Finals Week - Fish Great British Menu

It's the national finals of Great British Menu.

This week, the eight regional champions are going head-to-head...

We need to be hitting those 10s now.

..for a chance to cook at the glorious banquet

marking 100 years of the Women's Institute.

The chefs must honour the custodians of impeccable home cooking

and only flawless dishes can make the grade.

I want to make sure that this is absolute perfection.

And this year, the judges' shortlist for each dish

no longer has three guaranteed places.

Maybe just two of you will make the grade

and if only one dish is perfect, we will just choose a winner.

Yesterday's starter was a triumph for Richard Bainbridge.

-LAUGHTER

-Come here.

After four attempts at the competition,

he's finally in with a chance.

His competitor for the banquet starter is Southwest's Josh Eggleton

who was shocked to find his dish on the shortlist.

Your great-granny Eggleton would have been so proud of you.

Yeah, I think she would.

Today is the battle for the fish course.

-I got two 10s in the chamber for this one.

-Giving it all that...

Judges Matthew Fort, Prue Leith

and Oliver Peyton have their standards set to high.

This is such precise cooking.

Every one of those tiny things is perfect.

They're joined in their quest for immaculate food

by a president of the WI, Kirsty Bowen.

WI's all about high standards,

so let's just hope that your dishes really meet that perfection.

I don't really like it. I'd probably give it a 5.

-Oof, that is harsh!

-I'm sorry.

With only three courses left to make the shortlist,

some chefs must fall...

I'm not 100% happy so I'm not serving it.

-I think there might be tears.

-..whilst others will shine...

I'm watching something original and different and amazing.

-He's literally a genius.

-I've never seen anything like it.

I don't know what to say.

..as only the finest dishes can reach the banquet.

We debated long and hard and decided that...

Competing this week are newcomers Michael O'Hare from the Northeast,

who finished in last place with his starter,

and Adam Bannister, representing Wales,

who also failed to impress the judges.

-Morning.

-You all right?

-Are you confident going into fish?

It may not be my strongest dish, but I believe in it.

-What about yourself?

-I did well with it in regionals,

so as confident as I can be in this competition.

The judges, as ever, are looking for a fish course worthy of the banquet.

Rich and Josh, well, it was a testing old day yesterday,

but we ended up with two cracking starters.

But today, we have a shoal of great fish dishes to choose from.

Next in, Michelin-starred Matt Gillan,

representing London and the Southeast,

and newcomers Ben Arnold from Northern Ireland

-and the Northwest's Matt Worswick.

-Morning.

-Morning.

-Morning.

They're up against last year's Scottish champion, Jak O'Donnell,

who just missed out on a starter shortlist place.

Morning.

I'm really interested in Jak,

whose fish course is really, really good,

so she'll be trying really hard.

-How are you feeling after yesterday?

-I'm feeling pretty good, actually.

I was totally surprised that you weren't up there.

It was a really top cracking dish.

It just shows you how flawless these dishes have to be.

Their skill at cooking fish - I think we take that for granted.

It's the way they can tailor that dish for the banquet.

It is really about perfection.

Finally, the only two chefs to make the banquet shortlist -

Southwest's Josh Eggleton and Central Region's Richard Bainbridge.

-How are we all?

-Here we go. We've got the big guns here today.

I still can't believe I'm on the shortlist.

You must be on cloud nine as well, Rich.

Yeah, no, I am, I'm not going to lie.

I've had a taste now and I liked seeing my name on the board,

-so I wouldn't mind seeing it again.

-LAUGHTER

There's more chefs who want to see their names on that board as well,

-so let's go cook some fish, shall we?

-Let's do it.

To help ensure the food is flawless is guest judge Kirsty Bowen,

president of a modern new-wave WI group in Sheffield

that embraces both the contemporary

and traditional aims of the organisation.

-Kirsty, welcome back to the judges' chamber.

-Thank you. Hello.

Kirsty joined the judges to choose Michael O'Hare

as regional champion for the Northeast

and is back today to help pick out the winning fish dish.

-Have you brought an appetite?

-I have indeed, yeah.

-Phew, that's a relief.

Tell us what YOU'D like to see at the banquet.

Our members have got a really wide range of ages.

The thing that brings us all together

is that we've got really high standards, so with the fish course,

I'm looking for something that will suit

the variety of membership that we have,

whether they prefer the traditional style of cooking

or more modern raw fish, that sort of thing.

I think the fish course is going to be really interesting

to see everyone's different take on the brief

but also it's a very technical course.

You've got so little leeway to have that fish perfect,

so it'll be interesting to see how everyone deals with the pressure.

Last time I was here, I tried Michael's fish dish

which was really interesting.

I know we all gave it really high scores,

so I'm really looking forward to trying that again.

Kirsty, we used to just always choose the three best dishes

and that was the shortlist.

This year, we're only choosing them if they are perfect.

And they're looking for absolute perfection, those judges,

so everyone's going to have to be on it to get those big 10s.

Yeah, on the A game, I think.

-This banquet is a journey in perfectionism.

-I can't wait.

Let's hope we get some really good dishes today.

The first two chefs to cook

are newcomers Matt Worswick for the Northwest

and Northern Ireland's Ben Arnold.

-Good luck, chef.

-All the best.

So, this year, I based my brief around my grandmother

who was in the WI for ten years

and a great influence on my, sort of, young cooking life.

-I brought a picture. Here she is.

-Lovely.

I've also brought her WI badge.

Everybody gets a badge when they join and they enter the WI,

-so I brought that along for a good luck charm.

-A good luck charm, yeah.

So, the brief's really strong to me this year.

Funnily enough, my inspiration's also about my grandmother.

This is my grandmother on her wedding day.

And my story is about recipes from generation to generation,

so in essence, it's my grandmother's fish soup.

I'm turning it into a celebratory dish.

Matt and Ben have made it to the national finals

on their first attempt in the competition

so, despite failing to make the shortlist yesterday,

their confidence is high coming into the fish course.

