South West Fish Great British Menu

It's day two on Great British Menu.

Three of the South West's most elite chefs,

Andre Garrett, John Hooker and Paul Ainsworth,

are battling for the chance to cook at the People's Banquet.

Former champion Michael Caines is scoring their efforts day by day

and for the starter, he gave Paul a stunning nine out of ten

with John picking up seven points and a disappointed Andre just six.

I need to cook the best I can. I came here to be there at the end.

But the chef with the lowest total score on Thursday will be out.

Only two can face the judges on Friday, so they have to deliver.

It's so important to hit the ground running today.

It's my complete and utter drive to catch up now.

Today it's the fish course

-and the chefs are on a mission to outdo each other.

-Oooh!

You're trying to unnerve me, Mr Garrett, are you?

It's going to be a great course, highly competitive

and very, very close.

Looks like we've got a bit of work on, John. Topple the master.

This year, our winning chefs have the honour of inviting

their local food heroes to a magnificent street party, the People's Banquet.

But to earn those invites, the chefs must come up with delicious sharing dishes,

spectacular platters to tuck into together,

to help get guests talking.

I'm going to have another one, if you don't mind.

It's a tough call and this week's veteran, Michael Caines,

fought for the South West title twice, so he knows exactly what he's looking for.

The South West is just absolutely a wonderful larder for seafood

so I'm expecting these guys to really champion that.

First out of the blocks today is Paul Ainsworth,

who settles for nothing but the best on the menu at his restaurant in Padstow.

After impressing Michael with his starter, he's currently

topping the leaderboard but knows he can't rest on his laurels.

I may be ahead on the first course but there are still three more to go

and I could potentially throw it away on the next three courses.

-Good day, Paul.

-Morning.

-What dish are you going to be doing?

Just a fisherman's platter.

Sea bass, I'm keeping it really, really simple,

so I'm just going to bake that in newspaper.

-Of course, some oysters.

-Oysters.

-And a little bit of sardine.

Trying to keep everything that I've got

down there on the doorstep and make the most of it.

Listen, you've got your neck in front at the moment.

Keep the pressure up because these guys are going to be wanting to claw back some marks.

It may have a simple title but there's a lot in this dish,

which Paul plans to lay out to share on a Cornish rock.

He's cooking some interesting ingredients

with some wonderful textures as well, but I'll have to see

how he marries all those flavours together to make that work.

Check on. Four covers!

Next up is John Hooker, determined to win

after being narrowly beaten into second place last year.

He's a big, bold character and likes his flavours that way too.

He came second in the starter with seven points

for his slow roast pork belly.

He's fixed his sights on a higher score for his fish dish.

I'm one point ahead of Andre. I need to hang onto some lead

and not let the boys get too far ahead of me.

I had a strong starter, so onwards and upwards.

What dish are you doing today?

Cured sea bass with crab cakes and a tomato jelly.

The sauce, I'm doing parsley and crab mayonnaise with it as well.

How do you think this dish is going to get people interacting?

I've gone a different angle with the cured element.

It's not something people have had a lot of and that's the thing, saying, "I've never had this before",

and then with the crab, eating it with the texture and the crunch.

-I think it'll inspire people.

-Feeling quite confident today?

Yeah, I am.

After yesterday, Mr Number One over here, game's on today

and we've got to cook some good fish courses.

John's putting his faith in a few strong, distinct flavours

and textures, presented simply and without theatre.

It's a radical strategy to capture the lead, so is Michael impressed?

John's box of ingredients is actually quite simple.

I was slightly underwhelmed by it.

He's asking a lot of some very humble ingredients.

I think perhaps I was expecting a little bit more from him.

Main course away, one veg, one pork du jour.

The final chef today is the quietly determined Andre Garrett.

As the only Michelin-starred competitor in this heat,

he's the favourite

but his Wiltshire pig cheek only earned him six points in the starter.

I've taken a little bit of a knock. I'm a bit disappointed, but I need to focus on what I'm doing.

I need to bring up a good dish and get my points back up.

It's vitally important and I'm determined to do that.

So, the name of this dish is "mackerel caviar"

with seashore herbs and shellfish.

My mackerel is done in two stages.

I'm doing a brandade and a tartare and I'm cooking tapioca in squid ink.

That will give me what I fake caviar.

-OK.

-It'll give that idea.

-How is this going to be served?

It's important we get this wonderful platter of seafood out there

-for them to get involved.

-It's been a big thought for me.

What I want to do is recreate a seashore with the shellfish.

That will go down the centre of the table.

Then the caviar I want to share between two people.

You've got conversation between two and something in the middle.

