North East Judging Great British Menu

It's judgment day on Great British Menu,

as returning banquet champion Tommy Banks...

It's literally blood, sweat and tears, though.

..goes head-to-head with first-time competitor Josh Overington...

Oh, that sounds like fun.

..in a battle to represent the north-east 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 tournament.

Today, they're cooking their dishes again,

in the hope of impressing the formidable judges.

Matthew Fort,

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

-For me, it absolutely is the taste of summer.

-Absolutely brilliant!

The problem with this dish is there's nothing bad to say about it.

Both chefs are determined to make it through,

but after a close-fought competition all week, there's no room for error.

You're cooking risky dishes, I'm cooking risky dishes,

it's what we're all here to do.

Why did I roast a guard of honour of lamb on Great British Menu?

I can tell you that the chef going through to

represent the north-east in the finals is...

Returning banquet champion Tommy Banks had a mixed time in the heats,

but after a slow start he got

the only ten of the week from veteran judge Jeremy Lee.

Having finished with just a one-point lead going into today's

regional final, he's feeling the pressure.

Nervous again, actually.

It's going to be another tough day,

but I can't wait to cook these dishes for the judges.

-Best of luck.

-You too, buddy.

Let's do the north-east proud.

Josh Overington, newcomer to the competition and Tommy's

close friend, finished just one point behind him in the week.

He's hoping that his inventive dishes will give him the edge

and see him through.

I have to really dig deep today.

I need to find that self-confidence, push on and believe in myself.

This year, judges Oliver Peyton and Matthew Fort are joined by a new

member on the judging panel,

food broadcaster and restaurateur Andi Oliver.

Tommy Banks back again.

Indeed. I thought Tommy was the standout menu of the last competition,

so I hope he can come anywhere near as good as it was the last time.

And he's competing against his best friend, Josh Overington.

Let's see if they're still friends at the end of the day, though!

I mean, they are two very, very contrasting styles here.

I think Josh's menu sounds a lot more rock and roll,

it sounds quite modern, for want of a better word.

It's quite gutsy to come to the Great British Menu for

the first time and come in all guns blazing, I think that's great.

Two friends, they're competing in the kitchen,

I mean there's a lot at stake here.

I've got a lot of adrenaline running through me.

-Yeah.

-Hopefully that's going to pull me through.

It's one last push now, so I just want to get my head down and try

-and make sure I get every one of these elements right.

-Yeah.

And hope I don't distract you too much.

TOMMY LAUGHS

Hello, chefs, how are you?

Very well, thank you.

You are either a genius, Tommy, or a glutton for punishment.

Can you make the banquet a second time?

I'd love to. I mean, cooking at the banquet was such an honour.

I've been given the opportunity to compete again,

I couldn't really turn it down, so I'm giving it everything I've got.

Now, Josh, you're the only man who stands in his way to this.

-That I am.

-What's it like cooking against your friend?

A bit unusual, because this is business at the end of the day,

and I really want to beat him.

We're expecting a lot of great food from you,

hope you hit that brief right on the head, yes?

-Definitely.

-Hope so.

-Marvellous.

Good luck, chefs.

It's hard to guess what the judges are looking for, isn't it?

And you've got to bring your A-game and if you don't take risks,

they're not going to put you through.

It's now time to push on, do our best and make ourselves look good.

I hope so.

Josh is first up to the pass with his starter...

Strawberries And Ice Cream In The Garden -

a sweet and savoury dish celebrating childhood summer memories.

Veteran chef Jeremy Lee said it lacked spark,

but despite it scoring an eight, today Josh isn't making any changes.

Have you got any concerns with your dish?

I really enjoy eating it, I think it's delicious, elegant and beautiful.

But the judges might think completely different.

The chefs will also be marked by a guest judge.

Today it's Judy Murray,

mother of two of Britain's biggest tennis stars,

who's witnessed son Jamie win the Wimbledon mixed doubles,

and Andy crowned singles champion twice.

Judy, hello, welcome.

-Thank you.

-Thank you for coming, Judy.

Thank you for asking me.

Always up for something that involves food.

THEY LAUGH

How do you produce TWO great Wimbledon champions?

I'm not too sure, actually.

When they were little, their first little tennis court was actually

hitting sponge balls over the sofa in the living room.

Andy was very good at changing the rules whenever he was losing.

Yeah, yeah, yeah!

This is the boys at sort of age eight and nine,

down at our local tennis club.

