Episode 12 The Big Family Cooking Showdown

It's the final of The Big Family Cooking Showdown.

Three of Britain's best family cooks

will go head-to-head for the last time.

It's the final!

It feels surreal. I can't even explain, it's crazy.

-I think we're all quite nervous.

-We've made it this far.

-We have.

To win the competition, wow!

-It's going to be difficult.

-We do want to try and win it.

-We want to win.

-We do want to win.

It's a testament to the love for our family.

And their secret spice mixes.

16 families went head-to-head

to prove their passion for food and cooking.

You've got to impress us.

-You'll be impressed.

-Mum, you haven't seasoned it.

-You've never seen anything like it in your life.

-Hurry up.

Probably got the best thing to do, cooking pasta for an Italian.

-That is amazing.

-Yeah, it's good, isn't it?

Ohh!

They served their very best food to our judges.

Slightly more stressful than tea-time for three children.

Giorgio Locatelli...

-Wow!

-..and Rosemary Shrager.

That is very, very, very competent.

Tonight, these three families remain to battle it out.

Who will be crowned Britain's best family of cooks?

-Here we go, today is the day.

-The final day.

-Very exciting.

-I am sure we are in for a big treat.

I think everyone who was taking part in this competition

brought a bit of themselves, a bit of their family,

a bit of their love to us.

Three completely different family home cooks.

This is it, this is it.

Good luck, other families.

Good luck, everyone!

Hello, families, welcome back.

I can't believe I'm saying it, but this is it,

the final of The Big Family Cooking Showdown.

Zoe can't be here today, but she sends her love

and wishes you all good luck.

Believe me, you'll need it with these two

as they won't be taking any prisoners.

You have performed amazingly well to have got this far,

but today we are going to raise the bar even higher.

For this challenge, you're cooking for a big family get-together.

A feast of food for eight people.

Remember, this is aimed at the special people in your life,

so make it with love, make it with passion and make it perfect.

You have four and a half hours. Let's get cooking.

Come on, guys. No dillying, and definitely no dallying.

Tonight, the families must create an exceptional three-course feast.

Enough to feed eight people.

Each course must be delivered on time

during four and a half hours of cooking.

-Somebody on the garlic?

-Yeah.

I needed the peeler. Have you seen the peeler?

No, dear, I haven't.

The Charles family from East Yorkshire

are newly-weds Betty and Dan...

I'm definitely in charge.

-Let it be known.

-We let her think she is.

I am.

..and Betty's mum Jean.

-You're the glue that holds us all together.

-That's exactly right.

-Perfect.

-I can chop vegetables.

We make an event of pretty much every meal we do

whether it's at Mum's or here.

Trips around the world and a honeymoon in Italy

has influenced their love of cooking.

We did, like, cooking courses

and that's where our absolute passion for Italian food

really kicked off.

Look, that's why mine's not cooking, cos I've only got...

It's in the wok again.

We have lots of fun when we cook together.

-We do.

-We make each other laugh no end.

You're not doing anything that I'm telling you to do.

The Charleses are great cooks, there is no two ways about it.

They set their standard very high.

You've got it perfect.

All those flavours are really working together

into something quite special. It's really good.

Thank you so much.

During the heats, they staked their reputation

on the food of their travels.

Well, considering one of the main judges is an Italian...

Michelin-starred chef!

I can feel someone lurking behind me.

Hi, Giorgio.

-ROSEMARY:

-I would love to have this for a lovely lunch.

Can I have a little bit more?

I would serve this risotto.

What I love about the Charles family

is how they have this passion for cooking.

You can see it in their faces.

That looks bang on.

Yeah.

But in the semifinals, they took risks.

My polenta is set.

That looks lovely.

Wow! Bold decision.

I'm not a vegetarian, but yet I'm satisfied.

With mixed results.

-What's the twist on your roast?

-It's all pretty twisty, really.

We're doing a pork Wellington,

but we're doing it with Italian flavours.

It's in, that's it. Hope for the best.

I'm disappointed, because you usually hit the flavours so well.

-Don't.

-Don't hug me.

However, Jean's baking impressed the judges.

Oh, I've knocked a few cakes together in my time. We're in.

Absolutely delicious.

How competitive are we?

I think we'll win the competition.

-Hiya.

-Hi.

-Do you want to grab a mixing bowl bin out?

-Watch out.

-OK, it's this one.

-Right.

Firm. Bin.

Matthew. Mixing bowl.

-That's good. Keep talking yourself through it.

-OK.

The Pigott brothers from Oxfordshire are eldest, Matt...

I'd say I am the intelligence.

-Come on. Just do it.

-No.

-Just a little taste.

..middle brother Ed...

Ed's probably the looks.

-Hello. How are you?

-Good.

..and youngest, Sam.

Sam's the wit.

They're spicy. Spicy, that.

He's the fun one, you might say he's the chef de partay.

-Yeah, I'll take that.

-You've been thinking about that, haven't you?

So far, they have impressed with their gutsy flavour combinations.

What's going in there, Sam?

Almost everything you can think of.

One, two, three, four, five Scotch bonnets.

Five Scotch bonnets. That smells really good.

These boys, it's so lovely to watch them,

three brothers cooking together and loving every minute of it.

So, who taught you guys to cook?

From teenager time we'd come home from school and cook something.

It's kind of just gone from there.

-What's your favourite thing to cook?

-Kebabs.

The marinade has a very good influence on the chicken.

Really delivers a very good taste, so I really like that.

This is exactly what I'd expect if I was getting some street food.

All those lovely flavours coming through.

I would pay for this wrap.

Have you got a napkin?

No.

I've got loo roll.

Remember to get some in, will you?

In the heats, they aimed high during the Impress The Neighbours round...

Have you seen what they're doing yet?

-Oh, are they doing dauphinoise potatoes?

-Yeah.

The battle is on.

Just warning you, I really know my venison.

That's made me feel way better, I don't know about you.

..and proved themselves masters of meat.

It's very good.

Brilliant. You've done a fantastic job.

Whoo!

But, in the semifinals, they struggled with planning...

We haven't completely finished our menu yet.

-Ah!

-Are you winging it a little bit?

Yeah.

This is difficult, isn't it?

There didn't seem to be a natural leader,

they all seemed to just work together.

..and their puddings.

This isn't going into small crumbs.

-How is your pastry?

-Your guess is as good as mine.

-OK, all right.

It was their bold take on a traditional English breakfast

that saw them through.

It is one of the best cooked breakfasts I ever ate in my life.

Your lovely bacon jam is quite frankly delicious.

I salute you.

Well done, boys.

It's all about pride to try and win, because we think we are good cooks.

We want to demonstrate to people that we are good cooks.

Do you need help with the aubergine or are you OK?

-Is that my frying pan on?

-Yeah, I've got your frying pan out.

-Thank you.

I'm going to get the lamb mince on first.

Make the stuffing for the spring rolls.

Right. Chopping boards.

The Gangotras from Birmingham are sisters Lorna...

There's never a dull moment in our house.

-..Bobby...

-I think my cauliflower and aloo gobi is better than hers.

..and their sister-in-law Monika.

-That's...

-Oh! That's on camera now.

These ladies are instinctive home cooks.

We remember grandmother, Mum, watching them in the kitchen.

-You just can't get away from it.

-You just can't get away from it,

it's just in our blood.

It's our garam masala, this is a home-made secret blend.

-You would never share that with anyone?

-No.

Well, I think this looks amazing.

Yes!

This is without a doubt a piece of your heritage in front of me.

-That's Mum.

-Yeah.

From the beginning, they wowed the judges with their family recipes...

The Gangotras have cooked us some fabulous food,

some of the best curries I have ever eaten.

That is terrific.

You guys have got loads going on today.

We love all these dishes so much and couldn't decide which to eliminate.

Your eyes are bigger than your stomachs, that's why.

I don't think so, our stomachs are pretty big.

..but occasionally they bit off more than they could chew.

Flavour is not there.

I think you tried too much.

Sometimes...less is more.

In the semifinal,

they toned it down...

Are you paring it back a bit?

We've taken on feedback and we are keeping it.

-The curry is delicious.

-I like what you have done.

..but their puddings were far from perfect.

I think it needed a little bit more in the oven.

OK.

It's an undercooked Bakewell tart.

-Sorry.

-I know.

It was their twist on the nation's favourite

that secured their place in the final.

On the outside it's going to look like fish and chips,

but on the inside, yeah. Pow!

I have to say to you

that's probably one of the best fish and chips I have ever tasted.

Part of this process is,

there is no second chance at making a first impression.

Practice makes perfect, hopefully.

That was a subtle hint from Lorna to get back into the kitchen.

Today the judges expect each family to serve an impressive feast

over three mouthwatering courses.

You need bigger ones than that. There's bigger ones.

Our families must prepare enough food for eight people,

beginning with three rounds of nibbles, followed by a main course.

To finish, two different desserts.

Any idea where some scales are?

-Here you go.

-Thank you.

Anybody feel a bit sick?

No, we don't feel sick, we feel fine.

-You haven't got time to be feeling sick.

-No, that's true.

This is what they have been working towards.

Each of the three families deserve to be here

and each of them have got a big challenge in front of them.

The thing is, they have got so much food to produce today.

They've got nibbles, main course, dessert.

They've got to have their timings right.

They've got to get it properly done, they've got to be organised.

Suddenly, four and a half hours doesn't seem like a very long time.

For the first course, our families must prepare

three rounds of nibbles.

A total of 48 servings each...

-What's the chilli like?

-It's quite hot.

It's just nice. It could be added a top notch up a bit.

..and they need to be plated up ready to serve

in just 90 minutes' time.

When you start to have lots of people around for lunch,

it's very important to have some good nibbles.

Kind of like a declaration of war, you know?

This is when you have to set out your path.

You know what? I love a good nibble.

Small and tasty, it's got to almost sing in the mouth.

That is all the white wine that I need to use.

That's got our names on it.

It certainly does.

Risotto was our first-ever challenge in the competition

and it went quite well for us, I'd say,

so, returning to that for the final seems a logical thing to do.

For their first set of nibbles,

the Charleses are making deep-fried Italian rice balls called arancini.

Traditionally made with leftover risotto...

They are also making...

This is the soup. It's shallots, butternut squash,

vegetable stock and a bit of extra veg and olive oil on the top.

That is this pretty much it.

It's looking good. Adding stock bit by bit.

I've got your little arancini balls, they absolutely are the best.

-Thanks, Ma.

-Scrumptious is the word we're looking for here.

Arancini are my favourite thing in the world.

-I'm going to take this out to cool.

-OK.

-Good luck.

-Thanks.

But I take two days to do arancini.

So if these guys can make arancini in one hour,

that means I don't understand anything about cooking.

This is going to be a really tough challenge for them.

Just have another taste.

-A little bit more?

-No, it's fine.

Are you sure?

It's fine.

The Gangotras are serving three Indian-themed nibbles.

Fried spicy potato balls known as batata vada...

..and finally...

These are our favourite nibbles.

There are elements that we all love

and it's representative of our whole family, I think.

I'm starting the mixture for the spring rolls. A pinch of turmeric.

I'm concentrating because normally this is my duty

at big family weddings.

They put the orders in and I have to shell out 200-odd spring rolls.

She makes so many to make sure

that everyone leaves with a full tummy and is fully satisfied.

OK, guys, can you taste, please?

Are you happy with that?

They're bringing their Indian traditional food

into something that's Chinese, which is quite unusual.

I like that fusion. A little concerned it might be a bit greasy.

You know, every time you cook something,

it always tells us something about you.

What is this whole meal going to say about you?

It's basically a testament to our mums, dads, aunties, uncles,

whoever we've been watching through growing up,

cooking their things and putting our spin on it, as well.

It's an honour, as well, and sort of an ode to them.

I already feel the weight of all of them looking on us.

That's a lot of weight!

So we're doing pork and apple as a general theme.

So every single course contains either pork or apple,

and a lot of them contain both.

So it's sort of a celebration of those flavour combinations.

For their nibbles, the Pigotts are making bite-sized...

..and a mini...

Ah, smelling really good. The pork's smelling good, lads.

That's good.

The Pigotts have come in with a declaration of pork, really.

They really got three very heavy pork-based nibbles.

Matt, just try this. Just for spice levels.

Really good flavours. Mm. Nice little bit of spice.

You know what I mean? Bit more?

I wouldn't have anything smoky. No, I wouldn't.

No, no, don't. It's come to me.

-Yeah.

-No.

-Don't add any more.

-OK, good.

-Nice. It grows on you, spice-wise.

-HE LAUGHS

They're very good on flavours, the Pigotts, they really are -

but what is worrying me on this

is it's going to be too big a portion.

Tacos do not come tiny, tiny, tiny, mini,

cos we're talking about, we asked for nibbles.

Ed, did you get any advice from Mum?

I cooked up my starter for Mum, and the main.

She came over last weekend and we had a little test drive.

She had a few pointers to make.

I don't know if I've put any of them into the final recipe -

sorry, Mum - but she was...

It's definitely good to practise it

and cook for her, and it was a nice thing to do -

slightly less stress than this.

So you've asked advice from Mum, and then not listened to her?

Well, she gave advice,

I'm not sure I actually asked advice.

Matt, what would it mean to win?

I entered originally as a joke, to wind these two up,

and slowly but surely it's gone further and further down the line.

Now, you know, we're in with a chance of winning it.

There's a one in three chance and it's really exciting, isn't it?

Yes. Oh, I've lost count now.

-Bubs, do you need the garlic?

-Yeah.

-Have you done your garlic?

-Yeah, I've done my garlic.

I'm worried the smell of garlic staying in my fingers

for numerous hours after this challenge.

Families, you've had 45 minutes.

I'm just going to go grab my risotto and start the balls.

How are the leaves, the sage, coming on, Jane?

It's coming on.

In 45 minutes, the families must serve all three rounds of nibbles...

That's all right.

..and continue with their main courses.

Hello, Betty.

-Hi, Giorgio.

-You know, they are my favourite thing in the world,

-arancini.

-No pressure, then, Betty.

-What's in the stuffing?

-We've got fontina,

buffalo mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes and chopped pistachios.

-Wow!

-Yeah.

Very, very unusual stuffing, isn't it?

Does it say something about your family, that?

Yeah, it's a mismatch...

..of everybody.

We're oddballs!

We've got to get the chicken on, guys.

Start burning the chillies, please.

-The massive ones, yeah?

-Yeah.

-Split them open?

-No.

-High heat.

-High heat, cover the pan.

Lorna's in charge of the Gangotras' second set of nibbles -

the chilli chicken.

Basically, green chilli's gone into the pan.

We want them to explode, burst open, all that chilli oil coming out.

It's that chilli oil that's going to be seasoned with ginger, garlic,

onions, a bit of soy sauce,

and then the chicken will go in and it will just cook in that.

It's a family favourite.

-We all love it.

-The chilli chicken

my mum used to make growing up

and Bobby and Lorna's mum still makes to this day,

and it's such a favourite when we have company.

Right, I'm going to need to start prepping my pork chops.

Eldest brother Matt is responsible

for the Pigotts' next pork-themed nibble.

It's going to be basically a strip of pork chop

with some onion sage marmalade,

crispy fried sage leaf, and then a little strip of crackling.

I think they're cooking, like, a piece of meat

and they're cooking, like, a little pork chop.

It can be very difficult to eat it.

I'm not worried about the flavour,

I'm worried more about size and texture on this.

The crackling, I'm going to put it in the oven for about 10-15 minutes,

until it's nice and crispy.

It's something that you can eat quite easily

but still adds a nice crunch to the pork chop.

OK, remind me to check the crackling,

probably in five minutes.

I'm going to start cooking this pork, guys, OK?

Yeah, good idea.

OK, guys, I'm going to start frying the vadas.

-Try one and see.

-I'm just going to fry the balls.

We're going down.

Families, ten minutes till your nibbles need to be served.

Right, everything needs to be happening now, then.

The cheese string fries, so, they're really thinly cut.

How brown would you take these?

Quite, because you want them crispy.

Yeah, they look good. Well done.

OK, where should I plate up?

You're doing it. It's going to be perfect.

Any chance we can get the spoons here?

-Do you want me to?

