Central Dessert Great British Menu

This has been one of the toughest weeks on Great British Menu.

It's the hardest thing I have ever done.

Are you going to be on time?

This is the final warning. OK?

Each of these three chefs from the Central region

has a single goal - to get their dish on the menu

at the ultimate street party.

On yesterday's programme, for the second day running,

innovative Aktar Islam triumphed.

I'm very pleased to have got the result that I've got,

two courses in a row, very, very high scores.

But returning chef Richard Bainbridge

is still in the lead overall, while, to her huge disappointment,

Sue Ellis is at the bottom of the scoreboard.

Sue's not going down without a fight.

She's getting confident as the week goes on, so we can't count her out.

This is their last chance to win some points

from former champion Glynn Purnell,

who'll be scrutinising their dessert courses.

What about the panna cotta? Is that in the fridge now?

But how will they cope when disaster strikes?

They've just had a total meltdown on all the electrics and the gas.

I don't know what's going on, but my ice cream's melted.

It's going to be full-on in that kitchen.

This year's competition is all about creating the perfect food to share,

stunning and exciting dishes that are a feast for the eyes.

And on this final course,

Glynn will be expecting nothing but the very best.

Only two chefs can face the judges tomorrow,

so everything rests on the quality of these dishes.

The great thing about puddings is, some great chefs have slipped up,

so if you pull out a cracking pudding,

grab the bull by its horns and turn out a fantastic dessert,

you can steal your place in Friday's final.

First up is Norfolk's celebrated Richard Bainbridge.

He's desperate to get through to the judges,

having failed to do so last year. Only one point clear of Aktar,

he has to deliver to the max today. But he's got his concerns.

A lot of chefs find dessert really hard,

and I'm in that bracket. They're the scariest thing to me.

I can cook savoury things all day long, but with desserts, I start to freak out.

I'm doing a D.I.Y ice cream sundae. It's a load of fun, this one.

It's four different ice creams, so chocolate, strawberry, pistachio

and vanilla. Then I'm going to do some little rose marshmallows,

some sugar nuts, some chocolate soil and some strawberry biscuits,

and it's all going to be plated out and you start building it yourself.

-And you've developed this to get the interaction off the table?

-Yeah.

My whole menu so far has been my personality on a plate,

and I think this is a nice finish - fun, relaxed, tasty.

Will quirky touches like his chocolate soil,

a crumbly topping for guests to sprinkle on,

lift Richard's chocolate sundae out of the ordinary?

It sounds nice. It sounds pretty safe.

But is it enough for him to sneak into the final?

I mean, he's almost got one foot in there.

He's in the lead. But he's not completely there,

so he needs to make sure this is bang on the money.

Next is Birmingham's Aktar Islam. After a poor start

and trouble with his timings earlier in the week,

he's now on a winning streak.

I need to keep the momentum going. I need to go in there,

cook like hell and make sure everything comes out perfect,

because I cannot afford a mistake in this course at all.

Talk to us about your pudding.

OK, strawberries. We're going to do a strawberry samosa.

I'm going to serve that with a mint sherbet

to dip it into.

Then we got panna cotta lightly flavoured with chai tea,

and then we'll have a coconut sorbet, pistachio tuile,

and I'm going to make a shirkhand out of mango.

You think this is suitable for the People's Banquet?

Yeah. Ultimately it's going to be a befitting finish

to an amazing banquet. It's nice, light. It's going to quite playful,

and there's an element to the presentation

which is quite dear to me and the way our family entertain guests,

so it'll work very well.

Aktar must produce this complex array of Indian-inspired desserts

on time and to a high standard today.

But Glynn has already spotted a potential problem.

I'm quite surprised that he's doing a panna cotta.

A panna cotta is pretty simple really,

but simplicity sometimes in the Great British Menu kitchen

can be a massive downfall.

Last up is rising star Sue Ellis,

who so far has struggled to find her form in the kitchen,

with dishes that have been judged too simple and too safe.

Final chance now, so I've got to give it all. I've got to nail this.

I've got to get the best score, otherwise I'm out of here.

-What we doing?

-Afternoon tea,

quintessential English. Great British menu for the banquet.

So, talk us through. We've got some beautiful sultanas.

I'm going to do a bit of a spin on scones, in a dessert form.

I'm doing apple parfait, then we've got chocolate tart,

and vanilla-and-lemon slice,

like a really old-fashioned-looking slice.

Do you think this will be suitable for the People's Banquet?

Yeah. I think this is fun. If you like tart, if you like chocolate,

if you like parfait or something slightly warm,

everything's in there.

