Starter Final Great British Menu

This is it.

It's the week the best of Britain's chefs have been striving towards.

The Great British Menu finals are on,

and just eight chefs remain in the race.

This year's challenge has been inspired by The Big Lunch,

an event that gets thousands of us out on the streets

and eating with our neighbours every year.

Over the last eight weeks, the chefs have experienced some of the most memorable moments

of their careers, from the very best...

Congratulations, Johnny.

Unfortunately, I've got to give you

my first ever 10 out of 10. Well done, buddy.

..to the very worst... Do you want me to shut up?

Yeah, that would be great, if you would. I had some jelly, in a jug, and it's gone.

And the judges haven't held back with their opinions.

I can't find anything good about it at all. That is truly disgusting.

Pretty tasteless.

For the chefs who've survived, it's now a fight to the finish

for the honour of cooking at our spectacular street party -

the People's Banquet. Today is just the first stage on the process

of making the perfect menu for the People's Banquet.

I can't wait, this is a street party, it's an informal setting,

but we're still looking for very good food.

Many of these first courses have a huge amount of things happening.

There's going to be hell in the kitchen. Each chef will have to work

harder than ever, as all eight will be cooking their entire menus again.

I want to win this, and I'm desperate to win this.

The pressure is intense, as nothing short of perfection will do,

and they're all gunning for victory.

It's going to be a tough old battle so it's definitely game on.

Going into the kitchen with these guys will be quite intimidating for me.

Watch out, boys, because I ain't going down without a fight.

It's day one of the finals.

All eight chefs will be battling

to get their starter on the banquet menu.

First to arrive are the Celtic contenders -

Michael Smith from Scotland, Chris Fearon from Northern Ireland, and Hywel Jones from Wales -

all in the finals for the first time.

Scary biscuits, scary biscuits.

It's finals week, I'm a little bit nervous, if I'm honest.

Next up are Lisa Allen, representing the North West,

Aktar Islam from the Central region,

and Tom Kerridge from London and the South East.

Lisa and Tom both won a place at the banquet last year,

Lisa cooking the starter and Tom the main.

It's a small group of people that have been to two banquets.

I want to join that group.

Our final group of chefs are Paul Ainsworth from the South West

and Andrew Pern, representing the North East.

I'm really, really nervous, but this is a massive fight now,

this is all to play for, Royal Rumble.

For these top chefs, the stakes are very high.

Cooking at the People's Banquet would be the pinnacle of their careers.

If I can make it through to the People's Banquet, which I intend to,

that would be the greatest achievement of my life.

If they win, they'll also get to invite the tireless workers

from their communities who already use food to bring people together

and provided the inspiration for the chefs' menus.

For me it would be a huge honour to cook for people of the community,

the unsung heroes of communities, it would be fantastic and an honour.

But to get to the banquet,

the chefs have to impress three notoriously hard-to-please judges -

Prue Leith, Oliver Peyton and Matthew Fort.

So, Lisa, Tom, both champions from last year, how did it feel getting a dish on?

It's amazing, you feel proud, don't you? Yeah, it is brilliant.

To do the banquet itself, cooking 100 covers is bonkers, it's mayhem and it's mental,

but you feel really proud about actually having achieved it.

You keep hearing little tweaks of the dishes people are doing,

and it does put the frighteners up you.

The judges are looking for a perfectly balanced menu

so for each course, they'll pick their top three dishes,

only selecting an overall winner on Thursday.

Every day, a different veteran chef will be helping them make that decision.

Today it's someone who knows what a tremendous privilege it is

to have a dish on the final menu, as he cooked not just once but twice for the banquet.

From Birmingham, it's the multi- award-winning Michelin-starred chef,

Glynn Purnell.

Welcome, Glynn, to the judging chamber. Nice to be back, guys.

What's interesting about today is that we're not going to reveal

who the winner is, we're looking for three winners.

The very good reason for that is

because we need to have absolute flexibility when we come

to putting together the perfect menu for the People's Banquet,

we will then have three first courses to choose from.

It must be, I can imagine, quite stressful, not to know whether

you've come first, second or third, you're just in a mix, really.

We've got to keep them trying until the last minute.

I think the worst thing is if you don't come in the top three at all!

Yeah, whether you come first, second or third's irrelevant,

if you don't even come anywhere near it then you start to worry!

Having a chef of Glynn's calibre in the chamber

is causing some concern amongst the finalists.

Glynn will be quite hardcore.

He's on the money, he's on the ball, so nothing goes past him,

and if he doesn't like something, he'll justify why and will say.

He's such a fun character, and that comes out in his food,

so that could be what he's looking for, as well

as the fun factor, does it make him laugh, kind of thing,

but then, also, his taste buds are impeccable, aren't they?

The moment has come for the regional finalists to enter

the judging chamber for the first time to face this formidable panel.

This is going to be the toughest week of their lives.

Chefs, welcome to the first day of the finals

of the Great British Menu.

Now it gets really serious, because it's dish against dish,

chef against chef, and only one dish can go through for each course.

What I always found difficult was to hit the ground running.

I always struggled on the starter, and you always think,

"I've got a good main course," but I want to say to you,

throw everything you can at the starter,

from the beginning all the way to the end,

and hopefully you'll get your riches, so good luck.

It's time to get cooking.

The first three chefs into the kitchen are

Chris Fearon from Northern Ireland, Andrew Pern from the North East

and the Central region's Aktar Islam.

Everyone is frantic at the moment, we know how important it is

to start the week off on the right foot. It's going to be very tough.

It's a very high standard, it's another level up.

Chris came into the competition as an underdog,

then trounced his rivals with his brave but risky menu.

He's serving his simple season shake coronation chicken.

You know, I really hope that Chris does not change this dish,

because I thought it was such fun, and so interactive,

but it was also absolutely delicious.