-Don't you touch anything.

Just searing the scallops. Just want a nice caramelisation.

Nice. I'm happy with that, yeah.

So this is the most stressful part -

the bit I wasn't looking forward to.

9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16.

No, don't just abandon your capers.

-Guys, you have two minutes.

-These...

-I'm coming.

I can't be in two places at once.

Yeah, crack on, Matt. Crack on.

Guys, judges are ready.

Please serve your nibbles now.

That's one bite. That's nice.

-Tikka?

-Yeah.

Well played, mate.

Don't you trip me up.

-OK, really careful, guys. Do not drop it.

-OK, ready.

Particularly you, clumsy Sam.

Our families were asked to serve three sets of nibbles.

One family member will hear the judges' comments,

the others must continue with their main courses.

Mum, can we just to check how much garlic you need,

cos I think... Is that enough?

Sigh of relief. We got it all out on time.

It all looked really good.

-Well done, guys.

-That is so impressive.

-Yeah.

-Really, really nice.

-Oh, that is so clever.

The Charleses have made arancini balls with an arrabbiata sauce,

scallops on caper and parsley butter and butternut squash soup.

So that's butternut squash soup, yeah?

What's that little oily bit on top?

-Olive oil.

-Olive oil.

I think that butternut squash soup, it's a really nice flavour,

but the oil is too much.

I've got oil immediately on my lips.

The arancini.

The rice is slightly a little bit undercooked for an arancini...

..and I'm very disappointed with the sauce.

I don't really like the sauce.

It's too strong. It really doesn't work with it.

I think the scallop's very well-cooked.

It's seasoned properly, the capers with the butter coming through,

I think you've done a good job with that.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much.

How are you feeling now that one piece of your puzzle

-is out there being judged?

-Bless Monika,

she's there to take the lamb to slaughter, as they say.

The Gangotras' nibbles are fried spicy potato balls

called batata vada,

lamb spring rolls with mint and yoghurt dip,

and chilli chicken bites.

So spring rolls.

Dip it in here.

Our spice girl.

That is really, really delicious.

The chicken is perfectly cooked,

it's got this really beautiful, sweet flavour

on top of the spice.

Your chilli, absolutely delicious.

Seriously yummy.

I could have had another one of those.

Your little potato balls, a little doughy...

-OK.

-..but good flavour.

I love the potato.

A lot of flavour coming through, and this is what I really like.

I think those spring rolls are wonderful and not spicy.

I taste all the herbs.

-Thank you.

-And the sauce is really complementing,

absolutely perfect with that sweetness.

-Really spot on.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

How do you reckon it's going to go, then?

I have no idea. It looked like we wanted it to look,

so I'm pleased with that. Whilst Ed's getting slated outside!

Don't say that.

The Pigotts have made mini ham, egg and chips,

smoked chilli pork tacos,

and a pork chop with crackling and sage and onion marmalade.

-Quite big.

-Big portions are nice, aren't they?

-This is boy portions?

-Yes.

-OK.

Your take on your egg, bacon and chips...

..I like those little chips.

Actually, I like the way you've done that.

The flavour is delicious.

You've got it in one.

The taco is beautifully spiced,

really nice and crispy.

No grease. Really lovely bite to that.

I think that crispiness of the biscuit underneath,

you've done really well.

Everything in there, it's beautifully balanced -

but I would have liked a little tinier portion.

The little pork. It's a bit too much chewing.

The pork belly - the skin is far too hard,

but it carries a fantastic flavour with the onions.

The onions is beautiful in it.

The crispiness of the pork -

but, actually, a bit worried about my fillings.

For me, it was too much - too much pork in the mouth.

It should have been daintier.

But the flavour is delicious.

Perfect.

-Oh, they're on their way back.

-Oh, right.

Nice. I wonder what they got.

Give us a thumbs up or a thumbs down.

Thumbs up.

Ours was mixed.

Mixed? Was it worst?

No, it wasn't awful at all.

Loved the flavour, loved everything.

-Oh, fantastic.

-Spring rolls, smashed it.

Honest to God, smashed it.

The scallop's perfect.

-Go on!

-Yeah, yeah.

-Yes!

-Not so keen on the arancini.

-Arancini? Oh, my God.

Why? What's wrong with the arancini?

Basically, it was a little bit underdone.

They both really liked your tacos.

They said they were little bit big.

Both really liked my ham, egg and chips.

Rosemary said they were a little bit big.

Giorgio didn't say that. Yours didn't go down so well, I'm afraid.

Oh, really? They didn't like the...

-They didn't like it at all?

-No, it wasn't... No.

He just said he thought the risotto was a bit undercooked.

It's really nice.

It was really, like, you're out there and it's so intense,

but everyone did really well. Everyone. Congratulations.

The Gangotras nailed everything.

-Cool. Right, come on, then.

-Let's crack on.

Now, the families must race to complete their main course,

enough to feed eight people in less than two hours.

Right, I need to crack... Oh, thank you, everybody.

We've got a lot going on. We've got a lot to do early on so, yeah,

we're going to be hard-pushed.

-Fill me in. What can I do?

-OK, so...

Am I chopping, cutting, peeling?

Just cut the shallots?

The atmosphere in this kitchen is electric at the moment.

You need to do garlic.

Bobby, Garlic, please, before the onion. Garlic.

-OK.

-WHISPERS:

-She's so bossy.

The thing about this is that all three families are so different.

They're different, but they're all so good.

They've invested so much time and energy into this final.

They really all want it, and that's what I find so exciting.

