North East Judging Great British Menu

It's judgment day for our two chefs.

Newcomer Tommy Banks...

I want to represent the North East.

..is up against returning chef Mini Patel...

I'm very, very happy with it. That's a ten.

..for the chance to cook in the national finals.

-I'm feeling the pressure.

-I feel a bit more comfortable with this one.

The ultimate goal, to see their dish on the menu of an historic banquet,

paying tribute to the everyday great Britons honoured by the Queen

throughout her remarkable reign

at London's iconic Palace of Westminster.

It has been a high-scoring week for Tommy,

earning him a place amongst the GBM elite.

That gives you the joint highest ever score across the week

in Great British Menu history.

Mate! Boom!

But Mini is determined to put up a fight.

That's the magic, mate, there in the pan.

I'm very, very happy with it.

Only the best chef will make it to the finals.

This is the one I'm worried about, Mini.

The spheres have stuck to the mat.

-Come on you little

-BLEEP!

The adrenaline has gone to my head now.

So is that a bit of a mountain to climb, Mini?

That was really, really hard.

The winner is...

Tommy knows his total score across the week

has put him on equal footing with the top champions of GBM,

but he's not underestimating his competitor.

Mini's got stronger every day this week,

and he isn't going to let me away with a free ride here.

He's told me he's coming at me today and it's going to be

interesting in there, it'll be very competitive.

Tommy, best of luck.

Yeah, let's get cracked on, we've a lot of stuff to do today.

Exactly. Let's get going.

Mini Patel's strongest dish during the week was his fish course,

which scored a nine.

He's hoping the competition from Tommy will push him to new heights.

Tommy getting really high scores, it's inspired me to go,

"Do you know what? You've got nothing to lose now -

"you might as well just throw the whole kitchen sink at it."

Judges Prue Leith, Matthew Fort and Oliver Peyton

are scrutinising the chefs' menus.

Well, it's the North East.

Which has traditionally thrown up some really exciting chefs.

Mini was in the last Great British Menu but he didn't get to cook

for us, which surprised me because he's a very, very fine chef.

He'll need to be because he is up against Tommy Banks.

He has a Michelin star and he is completely self-taught.

I'm mean, that's some chap.

You know what? I really love days like today, because Mini,

who's quite classically trained, Tommy, who's a man of the earth,

and it's always interesting to see who comes out on top.

I'm really feeling the pressure.

I think because we've got contrasting styles,

it will split the judges -

that's not a bad thing, I don't think.

In the end, it'll come down to the quality of the cooking.

I think you're dead right, it could be split straight down the middle.

Tommy, Mini, nice to see you.

Been a good week in the kitchen?

It's been interesting, it's been tough.

You have done so well so far.

I can't really believe it, really, I'm dreaming at the moment.

Mini, you got a nine for your fish.

Have you got a battle plan for the rest? You're a long way behind.

I'm going to make a few tweaks

and those tweaks should...

-Lift it up a bit?

-Yeah, I'm hoping so.

I hope so, too. So good luck.

BOTH: Thank you very much.

Tommy is first to plate up his Oeufs Drumkilbo 2016,

a modern reworking of a royal favourite and one they like

to serve at banquets.

Veteran Tom Aikens scored it an eight.

Despite the dish losing marks for lacking finesse,

Tommy's decided not to make any changes.

So far my food's been successful and I think that's through sticking

to what I believe in and I'm not changing now.

Joining the judges is a chef who's worked at the very highest level,

and who knows all about cooking for royalty.

John Williams MBE is executive head chef

of the historic Ritz Hotel in London.

The only hotel in the UK with a royal warrant for banqueting.

-John.

-Matthew.

-Very good to see you.

-Welcome to the judges' chamber.

-Thank you very much indeed.

Welcome, John.

John, you're a Geordie boy, aren't you?

Oh, yeah, from South Shields.

My father was a fisherman.

If your father was a fisherman,

he must have thought this was a really bad profession

for a boy.

He thought it was for girls!