Will Glynn think Sue's old-fashioned afternoon tea

is ambitious enough to give her the points she so desperately needs today?

Sue's dish sounds great. She's got loads to do,

but she's thrown everything at it. She wants to stay in the competition,

to prove she's good enough to represent Central,

but if one of those elements goes wrong, she's going home.

With so few points separating the chefs,

they're all brutally aware a mistake at this state

could cost them the competition.

Richard's got success within his grasp,

and is trying to cover all his bases to avoid slip-ups.

Aktar's picked up on his unusual tactics.

You've got every pan labelled up.

Yeah, cos I got three ice creams going on.

-They need to get done quickly.

-I thought you were going round

-marking everything as yours.

-If I'm here tomorrow,

I might well be doing that.

Sue, fighting hard to stay in the running,

starts making the five separate components for her afternoon tea.

Each one must be faultless for her to stand a chance

of outstripping her rivals.

I've got a lot of elements, a lot of intricate things going on.

Everything's got to be perfect. It's a lot of technical things.

Hopefully Glynn will see that, and it'll be storming.

Richard is also working hard. His four flavours of ice cream -

strawberry, pistachio, chocolate and vanilla -

need to be made quickly so there's enough time for them to freeze.

But Glynn has a big concern.

My only worry is my little array of four ice-cream machines

-at the back.

-It's quite warm in here,

and to do one ice cream is tall enough,

-so four is a pretty brave move.

-I like to take a risk.

If I didn't think it was worth it, then, I wouldn't do it.

Aktar is also up against time, which hasn't been his strong point

throughout the week. Like Richard, he's making a frozen element

to his dessert - a coconut-and-lime sorbet,

which he needs to get into the ice-cream maker as soon as possible.

Then he starts on his chai panna cottas,

which need to be chilled to the perfect wobble.

But he's against the clock. He knows he must prove

he could get his pudding out to the guests at the banquet.

In order to meet the time deadlines,

I have to speed up the process of chilling the panna cotta down,

and I risk creating ice crystals in the mixture,

which will take away from the smoothness I'm trying to achieve.

Glynn is aware of the intense pressure that Aktar has placed himself under.

What about the panna cotta? Is that in the fridge now?

We've put it into the fridge now,

-so fingers crossed, the little small moulds...

-So, fingers crossed?

Fingers crossed, we'll be there. Miracles can happen.

On the other side of the kitchen, Sue's storm of activity

hasn't escaped Glynn's notice.

-You going to put it on?

-Yeah. I've got it low on this one.

I've got to pull this out the bag this time.

-This is last attempt now.

-Yeah. Last Chance saloon.

-Have you got your parfait made?

-Parfait's in.

Scones are going next. This is like a lemon butter.

I've still got pastry for my slices.

-Whoo! Shall we stop talking?

-Yeah. I'll leave you to it.

SHE LAUGHS

Richard's approach is far less complicated.

With his ice creams now made, he's got time to size up his main rival,

Aktar. With only a point between them,

his lead is now just wafer-thin.

-How's your tuiles going?

-I've had a 50 percent success rate,

-which is very, very, very bad.

-Mine aren't working either.

-I've got four that are perfect.

-How many do you put on a plate?

One. Oh, well! You're in, chef!

But while the success of Aktar's biscuits

may be sending shivers of fright down Richard's spine,

Aktar has a major problem on his hands.

-So, how are you looking, Aktar?

-I'm good,

but my big worry is panna cotta. I'm worried it's not going to set.

So I've found the smallest bowls possible,

poured in as little as possible,

so for once I'm going to be mean on my courses.

Sue, who must beat Aktar by at least four points today,

has no intention of being sent home early,

and she has another reason for wanting to get through to the banquet.

Like all the chefs this year, she's been out and about in her community,

looking for ideas for her menu.

She's invited a group of local school children

from Bredon Hill Middle School to her restaurant in Pershore

to help her decide which dessert to make.

-Are you excited?

-Yeah!

-Looking forward to it?

-Yeah.

-I'm really excited about it,

because I haven't been in a professional kitchen before.

Their teacher, Debbie West, is hoping that by spending time with Sue,

her pupils will pick up some inspiration and confidence.

We're going to split you into teams. We're going to have three groups.

We're going to do one apple strudel, which is like a crumble,

one apple mousse and one apple pie.

We're going to be making apple pie, Sue's recipe.

This is for our mousse.

The children quickly get on with making all three desserts.

Which one will they think looks the tastiest

-and is most easily shared?

-In they go.

The pupils are getting into the spirit of the competition.

-Who's going to win?

-We are!

-Who's going to win?

-We're going to win.

Which dish will they like the best - the crumble, the pie,

or Sue's dish, the mousse?

THEY LAUGH AND CHATTER

My favourite dessert was the apple crumble.

-THEY CHATTER

-Careful!

I liked the mousse, but it just didn't really taste of apple.

At the beginning of the day I wanted to be a chef,

but now this has inspired me to want to be a chef even more.

Now the pupils have made their choice,

will Sue follow their advice?

The crumble was the winner in the end,

though I think mine was more aesthetically pleasing.

So maybe try and incorporate that, a bit of a spin on the crumble to improve mine.

And it's been a real success for the children.

They've loved every minute of it, from getting on the minibus

to coming down here to enjoying working with you

and with all of the other chefs. I'm so impressed with their cooking.

It's just been brilliant for them.

It's been a great day, and Sue has a final surprise in store.

So hopefully if...WHEN I get one of my dishes onto the banquet

for the Great British Menu, it would be a massive honour to do that.

Would you like to come to that, for the big, er...

-Yes, brilliant. Thank you.

-Would the children like to come?

-Shall I ask them?

-Yeah.

Guys, can you listen?

Anybody be interested in going to the street party?

THEY ALL SHOUT Yes!

For Sue to get through today, nothing short of perfection will be good enough.

But everyone is straining every sinew

to make the best dessert of the day.

I've had to come out of the kitchen. It's so tense in there.

The heat's cranked up. The pressure's on.

I felt like a spare part, so I've come back out

and I've left them to it.

There's everything to play for, but who will go through to cook for the judges?

Will it be Richard, who's serving D.I.Y ice cream sundaes

in a nostalgic kick-back to the '70s?

Or Aktar, who's desperate to impress with...

Or will it be Sue, who's pushing the boat out

with her extravagant and elaborate afternoon tea

of scones, chocolate tart, vanilla-and-lemon slice

and an apple-parfait crumble?

Glynn will have a tough decision to make.

After his scores today, one of these chefs will leave the competition.

You can clearly see how much it means to these guys to get to the banquet.

They've thrown everything at it. You can see the passion, the emotion.

They're whisking, chilling, ice-creaming.

They're just absolutely going for it.

All three chefs have their heads down.

This course could make or break their chances

of going through to the judges tomorrow.

Aktar is having trouble getting his panna cottas to set.

Sensing trouble, Glynn moves in for a closer look.

It's just going to pour out over the plate.

If the panna cottas don't set, it could spell the end of Aktar's dreams

of going forward in the competition.

This is Sue's opportunity to seize the day, and she knows it.

She's determined to rack up as many points as possible

to re-enter the race.

You've got quite a lot to do. Have you done most of it now?

-Are you on time?

-About three quarters of the way through.

Popped over to have a quick word with Sue. She was very focussed.

She's going 100 mile an hour. She knows this is her last chance,

and she's throwing absolutely everything at it.

Aktar's struggled with timings this week,

so Glynn needs to know he's on top of things today.

He can't put through a chef who may keep guests waiting at the banquet.

-So, how are you doing for time, mate?

-I'm good.

I'm just going to check my panna cotta. Sorbet's done.

I'm just waiting for that panna cotta to set.

OK. So you're in the pass - what, five minutes?

But just when Aktar needs as much cool air around his panna cottas as possible,

disaster strikes.

What's going on?

We've just had a total meltdown on all the electrics and the gas.

A partial power cut has taken out the gas and electricity

to some of the appliances in the kitchen.

I've got no gas here, so I'm going to fry the samosa down there.

-Has the gas gone?

-Yeah, the power's gone.

As some appliances still have power,

no-one realises that the blast chiller is starting to malfunction.

-That's only on three degrees!

-What are you trying to do?

Are you trying to freeze it? I'm trying to chill the panna cotta.

An already-tense kitchen becomes even tenser,

and the chefs don't know who to blame and begin to question each other.

He's in there with his panna cottas. That's at three degrees,

so my ice creams are softer than when they went in.

-Can I turn this down now?

-That's fine, mate.

Aktar with his panna cotta, I don't really know what's going on.

All I know is, my ice creams are in there.

It was on minus 26. It was all going fantastic.

Next thing, I go to it, it's reading three degrees.

I don't know what's gone on, and I'm not blaming anyone,

but the panna cottas aren't set and my ice cream's melted.

Sue is the only chef that can carry on working,

perfecting her chocolate tart, while the others can only wait and worry.

Aktar is first to the pass today.

He was already having trouble with his panna cottas.

The power cut and broken blast chiller

have made things much, much worse.

He's now having to serve his panna cottas in shot glasses,

and is having trouble finding any solidity in his sorbet.

-You just pull the ribbon...

-Yeah, that's right.

So, do you want to talk us through the dish?

We've got a shirkhand, a Gujarati-style yoghurt

flavoured with cardamom, and we've got a mango coulis

and just a bit of sugar glass there. Strawberry samosa with mint sherbet.

That's a coconut sorbet with a pistachio tuile.

-So the panna cotta...

-Hasn't set.

-Hasn't set.

But you felt it was important to put it on the plate.

-For the flavour, yeah.

-OK.

Right. We're going to taste this. Right, let's go.

You think this dish has got the wow-factor for the banquet?

Yeah. The platter comes to the table,

and the boxes will be piled high, just like being a kid again.

Box is really pretty, and it looks quite nice.

-Is it too restauranty underneath?

-I like this.

I like the lifting it off.

And here you've got the... Is it cardamom here?

-Yeah, just a little bit of cardamom.

-That mango's really good.

The problems he's had all week, and with this, he's annoyed me,

-but, annoyingly, that's quite tasty.

-Yeah.

-What's in the sherbet again?

-Mint leaves,

sugar. Put some bicarb in there, put some citric acid, so...

-Got fizz.

-Yeah.

-That's strong. That's full-on.

-If I had my eyes closed,

I'm not sure I'd know that was strawberry inside that samosa.

I don't like that samosa, I don't like the sherbet

and I don't like the panna cotta.

What's going to happen with the panna cotta? It hasn't set today.

Tomorrow, if I go through, it will be perfect. It will have the perfect wobble.

I think he's let himself down as well as us.

Could you see this at the banquet? Could you do it for 100 covers?

Easily, and I think it would be the perfect pudding

for the people's banquet.

Although Glynn will take the power cut into account

when it comes to scoring everyone,

it's a bitter end to the week for Aktar.

I know it's an amazing dessert. I've made it over and over again.

And when it really mattered, for it to turn out like this,

it's actually devastating. It's very upsetting. Extremely upsetting.

Next to face Glynn is Sue.

Will her afternoon tea be spectacular enough

to save her from going out of the competition today?

-There we go.

-That's nice.

And then...

Cool, cool!

Hopefully you can smell that. That should be the lemon.

-Yeah, it's lemon. That's nice.

-So, afternoon tea.

We've got the scones, butter-jam cream.

We've got the chocolate torte and raspberry,

vanilla-and-lemon slice, apple-parfait crumble...

-..and your iced tea.

-OK, Sue. We'll take that and have a taste,

and the guys can dive in.

You feel that's showbiz enough? It's enough for people at the banquet?

I think you've hit the nail on the head. I think it is showbiz enough.

I think with the dry ice...

When we were told that it had to be a feast for the eyes...

It certainly is. Definitely ticks that box.

-Is there any way that we eat it?

-No, just go.

-Are you happy with the scone?

-Yeah. I wanted it to look like a dessert,

not just a scone on a plate.

-Scone's really good.

-Because it's a small amount,

it's still quite light, especially with that tea. That tea is amazing.

-Would you get one of everything?

-Everyone gets one of everything.

Let's just try this.

-Nice and smooth.

-Mm.

Beautifully set. I think, if I'm being really critical,

the base could be a little bit thicker.

You think this is do-able for 100 people?

The great thing is, it can get done up...

As soon as your torte's in the fridge, it's ready,

and then it's just a case of putting it on the plate.

That's the way I like to work.

There's so many different elements on there, and it's done nicely.

Don't take this the wrong way, but they were finished beautifully,

and they all got there beautifully. That would make me nervous.

At the end of the day, it's a great British menu,

and I think an afternoon tea speaks volumes.

I'm really chuffed, because I have practised this

and they're all done exactly how I wanted.

There's nothing that I thought, "I wouldn't have done that." I'm really happy.

Now it's Richard's turn.

Last to the pass, his ice creams have had time to set,

so he arranges them on a stand, then puts the sugared nuts,

strawberry compote and chocolate soil into pretty glasses.

Will Glynn be impressed by his D.I.Y ice cream sundae,

or will he think it lacks the wow-factor?

Right, Richard.

So, my little D.I.Y ice cream sundae.

The big platter in the middle will be piled up here.

The ice cream will be set a bit more. It would be nice

-if you all just built your own.

-OK. Will do.

-What's on the bottom there?

-A bit of crystallised sugar.

You don't have to have all the ice cream.