Hello.

-I'm concentrating.

-I know.

-It's my concentration face.

As a main, we're going to have...?

For a main, we've got salmon curry,

which is going to be the main dish,

which is a fusion of Bobby's and I.

-That story's very interesting, actually.

-What is the story?

She had to go out and she started making the curry

and she's like, "I've got an appointment, I'll be back in a bit.

"Can you do this, this, this and this?"

I said, "Yeah, yeah." I really wasn't listening.

So I just added what I thought it needed

and it fused into this Thai, Goan, Indian...

Well, sometimes, you know, in the kitchen,

-big mistakes makes big dishes.

-It's a bit like penicillin!

-It was sabotage, actually.

-It wasn't sabotage!

It definitely says something about Bob, and our relationship -

and Lorna was quite famous for her salmon recipe,

so we've taken all three and Bobby emulated Lorna's original recipe,

and then I added to it, so it's really our three...

So it is your recipe for real, this one?

To go with their salmon curry,

the Gangotras are making a spiced yoghurt dish called kadhi

with vegetable fritters known as pakoras, and baingan ka bharta -

smoked aubergine in a spiced tomato sauce -

with flatbreads called missi roti.

So in the base of the salmon curry,

you've actually got the cumin, the curry leaves, the garlic,

the ginger, the chilli, the onion.

I'm excited about this.

I don't think they will go wrong with the sauce.

Where they could go wrong is overcooking the salmon.

If the salmon isn't right, no matter how good the sauce is,

that will spoil the whole thing.

Salmon is a very delicate fish.

That element goes right at the end.

It's going to be poached in the sauce,

which is why the sauce is so important.

I've got to get that sauce right. If I don't get the sauce right,

even down to the consistency,

it's not going to poach the fish properly.

Any injuries, Dan?

Zero.

Dan starts by prepping the garnish for the Charleses' main course.

I just crisscross-ed...

-Crisscross-ed?

-Is that a word?

Crisscrossed my game chips.

Thinly-sliced white and purple potatoes and parsnips,

crinkle-cut cut on a mandoline.

I think they're traditionally served with grouse and things like that,

but we're not today.

We're serving it with a cacciatore.

Just provide a bit of extra texture.

They taste lovely.

You can't go wrong with salted potato chips, basically.

The game chips will accompany their main dish -

an Italian stew called...

..served with...

One, two, three, four, five.

I'm just going to brown the chicken off.

Every time that I brown the chicken at home,

I've always burnt it.

These have actually done quite well.

This is the base of the cacciatore.

It actually was one of the oldest recipes.

It has wild mushrooms in, as well.

That goes back to it being a hunters' dish.

Giorgio will definitely be familiar with it,

so we'll have to make sure that the flavours are bang on.

My grandmother used to cook a fantastic...

-But it's simple food.

-..chicken cacciatore.

What I really like about that, it is one of these dishes

that goes in the middle of the plates,

and whoever cook it sits down with you to have it -

he's not in the kitchen, preparing something.

-Real...

-It's a convivial dish.

I am excited. But it is simple and it's got to be right.

It's got to be right.

So, Jean, what I love about you is you guys are always smiling.

You and Betty are close, but I've noticed

-you've got a special bond with Dan.

-Well, yes.

How did that happen? It's more like he's your son.

DAN LAUGHS

About three and a half years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

-That is terrible.

-I had all this treatment.

Yeah, and I had chemotherapy,

and we all went together.

Dan didn't miss one chemo session with Mum.

-No, he didn't.

-Not one.

He went to more than I did! No...

So every chemo day was a really good day.

It was a good day out.

-I wouldn't recommend it, but...

-SHE LAUGHS

So you'd all go together?

We always went out to eat and we always had a good laugh.

And is that how you started cooking together?

I think we've always cooked.

I've always cooked for them, they've cooked for me.

We've always done cooking together.

This was a real bonding session.

That is what brought us really close -

and since then, I just think you've got to enjoy every day.

Wow, that is fragrant breadcrumb.

Have a whiff of that.

Mmm, that's well nice. Is it basil?

Basil, oregano and parsley.

We've got stuffing here. It's breadcrumbs with some herbs.

Then we've got the sobrasada.

Oh, hello! I didn't know you spoke fluent Spanish.

I've been practising at night school.

Give me the name again.

-Sobrasada.

-Yeah, perfection.

-Thank you.

Continuing with their pork and apple theme,

the Pigotts are making...

There's loads of paprika, loads of garlic on that.

-Get that noz in there, Sam.

-You know it's from Majorca, yeah?

You get them either wrapped in red string, and it means they're spicy,

or white string, and it means it's normal.

-So this is a normal one.

-I did not know that.

-Yeah.

Right, this is the oiliest thing in the world.

Gosh, it's oily.

This mixture will be stuffed inside the pork tenderloin.

This is the centrepiece of the whole dinner.

It's a fine line to get the inside cooked as well as the outside,

so it's not overcooked.

It's really tricky.

-OK.

-Sam, are you done with the thing yet?

-Yeah.

-Can I ask you, do you feel overdosed with pork a bit?

-I don't think so.

-I think we wanted to try and show

how much we could do with one thing.

You know, really test ourselves to try and produce a menu with just

one ingredient, and really push it.

That's what I thought. What do you think that this whole meal tells me

-about your family?

-It shows we are quite adventurous,

we've got good basic skills

and we're not afraid of putting flavours together.

-You OK?

-I'm cool.

I'm going to check on my aubergines and start scooping that out.

