Both Northumberland cooks earn a place in the last 10 of Masterchef

Northunberland amateur cooks Lorna Robertson and Faye Dodwell
Lorna feeling the heat in the kitchen.Lorna feeling the heat in the kitchen.
Lorna feeling the heat in the kitchen.

Lorna Robertson, from Berwick, and Faye Dodwell, from Hexham, both took their place at the top table after getting their first taste of cooking in a professional kitchen in the gastronomic TV show.

The final dozen were split into two teams and sent to prepare meals in a restaurant before returning to the Masterchef kitchen to prepare another of their own recipes.

Lorna's Orkney scallops with crab served with apple dashi, a Japanese broth.Lorna's Orkney scallops with crab served with apple dashi, a Japanese broth.
Lorna's Orkney scallops with crab served with apple dashi, a Japanese broth.
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In last night's programme, Lorna, 22, joined fellow contestants in British two-star Michelin chef Michel Roux's high-class restaurant Roux at Parliament Square, which is run by Steve Groves, the winner of the 2009 professional Masterchef competition.

She was tasked with making an intricate starter - Orkney scallops with crab served with apple dashi, a Japanese broth.

Chef Steve described it as "a very challenging dish to start off with and it should set the tone for the rest of the meal".

"This is a dish that our chefs can struggle with," he told viewers. "It's a very difficult dish to get absolutely bang on."

All smiles for Lorna in Roux at Parliament Square,All smiles for Lorna in Roux at Parliament Square,
All smiles for Lorna in Roux at Parliament Square,
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But Lorna nailed it! Judge Gregg Wallace said: "That's a very pretty and accomplished dish. Well done, Laura." Fellow judge John Torode said: "Lorna's done very, very well."

Back in the studio, the contestant were presented with a selection of 'Scottish ingredients' from which to chose and prepare a meal to impress Tom Kitchin, who became the youngest winner of a Michelin star and runs his own restaurant, The Kitchin, in Edinburgh.

Lorna decided to do butternut squash and sage tortellini, with roasted squash, bacon, pine nuts, pickled girolles, crispy sage and a pumpkin veloute.

Unfortunately, all three judges felt her pasta was not thin enough.

Lorna's butternut squash and sage tortellini, with roasted squash, bacon, pine nuts, pickled girolles, crispy sage and a pumpkin veloute.Lorna's butternut squash and sage tortellini, with roasted squash, bacon, pine nuts, pickled girolles, crispy sage and a pumpkin veloute.
Lorna's butternut squash and sage tortellini, with roasted squash, bacon, pine nuts, pickled girolles, crispy sage and a pumpkin veloute.
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Tom said: "The filling in the tortellini is very, very good but the pasta's too thick. The pumpkin sauce should have a pumpkinny colour to it. At this level, at this competition stage, it just needs a little bit more finesse. But the marriage, the idea, it could have been brilliant, it just needs a bit of tweaking."

Lorna told the programme: "I do feel a bit deflated. The standards are so high and everyone else's food looks so good, so it really comes down to the smallest things."

Despite this, she was handed a place in the next knockout stage, due to air tonight (Friday) at 8pm, and added: "I'm thrilled that I'm still here."

On Wednesday, Faye, 44, a yurt builder from Hexham, was part of the first team of six who had a demanding day in Michelin-starred chef Shaun Rankin's posh Ormer Restaurant in Mayfair.

Faye and the team arrive at the Ormer restaurant.Faye and the team arrive at the Ormer restaurant.
Faye and the team arrive at the Ormer restaurant.
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The mum-of-three was also placed on starters and had to prepare rabbit loin wrapped in pancetta, served with a truffle sauce with cocoa beans and gnocchi garnished with charred baby gem lettuce, chickweed, pickled shallot rings and shaved truffle.

The judges were suitably impressed. John thought it showed a huge amount of promise and Gregg said it was a beautiful-looking dish with really nice sauce.

In the studio kitchen, Faye cooked her take on fish pie - langoustine with leek mash and mussel broth accompanied by picked turnips and fried parsnips.

Chef Tom Kitchin said: "I'm really happy that you used mussels to make the sauce. The sauce is nice, the langoustines are nice, the mash is nice, but the turnips are really random - a really strange thing to do - the parsnip too."

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Despite being annoyed with herself, Faye also made the final 10 and lives on to fight another day.

If you missed the last two episodes, you can catch up with them on BBC iPlayer: