Central Dessert Great British Menu

This week on Great British Menu...

Backs.

..three of Central Region's top chefs...

It's stressful, isn't it?

..Daniel Smith, who's focused and competitive...

While I'm stirring, I'm praying.

..Andrew Scott, whose food is about flavour and finesse...

I'm really pushing myself hard.

..and daring and innovative Danny Gill.

I can't get this one wrong.

In the year of the Queen's 90th birthday,

the chefs are celebrating the everyday Great Britons

honoured throughout her reign

and competing for the chance to cook at an historic banquet

at the majestic Palace of Westminster.

Yesterday, Danny plated another winning dish, increasing his lead.

I'm giving you an 8.

But Andrew's main course also scored an 8,

putting him just one point behind second-place Daniel.

The competition is wide open

and the chefs are all desperate to make it to the judging chamber.

-What you doing, Danny?

-What aren't I doing?

But today's dessert is their last chance to shine.

Are you playing an attacking game or a defensive game?

One chef WILL be leaving the competition.

I'm feeling it, big-time.

There's no in between with this dessert,

it's just going to look like a car crash.

If it goes Pete Tong, I might as well just...

-Get the bus home...

-Exactly!

The chefs are competing to create dishes that are a celebration

of the complete transformation of British cuisine

during the Queen's historic reign.

Looking for inventive and truly contemporary cooking

is veteran Angela Hartnett, MBE.

She's expecting show-stopping dishes.

You cannot wing desserts,

there's no short cuts here.

So you really have to make sure that everything is right.

So, lads, down to the last course,

who's going to make it through tomorrow?

Massive day today, I'm gunning for both of you.

I've got to deliver a point above Andrew at least, so, you know,

I've got to smash it.

I've got loads going on with this one,

there's no in between.

-That's not like you(!)

-No, Danny, you never do that(!)

THEY LAUGH

But, no, literally I could be going out if I don't pull this one off.

Right, look out, then.

May the best chef win.

First up, Danny Gill, who's taken risks all week

with his inventive contemporary dishes topping the leaderboard.

Today, he's serving another risky dish,

hoping it will take him through to the judging chamber.

My dessert is very complicated,

there's lots of elements that can go wrong.

If I pull this off, maybe I could pull out that elusive 10.

-Hello, Danny, how are you?

-Hello, Chef.

-You all right?

-Top of the leaderboard.

-Yeah. It's a good place to be.

-What's the name of your dessert?

-It's called Jam Penny.

-I wanted to come up with a dish which represents giving back.

-Yeah.

Jam Penny, it's an interpretation of a Victoria sponge,

it's cut into little pennies.

I came across a British tradition called Maundy money,

where the Queen gives out purses containing commemorative coins.

It's something that I didn't know about before.

My menu, I wanted it to be a little bit of a history lesson.

So all the ingredients are the ingredients of what you'd have

-in Victoria sponge.

-OK.

And I'm going to make a raspberry and Earl Grey tea.

-I'm going to be making a raspberry pate de fruit jelly...

-Right.

..this is going to resemble some laces.

-Laces?

-For the moneybags.

We've got some beautiful white chocolate.

-I'm going to temper this down...

-Yeah.

One element is going to be the bag.

-One...

-The moneybag?

-Yeah.

One element is going to be a coin.

-Going to mix some with feuilletine.

-Yeah.

Which is basically a broken down wafer.

That's going to give a real nice texture to the dish.

And also what's the machine here you've got?

So we've got a candyfloss machine.

OK, fairground machine.

I've told you quite a lot about this dish already,

-and I want to save this one as a little bit of a surprise.

-OK.

So you'll have to wait and see on that one.

Wow, it sounds exciting.

I can't do any more than what I have done so, you know,

it's all down to this one now.

-Well, you've done very well so far, Danny...

-Thank you, Chef.

-..I'm looking forward to this.

-Thank you.

-Good luck.

He really seems to have nailed the idea behind this,

if he can pull that off, making these purses

with this chocolate money,

and the raspberry flavoured jelly, it sounds really exciting.

Next is Daniel Smith,

his classically inspired menu hasn't always wowed veteran Angela,

and he's only one point ahead of Andrew.

He can't afford any slip-ups if he's going to make it through to Friday.