-Obviously, a little bit behind.

-I hope I can pull it out of the bag.

All the best.

So, Andre's captured the spirit of sharing but is his inclusion

of cheffy elements like his tartare of raw cured mackerel

a risky tactic?

There's a few pitfalls there for Andre.

He's got a lot to present and do.

Put that into a banquet scenario, is it too much? I wonder.

As the cooking commences,

Andre knows it's crucial he makes a splash with his elaborate platter.

He must overtake at least one of his rivals

to get in front of the judges on Friday.

I don't want to be going home upset.

I don't want to be going home thinking I missed out.

Yeah, the benchmark has been set. It's there. Yeah, let's cook.

First, Andre has a little dig to undermine Paul's confidence.

-Paul, nine out of ten. Good start.

-I'm pleased.

-Unbelievable.

As you know, it's no good getting nine out of ten

and then scoring threes the rest of the week.

Do you think you're up to maintaining that?

I think so.

All of my dishes are like platters and big, hearty eating dishes

so I hope so.

Looks like we got a bit of work on, John. Topple the master.

I think you're the man to beat on this course.

-Oh, really?

-Written me off already, Paul, have you?!

No, I haven't!

Paul's had a wonderful starter, got some really good marks there.

We're looking at the fish dish. He's got to keep that energy up

and make sure he produces yet again another great dish.

The pressure's on him now.

In his bid to hold onto the lead, Paul is cooking

an ambitious dish with three main elements - sea bass, sardines and oysters.

He's even baking bread to go with it.

But first he has the tricky job of deboning and skinning the bass.

Desperate for points, Andre's also thinking big.

He's preparing octopus, just one of eight types of seafood

he plans to include in his dramatic platter.

And John's aiming to surprise everyone.

He's hoping that the other two will overreach themselves

and that his clean, strong flavours of crab and bass will win the day.

The atmosphere in there's really intense.

They've really knuckled down on this course.

Paul and Andre have got a lot going on, more so, I think, than John has.

To balance his dish, John's making a tomato jelly.

He's blending tomatoes, cucumber, fennel, chilli and herbs

and he's feeling rattled.

I'm pretty worried about this course.

The boys have pulled it out of the bag and again,

I've gone simple pimple.

I've got to have faith in that and really pull it through

and that's the best I can do, really.

As he adds gelatine to vegetable essence,

to make his jelly set, should he be questioning his strategy?

I don't think it's an issue that John's gone for simple and fresh approach,

the crab and the sea bass.

I just worry about whether or not all those people

will get the curing, and that's quite daring, really.

A lot of people are going to see that as raw.

John's boldly decided to escabeche his fish,

curing it in lime juice rather than cooking it.

I'm a little bit concerned about whether or not that escabeche

-is going to be embraced by everybody around that table.

-Yeah.

You're quite confident that the curing of the fish is going to go down well?

The crab's a big element as well. The mayonnaise will cut through it as well.

-I've got to keep faith.

-It's about balancing that.

-Balancing it all up.

It's a risk, but if you don't take a risk, you don't get anywhere.

I've got faith in it. Marry all the flavours together.

Let's hope so.

Across the kitchen, rival Andre is mixing mackerel with potato

to make what's called a brandade - it will form the bottom layer

in his tins of fake caviar, but Michael's got some concerns.

You know, interesting, the tapioca with the black squid ink.

Do you think they're ready for that, the tapioca texture?

Well, I'm keeping it... I don't want it sticky.

-I want it to be like caviar.

-Yeah.

I want that whole caviar, that talking point

and when I serve it in the caviar tin as well.

Any other flavour coming through?

-I'm going to keep it to myself.

-OK.

-Hear that, guys?

-And... we'll see, we'll see.

-Secretive.

-Yeah, secretive.

-Andre is doing fake caviar.

It's an interesting take on it and let's see.

Michael's looking for textbook execution.

The chefs know that to impress, they must deliver knockout dishes

suitable to share at a street party, and to help perfect their menus,

they started their research close to home.

To find inspiration for his dishes, Paul travelled down to Newlyn

on Cornwall's south coast to meet some local food heroes.

Fantastic. Brilliant. Thank you. I hope I do them justice.

He's going to cook some fresh sardines for the people

at the Fishermen's Mission, a charitable organisation

that provides emergency and welfare support to the fishing community.

Keith Dixon is the local superintendent.

The canteen and the food reserve is the heartbeat of the mission in Newlyn, it really is.

I mean, fishing is a very solitary job and when you come ashore,

it's a place to meet,

a place where people can be accepted for who they are

and they can enjoy good food.

Paul's own grandfather was a fisherman

and served on the lifeboats, so it's an industry close to his heart

as well as providing him with superb fresh ingredients.

-Hi, Allie. This is Paul.

-Hello. How are you?

-Fine, thanks.

-Allie is the...

-Lovely to meet you.

-..kitchen manager.

-You're freezing.

-I know!

Fishing's one of the most dangerous and demanding professions in the world

and it's volunteers like Allie the cook that keep the mission going and make it so welcoming.

I think it's a place where they can come and sit for hours,

-whether it's a coffee that they have or a meal.

-Yeah.

There's no pressure on time and they just come and they chat.

It's a social thing more than anything, I think.

Paul wants to find out

if his idea for a sardine dish would create a great sharing experience.

-What kind of food do the fishermen like?

-They're all fond of chips.

Perhaps that's because they don't get them at home.

No chips from Paul but plenty of fish, and the orders are piling in.

-It's gotten really busy, hasn't it, Allie?

-It certainly is.

He's serving his sardines in person to get first-hand feedback.

Hurry up...!

-Yeah?

-That's delicious.

-Tasty.

-I'm going to have another one, if you don't mind.

-Yeah, finish it.

I think we've eaten it all. We didn't leave much behind.

It's a good sharing dish.

The only thing that's missing, if it wasn't a mission, we'd have a glass of wine!

Finally, after a busy service,

it's time for Keith and Allie to give their verdict.

-That's lovely. That's really, really nice.

-Really very nice.

-Excellent.

Paul's been touched by what he's seen here

and has a special request for the volunteers.

If I do make it to the banquet, I'd like to invite you to the banquet and all the people from the mission.

-I'd be honoured.

-Thank you very much.

I don't want a kiss, it's all right!

Back in our kitchen, Paul's still buzzing from his visit.

The job they do is incredible.

It's not only getting your course there, it's that extra pressure.

-You'd love to get these people there.

-Giving something back.

-Yeah.

Taking their time out to give to others.

Got to get past Michael first.

Three top chefs from the South West of England are slaving away

to make fish dishes designed to be shared at the People's Banquet.

Paul's creating an understated fishermen's lunch of sea bass,

sardines and oysters.

Andre's desperate to beat him with his innovative mackerel "caviar"

and shellfish platter.

John's determined to outshine them both

with his simple plate of wild bass and crab cakes.

Michael Caines will be dishing out the scores

once he's seen and tasted them all.

I think both Paul and Andre

have planned a few surprises with the presentation.

It looks like John's just going to let it speak for itself

with the freshness of the dish

and I think he's relying on that to come through.

They're flat out in the kitchen now.

John's making his choux pastry crab cakes while Andre's opening huge numbers of clams,

cockles, scallops and oysters for his extravagant

shellfish sharing platter to be served with his quirky fake caviar.

They all have their eye on the prize

and frontrunner Paul has some surprises planned.

He's thought long and hard

about the look of his humble fisherman's lunch.

Paul, what's going on here?

I've got a newspaper from the fishermen's mission

and it's from 1919, they dug it out of the archives for me,

so I got it printed onto baking paper.

-Seen this?

-He's got loads of tricks, hasn't he?

-I know. Seen that one, J?

-Yeah, really under pressure(!)

-That sounded sarcastic.

-Did it? Is that what it is, is it?

Obviously you're baking blind here.

-The timing of that fish cooking is everything.

-Is everything, yeah.

So Paul's gambling big-time,

combining a tricky cooking technique with clever presentation.

Paul's got a great dish

but it's all about the cooking of the sea bass.

He's got to get it absolutely spot-on. Too much, it's overcooked.

Too little, it'll be raw.

He's brave doing it but there's a risk element there

because you're in a new kitchen, you've got different ovens than you've practised with before.

They're all taking chances today as they battle to get to the banquet.

Michael's already expressed concern about John serving raw, cured fish

but Andre's using some in his dish too.

-Is that are you doing yours?

-Yeah.

I'm using a little rice wine vinegar. It's very, very mild, then just lime zest.

-Yeah?

-You've got the flavour of the lime but you ain't got that acid.

-Unlike John's, perhaps.

-Using any rice wine vinegar?

No, no vinegar. Just literally juice and the acidity's going to come through the lime anyway,

and the richness of the olive oil - simple cure.

But could it be too simple?

Andre's patiently building a base layer of his mackerel brandade,

topped with parsley and fish cured his way.

Andre, is this your tartare?

Yes, this is my mackerel tartare.

I didn't use any citrus acid, no lime juice, because I believe it cooks the mackerel too much.

