London and South East Main Great British Menu


London and South East Main

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It's the most important dish.

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The main course,

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which can make or break even the most experienced chefs.

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Is this the dish that goes through?

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There was a lack of content. Shame.

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Has this got the finesse to take it to the Olympic banquet?

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Tonight, three of the UK's finest chefs,

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hailing from London and the South East,

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are under intense pressure to deliver.

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(BLEEP)

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Award-winning Jason Atherton is pushing them to their limit.

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Why are you cooking these in a bag?

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Have you started the jelly process already?

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This whole dish could fall or die by the rissole.

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And it's not just Jason who's being critical.

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-I'm getting more frogspawn than egg yolk. I've got to be honest.

-HE LAUGHS

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And the competition starts to take its toll

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on culinary giant, Phil Howard.

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Oh, you (BLEEP).

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In this year of the 2012 Olympic Games,

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our chefs are taking inspiration from our world-class athletes.

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I think this is pushing your boundaries to that absolute limit.

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Woo-hoo-hoo!

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In their bid to strike culinary gold,

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worthy of our sporting legends.

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You want to absolutely deliver your absolute maximum.

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Huh-uh!

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Oh, look at that! It's huge!

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Judging them is a Michelin-starred champion of the competition,

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who's looking for Olympic perfection.

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It's Jason Atherton.

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This is the main course. The main event.

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This is like being at the Olympics in the 100m sprint.

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I want a dish at this banquet where people go,

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'"Wow, I've never seen anything like that, and I never, ever will again."

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With only three points between them,

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all three chefs are still firmly in the race.

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How are we feeling now, with the scores?

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Obviously, me, I'm trailing the pair of you.

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I can still do it today. Yeah.

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I'm quietly pleased where I am, I have to say. Of course.

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But I think the competition is still on.

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Leading the pack is the celebrated Phil Howard.

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He's held two Michelin stars for 14 years,

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and is confident he'll take gold this week.

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The other two are going to be chasing hard from behind.

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But I'm very confident I'm going to go through

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to the end of this week,

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and I can see my four courses at the banquet.

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I want to win.

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-I'll see you in there.

-Good luck, mate.

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-Mr Howard. Big box of ingredients this morning.

-Yeah.

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So we've got spring lamb, spring vegetables, and mint sauce.

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Do you want to talk me through it?

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Yeah. We're doing lamb, and I'm going to basically

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cook that actually on the bone.

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Take the little bits of webbing out between the rib bones

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and make them into a little take on a pie.

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It's not a pastry-based pie,

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it's more of a spring roll kind of nature.

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And then I'm doing a slight take on mint sauce.

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Going to make a liquid mint sauce, set it with gelatine,

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encase it in a sphere and get this beautiful sweet and sour mint sauce.

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Egg yolk-like jelly on the plate.

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A little bit out of your comfort zone.

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A little bit out of our comfort zone, but there we go.

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That fits the brief.

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OK. And why do you think this dish is THE dish

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that should be at the Olympic banquet?

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It's inventive, it's sharp.

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I think this dish, perhaps more than any of the others,

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fits the brief the best.

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Can Phil transform classic lamb and mint sauce into an Olympian dish?

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Or is he playing it too safe?

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Phil's doing something very traditional.

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Lamb and mint sauce.

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Nothing ground-breaking there.

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The only thing Phil's got going for him on this dish is the mint jelly.

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If he doesn't pull that off, this dish will fall flat on its face.

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Hot on his heels is maverick chef, Marcus McGuinness,

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whose radical approach to cooking has made him a real contender.

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The scores obviously this week have given me justification

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for this style of food that I'm doing this year.

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So, yeah, I have got a lot of confidence.

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-Hi, Marcus.

-Good morning.

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A very unusual box of ingredients. What's your dish?

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Blade of beef cooked in hay,

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with beetroots, braised tendons,

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and I'm going to do a horseradish and buttermilk gel.

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OK. Do you want to talk me through the ingredients?

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Yeah, I've got a nice blade of beef here.

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Which takes a lot of skill for a chef to cook.

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-Yes.

-Very easy doing fillet and stuff like that.

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-Yeah.

-And what are you going to do with that?

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Strip it all down, roll it up,

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and then cook it in hay and roast it afterwards.

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What sort of flavouring will that give to the beef?

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It brings a lovely sort of smokiness, like a grassiness.

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It's a really interesting flavour.

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I see some anchovies in there.

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Smoked anchovies, I'm going to pair with the tendons later on.

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I don't think these have been used on Great British Menu.

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I doubt it very much!

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These are going to be braised for a very long time,

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so they completely melt down.

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In what style are you going to make those?

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-I'm going to turn it all into a little crispy fritter.

-OK.

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Have you stretched yourself as a professional chef

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to make this a ground-breaking dish?

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The toasted hay is going to bring something

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really different, really interesting.

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And, yeah, braised beef tendons is definitely, you know,

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I think, a step out there.

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Marcus is determined to push culinary boundaries to the max,

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with a Great British Menu first, beef tendons.

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Are they a stroke of genius, or culinary madness?

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His box of ingredients was very inspired.

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A lot of unusual techniques going on there.

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He's cooking with beef tendons.

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If he doesn't braise those to perfection,

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it's just a mouthful of sinew.

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He's really set himself a big challenge to make this dish

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the number ten dish.

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Last into the ring is Graham Garrett.

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Currently trailing in third, he's yet to light his Olympic torch.

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But he's not giving up without a fight.

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I've got a bit of catching up to do, but I'm always ready for a battle.

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-Good morning, Graham.

-Morning, Jason.

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Third and final box. What have you got?

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It's slow-cooked lamb shoulder, a spiced breast rissole,

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lamb bacon, and marsh vegetables.

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OK, great. Do you want to show me the lamb?

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I'm using shoulder, roll it up,

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set that with a little bit of meat glue, and slow cook the shoulder.

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I'm doing the breast two ways.

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I'm going to layer the breasts up, spice them

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in a little bit of ras el hanout.

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-Which is a Moroccan spice?

-Yeah.

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Almost cure it down with the spice, sort of like bacon.

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-So you're turning that into like a lamb bacon?

-Exactly.

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And cut that into rashers.

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The trim from the breast I'm going to kind of braise down,

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breadcrumb it, pan-fry it.

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-Right.

-So you've got the three different elements of the lamb.

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-Great.

-The marsh vegetables, things like samphire,

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and a little bit of sea purslane.

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Then I'm going to make a broth out of the lamb bones.

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Serve that like a tea.

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I'm going to pour that over mint and infuse the mint into the broth.

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What's ground-breaking about this dish?

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I think I've stretched myself in, well, firstly,

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it's challenging to use

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the lesser cuts, and to get something out of them.

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Making the rashers of bacon out of the lamb breast is quite different.

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And I'm hoping that you're going to agree with that one.

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Graham's out to claw back vital points

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with his trio of lamb, featuring tricky lamb bacon

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and Moroccan spices.

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Can he deliver a knockout dish?

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I've never seen lamb bacon before,

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so that's something I'm excited about.

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He is also using a lot of spices.

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Ras el hanout is a very, very powerful spice.

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In the wrong hands, potentially, this dish could completely fall apart.

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This region has delivered the winning main course

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for two years running.

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And Jason doesn't want the baton dropped now.

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London and the South East, this is our strongest course.

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I'm looking for that ten.

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I'm looking for that Titan dish that can go to the Olympics.

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So all I can say, guys, is good luck.

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I'm looking forward to tasting all the dishes. Thank you.

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All three chefs are quick off the blocks.

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Marcus trims his blade of beef.

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Phil starts on his rack of lamb,

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and Graham gets to work on his lamb shoulder.

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With ground to make up, he wastes no time in baiting his closest rival.

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Marcus, your beef dish today sounds fairly normal, you know, for you.

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You're not going to put anything weird with it?

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Not got any elderflowers today, or peaches, strawberries, nothing?

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No, no, no. Nothing too crazy today.

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Why are you suddenly going all classic on us?

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I wouldn't say it's particularly classic.

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Beef and anchovies is fairly classic.

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Determined to score a advantage, Graham steams ahead.

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He starts the spiced lamb for his rissoles,

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makes his broth, and gets to work on his lamb bacon,

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before sizing up his other competition, Phil.

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So Phil, anything different or a bit wacky or ground-breaking

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you're going for today?

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Or anything you might have picked up on a trip anywhere, or anything?

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Er, yeah. There's a little bit of that there. A little bit of that.

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Basically I've got the lamb and mint,

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and little spherical mint jellies,

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and setting a slightly thickened vegetable stock

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frozen into little half spheres

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and then dipped another gel and then allowed to thaw.

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You end up with a thin membrane encased in sweet-and-sour mint jellies.

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Quite inventive, so I think it's fitting the brief.

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Phil's relying on innovative cooking techniques

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to take classic flavours to awe-inspiring heights.

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Graham, on the other hand,

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is going all out with his inventive lamb bacon.

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Jason wants to know more.

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Graham, the lamb bacon is something I'm particularly interested in.

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Would you run me through what you're doing here?

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Bone the breasts out, trim them up. You stick that together.

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Then quite a bit of salt so it cures it like bacon,

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with the ras el hanout.

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-And then you pan fry it like normal bacon?

-Yeah.

-OK.

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Graham's doing lamb bacon. Potentially, this is ground-breaking.

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If it doesn't taste great, and actually resemble bacon

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in any way shape or form,

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the whole dish will fall by the wayside.

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He's been poking around the bacon a little bit there.

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He seems quite interested. I'm hoping I get a point for that.

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Marcus is also cooking a tricky cut, blade of beef.

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He's toasted his hay, wrapped it round the meat,

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and placed it in the water bath to cook.

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He's using a similar technique for his beetroot,

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which has caught Jason's eye.

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-Why are you cooking these in a bag?

-It helps preserve the flavour.

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A little bit of butter, some salt, so all the flavour's...

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-Retained inside them?

-Exactly.

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And then the blade of beef. Is that a difficult thing to cook?

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It really needs to be spot-on.

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Over, it's horrible. Under, it's tough, it's chewy.

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Is that going to be a sauce element to the dish?

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I've got some toasted hay oil, and I've got a beetroot and hay juice.

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-OK.

-Just to finish it all off.

-Interesting.

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Marcus is cooking blade of beef.

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This a very tricky cut of meat.

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It goes dry in an instant.

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He has to make sure that this is cooked to perfection.

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If it's not, toasted hay oil will not be enough to pull this dish through.

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Across the kitchen,

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Phil's got his hands full in his bid to deliver a ground-breaking dish.

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He's used thin strands of potato to encase his lamb pie,

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and strained a parsley reduction for his mash.

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But it's his new technique for mint sauce jellies

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which Jason is keeping an eye on.

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All going well so far?

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Um, well, you know, jellies are always...until they're set,

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they're never quite right.

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-Have you started the jelly process already?

-That's the mint infusion.

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The vinegar, sugar, lots of mint.

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It'll set pretty much instantly,

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and the spheres then just sink to the bottom.

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They'll pass them off.

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Going to mix the jellies with some little peas.

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Going to pop them into these little moulds and the theory goes...

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-They're ready to use.

-..ready to go.

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Jellies, for me, are a dish that is slightly out of my comfort zone.

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Until they are complete, they're a worry.

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Phil's doing a new technique with mint jelly.

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All the rest of the dish is pretty simple.

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So the whole dish really is relying

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on the mint jelly to take this to a whole different level.

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I'm interested to see if Phil pulls it off.

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Cos if he don't, maybe that could be the thing that lets the dish down.

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A force to be reckoned with in the restaurant world,

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this is the first time

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Phil's put his neck on the line in a cooking competition.

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Determined to keep his formidable reputation intact,

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he went to Norman Park Athletics Track in Kent

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to seek advice from

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former javelin world record holder, Steve Backley.

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Steve is somebody who has been the best in the world.

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And I want to get some inspiration

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from someone who has achieved that kind of status.

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As a three-time Olympic medallist, Steve knows what it takes to win.

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-Hi, Phil.

-Hi, Steve. You good?

-How are you?

-Very good.

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You're built like a javelin thrower. That's a good start.

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Well, let's hope we can finally put it some good use.

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It's about exploring our potential.

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I think that's what the Olympics does to people.

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It challenges you to find out where your boundaries are,

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and whenever you get to, forget the opposition.

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-Control the controllable.

-Yeah, yeah.

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You know? Get stuck into that bubble.

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-You're going to have to do that for this competition.

-Absolutely.

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Time to put Steve's advice to the test on the javelin field.

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OK. OK.

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-OK, OK.

-There's a first for everything!

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That's all right!

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Take the javelin back, turn side-on.

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-OK.

-Uh!

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The key, really, is just to give it absolutely everything.

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You're in the kitchen, it's all kicking off,

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and you want absolutely deliver your absolute maximum.

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Whatever it is that comes from inside.

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OK, you're on! You're on!

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Aurgh!

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Oh, look at that! It's huge!

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Your best throw, you just seemed to forget everything,

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and trust yourself, and go for it.

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And actually, when you said, "Just give it everything you've got,"

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that was the most helpful bit.

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Back to the frying pans for me!

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Phil's keen to show where he really excels - in the kitchen.

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So it's back to Steve's to cook up the lamb for his main course.

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-Fantastic!

-That is, kind of exactly how you want it.

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Bon appetit!

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I've got to say, Phil, that is a lot better than your javelin throwing.

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Mmm!

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THEY LAUGH

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-Thanks.

-And thanks for today, Steve.

-Pleasure.

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Graham's strained his broth,

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and he's taken the lamb bacon out of the water bath.

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With so many elements to juggle, he's taken a short cut

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and cooked the meat for his rissoles in a pressure cooker.

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But he won't know if it's worked until it's ready to open.

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Is this a dangerous move?

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-How are we going?

-Yeah, good. Good.

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Just still waiting on the pressure cooker to cool down,

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and I'm going to make the rissole.

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If it's not tender enough, what's the back-up plan?

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The back-up plan, well, I'd have to get it back on

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and try and get it cooked out a bit more.

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-But time's running away, so...

-OK.

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If he doesn't get tenderness right, and he has to reheat it

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like he told me, lamb breast could go stringy and tough.

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This whole dish could fall or die by the rissole.

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Marcus is also at a crucial point with his beef tendons,

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which must be cooked to perfection.

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I'm interested in these tendons. You want to talk me through it?

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They're really soft and yielding now.

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They're topped with smoked anchovy.

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And then what I'm going to do is roll it in flour,

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dip it in tempura batter, and deep fry

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till they're light, puffy, and crispy.

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-This is something you've practised?

-Not really, to be honest.

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So this is brand new?

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-You're going out on a bit of a limb to do this?

-Absolutely.

0:15:300:15:34

So Marcus is risking his dish with untested tendon fritters.

0:15:340:15:39

Will it pay off?

0:15:390:15:40

He's really set himself a big challenge.

0:15:400:15:43

He doesn't have the time to make ANY mistakes.

0:15:430:15:46

Marcus isn't the only one taking a gamble.

0:15:470:15:52

Phil's also using an unfamiliar technique

0:15:520:15:54

for his innovative mint jellies.

0:15:540:15:56

And, as plate-up fast approaches, disaster strikes.

0:15:560:15:59

Oh, you (BLEEP).

0:15:590:16:02

Phil's just had a little mishap with his jelly.

0:16:080:16:10

He's left it in the oven too long.

0:16:100:16:12

So instead of staying sort of whole,

0:16:120:16:14

it's just started to melt.

0:16:140:16:15

With no time to make new jellies, is it all over for Phil?

0:16:150:16:19

He charges on regardless, frying the potato and lamb pie,

0:16:190:16:24

and taking the lamb loin off the rack.

0:16:240:16:26

He plates his blanched nettles,

0:16:260:16:28

followed by the pie and parsley mash.

0:16:280:16:30

Finally he tops the loin with the collapsed pea and mint jelly,

0:16:300:16:33

and can only hope that it hasn't ruined the dish.

0:16:330:16:36

-Happy?

-So-so.

0:16:380:16:40

The bottom line, the dish will be lovely to eat,

0:16:400:16:43

but the jelly I put back into the oven to warm,

0:16:430:16:45

and forgot about them.

0:16:450:16:46

-So they melted.

-Right.

-So that's disappointing.

0:16:460:16:49

Has Phil managed to elevate traditional lamb and mint sauce

0:16:520:16:56

to new heights, despite his jelly fiasco?

0:16:560:16:58

The lamb, you cooked it a bit medium?

0:16:580:17:00

I like it to be firm, rather than soft and flowing.

0:17:000:17:05

I'd do it, personally, more medium rare.

0:17:050:17:07

The flavour's different. It's stunning lamb.

0:17:070:17:10

Cooked lovely, I think.

0:17:100:17:12

The jelly. Are you happy with the texture?

0:17:120:17:13

Yes. You can get the flavour from them.

0:17:130:17:15

It's a structural issue we've got here.

0:17:150:17:18

Texturally, I mean, he was talking about egg yolk...

0:17:200:17:23

It's lost. It's lost the texture Phil was after.

0:17:230:17:27

I'm getting more frogspawn than egg yolk,

0:17:270:17:29

I've got to be honest with you!

0:17:290:17:31

This is the pie bit.

0:17:310:17:32

Happy you've got the balance of potato and braised meat?

0:17:320:17:35

Yeah.

0:17:350:17:36

-And he has got a bit of the liquor flavour in the old mash there.

-Yeah!

0:17:380:17:41

That's lovely.

0:17:410:17:43

It tastes lovely. Is that a pie?

0:17:430:17:46

Would you call that a pie?

0:17:460:17:47

And the overall textures on the plate?

0:17:470:17:49

The flaw for me is the jelly.

0:17:490:17:52

It doesn't kill the dish, but the fact that

0:17:520:17:54

I intended to do something and failed is significant, I think.

0:17:540:17:57

Yeah.

0:17:570:17:59

Surprising, challenging to people? What do you think?

0:18:000:18:03

It's lamb and mint.

0:18:030:18:04

However nice it is, it's still lamb and mint.

0:18:040:18:08

Anything you'd want to change? Obviously I know about the jelly.

0:18:080:18:11

Yeah, other than that, I'm a happy man. I'm a happy man.

0:18:110:18:14

Oof, that was a bit of work! I've earned my crust there!

0:18:190:18:21

Erm...frustrating.

0:18:210:18:24

A bit frustrating.

0:18:240:18:26

Back to Marcus.

0:18:270:18:29

His blade of beef is cooked and he's removed the hay.

0:18:290:18:32

Has he managed to cook this tricky cut to perfection?

0:18:320:18:35

And that just cooked in a water bath for how long?

0:18:350:18:37

Erm, approximately about half an hour.

0:18:370:18:40

-For half an hour?

-Yeah, give or take. Yeah.

0:18:400:18:43

-And you're confident that'll be tender?

-Absolutely.

0:18:430:18:46

Really interested to see that.

0:18:460:18:47

Jason doesn't seem convinced by quick-cook blade of beef,

0:18:470:18:51

but Marcus is standing by his tricky choice.

0:18:510:18:54

The way I'm cooking it, it's going to be like a steak.

0:18:540:18:57

It has a little bit more texture, because it's blade.

0:18:570:18:59

It's from the shoulder blade.

0:18:590:19:00

But it should be a really tasty piece of beef.

0:19:000:19:03

It's the moment of truth, as Marcus is next to the pass.

0:19:030:19:05

He fries his tendon and anchovy fritters

0:19:050:19:08

before plating beetroot powder, jelly,

0:19:080:19:11

and three types of fresh beetroot.

0:19:110:19:13

He carves his beef, and finishes with the unusual tendon fritters.

0:19:130:19:17

Right, there we go.

0:19:190:19:21

Marcus, do you believe that this is an Olympian dish

0:19:210:19:24

-that belongs on an Olympian feast?

-I think, flavour-wise, it delivers.

0:19:240:19:27

I think it'll go down well as a main course.

0:19:270:19:29

Marcus, do you want to grab one? Let's go do the tasting.

0:19:290:19:32

Has Marcus' risky technique

0:19:340:19:36

for cooking a famously tough cut of beef worked?

0:19:360:19:41

Happy with the texture of that?

0:19:430:19:45

It could be a little bit softer, to be honest.

0:19:450:19:48

I think the beef itself just needs a bit more hanging.

0:19:480:19:51

I'm finding it a little bit too chewy.

0:19:520:19:55

And I'm not sure even really delivers that much

0:19:550:19:58

on flavour, for me, as a piece of meat.

0:19:580:20:00

I'm not convinced he got the best out of that cut of meat.

0:20:000:20:03

Are you happy the hay added the right amount of smokiness?

0:20:030:20:05

Is that what you wanted?

0:20:050:20:07

It brings out sort of lovely, smoky, toasted grassy flavour to it.

0:20:070:20:11

I mean, I find it delicious.

0:20:110:20:13

It's very there, the hay.

0:20:130:20:15

It does give it this farmyard flavour.

0:20:150:20:20

And you're picking bits out your teeth as well,

0:20:200:20:22

which is...I don't know if that's a good thing.

0:20:220:20:25

And obviously the tendons.

0:20:250:20:27

What sort of flavour are we looking for for that?

0:20:270:20:29

They don't have so much of a flavour.

0:20:290:20:31

It's more of a textural thing, you know.

0:20:310:20:33

It's like the lovely braised cartilage you have,

0:20:330:20:35

erm...have in a stew.

0:20:350:20:38

This is a little crisp garnish that's delicious,

0:20:380:20:41

but it doesn't enrich the whole dish.

0:20:410:20:43

The overall texture of the plate, are you happy with that?

0:20:430:20:46

Everything bar the beef, I'm happy with.

0:20:460:20:50

So, really, we were both quite excited by this dish

0:20:500:20:53

-when we read it.

-Yeah, I was.

0:20:530:20:55

-And it's kind of failed to deliver, hasn't it?

-Yes.

0:20:550:20:57

Well, I wouldn't say I'm completely happy with that tasting with Jason.

0:20:580:21:03

The beef still had a little bit too much texture for my liking.

0:21:030:21:06

So, yeah, mixed feelings at the moment.

0:21:060:21:09

So Graham might be able to steal the lead on the home straight.

0:21:110:21:15

Can he take advantage of the other chefs' mistakes?

0:21:150:21:19

Despite his concerns,

0:21:190:21:20

his daring move of pressure cooking the rissole meat has worked.

0:21:200:21:23

He coats the cooled and cubed rissole mix in breadcrumbs,

0:21:230:21:27

before frying with the rashers of lamb bacon.

0:21:270:21:29

But as he reaches the final stages of his dish,

0:21:290:21:32

Jason has spotted there's something lacking.

0:21:320:21:35

One element of Graham's dish which concerns me the most is vegetables.

0:21:350:21:40

Apart from marsh samphire and sea purslane,

0:21:400:21:42

I don't see a single vegetable.

