North East Fish Great British Menu

This week, on Great British Menu...

three of the north-east's brightest talents in the kitchen.

No!

Returning chef Mini Patel,

who's going for glory.

Yes, I believe it could get a ten.

Tommy Banks, youngest British holder of a Michelin star.

If I can get good scores, then I'll get through to Friday.

And Chris Archer, who prides himself on originality.

-Have you made that ketchup yourself?

-No!

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

the chefs are celebrating the everyday great Britons

honoured throughout her reign and competing for the chance to

cook for them at an historic banquet

at the Palace of Westminster.

-One course in and Tommy is out in front.

-I'm scoring you...an eight.

Chris and Mini are trailing in joint second place.

-It's still all to play for.

-Gutted. Gutted.

Today is the fish course and Tommy has every intention of

-staying in the lead.

-You've got a pretty serious piece of fish there.

But Mini and Chris are determined to catch him.

Got the shakes there, Chris.

I've got a lot of things still to finish, time's ticking away.

-Yeah! Getting hot, isn't it?!

-Feeling the stress, pressure?

The competition...

is getting serious.

You can just buy me dinner later on!

The chefs are competing to create memorable dishes fit to honour

our modern Elizabethan age...

celebrating the transformation of the British food scene during

the Queen's historic reign.

Judging the chefs on their skill and innovation is veteran Tom Aikens.

A former banquet champion,

Tom expects nothing less than excellence.

We're very fortunate in this country to have world-renowned fish

right on our doorstep, so I want those chefs to cook me

some cracking fish for those great Britons.

Right, guys. For doing the starter, Tommy, you got an eight...

-Yes, happy with that.

-Same score as you, Mini - six.

I don't think two points at this stage is anything.

It's easy to say when you're sat on the top!

I don't know what it's like to be where you are,

cos I've never been there!

You could easily be sat here at the end of today,

though, and it's just a swing and we're all level or whatever.

It could swing and that's why it's competitive.

Let's impress him, cos he's a tough guy to impress.

First up, Tommy Banks.

His starter won over veteran Tom and he's confident his fish dish

will deliver as well.

I love my fish course.

I think it fits the brief bang-on

and it's celebrating British produce and that's got to be

what this competition is about.

Whether Tom will like it, we'll see.

-Hi, Tommy. Happy after the scores?

-I was pleased with an eight.

So what's the name of the dish?

-The name of the dish is Preserving the Future.

-OK.

The idea behind the dish is I'm using lots of different preservation

-techniques.

-So explain some of the items you've got here.

-I've got mackerel.

-Lovely.

Sustainable fish, I love it - it's delicious.

-I'm going to serve it in two ways.

-Yes.

-I'm going to do a tartare and I'm going to cure another piece.

-OK.

Then I'm going to make a vinegar liquor which is sweet woodruff.

-Mm-hm.

-Obviously, it grows wild all over the UK.

And you've got linseed - what are you doing with that?

They're grown on my dad's farm. I'm making a little cracker with that.

-OK. Cucumber?

-They're a dragon egg cucumber.

In August, when they were bang in season, I fermented them.

And we have a friend behind us.

I'm actually allergic to oysters, so I can't go anywhere near them,

but oyster leaf is a bit of a passion of mine.

-So you've got the next best thing.

-Yes, basically.

-Is this for my consumption, later?

-This is for your consumption!

So we've got pickled fish and beer. It's a great combination.

-It IS a good combination. I look forward to trying it.

-Thanks.

So Tommy's dish is a dragon egg cucumber which

has been fermented, linseed - don't really see it often.

The woodruff as well.

Quite a lot of different flavours and components there,

so I'm going to question how they're all going to come together.

Next is Mini Patel - it's his second time in the competition and

having failed to cook for the judges last year,

he's determined to up his game.

Fish course. I am confident.

I'm representing a great story, great people,

and I hope we'll do it justice.

-Tom.

-How are you, Mini?

-Very well. You?

-Very well, thank you.

My dish is called Little Fish, Big Fish.

The inspiration really is the north-east landscape architecture.

That landscape comes from designers,

architects, who started off small,

big ambition, big drive and that's what this dish is about.

So, Mini - tell me a little bit about the ingredients.

The star of the show is obviously the mackerel.

Curing it, ever so lightly grill, and then blowtorch.

I'm going to take the tail part,

dice it and serve it almost like a tartare.

Got some cucumbers,

-going to be scorching it to get it really charred.

-OK.

I'm taking the beetroots,

I'm going to pickle them in a sweet pickling liquor.

And the horseradish?

