North West Starter Great British Menu

The fight continues in Great British Menu

and the competition is fiercer than ever

as the nation's top chefs are challenged to cook

for the ultimate street party to be held in the streets

of historic Leadenhall Market.

Inspired by the Big Lunch, an annual event which encourages

people across the nation to cook and eat with their neighbours,

our chefs are battling to create spectacular dishes

that are perfect to share.

It's important for food to bring people together,

to inspire people through conversation and have a party atmosphere at the banquet.

This week, it's the turn of the North West

and three talented chefs, Lisa Allen, Bruno Birkbeck, and Johnnie Mountain.

Today's battle over the starters

will see crispy suckling pancakes and dips,

a take on a classic ploughman's,

and an elaborate Indian feast vie for the top score.

Each chef is determined to prove that they have what it takes.

I want a place in that final and I've got to fight for a place. It ain't going to be easy.

I think you've got to go to win.

You've got to put your heart and soul into it.

Can I win it it this year is a massive yes.

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

This year's competition is all about celebrating food to share.

Magnificent platters that are a feast for the eyes and get people talking.

This brief has been difficult. It's also been exciting.

This is a big difference from your hotel to our little church hall, isn't it?

You want that dish to taste fantastic,

but it's got to have theatre with it.

It is tough, this year it's even tougher.

This year is the biggest challenge of all.

But to be in with a chance of getting to the banquet,

they must first impress one of the nation's top chefs.

He's got two Michelin stars to his name

and had the honour of cooking for the Queen at her birthday banquet.

So, this is a chef with the very highest standards.

It is Marcus Wareing.

The pressure is on. This is it. First course, first day.

I think am going to be in for some shocks.

I'm going to be in for some surprises.

There could be some big car crashes, some disasters.

First to meet Marcus today, will be Lisa Allen,

head chef at the Michelin-starred Northcote in Lancashire.

-An order of one cover, one gourmet.

-Wehay!

A perfectionist in the kitchen,

last year Lisa won the honour of serving the starter

at the Great British Menu banquet with her accomplished, inventive British cooking.

-Thank you very much.

-And the pastry was so good.

But, with an even tougher brief this year,

can she possibly succeed again?

-Hello, Lisa.

-How are you?

-Very well. Tell me about the dish.

I'm doing crispy pork, pancakes and dips.

I've taken influence from Chinese because it's something my family love.

To go to the Chinese and eat pancakes.

I've turned it British by using British local ingredients.

The concept is Chinese, the sharing. How will it look?

Yeah, I've got a big slate, lazy Susan, if you would,

with all old English crockery on there.

Old English pots, full of jugs with the sauce in.

The pancakes are in an old pot

and you have to shred the pork yourself at the table.

So Lisa's dish would undoubtedly be popular

with her family, but does Marcus think it will be right

for the People's Banquet?

It leaves a question mark for me.

It's simple, but could be a disaster - overcooked and dry.

It might not be spectacular enough.

I'm just a little bit uncertain about this dish at the moment.

Next up, it's returning competitor Johnnie Mountain.

Check on, boys and girls. Three bellies, one meatballs.

Originally from Preston, Johnnie recently opened The English Pig in the City of London,

which serves traditional dishes with exciting twists.

I'm not too formal,

I'm not aiming at a particular style, it's got to be for everybody.

My people's banquet is every day in my restaurant.

After a roller-coaster ride in last year's competition

that saw him crash out before even cooking for the judges,

can he redeem himself this time?

This year, I'll start strong, I'm going to be nice and steady in the middle,

and I'm going to finish with a massive wow factor.

There is no way, no way, that I'm going home after the first round. No way.

-Welcome back, good to see you again.

-Lovely to see you.

This year, my outlook's different. I've taken a year to get this right.

This looks like a very interesting box of ingredients.

It's my Indian feast of bhajia, khandvi, and bhel pani puri.

-OK.

-My wife's Indian, this is what we cook on a daily basis.

As a sharing platter, how's this going to look, this particular dish?

It is about sharing this year,

so the visual impact is going to be massive. This is proper Indian food.

A big box of ingredients, it looks confusing.

This is only half of it. There's 120 ingredients.

-So you've got a lot to do.

-I'll ask Bruno to give me a hand!

Always the gambler,

Johnnie is banking on his elaborate Indian feast winning him top marks,

but has he taken on too much?

I don't think he's scared by that box of ingredients.

The only problem with Johnnie and his cooking and his dish... is Johnnie.

Last, but by no means least, is newcomer Bruno Birkbeck,

who's from Cumbria, but now works in one of Scotland's

finest country house hotels, The Torridon.

Always going to be a Cumbrian lad, never move away from that.

It's only a few short years since Lisa worked under him at Northcote,

so he'll be hoping his refined, but hearty cooking gets him top marks

and puts one over on his former workmate.

Lisa's become a fantastic chef, but obviously I've moved on leaps and bounds

and I think I could win this competition because it's honest food,

very hearty, simple cuisine just done well, really.

I don't think you can get better than that.

-Morning, Bruno.

-Hello, Chef.

-Welcome.

-How are you doing?

-Good.

-What's the name of your dish?

-A take on a classic ploughman's.

We've got a pig's cheek terrine,

and then we'll put a julienne of cabbage

and a bit of duck fat in that as well.

I've got a little plate for each person,

and then there's a terrine on a slate.

I've got a little shandy shot by the side of it

and then a chutney on the side.

-Is it a real sharing dish?

-The part of it that's sharing is the terrine.

Then you've got the chutney as well, that's designed to be shared between the two.

Bruno's hoping his technically ambitious take

on a time-honoured pub favourite will give him the edge.

It's a tough one there for Bruno.

There could be a bit of creativity in some of the quirky bits he's doing,

but it's very safe, it's not very adventurous.

There may not be the massive wow factor.

In the kitchen, the chefs get straight down to work,

but always keep a close eye on the opposition.

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

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

-Never underestimate the Mountain.

Is it Johnnie versus you two? I can feel that going on already.

If you want a fight outside, I'll take you all on!

Lisa is the one to beat, but what I've got to remember

is Bruno taught her what she knows, so I'm really up against the wall.

As returning champion, Lisa knows she's square in the sights of her rivals,

including her former colleague.

I was only a young nipper when he was in the kitchen.

To be going up against him puts the frighteners in me,

he's such a fantastic cook.

And Bruno is certainly not underestimating the calibre of the competition.

Nervous as hell, cooking against them.

They're both very, very good chefs, and with Lisa I know how good she can cook.

She's a fantastic chef.

But whatever their opinions on each other,

it's Marcus who holds their fate in his hands.

He'll be awarding highest marks to the dishes he deems perfect to share

and spectacular enough to wow the guests at the People's Banquet.

'I'm a very critical chef,'

I'm looking for excellence all the way through,

every single process,

to that finished dish I'll judge them on, and I won't give them an inch.

All three chefs have a lot to do

to ensure that their starters are perfect,

but they're curious about their rivals' recipes.

-So, Lisa, what are you doing?

-Just making my pancakes.

Not too keen on this mixture. Does the sage not go bitter?

-You'll be trying them later.

-Bitter and twisted.

What, like you?

You must have plenty of time on your hands, messing about here.

That's what I thought.

He's doing my work for me, and he's going to be behind with his dish.

The idea of making your own stuff, getting your hands in,

people making their own dishes.

Not sure about the sage and pancakes.

Johnnie has his doubts about Lisa's dish,

and he may not be alone.

Despite her success last year,

Marcus won't be cutting her any slack.

-Is this traditional pancake?

-Yeah, traditional English recipe.

Is that sage an important flavouring in this dish?

Is it used in the cooking of the pork as well?

-Only just to sprinkle on after.

-OK, good.

Lisa, I think she's playing it very, very safe with that dish.

It almost seems a bit boring. There seems to be a sparkle missing there.

She was the winner last year, she should be larger than life.

The challenge for the chefs this year

is to come up with sharing platters for the People's Banquet

by drawing on their own experiences of how food can bring people together.

Lisa found inspiration for her menu from family meals out

and from the camaraderie of the kitchen where she works in Lancashire.

The first day I put the chef's jacket on,

you feel that intense that you wanted to get into a kitchen.

They're brilliant.

I love that contact

of being able to work with food and create some fantastic things.

She has first-hand experience of how a love of food can get people talking.

Food is great to have that interaction over, to break down the barriers,

to bring people together.

It makes you feel at ease when you've got something to taste and eat together.

It gives that conversation.

I think it's a great thing to be able to communicate over.

So a surprise visit from Bruno to his former workplace

brings lots of shared memories flooding back.

What gets me, you were obviously my sous chef when I was here,

when I was demi chef de partie, shouting across, "Come on, now, hurry up!"

You'll have to redo it, probably, but pass it off and let's have a look at it.

-The old memories when you come back into the kitchen...

-I know what you mean.

It makes me want to chuck an apron on and get involved, you know?

You always want that talking point about your food,

at the banquet or your plate of food in the restaurant.

This time, you want people to walk away from the banquet thinking,

"That's fantastic food, the theatre was great,

"and I really want to eat it again."

