Episode 3 Disaster Chefs

Meet the Disaster Chefs, parents who are rubbish at cooking.

-Dinner, Charley.

-Noooooo!

They make things like this. And this. And this.

Disgusting.

And foodie fanatic Stefan Gates is the only person who can help.

He's got just 24 hours to help them master a two-course meal

in a professional kitchen for some fierce critics.

-Horrible.

-Get cooking!

Will they raise like a souffle or flop like a pancake?

-I've failed.

-Will it be Yumm or Yuck?

Start your blenders!

Today's Disaster Chef is mum of four Shaida from Birmingham.

Ten-year-old whisk-whizzing super cook Asma

loves to cook up a storm in the kitchen.

Little bit of magic. Ta-da!

That looks amazing.

It's a shame the same can't be said for her mum's cooking.

She's nowhere near as adventurous when it comes to dinner times.

Kids, dinner's ready!

Nooooooooo!

Shaida has managed to master the art of Asian food,

but with everything else she's a disaster.

My mum is making me some pizza and some cheese and onion pasties.

-In other words...

-Burnt pizza and burnt cheese and onion pasties.

Who's going to want pizza?

Asma's sister Avada and brother Adreese have had enough.

Yesterday, she made pizza and she couldn't even cut through it.

Every time she cooks English food, it's going to burn.

At least Shaida knows that she needs help in the kitchen.

Asian food is a doddle.

But English food,

I need a little bit of help.

A bit? In just 24 hours you'll need to feed three judges

restaurant standard food,

in a professional kitchen just like this one.

And there's only one man who can make this happen.

He's on a top-secret mission to save kids across the UK

from their parents' horrible cooking.

It's culinary super sleuth, Stefan Gates.

OK, the mission's not really that top secret, so there's

no need for those binoculars, OK? Hand them over, yeah.

But he is dead good at teaching people how to cook properly!

But this could be his most daring challenge yet.

Hi, Stef, come in.

-Hiya.

-Hello.

So, I believe we've got a bit of a situation going on here.

Tell me all about it.

-Well, my mum can't cook English food.

-So what does she cook?

-Asian food.

-So tell me all about her Asian food then.

It's nice, but I'm getting sick of it.

OK, so what sort of things would you rather be eating then?

Chicken pie, um, pasta.

Pasta isn't English, it's Italian!

When your mum tries cooking these kinds of foods, what happens?

She burns them, like this pizza.

Oh, wow.

That's an instant pizza. All she had to do was take it out of the wrapper

and heat it for 15 minutes. It's solid!

-So this is your attempt, at non-Asian food.

-Yes.

What have you got to say for yourself?

I'm a brilliant cook. I just have a few accidents.

I'd say you've had more accidents than Casualty.

We need to find out how bad this is.

It's time for Shaida's Rookie Challenge -

chocolate pancakes.

She'll need flour, eggs, milk.

Whisk it, fry it, flip it, add chocolate, and it's done.

Yum.

Three, two, one. Now, get cooking!

BUZZER

-Where do I start?

-She's going to have to start doing something.

She is completely clueless. Come on, crack an egg, do something.

-Stefan, you might need to help her here.

-Get a bowl out.

If you're cooking, make sure you get permission from your adult.

Preferably one that knows what they're doing.

You can be fire chief.

Yep, that's a good idea, Stefan. Stop flapping and start whisking!

I don't know where to....

One of the key parts of cooking a pancake is the cooking bit.

She should be flipping them and there's nothing in the pan yet.

OK, I'd put it in the pan. Put it in the pan. Quick!

One minute and 16 seconds.

Yes! Something might happen here. You never know.

What about the chocolate?

-Is that nearly ready?

-Melt the chocolate.

I melt chocolate by putting it on my radiator,

but using a pan's a lot less messy, and you get into less trouble.

-She's never melted chocolate before.

-She's never melted chocolate before?

There's that pan again.

Glad it came in useful for something,

but the pancakes are nowhere near ready.

Three, two, one, stop!

BEEPING

Yuck, that looks disgusting!

There we go, chocolate on there.

At least the chocolate looks nice.

See how you've done. What on earth..?.

Is that?

..is that?

