North West Fish Great British Menu

This week on Great British Menu...

three of the North West's best chefs.

Returning contender Mark Ellis...

It's not like me not to take risks.

..Michelin-trained newcomer Matt Worswick...

I think you guys need to be hot on my heels.

..and executive chef Eve Townson...

I think it's going to be all the way to the banquet.

..are competing for the chance to cook at a banquet marking

100 years of the Women's Institute,

at London's prestigious Drapers' Hall.

For yesterday's starter course,

newcomer Eve's timing came under fire.

Three minutes over.

And she lost points for rustic cooking.

The dish was not refined enough for a banquet.

Fellow first-timer Matt made some rookie errors.

The partridge breast was a little overcooked.

But he got the highest score.

I'm giving you a seven.

Whilst Mark's risky take on a cooked breakfast fell flat.

It didn't work for me at all.

It feels a bit like deja vu from last year.

With Mark and Eve neck and neck...

Pressure, pressure, pressure.

..and Matt fighting to keep the lead,

today is a battle for the fish course.

Really up against it.

Overall, it was a mess.

Eve is determined to catch up with leader Matt.

I want to be right on Matt's tail.

I just need to try and get my timings right.

BLEEP!

And returning chef Mark is pushing the boat out.

If he pulls it off, he's going to get a very high score from me.

But in his fight for glory, will he sink or swim?

I can't serve that. I'm going to have to come up with another plan quick.

This year, the chefs are paying tribute to the WI,

founded 100 years ago to encourage women to grow and preserve food.

Today it's known for its fail-safe recipes.

Hi, you must be Yvonne.

The chefs have researched this national institution.

-They look very grand, don't they?

-Yes, they do.

And taken inspiration from the important women in their own lives.

This is great-great-grandmother Egort in here.

She was always cooking.

To produce winning menus worthy of the WI.

-I think you will go with these.

-Thank you.

Judging them all week is Sat Bains.

Holder of two Michelin stars and a former banquet champion.

Last year, I judged the winning fish course

so there is a lot of high expectation from me.

I want to see one of the dishes from the North West going

through to the banquet.

We're onto the fish course.

How do you feel about that?

I need to make up some points. Hopefully not run out of time.

Not an ideal start from me. I was hoping for better.

But coming into the fish course, I'm quite confident.

I'm two points ahead.

My grandmother was a massive influence on this course.

Hopefully with her on my shoulder looking at you two,

that should push me ahead even more.

Don't get ahead of yourself, Mark. Two points. We will wait and see.

First up is ambitious chef Matt Worswick,

who scored highest with a seven for his starter yesterday.

But he is not resting on his laurels.

I really want to get a good score for my fish course.

Two points ahead is not a lot. That could change very, very easy.

Matt, tell me, good score for the first course?

It got me ahead but I need to concentrate and retain the lead.

The title of the dish is called Grandma's Garden.

-OK.

-WI is not just about jams and cakes.

-It's all about growing your own vegetables.

-Yep.

And that's what my grandmother used to do.

I've used all the ingredients I would find in her garden.

What are you going to do to the lobster?

I'm going to poach him in water. Crack the shells, make a sauce.

With the beetroots, I'm just going to simply roast them

in the oven and just serve them in a bit of butter emulsion.

Same with the turnips.

I'm going to make a nasturtium oil.

-This plant was in abundance in my grandmother's garden.

-OK.

I'm going to make a mint oil

and then I'm going to turn that into a powder.

I like the fact that she is keeping an eye on you.

-Is that a good luck mascot there?

-She's not just keeping an eye on me.

She's keeping an eye on the other guys as well.

I think Matt's dish is hitting the brief.

His nan was in the WI and he is almost doing an homage to her.

The most important part here is the cooking of the lobster.

If it's over, it goes quite tough.

If it under, it still can be chewy.

So he's got to nail that.

Next is executive chef Eve Townsend, whose menu is

inspired by both strong Lancashire women and produce from the region.

Yesterday, she scored just five points for a starter

Sat thought lacked finesse.

