MasterChef: The Professionals 2018 – Semi Finals 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.

The first three remaining semi-finalists battle it out for a place in the finals week. They are sent to work alongside one of the countries leading chefs, Paul Ainsworth. With his unique inimitable style of combining playful creativity with bold, beautiful and perfectly balanced flavours Paul won a Michelin Star and he is now considered one of the greatest chefs in Britain in his own right.

The first step for the chefs is to understand the inspiration and elegance of Paul’s food when he gives them a masterclass demonstrates his barbecued Cornish duck with perking tea and a pick-your-own salad.

Once the chefs have shown that they have the culinary mastery to take place in his kitchen, they are each shown a further dish that Paul has on his menu. The chefs will join Paul’s elite brigade and each take responsibility for a dish to be served during a packed service in his prestigious restaurant.

Lets see how the chefs got on in episode 18..

Sean started cooking professional aged 16 and is now a sous chef in London.

Signature Dish: Barbecued Cornish duck with an Asian flavoured duck consommé or perking tea, crispy chicken skin, duck ham, fennel pollen and a pick-your-own salad. Chef will be presenting the dish differently but keeping the main elements how they were.

Paul loved the smell of the ‘savoury and beautiful aroma‘ coming from the dish, but said the duck was heading more towards ‘medium to rare‘, the consommé was cloudy and the dish overall could of been ‘harmonised more‘.

Sean will be in charge of the starter

Paul’s Signature Dish: Unique take on a quiche Lorraine.

Dean has clients around the world but hasn’t worked in a restaurant kitchen for 8 years

Signature Dish: Barbecued Cornish duck with an Asian flavoured duck consommé or perking tea, crispy chicken skin, duck ham, fennel pollen and a pick-your-own salad. Making it his own and added pickled ginger to the duck.

Paul was very happy with the cookery of the duck, stunning consommé and said ‘you took the essence of what you saw earlier and made it your own‘, but wish there was more seasoning.

Dean has been tasked with Paul’s chicken main.

Paul’s Signature Dish:  A reinvented of the classic beef tournedos.

Laurence has spent most of his 5 year career working in Michelin-starred restaurants.

Signature Dish: Barbecued Cornish duck with an Asian flavoured duck consommé or perking tea, crispy chicken skin, duck ham, fennel pollen and a pick-your-own salad. Putting his own twist on the dish.

Paul was very happy with chefs consommé, the cookery of the duck but wish he ‘pickled the vegetables‘ to bring. more acidity into the dish. Overall saying chef should be ‘super proud‘.

Laurence is in charge of pastry.

Paul’s Signature Dish: Trio of desserts called ‘a fairground tale’.

Next, the chefs return to the MasterChef kitchen where they will be cooking their own dishes for a two-course menu which Marcus, Monica and Gregg will taste. Only perfection will do to edge closer to the MasterChef: The Professionals title.

Lets see how the chefs on..

Dean

Main: Korean glazed duck with pistachio Thai salad, rice fried prawn quail’s egg, garnished with avocado puree, charred broccoli, red daikon and asian radish, peas and a jasmine tea crisp.

Gregg loved the duck, but doesn’t think there was enough glaze and said he was ‘loosing the Korean flavour you’ve got over your duck‘.

Monica loved the light warmth coming from the Thai salad, but said ‘theres too much garnish to consider‘.

Marcus enjoyed the taste and cookery of the dish, but said ‘I think you’ve sat and overthought this dish too much, sometimes you need to tone it back‘.

Dessert: Black sesame cheesecake, topped with chilli salt and sugared raw green mango, sweet mango salsa, cashew crumb and a passionfruit gel.

Monica loved the raw mango and chilli but thought it ‘would have been more stronger in sesame flavour’.

Gregg loved the combinations of flavours, however he would of liked ‘more texture like a cheesecake base, for all this beautiful flavoured gooeyness to sit on‘.

Marcus loves the ‘texture and slight heaviness from a cheesecake‘, but concerned why chef’s cheesecake doesn’t have those elements and said ‘like your main course its challenging and you’re trying too hard‘.

Laurence 

Main: Scottish rage beef sirloin, Pomme Anna, caramelised roscoff onion, onion puree, pickled onion shells, shaved mushrooms dusted in set mushroom powder, garnished with nasturtium leaves and nasturtium oil, finished with a beef sauce and grated black truffle.

Monica admired the look and aroma of chefs plate and was very happy with the seasoning of flavour coming from the dish, just wished there was more of the beef ragu. Galetti finished by saying ‘I would eat it all without the help of these two‘.

Gregg loved the sauce, beef and the packing flavours.

Marcus loved all the elements in the dish and simply said ‘great execution, fantastic flavours, it’s just great’.

Dessert: Peanut butter and jam sandwich, sourdough parfait between peanut biscuits, served with peanut butter ice-cream  on a sourdough crumb, with marinated strawberries, free-dried strawberries and a strawberry granita.

Marcus felt like he was missing something, and said ‘I just don’t think this dish has been tested and eaten enough’.

Gregg felt the completely opposite and said ‘it’s a work of a genius’.

Monica loved the idea of the plate, but was upset with how cold the granita was she couldn’t taste any strawberry and finished by saying ‘its nice but hasn’t blown me away like I thought it would‘.

Sean

Main: Whiskey cured confit salmon, apple sphere coated in seaweed powder, sliced apple, apple puree, marinated fennel, whiskey gel, sea herbs finished with an apple granita.

Monica enjoyed the cookery of the salmon, flavour combination, but theres too apple much for Galetti’s liking.

Gregg found the granita a little challenging as it ‘freezes your mouth up and doesn’t compliment the fish’.

Marcus disagreed and found the granita ‘refreshing and cleansing towards the palate‘ but felt the dish was ‘cleansing his palate too much‘ and would of liked to enjoy the flavours more.

Dessert: White chocolate and lime parfait, incased in a white chocolate shell, a rosemary crumb with salted caramel and a stem ginger ice-cream.

Gregg absolutely loved the ‘parfait with the compliments of the salted caramel underneath‘, but was disappointed that he couldn’t find the ‘rosemary in the crumb‘.

Monica agreed with Gregg’s comments and was disappointed she ‘couldn’t taste the flavours that were supposed to come through‘.

Marcus enjoyed the parfait, but was upset with the depth and flavour of the caramel ‘its too strong and overpowers the flavours from the parfait‘.

The judges all agreed that the 2 chefs going through to the final’s would be; Dean & Laurence.

Unfortunately saying bye and good luck for the future to Sean.