London & South East Dessert Great British Menu

This week on Great British Menu,

three of the most exciting chefs on the London and South East restaurant

-scene.

-I'm slightly nervous of you with that saw.

Yeah, me too!

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 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 straightforward approach with bold flavours.

My tactic's really simple.

I'm going to roast these curry spices until 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 a banquet held at the

historic Palace of Westminster.

Yesterday, Mark came out on top,

wowing Richard with his main course and scoring a perfect ten.

That was a stunning dish.

You finally gave me what I was waiting for.

But that wasn't enough to topple Russell,

who remains top of the leaderboard,

with Ronnie trailing in third place.

I knew I'd overcooked it. It's all or nothing now.

Today's dessert course is a final push for victory.

In second place,

Mark knows just one mistake could cost him the competition.

Two Michelin stars and you've got microwaved sponge?

If it's good enough for my mum, it's good enough for me.

Former pastry chef Ronnie needs a high score, or he's going home.

If this one doesn't come out, then I might break out into a sweat.

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 champion, he's seeking perfection.

The banquet is to celebrate the Great Britons honoured by the Queen.

The dessert is the last chance for the chefs

to honour those Great Britons. I really hope they do it justice.

This was the final course last year, it's where I lost out.

So I don't want it to happen again.

For me, eight and above, happy days.

You're in cruise control, yeah?

No, not at all.

I need to get a high score, because that's about the only thing

that's going to keep me in this competition now.

First up is Mark.

After a slow start to the week,

his main course finally showed the personality and skill

veteran judge Richard was looking for.

He's hoping to match that today with another high score,

ensuring he gets to cook for the judges.

Last year I went out on Thursday, didn't make it to Friday.

I was absolutely heartbroken.

So... It's not going to be the same this year.

-Hello.

-Mark.

-Hi.

Your last dish, ten points?

Absolutely amazing, you know?

I was over the moon to have the ten.

Could you give me the title of your dish?

So the dish is Island Of Spice.

-Island Of Spice.

-And, of course, the idea is to celebrate the Queen.

And, you know, she's not just Queen of Britain,

she's Queen of 15 other countries as well

and one of them is Grenada

-in the Caribbean.

-The island of spice?

-Yeah, absolutely.

-OK, so what's from Grenada?

The rum, of course.

Typical Caribbean rum.

Nutmeg, one of the biggest exports of Grenada.

Sugar, ginger and vanilla.

-Interesting.

-I'm making a ginger sponge with the treacle,

and then I'm making a set panna cotta, well, frozen panna cotta,

aerated and then frozen.

Then I'm doing two things with the pineapple,

a confit and a sorbet. And that's going with the ginger sponge.

OK. Listen, best of luck.

I'm looking forward to tasting this.

It sounds very exotic, but it sounds very sweet as well.

I like pineapple, I like rum.

But, you know, all that treacle, all that sugar.

Mmm...

Next up is Russell.

He's topped the leaderboard all week with his technically tricky dishes.

Today's dessert is no different.

I want to win the competition. I want to get through to Friday.

But my dessert's got a lot of elements,

so I've got to make sure that every element's just right.

Russell, how are you doing? Yeah, very well, thank you.

Well, first of all, title and inspiration?

So, the title of my dish is Is It A Biscuit Or Is It A Cake?

When the Great Britons visit the palace for the investiture,

they get their medal, and then

afterwards they'll find a hotel

or a nice restaurant to go and have afternoon tea at.

So that's what I want to provide them with here.

A nice tea, biscuit and a piece of cake.

And what could be more British than that?

Could you explain how this plate is going to look?

Yeah. So there's three elements.

A Jaffa Cake, an ice cream sandwich and a jammy wheel.

I mean, Jaffa Cake, I might as well tell you, I'm not a fan.

Great. It's kind of a conventional Jaffa Cake.

There's a sponge on the base, then a jelly,

then I've got a mousse with two different types of chocolate,

dark and milk.

And then I'm going to glaze that as well.

-OK.

-I'm then going to make a jammy wheel.

I'm going to make a biscuit with marmalade centre,

and then I'm going to make a whipped white chocolate.

I can see that working with the biscuit, yeah.

Yeah. And then I'm going to make an orange parfait.

I'm taking some sponge,

I'm going to slice it very thinly

and then going to dehydrate it so it's nice and dry,

and I'm going to use that to sandwich the parfait.

How long are you giving yourself to do all this?

I think I can do it in the time, Chef.

Oh. Wow. I'm looking forward to tasting this.