THEY LAUGH

I cooked him a curry and he says,

"That's great, that, man.

"You can cook, 'e, can't 'e!"

So that was it.

John, head chef of The Ritz,

one of the iconic jobs in the business.

The highlight was always something like a state banquet.

There's no nerve like it when you have to cook for the Queen.

John, I wanted to ask you what sort of food you'd like to see

at this banquet.

Cooking today should be about classic evolution,

you have to be very open.

The moment you close your mind, you'll be shocked.

You should tell that to Fort!

Oliver, I've always approached this with an open mind

and an open mouth!

In the kitchen, Tommy is plating up his starter -

a slow-cooked smoked duck egg

covered with layers of wafer thin slices of pickled radish.

Next, he adds cubes of a vegetable veteran Tom Aikens

confessed to disliking.

Tom Aikens will have kohlrabi on his menu this week.

I think he'll name the dishes after you.

Kohlrabi a la Tommy Banks.

A bit French for my liking!

Ha-ha!

It's Great British Menu, Mini.

Hang on, what's your starter called?

-Ha-ha!

-Oeufs?

I haven't seen that in the English dictionary!

Pickled mustard seeds are followed by pan-fried langoustine tails.

Tommy adds baby gem lettuce leaves

and a rapeseed emulsion dressing before

garnishing with mustard frill.

For both flavour and theatre,

Tommy pipes smoke into the ceramic eggs.

-All right, let's go, Mini.

-Yeah.

OK, so as it's facing me to the judges, please.

-Happy?

-Yeah.

Well done.

I was expecting a Faberge egg.

Oh, I don't think Faberge ever thought of that!

Drumkilbo eggs.

Does anybody know about Drumkilbo eggs?

-I'm glad you asked, Prue, because I have it at my fingertips.

-Right.

Drumkilbo House, made by the cook there,

who was asked to put together a quick dish of whatever lay to hand

and it's become a firm royal favourite ever since.

-I've actually cooked it for the Queen Mother.

-Have you?

Do you think she would recognise this version?

Not quite.

I think the flavours are lovely but, to be honest,

I'm not happy with the texture, I don't really like slow-cooked eggs.

There's something slightly gluey about them.

I like the egg but the sauce could have done

with a little bit of acidity.

-The langoustine has been beautifully cooked.

-Mmm.

I think this is a chef here that's aiming for greatness,

to be fair to him.

The thing that's really missing

is that wow flavour in the palate.

Give us that Tabasco, give us that Worcester sauce,

give us that heavy-hitting stuff! That's what you need.

The problem you have here, Tommy's dish is being compared

to another dish. I still feel this is potentially a great dish.

Mini is up next with his ode to great British charity workers.

That's the gold, innit? That's the magic, mate, there in the pan.

Mini is determined to get higher than a six for his starter,

Charity Begins At Home, inspired by British soup kitchens.

He's followed veteran Tom's advice,

making significant changes to his take on a soup and a sandwich.

I've lost the celeriac but I'm adding an egg yolk puree.

Another element that I've changed,

I'm putting a bit of guinea fowl breast in the soup bowl.

Quite big changes, then.

These little changes are the ones

that are going to get me a good nine. Do you know what I mean?

-Ten, maybe.

-THEY LAUGH

Mini starts by assembling his guinea fowl spheres

with the new chilled egg yolk elements.

The spheres have stuck to the inside of the mat.

-Come on you little

-BLEEP!

First into the bowl are pan-fried ceps

and slices of guinea fowl breast.

Next the guinea fowl broth.

This time it's served in a soup tin.

The consomme was in a jug last time, Mini. In a soup can now.

I've tried to make it a little bit more humble.

Finely chopped truffle tops the guinea fowl breast,

before the chilled guinea fowl spheres are added.

The miniature cheese and truffle toasties

are served in a sealed paper bag.

Thank you.

-Soup in a bag?

-Soup in a tin.

I love the smells emanating from this dish.

It smells good, doesn't it?

