London & South East Main Great British Menu

This week on Great British Menu, three of the most exciting chefs

on the London and South East restaurant scene.

Mark Froydenlund,

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

When you have to leave your dinner,

you've got to leave your dinner.

Russell Bateman, classically trained and chasing a Michelin star.

I'm just a bit worried that it's a cooking competition.

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

And Ronnie Murray, who combines a simple approach with bold flavours.

My tactic's really simple today, boys -

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 famous Palace of Westminster.

Yesterday, Russell's fish course won over veteran Richard,

earning him the first ten of the week and extending his lead.

That's a dish that celebrates everything

that's great about shellfish.

-Amazing.

-Mark and Ronnie are tied in second place.

In today's main course, Russell is vying to stay at the top.

-Are we going to see another ten today?

-Hopefully.

No reason why not, is there?

Both Mark and Ronnie know they need to deliver on this course

to get back in the competition.

I'm slightly nervous of you with that saw.

Yeah, me too.

The chefs have been challenged to create dishes that celebrate

the evolution of British food during the Queen's reign

and a fitting legacy to our new Elizabethan age.

Judging these dishes for contemporary execution

and refined flavours is veteran Richard Corrigan.

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

This is the main course.

I want to see a dish that surpasses expectations

and brings out the best in British food.

So, Mark, we need to gang up on Russell today.

Basically, he doesn't have a stove,

so I figure if we take everything off every time he puts something on,

we should be OK.

Last year I got a nine for my main course.

Such a good feeling, isn't it?

I was absolutely speechless when I got that ten yesterday.

I couldn't believe it. I want to emulate that again today.

Eight and above, that's what I'm looking for today.

I'm looking for a big score today. I really don't want to dip behind now.

-Let's get cooking, eh?

-Yeah.

-Let's get it done.

Russell Bateman is up first.

He's served consistently good dishes and earned

a perfect ten for his fish course,

but he knows he has to keep achieving top scores.

Four points ahead for me, it means nothing.

I want to keep the same intensity, I want to keep the same focus,

and hopefully make it to the judges' chamber.

-Hello, chef.

-Russell, how are you doing?

Yeah, very good, thank you.

Your head didn't swell up too much overnight, did it?

There's no room for complacency in this competition

and I don't intend to let it slip in now.

What are you cooking for the main course

and what's the title of your dish?

My dish is called Modesty Meets Royalty.

This dish is based upon when the honoured Great Briton finally gets

to meet Her Majesty the Queen and receives their honour

at Buckingham Palace, the investiture ceremony,

and to represent modesty,

I've got this amazing beef cheek.

I'm going to braise that in treacle

so it's really rich, really unctuous.

It's not just treacle you're using? You're happy using something else?

Yeah, I'm going to use stocks.

On top of that, I'm going to serve some smoked bone marrow.

Then the regal element for this dish is this beautiful fillet of beef.

Once I've roasted this, I'm brushing this with the treacle as well,

just to intensify that flavour

and bring the treacle all the way through the dish.

-Good.

-I'm using carrots. These are beautiful Chantenay carrots.

Obviously, lots of different colours, different varieties.

I'm going to cook these three different ways.

I've got some lovely sourdough here,

which I'm going to cook as a breadcrumb,

but I'm going to cook in beef dripping,

to intensify that beef flavour.

What's this, a posh steak sandwich, is it?

-It's a posh beef dinner.

-So you're aiming for another ten?

Absolutely, chef. I want a high score on this, I want to do well.

Russell's Modesty Meets Royalty -

beef cheek, beef fillet -

if he can pull this off, it's going to be an absolute brilliant dish,

but so much can go wrong.

There is so many components to this dish to mess up.

Next is Ronnie Murray. His oyster dish scored higher than his starter

and propelled him into joint second place with Mark.

Today, he wants to go further with his strong flavours.

I'm looking for at least an eight or a nine with the main course.

I'll be disappointed with anything less.

-How are you doing, Ronnie?

-Morning.

-How are you feeling?

-I'm feeling good about this one.

-What's the title of your dish?

-Crown Of Honour.

Obviously, with the Queen theme,

I thought, what better thing to do than a crown? A crown of lamb.

Two eight-bone racks of lamb,

then we're going to tie them back-to-back,

then, hopefully, if all goes well,

the bones will hold together and it will look exactly like a crown.

What's the rest?

The twist is we're going to fill it with a lamb-neck curry,

so I didn't want to go all prime cuts and lose all my ethos,

so cheap cut...

And you're making your curry from base, yeah?

From base, so we're going to roast off a fantastic array of spices.

We're going to finish that off with something

a little bit interesting - we'll do some samphire pakoras.

A little deep-friend samphire in there.

Is this dish going to go, "Wow!"?

Yeah, I think this is a real wow-factor, show-stopping dish.

And the lamb, of course, will be very rose.

I'm hoping. Yeah, I'm hoping medium rare.

Because if you overcook this...

-I may as well go.

-..you may as well go, yeah.

Yeah.

Ronnie's Crown Of Honour, that rack of lamb with curry spices,

that gets my jowls moving.

But has he the skill to pull it off?

Last up is two-Michelin-starred chef Mark Froydenlund.

His first two courses left veteran Richard underwhelmed,

but last year, Mark scored a nine for his main course,

so he knows he can deliver.

It's a big day and I think it's where the competition

is won and lost. I've got a bit of catching up to do.

I need to catch up with Russell and get a lead on Ronnie.

-Morning.

-Mark, how are you?

-Very good, how are you?

And what's the title of your dish?

My dish is A Celebration Of Rose Veal.

-OK.

-The dish is celebrating and honouring the farmers in Britain

that have really taken food to a new level over the last 60 years.

Rose veal?

-Yeah.

-I don't see a lot of it on menus any more.

I think it is something that isn't used enough.

It's an amazing product, so this is an aged rack of the veal.

What I'll do is I'll break it down, take off the eye,

it's going to be poached, roasted and glazed with the sauce,

which is going to be made with the trimmings and the bones.

Then what we'll be left with is kind of a spare rib.

That's going to be cooked in the water-bath in a marinade

and then glazed again.

And the rest of the garnish in here?

I really want to keep it really light and fresh

and sort of spring-like, almost, so using broccoli, lots of herbs,

some fresh chestnuts and also using some sandy carrots.

They're going to be glazed in the carrot juice,

just trying to get as much flavour into them as possible.

OK. You've done a nine before.

-Feeling good?

-Feeling great.

Last year, London/South East won the main course.

Is one of you guys up for it this year?

-Absolutely.

-Definitely.

You sure? That didn't sound convincing.

-Huh? Enjoy.

-Thank you.

Mark's celebration of rose veal, it's a brave dish.

I genuinely think Mark is really looking

for the spectacular show-stopper.

He really is looking to pull one out of the bag

and maybe this rose veal dish is it for him.

As cooking gets underway, Mark's thoughts are on improving on

his fish course score to make sure he gets to the judging chamber.

For me, the biggest thing I'm worried about now

is Richard saying my dish yesterday was too simple and too safe,

cos really today, all I'm trying to do is show off how good the meat is

and I suppose it's relatively simple.

He's putting his faith in his rose veal dish,

which celebrates the British farmers who are now humanely producing

this delicate meat.

I'm slightly nervous of you with that saw.

Yeah, me too.

Next, Mark works on the veal sauce which will accompany the meat.

Currently in second place, he's pushing hard to claw back points.

Doing well on this dish is really important to me.

Obviously, I want to get at least a nine to match last year.

-So, Mark, how's everything going?

-Uh, so far, so good.

-Yeah?

Absolutely, yeah.

The spare rib's being cooked in this liquor

and obviously the juices all come out of the meat

-and that's just being reduced down now.

-What's in that?

It's basically a barbecue sauce base.

I didn't want to tell you earlier.

That's good.

That's going to go into this, which is sort of a classic jus.

-Happy with everything? Yeah, so far.

-Feel a bit more confident?

-Yeah.

Good, good, good, good!

-That's quite clever.

-Thank you.

Mark looks a bit nervous. I'm sure there's internal pressures there.

It's a competition, he wants to get a really good,

high score on this dish,

so he's working hard, you can see it.

Ronnie is cooking lamb two ways.

He starts with the spices for his lamb-neck curry.

In joint second place, he's determined to catch Russell.

My tactic's really simple today, boys.

Basically, I'm going to roast these curry spices till your eyes water

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

-You've already done that, mate.

-That's my technique...

Your plan has worked.

He moves on to a traditional rack of lamb,

which will form the crown, the centrepiece of his dish.

-So the crown of lamb, Ronnie, yeah?

-The crowning glory.

Yeah, so threading it all together?

-Yeah.

-And what are you going to wrap it around?

Er, nothing.

-I'm going to go for it holding its natural shape.

-Wow.

I was never much good at sewing at school, so we'll...

Yeah, well, I can see.

-RONNIE LAUGHS

-We'll see.

-Yeah.

Anyway, just make sure to remove all that string.

That's the worry.

Ronnie is tying the lamb and not wrapping it round a tin can,

which normally you would use for a crown of lamb,

so he said he's done it before. Well, hopefully he has.

Russell is hoping to maintain his lead with his beef dish,

where his choice of cuts and presentation

will represent ordinary Great Britons

receiving the highest honours.

He starts by brazing beef cheeks with treacle,

then preps beef fillet, which he cooks sous-vide,

before moving on to his smoked bone marrow.

Oh, bone marrow, now you've got me.

-I love bone marrow.

-I had you at bone marrow, yeah?

Mark is working on the eye of the rose veal rib,

which he vacuum packs and cooks in the water-bath.

Mark, confident in this one?

You're obviously very passionate about the product.

Yeah, I feel, like I said,

a real responsibility to do a good job with it,

cos it's not just me, it's the farmer,

it's everyone involved in the chain that I'm kind of representing.

I just want to make sure that I do it for them, as well, really.

Up in Cumbria, Mark visited the farm supplying his rose veal...

-Hi, Mark.

-Hi.

-Welcome to Gatelands.

..and met owners Andrew and Angela Barraclough.

-This is Ange, my wife.

-Hiya, Mark.

-Hello.

You all right? Nice to meet you.

Here she's feeding the calves.

Oh, they still like their milk, even at this age.

That's what I think should give the meat

-just that little bit of tenderness.

-Yeah.

It's common practice for dairy farmers

to shoot bull calves at birth,

but Andrew and Angela changed their approach

following the devastating loss of their entire herd

to foot and mouth disease in 2011.

They decided that no calves born on the farm

would be destroyed unnecessarily

and decided to rear their bull calves for veal production.

It's soul-destroying, when you've lost everything...

Sorry.

..lost everything to foot and mouth.

I said to Andrew, "We're going to have to do something

"to try and get a market for these animals."

Foot and mouth changed a lot of stuff,

but change isn't always bad, but yet sudden change is hard.

Andrew and Angela's dedicated approach

puts the welfare of their livestock at the heart of their farm.

We feel like we're doing something with them,

we're not just shooting them.

-It's something worth persevering with.

-Please don't stop.

-Thank you.

-THEY LAUGH

Representing Cumbrian farmers during this terrible time

and ensuring their voices were heard

was National Farmers' Union chairman Les Armstrong,

who was honoured by the Queen for his efforts.

Cumbria was really badly affected during the 2001 crisis

and I understand you were at the forefront of that.

Well, I was.

Because of my involvement in the NFU,

when the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, came up to Cumbria,

I was one of the people that got invited to meet him.

Somebody must have thought we'd done a good job,

because eventually I got a letter off the Prime Minister's Office

to ask if I would like to receive the MBE.

-Well, that was unthinkable to me.

-You must be really proud.

Future generations will look back and say, "Yeah, Grandad,

"or whoever was lucky enough to get an MBE and meet the Queen."

But more importantly, I was lucky enough

to represent Cumbrian farmers, really,

and I'm just passionate about my industry.

Back at the family farmhouse,

Mark has prepared a sample of his rose veal dish

to thank the farmers who've worked tirelessly to produce the meat.

-That really is tasty.

-Really is good.

Really sweet. Quite surprising how sweet it is, actually.

How you have done that meat, absolutely brilliant.

It really makes us proud that we've produced...

That meat was born here.

In the kitchen, Mark is doing broccoli three ways.

He starts with the puree.

He's also roasting carrots in butter with aromatics.

Russell is also taking a contemporary approach

to preparing his carrots,

wrapping them in treacle salt-baked pastry.

So, Russell, what have we here?

This is my salt-baked pastry,

-so this is for the Chantenay carrots.

-OK.

The idea is that I'm going to cook these in the pastry,

they're going to absorb the flavour of this,

but they're also going to maintain their own flavour.

Feeling comfortable?

No, I've still got loads to do, I've got to push on, time's against me.

I really need to crack on, yeah.

Listen, I'm really looking forward to tasting those carrots.

-Brilliant, thank you.

-Thank you.

I think Russell's salt-baked pastry, yeah,

it smelled great.

No question about it.

Love the idea.

Ronnie is racing to prepare his rack of lamb,

which he intends to serve medium rare.

Anything you're worried about your dish, Ronnie?

As I said to Richard, if this isn't medium rare,

I may as well just go, boys. You'll be fine on your own.

He moves on to the accompaniments -

the samphire pakoras and the green apple relish.

Mark is first to plate up his dish,

A Celebration Of Rose Veal, which pays tribute to British farmers

humanely rearing their calves.

To a serving plate, he centres broccoli puree,

braised broccoli stems,

wild herb garnish and fresh chestnut.

He adds carrots rolled in pine nuts and carrot powder...

Mark, happy with your veal?

Yeah, the veal's good.

..and tops with rose veal fillet

and black garlic puree.

He then adds a veal rib to a sizzle platter...

-I can't wait to taste that veal, chef.

-Really?

It looks absolutely phenomenal.

..and garnishes with pine nuts and carrot powder,

crispy broccoli and chickweed,

followed by barbecue sauce

and veal sauce in jugs.

-Title.

-A Celebration Of Veal.

-Celebration Of Veal?

-Rose veal?

-Rose veal, yeah.

And your little sign here, yeah?

So this is plaque that was put up by the farmer

after the foot and mouth crisis of 2001.

You know when you do look at some dishes, you just go,

"God, I hope this tastes as good as it looks!"

Actually, I'm not thinking that, but...

LAUGHTER

Come on.

Well, I think the plate looks amazing, though.

-Smells phenomenal.

-Yeah.

-This is the eye of the meat.

-This is the prime bit.

It's got a great flavour to it, the veal.

-Sauce good?

-Yeah, sauce is delicious.

-Happy with that rib?

-Yeah, I am.

I think it's really tender, I think the sweetness in the marinade

really helps to bring out the natural sweetness in the veal.

That's delicious.

-Sticky, rich.

-That's what you want from a rib, no?

-This is the carrot. On the outside?

-Pine nuts, which I love.

That's super-rich, eh? That pine nut is lovely on there.

-And the puree down on the bottom?

-Broccoli puree,

little bits of crispy broccoli.

-RONNIE:

-I don't know if I get that.

-I'd have been quite happy with the puree, I think.

-Yeah?

Out of ten?

I'd say an eight. I think I've done it justice.

I think this is an absolute winner, this dish.

It's a very strong main course.

I've got to be honest with you, Russell -

this scares the living daylights out of me.

-And me.

-THEY CHUCKLE

Wow, Mark.

-Aw, mate...

-Enjoy it?

-Oh, yeah, it was stunning.

-Amazing.

-Good work, buddy.

-Good.

If you're worried about doing it proud, that's...

-Proper.

-..that's done it proud, sure.

-That was delicious.

-Good.

-Absolutely delicious.

-Thanks.

Russell is next to plate up his Modesty Meets Royalty dish.

The beef fillet has been cooked in a water-bath.

Now he caramelises it and finishes with a treacle and spice mix.

All right, treacle.

Russell is presenting antique knives on a ceremonial cushion.

To a serving dish,

he adds shredded beef cheek and sliced smoked bone marrow.

Bit of a shake in your hands, there, Russell.

I'm nervous, chef. I want to...

I want to carry on achieving.

He tops with pickled carrot and sourdough breadcrumbs

cooked in beef fat.

Next, carrot puree is added to the main serving dish,

followed by treacle salt-baked carrots,

crispy kale and sliced spiced beef fillet

garnished with a watercress, tarragon and parsley oil.

Finally, braising juice is served in individual jugs.

This is Modesty Meets Royalty.

Happy?

Yes, I'm happy with the beef, the cooking looks good to me.

Fellow chefs, Mark, Ronnie?

-RONNIE:

-I can't wait to tuck in. The beef looks absolutely spot-on.

-MARK:

-It looks amazing.

Come on, let's taste.

It looks amazing, doesn't it?

It looks absolutely stunning.

-You know I love my beef.

-I do, yeah.

-I know my beef.

-Yes.

-I love my beef.

It's tender, isn't it?

With the spices, it's adding a lot to it, isn't it?

It's really lifted the beef.

Does that treacle come through? Is it well balanced?

I think... The treacle's obviously only on the outside of the beef.

I want to taste these carrots.

Don't really get many of the spices from the salt crust in the carrot.

I'm not really getting any salt, either, to be fair.

I'm getting a very nicely cooked carrot.

Do you think that's too smoked?

No, not at all.

I think you obviously get the smoke, otherwise there's no point doing it.

-MARK:

-Really strong flavour from the bone marrow.

I was excited to try the beef cheek and I think it's kind of...

a little bit lost under the bone marrow.

-We're nit-picking here, cos it's an amazing plate of food.

-We are.

-Are we desperately nit-picking?

-Yeah!

We're getting a bit desperate, aren't we?

Out of ten, what would you score this dish?

I think I'd score it a seven.

In the kitchen, timing is key for Ronnie

as he prepares to plate up his Crown Of Honour -

a regal spectacle that features a crown of lamb with a curry centre.

He's planning to serve the lamb medium rare,

but decides to put it back in the oven as he deep-fries his pakoras.

-All right, mate? You all right?

-You all right?

-Yeah, I don't know, to be honest.

-Is that a ten?

No, I don't think so.

Can we have some for...?

Can we have some for tea?

Well, we're going to fill ourselves up on lamb now, I think.

Ronnie needs the crown to hold its shape,

so he delicately removes the string.

It's just critical that when I untie the lamb, it holds together.

He makes a bed of cooked kale on a silver serving platter,

then adds the crown of lamb.

He garnishes the lamb neck curry with coriander and parsley

and adds to the centre.

In side dishes, he's serving green apple relish

and samphire pakoras.

Ronnie,

name and inspiration.

Crown Of Honour, so inspiration - to honour the Great Britons.

And Her Majesty's crown.

This is for the boys.

-Do you want to bring that and I'll bring this, yeah?

-Yeah.

-OK.

-OK, we good?

When you saw that crown with the curry in the middle,

-it was amazing, wasn't it?

-Yeah, it looked great.

You can just see those walking through the banquet.

Good heat in there, Ronnie.

Yeah, it's got a kick,

but you're eating a curry - you expect a little kick, I think.

Oh, good morning!

That is hot, innit?

Are you happy with the cooking of the lamb?

If I'm uber-critical, it could have been a touch less,

but I think for a banquet flavour, medium's probably a safe bet.

-And that's your voice of experience?

-Yep.

Or I've just talked my way out of overcooking it a bit.

Do you think the flavour of the lamb

is strong enough to compete with the curry?

I think I get a lot of spice on my palate.

Maybe a bit too much.

Tell me about the samphire pakoras.

It's kind of along the onion bhaji route.

I wanted something a little bit different.

I think samphire brings that saltiness to it.

Is it better than an onion?

Not for me.

Out of ten?

I'd be disappointed with anything less than an eight.

-I don't think the curry's good enough.

-Yeah.

-Boys.

-How do you think it went?

Who knows!

Yeah? You happy?

Yeah, it's fine. Lamb's probably a little bit overcooked.

-What do you think, more importantly?

-It looks amazing, doesn't it?

The presentation was amazing,

but we picked up on the cooking of the lamb, as well, of course.

Right, guys, what do we think? Scores.

It's got to be high, it's got to be high, hasn't it?

Well, for me, anyway.

-Hello, chefs.

-Hello.

-How are you all feeling?

-OK.

Mark.

I thought you were very brave to take on rose veal.

It was a risk.

One which I loved.

It was a really complex dish, executed perfectly.

The cooking of the veal was absolutely spot-on.

But for me, the utter star on the plate was your carrot.

What flavour.

Well done.

Russell, after a high of ten for your first fish course yesterday,

I was expecting another high score.

The beef fillet was fantastic.

Perfectly cooked.

I liked the crust on top of the beef cheek.

But when it came to the cheek,

I thought it was a little stringy.

Otherwise, it was a very good plate of food.

Ronnie...

sit me down with that dish and a pint,

I'd be very happy.

This dish was all about the crown...

..and it did hold together really well.

But...

I think you know it was overcooked.

Yep.

That was the most important thing on that plate.

The spice in the curry...

..I thought could have been cooked out a little bit more, as well.

So the scores.

Russell...

I'm giving you...

..nine.

A few tweaks and give me that cheek in chunks...

..and you might have been looking at a ten.

Ronnie...

I'm giving you a score of...

..seven.

I have to say, I was slightly disappointed by the dish.

Mark...

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

..ten.

That was a stunning dish, Mark.

You finally gave me what I was waiting for.

It had personality and it was outstanding.

Right, guys, dessert's up next.

A lot of chefs who thought they were in the lead...

..have fallen down on this course.

Happy cooking.

-Well done, mate.

-Well done, guys.

-Finally.

-Yeah, I know! At last!

-Well done.

I'm absolutely ecstatic to get a ten. It feels so good to hear it,

especially coming from a chef like Richard.

Mark has taken the top spot for the main course,

but Russell stays top of the leaderboard

with Ronnie trailing in third place.

You all right, Ron, with your score?

Yeah, you know, I knew I'd overcooked it.

I'm a little bit, you know, disappointed.

Next should be your strongest course, no?

It's got to be a ten, innit?

It's all or nothing now.

Seven for the main course I'm fairly sure comes down

to overcooking the lamb.

There's no room for errors and that was a slight error on my part, so...

Obviously, I'm jubilant. Got a nine. Dessert's coming.

I really want to impress with this dessert, because for me,

the telltale sign of a good chef is if he can do the pastry.