I mean, chocolate and orange, you know?

It's a good, classic combination.

But is it enough for the Great Britons at this banquet?

Finally, it's Ronnie,

who struggled to win over veteran Richard with his take on traditional

British dishes. He's three points behind,

but he's hoping his dessert will

showcase his skills as a trained pastry chef.

It's now or never.

Someone's going home at the end of today.

I'm going to cook my socks off for it not to be me.

-Morning, Ronnie.

-Morning, Richard.

-How are you?

-Very well, thank you.

What's your inspiration in this dish,

before I ask you for the title?

-My grandmother.

-She made this dish?

She made a version of this dish.

Not quite as well as I'm going to make it for you today,

-hopefully.

-OK.

It's called Grandma Murray's Raspberry Milk Jelly.

She was never honoured, she didn't have any connection with the Queen,

but in my eyes she was a Great Briton,

and when it came to doing the pudding,

I couldn't think of a better way to honour her memory and to honour some

Great Britons at the table that deserve a dish of that stature.

-Is that your grandmother?

-That's my grandma, yeah.

On her 21st birthday that picture was taken.

Let's leave that there to inspire you.

So it's a milk jelly?

-Yeah.

-You're getting near a panna cotta with this.

Erm... Yeah...

-Sort of, maybe.

-And, of course, you know, raspberries -

I absolutely adore raspberries.

Yeah, these are some fantastic raspberries from Herefordshire.

-May I?

-Of course, please, be my guest.

We... We grew a lot of loganberries when we were kids,

so I wanted to put a nod to that, you know?

When I was thinking of the flavour, you know,

it had to be a raspberry or a loganberry.

Where does the whisky fit into this?

My grandparents were both Scottish,

so we're going to make a kind of honey roast oats,

a little dish for a bit of texture and a bit of crunch into the jelly,

hence the whisky goes through that.

-Hoping to do well?

-I've got to do well with this.

You know, this dish is very personal to me.

So not only do I need to make or break it for this competition,

I need to do it for me.

-And I wish you the very best.

-Thank you.

Ronnie's sounds really old-fashioned.

Hopefully he hasn't gone too traditional,

because we are looking for something

contemporary for the Great Britons' banquet.

As the chefs get cooking,

all thoughts are on getting to the judging chamber,

something Mark failed to do last year.

So, Mark, how did you get on this time last year?

I missed out on the Friday by one point.

-One point.

-That's what it comes down to, doesn't it?

-Nearly's nowhere, right?

-Yeah.

I have to go to the judging chamber this year.

You know, especially after getting that ten, there's no excuse.

Yesterday Mark cooked a perfect main course.

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

He's banking on impressing with an original take on Caribbean flavours.

He starts with one of the chilled elements, the pineapple sorbet.

Getting the right texture is everything.

So, Mark, you're taking it easy today?

-Not too much to do?

-No, I wouldn't say I was taking it easy.

I'm not 100% comfortable with the pastry, so...

It's challenging me as it is.

What element in particular are you worried about?

I'm doing a sorbet, which is always a bit of a worry.

Next, Mark preps the coconut and rum syrup,

which he'll use to confit the diced pineapple.

Hello, Mark.

-Hey, how are you?

-Good.

-What have you got?

-This is the syrup for the pineapple.

-Yeah.

And this is going to give it a kick, I hope.

Are you a fan of pineapple?

Yeah, I love pineapple.

With the limes, it's just got such a great, aromatic flavour.

Bit of a pina colada mix here, yeah?

-Yeah, almost.

-Get an umbrella!

Haven't got any umbrellas.

Looking forward to tasting it, yeah.

Current leader Russell knows he needs to work hard to stay in the

competition, and his dessert

features a technically difficult cake and biscuit.

He starts with the Jaffa Cake.

Preparing the orange jelly centre,

which will go inside the chocolate mousse.

Both need to set in the chiller.

Richard doesn't like Jaffa Cakes.

-No.

-Has that got you worried?

Yeah, of course it has. But we've all got our preferences on things we

-don't like, so...

-So you're just going to turn him round?

Let's hope so.

Currently in third place,

Ronnie is determined to stay in the competition with his milk jelly dish

inspired by his grandmother.

A key ingredient is raspberry.

He's using it in the first layer of jelly, as a sorbet, and dehydrated.

I see you've got some freeze-dried raspberries there,

what's that all about?

It brings that element of texture to the dish.

And, interestingly enough, I met a lady called Felicity who won the MBE

for polar exploration.

-Wow.

-So she eats freeze-dried food when she's away on exercise.

