Scotland Judging Great British Menu

It's Judgment Day for our two newcomers.

Adam Handling...

I'm gunning for a 10. ..is up against Michael Bremner...

I'm quietly confident about this one.

..for the chance to represent Scotland in the national finals.

How are you going to feel if you lose this one? Absolutely gutted.

The ultimate goal -

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

celebrating the everyday Great Britains honoured by the Queen

throughout her remarkable reign,

at London's iconic Palace of Westminster.

Adam has topped the leaderboard all week and is focused on glory today.

That dish is perfect.

I wouldn't change it.

But Michael is determined to end Adam's winning streak

and take the crown himself.

That's a great piece of advice.

I'll remember it when I'm at the banquet.

Only the finest chef will continue in the competition.

All to play for.

Neck and neck, mate. Neck and neck.

You all right, chief?

The pressure in this kitchen is very, very high.

So, I can tell you that the winner is...

Adam Handling has reason to be confident,

after cooking consistently all week.

But he's striving for perfection

in his quest to be crowned Scottish champion.

I'm tweaking almost every dish, but to make it better.

And if you don't make risks, you don't get rewards.

So I just want to get back in there,

cook my little socks out and hopefully go through.

Great, let's do this. Yeah.

Good luck, chief. Good luck.

Michael Bremner has had a mixed week.

A disastrous dessert course left him in joint second place,

but the perfect 10 he scored for his fish dish nudged him through to

cook for the judges.

This week has been extremely tough.

But I've definitely got what it takes to win for Scotland.

Adam's going home.

Judges Prue Leith, Oliver Peyton and Matthew Fort

are examining the chefs' menus.

Scotland - big competition,

two new chefs - it's very exciting.

Isn't it? And Adam Handling is one hell of a competitive guy.

Well, he's going to have stiff competition from Michael Bremner.

He's built up a terrific reputation on the south coast,

although, looking at his menu, I'd say his heart is

north of the border.

I'm looking forward to his food.

I'm hungry - let's go for it.

Michael, how do you feel about cooking for the judges?

I'm a lot more nervous than I thought I was going to be.

Morning, chefs. How are you?

It's been hard. It's been a hard week.

It's been a good experience.

But very stressful.

Well, it's going to get a bit more stressful now. Michael, you got a ten for your fish, but the rest of

those scores aren't going to see through, are they? No.

No. I've learned from my mistakes, I've changed a few things.

And, Adam, I hear you are the most competitive of chefs, and you've had

good scores. Do you think you can win this one?

Yeah, definitely. I'm not going to be happy unless I get a ten.

We are looking for the best British food.

Yep. So best of luck.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

It's quite funny, the comment made about your competitiveness.

Yeah? How are you going to feel if you lose this one?

Gutted. Absolutely gutted.

Michael is first to plate up his beetroot and goat's cheese starter,

inspired by his mum's favourite gardening programme

and its presenter, Jim McColl, MBE.

Veteran Daniel Clifford thought it lacked impact and scored it a six.

So Michael's making changes in a bid to redress that.

It was my own fault. With his advice,

I've then used the top layer as classic, and then the bottom layer

as contemporary. I'm quietly confident about this one.

The chefs will also be marked by a guest judge,

who understands how British cuisine has totally transformed during the

Queen's reign -

three-times food journalist of the year Tim Hayward,

who knows British food culture inside out.

Tim, welcome. How are you?

Good to see you. Great to have you here.

Hello.

Tim. Well, I think when Her Majesty came to the throne,

I don't suppose there were too many food writers about.

Now, you can't step out of the room without...

Ten a penny. Ten a penny. There's a lot of us, yes.

I started as a kitchen porter when I was about 17,

and I've been in it ever since.

Now I write about it, I broadcast about food,

I run a little restaurant,

and I'm pretty much obsessed with food in all its forms.

So, Tim, what are you expecting today?

Oh, gosh. I'm going to be pretty harsh.

I want really, really good stuff, here.

Frankly, I'm just looking for brilliance.

In the kitchen, Michael is finishing his reworked starter

with a new addition -

compressed apple slices.

They go in the bottom bowl,

and represent the modern part of his salad.

Golden and candy-striped beetroot,

stuffed with pistachio and Japanese miso, is next,

with whipped yoghurt and goat's milk,

and pistachio, oatcake and wild rice for texture.

You're doing a vegetarian starter.

It's very risky. I think having a vegetarian starter would be amazing.

I'm hoping for a high score on this.

