8x4 - Episode 4

August 7, 2013

This second heat week sees four more celebrities cross the threshold of the MasterChef kitchen, and in this episode they undertake three tough culinary challenges in a bid to prove themselves to judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace. Battling for the MasterChef crown are actor and comedian John Thomson, triple jumper Phillips Idowu, actress Denise Black and actor and musician Ade Edmondson. The first challenge for the four hopefuls is a mystery box test, the test of imagination and creativity in which the celebrities are presented with a range of ingredients. Here they come face-to-face with a crocodile - with nerves running high and just 50 minutes to cook their dish, the celebrities must think on their feet and create something snappy to impress the judges. There is no time for complacency, as the contestants face their second challenge for the day - the fearsome and celebrated palate test. John demonstrates to the viewers at home how to cook pappardelle with Indian spiced meatballs. Without seeing the demo the celebrities are given just a few minutes to taste this dish, before being asked to write down exactly what it is in it, using their sense of smell, and palate. Then they are asked to recreate John's dish in just 50 minutes - without a recipe, using skill and palate alone. Finally they leave the relative safety of the MasterChef kitchen as they are thrown into the stressful world of mass catering. Working in pairs, with over 120 hungry students to feed at Kingston University, the celebrities will have to be on top of their game if they want to succeed. With ingredients including minced beef, chicken breast, pasta and a range of fruit and vegetables, the teams must prepare meat-based, vegetarian and dessert dishes that will satisfy the starving students. In the heat of the kitchen the celebrities need to rely on their teamwork skills just as much as their culinary ones to triumph.