More Masterchef info at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006t1k5Picture: Semi-finalists. L to R, Alex, Stacie, Nargis, Terry, Tim and Dhruv.
First up, let’s meet the Semi-finalists:
Stacie, 27
PA, NE girl and 60s fan is appropriately shown rocking up on a scooter. She says she has a niche as a regional British cook and that she has to beat the others, she wants to win.
Terry, 22
With his quirky slightly unkempt appearance Terry looks like the next Doctor Who. Terry is unemployed, a fact which is causing him to have a lot riding on the competition, which he sees as his chance to ‘Do something’.
Dhruv, 33
Sales Director and family man Dhruv says this means the world and that he is quietly confident but it will get tough. He has to get better to keep John and Gregg pleased. His wife Aileen is proud of him.
Tim, 36
Poor children’s doctor Tim somehow manages to look like he is in constant pain. He admits that the pressure is on.
Nargis, 29
Physiotherapist and ultra competitive with a talent for making puddings. Nargis says that Masterchef has already changed her life and she is very close to her dream of a restaurant.
Alex, 26
Freelance writer Alex is smiley and looks rather cherubic with a shock of blonde curly hair. He lists a family history of affinity with food- his great grandmother was a chef and his great uncle on his dad’s side a jam maker. His girlfriend Charlotte is supporting him.
The first of the semi-finals is screened Wednesday the 31st. The finalist start the show assembled around a table in, apparently, a big white house? Are they going further down the reality route and having them live together?
The first challenge for our six is cooking at Denman College for a culinary institution, the Women’s Institute (WI). Gregg and John, decked out in country casuals (I suspect John is actually wearing a cardigan?!) meet and greet them, and announce that they will be doing lunch for 20 of the WI’s board and trustees. For the three courses they are split into teams, Nargis with Tim on starter, Alex and Terry the main, and Stacie and Dhruv pudding.
Gregg tells Nargis and Tim he thinks they have the hardest task. Their dish is a twice baked cheese soufflé with two types of chutney, salad and pumpkin bread. Tim agrees and Nargis reveals that she is the leader as she is ‘good at bossing people about.’ The main is salmon and haddock fish cakes on warm beetroot and honeyed walnut salad with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce. Alex has already identified that there are lots of elements and the narrator India Fisher claims that the dish will require military precision to pull off successfully. Terry is on the salad and rather anxiously says he has never cooked for 20 before. Alex is prepping potatoes. Gregg, hands in pockets, saunters over to ask who’s in charge. He has a frown when told that neither of them is.
Stacie and Dhruv on the pud are making Claret Jelly with blackberry fool and ginger thins, Bakewell tart and Victoria sponge. Dhruv is a little worried but pleased that he will be challenged as puddings are his weakness. Stacie is very happy to be taking on some British classics. Somehow John has beaten off Gregg with a stick and approaches to ask what they are doing. They claim there is no boss between them but Stacie does appear to be barking out most of the orders.
Speaking clock Gregg is soon getting antsy as time moves on and he tells them they’ve had an hour. For the starter the bread is ready to bake and the chutney has just been started. Nargis’ mascara is all over her face as she is chopping some very strong onions. Voice of impending doom John says they must push as there is only an hour left. They switch to the soufflé.
On the main Alex and Terry are behind with their fish cakes. The salmon and Haddock are poached but the rest of the filling is still being made. John’s eyebrows leap into his hair when he sees only one small bowl of potato. He makes an example fish cake to show they don’t have enough. Alex gets on with more potatoes but in the confusion the walnuts have burned. With no time to remedy the charred mess which ‘looks like poo but taste OK’ according to Alex they will have to do. Gregg is asking Terry what is left to do while Terry tries hard to ignore him before admitting he hasn’t a clue. Terry then bolts off leaving Gregg staring pointedly at his watch. He tells John they are struggling. John says someone should be in control.
