The contestants come in to find little benches set up for them, and everyone bar Reynold stands in front of one.
Today is a pressure test, and Andy tells them it’s like no other.
Mel introduces their guest chef, Phil Wood. He walks in with a cloche and talks to the judges about what he likes in a dish – done by hand and technical.
Phil lifts the lid and reveals his dish – potatoes duchess with shiitakes and cauliflower.
The contestants are all given a copy and Phil explains what each element is and what’s going on.
“She good,” Emelia says.
Poh calls it perfection and Reece says eating it is a joy.
They have 75 minutes to get as close to Phil’s dish as possible, with three going into round two.
Time starts, and everyone rushes to get the dish going.
It’s tasting time for round one, and Poh is really freaking out about how she’s done.
First is Emelia.
Phil says it was a really good effort, a great sauce and the flavours all came together but were also distinct.
Mel compliments her balance and says she did an extraordinary job.
Next is Reece.
The potato is good and the flavours are nice, but the sauce has split.
It’s Laura time.
Phil says he would be happy to put that up.
Andy calls the flavours spot on.
Next up is Poh.
“I feel really embarrassed,” Poh says in her monologue as she walks up to the bench.
She tells them the sauce split, and they have a snack.
Jock calls it a bit of a mess – split and unseasoned.
Finally, Callum.
The judges clap him down. “I wouldn’t applaud,” he says as he gets closer.
Phil says that once something is off, the whole dish is off, and there’s no butter sauce on his dish.
It’s decision time. Mel commends two of them for making it look easy. Emelia and Laura are safe from round two and are in the top five. They go and join Reynold.
Jock says that Phil has shown them what he can use with mushroom, potato and cauliflower, now they have to show him what they can do. The judges unveil a table of the key ingredients from Phil’s dish.
They have 75 minutes, can cook sweet or savoury, have free reign of the pantry and garden, and must feature at least one of the ingredients on the table.
Time starts and the contestants run.
Reece is keen to do a savoury dessert using potatoes.
Callum gets the mushrooms, and Andy helps him bring his basket over. He’s going for a comfort dish.
Meanwhile, Poh is doing a redemption dish using potatoes and redoing a dish from that group challenge ages ago, and actually making the butter sauce from round one. So it’s happening at Poh’s bench.
We’ll see how it goes…
Oki, time ends, and everyone is kinda freaking out.
But there’s no time to catch their breaths – it’s tasting time!
First up is Reece with a potato dish.
Phil says he wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as he did. Everyone said it was beautifully plated and a great amount of granita and ice-cream. They were a bit shook that the beetroot really worked in the dish. They all love it!
Next up is Callum with his mushroom dish.
Phil says he’s nailed the brief and his heart and soul shines through. “It’s something he’d give to his family, which is not to scoff at,” Phil says.
The judges all love it and love all the mushroom textures.
“I really love it,” Jock says.
Finally, it’s Poh, featuring potato.
Poh’s disapointed because her redemption dish didn’t go how she planned.
As usual, this recap was written as I watched the episode, so there will be spelling and grammar mistakes.
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