Northern Ireland Fish Great British Menu

The competition is intense on Great British Menu,

where this week, three of Northern Ireland's top chefs -

-former champion Niall McKenna...

-Let's cook it nice and gently here.

-..last year's winner, Chris Fearon...

-I'm trying to push myself a wee bit more.

..and the chef he beat, Chris Bell...

-One minute.

-..are battling for the chance to cook

at a dazzling Olympic feast.

Yesterday's starters saw Chris Bell fly out of the blocks,

leaving our two returning champions struggling to keep up.

This has totally stitched me up, so I'm doing all the work now.

-Oh, no.

-I could've done it a wee bit more justice, that round?

Today it's the fish course,

and last year's champion has bitten off more than he can chew.

I'm really concentrating here.

-Feeling a little bit of pressure over there?

-Big time.

And his nerves get the better of him.

-Are you OK?

-Yeah, I just don't want to go home.

Calm, calm, calm down.

A bit of a broken man, to be honest with you.

This year's challenge is to create awe-inspiring dishes

that live up to the ambition of our world-class Olympians.

It's all about focusing on what you're doing.

That's part of the Olympic spirit - focusing, improving yourself,

getting better and better, but don't doubt yourself.

Each chef has had to seek out something extra special

for their menus.

Yes, that's the business!

Groundbreaking techniques and ingredients worthy of champions.

That's definitely...different?

-It's very different and it's very intense, isn't it?

-Uh-huh.

Renowned fish restaurateur Richard Corrigan

expects nothing short of perfection from their fish courses today.

Huge pressure. They really need to be focused now. This is about precision.

This is about, "We want to win." Which one is completely wide open.

And after yesterday's scores, the pressure is on,

especially for our two returning champions.

To me, the fish course is the one that's going to be...

will tell us where we're going to.

Yeah. I mean, I need to do well today.

You know, I'll have to up the game a wee bit.

I mean, I think today is crucial for everybody.

You know? It's down to one man,

what he thinks of it. If he's thinking

not the way we're thinking, or I'm thinking, then I've got problems.

First up is Chris Bell,

an accomplished chef with a Michelin background

who lost out to Chris Fearon in the judges' chamber last year.

He stormed his way to first place yesterday with an impressive

nine for his daring starter,

a lead he is desperate to hold onto today.

I've got to put the last course out of my head

and start to focus on this one now, without...

You know, bad score today and the last course means nothing.

-All the best.

-Good luck.

-Chris. How are you?

-Very well, thanks.

How are you feeling after the first course?

Um, I was delighted with that one.

But it's all about this one now.

I am going to do red wine poached turbot

with my version of bourguignon of some snails

and a little crust with some ham, parsley and breadcrumb.

You know, we're looking for an awe-inspiring fish dish here.

Turbot and snails, what is going to make this dish so good?

It's a classic, it's been around many, many years,

and I want to reinvent it

as something groundbreaking and unique to me.

Chris Bell's merging two classics into one -

turbot poached in red wine and bourguignon of snails,

creating a radical new dish that needs precision cooking.

He needs to be very delicate, very careful.

Timing is critical to Chris.

If he gets the timing wrong, it will be inedible.

Chasing his tail in second place is Niall McKenna,

a former champion whose exquisite dessert was served

to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales two years ago.

He scored seven yesterday with unusual pig sweetbreads,

and he's letting his ingredients do the talking again today.

If this dish comes off, it's definitely a winning dish, without doubt.

I mean, the key thing about fish is you don't mess with it.

It's all about the flavour of the fish

and you don't play with that too much.

-Good luck.

-Good luck.

So, what are you cooking today?

Turbot, white asparagus,

blood orange and also going with a red rose powder.

-Romantic notion.

-Yeah.

What is groundbreaking about this dish?

The combination of turbot, blood orange and asparagus is beautiful.

It's a simple dish and it's subtle flavours, no big, robust flavours. It's very delicate flavours.

And to me that's, I mean, the gamble.

-I mean, you have an Olympian task in front of you.

-Yes.

I came thinking this was too simple, but to me,

if you had too much to turbot...

The star is this thing and I don't want to play about that too much.

-Where is the genius?

-We'll see when it's on the plate.

So, Niall's also serving turbot but doing far less to it,

relying on a blood orange sauce and rose powder to secure him the gold.