I got three 10s, so there's a lot of pressure today.

That's really impressive, really good. I got four 9s.

I've really got to cook my dish as well as I did then,

otherwise it won't be three 10s

and all the good fortune before is going to go out the window.

You don't want to let anyone down,

-not least your family, you know.

-Mmm.

To find out how the chefs are getting on in the kitchen,

guest judge Kirsty pays them a visit and they're joined by Michael

who's come in to see how Matt and Ben are interpreting the brief.

-Hi, Michael, nice to see you again.

-Hi.

-Hi.

-Ben.

-Ben.

-I'm Matt.

Hi, Matt, nice to meet you. So, I'm Kirsty.

I judged last time in the heat that Michael was in

and I gave him a 10,

so I'm really looking forward to see how you guys compare, really.

My fish course was well received in the regionals,

so I'm really hoping I can execute it

as well as I did in the first place.

Michael, you went quite modern with your brief.

It was quite risky but it's the only way I know.

I can't go back on traditional.

I know nothing of it, so I need to do it the way I do things anyway.

-It is a bit of a gamble and I'm kind of hoping it pays off.

-Great.

How about you?

My grandmother was a great influence on my early childhood for food

and so I based all my dishes around my grandmother,

-so hopefully I'll keep her proud.

-The WI's all about high standards,

so let's just hope that your dishes really meet that perfection.

-So, good luck.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

Matt Worswick is up first and hoping to relive

his dish's success in the regionals.

Grandma's Pick Of The Day of lobster with vegetables

and edible flowers is inspired

by his late grandmother,

a WI member who grew vegetables in her garden.

I can really see this dish at the banquet.

It's a bit of a treat for the women at the WI,

so I'm just going to cook my socks off and try and get a great score.

Matt Worswick's Grandma's Pick Of The Day.

It's a bit of a mouthful but it was a beautiful mouthful to eat.

The most classic, beautifully cooked lobster tail and veg.

-OLIVER:

-It was a very well-balanced dish.

I love lobster so it will be really...

I'm really looking forward to eating it.

Matt decorates his baskets with fresh garden veg.

-So, are they going to eat any of this?

-You can if you want.

The main event is on the plate

and then all the stuff around in the basket is to represent

what my grandmother used to grow in her garden.

I got three 10s for this one off the judges.

I think they thought it was all right,

so I need to get four 10s today

and maybe a 10 off the chefs as well, hopefully,

if they're feeling generous.

Matt starts his vintage plates with poached lobster tails,

claws and lobster sauce,

baby root vegetables and garden peas,

finishing with edible flowers and mint oil.

-That's looking really beautiful, Matt.

-Cheers, Ben.

-Amazing colours.

He places his plates in his veg baskets

and his fish course is ready to go.

-Happy?

-Yeah, yeah, I suppose I am, yeah.

-Well done, it looked lovely.

-MICHAEL:

-Nice one.

-It looked really good.

-BEN:

-Looks lovely.

I hope it's good enough. I did all the same processes and stuff

but you never know what the judges are going to say,

but I put everything into it.

-Suffering!

-LAUGHTER

Getting three 10s at the regionals was amazing.

Trying to live up to that is hard.

I think I did my grandmother proud today, hopefully.

I'm sure, wherever she is, she's smiling at me

running round the kitchen sweating, but it was definitely worth it.

Wow.

"Home-grown veg from her garden..."

"A member of the Ballaugh WI,

"Grandma was the heart of our family..."

-"And the apple of Granddad's eye."

-Ah...that's sweet.

-Did you write that poem?

-I did, yeah.

-Beautiful.

-Thank you.

-Very elegant-looking dish.

-Mmm-hmm.

-I think it's very, very WI.

Oh! That lobster is exactly as I remember it.

Tender as anything, full of flavour.

That lobster's perfect.

-Seasoned lovely.

-Nice and light as well.

-OLIVER:

-I really think it's a well-balanced,

really well-cooked dish.

It looks very, very simple,

but there's a lot of different sensations going on.

I love the lobster. And those fresh vegetables...

I think it's fantastic.

-I could eat that all day long.

-Has he got any more?

It reminds you why a classic is a classic.

It's one of those dishes that makes you smile when you see it

and this is what the WI's all about -

the gardening, the bringing things together.

I can see this sitting at the banquet.

Outstanding cooking but also outstanding ingredients as well.

I think that lobster was just absolutely beautiful

and the way he's brought out the flavours in those everyday veg

I think is absolutely fantastic.

As usual, the chefs are scoring each other's dishes

to create their own shortlist.

Their scores will be averaged and added to the judges'

to help determine the final leaderboard.

It's a pretty perfect plate of food, ticks all the boxes for me.

-I give it a 10.

-I can't pick fault with it and it hits the brief, so...

-It's got to be a 10 for me.

-Three 10s.

This dish is so perfect to eat,

that I would give it a 9, knocking off just 1 point

because I don't think there's any modernity in it.

The dish is elegant and really suitable for the banquet.

I'm giving it a 10.

I can really see it at the banquet

and I think the ladies of the WI will love that and I score it a 10.

-It's a 9 for me.

-I think I'm going to have to give it a 10.

Ben Arnold is up next.

After an unsuccessful start to the week,

he knows his fish course must be perfect.

I really need to get on that shortlist today.

Deflated after yesterday, second last.

I feel like this dish deserves to be up there,

deserves to be on the shortlist. Prue loved the veloute last time.

She's going to love it more this time.

Like Matt, Ben's fish course is also inspired by his late grandmother.

Mrs Skillen's Fish Soup features a creamy veloute sauce

to pour over clams, crab, brill, smoked cod and lobster.

Ben is building a really good reputation for himself

in Northern Ireland.

Yesterday, he did not perform nearly to the sort of level

he's capable of doing. I think, maybe, just the pressure got to him.

-OLIVER:

-I really liked this dish first time out

and I hope he's at least maintained the quality of it.

