London & South East Judging Great British Menu

It's judgment day,

as two Michelin-starred returning chef Mark Froydenlund...

To be London and South East champion is probably, you know, a one-off.

If it was me, I'd be over the moon.

..is going head-to-head

with innovative newcomer Russell Bateman...

Massively apprehensive. Really nervous.

..for the chance to represent London

and the South East in the national finals.

I think it's really close. I think it's too close to call.

The prize - to see their dish on the menu of the ultimate banquet,

celebrating the everyday Great Britons

honoured by the Queen during her historic reign,

held at London's iconic Palace of Westminster.

Russell topped the leaderboard all week,

and he doesn't want his winning streak to end.

I've just got to deliver it exactly the same as I did for Richard,

and hopefully they'll think it is good, you know.

Standing in his way is Marcus Wareing's protege,

Mark Froydenlund,

who, having failed to reach the judges' chamber last year,

has his sights set on victory.

Your hands all right there, Russell? Got a bit of a shake on?

But only one of them will be in with a chance

of cooking at the banquet.

The winner is...

Russell Bateman held his lead all week

with complex dishes and strong flavours.

He knows he must cook them all perfectly again today

to ensure he wins.

I started this week with three goals.

One was to get a ten,

two was to get to the judges' chamber,

and the third is to get to the final,

and I don't intend to stop that now.

-Hey. Good luck.

-Good luck. Happy cooking.

-Thanks.

Both chefs scored a ten in the week.

Now Mark must build on that success

is he's to make amends for last year.

It's amazing to be here for a Friday.

I was so upset last year, so it's really exciting.

I can't wait to cook for them.

Judges Prue Leith,

Oliver Peyton and Matthew Fort are examining the chefs' menus.

Mark and Russell, two great chefs.

Huge reputations behind them. Good bit of experience.

Mark is coming back for the second time.

Last year, he didn't even get to cook for us,

which will not have pleased his mentor, Marcus Wareing.

So, he'll be gunning, I think, this time.

I'm super excited about Russell, because, if you look at his CV,

he's worked in lots of amazing places.

This is the sort of competition where he can really express himself.

So, I think it should be a really great day.

So, Russell, first course in front of the judges.

-Yeah.

-How are you feeling?

Obviously, massively apprehensive. Really nervous.

-Well, hello, chefs.

-Good morning.

-Hello.

How has the week been, Mark?

It's been a tough week, but so far worth it, yeah.

You'll have to raise your game a bit,

because you've got a ten, but you still need

to come up a bit, don't you?

Yeah. There's a bit of improving to do, definitely.

Russell, a six for the pudding. Come on.

You've got to do better than that. I love pudding!

Yeah, I intend to do better than that today.

A slight change to put it right,

and hopefully you'll see that in the dish.

Well, it could all come down to the puddings,

but we want to see improvements right the way across the menu.

-OK, good luck.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Russell is first to plate up From Humble Beginnings -

a seafood and sausage broth starter

flavoured with home-made brown sauce.

It marks the moment an everyday Great Briton learns

they are to be honoured by the Queen

and earned Russell a score of eight, giving him an early lead.

Richard said about the oyster... I actually agreed with him.

You know, I'm going to keep it raw like the other shellfish,

then the haddock, and then let the broth cook the oyster.

That's my change today, my one change.

The chefs will also be marked by a guest judge

who understands the standard of refined cooking needed

to honour the Queen's Great Britons -

award-winning food writer Kevin Gould,

who champions British cuisine.

Well, welcome to the judges' chamber, Kevin.

It's so nice to be here.

Come and sit down.

This is your seat.

-Thank you so much.

-You know Oliver and Matthew.

-Hiya.

-Oliver, Matthew.

So, Kevin, we need to know all about you.

You've had a life in food, have you not?

I trained as a chef in Paris

and then I became a grocer here in London,

and now I'm lucky enough to travel around the world

meeting producers, learning techniques,

writing and photographing them.

We're here to celebrate the new Elizabethan age,

and their menus have to reflect where British food has come from,

but also where it's going to.

And if you think of the improvement

in the Queen's reign,

it has been extraordinary, from rationing to today.

We've come a long way in food.

We are looking forward to your forensic judging today, Kevin.

Well, it's a privilege and a pleasure to be here. Thank you.

Russ, how are you getting on for time?

I've just slowed down a bit,

-cos I know you've got a lot to do, mate, so...

-Yeah, thanks.

To a serving bowl, Russell adds home-made brown sauce.

