North East Starter Great British Menu

This year, on Great British Menu...

Hey!

..24 of the country's most talented chefs...

-Hold on to your hats.

-The pressure's on.

..are fighting it out in the toughest competition of their lives.

The old gloves are off now, aren't they?

I'm going to flip out!

As previous competitors...

Yeah, I'm quietly confident.

..and ambitious newcomers...

Don't jinx me.

..go head-to-head for the chance to cook at this year's banquet...

..celebrating 140 years of the iconic Wimbledon Championships,

the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament in the world.

Go, go, go!

To get there, the chefs must create outstanding dishes

which match the exceptional skill and flair

of the tournament's greatest champions.

Perfect harmony.

And celebrate the incredible smells, colours and tastes...

Beautiful.

..of the best of British summertime.

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

First, they'll have to impress

a formidable veteran of the competition...

You completely ignored the brief. I think you're miles off.

..who between them hold a total of eight Michelin stars.

The presentation of this dish was stunning.

This week, competing to represent the north-east,

are three chefs who've known each other for years.

Tommy and I are good friends

and I think you're trying to get in between us.

-I'm just jealous of your relationship.

-Ha!

But with a former banquet champion taking on two newcomers...

The opportunity to get there again, you can't turn that down.

I'm going to be fighting all the way.

The more pressure, the better, eh?

I'll just sit back and relax, shall I?

..who will make it through to cook for the judges on Friday?

Do you reckon it will be 15-love to you after this?

Game, set and match, mate.

HE LAUGHS

This year marks the 140th anniversary

of the Wimbledon tennis championships.

The competition first took place in 1877 and since then...

You cannot be serious!

..has become the ultimate Grand Slam tournament...

-COMMENTATOR:

-That's absolutely fantastic!

..attracting the greatest players from around the globe

and signalling the start of the British summer.

-COMMENTATOR:

-Straight sets again.

Wimbledon champion again.

This week, battling it out to represent the north-east

for the chance to cook at Wimbledon are

Michelin-starred returning banquet champion Tommy Banks.

Cooking the banquet for me was just a career highlight,

so I'm absolutely gunning for it this year.

First-timer in the competition Josh Overington

who likes to push boundaries with his experimental cooking.

My food, I do like to challenge people.

I want them to have a reaction and that's the main thing.

And fellow newcomer Danny Parker,

head chef at a top Michelin-starred restaurant.

My food is traditional. It's simple, clean, but most of all it's tasty

and I think that's what's going to impress the judges.

Scoring their dishes this week is one of Britain's most admired chefs.

Veteran judge, so who do you want?

I don't even want to think about it to be honest!

THEY LAUGH

Renowned for his classic ingredient-led British cooking...

..Jeremy Lee.

-Ah.

-Morning, gents.

-Morning.

-Lambs to the slaughter. How are you?

-Very well.

Tommy. You've come back.

Yeah, I must be a sucker for punishment.

LAUGHTER

Danny, what are you going to bring to the table

-and topple the champion?

-You've got to stick with your gut.

It's food that I like to eat during the summer

and that I hope you like to eat.

Josh, what about you?

I've got some quite unusual flavour combinations going on.

My first course is sort of like a liquid salad.

-A liquid salad?

-Yeah.

Good luck, gents. Make my life as difficult as possible. Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you, Jeremy.

HE CHUCKLES

-Well, I wasn't expecting Jeremy.

-No.

Don't go thinking for one second he is going to be lenient on scoring.

To impress Jeremy and to be in with a chance

of cooking at this year's Wimbledon banquet,

the chefs must create exceptional dishes

that celebrate a taste of summer.

I think this year's brief should encapsulate

all the ingredients that are around in the summer.

Three young chefs in the north-east.

I'm intrigued to see what they're going to pull out of the hat.

Returning champion Tommy Banks,

who cooked the fish course at last year's banquet,

is hoping to wow Jeremy with his starter, Midsummer,

celebrating the summer solstice.

-Tommy, good morning. How are you?

-Very well, thank you.

-What's the dish?

-Essentially it's a tomato, cucumber salad

with smoked cod roe and basil.

Fine-looking cod's roe.

And then I've got this lovely Cherwell goat's cheese

that I'm going to freeze

and then I'm going to micro-plane it so it's more of a seasoning.

And then I'm going to marinade the tomatoes in the basil oil.

I'm also going to make, like, a tomato essence.

I'm going to toast these pumpkin seeds in an awful lot of butter.

-An awful lot of butter?

-Yeah, I think that's the only way

-you can cook with butter.

-JEREMY LAUGHS

And what's going to make this dish stand out?

Traditionally, all food for a summer solstice feast

should sort of represent the sun so everything has to be round.

But also, traditionally, the food is cooked upon a bonfire.

But I'm going to leave that until later as a little surprise for you.

-Oh, really?

-Yeah.

-Good luck with it.

-Thank you very much.

I'm struggling to see what vision Tommy has for his dish, Midsummer.

I think it's quite singular to marry cod's roe and goat's cheese

on a starter. Sounds quite, shall we say, radical?

For his risky starter, newcomer Josh Overington is taking

an iconic Wimbledon dish and classic summer dessert

and turning it on its head.

-Morning, Josh.

-Morning.

-How are you?

-Very well.

How are you feeling?

Feeling pretty good about this dish actually, yeah.

What is it?

So, it's called Strawberries And Ice Cream In The Garden.

-And I've based it...

-You're putting pudding as a starter?

-That's quite a bold move.

-No, I've made it savoury.

I had the idea of, as a child, eating ice cream in my garden

but then I wanted to use those garden flavours to make it savoury.

So I have nasturtium ice cream

to have that real floral creaminess element of it.

And then I am making a strawberry veloute.

-Aha.

-Which is going to be sort of a bit sour, a little bit sweet.

I have a savoury granola to have the salty element.

Puffing up some wild rice.

And then I'm also puffing up some pumpkin seeds.

He's got pumpkin seeds over there. Similarities?

Not at all. I mean, I think Tommy's cooking them in butter

which, you know, maybe they'll go greasy, maybe they won't.

JEREMY LAUGHS

The ante is being upped. Well, I look forward to tasting it.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Josh's dish has a quintessential Alice In Wonderland feel to it.

It's topsy-turvy, it's upside down.

He might be over-egging the pudding,

and, as it's a starter, I'm not sure how wise that is.

Fellow first-timer Danny Parker is going all out to win

with his take on a summer salad,

a dish with a name that's almost as long as its list of ingredients.

-Morning, Danny. How are you?

-Morning. I'm feeling good, yeah.

-What is your dish?

-If You Can Meet With Both Triumph And Disaster

And Treat Those Two Impostors Just The Same.

-Come again?

-That's a quote from a Rudyard Kipling poem called If.

That's written above the doorways to Centre Court,

so I think it's quite fitting that we start the banquet in the same way

that a game on Centre Court is going to begin.

Well-spirited indeed.

I've looked at how Wimbledon began in 1877.

They only had 22 players.

So we're doing a salad with 22 ingredients.

-One ingredient to represent...

-22 ingredients?

-22 ingredients.

So that's quite a pantheon of ingredients.

Which ones shine?

The lovage and the tomato.

Lovage, it's got such an extraordinary powerful flavour.

Do you think it might knock these little darlings out?

No, I think summertime is full of all these lovely strong smells

and I think it's important to get that across in the dish.

You've certainly got your work cut out for you with this one.

-Goodbye, my dear, and good luck.

-Thank you.

Danny using 22 flavours, a principal player being lovage -

it is a ferocious flavour and might very easily topple

absolutely everything else in his vegetable pot.

Outside the competition the three chefs are all friends,

but now they're in the kitchen, the gloves are off.

Have you guys got much to do straight off?

Yeah, I've got quite a bit to do.

Well, I'm up first, so I'm going to have to run around.

Have a blast, I'll just sit back, kick back and relax, shall I?

You're only making a salad and going last.

GENTLE LAUGHTER

Former banquet-winner Tommy's dish, Midsummer,

is his take on a traditional midsummer feast

using three different types of tomato to represent the sun

and a cod's roe emulsion

which he hopes will add depth of flavour to the dish.

Tommy, since you got to the banquet last year,

is it going to feel less important this year?

No, definitely not.

I mean, that was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.

-Yeah.

-But the opportunity to get there again, you can't turn it down.

I'm going to be fighting all the way to get there.

27-year-old Tommy is owner and head chef

of the Black Swan in Oldstead, Yorkshire, where four years ago

he won a Michelin star,

one of the youngest chefs in the country ever to do so.

OK, service, please.

Tommy's elegant seasonal dishes use produce

from the two acres of growing beds on his family farm

which surrounds the restaurant.

For me, it's all about getting the best sort of fruits and vegetables,

seasonal ingredients,

that's what makes my food stand out from other people's.

Having made it to the banquet last year,

this year, Tommy's hoping to do the double.

I think I really know what it takes to create the dishes

that the judges are looking for. I am the current north-east champion.

I'm not going to give up my crown that easy.

His ambition is shared by his mum, Ann, and dad, Tom,

who last year watched Tommy serve his winning fish dish

in the Houses of Parliament.

You've got to really do it again, Tommy. I know you can do it.

Yeah, we'd love to go to the banquet again.

I bet you would. Let's see if you get invited!

LAUGHTER

It's sometimes difficult to believe that Tommy is actually only 27.

He's managed to be head chef, have a Michelin star,

compete on Great British Menu and actually get to the banquet.

Absolutely amazing.

We're proud of him.

Tommy's friend Josh is hoping to surprise Jeremy

with the savoury and sweet flavours

in his two-part strawberry and ice cream dish.

For his strawberry veloute, he mixes sauteed onion,

garlic and red pepper with strawberries and cucumber

before blending and sieving.

-It's quite a colour. Hello, Josh.

-It is.

-How are you doing?

I'm pretty proud of it so far.

You're serving this cold?

-No, I'm serving it warm.

-You are serving it warm. You really are...

You quite like to stay on the tightrope, don't you?

One mistake and, yeah, it will not work.

At the end of the day, I'm calling it a strawberry veloute,

it needs to taste of strawberries.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

Josh's strawberry veloute is curious and odd,

rather than being satisfying and delicious.

Next, Josh moves on to his nasturtium flower ice cream.

He's hoping the different temperatures in his dish

will provide contrast.

-So, Josh, how's this liquid salad coming?

-Pretty good, mate.

Jeremy looked a bit shocked when you said you were making a liquid salad.

Well, mate, you just need to look for it in the future.

So you're a futuristic chef, are you?

He's a bit of a maverick, I've heard.

LAUGHTER

Oh, boy.

Josh lives and works in York

where he set up his own restaurant, Le Cochon Aveugle, three years ago.

Despite being modelled on a French bistro,

his food is far from traditional.

He likes to keep his diners guessing.

There is no menu.

The guests do not know what they're about to eat

so it makes it really exciting.

Service, please.

-Chef, two crabs...

-Oui.

Josh runs his restaurant with his business partner Victoria,

who also happens to be his fiancee.

Sometimes I feel like we see each other a little bit too much.

-Neither of us really holds a grudge ever, so we do...

-I do.

LAUGHTER

I don't hold a grudge ever, so it's fine.

To give himself the best chance in the competition,

when he's not busy in the restaurant,

Josh has been testing dishes on his fiercest critic.

I've absolutely no qualms about telling him

when something's not quite right.

I expect perfection and, quite frankly, so should he.

Mm!

-Yeah?

-No, it's good.

-Good effort.

-That's what I want to hear.

THEY LAUGH

Danny's starter features 22 vegetables

to represent the 22 players in the first Wimbledon Championships.

He's hoping to elevate his summer salad

using a variety of colours and textures

including salt-baked beetroot and yellow beetroot

which he compresses in vinegar to add a tangy element to his dish.

Each bite on this salad is almost going to be different,

because there's no point having a salad

that tastes exactly the same all the way through.

I think it's ballsy, to be honest.

Danny's chef career began at just 14

when he was a kitchen porter in his local village pub.

Now, he's head chef at Kenny Atkinson's Michelin-starred

House Of Tides in Newcastle...

Ready on two lamb, guys?

..where he cooks classical food with a modern twist.

My cooking ethos is really quite simple.

It's using traditional foods and traditional flavours.

We like to adapt them and just bring them into the modern day.

Danny's elaborate starter requires every one of his

22 salad ingredients to be in peak condition,

but he's concerned that the British weather could scupper the harvest.

Hiya, mate.

He's come to see specialist grower Ken Holland,

who uses a unique method to ensure perfect produce all the time.

So, this is something I've been working on,

basically an indoor growing system.

It means that we can grow root vegetables,

soft fruits and leaf all year round.

Each of Ken's specially-converted shipping containers

has been fitted with UV light

and can grow up to an acre of crops unhampered by weather conditions.

Wow!

We are mimicking the best day you could possibly have outside.

-Yeah.

-But it's within a shipping container.

I'll give you an example. We grow radish from seed in 14 days.

Still good.

-Ken, thank you so much.

-Very ambitious dish, in my opinion.

-Hopefully, you'll be able to pull it off.

-Cheers, Ken. I hope so.

Back in the kitchen

Tommy's working on one of two dressings

he'll use to add fresh flavour to his Midsummer starter.

-Is that basil oil?

-Yeah.

-How are you making it?

Bunch of basil, squeeze every last drop of water out of it.

-Just blend it on its own?

-On its own.

Next, Tommy moves on to his tomato elements which represent the sun.

He's draining the juice from marinated cherry tomatoes

to create a tomato essence

which he hopes will intensify the flavour of his dish.

-Hello, Tommy. How are you?

-Yeah, doing well, thanks.

-Ah, your tomato essence.

-Yep.

I just want to encapsulate that real flavour of the tomato

without putting more tomato in the dish.

-Are you happy with the result?

-Yeah, I am, yeah.

I've just been in to see Tommy, tasted his tomato essence.

It hasn't quite got the oomph you'd want to kick off a banquet.

Josh has moved on to the savoury granola

which he'll use as a base for his dish,

Strawberries And Ice Cream In The Garden.

He deep-fries wild rice until it pops and puffs

before mixing with nuts, seeds, garlic, lemon zest and salt.

-Are you a tennis fan, Josh?

-No. It might shock you

by my amazing physique that I don't play a lot of tennis!

HE LAUGHS

Danny is working on the lovage emulsion he'll use

to dress his elaborate summer salad,

but with such an intense celery flavour

he'll have to be careful the lovage doesn't overpower the whole dish.

Danny, I did lovage emulsion last year, it was quite well received.

Have you got my recipe or do you want it?

-I don't think I want your recipe.

-OK.

-Thanks for the offer!

Do you think yours is better than his?

I think the lovage emulsion is just good for separate reasons, Josh.

I mean, me and Tommy are good friends

and I think you're trying to get in between us.

Just jealous of your relationship, that's all it is.

DANNY CHUCKLES

-Hello.

-Chef. Just making my lovage emulsion here.

So, is this like a mayonnaise or, dare I say, an aioli?

It's essentially a mayonnaise.

I'm going to use this as almost a dressing.

It's going to coat your palate a little bit when you eat the salad.

-Lovage indeed.

-DANNY LAUGHS

Good luck.

Tommy is first to plate up his dish, Midsummer,

in tribute to pagan summer solstice feasts.

He blowtorches round cherry tomatoes to represent the sun.

Hey, Tommy, do you reckon it'll be 15-love to you after this?

15-love? Game, set and match, mate!

Tommy starts by plating compressed charred cucumber

and the warmed cherry tomatoes.

Next, he pipes on cod roe emulsion, topped with his tomato essence.

He adds raw mixed cherry tomatoes,

basil oil and fried pumpkin seeds

and garnishes with nasturtium leaves.

This dish is representing a burning ball of fire in the sky

so it's got to have the reds and yellows and oranges.

Finally, he grates frozen goat's cheese.

-Grab one of these for me, Josh.

-Yes, of course.

Can we kill the lights?

This is my dish, Midsummer.

-Wow!

-This is representing the bonfire

which you traditionally cook the food on.

Ta-da! What do you think, gents?

I think the dish looks absolutely stunning.

Well, I think, without further ado, we've got to try this thing.

Midsummer, but we have this frosty effect.

As anticipated?

Yeah, it's a pagan festival traditionally

and I think this kind of looks sort of volcanic.

It looks a bit like snow.

This does look a bit like an icecap.

And then, so your tomato essence,

has that been cooked away with the flame, do you think?

I kind of hope the guest doesn't know it's there.

They just eat it and go, that's a really delicious tomato

and maybe didn't hopefully realise it was coated in tomato essence.

The tomato really works for me. It freshens the whole dish up.

So, cod's roe emulsion.

Is that the effect you were going for?

I wanted to give a bit of body to the dish.

The cod's roe has warmed deliciously with the tomato and the oil.

For me, that cod's roe is fantastic, the texture of it.

What would you give yourself?

Eight, nine, they're the highest marks, I'd love something like that,

but I'll wait and hear what you've got to say.

-Hey, Tommy. How was that?

-Ah...

-It was all right.

-Yeah?

-You look flustered.

I'm not sure if he got it or not, whether he liked it. I don't know.

Josh is next up to the pass with his dish,

Strawberries And Ice Cream In The Garden,

his savoury take on a summer classic.

He starts by plating his granola.

Next he spoons on his nasturtium ice cream.

That ice cream's a beautiful colour, Josh.

-It looks really rich, like clotted cream or something.

-Yeah.

The ice cream gods are strong today!

He adds pickled green strawberries

and nasturtium flowers and leaves.

Finally, he pours his warm strawberry veloute into jugs.

-How are you feeling?

-I think it's pretty strong.

-So, without further ado, shall we?

-I think that would be good.

-This nasturtium ice cream.

-Mm-hm.

Has this come out exactly as you wished it to?

I think the flavour of the nasturtium comes through

really, really well.

Very glamorous ice cube, isn't it, really?

A very glamorous ice cream, yeah.

The ice cream's absolutely delicious.

But it's rich and sweet.

It almost starts tasting like a savoury sort of dessert, really.

And that warm veloute on an ice cream, does that work for you?

Yes, I think so.

You're quite sure that it should be served warm and not chilled?

I think it's delicious chilled,

but I really like the two different temperatures.

That veloute, it's absolutely fantastic.

Marrying them together? I'm not sure whether he's pulled that off.

What would you score yourself for this dish?

Let's stay safe and I'd like to give it an eight.

-A modest eight?

-Mm.

-Hi, guys.

-Well done, buddy.

-How are you doing?

-Yeah, good.

-How do you think it went?

-I mean, I think it went pretty well.

-Everything was really tasty.

The only thing that I found was,

is it a starter or is it for later on in the meal?

Last up to the pass is Danny with his dish,

If You Can Meet With Triumph And Disaster

And Treat Those Two Impostors Just The Same.