On the top plate is cubed beetroot,

dressed in the birch sap which he didn't reduce enough in the week,

apple matchsticks, Douglas Fir oil and a new addition of goat's cheese.

Michael burns Douglas Fir and whisky chips for a smoky aroma.

The handles are at the side - that would be great.

Thank you.

Let's see what the red letter says, shall we?

"Michael's mother loved watching the Beechgrove Garden,

"which was presented by the legendary gardener Jim McColl.

"Jim was awarded an MBE in 1996 for his devotion to horticulture."

I am so much more happy with that dish.

It looked way better. It got me worried, a little bit.

Wow. The smoke's still going from underneath. Wow.

I just do love the old classic combination of goat's cheese and

beetroot. Always works.

I think I took all the advice from Daniel... Yeah.

..improved it. I'm hoping I get a good score there.

I can't taste the birch sap at all.

But the rest of it I love.

The little crunchy oat cakes and the popped rice.

I think the real problem is that the bottom half is actually so

interesting and so pretty... You don't need the top.

..you don't need the top at all.

The layer beneath is very well-balanced.

I like all those combination of flavours.

I think it meets the brief quite well,

in going from the past to the present.

I do think, as a...

as an opening salvo, we have done a great deal worse.

What is the world coming to?

Matthew Fort in praise of a vegetarian dish!

Adam is up next.

But he's having problems with the

ham hock for his packed-lunch- inspired starter.

My BLEEP ham hock!

Are you all right, chief? BLEEP pressure cooker's broken.

I think he's struggling over there.

Cracking.

Adam has to swap pressure cookers,

hoping it won't affect the finished ham.

Boarding Passes Ready, with ingredients from around

the British Isles, scored a strong eight in the week.

But competitive Adam is aiming for higher today.

I ultimately want what you've got. I want one 10, at least.

I thought your seasoning was quite strong.

Daniel said everything was perfectly seasoned.

Let's hope the judges don't, then.

Fingers crossed for that.

First into Adam's Union Flag suitcases is chicken butter,

made using Northern Irish butter.

Next, tins of the rescued Scottish ham hock.

How's the ham hock? Perfect.

Is it a bit salty? No.

Adam grates English truffle onto the Cheddar and Gruyere cheese tarts,

and serves with sourdough rolls.

Curried Welsh mussels are added, in sealed paper bags.

Finally, on the advice of veteran Daniel Clifford,

individual bottles of gin and freshly made lemonade.

Well done, man.

Yeah, cool. Take it.

That was very hard. Very, very hard.

JUDGE LAUGHS

Ooh, what a nice box.

Well, I come to think of shades of the British Empire

when I look at this.

LAUGHTER

Who's going to start? It's lemonade, isn't it?

Tastes pretty good. It's not bad, actually, is it?

And you're happy with all the components that were in there? Everything was great.

The ham scared the life out of me, but all worked in the end - perfect.

I think the tinned pork is absolutely delicious.

This has fantastic flavour but, my goodness,

it's got a lot of fat in it, hasn't it?

The bread was perfect. More, this time, cos that is proved.

I got that on even quicker.

The bread is, frankly, a disgrace.

I think it's slightly under-baked.

Lovely sour smell to it, though.

Chicken batter. That could just enliven almost anything, I think.

I think the Wiltshire truffle cheese tartlet is delicious,

and very good pastry.

I think it's an absolute shocker. I think it's terrible.

I mean, there's just no flavour to it at all.

I think you're being a bit unkind.

This is probably a celebration of food at the beginning...

..of Her Majesty's reign.

Which reveals what a long way we've come, really.

Michael is first to plate up his fish course, in honour of decorated

Scottish fishermen Willie Hay.

The cured mackerel dish impressed veteran Daniel, for its attention to

the brief and for flawless contemporary cooking.

It scored the only 10 of the week.

Michael's under pressure to plate a perfect dish again.

Oh!

Man down. Dropped your seaweed?

Are you stressing out?

Erm...

Yeah, I want to get this right, you know? Surely, if you want to get this right,

it's best to not drop your seaweed. That's a great piece of advice.

No problem. I think you should keep it for the...

I'll remember it when I'm at the banquet.

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

Do you think the diners are going to all like cured fish?

For a banquet of large numbers, do you not think that's a risky move?

I don't think so.

The toppings begin with humble ingredients

and progress to luxurious.

The first is the seaweed,

with crispy mackerel trim.

The second is potato and caper salad.

Then, pickled vegetables.

So, all the elements come together like before? I believe so, yeah.

Next, is a clam wrapped in pancetta and dashi gel.

The last, most luxurious topping is a cooked oyster

with oyster emulsion.

All right - stuff going out.

From the humble origins of Portsoy Bay, Willie Hay rose.

Your life was a lodestar, a beacon, a guide,

to respect the seas and she will provide.

Very nice. It looks really interesting.

I'm intrigued by it.

You hit the brief perfectly well with this one. I think this is the best one you did hit the brief with.

I think the quality of the mackerel is absolutely outstanding.

With ingredients out of our own waters - that's phenomenal.

This is modern British cooking, for me.

I think it's got exactly the same character. It's got exactly the same

respect that I gave the first time I did it for Daniel.

So, hopefully... hopefully they see that, yeah. It's the only one of yours I want to do well.

MICHAEL LAUGHS Cos I really, really like this one.

There's a good deal of clever, understated technique.

Gosh, that pickled veg is astounding.

It was so carefully thought out.

Tiny clams, wrapped in a sheet of some kind of thin gelatine material.

Gosh, that's incredibly technical.

Let us not forget the little oyster at the end.

They are completely different, but they all work in harmony together.

Every flavour was delicious.

I think this is faultless cooking.

I'd have to agree. 10.

Quite right. Good.

Adam's fish course,

using the very best of Scottish seafood,

won points from veteran Daniel

for its theatrical presentation,

but dropped marks because the lobster was overcooked

and the sauce was tepid -

errors he must rectify today.

You got an eight for your dish.

Yeah. Are you making any changes?

If I get the two elements right that I didn't quite with Daniel,

I'm gunning for a 10. I believe in this dish.

I really, really do.

First on Adam's plate is poached lobster...

I just gave the lobster a little flash in the oven

to make sure it's piping hot.

..and white crab meat.

So, you reckon that you've got a high score here?

Ask me in two minutes.

Then avocado puree, English caviar,

sea herbs, lobster tempura...

..and a squeeze of finger lime.

The crab sauce is served in individual jugs,

and the scallops on a treasure chest.

Thank you. Let's go.

Happy?

That was bloody brilliant.

Ready? Oh...

..wow.

JUDGES LAUGH

Looks fantastic.

Gosh, those are huge, monster scallops.

I'm so happy with that dish. The sauce was delicious.

So, I'm really looking forward to hearing what they say about that.

I love the crab sauce stuff.

It's got all sorts of lovely things in it.

The problem with the sauce is that, beautiful though it is,

it is so powerfully flavoured, you can't taste anything else with it.

The two elements that you didn't quite get right when you cooked for

Daniel? Everything was perfect on that one.

I think the lobster has been extremely well cooked, you know.

The scallop's amazing. It's...

..just exactly the right amount of raw in the centre there.

I love it.

Although it's almost perfect as it is,

I don't think it quite fulfils the brief.

At the halfway point,

the chefs are working on their main courses

as the judges consider their scores.

We have two chefs who have very,

very markedly different approaches to the brief.

Michael nailed it on one.

But there are two more courses to come.

It's really very, very hard to call.

I've given a 10 and I've given a 5 as well.

It think that's diversity of scores.

Have we seen stuff that we could put in a banquet?

I think there's one or two in there that would work.

Adam is first to plate up his main course,

using the Scottish Wagyu beef -

a premium-grade meat with rich, fatty marbling.

Not these tactics again, chief?

Smoking the kitchen out?

Adam's twist on a great British dinner using Asian flavours

scored his lowest mark of the week - a 7.

Veteran Daniel didn't like the use of shellfish, and felt it

wasn't a strong enough dish for the banquet.

So, Adam's making changes.

I'm going to do a sharing dish.

And an evolution of British dinner.

So an offal, I'm going to make into little popcorn.

I'm going to do a little hotpot.

OK. And I'm going to do the end of the journey, the Wagyu.

I, personally, think it's a massive risk, changing your whole dish.

I think it's a brave move.

Adam's hopeful that replacing the shellfish with more traditional

elements will tell a stronger story and appeal to the judges.

All to play for.

Neck and neck, mate. Neck and neck.

He's combining both classic and modern cooking to elevate the dish.

Traditional salt-baked vegetables are served in earthenware bowls,

mashed potato in miniature saucepans,

and gravy in individual jugs.

Has it hit the brief? I think it has.

The family dinners of the UK, you know?

When we all get together, we talk...

It's always a celebration.

And I'm using the best of British...

for the best Britains.

The classic lamb, black pudding and oyster hotpot

is served alongside modern popcorn sweetbreads in a bag.

The contemporary flame-cooked Wagyu beef will be carved at the table.

And we're there.

Yes, perfect. Thank you.

That looked pretty impressive.

Whoa!

Ooh, it looks like Sunday lunch through the ages, isn't it?

Yes, doesn't it? Smells delicious.

This is how I wanted this dish to go out.

Do you think that would be classed as a Great British Dinner,

or would it just be classed as, like, an everyday dinner?

You have Wagyu every day?

I'm moving in with you.

Ooh...!

This doesn't need a knife.

This is butter. Oh, look at that.

I found what appears to be black pudding in the hotpot as well,

which looks very good.

I really love these little sweetbread nuggets.

I quite like that crisp, crunchy exterior.

I think what Adam's done here is he's going for the jugular

in terms of flavour. And he's done it extremely well.

I think it's absolutely perfect.

The amazing hotpot with oysters in it and black pudding.

I think the Wagyu is

obviously the most impressive looking thing on here.

Actually, it's a little bit much.

What's not to like about this?

I mean, if you just have a little bit of everything...

it's wonderful.

Michael's also making changes to his main course,

in honour of Scottish gamekeeper Ronnie Rose, MBE.

Veteran Daniel felt he didn't do justice to the mallard

by cooking it sous-vide

and serving it with pureed, confit blackberries.

You know I wasn't happy with the serving.

I'm definitely...

taking on board what he said, to make it the dish that it can be.

And the dish I believe it can be.

Michael's keeping the confit blackberries whole.

He's still cooking one half of the mallard breast sous-vide,

but he's roasting the other half.

Do you think that's going to make the dish work, make it better?

I don't want to change the whole thing,

cos I love the story of Ronnie Rose.

First on to Michael's boards is clove oil.

The final new element he's adding is roasted hispi cabbage.

King oyster and girolle mushrooms are next.

Adam helps grate truffle into salt-baked turnip...

If this goes to the banker, you know who helped you out, yeah?

..and plates fondant onions.

Stovies are served on the plate

with the roast and sous-vide mallard breast

and blackberries confited in beeswax.

Great. Thank you very much.

I'm happy with that.

Thank you.

This is a monument,

a palette of caramelisation, isn't it?

Yeah, this is good.

Oh, that looks a bit dry to me.

Sort of...slight acidity of the blackberry,

it helps to balance out the slightly metallic flavour of the mallard.

It's a blackberry.

The changes that I made make sense, you know?

A mallard roasted.

And stovies - I made them smaller.

The mallard is too dry for me.

I think the stovie as well is too dried out.

I'm not finding much in harmony with the mallard.

What about the cabbage?

I find that quite nice and bitter and surprising.

The onion, it doesn't taste of onion very much.

The mushroom, sadly, doesn't have a great deal of mushroominess to it.

I hope you get better than a seven.

Ooh, I will.

I'm nowhere near Daniel's seven on this at all.

Sad disappointment.

I am almost moved to tears.

First to plate up dessert is Adam.

He scored a solid eight for taking a British classic, lemon meringue pie,

and modernising it

using contemporary techniques and ingredients.

If I make everything perfect, as it should have been,

then I think it's going to score well. Or I hope it does.

Adam dropped points for an overly sweet dish.

So, for his last chance to impress the judges,

he's aiming to reduce the sweetness.

The pressure in this kitchen is very, very hard.

First onto Adam's plate is meringue,

toasted with a blowtorch.

He pipes yuzu curd,

a Japanese citrus fruit,

and fills with a raspberry sauce.

Chunks of aerated white chocolate...

..peanut shortbread

and freeze-dried raspberries are next.

Trying to plate up delicately with these massive alien gloves.

Milk and whisky granita completes the dish.

Looks great.

Adam's serving with glasses of whisky,

a toast, at the end of the banquet, to the Queen's Great Britons.

Yep. Thank you.

JUDGES CHUCKLE

Wow.

Ooh...

Hello, hello!

Oh, there's something red and liquidity in the middle of the...

Oh... Oh, it's raspberry ripple. It is.

I would have to say that the raspberry is tooth-shatteringly sweet, though.

Daniel made a comment saying that you should maybe freshen it up a bit...

I put lemon in the meringues.

And the acidity from the raw raspberries, as well.

The peanut shortbread...

..I thought was absolutely delicious. I loved the little frozen raspberry bits.

Do you think you can make that dish any better? Or is that it nailed?

I thought I couldn't make it any better yesterday, until I got some pointers.