Then sliced raw scallops...

..the raw oyster and raw smoked haddock,

followed by Cumberland sausage balls.

Just finishing the plate up now.

A little bit of herbs and the apples and I'm away, mate.

With Russell's bowls in presentation boxes,

Mark helps out, pouring hot Cumberland sausage broth

into serving jugs which will cook the raw seafood.

Russell then places his royal invitation on top.

Ladies, if you can make sure you deliver the mail, please.

Let's go, service.

That's hard-core, yeah? That's exhausting.

Ah, maybe this is my knighthood.

"Dear Mr Oliver Peyton OBE,

"like Queen Elizabeth II Great Britons,

"this dish will have humble beginnings,

"but will merit the honours earned by the banquet guests."

Hmm.

Thin slices of scallop.

It's very clever, because it's all thin enough

-to actually be marginally cooked by the hot stock.

-Yeah.

The brown sauce adds a sort of oriental flavour to it.

It has that spiciness and that sweetness, the tamarind.

It's really well done,

because smoked haddock has a tendency to sort of mug

all the other flavours in the dish, but here, it's in balance.

I left the oyster raw this time, so that it cooks in the broth.

I took the mussel out of it as well, so it cooks a bit quicker.

I am usually quite purist about oysters,

but I love this one, because it was still raw enough

to feel like a proper oyster.

But I think Russell has done an amazing job here.

I think these are a very unusual combination of flavours.

I've never eaten anything like this before.

This feels like a completely unique piece of cooking.

It's a dish of character,

because the parts actually work together extremely well.

And it's good, confident cooking

that shows our national culinary confidence

is at an all-time high.

Mark is next with Bubble and Squeak, his contemporary spin

on the traditional British home-cooked dish

popular in the '50s.

Veteran Richard Corrigan scored the dish seven points.

He felt the crackling was too sweet and the flavours lacked impact.

So, Mark, obviously there was a few comments about your dish as well.

Are you going to stick with your guns

or are you going to make some changes, mate?

Yeah, I think the biggest thing for me

was the sweetness of the crackling,

so I've sort of held back on the caramel,

increased the pork fat in it,

so hopefully get that mark up a little bit.

First onto the serving plate is the new ceps mushroom dressing

which Mark hopes will add the earthiness

Richard was looking for.

Next, cabbage puree, piccalilli gel, a slice of croquette and pork jowl

topped with deep-fried cabbage garnish and pickled cabbage.

Next, he adds chunks of pickled cucumber,

pickled cauliflower and the changed maltose crackling.

What do you think?

Yeah, you have taken a lot of the sweetness off it.

Finally, some shredded spring onion

and a drizzle of jowl cooking liquor.

-You got anything else to go on there or is that ready?

-That's it.

We're the judges, so just put them down as they are, please.

Now, isn't this a dainty dish to set before the Queen?

And about as far from bubble and squeak as you can get.

-All right, you happy with it?

-Yeah. First one out of the way.

-Yeah.

There is a huge amount of things going on in this dish.

I love the fact that there's acidity and sweetness and savoury.

The pickling of the cucumber is particularly good,

because it's not too acidic.

That ham hock is delicious.

-So, changes, you think you did enough?

-Yeah, I hope so.

I think I tried to take on board Richard's advice,

but you know, hopefully with the sweetness on the pork,

that will be...that should be it.

I think this is a triumphant dish, to be honest.

The quality of the cooking is so high.

If the rest of the day goes at this level,

we are in for an absolutely stormingly good day.

Next is the fish course.

Russell is first to plate up

Commonwealth Carnival Queen,

a complex lobster dish inspired by Caribbean flavours

and the cultural diversity of the Notting Hill Carnival.

It earned Russell the first ten of the week.

Before he can plate up the many elements of his dish,

Russell pan-fries poached lobster in jerk butter.

To showcase each element,

Russell is using stacked serving dishes.

It's like a department store of flavour, this dish.

To the base, he adds lobster and coconut dumplings,

diced pineapple and lobster sauce.

The middle dish contains the jerk lobster tail,

Jerusalem artichoke and coconut puree

topped with coconut shavings and charred pineapple.

The top layer is a canape-style lobster knuckle

cooked in butter and garnished with lobster emulsion

and crispy artichoke,

then placed on a bed of decorative spices.

You need to go very slowly,

cos there's a soup on the bottom floor, yeah?

That's the big one out of the way, isn't it?

Should've just done one plate of food. Would've been a lot easier.

-Oh, look.

