Northern Ireland Judging Great British Menu

It's judgment day on Great British Menu.

The prize, a place in the national final.

Three of Northern Ireland's top chefs have been

battling for the honour of cooking at The People's Banquet,

the ultimate street party.

Former champion Richard Corrigan has been scoring their dishes all week.

It was down to the wire going into yesterday's dessert course

where it all came down to one single devastating point.

Brian, unfortunately

-I will be asking you to leave the competition.

-OK.

Today, Chris Fearon

and Chris Bell are going head-to-head in front of the judges,

each of them hoping to deliver a knockout blow.

I believe there's only one winner that has followed the brief properly. And I believe it's me.

I really want to win this. The competition's going to be fierce.

Regional finalists Chris Bell and Chris Fearon have cooked their hearts out to be here today

and a place in the prestigious Great British Menu final is now at stake.

It's up to the three judges now, right? Crunch time.

Risk-taker Chris Fearon was the underdog at the start of the week

but won over veteran Richard with his fun, humorous menu.

I've come here to win.

To win three courses out of four, I mean, I've mopped the floor with the boys, you know what I mean?

So now I have to do it again with Chris and get the judges' vote and go on to the final.

Hot on his heels is award-winning Chris Bell, a chef's chef who plays it safe

-but is just as hungry to win.

I think I've pushed Chris Fearon pretty close all week.

If it wasn't for silly mistakes, I could've won the first stage.

Erase those mistakes today and I could win this.

-It's been close all week, hasn't it?

-Never more than a point in it.

Both chefs were challenged to come up with menus that celebrate food's power to bring people together.

Dishes that are good to share, are a feast for the eyes

and will get the guests talking at The People's Banquet.

Whether they've been successful is down to three very demanding judges - Prue Leith,

Matthew Fort and Oliver Peyton - and their expectations are sky-high.

I'm expecting this to be one of the better competitions

for Northern Ireland, in terms of that sense of feasting, beautiful food, party.

It's absolutely right, the Irish love to get together.

-Right.

-Drama, it should be an absolute central part of this.

You know when the curtain goes up at the theatre and you have a fantastic set?

You can hear an audible intake of breath.

I want to have that sort of effect when these dishes are put down in front of the people and they go...

HE GASPS

Today, Chris Fearon and Chris Bell

start afresh with a clean slate and three discerning palates to please.

I think the hardest thing about this is knowing

what the judges want. But have we met the brief?

I think I have.

It's going to be a fight to the finish.

Chris Fearon's menu kicks off with a fun chicken-in-a-bag starter,

a hands-on visual feast he hopes will get everyone talking.

But it's Chris Bell who's starting proceedings today with his cheffy twist

on a British summer picnic -

a well-executed dish

he thinks is far better suited to The People's Banquet.

I think people deserve a bit more than fried chicken in a bag.

You need to go and wash your hands before you get your fish, like.

-Are you too much of a snob to eat with your fingers?

-Not a snob but I like a knife and fork.

And so might the banquet's 100 guests.

I've got confidence in this. Richard said it was a little bit safe

but I don't think it is. I think it represents the brief.

Determined to let his award-winning cooking skills do the talking, Chris Bell

tops his potted chicken with chicken liver parfait,

puts the finishing touches to the cheese and onion quiche and fills his hamper

with his pickles and bread.

There we go.

That for me is British street food, party.

So will the judges think Chris Bell's starter

has what it takes to open The People's Banquet?

It's a picnic.

-Prue, you should do the honours.

-What's in that?

-What have we got on the outside?

We've got two forms of bread, we've got a quiche.

Oh, look here.

-Jolly exciting.

-Little pots.

Pickled eggs, and pickled onions. What more could you want?

It's beautifully made pastry.

It's good, it's quite sweet. What's in here, is this crab?

No, it's chicken liver.

-I think that...

-Very good bread.

-..in many cases, some of the incidental parts are very nice.

I think the bread's great.

I think that the pickled shallots, beautiful - very, very light.

but you're talking about a whole series of individual things.