This was a memorable dish for me, because the drama of it,

as soon as it came down, you have to work out what to do...

But I thought it was a very, very smart opener, I must say.

Street food, but smart street food.

It has that sort of thing of conviviality,

it's not frightening in any way, it's utterly delicious to eat,

but it'd be nice to see it against the other ones today.

Although this dish was a hit in the heats, it's up against

stiff competition today, and Chris's nerves are starting to show.

Going into the finals week is a mixture of emotions.

I'm nervous, excited, you know, queasy, everything.

As Chris begins frying his chicken,

Aktar's quick to try and find a weak spot. So, Chris...

confident that fried chicken's going to win it through for you?

Yes, well, you can be too simple, you know what I mean?

But this dish, it's more of a focal point.

People are going to talk about it and laugh.

You're going to have a smile on your face.

With the huge burden of delivering the first dish of the day

to the judges, Chris tries to ignore the taunts

and get on with preparing his spice mix.

If this gets through, are you going to set up a chicken shop? I am.

Chris's fried chicken shop, yeah. I'll be your first customer.

Wear a big white hat, like the Colonel.

Aktar is determined to throw him off his game.

Can we get some fries with that as well?

Ding!

Ding-ding-ding-ding! One McFryaway, please.

One hot diggidy-dog. Chilli fries.

Do I sense a bit of food snobbery from you, do I? No, me?

No, mate, I'll eat absolutely anything.

I think with Chris's dish, it may be the case where the judges

find it a bit simple compared to what everyone else has got going on.

While Chris thinks he's hit the brief perfectly

with his playful and fun approach, it is Andrew's turn to question

if his chicken lacks the required finesse

to compete at this level.

I'm not sure about fried chicken in a bag, really, Chris.

I don't know if it's luxurious enough for the British public.

I like it, but it's a bit like my first dish in the regional heat.

It's food for an occasion, but I'm not sure if this is the occasion.

You know what I mean?

The feedback I got from the judges, unlike your starter, was positive.

Undeterred by Andrew's comments,

Chris gets on with placing the glazed chicken,

seasoning and curry coleslaw on his specially made display frame.

On top, chef.

What will the judges make of his dish second time around?

'I really need to get a high score,

'I need to get in the top three for the starter.

'It's really important to me to get off running, you know.'

I've a lot of faith in this dish,

so if it doesn't come in the top three I'll be a wee bit knocked,

so fingers crossed.

Wow.

Shall I pass it on down? This should be right up your street, though.

This looks absolutely fantastic, and the smell of it already is brilliant.

Prue.

It's quite an elaborate business, this, isn't it?

It's quite a lot of by-play and acting.

Exactly, but that's half the fun, working it out.

And inside are little bits of chicken.

And you sprinkle it in, and then what to do you do, seal it up?

Seal it and shake it up and down...

Like that.

You could easily do this for 100 people.

And it looks absolutely fantastic, the stand is brilliant. Isn't it?

Yeah, it's great. The chicken is beautifully cooked.

I think this tastes better than before, there's more balance to the spicing. It's just lovely.

This is quite a simple dish, but the flavours just go, boom!

And you've got the show as well, it comes in, and the bag...

I like the fact that it's simple, it's very clean, concise cooking,

and it does what it says on the packet.

That's the thing, it does what it says on the packet.

the fun element is fantastic, it's a wonderful, great joke, great laugh,

it's fun, gets people talking, all those things were right today.

Do you think this is a sharing dish, enough interaction with this dish?

I think so, because it would cause such comment,

and people trying to work out what you do.

I definitely think it's a sharing dish.

Shake, rattle and roll. Shake, rattle and roll, right!

So, Chris has already set the bar incredibly high today.

Luckily, his competitors have no idea how well his dish has been received.

And although they made fun of his fried chicken in the kitchen,

will Chris have the last laugh?

How brilliant is that?

What do you think of the presentation?

It's clever, isn't it? Very clever. It's quirky.

Lots of smell in your face, as well, isn't it?

It's got lovely barbecue, curry-like flavours,

it reminds you of being at a party, a street party. Yeah.

It's proper moreish, isn't it? Yeah.

It's going to get people talking.

I think the judges will see the fun side.

Whether they'll see it as a gastronomic height, I don't know.

How are the judges going to score Chris's season,

shake and curry on chicken?

Matthew, this is what you called shake, rattle and roll,

and you're absolutely right - I'm giving it a seven.

So, for me, this chicken, shaken, not stirred.

Needs a little bit more citrus, but I'm giving it a seven.

Well, as far as I'm concerned, Chris's coronation chicken

has it in the bag,

so I'm going to give it an eight.

I want to see 100 people shaking that bag

up and down Leadenhall Market, so it's a nine.

Next up, Andrew Pern from the North East.

He came into the competition full of confidence,

but only just made it to the finals.

Will he up his game sufficiently this week to rise to the top?

In the heats, he served a cold meat and salad salmagundi,

which bombed for its lack of skill.

I think I can safely say that and Andrew Pern's salmagundi

of north-country produce was not a success.

Basically, he'd assembled a lot of delicious things

that looked very pretty, but he hadn't done anything.

I think you're being far too nice,

as far as I'm concerned, this is a cooking competition.

One of the key things in any dish must be at least a little bit of cooking.

Some chefs make the mistake

of coming in a bit half-hearted at the starter. We told him to change it,

so it'll be interesting to see if he has.

It's not just a matter of turning the heat up,

I hope this time he's actually turned the heat ON.

For the finals, Andrew's come up with something different...

But it's a massive risk. It's hard enough to come up with your first dish.

Was it hard to do it again?

It was hard to make my mind up, I thought the first dish fit the bill,

and you're in the mindset, and it's quite difficult to then change.

You get knocked back. You start doubting yourself.

Andrew's hoping that by cooking a terrine of corned beef topped

with jelly, he'll be demonstrating more skill to the judges.

It's got all sorts of little pickles, onions, pickled beetroot, radishes.

I was going for the colours to balance the menu. But Chris isn't convinced.

I'm sure he's a wee bit nervous about his starter.

The judges'll either love it or hate it.

Andrew carefully arranges his pickled vegetables on a slate

and tests the consistency of his cheese biscuits.

You all right, lads? LAUGHTER

The pressure of serving a brand new dish at this stage is immense.

If you've had enough negative comments to change your dish,

you're already up against it going into finals week.

But as Andrew brings his corned beef terrine to the pass,

he's convinced that this new starter is in with a real chance.

OK.

It's all come out well, as far as I can see,

so it's just up to the judges now.

I think this dish could easily get into the top three.

CHUCKLING

Right.

It looks like a brick in a garden.

That smells so cheesy and delicious.

Good-looking sauce. I don't think it looks appetising at all.

But maybe it's going to taste wonderful.

So, we've got a bit of fennel, carrot, onion, a bit of beetroot.

I wonder if the biscuit's meant to be that soggy.

Because the outside of it is absolutely delicious

where it's really short and crumbly,

and the middle of it is really soggy, but it's quite nice.

It looks as if it's undercooked, but it doesn't taste undercooked.

I think there's a good deal of technical skill here, good pub dish.

However, I think the corned beef is over worked.

It's a bit wet, I think. It's quite...

It lacks fat.

I like it to have a bit more texture of meat.

This is a deeply unhappy, troubled dish.

I think the vegetables, although they're pickled,

they're almost like they're raw.

I just find this brick of corned beef really unattractive.

It just looks too manufactured,

it looks like something that a factory would do.

You could probably build a whole house out of them.

I'm not being funny,

but if you did, it would be the most tasteless house in the street!

It looks as if Andrew's new starter has failed to impress.

What will his rivals make of it?

Presentation-wise, being hot on the tails of Chris's masterpiece,

didn't have the same wow factor for me.

We were a bit quiet and reserved eating it,

almost as if it's restaurant food.

I just don't know if it's grand enough for a banquet.

I mean, it's corned beef.

Do you know, I really didn't like Andrew's dish at all.

It's a five.

I'm afraid he just made a bit of a hash of the corned beef,

so it's a five from me.

Didn't like the texture of it, it was a bit low for me,

so it's more of a corned beat than a corned beef - it's a four.

There's just no possibility I'm ever going to love corned beef hash.

It's a three.

So Andrew's corned Yorkshire beef bombs.

Now it's Birmingham-based Aktar's turn.

He's serving Tiffin of Indian street food, including pakoras,

pea and spinach cake and spicy chicken drumsticks.

This is an interesting dish,

because I think the chef here was going out to impress.

I was in the kitchen, obviously, for the regional,

and I found it quite painful, really.

I thought the food came out nice, but it was late, and it seemed

like such a massive effort, and he only did four portions.

I do want him to solve the problem of how do you get

deep-fried food there, both hot and crisp.

I just don't think you can do deep-fried anything and expect it

to reach 100 people being anything other than slightly soggy and damp.

We're talking 80-100 people, I think he could struggle. Not entirely practical.

Put it this way, Matthew,

I was cleanly shaven when he started cooking it

and I had a full beard by the time he got it on the pass!

Aktar is a self-taught chef

who's struggled with deadlines in the heats.

He'll need to demonstrate he can present perfect food delivered

on time to have any hope of being selected to cook at the banquet.

The judges gave me really good feedback about my starter,

but on the other hand, Glynn wasn't too excited by it,

so I'm hoping the judges will win Glynn over today.

Despite the judges' comments last time round,

Aktar isn't making any changes, but Chris thinks

with 11 separate elements, Aktar's starter is too complicated.

You under pressure, man, do you want a wee hand?

I am, get a hand off you in a second.

Aktar seems to have about five or six different fritters

and different things going on, a lot of food.

He couldn't make his mind up on one or two of them,

he has to have them all there.

As Aktar prepares his chutneys, it appears his reputation

for being late is an open secret amongst the other chefs,

and Andrew can't help winding him up about it.

You've got five minutes-ish, anyway, and counting.

Under control? Yeah.

Or out of control?

With so much to do, it only takes one problem

to knock him off schedule, and sure enough, disaster strikes.

BLEEP sake, come on!

You all right, man?

No, these flowers are too big, so it's opening up.

So, do you think you're going to be on time?

A mistake like this could cost him the competition.

I've got to put some more flowers in, and hopefully these won't open up.

I just want it a little smaller,

I'm trying to squeeze all the air out as possible.

Determined to serve a perfect dish, he does them again,

even though the other components are already cooked and waiting to go.

What do you think about doing this for 100 or so people?

Aktar has no choice but to plough on.

He places his pakoras, pea and spinach cake and spicy drumsticks

into Tiffin boxes, but his confidence is rattled.

I had some issue with the courgette flower

and that had a knock-on effect on everything else.

Ultimately alas, what's done is done.

His courgette flowers are finally ready, but the other elements

have been sat waiting on the pass. Will the delay have ruined them?

OK.

I don't think I delivered

as perfectly as I could have, but I got it out in the end.

Hopefully it was enough.

But will the judges agree?

A real tiffin box, isn't it fantastic?

Think of those arranged down the table, it would look spectacular.

Fun and... Ooh!

There's good... Theatre. Good theatre in all this.

The onion bhajis are still there.

He's taken no notice whatever of anything we said.

That is going to be soggy with the lid on it.

That is going to be soggy with the lid on it.

And for 100 people, it will not stay crisp.

It is a bit soggy, the courgette flower. It's beginning to go already.

Very greasy.

I have one major fear about this dish, it's that...

when we've all finished eating this,

will you want three other courses to come after it?

It's just a bit too big for a starter.

It needs some sort of unifying theme through it.

