MasterChef: The Professionals 2018 - week 5 by Monica Turnbull
It was a week of tough blows in the MasterChef: The Professionals 2018 kitchen as the chefs fought for a place to become a MasterChef semi-finalist.
The first challenge of the week saw Michelin-starred Marcus Wareing and chef owner of Mere restaurant, Monica Galetti, set the MasterChef: The Professionals contestants an invention test. The final twelve chefs selected ingredients from a larder to create one knockout dish for the judges.
Judge Gregg Wallace named sous chef Laurence’s short rib with clams as his dish of the day, saying ‘I’ve tasted a lot of dishes today and this one is the best I have tasted.’ Private chef Dean also received praise for his octopus recipe with pistachio quinoa. Marcus said it was a dish he had never had before however he was impressed.
Head chef Matthew also got a pat on the back after a near pressure-cooker disaster: he almost burnt the ox cheek. Thankfully the young chef managed to save the meat and was praised by Marcus who admired the caramelisation of the meat.
After tasting all twelve dishes the judges called back Michelle, sous chef Luke, chef de partie Mark and sous chef Mohan to cook again. The chefs chose from the remainder of ingredients to create one dish to save their place in the competition.
Mark created an unusual dessert: rice pudding arancini. The judges gave mixed feedback on it but decided that overall it was too sweet. Mark, along with Mohan, was sent home.
On Wednesday the first batch of chefs was sent to cook at the Trinity House Maritime Charity in the City of London. They worked as a team to produce a three-course, fine dining menu, devised from a bountiful larder, for seven VIP guests.
Matthew and Michelle created a herb centred quail starter and chicken liver parfait. One guest was apprehensive about the quail initially however praised it for being creative.
Chef de partie Alex and head chef Oli then served hake with tempura mussels, for main course. Diners commented that the dainty plate looked sparse however Monica and Marcus said it was complementary to the heavy starter.
Senior sous chef William was in charge of dessert: chocolate crémeux with rum, topped with a poached peach and a lavender wafer. The guests only issue, surprisingly, was that it was quite large.
Back in the MasterChef kitchen the chefs had 90 minutes to cook one dish. After that one of them would be eliminated.
Matthew used an old technique of cooking chicken inside a pig bladder. Monica said he was the first chef in 10 years brave enough to attempt the cooking method and she ‘loved it.’
Michelle created a fine dining take on jerk chicken and Marcus was so impressed that he said he wanted the spice recipe. While Oli blew the judges away with his skills in cooking Dexter Beef with bone marrow and hen of the woods mushrooms.
When it came to the judging Alex sent home while Matthew, Oli, William and Michelle became the first semi-finalists.
Last night the second lot of contestants were sent to cook at The Royal College of Physicians to celebrate its 500th anniversary.
Private chef Dean and sous chef Luke created an extravaganza of confit sea bream, beetroot puree, artichoke, tomato consommé broth, anchovy mayo and a crouton for starter. Diners said it looked like an experiment, but a successful one.
Junior sous chef Laurence and sous chef Elisabeth challenged themselves to use the whole lamb for main course. They served carpaccio, a tongue croquette, sweetbread bon bon and carved the loin and rack at the table. It was all hands on deck to get the main to guests on time but the chefs were pleased with the result.
Sous chef Sean was in charge of dessert and created a mix of fresh and poached pear in elderflower, fennel infused panna cotta, elderflower sorbet and rosemary infused granola. The herby pudding received mixed feedback from diners and judges but they said it was nice overall.
When they returned to the MasterChef kitchen the contestants focused on creating their knockout dish. Luke was first to present to the judges. He served mackerel three ways: the tail, smoked mackerel and mackerel cannelloni. Marcus said Luke had shown a lot of skill and Monica was impressed with the simplicity of the dish.
Dean also wowed with his deconstructed Goan curry with halibut and langoustine. Marcus hailed it sublime and said ‘there is so much to like about this dish. I absolutely love it.’
Unfortunately Elisabeth had a mishap with her cherry dessert. The mousse split which meant she couldn’t serve it how is should have been. The unfortunate meant that Elisabeth headed home.
Sean, Laurence, Dean and Luke all head through to next week’s semi-finals.
By Monica Turnbull
Twitter: @missus_trim
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