Scotland Dessert Great British Menu

This week on Great British Menu,

three of Scotland's most exciting chefs...

-You did say modern, Chef.

-Yes.

..Adam Handling, the youngest chef in the kitchen...

-I don't like whisky.

-Are you Scottish?

..Michael Bremner, who's not afraid to take risks...

It's anyone's game, really.

..and Ally McGrath, who's putting bold flavours first.

It's all very tense.

Agh!

In the year the nation marked the Queen's 90th birthday,

the chefs will be celebrating the everyday great Britons

honoured throughout her reign

and competing for a chance to cook at a banquet

at the historic Palace of Westminster.

The chef's main courses left Daniel underwhelmed.

He scored all three a disappointing seven.

Today's been tough.

Adam and Michael remained joint top of the leaderboard

with Ally just two points behind.

The dessert course is their final chance to impress.

The competition is still wide open.

-You look like you're praying.

-I am!

But one chef will be going home today.

One little mistake...

-Wow!

-..could be catastrophic.

This is going to put him through. One of us is going.

The chefs are competing to create dishes that are a fitting legacy

to our modern Elizabethan age,

and a celebration of the complete transformation of British cuisine

during the Queen's historic reign.

Judging these dishes for inventive and contemporary cooking

is veteran Daniel Clifford.

Having made it to the banquet with a dessert, he knows what it takes.

I'm looking for brilliant cooking

for people that have been honoured by the Queen.

I've got high expectations and I'm expecting Scotland to deliver.

This is it, guys. It's the last chance to impress Daniel.

I'm feeling good, this is one of my strongest courses.

I'm slightly disappointed with my seven from yesterday,

so I'm desperate for a big score today.

There is one person going home and, you know, it's not going to be me.

First up is Adam.

He's topped the leaderboard all week but as yet,

has not scored maximum points.

Veteran Daniel has been concerned

about his interpretation of the brief.

I definitely will be throwing everything at this dessert.

I just hope that the message comes along.

That's the thing I seem to have struggled the entire week.

That's good to see, a smile.

-How are you?

-I'm good, thanks.

I love this course. This one hits the brief.

Brilliant, that's what you need to do.

The dish is called Raise Your Glass and it's about saying thank you

to all the great Britons that will be at the banquet.

You raise your glass, you have a sip and you say thanks.

-Perfect, and we're going to use whisky for that?

-Yes.

I'm going to do the flavours that I loved as a child

-and elevate that with whisky.

-So, what is that?

-Lemon meringue pie.

-I love a meringue pie!

Fantastic, that's great to hear. But I'm not using lemons.

The main curd will be done with yuzu. This is from Japan.

They juice it when it's at its best and then they freeze it.

It has a lot more floral notes

and it'll work really well with whisky.

OK, and with the white chocolate, what's your plans for that?

I'm going to aerate it.

It's going to have bubbles that all pop and melt in your mouth.

-With the whisky, I'm going to do a frozen granita.

-OK.

I'm going to make a salted peanut shortbread and then smash it all up.

-You're going to put a lot of love into it and then smash it up.

-Yes.

-This is going to be a completely different style for your food.

-Yes.

Brilliant, I can't wait.

Adam's dish, he's turning a lemon meringue pie upside down.

This is not the way that he normally cooks.

I just hope it works for him.

Next up is Michael.

After a slow start to the week, his fish dish scored a perfect ten,

but his main course failed to impress.

He needs a high score to secure a place in Friday's head-to-head.

I'm disappointed by my seven from my main course,

but it's made me even more determined

to get a good score for my dessert.

-Hi, Chef. You all right?

-Very well, thank you.

-You?

-Good, yes. Recovered?

Yes, I'm back in for the dessert.

Take me through your box, Michael.

Explain to me where the passion's come from.

I've called this dish Home Sweet Home.

If someone was to ask me what I remember about my childhood

when I was growing up, one would be a chocolate teacake.

And then one would also be a Mackie's ice cream. OK.

And Maitland Mackie comes from where I come from in Scotland.

-He had an MBE and he also got a CBE.

-OK.

I'm going to do a Whisky Mac ice cream,

which is basically the whisky,

ginger wine, burnt orange.

I'm making a salted caramel mousse

and then I'm also going to make a Whisky Mac jelly

-to spray over the top of it.

-Over the top of the ice cream?

Yes, so you get an intensified initial whisky taste.

-OK.

-I'm taking another classic Scottish thing, shortbread.

And then with the influence of a teacake,

I'm making like a marshmallow chocolate shortbread sandwich.

You're both level points.

It's really, really close.

Is desserts your strong point?

-Yeah, I trained as a pastry chef when I started.

-Adam?

Pastry is one of my strong points as well,

so I'm looking forward to who has that little edge.

Michael's making ice cream with whisky.

The alcohol content is so strong, it might not freeze.

This could be a dessert that sends him home.

Last up is Ally.

He's struggled to plate the modern refined dishes

veteran Daniel is looking for.

He may be trailing by two points, but he isn't giving up.

I am feeling more confident today because I think

I'm in with a chance, we're all in with a chance.

Anything can happen.

-Hiya, Chef. How are you?

-Very well.

Two points behind.

-Are you going to be cooking tomorrow?

-Yes, Chef.

-That's why we're here, isn't it?

-That's what I want to hear.

The inspiration for this one, we've based it on Scotland's

-highest award, the Order of the Thistle.

-OK.

So, shall we put a thistle in the...?

-There you go.

-Thank you, Chef. That's very kind.

-So?

We've based on the dish on the colours of the thistle,

the green and the purples.

I'm going to make a cherry sorbet,

pistachio and yoghurt mousse,

some aerated chocolate.

Adam's doing aerated chocolate as well.

-Such a copycat!

-Yes!

-Going to make a pistachio sponge.

-OK.

And then, I'm going to temper some chocolate,

which I'm quite nervous about.

I've been very lucky in my hometown.

-We've got a world-class chocolatier.

-Yes.

And she very kindly took, I'm not joking,

ten minutes to show me how to do it.

So, a ten-minute crash course.

Yes, this is totally different from what I've done so far.

It's got really modern techniques,

something that I've been lacking from other courses.

-Should they be worried?

-Yes.

I think he's gritting his teeth on this one.

-He's come out...

-Grr!

-Yeah, look at him!

-He's charged! This guy, he means business.

-Grr!

I'm really excited about this.

Ally's promised me he's modernising his food.

He's come out of the Dark Ages

and he's going to give me a show stopper.

Cooking starts.

And the chefs are discussing the risks

they're taking with their desserts.

-So, how are we feeling, guys?

-Could be the last time in the kitchen.

-Anything you're worried about in your dish?

-Yeah, my curd setting.

Chocolate setting, my raspberry setting.

Everything, then?

My ice cream, it's quite high in alcohol. It might not set.

If that's the case, I'm going home.

So, Ally, what's your risk?

Similar, I've got a sorbet to do. I've got my mousse setting.

Ally is all too aware that he has to score more highly

than his competitors today.

He's hoping to impress with a technically demanding

aerated dark chocolate.

Ally is obviously pushing himself

because he's doing some chocolate work, so respect for that.

Ally's whipped melted chocolate with pistachio oil in a charger

to make it light and airy.

Now in a container, he pumps out all the air,

so the tiny bubbles inside the chocolate expand.

You look like you're praying?

I am. I might be doing this again.

He has to make sure all the air is pumped out.

Without a vacuum, the bubbles in the chocolate

will collapse before it sets.

Fingers crossed.

It's all very...tense.

One little mistake could be catastrophic.

Adam is also making aerated white chocolate

for his unusual reinvention of the classical lemon meringue pie.

But his different technique is proving problematic.

Wow! Sorry.

That was me. At least it's aerated.

-I think he's panicking, I think he's made a mistake.

-Mistake?

-And I think he's hiding it.

-BLEEP

-mistake?

-With his cool exterior.

Shall we just see if it's

the best aerated chocolate you've seen yet?

Because the bubbles are fantastic!

Keeping his cool, Adam moves on to his milk and whisky granita.

He used dry ice for his fish course, which scored an eight,

and hopes it'll impress Daniel again today.

So, explain to me, Chef, what's the liquid nitrogen doing?

It's basically just freezing it really, really quickly.

Making sure there are zero ice crystals

and melts cleanly in the mouth.

Will this mask the flavour of the alcohol?

-No, quite the opposite.

-It'll intensify it?

-Quite the opposite, yes.

-OK.

So, it's quite exciting. This is modern cooking at its best.

-You did say modern, Chef.

-Yes.

Michael's also using whisky in his dessert,

a grown-up take on childhood favourites -

jelly and ice cream and chocolate teacakes.

Everybody likes a nice little dram after their dinner.

-Don't like

-whisky! Are you Scottish?

-You don't like whisky?

-I want to see your passport.

-You're not going to like my dish, then.

Michael's making a whisky and ginger wine jelly,

inspired by the ingredients of a Whisky Mac cocktail

and also, a Whisky Mac ice cream.

I'm infusing the whisky with ginger.

Will boiling the whisky take the alcohol content away?

It'll take the alcohol content away but keep the flavour.

-So, it's going to have a lot of kick?

-It's not overpowering.

I've made a burnt orange beurre noisette.

I'm going to pour into it as well.

So, it gives it a bit of an orange flavour.

-You're joint leader, you need a high score today.

-I know.

-But I can't express how this needs to be right.

-It will be.

Michael has fond childhood memories of Mackie's ice cream,

made just a few miles from where he grew up in Aberdeenshire.

Michael's been inspired by late owner Maitland Mackie.

Today, he's meeting Maitland's daughter, Karen,

who helps run the family business.

Dad was born here, grew up here, spent his whole working life here

and involved in and engaged in lots of other things -

agriculture, education.

Was he a whisky man?

-He was certainly a whisky man.

-Was he?

I'm making a Whisky Mac ice cream. You think he'd be a fan of that?

He would, he'd absolutely.

I think he'd probably encourage you

to take a generous measure of a whisky

with or alongside the ice cream.

The Mackie business was originally a dairy farm,

but it was innovative Maitland who diversified into ice cream.

He was honoured by the Queen for his services to agriculture.

And there he is. CBE.

He was ahead of his time and a pioneer of sustainable energy,

building wind turbines and trying to persuade other farmers

to do the same, as son Mac explains.

Dad, he was a larger-than-life character,

he was always keen to try new things.

So, this place was never just going to stay like a normal farm.

Green energy for the last five, ten years of his life,

that was his big focus.

Maitland's vision has left behind far more than just ice cream.

Four wind turbines now on top of the hill, Scotland's largest solar farm.

So, that's quite a big legacy, really.

It's amazing.

In the kitchen, Michael's made his chocolate ganache

and has moved on to the salted caramel mousse.

He knows he needs a good score for his grown-up take

on jelly and ice cream with a chocolate teacake.

I think they're both a bit threat in this course.

Adam is doing something quite innovative and different,

Ally is taking it up a level.

Like Adam, Michael's also preparing Scottish shortbread.

-Has yours got cornflour in it?

-No.

It's quite an old-fashioned recipe.

Yeah, well, I can crack so many old jokes at that, I won't.

-Cos it's the end course, I'm going to go out nicely.

-Yeah, refrain.

Adam's using another different ingredient to Michael, peanuts.

And he's opting to serve his shortbread as a crumb

rather than a classic biscuit.

-Adam, how are you getting on?

-A little bit busy.

A lot of things to make sure I do right.

Adam's also replacing lemon with yuzu,

a Japanese citrus fruit, in his reimagined lemon meringue pie,

hoping it will make it banquet worthy.

It's a risk after he was criticised

for his Asian-influenced main course.

Sitting two points behind the joint leaders,

Ally's determined to plate a winner with his dessert,

inspired by Scotland's highest honour, the Order of the Thistle.

He's made a pistachio sponge and cherry sorbet

to match the colours of a thistle.

Ally can't afford any slip-ups.

-BLEEP.

-That's...!

But he's having problems tempering his white chocolate,

a technique he only learned for the competition.

Ally was praying to the Chocolate Gods earlier.

I think he might need it.

Ally's overheated the chocolate and has to start again.

Tempering chocolate requires precision heating and cooling

to achieve a shiny, crisp finish.

-What are we up to?

-Tempering chocolate, Chef.

-OK.

It's beginning to go, just going to do it in little bursts.

Just to get it to temperature.

Fingers crossed this one doesn't go to 50 degrees.

I'm going to leave you alone because I don't want to get in your way.

-Thank you, Chef.

-Good luck.

Adam is first to plate up his Scottish Asian twist

on a lemon meringue pie, hoping it'll score him top marks.

He pipes meringue onto the plate

and toasts with a blowtorch.

The curd using Asian yuzu instead of lemon is next,

with raspberry sauce hidden inside.

It's a deconstructed pie.

The aim is to modernise the dish in keeping with the brief.

-Adam, last to dish up from you, are you ready?

-Almost, Chef, almost.

Next are pieces of his salvaged aerated white chocolate.

Is that how you want it? It's very airy, like you said.

Aerated chocolate, Chef.

Adam crumbles the peanut butter shortbread

and covers the yuzu curd.

He garnishes with confit lemon peel and lemon verbena.

Liquid nitrogen whisky granita completes the dessert.

Adam's serving the dishes in miniature whisky barrels.

-Wow. Happy?

-Very happy.

-So, what's the name of the dish?

-Raise Your Glass.

-Shall we pour ourselves a glass?

-Yes. One for me.

-One for you.

-Thank you.

-Boys, you can do it yourself.

-Cheers, boys.

-Cheers.

-I think it looks great.

-Yes.

-Take the lid off?

-Yes.

Wow.

-This is the aerated white chocolate?

-Yes.

I like it. It's clean, it's fresh, it's light.

The milk and whisky granita on the top, I didn't taste any of that.

-Texture of the meringue, you happy with that?

-I think it's lovely.

-The peanut shortbread?

-Yes.

I like his peanut shortbread. It's quite peanut buttery.

-And the raspberry's really nice.

-Hmm.

So, basically, now I've got everything on the spoon?

That's how I wanted it.

Is the yuzu adding enough acidity?

Yes, I think so.

All together, it's quite sweet,

but I'm not sure where that's coming from.

Has it got a wee message?

"Here's a toast for the amazing inspirational people..."

"..who made Britain great."

-Cheers.

-Cheers to that.

-I can see this part of the brief.

-Yes.

-I understand that part.

But I'm not sure what that's got to do with that.

-What would you change?

-Not a thing.

So, basically, if you're not going to change anything,

the score must be?

Ten.

-How did that go for you, Chef?

-It couldn't have gone any better.

-I was a thousand, million percent happy with that.

-Good.

Michael is next to plate up his Home Sweet Home dessert,

inspired by two favourite puddings from his childhood.

He fixes slabs of shortbread on a board.

-Want a hand with anything?

-I'm all right, actually, mate, thank you.

-You want a glass of

-whisky? No!

Sticks of chocolate ganache are covered in meringue...

..to represent the flavours

of Michael's favourite Scottish teacakes.

On a side plate, he pipes salted caramel mousse,

Whisky Mac ice cream is covered in a whisky gel...

..an innovative take on jelly and ice cream,

and served on top of the mousse.

So, this is my Home Sweet Home.

OK.

They've both got up two very good-looking desserts.

I'm worried, I really needed them to slip up somewhere.

Let's go and enjoy it.

You turn this on, like a bonfire affect.

And then you toast your own marshmallow.

-So, we sandwich it together?

-Sandwich it.

-We pull it out.

-Is that what you wanted?

-Erm...

I don't know, what do you do? Pour it off or eat a spoon of it.

The shortbread, Chef.

Is that cooked enough?

It's a fraction thick.

-It's a bit cloying. It's quite messy.

-It is very messy.

It's a whisky ice cream. Is there enough whisky in there?

Can definitely taste it.

-The caramel mousse.

-I think it's delicious.

Salted caramel is spot on, it's perfect.

The gel on top, has about got a place on it?

I was trying to maximise how much whisky you could taste in it.

For me, I would put more whisky in there.

Is this a dessert for the banquet?

I think if I refined it...

It's not exactly how I would want it.

-This might open the door for me.

-I think it has.

Last to fight for his place in the judging chamber is Ally.

His dish is inspired by Scotland's highest honour,

the Order of the Thistle.

He painstakingly removes the backing from the edible transfers,

set on his successfully tempered chocolate.

That looks great.

Really good.

But the nerves set in when he tries to cut out the medals.

Ha! Right.

Come on, Al. You can do it.

How was that?

I don't think he liked it, to be honest.

I might have missed this one.

Pistachio mousse and pistachio sponge are first

into Ally's bowls...

-Next year.

-No, no! It's not over until he says.

..then cherry sorbet.

-I love the thistles.

-Thank you.

-Looks great.

Here's hoping it's not the best bit of the plate.