That is going to go into the tartare part

then I'm taking my red beetroot,

going to peel it, juice it and turn it into a sorbet.

I've just noticed, between you two,

did you have a little conference call?

Cos you've got cucumber, cucumber, oyster leaf, oyster leaf,

mackerel, mackerel...

We're both blow-torching the mackerel, as well.

It's a mackerel-off!

With Mini's dish, he's got two elements of hot and cold.

He's taking a bit of a risk and a bit of a gamble,

but the only thing that could be difficult for him is making

sure that that beetroot sorbet is perfect.

Last up, Chris Archer.

His starter was marked down for failing to meet the brief.

Today, however, he's confident his fish course will triumph.

I was a little bit deflated with the starter and one of the things

Tom highlighted was he didn't quite get the story and I think there is

a stronger element to the fish course.

-Hello, Chef.

-Hi, Chris.

-How you doing?

-Yeah, good.

So the name of the dish is The Beautiful Briny Sea.

I'm trying to pay homage to the fishermen of Great Britain

that go out in all weathers and risk their lives to catch fish

like this bad boy.

-So what are you doing with the fish, Chris?

-I'm doing turbot.

I'm going to classically pan-fry it with a little butter and lemon

-and then serve it with a langoustine bonbon...

-A what?

-A langoustine bonbon.

-A langoustine bonbon?

I couldn't think of a better word to describe it!

It is, in essence, a fishcake that's wrapped in chips.

-I'm making my own mushy peas.

-OK.

Yorkshire caviar, up north.

If you're into that kind of thing!

And I'm making a seawater jelly,

so I'm using oyster juice,

I'm going to put some fish stock and a little bit of fish sauce

in it to try and recreate a pleasurable taste of the seawater.

Let me interrupt you.

So you've got the oyster, you've got the juice,

what are you doing with the oyster?

Throw it away, Chef!

HE CLEARS HIS THROAT

Very interesting.

So I'm expecting some great fish dishes and hopefully a ten.

-That's the aim.

-We'd all like that!

Everyone is going for a ten.

-OK, thank you.

-Thanks, Chef.

With Chris's fish dish, he's got to get the temperature right, he's got

to get the colour right, because if not, the taste just won't be there.

So, guys, I obviously missed the memo saying it was mackerel day,

not fish course day.

I'm doing turbot.

As cooking starts,

it's clear competition for second place is fierce.

So, Mini, do you think your mackerel dish is good enough

to get better than a six from Tom, like you did with the starter?

Yes, I believe it could get a ten.

-But he did give you a six for the starter.

-Yeah. He did.

Having scored just five for his fish course last year in the

competition, Mini is out to impress Tom,

attempting an unusual savoury sorbet.

Mini starts by juicing, then reducing beetroot.

Next, he adds liquid glucose and malic acid and transfers to

an ice cream maker.

Are you serving it on a warm plate or cold plate...?

Most definitely cold! It's plastic. It's Perspex!

Mini, do you want these plates in the oven?! "No!"

Then, Mini makes a simple pickling liquor using white wine and

white wine vinegar before pouring it over thin slices of golden

beetroot and compressing.

He then moves on to the mackerel,

which is also the key component of Tommy's dish.

Like Mini, Tommy is serving his mackerel two ways.

He will also make a mackerel tartare and will be pickling his

fillet before scorching it.

The two guys are doing very similar dishes.

Tommy's probably intrigues me the most,

because there's ingredients on there that I've never used before.

To make the pickling liquor for HIS mackerel,

Tommy warms red wine and cider vinegars with sugar,

then flavours with cloves

and one of his foraged ingredients, woodruff.

How would you describe the woodruff as a flavour?

It's a spicy sort of flavour,

very similar to tonka bean or vanilla or something like that.

I use it a lot in desserts, as well, but I think it's nice with fish.

Across the kitchen,

Chris makes a luxurious tomato sauce by roasting langoustine shells

with shallots and carrot,

adding tomatoes, then reducing.

To finish, Chris adds butter and a surprising ingredient.

-Have you made that ketchup yourself?

-No!

If you make your own tomato ketchup,

it doesn't quite have the same impact!

For his dish, Chris is using turbot,

a firm-fleshed flatfish with

a delicate flavour, considered the king of fish.

You've got a pretty serious piece of fish there, Chris.

I'm dedicating the dish to the people who go out and catch

the fish in the first place.

In my opinion, it's the best fish you can get.

Chris' fish course pays homage to the great British fishing industry,

which has declined in recent years.

Someone determined to keep the industry very much alive is

Anne Hornigold, who set up this training school in Whitby in 2002.

