Scotland Main Great British Menu

This year on Great British Menu...

-Ooh!

-..24 of the country's top chefs...

Hey!

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

-Competition is on.

-Go, go, go!

..celebrating 140 years of the iconic Wimbledon tennis championships -

the oldest and most revered Grand Slam in the world.

This week, battling to represent Scotland in the national finals are

returning contender Michael Bremner,

who took the lead yesterday with his inventive fish dish,

earning him the highest score of the week...

I'm going to give you a nine.

..fellow returner Ally McGrath, who is snapping at his heels,

just a couple of points behind...

I've definitely got Michael in my sights.

..and newcomer Angela Malik,

who's putting up a good fight and is just one mark behind Ally.

I've got my favourite course coming.

Today, it's the main course...

This is the big one for me.

..and the chefs must all rise to the challenge.

I'm nervous today, because I'm taking a massive risk.

You're not concerned you possibly went too far?

The competition...

Are you confident it's going to set?

I hope so! The heat in here is phenomenal.

..is ramping up.

BLEEP!

He's burned something.

The Wimbledon banquet will celebrate 140 years of the world's toughest tennis tournament.

To get there, the chefs must create outstanding dishes which capture a taste of summer.

After two courses, Michael is in first place, with 17 points,

Ally in second with 15, followed by Angela with 14.

So, main course today, guys.

This is the big one for me.

Going to get my ten out of ten now.

Pulling it back, boys.

-Fighting talk.

-I'm nervous today because I think I'm taking a massive

risk. Could go either way for me.

I'm confident about this dish today, so I'm going for big points.

-It's only me that's going down, then.

-Hope so.

MICHAEL LAUGHS

Judging the dishes this week is four Michelin-starred chef

Nathan Outlaw, who's expecting perfection.

-Morning, guys.

-ALL: Morning, Chef.

-How's everyone feeling?

-Good.

-Excited.

-Well, main course today, the one that everyone wants to win.

Yesterday's scores were OK, but today I'm expecting some perfection.

Some tens. So you better get on with the cooking.

-Good luck.

-ALL: Thank you.

So far in the competition, I've not seen perfect food.

The main course today, hopefully I'll see some precision and some

perfection, just like you would expect at Wimbledon.

Returning chef Michael is top of the leaderboard.

But he's taking a risk today with an unusual ingredient for his main course -

The Grass Is Greener.

How are you doing, Michael?

-Bit of ox tongue?

-Yes.

Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam that's still played on grass.

-Yep.

-So I'm focusing on grass-fed ox tongue.

Potatoes that I'm going to cook in perennial rye-grass.

How are you going to make this really shine for the potatoes?

-I also will be making a grass butter.

-Oh, OK.

So once it's cooked, I'll put it in the grass butter,

vac-pack it and hold it in the water bath.

I'm going to have some pickled vegetables to go with it.

-What have you got here, what vegetables?

-I've got some turnip.

-Swede.

-Swede, where you guys come from, yeah.

Turnip where I come from.

Carrots. A bit of mooli, and then some red onions.

First thing I see is - is it summery?

You know, summer things that you think about, brisket or smoked meats,

pulled pork. Those sorts of things are very summery.

-Yeah.

-And...

There's no real difference here. It's no', like, richness behind it.

I'm taking a risk because I don't think anyone else has ever tried to do an offal main course.

-This takes a while to cook, doesn't it?

-It does, yeah!

Michael is cooking ox tongue.

Also on the dish, there's lots of wintry vegetables.

It doesn't sound summery at all,

so I don't know where he's going to get the summer from.

Ally is just two points behind Michael.

He's confident he can take the lead with his summery main -

Cooking On Coals.

-How you doing, Ally? You all right?

-Good morning, Chef.

-What's going on here, then?

-So, we're going to have a barbecue.

-Oh, are you?

-It's summer, it's all about barbecue.

I've got a lovely chicken. I'm going to cook the breast with garlic,

-thyme and rosemary.

-Right.

And then I'm going to make a Parmesan and truffle custard.

Doesn't sound like a barbecue to me.

It's a great barbecue, this is.

So, the potatoes. They're going to be my coals.

Right.

So I'm going to cook them in soy sauce and squid ink.

That sounds like it potentially could be quite salty, though.

-Some have been, Chef.

-You have practised this?

I've practised these potatoes so many times.

If you ever want soy sauce, Chef, just give me a shout.

-I have bottles of it!

-Have you?

-Oh, yeah.

