North East Main Great British Menu

This week on Great British Menu, the chefs from the north-east

have been working hard to impress veteran Tom Aikens.

Second time competitor Mini Patel is going for glory.

I'm confident about all my four dishes. I think there's a ten there.

Tommy Banks is the youngest British holder of a Michelin star.

It's important that we get the balance right on this dish.

How's the beef looking, Tommy?

And Chris Archer, who prides himself on originality.

-Could it be silver or bronze?

-Going for gold all the way, mate.

Gold all the way.

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

the chefs are celebrating the everyday Great Britons

honoured throughout her reign

and competing for a chance to cook at an historic banquet

at the famous Palace of Westminster.

Yesterday Mini impress veteran Tom with his fish course

and was awarded a nine...

It was pretty much faultless.

Are you sure you're talking about me?

LAUGHTER

..keeping him within two points of first-time competitor,

and current leader, Tommy.

Your mackerel tartare was a touch under-seasoned.

Fellow newcomer Chris remains in third place

despite a decent score for his fish dish.

Your langoustine bonbons were tres bon.

Today is the main course but there's been an unexpected turn of events.

Overnight, Chris has been taken ill

and can no longer continue in the competition.

So just two of us this morning. Chris unable to carry on.

-He's unwell today.

-Yeah, yeah. It's a bit of a shame.

-I'm just gutted for him, really.

-Yeah, exactly.

I think he'll be disappointed himself.

He had some great ingredients today as well and he's done some good

cooking with the two courses that he has done.

But we've got to put that to one side. It's the main courses.

I'm gunning for tens. I need to catch up with you.

I'm sure you're going to be gunning for high scores as well.

I've just got to focus now.

I really want to keep eking points out of Tom Aikens.

Yeah, let battle commence.

Tom Aikens knows what it takes to win Great British Menu,

so he's expecting exceptional contemporary cooking.

Yesterday on the fish course with Mini and Tommy,

I give them both a nine.

Today I want to see a 10.

Up first is returning chef Mini.

Just two points behind current leader Tommy, he's up for a fight.

I've got loads to do today.

I might have bitten off a bit more than I can chew but I just

need to get it right, like my fish.

I think the plan is attack, attack, attack.

-Morning, Tom.

-Morning. How are you?

-I'm very well. You?

-I'm good.

-I guess you've heard the news about Chris?

-Yeah.

I'm afraid he's not going to be continuing so it's going to be

-a head-to-head between you and Tommy.

-Yeah.

-It's still game on.

So tell me the name of your dish.

-The name of my dish is The Gallant And Brave.

-OK.

The inspiration behind my dish is honouring the servicemen and women

and civilians who have put themselves in danger to save

-others, who have been awarded the gallantry medal.

-OK, fantastic.

-The star of the show is going to be venison.

-It looks lovely.

I'm going to be slow-cooking it in a water bath and then roasting it.

Right.

But alongside that I'm going to be making

a bun made from venison mince.

So I've got some chicken livers here which I'm going to be putting

-into the bun as well.

-OK.

And I'm going to be wrapping that in a little bit of caul fat to keep it all together.

-The dreaded caul fat.

-The dreaded caul fat?

-Yeah.

Is that not good? OK.

I'll try to go skimpy on that. Kid's portions on the caul fat.

-Kid's portions, exactly, on the caul fat.

-And then I've got some humble parsnips.

-Great with venison.

-Yeah, delicious.

-I've got some red cabbage.

I'm going to be using some port to cook it down.

-I'm going to be making a savoury granola.

-A savoury granola?

-Yeah.

-Really?

-Yeah, with a little bit of spice in it as well.

-OK.

-Is that the contemporary part of your dish?

-Well, I hope so.

Just a little bit of information for you.

When I went through to finals week I also did

a savoury granola with oats.

And mine was really, really good.

HE CHUCKLES

I wish you good luck. Continue the high scores, OK?

-Thanks very much.

-Thank you.

So Mini's dish, he has one ingredient there which is caul fat,

if it's not cooked properly it has this really stringy, chewy

texture to it, so he needs to make sure that he cooks it well.