We have lots of lads who come from school with no qualifications

and we get the lads through maths and English and through all

the nautical units which they have to complete and then they go

out to sea and put it into practice.

Pay attention, it's your turn, next!

-I'm trying to keep up with the speed!

-I know!

Go slower, Jim, slightly slower.

So...through and over...

It's a bit small.

Definitely won't make a lobster pot. The speed I'm going at here, lads,

I think I'd better leave you guys to catching the lobsters and I'll just cook them, shall I?

I agree!

It's an absolute pleasure - sometimes the old boys

come back and tell us how well they're getting on.

They've got married, had children, they're skippering their own boat.

As a result of Anne's dedication to preserving fishing traditions,

she was awarded an MBE in 2014.

It was a wonderful day.

Prince William was the one who gave me my award.

He described me as "a very determined woman".

-Wow.

-And there it is.

-That's fantastic.

-Very pretty, isn't it?

-Can I...?

-Yeah, yeah.

-..take a closer look?

-You can't wear it, though!

-It's fantastic.

Yes, it has pride of place at home.

As Anne and tutor Jim know their seafood,

Chris wanted their expert opinions on elements of his fish dish.

So what we've got is a ball made from the langoustine tails

which has been wrapped in potato string and deep-fried.

Then we've got some home-made mushy peas and malt vinegar.

-That's lovely.

-Lovely, that.

-Light.

I want the recipe, I want that to come home with me!

Thank you, I'm really glad you enjoyed it.

Back in the kitchen,

Chris is now working on his so-called Yorkshire caviar.

To softened shallots and garlic,

he adds frozen peas before crushing.

Next, a dash of malt vinegar for that classic chip-shop taste

and fresh cream, pea puree,

chopped chives and parsley.

I've got a lot of things still to finish, time is ticking away.

Mini is preparing his compressed cucumber before starting

the mackerel tartare.

He adds chopped mackerel tails to diced shallots,

gherkins and capers... Then mixes in

horseradish and creme fraiche.

He finishes with fresh lemon and parsley.

I try to keep it simple, at the same time, give you excellent flavour.

That's what it's all about, just flavour, flavour, flavour.

Current leader Tommy is staying true to his ethos of

cooking with only great British ingredients.

He's making a cracker using home-grown linseeds.

-So what are you doing here?

-This is going to be a linseed cracker.

What does it bring to the dish?

First it's going to bring a texture,

but also linseeds are really oily.

I think this goes really well with oily fish.

Are there any elements to your dish that you're worried about?

I don't know, I love my dishes.

It's just your opinion on them, that's always a worry for me.

Well, we will see, young man. We will see.

While Tommy bakes his crackers, Chris starts work on another

refined element of his fish dish -

the langoustine bonbons.

Chris, when you were describing your dish to Tom and you said

a langoustine bonbon,

he looked slightly perplexed.

It's called a bonbon because...

I don't really know what else I would call it!

Chris combines pan-fried langoustine tails with baked potato flesh,

a dash of ketchup and parsley.

I'm putting a lot of effort into trying to make sure that

everything's perfect because I know Tom was on me for small details

-and I don't want to do that on this course.

-How are you, Chris?

I'm just shucking the oysters for the seawater jelly, putting

-the juice through the cloth...

-Then throwing the oysters away?

Then throwing the oysters away, Chef. The fact that it's just

the juice that's boiled,

-a little fish stock and some fish sauce...

-OK.

I'm just trying to create

a pleasurable experience of a seawater jelly.

To make the seawater jelly, Chris combines oyster juice with

fish stock and fish sauce and brings to the boil.

He then seasons with fresh lemon juice and adds agar agar to set.

It's such a shame you can't eat it, Tommy!

-You can just buy me dinner later on(!)

-Oi!

Current leader Tommy is making a gel,

flavouring it with home-made woodruff vinegar.

He combines a setting agent called gellan gum with water,

whisks into the flavoured vinegar and then chills.

That's my vinegar done.

-So that's gellan?

-Yeah.

Returning chef Mini will be first

to serve up his Small Fish, Big Fish dish.

He's determined to score higher than the five he got last year,

but with veteran Tom on the prowl, stress levels are rising.

Yeah! It's getting hot, isn't it?! It's getting hot.

-Feeling the stress, pressure?

-There's a bit of pressure.

-So what are we doing here?

-I'm taking the golden beetroots,

-I've made a sweet pickling liquor...

-OK. Packs a punch.

It is a lovely vegetable and, if handled in the right manner,

it can elevate a dish, for sure. Let's hope you elevate it!