My fish course is quite clean cut. Really about the flavours.

I just hope that he gets it

and he doesn't think that this is too rustic.

Eve, how are you?

Yeah, I'm feeling confident about this one.

Explain the whole dish to me, then. What is the inspiration behind it?

-The inspiration behind it is all about local produce.

-Yeah.

It's called Twinset and Pearls.

-OK.

-Obviously I'm just a bit tongue-in-cheek.

-Explain the dish to me, please.

-I've got halibut here.

Which I'm going to fillet.

Get a nice piece which I'm going to pan-fry with some scalloped

potatoes on the top.

Then underneath, I'm going to be making a shellfish,

a bit like a broth.

Then I'm going to finish it off with some sea vegetables.

Then I'm going to add the pearl element of the dish,

which I'm going to do some lemon caviar.

If that's similar to Matt's starter with the blackberry caviar?

-Definitely. I think we are using a very similar technique.

-OK.

Matt, what do you think?

I think it's a very good idea, the caviar.

THEY LAUGH

You had to say that, you got a good score for that.

Good title. It's going to be tongue-in-cheek

and I think it will go down well with the WI.

I believe Eve's fish course,

if she delivers, could be

served at the banquet and she could get a very high score today.

Finally, returning contender Mark Ellis.

Yesterday, he fell short, scoring just five points for a risky

dish that Sat felt didn't work as a whole.

After failing disastrously last year,

Mark is pulling out all the stops in his bid to cook at the banquet.

And his fish course is his most ambitious yet.

Fish is probably one of my favourite courses off the menu.

I'm determined going forward that this is going to be a better day.

Mark, how are we?

Yeah, bit disappointed with my starter result

but raring to go on this one.

Name of the dish please and the inspiration?

The name of the dish is Not Quite Nan's Bread-And-Butter Pudding.

I wanted to put a twist on a dish that would have

been in every strong WI lady's cookbook.

-OK.

-And serve it as a fish course.

-OK.

-The inspiration for this dish is my nan.

This is a dish we would've eaten when we were younger while

she was sewing by the fire.

So I'm going to do a mousse with this fantastic Cornish turbot.

I'm going to layer the mousse up in a ring mould with alternate

-layers of toasted brioche.

-OK.

Then the cockles, they are going to be representative of the raisins.

With the liquor from the cockles I'm going to make a butter

-sauce which is going to be representative of custard.

-OK.

And to finish off, I've got these fantastic Scottish scallops.

I'm going to remove the rose and dehydrate them.

I will make a powder with them and use that as a seasoning.

Then the scallop will be pan-fried

and lightly spiced with a curry powder.

I've never seen a fish bread and butter pudding.

-It's not like me not to take risks.

-OK.

So what's your view on this? Are you worried?

He's got some fabulous ingredients in there.

I've never had turbot with bread and butter pudding before.

It sounds quite complicated.

I'm shocked.

I can't believe you get this prime fish,

you're not even going to roast it or poach it, you're going to puree it.

A mousse with bread.

Is it going to be stodgy? I need to see it. I'm absolutely...

dumbfounded.

With cooking under way,

Mark's dessert-themed fish course is the talk of the kitchen.

Bread-and-butter pudding, that's a bit of a risky

move from a five from your starter, don't you think?

I think in a competition of this importance,

it's nice to be able to push yourself.

If I pull it off, it will be quite something.

I'm confident it's a good dish

but I could really do with scoring quite high on this one.

In joint last place with Mark, Eve is determined to

close in on leader, Matt, with her dish -

Twinset and Pearls.

Eve, are you pushing yourself with that dish?

Yeah, there is a few different bits to it. I've brought the halibut in.

It's a premium fish

and the flavours should be really true to what I'm doing.

She is serving pan-fried halibut with potato scales

on shellfish and sea vegetables, topped with lemon pearls.

You could cut the tension with a knife. Are you all on top?

Just concentrating, Chef.

Young gun Matt shot into the lead with his starter.

Today he's hoping his poached lobster with garden

vegetables will keep him on top.

