MasterChef: The Professionals 2018 – Knockout Week Three

Masterchef presenter Gregg Wallace, Chef Monica Galetii and two-michelin-starred Marcus Wareing have come together yet again to find the Uk’s finest culinary dining skills.

Knockout week continues and the second group of chefs face two intense challenges set by Monica and Marcus. The professionals must show they can work together as a team to create a three-course fine dining menu at one of London’s most prestigious addresses, The Royal College of Physicians. The chefs have two and a half hours to design and cook three exceptional courses for the president Professor Dame Jane Dacre and her five VIP guests.

Let’s see how the chefs got in episode 15..

Dean & Luke are getting stuck into their sea bream prep for the starter.

Luke is in charge of the veg garnish while Dean fillets the bream.

Signature Dish: Confit sea bream topped with anchovy  mayonnaise and paprika and chilli spiced croutons, served with pickled artichoke, heritage tomatoes, beetroot puree and a medicine bottle filled with vanilla and tomato consommé and dill oil.

Professor Dame Jane & VIP guests loved the ‘rainbow colours‘ and were worried about the spices from croutons ‘overpowering the rest of the dish‘, but were pleasantly surprised that they ‘complimented‘ the other flavours. They were slightly confused with the consommé as it was a ‘knife and fork dish‘ but overall said it was a ‘successful experiment‘.

Marcus knew the skin wasn’t going to be crispy, but was happy with the ‘light, delicate and Mediterranean‘ feel about the dish.

Monica was upset she couldn’t taste the anchovy and vanilla within the dish.

Over on the main Elisabeth & Laurence have a more elaborate plan to showcase their Lamb.

As well as using the sweetbreads and tongue, Laurence is tasked with removing the loin and racks ready for pan-roasting before service. The dish also has more than 5 garnishes.

Signature Dish: Black garlic glazed lamb rack, lamb sweetbreads, tongue croquette and carpaccio, white bean pureé, fricassée of beans, sun-dried tomatoes and peas, confit carrot and braised gem lettuce served with a lamb jus.

Professor Dame Jane & VIP guests thought it all looked ‘yummy‘ with a rack of lamb that was ‘perfectly cooked‘ to the right shade of pink. Enjoyed the herbs within the Lab but struggled to find the taste from the black garlic, and maybe thought it was ‘too much protein and not enough vegetables‘.

Monica went on to the list all the perfectly cooked ingredients on the plate but thought there was ‘a lot of lamb on the plate‘ and ‘possibly too much‘

Marcus enjoyed the cooking of the ‘crispy sweetbread‘ and the ‘tongue two ways‘.

Sean been left to his own devices on Desserts.

To accompany elderflower poached pears Sean is hastily preparing the syrup paste for a pear and elderflower sorbet and is also working on his panna cotta  which he is infusing with vanilla, star anise and fennel.

Signature Dish: Sauternes and elderflower poached pears, with star anise and fennel panna cotta, pear and elderflower sorbet, spiced granola and sauternes gel.

Professor Dame Jane & VIP guests thought the sorbet was ‘refreshing and delicious‘ but the one point they liked was that there wasn’t a ‘big vocal point‘. Unfortunately the pears got ‘a bit lost with all the other things going on’ and would off liked a bit more ‘zing‘ in the sauternes gel.

Monica said ‘it was a nice dessert‘ with the panna cotta successfully set.

Marcus couldn’t taste the key flavours ‘sauternes and elderflower‘ and said it ‘lacks a bit of punch‘

Finally, the five chefs return to the Masterchef kitchen where they face the judges as individuals once more. The chefs have 90 minutes to create a dish that is exceptional enough to get them into the penultimate week. only 4 chefs will make it to the semi-finals and which chef will have to face going home.

Let’s see how the chefs got on..

Laurence has really good cooking brain with great depth of knowledge within his presentation.

Signature Dish: Teriyaki glazed quail with roasted and pureed sweetcorn, pickled shallots and geroles, whiskey caramel and wine sauce, served with a quail tart made with the offal and confit legs topped with crispy chicken skin and sweetcorn foam.

Monica liked the cooking of the quail, ‘sweetness from the sweetcorn puree‘ and thought the tart was a ‘nice way to use up the offal of the quail and the leg meat‘.

Gregg said the plate chef had produced was just ‘divine and different‘ but was upset that the sweetcorn foam was ‘masking‘ the offal too much on the tart.

Marcus really liked chefs ‘ideas and dish‘.

Elisabeth is a solid chef with great knowledge of classic dishes and flavours.

Signature Dish: Cherry mousse filled with a cherry puree, wrapped in a cherry glaze, served with almond biscuit and fresh cherries filled with a amaretto creme patisserie.

Marcus didn’t want to say but chefs mousse is ‘grainy and has spilt‘ and ‘doesn’t half pack the punch of cherry‘.

Gregg thought chefs flavours were absolutely ‘divine‘ and the cherry flavour resembles ‘cherry jam‘.

Monica reassured chef by saying ‘you delivery flavour time and time again‘ and ‘we know what you are capable off‘.

Dean’s food is about the journey he has been on and packs great flavours.

Signature Dish: Halibut topped with turmeric spiced courgettes with crispy coconut langoustine, accompanied by a black beluga lentil Dahl, tomato and red onion cajuba salad, carom seed bread, mango chutney, mint yoghurt and a Goan curry sauce made with over 10 spices including tamarind, chilli and ginger.

Marcus found Dean’s curry dish ‘absolutely sensational‘ saying he had ‘captured every flavour that we look for in a Goan curry‘.

Gregg loved the combinations of sweetness running throughout the dish.

Monica said the bread and the dips ‘were an added joy to the dish‘ and finished by saying ‘what a delight‘.

Luke brings subtle and surprising asian twists within his dishes.

Signature Dish: Variations of mackerel, de-boned and sautéed tail, oak smoked fillet and cucumber wrapped tartare topped with caviar, served with a cucumber and wasabi beurre blanc, roasted seaweed crisps and ice plant leaves.

Gregg was impressed with chef achieving three different flavours within his mackerel and said the dish was ‘properly lovely‘.

Monica throughly enjoyed the dish saying ‘the simplicity of this has obviously got a lot of work and detail in it and is very harmonious and eats well‘.

‘Wasabi beurre blanc shouldn’t pair with mackerel for me‘, but Marcus was pleasantly surprised that it worked. He said to chef that he had ‘showcased a lot of skill, great flavour combinations and good control‘.

Sean has a fantastic attitude towards the competition, he is ambitious and brave.

Signature Dish: Cannon of lamb served with braised lamb belly which has also been pulled and stuffed in confit shallots, alongside a pea puree infused with bacon, black garlic puree, sun-blushed tomatoes, a lamb jus and rosemary chips.

Monica loved the lamb, pulled lamb and enjoyed the ‘black garlic coming through underneath‘.

Gregg was overly happy with chefs ‘belly of lamb‘, but the same excitement didn’t shine through the cannon of lamb even though he said it was ‘nicely cooked ‘and found it hard to find rosemary within his chips.

Marcus said ‘it wasn’t as good as I thought it would be‘, with there being no depth in the sauce. However praised up the black garlic, bring a ‘different dimension‘ to the dish.

The judges all agreed that the 4 chefs going through to the semi-final would be; Sean, Laurence, Luke and Dean.
Unfortunately saying bye and good luck for the future to Elisabetth.