I'm apprehensive, I've got a lot of things to do.

100% want to stay in the competition,

I want to cook for the judges.

-Hi, Daniel.

-Hello, Angela.

-How are you?

-Very well.

-Good.

Oh, raspberries again. Tell me the name of your dish.

National Treasure.

OK. Who is the Queen, I imagine?

Well, the Queen is our national treasure,

but also our fantastic Great Britons that have obviously

-been honoured by the Queen are our national treasures as well.

-Yeah.

-So as a double edge...

-Yeah.

-..I've devoted this dish,

-which is fundamentally a peach melba.

-OK.

So I've got some fantastic English raspberries here,

-some of them are going made into a panna cotta type cream...

-Yep.

..and then it's going to be a gold leaf

-and champagne jelly set on top.

-Nice.

I'm also going to be serving a white peach bellini,

with the English sparkling wine.

There's also going to be some tarragon poached white peaches.

I've never had tarragon with peaches, that works well together?

-Yes, it does work...

-Good combination?

-Very, very subtle.

Pistachios, what you doing with those?

So I've got some pistachio, I'm going to make a snow, I suppose.

Obviously I'm going for the gold leaf in there

to represent our national treasures and gold signifies that.

And how are you feeling overall, Daniel?

-It's still very close between you all.

-Yeah, it's massively close.

-Yeah.

-I've still got to deliver the best I can cos I'm sure

-Andrew could come up with a stonker and I'm gone...

-OK.

..so I've really got to, I've really got to deliver on this course.

I'm looking forward to tasting a delicious peach dessert.

OK. Thank you very much. Thank you.

In this dessert, he is pushing himself a bit more.

He's doing this foam, he's doing a raspberry gel.

So there's lots of different things he's working on to really push

the gastronomy and the technical side for his dish.

Last is Andrew Scott, he's bottom of the leaderboard,

but he's determined to impress with a visually exciting dessert,

in a bid to win a place in the judging chamber.

I don't think anyone's going to catch Danny,

but I need to smash Daniel so... And I know he's worried.

-Hi, Andrew.

-How you doing, Chef?

-I'm all right, how you doing?

-I'm well, thank you.

-OK, and how are you feeling?

Do you feel this dish can pull you through?

I'm feeling really positive, I've hit the brief, I think, with it.

-So, tell me the name of your dish.

-The name of my dessert

is Rita's Afternoon Tea and it's inspired by this lady here, Rita.

And who's Rita, then?

When I first started work, at 14,

-I was a kitchen porter in my local hotel.

-OK.

She worked at the hotel for 43 years

and basically served afternoon tea.

She got an MBE for her services to the hotel industry.

Oh, right, fantastic. And have you told her you are doing this dish

-in her honour?

-Yeah, I've told her and she's over the moon.

So is this Rita's Afternoon Tea or your afternoon tea?

-Er, a bit of both.

-Right.

-I spoke to her,

-her favourite dessert is a lemon meringue pie.

-Yeah.

So I'm going to do, like, a lemon meringue pie tartlet.

I'm going to rework scones, jam and cream,

Making a doughnut, rolling it in strawberry sugar

made from the freeze-dried strawberries,

-and filling it with a clotted cream mousse.

-Yeah.

And then in a teacup that's going to go on the trolley,

-I'm going to do a blueberry compote...

-Right.

..with some elderflower, and then on top of there,

-Cambridge, burnt Cambridge cream...

-Yeah.

..and then topped with a verjus espuma.

And do you think that all will work together as one dish?

That's what... I did look at that, because I don't think

-I can do one thing for an afternoon tea...

-Yeah.

-..and get away with it.

-Sure.

So, three things for me, little bit of choice.

If I can cook every single dish perfectly,

then I could come out on top.

So Andrew's afternoon tea,

let's hope that it lives up to what these Great Britons are about.

You know, this has to marry as one whole dessert,

even though it's three little individual items,

they need to come together.

As the chefs get cooking,

there's a determined atmosphere in the kitchen.

-Everyone's really going for it, aren't they?

-Yep.

While I'm stirring, I'm praying.

Daniel, you're looking a bit more worried.

I'm always worried.

I'm one point behind, I've got to catch Daniel up.

I don't want to go home today, at all.

You're trying to chase me,

so I'm trying to just keep quiet and concentrate on what...