Pancake with chocolate.

It's the definition of a disaster!

Let's have a look at what it should look like.

Here's Mavis with the plate. Thank you, Mavis.

That is a beautiful, perfect pancake with drizzled chocolate.

What's the difference there?

That's raw and that's cooked.

Raw egg and chocolate. No, thanks, I'm on a diet.

In the bin now!

Congratulations, when it comes to cooking anything other than

Asian food, you truly are, a total, and utter, Disaster Chef.

I have a challenge for you.

In just 24 hours, you will be cooking an amazing,

restaurant-quality,

two-course meal for three mystery judges in a professional kitchen.

-Are you up for this challenge?

-Yes, OK.

The answer is, "Yes, I am."

After making that horrible pancake,

Shaida has proven she's a bit of a disaster in the kitchen,

so it's time to put on the Disaster Chef hat.

We're going to go and choose what she's going to cook.

You can clear this mess up. Come on, let's go.

Stefan and Asma are off shopping.

Meanwhile, Shaida is cleaning up and thinking, well,

positively about what's ahead.

I'm up for any challenge, but I just hope it's nothing too intense,

or if I have less time to do it,

I think I'll probably...

mess up, really.

I'm afraid there's a good chance that you will.

What kind of food, would you like your mum to be cooking?

Well, I love my mum's food,

but I just want her to cook something different.

OK, well, we need to choose a kind of

-cuisine from round the world for you, yeah?

-Yeah.

OK. What we need is a map of the world. That'll do.

-Right, OK, you ready to choose?

-Yep.

I'm going to spin, you point your finger. One, two, three.

Mexico! Look out, flashy special effect come up.

Here we are. Mexico.

Well, it was OK but it's not for my liking.

Ohhh... OK, you ready?

Where next?

Let's go there.

UK. Cue flashy special effects and chip shop. Doctor Who'd be jealous.

-What about fish and chips?

-I like fish and chips,

but I want Mum to try something completely different.

All right, let's try again.

Something new? How about a-Italy, maybe?

Here we are. Italian. Let's have a look at the menu.

-Right, so we've got pasta, do you like that?

-I love pasta.

-Pasta, bolognese?

-Yes.

-Pizzas?

-Pizza that's not burnt.

OK, I know exactly what we should cook for you. Come on, let's go.

They travelled all around the world, and it still looked like Birmingham.

Ha! Shopping complete and they've got a load of ingredients.

-Onions.

-Beef.

-Mushrooms.

-Tomato, we've got some lovely herbs,

do you know what that is?

Basil. Eggs.

Flour, eggs, bay leaves.

What could they make? Maybe a beef and basil omelette cake.

Actually, that might not be Stefan's style.

Let's find out what's on The Menu.

That brown stuff is one of the ingredients, but what is it?

Yuck!

Open your eyes, then.

It's chocolate!

LAUGHTER

You can lick your fingers now if you like. Very carefully.

-I'll leave it.

-So do you think your mum can cook with chocolate OK?

No, she doesn't know how to melt it.

No, she doesn't know how to cook with chocolate,

so if you'd just like to pass that bowl of loveliness over here, I can

stick my whole face in it, while you find out what's on the menu today.

Yum, yum, yum, yum.

You're going to be cooking this.

Lasagne al forno with tomato, courgette and basil.

Pudding, melting chocolate pudding with a creamy cappuccino cup.

Do you think you can do this without my help?

No.

No, well, that's fine, because I'm going to show you how to do this.

I'm going to take you through the entire process, OK?

So you can see absolutely everything,

but tomorrow you will be on your own.

I will give you no help at all.

-Just a little.

-No.

And Stefan's reputation is at stake here, so you'd better pay

attention, because it's time for Stefan's Crash Course.

To make the perfect lasagne, chop some onions and garlic,

slice the mushrooms, add the beef, some flour, tomatoes,

some water, season and simmer.

To build the lasagne, wet a sheet of lasagne pasta, add some mince,

another sheet of pasta, some white sauce, more mince

another pasta sheet, more sauce,

more mince, another pasta sheet, sauce,

grated cheese, then bake in the oven until it looks like this!

I'm exhausted just saying that.

