MasterChef

Episode 11 (8x11)

Air date: Mar 01, 2012

The pressure is mounting as the country's best four amateurs continue in the seventh week of their incredible, culinary, competitive journey. The heat is on in more ways than one as judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace take the contestants to Thailand for the masterclass of a lifetime. The four are pushed to the limit as they are set an incredible series of challenges, beginning in the country's gastronomic capital, Chang Mai, amidst the bustling street food markets. The cooks are thrown in at the deep end for their first challenge - each is given a market stall to run and a popular dish to prepare, incorporating traditional Thai cooking techniques, which they must then sell to the hungry locals. With David Thompson - Thai food guru and Executive Chef of Michelin-starred Thai restaurant Nahm - on hand to guide them through the basics, the contestants have to deal with unfamiliar ingredients and processes to get the food cooked in time. Will they manage to complete the dishes and impress the discerning locals enough to get them to part with their cash? Next, they travel into the Northern Mountains, to an ancient region heavily influenced by Burmese and Chinese cultures, where the food is unlike anything else found in Thailand. The contestants face an incredible challenge: to create a traditional ceremonial banquet for 50 specially invited guests at the Thai Royal Projects - an initiative set up by the King to encourage the local hill tribes to grow fruit and vegetables instead of opium. The cooks' Thailand adventure culminates in their most daunting challenge to date - cooking a fine dining dinner for one of the most revered Thai princes and his close family.