L'Albufera Chefs: Put Your Menu Where Your Mouth Is

-Britain's top chefs...

-Yeeha!

..are going up against each other...

This is going to be a good battle.

..to see who can make the most money from creating fabulous food for the Great British public.

It's all about making money.

Our award-winning chefs will be putting their reputations on the line...

Help me!

-..as they're EACH challenged to produce a delicious three-course meal...

-Yes!

..for a room full of ravenous diners.

-We can't have customers waiting!

-We want beef!

-Perfect.

Wow!

They'll be working in kitchens they've never set foot in before.

This is impossible!

With a limited budget.

-Deal!

-You've got to go lower than that!

And up against the deadline of that day's service.

That took forever to cook.

But the question is who will make the most money...

-Rock on!

-..and win?

We came, we saw, we conquered.

Coming up -

One of today's chefs comes face to face with his greatest fan.

Where did you get this, out of your bag?

And there's a thief in the kitchen.

-Waste not want not, eh!

-Five quid, please.

But the big question is; whose dishes

will the customers in this top class Spanish restaurant choose?

Where's the waiting staff? I think they've all gone home.

Chefs, Put Your Menu Where Your Mouth Is!

Friends, food lovers, sports fans.

Yes, it's time once more to twiddle the knob on your oven

right up to full as two toreadors of the cooking world

are about to enter the culinary arena

for a considerably colossal kitchen clash.

For one lies victory and adulation, for the other a supersize serving of servitude and shame.

-Ooh!

-And first into the ring is a critically acclaimed chef

who's worked at more Michelin star restaurants

then you can wave a copper bottomed pot at.

Trained in the very finest of French fine dining,

he's king of the modern classic.

He's cool, he's calm, he's collected,

he's Jun Tanaka.

I love cooking, it's a passion.

I believe all chefs are competitive. It's in our nature.

I'm incredibly focused, I'm calm, I'm organised.

I definitely like winning. I mean, who doesn't like winning?

Jun's rival today is a kitchen heavyweight

who's charged his way up the culinary ladder,

getting his first Michelin star at the tender age of 29.

He currently runs no less than four,

yes, four classic British food restaurants.

Let's give it up large for Richard Phillips!

I'm very emotional, very passionate

and I want the best at all times

and I do whatever I have to to get that,

I'm very, very competitive and it's going to be very hard

to beat me in this competition.

Yes, they can talk the talk but can they cook the cooking?

Because unbeknown to our brave challengers,

London is the arena for tonight's culinary bloodbath.

And specifically, L'Albufera,

a fine dining restaurant in a prestigious Regent's Park hotel.

All well and good, apart from the fact it's Spanish!

Yes. Which is a right old Hispanic spanner in the Iberian works

for our French and British cuisine specialists.

With a menu that mixes up modern and traditional,

using only the finest produce from Spain,

the customers here expect more than a paltry plate of paella!

Our chefs better have a head for haggling too,

because they need to source and buy their ingredients

on an itsy bitsy budget of £400.

The winner is the chef who makes the most profit

and their takings are donated to a charity of their choice.

So, Jun Tanaka and Richard Philips,

it's time to Put Your Menu Where Your Mouth Is!

-So Spanish, how's your Spanish?

-Err...what? Speaking or cooking?

Spanish food, I mean, I've never really cooked Spanish food

but it's all about the produce, isn't it.

Yeah, simple, effective food. That's what it's about really.

60 covers for £400. I mean, that's a pretty tight budget.

I think it's the budget with the covers that makes it challenging.

We have to be tight and watch what we spend on today

but I wouldn't say Spanish cooking's really my comfort zone either,

so it's gonna be a challenging, exciting day.

-Good luck.

-Good luck.

Well, this promises to be one evenly-matched fight

as both our chefs are completely out of their comfort zones.

So how are they planning to emerge victorious?

My strategy is to create something a little bit more interesting

than your traditional, classic Spanish dishes,

like the paella or croquetas.

I want something with luxury ingredients,

that's really gonna draw the customers to choose my dishes.

When you think of Spanish food you think of seafood.

I'm gonna buck the trend. I'm gonna go more mainland Spain, probably more meaty dishes.

The key thing with Spanish cooking, it's got to be really wholesome, but fresh flavours.

That's going to be quite expensive

so I'm gonna really have to negotiate my prices well today

and make sure I get the best value for money.

So Jun is thinking 'costa lotta' instead of Costa Blanca

and for Richard it's all about the ingredients.

But how does that translate onto the plate?

Let's find out what the chefs have in store for round numero uno.

My starter is going to be something really luxurious,

it's going to be caramelised scallops.

It is going to blow their minds.

Jun's caramelised scallops will be sitting on a butternut squash puree,

and served with Iberico ham shavings.

It's cheeky, it's tasty, it's packed with Spanish delight.

What could Richard do to top that?

So my starter today. I'm thinking a bit of a classic combination,

monkfish with some chorizo.

Richard's monkfish medallions will be served on top of a chorizo and chickpea salad,

with aged balsamic vinegar and a tomato and lemon dressing.

Light, fresh, delicious - like a party going on in your mouth.

And that's the decision for the diners:

Scallops or monkfish, which one would you choose?

So our chefs have their menus mapped out,

but that's only half the battle.

They now have to cook in a kitchen

they've never even clapped eyes on before.

We are giving them a fighting chance though,

as each will have two members of the regular kitchen staff to help them.

And today they've come dressed for business...as ninjas!

-Are you up for this?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-I don't know the kitchen, you don't know me.

-Ready to go?

-Yes.

-Let's get on!

-Let's win this!

Efficient, to the point, and with only a few hours until service,

there's certainly no time for siesta.

Err...the chorizo, which is here, I'll show you how to cut that.

Chickpeas, I've seen up there, so you just open them,

drain them through, very little wash.

There should be brown sugar with the fish as well.

For Richard it's all about delegation.

Do everything, put it all into containers, onto a tray - perfect.

Whereas Jun is taking a more hands-on approach

with his butternut squash puree.

We've got butter in there, slightly nutty brown colour,

that's really important you get that wonderful nutty flavour.

Chopped onions goes in, as soon as I put the onions,

we are gonna add a touch of seasoning

and that salt is going to draw out the water

from the onions and prevent them from colouring up too much.

I'm gonna add the butternut squash

and them I'm gonna turn down the heat

and let it slowly stew,

which is going to bring out all that sweetness.

I'm gonna add a touch of water, not too much cos I want it quite thick,

and then I'm going to add a little bit of stock.

In this kitchen the chefs are eyeball to eyeball

so there's no secrets about what they're cooking today.

So what's the starter?

-It's going to be scallops.

-Oh, OK.

-Everyone loves scallops.

-Yeah.

-Although they are pricey.

-Not cheap. What are you doing those with?

-Iberico ham.

-Nice. I bet that wasn't cheap either.

And butternut squash puree.

Wafer thin, guy knew what he was doing when he sliced that didn't he?

Absolutely lovely, that is.

That's a new tactic - nibble your way through your rival's ingredients

before they can serve it up!

So Richard, you didn't tell me what you were cooking.

Ah, see? Cards very close to the chest.

Yep, there are no flies on Richard.

Jun's menu sounds really nice,

he's gone for some very expensive ingredients

I'd imagine he's right at the top of his budget, I would of thought.

I'd be interested to see how much he spent.

Wouldn't you just! Because let's remember,

this competition isn't just about cooking,

the winning chef is the one that makes the most profit.

So earlier in the day when they went shopping for their ingredients,

both chefs needed to keep a tight hold on the purse strings.

Richard headed straight for a Spanish deli

in search of spicy sausage.

-I'm looking for uncooked chorizo, you have some?

-Yeah, we have.

This is a really nice chorizo which is made in Salamanca.

OK. I'll take that. How much?

This is £30 per kilo, it's around £15.

OK, £15 just for that piece.

-What can you do? A better price?

-Better price?

-What if I said £10?

-No, I don't know...

We have to sell for £15.

There's nothing you can do, not even a few pounds?

-No.

-I'll meet you halfway at £12.50.

-Sorry, I can't do it.

-Really? You strike a hard bargain.

Well I need it, it's a fundamental part of my dish.

If you're not gonna knock anything off,

I'll have to find that money elsewhere.

-I'll take it.

-Yeah, sure. Thank you.

A case of 'no way jose' for Richard.

So did Jun fare any better?

He headed to the same central London deli for his Iberico ham.

Ah, this is exactly what I'm looking for,

but I need to get a really good deal.

If you can tell me, how much per kilo?

Err...this normally we sell at £170 per kilo.

How much? £170! That's a mighty pricey piggy!

So if it's 10 grams a portion, I need 400 grams.

Yeah, it would be £68.

Is there any way you could do that for...50?

For £50 instead of 68?

I say we make a deal and you can have it for £50.

Yep. That's a deal.

Well, he got himself a decent discount.

Although I'm not sure whether it was bartering

or outright flirting that sealed the deal,

but the senorita she said 'si'.

So how will that spend affect tonight's menu prices?

Well, Jun's total expenditure on all his starter ingredients

came to a budget busting £128.61.

But with Spain's finest ham included in his dish,

he thinks £11.50 is a fair price for his starter.

Richard also spent high with all his ingredients totalling £117.58.

Crucially though, he's putting his starter on the menu

at £2.00 less than Jun's

so it means he's going to have to shift

a lot more plates to take the lead.

Back in the kitchen

and all those expensive ingredients are put straight to good use.

So the chorizo's gone into the dry pan, high heat.

We've cooked it through.

As it starts to cook the fat from the chorizo comes out of the chorizo itself

and that's what I'm going to use to make my dressing.

So I put it into a strainer and we drain off all the oil

and we have this amazing orange oil

which is gonna be made into a vinaigrette to go with the monkfish.

And with all that chorizo and jamon sizzling away

it's not long before the Spanish flavour rubs off on one the chefs.

-Alright, Jun. How's it going here?

-Yeah, alright.

-You look like you're a bit hot.

-No, no.

Actually, you can do that for me.

A Spanish fan for you.

Let's hope you've got a lot of fans out there tonight.

Where did you get this, out your bag?

It actually suits you, it really does.

Yes, he'll be whipping out his castanets next!

Though hopefully not too soon,

as the diners have started to arrive.

Now tonight's restaurant is a hotel, so unlike a normal restaurant,

where most bookings are taken in advance,

here there's no telling how many guests will turn up.

It can seat 60, but some nights there are less

and tonight looks like one of those nights.

Currently there are less than 30 diners.

This is every chef's worst nightmare

because making a profit now is all the more difficult.

The bad news has hit the kitchen and it's not gone down well.

-26 in the building, is there?

-Yeah.

-That's not gonna be good. We're not gonna make a lot of profit.

If it's 26 people in there I'm not gonna make any profit.

-It will be a loss, probably.

-Yeah, I think so.

-I mean, that's less than half.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Do you know what I mean?

So are you gonna go bigger portions, expecting less to turn up?

No, I'm gonna keep my powder dry,

I'm gonna stick to the same game plan.

Yes, both chefs will now be praying

that the diners will go for their dish.

But is it the monkfish or the scallops that's taken their fancy?

The menu is amazing.

I actually found it really hard to decide between the starters.

Scallops or monkfish medallions, it's quite difficult isn't it?

There's so many things on here, we won't be able to choose between all of them.

Well the diners are finding it a difficult choice.

Time for the chefs to try each other's dishes

and see which one they think is best.

-Ham is lovely. Ham's fantastic.

-Yeah. Really, really nice.

-Scallop comes through doesn't it?

-Nice, yeah, yeah exactly.

Like you say the ham's got a strong flavour,

I like the almond. Works nicely.

I've got chickpeas, chorizo, olives underneath mixed together,

nice little vinaigrette there,

saffron marinated monkfish loins, sliced, put on top.

Just simple.

That's a lot fresher and lighter than I thought.

Well, it's all very complimentary face to face,

but what do the chefs really think?

I would be surprised if people feel they've got value for money,

but I think the flavours and quality of ingredients there

will probably back that up.

Yes, I think there's a compliment in there somewhere. Jun?

Monkfish, chickpeas, I thought it would be really heavy for a starter

but actually, it's fresh, it's light and the flavours

work really well together. Damn!

Yes, begrudging admiration.

But before they have time to digest any further,

regular head chef Gines arrives with an important announcement.

OK guys, everybody ready?

I think we can safely say we're ready.

Five minutes to service, OK. Good luck, eh? Let's go!

When you're ready, off you go.

There's no turning back now.

-The first orders are coming in...

-Monkfish medallions.

Scallops, please.

So it's uno, dos, tres, go!

The scallops for you, ma'am?

Yes, I'll go scallops as well, please.

-For you?

-Scallops as well, please.

And the first flurry of orders look good for Jun.

Four scallops.

But it's not long before the monkfish starts to pick up.

So the first two cheques in - all scallops.

That was pretty scary to begin with.

I'll go with the roast monkfish medallions.

Can I have the roast monkfish, please?

After the initial demand for scallops

the orders are now starting to even out.

but both chefs are keenly aware

that every single dish sold is absolutely vital.

This dish is an expensive dish.

I've got scallops on there, Iberico ham.

I need to sell a lot, otherwise I'll lose money on it.