The dish is named after his grandmother as well,

Mrs Skillen, so it would be nice to see how that inspires

what he cooks for us today.

Well, no-one will be hoping more than Ben

that he improves on his standing from yesterday.

-So, you two have both done lobster then?

-Yeah.

Whoa, isn't that like battle of the crustaceans?

Oh-oh, the crustaceans, yeah.

-LAUGHTER

-Giving it all that!

-Pinch, pinch, pinch!

-LAUGHTER

Although his fish course scored well with the judges, Ben wasn't so lucky

when he cooked the dish first time around for veteran Phil Howard.

-Regionals was not fun.

-How much did you get from Phil, points?

Um...I got a 5. There were two elements missing in the regionals.

I was late, the veloute was too thick, didn't go in the jars,

could barely get it out of the jars.

Phil Howard's doing the pass, gave me absolute hell and, yeah...

It was a good day(!)

You managed to redeem yourself in the judging chamber on the Friday?

Yeah, I did. It was a much better dish. Everything was on it.

I'm really under pressure to get my name on that board.

It's where I want to be all week.

Michael helps out by filling Ben's flasks

with his chowder veloute sauce,

while Ben starts his plates with samphire and fresh crab.

Next, fillets of brill, poached lobster,

clams and smoked cod, poached in milk,

with sea vegetables to garnish.

Finally, Michael conceals Ben's veloute sauce flasks

-in his special presentation box.

-What's the book part?

The book is inspired by my grandmother.

It's, in essence, my grandmother's fish soup. It was fish and water.

I've tried to emulate that with a celebratory version of it.

High-end fish, serve it as a soup, you know, from her recipe book.

Take it away.

-Well done.

-Thanks.

-It looks great.

-Was that as good as before or better?

-I think it was as good.

Yeah, I'm happy with it.

I believe in the story, believe in my grandmother.

She'd be proud, Ben, well done.

-I love the book. I think the whole history, hitting the brief.

-100%.

WI, yeah, absolutely great.

-Inside, the secret recipe is...

-A flask, which I hope is the soup.

-There we go.

-MATTHEW WHISTLES

-It's got a lovely consistency, lovely colour to it.

-Yeah.

We have sea vegetables, we have a bit of crab meat,

-a bit of lobster and this is the brill.

-OLIVER:

-Delicious sauce.

Mmm.

I think the flavour and consistency of the veloute is perfect.

I think, also, that the brill has been very well cooked.

It's firm, it's crisp, it's got a lovely sweetness to it.

-Brill's lovely.

-A lovely dish.

-It's really nice.

I'm afraid I don't think the lobster's quite as well cooked

-as the last dish.

-Yeah, I agree.

I think it's a little bit rubbery, compared to Matt's dish.

The lobster's lovely, really soft, not chewy.

-You don't think the quantity's a bit much?

-The trouble is it's so rich.

If you're going to have this and then follow on to a main course

and then a pudding, I think I might be asleep.

I think that's the problem.

-I think this one's going to be up there as well.

-Definitely.

And I think it hits the brief. I'm going to give it a 10.

I didn't think fish would be the strongest course,

but so far they seem to just be knocking them down.

It's got to be a 10 for me as well.

I think I'm going to have to give this dish an 8.

-It's just slightly too heavy.

-It's just too big, just too rich

and just too classic, really, I think,

so I shall give it, I have to say, a 7.

-I'd score it a 10.

-It's another 10 from me.

-10s all round.

-Some big fish courses, huh? Big scores.

This is really good cooking. I love that veloute.

-Ben's fish could easily be on our shortlist.

-I disagree.

So, Michael's up soon. In the regional finals, he got four 10s.

That is the rumour.

And especially the food that he put up for the starter,

where are we going with this?

I think it's going to be something to look forward to watching anyway.

How mad can he get?

The second group of chefs to cook in the kitchen

are the Northeast's Michael O'Hare, Adam Bannister for Wales

and London and the Southeast's Matt Gillan.

-None of us hit that shortlist yesterday.

-Thanks for reminding me!

This morning, I thought we had some really beautiful dishes.

-Yeah, we had some great presentation come out today.

-Very beautiful.

When it comes to the scoring of it, I'd give it a 10 this morning,

so it will be interesting to see what else we've got coming up.

This is an amazing banquet for the centenary of the WI.

I am still looking for that little bit of magic

that I'm sure is going to come.

Michael's fish course was the only one

awarded four 10s in the regionals -

something his rivals know only too well.

-So, you're the one to beat then.

-I don't know.

I've knocked out a few 10s today, judging other people.

Um, it's a different thing completely, I think.

I was confident going into it. Things have changed a bit

since I've seen the dishes that have gone out today.

So, the only way is down, Mike?

LAUGHTER

Adam Bannister is next, with his fish course, Salmon And Cucumber -

a play on afternoon tea, with tea-infused salmon sandwiches

and technical cucumber elements.

Today, he's added a fish consomme and revised his presentation -

changes he hopes will impress.

So, the judges didn't feel that it was a finished dish.

Some of the elements, I didn't execute them

last time correctly at all. It was a bit of a car crash, I like to say.

Um, so, yeah, I need to bounce back from that, you know.

-So, the only way is UP for you, then?

-Fingers crossed!

The fish course was hard for me.

I really did go down, so I've got to try and forget about it

cos I don't want that playing on my mind when I'm cooking today.

It would be a great honour to get onto the shortlist.

Everybody wants to get on the shortlist.

Right, our next chef is Adam Bannister, Kirsty,

and I have rather a soft spot for him.

He's a young guy, has a little restaurant in Wales.

But the dish we're about to eat, frankly, was not his best, was it?

It was not his finest hour.

Was it a salmon dish? Was it a series of salmon sandwiches?

-I wasn't quite sure.

-It needed work.

Maybe he's done work on it. Maybe it's going to be fine.

It sounds a really interesting dish and I'm really looking forward

to seeing what he does with the salmon.

-Do you need anything?

-Stop shaking would be a good thing.

Adam starts his oversized glass teacups with charred cucumber

and tea-brined salmon...

..rolls of compressed pickled cucumber and crispy salmon skin.

Can someone pour the consomme into there, please?

Jak, in the blast chiller is cucumber jellies.

-Can you get them, please?

-OK.

Next, fried sandwich parcels,

filled with salmon and cucumber jelly, go onto the cake stand...

..followed by compressed cucumber slices

filled with more cucumber jelly. But there's a problem.

-What's happened with your jelly??

-It's just a bit too hot by here.

I'm not 100% happy, so I'm not serving it..

Having decided not to serve the melting cucumber elements,

Adam presents his dish alongside teapots filled with fish consomme.

Well done, buddy.

-Well done.

-Cheers. Thank you.

-Glad it's over?

-That's the one I just had nightmares about it.

It's like the jelly's really refreshing

-but I don't want to send it cos...

-You're better off not serving it.

-Yeah.

-Definitely.

-You'd be sitting here going, "Oh, God..."

It's running on their plate.

-And that's what would have happened.

-Yeah.

I gave it everything I could.

Just hope the judges like the changes I made.

Ooh, this is a bit of a change.

Ooh, this is 100% improvement on last time.

-Looks lovely.

-Agreed.

-Very pretty.

-Consomme in there.

-PRUE:

-Ha-ha, I think this is wonderful.

-Well, this, presumably, is fish consomme.

-It smells really nice.

-The consomme's super clear.

-Yeah, he'll be happy with that.

-I like the pickle on the cucumber.

-That's nice.

-Very refreshing.

-MATTHEW:

-Bit of charred cucumber, some salmon, little cucumber rolls.

These look like wraps but, in fact,

they're bread which has been squeezed in a pasta machine.

The ingredients are the same as last time

and this time it's delicious because it's crisp on the outside not soggy.

I like the sandwich, the way that you can pick it up

and it's quite dainty.

I think it's really got loads of flavour

cos that tea really comes through and I think it really packs a punch.

I really love it. I think once the consomme goes into the cup

and it sets off this series of flavours

which infuses it, it's great.

-I like the pickled cucumber.

-I wasn't expecting it to be so zingy.

-Mmm.

-It added another dimension to the dish.

The cucumber jelly really just has no particular significance.

I actually don't get jelly from it

which might mean that it wasn't really worth doing.

-Is it supposed to be cucumber jelly?

-JAK:

-Yeah.

I think the jelly's a bit grainy. I would leave the jelly off

and you're looking at a great, great score.

I think, with a few little tweaks, it could be a 10,

but at the moment, it's a 9 for me.

There were a couple of things that weren't quite right on there.

I'm going to give this dish an 8.

I'll give it an 8 too,

given that it's not as memorable as the food that I've had today.

It is a 9.

There's elements on it that I think are strong

but I'm going to have to give that a 7.

-PRUE:

-I think it's delicious, absolutely delicious.

Well, do we have another shortlist contender here?

We all love it and I think it's a 9.

Michelin-starred Matt Gillan is up next.

It's his second time in the competition

but first time in the finals.

He missed out on the starter shortlist yesterday,

so today he's taking a risk

he hopes will put him in contention for the banquet.

A brand-new dish is a bit of a gamble

and it can pay off or it can go the other way,

but I think it's a better dish than I had in regionals

and I'm fairly confident going into the fish course.

Matt's dish, Jamming And Canning celebrates the WI's support

for preserving food over their 100-year history.

In a change from the regionals, he's swapped salmon for sardines,

chicken wings and langoustine.

He's serving them with cans of sardine tartare

and langoustine bisque, sardines in toast and rhubarb compote.

-So, my first incarnation of this dish totally bombed.

-Really?

With the judges or with the veteran?

Yeah, with the judges - well, both, to be honest.

I took the theme of the jam too far

and it was just a little bit sweet and a bit odd on the dish.

But it's too important to lose from my menu

so I've just reworked the dish

and I think I've got a much better dish now so...

-Have you got a few changes on it then?

-A few changes, yeah!

-The whole thing.

-Oh, really?

-Yeah, the whole thing's changed.

Matt Gillan, next one up.

He's the chef who has taken the history of the WI

right through all his courses and his fish course was not a success.

This food arrived on a salt block

and there was a variety of really unattractive lumps of food

on the salt block and none of us liked it and we told him to can it.

It quite simply wasn't good enough.

To win over the judges with his new fish course,

Matt must execute each element to perfection.

He colours his langoustines

and finishes them in langoustine stock glaze.

He starts his plates with rhubarb compote, sauteed baby gem

and oyster sauce-glazed chicken wings.

It's a bit of pressure, maybe bitten off more than I can chew,

but if I don't push myself in the finals, when can I push myself?

Next, langoustines and pan-fried sardines

and the dish is covered with a jam jar-style cloche.

Finally, Matt places his sardine tartare

on spoons in special serving tins,

topped with his deep-fried sardines in toast

and pours langoustine bisque into cans.

-Looks great, chef.

-That looks great.

-Well done, man.

-Thanks very much.

-I'm glad that's done.

-Phew!

-It was quite a push, actually, that.

-Was it?

-Yeah.

-It looked great.

Thanks very much. Let's hope it eats just as well.

PRUE LAUGHS

-Jamming!

-OLIVER:

-He's definitely tweaked this dish.

-Just a bit!

-MATTHEW:

-This is a completely different dish.

-It's just such fun.

-That's delicious!

-The sauce isn't too strong

and I think the whole thing is a great plate of food

and a tasty plate of food to eat.

-OLIVER:

-Can you actually overdose on bisque? I think I'm going to...

The rhubarb is really good, really sharp,

and I think that works super well with the oily fish.

-Just a wee kick at the end.

-I really like that.

Now, what is that?

I don't know if it's pastry or bread round the outside

but the fish inside has made it go really soggy for me.

The least tasty part, for me, is the toast.

The toast element, the one that I tasted,

-wasn't particularly crisp at all.