I thought lasagne was dead easy to make.

Turns out there a lot to it.

This is going to be a nightmare.

Teaching somebody to change the way they cook is even more

difficult than teaching somebody who can't cook at all.

Chop, all the way through, but not through to the end.

The reason we do that is when we cut it this way,

all of the pieces will be the same size.

That's yours.

Shaida is quite good at cooking Asian food,

so she's finding this bit easy.

She's chopping all of those ingredients like an expert.

I think she could show you a thing or two, Stefan.

It's all looking very cosy, but it's time to start getting serious.

Going to cook the whole lasagne, and then let it cool.

And then we chop out those round shapes,

and then, 15 minutes before you're ready to serve them,

they go back into the oven to be reheated.

It's about timing, the whole thing, cos there'll be one moment

when all this has to go out to the table.

This way it would mean I have to concentrate on that,

I've got to concentrate on this and that...

Each step is crucial. If Shaida doesn't get it right,

the lasagne will be a pasta disaster.

Now we need to make these beautiful circles out of it.

Ah, a circular lasagne, that sounds good.

It's a bit sort of like making cookies, really,

but doing it with lasagne.

Stefan seems to be using an old tin can of beans to cut the lasagne.

Very classy. He's taken the label off, but it's still an old tin can.

It's probably one of Shaida's he's stolen.

Shaida's trying to pay attention, but all she's thinking is,

is that my tin of beans he's using?

You cut out your piece like that.

That's slightly unusual but I've got faith in you.

Then all that has to happen is it's left to cool.

15 minutes before serving, they need to be reheated.

I always had faith in you, Stefan.

-Should come out beautifully like that.

-Fantastic.

Well, now the circles of lasagne are done, it's time for the pudding!

To make the perfect chocolate pudding, mix some eggs with

sugar, pour in some heated chocolate, mix, add flour,

pour into tins, cool it, cook it,

and dish it up with a cappuccino cup. Yummy.

Right, so the eggs are done and the chocolate's all mixed together.

Time to add some flour.

This is a really important step if she wants to make an amazing sponge.

-Fold that through as well.

-Is that going to make it thick?

It is, it's going to give it

a real kind of body to it.

The chocolate has body and my body wants chocolate.

Pass some over here. No? Never mind.

It goes in the oven and then it's emptied out onto a plate.

It looks like a tasty, fluffy, gooey beauty. Seriously, give me some!

Just keep going.

Selfish! I don't ask for a lot, you know, just a bit of chocolate.

So, you've seen how to cook all of the dishes.

You should be ready for this, shouldn't you?

Yes, I should be.

Do you not feel that you're quite there?

No, I think my timing's going to probably be a bit off.

Well, there we go. I'm done. And I'm terrified!

Because normally, Shaida just puts everything in one pot.

This is a totally different deal.

It takes huge amounts of organisation to get

all of these things absolutely right in the right order.

I don't know, if she can pull that off.

Have to find out.

Stefan has given Shaida some revision

to do in preparation for tomorrow.

She's starting to realise how difficult it's all going to be.

This kitchen calamity finds cooking Asian food a breeze,

but can't cook anything else.

Asma called in food expert Stefan to give her mum

a crash course in cooking.

Tomorrow she'll be in a professional kitchen, just like this one.

Afterwards, three tough judges will decide whether the food is

Yumm or Yuck, to decide once and for all if she's a Disaster Chef.

Fantastic.

It's the morning of the big day, and Shaida's still reading over those

recipes whilst on her way to the big scary castle of disastrous dining!

It's not really, it's just a posh restaurant.

Oh, it's beautiful.

It's similar to my house, actually. Not really.

Here she has to serve quality food to the judges.

This is it! I hope Shaida's done her homework and she's ready for a day

of organisation and discipline and hard work.

I know I sound a bit like a stern headmistress,

but that's the way it's got to be.

A stern headmistress, not at all, Ms Gates.

In a few short moments, Shaida will be using all of these

to turn all of those into this.

So it's time to put on some fresh chef whites,

and get into the kitchen.

Look at you! You look fantastic.

Thank you.

Do you feel a bit more in the role?

-I'm a chef now, yeah.

