What we learnt from week four of MasterChef: The Professionals 2017

What we learnt from week four of MasterChef: The Professionals 2017

What we learnt from week four of MasterChef: The Professionals 2017

by Great British Chefs1 December 2017

Leaking pasta, liquid granitas and some fantastic Nordic-inspired dishes – see what the latest batch of hopeful chefs brought to the table on this week’s MasterChef.

What we learnt from week four of MasterChef: The Professionals 2017

Leaking pasta, liquid granitas and some fantastic Nordic-inspired dishes – see what the latest batch of hopeful chefs brought to the table on this week’s MasterChef.

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MasterChef: The Professionals 2017

Great British Chefs is a team of passionate food lovers dedicated to bringing you the latest food stories, news and reviews.

Great British Chefs is a team of passionate food lovers dedicated to bringing you the latest food stories, news and reviews as well as access to some of Britain’s greatest chefs. Our posts cover everything we are excited about from the latest openings and hottest food trends to brilliant new producers and exclusive chef interviews.

Great British Chefs is a team of passionate food lovers dedicated to bringing you the latest food stories, news and reviews.

Great British Chefs is a team of passionate food lovers dedicated to bringing you the latest food stories, news and reviews as well as access to some of Britain’s greatest chefs. Our posts cover everything we are excited about from the latest openings and hottest food trends to brilliant new producers and exclusive chef interviews.

As the last week of the MasterChef heats, we were expecting a good few mishaps before the semi-finals kick in and everyone starts cooking some truly astounding dishes. However, there was certainly a lot more good than bad, with plenty of incredible cooking on show (mostly from Matt, who was pretty incredible). There was even a chocolate tree with orange blossom candy floss. That’s not to say it was an accident-free week, though – as you’ll see below.

Seal your pasta properly

Virtually all the chefs struggled with this initial skills test, attempting to fill their pasta with a hot filling, sealing it as fast as they could and chucking it in the boiling water – which unfortunately resulted in some pretty waterlogged results. It’s best to let the filling cool completely and take the time to ensure a watertight seal, although that’s admittedly tricky during a timed test in front of Marcus, Monica and Gregg.

Hull your strawberries

Chris seemed to seriously upset Jay Rayner by leaving the green tops on the strawberries in his dessert, which goes to show that while they might add a splash of colour, they’re always best removed. In fact, the use of strawberries in the dessert were rather uninspired – if you’re going to include some fruit in your pudding, don’t just serve them as is in a professional cooking competition.

Make sure the freezer door is closed

Whenever you’re leaving something to set, freeze or chill, always (always!) make sure the door is properly closed on the blast chiller before you rush off to get on with other tasks. Tom learnt that the hard way – his dessert of aerated sheep’s milk mousse with a sorrel granita relied entirely on set, chilled and frozen elements, all of which unfortunately retained their liquid state due to an open door. A fatal blow.

Unusual, Scandi-inspired food is a winner

Matt was far and away the most successful chef of the week, doling out unusual, inspired dishes that made the most of ‘new Nordic’ techniques. Pickled pine leaves, caramelised miso soufflés, Arctir char smoked with sheep dung – in the wrong hands these dishes could’ve gone very, very badly, but Matt obviously knew what he was doing. He’s certainly a hot favourite to go through to the final.