-How about that?

That lobster knuckle is delicious.

Real jerk flavour, but not too chilli.

No, not too chilli, but really nicely spiced.

I feel like I'm bathing in the aroma of these spices.

It's really exotic. It's good.

And I love the pineapple. It's fantastic.

And the fact that the pineapple is lightly pickled

adds just the right amount of piquancy to it.

It's good.

I love the quality of the lobster. It looks so beautiful.

It's a beautiful dish, but do you think

they're going to get the story in terms of how it hits the brief?

Well, to be honest, Mark, I think the clue is kind of in the name.

The Jerusalem artichoke puree

and the coconut sort of go extraordinarily.

They sort of merge, one into the other.

I love the fact that it references the Commonwealth,

and I think it's wonderful to have that represented in a dish.

This is very clean and light. It's absolutely delicious.

Mark's fish supper is a tribute to ordinary people

doing extraordinary volunteer work at the RNLI.

But veteran Richard thought the flavours were too safe

and the cod was overcooked.

He scored Mark a disappointing seven.

There was quite a lot of negative comments about the dish.

Seasoning and overcooking.

Obviously, the cooking I need to pay a bit more attention to.

They said the dish was bland,

so just concentrate on the sauce, make sure that's spot on,

and hopefully that'll raise it up.

Determined to cook the cod perfectly,

Mark has left it until the last minute.

To a serving plate, he centres home-made tomato sauce.

Russell helps by decanting the parsley and pea sauce

into serving jugs.

Next, Mark adds potato mousse, crispy potatoes and the roast cod.

Then, to give colour and texture,

he adds a slice of deep-fried potato and tops with a mussel garnish.

I'd like you to wear these.

-Just pop it over your head.

-HE LAUGHS

If you need any help,

there's a light and a whistle to attract attention.

-Well done, mate. You got it out.

-Yeah. Yeah.

HE LAUGHS

Hmm.

Anything that honours the lifeboats

is worth getting behind. We support, we love their work.

Happy with the cooking on the cod.

It was a little bit over when Richard tried it.

I think today I just pulled it back,

let it rest a bit more, so, yeah, it's good.

The fish is beautifully cooked. Flaking beautifully.

A really beautifully made parsley sauce.

The taste of parsley is a joy.

And this is a sort of, like, pea soup.

One of the things that I loved so much about his previous dish,

how well the balance of so many flavours

and sophisticated cooking worked together,

and this is completely absent in this dish.

What I'm looking for is variation in flavours,

and I'm not really getting it from this.

Do you think the purple potatoes are going to make a big difference?

I think it's right. It does make it a bit more vibrant.

I think, when you call upon purple potatoes to rescue your dish

and give it a dash of colour,

you're slightly grabbing at life belts in a stormy sea.

Thank God this dish came with a life jacket.

At the halfway point,

the chefs are moving on to their mains

as the judges consider their scores.

That was a fantastic morning, didn't you think?

Three of those dishes are absolutely world-class dishes,

and I think the thing is still finely balanced.

The difference is probably only

two marks between them at the moment.

The first two dishes made me very, very proud

to be living right here at this time,

able to eat that type of food.

Mark is first up with his main course -

a Celebration of Rose Veal - inspired by British farmers

who are humanely rearing dairy bull calves.

It earned him his highest score of the week - a perfect ten.

So, Mark, main course up next, mate.

Yeah, I'm excited about the main course.

Everything is going really well so far,

so just got to get it up and make sure it's as good as yesterday.

To a serving plate, he adds broccoli puree,

roasted carrots rolled in pine nuts and carrot powder,

braised broccoli stems and wild herb garnish

with fresh chestnut.

So, what would it mean if you were to get the main course

at the banquet?

Just think it's such a great thing to celebrate, you know.

I love the guys that produce our meat,

and all the farmers deserve it.

So, you know, to get it there for me

and them would be fantastic, you know.

Next, he tops with a rose veal fillet...

and black garlic puree.

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

-Oh, is it one between two, is it?

-Yeah, one between two.

..and garnishes with pine nuts and carrot powder,

wild herbs and extra veal sauce served in jugs.

And these are very hot.

Mmm!

It's very pretty.

This is so beautifully tender. Utterly delicious.

It's lovely stuff.

It really is lovely stuff.

I've never liked barbecue sauce, cos it's usually so sweet.

This barbecue sauce is sweet, but it is perfectly judged.

I would never choose to order a fillet

because often it doesn't really have much character,

but this is very tasty and the texture is delicious.

I don't know what he's done to this carrot,

but it is absolutely wonderful.

It's obviously been cooked very slowly,

and then it has this crunchy coating.

Just delicious.

It's quite simple,

but he's added enough to it to make it really interesting.

But it is an extremely well-balanced dish.

All of the elements here have been put together in such a joyful way,

just sets one thing off against another so extremely well.

From a cooking point of view, I think it's perfect.

There's a subtlety to this that, to me, makes it very classy.

It's faultless. It's absolutely beautiful cooking.

Russell is preparing a beef dish

where his choice of cuts and presentation style

represent ordinary Great Britons receiving the highest honour.

Veteran Richard felt it hit the brief,

but thought the beef cheek was shredded too finely.

So, your dish, Russell, are you going to make that ox cheek bigger?

I'm going to keep it a little bit chunkier,

so it will be every spoonful will be a piece of cheek,

a piece of smoked bone marrow.

It's a slight change.

The beef fillet is cooked in a water bath, then pan-fried.

It's finished with a treacle and spice mix.

To add pomp and ceremony,

he serves antique knives on a ceremonial cushion.

To a serving dish, he adds chunks of beef cheek.

Russell, how would you feel getting the main course to the banquet?

Oh, I'd love it, you know. I'd be completely buzzing.

Everyone wants to do the main event, right? It's the big one.

Then pickled carrot and sliced smoked bone marrow

topped with sourdough breadcrumbs cooked in beef fat.

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

followed by treacle salt-baked carrots,

sliced beef fillet and crispy kale.

Then a garnish of watercress, tarragon and parsley oil.

Finally, reduced treacle braising juice

is served in individual jugs.

Oh.

-Rise, Sir Oliver Peyton.

-LAUGHTER

The braised cheek with the smoked marrow,

absolutely divine.

I'll tell you what does work is the deep-fried crisp kale.

It is just delicious.

Do you think the judges will get the connection

between modesty meets royalty with the beef cheek and the fillet?

Hopefully, yeah.

You know, it's two clearly different ingredients.

One very modest, beef cheek for braising, you know,

and then the more regal fillets.

But what is the connection between these two?

Which is the royal bit and which is the humble bit?

The gravy lacks flavour, which is unusual, because

it's been reduced and reduced,

-and all it has is that sort of caramelised taste.

-Flavour, yeah.

I think, if you took the fillet and put it on a conventional plate,

it'd be a very conventional dish.

To be honest, I think fillet is a poor choice. It's a risk.

There's not enough fat content in that fillet for me at all.

I think the flavour is poor, actually, on it.

I just don't think it's good enough.

In the kitchen, Mark is working on his Island of Spice dessert,

inspired by flavours of the Commonwealth.

Richard felt the sponge was too heavy

and he scored Mark a seven -

enough to see him through to the judging chamber.

Yeah, I think it's really close. I think it's too close to call.

You know, if I can get... If I can beat Russell, I'll be super proud.

To increase his chance of winning,

he's decided to change some elements of the dish,

but there's a problem with the new ginger sponge.

I'm just remaking the sponge. The first one, I...

I tried to incorporate some pineapple into it.

-Didn't really work, so... Too wet.

-Yeah.

The pineapple soaked through the sponge,

so just added some pineapple powder instead.

To a serving plate, he adds crushed coconut meringue,

confit pineapple,

pineapple sorbet and the ginger sponge.

Next, the aerated coconut panna cotta and pineapple powder.

He then drizzles with pineapple, finger lime and rum syrup.

-Oh, you changed the plate as well, Mark.

-Yeah.

I managed to get these ones,

which sort of reminded me of an island.

He garnishes with lime zest and nutmeg,

and finishes with a whole coconut meringue.

-Are you ready?

-Yeah.

Just on the right-hand side,

so they can see all the illustration.

The smell is absolutely divine.

I'm very keen on the finger limes. They pop in the mouth.

They do, but this is an unfortunate dish

to put them on, because they get lost.

Not too sweet. Lovely clean flavours. Yeah.

Nice crunchy meringue...

..with a chewy centre.

I think the only thing that doesn't work is it wasn't big enough.

I want more.

There's a great jolliness with the flavour.

In fact, it's left the mouth very refreshed.

Any chance you'll improve on your seven?

I'm much happier with that as a dish. I think it looks better.

I think the sweetness is better.

I think it's really well thought out.

I think it's completely right for the competition,

and it's back on form.

Russell's dessert is a technically tricky take on afternoon tea.