-You are a chef.

You're a Disaster Chef currently but you're a chef.

OK, let's go. Three, two, one, get cooking!

And we're off!

Shaida has the recipe

in front of her, so if she follows what Stefan taught her

and reads the instructions, she should be OK!

Mum, are you concentrating?

Well, if you didn't talk to me I'd concentrate.

Good advice. But wait, it's an emergency.

It's so cold in the kitchen that Shaida's hands have turned blue!

Oh, no, sorry, it's the gloves she's wearing. Stand down.

Any last words of advice for your mum?

Yeah, concentrate, stay focused

and watch your onions cos they're going to burn.

Right, let's go.

Shaida is really getting into the chef thing, wearing special

gloves and knocking those lasagnes together in next to no time.

They're looking exactly how they should at this point.

It's really quiet in here too. She's concentrating really hard.

How is it going?

It's going great. I've finished the lasagnes, both of them.

Looking good, actually.

-Thank you. I just need to pop 'em in the oven.

-Yeah.

To bake for 25 minutes.

And do you reckon all your timings are set from there on?

No, I don't think so.

But we're going to see how we get on.

-Do it on the fly a little bit.

-Yes.

-So what are you going to do next?

-Going to start the pudding now.

-The pudding, and the pudding really isn't your world, is it?

-No.

No. OK. Fingers crossed.

Yes.

Well, this seems to be a first for Disaster Chefs.

Everything seems to be going brilliantly. She's calm.

She's confident. She's organised. That's good, right?

I've just got a horrible sinking feeling.

Hopefully it won't be the pudding that's sinking.

Shaida knows how to work a whisk and she's started on

the chocolatey pudding, which I'm still upset I didn't taste.

Ha-ha! It looks right, but remember all the discussion about having

body in your chocolate? I think there should be more flour in there.

It's important to the recipe

and there's meant to be a piece of baking paper on each one.

Without it, the cake might stick and rip apart

when it comes out of the oven. I'd still eat it, though.

OK, Shaida, how you doing?

I'm doing well so far.

You look quite calm, so we thought we'd do something about that.

-We reckon it's time to reveal to you who the judges are today.

-OK.

-Would you like to find out?

-I'd love to find out.

-I bet you would.

You're right, we all would, Stefan!

Judge one is Blue Peter presenter Helen.

She's run loads of marathons, hiked to the South Pole,

but eating Shaida's food might be her toughest challenge yet.

When it comes to being a judge, I think I'm going to be firm but fair.

I think I will be honest.

Mainly because this face doesn't lie,

I can't hide it if it's not good.

Really? Oh, my goodness me.

Judge two is top Michelin star chef Glynn Purnell.

Trust me, you don't want to disappoint this guy.

I've taken time out the kitchen to eat this dish,

so I'm looking for high standards

and I will treat her the same as my staff.

Oh, my goodness.

He's got Michelin stars and everything.

Oh, my goodness me. I'm nervous.

Judge three is Shaida's neighbour and good friend Lea.

Even though I'm her mate I'm not going to be easy on her. If it's

horrible, I'm going to tell her so, and if it's nice, I'll let her know.

She's a doddle.

Do you reckon she'll be a pushover?

Yes, definitely.

Once the judges have eaten both of Shaida's dishes,

they'll be asked to declare the meals either Yuck or Yumm.

She needs at least two Yums to prove she's no longer

a disaster in the kitchen.

OK, Mum, you need to hurry up.

You have to make sure you don't poison the judges.

Not poison the judges! Well done, Asma.

Thinking positive there.

We'll be back here soon, and we want food ready to go out, OK?

-OK. Brilliant.

-All right. Let's go.

There's still a lot to do and hardly any time to do it.

Oh, no!

Uh-oh!

Forgot to do summat.

What did you forget?

Forgot to put the flour in.

I think that was Stefan's fault for interrupting you.

Blame him, and Shaida has to do it again.

Then cut the lasagnes and put them back in the oven for 15 minutes.

There's only 12 minutes left, though. It's getting tense!

I want to go home.

You will. When you've cooked these meals to perfection

and heard the judges' verdict.

But there's an even more important judge you need to impress today.