Back in the kitchen, Johnnie may be making the most noise...

SPEAKS IN GUJARATI

All right, we'll leave it at that.

..but he's still cooked only one part of his intricate feast of Indian finger foods.

So, Johnnie, are you still doing them magic puffs?

Puff The Magic Dragon has now finished.

-They look pretty trendy, them.

-They're quite smart, aren't they?

I'll crack the top and put a load of really strong flavours in,

so you'll pick it up, eat it in one, gone.

-Fantastic.

-Like a little canape.

You've been cooking those puffs for 35 minutes. What else are you doing?

I don't want to talk to her.

Meanwhile, Bruno is well into the prep for his refined ploughman's,

which will also include a chutney, creamy cheese beignet and poached quail eggs.

But he'll need to convince Marcus that this is a generous dish for a street party,

and not a precise plate for a restaurant.

-How are you doing, Bruno?

-Hello, Chef.

-You all right?

-Up and running?

-Yeah, yeah.

Is that a layer on? They're individual layers?

Yeah, we started with cabbage,

-then we're going on to the ham and then the pig.

-OK.

I think with Bruno, it is the novice.

He's got a lot to prove. He's got two veterans in there.

He wants to make a big impact, and he wants to do more than just a platter of food.

It could be his downfall, we'll see.

Bruno's first experiences of sharing food were from his childhood.

So he headed to his home town of Kendal in Cumbria

to gain inspiration from the place

where his love affair with cooking first started, at his mother's side.

"I prefer to eat Mum's cooking, she's a better cook than me."

Whenever you were cooking, he was there.

He had to help, he had to be involved,

and he's always made things to share, so it's going to be fantastic for him.

The Mother's Day cake you made me.

There you are cutting into it to share it out for us.

So he's always shared. This is the beauty of him.

Her influence didn't stop there, as she was a cook

at the local primary school.

-Oh, my word!

-It's a bit smaller.

-It is smaller.

She worked hard to produce food for the school kids

and now he wants to do her proud and give her her reward.

If I get through and cook at the final,

I'd love for yourself to come to the People's Banquet

to, erm, eat one of my dishes, hopefully.

But we've got to get there first!

Inspired by his mum, Bruno is now more determined than ever

to win with his menu of bold North West flavours cooked with accomplished skill.

At the end of the day, it's all about precision

and the passion inside me, wanting to get the best onto a plate.

To win the competition would be amazing.

Back in the kitchen, work continues under Marcus's watchful eye.

Bruno cubes Kendal cheese for his beignets, which he'll pane

in flour, egg and breadcrumbs,

one of the many fine dining elements of his ploughman's platter.

With the least to do, Lisa precedes steadily through her prep,

crushing dehydrated sage to accompany her dish.

Across the kitchen, Johnnie's cooking has yet to step up a gear.

-Johnnie, are you still...

-Still what?

-Still all right?

-Yeah, yeah, I'm all right. How are you doing?

Don't worry about me, petal, anyway. Worry about yourself.

No, I am up against it. I've got to be honest with you.

I've got so much work going on.

All this stuff, I can't have it sitting around,

it's not like your stuff, you make in advance

and just pop it in a microwave when you fancy.

Johnnie may be a believer in his last-minute strategy,

but Marcus is concerned that he still has so much to finish.

-It's last-minute.

-A lot of it is.

But Indian cookery's not last-minute.

These dishes are. These genuinely are.

I need to do that, and then my bhajis.

Onion bhajis have to be done at the last-minute.

I think Johnnie may have a lot of work to do. That may be his downfall.

My biggest worry is, can Johnnie get to the finishing post with the starter?

In need of inspiration, Johnnie looked to the food-sharing traditions of his wife's family.

He headed to Leicester for a gathering of his in-laws and some fantastic home cooking.

-How are you?

-I'm fine.

-Looking beautiful.

-Change.

-I've got to get changed?

-Yes, please.

-All right, see you in a bit.

-Bye-bye.

Look at you!

-Ssh!

-You look Indian!

I am Indian, I'm just inside out. So, what are we doing, Mum?

Joining this family changed my idea about sharing food. This is what it's all about.

How do you think the Great British Menu,

how do you think they'll take this, cooking Indian food?

-People like the Indian spices.

-Yeah, definitely.

Johnnie's keen to get advice on his khandvi.

What's your technique?

The trick is, if it comes out easily, then it's done.

That's what I'm looking for. Something like that.

Once he's picked up some top tips from Mrs Patel to use

in his starter, it's time for the family to enjoy the dishes.

This is definitely the way that I want to see people eating.

