London South East Dessert Great British Menu

This week on Great British Menu -

three of the most exciting chefs

on the London and south-east restaurant scene.

Michelin-starred returning contender Matt Gillan...

This could be where it's won or lost this week.

..head chef at Marcus Wareing's two-star restaurant Mark Froydenlund...

It's tough, I didn't really know what to expect. ..and rising star Lee Westcott...

These guys are gunning for me, you know. They want my spot and I want to keep it.

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

to celebrate 100 years of the Women's Institute

at London's prestigious Drapers' Hall.

Yesterday, Mark came out on top

with an impressive nine for his main course,

moving him one point ahead of Matt.

That's been your strongest dish to date and it was a pleasure to eat.

But neither of the Michelin-starred contenders

have done enough yet to topple Lee from the top spot.

Makes dessert interesting though. Yeah.

Today's dessert course is their last chance for victory.

Super confident you'll like this one. OK, we'll see.

Both Mark and Matt know that just one mistake...

Huge pressure once again.

Definitely could be in with a chance.

..could cost them the competition.

Sugar. I need 200 grams of sugar. Give me the sugar here.

Not happy with them? Not really.

This year, the chefs are celebrating the centenary of the Women's Institute,

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

To research the history of the organisation,

they've visited local groups...

If Women's Institute weren't to win it today. BOTH: Ohh!

A big blot on their copybook.

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

If their taste buds are right, they'll love it.

..to turn cherished British classics... ALL: Wow!

..into banquet-worthy dishes.

I've got my own - frugal. Yes. Excellent.

Judging them all week is Daniel Clifford,

holder of two Michelin stars and twice a banquet champion.

I've got to put two chefs through

who are going to do this region proud.

Their desserts need to be perfect.

So, guys, last chance to get some points on the board.

Yeah, or last chance to lose some points. I'm nervous.

Obviously, I'm really pleased with my nine,

it's given me a bit of a boost for the dessert.

To go home at the end of this course, it'd be so disappointing,

especially second time round.

So, you know, you guys need to watch your backs

because I'm bringing it today. Yeah, well, I'm hoping to get in your way.

Good luck, mate.

First up is head chef at Marcus Wareing's two-star restaurant

Mark Froydenlund.

After a disappointing start to the week,

his home cooking style main course earned nine points.

Only another top-notch dish will see him through.

I'm ready to get back into the kitchen, get a high score,

and claim my place for the judging chamber on Friday.

Hi, chef. How are you? Very well. You? Yeah, not too bad.

What's the name of the dish?

The dish is called Rice Pudding Hot And Cold.

There's a little family story. OK.

My grandmother and my great-grandmother

would have a competition to see who's rice pudding was better. OK.

That's kind of what I'm trying get across here

is that family nature of eating rice pudding. OK.

So the dish itself, obviously, the rice the most important part. Yep.

I'm going to take that and cook it in a sponge.

I'm also making a rice pudding ice cream,

so the hot is the sponge and the cold is the ice cream.

So I'm not going to actually have a rice pudding?

It won't be a baked rice pudding, no. Is this pudding rice? Yeah. OK.

What's in the rest of the box? So to go with that, we've got rhubarb.

The sharpness of the rhubarb is going to go really well with the rice pudding. A few other flavours.

Some rum to finish the ice cream with.

A little bit in a jelly as well.

The jelly's going to be made with caramelised honey. OK.

As well as the rice pudding,

I'm also going to be making a milk tuille. A milk tuille? Yeah.

That's to show the caramelised top of the rice pudding. A milk skin?

Yeah. That some people love, some people hate. Yeah.

This is obviously vanilla. What are going to be using this for?

It's going into the base of the ice cream and it's also going into the custard.

Is that the famous Marcus Wareing custard? It is, yeah.

Didn't he get top, top scores for that? I think he did all right.

I'm just hoping he's given me the right recipe.

LAUGHTER

To turn rice pudding on its head,

that's the biggest risk he's taken this week.

If he executes this perfectly, he could be cooking tomorrow.

Next up is rising star Lee Westcott.

After a strong start to the week, he missed the mark yesterday

with a main course that was too complicated,

but he remains top of the scoreboard.

It's nice that I've still got a slight lead over Matt and Mark.

Unless I make a big mistake on the next course,

I think I've got a good chance of getting through to Friday.

What's the dish called? Honey, Where Would We Bee Without You? OK.

Bee as in the B-E-E. Yeah. Obviously.

WI backs a lot of causes.

Quite a recent one is they backed to save the honeybee.