On desserts the jellies hit the fridge but the Bakewell tarts and Victoria sponge are still on the to-do list. Gregg continues to look at his watch and although Dhruv and Stacie say they are in control he is frantic that nothing is in the oven.
The WI members arrive upstairs. Somehow this task lacks the terror of cooking for Michelin starred chefs. Aga experts and chutney specialists don’t inspire the same sense of foreboding! They take their seats as the once baked soufflés are turned out, cheese and cream added, and returned to the oven.
John now also starts looking at his watch and shouts 'Go go'! Terry rushes over to see if he should help with the starter, but John immediately quashes his one for all and all for one approach by saying forget helping, he has to do his own course. Nargis puts out the salad and snaps at Tim as they plate up. Later she apologises and they hug and make up. Out it goes. The recipients of the meal say it’s delicious, gorgeous, but for some, the chutney is too strong and overpowers the soufflé.
Alex and Terry are next and John is already doing his white rabbit impression ‘You’re late, you’re late!’ They are going to be ten minutes behind. John tells them they must tell something and Alex sends word to the dining room. As they flap about Gregg is rubbing his head and John’s eyes look they are about to pop out of his head. Gregg concludes they have lost it and tells John he may need to help. John looks like has no intention of getting his hands dirty, but tries to hype the pair up over being late, as Alex works equally hard to calm Terry down. He does seem to have the highly strung temperament of a racehorse. After the last dish actually leaves the kitchen John leaps on them; ‘Do you think that’s good enough?’ When they say no he walks away from them saying ‘It’s not good enough, it’s not.” Oh dear, hopefully things are better upstairs. Sadly not- in the dining room the guests think the presentation is not up to scratch and some are missing walnuts while others point out that they are burned. Not entirely successful. Terry is unhappy with what they sent out and Alex says it was woeful but could have been worse, although if he heard that John would probably say ‘how?’
On desserts the jellies have set but Stacie says they would both be in it if the others weren’t late. The tarts are cooked. John looks unconvinced by their estimate of being ready about quarter past two. On seeing Stacie’s enormous Victoria sponge he also looks close to tears. Gregg comments that the cake is huge; if Gregg thinks a pudding is too big, it really must be. He asks how they will serve it. Stacie is threatening it with a large knife without being quite convinced enough to plunge in. Gregg resumes rubbing his skull. Both he and John stare at the enormous slices of Victoria sponge Stacie has finally cut in unconcealed horror. Stacie breezily calls it a ‘Mackem’ (Sunderland/North East) size portion and that they certainly won’t be hungry. She thought she did ok but needs to get more refined and Dhruv doubts anyone will want seconds. Off it goes. In the dining room the guests look slightly intimidated. ‘Ridiculous’, one says, ‘can I take some home in my napkin?’ It is though, very nice being light and fluffy, the Jelly lovely, Bakewell tart excellent. Great overall though sponge cage ‘huge’.
The cooks get a round of applause from the diners, but John thinks they struggled and most of the contestants are not too happy at how they did either. Gregg says they faced serious pressure and now are cooking for their competition place back in the kitchen.
Last time Matt and Mitra fell at the first hurdle. Now the remaining five all get a whole chicken to cook as they choose and show they can overcome their faults. John tells them to elevate the humble chicken to the most beautiful dish they have yet cooked in the competition, and announces the start of ‘the great chicken test’. They have one hour and 20 mins.
Tim is making chicken roulade with saffron potatoes and a sauce of pine nuts and walnuts with truffle honey. His description of the dish as arousing scares Gregg a little but seems to please John. A beehived Stacie is cooking poached chicken in a brandy cream sauce with girolles and broad beans ‘flashed’ through it. John thinks it sounds more refined than the judges expected. Terry says he would like to develop a more controlled cooking technique. He is stuffing chicken breasts with penny bun mushrooms and shallots, making a little pie and doing leeks with a Marsala sauce. Gregg is quick to remind him that his rabbit four-ways went badly, just to boost his confidence (!) and John tells him to stop as he has something to say to him. John says that he has a natural gift but needs to calm down and take his time to do himself justice.
