London & South East Fish Great British Menu

This week on the Great British Menu,

three of the most exciting chefs

on the London and south-east restaurant scene.

Slightly nervous of you with that saw.

Yeah, me too.

Returning contender Mark Froydenlund,

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

Second time round, the pressure is just as much as it was last year.

Russell Bateman, classically trained and chasing a Michelin star.

It is a cooking competition and I seem to be the only one doing any cooking at the moment.

And Ronnie Murray,

who combines a straightforward approach with bold flavours.

My tactic's really simple -

I'm going to roast these curry spices till your eyes water so badly

you can't really see what you're doing.

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

the chefs will be celebrating the everyday great Britons honoured

throughout her reign and competing for the chance to cook for them at

an historic banquet at the Palace of Westminster.

Russell Bateman took the lead in the starter course,

impressing Richard with his seafood broth.

A lot of fish in there. Are you sure you've got the right course?

Yeah, I think so, yes.

But Mark is just one point behind.

Beautifully presented and a well-crafted dish.

Ronnie is trailing in third place.

It was a bit too simple.

In today's fish course, Russell's desperate to stay on top...

So, how many elements have you got, Russell?

-Only nine, mate.

-Just taking it easy today, yeah?

And for returning chef Mark, failure is not an option...

Oh, you're joking.

..as the chefs push to plate up the winning dish.

Does he need a life raft with this dish?

Oh...

The chefs have been challenged to create dishes that are a fitting

legacy to our new Elizabethan age and a celebration of the complete

transformation of British cuisine during the Queen's historic reign.

Judging these dishes for contemporary execution

and refined flavours is veteran Richard Corrigan.

Three times a banquet champion, he's seeking excellence.

I like my fish simple, I like it pure, with a very nice garnish.

I don't like my fish mucked around.

Richard loves his fish, got a great fish restaurant,

so he's expecting to see if the fish is going to be really high.

Feel a bit better this year, Mark?

Well, the points are going up, so that's good.

Obviously a lot more fun this year, with us.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Better-looking...

Pointed at me then, not you.

First up is Russell Bateman,

who won praise from veteran judge Richard with his elegant yet simple

starter. He is planning to hold on to his lead with his fish course.

Mark's not far behind me, obviously, he's got seven.

Ronnie has got six - I'll have to be keeping an eye on him.

If I get my head down and I push on, I believe I can deliver the dish.

-Hello, Chef.

-How are you feeling?

Yeah, very good. I'm very buoyed by the scores on the starter.

Russell, the name of your dish.

Well, this dish is called Commonwealth Carnival Queen.

So this dish is inspired by my visit to the Notting Hill Carnival.

So bringing the Caribbean to the Great British Menu.

Yeah. So, Queen Elizabeth II is the head of the Commonwealth,

absolutely embracing other cultures.

Basically, I want to represent her in a dish and show how those

cultures and those flavours have affected us and everything we cook,

and this is my way to do that.

So, pineapple, coconut, lobster,

Jerusalem artichokes, limes, spices -

a lot going on here.

Yeah. So, this is my Cornish lobster.

I'm going to do three things with this.

I'm going to roast the tail in jerk spices.

With the shells, I'm going to make a lobster soup and then with the claws

I'm going to make a dumpling,

a lovely lobster dumpling just to go in the soup.

Then you're going to be followed by the lobster tail with the Jerusalem

artichokes. I'm going to cook these with coconut milk

to make a puree and I'm going to do a little charred pineapple as well.

-It's a winner?

-I feel very strongly about this dish.

-Do you?

-Yeah, and I hope you feel the same way as me.

Time will tell. Happy cooking.

Thank you, Chef.

Russell's dish, the Commonwealth Carnival Queen.

The lobster takes spice really, really well

but an overcooked lobster can be woolly,

uninteresting and can destroy it.

Next, Ronnie Murray.

His simple starter failed to win over Richard,

so today he's determined to impress.

Going into the fish course at the back of the pack is a worry.

I'm going to move maybe a fraction quicker than I did for the starter

and hopefully I'll nail the dish.

Ah, Ronnie, one of my favourites, oysters.

I know. I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

Well, first of all, the name of your dish.

Of Pearls And Gods, Colchester Rock Oysters.

So, the reason for that - pearls obviously grow in oysters,

food of the gods, so what better way to honour our great Britons at a

banquet than with the food of the gods - the oyster?

So, tell me about this dish.

I'm going to do three elements, so you're going to get three oysters to

the dish - a bloody Mary granita on a natural oyster for a bit of frozen

texture, and then I'm going to do the gin and tonic jelly.

It sounds like a drink cabinet, really, more than a food box.

Yeah, it's a smidgeon in every dish.

And then we're going to do

a crispy fried oyster using this angel hair pastry,

just so it's nice and delicate

and the flavour from the oyster can still come through.

Then we're going to use some of this spicy sauce done by a

famous street-food trader. Watch it, it's pretty fiery, though.

HE WHIMPERS

It's an amazing flavour, and obviously we're going to cut

that with the mayonnaise so it's not going to blow your head off.

With all this spice in the oyster,

does it mask the natural flavour?

I think, you know, if I get it right,

I don't think so.

Russell, brave doing oysters?

Well, after the response I got for my oyster on the starter,

my advice would be don't overcook your oyster.

Yeah, thanks(!)

Ronnie's Colchester rock oysters...

Well, too much spirit is not a good thing to have with oysters.

Hopefully Ronnie can pull this off,

or else it's going to be a bit of a disaster.

Finally, returning chef Mark Froydenlund.

Having earned a disappointing seven for his starter,

he needs to wow veteran Richard with an impressive fish course.

I'm back for a second year, putting myself through it again,

so I've got to make sure it's worth it.

I've got to get through to Friday and I've really got to up my game to

get some higher scores on the board.

-Mark.

-Hello.

-How are you feeling?

-Good, really positive, actually.

Come on, talk to me about your dish. What is it?

So, the dish is Duty Calls.

As soon as I found out we were honouring great Britons this year,

I felt there was no-one who needs to be honoured more than the RNLI.

I started thinking about all the times that they probably have to

stop what they are doing, whether it's eating with their family,

at work, and go off and take part in the rescue.

-So, a beautiful piece of cod here.

-Yeah, it's lovely, isn't it?

I don't want to mess around with the fish at all.

I'm going to cure it really lightly, bit of lemon,

bit of salt to firm the fish up and then roast it in lots of butter.

OK, beautiful.

I'm making a parsley and pea sauce

and finishing that with the juice from the mussels.

And then, of course, fish...

I don't want to say chips, but it's something along those lines.

Some crispy potatoes, potato mousse.

Obviously, if you're having fish and chips,

you need tomato sauce.

-Oh!

-A little bit of chilli, little bit of ginger, garlic and vinegar.

So, basically, just a bit of spicy tomato, potato, cooked fish.

-Yeah.

-Feeling confident?

I am. I just really hope that

I do it justice because I think these people are amazing.

Fish loves simplicity and I love fish.

But this is a banquet dish.

He really needs to pull it out of the bag.

With cooking underway,

the chefs know they are at a crucial stage in the competition.

It's all a bit frantic in here today, chaps.

-We've got a lot to do.

-Just three or four elements,

but when you break it down, all of them are quite involved.

What about you, Ronnie? Have you got a lot to do?

Yeah, I've got a bit on. I think with the starter, time ran away from

me, so I'm very conscious not to let that happen today.

You know, it's simple, not necessarily easy.

So, how many elements have you got, Russell?

-Only nine, mate.

-Nine, yeah?

Yeah, I've just gone easy. Slow the pace down a little bit.

Russell is cooking lobster three ways - jerk lobster tail,

jerk lobster soup, and lobster and coconut dumpling.

He is also using some of the knuckle meat from the lobster as a canape

served with a lobster emulsion.

For me, this dish is all about the cooking of the lobster.

I need to get that exactly right.

Very sweet meat. Got to go easy on the spice.

Yeah.

Russell is an innovative chef and this is a complex dish.

He has to deliver the strong flavours perfectly

on each component.

I've got a lot of elements, nine elements on my dish.

The other guys have got three or four.

So I'm up against it.

Ronnie is also out to claw back points by putting his own stamp on a

classic British ingredient - oysters.

It's crucial I get a great score for this oyster dish, otherwise,

you know, the boys are going to pull away and that gap's going to get

slowly bigger.

Determined to get higher on the leaderboard,

Mark's not taking any chances...

Even making his own tomato sauce

to accompany his contemporary take on a fish supper.

Everyone's realised that, you know, the difference in points is going to

mean a lot more for this course, so

obviously everyone is keen to improve upon their positions.

I've just got to put it all together.

-How are you getting on, Mark?

-So far, so good.

You're looking a bit sweaty there. Under pressure, are you?

It's a bit of a trademark.

-So, this is your tomato sauce, yeah?

-Yeah.

Wow, yeah. Good.

Are you looking to do a bit better than you did last year?

Oh, of course. I feel the dishes are much more suitable this year.

-OK, good.

-Yeah.

-Well, listen, that's good smells from in here.

-Thank you.

-Thanks.

Russell is working on his Notting-Hill-Carnival-inspired lobster dish,

a jerk spiced butter made with chillies,

allspice and nutmeg to accompany the tail.

And a lobster emulsion.

I'm getting EMULSIONAL.

Then he moves on to the Jerusalem artichoke and coconut puree.

This is quite a personal one for you, isn't it?

Yeah, I took my son to the Carnival for the first time.

Two and a half years old,

he was going round the Carnival, dancing away.

It's all about the diversity of London as well,

which is something I really love.

Russell is visiting another part of London that, like Notting Hill,

has pulled together to celebrate its diversity -

Tottenham in the north of the capital.

He is meeting a local vicar who was awarded an MBE for services

to his community.

-Hey, Russell.

-Hello, Reverend John, nice to meet you.

-How are you?

-I'm very well. Yourself?

-Welcome to St Ann's.

-Thank you.

-You are a very famous person, Chef Of The Year.

-Yeah.

-I mean, that's pretty massive, isn't it?

-Not as big as an MBE.

Reverend John has served the parish for over 20 years

and provides locals with a neutral setting to air concerns

and build understanding.

One of the big things we do is we bring new police officers

into the back of church here and they meet with young people,

and they listen to their difficulties with the police.

And police often say,

"I've learnt more in that one hour

"sitting in the back of the church with a pile of doughnuts

"than three months on the streets in Tottenham."

Working alongside Reverend John is a team of dedicated community leaders

who share his passion for the local area,

including Pastor Keith Jackson.

John's vision, he wants to take what's important here

and take it outside into the community.

So we go out into the estates and we try to change people's lives,

try to give them some degree of hope.

Reverend John also plays an important role as chaplain

to Haringey Police,

something chief superintendent Victor Olisa can attest to.

There's nothing works better than when we've got people like John,

who is an established member of the community -

lots of trust, you know - to be able to act as that link.

And building that link is vital to be able to do the work that we are

really here to do, which is to serve the people of Haringey.

And in 2014,

the reverend was recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.

This is the MBE which Prince Charles gave me,

with my two young children watching on like I was at the school assembly

and they were the parents.

-What an honour.

-It WAS an honour.

-I'm sure you'll get one next year.

-I don't think so.

Hoping his Caribbean-inspired jerk lobster soup can go all the way in

the competition, Russell has brought a sample for Reverend John

and the local community workers to taste.

And just drink it like a posh Cup-A-Soup.

-Right.

-Wow.

-Yeah.

Lovely.

As a Jamaican, you got 100%.

That is the biggest thumbs-up I could have.

-Cheers.

-Do you think I'm going to get through?

-I think you'll get through, yeah.

-Cheers to that.

-Cheers.

THEY LAUGH

In the kitchen, Russell is juggling the many elements of his dish.

Have you got enough stoves to fit everything for you?

Yeah, I'm good. I'm just worried that it's a cooking competition and

I seem to be the only one doing any cooking at the moment.

He mixes lobster tail, claw and coconut milk for dumplings.

All right?

-Oh, bravo!

-Yeah.

Cheers, Mark.

You often carry a hammer around?

-Only to cooking competitions.

-Exactly, yeah!

-How are you doing?

-Yeah, good, Chef.

I've got my artichokes cooking in there with the coconut milk.

And then here I've got my lobster soup.

OK. May I?

Indeed. So that's just spiced with the jerk, the jerk spices.

I mean, the danger is all the spice can destroy your lobster.

I think it all comes together really well.

Good, good, that's what we want.

Ronnie is putting a contemporary spin on Colchester rock oysters,

which he hopes will show a more dynamic side to his cooking.

He's serving them three ways - warm, chilled and frozen.

So, remind me again, what's the granita?

Bloody Mary.

No need to swear.

Just a little bit of vodka in there so it doesn't freeze too hard.

Next, he preps the chilled gin and tonic jelly

that will accompany the oyster.

So, Ronnie, how are you doing?

All right, I made you a gin and tonic.

A bit brave, gin and tonic with oysters, you know?

Yeah. I mean, you know, Colchester rock oysters are very, very strong,

very, very pungent, so all the alcohol is still in there,

none of the alcohol is burnt off.

Mmm. I mean, we could have a lot of pickled guests if you're lucky

enough to get this course through.

-I think a little bit. You know, I think we'll be fine.

-Yeah.

Ronnie then works on the cooked element of his dish,

wrapping oysters in delicate angel hair pastry

which he'll deep-fry at the last minute.

Determined to cook for the judges on Friday,

Mark is under pressure with his take on a British favourite,

a fish supper in honour of the RNLI.

This course is really hard.

If one of the elements isn't right then you're

going to notice it straight away.

As a twist, he's making a potato mousse

and a parsley and pea sauce.

Ronnie will be first to serve his fish dish, showcasing the oyster.

Known as the food of the gods,

he sees them as a fitting tribute to those honoured by the Queen.

With three elements to plate up at different temperatures,

timing is everything.

He deep-fries the oysters in angel hair pastry.

All very serious in here.

It's all crucial, last minute.

If everything isn't bang on, it's not going to happen, you know?

Onto a traditional oyster sharing platter,

he lays two oyster shells and tops with spicy mayonnaise.

-Do you want anything, mate?

-Yeah, a gin and tonic.

I thought YOU was looking after that!

He adds the chilled gin and tonic jellied oyster to the platter,

then places crispy fried oyster onto the spicy mayonnaise.

Finally, he places two raw oysters onto washed shells,

tops with Bloody Mary granita...

-Just kind of on the edge of melting.

-Yeah.

..then garnishes with chopped fresh celery leaf

and adds to the platter.

-You ready?

-There we go.

-So, the title.

-Of Pearls And Gods - Colchester Rock Oysters.

The heavenly finish you were looking for?

Yeah, I'm pleased with that. I think it's good.

-How about continuing the chat in the tasting room?

-Good plan.

-So, oysters.

-So we start with the frozen.

OK.

Obviously a bit of vodka.

-Happy with the granita?

-Yeah, I think so.

Enough vodka, without it being too boozy.

-So refreshing. Just what I needed.

-Yeah.

Let's move on to the crispy fried with the spicy mayonnaise.

A good crunch on the crispy fried oyster?

Yeah, I think it holds its crunch well, that angel hair pastry.

You probably want a bit more oyster flavour than you get with that one.

-Yeah, maybe a little bit less pastry.

-Yeah.

This is the gin and tonic oyster.

Oof! La-la-la!

Do still get that oyster flavour at the end,

-but the initial hit is pretty big, isn't it?

-All alcohol, yeah.

Out of ten, how would you mark this?

I think I'd be looking for about a six, seven.

Why only six or seven?

Maybe I'm getting nervous now that I've been a bit too edgy.

Mark is next to plate up his cod dish,

a tribute to the ordinary people doing extraordinary voluntary work

at the RNLI.

To ensure his cod meets Richard's high standards,

he's cooking it at the last minute.

Well, Ronnie, how did it go, mate?

All right, I think. What do you boys think?

Did you get enough of the oyster flavour?

-It could have been a bit more stronger.

-Yeah.

To a serving plate,

Mark centres home-made tomato sauce

and decants parsley and pea sauce into serving jugs.

Oh, you're joking.

All right? Want me to get that?

Yeah, please, yeah.

It's like nothing ever happened. Take two.

Next, he adds potato mousse...

..crispy potato crumbs...

..and the roast cod.

Topped with a mussel garnish.

-OK, Mark, ready?

-Yeah.

So, this is the call of duty.

When you have to leave your dinner, you've got to leave your dinner.

He came wet as well, look.

He looks like he's just come out of the sea!

-But does he need a life raft with this dish?

-Oh...

Let's taste it.

Ketchup, pea, cod.

I know you went to the bother of making the tomato sauce -

-worth the effort?

-Yeah, I think it is.

Yeah, that ketchup is something else.

That's a great flavour.

The parsley and the pea, do you think it enhances the dish?

I do, I think it's an obvious match.

-Wow, there's a lot of parsley.

-Are you getting any pea?

No, to me the peas aren't really coming through, though.

The mousse, did it really come through there?

I think just a little bit more crispy potato,

just to really bring out the potato flavour.

Two very different potato flavours and two very different textures.

Yeah.

Do you think that fish is slightly overcooked?

30 seconds less in the pan and it would be even better.

-I'm going to go seven.

-I think I'm with you.

I think I'm going to go seven as well.

Out of ten, where do you feel it belongs?

I think probably a seven.

I'd like it to be a bit higher for the lifeboat crews,

then I'd be happy.