This is not a dish which comes together. This is not the...

But it's a picnic. Picnics are about picking and nicking.

At a banquet, this would be an amazing starter to be put down in front of people because everyone

-would go, "What's in there?" A great sense of drama and occasion to it.

-It'll make people laugh.

This is a really good first course, you know why?

Because you're forced to share. I have to give you a bit of my jam, he has to give me some of the eggs.

I think it's exciting and it's fun and people will immediately be in party mood.

That's high praise for Chris Bell's picnic. Will Chris Fearon's

risky chicken-in-a-bag get him off to as good a start?

My one's going to be hard to beat.

Rival Chris Bell thinks his safer, more practical dish has the advantage.

Do you think Prue will like deep-fried chicken as much as Big Richard though?

I can see her loving this picnic - it's right up her street. Oliver Peyton, I reckon he loves a picnic.

How many chefs do you think are going to be doing this sort of concept - the picnic basket?

-I've no idea.

-I'd say it'd be quite a few.

Chris Fearon's looking to stand out from the crowd

with a fun menu that relies heavily on props, a strategy that will make or break him today.

How many chefs are going to be doing a pick-and-mix with wonky stands and crazy bags?

Not too many. I took a big risk with all my courses, I hope the judges are going to like them.

It's do-or-die time, really.

With a place at the national final at stake, he gets his chicken pieces into their bags.

With a side of coleslaw and his spicy Coronation seasoning,

he delivers his quirky stand to the pass, hoping the judges have a sense of humour.

OK, off you go.

Will they think Chris Fearon's chicken-in-a-bag a worthy contender for a street party feast?

-"Season, shake and curry on"?

-PRUE CHUCKLES

Little finger bowl.

-This is exciting.

-This is...

-It's exciting!

-This is fun.

Inside is a chicken leg and a chicken thigh.

And it smells slightly sweet, slightly spicy and slightly smoky, absolutely lovely.

-We've got to close it up and give it a good shake.

-Oh, I see.

-I think I'll put all of it on.

-I'm going to put a little on. I'm not as brave as you.

-I'm going to do half.

Can you imagine 100 people at an enormous, long table in the street going...?

Everybody going like this.

We'll certainly get a talking point.

-Look at that. Isn't that beautiful?

-I'm liking this. Yes, it's good.

-Fantastic.

-I hope it's not too fierce.

I have to tell you, guys, you need all the seasoning.

If I have a minor complaint, I think the coleslaw needs a bit more flavour, a bit more seasoning.

-Do you?

-Yes.

Do you think that the sense of amusement is going to outweigh the sense of...

-No, I think it absolutely delivers.

-..gastronomic surprise?

-I think

it's fun to look at, fun to prepare, to do and it tastes delicious.

This is an amazing way to kick off a banquet like this. You get this great stand,

the information, you think, "What's that about?" You look at the bag...

-Talk to each other.

-It's a massive talking point. What better way to break the ice?

It'll just get the party started.

So both Chris-es are off to a flying start but have no idea

they're neck-and-neck going in to the fish course.

Chris Bell's up first

with his cheffy hot smoked trout with champ cakes,

samphire and horseradish sauce, a dish he failed

to execute properly earlier in the week, prompting a cutting reminder from rival Chris Fearon.

Watch those bones, yes?

And bones aren't his only potential hazard -

he's smoking his trout for longer, something Chris Fearon thinks is a big mistake.

I think the first time he did it, for me, I thought it was just enough smoke.

Undeterred by his rival's words of warning, he gets his potato cakes in to fry,

sautes his blanched samphire and puts the finishing touches

to his watercress and horseradish sauce.

And with time now against him,

he gets his hot smoked trout onto its awaiting cake stand.

On the pass. Light the gun.

Ready?

Go. OK,

quickly. It's an important one, thanks.

That was hard.

So can the judges see Chris Bell's trout in pride of place at The People's Banquet?

Go on, Prue, take the top off.

