London South East Starter Great British Menu

-This time on Great British Menu...

-Should I be worried?

-You should always be worried.

-..the nation's best chefs...

I didn't come here to lose, you know.

..are challenged to plate up impeccable 21st-century dishes...

You'd struggle to find anyone that couldn't like that.

..for the chance to cook at a celebratory banquet...

-How are you feeling?

-Stressed.

..marking 100 years of the Women's Institute at London's

magnificent Drapers' Hall, where pioneers of the WI once gathered.

Going head-to-head this week for London and the South East -

returning contender Matt Gillan,

who's determined this year to make it to the banquet.

I know how tough is in this kitchen but this year, I am ready for it.

He faces fierce competition in two ambitious newcomers -

Marcus Wareing's protege, Mark Froydenlund...

I've trained under the best and this week, I'm going to make it count.

..and rising star on the London restaurant scene Lee Westcott.

I'm young, I'm ambitious,

I'm here to prove that I can make it all the way to the banquet.

-Both are vying to pip Matt to the post...

-The returning chef.

Must be pretty nervous, right?

..but can the two first-timers handle the pressure of the kitchen?

-No timing problems?

-Another minute in the pan.

-OK.

BLEEPING

When did my off timer go off? Who turned that timer off?

The Women's Institute was created in 1915 to encourage women to grow

and preserve food.

100 years on, the WI has become the last word in home cooking.

The chefs must create dishes that celebrate the generations

of women who've helped put British cuisine on the map.

They've researched the rich history of the organisation...

-They look very grand, don't they?

-Yes, they do.

-Morning, ladies.

-WOMEN: Good morning.

..visited local members...

Let me introduce two members of our WI.

..and taken inspiration from the women in their families...

-She used to cater for between 20-200 people.

-Really?

..to turn home-cooked classics into modern masterpieces.

That is wonderful.

Judging the chefs this week is someone who's no

stranger to the pressure of the Great British Menu kitchen.

It's two years ago since I was last here but those nerves,

those feelings, they've all come back!

Any thoughts of who you think it's going to be?

A little feeling that it might be Sat Bains.

-Twice a banquet champion...

-Daniel Clifford.

I think he'd be a tough one to go up against. Yeah.

..and holder of two Michelin stars - Daniel Clifford.

-Morning, chefs.

-Morning.

-Morning.

-Morning, Matt.

-Morning, chef.

-You all right?

-Yeah.

-How are you feeling?

-Even more nervous now, to be honest!

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Lee, it's your first time in the competition. How are you feeling?

-I'm very, very nervous.

-Really?

-Very nervous. I'm excited, though.

Mark, you work for Marcus Wareing. Obviously, massive shoes to fill.

You know, boys, this year, WI, they've got amazing standards.

I've got high standards. I'm expecting great things.

Don't let me down.

How are you feeling, mate?

First up, Michelin-starred returning contender Matt Gillan, who has

a lot to prove, having failed to cook for the judges two years ago.

-Have you forgotten your case?

-Yeah.

-You just put it on a cold plate?

-Yup.

Matt, so near. Commiserations.

This year, he's more determined than ever.

Being the only returning chef in this round, I'm feeling

the pressure but I'm also just raring to go and to get all the way.

I'm going to the banquet this year.

Having worked as a junior sous-chef for Daniel Clifford, Matt

knows his high standards all too well.

-Been a long time.

-Has been a long time.

Well, I remember you were probably the most creative person

I had in the kitchen and I'm hoping to see exactly the same today.

What's your inspiration for this whole menu today?

My menu is based on the timeline of the Women's Institute.

What's the name of the dish?

My dish is Sowing And Growing and it's based on the onion.

You've got zero protein in your box. Is there a reason for that?

In 1915, when the Women's Institute started,

they grew all their vegetables themselves during the wartime.

I wanted to reflect that in this box.

With the brown onions, we take the skin and all the trim,

I'm going to make a stock with that.

With the actual onion, I'm going to caramelise that, make a puree.

I've got silverskin onions,

-peel those down and I'm going to cook those in malt extract.

-OK.

With the grelots, peel those down.