With less dishes to prepare, presentation is now key to success,

as the chefs are desperate to win the diners over.

We've got our chickpea and chorizo and the olive in the centre, there.

A little bit more, make it rounder as well, please.

You've got beautiful monkfish, look at the contrast of colours,

you've got the lovely saffron red on the outside there,

where it's been marinated.

A little bit closer together as well, a little bit rounder.

We got our salad leaves so that goes on top.

Not too much, we don't want to hide the gorgeous monkfish.

So four bits.

A little bit of mint ripped on top,

and there we go.

Beautiful, finished dish.

Yes, they all look lovely,

but don't forget to get them to the customers!

Service! How long to scallops, Jun?

-Right now.

-Those two, on their own, are.

-So you can send them.

-I can send them...

-Don't let them go cold.

-Service!

-Where's the waiting staff? I think they've gone home.

The scallops, please.

Little by little, the scallops are outselling the monkfish.

But it's not long before service starts to grind to a halt,

leaving our chefs pondering over the expensive food they haven't sold.

However just when they thought it was all over,

there's some good news for the chefs.

Table for six! Three more scallop, three more fish!

Yes, there's a few late arrivals,

but sadly for Richard, there's not the sudden surge for monkfish

that he's hoping for, and he's left once again whistling in the wind.

HE WHISTLES

And it's not gone unnoticed by Jun.

I sold more scallops, the scallop dish is £2 more expensive per dish

so I have definitely taken more money than Richard's side.

And with the last few orders trickling in,

round one comes to an end.

So what was the final opinion from the diners?

I had the scallops and the flavours were sensational.

The butternut squash puree blended everything and it made the dish, it was delicious.

With the monkfish there was the chickpeas and the chorizo

were what stood out to me. They were amazing.

The chickpeas, I've never tasted chickpeas this good before,

I could have had just chickpeas and would've loved it.

Well, both dishes were well received by this small

but perfectly formed bunch of epicureans,

but which chef sold the most dishes?

BOTH: Ready? One, two, three.

-Actually...

-Oh, that's not bad. I'll take that.

-I thought it would be more.

-Yeah, I thought you sold more,

a lot more than me than that.

-Well done.

-Cheers.

Yes, as expected Jun takes round one,

but the question that will be eating away at the chefs

is were there enough dishes sold to put them into profit?

Let's check the stats.

Jun's 16 dishes raised a total of £184.00.

Take away the money he spent on ingredients

and that leaves a small but important £55.39 of pure profit.

Relief for him.

However, Richard's 11 dishes were selling for £2 less

and only brought him in a paltry £104.50.

So when you deduct his expenses he's left with a loss of £13.08.

He's now in the red and looking vulnerable

as we head into round two, the main course.

Both chefs will be acutely aware that this is the round

with the biggest money potential.

However, with so few guests it's also where the losses could be catastrophic,

it's that fine line between success and financial ruin

that chefs have to face every day of their working lives.

So what are they planning to serve up to save their bacon?

My main course is going to be a crisp braised sea bass.

Jun's crispy sea bass will be served with paprika roast potatoes

and a warm salad of chorizo, pimientos

and a drizzle of basil and caper dressing.

Light, packed with flavour... Top that, Richard!

So for my main course, I'm choosing pork.

Richard's roast marinated pork loin will come with rosemary potatoes,

garlic scented mushrooms and a Madeira cream sauce.

Looks great, doesn't it? What a dilemma for the diners.

Back in the kitchen, and the serious business begins,

starting with Richard.

This is my lovely pork loin.

What I'm going to do first and foremost is to marinade it.

It's about four hours to marinade,

hence the reason why I've got to get it on quickly.

What I've done is I've blended down a mixture of sea salt

and rock salt, herbs of rosemary, sage and parsley and garlic.

We've blended them down

until you get this amazing, vibrant green colour.

What we're going to do is we're going to marinade the pork,

skin side down, pat it right down there.

The salt does two things, packs it full of flavour,

and it also dries that skin out a little bit,

so when I clean it off later,

I should get a really nice, crispy, flavoursome crackling.

On the other side of the kitchen, Jun is preparing his sea bass.

This is the seabass filleted from the fishmongers,

but they always leave scales left on the fillets,

so I always make sure I get rid of all that excess scales,

which is not going to be nice to eat,

and then very lightly pinch either side of the seabass

and just score them, and what that does,

as soon as the skin hits the hot pan

it's going to curl up and shrink, but by scoring it,

it keeps it nice and flat

and that way I'm going to have this beautiful, crisp skin.

