South West Starter Great British Menu

This year on Great British Menu...

It's hot in here. Deep breaths.

..the nation's best chefs are competing to become ambassadors for

contemporary British cooking.

You did say modern, chef. Yep.

Come on, baby, come on, baby. Pressure in the kitchen is ridiculous.

I'm slightly nervous of you with that saw!

Yeah, me too!

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

the chefs are celebrating the everyday Great Britons she has

honoured for their extraordinary achievements.

Their goal? To cook at the ultimate banquet,

held at the country's most iconic building, the Palace of Westminster...

..where their dishes must reflect the new era of British cuisine.

Going for gold all the way, mate.

But first, our eager newcomers...

I'm here to get a dish to the banquet.

I'm gunning for a ten. This one's going to smack them in the chops,

I reckon. It's anyone's game, really.

And returning chefs...

Ha-ha! I'm feeling the pressure.

..have to impress our formidable team of veterans.

You're joking.

Stressful, isn't it? ..who are expecting nothing but excellence.

It's pretty much faultless.

You sure you're talking about me?

It was amazing.

That was a stunning dish.

One little mistake... Wow!

..could be catastrophic.

This year, our chefs have travelled across the country

to meet everyday Great Britons recognised for their extraordinary endeavours...

Put it in the oven!

..and dedicated commitment to their communities.

Our charity supports young cancer patients in the whole of Scotland.

Since her coronation in 1953,

thousands of people have been honoured by the Queen.

I received a British Empire medal. Wow. And this is my OBE.

You must feel very honoured to receive it.

Inspired by these Great Britons,

the chefs must demonstrate the transformation of British food

during the Queen's historic reign.

Wow. Their challenge?

To produce a lasting legacy...

Look at you! ..to this new Elizabethan age.

This week, the chefs battling to be South West champion include two

returning contenders.

Michelin-starred Josh Eggleton competing for the third consecutive year.

The first year I got to Friday, second year I got to the final,

and this year I've got to get a dish in the banquet.

And Jude Kereama, who crashed out of the competition early last year,

failing to cook for the judges.

I'm confident I've got the menu to take me through to Friday.

I'm not going home on Thursday again.

The third chef is Chris Wheeler,

who is hoping to impress with bold flavours and theatrical presentation.

I may be the new kid on the block in this competition,

but I've been cooking at a very high standard for over 20 years,

and I'm here to win.

Judging this week is a chef familiar with the pressure of

the Great British Menu kitchen.

I need to calm my nerves a bit.

It doesn't change, really, does it?

In the mornings, you're like, still the same feeling.

A banquet champion and holder of a Michelin star.

No matter who comes through that door,

they're all going to be very tough.

I think I fear all of them. Yeah.

Lisa Allen.

Morning, guys! Good morning.

Morning, chef. Josh, are you ready to get to that banquet this year, then?

Yeah, I'm ready to go. Jude.

Very disappointed that I went out on the Thursday last year,

but hopefully I can push through to the chamber this year.

So you're ready to push Josh out, then, are you?

I'll try to, yeah.

Chris, the newcomer.

So you think you can really give those guys a run for their money?

Hopefully. I want to get to the banquet, so, you know,

let's see what I can do.

I do believe that a couple of you have got shellfish in your starter.

I do have a shellfish allergy.

So I've invited a friend along to come and help me.

All right.

Two-Michelin-starred chef and former banquet champion, Simon Rogan.

Morning guys, how are you doing?

Morning. I was lucky enough to get a dish through to the banquet,

so I'm looking forward to some smart, tasty food that fits the brief.

Good luck. Thank you. Thank you.

I was nervous, now I'm extremely nervous!

Yeah. Be all right.

That is probably the worst, isn't it? Having two judges.

First up is the reigning South West champion, Josh Eggleton.

Good morning.

Good morning, Josh. How are you?

Yeah, good, thank you. I must say you're looking very relaxed.

No nerves? Yeah, I'm just hiding it with a smile.

The name of my dish is Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation.

So I'm going to do a lobster, chicken and leek coronation chicken terrine.

All right, OK. It was actually created for Queen Elizabeth II's

coronation, so I'm trying to take that dish and elevate it.

So I've got a lovely organic chicken, here.

I'm going to take the legs off, confit salt the legs,

but with some curry powder going through there.

Take the breasts off, and poach the breasts in a water bath.

I'm going to poach steam the lobster.

And then I've also got some leeks here which I'm going to char-grill.

And then I'm going to press all of that into a terrine.

Right, OK. So, the garnish,

a classic garnish with coronation chicken is apricots.

So they're going to be very quickly poached, a bit of lemon and thyme.

I'm also going to make an apricot membrillo. Like a quince membrillo?

Yeah. A lot of techniques going on, then.

Yeah, there's a lot going on with this dish, yeah.

Simon, what do you think of this take on coronation chicken?

Interesting, with the curry as well, in a terrine, in the time as well.

You've got your work cut out. Yeah, I know I have,

I've got loads of work to do. Well, best of luck, Josh.

Thank you very much.

For me, it's the balance of the flavours.

He's using lobster, he's using chicken, he's using curry.

He has to cook them perfectly.

If he gets it right, it could be superb.

Next is returning chef Jude Kereama

with an unconventional box of ingredients.

Morning, Jude. How are you? Good, thank you.

Great to be back but, yeah, I'm still really nervous about it.

So what's inspired your whole menu?

My inspiration behind this menu are Great Britons who have been

celebrated in their fields and honoured.

So my starter is called Crank Up The Radio.

And it's been inspired by Trevor Bayliss, who was honoured

with a CBE, who invented the dynamo that powers the wind-up radio.

And so I'm using the acronym radio for my ingredients for this dish.

That's great. So tell me what's on the radio, then.

So, the R is for radishes.

I've got some mooli, and some pink radishes, which are lovely.

A for allium, which I have some shallots -

allium being the onion family.

The onion family, yeah. The D is for Dexter, Dexter beef.

That's a lovely piece of beef, that. Aged beef? Local? Yes, it is.

It's from a local farm in Cornwall.

I is for ice cream, but I'm making a Parmesan ice cream.

Wow.

The O is for oysters.

And that all spells radio.

What do you think about ice cream on a starter?

It's not sweet, it's savoury.

Interesting. Simon, what do you think to this dish?

Looking forward to that ice cream, I love oysters and beef together.

So, yeah, looking forward to this. Brilliant. Thank you.

Best of luck, Jude. Thank you, Chef.

I'm really interested to see how this dish is going to look.

He's using Parmesan ice cream on a starter.

A very cold item on a dish numbs your palate,

and you want to warm it up in some way

so all those lovely flavours can marry together.

Last up is Chris Wheeler, with a diverse selection of ingredients.

Hello, Chris. Hello. How are you?

Not so bad. So, nerves running high this morning, Chris?

Yeah, really nervous. Especially with two judges.

Tell us about your starter and the name of it.

So the name of the dish is A Feast of Crown Jewels.

So I'm trying to recreate the Queen's dressing table.

Wow, you've seen the Queen's dressing table, have you?

I can't tell you that. We're going to fill it with jewels.

So I'm using ingredients that I feel is associated with the Queen.

So we've got a lovely venison, obviously linking to Scotland.

I'm going to turn that into a lovely carpaccio.

And then we've got some lovely English asparagus.

So I'm going to turn it into an asparagus and watercress mousse.

And then we've got some lovely English duck leg which I'm going to

turn into a rillette. That will be another crown on her little dressing table.

Wow, you've got a lot of ingredients going on, so you've got duck

rillette, you've got venison, you're doing a watercress mousse.

And I'm making brioche, as well.

That's a big ask in the time allocated, there.

It's all or nothing, today.

Chris' dish is very ambitious.

Venison carpaccio, duck rillette, there's purees.

His own brioche to make.

A lot to do in the timeframe.

We have no idea what it's going to look like,

but I bet you it's going to be extravagant.

As cooking gets underway, it all seems very familiar for Josh and Jude.

So, how are you feeling, Jude? Second time round it's a bit nerve-racking -

how are you feeling, veteran?

Yes. I'm feeling the pressure. Feel at home? Yes, I do, actually.

How are you feeling, Chris? This time round.

Once I know my way around, we'll be flying.

Last year, Josh succeeded in getting his starter onto the final short list,

but narrowly missed out on the banquet.

This time, he wants to impress with his ambitious coronation chicken and

lobster terrine.

You've got a lot of food going on there, haven't you, buddy?

Yes, major concern about my dish is getting the terrine set in

time, you know? It's my main priority.

Having worked in renowned kitchens around the world,

Josh Eggleton returned home to the south-west and opened

the Pony Trap Gastro pub near Bristol,

where he went on to win a Michelin star.

Service.

It's a real simple country pub, you know?

You can come in for steak, or even a seven-course tasting menu.

It's very accessible, just let the produce speak for itself.

At the heart of Josh's restaurant is his field-to-fork ethos.

Most of his ingredients come from within a 20-mile radius of the pub.

Some are as close as next door, from a farm run by Lou Castle.

What have you got for me today?

They've been picking cabbage today, kale.

Last of the runner beans here, as you can see.

This farm doesn't just supply food to locals,

it invites local people to grow their own food, as well.

It's a community farm, it's all-encompassing for everyone.

They can come here and spend some time relaxing,

or they can come and work.

This piece of land represents great produce and

that's what the restaurant is all about for me -

seasonality and amazing produce and just making the produce sing on the plate.

And Luke is hoping the meat reared on the farm will help take Josh

to the banquet.

It smells amazing. With this beef, he's going to win this year, of course.

Definitely.

In the kitchen, Josh is working on the apricots and accompaniments,

including a gel, a type of thick fruit jelly called a membrillo and

apricots cooked sous-vide with dessert wine and thyme.

Chris is prepping his complex starter,

featuring three separate dishes plated up as one,

an asparagus mousse, carpaccio of venison, and brioches with duck rillette.

Where is your brioche, Chris?

On top of the oven, just proving. In that bowl? Up there? Yeah.

If it goes wrong, I don't have time to make it again,

so fingers crossed it will rise out of the bowl.

He moves on to the Parmesan garnish.

How are you getting on, Chris?

OK. This is your tuile mix?

That's correct. On the carpaccio, you serve Parmesan shavings, normally.

I'm going for a Parmesan crown.

Right. I'm going to wrap it around.

An actual crown. Yes, like the Queen's crown.

OK, and you think you've got enough Parmesan flavour in here instead of

putting Parmesan on the plate? What I've done is I've put a bit of

Parmesan sprinkled over the top, so hopefully it will fuse into the mix.

OK, very interesting.

Best of luck. Thank you.

Last year, Jude served a complex starter that earned him seven points.

This time, he's planning a more refined beef and oyster dish.

I've done quite a simple salad in comparison with you guys.

Hopefully it will pay off.

He starts with his Dexter beef tartare, which he slices and chills.

Next, he makes the savoury Parmesan ice cream.

Then the oyster emulsion.

Put these oysters in there. I'm on track, which is a nice thing.

You think you're on track and then all of a sudden, something's missing.

Jude Kereama is an award-winning chef based in Porthleven, Cornwall.

He's chef patron of two seafront restaurants,

where he cooks British food with an Asian twist.

Service, please. It's Jude's second time in the Great British Menu

kitchen, and the locals are backing him all the way.

I'm feeling a lot more confident than I did last year.

The locals have been fantastic with their support.

Hopefully I can make them proud this time.

When he's not in his restaurants,

Jude likes to spend time with local people,

like lobster fisherman Daniel Gilbert,

who's helped inspire his menu as well as supply the ingredients.

I know what you like, Danny. You love traditional lobster.

I sometimes have lobster for breakfast.

So I definitely know my lobster taste.

This year, winning is even more important,

because there's a Great Briton in the family.

Jude's father-in-law, Anthony.

To be honest, Ants, I was really surprised.

Not that I was surprised that you deserve one, but I didn't

realise that you had one.

No, well, it was a bit of a surprise when I was given an OBE

after the Gulf War for some diplomatic work.

As a thank you for the help with his menu,

Jude's prepared some freshly caught lobster for Anthony and Daniel.

Oh, my days. That is amazing, mate.

A bit of lobster deserves a bit of Chardonnay.

Good luck in the competition.

Thank you very much. I don't think you need it.

As veteran Lisa has a shellfish allergy,

Simon checks on Jude's progress.

Jude. Hello, chef.

How's it going, then? Good, thank you.

Oysters, the emulsion.

How have you made that? It's over here.

I've got some oysters that have been shucked.

I've got some... A little bit of dashi powder, some lemon,

blitzed it with some parsley and some oil and I'm going to work that

through my tartare mix.

So that's going to give that oyster element, that zinc-y flavour.

OK. Great classical flavours.

Really looking forward to seeing how you bring them all together.

Thank you very much, chef.

Josh is layering curried chicken, charred leeks and lobster for his

terrine, inspired by coronation chicken -

a dish first made for the Queen's Coronation Banquet.

Hey, Josh. How you getting on? Yeah, not bad.

Finishing off my terrine, just building it up.

So are you happy with all the elements you've got in there?

The balance of the flavours.

Getting the curry flavour to come through and balance with the lobster

and the chicken again is quite tricky. But hopefully...

Well, it's in there now, so good luck, isn't it?

Yeah, you need to get that in that blast chiller quickly. I do, yeah.

Chris is working on his culinary take on the Queen's crown jewels...

..rolling confit duck leg for the duck rillette...

..then searing venison and covering in mustard and herbs for the carpaccio.

I think I'm doing OK.

There's a few things I've still got to do.

But hopefully I'm going to be on time.

Originally from Dorset,

Chris Wheeler is an award-winning chef at the prestigious

Humphry's restaurant at Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire...

Check on, one lobster, one terrine, one beef medium-rare, one halibut.

ALL: Yes, Chef!

..where he's renowned for his flair and innovative approach.

For the food here, we're modern British cuisine but with the Wheeler twist.

So we do a lot of smoking, we do a lot of theatre work.

We like to have the wow factor in all our dishes.

Chris isn't just a theatrical chef.

He's a highly competitive one, too - and not just in the kitchen.

Recently he returned to his native Dorset to run the Bournemouth

half marathon for charity.

I ran with a 7.5 kilo stockpot.

My arms actually hurt more than my legs.

It's Chris the chef, everybody!

Chris the chef!

Cooking, I'm going to be more competitive.

I'm going to win the cooking.

Today I was running but I didn't quite win, did I?

With his brioche in the oven,

Chris is concentrating on the asparagus and watercress mousse,

but he's taken his eye off the stove.

Smells like something's burning.

You all right there, buddy? Just my balsamic vinegar.

Oh, right. You know, it's just reducing down.

As a side dish, Jude's preparing lotus crisps made from the stem of

the flower, hoping it will win him marks for originality.

Josh has moved on to the remainder of the seven accompaniments he's

planning to serve with the terrine.

I've got my terrine in the blast chiller,

so hopefully it's going to set.

But I'm leaving it right until the last minute so we'll have to see.

But it's Jude who's first to plate up Crank Up The Radio -

a contemporary starter which he'll serve in boxes resembling the

wind-up radios invented by Great Briton Trevor Baylis CBE.

First, he puts his lotus root crisps in copper pots.

Then onto a serving plate, he adds the Dexter beef tartare

to moulds and tops with pickled mooli.

I can't believe I said yes to coming back.

Next the pickled shallots, Parmesan ice cream...

..and radishes.

Jude, you're due at the pass now. I'll be ten seconds.

He then garnishes with nasturtium leaves, mustard cress,

and oyster emulsion, and serves.

Wow, a radio. So, this is Crank Up Your Radio.

See on the side here, if you crank this the music will actually start.

Very patriotic. Shall we go and try it?

Yes. Yes, please, Chef.

I am sorry because due to my allergy I can't taste the tartare but I can

taste the ice cream on the top.

Do you think you've got the balance right with the flavour of the

Parmesan coming through the ice cream?

I think I did because that's not an overbearing kind of flavour.

There could have been a bit more Parmesan.

You don't get that initial taste when you first taste it.

Beef tartare.

Are you happy with the balance of the beef and the oyster emulsion?

I think it takes... A little bit of the zinc flavour comes through.

I think the beef's amazing but that oyster really overpowers it, I think.

Is there anything that you've missed off the dish?

I think he forgot his fried lotus root.

That's a shame. It's a shame. This was going to add extra crunch.

I think the lotus root crisps would have been nice.

It would have. I love lotus root crisps.

So, I'm quite sad they're not here, to be fair.

That's even worse. Hm. Mm.

So, Jude, if you had to score your own dish, what would it be?

Because I'm missing my lotus root crisps, maybe a six.

Renowned for his theatrical presentation,

Chris is assembling the props for his feast of crown jewels.

Hi, guys. How are you going?

How are you doing, mate? Yeah, good.

I'm a bit annoyed that I left off the lotus root crisps.

Did you try them? No, I didn't try them because they weren't on the pass.

It was gutting because Simon says he loves lotus root crisps, as well,

so... Oh, dear. ..it's doubly annoying.

To the venison carpaccio Chris adds horseradish cream, balsamic pearls...

..and tops with a Parmesan tuile crown.

Orange marmalade brioche goes into a jewellery box...

..with extra marmalade in a ring box...

..followed by the duck rillette and orange jelly.

Maybe you could just open the tin of caviar for me.

What? Caviar!

Next the asparagus and watercress mousse in a glass crown topped

with wild mushroom, poached quail's egg and hollandaise sauce.

Nice.

Finally, beluga caviar and a gin and Dubonnet.

Man, that looks decadent.

Well done, chef. Wow.

You looked like you were under a bit of pressure there.

There was a lot to plate up in the end.

There is a lot. Well, I think we should go and taste it. Let's go.

The asparagus mousse.

Are you happy with the texture of the mousse?

I think the asparagus has got a nice crunch to it,

which is what I was trying to get. Mhm.

It could be seasoned a little bit more for me.

Then to the venison carpaccio.

Do you think it has enough seasoning on it?

I think so because I seasoned it well and then I seared it and then

rolled it in the herbs and some Dijon mustard.

If anything, it could do with more of it, you know?

Mm. You got your brioche made in time. Yeah.

And the rillette, do you think it's the right density?

Yeah, I think it's stuck together well. It's seasoned well.

The rillette is maybe a touch dry.

Yeah, I found the rillette a touch dry, as well. A touch dry.

Do you think that all the components go together on the plate?

It's all little, like a little tasting, you know, tasting starter.

If you were to score your own dish what would it be?

Five, six.

Next dish, I'm going for a ten.

Josh is last to plate up his contemporary take

on coronation chicken.

Created in 1953 for the Queen's Coronation Banquet,

the centrepiece of Josh's dish is a curried chicken and lobster terrine.

Hiya, Chris. How was that?

I think it went well. A couple of little things I could have,

you know, made a little bit better.

I'm really happy the brioche went well, so, that was...

Yeah, are you ready for them, Josh? Not quite yet.

To an envelope-shaped plate complete with a Queen's Coronation stamp,

Josh adds poached apricot slices and pickled baby gem hearts.

I still need that to warm up a bit more, really.

Next on, apricot gel.

The terrine must be served at room temperature,

so Josh reaches for the blowtorch.

Your main concern was the terrine setting.

Now you're worried that it's a little bit cold now. Yeah.

Next, devilled quail's eggs, curried mayonnaise, lobster oil.

Then the apricot membrillo and coriander shoots.

Lobster dressing completes the dish.

Happy? Yeah. So, shall we go and taste?

I think we should. Yes, Chef.

So, these are fresh apricots?

Yeah, which I've infused with lemon and thyme.

Actually, it's a little bit softer than I thought it would be.

I don't really think it really adds anything to the dish.

So you were looking for a soft-boiled quail egg, were you?

Yeah, I wanted a soft-boiled egg with the sort of devilled mayonnaise on top.

The quail egg is really well cooked.

It's got like a mustardy kick to it. Yeah.

The terrine?

Are you happy with the amount of curry flavour in the terrine?

I don't want it to taste like a curry.

It's supposed to taste of chicken and lobster and be seasoned with

curry, you know?

Lobster cooked perfectly. Mm. Seasoned well.

Do you think if people were eating the terrine, that they would go,

"Oh, coronation chicken?" Yeah, I think they'd get it.

And if you were to score yourself out of ten what would it be?

I'd probably give myself a seven.

I need to refine the seasoning a bit more and try and create more balance.

How you doing, guys? How was that? Yeah, it was tough.

Did you like my dish? Yeah, it was brilliant.

Presentation, colour was really good as well.

And the terrine set. Yeah.

Very clever dish, bang on brief in my mind.

I just wanted more of a kick from all the other flavours.

I think I've done OK. I think I did a good job.

Maybe one or two elements too many for my first time.

Personally I love it, but at a banquet for a lot of people,

people could go a bit squirmy over it.

I agree.

The missing element was painful but hopefully it's not a bad score.

Hello, chefs. How are we? Yes, Chef. Good, thank you.

Josh, I'm going to start with your dish.

Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation.

We thought the terrine looked stunning, very well marbled.

Simon thought the lobster was perfect.

The chicken was well cooked, as well. OK.

However, Simon said there wasn't quite enough curry flavour coming through. OK.

It needed a little bit of texture on the dish, so the sourdough toast.

Overall it didn't make me think of coronation chicken.

OK.

Jude. For your dish, Crank Up The Radio,

presentation-wise we felt that the prop dominated the dish.

I wanted a little bit more kick in the Parmesan ice cream.

Simon thought the oyster didn't really come through.

And it's a shame that you forgot those lotus crisps.

But Simon said the beef tartare was delicious.

It's a dish with great potential.

Chris.

For your dish, A Feast Of Crown Jewels.

The brioche. Congratulations making brioche in that time.

The carpaccio was tasty...

..as was the asparagus mousse.

But the different elements on the dish didn't really work together.

Balsamic pearls and the horseradish cream needed to have a bit more

purpose on the dish.

The duck rillette was a little bit dry.

To make this dish work, every element had to be perfect.

I felt that it didn't quite work.

Now for the scores.

Josh, I'm going to give you...

..a seven. Thank you.

Jude, I'm going to give you...

..a six.

And, Chris, I'm going to give you...

..a five.

You did take on too much and the dish suffered.

Next course is the fish.

I know you guys can plate up some fantastic high-scoring dishes.

So, good luck. Thank you, Chef.

Well done, mate. Well done, Chris. First course out the way.

Thank God for that.

A seven, I'm happy with that. But obviously, you know, I need to improve.

I want that to be better. She's one tough cookie so we've got to up our

game, I guess. Yeah.

It wasn't really the score I wanted but, you know, five's halfway.

You can only go up from now on, so, hopefully, I can achieve that.

I score a six, I'm right in the middle.

Not ideal but not the worst case scenario.

I'd rather be in Josh's spot.

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