Speaking clock Gregg tells all that they have had 40 minutes and are halfway. The judges ask Alex if he is happy to be back cooking alone (bit rude, hope Terry didn’t hear!), he replies with a polite smile that the episode taught him a lot. Alex is going to roast his breast off and serve with Porcini and Thyme risotto. Dhruv, in an attempt to show something different is not cooking with spices; he is doing ballottine of chicken stuffed with pork belly, tarragon and lemon zest with mashed potato, chanterelle mushrooms and cabbage with chestnuts and bacon. He says he’s left out the spicing to ensure the chicken is the star. Gregg and John discuss that he has made Spanish, Indian, and now classic French- they are prepared to be impressed if he gets it right.
As the clock continues to tick John wanders over to Dhruv’s bench and tells him the mash is no good, is lumpy. Dhruv begins to act. A salivating Gregg cries that the kitchen smells fantastic.
Nargis, according to John, looks tense. She is doing Thai Green chicken curry. John asks if it will be good enough. Nargis assures him the flavours are amazing, but John tells Gregg the curry will be fantastic or really boring. Gregg calls out that they only have six minutes- then ‘stop, stop!’- their time is up.
Tim is first with his chicken roulade with saffron potatoes and a sauce of pine nuts and walnuts with truffle honey. John says roulade is cooked perfectly; the flavour of the mushroom truffle and honey is a surprise. He likes it, some would find it weird. Gregg likes the texture of moist chicken and the flavour of the sauce is nice but different. Nothing he dislikes but he is not luxuriating in it as he has before with Tim’s dishes.
Nargis’ Thai chicken curry with rice is next. John says the taste is fantastic with thick sweetness, heat from chilli, salty from the sauce, sour from the lime, is very good. Gregg says she has front but it is very good.
Alex’s chicken breast with Porcini and Thyme risotto is a good looking dish according to John. He likes the rich sauce with the hint of Thyme, the perfectly roasted chicken with crispy skin and overall it’s delicious. Gregg gets very excited; hmmm, yeah, that’s lovely, and probably should get a room with the dish. He says the rice is perfect, the chicken moist, it’s great.
Terry’s stuffed chicken breasts with penny bun mushrooms and shallots, pie and leeks with a Marsala sauce follows Alex. Greggs says there are big pluses and minuses. Loves the chicken and the sauce, needs more seasoning in potato, chicken in pie is a bit hard. John is pleased he got it all on the plate, chicken is beautifully cooked with mushrooms and sweet sauce, but pie is chewy and hard. He says Terry knows he has a gift but must learn when to leave alone.
They move onto Stacie’s poached chicken in a brandy cream sauce with girolles and broad beans. Gregg says it looks beautiful and professional. The meat is beautiful, seasoned chicken, but he doesn’t like the sauce. John thinks the poached chicken is lovely and soft, the apples work but are risky and the sauce is a bit powerful for the subtle chicken. It’s also not thick enough.
Finally Dhruv is disappointed in his ballottine of chicken stuffed with pork belly, tarragon and lemon zest, served with mashed potato, chanterelle mushrooms and cabbage with chestnuts and bacon. Gregg thinks it looks good, the chicken is soft, meaty, but there’s too much salt in the cabbage. John thinks the dish works well, but the potato is lumpy, could be improved but is pretty good overall. They think he is giving himself a really hard time as they don’t hate it as much as he does. Dhruv looks boot-faced. He feels the judges have to love the dishes at this stage.
Gregg and John have their chat. They feel Alex did well, Tim took a risk which John liked more than Gregg, Nargis’ dish tasted great but Gregg wonders if she did enough, Stacie’s chicken was good although Gregg hated the sauce, Terry aimed high but his pie let him down and they think he’s taking too much on, and Dhruv sets himself very high standards.
They know they must be brutal. In the end, they eliminate Terry. Terry is distraught and walks straight out throwing down his apron, he is practically in tears outside as he felt he could win. John wraps up unnecessarily by saying that leaves five of them.
The story continues on Thursday the 1st of April. The five semi finalists are thrown a lifeline- each has weaknesses and strengths. Today they are sent to restaurants for master classes that will help to work on their weaknesses. They have one chance to show they can overcome them.
First up, Nargis. Her dishes make the judges smile but her big bowls of food are not going to get much further, she must gain some technical ability. She has been sent to El Pirata De Tapas, a restaurant where they serve complex, elegant plates. She meets head chef Omar Allibhoy, who seems like a nice chap rather than a megalomaniac. Nargis is taught the wood pigeon tapas, including making a roulade. The chef is encouraging and Nargis manages to make the dish. Her confidence is rising and she admits the chef is hot!
Alex is a gifted modern cook making elegant and complicated food, but his flavours can be a little too subtle. He goes to Thai restaurant Yum Yum where they do flavoursome food. The chef Arique Choudhury explains the important of balancing flavours. Alex is put to work on the Papaya salad, which has 12 ingredients. Alex must rely on his palate to get the right combination. He thinks it will be hard. The chef is politely shouting for his salad, and Alex struggles, first not enough Chilli, then not enough lime. Alex understands the need to keep tasting and eventually gets it just right.
Stacie delivers big bold flavours but piles plates big and high, she needs to learn refinement, something she admits herself. She is sent to One O One, a fine dining restaurant. The chef, Pascal Proyart will show her the signature dish of halibut. He shows how carefully designed it is and sketches it for her on a plate. She has a go and the chef is pleased. She did well.
Dhruv has plenty of ability but the basics can let him down. He goes to Belgo Centraal to learn attention to detail. The restaurant specialises in Belgian Cuisine. He works with Chef Muir Picken on the traditional Waterzooi, focusing on little elements like not overcooking the chicken and monitoring the flavours. Every element must be right. At the end the chef feels Dhruv handled himself well and Dhruv feels positive.
Tim is a serious cook, skilled and able to use complex techniques, needs to learn that dishes don’t always need to be technical, beautiful food can be simple. He visits Marco Pierre White’s Italian restaurant Luciano’s. Chef Marco Corsica teaches him the Spaghetti Lobster dish, which only has a few ingredients. He uses everything in the lobster to get the flavour. Tim is surprised as he thought professional kitchens had to be more complicated. It’s not necessary to fiddle, fiddle, fiddle, it’s like an epiphany!
The contestants go back to Masterchef HQ to prove they deserve to stay in the competition. They are all given a set of ingredients to use to create a dish; 8 types of fish and meat, and a range of fruits, vegetables and herbs. John has taken over as speaking clock and is barking out the countdown. Greg gives the final three minute warning.
Alex has made Thai red prawn and aubergine curry and rice. It must be packed with flavour. Gregg sadly tells him the aubergine is not cooked enough and Alex grimaces. But he says it’s very good and prawns are well cooked. John thinks it’s sweet, sour, salty and hot, the four notes needed from Thai food. He agrees Aubergines are not cooked and tells Alex to taste his whole dish more often.
Stacie has made red mullet, braised baby fennel, red pepper puree, pea puree and onion and pepper sauce. John tells her her fish is beautifully cooked, but he can only taste the fish, onion and pepper. Gregg thinks the sauces are cancelling each other out.
Tim’s dish is pan fried red mullet with ratatouille. John thinks it tastes great, the fish perfect and the ratatouille sweet. It’s uncomplicated but delivers. Gregg thinks it’s lovely. Tim found it freeing not be frying, rolling, poaching etc. and enjoyed not having the constraints of fussiness.
Dhruv offers red mullet, prawns, lentils, parsnip and hazelnut puree. John thinks it’s all cooked beautifully and well seasoned, but parsnip with fish and prawn doesn’t work. Gregg doesn’t like it.
