North East Fish Great British Menu

This week on Great British Menu...

..three of the north-east's most talented chefs are slugging it out

for the chance to cook at a star-studded Olympic feast.

In the starter round, the pressure was too much for returning contender Stephanie Moon.

I've just dropped three of my goat's cheeses on the floor.

Nerves are getting to her.

That's what the Great British Menu does to you. It's a huge challenge.

But first-timer Charlie Lakin came up trumps

with an impressive seven from hard-nosed veteran Nigel Howarth.

Interesting.

-Good stuff.

-Well done, chef. Well done.

Today, it's the fish course,

and rustic cook Charlie has a wobble.

I've completely trashed my jelly on that one.

Ambitious Colin McGurran gets ahead of himself.

-You're looking ready there, mate. Five minutes early.

-Five minutes early?

And has Stephanie gone one gimmick too far?

-I can't talk now, can I?

-Yeah.

-Shall I pour?

-I don't know, I can't see.

For me, I'm not sure that actually quite works, Steph.

In honour of the world's biggest sporting event coming to our shores,

Britain's best chefs are raising their cooking to Olympian heights.

-Really smooth, long, relaxed.

-That's brilliant.

They are creating trailblazing gastronomy,

fit to reward record-breaking athletes.

It's all right to take the goggles off now, Jonathan.

-It's nice. I've never had any food that crackles before.

-Yeah.

The north-east chefs had disappointing scores for their starters,

and now competition veteran Nigel Howarth wants to see them sweat.

If we're talking about the Olympics, and we're doing the high jump,

we've got to really raise the bar for this fish course.

Front runner Charlie is on the defensive.

Fish course - how are we feeling about this one?

I just want to catch up to you.

I'm three behind the main leader here, so I've got lots to do.

You two guys are going to be sniping at me quite a bit.

I'm probably more nervous now than I have been before, to be honest.

Rising star Charlie is first up today.

A newcomer to the contest,

his rustic cooking with a twist got him a solid seven in the starter.

I'm leading by two points, only two points. It's easy to drop two points as well.

There's two very talented chefs in that kitchen with me.

-Charlie.

-Chef.

-So, out in front.

-Only just.

-Tell me the name of the dish.

It's a beetroot-marinated monkfish with cauliflower and sea radish.

What's the real killer bit of the dish, the bit that's going to excite me?

I think the monkfish. When it's cooked with that beetroot on the outside

and you end up with a beautiful, deep pink outer

with a beautiful white middle, it's very visual.

You'd be quite surprised at the flavour it brings to it,

especially sat on the bed of sea radish.

-Right.

-It could give you a little surprise, flavour-wise.

Are you using any technique that you don't normally use?

Personally, I know the water bath is something everyone does all the time,

but I've never used one before.

So you're cooking in a water bath?

Yeah, for me that's my own personal sort of pushing it.

-I've never really done that before.

-Confident?

I'm confident with everything else apart from the fish.

So Charlie's stretching himself with his cooking method,

but is using a water bath truly groundbreaking?

He's doing a new technique,

one he's not used to.

If that works for him, it could produce a stunning dish.

If it doesn't, it could produce the opposite.

Is he pushing the boundaries enough with his fish dish? Not sure.

Next up is returning contender Stephanie Moon,

whose eccentric take on the brief cost her points in the first round.

5/10, it's not brilliant, but the race has only just started,

and as a true Olympian, you've got to keep banging on right to the end. That's what I'm going to do.

What are you cooking for us today? What's the name of your dish?

I've got some fantastic looking gurnard here.

I'm making a consomme, using shells of Whitby crab, a few claws in there.

The title of the dish is "See Food?"

I'm saying, as an athlete, your senses have to be at their height.

-Right.

-And I'm going to ask yourself and the two other contestants

to wear something to block a sense, so when you taste the dish

a couple of times without the sense, you then remove the inhibitor,

whatever it is. I'm challenging your senses, that's what I'm doing, Nigel.

So, technically, what aspect of this dish is going to make me go wow?

I've got a few technical elements here, some popping candy.

I hope the depth of the flavour of the fish and the consomme

is gastronomically good enough to claw me back a few points

because, fun aside, this dish, I think, delivers.

Once again, Steph's taken a sideways look at the brief.

She's got some surprise props in store,

including swimming goggles and nose pegs.

But what will Nigel make of them?

She's going to test the senses.

I'm not quite sure how she's going to do that

and I'm not sure that will help enhance the dish.

It's something that could be a bit gimmicky

and it could detract from the dish.

We'll only see with time.

Bringing up the rear is ambitious Colin McGurran

who's run his own restaurant since the age of 23.

He over reached himself with his experimental starter,

getting a devastating four from Nigel.

A bit apprehensive going into this one

cos I'm so far behind the leader now, this one has to be good.

If this one turns out bad, then I'm really up the creek without a paddle.

-Colin, how are we today?

-I'm all right, yourself?

Tell me about your dish and what's it called?

Mullet In A Seabed.

Basically, I'm trying to create a seabed by using wonderful

ingredients like sea radish and purslane and seaweed,

as well as a great quality fish.

I'm going to fillet them, then I'm going to kind of glue them together.

-So they'll look as if the bone's still in there almost.

-Correct.

-You've got one of my favourite ingredients, the pomegranate.

-Good start.

Digestive biscuits? What are you doing with those?!

I'm hoping if it goes well, I can have a cup of tea.

Basically, of course, it's a seabed so I'm trying to create a shore,

-a sand to it.

-OK, yes.

And you're comfortable that you've got a dish here that will

reach the heights that Olympians are going to be blown away with?

I think the flavours are going to be the key thing in this dish,

in the cooking, so I hope I do the dish justice today.

Colin's using an an array of cheffy tricks to conjure up

his edible seabed served with mullet crackers and a mullet consomme,

but Nigel wants to see perfect execution as well as creative ideas.

He has got a lot of ingredients and components to pull together yet again.

The worry is will he have time to do it?

Will he put the detail into the fish dish that he really needs to do?

The battle's on and front runner Charlie's straight to work on his monkfish.

He's cooking it in a water bath, a new technique for him,

and his rivals seize the chance to question his strategy.

What kind of things have you got in your menus that you've thought, "Yeah, that's the brief."

Cos it was quite a tricky brief, wasn't it?

I'm personally doing a few bits and pieces here that for me

is very different.

I feel like I'm pushing myself on them.

You know, a lot of chefs have got water baths now and...

is that pushing boundaries?

I'm not sure.

But it's Nigel Howarth who'll decide whether the chefs' dishes

are pioneering enough to make the grade.

To represent your area at the Olympic banquet,

it's going to have to be very, very special.

Trailing on just four points,

innovator Colin needs to draw on every cheffy trick in the book

and despite having bombed with his over-ambitious starter,

he's sticking to his guns with his vision

of an edible underwater world.

I'm not going to change my plan too much.

I don't mind tweaking but I don't want to be a wimp.

If it works it'll be fantastic, if not, I'm on the bottom again.

Having filleted his red mullet, he's using edible glue to create

a boneless whole fish.

A technique that has Charlie worried.

The whole idea of gluing the two fish fillets together, that sort of thing...

I feel that for the average person, that's really pushing it on.

Alongside his complex fish dish,

Colin's serving a mullet consomme with crunchy red mullet crackers.

And his unusual process has caught everyone's attention.

Colin, the dried wafers you've got here, can you tell me about those?

Literally I want to get the prawn cracker effect -

basically a fish paste, added tapioca starch, made into like a log,

slice it, let it dry - that's what they're doing now -

and then stick it in the fryer and it should...

-Balloon up.

-Balloon up and be lovely and delicate.

Colin's making tapioca crisps with red mullet livers in there.

He's definitely raised his game. He's pushing the barriers, you know.

He's actually really trying to do something that certainly

the other guys haven't seen.

Stephanie, have you seen these? What do you think?

-Yeah, no, it looks good.

-Yeah, it does.

-No pressure, eh?

The pressure's big on this one, I think. That looks sensational.

Across the kitchen,

rustic chef Charlie is sticking to more traditional techniques.

He's banking on the flavour combination of monkfish with cauliflower and beetroot

to make his dish stand out,

but Nigel needs convincing.

Charlie, how's the beetroot going?

It's grand. This is just like a little beetroot dressing.

Right. There's garlic in this as well?

Just a touch. It's the only thing I've got garlic in.

You've got roast beetroot there as well.

I love beetroot, to be honest.

-Can't beat a good beetroot sarnie.

-Beetroot sarnie?

-Oh, yeah. Salt and pepper,

lovely bit of fresh white bread, you can't beat it.

-On white bread?

-White.

-You like this white-red combination, don't you?

You don't get a waistline like mine by eating wholemeal bread.

He's not sure of his cooking techniques.

He's got a bright red colour round a white piece of fish,

so if it bleeds at all, he could have a bit of a messy dish on his hands.

After a starter that was big on quirky ideas

but low on gastronomy, returning contender Steph's determined

to showcase her skill with a consomme of Whitby crab.

The dangers are with a crab consomme,

you can get a very stewy flavour if you're not careful,

so it is quite a difficult consomme to make.

Steph almost ruined her last dish by dropping her homemade cheese,

so this time she's taking every precaution.

Stephanie, you've got two pans of consomme on the go.

-I learnt my lesson with the goat's cheese, chef.

-Right.

What I've done is I've really caramelised down the crab bones

-which I think comes through in the flavour.

-Can we have a little try?

It's crabby.

Yeah, that's what I'm after.

-And you are going to pass them through a muslin cloth or something?

-Yeah, double or triple muslin.

Really try and get them as clear as possible.

It's all about clarity of consomme, if you get that wrong, you might as well not put it out.

Just say, "Forget it, I'll drink it myself.

"I won't even bother giving Nigel that."

If it doesn't clarify, I am struggling and I am in deep water.

Quite literally I'm in deep, cloudy water

which is not a good place to be.

But it's Steph's unusual spin on the brief

that's really got her rivals talking.

Your last dish was quite...you know you had

the props of the Olympics and things like that.

-Is that what you're going for again?

-Well, I'm following it through.

My whole menu is telling the Olympic story.

There's going to be a few more twists and turns along the way.

I'm keeping a few surprises back cos I want the shock,

I want these guys to have a bit of a...

"What is she on with?!" You know?

That kind of shock factor is quite good, really, I think.

To road test her left field fish course,

Steph paid a visit to Leeds University to meet

elite Yorkshire tri-athletes Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee.

Having won first and second place in last year's World Championships,

these two brothers are hotly tipped for 2012 glory

and know exactly what it takes to win.

My task is to push myself to the limit,

to do something groundbreaking,

something that hasn't been done before.

How do you two push yourselves to the limit?

Well, normally the most important thing for everyone involved in sport is a goal

cos then, when you get those hard days training,

when it's freezing cold,

you've got something to aim for so it feels worthwhile.

I'm here to find a bit of inspiration from you chaps

on what it really takes to cook food for an Olympian.

Food actually plays an important part of your life,

both to keep yourself healthy and fuelled,

and for motivation as well.

The Olympic feast won't just honour Britain's best athletes

but the family and friends who have helped their dreams come true.

Steph's keen to talk to the boys' mum Cath about raising not one,

but two Olympic hopefuls.

Are these your boys, here?

That's Alistair winning his first World Championship.

That's Alistair and Jonathan recently in Lausanne.

Jonathan beat Alistair in the sprint championship.

You must be the proudest mum in the whole of Yorkshire.

-Of course we're very proud but to me they're just my sons.

-Oh!

And we still very much do a lot as a family.

They come home maybe two or three times a week to eat at home.

Nothing tastes as good as Mum's cooking!

No, and eating's very important for them

so they're going to enjoy all of this!

