Finals Fish Great British Menu

It's the national finals of Great British Menu.

If it's going to be easy, what's the point.

Eight of the country's best chefs...

I think the standard's massive. It's quite easy to lose.

We like challenges, don't we?

That's what cooking is.

..are giving their all in a bid to cook at the ultimate banquet.

A lot of people taking a lot of risks this year.

Today's the game day, mate, yeah?

-Ah!

-Wow, that's impressive, innit?

Doing them for a banquet - suicide.

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

the chefs are celebrating the everyday Great Britons

honoured throughout her reign...

This is where you're going to be cooking.

..and competing for the chance to cook for them at a banquet

at the iconic Palace of Westminster.

I want to be able to go home and tell my kids

that Daddy's cooked at the Palace of Westminster.

That's totally inspirational, I really want to get there and cook now.

I'll do all I can to make sure I'm going to get in there and cook.

Yesterday, Mark Abbott tasted victory.

His innovative starter was chosen to open the banquet.

Congratulations.

You seem lost for words.

That's caught the back of my throat, I must admit. I didn't expect that.

Today, it's the fish course.

Can Mark triumph again?

Got four 10s in the judges' chamber the last time, so hopefully...

OK, I'm going home!

Or will the other seven chefs seize their chance...

-So, you think you've nailed it?

-LAUGHTER

..to impress judges Prue Leith, Matthew Forte and Oliver Peyton...

-Oh, look.

-Shimmer, shimmer.

..who want only the best contemporary cooking

to honour the Queen's reign?

I'm going to give it a ten, I think it's really excellent.

I think he'll be shellshocked when he sees this result.

Turned a car crash into a shipwreck.

With three courses left, competition is fierce.

-Adam, you all right there?

-No!

Only the finest dishes will make it through.

I guess you guys would quite like me to get on with it.

Take a deep breath.

First up, three chefs all determined to improve on yesterday scores,

including Danny Gill, who finished last.

Absolutely gutted about the result last night,

but I believe my fish course is strong enough to get to the banquet.

I'm ready to go.

North-east champion Tommy Banks was placed sixth,

and Adam Reid, from the north-west, was fourth.

New day today, lads, new course.

-Are you ready?

-Nope!

-LAUGHTER

-Got to push on today, there's one gone already, only three more chances.

-Absolutely.

The competition's going to be a bit more fierce now.

Next, Phil Carmichael from Wales, who had an anxious start.

Yeah, the nerves have settled a bit.

I'm quietly confident I can get

at least one of my dishes to the banquet.

Hopefully I can do Wales proud this time.

Then south-west's Josh Eggleton

and London and south-east's Mark Froydenlund,

who both narrowly missed out on a place at the banquet

with their starters, and Scottish champion Michael Bremner,

whose fish dish achieved perfection in the heats.

I got four 10s for my fish dish. I'm hoping I get the same today.

I've got my lucky socks on.

I'm looking forward to getting in there.

Ready to turn it on again?

Yeah, I'm looking forward to getting up again.

-It's going to be a good day.

-I think Mark set the bar yesterday.

Where is he? Doing a lap of honour or something?

I don't know, where is he?

I think he's having a cup of tea with Prue and Oliver.

Finally, Mark Abbott, the chef who's already secured a place cooking

at the Palace of Westminster with his top-scoring starter.

CHEERING

How are you doing? All right?

Are you going to go easy on us today or are you still pushing on?

Oh, still going for it, still going for it.

The judges are looking for a fish course worthy of the banquet.

Well, we have got a great winner for the starter course.

He was so emotional, wasn't he?

I was emotional for him, but today is a new day. It's the fish course.

We need an amazing course,

and Mark, I remember, scored four 10s for his fish course.

We gave four 10s to Michael Bremner as well.

A couple of other high marks and we've got two completely new dishes,

so we'll be scaling the heights today.

Right, lads, I don't know about you,

but I want to stay on that stool a bit longer today.

Me too, I've got a point to prove today.

Once again, I've a lot to do. So might as well crack on.

To help ensure only the finest fish course is served at the banquet

is a guest judge.

Three-time Food Journalist Of The Year and restaurateur, Tim Hayward.

-Welcome back, Tim!

-Thank you very much, good to see you.

Tim helped the judges choose Michael Bremner as Scottish champion.

Tim, it's great you could come back and join us again.

Thank you very much.

Tim, when you were here before, Michael Bremner did a fish dish.

-Do you remember?

-I do, it was absolutely terrific.

It still sticks in my mind. Tremendous dish,

and it sets the bar so unbelievably high.

The standard is by far the highest, I think,

particularly in the fish course - they had been extreme creative.

We've got two new dishes, so I think we have

an absolute trawlerful of delights ahead of us.

Fish is one of my favourite things, looking forward to it.

First into the kitchen, are Josh Eggleton,

Michael Bremner and Mark Froydenlund.

-Good luck.

-Good luck, buddy.

-Good luck, Josh.

-Good luck, man.

As cooking gets under way,

Michael's dish is the main topic of conversation.

I think Michael felt the pressure a bit yesterday.

He looks a lot more focused today.

It's a big dish today for him, and he looks on it.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to tasting it.

If he cooks it as good as what he did in the regionals,

we could see a banquet dish.

-Yeah.

-But we all know what fish is like -

30 seconds too long and it's game over, isn't it?

So how did the judges like the dish, Michael?

I got four 10s for my dish.

In my eyes, as far as beef goes, this ticks all the boxes.

They could be totally different. We've seen yesterday.

Who knows?

First up, Josh Eggleton.

Josh, it's your second time in the final.

This dish is one of your highest hopes.

Yeah, yeah. It is, actually.

What happens if you don't get it through, is it game over?

No, push on, take it on the chin.

Technically, I got higher for my main.

So I'm not going to let that knock me back if I don't do well today.

Josh's fish course features six elements,

including scallop, oyster

and a unique take on Bolognese

to honour the volunteers at the RNLI.

So are you confident with your dish, Josh?

If I get everything right, I'll be really pleased with this dish.

I hope the judges will enjoy it.

OK, cool.

There's something about his food for me, it's food you want to eat.

So today, he has to transfer that food you want to eat

-into food you want to eat at a banquet.

-Yes.

I'm certainly looking forward to eating it,

because I gave it very high marks first time round.

I didn't love it quite as much as you.

He had a Bolognese made up of sardines, which was quite overpowering.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what Josh can do.

Josh is ready to plate up.

He adds pickled clams, mussels and cockles

to a cup with the pickling liquor,

then places on an RNLI-themed plate.

And he's not the only chef honouring the charity.

You've got some nice RNLI plates there, Josh.

Yeah, I'm really happy with these plates.

For the regions I had the waitresses in life jackets.

Did you wear one?

I wore one, and I needed it as well!

-Were you sinking, mate?

-Yeah!

I might need one in a minute.

To ensure the mackerel fillets are cooked perfectly,

Josh pan-fries them at the last minute.

-So what have you got in the dish?

-Poached oyster, sardine Bolognese.

-Sardine Bolognese?

-Yeah.

I've never had that before.

He tops the sardine Bolognese with pan-fried mackerel,

next, pan-fried scallops, seasoned with dehydrated roe powder.

He adds hake fishcakes, and finally

the poached oyster goes into the shell, with oyster emulsion.

So I want this logo at the top for the judges, please.

-OK?

-Looks great.

-Thanks very much.

-Brilliant.

That dish looks like it's got lots of elements in there.

Is it as strong as you think it's going to be?

I think I cooked it as well as I did last time. There's a lot going on.

You put a seed of doubt in my head now!

Welcome back, old friend!

The presentation is absolutely lovely.

It's the RNLI - it's fish, it's British.

There's a cracking smell coming off this.

The Bolognese has all the richness and fullness of a proper Bolognese,

and yet it's fish, that's a really smart, clever piece of cooking.

I'm not 100% sure about sardine Bolognese.

If I'm being completely honest.

The idea of mixing the Bolognese around,

it's worked for me, I like that.

Last time I wasn't very happy with the pickling

because it was too strong.

You're right. I think it was far too acidic before.

Now it's beautifully balanced.

It's not as pickled as you think it's going to be.

-But I like that. I think it's a nice balance.

-Yeah.

-Razor clams in there.

-Yeah, lovely.

-I like that.

I just adore this fishcake -

wonderfully crunchy outside

and then just that waft of lemon coming through to lift it all up.

Sings, it does.

Really crispy. Nice acidity.

Yeah, lots of acidity in there. That's really tasty.

Quite a lot of lemon juice, it's quite sharp.

-Maybe a touch too acidic.

-Yeah.

Can't bear it when people mess with oysters,

I just like the oyster. But this is delicious.

-Do you like it?

-Love it.

You know, the oyster, absolutely. Paste, lovely as well.

Nice temperature to it.

As a demonstration of his skills as a chef with fish,

this is an astonishing thing.

But I feel like I've had a selection of canapes

and not a solid, straight-through, combined, coherent mass.

I love Josh's cooking.

Unfortunately, I just can't see this at the banquet.

So I'm going to give it an 8.

The chefs...

I'm going to go in high and give him a 9.

..are marking each other's dishes.

I'm not 100% sure about the sardine Bolognese.

For me, it's an 8.

Their average score will be added to the judges'...

It's a little bit too bitty, it's not working together

quite as well as a whole dish, so I'm going to give it an 8.

..and could help determine the final leaderboard.

Josh has taken a very good dish and improved it.

I gave it 9 last time,

-I think I've got to give it 10 this time.

-Wow!

Next is Mark Froydenlund, who had a great start to the finals,

scoring four 10s for his starter.

But it was the scores from fellow chefs that put him in second place

behind Mark Abbott.

Being in the top two for the starter

has given me a massive confidence boost,

so I think this could be my year to get through to the banquet.

In the regional heats, his fish dish didn't impress the judges,

who criticised the lack of variety of flavours.

So, Mark, have you changed your dish?

Yeah. The judges really didn't enjoy the dish.

So I've decided to go out and do a complete new dish.

There's no point in doing something they didn't enjoy at all.

Mark is hoping his new contemporary take on a fish pie

will earn top marks.

He's elevating the dish using luxurious ingredients -

langoustines, sea bass,

pea buttermilk and langoustine bisque.

He's taking a traditional dish - in this case, a fish pie -

and kind of turning it on its head a little bit.

So how is it a fish pie, Mark?

It's just everything you'd expect to have in a fish pie.

Um, you know, potato, prawns, or langoustines.

-So is it deconstructed?

-It definitely is.

Yesterday he cooked a starter

which was every bit as good as Mark Abbott's.

-In fact, it got 10, 10, 10, 10.

-Wow!

However, the chefs didn't rate it.

Really? Not cheffy enough?

Not cheffy enough. But today is another day.

Tommy wants to find out about Mark's fish pie

as they are both cooking new dishes.

Wow, hot in here this morning, lads.

Bit of a sweat on there, mate.

-Always.

-What are you cooking?

-It's a brand-new dish.

-Puts the pressure on a bit, doesn't it?

You go in blind, you've no idea what the judges think,

I've had no feedback from them before.

It's a tough call, but I think it's the right thing to do.

I totally agree.

Unfortunately, his fish course the last time round

was a bit of a car crash and I think I gave it a 5.

That's seriously low.

Because of his competitive nature, he's completely changed the dish.

-Entirely new?

-Entirely.

-Started from scratch.

That is incredibly courageous - good man.

It contains interesting ingredients, something called pea buttermilk,

which I must say is a new one to me.

His first course yesterday he changed

and he turned it into four 10s from us.

so I'm expecting him to be in that sort of calibre today.

To traditional pie dishes, Mark adds pea buttermilk...

..potato croquette, which represents the topping in the fish pie...

..and raw langoustine seasoned with mirin.

-D'you want me to do anything?

-No, you're all right.

-Fine by me.

Next, confit bergamot and pickled cucumber,

then steamed sea bass, that's been lightly cured in salt,

sugar, dill and bergamot zest.

Have you had enough time to practise it?

Yeah, I've had loads of time.

He adds seared langoustine and prawn cracker,

seasoned with shrimp powder.

Finally, he garnishes with sea purslane,

coriander cress and langoustine bisque.

Thank you.

Well done, Mark. Some stunning fish on there.

-Looks delicious.

-Well done, man.

-Cheers.

That's the first time you've seen that dish go out.

-Was that what you were hoping for?

-Yeah, exactly how I wanted it.

Hopefully the judges like it better than the dish in the regionals.

Well, this is completely new.

This should be called langoustine a la trough.

Just eat it and enjoy it.

Well, I'm eating it and I'm not enjoying it.

My food is absolutely freezing, it's not even cold.

-So is mine.

-Metal dish is a mistake,

mainly because it does draw the heat out of the food.

Should we be sending it back or not?

We're all complaining about the temperature.

The chefs may have it on a nice warm plate.

Lucky devils!

-Sea bass is poached perfectly, I'd say.

-Cooked perfectly.

-It's lovely.

You can really taste the marinade he's put on that sea bass, the lime.

I think the bergamot is tremendous on the fish,

that was a really pleasant surprise.

I think the prawn cracker is quite nice.

It's not as light and fluffy as I hoped it would be.

-More like a biscuit.

-Beautiful flavour, though.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, there's a lot of Asian flavour and sesame,

which doesn't really fit with everything else.

-Wow, that's pretty special, actually.

-Oh, yeah.

Mark's cooking is precision cooking.

And this is not precision cooking.

The buttermilk helps to cut through all the richness of the bisque.

So the dish is a disaster, I agree, although I do like a pie dish.

-What are you going to score it?

-I like that. I'll give that a 9.

Presentation-wise and hitting the brief,

I don't think it's quite there, so I'm going to give it an 8.

Use of the metal bowl has turned a car crash into a shipwreck.

Final presentation, its final temperature has ruined it.

-It's a 5.

-Oh, well, never mind.

Everything is cooked perfectly,

but I wasn't wowed by the presentation in the tin,

so I think a 9 is a fair score for that.

Not even the RNLI could save this dish!

Last to cook in this group is Scottish champion Michael Bremner.

The finals is so tough, the competition is insane.

Mark's dish yesterday, all the chefs loved it,

and I really hope that my dish today gets the same sort of reaction.

-What's your dish about then?

-It's inspired by a guy called Willy Hay,

who started with nothing,

and ended up, like, the head of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation.

-Did he?

-Yeah, he was amazing.

-Was he honoured, Michael?

He had an MBE and a CBE for his services to the fishing industry.

-This is him here.

-Let's have a look.

There he is. Salty seadog!

His boat was called the Lode Star.

So my dish is based around a message to the Lode Star.

Michael is combining simple and luxurious ingredients -

seaweed, cured mackerel,

clam wrapped in pancetta gel,

and a cooked oyster.

Why are you using mackerel, Michael?

The whole MBE thing is what I focused on.

And the fact that it's everyday people that do something extraordinary.

And mackerel, to me, is an everyday, humble ingredient

that I'm going to do something extraordinary with.

Could be a running theme, right,

-with humble ingredients going to extraordinary levels.

-It could be.

It worked well for Mark, anyway.

-Yeah.

-At the time I was trying to be different, thinking that

chances are, all the other chefs will be doing high-rolling, epic

langoustines, lobsters, you know, the obvious things(!)

Don't look over here, then.

His fish dish from the heats was absolutely wonderful.

It's going to be very difficult to get that right exactly again.

-PRUE:

-What I love about this is the way he has stuck to the brief.

He has taken one man,

who worked his whole life for the fishing industry,

and those are the sort of great Britons

I think we should be honouring

and that's what he's doing - it's brilliant.

You must be feeling confident - must be your banker dish, this, is it?

This is my strongest dish, I think.

But there are some fantastic chefs here, so it's anyone's game, really.

Michael is ready to plate up.

He lays five pieces of cured mackerel in bisected glass bottles.

The toppings begin with humble ingredients

and progress to luxurious.

Can we see what four 10s look like?

First topping is seaweed.

The second is potato and caper salad.

Then pickled vegetables.

Next, the most luxurious topping, a cooked oyster.

Then, clam wrapped in pancetta and dashi gel.

I've got a little bit of the shakes, though, to be fair.

He tops the oyster with oyster emulsion

and the seaweed with crispy mackerel trim.

Message in a bottle!

-Ahh!

-See what I did there.

-He pulls it out at the end, look at that.

So this is A Message to the Lode Star.

Give me a hand taking it up?

That's great, thank you.

Nice one. That's it over.

I'm glad I got that one out. It's how I wanted it. It's great.

-Are you pleased?

-I'm happy.

I remember this little bottle with such pleasure.

My goodness, it's got something to live up to, though, hasn't it?

A Message to the Lode Star.

"Your life was a lode star A beacon to guide

"To respect the seas And she will provide."

-It's a good message?

-It's really nice.

It's quite emotional, isn't it?

Do we go from right to left or left to right?

Right to left, start with the seaweed.

What are these tiny crunchy things on top?

I think they're little crumbs of mackerel, fried.

It feels different this time to last time.

Crispy mackerel trim with seaweed, that's absolutely beautiful.

My favourite is the one with the pickled carrots on top.

There's a lovely bit of heat about the carrot, isn't it?

Ginger or garlic or something like that.

I had a big piece of pickled garlic which kind of overpowered it a bit

but maybe take that off, if I was Michael.

Once again, the pancetta gel one was fantastic.

I agree with you. I'm not a massive fan of gels, to be frank with you,

but I think here it worked really well.

The smokiness of the bacon in the gel

goes with that mackerel beautifully.

-That is delicious.

-Beautiful.

I think this is the most perfect dish for a banquet.

It would be such a pleasure.

It's a no-brainer, it's a 10.

Absolutely nothing wrong on that plate whatsoever. A perfect 10.

I think this is still an amazing dish.

There's no way I could subtract more than a quarter of a point from this,

so it has to be 10 for me.

It's got me worried, this dish. For me, it's a 10 all day long.

I think I'm going with a 9.

Just a little bit too much garlic on one of the pickles.

For me, the oyster emulsion just overpowers the mackerel a bit

and for that I'm going to give it a 9, not a 10.

Next into the kitchen, our north-east champion Tommy Banks

and Danny Gill who won Central region.

-All the best, Tommy.

-Best of luck, Danny.

-See you on the other side!

Both were shortlisted by their fellow chefs

for their starters, but the judges disagreed.

I scored your dish quite high yesterday,

I thought it was one of your stronger dishes.

Yeah, I scored your dish a 10.

Cheers, that means a lot.

Maybe if you give me a lower score on this one,

it works the opposite way in the judges' chamber.

The British Menu has totally taken over my life.

I'm so determined to get a dish on that banquet.

Tommy is reinventing his fish course, Preserving the Future.

It's a homage to making the most of, as well as preserving,

Great British produce.

-I totally changed this dish.

-Totally reworked this one?

There's no point flogging a dead horse, you know?

That's it, good tactic.

His main ingredients remain the same -

mackerel, woodruff and home-grown oyster leaves.

But with a different presentation and added elements.

I haven't actually plated it up in its entirety.

What have you got going on here? A bit of DIY?

Yeah. This is what me and my dad were doing about four in the morning

before I drove down here.

-Are you worried about it?

-I haven't got time to be worried,

so I'll cross that hurdle when I get to it.

Tommy Banks, the youngest chef in the competition, Michelin-star,

self-taught, he sources everything from around his pub.

He's a really great talent, I think.

He sounds fascinating, very interesting.

I'm very keen to see what he can do.

Saying how much I love Tommy's work, I only gave his fish course a 6.

-Good Lord!

-I know.

-He has changed it to a considerable degree.

It still has a mackerel base.

I gave it an 8, so, for me,

he doesn't have to do a huge amount to make it a 9 or 10.

I hope he doesn't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

What is that bad boy?

Sticking with his ethos of using local produce,

Tommy has brought ingredients from home.

-This big pot at the back is yours?

-Yeah, they're oyster leaves.

We grow them at the restaurant. Try them.

Usually they grow hydroponically in water.

They haven't got anywhere near as big a favour.

-You just want to pick them fresh.

-Amazing.

-Have you got some spare?

I'll sort you out.

Tommy's dish will be two-tiered.

He starts with the top bowl, adding mackerel tartare

mixed with horseradish yoghurt and oyster leaf capers.

He garnishes with woodruff vinegar gel and oyster leaves.

-What are you doing there, Tommy?

-I'm making,

like, a little pickled mackerel kebab, really,

with fermented cabbage.

-Was this on the original dish?

-Er...no.

To the kebab, he adds sheep's yoghurt,

infused with horseradish and secures on a serving board

with a blacksmith's nail.

So you think you've nailed it?

LAUGHTER

Maybe I'll hit the nail on the head!

You've been hammering on about this for long enough!

-Any more?

-No, that's it!

He blowtorches cured and smoked mackerel...

..and adds to a bowl with mussels,

samphire and sea vegetables in a mussel sauce.

Next, woodruff beer.

Finally, Danny helps to add oak smoke to the bottom bowl.

Let's go.

-Lovely. Let's go.

-Maybe after a bit there will be hammers!

LAUGHTER

-First time you've plated that dish ever?

-Yes, could you tell?

-I think that looks good. It's a bit of a statement.

-Yeah.

Ha-ha! That is superb!

I'll be able to dine off this for the rest of my life.

I was there when the food came in nailed to a board.

That's great!

-Oh, wow.

-I was wondering how well the smoke would hold.

Yeah, it's really held in there well.

It smells great.

Yes, you see it, smell it.

Any dish that brings a smile to your face has to be appreciated.

It's a pancake. It's rather good.

The horseradish and the pickled cabbage in particular

is a really good idea.

That's delicious, really smoky. A charred flavour to it.

I found it a bit bitter towards the end.

That tartare is just delicious.

These little blobs of gel on top are really delicious.

They have a point to them, they are quite sharp and clean.

I'd go as far as to say that's probably the nicest mackerel tartare I've ever eaten.

The woodruff needed to be a bit more of an impact.

The broth with the mackerel is absolutely sensational.

The mussels are perfectly cooked.

-God, this guy can really cook.

-Yeah.

-Oh, that's superb!

-That good?

I think it's quite smoky.

All the flavours are quite strong, the smoke is really strong,

but every time you have a sip of that beer,

it really does clean the palate.

The beer is what you might call cleansing. It's unusual.

It doesn't enhance the dish in any way.

I think it actually is an integral part of this dish.

I'm giving it a 9. I thought the presentation was brilliant.

I really want to give this dish a 10,

I'm just not sure whether every single element

is going to be a total crowd pleaser for a banquet.

No, I'm going to give it a 10. I'll shut up and give it a 10.

It deserves a 10 It's a 10 all day.

I think, at a banquet, people would love this.

It would be a good talking point, I think.

I'll be giving this an 8.

I wasn't completely sold on everything about it.

I can see this going into the banquet hall

and I'm going to have to give it a 9.

I'm going to give it a 10. I think it's really excellent.

Danny Gill is next.

Despite making the chefs' top three with his starter,

the judges' scores dragged him down to last place.

Today, he's hoping to impress

by reinventing the classic flavour combination

of salmon, cucumber and cream cheese.

A dish which the judges scored well in the heats.

In the regionals, the veteran gave me a 9 for this dish

so I know it's a strong dish.

I've just got to come in here and cook it as well as I did then.

Is this a dish you're confident in, one of the ones you stand

the best chance of getting into the banquet with?

Well, I thought my one was yesterday and we all know what happened there!

So I think all of us would be lying if we didn't want to get shortlisted

to go to the banquet - that's what we're doing this for.

-Absolutely.

-I've got my two little ones sat there watching at home.

I don't want to go home and tell them Daddy didn't make it to the banquet.

Oh, poor Danny Gill.

Yesterday he was bottom of the leaderboard

and he was absolutely gutted.

It was a great surprise because here is a chef

who is clearly an immensely skilled practitioner.

It was a bit of a shock to us, as it was to him.

Today is an interesting dish

simply because it's got the potential to go to the banquet.

It's a take on salmon and cream cheese.

-What's not to like?

-Exactly.

-What is that, Danny?

-This is my cream cheese element.

Let's have a go on that.

-So it's, er...

-Oh, it's frozen?

-Yeah.

This is going to be dropped into liquid nitrogen

so it will form a crust on the outside.

I just hope Oliver likes it

a little bit more than he does Coronation chicken!

To better his score, Danny will be adding extra caviar garnishes

to complement his salmon and hopefully impress the judges.

-What's that, Danny?

-That's the salmon rillette.

Looking good.

He pipes smoked salmon mousse onto the salmon rillettes in moulds.

Then dresses with pickled cucumber, pickled apple and brioche discs.

The dish has two layers.

First, Danny assembles the bottom bowl.

He pipes more salmon mousse...

..and tops with two different types of caviar.

Next, pickled cucumber and apple,

followed by edible cucumber flowers

and sous-vide salmon fillet.

He garnishes with dill oil.

Can someone go to the freezer and grab us the discs there?

On the top plate, he centres the salmon rillette.

Tommy, I need you to do four more of them, mate,

-cos those

-BLEEP

-have gone frozen.

Yes, Chef.

Next, he freezes the aerated cream cheese in liquid nitrogen

to add texture...

..and adds to both plates.

Cucumber consomme is served in jugs.

-Danny, that looks stunning.

-Thank you very much.

-Looks lovely.

-Let's hope it eats as well as it looks.

-It looks amazing.

-Thank you.

-Wow!

Pretty!

Thank you.

This reminds me irresistibly of the early 1990s.

It is sort of old-fashioned.

It's slightly nouvelle cuisine-ish, isn't it?

Oh, and it's melted straight through.

Ah, and everything has dropped inside.

Oh, my caviar has disappeared!

LAUGHTER

This, to me, looks quite traditional with the salmon rillette,

salmon mousse, cucumber.

-Caviar on top.

-Yes.

I think there's a lot of nice flavours in there.

Lovely flavours.

They're such classic flavours and these are so fresh.

Very light, very elegant and I'm not getting

the smoked salmon and cream cheese part of it quite so much.

Cucumber and apple, a nice bit of sharpness.

The freshness of the cucumber.

-I loved the aerated cream cheese, I thought that was a nice touch.

-Yeah.

I like the way he's used caviar and also salmon eggs

to actually season it, little bursts of salt there.

Let's see what's underneath.

It's more of the same, really, as the top, to be honest.

It's a bit softer, though, isn't it? It's got a light smoke on it.

There's meant to be dill oil at the bottom of this,

but I can't taste the dill.

It would probably be rather nice if you could.

There's an oiliness to it which I found quite unpalatable

and it must have been there was not enough dill to make it work.

Technically, it's a great plate of food.

-I think Matthew and Prue will absolutely love that.

-Yeah.

It's a bit of a sad disappointment, really.

I just don't see it as

part of modern British cooking, is my problem.

I think this is every bit as good as it was last time,

but I'm persuaded by your point

about the lack of the future or modernity.

There's very modern techniques,

it's really fresh, it's crisp, it's clean.

I'm going to have to give it a 9.

Yeah, it's a great bit of cooking, I'll give it a 9 as well.

I'm going to take it down a peg and give it an 8.

Beautiful, but I just feel it's just not nailing the brief.

I'll give it a 9.

Technically, extremely competent,

but I can't give it more than 7, unfortunately.

The techniques he has shown, he has absolutely nailed.

-Yes.

-For me, it's a 9.

This is a posh wedding dish.

-Hm.

-That's what it is.

-It is.

With five fish dishes down,

the remaining three chefs to cook

are Phil Carmichael, Welsh champion...

-Good luck, guys.

-You too, boss.

..Northern Ireland's Mark Abbott

who scored perfect 10s for his fish course

in the regional heats...

..and from the north-west, Adam Reid.

Well, I think we've had a good day so far.

I think there are two really outstanding dishes.

We still have Mark Abbott's fish dish to come

which we gave four 10s to,

so we are going to be awash with opportunities for a fish course.

I think it's no surprise that the three most effective dishes

have been the three most effective interpretations of the brief.

It's going to be good.

Adam Reid is first.

Adam's menu combines contemporary cooking

with well-loved British flavours.

The judges felt his starter was too much like a canape

and he came fourth.

Today he wants to make the banquet shortlist

with a reworking of his hake dish.

A strong dish.

The judges gave me 9s, but I got a bit of feedback from the chef judge

that made me think that if I change the fish to cod rather than hake,

-it would push it to that extra level.

-Yeah?

Cos you've changed it to cod, you reckon you'll get four 10s today?

Yeah.

LAUGHTER

Inspired by a day at the British seaside,

Adam's fish course features a new centrepiece of cod poached in butter

with batter scraps, pickled cockles and an aerated tartare sauce.

-Adam, you all right there?

-No.

What have you got in there, mate?

It's the butter to poach my cod in.

As you can see, it's boiled over.

We all loved Adam's dish the last time,

the hake wrapped in paper and those delicious scraps.

We all gave it a 9.

It was a really sort of piece of classic cooking, actually,

but it had enough about it to move it into the contemporary area.

These are my scraps. They're made of batter.

It puffs up when you put it in stinking-hot dripping,

-like these ones.

-Very nice.

-That one might be a bit dark.

It's quite inconsistent so you have to do lots.

It's just getting...

You've got to get the temperature of the oil bang on,

you've got to get mix bang on.

It's a daft thing to try and do for something like this.

-Do you like scraps?

-I love scraps. Scraps run in my blood.

We might scrap the rest of the dish and just eat the scraps!

Adam is ready to plate up.

He adds the butter-poached cod to his seaside presentation plate...

..followed by sea greens.

How is your cod going, Chef?

It's looking good. I think we're on track.

Next, pickled cockles coated in malt vinegar gel.

Oh, right...

And a bag of scraps served on slate.

-Done?

-Yeah.

Adam completes the presentation

with a newspaper article in tribute to the late Connie Brown MBE,

who ran a fish and chip shop well into her 90s.

OK, be very, very careful, guys.

Cheers, mate. Thank you, guys.

It was very stressful, yes.

But Adam has forgotten the tartare sauce.

-Are you happy with that?

-BLEEP

-Yeah, one sec.

-What's happened?

-The waiters have gone.

I'm just going to run out with this cos it needs to go with the dishes.

Oh, I remember, this is all about Connie, the fish and chip lady.

That's for me, I think!

Whoo!

What happened there, boss?

-I was a little bit late on putting the tartare sauce on.

-Close call.

Close call, yeah.

This is a bit of fun, really, isn't it?

I hate to think what would happen in a banquet.

I've never seen tartare sauce that colour before.

Interesting to see what it tastes like.

I think the aerated tartare is superb.

The tartare sauce is delicious. It's a really clever idea.

Every bone in my body says don't reach for the salt in a restaurant.

It's salt and vinegar.

Ah, right, OK, powder.

Those scraps are delicious. I think they're better than before.

I like them. I don't know if they've come out the way he wanted them.

-Some are burned and some are not.

-They're quite dark.

It's a shame, cos this would be really great.

A little bag of these, just eat, eat, eat.

He has changed the fish from hake to cod.

Well, that's a wise move.

It is a wise move because it's absolutely delicious.

The cockles on the plate are set

on a tiny little bit of gel which is like pickling.

I slightly feel it's missing the killer blow.

In terms of it being of the banquet.

That's a very deceiving dish because it looks very simple.

Yet I've tried three components

and they're all, boom, packed with flavour.

-And pure accuracy.

-Yes.

I'm going to give this a 9.

It's a dish of great confidence because it is so simple.

I'm not going to give it a 10, but I'm certainly going to give it a 9.

I don't think the idea is wholly original

and the scraps were a bit burned. I'd give it a 7.

There's not enough of a wow factor.

I don't think there's anything really new on there.

I'm going to give it a 7.

I would love it at the banquet.

I think it would make people smile and everybody will love it.

Hey!

You had my scraps!

Listen, children!

-He...

-Enough!

-He took my scraps.

-Right, you can have mine, Prue.

-Thank you.

Phil Carmichael is next.

His starter came a disappointing fifth on the leaderboard.

So he is determined to do better with his modern interpretation

of a '70s British classic - prawn cocktail.

In all honesty, I was disappointed the way I executed my starter.

Nerves got the better of me yesterday.

I felt for you there, mate. Going first up is always

-a bit of a nightmare. First up, first day.

-Yeah.

I think Phil Carmichael was very unlucky yesterday

and one of the things you notice, when it comes to finals,

all these chefs get together

and a lot of testosterone starts to flow

and Philip was unfortunately the first chef up yesterday

and his dish really suffered from that.

Phil's reimagined prawn cocktail showcases the progression of cooking

during the Queen's reign...

and gives a nod to the '70s with a new presentation.

-Prawn cocktail? So, how did you get on with that?

-Going home, probably!

I'm just trying to show how far, you know,

Britain's food has come since the '70s.

It was almost like a national dish back them.

Today, if I get shortlisted,

which is going to be tough after the food we've seen already...

The standard today has just been mind-blowing.

-Just phenomenal.

-Again, yes.

-I certainly don't want to leave that judging chamber first.

-No.

It's ugly.

I really like the dish we're about to eat.

It did everything a prawn cocktail should do, only more so.

I think the very first thing I ate

in the very first restaurant I ever went to

was a prawn cocktail in a Berni Inn in Bristol.

If he can take me back there, then honestly, this will be brilliant.

I'll be so, so happy for that!

Actually, it's quite a brave decision to take,

to find a classic and then say, "Actually,

"I'm going to remake this and make it better than it was before."

And it's got to be better,

otherwise that crushing sense of disappointment

in trampling on your nostalgia.

Phil is ready to plate up.

First, lettuce braised in chicken stock, lime and garlic.

Followed by butter-poached langoustine

instead of the traditional prawns.

That is what I call a langoustine.

Sliced tomato is next...

with warm Marie Rose sauce and sourdough wafers.

-What's that?

-Normal paprika.

Oh, nice.

Next, baby gem lettuce followed by chive oil.

To reference the '70s when the dish was popular,

he adds a disco mirror cloche to the plate.

-Wow, look at them!

-I'm guessing that's the retro pie dish there?

Yeah, that's it. The '70s Called, They Want Their Cocktail Back.

Well done.

-Well done, mate.

-Thanks.

-I'm glad that's over with.

-Yeah.

I know I've executed that dish better today than in the regions.

Chuffed with that.

-Oh, look!

-Shimmer, shimmer.

Great. I love a mirror ball.

LAUGHTER

Oh, look at that.

Rather lovely.

That's the best-looking prawn cocktail I've seen.

The sauce is actually really good.

It's got a great old tang to it, it's just spicy enough.

The Marie Rose packs a kick, but that's nice, I like that.

The langoustine is so sweet and fresh.

Yes, it really is, and all the flavours inside,

there's just the right amount of lusciousness to them.

They are perfect.

That is a beautiful langoustine.

That langoustine's probably one of the best I've had.

It was cooked beautiful.

What is this green stuff?

It's chive oil.

Oh, yes.

The flavouring from the sauce is so strong.

The chive oil is nice, it just adds a little bit of freshness to it.

-Oh, that paprika is giving me a kick now.

-Yeah.

Once you get a bit of the powder, it's getting a bit too hot.

It's wonderful. It's a lovely, lovely thing.

Just enough nostalgia without being ironic.

I don't feel the urge to do that around it

and that's probably a good thing.

It's a perfect combination of late '70s and today.

The only disappointing thing in this dish

is the tomato, which is almost tasteless.

Yeah, for me, the langoustine by itself was a 10 all day,

but the dish as a whole, I'll have to give it a 6.

It's supposed to be a modern version of the prawn cocktail

and, to be honest, I would rather have the old one.

This is a 6 for me as well.

I have no quarrel with it at all.

It's just a little bit safe.

It was great fun. It's '70s, it's party, means party.

And I'm giving it a 10.

-I really enjoyed that.

-Yeah, he's nailed it.

I'm going to give it a 10.

Wow, I'm going to have to be one point behind you

and give it a 9.

Do we really want the fish course to be a prawn cocktail?

Oh, you are such a snob. I can't believe it!

Hiya. All right, mate?

-What did you think?

-Well done, mate.

-Spot on.

-What did you score me?

I gave it a ten, mate. I loved it. I thought it was really nice.

-Wow, thank you.

-That's all right.

-Thank you very much.

-I expect the favour to be returned tomorrow!

Mark Abbott is the final chef to cook today.

With his starter already on the banquet menu,

he's hoping to get his fish course there, too.

You've already got one dish through to the banquet.

-Yeah.

-Are you going all out to get two?

Yeah, I got four 10s in the judges' chamber the last time, so hopefully.

-OK, I'm going home.

-You pull that one out of the bag every time,

don't you? "I got four 10s!"

Mark's dish is complex

with five different types of seafood,

including smoked lobster

with a smoked lobster sauce,

tempura battered mussels

and razor clams.

It's called Shellsational.

Britain is renowned for the best shellfish in the world.

-I completely agree.

-And what more fitting

than to give the very best of Britain

the very best of what comes from our coast?

Mark Abbott, he has been the star of the show so far.

Yesterday, he just swept in to do the first course.

Now we're about to eat his fish course.

It was just really beautiful.

How are you going to improve on that?

My dressing I'd made previously for my oyster

didn't really help the oyster,

so I've just changed it to a wasabi and lime dressing.

So you've changed something even though you got four 10s?

Yeah.

Brave man.

I hope he does it exactly as he did it before,

because he took each of those separate shellfish

and every one was treated differently

but they were so harmonious.

-MATTHEW:

-There's a lot which can go wrong there.

The cooking of the lobster is absolutely critical.

Too much and it goes fibrous.

There are some fantastic ingredients there,

the best stuff from our coasts.

If half of the promise in what we're talking about is there,

-this will be an amazing dish.

-I hope so.

Mark starts his presentation box

by placing the oyster on a bed of diced cucumber.

Next, razor clams on a fennel salad.

He dresses with olive oil and tops with fennel cress.

-Here we are! How's it going, Mark?

-Very well, thank you.

At the last minute, he deep-fries steamed mussels in tempura batter

and finishes the smoked lobster tail in a pan with smoked lobster butter.

Will one of you put those scallops in the oven, please, at 180?

What's that? 300?

Onto a plate go the lobster claw and cucumber roll,

garnished with a frisee salad.

Followed by the smoked lobster tail

and a sprinkling of cucumber powder.

Can one of you lift the scallops out, please?

Mark, remind us what's going on here.

So this is the tempura mussel with lemon pepper and lemon gel.

Next, baked scallop in its shell

with seaweed butter and grated yuzu.

Michael, earlier, you were shaking, I'm doing the same.

He completes the oyster with a new cucumber and wasabi dressing.

Smoked lobster sauce is served in jugs.

-Lovely.

-Well done, mate.

Cheers, boys.

-Stunning.

-Really serious hustle to get that out.

Yeah, it's a bit of a sweat, but...it's worth it.

This just looks and feels as sensational as before.

That's my favourite thing - razor clams,

and I hope half of these things are for me.

Clearly, as you're making a preemptive strike,

I've got no question about it.

-What do you reckon, guys?

-A mighty fine selection of food.

It looks lovely.

I particularly like the lobster oil.

The lobster oil is really well-balanced and delicious.

That use of butter is an absolute perfect combination

for the scallop.

Yes, the scallop is bang on.

The flavour of the scallop is still there,

but that seaweed butter just brings it to life almost.

There's a really delicious mussel with a bit of lemony gel.

It's not quite crisp, but it should be.

I hate to say this, but I think this is not as good as it was last time.

You're right. I think the razor clam has really lost its sparkle for me.

The razor clam and fennel was really good, really fresh.

He changed the dressing on the oyster

from oyster leaf to wasabi and cucumber.

I pick up some of that dusty flavour of wasabi but I get no heat from it.

I think the oyster and wasabi dressing is lovely.

-For me, a little bit more wasabi in that.

-And a bit more pepper.

I didn't think the lobster was as good as it was.

The sauce clobbers everything, it kind of crushes

the subtlety of a lobster tail.

The real disgrace - and I want to cry because it was so wonderful before -

is this over-smoked lobster tail, almost inedible, it's so strong.

The lobster sauce is delicious, rich but very clean at the same time.

It doesn't overpower the lobster too much.

Why mess with it? Why didn't he just do what he did last time?

I think it shows what a fine line there is

between a brilliant achievement

and just struggling to maintain that standard.

It's an amazing feat of cooking and everything,

but will you get the same result for a banquet?

I think I'll have to give him a 9.

I'm going to give a 9 as well, I think.

What would you score it, Prue?

-6.

-Really?

-Jeez!

-You really are very disappointed, aren't you?

-I am,

I'm actually quite cross because it was so beautiful.

I think he probably just lost his focus.

It's a little tragedy, that's what.

I think I've got to give it a 10.

I'm going to give it a 10 as well, it's delicious.

I'll give it a 10 as well. It was a brilliant dish.

So shall we see if Mark's going to go straight through again

or if there's going to be a shortlist?

Who knows, we have to see, won't we?

I think he will be shellshocked when he sees this result.

It's been really a great day

and there have been some surprises, though.

We may not have given four 10s to any single one dish,

but we have scattered them along, like stars across the heavens.

The only thing is, I don't think there's an obvious winner.

I'm pretty sure the two guys who got four 10s, Mark and Michael,

you must be up there with a shout, I reckon, today.

Today has been...it's been full-on.

It is the guiding light of the brief that we have to bear in mind

that will maybe make the final decision

of which dishes we actually choose.

There were loads of examples today of contemporary British cooking.

Ones that are differently suitable for the banquet.

Today, I really enjoyed, and then everybody else's dishes,

I thought they were so fantastic.

In the end, it's down to one thing.

That meal has got to be stonkingly,

brain-altering delicious from beginning to end.

Before the final leaderboard is revealed,

it's time to find out, from the chef scores,

who is on their shortlist.

Nervous?

Thank you.

The chefs' shortlist.

-Tommy Banks.

-Really?

Thanks, guys. It was a new dish

so I guess the changes must have been all right.

What a marvellous thing that Tommy has made the shortlist.

I'm very pleased he's on the shortlist. Good.

They're not so, um...mischievous as I thought.

I'll tell you what, Danny Gill is in the shortlist, too.

-Danny Gill?

-No!

-You're joking!

-Oh, come on!

That's a shocker.

A bit scared about being on the shortlist

and going into the judges' chamber again.

I'd like to at least get seventh.

LAUGHTER

But thank you all the same. It's very flattering.

They have joint winners for the first place in the shortlist

and it's good news and bad news.

Mr Abbott.

Thanks very much, guys.

Right, well, maybe he served them up a different version of the dish

than the one we got.

Michael.

Wow, thanks, guys.

Well, that's great. I'd say well deserved.

Excellent. I think that's fair. That seems good, yes.

Congratulations, guys.

-Good luck with the result.

-Yes, good luck, everyone.

-Let's go.

Well, let's add up their scores and our scores together

and let's just hope that we get what we want.

Well, hello, chefs.

-ALL:

-Hello.

We have had some astounding cooking today.

We're always wanting perfect dishes

and today we got a good few perfect, perfect dishes.

Well, I guess you guys would quite like me to get on with it.

In eighth place...

..it is...

Mark Froydenlund.

You did hit the heights yesterday

but I'm afraid your new dish just didn't quite make it.

Obviously disappointed, but we had some amazing food today

-so I wish them all good luck.

-Thanks very much.

In seventh place, this is going to be is a surprise to all of you...

it's Mark Abbott.

-OK.

-The truth was that we found your lobster sauce

and the lobster tail both very badly over-smoked.

I was happy with what I put out today and, um...

-..yeah.

-Well, I'm sorry, Mark.

Thank you.

Geez! Oh, my God!

The two Marks! Sitting beside each other again, mate!

-What a shocker!

-Who's next?

Right, well, in sixth place...

..Danny. I'm really sorry, Danny.

Again, your fellow chefs scored you really highly,

but we just felt that the dish wasn't just modern enough

and it wasn't exciting enough.

OK. Still two more courses to go for, so I'll be back tomorrow.

-Exactly, exactly.

-Thank you.

-You can't guess it, can you?

-Absolutely no idea.

Better than yesterday!

THEY LAUGH

So, in fifth place, it's...

..Adam.

It was a really delicious dish, but ultimately we felt

just not quite right for the banquet.

It's a shame, but there's nothing to be ashamed of going out

-against the guys who are left here.

-You're absolutely right.

-Good luck for tomorrow.

-Thank you very much.

-Unlucky, mate.

-I'm surprised to see you guys out here before me!

In fourth place, it's...

..Josh.

Josh, it was gorgeous.

We loved it in the heats and we loved it even more today.

-Oh, good.

-But you were up against fantastic competition.

Yeah, they were great. Thank you. Cheers.

-All right?

-How you doing?

Are you all right?

So they loved it, but not as good as the other three.

Fair enough.

Take a deep breath!

Three of you left -

two mackerel dishes,

and a terrific homage to the prawn cocktail.

Who knows what the judges are thinking?

Michael's has to be in there, for sure.

I think it's a three-way shortlist, myself.

It could be any of them.

Three fabulous dishes from, frankly, three great chefs.

So we've decided...

..that all three of you have to go onto the shortlist.

-Well done!

-Well done, mate!

-Well done.

-Well done.

-Cheers.

Michael, your dish told a beautiful story of mackerel.

I loved that progression through the different flavours. Well done.

I really enjoyed today, so thank you very much.

Tommy, what a transformation of a dish!

We particularly liked the tartare and the mackerel with the broth.

-Fantastic.

-Really great.

That's really humbling, thank you very much.

Now, Phil,

your reworking of the prawn cocktail,

it made us smile with nostalgia, made as smile with delight.

It was just a little miracle.

Today I was incredibly happy with how I actually executed that dish.

It's been a tremendous pleasure to eat all of your food. Thank you so much.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

As only one of you will get a chance

to cook that fish dish at the banquet,

you'd better cook your socks off tomorrow and the next day, too.

Yeah, the pressure's still on, isn't it?

It is. Good luck.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

I'm absolutely blown away.

I can't believe that my fish course is on the shortlist.

Yeah, I'm over the moon.

I'm really disappointed about being in eighth place for the fish,

but my main course is where I scored my highest points

in the regional heats

so I'm hoping I can produce the same result in the final.

Congratulations, guys.

Is there a shortlist?

Some incredible cooking today, but, yeah, this is the three-man shortlist.

-Congratulations!

-Well done.

It's amazing, getting on that shortlist

after the standard of the food we saw today.

Yeah, it's a pretty incredible feeling.

-Well done, mate.

-Cheers.

I'm absolutely buzzing to be on the shortlist.

It feels more tangible now,

like I could be cooking at Westminster, which is amazing.