Nargis has cooked red mullet with caramelised hazelnuts on braised cabbage with onion puree and tomato dill sauce. John likes the tomato sauce but the fish is over cooked, the cabbage over cooked and the hazelnuts don’t work. Gregg only asks why the hazelnuts are there! Nargis admits she went overboard.
John and Gregg have a discussion. They then eliminate Nargis. Dhruv breathes a huge sigh of relief. Nargis says in her heart she knew it would be her. She goes outside crying and says she is deflated and devastated.
The remaining four are thrilled. Dhruv thought he was going to be the one who was out. They are now going to be cooking at The Tower of London.
John and Gregg looking gangsterish in dark suits, meet them there. They warn them that the place has a reputation for excellent food. The contestants are cooking their own food for 12 people. They have no chef with them. They have four hours to prepare a banquet for the chairman of the Historic Royal Palaces Charity and 11 of its biggest supporters. The main problem with cooking in a 1,000 year old palace is that they cook at one side and the dining room is at the other, up and down some flights of steps. They must carry the food in a trolley, which John introduces them to.
Tim is doing the starter of celeriac soup with pan-fried curried scallops and homemade wholemeal rolls. John emphasises that as the starter he must be on time. Tim worries about how long to cook the scallops before transporting them across the courtyard. Stacie does the fish course of Dover sole with pea and broad bean stew, breaded quail’s egg and tartare sauce. She must fillet fish, peel eggs and make mayonnaise, among other things. Gregg is worried she has loads of components to complete.
Alex’s main is braised pig cheeks with mashed potatoes, spinach and hawthorn berry sauce topped with deep-fried pig’s ear. Gregg worries what the guests will make of it. Dhruv is making the dessert of layered strawberry and champagne jelly with clotted cream ice cream, whipped cream and Grand Marnier, and shortbread biscuits. John laughs at the thought of him trying to get that safely over the courtyard- he is expecting trifle!
As time presses on John tells them that at least two of them should come and see where they will be serving. Alex and Tim go to look. John says that one person dragging the trolley over won’t work, there will need to be two of them. He shows them the 20 minute trip from kitchen to dining room. The food must be sealed into containers to prevent spillage.
At 6.30 the guests come and John tells them there are 30 minutes to go. Tim knows the scallops will keep cooking as he transports them so he will slightly undercook them. Alex is meant to be Tim’s back up but he’s hit trouble as he does not have enough mashed potato. He’s sent out for more potatoes but still has to prep them. Dhruv steps up to do the newly arrived potatoes while Alex and Tim guide the starter in a trolley over the cobblestones. They arrive panting, at which point the maitre’d points out that there are rolls but no butter. Tim forgot it, and must run back and fetch it. He plates up just in time.
The guests think the dish is excellent, though the scallops could be more tender, and the consistency is a bit thick, more like a broth. They all enjoy it though.
Stacie is still deep frying breaded quail’s eggs, but her tartare sauce is nearly ready. The fish will continue to cook in the trolley so Stacie is undercooking it. Dhruv, lining up to help transport the food discovers that the hot box is broken and they will need to wrap the whole thing in cling film. They are worried about how long it will take to unwrap it at the other end and how much more the fish will cook. John begins to wave his hands and pace, so they pack up and leave. They appear to be lost, but manage to find their way to the dining room. Thankfully all the food including the sauce survived the journey intact. Stacie plates up very fast- Gregg is impressed.
The guests feel the dish is well presented, the tomato sauce is good and they would have liked another quail’s egg. The fish was perfect, a superb course overall.
Alex is up with his main. The potato crisis is behind him and Tim comes to help. Alex worries that the pig’s ears will go soggy if they are not served immediately after frying, so he asks Dhruv to start frying them a few minutes after he is gone with the rest of the food. Dhruv steps up and Alex and Tim make a second trip over the courtyard. Alex starts plating on arrival while Tim runs back yet again and collects the fried pig’s ear. Once all together the plates go out.