It's all about families, communities and bringing people together.

Having seen how good food can unite a family,

Johnnie is convinced that an Indian dish is the perfect way to begin his menu.

The starters will blow them out of the water.

Bruno, Lisa, watch out, cos this little boy from the North West is going to come through.

Three chefs are racing against the clock

to complete three very different starters.

Lisa Allen's keeping it simple with her suckling pig pancakes and dips.

Bruno Birkbeck's desperate to impress

with his cheffy take on a classic ploughman's.

Johnnie Mountain's looking to grab the lead

with his bold Indian feast.

All hope for top scores from former champion Marcus Wareing.

He knows they're all feeling the pressure.

Bruno's first time, Lisa was a winner last year

and Johnnie made a mess of it last year.

It's going to boil up and it'll get tense, and they'll be very nervous.

With Marcus's verdict looming,

the chefs are pulling out all the stops to grab the lead.

To top his mini shandy shots, Bruno whisks up a lemon foam

and Lisa cuts thin apple strips to add texture to her crispy pork pancake.

But even though Johnnie has plenty of work to be getting on with,

he's not averse to showing off to his rivals.

Have a quick look at this.

-Trying to put me under pressure, aren't you?

-I'm under pressure myself here.

Have a look. So what we're doing is...

This is the onion bhaji mix.

I want them really quite rough.

The idea I'm looking for is that they come out almost aggressive,

like a star that's exploded.

-I've got to crack on.

-All right, right.

Now, with time running out, all eyes are on Lisa,

who'll be the first to serve up today.

She layers the pancakes,

which each guest can fill to their own tastes.

With a pickled onion relish,

a reduced spiced apple dipping sauce, her crunchy apple sticks

and finally, her rested slow-cooked shoulder of suckling pig.

Lisa, explain your dish.

It's my take on crispy duck and pancakes.

-Are you happy with it, Lisa?

-Yeah, I like it.

I think it's fun as well, and it's very interactive.

It'll get people, hopefully, talking about the fact I've done a twist on it.

-Guys, tuck in.

-Enjoy, boys.

Has Lisa's East meets West concept done enough

to prove to Marcus that it deserves its place at the banquet?

-Are you happy?

-Yeah, I think so, yeah.

I've tried to go down the routes that I believe in sharing,

and it's a good sharing vehicle, and it gives theatre with it.

People can make their own pancakes to what they want.

It tastes better than it looks.

-Flavour in it...

-Without being rude. Pork's perfect.

Got the sage coming through.

The sage I was worried about, but it's not gone bitter.

-What's your feeling about the flavours?

-I like the flavours.

I think they're very clean. They've all got their different pungents.

You've got the fresh apple which gives you the crunch, the pickle of the onion.

The pork is solidly there.

You can taste the spices coming through.

I thought she could've got the crackling a bit better.

I'm not being rude.

I'd like to see that a bit more crackly.

Well, I was actually quite surprised to see you serve an English pancake.

I chose to do an English pancake

because I wanted to make it very much British.

It's very safe. That looks safe to me.

It does. This doesn't scream, party!

I think it went well.

I executed it the way I wanted to execute it and got across my points to Marcus,

so hopefully, it'll come as a good dish.

Next to serve will be Bruno.

He's feeling the heat over the many precise elements of his ploughman's.

He spoons his chutney into individual serving pots

and transfers his pork cheek

and savoy cabbage terrine onto a slate platter.

Along with his mini shandies.

Unlike his rivals, he's putting some elements of his dish

onto individual plates, but does this mean he's ignored the brief

and reverted back to a fine-dining approach?

What do you think, Johnnie?

Absolutely stunning.

-100% stunning interpretation.

-Are you worried?

-I'm never worried!

-Is everyone tucking into this?

-It's everybody tucking into that. Everybody gets one of those plates.

Everybody gets a little shandy shot and they take bits from there.

Follow me.

Will his posh Ploughman's strike the right note with Marcus and his fellow chefs?

-Are you happy with the wow factor of this dish?

-Yeah, it's interesting. It's got the wow factor.

You've got your mini shandy. That's going to put smiles on faces.

-Magical. It's like Alice In Wonderland.

-Looks lovely.

But I don't know if it's the brief.

My interpretation of sharing is big pots where people dig in, and...

-Then they get a plate or something. They don't get anything on it.

-No.

You've half plated the dish.

That's because it's a little cheffy thing and I quite like that sort of thing.

He's done some lovely cookery there.

-I think it's fantastic, but plating that like fine dining...

-Yeah. That's how I feel.

What's the point of this?

It's because when I go to a pub, I like a pint.

The mini pint, you down it in one.