I cannot see the journey from sweetbread

to courgette fritter. I can't see it.

I just think it's an opening dish, it's a first course,

there's a tremendous amount happening, it's too much.

You know that you're talking tosh as per usual.

I have to agree for a change, you are talking tosh.

You can eat them in any sequence you like and we keep saying

we want the chefs to display their skill.

I think, Oliver, you're trying to see things as a unified dish.

This isn't. It's like tapas.

Exactly, it's a sequence of dishes, a sequence of flavours

which you can vary yourself. There's some nice flavours,

I think he should've listened, eliminated one or two pieces.

I don't think deep-fried stuff will survive 100 covers. Been there, done it.

This is more a dish representing a style of cuisine

rather than something that is suitable for the banquet, I feel.

Will his fellow chefs pick up on the judges' criticisms?

A lot of heat there. After one or two bites, you'd probably get used to it.

Lot of work in here. Is it doable, with five different elements?

I suppose you could question whether this is a mini-main course

rather than a straight-out starter, but I think it's fantastic.

It's putting the menu together though. If you start with this, where do you go after?

In the words of the movie, grease is the word. Far too much happening.

Far too greasy, impossible to make for that amount of people.

An extremely generous five, I think.

Presentation looked fantastic, all stacked up and stuff,

but once you got into it, a bit too greasy,

FAR too much once you put it on a plate

so I'll give it a five.

I think there are a few issues with Aktar's tiffin boxes,

but in the final analysis I thought it was pretty spiffing tiffin.

So seven.

You know, I thought this tiffin box was so pretty and the food

did taste delicious, but I think it's really difficult to do

and it was a bit greasy

so I've given it a seven.

So a very average score for Aktar.

With the first three starters served and the magnitude

of what's at stake looming, the chefs are feeling the pressure.

First course out the way, how are we all feeling? Good.

They're all so different. Yeah.

And it depends what the judges are looking for.

You have to question yourself and think, "Did I do enough?

"Could I have done that a bit better?"

There's an issue of doubt in your head, but you'll always have it,

it's a natural reaction. That's what's going through my head

cos I know that starter, on the regional final,

that day I got it bang on.

It was perfect. And this wasn't perfect.

Same as mine, mine just wasn't 100% perfect.

The next chefs hoping to secure their place at the banquet

are Lisa Allen and Paul Ainsworth.

Familiar territory for you? I can't believe I'm against the champ on starter.

Lisa from the north-west is a calm and precise cook

who sailed through her heat. She won this course last year

and is determined to get to the banquet again.

It's pressure, cooking a starter again

cos obviously I won it last year

and I think that's an added pressure

and I really want to do well so that's another pressure on top!

Lisa is a competitor of the highest standard.

Her starter, baby pig,

it was on the money.

It was such fun - it was really good sharing food.

But let us not forget, it was not a perfect dish because...

Well, to eat it was, but if only the crockery

on which it was served was as good, sophisticated and clever as the cooking.

If all you can criticise is the pots and the plates,

we're in for a real good treat here.

Paul has just found out the reigning starter queen is making a similar dish to his,

a variation on a Chinese favourite, crispy duck pancake.

I've heard a rumour that you're doing pancakes.

Yeah, I am. I've heard the same rumour about you.

Lisa's serving...

..and the more Paul finds out about her dish,

the more worried he's feeling.

I'm going for a traditional English pancake.

I'm trying to twist the dish round, but use

very British stuff like pork and apples, pickled onion,

dipping sauce of apple and Worcester sauce, English pancakes layered up.

He wants to know what the judges made of her version

of this starter last time round.

What feedback did they give you, did you make any changes? Yes.

They loved the dish, the aspect of sharing, really tasty, the salt and everything.

But then the bottom comment was, "I don't like your crockery, I think it's boring."

So I guess I've gone for a bit of fun.

Tried to bring a bit of theatre into it.

The other reigning champion in this year's finals, Tom Kerridge,

decides it's time to put Lisa off her stride.

How are we going? Good, I think. Getting there.

Last year's starter winner. This year's starter winner?

I don't know, I'll let you be the judge of that.

Pig and pancakes.

Going to love them, pancakes, street food.

They're lovely with lemon and sugar, pancakes.

I'll give you some with lemon and sugar if you want.

As Lisa takes her pork out of the oven, Paul is starting

to feel the pressure of going up against a former champ.

I'm very worried about Lisa's starter cos it looks amazing,

looked brilliantly. You could see the pork was beautifully cooked.

Lisa brings her shoulder of crispy suckling pig,

Jenga box of pancakes and dips to the pass.

Do you want this closed or ajar?

Yeah, that's it.

Will the judges think this more dramatic

presentation of Lisa's very English take on a Chinese favourite

is good enough to take her all the way to the banquet again this year?

I think I have a good chance,

it's quite daunting because there have been some cracking dishes today.

Oooh!

Well, that looks better.

She's worked at the presentation a bit.

This is a little Lazy Susan so you could put

this in the middle of the table, swing it round

and people can help themselves.

Fabulous. So shall we share this out?

Oh, this is smelling good! And look at that beautiful pancake.

That is classy, and look, it perfectly fits the dish.

Make sure everyone gets some crackling.

Is it good or is it good?

I think the freshness of the onions and the acidity

from the onions and the apple, absolutely essential for this.

There's a lot of fun involved in this dish.

I like the interaction, I know it's messy, I made a mess making it,

I quite like making a mess.

100 people will be making a mess so everybody will feel included.

What she's been very clever about is giving us two pancakes each because otherwise you might pig out.

I think the pork is nice, but it is a touch dry, but with the juice

and the salt on, the whole thing does work

and the crunchiness of the apple really does work.

I can tell you're not loving it. I can tell.

I can tell you're just liking it, I can tell!

No, I like it, I can't criticise it, the cooking was there.