Your dish, it sounds pretty simple really.

I think having a decent ingredient like a lobster,

I wanted the product to sing for itself rather than tarting it up

and making it something that it isn't.

Matt is making an oil flavoured with nasturtium to honour the

flowers that grew in his grandmother's garden.

He blanches the leaves with spinach before blitzing

and adding hot vegetable oil.

Can I have a taste? I've never tried nasturtium oil before.

Yes, carry on.

That's just going to be a dressing for the plate.

You've got a pretty simple dish here.

Do you think it's enough to keep the lead?

To keep it this simple doesn't mean you're taking the easy way out.

There is a lot of processes.

Complexity in the processes but ease in the execution.

I can't just say, yes, he is a gastronomic because he is

using modern-fangled techniques, it's got to be there for a reason.

The star of the show is the lobster.

Everything else has got to be lifting that.

Newcomer Eve is under pressure to show Sat she's more than just

a rustic cook. To make the lemon pearls

she's using spherification.

A modern technique that earned Matt praise for his starter.

But can be tricky to get right.

How are you getting on, Eve?

I'm just trying to not let the time run away with me at the moment.

She whisks a setting agent into a lemon puree solution.

Then drops the mixture into chilled oil to form the pearls.

You got five for your starter.

Are you feeling the pressure for the fish course?

Yeah, definitely. I need to get a higher score than that.

Obviously I want to be right on Matt's tail or, you know,

definitely going ahead of Mark.

I just need to try to get my timings right.

Do you think this dish is more refined than your starter?

I think so. It's good, clean cooking.

Just a little modern twist on a couple of things.

Eve's lemon pearls, she's put them into the oil.

But until they are actually at the right temperature, you don't

know what they are going to add to the dish.

Yesterday, returning chef Mark pushed boundaries with

a starter masquerading as a cooked breakfast.

Today he is making a similarly provocative fish course.

A bread-and-butter pudding with turbot mousse and brioche.

Have you made that brioche or is it shop-bought?

Shop-bought. Brioche is a laminated bread which takes two days to make.

Mark is using local cockles in his dish. And he is not the only one.

I'm using cockles on my dish as well.

-I bet mine are better than yours.

-Mine are going to be cockles.

They are not pretending to be raisins.

HE LAUGHS Touche.

SHE LAUGHS

Cockles are more than just a tasty addition to Mark's dish.

I've got some great memories of eating cockles with my nan

when I was younger. She actually used to fish them herself.

So it's nice to think that something that was sustainable

and local then is still sustainable and local now.

Mark travelled to the Dee Estuary in Thurston

to meet cockle expert Rick Prichard.

Cockles are one of my fondest food memories.

We used to get them from a local shop.

It's a shame you just don't see that sort of thing any more really.

Primarily of course it used to be a woman's occupation, the cockling.

Many, many years ago it was all done by horse and cart by the ladies.

This is what would have been used by your nan.

Hundreds of years ago it would literally have been

a hand-rake and a riddle.

This is what we are left with after you have riddled through.

I can't wait to cook them up.

Mark is keen to get Richard's approval on his turbot mousse

with Dee Estuary cockles.

I think that's about ready now.

That's just steamed off in there.

-Enjoy that?

-Yeah, lovely.

-Good.

Do you think that combination works?

-Absolutely.

-Good.

-Another dimension to the lowly cockle.

Back in the kitchen, Mark - currently joint last with Eve -

is preparing a prime cut of turbot for his twist

on bread-and-butter pudding.

Mark, you are taking your time preparing this beautiful

-piece of fish.

-Yeah.

-You are a braver chef than me.

Because it's such a prime fish, one of the best in the sea,

I'd have probably just pan-fried it.

But you are going to make it into a mousse.

I played with the idea of keeping it really simple.

But as chefs, we need to really push ourselves and try different things.

I think that's the only way we can make progress.

You don't look convinced, Chef.

THEY LAUGH

I'm going to wait to taste it, I think.

I'm watching him fillet, really tentatively,

a beautiful piece of turbot.

And then I'll watch him puree it.

Has he done that beautiful piece of fish justice?

For leader Matt, the star of the show is his lobster, which he

is simply poaching in a butter and lobster emulsion with fresh thyme.

From the starter course, I think

you guys need to be hot on my heels to catch up.

That'll be why you have gone for the easy option and just poached lobster.

You don't have to make it difficult to taste nice, do we, Chef, eh?

Mark is taking a massive risk with his dessert-themed fish course

to try and claw back points.

Does the bread-and-butter pudding relate to any fish course anywhere?

-I'm trying to set a new trend.

-Well, someone needs to.

He makes the mousse by beating cream into the pureed turbot.

Seasoning with scallop roe powder.

Lastly, he layers the mousse,

cockles and toasted brioche into lined ring moulds.

Mark's is going to be interesting.

It is a brave move and if he pulls it off, it'll be great.

Determined not to be late to the pass a second time,

Eve gets her fish on in preparation for plating up.

But then, disaster.

BLEEP!

What's going on with the fish, Eve?

I put it on too soon. I thought I had five, ten minutes left.

Actually, I've got 25.

Eve must now start from scratch.

I'm pretty set over here if you want me to go first.

-Could you?

-Yeah, I don't mind. I'm all ready to go.

-That would be great if you could.

-No problem.

Thankfully Matt has offered to go first.

I completely messed up on my timing.

But he has bailed me out so I owe him big style.

Matt starts to plate up early.

He decorates baskets with fresh garden veg.

Lovely!

He arranges his poached lobster claws and tail on a vintage plate.

Next it's baby root vegetables, garden peas

and a dressing of nasturtium oil.

Did you get those plates off your gran?

Did a granny use this plate, absolutely.

It actually looks really nice.

He finishes with powdered mint oil and serves in his garden baskets.

Matt, you have come to the pass first.

Has there been some kind of cross communication here?

Eve mistimed herself and in spirits of the WI, I jumped in first

and stuck together as a team so...

Tell me what this dish is called and the inspiration behind it.

This is called Grandmother's Garden. It's about being resourceful

and that's what I feel the WI stands for.

-Shall we give it a taste?

-Let's do it.

Do you think you had too little to do?

I don't think I had too little to do. The lobster meat,

I think it needs to be treated sympathetically.

I don't think Matt has pushed himself with this dish and it leaves me

feeling a bit disappointed, to be honest.

Are you happy with the lobster?

Yes, if it's overcooked it's got a tendency to be really rubbery

and really, really chewy. But I think it's good.

I think it's undercooked

but I think the lobster needs a bit more seasoning.

-There is no seasoning on that whatsoever.

-No.

What do you think the mint oil powder adds to the dish?

I wanted to add an lightness to the dish so it's not too heavy.

There is quite a lot of oil left on the plate, isn't there?

-Hmm.

-Might be a touch greasy.

What about the nasturtium oil, can you taste it?

It's not apparent in the dish. Not enough for me to warrant it.

-Didn't really get a lot from the nasturtium.

-No.

You know, that classic sort of peppery, in-your-face flavour.

I didn't get any pepper at all off the nasturtium.

Are you worried?

I was worried before because he was already in the lead.

As long as I season mine all right, I might be all right.

How are we doing?

-How was it?

-How was it, yeah?

It was OK. I'll take the nasturtium oil off next time, I think.

Did he not like that?

Didn't really get the flavour, to be honest with you.

Up next to the pass is Eve,

whose mistiming meant she had to swap with Matt.

Now she has to get it right.

She pan-fries her second batch of halibut and wilts her spinach.

-Are you an time now?

-Ten minutes.

-It's a bit early to cook that fish.

-No.

-No?

-No, no.

I'm trying to be three minutes early to make up for my starter.

THEY LAUGH

Eve makes a sauce using cream

and the reduced cooking liquor from her seafood.

First on the plate is the spinach.

Then a layer of mussels, cockles and sea veg,

coated in a shellfish sauce.

-Lot of sea veg on there.

-Yeah.

It needs to be about the sea.

Finally, it's the pan-fried halibut and potatoes.

And a last dash of sauce.

Eve, how is timing going?

-50 seconds early.

-Wow, let's have a look then.

But her twinset dish is missing something.

Lemon pearls. Sorry.

-I'm not 50 seconds early.

-Get your pearls on.

-I know, God.

There we go.

It's the first time I've seen food being served at the pass.

I'm just trying to keep you on your toes.

Three minutes late on my starter and plating at the pass.

Let's have a taste.

Eve, how did you get on in the kitchen?

Um, pressure, pressure, pressure.

Please explain the dish to me.

Twinset and Pearls.

The twinset, the prime cut of halibut on the top

and the shellfish underneath.

Let's have a taste.

The halibut tastes a little bit overcooked for me.

-Lacking in a bit of seasoning.

-I'd like to see a bigger piece of fish.

-Certainly if it's a celebration for the WI.

-Yeah.

Do you think the fish is seasoned enough?

I think the fish perhaps could have

done with a little touch more seasoning on it.

I'm really happy with my sauce. It's exactly how I wanted it to be.

The veg, do you think that adds anything to the dish?

Um...

I think the sea purslane and the sea fennel,

you really get the taste of the sea from it.

And the salty fingers just add another little

bit of seasoning to it.

They're all sea vegetables that I use on a regular basis.

I just think it tastes a little bit lost in the sauce.

It's a bit rich for them I think.

Do you think the lemon pearls are strong enough for this dish?

I think the amount I've put on was probably right for the size.

I didn't want it to be too citrusy.

I don't think the lemon pearls are standing up to the

strongness of the fish cream.

So, if you had to give yourself a score out of ten, what would it be?

I think for flavour I'd give myself a nine.

LAUGHING: Wow!

I like the theme of the dish. I like the content.

And I think it tastes nice. I'd give it a seven.

I'm going to give it a six.

She's definitely played safe with this one.

Mark is last to plate up his take on a bread-and-butter pudding.

But with only ten minutes until the pass,

disaster strikes with his turbot mousse.

It's split. The mousse has split. I can't serve that.

I won't serve that to Sat.

I'm going to have to come up with another plan quick.

For the second time today, Matt steps in to help.

Is there anything you need doing?

You can slice me some brioche.

It was always a risky move to do bread-and-butter pudding.

Obviously it's gone wrong but he's trying to rectify it.

He just hasn't got long to go now. He's really up against it.

-Really under pressure now.

-Brioche in the bottom?

-Yeah.

Mark pipes the second lot of turbot mousse into moulds,

-between layers of brioche, ready for steaming.

-What's going on here?

I did a tester of the bread-and-butter pudding

and the mousse has split.

I'm just going to have to go up to the pass a little bit late.

With time running out, Mark's really feeling the heat.

So much so, he's forgotten to include the cockles

intended to represent the raisins.

This has never happened to me before. It's a horrible feeling.

Mark, you're due in one minute.

I'll be able to give it to you in six minutes, Chef.

-Really?

-Yeah, I'm running behind.

Mark still needs to cook his scallops.

How many more minutes?

Four minutes exactly, Chef.

Serving now.

He turns out his second attempt at turbot mousse

and adds his seared scallops, dresses with scallop roe powder,

curry oil and lemon, and garnishes with sea fennel.

Mark, we need to go.

Finally, he decants his cockle butter sauce,

adds the forgotten cockles, and serves in a presentation box.

Apologies, Chef.

-Didn't go to plan.

-OK.

-At all.

Are you happy with it now?

-No.

-Let's have a look at it.

It's Not Quite Nan's Bread-And-Butter Pudding,

which is not quite as I intended in the first place.

Shall we have a taste? Yes, Chef.

I think the box is great. I like the idea. I like the message inside.

-I think it's really good.

-It is. It's really sentimental.

-Touching.

Mark, what happened? Did you have a bit of a nightmare in there?