So, for me, that dish is perfect. I wouldn't change it.

I think it's almost impossible to eat.

It is ginormously sweet.

It is just...

hard work from beginning to end.

Whisky's nice.

Michael's dessert, inspired by childhood favourites

and ice cream maker Maitland Mackie, CBE,

scored only six in the week.

Like Adam, he's using whisky.

But veteran Daniel felt Michael's ice cream

didn't have enough flavour.

If you add more whisky into the ice cream, it doesn't set as hard.

Oh, really? So, I'm going to make a chocolate sauce

that's got whisky in it.

Michael plates up slabs of shortbread,

with sticks of chocolate ganache covered in meringue.

These flavours represent his favourite Scottish teacakes.

A new addition, honeycomb, finishes the board.

I think I was very lucky getting through yesterday.

I failed on my dessert quite badly

and I hope I don't do that today, as well.

On a side plate is salted caramel mousse,

Whisky Mac jelly,

new chocolate orange crumb

and topped with Whisky Mac ice cream -

a grown-up take on jelly and ice cream.

The new chocolate whisky sauce finishes the dessert.

Thank you very much.

It's been an honour. It has indeed. Thanks a lot, buddy. Cheers.

May the best man win. May the best man win.

Well, I must say. Something here for everybody, isn't there?

What do you think?

Much better than yesterday. I'm happy with the changes I made, yeah.

The chocolate is nicely bitter.

So, it's a contrast with the creaminess...

Oh, and the whisky ice cream is not too sweet either.

And the salted caramel mousse is delicious.

It's very elegant, very sophisticated. I love it.

Does that dish represent the Great Britons of this country?

I think it's a dessert that is fun,

you know? It's interactive. You get to toast your own marshmallow...

Here we go.

Oh, guess what? There's chocolate inside.

It's not just marshmallow.

I'm trying to work out the relationship between the two things. The deconstructed teacake.

I can't see the teacake connection.

That's nice, buttery shortbread.

I think the smart money would be on persuading him not to bother with the fire and the second part,

and just go with the very sophisticated ice creams.

I mean, I don't really see the point.

But it's fun! It's fun... You joyless fellow!

I'd have that part, which is fun and which has surprises in it.

Next up, judges' chamber.

I'm nervous. Me too, me too.

There's clearly two guys in there who are absolutely packed with

passion and love for what they're doing.

Tons and tons of skill on display.

Tons of creativity.

It would be massive to get through and win for Scotland. For sure.

Both chefs have done a couple of really great dishes.

Welcome, chefs. Thank you.

How's it been? The most stressful thing I've ever done in my life.

It's been stressful, yeah.

Emotional, tiring.

Well, I think there's no doubt we have eaten some very fine

contemporary British cooking.

Some of the dishes, though, didn't quite reach those heady heights.

Well, I'm sure you'd both like to know who's going to be crowned

the Scottish champion.

The winner is...

..Michael.

Congratulations. Oh, man...

I can't believe that.

Well done.

Thank you. Well done.

Wow...

I put so much work into it.

Erm...yeah.

I can't believe it, honestly.

Adam, commiserations.

How do you feel?

Like you just went down my throat and pulled my heart out.

But that's the competition and that's what happens.

He's a fantastic chef and he's going to do Scotland proud, for sure.

Thank you. Well, Michael,

I have to say, you know, your standout dish for me was your fish dish.

I thought it was absolutely faultless cooking.

And I gave it a 10. Thank you very much.

And I gave it a 10, too.

Me too. I'll make it 4 out of 4.

Oh, man. Wow.

Thank you very much.

Adam, your main course was an absolute delight.

It was just gorgeous. Delicious.

Guys, you took risks and it was an absolute honour to eat your food.

It really was. Thank you very much. Thank you.

See you in the finals, Michael.

Thanks a lot. Thank you.

Well done. Thanks a lot. No worries.

I won!

I can't believe that! That is insane.

I thought Adam was amazing.

And that is...

That is crazy. I can't believe it.

Well, that was really emotional.

I felt both the pain and the joy.

It is a massive blow.

Michael's a great chef. There's nothing more else I could have done.

Well done, buddy. Thank you very much. Well done.

Guess what?

'What?' I won.

'Oh, no way! Woo!'

'Congratulations, Daddy.'

Oh, thank you!

Home chefs with a passion for cooking

join forces with professional chefs

putting their reputations on the line.

Mash the spuds!

Take the risotto off for ten minutes!

Who will rise and who will fall?

How are you getting on?

It's a cracking plate of food.