Next is Tommy. Currently leading on 17 points,

Tommy has consistently impressed veteran Tom,

but he has no intention of taking it easy.

The week's gone really well for me. So obviously an eight and a nine so far,

I'd love to get a ten out of Tom. If it's today or tomorrow,

I want to get one out of him.

-Hi, Tommy.

-Hi, Chef.

-How are you doing? All right?

-Good, yeah.

So it's down to you two and, as I said to Mini, I still want you two

-going at it hammers and tongs.

-We both upped our games yesterday.

You both definitely did, which was nice to see,

and I hope it continues today.

So, Tommy, what are you making for us?

The name of the dish is Beef At The Cutting Edge.

As a nation we're very famous for roast beef, we're beef eaters.

We absolutely are.

So I thought for the banquet these guys need honouring, and I think

roast beef is what you need to give them on the banquet.

-This is a Wagyu-Angus cross.

-Yeah.

So taking Wagyu, which is probably the most revered beef in the world,

crossed with one of our great historical breeds as well.

I am using the sirloin and I am kind of roasting it for you

but it's not going to be coming with a normal garnish.

I'm going to be using the bone marrow as well.

I'm going to roast that inside the bone and I'm going to serve that

-with seed pods from the wild garlic.

-You've done these yourselves, I guess?

-Yes, I pickled them back in spring.

-OK.

-And I'm going to use the brine from that to make an emulsion with lovage.

-OK.

This will be made into an oil and that will make the sauce for the dish.

-Hen-of-the-woods mushrooms.

-OK.

-I love these. Quite a beery sort of flavour to them.

That kind of leaves this. A nice Primo cabbage.

-I'm going to roast it sort of whole in a big section.

-OK.

-Then I'll trim it down from there.

-Right. I see you've got some flower arranging classes going on over here.

-Yeah.

Yeah, so these are some nasturtiums that I've brought with me.

So in pretty much every course that you've cooked for me,

you've brought something from home?

-Yeah.

-So yesterday you both got nines.

Still all to play for. I want to see one of you get a ten.

With the ingredients you've got, the quality of the product,

you can both definitely do it.

-So, both of you, cook your hearts out and have fun.

-Thanks, Chef.

Tommy's dishes so far have been very subtle.

This dish is full of punchy flavours.

He's got the lovage, the hen-of-the-wood mushrooms,

the pickled garlic seeds, and they need to all work together because they're all

going to be fighting against each other if he doesn't control them.

As cooking gets under way there's only one thing on Tommy and

Mini's minds.

-You're going for a ten?

-Well, obviously I'd love a ten but I'm feeling the pressure

a bit more cos I've got this amazing beef and...

killed this animal specially for the competition.

-If I cook it badly that animal's died in vain, hasn't it?

-Yeah.

So feeling that one a little bit here. How are you feeling today?

-Are you confident about your dish?

-Yeah, I'm confident about all my four dishes

and I'm sure you are too.

Both Mini and Tommy are cooking large joints of meat.

While Tommy slow-cooks his Wagyu-Angus in a water bath,

Mini also prepares his venison by sealing it in a vac pac bag

with butter, fresh herbs and juniper berries before also putting into a water bath.

-We're both cooking a big hunk of meat, aren't we?

-Yeah.

I think that's what it's got to be about for a main course.

-You want something you can get your teeth into.

-Yeah. It's got to be a showstopper. That's I'm going for.

Next, it's on to the venison buns.

Mini combines venison mince with finely chopped shallots,

and garlic, chicken liver, port and spices.

Then rolls into balls. But something's niggling Mini.

Tom's thrown me a little curveball there. He's not a fan of caul fat.

Caul fat's one of those things, isn't it?

-If you cook it well, you don't know it's there.

-Yeah.

But if it's undercooked, it's very chewy. Do you need it?

Don't know. I've never made it without it, that's the point.

-Probably don't change now, I'd imagine.

-Yeah, exactly.

That's I think too.

Mini wraps the venison mince balls in cabbage and the contentious caul fat.

He then braises the venison mince parcels in stock and

leaves them to cool before finally wrapping in puff pastry.

They'll be baked just before service.

How does this dish fit into the brief?

I've been inspired by Britons who have gone above and beyond

the call of duty and have been honoured by the Queen.

In my research I've met some amazing characters.

When they talk to you about what they actually did, it leaves you speechless.

If there's one dish I would want at the banquet, it would be this one.

-It means so much more.

-Is this your one, is it?

-Yes, this is the one.

Mini's main course honours the gallant and brave

so he visited the Imperial War Museum to meet one of the few people

awarded the Queen's highest honour for valour, the Victoria Cross.

-Hi, you must be Johnson.

-Mini, how are you?

-I'm very well. Pleased to meet you.

-Pleasure.

In 2004 while on duty in Iraq, Lance Sergeant Johnson Beharry

suffered life-threatening head injuries after

a grenade hit the vehicle he was driving.

Somehow Johnson managed to drive his fellow soldiers to safety

before losing consciousness.

He needed emergency brain surgery to save his life.

I didn't have no memory. I couldn't speak. I couldn't walk.

I didn't know who my family was. And that is the hard part.

Learning to do it all over again.

In 2005, it was announced that I was going to receive the

Victoria Cross for my action in Iraq. I didn't know what it was.

To me it was just an award.

But today I know it is the most amazing thing you could ever receive.

And if you ever want to be awarded a medal or have some honour

after your name, it's the one.

I'm speechless.

Mini was surprised to discover that for Johnson

the hardest day of his life was the investiture itself.

Did it feel good to receive the Victoria Cross?

It was amazing to receive it but it was scary. I'm in the British Army.

Queen and country. The Queen is my boss. The big boss.

Uniform ready, shoes shining, I had my hair cut, well shaved.

Walk down the stateroom, halfway down,

turn left, bow, take two steps forward.

It is the hardest thing I ever done in my life.

But it was the most amazing day of my life.

She said to me, "You're a very special person. I don't get to do this very often."

And then the light bulb came on and I realised,

"Whoa, I'm in front of the Queen."

And she pinned the medal on my chest.

Amazing conversation. What a day.

Mini wanted to see what Johnson thought of this culinary tribute

to servicemen and women, only to find out he's something of an expert.

Mini! I love cooking. Most of all, I love baking as well.

I've made loads of different cakes, bread. Yeah, anything in the kitchen.

-I love the kitchen.

-What I've got here is the venison,

a few elements of the dish that I'm planning to do for the main course

which I'd really love for you to try, taste and tell me what you think.

That looks good.

I'll have it. I'll have it all.

MINI LAUGHS

I'll definitely give you the tick.

-Good man.

-Keep working.

THEY LAUGH

Meeting Johnson today was absolutely amazing.

It's given me a bit more confidence in the dish that it is the right one.

Back in the kitchen, Mini starts another one

of his contemporary elements, the savoury granola,

and once again he is having doubts.

Tom throws his curveballs at me every time we go talking about any of my dishes.

-So now is the battle of the granolas.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-You should just stop copying all the things he's done in the past then it wouldn't

-be a problem.

-I know. I should just look for my own inspiration rather than Tom's.

Mini combines oats with pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds.

then mixed nuts.

He flavours with a spice blend and binds with honey and egg white.

-Breakfast time, Mini? Honey and granola.

-Yeah, that's right.

Yeah. It's a contemporary twist.

-Don't usually have curry on my breakfast to be fair.

-No, exactly.

-It's nice. It needs cooking!

-Thanks for that(!) Cheers, mate.

Love you a long time.

Across the kitchen, Tommy is making his lovage oil.

He starts by blanching half a kilo of lovage in boiling water.

My starter, the flavour was maybe a little bit too subtle.

-This is not subtle.

-Is this going to be in your face?

Yeah, he said he wants things a bit more punchy.

This one's going to smack him in the chops, I reckon.

Next he blends the lovage with grape seed oil at a low temperature.

To finish, he passes the oil through a fine cloth.