OK. So, take me through the box.

So I'm doing yoghurt and honey, you know, it's a classic.

I'm going to add an unusual element to my dish -

a savoury element.

Dried ceps. Ceps?

You're using a mushroom on your dessert? Yeah.

I'm going to blitz that into a powder. OK.

And that's going to be rolled in my honeycomb parfait.

Honey and ceps. I'm sort of fighting with that in my head.

I love it, I'm just hoping everyone else does.

Is there any baking elements in your dish? There is.

I'm making a cep meringue cake as well.

I'm also making honeycomb jelly... OK.

..using the fresh honey and making honeycomb as well.

That can be a bit tricky, it doesn't work every single time. No.

If you put too much cep on this dish,

will it overkill the dish? Oh, for sure.

It's got to be balanced right.

So, this is really about the skill of your taste. Yeah.

Do you feel nervous about this? A little bit.

I haven't exactly played it safe with this one, have I?

Now, Lee's been consistent this week.

I'm not sure that honey and ceps is going to work.

It's going to have to be a perfect match.

Finally, returning contender and Michelin-star holder Matt Gillan.

In last place, he had a disappointing week

and knows today only a top score can keep him in the competition.

Going into that kitchen today,

I'm going to absolutely nail this dessert course

and I am going to claw back those points.

Explain to me the dish. So, my dish is Back To Black (And Yellow).

It's inspired by the final part

of the journey through the WI's timeline

and it brings us right up to date

with the WI supporting the cause of the plight of the honeybee.

So you've both got the same idea here.

Our starting points were the same, but from there it differs.

My inspiration is to finish the journey of the hundred years

of the Women's Institute, whereas Lee, I think, has got a slightly different approach.

Is yours going to be better than Lee's? Yeah. OK.

Go on, take me through your box.

OK, so I have three different honeys.

First off, we have the wild forest honey,

so this is going to feature in my baked honey yoghurt.

What is a baked honey yoghurt? Honey, yoghurt, condensed milk.

I'm going to put them into a mould

using a dehydrator as my cooking method.

So it sets naturally? So it sets naturally, yeah. OK.

Second honey is a wildflower honey and that's going to go in my honeycomb.

You're making honeycomb as well? I'm making honeycomb. Yeah, OK.

The final honey is manuka honey -

it's the least sweet of all three -

and that's going to be the base for the honey cake.

You're making a cake for the WI?

Yes. They will love this cake.

I'm going to make a white chocolate honeycomb mousse - very, very light.

OK. It's going to honey mead curd.

What is mead? It's a wine made from honey. OK.

Matt, has this fallen into your box by mistake?

No, this is going to from the fennel sorbet.

I think the fennel will just strip back the sweetness a little bit

and allow the flavours of the honey to come through.

Well, it seems to me like you got a lot going on again.

You know what, it's a competition and I'm up against two very, very good chefs,

so if I'm not going all out, then I deserve to go home.

What I like about Matt is he hasn't given up.

He knows he's got a fight on his hands.

Matt takes risks and he needs this risk to pay off.

The Women's Institute, they are the queens of baking.

The pudding needs to be the best pudding you've ever produced.

Good luck.

With just two chefs going through to cook for the judges tomorrow,

Matt and Mark know they've got a battle on their hands.

This could be where it's won or lost this week, the dessert course,

especially for me and you. There's one point in it. Yeah.

It's down to the sponges, boys. It's a big course.

Yesterday, Mark nailed the brief.

But to stay in the competition, he needs another top score

and hides his radical twist on rice pudding,

inspired by his nan, will see of rival Matt.

The dessert I'm doing today, it's all about nostalgia,

it's all about traditional cookery,

so I think if he buys into that then I could be in with a chance.

Mark works on his rice pudding,

which he'll use in both the hot and cold elements of his dish...

..a sponge and ice cream.

All right, Mark? How's it going? Yeah, not too bad.

What's going on here? This is the rice pudding for the ice cream.

Happy with it? Yeah, so far. A little more cooking.

Have you got the eggs in there already? Yep.

Is the competition scaring you off or...?

Yeah, I think the use of vegetables is a little worrying,

but I set out to do something traditional and that's what I've got a stick to.

Mark's rice pudding,

I'm just a bit worried that freezing into an ice cream is going to dilute the flavour.

For returning contender Matt,

it's his last chance to outcook Mark or he'll be going home today.

He's pushing hard with risky flavours in his honey and fennel sorbet dish.

The pressure's on for me to stay in this competition,

but I'm in a position where I've got everything to gain.

He works on a savoury fennel sorbet

to balance his honey cooked three ways.

Matt's doing his best to show he's super-confident, but desserts

is the hardest thing to pull off in the Great British Menu kitchen.

With no-one safe in the competition,

Lee is also putting an unusual savoury spin on his dish

by making a cep crumble,

which he'll use for the honeycomb parfait and meringue.

You're both doing savoury elements.

It's supposed to be dessert day, isn't it?

Who's a funny one? LAUGHTER

I'm just using the fennel almost like a palate cleanser.

I don't know where Lee's ceps come into the equation on his dish.

It is an unusual one and,

when I first tried it, I thought, "This is...this is pretty good."

Lee and Matt's dishes both feature honeycomb,

a tricky element they're both trying to perfect.

When I decided to do dessert,

I knew a lot of people would be doing honey,

but that didn't faze me, you know.

Lee's honey dessert is a tribute to the campaign to save our bee.

Their decline in the UK could have a serious effect

on many of the ingredients commonly used in our kitchens.

Hiya. Hello, Dale. Hello. Lovely to meet you.

To learn more, he's gone to meet urban rooftop beekeeper Dale Gibson in East London.

How many bees are in there?

In the peak summer, there can be 50-60,000 in one hive.

Look at them!

Rooftop beekeeping offers honeybees a safe environment in the city,

where they can forage for up to three miles.

Yeah, it's been a great year for bees,

so they won't mind you tasting a little bit. It's just gliding through. Yeah.

So that is Bermondsey bee honey, Grade A.

I feel like I've stolen their lovely honey.

Well, I think they're just sort of kissing it goodbye for you

and giving it their blessing, is what I think.

But there's another reason for Lee's visit to East London.

Hello, ladies. ALL: Hello.

He wants to test a sample of his honey and cep dessert

on a local WI group, the Borough Belles.

I really do want your opinions on it.

Enjoy it? Mmm!

I think you'd have to serve it with a very small amount of the honey,

but a lot of the cep mixture.

It's not too sickly sweet, it's a savoury pudding.

Can you have a savoury...? Exactly, you can have a savoury pudding. Yeah, I like that.

Is it strong enough to get through to the banquet?

Why not? Yeah, it's really unusual.

I hope you make it through.

The girls' reaction in there has really given me a confidence boost.

I think that I actually have a chance with this.

In the kitchen, Lee folds his cep crumble

into meringue cake mix before cooking in the oven.

No-one open this oven, please, guys.

Where are you up to, Lee? This is the cep crumble. OK.

It's been baked, it's now just cooling down. Yeah.

You can smell the cep from here, it's...it's a strong smell.

Is there a lot of that going on the plate? No, not too much, no. OK.

The cep flavouring in Lee's crumble is very, very intense.

I'm very worried about it.

Is that going to overpower the honey?

Returning contender Matt knows the pressure of being at the bottom

of the scoreboard, but this year it's spurring him on.

I've been here once before and it's not a nice place to be.

The pressure's intense in here.

This is my last chance to stay in this competition.

With his sponge in the oven,

he fills honeycomb-shaped moulds with honey yoghurt,

which will set in the dehydrator.

But it's his savoury fennel sorbet that's caught Daniel's attention.

Is this the sorbet? This is the sorbet.

Just have a...

I know you're not sold on the fennel,

but I'm super confident you'll like this one.

OK, we'll see.

Matt's fennel sorbet is delicious.

Is it going to go with honey? I'm not 100% sure.

At the moment, I think he's bitten off too much.

MATT GROANS

With his rice pudding ice cream in the freezer,

Mark works on his rice pudding sponge...

..and milk tuille, which he bakes in the oven.

Next, he moves on to the custard,

inspired by the recipe that won his boss Marcus Wareing

a spot at the very first Great British Menu banquet.

Mark pours the custard mix into a mould and bakes in the oven.

You've borrowed a spoonful of Marcus' winning dish.

Do you think it's going to give you those extra points?

I think we all know it's a good dish.

I think it works with the other elements.

Both Matt and Lee's dishes are inspired by the honeybee.

Matt is working with his freshly set honeycomb,

adding it to white chocolate mousse.

But current leader Lee's first batch of honeycomb has disappointed.

The honeycomb hasn't worked as well as I wanted it to.

I don't think it's going to set in time,

so I'm going to try make another one.

Lee isn't the only one feeling the pressure in the kitchen.

Matt is determined to plate up a perfect dessert,

but he has a problem.

Are you all right, Matt? Not really.

The sponge has risen and fallen again, so...

You're not happy with them? Not really.

Round two.

Matt looks really stressed out. His sponge isn't working,

he's weighing out another one.

Is he going to run out of time? It needs to be right.

Sugar. I need 200 grams of sugar. Give me the sugar here.

There are mistakes starting to happen.

This could be the way that the leaderboard changes.

Lee is first to plate up his Honey, Where Would We Bee Without You? dessert,

inspired by the WI's honeybee campaign.

He starts by rolling the honeycomb parfait tubes

in cep mushroom crumble.

To a honeycombed-themed serving block, he adds the cep crumble,

toasted bee pollen, cep meringue cake and natural honeycomb parfait.

Give me be the first one, Sam.

Despite his best attempts, Lee's second batch of honeycomb

also failed and he opts to serve up the first one.

I've run out of BLEEP!

He adds chunks of the original to his plate, along with honey jelly.

Finally, he adds the yoghurt sorbet...

and garnishes with toasted bee pollen.

LEE SIGHS

Looks like it's been a very stressful day. It has indeed.

Last dish and by far the hardest.

Is there anything you'd change on this dish?

I'm not entirely happy with the honeycomb - I would have made that again.

It's quite... Quite chewy. Quite chewy.

And this is the meringue. So it's cep meringue cake.

Do you think that would hold up to the standards of the WI?

For me, yes, I do. It's a nice texture.

The flavour of the cep's there. I find it a little bit off-putting.

And this is the honey parfait with the cep crumble.

This is the bit where you got me worried that you wouldn't like this.

Is that making the dessert work for you? It marries...

the honey and the yoghurt together

with just a little bit of a slight twist.

The cep, I think, was just a bit too much.

I didn't feel the honey came through as much as I'd want it to.

And this is the yoghurt sorbet? That's the yoghurt sorbet.

There's no honey in the yoghurt sorbet? There's no honey in the yoghurt sorbet. OK.

The sorbet's good. The yoghurt's really clean.

Do you feel this is strong enough to take you through to the final tomorrow?

I'm a little bit annoyed about my honeycomb.

Actually, I'm very annoyed about my honeycomb.

I don't think this is Lee's strongest dish. I would mark it a six.

I'd probably give him a seven.

What would you score it?

I'd score it a seven.

OK.

How are you? How was that? That was tough, man. That's it, you're done.

Again, no idea what he's thinking, if he enjoyed that cep or not.

Next to the pass is Michelin-starred returning contender Matt.

Currently in last place,

he needs a high score for his risky

Back To Black (And Yellow) honey dish or he's going home.

This is your second sponge. Are you happy with this one? Yeah.

Do you know what? I want it right for Daniel to finish on a high.

On to a honeycombed-themed box, he places honey cakes,

set honey yoghurt...

..and white chocolate and honeycomb mousse.

He pipes on mead and lemon curd,

mead and lemon gel,

and garnishes with bee pollen and honeycomb...

..before adding his fennel sorbet.

You ready to go up? Yeah. Final garnishes...

and I'm there.

Lovely. Are you happy with it? Once everything came together, yeah.

Bit stressful? A little bit. A little bit.

Did everything go as you wanted it? No, to be honest.

The fennel sorbet worked though.

It's very nice. I like the presentation as well. You're about to eat serious honey here.

This is the honey cake.

It's nice and light, but once you eat into it's nice and chewy.

Very sweet.

That's the set yoghurt.

OK. So that's with the wild forest honey.

Nice and rich. A nice flavour of the honey coming through.

I like that. Yep. It's really good. I really like that. Nice texture.

And this is your honeycomb.

Is that the consistency you wanted? Yeah, I'm happy with my honeycomb.

His honeycomb's really nice and...he only had to make it once. LEE LAUGHS

And the fennel sorbet.

I think the risk he took on that fennel has paid off. Definitely.

He's got the balance just right.

Do you think this is making them worry? I'd like to think so.

We both did very similar honey dishes.

It's a little bit concerning, you know, cos I think that's a good dish.

He's definitely got himself an eight. Maybe even a nine.

Hey, mate. How are you feeling? I'm so glad that's over.

What do you think? You just don't know with Daniel,

you don't know at all, but I'm happy.

Last to the pass is Mark.

Under threat of leaving the competition, he's going for broke

with a twist on a traditional rice pudding.

I'm a bit worried about coming up against Matt.

Mine's very traditional and I just hope that's going to stand up

to the modern take on the honey.

Into a tin Mark adds rhubarb jam,

cold rice pudding and rice pudding ice cream,

then cools in the fridge.

To a serving plate, he adds more of the jam, milked tuille,

caramelised honey and rum jelly,

and a spoon of baked custard,

inspired by Marcus Wareing's banquet recipe.

What is that, Mark? This is...this is the hot rice pudding sponge.

He dresses his hot sponge. Mark, are you going to be long?

Just one minute.

And, finally, he takes his cold tins from the fridge

and garnishes with desiccated coconut.

Can one of you bring those tins out for me? Yeah, of course.

Explain it to me. Rice pudding hot and rice pudding cold.

Are you happy? Yeah. Everything's as it should be.

Last dish for the three of you.

Tomorrow, there's only going to be two of you. Shall we go and try it? Yeah.

Have you done your nan justice? Yeah, I think so.

I don't think she ever would have imagined it looking quite like this.

I think that comes across really well. You know, Nan's creamy rice pudding.

The custard.

Is that what you were expecting? Yeah.

It helps with the creaminess of the rice pudding.

It was lovely, but I just don't know if it has a place on the dish.

This is the...? Sponge. Rice pudding sponge.

A sponge for the WI? Big gamble.

I'm not keen on that. It definitely lacks a sweetness that, you know,

you expect from a cake.

This is the rice pudding ice cream.

Is the flavour from the rice really coming through?

The texture's right and you get the essence of the rice pudding.

I think it tasted very nice. I think he's got a good chance with this one.

I'd give this an eight. I'd give this dish...a seven.

What would you mark this dish?

I think I'd have to mark this dish pretty high. I'd probably give it... probably give it a nine.

This doesn't worry me.

That's strong fighting talk. It is.

Hey, guys. Hey, man. How did it go? He seemed to like it, but...

you just don't know.

If I don't do well in this course, I'm going to be gutted.

Doing well on the main course was great,

but I just hope I haven't let it slip.

If I don't get a good score, that's the end of the road for me

and I really don't want it to be.

I've been ahead most courses and it's, you know,

I could have let myself down on the last course.

Good evening, chefs. How are we feeling? Tired. LAUGHTER

Lee, I'm going to start with you.

Your Honey, Where Would We Be Without You?

At the start, I didn't really like the idea of the cep.

However, the cep flavour with the honey,

it just melted in my mouth.

I found the whole dish had great depth of flavour.

However, Lee...

the honeycomb...

I found it a bit soft.

Matt...

for your Back To Black (And Yellow)...

I really loved that I could taste all the different honeys in your dish.

I thought that showed a lot of skill.

The fennel sorbet...was really clean and really refreshing.

However, Matt...

it's very sweet.

With a little bit of lemon juice to counteract the honey,

I think it would have cleaned the whole dish up.

Mark, your Rice Pudding Hot And Cold.

I really like the idea that you're honouring your nan.

The presentation with the little cans was a great idea.

As a concept, I thought it ticked all the boxes.

However, Mark...

I found the cake slightly dry.

The custard rice pudding...I'm not sure if I get it.

The ice cream was very creamy, but I couldn't taste the rice pudding.

This is the hardest part for me...

..cos I've seen three great chefs cook their hearts out this week.

With a score of nine...

making them the highest scorer of the week...

..is you, Lee.

That dish completely blew me away.

Thank you.

That leaves two chefs.

Only one of you can go through to cook for the judges tomorrow.

Mark...

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

..a score of six.

It was a lovely idea,

I just felt the execution could've been polished a bit more.

Disappointed.

Matt...

..I'm going to give you a score of eight, Matt.

That means you're going through to the judges tomorrow.

How are you feeling? Surprised...and excited.

Mark, I'm really sorry to send you home.

And, for me, your pie was the dish of the week

and you should be very proud of yourself. Thank you.

Tomorrow's a massive day.

One of you could be at the banquet. Good luck.

Well done, mate.

It's blown me away. It's blown me away. I'm speechless.

I don't know what to say.

After a hard-fought week,

it's Lee and Matt who will cook for the judges tomorrow,

with Mark leaving the competition.

Hearing Daniel say that my main course was dish of the week was a real comfort for me

and, even though I'm going home, that's still a big plus.

Awesome cooking, man. Thank you. It's been a pleasure. Do it again?

Yeah, I'd give it another go. LAUGHTER

I'll have to now. I am a little bit shocked,

but I'm super excited to make it through to that chamber.

You know, I've been in the lead all week, but as of tomorrow, it's all back to square one.

I'm sure he's eager to beat me now.

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