Now, as well as de-scaling the sea bass,

Jun is also getting bogged down with another fishy issue

that's eating away at his preparation time.

Poor old Jun, I think he's bought some seabass

and he asked the guy to pin-bone it and he hasn't

so he's been standing over there for about an hour now

pin-boning his fish.

I bet he's not very happy about that.

Yes, the clock is ticking,

and while Jun patiently tugs away at his bones,

Richard has time for quick chat with Gines to find out how the land lies.

Do think this is the kind of food

your customers would normally expect when they come here?

That's it.

What's a popular dish out there?

The popular dish is the paella.

Paella.

And the suckling pig.

Suckling pig. Oh, right, so I'm onto a winner cos I've got pork.

Let's hope we get a few of your regulars in,

they'll like my pork, that's for sure.

Yes, so pork is popular with the punters.

Has Jun made a fundamental error

by deciding to serve fish followed by fish?

You think Spanish food, in terms of meat, you instantly think pork,

and I knew that he was going to go that way, so I wanted to do

something completely different, and do a perfectly roast piece

of seabass with kind of a light garnish to go with it.

Yes, Jun is certainly gambling that there is going to be

a fish-loving clientele out there,

because this is also the course that he spent the most money on

when they were out shopping earlier in the day.

Now we know that there are only a few customers in the restaurant,

it made it all the more important

that those earlier deals were ruthless.

What have you got in the way of pork?

-In pork we've got two types, we've got the rib ends.

-Yep.

-Which will give you a lovely pork chop.

-Yeah.

-Or if you want to go special, go for the t-bone end.

-Yeah.

Which will give you the same size pork chop all the way through.

-That's probably better value for money, isn't it?

-It is, yes.

-I'll get a few more portions for my money.

-Definitely.

So what am I talking there, price-wise?

On this one, you are talking £38 for that, but we can change the price

and I can do that wholesale price for you at £23.

Best price?

That's the best I can do, wholesale price.

OK, all right. Well, that's the best I can get,

so if I can get four of those, that would be brilliant.

-That's not a problem.

-Cheers, thanks a lot.

So Richard gets an amazing wholesale discount on his pork.

Jun needs to match that,

and with time against him, has to deal on the phone.

Now what price is your seabass per kilo?

£13.50, really?

£13.50 for four farmed seabass,

I mean, that's really, really expensive.

I'm looking to get the best deal possible,

so could you do it for around £10 a kilo.

So what are we looking at? 10% of £13 a kilo.

£11.70 a kilo, right, and that's the absolute best you can do?

OK, no problem. See you in a bit.

He aimed for a tenner and ended up with £11.70,

so not great news for Jun.

Let's find out how much they both spent in total.

Well, Jun indeed did splash out on his ingredients

to the tune of £171.53,

and he's putting his dish on the menu for £19.

Richard benefited from a hard haggle,

and ended up spending just £139.12.

He's also putting his dish on the menu at £19.00,

meaning it's Jun who needs to sell more

if he wants to stay in the lead.

So back in the restaurant, and the destiny of the chefs

now lies with the customers.

Which dish are they going to go for?

I'm still debating between pork and seabass.

Well, early indications are always a bit inconclusive.

The chefs, however, are stuck with their choices,

but what do they think of each other's dishes?

It should just be sort of quite a tender pork loin.

It should get a bit of a kick from the paprika.

That is a nice bit of pork, that, isn't it?

Really good flavour.

And it's so much nicer when you roast it whole rather than in chops.

Exactly. That's what I'm trying to do,

and you get a bit more yield from it.

So, obviously, the seabass you bought...

OK, so, roast potatoes with paprika, I've got the chorizo that you used.

Really, really simple.

Great colours. The peppers work really well, really well.

I'm going to get a bit of that chorizo.

Nice, yeah.

Well, that was all very complimentary,

but what did Richard really think about Jun's?

I think it's a dish which people would probably more relate

Spanish cuisine to, but I always like to go a little bit off-piste,

I've gone a little bit different, and hopefully people

will notice that and they'll choose mine.

Richard's dish compared to mine is a lot heavier,

so if you wanted something lighter, you would definitely go with mine,

so depending if there's more women dining tonight,

I think I'll sell more seabass.

Ready for the main course?

So Jun is hoping the ladies will go with the fish.

Well, we are about to find out, as round two service begins.

I'll have the seabass.

Seabass, please.

And Jun is right - they've gone for the fish.

We have started the main course now, chefs. Two seabass.

Well, for the first two dishes, anyway!