It's important that we get the balance right on this dish.

I hope he likes garlic.

I hope he likes lovage because it's pretty big.

If he doesn't like garlic then I'm getting a low score, aren't I?

Mini has moved onto his honey-roasted parsnips.

-How are we doing?

-I'm doing all right.

-Just all right? Not amazing?

Not yet cos there's so many things that are still cooking.

BEEPING

Yeah, that's me.

Mini has to rescue another component from the oven.

-Is this your savoury granola?

-Yes, this is the one.

-Smells like a curry.

-Quite broad.

-Quite nice.

-I hope so. it's not cooled down yet.

-It's very different to mine.

-Mine definitely wasn't curry-flavoured.

-Right.

'Mini has some components going on the dish.'

His granola has a lot of intricate spices. He has cardamom, he has star anise, he has sesame seeds.

So it definitely packs a more powerful punch than mine.

Current leader Tommy is also contemplating his dish.

Bone marrow is a bit, I don't know, love it or hate it?

-Love, love, love, isn't it?

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

I think so and hopefully it's suitable for the banquet.

Tommy mixes his chopped bone marrow with fresh herbs and returns

to the bone to roast just before service.

When I've cooked the beef, I'm just going to keep brushing it in the beef fat

-and just keep it really moist and delicious.

-Mm.

-Yeah, it could be a bit of a love-in, this dish, if I pull it off.

-Yeah.

Next it's on to the lovage and garlic emulsion.

Tommy adds mustard and wild garlic caper brine to a chicken reduction.

He then slowly whisks in the lovage oil to make a thick, creamy emulsion.

Whoo!

Then it's back to the beef.

-How's your beef, Tommy?

-Yeah, it's just come out of the water bath.

-I'm having to seal it on here.

-Indoor barbecue.

-Yeah.

If I was cooking in the restaurant, I would cook it in a pan but if I'm

cooking for a banquet I think water-bathing's a safe option for that.

Absolutely.

I mean, generally I would say the fat on the beef has quite

a bit of flavour. Did you intentionally want to remove that or...?

I thought more people might prefer it with less fat but also

-I'm serving the bone marrow on the side.

-OK.

-So that's an awful lot of fat as well.

-Fair enough. Well, good luck.

-Thank you, Chef.

He has a lot of really interesting ingredients there.

All very strong flavour so I hope they are subtle enough to let

the beef stick out of the main component of the dish.

Mini, out to show Tom his dish is worthy of a ten,

is working on yet another component -

sticky red cabbage.

He braises the cabbage with dried cranberries and grated apple

in red wine vinegar, port and red wine.

He then flavours with bay leaf and star anise.

Once reduced, he'll sweeten with honey and cassis.

See this?!

Yeah, I pushed myself for this course, probably more than I should have done.

But if it's a ten that you want, then I'm going to give it everything to try and do it.

First to present his main course, Beef At The Cutting Edge, is Tommy.

While he rests his Wagyu-Angus beef...

It's hot in here.

..Tommy caramelises wedges of Primo cabbage in

a pan and finishes with butter.

He also pan-fries his mushrooms...

Oh!

..and glazes with chicken stock.

How's the beef looking, Tommy?

First onto the plate is Tommy's Wagyu-Angus sirloin,

which was reared on his neighbour's farm.

Then the pan fried cabbage hearts and glazed hen-of-the-wood mushrooms.

Next, hand-picked nasturtium leaves and flowers

and some wild garlic capers.

What do you think to the beef, Mini?

Yeah, the beef looks lovely. Spot-on.

Tommy dresses the dish with lovage oil and the lovage and garlic dressing.

-What have you got there, Tommy?

-It's just lovage and wild garlic.

Tommy presents the dish with a side of bone marrow served on miniature hay bales.

Can you give me a hand up with these bones?

OK this is my dish. We've got these Sheffield steel knives as well

-so it's Beef At The Cutting Edge.

-Boom-boom.

-Boom-boom.

-So you think the beef is cutting edge enough?

-I hope so.

It's like a trip up to your part of the world with a little garden on the plate.