0:21:420:21:44

Unaware of Jason's doubts,

0:21:460:21:48

Graham ploughs on carving the lamb shoulder.

0:21:480:21:51

For added theatre, he's serving his dish in a Moroccan tagine.

0:21:510:21:54

He adds the samphire, lamb shoulder, rissole, and bacon,

0:21:540:21:58

and serves the broth in a teapot with a mint infuser.

0:21:580:22:01

OK.

0:22:090:22:10

-Happy?

-I'm happy, yes. It's exactly what I wanted.

0:22:120:22:15

And do you think this is the dish? This is your star dish?

0:22:150:22:17

-Yeah, this is me.

-Let's go taste it, yeah?

0:22:170:22:20

So will Graham's marsh lamb dish impress Jason?

0:22:220:22:26

Or will its lack of vegetables cost him a place at the banquet?

0:22:260:22:30

Oh, that smells lovely.

0:22:300:22:32

Really does, actually.

0:22:320:22:33

Are you happy with the texture?

0:22:330:22:37

I think the texture on the shoulder is spot-on.

0:22:370:22:40

-It just reminds me of Sunday roast lamb.

-Yep.

0:22:400:22:43

Shoulder, that's the shoulder.

0:22:430:22:44

Which is as tender as a piece of meat can be.

0:22:460:22:49

Certainly looks like streaky bacon.

0:22:490:22:51

Do you feel it's a little bit too crispy? Are you happy with it?

0:22:530:22:55

-No, I'm happy with that.

-You don't think it's dry?

-No.

0:22:550:22:58

-It's tasty. It's good.

-Yeah.

0:22:590:23:01

I might personally have left it

0:23:010:23:03

little bit thicker or gone a little bit thinner.

0:23:030:23:06

And you think the whole balance of flavour's there?

0:23:060:23:09

-You're absolutely 100% happy with that?

-Yes, I am.

0:23:090:23:12

The rissole, with all those spices,

0:23:120:23:14

almost curry-like spices in there.

0:23:140:23:16

Are you happy that they go really well with the lamb shoulder?

0:23:160:23:19

Yeah, definitely. Absolutely.

0:23:190:23:21

I think when you eat them together, to me,

0:23:210:23:23

it works, rather than going over.

0:23:230:23:25

Bags and bags of flavour.

0:23:270:23:29

It just need something to eat with it.

0:23:290:23:31

Some vegetable richness on the side,

0:23:310:23:33

to dilute out the protein and to enjoy it with.

0:23:330:23:37

You feel that there's not too much protein there,

0:23:370:23:40

and you think the judges will want more veg? Potato, maybe?

0:23:400:23:44

I don't think we want lots and lots of starch and that on the day.

0:23:440:23:48

Wouldn't change anything?

0:23:480:23:51

-Erm, no, I don't think I would change anything.

-No?

-No.

0:23:510:23:54

Oh, well.

0:23:560:23:58

That was, er...yeah.

0:23:590:24:00

Same old story. Poker face.

0:24:000:24:03

Don't know. You just don't know the outcome. But I'm happy.

0:24:030:24:07

Phil had a mishap with one of the elements on his dish.

0:24:070:24:09

I'm hoping that maybe that's opened a little door for me. We'll see.

0:24:090:24:13

With all the dishes delivered and tasted,

0:24:130:24:17

the chefs can do no more but nervously await Jason's verdict.

0:24:170:24:20

How do you think today's gone, compared to the other two days?

0:24:200:24:23

-I'm disappointed with what I produced.

-Really?

-A little bit.

0:24:230:24:27

I'm familiar with that particular tone today.

0:24:270:24:29

End of day three, end of the meat course.

0:24:450:24:48

The main event, as far as I'm concerned.

0:24:480:24:50

Phil, your lamb with pie mash, carrots, nettles, and mint.

0:24:520:24:57

The lamb was cooked to perfection.

0:24:590:25:01

It was a visually stunning dish to look at.

0:25:010:25:04

The best part of the dish, for me, was the pie and mash.

0:25:070:25:11

I thought the depth of flavour was just super, super stuff.

0:25:110:25:16

The jelly, we know it didn't work.

0:25:160:25:19

If that's going to be the integral part of your dish,

0:25:190:25:22

that's something you need to work on.

0:25:220:25:24

Marcus.

0:25:260:25:28

Your blade of beef cooked in hay with tendons and beetroot.

0:25:300:25:33

It was visually absolutely beautiful.

0:25:330:25:37

I love the textures of beetroot, I thought that was great.

0:25:370:25:40

But having said that,

0:25:420:25:43

most important part of that dish is

0:25:430:25:45

you've got to get the beef cookery right.

0:25:450:25:47

And it was a little bit chewy for me.

0:25:470:25:49

The tendons, I loved it. I think it's a great idea.

0:25:510:25:55

I'd just like to see a bit more of it.

0:25:550:25:58

Graham.

0:25:580:25:59

Your marsh lamb breast, bacon, spiced rissole and marsh vegetables.

0:25:590:26:05

I felt the shoulder was cooked to perfection.

0:26:050:26:09

I felt the spices inside the rissole were great.

0:26:090:26:11

I loved the bacon.

0:26:110:26:13

I thought the bacon was inspired. I really liked it.

0:26:130:26:17

But as a dish, I felt it was a little bit too protein-heavy.

0:26:170:26:22

I felt it needed something more in the dish to balance all that protein.

0:26:240:26:28

OK.

0:26:280:26:29

So guys, down to the scoring.

0:26:320:26:34

Phil.

0:26:360:26:38

For your lamb with pie mash, carrots, nettles and mint,

0:26:380:26:41

I'm giving you...

0:26:410:26:43

..seven out of ten.

0:26:480:26:49

Marcus, for your blade of beef cooked in hay,

0:26:520:26:56

I'm giving you...

0:26:560:26:58

..seven out of ten.

0:27:040:27:06

Graham.

0:27:060:27:08

For your marsh lamb and marsh vegetables,

0:27:080:27:12

I'm giving you a score of...

0:27:120:27:14

..seven out of ten.

0:27:170:27:18

All great dishes, but all marginally just short of perfection.

0:27:220:27:28

Get some sleep, and I'll see you tomorrow.

0:27:280:27:30

ALL: Thank you.

0:27:300:27:31

So despite Phil's setback,

0:27:350:27:37

he's remained on top with 24 points.

0:27:370:27:39

Marcus has also dodged a bullet

0:27:390:27:41

with today's dish,

0:27:410:27:42

and is one point behind on 23.

0:27:420:27:44

And Graham's failed to steal

0:27:440:27:46

the lead he was hoping for,

0:27:460:27:47

and is still behind on 21

0:27:470:27:49

going into the final course.

0:27:490:27:51

After Phil's mishap and tasting Marcus' dish,

0:27:510:27:54

I thought I'd edged it.

0:27:540:27:55

But, you know, I'm disappointed that I haven't caught up.

0:27:550:27:58

The way it stands at the moment is so tight.

0:27:580:28:01

There's two points between all of us.

0:28:010:28:03

Who knows what's going to happen.

0:28:030:28:04

Disappointing, really.

0:28:040:28:05

But it doesn't change the standings,

0:28:050:28:08

and going into the final leg of the race, I'm still in a good position.

0:28:080:28:13

Tomorrow, it's the dessert.

0:28:140:28:17

And their last chance to impress.

0:28:170:28:19

Whoever comes up tops with this dessert is going through.

0:28:190:28:22

Whoever makes a mess of it is going home. Simple as that.

0:28:220:28:25

But has Marcus finally pushed the boundaries too far?

0:28:250:28:28

-You know it's a dessert course, yeah?

-Yeah, I know.

0:28:280:28:30

That's why the olives are there. It's obviously a dessert!

0:28:300:28:33

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