The pancakes were beautiful.

It's faultless. It is, but doesn't mean it's right.

I'll not jump all over it cos we have another four to go.

So mostly impressive comments from the judges.

Will her competition agree?

It couldn't be more different from duck pancakes

with hoi sin sauce, completely different.

The twist Lisa's put on it is absolutely amazing.

Could do with more leaf or something.

It's not one-dimensional, but it's pork and pancakes and that's it.

The pork is lovely and tender, but it is sort of dry, too.

OK, the sage salt's there, but there's not much more flavour,

it could have be brined or something. Yeah.

You need that liquid.

You need the sauce and you need that salt, you really need those two.

Lisa's pork, I thought the presentation was fantastic,

big smile on your face, you could smell the pork as it comes in.

A touch dry, but the flavours were there,

I'm going to give it a really good seven.

I really love the idea, but essentially

it is a pork dish and the pork is dry.

I think really a seven is right.

You know, I just loved that dish.

Maybe because I'm greedy but probably because Lisa is a very fine cook.

So I'm giving it an eight.

This was a dish which I ate and I ate and I ate

so I've got to give it an eight.

Good scores for Lisa that could see her in the top three today.

Now it's Paul from the South West's turn.

He took risks on his menu in the heat

and triumphed, to the surprise of his more experienced rivals.

Will his originality and hunger to win get him to the banquet?

It feels amazing. I can't believe I'm here...

representing the South West in the Great British Menu.

But I've got a massive fight on my hands now.

His version of this classic Chinese starter consists of Cornish duckling

with asparagus, rhubarb, pancakes and smoked duck Scotch eggs.

Me and Lisa have both gone for the same idea.

At least I'm thinking on the same lines as the champ

but I'm hoping mine's got real powerful flavours, and a bit different.

Although she's feeling confident about her dish,

Lisa probes Paul to find out how different his dish will be.

Are you doing traditional Chinese pancakes? Yeah, pretty much.

It's a different recipe I've seen. You make the dough and brush them

with sesame oil and then roll them together, two together,

put it in a pan and they steam up and break apart.

You have one charred side and one nice, steamed side.

Like Lisa, he's got a lot of pancakes to make

and each one must be perfect.

Not easy, are they? Everyone thinks pancakes are easy. Yeah.

If it got to the banquet, think how many you'd have to make.

Yeah, I haven't thought that far!

Lisa, desperate to win this battle of the pancakes,

also quizzes Paul about the reaction to his dish in the heats.

What did the judges say about your dish, Paul?

Pretty positive feedback. Their only comment

was in the regionals I used a quail egg in the Scotch egg.

Their comments were - why didn't I use a duck egg?

So you're using the whole animal, basically.

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

I am interested in Paul's dish. I think he'll do

a good job, he looks in control, so I'm a bit worried now.

Paul plates up his garnishes, quarters his Scotch eggs

and arranges his duck on to the platter

before bringing it all to the pass.

Happy? Yeah. Looks lovely. Really good.

With Lisa, she's very, very focused

and knows exactly what she's doing and her dish is brilliant.

Hopefully my dish is in with a shout. That looked amazing.

But it's the judges who'll decide which variation

of this Chinese favourite will win.

This dish just says "Come to Daddy."

LAUGHTER

Perhaps you'd be so kind as to cut it up for us.

He's changed the eggs. I'm amazed,

I've never seen such a tiny duck egg.

We've got mini-pancakes here. You want very little stuff inside.

Colour combinations are beautiful, the pink, slightly browny-grey meat

and lovely green bits of thin asparagus and spring onion.

My first reaction is the duck remains a bit dry.

Slightly don't understand what to do with it.

I'm expecting more moisture. Rhubarb's a lovely contrast.

The rhubarb brings out the rich, deep meatiness of the duck.

I think it's such a lost opportunity not to have crisp skin.

I mean, the crackling in there would be absolutely delicious.

Looks very grand and varnished but I can't see why they glazed on the outside.

I don't understand the duck eggs. I agree with you philosophically and intellectually.

On the other hand, I think these are very superior Scotch eggs.

They're absolutely delicious.

Best part of the dish. By a mile. They're the money shot.

The pancakes are far too small.

I've got a bit in there but it's more of a taco than a rolled pancake.

Remembering Lisa's dish, it was fun.

We're discussing this dish very, very seriously.

It's not a smile around here, we say it's a bit this and that,

there's no sense of joie de vivre you got from Lisa's dish.

The judges aren't sold on Paul's duck. What will Lisa and the others think?

Shreds up nicely, doesn't it?

I like the sticky, soft skin with this.

Classic Oriental look, isn't it? Yeah.

The rhubarb is really, really good. I like using rhubarb with duck.

That is bang on. Really, really good.

Scotch egg has got lovely flavours, hasn't it? That smoked duck.

It's subtle, though, it's not overpowering.

The only thing is that these are lovely, that's lovely,

but the relevance of the Scotch egg

with this sort of Cantonesey style dish, if you like.

When this dish came in I thought, "Ah, here's an ugly duckling

"but it'll turn into a swan."

Sadly, it didn't quite, so it's a seven from me.

I didn't quite get this dish. The skin of the duck was soggy,

I didn't know what the Scotch eggs were about, so I gave it a six.

Paul's duck gave birth to one of the nicest Scotch eggs I've ever had.

Sadly, that duck died in vain because it's too dry.

It's a six.

A little bit dry, so all my points are going on those fantastic Scotch eggs and it's a five.

So it looks like Lisa is the victor in the battle of the pancakes.

The judges won't be deciding on a final menu until they've tried all the courses

and, with five starters served

and three to go, there's still everything to play for.

How was that, then?!

First course out of the way. Yeah.

Pleased, but relieved I've got one under my belt.

I think there's been some fantastic food.

Some great dishes and the whole sharing aspect just opens the game up

because people have interpreted it in so many different ways.

The final chefs into the kitchen are stoic Highlander Michael Smith from Scotland,

one of the reigning Great British Menu champions, the South East's Tom Kerridge,

and Michelin-starred Hywel Jones from Wales.

Seen some lovely dishes today.

Michael will be the first to the pass.

His simple, tasty menu won in the Scottish heats, but will it stand up to

the more complex and technical dishes that will be presented this week?

If you trust the dishes that you're doing and, above everything else,

if you enjoy the dishes that you're doing, then that should be what carries you through.

For his starter, Michael is serving:

What bread's that?

This is the Struan toast.

Struan? Struan is a Hebridean vegetable bread.

What's it got going through it? Pumpkin seed, poppy seed,

sunflower seed, a bit of caraway to go with the cheese, a bit of malt extract.

The fondue has a great sort of family party history to it.

It is one of those convivial dishes where everybody dips in together,

and it's a great deal of fun.

The idea of the fondue, the dipping and stuff, is a good idea.

But if the cheese isn't good enough, then the whole thing's a flaw, isn't it?

Ideologically, I am not against a Brie from Scotland.

But? It was absolutely classic, supermarket, rubbery, tasteless Brie. I'm sorry.

I thought the jelly was just delicious, and the crispbread

would have been great if it hadn't been really, really hard.

I mean, you could hardly break it over your knee.

Prue, you could have played table tennis with it. Yeah, you could.

Michael has made a change to the presentation of his bread after the judges' comments.

I've slightly adapted it since the original finals. Why's that?

Oliver Peyton said, "If you walked down the street with a bit of toast,

"you'd be arrested for harbouring a lethal weapon."

Why, what did it look like? It was just big shards.

Now Michael has seen the other starters

that have already been served, he's wondering if his low-key dish is a bit too simple.

I'm providing the canapes for the banquet. Before the soup. Are you making a sandwich out of it?

It's do-it-yourself canapes, inspired by fondue.

OK. So you're baking the cheese, then the dip...

Help yourself to the cheese, help yourself to a bit of the accompaniments.

Andrew is quick to exploit Michael's fears.

So no fireworks like this morning?

No shake-in-the-bag? No towers of this, that and the other?

It's a general introduction to the menu.

It's more about breaking bread together.

Michael brings his understated bread and cheese accompanied by

a bowl of toasted seeds, grape jelly and tomato salsa to the pass.

Just take some of the dangerous toast.

Last time, this dish didn't exactly wow the judges, so will it fare any better today?

It's been stressful watching all these fantastic dishes go before our eyes and we've got to

wait and wait till the very end, so I'm really pleased just to have got my starter out.

This is a spectacular display of bread.

It looks like those photographs of magma exploding from a volcano. Almost surfboard-type...

I see volcanoes, you see surfboards.

Different generations. Because I'm really practical, I can just see it won't fit on this plate.

But you break it up, Prue.

All right.

Now, what do we do?

Do we dip the bread in there?

I think you use the spoon.

There's honey on the top of this.

Whatever it is, it's going to be messy for sharing.

I think this is one of those dishes which you remember for quite a long time after you've eaten it.

Cos you're wearing it?

On account of the indigestion. I love the colour of the jelly

and I think the salsa is very, very pretty indeed.

I'd quite like to like it, but it's technically impossible to like.

The cheese is just passing muster,

the salsa is not seasoned enough, and what's the jelly for?

The texture of the cheese is lovely, but it's not strong enough to carry the salsa.

Once you put it together, the cheese is gone.

The sad thing is, the best way to eat this

is without the crispbread, without the jelly, without the salsa, but with a bit of this nice...

Soggy crust. Just eat a bit of that bread and cheese

and you've got a very good bread and cheese sort of Welsh rarebit.

Also, it doesn't have that spectacular visual element.

You don't think that's spectacular enough for the banquet?

For once, I'm going to agree with you on that.

It is simply not good enough for the People's Banquet.

Will his fellow chefs come to the same damning conclusions?

I think it tastes amazing. I'm just not sure if it's a starter.

Everything else, I mean, it's all about the eating it.

Although I do think it's a stunning dish and it's very moreish,

but served with some Scottish charcuteries it would just be wonderful, wouldn't it? Yeah.

Imagine if you don't like baked soft cheese.

You sit down to this banquet and there's no other elements to it, really.

It's the jelly and salsa and that.

This dish arrived sort of dramatically and then, for me, failed dramatically.

So for Michael's cheese, I'm going to give it a 4.

This was a case of a fondue which foundered, so it's 5.

There was no point to this dish.

It didn't taste of anything.

It looked quite dramatic.

The best bit about it was the bread.

I'm giving it 4 for the bread.

I can't think of anything good to say.

The cheese is bad, the bread, the whole thing...

I'm being really generous in giving it a 3.

A miserable score, then, for Michael's starter.

As judging time draws near, the chefs can't help but speculate on how the day will unfold.

So what do you think's going on in the chamber?

Hard to say, isn't it?

It's very difficult for them all to make up their minds.

It'll be interesting on Glynn's slant of it as well,

cos his type of cuisine that he normally does is totally different to this.

What the judges are thinking of the criteria this time of people

sharing the food, that's important.

Is there enough interaction? That kind of thing.

Will it appeal to all the people from the community?

They're going to pick something that they think's suitable for all ages.

If they've tasted it before and enjoyed it enough

to push us all through, how do you now criticise it? That's the hardest part.

I wouldn't want to be in there, cos I'm licking my lips at everything here.

Next up is the multi-award-winning Welsh regional champion Hywel Jones.

His technical wizardry won him his heat, but are his dishes spectacular enough

to wow the judges or will they be too safe?

He's serving his twist on a classic Welsh lamb broth, cawl.

But the pressure of the competition is getting to him.

This dish did well in the heats for its precision and clean flavours.

But the judges felt it lacked a celebratory feel.

Hywel, what are you doing? All under control, lads. Cool, calm, collected?

Broth is on the go there.

Welsh classic. Hywel's cawl.

Sort of scaled the plating aspect of it down, made it a bit more rustic. So we'll see.

I've seen your dishes this morning, guys, so I know what I'm up against.

My dish was always designed to sort of deliver on flavour.

It does lack the wow factor of some of the other dishes that have gone.

A nervous Hywel gets on with making the changes to his dish.

Instead of putting his vegetables in the bowls, he's putting them into the broth.

The lamb and sweetbreads will be served on a board and he's adding some bread.

Hywel's not the only one serving a lamb broth.

So is fellow Michelin star holder Tom Kerridge.

That fact isn't exactly boosting Hywel's confidence in his dish.

You're doing a lamb broth as well, Tom? I am doing a lamb broth, yeah.

Mine's not with Welsh lamb, though. Well, no, it wouldn't be, would it?

It's a lamb broth and I'm doing a pastry lid on the top of mine, so it gets baked.

Is it Scottish lamb? What?

Both myself and Tom are doing a lamb broth.

There's a danger neither of us will get in,

but I don't think they'll have two lamb broths in the final three.

Hywel's dish and mine are both very, very similar, so I think it's going to be tight between those two.

Hywel's is probably last place and mine is seventh!

Hywel pours out his stock, puts his lamb and sweetbreads into copper pots and brings it all to the pass.

The competition has been fierce. I don't think I've done enough to get in the top three.

I hope I don't come last, but we'll have to wait and see.

Will the judges agree with Hywel's gloomy assessment?

Ooh, it smells so good.

You're dribbling again, Prue. Mmm.

I think this is lamb fillet here.

I don't think we cut up the lamb before, did we?

This is a high-octane soup.

It's the elegance of it and the purity and the balance of the flavour.

Texture as well cos you've got little crunchy cubes

and you hit a bit of soft jelly, and then you've got the texture of the meat, and the stock is fantastic.

It's quite fun that you have to add these elements. QUITE fun. I think it's great.

Occasionally across our tables comes very, very beautiful bits of cooking and this is one of those dishes.

It's better than before as a dish.

It is. I didn't think it could be cos I was so pleased with it last time, but it is better.

Yeah, I'm sort of desperate for this to do well simply because it is just so good.

My only concern is, is it right for the occasion?

This dish, for me, it's got quite a big meat content, but it's so light

that you're just scratching round for more of it.

It's very clean cos it's a thin soup.

It could benefit this dish if it was in a different vessel.

A nice big tureen, big lion heads on the outside of it and a big ladle.

If you changed the vessel, for me, that's the winner.

There is something emblematic about having the family bowl of soup in the middle of the table.

It does speak about community.

However, to me, it doesn't have the smile, the fireworks, the laughter, that showmanship, if you want.

I'm just not sure whether it's enough.

It's a hard one, this.

So they're impressed with the taste, but does it have enough va-va-voom for a street party?

Excellent flavours. Very clean cooking.

Especially the mint jelly. It really... It really kicks it, doesn't it? Yeah.

It's technically brilliant, but is it a bit too serious?

Is it playful enough? Yeah.

Soup. Who'd have thought it?

But this wasn't just any old soup.

This was a supercharged soup, so it's going to get a 7 from me.

I absolutely loved the soup the first time round.

I liked it even better this time.

It's an 8 for me.

This dish, to me, was, I didn't like it, now I like it.

It's not looking right. I'm in a complete flux over it.

At the end of the day, beautiful cooking, but the appearance of it

has brought it down to a 7.

I loved it. It didn't have as much dramatic effect as some of the other dishes.

But flavour, loved it. 8.

A good score for Hywel, but is it enough to earn him a top-three spot?

Last to the pass today is Tom Kerridge,

who cooked the main course for the Prince of Wales last year and knows just how tough this competition is.

His dishes are ambitious and complex, but will they take him to the banquet once again?

This is where it gets tough. There's seven of them in there, all confident,

all very happy with how they've done to get to that point.

They're all going to want to beat me.

Tom's serving an Asian-inspired spring lamb broth

with a pastry crust

and, unusually for him, he's suffering from a bout of nerves.

We've been waiting all day to get these starters up.

I feel relieved I've got my own out.

Do you think it's harder being the last ones on?

Seeing everybody else's, it allows you to start having doubts.

It's a bigger and bolder dish than Hywel's lamb broth, but will it taste better?

What's on the agenda today? Spring lamb broth. Another soup?

Another soup. Two lamb broths.

There's a pastry lid, spring onions, some lamb breast, some lamb sweetbreads, bit of lamb...lamb.

The judges thought this dish wasn't quite on the money, so Tom has made some changes since the heats,

scaling the size of the dish down and blanching the spring onions to lessen the strength of the taste.

How are you presenting it? In some sort of big funky bowl?

It's being served in a puff pastry lid. Whoo!

So that puff pastry lid is made with a little bit of lamb fat in it.

It looks absolutely amazing.

Yeah, so rest it up in there and they'll go in half hour before I've got to serve.

Fingers crossed, nice crust, everything should be lovely.

In the heats, his pastry lid failed to rise properly, vital for a good first impression.

But although his pastry has formed a pleasing dome this time,

he's worried about how well his dish will be received.

Pressure going up last, it's a big 'un.

I worry that the judges have had seven starters and now they've got another starter coming.

It's like, "Oh, God!"

There you go, chaps. Good luck.

Last of the day. Last but definitely not least.

Tell me that doesn't excite you, Glynn.

What I want to know is where the other three are.

Last time, he didn't manage to get a dome. It was sort of flat on top.

And that looks fantastic, much more dramatic.

Oh, look at that.

Puffs of steam coming out.

You can imagine this, can't you, on the table, 100 people with...

Everybody doing this.

Having to chop round like this and having to serve it out.

There's some beautiful little chunks of lamb in the bottom. So we've got some turnips.

Battle of the soups.

Well, this one has a more theatrical element to it.

Will it be as beautiful?

It's not as refined.

Or as light. I'm not sure that the top is meant to be eaten any more.

It's lost that lovely gooeyness.

This soup, compared to the last one, is just really quite ordinary.

The cawl was a Champions League, that soup, and this is about League Division Two.

It's much too heavy for a first course.

It has the mint which makes it feel summery, but you can't eat your way through that much meat and pastry.

When the dish first came out, quite spectacular, all puffed up.

But once we got into the soup, it was just a touch flat, really.

I think Tom has not really fulfilled the dream on this dish,

whereas I think the other one has just come up leaps and bounds.

It was a nice bowl of soup, but is it going to be good enough

to go out there as the starter? I don't think so.

So the judges aren't impressed.

They like its theatricality, but they much prefer the taste of Hywel's.

Tom's opponents can't wait to taste the soup, and Tom points out where he believes it scores.

Tom, are you happy with the way it's come out?

Yeah, very happy. The pastry, risen, looks lovely, lovely flavour.

It's doable for a banquet. Lightness and freshness... Tastes of summer, doesn't it?

Yeah, the mint comes through and the pickled cucumber. I'm very pleased with it.

Tom's soup. I thought it looked fantastic when it came in. I thought the flavour's there.

But it was a little bit too heavy, just a touch too heavy, so I'm going give it a 6.

It was a mighty mouthful, no mistake about that.

I would have been happy eating that soup for that course and maybe for the two after as well.

I'm afraid I'm going to give it a 7.

You know, Tom's soup was altogether too much of a good thing.

First mouthful, fantastic.

Third mouthful, still very nice.

Fifth mouthful, it's enough.

I could not have eaten any more than that. It was just too hefty.

It's a 6.

I loved this dish the first time round.

I think Tom completely lost the plot with it this time. It's a 4.

A below-average score. Tom will be disappointed.

Cooking over - the chefs can do no more today.

This part, waiting to go in the judges' chamber, is always difficult.

Everyone's nervous, nobody wants to come last.

I'll be really glad if I come in the top three, but now that I've seen everything, it's...

I don't know. It's hard to call.

The judges will be picking the perfect banquet menu on Thursday.

To get their starter on the shortlist, the chefs must make the top three.

It's really tough. I want it.

As everyone else, I want to see myself in the top three, but it's anyone's at the moment.

I did the dish I was always going to do, but I saw some amazing food going out today.

For the chefs, the agonising wait is over.

Good evening, chefs. And how's it been in the kitchen today?

Stressful.

Yes, tough. Mental. We've eaten some fantastic dishes and some possible ones which have not been

quite in the top drawer, you might say, and it's now time to announce the rankings in reverse order.

So in eighth place, it's...

..Michael.

I'm really sorry, Michael, but this was a dish which depended upon the quality of the cheese

and I'm afraid, from our point of view, there was a sort of dark hole really at the heart of the dish.

In seventh place is...

..Andrew.

Now, Andrew, a marked improvement over your first dish,

but possibly not quite marked enough.

Yeah, I left it too late to change it. The idea was there, but it wasn't thought out enough.

Moving on to sixth place is...

..Tom.

Are you surprised by that?

A little disappointed.

Well, at this point it gets quite tricky because we have

the unusual position of having a joint fourth place.

So I can announce that, with equal scores, in joint fourth place, we have...

Aktar and Paul.

That means, Hywel, Lisa, Chris, congratulations.

One of your dishes will be going through to the People's Banquet.

Hywel, I must say, your soup came as a blinding surprise.

Maybe it was understated compared to some of the other dishes,

but it just won through on pure quality. I'm gobsmacked.

I had the task of going last up today, or in the last group,

and I saw the other dishes going out and I thought, "Oh, my God!"

Lisa, it is an absolutely amazing dish and you did it just as well the second time round.

It really is an absolute winner.

I'm overwhelmed. To get in the top three for the starter again is fantastic.

Chris, lickin' chicken, really well done.

I think it completely encapsulates what this competition is about.

It's fun, the quality of the chicken was excellent.

I can just see it parading through Leadenhall Market.

Bleh.

I can't speak. I didn't expect that.

The calibre of food these guys cooked... I mean, it was just chicken in the bag.

But don't sit back and relax, any one of you three, because only one of your dishes

can be the starter at the People's Banquet. So there are three more courses to go.

There's everything for all of you to cook for. Absolutely.

So we'll see you tomorrow.

Thank you very much.

It's a great result for Lisa, Chris and Hywel,

but they'll have to wait until all the courses have been judged to see whose starter wins through.

I feel overwhelmed. To get in the top three again for the starter is fantastic.

I thought I was the underdog for a while there, but, you know, I'm doing it, I'm doing something right.

Obviously, I'm over the moon to get my dish into the final three.

There was some serious food out there today, so if my little humble Welsh cawl

can do well against some of those, well, I'm chuffed.

For the rest of the chefs, it's a bit of a blow.

I'm not heartbroken. It's not the end of the world.

I've got three fantastic more chances to get on there.

But I'm slightly disappointed.

In the judges, not myself.

With three more courses to go, there's still three chances

to get a dish on the menu of the People's Banquet.

It's been a tough old day in the old kitchen, but I'm not knocked out by the seventh place.

I'll come back fighting tomorrow and it's still game on.

Tomorrow, our chefs are battling to get their fish courses served at the banquet.

And with the formidable Richard Corrigan joining the judges, they'll be feeling the pressure.

I didn't enjoy this dish. It is, in my opinion, not in the running.

I keep thinking one of those is going to come my way.

BLEEP!

Sorry, mate. I think that was me.

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