Mini, what do you think?

Yeah, it looks great. I'm looking forward to it.

Well, let's go and try it, guys. You enjoy your portion of beef.

-Use the knives?

-Yeah, absolutely. Sheffield steel, such a traditional thing in Yorkshire.

-Mm-hm.

So I found a guy making modern knives as well.

Fantastic.

It looks stunning. It really is stunning. He's cooked the beef really well.

Wow. Sharp knife for very nicely cooked beef.

Right, the beef.

-Happy with the way that it's cooked?

-Hm. I've got a mouthful of beef, but, yeah.

It's super tender. He's cooked it nicely. Nice seasoning.

It really is stunning. On that note, I'll just have a bit more.

-So the roast cabbage, seasoned enough?

-Maybe a grain more salt.

This cabbage, it's tender but it's retained its texture so he's cooked it

extremely well cos he's got the best of both worlds out of it.

And the bone marrow, do you think they add something to the dish?

It's not something that people generally eat all the time,

but I think it's absolutely delicious.

I love bone marrow. I think most chefs do. So, actually, that,

for some people they might be like, "That's a lot".

For me that's like, yeah, perfect. Bring it on. Keep giving it to me.

The emulsion, right amount of garlic for you?

I think when you're using something like wild garlic,

you have to have it there. I don't think it's overbearing.

You got a big piece of protein there to go with it. I think it's right.

If I was being uber critical, I'd say the portion of beef is a bit too small.

HE LAUGHS

Yeah, I want more.

What would you score your dish?

It's been quite good so far this week.

I wouldn't like to drop below eight I got for my starter.

I want to keep it up there.

There's only one score really for this dish

and that's a ten.

You know I've been wanting to give a ten.

I want you to give a ten as well.

I'm just not going to be the guy who's asking for tens.

In the kitchen, Mini is putting the finishing touches to

The Gallant And Brave, his ambitious dish comprising nine complex elements.

-How's it going, Chef?

-All right.

-Well done on that dish. That was absolutely stunning.

-Did you enjoy it?

-It was a definite ten from me, definite ten.

-Seriously?

-Yeah, yeah.

I am happy with it, but I hate this bit.

-I love doing the cooking, but I hate doing the waiting.

-Yeah.

Mini finishes his rack of venison in a pan with butter,

garlic and fresh thyme.

That's a lot of butter, that, Mini.

Yeah, it's a big bit of venison though, to be fair.

Now you're talking my language.

While Mini rests his meat, he roasts rings of parsnip in a pan.

Mini, I've got high hopes for this dish.

Next, Mini brushes his venison in Dijon mustard

and rolls in a pistachio crumb.

Mini will be serving his dish on specially commissioned plates.

-They look awesome, mate.

-Yeah, they do, don't they?

-"The Queen's Gallantry Medal.

-They look stunning. Proud as punch.

First onto the plate, parsnip puree,

A roll of pickled chicory and his sticky braised red cabbage.

-You're due at the pass, Mini.

-All right.

Next, Mini adds the rack of venison before adding rounds of

honey-roasted parsnip and a venison bun.

Venison bun, Mini, that looks nice and golden.

Yeah, and it should pack a real good gamey flavour, do you know what I mean?

Yes, they look very tasty.

Mini finishes with blanched kale, a rich red wine sauce

and some of his spiced savoury granola.

He presents his dish in Queen's Gallantry Medal boxes.

There we are.

-So, name of the dish?

-The Gallant And Brave.

-You think you're brave enough?

-I hope so.

And you're happy with everything on the plate?

If I'm going to pick absolute faults,

I know a lot of people like their venison rare,

but me, a little bit more than that.

-Tommy, what do you think?

-It's stunning. Stunning plate. I love the presentation.

-Really colourful dish. I can't wait to eat it.

-Scared?

-Yeah. Yeah, I am.

Let's go and try it.

You said you weren't overly happy with the way the venison was cooked.

For me I would have left it in the pan for another minute or rested

-it for an extra five.

-Mm.

It looks absolutely stunning.