You mix it around in your mouth and it's sort of...like a shandy shot.

-It is a shandy.

-Is it?

-It is a shandy! Yeah.

-I like it.

-I like these, cos they make you smell.

Anything on there you'd change?

At the moment, myself, no, I think I'm pretty happy with that.

Obviously, I want high marks,

but I am pretty happy with what I've done, so that, inside, is good.

Bruno and Lisa can now only stand to one side as the attention switches to Johnnie.

But having left so much of his cooking to just before serving,

he's cutting things fine.

He cooks his onion bhajis and then begins filling his bhelpuri

with a mixture of tamarind, dates and coriander.

-All right? Are we on time?

-Always on time, chef.

-Are you sure?

-Yes.

-You've never been on time!

-It's all last minute.

-Yes?

-Yes.

This, um... That's a big presentation.

To complete his Indian feast, Johnnie arranges his bhelpuri

bhajis and chutneys on his ornate serving platter.

Wow. Very impressive.

And then dresses his yoghurt and gram flour rolls

in flavoured oil for the finishing touch.

-Big statement, that, Johnnie.

-You said "spectacular".

-You certainly did. It's not what I expected. Shall we go and try it?

-Yes.

Follow me, Johnnie.

So, will Marcus find that Johnnie's Indian feast

delivers on taste as well as looks?

Do you see that really fitting in as a starter for a banquet

and not a sort of, canape-like thing?

I think it's the perfect starter.

It's the combination of quite a lot of things.

It IS a canape thing. Size-wise it's almost like help yourself.

That's what I wanted to see.

Got a little tingle at the back of my throat. Quite spicy.

You put the whole thing in and it almost bursts out with flavour.

You're happy that hot, spicy food... You say it's not hot or spicy?

I think it's balanced quite well. I didn't want them all spicy

and I didn't want them all bland.

Indian food is massive in our culture already. I think they'll really get it.

You're looking at the texture and you pick it up,

you think it's going to be really crispy. It's not.

When I tried one over there, they were really crispy.

-The texture changes so quickly.

-Yes.

-A burly Englishman cooking Indian food.

-Classic.

-No, it's not.

-It IS.

-It's how it should be done.

-It's such a culture.

-It is.

-Depth of knowledge.

-Well...

-I mean, you've dabbled into something here.

There was a real push about the whole presentation thing.

Last year, I just chased people in the competition.

This year, I want to be the leader.

With their three starters tasted,

all the chefs can do is await Marcus's judgement.

Which platter will he deem worthy enough

to set in front of the honoured guests at the people's banquet?

I'm quite nervous, waiting for the scores.

Obviously it's the first dish that goes up to represent the North West.

-And it starts to set the poles then.

-Definitely nervous.

I don't know what he thought. He doesn't let much out.

Hopefully, I've done well.

I think that Lisa's cooked under her potential, in my opinion.

What I'm doing is I'm pushing my boundary.

Lisa seems to have played it quite safe.

Lisa, your crispy pork, pancake and the dip,

very simple in your approach.

I thought you'd be a little bit more detailed.

"Crispy" is a key word for me.

I think crispy, automatically in my mind, I want crispy all over.

I'm just wondering whether maybe turning them over,

getting it crispier, maybe like they do in a Chinese restaurant.

-Bruno.

-Yes.

-New kid on the block.

Ploughman's, again, I thought very safe,

been done before many times over.

My criticism of the dish was the lack of generosity.

I felt the whole thing was based around sharing,

but yet it had a restaurant feel about it.

Johnnie...

I thought during the course of the day today, you were going

to blow it again because you were doing a lot of talking.

I thought that could be your downfall again

but you've sharpened your knives.

-One criticism on your dish was that it was canape-like.

-Yes.

Lisa.

For your crispy pig pancake and dip, I'm going to give you a mark of...

-8 out of 10.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

Bruno, for your classic ploughman's...

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

-8 out of 10.

-Thank you very much.

And Johnnie... For your Indian feast...

-I've also given you 8 out of 10.

-Thank you, Marcus.

So, the rival chefs finish the first day as they began it, as equals.

They all know this only adds to the pressure they're feeling.

Fantastic. 8 out of 10, really pleased with it.

I think to get an eight on the first course is brilliant.

You've set that benchmark for yourself now, so ultimately,

you want better.

Now I'm under more pressure because we are right at

the same point again so I've got to fight harder.

Tomorrow, the battle continues with the fish course.

-What have you done here? where's the heads?

-I don't do heads.

And there's everything to play for.

That's a lot of fish to get right, that.

The heat's on big time in there, so it's going to be interesting.

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