Yes, please, do that.

I just need the blender.

This is the curry. This is one of the accompaniments...

..but in my eyes it's a main attraction, as well.

Punjabi curry consists of a thick gravy

made with chickpea flour, yoghurt and spices, with pakoras.

So in India, it's so hot there

they make their own yoghurt every night,

just bung it in a hot space and you get this live yoghurt.

This is what we use for the curry because it gives a nice sourness.

In the Charleses' kitchen,

Dan's game chips are ready for frying.

I haven't seen those sort of chips for a long time.

Game chips?

The only thing that's worrying me, I have to say this to you,

how long has he been on those chips?

But there's a touch of magic.

Well, OK.

I tell you what, they better be magic.

They better be good!

Cos if they're not magic, they are in trouble.

The pork needs to go in.

It really honks of pig over here, lads.

On the Pigotts' bench,

Matt has moved on to the pork belly croquettes.

Not too big. I'd do it more to there myself.

Would you? I wouldn't.

I don't know, I think it's too big.

-ROSEMARY:

-Have you seen the size of the croquettes?

-Yeah, that's the croquettes.

-See how big they are!

That is croquettes for a giant!

Lads, do you want me to just make them smaller?

No, do that. Carry on.

Guys, 15 minutes till your mains are served.

15 minutes.

Can you try that?

That's really nice.

-Yeah, that's brilliant.

-Check the consistency of your sauce.

-That's perfect.

-You want it more blitzed?

-No.

I'm not worried at all about the sauce.

All I'm worried is they cut the salmon very, very small.

Very, very easy to overcook it.

Can you just put the sauce on top of the salmon

and cover that for five minutes, because it has to poach the sauce?

This is the white bean mash.

Heated some olive oil, some lemon, some rosemary

and I've just dropped the beans in.

So, haricot beans, butter beans and cannellini beans.

It's not meant to be like mash.

It's meant to be knobbly and bubbly and rustic.

Taste.

Oh, my God, yeah. That's really tasty.

Five minutes left before your mains have to be served.

Have you got your croquettes in, Matt?

Yeah. The croquettes are in. I'm going to slice up the pork.

Yeah.

-How were they?

-The potato wasn't quite crispy enough.

This is the first missi roti.

It gives it the finishing touch.

It makes it moreish.

Sam, do you need a hand with anything?

-No, I'm just preparing now.

-Is everything served except your sauce?

-The chickpeas are on, Sam?

-Yeah.

Yeah, the sauce is looking fine.

That looks really good. Keep that up.

Do you want the cacciatore out now?

Watch your backs, guys.

-Looking lovely.

-Right.

Bobs, we've got to serve up that salmon, please.

Yeah. Just get me the bowl.

Families, it's time to serve your mains.

-Focaccia, focaccia?

-It's on there.

Well done, lads. Look at that.

With less than an hour left,

the families must now finish their desserts.

There will be no time to hear the judges' comments

on their main courses until later.

Back in we go.

Let's tidy up a bit. Where's the rice?

-Are you all right?

-I'm hungry!

Do you want to stop for a snack?!

For their main course, the Charleses have made chicken cacciatore

topped with game chips, served with white bean mash,

garlic green beans,

charred chicory and a rosemary focaccia bread.

-Let's go for it.

-Let's go for it.

I think the chicken is cooked perfectly.

-Yeah.

-It comes apart, it's got a very beautiful flavour.

I think that little bit of chilli coming through, I really like it.

I do like that bean mash.

It's got some good depth to that.

That really is well seasoned as well.

And that focaccia is delicious.

But the chips are a complete and utter disaster.

Disappointing.

Yeah, they flap like that.

The Pigotts' mains are pork tenderloin

with a sobrasada side of stuffing,

with sides of pork belly croquettes,

chickpeas in spicy tomato sauce,

roast broccoli and an apple and fennel salad with a cider sauce.

I'm going to start off with the pork.

I think the stuffing is extremely good.

I like the taste of that, I think that works.

The pork, with all the amount of work that went into that,

and the ham and everything else, it carries a very good flavour.

These croquettes, it's almost like a main course

rather than part of a dish.

I mean, it is enormous!

And obviously they don't get so warm inside

because they haven't had the chance.

The flavour, all the flavouring here is really good.

The Gangotras' main is salmon curry,

kadhi and pakoras,

smoked aubergine in spiced tomato sauce and missi roti.

Well, first of all I think the roti is absolutely delicious.

-It looks fantastic.

-I mean, it's tasty, it's textured,

it's got everything going on about it -

but to me the star of the show is that salmon.

It melts in the mouth. It could not be better.

It's so balanced, so perfectly cooked.

As fish curry goes, this is the best fish curry that I've had in my life.

Yeah, crack on, boys.

Time is running out.

Literally, I don't think we rest for a second

in this four and a half hours, so...

Just straight on.

The families must complete their desserts

enough to feed eight people.

Betty's dad, Andy, we're both big fans of espresso martinis.

Whenever he comes up we end up having far too many

and having sore heads.

So we're doing our little cocktail spin on it

and we're doing espresso martini tiramisu.

As well as espresso martini tiramisu,

the Charleses are making...

There's two things I like in life -

one is espresso and the second one is espresso martini.

Espresso martini and tiramisu mixed together,

I cannot imagine anything better than that.

My God, this takes some folding.

I am now making my...

Well, they're called ladyfingers.

-What are they called, Dan?

-Savoiardi.

So I'm trying to ensure that I keep all the air in.

They're a fatless sponge.

