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Chocolate Arch Dessert
As seen on TV
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Who made this dish?
Tempered Chocolate Arch with Sablé Biscuit, Chocolate Mousse, Caramelized Puff Pastry, Chocolate Crémeux and Vanilla Milk Ice Cream Tuile
The dessert course of the Chef's Table menu at the Ritz Restaurant, London: John Williams' signature chocolate dish and the restaurant's most technically challenging dessert, built from eight separate elements.
Shakira Khan: "This looks like something out of Bridgerton. It's scary."
Shakira Khan: "I'm feeling the pressure. I don't know what half of this stuff is. I'm out of my comfort zone and definitely out of my depth, but we'll give it a good crack."
Shakira Khan: "I don't know how many processes I've got to get through, but it's a lot. But I've learned with desserts, it requires a lot of skill and patience. Right, let's get that on the hob."
Shakira Khan: "Oh, look at all the vanilla at the bottom. ... That was the easy part."
{Pastry Chef}: "To make this mousse, get everything going at the same time."
Shakira Khan: "So I'm heating up my anglaise, I'm whipping the cream. The chocolate's melting in the microwave."
Shakira Khan: "Oh, not at all. Not 500 things to do for one little dessert or anything."
Shakira Khan: "I don't. I tend to stay away from the sweet treats. It's a lot of pressure, because if your dessert's rubbish, that's the last impression you've had on everything."
{Shakira Khan}: "Never been more ready."
Shakira Khan: "It's really important that I get these the right height. Otherwise the proportions will be completely off. We want them uniform."
Shakira Khan: "Right. Can I get this in the chiller now? ... Is this stressing you out, how messy I am?"
{Pastry Chef}: "Dump two-thirds out. You don't want it to drop below 32 because it becomes more difficult to work with. We want it nice and fluid, so you've got time to create the nice arch. Work quickly, because you don't want this to set before you've spread it."
Shakira Khan: "Oh, it's all very intense. We'll need a bit more practice at this."
Shakira Khan: "Oh, that was so stressful."
{Pastry Chef}: "You need to be super careful. You've only just put that down and it's already cracking. That's not a good sign."
Shakira Khan: "This is the most stressed I've been in the whole competition. Whose idea was it to do this arch? Because that's ridiculous."
Shakira Khan: "When I get stressed or angry, I go more northern."
{Shakira Khan}: "Oh, what do I do for this? Where do I put it?"
{Shakira Khan}: "Slightly Lego, isn't it?"
{Shakira Khan}: "I'm just focused right now."
{Shakira Khan}: "Right, cages."
Shakira Khan: "That was just so hard, but so rewarding."
Shakira Khan: "This is an amazing experience. I'm just so glad I've been able to do this. And all I can do is pray that it tastes the same as John Williams'."
Shakira Khan: "We really worked hard today, all three of us, and your feedback makes it all worth it. So thank you so much, guys."
During the cook:
{Giorgio Locatelli}: "It's a special dessert, with a lot of technique. But I'm very confident that you're up to it."
Grace Dent: "This dessert is wonderful. It's delicious. It's gorgeous. There's mousse and there's ice cream, and there's biscuit. But so many different bits to get right."
{John Williams}: "The dessert is very complex. They have to follow the recipes to the tee. If they don't, they will have a major catastrophe."
Grace Dent: "You don't make many desserts when you're in the actual MasterChef kitchen."
Giorgio Locatelli: "Chocolate tempering is so important because this chocolate needs to have a really good snap."
{Guest Chef}: "It's extremely demanding. It's going to be so exact in terms of taste, in terms of texture, sweetness."
{Guest Chef}: "The mousse needs to be not too heavy, needs to be creamy, but light."
Grace Dent: "When all of these different elements come together, they need to all be at the right temperature, the right consistency, in the right order."
{Guest Chef}: "Vanilla ice cream. I hope a lot of vanilla inside. This is very important."
{John Williams}: "If it's not flat, that ice cream tuile is going to roll off."
{Guest Chef}: "As an old pastry chef, I think this is as tough as it gets. Even down to assembly, you don't want to be shaking. That chocolate arch is so delicate."
{John Williams}: "If you press them a little bit too much, they crack. You have to be precise. Delicate."
At the Chef's Table:
{Guest Chef}: "If that tastes as good as it looks, they've absolutely smashed it."
{Guest Chef}: "Oh my God. This is brilliant."
{Guest Chef}: "With so many different components, from the biscuit to the caramel, and that chocolate crémeux, it was just excellent."
{Guest Chef}: "Tempering chocolate in itself, it's a skill. And then that lovely vanilla ice cream, that was just at the right temperature. It was an absolute knockout."
{Guest Chef}: "It's as perfect a dessert as I think you're going to get."
{Grace Dent}: "That's one of the nicest things I've eaten for a long time. This dish took her absolutely to the limit. But wasn't it worth it?"
{Giorgio Locatelli}: "It was worth it. For people who don't cook every day, the amount of work you've put in, your three hours in the kitchen, I mean, exceptional. Well done."
{Guest Chef}: "We had an extraordinary experience, and we can only be grateful. We enjoyed every dish you created."
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