-Unleash the beast.

-Are you ready?

-One, two, three.

-Let the smoke out.

-Oh!

Eeh! It does look nice, it's trout, not salmon, isn't it?

-Anyway, will you divide it up please, Mum?

-I will.

-You do the sauces.

-The sauce is meant to come on top, isn't it?

-I'll pass these round.

-At least it's having the desired effect of having to pass things round.

-It's a sort of soup.

And there are the.. I think those are potato farls, aren't they?

They are absolutely delicious.

I could eat a whole plateful of those.

Mm. I think he should've stopped at the potato cakes because all I can taste is the smell of smoke,

I can't taste anything else. The potato cakes are a winner.

I think it's the perfect amount of smoke. At the beginning when that came off,

it seemed to be too much but now I think it's lovely.

I think the watercress sauce is light, not too creamy, it's very beautifully made.

This is a chef who's gone straight back to his comfort zone.

It's a safe dish.

It's restaurant cooking put in a cake stand.

I still like the idea of the interaction of somebody

picking up the dome and all the way down the table lots of smoke going on and people chatting about it.

And this is really good cooking.

We keep saying we want good cooking AND drama.

Well, it's a thumbs-up from Prue at least.

Will rival Chris Fearon's fish course fare any better?

Are you worried about this one?

Yeah, it's my weakest dish, you know, so...

He's serving up

a playful platter of cured, jellied and potted salmon

which bombed with veteran Richard

who disliked his tin can presentation,

an element of his dish he's changing today.

-Took a bit of slating on this one.

-He tore it to shreds on me.

-He did.

No, I've lost the tin, you know.

What are you putting it in, a tube?

Any changes at this late stage are a risk and a crisis of confidence

could be fatal.

Have you lost faith in it?

I've lost a bit of faith in it, mate, but hopefully I can rectify it, do it justice now today.

Rival Chris Bell isn't helping.

-It's hard to enjoy a dish when it's been...

-It is. Anyway, listen, I have to knuckle down here, OK?

You know, in an ideal world, I'd like to change the whole dish.

Richard knocked me well off course with it.

I don't think the judges will like it. I don't know, I'll have to see.

He knows he can't afford to let his nerves get the better of him

so, having silenced Chris Bell, he gets his jellied, potted

and smoked salmon onto his chalked-up slate

and, with as steady a hand as he can muster, delivers it to the pass.

Off you go. As fast as you can, please.

Will Chris Fearon's high-risk celebration of preserved salmon sink or swim with the judges?

HE CHUCKLES

Spud bread.

It's got messages all over it.

-Let's go.

-It's clearly a hymn to salmon. You've got potted salmon, a bit of cooked salmon in there.

What's on top there? Green...

-Like green caviar.

-Cucumber.

-Cucumber relish.

-That's really clever, isn't it?

-Look at that.

-Beautiful smell, it's so fresh.

Good?

Really yummy.

The smoked salmon and potato is an absolute winner, it's very delicate.

The potted salmon, how did you feel about that?

I think the potted salmon is the worst of the three.

-It's not that it's bad, the problem is the other two are so good.

-I agree.

-It's witty, it's good fun, it's not pompous, it's not poncey.

-It'd be a wonderful dish at the banquet.

I love these little scribbled messages on the board and I think it's just very good fun.

This dish ticks a huge amount of boxes in terms of what we're looking for.

So Chris Fearon's controversial fish course has weathered the storm

and, with two courses to go, there's everything to play for

But the chefs are oblivious to the judges' comments.

The nerves are really starting to kick in and I'm getting more and more anxious. Big deep breaths

and just keep pushing, you know?

I'm at this stage now, I can't look back, I have to win this.

-I have to win this.

-It's pretty neck-and-neck here.

I don't think anybody's really outshining the other as yet. This is all about

who makes the mistakes.

You know, the man who makes the mistake will not win today.

Time for the main event, the main course, and both chefs are cooking suckling pig.

This is the big one, a lot can go wrong on this one. Battle of the pig dishes.