Whenever Andy sees that picture he always goes, "Oh, Mum,

"my cap doesn't match my shirt and shorts!"

How do you feel like, watching them?

Well, it's horrendous.

I mean, I say it all the time, but it is honestly like

severe nausea and a heart attack all going on at the same time,

and it can last for hours.

I mean, I'm amazed I'm still alive.

So, it's 140 years of Wimbledon.

What does Wimbledon mean to you?

It is the biggest tournament in the world. In the early days,

it was a real pleasure, a real excitement, a real buzz.

Now, for me, it's two weeks of stress.

In the kitchen, Josh begins his starter,

Strawberries And Ice Cream In The Garden,

by plating his savoury granola.

Next, nasturtium ice cream.

You happy with the ice cream, Josh?

-Perfect, yeah.

-Simple things like doing a quenelle gets quite

-difficult, doesn't it, when you're under pressure?

-Well, yeah.

He adds pickled green strawberries and finishes the plates

with nasturtium flowers.

These flowers are beautiful.

Finally, he pours warm strawberry veloute into jugs.

Service, please.

-Pretty happy with these.

-Yeah, it looks great.

-Well done.

-First one down.

-Meagre.

-It's quite tiny, isn't it?

I never saw white strawberries before.

It's quite a crazy, courageous dish for me to put up first,

so it's in the land of the judges now. Let's see what they think.

It's a little unappealing to me, that, but anyway, let me taste it.

I like the colours.

It just seems very strange to me to have hot strawberry soup.

I think some of the individual flavours, such as

the strawberry veloute, really are not tremendously present.

I like the warmth of the veloute with the cold of the ice cream,

it's a little odd, but quite pleasing.

You know, it's unusual and it's interesting,

and I think the flavour combinations work quite well together.

I think there's a difference between being interesting and being edible.

I like the creativity and the boldness

and I like people who take risks, and he's taken a risk there.

I'm quite surprised you like it.

I'm surprised I like it, I don't mind telling you!

Tommy is next to the pass with his starter...

..a representation of a feast honouring the summer solstice.

Jeremy felt it was style over substance, giving it a seven -

Tommy's lowest score of the week.

I don't take criticism well,

I was really disappointed to get a seven for my starter.

-Yeah.

-But I'm going to stick to my guns,

and if the judges say my starter's only a seven as well,

then I'll have to take it, won't I?

Tommy starts by plating compressed charred cucumber

and pipes in cod's roe emulsion.

Next, warmed round tomatoes, to represent the sun,

and more emulsion.

I think the cod roe just brings it all together.

He tops with tomato essence,

garnishes with pumpkin seeds and nasturtium flowers,

and finishes with grated frozen goat's cheese.

-Beautiful.

-He serves on a presentation bonfire display.

Thank you.

Phew! Cheers, man, that took longer than I thought it was going to do.

Yeah.

Oh, yes. Aah.

-Ah!

-That looks fantastic.

-Wow. Wintry...

-This is a sort of pagan ritual.

-Yeah.

-This is Midsummer's Day.

-OK.

How do you feel about it?

It's probably one of my more controversial dishes.

If one of the judges in there loves the effect and everything,

it could be like a ten.

Disappointed with the flavour of the tomatoes.

I think the presentation of it looked spectacular,

but the food's not quite living up to the presentation.

I like that cod's roe emulsion,

I really like the way it works with the goat's cheese.

The trouble is, I think all the subsidiary flavours are so dominated

-by the tomato.

-I just don't think it has the wow you expect in this

competition, you know. If you're going to have this at a banquet,

-I would be disappointed.

-It's not quite there.

We're not going to be hoodwinked by a little bit of fire and drama.

Good try, Tommy, good try.

Josh is first to plate his fish course...

..in celebration of Wimbledon's champions.

It was criticised by veteran chef Jeremy for being too wintry.

So I'm hoping maybe the judges have a different view to Jeremy,

but they might have a different view and score me lower, so...

Josh completes his shellfish mussel stew by adding hollandaise sauce,

but there's a danger the heat of the pan will cause it to split.

This is a pretty key moment for you, isn't it?

-It's quite a risky thing to do.

-You need to take risks in this competition. You're cooking risky

dishes, I'm cooking risky dishes, it's what we're all here to do.

Next, he blowtorches scallops,

then spoons shellfish stew into champagne bottles cut in half.

Jeremy said the mussels were gritty when he ate them, is that,

have you cleaned them well this time?

I think I cleaned them pretty well last time!

Josh adds poached lobster...

I'm actually more happy with it today than I was the other day.

..followed by blowtorched scallops.

In the art of freshness, I'm just going to grate a bit of lemon zest.

He tops with champagne foam...

..and finishes the dish with black truffle and sea fennel.

Right, service, please.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

-Looked good.

It looks like a drink, I'm just not sure it's a drink.

Champagne from the chefs, I think that's bribery and corruption.

Well, I was very hopeful when I saw it coming in,

I'm not sure it's living up to exactly what I thought was going to be in the bottle, though.

I feel pretty good about that. I mean,

whether they think it's too rich or not, that's a different question,

but there's no doubt about it, it's delicious.

It's one of these dishes you have to dive into, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-One of the problems I'm having, in fact the main problem...

..is this champagne foam is so acidic.

It is incredibly rich

and I think it needs to be a little bit lighter.

You've lost all of the flavour of that delicious fish.

I'm actually liking the champagne foam and I do love scallops.

-It's different.

-What's actually gone missing, for me, is the lobster.

Too much champagne and too little lobster.

You can never have too much champagne, in my opinion!

Maybe the champagne is in the wrong place,

the champagne should have been in the glass, not in the bottle.

JUDY LAUGHS

Tommy's up next with his dish...

His unusual take on the Wimbledon classic.

Having got his fish dish to the banquet last time,

Tommy's hoping this year's effort could see him triumph again.

In the week, veteran chef Jeremy scored it a nine.

Jeremy didn't like the red strawberries,

-but I'm definitely leaving those on.

-Yeah.

Tommy starts by plating vegetable tartare and fresh strawberries.

Next, he pan fries water-bathed turbot in butter.

It's got to be absolutely bang on.

Yeah. A lot of butter again.

I just imagine Mr Fort likes his turbot cooked in a lot of butter.

He adds his cooked turbot to the plate,

tops with pickled green strawberries,

and dusts with fennel pollen.

He serves cream sauce in jugs, and splits with chive oil.

Thank you very much.

I think it looks like a bit of a guddle, actually.

-What's a guddle?

-It just looks like a whole lot of stuff

chucked around the fish.

One of my best dishes, I think.

I'm kind of banking on it, so hopefully they'll enjoy it.

It doesn't look very appetising, does it?

No. I want to try the sauce first.

Wow, that does help. Ooh!

Amazing how that lifts the whole plate.

Right, so that's an entirely different proposition as soon as you

-pour that round.

-It is.

-Yes.

This fish is lovely.

The texture of it is really beautiful.

I'm actually enjoying it. I think the combination of flavours,

the vegetable tartare, the chive oil,

this is a very well cooked dish of food.

I think the fish is really beautifully cooked.

Even the fennel dust, actually it opens another little doorway

into another little flavour area.

And I think the sauce is absolutely masterful because it sorts of pulls

-everything together.

-What do you think, Judy?

I love it. I am one of these people who, I like fruit with fish.

-Yeah.

-Not everybody does,

so I'm actually liking the combination very much.

This is the Tommy that I remember, this is very high quality cooking.

With two courses down,

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

Now that we're halfway through the day,

I can see why it's neck and neck, it really is.

I think that Josh's strawberry and cream soup gave him

the first set, for me,

and I think that Tommy made a great comeback in the second set.

He absolutely smashed it.

We'll see what comes over that pass this afternoon.

Next, it's the main course.

First to plate up it's Tommy,

with his dish in celebration of the ceremonial line-up given to

Wimbledon winners...

It features two different cuts of lamb,

a Jacob's Ladder and a rack of lamb,

which will be carved by diners at the table.

We've got two different styles of cooking lamb,

and two completely different dishes.

I like the fact that we're different.

I like this technique and I think it's the best way to eat lamb,

but it's literally blood, sweat and tears, though.

Tommy scored a perfect ten for the dish earlier in the week,

but with tricky timings, today not everything is going to plan.

Lamb looking good?

Yeah, I think one of them's cooked and one of them's not.

Oh, that sounds like fun!

Yeah, great fun...

Why did I roast a guard of honour of lamb on Great British Menu?

While he waits for his rack of lamb to cook,

Tommy coats lamb fat roasted potatoes

in sourdough breadcrumbs before plating.

Next, he pipes fermented turnip puree and adds pickled turnip discs

and caramelised chocolate mint leaves.

He plates his lamb Jacob's Ladder...

Awesome.

..and tops with mint gel.

He pours his lamb sauce into jugs and places the lamb rack guard of honour

onto the racket chopping board, hoping it's perfectly cooked.

OK, I'm ready.

So, please. Take it away.

Well done, mate. Haven't seen you that stressed in a while.

Yeah, it's a real push getting that one out.

Stand at ease everybody, we've got guards of honour.

Oh, this is guard of honour, of course it is.

That is a guard of honour. On a tennis racket.

I really hope Matthew's just going to like slice straight down

the middle of it, it's going to be perfectly cooked.

-Oliver, one or two for you?

-One for me.

-One for you.

A little chunk for me.

Oh...

That is a really good piece of meat.

The quality of the lamb is just absolutely brilliant.

It is absolutely delicious.

I particularly like the jus.

It is really, really tasty, and the fermented turnip puree,

which I thought sounded like it was going to be something that was going

to be quite horrendous, is absolutely gorgeous.

This is really faultless cooking, on all levels.

That mint is just gorgeous.

For me, it absolutely is the taste of summer.

I think it's very much in keeping with Wimbledon

because it's so traditional, it's simple and it's world-class.

The problem with this dish is there's nothing bad to say about it.

Next to the pass, is Josh with his take on lamb,

a dish inspired by summer memories of his late grandfather...

So, this dish has a real personal connection for you, Josh?

Yeah, it means a lot to me.

It's easily my most challenging dish on the menu.

Josh begins by plating beetroot puree.

Next, he carves barbecued lamb rump.

What about the lamb, how's that looking?

Yeah, I cooked it a little bit on a lower heat than last time.

It's come out a lot more even.

Yeah, it does look good, you've got me a bit worried, to be fair.

I'm really feeling nervous now about this.

THEY LAUGH

He adds roasted yellow and red beetroots.

Next, charred teardrop peppers,

raw candied beetroot discs and beetroot leaves,

then squid ink and scallop roe ketchup.

He serves a lamb borscht on the side

to represent his grandad's glass of red wine,

and, finally, pipes Cabernet Sauvignon-flavoured smoke

into glass cloches.

How much?

And stop.

Service, please.

I think you do your grandad proud with that dish.

-Thank you so much, mate.

-Well done.

One, two, three, yo.

It's very colourful.

I'm really trying to evoke a sense of barbecue with that,

and I also think the borscht,

a little bit of fake red wine is a nice little fun part of the dish.

Oh, it's very meaty, that.

-Yeah.

-That borscht.

Not massively keen on it.

It's not fine claret.

The lamb, for me, is a bit chewy.

This isn't doing anything for me, unfortunately.

I don't think the beetroot's setting off the lamb, either.

When you see barbecued lamb, you're set up for abundance.

But it's got to be about five times the size before it comes remotely

close to being, you know, that fun element of a barbecue.

It doesn't feel to me like a summery dish at all.

It's not summer. It's just not good enough.

Finally, it's the dessert course, and the chefs' last chance to impress.

Tommy's up first with his dish Hay Time,

inspired by memories of his family farm in the summer.

It uses unusual flavours like hay and meadowsweet.

Jeremy scored it an eight,

saying he was confused by what it was meant to be.

-Big flavours on there.

-I'd rather be bold with flavour and get penalised

for that, than put something up and they go, "That was a bit bland."

Tommy starts by spraying hay perfume onto hay wreaths made by his mum.

Next, he pipes raspberry puree onto heather and flour honey filo discs

and adds fresh raspberries.

He spoons raspberry compote into the bowl.

I was just putting raspberry puree at the bottom of the bowl.

-Yeah.

-Just mix a few raspberries together with the puree, a little

-more, I suppose, like a compote in the bottom.

-Yeah.

Tommy adds meadowsweet cheesecake to the filo disc and garnishes

with wood sorrel leaves.

He plates aerated hay custard,

before topping with the filo disc

and a quenelle of cream cheese ice cream.

Thank you very much.

-I'm done.

-Nothing else you can do now.

No. Oh, God.

See what the judges think, you know, they're the bosses.

I heard a little sigh from Judy...

-Yes!

-..as that came through the door, did you hear that?

Something I'm going to enjoy big time.

I don't know how I feel now, you know?

I feel you've cooked really well today,

so I feel like it's just neck and neck.

So, this is the hay cream...

..which is just light as air.

I love that very light crunchy little disc in there.

-The filo.

-The filo, which I think works incredibly well.

Quite a nice way to use it, isn't it?

And the sharpness of the raspberry,

hurray to have a raspberry instead of a strawberry!