Before Russell can plate up his complex lobster dish,

he pan-fries poached lobster in jerk butter.

Hey, Mark, you all right?

How did it go?

I should have cooked the cod 30 seconds less,

but overall I was happy, yeah.

To showcase each element, Russell is using three stacked serving dishes,

each one containing different ingredients.

To the base he adds lobster and coconut dumplings,

diced pineapple...

..and lobster soup.

The middle dish features Jerusalem artichoke and coconut puree...

Oh, wow.

Jerk lobster tail,

charred pineapple...

..topped with coconut shavings.

-Russell, on time?

-30 seconds on the pass, Chef.

The top layer is a canape-style lobster knuckle

cooked in jerk butter and garnished with lobster emulsion...

..and crispy artichoke,

then placed on a bed of decorative spices.

OK, Mark.

So, here we have got Commonwealth Carnival Queen.

-Think you've done enough?

-I've done a lot, I don't know if it's enough.

-Come on, let's taste it.

-Let's go, Chef.

-What have we here?

-Here we've got lobster knuckle with some crispy

artichokes, a little lobster emulsion.

Really, really tender, really juicy. The spiced butter is amazing.

Artichoke, bit of texture.

Yeah, seriously tasty.

The lobster tail and the pineapple,

-all go together?

-Yeah.

Are you happy with that seasoning?

I'm happy with the spice,

I'd like there to have been a bit more salt on it.

You get that spicing and you still get the flavour of that lobster,

which is, you know, some achievement, really.

So, the dumpling...

Wow. That is good.

-Really sweet.

-Greed, you're not having the other half of that.

-Out of ten?

-Disappointed with the seasoning on the lobster and I think

I'm going to give myself a seven.

Wow.

He got an eight for his last course, I enjoyed this one more.

It's got to be an eight or it's got to be higher.

I agree, I think we should definitely be a little bit worried.

Yeah.

-Guys.

-How was that?

-That was hard.

-Was it?

-That was hard.

It certainly got Mark and I a little bit nervous, I think.

I was much happier with this dish.

I think it tells a much better story than the starter,

so I'd expect the seven to turn into an eight.

You can't get in his brain, can you? So who knows?

So, Chefs, how did you find the fish course?

Almost as tough as the starter.

I think it's getting harder.

-Definitely, yeah.

-I'm going to start with you, Ronnie,

and your Of Pearls And Gods - Colchester Rock Oyster.

You cook from your heart and your style is very edgy.

I thought the Bloody Mary granita slightly overpowered

what was on the meat.

The gin and tonic jellied oyster,

slightly a little bit too much gin.

A lot of chefs mess up the cooking of oysters.

I think you were pretty much bang-on with yours.

And I loved the deep-fried angel hair pastry.

With a few tweaks, I could see that oyster dish at a banquet.

Thank you.

Mark, your dish, Duty Calls.

I thought the story of the dish was great.

I liked the ketchup, it was packed full of flavour.

I thought the pea and parsley puree was pretty much spot-on.

However...

..it didn't hit me like I was expecting it to.

The potato foam got lost under that cod dish.

And the cod was slightly overcooked.

And a chef of your calibre, those nuances

of cooking times should be absolutely spot on.

Russell...

your Commonwealth Carnival Queen.

I always knew lobster would take spice, but jerk spice?

That's a new one on me. I wasn't sure you'd be able to pull it off.

It was stunning,

original, elegant and a bit magical.

I loved it.

So, to the scores.

I'm going to start with you, Ronnie.

I'm giving you a score of...

..eight.

Thank you.

Mark...

..I'm giving you a score of...

seven.

Russell...

I'm giving you a score of...

..ten.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

Wow.

-Amazing.

-I think you totally deserve it.

Cooked out of your skin, frankly.

-Thank you very much, Chef.

-Chefs, as always,

it's great to taste your food.

Goodnight and I'll see you all tomorrow.

-ALL:

-Thank you.

-Mate!

-Wow, that's amazing.

-I can't believe that.

-There we go, ten.

I'm made up, I'm absolutely speechless.

To get a ten from Richard is just...

it's mind-blowing.

With two courses complete, Russell is still in the lead.

Mark and Ronnie are trailing four points behind.

I'm really disappointed with the mark of seven.

I really believe in the dish and

I think it should have got a higher mark.

-The main course tomorrow.

-That's a tough one.

-Yeah.

Russell's the frontrunner now, and you can't underestimate Mark.

It's only going to take one slip-up from one of us, I think, to lose it.

It's that tight.