Again, all the trim's going to go into the stock.

-So if I don't like onion, you're pretty knackered?

-Yeah.

Yeah, so I hope you like onion!

THEY LAUGH

Apples, make a caramel stock and then, we're

-just going to finish it with a little bit of Moscatel vinegar.

-OK.

Make it a little bit interesting, I'm going to make a soil

-but I'm going to use cocoa nib.

-And this one?

-That's apple juice.

That's going to be for the caramel stock for the apples.

Matt, great box of ingredients, vegetarian.

I can't wait to see the dish on a plate.

Matt's dish, Sowing And Growing - it's very different,

there's no protein in there at all.

I personally think it's a great starter

but it's got to work on the plate.

Newcomer Mark Froydenlund is head chef at Marcus Wareing's two

Michelin-starred restaurant.

He believes his dish will showcase his top-notch skills.

-How are you?

-Very well, thanks, yeah.

-Beautiful box of ingredients.

-Tell me about the dish.

-The name of the dish is Not Such A Tart.

-OK.

What's your inspiration?

One of my favourite memories about my grandmother here, Pam,

is her jam tarts.

She used to make them for us after school with a cup of tea.

-So this is a savoury play on a jam tart.

-What are you using for the base of the tart?

-I'm making a frangipane but making it more savoury.

-Filled with sweetbreads?

-They're a key part of the tart.

-How are you going to cook them?

Roasted veal sweetbreads and then glazing those with the rosehips.

So these are something that's new to me.

So we're making a syrup with this, setting it with some agar.

It's not a classic jam but I think it's a great

-representation of the preserving history of the WI.

-And the alcohol?

-All those have been used to marinate and to cook the chicken livers.

-OK.

So the chicken liver parfait - another key part of the tart.

So marinated with the alcohols, blended, finished with butter.

-For the tea, I'm making an onion consomme.

-OK.

Flavouring it with the Worcestershire sauce,

onion powder as well.

Just really trying to intensify the onion flavour. And the brown sauce,

just really picking up on those really rich onion flavours.

You're both making a consomme, which will be really interesting.

But if you can pull this off, it's going to be a showstopper.

I think he's clearly a very, very talented chef.

My only fear is it's very rich - chicken liver parfait, sweetbreads.

It's all heavy ingredients.

Last up - rising star Lee Westcott.

Ambitious Lee hopes his modern cooking style will stand

up against his Michelin-starred rivals.

-How are you?

-Very well, thank you.

So Lee, what is the inspiration for your dish?

One of the causes at the WI I backed -

it was called Mission Milk, the name of my dish,

and it was just to support the British dairy farmers.

-Brilliant.

-And this is quite close to my heart because this is my grandma.

-She owned a farm.

-OK.

And I just have these fond memories of drinking this sort of warm,

creamy, thick milk which has always sort of stuck with me.

And that really was just my inspiration for this dish.

-Brilliant.

-So, with the raw milk, I'm going to set it into a curd,

infuse that with flavours.

I am doing a raw beef dish, so for me, I'm using bavette.

I'm going to scrape this down.

-I'm going to serve this with beetroot in a couple of forms.

-OK.

So I'm going to bake them and smoke them.

The second thing I'm going to make is a smoked gel.

And then you've got some beautiful eggs.

I'm going to cook them in a water bath and serve a nice silky puree.

And then, I feel like you've got to have a sort of balance

in flavours, so for me, I'm going to do some pickled mooli.

-That's just sweetness and sharpness to the dish.

-And this?

This is the beef fat. This, I'll be rendering down very slowly

and that I'll be cooking with some breadcrumbs in there.

-So you're excited about this one?

-I am, yeah. This is sort of personal, this one.

-Yeah.

Yeah, Mission Milk - I really don't understand

where the milk is coming into the dish.

To me, it sounds like a restaurant dish.

I'm really excited.

I think in London, you've got a massive reputation.

All of you are fantastic cooks.

I'm expecting really high marks this week, so good luck, boys.

As cooking gets underway, newcomer Lee is sussing out his rivals.

The returning chef. Must be pretty nervous, right?

It is nerve-wracking.