I don't want to let Asma down. I know this means a lot to her.

So, hopefully, she'll be impressed at the end of it

after I've finished.

If I get everything done on time.

It's a big if!

I just hope that... I haven't got enough time.

Uh-oh. It was going really, really well, until the moment she found out

who she was cooking for, and this is a stellar line-up of judges.

And then, she forgot to put the flour in the cake.

A cake with no flour, it doesn't get any worse than that.

Luckily she remembered, and she's scrabbled it back together,

but has she done enough to win? I don't know.

There's only three minutes left and the pressure is mounting.

BEEPING

-How's it going here?

-Not good.

-What is going on?

-I'm cutting them out to put back in the oven.

You've got to put them back in the oven for how long? 15 minutes?

You don't have 15, you now have two-and-a-half minutes.

Oh, what am I doing?

See, you're getting me all nervous now.

-It was all going so well, wasn't it?

-Well, yes, it was.

The veg isn't ready either. Come on, Stefan, help her out.

The judges have no idea of the chaos in the kitchen,

which is for the best.

-One minute left.

-The moment these are chopped, they need to go out.

Lasagne, my favourite.

Al forno, I'm not quite sure what that is.

-Straight out of the oven.

-OK.

-So...

So it'll be hot.

Let's hope so. Hot lasagne, that's a revelation.

It would be hot if it had been in the oven long enough.

-Hi.

-Sorry about the delay, dinner's almost going to be served.

-Oh, thank you.

-We look forward to it.

-Thanks. It's not done yet?

-No.

-Is it going all right?

-Yeah.

Fingers crossed.

The judges seem happy, but they're not daft. They know something's up.

Now, I could be wrong.

Yeah, well, just speculate then, tell us.

-But I'm sensing something's not going to plan.

-Timing skills.

Finally, it's time to plate up.

They'll be expecting some really good food after this wait.

Uh-oh, I don't think that's what it should look like.

Made correctly, it should be tall and crispy with identifiable layers.

Shaida's challenge was to make lasagne al forno with tomato,

courgettes and basil.

Unfortunately, Shaida's lasagne looks like it's been sat on.

They've now been waiting for an extra five minutes already.

I've got my fingers crossed.

Oh, here we go! Yay!

Thank you, Asma.

Thank you very much.

It looks amazing.

Good positive thoughts from Helen, but what does it taste like?

-Looks edible.

-Presentation's nice, it's actually quite fancy,

from what you would normally have with a lasagne.

Well, it's time for the taste test.

So far no-one has spat it back out, which is a good sign.

But Stefan doesn't look too impressed.

Oh.

Oh, dear, what do you mean?!

Oh, dear.

Oh, no.

Oh, dear. That's...

That's really nice.

Oh, very funny, Stefan.

Dig in, see what you think.

-That's quite nice.

-The pasta's not hard. It's good, isn't it?

Some nice seasoning.

I think she's done quite well.

Can taste the oregano.

-Well impressed. I think she's done well.

-Yeah.

I'd like mine hotter.

Oh, no, Helen has spotted it wasn't hot enough.

Is this going to mean a Yuck?

Well, there's no time to think about it now, let's get the pudding ready.

Has that been dusted properly with butter?

Um, yes, it has.

I hope so. Cos if it hasn't, it ain't going to work.

-Now, focus on all of this and get it absolutely right.

-OK.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

Now you just need to get the mixture into the oven,

and set the timer for 11 minutes, that's 11 minutes,

now that's a lot of beeping, it's an awful lot of... Seriously,

stop pressing the timer - it's going to be in there for hours and hours!

It's a simple timer. Oh, I think you need to help her, Stefan.

No.

46 minutes 30 seconds. That's no good, is it?

Oh, OK.

-So how many do you want?

-11 minutes, please.

-You press the big button. Yay!

-Fantastic.

11 minutes later, and it's time to serve the pudding.

OK, this is the precision tool for the job.

-I've missed something.

-What did you miss?

What have you missed? Come on, spit it out, tell us.

I missed the baking paper.

Yeah, I said that earlier too,

and it might make it difficult to get the puddings out the tins.

You kind of mangled that a little bit.