-Because, obviously, it's light. It doesn't weigh very much.

-Amazing.

Ronnie travelled to Tonbridge in

Kent to meet explorer Felicity Aston,

who relies on freeze-dried food to sustain her in the world's coldest

climates. Felicity has been honoured by the Queen for her endeavours.

I was awarded an MBE for services to polar exploration earlier this year.

-Wow.

-Because for the last 15 years I've been spending a lot of time in

the polar regions,

first as a scientist and then leading polar expeditions.

And then this one is the Polar Medal,

so this is awarded by the Queen.

This is the ultimate recognition for me, so I'm very proud of them.

In 2012, Felicity became the first

woman to ski alone across Antarctica,

a journey of almost 2,000km that took 59 days.

I can't believe it.

I can't believe that I've skied across Antarctica.

It's just too ridiculous.

And the only thing that I want right now is to ring my mum!

And to let her know that I'm here.

Without any proper cooking facilities on her expeditions,

Felicity relies on a miniature hob to boil snow and hydrate meals,

like this lamb stew and pearl barley.

Rather than them being dried ingredients that are mixed together,

it's a meal that's made and then freeze-dried,

and it makes a huge difference to the taste, but also the texture.

I think that looks like a pretty hearty meal.

I've got to be honest, I was expecting a lot worse.

Actually, that's not bad at all.

Ronnie has brought a sample of his take on his grandma's milk jelly

recipe, complete with freeze-dried raspberries,

to get Felicity's seal of approval.

Mmm.

That's really fruity.

Is that an improvement on your normal freeze-dried...?

I would have no trouble at all finishing this whole thing.

There you go. I reckon you can take them for the next one.

Would you like to come with me and

you can just cook for me in the tent?

-That would be great.

-I think I'm busy!

With the whisky and honey oats in the oven,

Ronnie's focusing on his two-layer milk jelly,

which he's making from scratch with a fruit puree.

First he has to set the bottom layer, then add the second.

It's tricky as the two layers must stick together, but not combine.

So, how's it going there?

Good. Shortbread's just out, cut while it's still warm.

-Happy?

-I think so.

A little...

I'm definitely doing a really good dish, you know?

It's all going to be when that jelly turns out,

and I can't tell until we're on the pass.

-Are you feeling good?

-Yeah.

I'm feeling good. It's a good dish.

-Enjoy.

-Thank you.

Really lovely shortbread, but he's the only chef without a ten.

He might be able to deliver that today.

Russell is working on his jammy wheel biscuit,

inspired by the idea of celebrating after receiving an honour.

He's using cocoa nibs as a twist on regular biscuit dough.

You seem like you've got a lot going on with the dessert.

Why break the habit of a lifetime?

I've been pushing on all week.

I don't intend to stop now, you know? End the week on a high.

He moves on to his Jaffa Cake,

placing the orange jelly onto the chocolate mousse,

and finishing with a Genoise sponge base before freezing.

Then he preps the chocolate glaze.

So, Russell, what are you doing?

This is my mirror glaze for my Jaffa Cake.

So what I've got in here is double cream.

I've got that lovely milk chocolate.

I'm going to pour that over the top of my Jaffa Cake

just so it's got a nice, shiny glaze on it.

I've still got a lot to do. I still want to make the parfait and set it.

-OK.

-I've got to make my biscuit, finish my biscuit

-for the jammy wheel.

-OK.

Sort my marmalade out, caramelise my orange.

Hopefully everything will be ready and I'll be able to get up

-a really nice dessert for you, Chef.

-OK.

Mark is using the strong flavours

of ginger and treacle in his sponge mix.

Mark, have I just seen you microwaving a sponge?!

Definitely.

Two Michelin stars and you've got microwaved sponge?

If it's good enough for my mum, it's good enough for me.

He siphons aerated panna cotta into moulds, and chills.

Then pipes the coconut meringue.

-These are my Jaffa Cakes.

-Oh, yeah.

To perfect the mirror glaze,

Russell must pour the chocolate at exactly 28 degrees.

Any higher and it will melt the frozen Jaffa Cake.

Any lower, it will set too quickly, making it lumpy and streaky.

So far, I'm looking all right.

My Jaffa Cakes are there, they're glazed.

So really, really shiny.

Hopefully I'll get a good score for this round.

Mark is first to plate his Island Of Spice dessert,

inspired by flavours of the Commonwealth.

Having crashed out on Thursday last year,

Mark's determined to cook for the judges tomorrow.

He starts by dipping the ginger sponge in rum syrup.

To a serving plate he centres his pineapple sorbet,

then adds confit pineapple and ginger sponge.

Next, the aerated coconut panna cotta, and coconut meringue.

-Is that tinned pineapple?

-No!

Finger lime cells...

..lime zest, nutmeg...

..and pineapple and rum syrup complete the dish.

This is Island Of Spice,

and it's inspired by the food of the Commonwealth.

Particularly Grenada.

I can't help but have a look at the little map here.

-Do you know your geography?

-It's not too bad.

Grenada is where?

This little one here.

I think you're looking at Cuba myself, but we won't go there!

So, in the middle, pineapple sorbet.

That's smooth as silk, that.

Wow, that's really fresh, really clean.

The sponge, is it too sweet?

Yeah, I think that sponge is possibly a little too sweet.

It's got more texture than normal microwaved sponge.

-I haven't microwaved that many sponges.

-You haven't lived!

The aerated panna cotta.

You get the texture before the flavour.

Yeah. It just disappears on the tongue.

Do you think that meringue has enough of a bite in it?

I like a meringue like that, little bit of crust on the outside,

still a bit of chew in the middle.

-It's a great meringue.

-It's lovely.

Get that coconut on the outside of there as well.

Where do you see the score for that dish?

I'd like to say a ten.

You worried?

Absolutely, yes. I think it's a nine.

If this is an eight or more, it doesn't matter what I do.

Ronnie is next to serve his dish,

called Grandma Murray's Raspberry Milk Jelly Dessert,

inspired by a favourite pudding from his childhood.

He knows only a top score will save him.

-All right, Mark?

-It's all over.

-How was it, mate? All right?

-I think he found it a bit too sweet.

-Really?

-And I kind of agree with him.

-I liked that sponge.

-I loved it.

Thanks, guys.

Ronnie plates up honey and whisky roasted oats and freeze-dried

raspberries. Then fresh raspberries dressed with raspberry puree.

Crunch time.

Next he sets about removing the layered raspberry and milk jelly

from the moulds. They need to come out as one.

-Ronnie, what's going on?

-The bottom layer's not coming out.

So whether it needs a little bit longer in the water, I don't know.

If this one doesn't come out, then I might break out into a sweat.

Yeah, there we go!

To the oats he adds raspberry sorbet,

and tops with shortbread.

Then drizzles with raspberry sauce.

OK, we're up.

Whenever we had this jelly,

we always used to have a tin of evaporated milk to serve with it.

So...I didn't want to disappoint.

-She must mean a lot to you, your granny, then?

-Yeah.

Let's take it to the tasting room.

Do you think that shortbread is baked to perfection?

I think it's spot-on. Perfect.

Do you think it's a bit overworked?

-It's a little bit dense, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Happy with the sorbet?

Yeah, I think it's fantastic. Good flavour.

-You've got to like raspberries.

-Yeah.

Enough whisky in the oat flavour?

I'm not sure you can ever have enough whisky in there,

but I think so.

I'd like a little bit more whisky in those oats.

I'd get the alcohol in there. I really like it.

-RICHARD:

-Happy with the jelly?

-Yeah.

It's good, it's nice and clear.

Stayed the way I wanted it.

The top's sweet, but the bottom's acidic.

Comes together nicely.

Missing something?

Yeah, my grandma.

I'm really happy. I've done it...

I've done it proud, I think. So...

One to ten, where is it?

In my eyes, it's a ten,

but my eyes are clouded with nostalgia

and a longing for a time gone by, perhaps.

In the kitchen, Russell is working on an accompaniment to his dish.

-Can you put the kettle on?

-Kettle?

I'm making a pot of tea.

The tea that, apparently, the Queen has in the afternoon at the palace.

Don't let that water go above 80 degrees,

-otherwise it will scorch the tea.

-80?

-Yeah.

-Chaps...

-All right, all right?

-How was it in there?

-It was getting a little bit emotional, almost.

-Did it?

-Yeah.

-Did you nearly crumble?

Yeah. You know? It's a tough one for me, that one.

Family story, isn't it? So it's going to be hard.

Yeah. I'm a soft lad, really.

Russell plates up,

hoping his dish will secure him a place in the judging chamber.

Is It A Biscuit Or Is It A Cake? marks the occasion of receiving an

honour from the Queen.

Just let that come down a touch.

-You've overheated the water for the tea.

-It's OK.

Onto a serving plate he centres his interpretation of a Jaffa Cake,

and garnishes with cocoa nib and caramelised orange.

-Is everything OK?

-Yeah.

Just want to make sure that everything's still frozen.

To the cake stand he adds the dehydrated sponge

and orange parfait sandwich.

Next is the jammy wheel.

Onto the cocoa nib biscuits

he pipes whipped white chocolate and marmalade.

Pot of tea to finish.

Mark got the biggest pan he could find.

-Cheers, Mark.

-I didn't realise you had a little funnel, sorry.

It does look a bit like afternoon tea here.

Absolutely. This, for me,

symbolises the end of our Great Britons' journey.

They've just been awarded their honour by the Queen,

they're going to leave the palace,

and I'd love to be able to reward them with a lovely tea,

biscuit and a slice of cake.

-Ronnie?

-I can't wait to get stuck in.

The smell of the tea's amazing, and the Jaffa Cake,

outstanding.

This is the ice cream sandwich,

which is made with an orange parfait.

Really orangey.

It's got a real natural kind of zesty orange flavour as

well, hasn't it?

-OK, jammy wheel.

-I wanted it to be really crumbly,

-I didn't want it to be heavy or difficult...

-Very crumbly.

-Great texture.

-Really like it.

-That marmalade's good, innit?

-Mmm.

-I might have to nick that.

This is the Jaffa Cake.

Hopefully I've done it justice.

He's got that sponge really nice and light.

-It's just like a really, really good Jaffa Cake.

-Yeah.

Were you thinking dessert or were you thinking afternoon tea when

-you were doing this?

-For me,

-I was thinking a combination of the two.

-Mmm.

If you really want to get across the idea of an afternoon tea,

-maybe everything just needs to be a bit smaller.

-Yeah.

Out of ten...

I'm going to say seven.

I don't think it's quite the dizzy heights of his tens here,

but I think he should be good for an eight.

-Russell.

-Well done, mate.

All right? That was tough, eh?

That was really tough. No idea what Richard thinks.

If he doesn't like that Jaffa Cake, he's not going to like any.

I need a whacking big score, and I need you boys to trip up.

I think that ten is going to be propping up a slightly lower score

for this course. I hope it's enough to get through to tomorrow.

God, those faces say it all.

Mark, I'm going to start with you and your Island Of Spice.

This was a well crafted dish.

I love the coconut meringue.

And the sorbet was really good.

I wanted more of that.

But the sponge was too heavy.

I think you need to have a look at that.

The syrup, it just made it far, far too sweet.

Ronnie, your Grandma Murray's Raspberry Milk Jelly.

I thought this was a complex dish.

I liked the shortbread. The jelly and mousse together was a very risky

move, and you did struggle with it.

I think you pulled this dish off in a technical way...

..but I thought the portion was far too big, Ronnie.

The sorbet, it was too sweet.

It needed more sharpness.

Russell, for your Is It A Biscuit Or Is It A Cake?

the presentation of the dish overall was innovative,

and I did like the Jaffa Cake.

The glaze was beautiful, with the perfect mirror sheen.

But I was left asking, "Is this a cake or a biscuit or a high tea?"

You got the proportions completely wrong.

Far too much on the plate.

Russell, less definitely would have been more in this case.

Right. Put you out of your miseries.

To the scores.

The chef with the score of six...

..but still giving them the highest score across the week...

..is...

..you, Russell.

Well done, mate.

Cheers.

So, two chefs are left,

but only one will join Russell in cooking for the judges.

Mark, you had a three-point lead over Ronnie going into this dessert.

I'm giving you a score of...

..seven.

And Ronnie...

I'm giving you a score of...

-..seven.

-Thank you.

So that means, Mark, you will be cooking again tomorrow.

Thank you. I'm hopefully going to make up for the

disappointment last year.

Ronnie, you know I love your style of food,

but you came up against two very talented individuals.

Yeah, both exceptional chefs.

Russell and Mark, I wish you the

very best cooking for the judges tomorrow. Goodbye. Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Well done, Chefs.

-Cheers.

-No, thank you.

I've learned a lot. It's been...

-It's been bloody good fun.

-Yeah, it has.

-It has been good fun.

From the low of last year to go through today to see

the judges tomorrow is amazing.

I'm on top of the world.

Obviously I'm disappointed, but I can go out for lunch on a Friday,

which I haven't done for a long time.

-Come here for lunch.

-He's making the tea, isn't he?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Mark's a fantastic chef.

I just hope that tomorrow I can beat him and get through to the final.

Big day tomorrow, mate.

He's going to be tough to beat tomorrow,

but I'm going to give it everything.