It's still cooking it with the vinegar to keep that marine flavour coming through it.

The last layer will be the faux caviar.

-This is the tapioca, it's just been washed off, yeah?

-Yeah.

-Shellfish stock, is that?

-Try to keep that seaweed flavour.

And finally, black squid ink to make it look like caviar.

Just using your stock as a seasoning now. You've now got yourself a nice little black lipstick there.

I now get the concept of the tartare and the brandade in the caviar dish, topped with that tapioca.

A bit worried about the flavour, so let's see.

Andre is plating up first, but he doesn't have much time.

He starts by arranging his props and scallop shells

and then lays a bed of seaweed to support the tins of caviar.

He adds cockles and sliced scallops, and, watched closely by his rivals,

gets the massive platter ready for the pass.

But there's something missing.

Oh, hang on. Something I've forgotten.

You can't be forgetful in such a tightly fought competition.

The oysters are crucial to his presentation.

A little bit over time here, though.

-A little bit.

-Lot to do?

-Yeah.

You can't take him seriously with that black lipstick, can you?

-Is it still black?

-Yeah!

Well done.

Andre's certainly thought about his presentation.

But will this imaginative dish be enough to impress Michael

and get Michelin-starred chef Andre off the bottom of the scoreboard?

Andre, are you happy that this is a really great sharing dish?

I think there's a lot going on, there's a lot of talking points.

There's something a little bit quirky.

So yeah, it's quite different, but, yeah, I think it works.

Spot-on.

-That's lovely.

-Yeah. Beautiful.

Have a look at this caviar.

This is going to be a real talking point, isn't it?

Exactly. I wanted something that's a little bit unique, in a way.

I've got the earthiness of the brandade, the freshness of the tartare.

Then the talking point of the fake caviar.

You're happy with the seasoning in there?

-I'm happy with that. I wanted to keep that freshness.

-Yeah.

-Not much flavour coming through that.

-But it's fun. It's cool.

You'd like that, you'd enjoy it. That's really skilful.

-With the toast, it eats like a dream.

-Yeah, really is.

You were under pressure getting it out. How do you feel about doing it for 100?

Um... Yeah, no problem. Plenty of practice by then!

Pleased with the presentation of it, I'm pleased with all the flavours.

I really had to push on that one. It was a big task.

I hope I get a better score than my starter.

Now it's Paul's turn to serve up, and with time ticking, he has to push on with his ambitious dish.

The most critical element is the sea bass baked in newspaper.

A huge risk, as Paul can't see whether it's cooked or not.

But despite this gamble, he starts to fill his sardine tins with toasted focaccia,

topped with sardines and vegetables.

Fried rock oysters are placed on piles of fennel and apple,

the sea bass parcels are arranged, and Paul's rivals can see

that they may have trouble knocking him off the top spot today.

There we have it - fisherman's lunch.

You happy with that?

Yeah, I really am.

Well, on that note, let's take it away and have a taster.

So, has Paul done it again?

Is this platter worthy to be the fish course at the People's Banquet?

Dig in.

-Happy with the cooking there?

-Yeah.

Really, really moist.

Mmm.

I'm really happy with that.

-And the seasoning?

-Yeah.

-Good marine flavour.

-And that bass is fabulous.

-The bass is lovely.

-Let's move onto the sardines on toast.

-Yeah.

And the balance of flavours on that sardine, you're really happy with?

Yeah. Again, nice and sweet, quite sort of, like, quite mild.

Nice piquant.

The carrot works well.

-That bread's good, the focaccia with the olive oil.

-Very good bread.

Of course, finally the oyster.

Oysters aren't everybody's cup of tea, but I think that would be a nice introduction to oysters,

I think, deep-frying it.

The majority of the banquet would at least try it and give it a go.

-Very good.

-Definitely.

Can you see this working at a banquet for 100 people?

I really, really can. There is an element of sort of push to it.

I want to show something different, but make sure it's achievable for the banquet.

Yeah, I really want to be in the lead after this score.

Andre really set the tone.

-It's not easy going up last, is it?

-Not with everyone watching you.

A bit anxious about the whole thing, really.

Now it's John's turn to feel the pressure.

You've hit the wow factor and perhaps I haven't done quite enough.

We've got two courses to go after today and I've got two strong dishes coming up.

-Good man.

-See what Michael thinks about it.

-Stop winking at me!

-Yeah!

John starts by plating up his cured sea bass.

He's relying on the adage less is more, so he's serving it up on plates, not platters,

and he needs to be spot-on.

A sprinkle of curry salt is followed by a garnish of dill and finely chopped baby fennel.

-Oh!

-Who is this guy?

Oh!

-You trying to unnerve me, are you?

-No.

But John has a trick up his sleeve with some unusual greenery, and it's got Andre guessing.

-What's that, John?

-A little touch of these oyster leaves, just lift the dish a bit.

Named for their strong oyster flavour, John uses them to finish the garnish.

With the crab cakes out of the fryer and parsley mayonnaise ready,

the last of the fish courses is ready to go.

There you are, Michael.

Probably a little less wow factor than what the boys did with the sand and the seaweed and stuff,

but I'm not compromising any flavour with this.

So we've got the crab cakes, the crab mayonnaise and then the ceviche just simply dressed.

Will this simple yet bold combination pay off with Michael?

John's up against it already

but he's completely forgotten the tomato jelly.

It was meant to offset the flavours and textures of his escabeche sea bass and crab cakes,

but is it the right sort of dish anyway?

Do you think that this fits nicely into that sharing concept?

You're happy that this represents that criteria well?

I think it is about sharing and it is quite daring with the cured sea bass bit.

I think you have to take a risk and educate people and just push the boat out a little.

You can scale it up or scale it down.

-These are little oyster leaves, I believe.

-Never had those before.

-Tastes like an oyster.

-It does, doesn't it?

-Very good.

Just want to taste your sea bass and tell me what you think of the seasoning and flavours.

On it own, it's probably a touch dull, but I like it when you eat it with all the other components.

Paul's missing the component of tomato jelly, and that affects his balance of bold flavours.

I think the marinade might have sat on the fish a little bit of time.

He's lost the raw feel to it, the marine flavour.

Are you happy with the balance of the flavours there, the way it's all marrying together?

I think on the whole, it's there.

OK. Excellent.

Are you confident?

Yeah, you know you are!

-Got this one in the bag, haven't you?!

-No.

Yeah...!

I made a mistake today under a lot of pressure and I forgot to put my tomato jelly on.

In hindsight, it would have given that little bit of zing and cut through the bass,

but hey ho, silly schoolboy error on my part.

Michael wants only the very best dishes to be running for a place at the banquet.

And with today's cooking behind them,

all three chefs can only ponder what scores he'll give them

and who'll be going home on Thursday.

Just because I got a nine on the starter, that means absolutely nothing.

Who knows? It's all down to Michael.

Can't call it with the scores today. I think it's going to be tight.

I'm feeling pretty nervous about the scoring today.

I'm up against it, trailing those two boys, and hopefully my taste and execution has got me there.

Gentlemen.

John, your cured wild sea bass, crab cakes, crab mayonnaise and tomato jelly was a good dish.

Better if it had the tomato jelly on, perhaps, but I don't know, you forgot it.

The positive were the crab cakes, they were delicious, and your mayonnaise was lovely.

Perhaps lacked seasoning through the sea bass.

It was quite a risky and daring dish to put up for that type of banquet.

Perhaps more of a restaurant dish than a banquet dish.

Paul, your fisherman's lunch really captured the essence of the sharing platter.

I loved the sea bass in the paper.

Sardines were cheeky in the tin.

My only concern - whether or not the bread would stay crunchy

if you were serving that for a lot of people.

Perhaps a touch more seasoning in the sardines

and the dish was a little bit awkward to service

when you're trying to take the sardine out of the tin.

Andre, your mackerel caviar with seashore salad and shellfish was stunning.

You really captured the spirit of the competition.

Perhaps the oysters were a tad overcooked, I know you forgot them,

and that was something that you could improve on.

Well, now to the crunch time - the scores.

John, for your cured sea bass...

..I'm going to give you four out of ten.

Paul, your fisherman's lunch...

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

seven out of ten.

Andre, your mackerel caviar...

Well, I'm going to give you eight out of ten.

Congratulations.

It was very tough between the two of you.

John, obviously the main course is up next and I really need you to deliver.

So pressure's on, lads, keep it up. Well done.

-Well done, chef.

-Nice.

So with two dishes down, Paul has held onto his lead with 16 points,

Andre's leapfrogged into second place with 14

and John's now three points adrift with just 11.

I'm really happy. I'm ecstatic. I'm overwhelmed by it all.

I feel a lot better now. It's a good score. I'm really proud.

I buckled a little bit, but I'm man enough and ugly enough to admit to that.

So, bring on tomorrow.

In the fight for the main course, it's vital they nail the brief.

Andre, you're using a lot of French influence. Is that right for a Great British Banquet?

Can John seize the day and get back in the running?

It's imperative to get it bang on and be back in contention to get to that judges' chamber.

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