Caxton Grill restaurant head Chef Adam Handling puts Jack, Michael, David, Ping and Theo through their paces on Masterchef 2014 Knockout Week

We have reached the semi-finals selection rounds on MasterChef 2014 where the 10 cooks that made it through the quarter-finals following the heats, will be chopped to just 6 to compete in the semifinals.

In this episode the first group of five contestants head to Caxton Grill restaurant in London, where MasterChef: The Professionals 2013 finalist Adam Handling is head chef. During a busy lunch service, the five amateur cooks were responsible for serving up every dish on the menu to paying customers.

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David, Ping and Michael were responsible for the main courses:

David cooked Scottish halibut with octopus main course.
Ping cooked lobster served with pressed chicken thigh and spiced broth main course.
And Michael cooked Herefordshire beef fillet with ricotta and duck ravioli main course.

Jack and Theo were responsible for the desserts.
Jack prepared the poached pear with hazelnut meringue dessert, while Theo made the chocolate orange shuffle with orange gel desert.


After a hectic schedule in the professional kitchen, the first group of five cooks are back at MasterChef HQ to face an invention test to show John and Gregg what they have learned.

In a last-chance bid to stay in the competition, the judges are looking to each contestant to show they can invent a dish from scratch that looks and tastes exceptional. They were allowed to choose from a plentiful array of seasonal produce that ranges from the everyday to top-end ingredients to create their dish.

The dish they serve up was scrutinised by John, Gregg, and specially invited guest judge, the renowned two-Michelin-starred chef Marcus Wareing, to see which of the cooks has what it take to move to the next round.

After the deliberation by the judges, it was Theo that came up short. His MasterChef journey came to a sudden end, but he leaves the competition with experience of working in a professional kitchen alongside Adam Handling. Jack, Michael, Ping and David survived to cook another day.