He's serving his 22 ingredients on a board naming the 22 players

who competed in the first-ever Wimbledon Championship.

He begins with broccoli topped with charred cucumber,

then adds dehydrated cherry tomato and new potato.

22 ingredients, Danny, how many's on so far?

-There's about four.

-Four?

Got a while to go.

Next salt-baked beetroot,

followed by peas, broad beans and white radish.

We're nearly done. We're very nearly there now.

Like, ten more components?

Then sliced cherry tomatoes and cucamelon,

followed by radish, courgette flowers, and a variety of herbs.

He finishes with vegetable crisps and his lovage emulsion.

Beautiful.

Finally, he lights a candle with an aroma of freshly-cut grass.

Look at that.

So, Danny, your first dish. How are you feeling?

-I'm happy with it. I'm excited for you to try it.

-Good.

-Shall we?

-Let's go.

Are all 22 ingredients in there?

They 100% are!

You've got every shape, form imaginable in this.

They are all very beautiful.

Ah, and this is the broccoli that you grilled...

I want that bitterness to come through.

Purple sprouting broccoli has a tendency

-to be a little bit too fresh.

-Mm.

I think the broccoli is cooked perfectly

and I really enjoyed the char in it.

So, with this great jumble, tangle of fried and cooked and steamed

and boiled and good old vegetables,

and brought together with your lovage emulsion,

has that come through exactly how you wished it to?

A salad has to have something to bring it together.

And for me, it's not overpowering, it is tasty.

I think the lovage emulsion is really good.

I just think it makes everything taste of lovage.

Beautiful radish.

Here is a horrible question for you.

Marking yourself out of ten.

I'm going to be slightly confident, slightly cocky,

and say a nine.

Wow! Jeremy gives nothing away.

-Nothing at all.

-THEY LAUGH

A little bit nervous waiting for these scores.

Yeah, you have to be nervous.

If you can get a lead over your other two competitors,

that just puts you in a good place for the rest of the week.

-Hello, chefs. Feeling OK?

-Yeah.

-Just about.

Broken, exhausted?

Well, without further ado,

Tommy, I'm going to start with your dish, Midsummer.

Technically, brilliantly put together.

And I think the cod's roe made the dish.

This was brilliantly delicate and delightful.

However, I think the drama of the dish

was much more in the presentation than in the eating.

And I'm not a big fan of the cherry tomato essence.

I didn't get that impact of flavour that I think you were aiming for.

Danny, your dish.

Well, triumph or disaster?

Combining 22 elements was an ambitious idea,

and dressing it with something as strong as lovage emulsion?

Certainly risky.

But, I have to say, this really paid off.

The emulsion wasn't overpowering.

In fact, you could have been more extravagant with it really.

The balance of leaves and vegetables were really nice,

and you judged that very well indeed.

As for the cherry tomatoes and the whole collection of vegetables,

singing very well together.

And Josh, your dish...

I thought the nasturtium ice cream was delicious.

It could have been more peppery, though.

I was pleasantly surprised with the warm strawberry veloute

working so well with the cold ice cream, so well done on that.

But it did just lack that extra bit of spark.

The scores.

I'm going to start with you, Josh.

I'm giving you a score of...

..eight.

Tommy...

..I'm giving you a score of...

..seven.

Danny...

..for you, a score of...

..nine.

This was really clever

and I could definitely see this dish at a banquet. Well done.

Well done, all of you.

-See you tomorrow.

-Thank you.

-Thank you, Jeremy.

-Phew.

-Well done, Danny.

-Well done, mate.

-Well done, Josh.

Yeah, I'm over the moon with a nine, really, really happy with that.

-How about you, Josh?

-Yeah,

I can't complain with an eight at the end of the day.

Fair play to Danny. The better cook won today.

Obviously, a little disappointed.

I've got some strong dishes to come so that's all right.

Quite deflated after that. You've got to roll with the punches a bit,

so I'll come back fighting.