The jelly's just taken a while to melt in mine.

And I don't like the yellow curd floating on top.

It looks like scum on the top of a pond.

I'm rather enjoying this and I quite like the mixture of textures like

the little carrot cubes are raw,

so you get a little bit of crunch.

-I love the toasty except there's...

-Nothing in it.

I feel cheated.

We've got to remember this is a banquet to honour people

who have done a lot of charity work.

I think it's lovely to remind us.

It's just not posh enough, Prue.

So you are going to mark it up for symbolism?

I'm going to mark it up for symbolism.

Next up is the fish course.

This is the one I'm worried about, Mini, we both got nines for this.

Tommy is first to plate up his dish, Preserving The Future,

his homage to making the most of, as well as preserving,

great British produce.

They're beautiful mackerels. I'm pleased with these bad boys.

His mackerel two ways impressed veteran Tom

with its unusual ingredients and combination of flavours.

Tommy's determined to nail the dish again.

Tommy starts his plate with some ewe's milk yoghurt.

On with the fillet of mackerel that's been cured and then scorched.

Next, slices of home-grown fermented Dragon's egg cucumber

and mackerel tartare.

Did you put extra seasoning in from last time?

I did under season the tartare, I was disappointed with myself.

I think that's what stopped it getting a ten.

Oyster capers and home-grown oyster leaves are next,

dressed with woodruff vinegar gel dewdrops.

Tommy tops the dish with a crisp linseed cracker.

Again, it looks amazing, Tommy.

All right, let's go.

The dish will be washed down with a woodruff beer.

Perfect.

Woodruff beer, a first for me.

-I like that notion of preserving the future.

-It's a good fizz.

The whole ethos of what he's trying to achieve here is fantastic.

The tartare's fine, I think the curing is good,

I just don't like the combination of flavours.

I really like this dish.

I think the mackerel is delicious and I love the linseed.

I think the whole thing works extremely well.

I think you've let the beer go to your head there, Prue.

Well, I like the beer, as well.

I can see why Tom Aikens gave this a nine, it's a cheffy chef thing.

Oh, use yoghurt!

It's cheffy gone mad here.

Overall it was a pleasing dish,

I just didn't like the linseed.

This is a young man who has ransacked an entire countryside for

ingredients and bring them all on the plate and, actually,

you take out two or three of the ingredients,

and you've got the makings of a really beautiful dish.

Mini's fish course, which also features mackerel two ways,

similarly went down well with veteran Tom, scoring a nine,

Mini's highest mark of the week.

His seasoning was the only thing that let him down.

We both took a bit of a bashing on the seasoning from Tom.

He said your cucumbers were a little bit under -

have you put more salt on them?

Yeah, I have. I don't think they were but I just did.

First onto a clear presentation box is scorched cucumber.

Then thin slices of pickled, golden beetroot.

Tom loved this dish, Mini.

I've tried to keep it exactly the same.

Next, charred mackerel fillets,

oyster leaves,

a dusting of beetroot powder,

and Mini's mackerel tartare.

I make it deliberately horseradishy.

It's got to compete against that charred flavour from the mackerel.

Finally, lemon oil dressing

and a rocher of beetroot sorbet.

Thank you.

Oh, it's stunning.

I'm worried now.

Fingers crossed.

It's interesting that it's on this background of the Angel Of The North

and the Millennium Bridge.

It's really attractive to look at, I think.

I'm going to sing it up, no matter what, I come from the North East!

Ten for that?

It has to be, doesn't it?

I think from a flavour perspective, this is a far more successful dish.

The thing I would like to pick up is the pickled beetroot.

Because you get the acidity, the sweetness and a hint of saltiness.

That brings the dish together.

The beetroot sorbet is very, very sweet.

I like that sweetness - if you put it on the mackerel, it's lovely.

The tartare flavoured with the horseradish works so well.

This is how mackerel should be cooked.

I like the char on the skin, it's perfectly fresh,

lovely oily flavour from it.

I'm not sure we're eating the same piece of fish here

because my fish is overcooked.

How you could be so negative about such a delightful dish.

I'm really enjoying eating it.

VOICEOVER: At the halfway point, the chefs move onto preparing their

main courses as the judges consider their scores.

When I looked at the scoreboards when we arrived I thought,

there's a large hill to climb here, but I don't see that

in the cooking we've tried today.

They really are even-stevens now.

I'm waiting for the outstanding dish

that I can actually go, wow.

Now, John, I have this feeling that you have been Mr Consistent this

-morning.

-I've been scoring eights across the board.

Four more dishes to go, nothing less than a ten will do.

And I think we'll get that.

I hope so.

Mini is first to the pass, with his main course, The Gallant And Brave.

Do not leave too much pastry. Do not leave too much pastry.

His ambitious dish of a rack of venison scored only seven

in the week. He was marked down for undercooking the meat,

and over complicating the dish.

-I've taken some leaves, the chicory, the endive...

-Yeah.

-I took the kale off.

-One other thing Tom said was the pistachio crust -

-he didn't think that was needed.

-I've listened to that, as well,

I'm not putting that on. Just like you,

he scored very big when he's been here in the past.

I'm going to listen to him.

Mini is hoping his amended main course will impress the judges,

especially guest judge John Williams.

-Afternoon, chefs.

-Afternoon.

-Good afternoon.

-Tommy.

-I know who you are.

-How are you feeling?

-I'm feeling very nervous now you've walked in.

Well, it's been an exciting morning.

I have cooked Eggs Drumkilbo for the Queen Mother herself.

What are you doing now?

I'm prepping down my beef for the main course.

I've got a piece of Wagyu/Aberdeen Angus cross sirloin.

It's beautiful marbling. I look forward to it.

Thank you, Chef.

-And Mini?

-I'm going to be serving you Balmoral estate venison

-with some savoury granola.

-Savoury granola?

A little hint of curry inside?

-Just a hint.

-Well done.

We've had two courses, anyone can win this competition,

so give it your best. Good luck, guys.

-Thank you, Chef.

-Thank you.

I don't know about you but I got goose bumps there.

He's just a legendary chef.

I feel like the adrenaline has gone to my head now.

Most people have never heard of Oeufs Drumkilbo

and I get the judge who's cooked it for the Queen Mother

at a royal banquet!

What do you think he thought of your granola?

I don't think he liked it. I don't think he liked it.

Mini starts his plate with parsnip puree and a venison bun.

Are you happy with the buns, Mini?

I've made double sure not to leave too much pastry on the bottom.

Next, sticky red cabbage and the venison.

That looks like a nice piece of venison.

You've cooked it better, probably.

Finally, rings of honey roasted parsnip and that savoury granola.

Plenty for John, yeah?

-MINI CHUCKLES

-Double portion, is that what he said?

Mini finishes the dish with a red wine jus.

That part's obviously at the top.

Away from them, at the front. Thank you very much.

I'm very, very happy with it.

I hope that's a ten.

Chop, chop.

Oh, my goodness.

This is just exactly what I want.

Get stuck in, then.

It looks great. I love the medal, I love the framing.

It's a good-looking dish.

The granola has a heavy hint of cumin in it,

which I think is rather good,

I think it goes very well with the venison.

The granola adds a dimension.

I think it's a really little bit of genius.

A tiny teaspoon of genius.

This is interesting, this sort of venison hand grenade.

It's actually rather dry.

It would have been nicer juicier.

-A lot of flavour in there, though.

-Mmm.

Venison is a thing that's quite easy to get wrong.

I think this is a well-cooked piece of venison.

It's got flavour, it's tender, it's juicy,

it's exactly as venison should be, it's lovely.

The problem with this dish is, it is not cutting edge.

It's extremely traditional!

But I will not forget that this is one of the most delicious things

we've had today.

You're an old-fashioned girl with old-fashioned tastes.

I am. I am, rather.

