North West Judging Great British Menu

It's Judgment Day on Great British Menu...

I'll tell you what, it's gone up

the Richter scale, hasn't it? It's like...

..as self-taught Ellis Barrie...

I'll be singing all the way to the banquet, my friend.

..goes head-to-head with Paul Askew,

the most experienced chef in the competition...

I think it's definitely gone up a notch.

..in a battle to represent the North West in the national finals.

They're competing for an incredible prize,

to cook at a magnificent Taste of Summer banquet

celebrating 140 years of Wimbledon,

the world's most iconic and prestigious tennis championship.

To get there, they'll now have to wow the formidable panel of judges -

Matthew Fort, Oliver Peyton

and, joining them this year, food expert Andi Oliver.

Oh, that's wonderful.

This is layers of beautiful, deep flavour that just keep going.

Both chefs are desperate to impress.

Ooh!

And having finished just one point apart in the heats,

they know there's no room error.

-Are you shaking a bit, Paul?

-Damn.

I'm going to try my best now, but hey-ho diddly-oh.

THEY LAUGH

That was very emotional.

Going through to the national finals is...

Ellis Barrie's modern dishes and imaginative presentation

impressed veteran judge Daniel Clifford during the week.

He finished top of the leaderboard

with a perfect ten for his fish dish,

although his later courses weren't quite as successful.

Hell of a roller-coaster, this week.

Started off strong, came down quite brutally.

Make a few little tweaks on my dishes

and hopefully get them dishes through to the banquet.

-Best of luck today.

-Nice one.

Big one. Let's do the North West proud.

Bash on.

Paul Askew finished just one point behind Ellis,

also scoring a ten for his main.

He's hoping his classical cooking

will take him through to the national finals.

When I imagine Wimbledon,

I think of it as this very quintessential British thing

that demands quality and class,

and that's what I'm hoping to deliver today.

This year, judges Oliver Peyton and Matthew Fort

are joined by a new judge,

broadcaster and restaurateur Andi Oliver.

I have been given the best job in the world.

I get to eat food from some of the top chefs in this country,

my fellow judges are wonderful, I'm on the Great British Menu -

what could be better?

Today's competition is going to be really fascinating

because it involves the most experienced chef, I think,

in this year's competition, Paul Askew, and Ellis Barrie,

a young chef who's just literally come like a meteor out of nowhere.

Well, quite quickly you can see the two different styles of chefs here.

Paul's menu is depending very strongly

on the quality of his ingredients,

whereas Ellis's, there's much more going on,

there's much more sense of contrast.

I'm looking forward to some exciting food.

I want innovation, I want some flair.

I want to be inspired.

Getting the senses and smells of summer onto the plate

is going to be quite critical to their success, I think.

Well, I can't wait.

So how did you feel when we got put through by Daniel?

That was a bit of a nerve-racker, wasn't it?

I wasn't expecting it at all, to be honest with you.

I had a hell of a day yesterday off Daniel.

I was shocked, but I think he liked the fact

-that we done something risky.

-We've challenged him, and for me,

I hope we can do the same for these judges.

-Good morning.

-Good morning.

-Paul, how have you found it?

-Yeah, it's a tough process.

You know, obviously we're looking to make a few little tweaks today

-to push it over the line.

-Ellis, how has it been?

It's completely different to what I'm used to,

but, yeah, really enjoyed it.

-Are you going to show him how it's done?

-I hope so.

You've got an amazing brief, a Taste of Summer,

so we're expecting incredible flavour, some vibrancy,

inspiring, exciting food.

-Thank you very much.

-See you later, guys.

-Look forward to cooking for you.

-Nice to meet you.

Do you think they understand the modern style

or do you think they'll favour a more classical style?

There's just no saying. I don't know who likes what or how they like it.

Hopefully, they like my style.

-Yeah.

-THEY LAUGH

Paul is first to the pass with his starter, The Little Wonder,

in tribute to five times Wimbledon Ladies Champion Lottie Dod.

Veteran judge Daniel Clifford found the dish,

featuring asparagus and duck eggs, too simple, giving it five,

the lowest score of the week.

I must admit, I was really disappointed

with the score on the starter.

It's a dish I do believe in,

but I have taken on board what Daniel said.

I'm going to do a little bit of charring on the asparagus.

Good, yeah. Hopefully you'll get a good strong six.

THEY LAUGH

The chefs will also be marked by a guest judge.

Today, it's former British number one Greg Rusedski,

who reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 1997

and was named Sports Personality of the Year.