-I've elevated it!

-Good luck.

First to the pass is Mini...

There we go.

..who chars his cured mackerel, then scorches his compressed cucumber.

Why is it so green, Mini?

-Cos I've used the skins and blended it down...

-Oh, right.

..with a little bit of the cucumber.

First onto his presentation box

is beetroot powder and thinly-sliced pickled golden beetroot.

Is it all coming together?

For me, yes.

Then, on with the charred cucumber,

nasturtium, radish seedlings,

and oyster leaves.

Next, he adds a quenelle of horseradish mackerel tartare

and the scorched mackerel fillet.

Finally, it's on with his beetroot sorbet.

I'm glad I'm not doing your washing, Mini!

That is the first time I've seen a quenelle on a cloth.

-Do I get any extra points?

-You'll find out, won't you!

Mini finishes the dish with a lemon oil dressing.

So, the Small Fish, Big Fish -

truly represented by the pictures.

Yes, so you've got the Angel of the North, the Millennium Bridge,

and these people that designed these,

-they've been honoured by the Queen.

-So I get it -

this is the big, and on top, there's the small.

-Very much so. Shall we go taste it, chef?

-Let's go.

So, Mini. First fish up -

very contemporary. Let's get stuck in.

First things first, the sorbet.

Let me get in there.

Otherwise it might be a soup.

-The beetroot sorbet - happy with the flavour?

-Yeah, definitely.

I think he wouldn't be happy with how quickly it's melted.

-He should have had some proper stabiliser in it, I think.

-Mm-hm.

So this is the tartare element.

-Do you think the flavour of the horseradish comes through?

-Yes,

it's supposed to be quite strong.

He said he wanted that, didn't he,

he wanted that to be really punchy, it definitely is.

-The scorched mackerel, is that seasoned enough for you?

-Yes.

Plenty.

I think it's nice and moist, I think the seasoning is right there.

What would you give it? Out of ten?

What do I think it's worth?

I think it's worth a nine.

Tommy is next to plate up HIS mackerel dish,

Preserving the Future,

a homage to sustainable ingredients and great British fish.

He makes a simple mackerel tartare from fish trimmings,

using lemon juice and sea salt.

Then, he lightly scorches his mackerel fillets using a blowtorch.

-Hey, man, all right?

-What did you guys think?

-It was nice.

-Shame about the sorbet, I thought.

-Obviously, it started to melt.

-Maybe it went better at the tasting with Tom?

-No, not really!

I don't know yet!

First on Tommy's plate are the ewe's milk yoghurt

and the scorched mackerel fillet.

Next, oyster capers.

So these are the seed pods from the oyster plant there,

a bit like capers.

He then adds the mackerel tartare, followed by slices of

fermented dragon's egg cucumber

and home-grown oyster leaves.

-How's it going, Tommy?

-Pretty good, I'm up in 30 seconds.

Tommy adds dew drops of woodruff vinegar gel to the leaves,

and tops with crisp linseed crackers.

So here we go, this is my mackerel dish, Preserving the Future.

Beer.

Yes, a little woodruff beer just to drink with it.

-Mini, are you worried?

-Yes!

It looks absolutely stunning.

-Tommy, well... Cheers.

-Cheers.

Here's mud in your eye.

I can't say I'm a fan of the beer...

It's a little bit flat for me.

Is the mackerel scorched enough? How you wanted?

Yeah, I'm happy with that. It's fairly light pink,

but that's how I like to eat it.

I love the flavour of the mackerel and the pickle comes through,

I don't necessarily get too much of the charred flavour on top.

It's really, really refreshing. Really, REALLY refreshing.

And the linseed crisp, does it add that element you wanted?

Yes, it brings exactly what I want, actually. I just think

it ties in with the oily fish as well.

It's quite novel, adds a great texture.

-The fermented cucumber, is it adding?

-Yes, I think so.

I love the fermented flavour.

I'm usually not a fan of fermented vegetables, but actually,

it's really nice with the mackerel.

What would you score that dish?

I'm happy with the same mark as my starter! I think.

I'd give that a nine.

That's a really good dish, I think.

Before Chris can plate up his Beautiful Briny Sea,

he needs to crisp up his beer batter scraps...

wrap the langoustine bonbons in potato strings...

and deep-fry.

OK?

-Well done.

-That was stunning. Stunning.

I thought what stopped it from being absolutely perfect

was the tartare, you could take off, I thought.

I think that's just me being frugal, I wouldn't waste fish.

That's not a pop at me for the oyster, is it?!

Chris must now cook his fish to perfection under the watchful eye of

veteran chef Tom.

Remember to get that turbot perfectly cooked there, Chris, yeah?

It's definitely the concerning element for me.

Chris finishes the turbot in a pan with butter and lemon.

I wouldn't want to be you, stood there basting a piece of fish for Tom Aikens!

I'm kind of wishing I'd done a cold fish dish like you guys!

First onto Chris' dish are quenelles of his refined mushy peas.

To the turbot, he adds cubes of seawater jelly,

salty fingers and beer batter scraps.

-The clock's ticking.

-Yes, coming now, Chef.

Chris transfers his fish to the plate and serves his deep-fried

langoustine bonbons on a separate presentation box.

Got the shakes there, Chris.

And finally, the langoustine and tomato sauce in

a tomato-shaped bottle.

This is my dish. The Beautiful Briny Sea, Chef.

Tommy, you can't eat this because of the oysters, how do you feel about the dish?

Yeah, I'm a bit gutted about that, turbot's my favourite fish.

Right, Chris, let's go.

-Are you happy with the way that the fish has been pan-fried?

-Yes.

I think I like to keep it as moist as possible.

The turbot is seasoned well.

It's cooked nicely, I think.

And the spiced langoustine ketchup...

I think I've got enough of the langoustine flavour in there,

but there's also the depth of tomato.

I like the sauce. It's quite intense, it packs a punch.

The seawater jelly...

Do you think that added anything?

If I was to be able to cook this dish again,

I would just try and give it a little bit more punch.

Do you think he's going to say,

"I wanted the oyster, rather than that jelly?"

I want the oyster! Never mind Tom!

Do you think it's contemporary enough?

I think it's contemporary enough.

I think he's taken the humble fish and chips up possibly two or

three levels. I'm unsure yet as to whether he's elevated it

to a banquet level.

Now, then, now, then, now, then!

I've just served fish and chips to Tom Aikens!

I don't know how he's going to take it, I really don't!

It's my risky dish. I think it's either a high score or it's bombed.

I'm pretty nervous right now.

I'm not going to comment about my own,

cos whatever I say is completely wrong, always, but...

Yeah, I'm worried.

How are we, chefs?

-I'm nervous again, I find this the most nerve-racking part!

-Mini?

Small Fish, Big Fish.

I have to say, after your starter course,

-you needed to come back out fighting, didn't you?

-Yeah.

And you know what? You did.

The only thing, I thought the scorched cucumber needed

a little bit more seasoning.

But...

The scorched mackerel was spot-on.

Tartare was well seasoned,

perfect amount of horseradish and it really warmed in the mouth.

Sorbet...was outstanding.

Every component on that dish was pretty much faultless.

I LOVED that dish.

Tommy...

Preserving the Future, another mackerel dish.

Your mackerel tartare was a touch under seasoned.

And the other thing,

I was quite worried about the acidity levels on your dish.

But...

..they all worked really well together. The fish...

..was well cooked.

The woodruff gel...

Excellent. A lot of thought,

care and attention

went into that dish.

And it was very original.

Chris...

Your Beautiful Briny Sea.

I could see that you were definitely trying to elevate the humble

fish and chips.

The turbot was cooked very well.

Your langoustine bonbons...

..were tres bons!

The ketchup had a great depth of flavour, but...

..I have to say, it was sacrilege to throw away the oyster.

I just thought your dish was a little low on originality.

I asked for excitement and flair...

And I just thought it was a little bit below par.

So, to the scores.

Tommy...

I'm going to score you...

..a nine.

Cool. I'm happy with that. Thank you.

Chris...

I'm going to score you...

..a seven.

Mini...

I'm going to give you...

..a nine.

-Well done, mate.

-Well done.

Are you sure you're talking about me?!

You came back fighting with that dish.

And you showed great skill, so well done.

Chris, you're two points adrift.

It's a small margin and the competition is still wide open.

-Thanks, Chef.

-Thank you.

THEY LAUGH

Wow!

It's the highest score I've ever had on Great British Menu.

After five dishes, I've got something,

a score that I think is respectable!

With two courses down, Mini has now crept into second place.

Tommy still leads and Chris is third.

I think I wasn't far off a ten.

One of these last two courses,

I've got to try and get a ten out of Tom Aikens.

A ten from Tom Aikens, that's a life achievement, I think!

We've played it safe, curing and blowtorch and stuff like that...

Playing it safe!

Oh! I just got a nine, stop trying to take it away from me!

There's two more courses to go, you know,

things can turn on their head over the next two courses.

It's happened before, hopefully it can happen again.