Yeah, I think nerves got the best of me.

I didn't chill the mousse as quickly as I should have done so it split.

-OK.

-So I've done another one as quickly as possible.

Shall we dive in, have a taste?

From the thought behind the brief, that is

not what he intended to put up. He is going to be gutted with that.

Yeah. I actually think he is going to be devastated.

-Are you happy with the mousse?

-No.

-What's wrong with it?

It under seasoned, slightly undercooked.

It's not quite smooth enough.

It's totally undercooked.

It's pretty, pretty raw, isn't it, unfortunately.

When you have practised this dish in the past,

how has it turned out different to this?

The brioche isn't toasted or seasoned enough.

The scallops are touch undercooked.

And the spice doesn't quite come through enough.

Even his scallops are underdone. He's really rushed it at the end.

I find it very hard to comment on the dish

because it's so undercooked.

This is a difficult question but what would you score this dish out of ten?

Probably about a three or a four at best.

It's awful.

It's a disaster.

-The main elements of the dish aren't right.

-No.

I'd have to give the dish a three.

I'd have to give him a four.

I actually feel really harsh giving him it but it's totally wrong.

He would say the same thing. Mark is a better chef than this.

How do you feel?

Absolutely devastated. I took a risk and it didn't pay off.

I can quite honestly say that's the most pressure I've felt.

-And it's horrible.

-We both said that dish wasn't you as a chef.

-You've still got two courses to go.

-Yeah.

-You know?

Fighting spirit and all that.

Yeah, I mean that's what the WI is all about.

Finding something a little bit extra under adversity.

Hello, Chefs, how are we doing?

-I've been better, Chef.

-Tricky round that fish course.

Eve, I'm going to start with you. Your dish, Twinset and Pearls.

The sauce was delicious.

The shellfish was cooked beautifully.

Overall, I thought it was good cooking.

But...

It just wasn't refined cooking.

The lemon pearls were a nice touch.

But for me, they didn't add anything to the dish.

The fish was a tiny bit dry. And also, it wasn't seasoned.

It was almost like a schoolboy error.

Matt...

For your dish of Grandma's Garden,

the presentation was great. Not too gimmicky.

I love the idea of growing your own.

The lobster was cooked beautifully.

The baby beets and the turnips were spot-on.

However, the lobster, for me, was slightly under seasoned.

The mint oil powder cloyed.

The nasturtium oil didn't add anything to the plate.

Mark...

I think you know what's coming, Chef.

The idea of a bread-and-butter pudding for a fish course

was a brave one.

If you had pulled it off, it could've been a triumph.

The turbot mousse was really undercooked.

The brioche wasn't toasted.

The scallop was under seasoned.

Overall, it was a mess.

To the scores...

Eve...

For your Twinset and Pearls...

I'm giving you a six.

Cooking for the WI is a tough brief.

It's got to be homely food, but elevated.

This didn't quite make the grade.

Matt...

I'm giving you a seven.

Lovely idea. But you need to cook every element perfectly.

Mark...

I'm giving you a three.

You got a dish up to the pass under that much stress

so I know you've got some mettle in you.

You've got two more dishes to serve.

You've still got a chance to prove yourself. And I believe in you.

This has been a mixed day for you all. Get some good rest tonight.

I want to see you all with a fighting spirit. Yeah?

-Yes, Chef.

-Good luck, guys.

I'm a little bit gutted. I wanted at least a seven.

I think I was very, very lucky to get a three.

-It's so pressurised though.

-Yeah.

I really felt it with this course today.

With two courses down, Matt keeps his lead with 14 points.

Eve is second on 11.

And Mark is trailing on eight points.

I've got everything to play for tomorrow.

I really need to up my game.

Make sure my main course is absolutely bu-bum.

I'm happy with the scores so far

but I've just got to stop making silly mistakes.

I'm ahead still so I've got to be happy about that at least.

I think I need to put that behind me and come out fighting tomorrow.

And cook my little socks off.

I'm going to go and buy myself a watch.

THEY LAUGH