Northern Ireland Fish Great British Menu

This week on Great British Menu...

three of Northern Ireland's most talented chefs.

Competing for the third time,

Chris McGowan has the banquet in his sights.

I want to represent Northern Ireland, that's why I'm here.

Daniel Clifford's two Michelin-starred protege Mark Abbott.

I need to walk in this kitchen and just go for it.

And Eddie Attwell, for whom local produce is king.

You're confident you're going to get enough flavour?

I'll get enough flavour out of it, I will, I'll get it out.

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

the chefs are celebrating the extraordinary great Britons

she has acknowledged 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 Mark Abbott is at the top,

wowing veteran Michael O'Hare with a perfect dish.

I'm scoring you ten. I thought it was flawless.

Eddie is two points behind with Chris in third place.

It's not the end of the world, I've come from behind before.

Today is the fish course, and Mark is aiming for perfection again.

-Well, you don't do things by half.

-I don't.

I like pushing boundaries, chef.

But Chris and Eddie are determined to close the gap.

You're very quiet, very focused.

Just trying to concentrate on trying to get this bang-on.

-It's looking good, chief.

-Thanks, chef.

-The competition...

-Foot.

-Oui.

-..is fierce.

-We all want perfection,

that's what we're here for, that's what we're striving for.

-Oh, no.

-What's wrong?

-I forgot my mussels, chef.

The veteran judging the chefs on technique and invention

is Michelin-starred Michael O'Hare.

A former banquet champion,

he's expecting exceptional skill and style.

It's fish course today, a course close to my heart,

it's a dish that I got to the banquet.

I'd like to see some innovative, clever cooking

and use of great ingredients.

It's a new course, the slate's clean really, isn't it?

Yourself and myself, Eddie, we've got a bit to prove.

At the end of the day, what's two points?

-It's all to play for.

-It is.

The thing is, with fish, there's no mercy.

First up, Mark Abbott.

Veteran judge Michael couldn't find fault with his

imaginative and original starter, but now,

Mark's feeling the pressure of having to maintain that standard.

I need to be more focused this time, because it's fish,

it's got no forgiveness.

Cos I've got a ten for the starter, I want the same again.

I need to be on it.

-Mark.

-How you doing?

-Congratulations on your starter course.

Thank you very much indeed.

-That was excellent.

-Yeah, I'm still coming down off it.

So talk to me, what's the dish?

-The dish is called "Shellsational".

-Shellsational?

-Shellsational.

I remember the very first time I had the opportunity of tasting

these phenomenal products,

and I want to give the people at this banquet that same memory.

So, Mark, what are you actually going to be cooking?

I'm going to be serving the majority of the shellfish in a box,

-and then a plate of very refined, beautiful lobster.

-Right.

In the main box,

you're going to have an oyster dressed in oyster leaf.

The razor clam, that's going to be served with a little fennel salad.

I'm just going to take the mussels out,

drop them into a little tempura,

caramelise the scallop in the stove, I'm going to break

-the lobster down, cook the tails in that smoked lobster butter...

-OK.

..the claws are then going to be diced up, mixed with some cucumber.

So really it's going to be like a little cucumber roll

-surrounded in apple.

-Right.

You like giving yourself a lot of work to do, huh?

I like pushing boundaries, chef.

Well, I was impressed with your starter

and I'm looking forward to this.

Mark has some fantastic ingredients in that box.

I'm a little concerned, again,

that he's given himself too much to do.

With fish, there's really no margin for error.

Next is fellow newcomer Eddie Attwell, whose

starter lost valuable marks for presentation,

so he's hoping to remedy that today.

Pressure's really on for this course.

It's just executing everything in the way that I want it.

If I can pull that off, then hopefully

with the fish course I can score a wee bit higher.

-Eddie.

-All right, chef?

-What's the title of your dish?

-Well, it's Turbotine Jubilee.

-Turbotine Jubilee?

Yep, and it's the influence of the French ingredients

that we all sought after and imported in

to try and use, but this is a British box of ingredients

-and this is where we're at now.

-Right, OK. So what are you cooking?

I'm going to be using this turbot,

I wanted to break this down into an individual portion for a banquet.

-I'll be making a mousse for the lobster.

-Where's the mousse going?

So the mousse will be going inside the fillet of fish.

-In the middle? OK.

-As well, then we'll have

some little scallops laid over to finish,

and then some of this English caviar.

And rather than champagne sauce,

we'll use a nice sparkling English wine as well.

What are you doing with the potatoes?

I'll be baking those potatoes whole, knocking it back and piping.

The samphire we forage ourselves.

I do like to bring it back to the restaurant

and try and involve these elements.

It's quite a classical, old-fashioned French dish, then.

-It is.

-How are you going to innovate that,

push that forward to make it modern?

Just the use of the British and local ingredients,

for me, that's the way I like to cook.

-And you're feeling confident?

-Much more confident, chef.

'Eddie's dish, a really classical dish.

'He's got some incredible ingredients -

'that turbot and the lobster

'he's going to stuff it with, caviar on top, it's pure opulent.'

I just hope he can reinvent this and make it modern.

Last up, Chris McGowan. He scored a disappointing seven for his starter,

but is determined to claw back points

and make a mark on the competition.

I know I've got a bit to do,

but I'm hoping Michael sees that I'm putting the effort in,

that I'm not just here to make up the numbers.

I want to represent Northern Ireland, that's why I'm here.

-Chris.

-Hi, Michael.

-How you doing?

-I'm very good.

-Title of your dish?

-National Treasure.

We're an island, we're surrounded by coastline, a lot of people get their

livelihood from that, and I kind of want to celebrate that, you know?

So we've got a lovely piece of cod, so I'm going to serve

the skins separately, crisp that up so it's like little wafers.

Then we've got potatoes, Northern Irish,

we like our potatoes in Northern Ireland...

-You like your potatoes.

-I like a good spud.

I'm just going to take the skin off the cod and then use

the potato instead of the skin.

And then we're going to use a little bit of scallop mousse

that's going to go onto the cod,

then we're going to put the potato on top.

So you're doing potato on top of a salted cod loin?

Yes, and then the other scallop I'm going to roast.

The peas, I'm just going to cook them really simply,

wilted spinach in there, some fresh mint,

keep it really fresh.

-And what have we got here?

-We have a little vinegar powder,

so people can season their own skins and their own fish if they wish.

Right, OK. So last year I did a very similar dish with potato and cod,

a fish and chips so to speak and got to the banquet.

Last year was obviously something that was very close to you.

This is close to me. I'm hoping I can

do the ingredients justice, you know.

Chris is doing a take on fish and chips.

I obviously love this idea, I just hope Chris can do it

in his own unique way so maybe we can see it in a different light.

As they start cooking their fish courses,

Mark's score yesterday is the talk of the kitchen.

Obviously, Mark, you got a ten for your starter.

No pressure, there's not much you can improve on.

That's definitely not the case, mate.

If I go in with the mentality of, "Oh, yeah, I got a ten,

"it's completely fine", I think I'll completely shoot myself in the foot.

-I need to just go for it.

-Yep.

All three chefs are using scallops today.

Mark will be searing his in a hot pan then baking

with a seaweed butter and chopped yuzu zest.

Eddie will be topping his turbot with thinly sliced scallops.

While Chris will sear some of his and use the rest to make

a scallop mousse, which will hold the grated potato

on his fillet of cod.

We've got some of the best shellfish in the world around our waters,

we just don't use it.

Yeah, looking back on it as a kid, you really should think,

"Where does that all go?" Fish fingers?

-LAUGHING:

-Exactly.

To make the mousse,

Chris blends scallops before passing through a fine sieve,

then folds through double cream and egg white and leaves to set.

So, Chris, are you confident with this dish today?

Obviously Michael's gone to the banquet with

a dish that had the same components,

so he's looking for absolute perfection on this,

which is fair enough, we all want perfection,

that's what we're here for, that's what we're striving for.

Next, Chris prepares his crispy cod skins by drying them

in the dehydrator and deep-frying.

The skins will be served with a tartare sauce,

which he makes by combining chopped gherkins, shallots

and capers with English mustard, chervil and tarragon,

then folding into mayonnaise.

Chef, you're looking very focused.

Just trying to concentrate on trying to get this

absolutely bang-on, you know.

Eddie begins his lobster sauce.

-Foot.

-Oui.

He adds diced vegetables and a selection of aromatics

to a tray of roasted lobster shells.

Next, some English sparkling wine before adding chicken stock

and leaving to reduce.

-So, Eddie, you got a lot on, boss?

-I do, chef, yep.

Lot of elements, everything needs to be right for this one really,

-it's very classical.

-There's no school like the old school, innit?

Yeah, this is it, you know.

Mark's also using lobster.

He's serving the claws and tail with a smoked lobster butter

and lobster sauce.

He starts by hot-smoking lobster shells for the butter.

Then smokes lobster tails that have been lightly blanched.

I never got a chance to taste shellfish till I was

16 years of age, and I want to give these people that memory

which I have from the very first time I tasted it.

Mark went to Gloucester to meet one of the great Britons he's hoping

to honour with his celebration of great British seafood.

17-year-old Louise Greer is the youngest person

from Northern Ireland to be awarded the British Empire Medal.

I took meningitis at two-and-a-half, which left me a quadruple amputee.

And I had to have physio, but it wasn't very fun,

so I went into horse riding as my physio, to build up my core,

so I could walk in my prosthetic legs.

Louise now rides with the Paralympic team and works tirelessly

to raise awareness of meningitis and riding for the disabled.

In 2015, Louise's work was recognised by the Queen.

So when you got that letter from the Queen, how did you feel?

It was amazing.

I couldn't believe it at the start, and then I was so excited.

It's very clear you're so determined,

-where does that come from?

-My drive is that...

I can do everything, even if I need to adapt it a bit.

Like my horse riding, I've needed to adapt my saddle and my reigns,

but it still keeps me going.

Louise has never eaten seafood before,

so it was up to Mark to get her hooked by serving up a taste

of his fish dish using the very best of British coastal produce.

So you've got a bit of lobster there.

-It's slightly smoky.

-Wow, that is really good.

-Yeah, that's scallop.

I'll be definitely having this again.

I can't believe how much flavour it has in it.

So this is actually your first time, being from Northern Ireland -

it's surrounded by sea - eating shellfish?

Yeah, I've never really tried it before. But now I really like it.

-I'm so pleased you like it.

-I didn't know food could taste that good.

I hope Mark goes all the way in the competition,

I'll be rooting for him every step of the way.

From meeting Louise, it's given me that confidence now.

The determination, it's infectious from her, it rubs off on you,

of course it does, and it just wants you to succeed even more.

Back in the kitchen, Mark prepares an oyster leaf dressing

by blending oyster trimmings,

oyster leaves and cucumber with olive oil and lemon juice.

He also makes a lobster mayonnaise by emulsifying egg yolk

with lobster oil and white wine vinegar.

Is that your lobster oil?

All done, mate, it's toasted off the lobster shells

and then infused them with the peanut oil.

-Does it split quite easy?

-Not really.

-No?

-Depends who's making it, innit?

-Oui-oui.

Eddie is now preparing his turbot.

Traditionally, Turbotine Jubilee is served with the fish whole,

but Eddie will be serving his as individual fillets

stuffed with lobster mousse.

-You got a sweat on over there, boss?

-No! Lobster sweat.

MARK LAUGHS

He starts his mousse by blending blanched lobster meat

and passing through a fine sieve.

He then folds in double cream and egg white and seasons

with cayenne pepper and lemon juice.

-All right, chef?

-Eddie, you look busy.

-Yep, busy again.

-A lot going on?

-Absolutely.

What you got in here? Lobster stock?

Lobster stock, then I'm starting off the sauce as well.

-Just trying to get as much flavour as I can...

-You drinking enough water?

-MICHAEL LAUGHS

-It's coming out of me, innit?

-Can I try this?

-Absolutely, chef.

-Has it been on very long?

-Since the start, chef,

it's going to have to come right down,

I'm pretty much going to get enough of the portion out of this,

-and that's the pressure on me.

-You're confident you're going to

-get enough flavour?

-I'll get enough flavour out of it,

-I will, I'll get it out.

-And how you looking for time?

-We'll get there, we'll get there.

-Make sure you drink.

-Absolutely.

Eddie, again, is working really hard.

There's pans boiling away everywhere and I think he's really panicking

to see if he can get that flavour in there in the timeframe.

It's got a bit of space to go,

but I'll be interested to see how it works out.

Eddie pipes the mousse into his fillets of turbot before sealing

with fish skin and cooking in a water-bath until the mousse is set.

He also prepares his duchess potatoes by piping

mashed potato and browning under the grill.

All right, chef?

Chris is also using potatoes.

He'll be serving triple-cooked chips, but first,

he grates a waxy potato and cooks sous-vide.

This will then be used to coat his cod loin.

Chris, how you getting on?

-I'm OK, Michael, how are you?

-Yeah, what you making?

So I've just done a little tester on the mousse, I just want to

check that it's not split, that I'm happy with the consistency.

OK, and remind me again, where does this go on the dish?

-So this, we're just going to lightly smear the top of the cod.

-Right.

And then these are the potatoes, par-cook those,

get a release of starch from them, and then I'm just going to

lay that flat, roll it out and kind of sandwich it around that cod.

-OK, well, it smells lovely. Good luck, Chris.

-Thank you.

-And crack on.

-Thanks a lot, Michael.

Chris assembles his cod fillet by spreading scallop mousse

onto the fish and topping with grated potato.

He'll cook the fish just before service.

Chris' dish appears a lot simpler compared to the other two chefs,

but that's not always a bad thing, and if he can execute it well,

he's still able to get those high scores.

Across the kitchen, Mark is working on his lobster rolls.

Mark, I'm intrigued, what have you got going on here?

I'm just cutting the apple for my cannelloni.

I'm just going to cut it into sheets and then compress that in a pickle.

So this is essentially going to be like a pasta, if you like,

-but a cannelloni?

-Yeah, exactly, it's going to be a cannelloni,

the filling's going to be the lobster claw

mixed with the lobster mayonnaise.

-You keep yourself busy, eh, Mark?

-I try to, chef.

-I'll let you crack on, enjoy.

-Thank you very much.

Mark assembles his lobster cannelloni

by rolling lobster claw and cucumber balls

dressed in lobster mayonnaise in sheets of

compressed pickled apple.

He also makes his lobster sauce by sweating mushrooms

and shallots in smoked lobster butter,

adding white wine and fish stock then reducing.

He finishes with creme fraiche and more butter and lemon.

Mark appears to be incredibly comfortable in that kitchen

given the pressure of the competition.

I'm hoping he doesn't let his standards drop with his comfort.

First to the pass is Eddie, with his dish Turbotine Jubilee.

He finishes his turbot with thinly sliced scallop

which he colours under the grill.

Then starts his plate with pan-fried spinach.

Eddie, do you need a hand with anything, chief?

-LAUGHING:

-No, I'm all good, chef.

Next, his fillet of turbot stuffed with lobster mousse.

-CHRIS:

-How's the fish, Eddie?

-Think we're there, chef.

Mousse is set inside, hopefully she's holding.

Eddie tops his turbot with duchess potatoes

and his foraged, sauteed samphire.

You're pushing there, Eddie, you going to be on time?

Been pushing all day, chef, but, yeah, I'm going to get up there.

-It's looking good, chief.

-Thanks, chef.

Finally, Eddie garnishes with British caviar

and braised artichoke hearts.

The lobster sauce is served in a mini saucepan.

Chef.

-How you feeling?

-Super.

-So, Chris, what do you think?

- Yeah, looks great, it's a beautiful piece of fish.

This guy's put his heart and soul into that.

Right, let's go through.

-Lobster, turbot, caviar.

-What's not to like, chief?

Happy with how it's turned out?

Erm, just as long as the mousse is all right inside the fish, I'll be happy.

The meatiness of the turbot I think is lovely,

the turbot's cooked fantastic.

-Oh, look at that, it just falls apart.

-Yeah.

Do you think the flavour of the lobster, just in the mousse,

is enough to come through?

Yep, accompanied by the sauce as well,

for me, the two are coming together.

I'm not sure if that mousse is wet or maybe starting to split.

It's difficult, because it's inside the turbot,

so the turbot makes it wet.

So it's a little bit softer than you would like, but the flavour's there.

The scallop on the top of the fish, you think they added to the dish?

Yeah, absolutely.

-The scallops, they're phenomenal.

-Yeah.

They're beautifully seasoned and the cooking of them is...

-Bang-on.

-It's perfect.

The pomme duchesse, are you happy with how light they are, crispy?

I wanted it as light as possible, I'm happy with how it's finished.

The duchess is lovely, it's nice and creamy.

For me, that's actually the first time I've ever tasted one.

-Get away.

-No, really.

Were you able to extract enough flavour from the lobster

in the time given?

For me, chef, I think I got exactly the element I needed there,

and I'm happy with the depth of where it is.

His sauce certainly packs a punch,

you can tell there's been quite a bit of alcohol reduced into that.

Yeah.

It's a beautiful piece of cookery,

-but I just don't feel it's modern enough.

-Yeah.

Next up is Chris, with his dish National Treasure.

He finishes his fillet of cod in the pan

and deep-fries his chips a second time.

-All right, chef?

-So, Eddie, how was that?

-Intense again.

-Well done.

-Thanks.

-Great piece of cooking, mate.

-Thanks, chef.

-Loved the turbot, loved the sauce.

-So you're up next, chef?

-Yep.

How's everything coming out for you?

It's all there, I've just got to look after this fish now.

Chris starts by presenting his crispy cod skins on a boat,

accompanied by miniature bags of malt vinegar powder.

-Still rocking?

-Still rocking, rock and roll, Eddie.

-Next, tartare sauce.

-Let's hope there's no man overboard.

-Yo.

-Do you know what I mean?

-Oui, chef.

We'll have to send up the flare.

He starts his plate with minted pea and spinach puree.

Then rings of shallots picked in cider vinegar.

-Then he sears his scallops.

-That's old school.

This is proper old school, yeah.

On with the triple-cooked chips and the scallop.

Chris, how you getting on?

- Nearly there, nearly there, Michael.

The final element is Chris' fillet of cod,

topped with a layer of scallop mousse and grated potato.

-Are you happy with the cooking of the fish, chief?

-Yeah.

Chris garnishes with pea shoots and fresh oyster leaves.

I can't help but notice the names on the boat.

I made these myself, so I just wanted to personalise them.

Well, I'm honoured, I've never had a boat named after me.

-Shall we go and eat it?

-Yeah, I think so.

Guys, I'll leave you with your own boat.

-MARK:

-Thank you very much.

-You enjoy, yeah?

The presentation is just fantastic, isn't it?

-Chris has made these boats himself.

-EDDIE LAUGHS

Tip of the cap for him for doing that.

So you've cured the cod in advance?

Just ever so slightly, yeah,

I just want to tighten the flesh up a little bit.

-Look at the cooking of that, it just flakes.

-Unbelievable.

That's a piece of cod cooked with tremendous skill and love.

The king scallop and the herbs you had on there...

Yeah, just a little bit of pea shoot and a nice little oyster leaf.

Again, just to give that shellfish note through that kind of

oyster flavour coming from the sea, you know.

It's seasoned beautifully, once again with the pea puree,

works stunningly.

Yeah, this cod just stands out on its own now, really.

And the potatoes on top,

you're happy with the texture of those potatoes?

You could argue they could be marginally thinner.

For me, if you're going to call a chip a chip,

-it needs to be fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside.

-Yeah.

-There's bags of flavour in there, but it wasn't crisp.

-Yeah.

Are you happy with how it's all come together?

Yeah, I think al the flavours work really well together,

it's a little bit of a modern twist on it,

so there's a little bit more refinement to it

than your quintessential fish and chips.

-That's a beautiful plate of food.

-Absolutely.

-It's just perfection from Chris.

-What would you score it?

I'd love to get an eight or nine, that would be amazing for me,

it would put me back in the game.

Mark is last to the pass with his

complex dish of five different types of seafood.

He starts by steaming mussels,

which will be deep-fried in a tempura batter at the last minute.

Chef, that cod was unbelievable.

-Yeah, you happy with it?

-It was beautiful.

The cooking of that was a tribute to yourself.

The two of us diving on the scallop!

Yeah. Do you want a hand with anything, chief?

-I'm all good, boys.

-You sure?

Thank you very much though, I do appreciate it.

First, Mark assembles his seafood box, which he'll warm and use to

present four types of shellfish served four different ways.

He starts with oyster in an oyster leaf and cucumber dressing,

on a bed of diced cucumber and garnished with oyster leaf.

Next, razor clams on a fennel salad, topped with fennel cress.

-Mark? Yes, Chef? Are you on time?

-I am indeed.

Mark also serves scallop in the shell,

which he pan-fries before baking with seaweed butter and grated yuzu.

Got a tray there, chef.

Next, Mark moves on to the lobster.

He finishes the tail in the pan with smoked lobster butter,

and then dresses with smoked lobster sauce.

Are you happy with the lobster?

Yeah, the lobster's lovely, it's been poached, slightly roasted.

Onto a separate plate, the lobster claw and cucumber roll,

garnished with a frisee salad followed by the lobster tail.

Oh, no!

-What's wrong?

-I forgot my mussels, chef.

So you've got fish going cold here, chef.

Be on the pass in less than five, please.

Mark dresses the forgotten mussels with lemon gel and adds to the box.

-We all there?

-We're there, chef.

-Well, you don't do things by halves, do you?

-I don't.

Chris, what do you make of this?

Yeah, it's just another masterclass, know what I mean?

Right, we should probably go and eat it before it goes cold.

-Yes, please, chef.

-MICHAEL LAUGHS

Enjoy.

There's a real scent coming through here, what's under here?

Yeah, I've heated the boxes with seaweed in it, so it smells coastal.

You can see he's come here with some serious intent, you know.

-Absolutely.

-There's a lot of skill.

And precision.

Happy with the cooking on that?

I'm very happy, that's the way I like my lobster.

There's no fault on that, lobster, notoriously difficult to cook,

it can become rubbery and overcooked very quickly.

He has absolutely nailed that, yeah.

-That's fantastic, yeah.

-So the mussel...

-Let's start with the...

-The mussel, yeah.

Are you happy with how they've come out?

Honestly, I feel they could have had maybe 20 seconds longer

-in the fryer.

-And is the oyster cooked?

-No.

-Raw.

The oyster's just so fresh, it just sings out for itself.

And the little bit of cucumber underneath it.

Just fresh-fresh, isn't it? It's beautiful.

The scallop with the seaweed and yuzu,

you think that works well together?

Well, it's scallop and citrus, and it's from the sea,

so does seaweed - for me, it's a marriage.

I'm trying to find fault but there's not,

-it's just an absolute celebration of shellfish.

-It is.

-He's really made everything sing.

-Yeah.

What would you give it?

-I'd give it an eight.

-What aren't you happy with?

The mussel, I don't find that's excusable,

the fact I've forgotten that.

All right, boys? - How was that, for you?

- Forgot my mussel, didn't I? Had to run back and get it.

It wasn't a full sheet today, by any means.

Thought it was beautiful, mate.

-Every element, for me, was just fantastic.

-For me, that was bang-on.

I'd give you a ten, mate.

It kills me to say that. Truly.

-Hello, chefs.

-Hello, chef.

It's been a pretty intense day in the kitchen.

I'm going to start with you, Chris, and your dish National Treasure.

When I saw the boat I thought it might have been a little twee,

but actually, it was a lot of fun.

The cod was cooked to perfection, and the scallop also.

What I really liked was the chip.

It was kind of like a chip shop chip, it did have an element

of sogginess to it, and I thought that was brilliant.

But...

the pea and mint puree was delicious,

but for me, there was quite a lot of it,

-and it became overpowering with the rest of the ingredients.

-OK.

Both you and I know that the potato on the top of the cod

wasn't as you'd like, a little starchy and a little soggy.

Next, Eddie, and your dish Turbotine Jubilee.

The turbot was cooked beautifully, and I also enjoyed the scallop.

I liked the lobster mousse,

and given the timeframe I think you got a lot of flavour into it.

But I think we lost a sense of you as a chef in that dish.

It was heavily classical, and there was

no real personality from you that came through.

I think the whole dish lacked a little bit of precision.

No-one can deny the workload you put in, it's very busy,

but with that, it can easily become a little bit messy.

That business is affecting your end product.

And finally, Mark, with your dish Shellsational.

Again, I was worried about you cooking so many elements,

and I do have a little niggle about that almost forgotten mussel.

However...

the aroma from that box was really great.

The smell was exactly like Whitby, you know, the seaside,

I really enjoyed that smell. It was so strong and so pleasant.

That lobster is the tastiest lobster I have ever eaten in my entire life.

I think it really benefitted from that second cooking,

that really aggressive hit at the end,

and it was so tender and so soft.

Thought the lemon gel was perfect, that didn't overpower the mussel.

This was a contemporary approach to classic flavours,

it delivered completely on style and integrity.

To the scores.

Chris...

I'm giving you...

-..an eight.

-Thank you.

Eddie...

..I'm giving you a six.

And Mark...

And I thought a lot about this.

..it's another ten. Second ten of the week.

It was so impressive. Congratulations. Phenomenal cooking.

-CHRIS:

-Good man. Thank you.

Well done, everyone. Get home, get some rest,

and I can't wait to see you all tomorrow for main course.

-All right, chef.

-Thank you.

-Speechless.

-Listen, we both gave you a ten for that.

Can't deny it, you know.

With two courses down, Chris has moved into second place,

with Mark still top and Eddie in third.

I can't believe I got another ten.

I feel like an emotional wreck, I'm in bits.

He said it and it caught the back of my throat,

and I literally was speechless.

I suppose now it's all for us to do, Eddie, isn't it?

Absolutely, isn't it?

After the starter I was one point ahead of Chris,

after this fish course I'm one point behind.

That's how this competition can go up and down.

Let's just hope tomorrow brings something else.

It's great to get an eight for my fish course,

it means that me and Eddie are almost neck and neck,

so bring on the main course.