Chris Fearon's risky suckling pig platter is up first, a controversial dish

that pipped Chris Bell's more traditional roast to the post by one point

on Wednesday's show, despite serving it with no veg and no sauce.

Do you think you scored high? He ripped the veg element, ripped the amount of meat

-and still a seven?

-Yes, but it looked good. A lot of this has got to do with presentation, wow factor.

If it's just a joint of meat you'd get in a restaurant with some veg in a bowl...

-Like mine?

-Well, I mean...

They might both be serving suckling pig,

but their cooking styles couldn't be further apart

with one playing it safe and the other, anything but.

If you don't take risks in this competition with this brief, you're going to go out.

Despite the fighting talk, with a place at the national finals at stake,

Chris Fearon hasn't entirely thrown caution to the wind.

H's reined in his meat-heavy concept by adding a veg for the judges.

Doing a wee potato salad here with Ratte potatoes.

But his rival thinks this could be the dish's Achilles' heel.

-It was already a big, big board of food, wasn't it?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-With the spuds on it...

He's got five cuts of meat to bring it to the pass,

and is feeling the pressure

as he gets them on to his butcher's block - another prop he's brought in specially.

Three, four, five. Am I missing any?

He'd better not be, as there's a lot riding on this course.

OK.

OK, guys. Off you go.

Steady, steady, steady - very heavy.

So, will the judges think Chris Fearon's suckling pig platter

a worthy centrepiece for The People's Banquet?

Wow.

A Catherine wheel of forks.

-Oh, look at that.

-That is good.

-That's a real celebration of pig, isn't it? We've got

black pudding and spare ribs and crackling and pork chops.

You certainly know this is a main course, don't you? This is heavy-hitting stuff. So delicious.

I mean, really, I think this is one of the finer pork dishes I've ever tasted.

I'm finding it difficult to find fault with it.

I think it needs a salad or a veg or something.

It needs a green in there of some sort.

Lovely potato salad, and you get a sharpness

with the caper berries, and the little gherkins in there, which give it a sharpness.

There are some slivers of very finely chopped greenery.

Yes, there is green stuff in there, Prue. What more do you want(?)

-Spoken like a true Irishman.

-You know,

I love the board, I love the presentation. It would look beautiful at the banquet.

It's the essence of the competition!

Chris Fearon's pork is going to take some beating. Will Chris Bell's

accompaniments give his suckling pig the edge?

He's playing it safe with rolled loin, black pudding hash browns, and savoury apple crumbles.

A cheffy twist on a Sunday roast that demonstrates his technical prowess.

-Chris, you not making any changes to your main course?

-Absolutely nothing.

You not think you should have made some changes?

I was really happy with my first three courses.

If they're a bit safe and that was the worst that was wrong, I can live with that.

Presenting them to three different people here, so maybe I'll get a different reaction.

But suckling pig is lean and he needs to get the cooking of it spot-on,

or risk it being dry and tough.

-You rested it long enough, chef?

-Aye, I've rested it.

Time up, he gets his rolled suckling pig

on to its serving board, his black pudding hash browns into their basket,

and delivers his roast to the pass.

OK, go.

-This looks nice. You all right?

-Don't know.

-Yeah?

I'm a bit worried about the main course. I am not sure

if I cooked it as well as I could have, or as well as I should have.

But it's in the hands of the judges, they'll decide.

Has Chris Bell let himself down on technique?

The judges won't make any allowances.

Listen to that crackling. Isn't it...? It just sounds so delicious.

-We were always going to see some carving in this competition.

-It's Sunday roast!

-That looks like good pork.

-It looks like very good crackling.

-You may have a whole basket.

-Thank you.

I suspect it's...

-Oh, look!

-..black pudding in the middle.

It's a little black pudding pie.

I want some salt.

-That's not...

-What do you think of this?

I don't think the pork has much flavour.

It's very tough.

Genuinely, I can't find anything good about it at all.

This apple crumble is absolutely delicious, and with custard it would be fantastic.