-No.

Mmm, I've never had sardine tartare before. It's absolutely delicious.

The tartare's nice.

The tartare is OK,

but I just don't see how it fits in with this other little plate.

-I don't think it needs the chicken wing.

-Not quite sure why it's there.

Matt's a talented guy. Doesn't need to show all his skills in one dish.

He's just trying too hard.

There's just too many things on the plate

and they've not necessarily come together successfully.

I just think it's overworked. I think maybe less is more.

I would score this dish a 7.

I'm going to score this dish a 7 as well.

Virtually everything was cooked perfectly

but there's two separate dishes there.

I love the brainwork behind it

and I'd give him an 8, actually, for that.

I think it's an 8 because it's brilliant cooking.

I'm going to go a 9.

I loved everything about it. I've got to give it a 10.

I think it's a case of too many things and he's lost the direction.

The next chef to cook is Michael O'Hare.

Despite making the chef's top three for his starter,

the judges' scores dragged him all the way down to last place,

but he's optimistic today.

I'm feeling confident going into fish.

Four 10s from the judges last time.

I think the fish course is one of my strongest chances

of getting a dish at the banquet.

It's a strong message and it's a unique dish.

Michael's fish course

is his signature artistic interpretation of fish and chips.

I wanted to dedicate this to women's rights and equality.

The dish is called Emancipation which, translated from Latin,

just means "to take out the hand".

Featuring a ceramic hand which, for Michael,

represents women's emancipation,

the dish includes cod loin, crispy potatoes

and a squid ink and vinegar powder,

inspired by his dark, industrial home town near Redcar beach.

This is a really exciting dish. It ticks all the boxes.

And it's making me really nervous because, if you remember,

when the four of us sat here and ate this dish before,

and Kirsty was with us, we gave it a 10, 10, 10, 10.

And that's a fantastic ask -

to expect him to do it again, just like that.

-OLIVER:

-Let's hope it's just as good.

-Let's hope it is.

OK, now just let someone at this table

have their feet on the ground for just one second.

This is a very, very high-risk dish

and if he simply doesn't deliver on the cooking front,

on the flavour front,

-then it's going to be an unmitigated catastrophe.

-Yeah.

With the expectation on my shoulders from the other chefs,

also the judges, to deliver what I delivered again,

it's quite a strange feeling.

I had confidence in my dish at the start

but it's up against some really strong dishes

and I don't know how this is going to go.

Michael prepares his canvas serving platters

by spraying with his cod dashi sauce

which has been decanted into spray cans.

Hearing that Michael got four 10s in the regionals

I think's pretty worrying.

-MATT WORSWICK:

-Think the dish is a bit too safe?

It's certainly a little conservative(!)

To the ceramic hands, he adds scorched baby gem,

topping with shredded potatoes and sous-vide cooked cod loin.

Do you think you've pushed yourself enough with this?

LAUGHTER

-Have you got any risks?

-LAUGHTER

Michael adds crispy potatoes and squid ink and vinegar powder

to represent the dark, industrial side of his home town.

I've never seen anything like that.

Next, he splashes his canvas with cod dashi sauce.

Michael, I heard you got quite a high score for that.

I got four 10s from the judges.

That's epic.

And finally, forced shoots sprayed with edible silver and gold paint.

I literally feel like I'm watching something original

and different and amazing. I'm literally stunned.

-Can I get a hand to take these up to the pass?

-Yeah, sure.

Thank you.

Oh, does that deserve a round of applause?

-APPLAUSE

-Thank you.

-I'd like to shake your hand but...

-I'll give you an elbow.

-Well done.

-Cheers, man.

-RICH:

-BLEEP! It's all I can say.

LAUGHTER

It's the most different fish and chips, I give him that!

-Well, it looks the same.

-So far, so good.

I've never seen anything like it.

I don't know what to say, I don't know what to say.

-OLIVER:

-What's in the envelope?

The picture of Michael and his grandma on Redcar beach.

So, I guess we need to find out, don't we?

-Let's see if this is as good as it looks.

-Tastes as good as it looks.

I'm still not quite sure with this dish

whether I should put it up on the wall or whether I should eat it.

Get straight in there.

This cod is absolutely delicious.

The thing I love about cod is when it's flaky

and he's made the flakiness to perfection here.

-MATTHEW:

-The little potatoes have formed into divine wodges

that has that fat and potato and sweetness to it.

I think the cod's cooked perfectly.

Everything on there delivers, I think

and I think that you still taste fish and chips.

-OLIVER:

-I think the saucing is really good, really interesting,

you know, squid ink, dashi.

Squid ink has that sort of tremendous marine flavour.

Cod dashi - the whole point about dashi is to sort of bring out

that meaty note that you get from really good fish.

As much as it looked like an artist's work and presentation,

it's still a really great plate of food. Pretty special.

It is so difficult to be different in food

and I think he's really pulled it off.

Oh, look, I think this is wonderful.

I would love to see the look on all the WI's faces,

cos if it's anything as speechless as you guys round the table there,

I think that would be a night to remember.

It is shocking. It has got that shock factor,

but it tastes fantastic.

I think it tells a story and I do think our members will get it.

Michael is really challenging stereotypes

and trying to make us remember the roots of the WI -

campaigning for women's equal rights -

and it's fantastic to see this smack bang on the plate in front of you.

It's absolutely delicious. Everything is cooked perfectly.

-Can't fault it.

-He's literally a genius.

-It's a 10 for me.

-10 for me.

-I can't do this. Let's give this 10.

-I'm there. I think it's a 10.

10 from me.

-A 10 from me.

-It's smart, it's clever, it's different.

I would be so happy to see this on the shortlist.

The last group cooking today

are the two chefs on the starter shortlist -

Central region's Richard Bainbridge and the Southwest's Josh Eggleton -

along with Scotland's Jak O'Donnell, who just missed out.

So, here I am in the kitchen with the two shortlisters today.

Well, you weren't far off there, were you?