He dots cherry syrup into the bowls and onto his aerated dark chocolate.

Freeze-dried sour cherries,

pistachios and pink pralines provide a garnish.

And finally, the chocolate Order of the Thistle medals.

-Phew!

-How are you feeling?

-Good, Chef. I'm happy.

-Let's go and taste it, shall we?

-Yes, Chef.

It's that patriotic, I feel like William Wallace

is going to poke his little sword out and start running out there,

it looks fantastic.

-Clearly, you're tempering chocolate worked.

-It did.

Still crisp?

It's come out great. He's certainly got a crash course in it.

I love the pistachio sponge.

-The texture of it is 100% correct, it's great.

-Yes.

-Pistachio sponge, is the flavour intense enough?

-Yes, Chef.

That's the cherry sorbet?

Is that meant to be a bitter cherry?

Slightly bitter, there's sweetness with the pistachio mousse.

The consistency of the mousse is great. It's very airy.

The aerated chocolate, is it light enough?

Yeah, I think it's light enough.

When I eat an aerated chocolate, I like it to crumble to lots of pieces

because of all the air bubbles.

-What are you going to score it?

-At least a nine.

I think this is extremely modern.

This is going to put him through.

-One of us is going.

-Looks that way.

-Here he is!

-THEY CLAP

Well done. That was a great dish. I think you smashed it.

-Made me feel great to be Scottish.

-That's very kind of you both.

Can't do any more, guys. It's all done.

I think if I get told I'm going home, I'll be so gutted.

I'm worried, I'm two points behind.

I think I'm going to get a really low score here.

-Good evening.

-Good evening, Chef.

-Tough day.

-Tough day.

How you feeling?

-Nervous.

-Very, very nervous.

Adam, I'm going to start with you and Raise Your Glass.

The presentation in the cask, it was really well executed.

Thank you.

You've struggled a bit with the interpretation of the brief,

but I really liked the idea behind this dessert.

And your Asian influence with the yuzu - well done, it worked.

-Thank you.

-But...

..you've got punnets of beautiful raspberries

and I can't see them on the presentation.

Scatter a few of those over the top and the colour will just show

that dish to a different level.

I think you need to sharpen the whole dish up

because it was very sweet.

Michael.

For your dish, Home Sweet Home, I found the presentation a lot of fun.

And it evoked childhood memories.

However...

I thought the shortbread needed more cooking.

For me, a good shortbread, slightly sandy, that texture in your mouth.

The whisky ice cream, I think the whisky needs to be more prominent.

I don't think this is your dish of the week, Michael.

Ally, for your dish...

..I thought the aerated chocolate was too heavy,

it needed more bubbles.

The pistachio sponge, really tasted the pistachio,

but it didn't have the crisp texture that I was expecting.

However...

..I really liked the idea and I think you've done Scotland proud

by honouring their highest honour.

Tempering chocolate and you've pulled it off.

The cherry sorbet, the sourness of the cherries worked really well

and gave the dish great balance.

With a few tweaks, this is your strongest dish.

So, one of you is going to leave today.

With a score of eight, giving them the highest score of the week...

..Adam, you're cooking tomorrow.

-Fantastic, thank you very much.

-Pleasure.

Michael, going into desserts, you have a two-point lead over Ally.

Michael,

I'm giving you

a score of six.

Ally?

I'm giving you a score of eight.

This leaves both of you tied on a score of 29 points.

But only one of you can go through to the judges.

Michael, you've taken risks this week

and some of them have really paid off.

That fish dish, I think it's one of the best dishes I've ever tasted.

You're cooking for the judges tomorrow.

-Good luck.

-Thanks, man.

Ally, you should be really proud of yourself.

-Thank you.

-Good luck tomorrow.

Be ready for it. But enjoy it.

-Well done.

-Well done.

Oh, man.

I'm gutted. I thought I may have scraped it with the dessert.

But sadly, it's not going to happen.

-That was pretty scary.

-That was scary.

-I thought that was it.

-Good luck tomorrow, gents.

I'm ecstatic for getting the highest marks and then

going into the judging chamber.

It makes me feel a lot more confident going in there.

It was the hardest thing I've ever had to witness.

You know what, I think you've done Scotland proud. Definitely.

I'm absolutely over the moon.

I need to make a few adjustments and changes to my dishes,

but with a few tweaks, I think I can go all the way.