It doesn't really sound groundbreaking.

If he gets that spicing wrong of the rose petal,

it could be really nasty.

Currently in third place is Chris Fearon,

last year's champion, back for another shot.

He is relying heavily on props, a tactic that took him

all the way to the banquet last year,

but he needs to improve on his cooking to stay in the race.

I have to score half decent today to stay within a shout

of getting to the judges, otherwise, it's pack up the bags and go home.

-Hello, Richard.

-Chris.

-Nice to see you.

-What are you cooking?

-I'm doing a dish called skate rings.

Originally, I was doing it with skate, but I didn't realise

it wasn't very sustainable at the minute, so I am using ray. It's plentiful.

I'm going to serve it with potato fondants,

a bit of lime and celeriac puree and a wee lemon foam.

So what's this bone marrow for?

I just want to sit the marrow on top of the ray, just add an extra meatiness to it, you know?

-What is the innovation of this dish?

-Parts of it are classic,

but I want to refine it and make it more theatrical with my prop.

Hopefully, I can deliver that today.

So, you are looking visually for something quite stunning.

Stunning, but, you know, it has to pack a punch.

You know, it can be all singing and dancing and then taste of nothing, you know?

Chris Fearon is looking to wow with his humorous skate rings,

a play on words, and like his starter, it's as complex

as it is visual, with some potentially overpowering flavours.

Does bone marrow really go with ray? Has he gone a bit too far?

Is that one ingredient too many?

Under starters orders,

the two front runners, Niall and Chris Bell, get straight to work,

scrutinizing each other's dishes.

Rose petals now? Where's the inspiration behind using these?

I find it just a lovely combination. Perfume, smell, works.

It's another sense you're using, you now. It's unusual definitely.

A bit interesting the idea of using snails, I think.

I've never used them before with turbot.

Same kind of thinking as you. It's just another texture,

another cooking technique in there, as well.

-There is going to be big flavours there.

-I think it works.

-A couple of snails, it works with it, you know?

-Yeah.

You know?

Chris Bell's already proved he's a force to be reckoned with,

unlike last year's winner, Chris Fearon.

After yesterday's defeat, he's being unusually quiet.

How is it going over there, Christoph?

Not too bad.

The pressure is on, Chris, isn't it?

After the first course, like.

You're all cool with your big, nine points.

All I can do today is keep my head down, try hard.

That's all I can do, boys.

See, for me, Chris, last year, getting... Not a bad score,

but an average score on the...on the first day,

you're almost playing catch-up from the word go, you know?

It definitely added pressure to me.

My nerves went to bits towards the end of the week.

-Did it?

-Aye. Aye.

Chris Bell's nervous disposition has got him in trouble

in the kitchen before. And it has completely swung around.

Chris Fearon is the nervous guy this year.

Last year's winner may have bitten off more than he can chew

with his complicated poached ray dish with fondant potatoes

and bone marrow.

I've never actually done bone marrow or ray before.

I wanted to add a nice meaty flavour,

with a wee bit of texture, with a breadcrumb on top.

So I decided I'd use a bit of bone marrow.

-It's only a wee, thin sliver.

-It sounds definitely interesting.

I'm really concentrating here.

I'm just trying to push myself a wee bit more, you know?

It is not the only meaty element on show today.

It's that ingredient, you think,

that will just lift the whole dish to some other place.

I'm also going to deep-fry two of the snails and set them

on like a chlorophyll mayonnaise.

-I want to taste your red wine poaching liquor. Is this it?

-Yeah.

I need to pass that off in a bit.

-There'll be a bit of balsamic in there, as well.

-OK.

-Got a little bit of chicken stock to go in there, as well.

-Yeah.

-To take some of the rawness out of it.

-Otherwise it's quite acidic.

Chris Bell also wants to test Niall's daring ingredient.

-Is this your powder?

-Yeah, it is.

Any rose? Or does it matter what kind you use?

It's interesting, I've tried a lot of different types of roses,

and this one here is a good type - red, deep red in colour.

-But it was just trial and error, really, more than anything.

-Yeah.

-It's very floral, isn't it?

-That's why I have to do so little of it.

Niall McKenna is renowned for his classical French cookery

in his hometown of Belfast, but he knew

he'd have to come up with something extra special to meet

this year's groundbreaking Olympic brief.

So he took a trip to Helen's Bay in County Down, home to 12 acres

of organic kitchen garden, to transform a flower

we all know and love into a radical new ingredient

to use in his fish course.

You smell roses, dried roses, or any dried flower,

you get the perfume of it. And I am trying

to marry the best perfume smell and taste

with that little touch of bitterness on the end of the tongue,

which goes with the turbot.

Organic farmer John McCormick is just the man to help him.

-How are you?

-I'm fine, how are you?

There's plenty of opportunity in a wide range of flowers

that we actually grow on this farm that we can experiment with.

It's purely flavour and smell, that's all I'm looking for from it.

My strategy is refined flavours, and I am trying to put everything

together so the whole menu works together as one.

And that is the whole key. You have to push yourself further.

-That will be an interesting one.

-Let's just take that one there.

-Yep.

There we are. There's a nice clean one there.

Yeah, it's really got a lovely smell. Do you want to smell that?

Taste that.

Taste that.

That's definitely...different?

It's very different. It's very intense, isn't it?

-Uh-huh.

-It is a very intense flavour altogether.

Back in his kitchen, Niall sets to work on his new

boundary-pushing ingredient, first drying it out in a dehydrator,

then blitzing it up into a powder.

I automatically get the smell coming off of it now.

It is not too strong. You get the perfume coming through on it.

He then passes the rose powder through three grades of sieve...

It's just too course, it needs to be finer.

..until he thinks it's worthy of our record-breaking Olympians.

-I think it is a far nicer flavour.

-More perfumed.

It's more perfumed, it's not as bitter on your tongue.

I'm really, really happy about that.

It's surprisingly good.

It's sort of blown us away, I think. That's brilliant.

Back in the kitchen,

Niall's' radical rose powder is making an impression.

-I've made my rose powder.

-Yeah, I want to taste that.

Very, very little of it.

Different?

Anything to do with the rose is very perfumed.

You know, it could be very overpowering.

So, you know, he needs to be very, very careful on this.

Rose powder isn't the only thing Niall's got to worry about.

These guys have a lot going on here.

Have I gone too simple for a fish course?

Has it got the wow factor? Has it got the flavours?

Has it got the combinations?

So, I don't know if I've done the wrong thing here.

Returning champion Chris Fearon is also under pressure.

He's juggling a lot of different elements

and can't afford to make any mistakes today.

There's a lot going on in Chris' dash.

I mean, you've got little fondants, which need timing to perfection.

There's foams, there's purees, there are crispy elements.

You know, and so many things going on in a fish course.

There's a lot.

BLEEP!

Chris Fearon is lying one point behind Niall McKenna,

three points behind Chris Bell.

You know, if he doesn't get this dish right,

he is putting himself in real jeopardy.

I'm nervous for him.

-So, what happened here?

-I split the celeriac, chef, so, um...

-How did you split it?

-I left it boiling.

-I boiled too much, so it split. It's horrible.

-Yuck.

-So I'm going to...

-It doesn't taste of anything.

-No.

A bit of nerves creeping in. Come on, let's have a chat outside, yeah?

-Are you OK?

-Yeah, I just don't want to go home.

-Calm, calm, calm down.

Calm down, it's all yours, just keep your cool. Keep your cool.

This is when it all goes wrong. You know what I mean?

You split a celeriac puree, you overcook a bit of fish. Your sauce doesn't come right.

Don't worry about your first course, it's done. It's over. Take your time.

This is the dish you have to do well in.

-Buy only taking your time, totally focusing on this?

-OK.

-Then you'll do well.

-All right, chef.

-Go on.

-Thanks.

I am only one point behind Niall at this stage,

so I have to have a good score today just to rub shoulders with them.

I don't want to be coming in here tomorrow behind.

So, I have to concentrate here.

Chris Fearon isn't the only one who has caught Richard's eye.

I've been watching you for the last 20 minutes.

You've been polishing your plates!

They're a nightmare. The slightest touch at all...

There's something on them, not coming off,

so I'm trying to get...

I'm last up today, so I've got time to do it.

So, in the meantime, you're polishing your plates,

there's nothing to do? You pretty confident?

I'm doing what I'm doing. I believe in the dish.