The guests enjoy the cheek sauce and spinach. Several did not like the ear as gristly and one would probably have eaten it if they had not known it was an ear!
Dhruv goes in to complete the meal. He and Stacie head over and start plating. The jellies won’t come out of their moulds so Stacie tells him to warm them with his hands to cook them a little. Tim appears and all three start cupping jelly moulds. Finally they begin to drop out. The guests love the shortbread, the jelly is exceptional and the ice-cream some of the best they have had.
All the chefs get a round of applause from the diners at the close of service. Gregg is proud of them and feels it will be hard to separate them from a judging point of view.
The week’s final episode is broadcast on Friday the 2nd of April. Tim, Alex, Dhruv and Stacie will be cooking for 3 food critics. They will present their own two courses to some of the most fastidious and ferocious critics in the country, and at the end, one will go home. They all have an hour and 30 minutes to cook in. The critics will be critiquing the food as if it were cooked by professionals.
Alex, who would like to have a little restaurant, is making roasted lamb rump with lamb sweetbreads, spiced cous cous and glazed carrots, followed by chocolate pots with coffee espume and vanilla shortbread. He admits he is feeling the pressure. The judges say the food must taste as good as it looks. Stacie wants to show the critics that home cooking can be restaurant standard and give the critics a taste of the North East. She is serving pork on a bean stew. The dessert will be Gin and Tonic jelly with lemon sorbet, white chocolate mousse and a biscuit. Gregg is worried about her presentation. Dhruv dreams of a restaurant for his family. He is making pan fried scallops on a puree of pistachio and spiced apple, and duck with parsnip puree. John says he needs the apple’s sweet and sourness to be right for the scallop. Tim would be devastated to go home. He is doing Pork tenderloin and confit potato with apples cooked in calvados and green beans. Then he is making a bitter almond and lemon cream with amaretti biscuits. He admits it is not as technical as he has done in the past, is more about the ingredients. John is concerned that the critics will have had Tim’s meal a thousand times and he does not know what will make his special.
The critics are Kate Spicer, a lifestyle journalist who writes for the Times and the Evening Standard. She says she expects restaurant standard food and is brutal when judging. She is joined by Charles Campion, AKA Peter Griffin from Family Guy, a food critic for the London Evening Standard, who likes it simple and can be irritated by fussy presentation, and Jay Rayner, a restaurant critic for The Observer, who is expecting serious skill.
Alex is first. John gives him the three minute warning, but he is plating fast. The first course of the lamb goes out. Charles smells it first, and then says it’s nicely cooked, the cous cous is excellent, but the date puree is a little too sweet. Jay likes the date puree but feels the sweetbreads are underdone. Kate agrees, she like sweetbreads, but the way they have been served she feels they look like what they are; entrails.
John and Gregg have their taste in the kitchen, and John says; ‘His food has flavour! Yippee!’ Result there then!
John tells Alex he has nine minutes to go, but Alex will be ready on time with his chocolate pots. Gregg has his taste and likes the flavour, but points out they are not firm underneath. Charles likes it, says is very nice. Kate says it has a lovely creamy flavour she did not expect. Jay comments that if they are looking for a combination of technique and good taste, that they have it in this dessert, it shows lots of skill. Charles calls it delicious and points out he has eaten the lot.
Alex, his task over, goes through the back. He says he is knackered and has no idea how he’s done.
Meanwhile attention switches to Stacie. Gregg is asking what’s left to do. She tells him and admits she is running four minutes late. She is soon plating up her pork loin and it goes out.
Jay immediately cries ‘Where’s my five year old? It’s a smiley face on a plate!’ Kate says it’s ludicrous. Jay adds that putting outside the plating up it lacks a kind of liquor to get the dish moving, and it might work with that. Kate thinks the combination of ingredients is good.
John is counting Stacie down on her pudding. There is a slight Jelly issue when it won’t come out at first, but she recovers from that, only to discover that her white chocolate mousse is not set. It must go out anyway.