It's intended to be the perfect celebration

after the honours ceremony.

It includes cake,

a parfait and a biscuit, as well as a cup of tea.

Richard thought it was too big and scored Russell a six,

his lowest mark of the week,

so, today, he's serving a more refined version.

That's all fine first time around?

Well, I've got one cut there,

but I'm going to have another go, cos, you know,

I didn't get the best scores for my dessert,

so I want to get a decent score this time around, so...

I'm making sure it's right.

Onto a serving plate,

Russell's interpretation of a Jaffa Cake,

which he garnishes with cocoa nib and caramelised orange.

Then he finishes his smaller jammy wheel

with whipped white chocolate.

Are your hands all right? Got a bit of a shake on?

Yeah, I've left my white chocolate in the fridge a bit too long.

It's a bit stiff!

He adds marmalade to the centre and tops with a cocoa nib biscuit

and places on a cake stand with a chocolate and orange centrepiece,

followed by the smaller dehydrated sponge and orange parfait sandwich.

OK. Let's go.

-Cup of tea, anybody?

-Please.

-Yes.

-Got any tea left?

-No.

Is that not exquisite?

Looks lovely.

The craft of making something as perfect as that

is to be admired.

I don't think the chocolate is flavoursome enough.

I think it's too light. Should be dark chocolate.

-If you have orange with chocolate, it has to be dark.

-Absolutely.

I'm very keen on the ice cream sandwich.

I think the flavours really pop,

and I like the textural difference as well.

It's very nice.

The problem I have with those two biscuits

is you can't eat them by hand. They come apart.

-The winner on this dish is the tea.

-Yeah, the tea is fantastic.

It is very good tea.

-I'm exhausted now.

-Yeah.

Just hope and pray that I've done enough

to get through to the final now.

I cannot be sure who's won.

Both of them had some terrific dishes.

It is really, really close.

It's weird, isn't it?

Cos one of us is going to be

representing London and the South East.

-I know, it's exciting.

-Yeah.

Both these chefs have demonstrated an enormous amount of skill.

I think they're the pinnacle of British cooking.

You put your life on hold,

and then it all comes down to that actual time in the kitchen,

and let's just hope all that work was worth it.

I really feel for whoever isn't going to win.

Well, welcome, chefs.

I must tell you that we have had a humdinger of a day today.

Some really cracking cooking from both of you.

How's it been for you?

It's been hard, yeah.

It's been hard. But actually quite a lot of fun.

And, Russell, you came in this morning with the highest score.

-Yeah.

-Do you think you've maintained that?

Obviously, I hope so.

I believe I've delivered, as I delivered to Richard,

so hopefully...

I know that what you really want to know is who's won,

so I will tell you that the winner is...

..Mark.

Well done, mate.

-You deserve it, buddy.

-Oh. Thanks so much. Thank you.

That's unbelievable. I never expected that.

Well, Russell, I am so sorry.

You are such a good cook.

He's an amazing chef.

You know, I'm lucky to have seen what he does all week.

Technically, he's phenomenal, I think.

Mark, I have to tell you,

your veal dish was absolutely outstanding.

It's the pinnacle of modern British cooking for me.

I gave it a ten.

And I gave it a ten, too.

Russell, your first course, From Humble Beginnings,

is a wonderful assembly of ingredients beautifully treated.

I gave it a nine. In fact, we all gave it a nine.

It's been a privilege to eat such confident cooking,

and you're both to be congratulated.

I'm sure, Mark, that Marcus will be very happy to hear how you've done.

If this doesn't make him happy,

-I don't know what will.

-LAUGHTER

-Well, we'll see you at the final anyway.

-Thank you very much.

That's unbelievable.

I never expected that. I'm over the moon. It's unreal.

Do you know, I think that's been one of the most pleasurable days

I've had on Great British Menu.

The food was good, they're lovely guys.

I wish we could've put them both through.

Obviously, I have scored high all week.

I've been against a phenomenal chef. But who knows?

Maybe next time, I'll be the phenomenal chef.

Just finished with the judges.

-PHONE:

-'OK, how did you get on?'

Uh, I'm going through to the final.

'Oh! That's amazing! I'm so pleased for you. You so deserve it.'

-Well done, mate.

-Thanks, mate.

-Cheers.

-You deserve it, buddy.

-Yeah, I can't believe it. Yeah.

-Good health.

-Cheers.

Make sure you smash it at the finals.

-I'll do my best.

-Good man. Cheers.

-Cheers.