Steph's revealing the concept of her unique fish course

to the Brownlee family.

We've got some different sense inhibitors here.

The idea is to just try and take a sense away and how it changes

when you eat the food.

It's all right to take the goggles off now, Jonathan!

It's nice - I've never had food that crackles before.

It does feel very different when you've got the goggles on.

It tastes, in some ways, sweeter

and I can taste the crab more when I've got the goggles on.

Thank you very much for letting me come in here and try out my dish.

And good luck, guys, in the Olympics! Thank you.

Right, who's going to do the washing-up?!

Back in the kitchen, the two new boys are eager to pick Steph's brains about her experience.

-Was that quite nerve-racking cooking in their house?

-Well, it is actually.

You know, you're at home with the Olympians.

It's quite something, really.

It's quite a discipline, the triathlon, very demanding.

Oh, the stamina that those guys have!

It's a bit like doing the Great British Menu.

-Yeah!

-You need to have a lot of stamina, don't you?

And if you don't do so well on one, you've got to pick it up on the next one.

Frontrunner Charlie's all too aware that Steph and Colin

are both desperate to make up lost ground.

Watching these guys, they're bringing some stuff to the plate today.

I'm a bit concerned cos I don't seem to be rocking it quite as much as them.

I'm hoping I'm not going too safe with this dish.

I'm just head down, not talking to anyone, just do what I need to do,

get my points back up and then I can...ha...breathe a bit more.

But, no, at the moment, this is serious stuff!

Having been criticised for rushing his starter,

Colin's building his elaborate dish well in advance using sour cream,

compressed cucumber, pomegranate and purple potato rocks.

But it's Colin's innovative idea for creating water

that's caught Nigel's eye.

Having added agar agar to a seaweed stock,

he's creating a clear sheet to cover his seabed.

That's the idea - it gives the ripple effect

but also breaking into that

you're forcing also to have the dashi flavours there.

-That looks delightfully colourful and fresh.

-Light, yeah.

Colin has absolutely learnt

that you can't be complacent in this competition.

We're talking about being at the top of your game.

We're still not there yet,

but I've big hopes for this dish from Colin.

Returning contender Steph's dish is MUCH simpler,

but she too has some tricks up her sleeve.

She's roasting peppers to garnish her gurnard which will be

topped with popping candy for a quirky twist.

Popping candy - an unusual ingredient to use with a fish dish.

That could really be a big plus or a big negative.

For now, it's underdog, Colin, that everyone's watching.

He's first to plate up.

But, with his monkfish crackers already out of the fryer,

and time left on the clock,

he's got suspiciously little left to do.

Colin, you're looking ready there, mate.

-I'm five minutes ahead.

-Five minutes early?

-I'm just ready to get going.

-Five minutes early?!

That's what we like to hear!

Kind of.

To complete the dish,

Colin whizzes up digestive biscuits with anchovy flavouring,

to create a sandy beach, alongside his seabed.

He fries off his mullet on parchment paper,

and Colin's elaborate fish course hits the pass.

-Charlie.

-I'm on my way, chef.

We need you at the pass, Charlie.

But Colin's early finish means Charlie is needed to taste,

just as he's attempting to set his beetroot jelly.

-Guys, what do you think?

-It looks stunning.

-It looks grand.

-Shall, we try it, Colin?

-Yes.

-Come on, then.

Colin's crafted a visual spectacle.

But does it break boundaries for excellence and innovation?

You've got lots going on there.

Are you pleased and comfortable you've got everything

to the standard you wanted?

I am. What I like about this dish, it's an assembly job.

So you can be quite confident it's been cooked properly.

The gel's different, isn't it?

The gel is different.

Colin, are you happy with the cooking degree of the fish?

-Is that cooked enough for you?

-Um...

If anything, it's probably a touch under.

This is his consomme. It's quite dark.

-I hope mine's better.

-SHE LAUGHS

It's interesting that you're serving the consomme

in the shot glass. Is that something new?

Something to wash the mouth down. Also, through the glass, you can see

the clarity and, of course, finish with the crisps as well.

They took a bit of work. Pleased they add the texture you wanted?

Yeah, they're very, very crisp, um, that's exactly what I wanted.

I don't think they can get crispier. They're light and disappear.

Don't know about that. I don't think it needs that.

I think that, on its own, would be enough.

Is this dish the dish for the Olympic banquet?

I think it's a strong dish, strong enough to go all the way.

Are you worried, Charlie, when you see this dish?

-Yes and no. You're never certain, really, are you?

-Yeah.

So that went well as well, you know.

For this, I'd be very happy with an eight. Ideally, I'd like to be

not bottom, so just get me the numbers over the bottom and I'll be happy with that.

Anything less and I'm in trouble for my next course.

But Colin's already in trouble with one of his rivals.

I tell you what, if you're going to stick something up early again,

can you just give me a heads up, maybe?

Just completely trashed my jelly on that one

-and had to go back to scratch, but...

-Really? Why, what happened?

Er, just I kind of rushed getting the, er, the setting agent into it

and I just didn't get time to nurture it properly.

Charlie must now make a new batch of beetroot jelly against the clock.

Luckily for him, Steph's next to the pass.

With Nigel watching like a hawk,

she pours her clarified consomme into jugs

and removes her simply-poached gurnard from its vacuum pack.

Then dresses her bowl with pearl barley and roasted peppers

before garnishing the fish with dill and wood sorrel.

She adds the popping candy

and, with her secret props already on the pass,

it's time to reveal her unique concept.

The idea of this course is that everybody gets their prop first

and then out comes the dish.

So you just pour on the consomme and go for it.

-So each person gets one of these props?

-Yeah.

-Shall we taste?

-I think so.

-Let's go.

Steph's gone out on a limb to create a unique sensory experience,

but has she taken innovation too far?

-Right...

-Oh!

-OK, let's get it on.

-NASALLY:

-I can't talk now!

-Yeah!

-OK, shall we pour?

-I don't know, I can't see.

Do you taste anything, Chef?

-Well, I can taste the same, but I can't smell the same.

-Hmm.

So, for me, I'm not sure that actually quite works, Steph.

Ready, one, two, three...

Is the experience being enriched

or are we detracting from the experience?

You're almost detracting from it to then release

the inhibitor to get the full thing.

-That's the plan.

-Right.

-Yeah, that's the plan.

It's better with the goggles off. When you've got the goggles on,

you're not seeing the individual ingredients. It was one flavour.

Are you happy with the depth of flavours that you've got there

from the consomme and the fish?

I think the consomme is nice and powerful and well seasoned.

The fish, again, well seasoned

and adds a kind of meaty texture to the dish.

I'm quite surprised about the consomme.

Really, I was expecting a lot stronger. A lot stronger flavour.

-You've got your popping candy on there.

-Uh-huh.

-Does it work for you?

It has that theatre and, obviously, when you can't see,

you follow the noise with your spoon.

I always like that sense of crackling.

But when you have something very delicate like this fish,

it interrupts the enjoyment, cos it's crr-crr-crr!

I'm not sure about that dish. I don't think Nigel liked it.

I don't think he got it.

I'm, er... Hmm.

I think that's bombed! SHE LAUGHS

Last to the pass is front runner Charlie who's up against it,

having been forced to remake his beetroot jelly.

Hand blender plugged in, get liquidiser out of my way...

-Your monkfish is looking good.

-Yeah, you know, it's come together.

The only thing, really, is my jelly. Hey-hey!

By the power of Grayskull, I think I've pulled it off.

Charlie's jelly has set, but has the setback put him off his stride?

What time are you plating up?

In one minute, I'll be on the pass, hopefully.

I'm not sure where I've put my cauliflower puree.

Not a moment too soon,

Charlie dresses his plates with a swipe of the puree,

adding blanched sea radish, fried cauliflower and beetroot dressing.

And tops off his marinated monkfish with the rescued jelly.

He thinks it's a plate packed with innovative flavours, but will Nigel?

Charlie, you've cooked like an Olympic athlete today.

-Shall we go and try it?

-Yeah, definitely.

-Come on, then.

Charlie got his classic monkfish with a twist

to the pass against the odds, but is it a groundbreaking dish?

From a point of view of having something special and unique about it,

-where do you think you are?

-I think it's the monkfish.

The nice marinade and the way it's cooked down and then

bringing in that sort of peppery, slightly bitter leaf underneath using the sea radish.

For a banquet, that's a lot of things to put on a plate.

-It's more like a restaurant dish to me.

-Yeah.

And your monkfish -

-how do you feel that's cooked?

-I'm happy with that.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-It's just cooked.

-I'd say it's just on the point. For me, actually,

I think the water bath might've, er, God bless me, actually worked.

The monkfish - very soft. I love you can taste the beetroot as well.

If he's never used a water bath before, I think he's done OK.

Your jelly looks OK now. You had a few problems, did you,

-on the way with it?

-Yeah, unfortunately, it's probably

more brittle than I wanted. It's a rushed batch.

I may have gone overkill on the setting agent to get it done on time.

-So, on this dish, do you think it's a gold medal winner?

-A great dish,

but is it Olympic in its efforts? I'm not sure.

CHARLIE: I don't think I've let myself down there.

Even with the little hiccup there last-minute,

I think I might've just kept...

I might just be keeping my nose ahead.

Here's hoping and praying at any rate.

All three dishes tasted, the chefs face an anxious wait.

It's an all-too familiar feeling for returning contender Steph.

So far, second time in, is it any easier? Does it feel better?

-I think this is harder than last year.

-Why's that?

I think that's, I don't know, possibly you two.

I don't know.

-For you, it must be all right, cos you're ahead.

-It blooming isn't,

cos you're all the time having to be really careful you don't slip up.

-Yeah, yeah.

-You know, if anything, for me,

I've probably been more on edge today than I was yesterday.

In the starter, Charlie bagged the top score of seven.

With Steph on five and Colin on four,

can either of them overtake him?

End of day two.

We'll start with you, Colin. Your mullet on the seabed

looked beautiful and I think, just overall,

the way that you plated the dish made it an exciting dish.

Your fish just slightly, for me, slightly undercooked.

Steph...

Steph, I'm going to ignore the gimmicks, cos I don't think

they really fit and I'm going to just judge the food.

The consomme was lovely and delicate

and the fish was cooked, you know, spot on.

The dish, for me, was a little bit simple in overall...

and that popping candy...

..popped and blew it for me. It didn't work.

Charlie, your beetroot marinaded monkfish

with cauliflower and sea radish. The dish was executed well.

I was a little bit concerned that your beetroot

might bleed into your cauliflower and it didn't do.

A bit more oomph needed,

I think, in the overall dish from a seasoning point of view.

OK, so to the scores.

Colin, for your mullet on the seabed...

I'm giving you...

..eight out of ten.

Steph...

for your seafood...

..I'm giving you six out of ten.

Charlie, for your monkfish and beetroot...

I'm giving you...

seven out of ten.

-Thank you.

-Chef.

-Well done, mate.

-Yeah, well done there.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

Oh... I knew that bombed.

So two courses in, Charlie's clung onto his two-point lead on 14,

Colin surged into second on 12,

leaving Steph in the danger zone on 11.

I'm really pleased about being actually in the lead

and I just want to keep hold of that, to be honest,

cos it's a bit of a psychological battle.

There's no point trying to work out who's going to be first and second.

You've got to do your own thing, trust your food and get on with it.

At the minute, I'm trailing behind and it's not a good place to be.

I need to get some serious points on the main course,

otherwise I am in trouble.

In tomorrow's main course, Steph's facing an uphill struggle.

-I'm a bit worried...

-I'm OK.

-..that you really misunderstood the brief.

She'll stop at nothing to get back on track.

It's getting white hot now. If I get any grief off those boys!

I'm coming back fighting. The moon has not gone yet.

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