Are you playing an attacking game or a defensive game?

-Who, me?

-You.

-I'm just cooking!

HE LAUGHS

Backs.

Danny is preparing a sponge...

..and a raspberry and Earl Grey tea for his inventive dessert,

inspired by the flavours of jam pennies.

-Cream, jam...

-Yeah.

..sponge. This is just my interpretation of it.

He may be top of the leaderboard, but is yet to plate a perfect dish,

and yesterday dropped points when his presentation

didn't reflect the brief.

Yeah, lovely.

He's hoping this dish tells a clearer story.

-What's Maundy money?

-Maundy money is an annual tradition.

This is the Queen's way, one way that she gives back,

not only with the OBEs and the MBEs

but with commemorative coins.

I think you've really nailed the brief.

Andrew is also under pressure to impress.

He's making mini lemon meringue tartlets for his afternoon tea dish,

inspired by his friend, Rita Southam,

awarded an MBE for services to the hotel industry.

His main course nailed the brief,

and he's hoping his dessert will do the same.

I love an afternoon tea.

It's something that has been on the show a lot before, though -

so, how is yours different?

The story's strong behind it, it's based on a real person.

The stuff she likes to eat.

The picture, as well. Have you got a picture?

The picture's on the plate.

Oh, really?!

Although Andrew's main course came joint top,

his other courses haven't scored as highly.

He has to score more than Daniel today

or he's going home.

I've given myself a lot to do on this course.

It's got to be a memorable dish, it's got to have a wow factor.

So, I need all that to come through when Angela is trying it.

Hi, Andrew, how you getting on?

I'm good, thank you. I'm just making a type of doughnut.

It's quite light.

And this is basically the take on the scones with the afternoon tea.

Yeah. It's a bit like pommes soufflees, so, they open up...

-Right, OK.

-..slightly hollow inside,

-so I can stuff them with some clotted cream mousse...

-OK, got you.

..and roll them in the strawberry sugar.

Which is there.

Don't want to have too much of that!

And any risk, making these doughnuts like this?

A bit like the parsley dumpling on the starter,

-I told you it was going to be light.

-Yeah.

That ended me. So, I need these to be as light as a feather

-to make up for the dumpling.

-All right.

-I'm going to let you concentrate. Good luck.

-Thank you.

Daniel is also having problems with his reimagined peach Melba.

His raspberry panna cotta is taking longer than expected to cool.

-I'm up against it.

-How's your panna cotta? Is it going to be ready?

-Who knows?

-Who knows?!

-We don't know.

-You can't say that!

I can!

The mixture needs to chill over ice before it goes in the fridge -

otherwise it might set unevenly, or not at all.

I'm trying to get it super cold.

It's going to be tight, it's going to be tight on time.

If it goes Pete Tong, I might as well just...

Get the bus home.

Exactly.

The panna cotta will be served with peaches poached with tarragon.

Those peaches look amazing.

Yeah, they're really lovely peaches.

As a proud Norfolkman,

Daniel called on some favourite regular customers

to help develop his dessert.

Alan Gray and Graham Robeson own East Ruston Old Vicarage Gardens,

a popular attraction in East Norfolk.

It's a private garden which they allow the general public to visit.

They've been fantastic customers of mine,

and I trust their opinion in terms of the food.

Alan and Graham have spent almost 30 years

building the 32 acres from scratch.

There is a walled garden

commemorating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee,

and an abundance of fruit and vegetables.

We always include lots of flowers in with our vegetables,

because if you include flowers, you get pollinators in -

but it also cheers the heart of the garden,

if it has to work among the vegetables, I think.

-Yeah, I totally agree, it looks amazing.

-Yeah.

As well as running the gardens,

Graham has been honoured by the Queen

for voluntary political service.

I received an OBE, which is officer of the order of the British Empire.

Pretty distinguished!

Well, it's very nice to have, yes!

Daniel's National Treasure peach dessert

not only honours the Queen,

but also celebrates his friendship with Graham and Alan -

so, it was important Daniel got their seal of approval.

It looks absolutely delightful.

Fabulous.

What do you think, Graham?

The raspberry is very strong.

Definitely. I think the acidity works nicely within it, as well.

-As you can see, I've eaten it all!