-Exactly! Is the pudding included?

-The pudding is wonderful!

The only thing that I think is really good is the cabbage.

I think the sauce... the gravy's very good.

I don't see its suitability in any way for an event like this. I think the concept of the dish

is too traditional, it is meat and two veg for want of a better word.

A feast for the eyes it's not.

Chris Bell has no idea his main course has bombed with the judges,

and with his rival out in front, it all comes down to their desserts.

Chris Fearon's grand finale is his box

of miniature lemon delicacies, a fun twist on old favourites.

The people at this banquet are going to be wanting something half-decent and quirky.

They'll be expecting glam, fireworks. You want to give them the food

-that they are used to seeing, they're comfortable with.

-I see a lemon...

-What's wrong with Battenburg cake?

-Don't take it...

-Battenburg cake.

-I'm only saying.

-Lemon ice cream?

-What?

-I'm just asking...

-Custard tart?

Lemon meringue?

Chris's whole menu today has been very safe, very restaurant orientated.

Me on the other hand, I've done something a bit more chancy, a bit more risky.

But it has to be risky for this competition, it just has to be.

He's pulling out all the stops with his last course, but who will have the last laugh?

It's just sharp.

Stick another shot of gin into that and it'll be all right.

Nice though. Right.

Confident he's on to a winner, he gets his lemonade into its bottles.

Slices his lemon and liquorice Battenburg and gets it into its specially-designed box,

with his lemon tarts, meringues and ice cream.

Right, boys. Off youse go, boys.

So, will the judges think Chris Fearon's quirky lemon dessert

has what it takes to represent his region?

-Box of delights.

-Oh!

-It is a box of delights, too.

-Wow.

-And a lemon drink.

-It's lemon pop!

Looks good.

It does look good.

-I think this would cause an enormous amount of entertainment.

-Of fun, yes.

I'm a bit of a piggy, so I quite like getting four mini-puddings.

-I think I'm getting...

-And a drink.

-And a drink.

I am in seventh heaven there, you know?

I think it's nearly perfect.

The meringue could be just a little bit more toffee-ish, perhaps a little browner.

The ice cream, I think, is really disappointing.

-Lacks flavour.

-It lacks flavour.

-Or creaminess, or anything.

It's a very, very nice idea.

I just don't think the individual parts are of sufficiently high quality.

-I think they're nice, they're good, but they're not amazing.

-I do think this is amazing.

-Yeah,

-the Battenburg's the best thing.

-It is wonderful.

A lot of pleasures about it, but I think a little more refinement on each and every one of the elements

and I think you might have a really cracking end to our great banquet.

So they loved Chris Fearon's presentation, but not all his desserts.

Will meticulous chef Chris Bell be able to outclass his rival with his pudding's execution?

I really, really screwed it up yesterday.

Kept me awake most of the evening, you know?

He's making lemon curd tart with buttermilk ice cream

and is sticking to his guns,

despite fluffing its presentation yesterday.

The dessert didn't work

because it's a bad dessert, the dessert didn't work because I didn't execute it properly,

so if I can try and do it today, then who knows?

He's desperate to redeem himself, and is feeling the pressure.

I had some jelly in a jug and it's gone. Where's the jelly that was in the jug?

He knows a mistake now could play into the hands of rival Chris Fearon.

-You all right, Chris?

-No.

-You're getting very flustered over there, what's wrong?

-Never you mind.

Determined to hold his nerve in front of his less anxious rival, he puts the finishing touches

to his lemon curd tarts, scoops his buttermilk ice cream into

the awaiting cones, and turns his attention to their dry ice presentation -

the crucial element that let him down yesterday.

Go.

Well done, Chris.

Huh?

I'm just glad to get that out, honestly. Regardless of the scoring.

-It was good, man, good, all came together.

-Well done.

-That's us.

-Enjoyed it.

-End of it.

That's it. Go get a beer.

Another lemony dessert for the judges, but whose will they prefer?