Ally's dish sounds very intriguing,

but he's got a bit of a risk, I think, with the potatoes.

He's making them to look like charcoal,

but he's using squid ink and soy sauce.

To me, that sounds like it could be very salty.

I'm a bit concerned about that.

Angela is just one point behind Ally.

She's drawing on her Indian heritage for her dish -

A Spot Of Tiffin On Henman Hill - in a bid to pull ahead.

OK, Angela? So, what are you making today, then?

So, it's three layers.

We've got a summer biryani in the bottom,

a Scotch egg and a quail kebab in the middle,

and the top is a cucumber raita.

-Brilliant.

-I'm doing my version of a Scotch egg with quail leg meat.

That's quite risky, right? Cos you want a soft result

-for the Scotch egg?

-I do - that's the challenge.

You know Indian food is one of my favourite foods, don't you?

It's the number-one food in the UK.

Yeah. How does that sound, guys? Fans of Indian cuisine?

Yeah, very much so.

So Angela's cooking summer biryani with little quail Scotch eggs.

Sounds really intriguing, but the main risk for her, I think, is the rice.

It could end up stodgy if she overcooks it.

It's a challenge to get that right.

With a fellow countryman as reigning Wimbledon champion,

all three chefs are hoping to replicate his success in the kitchen.

Having Andy Murray as the Wimbledon champion is amazing.

And on that, wouldn't it be amazing getting a Scottish dish through to the banquet?

It would. We've got a lot to live up to.

Michael is working on his dish, The Grass Is Greener.

He's staking his lead on an unusual ingredient - ox tongue.

He starts by placing vegetables and stock in a pressure cooker,

before adding the tongue.

This dish could go either way for me. It's risky but, you know,

I think that's the whole point of this competition, isn't it?

If you don't take risks...

You're not concerned you possibly went too far with the risk bit?

I did a vegan starter.

I think it's about taking risks and being different.

Across the kitchen, Angela is hoping to score big with a multilayer dish,

A Spot Of Tiffin On Henman Hill,

featuring four different spiced elements,

including quail Scotch eggs and a biryani.

She starts by making her cooling raita,

mixing yoghurt with finely chopped mint.

Next, she prepares a cucumber jelly, which she pours on top.

Are you confident it's going to set?

I hope so! The heat in here is phenomenal.

I've actually put a little bit of extra gelatine in - fingers crossed.

She decorates with cucumber slices,

and leaves to set before moving on to her masala sauce.

The secret of a great curry is the onion cooking.

We've got to get the caramelisation on the onions...

-Uh-huh.

-..to get the flavour in the curry, and also the colour.

-It's all about the onions.

-Interesting.

To her caramelised onions, she adds passata, spices, double cream,

honey, and dried fenugreek leaves.

You on top of things, Angela?

Yes, Chef. Feeling comfortable.

-What's in here?

-This is the masala sauce...

-OK.

-..which is going to be used in the biryani.

-OK, can I taste it?

-Please!

The flavours, are they going to develop as it cooks?

Yeah, it gets better as it sets.

-Do you think you've got enough time to get that flavour coming through?

-Yes, absolutely.

-Yeah.

I think as Angela's in her comfort zone

with this dish - it's her food - I expect high marks.

I expect a ten.

Ally's hoping to increase his one-point lead over Angela

with his dish, Cooking On Coals -

his homage to a summer barbecue.

He starts by deboning chicken thighs, which he stuffs with herbs,

before rolling into a ballotine.

Next, he seasons chicken crown and cooks both in a water bath

before starting work on his pancetta sauce.

BLEEP!

-He's burned something.

-BLEEP!

There WAS shallots in it - I now have carbon.

With his sauce rescued, Ally moves on to his potatoes,

which he hopes will look like barbecue coals.

Hey, Ally, you all right, you good now?

Yes, Chef, just looking at my coals, my potatoes.

It's squid ink and soy sauce.

-A lot of soy sauce, isn't it?

-It is, but it's not a dark one.

The dark ones can be really, really salty.

-OK.

-Then some bonito flakes, as well.

-OK. It's very Asian, actually, isn't it?

-It is a bit.

Gives it that umami kind of taste, with the soy and stuff.

-I'll let you get on with it.

-Thank you very much, Chef.

Michael has moved on to making jus-filled ravioli for his grass-inspired dish.

He kneads and rolls pasta dough,

and fills with veal and red wine-infused spheres.

Next, he starts work on his potatoes,

which he's infusing with rye-grass he's grown himself -

the same type of turf which is used on Wimbledon's tennis courts.

How I've taken on the brief,

I'm very much looking at it from a Wimbledon point of view.

-Right.

-It's quite inspiring

thinking about precision and perfection of Wimbledon.

As part of his Wimbledon menu preparation,

Michael visited the Sport Turf Research Institute in West Yorkshire,

where they develop and test the grass that's used on Wimbledon's courts.

Mark, how are you doing?

-Hi, Michael, nice to meet you.

-You too. Are you well?

Mark Ferguson is the resident tennis-turf expert.

Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam tournament played on grass,

and it's imperative that the surfaces of the courts

are in perfect condition for the competition.

We're stood on a miniature replica of a Wimbledon tennis court.

Wow.

This is the same grass, the same seed mixture, which is a perennial rye-grass mixture.

Perennial rye-grass is used because it grows well

in the firm, dense soil required for optimum ball bounce.

The grass undergoes numerous tests to ensure it provides

the ideal surface for the world's top tennis players.

The surface needs to be uniform, it needs to be firm,

and you need to be able to trust the bounce.

But the most important factor is that it's wear-tolerant.

Wimbledon is the most important tennis tournament in the world.

We want it to look as good as it possibly can.

Michael wanted Mark's expert opinion on the home-grown grass he's using

in his main course.

That looks pretty healthy, pretty dense.

What my idea is, of cooking a potato inside this grass envelope,

-if you like.

-This, maybe with another week's growth or so, would be ideal,

cos new grass is very strong in aroma, and therefore, I guess...

..flavour. But that's YOUR department.

THEY LAUGH

Do you think it's a mad idea?

I think it's a mad idea, but that doesn't mean it's a bad idea.

THEY LAUGH

Back in the kitchen, Michael is working on another of his grass-based components -

the wheatgrass butter for his potatoes.

He blends blanched wheatgrass with oil,

sieves, and whisks with cream and yoghurt to make his butter.

Next, he checks on his ox tongue.

Happy with that? Smells delicious.

-Yeah, I'm happy with that.

-Good.

Michael removes the cooked ox tongue, brushes it with Dijon mustard,

and uses clingfilm to shape into a cylinder...

before moving on to his rye-grass potatoes,

using a special method he's devised himself.

-Michael, what are you doing here?

-This is the grass-cooked potatoes.

-Yeah.

-I'm soaking the muslin.

-Yep.

-Then just wrapping it up.

And bake it in the oven. I'm going to hold them in the water bath with

-some of the butter.

-You think this process is going to make a real

-difference to the actual end result?

-I hope so.

'He's actually covered a piece of muslin, and they are going to

'steam in the oven, which actually is a really cool technique.'

I do think he will get that essence of the grass from the result.

Ally is still working on the potatoes he hopes will resemble coals for his barbecue-themed dish.

Having cooked them in squid ink and soy sauce to darken the skin,

he places his coals in the dehydrator.

Is that the colour you're looking for?

They're not as black as I have had them,

but eating's more important than looking.

With plating-up approaching, Ally moves on to making a savoury custard

by blending milk and eggs with Parmesan.

He adds black truffle to the mix before cooking.

You look really comfortable, Ally.

It's a really nice dish, and I'm confident it's going to score better than you guys.

I think I'm going to trump you on this one.

This is my cooking, it's from my heart.

Aye, well, you know. Opinions vary.

SHE LAUGHS

With time running out, Angela is working on the biryani

for her summer picnic tiffin dish.

She mixes orange zest into boiled rice,

and layers in an oven dish with masala and caramelised onions.

She tops with orange-flavoured butter and rose water

before putting in the oven.

Next, she moves on to her tricky quail Scotch eggs.

She starts by boiling the eggs before plunging into ice water to stop them cooking,

in the hope of producing a soft centre.

She encases the eggs in quail mince, then rolls in flour, egg,

and panko breadcrumbs.

The Scotch eggs are very last-minute.

I would like them to have been more chilled to hold their shape.

But I'm...giving it a go.

First up to the pass is Ally, with his dish, Cooking On Coals,

inspired by summer barbecues.

He starts by frying his slow-cooked chicken breasts and thighs

in butter, to crisp the skin.

Next he deep-fries his partially dehydrated potato coals.

So, is that your barbecued chicken over there?

-Yeah.

-Have you barbecued it?

-No, Chef.

-It's getting barbecued?

-It will get slightly smoked in a minute.

-So there's no barbecue?

I've never said there is a barbecue. It's served on a barbecue.

HE WHISTLES

First onto the plate is Parmesan and truffle custard.