-Hi, Greg.

-Hi, Andi, nice to meet you.

Welcome to the Great British Menu.

This is Oliver, Matthew, and this is your seat, my dear.

What is it about Wimbledon that makes it so special, do you think?

Well, I always enjoyed Wimbledon.

Obviously it's the most famous tournament in tennis history.

It's a tradition. It's the start of our British summer.

It's a wonderful time of year.

And actually playing there,

I mean, that pressure must just be extraordinary. I can't imagine.

Well, it is. It's an amazing feeling and I remember the first time

I represented Britain playing at Wimbledon and I got on Centre Court

for my opening match, I lost the first set 6-1

in about 18 minutes because I was so, so nervous.

Then after that, I got myself into it, won in four sets,

celebrated by ripping off my shirts and throwing my hats in the crowd

and rackets as if I'd won the tournament.

I mean, it's Centre Court for these chefs

and the standards have got to be high.

I think it's kind of an important occasion for the chefs as well.

I think it's massively important because you're talking about

the 140th year of Wimbledon right now,

and to get the menu leading into the championships

would be a fantastic accomplishment for any of these great chefs.

Paul begins his starter, The Little Wonder,

with goat's cheese curd, radish and watercress puree.

He adds bacon crisp shards, watercress and flowers for garnish.

Next, he chars his warmed-through asparagus.

Just give a little bit of colour,

put a bit of heat and a bit of smoke on there with the charring.

I'm listening to Daniel and just stepping it up.

I need to get those eggs out now as well.

Finally, he tops his poached duck eggs with truffle.

-Shaking a bit, Paul?

-Damn.

Good job I've got a spare one.

He serves with newspaper cuttings and boards

that tell the Lottie Dod story.

Thank you.

Wow, that was hard.

Very pretty. Lottie Dod.

At 15 years of age, she won Wimbledon.

She is the youngest woman to ever win the Wimbledon Championships.

Oh, lovely.

I love truffles. It looks great.

So do you think you've executed that higher than a five?

I think it's definitely gone up a notch.

I think it is a taste of summer, it's very beautiful.

I love all the little flowers.

The asparagus are lovely.

Is a duck egg summer? You know...

Well, it's the freshness of it, it's the lightness of it.

And it's the combination.

The asparagus and egg together is very summery to me, actually.

I mean, you know, it's fine.

It's a nice little warm-up, in tennis terms, as we call it.

You know, you don't want to be too exciting in the beginning

and you just want a nice subtle start to your meal.

It's quite a safe dish.

I don't think it's good enough to win this competition

and it's certainly not good enough for Wimbledon.

Ellis's starter, Sumer Is Icumen In,

is named after a 13th-century folk song which welcomed in the season.

It's a celebration of the cucumber sandwiches he remembers

from family picnics on the beach.

But despite enjoying it,

Daniel felt it needed more excitement for the banquet,

giving it an eight.

I'd love to get a ten on this course.

I love the presentation of it.

I like the whole picnic side of summer.

I'm going to change the cucumber, the main cucumber element of it,

do what Daniel said, stuff it with a little oyster.

Just going to put a bit of basil through

just to get them summery flavours.

Ellis starts by blowtorching his compressed cucumber,

then adds fresh raw oyster

and tops with basil cucumber balls and pork lardo.

Next, to his plate he adds cucumber tagliatelle,

which he pipes with courgette puree.

Are you going to play your song today or are you going to sing it?

I'll be singing that song all the way to the banquet, my friend.

HE LAUGHS

He finishes his plate with pickled cucumbers, black olive crisp,

cucumber flowers and dots of rice wine gel.

He pours his gin and cucumber cocktail into glasses...

So we're going in the middle, please.

..and places everything into picnic hampers,

along with soda bread and oyster butter.

That's me done.

MUSIC: Sumer Is Icumen In

What's that song? You know, don't you?

It's actually... It's a mid-13th century song

which heralds the arrival of summer,

Sumer Is Icumen In.

Ooh, it's a little picnic.

And a little drink.

AND a little drink.

-I think it was good.

-Yeah, it looked very good.

What could be going wrong?

I'm loving this cocktail.

-I am too.

-Yeah.

-I think that that's a great starter.

It's very refreshing.

-And light.

-And summery.

-Are you all right down there, chaps? Quite happy?

-Very happy.

Very happy about that.

The cucumber filled with oyster and a little dab of gel

-is absolutely brilliant.

-That gel's amazing.

-Mm.

That little roll, when you get that lovely creamy

little puree in the middle, isn't that a beautiful thing?

Not massively keen on the oyster butter.

I just don't think you need it.

I think the oyster on top and the cucumber, I think it just works,

because all of them just come together so beautifully.

-Absolutely delicious.

-It's gorgeous.

I think this is just the essence of a summer day,

or a summer day that I would like to have.

Next, it's the fish course, with Paul plating first.

His dish, A British Double, honours Andy Murray and Heather Watson,

using Scottish turbot and Channel Island oysters

to represent the places they were born.

Veteran Daniel thought Paul had too many elements on the plate

and scored it a seven.

So, Paul, any changes on this dish?

Yeah, I took away the potato crisp.

So I've just tweaked it slightly, but, yeah.

Paul pan-fries his turbot, sprinkled with espelette -

a gentle, warming pepper - in butter, then leaves to rest.

I just love great fish cooked properly.

Well, that was a nice piece of cooked fish, I must admit.

He starts his plate with pommes mousseline...

..then adds steamed oyster and courgette ribbon and wilted spinach.

Next, the turbot...

I'm really pleased with that.

..then deep-fried courgette flowers,

pickled cucumbers and a garnish of oyster leaf.

The dish is served with champagne sauce and a spoon of caviar,

all presented on a silver platter.

Thank you.

So what is this? A British Double.

We had two Wimbledon champions last year.

So Heather Watson won the mixed doubles with her partner

and Andy Murray won the men's singles,

so fantastic for British tennis.

I've made the changes. Let's hope it's good enough.

The turbot must have a much more important role in the dish.

You know, it's just not big enough.

The greens and the oyster... I quite like the greens, actually,

with a little bit of the mashed potato.

What's disappointing, my turbot's really under-seasoned.

I like a butter sauce,

but to have butter sauce and a very, very creamy potato base

on top of that, it's mismatched parts.

For me, it's not summer.

It feels too heavy, it feels too rich.

It just says nothing of summer to me.

He hasn't done, you know, the king of fish justice here.

If this was at the final banquet, as you can see,

I haven't eaten too much of it because it hasn't inspired me.

-And you're a big boy.

-Yes, I love my food.

THEY LAUGH

Ellis's fish course,

You Cannot Be Sea-rious! It Was One The Line,

is based on another childhood memory

of family barbecues on the beach in Anglesey.

Daniel was impressed with his use of confited sea bass

and burnt cauliflower to recreate the flavours of a barbecue,

scoring it a perfect ten.

Do you think you can deliver that same quality?

I do, yeah.

Ellis starts his plate with burnt cauliflower puree...

You suit them goggles, Paul.

..while Paul helps out by adding dry ice and Anglesey seaweed

to Ellis's presentation barbecues.

Theatre, Paul, theatre.

Is there any seaweed left in Anglesey, Ellis, or...?

Ellis plates his sea bass confited in pork fat...

..then adds Menai mussels, pickled radish...

..and sauteed cauliflower.

Next, salted blackcurrants,

and finally, crispy sea bass skin.

The plates are served in the presentation barbecues.

Let's go.

-Risky.

-I think the judges are going to really love that.

This is unusual.

Oh. It looks like a rock pool.

I hope it tastes as good as it looks.

Are you looking for another ten?

I'd love that to get a ten.

Only time will tell.

The fish is excellently cooked.

You've got the crispy and the lightness of the fish.

This feels more like summer to me right now.

Oh, my word, and that caramelised cauliflower puree.

It's silky and rich and still really light,

and a little smoky, it's got going on in there.

Really beautiful.

There are a lot of elements on the plate,

but they all go well together in different combinations.

-Yes.

-Just lovely.

-This really is a lovely bit of cooking.

-Oh, wow.

It works, and that's what's exciting about this dish, I think.

It's light, it's summery, it's completely on the brief.

At the halfway point,

the judges are contemplating the dishes they've tasted so far.

It's been a bit of chalk and cheese this morning, hasn't it?

Well, Paul was very, very safe, while Ellis,

if he keeps going the way he is, he is a real contender for this.

I think Paul needs to throw off the shackles

and express himself a lot more.

I still have high hopes for Paul.

It is a long match, but right now

we're in the second set and he's got to turn things around

at the start of the third.

How are you finding cooking for the judges, mate?

I'll tell you what, it's gone up the Richter scale, hasn't it?

It's like...

It's ready for boiling point right there.

Ellis is first to serve his main course, Fred Perry's Pork Tie,

to commemorate the British Wimbledon champion of the 1930s,

whose winning tie was allegedly left draped over a chair

because of his working-class roots.

Daniel was disappointed with the flavour of the pork dish

and scored him a seven.

Big dish coming up now.

Big dish. I've got a lot to prove on this dish,

so I've taken away stuff which wasn't there yesterday,

like the aubergine puree, the sloppy cumin stuffing.

Ellis starts by checking his pork loin.

Today, he's decided not to blend his stuffing and has added nuts,

which he hopes will give it a better texture.

Are you happy with it?

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

He plates the stuffed pork loin and adds confit potatoes,

summer broad beans and peas,

then pig's head bonbons and cherry tomatoes.

Next, caramelised pear pearls and frosted pine nut crunch.

I think I've got it. I've got it today.

-You've got it how you wanted it now?

-Yeah.

He puts the plates onto presentation chairs,

reflecting the Fred Perry story.

There's a little bottle of Perry sauce.

Let's go.

-That pork looks good.

-It smells good.

So, this tie is the Wimbledon colours, Greg, yeah?

That's correct.

Fred Perry was left his tie on the chair in the locker room,

rather than presented to him.

Now they give the tie to any old riffraff.

-Well, look at me,

-I

-got one!

THEY LAUGH

Big one out the way there.

It looked good, it looked great.

It's a fine-looking dish of food.

Although I'd say the look of the dish is more autumnal than summer.

The flavours are quite light, aren't they?

I'm not getting the mix of flavours I thought I would with this dish.

I expected rather more flavour from it than I'm actually getting.

Mine's a bit undercooked.

-I quite like this sort of big bonbon thing.

-Mm.

That's the pig's head. That's where all the flavour is.

Actually, I love the stuffing but, unfortunately,

it is overwhelming the pork, isn't it?

The meat isn't cooked well enough, the potatoes are undercooked.

I'm beginning to feel a sense of relief.

ANDI LAUGHS

Ellis can get things wrong.

He's fallible.

Paul's main course, Summer Memories With Marjorie,

is a tribute to his mother,

celebrating her favourite ingredient, hogget.

Daniel found it to be faultless and scored it a perfect ten.

-How you getting on, Paul?

-I'm good, mate, yeah.

I'm just sealing off the rump ready to go in the hay roast.

You've had your ten, your little ace card,

and now I've got to make sure that mine delivers, otherwise, you know,

I could be going home a disappointed piglet, couldn't I?

Paul starts by plating confit shoulder of hogget and pearl barley

in small copper pans.

Are you pleased with the pearl barley, Paul?

Yeah, looking good so far, mate.

He pipes on orange and carrot puree...

..then adds fried sweetbreads,

spring onions and golden beetroot.

So this dish means quite a lot to you and over the week,

I feel like it means a lot to me now as well, getting to know you.

I need to make sure I do my little old mum justice

on this one, for sure.

He carves his hay-roasted hogget rump and places onto wooden boards,

then adds the pan-roast loin of hogget to his plates.

Finally, he pours lamb jus into ram's horns.

Thank you. Service.

PAUL EXHALES

To me, that was, um...

That was very emotional.

I feel it for you.

Oh, wow.

Memories with Marjorie since 1966.

You get a lovely little picture there of Paul as well,

cooking on the barbecue with his mum.

-I can see how much you pushed for that dish.

-Yeah.

-It was amazing.

-Left a lot of my heart on that plate,

so I hope Marjorie will be proud.

Big time. Big-time proud.

The colour of this meat is sensational.

-Ooh.

-The pearl barley's delicious with it.

Yeah. Ooh.

Oh, that's wonderful.

When you're sort of dreaming of a perfect piece of meat and gravy,

this would be it, wouldn't it? Oh, Paul!

We've finally seen who Paul is.

-He's finally come to life.

-Mm!

Wonderful sweetbreads.

Perfectly cooked.

It's really, really, really lovely.

It's layers of beautiful, deep flavour that just keep going.

-It's really beautifully done.

-Phew, God, I feel relieved.

Yeah.

Ellis is first to plate his dessert.

His dish, Strawberry Fields,

recalls picking strawberries with his grandfather

and features six different strawberry elements.

But veteran Daniel wanted more fresh strawberry flavour on the plate,

scoring it a seven.

This is my risky one. It's something I'm not familiar with, desserts,

so I'm going try my best now, but hey-ho, diddly-oh.

THEY LAUGH

Ellis starts his presentation boxes, representing fields,

with berry tea panna cotta topped with strawberry tartare.

Next, the chocolate soil that Daniel felt overwhelmed the dish.

I'm just putting a lot less on.

So you've just reduced the quantity rather than change it.

Just the quantity, yeah, so it's a lot more subtle.

He adds compressed strawberry with candied strawberry tops

and Earl Grey tea gel.

That looks very nice. It looks a little bit more refined and elegant

-than it did yesterday, doesn't it?

-Sorbet!

Then strawberry sorbet, fresh strawberries...

..and finally, strawberry meringue.

Off we go.

It looks great.

It's a little bit predictable, I would say.

So, big relief, final dish gone? Are you a happy man?

It's the best feeling ever, yeah!

I can't wait for you to feel like this.

Actually, that tastes pretty good.

I think what it is is beautifully executed.

But it's not as exciting, it's not as original,

it's not as personal with sort of character

as his earlier dishes.

I think the berry panna cotta with the tea

is really, really, really delicious.

It tastes far better than it looks.

I agree with you, this is good,

-but you kind of want it to be more than good.

-Yes.

I want it to be pizzazz.

It was a safe, safe option for somebody

who has been very bold throughout.

The final dish of the day is Paul's interpretation

of the classic baked Alaska,

in which ice cream is covered in meringue and baked in the oven.

He's using a pineapple flavour to commemorate the pineapple

at the top of the Wimbledon men's singles trophy.

-How's it looking, Paul?

-Yeah, it's good, mate. I'm happy.

With the meringues baked,

Paul plates his Alaskas and adds wild strawberries,

borage flowers and honey and oat granola.

Finally, he blowtorches to add more colour

and serves with a milky oolong summer cup iced tea.

Thank you.

Phew-ee.

My heart is beating faster.

Look at that.

The Captain's Trophy.

The men's championship trophy, on top of it, has a pineapple.

Ah.

I'll tell you what, mate, it's been an absolute pleasure

-cooking with you this week.

-Yeah, it's been a dream.

Oh, that's not very nice, is it?

It's kind of watery and then it's a little bit bitter.

And it's murky.

The meringue is nicely chewy.

I can't even get into mine.

-It's gone...

-CRACK!

I was really excited, because the presentation was beautiful,

and I couldn't get into it because it was too hard, you know?

The other thing that's happening for me is it's all really sweet.

Well, I think in summary, I can say it's a half-baked Alaska.

THEY LAUGH

It's a big emotional day and a grand finale, isn't it?

-Don't you get me going!

-THEY LAUGH

We've had two very, very strongly contrasting styles of cooking.

Both chefs have dishes today that you could see at the final banquet.

They both managed to pull some really excellent cooking

out the bag.

Who knows which way it's going to go?

Soon to find out.

Welcome, Chefs. How has your first experience

in the Great British Menu kitchen been?

-That was a challenge.

-THEY LAUGH

An emotional roller-coaster, I would call it, but, yeah.

Well, I've got to tell you, we've had a very surprising day.

But, sadly, there can only be one winner.

So, without further ado, going through to the national finals is...

..Ellis.

-Well done, mate.

-It's been a pleasure, mate.

Congratulations, Ellis. How do you feel?

Woo!

It's a new word, I like it.

That was, yeah, no, that's, er... That is weird.

To get through here is just...

I can't even explain, I'm speechless.

Ellis, you produced some really exciting food today.

Your fish course just blew me away.

Just sublime. I gave it a ten, so well done.

Thank you very much.

Paul, we thought your hogget dish was absolute perfection.

You should be very proud of that dish. Well done.

Thank you.

Paul, there was some fabulous cooking from you today.

You lost out in the end to what was an exceptionally talented young man.

Absolutely. I thought he cooked his heart out today.

Fair play. You know, it's been great cooking with him all week.

Chefs, I had a fantastic day.

I really thought you told great stories

and showed the tradition of Wimbledon,

so well done to both of you and keep up all the great work.

Ellis, we are all looking forward to see how you perform in the finals.

-Good luck to both of you.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much.

-Well done, guys.

-Thank you.

To be the finalist for the North West...

My word.

HE LAUGHS

Hello.

-Congratulations.

-Nice one, mate.

-Well done.

-Epic.

-Yeah. Well, there's only one thing to do.

It's time for a little beer.

With this swig, you've got to promise me one thing -

it's got to go all the way to the banquet

and you've got to fly that North West flag.

-Cheers.

-Cheers. To Marjorie.

To Marjorie.