Central Starter Great British Menu

This year on Great British Menu...

Hey!

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

Hold on to your hats.

..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...

It's literally blood, sweat and tears.

..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...

A little bit of a wow factor.

..of the best of British summer time.

Hats off, really well done.

First, they'll have to impress a

formidable veteran of the competition...

It wasn't the kind of dish I would expect

in the Great British Menu kitchen.

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

This was a super dish.

Thank you.

This week, competing to represent the central region,

a returning chef...

If my sorbet doesn't work, I'll use yours.

..being challenged by two first-timers.

It's maybe thinking outside the box, being a bit edgy.

This is a masterclass in fine food.

But which chefs will make it through to cook for the judges on Friday?

It's stuck to the shell. I've never had this before in my life.

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, competing for the

penultimate place in the national finals

are newcomer Ryan Simpson,

one of the youngest chefs in the

country to be awarded a Michelin star...

My food is about passion, it's about flair,

and I've got a real appetite to succeed.

..returning chef Pip Lacey,

who received high praise from the judges two years ago...

I've learned from last time.

Just a bit more attention to detail,

and that will, hopefully, get me through to the banquet.

..and first-timer Nick Deverell-Smith,

protege of Marco Pierre White,

known for his elegant, modern cuisine.

My dishes are bold, tasty and moreish

and I think they're going to make

me really stand out in the competition.

Judging them this week is a chef who knows all about the heat

of the Great British Menu kitchen...

I'm quite nervous to see who's going to be judging us.

Hopefully, they like what I do. It's my biggest worry.

..one of only three chefs to get two dishes

all the way to the Great British Menu banquet.

Probably look up to every single one of them.

Bring on the vet!

And the man who knocked Pip out of the competition two years ago...

..Richard Bainbridge.

-Morning, chefs, how are we?

-Morning.

-ALL: Morning.

-Pip.

-Nice to see you, Rich.

-Always a pleasure.

So how are you feeling about this year's competition?

Yeah, I'm really excited, I know what it takes now, so...

-Ryan?

-I can't wait to get cooking in that kitchen and hopefully impress you.

Nick, are you excited about the competition ahead?

A bit petrified, nervous, excited, loads of emotions, but, yeah,

-can't wait to get going now.

-I've been exactly where you are now,

feeling how you guys feel.

Because this year, you know, with it being 140 years of Wimbledon,

that passion and that drive that you need to be a tennis player,

you guys need that in that room.

So heads down, eyes in and get on with it.

-Thank you.

-Thanks.

-Good luck.

-Cheers.

Wow.

He did get two dishes at the banquet, so...

I'll be happy if I just got one, so...!

THEY LAUGH

To impress Richard,

the chefs must create outstanding

dishes that capture this year's brief,

A Taste Of Summer,

and pay tribute to 140 years of the Wimbledon Championships.

To come back as a veteran in the central region is a dream come true

for me. We've been one of the most

successful regions in this competition,

and I want those guys in there to really wave that flag for us.

A specialist in Italian cuisine,

returner Pip Lacey is determined to impress Richard with her summer

starter, Whatever The Weather,

which she hopes will take her all the way to the banquet.

-So, Pip.

-Hello.

How are we feeling now we're back in the room?

It's good to see you, I think.

Good, so tell me about your dish.

So the starter this time,

essentially it's like a minestrone soup.

The idea is to appreciate all the people at Wimbledon that make it all

happen, you know, whatever the weather.

So what are you going to do with the tomatoes?

We've got honey with the cherries, with ox blood,

just going to get the hearts seasoned up.

Got tomato water, also tomato jelly.

You're doing a tomato jelly.

You know how versatile this kitchen can be.

The heat, the temperature.

Yeah, whatever the weather, so it's fine.

-Good, lovely.

-I'm making little raviolis filled with goat's cheese.

Is there anything that you're really worried about?

Slightly worried about the pasta, because obviously

that's what I do a lot of.

It's a late addition, so we'll see.

To me, it sounds simple,

but sometimes with simplicity can come mess ups, and you can mess that

-up quite easily.

-Yeah.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

Pip is playing to her strengths.

You know, she makes pasta for a living, so if she gets this wrong,

it's going to be embarrassing for her.

Newcomer Ryan Simpson is hoping to score highly with his dish,

Summer Fruit And Veg, which uses the same main ingredients as Pip.

Ryan, so tell me about your dish.

So it's essentially a tomato salad, but it's kind of a few twists on it,

a little bit of texture. Got a

marriage of goat's cheese with it as well.

-Sounds familiar.

-Very similar to Pip's dish.

So kind of put the goat's cheese in a cannelloni and then wrap it with a

tomato water gel, very similar again.

So are you using pasta as well?

No, the actual cannelloni is actually going to be made with this,

-feuilles de brick.

-Oh, OK.

It stays quite crispy when you put moist things with it,

-as long as you cook it right.

-What's this?

What I'm going to be doing is a squid ink shortbread,

and I'm going to flavour that with tomato.

There seems to be lots of different

elements that need to come together...

-Yeah.

-..in your first time in this kitchen.

I thought, "You've got to try and push yourself."

I'm looking forward to trying it. Crack on.

This cannelloni with the tomato gel around the top sounds like it could

mess up really easily, and his eyes are telling me that.

But if he pulls it off, it could really go all the way.

Fellow first timer Nick Deverell-Smith

is hoping to triumph with his

tribute to Wimbledon's pristine courts,

The Grass Is Always Cut To 8mm.

-Nick, how are you feeling?

-Very well, thank you.

-Good.

-Well, petrified.

-You look nervous.

So what is in the dish?

Mainly peas. Lots and lots of peas.

Right.

We're doing a beautiful, fresh, clean pea mousse,

and then pea salad with asparagus.

A lovely light lemon oil, just to lift it all,

and then dress that beautifully over the plate.

OK, sounds super simple.

Obviously, you've got a couple of bowls there with a few ingredients.

You know, these guys have got a

bounty of produce over on their sides.

How do you guys feel about it?

It does sound simple, but sometimes the most simple things are the best.

Obviously I've got a starter to the

banquet and I know how much dedication

and hard work that takes to get it there, so good luck, guys.

-Thanks.

-Thanks, Chef.

Nick's dish, to me, sounds super basic.

It could be an amazing show stopper,

and if his enthusiasm is coming across, then it will be.

But if he messes it up, it's going to be devastating.

With Pip having competed against Richard two years ago,

she knows how exacting his standards can be.

Do you think Richard's put any doubts in our minds?

He's put few in mine.

The simplicity.

Well, if yours is simple, what's mine?

Newcomer Ryan is using tomatoes in five different elements for his

complex dish, Summer Fruit And Veg, including a confit, a tartare,

a spiced gel and a tomato and squid ink shortbread.

What is it you're actually most worried about?

-Getting these tomatoes in.

-HE LAUGHS

Ryan's dish looks like there's a lot of elements to it.

There's quite a lot going on.

Ryan was just 28 when he opened his own restaurant in 2010.

Food has always played a big part in my life.

It puts a smile on everybody's face. It puts a smile on my face.

Originally from Nuneaton,

he runs Orwells in Shiplake near

Henley-on-Thames with his partner, Liam.

We kind of say it's like a rural cooking with a modern technique and

big flavours. That's what we want to do.

We want to put big flavours on those plates.

Around 75% of the produce used in the restaurant comes from their

-kitchen garden...

-Ryan, have you seen these tomatoes?

Absolutely amazing.

..where partner Liam is chief grower.

I'm really proud of Ryan. He's worked so hard.

From the minute he gets up to the minute he sleeps, it's just

passion, passion, passion.

So, what do you reckon, tomatoes for a starter?

-Do you reckon it could be a winner?

-Yeah.

I really think that this brief is absolutely perfect for me because I

love cooking within the seasons.

So this is right up my street.

Beautiful.

In the kitchen, returning chef Pip is preparing a delicate tomato gel

canopy, which will lie on the top of her technical pasta dish,

Whatever The Weather.

Pip's dish absolutely smells fantastic.

I've got the concentration of tomatoes, she has,

so it's going to be interesting how Richard finds it.

The competition is on.

Pip starts by making a clear consomme

using tomatoes before straining.

It all comes flooding back now.

I was all calm and now I'm flustered, you know?

Next, she adds a gelling agent, before pouring onto a tray and

leaving to set in the fridge.

The agar's not really dissolved, so it might not set, but we'll see.

Pip is head chef at Angela Hartnett's

Michelin-starred restaurant Murano

in London's Mayfair.

Service, please.

She became a professional chef just seven years ago after beginning her

working life as a graphic designer, and her approach to cooking is as

-versatile as she is.

-At work, you know,

my style is fine dining but I also cook completely different things at

home, quite rustic.

This year's banquet holds extra appeal for Pip,

who grew up playing tennis competitively

in her hometown of Nottingham.

Having Wimbledon as part of the brief was massive for me.

I was like, "Yes, this is something I can get my teeth into."

It's going to be really interesting. Pollock, cavatelli.

Yeah.

-Hi.

-Hi!

Today, she's invited over some of her oldest friends, who remember how

she used to dream of one day playing at Wimbledon.

This one is the only one I could find after tennis.

And you are in whites.

Brown legs and your whites.

-Jazzy racket.

-I used to love that hat as well.

Her wife, Gemma, supported Pip through her disappointment when she

was knocked out of Great British Menu two years ago.

She knows how much Pip, as a former sportsman, wants to go all the way.

She was so thrilled to be part of it last time and this time she's

desperate to get to the banquet.

Really, really wants to get there,

and I think it would mean everything.

Back in the kitchen,

Nick is under pressure to perfect his technically simple dish,

The Grass Is Always Cut To 8mm.

For his mousse, he defrosts frozen peas in a microwave.

Then adds butter in boiling water.

He blitzes before straining to create a smooth texture.

-So, Nick, what are you up to?

-I'm just passing the pea mousse.

Shall I... I see you were using a microwave.

Yeah, I use a microwave.

-Oh!

-I don't actually cook anything on it,

so I get defrosted peas and then I just take the chill out of them.

-I call it "ding-ding."

-So, this is your showstopper?

-Yeah, it is, yeah.

-At the moment it's delicious.

It's so simple. If you can pull it off,

the simplicity that you're talking about,

-they can be a showstopper.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Good luck.

You better get back in the fridge now.

Yeah, yeah, I know, yeah. About time.

Award-winning Nick Deverell-Smith

worked alongside some of the country's biggest

chefs before opening his own restaurant,

The Churchill Arms, in 2015.

When I started cooking there wasn't many water baths,

sous vide machines, vat pack.

I learnt on a good old stove with a fryer, really good oven.

I started from the real simple things, and that's how we work here.

Today, Nick's returned home to Warwick to see his mum, Yvonne.

-Hi, Nick.

-Hi, you all right?

-How are you, darling?

-Part of a sport loving family,

Nick's life changed at just nine years old when his brother Paul

was paralysed in a riding accident, and cooking provided a distraction.

I think, you know, your love of cooking came after Paul's accident.

You know, that time when he was in hospital and you just used to make

things for when I came home at midnight or whatever.

I used to try and think if I made a nice cake, it might put a smile on

your face when you came home from the hospital.

It did.

Nick's brother passed away four years ago,

and opening his restaurant

in the neighbouring county was like returning home.

It was either sport or food.

Loved both. He took the food route and look at him now.

We're so proud of him.

Back in the kitchen,

Pip is making the dressing for her complicated ravioli soup dish.

But the pressure is starting to show.

Why does it taste completely different?!

-Pip, how are you getting on?

-All right.

That face is not looking so cheery any more.

-No!

-What's happened?

Oh, no, I'm just making a

vinaigrette and it's not the same as it normally is.

-Can I try the dressing?

-Yeah.

-What should it taste like?

Vinegar and oil.

It tastes fine. As long as the other

elements are there to really lift it.

All I can say is you know what it's like, don't let it wave you,

take it on board, move on,

make sure the rest of the dish gets out exactly as you want it to.

-Yeah.

-Good luck.

Can I have my spoon?

HE LAUGHS

It's not quite going to plan.

I've been there, I know how that

feels and you've got to block it out.

You've got to stay focused on the

rest of the dish because it could really

mess the whole thing up now.

Ryan is preparing his tricky cannelloni for his dish,

Summer Fruit And Veg,

which he's making out of pastry instead of pasta and will fill with

a cream and goat's cheese mix before wrapping with a tomato water jelly.

So, Ryan, what are you up to?

I'm actually making feuilles de brick cannellonis.

This is the thing that could make or break your dish?

Yeah, because basically, the tomato gel,

it has to taste like tomato.

I've added two kinds of seaweed extracts in there, so one hardens it

and one softens it to create flexibility.

-OK.

-So basically, essentially, you

can actually just lift it up like that, so it's a flexible gel.

Really some amazing technical skills going on here and I'm really looking

forward to seeing the whole dish come together.

He seems as cool as a cucumber, but I think, you know,

if you look behind that and you see his fingers shaking and he's at the

technical part now, so if he messes this up, the whole dish is ruined.

Nick is working on the accompaniments for his dish,

The Grass Is Always Cut To 8mm, including a lemon dressing,

which will coat his salad.

He adds lemon peel, thyme and oil to an aeration gun,

a technique he hopes will intensify the flavour.

I'm just going to infuse my dressing, pump it with gas,

infuse all the favours quickly.

It'll be as intensified as possible.

Next, he moves on to the summer salad of asparagus,

peas and mange tout,

which will top his pea mousse.

But with so few elements on his dish, they have to be perfect.

It's going quicker than I thought. My pea mousse is in the fridge.

Hopefully it'll be there. I think it'll set.

Ryan is first to plate up his dish, Summer Fruit And Veg,

his tribute to an allotment, which he's serving in a mini polytunnel.

-Feeling nervous?

-Yeah, I'm feeling nervous as to how you find it,

-to be honest.

-He starts with his

squid ink shortbread soil and avocado

rolled in tomato powder.

-What is that you're plating up?

-So I'm putting the Bloody Mary gel...

He adds confit tomatoes,

a tomato salsa and fried courgette slices, before deep-frying courgette

flowers coated in batter.

He pipes his goat's cheese mix into his cannelloni and wraps in tomato

water jelly.

Having placed on the soil, he adds spiced tomato gel, edible flowers...

-And we're nearly there.

-..and basil cress.

Ryan, how are we looking?

-You should be at the pass.

-Yeah, 20 seconds and I'm there.

He finishes with the deep-fried courgette flowers.

So, here we go, Summer Fruit And Veg.

Yeah, all the flavours are on there.

So what we've got is summer fruit and veg in a polytunnel.

Wow. Beautiful.

-What do you guys feel?

-Yeah, it looks great.

It looks really summery.

-Amazing.

-Let's go and try it, shall we?

-Let's go.

It shouts summer, so he's hit the brief there.

Yeah.

I think the polytunnel is great.

The first thing we get is that smell,

that tomato smell comes through.

Where are we going first? Cannelloni?

-That's a lot of goat's cheese.

-Yeah, that is a lot of goat's cheese.

Do you think that richness of the goat's cheese is coming through?

I think it just bounces on the plate because it's zesty.

So the tomato jelly on outside of the cannelloni,

is that doing everything that you want it to do?

Yeah, I think so. It's not a big-hitting tomato flavour.

I think it's more delicate.

-I don't get anything on the outside.

-Yeah, that tomato gel.

-That's lost.

So do you like the soil?

Yeah. Do you know what it reminds me of?

As a kid, like, spicy tomato crisps.

Like you say, it's a great addition to it and I think visually,

colour-wise, I think it's great.

I was a bit dubious about the soil, but no,

it works really well together.

So, Ryan, if you were me, what would you score that dish?

I'd like to think it would be a good eight.

How did you get on, mate? What did he say?

He don't give much away. So what do you guys think to it?

I think it looked great.

The only criticism was probably the goat's cheese - a bit too much.

Next up to the pass is Nick with his dish,

The Grass Is Always Cut To 8mm, inspired by the courts at Wimbledon.

He starts by checking if his pea mousse has set,

crucial if it's to take the weight of the salad.

So, Nick, you've gone quite simple on the presentation, as in, like,

plates. Is there a reason for that?

So the plate is dipped down by 8mm, so the mousse is set at that level.

Hopefully it looks like the tennis court's setting.

How did you actually set the mousse?

-Just used gelatin.

-You're not worried that it might start to melt?

Not really, no, it should be all right.

He tops with lemon-infused roast asparagus, wild asparagus,

mangetout slices and skinned peas.

Finally, asparagus spears, edible violas and pea shoots,

reflecting the Wimbledon colours.

-How are you feeling?

-Shattered.

-HE LAUGHS

-What do you guys think?

-It looks really fresh, looks inviting.

-Yeah, it looks beautiful.

-Let's go and try it, shall we?

Beautiful.

Very elegant, very beautiful.

-Less is more, isn't it?

-Yeah.

That mousse is perfectly set.

-Yeah.

-Could that be a little bit more?

Is that just more like a thickened puree?

I don't want it to be a jelly, I don't want it to be too hard,

I want it to be a beautiful, light pea mousse.

It could be a bit smoother for me. It's a bit grainy in your mouth.

I'd expect it to be silk smooth.

Yeah. For something so simple.

-This young asparagus.

-Yeah.

-Do you think that's seasoned enough?

I think I'm on point with my seasoning.

You try that.

-Maybe a little bit more?

-Yeah.

-It needs one more element, I think,

to take it somewhere.

Do you think that lemon oil is coming through enough in

-the vegetables?

-Just lightly, just to lift it.

I don't want it to be too lemony.

I don't want it to take away from its peas and asparagus.

What would you give that out of ten?

I'd give it a nine or a ten.

I have to give it a five, I think.

I would mark it at around about the five mark as well.

How did it go?

Yeah, scary. What did you think, guys?

Maybe the pea mousse could be a bit smoother.

I'd have to agree, just fine tuning.

Pip is last to the pass with her refined take on a minestrone soup,

Whatever The Weather.

Wow, Pip, I love your tennis balls.