Two seabass, good start.

Unlucky, Richard!

All right, all right, easy, easy.

Yes, quite right, Richard. That was only one table's worth,

and within seconds he's back on track.

Two main course, two pork loin.

Yes! Two pork!

After that, it's pretty much neck and neck all the way.

Can I have the seabass, please?

I think I'd like pork.

Until...

Four main course now, three pork loin, one seabass.

-Three pork?

-Yes.

Yeah, three.

Yes, little by little, the pork is working its way onto the pass.

So my theory about people going meat after shellfish

was probably right.

Yes, it's all going well for Richard,

but how's the fruit of his pork loins going down next door?

I had the pork. Oh, it was just lovely.

It was well cooked, the meat was perfect.

I would have it every Sunday.

It was a really nice roast pork with potatoes.

And it's not just the diners who are enjoying the pork.

Oh, look at that, beautiful.

I think this is possibly the best pork I've ever seen.

Spend wisely and you will get amazing produce.

I mean, that pork wasn't cheap, but just quality.

Jun is hellbent on visual perfection on the plate -

each one is going out like an oil painting.

Make sure you've got the same amount, and be quite generous.

But is he spending too much time fiddling with his fishy composition?

Someone in the restaurant thinks he is.

I need the potatoes more hot please, it's not hot enough.

Repeat, for the seabass, please.

A diner has sent back Jun's dish,

because the potatoes aren't hot enough,

and that's really set Gines off.

It's not hot enough.

It's a warm salad.

OK.

Well, it might be a warm salad to you,

but to one customer it's cold potatoes.

And just when Jun is reeling from the assault on his spuds,

an order comes in to finish him off.

I need seven pork loin.

We're doing three and then we're doing four.

Yes, seven pork. What a blow!

Yeah, I've sent all my seabass.

Richard has definitely got at least, I'd say,

six or seven portions of pork more than my seabass.

Yes, Jun might think service is over,

but Richard is still going strong.

And it just gets worse and worse.

Two pork loin more, please.

It's four followed by two, yeah?

So that's six you want now?

Yeah. Yes, please.

Leaving Jun wondering where it all went wrong.

It really isn't a good feeling when you've got all the food prepared

to serve the customers and you're standing around

and you're watching the other chef running around, selling his food,

it's not a good feeling.

Ah, you've got to feel a bit sorry for him.

Mind you, Richard doesn't - he's nicking his expensive ham!

Good ham. Waste not, want not, eh?

Five quid, please. I need the money.

There's a lot left, I thought I'd come and taste a bit.

Cheeky! And with that, service comes to an end.

For Jun, it couldn't have ended too soon -

for Richard, it could have carried on all night,

but what about the diners? What are their final thoughts on the food?

I had the pork. It was really, really lovely.

I was really looking forward to the creamy sauce,

and it was, it was lovely and creamy

and the Madeira came out really well.

All round, I really enjoyed it.

I think the mushrooms and the sauce were the nicest parts for me.

I had the seabass, top marks for presentation, the colours,

the crispiness, everything was just set off perfectly.

I was ready to dive into that main, it was fantastic.

How very generous.

But, of course, the real question that is on everyone's lips

is who sold the most dishes?

And more to the point, by how many?

-Right, then. Ready?

-Ready.

One, two, three, go.

It's close, it really is down to the wire.

-Good luck with the desserts.

-Yep.

Yes, as expected, a pretty convincing thrashing there

by Richard, but of course it's not all about numbers,

there's the profits to take into account.

But again, it's not great news for Jun.

His 12 dishes raised a total of £228.00, but when you take off

the amount he spent on ingredients, it leaves a profit of just £56.47.

Richard's pork brought in a more respectable £342.00,

and if you deduct the amount he spent at the shops it leaves him

a main course profit of £202.88, and a huge sigh of relief

as we head into the 3rd and final round - the puddings.

So, what have you got for us, chefs?

My dessert is a saffron poached pear with a warm chocolate pudding.

Jun's saffron and spiced poached pears

will be served with a warm chocolate pudding.

It's fruity, it's rich, it's a stunning combination.

Top that, Richard.

My pudding, I'm going to keep it quite fresh and quite fragrant,

I'm going to do a lemon mousse.

Richard's light lemon mousse is accompanied by a side

of roasted strawberries drizzled in a rioja and lemon syrup.

Tangy, sweet and sharp - possibly the perfect end to a perfect meal.

Oh, diners! What are you going to choose?

Well, back in the kitchen, and calm has once again befallen the room,

as the chefs get down to the serious business of making their desserts.