The venison is absolutely delicious, really tender, great flavour.

The pistachio crumb really works as well.

I think maybe it could have rested slightly longer but now I'm eating it I think it's all right.

-You've got two components of parsnip on your dish.

-Yes.

-Do you think you need both of them?

-Yeah, I think so.

I think the puree is a great second sauce.

The honey-roast parsnips with the loin...

I'm happy that I've put both on, is what I'm trying to say.

Parsnip puree perhaps doesn't have as much flavour as

the roasted parsnip, but it's got a really good texture,

and I think it's nice to have that sort of creamy element to the dish.

So the venison bun.

There was very little caul,

which I was happy to see.

-Is the pastry cooked enough, Mini?

-Er, no.

I think the base is too thick.

It's left it a little bit soggy, to be honest, on the bottom.

The bun, I think it's absolutely delicious.

really rich, deep in flavour, the pastry's delicious,

it's crispy but soft underneath.

I think he's really nailed it on.

And the caul, not a problem for me, it's totally cooked out.

And the granola, have you got the right amount of spice?

It's for a banquet.

You don't want to give everyone a curry, do you know what I mean?!

That's not my intention, but it is to put my personality and my

heritage into that dish and I think I've done that.

So I really like the granola.

It is spicy, but I think that stands up very well to the meat.

There's a lot of meat there.

-What would you mark your dish?

-An eight.

They're small things but they make a difference.

-Well done. That was quality, I really enjoyed that.

-Did you?

-Yeah.

Yeah, you've got me worried with that dish.

I think it fits the brief really well, I think the presentation's beautiful.

You're going to get a high score for that.

The pastry, at the bottom,

there's an extra fold that I thought I'd cut out, but I hadn't.

Yeah, it had that little bit of soggy... I like that.

Tom Aikens might like a soggy bottom.

You...

So, Chefs, how did it feel with just the two of you in the kitchen?

A little strange?

A little at the beginning but... there was so much to do.

-There was a lot to do, yeah. There's more space.

-So no excuses.

So, Tommy, going to start with you

and your Beef At The Cutting Edge.

When I saw that you were using Wagyu beef,

I had really high expectations for this dish.

The beef...

was very nice indeed.

-Cut like butter.

-Thanks, Tom.

And there were some really good strong flavours there,

from the hen-of-the-wood mushrooms, the pickled garlic seeds,

they all really worked well together.

So well done.

The lovage emulsion packed a punch and it really complemented the beef.

Your home-grown nasturtiums gave it a really nice peppery touch.

However,

the cabbage that you beautifully pan-fried did not have enough

seasoning on it.

It was too subtle in flavour.

Mini, your dish, The Gallant And Brave,

I loved the story and it really hit the brief.

The venison had a really good flavour,

the red cabbage, I would have said, "Give me some more,"

it was that good.

I loved the granola, I liked the delicate spice that you put

into it, and I have to say it was definitely as good as mine.

Parsnips, lovely puree.

I liked the addition of the roast parsnip.

But...

big error, Mini.

I know you said the venison loin wasn't cooked to perfection

and what you should have done is let it rest while you dressed

the rest of the dish.

And having that extra two minutes could have then made

the venison perfect.

The venison bun, the pastry was undercooked.

And for me the meat inside was just a touch too dry.

So to the scores.

Mini, I'm going to give you a score...

..of seven.

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

..nine.

-Excellent cooking, almost a ten.

-Yeah, I know. It's...

So, we know there's only two of you.

You've got the dessert to go and I want you pushing right to the end,

and I still want a ten.

You both are very capable of doing it. I want to see it.

Well done.

With only one course to go, Tommy is still in the lead,

with Mini four points behind.

Stupid things like that tiny bit of seasoning on that cabbage.

You know, a nine's a good score but I just felt like I was going to get

a ten and, ugh, it's just annoying when it's such a small little thing.

-MINI GROANS

-Seven.

A seven from Tom for the main course I think was a fair score.

I really, really liked my venison dish.

Sadly a few elements let me down

but I'm going to get 'em right for the judges.