Masterchef UK Professionals
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Pork Fillet with King Oyster Mushroom, Morel Mushrooms, Walnut and Pickled Pear Purée and Red Wine and Maple Syrup Jus
Chris's signature dish was centred around a sauce combining red wine and maple syrup - inspired by an American chef's claim that the two don't go together. The pork fillet was gently cooked to remain pink. King oyster mushrooms were diced and cooked through. Morel mushrooms were cooked down in white wine. A crumb of bacon, almond, wild garlic and capers topped the king oyster mushroom. Poached kohlrabi and spinach accompanied the dish. The walnut and pickled pear purée used pickled walnuts and pear juice, seasoned with white soy. The jus was an emulsion of the red wine and maple syrup reduction finished with butter.
{Chris}: "Centred around the sauce — the two key ingredients on it are maple syrup and red wine. I've got a pork fillet that's going to be served with king oyster mushroom, some morel mushrooms cooked down in white wine, and a purée of walnuts and pear."
{Chris}: "I watched a video of an American chef in Chicago who says that red wine and maple syrup don't go together, and I thought that was a bit curious. I couldn't understand why they wouldn't. So all I did was reduce red wine, added a bit of maple syrup, and it was like a sweet and sour sauce. And I thought it was complex. Tasted really great."
{Chris}: "The walnut purée is on the plate for acidity, so it uses pickled walnuts and pear juice, and then they're seasoned with some white soy. I've got to get everything so spot on, because if one thing's off, it doesn't work."
{Monica}: "There's a lot going on here. I can see a lot of your chemistry brain coming out in this. I guess it's whether or not it could all come together based around this sauce."
{Monica}: "He's got wild garlic. He's got morels. There's a lot of ingredients Chris is using which work brilliantly together."
{Marcus}: "Pork fillet is incredibly lean. There's no fat in it or on it. You don't want to overheat it. You don't want to dry the outside, and then it's pink in the centre. We've got diced kohlrabi - cook it all the way through. You don't want too much bite on kohlrabi."
{Monica}: "They're going to come together in quite a sweet and sour way. I really hope that there's a balance there."
Advanced to quarterfinals.
{Matt}: "Pork, nice and pink. The wild garlic works wonderfully with the morels. This purée of pickled walnuts and pear - I find it like a fun ketchup. There were things I was looking forward to in this sauce that I'm not getting. I'm not getting maple. Be brave. Put a bit more in it."
{Marcus}: "Love the greenery. Love the presentation. Your cooking of the pork is excellent. The purée of walnuts - it's big, it's powerful, it's bold. When you eat it with the kohlrabi and the vegetables, it's fabulous."
{Monica}: "It's delicious. Kohlrabi - nice kind of freshness, nice bite. I love the morels. Obviously works very nicely with pork. The sauce is good, but like Monica says, it lacks just a little bit more. Overall, it's a good dish."
{Chris}: "A little bit shell-shocked. Excellent feedback. There's so much for me to take away from that. The pork was good. I was really happy with the cooking. I just should have been braver with the maple syrup."
In the judges' deliberation:
{Marcus}: "Beautiful presentation. I thought the pork was beautifully cooked. The purée of the pickled walnut was delicious."
{Matt}: "But I thought that the sauce was disappointing. He could have afforded to be a bit braver with the maple syrup."
Note: Judges praised the pork cooking, the walnut purée and the mushroom elements, but all felt the maple syrup should have been more prominent in the jus.
Chris advanced to quarterfinals.
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