Followed by chard, little gem lettuce, broccoli, and sugar snaps.

-How you doing, Ally?

-Fine, thank you, Chef. With you in a minute.

-Going to be ready in time?

-Yes, Chef.

He garnishes with fried girolle mushrooms and crispy pancetta.

Next, the chicken thigh ballotine.

Is that truffle you're putting on?

Yeah. A bit of truffle-on-truffle action.

I'm in.

Pancetta sauce goes into jugs.

Finally, Ally puts hickory wood chips into the bottom of a barbecue,

places the potato coals and chicken breast on top...

Oh, I see.

..and ignites the wood chips.

-Pleased?

-Yes, Chef.

Now I know where you've gone with that summer brief.

-What do you think, guys?

-It looks great.

Stunning. Certainly reminds me of a summer barbecue.

The smells, smoke, it's all there.

Yeah. You guys can have that one, the smaller portion.

I'll take the bigger one.

The initial reaction when it came up, I thought, "Wow."

It's a barbecue. The theatre's there.

-Pleased with the chicken?

-Gets that little bit of smokiness from the

smoke, not a lot. So, yeah, I'm happy with that.

Cooked the chicken in a water bath.

The only challenge is with the skin, to get it nice and crisp.

It has kind of gone a bit soft.

-Yes.

-The flavour in the chicken, though, is delicious.

-Mm!

These potatoes. These are intriguing.

A very inventive way of serving the potatoes.

Have they come out the way you expected?

The soy is maybe slightly stronger than what I've had in the past.

The potatoes are quite salty with that soya.

There's definitely a saltiness to it,

but I don't think it's unpleasant.

Do you think that salad sings summer?

-Yeah.

-It's very interesting.

There's lots of different textures in there, which is a nice touch.

-Flavour-wise, I think he's nailed it.

-Yes.

I'm going to give it a nine.

If you were scoring this dish, what would you give it?

I think it's up there for a nine or a ten.

-How was that?

-All right, I think.

- What did you guys think? - Accomplished cooking, Ally.

-Oh, thank you.

-Yeah, I loved it.

-I scored it a nine.

-Ooh, thank you.

Next to the pass is Michael, with his dish, The Grass Is Greener,

made with his home-grown rye-grass in honour of Wimbledon's courts.

He slices his cylinder of ox tongue and fries it in a pan.

Next, he boils his jus-filled ravioli...

..and removes his grass-infused potatoes from the water bath, and seasons.

First onto the plate is the fried and glazed ox tongue.

Then the grass-infused potatoes.

-So, what's that?

-This is my jus ravioli.

- Wow. - That looks incredible.

Thank you.

Next, rolls of pickled daikon radish and carrot,

then discs of pickled swede topped with red onion.

Michael, you're due at the pass now.

Yeah, just give me two seconds.

He finishes with parsley puree and a drizzle of wheatgrass oil.

So this is my The Grass Is Greener.

Is this a taste of summer to you?

It's my take on a variation of a taste of summer, yeah.

-Guys, what do you think?

-It's certainly got the colours of summer.

The potato looks quite big.

-Shall we go and try it?

-Yeah.

Do you think that looks like summer?

Yeah, I think the colours are there.

For something that people will associate with the winter,

it's kind of given it a different lease of life.

Pasta's a little bit tough.

But look at that.

-That's amazing.

-Isn't that stunning?

Yeah.

Wow.

What you are left with, though, is quite a raw-looking pasta.

I think the pasta is a bit thick.

Good to hold the gravy. I'd let him off for that.

So was that the flavour and the texture you were after from the ox tongue?

It could be a bit more cooked.

To me it's, like, rubbery.

It's not a texture I would want to eat at a banquet.

All the effort you went to - growing your own grass -

is this what you were aiming for with the potato?

I mean, I like the flavour in that.

I'm a bit underwhelmed by the potato.

I really wanted to taste the grassiness.

I think the size of it is maybe its downfall.

So, overall,

if you were marking that dish, what would you give yourself?

I'd probably give it a seven.

Smile on your face, Chef?

It didn't work out the way I should have done it.

-What did you think?

-Not my cup of tea, I have to be honest.

If I was at summer banquet and I got ox tongue and some boiled potato,

-I would be a bit upset.

-Yeah.

Last up to the pass is Angela, with her dish,

A Spot Of Tiffin On Henman Hill,

inspired by summer picnics with her family.

She's serving her dish in a three-tiered tiffin box.

Into the top layer goes her cucumber raita.

Quail kebabs and her Scotch eggs go in the middle dish.

A Scotch egg would terrify me, I'm not going to lie to you.

Well, let's wait and see, Michael.

She puts her summer vegetable biryani in the bottom,

topped with asparagus spears and cauliflower,

and garnishes with pea shoots, edible roses, toasted almonds,

and pistachios.

-Angela, you should be up on the pass by now.

-Coming up now, Chef.

Finally, masala sauce is served on the side.

So, Angela. Think you've done enough?

I have, Chef. Pulled it off.

For me, it certainly looks like a nice surprise.

Let's go and try this one.

I really liked the presentation when it came up.

-A bit of mystery behind it.

-Yeah, I really like the boxes.

The thistles are great. A good nod to Scotland.

See if you got the eggs right in the middle.

So, the egg looks slightly overcooked to me.

It's still a bit runny, so I'm happy with that.

-She's brave doing a Scotch egg, I think.

-I think so.

I think there could be a bit more seasoning in that.

I think that's exactly what I was thinking.

Do you find it a little bit dry?

I don't find that particularly dry.

I think it's quite succulent in the middle.

-Try it with a bit of the sauce.

-That masala sauce is delicious.

That's fantastic.

Biryani is one of my favourites.

For me, the rice has got a lovely fragrance.

Yes, I wanted this to be a summer biryani

full of evocative summer flavours,

so it felt like summer in your mouth.

I think the biryani is delicious.

I think the rice is cooked nicely.

It's very different than a normal raita.

Do you think it's maybe a bit too sweet?

Maybe the lime syrup, I could put less of,

but overall I think it's got the wow factor.

This stands for what she believes in.

Something that means a lot to her.

-I'm going to give it an eight.

-I'd give it an eight, as well,

just because of the seasoning.

So how was that?

There were a couple of points Nathan wasn't so keen on.

-What did you think?

-The rice was superb.

-And the sauce was heaven.

-Yeah, your sauce was the best part.

Of course I want a high score.

I want to be able to get past both of you boys.

-MICHAEL:

-I've made some mistakes today.

I'm disappointed in my performance.

I need a big score to capitalise on your mistakes.

ANGELA LAUGHS

- Harsh. - That is brutal.

But thank you.

-Hi, Chefs.

-Hi.

-Hi.

That's the main course over. How do you feel?

Relieved.

Angela. I'm going to start with you and your dish.

I like the idea of the tiffin tin and the picnic.

I thought it really hit the brief.

Thank you.

I loved the biryani,

the fruitiness and the fragrance really shone through.

However...

..the Scotch egg, for me, was slightly overcooked.

And your raita was quite sweet -

almost verging on a dessert.

Ally. Your dish.

I thought the colours of the dish were slightly bland

and I worry about the logistics of serving that dish

for a lot of people at a banquet.

But...

..the sense of theatre was fantastic.

The chicken breast was perfectly cooked.

-And the garlicky notes were wonderful.

-Thank you.

I was worried about the potatoes,

and with all those salty ingredients,

I was amazed how you pulled it off.

So, Michael, your dish.

I liked the grass idea,

and the nod to Wimbledon and the summertime was good.

I like the idea of the ravioli.

But...

..the pasta was raw.

-And at this level, it's unacceptable.

-Yeah.

The tongue was undercooked.

The grass flavour didn't really shine through.

If you're going to go to the trouble of trying to infuse grass into

something, it really needs to come out in the final taste of the dish.

So, to the scores.

I'm going to start with you, Angela.

I'm giving you a score of...

..eight.

Thank you.

Michael.

I'm going to give you a score of...

..six.

Ally.

I'm going to give you a score of...

..nine.

So, Ally, that puts you in the lead by one point.

It's the dessert course next.

It's going to be very exciting.

-Good luck.

-ALL: Thank you.

Well done.

-Well deserved.

-Well done, you too.

-Well deserved.

I can't quite believe that that just happened.

I got a nine. I got a nine. I got a nine form Nathan Outlaw.

That's all right.

With just one course to go, Ally now leads with 24 points,

with Michael on 23 and Angela just one point behind on 22.

I expected a bad number.

It's just how it can turn around, isn't it?

I'm disappointed. All I can do is learn from my mistakes,

and if I get a chance to do it again, I'll change things around.

It's very close. How close is it?

It's one point between it, in all directions.

I've got a high now, want to end on an even bigger high.

Let's see if we can beat the eight - get that ten.

-I think maybe we should just call it there.

-Yeah!