I can see the Charleses are cooking their own savoiardi.

That is courageous.

I don't know many chefs who do that.

Time is of essence to do this,

because they need to kind of dry out for a good tiramisu.

Right, we're in. We're in. We're in.

Jumbo cardamom.

They're really, really flavoursome.

I'm just putting the cardamom in my kheer.

The Gangotras' desserts are kheer,

an Indian pudding spiced with cardamom,

and a fried batter with a spiced syrup coating called jalebi.

I'm slightly concerned that this might be

just too simple for a final.

They seem to be pulling back in this meal

rather than pushing forward.

They seem to be keeping everything almost basic.

So this is our rice pudding for our dessert.

We want it to simmer for a little while to really thicken

and become and nice and unctuous.

I think it befits the menu that we've done,

otherwise it just wouldn't flow.

This is kind of the icing on the curry!

We'll just put the almonds and the sultanas in.

Can you smell the cardamom?

-Yeah, I'm getting the smell of the cardamom.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-GIORGIO:

-I love rice pudding, full stop.

Between perfect and disaster is a very tiny little bit.

What can go wrong with rice pudding

is that it becomes a food for chickens.

-Right, Sam, what are you making?

-Cake mixture.

Cracking on with my cake mix.

The Pigotts' puddings are...

..a Mexican fried sweet dough called bunuelos...

We just thought we'd try some different stuff, interesting things.

None of us have ever actually been to Mexico,

but we're having a Mexican dessert.

-You know, try something new.

-Try a little bit of that.

-What is this, cake dough?

-Mm.

Nice.

There's a risk of the dessert letting us down.

It's not what we cook, it's not really what we eat.

We've practised them and think they taste really good.

It's only the second time we've done one,

so it might have just been an off day on the first one.

Last time they made us a cake was with olive oil

and they put so much olive oil it was terrible.

Let's hope today works out.

Are you on track?

Yeah, I'm just getting these ladyfingers cooling.

-They look fantastic.

-Would you like me to do that, Danny?

No, cos I think I want to wise this up now.

This is our home-grown Yorkshire rhubarb

pulled direct this morning from my mum's garden, with her curlers in.

This is going to be for our rhubarb and custard pudding -

but it's got a little Italian twist.

They bake the rhubarb in Aperol and sugar and orange juice.

You can't beat a boozy pudding.

Whether we've got booze in the other pudding as well...

Right, so you need 500 of milk and 568 of cream?

Jean's in charge of the creamy accompaniment.

-Oh, God.

-What?

-The custard.

-Oh, God.

We need to get the custard going.

All I need is to whisk it up.

It's very tricky because you have to be very careful with it

in case it curdles.

-ROSEMARY:

-Custard's a very tricky thing to get right.

Stopping it just at the right moment till it's cooked, that's a trick,

that's almost having courage while you cook.

-DAN:

-We have about half an hour left.

-What?!

Yeah, seriously, half an hour.

Bobby, just keep an eye on the kheer,

we need to get the jalebi thing going.

The jalebis are going to be fried in the ghee

and from that dipped in a sugar syrup and then drained.

And then ready to eat.

This is a jalebi bottle to give it that squiggle,

otherwise it's so difficult to do it by hand.

Ed, where are we at? How are we going over there?

Just kneading out my dough. It's certainly a good work-out.

Ed is working on the bunuelos, the Mexican sweet dough.

I'm just rolling these out flat

and then I'm going to cut them into strips

then rest for a few more minutes,

then they go in the deep fat fryer. When I've practised them,

they've puffed up, so I'm quite confident about these, hopefully.

Guys, you've got 15 minutes left.

Ed, where are we at? How are we going over there?

-Yeah, fine.

-Let's not forget the ice cream.

We can get that out right at the last second

and hopefully it will be a nice pile of ice cream,

not a pile of melted cream!

-Are they done?

-No, another minute. Just this one here.

I'm just plating up the rice pudding now.

-Ed, are you frying? When are you frying?

-Now.

Is there any way of getting this hotter?

These are little floating island meringues.

I'm really shaky.

Poach them for 30 seconds and you're good.

That cake looks really good, I'm proud of you.

-Is the custard OK?

-Yeah, just got to keep stirring it.

-It's not done yet.

-It is, that's custard.

Let's get it done. We need to assemble now.

So now the jalebis are going in the sugar syrup,

seasoned with a bit of saffron, cardamom and clove.

That's what custard should taste like.

-Good comment, Ed.

-Matt, go and get the ice cream.

One minute.

Guys, it's an absolute puddle.

No, I'm kidding, it's fine! Lol.

Time's up, everyone!

Back away.

Oh, my God!

Finished!

-Oh, my God. Well done.

-Well done, guys.

The custard's just milky.

It's not. Mum, it's perfect, it's absolutely gorgeous.

Final cheers.

ALL: Cheers.

For the judges' final tasting,

each of the families has prepared two desserts.

The Charleses have made baked rhubarb with custard

and floating island meringues.

We can't do any more, we've done all we can.

Their second dessert is an espresso martini tiramisu.

The Pigotts have made an apple cake served with a baked apple,

with a blackberry sauce filling and burnt honey custard.

I think it's gone OK, hasn't it?

We've done as well as we could have, so, well done.

Sam, yours looks really good. Nice plating.

Their second pudding is bunuelos -

Mexican fried sweet dough with apple and raspberry compote

and Baileys ice cream.

The Gangotras have made kheer -

Indian rice pudding spiced with cardamom.

Are they tasting? They're tasting some stuff.