First up, one of the youngest Michelin-starred chefs in the UK.

Josh Eggleton cooked for the judges last year

but didn't make it to the finals.

He started this week on a high

with a brand-new dish making the starter shortlist.

Didn't think I was going to get very far on my starter cos it was a risk.

I changed my dish, so to get it on the shortlist was fantastic.

I think you have to come in every day

with the aim of getting on the shortlist - it's as simple as that.

Josh's whole menu has been inspired by the women in his life

and the campaigns and causes of the WI.

His fish dish is cod

with chicken and mushroom sauce,

confit chicken wings, ham hock and crispy chicken skin.

The dish is called The Agricultural Pie Scheme,

inspired by the WI's wartime distribution

of their homemade pies.

But it's a name that caused some confusion in the regionals.

-Is there pastry on it? Is it a pie?

-No, there's no pie.

It's not a pie, it's a sauce. It's in the name.

So, it's sort of a garnish of a chicken and mushroom pie, you know.

I don't know why people struggle with it so much!

LAUGHTER

The problem with Josh's dish was the title.

It makes you think it was a pie when, in fact, it wasn't a pie.

What it was was cod with a chicken sauce.

When someone says, "Pie", you want a pastry topping, don't you?

Call me old-fashioned!

Or at least some sort of crust or crumble or something on top.

He wanted to hark back to the WI's agricultural pie scheme

and I don't think he has to do all that much tweaking

to make it really excellent.

I think I gave it an 8 because I loved the flavour of the filling.

I did get criticised in the heat for not having real pastry,

so I've listened to the judges. I've put a bit of pastry on.

I've added a bit of choux pastry, so it's only a minor change.

I like this dish.

It represents the way I cook, you know, so I'm quite happy with it.

Josh starts his plates with confit chicken wings

followed by mushroom puree, mushrooms,

pan-roasted cod and smoked ham hock.

-How are we getting on?

-I'm not finished yet so I'll let you know.

Next, he pipes mushroom puree into his choux pastry gougeres,

a new addition he hopes will win the judges over.

-So that's your pastry element?

-It's definitely pastry.

Just might not be the pastry that they're looking for.

Josh adds tarragon leaves, crispy chicken skin and chicken sauce.

Is that a chicken pie or a fish pie?

-BLEEP!

-LAUGHTER

-Ooh!

-Finally, he tops his plates with faux pastry pie lids.

-Good effort. It looked really lovely.

-Is it a pie or not?

-Well...

Just because I got it right with the starter

doesn't mean I'll get it right with the fish,

so it could all go wrong today.

Oh, I thought it was going to be real pastry.

This is just what he had last time which was an inedible lid.

Yeah, but there is a little choux pastry bun on the inside.

So, I think that's stretching the notion of a pie a bit far.

I'm surprised that he hasn't tried to change the dish more.

It was pastry that he felt he had to put in

-but I don't think the dish needed it.

-No.

-PRUE:

-Beautifully cooked cod.

But surrounded by meats which are very highly flavoured.

The fish is nice. It's not blown me away.

I think the chicken and the mushrooms are better on the plate.

The best flavours are not the cod.

-When you take the lid off, I didn't expect that plate of food.

-Yeah.

It's very heavy orientated on meat.

It's quite meaty and I don't know if that pie sauce

-tastes so much like pie as much as a chicken kind of gravy.

-Yeah.

I actually think it's delicious

but it isn't particularly wonderful to look at,

except that it looks fun when it comes up

and then it's a disappointment because you can't eat the pastry.

-The presentation's really subtle and clever.

-So WI.

They like a bit of humour and trickery,

so I think they'll get a good laugh.

The great thing about that pie scheme

was that they'd be given to people working really hard

and they'd have a really satisfying meal.

For me, I just don't get that satisfaction from this dish.

All the parts are well executed

but it is just absolutely rudderless as a dish.

-I agree.

-I think as a pie, it's half-baked.

It ticks all the boxes, hits the brief. I'm going to score it an 8.

-I'm going to go 9.

-I'm going 9.

It's a bit heavy on the meat for me. I'm going to score it an 8.

How many marks are you going to give it?

Certainly not in excess of 6.

It's not what I'd want to see at the banquet.

This is just pie in the sky, isn't it? This is going nowhere.

-So, what did you give me?

-I gave it a 9. It was up there for me.

-Thank you.

-Yeah, 9 from me too.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Thank you very much.

-I loved it.

-So, Rich, have I got you worried then?

Got me worried, but mine's a completely different dish,

so I don't even know how it's all going to plan out.

But, mind you, yours was a new dish yesterday,

so that fills me with a little bit of confidence.

Richard Bainbridge is up next.

This year, on his fourth attempt,

he was finally crowned Central region champion,

and is determined to cook at the banquet.

He's already in the running with his starter.

To get my starter on the shortlist was...amazing, epic.

And to have been on such a journey with the Great British Menu,

I feel as though this could actually be my year.

But the pressure never gets easy in that kitchen

and these guys are cooking at the top of their game.

You've got to keep pushing.

But, after serving an oversmoked and overcooked trout dish

to the judges in the regionals,

Richard has completely changed his fish course

to Mama Bainbridge's Fish Pie, a dish dedicated to his mum.

-So, that's my mum.

-JAK:

-Ah.

-That's her WI look.

-JOSH:

-She's in the WI?

-Course she is!

-Just checking!

-She joined it especially for me.

-That's very nice.

-So when I was growing up,

she used to make fish pies and cottage pies

-and things like that.

-Yeah.

So, it kind of came to me, "Why don't I do a little nod to my mum?"

-I think there might be tears.

-What, with me or her?

Probably both!

Like Josh, Richard's gone for a modern twist on a traditional pie.

But his features seafood in a champagne sauce.

Kirsty, next up is Rich Bainbridge.

Yesterday, he got into the shortlist for the starters.

What Rich is is a testament to trying,

because it's his fourth time in the competition.

He has kept coming back and he's delivered.

Well, he better deliver a bit better on his fish course

because we so hated his smoked trout in plum flavour and...

It was an unmitigated disaster.

Totally changing the dish - is that not a bit of a risk?

Well, up until coming into the kitchen yesterday,

I thought that WAS a risk and I was quite nervous about it.

But after Josh paving the way,

maybe changing the dish at the last minute is the way forward.

Richard starts his pie bowls with parsley oil,

followed by a base of potato mousse and garlic-infused spinach.

-You're bringing it all together now, yeah?

-Yeah.

Slowly but surely now coming together.

He adds his brown shrimps and champagne sauce.

Next, smoked haddock cooked sous-vide in milk,

pollack, salmon and charred sea bass,

with a garnish of deep-fried shallot rings.

Finally, Richard serves his fish pies on special WI boards,

covered with fishing baskets.

Well done.

Hopefully, I will have done her proud on that one.

But my mum's got high standards.

She's in the WI after all, so we'll have to wait and see.

If I mess it up, she's not going to be in the best of moods.

Thank you.

-Oh!

-MATTHEW:

-Oh, this is fish pie, is it?

Once again, it's a reinterpretation of the word "pie".

-PRUE:

-We've got mash, though he calls it mousse,

and it's green because of the herb oil.

-Is it a fish pie?

-It's a fish pie, mmm-hmm.

That looks suspiciously like a bit of salmon to me.

I love brown shrimp!

I still wrestle with this notion of a pie that has no top

and, indeed, has a sort of goo of potato

around the bottom which is sweet.

I think I'm going to have to agree with you there.

The texture's quite gloopy

and that champagne's given it a real sweetness.

And I don't really like it.

-I really like how all the fish is cooked separately.

-Mmm.

And every one's perfect.

I think it's delicious.

-Everything on it's cooked nicely.

-Nice flavour in it.

The only thing I would say, I don't think it's anything new.

I think it's a very strong dish.

I think there are issues around the mash but I think this is good.

I can easily eat this.

Well, as long as you like eating lumps of tasteless fish is a glue,

then I'm sure it's an absolutely admirable dish in every way.

-What would you give it?

-I'll give this dish an 8.

I give it an 8 as well.

I would give it 6.5 or 7.

I don't really like it. I'd probably give it a 5.

-Oof, that is harsh!

-I'm sorry!

I'm just going to mark him down by 1 point and give him a 9.

-For me, it doesn't blow me away.

-I'll give it a 10.

-I'm going to give it a 9.

-High marks.

-Yeah, again.

It's worrying.

Are you happy with the dish you produced today, Richard?

I am, but I know you guys have put up better dishes than me

-and I'm big enough to say that.

-I gave you a 10.

Thought it was a strong dish. I thought it hit the brief,

so I don't think you're out of the running just yet, chef.

Last chef to cook is Scottish champion, Jak O'Donnell,

the only chef in the kitchen who's completed finals week before.

Last year was a complete disaster.

She didn't make it onto the judges' or the chefs' shortlist once.

It's a really different competition for me this year.

Last year, I was really deflated.

Yesterday, I got shortlisted with the chefs,

I came third with the judges - that's brilliant!

My fish is my strong dish

and this is my chance to get on the judges' shortlist

to be thought of for the banquet. So, I'm up against it today.

Jak's dish is her interpretation

of the classic dressed salmon,

with a grapefruit and lemon chutney.

It was her strongest dish in the regionals.

So, Jak, do you know what the judges gave you in the chamber?

I got two 10s in the chamber for this one.

-Oh, right, brilliant.

-Two 10s?!

This dish was a triumph. I gave it a 10.

I think Jak is a person who cooks from the heart

and when that works, it really works.

It was a beautifully worked variation of a WI tradition,

I think it is, to have a whole poached salmon

as a sort of centrepiece of a feast.

At our WI, we don't have many centrepiece dishes like that,

but I understand the reference to that traditional party food.

And I do think this dish is her big chance.

My fish course is my take on dressed salmon.

Are you doing a big one?

No, I changed it from a centrepiece to an individual dressed salmon

for the ladies, cos this is a special day.

-Sounds like a lot of work, that.

-It IS a lot of work.

Stop talking to me. I've got so many cucumbers to slice.

I'm actually feeling really nervous

cos I feel as though this is my shout at getting to the banquet.

This is one of my strongest dishes and this is that I've got,

so I hope it's good enough.

I want to make sure that this is absolute perfection today.

-You want to get up there, yeah?

-Yeah, sure do.

Jak fills her vintage style silver pots

with her lemon and grapefruit chutney and places them on her plates

with portions of salmon dressed with cucumber scales

and pickled beetroot cubes.

-Do you need anything, Jak?

-A gin and tonic would be lovely.

She finishes her dish with dots of dill mayonnaise and beetroot crisps.

The presentation is finally complete with fish kettles.

-Well done, Jak, you're going all-out.

-It's all I've got!

I'm not coming in tomorrow!

-Boing!

-Ooh, it's so pretty.

-OLIVER:

-It IS pretty.

-MATTHEW:

-Lovely colours.

Presentation's spot-on.

Get the connection straight away - dressed salmon.

The poached salmon is cooked really, really nicely.

-Just, just cooked.

-The chutney works really well with the fish.

-No-one would ever think that's citrus chutney.

-No.

-It's almost like marmalade, actually.

-Mmm.

Try the relish. Phwoar!

The relish is real, real bitter.

It tastes like all my least favourite things about marmalade,

that chutney.

-PRUE:

-And that bright yellow stuff is actually a mayo.

Mmm, it's dill mayo. Quite a marked flavour of dill, actually.

The dill's really delicious,

-but I think it could be a bit more dill.

-Mmm.

I think Jak has fulfilled the brief really well.

And it tastes fantastic. It's really, really nice.

The salmon's got a lovely texture to it.

This is such precise cooking.

I mean every one of those tiny things is perfect, isn't it?

I think all the individual elements work well together,

but for me, it's not a fish course.

I'd see this more as a starter.

All the flavours work beautifully together.

She hasn't slipped up anywhere.

I can't see anybody having a problem with it.

It's traditional but the way it looks feels very modern.

I think everyone would love it.

It tastes great but there's just something that is missing

to make me go, "That's amazing."

-Yeah.

-As much as it's cooked really nicely, it's slightly underwhelming.

Really satisfying dish. I think it's got to be a 10.

It's got to be a 10.

Not a banquet dish,

not with the level of the food that's been up already.

I'll give it a 5.

I'm going to give this dish a 7.

I'd score this dish a 7 as well.

I think it's beautiful, so I really DO think it's a 10.

We've had some phenomenal dishes today.

The number of 9s and 10s that we scattered around

with such gay abandon.

We might have to have a longer shortlist then.

We've got this contrast

between modern cooking and classical cooking

and I've given dishes at both ends of the spectrum 10s.

I think that what would be wonderful

if, at the end of the banquet, we have a mixture of these styles.

It's the menu that defines the banquet.

I really am very, very interested to see the chefs' scores today.

-THEY LAUGH

-I know.

Oh, my goodness, they better agree with us

cos I feel so strongly we are right.

Before the final leaderboard is revealed, it's time to find out,

from the chefs' scores alone, who is on their shortlist.

On the chefs' shortlist, there's three dishes.

I think I speak for everyone that there's no surprise

-that Michael, you're one of them.

-Thank you.

-Congratulations.

-Excellent!

-Happy days!

-Matt Worswick.

-Thank you very much.

-OLIVER:

-Peace and love is breaking out.

They agree with us so far.

And Ben. Well done, guys. Well deserved.

-MATTHEW:

-His fish soup!

It was delicious but I don't think that's as good a dish as Jak's.

They rated her highly yesterday

but what has she done today to deserve this?

It was my best shot at getting on the shortlist.

To be honest, I'm ecstatic

that the chefs thought my dish was good enough to be in the top three.

Hello, chefs.

I'm very happy to say

that we have seen and eaten some absolutely spectacular food today

for which I thank you.

As you know, only perfect dishes can go through to the shortlist.

I can see no reason for prolonging the agony any longer.

In eighth place...

..it's...

..Rich. Triumph yesterday, today, I'm afraid,

neither we nor your fellow chefs

-thought that highly of your fish dish.

-I know.

It was a change from my previous one that I gave you last time

and my idea was, really, that I wanted to give you

a good plate of food that hopefully you would enjoy.

-It didn't quite come off.

-No.

-Anyway.

-Thank you very much.

Thanks for trying it anyway. Thank you.

In seventh place, it's...

..Josh. I'm afraid, top of the leaderboard yesterday as well,

but I'm afraid not so high today.

We did think, actually, it was some very, very good cooking

but in the final analysis, what is a pie without a pastry top?

I tried to add a bit of pastry for you, but obviously...

-Not quite enough.

-LAUGHTER

-THEY LAUGH

-All changes!

-The big guns.

-Oh, dear!

In sixth place, it's...

..Matt Gillan.

Now, that was actually

a very fine new dish, Matt,

and a very brave one, if I might say so.

But there were just too many elements

-that didn't quite work for us.

-Thank you very much.

In fifth place...

..it's...

..Ben. Now, Ben, your fellow chefs thought

very, very highly of your dish, but we felt it was just

a bit too rich and too large for the banquet.

No worries. Thank you for your feedback.

-MATT:

-Oh!

-RICH:

-What's that all about?

-MATT:

-I don't believe that.

-RICH:

-Mate...

-BEN:

-Oh, well.

Right, it's down to the last four.

And in fourth place...

..it's...

..Adam. Adam, that dish was a vast improvement

on its previous incarnation.

It was witty, it was elegant

and it fell short by the tiniest margin, so congratulations.

I'm glad that the improvements did make improvements. Thank you.

-PRUE:

-Fantastic improvement.

So, three of you left.

Well, we could scarcely have had

more contrasting and different interpretations of the brief

than the three dishes that you served up.

And that really posed us with a huge problem. We debated long and hard.

And in the end, we decided that...

..all three of you had to be on the shortlist.

Jak, you look absolutely staggered!

My foot's been going off this bar since number eight.

Well, how do you feel?

I can't believe that I've been put in the top three

with what these guys produced today.

I'm absolutely honoured that you think so.

Jak, your salmon dish

was absolutely beautiful.

It had the tradition of the WI

through and through. It was delicate, it was pretty.

-It was truly wonderful.

-Thank you so much.

-Matt.

-Absolutely over the moon!

LAUGHTER

Well, I must say,

I thought your lobster dish was wonderfully refined

and it was simply a joy to eat. Well, Michael.

Really happy to be in the shortlist, given my poor result yesterday,

-so thank you all for that.

-What can I say?

Your fish dish was absolutely extraordinary.

It was a completely original take

-on the brief. Great dish.

-Thank you.

I've had a phenomenal day. Thank you.

Perfect dishes, perfect cooking.

Whoever wins, it's going to be an amazing banquet.

-Thank you. Well done.

-OLIVER:

-See you all tomorrow.

From yesterday, on the chefs' shortlist,

to today on judges' shortlist, I've done so well!

-PRUE:

-I was genuinely moved by Jak's reaction.

She just did not think she was going to get through.

I'm really disappointed.

You can't take for granted, being shortlisted by the chefs,

that you're going to be shortlisted by the judges, but, you know, I did.

I'm not best pleased. You don't want your name to be called out first,

especially when you've gone from the height of being called last.

Takes you back down to Earth.

It's a nice feeling to be shortlisted for my fish course.

Michael's got star written all over him, doesn't he?

He's not arrogant but he's very confident in what he does.

-What happened?

-We've all got shortlisted

-to possibly go to the banquet.

-ALL: Well done.

All of my family and my grandmother would be absolutely made up.

They're behind me 100%

and wherever my grandmother is, I'm sure she is as well.