For my strawberries, you can see I've put a little bit

of caster sugar in there,

and once it starts to go a lovely golden caramel colour like that,

sort of smell of toffee apples,

we are going to add a knob of butter,

so there's my caramel, you can see now, golden brown,

lovely flavours coming from that, then in with the strawberries.

That is a balanced dessert, and that's what we're looking for.

Then in here, in with the Rioja,

and we'll let that marinade up,

and that's just going to work a treat.

And while Richard cooks off the rest of his strawberries

and pours out his mousse,

Jun prepares his final salvo of the evening -

the poached pears that will accompany his chocolate pudding.

Now I'm just going to cut them into quarters,

just take the root out, like this, and then as soon as I've done that

I'm going to drop them straight into this stock syrup

and that's going to prevent it from discolouring.

In the stock syrup, I've got some water, sugar, some cinnamon,

star anise and the saffron, and you can see that golden colour already.

Once I've quartered all the pears and taken the core out,

I'm going to put this back onto the stove,

bring it up to the boil, cook it for two minutes,

take it straight off and as soon as it cools down, they're ready.

And with that, the puddings are just about done.

With a half-full restaurant,

all they have left to do now is wait for service.

Maybe do a bit of wiping up.

Pull a face.

Watch a bit of tumbleweed blow through.

I tell you what. Why not review each other's food?

That'll while the away the time.

So it's a warm chocolate pudding,

creme fraiche and saffron poached pairs.

Lovely, eats well, chocolaty, might get the female vote tonight.

So I've gone for something which is in abundance out there, lemons.

So a very light lemon mousse.

That's very good. That's actually your best dish, I think.

Well, let's hope they spend £10 on that, then.

No, it's not that good!

Well, they liked each other's, but they liked their own dishes better.

There's a surprise!

It's not the most exciting dessert.

They might be swayed by mine

because it feels a little bit more exciting, maybe.

It's a lovely chocolate dessert.

Where the Spanish influence comes from,

I'm a bit lost with that, really.

Now, making a profit from the desserts today

is going to be a real challenge,

so it was essential that they spent as little as possible

on their ingredients, as every little helps.

Earlier in the day, when they went shopping,

Richard wasted no time bagging a bargain on his fruit.

I got all my strawberries here, 20 quid. Lemons, six quid,

so lemon mousse, roasted strawberries,

great dessert, great price.

Job done! Over to Jun.

Now this is exactly what I'm looking for.

This is saffron, and I'm going to use it for my poached pear,

and it's going to transform a simple poached pear

into the most beautiful dessert.

But it's really expensive, so I need to get a really good price.

Time to turn on the charm.

I know it's really expensive, but how much for these three?

£26.90.

Is there any way you could do it for 10 quid?

I know it's cheeky.

Because you're trying to bring your uniqueness of saffron to your dish,

I'll give it to you for £10.

£10 pounds, brilliant.

Wow, that's over £16 off!

Jun haggled hard and ended up forking out just £43.39

for all his dessert components.

A good result, but not as good as Richard, who spent just £35.47

on everything he needed for his lemon mousse and strawberries.

There's less than £8 between their costs.

Back at the restaurant,

and it's time for the chefs to present their dishes to the diners.

I'd like to introduce you to tonight's celebrity chefs.

Richard Phillips and Jun Tanaka.

The rules for desserts are a little different,

in that the guests can pay what they think the dish is worth,

so both chefs will want to get their pitch just right.

In other words, beg!

For this meal we will need you to dig very, very, very deep,

LAUGHTER

It's not funny!

And then follow up your begging by some very hard selling.

Although, for Richard, they are a hard bunch to please.

-Are they soggy?

-No, no, no.

-Are they crisp on the outside?

-I wouldn't say crisp.

I'm a chocolate freak.

-Are you?

-Sorry.

Can we convert you?

I don't know.

Until, at last, he hits upon table of lemon mousse lovers.

I think, as soon as we saw the menu, we decided on the lemon.

Are you sold?

-Sold.

-Nearly. Good job.

Jun, of course, as a bearer of chocolate,

heads straight for a table of ladies.

Yes, he's no mug!

-Any questions?

-Can I have 2?

Yeah, definitely, you can have three. I've got loads.

Yes, this could be the perfect table for Jun,

until he discovers one thing.

We're students.

Students?

Oh, no, I'll take this.

Right, no profit there, then.

How about another table of ladies?

I'm definitely having your pudding, absolutely.

You know you could pay whatever you like for this,

it could be 15, 20.