It's good to finally get in the kitchen, to be honest.

Matt's vegetarian dish, Sowing And Growing,

features onions cooked four ways.

Both he and Mark are making an onion consomme.

Are you both kind of confident that yours is better than the others?

I'm hoping they'll both be different.

I think they will be different but, you know,

if I mess mine up, can I borrow some of yours?

HE LAUGHS

Winded them up a little bit earlier but I'm actually quite

excited to see how they're going to be different.

Mark's savoury spin on the classic jam tart features a second

-onion element - a puree for the base.

-First there was fear, anxiety.

Now I've started cooking, everything's fallen into place,

so the nerves have settled down.

But it's newcomer Lee whose raw beef, beetroot and milk curd

starter is the most complicated dish with eight elements.

Starting with mooli, a type of radish, he dices half and cuts the

rest into discs which he pickles and infuses with thyme and bay leaves.

Pressure's on now.

Sounds as though he's looking for some classic cooking as well.

All I've got is vegetables!

I'm pitching up a few onions against your beef and sweetbreads.

-I'm sure they'll be good onions, though.

-I hope so.

Matt Gillan runs The Pass in Sussex,

where he combines innovative techniques with everyday ingredients

- a skill that earned Matt a Michelin star in 2011.

I use a lot of techniques,

I use a lot of equipment you probably wouldn't use at home,

but I use a lot of ingredients that are accessible to home.

Two years ago, Matt was an early casualty in the competition.

This year, he's desperate to cook for the judges.

This time round, different competition, different brief,

very different Matt and this time, I'm going all the way.

To give himself the edge over his rivals, Matt did his research

and discovered that the first WI meeting in England took place

near his restaurant.

He's meeting Singleton WI president Lisa Emerson

and member Janet Holt, who know how visionary their predecessors were.

The ladies in here, they were really, really hard-working.

They were out there digging in their long skirts.

Incredible, wonderful women.

Really is truly inspirational, the whole story.

They were true pioneers.

To see if his starter meets with approval from the WI,

he's giving Lisa and Janet a taste of the soil element.

-Absolutely lovely.

-Thank you.

I love the fact that the ladies enjoyed my edible soil with

the onion. It gives me real confidence going into this dish.

Matt knows he can't play it safe if he wants to redeem himself

and get to this year's banquet,

so he's taking a big risk cooking a vegetarian starter.

I've taken onion on my dish

and I have totally made it the star of the show.

So many techniques involved, so many different onions, so there's different flavours.

I just hope that they can see what I'm trying to achieve.

He preps the second of his onion elements, cooking whole grelot

onions in oil and butter, which he finishes off in the oven.

Next, he preps onion vinegar pearls by heating Moscatel vinegar.

What's going on here?

I'm making the base to the pearls for the Moscatel onion pearls.

-It's got a nice acidity.

-OK.

Should balance out really nicely. Have a taste.

Something a little bit exciting for a plate of onions.

Do you think this is going to be enough to cut through

-the sweetness of the onions?

-Yeah, definitely.

I think it's a great idea. I can see it going with the onions

but is this dish going to be suitable for the banquet?

Matt moves on to another onion element -

silverskins in butter with malt extract...

..whilst Lee works on his dish of fine raw beef,

beetroot and milk curd,

adding earthy flavours to beetroot chunks by smoking them in woodchips.

BLEEPING

These are smoking!

Marcus Wareing's protege, Mark,

is marinating shallots in milk for the crispy topping of his dish.

He then starts the frangipane mix for his faux jam tart cases,

ready for piping.

Do you find it's easier to have someone like Marcus on your side?

I think it's good. It adds a different pressure.

-Is this a dish Marcus has tried?

-Yeah, he's tried it.

Has he let you get on with the brief yourself

-and then given you feedback as you've gone along?

-Exactly, yeah.

-I've put the whole thing together and he's just been you.

-Let's hope he's got it right.

NARRATOR: Mark Froydenlund is head chef at Great British Menu

heavyweight Marcus Wareing's two Michelin starred restaurant.

Main course, one salmon, one pork.

'I've been working with Marcus for eight years now and I definitely'

think it's my time to shine and step forward and to show what I can do.

Before Mark attempts to take his starter to the banquet

he wants the approval of his mentor Marcus.

You've been there and you've done it in the competition.

Is there any advice you would give me?

The only way you are going to win this competition is by having that

little extra edge. Everything that you've learnt, you are going to have to draw on it

and bring it to the table.

I value Marcus's opinion a lot. He is a great chef.

He knows exactly how flavours should come together,

what to do if they're not quite working.

I like it. It's really good.

Pulling back on the sweetness and adding in the spice is delicious.

-It works well.

-Great.

-Really good.

I'm really pleased with his reaction. I know there's a few things to work on still

but I now know we're heading in the right direction.

Mark's my protege. I think he can get to the banquet.

I certainly think he's good enough. It's all really down to him.

But in this kitchen it's Daniel who Mark needs to impress.

For his tart filling he marinates chicken livers in milk, port,

sherry and brandy.

He's prepped the rosehip jam

and pours it into moulds to cool in the chiller.

'Apart from the fact that it's a savoury tart I think there's some

'strong flavours in there which might not be to everyone's taste.'

Yeah, I'm worried.

Matt's cooking a risky onion-based vegetarian starter

and is making his soil adding black onion seed to bread

and cocoa nib and malt extract before hardening in the oven.

For Lee's modern starter of fine raw beef and milk curd he combines bread

with beef dripping for crispy bread crumbs and preps for his egg yolk puree.

Where's that spoon gone?

Your dish is inspired by your grandma.

I think it is additional pressure but in a way it is a good thing.

It pushes you on to do a bit more maybe. You want to do them proud.

I've started crying now. It's just the onions though!

Lee Westcott is a rising star on the London restaurant scene.

Check on, boys.

He may not have a coveted Michelin star like his rivals

but having worked under Great British Menu heavyweight

Tom Aikens, Lee is ready to prove himself.

Yeah, I guess I am feeling confident.

I've got a good fighting chance of winning this so I'm excited.

Last year Lee started his first solo venture the Typing Room in East

London and is hoping to marry his modern cooking style with

the brief by drawing on the ladies who've influenced him.

There's been a lot of women throughout my life that have

inspired me. My mum and my grandma.

And I really just hope that I do them proud throughout this competition.

Lee's Mission Milk starter was inspired by his gran

but it was her mother who handed down recipes to the family.

Your Nan Young was very much

an embodiment of what the WI itself aspires to.

She made her own cakes. She made butter.

She was quite an inspiration to most of us children

and also passing on through the family.

This dish is really just inspired by Nan Young's farm.

I remembered the milk.

The WI, they did huge campaigning for the dairy cows.

-I just wanted to put the two together.

-Yeah, it's really good.

It's been really nice to come back to my nan's house today and reliving the memories.

It's actually reminded me of what it's all about and I've just got a lot more confidence in this now.

In the kitchen Lee is working on a technical element of his raw

beef and milk curd starter, smoking baked beetroot discs.

But he still needs to make his egg yolk puree.

-BLEEP

-only my timer go off?

-BLEEP

-Who turned that timer off?

He cracks on with his egg yolk puree then starts

the centrepiece of his farm inspired starter, the milk curd.

This is one of your strongest dishes, yeah?

I'd say they're all as good as each other.

I like that. I like that. Fighting talk, boys.

It looks like he's taken dishes from his menu and tweaked them

to go onto this brief and sometimes that can be the biggest

problem of chefs entering this competition.

For his curd, the milk must cool naturally to 37 degrees.

He then adds a curdling agent

and fills his mini urns that will set in the fridge.

For Matt the pressure has kicked in and he's the first to plate

up his Sowing And Growing vegetarian starter,

inspired by the first role of the ladies of the WI.

Do you think people are going to miss the meat?

As a nod to what the ladies did in 1915 I think

it is the perfect opening dish for a banquet.

Matt combines malt onions, caramelised apple balls,

and onion vinegar pearls into a vegetable box...

..covers them in onion puree and layers on top grelot onions,

edible soil and pickled turnips

before garnishing with edible flowers.

I feel like there should be that kind of dramatic music.

He places his vegetable boxes on a cress bed

and finally adds miniature watering cans of onion clove stock.

-Sowing And Growing.

-What do you think, boys?

-Awesome.

Is this the dish that's going to take you all the way to the banquet?

I think it would be a really nice way to open the banquet.

-Shall we go and try it?

-Let's.

OK, so how would I eat this?

In the watering can we've got onion clove stock. So...

-Baby onions are really good.

-For me they're perfect.

-Yeah.

-They really are.

-The strongest onion flavour in there I think.

-DANIEL:

-And what about the grelot onions? Are you happy with the way they're cooked?

Yeah. Happy with them.

-LEE:

-The edible soil adds to another texture.

-MARK:

-Yes.

Do you think it might lose some of that texture as it sits in the other elements?

Yeah, I think it would. It would start to go soft.

Matt, are you satisfied, as you start eating the dish, the way that it looks?

I'm happy.

The puree is really good. It's a little bit wetter than I'd have it.

I think because the puree's a bit wet it makes it messy. That's my only comment on it really.

-DANIEL:

-So, Matt, if you were me what with you judge your dish?

-I'm hoping for an eight, minimum, on this dish.

-OK.

So I think for me and I'd give this an eight.

I'd give it a seven. The consistency is just not quite there.

-Hey, Matt, how did it go?

-Done. Relieved.

-Do you think he liked it?

You just don't know. You'll find out in a minute.

-How are getting on, Mark? Ready?

-Yeah, good, nearly there.

-No timing problems?

-No, it should be good.

Mark is next to plate up with his Not Such A Tart starter,

a savoury take on a classic jam tart inspired by his grandmother.

To ensure his dish is served warm he's taken the risky

move of cooking his sweetbreads at the last minute.

You should be really starting to come up to the pass now.

With the sweetbread cooking in the pan, Mark arranges

the frangipane tart cases adding a spoon of roast onion puree.

-That should just need another minute in the pan.

-OK.

-You're two minutes over at the moment, yeah?

-OK.

His sweetbreads are finally ready.

He glazes them with rosehip syrup

and pours his onion consomme into a china teapot.

-Has Marcus changed the china at the restaurant?

-No, no. These are from his home!

-Ah!

The sliced sweetbread is covered with chicken liver parfait and topped

with rosehip jam.

But in the rush to deliver, Mark's forgotten his crispy shallot topping.

-Not Such A Tart is the name of the dish.

-What do you think, boys?

-Looks lovely.

-Looks nice.

-Very different.

-Very different.

-Let's go and try it.

So, Mark, this is your dish. It's basically tart and tea.

I think they'll be surprised when they get this.

I think when you eat it as a dish it makes sense as a starter,

even though it looks like a dessert to start with.

It's a jam tart!

It is, it's a tart. That's cool. I like it.

-A bit different to yours.

-Yeah, little bit.

Do you feel that's seasoned right?

Yeah.

OK.

It's really intense. It's got, like, a kick at the end of it, innit?

Mark, is there anything on that dish you'd change?

Yeah. It's a shame. I've forgotten the crispy onions.

They're still in the kitchen.

-Texture's lovely on the frangipane.

-It's cooked really well.

The savoury frangipane cut through the sweetness of everything else.

And the sweetbread, you happy with that?

Yeah, I think the sweetbread's good.

Do you think grilled sweetbread's the way to kick off a banquet?

It's quite heavy.

Do you feel it's too rich for a starter?

I think the occasion calls for a rich starter.

It's a celebration, so we should be looking to impress.

I'd give Mark's dish an eight.

I would give it a seven.

OK. I don't know if he got his parfait right.

Hey, guys.

Hey, chief.

I forgot my crispy onion garnish, so

pretty gutted about that.

Lee is also racing against the clock to plate up his fine raw beef,

beetroot and milk curd starter.

With eight elements to his mission milk dish,

the pressure is on

and he has a problem.

-Oh, you

-BLEEP.

I burnt my breadcrumbs.

I left it just one slight second, and they went a bit black.

He works on the raw beef base, scraping off layers of bavette.

There's a fair few elements going on.

Yeah, a bit pushed for time as well.

Lee, how you getting on?

Yeah, a little bit under pressure, chef.

Onto a vintage milk crate, he presses his raw beef into the casing...

That's it. Time's up, Lee.

..followed by his rescued beef dripping breadcrumbs.

With the casing removed, he sprinkles on diced, pickled mouli...

That's two minutes over your allotted time.

..smoked beetroot gel

and discs.

Next, he pipes on the egg yolk puree.

With the clock ticking,

he arranges the pickled mouli discs

and garnishes with foraged herbs...

Right, we're coming up to five minutes now.

..before finally adding his raw mini milk curds to the tray.

What do you think, boys?

It's fun, isn't it? It's cool.

Let's go and taste it.

So, Lee, first dish up.

You happy?

Overall, I'm happy. I'm just a little disappointed that I

wasn't up on time, you know?

-It's really herby. It's really tasty.

-Yeah.

This is the pickled mouli.

That is, yeah.

The pickled mouli's really good. It brings everything together.

This is the smoked beetroot gel. Do you think that's smoky enough?

For me, yes.

-Definitely smoked, that.

-Yeah.

With the raw beef, it's not like chewing on a raw piece,

-the way he has ground it up.

-It's quite creamy, almost.

The breadcrumbs, are they the texture that you were looking for?

Yeah. The soft beef on the bottom,

and I think you get that crunch from the breadcrumbs.

So we pretty much devoured this,

-but we've still got the milk.

-It doesn't even need the milk.

But if it doesn't have the milk, then does it lose its story?

Do you feel that the WI will get your message?

As it's called mission milk, they'll understand that

it's to do with the dairy farmers.

If I was good to score this, I'd have to give it a nine.

The beef's exceptional. My only

question would be whether it needs the milk or not.

I'd give this an eight. Don't see it opening the banquet.

Hi, guys.

How did it go?

It was all right. I was a little bit

-disappointed that I wasn't up on time. Nervous?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-I know, I know. I am.

Yeah, I just want to find out now.

Hello, chefs.

How are you feeling?

Nervous.

Matt, I'm going to start with you.

Your sowing and growing with flavours of onion,

cocoa nib, malt soil and turnips.

I thought the presentation was really pretty.

I think it fits the brief.

I love the idea of the little watering can.

However...

..I felt after two mouthfuls, it was all very samey.

I felt all the onions were cooked very similar.

When you watered over the garden,

it sort of made it a little more sloppy.

I just felt the dish needed work.

Mark,

for your chicken liver parfait,

crispy sweetbreads, rosehip jam,

and frangipane.

The presentation I think is really clever.

I think it really did look like a jam tart.

And I like the idea of starting the banquet with a

cup of tea, because every meeting the WI have,

they start with a cup of tea.

However...

..I found the dish really rich,

and I think even myself would struggle to eat that dish

and then three more courses afterwards.

And you forgot an element.

A chef of your standing,

you shouldn't be forgetting things at this level of your career.

Lee,

for your mission milk with raw beef,

smoked beetroot and milk curd.

I was really worried about serving raw beef.

But the way you presented it,

I think you really pulled it off.

The milk curd I thought was really tasty.

I could really taste the thyme,

and I think it worked together with the dish.

However...

..I found the beef slightly bland.

I just felt it needed a little bit more seasoning.

Lee, for me, this dish, it has legs in this competition.

But you need to deliver the message in a clear way.

Maybe underneath, a little picture of your nan,

just so people can get that connection from you to the dish.

So to the scores.

Matt...

..I'm going to give you a five.

Mark...

..I'm going to give you a five as well.

Lee...

..I'm giving you a seven.

You are the most up-and-coming chefs in London and the south-east

and it needs to be seen on the plate.

Thank you very much.

I'm speechless...

I'm really disappointed with my starter score.

I thought it was balanced well enough, but Daniel didn't agree.

You did not deserve five. No way.

Getting seven for my first course,

I feel a bit more confident about the fish course now.

Really gutted with the five for my starter.

I have to make sure I deliver for him for the rest of the week.