Thank you very much.

At the last minute, she prepares her Wimbledon coloured ravioli by

blending beetroot and basil into purees,

adding to her pasta dough and rolling.

-IN ITALIAN ACCENT:

-Like Mamma used to make.

Interesting.

-This is broken.

-How are you getting on, Pip, do you need a hand,

-are you all right?

-Can you fix a pasta machine or...?

Yeah, it just keeps flicking back.

With the pasta machine working again,

Pip pipes her goat's cheese filling, and with time running out,

cuts and cooks the ravioli.

Oh, my God, these are too small.

So, Pip, you're up in one minute.

OK.

She places deep-fried tomatoes

soaked in a honey marinade into bowls, along

with summer vegetables and the ravioli.

Next, she adds tomato hearts...

..and pours hot tomato water into watering cans.

-So, they're going to pour it through the watering can?

-Yeah.

-Right, OK.

The idea is that you've got the roof

of Centre Court and then the rainwater.

She finishes by laying her tomato gel canopy over her dish.

Well done. How do you feel?

-Emotional.

-Shall we have a quick look in?

-Yeah, go for it.

-Wow, looks like summer.

-Yeah.

-Completely.

-Really neat and tidy.

-Lovely.

-Shall we go and try it?

Yeah.

-Shall I take a look?

-Yeah, let's go.

The thing I get first is a big hit of the smell of tomatoes as you lift

that lid off.

A bit of tomato rainwater.

I love the interaction of pouring it over with your rain can and then

you're left with this beautiful bowl of soup in the bottom there.

-Smells lovely.

-Smells lovely, yeah.

Very elegant looking.

Has the canopy of the gel dissolved

as much as you wanted it to, or is it going to sit there or...?

I think, you know, it's another texture as well.

Once you move it around, it'll be fine.

Wow.

-Wow.

-Yeah.

-Certainly hits the brief.

Definitely, yeah.

Are you happy with those raviolis?

Yeah, I think the pasta's really soft, it's really nice.

Do you think that's fit for a banquet?

-I do, yeah.

-If you were me and you had to judge that out of ten,

what would you give it?

I think maybe an eight.

-How did you get on, Pip?

-Yeah,

he said a few nice things and a few that makes you...

-Makes you think.

-..makes you doubt. Yeah, makes you think, "Oh, no..."

-How are you feeling, Nick?

-I was nervous plating up,

I was nervous in the tasting kitchen,

I'm nervous now waiting for the results.

Hi, chefs.

First course down, how are we feeling?

-Nervous.

-Terrified.

Ryan, I'm going to start with you.

For your dish, Summer Fruit And Veg.

The presentation in the polytunnel was really lovely.

The acidity of the tomatoes and the richness of the goat's cheese was

beautifully balanced.

And with that soil coming through, it gave it the texture it needed.

But...

..when I opened it, I felt a little let down.

It was just really a plate of goat's cheese and tomatoes.

I wanted a little more.

The gel, I don't necessarily think it added anything to the cannelloni.

Nick...

Your dish, The Grass Is Always Cut To 8mm.

I loved your passion for the dish.

I liked the purity of the pea flavour,

and the lemon oil over the vegetables

really gave it the lift it needed.

But...

..when your dish is that simple, everything needs to be perfect.

I just think the dish didn't have that wow factor I was looking for.

Finally, Pip.

Whatever The Weather.

I didn't really like the look of the

vegetables underneath the canopy of gel.

It almost looked as though you've left clingfilm on there.

But...

the dish was a real taste of summer for me.

The smell, as you opened it and poured the broth over, lovely.

There was so much flavour packed into such a small bowl,

it made me want to eat more of it and made me want to sit down and

get really comfy and enjoy the rest of the bowl.

So to the scores.

I'm going to start with you, Ryan.

I'm going to give you...

..an eight.

Nick...

..I'm going to give you...

..a seven.

Pip...

..I'm scoring you...

..a nine.

With a few tweaks, I could really see this dish being at the banquet.

So well done.

-Good luck, guys.

-ALL:

-Thank you.

-Congratulations.

-Well done. Well done, Pip.

I'm ecstatic, really. I didn't think I'd get that.

-You did really well.

-I thought I was going to burst into tears.

No, I'm so happy. Really happy.

It's a massive confidence boost to get a nine.

There's nothing in it at all.

I wanted an eight, I got an eight, so I'm quite happy with that.

I just want to improve on that now.

You've set the marker now. We've all got to try and catch you up.

Obviously it's not nice to come last out of the three.

I've got to come back fighting and

hopefully I can blow Richard's socks off.

-The game is on.

-Bring on the fish course.

-Yes.