It's literally what you like in the sundae.

The idea is that it's fun. You guys could be talking if you wanted,

but you can be quiet and silent if you want.

Whoo! Some whipped cream.

-We'll leave you to that. Richard, shall we go and have a taste?

-Yeah.

Come on. Let's go.

-We've got vanilla...

-Yeah.

I love ice cream. I can't help but just go, "Mmm, mmm."

He was confident about his strawberry ice cream,

and it is really, really good, packed full of strawberries.

I've just had the chocolate with the mud,

and that works really well, as well.

-Happy with the presentation of it?

-Yeah.

You don't have to go over the top with it,

because a sundae is a sundae, and it makes you smile.

People will be like a kid in a sweet shop,

interacting, wondering what things are, and that's really nice.

-Chocolate...and these are strawberry.

-Yeah.

Mmm! It's like a tuile, isn't it, but he's used brown sugar in it.

That's really good. Got a bit of bitterness to it.

I think that works. There's a lot of sweet elements going on here, so you need that.

-Is that do-able for a banquet?

-Yeah, I think so.

Once it's churned, you can have them in the freezer and just plate them up.

If the ice cream's piled up for ten people,

and it starts to melt, that could be one big mess.

-Is it fitting for the People's Banquet?

-I think so.

I don't think there's any better finish than a big sundae.

You've all just had a giggle and everyone just dives in.

With all the chaos that's gone on in the kitchen today,

I don't think I could be any happier with what I served up.

It could have been a lot better,

but at least I got stuff on the pass,

so I'm still happy with myself.

All three chefs have put everything into their dessert course.

They're all desperate to go through to the judges tomorrow.

Just need to know how well I did or how well I didn't do

with the dessert, and I just want to be put out of my misery.

Out of all the dishes I've put down, I can honestly say

that I'm kind of excited about the scores,

because I think I've done my best.

Out of all the dishes that I've put up,

I think that possibly my dessert might be my best one.

Last year at this point I knew I was going home,

so it's a lot of a different feeling.

Now I know I'm not safe, but I'm at the top of the pack,

so there's still a lot to play for and to come out of these answers,

so I think I'm more nervous about this year than last year.

It's time for Glynn to deliver his final verdict,

and for one of these chefs, it's going to be bad news.

I think you can agree with me, it's been a difficult day.

Richard...

..I love the interaction of it. I liked the retro-ness of the glasses.

I thought the ice creams were all made really, really well.

I liked the biscuits.

Some of the elements were a touch sweet, though.

Although I did like the interaction, once you put it all together,

it was basically a bowl of ice cream.

Aktar...

we all know about the problems with the panna cotta,

but generally I thought the taste of it was quite nice.

It was quite subtle. I thought the samosa was quite well executed.

The sherbet reminded me of the Dib Dab when I was a child,

so that was nice. The mango, I thought the top of it

should have been slightly more caramelised, slightly more crunchy,

and I thought the biscuit was a bit of a non-event, really.

And also the presentation, the box, over-sang the dish.

It's a shame we couldn't have ate the box.

Sue...

..it was a fantastic display of skill, technique, presentation,

and I thought everything tasted individually really good.

I'm going to deliver the results.

So, a score of six to go through to tomorrow's final...

..will be Richard.

So congratulations, Richard.

So, that leaves two chefs.

I can announce that, Sue...

I gave you, for your afternoon tea...

..a score of nine points.

And, Aktar, for your panna cotta, sorbet and strawberry samosa...

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

..six points. Which means, Aktar,

your total score will be second, and you will be the chef

going through to tomorrow's final. Well done, Aktar.

Commiserations, Sue. Fought a good battle towards the end.

I thought your pudding was outstanding.

Obviously you two guys have got a big day tomorrow,

cooking for the judges. I want you both at your best.

Timing, essential.

-Thank you very much, and good luck.

-Congratulations.

-Congratulations.

-Cheers.

Well done. You deserved it. Well done.

Well done, you.

So Richard achieves his ambition of cooking for the judges tomorrow,

and Aktar just hangs on to second place.

But Sue must now leave the competition.

Got a nine. I'm pleased with that,

but it just wasn't enough at the end of the day.

Ecstatic. I'm extremely happy,

but it's been an amazingly tough week emotionally and physically.

It looks as though, um...I won!

If cooking one course wasn't tough enough,

tomorrow Richard and Aktar must cook four.

-BLEEP!

-You feeling the pressure?

-BLEEP!

And this time there are three judges to please.

-Whoa!

-HE LAUGHS

He's just showing off here, and not very well.

This dish is what I call a cracker.

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