-They are eating it.

-Oh, God.

-I want to know what they're saying.

-Yeah.

Their second dessert is jalebi -

fried batter with a spiced syrup coating.

The judges will now feed back to the families for one last time

before deciding on their winner.

You know what was said about the nibbles,

but what we'd like to do is now talk to you

about the main course and the dessert.

So, we're going to start off with the Pigotts.

Your main course was the abundance again.

It was so much -

but the flavours were quite frankly delicious.

I thought you cooked the rolled pork very well

and the stuffing was delicious.

But what really sort of killed a little bit that dish

was that croquette.

That was like half a pound of pork with potato on it.

The dessert, again, was mammoth!

It's got something to do with your generosity.

Young men, healthy appetites.

Definitely half an hour more of that apple in the oven

would have done absolutely perfect.

I would like to also say about the ice cream...

..that was fabulous!

But I also loved your lovely little doughnuts, they were so gorgeous.

The Gangotras.

I would like to talk about your main course.

It was quite frankly delicious.

That main course was something else.

As far as fish curry goes,

that was one of my favourite

and best fish curry I ever tasted in my life.

You keep that salmon absolutely perfectly cooked and so balanced.

You blow me away every time.

The dessert. Do you know what?

I was a bit shocked...

..how simple you kept it.

It was meant to be two puddings, but you delivered us

a very simple rice pudding and some fried little wheels...

..but what you produced was delicious.

I really liked my rice pudding.

It was perfectly cooked, it wasn't over-sweet.

The little touch of the gold on top makes it so special -

and the jalebi, I thought they were fantastic.

Thank you.

The Charleses.

I thought the chicken, it worked, the whole thing worked.

You kept it very, very simple.

Today you delivered that chicken that was perfectly cooked.

For what's concerning the dessert,

it was very different than a normal tiramisu,

but it was really delicious.

It carried a really deep flavour.

The fact you made the sponges perfectly balanced in sweetness -

but what really was the topping on the cake, literally,

was the floating islands.

The fact that you have so many different consistency

on the same little glass, that was a great, great job.

-Well done.

-Thank you so much.

As you can see, the judges have got a really difficult decision to make,

so they're going to go off and have a chat.

We'll see you shortly.

Well done. That was really good comments, guys.

-Well done.

-I want some ice cream!

The best fish curry he's ever eaten! Are you kidding me?!

-I want to see this croquette.

-I want to see your croquette!

-How big are we talking?

-It wasn't that big!

We've got the Gangotras who do the spice work,

have got it right every time.

They're kind of taking me through a story all the time.

There is more flavour to it than just the food.

Those nibbles were absolutely delicious.

Delicious.

I'm absolutely ecstatic that they enjoyed the fish curry.

I'm so glad they enjoyed those home dishes

that they would never find in a restaurant.

We've got the boys who get the balance of flavours every time.

This idea of these three brothers, so young, cooking together,

I really like that.

The flavouring on, for instance, the nibbles, was delicious.

Too much, too big, but I'm going to say, they surprised me.

Flavours is what we push for.

Portion size is not a bad comment, is it?

We serve up big portions for eight people, I think.

I thought there wasn't enough food, I genuinely did.

We've got the Charleses who actually create this sort of rather

classic cuisine - but the nibbles today...

The arancini, for me, didn't hit it.

But the scallops were fantastic.

The scallops were delicious, I thought they worked like a dream.

I hope we have done enough, though, I really do.

Yeah, it's meant loads to us.

You know, we worked our flipping socks off for this, so...

-We would love to win.

-Yeah, we would love to.

I think the three finalists come from different conception and idea

of how to make food.

Each one, they are at the top of what they do

and I really, really enjoyed their food.

I think we have three different type of home cooking

coming together today. I have admiration for all of them.

Families, well done.

It's been a long road, but we've nearly come to the end.

Each and every one of you has shown how capable you are of cooking,

and also that you've taken home cooking to another level.

We have loved your passion and your dedication and your hard work

that you put in on every single dish.

You are three extraordinary families of cooks,

and, sadly, only one of you can win.

The judges have come to a decision.

The winners of The Big Family Cooking Showdown are...

..the Gangotras!

Yes!

Well done.

Well done.

THEY CHEER

On top of the world, this is amazing.

Thank you.

I think the best family won on the day.

They smashed everything.

It's just been a really great experience, hasn't it?

We've really enjoyed every minute of it.

We've got to know each other even better, cooking together,

it's just been a real laugh.

Come here!

They were absolutely worthy winners.

-100%.

-It was theirs.

We couldn't compete.

-They were just the best.

-No way.

-And so lovely.

-Exactly.

They're just lovely people.

I'm proud of these two!

It's in our blood, we're born with spice in it -

and it's such a true testament to, again, all our family

and everybody who has helped us along this journey,

being our guinea pigs along the way.

It's just been amazing. Hard work but amazing.

I strongly believe that the Gangotras

really cook from their heart

and that shows on every dish that they cooked for us.

Oh, my God!

They have given us, right through this competition,

the most amazing flavours

that both Giorgio and I have been completely shocked about.

Every time, every dish, there was always an element of surprise.

-Oh, my God, the doughnuts!

-Wow.

They peeled it back today -

but if you're going to do something like that,

you have to deliver sublime food,

and there was no question of their talent today.

I've never tried one. What is it?

I always wondered how they make them.

We really have discovered a very talented group of girls.

Our Spice Girls, aren't they?

In my opinion, I think at this particular moment in time

they are the best family cooks in Great Britain.