It’s the Masterchef final! Well, sort of – it’s the first of four finals in finals week. The final final is on Friday.

Today the five remaining contestants – Tony, Paul, Pete, Emma and Simon – went to cook a meal with two Michelin star chef Michael Caines.

That’s a lot of pressure. But first – Gregg’s hat!

Gregg Wallace wearing a hat
(BBC)

And second – Tony’s moustache!

Masterchef contestant Tony
(BBC)

We know we should be used to it by now, but how could you ever be used to that moustache?

Simon was preparing a beef main course, one of the elements of which was particularly snigger-inducing.

Meanwhile, Paul was preparing a dessert of apple four ways.

Sorry, that should have said a pre-dessert of apple four ways.

“It’s like being a father to five very grown up kids,” said a very put-upon Caines, as Pete’s meringues were blown away by the fan in the oven. An oven with a fan – who knew?

Now it was time for some food to be served to a selection of guests including relatives of Winston Churchill and historians, for some reason.

It was all reminiscent of another show that Celia Sandys, Churchill’s granddaughter, also turned up for.

Nevertheless, they all seemed to enjoy Tony’s tortellini, Simon’s chucklesome cheeks and Emma’s eggs – something the guests told us ol’ Winston would have particularly enjoyed.

Sadly, Paul’s apple four ways didn’t quite hit the mark due to every single element of it being wrong (pre-desserts need sugar apparently) and Pete’s pudding was only part finished.

Some people worked out where the rest of it might have gone.

Pete from Masterchef
(BBC)

By the end of the round, everyone had had more than enough of hearing about Winston Churchill.

But it was clear who Gregg’s favourite was.

But we all know that days in professional kitchens ultimately count for nothing on MasterChef, so it was all back to the studio for a one-dish cooking challenge.

And as the contestants marched purposefully towards their date with destiny, it was clear why Tony wasn’t Gregg’s favourite – he’d nicked his hat.

Tony from MasterChef
(BBC)

The finalists had to cook one plate of food inspired by someone they admire – a mixture of relatives and famous chefs, generally.

Sadly for Pete, when he plated up a slice of his apple tart, it splurged all over the place – like this.

Pete's apple tart of MasterChef
(BBC)

And John made a face – like this.

John Torode makes a face on MasterChef
(BBC)

And at that point – despite the fact John said he’d happily buy a couple of tubs of his salted caramel and tobaco ice-cream – it didn’t really matter what anyone else had cooked.

“I’ll be going,” said Pete.

“Your ice-cream might save you – you never know,” replied Tony, somewhat patronisingly – and Pete, impressively, restrained himself from having a good old yank on his hipster moustache.

So it’s on to the second day of finals week for Emma, Paul, Simon and Tony.

And as for Pete – never mind, eh? We’re sure Churchill would have liked it.