Kate has one taste and cries ‘oh god, the jelly!’ she says pure gin isn’t fun at the best of times, and that if you could take out some of the gin and put tonic in it would be quite nice. Jay is gurning as he struggles through the bitter jelly and says the redeeming feature of the dessert is the lemon sorbet which takes the flavour of everything else away. Charles thinks that it’s one of the least attractively textured puddings he’s ever come across. In his tasting, John says he can’t taste the white chocolate mousse and does not want to; saying the idea of someone pouring cream in his gin and tonic is urgh! Stacie admits it was a disaster and she is gutted.
Dhruv is plating his scallops and tells John he is losing confidence, but he seems to be on time. The scallops head out. Kate thinks the plate looks beautiful and she loves the pistachio colour. Jay says he has not dishonoured the scallops and Charles thinks that the scallops with the pistachio and apple puree would have been enough. The chef has tried too hard, but done well. The only thing Kate did not like was the texture of the puree; it was a well balanced dish. John and Gregg have a taste and John says that it is perfectly cooked and seasoned. Gregg would happily eat the lot. Back in his kitchen Dhruv has found the odd feather still in his duck and is trying to decide whether to take the skin off altogether. He starts to get flustered but John calms him down. The braised duck goes to the critics. Jay finds the duck flavoursome and tender. Charles thinks the nicest thing Dhruv has done is the crunchy, irony greens in a little liquor. Jay suddenly announces that the dish was tasty until he got to the puree and Charles agrees saying that it has a ring of coconut pudding to it. Kate is mystified, she says the chef has a balanced flavours well in the essential parts of the dish and clearly has a good palate, how could he have made such a mistake with the puree? Unphased, John and Gregg adore it, John saying it looks lovely and eats better than it looks.
Tim is last and thinks everything is going to plan. He serves his pork, with confit potato topped with apples from his garden. Kate thinks using his own apples is exciting. Jay says that the pork is accurately cooked, the sauce is quite nice, but he is not in love with the dish. Charles is unimpressed with the confit potato, saying it just looks like a funny shaped roast potato. Jay feels the dish has been cooked by someone who is trying not to take risks, and Charles agrees that it is too straightforward. Tim has his dessert plated in plenty of time and John wonders if he has done enough. Tim just thinks he got a lot done in the time. The Tiramisu style bitter almond and Lemon pudding goes out. Charles starts but immediately says he will not be able to finish as it screams sweetness and solidity. Jay thinks it leans towards being a trifle without the bells and whistles, and Kate comments that it displays a lot of the same qualities as his main; safe and monotonous. Gregg and John try it. Gregg says it is just a bowl of cream flavoured with booze at the end of the day.
John and Gregg discuss the competitors. Dhruv had the best food today, got himself flustered but pulled himself together. Alex proved he could do flavoursome food, the chocolate pots were a great idea with a fantastic flavour but didn’t set. Tim didn’t serve up the best food he has in the competition. He had no real issues but they wonder if he really went for it. He didn’t do anything new or exciting and the lemon cream with biscuits demonstrated nothing in terms of skill. Stacie had a disappointing day. It was brave to do pork, black pudding and beans for the critics and the dish was flavoursome but the meat a bit hard. The dish may have been too big and heavy and the dessert just did not work. They do note that she put in a lot of work, and suggest she tried very hard, perhaps too hard.
The judges call the semi-finalists in to give their verdict. Gregg tells them they should all be proud and that the decision was difficult as they had all been phenomenal at times.
First finalist is Alex, who walks to the other side of the room and starts opening and shutting his mouth like a stranded fish. He is joined by Dhruv, and finally, by Tim.
Stacie takes her elimination very well and tells camera that she knows she messed up. She is gutted but won’t give up.
The final three get to smile, relax a little, and drink some champagne with John and Gregg.
Week commencing 5th of April the champion will be crowned!
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