It's a very gentle dish, a very subtle dish.

-It is a very simple dish.

-Yeah.

-And I do hope it's going to be perfect.

Because you've nothing to do.

Unlike returning champion Chris Fearon,

who's fast approaching the finish line.

He has a lot of different elements to bring to his Olympic-style plate

and he's under pressure to deliver a knockout fish course.

I think it's clear for all to see that Chris Fearon is

under a little bit of stress.

I don't think we've all seen him like that before.

With the clock now ticking, he runs the risk of ruining his dish.

Just step back.

He's run a marathon today and it's

a race to the finish as he plates up his rings of poached ray,

crispy bone marrow, fondant potatoes and peppery butter sauce.

But has it all been worthwhile?

-Happy?

-Yep.

-A lot of pressure?

-Yeah.

Hard. The hardest ever, I think.

Good. Let's taste.

Will Chris' playful Olympic skate rings be groundbreaking enough

to put him back in the race?

I think I made that look really hard, didn't I?

It was an Olympian effort putting that on the plate. That was just two!

-I think this looks lovely. I think.

-Beautiful presentation.

The idea of the ice-skating rink and the Olympic circles

in the middle, I think they look really good.

I think it looks beautiful.

Something very, very different, very unique.

Have you tasted your potato?

Certainly, that one is under. That's for sure.

Yep.

-Try a bit of potato there.

-Um...

They're well undercooked.

Well under.

-Richard Corrigan won't forgive undercooked potatoes.

-Hmmm.

True.

Why did you serve the bone marrow with the ray?

I thought it was a nice, meaty element to go along with it.

But, um...

I don't know whether that all came together for me today at all.

I think the ray is cooked very well.

What I would say about the ray wing is that there's not really enough

bone marrow on it to really get it. Do you know what I mean?

I know what you're saying.

Does it deserve to be on the banquet?

At the minute, no.

But if I get a second chance, I will try my best to refine it.

Um, hard work.

Ah, I don't think I did my fish course justice at all.

I'm pretty disappointed in myself.

Um, I know myself, I can cook better than that,

but the nerves got to me today. And, um, yeah, went to pieces.

Yeah, bro. How'd it go?

Oh, just a bit of a broken man, to be honest with you.

Here, get it together.

Chris Bell's wine poached turbot is up next

and he can't leave it cooking for a second too long.

One minute.

He adds a quenelle of olive oil mash,

his trailblazing deep-fried snails...

..and under the watchful eye of his rivals,

gets his red wine poached turbot onto the plate.

-Is it a world-beating dish?

-I don't know. It's...certainly different.

Good. Let's go and taste it.

Will Chris's twist on a classic secure him

the gold for the second day running?

-Turbot is not fun when it's overcooked.

-No.

-How do you feel about the cooking of that piece of fish?

-I don't...

I'd like to give it maybe a minute less.

-Good, meaty fish there.

-The fish looks all right.

Yep. The flavour. It smells lovely just as you cut into it,

you can really smell it, the flavours there.

Did the red wine... has it come true enough?

I think I could have... In hindsight now, I should maybe have

marinated the piece of fish in the poaching liquor.

-I like the turbot.

-Yeah.

-It's nice with the wee breadcrumb.

I think the turbot is a wee bit more intense with red wine.

Did you get the seasoning of the deep-fried snails right?

The crispy snail is really nice with the mayonnaise.

Beautiful. It works really well.

It is different, but is it groundbreaking?

-Only Richard will tell us.

-Yeah.

-Is this a dish you would put in front of Olympians?

-I don't see why not.

I think it's a classic brought up to 2012, the year of the Olympics.

I'd love to sit and eat that.

But I can't speak for the masses, I can only have confidence.

Richard was a real blank page with this one.

On my starter course, he was making all the right noises,

you know, and nodding his head.

And this one, I don't know, but from a personal point of view,

I was quite happy.

Last but not least, it's Niall's fillet of turbot, with white

asparagus, blood orange hollandaise and that innovative rose powder.

A simple dish that needs to be cooked

to perfection if it's to pass muster with Richard.

-How are you getting on now?

-Getting there, getting there.

He places the turbot on his beautifully polished plate,

sprinkles on the rose powder, adds a squirt of blood orange sauce

and, with time to spare, delivers it to the pass.

