness

to counteract everything else.

I hope it is an absolute cracker.

Off you go.

For your main course, guys, I've got Moroccan spiced quail.

You've got the breast and the leg on there.

You've got ras el hanout carrot puree, some glazed carrots,

and then you've got a sauce finished with some golden raisins

soaked in Madeira and sherry vinegar.

Thank you. Thank you, guys. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you. Thanks, George.

That cook in there, that time,

chaos would be the right word to describe what that was.

The cook on the quail is luscious and tender.

It hasn't dried out.

Same with the breaded quail legs.

They've got real succulence to them.

The quail breast and these little legs -

I wish there was a bit more spice in there.

I love the gravy.

I love the raisins at the bottom of it.

And that pureed carrot,

I think that was my favourite part.

I love that colour. I want to paint a room in my house that colour.

Everything is cooked beautifully.

There's some good flavours there, but ramp it up a bit.

Don't worry about us, we like spice.

And this is just a little bit too polite.

Where is the ras el hanout?

I think George sort of held back from adding as much

of that as possible.

It's not singing through the puree

and I can't taste any spices through the quail.

15 minutes.

SHE SPLUTTERS

Right-oh.

Pippa's starter is carrot in hogweed,

dog rose jam, fermented magnolias.

I love it when people come

proffering things I've never even heard of.

Dog rose are those wild roses, aren't they?

Hogweed is a deadly poisonous plant.

But like nettles, I'm sure when you cook it...

I hope we won't get blisters.

The thing that I'm really locking in on is that chilli emulsion.

And the idea that she's called it firecrackers carrot.

I'm hoping for a real hit of heat,

contrasting with quite earthy,

foraged and fermented flavours.

That could be pretty exciting.

Erm, and I just need to put one more herb on, please,

and then we can go. OK. Is that OK?

Is everything done? OK.

All right. Off you go. Thank you.

- Thank you very much. - There we go.

You have carrot cooked in hogweed seed, cucumbers, magnolias

that are fermented, and there's a quite spicy chilli emulsion

balanced with a wild rose jam and foraged herbs.

Thank you. Enjoy. Cheers.

I'm not quite sure what to say.

This is a very rare thing.

It's something unlike anything I've had before.

But, actually, you want to eat it, the carrot is still there,

it's got a freshness, a sharpness.

Chilli...

I love the little scoops of cucumber.

I love the fact that they keep giving you respite when everything's

a little bit weird.

Fairy tale food.

The flavours that she's playing with are unfamiliar.

But you do get that real rush of heat from the chilli emulsion.

You get the floral sweetness

of the dog rose jam,

but it did feel slightly like a garnish.

It did feel like, where's the heart of it?

What are we focusing in on here?

The dish is meant to be about carrots and the carrot is lost

somewhere underneath this.

I wish she just brought a few of these weird ingredients

to then highlight the carrot.

There's no centrepiece to work around.

Now, I know where Pippa's going with this dish,

but I think less is more.

Oh, Pippa!

Are you running back because you just want to get

away from them? I've got a lot... Or you've got a lot to do? A lot to do.

Pippa's main - biodiverse surf and turf.

Scallops and cockles cooked in pine.

The scallops have to have colouring about them and still be delicious.

Cockles can be a bit terrifying.

Cooked in pine.

It's a very aggressive taste.

A wood blewit, and sea herb pancake.

And a lamb and wild garlic caper sauce.

Wow.

You've got a very, very seafoody dish.

And suddenly along comes a big old lamb gravy.

Will it also feel enough like a surf and turf?

Ready? Oui. All right. Good luck, Pippa. Thank you. Off you go.

You've got biodiverse surf and turf.

Scallops, cockles.

There's morels.

The pancake is a wood blewit mushroom.

Different seaweeds on the butter on top, and then the sauce

is a lamb gravy.

Thank you.

Ah! Where's the wine?

It's very surreal.

Just meet the critics...

And I just feel really grateful for the opportunity, I guess.

Scallops beautifully cooked.

The cockles cooked in pine -

pine is quite a strident, bullying taste.

And I didn't actually taste that.

I really enjoyed the herb pancake.

It's quite unusual.

It was of a piece with her foraged ideas around food.

Really delicious gravy. Mm.

If we were having Sunday lunch,

you'd be worried this was going to run out.

But in this case, it's kind of peculiar.

Do I like it?

Not really.

But do I think she can cook? Yes.

I'm a Northerner, and I love a sauce.

It's too rich.

It does not work.

The one thing I am enjoying is the seaweed butter

on that little mushroom cake - that I like.

Cooking for our critics is never easy.

I thought the chefs did a great job.

Some fantastic ideas on show today.

And now the difficult part.

One of these chefs has got to leave us.

For me, Dani hit all the right notes on both her dishes.

Who would have thought that dark, bitter chocolate would work

on a tartare. And her main course, brill.

Beautifully cooked. Looked good. Tasted good too.

Absolutely. So Dani's through to knockout week.

I agree. Yeah.

Evan cooked well. He did. He kept it simple.

And the starter - the scallop was cooked perfectly,

still retaining its beautiful sweetness.

Our critics felt his chicken was slightly dry.

I thought it was absolutely delicious and that lovely green

peppercorn sauce all over it.

Really enjoyed his food today.

So it sounds like Evan's done enough to get through.

I think he has.

Now that just leaves Pippa and George to discuss.

George, a starter - the agnolotti with the ricotta -

I thought this was a delicious, delicious first course from George.

The critics loved it as much as we did.

His main course didn't have the same impact.

The ras el hanout spice -

it was slightly underwhelming.

Pippa is really bringing a point of difference to our kitchen.

Her first course was firecracker carrot.

The dish had no substance.

It was just little bits of things all together, looking pretty.

It just did not make any sense.

Pippa's main course of scallops with a lamb gravy.

Scallops beautifully cooked, but lamb sauce - whoo...

I've not tasted anything quite as big and bold as that.

It just didn't work with the dish, unfortunately.

If I go home today, I would definitely be disappointed

because I do have a lot more to say.

I just feel really hungry to, to keep going.

I've put so many hours into this competition already.

It takes over your life and, yeah, to go out now, I just, it's just...

It can't be an option.

I'll be heartbroken.

Chefs, we're both very proud of what you delivered today.

Great flavours.

And that's what we wanted.

Sadly, we have to lose one of you.

We can only take through the strongest chefs

to knockout week.

The chef leaving the competition is...

..Pippa.

Pippa, thank you. Thank you.

You've brought some fabulous stories into the MasterChef kitchen.

Please, you stay on that journey.

Yeah. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Thanks. Take care. Cheers.

I feel OK.

Definitely understand, as well that, like, my food,

it isn't for everyone.

And I like that.

Congratulations. You three are through to knockout week.

Well done. Thank you.

Congratulations to each other. Get in!

What a day.

What a day, indeed.

Wow.

I'm so proud of myself for getting through to this round.

Yeah. I need to smash it.

I need to really smash it.

I pushed myself today, but there's definitely more running I can do.

So, yeah, I'm going to give it my best shot.

Going further and further in the competition,

confidence levels are going up.

Bring on the knockout week!

Well done.

Well done.

Beers. Beers, beers, beers!

Next time,

four new hopefuls...

Hello, Gregg!

Oh, hello!

..fight for their place...

Sauce. Sauce or something?

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

..in the quarterfinal.

There's some of you here that are really, I think,

up against it.

The cooking of it is beautiful. Beautiful.

You had me at coconut.