Yes, you're pushing your luck now.

Back in the kitchen with you and wait for service.

So did their pitches sway the diners?

I'm going for the chocolate and pears,

but mainly because I really don't like lemon-flavoured things,

so it was fairly easy.

The pitch for lemon was really well made,

and then seeing it right there, sold, I think.

In the kitchen, you could cut the atmosphere with a knife.

As they wait nervously.

This is now no ordinary service. This is the last chance saloon,

a real Mexican stand-off,

a Spanish Mexican stand-off, in London.

Suddenly, the ticket machine to crackles into life.

One lemon mousse and one chocolate.

Four chocolate, one lemon.

And they're off! Straight away, Richard is swept away

by a great swathe of chocolate.

Two chocolate more.

Seven chocolate altogether.

Yes, that's seven chocolate puddings, to two lemon mousses.

Three chocolate, one lemon mousse.

It's a chocolate surge of enormous proportions.

10?

Chocolate mousse is flying in, which is not good.

It's chocolate all the way!

Hold on a second, there's been loads of orders for chocolate

but so far not one of them has gone out. What on earth is going on?

I've got a lot of chocolate on order,

but they take eight minutes to cook in the oven,

so once they're in the oven,

all I do is wait until they come out nice and soft in the middle.

Oh, Jun, for goodness sake, couldn't you have done it earlier

when you were just standing around doing nothing?

Look at that, look at all them.

Yes, it might be lovely to see them all stacked up in the oven,

but Richard's are ready to go

and they're supposed to be in the dining room.

# Why are we waiting? #

In fact, they are supposed to be in the diners' tummies!

-Wake me up when the chocolate comes, will you?

-Jun, how long?

There we go, Richard. Chocolate fondant.

Good things come to those who wait.

Thank goodness for that, slow-coach! And how they are going down?

Looks good.

I had the chocolate pudding and it was just wonderful,

there are no actual words to describe how good it tasted.

Well, I went for the chocolate pudding, obviously there's

no other choice except chocolate pudding,

and it lived up to expectations.

There's a lot of ladies out there, and clearly the chocolate dessert

has taken their fancy over the citrus dessert.

It's a fact, isn't it? Women love chocolate.

Yes, he's right, you know.

Hey, guys, seven chocolate, please.

Seven chocolate! I'm well happy with that.

Seven more.

Ouch! A table for seven and it's all chocolate. That's got to hurt!

The ascendancy of the chocolate pudding

really has put the cat amongst the pigeons.

After his victory in the mains,

Richard only needed to sell a few to be assured of victory.

I needed to sell more desserts than I've sold.

Even if it had been level-pegging on dessert,

I think I would have beaten him today.

Now he's not so sure.

All he can do now is sit back, enjoy the fruits of his labour...

Someone might as well eat them.

And have a good old sulk.

Back in the dining room, and both puddings are going down a storm.

Really nicely spiced, the saffron.

The strawberries are perfect.

And as service comes to a close...

OK, guys, the last order table for two, two lemon mousse, please.

How much are the diners willing to pay for their puds?

I went for the poached pear, saffron and chocolate pudding,

which was absolutely delicious,

and I think I'd probably pay about £8 for that.

I had the lemon mousse with the strawberries.

Lovely, and after a lot of deliberation,

decided £5.50 was a reasonable amount to pay for that.

So before we tot up the totals,

let's see who sold what in the final round.

Well, as expected, it was a bit of a choccy day,

with Jun eventually selling 19 pear and chocolate puddings,

compared to a feeble display from Richard,

who only managed to sell nine lemon mousses.

It's been a difficult day for our two chefs -

an emotional roller coaster with its highs and lows,

its twists and turns,

but now it's time to put them out of their misery

and find out just who is going to be the Spanish conquistador.

One, two, three, go.

Oh.

So I won. Happy, very happy.

He's a bit gutted. I can hear him moaning already.

I lost. About £40 difference in it, not a lot,

and to come out with £176 for my charity is great, you know.

Round of applause for Richard Phillips.

Well, a victory for Richard, but sighs of relief all round,

as under the most difficult conditions,

they both broke into profit

and managed to earn a bit of cash for their chosen charities.

My charity for today is StreetSmart,

they raise funds for homeless people all over the country.

My charity for today is the Heart of Kent Hospice,

cos they help people in the last days of their life.

Yes, it's hurrahs all round, as once again,

two top chefs have shown that they've got what it takes

to put their menus where their mouths are.

For a selection of recipes from the series, log on to...

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