What did you do for the last three hours? You made it in five minutes.

Yeah. I was doing the blood oranges, juicing them down,

prep your turbot. No matter what, you have to give your time,

so the minimum time is that there.

-Let's taste it.

-OK.

Will Richard find Niall's turbot dish radical enough

for our world-class Olympians?

Groundbreaking?

-I don't know.

-Have you set a new trend?

I'm just... Too many doubts in my head now,

I just don't know. I really don't know.

Is your plate polished enough?

I'd say, yeah.

It looks very simple.

You know, there's no wow factor for me yet.

-It might be very simple, but it might taste very good.

-It might.

Do you think that's cooked correctly?

I think it's cooked beautifully. To be honest.

You know, it's a nice bit of turbot, nicely cooked.

-Is there enough there?

-I don't know.

-I can't taste rose petals.

-No.

At all.

What about the rose petal powder? Has it worked?

It could have been stronger,

I think, more pungent.

Maybe put it on all of this asparagus instead of just one.

It wasn't strong enough in flavour. I should have put more on.

You know, I was expecting it to be a big punch, a talking point,

and for me, it's nonexistent.

When most chefs have run marathons,

you've done a quick sprint seemingly.

It's...it's... There's a lot of doubts in my head.

A lot of doubts in my head.

But, at the end of the day, you're the judge, it's your decision.

I'm not happy, not happy, at myself anyhow.

But with Richard, you just don't know.

You know, I could get a four, I could get a five, get a six.

Any lower than that there, the gun goes to the head.

With their fish courses delivered,

all the chefs can do now is cross their fingers and wait.

It was like getting a root canal. It was so painful.

That was probably the hardest plate of food I ever put up in my life,

as a chef, and it was a disaster from start to finish.

I was quite happy with what I had done in the end,

but you just can't second-guess him,

so I'm pinning my hopes that he thought it was all right, too.

Richard gave Chris Bell an impressive nine yesterday,

Niall a seven and Chris Fearon just six.

So who'll be on top today?

-How are you all?

-Fine.

We are going to start with you, Chris Fearon.

Your skate rings. I thought there was good thought behind your dish.

The presentation looked pretty good.

I was concerned about the bone marrow, but I shouldn't have been.

It worked pretty well with the dish.

But...

..your potatoes were raw...

..and if you are going to serve that to 100 people...

Lots of theatrics, but it's really

-about the food at the end of the day.

-Yep, 100%.

Chris Bell.

Your red wine poached turbot with snails.

It was a nice idea and you really thought again

about pushing yourself and pushing those boundaries.

The snail and turbot combo, I think it was a good idea.

But...

the fish was overcooked,

the red wine wasn't powerful enough and the deep-fried snails,

they did need more seasoning.

Niall.

Your turbot with asparagus and rose powder.

Your fish was beautifully cooked.

Delicious.

I was concerned about the rose powder

being overpowering and maybe too perfumey.

It worked. Well done.

But...

Where was the innovation?

Much too simple.

Not much content.

No.

Could have been a LOT more creative.

True.

Chris Fearon.

Your skate rings.

I'm giving you...

..six out of ten.

OK.

Chris Bell.

Your red wine poached turbot with snails.

I'm giving you...

..seven out of ten.

Niall.

For your turbot with asparagus and rose powder,

I'm giving you...

..six out of ten.

Next course is the main meat course.

I wish you all the very, very best. And good night.

ALL: Thank you.

So, after day two,

Chris Bell is still in the lead

with an overall score of 16.

Niall's hanging onto second with 13.

And Chris Fearon is just a point behind with 12.

Even though he gave me a half decent score, I'm still not happy.

I'm not happy with the dish,

I'm not happy with the way it turned out. It wasn't good.

I was ready to go home and just get back on the plane to Belfast there.

But with that score, I am raring to go again.

It got me old fire in the belly.

It would be ludicrous to go home not confident tonight,

but I've got it all to do tomorrow again.

Tomorrow, it's the main course.

Chris Fearon takes one of the biggest risks we've seen so far.

Hopefully, this will start creating a mousse.

God help us.

And the consequences are disastrous.

The mousse collapsed. Left these in the oven too long.

Have you achieved something great?

Not something great, no.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd