Northern Ireland Dessert Great British Menu

It's the end of the line here on Great British Menu

for one of Northern Ireland's finest chefs.

I'm trying to concentrate here.

Returning contender Chris Bell...

One minute.

..former champion Niall McKenna and last year's winner Chris Fearon

have been battling it out for the chance to cook at a once-in-a-lifetime Olympic feast.

Yesterday saw Chris Bell sweep the gold again

and Chris Fearon dabble in molecular gastronomy.

A risk that ended in disaster.

I left the plates in the oven too long.

Today, it's dessert and Richard Corrigan is as demanding as ever.

-Little bit more work to do.

-Definitely.

There's a lot of sugar in here. A lot.

It's crunch time today. One of the chefs will be going home.

I've no idea who that person is.

With just one point separating our returning champions,

last year's winner could be heading for an early exit.

If this one doesn't work I might have to get out of the kitchen and do it in the hall.

(BLEEP) me! Have you ever seen so much palaver in your life?!

That's my worst fear, coming back here this year,

to crash and burn first, after doing so well last year.

Heartbreaking.

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

that break new ground and reflect Olympic ambition.

This competition is one of the hardest things I've ever done in my career.

The chefs have been inspired by world-class athletes

who will be guests of honour at the Olympic feast.

You've got just one chance. Make the most of it in just grab it with both hands, really.

Today, nothing will get past former champion Richard Corrigan.

This is the last opportunity for our chefs to show some real skill, real passion,

to prove to us they want to be at that final banquet of Olympians.

The chef who fails today will be out of the race.

-Well, here we are. Dessert. Not too much between us.

-No. One point.

-Big Bill's out in front.

-Yeah, two points. It's tight.

Niall, you've been here and done it with this course.

You took this course to the banquet.

I've hopefully got the same thing.

-Just go out and do our best today. Someone's going home today.

-Yeah.

First up is last year's winner Chris Fearon, trailing behind with just 18 points.

He's had hugely disappointing scores all week for his playful, prop-heavy dishes.

I want to score well today.

I've been hitting sixes all week but I want to hit something higher than six today.

I need to beat Niall McKenna today.

Heavy one this time.

-Hi, Richard. How's it going?

-Very well.

-Good stuff.

Chris, what are you cooking for us today?

-It's called the Torch.

-The Torch?

-Yeah.

I'm going to recreate an Olympic torch to the best of my ability.

So tell me all about this torch.

I'm going to pipe a nice rhubarb mousse into a home-made ice cream cone,

layer it up with different wee textures,

with some liquorice, some meringue, and I'm going to do some nice honeycomb.

Then I'm going to do a nice really like whipped natural yoghurt

kind of Greek style ice cream. After the ice cream, I want to do some tempered hocolate.

Different colours, then and I'm going to put it on

a springy-looking, mad, torch-shaped wrap.

Inspiration from?

Inspiration from the torch of the Olympics, wee man running up

the stairs with the big torch on fire.

Do you feel you're that man today?

I don't know if I could run up the stairs with it,

but I could definitely give it a go making one.

Chris Fearon's last-ditch attempt to hold onto his crown is

a quirky Olympic search with Greek yoghurt ice cream

and tempered chocolate flames.

Here we are, another prop, another day.

But, you know, it's all about the food.

Has he done enough to make the food stand out?

Is he just being too playful?

Clinging onto silver with 19 points is returning champion

Niall McKenna who took this course to the banquet two years ago.

His simple but accomplished cooking has stayed one step ahead of

last year's winner all week, a lead he is desperate to hold on to today.

I've won dessert before.

It's a strong dish for me so

I really do believe I'm going to get ahead here.

I think I'm going to come through.

-Morning, chef.

-Morning.

-How are we?

-Very well, thank you.

-What's the title of your dessert?

-Whiskey jelly, apple and elderflower.

It's like a deconstructed apple crumble and, once again,

I've gone along same lines, simple food.

Is that going to be to everybody's taste?

It's getting the flavour of the whiskey coming through,

with a little bit of clove.

-Groundbreaking?

-Very different, but all my dishes are about

the produce, all about the food, all about the flavour.

This dessert needs to be worthy to serve two Olympians.

-Is this worthy enough?

-I think this dessert is. It tastes beautiful.

And that, to me, is the key.

Have you been drinking some of this?

Later!

Niall's pinning his Olympic hopes on a classic with a twist,

baked apple sorbet, elderflower custard

and whiskey jelly with a simple crumble topping.

This competition's about innovation, it's about groundbreaking.

We are looking for something spectacular.

Deconstructed crumble whiskey jelly?

Could be deeply ordinary.

In pole position with 23 points is last year's runner-up,

Chris Bell, who is desperate for another shot at the judges.

He has held onto the top spot all week with daring twists

and unusual combinations but can't afford any mistakes today.

Anything can happen in this competition.

I'm not taking my foot off the gas yet

and I've still got plenty of work to do.

-Chris.

-All right.

-Very well.

-What are you cooking?

-A summer salad of apricots, pistachio and jasmine.

I'm just going to try and showcase some modern cooking techniques

and different textures of three great ingredients.

I'm going to have a jasmine panna cotta set it in a tube with acetate

and it's going to be like a central piece.

I'm going to take the apricots and I'm going to use a Gastrovac.

-So a bit of Willy Wonka going on here?

-A little bit. I'm going to make a...

It's like a cross between souffle and a cake, but I'm going

to make that in the Thermo mix and then finish it in the microwave.

It's quite a modern technique that I think's fantastic.

-What, baking a cake in a microwave?

-Yeah.

I'm sticking to classic flavours and cooking them in a modern way.

Chris Bell's throwing everything at this last course,

making a technical summer salad of jasmine panna cotta,

slow-cooked apricots and microwaved cake.

I hope all this innovation leads to something glorious for him

or else he's going to crash to earth like Icarus.

The sprint to the finish line is underway in the kitchen.

Today, one of these chefs will be sent home

and all anyone can think about is getting to the final,

something Niall and Chris Fearon have both done before.

Coming into this competition I felt like the underdog

because you've been to the banquet.

I was failing at this competition,

so what's it's like cooking at a banquet, then, both of youse?

A great honour. It is. No, it's a brilliant feeling, a real buzz.

Everybody comes together. All four chefs work as a team.

When you go that far, and you're with the best of the rest of the UK,

-it's a good feeling, like.

-I bet it is.

And Chris Fearon's desperate for a repeat performance.

He is pinning his hopes on his Olympic torch,

a simple cone with Greek yoghurt ice cream.

-How are you getting on, Chris?

-Not too bad, chef.

-How's your cones?

I've just done a tester here. This machine here is a piece of trash.

I got it off the internet for 20 quid, from Belgium.

So is this going to be ice cream in a cone?

Erm, well, more or less, but I've made a few surprises inside the cone.

-A few surprises?

-A few surprises.

Chris Fearon's ice cream cone, call it what you like,

it's still basically looking like an ice cream cone.

I'm trying to get past the whole ice cream cone thing.

It's got layers, there's textures in it.

There's rhubarb, liquorice, you've got honeycomb. Loads going on in there.

Including white chocolate flames that he's tempering in the microwave.

A technique most chefs would entrust to a specialist pastry chef.

I think tempered chocolate is very risky.

If this guy can pull off tempered chocolate in this heat,

this competition, that's pretty groundbreaking for me.

Former champion Niall's taking the simple route all week

and today's deconstructed crumble with baked apple sorbet

and whiskey jelly is no exception.

Just the process of making the baked apple sorbet.

So, the crux of the dish.

It's all about the flavour of the apple.

It's absolutely beautiful, the smell of it already.

-Could I taste some whiskey jelly there, yeah?

-Certainly, chef.

That's not too far away from being the hot toddy.

Has he done enough? What's groundbreaking about it?

Chris Bell's daring to do something different with jasmine panna cotta,

slow cooked apricots and a controversial microwaved cake.

A recipe that's still in the making and requires precision timing.

If I cook it too long, it'll be like a rubber ball.

If I cook it too little, it'll be like runny egg white,

so I need to get the timing right on it.

What's the whole thing behind this, Chris, cooking it like this?

It's just to show a different technique...

-But it needs to come out pretty good for you to get away with it.

-Yeah.

It's well overcooked, that one. OK. How long did that get?

20 seconds.

-And that one's a bit under. So, overcooked, under, little more work to do.

-Yep.

You know, he wants to be groundbreaking,

he wants the innovative, but he needs to be really careful that he

doesn't mess this pudding up.

If you don't take risks in this competition, then you won't win it.

I've watched Chris do it last year.

I've seen Niall win it before and I'm determined to join them.

To seek inspiration for this year's competition,

Chris journeyed all the way to Gloves Community Centre

in Lancashire to meet one of Britain's highest-profile sportsman.

Yeah, I'm feeling a bit nervous. I mean, just about to meet Amir Khan,

global superstar.

I'm really excited about it.

If I can get a few pointers off him as to how he focuses himself

and how he prepares for competition then I'll be happy.

Amir Khan is a world champion boxer and an Olympic silver medallist.

He knows that hard work and determination are crucial

to be at the top of your game.

When we walk into the ring you have to think of all the risks

and sometimes in a fight, you have to take a risk. You're in that position now.

Make the most of it and just grab it with both hands, really.

So how do you block out nerves and any sort of fear?

You deal with the nerves by just staying focused

and just staying calm.

I've learned the hard way.

I lost one fight and I knew where I went wrong.

I rushed in, I wasn't really focused, I wasn't training hard.

How did you come back from that?

What I did was I went back home, sat down with the team and started fresh.

Something Chris Bell knows all about,

having suffered a knockout himself in last year's competition.

That mental strength. That's what makes the difference

between a world champion and a not-a-world champion.

In your game, that's what makes the difference from being the best

or being number two.

Give us a jab. That's a good jab.

It's all about focus and self-determination.

That carries you through on top of the ability you already have.

Try it one more time. Come on, jab.

Good shot!

But what will this top Olympic athlete make of Chris'

groundbreaking dessert?

-You're the first person to try this.

-Honestly?

So if I have bad feedback from this, I'm back to the drawing board.

It's something very different. Very nice.

That's one of the best desserts I've had, that.

-Is it fattening?

-No, it's not fattening.

-It is very nice.

I really learned from today how to mentally prepare

and how to psychologically get yourself ready

for things like this year's competition.

Chris Bell's applying the determination

he learnt in the ring to his technical apricot dessert.

-Did you learn anything from Amir Khan?

-Learn anything?

His attitude, his way of thinking.

I just thought he was incredibly focused.

Nothing stood in the way of his goal.

Even before one fight, he had six months of training. Eating right. Everything was about that fight.

I'd be really honoured to meet somebody of that standard

who has gone on to achieve so much.

He's class.

It's an unbelievable to go through that.

Chris, did you give him a good Northern Irish dig in the face?

-A couple.

-Did you?

-Aye.

-Did he feel it?

-No!

Chris is hoping to make a bigger impact with his radical

Gastrovacked apricots, a cutting-edge gadget that

slow cooks food in a vacuum that's got Richard curious.

-The vacuum pumps, microwaves.

-No.

I'm trying to put new techniques.

I don't use these very often, you see.

You can see they're starting to take on a kind of compressed fruit...

Do you want to taste one?

They're sweetening up but I want them to stay a wee bit tart.

Not that tart.

I think this is Chris' first big wacky dish of the week.

He's going guns blazing.

It could be risky but it could pay off for him. He's on a roll!

Unlike last year's winner Chris Fearon trailing behind in third place,

whose tricky tempered chocolate could see his Olympic dreams

crash and burn.

-How are you getting on, Chris?

-Not bad, Richard.

Just finding it very hot in the kitchen here

to be doing this chocolate work.

If this one doesn't work, I might have to

get out of the kitchen and do it in the hall so we're cooler.

-Yeah, I'm going to take this somewhere cooler, Chef.

-OK.

-BLEEP

-me! Never seen so much palaver in your life over chocolate.

Chris Fearon is having to temper his temper

to get this dish right.

-His panic is just starting to set in again.

-Still too hot.

He's starting to look nervous.

I really hope for him he can pull this off.

Niall, on the other hand, with his simple

apple and whiskey crumble and has nothing to worry about

and is ready to plate out with time and whiskey to spare.

So, got a wee treat for yous.

A bit of the good stuff?

Want some?

-One for you.

-Thank you.

Big boy?

One for you.

-Cheers, down the hatch.

-Cheers.

-CHRIS FEARON COUGHS

-Do you want another one?

No, I'm all right.

-We'll be fighting in a minute.

-I know, start punching the hell out of each other.

THEY LAUGH

With his whiskey jelly set, all Niall has to do

is pipe on his elderflower custard.

Add a scoop of his unusual baked apple sorbet.

And scatter on his crumble topping.

Chef.

-Groundbreaking?

-It's a combination I like.

It's what I want to put on the competition.

-Is it enough to keep you ahead?

-I think so.

-One point!

-We'll see what happens.

-Come on.

-Let's go.

What will Richard make of Niall's deconstructed crumble?

Has he done enough to stay ahead of last year's winner?

-Good classic combinations.

-It is.

-Inspiration?

-Just flavours I love.

It's delicious.

You don't look so sure.

I don't really taste much whiskey.

I don't taste any whiskey.

-Could be anything.

-Should be loaded with it.

-Mm.

-Jelly, overfirm?

-I think it's perfect.

It's not too strong, the whiskey.

I'm a seasoned drinker. It's lemonade to me.

The predominant flavour in that is the elderflower.

And I thought...I was hoping it would be the whiskey.

What's groundbreaking about this?

I think the combinations, elderflower, apple, whiskey.

I've never had whiskey and elderflower together. I've had apple and whiskey together,

-but not the three together.

-You need to get out more.

-Do you think it is groundbreaking?

-No, it's a fancy trifle

with a sorbet on it.

If it was strong whiskey but sweet at the same time,

to come through all those flavours, I think it'd be nice.

Really good. Really, really good.

Come on, would you change anything?

Being realistic, probably a little bit less cream.

And that would be about it.

I don't know. I really don't know. I'm in two minds.

Have I got the brief wrong? That's always going through my head.

Have I got the brief wrong?

All Niall can do now is cross his fingers and wait

as front-runner Chris Bell plates up his jasmine panna cotta.

Vacuum-cooked apricots,

apricot jelly and apricot-filled chocolate balls.

-Under the ever watchful eye of veteran, Richard.

-Happy, Chris?

I'm always happy.

You could show it.

But Chris isn't out of the woods yet.

He's still got his microwaved cake to cook.

And he's been testing the recipe all day.

Will it prove to be a risk worth taking or has he pushed the boundaries too far?

Quite a lot to plate up. Could you manage it for 100?

I'd move myself if I got the opportunity.

I think it shows technique, I think it's seasonal and...

I've never seen it before.

-Will we ever see it again?

-Who knows.

-Come on, let's test it.

Will Chris Bell's technical summer salad see him

retain pole position?

-Cutting-edge?

-I think it is.

It looks modern.

What do you think of the poached apricots

and the crazy water bath vacuum pack machine?

I can see a massive difference in it.

There's a good texture,

but I didn't get a wow factor from it.

The panna cotta, would you have made that differently?

Is there half a leaf of gelatine too much?

To me, the texture of that panna cotta's funny.

If it's supposed to be panna cotta,

it hasn't got the texture of panna cotta.

It's very nice, though.

The microwaved cake,

-happy with it?

-Erm...

It could have been done a wee bit better.

I don't think I completely annihilated it.

I thought the cake tasted lovely. It was nice. Very airy, very fresh.

It wasn't too sweet

because of the rest of the dessert was quite sweet,

it balanced itself out.

Is this an awe-inspiring dish, worthy of an Olympian banquet?

I like this dish, I love this dish. And I can make that...

a great dish.

So, now, do you think this is a gold-medal winner?

Maybe a bronze.

-A bronze?

-Yep.

I don't know if Niall's going home, Chris is going home,

I might get a four, and Chris might get a 10, and I'm going home.

We're all stood here, nobody's certain of anything.

It's the moment of truth for Chris Fearon's tricky tempered chocolate.

Happy days(!)

He's pulled it off and colours it with food spray

then sticks it in scoops of his Greek yoghurt ice cream.

OK, freezer. Careful, please, boys. Easy now.

He then starts carefully assembling his cones.

Starting with a squirt of rhubarb mousse, some crunchy honeycomb...

-All right?

-Looks fine.

..Miniature liquorice meringues and his crowning glory,

the Greek yoghurt ice cream and white chocolate flames.

Can you hold that now? You can stitch me up now.

I'm happy with that.

-Chris Fearon, the title of this dish?

-The Torch.

Do you think you've done enough to pull ahead?

I don't know. I...

I don't know.

-I hope so.

-Let's go taste it.

It's the final dish of the day and Chris Fearon's last chance

to prove his menu is worthy of a place in front of the judges.

-Looks like a torch.

-It does look like a torch.

It's pretty much a big Knickerbocker Glory in a waffle.

Mhm.

But it's damn tasty.

CHRIS LAUGHS >

-What are you laughing at?

-Do you not like it, no?

I wanted to take it out

because the props always take centre ground with you.

-Take it away from the props and you're left with a...

-Yeah.

I think the tempered chocolate is...

-You know, it took some bottle to do that.

-Mm.

Are you happy with the cone?

It's crispy.

Maybe a wee bit more liquorice going through, a bit more bitterness.

It is quite sweet, I would say, the cone is supersweet.

There's a lot of sugar there.

A lot.

-He's took the Olympic torch and he's turned it into...

-A dessert.

A cracking dessert. That's groundbreaking.

Good flavours there, nice flavours, nice ice cream.

I think that's the best dish I've eaten this week.

I shouldn't be your judge in this. I should have brought my 12-year-old son here.

-Oh dear. I didn't want to hear that.

-Have you done enough?

For this course, I could have did all different desserts

but I chose to do that one because I believed in it,

because I thought it captured the spirit of the Olympics.

Interested to hear what Richard will say.

But I am very, very worried.

I need an eight or above for this course, for the dessert,

I need to score high today,

otherwise I'm packing my bags, going home.

Niall and the two Chrisses have cooked their hearts out this week

but only the two highest scoring chefs will face the judges tomorrow.

-Bit of a hard week.

-Tough one.

-One of us will have to go home.

-Could have done a lot better.

Really a lot better this week. I'm not too sure this week, I've a lot of doubts of my head.

-I found it a real uphill battle, every course every day.

-Yeah.

It's going to be interesting to see what Richard thinks.

Chris Bell is in the lead with 23 points.

Niall is second with 19 and Chris Fearon is third with 18.

We'll start with you, Niall.

Your apple and elderflower whiskey jelly.

The dish ate well.

The flavours worked together.

The apple sorbet was fine.

But...

..there was very little innovation.

You haven't embraced the brief.

The whiskey jelly was a little bit too firm.

More whiskey.

Chris Fearon.

Your Torch.

I liked the concept. Almost in a childlike manner.

It was humorous and fun.

-I thought it was groundbreaking as well.

-Thank you, Richard.

Well done for tempering the chocolate so well.

-The ice cream was pretty good.

-Thank you.

-But...

-..the liquorice meringue, I didn't like.

-OK.

-The honeycomb in there as well, more sweetness.

-Too sweet. OK.

It was altogether a very sweet dessert.

Chris Bell.

Your summer salad of apricots, jasmine and pistachio.

It was a new concept.

I'm not too sure if it was a great one.

It was innovative and you really grabbed the brief.

Well done.

But...

the flavours were very samey.

The colours were a bit anaemic.

The microwaved cake,

it looked nice, but it was soggy.

Go back to what you're great at.

Only two of you can cook for the judges tomorrow, as you're aware of.

With the score of six for their dessert...

giving them the highest score across the week is...

-..Chris Bell.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

-Thanks.

So, that leaves two chefs.

Chris Fearon...

for your Torch, I'm giving you...

..seven points.

Thank you.

(Cheers.)

Niall, for your apple and elderflower whiskey jelly,

I'm giving you...

..five points.

Which means, Chris Fearon, you're through to cook tomorrow.

-Thank you very much.

-Well done, mate.

-Thank you, mate.

Niall, huge commiserations.

Deserved it.

Chris and Chris, tomorrow the battle continues.

-Congratulations, the two of you.

-Thanks very much.

-Well done, Chris.

Well done, mate.

So, the two Chrisses will be cooking for the judges tomorrow

and Niall must leave the competition.

Delighted to be through to Friday. That's the first hurdle crossed.

It's crazy. It's crazy. I'm on cloud nine right now. Really am.

Brilliant.

I wasn't innovative, I didn't push myself,

I could have done a lot better and, I mean,

those stupid mistakes, you're out.

I just really need to...

..you know, cook out of my mind tomorrow and, hopefully...

hopefully, have another massive shock again.

Tomorrow, Chris Bell and Chris Fearon,

come to blows for the second year running.

I like you but I'm not going to lie to you.

I hope you crash and burn this year.

Will history repeat itself or will Chris Bell steal the crown?

-They've melted.

-Crazy.

-Oh, my God.

It's down to our judges and they're no pushover.

How you can see that at a final banquet is beyond me.

I think it'd have to be incinerated as an offence to human health.

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