I've never had anything like this, I love the different flavours.

It's made me want to just keep eating it.

When you get to the bottom of it,

the raspberries are really sharp and tangy at the bottom.

It's absolutely delicious, I love it.

I think it's not big enough.

It's just a bit small, I agree.

It's a bit small.

The last dish of the day is Josh's Walking Through The Hedgerow Picking

Berries, a homage to summer fruit collecting which gave Josh his best

-score of nine.

-That's different, Josh.

Yeah, it is, I've set it in the bowl.

So the dish you got the highest score for in the whole week, you've changed?

I want a ten, so I have to take risks.

Josh starts by adding buckwheat crumble and wild berries

to his foraged herb panna cotta.

Everything going to plan, Josh?

Yeah. Panna cotta is literally just set, and that's how I want it.

Next, macerated strawberries and buckwheat honeycomb,

which he forgot to plate yesterday.

Ah, so you remembered the honeycomb.

I remembered it this time, yeah.

He tops with sweet woodruff and strawberry powders and finishes

the dish with wild strawberry sorbet.

That looks brilliant.

Congratulations, well done. It looks good.

-Congrats to you as well. All done now.

-Nothing left to do.

-Yeah.

It's very colourful, it's very appealing.

The colours are amazing actually, aren't they?

-How do you feel about that?

-I know that's a delicious plate of food,

I want to get a ten.

Oh, wow.

There's that hushed silence that's descended on the table

which is always a good sign.

I'm really enjoying the panna cotta.

It's silky and soothing, and quite pleasing.

There's a lot to like about it.

I think the panna cotta is gorgeous,

but I'm not so keen on the lightness of the crumble,

-it's a bit like sand almost.

-Yes.

-It looks like sand,

and I want this to look gorgeous and summery and light.

There's lots of ingredients going on.

I don't think they all work in harmony.

Too many of the flavours merge into one.

I would have been perfectly happy with just the panna cotta.

You just like rich creamy stuff, don't you?

Much like yourself!

THEY LAUGH

I think there's nothing in it.

It was a real fight, toe-to-toe.

I think we have had some world-class cooking today.

-Yeah.

-I definitely could see one or two of those dishes today being

served at a Wimbledon banquet.

Oh, I can feel the nerves building inside my belly right now,

I've got the butterflies.

This not knowing part is just terrible.

Welcome, chefs. How are you feeling?

-Nervous.

-Yeah, I'm very nervous.

What's it like working when you're really good friends?

Probably nicer, because at least you know the other guy doesn't hate you.

Yeah. THEY LAUGH

Well, we've had a very interesting day.

Both served some very, very fine food,

in actual fact, we gave some 10s.

However, as you both know, there can only be one winner.

And I can tell you that the chef going through to represent the north-east

in the finals is...

..Tommy.

-Oh.

-Well done, mate.

-Thanks.

Well done, well done.

You look like a very relieved man.

I am. I literally had no idea, so thank you very much,

but it's just been a real pleasure all week.

Tommy, I gave your main course a ten.

-Thank you.

-It was absolutely sublime.

We all loved that dish, and we could definitely see it at the banquet.

-It's a real contender, I would say.

-Thank you very much.

Josh, commiserations.

I really enjoyed your dessert, that panna cotta was just delicious.

Silky, smooth, it was wonderful, really well done.

Thank you.

Thank you, chefs. I have thoroughly enjoyed experiencing your food,

and I think you're both absolutely brilliant.

And Tommy, I look forward to seeing if you can join the hallowed few

that have made it to the banquet twice.

Thank you very much, I'll be giving it everything I've got.

Josh, make sure that it's his tab tonight at the bar, OK?

It's definitely going to be.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

Oh, wow.

That was absolutely amazing.

That's the most nervous I've ever been.

I've done this competition before, and I've never felt that nervous.

-Congratulations, buddy.

-Cheers, mate, thank you.

Obviously I'm disappointed, but, you know,

Tommy cooked really well today.

You know, I can't take anything away from him.

PHONE RINGS

-'Hello?'

-Hi, Mum, it's Tommy.

'Oh, hi, Tommy, how you doing?'

-Yeah, I've just come out the judging chamber.

-'And?'

-And I've gone through.

-'Really?!

'Oh, that's amazing, well done!'

-Thank you.

-'I'm so pleased, well done.'

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

We're from Yorkshire, mate, shall we go and get some pints?

-Yeah, let's go have a beer.

-Yeah, let's go.