North West Main Great British Menu

This year on Great British Menu.

Woo!

24 of the country's top chefs...

Nerves getting to you?

..are competing to cook at a glorious Taste Of Summer banquet,

celebrating 140 years of the iconic Wimbledon Championships,

the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament in the world.

This week, battling to represent the North West

in the national finals are...

Ellis Barrie, who yesterday lengthened his lead

with a perfect ten.

I've never tasted a plate of food like that.

Tom Parker, currently in second place after conquering his nerves.

I'm not trying to put any more pressure on you,

but it's really hard, that turbot, to cook.

And Paul Askew, trailing in third,

having yesterday been stopped at the pass.

Please take some of that off.

Today, it's the all-important main course

and the chefs are cooking their hearts out.

I'm hoping for a higher score to catch you guys up, you know.

Everyone's got high hopes.

Who can live up to expectations?

Fingers crossed.

The competition...

Stop shaking.

..is getting serious.

Tasting good, never mind looking good.

Hold onto your hats.

To hit this year's brief,

the chefs must create dishes that conjure a taste of summer

and honour the heritage of the Wimbledon championships.

With two courses down, Ellis leads with 18 points.

Tom has 15 and Paul has 12.

How are we doing?

-Good.

-Yeah, are you?

Ready for a new challenge today?

I was made up with me ten yesterday.

I need to just keep going now.

Keep pushing, try and get a ten again today.

I think today's the day you need to look over your shoulder, buddy.

Judging this week is two Michelin starred chef, Daniel Clifford,

whose own main course won a place at a Great British Menu banquet.

-Good morning, chefs.

-ALL:

-Morning.

Main course - I want to see flair.

I want to see passion.

I want to see a fighting spirit.

So good luck

and let's have some cracking food today, boys,

and with really high scores.

So let's get cooking.

Currently in last place Paul has been criticised by Daniel

for both his simple starter and cluttered fish dish.

He's hoping that today he'll get it just right

with a main inspired by his mum,

Summer Memories With Marjorie.

-All right, Paul?

-Morning, Chef.

-Are you all right?

-I'm good. How are you?

-Yeah. Feeling good?

I am, yes, I'm really looking forward to this.

It's a very personal dish which is a homage to my mother.

This is a celebration of what she loved to eat in the summer.

-We've got some lamb.

-It is lamb but it's classed as hogget.

It's a little bit older.

People normally associate lamb to six, eight months,

ten months maybe.

A hogget is something after 12 months and I choose it

because it's got that little bit more depth of flavour.

I'm doing a bit of nose to tail cuisine.

We're using four different elements from the same animal.

You've got beautiful heritage vegetables.

We've got hogget.

What else are you doing?

Then we've got a hay roast rump, which will be sealed,

wrapped in hay, a little bit of lavender and rosemary.

-That grassy nose is what I'm looking for.

-Then we've got some sweetbreads.

Yeah, very lightly poached and just finished very quickly in the pan

so it's nice and crispy at the last minute.

You need to score really highly today. So good luck.

-Thank you, Chef.

-Make sure it's spot-on, yeah?

I'll be there.

Paul's doing a beautiful hogget dish with beautiful vegetables.

I hope he's taken on board my advice and I hope

he can do it the justice it deserves.

In second place, Tom has scored consistently well

so far but he's hoping to go higher today

with a dish celebrating the great British barbecue.

-Good morning, Tom.

-Morning, Chef. Are you all right?

-Yeah, very good.

-Yourself?

-Good.

-How are you feeling?

-All right today, yeah.

What's the name of the dish?

-The name of the dish is called You Cannot BEEF Serious.

-Very clever.

-Yeah.

-Very clever. How's this linked in with the brief?

It's just a good, good summer dish. Good flavours, good smokiness.

It's a proper barbecue.

-So we are barbecuing today?

-We are definitely barbecuing.

So beef rib.

-Yeah.

-And beef hearts.

-Yeah.

Is heart going to be off-putting for a lot of guests?

It is a bit challenging, yeah. For me, it's really rich.

I think people will like it.

OK. Then the rest of the garnish through the dish?

-So we're doing a baked potato.

-OK.

We're going to bake it on salt and scoop the middles out

and mix it with a very fresh nasturtium butter.

For me, main course is the big one.

It's the one that I always wanted to win.

You've got some stiff competition, as well.

-I wish you the best of luck.

-Thank you very much.

I'm excited about Tom's dish.

A beautiful rib of beef, baked potatoes in nasturtium butter.

It sounds delicious.

If he cooks his heart out, this could be his dish.

Currently in the lead, Ellis scored a ten for his fish course.

He's hoping for a repeat performance today with a dish

recalling a time when Wimbledon was reserved for the upper classes.

-Good morning, Ellis.

-Chef.

-How are you?

-Very well.

How are you feeling?

A bit apprehensive, got good results yesterday,

hopefully do the same again today.

Main course.

Fred Perry's Pork Tie.

-Is that what it's called?

-That's the name of the dish.

Fred Perry's Pork Tie.

-The man himself.

-OK.

It's based on when Fred Perry, being from a working-class background,

went to Wimbledon, won the Championship.

Instead of getting congratulated with the club winner's tie

he found it drooped over the back of his dressing room chair.

-So, why?

-Wimbledon was a big elite, it was a bit posh.

For a northern lad to come down and win the show,

was a bit sort of, "Huh, how dare you?"

So, Ellis, tell me about the dish?

So stuffed pork loin.

Rolled pork et bonbons.

I'm serving it with pear variations and summer vegetables.

I've got pear running through the stuffing.

-I've got a little bit of Perry to finish off the sauce.

-OK.

And I'm going to pickle one and candy one.

It's a beautiful array of ingredients.

I think you've got an amazing story. I just hope you can deliver it.

So do I.

I'm worried about Ellis today. He's got a lot of work to do.

Has he taken on too much?

Is this the dish that he'll start to lose points?

Daniel's got the main course at the banquet before.

He'll be looking for something pretty special today off us lot.

Who can live up to them expectations?

Fingers crossed.

-We've all got high hopes.

-Everyone's got high hopes.

For his dish, You Cannot BEEF Serious,

Tom is attempting an ambitious four-part process to ensure

his beef is cooked to perfection and full of flavour.

So, Tom, up first. How are you getting on?

I'm getting my head down for a change.

Have you got a lot to do, Tom?

Yeah, it's just the cooking of the beef, really.

It's a long old process. It's going to be a bit down to the wire.

What are you worried about?

If any bit's delayed, it could all go massively wrong today for me.

With no time to spare,

he prepares the fillet of beef and places into a water bath.

Paul's dish, Summer Memories With Marjorie,

a tribute to his mother, uses hogget as the central ingredient.

He's hoping that after a difficult week so far

today he can finally impress Daniel.

Is there anything you're worried about, Paul?

I think today the thing I'm most concerned about is making sure

I get each element cooked absolutely spot-on and,

obviously, take on board some of Daniel's comments and make sure

I don't overcomplicate things, you know.

Paul's cooking four different cuts of hogget, including rump,

loin and sweetbreads, which he'll deep fry just before plating up.

We've got such a different set of dishes today, guys.

-It's great. Everyone's done something completely different right through so far.

-Yeah.

That's what the competition's all about, isn't it,

showing that diversity, all the different styles of cuisine.

Ellis is pushing himself hard with his main, Fred Perry's Pork Tie,

a complicated dish featuring pork two ways.

Pork loin with stuffing and a pig's head bonbon,

which involves cooking a whole pig's head in a pressure cooker.

-I've got me pig's head on.

-Is it the head you're worried about today?

-Timewise, is it?

-Big-time, yeah.

Not only that, you saw my reaction yesterday with the fish.

-I wasn't expecting a ten.

-It was a cracking score and well-deserved.

Across the kitchen, Tom has moved on to the next stage of his

complicated beef prep, which he hopes will add a smoky flavour.

-So Tom.

-Chef.

-This is the barbecue process, clearly.

What have we done so far?

So waterbathed it for a good hour and then we're barbecuing

-now to get some flavour on it.

-Yeah.

-Going to put it to rest in butter, leave it for 25, 30 minutes.

-Yeah.

Then there's a really hot barbecue stage after to get a sear on.

-Do you want to sort it out before it catches fire?

-Absolutely.

Tom, how are you going to control the cooking process?

Cooking times are all practised.

They're all recipe-ed up so we know exactly how long we're cooking everything for.

Looking forward to it, Chef.

Ellis is working on the pear elements of his dish,

including a jus from a pear cider, Perry,

a reference to the tennis hero he's honouring with his dish.

I felt like I had to highlight Fred Perry, especially the story.

He's such an iconic figure.

It really does sit well with being from the North West.

I think it's a good motivational story, from rags to riches almost.

I think a lot of people will connect with that, you know.

To find out more about his idol, Fred Perry, Ellis travelled

to Stockport, hometown of this iconic player.

Born in 1909, Perry's career peaked in the 1930s winning

Wimbledon three times in a row and becoming the first man to win

all four Grand Slam tournaments.

Sports writer John Henderson has written

a biography of the incredible tennis star.

-John.

-You must be Ellis.

I am, indeed. The blue plaque, this is where Fred Perry was born?

Yeah, we know he was born on this street.

Fred was certainly from very humble stock.

His father was a cotton worker but through his political

ambition became an MP.

It was after the family moved to London that Fred became

introduced to tennis and became a tennis player.

Following Perry's triumph at Wimbledon he went on

to become a household name.

He put tennis within reach of everybody.

Tennis had been a toff's sport.

After Perry had taken care of three Wimbledon titles

anybody realised they could achieve something in tennis.

-He sounds like my type of guy.

-He was, he was.

He was a very exuberant man.

I think this photograph gives an idea of the sort of exuberance.

Here he is jumping the net after winning one of his Wimbledon titles.

To show the crowd a bit of the spectacle and show

his opponent that not only had he, Perry, beaten him, but

he had beaten him without actually extending himself particularly.

It's like me after a Friday night service.

So today's been great meeting John.

He showed me how Fred Perry has gone from an upstart to being

a world-renowned tennis player and I hope to God that I can do it

with my own food at this banquet.

Touch wood.

Back in the kitchen,

Paul is working on the accompaniments for his dish

including pearl barley

and summer vegetables, which are favourites of his mother.

Next he moves on to his hogget rump.

-What are you up to?

-Hello, Chef.

I'm just sealing off the rump just to sit in the hay and just

before service, or about 15 or 20 minutes, I'm going to set

fire to that, lid on, so I can get that little bit of smoky, grassy notes.

So I'm just going to take that out and pop it in there.

That sounds delicious. Lovely style of cooking.

What's nice is you're bringing lamb to the pass in different flavours,

hay roasted, loin, braised.

Thank you very much.

Paul is putting a lot of work into this dish.

He's cooking hogget four ways.

If one piece of meat is not cooked correctly this is going to

cost him valuable points.

Ellis is making the pear and cumin stuffing for his pork loin,

the main element of his dish, Fred Perry's Pork Tie.

What are you up to, Chef?

Just rolling the pork loin. Made some stuffing there.

What's the flavour you want coming through this?

So you wanted the cumin to be the main flavour or you wanted...?

No, I want the pear to come through.

I want the sweetness of the cumin to go with the sweetness of the pork.

Interesting.

Tom is preparing his controversial ox heart kebabs with pickled

onion and rosemary which he'll cook on the barbecue just before serving.

Next, for his mini baked potatoes he scoops out the potato flesh

and softens with nasturtium butter before deep frying the skins

in beef fat.

But he's worried he's running out of time.

It's all going to be a bit tight on the beef cooking.

I wouldn't say we've got loads to do, it's just the cooking of the beef which takes a long time.

There's a lot of resting and a lot of sealing off after.

You can't rush these things.

Across the kitchen Ellis has a problem.

What's happening?

-Just going to check it.

-You worried?

He thinks he can smell burning coming from the pressure cooker.

It's smelling a bit like it's just caught on the bottom.

Possibly.

It's all right. The pork's not... It's not burnt in flavour.

Maybe he's feeling the pressure today. I hope.

Not just in the cooker.

Having rescued his pig's head Ellis shreds the meat ready to make

his bonbons.

Ellis, how's your pig's head looking?

Tasting good, never mind looking good.

Tom is first to the pass with his ultimate barbecue dish.

You Cannot BEEF Serious.

His meat has been water-bathed, barbecued,

and rested in herb butter before being barbecued for a second time.

He rolls in fresh herbs and leaves to rest.

He starts his plate with pickled kohlrabi and tops with caramelised pickled

red onions.

Next, his baked potato with nasturtium butter, green beans...

..and nasturtium flowers.

Looking good, Tom.

Tom carves the beef, places it on a display barbecue,

and finally adds his kebabs.

Are you happy with the cooking of the meat?

Yeah, the cooking of the meat is good. Don't want to be too rare,

especially rib.

-Happy that's done, Tom?

-Yes, Chef.

-So this is how it's going to go out to the guest?

-Yes.

You show me how it's dressed.

-No sauce?

-No sauce. It's a barbecue.

-Shall we go through and taste it?

-Do it.

-Wow. Nice and pretty, isn't it?

-It looks like a nice plate of food.

-He's pushed himself, hasn't he?

-Most definitely.

-This is the kebab.

-Kebab, yeah.

I'm going to be very honest with you, this is the bit that I'm

worried about. Heart at a banquet.

-It's a risky one, isn't it?

-It's a risky one, yeah.

I really like the heart. I think it's nicely browned.

It's got a nice flavour on it.

It's good flavour but it's a little bit chewy for me.

This is the beef.

Have you done that piece of beef justice?

Yeah, I like it, it's got a good flavour in there.

The flavour in there is a belter. Just little bit over for me.

The kohlrabi pickle, has it got enough of that on the plate?

I think it could do with maybe one piece more just to cut

through the fat on the plate.

Pickled kohlrabi, that's nice, that's nice and sweet.

It's lovely, isn't it?

Do you think it needs a sauce?

I don't know.

I just wanted to keep it without sauce and very summery and barbecue-y.

But this is a banquet.

What made you choose these garnishes to go with this dish?

Just everything that reminds me of a good barbecue

and definitely a summertime element to it.

I think that's a strong eight.

-And with a sauce even a nine.

-Yes.

-How are we doing?

-How did you think it went?

Yeah. I don't know.

I think he thought it was quite simple, maybe too simple.

Especially for a banquet. But I don't know.

Paul is next to the pass with his dish celebrating his mother's

favourite summer foods. He starts by frying his sweetbreads.

Paul was criticised by Daniel on the fish course for putting too

many elements on the plate.

So today he needs to show restraint.

# Pressure, pressing down on me. #

THEY LAUGH

Paul begins with a dish of tapenade topped with an anchovy.

Next, he serves his pearl barley in a small copper pan.

-That looks really nice, that presentation.

-Thank you, mate.

Still got a bit to do yet though, so hold on to your hats.

He plates his confit shoulder of hogget and tops with orange and carrot puree.

Stop shaking.

Then caramelised baby onion, beetroot...

followed by pan roast loin of hogget, sweetbreads, spring onion,

and hay-roasted hogget rump.

Finally he presents his lamb jus in a ram's horn.

Some lamb, Chef. And some jus.

There we are, Chef. That explains today's plate of lamb.

This is a homage to my little old mother. This is one of her favourite dishes.

I think this is your best presentation all week.

I'm hoping that the food is exactly the same as the presentation.

-Me too.

-I'm going to take the horn.

-I'll bring the board, Chef.

-OK.

-Excellent.

-That's nice, that, with his mum and that.

-She'll be happy with that.

That's a solid touch, yeah.

-So, this is the shoulder.

-Yeah.

Happy with the seasoning on that?

I am, Chef, yeah. I think the jus is really picking it up as well.

-That's banging.

-Yeah, lovely.

-Beautiful flavour coming through.

-So this is the loin.

-Yeah.

Is the herbs overpowering the lamb?

Not for me, Chef, no.

The flavours shine through in it, but it's still the elements of summer

that I was hoping to give.

-It's lush, isn't it? Absolutely lush.

-I can't fault that loin.

So this is the piece de la resistance.

-This is the lamb that's cooked in hay.

-Yeah.

That's just cooked to perfection.

It just falls apart in my mouth.

Do you like it?

It's nice and tender and I'm picking up the grassy notes on the fat there.

-He's done well on that as well, hasn't he? He's done really well.

-Yeah. Big time.

Cap on that lamb, I haven't seen that for a long time.

For me it's a memory of my mum and what she would do with that roast.

-I think your mum would be very proud of you.

-Thank you, Chef.

-Well done.

-Thank you very much.

-This is a ten for me.

-I'd give it a ten.

He'll be right back in the running with that one.

-Phew!

-Made up with that one?

-I'm pleased with that, yeah.

It came out near as dammit how I wanted it,

so, hopefully I've put a bit of pressure back on you guys.

That was a perfect plate of food in my eyes, yeah.

Last up to the pass is Ellis with his dish, Fred Perry's Pork Tie,

a tribute to the iconic Wimbledon champion whose winning tie

was left draped over a chair.

-Backs, backs, backs, backs. Watch your back there, mate.

-Sorry.

-The tie has arrived.

-This is the Wimbledon club colours.

Ellis starts by deep frying his pig's head bonbons.

And pours his pork and Perry stock into bottles.

He plates his pork loin stuffed with cumin.

How does it look, Ellis?

Yeah, it's looking good. I've got some nice tasty confit potatoes in the pork fat.

Next, confit potatoes, cherry tomatoes, peas and broad beans.

That looks nice, mate. Is that the pig's head?

That's the pigs head, yeah.

He tops his pig's head bonbon with crispy shallot

rings and herbs.

Then adds a frosted pine nut crunch, caramelised pear pearls,

and completes the dish with aubergine puree.

-I think you're telling a story there.

-I tried.

I've pushed again. I just keep trying to go for it.

-And hopefully it's worked.

-It makes a big statement.

-Yes.

But it's all down to taste. So, Ellis, if you want to carry it through.

No problem.

Presentation is amazing. Very impressive.

Well, I don't know, he's run out of chairs in his restaurant, I know that much, but...

It worries me a bit compared to mine cos it's just so quirky.

These are the pork fat potatoes.

Pork fat potatoes, yeah.

Is the pork fat coming through on there?

Pork fat comes through.

A bit too harsh on the seasoning.

They're lovely, aren't they? It's very nicely cooked.

Nicely seasoned.

-So this is the pork head bonbon.

-Yeah.

I love that.

I love the fat in it.

Is the stuffing overpowering the pork?

It's a strong flavour,

definitely a strong flavour but you do get the pork coming through.

Do me a favour and taste that again.

-You get pear?

-The pear's been cut out by the cumin.

If he gets another high score with this one he's in danger of

running away with this, isn't he?

He's out of sight pretty much, isn't he?

-Was it a bit rough?

-Emotional.

-Yeah.

It's really important to me that I get a high score today

otherwise I'll be on the next train back to Liverpool.

I'm on the edge.

I don't know what he's going to say.

-Hi, Chefs.

-OTHERS:

-Chef.

I was really excited going into the main course. I had high expectations.

Ellis, I'm going to start with your dish,

Fred Perry's Pork Tie.

Your presentation brought the story to life

and put a big smile on my face.

The pork loin was perfectly cooked and the pork head bonbon was amazing.

But...

..the texture of the stuffing was really mushy.

The cumin in that dish was just too overpowering.

It doesn't need to be in the dish at all.

Tom, your dish,

You Cannot BEEF Serious, this was

a good plate of food. You'd thought about the taste of summer brief

and the herbs around the outside of the beef made it feel more summery.

However, the dish does need a sauce to go with it. It would bring the dish together.

The beef was very tasty but I thought it was slightly overcooked.

And I'm just not sure ox heart will be a crowd favourite at the banquet.

Paul, your dish,

Memories Of Marjorie,

I really like the concept of your dish.

You took me on a journey with an animal that's very special to

your heart.

I loved the presentation. The hogget was cooked perfectly,

and the seasoning today was spot on.

My only criticism of this this, it needed more puree on the plate.

So, to the scores. Ellis...

..I'm giving you a seven.

Tom...

..I'm giving you a seven.

Paul...

..I'm giving you a ten, Paul.

HE MOUTHS

Today you gave me a demonstration in classical cooking and you

blew it out of the water.

Thank you, Chef.

You've shown all of us a thing or two.

So it's dessert course next. I've got high expectations.

Do me proud, boys.

-You must be happy with that one.

-I am.

THEY LAUGH

With one course to go, Paul and Tom are

now neck and neck on 22, with Ellis three points ahead on 25.

I've been the solid one all week. I haven't really pulled anything

awesome out of the bag just yet.

It could have been so much better. Should have been so much better

but I intend to cook for the judges on Friday.

-I didn't expect that, I must admit.

-You nailed it, mate. Nailed it.

My mum would be over the moon. She knows when I named the dish

how much I wanted to do it properly and deliver it in the way I know it should be.