That should be a beautiful dome sitting on the top.

Yes, it should look more like this, less like a, like a....

Pooh.

That was the word I was looking for.

Shaida's made melting chocolate fondant pudding

with a creamy cappuccino cup.

This is what it should look like.

And this is what Shaida's looks like.

OK, they've got to go, that's it.

Let's take the least pooh-like ones, which, that's less pooh like.

-That's pretty good.

-And so's that.

And that one, OK. You take those two.

And don't say the word "pooh", I know you'll be tempted.

Look at that, on time.

Thank you very much. Smells amazing.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

Thank you.

So just cut it straight up in the middle, spill it out.

Is it gooey inside?

If Shaida has done this right the pudding should be spongy

and when cut open, be slightly gooey inside and at the bottom.

It's time to have a look.

There's a little bit of goo.

Ah. There's a bit of goo.

Yes.

Yes. Soggy inside. We've got a soggy bottom.

Success. It seems to have worked.

But they say the proof of the pudding is in the eating,

so, what does it taste like?

It's nice to eat. It's soft, it's...

it's chocolate, which is my favourite, and I'm really impressed

Mum's made something like this, cos she's never made anything like that.

So what do we think about your mum?

I think she has tried really hard and I think

she should make this more for us.

Ah, how sweet.

That, for me, is not acceptable as a chocolate fondant.

What? It's chocolate goo-fun pudding.

Too late, it's time for The Verdict.

This time yesterday, Mum Shaida could only cook Asian food.

Sick of the same old thing, Asma wanted something different.

Stefan stepped in and gave her a crash course,

so she could make a restaurant quality meal,

in a professional kitchen, for Blue Peter presenter

Helen Skelton, Michelin star chef Glynn Purnell and close friend Lea.

The judges will have to say whether Shaida's cooking is Yumm or Yuck.

Two Yucks and she's destined to be a Disaster Chef for ever.

Two Yums, and she's proven she can cook anything.

Her friends and family are here to see how she gets on.

How you feeling, Shaida?

Nervous.

I should cocoa! Right!

Helen.

Blue Peter presenter Helen earlier said the lasagne could have

been a bit warmer, but quite liked the pudding.

Your verdict, please.

I thought it was a good effort.

If I got it in a restaurant I'd eat it.

I'd pay for it. But I might not go back.

It's a Yumm from me.

Yes!

She was quite lucky to get a Yumm there.

I thought the cold lasagne would have earned her a Yuck.

Judge number two is the very grumpy Michelin star chef, Glynn Purnell.

Glynn.

Glynn said earlier he thought the pudding was overcooked.

Your verdict, please.

Well, um, I thought it was a brave, gallant attempt.

But was it good enough? And for me...

Shaida's failed to impress top chef Glynn.

That's one Yumm and one Yuck.

It all comes down to the final judge,

friend and neighbour Lea, who has the deciding vote.

Please tell us your decision.

OK, even though we're friends, it doesn't mean

it's going to sway my decision.

Lea seems to be putting friendship to one side.

Is she about to give us another Yuck?

I'm going to give it a...

Yes!

It was all down to the last judge but it's two Yums.

Cold lasagne doesn't matter, you did it. Shaida.

Well done. Absolutely brilliant. Well done.

You are no longer a Disaster Chef. You do the honours.

Cast off that hat and put on a new one

because you're no longer a disaster in the kitchen.

Even better. There we go.

Give her a massive round of applause. She's been brilliant.

I was a little bit hard because I thought the fondant was a bit too

much, but the right result, and I was really impressed with

the enthusiasm, and the way that she really tried to execute the dishes.

I had to give Shaida a Yumm, for two reasons.

I couldn't cook what she cooked, and it wasn't the best thing I've

ever eaten, but it wasn't the worst.

No, I think if the lasagne was poor, then she would have got

a Yuck definitely, but I enjoyed the lasagne, so yeah, she got a pass.

I'm really proud of you, Mum.

Aw, thank you.

Yes!

I thought we'd lost it all at the end there

when calm confidence turned to blind panic, but in the end she was

a brilliant, worthy winner and Asma can be dead proud of her mum.

All comes down to one thing. Cake!

Bye-bye.