It looks like a witch's cauldron.

-You can't go wrong with a bit of dry ice, can you?

-Endlessly fascinating.

Tastes of...

-yoghurt, or...buttermilk.

-What a disappointment. You think you're going to get lovely ice cream

and what you get is some sort of empty health thing...

-Yoghurt.

-There's a drink to go with this.

-Thank you.

-I don't know if you pour it on or drink it.

-Mm.

-I think tastes rather... rather good!

-Delicious.

-It's really good lemon curd, that.

It's got that lovely thick custard, rich, heavy custard feel to it.

-But the biscuit at the bottom is not good.

-It's not bad. I like this.

-I think it's a good thing.

-The top is lovely.

-I think the presentation could be improved.

I wonder if you could make one that would go all the way down the middle of the table?

-That'd look good, wouldn't it?

-Yeah!

-Roll it out.

-And then you help yourself to the bit in front of you.

Maybe he could raise it up with dry ice underneath it, or sparklers, or something.

-I think it needs a bit more...

-Theatre. A bit more theatre, darling!

So, has Chris Bell's dessert tipped the scales in his favour?

It depends on what the judges are looking for.

Whoever got the brief right and executed their dishes right will win.

Both Chris-es have put their hearts and souls into their menus.

But their fates are now out of their hands.

Do the judges have a sense of humour? I hope so, otherwise I'm out!

Time for the judges to find out which dishes belong to which menu.

Hm?

Remember, they still don't know who cooked what.

I think the first course is a bit of a surprise to me, but I think the rest of them

stack up pretty much as I expected.

Chris Bell's is a safe,

restaurant-style menu

he thinks will appeal to everyone.

Chris Fearon's done the opposite

and conjured up high-risk dishes

to get people talking.

But the judges will only know

whose is whose

once they've chosen their winner.

Well I've made my decision, what about you?

-I have.

-Yes, Oliver, I have, thanks.

OK. Good, let's call in the chefs.

For Chris Fearon and Chris Bell, the wait is finally over.

Just one of these chefs will be back to fight another day.

Welcome, chefs.

We've had some amazing cooking, and you should both be proud, it's been fantastic.

But this is a competition and there can only be one winner.

So, Prue, have you made up your mind?

I have, Oliver. And it's Menu B.

-Matthew.

-It's Menu B for me as well, Oliver.

-I also chose Menu B.

So that means it's a clean sweep.

We don't know who cooked Menu B, neither do you. Let's find out.

So the chef going forward to represent Northern Ireland

in the national finals of the Great British Menu is...

..Chris...

Fearon.

-Well done.

-Well done.

-Well done, Chris.

- Bad luck, Chris. - It's all right, he cooked good.

I have to say that pork dish was one of the best pork dishes I have ever eaten.

It was absolutely spectacular.

Thank you very much.

It was your menu which I think embraced the spirit of the occasion to perfection in our view.

It had humour, it had wit and wonderful food to eat as well.

Thank you very much.

I took a massive gamble, but I knew I had to take a gamble.

Chris Bell, I'm sure we'll see you again. Chris Fearon,

well done, we look forward to seeing you in the national finals of the Great British Menu.

-Thank you very much, guys.

-Thank you.

-PRUE: Thanks, guys.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

The Great British Menu is one tough nut to crack.

Got to take risks, you've got to be brave.

And I wasn't brave enough this week.

-Cheers! Cheers! Cheers! Cheers! Cheers! Cheers!

-Cheers!

It's up to you now.

I'm just a normal cook from Belfast.

To come here and do this, it's just absolutely amazing. There's no stopping me now.

Next week, it's the turn of the Northwest, and returning champion

Lisa Allen, who cooked for the HRH Prince of Wales last year, is against two formidable opponents...

-I think it's a new slate, new competition...

-He seems a bit of a boy over in the corner, don't he?

You want a fight, outside, all of you! I'll take you all on.

..who are both determined to sent her packing.

It's not can, it's not if, not when, it's I'm going to win it this year.

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