-LAUGHTER

It has to be a...a 10!

All week, Daniel has favoured classic cooking,

but he's hoping that his take on a peach Melba,

with its modern white peach foam and pistachio snow,

will be a winner.

It means masses to me, I want to get to the final.

So, I'm feeling it, big time.

Daniel's panna cotta is finally setting -

but he still needs to finish the jelly which will sit on top.

Hey, Daniel, how are you?

Oh, I'm getting there.

-What's in there?

-Some...

-Oh, gold leaf.

Some gold leaf in there,

there's also...so, they are raspberries

-that have been steeped in the English wine.

-OK.

That's going to be jelly, just sit on top of my...

-my panna cotta, I suppose.

-OK.

So, it's going to be poured over this.

-Which I've been panicking about.

-You're normally cool as a cucumber.

I am normally cool as a cucumber. I'll be fine in a little while.

-I'll let you get on. Thanks a lot, Daniel.

-Thank you.

What you doing, Danny?

What aren't I doing?

LAUGHTER

All week, Danny has created highly technical and complex dishes.

With eight elements, his dessert is equally challenging.

He's tempering chocolate for his Maundy moneybag -

white chocolate and feuilletine crispies and coins.

My chocolate is my main concern.

You've got that points cushion, though,

so even if you mess up a little bit...

No, there's no in between with this dessert.

It's just going to look like a car crash.

Well, I'm doing three desserts,

so you can have one of mine, if you want.

HE LAUGHS

Danny's also using raspberries to prepare French pate de fruit.

These sugary and sour jelly sweets will provide the string for his bag.

It's a tricky and exacting process.

-OK, Danny...

-Hello.

-How are you?

-Er, busy.

-Sorry to disturb you(!)

-No, it's cool, it's cool.

-No, what you doing? Tempering?

I've got my chocolate being tempered just now,

-and I've got my...

-Jelly.

I've got my ice cream to go on next, and churn that.

And candyfloss is last minute?

Candyfloss is right at the last minute.

And then I'll be there.

OK, right, Danny, I'm going to let you get on with it, OK?

Take care.

Danny looked frenetic, you know?

Looked like he was literally one hand, one foot, whisking,

jelly setting. So, let's hope he hasn't given himself too much to do.

Andrew is also using modern techniques

for the final element of his afternoon tea.

He is hoping a blueberry sherbet sorbet...

and foam using verjus from unripened grapes

will impress veteran Angela.

I'm really pushing myself hard.

I'd be gutted to go today.

I really want to go through to tomorrow and cook for the judges.

He's serving the modern components

with a blueberry and elderflower compote,

topped with a classic Cambridge burnt cream, or creme brulee.

Nice, thick custard.

Hopefully it will set in time -

and then I'm going to top it with my blueberry sherbet sorbet.

My verjus foam.

If the dish goes too hot, the whole thing melts, it's ruined.

Daniel is first to plate up his reinvented peach Melba.

He hopes his problematic panna cotta has set.

The set raspberry panna cotta

topped with raspberry and gold leaf jelly is first on the plate...

..followed by raspberry gel...

and poached peaches.

-It's all poached nice.

-Yeah, poached beautiful.

Next is a sprinkle of pistachio snow...

..raspberries...

and raspberry ripple ice cream.

Daniel's take on a bellini - white peach foam...

topped with English sparkling wine,

is a toast to the Queen's Great Britons.

The dish is served on a regal cushion.

Looking pretty, what do you think?

I can see the wobble already,

and that's going to be a good panna cotta, I think.

Well, it's all to play for now.

It really is. OK, I'm looking forward to tasting this.

I'll take this, you take the cushion.

Wow. Looks absolutely stunning, doesn't it?

Yeah, lovely, it's really set nicely.

The part we were always worrying about.

-Happy with the consistency of your panna cotta?

-Definitely.

Falls away straight away once you eat it.

Just set - just, just literally set.

Lovely flavour. Mm, really nice.

And the peaches, they've come out,

they are cooked exactly as you wanted them to be?

Totally. They're really bright, so, I'm really happy with that, yeah.

-Do you like the texture?

-I don't know... A bit over-poached?

And then you've got the raspberry ripple ice cream, I presume?

-Correct.

-And was it pistachio underneath?

A little bit of pistachio snow, as well, to complement the crunch.

-He's nailed that.

-Yeah?

-Awesome texture.

Mm.

Hopefully you enjoy the bellini there.

I'm very happy with it.

That's really nice.

You nicking it off me?

Cheers, mate.

That's absolutely delicious. Really clean.

-Mm.

-Really fresh.

Do you think that's fit for a banquet?

I believe it's fit for royalty now.

I'd score it a 9.

I need to concentrate on mine, now, and make it perfect,

and it will be right down to the wire.

-How was that?

-Fab! I'm happy.

I'm just hoping she doesn't like it!

Cheers, mate(!)

Danny is making the final element of his dessert -

candyfloss, which will cover his Maundy moneybags.

This is where I started my bit, you know,

where I started to learn to cook.

Did you work on the fair?

-Yeah!

-So, it better be as good as what I used to make when I was 13.

-DANNY:

-I'll try my best for you, Chef, I'll try my best.

-You doing toffee apples as well?

-No toffee apples, no.

-Goldfish in a bag?

-No.

First on Danny's plate

is the white chocolate and sponge bag,

with sweet and sour raspberry string.

Danny fills the inside with white chocolate mousse,

white chocolate and feuilletine crispies,

raspberries...

..Earl Grey and white chocolate ice cream...

and white chocolate pennies.

He covers the edible Maundy moneybag in the candyfloss.

The raspberry and Earl Grey tea is served in a teapot.

-Pleased with everything?

-Yes.

-Good.

Andrew, what do you think?

One of the most interesting dishes of the week.

I totally agree.

-OK, all right, I'm going to take this one.

-Yeah.

-You bring the tea.

-Enjoy.

Thank you - well done, mate.

So, the idea is to pour the tea straight onto the candyfloss?

Yes, please.

Ah, so it melts it all.

-Yeah.

-Ah, got you.

I'm not too sure if...it gets put down in front of them,

they'll know straight off what it is.

And what about the candyfloss? Does that work for you

in terms of flavour and what it needed to do for the dish?

Yeah, it's more of a visual thing -

and then when you pour the tea over the candyfloss,

it gives you that little bit of wow factor.

I'd have liked to have eaten the candyfloss.

-I love candyfloss.

-I like candyfloss, too.

It's dissolved though, hasn't it?

And there's your little money.

-Little coins.

-Yeah.

And what about the ice cream?

Good flavour? Enough Earl Grey for you, or a bit less?

I get enough Earl Grey flavour.

Maybe he could make it a bit more pungent.

Little raspberry laces.

Have these come out exactly as you wanted them?

Did you want them sweeter, sharper?

I just think they're a little bit of fun on it.

The laces, though, are a bit... Oof!

-Really?

-Mm.

Do you think that Great Britons will what it's supposed to represent?

There's a nice bit of luxury on there with the white chocolate...

-Yeah.

-..there's freshness with the fruit,

and it tells a story on the plate.

I think it's a really original idea

and I think he's really thought out of the box, here.

-I'd give him an 8.

-100%. I agree on that.

Andrew is last to serve his dessert,

in honour of his Great Briton and friend, Rita Southam MBE.

He fills his doughnuts with clotted cream mousse

and dusts with strawberry sugar.

Everything will be served on a tea trolley.

-Oh, mate!

-Geezer.

-Well done.

-How was it?

-Lush, mate.

-Did she not say anything?

-She doesn't give anything away.

-No?

Really doesn't give anything away. Complete blank canvas.

-So...

-HE SIGHS

Done in!

Andrew puts the finishing touches to his lemon meringue tartlets...

and tops with fresh and freeze-dried raspberries.

His blueberry sherbet sorbet

is served on the Cambridge burnt cream...

along with the verjus foam.

I think we're going out with a bang.

Freeze-dried blueberry powder finishes the dish.

This is in honour of Rita. It's Rita's Afternoon Tea.

There's the lady herself, and that's her little tea trolley.

-So, the idea is you help yourself to the little items.

-Yes.

Three little treats.

-So, shall we serve the boys?

-Serve the boys.

-OK.

-And you can bring the trolley.

-Got the shakes!

-Right, OK.

-Thank you.

-Right, come on.

-Yeah.

-Well, he's really pulled it out of the bag again, hasn't he?