Tommy is next to present his main,

a celebration of Great Britain

through the national dish of roast beef.

Veteran Tom was impressed by Tommy's bold use of flavours

and home-grown produce but,

once again, he was criticised for a lack of seasoning.

Are you making any changes to your main course?

Not really. I got a nine for it, I'm leaving it as it is.

First onto Tommy's plate,

roasted cabbage and butter-basted hen-of-the-wood mushrooms.

Tommy, you've got your cabbage, are you happy with the seasoning?

Yeah, happy with the cooking of the beef, as well.

Wagyu/Angus sirloin is next,

with pickled wild garlic capers

and home-grown nasturtium leaves and flowers.

Lastly, a quenelle of lovage and wild garlic emulsion.

Bone marrow with a lovage dressing,

and more wild garlic capers are served on the side.

All right, I'm done.

One bone marrow per person.

Just be careful where you pick them up. Thank you.

Oh, lovely.

It's quite hard to look at a beef dish and make it look

elegant and pretty. This actually looks very pretty.

Doesn't it? I just hope it tastes as good as it looks.

-I really like this dish.

-Mmm.

I don't think there's one duff note on it.

I love the sauce, the marrow bone is really well cooked.

I think that the cabbage is great.

I think the mushrooms are great,

the lovage dressing is fabulous.

The trouble is, they're all more interesting than the beef.

This particular dish, I'm very, very happy with.

The whole thing is actually a joy to eat.

And it's restrained. I mean,

he has resisted the temptation to put anything extra on it.

It's something that I would actually look forward to eating at a banquet.

First to plate up his dessert is Mini,

with his ambitious Breaking New Frontiers.

He scored six in the week,

after the smoke designed to resemble mountain mist completely overwhelmed

the delicate meringue and fruit sorbet.

A little bit of smoke's going to be good.

Anything more than a little is going to be bad.

First onto chilled slate boards, a dusting of matcha tea powder.

Fresh kiwi fruit and compressed blackberries.

Mini pipes on Italian meringue,

followed by a yuzu and white chocolate soil.

Next, a new addition - blackberry coulis.

Then blackberry and kiwi sorbets.

Building the mountain.

And blackberry and white chocolate creme patissiere.

You know, I thought I had quite a lot going on with my dessert, Mini?

Yeah, this is a lot, isn't it?

Then shards of dehydrated meringue topped with gold leaf.

Mini finishes the dish with the lavender, juniper

and mint mountain mist.

So, was that a bit of a mountain to climb, then, Mini?

That was Everest, to be fair!

Oh, look.

There was definitely a little puff of smoke.

Well, it looks like a piece of architecture.

Oh, yeah, look at that.

"My dessert is inspired by one of the greatest achievements -

"the conquering of Mount Everest

"in the week of the Queen's Coronation in 1953."

I remember it well!

A smoked dessert is definitely cutting edge.

It's supposed to put a smile on your face,

you see it coming at you and you're already like, intrigue.

It's a nice idea

but the smoke tastes horrible.

I think what the chef has done here is construct things around an idea

without thinking about the flavour.

It's sugar and smoke.

But I will confess to a sneaking love of uncooked meringue.

Oh, how can you bear it?!

I love uncooked meringue.

It's such a pity, because I can understand exactly why he wanted to do the smoke.

Everest is often clouded in mist

and it would have looked so wonderful.

I think he clouded his judgment.

THEY CHUCKLE

Tommy's Douglas fir and lemon verbena dessert,

inspired by his late grandfather's commitment to his community,

scored the only ten of the week.

Having remade his white chocolate tuile three times to guarantee top

marks, Tommy needs to achieve perfection again today.

I think it's important that it's thin because it's a tall dessert,

-you try and crack it open and it ends up on your lap.

-Yeah.

Onto discs of white chocolate tuile,

Tommy pipes lemon verbena curd and lemon verbena gel.

Next, the Douglas fir parfait,

topped with tuile.

A quenelle of ewe's milk sorbet

and a dusting of Douglas fir sherbet.

Tommy serves with a Douglas fir sour...

That didn't go to plan!

..and garnishes with the sherbet.

All right, I'm up. Thank you.

There you are, guys.

My dessert means everything to me.

It's a tribute to my grandfather

and to me he's my great Briton.

Tommy's dessert will follow a spectacular display

of bonsai fir and dry ice.

The scene is set by a recording of Tommy's grandfather, Fred Banks,

describing the local landmark he maintained.

'You're on the famous Kilburn White Horse

'cut by the villagers in 1857.

'The idea came from Thomas Taylor -

'he was a Kilburn man, who saw the White Horse in the south of England

'and wanted Yorkshire to have a bigger and better horse than the rest.

'Enjoy the view.'

So you get the smell of fir. You do, don't you?

I think this is the most dramatic pudding we've ever had.

I'm going to miss the little forest.

THEY CHUCKLE

After the high drama of the, um...

-Forest.

-..the forest.

This is the Douglas fir sour.

Well, cheers, chaps.

Well...

That is rather delicious.

It's one of my favourite herbs and flavours.

It's lemon verbena.

This is the most beautiful crunchy, crisp base and top,

which I think must be the white chocolate tuile.

That is delicious. If that's white chocolate, I'll change my mind

-about white chocolate.

-And me.

It's very, very delicately flavoured with the Douglas fir.

It's a very nice flavour, indeed.

The texture also is quite sublime.

I mean, just from a technical point of view,

it's a superb piece of cooking.

Your pastry chef would be proud of that, wouldn't he?

-100%.

-This dish has got a great sense of skill behind it.

I've never had anything like this.

I think Grandad would be a very proud man

of what he's actually done with this dessert today.

I think we cooked some good dishes today.

I think we've done the North East proud.

Now we're in the hands of the judges.

What we've seen is some great dishes from both sides.

And both of them have made real boo-boos.

-I think it's going to be close.

-I want to get through to the banquet,

-absolutely.

-I want to be the champion of the North East.

Two chefs out there waiting to find out their fate.

-They both want to win.

-Let's get 'em in.

Welcome, chefs.

-Thank you.

-Thank you. Tommy, this is the first time in the competition.

Has it been as you expected it?

Harder than I could ever have imagined, actually.

Mini, you competed in the last competition.

And you didn't get to cook for us.

-But this time you have, so congratulations on that.

-Thank you.

-How have you found it?

-Just as tough!

Just as tough, if not tougher.

Well, all I can say is that the North East can be justifiably

proud of you both.

So, the winner is...

..Tommy.

-Well done.

-Well done, mate.

-Well done.

-Well done.

How do you feel?

Oh, I'm absolutely elated.

Um...

It's ridiculous. You're so exhausted by this point of the week,

I don't even know how I feel.

And you must be feeling not quite so elated.

No, but I think I've come second to a very deserving winner.

Tommy, it was your pudding which clinched it for me.

It was an absolutely beautifully achieved piece of food.

And I gave it a ten.

And so did I.

And so did those two.

Oh...

Oh, if you knew how much stress I had yesterday

when I was doing that pudding!

It was wonderful.

And Mini, I thought your mackerel dish was absolutely beautiful.

It was just a pleasure to eat.

And I gave it a nine.

Thank you.

Tommy, congratulations.

Go forward and see how many dishes you can get on in that final.

Thank you, John, that means a lot, thank you very much.

Oh, my God!

Well, I think there's no doubt that we have a worthy winner today.

But I'm not sure that he quite believed it.

I'm disappointed, obviously.

But I think the best man won.

Tommy's fantastic.

-Well done.

-Cheers, mate.

Tommy Banks. Cheers.

Four tens for my dessert is unbelievable.

If I get that dessert to the banquet,

I'll probably be the happiest man in the world.

It would mean so much to me.

Um...

Obviously, for my grandfather.

It affected me a lot when we lost him.

To be able to cook that for him would be amazing.