-Yeah!

-Absolutely stunning.

-Yeah, yeah.

-So, this was a different doughnut mix, wasn't it?

-Mm.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

I think that's lovely.

-It's really light.

-Really light and crispy, yeah.

Are they as light as you wanted?

They are light. I'm relieved, they're light.

-This sable in this lemon meringue, is this crispy for you?

-Mm.

That's come out perfect for me.

The base hits the mark.

Really, really great crunch to it.

I wouldn't say it's super-sharp, but it's really lemony.

For me, that works absolutely ever so well.

I think I've got it right,

with the balance of meringue and the fresh raspberries on top.

So, this is with the verjus foam. Is it set enough for you?

Yeah. Don't want it too firm.

-DANIEL:

-For me, maybe the mixture maybe could be slightly thicker.

But nevertheless, that definitely does the job.

Yeah, the blueberry sorbet...

I think, is my favourite bit in the pot, there.

Yeah, I think you're right!

And do you think that's enough for a dessert, or it's too big?

-It is a big dessert.

-Sure.

-I know it is.

I suppose if we were being picky, it's quite big, with three parts.

And, Rita, she'd like it, do you think?

I think Rita would be over the moon with it!

I can't fault it.

I'm going to give it a 10.

I'm a bit worried.

-Pff!

-Last one. Glad it's all over and done with?

-Yeah, I think we all are.

-Yeah.

I feel I've done enough on the dessert,

but it all lies with Angela.

Right, both of you guys, I don't want to go home either.

Fingers crossed.

-EXHALES:

-It's up to her now.

OK, chefs.

How are you feeling?

-Tired.

-Tired, yeah.

Do you feel you've ended on a high?

Yeah, definitely.

I'm going to start with you, Daniel, and your National Treasure.

Almost everything on that dish was soft.

For me, I felt it needed a little more texture.

There was a lot of raspberry on the dish.

Maybe a bit too much raspberry, maybe a bit more peach.

However...

..the poached peaches were delicious, absolutely stunning.

I thought the panna cotta was set beautifully.

You know, it was a lovely panna cotta.

And I really like that bellini.

I thought it was a lovely touch to the dish.

Now, Danny, your dish, Jam Penny.

The flavours in the dish were great, absolutely delicious.

I thought the ice cream was superb.

I like the sponge and when you poured the tea with the sponge,

you know, it really sort of worked together.

And the candyfloss on top was a really lovely bit of theatre.

But when I first saw the dish, I wasn't quite clear what it was.

I wasn't sure that it looked enough like a bag

and I think you probably need to work on your presentation.

Andrew, your dish, Rita's Afternoon Tea.

As always in this competition,

you thought hard about that brief and you always get it right.

I thought the lemon meringue was lovely and tart,

it wasn't overly set,

and you really got that crunch in the biscuit.

The doughnuts, they were lovely and light,

much nicer than I anticipated -

and in the Cambridge cream, I liked the foam on that,

nice little touches.

But the consistency of the cream, I felt, to me,

was a little bit loose.

Maybe could have set a little bit longer.

As you said, and we both said, it's a big dessert.

Is that too heavy to finish on at the end of a meal?

Now to the scores.

The chef with a 9...

..which gives them the highest score through this week...

..is Danny.

Well done. You led all week, there was some great cooking there

and great technical ability there.

-So, well done.

-Thank you.

Two chefs left.

But there's only one of you, I'm afraid,

who's going through with Danny to cook for the judges.

Daniel...

..I'm scoring you, for this round...

an 8.

And Andrew...

..I'm giving you...

..an 8.

So, that means, Daniel,

you're going to be cooking tomorrow with Danny.

Well done, boss.

-Hard luck.

-Yeah. No worries.

I thought it was a 10.

Andrew, commiserations.

Danny, Daniel, good luck.

-Thank you, Chef.

-Thank you.

-What a great week.

-Thank you.

-Well done, guys.

-Thank you.

Toughest week of my life.

The Great British Menu kitchen is a beast.

Geezer!

That was the big risk dish for me, the dessert,

but I pulled it off.

So I'm very happy with that.

I've got one more hurdle to go.

Still got to get past the judges -

and beat Daniel tomorrow.

All right, I'm going for a beer.

We're all going for a beer!